The Tri-Annual Check In

I'm not gonna promise to blog more. It won't happen. I have been really busy the last few months and it doesn't look like changing, so no empty promises.

I'm home alone at the moment. Hayley is away with Dale and Kerri. We bought an awesome weekend away through Wicount at Bushmans Hide, unfortunately I have been so busy at work that I had to cancel. So I'm the Macauley Culkin of Farrarmere until Tuesday.

I joked earlier that it's gonna be Summer Camp for the dogs and me for the next 2 days. It's not Summer Camp. I'm just sitting here sulking. This house is Hayley. With her not here, it just isn't the same.



I said on Twitter earlier that I'm the worst bachelor in the world and I am. I always have these big ideas about how much I'm gonna do and how much fun it's gonna be. It never works out like that. Never. I just sit and pine for my wife as soon as she's gone. Pathetic, I know.

The worst is that she's in an area with NO cellphone reception. Nothing, nada. So I can't even chat to her. It sucks.

So thank you for hearing me out. I know it's not fun listening to an emotional man on a Sunday night, just before Carte Blacnhe nogal. I apologise.

Please listen to My favourite song at the moment.. It is amazeballs.

It's me.

It has been way too long, I know. I have been busy with a lot of things, just not blogging.

I have spent a lot of this time on my favourite pastime, namely Instagram. Now Instagram is an Iphone app (also available on Ipad). You take photos, play around with different filters, styles etc and post it. You have friends and followers who can then like or comment on the photos. You do likewise. It is the most addictive app I have found since Twitter.

So I thought I'd post a few of my Instagram pics over the last few weeks. Hope you like "em... :)












I promise to visit more regularly...

My blessed life

It`s 21:25 on a Sunday night. I`m sitting in the study, listening to Pink`s "F***ng Perfect" on repeat and reading my wife`s blog.

I haven`t blogged in yonks. I just haven`t had much to say if I`m 100% honest. Life has been leading it`s inevitable course for the last 2 years. It`s been a pretty tough slog, with more downs than ups but we`ve been surviving and having a pretty good time doing just that.

We`ve rediscovered our friends. Since we came back to Joburg, just on 2 years ago, it`s been amazing spending time with our best friends. No matter how awesome Cape Town was, nothing could replace true friendship and I`m so blessed being back with my true friends. Friends and Family, nothing matters more. Nothing.

Hayley and I have also been on a big journey. Coming from a place where we could afford and do anything to not being able to do those same things, it`s been a hard road. A road I wouldn`t have been able to walk with anybody else. A road I`m thankful to have walked with my soulmate. We are and will always be best friends. I`m the luckiest guy in the world.

That brings me to the last 58 days. The last 58 days have been some of the most encouraging, reaffirming ones of my whole life. You see it happened on 7 January 2011. I was in Middelburg for business and I got a call from Hayley. She had told me about a house she had seen. It was for sale and she was totally in love with the place. I was on my way home and agreed to meet her to see the house. It meant nothing to me. I was still in the space where life was completely against me and nothing good was gonna happen. I met Hayley at the house and went through the motions. Even though I loved it, I was never gonna get excited. It was just too long a shot. The downside was just too big. I wasn`t gonna set myself up for that big a fall. AND there was an offer on it already.

Hayley was adamant that she loved the place. She called her folks and they agreed to come have a look with us on the Sunday. Hayley`s Dad also loved the place, much to my chagrin. I was counting on him having something negative to say! I was trying to convince myself that the house wasn`t for us, that the last 2 years had left it`s mark on everything.

Hayley however, refused to budge.

She convinced me to fill in the application form for the bond. She phoned my Private Banker in Somerset West and arranged EVERYTHING. I was a reluctant passenger. I did what she wanted but made in difficult.

On the Thursday we heard that the offer on the house had fallen through and I almost got excited. Almost.

So on that same Thursday our application was submitted. A long shot. On the Friday, I just got home and got a call from Hayley. She said the status on the internet read "application approved". I didn`t believe her and went to check for myself. It did say that. I was in tears. I never thought it would happen. Especially not in 2 days. I phoned my personal banker and she phoned the call centre. Both said the same thing.

"Congratulations".

