tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40219414687892450042024-03-12T16:59:17.298-07:00crafty foreign serviceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger292125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-58617823862783258362016-08-18T07:55:00.002-07:002016-08-18T07:55:38.855-07:00Crete - on the cheap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have traveled quite a bit at our current post. There are lots of places we can drive, flights can be dirt cheap and at this point in our FS adventure, I really need to get out of town a lot.<br />
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I know plenty of our non-FS friends are jealous, and even some FS friends, but I am here to tell you, we travel on the cheap. Not quite camping in tents, but we are not staying at the Ritz and flying first class either!<br />
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This summer we were stuck at post. Boring, dull post with no other kids around and nothing to do. So at our very first chance, we left town. We went to Crete and it was glorious. We drove three hours to a neighboring countries airport for a cheap flight, at dawn. I think everyone's RT tickets were well under $100. We rented the cheapest, smallest car there was...finding automatics in European can sometimes be a trick. We did Airbnb which was cheaper than a hotel, enabled us to cook and had room for everyone. We also picked a tiny small town sort of in the middle of nowhere and we enjoyed a few offbeat things. Nightly walks to the beach near our house to throw stones and listen to the sheep with their bells. Starbucks in the big city was a huge treat for us all. And we went to a tranquil Nazi cemetery that German funds are clearly paying for.<br />
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So Crete on the cheap - thumbs up. Now off to check SkyScanner for our next trip out of town!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-25549550598310263062016-03-30T05:05:00.001-07:002016-03-30T05:05:19.043-07:00I can do whatever I want<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In an effort to look at the positive of living where I do, I shall now list what I have come up with...a slightly snarky list.<br />
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- I do not have to deal with any townhouse ladies because there are not any, though there are some town house lady wanna be's.<br />
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- I can read ALL the books. Free time all day, every day? If a book comes in Kindle form, I can read it. All the time in the world.<br />
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- Same goes for Netflix viewing. Can binge watch anything without feeling like I should be doing something else.<br />
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- I can grow a big container garden. A really really big container garden. In fact this weekend is step two in that operation - the part where we go to 'plastic' street and buy lots and lots of flower pots and dirt for a song.<br />
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- I have gotten over the email manners here. So I am never very stressed about owing anyone an email. I rarely get any from people here and certainly don't get replies. So no worry.<br />
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- I have also accepted there will never be a CLO event of any interest to my, oldest kids at post, kids. Easter egg hunt for the preschool set? No thanks, and everyone in my house is happy with that.<br />
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- Knitting and sewing all the things. Do I want to spend a year knitting nothing but shawls? Quite possibly and since there is no craft group, I have no one to roll their eyes about it.<br />
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- I started an Etsy shop and have already had a few haters contact me or higher ups to try and tattle. Sorry bitter FS types, but I use local mail. For real. I order all supplies from European Etsy sellers, and I know exactly how to mail a package using the local post office. My post man likes to chat with me about his brother living in NJ. If your interested, my shop is called The Practical Life. I sell bags. I also now have two friends who run a tiny little notions shop in the market. They speak perfect English and can get me anything. I want a 9 inch zipper? Just a minute...and they come back with a 9 inch zipper. Local finds can be fun. Last time I was in the shop, they offered me tea, delivered by a guy with a tray a la Istanbul markets.<br />
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So it is not all bad. Lonely sometimes yes, but I am figuring out how to do things that I am quite sure no one else knows how to do here. And that is an empowering feeling.<br />
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<a href="" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-7833296599412356302016-03-07T05:50:00.001-08:002016-03-07T07:20:29.813-08:00Dressing the kids in the Foreign Service<div style="margin: 0 auto; width: 600px;">
