I've always wanted one of these

I have yet to see this in person, but our new house (well, ours in two hours, as of April 1st!) in Berkeley has this (thanks, Max for the picture):

How cool is this - a spiral staircase! And maybe a little dangerous. . . Anyway, I can't WAIT to see it. I'll be there a week from Sunday!

Try explaining this!

Recently, I've found myself trying to explain some abstract things to Ronnie and Ben. I'm not sure they understood, but Lila seemed to get it (she did turn ONE, you know!).

First, on our way back from South Africa, we landed in Senegal for 1 1/2 hours. It happened to be 3 am on the 25th of March. I exaplained to Ronnie that she had just turned FIVE, but only in Africa, not at home yet!

This morning we were watching Sesame Street. Ben was wearing his Superman pajamas, and Christopher Reeve (post-accident) happened to come on with Elmo to do the alphabet. I tried to explain to Ben that that WAS Superman! Of course, he didn't believe me. Ben thought he was a robot, because of his breathing tube and wheelchair.

I guess I've got lots of years of trying to explaing things!

Sweet Moments with Ben

Ben and his balloon (and if you find it, please place in a trash recepticle bin!)
Ben on safari

Ben and his baby sister

Ben and his great Oupa Joey

Sure made it worth the trip (among many other things)!

No Millionaires Here

Slums and shanty towns in South Africa


Funny I should post this today, when all I did was shop and sip Dom Pedros on the beach.

By the way, is South Africa the ONLY place one can buy a Dom Pedro at every eating establishment? Has anybody out there even heard of a Dom Pedro? I have had at LEAST one every single day, and I will definitely miss them when I leave!

I won't even go into the Flake 99 ice cream cones. . .

I saw the sign

Here are some interesting signs I have found around South Africa that I haven't seen in Baltimore.

Mom and Terry at Cape Point

Addo National Park

Addo National Park

Buffelsdrift Game Park

Boulder Beach

Two tons of fun

Another game drive at Addo Elephant Park. We saw an elephant.

and then about 100 more

We were very lucky to come across two lions, and even luckier they didn't leap towards the car and bite my head off.

How cute is this baby warthog!

Hi Mr. Meerkat

Safari Time!

We went for an open jeep bush safari at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge near Oudtshoorn, city of ostriches.

Ben was patiently on the look out.

He spotted some antelope.

We came across some buffalos

Why did the giraffe cross the road?

Wildlife

So it's not the big five, but we have run into some wildlife.

Penguins on Boulder Beach

And it's mating season (chicks and eggs under the adults)!

Baboons in the parking lot, looking for boerewors

The elusive Lila overlooking Cape Point

Cheetah, or "cheetos" as Ben would say

And we enjoyed true African fare and face paint at Moyo.

Table Mountain

Up Table Mountain

On top of Table Mountain



And back down Table Mountain

And yes, the cable car just about goes straight UP and UP, over 3000 feet.

Arrived

The kids were troopers for the 26 hours of travel!

We enjoyed the local beverages on the airplane

And the view as we landed in Capetown

And really enjoyed waking up to this in the morning!

This time tomorrow. . .

This time tomorrow, we will be piling in the car to go to the airport for a two week trip to South Africa!

Maybe I should start packing for me and the kids?

Or maybe I should start stamping the last FIFTY discs I still need to get out?

Or maybe I should start the reports I promised to get in to my boss?

Can I have my hour back now?

In any case, be sure to check back, because I'll be posting pictures while we are there!

Finally

After about 5 months of winter, we were able to spend the whole day outside yesterday! It went from 30 degrees to 70 overnight. Lila really loved discovering outside!

The possibilities!

I had several more disc types made for me with a raised rim, and here is everything I have at this point.

Oh, the possibilities! If you are interested in designing a necklace with these discs, please email me at underhercharm@gmail.com. They will be added to my website soon.

Three of a Kind Thursday

I'm pretty sure it's not Thursday yet, but I checked the calendar, and it says Thursday, so I'll just go with it for now.

I remember that ALL of these pictures were taken after their first day of school, and boy, were they exhausted. Better get tough - you've got 30 more years to go (if you're like your Mommy and Daddy!).

Awww, seepy Ronnie.

Ben is pooped!

Little Lila, so tired!

Hmm, those profiles looks just a little similar to me.

Jim says it's ok

I stamp all sorts of phrases and names into jewelry. I never know what they mean, and I would never ask, but they are always inspirational - people showing off the names of their loved ones, great affirmations and motivating words. Here are some custom pieces that were shipped out today. Definite pick-me-ups!

Lucky horseshoe (in SOLID 14k gold!)


Patience, compassion, pure love and grace


Not sure about this one, but I love the camera, and the words are quite motivating!


Over a year ago, I got an order for an eternity ring that said, "Jim says it's ok." This was definitely one of my favorites! Whenever I am worried about something, I just say to myself, "Jim says it's ok."

Thanks, Jim, whoever you are!

Keeping warm

I'm NOT going to complain any more about this never ending winter, but I am going to say that my car thermometer read 14 on the way to school.

That's 14 degrees fahrenheit.



Even though I have YET to take off my hat, I was able to unfreeze my fingers, and expand my men's collection! These came out great, and will make great gift's for Father's Day.



Get them in my Etsy shop!