Mike and Liz

2010_07_16-SnowinSouthAfrica!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-31T01:20:00.000-07:00

So we heard it was snowing up in Ceres one evening so basically without thinking twice about it early next morning we drove the 2 hours to get to the snow. The best we could come up with was a 10" snowman. One of the girls had brought a full-blown carrot and it didnt fit... LOL

2010_07_28-FerrariDayKayelami!!!

2010-07-31T00:53:00.000-07:00

Had the most awesome day ever, perfect guys day out last Saturday. My friend took me out to race his Ferrari around the Kayelami track. I also got to ride with a pro and his suped up F430 to 707HP! Insane stuff. We ended the day watching the Blue Bulls at loftus against the Cheetahs. They won in over time... there were over a hundred Ferraris....

2010-06-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

2010_06_08-StrandbeachAndAlfaromeoClub

Sorry for never updating this site. here are two new albums... 'new' -- right

2010_03_25-BrookesBday

SOME PIX...

2009-11-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

Being back in the cape is fantastic, if for nothing else then the opportunities for photography. there is so much to photograph, the kids love it as well, there is the beach, the mountains, whales, penguins, lions, the wine farms... so much to do.

I am finding it so frustrating to switch between blogger, Picasa and FB. if i find a solution i'll post it.. :)

Randomness...

2009-09-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

2009_09_22-PureRandomness

Pure randomness from the transition period from Gauteng to the Western cape.

From 2009_09_22-PureRandomness

Last days in Pretoria..

From 2009_09_22-PureRandomness

and we got a dog... well, can't really call it a dog, but its a miniature Maltese anyway...

random post

2009-06-17T00:43:00.001-07:00

for the sake of posting something since I haven't posted in sooooo long... sorry.. Here are some photos of the girls...

2009_06_14

We wanted to make sure she realized it was her bday!

2009-04-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

We ended up celebrating Brooke's birthday again at the Pretoria Zoo this time with a ton of kids, it was fun. The zoo is a well organized, well laid out zoo. We were able to see them feed the tigers so they were quite active! would definitely recommend it to anyone who visits Pretoria!

Funny thing tho', since she had just turned 4 a week ago, for her this was 'another' birthday and so she was convinced that she was turning 5!

Try explaining to a 4 year old that is convinced that she can count since YOU taught her that this is just a second part of celebrating her 4th birthday....

Click on the photo below to take you to the album with all the photos...

2009_04_12-Brooke'sBdayPhotos

Brooke's birthday

2009-03-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

2009_03_25-Brooke's Birthday

Our darling Brooke turned 4 on March 25th! Will post more pix at a later date!

Trip to the US...

2009-03-28T16:21:00.001-07:00

US trip

Chalk it up to Murphy's law that one end of the trip was the most eventful trip I've ever had in my life and God's laws of balance that the return leg was the most uneventful one ever (FYI: one is good and one is bad when you are traveling across the planet)! Don't really know how it works, I've never experienced anything like it, from burst tires on the runway which prompted a entire runway shutdown, to our very own plane getting crashed into by the loader truck which delayed us 5 hours, to the worst snow storms in years with massive delays, to our bags getting lost and then crushed with the contents of course inside and the cherry on the top... having our passports swiped! Our 1 day trip turned into 3!!

It was a trip not to forget, but hows that for balance, the return trip was the easiest, smoothest, most uneventful trip I have ever taken, no cues, no hassles, our bags arrived with everything in them! wow! Oh, except for the food! After the first leg of the flight I swore I would never fly Virgin Atlantic again, but after the return trip I would reconsider that, except of course that they took no responsibility for our 'smashed to powder' souvenirs and holes in our bags and the fact that the plastic safety wrap on the outside of the bags was nowhere to be found...

Anywho, we had fun! here's some photos! Click on the pic to take you to the picasa webalbums

Gallery of Breanne's birthday

2009-02-24T03:45:00.000-08:00

Breannes Birthday

Happy Birthday Breanne

2009-02-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

Breanne turns 2!!!

We filled up the Trampoline with balloons!

It was a fairy party

Vacation Pix...

2009-02-08T00:41:00.000-08:00

2009_01_30-Vacation

Happy Birthday Liz!

2009-02-08T00:19:00.000-08:00

You are my Friend and you are my Lover.
You are my Past and you are my Future.
You are my Hope and you are my Strength.

Merry Christmas...

2008-12-27T04:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, Breanne is not looking, but if you want... you can try to get her to look at the camera... :-) Will post some Christmas party pics soon and them opening their presents as well!

sorry....

2008-12-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

Well, you know I could make up some great excuse for why we haven't been posting, so just pretend that I did and I'll just save it for another time! (um, traffic maybe?...)

