We invited Mac's British teacher to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, which he happily accepted because he said he'd never been to a "proper" Thanksgiving dinner before. (That's sounds very British, doesn't it?).
When we extended the invitation, we asked him to bring a couple friends with him if he wanted.
I knew he had a great sense of humor, but today, he emailed me the following:
Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you but it has been a HECTIC week! Just to say if the offer is still open, my friends Suzanne and Rory would like to join us for dinner. Suzanne teaches in year 1, you may have seen her, Australian... and Rory's her (newly wed) husband.
They're both lactose intolerant, vegan Jews, so they do need Kosher food....
...
... just kidding.
I have to tell you that there was nearly not going to be a Thanksgiving until I read the "just kidding" part because I was nearly dead from panic-induced heart failure.
Two of our other dinner guests only eat seafood (of which there is known on our Thanksgiving menu), raw vegetables and nuts. I think they're bringing their own trail mix because I told them I was southern and southerners only know how to drown vegetables or mix them in a casserole for a big holiday meal.
And while we're excited to receive all of our dinner guests on Thursday night, we're particularly excited that Mac's best friend Logan from last year in South Carolina and his family are flying in tonight and will be with us through Monday. Jimmy's at the airport now to get them and bring them home. We have been counting down the days until Logan's arrival and I'm not what sure what threat I'll be able to hang over Mac's head once this visit is over. It's been a great tool for getting good behavior.
Hope that your Thanksgiving week is going well and that you're looking as forward to the big day as we are.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
the botanical gardens
Yesterday afternoon, we took advantage of the sun that finally appeared in Bogota to visit the city's Botanical Gardens. The park was huge, very clean and well-maintained with lots of paths, and had all sorts of different types of gardens and amazing flowers. I only had my little point-and-shoot camera but check out some of the offerings:
(does this look like a Christmas ornament or what?)
(does this look like a Christmas ornament or what?)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
one more Mac-ism
For Spanish homework, Mac generally has to do Spanish spelling words everyday and on Fridays, he has a Spanish spelling test.
They haven't had a Spanish spelling test in weeks, however, so Mac announced today that they were having 3 spelling tests tomorrow to cover some missed tests.
I said, "we better study those old words."
Mac's reply? "I wouldn't sweat it, Mom."
They haven't had a Spanish spelling test in weeks, however, so Mac announced today that they were having 3 spelling tests tomorrow to cover some missed tests.
I said, "we better study those old words."
Mac's reply? "I wouldn't sweat it, Mom."
Mac-isms this week
1. "When you look at the Earth from space, it spins so slowly and a day looks like it takes a long time. But when you're living a day, 24 hours goes by sooooo fast."
2. "I've caused a lot of trouble in my life." (When I asked him to elaborate, he said that he'd been in trouble a lot, which isn't true but which leads me to believe that his week-long "electronics restriction" for smarting off at me is working. Hopefully he has a long memory!)
2. "I've caused a lot of trouble in my life." (When I asked him to elaborate, he said that he'd been in trouble a lot, which isn't true but which leads me to believe that his week-long "electronics restriction" for smarting off at me is working. Hopefully he has a long memory!)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
feeling a little sorry for myself
1. Jimmy "had to go" to Key West for a conference this week. The weather right now in Key West according to weather.com: 82 degrees and Fair. The weather right now in Bogota according to weather.com: 55 degrees and Mostly Cloudy. It would be "mostly cloudy" right now because there can surely be no water left in the heavens after what has poured down on this city in the last 24 hours.
2. God is apparently busy making more rain to replace those empty heavens because weather.com calls for rain all day tomorrow here.
3. Jimmy's in Key West, and I am not.
4. The whole country is flooded and has created devastating losses for a lot of people who didn't have a lot to lose in the first place. I realize I'm being entirely trivial about this so please forgive this rant in the midst of such devastation for so many people: the truck with our shipment out of storage was enroute from the port in Cartagena today (for delivery at my apartment on Friday), but the floods messed up a bridge and the truck can't get through until the bridge is repaired. There is obviously no detour route, and the truck has gone back to Cartagena to wait in a dry storage area. Which means the serving stuff I need for Thanksgiving won't be here by Thanksgiving. Again, this is absolutely petty in the big scheme of things - and I do understand that - but if you knew how we'd been battling against stupid people in Washington, DC who aren't able to do their jobs which means this shipment is arriving more than 2 months after it should have been here, then you might feel just a teensy bit of sympathy for me.
5. I think I have whatever that disorder is when you don't see the sun and it's rainy all the time and you get depressed and feel sorry for yourself.
6. Jimmy's on his third trip to the US in 3 months (and has traveled within Colombia at least once every other week since August), and I've left Bogota one time to go to Cartagena for 3 days. I might also have cabin fever besides the disorder in #5.
