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Monday, December 31, 2007
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It was a wonderful year in all for the Semaan’s. After seeing in the New Year once again in Sedona this time with Kirsty’s parents, we settled in for what would be the last few months of our family as a threesome.
On May 15th, we welcomed the newest member of our family ‘Noviah Sedona Rayner Semaan’ to the world and she has been a delight ever since. Now seven months she has mastered sitting, eating, crawling oh and whining to get her own way, however the smiles that light up her face more often then not seem to override just how annoying that whining can be.
Noviah (who answers to a collection of nicknames such as Novi, V or Chicken) loves to dance, swing and be entertained by her big sister Zephya who has taken to the role of big sister like a champ and is a wonderful help to her parents.
This year Zephya (who answers to Zephy, Zeph and Goose) really amazes us with how big she is getting. Not only has she taken to being a big sister like a pro but she has taken to being a big girl like one as well. She asks to take on some important jobs and tackles them head on and with great success. Zephya made the transition into Pre-School and Pre-K extremely well and amazes us daily with how well she is doing. Her love for drawing and story telling has advanced quite a lot since she has learnt to write and with a little help from mum or dad produces little books of her own. One of the highlights of Zephya’s year was her first dance recital; something she has been working on since last December and boy was it worth it. She was a star on stage complete with sequenced tutu. She has also done really well with her swimming and gymnastics all year and has asked to take tap-dance lesson next year.
There has been quite a bit of travel during the last half of the year but unfortunately most of it was to do with Pierre going on work trips overseas (UK, Dublin, Ireland, Australia). That aside though we have had some great holidays; one of which was Pierre and Kirsty’s first trip away without kids for the last 4yrs. This was a whirlwind adventure of San Francisco in four days, to sum it up: “lots of fun and loads of great food”.
Disneyland was on the agenda to welcome 2007 in and we discovered that our (then) 3 year old Zephya loves the roller coasters, tackling the Matterhorn from the front seat. We also made it back to Australia again for a good spell of one full month. This year we scored some warmer weather and made Sydney our base which definitely made things a lot easier seeing as we are now a family of four.
Pierre was delighted to be promoted to ‘Senior Vice President of Technology’ at Sage and is looking forward to all the challenges and rewards that come with this new position. Kirsty had a ground breaking year as she not only had 5 exhibitions but finally sold some of her photographs.
For the Semaan family, the up and coming New Year brings with it some more exciting escapades with hopefully more travel, we are hoping to get to Dublin and Toronto and maybe hit some of the nearby Islands.
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Tuesday, March 6, 2007
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So another year over and another begun.
We were happy to share this Christmas and New Year with my Parents (Reg and Connie). Dad was really wishing for a white Christmas and I had to inform him that he had come to the wrong place, however we where fortunate enough to have a white New Years due an unusual cold spell here in AZ.
After spending Christmas here in Scottsdale we headed north to our favorite place, Sedona. We rented a house for the week which was great as it made for a very relaxing break. The red rocks of Sedona couldn’t have looked more different or more beautiful, with a blanket of snow on them. A few road trips took us to the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff where we enjoyed some more snow and desert landscape.
Here is a link to some photos from Christmas and New Years
http://semaanfamily.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=32
The highlight of Mum and Dad’s visit however was our trip to Disneyland. A really fun experience with a 3 year old that is totally into princesses! We not only discovered just how into princesses Zephya is but that she is a real daredevil! If she met the height requirement then she wanted on the ride, rollercoaster’s and all, she even road the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the front seat. I was delighted to know that 90% of the rides Zephya could ride I (being pregnant) could ride too, which made for a not so dull trip for me. Dad and Pierre both braved space mountan, which I had a few choice words to say about as last trip to Disneyland I missed out on that ride due to my dad chickening out, oh but he’ll do it for the son-in-law……talk about favoritism!
You can see the pics from Disneyland by clicking here
http://semaanfamily.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=31
All in all it was a wonderful time and Christmas was definitely a lot more enjoyable with family around.
