Nothing like a little Wii Just Dance to bring on the smiles!

You know the traffic is slow-going in Singapore when the GPS suggests you switch to foot mode!

Got Her!

Grandma has arrived.  Now for some sleep...

Chinese New Year

This is out in the street in front of our house last night just after midnight.  Not too much different right now!  Very scary that our neighbors can buy this kind of firepower and then shoot it right over our house.

Airport Waiting

People often ask me, "Craig, what is your greatest phobia?" because it's true everyone wants to know what my greatest phobia is. So I decided to share it. It's being near (or in) and airport and missing my flight. So that is why I find myself all checked in and waiting two hours for my flight today. Riding in a cab to the airport with a Indy car racing trained driver would normally bother me. But not on the way to the airport. That guy can give it all it's got so I can get in the blasted terminal as early as possible. Then once I am in the terminal I can just want around and enjoy how odd people look halfway through their journey (since I am originating my flight in what is a transit airport for lots of people). And I can ponder the deep questiosns of life: Subway or Burger King. Or wait, maybe fried soybeans and rice. Or this: Why are they still serving breakfast at 11am? Or this: Why don't people with long hair travel with a brush? I suppose the are no answers for some of life's questions.

Family Christmas Photo

Trying to get a family photo with a timer and no tripod is serious business.

Record Breaking Post

The mere fact that I am posting this means that already in January I had posted more than I did in five months last year.  A few I only posted once a couple of months and a couple I did nothing.  So I thought if I just put this up, I'd be doing better.  How about that?

I Should've Known

It was a rookie mistake for sure.  Should've known better.  We left Kentucky with a couple of smoked sausages.  One we ate and one we saved.  For a special occasion.  Really special.  Like Christmas.

So there I was on Christmas morning, presents all opened and we are ready for a special breakfast.  That is when I went to break out that sausage and found this.

Mold!  Can you believe that?  It was moldy?  In the fridge and it was moldy!  Now it was, it turns out, a couple of months out of date but still.

This made me ask two important questions of myself.  First, what in the world do I think goes into those sausages that they sit at room temperature at Wal-Mart and then I carry it to the tropics and expect it to last forever.  Secondly, when in the world was this particular sausage processed?  Because we all know they should last eternally.  How in the world did this thing go bad?

Full disclosure:  I really did think about throwing way the moldy end and frying the rest but thought better of it.

What I learned:  Check the expiration dates.  That is why we had those cheddar biscuits at lunch today, they went out on Dec 31st!!

Merry Christmas!

Praying you have a safe and wonderful Christmas!

The Ultimate Lost and Found

We saw this at a grocery while we were on vacation in September:

So if you lose your credit card, it shouldn't be any problem getting it back since they just take your card and pin it to a board with all your account numbers in full view of everyone.  We did go to the trouble of trying to remove the numbers from our photo but they were all in full view that day.

Just in case you were wondering, we never tried to use any of this info on eBay or anything...

Christmas Shopping, Done

Since I have decided to get this for everyone on my Christmas list.  "Cheap at twice the price," as my Mom would say.

Oh I am a Bad Blogger, is it?

We've been hearing from some people that we are not updating our blog enough. Like this suspicious user:

Now you cannot accuse me of being the world's WORST blogger since the blog address I originally wanted STILL looks like this:

This yahoo took my name, created a post about a pimped cooler, and NEVER updated it. Not once. Since 2004. I am not THAT bad. (see for yourself if you don't believe me.)

And in my own defense, it has still been raining. Most every day since early October so nothing much has changed really.

But I do hereby commit to thinking about making a New Years resolution to do better. Or at least to try to...

Rain

It has been raining here a lot. We are enjoying the rain and the coolness it brings, but not the mosquitos! We had been out one day and it started raining and we came home to a yard that was flooding. So what is a person to do when that happens? Just get out in the rain and take care of business.

Family

A lot of our readers know that I, Angie was adopted but I imagine a lot of our readers do not know that I was adopted. I was adopted at 6 weeks old by very loving parents that took care of me and loved me very much. Those parents were Dave and Wilma. They had tried to have a child of their own but were unable to do so. They decided to adopt and got me! When I turned 18, I wanted to find my birth mom so I started the search. Much to my surprise, I found my birth mom quickly. We have had a relationship for about 25 years now. It has been a joy to get to know her and her family. I was welcomed with open arms by everyone and one of the best things is that I have a sister!

Here are a few pictures of my birth mom and her husband, my sister, and my nieces and nephew.





I am glad I have two wonderful families.

Do-Nuts

We love it when a new store opens up around here. We want to try it out. No matter if there are 5 other locations of the same store that we have visited. Now when it is a donut shop, well that is a super duper occasion. Super Duper. That calls for a picture in front of the new business. Caleb was thrilled as you can tell. :-)

Not your usual restaurant

Here in SE Asia we have our share of restaurants. We have all kinds of restaurants. Fast food ones, western type sit down ones, tables in the middle of the street ones, and any other type you can think of.

But here our restaurants have something your fancy restaurants in the US don't have.... waffles for sale. No, not waffles on the menu, waffles that you take home and stick in your toaster and cook for breakfast kind. We were super excited to see these waffles because we have a hard time acquiring waffels in this part of the world. We found them in a speciality store one time and paid an arm and a leg to bring home the goodness. So happiness abides in the Davis home if only for a little while.

Oh, one more thing, they have loaves of bread also. How great is that? No grocery run for bread when snow is in the forecast, just head to your closest restaurant and pick up a loaf or two.

My kids keep calling me Medusa. I just cannot figure out why.

Parks: Same All Over

This trash can could be in any park in the world*, with its fake tree stump design, gaping hole, and PLEASE USE ME sign.

And in almost park in the world the back would be torn off so that as soon as you throw your trash in the gaping hole, it falls onto the ground. At least you feel better about yourself than if you just threw your trash right on the sidewalk, though.
*With maybe the exception of Gatlinburg, Yellowstone, and other bear-infested parks. And Indonesia which would never even bother to provide a trash can.

Holiday Stealing

Now I would be the first to say if you want something to catch on you gotta have a cool logo, catchy slogan, peripheral add-ons, and maybe a cute character. But I find myself asking if fasting month really needs any help in this department. Maybe that is the same way people felt when the first guy in the neighborhood hung up lights at Christmas.

Admittedly I probably thought that the first time I saw Ramadan Lights around here. This year, though, I believe its gone to new heights.

First we were greeted by this guy in a load of stores. I can only assume he is the Ramadan Bunny.

Then amazingly we saw this beauty last week.
Angie pointed it out and I was simply blown away* to see what can only be called a Ramadan Tree, decked out with lights and everything. It even wishes you a Selamat Hari Raya! I am so glad people are finding common ground.
*The really funny thing is that I had forgotten my phone that day and so I was without my camera til Angie reminded me she has this device that can make photos but cannot send text messages, receive calls, or access the internet. She called it her "camera" and I found it quite amazing that I had so quickly been assimilated into the technology world that I forgot I could make a photo even without my phone.

Teach 'Em While They're Young...

and when they are older they will be able to handle their liquor better.