Memorial Day

Today is a public holiday when we remember the dead. It has a military focus whilst being distinct from Veteran's Day in November (same as our Remembrance Day). But there is also a remembering of all those we know who have died. It seems families make pilgrimages back to gravestones, and Walmart sell an amazing array of colourful plastic wreaths. You can attend the services at the graveyards and hear the roll of honour as they read out the names of loved ones, and you can request a special message to be read out with their name.
Whilst I am not suggesting we forget the dead, I am slightly bemused by it all- particularly this morning when I received an animated e-card wishing me a Happy Memorial Day!!

In the country....

I used to love Dire Straits 20 something years ago, so I was excited to find a new Mark Knopfler album- All the Roadrunning. The thing about it though is that he sings with Emmylou Harris, and it is a definite country album. I had never really noticed it before, but it really is a very small step for him to take, and one that seems quite seamless, until there I am, linedancing.......
And the bigger surprise? I absolutely love it!!!

Last week of school......

Well, I know you were all wondering what the guys got as an alternative to 'muffins with mom'.....and this week we have discovered the answer- 'doughnuts with dad'!!
Their tables were laid with laminated newspapers, and they received books too- 'My Dad is great.' Unfortunately, Emily lost her book, so Nigel is still not sure how great he is!!
It is amazing to think they finish school on thursday- for a VERY long time! And it seems no work will be done in these last few days!
Concerts, plays, parties, and gifts from the teacher all appear on the rota this week, and then an endless 12 weeks of summer!
The temperature is now constantly over 40 degrees (104).The other day I had left the car outside for an hour, and when I got in, it read 47(117)!! And it is still only May!!!
Thank goodness for swimming pools.......

Loot- and lots of it!!

Emily was 7 on thursday, and had a great day (measured by her, as she received everything on her wish list!!)
Her favourite present was her Heelys- shoes with wheels in the heel. They are huge over here, and kids skate around Walmart etc with amazing skill. She is slowly acquiring the necessary balance, but her enthusiasm for shopping has increased exponentially!! (Lots of flat, open space....)

She had five friends over for a sleepover on friday (eight in total!) and had an absolute blast! Swimming, pizza, more loot, cake, DVDs, and a pancake and bacon breakfast. Theoretically there was some sleep in between- but the house was only quiet from 10.30 to 5.00am!!

Times of refreshing

Nigel and I have just had 3 days away on our own, courtesy of the wonderful babysitting grandparents, and found this gorgeous hotel with little lodges dotted throughout lush green, tropical landscape. It was in the Scottsdale area of Phoenix (30 min drive) but felt a world away from normal routine.





We sat by the pool, read books, sauntered over the road for coffee, and had plenty of long, uninterrupted reflections on the meaning of life!! It was good to make space to do that, and allow our souls to be refreshed (or at least to start the process!!)

Only in Arizona

Sunday is Mother's Day here in the US, and today I got invited in to Emily's class for 'Muffins with Mom' !
The kids had decorated the classroom yesterday, and set up all their tables with handmade china plates for each of us. There were butterfly placemats, and booklets they had made, and the whole room looked beautiful.
There was a table laden with gorgeous fresh muffins, fruit, and Starbucks coffee.
I felt a little prickle in my eye, and realised the culture is getting to me .......I am becoming soppy and sentimental!!

I loved the booklet Emily made called 'my mom wears many hats' in which mom gets to be a teacher, engineer, chauffeur etc.
The best? My mom is a nurse. She makes me feel better when......she takes cacti out of my feet!!!

things which make me say 'eek....'

1: Well, we all know Nigel can talk.......but apparently he has met his match in Steve!! They have identical personality profiles, so I guess it makes sense, but they are seemingly exhausting themselves as neither of them knows how to stop!! Add Paddy in to the mix, with Greg (two more ENTPs) and it makes me glad I am not in Seattle..............

2: At the last minute, Nigel's sermon format was changed to an 'on platform' dialogue about the Kingdom with another pastor- no notes, no structure, no boundaries.......(apparently that is why it pays not to plan too far in advance!) . Now, I may be superwoman in the making, but I am slightly freaked by the thought of 200 people watching me have no idea what I will say..

