Many have seen them, yet nobody seems to know the story. Definitely South Africans. It’s not the Nissan “bakkies” or the Gauteng plates that is the giveaway – it is the two bottles of wine that were so bravely saved.

This scene must have played off late one afternoon, possibly somewhere in Botswana. See the 2 bottles of wine, just above the left hand of the woman on the right. Watch them closely . . .

Down to one bottle of wine as the elephant bull starts rearranging the furniture. An entire library of books on the table. The vehicle on the left is the one with the two roof-top tents.

What happened to the other bottle of wine? Maybe the elephant drank it? Ja, right . . .

Now where did that food smell come from? A quick sniff into the two-tent vehicle while everyone is now safely tucked into the other vehicle, snapping away. Mmm - no elephant food here.

So let me try the other one. Maybe in the tent?

Some flapping of the ears, and probably some trumpeting - enough to encourage the occupants to make a quick scramble. The quality of these tents are not what they used to be.

So maybe the smell comes from somewhere around here. Ah - the trash bag!

Sorry about your tent - but I was just looking for something to eat. Maybe oranges?

If anyone knows the true story, I’d realy like to know. And whoever sent this - thank you! It brought back some very fond African-bush memories.

With an upcoming election on the horizon, I knew one thing for sure, Bush had to leave and there is no place for any candidate that would support the war to continue for another 100 years, if it had to. However, who could we expect to fill his position? Another person in the same mold, shaped by Washington’s elite, driven by power and money?

For the first time  when I heard Senator Barack Obama speak a few months ago, I stopped to listen, thinking, wow, here is someone that seems humble, addresses  controversial  issues  from his heart, even though risky.  Barack remained consistent  all this time and was opposed to the war from the beginning. He seems to not fit the mold of the “groomed” elite that seems to only care who is up and who is down.  I started paying more attention to his message “Change We Can Believe In”.

By listening to Senator Obama  more frequently, I became  so curiously excited, I started following every news channel , listening to every possible discussion he was involved in and reading everything I could about him. My opinion has evolved from just curious  to an adamant follower of his campaign. Is he really the answer to this ailing nation? I feel the pain, after being here for almost seven years . I am embarrassed to tell anyone I live in the US (it reminds me of the old SA days during the apartheid years). A few months ago,   I read  that people in Europe did not like accepting the US Dollar any longer, when it started weakening  badly against the Euro, I was disillusioned. On the international front people are outraged by  Washington  continuously  interfering , everyone seems to hate Americans.  Threats of War continually hunt us and after all this war we seem to be no  safer.  Nationally, people are hurting  because of  staggering medical fees, it  bankrupts so many.  Gas prices are soaring and for the first time in a long time, inflation rises to levels of disbelief. People are struggling.

I look at Barack, I feel I know him. I think I had ample  experience in my previous life in SA to appreciate his ongoing enthusiasm to bring about a much needed and deserved historical  change. I  feel he knows me since I also live the life of an average American Joe, he seems to understand the issues ailing the nation because he too lived at  the bottom . He does not fit the “mold” of the rich and powerful, not yet anyway. I believe he wants to leave a legacy of his own, not of power or fame, but of changing the nation, bringing all people together, beyond a racial divide. One of his priorities is better education, importantly,  affordable education  for all. Everyone knows that education in the US has become  appalling . For those that wish to go to College it is almost impossible, unless you have wealthy parents or other help. How about the health care issue, currently there is no easy solution to this crises but I believe he cares enough to really try and bring about change that can work.  Barack Obama has proven it over and over,  he discourages political bickering, “kitchen sink politics” , he does not employ the ugly side of politics, engaging  in personal counter attacks even when being tested to the utmost.  A man I believe that has already shown the integrity of a worthy leader , a man that will ultimately allow  history to change its coarse and  build a united and stronger nation.  I believe with Barack Obama as President, the world will recognize the change and will hopefully open the door for the US again, also widely support the US in the fight against terrorism.
Change is inevitable. I believe we are all ready! I endorse Senator Barack Obama

This is awkward. The empty room full of plastic chairs fills with awkward looking people. The professor with a holy-shit!-blue cardigan under a curry suit. A suit which incidentally is the same color as his hair… piece. The vast majority of the recipients still look slightly tired from their lan-party the night before (they are the lucky ones who made it – the IT-engineers were probably still engaged in Warcraft, and were therefore not able to attend). But these guys are smart. And you can see it…

Yet the award for best female engineer showed that female engineer is not an oxymoron, as we often tease. She’s beautiful, smart and a bloody good cook engineer.