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Monday, March 5, 2007
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We were lucky enough to have Ann, Pierre's mum, come and stay with us for a month just recently and with her visit come some fun adventures. After letting her settle in to US time, and showing her around the local attractions….of which there are not that many….we all headed down south of the boarder, literally!! A four day trip to Mexico’s Puerto Penasco. We stayed in a great house just back from the beach which was a lovely change from the dry air of Phoenix; the fresh sea breeze was a refreshing reminder of Sydney and the air coming of the ocean. With a great tip at hand (swim shoes) we spent most days just exploring the rock pools and collecting shells. We also made trips to both the Grand Canyon and Sedona during Ann’s visit and sent her home with plenty of photos and some great memories!
Check out the pics at http://semaanfamily.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=23
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Monday, August 28, 2006
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Well it was great to be home (by home I mean Australia, can't quite call Scottsdale home yet!) In all Zephya and I were gone a month but Pierre was only away for the first two weeks.
Our trip started in Perth, to which we arrived after a rather long flight via a 5 hour layover in Tokyo. However we are blessed with a wonderful toddler who just happens to be a really great traveler, so the trip was not so bad. Perth put on some great sunny winter days for us and it was wonderful to be there during school holidays so we could spend as much time with our niece and nephews as possible, all of whom are growing up very quickly and amaze us every time we see them. Zephya especially loved hanging out with her cousins, and we have a new found respect for 8yr olds, for Sarah our niece was the best babysitter/best bud we could have asked for. Perth was a great start to our holiday as it was very relaxing and Pierre and I got to really spend some quality time together which was really overdue and lovely.
Next it was off to Bris-vagas! (That’s Brisbane to those who don’t know) where we headed up the north coast to Tanawah where Rebel, my sister and her family live. They have only just recently moved here trying to escape the rat race that is Sydney, which I would have to say they have successfully done, as the 1 acre property, on which their three bedroom yellow houses sits upon, complete with veggie patch and rainforest down the back, was extremely tranquil. Willow our niece blew us away the most I think as she is no longer the baby we left behind but a full grown toddler with ringlets to-boot. While on the sunshine coast we got a chance to do all the touristy things like underwater world and Australia Zoo, so Steve Erwin sightings but a great adventure none the least. It was at Rebel’s that I celebrated my big 3, 0, and I have to say being with her in Oz, was the best gift I could have asked for. My best friend Jenni, drove up from Brisbane and she and Rebel took me out for a day of pampering in the mountains. We relaxed in a spa which was followed by a massage and then lunch, all of which was wonderful as you can imagine. Jenni and I where to then go off kayaking down the river in Maloolabah out to the ocean to see the sun set while dolphins swam by but of cause this was all spoiled by a storm that had hit earlier and 2ft waves…….but a nice cup of coffee and some girl talk was a great substitute. The other wonderful thing we got to experience whilst in Tanawah is strawberry picking. This was just magical all the kids had the best time and not one ate the strawberries while we picked them (patch rules) which totally amazed me.
The next week Zephya and I spent enjoying the tropical Queensland weather in Bundaberg where my folks live. Here we did some fishing, splashing in the waves (to my dread as it was still winter after all), sailing and fun stuff with Nanny and Grumps. I got a chance to catch up with some school friends and remember how good Australian indoor play centers are.
Our last week in Oz took us home to Sydney……….ahhhhhhhhh!
Other then both ending up with colds, Zephya and I had a blast. We stayed right across from manly beach and walked our little bodies off (thanks to Maria lending us a stroller). Rugged up to the max we hit the sand most days to Zeph’s delight and I just loved waking up to the sunrise over the water. Catching up with everyone in Sydney was just truly wonderful (There is nothing quite like a dinner out with my mum’s group!). It was great to feel semi-normal again and slot back in as if I hadn’t even left.
As for the fun of traveling back to the states toddler in tow and a heightened terrorist alert in full swing without husbands extra pair of hands……well actually it wasn’t too bad. Other than having to try Zephya’s medicine (which I don’t recommend as it tastes disgusting) we sailed through all the extra checkpoints rather easily.
