Funky Doodle Donkey

Mama Mia #48

2012-02-17T06:22:00.005+02:00

Where did the time go that my girls did these performances for us... I wish they would never have ended.

So funny!

So cute!

So adorable!

BUT GONE... are these times!

So what's left over are a few videos....

Now I wish I took more!!

Remember if you have kids in the performing stage, video tape it ALL!!

See here a few of the videos of times gone by.... ;-(

The girls watched the Mama Mia movie at least 20 times... look at their passion... you even hear my mother and Dirk at the background.... Money, Money, Money!

By the way: these cute little polka dot tops the girls are wearing are coming from a Dutch Designer: Br@nd for Girls, check out their site, cute cute cute!! I wish I could order online, but it will never reach my address since the postal system is so corrupt here and steals a lot from packages... unfortunately! The quality is so good in this clothing line, check their online shop and order something you will be pleasantly surprised how good, how fun, how beautiful it is!!

"Lay all your love on me" Jasmine is the girl and Juliet plays the boy from the movie and they push and shove each other like in the movie :-) But then JJ finds it not funny anymore and I stop the movie. My mom giving directions in the back ground... too funny!

And for a while they were totally into Belly Dancing, I even bought them a costume. No words... just dancing :-)

This is only 3 years ago... but they would NEVER do this again!!

Too bad!! I had so much fun watching them.

See all our videos on YouTube, search for Funkydoodledonkey as one word.

Enjoy your day!
Do you have videos to share?

Mireille xx

LemonGrass & Lavender #47

2012-02-16T06:15:00.002+02:00

So far I gave 3 cooking classes, the first I wrote about already, see here.

But yesterday was my third, the theme was Terrific Thai! I made a homemade drink, I always make one, every week a different one.

This week it was Lemongrass, Ginger and mint green tea. Then a spicy, sweet and sour soup ~ Tom Yam Kung, a Spicy Beef salad ~ Yam Nua and a mushroom version for the vegetarians among us and stir fried noodle dish called Pad Thai. These are real Thai classics and a favorite all over the world. For dessert I made tropical fruits in a coconut jelly.

It is a learning experience for me, not the cooking part, but explaining and trying to follow each recipe like I give them out. Because these dishes I make at home often enough, but never follow a recipe to the T. But if you are teaching that is a different thing, so now I have to follow the recipe in order for my friends to follow what I am doing.

Today I was BBQ'ing the meat for the Spicy Beef salad, and I opened the gas, but forget to fire the flame. Normally I let the BBQ heat up a bit and then put the meat on the grill, so when I opened the gas BBQ again, it was not hot but smelled like gas. So I realized I forgot to push the fire button and then when I did.... of course you can guess what happened... a HUGE flame came up and burned my eye lashes and my first row of hair around my face! Big mistake!! Luckily that was all and I have not a complete burned face!!

Pfew! a big scare!!.... now I am thinking: Are these cooking classes worth my life?? Just joking... it all went well... just a few burned hairs ;-) They will grow back again, and I was planning a trip to the hairdresser anyway soon. LOL

Last week I made Asian Appetizers, I had 8 of them, a bit too much to make in those few hours, although it was yummy I took on too much dishes for 1 lesson. Well, I learned and will not do 8 dishes in one week anymore!

We had: Thai Mieng Kam, Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, Chinese lettuce wraps, Asian Ceviche, Spice crusted Almonds, Maple Tamari Cashews, Miso Aubergine dip, Avocado Wasabi dip and as a fresh drink Indonesian Es Juruk, an orange lime drink.

So you can see that I covered a few countries of Asia with these appetizers. It was a lot of work for one lesson, but I got some help and we all pitched in making the fresh spring rolls and some cutting of the vegetables to make it on time to have lunch at noon, and it ended up real yummy!

It is fun to give these cooking classes and I hope that my friends who come to learn a bit more Asian cooking enjoy this as much as I do!

I am planning the menu for next week today, so if you like to keep updated on my lessons go to FACEBOOK and type in the search colom: LemonGrass & Lavender. What comes up is the CLUB and the EVENT, at the weekly event page you can sign up your name to be part of it.

Have a Terrific Thursday!
Mireille xx

I ♥ ... #46

2012-02-15T06:23:00.004+02:00

I just ♥ this song by Train... and it is called "Drive by"

Now available on iTunes: http://bit.ly/yBFnDI

I never heard of them before, but Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan (vocals), Jimmy Stafford (guitar, vocals) and Scott Underwood (drums, percussion).

What is your favorite song of the moment??

Share it with me!!

Have a lovely Wednesday... I am busy with my cooking classes.... making Terrific Thai! with Tom Yam Kung, Pad Thai and Spicy Beef Salad = Yam Nua.

Mireille xx

Happy Valentine's Day! #45

2012-02-14T06:21:00.003+02:00

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!

I hope you will have a romantic and fun day today :-)

The girls have a V-day party at school, but unfortunately I won't be there since I have to go and renew my passport in Pretoria.

We made Valentine's for all the kids in the class. We made a picture of the girls with their hair in ponytails and then I shaped hearts out of it. Then they hold up their fist as if they are holding something and then later I made little slits above and under their hands and slid a lollipop through the incisions.

So a 3D lollipop Valentine's card!

For their teachers I slid a single rose through it, quite cute!

I made these Heart Hair pictures before, about 3 years ago, see here. As always the girls were so much more in the mood for taking pictures than these days... At 7 years of age they were so much more cooperative, these days I have to plead and plead to take some pictures. And that you can see in the end result as well...

Oh well....

Enjoy your Valentine's Day :-)
Mireille xx

Scavenger hunt #44

2012-02-13T06:26:00.001+02:00

The kids are off for a long weekend, today Monday extra day off. A friend stayed over and another came over to play, so I have a house full of kids and the weather is not that great to swim. I hear that they are rowdy and wild, so quickly I planned to get them outside with a scavenger hunt to do.

Google and FB are great resources to make a list in an instant, and off I sent them to find all my items I have listed below.

They went off in groups of 2 and the winning team will get to pick a prize. Jasmine and Cathlynn are in one team, and Juliet and Aviv in the other group.

Cathlynn and Jasmine found a Y shaped twig :-)

Aviv and Juliet are still looking...

Barsa, Cathlynn's dog wanted to be part of the game as well.

Aviv and Juliet decided to take the bike and go a bit farther to get more luck in finding their items.

If you want ideas and do this with your kids, here is my list:

Scavenger hunt around the neighborhood

* Find 5 different leaves, each needs to be a different color and shape.
* Find 5 different stones, each needs to be a different color and shape.
* Find 3 things that don’t belong in nature.
* Find one item beginning with each letter of your name.
* Find a shell
* Find a feather
* Find a nail
* Find a piece of moss
* Find a piece of white bark
* Find a Y-shaped twig

This will keep them busy for a while!

Enjoy your Monday.
Mireille xx

Soccer tournament at AISJ #43

2012-02-12T06:11:00.002+02:00

On Friday the girls had a soccer tournament at school. This year the girls had to play against each other, so only one of them could win :-)

They were so competitive!!

Last year they didn't play against each other and both teams won, but now the pressure was on!!

So fun!!

Jasmine's team were called the Rock Choppers, and Juliet's team were the Turbo Turtles.

Here all the kids are lining up with their teams before the game starts and they walk each to their soccer field.

Juliet's team: the Turbo Turtles in blue.

Juliet here in front with the cap, her team was in blue but later had red sleeves on during the game.

Jasmine's team before the game. The Rock Choppers.

Cheering on their team, which was split in half, so everybody could at least play for 12 minutes. With their own made banner.

Is that going to be a goal or not?? Everybody is watching in anticipation...

Jasmine in the opposite team in her black shirt and jeans short.

Both sides want to win, so everybody is running for the ball.

But in the end Jasmine's team: the Rock Choppers win! Their team was a bit of the underdog, but won in the end! Great job 4B!

Even though these are girls from both teams, they still are friends and happy together. That's what it is all about!!

It was raining during the match, but the kids didn't really notice.. only the parents on the side cheering them on were not all that happy...

A good day anyway, and now off to a long weekend, Monday = off!

YEAH!!

Have a Super Sunday!
Mireille xx

A close encounter with Zebras & Giraffes #42

2012-02-11T06:36:00.007+02:00

You know I had Zebras at my pool one day almost 2 years ago... Yes, I know, quite THE experience! And if you don't believe it, look at my blog post here.

So that was a pretty cool moment... only one that you can experience in Africa, which is why our lives are so fascinating by moving to all these different places all over the world. But don't you get that feeling sometimes of 'done that, been there', and you want to top your awesome experience somehow...

So what next??

I was googling Kenya, because that is still on my list of places to go to. And my favorite animal is the giraffe, we can see loads of giraffes here in South Africa, but now I want Giraffes in my dining room!!

Dining Room?? I see your face, why in the world would you want that??

WHY???

Because when I was googling Kenya, Nairobi... I saw these pictures.....

And don't you think that is so COOL??

These pictures are from the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya. I totally want to go there!!

I mean I need to top that list... zebras at pool, giraffes in dining room... sounds like a good list I am building here, don't you think??

Giraffe Manor is set in 12 acres of private land within 140 acres of indigenous forest and is only 20 kilometres from Nairobi city centre. Built in the 1930s, this luxury boutique hotel has maintained all the charm of the era and is now famous for its resident herd of Rothschild Giraffe. Giraffe Manor offers you an unparalleled experience of the giraffes, with them vying for your attention at the breakfast table, the front door and even your bedroom window. Cool huh?

Now I just have to find an appropriate time to go and of course I will keep you updated with my own pictures.

But for now... I just go to the local Lion Park where we can snuggle up with these cute giraffes and play with lion cubs... not bad either!!

What is on your bucket list of things to do??
Have a Wonderful Weekend!
Mireille xx

More space? #41

2012-02-10T06:08:00.000+02:00

When the girls come back out of school, these days they immediately go to their room and hang out there.

Then when I walked by I heard them giggling and talking while reading both a book. (what a surprise...)

But then I was looking at them for a while... they hadn't noticed me with the camera yet and I thought by myself: "Don't they want more space, each their own bed?, or even their own room? It looks so small for both of them."

But I guess they are not ready for the separation yet... because believe me I asked them many times. They like to be that close to each other, I guess they still NEED that!

Kids don't have the need to have that much space I guess... I mean when I am going back to the house where I grew up as a child now I always feel that it is so small!! But then I didn't feel it was small. We lived with 5 people in a house with only 1 bathroom and only 1 toilet. Now I almost get claustrophobic when I think about it that we shared that small space with 5 people. My dad lives in that house now by himself, and yes it is big enough with 4 bedrooms... but the spaces are tiny!

I guess that is the same with Jasmine and Juliet, they don't know any better than sharing their room, even their bed with each other and they like it that way...

I guess there will come a day that they will ask me to have separate beds or separate rooms, and that is perfectly fine with me!

But for now, they just giggle and share all their secrets with each other cozy together :-)
I just love to have twins!

Enjoy this gorgeous day!
Mireille xx

Let's accept all colors of the rainbow #40

2012-02-09T06:36:00.000+02:00

"Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination".

How is South Africa dealing with the Apartheid issues being illegal now since 1994?

Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority non-white inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained.

How have South Africans after the end of apartheid been able to share space? You know that the laws that defined Apartheid in terms of geographical separation no longer exist. Now people are free to go anywhere, to live anywhere, where they can afford to live, so the space restrictions are no longer in place, but the historical reality of Apartheid in South Africa continues. You find that residence is still highly segregated and Africans don’t go into certain areas out of habit not to go into those areas.

The black and white issues are still deeply grounded in this country. This is not to say that nothing has changed. Quite a bit has changed, but a whole lot more needs to be changed. However, for the ordinary African life is still very much segregated, townships are still there and the white areas are still white areas.

For me, this is not always that easy. I have never lived in a country that cared that much about a skin color, it never really mattered that much what skin tone you had. But here in South Africa almost 20 years after the Apartheid it is still a huge struggle.

When I walk with my friends (my friends are from all cultures and backgrounds) on the street or we go out for lunch, many times we are being asked: "How come you are friends? What is your connection?? Because they are surprised to see that we are a group of friends with different skin tones, and obviously come from different cultures. This doesn't happen only once in a while... NO it happens frequently that we are asked these questions? The local people still don't mix! So they find it interesting to see how we can have so much fun and hang out together while having white, black, brown, yellow skin tones!

What baffles me the most is that they still find this weird, in this day and age!!

Shame on them! But then again.... they grew up with Apartheid and I guess it is not out of your system just after one generation!

I hope for South Africa that this Rainbow nation excepts all colors of the rainbow as equal rather sooner than later!! Because now I don't see it yet!!

source here.

How are people dealing with racism in your country? I know it is not political correct... but how is it for REAL??
Do you still hear derogative comments from people around you? And what do you do about it? Do you confront people about their racism? Or let it just go??

I wonder if standing up more for this subject matter would help or not??
Mireille xx

Reading is cool #39

2012-02-08T06:20:00.001+02:00

I am busy today with my cooking classes, so not much time for blogging....

So here a picture of the girls with their all time favorite hobby... READING!

You will see them with a book in their hands at ALL times!!

No kidding.... at all times!

And it started early, way before they could read, they would love to PRETEND, or just look at the pictures... then later they would remember the story because I had read it many times to them and they would just 'read' out of their heads... so cute!!

I am glad that reading is still a favorite hobby of my girls.

BTW... Ila, do you remember these PJ's?? You made them! They loved to wear those :-)

Enjoy your Wonderful Wednesday!

I am cooking Asian Appetizers today for 9 ladies :-)
More about that later....
M xx

Living in Dainfern #38

2012-02-07T07:35:00.004+02:00

I was researching about Dainfern, the secured estate I am living in and found this article in the Mail & Guardian online. I found the article interesting, even a bit sceptical... almost with an undertone of jealousy, like most reporters do when they write about Dainfern.

I agree that it is a kind of bubble we live in, but do I want my children to live in the real world with a chance of being hurt, killed, or even raped?

NO!

So YES, we decided to live in this secured estate that not everybody can afford. But don't we all want to live in a safe place, wherever you are? And if that means that you need to move to a secured estate with gates to enter and electric fences around and on top of the walls.... like a prison almost, YES then I will make that choice.

This is the choice we had to make in order to come to South Africa and live here safe with our children. I lived in 5 other countries before, and I never lived in a secured estate in those countries. I didn't need to, it was safe to live in a normal street in a normal house. Open for everybody to enter, but nobody did unless you were invited.

Here in South Africa that is not the case! If you would live in a single house in a normal street the chances that visitors come un-invited is very high. So people secure their 'normal' house with a wall and a gate around it. They put bars in front of their windows to make sure nobody can climb through it. So the situation is also not 'normal' anymore.

If you live within the secured walls of an estate like Dainfern, at least you don't need bars in front of your windows, you don't need a wall around your house, the wall is around the outer perimeter, but hidden by trees so I don't see them and don't feel like I am living in a prison. Although the reporter in this article below writes that she feels Dainfern is like a prison....

