A little break...

Sometimes just getting away from our daily lives does us a world of good. Last week Friday was a public holiday and so Jake, Danie and I piled into the car on Thursday afternoon and headed off to visit friends in Augrabies in the Northern Cape.

Danie managed to get off work a little early on Thursday and we were on the road just after 3. We drove all the way to Springbok and stayed at a stunning lodge, the Blue Diamond Lodge. By the time we got in, it was 9pm and we were all hungry and tired. We had take aways, showered and crawled into our heated beds - it was freezing! I've never had an electric blanket, but I'm SO getting one for next winter! We had a lovely breakfast the next morning and, after a quick guided tour around the lodge with the owner, we made our way onto Augrabies.

The Northern Cape isn't a popular part of South Africa for travllers, but it's seriously under-rated. It's either extremely cold, or very hot and very dry, since it falls within the Kalahari Desert, but if you visit it during these in between times; it's really just gorgeous. It's peaceful and scenic and there's surprisingly lots to see and do. Augrabies is famous for it's beautiful waterfall along the mighty Orange River, which is a must if you're ever in the area. We're hoping to do a longer trip that way sometime soon too - there's still so much that we haven't done yet.

Danie took part in a cycle tour in Upington while we were there and did really, really well, although he said the conditions were very tough. He's braver than me though, I value my bottom too much to risk sitting in a saddle for 3 hours straight. Besides that though, it was really good to see our friends, Wes and Lizelle and their kids again. Late night braai's, afternoon naps - it's a life I could get used too. It was so good to just get away from it all.

Other than that, Jake's on holiday again this week and the soccer season's finally finished (it was really tough being at practices twice a week and getting up for matches early every Saturday morning), so we're enjoying the slightly slower pace. We bunked swimming on Tuesday afternoon and went to see Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole as a holiday treat. It was really good and Jake was mesmerised, he loves that kind of thing. Otherwise, there's not much else happening. I'm already looking forward to the weekend, although it's set to be another busy one.

Hope every one's OK!

Love Sue XXX

PS. Unfortunately, I'm without a camera at the moment, so I don't have a single photo for you. Next time, I promise!

Christmas is in the air...

I can't believe that Christmas is creeping up on us already, this year is just flying by. But then again, they say time flies when you're having fun ;)

So, the shops are already starting to stock up on festive chocolates and biscuits and while I love Christmas time, I can't help but feel like the commercialism of has taken over. Seeing the shops gearing up for the big spend 3 months ahead of time is just sad.

Anyway, to keep up with the Christmas spirit, I'd like to "advertise" the Santa Shoebox Project. It's a local charity, aimed at giving more than 27,500 underprivileged children a gift for Christmas. Many of the children are orphaned, or living under circumstances that we can't even begin to imagine in our sheltered lives.

I took part in this project last year and picked a boy Jake's age to receive our box. While there are mandatory items (such as toothpaste and soap) that you need to include in your box, you are also free to fill your box with extra treats if you can. Jake loved picking out the gifts and helping me to wrap up the box for our special friend. I just feel that it's really good for our kids to know that they need to give to the less fortunate. Our children are all so spoilt and so well taken care of, it's good to take time (and what better time than Christmas) to teach them to remember the less fortunate.

I'm happy to assist with getting boxes to a drop off point for anyone interested in taking part in this wonderful project.

Love, Sue XXX

A quiet week...

...has done me good; excluding the fact that I haven't seen Danie once, which really hasn't been great. I can't believe how much I've missed him and I guess he's the main reason I can't wait for the weekend to start. That and tomorrow's mom's day at school and I can't wait to be spoilt by my boy. Hoping to do something special with him after school too.

So life's been busy, too busy, but it's been that way for a long time and I've just let it be that way. To be honest, I like being busy. I love spending time with friends. But things have been especially busy just recently and I'm really feeling it at the moment. I'm tired. Perhaps it's age starting to catch up on me, but I just can't keep it up any more. It's been so bad that in the 2 months I've known him, Danie and I have only been on one proper date. Just him and I. Anyway, I've been trying very hard to slow life down a little, but it's very difficult learning to say no to friends, who you know you haven't seen in ages. Getting the happy balance right is hard, but it's important to have an early night with my book once in a while and Jake really needs his little routine or there's all hell to pay.

For the first time in I can't remember how long, we have absolutely NOTHING planned for the weekend ahead and I CAN'T WAIT!! (please don't phone and invite me out now; the answer's NO). I actually don't think I'm going to know what to do with myself. All I know is that I want to spend as much quality time with the two most important men in my life this weekend, doing as little as possible.

Sue XXX

The little worm...

Jake was told no more than 2 silkworms. I was told the minimum he needed, in order to experience the miracle of the silkworm life cycle, was 6. He came home with 12, which I've since been told are all female and that we need at least another 2 males in order for it all to work. 14 silkworms??? I am freaked out. And Jake knows it; he thought it was hysterical when I shrieked when he put a worm (big and fat and squishy and white) on my bare arm yesterday... Those things are headed for the bin. Fast...

Sucker...

Yep, that's me. From hamsters to silk worms - I just need to learn how to be stronger and just say NO!