All in all, the entire trip back to Oz was absolutely delightful (cold and all) and we can’t wait to get back again!
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Monday, July 3, 2006
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The first day of July took us to Tucson, a two hour drive south of Phoenix, where we visited the movie set/theme park “Old Town Tucson”, this is the site of many Hollywood westerns such as The Three Amigos, Young Guns, Tombstone and of course countless John Wayne films. Originally built in 1939 for the movie Arizona, Old town Tucson is still an operating set for films, TV and advertising productions. It does double up however as a mini theme park, accepting visitors year round and providing a behind the scenes peek at movie making.
Think of it as a cheesier version of Universal Studios. For those that have been to Universal and thought that was cheesy enough, then Old Town Tucson is to Universal as Blue Cheese is to Cheesy.It was summer however, and any outdoor activity is pretty much rare. So, Old Town Tucson was actually was quite deserted.
To get to Tucson, one has a good run on the road with freeway access pretty much the entire way, which makes for an easy / low stress drive as well as a opportunity to relax and remember the great road trips Pierre and Kirsty used to go on when we lived in Chicago. Zephya seemed less impressed overall with the concept of a road trip but much more impressed with the wiggles, play school and Hi Five on the way there. For some reason though, every time Pierre tried to sing, Zephya would politely say “No Thank You…” That girl has musical taste.
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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
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They say it isn't even summer here yet (which officially starts on the 22nd of June) but I can't imagine it could possibly get any hotter then it already is. We are currently experiencing a regular 105+ (40 Celsius) most days and we have only seen it rain twice, the pay off of course, everyone reminds us, is that it is a dry heat........like it matters when you live on the sun!
In the last few months the main focus has been getting set for our visit to Oz later next month, what with booking flights and scheduling visits it’s been keeping us pretty busy. We must however take this opportunity to thank Qantas and their frequent flyer program without which non of this would be possible…….that and the fact that Pierre has had a few work trips lately without which the frequent flyer program would useless.
We had our first official visitor last weekend, which was just lovely. Michael, a friend and ex-college of Pierre’s, called in for an afternoon of sightseeing and a night of jazz at Taliesin West; winter home to the late architect Frank Lloyd Wright. We also hit a club called Devils Martini, dancing the night away, to which some of us paid dearly the next day.
We have celebrated several occasions here in Arizona over the last couple of months, such as Mothers day and Fathers day. Both were received with delightful Sunday brunches at some of Scottsdale’s finer resorts and lazy afternoons spent with the family.
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Monday, April 24, 2006
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Well its official, I am now an internationally exhibited artist......that sounds soooo cool. Let me explain, I took a workshop over spring break on photographing the human form (aka nudes). This was one of the best photography courses I have ever attended. We learnt how to use studio lighting, shoot with a 5x4 view camera (a big old fashioned thing where you have to be under a black cloth at the back) and print using alternative processes, mainly cyanotypes. The course ran for 7 days and although scheduled from 9-5, we where there from 8-7 most days, standing 99% of the time, then came home and worked on what we had shot during the day. Let me just say I have never been so exhausted and totally buzzed at the same time. we had three very talented models (2 female and 1 male) and 4 hours a day (plus extra hours after that we paid them for) to shoot as much film as we could, so you can imagine how many spectacular photo's were obtained by the ten photographers, not to mention the teachers who snuck in some here and there. The basic answer to this huge collection of work was to exhibit it.......and so we did! Now let me start by saying this was in a REAL gallery with a curator and everything. I was just a little excited to say the least. I personally exhibited two pieces, a hand make book that contained 6 images and a framed series of another 6 images, I received a lot of positive feedback but unfortunately didn't sell anything, such is the life of a struggling artist (ha ha). I have posted some images from this workshop in the Kirsty album of our photo page, check them out, remember that they are nudes so view at your discretion, and let me know what you think. Again forgive the bad scans I will have to give the scanner bed a good dusting I think. Cheers Kirsty.
