Calling all Caribbean Mamas!

Ever since I was the Featured Blogger over at SITS in May, I've been thinking about my voice. When I started blogging, I did my very best to stay anonymous. But as a local social pundit has since reminded me - it's impossible to remain anonymous on an island like this.

As more and more fellow Trinis found and followed me, I became much more thoughtful about what I would blog about, uncomfortable with the idea of meeting someone who I barely knew but who felt they knew all about me because they've read my blog.

In May when so many wonderful bloggers stopped by to say hello, I was surprised to find that there are a number of Caribbean bloggers on SITS. How wonderful to find them and hear their voices!

Well I've thought long and hard, and I've decided that I need to be me despite the fact that I am losing my anonymity.

Not only that, but 

I've started on a search for bloggers with Caribbean roots 

who are writing about their experiences as wives, mothers and women. 

My hope is that we can carve out a little space in the Blogosphere to make it a little easier for us to find each other.

If you or someone you know fits this description, or if you are interested in hearing the Caribbean perspective, please join me at 

http://CaribbeanMamas.webs.com

Nicole

CSN Stores Review and Giveaway

**This contest is now closed and the winner has been contacted via email. **

**If you entered, check your email to see if the winner is YOU!**

World Cup 2010 is ON!

Germany beat Australia soundly 4:0 showing superior control of the ball than any other team yet to play so far.

Certainly much better than in the England vs USA match where the England goalie somehow let the ball slip through his fingers to allow the USA to tie the game 1:1.

The JABULANI - the ball designed by adidas for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - has been much maligned by the players in the last few weeks, and the goalies in particular have not liked it. In my opinion "The Roundest Ball Ever" seems to me to be floating through the air once it leaves the ground. Watching the keepers try to save is like watching kids try to catch a balloon, or a really small beach-ball.

Why would you want to create the "Roundest Ball Ever" anyway? It seems to me that if the ball doesn't lose its shape when it's kicked, you're employing physics to change the way force is normally distributed through a ball, making it behave totally differently than, well, a ball. Only time will tell what impact that has on these games.

It would be a shame if it did leave a negative mark on this World Cup. It is really a special thing seeing what South Africa has to offer, and energy of the crowd gives me goosebumps at every game! The music, the rhythm sections, the horns, it just sounds like home. It sounds like what the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies should have sounded like.... but that's a whole other story.

But secretly the best thing about the World Cup for me, is watching it with my husband. My normally reserved and quiet husband comes alive for sports, and he becomes the life of the party. He's especially passionate about football (no I will not call it soccer. It's football all around the world people!) and his knowledge of the game and his sense of humour come together to have all the spectators rolling with laughter, or on the edge of their seat with excitement!

Today we made it a family affair, watching all the games together with the boys and the baby. We started with a late breakfast and took in the Serbia vs Ghana match. Then it was onto a feast of stewed duck, potato & green fig salad, and callaloo, with some icy Fruit Punch slushies.

I pulled out my new fave kitchen appliance - the Deni Automatic Ice Crusher I got from Cookware.com.

One tray of ice, finely crushed, Fruit Punch, a splash of Angostura bitters, and a touch of Appleton's for the grown-ups and it's celebration time!

We actually got this for the kids, for hot muggy days where they could do with a sno-cone to cool them down. The ice doesn't get as finely crushed as a real sno-cone, but it's fine for us. And it has the added bonus of being great for entertaining guests. I do recommend making sure the crushed-ice collector is chilled before you start crushing the ice, otherwise you do get some melt there.

I also recommend that you check out Cookware.com who provided us with the gift certificate we used toward this little lovely. They honestly have so many great products I don't know how I never checked them out before. We were torn between a waffle-maker and a bread-maker initially, but since no-one eats waffles but me, and half the family doesn't eat bread... we opted for something we could all use!

Checkout, shipping, delivery, everything was very smooth, and the hardest part really was deciding on the purchase. Cookware.com is part of the CSN Stores network which consists of over 200 online stores offering pretty much everything you can imagine.

If you haven't checked them out before, you really should now. And to make it easier for you to do that, they are offering a $25 Gift Card good at any of CSN Stores 200+ online stores!


Here are the rules:

REQUIRED ENTRY:
1. Visit CSN Stores and choose something you'd get if you won the $25 GC. Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you chose. If your email address is not in your profile, you must put it in your comment or you can't win. (How will they email you your GC, right?)
2. Follow me publicly in Google Friend Connect over to the left there in my sidebar.

******

Optional extra entries: Leave a separate comment for each entry.

~Follow me on twitter @trinmom - 1 entry (leave username)

~Subscribe by email (remember to activate) - 1 entry (leave your email address)

~Tweet the giveaway- may be done once daily - 1 entry (leave link to your tweet)

Copy and paste the following:

Enter to win a $25 Gift Certificate from @CSNStores #giveaway hosted by @trinmom http://ow.ly/1XV8F

~Add my button to your blog - 1 entry (leave link to your blog)

You have until midnight on June 29th , 2010 to enter (EST). One winner will be randomly selected and will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email I will send. If the initial winner does not respond within this time a new winner will be chosen. Open to US residents (sorry International peeps, there'll be another one for you soon I promise).

