The Story of a Short Girl

Owie ouch!

2011-08-11T15:39:00.001+02:00

I am in such discomfort right now. While I was trying to fall asleep on Tuesday night I managed to get my little finger nail on my left hand stuck... and it lifted up halfway... !!!!!! I am very very squeamish when it comes to nails, so I did not even want to look at the damage. I instinctively put my finger in my mouth and tasted the blood. Instead of getting up and checking in the light I just laid there and cried myself to sleep. Well today is day 2 and it still not feeling better. I keep bumping it into things and every time it stretches I want to scream.

At least the rest of the weekend was fun. Think I spend the majority of it sleeping though. Also went out for sushi, watched Captain America, which was awesome, and played a lot of games (Lord of the Rings online is very very bad for your free time :)) On Tuesday we went to the opening of the shop belonging to some of our friends. They are selling antique french furniture and it is beautiful! Stopped by there that morning for some cake and champagne, yummy :)

Why is it that always after a long weekend, the rest of the work week seems to drag by sooo slowly... *sigh*

Yay for public holidays!

2011-08-05T13:19:00.002+02:00

This has been a real tiring week, feels like I could sleep for a day, which I will probably do tomorrow. Tuesday is National Woman's Day here in South Africa, so seeing as it is a public holiday, I took Monday off as well. It is going to be so nice to just relax. It is crazy how working full time can ruin everything, like making you too tired to get any housework done. There just doesn't seem to be enough time for anything, or rather to enjoy doing anything :/

We have now, after 3 years of living here, only started to get out and do some awesome activities that we never really could do. We live an hour from the beach now, and one day when it is warm enough again we will be going body boarding. The other thing is ice skating. There are 2 rinks from us, both under an hour and a half drive. I spend almost my entire childhood on wheels, starting with roller skates, and then moving on to roller blades, which was never as much fun as the former. And then there is ice skating. Without much effort I can whirl around the rink with ease, ducking out of the way of people about to fall or going to slow. It is such a high. It is something I wished I could have done since I was little, but alas, my hometown had no rink... I just wish the shoes were a little more comfortable.. Would be nice to have my own :)

So yeah, only have about 3 hours of work left, then off to eat some sushi to start the long weekend off with. Oh yes, and find my camera cable for my computer, which has disappeared yet again *sigh*

Enjoy your weekends!

I am seriously back now...

2011-07-26T08:23:00.001+02:00

Yes, I know I have said this countless times, but for the first time I am actually missing blogging! :) So, a quick update of what is going on in my life at the moment:

I have stopped TTC, at least for the next 3 to 5 years. It was a really difficult decision to make, but we are not settled enough for a baby right now. And also I am tired of not succeeding. So I am going back onto the pill to settle all my raging hormones with the hope that the migraines will also stop.
Yes, I still get migraines, had a nasty one yesterday. They are supposedly hormonal, so have very little control, if none.
This is probably the coldest winter we have ever had here. Today is 11°C! And it is raining, in winter! Thank you global warming for that one. Still I got to wear my awesome gumboots.
I will be taking pics of all the things I want to share with you. It has been so long since I felt like doing these things. It is about time :)
I am working full time now, for as long as my year contract allows, which would be a year lol. Hopefully next year I could get something permanent so that we can finally get a loan to buy our own place.

Hmm, that's it for now, should probably get back to work.

(I was close to starting a new blog, just as a start over, but I think I may stick to this one. Maybe a little redecorating will be in order :))

I'm back to normal!

2011-04-04T17:53:00.001+02:00

Remember how negative I was in my last post, which was ages ago? That was depression talking. It had never hit me as hard as it did this year, and I finally got some help. My doctor put me on an anti-depressant called Zoloft, which gave me the most terrible side effects during the first week. At this moment, I am so grateful that I started taking the pills. I haven't felt this relaxed and happy in a very long time, and I also seem to think more clearly about things that in the past would have caused an emotional breakdown from my side. I am on the pills for 6 months now, and after that I will be re-evaluated to see if I should stay on them or not.

Big things have been happening to me, most noteworthy is the fact that I got my first full-time job! I am now a Data Capture Technician at the same museum that my husband works at, which makes him my boss. Today was my second day and I can honestly say that I am loving every moment. Unfortunately my husband is away to Cape Town till Friday, so it felt a little depressing to walk into a quiet house when I came home today, but at least I am handling it better that usual :)

We also started with a new hobby! We have taken up body boarding, having received our new boards on Saturday. It is so nice to have something fun like that to do while at the same time getting plenty of exercise and soaking up some much needed Vitamin D.

I just came back from a nice holiday at the seaside with my family and must say it has done the world of good to me, had such a great time. Well, I should go get my dinner out of the oven, will chat again later :)

I have returned, I think...

2011-02-22T15:38:00.000+02:00

The only new years resolutions I made had to do with writing. I had promised my self that I would write a piece of my novel everyday, fail, and blog and comment on other blogs at least twice a week, bigger fail. In all honesty, I haven't felt like my self in quite some time. I have nothing to complain about, with a wonderful husband, a great family and many friends, but I feel utterly negative abut my live still. I have two degrees, but I don't feel if I have achieved anything. There was a stage when I had all these dreams, and now I don't think that any of them will ever happen. In truth, I have no idea who this person in my reflection is, and that scares me a lot.

I deleted all the different copies of my novel this morning, then sat down and started again. Fresh. I am currently on 966 words, and for the first time I am happy with it. It may take a while, but I will get back the person that I used to be.

And look, we finally have a gate for our garden again, just to let you know :)

Happy birthday to me!

2011-01-17T15:31:00.001+02:00

Today I turn 27, which I think is just an awesome age. I have always liked any age that contains the number 7, mainly because it's my lucky number, and it is just so pretty. Today also marks the start of my year. Yes, I know, the new year started more than 2 weeks ago, but so far it pretty much sucked. Why, you ask?

I had eye surgery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, not really technically surgery of my eye, more around the cyst that made its home in my lower eyelid, but still close enough to the eye area. My first appointment was at 4PM, which is a really late time for a very nervous person like me. Did I mention I hate needles? I do.

The doctor informed me that I have 2 options to choose from. Firstly, he would give me a local anaesthetic into the eyelid and then remove the cyst while I watch. It was a good thing that I was sitting at the time, else I would have either fainted or vomited. Sounds real easy, except for the whole needle inserted between eyelid and eye, while I am watching, and also, the phrase needle inserted between eyelid and eye. Seriously!! My eyelid and the whole eye region jumps like a bunny rabbit while just applying eye-liner. I think the doctor must have seen that I turned deathly pale, for he quickly mentioned option 2, general anaesthetic.

I would have hugged the man if it would not have been frowned upon. Suddenly I was all for the operation. I won't feel anything! I won't see the needle! Heck, I won't see the scalpel! I quickly agreed on option 2, and my operation was scheduled for the 11th.

I am happy to say that everything went smoothly, except for 4 little details.

I did not receive the happy pill. This is a wonderful little pill that makes all your cares float away. It makes you wave to everyone around you, see rainbows and little butterflies instead of sharp objects in the theatre and even makes you look as they insert a needle into you, causing you to say ooh and ah instead of ouch.
The anaesthesiologist can't insert an IV needle into my hand without really hurting me and giving wake to the idea of punching a doctor.
Yet again no one asked me to count down from 10. Does this only happen in movies and TV shows? I want to know how far I can go!
Th first year nurse nearly dropped the IV bag on my head after telling me to not get any pressure on my eye. It hit my shoulder instead..

Oh yes, one last thing, never let your husband take photos of you while you are still groggy from anaesthetic. The pirate jokes are still following me around a week later, in the form of birthday wishes. I only looked like this for one day!

I did manage to pillage something while in pirate mode, the sticky things they stick on your chest. I felt guilty for a couple of seconds... and then smiled guiltily at the rudest receptionist in the world. After that I was just happy.

:)

NaNoWriMo!

2010-11-01T19:24:00.000+02:00

Yes, it is here. The first of November. The first day of NaNoWriMo. Already I have had some of the following thoughts:

This will be easy

This is going well

I have to do this everyday for the rest of the month?

What have I let myself in for!

And just now I finished with 2022 words instead of the 1667 I am supposed to do today. It just makes me feel that much better.

Only 47978 to go...

Almost back to work

2010-10-26T22:57:00.000+02:00

So much for getting excited about finishing the part time job I had a while back, seems I am going back. They discussed me at their performance meeting and decided that they want me back for another month. So yay, I am starting on Thursday. At least it means another month's salary :)

As for the whole TTC thing, another no go month just past. It hurts so much each time. I am currently on CD7 and might be trying some OPKs this cycle. Here is to hoping :)

Furthermore things have been quite uneventful, mainly because we have been spending all our free time in front of the computer. I started playing Lord of the Rings online and it is so addictive!

I am torn about NaNoWriMo. I know there will be enough time to finish but the last time I worked I was so tired in the evenings and writing was the last thing on my mind. Will see how I feel when the 1st of November arrives. At least for now, I will only think about the job and the yummy sushi we'll be having tomorrow night :)

Crazy dreams!

2010-10-14T11:31:00.000+02:00

I am used to having insane dreams. I am one of those people that start dreaming as soon as I fall asleep. Except when under anaesthesia lol. For a while now I have been able to "control" myself in my dreams. I may not know the place where I find myself, but I can tell myself that I am dreaming and just enjoy it. This has started happening more often (which may mean I am slowly going insane maybe...) even to such a point that a while back in the mall I asked my husband if I were awake! Did not really feel like it but being ill sure jumbles up your brain a lot.

This morning I woke up quite early, but seeing as my husband is away till tomorrow I decided to go back to sleep. Suddenly my husband was with me, telling me that he came back early from the trip because there was too much rain. Puzzled I asked him whether I was dreaming and he just laughed at me and then he went to work. I dozed off again and when I finally got up I felt like something was wrong. Going into the kitchen I saw that the window was shattered (this being the huge window which does not exist in the first place however, but I wasn't really looking at detail. I quickly ran to the second bedroom where our computers are kept, and found that they only took my husband's monitor (the computer was still running which was a relieve as we are downloading something lol) while my computer was luckily still there. The windows here was also broken. I frantically started moving through the house and found only my cellphone and the house phone, seriously?, missing. I needed to phone my husband badly and went to the neighbours house, which turned out to be my parents' house, to phone him. Seeing as my parents live 600km away, that should have made sense lol. Things got more dim from then on, and I woke up soon after.

Crazy hey? But it did feel so real :)

Still here!

2010-10-04T06:47:00.000+02:00

Just be patient, I will be back soon! Like Wednesday or Thursday I hope :)

Almost there...

2010-09-14T22:14:00.000+02:00

Almost at the end of my job that is. I really don't know how people don't burn out completely when working full time. I don't even have strength to do any housework. I am utterly exhausted... The job itself is fine, quite easy, but just so repetitive.

Funny thing, I went to the emergency room last week. Thought at first it was my appendix trying to burrow its way out of me (which would have been gross, but hey, it hurt like hell!). The doctor who helped me then said, after some very painful poking and prodding, that he thinks it is a cyst.. So he got me an emergency appointment at my gynae (must remember this next time I get an appointment for a month later :P). The gynae was very happy with me, seems I O'd for the first time in almost a year! It was basically some internal bleeding causing the pain, but at least it made me a little more positive.

Well, I am off to Bloem on Friday, though the weekend will be spend with the in-law family first before I get to go home. Will give me a chance to relax a little, before I lose my mind and accidentally strangle my boss...

Work, work, work...

2010-08-29T10:12:00.000+02:00

Wow, its been ages since my last blog. And so much has happened! First of all, my husband is back at home, safely and unscathed :) Second, I just started a new job. I am working for the KZN nature conservation. The place I work out is situated in a nature reserve, and so far I've seen many zebra and dassies, but not much else. The people is all really friendly, and most of them is even Afrikaans!

The work itself is annoying. So far I've been pinning and labelling insects, which resulted in many little holes in my fingers. It is amazing how easily a pin can slip into a finger when you are not concentrating. I have to do some identification this week, which I am not looking forward to. This is the one part of Entomology that I really detest. Luckily this job is only for a month. After that I will be applying to work at Exclusive books, a really great bookshop. I am actually really excited about this. Though I may be working either days, nights or weekends, this is the one job I really want to do :)

A month already

2010-08-12T14:28:00.000+02:00

Yes, it has been a month since my operation. I am just glad that I am finally feeling like my old self, though my old self had warmer fingers (damn you winter!). The cuts are healing very nicely, and I can stretch my entire body out again!

Had a fabulous time at the Just Jinger concert on Monday, but I will post about that as soon as I have found my camera cable to upload some photos.

Nothing much happening, except for excessive bouts of insomnia that has hit me since last week, but at least I managed to get about 4 hours worth of sleep in last night. Strangely, after I spend almost 48 hours without sleep at the beginning of the week, I do not feel tired, at all! Maybe its all the very healthy food I've been eating :)

My alone time is almost over now, with my hubby coming back on Monday. And then the dreaded job starting on Tuesday. Or rather, it is suppose to start on Tuesday but I haven't heard anything yet... Hmm..

So alone..

2010-08-05T20:42:00.000+02:00

And when I mean alone, I mean really alone. At this moment my husband is in Costa Rica! And I am not... It is weird to think it is only 12:30 there, but 20:30 here. It confuses me sometimes :) Luckily the first week is almost over, as he is coming back on the 16th. I am actually enjoying my time alone. Being the big computer geek that I am, almost all that time is spend on playing games. Well, at least the time goes by quicker that way.

I went to the follow up visit to my gynae last week, and it turns out they found nothing wrong while operating. I really feel tortured. So the next step is to lose a minimum of 8kg. Eek! Well, Its been a week and I have lost 1kg:) I started doing the Zumba dance program at home. It is so much fun! I have really missed dancing. All that remains as a challenge is eating healthier. I love to have occasional snacks of chips or chocolate, but I have now replaced that with fruit, namely bananas. Oh and yoghurt. And raisins. Healthy ain't it? It is still going to be a while before I get into the new swing of things, as I tend to start snacking when I get bored or watch a series. It feels like I should be busy munching instead of just sitting there. At least I know this is all going to be worth it when I eventually fall pregnant, which will be helped on a little with meds if nothing happens before next year. Bring on the Clomid!

I am back...again

2010-07-26T10:12:00.000+02:00

It is becoming almost a burden to blog at the moment. Don't know why, but I will have the new post window open but then I close it again :( I've even stopped writing. I am hoping this little phase will pass soon, cause I sure am not going to stop either of the 2 :)

So, first off, me. I am not fully recovered yet. When the doctor said mild discomfort, he had no idea what he was saying. It must have been a busy, busy day for him. It has been hell. Not now so much, but the whole of last week I could not sit properly, or even sleep properly. Basically, they pump you full of CO2 gas to separate the organs. And the gas do not leave your body very quickly afterwards. It seemed to gather just below my shoulders and under my rib cage. And, like it was intended to do, separates the organs lol. It was by far the most painful part. The cuts were nothing, except when turning around while sleeping. At this stage I have some mild discomfort left, which the doctor told me about *rolls eyes*. It feels like I've had some very bad sunburn on my stomach, all over, cause my skin hurts when I touch it. Luckily all the plasters are off, and the cuts are healing nicely, though they are going to leave some cool scars. Now I just have a cold :)

Was again another busy weekend. The previous weekend we went to Bloemfontein to visit (Oh it's also painful to take a 6 hour drive post surgery) and saw all our friends there. This past weekend we saw all our friends here. And all of it because my husband turned 27 on last week Tuesday! That sound really old (lol love you too :)) And speaking of him, he is going away for 2 weeks soonish, as in next week Monday. I am going to make the most of those 2 weeks and do, well, not much at all. Relax perhaps? Go to a music concert by Just Ginger on the 9th? Yes.

I am also starting a little part time job for a month on the 17th of August. Basically I will be pinning insects and labelling them. Sounds exciting? It is not. But at least they are paying me, and it is only for a month. Think of the money, think of the money... Perhaps the next time I blog I will feel more positive, excited, so happy I will dance for joy, but for now, my body won't allow that :)

I had surgery!

