Every Day is a Good Day

This statement could be true or false; depending on the way you interpret or experience it.
If I look at it from a personal point of view, every day is not a good day for me. There are times when people make me angry or when they tell you things that you don’t want to hear.
There are also a lot of people that are going through very bad experiences or times, like: getting divorced, the passing of a loved one, being involved in a car accident and you are so badly injured that your whole life changes because of your injury.
Then there are other days that are great, you receive good news, you get married, you have reason to celebrate, because you heard you have been promoted or you get confirmation that you are pregnant, you bought a new car etc.
This evening somebody’s Facebook status was: “Every day might not be good, but everyday has something good in it.” I tend to agree with this status, the day might not be a good day for you, but maybe it was for somebody else.
When God created the earth he ended every day by looking at what he created and said: “This is GOOD.”
I believe that God is the creator of good things and YES there are days when you are so frustrated and hurt that you feel you want to cry and go and sit in the corner, until the day is over.

But always remember this day has something good in it and maybe I feel bad, but this good be the BEST day in somebody else’s life.

The Elephant in the Room

I have always been a fan of African Elephants. There is something about them, they are huge animals but walk very graciously.

The book "Fiela's Child" also made a big impact on me, when I was still young. Elephants was one of the main feautures in the book. They called the Elephants "BIG FOOT". The elephants lived in the Knysna Forest.

In 2003 my parents, my brothers and I went to Namibia for a holiday. One of the attractions we visited was the Mvango wildlife park on the boarder of Namibia and Botswana. We drove through the whole park looking for Elephants. We didn't see them, but one our way out, we drove into a troop of 50+ elephants. I was in awe, one of the most amazing moments of my life. I was in love with elephants.

I have an elephants ring, elephants made of wood, soft toy elephants and elephant ornaments. The elephants are in my room and in the TV room.

My husband also took me to the Knysna Elephant Park on our Honeymoon. I didn't only feed the elephants and touched them, I road on a Elephant. This was another great moment in my life.

So the Elephants is not only in a room, but in my room and part of my memories.

Frank Zappa: "Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read"

I first wondered who is Frank Zappa and did some research. According to Wikipedia, Frank Zappa was born on 21 December 1940, Baltimore in Maryland.

Frank Zappa was a composer, film director, electric guitarist and record producer. People found it difficult to categorise his music in a specific genre. He wrote rock, jazz, orchesteral and electronic.

So, Frank Zappy was a rock star, he didn't believe in education, he was a true believer of Freedom of Speech etc.

The quote "Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read" is actually a true reflection, honest opinion of a Rock star that understands that a Rock star is not really interested in anything else than making Rock Music.

Have you ever heard an interview between a journalist and a Rock star? The questions that a journalist asks a Rock Star is really not of any interest to people (the "groupies") who listens to Rock music, they don't care, all they want to do is listen to the music. 'The Rock star doesn't really care about the questions, so they are not answering anything that is being asked.

Basically the only words that the Rock Star uses during the interview is "Hell yeh, Rock on".

So basically it is really a case of teaching a beautician the inner working of her car's engine, It is just not applicable.

Wedding cake in-the-middle-of-the-road

The Wedding cake tradition dates back to the Roman Empire period. The groom broke a loaf of bread over the bride's head as a simple of his dominance in the marriage. Another tradition was to sleep with a piece of wedding cake under your pillow. It was believe that you would dream of your future spouse. The tradition was also that the wedding cake would be white to symbolise purity.

The cutting of the wedding cake is also a tradition, the bride and groom would cut the wedding cake together at the ceremony and this is their first task as husband and wife together and symbolises their togetherness.

There are a lot of these traditions that are not followed today still.

At my wedding my husband didn't break a loaf of bread over my head. I do belief like the Bible says that the husband is the head of the house, but not the head to dominate, but the head to be the leader of the family.

At my wedding the cake wasn't white, just because I don't like the white icing, it was a choclate mousse cake with strawberries. I wanted everyone to enjoy the cake. My husband and I did cut the cake together and we did feed each other a piece of cake. I felt that this was a moment where we did something together and this symbolised that we will always look after each other.

