FIVETRIBE

  Tonight is opening night for Faith! Her first dance show.  The last two weeks have been particularly gruelling and I have been awed by her determination and perseverance. She is the youngest dancer to be in 3 different routines - she is doing 2 modern and 1 tap number. It has all been very secretive and I have not seen her in full make-up and costume so I cannot wait! I look back at this little person who used to pitch a fit at the mall because it was all just too overwhelming and am gobsmacked by how many balls she manages to keep in the air these days, with minimal fallout. Truly remarkable. I managed to sort through 5 boxes of junk in the garage this morning - I was so surprised when it took me only 20minutes!! I have been procrastinating for weeks... Next on the agenda is to sort out the paperwork / admin related to our personal stuff and the business. I think I need to procrastinate on that....until next week. >_< Extremely miserable in Cape Town today;...

A spanner has been thrown in the works for our trip to Zanzibar....1Time flight carriers are folding which makes it far more tricky for us to ge there....looks like a flight to Dar Es Salaam and then a ferry across to Zanzibar....which could be kinda cool actually. We are looking at options. The other consideration is going back to one of our favourite places on earth - the Drakensberg. We spent our honeymoon at Sani Pass Hotel and it would be awfully nostalgic to revisit 20 years later! I have been hearing so much about Zando lately that I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. Although I have been online shopping since I could type I have never bought clothing/shoes in this manner because it is such a mission to return stuff. Zando has been INCREDIBLE; I placed my order on Tuesday, received it yesterday and am returning it today. (They come and collect!) FREE deliveries and returns are key to a successful online retail store. Yesterday morning Flowrs and I ambled through...

Mondays and I have a love/hate relationship. I struggle with the shock of having to wake up, communicate and function normally by 7am BUT I make a concerted effort as I know that within an hour I will have my house All To Myself for 5 sweet hours. This morning, sun shine welcomed me and I needed to get outside! Thankfully I had a plan with a friend to do some gentle exercise (hah!) around Kalk Bay/Boyes Drive area. It was spectacularly beautiful and what a lovely way to catch up with a friend...and get the HR up a wee bit. Two birds one stone....a power hour indeed. Jacobs Ladder certainly gave me pause today....eish! This done I headed to my new favourite haunt, FLM*, to meet Farn for coffee (and I snuck in a mini brekky) Much swopping of weekend tidbits and a plan for a meaningful x-training session tomorrow. I do want to up the anti on my activity as Russ and I plan to celebrate our 20th anniversary in Zanzibar this year....goodness knows I need to fill out my biki...

My overall impression of this weekend was one of much rest, relaxation and mooching around doing stuff we all enjoy. Each to their own - we pottered around the house engaging in whatever took our fancy. Faith had dance rehearsal midmorning - that was the only reason I had to get out of my pjs' - during this time I took the opportunity to catch up with Kim B in Kalk Bay - much nattering despite heavy rains on the roof almost drowning us out! An  hour is never long enough so we made a plan to catch up some more this week! A special bond...they calm each other. Saturday afternoon we watched tons of Alias - we painted - the kids played ipad games and read books and pottered some more.  On the left we have SpongeBobs sister....her proportions are all wrong....and on the left we have Welly Girl who I love except her braid is all kinds of wrong. I am not correcting anything - I am simply painting and 'embracing the imperfection' and it is NOT easy....but the more I pers...

What is your favourite way to spend your free time? Play imaginery games with my pets or lala loopsies Vanilla or chocolate cake? Chocolate Your favourite superhero? Underdog Your fav girl name and boy name? Genevieve and Jake iPhone or iPad? iPad See the movie or read the book? Read the book There is a fire and you can only save 3 things....? my toy box, the black bags with my animals and chocolate (her bear) - what a sneaky answer! ;-) Place you want to visit most? Paris What do you think makes a good leader? They have to be truthful. Why do you think Mom and Dads need alone time? So they can have their own private talks. What 3 rules do you wish we didnt have at home? bedtimes curfew, choc milk limit and tv limit What was your saddest day ever? When you gave Troy away (her incorrigible daschund) What was your happiest day ever? When Bronwyn and Rosslyn came to stay. What one thing do ou think kidsneed from their parents? LOVE Do you like hav...

