The life of Chell

Its me..again

2010-01-10T18:32:00.000+13:00

Hello there.
Contrary to popular belief, due to the fact that I have not blogged for the amount of time that it takes a baby to develop in the womb.... I am still alive and have not been:

a) Been attacked by pirates whilst at sea

b) Gotten lost somewhere between SA and NZ on my numerous treks between the two.

c) Joined some obscure religious sect and given away all I own to the poor.

These reasons are only partly because:

a) I was in Italy and Greece...where there are a shocking lack of bearded men, flying flags of skulls and crossbones, shouting “Aye Matey!”

b) The airlines I fly seem to employ pilots that know the route pretty well.

c) I love my black stilettos and D&G bag a little too much.

Right. Now that we have cleared up the fact that I am still breathing in and out on a daily basis, let move on to what I have been doing (inbetween the breathing that is)

TheShortVersion

4 June: Joined the Seabourn Odyssey on her maiden voyage from Italy to Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey till flying back to SA on 17th September. Lost 11kgs and fitted into clothes found at the back of my cupboard – in the draw labelled “Loose weight dammit!!!”

September - December : Did nothing but shop, eat out with Ryan and generally be as absolutely lazy as possible after working everyday, 2 shifts a day for almost 4 months straight. Managed to find the 11kgs that I lost somewhere between here and Italy. Unfortunately. Seems as though weight has its own GPS system and can find you again. With alot more ease than you managed to lose it in the first place.

****6 November**** Got proposed to by the man of my dreams whilst on holiday in the mountains. Made me the happiest girl alive and gave me a ring that almost made my eyes fall out...seems as though November was a good month for the whole “dreams do come true” speech.
6 December : Got on a plane with many tears to spend Christmas with my family in New Zealand. Ryan will be joining me next month and I have never wished the time away so much in my life.

So, now that everyone knows what my 2009 was like, I will leave you to look forward to the next instalment, which Im hoping to entitle : “Things I will never understand about New Zealand”

Chell

Its me again..

2009-04-08T23:02:00.002+12:00

Heavens, its been ages since I last posted! So sorry about that..but please try and understand that between recovering, flying across the world (again) and settling in SA (again), its been a little crazy to say the least!

Yip, Im back in SA and have been here for the last week. I spent 2 weeks in New Zealand recovering at my parents place and now I will stay here and get to spend time with Ryan before I rejoin the ship at the end of May (hopefully)....and yes, you read right..Ryan and I are back together and blissfully happy. It was a tough few months, but in them we both realised how much we care about each other and how miserable we were without each other. We are starting again, and I couldnt be happier. Sometimes all you need is the time apart to realise these things.

At the moment Im staying with friends, and divide my time between reading, sleeping and watching tv.

Im.bored.out.of.my.mind.

To say the least.

To go from being so busy that I could barely remember my own name, to having nothing to do is driving me insane.

Tomorrow Im going to drop Ryan at work so that I can have the car for the day. I need to get out. Im beginning to show early signs of cabin fever. In Laurens word.. Srsly..

I must apologise for how terrible I have been with reading/commenting on blogs...the friends Im staying with have dial up and so I dont want to run their account sky-high...

Thats about all for now..just to let my friends who live in my computer know that I am still alive and kicking!

Much love!!!

Update...

2009-03-12T15:30:00.000+13:00

Well..by looking at the last post I would say that its about time for an update hey?
I did make it to the Seabourn Spirit and the last 3 weeks have been the best and worst of my life. I travelled with the ship from Singapore right through Thailand, to big ports and private beaches..then through to Vietnam..then now, in China, where I took a turn for the worst and for the time being, my adventure on Seabourn has had to hit the breaks in a big way.
We had just come out of the daily evening meeting at 6pm..just before we go on evening shift till about 10pm. It was Embarkation day on that Sunday, so I had tons of preperation that needed to be done before then. I was running around looking for the right things and earlier that day my best ship buddy, Jenny and I had been laughing hysterically as we hid around corners while pretending to shoot each other with the spray bottles. Now, while still looking for the right things, Jenny jumped out from behind a wall and sprayed the guest infront of me!!! It was probably the funniest thing I have EVER seen. These guests are paying in excess of $US10 000 for a week cruise and are treated like royallty aboard, so you must understand how much funnier this made this incident!
I am happy to report though that she was a lovely lady who only enquired as to whether or not it would stain her blouse! Jenny went and found her again later to say sorry again..and all was right in the world..
But, after that bit of laughter and not being able to control ourselves as we hid in a nearby room to recover before anything else happened..I left and went to carry on the the Embarkation business that I was so busy doing before this game of cops and robbers went sour.
I began to feel a bad pain in my tummy..lower abdomen to be exact. My first thought was “Maybe you gotta poop” J Im laughing as I think of dear Lauren and her poop stories...
Anyways, no luck in that department..so I thought I would just carry on and see if it goes away. Eventually it got so bad that I needed help to get down to Deck 3 where the doctors offices are. He too asked me the poop question..but I assured him that the pain was a little more serious than that.
He took blood tests and gave me 2 injections in my bum. I have to say that if I am never injected again..that would be too soon. Along with being poked, prodded, and have things stuck into me that I would rather not mention on this wholesome family blog. J
After that he sent me to bed with what he called an elephants dose of painkiller.
To say the next day was worse would be the understatement of the century..prehaps the millenia.
Unbeknowns to me (or the doctor who thought I had a case of appendicitus) The infection from the burst cyst in right Fallopian Tube had spread. Now I couldnt breathe as the muscles in my chest were too painful for me to even draw breath. The pain was everywhere and I thought Of my word..whats happening to me?
We had reached port that morning soon after I was taken back to Deck 3 for more shots of the elephant painkillers, just to let me breathe.
We had to get me dressed and ready to get to the hospital in Nanjing, China. I was so scared and confused and kept thinking, I dont wanna go home, I love the ship, I have only been here for 3 weeks..I still have so much to see and do!
I wont linger too long on the details of the hospital in Nanjing. It was filthy. The doctors spoke no English. I have never been more afraid in my entire life as when they lifted me on that table to have a look. My doctor from the ship (who is the most amazing man I have ever met and never left my side or let them do anything without showing him first) just stood at my side and stroked my cheeks while tears streamed silently down the side of my face.
He refused to leave me there and so, it was back in the car and back to the ship. We were scheduled to arrive in Shanghai the next day and he know of a very good International Hospital there that would be able to look after me. I was out on a drip every few hours as I hadnt eaten anything in the last 3 days. But, he couldnt give me anymore elephant doses unfortunately. So, I had to make due with some tablets J
I think that almost every person that I had made friends with on that ship in those 3 weeks passed through my door that night. They brought me flowers, wrote me notes. The friendships I made in these 3 weeks are going to be lifelong..I just know that.
The next day, after Jenny had packed me an overnight bag and was going to pack all the rest of my things for me later, I was once again put in a wheelchair and taken off the ship.
I cried so much.
I cried for the dream that was now lost, I cried for the people I was saying goodbye to..people who, when you are on a small ship, become like your family in such a short space of time. I have no idea who is still going to be on when I get back on. That hurts so much.
I just cried.
We got to the hospital and they did all the tests, scans, x rays..all the usual boring stuff. I was admitted that morning. My ship sailed away the next. I have never had such a sense of being so alone in my life as when I looked at the clock on the wall and it said 11.59am...
It then hit me. I was completely alone.
Things took a turn for the worst 2 days ago. They realised that the antibiotics werent going to be able to clear the infection and that it was worse than they thought. So, I was prepped for surgery and wheeled away. Just like that. No goodbyes to anyone, nobody to hold my hand and tell me it was going to be ok and that they would be there when I came round. Nothing.
When I did eventually wake up a few hours later, I had no clue where I was or what had just happened. They tried to explain it to me as best they could. Bless them. They really are such wonderful people who I am so blessed to have been put with.
The healing has been coming along slowly. Its been a routine for me..read, eat some semi-liquid food, read, try and get online for a few mins before the connection goes again..sleep.
They say that I can maybe be discharged on Sunday. Today is Thursday. It feels as though its an eternity to wait. But, I know that I need to be completely better before I can make the long flight back to my family in New Zealand. I can only imagine what worry this has put them through.
Since I am under all sorts of medical insurance, being on the ship, all costs are covered by them, as well as my flight home, as well as any medical costs incurred there where I need to undergo furthur recovery. Also, they pay me for the time I am on sick leave. AMAZING people. Honestly. I cannot begin to explain how blessed I feel by all this. Its just overwhelming.
Thats about all I have for now and Im going to try and post this...
Thank you so much Lauren for letting everyone know that there was something wrong and asking for their prayers for me. I have never met you..but you are amazing. Thank you so much dear friend.
Thank you also to all those who have emailed and sent me messages on Facebook. You are all awesome and I feel so loved.
Thank you again x

Guess where I am..again :)

2009-02-09T02:40:00.002+13:00

Yes..for those of you...*Aubrey*... who may have guessed correctly :) I am sitting in the First Class Lounge at Hong Kong International airport..again :)

This time though I was a little bit more sneaky..*insert little snicker here similar to Dr Evil in Austin Powers*

I still had my boarding pass from when I flew to NZ in December, that was stamped with a re-entry stamp for the lounge..so, all I did was waltz past the front desk and wave my stamped ticket.....lucky for me the lady there was busy with someone else, so she didnt check the ticket too closely.....mwahahahahaha.... :)

So, i just had a shower and since I only have 2hrs till I take off for Johannesburg, I had better be heading off soon!

I have ANOTHER 10hr + flight ahead of me now..then another 1hr flight to Durban.. Right now its 22.00pm Hong Kong time on the 8th Feb..but my body is still on the Kiwi clock, and right now its wondering why Im still awake (and showering?) in the early hours of the 9th?

Im starting to hold thumbs from now that I get the new plane now as I can here on the old plane and the movie system was like something off the Ark...so...hold thumbs.

I still cannot believe that I will be on the Seabourn Spirit come Saturday..madness...

I think I should mention how CRAZY NERVOUS I am right about now...but also how excited I am!

Well, till I next have time to blog, inbetween cleaning things such as toilets and making things such as beds...Im off to the Boarding Gates!!!

Plans...

2009-01-31T23:30:00.002+13:00

Wow.

Ok, this seriously feels as though its happening to someone else and Im just telling you their story.

I get on a plane in New Zealand next Sunday (8th Feb)
I get to South Africa on Monday (9th Feb)
I fly to Singapore on Thursday (12th Feb)
I arrive in Singapore on Friday (13th Feb)
I start working on the Seabourn Spirit on Saturday (14th Feb)

I work for 4 months aboard it, going to Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Turkey, Greek Isles and Venice...just to mention the ones I remember from the itinerary I was sent yesterday.

Wow.

Just to fill you all in... :)

Im back...

2009-01-23T16:05:00.002+13:00

Hello!!

Yip, its me.

Yip, Im ok.

Yip, it still hurts, but not like it did in my previous post.

Before I start, I need to say thank you.

The support and love you sent my way was truely something that I didnt expect. I am completely amazed and in awe of the people I have gotten to "know" through this blog.

You have become my friends.

No. Really.

This is not just something Im saying to make you all feel warm and gooey inside.

When I sit down at the computer and log into my page and see the comments there, I cannot help but smile at the wonderful people who "live" in my computer. I go onto each of your pages and carry on smiling as I read of whats happening in your lives..often on the other side of the world.

**I do however have to insert an apology here though. I havent been commenting as regularly as I should be. I am being so darn sneaky. I am reading, and then I am leaving. I am sorry. Buuuut, if you scroll down on your little mouses, you will find a post about the joys of dial-up on a farm in the middle of New Zealand and you will see what I have to go through to open an internet page. Sooo, Im sure that you will forgive me for just reading your stories...as it takes an immense amount of time for me to even open them!**

Now that thats out the way, I will tell you what I have been up to the last few days. Im not however going to be able to post pics. However..they will be on Facebook real soon, so if you would like to add me..go ahead :)

My sister (Colleen) and I decided to do a little road tripping!

So, we set off on Wednesday morning and after a little stop in town to pick up some much needed supplies (snorkel sets, baby fish marshmallow chocs, a pie for breakfast - terrible, I know!) and some other things..we set off!

