New Year's Eve meal

We had a very multi - cultural New Year's Eve meal tonight! It was a yummy combination of European and Asian food. The Filipino girls cooked fish with an amazing sweet & sour sauce using banana ketchup!

End of year fireworks

Last night Laurence and I went out for pizza and coffee with our friends Anne & JM to see the 'end of year fireworks' put on at SM Mall. We had a lovely night with the girls and the fireworks were fab. They even had ones spelling out the letters S M!

We had a bit of a trial when we got back to the car to find the battery was flat! The car park security guard ended up wheeling a car battery and jump leads up the winding car ramp to the third floor! Bet he didn't expect to have such a strenuous night!

Goodbye 2012

Here we are on the last day of 2012...and what a year it's been! We've lived on two continents and in three different flats and we're about to move for the 5th time in just over a year! Laurence will be working in his 6th 'office' in just over a year too phew!! - good job I've got travelling in the blood :-D Laurence is getting that way too! :-D

The year's been hard work with my probation year, all the moves and dealing with a flooded house but so blessed too. We now have a beautifully renovated house in Elderslie and we've been able to experience life in the fab Philippines and meet lots of lovely people.

We are now in the process of getting organised to move to the Middle East for a year and we pray for another fruitful year in Christ our Saviour.

We wish you all a very happy New Year and a blessed 2013.

Christmas Food!!

I couldn't resist a post dedicated to the Christmas food we had (may as well make use of the photos we took!!)

Roasted tomato soup with parmasan dumpling

Salmon, roasted veg and fondant potatoes

Chocolate log

Prawn & avocado salad

Seafood brochette

Crêpe Suzette

Lemon & pepper chicken (taken before the plum jus was put on)

beef medallions & pepper sauce with Caesar salad

Christmas Getaway

We have just arrived back from a lovely three and a half day break at The Marco Polo Hotel in Davao. It's one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in for a long while, so luxurious and the food was fantastic.  We spent most of the time by the pool but also wandering around the hotel and the grounds and sitting in the lounge.  There was often a piano player or singer in the lounge so it was nice to just sit and listen to that.  We had an amazing meal in the Pool Lounge, overlooking the pool, on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Day we had a huge breakfast, the breakfast room was massive and full of food choices. Then we had another fab meal in the same restaurant last night - Boxing Day.

Today was great again as we didn't have to be out of the room until 12 so we were able to fit in some more pool time!  It was a very unusual Christmas, being in a hotel, not opening many pressies and not being with any other friends or family or at church.  However, the hotel was so idyllic and we ate, relaxed and swam and sunbathed so it was a wonderful time all in all :-)

Christmas Eve meal in the Pool Lounge

Christmas lights at the pool

Staircase in the hotel lobby

Boxing Day - waterfall at the front of the hotel

View from window-front of hotel

Sea view

Christmas Day - the flash on the camera sadly doesn't give the real effect of the fairy lights going up the stairs

Christmas Day

My dessert being flambéed!

Gingebread house made in the hotel

Christmas chocolates left in the room :)

Davao Punch Mocktail

Over the back of the Christmas lights is Mount Apo - the highest mountain in the Philippines.

my favourite place to be ;-)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We can't send Christmas cards this year as there's no post here so we'll just do it the modern way :)  We wish you all

A Very Happy Christmas And a Joy-Filled and Blessed Year to Come

We wish we were with you over the festivities but we'll just have to make do with lying by the pool in the sun :-D

Lots of love, Laurence & Natalie xx

Christmas Party

Stratford had their Christmas party today and the nursery kids paid a visit to Santa! They were so cute coming in and were transfixed by Laurence sat there. Most of them were more interested in getting their picture taken with him than their giflts!

waiting to see Santa

Laurence's cake

Next stop.....Kuwait??!!

I have some news. I have been offered a job teaching a P1 class in Kuwait!  It was all quite out of the blue really.  Someone from the school phoned me this evening, after getting my CV from an agency.  The phone call lasted about two minutes and the lady said she'd get someone from head office to call me later this week. I thought she meant to interview me.........but that was the interview! I later got an email from the agency to say I was being offered the job. I was rather surprised, especially as she asked me if I'd taught with Jolly Phonics (the only question) and I said no! Anyway I am supposed to be receiving the official offer next week so I'll keep you posted.

First Fish Casualty

Unfortunately we are now down to five fish :( Longshanks has passed away. I don't know why he died!! I tried some new food yesterday and because there doesn't tend to be labels/information on a lot of things here it could have been anything! It was probably for a different type of fish!

 They are lasting longer than I expected them too though.

Filipino Lookalikes

While Laurence & I have been here we've seen loads of Filipinos who look like people we know. Laurence is particularly good at spotting them.

We've seen a Filipino Nicole, my dad's Filipino version, my gran.....and so on! :-D Even some famous lookalikes! lol Yesterday there was a little Filipino boy sitting on the back of a tricycle who was the double of Matthew Creighton! :-D The photo really doesn't show the likeness but I couldn't believe how alike they were, except for the brown skin and black hair! He didn't seem disturbed that I was taking a photo of him from the back of the scooter thankfully.

Looking forward to our trip to Davao next Monday. I am still unable to think of Christmas as only a week away. It's been a very relaxed run up to Christmas that's for sure. No nativity plays to practice for, minimal Christmas shopping, no snow to drive in - bliss!

I will be posting photos tomorrow afternoon of the school Christmas party.............and Laurence as Father Christmas! :-D