It has been such a tough year for Faith in terms of school. Some of the relationships she has have challenged her almost beyond what she felt she could bear. There have been many tears, many prayers and many talks about how to journey through something that seems undo-able. We went as far as to allow her to go and visit another brilliant local government school in our area, Fish Hoek Primary. She wanted to know what it would be like to be part of something BIG, something with so much to offer in terms of friendships, activities and extramurals. I think it was an excellent experience for her. She took it all in. She enjoyed it but ultimately she was able to see the value of the small school she is privileged enough to attend. She has gone back, armed with knowledge and experience, with a completely different perspective. She is able to look at the pros and cons with maturity beyond her years and make the very best of each day. I am insanely proud of her and so happy (such a lam...

On the worse note: Spiders. I noticed on Sunday that Faith had a small irritation on her finger which she said was really sore to the touch. By Tuesday it was looking a bit funky but I stuck some antihistamine on it and hoped all would be well. She was not unwell in any way so I wasnt *too* concerned. On Wednesday she came out of school in tears because her teacher has mentioned she should go see a doctor....and then had not let Faith phone me so my poor, sensitive beanie got herself in a terrible state worrying that her finger may fall off! Suffice to say I took her straight to the doctor, saw a locum as my doc was out on housecalls. He didnt appear to be massively concerned - check all her vitals and sent us home with antibiotic and warning to come back the next day if it looked angrier. Well. This afternoon it looked blerry awful. Faith and I took it in turns to try not to faint as I changed the plaster! We headed back to the doctor - this time I only wanted to see MY doctor...

A few days ago a topic arose that caused quite a stir. I was saying how I was keen to get Levi involved in mixed martial arts at our local gym - that I felt it was important for a boy to feel strong, to let off steam in a safe, controlled environment. I want him to get that opportunity to be wild, to wrestle and kick and punch and go mah-shoogah!   (especially living with 2 olders sisters....!) It was at his request that I took him along to try out the class. He obviously LOVED it - what little boy wouldnt? A debate arose and I was quite vocal on my opinion that I believe boys need to feel strong, powerful and that they are 'enough'. They need to feel like they could face up to another man and hold their own or protect those close to them. The other side of the argument  came from, what I term 'christianese thesis' : that a boys' self esteem shouldnt be built on his physical prowess but on an 'inner self confidence which is instilled by ???'   No...

Yesterday was my Dad's 60th birthday. I call him my dad even though technically he is my stepdad; fact is he has been part of my life since I was 3yrs old so it would figure that the word {step} is hardly appropriate. I am one of the lucky ones who has been blessed with TWO remarkable fathers...my other dad living in Mcgregor is also very much a part of my/our lives. On Saturday night we had a family celebration with all my siblings and it was a great time of much laughter, debate, crazy gesticulations and nostalgia. happy crazy talky interrupty family times Breakfast with the birthday boy at EasyDig Cafe Levi and Oupa christen the new chessboard Grandkids celebrate with Oupa  It also happens to be my folks' wedding anniversary...cant say for sure how many years...something like 36 methinks? Very grateful for the stellar model that they have presented over the years. Happiness is an epic marriage - you can tell hey?

I stumbled upon a new artist a few days ago. I am utterly IN LOVE with her work. My favourite piece is $3000 which means I will never own it but thankfully I can still look at it here on my blog. Seriously - this is the type of work that would tempt me to part with long tom....unfortunately my husband does not see the 'value' in art so I am left to drool online. Title: "At Last" Original Oil Painting by ZsaZsa Bellagio Medium: Oil on Board Size: Extra Large  Dimensions: Height: 4 feet Width: 4 Feet Date: May 2012   See more from this highly talented artist here.

