Ecuador

Reunited.....

Sunset, wine, and stories of ship life (courtesy of Keith and Dawn) made for a great evening with a small group of friends.

It was lovely to have all the Mallons together again, and we felt reunited in more ways than one.....

Ballooning

And, despite a 5 am start (which the kids were excited by), Emily much preferred the horseriding to the hot air balloon!!

She quite liked the breakfast, and trying to get into the balloon, but was quickly bored of the gentle flight......
There is obviously no accounting for taste, as the adults absolutely loved it!!

We were not amused!

After such a stressy time we went to our favourite Mexican hideaway for a few days of hurricanes and flame grilled meals (Nigel set fire to the BBQ in spectacular fashion!!). On the last evening I hurt my back to the point of not being able to walk, or do anything without my wonderful assistants! So, it was fairly disastrous (apart from the company and the margaritas!!)
So, I cancelled my birthday (decided lying down was not a fun activity!) and we celebrated last week in royal style- champagne breakfast, fabulous shopping with my fabulous friend, and then a wonderful meal in a fancy shmanzy restaurant looking out over the city.
I have felt like the Queen for the last 2 weeks, as I have been sitting on a magic green throne (the only comfortable chair in the house) and everybody else has been cooking and cleaning as I have bossed them around. Once our friends had left I realised I could stand up again unaided (of course I wasn't putting it on all that time!!) and am almost back to normal now.........
And no, I am not as old as the Queen, but rumour was rife when I was hobbling around with my stick!!!

Stressy.....

Just heard from Nigel today. It appears he does remember what to do, but also remembers why he took a break from dentistry!
It seems that students haven't quite got the experience or expertise to perform at a level of competence he would expect!!
So, he has spent a lot of time taking out broken roots, snapped teeth, sewing up bleeding gums, and generally patching up other peoples work........urrgggghhh. He sounded very stressed, but very challenged by the whole process. He is loving the environment, and Phil's preaching, and forming great relationships but- how amazing that the US use different instruments, different forceps, and even number teeth differently, making the whole thing slightly disorientating.....
To add to the stress levels, we are finding open phone lines almost impossible to get, and even text messages do not get through. So, here I am trying to sell property here, and flying to Sheffield with the kids on Saturday, an offer already on a house I haven't seen!! ( BUT I totally trust John and Liz Lovell who have viewed it for me........) and I may well get into sealed bids without being able to communicate with him!!
Definitely a time to trust in our strengths, and abilities, and let the waves just roll over us both!!

Celebrating victory with honor!!!!

We went to an ice hockey match at the weekend. Our friends' girls were on the 'cheer team' who were performing during the game, and we bought the tickets through the school, who advertised the evening under the above title. We were excited to be part of the atmosphere, and duly filled our boots with popcorn, hotdogs, nachos and ice cream (and a little bit of wine for me!)

So, we were somewhat surprised when things turned violent!! I didn't quite catch the rules of the game, apart from the fact there seemed to be about 40 players on each team! (most of them sitting out on the bench in reserve) Any time they got disgruntled they beat the **** out of their opponents!!! They took each others helmets off and repeatedly punched them in the face while the 3 referees looked on. As far as I could work out, this was fairly normal and expected- the crowd roared and cheered and shouted 'fight fight fight!!!!!!' The refs only got involved if there were more than 5 punches in a row from one player- and that poor soul got 2 minutes of penalty on the bench (but there were another 39 on the team so it didn't seem too detrimental!!)
See player no. 5 to see what I mean.
Fortunately, Emily was still ill, so we had to leave early, but it certainly was not a game I would call 'family friendly'!!

I wonder if he can remember what to do.....

Nigel flew off to Ecuador yesterday with Phil Kelly and 40 dentists and students from Charleston dental school. They have gone armed with tons of equipment and will be setting up a city clinic this week, and one in the jungle next week, and offering free dental care to the locals. Nigel has had some amazing conversations with Bill (who is organising the whole expedition) and is hoping that the relationship will lead to joint ventures in the future- Nigel taking students from Sheffield and meeting up with the annual trip from the USA.

He would really value prayer from any of you who feel able, and I can feel an alliteration coming as I write!!

Family- we have all been taking turns to be ill for the last 4 weeks, and it is beginning to drag. As we were getting ready to drive to the airport, Emily promptly vomited all over the carpet and is now running a fever.........urrgh ! (we are looking forward to some resident doctors arriving to care for us soon!!)
Fitness- Nigel has had a bad back for the last week, and although better as he left, he is concerned about the long flights and dubious accommodation.
Fuller-whilst his term at college is over for 2 weeks, he still has a 3 hour exam to take 'online' before friday. They would not release the paper before he left, so he has to find an internet cafe in the next 5 days, in order to qualify for 20% of his course.