We could not believe it. We were beyond excited. That little statement meant that our lives were ours again. A house of our own after 2 years of renting. Things we lived for were going to be ours again.

We signed for it the next week. We got the keys on the 25th of January 2011. Started painting and laying wooden floors the very same week. We have done so much during the last few weeks, it`s been amazing.

It is bound to be registered tomorrow, 59 days after that 1st viewing. We have had the keys for 41 days. We have transformed it into OUR home. Elvis and Phoebe love it here. We spend time next to the pool, playing ball in the garden, braaing, laughing and joking. It`s ours. It`s not just a house, it`s confirmation that we have our lives back. A life we lost and have craved for almost 3 years.

I owe it all to my wonderful wife. She is the most amazing person I have ever met. I owe her so much, I`ll never be able to repay her love and kindness. Thank you my Sweetie for making another shot at complete happiness possible. I love you more than life itself.....



The most amazing post script to our journey happened on the weekend. We got copies of the original plans for our house and they are dated 25 January 1961. 50 Years to the day when Hayley and I got the keys to our new home.

Meant to be?

I think so....

Christmas, the way it should be...

Firstly, hello, my name is Francois and I have been neglecting my blog. I know it`s been a while but life seems to have gotten in the way of blogging.

I have made a decision though to give a bit more attention to my blog. It used to be such a big part of my life, a part I really loved and enjoyed. So I promise to make more of an effort from now on.

The reason for this post is to send you to my gorgeous wife`s blog. It is looking amazing at the moment and this post should make you fall in love too.

So, until the next time (which will be in soon, promise).

Man Cold

For all you ladies who doubt the seriousness of this affliction, watch this video, then go apologize to your husband / boyfriend / brother / son... And then make him soup.

Mouse Trap

Anniversary

A quick one! I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to my gorgeous Sweetie! It`s been 9 years since we tied the knot. NINE YEARS! I have truly been blessed with the most awesome wife anybody could wish for. She makes me happy every single day of my life (except maybe for a day or 2 sometime during the month) and she is without a doubt, the best thing that has ever happened to me.

So, happy anniversary Gorgeous! I love you with all my heart....

Update

This isn`t a proper post, just some random thoughts thrown together.

Firstly, here`s the pic of me finishing the Two Oceans. I know I`ve probably killed the subject already but who cares, I`m terribly proud of it!


I have actually done another 21km after the Two Oceans. It was the Slow Mag Half Marathon, hosted by Benoni Northerns. The start was literally 1km from our place and I walked there! Pretty convenient, no? The race wasn`t too bad and I ended up doing my Personal Best (or PB as we refer to it in the trade) of 2:06:15. Fantastic.


The other news on this side is that we have finally found season 1 of Dexter. I missed the first few episodes on tv and didn`t want to get into it halfway. So we haven`t watched ONE episode. That`s until yesterday. I found seasons 1-3 in a MR Video, not too far from us. So yesterday Hayley and I settled in and watched the first 3 episodes (it would`ve been 6 but some idiot got to Season 1 Disk 2 before I could). It is AWESOME! So excited that we can finally watch it. I reckon it`s gonna become our Sunday ritual. Oh that and Hayley`s world famous chicken curry. Oh and a good bottle of wine.


We are besotted by Gordon Ramsay and especially his show Kitchen Nightmares. We PVR every single episode and never miss one. A lot of people dislike Gordon but damnit the man is good at what he does and let`s be honest, not many people can drop the F-Bomb like Gordon can. The show makes for great tv and Gordon is most certainly no shrinking violet, fights galore! Seeing as Channel 180 screens an episode every weeknight at 20:30, we are very, very happy campers.


Otherwise things are ok here. Winter is closing in very quickly but we`re ok with that. Give me some red wine, a couch, a blanket and some good tv & this boytjie is happy.

Friday 30 April will be the 7th anniversary of my Mom`s passing. Even after all these years the 30th April still gets to me. When the calender turns to April, I already look towards the 30th with dread. I know it`s just a day but it`s THE day. THE day where I lost my Mom, my best friend for so long. The one person who made my childhood so much easier than it should have been. I suppose it also gives me time to reflect on my Mom and how fortunate I was to have her.

She really was an Angel even before she became one 7 years ago.


Here is a post I did for my Mom a while ago.

So, until next time, fare-the-well my friends.