20081217-Girls

u know the drill, click on the photo above to go to the Picasa Web Albums, I'll let the photos do the talking this time, especially since I am running out of words from posting so much these past months... LOL

Happy bday Gabe..

2008-11-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know where in the world I got this picture, I don't even think i brought my camera to ERK, but I pulled it out of somewhere! May this next year bring you a ton of satisfaction, more relaxation, less work, more fun, more um... yeah, have a good one!

Happy birthday nephews...

2008-10-30T01:15:00.001-07:00

Yup, all within a month, happy birthday boys... heres the link to Micky's blog http://markandmicky.blogspot.com

oh yeay! a new post...

2008-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

2008-10-11_ADayAtTheParkwithKidsAndFriends

I think I am going to call this album, "A-day-at-the-park-with-the-kids-and-friends-BBQing-steak-and-fish-it-was-great-fun-and-etc-etc-etc". anywho... we had lots of fun...

"there are some other photos mixed in there as well... you know the drill, click on the photo thumb and it will take you to the picasa webalbum!"

I was at a rock concert over the weekend, and it's amazing how many no-name bands from the states there are traveling the world trying to make a name for themselves. We setup a tent and had more success then most of the bands performing... LOL (half of them ended up in our tent) Will post pix sometime soon...

Have a great week and God Bless!

the Beauty of Linux...

2008-10-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a screenshot of the setup I currently use with windows and Ubuntu side by side. I was a bit nervous making the transition to linux so I kept my windows to boot up into if I had to, but immediately just stopped using windows.

Seriously though, I use windows for almost nothing, possibly only 3 programs that I find easier to use under windows. In Ubuntu (the version of Linux that i use) and possibly only use windows once a week or every two...

& as you can see, windows runs great inside of Linux! With all the cool effects Linux (beats Vista eyecandy hands down any day!) I only use about 15% of my RAM at any given time. All that to say, with linux coming up so fast and beautifully, I think Bill Gates did well to quit while he was still ahead!

another album...

2008-09-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

2008_09_20-BdayParty

Same old... click on the link to take you to the Picasa Webalbum...

Our 9th anniversary

2008-09-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time, I'll save my adorations about Liz for Liz :-D... suffice it to say, there ain't anyone else in the world I'd rather celebrate this anniversary with!

The pic is of the cake she surprised me with when I came home from whatever it was I was doing. May you all enjoy many similarly happy occasions!

and the consequent fish dinner as per tradition...

Happy b-lated bday to me...

2008-09-12T16:29:00.001-07:00

Just the post is late, my bday was on time! :-D Anywho... thank you all for showing up, it was quite a crowd. This is the winning cocktail on the night for the competition, I expected more out of some of you! LOL!

...and yes, I got a hair cut immediately after seeing these photos!

2008-09-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the scarcity of updates, but I will once again promise to update regularly! Here's some pics of the Pretoria Show that we were able to attend as well as setup a stall to promote our work! The girls had camel rides and we got to take them to the amusement park as well after a long week of work!

2008-09-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

you prolly already knew this...

2008-08-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

2008_08_11-ANightattheMuseum

You probably already knew this, but it dawned on me that a huge part of beauty is having white teeth! and probably straight teeth too... I mean i read it in mags before, but it never really dawned on me till I was looking at Liz and Rina and they both have such white teeth...

anywhoo... we took the kids to the Transvaal museum of natural history, it was quite nice, doesn't beat Cape Town's one, but it was nice as you can see from some of the photos in the new album. Just click on the photo to lead to the album. Ciao

the Olden days...

2008-07-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

So Liz is convincing Bianca to write a card to her friend, and in doing so, mentions how when she was young she used to write her grandma handwritten letters and then post them which took a long time to arrive. To which Bianca logically responds, 'Mom, why didn't you just write her an email or chat with her, or SMS her?'
Liz says, 'Emails, instant messaging and SMS are fairly recent developments, when I was growing up we didnt have all those things!'
Bianca's eyes lit up, 'Mom, I didn't know you grew up in the OLDEN DAYS!!??'
Liz says, 'Whoa!! I didn't grow up in the OLDEN DAYS, Bianca... the olden days where before cars & TVs were around, things like that!'
Bianca sensing that Liz didn't exactly want to hear that added, 'I know you didn't grow up in the olden days mom, but my grandma did!'

Somebody please define for me what the 'olden days' are nowadays! Is it before TVs or before plasma and XLCD screens? Is it before the telephone or the cell phone was available for all? Was it before internet or 20MB ADSL came around? Before the airplane or before Ryan Air became a taxi service across Europe? What else is going to be obsolete over the next 10-15 years?

