Day 260 - Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!

Oh boy. Heidi was wide awake at 0630 when Jenn left for work, so that makes me somewhat coherent at 0630. I laid her down on the little mattress beside the couch & she did fall back asleep for an hour or so. Harrison was up at 0730 and him & 'Tina' played quietly (relatively). Pretty soon he asked me to play Bob the Builder (Can we build it? YES WE CAN!). Then it was time to play tug of war with 'Tina'. They ran around & around & around. It was quite entertaining to watch!


After I put Heidi down for a nap, I had a quick shower. I told Harrison to stay upstairs & watch Bob. I heard a bit of banging & when I went upstairs, the sliding screen door was lying against the deck railing. Oh dear. Well, I put it back on the railing & carried on. We put on our hats & sunblock & went outside to play in the back yard. We wrote on the sidewalk with chalk, blew bubbles, dug dirt, 'mowed' the lawn & Harrison drove his red car up & down the sidewalk. Still a wee bit paranoid about my dream from the previous evening, I kept a VERY close eye on Harrison. I had the video monitor with me, so I knew that Heidi was still sound asleep! Phew!


We went inside for some lunch about 1130. Heidi woke up at 1200. I fed her a bottle until 1215 & then Harrison & I went downstairs for his nap. We read a couple of books & then he laid down on the bed, head on the pillow, waiting for me to cover him up with his blanket. After I did, he said, 'Bye!' and that was it! Lights out! What a good boy! I'm lovin' this routine thing! What a great idea!!!


Mama came home shortly after & we chilled out for a bit. Once Harrison was awake, we went to town to order some supper. YUM! We had Vietnamese & it was delicious! I was quite full after only a small portion, but it was fantastic! We looked at some photos afterwards - I am editing Jenn's wedding photos in exchange for some movies. It's a great trade! 


I packed up my things & said farewell to Harrison & Jenn & motored home. Mom was doing a photo shoot at 1930 & I wanted to help. But. By the time I arrived home, I was wiped. I unpacked my things & was headed for bed when Unka Jer showed up! Oh dear. By the time I hit the hay, it was 0200. Yes, a 20 hour day. 


Thank goodness it was a sleeping day tomorrow! I'm wiped... See you tomorrow & NOT EARLY!!! :o)
xxxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Harrison & Upside Down Tina

I tried to get Harrison to stay upside down too, but no luck!

So the other day Mike gave Harrison the bag of Goldfish & he shook the bag. There were Goldfish everywhere! Valentina thoroughly enjoyed the smorgasbord & managed to get her head inside the bag to give it a good lickin'.

Harrison chills out in the van while we wait for supper.

Day 113 - Montserrat Erupts & I Clean the Kitchen

I woke up at 0645 to bright lights & silence. Mom was up & at it & had every light in the house on. She was no where to be seen. She was at the other end of the house in her bathroom. I stumbled into the kitchen half awake & proceeded to start turning off lights until I made it back to my bedroom in darkness. Last week I told her to remember to turn out her office light when she leaves, in order to save power. I'm not sure. Maybe this is some sort of reverse psychology on living green.


In any case, I saved power until the late morning when I finally got up. My neck has been kinked the past two mornings. I'm not sure why, perhaps Valentina has me doing tricks in the middle of the night. :o)


I managed to clean the kitchen & sort out some paperwork. I called the bank to try & organize a few things, but the lady on the phone got nosy about my trip to Mexico & 20 minutes later, she learned her lesson to never ask personal questions if she's on a limited time schedule! :o) We had a few good laughs, although she didn't help my finances any!


I called a few friends today & had a wonderful chat with my friend Joanne. She is doing really well on her program & I am so happy for her! She is spending this coming Christmas in Dubai with her daughter, who recently married & now lives there. I told her Jaco wanted to spend Christmas in SA, so perhaps on my flight over I could stop in Dubai for a few days & see her! How fun would that be! Joanne has this incredible talent of making me laugh gut-wrenchingly hard. I don't know how she does it, but every time we chat, it happens. 


Today was shot no. 6. Yes, I missed a day. Yesterday was late all around & I'm paying for it today. My throat is tickling & my nose is running. Let's hope I nip it in the bud! In any case, that leaves me with only 5 shots to go! Yay!


Oh, yesterday I forgot to mention, along with my email from Jaco with the CV, I also received an email from my friend Ami. Ami was my roommate when I worked on the Coral Princess. When we met, it was a total Forrest Gump scene when I boarded the bus to go to the ship. All the seats were taken until I got to Ami. I asked if the seat next to her was taken & we were inseparable from that moment on! Ami & I used to go to the gym on a regular basis & one day I was running on the treadmill next to her & when my 20 minute stint was up, I said I was finished. She asked how far I went & I said 1.5 mi (or so).  She said, 'WHAT? You're going to quit now? But you're so close!'
'So close to what?'
'5K!'
'No, I'm only 1.5.'
'No, Silly! 3.12 is 5K!'
'Really?' I asked in disbelief.
'Yeah!'
'Oh!'


So I popped the treadmill back on & did my first ever 5K run! I was so proud! I felt such a sense of accomplishment! Ami was the first (& only) person to ever get me running. Why did I tell you all this? Well... This is the email she sent me. I'm still a puddle when I read it...

Hi cutie,

I'm running in a 10k in May in support of cancer research and I was wondering if you would be okay with me putting 4 Jill C on my shirt because I would like to run in honor of you and your fight. I'm so proud of you and how strong and brave you are and that you have stuck to your guns in regards to your treatment. Even if your name is not on my shirt I'll still be thinking of you while I'm running and using you as inspiration to get me to the finish line. Let me know what you think and let me know how you are doing. 

X

Ami

Needless to say, I've never had anyone do anything like this for me before. I feel absolutely floored. I don't stop to think of myself as doing anything out of the ordinary. I guess I feel like everyone out there who has the same thing as I do would be doing all the same things as I am! The research, the questioning, contacting survivors & trying all sorts of crazy things to make life work! I am speechless, but as far from emotionless as I have ever been! Wow. Thank you Ami - you have no idea how much this means to me!


I also heard from Jaco. Twice. I had checked his flight departure time when I got up & thought I'd already missed him. But then he called about 2 hours later. Apparently the volcano on Montserrat was erupting & the visibility was affecting flights out of Barbados. His flight got canceled. He was now on a flight at 2100 this evening. Then he calls me at 2200. That flight got canceled & he's now stuck at the airport until tomorrow morning! Poor fella! He hardly slept the night before, he won't sleep tonight & he can't sleep on a plane & he has a good 24-30 hr journey home! Worst of all, because his flights were canceled, instead of flying business class, where he could try to sleep, he's been bumped to economy! I think he needs a good luck travel charm!


Speaking of travel... I'm such a nerd! I put the new 'Who's Online?' thing on the blog & I'm so excited! I've had people all over the States, Canada, England, Norway (!), & Africa check out the blog! Yes, I know, it doesn't take much to amuse me! Thanks for giving it a read!


Alright, I'm sure there is more news I am forgetting, but I'm pooped & need to get some shuteye. Have a wonderful weekend & feel free to update me on the Olympics... I don't have TV out here & I would love to know the scoop! (Not the bad news though - I already heard that!) Go Canada Go! 


Love & Gold Medal Hugs,
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox


No pictures from today, so here's a few from SA last April. Enjoy!

Henko, Jaco's Nephew, in his new Flames jersey!

What a handsome man! I'm so lucky!

Our B&B on a citrus grove near Addo, South Africa

Grenadilla blossom