Bread,Fruit,Spices

The bread turned out great! I cut some too thin and it crumbled a little. Tasted great though. Will definitely make this recipe again!
I love shopping here. The fruit and veggies are so fresh and wonderful! Look at all I got today for under $5! Just over six lbs of potatos, just over four lbs of carrots and bananas, over two lbs of tomatoes. More and more and more. Annaka tried helping to carry it but would only make it a few feet and tell me it is heavy and give it back:) What help she is at the market!


And I thought I would miss the couponing fun from the states. Well, maybe I do a little, but haggling to get a deal in a market can be pretty fun rewarding as well. Clint tends to do better at this than I do, but today I felt was a success:)


Which brings me to my favorite part of our kitchen....our spice rack/shelf. Fruit/Veggies/Rice, Dahl, Nuts, Mmmmmm. Besides their yummy-ness I love the color it adds to our kitchen:)

Its About Time...

Its about time for an update huh? We have been off the radar so to speak for a little while. Partly because we are getting settled and partly because we did not have consistent internet. We have had fun exploring and finding things in our new city. Clint amazes me with how much of the language he remembers and Annaka charms everyone around her. She has her own paparazzi some days as people want her photo and to squeeze her cheeks! We love our new city and our apartment and have been meeting people who live around us.

Here is Annaka eating a sandwich in our new apartment....no furniture...no dining room table still even today so we eat on the floor... for now. She loves the apartment. Running from room to room she acts as if she owns the place.

(Note her crossed feet and the yellow wall in the background....thats my favorite part! )

We did arrive in the big holiday season here. Its like a month long constant celebration! First a local holiday that is celebrated in our state, then a major holiday that is nation wide! Then two days later is the local New Years Day. Every state here has a different 'local' new years. Its when they start their local calendars and businesses dedicate the financial books for the new year. Everyone takes anywhere from 5-15 days off from working. A week solid of 'crackers' as they call them (fireworks) being set off all night. There are no restrictions so it is more like little explosions outside our windows.

Here is the Rangoli (sand art) and lights from in front of a local doorway.

Annaka has done very well. The way she has chosen to deal with all the transition from moving ...KC, VA, PA, here....is that she does not want anything to do with the potty anymore. I figure that if that is the worst thing she does (i.e. rather than behavior tantrums or something worse) then we can deal with this. Once we are more settled and into a routine we will begin again. (for the 3rd time) The biggest thing she is having a hard time 'getting' is how the feet are regarded as something dirty. It is insulting to sit and face the bottom of your foot toward someone. It is very rude to touch someone or something with your foot. Annaka will sit down and rub her hand....or sandwich...across the bottom of her foot. She gets in trouble now for carrying her shoes around and putting them by her (or my) face.

One thing I was concerned about before we left was finding friends quickly for Annaka. Not that I thought there would be a problem finding little ones, I just wanted her to find one fast as we had been in limbo for three months. Since we have been here she has made friends and has so much fun! She gets so excited when they come to visit. Shows her toys and shouts "My Friends!" I love seeing her light up! I was talking to a new friend who has two kiddos the other day and as soon as Annaka heard me, she ran into their home to play with the kids with no regard to good ol mom left behind her. :)

Here is Annaka playing at a local playground. She makes friends wherever she goes!

I have had fun cooking and will post some recipes soon. Cooking some local food and some American food. Tonight I made Eggplant Parm from complete scratch. Made the breadcrumbs from a loaf of bread I made, wiped the feather off that was stuck onto the egg before cracking it:). I feel so domestic as I grind my own sugar etc. After three tries, I did finally succeeded in making bread. Well, at least it looks right. We will know for sure in the morning at breakfast if it tastes as good as it looks! It even has the muffin top like loafs you get at a store there in the states. Now on to tackle those cinnamon rolls I have flopped on twice! :)


Better cut out for now. More updates to come:)


P.S. I love the brooms here. The only problem is that they are very very short...If we could make the handles longer my back would be happy.




P.P.S. I will never complain about traffic again.....wanna come drive here?