So, Jake's gone to school today with a shoe box poked full of holes (thanks to his cousins) and a bunch of mulberry leaves, to get some silk worms from a friend. I said no more than 2 worms, but was told that I might get 2 boys or 2 girls and then we won't get any eggs (YAY!). The minimum's 6 worms (eeeeewww). I love nature and I love seeing new things, but I also like creepy crawlies to stay outside. I even fumigate my house so that I don't get goggas inside. I'm a girl. And until recently, I haven't had a man to call on to catch bugs and take them outside for me. Anyway, today my family grows by 6 silk worms and I've already ceded all ownership and responsibility over to Jake. I don't want them, I don't want to see them, let alone hold them or smell them and heaven help that child if they get out the box!! I'll take him to get leaves, I'm not that mean, but if he doesn't feed them, they're going die.

I'm sure that by next June, when the next batch of eggs hatch and unless I do some serious crowd control, Jake's going to have 7 billion baby silk worms to care for - anybody want some? Gross...

Sue X

Happy, happy...

Today's Danie's birthday and while he says he doesn't care about his birthday (I think he's fibbing), Jake is beside himself with excitement. He didn't even moan when we went shopping at Canal Walk (his all time worst) for presents and went to bed last night reminding me that 'tomorrow's Danie's birthday'. This morning, before he'd even opened his eyes, Jake had found my cell phone was on the phone to wish Danie - "Happy birthday too you, you belong in a zoo, you look like a monkey and you act like one too". Of course, I joined in, but the idea was entirely Jake's...

After work today, we're going through to Danie's house, where I am hoping to get Jake to have a nap. I'm not sure yet whether we're going out for dinner tonight, or whether friends are going to pop in - either way, Jake needs to catch up a bit. Jake also told Danie on the phone this morning that he wants to visit him at work for some of Danie's mom's delicious milk tart (his mom made a serious feast of food for Danie to take to work this morning. That woman can cook!!), but I'm not so sure that I'm brave enough to visit him there yet. I have met Danie's boss and his wife already and they're very friendly and seem really sweet, but shew... there's a lot of people working there. Danie might have to bring milk tart home for Jake.

Then, to the special birthday boy: Danie, you're amazing, wonderful, special, gorgeous and I'm so glad that we're part of your life. I hope that you have a really happy birthday full of spoils and surprises (we have a few for you for later). Thank you for everything you do for us - we are so, so blessed! I hope that this will be only the first of many, many happy celebrations that we get share with you. I can't wait to see you later, I love you XXX

Anyway,... on a totally different subject, my camera heads off to Johannesburg tomorrow, where I'm hoping that it is declared beyond economical repair, so that I can get a new one. My cousin's wife, Yvonne, has been staying with me for almost 2 weeks and she'll be taking it in to the Nikon factory in Jhb sometime after tomorrow. I am already feeling like I've lost a body part, so not sure how I'm going to survive a few weeks without it. Anyway, I'll end off with a few photos taken over the weekend.

Chocolate croissants and hot chocolate over shark books for breakfast at Empire Cafe in Muizenberg... We took a little drive along the coast and saw heaps of whales. It's breeding time and they tend to come pretty close to the shore, which is always a treat...

We stopped for ice-creams and a little on the beach (it was windy). That's Yvonne and I... We drove on a little and found two whales really close to the shore. They weren't doing much (that we could see)...

If you look closely, there are two dark lines in the water to Jake's left (kinda in line with his chin) - those are the whales...

Looking forward to the weekend ahead, it's going to be a super busy one with 3 birthdays! Not sure if I'm going to make it till Sunday and I might be half dead at work on Monday, but looking forward to catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Maybe I should have a kip with Jake later too...

Sue XXX

Changes...

So, spring has sprung and my intentions to post pictures of my beautiful yellow roses have been ruined by miserable weather for the last few days. Plus I've been too busy. No more excuses, the sun's finally out today and I'll have some spring pictures up on Monday.

I don't have much to write about today (or this week in fact, sorry)... I've finally realised why I'm so exhausted; I'm finally sleeping. I don't know whether it's the weather or personal happiness, but seriously, I haven't slept this well since well before Jake was born. Usually, I climb into bed at whatever time and read my book for a little bit. I turn out the lights and lie there, waiting for sleep. Out of sheer frustration, I would end up turning the lights back on and reading some more... roll on midnight... By 2am, I'm normally frantic for sleep after having read for 3 or 4 hours, eaten everything in sight and had a cup of tea, but the more frustrated I would get, the less chance I had of falling asleep. My old trick was to try to stay awake. It's not that easy and eventually I would manage to pass out, only to be woken by either the dogs or the child a few moments later and I'd have to start all over again. Things have changed though - I sleep like a log!! If I get woken up by the dogs (they go out during the night at least once, a few weeks ago they were up 13 times though!), I can go back to sleep again without a problem. It's amazing and I can't help but wonder if everyone else sleeps like this all the time. Fingers crossed that it lasts :)

Anyway, hope you all have wonderful weekends planned. The weather here today is beautiful and has me longing for summer!! Jake has a function at school tonight and I'm going to a soup evening at Buitenverwachting with the book club girls. I don't have much else planned for the weekend. my cousin's wife is staying with me till next Friday, while she does a course on cochlear implants, so I'm sure we'll be busy with her.

Till next week!

Love Sue XXX