Congratulations Alida! We are proud of you – and if your last name was shorter it would have fit on the medal too.

Saturday April 19 2008, Gabriel, my parents and I went for breakfast. After breakfast my mother and I decided to go have my toe nails done, seeing as how I could no longer reach them J On our way to target I experience a cramp like never before, but thought nothing of it…simply because I had been having bad cramps, contractions, for over a month.

At that moment my mom and I were wondering how my labor was going to happen. As we were walking through the baby section, and loading our cart, I felt as though I had just wet my pants. I knew for a fact that I did not pee in my pants, but as statistics say only 7% of women actually experience their water breaking…that is when I should have known that my labor was going to be an adventure. Best part is…of those 7% only a small percent experience water breaking in public…interesting!

We come home and I tell my mom that I have a feeling that something is not right, this is not normal. I call my doctor and explain to him what happened, and clearly tell him I am not having any strong or regular contractions, because I did not want to go into hospital only to come home. He very quickly told me that I should pack my bag and head to the hospital, and he will meet me there.

Are you ready…here we go!

Gabriel , my mom and I get to the hospital. I am so nervous and also preparing myself to hear that all is okay, and I can go home. They show me to my room, and get me ready for “bed”. The nurse did a test to see if my water actually broke…and yes it did! Now reality was starting to hit me, I was in labor. Finally, the most amazing doctor I have known, Dr. Biter, comes and checks on me, he does some examination and discovers that I am only 2 cm dilated, I have a long way to go. No real contractions yet. They decided to induce me at about 8 pm on Saturday. The nurses told me to get comfortable because I was in for a long night, and that my son would not be born till at least 6 am Sunday morning.

It was time for my epidural because I could no longer handle the pain of the contractions that were finally coming strong. Now remember only 7% of women experience their water breaking. An epidural is supposedly less painful than an Ivy, which I had issues getting, and it takes at the most 20 minutes if they are having a hard time. Okay, no problem, I was feeling a little more confident about another needle. Yeah Right! 45 minutes later, 3 catheters later, and 100 tears later I broke another statistic. The anesthesiologist had a really difficult time getting my epidural in, not only that, he hit a nerve in my left leg, which I am still feeling today, and my right side was not really numb. I was feeling my contractions on the right. A least it was in and I was in some kind of pain relief.

At about 6 am on Sunday morning the nurse and the doctor come to check on me…I am still only 2 cm dilated, the pitosin was not working. I was however 50 % enfaced…something positive. Time for a decision…I did not want a C-section, so they decided to turn off everything and try something new. I could finally eat a yogurt. They decided to hook something around my cervix which would enface it, and cause me to dilate. It does not hurt, yes that was true J This was a 12 hour process, so it was safe to say that my son would not be born till Monday. Half way through my 12 hours my contractions were coming strong, which was great because my body was doing it naturally. So they turn on my epidural again. Still only 80% numb and still only 2 Cm.

10 pm on Sunday evening Dr. Biter came to check on me,  he told my parents and myself that there would be no action till about 6 am Monday morning, my mom can go home and finally get some rest. I was still in for a long night. At 12 pm the nurse came to check on me and realized that the thing around my cervix had fallen out, no big deal, with only two hours left of the process she decided to check on me to see if anything had changed!

Her words were “Either you are 10 cm’s and I am not feeling a head, or you are still only 2 cm’s and something feels strange” okay great…what does that mean? She went for another opinion, the second nurse confirmed that I was 10 cm’s but something was wrong…she did an ultra sound and my biggest fear set in…Leonardo turned upright again and was busy pushing out his butt…within minutes my doctor was there, Gabriel was on the phone to my mom, and I was headed into surgery!  From nothing at all to suddenly a crisis…had the nurse not check I would have had my baby come out butt first and we would not have know.

