First quotes of the new year...

Happiness, in truth, may not be the fruit plucked by my action yet without action all fruit will die on the vine. I will act now – Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World)

The past is a foreign country - LP Hartley

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.-Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency)

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. – Confucius

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. – Aristotle

New years resolutions...

I know a lot of people hate making these but I really get a kick out of them…also I tie myself in knots trying to actually do it and have great fun along the way. Not sure if mine are the typical resolutions…if there is even something like that?

For 2007 I have decided that 7 will be a suitable amount to keep me busy and make it look serious at the same time…so here goes!

One…Laugh…Love…Live…

Two… Walk as much as possible…look at the sky often…enjoy the simple things…plan less and experience more…breathe deeply.

Three…Study hard…be passionate in my thirst for knowledge again.

Four…Listen.

Five…Do enough yoga to be able to do the dreaded Four-Legged-Table position without hurting myself or looking too ridiculous.

Six…Try new things…be unafraid.

Seven…Host an awesome theme party…make time for old and new friends.

If it’s not too embarrassing (and maybe even then) I will post a monthly progress report… Hope that you will all have a spectacular new years bash and I hope that the whole of 2007 will be filled with wonder and adventure for you…Happy new year!!!

Kick-As* quotes for this week...

There are no facts, only interpretations – Friedrich Nietzche (Thanks Adam!)

Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished – Francis Bacon (Thanks Adam!)

The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations – Benjamin Disraeli (Thanks Adam!)

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen – John F. Kennedy (Thanks Adam!)

Never will I allow myself to become so important, so wise, so dignified, so powerful, that I forget how to laugh at myself and my world. In this matter I will always remain as a child, for only as a child am I given the ability to look up at others; and as long as I look up to another I will never grow too long for my cot. I will laugh at the world – Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World)

It was the week before Christmas...and in SA not a thing was quiet!

Yes…this had been another crazy week! Of course…

To start off it was my brother’s birthday parties. We had a nice sit-down dinner with the family on Wednesday and a big bash (32 people on short notice) at the Keg on Thursday which was his actual birthday. Picture of both the birthday boy and the bash included here.

We have an arrangement that when it’s his birthday I am the sober designated driver and when it’s mine then he is. We’ve had this arrangement for a couple of years and I have to say it works really well…I think everyone who was there had a great time! Although instead of deteriorating into the normal kind of drinking game fiasco at some stage they started playing

Rock-Paper-Scissors (Ching-Chong-Cha!) and best out of 3 got to punch the loser on the chest or arm…being possibly the only sober person there I have to say the motivation for playing this kind of escaped me. But they all had fun, no one was seriously injured and my brother managed to sport some spectacular bruises on his shoulder and arm the next day.

Other than that I managed to visit Simone’ and the kids wich was fun! They are both so cute…I’d say little angels, but I see too much of their mom in them to make that mistake…hahaha! Simma good luck, those two are always going to be keeping you on your toes.

I am also extremely happy that this Christmas madness is almost at an end. And releived to report that I managed to stay out of any major stampede areas (malls) this week…except for the package wrapping that I had to do yesterday for the Lions Club, but it was not too bad since it was done in a fairly quiet centre and close to an escape route! I’m very happy that I don’t have to wrap today…seems a lot of shoppers leave it to the last possible minute. I had such a wide variety of stuff that I had to wrap yesterday…a gazzilion boxes of chocolate…a telescope (that was the most spectacular)…a poop scoop (that was the most bizarre – must be for a neighbour?)…watches…bubble baths ad infinitum…enormous remote control helicopters, planes, bikes, dinosaurs and and and! One the one hand I like that most of the really expensive gifts were for kids because this truly is a holiday for them…but on the other hand it makes me sad to see how big people go…where is the simple pleasure of spending time with loved ones and family and the notion that it’s the thought that counts? I understand that when you have kids you want whats best for them and to treat them at every opportunity (especially to whatever you maybe felt was missing in your childhood?), but I sometimes wonder if we as a society are not doing our babies a dis-service by numbing them to simple things…what exactly does it take to wow a kid these days? Where will it all end?!

Okay…that’s my soapbox moment for the week ;-)…I hope that everyone will be enjoying a blessed time with their families and loved ones over Christmas (or whatever festive season you happen to celebrate). I hope that if you have to travel that you get there and back safely…and that you still get thrilled by the little things that make life special…and I hope that in the next few days you manage to get at least a minute or two to think about the special year that’s almost behind us…what you have to be thankfull for and the challenges and adventures that might be coming your way in 2007…in other words, I hope you manage to make your new years resolutions while you’re not under the influence!