Each their own choice, but I like it that my children can walk freely out of my house and to the Pavilion where more kids are playing at the soccer field, or swimming in the community pool and meeting their friends from school without being scared that somebody will hijack, hurt or rape them. Because we live in a secured estate and we can walk around wherever we want.

I probably would not have chosen to live like this if it wasn't necessary, but in this country it is!! So do we have a choice?? Not really!! And when we move to a safer country we probably won't go to a secured estate, because like everything else it has advantages, but also disadvantages. But for us, expats with kids going to the American International school with a school bus system this is the best option we have. And I am glad to be part of this community that they give all those negative names for, mostly because they can't be part of it, are jealous, or don't know really what's going on here and just have some info from hearsay... isn't that how it mostly goes?? Gossip spreads fast, but a lot of time it is info they just have from 3rd parties but never direct from the people that live inside....

Read full article here.

For us this is a safe haven, and that is all what counts when I make a decision of where to live in whatever country I move to.

What is your prime decision making point of where to live in your country? Is it the safety issue or the school district, or being inside the city centre, or just outside in the country side?? Do you have to make a choice of safety as your FIRST choice??

It probably all depends in which country you live! So don't judge because we live in a place you would not choose to live in your country, but make up your opinion after a bit of research and see if you still would make that same decision....

Just my 2 cents on living where we do!

Enjoy this Terrific Tuesday!!
Mireille xx

Dancing in the rain #37

2012-02-06T07:46:00.005+02:00

Yesterday it rained so hard.. so hard, it was unbelievable!!

After 15 minutes of pouring down we had more water inside the house than in Holland would rain in a day! And it rains a lot there!

In no time the whole garden was flooded and you could hardly see the difference between the pool and the grass.

Not only was it raining but thunder and lightning as well, and I am pretty sure that this time we didn't get hit by lightning but our neighbors got hit, it was such a hard BOOOOM!

Inside the girls were trying to keep the water at bay but it came down so hard and the wind blew so fast into the direction of the house that it just came under the doors. Not enough towels to keep it dry!

Then when at least the thunder and lightning was over but still raining the girls wanted to go outside and dance and play in the rain. I had no objection, as long as I could stay in :-)

At first a bit cold, but after just a few seconds they were having a blast! Look how high the water is, the garden is flooded! And the umbrella was knocked down by the strong winds.

JJ wanted to do a cartwheel in the water...

While Jezz is just running around and laying on the grass just enjoying the water, only children can have so much fun in the rain!! They even jumped into the pool with their clothes on... the thrill they got from that, it was just so fun to watch them having a blast!

They asked me to call their friends so they could join the fun, but I don't think those moms would have appreciated my invitation... LOL! They probably would think what kind of eccentric family we are... So they enjoyed the splashing and running around in the rain just the 2 of them.

When I look now into my garden, you have no clue that it rained so much yesterday. The sun is shining again, everything is dried up.... just another normal summer day!

Have a Marvellous Monday!
Mireille xx

Changes... #36

2012-02-05T10:16:00.003+02:00

Jasmine and Juliet are almost 10, and I really noticed a big change in their attitude and behaviour since they are 9. There has been a shift in their independence from me. Till the age of 8 they would ask me everything, and now they are starting to figure things out on their own. Don't ask me for permission all the time for every little thing.

They are starting to really pay more attention to their clothes and hair, give me that look... that I don't know everything, they know it better, rolling their eyes, talking back now and then. And becoming a recluse... they are spending so much time in their rooms these days, I live with them, but I hardly see them anymore!!

I feel a bit sad about that!!

Like in this picture below, I could do their hair, and clothes and they loved it. This was in 2005, so the girls were 3.... How totally cute where these 2 little monkeys!! I just love these precious little faces!!

I know they are 9 now and it is a huge difference, but I miss that period that I could dress them and they would come to me for everything. I was their saviour, their everything.

Now, I am becoming less and less important. What their friends say is the truth and nothing but the truth... I don't know suddenly as much anymore... at least in their eyes.

And they are not even teenagers yet!! They are NINE!! How come this sudden changes... this momma doesn't like it that much at all!!

I want to keep my babies, a little longer babies, but NO they are growing up. And in a way I like many things of this phase as well, but it is not all fun anymore... cutesy stage is over!!

Now the time has come for the drama's, the slamming doors, the rolling eyes, the silent treatments...

I need to adjust....

Give me some time....

Give me some tips!....

Because 2 at the same time = not easy!!

Where has the time gone, of these innocent times?? GONE FOREVER BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!!

Are you going through the same?? Share your thoughts or feelings, I would love to hear how you deal with this!
Enjoy your Sunday!
Mireille xx

LemonGrass & Lavender #35

2012-02-04T16:47:00.006+02:00

Last Wednesday I had my first cooking class called LemonGrass & Lavender at my house.

I will teach my fellow friends some Asian fusion cooking by showing them and then we will eat it for lunch. Most of them wanted to try to cook the dishes for dinner that same evening, so a good sign that they liked it :-)

On the menu was a homemade drink with LemonGrass, Lavender & Orange, a Carrot Som Tam (normally in Thailand you would eat this with green papaya, but since it is hard to find I substituted the green papaya for carrots, but the rest was all the same) and a Vietnamese Ginger Fish or Ginger Chicken dish. I made both, so we could taste the difference. For desert I made a Spiced Mango with Tapioca pearls.

It was a fun morning! And a new experience for me to teach cooking, although I do it more often with my cooking groups, but then I don't get paid for it, since we all give one lesson. Now I am the only one who gives the lessons.

I am looking forward to more classes! Look me up at FB under LemonGrass & Lavender if you like to come you have to sign up on the weekly events.

Next week I will have Asian Appetizers on the menu!

Mireille xx

On this day... #34

2012-02-03T06:12:00.005+02:00

Nine years ago....

Can you see who is JJ and who is Jezz??

The girls were 9 months old, and I was living alone with the girls in this cute little house in a Thai village called Huay Yai in Chonburi. It had this beautiful lush garden, 2 bed/bath. We had moved out of our house on the golf course when Dirk's job finished in Thailand. He was already transfered to the USA for his new job. But the adoption paperwork was not done yet, so I moved to a furnished little house just around the corner of our house on Phoenix Golf course. It took us in total 13 months to adopt Jasmine and Juliet. 11 of those months Dirk was in the USA and coming over about every 2 months to get the paperwork done.

The girls and me had a quite time, just the 3 of us in that little house, I really enjoyed the peacefulness that surrounded me there. We did all sorts of things, the 3 of us. We discovered the surroundings, they learned to 'swim' in the pool we had. Smelled all the different flowers in our lovely garden, and walked around the neighborhood. Lot's of times I went shopping with them in the local mall and did our groceries in the supermarket. I took them everywhere!

Not easy with twins that young, but I wanted them to experience it all.

From that little house we lived in we had a view on Buddha Mountain. This was an area that the American army used as a practice area and they blew up one side of the mountain. So when they left they didn't want to leave the mountain half blown up, so they engraved with real gold a Buddha as a token of appreciation for the usage of this area. Now they build a winery around it, but that wasn't there when we used to live in Huay Yai.

It was a good time for me, not easy because the paperwork didn't really go as fast as we liked but the time I spend with the girls was great. I really felt happy to be a mother, and the sleepless nights I had didn't bother me at all. They only slept through the night ONE week before they turned 1. So at this point they woke up many many times a night.

At first I was sleeping in the other bedroom, but after a month or so I turned the Queen bed into a huge crib and we all 3 slept in there for the rest of the 10 months. I slept on my side of the bed and the girls would be sleeping on the other half with their feet pointing to me. Now when they woke up, I could just comfort them without having to go out of my bed, and it made my falling back to sleep a lot easier....

Now 9 years later and the girls still sleep in one bed, but at least mommy moved out... a long time ago ;-)

Enjoy your day,
Mireille xx

A thing or two about twins... #33

2012-02-02T12:30:00.006+02:00

I bought the National Geographic today because the cover looked like this, and of course I was intrigued about what the article would say about twins. I mean I have read a lot about twins, but still they discover new things while researching all the time.

The following excerpt comes from the January issue of National Geographic:

They have the same piercing eyes. The same color hair. One may be shy, while the other loves meeting new people. Discovering why identical twins differ—despite having the same DNA—could reveal a great deal about all of us.

…twin studies have helped lead scientists to a radical, almost heretical new conclusion: that nature and nurture are not the only elemental forces at work. According to a recent field called epigenetics, there is a third factor also in play, one that in some cases serves as a bridge between the environment and our genes, and in others operates on its own to shape who we are.

Interesting!

Did you know that every summer, on the first weekend in August, thousands of twins converge on Twinsburg, Ohio, a small town southeast of Cleveland named by identical twin brothers nearly two centuries ago.

They come, two by two, for the Twins Days Festival, a three-day marathon of picnics, talent shows, and look-alike contests that has grown into one of the world's largest gatherings of twins.

I want to go there ONE DAY, see how Jasmine and Juliet would like that to meet so many other twins?

It stays a fascinating subject... TWINS, and I am blessed to be a mother of such gorgeous twins :-)

Juliet on the left, and Jasmine on the right. I find the older they get the more they start looking different... as you can see clearly on this picture. Although at some pictures they really look alike... so it all depends.

Enjoy your Thursday! Here it is a sunny and hot day, how is the temperature at your destination?
Mireille xx

4th Blog Anniversary #32

2012-02-01T06:18:00.004+02:00

What I forgot to mention was that yesterday was not only my Bday but I had my 4th Blog Anniversary as well!

WHOOHOO!!

Wow, I can't believe that I am writing on a regular basis now for the last 4 years, time has flown by! I have written 705 blog posts in 4 years. That is on average: 176 per year, almost every other day a new post.

I am grateful for YOU, all my readers, that you have stuck it out all that time! Kept me following and giving me comments, this is what keeps me going!! Knowing that there are readers out there that enjoy my ramblings about our lives in South Africa.

How fun it is to meet so many friends all over the world!

Blogging is a great thing, a cool thing, it's hip and happening, even after 4 years. Actually even more so!! Did you know that there is an estimation that 1 out of 6 people in the world have a personal blog.... and then there are still people READING my blog, that blows my mind!! I have about 100.000 page views a year, which means 8.300 a month, which equals 275 a day.

WHO ARE YOU ALL?? Most of you NEVER comment... PLEASE do so MORE!! You know me so well, introduce yourself, so I can get to know you too!!

Some of you have been following me for the last 4 years, seeing JJ and Jezz grow up from 6 to almost 10 years of age. And I have been doing the same with your blogs. But I like to know more of you!!

I really appreciate this long distant friendship between a few of you, and even meeting some of you this last year was truly amazing. It makes the connection so much deeper. And I know we will be in each others lives for years to come!!

I was talking last year already to change up the blog a bit, well... this year I will add a few more things. Keep this space on your bookmarks :-) and visit me often, I am not going anywhere!!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!! Oh and by the way... today is my FIRST cooking class. I am teaching 10 ladies how to make Vietnamese ginger chicken and fish, Carrot Som Tam, a super delicious drink and dessert as well with my favorite ingredients Lemongrass and Lavender. Since this is the name of my cooking classes!

More about that later!
Ciao, Mireille xx

Happy Birthday to me! #31

2012-01-31T07:17:00.000+02:00

Again a year has flown by and it is time for my Birthday again. 45 years I am today... (deep swallow ;-)

A beautiful bracelet I got from my friends with glass from Ghana, Ebony, Brass & Bone from Kenya and Brass and Bronze from Mali. A true African memory to keep forever!! Accompanied by a handmade card.

I am not so sure if I am happy or not about it... well, as long as you can celebrate your birthday it means you are alive to celebrate it... so that is GOOD!

But the fact that your body gets older... well, I am not so happy about that part.

So mixed feelings here, I can tell you that I was WAY more excited about my birthday when I was still in the single and early double digits :-)

But at least everybody around me is also aging, and I am not the only one ;-)

Last weekend we already celebrated with a few friends my Bday and went out to a cool restaurant named Orient in Melrose Arch. We had a great evening, hired a taxi van and spent a fun evening with 5 couples. These happenings are fun and this morning I got spoiled by Dirk and the girls, and there is even more to come. So celebrations enough... that's not it..

BUT... and I might be in a bit of a contemplating mood but Bdays don't make me that happy anymore even with all the celebrations going on. I am starting to understand why older people feel that way and don't want the fuss or gifts for their Bday.

I am starting to feel that way too. It is just another day... only it remembers me on numerous occasions during that day via the FB and email messages that I am getting older.

Dirk always surprises me with a huge bouquet of flowers :-)

I got some tickets to the Phantom of the Opera from the girls, which includes tickets for them as well :-) and this cookbook, the BIBLE of South East Asian food. This is the BEST book you can have if you are interested in Asian food, which I am :-) No pictures, just the BEST and most AUTHENTIC recipes you can find!! ME = HAPPY!!

Even more on my Bday I have to think about the rest of my life and what is still coming. And I hope lot of fun things, exciting stuff to experience, lots of traveling still ahead of me, all the good things that are awaiting me which is fun and exhilarating but then I need to make some changes. (I am telling myself!)

I am not taking care well of my body, I need to loose weight, I need to exercise more frequently, since now I do it on and off, and more off than on. So my good intentions for this year is changing my body, mind and soul to a healthier version of me, so I can enjoy all the exciting stuff that I still want to do for the next 45 years... at least, since I am planning to become really old! LOL

So I am telling you this, to make myself accountable. To keep myself on track. Not only did I make a resolution to blog each day of this year (which so far I have done), I am also going to transform my body.

Well... there I have said it out loud, so NOW I have to do it. Not only needs my body on the outside a change I need to take care of the insides too! That is another thing I am going to work on. I need to address my problems I have with my endometriosis, my hormone levels that are out of whack..

so 2012 will be a year full of body and soul renovation!!

Watch this space and keep yourself updated on my progress... and above all... wish me luck!!

Mireille xx

Neighbourgoods Market #30

2012-01-30T06:23:00.005+02:00

Two weekends in a row I went to the Neighbourgoods Market here in Braamfontein, downtown Johannesburg. It is just amazing!!

Local farmers or little shops with specialty artisan goods are showcasing and selling their yummy foods and drinks. You think about fresh made fruit juices, to home made cupcakes, to spreads, chutneys, organic meat products, home made beers, raw food, Thai food, pancakes & pastries of all kinds, huge pans of paella made in front of you. Balkan Burgers, delicious pizza's, champagne with oysters, instantly made margaritas.... all this in one market!

So first you walk around, get your mouth watering by seeing all these yummy foods and drinks, then pick one and order, and go upstairs to enjoy!

People are sitting on long tables, or standing on the side with a neat little side table, enjoy your order and hang out with the local hip crowd!!

They even have a kiddo section to keep the toddlers busy with coloring and playing. You have to keep an eye on them yourselves though.

Such a fun way to spend your Saturday... because it is only open 1 day a week!!

Go and see for yourself, so fun, so hip, so cool, so yummilicious!!

I can't wait for another Saturday :-)
Mireille xx

Sisters through thick & thin #29

2012-01-29T06:33:00.005+02:00

I have put these pictures on FB already, so some of you have seen these, but not everybody who reads my blog is my FB friend... so here again.