I had made the road tripping cd, we had the tent and the air mattress in the boot and we were off until Friday night! I must say here that we actually had NO idea where we were going. Just that we were going "Up North"

We drove for a few hours and then got to Goats Island. An AMAZINGLY stunning, beautiful Marine Reserve that we spent the rest of the day at, snorkeling. It was awesome! Its a Bay with an island in the sea thats protected from fishing ect, so there are heaps of fish and they are all really tame! I got seriously sunburnt (as usual) and had an amazing time.

Towards the end of the day, we packed up and headed furthur up north to a place called Russel. It was the first capital of NZ and although it took us 4hrs to get there (through winding dirt roads!) it was worth it. We ate in a gorgeous little restuarant next to the water and headed back to a night in the tent.

We woke the next day to another sunny, sweltering hot day (I could just see the sunburn now..) and we drove down to a place called Matheson Bay. Its beyond stunning and when you see the pics on Facebook, it will take your breath away.

We lay in the sun and read our books and soaked up the rays...not that I needed any more sun!

After that we headed furthur down to Waiwera. We camped there for the night - RIGHT next to the sea! It was amazing...you will just have to go and have a look at the pics!

We spent today at the Waiwera Thermal Pool Resort, in pools of water that were about 40 degrees Celcius. Seriously Flippen Hot!! (Just for the record, my sunburn SCREAMED at me when I climbed in!!)

We spent until about 1pm there, then headed home, back to the farm. We got here a little while ago, dead tired and sunburnt, but really happy with the trip and ourselves for finding our way to almost the top of the North Island of New Zealand with just 2 girls and a map!!

Ps: Pics should be on Facebook in the next few days!

2009-01-07T22:00:00.002+13:00

Ryan and I broke up.

I honestly didnt know that a person's heart could hurt so much and still be able to beat as normal.

It hurts to breathe, it hurts to think, it hurts to wake up in the morning and realise you no longer have your best friend.

It just hurts.
Everyday.

The return...

2008-12-18T13:35:00.019+13:00

Its been 2 weeks since I last blogged.

Feels like forever!

I have missed checking in on all my friends blogs and must apologise for this.

I must however fill you in on a little something that would help to explain why I have not left tons of love-filled comments as per usual.

We have dial-up here on the farm.

Yes, I just said dial-up.

Yes, you are probably groaning in sympathy.

Thank you for your care.

Just to explain furthur...it took me 10 mins to open this blog. My blog. 10 mins.

So, I double clicked on the little Internet Explorer icon that brings up all my friends that live in my computer.

Then I went and poured myself a glass of coke.

Came back.

Still no action on the precious computer.

Got a little anxious, but saw that the little green lines were loading at the bottom of the screen, so that meant at least there was progress.

Went and saw what was on the tv.

Came back and Google was there! Typed in my blog address.

Drank more coke.

Drank more coke.

Ate a cookie.

(At this rate Im going to put on weight everytime I want to blog)

Success!! My blog page was open.

Me: Click "sign in" on blog page.
Drink coke
Me: What! Still no sign in page?
Drink Coke
Me: Ok, this is beginning to slightly annoy me.
Drink more Coke
Finally! Blog sign in page open.

You can probably guess how the rest went. No need to torment myself furthur.

But..I am now here and Im going to do the unthinkable..Im going to try and load pictures! This might take awhile..at the moment, the date on the top of the page says 17th December. If you only however read this on the 18th or 19th you will know why.

I left SA on a bright and sunny Saturday morning on the 29th November. Leaving Ryan and my little flat and all my friends was heartbreaking. But, I had to concentrate on the fact that the ship was delayed, I had already given up my job and couldnt stay in SA for very much longer with no work. So, I packed my bags, gave notice at my flat and got on a plane to come and see my family that I havent seen for the past year.

After way too many hours of being in the air, (10 to be exact) I landed at Hong Kong Airport. This is where the fun starts because I had a 19hr wait at the airport to catch the next 12hr flight to New Zealand.

I did something very smart in my books.

I went and waited outside the doors of the First Class Airport lounge and asked everyone who went past if I could come in as their guest!!
I am sneaky I know. But every First Class passenger can bring a guest into the lounge, completely free of charge! So, in my opinion, why did I have to find a hard bench to lie on and try and sleep/watch that my luggage doesnt get scooped, when I could go into the lap of luxury.

After being there for a little while, I did get in!

Oh Joy! Happiness! Absolute elation!

Why am I so happy do you ask?

Is it maybe because they have HUGE showers and bathrooms, equipped with everything you need to feel better after such a long flight?

Answer: Yes

Is it also maybe because they have computers with FAST internet that you can stay on for hours for free?

Answer: Yes

Is it maybe because while you are on these amazingly fast internet machines, they bring you coffee and biscuits?

Answer: Yet again, yes.

There were also rooms that you could go and lie down in, complete with sleeping chair-thing, tv, music and aircon.

And of course, a buffet (Elastic...are you reading this? You would be proud) I ate 3 times at the buffet. Before you all shake your heads in disbelief, I was there for 19hrs remember?

While I was in the bathroom, I thought about my blog and what I could say on the next one (this one!) I then took these "cool" and "not so cool" things about my trip:

Cool: Buying a new bag before I left to use as a super-big-can-fit-the-kitchen-sink-bag for my travels.

Not so cool: Having the handle break when getting off the plane in Hong Kong.

Cool: Getting a box of yummy chocolate covered Almonds as a present from someone at work.

Not so cool: Having the above-mentioned Almonds all fall out into the bottom of the above-mentioned broken bag filled with too much stuff to find them until I got to NZ and could unpack.

And 2 very cool things I discovered once I got onto the plane to come to NZ:

We got the new plane! With cool seats and new audio visual equipment!!

And lastly..something that really is very cool indeed..being with my family...

Going for a bare-back ride with Ian, my little brother

Out in the city with Colleen...

So, thats about all from me for the time being..

ps: In the time it took me to upload these pics, I ate a choc bar, went and fetched somewarm warm to wear, put on socks and warm item of clothing, checked the tv guide and watched 5 mins of Pursuit of Happyness.

Thats all.

Hello

2008-12-03T09:41:00.001+13:00

Im in New Zealand.

I got here on Monday afternoon.

I miss Ryan.

Until I feel a little better, I will leave the "leaving, flying, landing" post for another day.

Just dont forget about me ok?

Thanks.

Last day...

2008-11-28T19:02:00.004+13:00

Today I feel sad.

No, change that, I feel very sad.

Today is my last day at work, my last day in South Africa and my last day with Ryan.

I feel completely miserable.

I get on a plane tomorrow morning at 09.50am. As much as I was looking forward to going to see my family, Im feeling so heartsore to leave everything behind here. It always seems as though I am leaving somebody behind, with the love of my life in South Africa and my family in New Zealand.

Why does this have to be so hard? Why couldnt they just both be in the same place?

If you're reading this and you pray...pls pray for me for strength.

Ps: If you read this blog, please can you leave a comment so that I can follow through to your blog through the comments, as I dont have any blogs saved on any sort of reader, so when I leave here, I wont know whose blogs I read... :(

Pss: As from today, my new email address is lolli_ka_bolli@yahoo.com.au
I have changed it on blogger, so if you reply to a comment, it will come to that address...

Happiness!

2008-11-24T20:53:00.002+13:00

Lauren often does a post as to why she is happy today.

Now its my turn.

The number one reason why Rochelle is happy today:

SHE WILL BE HERE ON MONDAY 1ST DECEMBER!!!

SHE IS GOING HOME TO NEW ZEALAND ON THE 29TH NOVEMBER!!!! (and yes, it takes an entire weekend to fly there, and yes, I have a 14hr transit in Hong Kong!)

God is beyond amazing. He has provided me with the means and money to buy a ticket to go home and see my family before I go on the ship next year.

The God I serve is truely awesome.

Thats about all I can manage to say for now..its hasnt really even sunk in yet.

PS: Its a complete surprise for my parents, so they have no idea I am almost on my way!!!!

I want to go home now...

2008-11-19T03:27:00.009+13:00

Can anyone help with a 15 000 Rand air ticket to go back here for Christmas?

The ship is going to be delayed until 2009, so Im really down and just wanna go home - I got these pics today and just burst into tears at my desk. Am I a big 22 year old baby?

I will answer that.

Yes.

PS: I have looked at these only about 3 katrillion gazillion times today. Do I get teary eyed everytime?

You guessed it...

Why pets hate Halloween...

2008-11-18T01:32:00.026+13:00

I know, I know, before you all start throwing calenders at me,its already mid-November, but I have been meaning to post this since Halloween, so it still counts.

So there.

Mondays...

2008-11-03T20:43:00.008+13:00

...Are just too terrible for words.

Honestly, they are the worst day of the week. Just when you get used to the weekend, Monday comes along and spoils everything.

Mondays should be included in the weekend.

Who wants to start a campaign with me?

This weekend was a busy one to say the least.

But, before I get to that, I must address the question of the "9 inch heels" :) I use it as a figure of speech and so in fact, there were not actually 9 inches, but out of interest I did measure them and they are 4.5 inches. Which is bad enough to stand on for 6hrs a day, 2 days in a row. Here are the suckers. Sympathy is needed..go ahead. Especially since I have to do this again at the end of November. What is that I hear you say? I have a hole in my head? Yes dear friends, the need for some extra cash does strange things to ones reasoning.

I managed to get some colouring in books and crayons through my work to donate to a Christmas party that was held at one of the government hospitals nearby. I went along to it and to visit the kids that were in the hospital.

I went there thinking that I was going to be the one to make a difference in the kids lives, but came away feeling as though they were the ones who made a difference in my life.

The hospital is a typical South African government one. Underfunded and under staffed. They have to make do with broken/faulty machines and facilities that are in desperate need of upliftment. But, the nurses here are wonderful. They hardly get paid anything and yet, they give of themselves everyday. The children who are there are from families that cannot afford private health care and so, when the kids get sick, they land up there. Some children have been there for months. Parents dont stay nearby and dont have the transport to visit the children often and so, they get very lonely and bored. We stayed with them for 3 hrs on Saturday morning and gave them presents and treats. Because it was a Christian based party we prayed with some of the mothers who were there with their tiny babies who more often that not were HIV positive. Here are some of the precious children we spent time with.

If only people could appreciate what they have. Some of these kids have been there for months, have tubes coming out everywhere, but still smile when we come past. Its heart-wrenching and makes you realise that your problems arent so bad after all.

Whats Mac-happening lately?

2008-10-28T03:37:00.006+13:00

Ok, the title is a little dumb, but someone I know always asks me this and when he says it it sounds sweet... as in Mac-Donalds...Mac-Chicken...ect ect ect blah blah blah.

Because the company I work for dont pay me NEAR enough to actually live on, I have to find extra jobs on the weekend to do. A good one is to do Promotions for companies. Like, this weekend I worked the whole weekend.

6hrs on Sat and 6hrs on Sun.

In 9 inch heels.

Yeah.

You can imagine how my feet were screaming at me to SIT DOWN!!! But, alas I could not as Sunsilk was paying me to stand and say : " If you buy any 2 Sunsilk products today, you get a free awesome, hot pink journal! "....with LOADS of enthiusiasm of course and a huge smile on my face...while all the while my feet are vowing never to speak to me again.

Ok, my feet dont actually speak, but you catch my drift Im sure.

Anyways, back to my point. When doing these promotions, you need to go for some basic training and wear what they tell you to wear. Normally its jeans and a company T-shirt and I can live with that. But, this time it was not.

This time it was this:

You cant see the heels in this pic, but believe me, they were there.

And I have the blisters to prove it.

Ok, next story.

You see this cat?

My terrible-excuses-for-human-beings-neighbours moved out and left this little darling behind. I know, its shocking. So, when he came begging at my door for food, I fed him.

And named him Max. Dont ask me why, but he just looked like a Max.

But, this guy can eat. Oh my word. I have gone through so much cat food and I can assure you, cat food isnt cheap. Especially not with the SA Rand falling so much. Its shocking. There has been a few times where I didnt have any cat food left and Max ate my left-overs. Not that he minded at all. Well, thats Max for you in a nutshell. Ok, not a nut shell really, but again, you kinda know what I mean?

Lastly...its this awesome womans birthday today. She is one of my best friends from school and she got married in July. I love her to bits and hope she has a day thats as amazing as she is.

