My Kitchen Rules

I've been watching a "new to me"cooking show from Australia called My Kitchen Rules.  It's fascinating so far because I'm seeing new recipes and I'm learning to speak Aussie!






Phrases like:
Don't muck it up!
I don't want to stuff it all up.
I'm chuffed!
Let's tuck in!

There's always something new to learn and seeing the various cities around Australia has been  fun too.  If you can find the show I think you'll enjoy it...I'm seven episodes in and totally hooked!

behind the scenes...

On the Divaz set

 Jadine, Shasta, Andrea and Tom waiting for the show to start.

in the control room

school children on a tour of the station

Here are just a few of the photos I took a few weeks back when Tom appeared with Jadine on the talk show Divaz Next Door. CDF had been asked to come and talk about child abuse in light of several stories that had been in the news.  Tom and Jadine did the initial interview then Jadine and I did a follow up show a week later.

PlusTV is a Christian owned and operated station right here in Belmopan.  They have a variety of shows to offer to the community.  Everyone we met there is passionate about what they do and work hard on their programming. They are not afraid to tell a news story through a godly worldview.  PlusTV is not trying to be politically correct...just trying to do what they believe God wants them to do.

Reading vs Reality TV

I saw this photo in my Google+ stream and cracked up laughing.

And then I saw this one and it was not quite as funny to me. 

I already confessed to enjoying reality tv so this second photo hit me in a different way.   I was slightly offended.  I mean, come on, I read.  My books are not jumping off of the shelves in protest when I watch Food Network Star or Amazing Race.  My Kindle for PC downloads and the hard copies of books that I own are all doing quite well.  They are not neglected one bit.

Reading challenges me, it makes me think,  it enlarges my vocabulary and enriches my spirit.  When I sit down to watch Food Network Star I get inspired by the creativity I see with food.  When I watch Amazing Race sometimes I see glimpses of places we have been or places I desire to learn more about.  I see people stepping out of their comfort zones to take on challenges that leave me speechless.  Watching these types of shows is a relaxing escape.

I agree that reading can take you away and give you an escape too.  I still get caught up in a good book now and then that I cannot put down until the wee hours of the morning.  As a child I climbed the tree in our front yard with a book and spent long summer days traveling all around the world while resting in that tree.

So lighten up book snobs.  There is plenty of room in our lives and in this world to enjoy some of what reality tv has to offer and still keep our books happy.  uh oh...I think a few of my books might be making a run for it!

Hi, I'm Alida and I watch reality TV!

seriously.  It is my guilty pleasure.  And there seem to be more and more of these shows to choose from than ever before.  For me though, there are just a couple of shows that I hate to miss.

I am a big fan of Amazing Race. It is not on in America right now.  However, Amazing Race Australia is on and I love it!  This is the first season and it is incredibly exciting to watch.  They have gone to some amazing locations... last week they were in Israel and one of their tasks was to walk the Via Dolorosa while carrying an 80 kilo cross.  They had to find one of their clues at King Herod's winter palace and I truly appreciated how the father and son team took time to stand and take in the sights at the Wailing Wall before heading on to their next task.

I also enjoy Food Network Star.  This week I was such a geek that I was on Twitter following the hashtag #star and answering all of the questions and making comments during the show.  Tom is such a good sport to let me take over the tv and be on my computer at the same time.  The contestants had to do a new take on traditional dishes like lasagna, meatloaf, or shepherd's pie.  Two of the dishes stood out for me.  The first was Vince's take on lasagna that he called Lachonga.  He took lasagna and wrapped it in a tortilla, deep fried it, and then topped it with sauce.  Ew!  The judges were not real thrilled either.  What did look good to me and got great reviews from the judges was Jeff's take on pork chops and applesauce.  He made a pork chop sandwich with apple slaw.  Yummo!  All of the contestants got to do a 3 minute cooking demo on Rachel Ray's show.  It was fun to watch.


okay.  So I bared my soul regarding my guilty pleasures on TV...what are yours?!!  

Tom's interview with HTK tv

Wednesday I was interviewed by Russian tv correspondant Marina from HTK. Marina is a 20-something who spent a month in California & Ohio, & is fascinated with all things American. When she heard from a mutual friend that friendly Americans were in Krasnodar teaching topics to help Russians grow emotionally & spiritually, she decided to check us out.

The focus of her interview had to do with stereotypes of people - where the stereotypes come from & do they help or hinder communication & multi-national understanding? Some of the old US stereotypes of Russia are that, ‘all of Russia is covered with snow, there are live bears that walk the streets, the KGB follows you everywhere & every Russian drinks lots of vodka.’ She asked me the stereotypical question, ‘why do all Americans smile so much?’ I replied, ‘many Americans smile because of the freedoms we have in life.’ Unfortunately, I don’t know that I provided her with any controversial or newsworthy quotes, as I love the Russian people & very much enjoy living here. I want to keep it that way!

