So, there are a lot of bloggers and IG’ers doing a thankful and grateful meme this month, and posting photos every day with the things that they’re grateful for.  I decided not to partake in it… mostly because of time issues.  But today I attended Wenchy’s 11th Thanksgiving lunch that she hosts every year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in the US.  For the US readers of my blog, Thanksgiving is not something we ordinarily celebrate in SA.

Anyhoo, she throws a magnificent shindig every year, and invites her friends and family.  This year it was held at their home, and for a change I didn’t take my camera out of my bag… instead I took one photo with my iPhone. Only one… the one in this post.

Everyone gets a turn to speak.  Everyone gets a turn to say what they’re thankful for and grateful for this year.  Even Bradley spoke today… in front of all those people… and there must’ve been more than 50 people there today.  I was so proud of him

So when it was my turn to speak, my brain went to mush.  Partly because of my sinuses that have clogged up my brain waves… but anyhoo, I decided I have quite a bit that I’m grateful for, so I’ll just blog it instead.

1.  I’m grateful for my husband and kids who let me think up crazy ideas and just go with them.  Like jumping off buildings.  Seriously… this is what I said!! LOL!

2.  I’m grateful that I’ve been able to tell the stories of so many people this year.  Seriously… and that’s the only other thing I said today… crazy hey?!

And this is what I should have said… I’m grateful that…

1.  My husband and kids let me dream up crazy things to do… and let me do them.  Lance does smile, and sometimes shake his head, but he never tries to stop me.

2.  I have so huge supporters in my husband and parents for my career issues that I’m having this year.

3.  I can live out my dreams

4.  I’ve been able to tell Kathy’s cancer story

5.  I’ve been able to show the love between so many people this year

6.  The dogs are calmer and not so looney anymore and my garden is starting to recover from their puppy phase

7.  Friends in my computer who send me the most awesome emails just to let me know that they’re thinking about me.  They read between my blog lines so very well.  You know who you are

8.  Friends who let me just sit at parties now and don’t expect me to take my camera out all the time… they understand that I need the timeout

9.  Connor who is growing up and so very cute, and so very maddening.  and who ever so often says… “Mommy wouldn’t that be a nice photo, get your camera out”

10.  Bradley who is still the gentlest soul… but who fights in a very ugly way with Connor at times (hopefully this stops soon)

11.  My mom who picks the kids up every single day from school and does the afternoon mad rush with extramurals etc

12.  Lance telling me when something I’m wearing doesn’t look good.  He’s normally right

and finally… that our little family is healthy.

I found this YouTube clip posted on my sister-in-law’s (Nicole) Facebook wall, and then my mom noticed that one of my images had been included, so I had to share it.

My image was taken at Connor’s birthday party (link to the party), not sure if you remember… Fiona’s son Ethan had got injured in the pool, and thankfully Carl and Nicole were there and called ER24 or else we would have really damaged him. Wow that video brought back lots of memories from that eventful day.

ER24 asked me a few days later if they could use images from the day, which is why they had it (and Fiona agreed).

It’s quite a video actually… the guys in emergency services in South Africa all deserve medals

I did a list with Connor’s favourite things a few days ago, and here are Bradley’s current favourite things…

TV programme:  Star Wars
iPhone App:  Words with Friends… yip, that’s right… if you’re playing against me, you actually can’t be sure whether Bradley has made the last move or me.  As soon as he notices that it’s my turn, he makes a beeline for the app.
Meal:  homemade hamburgers
Fruit:  the only fruit he eats is watermelon and naartjies… and if we’re lucky an apple every now and then
Vegetable:  potatoes and carrots and broccoli
Breakfast:  chocolate pronutro with warm milk which he now makes himself
Drink:  vanilla flavoured milk
Drinking yogurt flavour:  strawberry
Sweets:  This week it’s an Aero chocolate

Chips/crisps:  plain salted Lays or salt and vinegar chips
Toy:  Lego and action men
Colour:  blue
Something that happened yesterday: He’s starting to read Afrikaans books, and now gets one Afrikaans book a week to read as homework.  It’s quite funny to hear him try and pronounce the words, and I’m sure that Lance now regrets the decision to not let them be bilingual at home.  Bradley is so keen though, but it’s not easy to relearn the way that letters sound in a word… especially when he’s only recently learnt how to spell comfortably in English.

I saw this on Cat’s blog, and decided to do it too.  It’s always a good idea to remember what the boys like at various points in time.

TV programme:  Star Wars
iPhone App:  Pet Zoo, he’s obsessed with checking to see whether he has to pick up rubbish in the animal enclosures and whether there’s enough money to buy more animals
Meal:  Spaghetti bolognese
Fruit:  grapes and strawberries.
Vegetable:  broccoli
Breakfast:  Squillos if I let him
Drink:  At the moment vanilla flavoured milk
Drinking yogurt flavour:  Granadilla
Sweets:  Anything with sugar
Chips/crisps:  Tomato fritos or those prawn chips from Woolies
Toy:  Anything that looks like the Star Wars weapons, and Lego men
Colour:  blue
Something that happened yesterday: Last night, he got hold of my phone to check on his zoo, and hid under the diningroom table to play. It was bath time and he wasn’t listening, so I shouted at him to get in the bath. I heard him run and assumed he had gone to the bathroom, but soon realised it was too quiet. So I went looking for him. Neither Lance nor I could find him anywhere. We checked in all the usual places, under the beds, in the cupboards, behind the curtains and in the other shower. Nothing. As I was walking back through my bedroom for the 3rd time, I noticed the laundry basket move ever so slightly. He was inside!! As quiet as a mouse! It’s amazing how long he’ll stay in a dark cramped space just to hide from everyone!  There was no way I could shout at him after that… I was too impressed.

