Los Mocositos

Here are some pictures of the kids in my life. I love them to pieces, they make me laugh so much :D

Sukayna at her bday party, clapping along to the bday song

and then blowing out her candles with all her might :)

Junior and I. Yes, it's true folks. He actually posed for a picture

without lunging for the camera.

This was a rare phenomenon. So very rare.

Junior jacking my style. Flip flop twins!

Tina being carried African-style by her favorite Auntie ;)

Wedded Bliss

Hugo and Erlinda got married! I remember when these two had barely started dating back when we were in college, the good ol' UTA days. They've come a long way and I was very happy to attend their beautiful evening wedding. I wish them lots of happiness and lots of babies! :D

Ebony Tresses

My hair has gotten long enough for me to start trying different hairstyles. This is a good thing, because if I can't do a lot of things with my hair, I'll get bored with it, and when I get bored with my hair, I do something drastic to change it. I was already getting ideas of cutting it and starting over with a pixie cut or a short afro or even close-cut/semi-bald. I'm not kidding in the slightest.

The other day I found a way to do a faux french braid with my locks. These are the pics of the first try. After the second try, it came out neater and I actually wore it to work that way and got lots of compliments :)

Babysitting

I've taken on the new-role of after-hours babysitter. Except in this case, I'm babysitting a grown baby. Enter Nelito, my 28-yr-old cousin who has come into my life to wreak havoc and turn my lovely little bachelorette pad upside down. I'm having to share a small space with a boy. How did I end up in this lovely arrangement, you ask? Well, Nelito lives in Beguela, but recently has relocated to Luanda on a year-long contract. Well, during this time he has been staying at a construction site where he works and where the food and lodging isn't exactly the most luxurious. He's been eating lots of dry goods loaded with conservatives and canned foods. Well, turns out, he got some sort of irritation in his digestive tract which will lead to gastritis, so the doctor told him he needs to start eating healthy meals at regular hours. So he showed up at my doorstep with his little maletita all ready to be taken care of by the healthiest person he knows, lol. So he basically moved in. He used to just come spend the weekends here in town and spend the weeks off at the campsite, but now he's here probably 6 nights out of the week. And when he has to spend the day away, I pack him a healthy lunch. So that's the story of how I became a mom overnight to an overgrown baby. I'm just glad he's not the messiest guy I know (not to mention any names *coughVivaldocough*), but he's lazy enough to not want to help around the house. And the place automatically becomes much messier much faster with two people living there, so I've had to teach him a thing or two about becoming more domesticated (he was raised to believe men don't do housework of any kind. Africans I tell ya... SMHRH). It's been a battle, but I think I finally got him housebroken! hahaha



He's fun to have around though, and he's such a handyman if any maintenance-related issues arise, I really can't complain.

Mujer de Hierro

So, I got this itch. I big itch. An itch that calls for scratching. I want to participate in an IronMan competition. Well, actually, any triathlon. Ironman seems quite far-fetched at the moment. But I really really want to do a triathlon. I've always thought I wanted to do it someday (ever since I saw it on TV ages ago), and then sometime in my 20's I decided I wanted to do it before I turn 30, and now that 30 is pretty much around the corner (I'm 27.5 yrs old, lol) I think it's time to get serious about it. I have a friend who has a boyfriend who just ran the IronMan in South Africa this past April. I was so excited to hear about someone that ACTUALLY participated and I plan on talking to him and getting as many tips from him as possible to see if a complete beginner like me can reach such a lofty athletic goal. My problem is that I lack discipline, I'll have to exercise military discipline in order to get all my workouts in while still balancing my regular life. Maybe I'll get in way over my head but I'd like to try it out. We'll see what happens. I might want to start by buying some real athletic gear though, and that can get quite expensive. And a bike. Where the heck am I going to get a bike from? Oh, so many things to think about. But you better believe this itch is getting stronger by the day and it's not going away until I scratch it!

For those of you who don't know what a triathlon entails, here are the deets:

2.4 Mile Swim

112 Mile Bike Ride

26.2 Mile Run (full marathon)

Phew! Sounds like fun, eh?

Hi! Remember Me?

Ummm should I even apologize for the 3-month hiatus I took? Would you guys even believe me? Would you even take me seriously? I really I'm sorry that I've been away from this blog for so long... but time has FLOWN!!!! I've been so busy with a gazillion other things I always seem to be getting involved in and there's barely any time half the things I want to do, including blogging. Well, I've been blogging, but on a second blog I recently started... but that's another story for another day.
For now, I'll just say this: I've been having fun as always. I've been traveling as usual, spending time with friends and family, trying to be a superstar at work (got a raise last week, wohoo!), getting my students to perform their first formal recital, and all of those activities that keep me entertained.

This weekend I spent visiting Belkis and her kids while her husband is away on business. It was cool to catch up and eat all of Belkis' delicious vegan cooking and laugh at Sukayna's antics. She cracks me up! Such a cutie. Pictures to come in the next post. Which I PROMISE will NOT be 3 months from now! hahaha
Toodles my dears! Thanks for sticking around! :D

Touring the Boats