2010-07-13T12:57:00.000+02:00

Yes, you heard right, surgery. Nothing hectic like a transplant or anything, but just a little laparoscopy. It all started with my visit to the gynae a week ago. After a rather uncomfortable examination I was sent for bloodwork and to book a time to have the operation. Honestly, the worst part was the bloodtests! I was poked 5 times in the one arm and 3 times in the other before they found a vein. Let me just tell you, I hate needles. The surgery was booked for yesterday.

I remained quite calm for the rest of the week, and even yesterday I just wanted to get it over and done with. Went in at 11:30 AM and waited till almost 5 PM to go to the theatre. And all that time without food, which was probably the worst thing that happened all day. I got a little nervous when they came to fetch me but enjoyed riding around on the bed in the hospital, even went down an elevator in it :)

So when I finally arrived at the theatre the nervousness struck yet again when I saw the anaesthesia needle, which I did not even feel go in lol (thank goodness for the calming pill they give, which I refer to as the happy pill). Then I closed my eyes and when I opened them again it was all over. They found nothing wrong with me though, so I have to go back to the gynae in 2 weeks. I have 3 small cuts on the left side of my abdomen, one of which is just below my navel, talk about uncomfortable! I am in a bit of pain at the moment, but just relieved it is all over. Still not feeling like myself though, feels like I am still a bit under. Will post again when I feel better :)

I can see!

2010-07-05T22:26:00.000+02:00

I had no idea my eyes were so bad. I have gotten used to seeing words far away from me in a blurry kind of way. Then I put on my new glasses... It was incredible! I can actually see properly now! Nothing is blurred and everything is so clear. And my glasses are very pretty with their light blue frame. Was thinking of using them only when reading and in front of the computer, but I may keep them on permanently now :)

Yet another crazy busy weekend has gone past. There were only supposed to be a coffee drinking outing with friends on Saturday, which turned into a 6 hour visit to the mall! After that we all went for drinks at a pub called the Keg and Hedgehog, which was filled with soccer supporters. For those who don't know, I live in South Africa, where the soccer world cup is being hosted :) Sunday was spend at home with a friend who came for a visit the afternoon. We could never invite people over cause we had no parking space, but now that we only have one car that little problem is in the past.

My temps are still high today, so hopefully the dreaded AF will stay away for at least a few more days. Going to the gynae for the first time tomorrow, and I am so nervous. Hopefully all will be well. I am more positive than I was last week about the whole job thing, but have yet to hear from the places I applied to.

Changes

2010-07-02T10:50:00.000+02:00

This has been a very tiring week for me, so haven't even felt like blogging. Big thing that happened this week was the midnight screening of Eclipse, which was fabulous! It took an hour's drive to get there, but it was so worth it. We got back at home at 03:45 so I was exhausted.

My life may be changing drastically any day now. And not in the good way of getting pregnant, though that is all that is occupying my mind at the moment, but in the idea that my CV has been sent out and I may soon have a job. An idea that is really terrifying to me. It is not possible to explain how I feel about it, but it feels like I am about to lose a part of me. Paranoid much? Maybe, but this is me. I have gotten use to the luxury of my time being my own, and not being influenced by an external source. I have been struggling with this the entire week, breaking down a couple of times, and having really bad dreams and sleepless nights. You might say I am overreacting, but no one but me could understand what I am feeling at the moment. All this stress is certainly not helping me in my main goal at the moment. I don't want to be a working girl, I want to be a mom.

Do you know what the most irritating sound in the world is? Sandpaper on wooden windowsills. They are putting new varnish on all the windows in the complex, and they finally reached our place. The sound is literally giving me permanent goosebumps! And the dust! It is everywhere... :( Luckily I got a brand new vacuum cleaner with a water filtration system (goodbye stupid dusty bags!) so I will sort it out as soon as they finish today.

I am sorry for all the complaints in this post, but if I don't get it out my head might explode. Or rather, the headaches my weak right eye is giving me might cause that. I am getting my new glasses on Monday!

Me at the moment

2010-06-21T12:21:00.000+02:00

It has been an awfully long time since my last blog entry and I feel very ashamed. It is not much fun typing at the moment as my hands seem to be frozen. I can still see all my fingers but I certainly can't feel them. This has been a very active month so far. Saw all our friends almost every weekend, my father-in-law spend almost a week here (last week) and the rest of the time I've been in front of the TV, watching soccer. It is quite exciting living in the country which is hosting the soccer world cup, but I have no desire to actually attend one of the matches. We are also caught up in the spirit of things, wearing our flag on our car, though we nearly lost it when my friend absent-mindedly opened the window. She caught it just in time.

It is strange how having friends changes your outlook on a place. When we first came here we knew no one. It took us a while to make new friends, and this antisocial time threw me into a light depression. Now I only have to look back at the past weekend. We went to two braais, and I realised we have a LOT of friends now. Even friends who are married and have children! Yes this is not so important but when you are trying to conceive it is nice to have friends who have gone through the same things only recently :). I remember about 2 years ago my husband had to go away for 2 days, leaving me alone here. I was walking to the shops and I realised: I am all alone in a strange city, what if something happens now? I turned around and went home and felt all sorry for myself. Now my husband has to go to Costa Rica for 16 days in August, and I don't mind staying here alone, cause I know I have friends here now. Now it feels like home (though I wouldn't mind living in a different house).

At the moment I am contend. I am very happy in my marriage and my life, so now I am just looking forward to the next step. Can I just say, temping has now become second nature to me :) I was surrounded by crying children yesterday, and I was not put off. So yes, I am ready, but why is it taking so long!!!

June...

2010-06-01T07:00:00.002+02:00

May! Where did you go? Sheesh this year is moving fast hey? I haven't been on in a while but a lot has happened this past week. Well, this past weekend anyway. We got our car last week Wednesday, and it is driving like a dream. And it is oh so cute :) Ok, back to the weekend. My friend's birthday was on Saturday and we went to lunch in Howick at a place that I think is named the Cornerpost, but I may be horribly mistaken lol. We met some new friends there, a married couple with 2 small children. Most importantly, we all have a lot in common. It was a great day there. I had my first taste of gnocchi, more specifically potato and watercress gnocchi. Now in the picture is normal potato gnocchi, so take that image and make them green, that is what mine looked like. This was served with bacon and oyster mushrooms. Ooh yes, and apple fritters with caramel sauce and ginger ice cream for dessert.

On Sunday we went out for lunch again (don't you just love that?) We went to the nursery to buy some plants for the birthday girl. Chicken schnitzel anyone? Oh yes please. Much better than gnocchi anyway lol. I also got to buy something after I was done cooing at the rabbits at the nursery, though I went to the mall for my purchase. I bought winter sheets! Or rather, 1 flat sheet, 1 fitted sheet and 2 pillowcases. They are so soft :) And a tablecloth for my now in use dining table.

Plan wise for this week? Well, today I'm waiting for the electrician to show (after waiting for a week already), on Wednesday we're going to the Royal show, and on Friday I'm meeting another of my online friends :D

On a TTC subject, I may or may not have O'd this month, not entirely sure. Only know that my temps are all still high and I'm having massive bouts of fatigue. I'm finally going to the gynae next week so maybe he can give me some good news?

You know what's the other great thing about June? In 28 days I am going to watch Eclipse :D How is that for a great month end...

What a weekend...

2010-05-24T10:01:00.000+02:00

I was so busy this weekend! My husband had to go to Pretoria on Friday and only came back on Saturday evening. I spend the time he was gone reorganizing all the furniture in my house. It is amazing how much space there suddenly is! On Saturday I was invited to a braai and one of my friends came to pick me up. She was eager to see the ratties so I had to do a thorough cage clean up as well. Kacie helped me too, putting all the loose things lying around in the cage, like toilet rolls, into the food bowl. This is all helpful, but they can't always seem to reach the food then. I often wonder what goes on in the head of a rat :) They were on there best behaviour when my friend came, letting her pick them up and spending the time in her arms licking her lol. The braai was really fun, had such a good time, especially when my husband arrived a little later.

Sunday was spend at the movies where we went to watch Prince of Persia. Awesome movie that. Then I popped into Baby City to buy a new thermometer cause mine is very inaccurate. How can I temp with that? This one shows 2 digits at the end. The time is coming closer for my visit to the gynae, hope he can help sort out my ridiculous long cycles. Hmm, what else... Oh yes! I got tickets for the midnight screening of Eclipse :D :D :D My world just got a whole lot brighter lol

Talking of Twilight related matters, yesterday in the mall we were walking in the one book shop and I saw a calendar of New Moon which I want sooo much, and cheerfully I called out to my husband next to me "New Moon!" Only, my husband wasn't standing next to me, some other guy was. Ugh, I was so embarrassed! And the guy did not even catch the hint that I wanted the calendar! I am sure he would have bought it for me, seeing the longing on my face lol.

A day of chaos?

2010-05-20T07:39:00.000+02:00

I will be making big changes in my house today. At this stage, our computers are in our dining room. Now we have an open plan sitting, dining and kitchen area, but space is a limited thing. Long ago we moved the computers out of the spare room to the dining room so that we could actually spend some time in the rest of the house. Cause we are the types of people that prefers to play computer games then go out, uh does that make me a nerd? Geek? What is the correct term I wonder? Anywhoo, today I am moving the computers back to the spare room. The room where there is currently a closet containing dining chairs...

We woke up this morning to a misty outside. Why can't mist stay the entire day? Or why is it not cloudy? I don't think there should be a sun in the winter, but still we walk around in the same clothes we wore in the summer, without sweating halfway out the door. I miss rainy days...

Ooh, guess what we're getting next week.....:)

My first self bought dresser

2010-05-17T09:58:00.003+02:00

This was such a nice weekend. Saturday was rainy and cold, and I am not ashamed to say that I spend it in my new Hello Kitty pyjamas :D. Or rather, up to the point where my husband said "Let's go watch Robin Hood!" With a little reluctance on my side the deal got a little sweeter with a "I'll buy you some KFC afterwards." Now who can resist that! So I got dressed in all my boots and new jersey, and off we went. Unfortunately Robin Hood was sold out so we bought tickets for yesterday morning. Though I did get my KFC... :)

I finally wrote a bit on my novel that evening, enough to cover one day of NaNoWriMo, which for those who don't know, is the event in which you write a 50000 word novel in one month, November. It is really hard to sit down and write!

So yesterday I got all dressed up again and off we went to the mall. As we entered a guy at the gates was handing out flyers for some sale at one of the furniture stores. Then I saw it, a dresser with drawers. Just what I had been thinking of buying for quite some time. So we dashed in there and saw the perfect one, almost similar to this one, only ours will be oak and a little lighter.

The awesome thing about that shop is that you can put down any amount a deposit, then come in later to pay the whole amount in full. I still have to wait 2 months before my money comes, which is also a good thing, as I don't have the space to put it anywhere yet lol.

Oh yes, Robin Hood is a great movie, definitely on my list of movies to own. Ridley Scott and Russel Crowe make a good team (think Gladiator). What is up this week? No more dentist appointments! I did forget to take my temperature for my chart yesterday... Ugh TTC needs a good memory lol.

Pure bliss...

2010-05-14T07:57:00.004+02:00

Have any of you ever seen a rat yawn? It is the most hilarious sight to see. They basically stretch themselves out as far as they can go, either sitting or standing, pushing one of the forearms out in the air in front of them. And they yawn! Their jaw seems to be dislocated! My 2 ratties even does this while sitting on my hand or when I am picking them up lol. This is not my rat in the picture, but this is just to show. All of them do this.

I am met by a curious site in the mornings now, which started at the beginning of the week. Every morning in the kitchen the entire washing area is covered in webs. Made by teeny white baby spiders. Every day I try to remove them all, but the next morning they are back. I truly hope they don't get bigger.

So yesterday I went back to the dentist for a check up by the oral hygienist who gave my teeth a good cleaning. I do hate the stupid fluoride cast things they put in your mouth, saying "do not swallow the fluoride, but leave it all in your mouth for 2 minutes". Of course I am going to swallow. I swallow a lot when in the dentist chair. It is one of those silly reactions, like the way you itch all over when you have to sit still. Anyway, the dentist popped in and took a look at the big hole in the corner of my mouth, which is thankfully not hurting any more :)

Uh, it is Friday already?

Bloem trip, then utter agony...

2010-05-12T07:47:00.000+02:00

This post is so far overdue I am ashamed. It is also my 100th post! Hmm, about time lol. Anywhoo, I will not elaborate too much on the Bloem trip, except to point out the highlights. Got to see all my family and friends, had breakfast with the family at Kalahari.Fish, got a gorgeous new jersey, went to the Bloem Show with my friends which, by the way, looks exactly the same it looked 5 years ago. Some friends went on the rides but I only stood and watched the screaming. Would have gone if not for the ridiculous prices they charged. To continue, went for breakfast with my friends, finally bought new earrings, spend an entire day just lying around in my mom's house with the rats, and enjoying every moment of relaxation. Joined a friend on a mall excursion which ended with another breakfast where I managed to bite out a filling on a french fry. Seriously.

After the week in Bloem, we joined my sisters and brother-in-law on a 2 day hike about 18km outside Paul Roux in the Free State. There were about 29 of us.The first day hike took up the whole morning and part of the afternoon. It was fine at first, just walking through a pretty little forest, but then we started climbing. And smart as I am, I ate a chocolate for energy. Big mistake! I was so nauseous when we reached the top, even though as I found out the rest of the walk, it was never the top, there was always more climbing to do. The hike itself is awesome. There are all of these ladders around the trail used to climb up and down on (yes, that is what you do with a ladder lol) Photos will follow soon! So at the end of the first hike, I already had blisters. And my legs protested all the way down. Our bedroom was on the second floor, so that was not so pleasant (stairs, how I hate thee...grrr). On the morning of the second day I literally stumbled out of bed and waddled around on legs that could be labelled useless. I was so sore! Almost did not do the last part of the hike but I am glad I did. Apart from getting a very nasty bump on the head when I got up and crashed into the pointy end of a boulder, a bump which is still tender to the touch mind you, it was the most fun route of the weekend. We also some an Eland and a Giraffe! After the hike, everyone started eating all the leftovers from the weekend. The food was all very yummy and I certainly did not go hungry! Then we came home.

I can not explain the agony I felt the next day. My head was sore, my ears were aching (which they had been doing all weekend) and my body! I was so stiff! I walked very funny with legs that could no longer properly bend lol. This luckily only lasted for a day or 2. The rest of the week was pretty much relaxing.

Went to watch Iron Man 2 on the Imax on Saturday. Imax is cool, but not really for movies so much :/ Oh yes, I got my steamer when we were in Bloem. It works like a dream! That is, when I am not steaming my fingers lol. No more ironing for me! Also got a microwave omelette pan which I have yet to test out.

Just as an end to this very long post, on Monday the tooth which lost it's filling started to get really painful, resulting on me being high on pain meds all day. Yesterday I went to the dentist, and instead of filling it again, he pulled it out! Seems there was no bottom tooth there, and this tooth was useless. Gee thanks, now my mouth aches more than before! Also going to the oral hygienist tomorrow. Well, guess that's it for the past 2 weeks :)

This one.. no this one...

2010-04-23T20:32:00.003+02:00

Lol, I have changed my blog's look so much the past 2 weeks! I think I will stick with this one for a while now. I just feel so much better about blogging when I like the way it looks :) Ugh, I am so over spring cleaning. Tomorrow I am leaving for a week long visit in Bloem, which will also be the new ratties' first trip in the car, where they are not in a box lol. I still have to pack, though I am not feeling up to that at this moment. So I hope you all have a great week, and I will catch up with everyone when I get back (no internet unfortunately).

I will however leave you with this, don't these faces just melt your heart? :) Seems the best way to let a hyperactive female rat sit still is an offering of chocolate soya milk. I would not say no to a piece of chocolate myself at this stage.

Still alive...

