Monday 29 April 2013

Lost at my own address

So about 2 years ago I buy a car.  I sign the registration forms, fill in my address ... which I know I did correctly .... after all I live there .... and they register it for me. 

Now last year when I have to renew my car licence I pop into the friendly GPO and they pop the form right back in my hand .."your car is registered in Jhb", she says.  Now since I was born and bred in Pretoria and have lived here my entire life, I am pretty sure I live in Pta.  So I tell her.  "Nope", she says, "your car is registered to the correct address where you live, but whoever inputted it said Jhb and so you can only renew your licence in JHB". 

So I did, whilst seeing a client there.  Now the renewal has rolled around again and I go to Jhb nowadays by Gautrain, so getting to the GPO or Postnet is now a pain.  So I go to the licence department to do a change of address.  Except that I am the only person doing a change of address who has not actually changed my address. 

I dutifully fill in the form, feeling like an idiot, since my previous address and my new address are now the same.  

The lady behind the counter, chewing a sandwich it appears, and with the attitude of a pitbull, looks up at me and snarls "why you no move?".  I explain.  She tells me the computer cannot change the address if there is no change.  I ask why I get a licence renewal to my postal address IN PRETORIA but cannot register my car.  She shrugs (either that or she was choking on aforementioned sandwich).  I look at her.  She looks at me.  I wait for a suggestion to be forthcoming.  It was a long wait.  I leave. I now still get my licence renewal in Pretoria.  My renewal says Pretoria.  But the computer says Jhb. Hmpff!  I swear if I get stopped by a cop .......

Tequila anyone?



till next time
c'est la vie 

Friday 26 April 2013

service with a smile

Now normally one would want to blog about bad service, but I realised today that sometimes we become so used to it that it becomes more of an achievement to blog about good service. 

Now the Spar supermarket in Waterkloof Corner ... they get it, so do Piza e Vino in the same centre as do Isabella's ... also same centre.  Very conveniently situated directly opposite Nic's club training field, it is the perfect place to while away 90 mins .... enough time for 2 delicious cappuccinos @ aforementioned Italian place and sometimes Jess and I even share a foccacia.  They understand sounding happy that you are choosing them when there are 3 other places opposite them, they probably recognize me as the lady who forgot her purse at home and realised after the bill came (see a few blogs back).  Isabella's is always my takeaway spot on Saturdays when it is a home match.  Their cappuccino is hot and they ask if they can put the sugar in, their cheesecake goes in a pretty pink box .... the cake has rose petals and sifted castor sugar on and they ask if you need takeaway cutlery.  All with a smile.  And a sense of loving their jobs.  Service, Service, Service.  Today at Spar the cashier looked at one of the items I put down, pulled a pamphlet closer and showed me that I good get a bigger quantity for a lesser amount on their promotion and showed me which aisle to go to ... service and more service.  

And then there are those that just don't get it.  Like the professional security in the parking at Montana Hospital.  The parking is now opposite the hospital and someone had left the Staff parking gate open which meant the Staff Only sign was obscured.  So me and about a dozen other cars parked on that side.  When we had already crossed the road the parking ogre asked who I thought was going to let me out afterwards?  When he explained that I cannot park there ... if one could call shouting at me, "explaining" ... I did ask why they did not put up a damn clear sign .... he muttered something .... did not sound like "please visit again".   We regularly also find the supermarket cashiers who as Nic says, "really love their job hey mom"  with the necessary sarcasm. 

Abreu's in Wonderboom Junction also get the service thing.  I think me and the BFF are currently on our 7th coffee card (no Fr C I am not joking) .... ok maybe because the staff know us so well ... but they give great service ... and those custard thingies. 

When I go to work, I also have good days and bad days, tired days and energetic ones, but I never take it to work, I am always friendly, full of beans and keen as hell.  Why?  It is called a salary ... and I think one should be grateful and behave in a certain way.  Maybe it is just my nature, because it is not the salary that drives my personality.  It is called respect for those I work for. 



