A Perfect Prez Day

Here's my recommended list of how to spend a perfect President's Day holiday:

(1) Sleep in, even if for some crazy reason your house alarm is going off because it was struck by lightning. Again.

(2) Eat homemade rice krispie treats for breakfast (thanks Beth!).

(3) Spend a good portion of your day outside, preferably lounging in your pool with your significant other and playing with your dogs (I finally took pictures of Muddy being submarine pup and I think I caught him right in mid-air! pics for you as soon as I find the upload thingy...). This activity is best enjoyed when you rig up your Bose iPod stereo to play through the window so you can hear it outside in the pool.

(4) Run errands with your hubby and experience limited traffic and no lines in the stores as everyone else is at work except you. mwahahhahaa.

(5) Bake Funfetti cupcakes to take to work the following day to (1) celebrate your own birthday* and (2) give your coworkers something else to smile about in their 4 day work week.

(6) Get wedding ring appraised, insured, and repolished so that it is no longer black underneath some of the stones on your wedding band (was it really THAT dirty? ewww...) and also get your hubby's ring repolished so that its shiny once again. Its like getting brand new jewelry!

(7) Eat a fantastic Indian dinner with friends and have lots of laughs while enjoying a beautiful summer evening in South Africa.

(8) Remember that you have an iTunes gift card and immediately start downloading all the musical treasures you discovered while you had access to TV while in Zambia and Uganda...

All in all, it was a relaxing, fantastic Monday off from work. I am dreading the pile of work that has undoubtedly accumulated on my desk during my 3 week hiatus from the office. Yowsa. Wish me luck.

On another note of interest, check this out. This is my friend Rachel's fabulous Vegan food blog. If anyone could ever convince me to go Vegan, its definitely this reformed carnivore! Its interesting to see the great things she comes up with and the pics are an absolute plus. I don't know how I'd even begin to replicate any of the recipes here in South Africa as I am in carnivore country (I've never even seen block tofu in the stores!), but I still like to look and see what new delights are posted. Enjoy!

*For some reason, it is customary in South Africa to celebrate your own birthday by bringing a cake to the office. Yes, that's right - you bring a cake to celebrate your own birthday in this country. No one buys it for you - you supply it and everyone else eats it. No "Happy birthday" singing either - just an email to everyone in the office saying "Valerie brought her birthday cake today. Its in the kitchen." The interesting thing is to note the time in which the email goes out to the time in which the last piece of cake stands. I am taking 40 cupcakes to work tomorrow and will let you know how quick they go. For the record, they are half funfetti and half devil's food cake, both imported cake mixes from the states so it will be an experiment to see whether my colleagues like these American treats!