Kampung Ayer school trip

Linnea had yet another school excursion today! Lucas was slightly jealous, one last week and one this week!
They are talking about "houses" at school, so we went to Kampung Ayer (the Water Village) to look at the houses on stilts, and even visit one of them to have a drink and take some photos. Luckily there were a few more parent helpers this time, because we had to cross one of the wooden walkways without hand rails to get to this house... a bit nerve wracking with 35 3 & 4-year olds...

We also walked from the beautiful Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque in town, down to the waterfront to have ice cream. Quite a hike for the little ones, especially in the blazing heat it was today - but they did sooo well, and really deserved their ice creams in the end!

Because of the little royal class mate, we were followed around by a bunch of photographers, a film crew (for the TV tonight!) and a journalist from the Brunei Times. I got interviewed, so I will have to buy the paper tomorrow I guess! Bless him, they keep those cameras in his face all the time, but he is doing so well the little Prince. I guess he is used to it.

We had a lovely morning, see for yourselves:

Birthday celebrations

So, yesterday was our birthday! Lucas was very excited of course,; and he had the whole morning planned - we were to wake him up as usual, first, with his presents, and then I was to go back to bed and get "waken up" with my presents!
We actually managed to wake him, he was still fast asleep when we came in singing. He got some lovely things, Lego (of course), HotWheels and a fussball table!

After we had got the kids off to school, it was time for me to have my celebration! It's nice to get to celebrate my birthday too, and that it's not all about Lucas... even though it was no "even" number, it's still my day too.
I had a few friends come around for coffee and cake, and fruit salad for the health conscious (...) - we had a great morning catching up, chatting away and enjoying the yummy cake (thanks Matt!)!
And, I got some great gifts too! A glass candle light holder, a photo frame, a lamp, an inscense kit, flowers, some earrings and a necklace, a wallet, a beautiful evening bag, a crystal bowl, body glimmer, a vase and some Pandora charms. (But the best one must be the Garmin Forerunner 405cx my dear husband had so sneakily got for me..!)

At pickup, we brought a box of Superhero cupcakes in to Lucas' class. He got to sit in Mr Jolly's chair, he was sung to and he got six birthday tickles from Mr Jolly before he shared his cupcakes with his friends.
Then we got busy coming home from school, opening some more presents, building Lego and assembling HotWheels-tracks!

Lucas' big party is tomorrow afternoon, and he just can't wait! It's a Superhero party, so we are expecting to see one or two Batman-, Spiderman-, Ultraman-, Superman- and Ben10-outfits.

Well, here are some snapshots from yesterday:

It's our birthday!!

We have not just one but two birthday babes in the house today! I will upload some photos later, since we are still in the middle of all the celebrations and enjoying our day - but this is us this morning!

Heaven

One of my many stops today (after manicure/pedicure, sushi lunch, bike shop for Nathan, sorting out the party bags for someones party this week and school run...) was the post office.
It had been a while so there was lots of mail waiting for us, including a couple of Christmas-cards (they just keep coming, thank you!) AND a parcel - for me!

A Christmas parcel actually, containing a little bit of heaven:



I received this package from a friend I have actually never met - but known for over 6 years..! She's part of the internet forum I've mentioned several times here on the blog. I've written about this Christmas gift exchange tradition too before, last year, you can find that post here.

This year I was so lucky as to get a Secret Santa living in Sweden, so apart from the 'Lakrisal' (that I nearly finished just on the way home from the post office...) it also contained 'Julskum', 'Däck' and the special edition 'Wunderbaum-Julgranar' by Ahlgrens Bilar, a beautiful woolen purse from Klippan's Yllefabrik and two glossy magazines for me and a magazine each for the kids!

Heaven!
Thank you Miqa!