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Monday, March 20, 2006
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Pierre had a trip to the UK planned for this week. Most of the week was to be spent in Newcastle (North of England) and the weekend in London. Kirsty and Zephya decided to come along and stay in London with Yasmin, Adam, Adrian and Ruby. It was all working out too easily, with schedules for Kirsty’s courses coinciding with this trip and everyone was looking forwards to the trip (especially Zephya).
Sadly, Pierre’s trip was cancelled at the last minute, so he’s still in Scottsdale. The good news is that Kirsty and Zephya decided to still go ahead and fly to London and have some fun. The 10 hour trip is going to be tough, but hopefully seeing London will make up for it. We’ll be sure to share with you how it went and especially some photos of London…Watch this space…
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Tuesday, March 7, 2006
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Well another trip down and many more to go I hope! Last weekend we headed off to Winter Park Colorado for Pierre's Birthday present. http://semaanfamily.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=15
It was the first time for Zephya to see snow and she loved it. We flew over to Denver on Friday afternoon, got there by around 3 PM and then headed of to Winter Park (around 90 miles away). It was good to stay on the snow, as it meant that on Saturday, we could all get up leisurely and head off at our own pace. Saturday was snowboarding day for Pierre and he had a lot of fun on the slopes. Unlike past trips to the snow, Pierre felt confident enough to tackle the green slopes straight up without having to test out the skills on the learners area (I know, I know…very impressive…almost as good as the 4 year olds skiing the greens in Colorado). The good part was that by midday, Pierre felt it wa time to move on to the Bleu slopes (slightly harder, but nowhere near the black double diamond slopes that most of you are probably on already). Skiing the blue slopes without any major stacks was an achievement and after a full day, the last run was a tough one as the knees were getting shaky and the concentration was not altogether there.
So, on Sunday, Pierre decided not to snowboard, but to spend the time with the family. It was great to take Zephya out on the sledge area and see her have so much fun. After the initial runs with either Pierre or Kirsty doing the rowing up hill and running after Zephya (while the other parent took photos), we settled into a nice routine where Pierre would take Zephya to the top of the hill, let her slide down to the bottom where Kirsty is waiting, to catch her and tow her up hill. That left Pierre a nice leisurely stroll down to the bottom to wait for Zephya to slide down. It was good to get into the routine as Zephya just could not have enough…At the end of each slide, her first words were “again?”
We also had some fun trying to build a snow man, but Zephya was not so much into that for some reason (perhaps we should have started with eth snowman and finished with eth sledge – could have been a different answer then).
All in all, it was great fun, and Zephya got a chance to play in the playground in the middle of the snow, and to have a ton of fun. Kirsty was taking good care to not get altitude sickness (ginger pills and a lot of water), so it was really a great weekend for eth whole family.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006
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I thought I better let everyone know what I’ve been doing with myself since we've been in sunny Scottsdale. I have mostly been a mum, spending more time with Zephya than I can ever remember, which as been wonderful and terrible at the same time; the terrible vanished a little once we moved into the house, I think being cooped up in an apartment with only each other day after day can really get on your nerves even if your a two year old. The other thing that helps this situation is that we hired a nanny for two afternoons a week. Her name is Ashli and Zephya informs us that she loves her "soooooo" much.
Hiring Ashli has allowed me to take some photography classes at the local community college, which I am enjoying as not only does it get my hands dirty in the photography area but it gives me a chance to have some adult conversation with like minded individuals. I also recently enrolled Zephya in Daycare one day a week, so she could get some interaction of her own with children her age and stimulus beyond my limited imagination. I have posted some examples of photos I have been taking during my course on our photo page http://semaanfamily.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=4, please excuse the bad quality (dust spots, etc) as i just scanned them from contact sheets.
As for meeting other mums in the area, well this has proven a little more difficult than I originally thought, but thanks to some help from Pierre and the local play places (parks etc) I have found some friends so to speak. Zephya and I have a regular play date with a little girl Sage who is two and half and her mum Christy. The girls have become quite good friends and look forward to our catch ups at either each others house, the park or even once Disney’s Nemo on Ice.
