And she's away....

I have finally gone and done it. I am so proud of myself. Today is the beginning of new things. Watch this space and I will keep you posted.

Ok, are you watching? Here is your first update.

I joined a gym and had my first workout yesterday. So what is so fantastic about that? you ask. Hello! We are talking about me here. Mother of two teenagers and two babies who works half day as an accountant/consultant and always busy doing something with someone or taking kids somewhere. I couldn't believe my luck when I was given a flyer last week about a gym opening at the shopping centre just down the road. I go to said shopping centre practically every day for little essentials like bread and milk. If you read my previous posts, you would have noticed that I am not a shopaholic like most women.
What was even more astounding was that a workout takes 30 minutes. Truly, right up my alley. I was in and out of there in 40 minutes yesterday. Believe me, I can feel that my muscles had a workout. So let's hope that this works out for me. I will have the dreaded weigh-in again on 28 December and hopefully would have reached the goals we set for this first month.

Scrooge....

Christmas used to be such a wonderful time. I remember as a child, that that was the time the whole family got together. My uncle and them used to leave Pretoria the day after school closed for the December holidays and they would stay with us until New Year. This meant lots of shopping trips and spending days at the beach. I remember having real Christmas trees in the lounge and there were so many presents under it, that it took hours for Santa to hand out all the goodies. Yes, we had a Santa every year and we all got a turn to be Santa's helper. I remember the smell of the pine needles and still finding needles stuck in the lounge carpet weeks after Christmas. I remember my uncle feverishly working in the kitchen. He was a fantastic chef and was always in charge of the meat preparations. My mom, aunt and Granny made all the salads and veggies and desserts. We used to wait until 24h00 on Christmas Eve and then Santa would arrive and we could open presents. Those were still the days that receiving a wristwatch was an ultimate gift. Granny always used to give us underwear. We were by no means wealthy, but I remember that everybody who attended the Christmas tree used to buy gifts for everybody else. We used to get pocketmoney and had to use that to buy our gifts. One year, my brother got clever and bought slabs of chocolate for everyone and put the rest of the money in his pocket. He showed signs back then of a budding entrepreneur. We used to sing carols and knew what the meaning of Christmas was.

Oh boy, how things have changed. I am sitting with lists as long as my arm as to what gifts the children all want. Never mind the fact that we have 4 birthdays in our immediate family between now and Christmas. It ranges from playstation games to clothes(all branded of course) to cellphones(they all have perfectly good phones) and it just gets worse after that. What to do, what to do? I don't suppose the children will be happy with new underwear and socks. Mind you, I pulled that trick on the 2 bigger boys last year. I gave them a parcel with 2 boxers in each and you should have seen their faces. I left them like that for a while and later on gave them the actual gifts. The relief was so apparent.

How do we uncommercialize Christmas again? How do we get it back to the beautiful time of sharing and giving? How do we get families around a table again feasting on goodies and popping Christmas Crackers and just remembering the true origins of the day? I won't even go the church question route, because that is a whole other subject on its own.

I want to smell the pine needles again. I want to watch my uncle busy in the kitchen. I want to see the delight on my Granny's face for receiving a little glass frog I gave her for Christmas. Do you know that when my Gran passed away 4 years ago, that little glass frog was returned to me? It is sitting on my desk staring at me. She had written all our names at the bottom of gifts we gave her over the years and upon her death, her instructions were for all to be returned to the person who originally gave it to her. She had kept every little thing we ever gave her. That is the Christmas I want to have again...




instead of feeling like Scrooge....

Firsts

Terri didn't tag anyone with this one. I thought it would be a challenge to try and remember the answers to many of these questions and as I am not busy today, I thought I will give it a go.

FIRSTS:

First best friend: Suegnet. We were at school together. Met in primary school. Lost contact after high school.
First Car: Audi 500SE. I hated that car! Sold that and bought a Toyota Corolla - LOVED IT
First kiss: Was a girl, age 8. My brother was kissing her sister and we also wanted to kiss. We were playing House House after all.
First real kiss: Hein, age 11. He was also 11.
First makeout: Richard, age 14. I thought he was my first love. He was 17.
First big trip: My dad took us to Bloemfontein to visit his sick brother in hospital. I think I was about 10.
First time skiing/Snowboarding: Yeah right!!!
First concert: It was a Country show by all of the then big country singers in SA. It was in the 70's and my parents went, so I had to go along. I did enjoy the music then.
First Alcoholic Drink: Esprit - when I was 17. I was a good girl back then.
First ticket violation: I was caught driving without a license when I was (wait for it) 21
First job: Working weekends and school holidays in a shoe store. Loved it. Not the feet part, but enjoyed the shoes. Terri would have been in heaven there!!!
First date: I was 16, he was 21(Christo) and he took me to dinner and dancing at a hotel close to where we lived. It was his 21st birthday and my parents didn't know that it would only be the two of us. I almost did something silly that night. He broke up with me soon after because I wouldn't do the silly thing with him. Told you, I was a good girl then.