There I was lying on a little table and the anesthesiologist was working frantically on getting me 100% numb, which finally happened.  Minutes later…I saw a little hand and a little body. Then I heard my baby for the first time, he gave a very quick, sweet little cry. Gabriel lay him down next to me while the doctor’s were completing my surgery. WOW…it was all finally over, 2 and half days of agony.

So there we were 1:22 am on Monday morning, Leonardo entered the world, what an amazing experience and feeling. Needless to say…this journey was not over!

On Tuesday I broke another statistic, actually I broke two of them.  1% of women who get an epidural get a headache…well there I was, I got the headache bad. The only way was for them to do a blood patch, they drew blood from my arm and put it into the catheter which would form a blood clot in my spine, and heal the headache. It hurt like crazy because the catheter was too small…due to complications. Out of 200 blood patches 3 women have experienced bad back ache, well there was my second statistic…I still have problems.

Despite all the drama, pain and tears…I am now finally a mommy and loving it J I could not be happier.

This week I had one of the most exciting visits with my doctor. No…my baby is not out yet L but, we got a really clear view of his face.

He has a fist in front of his mouth. As you can see it is a close up of him, look on the left and you will clearly see a face, you will also see in the second “scene”, where he has moved his leg up to his nose, and is now frowning and blinking.

Everyone keeps telling me he looks like Gabriel…is this a daddy’s boy? Let’s hope so that I can have my 9 months of vacation. Just kidding…I cannot wait to be able to cuddle with him, and no longer have him in my tummy.

According to my doctor I am getting really close now, so we will all keep you posted. Let us hope that this is the last time we will see him inside mommy.

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We watched my mom and mom-in-law battle off to a “sucking” competition. Yep, it was a race on who could suck the beer out of a baby bottle the fastest. My mom cuddled up on my lap with her bib and bottle, no blankie though, and like a baby I started feeding her…the true German that she is, she won hands down. Despite the fact that I was covered in beer, that this naughty baby was spitting through her nose, it was awesome.

And for all of you, who would like to know the size of my belly, take a toilet-paper roll and count 12 blocks…that to was a contest. Some were very optimistic, others pessimistic, and one or two spot on. At least we did not have to roll over onto roll number two.

Then some of you may be asking yourselves, why is she covered in lipstick? Well, I had to guess whom the gift was from before I could open it, and as you can clearly see, my guessing was way off. Luckily I ran out of gifts before my entire body was covered in lipstick.

The whole afternoon was filled with games, prizes, food and great company. With all the amazing gifts that I received from friends and family, my baby room is 99% complete, I am just missing a baby - but do not worry about that, this little road-runner is just about on his way into this world.

Until then…we shall all wait in great anticipation for that moment.

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Baby in the Making

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[RAW] [/RAW]On March 7 2008, I had an appointment with my doctor…and he decided to make a little video of our baby, it is a very close up of his face. If you sit back and focus on the image you will clearly see it, watch it a few times until your eyes are in focus with the image. Look to the left of the screen, and you will clearly see his face from the side, nose, eyes, chin and forehead. He has his hand against the other side of his face, this is a side view. During this short clip you will see hands and feet as well.

I hope that you can make sense of this video; it is truly amazing to see what has been created inside my stomach. This is a true miracle for both Gabriel and me. I look forward to being able to post actual pictures of him soon.

Wilhelm and I believe we should wait it out here in San Diego, to see how they cope with the soaring heat, despite the unbelievable beauty of certain areas in the North-East corner of Phoenix. Stunning modern Spanish style homes against the mountains (if you can afford 1 million plus) rock and cacti gardens take your breath away. The small town “feel” is very appealing. The restaurants and Fine food stores are right up my alley. Arriving back home was great, San Diego is fantastic . . .

I was hesitant to answer, because knowing him he was in some kind of trouble and needed help. I did the right thing and answered my phone, as true as all, he asked me to dive all the way to LA to pick him up, because he got pulled over and his car got taken. I was livid…Gabriel and I then set out to LA to pick up his cousin, and there went my peaceful weekend.

I looked over at Gabriel and asked him…”why are we at a hotel in Malibu”? With a grin he said, well…this is where Ricky is. I was now officially a confused, pregnant blonde. We went inside the hotel; of course I looked like I was going to the movies. He told me to take a walk outside…WOW. On the beach, on the ocean we sat and enjoyed a soda….It clicked, this was a surprise weekend for me. We walked to our room, which was something words could not explain, it was on the ocean…and just truly magnificent.