I was looking through my pictures of India, the trip I made last year with Jasmine and Juliet and saw so many nice images. That trip was just amazing! They don't call it Incredible India for nothing!!

I really want to go back and explore more of India, I mean I have only seen Mumbai and Delhi... there is SO MUCH MORE!!

Then when I was looking through the pictures I noticed that Jasmine and Juliet often grab each others hand or touch each other in one way or the other. So good to see that close bond between the 2, hopefully that stays like that forever!

I know that siblings not always have a strong bond, like me and my brothers, there is not much bond going on. As a kid yes we played a lot together, but now as adults we hardly talk or hang out. Well... that part is also harder because I don't live in the Netherlands, but even if I would I probably would not hang out with them. We are just so different!

So I am hoping that JJ & Jezz will be always best friends and keep that strong bond. Probably it will... because I haven't read many stories of twins that are not good together, but you never know.

For now... let's enjoy these smiles, giggles, holding hands and having fun together...

And hopefully they don't want to kill each other in a few years, or not hang out with each other as much anymore. Because now these girls are joined at the hip. Which this momma likes :-).... a lot!!

BTW If you like to know how I got the effect on these pictures... I first turned them into Black & White and then went to PICNIC a free photo editing program from PICASA and added the 1960 tool to it, and it turns the pictures in this lovely pink hue and makes the corners round, just with one click of a button!

Nice or not??

Enjoy your Sunday!
Mireille xx

Markets, what's not to love? #28

2012-01-28T06:32:00.000+02:00

Last year I started to write a blog post about all the local markets, it took me a long time to get this post together. Researching and writing the text, and linking it so everybody could see more details and addressses and then just before I wanted to post it.... my connection was gone and I lost the post without saving it!!

I was MAD!! And didn't feel like doing the whole thing again.... and then just know I stumbled upon a link to the best country markets of South Africa. So now I just copy and paste and we all can enjoy the info!

You are welcome!! I know I am nice :-)

Going to a market is a nice way of starting your weekend, finding those homemade goodies, organic spreads, warm and fresh baked breads, what's not to love??

So here's my list, I got them from a link from the Eat In website, see here. I only print the local markets from Joburg and Pretoria, but on the website you will find even more markets from the rest of the country.

Johannesburg

Blubird Whole Food Market
This Sandton market has many delicious international options, including Polish, Lebanese, Indian, Swiss, Turkish and Italian delicacies.

Bryanston Organic and Natural Market
At Joburg’s first outdoor organic market you’ll find organically-produced fruit and vegetable stalls stand alongside clothes made from natural fibres, locally roasted coffee, naturally fermented breads, sauces and preserves, baked goods, raw chocolate, sauces and ice creams.

The Farmers’ Market at Bamboo
This vibrant rooftop market stocks succulent vegetables and free range eggs, piles of olives, handmade cheeses, sausages, raw honey, biltong, bread, coffee and vegetables. It will inspire your home cooking.

Jozi Food Market
A relaxed, casual outdoor market in the midst of Joburg’s hustle and bustle. Pick up everything from organic veggies and potted herbs to gluten-free cakes, fresh granola and Green Bean coffees.

Market on Main
This city-slicker market is the place for Ethiopian coffee, organic veggies, scrumptious cup cakes and grow-your-own gourmet mushroom kits.

Neighbourgoods Market
Sister to Cape Town’s Neighbourhood Goods Market, this Sunday market is a great place to pick up seasonal fruit and veggies from the Free State, delicious mini Mediterranean quiches, meat from Braeside butchery in Parkhurst and beers from Darling Brewery.

Rosebank Rooftop Market
A hectic, colourful flea market in the rooftop car park at Rosebank shopping mall with around 600 stalls with clothing, arts and crafts, carvings and jewellery.

Pretoria

The Green Market
This open-air market offers organic vegetables, free-range eggs and vegan treats. Pick up a solar oven, a wormery or some vintage kitchenware.

Hazel Food Market
Fashionista foodies frequent this market for fabulous artisan breads, herb-laden pâtés, organic vegetables, Mediterranean-style pickles, cherry nougat and even sexy gingerbread ladies in iced purple bikinis.

Irene Village Market
Situated in the grounds of the Smuts House Museum, pick up mocca pavlovas, homemade nougat, gluten-free cakes, Karoo lamb, artisan breads and organic cheeses.

Pretoria Boeremark
Here you’ll find many farmers selling their organically grown products or the finest meat directly to shoppers. Discover the finest artisan cheese, best boerewors, traditional fare like melkkos or crackling as well as a selection of Italian breads.

And here are some links to Organic Food producers that deliver to your house, not bad huh?? Found link here.

GAUTENG
Foxglove Herbs & Delicacies
Sue Vingerhoets • www.foxglove.co.za
herbs@foxglove.co.za • 011 466 9977
0866 888 500
Suppliers of organic boxes from their shop with a weekly list of available products emailed to clients for them to choose from.

Organic Emporium
Deborah Logan • www.organicemporium.co.za
ivette@organicemporium.co.za • 011 704 0786
011 704 5475 • 083 225 0861
A large variety of organic produce (including fish, vegies and cleaning materials) delivered to your doorstep in Johannesburg's northern suburbs.

Wensleydale Farms
Tim, Sue or Crispin Jackson • www.wensleydale.co.za
sue@wensleydale.co.za • 012 650 0064
086 511 44 71 • 082 410 3479
They grow and distribute certified organic fruit and vegetables. They also have a vegetable box scheme where they deliver fresh organic produce direct to the public.

So now you dont' need to be bored again during the weekends... or complain that you can't get some good organic veggies or meat around here!

Enjoy!

Mireille

The Best of the Best in Joburg #27

2012-01-27T06:04:00.001+02:00

Top things to do in the City of Gold…

I was reading the House & Leisure magazine and found this best of the best list, and like to share with my local friends here. I hope you enjoy!! BTW I noticed that the list in the magazine is a bit longer, so buy the magazine if you want the complete list. I blog this on Friday, so you can go and pick a few for the upcoming weekend :-)

Nice or not??

Best for Modernist Furniture It’s a tie between Modernist in Parkhurst, modernist.biz and Decade (011-482-3059) at 44 Stanley. The former opened earlier last year, adding a shot of Fifties elegance to Fourth Ave with its mahogany display wall and the simple designs and clean lines of its jaw-dropping furniture selection. The latter is similarly impressive, though with a more eclectic mix of retro pieces.

Best Designer Furniture For elegant and timeless pieces look no further than Mezzanine in Greenside. It’s all comfort-meets-style here, from their own bespoke designs to their immaculately sourced collections. They’ll customise pieces to your exact needs, and offer a full decor service. 011-888-3986, mezzanineinteriors.co.za.

Best Indie Movies The Bioscope at Arts on Main is a gem for cinema-philes. Covering special-interest genres and local and international independent films, this little theatre (a classic old-school bioscope!) makes for a captivating nostalgia-tinged experience. 073-284-1372, thebioscope.co.za.

Best for Vintage Browsing The inner city Market on Main feels like a cross between a thrift store and a boutique, with stalls brimming with wares by talented young designers standing alongside those selling vintage dresses and retro bags. It’s a browser’s delight and often the go-to place to spot (and set) new fashion trends. marketonmain.co.za.

Best Arty Day Out A 15-hectare sculpture park in the Cradle of Humankind, Nirox is an inspirational spot for jaded Joburgers in need of a shot of aesthetic upliftment. Every few months the Nirox Foundation hosts a new exhibition and the streams, grassy mounds and woods are transformed into an outdoor gallery – a wonderland studded with artworks. niroxarts.com.

Best Live Music All the best rock bands play at Tanz Café in Fourways. Its warehouse ambience adds an air of rock ’n roll grittiness, while you’re guaranteed to find one of SA’s hottest local artists or the occasional high-profile international starter on the stage. Great for a loud night out or good laugh during their comedy nights. 011-658-0277, tanzcafe.co.za.

Best Gourmet Burger Dukes in Greenside serves classic burgers with a seemingly endless number of elegant spins. Try the Big Bird, an ostrich patty covered in red-wine and chocolate sauce, and topped with butternut and fresh rosemary. 011-486-0824

Best Hipster Coffee Stop You can feel the youthful, creative urban energy at Post, on the prime spot on the corner of 70 Juta Street, Braamfontein. Pop in for a fine coffee or homemade lemonade – they also serve simple but delicious breakfast and lunch dishes – and kick back while listening to a cool selection of vintage vinyl. 072-248-2078, post-bl.tumblr.com.

Best Gourmet Portions When your hunger for flavour outstrips your appetite, there’s only one place to go: Cube Taste Kitchen in Parkhurst for the bite-sized portions. This concept kitchen is all about flavour, texture, taste, aesthetic appeal and innovation. 082-422-8158

Best Traditional Shave A real institution, Roma-Paris has been going for about 45 years – originally in Braamfontein and now in Parkhurst. For a special occasion, a shave with a cutthroat razor by a real Italian barber, while sipping a drink and puffing on a cigar, will transport you to a different age. 011-880-8311, bottegacafe.co.za.

Best Vinyl Shop Deerhunter in Greenside is like taking a journey though a time machine. It’s the go-to spot for vintage collectibles such as toys, old school magazines and a great range of vinyl records you’ll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. 082-496-9253, deerhunterjunkshop.blogspot.com.

Best Second-Hand Books Bookdealers in Rosebank is the real deal. With a fantastic range of special interest sections and constantly updated stock, there’s always something new to ferret out from its bursting shelves. Look out for the special sales, where you’ll strike some amazing finds. 011-442-4089, bookdealers.co.za.

Best Flowers Dunkeld Fruit and Flowers has been around for 30 years, with its courtyard of freshly cut flowers the destination for beautiful blooms (not to mention the herbs and veggies in the shop behind). A tip from the top: the big delivery arrives on Tuesdays. 011-341-0343

Best Cape Cuisine in Joburg District Six Eatery is compact and oozes Kaapstad flavor and culture. The decor adds a nostalgic ingredient to the space, while the menu features traditional dishes like snoek and potatoes served with tomato gravy. 011-486-7226

Best DVD Hire The starting point for some of Jozi’s best nights in, Craighall’s Video Spot has a seemingly endless stash of DVDs. Somehow, it seems that the film you can’t find anywhere else is lurking on the shelves somewhere here. There’s an excellent selection of old and new movies, and some special interest categories too. 011-447-1401, videospot.co.za.

Best for Local Fashion Sassy Jozi fashion blogger Milisuthando Bongela (aka MissMilli) joined forces with Cape Town designer Doreen Southwood to open a branch of clothing emporium Mememe in Parkhurst earlier this year. It stocks an unbeatable selection clothes and accessories by local designers. 011-447-1497, mememe.co.za.

Best Nail Bar Both Polish Nail Spa (011-447-7952, polishnailspa.co.za) in Parkwood and Toast & Co (011-325-5184, toastandco.co.za) in Craighall get our nod of approval, offering superb manis and pedis, and allowing for a post-pampering spot of shopping to boot.

Best Paint Shop Barney’s in Emmarentia combines real expertise and excellent advice in a sophisticated shop, but with the down-home atmosphere of a local hardware store. Always friendly, efficient and ready with an answer, it’s the best DIY destination when you need to colour your home beautiful. barneyspaint.com, 011-646-9012.

Best for Unusual Ingredients When your shopping list is ambitious, there’s a very good chance you’ll find that elusive item at Thrupps in Illovo. The grand dame of groceries, its shelves are home to rare and difficult-to-find ingredients so authentic there’s a notice above the game birds warning that they may contain buckshot! 011-268-0298, thrupps.co.za.

Best Joburg Inspired Design Batch.co.za has a great selection of young SA designers work, and one of our favourite designs was informed by the city’s skyline. Fanie van Zyl’s Joburg-inspired bookends add an air of urban chic wherever they find a home. batch.co.za.

Best Steakhouse Thundergun in Northcliff has been in business for over 40 years, so its authenticity is beyond question. It’s the real deal – a proper steakhouse with memories of an era when we knew what a steakhouse should be like. Don’t mess around – just order the steak! 011-678-7224, thundergun.co.za.

Best Seafood Deli This seafood supplier is one of Joburg’s best-kept secrets – or at least a firm favourite for those in the know. Count yourself among them. Servicing the city’s restaurants might be its main concern, but you can head there for the freshest fish in town, and all the extras like calamari cleaning and oyster shucking. 011-997-0500, lamarinafoods.co.za.

Best One-Stop Decor Shopping The Design Quarter has all the big flagship stores under one roof. There’s Coricraft, Boardmans, @home, Bakos Brothers, the Plascon Showroom, and much more. And there’s always somewhere to stop and grab a coffee or a bite to eat, when your hunger for decor becomes a hunger for lunch. 011-467-5152, designquarter.co.za.

Best Mountain Biking Northern Farm Nature Reserve, also known as Diepsloot Farm, is a hidden haven for mountain bikers. It’s a beautiful natural setting with grasslands, woodlands and dams. No worries for beginner mountain bikers as there’s a path carved out just for you, leaving the advanced riders with two other adrenaline-inducing trails. northernfarm.co.za.

Best Chinese Supermarket Set up on Commissioner Street by one of the first generations of Chinese immigrants to South Africa, ‘China Town’ boasts Sui Hing Hong (011-833-7704), a gift emporium stacked with imported Chinese groceries, utensils and more, and The Swallows Inn (011-833-2946), Joburg’s oldest surviving Chinese restaurant.

Best Seafood Pasta Bistro Vine in Parkhurst is known for its café-style setting and tables that spill out onto the pavement. Less well known is that it serves the city’s most delicious seafood pasta: fresh shelled prawns, mussels and calamari simmered in a white wine, cream and thyme sauce, fresh Italian parsley and parmesan. Not convinced? Try a tasting dish for just R20. 011-327-4558

Best Gallery Shop It’s hard to come away empty handed once you’ve popped your head into the gift shop at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) on your way out from an exhibition. Enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff and an unbeatable selection of art books. 011-720-0543, joburg.org.za.

Best for Getting in Touch with your Roots Pop into the Origins Centre to check out the rock art collection and gain some perspective and insight into the history of modern humankind. In just two hours you can go back 80 000 years. 011-717-4700, origins.org.za.

Best Indigenous Nursery Random Harvest in Muldersdrift is the first stop for local gardening fundis in search of the best selection of water-wise indigenous plants. Expert and helpful staff make the experience all the more gratifying. 082-553-0598, randomharvestnursery.co.za.

Best Elderberry Granita Life at Hyde Park Shopping is a real asset to mall life – it even allows you to forget you’re in the middle of one. It’s the best spot for before- or after-movie meals, snacks and drinks. Speaking of which, the experience wouldn’t be complete without their flagship drink – the elderberry granita. It’s a mix of lime and berries garnished with mint. Just try one. 011-325-4350/5371

Best Inner City Park With a new set of cast-iron impala, the revamped Oppenheimer Park is a bite-sized oasis in the middle of the bustling CBD. Grab a few moments of restorative solitude on one of the word-sculpture benches or work off some stress on the basketball court. joburg.org.