For my own peace of mind I'm going to teach my kids that the 'olden days' were before the technology boom of the 20th century, before the telegram, the light bulb, radio and the NYSE! God bless you all!

Double as strong 4 love...

2008-07-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.'To which, his father said 'Yes.'

Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island. The father and son went on to complete the race together.

Watch this clip

Bianca's Birthday & Bangs

2008-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

2008_07_06-BiancasBdayParty

We had a whole lot of fun for her birthday, she had about 20 friends over and we were able to organize a party at a Mobile Disney world, they were able to dress up (costumes and make-up) like any Disney character they wanted, they had jumping castles, shows, and a whole lot of other entertainment.

Then we got home and had a treasure hunt and games. Bianca didn't want a birthday cake but wanted banana split for everyone, and we had a little cake anyway! We took her to the pet shop for her birthday present, and after much deliberation, we opted for a fish-tank and 2 fish, other (non-)options were an Angolan Bunny (huge and super softly & cutely furry!), 3 french poodles, but she opted for the fishies, even tho' she really wanted a kitten! Too make a long story short, they had a blast and we came out tired!

Bianca also cut bangs, we made an appointment with a friend of ours to do it 4 days in advance so we told Bianca that she had an appointment to cut fringes and she was so excited she almost couldn't sleep. She actually looks real cute with them, a little older as well!

New album

2008-06-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

2008_06_02-Revelations

sorry, no time to post, but heres some pix. Click on the image to get to the album. ciao

2008-05-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

So the other day we are at the super market (buying what else but coffee...), at the cashier / check out and i was just short of change... so while i was digging out a bigger bill, Brooke says, "Thats ok daddy, dont worry! I have money!" I was like, "Oh, really! bring it on!" Now Leini, her 'big' friend, had given her a 'handbag' that she carries around everywhere. So she zips open her bag and digs to the bottom of the bag and pulls out a 5c coin (0.005 €cents) and asks the cashier if that was enough, the lady kindly replies that it wasn't. So she digs again and fishes out another 5c coin and promptly asks if thats enough. This went on until we were all laughing and she was getting more frustrated. A pile of 5c coins later, I got down to business and pulled out a bill and settled the account. But the moral of the story is if your going to invest in children, get girls, Brooke is only 3 and already trying to take care of me. LOL!

thots on baby sitters...

2008-05-14T11:55:00.001-07:00

Not quite sure what to think of leaving your kids with friends, if you have any doubts, take a look at these photos. As much as we as parents may appreciate it... you have to take into account the long-term effect this may have on their personalities... LOL.

NAH...!! we are so thankful for you guys (Lynnewood). Love you all!!!

massive Johannesburg Zoo

2008-05-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

since we are on the road and the laptop crashes every time i try to upload photos using Picasa, i have to upload them manually. I will upload more as soon as i get a chance to take a look at the problem. for now i uploaded a few, just click on the link (photo) below.

2008_05_05-JHBZoo

Just a couple of pix...

2008-05-01T01:56:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Micky

2008-04-29T13:59:00.001-07:00

have a great year sis, couldn't ask for a better sis. have a wonderful year and may ur dreams come true! - US

travels - Sedgefield

2008-04-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

The girls and some scenery pics during our stop at Sedgefield on the garden route.

Not a post card... ;-)

2008-04-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

We were having dinner at a friends place with our two pet chameleons, just hoping a fly would come by, when one of the chameleons climbed onto my wine glass and started licking off the condensation. Thought it made a great pic!

I think that I will keep this photo on stock and if I am ever to design a wine label I will use it on my flagship white. Can't you see it on the front of a white wine bottle labeled 'Chameleon'?

Johannesburg via Garden route

2008-04-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Gonna be in Johannesburg for a couple of weeks, will keep posting. Going to take it easy 4 stops / 4 days, it should be fun up one of the most beautiful routes in the world - the Garden route! I'm sure we will take some great shots! but in the mean time i leave you with this shot from the 'old bridge tavern' pub in Somerset West. Incredible how the most common of places can turn out some of the most amazing shots... Cheers and God Bless!

2008-04-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

2008-04-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

Bianca....

Worlds View...

2008-04-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

Must I say anything? Happy Birthday James, may this year be a good one!

2008-04-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

Bianca on Strand Beach...

the Force B(rooke) with you...

2008-03-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Long, long ago (25th of March, 2005), in a galaxy far, far away (Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy), this little chub chub unboarded her circular spaceship. Unknown initially to the inhabitants of the guardians of the property she crash landed on, this chub had the uncanny ability calm and manipulate any situation, with her persuasive and original personality. Her most powerful backup weapon... is secret and almost undetectable... the smile of irresistibility! This last ability is not to be taken lightly, when coupled with the batting of the her two seas of blue eyes that you will get lost in even with the most advanced GPRS navigational system, very little hope remains for your 'force' of will! May your 'force' be with you!