LASTS:

Last car ride: Drove to work this morning.
Last kiss: My other half.
Last time you cried: Last night. It wasn't because I was upset or anything bad.
Last movie watched: Spanglish/Red dust/Duma - watched dvd's last Sunday
Last food you ate: Apple and juice - breakfast - part of my new diet - Fit for Life
Last love: I thought it was my ex-husband, Robert.
Last temptation: I don't get tempted easily(unless sex is involved)(and then if it is my B/f tempting me) now now, get your minds out the gutter and come back here
Last item bought: I spoiled myself with 2 pairs of shoes, a gypsy skirt in icecream pink and a white kaftan like top.
Last annoyance: Taxi that just went past our offices with doef-doef music so loud my laptop vibrated on my desk.
Last time wanting to die: Honestly - prolly when my ex husband told me he was having an affair. That was a long time ago. I enjoy life every day and promised myself never to feel like that ever again.
Last alcoholic drink: Savanna lite last Friday. If cyberdrinks count, I had some champers with Terri this week.
Last concert: Most of you won't even know who I am talking about - I went to see a show of theb Soft Shoes, they were a local band in the 80's. Don't know what ever happened to them. I haven't been to any other shows since then - I forgot to mention on my Quirk list that I don't like crowds.
Last phone call: My sister
Last friend you added on MYSPACE: uh??

CURRENTS:

Current Best Friend(s): I have a few, but my best friend lives in New Zealand. I don't have someone like her in my life now, but Natasha, Tiekie and Celeste is close enough to me to be called best friends.
Current Car: I don't have one - I am driving b/f's Jetta
Current love: My other half, my boyfriend, my mate, my lover, my Bazil - love him dearly
Current drink: Pure fruit juice or Rooibos tea(black, no sugar) taking this diet seriously!! No alcohol for now - but if you asked me this a month ago, I would have said Hunters Dry, Savanna Lite or Tequila!!
Current activity: Stupid question seeing that I am busy completing this questionnaire while I am busy compiling a demo for a new software package and downloading Accpac Updates off the internet in the other office and all this while helping a client with a problem over the phone.
Current annoyance: Can't access my email and the techie is not here to sort it out. Damn!
Current mood: pretty relaxed, feeling raunchy(oops that one slipped out, just make as if you didn't read it)actually sitting here with a stupid little smile on my face. If someone had to walk past now, they would surely think I am talking to my imaginary friend again.

Ok, that wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I did have some trouble remembering the boys I kissed. There were so many of them and I don't remember half of their names. Ok, ok, just kidding. I did kiss a few. I would say it was my favourite past time back then.

Quirks.....

I have been tagged by Delboy to reveal my quirks. I have to give this one some thought because I don't know if I should reveal any or just let you have the honest truth. Hold on to your seats, I don't know how rough this will get:

Don't ever use my towel, my hairbrush, my toothbrush or anything that is considered personal hygiene use. I am just that way. I have 4 towels in the house that is for my use only. Enough said about that one.

I don't like backseat drivers. If I am driving and someone keeps shouting instructions, I will stop and tell the other person to either shut up or drive themselves.

I don't like constant sniffing - go blow your nose and get it over with. It drives me insane and makes me loose my appetite and cool completely.

If at a dinner party, I see someone take food out of any of the dishes by hand or eating off the spoon, I will not touch the food.

I expect people to respect my privacy and space. Living in a big family is not always easy.

I leave my meat for last on my plate.

I never pour the last bit of my drink into my glass, but rather drink it from the bottle. (I normally drink a cider)

When I shower, I always wash my left arm first.

I never wear strappy sandals.

I have 2 pairs of sunglasses. One is used as an aliceband and the other is on my face. I know that is totally unfashionable, but that is me.

Party trick - Apart from the trick with the Hunters Dry bottle, I can shoot shooter glasses a very long distance from my mouth.