Thats about all from me for now.

Oh, and Im getting flu.

Yay. Oh joy. Runny noses and sore throats really do it for me.

Cannot...stop....laughing......

2008-10-22T01:05:00.001+13:00

I got this in an email and am still trying to stop the tears that are rolling down my cheeks, I am laughing so hard! Hope this brightens your day! :)

Hair Removal...
All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on.........
My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, and play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours:
'Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.' So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom.
It was one of those 'cold wax' kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.
No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)
So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees.
('Cold wax' yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!
OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.
With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it *was* a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!
I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!
Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted. I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious.
Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.
I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip. There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???
Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch. I am touching wax.
I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.
Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!
I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself 'Please don't let me get the urge to poop, my head may pop off!' What can I do to melt the wax?
Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???
*WRONG!!!!!!!*
I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.
Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water, which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.
So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!
I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter 'So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!'
There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, 'Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?'
She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.
YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night.
While we go through various solutions, I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!
By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.
My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY!!!!!!!
The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. Its sooo painful, but I really don't care. 'IT WORKS!! It works!!'
I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE.......ALL OF IT!
So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point.
Next week I'm going to try hair color...

Yes, this is post no 2 in one day...

2008-10-16T02:31:00.005+13:00

Yes, I do realise that I normally only post once in every 2 weeks or so, but I just had to post this because I remembered it when I read this awesome womans blog. Hopefully you can bring yourself to read both posts and maybe, just maybe comment on both...

When I was little, probably about 8 or 9, my little sister, Colleen was about 6 or 7 and we were watching The Simpsons.

It was an episode where Abu, the immigrant in the series, was in fear of getting deported as he wasnt an American citizen.

The whole episode revolved around this.

Sometime during this, my adorable little sister starts looking very worried.

The longer the show went on and the closer Abu came to being deported, the more worried she got.

Eventually my dad then asked her what was wrong.

She looked up at him with her big worried eyes and asked:

(This one is a classic)

"Dad, are we American citizens?"

Needless to say we were almost rolling on the floor with laughter. She was so worried that we would also be deported.

Yes, she has yet to live this down.

PS: For those of you who dont know, I live in Africa. Not America. :)

I just don't know.

2008-10-15T21:31:00.003+13:00

I suppose the title says it all.

I have had to tell the people at work, including my boss about my job on the cruise ship.

I didn't do it until last week because I wasn't sure of when I was going to join and didn't want to jeprodise my job or make him upset that I was leaving.

Then, he called me in and asked me what my plans were for next year as he needed to plan ahead, especially because the other lady I am a PA for is going on maternity leave at the end of Nov. So, I had to be honest and tell him that I wouldn't be here next year and that I would most probably be gone before this year is out.

It went alot better than I thought it would. He was happy for me and encouraged me to follow through with it as it was an amazing oppurtunity...blah blah blah...you get the picture. "You're young and free, do it now before you settle down"......

So, I have been feeling fine since then.

Today they interviewed (and found) the lady thats going to replace me.

I didnt think it would affect me as much as it did. Don't get me wrong, she is amazing. Tall, blonde and beautiful with a brain to boot. But, when she left, everyone carried on about how amazing she was. And pretty. And talented. And what an asset she was going to be. And how because she was married with a house ect, that she wouldn't up and leave after a short time.

That hurt.

I felt like standing on the desk and yelling : " The current employee is still in the room PEOPLE!"

I don't think they meant for it to hurt me as they are nice people who I get along with and who value me. But I really think that alot more tact could have been used. If they wanted to go on and on about her, couldnt they have waited till I was out the room?

Maybe Im being over emotional about it. But it hurt none the less.

She starts in November and I will probably still be here.

Not sure how I will be feeling then.

Will be sure to let you know.

Am I just being silly or do I have a right to feel like this?

Here I go again, oh oh, how can I resist you?

2008-10-03T18:55:00.008+13:00

I was born in the wrong era.

Seriously.

I should have been born in the 1960's.

I would have had been able to see ABBA when they were still around and performing.

That would have been am...az...ing.

I am a huge ABBA fan and the last 2 weeks have been jam packed with them.

Last Tuesday we went to the Barnyard Theatre and watched Dancing Queen, which was a live performance, with tributes to ABBA and Queen. Wow. I sang and when they let us get up and dance...I shook what my mamma gave me.

Then, I have been DYING to go and see Mamma Mia at the cinema since it came out.

Ryan and I went and saw it last night.

...OH MY GOODNESS...

The whole cinema was singing to the songs and at the end the place actually broke out in clapping! I have never been to a movie where that happens before.

That has got to be in my top 3 movies of all times.

really.

no lies.

I came out there feeling like I was on the top of the world.

Singing...dancing...laughing to the car.

Ryan just laughed along with me.

Ok, maybe he laughed at me.

But thats ok, because I LOVED IT!!!

If you havent seen it.

GO...

GO NOW...

You still here?

I said go people! You will come out there a happier person because of it.

Sidenote: I think the ABBA people should pay me for this review.

Sidenote 2: I will be buying this this afternoon.

Hansie

2008-09-26T18:20:00.003+12:00

I wonder how many people overseas know about our Cricket Captain of the past, Hansie Cronje. I don't know how far his story reached, but I do know one thing...It reached inside the hearts of every South African alive during that time.

Hansie Cronje was our Cricket Captain in the 1990's. He was a hero and to many, still is. During this time though, he was involved in match fixing. He accepted money from bookies for information about the team, conditions ect.

He made a mistake.

Hansie was a Christian. He openly expressed his faith in front of the media and his team. When he made these mistakes, he felt shattered and didn't know if even God would forgive him. He fought his battle with guilt for 18 months after and eventually found peace when a pastor whom he was close to told him that God had forgiven him a long time ago, now all he needed to do was forgive himself. Hansie was baptised and began working to get his life back on track with the help of his wife and family. Slowly but surely, he began to regain the nations love and forgiveness. Granted, not everyone forgave him, but many did, and were the better people for it.

Hansie was involved in a plane crash on the 1st June 2002 and died. He left behind a legacy though. What touched me the most was that this man made a huge mistake. He betrayed a nations trust and had to live through all the hurt and guilt that came with it. But, he could have dealt with the situation differently. He could have kept quiet and never told the truth. He could have denied it all. But, he didn't.

Hansie got on national television and asked the nation for forgiveness. He confessed to us all what he done and how sorry he was. He was prepared to accept whatever the world threw at him after that.

That took courage that I'm sure most of us do not have.

The reason for this post, is that the Hansie Movie came out in South African cinemas this week. Ryan and I went and saw it last night.

It has been made by his family and it shows Hansie's rise and fall from grace. Its accurate and truthful. I cried openly for a man who had enough courage to tell the truth, no matter what the consequences. This man will forever be a South African hero to so many.

Those many include me.

Happy Birthday Mommy

2008-09-22T23:06:00.002+12:00

Mommy,

Today is your birthday and I miss you even more than usual.

I remember when we were little, how Colleen, Monique and I would make you breakfast and a birthday card and bring them to you in bed. I remember how happy you would be, even if it was just mix juice and the toast was a little burnt, with just boring jam on top.

You were always there for me when I was growing up. I loved that you were a stay at home mom and were always there when I came home from school and wanted someone to talk to about my day.

If I was sick at school, I always knew that I could call you to come and pick me up.

If it was my sports day or gala, I knew I would always see your face in the crowd, cheering me on. Even if it meant you had to sit in the blistering sun, or cold wind, you were always there.

I had so many difficult times at school, and often came home crying about not having any friends. I can remember sitting on your dressing table in Landman Road and you telling me that the other kids were just jealous and that one day they would see. You wiped my tears and picked me back up…over and over again.

I can still remember our love for little animals and how you used to help us hide them in the outside room. I also remember how, when us little kids lost interest for a while, that you would look after them for us.

You taught me love, kindness and patience. I can hardly ever remember you getting angry at us. Even when we were naughty, you only had love for us.

When I was little I used to think I was the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my mommy. I still think so, but now I have an even better understanding of how wonderfully amazing you actually are.

If I can be even half the mother, wife and woman that you are, I will be happy.

You are an angel and I am truly blessed to call myself your little girl.

I love you and cannot wait to come home.

Lolli
xxxxxx

18th September 2008

2008-09-18T17:58:00.002+12:00

The reason for the date as todays post heading is that today is a very special day in the life of one of my bloggy friends.

Today Lauren and Ted get married.

Today they start their lives together as husband and wife and I couldnt be happier for them.

I started blogging because of Lauren.

Yip, its true.

Basically, I needed to find a driving school in my area and I know of one called "Busy Bee", but didnt know what their contact details were. So, I headed over to ever-trusty Google and I well, Googled it.

Needless to say, I never did find the number, but what I DID find was so much better than any "learn-to-drive-telephone-no"

Over the next few months I got to know Lauren and many other bloggers, and started my own blog to.

I got to know Lauren as a wonderful woman (almost my age) whose posts about life in AZ made me laugh and sometimes cry. I followed her life through the good and bad and its crazy, but I almost feel as through she is my friend for real.

***I think I should insert " I am NOT a crazy-lurker-stalker-person" here***

I just feel that if I could have chosen a place to live and a best friend to have, my answers would have been "Next door to the Face Family" and "Lauren"

Or maybe they could have come to live in Africa - that would have been awesome aswell..if they could cope with all the roaming lions and zebra that is! :)

So, basically, I just want to wish Lauren and her Ted all the best for their big day and their lives ahead. They make the absolutely perfect couple and Im sure Im not the only one that thinks that. The way you guys have loved each other and reached today is truely an inspiration for me.

May the Lord bless you today and always.

All my love
Chell

Tomorrow!

2008-09-11T18:22:00.002+12:00

Today is the last day that I will be a 21 year old!

In a way, I am a little sad cos 21 is a pretty cool age to be, but on the other hand, I am glad to be growing up and expanding my horizons.

...Ok, that sounded like something straight out of Dr. Phil...

My apologies.

Anyways, the point is, Im excited for my birthday tomorrow, but not excited for what has to happen the day after.

We have our annual Sales awards and Conference on Saturday, which I single handedly organise and I am very stressed about it at the moment.

Here is basically what I have had to do since planning started a few months back:

Order and sort through a lot of vouchers that we are going to give as prizes
Hand make 190 invitations and send them all over the province
Hand make 38 menu cards to be on the tables
Hand make the Table number cards to be on a board when people walk in so that they can see what table they are sitting at
Put 190 people in groups for the tables according to branch
Put 190 people in groups to see what room they are sleeping in
Choose the venue
Choose decor
Choose the menu - taking into account any special dietary requirements
Choose the drinks
Choose the DJ
Choose the photographer
Choose frames for the award certificates
Choose guest speaker for morning event
Choose guest speaker for Sales Awards at night
Choose team building activity
Arrange payment for all of the above
Design 60 certificates
Print 60 certificates
Frame 60 certificates
Go and check out venue and run through programme
Organise transport for people from far away branches
Organise banners for entrance and hall
Organise week-end away for one of the prize winners
Send out memo and directions to all attending
Organise printed mugs as gifts for all attending
Buy and pack 190 bags of sweets to go inside mugs
Get T-shirt sizes from all branches and order T-shirts
Label and pack 190 T-shirts into gift bags
Pack 190 lanyards and pens into gift bags with T-shirts
Set everything up tomorrow night...yes, I have to go to the venue early...yes, I have to spend my birthday at work and then my evening working too.

Am I feeling sorry for myself?

Yes.

Did I go and get flu on top of everything?

Yes.

Should I go and eat some chocolate now?

Yes :)

***I want to end this post by remembering all the lives that were affected on this day in 2001. May the Lord hold those who lost loved ones, in His hands, now and always***

Love Chell

Some more...

2008-08-15T01:30:00.002+12:00

Go here:

http://www.seabourn.com/

and tell me what you think :)

Ps: Some of you guessed it right, but others might change their minds once they've seen the site...

Guess what...

2008-08-12T22:40:00.001+12:00

Ok, start guessing......... :)

My last 4 days.

2008-08-06T17:23:00.002+12:00

Since Sunday morning I have had a very God-filled few days.

I suppose I can say that it started when we arrived at church on Sunday morning and saw that there was a guest pastor to do the service.

His name is Lester.
He is amazing.