Anywho, it was a great birthday party, thanks for all you that attended, I'm sure you had fun :-) for all of you that missed it, there was go-carts, a laser maze, bicycle/tricycle race track, oh, lots of stuff... and lots of cake and ice-cream! A huge thanks to POP in canal walk/century city (Cape Town) for organizing it! Lastly, her prayer for her birthday was for a bicycle, and God answers prayer! Have a good one!

So if you want to check out the album of the photos, go ahead and click on the picture below this photo. enjoy....

2008_03_25-BrookiesBday

2008-03-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, well I'm just being a bit lazy and not finding the time to post more, but ill post a link to the latest photo album!

2008_03_30-March

2008-03-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

been shooting some black and white on my favourite models - enjoy!

To Hug an Ellie

2008-03-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

Good thing these gentle giants are afraid of small things, these guys are absolutely massive! I always wondered about that since first watching Dumbo as a child, why would they be afraid of mice. I think that it is simply because they are very gentle and caring animals and are afraid to squish anything. They have poor eye-sight and operate and identify mainly through smell. They have poor digestive systems and therefore eat enormous quantities of food, a baby Ellie that they had rescued from Zimbabwe was drinking about a 100 liters of milk a day, the sanctuary said that it had practically gone bankrupt just from the expense.

If you want to jump ahead of my posts as i get to them, go ahead and click on this image that will take you to our vacation album, with a few pics, as i get around to writing articles about the different things we did I'll post them, so go ahead and knock yourself out - Click away!

2008_02_27-Vacation

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

Had to get up 4.30 AM to see this one, it was setting over the sea just as the sun was rising, it was absolutely the most fantastic way to start off a vacation (albeit a bit tiring.) Now if only i had a better zoom lens for my d40 I would have been able to frame the moon a bit better, but you get the gist.

I'll be randomly posting photos on the website over the next days on the different things we have done over the last couple of weeks. It's been an absolutely great and wonderful vacation, elephants, water parks, amazing scenic spots, Extreme Shark Diving, cable swinging over canyons and rivers, through jungles etc. you get the idea. Check back for the links to the photos. Have a good one and God Bless...

Taste... but do not enjoy...

2008-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

"Ok Brookie... lick the cake! Yes, you are allowed to lick the cake, no... no one will be upset at you... CLICK" this photo impersonifies little Brooklyn Ariella, albeit with her 'class', reminds me of someone... hmmmm

The cake was good, though! In the end this post is about the photo, such expression, passion for food. Definitely the italian side of the family.

Ciao (cheers) and have a good one...

Hout Bay

2008-02-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

So we went for this 'glass bottomed boat' ride, now that 'bought the cake' (I know...) as far as I'm concerned, for false advertizing, three small side windows that were half the time under water and the rest above. Not to mention that it was completely indifferent since the algae on the outside of the 'windows' was blocking any kind of view to the outside. Anywho.. still processing the photos.. will upload soon. Night ya'll, ciao ciao

Happy Birthday Liz

2008-02-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

2008_06_02 - Happy Birthday Liz

Click on the photo to the right to go to the photo album... The night before Liz's birthday we went out to eat at (arguably) one of the most authentic italian restaurants in Cape Town, it was great! On her birthday we had a 'Snook Braai' (Barracuda barbeque's) by the pool the traditional way (who would've thought barracuda tastes good with apricot jam?? -- apparently if you adding coffee grains to it gives it a liquorish flavor - we didn't try it) On Sunday we are going to go for a glass-bottom boat ride to observe the fish and coral reefs - I'll definitely be posting some photos early next week. Lots of love to all! ciao ciao!

Back from Italy...

2008-02-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

2008_01_30-TripToItaly

An ironic trait of human nature is our ability to accustom ourselves to the beauty of our surroundings to the point that we will admit to friends and visitors to our beautiful countries, "this place is beautiful" yet the meaning of the very words we utter are lost on ourselves.

the beauty of traveling, is that when you arrive back to the 'beautiful place' that you used to live, you say... "Wooahh, this is gorgeous! I forgot how gorgeous this place really was!"

My trip to Italy was wonderful, got to meet a lot of friends, made new ones. Occasionally, (if you really need it) the Lord will help you time a trip or such to perfection without you having to do much work. Funny enough, this happens more often then not when the same trip could go 'all wrong', God was on my side this time!

Christmas, Italy, dinner, etc.

2008-01-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

2007_12_31-ChristmasCelebrations

We have been pretty busy, but managed to put up an album with some photos of our Christmas "Linners" (24-26)... after boxing day couldn't stand the sight of food anymore (yeah right!!) but we enjoyed ourselves immensly! I'll be heading back to Italy for 10 days, but hope to have more stuff to post when I get back!