2010-04-21T15:56:00.000+02:00

I am still here, just don't have anything worth saying at the moment :( I haven't been feeling like myself these past 2 weeks, with so much going on and nothing really happening (I know, that doesn't make sense). This blog is about to turn into one of the mommy blogs so if you are male this will not interest you any further :) Since going off the pill, my cycle has gone from the usual 28 days to something between 33 and 35 days. Last cycle was 40 days, and currently I am on... 47 days! I have done 2 pregnancy tests in the past 2 weeks, but both were negative. Will probably do another tomorrow, but I can already see the negative looking back at me. As we are off to Bloemfontein next week, I will wait till after before going to the doctor. Luckily I have found the most amazing forums for mothers who are either trying, are or were pregnant. They have helped me feel a little better, as so many of them are in the same boat at the moment. It is just so frustrating...

Further I have been spring (make that fall) cleaning the house today, but at this stage it looks worse than when I started lol. Took down all the boxes in one area, sorted through them and packed things back in a better way. It is actually looking much better now. This will also be my last day of ironing! My sister managed to get me a Tobi steamer for much cheaper than I would have paid. I am sure this will make my life just that much easier. Also at the end of the month I will be buying myself a small laptop, a pink one :D, to have when I am away from home. It has been so long since I worked on my novel, and I really want to finish it before I am 30. Which is another 4 years.

Anyway, I am looking forward to this visit next week. Hopefully after that I will feel like blogging more often :)

Post of randomness

2010-04-12T07:47:00.001+02:00

Yes, randomness. If there is such a feeling, I am feeling it right now. I haven't felt like blogging for the past week, I sat down many times eagerly, but got up just as eagerly as well :). This is how I usually feel after a long weekend (wait, wasn't it just weekend?) Our long weekend was spend at home, doing absolutely nothing. It was also a tragic weekend, when yet another rat of mine passed away (now this blog is becoming too morbid), but I will do a whole post just about her soon. Basically she died on the 1st of April, and it was also that night we realized that we don't own a shovel... After trying to dig through ground that consists of quite an amount of hard clay with all types of tools not made for digging, we went to the shops bright and early the next day to purchase a shovel.

The week seemed to fly by however, a week in which I did nothing... I think we did more yesterday than I did the whole week lol. First we went to Makro, which is an awesome shop with something of almost everything. You can buy a lot of things in bulk there, like a box with 12 slabs of chocolate, which I were not permitted to buy, even though I said it would last very long (fair enough, it won't last that long lol). Then we went to the shops next door. A factory shop!! For those that do not know, its a shop that stocks all the rejected and often damaged clothes from the big chain stores, like Edgars, Mr. Price and Identity (these were the brands I found there) and sells them for a third of the original price. It was glorious! And its just 5 minutes drive from our home! Most of the clothes need an expert to see what is wrong, they looked fine to me. Others may have had a stitch wrong, or a button missing, but hey, you get to choose your own buttons :)

Also bought a hat and a colouring book, but I'll talk about those later. We are going to Bloem in 2 weeks time, so I have a lot to do before then, a little fall cleaning perhaps? Yay it's almost winter!

Introductions!

2010-03-30T10:00:00.000+02:00

Yet again its been ages since my last blog. Today I am going to introduce the new children in the house, which so far has even gotten my husband's stamp of approval. Just excuse the quality of the photo, they don't do posing :) I present to you... Kacie and Nilah!

The bottom pic is just to compare the sizes to my remaining girl Penny. Kacie is the black rattie and Nilah is also a siamese like Penny. After 3 weeks they are now officially big enough to not fit through the bars in the big cage, and have settled in quite nicely :)

Did you know chocolate soya milk is a big hit with rats? Yes it is! It is said to help prevent tumours from forming, so I am hoping that it is really so.

RIP Izzy

2010-03-19T13:13:00.003+02:00

So sorry for taking so long to post, should really post more :) This has been quite a busy week for me, pet wise that is. I probably should have posted this last month but I lost my eldest rat, Izzy, when we were in Bloemfontein for the wedding. She was ok till late the evening on the 26th of February, but all of a sudden she started having trouble breathing, something she never had any problems with. I stayed up with her until very late, and when she calmed down I put her back in the cage. The next morning she was just sitting there, all puffed up. As I had to go to the wedding I asked my mom to take her to the vet. Turns out she died before my mom could even take her. I already said goodbye to her the previous day, like I almost knew I would not see her again, but it does not make things easier :( RIP my big girl...

Will introduce the new girls in my next post :)

Ouch, ouch!

2010-03-09T10:50:00.002+02:00

Remember I complained about the wasps in my house? Well, yesterday I was sitting in front of the computer, minding my own business, feeling irritated about the fly who kept landing on my hand. So in my frustration I waved my hand at him, and hit the wasp... Clearly the wasp was just as irritated by the stupid fly cause he stung me on my finger. As wasps don't die when they sting you, I ran away very quickly so he only managed to get me once. I hid in the bedroom for about an hour, and when I came back out I could not find the wasp anywhere. Till this morning... The first thing I saw when I came into the living room was the wasp flying around. It took a while but he is now out of the house...

Went to watch Alice in Wonderland in 3D on Sunday, was so cool! Though, I love any movie with Johnny Depp in :)

Weddings and sunburn...

2010-03-04T08:13:00.000+02:00

Well, I am back home and feeling a little better than I did in my previous post, but only a little and for a different reason for which I will give in my next post. Early Friday morning me, my husband and the 2 rats took to the road. The road felt longer this time, perhaps cause we were stuck behind trucks a couple of times. We got to Bloemfontein a little later then expected, and me and my mom quickly started to fix up my dress for the following day. I just loved this dress since the first time I saw it in the shop, but it was a little big on the sides so we had to take it in a bit.

On Saturday morning we yet again took to the road, though this was only a 3 hour drive. Yet it felt really long as well. We passed a dam that I haven't seen since I was little, the Gariep Dam. Last time I were there it had overflowed and the whole area had been under water.

The wedding ceremony was held in a small town called Burgersdorp, in the garden of a guest house.

Gorgeous ain't it? I loved the dress the bride wore, looked so nice and cool.

The reception was held at their house in Burgersdorp. They have a huge garden, and the tables were placed under a large marquis tent. The only problem there was that it was so hot underneath the tent you could barely sit there. At one stage we walked out to get into the breeze and I got such bad sunburn that I am still sore even now. Luckily just my shoulders and my back. The food was very good, cold meats and salads. After a long and tiring day we went home to Bloemfontein.

Sunday was spend with breakfast with some friends, then a braai at my sister's house, and then yummy sushi with friends yet again. Early Monday we were on our way back. At this stage it feels like winter is approaching, which is above all my favourite season :)

On Tuesday we went to watch The Lovely Bones. It was a really beautiful movie. I also bought the book, but at this stage I am reading about 4 books at once so I should probably finish one of them soon :)

Just so you know...

2010-02-25T16:06:00.002+02:00

I don't feel quite well at the moment. My head is all confused, and it caused me to put 3 and a half teaspoons of sugar in my tea just now instead of 2 *sigh* At this stage I am not even feeling up to going to Bloemfontein tomorrow, and especially not the wedding on Saturday. Maybe I will feel different tomorrow, hopefully.

I am happy about one thing though, my husband will be arriving home any moment now after his trip. Still I feel as though maybe I should just go and climb into bed...

Will be back on Tuesday, with photos of the wedding, because for once I remembered to charge my batteries :)

Enjoy your weekends!

I have a social life!

2010-02-24T13:32:00.003+02:00

Well, maybe not today, but I had one this weekend :). I am alone at home till tomorrow, but only since yesterday. Still, I am bored out of my mind. You can only watch a TV series so long before you crave a real conversation. A part of the morning was spent chasing a jumping spider around the bedroom, trying to "save" it and take it outside. It was on my roof last night, but the thing about jumping spiders is, well, they jump! I did not sleep very well because I knew he was somewhere on the roof, staring at me. To me, this staring is what makes them the only spider I really like. They push themselves up on their front legs and just glare at you with all those eyes, following your every movement. Did I mention they jump? This one jumped a lot this morning. From the wall onto the couch :/ Yeah, that was not nice. But I am glad to report he is out the door, even though I put him on the neighbours lawn lol.

You have to admit this is a very cute little face...

Anywoo, we were so busy this weekend. We went out for sushi on Friday night, which is something I am going to miss when I am pregnant, cause it is not allowed? Must be the fish.. I had some Salmon Roses and Bean Curd, and stole a Salmon California role from the husband (ok I traded :)). I also had a glass of coke... aarggh! I broke my no caffeine living! I did not think what I was doing at the time, but must admit it tasted so good! Afterwards we went to a club, Red Door, which I will admit was the first club I have ever been to. Got a little nervous at the entrance cause I did not have my ID, and everyone always seem to ask for it, damn you my shortness! All went well however and we spent about 2 hours there I think. Was nice to be there with my friends, though I still really don't feel like I fit in there. On Saturday we had a braai, and on Sunday we did nothing.

I guess I should go do something now, though I would much rather just leave everything for tomorrow morning. Hmmm, yeah I'll do that :)

Dumb, or just confused?

2010-02-19T11:32:00.005+02:00

In the past week I had to deal with 3 different members of the animal kingdom, which seems to carry a little gene called dumbness. First (and for the second time in 2 weeks, for first see here) our friend from the garden, the toad.

Now I love toads, even had one as a pet. Yesterday I picked up the vacuum cleaner to put it away, and the toad hopped out of the pipe. After my moment of yet another yell, lol just can't help that reaction, I chased it down the hallway. Again it jumped behind the bookcase, so I opened all the doors in preparation for a quick grab and evacuate. Not. He was sitting in front of the open front door at one stage, and when I approached to gently nudge him out, he hopped back behind the bookcase *sigh* I let him be then, and hopefully he went out on his own cause we have not seen the toad since yesterday afternoon.

The second is an insect that causes my palms to sweat. One of those big black and yellow wasps.

Now I have heard the remarks that they are more scared of me than I am of them, but seriously, has any of those people ever been stung by one? It hurts a LOT! I have been stung by bees and wasps loads of time, so I am very careful around them. The one that was in the house on Tuesday even landed on my head! After cowering behind a wall looking at the wasp for about 20 minutes, I managed to make my way to the front door. I watched very happily as the wasp flew out. I quickly closed all the windows and doors, just to see it enter the kitchen window.. again.. Why is it that they never want to fly out? The opening is there, and even the amount of encouragement I gave it (and a few stronger words), it would not fly out! Ugh I hate them!

Last but not least I give you the rat. Now rats are really clever, but there comes a time when even their little genius brain takes a day off. Let us take 1 fat rat (pictured on right)

Add half eaten, holey cube.

Then add a hole somewhere that is not really big enough for the fat rat to climb through (not pictured). And wait till you hear complaining and find a fat rat stuck in the tiny hole... Yeah that was my day yesterday :)

Zzzz....

2010-02-18T10:18:00.002+02:00

Seriously, I can't keep my eyes open. The past two nights I went to bed at 23:00 - 23:30, which is quite early for me. I also dragged myself out of bed at about 07:30 in the morning. Still, I am so tired! I even took an afternoon nap yesterday, and will probably do that again today. I guess it must be the lack of caffeine in my system (a whole two weeks without it already, *applauds myself* :)). The big problem is I don't have any energy to do anything else as well! Or rather, I keep busy around the house, but I am not enjoying it.

At least next week is going to have a bit of change in it, though not in a good way. My husband is going on another trip, to Port Elizabeth this time, from Tuesday to Thursday. It won't bother me too much during the day, as I will be making the most of not having to do anything lol, but the thought of two nights alone is not nice. I keep hearing noises and running down the hallway to check what those noises are, making for rather sleepless nights. Maybe those nights would be better spend writing perhaps? Who needs sleep anyway? *yawns*

We are going to Bloemfontein when he gets back, which I am really looking forward to, as we have a wedding on the Saturday, in Burgersdorp of all places (have a random estimate as to where in the country it is, but not really 100% sure). Yay, road trip

Blog Award!

2010-02-12T07:55:00.005+02:00

I received this blog award from Mrs. Pink Pearls over at A Place to Start. Thank you so much! Go check out her blog!

Here are the rules for the award:

Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.

Copy the award and paste it to your blog.

Tell us 7 interesting facts about yourself.

Nominate 7 bloggers that you love and link to their blog.

My 7 facts

1. I absolutely adore animals. If I was allowed I would have many dogs and cats. I honestly prefer them to humans. They don't judge, criticise, so they are the perfect company :) People often think I am weird for keeping rats, but to me they are awesome and they do all have very unique personalities.

2. I tend to cry easily while watching a movie or a TV series. Whenever someone cries, I cry too. Don't think there was one episode of Grey's Anatomy that I have sat through dried eyed.

3. I can play the piano.

4. I am terrified of spiders and most bees and wasps.

5. I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was little, even went to assist with a few operations to see if I could handle it, which I could. Then one day they had to put a dog down and I knew I would never be able to do that.

6. I am a very shy person around new people, but once I warm up to someone you can't get me to keep quiet :)

7. I did Korean sword fighting or Haedong Kumdo for about 2 years, with wooden swords of course, but has experienced the whole getting stabbed in chest and blood in mouth thing (sorry TMI!)

My nominations

1. Randomly, Robyn

2. Mommy Brain

3. Just Nikke

4. Carrotspeak

5. Nat the Fat Rat

6. Random Bits of Sparkle

7. Tails' Blography

I'm melting!

2010-02-08T08:26:00.002+02:00

This was by far the hottest weekend for the past year. And it is still going on! Wish it would rain again, but there is not a cloud in sight :(. It has been around 37 degrees Celsius since Saturday, and at this moment it is 30 degrees in the house with everything closed. Its not like I can open a door to let a cool breeze in, the wind is even warmer! So now I am sitting in semi-darkness cause closed curtains also seem to help, and wishing that I will one day live in a place where it never gets warm, and where it snows in the winter *sigh* I think I would be able to sit in the snow right now :)

I am happy to say I am now used to drinking rooibos tea, though its been a hard weekend to get through. I never realized just how much caffeine black teas contain, till I found how hard it was to stop drinking it. I have been utterly tired and irritated because, well you can probably say cause I am kicking an addiction?

On Friday while vacuuming I discovered a toad behind some furniture. Don't know how long he has been there though. Just as I wanted to catch him he hopped behind one of our bookcases The silly thing about this bookcase is that it is closed at the front but open at the back. It was to heavy to move on my own, so I had to wait for my husband to come home to help me. Finally the toad decided to come out from beneath on its own, but after two capture attempts, with the toad going back to the bookcase on both accounts :/, we managed to get him away from there. I am not afraid to catch a toad with my hands, but this little one was so slippery! We eventually chased him all over the sitting room, until we chased him out the back door.

So that and a trip to Durban airport to fetch our friend, without car troubles this time, was basically the most we did this weekend. Sitting in front of the computer playing games all weekend don't seem to make you all that sweaty :)

So I went to the doctor...

2010-02-03T13:22:00.002+02:00

Turns out I am very healthy (ignoring the sore throat I have this morning). My blood pressure was normal for a change, which is weird cause I tend to have low blood pressure, causing me dizziness in the mornings and whenever I get up. She said I should keep trying to get pregnant, and if I am not pregnant by April, I should go see a gynaecologist. She also referred me to one, an older man, but he is said to be very good.. and he is Afrikaans so that is a bonus. Got a prescription for some prenatal vitamins, cause a multivitamin is not a good choice for the early times before and after conception. Something about Vitamin A not being to good in that time? Anyway, it turns out my doctor is also 5 months pregnant... That quite felt like a kick to the stomach :(

We were supposed to take a friend to the airport in Durban last night, but just as we wanted to go onto the freeway, literally at the intersection leading to the freeway, our car broke down. My friend had to call someone else to take her to the airport cause it is at least an hour's drive down there. We sat in the car for about an hour as well before the roadside assistance came to help us. They just had to jump-start the engine then we were on our way back home. I really hate cars...

Slumping again...