Actually, amazing doesnt really begin to describe this man of God.

He is from Australia and travels most of the year, preaching the gospel where the Lord leads him to. He was recently in Zimbabwe.

I cant explain it, but somehow I feel drawn to this man. Or rather, to hearing him speak the Word.

Normally we only go to the morning service on a Sunday.

This Sunday we went to the morning, as well as evening.

Then on Monday he spoke at our home group.

Tonight (Wed) he is going to be speaking at church again, and we are going.

Tomorrow night he will be there as well.

We will be there to.

There is something that touched my life when I heard him speak on Sunday morning. He had an altar call at the end of the service and he called people up who wanted to make a stand for "turning the world upside down" with the way they live their lives and the impact they make for Christianity. As I stood infront of the church with a few others who had come forward, I felt in my heart that from today, things were going to be different.

God put a message in my heart.

I was going to be different.

Since then, I have found that I have this amazing peace and sense of love in my heart. I cant explain it other than giving God the glory for it.

But, the best thing is that Ryan has been coming with me to listen to Lester and I can see the difference in him to.

This just makes this even better.

Lester is a very "in your face - tell is like it is" kind of preacher. He challenged the church on many issues and so many people went away feeling it.

From walking out of there I know that there is NO other God except for our precious Jesus Christ.

I know that the Bible is the ONLY source of information as well as guidance in my Christian walk.

And I now have such a desire to see the people of the world saved. Its like my heart is burning to see my fellow man saved and in Heaven one day.

If you havent prayed the sinners prayer and given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I urge you, speak to someone.

Maybe even me if you want to know more.

If there is anyone reading this that wants to know more about becoming a born-again Christian, please email me at rwegener@kzn.waltons.co.za and I will be happy to share my testimony and the way to the Lord with you.

God Bless.
Chell
x

2008-07-29T20:38:00.003+12:00

The memorial service and funeral were held yesterday.
I dont think a single person walked out of there without acknowledging what a wonderful woman Mrs Lotter was - the Tributes made to her spelled that out clearly.
This was what I read on behalf of the "old-girls" of 2004.

As we look back over time
We find ourselves wondering .....
Did we remember to thank you enough
For all you have done for us?
For all the times you were by our sides
To help and support us .....
To celebrate our successes
To understand our problems
And accept our defeats?
Or for teaching us by your example,
The value of hard work, good judgement,
Courage and integrity?
We wonder if we ever thanked you
For the sacrifices you made.
To let us have the very best?
And for the simple things
ike laughter, smiles and times we shared?
If we have forgotten to show our
Gratitude enough for all the things you did,
We're thanking you now.
And we are hoping you knew all along,
How much you meant to us.

Losing someone so dear to our hearts has been devastating to try and deal with. We hope to wake up and be told it was all a bad dream. We hope to walk into her classroom and still see her there. We hope to see her smile and hear her laugh. We hurt, we mourn and we want to turn back time so that we could say a kind word and let her know how much important she was to us.
Unfortunately, we cant.

But, there is something that we can do.

We can remember her for the wonderful woman she was. We can honour her memory by thinking fondly on the lessons and the laughter. Mrs Lotter was truly an amazing person as well as teacher. She had never- ending patience and her words of comfort and encouragement reached far beyond the last school bell. No matter how difficult the class was, she took it in her stride. She was a woman of sophistication and class. She made such an impression on the lives of the girls who passed through her door and she will not be forgotten.

The last time I saw her was a few months back. We chatted for a long time and she shared with me that they were building a little place in Cape Town as a holiday home. She was so proud that she would be able to sit and watch the whales from her lounge. Her eyes glowed as she spoke of a new chapter in her life that she would be starting. I’m not sure if she ever got to see the whales from her new home, but I believe she’s now watching them from Heaven.

My Disney Princess

2008-07-25T17:59:00.001+12:00

You Are Snow White!

Nancy Face did this and I thought it was too sweet!

Pure and trusting. You are a gentle soul who can get along with just about anyone. Everyone you meet instantly falls in love with you. How can they resist? You have a pure, lovable nature that's irresistable. Just don't trust everyone who comes across your path.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Tragic

2008-07-23T17:32:00.002+12:00

Even writing this makes me feel like I want to be sick.

My teacher at High School, Mrs Lotter and her husband were murdered at their home on Saturday night.

He was strangled and she was stabbed to death in her chest.

You are probably asking, can this get any worse?

Yes.

It can.

And it does.

They got a confession of the murder from her 20 year old son, 26 year old daughter and her boyfriend.

They had first created a story about how it was an armed robbery that went wrong, but the police discovered too many holes in their stories and uncovered the truth. They are going to appear in court today.

This woman was amazing. She was so calm, so caring and so giving.

Whats worse, is that she used to bring pictures to school of her kids - she was so proud.

She has 3 children. The middle child (a daughter) is studying in another province (Cape Town)

How must she be dealing with this?

If and when a child loses his/her parents, they would turn to the siblings.

Who does she turn to now?

Its disgusting.

Since I was Head Girl and in her Matric class in 2004, I am going to give a Tribute to her at the memorial service being held at the school on Monday 28th July.

I am going to try and look past everything and focus on the woman she was.

I want to read a poem aswell.
Something about beauty and grace...
If anyone has any poems that they think would be appropriate, please can you send them to me.

Please keep the rest of the family and the daughter left behind in your prayers.

Welcome Colleen!

2008-07-16T17:50:00.002+12:00

After seeing my super awesome, darling blog, and reading the Tribute I wrote for her, my sister has decided to start a blog! :)

I have nooooo clue how to do that cool "link" thing, so I am just going to say, go here : http://www.thelifeofcoll.blogspot.com/ and give her some comment love! :)

ps: Could someone pleeeease leave ME some comment love, explaining how on earth you do that cool linky thingy?

:)

Chell

pss: Stay tuned for news and pics from my Ryan's birthday yesterday!

Something to think about.

2008-07-14T21:48:00.003+12:00

At the moment, I am going through a really hard time. Things are going wrong in every aspect of my life and this weekend, I felt like looking to God and asking,

"Why me? What have I ever done to deserve what Im going through?"

Then, I got to work this morning and things got even worse. I needed to talk to my mom. She called me, but got cut off and couldnt call back again. I just wanted to climb under my desk and cry.

Then, I got this in my inbox.

And as soon as I had read it, I felt something tell me that it was going to be ok and that my Heavenly Father would look after me.

I also felt that there might be someone else who needs to read this.

Hence, the reason for this post.

God Smiles When We Trust

By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldnt see, and acted on what he was told. . . . As a result, Noah became intimate with God. Hebrews 11:7 (MSG)
*** *** *** ***
Imagine this scene: One day God comes to Noah and says, Im disappointed in human beings. In the entire world, no one but you thinks about me. But Noah, when I look at you, I start smiling. Im pleased with your life, so Im going to flood the world and start over with you and your family. I want you to build a giant ship that will save you and the animals.
There were three problems that could have caused Noah to doubt:

First, Noah had never seen rain because prior to the flood God irrigated the earth from the ground up (Genesis 2:5-6).

Second, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Even if he could learn to build a ship, how would he get it to water?

Third, there was the problem of rounding up all the animals and then caring for them.
But Noah didnt complain or make excuses. He trusted God completely, and that made God smile.
Trusting God completely means having faith that God knows what is best for your life. You expect him to keep his promises, help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary.

The Bible says, He takes pleasure in those who honor him, in those who trust in his constant love (Psalm 147:11 TEV).
It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. I imagine he faced many discouraging days. With no sign of rain year after year, he was probably criticized as a crazy man who thinks God speaks to him. I imagine Noahs children were often embarrassed by the giant ship being built in their front yard.
Yet Noah kept on trusting God.
In what areas of your life do you need to trust God completely?
Trusting is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when children trust them, your faith makes God happy. The Bible says, Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).

How awesome was that?

Noah trusted God for 120 years!
That amazes me.
I battle to trust unfailingly for 5mins.
Wow.

Not sure who needed this as much as I did, but may you be blessed. x

This is too weird!!

2008-07-12T03:02:00.002+12:00

As you can see, my lift home from work on a Friday afternoon was very late, and I had TOO much time on my hands!! :)

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

Who looks like me in Celebville?

2008-07-12T02:47:00.002+12:00

I found this on Aurora's blog and really liked the idea!! I tag anyone else who wants to try this!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Wordless...just hilarious, uncontrolable laughter!

2008-07-10T18:54:00.003+12:00

I have seen this pic soooo many times, but absolutely cannot stop having fall-off-my-chair-and-roll-on-the-floor-laughter EVERYTIME I see it again...I just had to share... :) Make it bigger to get the full effect of that naughty little face!

A tribute to my little sister

2008-07-07T19:44:00.000+12:00

My dearest Colleen, or Ninin as you are known to us :)

Today is your 20th birthday. 20 years ago, a very skinny little baby with big "googly" eyes entered our world and the family of 3 became 4.

Throughout our childhood years, you were my best friend. You were always so quiet and calm, and I was always loud and unruly. You always let me pick the game and play it the way I wanted to. I realise that now, and want to say thank you.

We spent many hours on the bedroom floor playing "Puppy in my pocket" and many other games like that. We would spend the whole day in our own little world. Remember when other kids came to the gate and wanted to play, we told Mommy to tell them we weren't home so that we could carry on just playing our game :)

We would do everything together.

Remember days on the beach? When dad would dive and we would play all sorts of games until he came out?
Remember pretending the rocks in the surf were our boats?
Remember playing Baywatch at the Tidal Pool?

Our childhood years were such happy ones. Even though our family hardly had any money, we were happy and content. We didnt have the coolest clothes or the latest toys, but we played anyway and loved every minute of it. We made toys and games out of anything we could find.
Remember playing "vet" and carting ALL our animals out to the garage and pretending to make them better?
Remember making our "dog-food pie" and baking it in the sun? And how the dogs enjoyed eating it off Mommy's kitchen spoons?

Some of my favourite memories come from when we would bring new pets home and hide them in the outside room so Daddy didnt see...
Remember when the big fluffy hamster crawled in behind the cupboard and we eventually had to tell Dad about him so that he could come and get him out?

Yes, we also had our childhood arguments, but the good memories completely outweigh the bad.

As we got older, things changed a little bit. We werent as close as when we were little and we realised the world was alot bigger and badder than we had thought. We went through tough patches, but somehow always found our way back to each other.

Then, in 2005, our world was turned upside down when our parents made the decision to immigrate.

You all went and I stayed behind. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. But, at the time I thought it was for the best. You guys set up home in New Zealand and started a new life. I struggled to cope with my old one. I came there, I went back...countless times. But, you were strong, you made new friends and adapted to the Kiwi way of life. I battled to understand how you could have forgotten about our home so quickly. But, as the years went by, I began to understand that you hadnt forgotten, you had just taken the memories, stored them in your heart and embraced a new chapter in your life. Im sorry for holding that against you sis.

Then, something terrible happened. You got involved in things you shouldnt have and I was far far away. Our family was almost torn apart and I was helpless to stop it.

But, months later, you turned everything around, rededicated your life to the Lord and started over. Now, you are one of the most committed and strong Christians I know and I truely look up to you. Because of you, Daddy is a new person and we are a happy family, focused on God again. We are more blessed now than we have ever been in our entire lives. We are just going from strength to strength.

Thank you for being such a wonderful sister.
Thank you that even though we only see each other once a year, we still know that we are there for each other.
Thank you for the words of guidance
Thank you for being an example to our family and others.
Thank you for sending me a message, telling me that you wish I would come home.

I am so proud of you and tell everyone about your achievements.

You are awesome.

I love you.

My sister is an airhostess for Air New Zealand. She is the 2nd one from the right (the pretty one!) Below are some pics of her and of us, just having fun in New Zealand :)

Colleen on her graduation:

Colleen posing on the farm :)

Us posing in our new Christmas jammies :)

Us at Rainbows End amusement park

Things I love Thursday

2008-07-03T23:36:00.001+12:00

I got this off someone elses blog - and loved the idea! :)

* I love that I have "met" so many other wonderful people through the Blog-World - many of who I hope to meet for real one day!

* I love that, even though my family is 3 million miles away, I know that the same God whose looking after me, is there with them aswell.