So all of those out there that feel sullen faces when giving service is ok, it's not.  You have a job, maybe not a great one, maybe it is, but you have it.  So chin up, look your customer and your boss in the eye and remind them why they hired you. 

till next time
c'est la vie xx

Tuesday 23 April 2013

passion has a place .... it's called football

Now there are three types of soccer moms ...... those that never come to games, those that always come to games (and their sons wish that they didn't) and those that come to games and are welcome.  I have still managed to remain in the last category successfully for 9 years so far between Nic's school league and club league soccer.  I even survived the week long provincial tournament intact.  I do bite my tongue often. 

The moms in the middle category are easily identifiable.  Firstly their sons take to calling other boy's mothers ... mom ..... in the hope that the other spectators will not think that the ranter is his mom.  This mom can be found right on the line next to the field, very often one foot on the field.  She follows the game step by step, by running alongside the pitch whilst shouting instructions at her son ..... this is followed by shouting instructions at other people's sons ..... even the opposition team. This can escalate to the level where the language used often causes people to close the ears of younger siblings of the players.  This mom always knows way better than the ref and calls offside long before it even happens.  She always asks the ref if he is blind, argues every call, disputes any bookings and coaches her son during half-time.  If they lose, every boy on the opposite team is a moron, the ref is biased and her son gets a McDonalds meal en route home to console himself.  (Ok my son sometimes gets a McDonalds meal after a game too, but this has nothing to do with losing a match and everything to do with me not wanting to be asked for 20 kms home, what and when are we eating?).

I too know the soccer rules, understand the ever illusive-to-women, offside rule (yes Nic did explain it to me the old fashioned way using the salt, pepper, Aromat, Maggis, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and vinegar bottles.  And yes I kept forgetting whether Aromat and cumin were on the same team or Aromat and vinegar.  But I get the offside rule).   I wash kit, I confirm with the starting lineup 48 hrs before, I sort registration papers, I scold them, I cheer them and I threaten to leave the kit unwashed if they lose.  But they love me to bits. 

Don't even get me started on some of the fathers.  There are dads who never played soccer and don't come to matches.  There are dads who did play soccer and come to nearly all the matches and give constructive advice and cheering (Eug).  And then ...... oh yes, the dads who played.  In 1990.  And know everything.  About everything.  And oh boy, when little Johnny does something on the field that the 1990 champion thinks is wrong, then the coaching from the sidelines starts ..... Actual coach:  "Little Johnny pull back, pull back".  Daddy coach:  "Johnny, Johnny, what the hell are you doing, move forward, move forward".  These dads make me more tense than the game.  And then there is the mouthful if the team loses.  Sad. 

So soccer is a January to October thing in our house.  4 days a week training (sometimes for school and then club afterwards on same day), 1 match during the week, 1 match on Saturdays and now a cup match in the week as well.  It is a life of shinpads, boots, long socks, tape for socks, pro-vests, beanies, deep heat, freeze spray, sweat, fitness training, grass burns, broken toes, wet kit, injuries, ice-packs, celebrations and competition. 





I cannot imagine my life without it. 

Nicholas after the Academy won the 2012 Cup Final


till next time
c'est la vie xxx

Monday 22 April 2013

What women want : Men

 A very popular woman's monthly magazine ran a survey a while back in which they tried to find out from all women, young and old, married, single, divorced or widowed, what it is that they notice about men.  Now when I published my answers to another survey in my blog, many of you copied and pasted the questions and your answers and put them on FB or emailed them to me to see ...... so go ahead and tell me What women want:  Men

mmmmm lemme see what I would put in reply to the questions in their survey : .....


