Two nights ago, I was sleep talking. I dont do this very often so I didnt think to warn my hubby of this. So I guess I woke him up with something like-o my goodness babe. And while pointing at the wall palm up all fingers engaged in the pointing action proceeded to explain to him non sense which went something like-you really have to watch the metal things cuz when they leak they ruin things. He thought i was saying the walls were wet so he turned on the flash light to investigate my ridiculous claims. Then i rambled something else that he couldnt remember. I officially woke up to him saying-i dont know what you are talking about- in a most irritated manner. My hand was still in the palm up pointing position. I, now awake, was confused at what my husband was getting irritated about. To which he described what had just happened. Then i was all- o ok i was sleep talking, that happens every once in awhile. Then i got the giggles cuz non sense and that kind of confusion makes me laugh, hence my love for threes company. It was about three am and hubby had to get up in two hours for work. I continued to have the giggles until i fell back asleep. The kind of giggles where you are in grade ten and your friend just did something silly but you try hard to hold the laugh in to keep from getting in trouble from teacher giggles. But hubby still heard my laugh. I asked why he was not laughing. To which he said-my brother used to do it all the time- plus he was probably annoyed to be woken to confusion two hours before having to get up for a twelve hour shift. He laughed a little about it last night with me. I still find it amusing today.

A quickie

I've been enjoying the basic culinary pleasures of old. Pure creamy butter spread on fresh handmade cinnamon bread, washed down with full cream milk. This is the milk they talk of in the scriptures! You know, land of milk and honey. My BFF and I discovered that honey while back packing Europe four years ago- my uncle's home made honey from his own bees. We sure indulged in that honey. It was so delectable that we took a very big risk by hiding it in our suitcase to smuggle home. And now I've found the milk to match. I'm not even suppose to have dairy. Not lactose intolerant but as an A blood type, dairy is not beneficial. All this is thanks to my B blood type husband- dairy is tres good for him.

Comparisons

In life you are taught not to compare as to avoid disappointment. But we still do it. Here are a few so to help paint a picture of life here.

Shopping- I wanna start with the Pick and Pay as we frequent it alot. Its a chain grocery store. Its like an Extra Foods except with much better decor. This chain also has separate pharmacies and clothing stores. Checkers is another grocery store. But its more like Save On. Their house brands are the cheapest of all stores and they have the better meat selection. I would like to interject a little something about turkey meat. It is VERY difficult to find. And if you do stumble across it, it is either a smoked leg or a whole frozen bird! Luckily ostrich meat is plentiful and you know my love for it, too bad it is expensive so we eat beans interspered with a steak here and there. Chicken is bad news man-ill treatment of the birds, hormone injections and antibiotics! No thanks! Wow i digress. Ok, Makro is pretty much Costco minus free samples and a produce section. O and the membership card is free. We go once a month. The Crazy store is like our dollar stores. Game is like Wal-mart. Infact, there is talk of wal-mart buying out the game chain here. Does this mean wal-mart is coming to africa? Doubt it, they'll just get the profit from Game and take away from the economy here. And finally, I wish to mention Wool Worths. This one is not to be confused with the K-mart type chain we had in the 80's. Its like a Marks and Spencers in England. Kinda like the Bay except there is a food mart. Rich people shop here. Not at all like the caliber of K-mart shoppers back in America!

Products-I will admit they are a bit dated with some products available. When I walk down the beauty aisle, I feel like I've taken a trip back in time. Salon Selectives? I havent seen that since I was an avid reader of Teen magazine! And Exclamation? Really? That ghetto fragrance is still around? I am proud to announce, I own a bottle of VO5 conditioner:) Most products are the same as what you would get in Europe. Nivea has a hold of the beauty market here, which I love. An honorable mention goes to custard in a box! O this is genius folks and not sure why no one thought to have it mainstream in Super store back home! Liquid goodness you pour on a cake or something to give it a vanillay moist quality that lasts until the cake is gone.

