Now just to get through tomorrow. I can't believe tomorrow night this time I will be a mrs.
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
Friday, March 4, 2011
One sleep to go...
Now just to get through tomorrow. I can't believe tomorrow night this time I will be a mrs.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
New house!!!!!
Big news, all! I have moved house! Fiance and I are now officially living together. AAAHHH! Isn't it scary?
Of course it caused great consternation with the church. Sigh, yes - you'd think we're living in the 21st century and we wouldn't have people questioning our faith with a judgemental look on their face just because your lease worked out that way, right? But alas, that was not the case.
I won't go into the whole experience too deeply, because it is something that greatly upset both of us, but fiance and I have decided to not be bullied, made to feel guilty OR let it affect our relationship with God. From the start our relationship has been one which intends to make God and faith a cornerstone and neither of us feel that God is somehow shaking His big finger at us for moving in together a month ahead of schedule.
All three of our parent groups (his parents, my two daddies and my mom) agree that they don't have a problem with the arrangement.
It also brought up something that has been a big issue in my spiritual life - my dad not calling himself a Christian (and in fact at times making fun of the church). When I finally told him about our dilemma (I admit I didn't even phone him when it came up because I knew what he was going to say and it included a few carefully aimed swearwords!), he said something very interesting, something that made me feel even better about our decision:
"My child, don't you let these people tell you who God is. This is the exact reason I don't like the church. And don't be confused - I didn't say I don't like God, or that I reject God. It may not seem that way, but I do believe. But I reject the way the church humiliates people for personal decisions that have nothing at all to do with them."
Anyways, we can debate the good and the bad of the church for ages (and this is not to say I necessarily stand on the side that call it bad) but lets move on.
Firstly, there was a party to greet the lovely Bo-Kaap house. What a sad departure! I can honestly say that it has been one of my best living-with-other-people experiences that I have ever had. So here are a few departing pictures. Sniff sniff.....
So that was the party. What a crazy weekend! Aside from a little incident with a guy who fell off the balcony, it was definitely party of the year (our wedding hasn't happened yet, off course!). Housemates went completely overboard and invited about 100 ppl. I am convinced they all showed up. We ate, we drank, we danced, we talked, we ate some more, drank some more, and I finally slipped away at about 1:30am to spend the night at fiance's because I had to work the next day. What a farewell! Was also the welcoming of the new guy (picture to follow) and Filmmaker's boyfriend from Germany (lovely guy!) and German boyfriend's birthday (Happy Birthday!) - hence the large crowd. I hope the neighbours still like Filmmaker after all of this. But I'm sure they will!
Then came the moving. Sigh! What a mess.... but what BLISS to live with fiance! It still feels a bit surreal, and the living room looks much more like his space than mine, and my 'study' is nowhere NEAR sorted, and there are boxes everywhere, but ah, he is such a sweetie. Brings me coffee in bed, ran me a bath last night, even washed the dishes (TWICE!) after I cooked. Love him like probably nothing else.
So, amigos, here goes: My first month EVER of living with my other half. I can't wait!
Of course it caused great consternation with the church. Sigh, yes - you'd think we're living in the 21st century and we wouldn't have people questioning our faith with a judgemental look on their face just because your lease worked out that way, right? But alas, that was not the case.
I won't go into the whole experience too deeply, because it is something that greatly upset both of us, but fiance and I have decided to not be bullied, made to feel guilty OR let it affect our relationship with God. From the start our relationship has been one which intends to make God and faith a cornerstone and neither of us feel that God is somehow shaking His big finger at us for moving in together a month ahead of schedule.
All three of our parent groups (his parents, my two daddies and my mom) agree that they don't have a problem with the arrangement.
It also brought up something that has been a big issue in my spiritual life - my dad not calling himself a Christian (and in fact at times making fun of the church). When I finally told him about our dilemma (I admit I didn't even phone him when it came up because I knew what he was going to say and it included a few carefully aimed swearwords!), he said something very interesting, something that made me feel even better about our decision:
"My child, don't you let these people tell you who God is. This is the exact reason I don't like the church. And don't be confused - I didn't say I don't like God, or that I reject God. It may not seem that way, but I do believe. But I reject the way the church humiliates people for personal decisions that have nothing at all to do with them."
Anyways, we can debate the good and the bad of the church for ages (and this is not to say I necessarily stand on the side that call it bad) but lets move on.
Firstly, there was a party to greet the lovely Bo-Kaap house. What a sad departure! I can honestly say that it has been one of my best living-with-other-people experiences that I have ever had. So here are a few departing pictures. Sniff sniff.....
 |
| last sunset in Bo-Kaap.... |
 |
| getting party food ready for the party of the YEAR |
 |
| me packing up incredibly messy room... feeling slightly overwhelmed |
 |
| PARTY!!! (and Zaria singing, with boyfriend on the 'konsertina' - was DELIGHTFUL!) Filmmaker and bf from Germany standing in the background, to the right |
 |
| new guy (taking over my room) |
 |
| mess of our new living room. Who'd have thought we have so much stuff!!! |
 |
| new kitchen! Not the best, but it's the first room I sorted out (doesn't look like it here, I know....) |
 |
| view from my study. Peaceful church-going neighbourhood. Sigh. Do you think it's got something to do with karma that my study overlooks a church? |
 |
| view from living room onto balcony. We can even see the mountain and Lion's head! |
 |
| view from living room into someone else's lush yard. Almost looks like Zululand with all those plants. |
Sunday, January 9, 2011
One week in!
So, the week is only a week and a bit old and it's back to work again. I've decided to cheer me and you all up with a picture post today - my posts have become way too wordy anyway!