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/basics_10_year_old_girl/set?.embedder=3557774&.src=share_desktop&.svc=blogger&id=192877164" target="_blank"><img alt="basics - 10 year old girl" border="0" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/gnw9pi0Cme7FjZqBgVrxaw/cid/192877164/id/oF-NR2rk5RGGKwpWzX_htA/size/c600x699.jpg" height="699" title="basics - 10 year old girl" width="600" /></a></div>
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I have always been a shopper and always liked to be prepared. As a child of the FS, I can still very much recall shopping in rural South Carolina while on home leave as a kid. My mom would buy two years worth of clothes sometimes, planning ahead for holidays and growth.<br />
I have put together some very basic basics for my 10 year old daughter. Nothing fancy but things that will get us through the Embassy Easter party, the inevitable last minute pajama day at school, the family 4th and possibly dress like your home nation day, and of course the last minute swim block in pe, one pieces only please.<br />
None of these items are crazy pricey and all come from the following online stores - Hanna Andersson, Zappos, LLBean, Amazon and Old Navy. Since she is almost 11 we also hit H & M and Forever 21 sometimes. She has a few things that still fit this spring and we will end up ordering a few more pairs of shorts, some capri leggings, a shirt or two and a few more t-shirts. These clothes are quite literally things she already owns or are in the virtual shopping cart. So - plan ahead and happy shopping!<br />
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for those who want the deets on these items - all shoes, <a href="http://www.zappos.com/">zap</a>pos, bathing suit, dress, shorts, red top - <a href="http://www.hannaandersson.com/">HA</a>, jackets -<a href="http://www.llbean.com/"> LLBean</a>, jeans and two tops - <a href="http://www.oldnavy.com/">Old Navy</a> and watch off Amazon.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-57246463096529121212016-02-09T23:39:00.001-08:002016-02-09T23:39:59.663-08:006 months to the day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This has been the dullest 6 months of my life.<br />
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But yesterday, which marked our 6 months at post, I heard as interesting/fun story. From my local doctor. Back in the Yugoslav days, he and his brother were drivers for the American Reading Room. Um okay? Why? Because they learned to drive as high school students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. On automatic cars. The American Reading Room owned a giant bus of an American station wagon and no one else wanted to drive it. I thought this was weird, since an automatic is easier than the manual cars they all drive here, but it is a thing, as our housekeeper told me she could NEVER drive an automatic car. Weird. So back in the day two Yugoslav brothers who were doing pre med at a local university, were the official drivers for the American Reading Room in Skopje, Yugoslavia.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-66533032873103113792016-01-31T23:35:00.000-08:002016-01-31T23:35:36.724-08:00a week shy of the 6 month mark<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Everyone says 'give it 6 months' or 'give it a year' well we are a week shy of our 6 month mark in Skopje and some miracles better start happening at lightening speed.<br />
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What has made this posts so hard? Surprise pollution, poor school, isolation, trash everywhere bothers me, poor hiring practices at the one place I can work, my emails to anyone and everyone go unanswered, the women's group really is not a thing, Girl Scouts will probably fold next year as I cannot stand the disorganization, sponsors that dropped us after day 1, and finally, not a single friend. That has been the hardest part.<br />
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So I will spend the next week hoping for some progress in at least one of these areas. I am always hopeful, but I am also trying to figure out how far the VSMA might go....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-17440314471208983332016-01-24T01:32:00.002-08:002016-01-24T01:32:38.735-08:00This is plan B<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I wish I could say life at our new post is super fun all day every day. It is not. Driving is stressful to me. The pollution was not a thing in any post reports. Grocery shopping can feel very third world in that one day there will be nice yogurt and then you never see it again. The school has been a let down. Unlimited internet is a big fat lie. It has generally made things a bit hard.<br />
