Homemaker's Expo - Snapchat shares

We visited the Homemaker's Expo at the TicketPro Dome yesterday. I had won two tickets from SA Mom Blogs, and Little Miss could go in for free! (Win!)

I shared some of our experiences on Snapchat.

We had a good time, and lots of inspiration! (So sad about the empty wallets!)

Of course we had to check out all the coffee machines!

"Experience passion for a life less ordinary." -Siemens coffee quote

Maybe this emoji does not reflect that I really really
want this machine as well?

How rad is this spiral vegetable slicer? Marked for future reference!

Little Miss collected balloons
and walked around hitting people on the heads with it! 

Of course you have to get doughnuts at an Expo!

My choice for #947Boxes vote! Would love this!

Totally gets a thumbs up!

Want it!

View from the top!

We made up almost all of our steps at the Expo, and I was finished at the end! We only saw the children's entertainment towards the end (it was upstairs), and we redirected Little Miss' attention! (Bad parenting! NOT! She had a good time!)

Things that are not so nice about America - travel insights from San Antonio

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- The heat in summer. You can't spend too much time outside. With temperatures of over 30 degrees it gets very uncomfortable! A braai (barbecue) outside for the whole day is not possible! The heat and the mosquitos make it impossible!

- As much as there is the most wonderful food options available, I found myself saying "disgusting" many many times to all the processed and packaged options that are available! Where have you heard of a hamburger with a waffle on top with syrup accompanying it?

- Most of the coffee in the restaurants are not good! They also don't do cappuccinos very well. Starbucks gets my best vote!

- There were fireworks each and every night. The poor animals...

- The president did not deliver on his promises (say the locals).

- Although they celebrated their independence there were a lot of discussion going on in the blogosphere about the fact that they are not free!

- The education system is also not of the greatest. Teachers are not paid decent salaries, and home schooling and private education seem to be the way to go!

- They are still debating gay rights, although gay marriages are allowed since only very recently!

- The air con in all the buildings is a necessity, but it detaches from the outside world.


This is the best negative list I can come up with. The positives of America that we experienced in San Antonio still far outweigh the negatives.

It looks like a great lifestyle to be living!

Things we love about America - tourist insights about San Antonio

San Antonio residential suburbs from the air

We are still jet-lagged after we arrived back in South Africa from our two week holiday in San Antonio. We visited my brother who is staying and working there.

It has been a fantastic holiday and we had so many great experiences!

I feel the same way about America after I have watched Avatar and walked out of the movie theater. Earth did not look as great as the planet portrayed in the movie...
South Africa looks a lot less inviting now...


10 Things we love about America

1. Everything is BIG. The houses, the cars, the shops, the products, the food...

2. There are no fences and no security gates. It is safe there! We could walk in the middle of the city without eyeing every passersby with suspicion that they are going to grab our bags.

3. The streets are clean. They even had a campaign "Don't mess with Texas!", which are still reflected in badges and t-shirts and advertisements.

4. The people are extreme friendly, and a "Thank you!" is always met with a "You're welcome!" (No, we are not as friendly as they are, although we think we are!)

5.  The weather is HOT in summer, but there are air-con everywhere! (It's a hot humid temperature!) The sun also sets at about 9 pm in the evenings, which gives them a very long summer's day each day!

6. Everything works there. There is wifi in every restaurant, shop and even the cars have wifi. We stayed connected the whole time!
Online orders get delivered the next day, and you pick it up on your porch.

7. The shops have a huge variety to choose from. The biggest sizes imaginable are available!

8. The highways are going everywhere, and they are big! (No signs of tolls there!)

9. It is green everywhere in summer, and it feels like bush veld when you drive out of the city.

10. There are restaurants everywhere, and it seems the locals like frequenting them. We even had to wait early on a Monday morning to get a table at a favourite breakfast spot, The Pancake House!


They really have a great lifestyle going on there!



Related posts:

- Initial thoughts about America

- Wordless Wednesday #274 - NASA in Houston

Wordless Wednesday #88 - Toddler with crocodile

Special Women’s Day

I got to spend the day with my youngest daughter. It turned into a very special Women’s Day!

(Hubby had to attend the funeral of a friend’s father, and the teen spend the day with the boyfriend and his family...)

I took the Toddler to Lifestyle, a nursery with restaurants, shops and play areas for children. I promised the Toddler a train ride, and after that we just browsed around...

