A hand full of rice

Have you ever met a person you spent 5 minutes talking to and years later their name escapes you, but you remember the lesson life taught you in those 5 minutes?

About 13 years ago I briefly met a
Iady (let's call her Mrs B) at a church gathering we had once a week.  I was complaining about my bad cooking skills and joked that I would not find a husband.  Mrs B was very supportive and said that she needed me to go home and cook a pot of rice every day until I got the texture right because the more you do something the more perfection will set in.

She mentioned that she had 3 children and whenever she cooked rice she would add a handful of rice for each person in the household.

Today I am hapily married and our family has grown to 5 over the last 12 years.  Every time I add a handful of rice to to a pot I still think of Mrs B.  She taught me that practice makes perfect.  She taught me about moderation. 

Life is full of lessons.

All settled in

So we are all settled in in our new house. The Cat I had to keep inside for a week but he has been out and about so I am not too worried that he will run away. He could not be happier - he found his happy place in my new big kitchen in the afternoon sun. We bought two dogs - a Jack Russell and a German Shepperd. Both are still babies, my babies, and I have to teach the children to handle with care. I can't say thank you enough. I already have the Christmas spirit and can't wait to do the preparation for Christmas time this year. We will skip the tree. I might buy a small one where my 2 year old and the 2 dogs can't reach so we can put presents around it on the 24th when the man from the South Pole visits. Life is one big adventure and I am busy embracing every moment that I get. Blessed is the word.

The big Move...

After nine years in our current home – we have to say goodbye this week. I have all these emotions – imagine being sad and excited all at the same time. When we moved in here my daughter started walking. A Cat, two brothers and nine gold fish later we have to move because we have outgrown this place. What a lovely home – I would gladly stay another 8 years. We were looking at bigger houses for the last 2 years or so. As a parent you are always weary of the area that you move to and so many questions boggle your mind like will it be safe. I must say we found the perfect little (big) place. At long last the boys can get a dog - they have been nagging my husband and I for the last year. We will be able to entertain a bit and hold all the children’s parties at home. Claudia just turned 10 and we had to do the venue thing. It was the big ten and I did not want it to go unnoticed, and it didn’t. I have so many plans for our new house – but first we have to get packing for the big move. Not in the mood but somebody has to do it, right...

The dream house

It’s been a hectic year, but not bad at all. I followed my dreams a little, changed jobs and dreamed a little more. I made friends for life, and like every year, there were those people whom I looked up to for a while who disappointed me in the end. Lucky for them I value myself and know who I am, so their opinion of who I am does not matter in the end. It is just an opinion. At the moment I am hoping that we will be in our dream house this time next year. I have accomplished so much in my life it is hard to believe that it will not be possible. Everything seems impossible until it is possible. Being positive has helped a great deal in my life. So I think it is safe to say that next year this time we will own our dream house with a big kitchen and 4 bedrooms and enough space for my family. I have a 20 month old running around the house learning a new word every day. I don’t know what I did with my time before I had children. As a parent you want the best for your children. You cry because things do not happen as fast as you would like it to happen. Then you realize that everything will eventually fall in place, you just have to wait a little bit longer until the time is right. When I look back now at my life so far everything had its time and place. The house is in our near future, waiting for us to move in. Time is on our side.

Schoolbag in hand...

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny

What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
Well, some of that we did but most we didn't
And why I just don't know

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers...

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile...

Once upon a Spa

The best Spa getaway ever was the day my sister and I took my Aunt to Bayete Spa on the way to Hennopsmeer somewhere west of Pretoria.



First we kind of kidnapped her. She did not know where we were taking her. My sister and I were gigling away while my aunt guessed where we could be off to, but to no avail. But that is not where the surprised ended. The Spa was also hidden from the main road. You had to drive into a gate and then into a ditch with lots of trees and then only you would stop in front of the main building.

She was so surprised. This is my favourate picture of her. A picture does tell a thousand words. It looks like she is in thought.



It was a magical day. We wanted to say thank you. She let us in under her wing when Mom died and helped to ease the pain of the 2nd big shock when our Stepmom was introduced shortly after. She has never been judgemental. We on the other hand have been.



On the left is my aunt with my sister in the middle. My head is cut off. LOL.
We look happy in the pictures.

Christmas 2010

Every year we (my sister and I) try to make this a special time for the family. I miss my Mom who died 7 years ago a month before Christmas, we celebrate her life and hold on to the good memories. And then there is my Dad who I still have a chance to reconcile with but as always the timing sucks.

I remember every single Christmas since I was 3. Today I realized that I am truely blessed.

Every Christmas in my life was special, including this one.