part 13 of 364

Things that keep Melissa alive

Part 13: Cheese products

I was going to do a post for each cheese product in my life but I think that might take all 364 parts of the series.

Some things of note about my love affair with cheese...and cheez:

• It doesn't matter the realness or the fakeness (cheez) of the cheese, I will love it. I am a die hard Havarti fan (direct from Denmark) but I also never tire of a Mac and Cheese lunch
• When eating hot foods with grated cheese on them, I actually prefer my cheese to be unmelted, if possible. Ex: With tacos, I am a cheese on top the lettuce fan opposed to cheese right on top the hot meat. Also, when making my egg, cheese, and toast sandwiches I like to place the slice of cheese right on top just before each bite so it doesn't have time to melt before I eat it.
• If making grilled cheese sandwiches, I actually prefer using a fake Kraft single over a real slice of cheddar (probably relating to my previous point about not really loving melted real cheese). It turns out I do like melted cheez, just not melted cheese.
• I like to try exciting new forms of cheese and cheez. For example, let me introduce you to Cheez-it cookies:
  

I found the recipe yesterday while googling all things Cheez-it. By the way, are you a white cheddar cheez-it fan or a parmesan garlic cheez-it fan? (I have a poll going, and I'd like to prove myself right). These cookies actually have Cheez-its ground in the dough plus the cracker on top. They are surprisingly tasty!

What are your favorite forms of cheese and cheez? Here are mine in no particular order (I want them all to feel equally loved)

Cheese:

• Havarti
• Smoked Gouda
• Sharp Cheddar
• Feta
• Edam
• Jarlsberg
• Mozzarella (fresh, please)
  
• Parmesan (block)

Cheez:

• Kraft Singles
• Kraft Mac and Cheese
• Cheetos
• Cheez-its
• Handi-snacks (love that cheez!)
• Cheese Ritz Bitz
• Cheese Dorritos
• Velveeta
  

If cheese were a man, I would so marry him.

In a world where I get tired of eating the same things over and over again I am blessed to have so many cheese options to keep me interested. And that keeps me alive!

Durban

Day 7: The Pavillion and Braai

Highlights:

• Eating my first and only spinach and feta pie at the pavillion
• The people we stayed with who had a braai all ready to go when we arrived
• Our roommates from the animal kingdom: Dogs and Cockroaches
  

Day 8: In Sickness and uShaka

(sorry...this is actually from phezulu the next day. Don't you want to eat at that table?)

Highlights:

• Nursing Tracy back to health after a long night of bathroom visits; chilling with the cockroaches
• Super warm weather at the beach!
• Finally touching the Indian Ocean
  

Day 9: Phezulu and Tala game reserve

Highlights:

• The Zulu dancer that reminded me of Scott (the one on the left)...yes, Mary Ann's Scott
• Holding the biggest Python I've ever held (I almost cried)
• Seeing "wild" animals on a cheap 2 hour drive
  

Day 10: Amanzimtoti and Visits

Highlights:

• Visiting the Amanzimtoti ward again and all the sisters that pretended to remember me. Very kind of them
• Hitting the Toti beach that my missionary flat was on and finally touching the water (no fly eggs in my eye, but a wave did manage to drench my skirt)
• Visiting the Botha's
• Dinner and FHE with sis Ngidi, Thembisile and Jabu. Best night of the trip because of them
  

Day 11: The market, Sis. Mbisana and Driving

Highlights:

• Driving dangeresquely to the Indian market in downtown Durban
• Being blown away by the smell of spices
• Discovering my most hated road interchage in the world as we tried to find my Companion
• The "raping" window cleaner at the stoplight
  
• Driving long and late hours to the Drakensberg mountains and our Hostel we stayed at
  

Day 12: Tugela Falls

Highlights:

• Possibly the most sun I have ever gotten
• Most amazing views I have ever seen
• The 250 meter bouldering portion of the hike that almost did me in and made me ornery
  
• Chain ladders that brought us down the cliffs
• The sweet sockline momento my sunburn left
  

Day 13: Sis Mbisana, the beach, fly out

Highlights:

• The petrol station that could not get any of our credit cards to work
• Spending some one on one time with Kay (my comp) after we dropped Stacey and Tracy at the beach
• Finding Pinky's (a member) house in a miraculous manner and finding her at home, also in a miraculous manner
• One last cooling dip of my sunburned legs in the Indian ocean and we waved goodbye
  