Selective censorship

You know how sometimes when you buy a magazine, it comes with lots of flyers and commercial add-ins, and it's packaged in a plastic sleeve?
Well, yesterday I decided to treat myself to some inspiration and went to get a few magazines at the book shop. I picked up a copy of 'Shape', and inside the plastic sleeve was a big white paper. It covered most of the cover and since I wanted to read and see what this issue was about, I tried to shake the packaging a bit to get the white paper (which I thought had been put backside out by mistake) to move. It didn't, so I picked another copy, but that too had a white paper..?
Ah, now the coin dropped... It was censored!
This is how it looks if they think the cover girls are showing a bit too much:



And this is how she actually looked like, not porno in any way of course, just a healthy, well trained body - not too different from the girl on the 'Runner's World'-cover. I guess the one in the yellow bikini is just showing a little bit too much cleavage...

Excursion to the supermarket

Linnea went on the bus on a school excursion today, to the local supermarket. She has been so excited about this since they found out they were going and has been counting her sleeps, bless her!
I came along as parent helper, as you know I do enjoy the school trips - even though the supermarket might not have been the most exciting venture point, I spend enough time there every week as it is!

Listening to the teacher before going in, getting to know the dos and donts:





They got split in smaller groups, and got shopping "lists" and money, and then we set off to find our things. We had carrots, potatoe and onion on our "list". Looking:





Finished!



Then to pay... the poor cashiers didn't know what hit them! 38 children who all wanted to pay for their potatoe, their pineapple, their apple etc..!



Then they got a little treat each from the SupaSave ladies for having been so good shoppers; a drink, an apple and a sausage roll:



And after the shopping, we all went next door to have a drink before going back to school. The children used their best restaurant manners, and got to order with the waiter themselves:

Boel vs wind & rain 1-0

It's honestly been raining all day today, all day.
I still decided to take the chance and go running this afternoon when it stopped for a minute earlier. I was fooled though, because 10 minutes into my run, it started again...
It wasn't quite the heavy torrential rain from earlier today, but it was still raining pretty much sideways and quite intensely. The steady wind didn't make it any more pleasant either...
Did I give up though and go home?? No!!! I kept going and finished off today's scheduled run. A little bit wet yes, but who cares? Maybe I even got a little bit of determination in me after all...

Wet, wet, wet

The wet season is here again. It has rained non-stop now for two full days, and I'm sure we're in for quite a long period of it still. This is just the beginning.
I remember last year's January floods and hope it wont be as bad this year though... It's bad enough to have to drive through it several times a day to get to school, and to get wet (and then cold!) whatever you do.

This is how "chilly" it was at pickup today:



I don't mind the slightly cooler temperatures, but all this rain is messing with my running schedule!!

Setting goals

It's taken me a while, but I've finally set myself a goal (which I've learned is important) for the Hong Kong race next month:
I want to be able to run the whole way.

People have been pushing me to set a time goal, and I've heard more than once: "Come on, you can do it under an hour!!" and so on. But to be honest, I don't think I can. Maybe I'm selling myself short, maybe it's just a big lack in self confidence - but I just don't feel that a time under an hour is an achievable goal, for me.
The starting group Vicky and me are in, is the group where you've estimated you can finish in between 1h10 and 1h20, which sounds very reasonable. Maybe, if I push myself, I will be able to get in under 1h10 - maybe not, but at least that feels like a goal that would be realistic. If I do - I'll be very proud of myself, but the time is not the important goal, the endurance is. (I've decided to do it this way, and then work on the time for the race in Stockholm in March!)

So, as long as I run the whole ten kilometers, I've met my goal!

Some DIY shopping

This afternoon I took Misuzu with me into town, to do some DIY shopping. With this I don't mean shopping for DIY stuff as screwdrivers and hammers etc, no, I mean DIY shopping as in "you-have-to-do-it-all-yourself"-kind of shopping!

I've been thinking for a while that we are in desperate need of plates in this house. Not only does it happen quite a bit that we are actually more than 12 people having dinner at the same time, but the amah has also done her bit reducing the number of plates I had from the beginning to only eight - and reducing that number again by chipping most of them, so there are not really many plates that are usable for when we have guests...
Ah well, as much as I really enjoy having one, the downsides to an amah is a story for another blog post some day.

