Pumpkin carving

Before..... (one 7.1 kg and one 8.0 kg pumpkin)

 

During....

After.....

Eating out

Houstonions eat out more than residents of any other American city. On average an amazing 4 times a week!

Zagat released its 2012 America's Top Restaurants survey, and results reveal that the recession still isn't affecting the eating patterns of Houston diners.

Data collected from 156,000 respondents show that food lovers nationwide eat out an average of 3.1 meals per week. But Texans are eating out more than anyone else in the country and Houston ranks No. 1, with an average of four meals out per week. Being No. 1 is nothing new for Houston — it ranked first in meals out per week last year as well.

Austin/Hill Country (3.8 meals per week), Dallas/Fort Worth (3.6) and San Antonio (3.5) round out the top four of the 2012 list. East Coast eaters in Boston and Philadelphia fall at the bottom, each with an average of just 2.5 meals out per week.

It could be Rick Perry's "Texas Miracle" that contributes to Houstonians' spendthrift ways, but it's more likely just the relatively low price of eating out. The average meal in Houston costs $32.53, compared to the Zagat U.S. average of $35.65. The average most expensive meal in Houston, $63.05, falls significantly below the national average of $79.39.

After dinner people like boxing up their leftovers and taking them home. Since the portions are so big this will probably be more than enough food for next day's lunch or dinner.

However, I was very surprised when I came across this 'Olive Garden' advertisement. One dinner in the restaurant and before you leave

they will box up tomorrow night's dinner! Two nights dinner for $12.95. Not sure I want to try this....

 

Halloween crafts

With inspiration from Pinterest we have done some Halloween crafts

Pumpkins

As you might have figured from the last post, there are a lot of pumpkins in the US in October.

This is the pile at our grocery store....

Halloween Statistics

Today while shopping in our local grocery store I was wondering how many pumpkins get sold during this Halloween season. Google did not provide an exact answer but I did find some other interesting and fun statistics.


24.7 pounds
Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2010.

1.1 billion pounds
Pumpkin production by major pumpkin-producing states in 2010. Illinois produced an estimated 427 million pounds of the vined orange gourd. California, New York and Ohio were also major pumpkin-producing states, each with an estimate of more than 100 million pounds.

Some pumpkin statistics I found online:

• U.S. per capita use of pumpkins:
2009: 4.10 pounds
2010: 4.49 pounds
2011: 4.49 pounds
2012: 4.46 pounds (forecast)

• Farm price for pumpkins:
2008 average: 12.90 cents per pound
2009 average: 11.00 cents per pound
2010 average: 11.00 cents per pound
2011 average: 10.60 cents per pound

• U.S. advertised retail price for pumpkins:
2011 average: $4.60 each
Sept 7, 2012: $2.16 each
Sept 14, 2012: $4.75 each
Sept 21, 2012: $4.34 each
Sept 28, 2012: $4.79 each (4% above 2011 average)

Doing some quick math will show you that the farmers miss out on this one....

Some more useless Halloween facts :)

• The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 with a 836 lb. pumpkin.

• According to tradition, if a person wears his or her clothes inside out and then walks backwards on Halloween, he or she will see a witch at midnight.
• Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C., which means Halloween has been around for over 6,000 years.
  
• In 2010, 72.2% of those surveyed by the National Retail Federation will hand out candy, 46.3% will carve a pumpkin, 20.8% will visit a haunted house, and 11.5% will dress up their pets.
  
• Stephen Clarke holds the record for the world’s fastest pumpkin carving time: 24.03 seconds, smashing his previous record of 54.72 seconds. The rules of the competition state that the pumpkin must weigh less than 24 pounds and be carved in a traditional way, which requires at least eyes, nose, ears, and a mouth.

 

And some visual stats

 

M D N A

Last night Thijs and I went to a Madonna concert at the Toyota Center in Houston. This had been on our list for a long time!

She is pretty amazing! The concert didn't begin until 10.45 but then the show started! Wow! It is almost more a show than a concert but it was great!

