Improvements to My Blogging Abilities - Coming Soon!

So this really has nothing to do with Singapore, or living abroad. However, it does have to do with my blog and traveling! 
I am so excited to say that I will FINALLY be the owner of a MacBook!

So for those that know me, let me give you a bit of history.  Yes, I have a laptop for work. Yes, I have a laptop for home.  Yes, I have an Ipad.  Yes, I have an iTouch. and finally, Yes, I have a Kindle.

However, the MacBook is something I have wanted for over 4 years now.  It started with my previous laptop purchase.  I really wanted a Mac, but landed on getting a very nice Dell with an extra large screen.  The laptop is great, it meets our needs as a family and it is starting to show its age.  No surprise really as it is 4 years old.

I was dissuaded last time from getting the Mac for various reasons, all valid.  However, that has not stopped this nagging desire for my pretty, white, compact little MacBook. 

Now that it has come time to replace and I truly know what I use my laptop for (mainly surfing and blogging, with desires to spend more time working on digital scrapbooking), I was confident that the Mac is exactly what I need.

The bonus is that the Dell is still perfectly useable.  Thus making my laptop completely mine!  No wandering around the house to find it.  Having to plug a dead laptop in as it has wandered off and been left to die.

I even took the time to be sure to make it very recognizable! Should be rather difficult not to spot this baby being used without my knowledge : )

Well, that's all for now.  We are officially 8 days in counting on our trip back to Chicago and truly cannot wait.  I have been working my tail off this month to finish up all my mid-year goals knowing that it will all be worth it next month when I can relax and do nothing but enjoy my time!

Dubai - Visit Two

I don't really have anything new to post about how much I loved my second trip to Dubai. 
I did want to share a nice video I took from my Blackberry of the water show I described before.  If you recall, this is at the base of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. 
Hope you enjoy!

Fun Summer Days



So I just had to share these photos that Dannette sent to me.  I laughed when I saw them as it's a fun look into the silliness that she and her friends have when out and about.  Often, quite different than the serious, quiet Dannette that we often all see.  Hope you enjoy!



 







My personal favorite!









Last Day of School!

Well the time has come and Dannette is now completely done with 7th grade!  What a year and three schools later!!
I think we all see the end of school this year as a big milestone as it marks the beginning of the one month countdown until we return home to Chicago for the month of July.  We are all starting to get really excited.  Ok, excited about Chicago, not excited about Halie and the 24 hours on the plane. You see Halie has taken to being a screamer.....a happy screamer that is.  She does nothing quietly.  So  you can imagine that our anxiety levels are inching up every day as we contemplate being in business class in a dark cabin for at least 12 hours of the flight while people try to sleep and we have a screaming toddler near them preventing them from sleeping.  I have heard good things about essential oils to help calm kids on planes so I plan to do some investigating!
In other news, Monday marks the last trip before our home leave that I know of.  Its a 4 day return trip to Dubai.  However, after being in London for a week and just getting home last evening I can tell you that another 7 hour plane trip and 5 hour time difference is not sounding so good at the moment.  All things will come to an end though and we will be even closer to Chicago when I get home!

In final news, the mail arrived today and we learned that Dannette made honor roll for the second semester!  Not bad for a kid who has been through three schools and two continents in the course of one school year! We are of course, very proud! She of course, thinks I am insane for photographing her with the honor roll certificate.  We parents need to embarass them some days I figure :)

Dance Team

We were thrilled to be able to see Dannette perform with the Singapore American School's Dance Team at the beginning of May!  What a great showcase of talent.  The Spring show is lighter and only includes the Middle School whereas the fall show is a huge showcase of middle through high school.  Dannette wanted to try the Spring show to get her feet wet and she enjoyed it so much she plans to do the Fall 2011 show when they return to school.

The show concept this year was called 'iDance' and centered around the concept of your iPod being on shuffle so each song was only about 90 seconds long.  This was a great way to explore lots of types of dance as well as to include almost 200 dancers! 

Not only was the show excellent, John and I had a blast watching Halie watch the show.  She clapped for every act and often was dancing along in our laps. She really got excited when Michael Jackson's |Smooth Criminal| was used!  Apparently, she is an MJ fan in the making!

Enjoy the pics!

Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam

Once again I am dreadfully behind on my blogging, but I have vowed to catch up again so that I am current by the time we head home to Chicago in one month!  We are all getting very excited.

Firstly though I have not yet blogged about my trip to Vietnam at the end of April.  This was definitely a trip that will not be forgotten!

Vietnam was like what I imagined every Asian city to be......extremely crowded, the streets jammed with motorbikes and people peddling everything from food to souvenirs on the streets. In general, I tend to dislike all the crowds, but something about Vietnam made it feel special.  I will never forget arriving and being driven to the hotel and being the only car I could see as far in front, behind or to the sides of me.  There were no cars, only thousands of people on motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic without stopping.  The motorbike is treated like a family SIV there!  I saw small Vespa scooter sized bikes carrying two adults with a small child in front of the driver and a second child nestled between the two adults!  It was an amazing site.

I didn't get a chance to do any site seeing while there but I did find a new love......Vietnamese food!  I did not know that Vietnamese food holds the worldwide distinction of being some of the healthiest foods around.  I can see why.  The food is simple but what makes it so special is the amazing amount of flavor that can come from simple basic ingredients.  My favorite dish has to be Pho (pronounced 'fir'), in English translates to a Noodle soup.  I prefer the Beef Pho, but they also sell another one typically that contains beef, beef balls and other meats.  The broth of the Pho is a delicate broth teaming with basil and lots of other fragrant and tasty spices.  The beef is super thin slices of beef (think similar to what a slice of lamb for gyros looks like) that is tossed raw into the boiling hot Pho broth moments before you eat it so it is perfectly cooked.  The proper way to eat it is to remove the beef as you go and dip it into one of the spicy chili sauces that they serve with it.  Of course, you also enjoy the broth as you would any other noodle soup.  I was first introduced to the dish in Taiwan where it was good, but nothing replaces having it done locally in Vietnam!  A few other must-try's are the fresh spring roll (also known as a summer roll), which is a non fried egg roll containing mint, basil, rice and a few vegies in a delicious rice wonton wrapper and to top it off Vietnamese coffee!  I am not a coffee person but the deliciously sweet (they used sweetened condensed milk) and extremely strong flavors over ice could not be missed! 

I have since found a decent place in Singapore to enjoy the cuisine but look forward to trying it again in Vietnam again!