* I love that I have someone who loves me with all his heart. xxx

* I love looking out my window at night and seeing the gazillions of twinkling lights

* I love that I can make others laugh

* I love that I have been blessed with a once in a lifetime oppurtunity (more of which to follow in the next few weeks!)

* I love the sound of little childrens laughter - the kind that just makes you want to laugh too!

* I love the way it smells outside just after its rained

* I love it when wonderful things happen to other people - so that I can love being happy for them!

* I love looking forward to and getting excited about the little things that other people wouldnt think twice about

* I love the awesome relationship that I have with my mom.

There are tons more things...but those are the ones that I can think of right now :)

I tag anyone else who would like to do this!!

Happy Thursday!

Chell x

Devotion for the day...

2008-07-01T20:37:00.000+12:00

Hi all...

I got this today in my inbox for my daily devotion. I thought it was beautiful and thought-provoking, expecially the part where it asks, "Is anyone in heaven because of you?"

Hope it touches you as much as it did me...

Each of us has a life message that God wants us to share with the world. Sharing the message is part of our lifes mission. When we share that message with other people, its called witnessing.
There is great power in group witness. Just like a soldier is never sent out by himself, God never meant for us to do our mission alone. He says we should go out together to witness.
In fact, God says that we witness best to people who dont know God when we love others who are already in Gods family. In John 13, Jesus tells us that our love for each other proves to the world that we are his disciples. People are impressed when Christians genuinely love each other. It proves to the world that they are in the family of God.
In 2 Timothy 1:7, were told how we are supposed to witness to people: For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline (NIV).
Have you been timid and fearful in your witness? Gods answer to fear is community, having other Christians stand alongside you in witness.
Seriously consider this question: Is anybody going to be in heaven because of you? If you work together to witness alongside other Christians, youll be able to say, Yes! Somebodys in heaven because of me.
Philippians 1:27 says, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel (NIV).
Do you witness with other Christians in one spirit when youre so unified that its almost like youre one person? This is the kind of relationship God wants us to have with our fellow Christians. We all need each other. God wants to use us to witness for him, but he wants us to do it together!

Have a blessed day!!
Love Chell x

Lets try again....part 2

2008-06-23T23:25:00.001+12:00

Ok, lets try again and see if the Blogger will let me update my pics!

Ok, here is my new hair - that I got done for free from my salon. They needed a "model" for someone who is still qualifying to do a colour exam on. I got to choose the colour and highlights, which was great! :-)

I also got new sunglasses :-)

I won a holiday in a radio competition a few months back, and we finally went for it the day after I got my hair done :-) It was down the coast - about an hour away and, as you can see, RIGHT on the beach!! We stayed in one of the bottom ones, so we walked out the door onto the sand...

The view from the sea right infront of our chalet, looking left...as Aubrey would say..."wordless" :-)

Fun in the sand :-) xxx

I LOVE shadow photos and take them wherever and whenever I can!

I am really like a little kid when it comes to things like the circus and so, when it came to our area, I begged Ryan to take me.... I did all the things little kids at the circus to. I ate popcorn, candyfloss and chocolate and sweets :-) And drank Coke :-) I even had the guts to to up to the clown by the door and ask for a pic with him!! :-) Im so cool....and little.... :-)

We bought these little horns that flash and glow :-)

My best friend, Caryn is having her wedding shower this weekend and its a Pamper Party. Her and hubby to be are going to England next year to work, so she didnt want kitchen/house stuff. So, I made her a "Comforts for Caryn" basket, (to be used on the Honeymoon) Its filled with things that start with a "C" and I love it! I cannot wait to give it to her! Its got Candles, Cocktail mix, Cocktail glasses and Chocolate! (Its in a wicker basket with pink crepe paper and the bottom is FILLED with choc's!)

And my last news of the day (and certainly not least!!) is that I found the most gorgeous pair of shoes this weekend....there was ONE pair left..they were on SALE and they were MY size! I just had to take them home! (After paying for them first of course!)

Ok! Thats all for now!

Love Chell

Ok, here is goes...

2008-06-23T20:14:00.000+12:00

Hello, again to all that frequent this Blog - commenters and lurkers alike :-)

I havent been updating this Blog like I should be, work has been HECTIC and its the only place I have access to the internet, so my blog has had to take a backseat for a little while...but, Im back and here comes a super-bumper Blog edition! :-)

First and foremost:

I have a pet hate/peeve that I need to get out the way first, before we get onto the interesting stuff.

I cannot handle grammar errors.

I just cannot.

They irriatate me to the point of madness.

There is a toilet downstairs at my office, where someone has stuck a notice on the wall, so when you sit on the loo, you have nowhere else to look, but at it.

I try and avoid that loo altogether because this grammar error grinds my bones beyond belief.

Can you see it?

Does it irritate you as much as me?

Or am I just crazy?

Ok. ok, now that thats out the way, let me tell you other things that have been happening in my busy (yet enjoyable) life...

I have recently discovered that monkeys have moved into the yard where my granny flat is in. They are cute, but very naughty and if you're not careful, they will climb into your window and steal whatever food they can see! Here is a little critter in the tree by my front door...

Ok, Im really cross now...something is wrong and I cant seem to upload anymore pics to my Blog! I had so many that I still needed to put up..ok, I will post this for now and try again later :-)

Enjoy, so long!

Chell x

Its been awhile!

2008-06-11T23:32:00.000+12:00

Good grief, I just realised that I have not filled my loyal blogger friends in on what I have been doing since the wonderful James Blunt concert!

Story 1 - My job entails going with my boss to whatever he decides I need to be at. Recently, this included an early morning train trip to Umlazi - a station where a huge number of little black children catch the train to get to school. Now, these kids are aged from 6 till about 13 and they travel by themselves all the way and have to be sure to get off at the right stop ect. Now, Waltons, the company I work for is wanting to get involved in that community and brand some train coaches with our branding. We also want to decorate the inside and give them some colouring in books and chalk boards to keep them busy while in the train.
It was amazing!
There was this adorable little 6 year old girl, Andiswa, latched onto me and wanted me to come to school with her, when I told her that I couldnt because I had to go to work, she then said that its fine, she will just come to work with me! I could have just squeezed her she was so cute!
This is what the standard Metrorail trains look like. (My dad used to drive these when he was in South Africa)

Story 2 - I got a new phone! I must say, I have NEVER had a new phone. I have always had someone elses hand me down phone, so I am so excited! Its the Samsung J750 - It has a camera, so all I need to do now is buy a cable and I can get the pics off the phone and onto my Blog!

Story 3 - We were at the bank at month end last month and it was SOOO busy. The lines were going out of the door - literally! While we were waiting we saw this adorable little boy who was probably about 3 or 4 years old. His dad was trying to speak to the cashier at the front of the line and the little chap was desperately trying to get his attention. The conversation went something like this:

Little boy: "Dad, dad, dad, daaad, daaaaad, DAD, DADDDY!"
Dad : **gives little boy a look that says BEHAVE!***

*****Little boy now spy's a little door at his eye level with a handle******

Little boy : ***opens and closes door a few times***
Little boy : At the top of his voice proclaims very matter-of-factly
"Dad, this must be the oven!"

It was so cute and innocent, he had the bank in such laughter!
Then, he sees a guy in a blue and white shirt, taps him on the back and asks:
"Are you a Policeman?"

Once again - whole bank in laughter!

Little kids are just too cute!

Story 4 - We went last week to go and see the movie "What happens in Vegas" It was sooooo good! I fully recommend it to anyone who wants to go and see it - we laughed so hard and it kept us entertained the entire time!

Oh yes, Ryan and I won a weekend away down the coast and I got my hair done (for FREE!), but I will leave that for tomorrows post! :-)

***Lauren, you and your family are in my prayers***

Love Chell x

The concert...

2008-05-28T23:04:00.000+12:00

Well, I am sure you are all waiting with bated breath to hear how the James Blunt concert went hey?

Ok, ok, I will tell you! :-)

Ryan picked me up after work and once again amazed me with his thoughtfulness...he really is the best. He had bought me some goodies to eat at the concert. But, not just any goodies. My favourite of each of the following things:

Fav pastry - Steak pie and sausage roll

Fav Choc - Cadbury's Whole nut slab

Fav Sweets - Jube Jubes

Fav Chips - Ghost Pops

and Sprite to drink!

Then, I was off!

I arrived at 5pm and joined the line of people already there and got comfy on the pavement outside the event :-)

They opened the gates just before 6pm...but heaven decided to open its gates aswell....

The rain was so bad that it looked as though I had jumped into a swimming pool and got out without drying off!

I learnt something that night though.

I could either be like so many of the people around me and moan and complain, or, I could put my face up to the sky and laugh - which is what I did! ( I must tell you the reason for the laughter, was because there has not been an outdoor concert in Durban where it hasnt poured with rain!)

There were actually so many people who went home, which I completely didnt understand. I mean, they are wet, cold and without a concert...I am wet, cold and with one! Surely thats the better option? Well, I thought so at least!

Since I was there on my own I made friends with the group of people sitting infront of me. (Such are we South Africans, we make friends everywhere, my fav is in the queue at the shopping mall)

They were really sweet and we had a good laugh at the rain and the fact that I had to wring my hair as well as the towel I was sitting on out! (Ps : Dont wear a woollen coat in the rain and it holds the water!!!)

The concert was 45mins late in starting because they had to wait for the pouring rain to die down to a drizzle (which took 3hrs...) Then, the support act, Josie Field came on. She was really good - Google her and listen to some of her stuff..."10 years" is super!

Then, at long last, amidst screams (from me) of "JAMES!!!!".....he eventually came on.

Oh. My. Word.

He was beyond awesome!! And totally worth waiting in the rain from 6 till 9pm!! He sang pretty much every song off his new album, and the favourites off his previous one, and did 3 songs for the encore!!

I am still trying to get the pics off my camera (keep forgetting) and then I will post them along with one of the many videos that I took. Wow. Wow. Wow. I would so do it all over again! (rain and freezing cold weather included!)

A HUGE fan...Chell

I am so super excited!!!

2008-05-26T23:39:00.000+12:00

I am so excited I can barely sit still in my chair and do the mountains of work piled around my desk...

In exactly 6 and a half hours I will be standing at the Juventus grounds watching James Blunt!!!

******Woohoo!!!!******

Ryan is going to buy me some nice munchies and bring a picnic blanket (because he is such a sweetie) with when he picks me up from work and takes me to the concert. I will be there a full 2hrs beforehand so that I can be sure to be first in line so I can get as close as possible to the front.

I am all for yelling and singing along right in the front.

I will be going to the concert all on my own, as everyone else bailed out last minute...but it doesnt phase me in the least...I am going to see James Blunt!!!

I wonder if he has any idea how much I love his music...
I wonder if he knows that I know every word to every song...
I wonder if he knows that I bought the ticket on the very first day they went on sale, 26th January 08.
I wonder if he knows that I dont mind sitting outside the gate, alone for 2hrs so I can be up front.....

No.

He doesnt know any of these things actually.

But I dont care.

I'M GOING TO SEE JAMES BLUNT!!!

Ok, thats enough out of me for now.

I will post pics in the morning :-)

But, heres a gorgeous one off the net for now...just to get the tastebuds going...

Rugby Fever!!

2008-05-19T23:24:00.000+12:00

Well, now that was a game and a half!

What I'm talking about of course is the rugby game between the Sharks and Chiefs on Saturday night here in good ol' Durbs.

I was lucky enough to get box tickets...meaning our company got a private little "room" with a bar and food to watch the rugby from. Oh, and its got an AWESOME view and aircon...something you most certainly need in Durban weather!

Since you might not have seen the game, I'm going to let you know what happened...

WE WON!

Even though they played a New Zealand team, I wasnt interested in anything but seeing my beloved Sharks take the game. And that they certainly did! Sharks 47 Cheifs 25.

I yelled so much that I was sure I wouldnt have a voice left on Sunday morning...

For those of you who dont know exactly who the Sharks are, let me introduce you to 2 of my favourites below.

My all time best, Francois Steyn (who I got to meet and got an autograph from last week - I was on a high for the rest of the evening!!)
He had his 21st birthday last week - but unfortunately due to injury he couldnt play this week.

Francois in action in his Springbok colours...