(pictures from the top ring with an iPhone don't turn out so well so I 'stole' these from the internet)

Madonna is known for speaking her mind, also during this show. She called on everyone to do their democratic duty and vote. She didn't care for which candidate as long as it was Obama :)

A bit later in the show she stripped down to her (very sexy) underwear and this 'tattoo' show up on her back - this got some boos from the Texas crowd. For those who don't know, Texas is a very republican state and Obama is therefore not so popular - or otherwise put - he has no chance in hell of winning in Texas!

Here a review I found online on www.29-95.com

Much has been made in recent weeks about the dark side, so to speak, of Madonna’s MDNA Tour. And indeed, there are some bare, brutal moments in the two-hour show. The first segment, which includes new tunes “Girl Gone Wild” and “Gang Bang,” finds her obliterating a group of masked assassins with a fake firearm, blood splattering across the huge screen backdrop.

“Bang, bang/Shot you dead/And I have no regret,” she whispered above the droning beat. The high-def bloodbath drew several cheers from Wednesday’s sold-out crowd at Toyota Center. (There are still some tickets available for tonight’s show.)

And there’s more. She’s political! She does too many new songs! She supports gay rights! And feminist punk band Pussy Riot!

“What's the matter, you don't like my ass?” Madonna asked after a striptease to “Human Nature” revealed “Obama” stamped across the small of her back and drew a smattering of boos. (Cheers eventually won out.)

“Don't take democracy for granted,” she told the crowd. “I keep saying this, and I'm gonna say this everywhere I go. We need to appreciate what we have. I don't care who you vote for. Just vote.”

But most unforgivable (at least to those who haven’t attended a single show) is the start time. Madonna took the stage around 10:45 p.m. Late, to be sure, but hardly unusual if you’ve seen her on recent tours. DJ/producer Martin Solveig opened the show and was joined by David, Madonna’s youngest son. Few people seemed to mind the wait.

In fact, it was fun to watch the parade of pre-show fashions: pink and purple wigs, “Virgin”-era bangles and bows, feathered headdresses, leather harnesses, even sequined football shoulder pads. There were sparkles and tight pants and lots of makeup (much of it on the boys). More than 2 million fans will have seen the tour by the time it wraps in South America, and the party atmosphere only adds to the luster.

The show opened amid a swirl of smoke and chants, dancers dressed as monks and gargoyles congregating around a giant thurible. Madonna appeared, gun in tow, moving to the slinky electro strains of “Girl Gone Wild.” Risers went up and down. Images flashed on the screen. And then, the violence, which segued into an equally ominous segment featuring “Papa Don’t Preach” and “Hung Up.” But it was less real-life and more Russ Myers, with Madonna as the perfectly coiffed heroine/villainess in leather.

She looked fit and danced hard, often in heels, through almost every number. The show is designed to pop at every angle, with almost no lag time between numbers. A harrowing video montage set to “Nobody Knows Me” (from the “American Life” album) featured dedications to gay teens driven to suicide by bullying, including Asher Brown, who attended Hamilton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

Plenty of lesser pop tarts have passed through the same venue, but none wield Madonna’s nervy mix of confidence, charisma and attitude.

In many ways, the MDNA Tour is a study in contrasts. The feverish opening gave way to a jubilant, joyous sequence that included a clever mash-up of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and “She’s Not Me” with Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” (Cattiness is a diva prerequisite, especially with such an obvious swipe.) Majorette Madonna was joined by a thundering drum corps, onstage and suspended in mid-air, during “Give Me All Your Luvin,’” and it was impossible not to be swept up in the exquisite staging.

Basque folk trio Kalakan brought a gypsy flair to “Open Your Heart,” which featured a cameo from Madonna’s 12-year-old son Rocco; and “Masterpiece,” the show’s only true ballad, was a heartfelt highlight. “Vogue,” still pop perfection, was left virtually untouched. But “Like a Virgin” was reworked into a mournful waltz.