  1. What is the first thing you notice about a man:  WITHOUT A DOUBT, NO MATTER WHO THE MAN IS, HIS HANDS.  I AM A HANDS GIRL.  AND IF HIS EYES CRINKLE WHEN HE LAUGHS .. EVEN BETTER
  2. What are the top 2 personality characteristics according to you:  SENSE OF HUMOUR AND EMPATHY
  3. What are the worst 2 personality characteristics:  ARROGANCE AND DISHONESTY 
  4. What irritates you:  NOT HAVING MESSAGES / EMAILS ANSWERED ... IT REALLY IRRITATES ME.  MEN WHO TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAVE. 
  5. How important is it that a man has money?  ANSWERED ABOVE .... AS LONG AS HE IS DOING EVERYTHING HE CAN TO BETTER HIMSELF OR WORKS, MONEY NEVER BUYS THE THINGS THAT REALLY COUNT.  ADMITTEDLY YOU BUGGERED WITHOUT ENOUGH OF IT, BUT STILL.  IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF IT, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOU TELL ME .... I DON'T GET IMPRESSED.
  6. What do you think of male grooming:  I THINK THE DAYS OF SUNLIGHT SOAP ARE OVER.  THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT SKIN PRODUCTS OUT THERE FOR GUYS E.G. L'OREAL ... I LIKE GUYS WHO TAKE CARE OF THEIR SKIN, THEIR HAIR, THEIR HANDS AND MOST OF ALL WHO SMELL GOOD.  
  7. What about men and the sports channel?  I AM IN A HOUSE OF SPORT MAD PEOPLE.  SO WE SPEND TONS OF TIME NEXT TO THE CRICKET, SOCCER, HOCKEY FIELD WATCHING THE KIDS.  AND THE PREMIER LEAGUE SOCCER ON TV IS A PERMANENT FIXTURE IN OUR HOUSE AS ARE CRICKET TESTS.  SPORTS IS NOT A GUY THING ... IT IS AN EVERYBODY THING. 
  8. What about men and household chores:  HARD TO SAY SINCE MY HUBBY LEAVES AT 6AM AND RETURNS AFTER A LONG DAILY DRIVE AT 8PM.  HE IS EXHAUSTED AND I UNDERSTAND THAT.  IN THAT CASE HE DOES HIS BIT ON WEEKENDS .. PACKS DISHWASHER, MAKES OUR GARDEN PRETTY, DOES SCHOOL LUNCHES ... I APPRECIATE THAT AND HAPPILY DO THE FLIPPEN 100 TONS OF LAUNDRY AND ALWAYS FETCHING KIDS FROM PARTIES ETC.  I SUPPOSE IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH YOUR MAN IS AT HOME. 
So tell me ladies .... what would you say.  #mengottalovethem 


till next time
c'est la vie xxx

Friday 19 April 2013

jack frost starts nipping

now there are a number of reasons that the rapidly changing weather is bothering me. 

(1) I hate wearing a lot of stuff.  Mainly because during the day it gets warmer and I will remove my jersey or scarf or whatever and that means that I will lose it.  I promise that when I get home I will have to wonder where I put it down. 
(2) I want to wear peeptoes and sandals with kickass heels.  All year round.  Yes there are boots and all kinds of other heel stuff  for winter.... but it is not the same.  And please don't suggest stockings and peeptoes.  I am not using the same stylist as Jack Parow.  The only thing I love in the winter ... my AllStars.
(3) Food.  It passes faster from table, shop counter, deli fridges, to mouth than in the summer.  Coffee consumption also goes up rapidly and in my case that could be fatal.  No seriously.  It could. 
(4) Getting up in the cold .... I hate it.  Getting out of the shower in the cold.  I hate it.  Last night settled myself into a 1m deep foam bath and ended up staying there for 2 hours reading my book, just topping up the warm water now and then.  The fun ended when I got out at 1030pm ..... aaaaaaagh freeze. 
(5) The side of the sports field ...... in the week it is still ok-ish, but man that wind when you are next to the hockey and soccer field.  And somehow Saturday mornings are always freezing when Nic plays.  So naturally hot chocolate consumption goes up.  And I have to wear so much stuff to stay warm that if I should fall over I will roll alongside the pitch. 
(6) Jeans.  In winter your jeans always remind you of the reason you swore you would lose weight before the winter came.  I just ignore the voices in my head. 




So as we move into the first cold snap of the winter I will have a hot choc in one hand, a cappuccino in the other, my jeans button loose and my scarf stapled to my ears so that I don't lose sight of it. 

till next time, much love
c'est la vie xxxx 


Tuesday 16 April 2013

Men vs Women

Women always carry their handbags around - how the hell do men cope without a bag?  Eug says that if he ever goes on Survivor where you can take only one thing with you, he will opt for my handbag.  You can survive 237 days on an island with the contents of my handbag ...... when I do the monthly tip out and swop to another bag even I am stunned by what I find ...... last month I found a cash slip .... which did not belong to me ..... I have never been to that store.  And one tired and very sad looking little apple.  