We still don't have any leads on a new house yet, so please keep that in your prayers. Thanks!!

Click on the top photo to lead you to the photo album of our Christmas celebrations... ;-)

2007-12-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

NEWSLETTER - click here...
Dear Loved ones and friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy ’08, we will continue to pray for each of you that you will prosper in everything that you do. We are sure that God has mighty accomplishments and victories for you this year.

This year, in all your endeavors and goals, try to keep in mind what Harvard Professor Chester L Dawes, in 1940, said about the television… "The television will never achieve popularity; it takes place in a semi darkened room and demands continuous attention." Needless to say, he slightly underestimated its potential. Make the choice to pursue your goals and dreams as long as there so much as a glimmer of hope they will succeed!

But the most important key to success lies in this quote, “Prayer is not the least you can do… It’s the MOST that you can do!” We will be sure to keep you in our prayers, please continue to support us by keeping us in yours!

Prayer request: We must be out of our current house by the end of January as the Landlords want to renovate and sell, that we will find a beautiful house in a good location soon & that He will supply all the finances for the move!

News flash: Our little Breanne Allegra (9 months, picture to the left), is walking/running everywhere!

We love you all and wish you a warm, joyful Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful New Year 2008!

Mike, Liz, Bianca, Brooke and Breanne

Walking with the dinos...

2007-12-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

2007_12_12-MuseumNaturalHistory

Cape Town is a retirement hot spot, but thats not what I'm talking about. They have a huge section in the museum of natural history of Cape Town, and they are expanding it, on dinosaurs. Pretty cool stuff, the pics don't do the subject justice. The kids really enjoyed themselves. Had to re-watch Kent Hovind's Video to get all that "400 billion years ago..." stuff straightened out. Anywho...

Click on the picture to the right to link to the photo album... Take care ya'll

Angel in disguise...

2007-12-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

2007_12_01-BreanneAngel

a goooood disguise I'd say, this girl can scream! I mean a bloody murder scream when she feels the least bit abandoned she yelps, musters up all the American Indian blood in her and wallops! But she is an Angel none the less.. esp as she spends most of her day in an eternal toothless grin thats enough to warm the coldest of hearts. She's got all the Latin blood in her - ever shifting emotions!

Ode to toasters...

2007-11-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

Referring to a previous post about sharks being 'our friends, not food', we just had a surfer 'taken', as the locals call it, on the beach by our house. 'I recant' in my comparison of more more people being killed by toasters then sharks... I now feel, after seeing the photos in the local newspaper, 'hurray to all those who go by toaster, it is more honorable then by shark!" - Cheers and God Bless

Chelsea flower fair wannabee...

2007-11-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

2007_10_30-ChelseaFlowerShow

An imitation of the London Chelsea flower show, I met with the director 'Sue' who also helps organize the London flower show and she was quite generous showing us around and giving us complimentary tickets for the whole school. It was quite spectacular, but by far where we spent the most time was the 'checkers' tent where there was a food and wine tasting competition. It was great! take care ya'll...

Who says you can't....

2007-10-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

Who says you can't get good Italian food outside of Italy...

2007-10-21-ItalianInSouthAfrica

while there is more than an element of truth to that, we have discovered that it isn't the absolute truth. Take Cape Town, south Africa, every day with an airplane arrives at CPT with a shipment of Italian goodness, including fresh buffalo mozzarella and even prosciutto crudo. We even discovered a small catering business that has imported the machinery to make fresh tagliatelle.

Bianca's Ballet photos

2007-10-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

Artscape - Cape Town

So Bianca has started attending Ballet classes courtesy of the grandma... many thanks! We took her and Brooke to the ballet at the art scape center in cape town, she throughly enjoyed it. Click on the photo to the Left to lead to the album. Enjoy your week!

A whale of a time!

2007-10-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is the stuff you only see on the discovery channel. The whales are awesome and huge, if you look closely at one of the photos of the whales you will see a shark by the shore. Sharks are our friends apparently and they don't mean us harm - one little statistic, more people die of toasters each year then sharks. :)

Anyways we went up to Hermanus on the western coast

2007_10_01-Hermanus and the whales

on Sunday and the whales were putting on an amazing show. It's a beautiful place, most recommended if you visit South Africa!

8th yrs... has it really been that long?

