Grandpa

(My grandpa and I in 2009 – we both dread getting our pictures taken so love that I share one of his traits)

My grandpa has been diagnosed with Cancer on the 24 November 2011.

This has been a really bitter pill to swallow - As we lost my Granny 16 years ago to CANCER and know that this is not going to be easy as he is much older and weaker than my Gran was when she was initially diagnosed.  So I thought as I was drying my tears of all the things I am truly grateful that relate back to my Grandpa;

·         My dad would not have been here if my Gran and Grandpa only wanted to have one son.

·         I would not have had the loving Godparents, parents, cousins and sister if my Grandfather didn’t have children.

·         I would not have had those wonderful memories of December holidays in Bloemfontein, these holidays where filled with sunshine, swimming, swinging (my grandpa made each grandchild their own swing), slip-and-slides, days out at the zoo, driving in his car, videos, hanging from the washing line and spinning around and most of all the great big hugs.

·         My Grandpa is a GENTLE SILENT GIANT – Gentle as a lamb, with great big arms that could crush you but never did.  He is silent and always listens, he is not the life of the party, but the one that always you could sit and talk to for hours.  He always gave the best advice and would give you his last pennies if he knew it would help you. He is someone I have literally looked up to my whole life.  Tall enough to have to bend when he walked into the caravan, doors and tents on trips. 

·         Grandpa is the one that would always have a hanky for your scrapes or tears.

·         Grandpa always wear those awesome shirts, he has had them for ages and they are so soft from all the washing.

·         Those tall beer glasses and always cold beer, famous in my Grandpa’s house – you will never go thirsty.

·         Breakfast in bed – He makes a mean scramble eggs in the microwave.

·         Holding Hands, this was a thing that Grandpa would always do, if we were walking with him you would have to keep up (he walks fast) and always hold his hand.

 

I’m all teary eyed today, guess the fear, disbelief and hurt has set in.  I don’t want to loose this amazing person that has truly been so special to me.

Little Tips for Weight Loss 2

·         EXERCISE -  The hard truth is that no weight loss will be effective in staying off without some sort of exercise.  My advice is to do something you like and do it with MUSIC.  The right music will have you running faster, or breathing more deeply etc.  Never force yourself, but go ahead even if its just 15 minutes.  Take a walk in the park, dance to a song or two in the kitchen, do some home chores, walk the dog, run to the gate and back.  GET UP AND MOOOOOOOVE!  Funny thing is that you might get addicted to moving it!

 

·         PLAN PLAN PLAN -  Plan and pack lunches to ensure that you dong have the “HUNGER BRAIN” – a brain that is hungry will tend to go for bad foods, if you have the snacks packed you will be saving yourself from extra calories.

 

·         PRO & CONS – This is brilliant to see why your goal is important to you and what it would take to get there.  You might have “Ill be able to wear that Little Black Dress, Ill be able to run in the garden with the kids or something as simple as I will walk up the stairs without feeling out of breath.  YOU CAN DO IT!

 

·         DO NOT SHOP WHEN HUNGRY -  I have found that I will buy the wrong / bad foods and want to get out of the store ASAP.  Have a snack like apples handy to just get you by while shopping – DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!

 

·         CHART YOUR PROGRESS -  This can be on Excel or hand drawn – show yourself the chart to keep you motivated!  It shouldn’t look like a rollercoaster and more like a easy slope down a hill! *THINK SKIING LESSONS!

 

HOPE THESE TIPS CAN HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY TO A HEALTHIER & HAPPIER YOU!

TOP TIP

If you want to cheat on your diet do it before you exercise!

Trust me you will feel allot better on having that “piece-of-chocolate” after you have ran some of it off.  Now buy exercise I mean get up and raise that heart rate and break a sweat!

Little Tips for Weight Loss (Its worked for me)

·         NO CASH - No Cash in my wallet for me this has helped I am not tempted to order take-away or go to the tuck shop.

Also the tuck shop person should know not to let you buy on credit either!

