Some may say that I'm indulged and spoiled. Judging by the amount of traveling I've been privileged enough to do in the past few months, I'd have to agree with them. Once again, I'm finding myself sorting through clothes and daily necessities, trying to organize my life enough to fit into a suitcase. I'm headed off to paradise for two weeks, and I'm not sure when or if I'll be able to update while I'm away. I'm sorry that my interaction here has been sparse at best these past weeks. From a friend being captured and then released, school starting again, a family that always needs to eat (gosh!), and my waking up at 4 a.m. every day, I've been left at the end of the day with not much left in my reserve.

My husband has a networking conference to attend and I would not allow him to go to paradise for work without taking me along so I could take advantage of the pleasure. Somebody has to be able to fill out the feedback form accurately when it comes to the room service, spa facilities, and guest activities right? Sunrise jogging tour, anyone? I'll be up anyway. I have important work to do!

A little guilt ridden, I bid you all adieu again for a short time. I'll be back before you know it.

For the past two weeks, I have been waking up naturally, ready to start the day at the unearthly time of 4 a.m. The first time that it happened, I squished my eyes close really tight and tried to force myself back to sleep. I was pressing my eyes shut so tightly that my eyelids hurt. Giving up on any more zzz's, I threw back the covers, put on my workout gear and headed down to the treadmill. I might as well try to get rid of these excess pounds I gained in Africa. There are people starving in Africa and I gained weight. There is a serious justice issue in there somewhere. Surprisingly, I felt great after speed walking on the treadmill for an hour and catching up on "Instant Beauty Pageant" and "Clean House" on my new favourite channel. A few more times of this routine, and it suddenly became a habit! What is that all about?

This morning, I decided to try to let myself sleep in, perhaps until 6:30! I dream big. Well, sure enough, 5 a.m. rolled around and I was squishing my eyes shut, trying to get back to sleep. Frustrated, I threw back the covers and made my way down to the treadmill. By 6:30, I had walked 5 kms, burned over 400 calories and had sweat dripping through my hair.

Another new development in my life since returning from Africa, is that I have switched to drinking coffee without any sugar and no milk! This is a big deal for me, since I basically made my coffee into a mug-full of confection - a literal tumbler full of liquid candy. One morning, I woke up and it was like something clicked in my brain. "I'm going to refrain from adding anything to my coffee today." My husband was delighted because we have identical travel mugs that we use for our coffee and he inevitably takes a big swig of the sweet goodness that was my concoction. As he spits and sputters, he manages to croak out, "This is yours." This unfortunate and unpleasant experience is no longer a threat to my husband's happiness because we both take our coffee the same way - straight up and black.

This morning, after my big walk and a rewarding shower (with raspberry body wash followed by raspberry butter! I smell pretty!), I made my standard oatmeal, flax seed and raisin breakfast. Standing next to the stove, keeping a careful eye on my oatmeal, I caught the scent of freshly brewed coffee. "I'm going to treat myself," I thought, "I'm going to put milk and sugar in it today!"

I ate all of my oatmeal, and then settled back into the couch, cupping my steaming mug of candy, watching the news. I took one sip and my face puckered in on itself. Horrid! The milk tasted terrible. And the sugar was too sweet! What happened to my trusty confection? The only answer can be that I've grown up. My taste buds have matured and I'm no longer seduced by the lures of sugar. I didn't think it was ever possible.

I guess the old adage is true: Once you go black, you never go back.

I love the stage that Charlie is in. He's so inquisitive but it goes beyond the gathering of facts. He is now drawing his own conclusions and observes situations independently, revealing more and more of his worldview and character. Recently, he was confused as to why I refused what seemed to him to be a brilliant idea of taking the Jesus cookie from the gingerbread nativity scene to school as a snack. That sparked a brilliant conversation about religion and being sensitive to other people's views. We also have had great discussions with him about history of slavery. While we were in Tanzania, we drove along the beginnings of the "Trail of Tears" - the road where the slaves were gathered and forced to walk hundreds of miles to the coast in order to be put onto boats. His heart is still heavy with the thought of such injustice.