Tom

Whose name do you associate with Russia??

Alexander II
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Catherine the Great
Ivan the Terrible
Vladimir Lenin
Dmitri Mendeleev
Peter the Great
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Nevsky
Joseph Stalin
Pyotr Stolypin
Alexander Suvorov

Do you know all 12 of these noteworthy people? You can click on a name to learn more about that person.

Tom and I had to look them up!! He only knew 8 of the top 12 and he did not know the winner. In a program similar to 100 Greatest Britons, Russia voted for Alexander Nevsky as the Name of Russia. Tom cast his votes for Dostoyevsky and Pushkin.

The show was not without it's controversy... there were those who were not happy with the way the votes were counted for Stalin.

For those of you who can read Russian here is the original website:
http://www.nameofrussia.ru/

English readers can check out this link for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Russia_(Russia_TV)

So tell us... whose name do you associate with Russia?

Dallas fans plus Tom

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

It was the final night of the conference,
some had planes to catch the next day,
so what kept these guys up until 4am?















through something called a sling box
and highspeed internet these guys were able
to watch a live football game.

















they were creative enough to turn a table on it's side in the conference room and project the game onto that surface making it a big screen TV!

Russia vs Israel

Sunday, November 18, 2007

We all managed to drag ourselves out of bed and get to church. Last night we were up late watching the soccer game between Israel and Russia. Russia lost 2-1. At church we learned that others had been watching the game too. It was amazing that church was full this morning!


England alive after Israel beats Russia
Sat Nov 17, 11:46 PM ET

England's bid to qualify for next year's European Championship is still alive. Israel beat Russia 2-1 Saturday night, preventing the Russians from climbing past the English into second place in Group E with one game remaining.

Russia had put itself in control of gaining a berth with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over England in Moscow last month. But now England can qualify with a tie or victory on Wednesday against first-place Croatia at Wembley.

Croatia (8-1-2) clinched a berth because of Israel's win despite a 2-0 loss at Macedonia and leads with 26 points, followed by England (7-2-2) with 23. Russia (6-2-3) is third with 21 but England has the tiebreaker because of a better goal difference in its two games against the Russians.

Russia could have virtually eliminated England by beating Israel but now win at last-place Andorra on Wednesday and hope the English lose.

"Of course we are very, very disappointed," Russia coach Guus Hiddink said. "We were close. We were the team who was dominating the game."

The English enter Wednesday's game missing Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and John Terry because of injuries and Rio Ferdinand due to a suspension.

Elyaniv Barda gave Israel the lead in 10th minute, but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov tied it in the 61st. Dmitry Sychev, who entered early in the second half, nearly put Russia ahead in the 90th, but his shot hit a post. Omer Golan then just stayed onside when he took a pass in second-half injury time and scored the tiebreaking goal.

Tour de France

Tuesday July 10, 2007














The last two summers I have been in Italy helping out my girlfriend with her daughter during the month of July.


I am not complaining mind you, how can you complain about spending the summer in Rome?


I am just making an observation!... I had to watch the Tour in Italian not understanding what was being said, but, following the action anyway... looking things up on the internet during my daily trip to the internet cafe to make sure I understood "who had done what" that day.

This year I am actually watching in English! What a treat!!!

http://www.letour.fr/2007/TDF/LIVE/us/200/index.html

Reality TV

Are you watching the new reality tv shows?

One of the things we miss when we are in Russia is American TV. Since our arrival in the states on February 22nd, we have been able to see, American Idol, America's Next Top Model, The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars and Survivor.

Now that those shows are over a whole new crop of shows are sprouting up. I enjoy watching the The Lot, which is going to award a million dollar contract to an aspiring film maker. I know there are some others like America's Got Talent and The Next Big Thing but I have not seen either one of those... the show that cracked us up last week was "So You Think You Can Dance".

Tonight's episode should be good... they will be showing auditions from LA and Chicago, I know there will be some great dancers but I am sure there will be some colorful characters just as there were with the New York auditions last week!

Watching the Oscars

Jennifer Hudson quote from her acceptance speech:

"Oh my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn't think I was going to win," Hudson said through tears of joy. "If my grandmother was here to see me now. She was my biggest inspiration."

To hear Jennifer give her speech was a highlight for me. I pray that she continually holds onto God as she has so far... her roots in the church and her faith run deep.

She can give a testimony to young women that is powerful. She didn't win American Idol like she wanted... yet two years later she is an Oscar winner! Only God knew that was part of the plan for her life. She kept on working and doing what she felt called to do. And though she did not get the accolades she wanted from American Idol her Oscar win leaves no doubt about the gifts God has given to this incredible sister in the Lord.

Let Jennifer's win inspire you to keep on going after a defeat or disappointment... you never know where it might lead!

monday

The wind was blowing VERY hard today. Spencer and I could barely stand up straight as we went to the bus. It was unbelievable! I don't know how Tom made it home with groceries in tact.