2010-02-01T12:40:00.005+02:00

I have been a terrible blogger and housewife this past week. I can't really remember doing anything, let alone going to any trouble to do a post. But hey, its a new month! Here is to hoping it gets better (and I get more hard-working :D).

So I started with the spread sheeting part time job at home. So far its going good, but after about an hour of typing I start to see double and have to refrain to more fun things to do. I am hoping to finish the 1 and a half remaining books this week, and then gather the additional information next week. I already know what I am going to purchase with the money I am getting but more on those when I have actually bought them.

The weekend was lots of fun, up to a point. Went to a nice pizza parlour with friends on Friday night, with the most amusing waiter ever. He seemed to get confused very quickly, and often forgot what he was supposed to do. Like with me, I ordered a strawberry milkshake, cause unlike all the other wine drinkers around me I have cut out all alcohol. After about 15 minutes I think he came back and said there was a problem with the ice cream. Uh ok... not sure what could be a big problem but I then switched my order and got a hot chocolate instead, which was a better choice cause it was a rather cold night. The pizza was great, had a Hawaiian which had bacon, mushrooms and pineapple for toppings. But then my evening started to get a little bad.

That morning I felt a numbness on the right side of my scalp. That is usually the sign I get before a migraine. It went away and I forgot about it till we were at the restaurant for about 20 minutes. It was then that the pounding started. It was weird to me cause I just had a migraine the previous week. It got worse and worse while we were eating. Then everyone wanted to go to a club and though we would have liked to join in, it would have been a disaster for me. So we went home and I went to bed. The whole night I would dream my head is aching, then I would wake up and it was still pounding :(. It was a horrible 14 hours, yes, that is how long it went on. So the next morning around ten it was all over and I could go on with my day.

And what an exciting day too! About 3 weeks earlier I saw something adorable in the baby section of the one shop, which to me was much cooler then a teddy. And on Saturday I finally bought it, the first thing for our future child..

Isn't it gorgeous! I would have loved to have had a dragon when I was little! It also has a bell in it that you can hear when you shake it. When we came to the shop they only had pink ones on the shelves, but I already decided that I want a blue one. Blue feels like a safer colour when it comes to both boys and girls while pink is not so much a boyish colour. Sadly these were the only colour options there. That afternoon a friend came over for tea and to goggle at the dragon of course :)

Well, that is it for my weekend. Tomorrow I am off to the doctor to complain about my headaches and to get a reference to a good (preferably female) gynaecologist. I just hope everything is ok :)

Tea is a pain in the neck...

2010-01-25T08:05:00.005+02:00

I have a little problem concerning tea. I love tea. I drink at least 5 or 6 mugs of tea a day. I now realized that while trying to get pregnant I have to cut out all caffeine, which includes my daily tea :( Basically the tea I drink (Glen tea) falls in the black tea category which is not suitable for pregnancy. I should switch over to Rooibos tea, which falls in the red tea category. But I don't like Rooibos that much. It is fine when drank without milk but that is how I usually drank it when I wasn't feeling well (something my mom taught me). It is almost depressing...

Anywoo, this was such a relaxing weekend, more due to the fact that I could barely move. I pulled a muscle in my neck on Saturday morning, and for the first hour it drove me to tears a couple of times. I could not lift my arms (dressing was so much fun :/), could only have my head in one position (tilted to the left) and could barely walk without whimpering. I was in utter agony! This lasted the entire day! Yesterday it started to ease up a bit but I still can't fully turn my head to the right or tilt it in that direction. And it seems that sleeping makes it worst... And it seems its also causing me to come up with really stupid post headings lol.

I managed to get a photo of me and my very good friend from my birthday outing, taken by my loving husband. With my next birthday I hope there will be a little baby in the pram in front of me (and a newer pram too lol). Just so you know, I am the one on the left, the short one :)

A very busy time...

2010-01-20T09:45:00.001+02:00

I am utterly grossed out! I was just starting to look through my emails this mornings when I heard a strange rustling sound coming from the kitchen. I followed the sound to the garbage bin just as 2 maggots made their way out of it. Ew! I have never had something like this in my house, it is so gross. I hastily took the bag out and ran through the rain to dump it in the bins belonging to our complex. Then I did a thorough vacuuming through the kitchen so I am hoping they are all gone now.

So now that I have grossed you out, I would like to say hi to all my new followers. Welcome to my blog! :) It was a really busy weekend, or rather from Sunday.

Sunday was my 26th birthday. Oh no, I am over the 25 mark! It was a great day. It was overcast but did not rain until the evening when I was back home and sitting in my pyjamas so yay for that. I spend the morning with some friends. We went to Howick for breakfast, though technically it was already somewhere between brunch and lunch at that time. There used to be a little restaurant there that served one of my favourite desserts, banana and caramel pancakes, with real Treats caramel. Unfortunately for me they were not there any more, so we went to the new restaurant that was in its place. After a long inspection of the menu (and moping over the much anticipated pancakes) I decided on Alfredo pasta and a latte. I always order the Alfredo pasta when I order pasta in a restaurant, I just love the taste. And this was the most delicious Alfredo I have eaten thus far!

After the breakfast we walked around the shops. There is an antique shop there in an old two storey house which is packed with old stuff. Nothing there has ever caught my eye, as almost everything is in dire need of reparation. I am far to lazy for that at this stage in my life. After that we spend the afternoon strolling through the mall as we do every Sunday, mainly because we just wanted to get out of the house.

I got some gorgeous flowers from a friend, together with some chocolate and my first New Moon trading cards :P *swoons* lol.

They have the most interesting flowers. I had to put them in an old coffee can cause it turns out I still don't own a vase!

While we were in Bloemfontein for Christmas I bought my first birthday gift. I saw it 3 months earlier and then my mom said I could have my money earlier so I bought it that same day :)

Yesterday was our 2nd wedding anniversary. Unfortunately for me I started getting a migraine the morning so I practically spend the whole day just lying down. First on the bed until my husband came home, bearing a gift. It was my belated Christmas present, the 4th season of Xena! I really love that show, but it stopped showing here at the end of the third season. I had to wait 12 years to see these episodes! So I moved myself from the bed to the couch for the rest of the day. :)

Oh yes, I am finally starting a job I can do from home. It's not permanent, only till the end of March, but at least it is something. Basically I will be doing a lot of database work.

Happy 101 award!

2010-01-16T08:45:00.009+02:00

Mrs. Pink Pearls over at A Place to Start was kind enough to give me my first blog award! Thank you so much!

The rules:

List 10 things that make you happy.

Pass it on to 10 bloggers that make your day a better one!

1. My husband

2. My family

3. My rattie girls

4. Rainy weather

5. My friends

6. Chocolate

7. Wimpy coffee :)

8. Shopping

9. Movies (hugs Twilight dvd :))

10. Having contact with any animal

I am tagging the following blogs which I love to read. You guys are awesome!

Tails' Blography

Nat the Fat Rat

Carrotspeak

Beautiful Mess

Mommy Brain

Marital Bless

Learning to be a Wife

Just Nikke

Random Bits of Sparkle

Life in Lindfield

And just cause I can I will tag one extra blog that I almost forgot about (this is what happens when you make new bloglists *sigh*). Check out her recipes!

Marvelous Recipes

Kitchen improvements in motion

2010-01-11T11:47:00.004+02:00

I am feeling better about my kitchen now than I have felt in quite a while. Not that there was anything wrong with it to start off with, except maybe the drab colour of the cupboards, the layout, you know, little things that to me makes the difference between like and love. So my only option is to brighten it up with accessories, to add a little colour. In the past few weeks three new things have helped a lot towards that.

1. A new dish drying rack. Our old one was a nice light grey colour, but it always seemed to look dirty to me, even though I washed it at least once a week. I have to use the thing every day so I might as well have a nice one to keep me cheerful. I looked at different colour ones in the shops but most of these shops sold them for ridiculously expensive prices. Then a while back I was wondering around and bam, there was cheap drying racks, in other colours! I got one in a beautiful shade of something between light and sky blue (I am terrible at identifying different hues).

2. Kitchen mats. We used to have one of those long carpets that belong in hallways in the kitchen. It was nice in the winter cause no one wants to stand on ice cold tiles all the time. But it was not looking very good so I went on a search for 2 smaller kitchen mats. Looked at cheap ones but no colour ever clicked with me until I found some really cheap ones while I wasn't exactly looking for them (funny how that works). Now I have 2 very colourful mats, with base colour black(ish) and thin stripes of neon green and pink. And it works!

3. Finally, kitchen curtains. We have blinds in the kitchen but I can't keep them closed all day long, and I don't always want them open so that everyone can look inside. So I found a pair of green curtains that is thin enough to let the light in whenever I want to close them, and which can also tie back when I want it open. They are not up yet, seemed to be out of curtain clip thingies, but will post pics of all of these things as soon as I find my camera, which seems to have hidden itself along with the batteries.

Let the year begin!

2010-01-04T09:55:00.003+02:00

I am finally back at home, with my computer (I had to leave it in Bloem for 3 weeks!) and only now everything seems to be getting back to normal. I have so many plans for this year, all on a personal front. Most important, this is the year I want to get pregnant. From that viewpoint my resolutions will involve eating healthier, and becoming fitter. Also making sure that my housework is always up to date, which will insure that I will be getting my exercise cause vacuuming is quite a workout some days :).

We spend Christmas and new years in Bloemfontein with our families. I have no photos to show for that, with me being to lazy to recharge my batteries. That is another thing I want to do this year, take photos of everything we do! And also do some posts of little things I like and things that happened that is blog worthy. I seemed to suffer from some slight blogger's block in December, not always knowing quite what to write about. Hopefully this year will be better.

The big things happening this year are my 26th birthday and our 2nd wedding anniversary which is on the 17th and 19th of January respectively. There is also a wedding of one of my husband's cousins in February. Another big thing that may or may not happen this year will be our move to a bigger place. We are desperately in need of a 3 bedroom place.

So that is half and half my layout for this year (does not really seem to busy though :/) and I promise to be a better blogger this year, and oh yes, to finish at least one of my books :)

Happy New Year to everyone!!!!!!

It is really, really hot...

2009-12-23T14:24:00.003+02:00

I think we experienced the hottest day of the year today. It is 38 degrees outside, and even though all the doors are closed and most curtains drawn, it's a whopping 35 degrees inside! If this goes on my body will be all dried out by tonight. One positive point on this weather, my clothes only took 10 minutes on the washing line to get dry this morning. I also took only about 5 minutes to get some light sunburn lol.

Sorry if the next paragraph is too much information but I just got to say that my boobs are really hurting! I am hoping this may be an early pregnancy sign (keep all thumbs cross!) but if not then something is not right. I am truly hoping that I will be pregnant next year, it feels like a good year for that :)

Also a big priority for next year is to finish at least one of my novels. I have been a lazy writer in the last month, mainly because my computer is not with me and I prefer to write on it. I have now taken to writing the old fashioned way, by means of pencil and paper. This I keep next to my bed for in case I get some inspiration at night, which seems to happen quite often nowadays.

Ah Christmas time... already?!

2009-12-21T08:53:00.002+02:00

How fast did this year not pass! Seems like Christmas was just last month lol. We made the mistake of going to the shops yesterday, not for Christmas shopping, but for strolling. It was so busy! We have one big mall in our city, and not mush else, so everyone was there. Some days I have the patience to walk in a crowded shopping centre without getting annoyed, but yesterday was a different story. It seems all the stupid people in the world walked in front of me and made a point of just randomly stopping in front of me in the middle of the passages! I had such an urge to walk over them or hit them with something... We did all our shopping online again, but it seems both my and my husband's gifts are going to be to late for the tree. We usually open our gifts on the evening of the 24th, which is also my mom's birthday.

Heard some sad news today. One of my friends from school lost her husband yesterday morning. It is so sad, even worst because they have 2 little girls as well. I feel so sorry for her. I don't think I would be able to handle losing my husband, I would go mad. Even 2 days without him is too long...

We are leaving for Bloem...again...on Thursday. I will try to blog in that time, depending on whether I have internet there. If not, I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year! I am very keen for January as I turn 26 and our 2nd wedding anniversary is only 2 days later!

So my kitchen was clean...

2009-12-15T08:11:00.004+02:00

My husband loves to cook. I have absolutely no complaint about that, cause it is lower on the list of things I like to do :). All that amazes me is how one person can make such a big mess. The mess also seems to be a lot bigger on the days when I took extra care in cleaning all the counters and things... *sigh*. It is all worth it in the end however, especially last night. He made a Guinness Pepper steak pie. All I can say is yummy! We had a taste of these pies in Stellenbosch during our Cape Town trip. I am quite impressed with him, he can cook any time he likes and I will happily clean up afterwards.

My stupid cold is better, but I am still not rid of it. My hearing is improving a little bit, as a couple of times a day my ears open up with so much force that it feels like my eardrums are bursting. Then, a couple of minutes later, it closes up again. It feels like I am being tortured!

This has not been an interesting week here. It is supposed to be the middle of Summer, but it has been raining everyday so far, which is normal, though it feels like Winter temperature wise. In other parts of South Africa people are complaining about the heat again. So thank you for messing up our seasons global warming, and if it is not too much to ask, maybe skip Summer this year? Make it snow instead? Ah well, so much for wishful thinking, today is unfortunately blue skies and sunshine, but the clouds have not disappeared yet.

Oh yes, I found a solution to my shelve problem in my bedroom. We only have 3 shelves in the bedroom closet, which is really stupid craftsmanship for me, so it has been a struggle for me to find space for everything. I have some hanging material shelves for my shoes, but nothing else but shoes and socks will go in there. Then on Sunday, during our weekend ritual of strolling through the mall and going for coffee and french fries, I make a discovery. It is called a sweater shelf (picture courtesy of organize.com) and it can fit so many clothes in it! I guess I am getting all excited about something that has probably been available forever, but it was the first time I ever saw it :)

Well I guess that's it. Still waiting for the gardener who has either forgotten to come or is running a little late. Going to see my first 3D movie this weekend, Avatar, and I am really stoked about that!

All is well again...

2009-12-07T08:21:00.004+02:00

Finally I can say that I am all alone at home again (alone referring to my husband being at work). My husband is back, we are back at home and still I am not feeling to good. This is due to the fact that I am staring into a half empty rattie cage. I had to have two of my girls put down a week ago, but I will write about them in another post.

Everything went well with my husband's return and that is quite a big relief to me seeing as I was having all kinds of silly dreams about airplanes falling and things like that lol. He got me 3 gorgeous gifts which I would like to show now but my camera batteries is remains hidden :). The first is a beautiful Twilight music box... yes, a TWILIGHT music box! And yes, I have watched New Moon twice so far and absolutely loved it! Ok, back to the gifts... The second was a little celtic necklace which I will rather post a picture of later then trying to explain how it looks. The third is a rat in an egg, a teeny tiny egg, but the teeny tiny things I am collecting will also be another post, as soon as my camera is working again, preferably this week :).

Just before we left our geyser broke. I thought that we would be stuck with an awful mouldy smell of the wood in the cupboards that got wet. Well, nothing happened there. Instead, the plumber were smart enough to think they turned the correct power on again, which they did not, so my fridge were off for 3 weeks... Aaaaahhhh! The smell was horrible! Everything was rotten, even the eggs had mould on them. It..was..disgusting. Luckily my mom and dad brought us back so I had some help with cleaning everything up. There is still a faint smell hanging around, but the worst is luckily over.

My last complaint is the nice cold that my husband brought back from England. I got it the day before we came back home, and it does not seem to want to ease up now, which is 5 days later. This is truly the mother of all colds, though it feels like flu, but I never have such a sore throat with a flu. Ah well, at least my husband is back, so anything happening now will not dampen my spirit. I can honestly say I am, at this moment, extremely happy :).

I am still here!

2009-11-24T10:21:00.003+02:00

I don't remember much of this year, it seemed to slip by so fast that I am starting to wonder whether I slept through most of it :). This month is also coming to its end, very very slowly mind you, but I only have today and 4 days left before my husband gets back. I never want to be away from him for so long again, it's dreadful. It really feels like a part of me left with him. I am also getting anxious to get home now, been away from there for much to long.

