Happy Friday!

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand-and melting like a snowflake..." - Marie Beyon Ray

Random things

I was tagged by Mylifescape to write a list of six random things about myself...so here goes...

* I love going to aquariums. I find looking at sea creatures fascinating and very calming.

* I hardly ever finish anything I drink - It drives The Boyf crazy. Even when he makes me a half cup of something I still end up leaving some in the cup.

* I absolutely love cheese - I love all kinds of cheese: cottage cheese, cream cheese, bree, stinky cheese, cheddar cheese, goats cheese..etc etc...

* I love classic cars. I especially lust after 1965 Ford Mustangs.

* I dont sleep with my cellphone next to the bed anymore because i am worried about radiation.

* I have really bad eyes. Most of the time i wear my black rimmed glasses, the rest of the time I wear contacts. I am thinking of getting laser surgery.

_

If you want to read 6 more random things about me click HERE

You can vote if you wanna

I found out yesterday that I am a finalist for "best AFRICAN weblog" in the annual weblog awards :)

Obviously, I would love to win - because awards are super cool. To win all I need is more votes than anyone else in that category...so thats where I really need your help.....

How to vote:

1. Click HERE
2. Scroll across and look for "best AFRICAN blog"
3. Vote for me (pretty please)
4. Scroll to the end of the page and fill in required info
5. Put in a real e-mail address and press submit
6. Go to your inbox and CONFIRM your vote (this is a very important part, because if you dont confirm your vote it is not counted.)
Note: Voting closes on 2 February and ANYONE can vote

Ps -I realise I am probably not the best blog on the whole continent of Africa, but its nice to feel that at least a few people think I am :)
A huge thank you to everyone who takes the time to vote for me.

Turning pages

Currently I am not reading much of anything (which is weird for me). I started a book about a month ago and haven't had the time (or enthusiasm) to get past the second chapter. I even have a few books in my bookshelf begging to be read, but I cant bring myself to begin any of them (Note: maybe reading the Twilight Saga so quickly messed with my head? heehee).

In the last two months I seem to have gone from "loyal book lover" to "magazine whore" *gasp*.
You see, instead of spending time with books I have been seeing magazines - just casually flipping through the pages of many magazines seems so much better than committing to one whole novel right now

I'm sure this "magazines only" phase will pass quickly. I think all I need to do is find an incredible book to read right now.

What are you reading right now?? Whats your favourite book right now? - do tell ..maybe i will feel inspired to go out and get it :)

Monday mumblings

Mondays always suck a bit more after a really nice weekend.

Friday night I went to a cocktail birthday party at a swanky hotel.

The evening started out with me slowly sipping champagne, making small talk and trying to stay balanced in my high heels. Everything stayed rather calm until about my fifth glass of champagne.....*grins*

After that I just stopped worrying how uncomfortable my shoes were, how loud I became, that my strapless dress kept feeling like it was going to fall down and whether I would look like an injured grasshopper on the dance floor.

I danced and drank the night away and had a wonderful, fun time.

Saturday morning was a bit rough. The Boyf and I felt a bit hungover. Plus my feet were seriously sore (I blame the bubbles).

Thankfully I got some pizza for breakfast(technically it was lunch time), which made me feel much better. Greasy food always helps the morning after the madness :)

Today I went for a job interview. I went mainly out of curiosity. I was actually very nervous (for a number of silly reasons), but mostly because i havent been to an interview in over 2 years. I think the interview went really well - which is a pity, because after actually finding out more about the job at the interview I dont really want it anymore. Oh well, it was good that I went anyway - just for the practice.
_

Hope you are all having a great start to the week :)

Happy Friday!

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” - Buddha

Stumbling in stilettos

I am no good in high heels. I never have been.

Over time I have developed a love /hate relationship with high heels. I love how they look, but i hate the way they feel.

My mom has always been brilliant in high heels. She can wear any height of heel. Her favourite is the stiletto heel (or as i like to call it the "suicide" heel). She wore high heels while she was pregnant and even after turning fifty she still wears lots of high heels.

Growing up I was in awe of how she pranced around in super high heels with the skill of a Vegas showgirl. When I asked her how she did it she would say to me "Brazen, it just takes practice".

Well, Ive been practicing my high heel "strutting" every since I was younger and I still struggle to make it look effortless. I have even tried quite a few different products to try make high heels more comfortable (with very little luck).

Personally, I am beginning to think that some people are just born to wear high heels, while the rest of us just stumble around trying to get it right.

I am nowhere close to giving up on high heel wearing yet, but it's safe to say I wont be entering any high heel walking competitions....ever. *grins*

Whatever you call it, it still sucks

Its the week before payday, its January and the prices of most things seem silly. I feel poor today -it sucks.

