FABULOUS FRIDAY...

Day Thirty:  Gosh I am not sure how we got to day 30 but here we are.  So lastly but certainly by no means least I am thankful for technology. 

Social media allows me to not only stay on top of whats happening in the world but more importantly it keeps me in touch with what is happening in the lives of family and friends.  BBM and Whatsapp allows me to stay in touch with family and other loved ones staying overseas in a quick and inexpensive manner.

Last night I used FaceTime to talk to my cousins in Doha and on Sunday night my aunt was able to meet her granddaughter through Skype.  A couple of weekends ago I "attended" a friends wedding in Texas while staying in Pretoria through webcam.

Technology has made the world a much smaller place and on some level it has brought people together again because keeping in touch is so much easier. 

So I am thankful for technology which allows me to keep in touch, stay connected with my loved ones.

Have a Fabulous Friday and a blessed weekend...

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY...

Day twenty nine:  I am so thankful that I have been able to spoil my mom and her sisters in a small way over the past couple of days.  It really is the small things like a chocolate with coffee while laughing, taking them all out to lunch and seeing their eyes pop out of their heads at the portion sizes and sitting at their feet with a glass of wine and listening to them tell tales from their childhood....these are the moments that count.

My mom and three of her sisters

Just one of the portions of  food...this was pork chops!!

Remember: life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away!!  And with that your Thoughtful Thursday quote...

MY OTHER HAPPY PLACE...

Day twenty eight: I have so much to share with you all about the time I have spent with my family but today I want to take a moment and give thanks for my second “happy place” and that is the theater.  I LOVE all forms of theater from ballet, to plays to opera. I enjoy a good pantomime and have been known to giggle during a cabaret show or two. The theater was my home for many years, first when I danced, then when I moved into acting and directing (I like telling people what to do giving direction)and lastly as a playwright. I always sit right in front because I like to hear the "swoosh" of ballet slippers on the stage floor, I like to see the details of the facial expressions of the actors as they give their all to the audience and I LOVE to feel part of the story.  I also prefer to either see the opening performance or the final performance of run.  Opening performances are charged with nervous excitement and a final performance has an air of enjoyment, anticipation with just a hint of bitter sweet sadness.

 I currently have tickets for the following shows:

The Hurly Burly show:  which is burlesque show.  I have never seen one (only the movie with Cher) so I am really excited.

Dirty Dancing:  I was not sure about seeing this stage production of the popular movie because let’s face it Patrick Swazye is Johnny but I really am curious to see how they are going to pull of that scene where they practice the lift in the water on stage so I got tickets.

Noel and Gertie:  As most of you know, one of my celeb crushes just happens to be the incredibly talented Jonathan Roxmouth.  After his resounding success playing the role of Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera in both South Africa and Manila Jonathan now takes on the role of Noel Coward in this new stage production.  I can’t wait to see this one!! I am very excited to see Jonathan in a different role to Phantom... 

  

Be still my beating heart....

Pop up:  I am a big Nataniel fan.  Now for many he is an acquired taste but a more talented individual is yet to be born.  Nataniel writes his own songs, scripts his own shows (which are a combination of songs and stories), he cooks like a dream, writes the most amazing monthly column in a local magazine and his costumes are a vision to behold. I admit that I enjoy his smaller shows more than the big production he does each year (although I have not missed one in 9 years). I guess because they are more intimate and relaxed. I find his talent to be astounding and there is something very sensual about him that I find hard to translate into words.

THANKFUL TUESDAY...

Day twenty seven:  I am thankful for my little corner of the blogsphere.  I love my blog and I love the friends I have made through blogging.  It is amazing how often I will be working on a post idea and suddenly there will be similar posts written by the bloggers who I read regularly. “In the Meantime” has become a source of great joy to me and it is so much more than the “diary” it started out as.

I am still visiting with my family which is why my posts are brief...

THANKFUL MONDAY...

