So I’ve finally started reading the 29 Gifts book, by Cami Walker, the woman who started this movement. It’s a lovely book, all about how an emphasis on what she could give others let her energy shift from focusing on her debilitating condition (MS) to being able to regain some sense of control over her life. Wonderful stuff!

Anyhoo, one of the things she says about the giving challenge is that you have to give something that you feel is scarce in your life right now. I thought about it, and I think the thing that feels most scarce to me is time. We’ve had a craaazy busy week or two, and free time feels like a precious gift.

So I gave some of it to my sister-in-law, who’s in the market for some company this week while my brother is overseas. And when I left I felt so much more filled up than if I’d just hung out at home for an hour. Goes to show, hmm?

I specially painted a mug to look like the sky (with little puffy clouds!) and put a succulent in it to give to a dear friend. She looked after my succulent garden while we were travelling, and was more than a little sad to say goodbye to it…

She was supposed to come over after work, but was in bed sick, so I scurried over to her house and slipped the succulent under her front gate.

Day 1 of 29. So far, so good!

I’ve had the most delightful week.

We had to take Monday off because of the soccer game being held at the Cape Town Stadium (in our street!) It was an afternoon game, and my man and I went – very exciting. Portugal scored 7 goals! I’ve been completely soccer mad, watching games almost every day (Me? Watching sport? Hard to believe!) but yesterday, for the first time since before World Cup madness began, I had a chance to catch my breath.

This was mainly because I had a half day at work (and alll day off today, yippee!) because we’re moving offices. I hadn’t realised quite how busy I’d been until I was faced with an afternoon of nothing to do. What bliss! Nothing on my To Do list, no chores to run, no emails to answer or phonecalls to return (well, yes, there were both of those, but I chose not to do them).

So what did I do? I went shopping. Slow, leisurely, lovely and relaxing shopping. I didn’t spend a fortune, I just needed a few essentials, but giving myself the afternoon to windowshop and wander around and look at anything I wanted to without looking at my watch (or my phone, which I had conveniently left at home) was a rare and lovely treat.

When I got home I pottered around watering my plants, and then did some sewing and mending I’ve been meaning to do for weeks (or possibly months). This morning I went to a Nia class, which was simply extraordinary – a combination of yoga stretches, dance, and a little bit of martial arts. I loved every second of it!

And this afternoon my man and I are going out for soup (at a place called Soupa – ha!) and then going for foot massages, one of our engagement party presents. After that I’m going to spend some time with the cutest girl in the world (my niece) and tonight we’re going to watch a movie. I ask you – what more could a girl want from a day?
(The answer is nothing!)

What’s so interesting, though, is that every week I have two whole days to myself, but I somehow never end up just doing what I want to do. There always seem to be things to do or people to see or places to go. But when I allow myself to slow down and just do what I feel like doing, followed by a little more of what I feel like doing, and a little more, I feel so wonderful! Vital and alive and full of energy (even though I went to bed late cause I was sewing up a storm…)

Do you ever have days of doing just-what-you-want? Why don’t we have more of them?!

Photo: cavan images, via naturally nina

I’m finding it extremely difficult to concentrate on anything, or think any thoughts that don’t relate to wearing rainbow-coloured clothing and making a noise and supporting our team.

And I love – love love love love love – that all of a sudden everyone seems to have jumped on the ‘We love South Africa’ bandwagon. I’ve been on it for quite some time, and it is so lovely to have so much company…

If you want to get in the mood (or just get a taste of how beautiful and ready and waiting everything is), check out this incredible photo essay.

I can’t wait!!

Photo: Frames of Mind

As all those who know me will attest, I’m nowhere near ready for kids. I’m far too selfish for that – I love being able to come home and read for hours without interruption, I can’t imagine having to look after someone every single day for the rest of my life (even after your kids leave home, you never really stop worrying about them – we all know that). But this lack of desire for children is underwritten by a deep belief that as soon as I want to have a baby, I’ll be able to. And more and more these days, that isn’t the case. Infertility is becoming more and more common, and it’s one of those problems that nobody wants to talk about. Isn’t that crazy? It’s just like any other physical condition – it shouldn’t be something to keep hushed up.