I am sure he would also apreciate some fun, and good food, and feel free to add your own.....

Still fruity

Well, I decided to do the grocery shopping this week by trying to only buy local food, but it is harder than it sounds by a long way! For a start, it took me over 1/2 hour longer than my normal shop as I had to keep looking at the labels. And some of the items were easy to discard- bananas from Ecuador, and kiwi fruit from New Zealand..... but how about an apple labelled 'product of the USA'. Is that local? Did it come from the East Coast? Where do they grow these apples?

Was I right to buy the USA apple and discard the Mexican melons? After all, we can get to Mexico in 3 hours.......

The problem with trying to make informed decisions is made more difficult by not actually getting all the information!! I guess the point is that at least I was trying, instead of being in denial.....

Nigel is now seriously worried that I am going to go all 'beanie' on him, wear 'vegetarian' shoes, and buy an allotment!!

Watch this space!

The fruits of their labour.

On Saturday the church held 'Serve Day'- a day where 2000 people came out in force to serve the community, and were involved in numerous projects throughout the city. Last year as a family we fed firemen and cleaned up several parks. This year we were supposed to be spreading sand in a new play park, but that was cancelled at the last moment and we were allocated to join a team picking citrus fruit. (I use the term 'we' loosely, as I was still on my vacation in Hawaii(!).


The kids had a great time, though apparently the work was much harder than they all expected, and Nigel came home with scratches and scrapes all over his hands.




The elderly folk (whose trees they were!) were very appreciative and gave them all lunch, and a box of goodies to come home with! So, we blitzed them all in the juicer for a massive Vit C boost- I think the kids want me to come home from my holiday!!

Inconvenient indeed.

Well, whilst on vacation,(!)I have had plenty of time for pondering, and have been thinking on all things green(with the exception of leprachauns and shamrocks, peas and the mould at the bottom of the fridge.......)
I am having a 'green' lent, and thinking through stuff such as ...
'do we buy a house within walking distance of school and work in Sheffield, even though it costs £50,000 more than one further out which would require daily use of the car?'
'do we re-do the kitchen cabinets with recycled yoghurt pots and lids, even though they only come in one colour and my creative streak likes at least three choices?'
Etc etc- (I am amazed at how many etc.s I have pondered!!)
Anyhow, I rented 'An Inconvenient Truth' for my afternoon viewing while the kids were busy serving the city,and was challenged even more...






Winning the Oscar last night for best depressing documentary will, I am sure, put this film higher on people's agenda for viewing- which has to be a good thing. And now you know you need to see it, it would probably be highly immoral for you not to rent it yourself.......(probably.....!)

This is where my doctor is heading on vacation!!

Well, still feeling fairly awful, so decided to take out a second mortgage and visit the doc. He was very sympathetic to my respiratory flu, which, in his experience takes about 14 days before the symptoms begin to subside (fabulous- I am only 6 days in!!), and since it is viral, would charge me $100 to tell me there was no treatment! However, it probably would be sensible to pay another $40 for 5 tablets to prevent any bacterial lung thingy going into pneumonia........
I know the Americans pay less tax and that health care here is additional expense, whilst it is included in UK tax system, and therefore, theoretically free.......However, when we are still paying full UK tax, and now also US tax, we seem to be stuck between worlds, and hard not to be a tiny bit peeved.
Still, I am going to lie on my couch and imagine I am lying on a beach in Hawaii, and the staff of the hotel will scurry around me tidying up, and making me cocktails.........

The rumours are true!

Well, it's official- we are moving back to Sheffield in the summer.
The house went on the market this week, and the sign went up yesterday. Someone asked if the kids were distressed - the answer has to be a resounding NO !!
They were so excited when the man came round, and as soon as he had gone they were dancing around it and swinging it to and fro!!




We have had a wonderful time out here, and have certainly made the most of every spare weekend, taking in many of the local, and even distant sights. But we are very excited about being back with friends and family, being much more 'hands on' in the business, and being back in the city with totally renewed vision. The kids are desperate to be able to wear coats, hats, scarves, and gloves again!!!

We are now just hoping that nobody wants to view for a few days- I have been immobilised with a 'flu thing' for three days, and it has become pretty apparent who does the tidying in this household!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Be magnetic.
Be captivating.
Cause a stir.
Cause heads to turn.
Cause all eyes to land on you when
you walk into a room.