Day twenty six: I am thankful that I have the day off to spend with my mom and my aunts.  I am going to take them on a little adventure today to one of my favourite places.

Can you guess where?? 

A little clue

THANKFUL SUNDAY...

Day Twenty five: I am thankful for my happy place. If you pop in regularly you will know that my happy place is the movies.  There is something magical about the darkness, the smell of popcorn and the story unfolding on the screen which just transports me to “my happy place”.  I love going to the movies and even if the story is not very good and the acting poor I still enjoy the experience.

Last Sunday I went to watch the final installment of the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II.  At first I was not really keen on going because the reviews were mixed and I was not sure if they could do the story justice.  Also social media had been particularly quiet about the movie.  I did not have a single tweet in my TL about it and on Facebook my friends were also very reserved in their opinions. 

Boy, am I glad I went.  I really enjoy this final meeting with the sparkling vampires.  Bella finally comes into her own and comes alive, Edward has a couple of good one liners and the fight scene is done to perfection.  The makeup and special effects are really good and although the avenue pursued by the story tellers differs from that of the original book the end result is the same. 

I leave you with some of my favorite stills from the movie…

Check out that walk in closet...I just about died

Loved the eyes...

This was so funny...

THANKFUL SATURDAY...

Day Twenty four: I am thankful for extended family.  This weekend I am spending time with my mom’s four sisters and some of my cousins.  We have not all been together in about 5 years so it really is a special occasion.

FABULOUS FRIDAY...

Day Twenty three: I am very thankful for cooler weather.  After a heat wave struck us for most of this week it was wonderful to wake up to cooler temps today.  I don’t like to sweat which is why I don’t like to go to gym and in this hot weather that’s pretty much all you do.  My grandmother used to say that “Women glow, men perspire and horses sweat”…my gran would be so disappointed in me...To much information?????

 Have a Fabulous Friday and a blessed weekend.

THANKSGIVING ON THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY...

Day Twenty Two:  Today being Thanksgiving in America, I am thankful that we are given the opportunity to give thanks for all our blessing not just on a special holiday but everyday.

To all my American loved ones (both family and friends) Happy Thanksgiving. May today be a day filled with love and blessings....and turkey stuffing with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie!!

MY LITTLE G-MAN...

Last week I had the privilege of attending a fundraiser for my special G-Man..Gidion.  I shared G’s story with you all back in June when the first fundraiser was held in his honour.

We are very grateful that Gidion has had a fairly good year health wise although he landed up in hospital in July with the RS virus and Swine flu.  It was terrible to see the little guy so weak and so miserable.  It nearly broke my heart going to see him every day but seeing him also gave me peace of mind as I could see him improving with each passing day. As I write this post he is battling a bout of tonsillitis. He truly is a brave warrior!

His face brings me sheer joy. I wish I could bottle his boundless energy because boy he is on the go 24/7.  G to me represents unconditional love.  When he sees me his whole little face lights up and he reaches out and throws his arms around my neck giving me a big old hug!! In that moment I am the most special, most perfect, most amazing person God ever created!!

He can also be naughty and try his mommy’s patients.  I love the look on his face when he knows he is doing something he shouldn’t…full of mischief this one is.  I love the sound of his voice as he sings along to his favourite show on tv and I love how he says “cheers” with me over a cup of coffee.  I love how he plays with my hair.  I love that he draws all over his friends face and thinks it’s funny, I love that he is growing so tall, I love that he embraces each day as a new adventure and I love that to him I am the best version of myself!!

I wish there were words that could adequately define how much this little guy means to me but quite honestly none exist in English or in any other language. All I know is that I love him more….well….more than words can describe and that I would give my life to protect this sweet innocent little guy.

Here are some of the photos I took of our brave little G-Man at the fundraiser.

Showing me how much he loves me...

Day Twenty one: Today I am so thankful for God sending special people into my life like Gidion who teach me how to be a better person...