I was soooo super impressed when I got his autograph, because he had just played the game and hurt his rib, and yet he still smiled and said "No problem" when I asked him to sign the ticket. Needless to say, I could have melted right there and then...

Another one of my fav's. Bismarck Du Plessis - He played this week and was one of the try scorers, to which I exclaimed (quite loudly I might add) "Bismarck you Biscuit!!!"

Don't ask...

Now, because of our amazing win, we go through to the Semi-Finals!! They will play on the weekend in Sydney, Australia.

Yes, for those of you wondering, I will be yelling loudly from the comfort of my living room. I will advise the neighbours accordingly.

I'm nice like that.

Wordless...

2008-05-08T19:30:00.001+12:00

My parents farm in New Zealand...my future home

(Thanks Aubrey, for this wonderful idea....)

I need to Blog

2008-05-05T18:38:00.000+12:00

I need to Blog about a couple of things.

Let me start with the last episode of American Idol.

I dont have cable tv, but was lucky enough to be at a friends place when it came on and so I watched it there.
First, we watched the part where they all sang and got commented on by the judges. That was ok.
Then there was a thing that came on called "Idol gives back"
At this point I sat forward on the couch as they started talking about HIV in Africa and the things they were doing in my country.
I found this evoked 2 feelings in my heart.

1. Pity - my heart broke for these people that were suffering in my country. When the part with Annie Lennox came on and she was crying - I started crying and Ryan just had to hold me till I felt better. These people have nothing. They are in constant suffering and they have lost everything that matters. They cry openly and are so appreciative of anything-a hug, a kind word, a crust of bread.

2. Guilt - I sat there and thought to myself, what am I doing to help these people that are my fellow country men and woman? Im sitting in a house, with food in my tummy, a jersey on my shoulders and when I want to go home, I will get in a car and get driven. I felt horrible for having all that I do. I wanted to go out right there and then and feed some child that has no parents. I wanted to take someone home to have a warm place to sleep for a night.
I needed to do something.
But, I didnt know what to do. And so I went home, climbed into my bed and went to sleep.
Pathetic hey?
I know.

How come American celebrities can come to my country and help, but I cant?

But, just so you understand, the whole of Africa does not look like what you saw on Idols. There are places here that dont look any different to where you come from. Really.
But since the only things National Geographic show are the starving children and wild animals on the plains, I cant blame people who, when I am overseas, ask me, "Do you have lions in your backyard?" Or, "Do you live in a house or a mud hut?"

Dont laugh, Im being dead serious.

Now, dont get me wrong, where I can, I will give money to a beggar or buy a meal for someone hungry.
But, I get the feeling that I need to be doing more.
I need to be out there with the likes of Bono and Annie Lennox and I need to be looking out for those kids who have nothing.
But, thats not always an option for people here, so we try and give what we can, where we can. And even though I cant do what the others are doing, I am still heart broken when I see these people.

But, there is a whole other side to what I am feeling.

I am going to be blunt and honest, so please bear with me.

When I am alone at my flat, I am constantly in fear of someone breaking in and raping/beating/killing me for my possesions - this has happened to many people that I know.

When we stop at a red traffic light, we have to look out all the windows in case of a person approaching that could smash our window and tear off any piece of jewellery that is visible, or put a gun to my head and demand my wallet and mobile phone - this has happened to many people I know.

When we back the car out of the driveway, we have to look out for people who might try to hi-jack us in our driveway - this has happened to many people I know.

I cannot walk ANYWHERE on my own, not in the day or night.

I cannot walk along our beachfront for fear of being attacked.

I am scared to roll down my window to give the child begging at the traffic light some money for fear that now that he has my attention, his buddy smashes my other window and steals what he can.

Now, I should probably bring to your attention that these crimes against humanity are commited by people of colour.

Its terrible to have to seperate people by their race, but if you are from South Africa, you will know that its a way of life.
A white person cannot speak out against a black person without huge claims of racism being expressed.
If there is a job available and a white person and a black person both apply, it will be given to the black person because of something in our country called BEE - Black Economic Empowerment.

Its always a race issue.

If our sports team looses - our government will claim that its because there arent enough players of colour and they will put people in just for the colour of their skin - not looking at their abilities.
There are people starving - but the Government will spend BILLIONS on the changing of perfectly good ROAD names that are so called "white" and replace them with "black" ones that nobody can pronounce. Now, all maps, business cards ect have to be changed. You can imagine the expense. But, when it comes to the starving children that our American friends have to come and help - our Government turns a blind eye.

I know Im ranting now, but I just want you to see what Im feeling. I am furious at the way I am forced to be in a "jail" in my own home - bugular guards, security gate, padlocked door and alarm system.
I am furious that I cannot walk to the shop to buy bread and milk as I am afraid that someone will grab my handbag or worse.

There are 850 000 white South Africans that have left to live in other countries between 1995 and 2005. Thats one third of the white population. Every day there are on average 10 people who immigrate to New Zealand.
My parents help make up this statistic.
They left in 2005 after my dad was laid off from his job because of the colour of his skin, along with about 20 others, all with blemish free records and with years and years of experience.
Now, we have what is being called the "Brain Drain" as we have a huge shortage of skilled workers as they are all leaving to live in other countries because of the state of this one.

I was a person who was passionate about this place, my home. I refused to immigrate and 3 years later, I am still here.

But,
Come January 2009 and I will get on a plane with a one way ticket to start my life in New Zealand and hope to be able to build a life there.

I will be starting over at 22 years of age.
Leaving everything that has ever been "home" to me.

Its going to hurt and its going to be the hardest thing I have ever done, but I cant imagine raising my kids one day in a place where they cannot be safe, playing in their own garden.

Now, hopefully you can see why I feel the way I do...

Chell

Ps : I just read this from top to bottom and should apologise if it makes anyone feel morbid or upset. I coudnt carry these feelings with me for a second longer. Hopefully you will understand.

10 days straight...

2008-04-30T18:49:00.000+12:00

I have been working - without a break - for 10 days straight.

*Phew*
*Yawn*
*Sigh*

Just thought I should tell you that, just incase this Blog entry gets a little lack luster... dont blame me, blame the need in todays society to try and make a little extra cash to get my ends meeting...makes me think of such a true little saying:

"There always seems to be more month left at the end of the money"

Dont think theres anyone out there who will disagree!

Well, you know the blog entry a few posts back about me eating the terrible thing called salad - "arghhh" so I could resemble the model in the picture by the 24th April? Well, that date has come and gone, and although I didnt get to looking like blondie in the pic, I was proud of my efforts. The reason for the crash-test-diet was that I had to work at a Bass Fishing Competition at a Dam for last Thursday till Monday this week. I had to wear an outfit for the prizegiving that I had to look "acceptable" in...hence the dieting.
I have put some pics below so you can see where I spent 5 days.....
Working......
And sleeping in a tent.....
That was invaded by small flying insects on Thursday night.....
And ants on Friday night.....
And wind on Saturday night......
And rain on Sunday night......

Enough said.

Then, I had to go to my normal job the very next day and Im here again today. (Oh, someone asked what I do...Im the Personal Assistant (PA) to the Sales and Marketing Director of Waltons Stationery - the biggest stationery company in SA.)

Ok, back to why I am sooo tired.

Well, at the dam we had to be up at 7am and got to bed after 12pm.

We had to carry fridges...yes....fridges.
And 40 bench and table sets
And about 80 crates of drinks
And too many bags of ice to count
And serve about 700 people

Im going to stop there as just writing about it is making my shoulders ache.

Heres the pics...

The Inanda Dam with the mountains in the background, taken from where my tent was set up.

There were 3 Zebras on the property that kinda wandered around the dam and the tents...very cool, even if you live in Africa!

Now for the good news of this Blog, this is only going to be a 2 day week - of which I am already on the second day.

Monday - Freedom day public holiday

Tuesday - Work day

Wednesday - Work day - (I am here in my week)

Thursday - Public holiday

Friday - Public holiday

I would not have been able to cope if I still had to work Thurs and Fri

****thank heavens****

Have to go do the monthly grocery shopping tomorrow-its like the nursery rhyme where Old Mother Hubbard when to the cupboard and the cupboard was bare..(and the fridge!)..

And clean the flat - its feeling very ignored since I have been away for so long.

But, this can all wait until I have slept till at LEAST 10am...mmmm...cant wait!.

Chell

What a morning...

2008-04-23T20:28:00.000+12:00

I had to really try this morning to keep my peace and positivity. I was so tired that everything seemed to be getting to me...
I really wish that everyday was like yesterday!
I only got home close to midnight from the work function and eventually got all tucked into bed at about 12.20am...when I was trying to fall asleep I actually couldnt believe that I had to be up in 4hrs40mins - it seemed so unfair!
But, I did it (and am proud to say, still had my quiet time) and thought that I would just slug through the day.
When I got there at 7am, we were told that there was going to be load shedding at 8-10am! Then, the network ect only comes on at about 11.30am!
I was so upset because if we had known that we were going to be sitting in the dark for 2hrs, unable to do a single thing, then I would have asked me boss if I could get some extra sleep and come in when the electricity is back on.
Nevermind.
Well, its on now, obviously since I am writing this Blog, but still no network...

Let me tell you about last night, maybe that will make me feel a little better! :-)

The show was amazing and our customers really had a good time. I have put a pic of Barry - the lead guitarist and singer below...

He was really awesome! I must admit when he walked out in black leather pants and a glitterey shirt, I thought to myself "Oops, maybe we picked the wrong show" But he was amazing and kept us conpletely entertained from 8.30pm till after 11... and as for the food...mmmm...my diet went right out the back window when it came out!

Just realised that I didnt put up any pics or news from my weekend...

On Sat night we had a "Girls Night Out" with the ladies from our Young Adults home group. We went to a place called Moyo at the Ushaka Undersea World complex. I have never been in such awe of a place in my life before!

I kept wishing I was a tourist so that I could appreciate the "africaness" even more! They had Zulu dancers and guys that came around to your table and sang! It was truely amazing and such a treat!

This is Charlotte and I posing for the pic!

And these are all the ladies...they even come around and offer to paint a little flower on your face! So unique!

I recommend that you visit this place if you are planning a trip to South Africa and want to experience a REAL African restuarant!

Well, we have just been told that the network is back up, so this is me for now...

Chell

xxx

Bible Study

2008-04-22T17:43:00.000+12:00

Last night I went to our home group Bible study and all I can say is awesome.
We truely do serve a God who loves us more than we can even begin to understand or comprehend.
I have a confession to make.
I have not been praying and have my quiet times with God as much as a Christian should. There never seems to be enough time or there is always something else that needs to be done.
At last nights home group we watched a DVD on prayer. I couldnt believe that something that had been filmed some 14 years ago in the States could speak directly into my life at this very moment.
It was truly amazing.
I realised last night that there is nothing more inportant than spending real quality time with your saviour.

The washing can wait
The dishes can wait
Dinner can wait
The programme that just came on and looks super interesting can wait

Last night God prompted me to share something very personal about my family and I and although it happened a couple of months ago, I felt he wanted me to tell the group, which I did ( I have learnt the hard way that when he speaks to you, just listen, dont argue!)
It turns out that there was a woman sitting next to me that is going through the EXACT same thing that I shared about and was feeling very down about it. After the group time ended, she hugged me for a long time and shared her story with me. We have known each other for a few years, but only in the last few weeks become friends and I truely feel that God only wanted us to get close now.
I am constantly in awe of the God we serve and his perfect timing!
So, this morning I was up at 5am to have my God time and I can promise you, it was worth more than the extra half hour sleep! Nothing got me down after that.
Not the fact that it was cold and I had to shower and wash my hair...
Not the fact that I forgot to put on my rings and earrings and I have a smart work function tonight...
Not the fact that I was at work at 7.15am this morning and my swipe card for some reason wouldnt let me in the building and I had to wait in the cold with arms full of stuff...
Not the fact that I got here at 7.15am, have to travel to Pinetown at 16.00pm for a function thats only going to end at 22.30pm, meaning I will only get home after 23.00pm...
Not the crazy people in the traffic this morning that cut us off and jumped the queue...
Not the lady at work that looks as though she is sucking on lemons everyday...

Nothing...
Nothing...
Nothing...

The peace that you get from spending just 15 mins with God in the morning is enough to help you through the whole day...
I dont understand why I havent been doing this in the past.

God gives you so much more than you give him...