The other activity that helps fill our days here in Scottsdale is Potty Training Zephya. I have mixed feelings about this too, as does Zephya. Most days it is progressing well and others we are not so motivated (either of us), however the odd bribe, (mostly a M&M or Dora the Explore fruit chews) helps and we are successful. Zephya was very excited when we went to buy big girl undies for her and help pick out which one she wanted, of course Dora and Cinderella where included. She now insists on telling me “good Girl mummy you did it” when ever I go to the toilet, ahhh the joys of motherhood.
So that’s it for me, we have some great trips lined up in the next month so I will be back with details of them.
Cheers Kirsty
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Saturday, February 25, 2006
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Well we are finally in our new house, a place that is twice the size of our Sydney house and when we moved into it, it still had 3 rooms that were empty. It is wonderful to be in a bigger place though, as you don't realize just how cramped you are in an apartment until you are out of the apartment. We are all a lot happier and Zephya loves to go and explore, as her room is the furthest away form the living area she is also getting plenty of well needed exercise. The back yard is a favorite place for the family, the other day we all just hung out on the grass, and watched the humming birds.
One of the great things about moving to the other side of the world is that you take the opportunity to renew some furniture and equipment. So, we have been busy buying furniture pretty much every weekend. We go out on the Saturday, with the SUV totally empty and usually come back with 1/2 of the back seat down and the car full of new gear. We got a new bedroom set, and this weekend we set up the study.
Pierre found a new printer / scanner / copier that is network enabled, so this is now setup in the study, and we do not need to have any computers connected to it. We can just connect over the network from anywhere in the house. It's great, as we have now setup the study as an art room for Pierre to paint, and we simply put the printer, the wireless network, the IP phone, Cable modem etc in a nice tidy shelf unit.
Kirsty insisted that we setup the Plasma unit on tip of the fireplace (on the wall) and Pierre was initially skeptical (probably because he did not want the hassle of having to install the wall bracket) Having said that, we all think (including Pierre) that it looks good there - out of the way, and it opens up the whole family room.
One of the other things we got this weekend was a hiking backpack for Zephya. That is a backpack that she can sit in so that Pierre can carry her when we go hiking. We plan to go hiking on Sunday, so we will be sure to take some photos and update the web site and let you all know how it went.
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Thursday, January 12, 2006
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Well we decided that, as there is only a month left on our temporary accommodation (of which work is paying for), we should start looking for a more permanent residence (other than just online).
We did a little driving around last weekend and a little researching on different areas in Scottsdale and how long it takes from each area for Pierre to get to work. This research involved checking out a number of houses in each area, making sure they would fit our needs (house wise) and then actually taking the drive to Pierre’s work for a “time trial”. After all the ground work and scientific data captured and analyzed, we ended up taking the first house we looked at....isn't it always the way.
The place? A modest single story, 4 bedroom 2 and a half bathroom, with formal lounge and dinning plus family room and breakfast area, 2 car garage and swimming pool, but the real winner was that there was a fantastic GRASSED area for Zephya to play (take a look at some pictures on the photo section). I know that we are being a bit heretical, living in Arizona and shying away from the desert landscaping that is so prevalent here…But, with a choice of grass or pebbles, which would you choose?
So we are on the move again. we will be in our new place as of the 1st of February and just in time for the weather to start heating up (not that it's been cold) and allow as to use that wonderful pool. Luckily we have just heard that all our furniture has arrived from Australia, the timing is perfect.
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Monday, January 2, 2006
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This long weekend, we decided to go away on a little holiday and visit a town called Sedona which is to the North of Phoenix. We knew little of the town, beyond the fact that everyone kept telling us that we had to visit it. Considering that, when we lived in Chicago, everyone told us we had to visit Wisconsin (which quite frankly, was not that special), we really did not know what to expect from Sedona.
Kirsty found us some nice accommodation at the Hilton near Sedona, and on Friday arvo (the 30th Dec) we headed out in Kirsty’s car for our 1st Arizonan road trip. The trip took about 1.5 hours, so it was an easy drive with Zephya and we arrived at the hotel around 6:30 PM (in the dark). Pierre went out to get milk and some dinner (nice Mexican) and it was an early night for the Semaan’s.