But it is. Which is why I am so moved by this beautiful video by Keiko Zoll. It gave me goosebumps. When you have five minutes to spare, give it a watch. It’s the kind of video we all need to see, so that we can start talking about infertility and sharing the burden a little more.

What if we stopped dealing with difficult things on our own, and shared a little more? What if?

What IF? A Portrait of Infertility from Keiko Zoll on Vimeo.

For more from Keiko, visit her blog – Hannah Wept, Sarah Laughed.

It’s true. The inevitable has finally happened. I’m growing up.

This week alone, I’ve applied for a vehicle loan, chopped an onion, worn a suit and am embarking on My First Ever Business Trip. If that’s not grown up, I don’t know what is! I mean, an onion? Do you know how much I hate onions?

And the vehicle loan! Do you know what that means? I’m buying a car! My first car ever. At 27 and a half (pretty good going, hey? I’ve managed to survive on a scooter and various boyfriends-with-cars for a decade now).

Let’s not even talk about the business trip! Well, we can’t, because I’ve only just left and am currently waiting at the airport to depart for Johannesburg, city of gold (and business) to go to meetings with various people. Business people.

In a suit.

Sheesh!

Photo: grongar

If you’re looking for an instant feel-good hit, check out this video.  (And this picture, how cute is that baby?)
What a pleasure!

And the perfect way to get yourself turned back downstream… Allow me to elaborate:
I had a very admin-full morning today, lots of things to do and people to chat to and meetings to co-ordinate. And by lunchtime I was starting to feel, if not grumpy, then at least a little gritchy. My To Do List for lunch involved two nasty errands: dropping off my tax forms at SARS (the South African Revenue Service) and returning a broken phone, without the original box or receipt.
Yack! What a combo.

So I made sure to get myself in the zone before I ate my lunch. I watched the video (above, again, watch it, now) and got goosebumps. I thought about what a beautiful day it is, how much I love Fridays, how lucky I am.

And then I went to the SARS offices. Where they told me I had to come back next week because the wait time was over 2 hours. I didn’t freak out, asked if I could check if I had all my forms, and spoke to a wonderful lady at Reception who took all my forms and told me I didn’t have to come back, I could just call and get my tax number next week! Amazing.
And then, as if I even need to say this, I went to Telkom and they gave me a new phone no problem…

So when I say getting in the zone makes everything go your way, I really, really mean it. Try it – and let me know how it goes.

Photo: CharlotteSpeaks

I count myself first in line in this queue of dental denial, don’t you worry. But I feel like I had a bit of a dental breakthrough this week, and I wanted to share the good news.

I have hated going to the dentist for as long as I can remember. Dreaded it. Stayed awake at night worrying about it. Contemplated every possible route out of having to go for a dreaded check-up. But the reason it was dreaded is because I put it off so long.

It’s quite logical, really: the longer you put it off, the worse it’s going to be. Going to the dentist is one necessity that isn’t going to magically disappear. It’s not going to get better – and that’s a promise.

So I decided, at last, to be a grown-up about my teeth. Besides anything else, the dread I felt before my (two yearly) check-up was so extreme that something had to change. And, in many ways, it wasn’t my fault. My first dentist suffered from Alzheimers but carried on working, so my teeth steadily disintegrated without me knowing. My next dentist wouldn’t let me close my eyes (the torture!) The one after that didn’t wait for the anaesthetic to kick in before he started drilling.

So I had good cause for dread.

But unless I was willing to replace all my teeth with falsies (an option I considered quite seriously for a time), I had to man up about it.
And so I did. I now go to the dentist every 6 months, and will continue to go to the dentist every 6 months for the rest of my life.
Because here’s the secret:
If you go for regular check-ups you catch problems before they become problems.