Experience the Kiss Me Mint allure. Those white teeth and that fresh breath — you'll be creating a whole new level of admiration. That pepperminty flavor with a burst of berry is just the right mix of cool and sweet to tempt anyone.




The launch of the new Kiss Me Mint toothpaste to coincide with Valentine's Day is quite staggering, but then if the claims in the advert are to be believed there has never been an easier way to secure a mate!!

Don't try this at home!

Went to a pyjama party the other night at my friend's house- the idea was to watch a video and drink wine, so I was quite up for it! The video ended up being very strange...... It was Dr.John Grey (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus)- and he apparently is from another planet altogether!!
It seems that all you have to do is to pencil in a few noughts on a dollar bill and then pin it on your ceiling. Then, when you wake up, it will be the first thing you see, you will focus on it, and money will start rolling in to your life. If you are moaning how your mail is full of bills, then that is what you will receive, but, amazingly, as soon as you visualise cheques in the mail, you will become a millionaire!! There is only one small catch to this incredibly foolproof scheme- you have to believe without doubt in what you are focussed on......
Hmmmm
I suspect it is easier to visualise envelopes full of cheques when you sell millions of books, and make videos which even Oprah is endorsing this week!!

Ouch!

My friend's 6-yr old son has just had a precancerous lesion removed from his body, and her husband was told that his cancer had been caught early enough to treat.....so, I thought it was time I sent Nigel along to the dermatologist for a full body check. Like all great wives, I want someone else to check out things like this before I go myself!!!
He dutifully went along on Monday for his 'examination'.........turns out it is quite harrowing to strip and get attacked with syringes, scalpels, and liquid nitrogen..!!!
Both ears had something strange on them, and 3 moles were sliced off his back- so he came out limping, groaning, and armed with antibiotic cream and a load of band-aids. Today it turns out he is also allergic to the band-aids, and now has great weals around the wound sites.
Needless to say, he is very grateful for my loving concern!!

(I haven't made my appointment yet.......)

Walking in Sedona.........in the winter!!

The weather was absolutely freezing, but the walk was stunningly beautiful.
Everywhere we went, people had piled up stones on top of each other, and created a surreal environment.

School lunch has changed a lot since tapioca and jam !

At school here they really encourage parents to visit for lunch, send in notes, phone children in class etc- involving parents at all levels. Daniel very often phones me during the day, and I have taken to surprising them each with a Sonic lunch (think very posh McDonalds!) Emily was so stunned last week that I had turned up that she was unable to speak- so I sat and watched her smile for 30minutes whilst all around was chaos!!!

Bad Timing!

I had high hopes for my fitness regime over Christmas as Louise turned up complete with running gear! But, somehow, I got lured into an indulgence which would have made Billy Bunter happy!! And so, now I am supposed to be being abstemious......BUT......Baskin Robbins has just opened their ice cream parlour (next to the supermarket, I ask you- couldn't they have done it a little less conveniently?)
We had to go to try it (obviously!) , and then we had to take my mum there, and then, well Nigel had been away for a week and not tried it yet, so this is a photo of Sunday lunch.........
We are focussing on the obvious nutritional value of the protein in the cream, the nuts, the fruit, and of course the stress relieving aspect of it all....... and the mental agility required to make the choice of flavour must be good for the brain, right?

The Alps at Anthem

Well, the weather here has been very strange of late- lots of miserable rain, and wind, and very low temperatures. And yesterday we had snow and hail!!
The kids thought it most hilarious and ran outside with their mouths open wide, trying to catch some on their tongues. We followed them out to capture the moment, and the whole street was alive with screaming kids!!!
It is a good job my mum is not visiting just for the weather- as I believe it is nicer in England!!

Double- digit Daniel!

Daniel was 10 on Saturday, and is now a certified dude! He has his own MP3 player, and portable Nintendo, and cannot be found without headphones on now! (Except when he is lounging on his 'speaker pillow' which plugs into both items!!)
We had a little celebration at Rawhide with Jonathan and Lizzie on Monday (love the pink guitar.....) and then he had a sleepover planned for Saturday night with friends from school. We had not allowed for the stomach bug in his class- one by one his friends cancelled, leaving one brave soul......and he fell ill at 8pm and had to go home!! So, we all rallied round whooping with glee, singing loudly and pretending there were more of us there!! We all got into our PJs at 8pm and sat under blankets watching a film, and actually had a really good time!
Daniel was amazingly resilient to the whole thing!!

New Year's Eve!

Christmas Lights in Anthem, then champagne and streamers, and a fabulous meal cooked by Brian.....
a great end to the year.