Gabriel decided to head for the Dunes and walk…and we walked, and we walked, and I huffed and puffed. Eventually we got to the top; it could not go any further…thank goodness. We were over looking the ocean, the sun was setting and the wind almost made us catch flight. Right there in the dirt, Gabriel got onto one knee and asked me the question I had been dreaming of. We were now engaged.

The rest of the weekend was filled with a wonderful dinner, and an unforgettable trip to Catalina Island.

The serious planning had begun…I knew that in December I would have my family in the US. It was the first time in a long time, and I do not know when this would happen again. So Gabriel and I decided to tie-the-knot right after Christmas. My wish has always been for eDuard to seal the bond between my soul mate and myself.

It was perfect, my bridesmaids, my family, and my brothers playing a part, not only my parent’s approval…but organizing a dream wedding. That evening Gabriel and I stood in front of our families and friends, and made a commitment between ourselves.  We wrote our own vows, and eDuard performed a beautiful ceremony. This is the moment where I became a Guevara, but one thing is certain, I will never loose the balls….from being a Helmbold.

After that is was party time…it really was the time of our lives. This is something that we will forever remember, and we will be eternally grateful for all the help that was given to us, in arranging our special day, at the Abbey.

After our wedding Gabriel and myself checked in to the Sheraton in San Diego, he was slightly…or let me say very much so, under the influence of a great time. So it was up to me to make sure we were at the right place J

We got to the room, and I realized that my wallet was gone, we checked every where. I called Yvonne, my maid of honor, and she told me that her wallet was also missing. Now I was in panic…no green card, no money, nothing. I did not sleep very well.

The next morning, we went back to the Abbey, and got a call from a stranger, handing me back my wallet, untouched. Sadly, Yvonne’s was emptied out, till the last penny. Till this day it is a mystery.

But till this day, this was one of the most amazing events in my life, and I would not trade it for anything.

Yes, I did all of this despite meeting his dad.

Of course eD and I didn’t do things the “normal” way, conforming has never been our thing . . .  

We decided to get married in Hawaii for various reasons (which changes depending on the person asking). It was just to be the two of us. I had no idea where we were going to get married or where we were staying after. eD organised it all, what a man.

On this note, he also came all the way to Purdue University in Indiana (where I was on exchange for the fall semester) to help me pack everything I had gathered over the last 6 months. Sure, in his mind that wasn’t the real reason he was there, but even so the end result was still the same.

The day we got married was perfect. The weather was amazing, the sea was beautiful, butterflies were flying, the wind was softly blowing and whales were playing in the bay that the cliff we got married on overlooked.

It was quite ridiculous, if you ask me. eD and I looked groomed and happy. The ceremony was well conducted and nature was included in our vows, it was truly a magnificent location.

After the ceremony Frederick (the celebrant) gave as an awkwardly long hug and thanked us for adding “the beauty of our love to this sacred place”. In all fairness he was probably just getting us back for our awkwardly long (and somewhat inappropriate) kiss…

We set some doves free, which in the week following this event we almost run over a couple of times. This was because we stayed at the resort for our honeymoon as well, and the doves returned home to their feeding place and it was right next to the winding road that led to our cottage.

What would it mean if you ran over one of the doves you sat free on your wedding day?

After the kiss and hug eD revealed that he had packed a picnic for us. We found a nice spot nearby and arranged the picnic goods. He set up his flip camera to capture the moment.

So off we went, Mr Helmbold and Mrs Jansen van Vuuren, happily married. Oh, I didn’t change my last name . . .

As much as I would love to be able to fit my last name into the allocated blocks on forms, I knew that I would have no power left when my last name is “Helmbold”. I still want the white dress and bridesmaids, in the near future, when we have the money for it all…

And then, with that (and another diamond ring), I will change my last name. It’s all about how you play the game

On a serious note, we have now been married for a month, and we’re enjoying every second of it. Married life is so much fun. Despite our fights about cutlery . . .

More photos can be viewed at www.pictage.com/427900