Imagine our surprise when we got up on Saturday morning and looked outside to see the most awesome, spectacular view from our room. A view, which we found out later, was not that unique, as Sedona was full of great views and breathtaking scenes of red rock.
We decided to head out on our own and explore the area. We had heard that the drive along the Oak Creek scenic route (89A) towards Flagstaff was spectacular (in fact it is voted in the top ten best scenic drives in the US), so we headed off that way. We had no brochures, so stopped at an information booth near a psychic reading place which had plenty of parking (must have known we were coming). The information booth was helpful, but also turned out to be an excuse to sell time-share accommodation (we found out that most information places are just that – sponsored by time-share to get new customers). The drive was awesome, with great views and sceneries. We stopped at a couple of native American stalls and looked at the local art, and fell in love with one piece and had to buy it.
Zephya had been talking about horses a lot lately, so we decided to see if she could have a horse ride at one of the trail ride ranches. The idea sounded appealing to her, but due to her reaction last time we attempted a pony ride after waiting a half hour in what seemed to be the longest queue in the world, at a fair on Anzac day 2005, was still fresh in our mind (let’s just say she made it onto the horse but then balled her head off). So with our fingers crossed, that Saturday afternoon we took Zephya to the M-Diamond horse ranch, where she met the local cowboy and a beautiful brown horse called Dakota who she rode around in a circle (Pony ride style). Zephya loved it.
That night, we had a nice dinner at the restaurant at our hotel, Zephya wolfed her spaghetti down, must have been the excitement of the horse ride. Pierre and Kirsty ate well, but enjoyed the wine much more :-) (a Californian drop by the name of “Simi, Alexander Valley” We suggest you try it if you like a good Cab/Sav)
On Sunday morning (New Year’s Day), we all went on a “Pink Jeep” Tour. This is a 4-wheel drive tour that takes you off road to see some of the Sedona magic. We booked ourselves on a scenic tour, which, while off-road, was not as steep as other rides. The tour guide was great, provided a child seat for Zephya and was very helpful with information and stories about the area. Because it was a 8AM tour after new years eve, we were the only ones on the tour, which was great for us, as we thought that, worse case scenario, if Zephya hates the trip, we can just go back (and not inconvenience anyone). Well, Zephya loved it… Every time the guide would stop the car to tell us about a view, she would ask for “more bumps…”. After about 1.5 hours (it’s a two hour tour) we had reached the top of the mountain (about 6500 feet), Zephya was a bit cold and over the whole thing and started to loose it a bit, so we headed down again without too many stops, but we were just happy to be able to do this type of adventure trip with our 2 year old.
A warm cup of hot chocolate (for Zephya) and coffee (for Kirsty and Pierre) and some croissants later, we were ready to head off to our next destination which is the “Out of Africa” wildlife park (http://www.outofafricapark.com/). This was an amazing place. We first went on a Serengeti adventure on the back of a uni-mog (big jeep), where we fed the Giraffes some cookies by hand – Zephya loved it and by the 3rd cookie, she was not dropping them early, but waiting till the Giraffe took it out of her hand. Kirsty was more adventurous and put the cookie in her mouth, which meant that the Giraffe had to take it out of there with his tongue.
After that, we went on a tour to see the big cats and friends. The tour guide was actually the owner, and he was a story teller at heart, so it was a great experience to talk to him and listen to his stories about the animals. We saw lions, tigers, jaguars, cougars, bears, mountain lions, wolf, and hyenas. We were also there for the feeding time, which gave us some great photo opportunities. (check out these pics on the photo page of our web site).