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So....I have been making. Making a lot. Using up the stash is the grand plan. I think these socks have all been made in the last 5 weeks. A monster quilt is getting quilted. I tried dyeing yarn yesterday. And I have mastered sewing in zippers, most days anyway.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-6144106758089814932015-10-17T05:07:00.002-07:002015-10-17T05:21:22.287-07:00a get away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After 3 years in Siberia, I mean Moscow, where tickets out of town were $$$, I was excited to give Wizz Air a try. So last Monday we got up at 3 am to head out of town to Oslo. Easy peasy. Except for the time....the flight back was also early when you factor in the fact the Wizz Air airport was actually a 2 hour train ride from Oslo....but all good otherwise. Highly recommended an Oslo Pass. Sort of expensive up front but totally worth it if you go to five museums, which we did and then some. Oslo is easy though, everyone speaks English, lots of diversity, lots of cool stuff. We saw the Scream so the kids are happy campers.<br />
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And I am a happy camper because we went to this place - the department store, Glasmaginent. So lovely. In the basement is a fabulous yarn store and all the Norwegian folk costuming you could dream of.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-1141730085234908252015-09-23T22:29:00.001-07:002015-09-23T22:29:36.708-07:00a slightly bumpy landingWe have been at our new post for something like 6 weeks. I am not going to lie and say it has all been sunshine and labrador puppies. It has been one of the hardest moves - it rates neck and neck with our tour in KL so far. Which frankly sort of sucked for the entire 2 years.<br />
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I have been doing a lot of knitting (succulent shawl). I have not been doing enough putting things away yet. I have been whining way too much to friends in far flung corners of the world. Hopefully things will start looking up soon...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-50020058464515630292015-09-16T02:23:00.000-07:002015-09-16T02:23:19.080-07:00decorating on the cheap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I definitely like to do things to our house and furniture to make them feel like home. We lucked out on our current house - we have a great Euro style kitchen, lots of clean lines and the best view of the city. There are an awful lot of cupboards and nowhere to hang anything, so I ordered up a 6 ft roll of chalkboard contact paper and a set of chalk markers - and now we like the kitchen even more!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-58193169667657472732015-09-10T01:39:00.000-07:002015-09-10T01:39:05.923-07:00dreamy yarn <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This photo does not actually convey the loveliness that is this yarn. It is Malabrigo worsted in poplar morn color way. It is so lovely. I am going to make the Orchids & fairy lights hat available on Ravelry. Only problem? My knitting needles are still not here. maybe next week??Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-23349990929205112442015-09-03T01:03:00.000-07:002015-09-03T01:03:21.649-07:00How mail and UAB can make things easier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is our 5th post as a family, maybe my 17th if you add on my FS childhood. I know how to move. This time I did pretty well. We had a small UAB coming out of Moscow (some of which did not show up but that might be another story) a larger UAB from home leave. HHE from Moscow, a shipment from storage and a consumables. And the car. That is a lot of logistics to keep track of.<br />
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This time I found out that we were really welcome to mail some stuff prior to arrival. Not like some people at one post who mailed such an obscene amount of stuff to themselves that they should still be very embarrassed. Maybe they are, I heard they quit the State Dept. But anyway, I ordered a few items that have proven to be an excellent idea. What items? A big ugly Amazon Prime box full of mostly junk food snacks. This proved to be my best idea ever as 3/4 of us got really sick right after we arrived at post. Salty goldfish crackers proved to be a life saver.<br />
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I also ordered pillows and mattress toppers for all. You cannot order all these things the very same day. Or you shouldn't unless you want to get a bulk shipment charge. I spaced it out a bit.<br />
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Best things to put in UAB? Bath mats and duvets. I would add knives but they didn't show up but all our financial records which were supposed to be in the HHE did. Weird.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-16680325271423945292015-08-27T22:38:00.002-07:002015-09-05T23:15:21.835-07:00Expat Life - the reality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have been in our new home for 2 weeks today. During that time I have mastered taxi's, gotten the kids organized at school, gone to a book club I am afraid I did not love, discovered this is going to be a long tour cheese wise and seen this rainbow from my balcony.<br />
