My Mommy by Orangutan!

This morning was O's Mother's Day program at school. They sang for us and then presented us with gifts and a little interview that they put together with the teachers. I'll sharee the interview first (because the computer is slow and hasn't finished loading the video yet).

These are the answers to 10 questions the teachers asked Orangutan.

1. My dad calls my mom Sarah.
I would have said he calls me "Honey where's the..." but it was her interview not mine.

2. My mom is as tall as a pole.
Not sure how I feel about that. I guess it's better than being as tall as a frog, right?

3. My mom weighs I don't know. I never weighed her before.
Good use of diplomacy O. I am so glad she stuck to the scientific answer! By the way the low bid out of all the moms was 10 pounds I think. She looked good too!

4. My mom is 19 years old.
Boy, I sure wish I felt like I was 19! My knees actually made audible creaks this morning. And the low bid on age was 5 - yes, that would mean simultaneously being born and giving birth. Not a labor I want to be part of thank you very much!

5. Her favorite drink is fancy ones.
Maybe cocktail hour has been happening a little early lately! Eeek!

6. Her favorite restaurant is fancy ones.
The correct answer here is any! As long as I don't have to clean I'm golden.

7. She likes to play with us for fun.
Or take a nap, or watch a movie or write, but yeah, playing with them is a pretty good deal too!

8. She enjoys cooking pizza.
Time to shake up the dinner menu again!

9. She looks prettiest when she wears a black dress.
She could have said "dress" in general or "when she actually showers" so I'll take this one.

10. My mom is so smart she can even get me, my brother, and my sister a playground that you can pick a circus, then switch again and find a new one. If you get on the sun the game is shorter.

See, what she was trying to say is that I'm so smart I can get them to play a board game together with minimal bloodshed. But instead she described the game.

And now (an hour and a half later) I can share with you the musical number from our morning. O is in the very back because she's one of the tallest in her class. Sorry about the quality. It's from our digital camer. Any one who would like an idea for a birthday gift (coming up soon!) is welcome to remember that a gift card to Best Buy is a really GOOD idea! (Pass it on sis!)

It's Christmas in Jamaica, Mon!

Who missed the trip this weekend? I got a little overwhelmed with decorating and engagement parties and sewing and ...well, you get the picture! But I've restocked my backpack and have my traveling clothes on so let's get moving!

We've pretty much wrapped up Central and South America so I thought maybe on our way to Europe we would take a little stop over in Jamaica to get one more shot at warm weather. Welcome to the island!

In Jamaica it is tradition to paint your home and decorate with new curtains (talk about taking the decorating seriously!). Because of the African influence in the Carribean there is a tremendous shift in the celebration style. There are elaborate parades of revelers called Jonkanoo (John Canoe) during which revelers don elaborate masks and dance their ways through the streets.

Another part of the holiday season is Grand Market. As I read up on this I could only picture a flea market of fireworks, crafts, and food mashed together with a street carnival of dancing and music. Definitely sounds like fun to me!! Can you almost hear the steel drums now?

And let's not forget the food! The feast of Christmas is laden with chicken, oxtail, ackee, saltfish, fried plantains, curried goat, ham rice and gango peas (just for starters). The most interesting item on the menu for me was the Sorrel and Rum punch. Made with sorrel, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar orange peel and rum, it certainly sounds like something that would make all the parties a little more interesting!

So there you have it! Another stop on our way around the world. And what a stop! The music the dancing, the parade - it's certainly a fun way to head off to Europe.

This afternoon I hope to land in that wonderful Emerald Isle we know as Ireland. Be sure you stop back and enjoy a pint with us.