However I feel don't just do something because it is "tradition". A tradition that you don't even know why it became a tradition. Do something because it has special meaning to you and your husband.

If you don't want to do something at your wedding that people are not use to, it doesn't matter.

Do it because it is your choice, I always say you have to do everything on your wedding day that you want to, the way you want to. If you ever think back about your wedding day, you should be able I wouldn't want to change anything, it was exactly they way I wanted it.

So, don't let a wedding cake tradition stand in the middle of the road and be an obstruction. Enjoy every moment of planning, enjoy every moment you spent with your husband to be, enjoy the most perfect wedding day and enjoy your marriage, the way that God intended it to be.

I will be a success when ......

Success probably is something a little different to everybody but to me it is exactly the words of Bessie Stanley: “He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.”
When I was younger and in Matric, it was important for me to receive an overall “A” average at the end of my School career. I worked very hard, put in all the effort that was needed to succeed. When I received my results I didn’t get an overall “A” but missed it because of a decision make by government regulation and I had an overall “B”. Boy, was I disappointed, angry and hurt. This took me a long time to accept. When I finally accepted it, I realised by not achieving this, this won’t stop me of making a success of my life.
So I defined success the following: Success is to touch somebody’s heart, make them feel worthy and creating happiness. This is why I’ve done missionary work in Swaziland for the past 7 years. We touch people’s heart and oh do they touch ours. It is as simple as having art classes after school and using glitter. The Glitter “verskaf” hours of “genot”, and to see the happiness in their eyes is “onbeskryflik”
If I can make somebody laugh, I am happy and feel like I have succeeded.
Love is a very important part of my life, because without love, they’re will be no friendships, marriages, children, goodwill, passion, worship etc. I am married to a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally and I am devoted to him. The day I got married I felt like I have succeeded, because one of my dreams came true.
I have a good job and receive appraisal for the good work I put in, but for me it is much more important to touch people’s lives / hearts at my work place. One spent more hours at work than being at home with your family. Why don’t make a point of doing something valuable in terms of goodwill, support to your colleagues, and love and care for them? One never knows the difference you can make in peoples’ lives.
To succeed in something you also need to fail. There is a quote that says “Failure is an experience not learnt from.”
I feel like I have succeeded because there are people’s lives that I have touched, I am married to someone that loves me unconditionally and I love him, I have made a difference to people’s lives, I respect people and they respect me, and I have friends and family that loves and expect nothing in return.
Albert Einstein said: “The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. . . . The ordinary objects of human endeavour -- property, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible”

So success to me, is not how many cars you drive, how big your house is or how much money you have in your bank account. Success is how many lives did you touch in a positive way and where did you make a difference, did you love unconditionally, did you use the opportunities that came your way. Your success is also not an evaluation by yourselves but by others.
I will be successful when? I am working towards being successful everyday and every day I achieve something one step at a time.

You cannot chase two rabbits at the same time

This topic made me think of Elmer Fudd, the stattering rabbit hunter that made it his mission to Hunt Bugs Bunny.

Each time when Elmer Fudd tried to chase Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny will stand next to him with a carrot in his hand and say: "What's up Duck?"

Elmer Fudd was so determined and focused to hunt Bugs Bunny that he didn't even realise if Bugs Bunny stood next to him, or dressed up in the most obvious disguise.

So Elmer Fudd wasn't even successful to chase one rabbit at a time, so how would he manage to chase two.

I am like Elmer Fudd sometimes, I have to many things to do at the same time, so I loose focus and cannot give 100% of my time, money and energy to most things I do.

Yes, some people will same, you have to mange your time better, but I don't always agree with that advice.

When one have many things to juggle, all you can do is to find the best balance or make a choice to only focus on one thing.

My problem with only focussing on one thing, is I am a person who would like to give as much as I can of my time, money and energy to other people, to try and make a positive difference in their life.