On a more happy tone, I watched New Moon! :D It was so awesome, and the anticipation before the movie was so great that I read the entire saga in 4 days, again lol. It is just such an easy read.

Unfortunately I could not finish my novel for NaNoWriMo this year. I had so much going on in my head, that I just could not give the book the attention it deserved. I will be entering again next year, and this time I will be doing the prequel to my my own trilogy that I am currently busy with. Hopefully I will be finished with one or 2 books by that time. I really think writing is what I should be doing with my life, and I am just sorry that I did not realize it a little earlier.

We did get a little breakaway holiday to the mountains near Clarens last week, but the weather was dreadful! South Africa's seasons have been thrown completely haywire, seeing as it was almost winter the past few weeks instead of a hot summer. Not that I want to complain, I love cold and rainy weather.

I will officially say it now, I am trying to get pregnant :) I am hoping that this will happen in the next year or so, and I must say I am very excited about the possibility of becoming a mom. Luckily I now have the chance to properly prepare myself and get myself healthy. I am reading a lot of pregnancy magazines, and some of the things I have read scares me to death (there seems to be a lot of needles involved *shudders*) but I think I will be ready for them all.

Nanowrimo and other things

2009-11-08T11:28:00.002+02:00

Can I just say, this week has felt like an entire month all on its own :( A week ago my husband landed in Germany, and yesterday he arrived in Belgium. What I wouldn't give to be there with him! Luckily I have had contact with him every day but it does not make it easier. On Tuesday he is going to France and on Wednesday to Wales. After that he will spend his remaining time in London before coming home on the 29th of November.

The 1st of November was also the day that NaNoWriMo started. I started with one story, then had a tremendous attack of writer's block, then moved on to another story :). It seems to be going better now, but it is really hard to sit down and write! I am a little behind on the amount of words I should have done so far, but I will hopefully make up for that soon. I found I write very well while watching a movie or series at the same time! Yay for True Blood and Vampire Diaries.

Hmmm I seemed to have missed my 1 year blogeversary. Well, congratulations to me! Once I am home I am going make a point of it to blog at least 2 or 3 times a week :). I still have another week here at my parents house before we go to the mountains for a mid week getaway, so then I guess I have to write on paper lol. Not much else news I am afraid, except that my sister and her children were all struck down with chicken pox. I am really truly relying on the well known fact that you only get it once, else I will be all itchy in the next week or so.

What else!

2009-10-27T09:23:00.002+02:00

I am so glad I decided to finish some things yesterday, like, the washing for instance, and all the dishes. Cause last night just before we had to go to dinner, which was fabulous by the way :), I heard a faint dripping sound. First I thought it was outside due to all the rain that we've had, but then I realized it was a little closer to me. And then I saw the little puddle forming just below the cupboard under the sink, the location of our geyser. Ah yes, the geyser is now totally leaked out, finally empty, leaving me with no water... EEK! It..sucks... Luckily we always have a bottle of water in the fridge but let me tell you, brushing teeth with ice cold water is not very pleasant.

Now about the weather. Our winter was warm, so warm we wore summer clothes. Then came October, which is supposed to be spring, so it is usually very warm. I think we have had a total of 3 days sunshine so far this month. The rest of the time its been raining, and its been cold :/. But don't think I am complaining, I love rainy weather, but very often I have to do a thing called laundry and rain don't work with that. When I woke up this morning the sun was shining very brightly and I felt a bit of anger about that, being without water and all, but now it is completely overcast again. This is the thing I feel thankful for today. My father-in-law is coming somewhere this afternoon,, and at 2 PM the plumber is coming. This is not how I planned my day! This is the other thing I am thankful for: think of the damage we would have had when we came home and found, after a month, that the geyser started leaking. Now that would have been a disaster lol.

Well, I guess I am back to packing now. I just cleaned the rat cage, and still need to fix up the spare room, so I still have a very busy day ahead of me *sigh*

It's almost time

2009-10-26T10:36:00.002+02:00

For what is that? My husband is leaving for Europe and Britain on Saturday, but before that, we are leaving for Bloemfontein on Wednesday, and before that, my father-in-law is coming here tomorrow. The worst thing is, what do you take with you for a month? Clothes and those types of things are easy, but its the other things that rattles my head. Thankfully I will be taking my computer along. And then there are the ratties and all their belongings (food , bedding etc.) Cause what can I say, a month is a very, very long time away from home...

We spent the entire afternoon yesterday visiting a friend and yet again it made we wonder if we should not try to find a home in that neighbourhood. Her home is huge, her kitchen is gorgeous (Mine is terrible) and she has 3 bedrooms. The rent in that area is the same than we pay now, but I am not very fond of the surrounding area itself. Ah I am rambling on again, my head is so full of things at the moment that I am not thinking very clear at the moment. Luckily tonight we are going out to dinner with friends and then hopefully I can relax a little. Next time I will be blogging again, I will be in Bloem...

Cape Town trip - Day 5, the final day...

2009-10-19T10:04:00.004+02:00

And so finally we come to the last day of our trip. We decided to take one more chance on Table mountain and... success! We went there 2 days earlier but it was too windy which was a pity cause that day looked like this.

On Tuesday we went at about 09:30 and did not even stand in a row waiting! We got our tickets and were on the first cable car up :). Here the car is coming down towards us.

And this is to show just where we were standing at that moment.

It was not scary at all! The whole trip up was over in a matter of minutes. This was our first glimpse of Cape Town.

It was still a bit misty at that stage, with a couple of clouds approaching, but the most of the morning was nice and open.

Some of the inhabitants of the mountain

And finally we got a awesome tourist from America to take a photo of me and my husband together :)

The clouds started to move in after this so we made our way down again, this time with camera in hand.

After this we took a trip to the Afrikaans Taal monument (a monument constructed for our language, weird). It is quite an ugly monument from the outside, but it looks cool looking from the bottom up.

After this we went to visit a friend in Stellenbosch who showed us around the campus for a while before we went home and started packing for the trip back home. It was so much fun to fly back again! I love planes... :)

Cape Town trip - Day 4, Part 2

2009-10-15T16:36:00.006+02:00

After our little penguin excursion we made our way to the harbour to book a whale watching tour. This tour we chose cause the sharks was too expensive and we had already done the seals, so the only option left was whales. I am really glad we chose this one cause it was fantastic! Not only did we see 5 whales in total, two of them spend a good 30 minutes playing under the boat! A bit scary that, but so worth it.

This is the 2 of them approaching. From far we only made out a glow under the water, then realized it was the one whale's back that looked like it was covered by cow skin!

Here we were given a little nudge from the one, causing the boat to shake a bit, which in turn caused me to panic a bit lol. They kept swimming from one side of the boat to the other.

This was by far one of the greatest experiences of my life.

After the tour we decided to go to Cape Point. It was so beautiful, but extremely tiring. This was taken halfway, and the rest gave me chance to get some photos of the view.

After a couple more stops (I hate climbing by the way) we made it to the lighthouse and was greeted with this sight.

Now that's a lot of water lol. So our day 4 excursion came to an end. We were suppose to attend Tails's birthday party that evening, but I had terrible heatstroke from the day out on the boat, so I was lying down the rest of the evening :). Will make sure I put our last day up tomorrow!

Cape Town trip - Day 4, Part 1

2009-10-02T11:34:00.006+02:00

This was going to be a long post, so I will be splitting it in 2 yet again :). On day 4 which was a Monday we made our way back to Houtbay, hoping to ride along Chapman's Peak, but found it closed during weekdays. So we made our way via an alternative route to Simonstown. We waited on this spot in Fish Hoek foe almost 20 minutes, but at least we had a nice view.

And then finally we made it to Simons Town!

Our main objective for that day was to go out on some more boat trips, especially one with sharks :). Unfortunately it turned out to be way to much for our pockets, and while we decided what to do we went to Boulder Bay. Now, Boulder bay is one of the cooler places I have seen in my life, mainly because it's a sanctuary for penquins, which I adore!

Can you say trouble in relationship? lol

This little sweetie was half asleep as we took the photos, and opened its eyes only when I pushed the button. Just a little while later 4 others made their way over to us. The problem for them was a stick sticking out across the path they walked on. Each of them would put one foot over, then the other foot got stuck causing them to fall over. It was so funny!

The nice thing about this area is that there is some areas covered in vegetation for them to nest in, but also a stretch of beach just for them. Some birds had however taken over all the rocks.

This is one of the many pathways they must have walked out for themselves. It was so cute to see them come down a path in such a neat row!

In this week I will be posting our whale watching, Cape Point and Table mountain trips.

In present times, :), it has been quite cool for a week now. It has not rained hard yet but there is some slight drizzle everyday, which makes this fantastic weather. I love it when it rains, not so much when the sun is shining. One of my friends had a house-warming on Saturday and thank goodness it was sunny weather. He built a flat on his parents yard and I must say I did not expect a yard that big! They seem to be living halfway into a forest! It..was..huge... Well only a little more than three weeks to go until my husband goes overseas and I go to Bloem (that just sounds wrong :/). He is planning to go to Costa Rica next year and this time I will really try to go with, I am not staying home again!

Cape Town trip - Day 3

2009-09-30T09:54:00.006+02:00

This was a really active day for us, we did so much! Our first stop for the day was the Castle. Not quite what I imagined, but still impressive. Unfortunately we were not allowed to photos inside the museum areas so I got a couple from the outside.

This was taken from the entrance. Wasn't it just a beautiful day?

We walked through all the museum rooms and also went in to the dark room where they use to keep and torture prisoners (yeah that's really grim, gave me the shivers to stand there, did I mention it was dark?) and then we found the stairs to the roof yay! Got some nice pics up there, including these. The entrance is on the left of the photo.

This is something you don't see everyday. In the middle is our old country flag and on the right the new one which everyone knows. I must admit, I like the new one much better. It was far easier to draw it in school than it was to do the old one lol.

We then found the clock tower. It was so hard not to pull the rope but sadly many fun things are not allowed. We did pretend to be up to no good, as my husband here is showing :).

As we made our way out of the grounds we found this little courtyard, which is what I am planning for my own home in a while... lol I wish. The water does look very inviting.

So after our visit we went back to Canal Walk where I finally got to meet one of my online friends, Tails :D. It was one of my favourite events of this trip! After a nice lunch, we decided to go up Table mountain, seeing as it was such a nice day. When we came there the wind was blowing too hard so we could not go up. We decided to go to Houtbay instead, for we wanted to go on another boat trip.

On the road to Houtbay with the town in front of us.

We went to the harbour area and saw the ad for the seal island trip. We were just in time for the last trip of the day! This is me waiting for the boat to depart.

The time we chose was also the time that the tide started coming in. So we met a few waves along the way, but it was so much fun to be lifted into the air and then falling back. A lot of screams were heard among the passengers, followed by a lot of giggles. I would just do the trip again for that part :). We passed Chapman's peak on the way out to the deeper water and was so happy to see that it was open (though the next day when we went there it was closed, figures.).

Seal island was so cool. A bit stinky, but very nice.

So yes, day 3 was very tiring, and day 4 was even better, but that is the next post :).

Cape Town trip - Day 2, part 3

2009-09-21T22:58:00.003+02:00

I am being a terrible blogger once again :). As you saw in my previous post we went to the waterfront. After walking through the entire place we went to the Two Oceans aquarium. The tanks were really cool, though I prefer Ushaka. For some reason I did not get the nice photos I got at Ushaka, but some did come out nicely. This was the first tank we went to, and this little fellow did not want to sit still! He kept waving his claws at us and running up and down the glass, much like a budgie on a perch lol.

The coolest part for me was the penquin area (I just love them :)). This is a nice photo I managed to take.

And this is the one my husband took. He always captures the right moments...

It is not a very big aquarium it is very interesting. I was a little freaked out by these crabs though. I don't know why, but I do not like crabs.

As we went out we passed the coolest tank. It is round with a area in the middle where you can stand, while being surrounded by fish. The guy before us bumped his head real had poor guy so I made sure I don't do that. Thankfully I could stand upright in the hole without my head touching! It's good to be short somedays :) All in all day 2 was an extremely tiring day...

Cape Town trip - Day 2, part 2

2009-09-11T07:58:00.004+02:00

So after our exhaustive little walk (is that even a word? :/) we went over to the Waterfront. Why is everything in Cape Town so big? lol We first walked through the mall they have there and I was dragged into a shop called Pastimes by my husband. I made the big mistake of glancing up to one of the shelves in the back of the shop and literally stood there staring... Figurines of Harry Potter, Hagrid, even Legolas... And... Edward and Bella! The funny thing about flying somewhere, you can't fly back with many things. I just stood there for a while, contemplating how I will get my hands on them when I was dragged back out *sigh* One day... ;) As we came out of the mall we saw some boats waiting to take people out to trips around the harbour. We happily got onto ours, and then saw we were the only passengers! Here we are, waiting to leave.

Everything went well for the first 10 minutes, and then the boat's engine started making funny noises, and then stopped. Luckily we stopped next to some seals playing in the water, so we did not really mind the delay.

After a while our guide fixed something, and we were on our way again. This was my my first time out on a boat in the ocean, but luckily I am not prone to any type of motion sickness. We went out of the harbour into some deeper water for a while, and then turned back, seeing as our guide kept running between us and the engine. It was rather dissapointing. On our way back I got another Table Mountain pic. I also got a photo of a little sailboat with a pirate flag (as circled). If I had a boat I would also want that flag. :)

We also passed something really cool. The SA Agulhas is an icebreaker that goes out to Antartica for months so it was really nice to see a famous ship right next to us.

When we came back to the docks the guide asked us to please keep quiet about the problems, as it is bad for business. We agreed, but let me give you some pointers; don't ever take the boat closest to the restaurant when at the waterfront, it sucks :). By the time we came back we were starving and freezing, so we made our way to Cape Town Fish Market for some Vegetable Tempura... yummy! After that we just strolled through the rest of the area, though we did not get to see the swinging bridge swing.

After some icecream we went over to the aquarium but that will be in the next post :)

Here at home in the present it's pretty quiet. Watched District 9 on Tuesday. I have heard so many different reactions over this movie. Some liked it, others hated it and some even walked out of the cinema! I on the other hand really enjoyed it, though there was a few scenes that made me cringe. Tonight we are doing another pizza evening with friends, but until then I gotta go fix the choas that is my house at the moment.

Cape Town trip - Day 2, part 1

2009-09-08T07:10:00.004+02:00

Hehe, it seems I am going to have to split day 2 into three parts, just to much photos for one blog entry. We awoke the Saturday morning (22 Aug) to a very bright and sunny day. We decided to head down to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It.. was.. huge... I have been to many botanical gardens in my time but not all of them have a big mountain on them, or crazy people jumping in the pathways... Can't take him anywhere lol

The gardens seemed to stretch on forever! So naturally we did not walk over every inch of land there, but just enough to get a good feel for the place.

I loved the first path you take when coming in, it is just breathtaking...

In the Cycad area we came accross this little guy (or girl, who knows) which was happily scrathing amongst the stones next to the path. She did not seem to be bothered by our presense, so I have quite a collection of close ups of her :).

We finally made our way up to the top of the mountain... not. I would have died. We made it to a more bearable height, and witnessed one of the cool things of the world, Japanese tourists. Gotta love them. Especially when they take photos of Egytian geese and get chased... lol So this was our final view of the morning, with sight of the last remaining clouds floating away.

Will be back with the rest of the day 2 trip soon!

Cape Town trip - Day 1

2009-09-03T09:55:00.003+02:00

We stayed in an adorable little bed and breakfast in Rondebosch, which is about 15 minutes drive from Cape Town central. This is my husband posing at the one side of the room (he is always pulling faces on photos *sigh*)

And this is the other side of the room that included the kitchen and the bathroom which is on the left but can't be seen from here.

Unfortunately there was no stove (maybe that's a fortunate thing) so we had to eat out every time :). We did get breakfast first thing every morning, which consisted of eggs on toast, bacon, mushrooms and tomato, plus a small bowl of fruit and an orange juice.