Women never have anything to wear - trust me if you have an 18 year old daughter you will identify with this.  Now it is not because she opens her wardrobe and there are 50 empty hangers.  So I am stunned if she goes out on the weekend and I pop into her room while she gets ready, to find half the wardrobe contents on the bed while she says in great despair "I have nothing to wear".  Only a fool would at that stage say "look at all these clothes".  You don't want the death stare .... trust me. 


If a man goes on a seven day trip, he’ll pack five days worth of clothes and will wear some things twice; if a woman goes on a seven day trip she’ll pack 21 outfits because she doesn’t know what she’ll feel like wearing each day.  I call that extremely good planning.  My husband has another way of describing it .... but this is a family blog :)


Men do not decorate their penmanship.  Or do anything fancy.  Or weird.  They just write.  Bit like chicken scrawl.  Women on the other hand like coloured stationery, they dot their i's with a circle and use big looped letters.  It is painful that even in a "Dear John" letter a women will put a smiley face at the end.  Those of you who know my handwriting will be laughing now ... I am the queen of loopy writing, circle i's and coloured pens and stationery.  


A woman runs her job, her charity work, her life and in addition the lives of her children.  She knows every dentist and doctor's appointment, their social calenders and the dates and times of all their soccer and hockey games.  She knows the names of their best friends, their favourite foods and their secret fears.  In many homes men are simply aware that there are some short people living in the house.  This one does not apply to Eug, he is the master of involvement in their lives xx 

When a woman gets to menopause she goes through all kinds of weird emotional, biological and mind changes.  Menopause in a man creates a simple reaction ... he buys Ray Ban aviators, a peak cap and a Porsche and says "babe" a lot. 


Women usually look very nice when they wear jewellery.  Men can wear a ring, a bracelet/s, those rubber bangles for causes and chains.  Any more than that and they tend to look a bit like a lounge singer named Vic. 


Women and bathrooms ... it's a social thing.  Women go to bathrooms in packs, at least two women will leave the table at the same time to go.  And if one gets up, another is likely to say I will join you. Men use bathrooms for biological reasons.  No conversation needed.  Never in the history of the world has one man excused himself and then turned to his mate and said "Hey George, I am going for a leak, want to join me?". 


and just because it made me laugh ....



After the party, as the couple was driving home, the woman asks her husband, 
"Honey, has anyone ever told you how handsome, sexy and irresistible to women
 you are?"The flattered husband said, "No, dear they haven't."
The wife yells, "Then what the heck gave you THAT idea at the party tonight?"





till next time 
c'est la vie xxxx

p.s. to all the guys out there ..... we wouldn't swop you for the world ..... 

Monday 15 April 2013

Matric. Mom. and those apron strings

I wrote it just for my girl  ...


"The heart song every mother dreads to sing,
When her child races through her last school year.
You remember every detail on the day it was to begin
Gr 0 ..... it was quite a scare. 

The years fly by, each with their memories,
The ups and downs, the sadness and joy
Each new year demanding new energies
You remember the first read word,
And the first noticed boy.

You live through exams, tests and stress
You live through their hard work and dedication
Sometimes what they want is anyone's guess
But the studying proves the value of education

You give guidance in what they want to be
You praise their choices and their skill
You know your job will always be to oversee
That they reach that dream with an iron will 

And so as the year races by
And you wish you could slow it so
You know God is watching from up high
But someday moms ... we have to let go"

Much love to you Jess, you make us so proud

Till next time
c'est la vie xxx





Sunday 14 April 2013

You call it Monday, I call it Chaos

How many of you have seen that movie with John Candy called "Plains, Trains and Automobiles"?  Well I saw it several times and I still laugh every time.  Briefly it is about 2 guys trying to get home from a business trip and everything with their transport modes goes wrong and they end up using every transport method known just to get home. 

The reason I find it so funny at present is because tomorrow I am going to go to work and then from work to Sandton and then back to my kid's school CBC and then from there I am going home.  And to do that, since I have no car, I am going to use no less than 5 modes of transport.  In one day.  Now I find that amusing, exciting, challenging and pretty annoying all rolled into one, since I actually own a car, a fully paid for car .... albeit a non-driveable car at present. 