OMISHATTERED nerves. Really? Seriously? Is this how it is going to be for the next FOREVER years? I am going to have to start growing weed in my back garden or something.The hormonal insanity in this house is off the charts. Do you know that Rachel called me LAZY this morning? I made her school lunch and she didnt like it...wanted me to make her something else....of course I wouldnt....she called me lazy. Part of me is awed that she would take me on. The other part of me thinks she may well have lost her mind. Suffice to say Rachel will now be making her own school lunches FOREVER. Come to think of it, she will also be picking up all my chores for the next 5 days .... because, you know, I am lazy like that.

Last week was wet, windy and just miserable and I can say that I secretly applauded my body for choosing the worst week of the year to get ill.... I could, without guilt, stay in my bed for days on end. That being said, by last night I was chomping at the bit. I managed to rope my mom in for a mall crawl this morning. Not before my weekly coffee date at FLM* with a friend.... I bought a lovely, casual yet sophisticated stipey top from Monsoon that I love! Must do a show n tell post one of these days. I also managed to find birthday presents for my Dad's 60th birthday tomorrow, which is NO MEAN FEAT! Eish, shopping for the men in my life can be epically tortuous. I also had a rather exciting PO delivery today. I am utterly IN LOVE with K and Company's new SMASH book range. It has taken the very simple concept of the large old scrapbook with the blue/green pages and turned it into an insanely BEAUTIFUL quirky and archival safe book. This is NOT  a scrapbook as we know t...

The time that is? I get home from school drops at about 815am. I put the kettle on, turn around and it's 1245pm. Tell me how this happens please? I had every intention of being very productive today. I wanted to play in my studio and get through a pile of admin that has been neglected this past week. I wanted to just 'be normal' after spending a week in bed! I did none of that. Instead I indulged my appetite...which has returned with aveangence....drank endless cups of tea and watched 5 episodes of Life Unexpected. Not a bad way to spend a freezing winter morning but definitely unexpected. ;-) Edited to add:  My pens arrived from Amazon today! Whoo hooo....maybe my mojo will creep steadily back now? I had a mission with customs but in the end they sent them to the local PO but stuck at extra R90 on as tax - bunch of sharks!!

I have been man down with flu for 5 days. I cannot remember feeling this rotten since I got so ill shortly after Faith was born. Ouch, its been awful. I have to say I do have the most supportive family and friends. I was looked after like a queen and had umpteen phone calls and offers to ferry kids and do shopping and and and. I felt really special. And lucky. And totally humbled by the amazing people in my life. Thankfully it has all abated (sans antibiotics) and I will be headed out on the school run tomorrow for the first time this week - I am so excited! Yes, its true, sometimes being ill can make you really treasure the little things .... I am also looking forward to getting back into my studio and starting work on my Project 40 album. I havent given any thought to the format I want to use so I will spend tomorrow morning making an outlien and getting relevant supplies together so I can work on it consistently every time I have some free time.

So I am testing out if blogging is not only possible but probable from my car. It needs to be easy... I took myself off on an Artist Date last week and stumbled upon new treasures at our local nursery .   Just gorgeous eye candy everywhere you look!

There has been a flurry of creativity recently. We have decided to just throw caution to the wind and have fun with all the materials I have lying around the studio. For too long I have looked at them and prized them and felt I needed to *save* them for that one day when I did something *special* with them. Well, no more. Now it is a matter of grab, stick, cut, scribble, draw, paint, sand ---- and stand back and look at what you made. There is no required outcome.  The only important part of this process is how it makes you *feel*. I have seen that doing this with my girls decreases their moodiness considerably. Be they tired, grumpy, quarrelsome, bored or simply imposssible I stick a paint brush in one hand - modge in the other and tell them to go mad. The results have been utterly remarkable. The girls instantly become happier, calmer, more thoughtful and considerate to one another. It is really that simple.