A very merry Christmas to all!

Summer Madness...

Well! This has been one craaaaaazy week! Remember when I said how everyone just goes social over summer…where every day is a reason to celebrate and get in touch with friends (some who you didn’t manage to see the whole year long!). I don’t know how other people manage to fit it all in but in this last week I had to attend up to three different events a day…I am completely exhausted!!! Obviously I have more photos to show in a week like this – and I didn’t even take photos everywhere…By the way with 30’C plus weather here almost every day this week I have declared Frozen Margeritas THE drink of this season…so far I’ve had many – all good. The one venue did throw me off slightly by doing the rim in sugar instead of salt but it was still tasty and refreshing and they balanced it with extra Tequila so I let it slide…

I think I’ll start you off this week with a nice tranquil shot of a pretty sunset (sky’s on fire) that I saw this week driving between one event and the next one…Oh yes! I've also decided that I'm not going to say much more about the love in my life until I've manged to tell my family about him (It's not right that the whole world should know before I've managed to tell my family) but still John...wish you could have seen this sunset with me...;-)

Next is a photo of me and *Esmerelda* on our joint doctor visit…we basically dared each other to go for the dreaded gynecological visit and so we ended up going together! Actually I think it was such a clever idea that we’ve decided to make it an annual thing…the 13 th of December is going to our day for that from now on…and next year we’re going to see if we can get a bigger group going and turn it into a mob-thing. The new doctor we found is brilliant, but I’m not telling you his name because if word gets out how I might battle to get an appointment myself?! (No, okay I will tell upon individual request…but only because I know how traumatic this experience can be and I want to help).

I also managed to get together with my old school budd Louelle and her mother for afternoon ice tea and some skinder (Afrikaans word for gossip). She gave me a frangipani tree!!! It’s beautifull – I love it. It’s one of my favourite flowers anywhere and usually only grows in a little bit more tropical area…but Louelle has managed to devise a clever trick to help it grow here and I am so excited to have my own now that I have a chance to keep it alive!

I’ve seen a couple of movies with my friend Freddy too…here’s a shot of him at Mugg&Bean Coffe Shop that I had to sneak in because he’s so camera shy… We saw Open Season and The Holiday…both feel good movies which I enjoyed, but Freddy is trying to convince me that I need to see Charlotte (I thik that’s the name?) which is a movie about a spider?! He’s still got to sell this to me a bit more – I hate f-ing spiders!

Further more I also had the privelige of meeting “The Ben” this week. My friend Jacky booked Friday with me in August already to meet Ben who she met when she was working and living in London for two years…Ben is actually from Australia but is busy getting his British passport. What a funny guy! This man went on holiday on his own for two and a half months and just made friends wherever he went. He entertained us especially with his tales of spending three days in Cape Town never leaving his guest lodge’s bar (together with the other people in his tour of course) where they in created the ICK (International Council of Kukao!) and held the World Championships of Kukao! (which basically entails last man standing on a bar making crowing bird noises (Kukaaaaaaooooo!!!!) and flapping imaginary wings while drinking a newly devised shooter …you guessed it – a Kukao (Klipdrift and Kaluha). Ben won the first world cup and intends to start a website for the members…the next world cup will be held on the first full moon of December 2007 wherever Ben is. Funny guy!

Also it’s official – from the 16^th of December you will be taking your own life in your hands if you venture into a mall. Beware of the the Christmas Shopper Stampedes!!! I am thankfully done with my shopping and no mall will see me again until the 26^th…Good luck with your last minute scrambles if you haven’t managed to plan better. ;-)...

This weeks fine selection of quotes to keep you going...

The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax – Albert Einstein (Thanks Adam!)

There is more to life than increasing its speed – Mohandas Gandi (Thanks Adam!)

We are made wise not by our past, but by the responsibility for our future – George Bernard (Thanks Adam!)

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity – Proverbs 17:17

I am not on this earth by chance. I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy. – Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World)

Quotes of the week...

Man knows so much and does so little – R. Buckminster Fuller (Thanks Adam!)

I do not seek. I find – Pablo Picasso (Thanks Adam!)