So to get my butt to office my day will start with a drive at 6am with hubby and kids and he will drop me off at the Hatfield Gautrain station en route to drop the kids at school, keeping in mind that he has to be in his Witbank office, 107.5 kms away, at 8am.  From there I will take the Gautrain to Centurion where I will make enquiries about their bus which I know can drop me within 1 and a bit km of my office.  Then I am going to convince a colleague to jump in their car and fetch me and take me to office (Jess was horrified when I told her I will walk the 1.2km lugging my work bag and other stuff ..... mom is there not one colleague out of all of them that could do you a favour?) there are .... and I starting with a call to you dear Lezette :)

Then at lunchtime-ish I am going to get a lift to the Gautrain station in Centurion (come on colleagues ... help a girl out) and take the train to Sandton so I can walk to Sandton City Adidas and exchange my son's soccer boots now that the fight with Adidas has been won ... every cloud has a silver lining.. then walk back to Sandton station (I will have a cappuccino before I do to stop myself from buying a small bottle of vodka for my bag) and hop on train this time to Hatfield.  Now the Hatfield to CBC section is still under debate.  I said I would walk the 3 blocks to Church Str and then hop on one of the dozens of SA taxi's coming up there towards Silverton to get transported the 7 odd blocks to the school (cannot walk you may not walk on the main road by the Colbyn marshlands) .... Jess and Nic nearly had a fit!!!!  I think I will be safe.  They refuse to discuss it.  So the other option is to get a taxi from Rixi at who knows what flippen price.  This part of the trip is still open to debate.  I will get my own way.  These are my legs and feet and my walk.  Then I will wait for Nic and Jess for 15 mins to finish sport and dear Joanne, she of the Kia and lots of kindness will give us all a lift home.  

So I will have train, bus, lift in car, train, walk, mall, walk, train, walk, TAXI, lift in car.  5 modes .... 

Who the hell can say that my life is not full of variety and fun!!  And who can question my brilliant organising skills :)?

Now Henrietta Hyundai ...... can you just pull yourself together please!!  Because the above is going to go on all week. 

till next time ......I may have been in a plane by then, 


much love
c'est la vie 

Thursday 11 April 2013

Adoration time

So yesterday was an all over the place kind of day.  Had to catch a lift to the workshop which is currently trying to help me with what is turning into a major disaster with my car ....... (don't get me started on the salesman who sold it to me) .... caught a bite to eat en route home ..... worked sourcing funds for hours for IH ....... made a kickass dinner in the afternoon .... slept on the couch for an hour and then at 11pm went to Adoration.  

The Adoration was the highlight of the day (as it is every week) .... there is something to be said for doing it so late at night.  The church is dead quiet, the street is quiet, the neighbourhood is quiet.  Even the guard and I whisper to each other when I get there .... and he is always glad to see me .... because I come bearing hot chocolate and a cookie for him each week ......

Inside there is nothing but candlelight, me, God and lots of quiet.  When you spend 2 hours sitting in such peace, alone, you have no choice but to simply be.  There is the prayer board and beautiful CD's, candles to be lit for people I pray for and then just time.  To sit. To think. To pray.  To wonder.  And to talk out loud to God.  Sometimes we chat, sometimes I talk and He listens.  Very often He talks and I must listen.  And there are also those days when I question, or debate or am angry or want an explanation.  He is very patient on those days.

And I find it there.  The answer.  In the quiet.  Everytime.  Not always the exact answer I expected or wanted right then.  But somehow always the answer that is meant to be. 

It's a special time.  One that everyone should try and bring into their lives. 


Christ the King Parish, Queenswood 


Till next time
c'est la vie xxx


Tuesday 9 April 2013

whispering goodbye

So I went to a funeral today with the kids.  My best friend, Elm's, dad passed away.  We all seemed to be stuck somewhere between being really sad that he had passed away and really glad that he no longer had to suffer.  With cancer spreading rapidly through his body, unable and unwilling to eat, unable to walk, staying in a step down and losing weight rapidly, it was sad to visit him and see him as a shadow of his former self.  So God decided it was time to relieve him of this pain.  As sad as it is for those that stay behind, God always has the best plans. 

