Tag: Weekend

What happened this weekend, bliss and three very irritating things

First of all, the last few weeks have been so wrong in terms of eating. I can’t stop. It just seems like I have flipped this mental switch, and now I need to turn it back. Immediately. I ate slightly better on the weekend than I did during the rest of last week, but I still desperately need to stop eating. In a bid to save myself, I have packed tons of (healthy) food.

We are hosting a Halloween party! Guess who my character will be?

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Friday night we had pizza with my sister and her husband. It was very delicious. I read for most of the night, finishing Mushy Peas on Toast by Laurian Clemence. I loved the book for so many reasons – it is really, really funny, it is a proudly Johannesburg story, and the writing style is very easy to read, and well written.

I also started Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is the second time around that I am reading it, but I really am enjoying it so much more now. The book is wonderfully written, full of little facts and theories and ideas. Per se, I do not enjoy self-help books or autobiographies, but this book is a prime example of how something can work if you do it right.

Saturday I went to a friend’s birthday braai, and it was very nice. Saturday I encountered the three very irritating things. I have been slightly annoyed with this pompous idiot for a bit now, but I always choose to remain silent – he is dating a friend, and I really don’t want to offend my friend.

Three very irritating things:

Saying: “I don’t swear”

Well, fucking congratulations for mentioning it to me. I am so thankful for this piece of insight into your self-important mind.  No, really.

Who mentions stuff like this?

Someone who wants to be patted on the back and told they are such exemplary beings.

Me, being a bit childish at times, promptly starts to swear more than my usual quota.

Prick.

Saying: “I don’t drink”

Once again, congratulations. We are not the type of friends that rag on you when you don’t consume alcohol. We couldn’t care less. Then why bring it up? Because you want to be told you are such a wonderful person.

Saying: “We don’t celebrate Halloween”

Yes, we were all planning to sacrifice a chicken that night. Now you stopped us. No one CELEBRATES it; we have fun by dressing up as funny characters and then having a good time – just another reason to have fun.

These three things were done by the same person in one evening. And after several months of dating, he still holds her hand every damn second of the damn day. I am NAUSEATED. If my future boyfriend ever attempts to follow me into the kitchen where the other girls are baking a cake, I will promptly kick his ass.

Okay, I have mostly vented my frustration.

Sunday we went to the Kliprivier’s Nature Reserve. It is so beautiful and calm. It is an oasis in Johannesburg. I am so thankful that they are putting so much effort into keeping a part of the land as it is supposed to be. I felt so content. I read my Eat Pray Love book under the shade, and felt like Elizabeth Gilbert would approve. Bliss.

My plans for the week includes Studying, eating much less, exercising, and ignoring frustrating people. Yours?

 

 

 

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What happened this weekend, feeling sorry for myself and such matters

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Image source

Truly, nothing much happened this weekend. I devoted my entire Sunday to reading. More on that to follow.

Saturday I saw my one uncle. My extended family aren’t close, and I really don’t care much for it, but I arrived to say hi on my grandmother’s request. Which she turned around so it seemed I was dying to see him. Queue extreme irritation.  It was nice to see him, but also very obvious why my mother isn’t interested in staying connected with them. I am content with the family I have, as cold as it sounds. I don’t need people who only deign to show their faces every seven years.

Afterwards, I went to the shops, spent money I shouldn’t have, and got a new book. My little sister found a DVD she has been searching for ages for – Letters to Juliet. We also got Breaking Dawn Part one. That night we watched both. I will be posting reviews sometime during the next couple of weeks.

Books read

Last week I read about four books, and turned towards madness when I read Nora Robert’s the Witness the entire day yesterday, and finished it. 488 pages.

I think I will be giving reading a break, even if it is only for a few days.

PS: it was an amazing read

Feeling sorry for myself

My newly married sister and her husband are returning from Mauritius from their honeymoon, and it means I am back at home. I love home, but it is very crowded at the moment. I will miss my freedom and quiet so much. It is true motivation to get in a place where I can live in my own place.

Diet, exercise and studying

The three things I really need to get done. Like right now.

Starting with exams the first of November, and it is extremely close.

Chemistry, here I come.

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The very extended weekend

I’m back! It has been a really long time since I have been at work. It feels very strange, I have to say.

The weekend was largely dedicated to my sister’s wedding. I was on leave from Wednesday, and I went and brought their wedding present. I got a DVD player – they didn’t have one until now, and I thought it would be something they can really use. Thurday we did our nails – it took AGES. We were four people who went at once, so it wasn’t unexpected.

Friday was such a crazed day. My sister, the bride, woke up with the terrible stomach bug that had been terrorising the entire Johannesburg last week. We rushed her to the doctor, and he gave her an injection. We tucked her into bed immediately and hoped for the best. Then I, my family and our soon to be extended family went and set up the reception hall. That evening, my best friend in the entire world arrived in Joburg. I am so touched that they made such effort to be here. Truly, their week had been terrible, and they still came – that is true friendship. Thanks, Zoë.