Day 14: Fly fly fly

Highlights:

• Midnight 11 hour flight. Need I say more
• 1am dinner. Who eats at 1am?!
• Being the last flight allowed out of Amsterdam before the airport closed for days
• Arriving at Minneapolis at 5pm, getting our luggage, going through customs, checking our luggage and going through security in time to still sprint to our 5:15 flight
• Somehow our luggage was not lost in all of that!
• Sleeping in my own bed for approx. 10 blissful hours that night
  

That's it! Too painfully long? ....now back to real life, I guess

Cape Town

Ok, sorry for the delay as I got my thoughts together about the trip and decided exactly how many details I wanted to subject you to... I think I will do 2 posts for the two areas we visited. One picture will represent each day. Then I will list the highlights. Ok, all set?

Day 1&2: Flying, flying and..... flying.

(This was not me, btw...you would have found me wide awake possibly staring at nothing in particular for 11 hours straight)

Seriously folks, that was some major travel time. We left Friday morning at 10 and got to South Africa Sat. night at 10pm. ...Jealous of our trip yet?

Day 3: North Cape Town and wineries.

Highlights:

• Driving on the left side of the road. So much more fun than I remember!
• The views we saw of table mountain from the north Cape Town coast
• Wasting time after finding out there was no general conference broadcast at the church by driving out to see the much heralded wineries. They were all closed for Easter, so sorry...no free wine samples for us.
• The views of table Mountain on the drive back into the city
• Finding a coffee shop with wifi to listen to three conference talks live
• The only day we ate at Nandos! Good thing we did at least once.
  

Day 4: Cape Point and Boulders beach

Highlights:

• Finding out that so many things we wanted to do that day "wouldn't be open today" because of either the wind or being the day after easter
• The wind at cape point literally held us up when leaning over the cliff
• Finding the most beautiful beach I've ever been to (not saying much)..pictured on day 7
• Seeing the cute, tiny penguins on Boulder's beach
• Eating at Bertha's in Simon's town. Good food and we discovered that if we share 2 meals between the 3 of us we don't have leftovers to take to the hotel and rot. Plus, extra money for dessert!
  

Day 5: Clifton Beach and the downtown market

Highlights:

• Lazing on a slightly windy beach avoiding the cold water
• Getting swindled at the downtown market (we're so weak at bartering)
• Visiting the waterfront at dusk to take some sweet sunset pictures
• Dinner at the rotating restaurant on top of our hotel
  

Day 6: Downtown museums, Kirstenbosch gardens and Table mountain.

Highlights:

• Waking up to clouds on the one day Table Mountain was open
  
• Finding out it was actually open the day before, our hotel had just lied to us
• Wasting time at kirstenbosch gardens and downtown Cape Town just hoping and praying that the clouds would break
• Finally giving up and heading up the tram into the cloud to see the amazing view...of the cloud
• Discovering that walking around in a cloud causes water droplets to form on every bit of body hair showing and our clothes. Also, it made us cold.
  

Day 7: Turn in rental car and fly to Durban.

Highlights:

• Going through the maze of roads and signs to find the one petrol station at the airport.
• KFC at the airport. You don't even know
• The free mint on the plane (they are so generous in South Africa)

Next up: Durban

hello internet, your face is the same but your breath...

I can't believe I spent the last two weeks without phone or internet service. But, this is how I felt about it:

Give me a snake and I'll be happy.

It was a trip full of ups and downs, but I guess I shouldn't expect everything to go perfectly for 2 weeks straight. Yet, somehow I loved every minute. Every cockroach (ok, I just love the memory of them...and killing them). Every wrong turn. Every 10 hour flight. Every lie our hotel told us. Every elevator squealing through the night. Every view from Table mountain (hint: there was no view). Every sunburn. Every stomach cramp. Every mosquito.

There. Those are all the low points of the trip. Next post will be about the high points.

Side note: I have come to realize today how miraculous it was that we made it out of europe yesterday. Our flight was the last flight allowed out of Amsterdam before they closed the airport because of volcano ash. Good, good, good to be home. And thank you, bathroom sink, for not being infested with cockroaches.