Whilst I was standing in front doing the thank you's on behalf of the family at the end of the service, I told them of the last time I had seen William ...... he was in hospital and when I arrived he said to Elm, "you should have told me that Karin was coming and I would have combed my hair".  He immediately asked them to pass him a comb and little mirror and combed his sparse grey hair over to the one side.  "Do I look ok now?", he asked me.  "Oh be still my heart", I said, clutching my chest, "you look just as debonair as Shaun Connery".  He gave a big smile and said to Elm, "did you hear, she says I look like Shaun Connery".  It was the last time I ever spoke to him.  And I am happy, because the relationship between him and I was finalised with a huge smile, a laugh and a brief happy moment .... and that is all I want. 

It made me think of what legacy we leave behind and what memories people have of us.  Elm and my kids were amused to tell the family last week that when I die one day, people will be asked to dress colourfully, my coffin will personally have glitter put on by them and it will be a colourful time celebrating my life.  That is exactly what I would want.  Just make sure you serve cappuccinos. 

We remembered fondly over tea afterwards what a gentleman he had always been.  Whenever we had visited at Elm he always chatted to me about what I was doing, what the kids were doing and how hard Eug was working.  He was happy to sit quietly to one side with his wife, Hettie, and listen to the rest of us .... and wow we are a loud, crazy, laughing bunch when our 2 families have one of our frequent visits. 

The 2 Reverends came to me afterwards and asked me if I was a schoolteacher.  When I told them what I actually do as a job, the one commented that I am obviously quite comfortable and used to speaking in front of groups of people.  I am .... I am as comfortable one on one as I am to talk to a room of 200.  It made me happy to think I could have made this little contribution to this special day. 

So rest in peace William, we will always keep a corner of our hearts for you. 


till next time,
c'est la vie xxx


Monday 8 April 2013

Joy. Just that.

What makes you joyful?  I have been thinking about it quite a bit the past few days ..... it is not complicated and the answer is not winning the entire Lottery, having all your debt paid off, winning a car or having eternal youth (although all the abovementioned would not hurt either right now).  Especially the car!!

For me .... it's the little things ..... and they seem to be growing in abundance for me lately..... or maybe it is just that the harder life pushes you, the more aware you become of these things ..... 

You know that song from The Sound of Music ..... Favourite Things? (OK those of you frowning now and going ...... uuuuh No? are way too young for this blog) .... a whole lot of favourites come to mind now so if you live in Pretoria then you simply have to ...


  • Go to Bella Sophia Culinary Cafe at the end of Chamberlain Str in Riviera .... it is run by a former Masterchef SA finalist and makes the best cappuccinos I currently find in Pta (and trust me I drink enough of them a day all over Pta to make a judgement call here) as well as ridiculously good cheesecake and then of course the gorgonzola and other toppings on ciabatta and the burgers ... and .... and .... everything is plated so beautifully, the staff are delightful and it is a must visit!! My coffee card works overtime here. 
  • Get yourself a subscription to Good Housekeeping SA .... this is not a DIY mag, it is an all in one read about everything from great simple recipes to tips to clothes to success to parenting to this to that.  Just buy one .... you will be hooked ... I promise.  I was fortunate enough to be a guest at the launch of the SA edition just over a year ago ..... and I assure you the very joyful Editor, Sally, is obviously leading happy staff to produce such a great read!  Full of tips and info and now I even know that you can put Lavender Essential Oil, that you buy at Clicks or wherever, on your dog's neck and tail base to get rid of fleas .... hah!  GH has millions of readers worldwide in their own editions .... they must be doing something right. 
  • Go bowling.  Yes bowling with skittles and neon lights and that other light that makes white clothing shine.... no excuses about nails or other such stuff.  The Kolonnade one is still the nicest to me and there is nothing like a bit of healthy competition to get some laughter in the family.  You no longer are compelled to wear other people's sweaty loan shoes as in the past, you may now play in your socks (thank heavens) and you should go do it if you have not bowled for a while.  They have a fantastic deal which gives you 2 games and you also get a burger, fries and drink from Maxis next door.  It's a lekker outing.  And boy are us Humans competitive at this bowling thing ...... you thought I was a nice lady ......
  • Go and look at the 2nd hand books on sale outside the Superspar in Queenswood (Soutpansberg Rd - cnr Gordon) on Sundays.  A retired couple run the little stall made up of wooden tables and selling seemingly only the popular titles.  They are very sweet, very helpful and in addition to taking my books to my beloved Irene Homes Charity Shop (massive book selection come and see), I am also dropping off at this couple regularly to help their sales as my books are as new.  Go look .... you can even pop into Wimpy next door for a Streaky Bacon breakfast R20.  

