The Wondrous Wandering Tornado

  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 abno...

  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 ...

  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...

  So for a while, it has fascinated me that this treasured book is misinterpreted so much that people actually argue about the fact that the monster is not called Frankenstein. After reading it the other day, I was compelled to write about this book and Mary Shelly herself. I had read the book years before but I didn't have a blog then. If you don't wish to receive any spoilers from a book written on 1 January 1818 then I suggest you skip this post. Anyway, Frankenstein was Victor Frankenstein, a young Italian man that goes off to study in Germany to pursue an obsession he built from a really young age. To me this early start to the obsession with overcoming death is fascinating. It stems from curiosity and grief as well as a reluctance from his father to truly listen to him.  Think back to your childhood, to when you were obsessed with something and excitedly shared this with your parents. That interaction is vital for a young mind and in this case, Frankenstein was ignored t...

I am at a new destination for a wedding, yes destination wedding! That can be ticked off the bucket list now, excellent. Since I have never been to East London which is in the Eastern Cape, I thought I should focus on the trip and highlights in this blog post. It is beautiful, the scenery especially the foliage is breathtaking. You know it is when The Hubby considers buying property here.  Of course, there is also the beach we are staying in Nahoon right by the Nahoon River and a short walk to the beach. I started writing this with the most magnificent view to inspire me. Having private beach access to Nahoon beach was a lovely perk to our Airbnb accommodation. There is a stunning pathway one can walk on but it can be a might scary in the dark and I am a scaredy-cat ..meow.  So the walk back was thrilling in a horror movie kinda way. Nothing phases The Hubby who reassured me that his Honey Badger would protect us. This is a flick knife that has proven to be quite handy on our ...