I didn't mean to keep you in suspense!

I've had some a lot of people checking up on me.

Thank you so much.

I didn't mean to be deliberately quiet.

I really just work with extreme micromanagers and at the moment, survival is key.

pic by D of me in Ballito; cropped by me because my bum was far too big in the original photo

I will write more when I have time but I don't tonight since I decided today that my health is most important and I MUST go work out twice a week and once on the weekend. To keep sane but also to keep the stress at bay.

So I cooked supper, ate with the kids, and dashed out the minute D arrived home... to Spanish Dance lesson 2!

It was quite terrible because it was a very advanced class but I'm glad I went because I'll get there in a few months' time :) Also, I learnt that if you stop thinking so much and just focus on the rhythms, you can keep up... mostly. There's a life lesson there.

Next week I'm going back to the baby class and I'll stay there a month, and then see about moving up...

The gynae appt was ok (but I cried), the work thing was ok.... and I'm ok.

How was YOUR Monday?

PS apparently my US friends (the Mandys) know more about Oscar than I do! Hilarious :)
PPS tomorrow's interview is at 2pm!

Tomorrow's a big day

Friends, if you're the praying sort, tomorrow is a big day for me.

First thing in the morning I have a check-up at the gynae... to see if these cysts have at least reduced if not gone. I'm not feeling hopeful....

I was supposed to have this appointment late November but of course, things were even worse than in August so there was really no point.

6.5 months in, I really do have to go check it all out.

Wish me well.


And more importantly, I have a meeting at work tomorrow at 2 pm. Please pray. I already started getting anxious tonight after supper, especially since it's just me against with 3 of them. Also, this last week was baaaaadddd at work, so much so I did a budget on 1 income last night.

Right.

That's me.

I need my sleep so I can be a little more "together" tomorrow.


On the bright side, it's stopped raining and we could actually go for a walk today. First time this month!

How are you all doing?

So I'm helping to build a library

My friends over at Se7en sponsor a local library.

She wrote all about it here.

I then went poking around the blog and found another great post on the library.

I love reading and have from a very young age - it's transported me to worlds unknown, taught me a lot and given me a love for what makes people tick.

And so I want to help this community by donating my books.

I've been on a mission to clear my physical books off my shelves, except for my extremely loved books (8, 9 or 10 out of 10), for the last 2 years. At the moment I probably have about 2 shelves of unread books, and 2 shelves of well-loved books.

I definitely donate all fiction because I never read them again (although in the interests of full disclosure, I still have The Painted House and The Bonesetter's Daughter because I love those books) and so this pile has been accumulating.

I'm sending these books to them. When D saw the pile on my desk ready for packaging and I told him what it's all about, he said, "hey, you should go through the kids' books too".

I don't need a second invitation so if I find enough "alone" time without helpers, I may get that in the mail soon too.

If you want to help build this library, please email me for the address to send your books. You could also order online and have it delivered directly to them.

Kalahari.net ships any orders of R250 or more for free!!!

(overseas friends, Kalahari is our local version of Amazon :))

Let's build a library!!! I know you all have tons of gently used books (I check in with myself to see if I'd still want to pay good money for that book - then it is gently used) - send them to Cape Town!

(here's where I get just a teensy bit bossy and no, I don't mind being called bossy at all)

Who's doing this with me?

{Friendship Friday} The Se7en + 1 edition

"He restores my soul"

(for the more observant amongst you, I'm posting a little bit out of order because my second CT friend date is holidaying in Australia at the moment, lucky fish!)

Here's CT friend date 1 in case you missed it.





It's not a joke - I actually have a list of people I want to meet (on my 40 things list) and Se7en was on that list.

So of course I was thrilled when she was keen to meet up too.

And then I felt guilty because her husband came to collect me for supper at their place. But I was very, very happy they offered because honestly, CT traffic was a nightmare.

One Hood missing

I'd planned to get some flowers or something but I got gloriously lost (no joke) coming back from Bellville and made it back to the hotel with seconds to spare. I was literally running down the street after her hubby's car as I phoned him saying, "hi............ I think that's your car driving away from me.........."

You can't make this stuff up - this is my life.

Anyway, we got there without incident and when we arrived, I was delighted to see the children tumbling out of the house to welcome their dad home.

SO SWEET!

look how spread out we were... it was me being so slow taking photos...