2007-09-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well, God certainly has been good to us. I can't emphasis this point enough, if God tells you to do something, no matter how impossible it seems (say, for example, he tells you to pick up your family and move to South Africa!), go for it and you won't regret it. On to our anniversary account. We had a wonderful anniversary, we ate at an Italian restaurant called Mamma Roma owned by a wonderful Italian lady named Christina originally from Bergamo. We went with a fish theme for the meal and Pinot Grigio, exquisite.
The restaurant is situated on the face of some mountains, and fog rolled in just towards the end of the meal which took us right back to the poetic fog of the Po valley, felt very much like the Verona fog. We then spent the night in a four star hotel named the Straightway overlooking the Helderberg Bay, absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, I thought that I would take some pictures just before leaving the Hotel, but more fog rolled in right after breakfast around 9 AM, but I'll see if I can find some other photos I have of the bay. AH... and most were taken with my cell phone, so excuse the quality.

New Album up...

2007-09-16T12:52:00.001-07:00

2007_09_10-Various photos From August and September

TIA "This is Africa"

2007-08-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

"This is Africa", or so they say. Anywho, here is a regular tow truck :) the photo below is in a PRIMARY SCHOOL! Only goes up to 6 years old. LOL. I am, however, recommending a book that I just read to everyone who has the smallest changes happening in their lives.
It's called, "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson. It takes roughly 15-20 minutes to read, and when you start out your thinking, "this is so stupid it's like a kids story about a mice in a maze trying to find cheese!", but by the end, you aren't thinking of the cheese and the mice, just your own life. It's great!! The only think i can compare it to is Jesus' parables for simplicity in getting across the deepest lessons. All i can say is check it out!

August Newsletter

2007-08-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Volunteer work

If anyone is interested in knowing exactly what it is we are doing down here in South Africa, or A(n)zania as it will soon be called (but not before the 2010 world cup), you can click on the picture link to the right which describes our latest Project updates. There is almost too much to do, with almost half of the country earning less then €120 a month. they also say they will have an 'army' of children orphans because of AIDS. In South Africa an estimated 5.5 million people are estimated to have the virus, including about 240,000 children set to rise to 700,000 within the next 10 years.

In the African continent's economic powerhouse, South Africa, 800 to 900 people every day are dying from Aids. The country holds the dubious record of having five million HIV/Aids sufferers: the highest number in the world, an infection rate of 21.5 per cent.
Click here for the link if you haven't done so on the picture yet: http://mikeandliz.googlepages.com/SeptemberNewsletter.pdf

Flashback - the revenge....

2007-08-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Blast from the Past

Another flashback going over some photos of the ancient past history. Man, I've done a lot over the last 10 years since the invention of the digital camera, thinking back over it, if I could go back and do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing. - No Pain, No Gain!

Click on the photo for the web album with the photos.

Speir Wine Farm

2007-08-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

From 2007_08_15-Sp...

One thing that I find nice about the Western Cape of South Africa is that it has a Mediterranean culture, probably because it has a similar climate. But what impresses me the most is the emphasis they put on outdoor activities, wine farms and safaris, hikes and nature walks, down-hilling and motocross, its nice to be in a country that appreciates the big outdoors.

From 2007_08_15-Sp...

The other Sunday we went to a wine farm named Speir, the wine wasn't exceptional, even when tasting some of their reserves, but wasn't bad either. The girls had a great time tho', we even found imitation prosciutto crudo and mozzarella, it worked for a picnic. The same day we were at another wine farm not too far named 'Mooiberg' or something like that, same there.

From 2007_08_15-Sp...

I can't wait for full summer to roll around, we have a swimming pool begging to be used, but the temp varies from 15-20 degrees so not real swimming weather but doesn't feel like winter either.

A walk down memory lane - Hong Kong...

2007-08-07T13:18:00.001-07:00

Hong Kong

I was going through some of our old digital photos and came across some that I hadn't seen in a while, our 1999-2000 6 month spell in Hong Kong... And the memories came flooding back... adapting from the single life to living with the partner I would then marry a few yrs down the road, and then of course the Y2K scare, there we were in the middle of a parade of millions of people, one of the most lit-up cities in the world, counting down from 10 and half expecting all the lights to go out and total panic, instead... nothing, I read the next day that one of the old computers regulating the sewage flow screwed up the dates and backlogged an entire part of the city. Anywho... those were the days :)

Another day at the office...

2007-08-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

the Zoo

Zoos, nature reserves, wine farms, the norm around here, but it's still fun and lots more to explore. Things are actually quite different in Africa, even the sunsets and the night sky look different, the zoos are quite natural actually, the cages are sporadically placed, apparently this zoo grew from a chicken farm into a zoo over 40 years.

I'll be updating with some more photos over the next few days.. :) have a good one

Bowling Night Out

2007-07-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

2007_07_15-BowlingAndActivities

Took Bianca bowling with her friends, it was fun, they didn't have a lane free with the railings so she guttered most of the balls except for a spare which I was very impressed with.

