year three

I'm just going to ignore the fact that it has been three months since the last post, ok? Ok. Thanks, I'm glad we've gotten that settled.

Three years ago today I married my favorite friend. In celebration, we started the day with breakfast at the very spectacular Olympia Cafe and have a festive dinner planned for tonight, as well as a little getaway in a couple weekends time.


One of Brendan's pressies from me was a retrospective picture slideshow. I debated posting this mush-fest on the blog, but in the end I figured if you can't be sentimental and sappy on your anniversary then by-golly when can you? Besides, some peeps will get catch a glimpse of their own faces in this, and you can have a chuckle at our changing hairstyles over time.

Thanksgiving 2011

Last night Brendan and I stood with ten friends and family members, held hands around the incredible feast we were moments away from tucking into, and each of us spent a few moments verbalizing the things we gave thanks for this year. I love this tradition. I am, as always, so thankful for health and happiness, the many people whom I love and who love me in return, beautiful sights and sounds, delicious food, and a partner who is really just so dadgum wonderful. This year Brendan and I gave an extra special thankfulness shout-out for the house we bought this week! We are (soon to be) the proud owners of the lovely Victorian cottage we had been living in since our arrival in Cape Town last year. We move back in next May upon our return from our three month South American adventure.  The universe is smiling upon us in a big way.

In the mean time, here are some Thanksgiving highlights. We had a grand ol' party and I'm so thankful to everyone who made it possible (and to the dishwasher for handling the bulk of the clean up)!

Coldplay!

Tonight we are off to see Coldplay live at the Cape Town Stadium and couldn't be more thrilled. Have a look and listen to the video for one of the singles off their new album. I'm loving this song!

(And if a message pops up saying the content is restricted just follow the link to watch it on You Tube)

the Northern Hemisphere trip

** Sorry for the technical difficulties- YouTube didn't approve of my original musical accompaniment. It should work now!**

We got back from our epic Northern Hemisphere whirlwind trip about a week and a half ago and we are still glowing from all the fun...and finally not jet-lagged. I had just over three weeks of family time, friend time, birthday time (hello 30!) and treat time with some favorite American delicacies (hush puppies! Carolina BBQ! Reese's peanut butter cups! bagels!). Big B was gone a bit longer what with his trip to Brown University (a total success by the way). Our return wasn't the smoothest- more in a later post- but it is great to back home in Cape Town, enjoying the beautiful weather, catching up with friends and family, and setting our sights on spring.

There was just too much goodness to share conventional blog style so instead here is the under four minute highlight reel! Enjoy!!

Nepal videos

Here I am paragliding in Pokhara on a very overcast day. Yes my helmet is too big for my head, and yes that is me yelping as I sail off the edge of the mountain. There is something wholly unnatural about going off the edge of anything so high, but I loved it and B and I are looking forward to paragliding again in Cape Town. Oh, and you'll have to tilt your head for this one...we thought the camera would auto-orient the image but alas that was not the case.

Next we have some Nepali street musicians/dancers. Keep your eye out for the particularly amusing whirling-dervish old guy!

Brendan's original plan was to not shave at all during the trip, heaven help my poor lily white cheeks. The day before we left for the trek he decided to clean up and have a shave at one of the Nepali barber shops. Nature took its course of the rest of our trip, however, and it was a surprisingly good look for him...far better than that horrific mustache.

And finally, a glimpse of the start of our trekking adventure. We rode for 3 hours from Pokhara to Besi Sahar, and then another hour by local taxi to Bahudanda where the Annapurna Circuit officially begins. The bus was overcrowded and the seats were minuscule. I felt sausaged into my seat, so you can imagine how Brendan- who is approximately twice the size of your average Nepali- felt.  While this video is entirely blurry, you get a sense of our jarring, dusty, musical experience.

Friday movies

*sorry for the glitch with the movies- should be all better now!*

It has been a great week! Write Our Future is off the ground and doing well. As of last night we have raised funds to feed 12 schoolchildren for the year, and we trust that that this achievement will only multiply further. Thanks to everyone for their support. To keep up with our progress, go to our website (www.writeourfuture.org). From there you can click to follow us on Facebook and receive email updates- two more great ways to stay connected!

Since it is Friday and since we are off to the movies tonight, I wanted to share a couple of home videos with you. The first is from my family's visit to Cape Town. On New Years Eve we had dinner at an awesome restaurant at Spier wine estate called Moyo. We sat in a treetop table and enjoyed all the fun entertainment...some of us more than others as evidenced by this video.

The other is of our super nephew James having a bit of fun by the pool with Brendan. This might just have to make another appearance with the little fella turns 21!

We are off to see Black Swan tonight. There is a significant delay in the release of movies here as compared to the US, so I hope we can at least get most of the top contenders in before the Oscars roll around. We saw Winter's Bone (good, albeit depressing) on Tuesday, and are off to see The King's Speech next Friday. Do you have any favorite Oscar contenders?

parker's new best friend

Our darling cat, Parker, is now an indoor/vaguely outdoor cat. Due to circumstance, he has always been stuck indoors and has really struggled with it. His hunting instinct is so strong- he really enjoyed using those skills when we were evacuated back to my parents' house after Hurricane Katrina. I, however, did not love waking up to dead mice and voles at my bedside. I think his time would have been much better spent in learning to bring me tea or breakfast in bed each morning. 

At any rate, in our new house (which, yes, I know I promised a tour of...it remains forthcoming) there is a lovely little enclosed courtyard so we decided to let Parky Pants roam freely between it at the confines of the house until I muster the fortitude to let him really be an outdoor cat. I am not sure that day will ever arrive. At least this is a start for all of us. He has mastered use of the cat flap on the kitchen door, and yesterday I saw him stalk, kill, and eat a bee. Lovely. 

In embracing the not-so-great outdoors, he has developed an affinity for one particular potted tree in the yard.

You talkin about me?

He likes to bathe whilst in his favorite pot.

Sadly, he doesn't understand that bathing in a pot full of dirt continues to leave you dirty. He gets very frustrated by this. 

And then, there is a bit of jungle-gym action in the pot.

 A nap usually follows this maneuver. Such a tough life...