FIVETRIBE

Some days are just crazy mad. Yesterday was one of them.  Faith had an outing to the South African museum so my day started early.  While the kids did their tour, my longtime friend KJ , and I decided to sneak off and do something we hadn't done in probably 5 or 6 years....we visited a scrapbooking store! KJ is a very well known designer and creates layouts for all the American mags - she had to collect a delivery of stash from a warehouse in town. I did buy some 7G stuff for making our holiday album. Never can get enough 7G! We had a good laugh remembering the old days when we would spend hours pouring over the delightful bits n bobs (I no longer scrap and she gets everything for free now!) It was a great time to just reconnect and enjoy some adult time. Only one person was missing....but we sent this pic to her! After our jaunt we joined the kids at the Botanical Gardens - feeding the squirrels is always top of the list for these little people. ...

This weekend past has been trying. I had many challenges to face, both externally and internally. I struggled with anger, resentment and overwhelming guilt. But by Sunday evening the dust had settled. We took a walk on the beach and I was reminded again how fun my family can be. This photo sequence made me smile so am sharing it here to remind myself.., The brief was for everyone to just hang together so I could get a shot with the sea in the background. Take 1 : What is this? Separate development? C'mon guys - group up a bit! Take Two: The boys consider joining the 'posers'. Take Three: Levi braves it.....but OH NO YOU DON'T! Take Four: He goes for broke...check the 'cowering pose'. I realise this all could have gone horribly wrong if the moods had been slightly off but thankfully it was all amidst much mirth and giggles. Who needs a perfect photo anyway?

There are less than 4 weeks until school breaks up and we head up the Garden Route again. I am so excited for our holiday but before I can begin to think about it.....I have to deal with a schedule that is looking rather daunting. Projects and Orals due: Faith 8 March Rachel 11 March Levi 12 March School Outings ie Mel's Taxi Service Faith 28 February Rachel 8 March Levi 14 March I am up to my neck in assisting with research, making sure their is posterboard and all the necessities that go with making stuff. (these necessities seem to change daily by the way) Anyyyyway, am pretty sure most of you can relate to this unfolding scenario. The upside is that time will FLY and we will be on holiday in the blink of an eye!

This morning saw us waking up at an extremely unfriendly hour to make the drive to Grabouw for the final race in the Cape Summer Trail Series. Thankfully parking was a breeze this time! I was not in the mood. My legs were tired from a particularly challenging run on Friday. My headspace was bleak from a horrible argument with my tween last night which led to some dramatic events. I still felt sick to my stomach and just drained. Approaching the start; contemplating the finish. Mood not good...! Am thankful that Russ did the series with me as without him I think I may have pulled the duvet up and gone back to sleep. The race was the most beautiful to date. The course was comfortably challenging, undulating up and through lush forests. My legs felt awful the first 3kms but eventually I came to life and began to just LOVE every moment. These short races in the series have given me a chance to get stronger and quicker over technical terrain. I am looking forward to enterin...

 I can scarcely believe that time has come again. February each year sees the Gr 4 - Gr 9's take off for camp. While the kids get more excited as the time approaches many of the parents begin swallowing hard. I have come a long way since Rachel's first camp years ago - I wasn't fraught over the long bus ride and I didn't call the cell number to get updates. (teacher leaves a message every day at breks, lunch and dinner for parents which is thoughtful) I did enjoy the school's facebook page to keeping us up to date which is such a bonus. Photos are shared here and little snippets of what the kids are up to. I did feel mildly concerned when she left as she was not 100% well. She is a stalwart and never gets ill but the day before she had a sore throat and stuffy nose. I could see in her eyes she wasnt herself but HELL WOULD FREEZE over before she would ever miss camp. I packed panados for mornings, nose spray for days and med lemon for evenings. She was quite ...

That would be me. The damp squib. I am having an off-day. I do believe I will be just fine tomorrow, or maybe Friday. Soon, I am sure. I am back home. With floors that still have unresolved issues. The fans are gone and never coming back but that is far from the end of the story. The engineer was here yesterday to look at the house. I was out. I cannot face this thing right now and frankly we all know that if an engineer is coming to inspect your house there is going to be KAK in the land. We are waiting on his report but for now we have guys coming tomorrow to drill holes into our NEWLY PAINTED external walls to assess the extent of the damp we never knew we had. I can tell you this without a shadow of doubt...had I known I would be going through all this I would GLADLY have lived with my flood damaged house. GLADLY. Slightly warped flooring is a small price to pay. I think I have aged dramatically in the last 6 months. I am not kidding. I will be sure to be out tomorrow when ...

