Day six – five foods

1. The first thing that pops into my mind is… cupcakes. If they have Smarties on them – fabulous! If you can find me penguin-shaped cupcakes, you’ll be my new Batman. I simply love a good cupcake, which is why September is my new favourite month. Not only does September bring the smell of star jasmine (my favourite flower) and the promise of Spring, but it is also two one-year-olds’ birthdays and I am looking forward to smashing my face with some cupcakes.
2. Froot Loops and a glass of Just Juice. Alas! Kellogg's SA has decided to discontinue Froot Loops. While I do agree that it is not the most nutritional breakfast choice, l love the taste of preservatives, artificial colouring and sugar overdose that comes in every bowl of Froot Loops.
3. Asian food. I especially love a good meal from Karma, based at the Pineslopes Shopping Centre in Fourways (Johannesburg).  
4. Braai (or BBQ, for my American readers). I’m South African – come rain, sunshine or snow – we braai.
5. Peanut butter. That is food, right? A whole tablespoon full of yummy honey crunch peanut butter.

Day five – six places

1.   Transylvania. No need to reread it, you read correctly – Transylvania. Friends will know that I’ve always said I want to go to Transylvania for honeymoon. No, I don’t want to hunt vampires and werewolves (using the term loosely), those are in Forks – apparently. 

 

2.   London – on 26 November 2012 to be exact. My two favourite artists, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, have teamed up in an appropriately named Twins of Evil Tour. I would row to London in a rowboat to see the performance, but alas! I write my last subject on 21 November and to row across the Atlantic, just over 9,000 km, is not possible in five days.

 

3.   Lemnos. Details are unconfirmed but the broad outline is to hook up with some friends in Lemnos next year. We haven’t seen them since July 2010 and I look forward to catching up over lots of wine. 

 

4.   New York. The idea of endless shopping, drinking lattes, taking a jog through Central Park, watching a rock show in Madison Square Garden and enjoying the buzz of the city that never sleeps is quite appealing. And, seeing that New York is a must-visit destination for some of my favourite girlfriends, it would be a double-bonus to hit the Big Apple on an all-girls holiday.

 

5.   Seychelles. Hammock, beach, sun, cocktails and snorkelling… what more could a girl want? 

 

6.   Home. Corny? Of course! Like Dorothy I believe there is no place like home. I love being as snug-as-a-bug next to bf with our kittens curled up next to us. We are quite fortunate that they so willingly share the couch with us…

Day, er, four – seven wants

I wanted to post this on Friday, but after settling down, around 7pm, on Friday night I was far too exhausted. So a few days later, my seven wants;

 

1.   My very own library.

Picture: A friend sent this to me some time ago and yes, it’s so me. I’d rather spend money on books than on shoes.

2.  To see Rob Zombie live in New York. Boom! Two-in-one combo.

3.  To own every single Sweet Valley book ever written. I’ve mentioned once before that as a teen I read Sweet Valley, I had quite the collection too, but I’ve never read all the books. I’d love an opportunity to read every single book (from Sweet Valley Kids to, well, now). 

4.  To own a Peaches Swimwear bikini. While this want is a phone call away, I don’t quite yet feel body comfortable, or confident yet, to make that call.

5.  To build a snowman. While we were quite fortunate to experience a bit of snow in Joburg, my first, it was hardly enough to build a snowman – I tried. 

6.  To enjoy a plate of pasta from the Italian Bowls Club. 

7.  To go on a coastal road trip in a Cadillac, top down, with Roxette, Dire Straits, Right Said Fred and Beach Boys blasting over the speakers. No planning, no prebooked accommodations, no roadmap. A simple hop in the car, blast some sing-along songs and drive from beach-to-beach.

Day three – the fear of…

1.   Snakes. I firmly believe that all snakes’ heads should be chopped off and that they should be burned. My fear is so intense that even the movie Snakes on a Plane will leave me shaking out the bed sheets. Mother fucking snakes…  

2.   I think I might have a slight issue with reptiles in general. I fear frogs. Not as bad as snakes, but I have been known to let out little yelps when one hops my way.

 

3.   Heights – I actually tremble in my boots.  

4.   Parktown prawns – those beady-eyes are creepy. Whenever Meeko brings me a parktown prawn as a present, which happens more often that I like, I am normally found on something with me feet up, saying “nice kitten, so clever, now-please-take-that-fucking-thing-out-of-here”.  

5.   Failing a subject. I am 28 and doing my first year in BA Psychological Counselling. By my calculation, and if I can stick to the plan, I will be done with my BA by June 2016. I fear failing a subject because it will set me back and instead of being done in 2016, I’ll only be done in 2017.  

