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....

An official dilemma.

Tara has been doing an experiment for science, and has been investigating the effect of healthy and unhealthy breakfast on school performance.
She has measured the number of character tickets, compliments and stickers (which all reward good behaviour) and also her daily math grades.
It was one of those projects where the teacher requested parental help (ie we got to do it!). We
had to produce graphs, and state the independent and dependent variables, and the control-( I don't remember any of that from when I was 10)- and paste everything on to a desk-top display board.

So, the results are now in:
Her math grades went UP when she ate the POP TARTS!!
BUT, she got more awards for character when she ate the Raisin Bran....

Now we have to decide if we want a kid who is smart in math, or one with great character.....

Snazzy....

Nigel is heading up a major conference this week as part of his role as Director of Lifeshapes. It has been a headache for some time as it is the first conference he has organised, and day one arriving was a relief for all (and apparently went well..)
He has managed to get some amazing international speakers- including our very own Mike Breen! And also Todd Hunter (who headed up Vineyard and is now Mr Alpha USA). So the week takes on an Alpha twist and an interesting combination with Lifeshapes.
My exciting role in the conference organisation has been making sure there is a supply of freshly laundered shirts for my snappy dresser! So imagine my surprise when he walked in last night wearing a 'Lifeshapes' polo shirt in a strange shade of green......
' All the team are wearing them...!'

The week at a glance..

The clinic is looking fantastic after a year of renovation. I had not seen the new reception extension, the front desk, or the fabulous wood floor. It was so different to the low ceilinged 'bunker' which was there before, and made the disruption seem very worthwhile.
Clients are amazed that we are still providing NHS care- partly because of all the press about the changes in dentistry, and partly because we now look like a private practice!

Catching up with wonderful friends was a real highlight of the week.
I had some great evenings with Andy and Lisa, Paul and Louise, and John and Liz (not to mention a wonderful trip to the West St spa).
It was all relaxed and familiar, and the world seemed very small indeed.

awww!!

It was great to call in on the fabulous Manserghs and tiny Elijah- I had forgotten how small newborns are! John is suitably doting.......what else would you expect?!

Oh, Mummy.......!!

My mum drove up today and we
had a great day in town with Per Una!
Saw the fabulous Peace Gardens awash with magnolia and blossom, and the new steel spheres..(groovy..).
We walked through the desert landscape of the winter gardens- (strange seeing cacti in Sheffield!-) and bumped into Harry ,who was Daniel's best friend at school.
Once he had worked out who I was, he was very
excited to have contact details again, and the renewal of a great relaionship.....

Strange....

I felt a little strange leaving the family over Easter.
I had not been particularly 'connected' at church over the week, and Good Friday, being our kids' only day of school holiday, was not spent in sombre meditation, but in frivolous egg-painting and entertaining neighbours.......
I was totally unprepared for the awesomeness of watching the sun rise above the clouds this Easter morning as we flew into Manchester. And being 'reconnected' with family at Philadelphia as God reconnected with me (despite my out of body feelings....!).

A little nap restored my soul......

up, up and away.....

Nigel had breakfast yesterday with the people who wrote that song!! (in my beautiful balloon.....)
He was at a supposedly high -powered business breakfast, and arrived back declaring it had been a 'cultural moment' and an unusual start to Good Friday! There were about 500 people there, and he had to leave the house at just after 6am -they crooned to him, and gave a little testimony, and he didn't even get much to eat! (he is so not a morning person - it would have had to be spectacular to impress!!)
I, however, am very impressed that this morning I am on my laptop at the airport connected to their wireless network- modern technology is truly amazing. The first flight was slightly delayed and I have managed to do a load of online work that time did not allow yesterday. So, I am relieved to get that done, and am just about to board.....

Phoenix nights.....

Spring temperatures in Arizona have been hovering around the low 80s which , year -round, would be perfection! Yesterday however, it randomly spiked to 98 degrees....
The air-conditioning kicked in for the first time this year, and we spent the night sleeping under little more than a sheet, listening to the strangely familiar whirring of the fan........a painful reminder of a fast approaching summer.
How surreal then, that at the end of the bed lies my partially packed suitcase- already containing boots, gloves and sweaters.....
I fondly remember last April in Sheffield, when I slept under two duvets and resorted to socks in the middle of the night, never quite getting my nose warm....