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One shipment might show up Monday, the others all seem to be MIA. Today the kids spend a full day at school so I plan to spend some time planning our first trip out of town via Wizz Air. And knit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-73848619413108550922015-06-02T02:17:00.001-07:002015-06-02T04:20:55.703-07:00In Flight<div style="margin: 0 auto; width: 600px;">
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A lot of people in the foreign service are gearing up to move or PCS as we call it. The above is what I will have in my bag/suitcase. Euro to buy a treat or two as we transit through airports. A luggage scale is one of the most important items to own. Life changing. A scarf, because I am always cold on the plane. A book in case my electronics die. And finally the most important thing to have in your luggage - sheets! A friend shared this secret with me a few posts ago. Arriving at your new home with some dreamy new sheets to replace the rough welcome kit ones - priceless luxury.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-1864413635121635492015-05-22T21:23:00.001-07:002015-05-31T11:38:48.746-07:00Finish strong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Expat women have a problem with finishing strong. This extends to their children who are learning by example. It is so crazy shocking to me that people check out so early. People who are moving, like me, but also families that have been here for years and years and will be back again after their summer wherever. <br />
I wish they would eagerly attend all their children's end of year things. I wish they would have their children attend all their end of year things. I wish they would buy teacher gifts to actually say thank you. Or at the very least send a note of thanks, or say thank you in person. This is an expat thing I find especially shocking as I set out early yesterday to buy my daughter's Girl Scout leader a gift, today I will be going someplace else for a teacher gift and an extra special gift for my daughter's recorder teacher, who she loves, loves, loves. Does this mean I buy gifts for all her teachers? No. Art teacher who isn't an art teacher and second year in a row has 'lost' every single thing my daughter has created in your class? That guy is getting nothing but a very, very poor review from me. And that is fine. but if your child has a good teacher, you should tell them so.<br />
Just because you are an expat with a busy life in the spring, does not excuse being lame. Finish strong and set a good example for your kids. I imagine a lot of them walk around slightly embarrassed for their poor behavior. At least I like to imagine they feel a little bad, when deep down, I know a few don't even realize they have fallen so far off the social norm tree. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-35481034577328257782015-04-23T22:01:00.001-07:002015-05-31T11:39:04.313-07:00Pros and Cons about life in MoscowThe New Diplomat's Wife is hosting a Pro's and Con's about your post, her's is <a href="http://www.thenewdiplomatswife.com/2015/04/5-pros-cons-of-being-posted-to.html?fb_ref=Default">here</a>, and mine is below. <br />
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Top 5<br />
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1. Moscow! The city is fantastic, there is so much to see and do, onion domes all over the place<br />
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2. The summer - seriously, do not leave town in the summer with every other expat. Summer is divine. Light from 5 am till 11, everyone goes outside and enjoys it.<br />
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3. Russians. For real. Russians can be guarded if they don't know you, but once they know you they are very warm. Even just out and about if you need help, all you need to do is ask. Baby strollers will be lifted up the stairs by any and every man going by.<br />
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4. You can find almost everything here. Does your kid suddenly need a bathing suit, or do you need panty hose? Easily done in Moscow. And do not believe the hype, some things are a little more $$, but a lot of things are fine or even cheaper than at home right now. <br />
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5. The metro! Seriously every metro station has a story. Some have a more beautiful to look at story. Go on a tour or something. The yellow one is my favorite.<br />
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The not so top 5<br />
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1. The winter. It hits a lot of people hard. Use your happy lamp. Light a lot of candles, put up white fairy lights and go outside! Make yourself go outside, it really does help. And do not whine about the weather, it's Russia, grow up!<br />
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2. The current expat environment. Some expats here these days are stressed, unsure of what is to come. Some are chronically paranoid. Avoid both groups if you can. And paranoia is an extremely catchy thing.<br />
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3. The traffic. It really can be horrific. Be prepared to do a lot on foot. Bring a granny cart and some decent walking shoes and boots.<br />
