Just stuff.....

This isn't about anything in particular. I just thought that I haven't posted anything for several days (been snowed under with work) and we're going away tomorrow for the weekend, so I won't get a chance to post anything now until next week!

The last 10 days or so have been a mixed bag. The two main things that happened last week were Bob's trip to New York at the exact same time that the smog started drifting over from Indonesia. We were living under a blanket of disgusting, stinking, yellowish smoke for a week! For those who aren't familiar with this, what happens is that farmers in Indonesia (this time it was Sumatra and Borneo) light bush fires to clear the land for cultivation. This is illegal but they do it anyway - apparently they get away with it by bribing the authorities. As a result, Singapore and Malaysia are covered in the smoke from the fires - respiratory problems soar, kids and the elderly have to be kept inside, the sun disappears for as long as it lasts. Ugh - NOT nice at all.

http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201010/3046764.htm?desktop

This year was particularly bad - I don't remember it being this bad since the year Isabel was born (2006). That year was one of the worst on record - I remember lying in bed, in the hospital, in the middle of labour, watching the local news - the PSI (pollution index) was creeping up...and up...and up....  I'm convinced this is why she has asthma.  So last week, we were all wheezing away and by Thursday I was keeping the kids inside as much as possible. Not nice! Friday was terrible. It was better on Saturday - the day Bob got home - and by Sunday we'd had a couple of good storms and it had cleared again :) More good storms this week and we are back down to normal PSI levels. Thank goodness.

I love the weather here usually - yes, it's hot and humid, and yes, I miss the changing seasons, but I don't miss the cold and damp European (English!) weather in the slightest! I know there are beautiful days to be had - cold, crisp autumn and winter days when you can see your breath and the mist drifts gently over the fields in the early morning, and gorgeous sunny days in summer when the air is fresh and the birds are singing....but let's face it, those are fairly few and far between really!  I am not one of those people that likes dressing up in warm clothes and boots and braving the cold winds and driving rain just to get the kids out.  I'm happy to live in flip-flops and strappy tops and know that if we go out in the rain, we get wet but not cold! (Not until we come into an a/c building, anyway!)  I love the epic tropical thunderstorms that we get here - so spectacular.  I love being warm in bed at night without having to snuggle under a thick duvet.  I love never having cold toes and getting chilblains!  Bring it on!  Last week was very tough and I think a lot of people here felt it emotionally as well as physically - the extreme heat, oppressive atmosphere and foul smell in the air were very difficult to deal with. But it's over now - these things never last long, and we have the doors open again and are breathing freely :)

I guess this is a good analogy for life - the smog lasted a week and we are now back to sunny weather. Life's rough patches last a while but things always improve. I must try and remember that. And despite the smog we had a good week - OK, Bob was away and we all missed him, but the kids and I did some fun things :)

So, what's happened this week? Well, it's been a good one in many ways - very productive (LOADS of work coming in for me, which is always good) and I've done three good runs - seeing some improvement in my fitness, FINALLY! Isabel's numbers have been awesome apart from when I underdosed her the other day for her lunchtime banana (why do I always, invariably, get bananas wrong?!) and Bob seems to be getting over his jetlag :) I was very frustrated yesterday evening when I somehow accidentally lost about $300-worth of TV programmes and movies that we'd downloaded over the last few days. ARGH! But I'm sure we'll get it sorted out :)

Tomorrow we are off to Malaysia for 3 days and 2 nights at Rider's Lodge - the kids are SOOOOO excited! It's a country house hotel where they specialise in riding lessons and rides in the jungle for kids. We have booked an hour-long lesson for the kids and a 30-minute ride out into the jungle. Who knows, I might even try it myself :) Bob isn't keen to have a go, but I'm thinking it might help to shift some of the lingering flab off my thighs and my bum....and it's great for the core muscles too.  Could this be a new fitness addiction?  But where will I find the time?!!!

 There will be a Hallowe'en costume parade on Saturday night with trick-or-treating, so we have the kids' costumes all ready. Josh will be a wizard and Isabel wants to be a witch, with her face painted green like the Wicked Witch Of The West. She has just discovered the Wizard of Oz movie :)

Watch this space next week for a rundown of our weekend's fun and frolics!

Finally....a little quote from Isabel, who just got in from school, flung her arms around me and said "Mummy I love you SOOOOOOO much....I love you AAAAAAALL the way to America"! So sweet!

Kerry xxx