The girls from work

Last weekend I had some girlfriends over & this weekend one of my former colleagues hosted a wee luncheon for the girls from the office- what fun!

Here are my dear friends Alison (left) & Priscilla. Priscilla & I got for yoga together- & Alison is promising to join us*grin*

Here I am with Priscilla's lovely friend Patricia

Luckily- mid-way through the event, I remembered it was Miriam's birthday on the 28th- so rather than bringing the cake out without any pomp or ceremony- we used edible candles (carrot sticks) & sang to the birthday girl. What a laugh.

Here's Alison's beautiful daughter Nandi helping Miriam to cut the cake.

And as is custom at any Zambian event (or so it seems to me)- the dance floor opens*grin*

Friday Humour

I wanted to start the weekend off with a few giggles. These Dilbert comics crack me up.

The girls. And their girls.

It just struck me; I’ve been living in Lusaka for five years now- crazy how time flies! During this time I have learned a thing or two about hosting small parties...

1) Plan to have far more people over than you invited
2) Plan to prepare a solid mix of Zambian-safe and Canadian-safe cuisine
3) Don’t plan a thing!

That may not make sense but let me explain; I got the giggles Saturday morning because in the afternoon I was set to host a few girlfriends over for some snacks, drinks, and a lot of gossip. I told myself I would not cook anything; I’d planned a Canadian veggie platter, cold cuts & fresh rolls for snacking alongside a couple bottles of wine. Good thing I’d planned not to cook because the power was out from 09h00 to 13h00- any good Canadian host would’ve been in a panic by then, but I had been assured by one of the girls that a braai stand (barbeque fuelled by charcoal) was on its way over. The bakery I had planned on picking up the rolls from also had no power…no fresh rolls. But with the meat on the way I didn’t have to plan a thing & it all worked out!

I had a blast with the girls- three brought their gorgeous daughters, and everyone pitched in so that there was plenty of food & drink.

Early in the day the photos are coming out nice & clear, by the end of the evening I'm not too sure if the camera was on the wrong setting or if the photographers were too inebriated...

Kolo & Boni getting the meat started.















In'utu (red dress) is just back from completing her Masters degree. It was some kind of programme she found- she studied in England, Manila, & Switzerland- she's truly a woman of the world (she completed her undergrad in Cuba)*grin*. Great to have her back!















Here's Laurane & her sleepy baby Tafika.














Vicki's daughter Ndinawe arrives & she's quickly scooped up by Kolo.

Ndinawe posing. She's such a cutie- but you can imagine just how naughty with those big brown eyes!

I thought Kupela's "no nonsense mother look" was too priceless to leave off the post!

Here's Kupela's beautiful baby Nawiti with a blurry Bwalya (honestly, I wasn't taking the photos)!

Tommy's 30th

Another one of my hair-brained ideas...it was my big brother's 30th birthday yesterday so Al & I decided to host a small pizza party. I invited over my in-laws for pizza, wine & apple muffins*hahaha*. It was a lovely evening. And we bid happy birthday to Tom despite being separated by a lot of land & water.

The big nasty assignment for Uni was submitted on Monday so I'm enjoying a few days of relaxation before preparing for my exam in October.

I feel so free, and rather optimistic about every little thing.

I wasn't kidding

I've been so bad this week. I was told that "wound" was probably too strong a word to describe some simple chafing. Which is probably true...but the comment inspired me to take a photo to highlight just how awful I've been feeling all week (walking is a problem let alone dreaming of running). Bah. The responses to the photo were too great to keep secret- so here- for all my loyal followers to eeew & yuk at:

The "abrasion" (thanks Sarah T!) has been a wonderful excuse to spend all my time like a recluse working away at my assignment that's due on Tuesday. So I'm really not complaining. The abrasion is looking much better this morning and if I'm still feeling so optimistic I may meet my running partner Saturday morning on my bike*grin*.

Much more exciting emails to come once the school pressure's off I'm sure. Happy weekend- weeee!

Falling apart at the seams

I must admit that I didn’t have the best weekend ever. But the reasons for not having the best weekend ever I find rather comical. I know self-deprecating humour is sometimes uncomfortable- but I really must share my ridiculous story.

In my commitment to get back into shape I thought the biggest hiccup would be breaking in my new running shoes; but I planned a 13/14 km run on Saturday morning anyway. Little did I know that the new shoes would be the least of my worries. I think all athletes have experienced some form of chafing- no? (My mom was worried if I told the story people would start calling me “thunder thighs”- but really, support me here- anyone who’s ridden a bike a few too many kilometres, or had the bra that didn’t fit quite right has experienced some chafing discomfort- no?) Well it was my luck to feel some burning during the run though I couldn’t quite figure out why; I had specifically put spandex on under my basketball shorts to avoid any discomfort. Unbeknownst to me, at some point during the run the spandex burst at the seam and my tender inner thigh was exposed to rough material for several kilometres. I have experienced the worst chafing of my life- I have an open wound on my inner thigh- is that not horribly hilarious? I have decided to postpone even yoga- I can just imagine all the stretching on my poor cut. If it doesn’t heal quickly my plans to do another half-marathon late September will not be possible.

But it’s not all bad (yes, ever looking for the silver lining)- I will work on my Research Proposal this evening & try to make more headway…perhaps this is a sign from the universe that I should focus on school & not fitness at the moment*grin*.

My other big exciting news of the weekend is that Al & I have invested in a big 20L re-useable water container. Weeee!! The water quality will be better than that of the boiled water we were used to, and I won’t be contributing to the landfill sites overflowing with plastic water bottles. Unfortunately drinking tap water from my home is not an option- so I feel that we’ve taken the next best environmental step- I hope so anyway!

Happy Labour Day Monday to those of you who aren’t working today*grin*. I’m off to make some tea…

Guilty as charged

I'm so keen to write something on my blog so everyone knows I'm still here...but there's not too much of general interest. Let's see if I can come up with something that's not too dull.

1. I'm just back from a work trip to Zambia's "Copperbelt" province. My colleague & I visited some great potential project sites- it was a worthwhile trip. My folks have inquired about the accommodation since when they were here we stayed in a place that was- hmmm, how to put this diplomatically- undoubtedly a brothel. Blue satin sheets to boot. More mosquitoes than I've ever seen in my life inside the mosquito bed netting*hahaha*. I'm happy to report that we stayed in a beautiful guesthouse complete with "princess" mosquito netting (that's my description- I thought it looked all pretty)- hahaha.
































2. Saturday basketball- I was so excited because my niece came to the game! She's only 3 months old but I got to have her on my lap for the whole second half- I wish I would've brought my camera- she's such a cutey. Her father lost the game though (which means my hubby's team won)*hahahah*

3. My dear Uncle Emil sent a couple of photos of his granddaughters; I'm borrowing this photo from him (without permission- sorry uncle Em) because I think it's such a beautiful photo. Malia & Olivia:-) Baby Olivia has grown a lot since we met her in June.
















4. I'm considering signing up for another half-marathon because people keep telling me I've gained too much weight...it's the only way I can motivate myself to start running again*smile*


5. There's lots of school pressure at the moment. I have my huge research proposal due in two weeks. If I don't pass no MA for me...I'll do my best & hope it's enough!


Like I said...nothing much of general interest. I'll come back with a vengeance once this pesky RP is out of the way*grin*.