After school I went downtown to purchase the cashmere yarn that is my Christmas present from Tom. It was so much fun looking at all the different colors and finally choosing something special. I love working with cashmere it is very soft.

There were two wonderful things waiting for me when I finally got home.
One:
I had asked Nathan to put the chicken in the oven at 5 so that it would be ready at 6. It was done!
Two:
Tom had spent an hour and a half in line at the post office and came home with a package from my friend Joanie. We now have seasons 2-5 of the show "24" to watch. We saw 4 episodes of season two tonight!

Fighting the wind, walking for blocks that seemed as if they would never end and being jostled around on the bus... all faded away when I walked through the door to the smell of dinner and the treat of some American TV!

TV day!

Thanks Dad for all the TV programs that you sent!

So far we have watched a football game, Shark, Without a Trace, Cold Case, CSI and the Rose Parade. As a special treat after the Rose Parade we got to see the first episode of Life With Ed.

It is always a joy to watch American TV... we can make popcorn and tune out our culture stress for a bit. And the good news is that we all finished our homework so the TV did not get in the way of that!

---------

Tom is working with Olya now as his language helper two days a week. Tom and Lena's schedules don't match now he is not available in the mornings to work with the rest of us. So I am watching girls while Olya helps Tom with his lessons. Today just Yanna came over with her mom and she cried the entire time. Olya said that she fed her some new food. I felt so sorry for this little one. She had gas from both ends and it was obvious she was in pain. She would fall asleep in my arms and then a gas pain would wake her up. I pray that she gets some sleep tonight so that Olya can get some rest!

24

Tom and I had a chance to spend some time with Tim and Joy today. Before we left their house Joy lent us the first season of 24.

It is so good to have something new to watch. We especially enjoy seeing a series. We were able to see the Amazing Race thanks to my friend Joan. And we have seen some CSI courtesy of Tom's folks. One of the things I miss the most is American TV. I could honestly count the television as a childhood friend.

Spencer and I went shopping today to buy goodies for the kids at the orphanage. We found Batman notebooks for the boys. And we found Cinderella notebooks for the girls. We purchased gift bags too. Oksana is bringing candy over tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon and we will fill the goodie bags before going over to visit the kids. They have had several groups give them candy and toys. Our focus will be to tell the Christmas story. It is so good to have Oksana with us on this project. Because as a Russian she can tell the kids the story in their own language without any grammar mistakes getting in the way!

another Monday

Tom will be in class alone this month. Please pray for him. It can be intensely draining to be the only one doing the excercises and drills for an entire class period. Many students are heading out to various destinations for the holidays. I thought I was going to be alone but I am not. Elizabeth joined me today and that was nice. She is such a sweet lady.

I went out to purchase new internet cards. We are buying a month's worth at a time and doing well rationing our minutes on the internet.

While downtown, I saw more pig figurines. I asked Olya why there were so many pig figurines dressed up like Santa Claus. She said because of the horoscope. 2007 will be the year of the pig. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_(zodiac))

We started watching a TV series that Nathan borrowed from Jim. It is called Firefly and so far we are enjoying each episode!

What is on TV?

We have been watching a few new movies:

The Mistress of Spices
The Road to 9/11
Les Miserables in Concert

and each day Nathan, Spencer and I have been watching a TV series that Nathan's friend Trevor sent him.

Dr. Who

Nathan chose not to watch the 9/11 show with us. I don't blame him... it originally happened on his first day of highschool. Tom and I thought it was very interesting. They did a good job of taking you through the journey of events leading up to the tragic day and they did not dwell on the footage that we are overly familiar with.

Les Miserables in Concert is stunning to watch. The music is superb!

The Mistress of Spices gets mixed reviews from our family. I enjoyed it while Tom thought it was predictable.

Dr. Who is a long running series that started over 40 years ago and was recently brought back to the tv on BBC. It is clever, weird and funny. If you have access to BBC give it a try!

Lost Marathon Season Two

Last night we had a marathon of watching LOST. We didn't finish all the discs yet. It was hard to go to bed knowing that we were only on episode 14 and still had 10 left to go!

We all went to bed around 2am last night and this morning Lena was here right on time at 10 am. We were all awake and worked with her!




P.S. Happy Birthday Bill!

4 AM

It's 4 am. I'm still awake. I got carried away on the message boards. My favorite one is at the Starting Over website. www.startingover.tv

Yes, I'm a reality TV fan. But, this show is different it helps people! People like me who should be in bed at this hour. Oh well. Tom and Nathan are still awake too. Spencer is going to have a heck of a time waking us all up for church in the morning. Hopefully we will make it there on time. I should go to bed....but I bought a new book and I also have a baby blanket to finish. No, sleep is calling my name. Good night!