This is RG, signing out (till next time that is).

The 2 Oceans - What a day

Wow! That`s all I can say. What an absolutely amazing day 3 April 2010 turned out to be.

It started early, pretty much at 21:30 on the 2nd of April. I went to bed at that time and then lay awake for most of the night. I just could not sleep. The excitement was way too much for me to be able to close an eye. All I could think of was the race. I had done 3 half marathons before this one. All of them went reasonably well, with the exception of the last one where my knee had me hobbling for the last 10 km`s. It was a toughie and I think was the main reason why I had almost 2 years before attempting another one. But this was the big one, the biggest race I had ever entered. More than 11, 000 runners.

So I lay awake, going through every part of the race in my head. The start, the tough climb along Southern Cross Drive, going past Kirstenbosch and finally entering the stadium. I had absolutely no idea how it would go. I knew I had trained well and that I was in good condition but race day is race day and you never know.

With all that running through my head, I got up before my alarm went off at 03:15. I took a quick shower and got dressed in my brand new Adidas running shorts, shirt and cap. Then I taped my toes and feet (and nipples but that`s another subject for another time), put on my shoes and was ready to go.

So at 03:50 the 3 runners Clive, (my Father-in-Law), Mark (my Brother-in-Law) and myself plus our 1 supporter Kyle (my nephew) hit the road and headed off to UCT. By the time we got there it was a hive of activity already. So many people up and about at 04:30! We walked past the finish on the way to the start and I remember not looking at it. I forced myself to look the other way. I`m not sure why I did it, I suppose I wanted to see the finish for the first time when I came around that corner on the field. It was like the promised land, that`s how special that little piece of earth was to me.

We headed to the start, which is roughly 2km from the finish. There were thousands of people already. They were singing and dancing, laughing and talking. It was an incredible atmosphere. Black, white, coloured, indian, none of that mattered. We were all South Africans. I was so nervous. I went for a bathroom break but had such bad stage fright that I gave up (after what felt like 10 minutes mind you!). My Father-in-Law was with me at the start. He`s always so good at calming things down and he certainly did this for me. The time went by so slowly, it was crazy. Then with a few minutes to go, we sang the anthem. A true goose bump moment. With about a minute to go, they played 'I gotta feeling' by The Blackeyed Peas. Everybody just went bananas! It was so cool. Not my favourite song but there, in that moment, it was awesome!



Then the gun went and the race started. Well, race is a bit of an exaggeration cos it probably took 2 minutes to get to the start. It was so slow. All I wanted to do was run but it was a very congested walk in the beginning. Slowly but surely the runners started spreading out and finally I could get into the race.

The race itself went really well. I ran all the way, not stopping once. Even ran all the way up Southern Cross Drive, which is one helluva climb. I felt strong all the way and just kept going. What a great feeling to know that all the hard work paid off big time. I was so chuffed. The crowds were amazing and cheered us all the way.



The most memorable moment came towards the end just before Kirstenbosch. I came around a bend and looked to my left and there, in the early morning sun was Table Mountain, looking absolutely magnificent. I had a moment there. I felt so blessed. Life was good.



The finish was awesome. Coming into the stadium and seeing all the people was such a rush. Everybody cheering and clapping and creating such a buzz. I came around the last bend and saw the finish. This time I took it in and ran the last 100 or so meters just staring at it. When I took up running 2 years ago, on the 1st of April, it was because of the 2 Oceans. I had been to the Expo with my Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law and so wanted to be part of it. That next week I started running. Now, I had finished and was holding my very own 2 Oceans Half Marathon Medal. The clock read 2:15:30. I had done it.



That was not the end of it though! After the race I got to meet Old Friends. I had met Michelle and Charlene on Twitter and they had become really good friends. Hayley and I had grown very fond of them and we had shared many, many laughs during the last few months. They had become a really big part of our lives. Well, they also did the half marathon and we met up afterwards at Forries for well deserved beers! It was awesome. They were just as I had expected them to be and truth be told, even better! We also met up with Ann, another good Twitter friend and her sister Chantelle. It was so cool meeting these friends in real life.



So, as you can see, it was an amazing day all round. A day I want to re-live over and over again just this time I would love Hayley to be there too. That would have been the perfect day.