This is Day 16 in the 30 truths for 30 days meme

Tequila.

I try my damndest not to have it when I go out.  If anyone is offering, I disappear very quickly.

I can’t handle it, the mere smell of it makes me queasy.

The problem with it stems back to a time pre-Lance, when I was at varsity.  I had this car accident you see, and I was in a neck brace, and on anti-inflammatories and painkillers.  And the guys I was in the accident with decided to take me out to say sorry, because I was the only one hurt.   So we went to this club in Fourways Mall, and the band that was playing had a competition seeing who the loudest group in the place… and we got the prize (the 3 of us, thinking back now it was probably a sympathy thing because I was in a neck brace, but anyhoo).

The prize was a bottle of tequila.  Which we then finished.

I still can’t drink any of it!! That happened about 18 years ago!

This is Day 12 in the 30 truths for 30 days meme

Weirdly enough, this is the post I’ve been thinking about for days.  Because I have NOTHING to write.

I love music, and all that, but I’m pretty, no, scratch that… completely useless with artists and the like.

So I can’t think of one.

There are songs from my childhood that are memorable for various reasons, but not enough for me to write a letter to the artist about.

Don’t you also get flash backs of memories when you eat or even just taste certain things?

That happened to me this morning, and in fact happens every time I eat Otees cereal.

Otees’ cereal is one of Connor’s favourite type of cereal, and I had a few while I was getting his breakfast ready this morning.  Not the fancy strawberry or chocolate flavoured one, just the plain one.

Just the taste of them sets off my memories.

I immediately remember being on holiday, as a child, at my grandmother’s house in Harare, Zimababwe.  I thought it was a huge treat to eat that type of cereal when we visited her that time (no idea when that was, but I’m sure my mom will give the answer in the comments to this post). I loved it, the cereal that is

And every time I eat it now, I immediately picture myself eating them in her diningroom.  I also remember the cuckoo clocks, and the kitchen, and the enormous garden with big trees… and the private road that they lived on, that for some reason fascinated me.

Isn’t it funny how such a simple taste can bring back so many memories?

I think I need a new toy.

This time, I think I need a video camera.  I don’t want a big one.  I want one that I can easily post stuff on the web with.  It has to be funky.  It has to be small and compact.  Something like this one…

It has to be better than the crappy video camera on my Blackberry that’s a mission and a half to get the videos off. I took this video of Connor last week, thought he was cute and wanted to share him… and only managed to get the video off today… and post it today… I know it’s slack!! And it’s crap quality… but hell, he’s still cute!

PS.  It’s my birthday next month

Every single little girl grows up learning about the gracefulness being a ballerina.

Every single little girl, at some point in her life, yearns to dance.

Every single little girl wants to wear a tutu and a tiara and prance around on tippy toes and dance to her hearts content.

Every single little girl dreams of dancing to audiences on a stage and getting praise and applause for being beautiful and graceful and perfectly girly.

Dancing to me, is an essential part of growing up.

Dancing is an essential part of human culture.

I got the link to the Save the Cape Town City Ballet site yesterday, and I think it’s a crying shame that the company is not getting the funding that’s needed to develop and bolster all the little girls in Cape Town’s dreams of being a ballerina.

Basically the Ballet company will close down if it doesn’t receive urgent funding.  We cannot let that happen.

I don’t have a little girl, but I have a niece.  A little girly girl, who learnt to walk on her tippy toes, before she walked on flat feet.  She has just turned 3, and is forever twirling and dancing and prancing around.  The thought of her not being able to go to that prestigious company, if she ever gets that good, just because a few bureaucrats were shortsighted, makes my blood boil.

So, lets all pull together to do something about it.  Please tell your companies.  Please tell your colleagues.  Please tell your friends.

If you donate something, you also stand a chance to win one of the following:

• One of 5 sets of double tickets to the Poetry In Motion Gala Event, to be
  held at Artscape Opera House on Sunday, 9 May 2010 [ More info ... ]

• 24 Bottles of wine, kindly donated by Michael Oliver, along with 3 signed
  copies of his books.

• A magnificent poster-size photographic print from Cape Town City Ballet’s
  current photographer, Pat Bromilow-Downing.

Please use the reference JV1 for your donations:

Cheques should be made out to:
CAPE TOWN CITY BALLET and posted to
PO Box 94, RONDEBOSCH 7701

For direct internet transfers:
Bank: NEDBANK
Account name: CAPE TOWN CITY BALLET
Branch code: 123 209 (Please note: Some banks will require 2 extra 00′s at the end, eg. 123 209 00)
Account no: 123 200 8842
Reference: Name + Reference Number (JV1)

If you make a donation, please send an email to win@savecapetowncityballet.co.za and with details of  your name,
contact details and the amount donated. All emails received will be placed into a
random draw, to be held on Tuesday, 4 May 2010.

Laura posted a challenge on Female2Female today to blog about your first day of school.

Well, quite apt, considering it was Bradley’s first day in Grade 1 today.

Not that I can remember the day at all… and it looks like my mom only has a school photo from that year, and not from the first day.

The only thing I can remember from my early school days is Mrs Orsmond.  She was my favourite teacher, and used to read us stories while perched on the edge of her desk eating rose petals!

Seriously, that’s the only thing I remember