Today....

...I am going to Africa!! Now that's a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself saying!! I'm starting to get so excited (hence the 2:00 a.m. posting!!). I would have been getting excited before but, as you all know, we've been in the process of moving south and with all the house paper/legal work, packing, driving back and forth (and back and forth, and back and forth, etc....), and learning a new job, I've had a lot on my plate and this trip has been a tantalizing tidbit in the back of my mind that I haven't been able to fully relax and enjoy yet. But the time is coming!!

The past month I've been living with Tom, Tanya, and the kids in Lethbridge and enjoyed that time with them immensely. I think poor Amelie and Kellen were constantly confused by the way Gram would come to visit yet go to work every morning! And then she would go home on the weekends, only to come back and do it all over again two days later. But I was so blessed to be able to spend my evenings with the family and they graciously put up with my daily presence.... It was a wonderful time and, Tan and Tom, thank you so much. Tanya, thank you for listening to my work-time woes and for your encouragement when I needed it. I loved hanging out with you and can't wait until next month (!) when we'll be doing it a lot more often. You, me, and Mandy - "women go shoppin'"!!! Ha ha....

Today will be mostly winding up, checking off the items on "the list" that need our last-minute attention, and then heading off the airport for our 6:30 p.m. flight. We are arriving in London tomorrow morning, spending four days in Southampton with my family, then flying to South Africa Tuesday night. I can't wait to see Kristy and Bob. I wish my other girls and their families were coming as well, but soon we will all be together...

I haven't been blogging much but, as stated above, the last week hasn't exactly been a relaxing, nothing-to-do kind of time. But it sure has been fun to hang out with Mandy and Jorge. Mandy's been helping me a lot with packing and going through my "stuff" - she (with Jorge's help) has also given me incentive when it's come to throwing out (actually, giving away) a lot of the clutter that I've collected over the years. I mean, will I ever wear that dress again? Do I really need those McDonald Muppet toys? Ha ha...yeah, it's been that kind of a week.

Last night we decided to "celebrate" and go out for dinner. We went to a new place - Homefire, I think it was called, and it was very nice. We sat by a lovely gas fireplace (hence the name, I guess!) and, while the guys tackled ribs, us girls tried pork medallions - very nice....

But I'd better hit the hay and try to stop my mind for a few minutes so I can sleep or I'll be useless for the rest of the day and that won't be good....