Back to the plates!
So, we went to a shop here in town where they sell all sorts of plates, branded, non-branded - even some from IKEA! I wanted 12 big and 12 small plates, but that wasn't an easy task. We had to go through every pile of plates to try and sort out some that were good enough, without chips or marks and bubbles... We had to borrow a cloth, to clean off the dirt to be able make difference between the dust and the marks. Of course, we did all this ourselves because the shop assistants there seemed to be kind of only for show? Good thing it was Misuzu and not Nathan helping me, I don't think he would have been just as patient...



Finally, after half an hour of DIY going through their plate stock later, we finally had compiled two piles of pretty much flawless plates, wee-ha!

Now I'm ready for all my friends to come and have cake next week!

It's the weekend!

We're having a lovely, relaxing weekend. Really felt the need for that, after a somewhat slightly tiring first week back at school.
Yesterday we took the kids to have their favourite lunch, sushi, together with some friends. Then we took them up to Muara Beach so they could ride their bikes for a bit. It's very nice up there, with lots of little paths to ride/walk on, picnic areas and a big playground. Even though we were there in the middle of the afternoon it wasn't too hot as the breeze is lovely just by the beach.













After their ride we went to the Yacht Club for a quick swim and some dinner, and in the evening Nathan and I decided it was time to go and see 'Avatar'. Oaw... I've been dreaming about blue creatures and glowing landscapes all night..!

All in all, a very lovely Saturday, and Sunday is still an unwritten story. We are waiting for Nathan to come back from his morning bike ride before we get on with the day.

Hawaiian fun

Busy times at school, Lucas already had his first 'excursion' today - to Hawaii, very exciting!
The whole three classes in Year 1 did a pretend trip after lunch today, to the Kindy playground, which was decked out with palm trees and tropical flowers to make it look like Hawaii. It was really great!

Enjoying the sea and the sand:







Doing the limbo:



They had packed their bags with suncream, swimmers, a book to read on the plane and other things you take on holiday. They even had two real pilots "flying" them there (Frederik & Will) and had to pass a passport control and everything!





Little hawaiian girls, travelling home:

Exercise tally

It's now been a month since I did my first run outside here in Brunei (apart from the hash runs of course), and I haven't looked back since - treadmill, no more!
It's actually rather nice outside around 5 o'clock in the afternoon when the sun is not so harsh anymore. If you are lucky, you can even get a little breeze some days!
Here is a quick summary of my workouts this past four weeks:

* I've played squash 7 times.
* I've hashed 5 times.
* I've run 10 times (about 62 km in all).

Not bad when you put it all like that, and especially not considering this was mostly all over the festive season..!
50 days until Hong Kong, here I come!

Honorary member

Linnea is, as you know, not really a girlie girl. Even though she does like her handbags, she's not so 'pink' and 'fairy-like' as many of her friends. She always says she prefers boys and her two best friends are Ben and Daniel.
Today it was Daniel's birthday, and when they finalized his guest list he didn't want any girls at his party. Linnea got invited though because as Daniel said - "she's my friend". (And, Anne and Ida were also allowed at the party, since "they live in the house..!")
Very funny!

So here is Linnea, as an honorary member of the "boys club", playing Spiderman climbing the window:

On a roll!

Sometimes I feel like I'm dissolving. Tonight I had my fourth shower in two days, after my fourth time of exercise. Not only do I sweat enormous amounts and feel totally soaked several times a day, I feel like the showers afterwards are just making my skin dissolve..!

I've played squash two days in a row, which I enjoy a lot! It's so much fun, and really good exercise at the same time.
Then, I've hashed today of course, it's Tuesday after all!
I've also been running, with only 53 days to go until the 10 k in Hong Kong, I better step it up a bit. Yesterday I did 10 k road running, in my super-bright yellow shirt and with Nathan's bike lights on my arms. It was hard, and long... and let's just leave it at that for now...