A man gazing on the stars is proverbially at the mercy of the puddles on the road – Alexander Smith (Men of Letters)

Time teaches all things to him who lives forever but I have not the luxury of eternity – Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World)

I do not mean to live in vain – Harriet Beecher Stowe

It's the season to be jolly?

This week was a momentus occasion for our dog Diablo who finally after two years of trying has finally managed to catch a Hadidah (I could be off with the spelling here?). This big bird was stealing his food when he outran and caught it. He was so proud of his catch…and wouldn’t let us take it away until he had a chance to show my dad what a good hunter he was. Sorry for the squimish – but I think that’s kind of cute!

What another crazy week! It has just been one social event after another including my 10 aniversary of Voortrekkers yesterday. For those that don’t know Voortrekkers is very similar to the scouts only it’s a cultural movement for Afrikaans kids where they get to learn more about their culture, learn to respect and use their language, get in touch with nature all in a Christian context. It was great seeing everyone again! Hopefully we won’t let another 10 years go by before we catch up again?

Other than that I’ve been busy doing the dreaded Christmas shopping. I have only one or two items on the list left to get…and even though I told myself that this year I would keep it low key I have not managed it as well as I had planned…oh well, maybe next year? ;-)

I’ve been helping out the Lions too with the gift wrapping kiosk at the mall. (I knew all those years of wrapping would come in handy at some stage?). Other than this little bit of work I have been mostly filling up my days with seeing friends and daydreaming about the man in my life…what a sweetheart…*sigh*

I can’t believe how fast this year has zipped past…I need to start working on my new years resolutions and I haven’t even got the Christmas tree up yet!!! Hope you all have a great week…and that you manage not get trampled in a mall shopping stampede!

Quotes, quotes and more quotes!!!

Definition “Love”: …Love is not a get-out-of-reality-free card but rather an emotional bond between two people who accept each other beyond the confinement of outdated roles. – Caroline Hurry (Handbook for the Huntress)

The enemy of art is the absence of limitations- Orson Welles (Thanks Adam!)

Wealth, my son, should never be your goal in life. Your words are elequent but they are mere words. True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse. – Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World)

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. – Proverbs 24:3-4

A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running – Groucho Marx (Thanks Adam!)

Once apon a time...

Mmm… I guess we all want a fairy godmother to take a swipe at us with her magic wand and take us to the ball from time to time? This has been a week like that for me…I’ve had some of my highest highs and lowest lows in this one single week. It’s been a roller-coaster ride from ecstatic to miserable and everywhere in between. (Obviously everyone knows that almost the only thing that can take you on a spin like that is Love, Lust or a severe case of Infatuation – or/and the process of determining which of them it is ;-).

While you’re soaring on the wings of “In Love” you don’t think about a lot (because the air is a bit thinner up there I guess?), but when you’re wings get clipped or you fly into a tree there is always a lot of time to reflect on anything significant previously overlooked. And so when I hit bottom this week I did get a chance to do some serious thinking, which was needed… (it seems my OCD includes a urge to attach silver linings to everything?) and do you know what? I am even happy to be miserable…odd as that may sound… I feel alive!!!! The Pleasure and the Pain of this adventure is so intense it takes my breath away, but I’d pick this over the numbness and indifference any day of the week… (I’m soaring again if you didn’t pick up on that).

More on this topic soon, promise… ;-)

Other news of this past week…it’s been another crazy social week in true SA summer way. I was asked to help out at a golf day (golf I detest), and I agreed because it was for my dad and he asked nicely…It was actually a lot less unpleasant than I anticipated. I got to handle all the registrations which meant I basically took money from big boys so that they could go play in the garden, yeah I can do that! But really it was also nice because it was a charity event and the money raised +/_ R30 000 went towards a computer centre for a primary school in Nylstroom. Warm fuzzy feelings about that. The event was hosted by the club and they are talking about doing four a year and giving the money to someone else every time. I like that. I like that so much – I might even volunteer to help again? Lol…

Other events this week was GJ’s birthday party, Ryan’s birthday party, Movie and coffee with Freddy, Ladies night with Simone’, Braai at Dylan’s house, picnic with *Esmerelda* and Jacobus at the botanical gardens and coffee with Wanette! See what I mean? Crazy…

I didn’t have my camera everywhere and some of the photos didn’t come out but I’ve included a few for you anyway…enjoy! One is of me and Simone' on Friday and the other of the waterfall at the botanical gardens that I took today...