I think I would rather chase two rabbits at the same time than none.

My Big Fat BIG Dream

I have accomplished my big fat big dream in 2010 when my husband and I went on our first international adventure.

The dream that I dreamt for so long was starting to become a reality. In 2007 I had to put my dream on hold. Why you might think? I said YES to a marriage proposal, so all my savings for my first international adventure had to be used for bedroom furniture and a wedding ceremony. This wasn’t a bad exchange I think, and my husband could join me now in this international adventure.

I first had to convince my husband why he should join me to visit England and Scotland. The only thing I could say to convince him was, he could have the opportunity to find his heritage and routes.

So finally on 22 July 2010 we boarded the Airbus A340 from Cape Town – Johannesburg- Doha – London. The airplane took off at 19:00 and this was the beginning of a long flight, but we had a lot of things to keep us busy with. We experienced a lot of Turbulence while flying over Africa. Our stopover was at Doha, the hottest place I’ve ever been; at 05:30 in the morning it was 36 degrees Celsius.

One of the highlights on the aeroplane was also the food and the amount of times we ate, and for my husband free beer was the ultimate.

At Heathrow airport we met my friend, we have been friends for the past 20 years, this was when it became a reality that I am in London, and I was overwhelmed with excitement. This was going to be an amazing 17 days, I am ready, bring it on.

During the next few days, we did a lot of sightseeing. We took a boat cruise on the Thames River, had our First pub lunch, visited Windsor Castle, and had a famous cup of Starbucks coffee. We walked through the whole of London, with Sandals (not recommendable). This is where we visited the St Paul’s Cathedral, this amazing architectural building survived the Blitzkrig of London during World War II, the Big Ben, West Minister’s Abby, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Millennium Bridge, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and Sports Direct (a three story building filled with Sport Gear where we stopped to buy tekkies after I decided the Sandals wasn’t such a good idea.).

On the Monday, my friend took us to Primark, the most amazing clothing shop. One of my silly dreams was to walk out of a shop with three big shopping bags. My dream came true, after I let my husband wait for 2 hours, I came out with three shopping bags full of clothes. After the Primark excursion we took the Underground train to the Royal Air Force Museum.

We camped for 3 days in the beautiful valley of Lake district.
On the Tuesday we started our Road Trip on our way to Scotland. We visited one of the 7 wonders of the world, The Stonehenge, I stood in awe, looking at the rocks which nobody knows for sure, who and why they were placed there, but yet it is an amazing mysterious place to visit. We visited a small quaint Town, Burton on the Water, the Baths and the town where William Shakespeare lived, Stratford-on-Avon.

The first place in Scotland we visited was Ayr, the town where the Mitchells originate. We finally arrived at our campsite. We took the bus to Edinburgh every day and walked the Royal mile, and bought lots of gifts for the family and friends at home. We did a day trip with Haggi Tours, to the Scotland Highlands and also searched for the Lochness monster.
We heard a lot of history about Scotland, the wars in Scotland, fighting between the Highland clans, the real Brave heart story about Robert the Bruce and the true story about William Wallace. We visited the William Wallace monument, and we also visited the Edinburg and Sterling Castles, two castles that served both as royal residences and army base camps. We also saw the Crown Jewels of Scotland and the birthplace of Queen Mary of Scots and King Henry VIII. Scotland is a country with a rich history and although it is part of England, it still has its own identity, accent, bank and pride.

We also had the privilege to be part of the Fringe Festival in Scotland and watched a comedy show. Although a Scottish woman in the shop couldn’t believe it and tried to convince us that it is going to rain tonight, we braaied every evening.

When we arrived back in England, we visited the Tower of London, what an amazing palace, jail, home to the crown jewels it is, and the most amazing history. We also watched the musical that has been on stage for 25 years, Les Miserables, the last evening in London.

We did everything and more than we ever thought in 17 days and this was our first experience overseas, but certainly not the last.

The saying goes: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Nelson Mandela also said: “ The future belongs to those, who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”