I don't like shopping. I have to force myself to do it.

Ok, that is enough for now. I am way too full of quirks. No wonder people can't live with me for long periods. I can't believe that my ex husband called me boring.

Blast from the past

I know this happened to a couple of bloggers recently. I received a phone call this morning that has done some strange things to my head. A couple of months ago, I registered on SA Reunited and blogged about someone contacting me that used to go to school with me. We have been emailing each other every now and then and sharing jokes and annecdotes etc. This morning was different though. I received a phone call from him. I knew it was him, but was too stunned to acknowledge that. He knew he took the wind out of my sails. I was stunned. Didn't know what to say. Damn, I hate when that happens. I am normally quick to make a witty remark or come up with a joke, but oh my gosh, I didn't have a clue.

Can you believe that 20 years on, I remember how it felt the first time we kissed? Tall, dark and handsome he was. Well, apparantly still is. I just saw a picture of him and I must be honest, not bad. It is amazing what a wonderful thing the mind is. My mind stored memories and he just unlocked some of them this morning.

Let's just say that my point is that I wish I could kick myself. I want to kick myself for being so stupid back then. I wish I could warn all 16, 17 & 18 year olds out there to be careful with the choices they make. An older guy, driving his own car and holding down a job is not always the better choice. It might look like that at the time, but it mostly turns out to be the wrong one. Yes, I ended it. I dumped him because along came a guy who impressed me with a car and a motorbike and lots of gifts and money. See, he was 4 years older than me, already working and seemed very cool at the time. Most of all, my folks didn't like him(the new guy) and back then, it played a big factor in the choices I made.

So today, I drink a toast to S. Thank you for bringing back the beautiful memories.

Just a thought

Thought for the day

Never hold your farts in....

Otherwise, they travel up your spine into your brain, and that's where you get kak* ideas from!



*word verification: kak - Afrikaans for Crap, Shit, bad, stupid, etc.

Update & laugh

Laugh of the day:

An old man woke up in the middle of the night and found, to his utterastonishment, that his pecker was as hard as a rock for the first time intwo years.He shook his wife by the shoulder until she woke up and showed her hisenormous boner."You see that thing, woman?" he happily exclaimed. "What do you think weought to do with it?"With one eye open, his wife replied, "Well, now that you've got all thewrinkles out, this might be a good time to wash it."

Now you all be good and have a wonderful week.

I updated my other page if anyone wants to have a look at what my angels are getting up to.

When will guys learn?

For the lack of having anything useful to contribute today, I am placing this joke I received from a friend this morning. I thought you guys might enjoy it.


A man traveling by plane was in urgent need of using the restroom. Each time he tried to use it, it was occupied. The flight attendant aware of his predicament, suggested he use the ladies room but she cautioned him against pressing any of the buttons. The buttons were marked "WW", "WA","PP" and "ATR".

Making a fateful mistake many men make in disregarding what a woman says, he allowed his curiosity to get the best of him and decided to try the buttons anyway. He carefully pressed the first button, marked "WW", and immediately warm water sprayed his entire bottom. He thought, "Golly, the gals really got it made....."

Still curious, he pressed the second button, marked "WA", and warm air dried his bottom off gently and quickly. He thought that was out of this world. The button marked "PP" caused a large powder puff to powder his bottom with a sweet smelling silky powder.Well naturally he could not resist the last button marked "ATR".

When he woke up in the hospital, he panicked and buzzed the nurse. When she appeared, he cried out, "What happened? The last thing I remember I was in the ladies room aboard a plane." The nurse replied "Yes, you were having a great time until you pressed the last button marked "ATR" which stands for Automatic Tampon Remover. Your...thing is under your pillow."

I feel depressed today. The weather has turned. It is raining. It is simply miserable and that is exactly how I feel. We have had raging bushfires all around us the last couple of days and yes, I am happy that it is raining because that has killed the fires. I feel so sad for all the animals that died in the fires. Friends of ours have lost everything they ever possessed and don't know where to go from here. Our world is upside down. Devastating floods on the one side and hellish fires on the other side of the world. Don't forget about the earthquakes. Spare a thought for all affected by all these random happenings. Ok, rant over. Don't feel better now, but let's see if I can find another joke just to lift my spirits.