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4. Lack of nature. I am lucky as my house overlooks a little green park, but a lot of people completely lack green. It is tiring after a while. There are parks but they are a pain to get to. Try and make sure your R & R reconnects you with mother earth.<br />
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5. Sanctions. They are currently a bit of a thing. In my day to day life I can no longer buy Finnish milk that my kids will drink, the apple selection if shrinking and no parm cheese to be found. But are we eating beets and buckwheat for every meal? No, Russians eat normal stuff and it is easy to find. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-21692803108541182092015-04-18T06:48:00.000-07:002015-04-18T06:48:23.080-07:00A little R & R<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week we had a get away to Finland and Tallinn. Helsinki was so good for me. I met up with a dear friend from Beijing days. We were in the same all girl baby group back in River Garden. It was a delight to see our girls together again.<br />
For me it was truly therapeutic. My Finnish friend makes Martha Stewart look like a hack and she can knit circles around me any day of the week. Plus she knew me before I had my feelings hurt one too many times by unkind expat women. So I feel somewhat back on track after sharing thoughts on making, raising children and life in general.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-36849707463634088802015-04-10T06:13:00.002-07:002015-04-10T06:13:58.379-07:00a secret - the pizza making typeI have been keeping a pizza making secret. One I got from a FS friend a number of years ago. Because of it, my pizza tastes good. Every time and no matter where we live, and I am the woman using local flour that I cannot quite read the whole label of. My kids won't eat frozen pizza and I think my daughter would rather die than eat Pappa J's. <br />
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These two items are my secret. A cup or so of the King Arthur Flour Perfect pizza flour blend and 2 tablespoons of their Pizza Dough flavor. This flour makes any flour, the world over, work better for pizza. It stretches. It can be thin crust. It is a good thing. A very good thing. But do not replace the entire flour needed with it, as too much is not that good a thing, just a ridiculous stretchy mess of a thing.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-35742370885966050982015-03-27T09:21:00.001-07:002015-03-27T09:21:45.829-07:00What did you do today?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I helped twenty girls with their self esteem and envision a world where no one is worried about the way they look. <a href="http://www.free-being-me.com/">Free to Be Me</a> is a great WAGGS program for girls ages 7 to 14. <br />
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I adore these girls. Yesterday the 4th grade had a big exhibition of projects and I felt like a super star - hugs, calling of my name from all corners. One teacher, who I don't know, actually asked who I was, because ALL the girls seemed to know me. I made a point of going to almost everyone's presentation. I am going to miss these girls, four in particular who I have had in my Girl Scout troop for three years. <br />
Tomorrow I am going to spend the afternoon with them again, 2nd Annual Powder Puff Derby! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-77844739317884183582015-03-24T10:43:00.000-07:002015-03-24T10:43:28.430-07:00change of plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had big plans for the week - a 5 page paper about The Crusades, music lessons, and other fun stuff. Instead I got a kid with the flu and two trips to make to school. So in an effort to make the best of the 'wasted' week - I have been going gangbusters on the quilt. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-11350128257334701352015-03-21T09:23:00.000-07:002015-05-31T11:40:41.417-07:00I know what I like to do with my time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, I spent some time ripping apart this quilt top that never measured quite right. Tomorrow sewing it back together again with the help of a ruler is on the agenda.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-85821872484043648292015-03-18T03:54:00.000-07:002015-03-18T03:54:33.988-07:00the best chicken everI mentioned my chicken turned bad episode of the other day…but last night was a different kind of cooking day and I again made the best roast chicken ever. <br />
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Here is my secret made up recipe. Plop a few tablespoons of apricot jam style stuff in a bowl, add about the same of grainy mustard. A little salt and pepper. Coat the chicken liberally. I use bone in chicken breast, because who eats dark meat or drum sticks? I mean, who in my house does? No one, that's who. So chicken breast it is. <br />
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450 F for 30 minutes, 350 F 30 more minutes. Your neighbors may knock on the door to ask what is for dinner. <br />
