Christmas 2008

Seems as though this year, Christmas came and went so quickly. As I get older, I realize more and more that the magic of Christmas is for children. For some reason, every year I expect to have that feeling of anticipation as the 25^th gets closer, and every year I am dismayed that I don’t get that feeling anymore.

Anyhoo, it’s still a glorious time, with everything pushing you towards spending time with the fam, spreading “good cheer” and all the songs that remind us of Jesus’ coming – being broadcast over international tv, radio and whatever other form of media you can think of – wonderful.

Now, I must say, being in the States for Christmas has certainly made it more exciting. IT’S COLD OUTSIDE! And the songs that are about it being cold outside are actually applicable! This year especially, it has been very cold outside, with a big storm dumping snow on all the surrounding mountains – what a spectacular sight!

Here are a couple of things we did this festive season:

We picked out a Christmas Tree

FUEL youth group Christmas Party

We created our first Christmas greeting card series. That was fun.

We entered a Christmas patio decorating contest and won 2nd place. Kudos to Natalie and Victor for lending their patio.

We spent Christmas Eve at Nat & Vic's place. Don't know why I didn't take any photos of people, sorry for the poor documentation.

And then, on Christmas day, we drove out to Ridgecrest (which is out by Death Valley - and yes, it looks as bad as it sounds) to spend the day with Jono's aunt and uncle, cousins and grandparents. That was fun. On the way we drove by a little town called Johannesburg.. i'd like you to notice the population size.. not quite as big as the one in South Africa. The town following that one was called "Randsburg" - what a coincidence? 

And so, our Christmas festivities have come to an end. I thought the following pictures depict the end of the season well. poor little gingerbread man. 

Santa Barbara ... more than just a soap opera

Santa Barbara was a Soap Opera which was produced in the early to mid eighties. However, it only aired in South Africa during the mid nineties. Now, i am no soap-opera-watcher, but this particular program would come on roundabout 2.30pm which was exactly when i would get home from school, make myself a snackwich, and plop down in front of the tv to have lunch.

Every now and then I would get sucked in. I always thought that this was an extremely cheesy show, and that anyone who seriously followed it must have an IQ of 20... this might be applicable to LOST followers too... that one was for Frank ;)

WEll, this blog serves the purpose of letting everyone out there know that Santa Barbara the soapie does not do ANY justice to Santa Barbara the place.

I surprised Jono for his birthday this weekend by booking a hotel in Santa Barbara without telling him. I am sooo chuffed with myself (and others) for not blowing the surprise, and it was completely worth it when i made "that wrong turn" and Jono starting cottoning on!

The place we stayed at was called "Hotel Oceana", a beautiful newly renovated place right on the water's edge. We had an ocean view room, and were so thrilled with the atmosphere of the place. The decor reminded me of Cape Town's style, which made me happy.

We had a very relaxing afternoon, as we lay in bed and watched random movies aswell as the clouds rolling in over the water (Our first big "storm" of the winter hit this weekend). This morning we awoke to a most fascinating sight. The beach that our room overlooked was covered with pelican - REAL pelican! We couldn't believe our eyes! Of course, Jono being Mr.adventure, had to run down and investigate which led to the following:

See how peaceful they look?

Not for long!

Bye-Bye Birdies!

Overall we had such a great time in Santa Barbara. A few words to sum this place up: quaint; karaktervol; peaceful; beautiful; seaside bliss; historical; scenic; hilly; delightful; magical.

And now a few more pics of our time there:

Our perfect little room

The view from our room

me, a little too excited about the fun wallpaper

The view from our room at sunset

View of the pelican from our room

The fish place we ate at

That's our hotel in the background, our room on top, left

On the way home... now that's california for you

The Aventine

The Aventine Apartments is where we live. It's a wonderful complex, featuring such amenities as: A 24hr gym, a beautiful pool and hot tub, free christmas tree removal, complimentary monthly sunday brunches, contests for best seasonal decorated patio  - winnings to the worth of $100, and endless amounts of parking - no worries of getting towed either!

And as if all this is not enough, I come home yesterday to a note slipped under the door : a birthday card for Jono, from no other than the Aventine!!

Unbelievable. I love the Aventine.

South American .. Really?

Do I look south american to you... nope, didn't think so! For some reason the trader joe's check out lady seemed to think so. Perhaps she didn't hear me correctly when I said "South Africa". Or perhaps she thought, as many other americans do, I might add, that it would be too ridiculous that South Africa could even BE a country, and that I must be terribly mistaken. And so, she fills in the gap and says :"Do you eat turkey in South America?"

