Ijsmanneke, I love you!

The past few weeks I have seen commercials for these little beauties.

Seeing this stateside reminds of being a missionary in Belgium. Magnum's are the elite of ice cream bars. If we were having a bad day, or a good day, or an indifferent day (any excuse would do) our little household in Belgium would find a reason to purchase one of these beauties. But, the other magnificent part of Belgium was Ijsmanneke (translated to Little Ice Cream Man). Every evening the tinkling, melodious sounds of Ijsmanneke rang through the streets, and I felt bound to shout out "Ijsmanneke, I LOVE YOU!" I truly did. He brought the Magnum bars, and other delectable ice cream dishes directly in front of the house. I found this picture to show the excitement of Ijsmanneke.

The entry from my mission "scrapbook" has this tag line, "Summers in Belgium brought the ice cream man, taunting me every evening with his little chime to

come and buy his wares. Some nights we had to obey! Ijs mannkeke is my favourite man in all of Belgium."

I recall one day, when my companion and I were both sick. It happened to be preparation day, and when it came time to leave for the evening, neither of us could move. We decided to make some phone calls and do other planning and try to get better. It was a good thing we decided this, for about 10 minutes after the other sisters left the apartment,

the elders called and told us we had to stay home, because there were riots in downtown Antwerpen. Recall that the other sisters JUST left and wouldn't be home until late at night. At the time, we hoped that they would be able to get to a members house before public transportation shut down and could take them home.

Later that evening, the sisters called, stuck in the riot because public transportation had shut down. I took their information, was able to call the elders, relay where the sisters were located and sent the cavalry to rescue my sisters in need. Now, recall that I LOVE Ijsmanneke. When I get sick I crave ice cream. That cold creaminess coating my inflamed throat is a great feeling. I was in want of Ijsmanneke. And this is the part I am not proud of. But I heard that jingle and convinced Zr. Sharp that we needed ice cream. She agreed. Unbeknownst to us, the sisters had called while purchasing the "medicine" to say the location was no longer safe. However, we didn't have an answering machine and missed the call. For the rest of the evening I played phone tag between the sisters and elders and tried to get them both in the same location. The sisters didn't get home until close to 1 am. I still hang my head in shame for the need of the ice cream on a night that was fraught with danger (to the sisters in the riot, not my throat).

So what does all of the have to do with Magnum bars. Well, first, I hope you enjoyed my embarrassing moment. Second, I have been sick for the past 2 weeks, and I ate a Magnum.

Bliss. :)

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin'

As promised, a blog post on India. Before leaving for India our class was told that we would be participated in Culture Night. The students at Lady Doak College in India would be performing some native dances from the area and it was expected that we do perform something native to our culture. What is native to American culture? I suggested that we bake an apple pie and run a few football blitzes. I think what is hard for other countries to understand about America is that we are really a conglomeration of other cultures. When you have a random group of 12 people, what is "culture" for one person is not "culture" for another. For example, one member of the group did not want to sing or dance. She felt it was too much like a 4th grade elementary school concert. After much deliberation, our culture came together.

Now, when I left on this trip to India I decided I wanted to try and go outside of my comfort zone. We wanted to sing a song, but not too many people in the group were willing to sing. I know I have a passable voice, and I needed to step outside my comfort zone and so I agreed to sing. Eventually we decided upon "Proud Mary" the Tina Turner version. Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy being in the spotlight or performing in front of strangers. But I put my best foot forward and performed.


Before going out on stage I think I ate about 4 pounds of sugar out of nervousness. Then I decided it was time to either go big or go home. If my friend Andreya was there she would say to just cut loose and give in to my inner diva. Notice the classy touch of lyrics in my hand.

After singing Proud Mary we did a few steps of the Cha-Cha slide. Because what is more American than a song that tells you what steps to take. We brought down the house.


To answer your lingering questions, yes there is a video of this performance. No, you may not see it.

Update: Thankgsiving

Hello friends. I realize it has been a few months since the last post. I was really waiting for something post-worthy. Then, I forgot and then I went to India. For those of you expecting a post on India, I just have to say stay tuned. It's coming.

Do any of you have to travel anywhere for this wondrous holiday? I do. To Boise, Idaho to be exact (well, to be even more precise, Meridian). Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. A day devoted to family, food and napping. Could there be anything better? I am beginning to re-think this "going home" for Thanksgiving though. My parents really just use my brothers and I for slave labor now. I think the price of the meal now is having to set up the Christmas decorations.

Inside the house my mom has well over 50 nativity sets that have to be set up. Since my mom is very particular about where each set goes and how the figures are arranged I try to put myself on the outside light and giant nativity set duty. This year, however, I almost regretted that decision.

In the front of my parent's house during the Christmas season sits a giant nativity set. It takes 2-3 people to set up and must be done in a specific order....OR ELSE. Here is me dad "supervising" the set up.

To be fair, he did just have knee replacement surgery a few weeks before Thanksgiving. The next day at church one of the members asked me if all my dad does is sit in a lawn chair in the middle of the street and give directions. I responded with a hearty "yes."

Mid-way in assembly. Notice the snow on the ground. What you can't see is the freezing wind and the holes in the bottom of my shoes as my feet get wetter and I get crankier. It was worth it in the end for this is the final result.



But the real piece de resistance of the Christmas light extravaganza really belongs to the 12 foot pine tree on the corner of my parent's house. That was the worst. The tree sits on an incline, so you can't put a ladder against the side of tree. The only way to get the lights around the tree is basically for me to stand at a distance and hurl the lights to the top of the tree. Proceed to hurl, chuck, mightily toss as you circle the tree. I am really good at this. Mostly because I had to do it 3 times the previous year. The lights got up the first time, only to discover that the top 2 strands were out. Took those down, replaced. Re-stranded, noticed different strands were out. Replaced strands again and then did the final toss. This year I learned my lesson. I checked the lights BEFORE having to do my epic throwing (and in case you are wondering, other family members tried. With much less accuracy). The lights were arranged. We flipped the switch. And the top two strands were out. Again.

Remember the snow on the ground, and the wind, and the fact that my boots were not exactly waterproof and had holes in the bottom of them. It was also getting darker, and my brothers and I had already spent the majority of the day putting up lights and nativity sets outside. My cranky level was at an all-time high. So I stormed in the house and demanded my mother to make a decision. If she wanted us to get new lights and re-strand it was a possibility. I was not shy in letting it be known that if we could skip the tree this year, I would not be opposed. She listened and said we could take the lights down, and to be sure to get rid of the burnt out lights.

Mark (younger brother) and I went outside. As I thought of a way to try and put strands on the bushes around the tree Mark makes this suggestion: "Wouldn't it be cool to put a giant L in the tree, you know, for Lamborn." Ummm, yes that would be the greatest way to salvage my cranky mood, and whatever strange idea Mark offers I make sure happens. This little beauty came into existence. Our L stayed all Christmas season. We made sure to make a loopy L for all to see. It was the least we could do to brighten up the family homestead.