And then I get joy from the even more simpler things ..... playing Fifa 13 with Nic on Xbox .... we play on the same team because I don't want to get beaten 300-0 but I must add that what I do sometimes has my son pausing the game and saying "really mom???" whilst laughing endlessly.  And yes Nic I am trying to unlearn the habit of running into the goalpost.  Really.  And the joy of watching Jess' face when we bite into something that those masterful hands of hers have created for our plates and we just melt because it is so damn good!!

Bella Sophia Culinary Cafe .... the beautiful cappuccinos Elm and I had 


Go out and find your joys ...... they are so worth it. 

till next time,
c'est la vie xxxx 



Sunday 7 April 2013

Henrietta's woes

Now there are many honest Joe salesmen out there in the 2nd hand car market.  The guy who sold my Henrietta Hyundai to me was not one of them.
After giving my dad the sales pitch and my dad even being able to speak to the previous owner of the car who had sold the car to this dealership ... The price was negotiated and settled in full.  I wish I had a mechanic of my own who checked it out before I signed the paperwork.  The niggles were pointed out to them ... They sorted it .... Car was washed and polished and off I drove SO EXCITED. 18km from the dealership the car broke down.  They drove to assist me .... Told me I had activated the anti hijack.  I hadn't ... The cambelt had broken.  Weird coz in the service book it said it was replaced 3000 km before .... But when the garage stamped the book ... Cambelt replaced was written above the stamp in pen?  Weird.  So they fix it at their cost as well as the faulty oil sender unit and work on pistons etc.  I wait a month.  They develop serious attitude. Mine is worse.



They register the car .... When i sign insurance forms I notice year on reg form is 2005.  I tell dad I positive I was sold car as 2006 model.  I check ... And am right.  They deny saying that.  I produce the swing sign they hung in the car which I had kept as a momento unknown to them ... They clearly wrote there 2006 ... They suddenly recover from amnesia.  It takes a lawyer to convince them to refund me the difference in book value between two models.

Since then I found out recently they did not repair the anti-hijack as promised.  Or the visor. The CD eject packed up two months after buying the car.  Six months later I had to buy a second hand power steering pump and have all the belts done costing thousands.  Tonight my power steering belt snapped and came off ... This will be the third one I put on in 2 years.  The spark plugs shot off 3 times.  Apparently they were not threaded properly ... Had to have it done myself.  The idiot put on a helicoil ... Now plug cannot come out unless head removed .... WTH.   It is burning oil.  Now tonight I also develop a tappet noise .... Mechanic says it is a hydraulic problem so head must come off ... At least they can fix helicoil thing now (silver lining hehe) ..... but I ask you .... All this in a car with a supposed perfect history .... All this in 22  months .... and now the car place closed down ....... But I love this car so much .....

But the wheel turns baby and one day Mr Slick Salesman... it will turn for you .....

Till next time
C'est la vie xxxxx

Thursday 4 April 2013

the tale of the 4 studs

So by a combination of crazy saving and selling his Wii console and games, Nic gets enough money together to buy original Adidas imported boots.  He is in his football boots 7 days a week and very often he trains 90 mins at school followed by 90 mins at the Academy so he wanted Adizero's .... the world's lightest football boots ..... and I mean it .... like picking up a feather.  And I promise by the end of the season each year his boots lie down and say "kannie meer nie".

So off we go to Adidas in Sandton City as the imports of the new Adizero F50 in lime green had finally arrived two days prior.  With great excitement (and I mean GREAT excitement) he slips his feet into those two pieces of lighter than air and pronounces them to be "the ones".  He parts with R2300 at the till ..... and my heart soars because I only had to give him R500 towards it .... he was happy to come up with a plan to afford these dream boots. 

So Adidas and Nic ..... match made in heaven.  Until the first stud fell off 3 weeks later.  They have metal studs front and back and non-metal in the middle section.  It was a non-metal one.  Now understand .... football is a serious thing to someone who eats, sleeps and dreams it, he NEVER walks off the field without removing boots ... he does not walk on tar with them, or in the carpark, nothing ..... his trusted "stokies" are always there to slip on.  So the missing stud on a helluva pricey pair of genuine boots was concerning.  I phone up the store to tell them I will be coming in as I am coming to Sandton in 2 week's time.  By then another stud has joined the big stud heaven in the sky.  Shortly after he goes off to play in a 4 day tournament in Bloem so the trusty minus 2 studs boots go along. He returns with a total of 4 studs missing.  So it is me. him. jess. gautrain. adidas. sandton city.

