It’s that time of the year where all you hear is Jingle Bells and you truly feel like you’re Dreaming of a White Christmas, wherever you go. This year we’re lucky enough to be going far, far away from a White Christmas. In fact, our Christmas will be kind of brown…like a dune, to be exact! On Saturday morning we leave for a visit to Namibia – my first in three years. John once did visit before we met, but the real highlight is the fact that his parents are joining us for their first visit. My mom’s been in organization overdrive for almost six months and I’ve been told that the biltong and droewors supply is looking good and that the white wine is well chilled (just the news I wanted to hear!).

We’ll be traveling for 26 hours to get to our destination (double ugh!) and I already know that my luggage will be a) overweight and b) unable to close. Dammit. How does Christmas shopping always go this route? I have put tomorrow night in the calendar for packing so if you hear loud wailing coming from Manhattan, that will be me trying to decide which summer outfit NOT to pack.

Wishing you all a warm Christmas and a safe holiday – whether you’ll be having a White or Brown Christmas.

After ‘doing it‘ back in June 2007  (two and a half years ago!), the big question on my mind has been when we were going to ‘do it’ again. For real. With friends and family present and preferably with me wearing a big dress, with a big cake, a professional photographer and an opening dance like the one I’ve been dreaming of having for the past 29 years. You see, if you’re a girl you’ll understand what I’m on about. If not, let me explain.

From the day that a girl gets her brain going the right way (probably around age five?), she starts planning her wedding. It’s always an elaborate affair and for all the years after that, every boy she meets has the potential of being Prince Charming. Mr Right. Some of us are lucky enough to find The One at some point in our lives and his face usually slots onto the body of the man in our dreams (and into our dream wedding) just perfectly. Often you ‘just know’ shortly after you meet the handsome Man Of Your Dreams that he is the one and then, ladies and gentlemen, the waiting game starts. Will he do it? How? When, oh when, oh when will he get down on one knee and ask you to marry him? Popping the question is just the cherry on top of the cake and the final hurdle a girl has to pass that will allow her to go into a full wedding planning frenzy.

When one gets married the way we did it back in 2007, it still has a certain charm, but it most definitely does not quite live up to that lifelong dream. Yes, you still get Mr Right, you still get to say ‘I Do’ (a big think for an Afrikaans meisie such as myself), but you lack the magic. And magic is what makes the world go round.

And very often, magic starts with a diamond (or eleven diamonds, in this particular case!). Two and a half years ago we promised to do it right at some point in the future and Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies‘ took on a whole new meaning as John had to endure many repeat sessions of ‘If you liked it you shoulda put a ring on it’ by me and a myriad of girlfriends who all ‘get’ the dream.

My poor Prince Charming did not stand a chance.

During our trip to Brazil last week the big moment finally arrived – and I had no clue that it was happening! Mr Right had bought the most perfect diamond, gotten the most perfect setting and went down on one knee on the most romantic setting in the world – atop Sugar Hill in Rio de Janeiro.  Of course I had to take the bling right off as we left the mountain as we just couldn’t risk having my now-precious finger cut off on the streets and I think John was quite amused by me wanting to spend as much time as possible inside our holiday apartment where I could prance around wearing my ring, my eyes never straying too far from my now-beautiful left hand.

Annie kindly offered the use of her bridesmaid’s dress which she wore at the original ceremony (Ha ha!), but I think this time we’ll do it right. We are, after all, officially engaged-to-be-married-again. I am such a lucky, lucky girl.