Scenes from my run His Valentines day look! This weekend saw not much other than mooching about. Saturday morning I went for a run and then took kids to the mall to stack up on dvds. Just another afternoon at Casa de Mama While they devoured their movies I finished off Homeland S2 and started Damages S1. Love watching her tap! All rather civilised really. I did manage to fit in a few swims and a coffee with a friend inbetween screen time. Valentines message from my little lad. Oh...did I mention I think I need some reading specs. Tonight, while typing up a post and texting a friend I noticed my eyes felt weird. On a whim I picked up my mom's specs and put them on - it was pretty cool. I could see so much more clearly. Looking forward to finding a pair of my own. Not everyone is as excited about Valentines buzz!

Ten days ago, in a flash of madness, I registered for my first half marathon. I am not completely sure what drove me to this irrational decision but it is done. A friend posted the link to the Milkwood race on my facebook wall - she was suggesting the 10km but casually threw in that there was also a 21km 'for the crazies'.  I am the very first to admit I am hardly the s pontaneous crazy type . I am, by far, the more boring, plan it, give-me-notice type which again leaves me grasping for reasons as to WHY I went and registered for the 21km within minutes of seeing the link. I don't even LIKE road running.  I had my sights set on the Cape Point trail in November as my half debut. Then this race appeared on my radar and the terrain / route is through the most exquisite area and I decided to JUST DO IT. (thanks Nike) Here is the kicker - by committing to my Just Do It approach I actually have to run . Often. And longer. With real intent. I have a (mental) program of...

I think over the six years I have been blogging I have written about church/religion only a couple of times. Each time I have regretted it. Each time I have ended up wanting to reach into cyberspace and gently, lovingly punch someone in the face. Very unchristian ne? Very human is all. I do not even call myself a christian anymore. A follower of Christ maybe? The Christian brand is one I have spent years disassociating from which has caused several little blips in my former church-going years. Many people ask me why I left the church. The truth of the matter is that I never 'joined' the church . I developed a relationship with Christ as an tween. The done thing in those day was to go to church because that is what christians did. I always felt separate and somewhat detached from the christian culture. It felt like I was walking around in great sneakers but there was an annoying little pebble in my shoe. After many many years of doing the church dance I became an adult...

Crazy but true. I wont be moving home tomorrow. Of course not. Absa have authorised the fans until Monday. I am grateful, don't get me wrong. Ultimately none of this is in their control. That is, the fact that our screed 'appears' to still be moist and yet in other tests it comes out bone dry. Everyone is mystified. Because I seem to be the driving force and the only one with an operational brain; I suggested bringing in an engineer. Voila! I get an email in reply (within minutes) saying they have decided to bring in an engineer - like it was their idea. Doh. The truth be told I am ready to paint this floor with a moisture sealant and lay the laminate on that; that is how sure I am that this screed is ABSOLUTELY fine. Absa came back to me and said that the sealant would be for my account as this is not within the scope of the claim as if I have something to gain! I would have thought they would have been jumping for joy at seeing an end in sight to this claim; ult...

Yesterday I decided to come home for a few hours. I turned off the fans in my studio and just pottered around my space. I tinkered on my pc.  I played with my dogs. I did some washing. I decluttered a shelf in the playroom. I picked up dog poop in the yard. I boiled an egg and made myself some tea. Just stuff that I do on any given morning. I decided to give the folks some time-out from the busyness that is us. Not that they asked for it - they have been uber-gracious but the confines of the space for all 10 of us (Levi counts as 3) can become overwhelming. The weather was magic so I brought the kids here and let them go CR-A -ZEE in the garden.  Below the photo sequence is as follows: Levi suggests they play a game...he limps off and collapse around the side of  the pool. A wounded soldier or something? The girls have to save him or something? But in the end MOTHER appears with her camera and asks for a posed jump shot. Children oblige.  The...

A few years ago (2010) I started a post called What I Wore Today which became known to my regulars as WIWT. These posts were mainly for retrospective purposes, to look back one day and have a giggle or to appreciate the passage of time. After paging nostalgically though my blog books I have decided its definitely a keeper and I herewith resurrect WIWT with one of my most comfy summer looks. Shorts, halter tee and slip slops with a twist. The Shoes:  Edgars circa 2010 Many of you may recognize the slops ... I bought these in Oct 2010 while on. an anniversary weekend away ... I posted a pic of them and the overwhelming response was one of disgust . I cared not then, nor now! They still rank as one of my favourite pairs everrrrr. The Shorts:  I bought these last summer at a local chinese store. I absolutely love the cut - high in the front and discreetly long in the butt area. No bum cheek hang-age for me please. The Halter T: Given to me by Jeannes (aka Flowrsi...

Friday ended on a rare note....I decided to take my running feet for a pedicure...unlike most people I do not enjoy these. I made it very clear that she could do what was necessary BESIDES the filing part. Filing of nails, be they fingers or toes, does not happen in my world. Ever. Despite this anomaly (and much snickering from staff) my hands and feet ended up looking great. (I threw in a french mani as a reward for sticking out the pedi! ;-) Saturday started rather abruptly when my alarm went off at 0630. Sadly it wasn't to hit a mountain trail but to head down to school to handle registration for the annual big walk. I have to say that having my game face on at 0730 on a Saturday is a S T R E T C H.....particularly when I have to handle hyper-kids and grumpy parents complaining about the weather!  kids helping set up the tuckshop for after the walk Suffice to say I did a stellar job of 'smiling and waving' and then heading home by 830 and straight...

