Happy birthday Mama!

It's my Mummy's birthday today. She is the most amazing woman I know. She is strong and sensitive and sooooooo caring! I want to be exactly like her when I grow up. She disciplined me when I was a child and I'm thankful for it. Just one look was enough to let you know that you were in big big trouble! Thanks Mummy - I'm better person because of it :-)

These are a few of the things that make me mum amazing:

• She is beautiful. Inside and out. I always say that my mum is hot!!! Some people think I'm her little sister :-) 
• She is the most selfless person I know. She always wants people to be happy and comfortable even if it means compromising her needs. If you needed a ride back home and she was in town she would wait for you even if it meant she had to wait for over an hour or that she had to come pick you from the other side of town. So sweet isn't she? Love you Mummy! For all the times you did that I'm thankful - it may have seemed small but it meant a lot!
• She loves the Lord. My mum has a deep relationship with the Lord. You don't need to know her too well to see it. Her kindness and sensitivity is evidence of that. I know that she spends a lot of time praying for her family and the Lord has indeed blessed her because of it. I don't know where we'd be - especially her children - if she had not prayed for us the way only a mother can. She and my father prayed for my husband even before I met him. And when he showed up I knew it was definitely their prayers that had helped make sure I married a wonderful man.
• She gets excited with me. When I need someone to scream with me I can count on her. (I have evidence of this....) See the photo below :-)

My mum could not contain her joy on my graduation - she ran out to meet me. FYI, that's not allowed but who could stop this crazy woman? Love you mum!

• She is my friend. I can talk to her about anything. And now that I'm married her counsel is very important. I'm glad that I have such an exemplary woman in my life. It's tough but worth it.
• She is a very good listener. She listens to everything you say- both your words and your body language. This special gift has helped keep us as her children in line because we can't lie to Mummy. Unless, of course, we're trying to surprise her or something :-D It has also made her the best mum anyone could ask for. When I was in high school so many girls wanted her to be their mum. Aren't I lucky?
• She is a brilliant woman. She is doing her PhD and she keeps topping her class. (Yes, Mummy you do - even if you want to deny it!) teeheehee!

To be honest, there are so many things I want to say about my mum. She is my buddy and I admire her. I want to be exactly like her. If I become even half the woman she is I'll be so proud of myself.
Mummy, I love you very very very much. Thank you for being a wonderful mother and friend. You've taught me so much and I'm glad and proud to call you my mum. May the Lord continue to use you to touch the lives of others.

Garlic & Thyme Baked Potatoes

Yummy!!!!! The hubby couldn't get enough of these fabulous potatoes. They are so simple to make and absolutely delicious so I will be a doll and pass the recipe on to you :-) You're welcome!

Here goes...
Ingredients

4 medium potatoes
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 level teaspoon salt
1 heaped teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 tablespoons sunflower oil

1)Peel and wash potatoes then slice them sideways. Dry them with a clean cloth.

2) Mix garlic, white pepper, salt, thyme and oil in a small dish.

3) Pre-heat oven to 180C.
4) Rub oily mixture onto the sliced potatoes one by one.
5) Place them on a baking tray and put in the oven.

 6) Bake for 10 minutes and then turn over for another 10 to 15 minutes or until tender and they're ready. (If you want them to be crispy then you can leave them in the oven for another 10 minutes)

I was not sure if they'd be as tasty as I expected but my oh my! I was so pleased with the result!
My hubby gobbled his food down and went back for a second helping.

I hope you get to try it out. It's delicious.

Gayaza....

I am a Gayaza girl. For those who do not know what Gayaza is, it's a pity but let me explain. Gayaza High School was set up in 1905 for the daughters of the kings, princes and officials - in other words, nobles. Gayaza has produced some of Uganda's most respected women in many professions especially medicine, education and law. It's the 'unofficial' rule that Gayaza girls will marry Budonians from Kings' College Budo (Kings' College Budo was where the sons of nobles went to school) Luckily, my hubby is a Budonian :-) I will stop myself from saying any more because I could go on forever.....