My favourite, though, was this week when my husband and I were enjoying a glass of wine with our dinner. Obviously, the subject of alcohol and responsible consumption came up. I said, "And you should never, ever, ever drink and drive." Charlie's shrugged and scoffed, "Of course you shouldn't drink and drive. You might spill!"

He's my son, through and through.

There are times when hearing someone else's opinion before you experience something for yourself ruins it completely. Has that ever happened to you? You hear from a friend how FUNNY a movie is and then when you see it, you didn't laugh yourself to tears and squeaked out laughter like you were expecting from your friend's review? Or there is that book that you heard was so AMAZING, but when you read it, the claws of intrigue neglect to pierce your heart? Especially when the person who held the high opinion is special and close to you, it's hard to be honest about what you really think. So when we were going to Africa, I was a little afraid because my dear friend had told me about how this place was the most beautiful place on earth. I was peppered and seasoned with descriptions and reviews, "Just wait until you see it!"

Imagine my relief when we rounded the bend and set eyes on the beach from the deck of the boat:

This really is the best beach on the face of the earth: fresh water that is clean and safe to swim in (no snail parasites) and sand that is neither too rocky nor so fine that it gets into everything. Once dry, the sand just brushes off and leaves us alone! It's fantastic!

One would be hard pressed to hold on to the stresses of life looking out at this:

Soon after we arrived the first time, Charlie and Lola and I were delighted to see monkeys hanging out in the jungle! I must admit that I was a bit fearful because this was the first time that I had seen a monkey without bars separating us. I imagine it would be the way that I feel when I meet an ex-con. Being the naive tourists that we are, we exclaimed, "Look! Monkeys!" and threw them a piece of our banana before our hosts could shout the words, "DON'T FEED THE MONKEYS!"

We soon learned why they were so insistent because soon word got out that the weird white people were handing out free banana snacks:

You have to look closely for this little guy, but he's there. My monkey banana stalker.

Not like I haven't experienced that before.

(Not sure what that meant, exactly, but I'm snickering anyway)

Hours driving to the capital: 5

Hours in the capital before we flew: 34.5

Hours in the airport: 6

Hours in Dar es Salaam: 18

Total hours spent in the air: 6.5

Getting to Africa felt less like a journey and more like a lot of sitting around - hours moving (11.5) as opposed to hours waiting to move (58.5). It's been a life long dream of mine to go to Africa and so when I saw this sight from our window:


I forgot all about the long night in the airport and Lola peeing on me in the taxi on our way to the guesthouse in Dar. Seeing the land of Tanzania in detail below me, I couldn't help but feel like this:

The guy behind me is thinking, "Africa, schmafrica. But, hey! I'm looking good and this moment will be immortalized. Forever this gorgeous look I am sporting will be documented in this silly white woman's photo file."

The appetizer: sauteed shrimp in garlic butter, sprinkled delicately with Parmesan and oregano

The result: barbecue steak topped with garlic butter, grilled vegetables and roasted potatoes. Minus the over-salt, I'd say this meal rivals even the greatest of grill houses. Sometimes, I fall in love with myself.

While eating dinner, Lola declared, "I am soooo tired," so she was in her pj's, teeth brushed, last potty stop, and fast asleep by 8:30 p.m. The rest of us watched a movie. Charlie fell asleep, and even though we were trying to keep a close eye on the time, we missed the turning of the year by 2 minutes. At 12:02 a.m., my husband and I leaned across the pillow cushions to quickly wish each other a happy new year before getting back to living vicariously through treasure hunters.

On New Year's Day, we Skyped a bunch of our family and friends and even crashed one party right at the countdown! Nothing like ruining "the moment" for those you care about from across the miles.

Happy New 2009! My wish for all of you is peace and health. May mankind wake up to the fact that no matter which side we are on, we can all commit terrible atrocities in the name of our cause, which doesn't help anyone.