Deck the Halls.....and so on!

Finally, Christmas has come, and Christmas has gone. A time of family, of love, of peace and, of course, loads of presents and overeating! But, in this time of happiness and sharing, something struck me as odd. Something that I expect every year, but it still baffles me. The Christmas Rush. Large amounts of people who sit around thinking to themselves "I know I'm forgetting something....."

Then they suddenly remember, it is the 23rd of December, Christmas is almost upon us and they haven't bought a single gift yet! Which then results in a stampede to the malls. Usually I'm not part of this stampede as I believe in doing my Christmas shopping early. Usually around February, or thereabouts. But suddenly a trip to the local hypermarket to buy a bottle of milk turns into an hour long struggle filled with frustration, bumped ankles, multiple obscenities in all 11 official South African languages (and some in Klingon or Romanian) and very frayed nerves.

I have come to realise that this last minute Christmas Rush causes a larger panic in the general population than being told that Justin Bieber has (unfortunately) decided to release yet another unnecessary album. Or a new lady's perfume. (Which I am convinced he wears himself) It is the only time that the normally hypnotic strains of Boney M's Christmas songs, which turn us all into people hugging Christmas zombies, are defeated by the sheer panic of last minute gift shopping!

So maybe I can make a difference! Maybe I can inspire people! Maybe I can convince the masses to be prepared! To save up and do their shopping early. To be proactive and get it done so that they too can sit back, relax and enjoy the Christmas spirit! Or I would, if they could hear me over the sound of the stampede......

I Thank Thee!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen! Lend me your ears! Or your eyes, in this case. I want to thank everyone who cast their vote for my blog from the bottom of my heart. And the middle. And possibly the top! Your votes mean a lot. The chance for voting draws to a close today, and I am simply overwhelmed by the response I received! Thank you all!

Look Who's Talking

Our little angel is developing so quickly! I am amazed at how much she has grown in four months. I regularly ask my lovely companion if she's adding Miracle Grow to the kid's formula. The latest is her conversations. She would have massively long conversations with us, or with a stuffed animal, or one of our pets, or a pretty lampshade. Or pretty much whatever object enters her field of vision. But most of the time her conversations go something like this.....

We have no idea what she's saying! She could be commenting on the weather, or the state of her nappy. She could be sharing mind-boggling truths about the universe and the meaning of life, or just airing her opinion on baby products. And she has now started doing this pretty much whenever her eyes are open. The other night we had a rather severe thunderstorm. Which doesn't phase her much, by the way. To her it is probably a pretty light show, with some very life-like sound effects! Needless to say the thunderstorm woke her up. She then spent the next half an hour telling us all about it. Loudly. In the middle of the night. While we were desperately trying to get some sleep.

She has also managed to figure out quite quickly what cellphones do. Every time my mother-in-law calls my lovely companion, our little angel will start looking at the phone and then start asking for her turn to speak to grandma. One of these days she's going to probably want a phone of her own....

But, you know what? I love our little angel to bits! And I love watching her develop, even if it is apparently happening in fast forward. At this point she has us firmly wrapped around her adorable little finger.......

And So It Begins!

Today is the day! The voting for the 2013 SA Blog Awards is officially open! If elected, I promise to provide free entertainment, a weekly dose of perspective (which may be slightly weird, because it's my perspective), and other unusual, miscellaneous and amusing services. Unlike the political parties in South Africa, I do not promise free housing, free washing machines, free BMWs, free education and free grilled cheese sandwiches. I just promise to keep sharing my unique opinion every week, for as long as you'll have me! Viva!