Next month i am going to be much wiser with my money (Well, as long as there are no huge sales on) *grins*

Movie

Last night I watched a really cute movie called "Penelope". In the film a girl named Penelope (Christina Ricci) is born with a pig nose because of a family curse. Her family believes the only way to break the curse is to find someone to marry her.

Its a sweet, almost fairytale story about love and accepting yourself no matter what you look like. Definitely a family film.

Interview

The awesome blogger Sass sent me some interview questions - here are my answers:

1. Looking back over your blog, I'm amazed at how many places you've been at such a young age. What were some common threads with the places you were living? Some major differences?

I really haven't been to nearly as many places as I would like yet, but I have been lucky enough to have lived in 3 countries so far

(1. London, UK 2. California, USA and 3. My home: Cape Town, South Africa). There are actually alot of common threads and differences in all three countries. So I will keep my answers simple.

Three things these countries have in common: I lived in all of them for two or more years, I picked up the accent in each (click here to read a post about it) and they all have McDonalds (which is terrible).

Two big differences: probably language and culture. Even though all three places are english speaking countries the meanings, swear words and actual names for things can be very different.

2. How do you think your blogging has changed since you began?

Well, now that people actually read my blog i try harder not to write lots of rubbish. *heehee*

Seriously though, I dont actually think my blogging has changed too much since i begun. I think I have more of a blogging "style" now and I think a few more people read my blog now.

3. Do you have a specific goal with your blog?

No goal really. I just like to write. My blog is a very positive, nice space for me to ramble about whatever I like and not be interrupted .

4. Is your "avatar" actually a picture of you? ;)

No, currently my "avatar" is not a picture of me. I have been toying with the idea of actually putting a real picture of myself up. Maybe I will eventually. Is anyone actually even curious to know what i look like?

5. If you could look back on your life and warn yourself before making a bad choice, would you? What choice was it?

When i first read the above question i immediately thought - YES, i would totally warn myself about my bad relationship choices.........

Then i thought about it for a moment longer and realised that I wouldn't actually want to warn myself. Sure, I made some silly, overly impulsive, bad choices in my life and they usually led to alot of heartbreak - But from these bad choices I learnt sooooo much. All the bad choices made me stronger, made me wiser, made me more honest and helped me be a better person.

********

Happy Friday!

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."
~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

"Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room" ~Kurt Vonnegut

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good." ~Edwin Denby

Crazy little thing called love

Today it is exactly a month until Valentines day and I have "love" on the brain - So, it seemed rather fitting that I blog about the one I love today...... (If you are not in the mood for a soppy post, dont read any further)

After 2 years and 9 months with The Boyf I am still totally, completely and madly inlove with him. Its a wonderful feeling.
Sometimes I look at him and think "If I ever thought I was inlove before, I must have been wrong, because no feeling I had before him ever felt like this"

Heres just a few reasons I love my Boyf (cause there are millions):
1. He knows how to cook well
2. He can fix (and make) almost anything and I find that so sexy and manly
3. He is very unselfish with his time
4. He makes me laugh
5. He loves God and believes in the same things I do
6. He is very handsome, but humble
7. He never lets me win at scrabble (heehee)
8. My mother and family adore him
9. He challenges me to be better
10. He always tells me the truth, even when i dont want to hear it

Questions to you:
What are a few reasons that you love your man (or woman)?
(Ps -you can comment or do a blog post today about it)

IF you dont have a special someone at the moment -
Tell me what is the most important thing you are looking for in a partner?

Cocktail Cool

I hardly ever blog about fashion, so today I thought I would.

I am going to a birthday cocktail party next week. Im really looking forward to it as its not too often that I have a good reason to dress up.

I needed to buy myself a dress for the occassion, because nothing in my closet was saying "cocktail cool" (ok, and I just wanted something new)-
So, a week ago I found and bought a black, strapless, mesh, short "prom" dress (almost exactly like the one in the picture). I already have a great pair of Nine West, peep toe , mary janes (similar to ones in picture) that I plan to wear with the dress. All that is missing now is the accessories.

I decided to go to Polyvore (great website) to plan my outfit. I made myself a picture of what I would like my cocktail outfit to look like- here it is:

What do you think?

Special? I dont think so

I am trying the Special K diet. Its kind of an experiment. It sucks.

For those of you who don’t know what it is, let me explain....

I'm sure you have seen a box of Kellogg’s Special K before, right? Well, the Special K diet is quite simple. All you have to do is get one of those boxes of cereal and eat a bowl of flakes for breakfast and lunch everyday (and yes this includes weekends).

Sure, you are allowed to snack, but only on fruit and special K bars. Thankfully, at night you are allowed to eat a normal sized dinner.