And that’s the truth. I went on Saturday for my second visit this year, and there was nothing wrong with my teeth! Oh happy day. Hallelujah. The sweet relief.

So what about it? Ready to man up? Ready to book a check-up at the dentist?

Photo: get directly down

But, so far, a rather lovely adjustment. I’m the new Digital Online Editor of Fresh Living magazine, Pick n Pay’s foodie mag. It’s pretty much the only magazine I buy, packed full of recipes and suggestions and lovely photographs, and I intend becoming a much better cooko before many months are out! Watch this space.

Obviously, I’m still in the starry-eyed beginning stages of the job, helped no doubt by the fact that I’ve only been working a week and most of that week was a weekend (hooray for 4 day weekends!) Nevertheless, here are the things I’m enjoying about being employed:

•    Time to focus. At home there are always a million things to do, many of them work but lots of them home too, but when you’re at work, although there’s a long To Do List, it’s all work-related. This is surprisingly refreshing.

•    Feeling cutting-edge. When you’re at work for 8 and a half hours, there’s time to do things like watch videos and read Twitter updates and keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening.*

•    Challenge. A whole heap of it. I feel more challenged this week than I have for months of working for myself… With other people asking me to live up to my potential, I already feel as if I’m growing.

And yes, I have to wake up early to get to work on time, but it’s rather lovely being up in the cool quiet stillness of the morning. Packing a lunch isn’t so much fun, it’s true, but I just need to learn to be more adventurous with my lunch ideas. And – the biggest surprise of all – I actually kind of like working with other people! Who’da’thunk? Perhaps I am less of an anti-social troll than I anticipated.

(PS: One of the main reasons I’m enjoying it so much is that it actually IS 9 to 5 – well, 8.30 to 5. So I’m home by 5.30pm and have 5 whole hours of real life before the day ends. Lovely!)

* I realize this is only because I’m working in Social Media and Online, so it’s pretty much my job to be cutting edge. Brilliant!

Photo by EverJean

WAIT! I thought of another two (apart from The Paycheck, which is so obvious I don’t think I need to mention it).

* Coming home is such a pleasure now. It’s like retreating to my nest, my own sacred space. Whereas before, because I was home all day, I didn’t have that sense of, “Ahhh…. it’s so lovely to be back.”

* I have to be more inventive with my clothing. This is a biggie for me – left to myself, I’ll wear the same, boring, comfortable clothes day in and day out. But I actually really enjoy putting together outfits! And now I have a good reason to.

Okay, that’s all for now. Got to go to work!

My man just spent a week in Joburg and I found myself in the entirely unfamiliar place of having an abundance of time to myself. It took me a day or two to get used to it – I haven’t had an entirely alone day since before we went on our trip – but I quickly remembered why I love being alone. I read a lot, listened to really inspiring audio CDs, coloured in my colouring book (my new favourite pastime!) and didn’t have to explain what I was doing and why to anyone. It’s funny, it’s not like anyone ever really asks me to explain myself, but I seem to find myself doing it anyway.

I worked too, of course. I had a whole heap of freelance work to do, so most of my days were spent working (with a scheduled lunch date every day to ward off loneliness, which never seemed to arrive). But then, on Saturday, I had no plans – none at all. It was the strangest thing. I woke up on Saturday morning and there was nothing I had to do. No work on the weekend, no social engagements, no nothing on the horizon. It was exhilarating! I stayed in my pyjamas till noon, dyed my hair, ate chocolate heart-shaped cookies with tea, watched TV in the middle of the afternoon (Six Feet Under – sooo good – and it was raining), sewed, read a lot, listened to more inspiring audio, took a long walk around the reservoir and generally let my mood guide me. It was simply wonderful.

And it made me realise how rare a whole day to do whatever we want is. Isn’t that silly? Now that I know how delicious they are, I’m going to schedule them in once a month. I went to sleep on Saturday night feeling refreshed, refuelled and revitalised… All filled up. Try it – and let me know how you feel.

Photo: Jelene