Gas companies are different except that giant corporate money maker-SHELL. Car makes are different, not the big names like Toyota or VW but the makes like there alot of Polos and Tazzs here. Obviously no Dodges or Fords tho. Probably cuz american cars are never made with the steering on the right hand of the car:)

There are lots of malls. Fancy, regular and ghetto. I like the word ghetto:) used the most ghetto toilet on wed in the train station. Most stalls didnt have doors and you had to pay for toilet paper. I didnt cuz i guess they took pity on my accent when i worriedly inquired where the TP was. I think all countries that charge to use the toilet should be slapped. This money grab encourages public urination! Who wants to pay to sit and pee?! Seriously! Anywho, Lots of movie theatres but the movie releases are two months behind. Going to see Eat Pray Love next week. It came out beg of month. The thing I dont like about the movies here is you have to select your seat when buying the ticket. Thats too restricting for me. I dont wanna be attached to row 22 seat e. What if a big head is in front of me? We dont have cable in our flat-which is fine so my notes on tv is limited. They have one comedy a night. I watch the Big Bang Theory which is quite funny! Also their reality shows are behind a couple seasons. The survivor that just finished was Fans vs Favorites where Parvoti won the first time.

I have to briefly tell you about gov offices. Its like walking into an office circa 1986. Decor, equipment, organization, and speed of service! Patience is key when living in Africa.

So there are some comps to paint a little pic for you. I love the differences tho! That is what makes it so dang cool to be here. Will discuss those another day as my thumb is sore from bloging on a phone!

Cleaning the closet

So we ended up cleaning out my husband's old clothes from the closet. Yesterday. On our one month anniversary. LOL. Dont worry, it was only an hour of the day and it was so FUN! This is the stuff in life you remember-normal little chores made fun together. There were a couple suits that are dry clean only and technically clean but had a slight musty back of closet smell. So i was the one who would spray the enzyme freshener spray and hubby held the suit for me. Ok, normal task. Example of what made it fun and memorable- When it was time to spray the back of it i would foolishly say turn around to which my goofy man took the opp to turn himself around, not the suit like i intended. To which i took the opp to pinch his most perfect bottom and the antics would contine from there. At one point, we were giving each other piggy back rides around the room-not sure how that even developed! I think it had to do with reaching the high shelf? There was one suit that was particularly hideous-white with black pin stripes! I was adament he get rid of it. Eventually he gave in to my pleas and verbal fashion essay and he agreed to sell it. Sure, why not. There must be some pimp from the thirties out there. Its a right of passage for bachelors who enter marriage-get rid of something they think is great but the wife strongly disagrees. He was a good sport about it and I was not mean about it either. The whole 'chore' was fun with jokes and goofy moments! We went out for ostrich ribs after and they were succulent and divine as usual! Pork ribs aint got nothin on ostrich ribs. Bonus is they are cheap! Equiv of less than ten dollars for a big plate including fries! No wonder this country is the third fattest in the world.

One month anniversary:)

So its been one whole month. You know, its true. Time goes quickly when you are having fun. Like take July. That month slowly crawled by as it was not fun. But this month went zoom! I really am blessed to be married to this gem of a man-no, REALLY! He is so good to me and kind to all mankind really. He is so patient, hard working, fun, up for new adventures, thoughtful, etc, etc, etc. I cant do his true goodness justice with mere words. He is my example and I want to always be a better person because of him. Please note, we are human and have normal little disagreements and I'm not living in some newly wed bubble. I just have a true appreciation for this good man that is my beloved husband:) We have lovely date plans today and I'm VERY excited to spend quality fun time with him:) We have a date night once a week but this one will be a bit special. As a side note, last week was our free date night. Every second week we do something fun that doesnt cost money. Anyways, we went for a two hour walk along Sea point and we sure did hold hands the whole time. It was so fun to just chat, be silly, make jokes, tell stories. Free dates are fun dates too. I'm excited to go out for ostrich ribs tonight tho! Yum!

