THE BEGINNING OF LASTS...

Arg, so I ran a half marathon this weekend! Believe me, I am asking myself the same question too, why? Originally it seemed like quite a good idea as it was going to be my last time on the trot with my running club and we had grand ideas of pulling off a mass finish amidst a flurry of cheers as we crossed the finish line to the glorious notes of Chariots of Fire! NO. There was fire, just not in the graceful sense originally envisioned. My lungs (which I now know have not fully recovered from my lovely bought of death flu) bypassed the “Let’s ache a little so she knows what she’s doing to us” and went straight for the “If you don’t refrain from this insane sport of yours immediately we will be forced to burst into flames and evacuate your chest cavity forth with!” Ouch would be a euphemism. Bother this really hurts would be a euphemism. To say I was cursing like a sailor… yip, euphemism too! And to add insult to injury, it was lashing rain. Internal inferno and external hypothermia… I know, I couldn’t imagine why someone would do it either! However, having said all of the above (as friends and family can attest I always do), it was bleeding marvelous! Thunder put it into perspective:

Thunder Struck: Why you walking like a penguin?
Me: Ran a half marathon this morning.
TS: Why?
Me: Was the last run with the running family.
TS: So you thought you would ease back into running after a 4 week break and pneumonia with a 21km run in the rain?
ME: Pretty much!
TS: Riiiiiiighttttt…

I do have a tendency to rush back into running because a) I really like it b) it’s the guilt for not having done it for so long and c) there’s usually a group breakfast involving pancakes which just cannot be missed! And whilst I do like to complain and over exaggerate the weather conditions (I swear we were in a hurricane with flying cows everywhere), I love the runs and the crowd and the scenery and am going to miss everything so much when we leave. When you suddenly realize you are doing something for the last time, it becomes something bigger than itself and very important to you. Am whist I’m not going to bore you with the nerves and stories of me counting all “my lasts” in SA, I am going to say a big thank you to my wonderful running family for being there for that last and for supporting me always.

Thank you guys!

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE

There is an old saying that goes “No news is good news”, meaning that when one hears nothing, then nothing bad can essentially be happening. This rings very true for me over the last few weeks as I have adopted the well practiced art of radio silence and arranged my life as calmly and quietly as possible. However, at some stage the bubble must burst and the news gets out, so let me apologize first hand if you did not hear it from me! But smile, because the news is good and happy and wonderful and everything that life should be!

To all my wonderful friends and family, I can officially announce on these here pages that my Prince Charming is in fact my Husband! He is every bit as wonderful as those fairy tales we all read when we were young and far better looking! (It’s at this point in the story I want you all to take a breath and relax, breath in, breath out etc etc). I can imagine this comes as a shock to some as in some circles I am known as the Anti-Christ of Marriage and I can appreciate the total lack of belief, but believe me, it is all true and my mind has been forever changed by the fact that I did indeed find The One.

We were married on Saturday August 7th 2010 at 11am at The 12 Apostles Hotel in Cape Town. The ceremony was extremely low key and perfect. Pint Size and Thunder were there to give me away and cry respectively, while Prince Charming was accompanied by his best man and ring bearer. Champagne and happiness surrounded a day where I can categorically say I have never been happier! We have officially been married for 12 days and it feels like the best dream in the world! I love being married. It's so great to find one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life ;-)

For the ladies out there I wore the following:

• Something old: Favourite long black dress
• Something new: Stunning black velvet peep toe stiletto’s
• Something borrowed: Hairclips from Thunder
• Something blue: A magnificent blue and purple rose in my hair

The next few weeks are packed with excitement and fun as we say goodbye to friends and family, see the things in SA we’ve always wanted to but just haven’t got around to organising and packing for the imminent move. Smile Peeps, life is good!

FINALLY SOME NEWS

Apologies to all for the radio silence and thank you to all for the continual requests to write! I have been slightly busy of late re-organising my life and putting some exceptionally exciting plans in motion. However I have a bit of breathing room at the moment and am ready to spill half the bean pot… Yes Peeps, the rumours are true, this Crazii Redhead has finally got her ass in gear and is moving to The Big Apple, The City that Never Sleeps… New York! And I’m not going alone either, my Prince Charming is taking the leap with me and we’re going to start a new life together in one of the world’s most exciting cities!

Before we embark on the epic journey that is New York, we will of course be spending time in Cape Town and Johannesburg with family and friends. A few parties will be had, not withstanding the annual Crazii Redhead clothing and shoe party where everything that hasn’t been worn in a period of 6 months must go! All ladies invited, men only after a good few hours of bubbles and girl banter! On the way, we’ll be stopping into Dublin and London to say hello and goodbye to important people in our lives and finally we’ll set down in The Big Apple for the next big adventure!

Important dates to bear in mind:

12th September 2010 – Pint Size’s Party
17th September 2010 – Crazii Redhead Annual Cleanout Party
19th September 2010 – Crazii and Prince Charming head to Dublin
26th September 2010 – Crazii and Prince Charming head to New York!

There will be more news in the days to come I promise. But in the interim if you have comments, contacts or just want to drop a note, please post!

Hugs all!

REACTIONS TO NEWS

Usually when you spring big news on people who would have expected to be hit by an iceberg before they heard what you’re about to say, they react in 3 ways:

1) Loud screaming followed by tears (usually happy)
2) Loud screaming followed by a beating (not good)
3) Pensive silence while they eye you up and down trying to figure out if it’s April 1st or not.

Thank heavens when I spilled the beans to Thunder, Pint Size and the GBF I was met with 150% reaction 1. Inevitably after the initial shock, they all swung into reaction version 3 thereby playing devils advocate and continually thinking they must be sitting in a Stanley Kubrick movie (“Something weird is happening here”). But fair play to them all, there was no malicious beating or archaic methods of torture for holding back such pertinent information, purely rational questioning and the occasional “OMG, I can’t believe it!” squells.

Now while I’m sure you’re all dying to hear what this news is, I have to I’m afraid keep the suspense going a little longer. You see, as both the Parents are out of modern communication range, they have yet to hear the news either. And I honestly think it would be both unfair and nasty to tell you all before I get to sit down face to face with them and explain everything.

So hold your breath a little longer Peeps, all shall be revealed soon…