So last night I drove 2hrs (in traffic) from Noordhoek to Tygerberg so I could run for 40mins. True story. I realised as we raced to the start to make the gun that I had truly crossed over to the dark side - I go to ridiculous length to enable my running obsession. The run was an INCREDIBLE though. I have never seen that side of the world, in fact many times I have made derogatory comments about the northern suburbs but this evening I saw it in an entirely different light. I will definitely be taking the kids to the Reserve. The race was 6kms of pure insanity - either straight up to the peaks or vertical descents that required serious balance and nerves of steel. The 4km mark saw everyone walking as it was simply impossible to run such a challenging single track climb; even the walking had my HR sitting at 165! Nothing glam about me in these pics!! Eish, the hair. >_< In other news - my poor dogs are taking strain with our separation. I cannot bring them to my mom...

Yesterday was a tough day. Emotionally I just hit a wall after hearing some potentially disturbing news about our home/floors. It would seem that things may not be as simple as get moisture out and put down floors. I actually do not have capacity to talk about it right now. By Monday I will know either way and I am deciding not to fall apart. Until I need to. On Monday. This being said I really felt that jellybeans could solve all my problems. Russell outdid himself and arrived home with none other than a gourmet box set of 'beans for me.  Couple with these and my latest read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom I managed to feel vaguley human by bed time. Hopeful even. Gourmet Jellybeans! I did indicate to Russ that I was not sure I had what it took to race today. The race itself was not the problem; it was the logistical handstands I would have to do with kids to be able to get the start line by 7pm tonight (an hour away)  Getting out kit ready this morni...

We moved back in with my folks yesterday - thankfully they are happy to have us for a week while work continues at the house. (or shall I see 'wind' continues) Rach is staying with my sister so it feels really weird; almost like a limb is missing. It is quieter though...and I am thankful for the reprieve as it gives us both time to just breathe and reflect on how our relationship is going to progress. We certainly push each others buttons which is not only exhausting to us but to the rest of the family. I downloaded Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (or something like that) last night as I have been hearing echoes around this book for a week or so now. I read the first few chapters and it is intriguing to see the way people parent and observe what some deem important/appropriate. It did make me pause for a moment around the way I parent. Will keep you posted on this. We went to church on Sunday for the first time in, I dunno, YEARS. It was interesting and not unpleasant. We...

Some might remember my flirtation with hair extensions in October last year? They were a surprise for my man ... Who has been asking me to grown my hair for 10years! To be honest I simply wasn't sure it could still look good so I decided to I forgo the mission of growing it and surprise him ... With extensions ! I lasted about a week before nearly tearing my (fake) hair out with my bare hands. I just never could get used to the feel of it however I did love the look of it and resolved to grow my own. I am now in that heinous awkward stage with inbetween hair.. And it's just not fun (or attractive)  but I shall persevere ! Heavy fringe growing out...at home I clip it back...not pretty but practical!

Russ and I were up at sparrows to go and run in Silvermine this morning. I had arranged for a sitter to be here by 7am so we could avoid getting caught in the heat. Our (my) aim was to happily jaunt up to the Silvermine mast .... Yes, I know it is at the top of a mountain but I somehow thought there must be a circular, contour path that takes you up in a civilised manner. I was wrong. We ran about 1.5kms and then we rock/stairclimbed our way up for the next 45mins to get to this magnificent view. I will not lie, this was a serious challenge for me. Even walking up took some toll on this body. I had to sit and recover and also ended up with a cracker of a headache I think due to the freezing wind in my ears near the top. (it was blissfully warm lower down and freezing up top) About 3/4 of the way up I planted my bum on a rock and declared loudly 'This is NOT FUN anymore!'. At which point my ever-loving man asked if I wanted to turn back. Am sure you can imagine my re...

Books read recently: Born To Run - Chris McDougall Eat to Run - Scott Jurek Reunion - Joanne Fedler Movies seen: Rise of the Guardians I really seem to have lost my lust for movies. I would rather download or hire them. Sad but true. I will make the exception for the exceptional. Stuff like Life of Pi, Les Mis or The Hobbit. Fact is there is so much drivel out there that sifting has become the order of the day. Races Run: Cape Summer Trail Series 1 in Elgin: Lebanon Forest My niece, Sami, joined us for her first trail race  Cape Summer Trail Series 2 in Constantia Greenbelt Was great to have kids at the start/finish line at this race. Race 3 is next week in TygerValley Nature Reserve; another moonlight race but this one is bound to be a beast because of the 'run straight up the mountain' factor. The ascent is about 800m which is tough for me - I am still a newbie runner and struggle with hill endurance but certainly excited about ...