Things you only see at a circus...

The 1st question on a circus application

The 1st question on a circus application must be…

“Are you willing to grow a mullet?”

On Friday Umut and I went to the circus. There were Chinese performers, Russian performers, Western performers and Latin American performers. (Ironically, no Turkish performers were spotted.) Yet no matter what continent each talented act derived from, one central theme wove throughout the entire evening: rockin’ Rat Tails and Mullets.

We saw mullets & rat tails doing Olympic-style flips while springing off of bouncing balance beams. We saw them swallowing sticks of fire and carrying gigantic pythons. We even saw rat tails and mullets magically making doves disappear! (Of course during that particular act, I said, “Hey, Mullet Magician! I saw the Prestige. Those “disappearing” doves better be alive at the end of the show!)

Maybe I got a little carried away with trying to snap shots of all the rad hair-dos, but I was very entertained. Besides, isn’t that what the circus is all about?

Did You Know Dogs In Turkey Can Read?

Warning to the dogs....stop the dog peeing!

Turkish Breakfast vs. American Breakfast

I am not a "breakfast" girl, but I have really come to love a real Turkish breakfast! I took this picture last week when we visited Umut's parents' house.

You'll see: tea, cheese, olive oil, olives (from the Ceylan family olive grove), homemade jellies, watermelon, bread, cucumbers and tomatos. Delicious!

I decided to introduce Umut to one of my favorite breakfasts from America: Monkey Bread! My mouth is watering as I write this. I bought some dough from a local bakery, which exploded out of the tupperware overnight, mixed the cinnamon and sugar, and wowed Umut with my culinary expertise!

For those of you who don't have a Monkey Bread recipe, here is a link to a good one:http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/monkey-bread-recipe.html

Enjoy!

A Bridal Nightmare Redeemed

Since Umut's parents will not be in America in January for the wedding and weddings are a BIG DEAL in Turkey, we wanted to bless his parents and extended family with some type of celebration. So September, we will have a Turkish "wedding celebration".

So...I get to wear a wedding dress twice! With eager anticipation, everyone waited 4 months for the dress to arrive and last week I was scheduled for my 1st fitting.

As the store clerk began helping me put it on, I knew immediately something was wrong. It was WAY too small. As she tightend the corset, I began to understand what the ladies of the Victorian Era felt like. Dizzyness.

Come to find out, the store had ordered the wrong size but their solution was to wear a tighter corset. No way! No corset would make a dress 2 sizes too small look good. Besides, I was convinced that after 45 minutes, I would surely faint from wearing this dress.

Luckily the next day we found a new dress which will be ready on time.

Even though the day was a little discouraging...trying to squeeze into a dress 2 sizes too small is tough on the ego...it was redeemed with the new dress, which I like even more. And I made a decision that I would rather look a little less "hour glass" and actually ENJOY wearing the dress.


FYI: Here is some info I found on the history of the Corset:
article of dress designed to support or modify the figure. Greek and Roman women sometimes wrapped broad bands about the body. In the Middle Ages a short, close-fitting, laced outer bodice or waist was worn. By the 16th cent. it had become a tight inner bodice, sometimes of leather, stiffened with whalebone, wooden splints, or steel; fashion demanded the slenderest possible waist in contrast with the enormous farthingales and stuffed breeches that were worn. Stays and tight lacing were made for both men and women from the 17th through the 19th cent., except for a brief period following the French Revolution. By 1900 the corset had become primarily a female garment, and it was gradually modified to conform to the natural lines of the body.