Sometimes I'm glad I grew up....

I just took an entertaining, albeit slightly horrifying, little stroll down memory lane. There I was sitting at the kitchen counter, doing nothing in particular with the radio playing in the background when suddenly the opening bars of a particular song sent me flying back 10 years into my childhood. Before I knew it I was singing every word and my feet were shuffling into the dance routine my friends and I had choreographed...

The song? And it pains me to admit this...
“Everybody” by none other than The Backstreet boys



These guys were the band of my childhood. I had the posters, the t-shirt, the sticker album, the scrapbook and all their songs on tape! (This was a decade ago...)


Seriously?
What was I thinking?

I was a dorky kid.

And as I type this I’m still bopping and singing along to that song:

Am I original? (yeah) Am I the only one? (yeah). Am I sexual (yeah) Am I everything you need? you better rock your body now! Everybody, rock your body...

Yep, I’m still a dork.
But I’m probably the coolest dork you’ll ever meet.

Narrow driveways can teach you things...

Today I learnt a life lesson:


It's only when you're in a hurry that you reverse into the wall.

Moral of the story, in the words of Mr. Jack Johnson:

"slow down everyone you're moving to fast"

I'm Colourful!

List #84: Wear a different colour of the rainbow everyday for a week

This was a fun one!!! (and led to me organising my wardrobe by colour- I'm not OCD I promise!)

Song of the week:

Colourful
The Parlotones

Honey you’re my favourite
I wonder do you feel the same?
Honey you’re delicious
I wonder so I taste the same?

I’m an old romantic standing here clutching my bleeding heart
If I’m not good enough then I’ve had enough let’s make this fast
Who cares I’ll find my fish
I’m colourful
I get so nervous I stutter stutter
I am so clumsy I fumble stumble
I’m not some handsome knight in shining armour
I’m colourful, I’m colourful

Well honey you’re the reason
For the poet-inspired love affair
Honey this is treason
The king is gone Rapunzel let down your hair

I’m an old romantic standing here clutching my bleeding heart
If I’m not good enough then I’ve had enough let’s make this fast
Who cares I’ll find my fish
I’m colourful
I get so nervous I stutter stutter
I am so clumsy I fumble stumble
I’m not some handsome knight in shining armour
I’m colourful, I’m colourful

You lift me up take me higher higher
You fill me up with desire.

You lift me up take me higher higher
You fill me up with desire.

I get so nervous I stutter stutter
I am so clumsy I fumble stumble
I'm not some romance god but does it matter
I’m colourful, I’m colourful
I’m colourful, I’m colourful

Rockstar sandwiches

In the sound track of my life Just Jinger is definitely prominent on the track list! So getting to see them live is an experience that will be filed in the “wow moments” box!

Saturday, 13 Feb, they played a small, intimate gig for Valentine’s day with a Moroccan picnic theme: what an amazing night it was! Firstly, I got to check off another item on the list (#99: give someone a Valentine’s day surprise.) Kate and I went with two friends, Eddie and Udo and surprised them with an awesome picnic and so we mellowed out on the sand under ruby coloured umbrellas and prepared to be blown away by my favourite South African rock legends!

They did not disappoint. They played all my old favourites and their latest hit “Milk and Honies”. AND they threw in some surprises, like a beautiful valentine’s rendition of Nat King Cole’s “When I fall in love”. Word must be given to the absolutely mind-blowing drum piece they played; I had to scrape my jaw off the floor when they were through! (Consider that the band members have all been professional drummers at some point in their careers). Another favourite was hearing their thought provoking song about the struggle in Zimbabwe, give it a listen here: http://ardmatthews.com/2008/11/23/fight-for-zimbabwe/

And what’s that you ask? Did I get to meet the band? Why yes, yes I did! Of course we waited to get autographs and a photo and this was an opportunity I wasn’t going to let pass...with the drummer’s (Brent Harris) arm around my shoulder and front man Ard Matthews right beside me it was the best sweaty rockstar boy sandwich ever! *sigh*.

The night ended with a head full of memories and melodies, and a reminder:

“NOW is the time of your life, NOW is the time it’s a: sweet ride till the end of the line!! NOW is the time it’s the: right time to come alive!! NOW is the time of your life!!” Just Jinjer: Time of your life.

my tummy is happy now.

A bowl of spoiling apples was the culprit behind checking off the latest item on my list:
#51: have a tea party.

Our fruit bowl was looking a little sad, Kate suggested that we turn the offending bad apples into a pie; hence an impromptu pie making session was launched! With no recipe, limited ingredients and a tiny oven it was all a case of throw-thing- in-the-bowl-and-hope-for-the-best. Granted we were aiming to make an apple crumble and the results were something entirely different, but delicious none the less!
The pie was joined by a chocolate cake, we invited some girls around and voila! Instant tea party.

Turns out planning isn’t always a vital ingredient.

The sort-of recipe for our sort-of pie:
(This turns into a delicious gooey toffee apple pie. Well, at least it did when we tried it.)

For the pastry:
Chuck some flour in a bowl, rub in some butter until it looks crumbly. Throw in enough cold water to make a dough. Cling wrap it. Shove it in the fridge till later.
For the filling:
Peel, core and chop the apples. Throw them in a pot with some cinnamon, butter, sugar and golden syrup. Cook it till it smells good, there should be lots of sauce.
For the topping:
Make some more crumblies with butter and flour. Add a whole lot of sugar and some cinnamon.

Line a dish with pastry, fill with the apples and sprinkle over the topping. Bake @ 180°c till bubbly inside and crispy outside. YUM!

Pictures

This week I saw the most beautiful picture of myself:



Drawn by: Bianca, 9yrs old

I’ve just completed 3 weeks of teaching practice, 3 glorious weeks in a classroom of 24 little miracles. Those children, with every hug, picture and kind word cemented the dream in my heart and showed me a little more of my purpose.

Surely there is no bigger reward than a child’s trusting hand in yours, confirming your significance.
Surely there are no better words to hear than those spoken by my mentor: “You were born to do this!”
Surely there is no greater feeling than knowing exactly what you should do with your life.

There are many “pictures” of me: student, daughter, friend, sister....
...and now, with absolute certainty I add one more...TEACHER.

Seeing myself through a child’s eyes was the most beautiful picture I could have been given.

What’s your most beautiful picture?

It was a beautiful day!

My birthday weekend seemed to fly by at a rapid speed, filled with sorting, packing, random shopping and everything else that goes with moving into a new place. By the time it got to Sunday (My BIRTHDAY) I was exhausted in every possible way. The last few weeks had been hard and my soul was tired. Yet I woke up, put on my smile and my tiara (check list #59)and awaited what the day would hold.

Mid-morning found me sitting in lounge awiating the surprise I was informed would be happening. And boy was it a surprise...next thing I knew in walked Pookie, her husband and her two little sisters! I actually did a double take! So my afternoon was spent with my family and my bestie at my favourite place: THE ZOO! (check list #22). I love the zoo more than I think it is healthy for any 21 year old to love the zoo! So it was alligators all the way to zebras, golf cart riding and greasy lunches, photos, laughing&talking, snow cones and ice cream and all the simplest pleasures that memories are made of!

What a day! I crawled into bed that night tired and sunburnt with aching feet, but my soul was flying. It needed the joy, the pure, simple reminder of the beauty of life.