Wedding day

We started wedding day with getting our hair done. At that point, hair was the only stress factor I still had. During the week my sister went and checked that we were booked, and our names wasn’t even in the diary! Even after that was fixed, I was still worried. Luckily (and really luckily, as I would have blasted them on every single social platform I had access to if something had gone wrong) our hair was done as quick as possible. I won’t mention the salon’s name, as I wasn’t impressed with their attitudes at all, and at the end of the day, I could have easily done my hair like that myself. I can however say that I won’t be returning to them anytime soon.

Afterwards we went to the Lido hotel in the South of Joburg to get ready. In the last few years they made a lot of effort to fix and upgrade the hotel to a modern environment. It looked really great there!

Our wedding car driver (a dear friend) forgot the flowers at the church and raced to and from in ten minutes (quite a feat, I can assure you), and then we drove to the church. I was so stressed out by the busy road that I was five minutes from church when I realised that my sister was actually getting married. I arrived at church completely stressed out.

It was the most beautiful ceremony. I was close to tears a number of times, as you are supposed to be at weddings. Everything was so beautiful and happy and sweet. It was so right.

On Monday we waved off the newlyweds to Mauritius. Enjoy, Mr. and Mrs. Van Vuren!

I was on leave on Monday (to recover from an insane week) and slept so nice. It was wonderful. I am taking care of my sisters apartment when she is away, and I can guarantee that I will be sad when I have to move back home. I certainly see the advantages of getting my own place.

Tuesday, the 24th of September, was Heritage day in South-Africa. We are an incredibly culture rich society – we have eleven official languages. On Heritage Day we celebrate our diversity as people and our unity as a nation. It is also Braai Day now – where South-Africans do what they do best – braai. Going to a braai is the equivalent of going to a barbeque. Just don’t call it a barbeque. Foreigner.

My book challenge had a revival this weekend. Despite having a million things to do, I read five books this past week and a half. Four of them were easy – it is the Bridal Quartet books written by Nora Roberts. Appropriate. I am now busy with the Three Sisters Trilogy, by the same author. I have always loved both series. I am now at 52 books. It will be a miracle if I manage to read another 48 books by February (that is when I started my book challenge). I need to get through my two exams with Unisa before I can fully relax and just read. I wish I had known my year would be so insane, and then I would have made my challenge 52 books in a year. LOL.

That is what I have for you on this Thursday, which feels like a Monday.

PS: This post was for yesterday, but my internet chose to not work on the day I returned. Nice, I know.

 

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Weekend and the final countdown

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

To what, you may ask?

My sister’s wedding!

Next week this time she is Mrs. Van Vuren, and happily on her way to honeymoon.

And I will have my life back 😉

Okay, I’m joking

Mostly.

This weekend my granny and uncle arrived from Mosselbay (East Coast, South-Africa). It is so wonderful to have them here. Our family, for various reasons, aren’t very close, and they will basically be representing our blood relations at the wedding. For that I am so grateful. I rarely feel bereft of family, because I have such good relationships with my sisters and parents, and I feel I don’t need much else. I also have so many good friends – they are true family. If I have to be honest, it is a bit strange having them in the house. By nature, I am not a talkative person – I will babble your head off if I know you, but other I am very shy.

I can also with certainty say I am not a case of being switched as a baby in a hospital – the resemblance between my gran and me is staggering – I am grateful, because I won’t grow into an old hag (I was hugely popular when I told my gran I now know I will age gracefully).

Saturday we practiced walking down the aisle. I still maintain I will strut down like a supermodel, but no one believes me. Hah. (I love my life, so I probably will gracefully glide down). Respect for my little sister – she was so sick and she still refused to stay at home and not practice. Well done little one!

Sunday night I received an email from someone I have truly forgotten about. It is one of those friendships that just died after school, and I am not sure it deserves a resurrection. Still, I will feel petty, childish and rude if I don’t reply, but as this friendship was fraught with drama, I can’t see how we can restart it. I wish someone could just tell me what to do, honestly. It is so difficult.

For such a busy weekend, I actually managed to an impressive amount of material. I finished Watermelon by Marian Keyes. I have been wondering about the missing link in the Welsh family series for ages, but never knew there was a book about the eldest sister, Clare. (I can hear you thinking that I should just have used Google). I enjoyed the book, but my favorite Welsh character remains Rachel from Rachel’s holiday. This book falls somewhere between my second and third favourite of the series. I am now really close to have read all Marian Keyes’ books. I think there is two left – I will see and read them. I really like her writing style.