Let me try and tell you about our evening, Se7en + 1 style:

1. I was welcomed by the children (of course it was a bit strange to have 8 kids instead of "just two") but it was lovely. I hadn't missed my kids much until that point but having all the kids around made me long for my two.

2. Se7en asked if I wanted a house tour first or a walk on the beach. What do you think I said? :)



3. That walk was just GLORIOUS! Glorious! If you follow me on instagram, you saw how I "restricted" myself to just 3 photos in about 30 minutes.... because seriously, those colours! The beach! The sunset! The silhouettes! God was showing off, big-time.

We had ice-creams (before supper!) - delicious - I should "break loose" more often with mine too.

look at Mr and Mrs Se7en :)

4. Then we had a house tour. Can I tell you a secret? I LOVE when a person's house feels exactly like them. And their house does - it's warm, cosy, welcoming, hospitable and you could actually just settle in and feel totally at home. I saw my favourite cabinet in the flesh - the one I rave about on Instagram - and the location of all those lovely outside suppers :)
 

this is one of my favourites of the evening - hoods 2 and 8

5. These kids! They're amazing. Such good listeners - I could hardly believe it. Not a voice raised due to non-listening kids. (I told my kids about my friends with EIGHT children who all listen so nicely to their mum and dad...) "Go have your showers" and they all disappeared and emerged later, freshly washed and ready for supper.

I was really so impressed - everyone had their thing to do, setting table, doing cutlery, etc.. And Se7en and Mr Se7en :) :) are such a good team together, especially with serving supper. 11 plates on the table... 1, 2, 3 and the plates were filled with food and on the table.
 

I love the light in this photo. LOVE!

6. We had a delicious supper of spaghetti and meatballs (YUM!) and apple crumble for dessert made by Hood #4.


7. And then we sat down to talk and talk some more. It was soooo good. I love connecting with people so it was fabulous and really, the perfect last night in CT.

Hood 1... no fancy editing

+ 1............I must end off with this - if there ever was an ad for homeschooling your kids, this family is it. These children impressed me to no end. They're all smart as a whip (ok, the parents are both super clever, but still), well-mannered, they all communicate beautifully and are just really nice children. Right there is success!

I have a photo like this in Thailand :)

Guess what time I got back to the hotel? 12:30 am!!! And it was worth it.

I'm really so sorry we don't live closer. My kids would love all of their kids.

Thank you again, dear Se7en family, for your amazing hospitality and friendship. I loved meeting all of you in the flesh :)
  

magnificent sunset

Moments later, that splendid sunset was gone

And finally, a photo of the two of us. My battery was flashing at me so I said, "QUICK! Let's take a pic" :)

Which was your favourite photo?

PS Laura mentioned on her blog the other day how she thinks of this family every day because of their meal prep. I KNOW!

In limbo (part 2)

Julia emailed me her comment to this post on Tuesday morning.

It made complete and utter sense.

So I got myself into gear and started dealing with the limbo.

1. We've booked Air Supply and UB40 tickets.

Someone at work (a work friend, not my team) said "I wouldn't say that too loud"... about Air Supply.

I said, "I LOVE THEM and I'm unashamed about my immense love of soppy love songs".

So there it is.

I promised before that we'd never do another concert in the park (after the Elton John fiasco) but......... it is UB40 and brings back very fond memories of around std 9 - 10.... and I promised D that if it gets unbearable (sore bums, rude people, people smoking p.ot next to us which he seems to think is going to happen!!!), we will leave.

2. I've scheduled 3 schools' open days in our diaries and I have to get back to one admissions lady about coming for a walk around since we missed that o3pen day.

3. I booked a gynae appt.

4. I went to Spanish dance class on Tues! I KNOW! It was great. I had a terrible M and T (copious crying both days) and I needed the escape. When you're dancing (or maybe that's me), I have to focus and be entirely in the moment - I don't have time to think about my problems.

I was the only one there as the other two didn't pitch so I had a private lesson and she was in part, testing me to see how much I remembered and giving me a taste of everything.

Turns out it does come back quickly. She said I could do the exam after one more lesson. HA!

So she wants to move me to a higher class immediately. I said, "let me do this one for a month and THEN move up". But I'm going to the higher one next week since I promised them. This is fun for me - I don't want to be thrown into the deep end with my old bones that aren't used to twirling, stamping and flinging myself around.

If you're in limbo, take Julia's advice on that post and just get moving. Even on just one thing.

What do you need to take action on?