Good luck! Now if you'll excuse me, the game's back on... :-)

DISCLAIMER: I received a $25 Gift Certificate to purchase an item from CSN Stores to review. No other compensation was received and this review is based solely on my honest opinion and experience.

A Mother's Journey

Last weekend the hubby and I packed up the kids and drove an hour along the coast to find a little peace and tranquility. And find it we did.

The little village of Blanchisseuse offered us sand, sea and surf, with the Marianne River just a 5 minute walk away from the little apartment we rented for the weekend.

It also gave us such a treat - sighting of 4 endangered leatherback turtles.

I've seen nesting turtles before, but it was a first for the hubby and kids. And after the encounter my husband, lover of "wild meat" hunted from the bush, officially blacklisted turtle from his menu.

Leatherback turtles spend their lives roaming the open sea, and only the females come back to shore to nest. The giant turtles (a guide estimated that 1 weighed over 1500 lbs) pull themselves up to a high point hopefully above the line of high-tide, and begin the arduous process of digging a hole deep enough for the eggs to be safe from predators. It's hard work, even without lugging all that weight around, and it's heartwrenching to see the turtles appear to gasp in exhaustion.

When she's done, she begins the journey back to sea, taking many stops to catch her breath. Amazingly, once she gets into water mere inches deep, with the next wave she completely disappears in the blink of an eye. Seriously, blink and you'll miss it.

Unfortunately, Blanchisseuse dogs are good at digging, so some nests are lost despite Mama Turtle's best efforts. Also, there seem to be so many turtles coming in to nest on the same narrow strip of beach, that some nests are uncovered by other turtles looking for a good nesting site.

The odds are against these maternal giants, but they don't give up. Well-meaning tourists taking flash-aided photos scare off incoming turtles (they only nest at night). The poor things return to deeper water to try their luck again later on.

Even harder to see is what the bright lights do to turtles who've lugged themselves up onto land and making their way to a nesting site, or already digging a hole. They become distraught by the white lights of the flash and abandon laying to make the tiring journey back out to sea, to rejuvenate themselves and try another time.

Professional nature photographers and nature guides use lights on the red spectrum since this doesn't bother the turtles.

We tagged along with a team from National Geographic who spotted nesting turtles we missed in the darkness of the beach. Along with some local tour guides, they taught us that nesting patterns are changing for the leatherback.

Previously, nesting turtles returned only to the beaches where they themselves hatched, some amazing internal compass guiding them back to the very same stretch of sand where they began their journeys.

Now, turtles are beginning to be seen here that come from as far away as Australia! What a journey that must have been!

It seems that the home beaches are becoming too polluted or too unsuitable for nesting and the turtles are seeking refuge elsewhere.

I remember in my childhood that we'd go turtlewatching and the guides would stress that there was no guarantee that we'd even see one turtles. Now... the beaches are covered with them.

As happy as I am to see them, and experience this, it worries me.

What are we doing to our Earth?

And with respect to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - what effect will this have on the next turtle nesting period? Have we finally gone too far to recover from?

The planet we share doesn't belong to us as individuals or even as "countries". Political borders for human governance mean nothing to our environment. I keep hearing about this oil spill being the worst "in US history" and it sickens me.

This isn't about the US. It's much larger than that.

An international effort is required to try to salvage this situation, BP's pride and pockets be damned.

Before the Earth we planned to share with our children is changed irrevocably right before our eyes.


We did not inherit the land from our fathers. We are borrowing it from our children. -Amish Proverb'


For ways you can help with the Gulf disaster go here:
Armchair missions
Active missions

Sundays in My City - A T-Rex named Sue

We recently took the kids to see a travelling Dinosaur Exhibit - "A T-Rex Named Sue".

Sue's skeleton is the most complete T-Rex skeleton every discovered.

The exhibit is on loan from The Field Museum in Chicago - learn more here.

This is part of Unknown Mami's Sundays in My City. Go visit her and travel the world to visit Sundays in other cities!

Sensory Punches

Ears

APPY DAY TO YOU!

How sweet...

The baby is singing...

At the top of her lungs...

At. 4. AM.

Quick. Where is her mute button?

Heart
In the car, while playing guessing games with Boy #2 on the way to school


"Mom, you are not just my mother. You're my sister too..."

How heart-melty.

ALL my senses

Someone broke into the little parlour/shop in front of my sister-in-law's house.

They stole chicken and other goods.

Dummy left his slippers outside the door though...

Which is how we know it's a neighbourhood pest.

So what do you do - force him into rehab? Revolving door jail?






And all this before 8 a.m.

Mummenschanz

Do you remember seeing the Mummenschanz on the Muppet Show back in the 70s?

I was fascinated by this...


But I will forever remember my childhood fascination with the Red guy in "B"...


Hope you enjoyed this 70's Flashback!

Wanna know how Monkey is doing?

Let her Mama tell you herself!

Thanks to everyone keeping Monkey in mind and in prayer.