03 February 2011

A Little Bit of Everything

Hello everyone!

So this week has been jam packed with work, orientation for my graduate program, classes starting and the general mayhem of getting prepared for the year ahead.  It has been a hectic few days with minimal amounts of sleep, but I think the worst is over and it should be downhill from here to the weekend.

Wow, so much has happened since I last posted.  Before writing about anything else, I just want to say how happy, and relieved, and thankful I am that my Grandpa responded well to his heart surgery and seems like he will make a strong recovery.  For those of you who don't know, he had a minor heart attack two weeks ago and was taken to a hospital near his home.  After various tests were done, it was discovered that his heart was extremely damaged and that he was essentially undergoing heart failure.  After much effort, he was transferred to USC and, after many more tests were performed, it was decided that the best option would be for him to take the risk and undergo triple bypass surgery.  Yesterday, he was in surgery for more than eight hours, which had all of us more than a little worried.  However, the doctor finally came out and informed my mom and uncle that he had responded very well to the surgery and that they were able to not only perform a triple bypass, but also replace a valve and correct his irregular heartbeat.  We are all overjoyed with this news and optimistic about his recovery!  My Grandpa is truly one of my heros!  But PLEASE still send thoughts, prayers and good vibes his way because he is still in critical care and will still be in ICU for another 7 to 10 days before he will be moved to general care.

On a different note, I had a very productive and enjoyable weekend filled with wonderful friends, sunny weather and delicious food. 

On Sunday I went here with one of my favorite people


Where I bought all the herbs and supplies to plant/create this


(ps I am in love with my little herb garden.  It is the closest thing to a pet that I can have here and so I think I am subconciously using it as a way to cope with not being able to have a dog ;).  It is basil, dill, green onion and rocket (which is a type of lettuce).  Unfortunately, they didn't have already grown rocket though, so I planted seeds and there will soon be rocket in that empty section at the top :).  Let's just hope that I don't kill my little garden, let's just say that I haven't had such a good track record in the past!)

Anyways, as an added bonus, while at the Nursery, we were able to have brunch here, which just happens to be one of my favorite Sunday restaurants in Johannesburg.


Needless to say it was the perfect Sunday outing, you know, just the kind you need to feel ready to tackle the week ahead.

When I got home I ended my perfect Sunday by making these delicious Savory Cupcakes which I found on EAT DRINK PRETTY .  I must say that they turned out pretty yummy and I was quite pround of myself since I am really not much of a "baker".  However, I am slowly starting to find my inner domesticity and force myself to expand on my (very) limited recipe base.

Here is how they turned out:


(Pretty good for a first-timer huh??!)


Well, unfortunately all good Sundays must come to an end and my very hectic week began.  I won't elaborate too much because I think I need to wrap this up, but all in all it was a busy, but important week and I think my classes are going to be very interesting... And I have already made a group of friends in the post-grad programme.  Everyone is really friendly and really curious about me being from California (questions include: Were you a cheerleader, Were you in a sorority, Is college really crazy like in the movies and Were you a Mean Girl, like in the movie.)  But everyone is really sweet and has gone out of their way to include me in their group (most of them already know eachother from last year), and I think the year is going to be a very good one.  I will update more on classes further into the semester.

I hope everyone is doing well and will try and post more often, now that my "hell" week is over.

Happy Thursday!

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