Have a day filled to the brim with blessings and just take a moment to thank the Lord that you had a bed to get out of - even though you didnt want to!

Love Chell
xxx

The Art of the South African Braai...

2008-04-18T01:01:00.001+12:00

As promised (Aubrey..) here is the step by step way to prepare a truely South African Braai! :)

1st. Find a braai area...this could be a smart built in one or just some bricks packed in a square with a grid on the top if you want to be really bush-like and rough it...

2nd. Put in some charcoal and if you want to be a smarty-pants, some firelighters aswell.

3rd. Build a fire under the grid - careful not to get burnt now see... note, before putting petrol or something similar on the coals to speed up the burning process, be fully prepared to leave with less eyebrows than you started with

..just a little tip...

4th. Spice meat as desired, I recommend the first bottle, the orange one...yum yum...

5th. Put meat on the grid..or between the grid if you are using one of those. Note: Only put meat on when fire has died down a little, you must be able to hold your hand over the top of the braai for at least 10 seconds before it starts to hurt. :) No matter how hungry you are, dont put meat on before this time unless you want to be eating burnt offerings on top of having no eyebrows...got eat some salad in the meantime.

6th.While waiting for the meat to cook we South Africans normally sit around and chat or if its a day time braai and you live in Durban where the suns always shining, you can have a swim!

7th. Enjoy!

If any non-South Africans do give this a try, please send me some pics and I will be sure to put them up on my Blog!

Happy Braai-ing!!

Stolen from "Help a need a user names" Blog :)

2008-04-17T18:07:00.000+12:00

This is stolen from another Blog, who stole it from someone else's :-) I did change the page no though to make it a little bit original...Have fun...

You're not bored. Nope. It's just that you haven't thought of this to do yet:

1. Pick up the nearest book with at least 46 pages
2. Turn to page 46
3. Find the 6th sentence
4. Post the 6th sentence on your blog
5. Tag 6 people (I'm going to ignore this rule, haha!)

"So, we were delighted at Wildside to discover Bhejane Adventures, at R6500 per person (plus your fuel and drinks) for an 11-day safari on a trans Botswana trip, it makes this beautiful country an affordable possibilty."

That comes out of a travel magazine that I found in my cupboard from a client,"Wildside" And for my American readers, thats the same as $823.83 if you want to take the holiday :)

Just incase you were wondering, Im feeling alot better than yesterday :-)

Oh, I found 2 pic's from Botswana just incase you were also having a wonder what it looks like...arent I sweet?

And no, I havent been there...its called Google...what would the modern woman do without it?

I just had an idea...when I was overseas I got alot of crazy (well, I thought they were crazy) questions about living in Africa...do you have any?

Wacky Wednesday

2008-04-16T21:14:00.000+12:00

I couldnt think of a better title for todays Blog as when we got to work Loadshedding hit us from 8am-10am so we sat around in the dark..yeah..note the sarcasm.
But, it gets better, Eskom ( South Africa's electricity provider ) has decided that they need to put the price of electricity up by a whopping 56%!! Can you imagine, I havent had electricity at home and at work for this whole week so far and now they are putting the price up? Im not normally a negative person, but this country is going downhill, and fast.
While our President is sitting on his ass in New York at some conference where he is going to repeat that "There is no problem in Zimbabwe" Now Im sure even my friends from other parts of the world have heard whats going on there.
I rest my case.

Ok, thats enough venting for today...must think positively, must think positively...

I missed Greys Anatomy last night because of loadshedding...ok, now thats my last vent... :)

I have been thinking alot lately about what I am doing with my life and where I am going. For those who dont know, my parents immigrated to New Zealand 3 years ago because of the sorry state of this country, and I decided to stay behind because Ryan was busy studying and I was going to wait for him. So, its been 3 years now and I havent studied because of reasons beyond my control. But lately I have been very down as I feel like everything is slipping away and the rest of the world is going on without me. Its an awful feeling.
So, I have decided to go to New Zealand next year to start my studies, even if Ryan cant come. Its such a hard decision to make and I still dont know whether or not its the right thing to do, but I do know that I cant live with feeling like I am losing grip on reality and the rest of the world.
I have always needed to have goals and achievements to keep moving forward, Im not the type of person who can just cruise through life, I need to know where I am going and I need to use the full potential that God gave me to fulfill my dreams/needs/goals. I cant explain it, but I feel like I am going to waste? It probably sounds crazy to others, but its driving me mad.
Plus, I havent spoken to my family in over a month and my mom is sick and my sister is starting High School and my other sister is in the process of getting a job as a flight attendant and my little brother is only 4 and growing up so fast. I feel so out of it and disconnected from my family. And we are a very close family, my mom is my best friend, so its so hard.

Ok, I was supposed to have stopped venting, but I needed to get that out.

Cant say I feel any better though, so I am going to go and find something work related to do to try and get my mind of all this.

Later...

Monday is the day...Promise!

2008-04-11T19:18:00.000+12:00

From Monday I will be eating this...

And not this...

So I can look like this...

But this date...

24 April 2008

Wish me all the luck...

Friday again...

2008-04-11T17:36:00.000+12:00

I cant believe that its Friday again! Phew, where did this week go?

I can probably answer that...I spent the first 3 days of this week in bed with the bad flu that I Blogged about last Friday. I can safely say that I have never had such bad flu before. To prove this to you, I will mention the following...

...I had to get an injection in my bum...

Point proven.

I am still not feeling too great, but I will live, Im sure you have all breathed a huge *sigh* of relief hey? :-) I mean c'mon, what would your day be like without reading my Blog? :-)

Now, for some up to date news...

Ryan decided last night that he was going to be the most amazingly wonderful person (as he always is) and when we got home and I expected him to go to gym and then go to study, he said to me that he was taking me to dinner at John Dory's Fish & Grill restuarant in the Pav. It was such a lovely surprise and it was so lovely to spend some time together, we really needed it...some special "us" time. Everyone needs it!

We were supposed to be going to a braai and jacuzzi tonight at our friends place, but its been moved to tomorrow, so now we need to find something else to do tonight...any ideas?

Ryan is taking his brother to a car show tomorrow...Im not too interested in cars, so Im glad he has a brother to do these type of things with! But even if he didnt, I would go with him, Im cool like that...

Loadshedding (see meaning of this undesirable word in previous Blog entry) reared its ugly head this morning. I woke up just before the alarm was supposed to go off thinking that its mighty quiet in here - (I thought this because normally the fan makes enough noise to con you into thinking its going to detach itself from the roof and land on your head while you slumber blissfully unaware)... and then I realised with a slow horror that there was no electricity. This means no coffee, no hot shower, no lights, no hairdryer...you get the picture. It did come on at 6.30, which left me with a half an hour to fit all the above in! Needless to say I got out of bed late, because at 5.30am nobody wants to fiddle around in the dark tripping over whatever I decided could stay strewn across the floor last night...when this includes the likes of shoes, clothing and prehaps even a hairbrush, it could make for a dangerous morning!

On the way to work this morning we only got taken out by a taxi, while the driver decided that he would much rather sms/text someone on his phone instead of drive! It was not a nice experience for so early in the morning. For my overseas friends reading this, see below for a cartoon version of the typical South African taxi and driver. No cute little "yellow cabs" like you see in the movies. SA taxi's create a whole new meaning...

Im at work now with so much work to do, so I had better get going and do some real work!

Being sick on a Friday...

2008-04-05T00:13:00.001+13:00

I am sick and today is Friday (hence the title for this Blog)

Isnt that just totally awful? I mean, being sick is bad enough, but having the flu (and possibly tonsil trouble) over the weekend is just cruel! No being able to get off work with a doctors note, no being over the worst by the weekend so you can still enjoy it...nothing.
Sometimes I think I have the worst luck.
Really.

Its been a quiet day so far, which I am eternally grateful for. I think this is because my boss has been out and about for most of the day, and as his PA that means I can on with my normal office work, which has been sorely neglected this past week because I have been piled with other work.

As I said in my last post, I was supposed to be working tomorrow in Hillcrest, but had to cancel this morning because I dont even know why Im at work today, I feel so ill, let alone try and go to work on a Saturday.

I have a question that I hope someone from Med-Lemon is reading...when you need to take medication, you feel sick enough, so, my question is :

"Why make the medication that you have to drink taste worse than you feel???"

Arghhh, I had the pleasure of having to drink a hot Med Lemon, Mint flavour last night and I almost just decided to stay sick, thats how bad it tasted! What is wrong with the makers of these as well as cough mixture? I would like to see the creators of these sit and drink the concoctions....

In South Africa at the moment, and in particular, KZN, we are running out of electricity. Yes, my American friends that read this post, you did read correctly. We do not have enough electricity to support everyone. So, our ingenius electricity provider, Eskom, has come up with this idea...loadshedding.

Basically, this means that during certain times in the day and at night, they cut your power on purpose for between 2 and 3hrs. You can imagine the drama that this causes...the reason I mention it is because its starting to get colder now, and while in summer, I really didnt mind having a cold shower (because the power is off the geyser cant work) but, I cannot come to terms with having a cold one in winter!
**Arghhh**
I shudder at the thought...

Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you...there was a guy that committed suicide on the Bluff where I live yesterday afternoon. He did it by the beach and so alot of people found out about it.
It made me so sad to think about it, that life can be so bad for someone that they think they have no way out?

How does that happen?

Who cares for those people who feel like they have nobody?

I know the answer to that, but its so sad that so many people dont. I wish I could stand on a rooftop somewhere and shout : "JESUS LOVES YOU!!" and just make everyone listen. But, Im only me and although I try my best, I cant reach everyone with the word of God. I try though and Im sure He sees that...
I really just would like to go home and curl up with a hot water bottle and sleep...but I still have 3hrs of work left, so I just have to stick it out I suppose.

Oh, some good news, I have my first order for making an entire scrapbook! I am doing it for a mother to give to her daughter as a 21st birthday present! Im super excited, but also nervous! I hope it comes out the way that she expects it to!

Well, I will go for now...probably chat again later to try and pass the time...
x

Thursday afternoons...

2008-04-04T02:54:00.000+13:00

Dont you just love Thursday afternoons? They kinda laze by and when they are almost done - as mine just about it - you feel all warm and bubbly inside because when you wake up it will be Friday! Meaning the last day of work for the week....hold that thought....I am not able to feel all those fuzzy happy feelings about Friday as I have to travel up to Hillcrest this morning to do a Promotion to try and get some extra cash as its only the start of the month and lo and behold, I have none!

How does that happen do you ask?

Q : Do I spend too much on clothes?
A : Yes

Q : Do I just swipe the debit card without taking a moment to think about whether I really need that shirt/shorts/grocery item ect ect?
A : Yes

Ok, you kinda get the idea now...

I will NOT purchase ANY item of clothing for the ENTIRE month of April.
I will NOT go out to eat (unless my honey pie boyfriend offers to pay) :-)
I will NOT buy anything from the Avon and Honey brochures when they come around at work

Ok...thats about all the "I will nots" that I can deal with right now...

I have decided though to start a little entraupeneer..entrupe.....entrepeneur....oh gosh, never mind, I am going to start making money doing something else!! :-)

I am going to make scrapbooks for people, they will give me all their photos and I will do the whole thing for them at a price per page or something along those lines...Hope it goes well!

Well, I am off to go home now..have a good Thursday night!

Mwah!
Rochelle x

My weekend...

2008-04-01T00:05:00.000+13:00

Well, I had a busy weekend compared to normally...

On Friday night Ryan took me to the movies and we saw Jumper - not really a very girly girl movie, but I agreed cos the lead actor, Hayden Christianson is too good looking! :-)

After that we went for a drink at Harlequins on the Bluff and then it was off to bed to be up early the next morning to go for a horse ride with my friend, Frann in Summerveld.

This is Audit Trail, or better known as Fat Boy that I rode - he is so gorgeous hey?

Well, after the amazing ride, we went for breakfast/lunch at Riders Rest...the most amazing little tea garden! Its just too divine for words and if you are ever in the area, check it out! I recommend the home made pie, gravy, chips and salad! Mmmm...I am going to take Ryan there sometime.

When I got home I had a little sleep and then watched the rugby - Super 14, Sharks vs Reds...obviously my Durban Sharks won! It was a good game. Then we were off to the friends 21st party...it was the most fun that I have had in a very long time! You can see us in the pic below...