Driving

So i went for my official first drive in traffic last evening. The old car is a very easy standard which is nice. Keeping left was fine as i was usually in the left lane back home due to my natural need to speed. Now, sitting on the right hand side of the car was a bit unusual at first but i'm over it now. Here's the embarassing part-i can no longer differentiate between a left turn and a right turn! Everytime my husband said turn left, i was all o my gosh, which way is left?! I'm not stupid and i obviously know my right hand from my left but when i get behind the wheel here in the southern hemisphere i draw a total blank! The only thing i can chalk it up to is when i hear turn left, i think cross lanes of traffic like back home. Its hard to describe this accurately. Its like trying to do something you have done amazingly for YEARS but do it while looking in a mirror. I feel backwards. Its a small mental block that is getting better slowly as my drive this morning went better and started to feel more natural. All things new or different take some getting used to ;)

Life after the big events

Now that the wedding, reception and honeymoon are last weeks history, life is nice. We got a fridge last week when we got back from the honeymoon. Owning a big appliance really makes me feel like a grown up. Only two more things that could make me feel like a full fledged adult and that would be having kids and owning a home. And no i'm not pregnant so dont bother to ask-ever, ok? I'll let you know when it happens:) So my days as a housewife are grand. I am my own boss which is how i like it. I'm up before eight am and do some kind of cleaning each day-why do all the chores in a full day if you dont have too? Like today, i vacuumed. Tomorrow i do the bathroom, next day is laundry-which by the way is and all day event with taking the dirty clothes down to the machine then hanging them to dry then checking on them an hour later to see who is dry and who needs more time on the line. Another part of my day is exercise-i still have more weightloss goals to accomplish. Another part is something i like to call kitchen creation time. Yesterday, i created a freaking yummy african chick pea stew with ugali-its like polenta but better. They call it pup here. My husband was so impressed with how great the pup turned out. But really, everything i make he says that is his favorite. And a very moist banana chocolate chip bread. Also i take some time to learn something each day. I really need to get going with some kind of gardening soon-i'm chomping at the bit on that one. Tonight we are going to another couples house for dinner and FHE. Lastly, i got a calling yesterday-first councillor in primary. Lately, i'm always called to primary. Clearly something i need to learn. Probably patience as there are a couple kids who act like they have ADD, which is a frustrating challenge for me. But i guess i better learn quick or i'll forever be in primary.

Ps. There is a crazy lady who lives up stairs. She will spend a whole day yelling and swearing and arguing at nobody and she slams on the floor alot. And she takes a moment to let the word die in one steady scream. Her face looks like its been thru years of hard drugs. And she sweeps random things off her balcony.

A quick intro via mobile network

Ok, so i'm using my phone to do this. I have written out the first week details nicely but i need to put it on the memory stick and take it to the cafe. . . Someday soon that is. In the meantime, here are some highlights. We just got back from the honeymoon and i'm waiting for boo to go over some files for his new job and seeing as i'm sitting here in the office waiting, i shall make use of my time. I shall start with the 22nd as the previous will be posted soon. We flew out at 630am and the flight was smooth. Joburg made me think of philly in the 70s, not that i'd ever been to philly but from movies thats the vibe i got. Temple housing is super nice, better than alot of hotels i've stayed at. There was confusion with our booking-they screwed up but made us feel bad which was weird for me. But there was a whole group from zambia that they also screwed up their booking too and they made them feel bad as well. Then there was more confusion with the endowment session. He went thru three hours earlied than scheduled. Then the temple workers were all why dont you get married today instead of tomorrow. Sure, why not! So i guess you could say we eloped:) we were there for three nights and it was nice:) the flight home was ok until landing when the pilot descened too quickly and the pressure change almost burst our ear drums! O, i forgot to mention that i had the flu and lost my voice from coughing too hard. Ok, my thumb hurts from using t9 so i'll continue next time at a comp:)

Coming Soon

These posts will start after Sept 16th...stay tuned!