Now let me tell you Tshepo, the manager, gets a 5 star rating for customer service.  He does however have to impart the ridiculous news to me that there are only 2 things not covered by Adidas in their guarantee .... the studs and the eyelets of the laces.  Now I did not give a toss about the eyelets of the laces but the studs?????? R2300 boots with no guarantee on the studs by a company like ADIDAS?  I mean we not talking about ADIPAS bought at the local flea market.  Tshepo says they are not guaranteed by Adidas as they are not able to prove how the wearer behaved in terms of where they walked with those studs.  I gently tell him that for that price you should be running on tar, but that my son took great care and Tshepo, being sympathetic to the cause (and also recognizing Nic as probably one of their best customers .... 3 trips to Adidas since end Jan and each time Nic goes there it is Ca-ching with his pocket money) .... Tshepo takes photos of the underside of the boots on his cellphone and promises to email it to the Adidas head office and take up the fight on our behalf.  Because Adidas .... let me tell you ..... a fight was coming!!!

The hottest thing about these boots though, is the microchip which he has (an extra) inserted in the inside of his boot.  After every practice and match, he puts the boot next to the computer and wirelessly it reads the info off the boot and Nic can see his stats on the screen .... how far he ran, how far he jogged, how long he stood, his sprints etc etc so that he can maximise his movement in a game.  In the Bloem tournament alone he ran almost 30kms in his boots.  Technology!!!

Today, 10 days later, Tshepo calls. ...... I kept on them, he says, and they have agreed to make a full exchange for a new pair of boots.  We are just sourcing them in your son's size and once here I will let you know.  We know it is urgent. 




So Tshepo .... big up to you for fantastic service .... and going the extra mile. 
Adidas ..... mmmmmm ........ such a huge sporting legend ........ such a massive price for the boots ....... no guarantee? and what if the studs fall off now?  One would not expect it a 2nd time, but if they do, then sorry Adidas but then in future we will have to  

JUST DO IT  

till next time
c'est la vie xxx

Tuesday 2 April 2013

my little slice of heaven

So I been wondering how many people really love their jobs?  Or how many just go to their job every day, because it is what they must do, where they must do it and have been doing it for so long they see no other area to work their talents in. 

It took me until I was almost 43 to find my perfect job.  And don't be mistaken ..... I am not saying that the jobs before that were not exciting, well paid, boring, frustrating, interesting, social, annoying, well travelled, learning curves etc etc, I am simply saying that when I walked into my current job, it felt like I had "come home" in many ways.  

This job is nothing like I ever in my life imagined where I would end up.  With my qualification firmly entrenched in Public Relations and Journalism, will extensive PR experience and being a deft hand at media relations, press releases and anything requiring me to be out there and addressing people, having a career at a home for mentally disabled adults would probably not have made my ten year plan list, or twenty or thirty.  Even though I do, in my position there, still address media and speak to people all day every day sourcing funding, it is a market I would never have expected to enter. 

Yet karma and life and fate have other plans for us, and when the three of them conspired together for a number of reasons three, almost four years ago, they pushed me quite convincingly to this interview.  And despite the fact that I fell down a step and broke my foot whilst stopping for tea en route as I was early, I hobbled through the interview, got the job and arrived for my first day 4 days later at the beginning of the month, on crutches wearing a moonboot.  It was hard to say who look most surprised on the day. 

Since then my job is in my heart and my soul.  I miss my office when I am on leave, I wonder what the ladies and gents we take care of are doing .... and I wake up with a great sense of joy when I return ..... as I do tomorrow after 2 week's leave. 

Now how many people can say that in their mid 40's they changed direction completely and found their place.  Their job soulmate and the ability to feel such peace?  I am blessed indeed.
One of our beautiful ladies we take care of xxx


till next time
c'est la vie xxx

So how is your week going? Yes I wrote this blog a while ago.  I have tripped going up (yes up, not down the plethora of steps up to our hou...