Our Valentine's Day gifts for teachers

Can you believe I actually used pinterest seach for "non-cheesy Valentine's gifts"? Yes, I did.

I really don't like the cheesy stuff - Thanks a latte for everything you do, Because of you I'm a real smartie and similar...
 ,
Laura and I had a little discussion because I said I'm sure our South African people don't go in for the cheesy. What do you guys think?

I saw this idea with craft books but it gave me the idea so off I went and 30 minutes later, they were all done.

• A5 teal notebooks - CNA, R18 for 2
• Lovely heart tape - from Lesley in Ireland :)
• Teal pencils - Pick and Pay, about R7 for 4
• Red washi tape - somewhere on etsy ages ago
• Labels - free on a blog also ages ago (I often save til a Friday, print and delete - there's too much out there to keep everything...unless I paid for it :))
• Baker's twine - Paper Peony

self-explanatory

different patterns

some tape around the pencils

and then adhered with washi tape so it will come off without pulling the cover

I made some A6 ones for my kids too

stamped different patterns on the covers with a heart stamp

wrap in cellophane bags (I bought 100 years ago...about 60% through now), attach tags with bakers twine and voila!

They looked STUNNING.

(if I say so myself)

The kids put them on the desks and the teachers didn't say anything to me or the kids which cheesed me off. But oh well, I had fun making them... although they won't be getting anything from me again!

What do you think?
Do you like cheesy?

On the receiving end of a RAOK

It's no secret how much I love doing random acts of kindness.

(side note - I set a goal of doing 40 RAOK before I turn 40 in Aug, and I'd finished those 40 by the end of the year already... so now I'm aiming for 80. Why not, I say?)

Anyway, someone really surprised me the other day.

The mail guy brought me an envelope and I opened it.... to find this lovely print:

And yay, I found out who it is but I won't link because of privacy issues.

Needless to say, I LOVE IT! I also loved the surprise (surprisingly, because normally I don't like surprises :))

I did gifts for all my new consultants last week at church and they were gobsmacked! I love it - hehehe.

And one of the consultants baked a cake for all of us too :)

Such fun.

Let's start a kindness movement!

When was your last random act of kindness? Both given and received.

Being in limbo

For those who have access there's a work post here.


So you all know I'm a J. A high J at that.

For a J, being in limbo kind-of drives you nuts.

I feel like I'm in limbo because of this job thing.

1. I want to book holidays but if things go pear-shaped, I don't know that it would be financially sound swanning around on holidays. I will have all the time in the world.... but at some point, I need to work, right?

2. I also want to start properly investigating schools. There is a school I may look into for Connor but only if I'm still employed at the current place. We also were thinking of a private Christian school, again only if I stay employed. We wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise.

3. I also want to fully commit myself to ministry. I've committed to teaching another course in May - that's only 5 nights plus prep - but I want to jump in and consult again, properly, like once every two weeks. As it is, I had to fight with work to do the course. They wanted me to fly out on a Monday morning but I'd committed to doing the course and I'm a person of integrity.

4. And maybe, just maybe, I can finally teach the Love Languages workshops like I've been craving for 2 years now.

But I feel I can't commit and then get out just because of work stuff.

5. I've also looked into starting Spanish dancing classes for adults :) The place is near my house so it almost feels like a sign. I want to see if I can pop by tomorrow night to check it out. I did Spanish dancing from std 6 - 10 and LOVED it! Still have my castanets :)

if I've been shooting (!) in a different kind of light, when I get inside, I quickly take a pic to check that things look ok before moving on.... this was one of those photos. I call it "stationery mess" :)

How I get the kids to behave on holiday... and that's my new carpet underneath. It turned out too dark but that's my life right now... I have BIG things going on so I can't even be bothered "wasting" R12 000 on the wrong shade of carpet.

aaah, water with lemon.

A newish scarf. I bought one in Bloem of all places, and another on Saturday. This has GOT to stop.

my loves - as you can see this was before 1 March which is The Day the Rains Started and Haven't Since Stopped!

Nanny V came to visit the kids with her baby who's now nearly two! Pic by Nanny S :) (everyone's getting trained in this house)

That's me.

Anyone else in limbo?

Happy birthday, Mandy!

this was the first time I saw Mandy in person and of course, I took a photo :)

how is it we all spent about 30 hours together and we have ONE photo?!