Best Hotel Restaurant Chef David Higgs, formerly of Stellenbosch’s award-winning Rust en Vrede restaurant, moved to Sandton in 2011 and has fast made the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel All Day Restaurant a culinary destination, where discerning palates go to celebrate special occasions. 011-286-1000, radissonblu.com.

Best Casual Lunch For lazy weekend afternoon stroll, or a quick lunch break during the week, Salvation Café never lets you down. Take a seat under the trees in the courtyard at 44 Stanley, and know that you’re about to enjoy some of the best dining Joburg has to offer. It’s that simple. 011-482-7795, salvationcafe.co.za.

Best Luxury Guy’s Stuff The little boutique Croft and Co in Parkview offers the ultimate in masculine sophistication in a shop that’ll make you feel like you’ve just stepped off a street in London. For high-end men’s (and ladies’) accessories, it is final proof that masculinity can be a refined and elegant thing. Anything from the most luxurious shaving accessories to undercover umbrellas and ‘high-end guy’ overnight bags… you’ll never be short on gift ideas again. 011-646-3634

Best Tapas This little gem on the corner of Corlett Drive and Oxford in Illovo puts a spin on traditional tapas – serving the local Venetian variation, chicetti. There’s also a full menu with delicious meals from rabbit to spagetti and meatballs, which has kept it buzzing since it opened earlier this year. But what better way to enjoy a summer night than a selection of tapas? 011-025-5225

Best Men’s Shirts For shirts that fit better, look better and are made better than anywhere else, bluecollarwhitecollar on Fourth Street in Parkhurst is your destination. They’re locally designed and made, and come in an exhilarating variety of fabrics and prints. But the real joy is in the details. Dress them up or down, it doesn’t matter, each shirt is an artwork. 011-024-1380, bluecollarwhitecollar.co.za. (PS: they moved, so call them first to get their new address!)

Best Boutique Hotel A relaxing retreat and an urban hideout, The Winston Hotel is the epitome of luxury and style. It melds colonial and contemporary decor with ease and the restaurant’s local and international cuisine is perfect for both business lunches and guests. 011-268-3140/1, thewinstonhotel.co.za.

Best for Coffee Beans One of the most intimate shops on the main Parkhurst drag is 4th Avenue Coffee Roasters in the Cobbles, corner 11th and 4th. They import their beans from over 10 countries and roast them themselves. 082-378-2109

Best Smart Restaurant DW 11-13 is Joburg’s favourite contemporary, smart restaurant. The food is simply outstanding – when M&G editor-in-chief Nic Dawes said (amid much controversy) that the best Joburg restaurants all look out onto parking lots, we’re almost certain he had DW 11-13 in mind. Look no further for a special occasion. 011-341-0663 or 011-325-2843, dw11-13.co.za.

Best Vintage Clothing An institution, Reminiscene is a wonderland of pre-70s clothing jewellery, accessories, shoes and more. Victorian, Edwardian, 1920s jewellery, dresses from the 50s and 60s. There’s a magnificent past to discover. 011-726-7905

Text: Graham Wood, Tiisetso Noxolo
This original article was featured in the January/ February 2012 issue of House and Leisure…

Well, I hope I did you locals a favor by posting this blog post.

Enjoy your weekend! I know I will with so many new inspirations and funky spots to visit :-)

Mireille

Job Day at AISJ #26

2012-01-26T06:02:00.004+02:00

Yesterday the girls had Job Day at school.

So they had to dress up as a professional.

Juliet decided she wanted to be a Chef. My friend Candice had a chef's hat and glove for me from the Ratatouille movie, and I had a white apron, so her outfit was easy.

Jasmine wanted to be a professional Ballerina. When she saw that I made a black tutu for her the day before she decided she wanted to be just like the Black Swan, with make up, wings and the whole shebang. Well... she could do the black outfit, wings, but NOT the make up I told her... too much work at 6am!!

See here some pictures of the girls acting out in their profession :-)

So much fun these projects they do at school! I wonder how the rest was dressed up?? Maybe the teacher can send me a picture and I add it to the blog later.

BTW: if you like to make a tutu skirt yourself, it is a real easy project. Here is a tutorial for your own DIY no sewing tutu skirt.

Cut out strips of tule (height 80cm/ 30 inch and width 8cm / 3 inch) and measure an elastic band for the waist of your child. Don't make it too tight, since it will be tighter when the strips of tule are folded around it. Then just tie the strips around the elastic band by folding it double and looping it around the elastic band. No sewing needed, project done in about 45 minutes. You need about 50-75 strips. Depends how wide the waistband is... slide them close to each other, so you don't see the elastic band anymore.

Have a terrific Thursday y'all!
Mireille xx

Hip Hop classes at school #25

2012-01-25T06:35:00.004+02:00

At AISJ, the International American school the girls attend started with Hip Hop classes as an afternoon activity.

So I decided to sign the girls up... they did not really agree with me. But these girls are super lazy sometimes and don't want to do anything after school. They rather come home and read their books.... the only thing they want to do is reading.

So as a good mother I want them to be all-round and let them try different things in life. After trying and they still don't like it... OK then they can finish the classes and not sign up again for a next semester. But once signed up... they have to finish! That is the deal!!

So very reluctant they went to the first class last Friday... and I was a bit anxious to see how they liked it or not.

When I saw their big smiles on their faces when they came back home... I knew I did the right thing!

'Mom, Hip Hop class is AWESOME!! and the music is totally COOL!!' ...is what they told me!!

Me happy.... the girls happy!! Sometimes life can be so good :-)

They wanted to show me what they learned in this first class, some pics below. And also they told me what the best thing is to wear on Fridays from now on....

Some moves the girls learned after just one class.

'And this is how you end' ...they told me :-)

NO skirts, (Jasmine was wearing one) but short pants with a legging (this was JJ's outfit and perfect) or long pants, because you swirl on the floor and if you have a skirt or short pants it will hurt your skin. "And if you jump too high everybody can see what is under your skirt Mom"... even though she was wearing a legging underneath.

OK ~ no problem, we can do that :-)

So Fridays is Hip Hop Day for the girls from now on!! I am glad that they do something besides the Pilates class on Wednesdays, because these girls turn into a recluse if I let them. They simply have enough company between the two of them, they really don't need much interaction with other people.... but this mommy will not let that happen!!

How are your kids? Social butterflies or rather a bit a loner??

Enjoy your day,
Mireille

Yummy homemade soups #24

2012-01-24T06:24:00.002+02:00

I am still on my A-Soup-A-Day thing... although we had some days in between that we didn't have soups, because even though I told the girls we will do this for a month, every day when I served them the soup they said: Soup Again?? as if they thought what happened to my mothers imagination?? These kids are spoiled food wise!! I mean they are connoisseurs. I almost NEVER make the same thing, not like when I grew up and the ritme was every week the same thing... no this is not happening in my house!

That can be a good thing but also a bad thing, because when you look back at your own childhood you like to remember that special dish that your mom or grandma would make all the time. This is not happening in my house, so lately I was actually thinking I should at least make 1 dish a bit more often, a dish that the girls really enjoy and when they look back later on their childhood they will say to their friends... my mom made the best so and so.

So I decided that THIS soup will be THE DISH that the girls talk about later as one of their favorites, and this is MY Khao Tom ~ Thai Rice soup.

It is SO yummy! The girls and me can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which we do if I make it, we eat it all the time till it is gone. Because you get at least 10 servings out of this soup so the 3 of us get at least 3 times this soup and maybe one bowl for Dirk. He likes it too, but he prefers his Dutch style sandwiches for breakfast....

The star of this soup is the broth, without a good delicious broth this soup is boring. I mean it only has rice, some meat, either chicken, or pork or beef meatballs. Then some veggies, different all the time, sometimes carrots, or bok choy, bean sprouts, some green onions, chives, cilantro/coriander and lastly on top some fried onions from the Chinese store. Most of the time we add cooked rice but lately we add rice noodles to the dish instead of the rice and then it becomes more of a Vietnamese Pho instead of the Thai rice soup. But the base is the same.

I either make it as a chicken stock and I boil a whole chicken for 1,5 hours or I do the beef version and I add oxtail and beef bones and simmer that for 4 hours. OKAY... I see you thinking: THAT is TOO much work, but believe me I throw it in the pan in the morning and by the evening we have the most delicious soup. And you just let it simmer on the stove... it is not that you have to be there. I just tell the housekeeper to turn the heat off either at 1,5 hour or 4 hours later! In the meantime I go shopping :-)

I am just kidding, I know you guys don't have a housekeeper and actually I don't use mine for cooking or looking after the kids, that is MY department, but in the meantime I am updating my blog, checking my mails, Facebook, Pinterest while this soup is brewing, bubbling and getting delish!!

You can really taste the love goes that into this soup! And when I give the recipe to my friends and they tell me it doesn't taste the same, I always ask them: 'Did you put some love into it?' And they look at me with this face, what is she talking about, but it is so TRUE cooking with LOVE makes all the difference. I am a true believer!! So next time use this secret ingredient and really tend to your recipe like your baby and it will totally taste different!!...... don't forget to tell me later if it worked :-)

EMAIL me if you like the recipe!

Now onto some other soups I made. Clearly me and the girls like soups with a clear broth the best, those creamy soups that go into the blender... no not our thing, but I am still trying because only clear broths is also getting boring, so we kind of swap. One day this, one day that.

Below is a white bean and zucchini soup. Recipe here. Nice, but next time I would add more beans to the mix. The girls and me loved the beans, but we wanted more. Really a nice soup, but kind of average, so I am not sure if we would make that again. I told you so we are connoisseurs or food snobs, so ONLY the BEST recipes are keepers and come back once in a while.

Then I adapted a silky cauliflower soup from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs. Her recipes don't disappoint. But I changed the recipe quite a bit, since only cauliflower and some add ones was a bit too bland for our taste. So I added dry roasted cumin seeds and then grind, turmeric and some smokey paprika. Taste was good, but the thing that it goes through the blender reminds me of baby food too much, so next time I just don't put it through the blender. I think both the girls and me would enjoy that more!

The wild mushroom crostini I whipped up on the side was actually the best part of this meal! Jasmine, Juliet and me had each 2 slices and loved it!! It was so flavorful.... hmm hmm hmm (again email me if you like the recipe...)

Dirk was on a business trip, so he missed all these soups!

Jennifer H: I am going to try your African Peanut soup and will blog about it later :-)

Ciao bellas and beau's, enjoy your day!
Mireille xx

Happy Lunar New Year!! #23

2012-01-23T06:22:00.012+02:00

Happy Chinese New Year to all my friends who celebrate this festive season!!

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4710 begins today on Jan. 23, 2012.

source: here

The Lunar New Year begins on the first new moon of the new year. For many Asian families in the Far East and around the world, the Lunar New Year is a celebration of change.

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

source: here

Breathing Fire into the New Year

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in dragon years are innovative, brave, and passionate. Salvador Dali, John Lennon, and Mary-Louise Parker were all born in the year of the dragon.

Fireworks and Family Feasts

At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

The Lantern Festival

In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each other's homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year's Eve. In the United States, however, many early Chinese immigrants arrived without their families, and found a sense of community through neighborhood associations instead. Today, many Chinese-American neighborhood associations host banquets and other New Year events.

The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.

In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. In the United States, where the New Year is celebrated with a shortened schedule, the dragon dance always takes place on a weekend. In addition, many Chinese-American communities have added American parade elements such as marching bands and floats.

source: Peter Tsai

What can we expect for 2012 ~ The year of the Water Dragon??

In 2012 this Dragon year begins on January 23rd and continues until February the 9th in 2013. It indicates a transformational time for world events and important turning points for individuals as well as a high degree of luck. The calm perceptive nature of the Water Dragon will make it a good year that should also incorporate a few surprises.

source: here

Dragon years in Chinese Astrology are usually noticeable times of change when they involve Dragons associated with the other elements of Earth, Metal, Wood or Fire. When, as in the case of the year 2012, Water is the driving element influence, it still brings with it transformations but they are calmer. This is because the Water Dragon has more patience than the other Chinese Dragons and is not so reckless in his decision making. He prefers to evaluate situations before taking action and his domination of the year 2012 will introduce only essential important changes. These may be when you least expect them but you can be assured that they will be beneficial in the long term. Adjustments in society structures and peoples world views and development are highlighted during a Water Dragon year.

All years of the Dragon have a traditional association with new beginnings, happiness and good fortune and 2012 is no exception. The Chinese consider Dragon years to be the best times to get married and have children or start a business. There are lots of positive energies for growth at work in 2012 courtesy of the Water Dragon's influential progressive spirit. The Water element influencing this Dragon calms him long enough for him to emit his aura of positivity and direct it sensibly rather than recklessly. His influence will be concentrated in the right places and directed at those who will benefit the most from his lucky air of wisdom. In a Water Dragon led year everyone should be inspired to contemplate the grasping of new opportunities and directions that may present themselves in 2012.

2012 promises to be a dynamic year with plenty of changes underway and the Water Dragon has a valuable message. He advises us to ensure we resolve old issues during this time and to aim to build strong new foundations. The first few months of the Year of the Water Dragon will appear to be quiet and quite uneventful. Once the Spring arrives in 2012 this Dragon's influence will be at its peak as this is this mythical creature's favorite season. We will be reminded of our weaknesses and how to be resourceful and adaptable when faced with difficult challenges. The period around May the 20th to the 18th of June will see the appearance of a Dragon Moon. This is when a Water Dragon's perception is at its most intense and so creates a fortunate time to begin planning anything for the future. This short lunar period's luck for initiating actions applies equally to society as a whole and to individuals.

The Summer and Autumn of the 2012 Water Dragon year is predicted to be filled with a steady flow of additions, corrections and positive developments. This is as the Dragon prompts adjustments and improvements with a sway towards less dependence on artificial foods and materials. The remainder of 2012 is destined to be quieter giving a time of reflection to assess the first results of any changes. This quiet year end may have a couple of unexpected occurrences that although unanticipated are forecast to improve our environment. Any ideas generated in this favorable timespan are likely to be groundbreaking and highly advantageous to mankind's future. There are plenty of ways to take advantage of a Water Dragon's reign on the year if we trust his intuitive vibes of optimistic fearless progression. His message of reassessing situations and determinedly moving forward will make 2012 a year to remember for the enrichment of knowledge and understanding in many areas of life.

Let's see if the predicaments will come out, next year around this time I will come back to this post and see if the Chinese astrology came out!!

Do you believe in astrology??

What animal are you in the Chinese horoscope? If you don't know, look here. The girls and me are horses, while Dirk is a sheep/goat.

Read your 2012 Chinese horoscope here!!

If you want to find out more of the relationships between Chinese astrology and Western Zodiac. Which I found VERY interesting and so true for the 3 of us, see here!

新年快乐！= Happy New Year!
Mireille xx

TIA ~ This Is Africa #22

2012-01-22T06:45:00.001+02:00

Before I start with my blog post... did you noticed that I added a PIN IT button to my site? Now you can add any of my pictures to your pinterest collection. How great is that? Just click and add :-)

I was googling Dutch and Johannesburg and came upon this article from 2010:

"A group of 36 Dutch women were arrested in Johannesburg on Monday because they were dressed in the wrong skirts.

