Downtown Aquarium

For the first time Texas is not the biggest and best.. the aquarium was quite a disappointment really. The exhibit consisted of about 10 small tanks and one small shark tank. In fact the highlight was the tank inside the restaurant, which had a couple of bigger fish and a wobegong shark. The rides outside were the highlight for the munchkins,although the badly made shark on the midway attraction left them feeling a bit cheated. At first i thought that it could be that they have grown up in the Tropics where fish are plentiful on our weekend breaks but then junior added his say. He prefers the aquariums in Hull and Plymouth they had way more to see and do, we used to spend all day there in fact, as opposed to 1 hour. Oh well it's one attraction we can tick off the list of things to see and do..

Brrr

Ok, so I have mentioned it already but it is sooo cold here. All those people who said the weather was just like Singapore, lied. It is not as cold as the UK in winter admittedly but after the Tropics it is a shock to the system. The situation is not helped by the fact that the heating system in the apartment is not working and no-one is available over the weekend as it is Christmas - Bah humbug. So we resorted to lighting a log fire, a bit of smoke and alarm ringing later we now have a reasonable fire going that is giving out a bit of warmth. Thank goodness for big duvets is all I can say.

weather

Well, I had heard about hurricane season but was not expecting the gusting winds that we had yesterday. Not only did it whistle down the chimney but it was biting cold. Our clothes are really not suited to a Southern winter. I think we could be picking up a few sweaters and long trousers in the sales.
Christmas morning came around bright and early, the temperature is around 0 degrees but sunny. presents were opened and played with. lexie is having a nap as it was a bit too exciting. In a couple of hours we will head for Christmas brunch at a nearby hotel.

Houston, The McGregors have landed.

So here we are arrived in Houston a few days before Christmas. The timing is not great but Santa will do her/his best to make sure that there is something under the tree on Christmas morning.

First impressions of our new home, well everything is big and spread out. Familiar yet strange, new yet old.

We have already been to a grocery store and marvelled at the choice of produce, especially the cheese aisle. The pleasant surprise at the cashier even with a cart full of goodies. The choice of carts was also a surprise, we have sampled 2 types so far; the race car and the bench type. They are both quite hard to manoeuvre and a few bruises later we negotiated our way around the store.

Driving is proving a bit of a challenge. The car is a huge monster, probably a good thing. I'm not sure my road positioning is as it should be just yet, in fact a definite left hand drift is in evidence. I still try to change gear on the door handle and put on a non-existant seatbelt when I get in. This right turn on a red light is also a mystery, not helped by the little voice in the back telling me I have broken the law and will be shot by the sheriff. Who incidentally wears a big cowboy hat and cowboy boots as part of the uniform, I kid you not.

bento box madness

In an effort to make my children eat all their school lunches, I decided to make Japanese-style bento boxes. This involves styling the food to make pictures or characters and also balancing the different food groups. My problem was not how to get them to eat fruit or vegetables but to eat more substantial things like meat, fish and sandwiches. Thankfully, or otherwise, they both prefer to be running around, playing sports rather than eating.
The harsh reality of the new lunches meant getting up around 6 to prepare the masterpieces.
Was it worth it? Yes, they eat everything now and love seeing what scene they have that day.