Happy birthday, Mandy, with your mad DIY/ sewing/ baking/ cooking skillz!!! And your big, generous heart :)

Today we celebrate your birth and hope you're having a fabulous birthday!

*******************************************

I miss the Mandys too much actually. I looked through the Charlotte photos tonight and the kids all look so SMALL :)

Tomorrow I need to write about being in limbo because I really want to book holidays! And travel for fun!!!!

:)

Some reading for the weekend

There's such a lot of good things around, don't you find?

The key for me is to balance the reading with doing. By balance I mean a lot more doing than reading about doing, and first doing then reading, in the case of blogging.

Do you battle with the balance at all?

I used to, until I set myself a little rule - first blog, then read blogs, and that seems to work for me.


And now, some other loveliness I found on the internet.


This post made me think hard about parenting.

I think I need to start playing more with my iphone.

Genius idea, especially because I normally kill plants.

This is just plain old inspiring.

And last but not least, look at this gorgeous photography. Bee-yoo-ti-ful


Which is your favourite link?

Where did February go?

 

Well, it must have been all the travel that made it seem so crazy but my February was about 8 days shorter than it normally is.

That said, my goals spreadsheet says I got to 82% of my goals - yayyy. I will confess that I really had to focus to get book 5 read in the last day or two :)

While I'm talking about books, I read Happier at Home last month and... I liked The Happiness Project better. The Home version was fine enough but not as great as the first book for ME!

If you've read both, which one did you like best?

Notable happenings in Feb:

1. I did the training for the church course. OH! My heart is so full from doing this training and I've actually 90% decided to jump right back in. The only thing holding me back is, of course, the Elephant in the Room. Not only was my teaching and training affirmed, but also I just flat-out loved doing it. I LOVE seeing the spark in people when we discover their passion.
2. I also "designed" (I use that term very loosely), printed and put my 2013 Instagram book together. It looks GREAT!
3. I did 7 days of travel and did great work (I think). Well, at the very least, I survived.
4. I met up with tons of friends last month, 3 of those in CT and 2 of those new friends! :)
5. We did a fun Valentine's as a family. And I did cute stuff for the kids and their teachers (pics to follow when I start with Feb photos).
6. I got my online career stuff and my CV updated and I can see more recruiters checking out my profile. And I applied for yet another job.
7. And on the bad side, I got rejected for that job.

So let's talk goals for March... now that I'm already 8 days in....

 - important work thing to do
 - have some "conversations" - can you believe this is month 12 in this job?! I can't.
 - finish training the people who missed a lesson on the church course
 - put Ballito photos in album and take some photos
 - get February photo organising done
 - read my 5 books and enjoy them (I just decided to stop reading a depressing book about a woman in a mental hospital)
 - have a 1:1 date with Kendra and Connor

(I actually have 25 goals but I'm only sharing these ones)


What's on your list for March?

{Friendship Friday} Cape Town friend dates - part 1

from the rooftop of our one building

can you see my pants blowing in the wind? I thought I'd be blown off the rooftop!

When I knew I was going to CT, I immediately emailed Julia and L. There was a third person I also desperately wanted to meet (she is on my 40 things list) so I got brave, reached out and she was also very keen.

 

Anyway, Julia emailed me at one point and said, "wait, are 3 friend dates not going to be too much for you?" and I said, "it may be but I'm doing it anyway". :)

And I think it was absolutely the right thing to do.

It kept me busy, out of trouble and focussed so I didn't miss my loves at home too much.

Each of the evenings was very different from the others and together, they were the perfect combination for me. Seriously.



So Julia was number 1. We've met before in 2012 (a day I took some gorgeous photos of the winter sunset :)) and we email daily so we literally slipped back into our friendship as if I saw her last week.

It was a wonderful evening of talking, laughing, deep connection and delicious food (I might have groaned when I tasted the first mouthful of Thai Mussamen Curry at my favourite CT restaurant, Chef Pon's Asian Kitchen).



They had to basically kick us out. When we looked up, all the tables were cleaned off, and they were mopping the floor.....

We quickly got the waitress to take a few photos to document the evening, and we were on our way.

 

DIVINE.

I wish you lived closer, Julia. Thank you again for a lovely evening - it was exactly what I needed :)



The outside photos (not the rooftop ones) were taken at about 6:50. Can you believe it's still that light?!

How are your friend dates going so far this year?

My one friend reminded me we haven't seen each other since Nov. That's got to be remedied soon.