3: Realising, having actually looked at the packets, that the nutritional difference between Pop Tarts and Raisin Bran is negligible!! (There is more fibre in the bran, but identical in sugars and carbs....) Not only is that scary in terms of breakfast, but makes a mockery of Tara's project- which, of course, we were all taking sooo seriously!!

4: Paul Richards' extensive collection of photographs of millipedes and spiders, and pink woodlice!
http://www.invertebrate-images.co.uk/index.html
(though I love the groovy images of minerals, and the style section)

A case of mistaken identity

For those of you who don't know, Steve is a Myers-Briggs consultant guru and we spent a long time last night trying to unravel the conundrum which is Sue Mallon.
Nigel, in a moment of dyslexic malopropism, once took the Myra Hindley test, and turned out to be an Extraverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Psychopath!!, but I have never quite fit into a defined personality type. So, it was a shock to find I had been barking up the wrong tree - I had made assumptions I was an I.S, and looked at all the 8 possibilities of that.....but apparently I am I.N.T.J.- and if they are my right-handed preferences, I have been operating using my left hand in at least two of these, and am seriously uderpotentialised. It turns out I am a very rare specimen overlaid with complications, but I am capable of being a highly competent, turbocharged superwoman!!! (see, I knew I wasn't shallow....)
In a strange way I quite like that idea, and I like the fact I am not easy to box- I am a unique kind of gal- and after putting the guys on the plane I shall spend my evening sewing a sequinned 'S' to my underwear.........

Frozen, or on the rocks?

Nigel came back from Ohio on Tuesday, and then Steve Cockram (Lifeshapes Europe) arrived from Sheffield yesterday. They fly to Seattle tomorrow with Paddy (and seemingly all preach to separate congregations on Sunday morning!) . They are running a Lifeshapes conference there next week which will keep them all out of mischief.....
In the meantime, the boys have a little time to strategise for global domination!

Today is ' Cinco de Mayo' - Mexican May Day- so it is obligatory to drink margaritas all evening.....maybe a few tortilla chips and salsa too! The strategising could get interesting.....

After a couple of drinks fiesta turns to siesta.........

things to do in 90 minutes....

Well, yesterday I tried the Safeway trip, but didn't think too hard about the time- 90 mins is waay too long for my sort of smash and grab shopping......but as it was 100 deg (38) outside I couldn't leave the stuff in the car and move on to more frivolity, so ended up loitering in the frozen food section! Not very productive or exciting.
Today I thought I would try the pedicure option. A very lovely friend gave me some money for my birthday (just for feet!) so I splurged on a 'luxury treatment'. Not only did I get to sit in a chair which massaged my back, I also had sea salt rubbed all the way up to my knees, a twisty ankle massage and a face pack for feet.
I had often thought I had a vaguely masochistic streak (especially as my favourite pedicure to date was by a Chinese lady who spoke no English and was VERY heavy handed with a cheese grater!) so, when I was asked to put my feet in hot paraffin I complied but did wonder slightly what would happen to me!! It turns out that 'Eastern European lady' forgot the word 'wax', as in 'hot paraffin wax'. So, my feet got coated in warm deliciousness and then I sat with carrier bags on them for 10minutes...........
Then some more massage, and some nail painting, and 90minutes had totally disappeared!!
I am now quite a connoisseur of pedicures (what do you mean 'shallow life'?- c'mon, I actually read Andrew Dowsett's blog!!) and I have to rate this now as the best.......they even gave me these funky disposable flipflops.

I may have to do more research in the future, but for now am enjoying the afterglow......

the decision....

Well, after much pondering, we decide to keep the healthy breakfast and enrol in Mathnasium, a new, innovative way to help visualise math. We went for a look on Saturday and hope it will benefit all three kids. They only have four weeks left at school and then twelve weeks holiday, so this will be the summer project!!
And the best bit for me? I get to drop them off for 90mins up to five days a week, and the place is right next door to a nail salon, and Walmart.......so while they visualise math, I can visualise pedicures and shopping....