A hat for every occassion

Ana has decided that she likes hats...not all of the time, but she'll usually tolerate a hat for a least a couple of minutes. Often, they are not her hats. In fact, they are often her Grandpa (Bruce's) hats.
Sometimes Ana wears her monkey hat...which really brings out her monky personality.
And sometimes she lets her Aunt Manda put a bow on her head...she then insists on being unwrapped...but she won't, for some reason, let anyone return her...she says we don't have a reciept so we'll only get store credit...which everyone knows is worthless!

Red Rock Fantasy Christmas Lights

Everybody loved the Christmas light displays in Sedona this year! Every year there's a group of condos in Sedona that compete for a week in a resort! The competition is based around who has the best Christmas light display.
The variety of Christmas light displays is awesome - and the best part is that we get to vote for the best one...so really it's all about which one makes us "oooh and ahhh" the most.
It was really cold out there but we stayed warm by snuggling together and taking multiple hot cider breaks!
I also stayed warm by hugging up to a polar bear that happened to cross my path - they're great for keeping warm!

Who's watching the kid?

It seems like whatever we're doing, the computer is involved. We're usually either blogging, checking our e-mail, looking up recipes, or up-dating ipods (not to mention mapping pretty much everything because we have no idea where anything is in Phoenix anymore).

The good news is that Ana has her very own computer too! There happens to be a ten year old PC hanging around the house that is good for absolutely nothing other than letting a ten month old pound on it. There are, however, plenty of times that Megan and I are just too busy playing around on the computer to do anything with the baby...luckily there are a lot of people around here very willing to watch after her...G-Ma (Lena) and G-Pa (Wally) are often available...
Ana and her Great Grandmother, Lena, seem to have taken quite a liking to one another!

The lady likes a good Vacuum

The lady that I am speaking of is named Analise. I have never seen another kid soothed by the vacuum the way this girl is soothed!
Ana gets her Aunt to vacuum the house (a.k.a me)She also gets her Mom to partake in the vacuuming party by batting her little eyelashes and giving her cute little smile
At least Ana lets her mom and I take a break for dinner at In-N-Out Burger (20 minute refueling pit spot)...this lady is kind of a slave driver!

The burgers were great...but the company was better!

Oh Christmas Tree...Oh Christmas Tree

Well, Saint Nicolas sure came to our house this year! There were lots of presents under the Christmas tree.Ana seemed a little bit overhelmed, but she managed to open all of her presents with the zeal that only a 10 month old can muster...
She did seem to enjoy the gift tags that I brought specially from Botswana...
I think that she liked the fact that my presents came with a "Stop Aids...Keep the promise" message!

A touch of Botswana everywhere you look

Ana opened a Christmas present early and found a dress made from traditional Botswana material. Megan says that she looks a bit like an Amish baby, but I think she looks like a true Motswanan (without the tan)
She was the perfect accessory for her daddy for Christmas Eve Mass and she spend the entire Mass telling all of the people around us how much she liked her outfit (well, she really just wanted to gargle at everyone around us...she apparently had all sorts of stuff to say).
Just another way that Botswana is present in my Arizona Christmas: all of my gift tags are made of Botswana flag condoms...it gives my presents a personalized touch!

Baby it's cold outside...

Arizona is much colder then any of us expected! But we find ways to keep warm!
Megan and I run around finding Christmas trees to take pictures with:
Ana falls asleep in her car seat wearing just about every piece of clothing she owns:

Megan, Ana and I cuddle up to a couple of beer bottles:
And, of course, Ana stays warm by crying every time I come near her!
Can you feel the love?

This is what happens when Megan and I are left to our own devices

You would think that we have enough to do...but no, Megan and I decided yesterday that dealing with Ana (who has an awful virus and can't seem to keep her fever down) wasn't quite busy enough. So, because Megan and I believe that every craft project should be laced with sarcasm and wit...we decided to make shirts for Ana with all sorts of fun "messages" on them on them.

My Motswana friends might be a bit offended by the fact that I have named Ana "Tokolosi" (which is the Setswana name for a zombie-like creature which wreaks havoc on a house) - but if you could see how this little girl cries when you look at her the wrong way, you might agree that Tokolosi is the perfect Setswana name for my little angel.

Of course, Ana is always up for sporting a little free publicity!

Any day now she'll be cruisin' on her own

Basically, Ana will take a ride from anyone that will oblige. In fact, I think that ever since she got to Phoenix her knees haven't touched the floor once...this is not only due to the fact that everyone wants to hold her, but it is also because of the fact that as of late this girl would much rather be walking around on her own. One of the Ana's newest discoveries is my Grandmother's walker. Really, it was love at first sight...and now her face lights up every time she sees the contraption.
As for walking around on her own two legs...Ana tries that a lot too...but she enjoys it a whole lot more when she is sandwiched between her Grandma and her Aunt...and they are always more than happy to oblige!