FIFA officials discovered them in the Soccer City stadium and reported them to police after the Holland-Denmark duel. The girls wore orange miniskirts, so-called Dutch Dresses, supplied by Bavaria brewery, a competitor of FIFA's official sponsor Budweiser. The officials acted against the Bavaria girls on the basis of the contract with Budweiser, which stipulates that other beer brands are not allowed to advertise in the World Championship stadiums.

Students
Bavaria initially denied any involvement, claiming that the 36 women belonged to a student group who purchased the skirts and paid their own expenses, including the trip to South Africa. But Bavaria's Managing Director Peer Swinkels told reporters that he was appalled the Dutch Dress girls were arrested. "There is not even a brand name on those skirts, so what are we doing wrong? Since when are there clothing conventions during football matches?"

Mr Swinkels admitted that Bavaria had footed the bill for the Dutch Dress campaign. Barbara Castelein, a spokeswoman for the so-called Oranje Babes said they were shocked by FIFA's rough-shod handling of the case. "We were forcibly manhandled, some girls were covered in bruises. All of a sudden the action lost its innocence." They were held in police cells for four hours. Ms Castelein says the group was having second thoughts about a follow-up to the dress action".

Can this only happen in Africa, or is this a FIFA thing??
Mireille xx

High Tea #21

2012-01-21T06:17:00.004+02:00

Last weekend we were invited to a friends house for a High Tea.

The girls were ready for it... shiny dresses and huge flowers in their hair, like a proper young English lass.

The cakes were amazing!! Came from Tart, close by at Leaping Frog shopping centre. YUM!!

Everybody was dressed in flowery or colorful dresses, some with hats, but most of us just a flower in our hair...

TOO HOT FOR A HAT!

BUT FUN!!

Do you like to go to themed parties like this?
Mireille xx

Lucky Ducks #20

2012-01-20T06:30:00.003+02:00

The most wanted gift for Xmas this year was a laptop. Since the girls and us travel so much, we thought a net book was even a better idea since it is lighter. So easier to take on planes etc...

The girls are super happy with their new Sony Vaio net books!! Although Jasmine doesn't look like it on this picture, but she was more annoyed that I had to take a picture of her... while playing on her new 'toy'....

Like their Iphone Touches the colors are lime green for Juliet and pink for Jasmine, so it is easy to keep track of whose is whose...
They even have both a desk chair in lime green and pink, so color coordinated these girls :-)

Such Lucky Ducks!!

What was your child's most prized toy or gadget this year??
Mireille xx

Two Peas in a Pod #19

2012-01-19T06:27:00.002+02:00

What more do I need to say?

They are each other's best friend...

Almost never fight!

And like to be together always.

They still sleep, play, shower and hang out together ALL the TIME!

How are your children together? Like 2 peas in a pod, or the total opposite??
Mireille xx

A different view #18

2012-01-18T06:44:00.001+02:00

In July 2008 we moved to South Africa. So January 2008 was our last snowy winter. I was looking back at my folder of 2008 and came upon this picture. Taken from my covered patio looking into the garden and this is what I saw.....

A view on water... a small lake called Fox Hill Lake in Ridgefield, CT. It was a magnificent cedar wooden house, just a gorgeous setting. You walked right into the water from our garden. We had snapping turtles and big fish in that water and we always told the girls to NOT put their feet in the water. They never did, but some of their friends tried... luckily the snapping turtles were never close by! This picture was taken in January 2008, in the middle of the winter.

This is the view looking into our garden from the covered patio now here in South Africa.

Again a view on water... just a different kind of water, a pool. And it is summer in the middle of January 2012. Also a beautiful home and the view is not bad, but not as spacious and wide open as the other view. Nonetheless a nice view. No snapping turtles, but hadedas ibis, weaver birds and an accidentally snake that crowd our garden now. The girls dip their feet in the water on many occasions :-)

How is your view from the house? Do you have a good one?
Ciao, Mireille xx

Brownie baking & Beauty treatments #17

2012-01-17T06:26:00.008+02:00

Just add E.G.G.S. and B.U.T.T.E.R.

The girls love these simple baking packages!

They can do it ALL by themselves, no help needed.... the only thing I do is put the oven on the right temperature.

Mixing, pouring, decorating.... they are like little pro's in the kitchen :-)

And then while waiting for the cake to be done, have some lunch and a beauty treatment... all with a facial mask on while eating some fried rice!!

H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S. !!!!

Are your kids into home making or beauty treatments?
Mireille xx

Home work #16

2012-01-16T06:09:00.001+02:00

Every day some Math & Reading....

NO PROBLEM for these girls!

Most of the days already done in the bus, but instead of 30 minutes reading they do at least 2 hours!!

They finish a book a day, if not more!

BTW; did you notice how JJ is sitting again?? Thai style.... ;-)

Nature vs Nurture?? Definitely nature!!

Enjoy your Monday!
Mireille xx

Yellow #15

2012-01-15T10:52:00.005+02:00

Y.E.L.L.O.W

In the garden and in the kitchen.

A cute weaver bird in our garden.

Our summer favorite.... home made lemonade in the kitchen.

A P.E.R.F.E.C.T Sunday!

Enjoy your Sunday!
What are you up to?

Mireille xx

Support from mum to mum #14

2012-01-14T06:40:00.003+02:00

See here some impressions what other mothers have to do to give their children a reasonable life...
These are Masai women from Kenya.

"No matter where we live, no matter how our circumstances are the love for our children crosses the universe.

I have a deep respect and admiration for your dedication to make your children’s lives better and the care you give.

Greetings from a mother of twin girls age 9 living in South Africa."

This is my message to the courageous women of the Masai tribe.

Michelle, creator Molly Moo, is traveling to Northern Kenya this March and is taking messages of support from mums all over the world to the Masai women. So simple, yet I know it will mean a lot to these remarkable women. Will you take part?

Enjoy your day,
Mireille xx

Corn vs Tomato #13

2012-01-13T06:17:00.007+02:00

(My photo a day, turned more into a blog post a day.... ;-)

So I am having for one month long (because I am not sure I could do this any longer, I get bored!) A-SOUP-A-DAY!

We LOVE soups around the house here, it's so nourishing and I feel every bowl of soup fills your body with love and joy!

I started with Sweetcorn Chowder from Bill Granger (he is one of my favorite chefs, simple & fresh!) I found it on Almost Bourdain, see here for recipe.

This is a soup the girls ADORED!! They loved it so much!! And it is easy to make, a meal in 30 minutes! Perfect for a week day. I served it with some garlic bread, and me and the girls devoured it. YUMMY!!

The next day I made a Roasted Tomato Soup with Crostini, I found the recipe via my favorite food search engine Food Gawker and this brought me to a link of Joyilicious, see here for the recipe.

The soup was completely made from scratch, actually the other one too, but in this recipe more steps were involved. First you had to roast the tomatoes and garlic in the oven and since I made a double portion this was quite some work... coring, slicing the tomatoes, seasoning and in the oven. For all the effort the end result was actually not as spectacular as I would have hoped... In total this soup took me almost 2 hours to make, while the other one was on the table in less than 45 minutes!

So for me and the girls the winner was absolutely Bill Granger's Sweetcorn Chowder!! He made this soup for the first time when he was 7 years old, I told my girls this and now they want to try and make it the next time. But in his latest book which I got for Xmas he has a slightly different version of this soup, more with an Asian twist, so next time we will try this one!

This book is by the way just FABULOUS!! The pictures are so beautiful and the recipes are totally up my alleyI already saw tons of recipes that I am going to try!!

So what is your favorite soup? Do you like the creamy ones or the broth types?? I actually really love a good brothy one, with a deep and intense broth, homemade of course!! I prefer to make only fresh soups, everything from scratch, but it still has to be quite easy and fast on the table... so my search goes on for the most yummilicious soups!!

More to follow!
Mireille xx

Feel free to post your favorite, I need inpiration!!

Things around the house #12

2012-01-12T06:37:00.002+02:00

The other day I was walking with my camera in my hand and my eye caught some of the items I have hanging around the house.. so here a peek into my home. The things I have hanging and standing around.

I realize I have not yet made new pictures of this house, should do soon... you never know when we need to move again ;-)

African Pop Art made by some kids with disabilities in a home in Pretoria, I love the colors, so vibrant!

African tribal jewelry from shells & bones. Quite heavy to hang around your neck!

dried Protea ~ the national flower of South Africa. When they are fresh they have this soft pink color, but dried they actually are very special as well.. so I always keep them for a while. This flower is like a work of art ~ beautiful!!

When you live in all these different countries like us you do gather and collect things from all over the world... these are some African inspired items. But I have items from Asia, Europe and the USA in my house as well... it is an eclectic mix.

What is your designing style? Do you collect things from all over the world? Is your house eclectic, modern, country, antique?
Tell me about it!

Mireille xx

Korean Dinner #11

2012-01-11T06:31:00.003+02:00

While living here in South Africa I got more introduced to Korean food. Not just the only hot pot that you eat in the restaurants, no to proper home made Korean food!!

And I must tell you: I LIKE!!

It's a new combination of flavors for me... not like my usual South East Asian that I have been so used to. No this is a different way of combining great and yummy flavors.

Thanks to my friends Hyun and Stella they have been teaching me some Korean dishes, and I kind of combined them all together in my own fusion way! Just to mix things up a bit, I made it like a combined dinner and I am sure that Stella and Hyun are NOT making it like this, at least not combining like I did. But I had to think of my baby girls and what they like to eat for dinner, so I combined their most favorite of ALL, which is crispy flavored nori (seaweed) sheets with sushi rice and combined that with Bulgogi beef.

Then I also made the Goo Jul Pan, these are very thin pancakes with a topping of yummy ingredients, but the pancakes I didn't make, no I followed the lead of my friend Stella and pickled some horseradish root for 24 hours. First I cut them in thin slices and then I pickled it in vinegar:sugar:water = 1:1:1 and added a bit of salt. So instead of pancakes I used my slices of horseradish as a base.

I will tell you: THIS IS GOOD!!

As a topping I shredded carrots, cucumber, marinated some wild exotic mushrooms, and separated some egg yolks from the white and made a thin pancake from the whites and a thin pancake from the yolks, cut these in strips and you all top then on the sliced radish. To make it complete you add one of these sauces: Gyeoja & Kanjang dipping sauce and pop it in your mouth.

What an explosion of taste and texture this is!! YUM YUM YUM! I really can't get over it how delicious this is!!

You have to try to make this!! You can do this, when you follow the recipes!!

I will give you the links, if you promise me to try this and come back to me, and thank me for missing this the whole last decennial of your life!!

For the Bulgogi ~ marinated beef that I served with sushi rice and we wrapped it ourselves in crispy fried and seasoned nori sheets.

1-1.5 lbs. of thinly sliced rib-eye steak purchased from a Korean market. Or you can slice your own rib-eye or sirloin steak across the grain in paper thin slices. Partially freezing the beef helps with cutting clean slices.

Marinated at least for 1 hour in:
1/3 cup of soy sauce
3 Tbl white sugar
1 Tbl sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 shallots, sliced into medium moon shaped slivers
2 green onions including the white parts, finely sliced into small pieces
2 Tbl toasted sesame seeds
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp of fresh ginger, finely minced
2 pinches of black pepper
sliced mushrooms (optional)

Then up to the other exciting part of my dinner, the Goo Jul Pan. Really you have to make this once, and you will be hooked.
Here is the link to the recipe I used: I Korean Food

I looks more daunting then it is really. And if you skip the crepe pancakes and instead do the radish it makes it easier and I also believe MUCH tastier!!

좋은 날이 있다! = Have a good day! (in Korean)
Mireille xx

Pinterest #10

2012-01-10T06:33:00.002+02:00

I joined P.I.N.T.E.R.E.S.T

Are you part of it??

You must know what it is??

Or have you been living under a rock??

I am sure not, as MY reader, you know what it is for sure!! But in case you didn't know.....

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

What Can You Do with Pinterest?

Redecorate your Home!
Plan a Wedding!
Find your Style!
Save your Inspirations!
Save Your Recipes!

and all that in just ONE PLACE!!

Their Mission

Their goal is to connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting. They think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.

If you like?? Go to: Pinterest

Let's do some pinning together!! Are you in?

Mireille xx

Crazy hair #9

2012-01-09T06:56:00.002+02:00

The hot tub or jacuzzi is a nice change from the pool, since the water is so much warmer. So the kids jump in from hot to cool and back again. They love that!

Look at our funny hair is JJ saying....

And you can see Aviv thinking: "Girls can be weird" but he is so much in love with JJ that he takes it all in and enjoys these funny girls!

Yes... you read that right... JJ has a boy friend.... :-)
They are even exchanging gifts... so cute!!

Now Jezz and Elle are a bit jealous....

Girl drama is starting!!!!

Have a good day!
Mireille

Sushi for the kids #8

2012-01-08T06:27:00.001+02:00

It is still Xmas break and the sun is hot, so the kids are in the pool all day and that gives them a big appetite, so I made some sushi for them.

But only with ingredients they like!!

So I call it Sushi for Kids.

The ingredients are:

* sushi rice
* nori wrappers
* egg omelette
* cucumber
* carrots, a bit softened in a bit of oil/water to make it not so crunchy
* tuna with mayo
* spam from a can, cut in strips and browned a bit in oil
* salmon

Then I just made a few combinations with these ingredients and the kids LOVED them!!

Although 2 of them were not so sure, so an hour later I made them something else...

Oh well, the maid and gardener ate all the left-over sushi and they were so HAPPY!!

Enjoy your day,
M xx

Summer Fun #7

2012-01-07T06:01:00.002+02:00

OK, not one today... but 2, since sometimes that has more effect :-)

Who is jumping first?

Me! Says Elle, while Aviv, Jasmine and Juliet are watching while she jumps into the pool.... so much fun!!

Greetings from a sunny South Africa everyone!!

How is the weather on your side?

M xx

a photo a day ~ 6 (Praying Mantis)

2012-01-06T04:34:00.000+02:00

Dirk and me saw a praying mantis in the garden, but we thought it was a 'wandelende tak'/ stick insect at first but then we called the girls and they told us: NO, this is a praying mantis!!

And they were so right!!

These girls are so much smarter than us in the animal world.....

I asked them to pick it up, so I could take a close up photo, but they didn't want to do that since these animals can bite. I didn't believe them, so I googled it and YEP they were right AGAIN! Although it only bites like an ant bite, so doesn't really hurt that much but Jasmine and Juliet were not in the mood even for an ant bite... so I just took a picture in the grass....

Oh well, I can't make them do anything these days anymore :-(

Are your children such good listeners and do whatever you ask them to do??

Ciao, M xx

A photo a day ~ 5 (LemonGrass & Lavender)

2012-01-05T06:55:00.005+02:00

LemonGrass & Lavender ~ Cooking around the world.

I am starting with cooking classes as of Wednesday, February 1st, from 8:30 - 13:00

Sign up now! Full = full!

Fun ~ Learning ~ Eating ~ Drinking ~ Creating!