We really had an awesome time and came dressed in the same colours! :-)

On Sunday I slept till the afternoon! hee hee, thats actually embarrasing, I shouldnt be putting it on the internet! I only got home at about 2am, and I did have a very busy day!

On Sunday afternoon we just lazed around and got take aways and a movie at night. Now, there is a story behind the takeaway - awhile ago we went to the KFC on the Bluff and received the most terrible service and wrong order, so I complained and on Friday night we got a call from the manageress saying that we could come and get a free meal! hee hee...

Tonight I was supposed to have gone to gym, but have been invited by our church home group to an all you can eat ribs evening! Mmmmm...cant wait! One thing that can definitely wait till tomorrow though is gym! :-)

Till later

Roch x

2008-03-28T02:44:00.000+13:00

I am supposed to be finding and typing in endless amounts of invoice numbers, but this just seemed so much better! :-) Also, it has been crazy busy today and I think I deserve a few mins to Blog!

The morning didnt start off well. I was supposed to be up at 5am, to leave home at 6am, to get to town at 6.45am to get to be first in line to a sample sale at the Volcom factory store. Well, I did set the alarm for 5, but only got out of bed at 6, which resulted in a mad scramble to get in some clothes and get some lunch packed...eventually got out the house at 6.20 with lunch that consisted of 2 hot cross buns and 3 pieces of bread and an avo to put on the bread!!...pretty good for getting ready quickly though! I was quite proud anyway...we got there and there were already loads of people and I was quite disappointed as they only really had tops for girls, and only bottoms in a size 32! I mean come on, who fits in a size 32?! Not me in any case! :-) Aaaanyway...I ended up with 3 tops. Ryan also got 3. Then, we had to try to get to work on time..well, we walked out and it was BUCKETING down with rain-not cats and dogs, I am talking small animals here!! And we had about 50metres to the car...needless to say that by the time we got there we were SOAKED right through to our undies! Hee hee... then, to make matters worse, when we got closer to work, we saw that it hadnt rained there at all and so, we were sopping wet and looking stupid! "Oh yes madam, I decided that a run under the garden sprinklers was a wonderful idea once Im in my work clothes!" :-) Well, we dried off soon enough and got to work on time believe it or not!

Once I was at work though, the drama started again. The phone lines were completely dead - no incoming or outgoing calls! Now, Waltons is the largest stationery supplier in South Africa and we are the Head Office branch, so you can imagine what a catastrophe this is! Its now almost time to go home and they are still all down...lovely peace and quiet if you ask me..they can be down tomorrow aswell! But, I was at reception this morning as the receptionist was late and if I answered another internal call from a staff member asking if there was something wrong with the phones, I was honestly going to have a freakout!

Well, today has actually been very boring apart from the mornings drama's! I swear, sometimes this place can make a good setting for a soap opera!

I had better be getting back to finding those invoice numbers...27mins till I can go home! :-) And to gym today...I will go to gym, I will go to gym.....

Roch xxx

2008-03-27T02:01:00.000+13:00

Yourself: Rochelle aka Chell or Lolli
Your Partner: is amazing and makes me laugh till my cheeks hurt
Your Hair: is wild...very wild...thank Heavens for the creators of GHD.
Your Mother: is an angel
Your Father: is actually a big softie
Your Favorite Item: my GHD (see no 3)
Your Dream Last Night: made me half an hour late!
Your Favorite Drink: Coke
Your Dream Car: Old beetle done up to look amazing.
Your Dream Home: new and decorated all my ME
The Room You Are In: at my office at work
Your Fear: losing people I love
Where You Want to be in Ten Years: married, with a couple kids, owning a home
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Myself and the TV
What You’re Not: I don't look the way I want to
Muffins: are delicious but full of calories
One of Your Wish List Items: An Engagement ring
Time: an hour and a half before I can go home
The Last Thing You Did: spoke to my Ouma
What You Are Wearing: Long pink and black shirt and baggy black 3quarter pants.
Your Favorite Weather: warm, with a breeze
Your Favorite Book: Everything by Nicholas Sparks
Last Thing You Ate: Pita Bread and bread with avo.
Your Life: is complicated!!!Your Mood: so ready to go home...
Your Best Friends: are amazing people who I couldnt live without.
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: having to go to gym after work...argghhhhhh...
Your Car: is nonexistant
What Are You Doing At The Moment: looking for Nedbank invoice numbers for a guy in Joburg & blogging!
Your Summer: still seems to be hanging around - although I am so ready for Winter right now! With big fluffy jerseys...hot choc....mmm...
Relationship Status: Very much in love...3 years, 1 month and 26 days down the line!
What Is On Your TV: i have no idea - probably something terrible, as free daytime television in SA is shocking..
What Is The Weather Like: No idea, havent been outside all day and our office has no windows....talk about cabin fever!!!
When Is The Last Time You Laughed: a few mins ago with a collegue.

2008-03-26T21:22:00.001+13:00

No, nothing else has happened thats worth writing about, but I realised after reading another awesome Blog, that I had no pics on mine. The below are all from our visit to New Zealand in December 2007 to visit my family that immigrated about 3 years ago...

This is Ryan & I on the hill behind our old house - there is a gorgeous lookout and you can see 360 degrees around you at beautiful Pukekohe...(yes, its a funny name, but a wonderful little storybook town about an hour south of Auckland)

Ryan, holding the cutest little duckling at the animal farm/zoo in Franklin, about 20 mins away from our new farmhouse. So adorable!!!

The below pic is of Ian, my little brother...the most adorable little boy in the world! (In my eyes at least...) Also taken at the zoo/animal farm.

My sister, Colleen and I on Christmas day... such beautiful women hey? :-)

Ryan and I celebrate my belated 21st Birthday in New Zealand with my family...

Ian and myself on my parents farm, chewing in sticks of grass like real farmers! Note the friendly cow in the back!!

The ducks at the pond near our house where we went to a few picnics while we were there. They pretty much come right onto your picnic blanket looking for food! Too cute!

Ian and I at Rainbows End - the biggest amusement park in the southern hemisphere. Such an awesome day! Ian had to have a pic like this with everyone! Can you say adorable?!?

Ryan and I on the Log Flume ride at the abovementioned Rainbows end...quite good for a self portrait! :-)

The 3 ladies! My sister Colleen, me and my little sister Monique, again, at Rainbows End waiting in one of the endless lines! :-)

2008-03-26T18:55:00.001+13:00

Hi again...ok ok, I have to get this off my chest, I didnt go to gym yesterday...phew, ok, I feel better now! :-)

I honestly did have every intention of going, but those intentions got a little lost once I got home and Ryan suggested we eat a few Easter Eggs and then go to the shops to get me a new top for my friends 21st on Saturday...now come on, who can choose gym over chocolate and shopping?!? I am sure I am not alone in my choice :-)

I ended up getting a hot pink top for the party - its a "Bright colours of the Rainbow" theme, so I had to go wild when choosing the colour. But I actually really like it and I am looking forward to wearing it. I have to do the speech on the night, so I was up until 22.30pm last night writing it and trying to make it funny, yet thoughtful and something that she would remember with a smile in the years to come when she pulls the photo's out.

Just if you were wondering, these awesome horse pics that I have on my Blog page are actually the photography work of an amazingly talented man, Tim Flach...Google him and check out his work, its mindblowing, especially for horse lovers. Or...you can just keep an eye on my Blog, where I will be featuring more of his work :-)

Well, I now have to get down to some work..so I will post again when something happens :-)

PS: I am wanting to start working on a novel in the form of a diary that a young woman keeps...good idea? Bad idea?

Later,
Rochelle xxx

2008-03-26T02:56:00.000+13:00

hey there again...well, just got back to work after the Easter long weekend, although I have to say, it wasnt nearly long enough! Just when I was really getting used to the idea of not being at work, I wake up this morning and realise that its Tuesday and that I actually have to get out of bed at the completely crazy hour of 5.50am and drag my aching, tired body into the shower to try and rouse some sort of "awakeness" Alas, it failed and by 7am (the time I was supposed to be on the road already) I had not only not showered yet, but couldnt find my top, had a bad hair morning and jabbed my eye with my mascara...could this day get any worse? I didnt have to wait long though for my answer...it did! Upon arriving at work I realised that today was the day that a TV crew was coming in to interview my boss and I had to clean the office office as well as try and get the pics I had framed for him up on the wall. Now picture this - 9 inch heels, a headache, a watery-mascara damaged eye and a sore arm (from playing Nintendo Wii for the first time over the weekend) and I am on a chair, trying to nail things in the wall to keep the frames up. I think my collegue saw my dilema and came to my rescue with an electric drill and some much needed assistance! I finished it all at 11am and they arrived at 12, so I breathed a sigh of relief! Then, the day continued...once they were finished with him, they filmed the rest of the office, including me - looking like I had a hangover, but without the benefit of having actually had something to drink! What could I do? I just grinned and carried on pretending to be "busy."

Its now 16.11pm and I get to go home in exactly 19 mins...*yawn* I need to sleep as well as drink some tea, didnt have any milk this morning, so I am a cup behind! Note to self - get milk on the way home! :-)

Oh gosh..I also have to go to gym..hence the pic I decided to attach. Man, now I feel down. I am the type of person that gym memberships make alot of money from...I pay each month and dont go! But, Ryan (the boyfriend) has made me go lately and I must admit, once I am there its ok, but its the getting there thats just ghastly! "Must have more willpower...must have more willpower!!..." We will see how long that lasts.

Till tomorrow - when I hopefully shall be proud to tell you that I went to gym..I will be going.

Rochelle x

Easter Thursday..

2008-03-20T20:34:00.000+13:00

Well, today is proving to take its time in getting over with...probably because the long Easter weekend starts tomorrow, so I am looking forward to it too much..so annoying how days tend to drag on purpose!

Well, havent been up to much lately, just work work work...have to take minutes at a 3hr meeting today!! Come on...all I want is to go home and crawl into my bed and watch Greys Anatomy..dont these ppl know that? Anyways, I have been having a look at other ppl's Blogs and I have to say that mine looks pretty sad at the moment...probably because I have no clue as to how to go about making it look all pretty and stuff...I think I must spend some time finding out how to...lets try and upload a pic...mmmm....

Last night...

2008-03-05T19:50:00.000+13:00

Wow, I went with a friend of mine and her mom to the Barnyard, Gateway last night for a "Natural Woman" musical...it was so awesome! The 4 main lady performers were great, especially the one sassy woman who had us all in stitches. You sure as hell havent seen a "booty shake" till you have seen this lady shake what her mamma gave her!!! It was for a fundraiser for South Side church on the Bluff and I was invited by Caryn...it was well worth it! The evening didnt start off all that well though, I had an hour to make sausage rolls and shower, and since it was the first time I had used my new little mini-kitchen-thingy, it didnt work so well and took FOREVER to heat up and then the bottom of the sausage rolls burnt and the tops werent cooked...aaaaghhh! I had put them in and jumped in the shower...but when I got out I smelt something that smelt suspiciously of burning sausage rolls - I ran to the oven (clad in only a towel) and pulled them out, only to see that the tops hadnt even browned!!! I mean, hang on, they arent supposed to look like that! Trust the fact that when you make something for just you it comes out perfect...but low and behold as soon as the inlaws pitch or you have to make something to take with to somewhere, its a friggin disaster! Well, at least the lights were pretty much out while the show was on, so nobody could see the charcoaled sausage rolls! (needless to say, I strategically positioned them all facing upwards - just incase!)

I must say I am falling asleep at my desk at the moment because we only got home after 11pm...then I realised I didnt have my pants ironed for work......when it rains it pours! :-)
But, I got to bed eventually and after hitting snooze 56 times this morning I managed to drag myself out of bed and have another crack at the oven to make us some pizza for lunch for work today! I havent yet tried it...Im putting it off for as long as possible! :-)

Well, I have a stack of work to do, so I will be going for now.............Rochelle x

My First post!

2008-03-04T19:57:00.001+13:00

Hi everyone...wow, so I think I am about the only person to have realised about this whole blogging thing now! Well, better late than never I suppose :-)

Hopefully this will be a regular, (maybe daily) form of communication where I can meet stax of new people and make new friends...

Heres to my newest hobby!!