6.   “What if…”  

7.   That something bad will happen to someone I love and I was unable to prevent it or protect them from it.  

Last, but surely not least, my biggest fear…  

I don’t do the coochy-coo thing when I see babies, nor do I get excited at the prospect of being a mother, I don’t go around telling the world how we are longing for a child, I get darn annoyed when people tell me that I must have children NOW (because I am getting old) and, yes, at one stage I wanted to remain childless. This has led to some people thinking that I eat children for breakfast. Sorry to disappoint, I don’t.

 

8.   My biggest fear is being a parent.

Unlike most I don’t see having children as a natural progression of life. I see it as taking on the responsibility of another human being’s soul, of their welfare – and that scares me. I fear saying something to my child, that years later on they will remember and it will still hurt like hell.  

So there you have it – the next door neighbour’s child is not on the breakfast menu.

Day two – nine loves

The list of loves, and likes, is endless. Narrowing it down to only nine is quite the challenge.

• Bf takes the number 1 spot.
• Our kittens, Meeko and Tulip. There is so much love in those little fur-faces.

• Christmas time. I am a sucker for a pine tree with glitter over it, stockings that contain presents, the wrapping and unwrapping, but, most of all, I love getting together with family and friends, that warm fuzzy feeling of ‘this is what it is all about’.
• The beach. Splashing in the waves, toes in the sand, basking in the sun and an ice-cream. The beach makes me feel like a child all over again, and I am known to behave accordingly.  

• Harry Potter. I have seen the movies countless times and have read all seven books about five times. I love Harry Potter.
• Books, the printed kind. I simply love reading and if I can get my house smelling like a secondhand bookshop, I will be the happiest person in the world.
• Rob Zombie. I have a not-so-secret crush on the man.

 Picture: Google. Sorry but I don't have a 'I took that picture of Rob Zombie'. Still working on it.

• Metal music – and anything that involves and electric guitar and screaming vocals.
• Penguins. No, cupcakes. Penguins. Cupcakes, definitely penguins. Can someone please bake me some penguin shaped cupcakes?

The 10 Day YOU Challenge

I have mentioned once before that I love a challenge, so when my friend, Girl from Mars, took up the challenge I thought “heck, why not”. This is a 10 Day YOU Challenge – it looks easy, but once you get started you are left doing a bit of head scratching, or rather, soul-searching. 

The challenge goes a little something like this:
Day one – ten secrets
Day two – nine loves
Day three – eight fears
Day four – seven wants
Day five – six places
Day six – five foods
Day seven – four books
Day eight – three films
Day nine – two songs
Day ten – one picture (of yourself).

Picture: For The Beauty Of It

Feel free to join in!

 
So here is my day one – 10 secrets (in no particular order).

1.   I hate my toes and my fingers – they look like chipolatas. I’d trade in my two front-teeth for elegant toes and fingers.

2.   I have duck feet. No really. My feet are so broad that I will never be able to wear elegant strappy shoes – ever. When I shoe shop, I deliberately go for chucky shoes, and when I find a pair that fits, I buy it in every colour. Please don’t stare at my feet next time you see me…

3.   I haven’t worn a pair of shorts since I was 13. I am extremely self-conscious about my legs and, as such, I avoid shorts. Unless of course they come up to my knee, those are cool.

4.   I have never been outside the country.

5.   I believe that you should fake it until you make it. We all strive to achieve something, but getting there takes time. By faking it, like you’ve already made it, you develop a certain amount of confidence, or at least you bullshit people into thinking so.  

6.   I don’t have patients, at all. If I want something, I want it NOW! For example, waiting for my study material, even just a few days, is nothing short of pure torture and not to mention waiting for results! I’ll visit the myUnisa site, where all the exam information is published, 110 times an hour. No exaggeration.

7.   I haven’t read 60% of the books I own. I love books, and I do read them, unfortunately I just seem to buy them faster than I can read them.

8.  I don’t forgive. If someone hurts me really bad, I won’t forgive and forget. It’s a huge personality flaw. There are even some incidents I can date pinpoint the unforgivable event.  

9.   I drop the f-bomb on occasions (I am cautious about when and where though) and in the (questionably) wise words of Limp Bizkit’s frontman, Fred Durst, “fuck is just a word, and it’s all fucked up”.

10. The person I admire the most is my bf. He is the single most kind-hearted person in the world, who has an amazing amount of tolerance and patients, and he always sees the good in someone, even if they don’t see it themselves. He rocks.