The final stretch was full-on pop majesty, from the thundering disco of “I’m Addicted” to the house-lights-up, tent-revival-frenzy, thousand-voice-chorus of “Like a Prayer.” Show closer “Celebration” was just that – a fizzy cap to an evening of love, death, redemption and free-to-be expression.

Geocaching

Today we went geocaching for the first time!

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

I had heard about this before but never actually went on a hunt. However last week I found out there are so many of these geocaches and some even within walking distance of our house!

This morning we found our first one. It only contained a log sheet but the girls (and me) had a lot of fun hunting it down.

For more information you can go to www.geocaching.com

From Wikipedia the following definition:

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.

A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook where the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching shares many aspects with benchmarking, trigpointing, orienteering, treasure-hunting, letterboxing, and waymarking.

Geocaches are currently placed in over 200 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica, and the International Space Station. After more than 12 years of activity there are over 1.8 million active geocaches published on various websites. There are over 5 million geocachers worldwide.

You know you live in Texas when...

... you get Groupons like this in your inbox!

Star of the Week

This week Floortje is 'Star of the Week'. This means that in that week you have certain privileges like walking at the front of the line and carrying the class bag. Also, the Friday before, your mum or dad can come and read to the class. You also make a poster and tell the class a few things about yourself.

Floortje picked the following books to read:

Floortje, eet je erwtjes op (in Dutch, so I translated on the spot)

Winnie the Witch

Room on the Broom

The Gruffalo

A very proud Floortje!

 

Bike ride

After two 'practice' bike rides in the last week, Peter came over today to really 'baptize' Thijs and his bike.

 

Unfortunately I forgot to take a wet, sweaty and muddy 'after' picture.

 

The weather was nice, about 25 degrees C, although they did have a shower, some thunder and headwind!

This is the route they took (slightly longer than planned). Thijs did well, although the are some complaints about sore shoulders :) (the legs and butt will probably follow tomorrow!)

Hubcaps

Yes, this is allowed in Texas!

Dubai in the fog

This is what Dubai looked like this morning. Makes me feel a bit 'homesick'

Thanks Ingrid, for sharing!

A small reminder to have fun :)

Floortje's self portrait

Floortje made the self portrait below at school with small pieces of paper. I really like it and recognized it immediately as she has put the same orange hairband on the portrait as she has been wearing for the last four months. Sweet!

Thijs' work

Thijs had promised the girls a lunch at his work for while now. Since they had a day off today they figured it was time for Thijs to keep his promise!

They chose a sushi lunch (we didn't complain!) and after this a trip to Thijs' office had to be made.

Nice views from the 9th floor towards Katy.

The girls left Thijs a little reminder of their visit :)

Thijs' new challenge

Thijs has set himself a new goal. Every year in April there is a two day bike race from Houston to Austin, the BP MS150. It is a 180 mile race over two days to raise money for multiple sclerosis.

Of course a bike and gear was needed. Everything sorted now so no more excuses :)

Go Thijs! This story will be continued.....

Texans

On our 'Houston Bucket List', there was still a visit to the Houston's American football team the Houston Texans. By the way, very original name in my opinion :)

Now, what better match to pick than the season opener against the Miami Dolphins! My dad was in town so he didn't mind joining the party. First we walked the parking lots to watch the tailgating (more about that in a separate post)

The Texans play their home games at Reliant stadium. It seats 71 000 people and has a retractable roof. Last year the Texans made it to the playoffs and it seems that they have kept their form as they beat the dolphins 30-10!

 

Space shuttle

As you will probably know the space shuttle program has been retired and the space shuttles have been divided among different locations, one in Florida at Kennedy Space center, one at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Space Shutlle Endeavor was on its way this week from Florida to its final home in Los Angeles.

On September 20, the Shutlle had a stop in Houston. That morning, while having breakfast, we heard a very heavy plane come over. Unfortunately we were not aware this was the shuttle and we didn't go outside.

What a shame, because we would have seen this fly over Katy! (apparently much lower than in this picture too!) Pretty impressive!