hitting the ground with a THUD!

The days leading up to our SA trip were unbearable. We were so excited and consumed with planning itineraries etc, that focusing on work and general house stuff was near impossible for either of us, and when the day FINALLY came, we were so stoked and ready to just be there already!

Landing in South Africa was exhilirating. It felt, in many ways, like I was experiencing the country for the first time - noticing the "smell" of the air when we landed in Johannesburg, and knowing I was in Africa.
A particular moment I know I will hold onto, was flying over the coastline of PE- knowing the familiarity of where we would land in just minutes, and when we did, and i got out to smell that familiar sea air, my chest tightened and I fought very hard to hold back the tears.

Even now, I find it hard to put into words just how great our holiday was. We saw and did so much, met up and spent time with special people, and most excitingly; got engaged! I came back full of love--- for the people in my life, for South Africa as a country and her contagious rhythym, and for my ladypants.
As cliched and soppy as it sounds, watching her fall in love with the country I grew up in, and connecting with my closest family and friends, has left me more in love with her than ever (the ring on my finger helped too!) hahaha

Already we are being asked about dates and plans- Wedding dresses, venues, invites... I see one massive headache coming! We want something small and intimate, but logistics of having just that with both families living in different countries, without the added cost of having two full weddings makes it all alot more exciting to arrange, but then for anyone that knows us; we never have done things the easy way! lol

We are now back in London, and (to say the least) the unwelcome grindstone that is work and life stuff has made for an uncomfortable ride so far.

Quite possibly our greatest combined fear sat waiting patiently for us on our return. Anyone who knows me (even in passing), will know that I am TERRIFIED of spiders- no matter how small, they floor me. Kirsty is also not a mad fan, but because I just become a screaming maniac upon meeting anything resembling an arachnid in our house, she has quite often swallowed her own fear and stepped in to sort it out for me. Anyway, so when we arrived home I raced to the bathroom, and just as I sat down I saw her- and she was massive. This isn't a disproportionate adjective chosen by a crazy women who exaggerates to make her point-- no... it was HUGE.
I promptly screamed and went running down the passage to Kirsty, who promised to go and look. Needless to say, when she saw the size of our visitor, she returned to the lounge, slightly pale; announcing that we would have to make another plan.
We both sat there thinking (made considerably harder by our sleepless night on the flight back from SA) of a way we could get her to go without either of us losing the will to live. We walked down to the bathroom to look at her while we decided- trying ourselves one last time to see if any bravery emerged from either of us - and there she sat taunting us... bouncing her body up and down caged by her huge legs. Needless to say we both ran back to the lounge in defeat. When we had first turned into our road a few minutes before we had seen a van of builders parked up, and Kirsty decided that no matter how sad it made us look, she'd go up and ask them to help. In no time a builder strolled in, and escorted our squatter to the nearby railway tracks. Urgh, just thinking about the whole scenario is giving me gooseflesh.

Work on both sides has been busy- made busier because we can't seem to focus to actually get any work done, so the to do lists are growing rapdily!
Kirsty has properly wrecked her knees and is on constant pain now, but we're on the case to hopefully have that sorted sooner rather than later
Family visits now that we're back are needing to be scheduled in so free weekends are filling up fast, and the normal business of London life is starting to resume somewhat.

Not to way we aren't missing SA but we are happy to be back in this place we call home (for now!)

xx