In Everything Give Thanks

As the sun rises for a new day, my first Canadian holiday over here has come and passed. It was Canadian Thanksgiving and we feasted on...........yams? That's right, yams! I hunted for a turkey, but the cheapest one was almost $50 and it was only 7lbs. I also couldn't find any cranberry sauce, cranberries to make sauce or brussels sprouts - all Thanksgiving must-haves. It is tradition that I make pumpkin pie from scratch every year (and I mean cutting up fresh pumpkin, steaming and mashing it!!) and I couldn't find a pumpkin anywhere......not even canned pumpkin!!! Not to mention, I couldn't find lard to make the pastry either! So alas, I was very thankful to at least be able to find yams and thus yams for dinner it was! They were sooooo good! My sister-in-law, Aubrey, has THE best recipe for cheesy yams, so that's what I made. Gillian (another fellow Canuck) and I ate yams and drank tea for supper. LOL :D Happy Thanksgiving!! :) I was definitely thankful for the yams and for good company! :)

The thankfulness continued this week.......I was telling my girls about my unsuccessful searches for Thanksgiving essentials and that I was disappointed that I couldn't find a pumpkin anywhere. The next day, one of my students came to school carrying this big paper bag and inside sat a nicely-sized pumpkin! :) Apparently, she sent her driver (yes, almost all the kids have 'drivers' over here....it's Kuwait, most people are very wealthy) in search of a pumpkin for me and after a few hours of searching, he found one. :) The funny part is, the bag it was delivered in was a Prada paper bag.....so that's a pic of my "Prada Pumpkin" and the darling that made my day! :) HAHAHAH! :)

I've had a lot of people asking me to hurry it up with the blog updates. I'm trying, I'm trying! School has been crazy busy with getting the girls and myself into a routine, but so far, so good. I have been tutoring 4 nights a week as well, and that has been a blast! :) The little boy I tutor always lights up my day, no matter how crazy or bad it is! It really is a treat to be working with him this year. :)

Ok, as for travel opportunities, it's official! I'm going to Jordan for the November break!!! Addie and I booked our tickets the other night because we found some AWESOME deals! :) So we are flying into Amman, renting a car and driving to the Dead Sea to stay at a nice hotel and float in the salty sea for a couple days, then off to explore Petra! I've been told Petra is the world's best kept secret.....we'll see! I'm really looking forward to driving, as I have been without a car now for over a month. After having had my own car for 12 years, I'm finding it very hard to suddenly be dependent on a bus to take me to and from school at set times and taxi's to take me to various places in the city. It's especially difficult because most of them do not speak a lick of English, nor do they know where anything is!!! Unless you know a reliable taxi driver, getting around here is extremely frustrating. Luckily, I have been hooked up with Ali, who literally knows every backstreet and alley in the country. :)

Well, as the sun is setting, I better get to marking some papers......doesn't matter where in the world you are, there are always papers to be marked! LOL! Bye for now! :)