I haven't posted anything in a while, but maybe you're too busy to read too many blog posts now anyway:) So I'll make my post like a children's book today: a lot of pictures and a little bit of writing! Here goes:
I started baking some goodies for pre-Christmas snacking. These little cookies are a Mennonite (German maybe even) favorite called Peppernuts or Pfeffernüsse. We all love eating them while drinking Terere.
These cookies are called Lebkuchen. Something like a soft gingerbread cookie with royal icing and sprinkles on top.
Last week my two closest friends in my village brought me a gift. It's an advent's wreath. I didn't get around to lighting any candles yet, it's just too hot! It was 43 C (108 F) here today. We are really waiting for rain by now.
This is a close up. (From up close, I was going to write...) Isn't that straw angel just adorable?
Last night, a few friends and I went to the neighbor colony (Neuland) to participate in a little crafting course. We learned how to make origami stars. :) If you make them big enough and out of strong paper you can even hang a light bulb inside of them. We had a lot of fun crafting and taking a break from our hectic lives at home.
This is how mine turned out. I'd love to make another one soon, but they don't have the right paper in our colony right now.
This is our Christmas tree this year. For the first time we have a tree with a theme:) Purple and gold; Amy made some gold and white angels out of clothes pins. We have them on the tree for now, but we want to use them to attach our Christmas cars onto some ribbon and hang them up.
We set up our inflatable pool this week, and the girls have been enjoying themselves. I think I'll go for a cooling dip before going to bed tonight. :)
What I also wanted to write about is this new (for me) excersise plan my sister found on the internet. (Don't worry, they are not paying me for this ad!)
You can find the site here:
http://www.c25k.com/
They have some great resoures here on this page too. The one I like the best is the podcasts that you can download (for FREE) for each week, for 8 (in some cases 10) weeks. I like DJ Beatsmith's podcasts, because the music is upbeat and almost totally instrumental (no singing). You can find his download page here:
http://www.djsteveboy.com/1day25k.html
My walking buddy and I started a few weeks ago, and since we don't always have time to do the programm 3 times a week, it'll take slightly longer than 8 weeks. The goal is to get up from your couch to running a 5 k(m) distance in 8 weeks. (Not that it takes you 8 weeks to run 5 km, but it should take you about 30 minutes to complete this distance)
When you listen to the first week of the plan, you start out pretty easy. It's about 3 minutes of the host talking, during which you start walking already to warm up. Then the music changes and you start running/jogging to the beat for about a minute. The music always lets you know when to walk or run.
I love this program! Since it's so hot here at 6:00 pm, the time we usually walk, I've set the alarm at 5:30 am to start out as soon as it's light enough outside. I recomend this program for everyone who wants to get in shape and needs a little bit of help. Since we started walking in August, I've felt so much healthier. My acid reflux is totally gone. (I had it every night before going to bed) My bladder is stronger (I know, TMI). And I lost 4 kg (8lb). YAY!!!
So, I'm not promising myself that I will continue to lose weight throughout the Christmas season, but I'll try:)
A WARM hug from Paraguay to anyone reading my post. Comment if you want, I love getting feedback!