For dinner that night, we stopped of at a Sedona icon, “The Cowboy Club”, where we ate some buffalo, some rattle snake (tempura style) and some prickly pear cactus fruit as well as steak, shrimps (prawns for the Aussies) and chorizo sausage. If you ask what rattle snake tastes like, then Pierre would tell you that it was a bit like shingle back lizard (for those of you who have never had shingle back lizard it’s a bit like crocodile). Check out their menu here if you want to know whet else they had to offer. (http://www.cowboyclub.com/menu.html)
On Monday morning, we took it easy and headed off to “Tlaquepaque” a local arts and crafts village. This is a beautifully set village with a lot of quaint shops, art galleries and cafés. We then headed down to Jerome, which is a picturesque (ex-mining) town set in the hills, where the houses look like they are gripping on to the mountain side for dear life, and the views are nothing short of spectacular. The scenic route back to Phoenix was a much better experience then just hitting the freeway, and we even stopped at a local service station and stocked up on chips, drinks, and a Semaan Family road trip special – some pumpkin seeds. All in all, we had a great long weekend, and it was nice to share a road trip experience (something Kirsty and Pierre had done often when in Chicago) with Zephya. She was so good, we will definitely be going on many more of these road trips and we’ve even decided to get a hiking backpack with a child attachment, so we could take her hiking in the near by state parks.
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Sunday, December 25, 2005
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Christmas morning arrived with a sleep in....Zephya's gift to her parents....and then Kirsty not being able to work the video camera, so the fantastic wake up and "come see what Santa brought" will forever be stored in our memories but not in our video libary. Pierre remembers a similar incident during our honeymoon, when we ended up with footage of the ground as we walked between exhibits at an African village...But in the spirit of Xmas, we won't mention that too much.
Zeph was delighted at the sight of all the presents under and around the Xmas tree, in particular the red tricycle from her nana, which Pierre and Kirsty stayed up to put together Christmas eve, and Dorothy the Dinosaur from her Aunty Rebel, Unckie G, Zai and Willow. Kirsty tried out her new wide angle lens and Pierre his new wallet, sunglasses, shirts and shoes. After all the prezzies where opened and thoroughly played with, we headed off to the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale for a buffet brunch. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed our first winter Christmas, at 25 degrees Celsius, with people swimming in the pool. I must say it felt a bit like home. Pierre enjoyed the seafood, helping himself to the crabs and prawns (shrimps here) multiple times, while Kirsty and Zephya were a bit more reserved with the main meal...However, all three of us gave desert a good workout, trying the mini pastries, the chocolate mouse, the éclairs and the ice-cream. Pierre also had a banana concoction, flambé with dark rum and caramel...very nice...apparently a New Orleans dish.
The afternoon brought a drive to Fountain Hills and McDowell Mountain national reserve, where the views were breathtaking and the cacti plentiful. It was a wonderful day and even more enjoyable now that Zephya is truly into the Christmas spirit. There is nothing quite like hearing your two year old wish you...."Meerrrrry Christmas Mummmy!."
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Saturday, December 24, 2005
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It's not Xmas yet in the US, because of the time zone, but we spent a few hours today catching up with family in Australia and wishing everybody Merry Christmas. That’s right, for any Americans reading this…we wished them Merry Christmas, not “Happy Holidays”.
See, in the US, most people wish each other Happy Holidays, so as not to offend anyone that may not celebrate Christmas. And personally, I think that the idea is ridiculous. If someone comes up to me and wishes me a happy Hanukah, my thought would be that they may possibly be Jewish and whish them a happy Hanukah back…I would certainly not feel offended that I (as a non Jew) was subjected to hearing the words “happy Hanukah”...what's so horrible about that?
Perhaps people need to be reminded to be happy...for whichever occasion they need to make them happy...
So, I figured that I can’t change the whole US country in 1 month (the length of time I’ve been here), but I can certainly try…so, tomorrow (Xmas here in the US) I will be wishing everyone I see (in shops and restaurants etc) a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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We have received a few questions about our blog (this news section) from friends and family that may not be familiar with blogs and why one would use them. So, I thought I’d explain a bit about how to use this blog and especially the use of the Orange XML / Blue RSS icon  on the left hand side of this page.
Blogging is a simple way to update a website with bits of news and also used as a simple way to keep track other people blogs - in a lightweight, speed-readable format that lets you scan dozens, even hundreds, of fresh articles a day without the time-wasting tedium of opening their corresponding web sites.
