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.