In a tiny village on the Irish coast lived an old

In a tiny village on the Irish coast lived an old lady, a virgin, and very
proud of it. Sensing that her final days were rapidly approaching, and
desiring to make sure everything was in proper order when she dies, she
went to the town's undertaker (who also happened to be the local postal
clerk) to make the proper "final" arrangements. As a last wish, she
informed the undertaker that she wanted the following inscription engraved
on her tombstone: "BORN A VIRGIN, LIVED AS A VIRGIN, DIED A VIRGIN"

Not long after, the old maid died peacefully. A few days after the funeral,
as the undertaker--postal clerk went to prepare the tombstone that the lady
had requested, it became quite apparent that the tombstone that she had
selected was much too small for the wording that she had chosen. He thought
long and hard about how he could fulfill the old maid's final request,
considering the very limited space available on the small piece of stone.

For days, he agonized over the dilemma. But finally his experience as a
postal worker allowed him to come up with what he thought was the
appropriate solution to the problem.

The virgin's tombstone was finally completed and duly engraved, and it read
as follows: "RETURNED UNOPENED"

For those of you who would like to have a look, I am going to do a post on the progress of my little ones. I have some beautiful new pictures and will post it to my other page. To those who haven't read my Scary movie post, please have a look.

Try this out.

Terri mentioned that she enjoys taking quizzes. I somehow also got to the specific page a couple of days ago and it is really very exciting if you are in to that kind of thing. I tried the one Terri mentioned and this was my answer. Not sure if I completely agree with it, but it does have some interesting truths.


COMMONER

You are the Commoner, often
put down and yet surprisingly one of the most
valiant and true characters in fantasy. The
Commoner may be average or plain in appearance,
and yet they are the most likely to possess
noble and unique characteristics such as a
sense of honor, honesty, and deep loyalty. They
are also very loving and dedicated. If they
take up a cause you can bet they will see it
through the very end.

Color:Orange
Animal: Dog
Gem: Onyx
Symbol:Farmer's Scythe

Image:
http://www.deviantart.com/view/16757273/

Who would you be if you were a character in an epic fantasy? (beautiful pictures)

I was tempted and did another one. Here are the results for that one:


TIGER EYES

You have Tiger Eyes
Positive Traits:
Determined, Passionate, Loyal, Strong,
Courageous
Negative Traits:
Aggressive, Ambitious, Domineering, Possessive,
Vengeful

Your eyes are the windows to your soul. What type of eyes do you have?


What does that tell you about me? Only that I have way too much time on my hands....

Scary movies...

Picture this.

It is 1983. I am 15 years old. It is Friday night and we are all going to the drive-in. We have been looking forward to this the whole week. My mom and the best neighbour lady ever, will be taking us(myself, my brother and sister and the 2 girls from next door)to the drive-in to watch Poltergeist. She drove a little beatle and with the two mothers in the front seat, we decided to take blankets and pillows with to make a bed infront of the car.

On the way to the drive-in, we got stuck behind a bus. Now bear in mind that this was before 1994 and we were terrified of black people. Especially a whole mob of them and they were all drunk. En route, a fight ensued in the bus and we could see people stabbing at each other with these huge dagger like knives. We saw people jumping out of the windows of the moving bus to avoid being stabbed. I remember my mother almost going histerical in the front as we narrowly missed a jumper. It was dark and pre-cellphone days and we couldn't be much help anyway. We were so happy that the bus took a left turn where we had to go right at a crossroads. We finally reached the entrance to the drive-in. We were already shaken up and were contemplating rather abandoning the movie and go home. I heard "Aunty Leonie" telling my mom that maybe they should rather take us to the roadhouse for icecream. As this was said, we heard a crash and scream and a thud sound next to the car. When I looked out the window, I saw the bottom half of what I assumed was a woman, (it was wearing a skirt)lying next to our car in the road. A bus had hit a woman while she attempted to cross the street. She was completely severed in half. The top half of her body lay a couple of meters down the road. All we wanted to do, was get away from there. Fortunately the gates of the drive-in opened and we could go inside. All thoughts of camping outside the car were lost. We stayed and watched the movie. The adults must have thought that would make us forget what we saw outside, but I must admit that I don't remember much about the movie.

I got to watch the movie last night as a matter of fact. I was alone at home with the two babies and couldn't sleep. Due to it being Halloween, almost all the TV channels were showing scary movies. Poltergeist was on TCM. I must admit that it wasn't scary at all. I wrote this post after reading what Ben O wrote and a question he posed on Friday.