7. There is interminable construction next door and it's making me crazy. I hear a saw all day long from 7:30am to 5:30pm.
8. I have an earache in my right ear. This, of course, is undiagnosed but it hurts. Add that to ailments in #5 and #6.
9. Did I mention it's been raining nonstop and it's sunny in Key West?
But there are good things that I need to concentrate on:
1. I've met a couple awesome women recently that I love being around.
2. Mac is loving school. He also had a playdate with a new (non-school) friend that went perfectly. They played for close to 6 hours with nary the first bit of bickering or cross words. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
3. I cooked all day yesterday in anticipation of friends visiting next week and Thanksgiving. My freezer now has 10 cups of cooked chicken ready for stuff like quesadillas and chicken pot pie; 20 cups of homemade tomato sauce; and 30 cups of chicken broth. I can obviously make as much cornbread dressing and gravy as I want to for Thanksgiving with all that broth. Oh, and I made two cheesecakes for the freezer. I feel like eating one right now by myself.
4. I didn't have Spanish today, which, sadly, makes me inordinately happy.
5. Mac's 8th birthday is on Saturday and he is infectiously excited.
6. We have friends coming to town next week and we are soooo excited. They'll be here for Thanksgiving and Mac's birthday party and we feel so blessed to have them here for both events.
I'm going to eat some chocolate. That won't make the rain disappear but it might make me feel better....
2. God is apparently busy making more rain to replace those empty heavens because weather.com calls for rain all day tomorrow here.
3. Jimmy's in Key West, and I am not.
4. The whole country is flooded and has created devastating losses for a lot of people who didn't have a lot to lose in the first place. I realize I'm being entirely trivial about this so please forgive this rant in the midst of such devastation for so many people: the truck with our shipment out of storage was enroute from the port in Cartagena today (for delivery at my apartment on Friday), but the floods messed up a bridge and the truck can't get through until the bridge is repaired. There is obviously no detour route, and the truck has gone back to Cartagena to wait in a dry storage area. Which means the serving stuff I need for Thanksgiving won't be here by Thanksgiving. Again, this is absolutely petty in the big scheme of things - and I do understand that - but if you knew how we'd been battling against stupid people in Washington, DC who aren't able to do their jobs which means this shipment is arriving more than 2 months after it should have been here, then you might feel just a teensy bit of sympathy for me.
5. I think I have whatever that disorder is when you don't see the sun and it's rainy all the time and you get depressed and feel sorry for yourself.
6. Jimmy's on his third trip to the US in 3 months (and has traveled within Colombia at least once every other week since August), and I've left Bogota one time to go to Cartagena for 3 days. I might also have cabin fever besides the disorder in #5.
7. There is interminable construction next door and it's making me crazy. I hear a saw all day long from 7:30am to 5:30pm.
8. I have an earache in my right ear. This, of course, is undiagnosed but it hurts. Add that to ailments in #5 and #6.
9. Did I mention it's been raining nonstop and it's sunny in Key West?
But there are good things that I need to concentrate on:
1. I've met a couple awesome women recently that I love being around.
2. Mac is loving school. He also had a playdate with a new (non-school) friend that went perfectly. They played for close to 6 hours with nary the first bit of bickering or cross words. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
3. I cooked all day yesterday in anticipation of friends visiting next week and Thanksgiving. My freezer now has 10 cups of cooked chicken ready for stuff like quesadillas and chicken pot pie; 20 cups of homemade tomato sauce; and 30 cups of chicken broth. I can obviously make as much cornbread dressing and gravy as I want to for Thanksgiving with all that broth. Oh, and I made two cheesecakes for the freezer. I feel like eating one right now by myself.
4. I didn't have Spanish today, which, sadly, makes me inordinately happy.
5. Mac's 8th birthday is on Saturday and he is infectiously excited.
6. We have friends coming to town next week and we are soooo excited. They'll be here for Thanksgiving and Mac's birthday party and we feel so blessed to have them here for both events.
I'm going to eat some chocolate. That won't make the rain disappear but it might make me feel better....
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
the gift of an ordinary day
I just saw this on a friend's Facebook page and it was exactly what I needed to hear. Get out your Kleenex. Time is fleeting.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Marine Ball 2010
Last night Jimmy and I went to the Marine Ball held annually to celebrate the birthday of the Marine Corps. We had a great time - it was the best Marine Ball we've ever been to in terms of program and food. And as always, there was great entertainment in checking out some real doozies in the dress department. A lot of people go with a "less-is-more" theory in the dress coverage department and a "more-is-more" theory in showing off cleavage that may or may not have been surgically enhanced. It's always a good time!
P.S. We went out on a limb and left Mac with Ruth overnight so we could stay at the Sheraton where the event took place. I'm pleased to report - and I know you won't be surprised by this - that the house didn't burn down and Mac was perfectly happy without us.
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