I was in Gayaza from 2000 to 2005. I hated it while I was there. It was far away from home. It was full of girls and some of them were really mean. It had a gazilion rules. We had to wear some really ugly dresses. it was rare to have something exciting happen. Get the picture? I was not a happy camper.

After I left the school a new headmistress was appointed. And boy is she cool!!!!!!!!! She was the deputy headmistress while I was there but I really wish she had been the headmistress.

Last weekend we had dinner with her and few friends and she told us about all the crazy but wonderful changes she is making in the school and I wanted to turn back the hands of time. We had a really good time.

And because we had a good time I decided to join my best friend (or rather Kahini - which is a story for another time) and go down to see good old Gayaza High School.
The Gayaza Performing Arts (GAPA) were being held. This is a competition between the eight dormitories for the top spot in music dance and drama. The eight dormitories are Sherborne, Ham & Apollo, Hutchinson, Kennedy, Corby, Kivebulaya, Cox and Rhoda Nsibambi. I was in Kennedy House and my best friend was in Sherborne House.

We had a very good time. The school has changed- for the better. And I think it has a lot to do with the new headmistress. (Those of you who were with me in school know exactly what I mean.) I got to watch Kennedy house doing their folk dance- Bwola dance and I enjoyed it. Here are some snapshots...

We also watched Corby house do their folk dance - Gazeh dance. Ham & Apollo did the Kinyarwanda dance.

Gazeh dance

Kinyarwanda dance

Even the teachers got up to dance!

At the end of the day, Kennedy House was in the 6th position (sob) and Sherborne was in the 3rd position.

In Gayaza there was/is a punishment tree. If a teacher wanted to punish you for doing something wrong they could choose to tell you to stand under the punishment tree. The aim was for you to feel ashamed because it faces the staff room so all the teachers and any visitors can see you. The punishment tree that was there while I was in school was cut down because (in my opinion and that of several others) it had borne too many sins over the last century and simply could not take any more. So now there is a new punishment tree. It is much cuter than the previous one. The one before it had thorns and hardly any leaves - it was a real punishment tree. Behold, the new punishment tree....

Cute huh?

Good old Gayaza. Even though it was a tough 6 years, I'm proud to be an Old Girl! Never Give Up!

A lil' bit of this and a lil' bit of that....

It's cold!!!!!! I know that the fact that I live in Uganda you'd think that I cannot be serious but I am. It's soooooo cold! And being at work does not help one bit. You see, it's been so hot here. So hot that some people were suggesting that we should step out of our houses in nothing. We even got text messages from the Ofice of the Prime Minister warning us of a drought and telling us to store up food. And then it happened. It rained! It started slowly at first and we thought it would be the usual drizzle that would not even quench the earth's thirst. But that was not the plan. It has been raining for the last 5 days. Hence the cold.

Quite frankly, I prefer the cold to the heat. But I wish I was not at work so that I could curl up in the couch with a nice cup of tea and watch a good movie.. I'm extrememly thankful for the rain because, as my blog title will tell you, we needed it! Our crops were not doing too bad but they sure did need some relief.I was fed up of the dust too. Well, now it's muddy but that is a lot better than dust because it does not get stuck to everything in the house.

Another thing that this week has brought was a CLIENT!!!!! In this post I wrote that I want to start up a wedding planning business. Well, the Lord provided my first clients. Isn't He good? I'll keep you posted. I'm really excited because they are a really sweet couple and they want a really sweet, intimate and fun wedding. Yay!!!

This week, my TDH hubby and I made 10 months in marriage. All I can say is that I love that man more than I ever have and I am beyond thankful that the Lord brought him into my life. It's been, still is and will forever be blissful to be his wife.

