Browsing Category: Featured

Chorizo rice recipe – cheap, easy mid-week dinner

chorizo rice recipe

If you are anything like me, there is one question that can strike more dread into you than any other – “what’s for dinner?” Seriously, it feels like an eternal question, mainly because it’s what Dean and I ask each other every single day. And sometimes, I have a plan; I might decide that we’re going to braai or that I feel like cooking something in particular. But more often then not, it’s a question of how to throw together a decently healthy meal with minimal effort with whatever we have in the house. On those days, I really don’t want to spend more than half an hour in the kitchen dealing with food, but I still want us to eat something tasty and nutritious. So, here’s one of my new favorite inventions that really is easy to make, seems to appeal to most/all tastes and offers some pretty good nutrients without going over the top with the calories.

I’d call this a Spanish rice recipe, but it’s probably not authentic enough. Instead, this is my Chorizo rice recipe, and I hope it makes your life easier as a simple fall-back answer for “what’s for dinner”?  Continue Reading

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4 Comments Food

Registering a citizen born abroad

american citizen

There are all sorts of complications that come with an international relationship. Many of them are fun – I love having an “exotic” husband. He uses words and language that I find intriguing, and we are both continually discovering aspects of each other’s lives that are amusing or strange to each other. It’s enjoyable for both of us as we get to explore our different countries, our different perspectives from an outside angle thanks to each other. We are global citizens and it’s something that I’m excited to pass on to Harley as she will come from both backgrounds, a true citizen of the world. However, the admin involved isn’t too pleasant.

I already wrote about the mission we had just to get her birth certificate resolved. But that was just on the South African side. With our plan this year to move to the States, I wanted to get her American documentation sorted out. But it’s not as easy as it might sound – like so many nationalities, passing your citizenship on through the blood isn’t a simple matter for Americans. Well, it was in the end, but it wasn’t easy in the middle. Continue Reading

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10 Comments Rambling, South Africa, USA

2017 Goals – Here’s what I’m aiming for this year

2017 goal

2016 was a pretty big year for me. I brought my baby home and my entire life changed. I had some wonderful successes and crazy difficult challenges, but that year is over and now we’re officially in 2017. Sure, I will still get the date wrong for a few days and weeks, but it’s a new year and with the days ahead there are some big things that I want to do.

But first, let me be clear – I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I hate the very idea. You can change your life at any time, any day. You can set new goals for yourself at any point, and changing your life shouldn’t be something you wait on for a specific day or time. That said, I have some goals that I want to reach this year, and I figure that sharing them with all of you will help me focus on those core things, as well as hold me accountable. Perhaps at the end of this year I can look back and assess how well I did. Now, each of these goals will be quite big, which means that there will be subgoals involved, too. Here goes… Continue Reading

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18 Comments Fitness, Health, Rambling

2016 – the year that was

Even though it feels like it went by in a flash, so much happened in 2016. I’ve seen a thing going around on Facebook that I might steal. It involved getting a big jar at the start of the year, and each week (or even whenever moments come up), writing down a moment that made me happy or proud or grateful. At the end of the year, I’ll be able to empty the jar and read all the awesome stuff that happened. Definitely sounds like a lovely concept… I just need to get a jar/box/vessel for the cool comments. Since I didn’t do that, though, I’m going to blatantly steal this list of 10 questions from Forbes. But why, I hear you ask.

So many people like to talk about the year that was and predict the year that will be. While often this seems self-indulgent somehow, I do think it also helps to reflect on what went right and wrong over the course of the year in the hopes of improving things, or at least making new mistakes, in the new year. So, here goes – the 10 questions that help me assess the year that was and the year that will be. Continue Reading

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3 Comments Rambling

Thoughts on the night before Christmas 2016

I’ve been wanting to write some words all day. I haven’t been writing much the last few days, enjoying my time on leave instead. I’ve been playing Stardew Valley, Watch Dogs 2 and finishing up some odds and ends of Final Fantasy XV, as well as watching The Crown on Netflix. I’ve also been playing with my kid, running errands and finally sorting out her American citizenship (which I promise I will write about soon). It’s been a lovely time away from work, time in my own head, and time with two of the people who mean the most to me in the whole world. I’ve been thinking a lot though as we head into this holiday, about where we are and where we are going. I recently wrote a post about what I’m thankful for, so that’s not exactly what I want to do here, but I’ve been struggling to put my thoughts into a discernible order. So, instead of putting them into order, here they are in all their chaotic beauty.

My heart is heavy when I think about the world at the moment. Whether you believe the story of the nativity is truth, or a parable, it feels rather important at the moment. Mary and Joseph were fleeing persecution, and no one would let them in. Finally, a kind person let them into their barn, where Mary ended up giving birth. It’s a story that is meant to remind us that even in our darkest moments, light can come into the world. That even the most poor and desperate people can bring something beyond value into this world. It’s a reminder during the dark days of the Winter Solstice (which feels odd when we celebrate down here in South Africa seeing as it’s summer) that light and warmth and goodness can return to the world. Continue Reading

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Comment Geek, Marriage, Parenting, Rambling