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The glaze caramelizes a touch make it divine and the best chicken ever.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-87312345362774610142015-03-16T07:07:00.001-07:002015-03-16T07:07:18.541-07:00the glam expat spouse lifeMy son's online tutor thinks I go to cocktail parties every night. She is hilarious.<br />
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Today I started my day by trying to get one kid's yellow card filled out. That is no longer a thing at my warm and fuzzy post. So I left fuming. <br />
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Meeting with CLO. My favorite CLO so my blood pressure dropped a bit.<br />
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Gym, boring and my foot hurts again.<br />
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I know, cooking dinner will make me feel productive, right? Turns out the chicken went WAY bad despite the date on the package. So as of right now, we are having broccoli for dinner.<br />
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Then the ever high drama Girl Scout t-shirts had their first hiccup of the season. Our design was rejected because of 'the rules' - I wish I had a set of all these rules since I am a big time ruler follower. Back to the drawing board for my in house graphic designer.<br />
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Tonight - cocktail party? No, knit night which is even better than a cocktail party. Maybe we can play the new TH drinking game I made up today!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-16339328618208964692015-03-11T01:38:00.000-07:002015-03-11T01:38:18.057-07:00113 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I would have had more to show if not for the little insomniac in the upper right corner. Fyokla, the non sleeping puppy came to stay for the long weekend. <br />
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The sew along with Eve is going. I started the dress but got hung up a bit on the interfacing part in step one. So I did what I always do and skipped ahead to all other parts of the dress I could sew together. I need to find about 20 minutes when I am not tired to try and tackle the not that clear interfacing instructions.<br />
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And the blanket went away. The blanket, I bought all this lovely wool - cashmere yarn for at Wool Spinning City so long ago in Beijing. It just didn't turn out. I even tried to felt it but no luck. So I chucked it. Sad but that's life.<br />
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Things are rolling along as far as the move goes. Last night we snuck the giant labrador and his crate down to the mailroom and were slightly horrified to discover he has gained about 12 lbs during our three years in Moscow. Hello cargo shipping charges. Anyway, today the final ball should get rolling on securing our plane tickets. Book early people is my advice on that subject. If you have pets, the day your TM4 comes in. For real.<br />
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Up next - neighborhood yard sale - where I hope to unload more stuff/crap/thingsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-77391693357613462932015-03-07T02:46:00.002-08:002015-03-07T02:46:53.995-08:00117 more days to go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With a little over 3 months to go at post the crafting like a mad woman continues. Felt needle cases - check. Sew along with<a href="https://fromthebackofbeyond.wordpress.com/"> Eve</a> - started. This afternoon, the coat closet, knitting and perhaps a nap. It is a 3 days weekend which usually equal naps in our house. <br />
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In other super exciting pre departure news - housing questionnaire done and sent to our onward post AND tickets booked. Travel awaits the size and shapes of our dog and cat then we will be official. Hurray! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4021941468789245004.post-32712389972045036232015-03-04T00:08:00.002-08:002015-03-04T00:08:25.109-08:00120 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5Yi_U6b-7hyphenhyphenpUEl1nJYtW2tBmG-ZhSWouyYRjJRcgGS75HQhv4PGJyrOXZhOugeSjBgDMsbluuF3ou-S79dq5dmqu5Uk9E2xu1fPXp4nv6OLJCKRpdLp5iwg9d7_UGz4d7yr155g_Gl-/s1600/FullSizeRender-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5Yi_U6b-7hyphenhyphenpUEl1nJYtW2tBmG-ZhSWouyYRjJRcgGS75HQhv4PGJyrOXZhOugeSjBgDMsbluuF3ou-S79dq5dmqu5Uk9E2xu1fPXp4nv6OLJCKRpdLp5iwg9d7_UGz4d7yr155g_Gl-/s1600/FullSizeRender-12.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is what 120 days left at post looks like at my house. Using up the candles - I am big into hygge, so this few candles actually makes me a little twitchy…<br />
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Every day I am clearing out something. It feels so freeing to get rid of the old, too small or useless. Or things you and your family have no more love for. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1