All you need to do is download and install an RSS reader. An RSS ("Really Simple Syndication”) reader automatically updates itself with the latest items from the sites you tell it to watch, so it's always fresh. You don't have to hop from site to site, or constantly click "refresh," to know what's been published by the sites you frequent most.
How do you get started? The first step is to install an RSS reader. For PC users, I recommend http://www.sharpreader.net . It's free, although the developer welcomes donations from happy users. Once you've installed a reader, go back to your browser and open our RSS link, by clicking on the RSS/XML icon, or just copy this URL here: http://www.semaanfamily.com/blogs/rss.xml. Cut and paste this URL above into your reader to read the site in RSS and choose subscribe if you want to be notified when we post new articles.
This way, you will always know which article you have already read and which ones are “old” and you can obviously use the RSS reader to subscribe to other RSS sites, not just this great one from us :-)
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Monday, December 19, 2005
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I got my dream car finally. I picked up a BMW 330CI convertible with all the options I ever dreamed of, including a navigation system. All the dealers tried to tell me that having a navigation system in Phoenix is a waste of time, as the city is really a big giant grid. However, I knew better and made sure that I got a car with the nav system option installed. So…is it worth it? Having the nav system has proven to be “interesting”. It is quite a gadget, but it does not seem to be as accurate as I would have liked (tells me to take a left exit from the highway, while the exit is on the right). We used it to navigate to the Holiday party the other Saturday, and other than that small glitch it was good. Kirsty commented that the voice is a female voice so that the male drivers can still argue with the direction being given and blame “her” – which is exactly what I was doing.
So, the bottom line is that there jury is out on the nav system, but there is absolutely nothing else wrong with my baby. I love my new car. I drove it around on the Saturday wit the top down and I love the little things that it does, like put the sound volume up when you go fast to compensate for the wind noise, or tilt the passenger side mirror down when reversing so you can see the curb easier…Or the adaptive headlights which turn in the same direction as where you are steering…and, it's a good looking machine to boot...
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Wednesday, December 14, 2005
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Well after a month in the land of the free I have a few opinions of what I like and what I don't. Big on the, I like list, is the fact that you can buy a six-pack of Corona for $6.24, we are talking just a little over a dollar per beer......I'll drink to that. One of the things I am struggling with is that any person from the Western suburbs of Sydney (no offence) could be mistaken for a well to do stay at home mum here, as matching velour tracksuits with eggs are the thing to ware in the upper class suburbs of Scottsdale. We quite often see one of these tracky dack attired women driving their BMW and merks around town. As a smaller women... nicely named petites here...it is nice to have my own section of most stores known as the patties....buying jeans, pants, jackets, skirts in most major brands has never been so easy, however grocery shopping on the other hand has become a bit of a challenge. Even brands that exist in Oz are packaged differently or packaged the same but named something completely different. The up side of this is we get to try something new every week. All in all the differences are enough to make me miss home but know I will miss things from here when we get back.
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Monday, December 12, 2005
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After the hassles on Friday, Pierre was not prepared to believe that the SSN will actually be there on Monday. So, we called in the to SSA first, and made sure that there indeed was a number against Pierre’s record in the system. Having confirmed this, it was a short drive to the SSA, a short wait and Pierre was finally given his SSN. With an SSN, Pierre is now a real person, able to open bank accounts, purchase cars, be entered into the company database a real employee…Oh was a feeling…
So, it was off to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get an Arizona driver’s license. We were pre-warned that in all likelihood, a written and a practical driving test will be required. So, armed with a very good memory, it only took one read of the manual to pass the written test, with questions such as the 2-scond rule, what to do in a dust storm and which way your wheels should be turned if you are parked uphill on a road with a curbside posing no threat at all. Pierre did skip the section on penalties and therefore did not know the answer to the question: “What is the penalty for a first time offense as a DUI”, cheekily writing: “I was not planning to DUI, so I did not read that section”. The practical test was pretty simple comprising a reverse park test and a lap around the block where there was 4 stop signs to test the left turns and how to handle stop signs. After a short wait, an Arizona state license was issued. Now, all we need is to organize insurance for the cars and we can pick them up….more on that later….
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