Happy Birthday to You...Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to us!
Out of our 28 years Megan and I have successfully spent 27 birthdays together (we're both still a bit bitter about our 23rd birthday which was spent apart...but we figure that if we drink enough wine the painful memory will slowly fade...one more glass should do nicely).
This year we are surrounded by multiple generations of women in our family! It's really the best way to spend a birthday...reflecting on the past...looking towards the future and, of course, looking at each other to see the present!


This birthday is also a very special one because it is the first birthday that I get to spend with my very special niece. She makes the room light up when she gives a smile, and when she laughs the entire room laughs with her!


This last year has been fantastic-and I know that next year will be even better!

When you're an Aunt that lives in Botswana...

You miss out on some things. I have found that I am quickly making up for lost time but am also realizing how much I have missed out on!
I have missed out on countless dances in the kitchen.

I have missed out on a plethora of bath times

But I was present for baby's first whole apple!

There's been a lot that has changed while I have been gone - but there are also many things that have remained the same...
Ana is still my sweet niece that I love dearly!

She wanted a Hippopotomus for Christmas...Only a Hippopotomus would do...

Ana wanted to say thank you to Dereje for her Hippo! She loves her hippo very much and the Hippo, "Doc" seems pretty taken with Ana. Doc has come a long way from Africa to live with Ana...and Ana is pretty excited about keeping him (she just keeps in mind that she must feed him regularly because she has heard stories from her Aunt about what a hungry hungry hippo can do!)

Doc is there when we wake up:


And Doc is there when we go to sleep...there's nothing better than a snoring hippo to help a little girl like Ana go right off to dream land...a dream land filled with Hippos, Giraffes, Lions and Elephants!

The people at Starbucks think that I am a grinning idiot

Four Airports, 20 hours of flying, 4 airplane meals (one being a lamb curry that was receiving rave reviews), 3 movies (Da Vinci Code, Little Miss Sunshine (loved it), and the illusionist- well half of the illusionist-my sleeping pills finally kicked in during the second half), and 3 security checkpoints later (honestly, those guys are getting a bit “fresh” with the whole pat-down situation)…and I am home!
It feels good to be home- and it feels even better to see my family!
Drinking Starbucks for the first time in 8 months is damn near divine…actually it’s not so much drinking the coffee but it’s all in the ordering- there’s just something special about being able to order a “half-decaf, half-caf Americano, with a shot of sugar free vanilla and a little bit of steamed half and half on top”. It makes my heart skip a beat to order such a drink.
Basically, I was a grinning idiot at Starbucks….

The company may have had something to do with my Starbucks thrill.

Christmas...Botswana style

There have been Christmas decorations up for months (without the "after Thanksgiving" guidelines for when to put them up, these decorations go up early October) There are also Holiday sales on fans, air conditioners and fridges – yep, it's bloody hot!

I thought that now would be a good time to give you a little idea of what Christmas looks like for me…Here's Botswana in December:Here is my house…no Christmas lights or tinsel, but the fact that my gutter is kind of falling down gives it that how do you say…je ne sais quoi. Here is what I like to think of as my Christmas tree:It's kind of lacking a star but I think the oscillation feature more than makes up for that.

Lastly here I am in typical attire around my house:When it comes to clothes I have decided to adopt the motto "less is more"…did I mention how hot it is?

p.s. Quick request…when e-mailing me, please scan your e-mail and delete any words or phrases concerning "how cold it is there," "how much snow there is," " how good the powder is…yada, yada, yada."

p.p.s. Temperature today: 36 degrees Celsius = 99 degrees Fahrenheit

I'll be home for Christmas….

You can count on me!
So I have completed my Christmas tradition of baking Sugar Cookies (they will be left in Botswana for my boyfriend, Dereje, to enjoy whilst I am away), I have packed my bags, and early on Saturday morning I will be leaving on a jet plane (okay…I'm done with the cheesy songs. Wait, did I mention that I wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas? Okay, now I am done).

I will be home for Christmas, but I am also leaving my other home. Today was my last day of work before the Christmas holidays. I remember last year right around this time there were a lot of parties with lots of drinks and cold weather…this year is a little different.

Today, right before I left the office, my counterpart called me into the office with our driver. The three of us really think of ourselves as our own little team – so she wanted to say a special "Merry Christmas" to us. She had gone out to buy our favorite drinks, slightly different than the kind of drinks I was partaking in last year. This year there were sodas: a Fanta for her, a Coke for my Driver and a Tab for me. I thought it was a lovely gesture (because she had taken the time to pick out our favorite drinks), and we had a fantastic time toasting our time together (of course we prayed before we drank our sodas, would you expect anything less?)

So now that my bags are packed.

I am ready to see my family. Don't think for a minute that I have forgotten what they look like, they are always with me, even when I am here!