More About This Blog

Hi you! I’m so glad you’ve arrived here today! Please know that you’re the reason I write with love from here. I love hearing from you. I hope you find every visit a blessing. What a lot there is I hope we can talk about!

This lil’ page is an attempt at answering any questions you might have about carolinecollie.com.

So I’m struggling to follow the narrative. Who are you?

I’m an American from North Carolina, married to a South African I met in Scotland. And I love Jesus. That’s a lot of continents in one sentence, so if you’d like some more details, check out the backstory, here. After living in Scotland, and then in South Africa, I’m now back in North Carolina.

_MG_3155Who is the Bear? And why is he the Bear?

The Bear is our wonderful oldest son. As it seems to be the tendency in many-a-household, we had 1,000 nicknames for the Bear when he was born. He was so lovely and soft and cuddly (although not furry, mind you) that we took to calling him Cuddle Bear. And we graciously adopted the theme song from the Gummi Bears, whom Mark introduced me to when we were dating, as the Cuddle Bear’s theme song. If you can imagine two gleeful first-time parents singing: Cuddle Beeeear…bouncing here and there and everywhere…. high adventure that’s beyond compare … he is the Cuddle Beeeeeearrrr... then you’ve got the picture. Seems like it stuck!

The Bear was born in beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland and has the clever wit, gentle reserve, and brave heart of a Scotsman.

 

_QTP3227And Tiger Tank…?

Our delightful second son arrived on the outside kind of like a Tank coming into town to take over: it was really fast, and really scary. The cray-cray story is right here if you’d like to read it! Ever since, his steamrolling personality and tenacity for life have combined to make him a kid that really lives up to the power-punch combo-nickname he pretty much earned right at the start.

Tiger Tank was born in Somerset West, South Africa (near Cape Town) — and he has the corresponding wildness, for sure.

thebelle 001And The Belle?

Our youngest, our sweet little girl — the first (and so far only) American baby… She’s a southern belle for sure. We’re still learning her personality, but so far, she is proving herself to be very clever, very bold, and tough enough to handle the younger of the older brothers — she has to be tough to handle the Tank! (The older one is nice to her most of the time.) She delights in girly things, which I sure do enjoy, but loves pretending to be a dinosaur and racing with cars, too. Her beautiful birth, in perfect timing, was not as hectic, but still faster than the Tank’s arrival! {Read about it here.}

Who is Hero Hubs?

As you may have guessed or cleverly figured out, Hero Hubs is a nickname my awesome husband, Mark, earned as he dashingly risked his own life in an attempt to rescue… you know, I can’t do it justice in this tiny paragraph. I think you should read the whole story here. He was born in South Africa, we met in Scotland… the rest is either history or perhaps Geography.

Why Can’t You Spell Correctly? Like, aren’t you American and stuff?

When I started this blog, I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland (which is part of the wonderful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland…youshouldtotallyvisit) and I was working on a (presently unfinished) PhD at the University of Edinburgh. I didn’t think I could handle switching back and forth from British English to American English spelling, so I decided to side with the small island to the east of the Atlantic. Not long after I moved to South Africa, but decided to stick with it as is, partly because South Africa mostly sides with British English, partly because I like continuity, and partly because I think it’s a good idea for some of my dear fellow American readers to be exposed to alternative forms of English that are also English. Eventually I arrived back in the Carolinas, and now I just go with what I’m feeling at the time. So you may notice that I might sometimes…

  • eat yoghurt, instead of yogurt
  • get a flat tyre, instead of a flat tire
  • recognise things, instead of recognizing them
  • have favourite colours…
  • and while I never earned my South African driver’s licence, I sure do carry my North Carolina driver’s license…you get the idea.
  • I might even clean the floor with a hoover made by Dyson, have my tea instead of my dinner, and tell you I couldn’t be bothered to answer your queries! 😉
Back in the Carolinas, with the latest operating system on my laptop is autocorrecting half of my British English without me realizing (there it did it again) — I kind of switch back and forth. Hope it doesn’t drive you nuts!

Who is Mr. Potato Head?

Read this post for the gripping tale! Oh how we miss that faithful vehicle!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Features make me happy… (even wee ones…)

Se7en+1

Ohdeedoh

Expat Women - Helping Women Living Overseas

Privacy Policy for www.carolinecollie.com

Here’s all the fru fru jargon you need to know if you are concerned about your privacy while viewing my website! If you would like any more information or have any questions about this privacy policy, please feel free to contact me by email at cedcollie@gmail.com.

At www.carolinecollie.com, the privacy of my visitors is important to me. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information received and collected by www.carolinecollie.com and how it is used.
Log Files
Like many other Web sites, www.carolinecollie.com makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.

Cookies and Web Beacons (Sadly, these aren’t cookies you can eat…)
www.carolinecollie.com does use cookies to store information about visitors’ preferences, record user-specific information on which pages the user access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors browser type or other information that the visitor sends via their browser.

DoubleClick DART Cookie
.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on www.carolinecollie.com.
.:: Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to www.carolinecollie.com and other sites on the Internet.
.:: Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL – http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include ….
BlogHer Ads

Yep, that’s it right now. But if you’re interested in advertising, gies a shout!

Basically, these third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to choose the advertisements and links that appear on www.carolinecollie.com sent directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies ( such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons ) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and / or to personalize the advertising content that you see.

www.carolinecollie.com has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. www.carolinecollie.com’s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.

If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers’ respective websites.

So that’s it! Anymore questions, let me know!

xCC

 

3 Comments

  1. Filipa Kay

    Caroline!!! I love you already so much! I also have two boys, the eldest is also called the bear!!! (for a nickname of course!) and his little bro is buddy-bear! (also a nickname, inspired by Jamie Oliver’s little boy). They are actually called Joshua & Daniel. We are also a Christian family, part of KCI (kings church international) which is linked with KCI Robertson – our South African branch! Feel so lucky to have stumbled upon your blog! Much love, Filipa x p.s. I also have a blog – http://www.gourmetmum.tv – where I post easy recipes for busy mums! x

    Reply
    • Caroline

      Filipa, so great to “meet” you!! Your site is adorable — I’m looking forward to browsing those yummy recipes! Thanks for saying hello! It looks like you’re in the UK — my second home away from home. I look forward to being in touch with you more soon! xoxoCC

      Reply
  2. Marta Rubio

    Hi!

    I work for InterNations.org, maybe you have already heard of us? If not, we are the largest social network catering to expats working, and living abroad. Our 770 000+ members interact with each other in a secure online & offline environment about their individual and shared experience abroad.

    Your blog is fantastic! Your insight on living in South Africa from your unique American expatriate point of view would make a wonderful fit in our Recommended Expat blog South Africa section for our members to read.

    If you are interested in having your blog featured on our website, please let me know.

    I hope to hear from you soon, and have a great day!

    Marta

    Reply

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