So on the first day it was still raining, so we decided to spend the day at Canal Walk, which is a huge mall! After months of searching for prober black boots at home, I finally found them in a shop there... figures. After spending the morning there we went to the natural history museum in Cape Town. Honestly I am getting a bit tired of museums... Took a lot of pics there but nothing overly exciting so I will only share this one with you, just to show you why I will never go swimming with sharks, ever!

When we left the clouds started clearing, leaving us with this pretty picture

The rest of the week was filled with sunny weather but that is another post :)

The big surprise

2009-08-31T14:50:00.003+02:00

I was surprised beyond imagining when I finally found out where we were going :). I had so many ideas running through my head at the time and I had managed to confuse myself a great deal. So I was so happy when I saw that we were turning in to the airport, we were flying! And to where? Cape Town! It was the coolest thing ever cause I've never been there and I hadn't flown for 14 years. This just shows that I got the best husband ever!

The flight itself was really great. We took off in sunny weather so I spend almost all the time staring out of the window. Then as we came nearer to Cape Town we started descending into some clouds, but I could still make out some snow on the surrounding mountains. We were scared that we were going to have crappy weather for the rest of the time there but thankfully the rest of the week was sunny and cloudless. I will be doing each day as a separate post cause there is just too much to say and too many photos to show. I can very well say that this was the best holiday of my life! :)

Going on holiday

2009-08-18T11:31:00.003+02:00

Yay, just one more day then we are leaving. It feels like I haven't left home in ages (trips to Durban doesn't really count). I am sooo excited about this trip, mainly because I don't have a clue where we are going. Almost feels like a second honeymoon ;)

There is also a chance that I might be working from home very soon, doing graphic illustrations. It's all still in the works, but it will be exactly what I need. It would be so nice to earn money while still being at home and choosing my own hours.

It's going to be about two weeks before I blog again, and then I will be back with lots of photos! As you can see, I was bored yesterday and redid my entire blog again. It's very girly bit I am loving this look. :)

Jeans that fit

2009-08-16T20:14:00.002+02:00

I have such a big problem in finding jeans that fits me properly. They always fit perfectly at the top (got to love hipsters, they sit so nicely :)) but they are usually too long. I am only 1.54 meters tall so length is a big problem for me. Then today my husband and I went into Edgars and he drew my attention over to the area of the shop where the clothes for taller people is kept. And there it was... an area with clothes for the shorter people! I bought two jeans today that have the perfect length, and I feel so good in them! So yay for me! :D

Just an update

2009-08-13T14:53:00.002+02:00

I have been a terrible blogger, but there isn't much to blog about at this stage. My in-laws came for a visit this weekend and only left on Tuesday so I am yet again enjoying the state of having my home for myself. Earlier this year I had bought some chenille throws for my couch, but they have started to make a mess on the couch. Have you ever seen dust bunnies? Now, picture them in orange and green and stuck to every possible area on a big couch. This was my situation this morning. I managed to brush most of it off and replaced the old throws with some new ones. The new ones are a thicker material so I am hoping they will do better than the old ones. I wanted green and orange again but the green was a little bit too bright so I settled with orange and a dark beige. I may have to find some green cushions now, need a little bit of colour :).

I am going to be away for a while now. We're leaving on Wednesday and only coming back the Sunday of the next week. Then I will have lots to blog about! I still have no clue as to where my husband is taking me next week but I will really go anywhere at this stage that is not somewhere I've been before. Hmm, what else to say... Oh yes, summer has come early this year. On Tuesday it was 15 degrees celsius in the town where one of my friends live, and 30 degrees here! It was a bit of a shock to feel that type of heat all of a sudden. Only this morning I saw that the tree in our backyard which had been bare a few days ago is covered with leaves! Hopefully I won't be freezing next week wherever we are going.

My new addiction...

2009-08-03T15:22:00.002+02:00

I have always watched my husband play online games and I was never really drawn to it. Then came RoseZa. It is a South African online game which is the most fun I had in a long time. My husband and his best friend is also playing, along with about 300+ other South Africans. Basically you create a character, find a job and do a lot of quests (which includes endless amounts of times running around the world you play in) The game is really cute and quite challenging at stages. I love it :) I am ranking no 93 at the moment. So basically this was all we did on Saturday. We even got up early for it haha. We did get out of the house as well this weekend, so we have not completely lost contact with reality :)

On Friday we had another pizza evening with friends, and I got to have a Santa Fe pizza. This is my favourite pizza at Pannarottis, mainly because it has both mushrooms and pineapple on, which is my favourite toppings. Usually I have to choose between the two, as they never seem to appear together on a pizza. Furthermore the pizza was topped with salami and Italian sausage... and now I am getting hungry... :) Yesterday we spend the day at the two big malls in our area, which is about an hours drive. It would have been a really nice day, had I not felt like I was dying... I have had a sore throat for a couple of days, but yesterday my body just decided to turn against me, causing me to walk around in a daze, but it was still nice to get out. I am feeling better today luckily, and even vacuumed the entire house!

Surprise breakaway...

2009-07-29T11:49:00.002+02:00

I was just informed that my husband has made arrangements for a nice breakaway for us, though the destination is a surprise :) We were supposed to go to Bloemfontein on the 26th for my dad's 70th birthday, but now we are going on the 19th. Mainly we are going a day early to drop my ratties off at my parent's house, just like a visit to grandparents (its official, my rats are my children), then we are leaving the following day until the 26th when we go for a visit in Bloem. On a sadder note concerning my rats, my little black girl Pan got a lump underneath her forearm. It doesn't seem to bother her, but it has me in tears every time I see it. Luckily I heard that there is a vet that often operates on bats in the vicinity, which feels to be physically close to rats, so if the lump gets really bothersome we can go and see him. I am amazed how quickly it appeared. She was fine the morning and the evening when I took her out the thing was already very visible.

This is also going to be an eventful weekend. On Friday we got another pizza evening and this time we are also taking a friend with us and in that way we will be three straight people in a very gay company. :D On Saturday we will be going to the nice mall where we saw Harry Potter so that we can actually walk through the mall in our own time. And next weekend my inlaws are coming so we are going to be very social for the coming weeks.

Sneaky business...

2009-07-25T16:30:00.002+02:00

So, you know my husband is at a conference away from home till Monday. On Thursday night, as I was pondering what to have for dinner, he knocked on the door. I am so glad he thinks of doing things like that, imagine I was in the shower and he just came in. Everyone in the surrounding area would hear me screaming, thinking there was a stranger in my house. I was really glad to see him, he did not feel like spending the night at the place where the conference is being held. He got some Chinese take-away so that solved my food issues. :) He was planning on going back at 6 AM the next morning, but it was cold and it is so much nicer to lay in bed, so the 6 AM turned into 8 AM. He was not worried cause his boss was not there and he could miss some of the morning. And then his boss phoned, he was going to the conference that morning. So my husband jumped out of bed and got ready in record time cause he wasn't supposed to be at home, his job is paying for his accommodation at the conference. He did manage to make the hour's drive before his boss came there, but the whole situation was very funny to me. I felt like the dirty mistress (if you have watched Grey's Anatomy you will understand). It felt like we were sneaking around behind other people's backs... hehe.

This has been a very relaxing weekend so far. All I have done today is play Neverwinter Nights... This time I will finish it. :) Tomorrow I want to rearrange the furniture in my bedroom, just for a nice change. I will be doing some computer work at the museum next week, so I guess I should get my house tidy before Monday. At least I am feeling very hardworking... :P

Harry Potter outing...

2009-07-20T19:05:00.004+02:00

So finally on Friday we went to see Harry Potter. I loved it, it was the best of the series by far. We went with a friend and her friends from Johannesburg. We went to a mall which is about an hour's drive away but it was worth it. Though we only got to see a small part of the mall cause our time ran out, so we are going to return there soon. We had dinner at the Cape Town Fish Market, my first time there, but I will definitely go back there. I had vegetable tempura in a bento box, with noodles, fried carrots and onion, a coleslaw salad with Japanese mayo and a sweet chilli sauce. It was delicious and not even that expensive! The others had sushi which I will try out next time cause I was far too stuffed :).

The cinema itself was very cool, it is really big. And there is like 18 movies showing, which is a lot as our nearby cinemas usually only have 7 or 8. It was such a nice evening... The rest of the weekend was pretty peaceful, with the Saturday ritual of going to our mall being the only other major outing. Today is my husband's birthday, he is 26! :) He is also going to be leaving for another week on Wednesday, but at least its not going to be as long as last time.

A very nice surprise...

2009-07-16T09:03:00.002+02:00

Yesterday evening I was sitting in front of the TV watching a movie when there was a knock at the door. I opened it and there was... my husband!!! He came back a day early and did not say a word! It was such a lovely surprise :). So this morning I am all bright and cheery and got up early. I decided to skip all the pedestrian traffic and walked to the shop to buy milk at 08:00. What a nice time of the day. It is cool outside but not freezing so it was a nice walk. Plus there is no annoying people around at that time of the morning. I think I will take that walk a lot more from now on.

I do have a lot of laundry waiting, but I am so happy today that even that is a joy :) The only damper was I did not get to see Harry Potter on the opening day... We will be going to a big mall called Gateway this weekend to see it with some friends from here and Pretoria. Can't wait for that!

The wait is almost over...

2009-07-14T18:37:00.003+02:00

My husband is coming home on Thursday! And its about time too. I handled the situation better then I thought I would, only yesterday was a bad day. Today was too chaotic to even think of him. I woke up this morning at 3AM with a terrible headache. After drinking two pain pills I tried to sleep again, waking up at different times during the morning with no relief. It wasn't a migraine, but it felt just as bad. I finally took a chance and got up around 12 (its really nice being a housewife... :)) and then went to lay on the couch again. So much for productivity today. At least I got to watch a movie (I am watching all the Star Wars movies, again) and when at last I got up at 3PM I was feeling all better. I really hate headaches, the most stupid pain there is. So then I was hungry. I made dinner, at 15:30, and now the kitchen is spotless and I am stuffed, and its only 19:00. :)

I have been reading all kinds of good housewife tips (yes, I am bored) and a few was quite interesting, just don't ask where I got them, can't remember!

When you get up, immediately shower and get dressed, including putting on your shoes. I am terrible at this. When I get up, I first go to the kitchen and get breakfast. I were never big on breakfast, now I can't go without it. Then I go and sit in front of the computer and look through my emails and spend time on Facebook. And it is so relaxing to do all these things while wearing pyjamas. :) I do put on some shoes, my slippers! lol I did try this advice. The mornings when I get up and get fully dressed before anything else are the days I get the most done so I will be trying that more often.
Try to get up earlier. That way you can get everything done before your husband gets home in the evening cause after that you can't get anything done, even if you try. :)
Before you go to bed, clean your sink properly. Haha, mine is usually filled with some pots I did not feel like washing. I do feel a lot better in the morning when I walk into a clean kitchen knowing that is one thing I don't have to do.

These are just a few things I picked up and are going to do my best to do them, cause after doing these things I felt more productive and positive then on other days. :)

Now I am freaked out...

2009-07-11T23:34:00.002+02:00

The weirdest thing happened tonight. I was playing with the ratties on the bed and they were being very cheerful and hopping around like usual when something happened. They all froze and ran under the duvet. When I lifted it everyone was crouched down and trembling. They were all right the moment I took them back to their cage but I have never seen them react that way while they were on the bed. It freaked me out a bit as well, as animals can sense a lot more than a human can. So I was sitting there with them for a while, goosebumps everywhere. What if my bedroom is haunted... EEK!!!! Hehe, would have noticed that before :) But still it was weird that my rats reacted that way, even the lively one who usually does'nt notice anything. I did feel something earlier. I can usually sense when someone is approaching or entering a room where I am in. Not by noise but it's just something I could pick up on since I can remember. I just know there is someone there. Though this is not something like that, we have lived here for more than a year and haven't seen anything weird. :/ Will still make sure I don't look into any mirrors in the dark, but then again, that is something I will never do... :)

And again...

2009-07-09T14:11:00.003+02:00

Hopefully I will keep this layout for a while, but its just so nice to make changes! I made this layout from a kit called Digitreats Skip Add-on which I found on this great blog. I can now say I am starting to get the hang of Photoshop, slowly but surely :).

I did it again...

2009-07-08T11:54:00.004+02:00

Ok yes, I changed the blog's look yet again, but the difference this time, I made it myself! :) It is not so impressive yet seeing as I am only starting to learn Photoshop, but everything was made from scratch. I got all the scrapbook parts from the Sweet Springtime kit from Summertime Designs and spend the whole day yesterday playing around with it. It was so much fun! It also helps that I am alone at home so I don't have to do anything else lol. I have always wondered about scrap booking and whether I could be creative enough to do it. I guess the best way is to start on the computer, though we have a gorgeous little scrap booking shop at our mall called Prints Charming (sweet name). So I am going to see whether I can start doing this at a new hobby.

Not much else has happened since last week. My sister and her family spend Saturday night here and she gave me a lovely book all about fancy rats. Further I am planning to clean the entire house from one side to the other and go through all my closets and cupboards but I don't think that will be today. :)At least I get to spend some quality time with the rest of the family, though they are still not good with having their photos taken. I did manage to get this one:

This is Lily, my little angel, and she always poses nicely when I take pics. She will then run up to me for a cuddle afterwards cause she knows its her reward for looking pretty. :)

Feeling good...

2009-07-02T12:00:00.003+02:00

I was returning a dvd this morning and on my way back (I like walking to the shops) a car stopped next to me. I thought it was someone asking for directions or worse but the guy just wanted to ask me out, even though I was looking like crap! It felt very awkward for a moment, and then a lot better when I could tell him I was married :) lol. Shame, his friends started laughing at him. I wonder how old he thought I was, cause he looked a little shocked to hear I was married... hmmmm...

On a sadder note, my husband is leaving tomorrow for two weeks! This will give me chance to go through all my closets and cupboards and do a rearrange. It is crazy how much free space you have when you make a little change. Hehe, the last time I did this I fell off the ladder. The weekend he gets back has some special occasions, our 1 and a half year anniversary (ok not so big but I like celebrating halves... :)) and my husbands birthday on the 20th. After that 4 days he will be away for another week so that weekend he is here will be my highlight of the month. And hopefully we will be all alone... :)

Yesterday I spent the whole day at my husband's workplace, and again wondered why I wanted to do that job... oh yes, the money... Hmm, what is more important, money or happiness... :\ I also went to the doctor yesterday, all is well and I am very healthy! :)Further, after a week of winter, our warm weather is back! Now I can walk around without a jacket again :)

Recipe time: Family mince & rice bake

2009-06-25T16:02:00.006+02:00

I got this recipe on the back of a soup packet and I make it at least once a week. :)

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

15 ml sunflower oil

10 ml paprika (2 teaspoons)

500g minced beef

250ml uncooked rice (1 cup)

2ml salt

*1 packet Royco cream of tomato soup (Don't know if its available outside South Africa, the packet is usually 75g, but I guess any soup powder can work)

750ml water

5ml Worcestershire sauce (1 teaspoon)

50g cheese, grated (I usually add a lot more :), but that's cause I prefer the cheese to make a thick layer on the top)

*I prefer to use the Chilli beef and green pepper flavour, it gives it a much nicer taste.

Method

Sauté onion in heated oil.

Add paprika and stir-fry for a few minutes.

Add mince and brown well.

Stir in rice and salt.

Place mixture into a large, greased casserole dish.

Mix soup powder with water, add Worcestershire sauce and stir into meat and rice mixture.

Bake uncovered at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 45 minutes.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Snip snip...