Those of you who are observant might have noticed two new countdowns in the side bar. I've added another 10 k race, in Stockholm! I'm planning to do that with my good friend Erika during the Sweden-trip in March. It's the first organized race in Sweden, for the season, the Premiärmilen. (I'm just worried that it might be too cold for me, who's used to running in 32-33 degrees!)
While the kids and I go to Sweden, Nathan is hoping to get back down to N.Z to do another bike race. This time it'll be without the support team though, although I think Granddad has signed up too!

We are on a roll!

Monday the 4th of January 2010

I like the feeling of 'fresh' you get in the beginning of each year. I've always liked the month of January. I've always liked Mondays.

Today it's the first Monday of this year. Well, it's actually the first Monday this decade. I like Mondays.
I like routine. I like everyday life.

(School started today and we were all happy to end the holidays for this time. The kids were really missing their friends, and I was really missing some me-time... Welcome Monday!)

Nearly there

With only one more day left now of these Christmas holidays, I must say they haven't felt as long as I thought they would.
Yes, some days have been a bit flat and uneventful, but mostly I've enjoyed spending the time with the kids, and not having our days being ruled by school pick-up times and other things.

3 1/2 weeks is a long period of time though and we are all ready for school to start again now. I can see that the kids are missing their friends and they need something more than just Mummy and Daddy to occupy them.

Me, I'm looking forward to getting back into routine and having a bit of my own time again, even though I have to sacrifice the sleep-ins!

You've got mail

When I was at home this summer, I discovered some cute mini mailboxes from Bruka Design. They were so adorable, I thought they would be good presents for the kids, so they've been hidden away in the gift-cupboard for a while now.

Since then, and mostly thanks to the big Christmas-card-exchange, Linnea has developed a slight addiction for sending (and receiving!) cards, in all shapes and forms. She swiped nearly every Christmas card we got, to keep for hers, and she spends every day making cards for all of her little friends.
So as it turned out, at least she couldn't have got at more suitable gift this Christmas! Linnea got a pink one and Lucas a white one, and we have mounted them outside their rooms.





Luckily I don't have to make all the post myself, as I have fantastic neighbours that help feed darling Linnea's new passion! Misuzu particularly, is very good at "sending" little cards from Oliver, nearly daily. Each and every one makes Linnea squeal of delight when she discovers them in her mail box - so if anyone wants to make her day, post her a card!

First photos of 2010

A few snaps of the first day of 2010:

The sushi lunch and the sushi chef:



The effects of going to bed at 00.30..:



The cutest neighbour around:



Playing TP:

A good start

We had a good start to the new year (and a good ending to the old one) together with friends at our house last night.
We had a bit of a pot luck dinner, with a little bit of everything on the menu; from spinach dip, celery & raisin dip, parma ham & fig rolls, Vietnamese spring rolls and chili prawns via steak, creamed potatoes, tsatsiki and salad to cheese cake, chocolate tarts and tiramisu. Mmm!

We had a plan that the kids would fall asleep before midnight, but our plan failed miserably - at 23.45 everybody were still awake. So we tuned in to a Malaysian tv-channel that had a countdown from KL, poured the champagne and the coke, and all got ready to jump into the new year from the sofas.
The kids didn't really know what hit them! But at least Daniel and Linnea seemed to enjoy the festive cheers!

After that, some of the guests left and the kids finally gave up and fell asleep. Daniel stayed for a sleep-over to Linnea's great joy, and the rest of us continued a bit with the champagne, and some with the whiskey...

Actually - you can say that our New Year-celebration have been a two-day affair, because it's not over yet!
We had not only Daniel but the McLeans as house guests over night, and this morning we cooked up a big bacon & egg-breakfast that we enjoyed with fresh orange & mango juice. We've played Trivial Pursuit and watched movies together all day, got samosas and sushi for lunch (made by Misuzu) and now we are awaiting our Indian take-away to arrive..!

A very good start to 2010!