I hope you are all having a lovely week :-)

One Lovely Blog Award :-)

 
I got an award from Pretty Lashes!!!!!!! Thank you!!! I feel very honoured - especially since I've been so busy lately and have not been updating as I should.

Theses are the rules:

• Link back to the blogger who gave me this award
• Tell you seven facts about me you aren’t aware of
• Pass the award to fifteen three recently discovered blogs that I “really” like (I haven't discovered that many recently) 
• Notify the lucky chums of their awards

 Here goes:

1) I'm terrible at giving or taking directions!!! I'm getting better but I still do not trust myself. I get lost very easily and therefore have learnt how to ask for directions :-) I'm so glad I'm not a man!!!! 

2) I like to eat (or drink) raw eggs! Disgusting? Not to me! I think they are yummy! Nobody seems to understand me and I really don't care. All I know is I love raw eggs! :-D

3) I'm afraid of ALL animals! If it's not human, I'm scared of it. I can't touch them or pet them. Being 5 feet away from them is torture. And then I marry a man who wants 5 dogs? Go figure!

4) I like my comfort zone. I do not like to take risks - I always want to know what the outcome will be before I do something. I'm learning to take risks with the help of my TDH hubby and boy is it exhausting! 

5) I like to spend. And I don't know how to haggle. Yes, I confess that I think money is made to be used and not saved. But I do know that kind of thinking does not work in this world so I have had to stop myself several times. I just make sure I only have money when I need to buy something or else......

6) My palm has more lines than most people's palms. I've been told it's crowded! teeheehee!

7) I cannot roll my Rs. No matter how hard I try I can't do it :-(

And now for the fabulous blogs that I've recently discovered! 

• The Chocolate Knot
• tales of me and the husband
• The Tami-licious Life

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is the best father any girl could ask for!!!!! No kidding.

Here are a few things that make my dad extra special to me and my family:

• He loves the Lord - with all his heart. I've always known that my dad is led by God in all he does. He never makes a move - especially a big one without hearing from the Lord. I respect him for that. 
• He loves my mum! (I say this a lot!) I don't take it for granted that I've always seen my dad shower my mum with love. The bible says "Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5:25 and my dad has done just that. 
• He loves his children. My dad is a family man. Many times he would cancel speaking engagements if they happened to coincide with our visitation days in boarding school. That always made me feel very important to him. He always tells us he loves us at the end of every phone call - just in case we forgot :-D
• He is a very intelligent man. Yes he is!!!! I remember when I was about 8 years old I believed he knew all the answers (sometimes I still do :-)) But the truth is that he is very intelligent and is not afraid to keep learning knew things in this world of ever changing technology. Oh, did I mention that he has a PhD in Mathematical Statistics???? Yup!!! He is intelligent!
• He is fun!!! He loves to have a good laugh. We are constantly making fun of each other and I love the fact that I can joke around with my dad.

The list could go on and on!!! Bottom line is my dad is FANTASTIC!!! I thank God that he gave me a father who is so loving so that it was easy for me to accept the love of my Father in heaven and know what real love looked like when I met my handsome farmer man :-)

I love you Daddy. I'm proud of you and super proud to be your favourite daughter :-) You are the best Daddy in the whole wide world!!! Love, your Missy :-)

Busy week....

January and February are rather slow months... at least in Uganda they are. Everybody is still in the holiday mood in January and then we had elections in February which provided some public holidays. But now, work is back in full swing. This week is busy! Well, actually it may not be that busy but it feels busy because work had been a bit slow and I'm still not feeling too good so my energy levels are not so high.

Anyway, I found a few things that made my week a little bit easier.
My babies are growing so fast!!!!! I don't want them to grow up :-(

Aren't they cute?? And growing too fast!!!! I can still remember each one of them as day-old babies! I'm getting old :-(

Each time I feel overwhelmed I just take a look at these photos and my spirits are lifted!

Now I have to get back to work! Hope you're all having a good week.