Today’s instalment of the ten day challenge asks for nine loves. I figured it stands to reason that I love my family (both blood and urban)…for goodness sake, my sister has her very own post here, so I decided to focus on other, less obvious loves.

Here are nine of my loves (there are so many more!), in no particular order:
1. A good car disco. I really don’t like driving (possibly because it ends in parking), but there is something so fabulous and cathartic about singing along to my favourite songs in the car. I can’t actually sing to save my life, but when I’m in the car, I’m a total rock star. And I don’t care who can see me.

2. Dancing. And not just in the car (I try not to cause accidents you see). There’s nothing better than a good night out with friends, just dancing to great music – i.e. not dance music, but indie/alternative/rock awesomeness. Can’t be beat. Except maybe by jumping up and down at a gig (see I snuck a sneaky extra love in there…ssshh, don’t tell!)

3. Losing myself in an amazing book. If I didn’t have to get distracted by that pesky thing called life, I could spend my days getting lost in the worlds of people like Barbara Kingsolver, Patricia Cornwell, Jonathan Kellerman…the list is endless. A beautifully written book (and it doesn’t have to be highbrow literature or anything like that) has a way of making you feel as if you know the characters and are part of the action. Incredible stuff.

4. Good food with friends. Mealtimes in our group of friends have erred on the side of epic on more than one occasion. And why not have a five hour lunch?! What better combination than delicious food and delectable gossip.

5. My house. I used to really hate the place I called home in Durban – the neighbours were creepy (and more than a little trailer park), it was tiny and kind of run down, and basically I just stayed there because it was a place to live where cats were allowed and the rent was reasonable. But I adore my little house here in JHB. It’s no palace but it’s airy and tranquil and I can lounge around all day in my PJs without fear of the redneck next door peering in at me…and later penning me the most ridiculous love letter I’ve ever received. Shudder. It has a beautiful garden and a pool, and the Alzheimers Cat is considered the best thing since sliced bread by everyone in the complex. Sold!

6. Peanut butter. It goes with everything.

7. Getting emails/phone calls/smses etc, especially out of the blue. I’m a chatty girl. It makes me super happy when people want to talk to me. That makes me sound kind of sad, doesn’t it?

8. Rugby. I don’t even always know all the rules or all the players’ names, but oh boy do I love rugby. In a very monogamous, I don’t really watch any other sports kind of way. And even when we lose (which sometimes makes me cry), I still love our teams.

9. My life so far. Sure, some really bad stuff has happened, but I believe those things make us who we are. More importantly, when I think about some of the opportunities I’ve had, the adventures my friends and I have gone on, and the wonderful people I know, I realise I am amazingly lucky.

You’ll notice chocolate isn’t on that list…I figured that went without saying too.