2009-06-25T12:33:00.002+02:00

So, on Tuesday evening I tell my husband I am thinking of cutting my hair again. And he said fine, I can go on Saturday. Yeah right... I was becoming really fed up with my hair at that precise moment. I have curly hair, but the longer it gets, the flatter it becomes at the top. The only curls left is a few on the bottom strands. So I went to bed, still annoyed. Yesterday morning I woke up, took a shower and tied my long wet hair in to a ponytail. And then I cut it off... My first reaction was oh crap or something like that, especially when I saw the amount of hair in my hand. So I started to snip here and there and I think I have successfully cut my hair into layers! Now I have a head full of fluffy curls and a lot of body in my hair, and I feel no regret. I think I can still tie it up, haven't tried yet, but who cares. I cut my own hair! It was so much fun but I don't think I will do it again :)

Other news is that my husband may only be going overseas in November! Which really works for me cause it is still a long time. The going away in August thing was not working for me, even the September timing was not fine. So I am relieved... :) While the rest of South Africa is huddled in the thing called winter, I am thoroughly enjoying the "winter" in Kwazulu Natal. I think it's 25 degrees outside (Celsius, not Fahrenheit) :) There is not a cloud in sight and everything is still green. I really love this place... :)

New week, new look...

2009-06-22T23:11:00.003+02:00

Yes I have changed my blog's look again, and it took me an entire morning! Ok, the current look took like 5 minutes but I experimented with other colours, some that hurt my eyes a little too much so I stuck with this one. Until something else comes along... :) I haven't blogged in quite a while but then again this has been an awfully quiet week. Last week we managed to go to the movies twice. First up was Drag me to hell which, apart from being really predictable, turned out to be quite enjoyable. It was more funny than scary, but still brought on some screams in the audience. The screaming was funny perhaps the first 2 times (I myself has done some screaming in theatres, not so much any more) but when people start screaming at parts that is not worthy of screams, it gets a bit annoying... ok very annoying. I have this rule about going to the movies. When you are there, shut off your cellphone and most importantly, do not make any loud comments during the movie, especially when sitting behind or in front of me. I may be passive aggressive, but one day I will snap and hit you with something. And I hate it when people answer their cellphones during a movie. That happened twice during the second movie we watched, Angels and Demons. I loved that movie, though I thought The DaVinci Code was still better.

My sister, her husband and their children are coming here on Friday to spend the night, so I will be having some company. Then its another week before my husband leaves for his 2 week trip, leaving me all alone. Though I have heard rumours of another pizza evening so I will be looking forward to that. :) I baked some coffee cookies yesterday and ate far too much of that, resulting in agony. I got up this morning feeling a bit under the weather and while I was sitting in front of the computer got so dizzy and nauseous that I got back into bed and slept the rest of the morning. Now I only have an annoying pain left where I first thought my appendix may be, but it turned out it was on the other side hehe. Thank goodness for that... I almost thought I was perhaps pregnant last week cause I was a day late but that was a false alarm... *sigh* And since then I have been seeing babies everywhere! On TV, on facebook (a lot of people I know) and on the blogs I follow. Its interesting that most of the blogs I follow are done by pregnant women... Ugh, I am rambling again... Hopefully this week will be a little more eventful. I did manage to see a monkey nearby this morning! They are quite a pest in many surrounding areas, but there are none here. So here is to hoping...

Crock-a-doo-del-doo...

2009-06-15T07:57:00.003+02:00

For the past 2 weeks I have managed to get in a full night's sleep without waking up more than 2 times. And then BAM, I had trouble sleeping again last night. I was awake for a really long time before I fell asleep, woke up a lot during the night and was up before my husband. Not literally up, but being awake. Its not like I have anything to keep me from falling asleep, I am stress free. I am not going to worry about the stupid job anymore, I am still able to be at home now so that works for me. I have had this problem forever... The good thing however is that I feel fully rested. I function at my best with less than 6 hours sleep. As I got up and made my way to the computer (morning ritual, tea in front of the computer first thing in the morning) I was greeted by this little fellow...

He was a gift from our friend from Bloem who came for a visit. He bought it at a stall next to the road at the Sterkfontein Dam. It's made from clay and honestly, I would totally mess it up if I had to make it. It is so cute! Oh yes, my husband made it back safely from Cape Town on Saturday so I have him here now until the beginning of July. :)

I did get the chance to get out last week while I was alone. And I did not mope around, I cleaned the house, did washing and everything! I have turned into a good housewife :) On Friday I went to dinner with a friend and her other friends to Mugg and Bean, which has turned into quite an expensive restaurant! I had an old favourite, nuggets and wedges. We went there at 7 pm and only left at 10 pm when we got dirty looks from the waiters. I guess sitting there for another hour after paying your bill is not such a good idea... :\ But it was a fun night. It all went well till I got home and spent the rest of the night being violently ill... :( And that after eating so healthy last week. I am still feeling a little under the weather so I will be going for a check up at the docter next week. I feel very thankful for the docter I have here. I have always had a female docter, and my first docter's trip here was with an older male docter. Yeah, that was uncomfortable. Then a girl told me about my current docter, who is female and not much older than me. That makes a world of difference...

Alone, with cold feet...

2009-06-08T15:29:00.003+02:00

Hehe it sounds almost depressing but it is not really that bad. My husband is away until Saturday and for the first time ever I don't feel slightly depressed about it. It still sucks a bit but now I get to have some quality time with myself. And I also want to get some spring.. no wait, make it winter cleaning done. Our friend from Bloem is coming this weekend on the day my husband gets back so so much for alone time but I always enjoy having quests around. So by that time I want everything spotless. The only problem is that my feet are cold... I absolutely hate it. Of course it snowed nearby so it is relatively cold outside, though it is even colder inside. I don't mind the cold, I actually love it, but I can't stand it when my feet are cold. I managed to get some new slippers while we were in Pretoria so that is my new favourite thing to wear.

I also have this thing where I can't sleep without wearing socks. Even in summer, I will wear sandals and immediately after entering the house put on some socks. It just feels right. We had a nice champagne breakfast on Saturday morning for a friend's birthday and watched Terminator: Salvation yesterday. I can't believe how busy we have become! Every weekend we do something with friends. That is something that never happened in Bloem. I have never felt so welcome in a group as I do now.

I did something for a charity... :) I usually only give donations for charities that are animal related, like the SPCA, but I made a contribution to unicef, which is a children's charity. And all because of this little face:

The moment I saw him I had to have him. We actually left the shop and were halfway back to the car when I gave my husband a look. He immediately knew what the look was (he knows me so well) but did not want to go back. So I left him in a computer shop and dashed back to the shop, Mr Price Home, to go get my teddy. It took me about ten minutes to choose cause there was brown, white and gray teddies to choose from. I have always eyed the expensive but oh so soft gray teddies at Cardies, so I decided this was the closest I will ever get to having one. So I took the gray one. And it was only R20! Hmmm... I could always go back next week... ;)

This has been a crazy week...

2009-06-05T08:00:00.007+02:00

Well, I have had a very interesting, yet really tiring week. It all started last Thursday when we were invited to a fashion show! I have never been at one, except for the embarrassing show I was in, yes.. IN, in seventh grade to show of the clothes we made for needlework class... :\ I just need to block that out quickly... OK I am OK, can go on now... The present day fashion show was held at the Golden Horse casino here in PMB, which is a really impressive building with this huge winged horse in front of it (I keep forgetting to take a picture). It was not really what I imagined cause it turned out to be a pre-show to the one held on the Saturday, but one of our friend's clothes were being featured. Apart from temporary deafness caused by sitting next to a speaker it was so much fun (there were even boys in swimwear... lol) I sooo wanted to take nice pics but my camera has a problem with small, darkish places. I managed these two pics:

My company for the evening :) This is my husband and our first friend we made here.

This is one of the pics that worked, just to show some of the clothes.

On Friday we went to Pinetown to buy my new computer parts... YES!!! I once again have a working computer! :D On Saturday we had lunch at the place we went to for our anniversary in January, this time in sunshine! So this is the pic of the patio area:

We went there with a friend and two of her friends from Pretoria (or Johannesburg, can't remember). I had some homemade chicken and mushroom pie with mash and veggies this time and it was yummy... :) It was the perfect day, just look at our view:

After that we went to the cutest little shop called Blue Spiral that sells all kinds of clothes and jewelery. After that we started to make our way home when somebody behind us started flashing us like crazy! We first thought it may be an idiot but then he called out flat tyre... Ah.. the nice end to a nice day... not. We were standing on a off ramp to the highway for almost two hours waiting for some help cause our tire was stuck. And so we continued our outing there beside the road. :)

The Sunday, still recovering from the annoyance of the previous day, we spent the whole day in front of the computers, not even bothering to get out of our pyjamas. My husband and I did the LAN thing for the whole day which in my view is sheer heaven.

Monday passed eventless but on Tuesday we took the long road to Pretoria. I can honestly say that I will never be able to live in that place. Yes it can be pretty I guess, but seeing the area under a cloud of smokey air pollution was quite a shock. And you never feel save there, too much crime. We first went to the museum to say hi to the friend we were staying with and was quite impressed with the size of the place. The next day I stayed at her house all on my own as my husband attended a full day meeting. At least that evening we went out to dinner at Menlyn, which is a gigantic mall. And the next day we came back. After spending two nights on a three quarter bed, trying not to fall off, I was starting to feel a little homesick. Gauteng is like the Free State where I grew up, flat and brownish, always looking dry. Our home on the other hand is surrounded by mountains and everything is green... though we were greeted by a bunch of cows at our complex gate... hehe that was strange and weird! So yes, I felt very happy when we came back yesterday. Even happier after we went to the mall and bought The Sims 3! Now I got something to do when my husband is in Cape Town next week! :)

The Comrades weekend

2009-05-26T13:08:00.006+02:00

Well, this had been a very exiting weekend! My brother came all the way from Nieu-Zealand to run the Comrades Marathon (for those that is wondering, it's a 90km marathon held yearly in South Africa and it attracts people from all over the world). He was joined by my two sisters and my brother-in-law. They came on Friday and on Saturday we drove the route he was going to run to Durban. We also went to the marathon expo, which caters to all the needs of the runners. On Sunday, very early, my husband, sister and brother-in-law took my brother to the start while my other sister and I watched the TV on the couch (with mugs of tea, very nice! :)). We also got to see him on TV! A while later we all jumped into the car and started the long way down to Durban. Our first stop was in the middle of nowhere next to the highway. The picture was taken just as the 10 o clock 'bus' went past. Basically this is a group of people who will cross the finish line at the 10 hour mark.

We waited there for a while and managed to find him in the crowds (there were almost 13000 people running). We had three more stops along the road, these pics were taken at the last stop. The top one is my brother, sister and her husband, with only about 33km to go and the bottom one is at 20km.

After these we made our way to the stadium in Durban, and waited there for almost 3 hours before he came in with a time of 10 hours and 51 minutes. He was number 6583 of 12951 to finish. :) I am considering doing it in about 3 years, though I would really like to be pregnant at that stage. Will be deciding on that. This is a pic of the finish line:

Other news is that I live in a really stupid country... The temporary contract job I was supposed to be staring this week is now going to be a volunteering thing cause they can't pay me as my husband is also working there. Now I have to wait for three months so that I can apply for the position and actually recieve payment. Sheesh, it really sucks.

The new job approaches...

2009-05-22T11:41:00.002+02:00

Well, I got the news today. Starting somewhere next week, I will be a working girl... :\ Not that being a housewife was not a full time position, but this is going to be my first full time job ever! I am appointed on a three month contract at first, then I can formally apply for the position. I will now be a Senior Research Technician I think... hehe. I guess its time that I use my degrees for something, but only for two years minimum, then I will be trying to start a family :D. Until then I will be busy entertaining my family this weekend. It will be the first time in almost 2 years that me, my brother and my sisters will be together under one roof. And this time its my roof :). I will be going to Durban on Sunday for the Comrades, even though I think we will be spending an amount of that time down by the beach.

Good news is that my flu is almost gone. Still got some body aches and a few fever sessions going but the worst is over. I saw the coolest thing yesterday! About 20 Hummingbirds landed in my garden. Usually there is only one or two, so it was interesting to see so many of them here at once. Wanted to take some pics but they moved on... guess it would have been a blurry photo in any case. :) Well, I got to get back to cleaning, there is always a bunch of little things to do when people visit.

Stupid flu...

2009-05-18T11:31:00.002+02:00

The weekend was supposed to be very active, with discoveries of new places. And in the end... I sat on the couch almost the entire weekend, with an aching body and very sore throat. Ah yes, the joys of flu :\ Luckily not all was lost! We had another dinner with our new friends on Friday, plus I made a new Afrikaans friend! We have almost the same interests (though she is in a relationship with another girl) hehe but I had such a nice time chatting to her. In a city where everything is English its nice to find someone who speaks the same language as you do. And frankly, I can speak two languages if that counts for something!

Not much else has happened seeing as I was on the couch watching movies (Australia is really a nice movie and Mirrors is actually not that bad!) Hopefully I will be fine again by Friday when my family arrives for the Comrades Marathon. It's starting in our city this year so we don't have to make an extremely early drive down to Durban. Wow it really feels as if I was run over or something, my body is aching everywhere! We had a bit of a run in with some bad viennas, after eating two and wondering about the funny burning sensation we realized it had expired two weeks ago! We went right back to the shop who gave us a fresh packet. No symptoms of food poisoning have showed yet so thankfully we skipped that.

Lots of alone time...

2009-05-13T08:35:00.002+02:00

The months of June and July has a total of 61 days and I am going to be on my own for 29 of those days. My husband has a bunch of workshops and conferences to go to and I will be stuck at home. Thankfully I may be working at that time so I will not be completely devoided of all human interaction which does include the internet and telephones. The thing is, I don't mind being on my own. Sometimes I even enjoy it. It is the idea that my husband is not here, and no amount of time with other people can make up for that. It just does not feel right when he is gone. I have this permanent, nagging feeling over me the entire time cause, well, he is my whole life. He is the one person who finishes my sentences, actually know what I truly mean when I say something (cause strangely, not many people here really grasp the idea of sarcasm, which is my second, sometimes first, language lol). We also know exactly what the other is thinking with just one word or look. So I am not so keen on missing that for an entire 29 days.

I finally finished reading Marley and me yesterday and I think I started crying at least for the entire last 2 chapters. I don't know if I will even last through the movie! It was sad because whatever people say, an animal are as much part of the family as any human relative. A dog is not just a dog, and that goes for a rat as well. I don't even want to think of losing one of my ratties, as they are my company during the day. Yesterday in a book shop I saw the sweetest picture ever. A little rat paw resting on a human finger with the caption TRUST. Only yesterday morning my shy little girl Pan came up to me on the bed and did the exact same thing. She just looked at me as if saying "Ok fine I trust you!" Just after that she did hop away like a demented bunnie but she came back every time I called her. What can be more nicer in life than to gain the trust of a rat? It feels easy with dogs, I'm drawn to them and they are drawn to me. Even more difficult ones. One time I was at a friend's house when his Boston Terrier came up to me. She was usually very jealous of women but she jumped right onto my lap and stayed there the rest of the evening. I can't wait to have a dog again...

We finally went to watch Star Trek last night. I have always been more of a Star Wars fan but I really enjoyed this movie. The only problem is I kept seeing Spock as Sylar, and was waiting for him to steal people's powers hehe.

The sock mystery...

2009-05-11T12:20:00.003+02:00

Hmmm... what is the greatest mystery on earth... why I am shorter than everyone I know (yes, my sister's almost 14 year old daughter just passed me in length :\) or is it... the disappearance of yet ANOTHER sock. I don't know where they are going to anymore, it's the seventh one! I now have a beautiful collection of odd socks and I have looked everywhere for the others. They have simply vanished. I don't have the equipment for this solution:

seeing as I am missing the cat. This is going to bother me for quite a while still... Apart from the fruitless search I am having a really productive day. My spare room is now so open and clean that I am wondering whether some other items have joined my socks as well hehe. It's amazing how many things can fit into a closet...

We are planning on going back to the nice little place we went for our anniversary dinner. We have been invited there with some friends. When we were last there it was raining and I could not get all the photos I wanted of the place so please hold all thumbs that this time we will be seeing some sun. :)

I am starting to discover that I can't really stick to a topic in my blog anymore. I just start and then whooosh I am talking about something else. Oh well, I guess that makes me unique. :)

Random ramblings...

