The Wondrous Wandering Tornado

  Season's Greetings and all that! Holy heck it is 2023! Well, most of January has passed but I have been busy plus who expects a new year's combined past year reflection post almost at the end of January?! Exactly. No- one. And you are welcome. I am one of the few that didn't think 2022 wasn't all that bad, in fact, there were fantastic moments that I am grateful for and they far outshone the bad times. I wouldn't normally do a full year in review like this but given that it's good to be reminded of a good year and all that entails, this seemed like the best way for me to start off 2023. The year started off the back of a memorable Xmas spent in Mosselbaai then home for a New Year's braai to really bring in 2023. It was also the time when we found out that we needed to seek the services of a fertility clinic to help us grow our family. We also decided that as things were a tad safer COVID-wise that we could set a date for a Big Fat Indian Wedding and start

  Gender reveal! Yes, we are having a boy and we are just thrilled to be having a healthy baby regardless of gender. It has been a long journey and we are almost there!  I just hit the 6-month mark and entered the Third Trimester so it was time to update you on my Second Trimester experience. The second trimester of pregnancy is called the Honeymoon Period for a very stupid reason. It is assumed that you have extra energy during this time and no morning sickness. Your energy levels indeed start to increase noticeably because you find yourself NOT passing out constantly but that doesn't mean you are suddenly so full of energy that you can whizz around getting so much done without repercussions! The second trimester brought with it a host of extra symptoms, each week I added one or two to the list.  I had to have a noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) done, sometimes called noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS). It is quite a thorough and amazing test used to check for any abnormalities

  I am a month overdue with this post because I was able to get a lot of writing work but also had a lot of family commitments and being pregnant is hard. Hopefully, I can get another post out this month to keep you busy reading. The Husband and I got registered with a small ceremony in our backyard on 22 April 2021, because of COVID. We wanted to start a family and waiting was not an option anymore. We had always planned on two weddings to celebrate the occasion with friends and family in Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town. Covid stopped a fantastic wedding proposal in Prague but we still had an epic one that incorporated a beautiful hike and the Husband making The Luggage and engagement ring. So it ended up being less expensive and more us. It would have been our first overseas trip together and with the baby on the way, this dream will have to wait a few more years. Covid also stopped both weddings hence the rustic backyard wedding and registration. But we have some lovely pictures from

  As I write this, I am in my second trimester at just over 6 weeks, which has made me realise how slow yet incredibly fast the first trimester went. It's most likely due to having other experiences and life events in between because this is me and I can't just do one thing at a time this year it seems. All those experiences and events will have their own blog posts in between because I don't want to bore you with pre-baby stuff all the time. Besides each trimester last about three months so there is plenty of time..right?! Only time will tell. Even though The Husband and I went through the IVF procedure, it was vital that we also make me pee on a stick and take a picture of the results because it's all part of the journey. We were also fresh off a wedding done and dusted so we were still on a high from that celebration. We felt such relief after the second hCG blood test confirmed that my body was making the pregnancy hormone at the rate expected of a confirmed pregnan

So the last blog post I did was on 31st May...3 months ago and man that's long. But I had good reason for the long break - I had a Big Fat Indian Wedding going on, I was busy with several book orders and I was heavily in the IVF process, I had to go back to my folks for 2 weeks, I turned 40 and last but not least IVF was successful - I am pregnant! So you see it was a tad too much to sit down and write a blog post with so much going on. I didn't even realise how much time had passed and when I did I had a weird feeling of failure engulfing me. Because I had made a promise to myself to write one at least once a month. I even have several drafts set up but alas I don't own any Time Infinity Stones and so unless I forwent sleep, this task was an impossible one. Back then anyway, I am home, almost four months pregnant, loving being in my 40s and in a better place mentally. Granted there is a lot of baby planning stuff to do but for now, I am going to focus on myself and take th

  Oops! I mean I got corrective surgery via Lasik but that is quite a mouthful so I prefer Lazer Eyes! Ho hum, so since I was 12 years old I had been wearing glasses with the addition of contact lenses at 16. I didn't really think anything of it even when there were whispers of a new technology to fix one's eyes. This mainly being that even if such a thing existed I would never be able to afford it so I let that rumour pass me by. I only got one eye infection from my contact lenses which is quite a feat. I have misplaced my glasses too many times to count on both hands and feet though. The Husband had been handy even from pre-husband years to help me locate my glasses in fits of giggles. No wrath was conducted on him because I was just so grateful to be able to see. I always wore my glasses except when I had my contacts on so my eyesight stayed pretty constant over the years. A few years ago, many folks we knew had The Surgery, and my curiosity started to peak. I had the initia