The New Year started better than probably any New Year ever before that. Because fiance and I live far from my friends, our circles have yet to properly mix - if they ever will. But on New Years it just so happened that both of us had our best friends with us. So I found myself wine glass in hand, standing in the kitchen with a smile on my face, listening to the happy chatter between the three of them as I made (yet another) curry. The curry was a bit watery, but the conversation, the walk to Long Street for the minstrel carnival, two courses of dessert and the warm fuzzy feeling inside, made up for it. Isn't it nice to have the people you love around you? Yes, indeed!
Here they are:
Then came the first week of work... stormy, to say the least. We were on deadline, I was in a mood, etc, etc.
So I took a few pics of the beautiful neighbourhood I live in to cheer myself up. Isn't this gorgeous?:
So the wedding planning, you may ask... Fiance and I kind of woke up for the first time since we started planning and made a list of what still needs to be done. YIKES!!! A suit, a ring, putting stuff on the registry, getting the lighting sorted, the wedding contract AND the fact that we haven't sent out all the invites yet (despite that the RSVP date was this week!) - that's just a small part of our 'to do-list'. But this weekend we killed a few birds with one stone - looked at rings, added some stuff to the registry, tried on suit and printed more cards. So we're getting there!
Also big news: fiance and I found a place to stay in! I now officially have a month left in the Bo-Kaap house. So sad :(. But do not fear, because Filmmaker, American Journalist and I are planning a mean party for the end of the month. Details to follow!
As for running, I have an announcement to make.
This might sound like me bailing out, but since 'learning something' is also one of my goals, I think what I'm going to say now is ok: I don't think I'm going to run a marathon.
'No!', you're all screaming, I know. 'How can she bail on one of her goals?'
It did cross my mind, but here's why I think it's ok: In the past two months (after the last disastrous half-marathon I wrote about), I've realized that my biggest challenge is not to run far - but to run consistently. In fact, in my entire life that is the challenge. Not to be nice - but to be nice consistently. Not to do good work - but to do good work consistently. So I am officially changing one of my goals. It will now read 'Exercise at least three to four times a week, always' instead of 'Run a marathon before I get married'. I think the mistake I made was to think that having a goal will automatically keep me running at regular intervals.It didn't.
I'm not sure, but I'm guessing this lesson will come in handy in other areas of my life too...
So finally, I leave you all with a video of the amazing Kaapse Klopse (or minstrel carnival - but the Afrikaans word is so much better!). We missed them on the night of the 31st, which is when they traditionally perform, but then there was a surprise waiting in the streets a few nights later, just before midnight. Apparently it goes on like this in the Bo-Kaap until February each year! What a joyful sound...
The New Year started better than probably any New Year ever before that. Because fiance and I live far from my friends, our circles have yet to properly mix - if they ever will. But on New Years it just so happened that both of us had our best friends with us. So I found myself wine glass in hand, standing in the kitchen with a smile on my face, listening to the happy chatter between the three of them as I made (yet another) curry. The curry was a bit watery, but the conversation, the walk to Long Street for the minstrel carnival, two courses of dessert and the warm fuzzy feeling inside, made up for it. Isn't it nice to have the people you love around you? Yes, indeed!
Here they are:
 | |
| Fiance - pulling funny face |
 | |
| fiance's friend listening intently to my friend's passionate explanation of ... something or other |
 |
| Friend (and bridesmaid!). Probably thinking 'do I HAVE to do this smiling thing now? am explaining something important!' |
 | ||
| me - under influence of wine and so happy I couldn't bother to hold camera still |
So I took a few pics of the beautiful neighbourhood I live in to cheer myself up. Isn't this gorgeous?:
 | ||
| c-street, just down the road from us. Isn't it gorgeous? |
 | ||
| mosque |
 | |
| william the cat waiting to get in. Food, food, food! |
 | ||
| William only a whizz of tail now as Manon arrives hot on his heels. Food, food, food! Who wants to say hello to the humans when there's a nice bowl of woolies pellets waiting? (yes, that's right - they only eat woolies. They actually lost weight when we tried to feed them cheaper food - they simply refused to eat it. Now that's what I call posh taste!) |
 | ||
| view of our street in early sunlight on the way to work. | Bliss.... |
Also big news: fiance and I found a place to stay in! I now officially have a month left in the Bo-Kaap house. So sad :(. But do not fear, because Filmmaker, American Journalist and I are planning a mean party for the end of the month. Details to follow!
As for running, I have an announcement to make.
This might sound like me bailing out, but since 'learning something' is also one of my goals, I think what I'm going to say now is ok: I don't think I'm going to run a marathon.
'No!', you're all screaming, I know. 'How can she bail on one of her goals?'
It did cross my mind, but here's why I think it's ok: In the past two months (after the last disastrous half-marathon I wrote about), I've realized that my biggest challenge is not to run far - but to run consistently. In fact, in my entire life that is the challenge. Not to be nice - but to be nice consistently. Not to do good work - but to do good work consistently. So I am officially changing one of my goals. It will now read 'Exercise at least three to four times a week, always' instead of 'Run a marathon before I get married'. I think the mistake I made was to think that having a goal will automatically keep me running at regular intervals.It didn't.
I'm not sure, but I'm guessing this lesson will come in handy in other areas of my life too...
So finally, I leave you all with a video of the amazing Kaapse Klopse (or minstrel carnival - but the Afrikaans word is so much better!). We missed them on the night of the 31st, which is when they traditionally perform, but then there was a surprise waiting in the streets a few nights later, just before midnight. Apparently it goes on like this in the Bo-Kaap until February each year! What a joyful sound...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)