We took her to a pet store and told her she could choose the pet she wanted. Funny thing, she really wants a turtle, but apparently here in South Africa you need to have a license/permit to keep one as a pet.

Anyways, if you click on the photo to the right of Breanne, it'll take you to the latest album of photos.. have fun.. Ciao

Bianca's Birthday

2007-07-08T15:26:00.001-07:00

2007_07_06-Bianca's Birthday

Bianca turned 6 yesterday, it was her crown birthday 6 years on the 6th day (for those of you who dont know that :=) Heres the picasa web album with some foto's. I'm sorry for all the family who didn't get to make it, she really had a blast. We had two days of partying; the first day she spent with all her friends and family and had the usual party, then the next day we spent the whole day with her and went to the beach and naturally.. we jumped in the atlantic in the middle of winter, we also ate out, and she bounced on a trampoline for at least an hour or two with her younger sister. Will be upadating this album with more photos soon.
You can see the photos by clicking on the image to the left or above!

Just for fun the photos above are from the flight down here taken with my cell phone, my point being, IF ONLY ALL OF US WERE THAT COMFORTABLE DURING THE FLIGHTS..... LOL. Have a good night, peace out!

Ah the Snook

2007-07-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

The fish here in Cape Town has got to be some of the best in the world, the fact that two oceans meet right here, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, probably explains the half of it. We buy fresh off vendors on the Beach fresh Snook, you grill that with Apricot, it's like an anti-anxiety pill, the end of the world could dawn and you wouldn't care less while your eating it! That may be a slight exageration but it gets the point across.

07_07_07-Had to upload something on this day 777 :))

Bianca had her birthday, like 30 people, was quite insane actually, but very fun. She was flipped out, will be posting photos as soon as i compile them. Funny thing, she wakes up at 5.30 AM and says "Dad, am I six now?" I said yes, then she says "That's good because I felt a bit bigger this morning!". Anywho, hold on a bit more for the bday photos.
I'm posting a couple of photos just for fun and because it's a lucky day - 07/07/07

Picasa web album up...

2007-06-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

No time to post just yet but if you click on the changing photos lidget to the right it'll take you to our picasa web albums!! :)) The latest photos from Beautiful Cape Town, We will start posting soon, just need time to settle in.

Have been Travelling!!!!!

2007-06-23T08:58:00.001-07:00

Been travelling almost a month and so no updates, but we have been travelling to the most beautiful spots in Italy and the last two weeks South Africa so WILL be posting soon! For now only have limited internet access off my PDA, have a good weekend, Mike

Enjoy them while you can...

2007-05-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

It's something else (read 'freaky') to see the girls grow up so fast... my undoubted conclusion, when i reflect on that, is that not only is it my responsibility to spend time with them, but my ultimate daily goal to enjoy them to the most. Peace out..

God could not be everywhere so He made mothers!

2007-05-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

It’s difficult to describe exactly what my Mom means to me, the person that has always been there for me, but at the same time the person I take the most for granted out of familiarity. I think by having kids of your own, you understand better all that your mother has done for you, and perhaps it’s also one way of saying “thank you Mom, I now understand and appreciate all that you have done for me”.

I think I’ll take this one day a year to say thanks Mom for everything, and although I may not say it often enough, I love you and appreciate the sacrifices you made for me.

And Liz... I think that you're the best wife a man could have and I am proud to hear my daughters say, "You're the best mom in the world!"

Now... we know the story of the creation of a woman, but i think the real detailed story went more something like this:

By the time the Lord made women, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?".

And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that can hold three children at one time , have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands."

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!", "And that's just on the standard model?" the Angel asked.

The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

But I can't!", the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hr days.

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "but you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft", the Lord greed, "but I have also made Her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?", asked the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek.

"Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak," the Lord objected, "that's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."

The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything, for women are truly amazing."

And another… this describes the women in my life, my mom and my wife to a T.

Women have strengths that amaze men. They carry hardships, they carry burdens but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream. They sing when they want to cry. They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous. They fight for what they believe in. They stand up for injustice. They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have. They go to the doctor with a frightened friend. They love unconditionally. They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards. They are happy when they hear about a birth or a new marriage. Their hearts break when a friend dies. They have
sorrow at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left. They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all sizes, in all colors and shapes. They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world spin! They bring joy and hope. They give compassion and ideals. They give moral support to their family and friends. Women have a lot to say and a lot to give.

Lastly, I'll end with an article on what a mother is worth, still I think they are underestimating for fear that Mothers may actually start demanding their worth!

