NaNoWriMo!

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

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!

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!

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

Almost there...

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...

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

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..

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

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!

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!

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

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

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...

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...

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?

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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!

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

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!

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...

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...

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!

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?

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....

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!

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!

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...

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...

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...

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...

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!

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

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!

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!!!!!!