The Toddler inspected all the water features, the kitsch statues, the plants, and played around in the play area...

All on her terms and on her own time!

I should do more of this and more often with my child...


What did you do on Mother"s Day?

Related post:
6th Wedding Anniversary

We don’t listen about having babies

Laura at Harassed Mom asks the question why nobody tells new parents about the bad stuff about having babies. I believe we DO know and hear it - all the warnings and jokes about having babies - but we think it can’t be as bad as they say.

And then it is much worse! The not-sleeping! The LIVE-Changing impact on your carefree lifestyle!  The impact on you budget – for at least the next twenty years. The impact on the parents’ relationship with each other... I could go on and on. We all know and experience the list...

But we don’t care at all! Because we look at this wonderful creature in our lives who have come to enrich it, and we can’t imagine our lives without her!

Look at that face while sleeping... Our Angel!

I know there are mothers who struggle with post-natal depression, and dads who feel threatened by the new intruder. I acknowledge that it could be far worse to be in that position.

Luckily with Mieka, the second time around, we did not have to face this.

The first time around I had to deal with a jealous husband (now an X, the canceled one) who demanded that I spend most of my time with him, and not our new-born daughter (now the teen). Luckily she slept through quite soon. I remember I used to think that I could deal with any baby, but it was much worse dealing with him...

But we get through these times much sooner than we think possible. I would not change having two beautiful daughters in my life! It has been the most rewarding experience and the relationships will continue to enrich our lives!

Thank you that we don’t listen to the doomsayers!

6th Wedding Anniversary

6 years with the hubby! It has been a great ride so far! Thank you very much, Hubby, for the great times!


The 1st of May is usually a public holiday here, but this year it falls on a Saturday. We are missing out on an extra off day this year. Bummer...

We spent the day with the toddler. (Yeah, we are sorry excuses!) Nothing gives us more pleasure than being with each other and our littlest! I had to put my foot down (um, I had to write on Dries’s gift card for a DVD) that he could not spend it on a DVD for the toddler... He did just that with a previous gift! (Smile)

I was reminded again today of how very quick special times are going by. My teen chose to spend the day with the boyfriend rather than with us. I totally understand it! (Sigh!) It makes me cherish the time with the toddler even more...

We went for a breakfast at Lifestyle Garden Centre. Nothing beats a breakfast eating out! I am so glad I have a hubby that enjoys going out, even if it is for a breakfast in a restaurant...

We wanted to show Mieka the petting zoo. It is a very child-friendly place for parents to go here in Johannesburg. There is a play area for the children, and a little bit of animals – ponies, geese, rabbits and chickens – to look at. They have pony rides, as well as a train for the children to ride on. Mieka enjoyed the train ride very much, and grabbed the steering wheel in the train coach and wouldn’t let go!

Top photo: The flowers I got from Dries. Aren't they lovely?

Invitation to prepare your own meal at the End-of-Year function

Last night I felt like The Outsider. We were invited to Dries’ end-of-year function to “test our culinary skills.” Dries forwarded the invite to me only yesterday, although he had it for a week already. He knows I would have been bitching about it for a week if I had known earlier. To prepare food is not my favourite activity. It is my least favourite activity of all! (There, I have said it! Sound of sirens! Waiting for the bombs to drop…).

To prepare my own food at an end-of-year function feels like absolute hell to me!
I want to be wined and dined and to feel I am in for a treat!
But there I was with all the happy people (happy to be invited to make your own food?) around me, and thinking that I am definitely from another planet to be the only one swearing on the inside. Apparently also on the outside, because Dries told me later to stop swearing.
Luckily there was red wine! The ultimate lifesaver! After three wines it went really well, and I was opening the phyllo pastry packet for the apple strudel and pecan nut phyllo pie with gusto. I don’t know if it was the red wine, or if the chef saw my clumsiness with regards to food, but he helped me with stacking the phyllo layers, and folding it. Amazing, between me and Dries we made the brinjal starter and the apple and pecan nut strudel desert!

I must congratulate Angela Day Kitchen at Lifestyle. Even me, an absolute stick-in-the-mud enjoyed it, and the food was all-round excellent! Luckily Dries also works for very very nice people, and with their partners we had a lovely time!

BUT I still don’t like making my own food at an end-of-year-function!!