After having Luka I managed to lose quite a bit of weight in a very short space of time, and then NOTHING...not a single gram and it sort of stayed there. So last weekend I decided to give my weight loss a jump start, I bought the USN 12 week challenge starter pack and on Monday the 19th of September 2011 Gerhard and I started.  Oh my goodness, it is only when you start with a very focused exercise plan do you realise how unfit and out of shape you are. On Tuesday I could not walk.  My legs hurt like hell.  You alternate core and abdominal exercises every day, so my tummy pretty much hurt the entire week.  You exercise 6 days a week, and we did!  I was super proud of us.  The food is more than enough, you must just plan in advance and shop as well.  The supplements give you loads of energy and you do not have any energy dips / blood sugar drops.  I am fully energised, I actually go to bed an entire 2 hours later than before, I feel great. ...

Goodness, this is happening way too soon for me!  Liam is turning into a real boy, every day, more and more... Last night, Gerhard taught Liam to write his name, and he is so chuffed.  It is not just a once-off occurrence though, he wrote his name again this morning, from memory.  On his black board.  Look, it is way out of proportion, the 'l' and 'i' are the same size, but hey, he is only three. "L" is a straight line, "i" is just like "L", but it has a dot on top, "a" is a bit like a ball and a stick.  "M" is two humps... I took a picture of him and his name last night, I was so proud of my big boy, but a tad sad too, please Liam, stay small and cute for mommy...please! I told Liam I would be putting a brick on his head to ensure that he stops growing soon, he burst out into tears telling me that I will hurt him. No now ABC can start in all earnest.  Today the ABC, tomorrow university.  Time really does pass i...

As I am driving to work today listening to the news, I suddenly get very sad and actually have a toad in my throat, not sure why it gets to me more today than before, but the ANC and the ANC Youth League seem to be turning on each other, great, more rivals, factions, anger, violence, protests, just what we need right now. I have this sudden urge to just pack up and leave, to leave now, this minute, before things in this beautiful country of ours get any worse, before my kids make any more friends, spend more time with granny's and grandpa's.  Before my kids acquire an appreciation for many fine things in South Africa, things like the music of Laurika Rauch, those soulful lyrics written by her husband Chris Torr.  Things like the witty writing of people like Koos Kombuis, in Afrikaans.  Fine wines, the Drakensberg, Cape Town in any of the four seasons.  Biltong, boerewors, bobotie, KWV Roodeberg.  Yes I know they are only small, but goodness, leaving would depr...

I have been on the Gautrain and it is truly world class.  Think Paris Metro, without all the wee, think London Underground, without the angry soccer fans and teenagers.  World class, runs like clockwork! We have something to be truly proud of, the first time I took the train was to our results presentation at the Radison Blu in Sandton, I was a bit hesitant, but then the I was hooked!  Last week I needed to be in Illovo for a course and yes, I took the train, amazing, I took a feeder bus, wow, there in 40 minutes, a mean feat in peak hour traffic.  I was a tad sad that Gautrain did not operate in my days in Johannesburg, but hey, it is here now! The same time, our friend Julius was making insane statements, again, Darren Scot was fired from Jacaranda for using the dreaded k word, fired from Supersport, the same time that Bees Roux (who beat a metro cop to death) was acquitted on murder charges and agreed to pay damages to the family in the amount of R750k. ...

We have had a couple of hard weeks this side, Luka keeps on getting sick despite the fact that she is a stay-at-home baby, work wise it was hectic, it is as if a million things were happening at the same time, take last week as an example.  I was in the office on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was spent in Illovo on course, Thursday and Friday was bliss, a client function at Sun City.  This also marked the first time Gerhard and I ever spent a night away from Liam, bear in mind that he is three years old.  Poor Luka, abandoned at five months...well, they did not even know that we were gone!  Luka had my sister Tanja, her husband Jaco and Sekai there, Liam got a special surprise, a remote control car.  So all in all everyone was happy. Best part, Gerhard and I realised that we should actually do this more often, it is a crying shame that it took us three long years to abandon Liam. The function was amazing, world class, sadly, Darren Scott would have been ...

I love Pink, not necessarily the colour, the singer.   She has spunk, she rocks and I think she is an icon for women. Well, she has one song that gets edited quite a bit for radio, the lyrics go something along the lines of ‘leave me the f.ck alone”.   I finally get it, now that I live in a household of four; actually six if you add Sekai and the cat...some days I really just want to scream and shout ‘leave me the f.ck alone’. Let me give an example.   Over weekends, we all want to chill, relax and just find a bit of peace after our mostly hectic work week.   So on Saturday morning I am trying my utmost to apply some rock star purple nail polish.   I am only 34 and I need to feel young again.   Sleep deprivation, work stress, I just need the purple nail polish.   As it is, I already only buy Rimmel quick dry, from wet to set in 60 seconds, gone in a flash right?   No, a lifetime for someone living in a household filled with little peop...

Well, once again I am left writing something that I would really rather not publish at this point, you see, we are still not telling people that we might be moving to Sydney Oz permanently in February 2012. Gerhard and I skipped date night last week and went on date afternoon yesterday, we went to see Prime Circle in the Menlyn Barnyard Theatre.   Once again I am dumbstruck by the bands we have in South Africa.   Proudly South African!   Man oh man, these guys really know how to rock, it was amazing.   Prime Circle must be one of the best rock bands out there. Why am I sad, well again, it is as if we are already saying our goodbyes, Prime Circle, Offbeat Broadway 4, Stuur Groete, the Parlotones, I am drenching in as much South African arts and entertainment as date nights will allow.   I am already contemplating Thursday’s date, we usually alternate between dinner out, movies and theatre and shows.   Well, I really only feel like the latter two at pr...

Jip, you guessed it, spring is finally here!  Yesterday marked the arrival of Spring and oh my, we are just having amazing weather right now, I am loving it. Liam went to school this morning carrying a large bunch of flowers, they will be handing these out at the offices and primary school in Midstream, and he is wearing his spring crown, very proud!  He is just such a cutie right now.  He if of course so proud of the crown, because we made it ourselves.  It is a tad on the pink and girly side, so we added some manly green caterpillars and some red lady (erhm) man bugs last night. Best news, Luka slept all through the night, two nights in a row, man, I feel like a new person, I actually have the energy to work today, although we will be having a spring day braai later on.  I am just in such a happy space that Julius and the ANC cannot get me under right now.  Loving life, loving my little family. On a foodie note, we are making our own take aways on...