I started on another Nora Roberts book – I know. It is one I read last year quite a bit. It is the first book in her Bridal Quartet series – the Vision in White. I love the entire series, and am now reading it through. It is fun and easy to read, which is just what I need right now.

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I have taken a hiatus on Wuthering Heights for a few days. I am nearly done with it, but I am struggling. It is heart wrenchingly sad and depressing. I like love stories with happy endings, dammit.

Fitness and weight loss update: Just GUESS who lost 2kg’s last week?! ME! It is just amazing what happens if you don’t eat chocolate all the time and exercise properly. I am working really hard right now to maintain that loss, and even lose some more. I am now in a wonderful gymming phase – I am enjoying it. I think it is the warmer weather. Everyone seems to be in the mood for running if you take a look at the queue by the treadmills.

Unisa: I submitted my last two assignments this morning. The one is chemistry, so I really hope that the questions I think I did right, I did right. it is statistics all over again – I just want to pass. I can literally kick myself for not taking science as a subject in school. I can sense I will love it if it can just stop being so foreign and new – and it is my own damn fault. I have to seriously sit down and focus if I want to attempt passing in November. It is essential to pass, since most of my other subjects require me to do this properly. SIGH.

What did you do this weekend? I hope it was great!

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Life lately

Happy Spring! I am so excited it is becoming warmer. I usually love winter, but my tolerance is at a low with the unexpected last cold front we had.

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The weekend was amazing. As I said, my sister and I took off Friday to get some things done. We started with breakfast at Spur, and then afterwards she went and did her nails. We also went to a China mall in Joburg – it is a place where there are a lot of Chinese products (at really cheap prices) – and we went there and got some party favors for her Bachelorette party.

Saturday we had my sister’s bachelorette party. I had NO idea that it would be this successful. It was honestly one of the best nights of my life. We started with a lingerie shower at another friend’s house, and then drove through to one of our friends that offered to transport us for the night – how awesome is he, right? We then went to Tiger Tiger in Fourways. I booked the club on a few recommendations, and I was so afraid that it would be a bad decision. It really wasn’t – it was fantastic and so much fun. The vibe was incredible. Thanks Tiger!

I spent Sunday recovering – nuff said

Books finished: I finished Lucy Sullivan is getting married by Marian Keyes. I read the book halfway, and then stopped (about a month ago). I picked it up Thursday, restarted, and suddenly I was so hooked I finished it in two days. It ended really nice – it eventually had such a happy feel to it.

For the first time this weekend I watched no movies or series – there simply wasn’t the time. Honestly, I am more into reading now in any case. I really need to read more if I want an actual stab at finishing my challenge.

The diet really didn’t go too well this weekend. I need to diet hard this week – the wedding is in 19 days!

That said, this week I am focusing on my studies. I have been procrastinating on my assignments, and if I don’t seriously commit, I won’t stand a chance in passing.

What did you do this weekend?

PS: I saw Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” music video – Miley isn’t the only one in that VMA collaboration who acted shady this year. I love the song, but that video was just a bit much, right?

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Weekend and Stuff (and things that annoys me right now)

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Hello

This weekend was nice. How was yours?

I am not feeling capable of being positive today, or even writing.

Friday we went to Mugg and Bean to catch up with an old friend. It was really lovely, and the food was divine (Chilli Chicken Cheese Burger – yum)

On Saturday it was my little sister’s birthday braai – I felt a hundred years old compared to the 16/17 year olds that infested our home.

Diet

It was horrible. I ate, and ate, and ate. I couldn’t stop. And I couldn’t even eat healthy. Nope. Cake and sweets and carbs and everything. I am sick of food right now. Not eating much today. The exercise went well. I did bike on Friday and Sunday, but as they say, you can’t outrun a bad diet.

You can't out-exercise a bad diet

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Book Challenge

Is going well, but went AWOL with the power cuts last week. I managed to finish a book and start on a new one, but everything just went slower. I am contemplating reading the Divergent series, just to see what it is about. Any comments?

Things that annoy me right now:

The Universe

If there is a slightest possibility of a meteor shower, I swear it would head straight to me. Everything is out to injure or annoy me. Stubbed toes, traffic, electricity, food, and more specifically, water bottles making my entire gym bag, and the clothes in it, wet. What did I do to deserve this? No idea.

The CRAPBERRY

I hate this phone. So much. it is going dead every five minutes since Friday. HATE HATE HATE. I can’t wait for a new phone. I will reverse over it, just to make sure it knows how I feel. I might even take a video.

Girls, and the attention they give to men.

I, like many straight females, enjoy a good flirt with an attractive man. HOWEVER, it isn’t justifiable to flirt with a man with a GIGANTIC ego, increase his ego, dumb yourself down, and then pretend you are a self-respecting female. Also – this social network love-struck people – grow up. No one wants to see on BBM/Twitter/Facebook how much you love your boyfriend. Call him, tell him. Easy as that – and then you might still have friends on all the sites you so religiously plague.