The themes will be Asian, herbs & spices, quick & healthy, vegetarian, Mediterranean, meals under 30 minutes and so much more!

I can't wait to start :-)

See also my page on Facebook: LemonGrass & Lavender

Hope to see you!
Mireille xx

A photo a day ~ 4 (weaver bird)

2012-01-04T06:05:00.002+02:00

This little guy is working so hard, he deserves another photo a day.

Look at him he rips long strips from palm trees and then builds his nest, mostly from the inside out, it is really a work of art!

Weaver birds, also known as weaver finches, get their name because of their elaborately woven nests (the most elaborate of any birds!)

And that in my garden, so we can follow him while he is working so hard to attract a female bird.

What kind of birds do you find in your garden??
Mireille xx

A photo a day ~ 3

2012-01-03T06:59:00.003+02:00

We bought a new bird feeder for the garden and it attracts so many weaver birds! This male is even building his nest next to the feeder.... I am not sure if this is a smart move, because so many birds fly in and out to get some seeds, the babies in this nest could never have a quite moment!

The nests are really intricate but the females are very picky and decide after the male has build it if she accepts it or not...

By the way... how are your new year's resolutions for the New Year coming along??? Are you still going strong, or haven't started yet... or gave up already??

I am in between...

Love, M xx

A photo a day ~ 2

2012-01-02T14:53:00.000+02:00

The party was all in WHITE with one ACCENT color, the girls choose black.

Here they are getting ready for their performance....

A photo a day ~ 1

2012-01-01T11:27:00.003+02:00

I hope I can do this for a whole year... one photo a day, a snippet of our life here in SA.

We had a New Year's bash at our house with about 35 adults and 25 kids....

Fireworks could not be left out!

We started the New Year with a BANG!

Happy New Year to you all!!

2012-01-01T06:42:00.006+02:00

Goodmorning 2012!!

Did you all survive the big party last night??

How are you feeling the first day of the New Year??

Like me... pretty hang over??

Or as fit as a spring chicken??

Well, I like to tell you something about a tradition we Dutch people do on the first day of the New Year.

You know that in Holland it is cold now.... REALLY COLD!! (Not like here in South Africa, and I am glad I am not there now!)

So on New Year's Day some... a lot of crazy Dutch people like to dive into the freezing cold water of the North Sea in order to start the first day of the year 'refreshed'!!

This is known as the so called 'Nieuwjaarsduik'. And this tradition has been going on since 1965 were only 7 people started this swim, now more and more people are joining every year. Even from abroad people are coming over to make this cold dip.

UNOX, part of Unilever sponsors this event and gets loads of attention. Every year they try to find in between the huge crowds a pretty girl with some nice assets and they declare her the Unox Girl. Well, every young girl is trying to have her 15 minutes of fame, so they brave the cold and cold water to get the attention of the camera. In hopes to become the new Unox girl.

Here some examples of some Unox Girls and wannabees. This girl on the right was actually one of the Unox girls.

By the way, the temperatures of the water in the North Sea around this time of the year is 6 °C (43 °F) and the temperature of the air is around freezing. So pretty cold to run around in your bathing suit!! Just to get noticed....

Well, my day will be a nice and relaxing with some healthy brunch dishes, and maybe a dip in our pool which is at least 29 °C (85 °F).

What will you do on your first day of the New Year??
Share it with me.

Mireille xx

The Amazing Orange Cake...

2011-12-24T22:27:00.004+02:00

As Jill Dupleix says on her website: "very now and then, a recipe comes along that is set to take over the world. The Amazing Orange Cake is just such a recipe".

Since Jasmine and Juliet are into baking these days I thought this was a good Holiday recipe we could make.

So yesterday we, or I must actually say: JJ & Jezz made this cake. Although they baked it, they haven't tried a slice yet... that is the part. They like to bake, but then they are not really interested in eating, and then Dirk and me are stuck with a yummy cake, but way too much for us. So that's why I don't like to bake!!

Here the girls are getting all the ingredients together, and buttering the pan. When you click on the link above it will bring you to the recipe. We halved the recipe, since this was a huge cake, and half is already for a 22 cm pan, which is more than big enough!

Mixing part is so much fun, they took turns!

And then the end result.... not bad for a first attempt! And the girls are so proud of themselves :-)

It's a very yummy cake, but my friend Dunke makes a better version!! So Dunke, next time I'll come and get your recipe, because nobody beats your yummilicious Orange Cake!!

Have a wonderful Xmas all!!
Mireille xx

Last day of school.... Hooray!

2011-12-23T10:01:00.005+02:00

The girls had a Christmas celebration at school, with some snacks and crafts before every body went on a 3 week vacation.

All excited that it is over and vacation can start!!

Here, JJ is decorating a small box to put some ornaments in they are making next. It was also twin day at school, that means that each kid had to choose a friend and they had to dress up the same for the day. I have no pictures of that because most of the kids already dressed back in their own clothes by the time the Xmas celebration started where the parents were invited to.

Juliet and her teacher Ms. Gina.

In between the different crafts the kids had a chance to have a snack and a drink. Here Jasmine with a few of her friends.

Jasmine and her teacher Mrs. Jackson.

Both decorating their boxes.

Jasmine with one of her classmates.

These are some of the examples the kids could make from the edible dough.

But Jasmine seemed a bit daunted by the idea, although later she made a few cute ones....

Xmas break is a bit lonely here, since most of the families go back to their home countries to celebrate with their families. But we are staying here, which we actually like a lot. The weather is gorgeous, the city is not so crowded and we are looking forward having our friends Ginster and Peter over for Xmas and a few days thereafter.

We will catch up on our good times together in Thailand....

What are your plans for Xmas?
Are you traveling to family or staying home?

Mireille xx

Merry Christmas to you all!!

2011-12-16T09:46:00.003+02:00

Since last year most of my cards only arrived in March and some didn't even get theirs, this year I will only do an electronic version. So please consider this our Holiday greetings to you and your family!!

The beautiful picture was made by my friend Kate Morrison from Max & Mimi Photography and this version is edited and made into a card by Karen Lim from Story of Bing.

If you didn't get the card by email, that means either your email bounced back or I don't have your email address, so here the text that I wrote into my newsletter this year. I hope by posting it here that everybody got our message.

Hello friends and family,

Since last year most of my cards only arrived in March or not at all, this year an E-letter. We have reached our 3rd year here in SA and moved to another house while still enjoying the life in the Southern Hemisphere. We enjoy the weather & the many weekend trips we are able to make in this beautiful country.

The girls are 9 years old and in 4th grade now and doing just wonderful at school. Dirk is busy with work and has been making some major changes with some great progress. Hopefully the company will go only upwards from now, although the crisis is felt everywhere!

I am enjoying my life here as well, keeping busy with the usual stuff like many book and cooking gatherings, school activities, social life with loads of interesting woman from all over the world. Photography, volunteer work and other interesting and fun stuff keeps me occupied.

As most of the previous years we travel quite a bit, and this year we went to Incredible India in March. The girls and I visited Mumbai and Delhi, and it was truly an amazing journey!! So fun to meet old friends again!
Over the summer we went for 2 weeks to the Netherlands and 6 weeks to the USA, where we hooked up with so many old and new friends, it was a great trip and we cherish those memories for life.

Besides these 2 overseas trips we did many other local trips here in South Africa. The country is gorgeous and we like to explore it as much as possible while we are here!

We also had many friends and family visiting us this year and we hope to see even more the coming year we will be here, so are you up for it? Come and stay with us, you will be amazed how beautiful South Africa is!!
Even after 3 years, it is still strange to celebrate Xmas in the summer but it has is advantages too. While we are staying here for the holiday season to celebrate with our dear friends Ginster & Peter the girls can swim in the pool every day during their school break, while we are just relaxing!

Wishing you all a festive holiday season and may the coming year be full of joy, health & happiness!

Love, Dirk, Mireille, Jasmine & Juliet xox

and for my Dutch readers:

Hallo vrienden en familie,

Omdat vorig jaar onze kaarten pas in maart aankwamen of helemaal niet, doe ik het dit jaar met een electronisch bericht. We zijn nu al ruim 3 jaar hier in Zuid Afrika en inmiddels verhuisd naar een ander huis. Maar het bevalt ons nog steeds goed. Het weer is echt fantastisch en er zijn nog zoveel plekjes te bezoeken dat we nog geen zin hebben om ons hele boeltje weer te pakken. Dus blijven we nog een jaartje of 2.

De meiden zijn nu 9 jaar en zitten in de 4e klas van de lagere school, oftewel groep 6. Ook volgen ze NL’se les 1x in de week en zijn aardig op niveau. Maar het Engels overheerst tegenwoordig toch wel.

Met Dirk en ik gaat het ook goed, hij is druk aan het re-organiseren op het werk, veel veranderingen de laatste tijd, want de crisis is nog goed merkbaar. Maar het gaat de goede kant uit en hopelijk zien we een stijgende lijn vanaf nu. Ik hou me nog steeds druk bezig met allerlei kooklessen, boekenclubs, fotografie en vrijwilligerswerk. In plaats van kooklessen te volgen ga ik volgend jaar beginnen om ze te geven, op verzoek van verschillende vrienden hier. Ben benieuwd hoe dat gaat lopen!

Zoals de meeste jaren reizen we redelijk veel. In Maart zijn de meiden en ik naar India geweest. Daar hebben we Mumbai en Delhi bezocht, wat echt ongelooflijk mooi was! Leuk om wat oude vriendinnen van mij te bezoeken en gelijk er een culinaire tocht van gemaakt. Heel bijzonder!

Tijdens de grote zomervakantie zijn we 2 weekjes in NL geweest en 6 weken in Amerika. Heel veel vrienden en familie bezocht en heel wat kilometers afgereden, zoals gewoonlijk in de States! Maar naast deze 2 buitenlandse trips hebben we ook weer heel wat nieuwe plekjes van ZA bezocht. Er is zoveel moois te zien!

Wat we altijd erg leuk vinden is als vrienden of familie op bezoek komen en dit jaar hadden we ook weer een aantal op visite hier. En we hopen dat jullie ook nog komen! Aangezien we nog even blijven hebben jullie de kans om deze kant uit te komen en op safari te gaan, wat echt een super ervaring is!!

De kersttijd is weer aangebroken en het blijft raar om dat in de zomer te vieren. Dit jaar komen vrienden van ons, die we hebben leren kennen in Thailand, Ginster en Peter ons bezoeken, dus dat wordt super gezellig!

We wensen jullie heel fijne feestdagen en een gezond en gelukkig 2012!

Liefs, Dirk, Mireille, Jasmine & Juliet xox

Movies, X rider & making your own sushi all in 1 afternoon.

2011-12-14T09:00:00.006+02:00

I haven't been posting for a while now, because my pictures take forever to upload, but it seems to go a bit better these days, so let me try to add some posts with only a few pictures and try to get back onto my schedule!

A few weeks ago I went with the girls and their friend Cathlynn (our neighbor) to the movies at Montecasino. They wanted to see the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ~ part 1. But here this movie is rated PG13 and the girls are only 9. Although it was fine with me, since they have seen them all so far. So I told them to stay on the side when I purchase the tickets, so the seller doesn't see that the girls are younger. But then when we walked towards the theatre with their popcorn and drinks a lady called us back.... but we just pretended we didn't hear her!! LOL and watched the movie. So much fun to be to have a naughty mom the girls were saying! :-)

Then the girls wanted to go into the X Rider, a simulated ride where you get wind, snow, bubble effects and water sprinkled upon you and the chair moves up and down and left to right. You have to wear those 3D glasses and the girls totally dig this every time we go to Montecasino.

After they were full of adrenaline of the shaking and movements of the X Rider we went to YuMe for sushi. Juliet and Cathlynn love sushi, Jasmine goes for a safer option; fried noodles. We were sitting at the sushi belt when we ordered some special sushi that was not on the belt, so the sushi maker asked the girls if they wanted to make their own order.

And YES that sounded like a lot of fun!!

And here Juliet and Cathlynn on another sushi outing together! These girls love the good life!

Another fun Wednesday afternoon here in South Africa!

Life = good!

Enjoy your day,
Mireille

Meeting with Masterchef contestant Alvin Quah

2011-11-24T08:55:00.008+02:00

Last week one of the contestants of Masterchef Australia ~ series 2, Alvin Quah was in town for a cooking demonstration at the Good Food Studio at PnP on William Nichol. And since I am a huge, and I mean HUGE fan of this cooking series, I just had to go!!

So I asked around and 2 of my friends, Paige and Janet wanted to join me for this fun event. So we went!

And it was FABULOUS!!

Alvin is a funny guy, joking while cooking away. Chatting with us, the public, about 40 people, some who want to try out for the Masterchef South Africa that is starting soon, some just wanting to have a fun morning while joking away with Alvin.

There were also some guys from the Gourmet Guys, and they wrote an article about Alvin's cooking demonstration as well, see here.

Me, I just love to see this guy in person, who amongst the other 24 contestants I have been following on TV for weeks!! So just a cool day!

He made 3 dishes for us, in a snap. After that we were able to meet & greet and have our books signed, if you bought one that is. We could not taste his food unfortunately because he made only 3 dishes, 1 portion size and the crowd was too large, but Paige, Janet and me went back afterwards and tried his dishes anyway.... sneeky of us ;-)

His 3 dishes are all Asian inspired, since his background is Malaysian, so right up my alley... all Asian food is!

Here is what he made: Kung Po Chicken, Buddhas Garden and a Bruised Salad. (This almost is the same as the Thai Green Papaya Salad, without the papaya).

Alvin didn't win the competition, he ended up 6th, but his endearing personality makes him one of the favorites from series 2, at least I find!!

He has his own website, see here and he hopes to open an Asian tapas bar and to release a cookbook of his and his mum's Malaysian-inspired recipes soon. For now I just have the Masterchef Cookbook, which I am happy about! But will look out for his own recipe book.

Are you a fan of the Masterchef cooking series?? Do they broadcast in your country??
I am looking forward to the next series, hopefully coming soon!!
Mireille xx

National Adoption Day!

2011-11-19T06:26:00.014+02:00

November is National Adoption Awareness month, and today is THE National Adoption Day!

Each year I write something about the moment our life changed forever!

The day that Jasmine and Juliet entered our lives... that day was: July 27, 2002 at 10 am I got a phone call from the Birth mother who I had met twice before, once to visit her daughters and help her to support with some powdered milk and other items she needed to keep these little bundles of ~~joy~~ worry alive. And the other time to go with her and the babies to the hospital to give them their shots and a check up. In her mind, the Bmother already had a plan for us... which I was totally oblivious of.

See, our adoption was not done via an agency, on that day, July 27th, a month after I had seen the girls for the first time, the Bmother asked me at 10 am if I would like to raise her children, she took me by surprise!! But she explained that it would be good Karma for her if she would give her daughters a better chance in life. She had observed me for a while, she talked to my helper and she knew this was the best for her precious little babies. So how could I deny that offer?? I talked to Dirk about it and at 12pm, just 2 hours later we were the parents of these beautiful twins. Dirk laid eyes on them for the first time, he only briefly heard about my previous visits with the babies, so quite the change in HIS life too!!

