As I mentioned yesterday, I have been B.U.S.Y lately… I’m not 100% sure why, but all of a sudden my man and I have been deluged with invitations and work has been reallllly busy too. So I’ve had very little time to myself, I’ve been rushing around too much (I hate rushing) and in general I’ve felt like my plate is full to overflowing.

So today I decided to give myself the gift of stillness. I left work on time and went for a 2 hour reiki session with an amazing healer. It was so wonderful to be able to lie down and soak up good energy. For anyone who hasn’t tried reiki, give it a go! It can be completely transformative. I went in feeling tired, rushed, a little worried and snotty. I left feeling pretty close to wonderful!

Is there any feeling as delicious as that of slipping on a pair of new pyjamas? Especially if you’ve just got out the shower and you’re about to get into a warm bed? I don’t think so.

My man, believe it or not, has never worn pyjamas, and much as t-shirts and shorts are handy, they don’t do what a pair of crisp cotton jammies will for a good night’s sleep. So yesterday, while out on a bit of a shopping spree for myself (more on that later), I decided to buy him a pair of pyjamas. Delicious.

But I was thinking, yesterday, that there’s one area of my relationships where I haven’t said how I feel – my future parents-in-law. I suppose because we got to know each other quite slowly, and I was (naturally) a bit reserved when I first met them. But I’ve grown to really love them, and I so appreciate all the delicious meals and incredible gifts (like my recent vintage crockery set!) and support they’ve given us over the years.

So today I wrote them a (very cool and sparkly) card saying just that.

I have a confession to make: I’m a hoarder. As in, I hoard pretty much anything free that I’m given. I love free stuff, absolutely love it. I’ll accept something solely because it’s free and I feel as if I’m getting a good deal (even if I really don’t want or need it). But as I discovered when we had to clear out our last apartment before we went travelling, a lot of the freebies I get are really not that cool (to me). But by the time I’ve kept them for 6 months or a year, they’ve lost their fresh and shiny allure.

So today I passed on two freebies to the security guards at work. Look, they’re pretty lame keyrings, but the guys seemed pretty happy with them. And like I said, it’s alll about creating new habits, hey? Maybe I can out-habit the hoarder in me.

What do you think? Any chance of that happening?

PS: Let’s also not discount the fact that they call this a 29 day giving challenge because it is a CHALLENGE! To think of something new and not lame every day is harder than I thought it would be…

Cheesy as all get-out, it’s true, but when you’re feeling sick (and have been all weekend, as a lovely friend of mine had), something this cheesy can help to brighten your day. What do you think?

She said she’d think ‘be well’ thoughts every time she drank out of it. A good idea for all of us, hmm?

We arrived home late after our (wonderful) trip to Knysna this evening, and all I really wanted to do was unpack, take a deep breath and have a cup of tea in my lovely little flat.

But a friend of mine has just had some bad news, and I’ve been wanting to chat to her all week. It wasn’t the right time in Knysna – what will all the celebrations and decadence – but this evening was great timing and we had a lovely long chat. I think one of the things this dedication to gift-giving is teaching me, is that sometimes not being selfish for half an hour can really make a difference…

Life is really busy, isn’t it? I so often find the days kind of slipping into each other and things that I had meant to do – small things – just slip by the sidelines of the ‘more important’ To Do List.

One of the things I always mean to do (and sometimes never find time for) is sending heartfelt emails to friends. Just no-reason-in-particular mails, to tell them how I feel about them.

So today I did that. A friend of mine has been making a lot of life changes lately, and I wanted to let her now how proud I am of her.

We drove to Knysna today, for the Knysna Oyster Festival (we’ll be here for the next 4 days and I am SO happy to be here). The timing couldn’t be better – both my man and I really need a few days out of routine, to catch up with ourselves and each other.

En route we stopped off at the obligatory petrol station for a somewhat crappy lunch (greasy chips and a dry toasted sandwich, yum!) and when I went to the bathroom I saw this sad little tip jar. Surrounded by wilted wet flower petals, I didn’t think there was much chance of the attendant getting any tips today, so I gave her a rather large one.

It’s so funny how knowing you have to give a gift each day makes you more aware of people who might need a bit of cheering up… And this is only day 4! I’m curious to see how my view of the world changes by the end of the month…

We went to watch the (thrilling) quarter-final at the Cape Town Fan Park, and I handed out these cool samballoons (filled with shaky stuff) to a couple of very happy kids.

I have had the BEST day! Birthdays are so wonderful, aren’t they? One day that reminds you how lucky you are to have such special people in your life, to be so loved, to get so many presents

It’s been a day of warm sunshine, abundant messages and phonecalls, chocolate cupcakes (that appeared as if by magic) and great fun. And it’s not over yet! Time to dress up to the nines and go to Madame Zingara for a Love Magic show. Yes please!

So I know what you’re thinking – YUM. How could you be thinking anything else?

That, right there, is one delicious-looking carrot cake. I say ‘looking’, because although this is my birthday cake for my work colleagues, it is also the ONLY flavour of cake I don’t eat. *Sigh!*

One of my colleagues has had a tough week or two, and didn’t get to celebrate her birthday. So I offered to share birthday cake with her and let her pick the flavour. Murphy’s Law, she picked carrot. Apparently it was delicious… The icing was some of the best I’ve ever tasted (cream cheese ohhh yeahhh…)

So come on, are you inspired to join in yet??