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.

Love actually!

Aaahh......21 years ago today! More lines and wrinkles on the faces, redistribution of hair follicles and adipose tissue, and a greater appreciation of who we both are. I love being married and the rollercoaster ride that it is......
How did we choose to celebrate the day? Doing what we both love....

Paul and Louise flew off to Denver yesterday after 10 days here, and I sent Nigel with them!!!! They have just had 24 inches of snow, so I packed him off with his skis, and I am Loving a little respite from the busyness of the last few weeks.
My, how we have matured!!!

Boxing Day

As if we hadn't eaten enough on Christmas Day!! Nigel and Paul have now perfected the 'baby back rib technique'- though cannot quite see why they are called babies!
We invited all of TOM and houseguests over (29!!), heated up the pool, and drank margaritas and beer in the sun again..........it is quite tough here in the winter!!

Jolly Christmas!

The kids made a fabulous gingerbread house which, if left to me, would have been very different! As all the pieces in the box were smashed, I would have put ice cream on it and eaten it as a mess!! but Paul.......stuck all the bits together with icing, reinforced it with sticks of licquorice, used wattle and daub, and held it all up with marshmallow towers, which (had I not been making bread sauce and mince pies from scratch) could have been very intimidating! It whiled away the whole afternoon on Christmas Eve and kept everyone entertained for hours- and the enjoyment continued as they ate it for dessert today.....



This morning Nigel put two 10 lb turkeys on the rotisserie (under the watchful eye of Jonathan and Lizzie) and delighted me with an empty oven for all the veg and trimmings. As it was 72F (21C) we had our smoked salmon and champagne outside by the pool.........
Gorgeous..!!

A night of fun and frivolity.....

We went out on Saturday night to a fantastic concert organised by Alice Cooper for his charity, the Solid Rock foundation, which is aiming to build a major teen centre including a rock music school.
The whole evening began with prayer, Stehen Stills (Crosby, Stills and Nash) and Don Feldman (Eagles), who are getting together next year, treated us to their debut with an extended set-( which included Hotel California), Jonathan Cain (Journey) played a grand piano with just a choir for backing, Ace Young (American Idol winner), Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades Band, dancers, comedians etc all gave us a gala evening. As each artist came on, others became their backing singers so it was all like a huge family party. We kept pinching ourselves as we couldn't quite believe we were seeing all that phenomenal talent in one room. We had an interval at 10.30pm when they gave out Christmas pudding, Alice Cooper didn't make it on stage until 12.45 am, and the whole evening ended at 1.30 am with every musician miked up, snow falling on stage, and Santa leading the singing of Jingle Bells!!
All for £25!! That's what I call value for money........

The town dump.

The Town Dump is a wonderful bric-a-brac store which sells everything from rusty geckos and buffalo to a 10ft tall plastic blue leg (covered in flowers). And from a life size model of Elvis, to a stuffed bear wearing a muzzle and a tutu. A frog playing a double bass, a bowl of plastic body parts, samurai swords, an oversized cockroach riding a bicycle, and a plethora of totem poles......a great place to take people in need of a laugh!
It turned out that my wonderful Easter cactus is now a Christmas cactus, covered in Poinsettias!