November is Adoption Awareness Month, and I know some of you out there are thinking, pondering, shall we go for this route?, shall we adopt? How hard is it, what are the hurdles? Are we prepared??

I can tell you, we hadn't even thought about this step yet... at the moment I accepted the Bmother's offer to raise her children on July 27th, 2002 I had THREE EMBRYOS implanted in my belly, I could have been pregnant with triplets at the moment we accepted ~~these~~ my twins. Going through my last IVF cycle, not knowing if any of these embryos would catch on, I accepted the twins with open arms. Because how can you say NO to a desperate plea of a mother to accept and raise her children?? I couldn't! A week later I found out that none of the embryos had nestled in my womb...

So were we prepared?? NO! Was it difficult?? YES! But wonderful at the same time! Was it daunting and were there moments that I had no clue what to do next?? YES!
But wasn't it the most precious moment of all times in my life when I saw these babies and could not completely wrap my head around the fact that I was the mommy of not ONE but TWO gorgeous little faces and cute tiny bodies. 3 months old, I will never forget those first few days... overwhelming! But oh so precious!!

We accepted the offer that changed our lives and went on from there... it took us 13 more months to make those little twin girls our official children! 13 months of agony, difficulty, desperation at times because the paperwork didn't go well at all!! And we weren't even sure if we could actually keep these babies!! What if they denied this private adoption?? After taking care of them for 13 months, till the LAST day I wasn't sure if we could keep them!! That part was hell!! I loved the fact of taking care of them, holding them, loving them, from day 1 they were MY babies. But everybody around me was thinking: "Who is she that she thinks that she can keep them?" There is NO private adoption law in Thailand, so that made the case so difficult, but in the end we prevailed. And we had the official documents in our hands and flew to the USA to start our new life as a family of four!!

Dirk being transferred to the USA after 2 months when we got the girls, a journey of 30 hours from door to door to Thailand. Me alone with the girls on the other side of the world, going through all the firsts alone... not easy to say the least!
Dirk flying every other month to Thailand just for a weekend to get some paperwork done, appear in front of the child protection board and be there in person for all the legal actions to adopt a child. Every time he flew twice for 30 hours, to be in the country maybe for 1 or 2 days, just to do the legal work and go back to his new job in the USA.

Since we didn't plan this adoption, it came on our path, it's what happened to us overnight, so no long discussions beforehand about the pro's and con's of adoption. In an instant we were the proud parents of Jasmine and Juliet. Think of this story, when you are in the process of adopting but don't know for sure if this is the right thing for your family, and see the end result. Just keep in mind the big picture, don't worry about the little things, it will all work out!!

To us this is the BEST instant decision we have taken so far in our lives!! So when you are thinking of adoption, don't think too long!! Go for it!! It will be the best decision in your life too!
You can never plan for a pregnancy, it just doesn't work out like that in life, the same counts for adoption. Don't think of the hurdles, yes you will come across a few, but in the end it is all about the end result and that is a precious child that you can love, hold, cuddle with forever!! More worth than those few hurdles...

Believe me... I have been there!

Adoption is a blessing in our lives!

And as I said in our adoption announcement: "Miracles do happen!" I still believe in that statement.

Just look at these beautiful little girls...

When we think about adoption, we often forget about the Bmother. For me, she is the hero of our story. The bravery and LOVE that it took to give not only one, but two children to a woman she merely knew but felt out of true devotion to her most precious possessions in life, that this is what she had to do.

To me the gift of life is the easiest to accept but the hardest to give!

B is for the bravery of putting your children first
I is for the interest you have in your children
R is for remaining true to what you believed is best
T is for the tears you shed
H is for the hours you spend pondering adoption
M is for the months you were pregnant
O is for the overwhelming and mixed emotions
T is for the terrific woman you are
H is for the honor you deserve
E is for the experience of labor
R is for the reward of choosing life

by Leslie Gallimore

Enjoy your day, and may this be a very special day!
Mireille xx

Happy Birthday Dicky Dick!!

2011-11-13T08:37:00.004+02:00

It's Dirk's Birthday today!!

Congratulations to my sweet hubby of 15 years... yeah time flies when you are having fun!!

The girls made breakfast for their daddy today, JJ prepared the eggs and Jezz decorated the table with flowers and all, presents around Dirk's plate... the girls are growing up and being more and more independent :-)

The sun is shining, it is a gorgeous and super hot day today and we have a party later on with the theme:

MEZZE & MOJITOS!!

So busy preparing for the food and drinks today and having fun later on!!

Happy Birthday schatje!!
Love always, Mireille xx

The boy from Ipanema...

2011-11-10T07:32:00.005+02:00

.. Is a song sung by my dear friend Maci Miller and I am listening to it right now, early in the morning while the sun is shining here in South Africa and my friend is hopefully sleeping in her bed in Philly and thought... let's write a blog post about this wonderful and amazingly talented friend of mine!!

We met through the blogging world since both have a daughter(s) adopted from Thailand, we started connecting with each other about 3 years ago and immediately hit it off. Since then have met her a few times and spent even a vacation together in Bethany Beach last summer. Maci and her daughter Ruby are close to my heart and I am proud to say that this talented singer is my friend!!

You have to listen to this smooth and beautiful voice singing the boy from Ipanema (just click on the link), I really do like to share this talented lady with you!!

So go and click, sit back and just relax and listen and even better, go out and buy her CD's. She has a few jazzy/blues CD's but also a children's CD with the most sweetest lullabies for your tiny baby!! When I listen to the song Butterfly Moon I get chills running down my spine, so angelic is her voice!!

On this link, you will find a selection of her songs, click on each one and listen to it, it is just so stunning!!

And don't just believe me... here are some press releases of Maci, the words don't lie!

“Miller's silky voice, great stage personality, and impressive interpretations of jazz standards make her one of the top young female artists in the jazz world.” — Sanibel Captiva Islander

“Beautiful songstress Maci Miller offers up 10 original diamond gems. Lush orchestrations and sultry vocals. This albums spells hot romance and enchantment. A Very Good Night indeed!” — Bo Lewis, Host, Big Band Dance Party

“Her versatile voice ranges from whispery, a la Marilyn, to poignant and yearning, a la Lady Day, to clear and elegant as fine crystal, a la Ella.” — Carol Allen, The Whoot, Atlantic City, NJ

My day started off so well, while listening to her voice, it really lifted my morning! A good start of the day!
Go out and buy her CD's and your day will be starting or ending just as fabulous as mine!! Her songs go well with a smooth glass of vino by the fire place... and Xmas is coming up, so if you don't know what to get... here is my golden tip for you!!

PS: If you buy her children's CD Butterfly Moon you will even support the Mercy center for children. A gift that gives back.
The project was inspired by the adoption of her first child and is aimed at helping to improve life for children in orphanages and children living with HIV/AIDS.

And since November is the National Adoption Month, isn't this a wonderful gift for friends or family who are connected with the adoption world?? Or are thinking of adopting...

Carpe Diem!
Mireille xx

Weekend at the pool

2011-11-07T08:09:00.008+02:00

This weekend we had some sunny and warm weather and on Friday the girls went each to their own friend for a sleep-over while we had some great Thai food at my friends Nacha's house. But on Saturday the girls decided to sleep over with their friends at our house and the whole Saturday and Sunday they spent by the pool.

Wow, how these girls can tan in just 2 days... it still amazes me! It takes me weeks to build a tan line, but the girls have it just in one weekend! Not fair ;-)

Here some pictures of the lazy and fun weekend.... (before I start blogging about the rest of my trip with my dad).

After a dip in the pool, the girls: Cathlynn, Jasmine, Juliet and Mi Young like to dry and tan in the trampoline... nice & hot!

But not long and they go back into the water...

Hmm... this is so nice! BTW do you notice my new pool has a black bottom, so that's why the water looks so dark...

Then the girls find a new way of entertaining themselves... jumping off the wall on the back off the pool. Jasmine goes first!

Here she goes, without hesitation! Whoa!!

Juliet is not sure... it looks scary from there! And so high!!

Finally she tries it... only once. Normally she is the braver one of the 2, but today Jezz is the hero!

JJ wants to try again and also Mi Young comes up to see if she likes to give it a try... but no!

Both rather lay in the sun and stay warm up there on that high wall....

But not Jasmine, she goes again and again, having so much fun!! Good for you Jezzy!!

Such a relaxing weekend!
These kids have a good life! (not that I am complaining hehe)

How was your weekend?
Did you do something fun?? Share it with me!

Have a Marvellous Monday!
Mireille xx

Panorama Route in Mpumalanga ~ part 1 of vacation

2011-11-04T07:02:00.015+02:00

Our vacation with my dad in Mpumalanga and Limpopo was divided in 3 parts. First we drove to Plumbago Guesthouse, a beautiful and unique little place with only 3 rooms. So you can imagine that we got the undivided attention of the owners Ilara & Robbie. The guesthouse is settled between banana and avocado farms at the end of an bougainvillea-lined drive way. So picturesque!
The house, the ambiance, the setting is so graceful and beautiful, we felt like visiting good friends instead of being guests of a B&B. The details in the rooms and the table setting was something I had never seen so pretty and fine! A great start of our vacation! From Plumbago we visited the Panorama Route, Blyde River Canyon and the gorgeous surroundings, cute towns in this part of SA we haven't seen so far in detail. We just drove through once, but now we actually had time to stop at places we found interesting. A worthwhile trip!!

The area we stayed in is called Hazyview, and now I can see why... always there seems to hang a mist, everything is foggy all the time. No wonder the gardens are so lush and green, this area is so wet and moist! So totally different than Joburg where it is dry and much more yellow.

The garden of Plumbago was my dream, all those herbs and cute flowers. I got inspired by her fresh use of herbs at every meal that as soon as we came home I planted my mini herb garden, but nothing compared to Ilara's little space of heaven!

The highlights of the Panorama Route are beautiful waterfalls, the greenest canyon on earth ~ Blyde River Canyon, caves occupied by men for 50.000 years and a cute mining village called Pelgrim's Rest. This is the area where the gold diggers used to hang out! Jasmine was wondering if there were still places where she could find a piece of gold... well, we didn't try to find it. We had other things to see! Like the Mac Mac Pools, a cute village full of crafts and a silk making studio! Who knew SA makes their own silk.... it's the only one in SA and we found it!!

God's Window was next ~ a gap in the Drakensberg escarpment with a view of the low veld and the Kruger National Park. And on real clear days you can even see Mozambique! Unfortunately it was a bit foggy, so the view was not that clear. But the walk up there through the rain forest was gorgeous!! Beautiful flora and fauna!

Next stop were the Berlin Falls, it plunges 48 meters deep into a creek. At every stop we made to see one of the viewing points on the Panorama route they had set up little stalls with women selling local crafts. I loved these older ladies, one even with a baby on her back, must have been her grandchild and we promised them on the way back from the climb to the waterfall to buy something. So she is holding the wooden cutting board I bought. Handmade and really nice wood! Our first souvenir on the trip!

Next was Bourke's Luck Potholes, named after Tom Bourke who predicted that gold would be found in this vicinity. The deep, cylindrical potholes have been scoured out over millions of years by sand and stones swirled round by the water. It is magnificent to see and it is hard to see on the pictures how huge this all is. But look at the one with the bridge (left under) and the people on it, then you get a feel of the hugeness.

Just magnificent!

The girls find the rocks fun to climb on and pose for us :-)

Although this day was not finished yet, but the pictures takes so so long to download I will do the rest another day. We just have to see it in stages....

Monkey's everywhere we stop for a drink or some food along the way. They are cheeky and steal the food out of your hands if you don't watch them closely!!

This one was following us the whole time waiting for our ice cream to finish, well we gave it gladly to him, just to get rid of him! They are a bit scary, if they would grab you of jump on you... you don't know what disease they carry with them?

Mom taking care of her young...

I love all the plants along the roads....

Till next time, enjoy your day!
Mireille xx

Halloween at school 2011

2011-10-30T10:58:00.009+02:00

Halloween weekend! And you know what I realize... the weather is so nice!!

My friends in Connecticut are having snow, so we would be in the snow as well if we didn't move to South Africa, how extra nice this weather is. Sunny and 75F, just so much easier to dress up! No layers underneath your costume!!

First the celebration at school.

Juliet's class.

The girls only.

Being silly or scary...

The boys of JJ's class.

Jasmine's class.

The girls only.

And the boys of Jezz's class.

Some decorations the room moms put up.

Cathlynn and Jasmine.

JJ & Jezz, now with the different make-up they look so different! And everybody thought the girls were wearing wigs, but this is their real hair. Just being a bit creative as you could read in my posting of yesterday.

Great make-up with the Grim Reaper!

Svenja, Jasmine and Cathlynn.

Rose, Juliet, Elle and Kirsten.

Now on Saturday we have the trick 'r treating in our estate. Jasmine, Mi Young and Juliet are getting ready for the trick 'r treating at night. After this pic was taking they decided they didn't look scary enough, so I had to put some finishing touches on them.

Hair whiter and more make-up, now they are ready to scare the neighborhood :-)

Such a fun weekend!

We had a BBQ in the drive way, or more like a block party with a few families while the kids went out trick 'r treating. Here the kids don't walk, but they all drive around in golf carts... wish now I had taken a picture of that! But I forgot!

How was your Halloween weekend?
Mireille

My daughter is a goth!

2011-10-28T07:10:00.006+02:00

But luckily it's just for Halloween and the girls are dressed up at school today!

Juliet is a goth prom queen and Jasmine is a goth mummy!

They were so excited to get dressed this morning, we woke up at 5:30 am to get ready. 2 girls doing their hair and make-up just at sunrise I was dreading of the moods, but it went smooth and really well!!

Last night we curled the hair in little buns on top of their head to make the hair curly so it is easier to make it wild, since straight hair is hard to tease and keep it wild... so all the effort started already last night.

Before...

and after.

Actually weeks ago we ordered the costumes from the USA and my good friend Candice brought it back to us on her last trip. South Africa has not such a great variety and of course the girls want to have something special so I ordered these costumes online at Halloween Express. They had the whole outfit including the shoes, because that was a very important part of the whole outfit, look at these funky shoes and the fishnet stockings!! It completes the outfit!!

Waiting for the school bus at 6:45 am just now, so happy with their looks, excited to go to school!

Later I will go to school as well, to see the parade and have the Halloween party at school. More pictures to follow in my next posting.

Happy Halloween to you all!!
Enjoy the funny, scary, unique, sassy, hip, bright and funky outfits!!

Mireille xx

Kruger & Blyde river canyon here we come!

2011-10-16T06:08:00.010+02:00

My dad is here and the girls have a week off from school, so time again for a SAFARI!!

We are leaving today, and this will be an amazing trip, so looking forward to it!

The weather is gorgeous and the trip we have booked is super exciting!!

First we are going to Mpumalanga, which means "the place where the sun rises". We will be staying 3 days in Plumbago guest house. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. We will be visiting the Blyde river canyon. While it is difficult to compare canyons world-wide, Blyde River Canyon is one of the largest canyons on Earth, and it may be the largest 'green canyon' due to its lush subtropical foliage. It has some of the deepest precipitous cliffs of any canyon on the planet. It is the second largest canyon in Africa, after the Fish River Canyon, and is known as one of the great wonders of nature on the continent.