2009-05-10T11:05:00.003+02:00

I saw this on another blog and I thought it would be a good way to share the small, not so noteworthy things happening. :)

1. Last night I got slapped... not on purpose! I was bored, my husband was concentrating too hard and I gently blew on the back of his neck. :) The next thing a hand came swinging by and hit me on the side of my jaw. :) hehe
2. It's amazing how many times someone can say they are sorry... :P I now know how an insect walking on your neck feels when it is discovered.
3. I don't even have a bruise to show... would have been cool to show people haha
4. Our landlord people are coming to do inspection this week, meaning I have to make the place look spotless. I don't feel to good about people looking in my closets though, don't even like it when people I know do it. It's just wrong... Plus the dining chairs in the spare room closet may be weird... lol
4. I am having some family over in 2 weeks. My brother is coming from Nieu Zealand for the comrades, accompanied by my 2 sisters and my brother-in-law. Should be fun.
5. I thought of starting running as well... Will need a new sports bra...
6. Jericho and The Mentalist are actually good shows.
7. And... I have to do some ironing today... :\

And I am back...

2009-05-07T10:11:00.004+02:00

I am finally back at home after a week in Bloem. It was a great visit but it is really nice to be back in my own home, though still not on my own computer... :( Hopefully we can get it fixed in the next month else I will finally take over the husband's computer (perhaps lighten it up with a nice Hello Kitty background... lol). I think I managed to see everyone I wanted when I was in Bloem, strange how a week can actually be so short sometimes. The ratties also tastes their first cheese curls there, wish I had taken a photo of their orange faces. This is just a pic of my favourite place along the way, Golden Gate.

Some good news.. My husband got his new job! :) He went for the interview last Tuesday and heard the same day. This must be the reason for this silly grin...

I now have the job of sorting out the house for once and for all before I have to start working. I did manage to sort out my spare room\storage room yesterday. Still got some box tearing to do (only have 3 broken nails so far :\) but I did mange things well so now all the dining chairs are in the closet... lol that's is actually quite weird but I have no choice. I hate cluttered areas and they are taking up to much space. Hmmm.. I can swear I could not see one cloud out just a minute ago, but now there are no more blue sky... This will make laundry interesting. I better get back to work, want to finish today if I can.

Just something to make your day, this is a cat living in our complex, a persian, that met the shavers lol I just love that look saying, I will kill you...

And there was nothing...

2009-04-23T09:09:00.002+02:00

Two days ago I got up as usual and went over to my computer to start my day with some tea and a check on my emails when... nothing... NO!!!! My computer would not start. There was a couple of frantic calls made to the husband (after 3 I realized he was still in a meeting *sigh*) and when he came home that night we tried everything. It seems my screencard had given in, so now I am on my husbands computer... :)

We got to vote in South Africa's national elections yesterday. It was my third time voting and while my inlaws went back a few times cause the rows were to long in Bloem, we just strolled through in under 15 minutes. :) Apart from an annoying black mark on my left thumb we did manage to get a free Wimpy coffee! The rest of my computerless day was spent on the couch wathing Sex and the City (I have the complete boxset!) I am still on season 3 but flashing through at the moment.

On Tuesday after my husband's interview we are off to Bloem for a nice visit. And yesterday some negotiations started about going to England in September. Yay! My first overseas trip!!! :D

In the pipeline...

2009-04-20T10:31:00.003+02:00

This is the nicest day. The weather is cool, it will hopefully start raining soon and there is no sun. :) Lovely! Yes, I am a winter person. Its not that I don't like warm weather, I just prefer the cold. That is why my husband's idea of moving to Canada one day is starting to sound really nice. I would be able to see snow! Even though people may say I may not like it when I am there, you never know. I may even love it. :) I already got my morning walk in, quite a brisk walk today (I feel impressed with myself), mainly because of some ominous clouds in the sky. Rain is nice, up to the point that you get soaked haha.

I did get some good news this weekend, though nothing is certain and fixed yet. My husband is going for his interview for his new job next week, and if he gets it his current job will be open for the taking. It is going to be advertised but until then there is a chance that they have to get someone in there for a 2 or 3 month contract position. And that person may be me! This will give me a much better chance for the position once I formally apply. And I get a chance to join my husband for a workshop in Cape Town in June! We may also stay a couple days more just for the fun of it...hehe. But as I said, nothing is fixed yet. So I will be holding all my thumbs and toes, and perhaps even some rattie thumbs :) that it works out. Talking of ratties, there are some very impatient rats staring at me cause I have not yet taken them out for the daily playtime, so I will be doing that now... :)

1 Year houseaversary...

2009-04-17T08:04:00.005+02:00

Yeah all right, houseaversary is NOT a word lol, but tomorrow is our first anniversary of living in our first house (technically second, though the first did not leave much of an impression). Yes, a year ago today I was running around like a mad woman trying to get all our last possessions into random boxes. Luckily I had plenty of help from all the family. This also means we have been living in Pmb for a year now! I can't believe time flew past like this! And it is really feeling like home now.

We do live in a nice place, a 2 bedroom, one bathroom town house?? I think it's a town house. There are about 25 units in the complex, and we are far from the gate so I really feel safe here. Also we have a garden with our own washing line so I don't have to share with anyone! Everything here is green and pretty, we are surrounded my mountains and the neighbours are friendly. The only problem is that I don't have the freedom of changing the place we live in, we rent. If I could paint the house... lol, it would be really pretty... :) I don't think I would ever be able to live in a single house on a single yard, it just feels so secure in a complex surrounded by other people. Now I just need to find a place where I can have a dog as well..

I decided this morning that my priorities is going to change from now on. I had a migraine again and I have a suspicion it was stress related. I tend to make a big deal of the smallest of things and frankly I am tired of how it affects me. I don't sleep well, I don't feel as well as I should so something has to give. Thus, my priorities are now:
1. Get the job at the museum (My husband's almost old job :)), and actually look forward to it. I will be working right next to my husband after all. :)
2. Work there for at least 2 or 3 years to save money to buy a nice 3 bedroom home with garden and the privilege of having a dog (and spend on nice things for myself.. hmmm... shopping at other clothes shops than Mr Price.. lol)
3. Buy a lot of pregnancy magazines so I am really prepared for a baby in 2 or 3 years time. I would love to have a baby before I am 30, and just realized I am only 25. So I have a while to go! Yay for positive thinking.
4. Think positive! hehe and get fit and feel better about my body, and eat healthier.. at least one chocolate a week :D
5. Try to keep up with my new priorities... I will really try hard.
6. Oh yeah, finish the novel... :\

And here is another Lolpic for me to enjoy.. and for you! Hope I bring a smile to your face! :)

10 Canine commandments...

2009-04-15T10:41:00.010+02:00

Well, nothing extraordinary has happened since my last blog. We spent the Easter weekend at home, playing computer games the whole time (lots of fun, just glad my husband also like those games, else he would go mad! :)) and went out on Saturday to watch Fast and Furious with a friend. It was a good movie, but I liked the first one more.

I realized that I can never really put newspaper in my ratties cage and expect them to leave them alone. I think it was in for 10 minutes when I heard the first tearing. And it doesn't help to put loose pieces in as well, they drag them away and then start on the big ones. So now its utter chaos in the cage, with newspaper in all their slepping cubes and tubes (which is causing htem to sleep outside, no place for them inside lol) and even in the feeding bowl. The one girl, Penny, insists on putting every loose thing lying around in the foodbowl *sigh*.

I got this email from my husband, and would just like to share it. :) This is for all you dog lovers out there!

The 10 Canine commandments

1. My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. Any separation from you will be painful to me. Remember that before you buy me.

2. Give me time to understand what you want from me.

3. Place your trust in me. Its crucial to my well-being.

4. Don't be angry at me for too long, and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your entertainment, and your friends. I only have you.

5. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words, I understand your voice when it's speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will not forget it.

7. Remember before you hit me, I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand, but I choose not to.

8. Before you scold me for being un-cooperative, obstinate or lazy, ask yourself if something may be bothering me. Perhaps I'm no getting the right food, or I have been in the sun too long, or my heart is getting old and weak.

9. Take care of me when I get old. You too will get old.

10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say: "I can't bear to watch it," or "Let it happen in my absence." Everything is easier for me if you are there.

The last one drove me to tears. The worst moment in my life was when I was driving home and saw my father and a stranger put my spaniel Flappies in a strange car and drive away to have her put down. I never even got to say goodbye... I still get sad whenever I think of her, even though its been 8 years. I just can't get that last image out of my mind.

First night out...

2009-04-10T13:39:00.002+02:00

Last night was the first time we went out to dinner with some new people since we have lived here. It turned out to be so much fun! I did not feel nervous as I sometimes do when going to a party or something. We went to Panarottis in our mall and we were 10 people around the table in the end. The funny thing was that while almost half was Afrikaans speaking (which I did not think I would see very soon again) the minority of us were straight! It was so funny and relaxing, the group was really friendly and I did not once feel that I wanted to leave. :)

I ordered my old favourite, Baked Mozzarella Mushrooms from the starter menu, and even had space for some dessert, a choc fudge slab. Very yummy but terribly sweet. :) So are first outing was a huge success! Tonight we are going to watch Fast and Furious with another friend. Our social life have really picked up in the last day! lol

Happy Easter...

2009-04-09T16:54:00.002+02:00

Happy Easter to you all!!! :)

The big move...

2009-04-09T16:03:00.003+02:00

A year ago today my husband heard he got the job at the museum here in Pietermaritzburg. I remember it well cause I made some frantic calls to him to get in touch with the museum before 1 pm when they closed (Due to the Easter weekend). After we heard he got the job we also heard that he had start working on the 21st! So we had a week to finish everything off, find a place to live, arrange the move and all those little things that sends the stress levels up. I really did not take it well for I would either be missing my gran's 90th birthday party and my graduation (would have gotten my BSc Honores in Entomology) or I would be missing the whole move and the first week of our new life. So after lots of tears I went with the first option, to go with the move. My degree was collected by some of my friends, though I would have loved to walk across that stage again.

We spent the first weekend sleeping on a blow up mattress in a very empty house. On the first night we had some dark time (thanks Eskom) but it was nice. On the Sunday my parents and sister came up from Bloemfontein to help me cope with the arrival of the move the next day. All went very well luckily. I should say that since December the longing to go home to Bloemfontein has completely vanished and this now feels like my home. We are going out to dinner tonight with some friends for the first time, though I have the idea we will be the only straight people in the group lol. That should be quite interesting.. And this weekend we are going to watch Fast and Furious with another friend who I hope may become closer to us. :)

Ugh.. I really want to have a baby now... I have never been so ready in my life. :) At this stage I have become an avid collector of pregnancy magazines hehe. Even though it is still going to be a year or 2, you can't be too prepared!

The wait comences...

2009-04-06T23:04:00.002+02:00

What wait? The wait until Twilight can finally be bought in a shop, which will hopefully be this weekend. It was the first thing I saw when I returned Ghost Whisperer to the video shop this morning, 7 cases of Twilight, all gone... :'( It only took 2 hours since they were packed out for that to happen too! Clearly I am not the only one who luuuvs this movie. This of course means that this week is going to be sooo long! My husband is nearly finished with the 3rd book, and with the speed that he is moving through them must show that he likes them as well. Maybe now he will understand what I have been raving about for so long. Hehe.

Today was the day for half done work. Firstly, I put all the washing in the machine, added the washing powder and softener, closed the top and walked away. 5 and a half hours later I walked passed it and realized that clothes can actually get cleaner faster if you hit the power button.. *sigh* Also, I put toilet cleaner in the toilet and walked away again, forgetting the part where I should go back and rinse and wash.. Luckily my husband found it and did it for me. lol :)

Novel update 1...

2009-04-03T07:41:00.002+02:00

I have so many different beginnings to my book it seems like I am already writing trilogies! lol Yesterday night after my previous blog I actually managed to write the beginning I want. So now I have 1 page containing 399 words I am happy with! Yay!!! Think I went to bed at 1, lay awake for another period of time, and I actually got up at 07:30... But at least I have my one page... :)

Sleepless and annoyed...

2009-04-02T23:51:00.002+02:00

Ugh, it is only 23:51 but I have been trying to fall asleep for the past hour and a half. Now I am up again, thinking this may be a good time to cram in some novel writing. :) I am so wide awake it is as if I had just slept for an entire night! And I feel annoyed, we don't have a proper fence seperating our complex from the one next door, just a stupid see through wire one. Well, the kids next door love to play soccer on the patch of grass next to this fence, and yet again their ball came flying over. I was busy when it happened so I decided just to ignore them for once, I enjoy the quiet when they are not playing. And then they started throwing sticks against the step railing above us! Just then any thoughts of going out and looking for the ball disappeared out of my mind, replaced instead by thoughts of what I was going to do to the ball when I perhaps find it one day (I am not going to dig through bushes and plants to find it), hmmm...perhaps a slow puncture... lol. Yet I don't have the backbone to be nasty at the moment. But I am still not going to look for the ball. A closed garden is going to be on my list of important things (which is expanding very nicely) when we go hunting for a new place someday.

Further, the dryer worked very nicely, I tested all sorts of clothing items in it :). Well, tomorrow is National Cleavage Day so I will be putting on a nice little cleavage item (even though I am not going anywhere, at least my husband will enjoy it lol) and it is also World Rat day, so my ratties will be getting some sort of treat, still deciding what will be. One more thought: Where did March go to? Was there a month called March this year cause I seemed to have missed it.. hmmm... maybe it passed in the time I could actually sleep at night..hehe

Back in the routine...

2009-03-31T13:20:00.004+02:00

Well, after my week of not really doing anything I am back in my old routine. I got a Genesis Dry Fast from my sister this weekend and today was the testing day, even though it is nice and sunny out. All my shirts are in there now, with all the pants and jeans outside (nothing beats sunlight :)). I am just so glad my husband is back, it is certainly not the same without him. Like sleeping alone, I hate it. It feels terrible to wake up in the middle of the night and he is gone. So yes, I don't do very well without him here, being my best friend and most favourite person in the world.

Further we did some shopping this weekend, it was nice to just stroll through all the clothes shops and look at everything with a female companion, not that my husband is not good company in the shops, but men just don't really get it everyday. But still, my Sunday stroll through the shops with my husband was not that bad either! lol We finally got to watch Quantum of Solace yesterday evening, which I quite enjoyed. I have never been a big James Bond fan, but the two newest movies are changing my mind a little.

Hehe.. for the past month there has been a wasp living in our post box. I have been stung by them before so I keep my distance. This morning I opened the box and it was deserted so I took my chance and grabbed the post. Just then I heard an annoyed buzz and saw the wasp sitting on the post box next to mine. Yeah... I hope no one saw me running. lol I just feel so bad about killing anything and so does my husband, so this may go on for a long time. :)

My sister and I went to down to Toti beach on Saturday while waiting for my husband's flight to arrive and we did managed to get our jeans nice and wet on our first venture to the water. I managed to take these sandcastle pics while we were there.

Talking about photos, I just started entering some of my photos in to competitions held by a South African website! And you can win money if you are really good. The practise will certainly be a nice thing. Thanks for mentioning the website Tails! :) I tried to register on Worth1000 but they keep finding problems with my IP address so I have given up...

Some alone time...

2009-03-23T12:09:00.005+02:00

Well, I am happy to report that I no longer have the itchy things on me, but instead I have an extremely stiff and sore arm.. :( It started hurting on Saturday and it has not stopped since. Have no idea what I could have done to hurt it, seeing as I haven't done anything drastic, but I wish it would just ease up a bit.

My husband is leaving for Cape Town tomorrow, and he is only coming back on Saturday. Though I will miss him soooo much, I am going to have a few days on my own and a few days with my sister from Thursday to Sunday. There is a chance that we are going to Cape Town for a holiday somewhere this year which will be great cause I have never been there before. Further not much is going on, it's really hot again so I hope the winter will come a little faster! *holds thumbs* :)