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Weekend and stuff

Morning

This weekend felt like no weekend at all. This morning when my alarm clock woke me up, my first thought was: “Why is my alarm clock going off at five on a Saturday morning?” I know. Sad.

On Friday night we went and watched The Big Wedding. What a great movie! I was so impressed with the fine balance between comedy and drama. Superbly done. And Robert deNiro acted in it, which of course is 90% the reason it turned out great.

Saturday we shopped, and I finally got in the weekend nap I had been pining for the past few weekends. It was awesome. I then proceeded to loaf the entire day, but got in an hour on the stationery bike.

Sunday I finally managed to get my butt into church. It has been a while, especially since the morning services starts SUPER EARLY. I really enjoyed going though. Afterwards, I went into work, where I seem to be spending an insane amount of time at the moment. And after that, I went to a small meeting for the wedding. I am nearly done with the bachelorettes invites (FINALLY) and will be sending them out this week. Whoop!

My little sister, Melissa, is having her birthday this Thursday (the 18th).It also is our retired, world iconic president Mandela’s birthday as well. It has become a habit for South-Africans to give 67minutes of their time to charity to honor the 67 years he spent in prison for our freedom. This year, here at work, we will be painting a hospice as our tribute to him.

On Sunday I read about the death of Cory Monteith. I felt so sad. He was such a talented guy, and by all accounts a very decent one. Whether you liked Glee or not, you have to respect that he took part in a show which told kids that it was okay to be different. You will be sorely missed.

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On the book challenge, I started reading a Cathy Kelly book. Its progress was somewhat interrupted by the fact that I am re-reading Bloodlines (by Richelle Mead) again. Also, I found out that JK Rowling had been sneaky and had produced a crime novel under a pseudonym. It is called The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Gailbraith, and I am ON IT.

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Last week I managed to exercise four times. Exercising at the moment means that I am doing an hour each day on my bike. Which is good, but I am craving more intensity. I am re-joining the gym today, but I really need to get there from now on. The last time I left because I was just wasting my money.

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Technology is still pursuing its hateful revenge stint against me. My BlackBerry is now officially closer to being thrown against a wall. It just dies all the time. My Alcatel T10 tablet needs to be lauded as the toughest creation of our age. It survived its second crash to earth this weekend. I am most impressed.

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*The Alcatel OneTouch Tablet #amazeballs

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What did you do this weekend?

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Weekend and Stuff

Hello! I hope you had a perfectly nice weekend. Here in South-Africa, we got graced with the presence of President Barack Obama, and everyone seemed very excited. Furthermore, we kept praying for our National hero and first democratic president, President Nelson Mandela, who is currently still in hospital for a recurring lung infection. He is so loved and revered across the world, and yet it seems that they only understand a little bit of the love we as South-Africans feel for him. I hope you are in no pain at all, Madiba, and that you can go on if you must. You deserve peace after all this time.

Friday, as mentioned in my previous post, was dedicated to the Body Worlds Exhibition in Johannesburg. It was amazing and educating. The exhibition highlighted to me the power of our Heavenly Father, and the amazing work He did in creating us. It motivated me to continue my healthy lifestyle – seeing how obese people’s organs look is a sure way to inspire motivation.

My tablet miraculously survived its crash to earth. The screen is a bit chipped, and the buttons had to be replaced, but it is working, and for that I am endlessly thankful. I am now overly cautious about where I put my baby, so that it survives.

On Saturday we drove all the way to Greenstone shopping mall to go and watch Man of Steel, the new instalment in the Superman franchise. I will hopefully manage to get a review on later this week, but I can honestly vote that it has been the best film of 2013. It was amazing and epic and everything. Henry Cavill is Superman. He perfectly portrayed the sad hero that was called for. I would have been unimpressed with a happy, perky performance – Kal-El is after all the last of his race. If you haven’t seen this film, make the time now. It is worth the expense!

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On the book challenge front, I finished one book and started another. Both are part of a Nora Roberts trilogy, and I am really enjoying the frothy romance.

Most of my Unisa results came through, but I am still waiting for one examination result. I will share everything when I know for sure. But I can mention that I am happy so far J

I kept on exercising through the weekend, and will continue today. I am really excited with my progress. I want to start looking into doing a 5km walk around Johannesburg – any ideas?

Enjoy your day!

Some quotes for the inspiration needed on a Monday 🙂

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Monday, er Tuesday

coffeeperson

Good morning

I am so confused. We had a public holiday yesterday and now I am struggling to remember it is Tuesday. How confusing.

This weekend was awesome. I love long weekends. I read, I slept, I watched movies and series. I didn’t want to come back. But I am here today, because I need a salary. And I like my job.

But I am living on coffee right now, as I overslept and am so foggy right now. Love coffee.

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