The best view in the whole of the Blyde River Canyon is of the "Three Rondavels", huge, round rocks, thought to be reminiscent of the houses or huts of the indigenous people, known as rondavels. This canyon is part of the Panorama route. This route starts at the town Graskop and includes God's Window, the Pinnacle and Bourke's Luck Potholes. All these beautiful things we will see when we will drive the Panorama Route.

After 3 days in this area, with visiting canyons, waterfalls, cute little towns full of the real Africana stuff, we are driving into Kruger National Park. Which is one of the largest game reserves in Africa and one of the largest national parks in the world. It covers 19,485 square kilometres (7,523 sq mi) and extends 360 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from east to west.

All the Big Five (Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhino) game animals are found at Kruger National Park, which has more species of mammals than any other African Game Reserve (at 147 species). Also 517 species of birds are found at Kruger, 253 are residents, 117 non-breeding migrants, and 147 nomads.

At the Kruger we will stay at Rhino Post Safari Lodge where we will have our morning and evening game drives, also available at this lodge are Rhino Walking Safaris. We haven't done that yet, so you will go on foot and look for the Rhinos. Sounds great and we will see if we can do one. One these kind of safaris no kids are allowed. We will sleep in tented lodges, which I always like so much, because it gives you even a closer feel to nature and the animals!

To arrive at this lodge we have to drive about an hour through the Kruger park, and hopefully this will not happen to us!!

After 2 days we are going to Tzaneen and stay at the Fairview Hotel. From this place we are visiting the Magoebaskloof with its tea plantations and the Koedoes River Valley. Here we will also see the biggest Baobab Tree in the world. Also possible the oldest tree in the world, dating back 6000 years! And so far as I know the only tree with a bar inside – known as “The Tree Bar” or “The Baobab Bar”.

A wide range of tropical fruits are grown in the Tzaneen area, notably mangoes, bananas, oranges and avocados. Pine and Eucalyptus plantations are also a common sight in the area around the town, particularly toward Magoebaskloof and Haenertsburg. This area is much more sub-tropical than Johannesburg, so it will be nice to see some different vegetation.

All in all an interesting trip with loads to see and of course the highlight is the visit of the Kruger Park, where I am sure we will see the Big Five and tons of other animals.

This is my first trip that I booked through a travel agency here, normally I book and research everything myself but I found it so hard to this time to create a nice trip because I wanted to see so much and for the places in between it was so hard to find any good info on the web. So my friend Ingrid recommended me to go to African Surprise, a small travel agency run by Liesbeth Wijnkoop and she created this whole trip for me and even her prices were much much better than I could have ever booked it for. So I am happy that I did this. So for my friends who live here and want to have a trip booked locally or even anywhere contact Liesbeth at africansurprise@mweb.co.za She will create a trip of a lifetime for you!!

We will keep you updated when we are back how everything went!!
Mireille xx

a new kitten for Cathlynn

2011-10-15T13:59:00.004+02:00

Juliet's best friend Cathlynn, who is also our neighbor and in the same class as Jasmine (they are all 3 friends of course, but at the moment JJ & Cathlynn are besties) has a new kitten.

So cute!!

So adorable!!

And... of course...

JJ wants one too!!

But unfortunately mommy is kind of allergic to dog & cat hair, makes me sneeze and I get itchy eyes... so she can play with Cathlynn's cat.

Which is fun as well!!

JJ still has her hamster, but of course after a month or so.. it is not as exciting anymore and the kitten is new, we will see for how long that excites them.

Enjoy your weekend!
Mireille xx

~ Bandana Day 2011 ~

2011-10-12T07:27:00.004+02:00

Today is Bandana Day at school!

Every year the Sunflower Fund organizes this to bring more awareness for the South African Bone Marrow Registry to help save the lives of leukaemia sufferers in South Africa.

At school they make a small competition out of it, to encourage the children to all wear a bandana, specially bought for this occasion. By buying this bandana part of the proceedings go to the Sunflower Fund. The class with the most bandanas will get a small prize.

Jasmine and Juliet were excited to wear one today. Last year we also did this but then I did not realize that you HAVE to wear THIS bandana, and not just one you have at home. See here my post from last year.... The girls look so much younger with their missing front teeth. :-)

With buying a bandana for yourself, you'll buy hope and a new future for somebody else!
So go out and buy a bandana if you are living in South Africa!! For sale at any PnP or BP gas stations.

Have a wonderful day! I know we will because grandpa is coming today!! YEAH!!
Mireille xx

Paying Lobola....

2011-10-11T08:13:00.010+02:00

What is that??

I see you thinking??

Well, I was yesterday in a nail salon and the girl who was doing my hair was talking about that. She is living together with her boyfriend, but she thinks she is pregnant. So now she wants to get married, but he must FIRST pay the LOBOLA!

Lobola is a topic in South Africa that surfaces in everyone’s conversation across the colour and ethnic board. Lobola is the Xhosa word for dowry, paid for a bride as a sign of ubuhlobo (friendship) between the families and also serves as confirmation to the bride’s parents that the intended husband will be able to take care of his bride and subsequent family.
Lobola is still an essential part of African life, not only in Xhosa culture but also Zulu and other ethnic tribes of South Africa.

I thought in these modern times this is not done anymore, but YES, my nail artist who told me that her parents are dead and she is raised by her grandparents... now of course lives on her own, but they still want that LOBOLA!! But she wasn't sure if she wanted him as a husband, because he drinks too much. So she told me that after he paid the lobola she would leave him!!

How vicious!! I thought, but when I saw her smiling devious face, I was wondering, is he not coming after you and want his money back?? She told me that her grandparents in the rural area would have spent the money by the time he would come back to collect it. So NO, no returning of lobola, that is too bad for him!!

So you can see that the lobola is still a bit old fashioned but the rules are changing, because I am sure that in the olden days there would have been too much pride involved and if the girl would leave after the lobola is paid, some retribution would occur!

So then I asked how much is the price of a lobola?? Of course it all depends how wealthy a family is. But traditionally the Xhosa people were pastorialists and their wealth was determined by the number of cows they owned. In times gone by, young African grooms had to offer ten head of cattle for the bride’s hand.
Nowadays, the prospective groom has to provide the monetary equivalent of at least ten cows when lobola is negotiated with the bride’s family. (I have no clue what the price of a cow is?)

It is tradition that the bride’s family is not to be too hasty in their hospitality towards the groom’s family. At first glance the bride’s family does not appear particularly eager to part with their precious daughter! And thus before the groom’s family are permitted to enter the bride’s family homestead, a little negotiation to at least get past the gate is usually led by the ceremonious presentation of a golden egg – usually a bottle of something well matured and malty. They are then gingerly shown into the home, where they are met by the bride’s father and uncles.
Once inside the bride’s home, the anxious negotiators introduced themselves and produced an umvulamlomo. Directly translated from Xhosa, this is a mouth opener meant to get the negotiations under way. Although this bottle was not drunk immediately, it was welcomed by the bride’s family and thus African dowry negotiations kicked-off (led by the uncles only).

Lengthy lobola negotiations constitute a respectful, yet comically animated game of cat and mouse (or in Africa we would say a game of catch between a mighty lion and a graceful gazelle). The bride’s family is thus able to determine the sincerity of the groom’s marriage proposal.
Following the charade at the entrance gate to the bride’s family home, the next sequence unfolded. The groom’s family declared that their son had been blinded by a beauty from the visited household.
“What beauty? There are no beauties here!”, the bride’s family responded, with feigned shock and confusion.
The groom’s family then offered a third golden egg, this being another valued bottled of fine spirits.
“Ah, yes we do indeed have a beauty in our house. But she is much too young to be married and we’re not sure we want to lose our daughter so soon.”, lamented the bride’s family.
“Who will take care of us in our old age?”, they asked, very concerned.
Yet another golden egg emerged from the groom’s negotiators. With the resolve of the bride’s uncles now softened, the door to persuasion was opened for the formal negotiations of the dowry settlement.

A married Zulu woman vs a Maiden Zulu girl, dress code is totally different!

Traditionally, the bride’s family have a minimum dowry in mind. The groom’s family is required to negotiate a price within their reach, or one that they think is suitable. If a deadlock is reached (usually if the offered dowry price is too low), the groom’s delegation is promptly reprimanded by the bride’s family for insulting the bride’s father, and the groom’s negotiators are asked to leave, only to return if they are truly serious.
The groom’s family literally pick themselves up and depart the bride’s family home to re-strategise and establish a different approach to the lobola negotiations. These back and forth negotiations can quite easily take a couple of hours or an entire day for families to reach an agreeable dowry. Only once an amicable and befitting price has been achieved, can the groom’s delegation relax, drink the ceremonial umqoboti (traditional African beer) and eat traditional umgqusho (samp, served with beans and sheep). This denotes the bonding of the friendship between the two families.

source here.

Lobola is like a Dowry in the Indian and Pakistan culture, in the West it is not done. But then again I heard some comments of African men saying: "What about the diamond ring you pay for your bride? Isn't that the same?" I can see where they are coming from... So what do you think?? Is paying a diamond ring not another form of Lobola or Dowry??

Tell me how do you feel about this??
Mireille xx

a new Martha in the house??

2011-10-10T08:14:00.004+02:00

Jasmine and Juliet are both showing some interest in cooking and baking. So the other weekend JJ asked me to bake something, but she wanted to do it alone. At least as much as possible! OK with me!!

Brownies was the choice.

So here she goes; getting the ingredients together, mixing, pouring and licking... how fun is that last part!!

Cathlynn her friend came by and wanted to help as well, so both are decorating the brownie cake.

JJ has a go as well...

And see here the result! Normally brownies are made in a square tin, but today we wanted to decorate it with the hearts of powder sugar, so we made it round... tastes the same!!

YUM YUM! Like a good brownie, crunchy on the sides, but nice and gooey in the centre!!

Perfect brownie JJ!! Let's try something a bit more challenging the next time :-)

Are your kids into baking or cooking??

Enjoy your Marvellous Monday!!
Mireille

Eye in eye with a roaring lion....

2011-10-06T08:28:00.022+02:00

... and being licked by a blue tongue of an Giraffe, that is what we experienced recently.

We have some friends staying with us from Abu Dhabi and we went to the Lion Park last week. It is only 20 minutes from our home and you can come really close... and I mean REALLY close to the animals. So close that you come cheek to cheek with a giraffe... so close that you can touch its BLUE tongue. So close that you can feel the course hair of a Lion baby cub, so close that you can touch the feathers of an ostrich. Which is all SO FUN but also a bit scary!! Look at the faces of the kids and you see it all!

They are a bit scared but also fascinated by it all.... like kids feel the way towards Santa Claus... a bit scary, but want to go closer and sit on his lap...

The Lion Park is home to more than 85 Lions including rare White Lions, and many other carnivores such as Cheetah, Wild dog, Hyenas and a variety of Antelope indigenous to Africa. The White Lions that live here were used in the movie the White Lion. Home is a journey., if you haven't seen this one, go and rent it at your local store or buy it on DVD it is such a great movie for children and adults!! I had taped it, so the kids could see it after our visit to the Lion Park. And we just recognized our new made friends Letsatsi and Nkulu :-)
White Lion was nominated and won at the SAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography /DOP in a feature film. Best Music Composition in a feature film and Best Sound Design in a feature film.

A fun day we had, living our lives here in South Africa brings the kids so much closer to animals that they can't really experience anywhere else. Not like this, free in the wild. I mean here they are not free free, but also not in a cage, they roam around in this huge park and we can touch them, feed them, hug them even if you dare... but none of us dared!!

First we are off to pet the lion cubs, the kids were all so excited to see and touch them. We only petted them but you could hold them or sometimes even play with them, but today was a bit busy so we only had 5 minutes...

Then off to the Giraffe, he is so sweet but big. And when his face comes this close to my camera I am afraid that he will knock it out of my hands with his giant tongue!!

Look how huge his face is compared to Nick!

The kids love love to feed him, but Jezz got touched by his tongue I think by looking at her face... LOL

See how he curls his lips to eat as much as possible....

Then Lavul is going first to feed the Ostriches...

look at the faces of the kids... too funny!!

Nick went next, but JJ wants to try as well...

Here she goes.... Jezz is cupping her hand as well... in support! :-)

Ouch... he bit my finger!! But he has NO teeth!! So it is not too bad...

Look at Vicky.. she has the food in her hands... wants to try, but it too scared!! The excitement of the kids was just fabulous to see!!

While the kids are feeding the ostriches I come face to face and take this picture, the ostrich doesn't even mind me being that close, he is not interested in ME. He wants the FOOD!! He just had to turn his face and he could touch or pick my camera... but he didn't... pfew, I must say I was a bit nervous!! These animals can be vicious!!

Off to the Giraffe again, I want them close so I can take a picture, but look at them, all a bit wary....

But this gentle giant doesn't do anything, he just wants your food and lick your face if he gets the chance... LOL

Vicky gives him a pat on the neck, he is so sweet!

Nick gives him some pellets and JJ is getting away from his swaying neck...

Jezz stays a bit in the back row.. which is unusual! Normally she is the one who wants to touch and play with the animals, but today she was a bit careful. She loves the little creepers more I guess... These are too big for her!
Look at that huge tongue!

Lavul and Vicky are now more at ease to come closer to take a good picture. So much fun to be that close!!

The park is huge so now we are going to drive around to see all the other animals and the Lion, Wild Dog and Cheetah enclosure, but first we have a glimpse on the adult lions. Taking a nap all cosy together....

There are all kind of antelopes here in the park, this one is a male Blesbok.

Young Impala males.

Then we drive into the Lion enclosure. So the lions are wandering around freely here and you can drive with your car as close as you feel comfortable. Then you open your window and take pictures. Today they were lazy and just laying around, but I have been here before where the lionesses were attacking cars and ripping of the mirror of a car in front of us. The girls remembered this vividly and were so happy that today it was a lazy day....

The daddy...

The mommy....

and the baby.... so cute!!

And here a family together.

Our friend Letsatsi the White Lion, he is a giant!

And so beautiful!! But when he roars, you can feel it in the pit of your stomach!

In another enclosure we drive through we see wild dogs, these are very rare these days. African Wild Dogs are very social animals that live in packs of 5-20 individuals. These dogs are similar in size and shape to medium-large domestic dogs, but they are only distantly related to other canids.

And 2 cheetahs taking a nap and sometimes looking up at us, but not really bothered by our car that is driving by...

The cheetah is the one with the black crying mark in the face, I always mix them up with the leopard. Easy to remember now... C of Cheetah, C of crying mark, now I should not forget anymore :-)

Quite some celebs come to visit the Lion Park, its so much fun. See this link here, recently Shakira and Nathalie Portman were here. But also Clint Eastwood, Chris Daughtry and John Legend to name a few.

Shakira was here last year during the World Cup Soccer and she visited the Lion Park. She sang the official song of the FIFA World Cup 2010.

What a great time to live in AFRICA!!
Mireille xx