My All Time Idée Fixe

I have been feeling rather lazy of late. Posting on this blog has been on my to do list  for a while now but it has taken me this long to finally post.
Last month I took a trip home to see my family. I wasn't able to go in December and so I wanted to make up for lost time and also see my nephew who I saw when he was just a baby. I was beyond excited and the days wouldn't move fast enough. Finally the day arrived and I was off. Here are a few pictures from my trip. My nephew has grown up I tell. These kids seem to grow over night and I am sure the next time I see him he will be a whole lot different.

Just after take off. I was able to take this picture as we flew over Joburg. I like taking pictures from the air. Its a different view up there altogether.

I love this picture. Can you that meandering pattern. It must be a dry river or something. Unfortunately, we are experiencing a drought in Southern Africa and hence our rivers are running dry.

Just after landing (whew!). That is the national airline which hasn't been doing so well for a while now.

Aaah there he is. My sister and nephew arrived the next day and we went to the airport to pick them up. This picture was taken just after they had come out of arrivals. He wasn't letting anybody take him from his mama :(

One of my friends has an office which has a great view of Harare. This is what she seeing everyday. Not bad neh?

There he is - my forever idee fix. He was just a tiny baby just yesterday. Not anymore. He is now a hyper and very busy toddler.  Kept all of us on our feet the whole time.

Look at that smile. Priceless.

 Little dude wanted his freedom and all aunt wanted was to have some pictures taken with him.

Do you remember these kind of radios? I love it so much and I am planning to convince my parents to give it to me. This is a gem and you don't see such these days. 

Hey little dude. What are you on about?

Finally warming up to me. We sure had fun together. Can't wait to see you again buddy. 

I miss baby AA already. I can't wait to see him again. I hope that the next time I see him he will remember me. I see him running towards me calling out my name... well one can only dream and hope.

Hair, Babes and All Things Nice

Form the title of the post I am sure you have guessed that this post is going to be about a lot of things. I just thought 1 encompassing post was in order as it would tie everything together. Last week Wednesday I travelled to see my nephew Baby AA (finally). I was giddy with excitement and the plane wasn't going fast enough.
Before I left I agonized over my hair - what was I going to do with it. Since the big chop I have been rocking my afro - combing and trying as much as possible to be creative with my much much shorter afro. I finially decided to have a weave on so that I wouldn't have to stress about combing and styling. I gave my hairdresser Emma free reign over what she could put on my head and this is what she came up with:

Love this hair style and the way it is funky and full.

Side view. It is so bouncy and the colour ...mwah!.

In the plane on my way to see my nephew. Flying terrifies me but I always opt for the window seat because I would rather see whats out there than not see anything at all.

Just after landing. A relieved me just had to take a picture to celebrate a safe landing.

Introducing the sleeping baby AA. This little man can sure sleep. It expalins why he is growing up so fast.

Here we are again ...sleeping.

Yep, he smiles a lot when he is sleeping. I bet he dreams of angels.

Love his smiles.

Time for a bath. The little man love love loves his baths. No crying just ooows and aaaah and calmness.

Oh no, bath time over already?

This is what happens when you have a photo crazy aunty. Even when all you want to do is sleep she is kissing you or making you pose for pictures.

Mummy can you see what aunty is doing? I am not sure if I like it.We have taken so many pictures already.

Yes, of course a selfie with a sleeping baby AA.

My visit went by so fast. One minute I was arriving and the next I was already leaving. I am glad I got the opportunity to see my nephew as a baby baby. I couldn't bear to think of seeing him when he was already crawling or walking. See you soon my lovely.

Finally! What A Joy!

Remember this post. Well the waiting is over. My nephew my sister's son was born end of January. The first grandchild for my parents and it officially makes me an Aunt. I am over the moon. Welcome to baby AA. I can't wait to meet you. Aunty will be jumping on a plane soon to come and see you.

Isn't he handsome? Our little man. I knew I would be falling in love again and I have. Have been wondering, if I am feeling like this for my nephew, how will I feel when I have baby myself?

Home for the Holidays (Part 2)

Where my sister lives baboons and monkeys visit a lot. In the morning it is not surprising to be woken up by them running on the roof of the house and howling outside. If you look closely you can see one sitting on the ground and others in the tree. They are even clever enough to open the outside taps so one always has to check otherwise the water will run on and on.



Took this picture after we had come out from seeing the Falls. When we were entering there were a lot of people taking pictures by the sign so we decided to take pictures afterwards.

The mighty Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders). Pictures fail to really capture the beauty of Victoria Falls. It is mersmerizing and breathtaking. It was second time to see the Falls but I can say the first time doesn't really count because I was 7 and I hardly remember anything plus I do not even have pictures of that visit - ah well.

 

A random picture taken as we were walking around. It was so green and beautiful as it is the rainy season and the vegetation is bloomimg and the Falls really thundering.

Yep, we did have fun. This is my cousin jumping next to the Zambezi River. Those waters look real calm but the Zambezi has a lot of crocodiles so we were on the look out for them and ready to flee.

This is the bridge which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. If you look closely you will see that it is painted half way. The Zambians painted their half and left the other half (interesting).  We went near the bridge to watch the brave souls who were bungee jumping.

Here goes one such brave soul. Here they were being lifted up after the jump.

Time for lunch and we went to a Thai resturant which served some delicious dishes. We ordered many dishes to try a bit of everything. This was one of them.

Cheers to life, family, happiness, all good things and to 2015.

Home for the Holidays (Part 1)



This is the first of two posts about my travels during the festive season. I have so many pictures it was just not easy to choose a few to post here. I had to select a few pictures which summarize the whole trip.Ok, let us begin.

The car packed and ready to hit the road for the long trip to Bulawayo.

Baby E (remember him?) being strapped into his car seat. His first long distance road trip. He was so amazingly good.

We spend about 9 hours at the Beitbrdige boader and it was scorching hot. So hot that we had to undress Baby E and leave him in just his nappy. Look at him, he still managed to pose for a picture.Aaaaw.

After the long and seemingly unending journey due to the delays at the boarder there was no way I was going to proceed without resting so I slept over a a guest lodge called Shamvin run by a wonderful couple who made me feel at home.

Yep Coke goes local. These are some of the popular words in Zimbabwe on coke beverages.

 

 

A surprise awaited me at my sister's house and my was I surprised. I never expected to have a cake baked for me. Probably should visit more often ha ha.

Another cutie who I could not leave with out seing was Baby O born in August 2014 just like Baby E. Look at his tongue sticking out. My heart unfailing gets stolen each and every time.

I even managed to bake a cake for the parents when I finally got to see them. So much was done in so little time. Amazing the number of things one can do with some planning and resolve.

Next up will be part 2 of my holday in pictures in a day or two.

Happy 2015! New Year, New Happenings.

I had a hectic festive season which included a lot of road travel. I was home and I tried to see as many people as possible - family and friends who all happen to be spread all over the country. As I write this I am back in the office and exhausted but it was all worth it. Shame it is only Monday and the weekend seems so far away.

I am putting together a post/posts of everything that happened when I was on holiday and I will be posting soon. In the mean while...

Watch this space. There will be news anytime, my heart is going to be smitten all over again. Can’t wait!