Blogging 101

Hip hip hooray! This post marks the 101st blog entry at Catching Up with the Klaasens - and my, how these entries have changed. It's been amazing for me to note that, this year so far, I have put up more posts than I did in my best blogging year to date (2011 - and you can thank our trip to the UK for that). Either I have a lot more to say, or we're just getting better at documenting it! Whatever the reason, I thought we'd start a little centenary tradition, and start every new 100 posts with a bit of a catch up on all the things this blog is supposed to be about!

Happiness...
I'm learning to be happier. It's not that I wasn't happy before, I think I've just always been so busy trying to be happier/better/richer, that I've not always enjoyed where I was at the time. I'm pleased to say that I'm getting better at this. Soli Deo Gloria!

Work...
Based on the posts, you'd be forgiven for thinking that I cannot hold down a job. The truth is simply that, as life has changed, so my work has changed. I started the blog as I started my freelance work as a Personal Trainer and consultant. A year later, I was working full time in the gym industry as a product trainer and franchise consultant. Then, just after I found out I was pregnant with Zac I left for a lecturer post at a private fitness college, and I'm a week away from starting my new position as Head of Sport with a local school. Andel is still in the health and wellness industry as a General Manager. He definitely has a higher long-suffering tolerance level than I do!

Music...
The soundtrack to our lives right now is anything by AJ Jenkins or African Treehouse - yes, you guessed it: kiddies' songs! Zac does love other music too though: most notably Pentatonix, P!nk, Pitbull and John Legend. I kid you not! On a personal note: I have been threatening to record an album for longer than this blog has been around. We've spoken to the people involved a couple times. Most recently (well, last year) we started planning, like for real, but I have yet to do more than the one demo I did earlier this year. To be honest, as much as I would like to this this as a personal bucket list item, I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to warrant the expense, work, follow up etc. I'll think about it some more!

Food...
I'm no Barefoot Contessa, but I have managed to up my game in the kitchen. Truthfully, that probably has everything to do with having two hungry mouths to feed, and absolutely nothing to do with the blog, but it helps that somebody's watching. I've been on my own version of Paleo eating for a few years (less harsh than Noakes' - some would call me undisciplined), and Andel started this year with amazing results (him yes, me not so much).

Adventure...
Apart from our trip to the UK and our little getaway cruise, we haven't really been on any other big travel adventures. I guess as this stage of our lives though, what with us being parents and all, every day is an adventure, right? Seriously, we try to appreciate the little things, and have spent increasingly more time enjoying all the little treasures Cape Town and South Africa has to offer.

Love...
Our family has grown since we started the blog. We now have little Zac James added to the mix. Much to Andel's disappointment, we still have no fur-babies (I think I was hoping we'd have more human babies by now). Our home has also changed once. We moved out of our little flat in Plumstead in November 2010, and have been in our cosy family duplex in Kenilworth for nearly four years.

Memories...
The whole purpose of this blog is to create and record memories, and it's been such a great platform so far. Some of my favourites include: our travel diary, birthdays and weddings, family celebrations and getaways, and our time with family and friends. Of course things haven't always been all fun and games: we've had to say goodbye to loved ones, have been in places I'd rather not be (like hospital), and have had our fair share of life lessons learnt along the way - but these memories are also special: they remind me of God's grace and provision and sovereignty, and that's something I want others to be able to bear witness to.

Play...
The majority of our play at the moment is sport - and it's Andel who's doing the bulk of it. If he's not playing rugby, he's cycling - and that takes us pretty much through the entire year. He's even got Zac into it, so I'm making peace with the fact that I'll probably be a WAG/Soccer Mom for the rest of my life!

Dreams...
At the moment we are trusting God for our forever home, more children (Andel and I are still debating just how many) and a family holiday to the UK at the end of the year. Our trip to the Grahams in Ireland is long overdue, and we have a little man to introduce to my family in England.

Laughter...
We have laughed plenty. These days we're mostly laughing with each other, at each other: from lame jokes to children's rhymes and bizarre situations (some too embarrassing to even post on here) it seems wherever there is family, there is laughter!

And everything else...

 

Talk about taking a walk down memory lane! I sincerely hope it doesn't take another three+ years for me to post the next hundred entries - this has been quite a mission to remember everything!