Mothers deserve $134,121 in Salary

Something to think about as Mother's Day approaches: According to an annual survey by salary.com, the cash value of work performed by stay-at-home moms now stands at $134,121 a year. That's what stay-at-home moms would earn if they were paid the same as workers who do all the jobs moms do on any given day. To reach this figure, salary.com calculated the earning power of jobs that are part of a mother's role: such as housekeeper, day-care teacher, cook, laundry machine operator, van driver, and chief executive.

Mom's who work outside the home are part of this study, too. Sonny Carter Elementary School teacher Ronna DeMichiel knows firsthand the balance act.

RONNA DeMICHIEL,STAY-AT-HOME MOM:
"Just prioritizing your time and how you're going to spend your time. Just making sure you make your child first. That's my priority."

According to the study, mothers like Ronna, who work outside the home, spend on average 44 hours a week at their outside job, and 49.8 hours working at home for the family. The value of work they perform at home, if they could be paid for it is $85,876

Leavin' on a Jet plane (airbus330)

2007-05-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

I believe that things are so exciting for kids because they spend more time focusing on what could go right (in other words how much fun they will have) then on what could go wrong. Perhaps it's because they really don't know all the things that 'could' go wrong. Take flying for an example, I hear my daughter's excitment and ask myself, now what in the world is so exciting about it when there are so many things that could go wrong, loosing your luggage to name the least of my concerns... aaaaand I rest my case. Somehow as 'responsable' adults we spend much of our cerebral capacity worrying about what could go wrong just so we can feel 'grown up', but I'm seriously considering 'unlearning' this attitude as it seems to be the anti-thesis to enjoying myself.

Anywhoo, we got our tickets, we fly out of Italy the 10th of June. Just thought that might be news worthy to some of you. God Bless. - Mike

My new motorbike (- I wish!!)

2007-04-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

Some of our dear friends came over with their bikes and and I need not say to any of you who have driven motorbikes before how beautiful it was to take one of the bikes for a spin after a 3 year lull of not biking. Absolutely one of my passions, the feel of the open road, the wind, the feeling of freedom, 275 horse power at your finger tips. The Kawasaki easy is not my favorite bike, i prefer the racers (IE: Yamaha R1, Suzuki GSX or the Honda CBR RR -- NTM my bestest bike of all - Ducati 999) Ok, it was nice ranting about bikes, but enough is enough. For now I will content myself with my rollerblades! :)

In our backyard

2007-04-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Our backyard on front page Yahoo!! It's probably easier then it sounds to get on front page of 'yahoo' :)
This took place 7 kms from our humble home in the Ticino National Reserve. Good to know we are live by the Shoe Capital of the world!! So here you have it, in the space of one year, we have had both James Brown and the Pope grace our little city of Vigevano with their presence... who would've thought my childhood dreams a reality! :( - Mike

Kids News by Liz

2007-04-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hey ALL, and welcome to our blog! Hope u enjoy the pics and few things we have so far! Please help us expand by posting yr comments, questions etc.
Here's our latest NEWS in a nutshell:

Breanne: Just turned 2 months(on the 17th)and there's already nothing she likes better then a 'good conversation' she 'talks' away and is happy as long as you keep talking back:) Mike's convinced that she can say the word 'blue' LOL!

Brooke: Is turning into quite the 'little lady' with long hair and a slightly thinner body. She loves copying everything her big sister says (though in her own language with parts of the words chopped off)and is already engrossed in the world of computers, horses, barbies and fairies. While at the same time making sure that she 'stays ahead' of her little sister. She very proudly went around saying "ME 2" while makeing an L with her fingers at her March 25 birthday. So when I told her that her baby sister was now 2 months she looks at me and says "ME 3"! The explaination of 2 months and 2 years was lost on her and she consequently decided that EVERYONE was 2 and told each of us our 'new age'.

Bianca: Is a wild horse. She doesn't stop running from morning to night! And is sub. constantly getting herself banged and bruised. Being the sensitive little cancer that she is the whole house gets to hear about it. She made 'an announcement' at lunch that "Excuse me everyone, ANOUNCEMENT, ANOUNCEMENT there are stinging needles in the yard, I know cuz I got stung -here!" At the same time she has just informed me that "I haven't decided yet, if I'm going to keep living with you once I get big -maybe yes, maybe no". Sob, sob and I was SO counting on it as not even 6 months back she came to me and sadly said "I'll never get married, mommy!" and when I asked her why the answer was "cuz I never want to leave you!" And I was her hero for solving her dilemma by suggesting that her husband just come live with us as well. Tsk tsk how things have changed!

Micky's visit

2007-04-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Micky's here from the Philippines, with baby Jason for 3 weeks. :) The pope will be visiting the main Piazza in Vigevano right by our house, hence the white structure in the background in front of the cathedral in some of the photos.