Pampering and playgrounds

I had a pretty busy week at work, so I was really looking forward to the weekend. So was Liesel as there were a couple of days where we had severe thunderstorms which caused flooding in a number of counties in Cleveland. This meant that Nathan had to stay indoors, which is fine for about an hour - not 2 or 3 days!!! Fortunately we woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning, with blue cloudless skies, and no wind. Today was the day we were taking Liesel to the Avanti Salon and spa to be pampered. This is courtesy of the competition that I won on the Christian Radio Station a couple of weeks ago. It took an hour to drive there as it is located on the easternside of Cleveland. After dropping Liesel off, Nath and I found a local park to pass the time. Liesel estimated that her haircut would only 30 minutes, but the spa did a lot more than just a haircut! She said that first, she lay on a couch with her feet up while they washed her hair. Then while she waited with conditioner in her hair, they massaged her arms! When they finished her haircut and blow-dried it, they then did her makeup. She loved every minute of it, and she looked quite gorgeous when she eventually emerged from the salon! That afternoon we headed to a local gym to see what they had to offer and what their prices were. It was a exquisite fitness center, which squash courts, indoor and outdoor running tracks, basketball courts with social volleyball every Tuesday and Thursday evening! There were 2 pools and a host of new equipment. The only drawback was the price. We thought that $108 a month was a bit pricey, considering the YMCA was about half that at $57 for the family!

That evening Nath and I went for a swim in the complex pool, which is quickly becoming one of his favorite activities. Later on we went and rented a DVD (that's what we will be doing since we don't have access to babysitters) and got Chinese takeout from a true Chinese restaurant. I say true, because when you walk in, all the staff are Chinese. There is a TV tuned to a Chinese station, and all the people in the kitchen seem to be the extended family of the manager, from his sons to his grandmother. Liesel had Sesame Chicken (the best chicken EVER!) and I had Sweet & Sour pork. And of course, the meal's come with Fortune Cookies! Mine said" People are anxious to get to know you better". It must be because of my accent ;-) Lekker!
On Sunday, we headed for Church and then went to check out the YMCA. It is nowhere as classy as the Saturday's gym, but in general they were similar. No volleyball however, and only 1 pool which was inhabited by some geriatrics :-(. I thought that Liesel liked it since it was so much more affordable than the other one, and she thought I liked it - so we signed up - only to discover that neither of us were particularly keen on it. Guess I need to polish up my communication skills. I will be phoning them on Monday to see if I can get my money back, so julle moet duim vashou! This afternoon we headed out to a playground, which thrilled Nathan since it has been a while since he has run around like that. He had a blast and even (drum roll please) went down a slide by himself, loved it and said "Again!" and made his way back up to the top of the slide and came down by himself again and again. I was so PROUD :-)
Oh yes! One thing I learnt this weekend - that if the sun is shining, you should always wear a cap while driving! I didn't and I got a hot head and a red nose because Liesel and Nathan prefer driving with the sun-roof open!