I smile, and say:"no, we don't".

Why 2 Spoons?

So glad you asked!

The words "two spoons" have been on Jono and my lips quite a bit recently, since we decided to name our semi-non-existent production company just that : 2 spoons productions. We have had a couple of enquiries of late pertaining to videos, and have decided to have a  go at having our own little production house, but this is besides the point.

Why two spoons?

Jono and I met in Kalk Bay, South Africa, which is a beautiful suburb south east of Cape Town. It has a strong british fisherman's town atmosphere to it, with cobble stone roads, being right on the oceanside and steep slopes leading up to the Table Mountain range. It's beautiful! The architecture of the buildings takes you back to the turn of the 20th century and brings nostalgic thoughts to mind - even though you haven't even live din that time!

We went to a small video production school a few feet away from the ocean. I tried not to pay much attention to Jono at first, as I did not want to be distracted by boys whilst at school, however, our friendship started to grow, and we started spending more and more time together.

We found that evenings were the best time to chat, and we always seemed to be hungry around that time. So, we would ravage the kitchen in search of something tasty to eat. It always came down to breakfast cereal... All Bran cereal.

Now, when it comes to eating cereal, you gotta have the right spoon. You know, the kind that has just the right balance and weight when you hold it in your hand. 

Being at a type of boarding school, the cutlery was extremely jumbled and none of it matched... EXCEPT for two spoons that were a set. These spoons were perfect - the right weight, shape and form.

Jono and I would seek out these spoons every night as we sat and talked about random things deep into the night. These spoons became a symbol of our friendship and growing love for one another.

Jono would later "take" these spoons from Media Village and use them in his proposal to me.. an incredible story that will be blogged about someday..

These spoons now hang framed in our kitchen - a constant reminder of how faithful God was in bringing us together and blessing us with such sweet memories.

And now, these spoons have contributed to the name of our new baby: the little production company. A passion we have shared since first meeting. 

I wonder: "In what ways these spoons will continue to be woven into our story?"

FUEL!

WEll, for those of you that don't know, Jono (my husband) is the youth director at Kingsfield Church. 

Every wednesday night we have youth group, namely FUEL.

I can remember my first wednesday night at Fuel. I was petrified. I was so intimidated by all the high school students, and didn't even know where to start in building friendships with them. This culture, this american culture, had been so familiar to me all my life being exposed to American film & television. But once I was faced with it in a tangible way, I didn't know how to bridge the gap.

I remember Kelly Pike (now Kelly Hooker) being the most friendly and really doing her best to make me feel welcome. I remember calling Camyron Carmen, and being very aware of the fact that I was pronouncing Aubree's name as ORE_bree, and not AWWW_bree. 

I remember Carrie organizing root beer floats as a welcome gesture to me. Which, as soon as I took one sip of "Root Beer", I wished I hadn't! Sorry Carrie, I appreciate the gesture though! very thoughtful.

It's amazing to me how God has worked in my own heart, and given me tools to reach out to these students. I LOVE THEM!

During my recent visit to South Africa I became so aware of how much I missed them and of all the things I hope for their future. 

We have seen great things through this youth group & church, and have shared many tough times together. I am so grateful for the people God has brought into our life. Once again, I realize the beauty of the Church.

Here are some pics to showcase a little bit of FUEL:

ps, I tried to add more pictures, but can't figure this blog thing out, and I don't know why this font is underlined right now either. If Frank and Carrie knew about the blog, I would just ask them, but I can't. bummer.

How did they know??

Yesterday , during our staff meeting, Norman and Frank start harrassing me for not having a blog (even though I DO have one now!).
Here's the shocker: Norman says :"Why don't you start one secretly and not tell anyone?"
I couldn't believe it! How did he know? I questioned Jono later, but he said that he had not leaked one bit of information..

I plan to get to the bottom of this... without blowing my cover hopefully!

Don't tell Frank..

So,

After many months of persistent, persuasive tactics of Frank Sanchez, Carrie Allen and others, I've decided to start a blog.

My plan/reasoning:

1. To give this a go as long as it intrigues me

2. To post as many posts as possible before Frank finds out.

3. Perhaps this is good way of staying in touch with friends from SA and other marvelous places around the world.

So, here we go.. I've taken the plunge!