Why am I on a diet? Well, I gained a tiny bit of weight over the last couple of months and I wanted to try losing it. I’m NOT a chubby girl at all, but I don’t want to let extra weight stay on me for too long. I know how much I like to weigh and I want to stay that weight for as long as I can (preferably forever)

The Boyf is also doing the Special K diet with me. I am not enjoying it, but since I was the one who suggested we both do it - I have to try stick to it. Kellogg's claims that you can lose up to 3 Kg (or 6 pounds) in just 2 weeks. So, we are going to try do it for 2 weeks (and only 2 weeks) and see what happens.

My thoughts so far:

After just one week on the diet I have found that -

*the diet is VERY boring

* I dont think I have lost any weight yet

* The Boyf doesnt seem annoyed by it

* eating flakes all the time makes me cranky

* the mere sight of a box of Special K makes me crave a big juicy burger with fries *grins*

* The berry Special K bars dont taste too bad

* Kellogg's really exaggerated when they used the word "special" on the box

Oh well....I’m going to try not cheat this week and then I will let you know if the "Not-so- Special-K" diet worked for us.

.

Ps - If you have tried the Special K diet before Id love to hear if it worked for you OR if you just have nightmares about bowls of flakes now??

Happy Friday!

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” - Jack London

Procrastinating is as bad as smoking

I dont know about you , but sometimes I think I am just not moving forward fast enough or at all.
This is not about me being impatient (as I realise some things you must wait for), Its more about me procrastinating - Too often I dont move forward when i should, I dont finish things I start and sometimes I dont even start the things I possibly could.

In my opinion procrastination is not only "the thief of time", but it is also super bad for you (like ciggarettes). Once you start procrastinating its easy to keep doing it. Getting rid of the habit can be hard.

I have decided that this year I am really going to try to achieve some of my big goals. Put in the work, chase the dream, stop making excuses. I must quit letting the fear of failure and effort keep me from taking big steps forward (I know, easier said than done).

My moto this year will pretty much be what the sign above says. This is my year for moving forward not wasting time :)

I think alot of people in this world who have achieved their dreams did so because they kept moving forward when other people were busy just "parking".

Questions to you:
Is there something in your life you have wanted to do but you always put off? If so, why have you been putting off doing it?

Im back at work...

......I think it may take me a day or two to get back into "work mode". My mind still thinks I am on holiday. Luckily everyone else's mind is thinking the same thing.

I dont think this is going to be a productive work week :)

Monday mumblings

Today is the last day of my holiday. Sadly I am back at work tomorrow *sob*. Why am I starting work on a Tuesday? Well, call me crazy, but I just could not bring myself to start my working year on a Monday.

In random news I actually wrote 6 pages this weekend. What these pages will grow to become I'm not sure yet - but I shall continue adding to them and will let you know if they develop into anything worth mentioning :)

Tomorrow is going to be the end of my slacking off (really, it is). From tomorrow i need to do the following (yup, here comes yet another list):

*get my butt back into gym

*start some morning jogging

*stop avoiding my correspondence course

* Save more money

*write something everyday

I dont think any of the things listed above are impossible to do and keep to - it will just take a little discipline (ok, maybe ALOT). Ive never really been a disciplined person and in the past I may have had a battle with procrastination - but that was 2008. Its a brand new year now and I refuse to drag my bad, undisciplined habits into 2009. Im so over wasting time.

To those of you who are back at work today -I hope your work day speeds by :)

Current addictions

* Relaxing - this two week holiday has been so lazy and chilled. I can honestly say that I havent relaxed like this in a long time. Getting back into "work mode" is going to be very hard. *sigh* Oh, how i shall miss my afternoon naps.

* Black nail polish - I have started wearing it and I think it is fabulous. I just love the look of it - its very eye catching and edgy (and no, its not just reserved for gothic and emo people anymore)

* Gossip Girl -this TV show is one of my guilty pleasures. I have watched the whole first season and most of the second season - Im hooked! The show is full of teenaged, bitchy, rather preppy, rich people - its fun, full of twists and i just love it.

* Morning coffee - Ive never been one of those people that wakes up and really needs my morning coffee...well, not until now.... Lately I seem to have an uncontrollable craving for a cup of "wake me up before I go-go" coffee. When i dont have one I just dont feel as perky. I clearly need to start cutting down on my caffeine intake again.

* Grilling - the Boyf and I bought a George Foreman "Lean -mean-fat-reducing- grilling machine" about a week ago. Its nice, shiney, easy to use and makes me want to grill everything ;)
_
To see all my previous current addictions click HERE

Happy Friday!

“If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.” - Mary Pickford