 

·         FLAVOURS UP YOUR WATER - Cut up limes, lemons, berries or oranges and freeze them in ice-trays – this adds a nice flavour to your water when you pop it in.

 

·         FROZEN FRUIT DESSERT -  Frozen fruit can also  double up as dessert in summer on skewers or smooties.

 

·         FREEZE YOGURT - We all buy those 6 pack of mini-yogurts, I never seem to finish mine so I pop the ones close to expiry date in the freezer.  Its perfect if you are tempted for ice cream to have yogurt in the freezer as alternative.

 

·         START A CLUB - I started a salad and weigh in club at work.  Its fun and making salad in turns keep you motivated in a team.  Weigh in club is a little harder, we have a weigh in once a week, if you gain weight you pay a fine (agreed by team) and the winner (most loss) after set time will win all the money.

 

·         EMAIL - I like to email out tips, that I have read in magazines or online, to a few friends and we see how it works.

 

·         DON’T FOLLOW FAD-DIETS -They are not personalized at all an will only hurt you in the long run!

 

·         YOU DON’T HAVE TO BUY NEW EQUIPMENT – I think allot people want to spend money on buying a excersice ball, weights, clothes etc.  You can use things around the house to save money and recycle.  (2l Milk Bottles can have water or sand added in to make weights – choose the ones with the handles for easy lifting.  Tins of food can be used as barbells. Skipping rope can be made with some ski or towing rope. Stairs / Chairs can be used for leg and arm exercises.  4 Towels placed on each other can replace buying a exercise mat.)

 

HOPE THESE TIPS CAN HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY TO A HEALTHIER & HAPPIER YOU!

MOVIE REVIEW (11 October)

HAVING A SMACK DOWN OF A DAY!

WARRIOR

Haunted by a tragic past, ex-Marine Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for SPARTA the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history. A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. But when Brendan's unlikely, underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart. - Lionsgate

PG-13, 2 hr. 19 min. – Drama Action

 

There have been allot of movies about fighting, but this movie is a mix of Rocky, The Wrestler and the Fighter all round house kicked into one movie

This movie is honest, personal, very real, dealing with desertion, alcoholism, regret and death. 

It is a movie that is gripping, skillfully made, sensationally packed with action with a winning finish. 

It is easily one of the best sports dramas seen in recent years.

 

The actors gave a knock out performance and even had me all teary eyed!

 

This movie is not just for the manly men that love the skop-skit- en slaan, but for those who love movies about underdogs or that wont mind a little bit of blood and body beat-downs.

 

I really am scared to rate it – as I want to do a second round and watch this movie again – ITS THAT GOOD!

 

WHY I LOVE SA

- On the N1 between Rivonia and Beyers Naude the cops trap every week and weekend. Seems like someone had the bright idea to mark where they sit – hahaha brilliant! Another reason why I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA

 

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY GOOGLE

 

282 WHITE CROSSES

282 White crosses are displayed along the Sea Point promenade in Cape Town to coincide with International Rhino Day. (Green Renaissance)

 

FACT

 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

 

Makes you think

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village.
A tourist complimented the local fishermen
on the quality of their fish and asked
how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long." they answered in unison.
"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"
The fishermen explained that their small catches were
sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.
"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children,
and take siestas with our wives.
In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.
We have a full life."
The tourist interrupted,
"I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!
You should start by fishing longer every day.
You can then sell the extra fish you catch.
With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?"
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring,
you can buy a second one and a third one
and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man,
you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants
and maybe even open your own plant.
You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City !!!
From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?"
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting, "answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.
"After that you'll be able to retire,
live in a tiny village near the coast,
sleep late, play with your children,
catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife
and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."
"With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Mexicans.
And the moral of this story is:

Know where you want to go in life .... you may already be there!!

MIXFM - The Best

Love this radio station – also do my movie reviews with them on Tuesday J

TUNE IN 93.8FM (Johannesburg or Pretoria SA) or www.mixfm.co.za for Live Streaming!

SPRING IS HERE

Super excited for SPRING!  Had my first swim and ice cream to celebrate the warmer days that are here again!  Soooooooooo happy!

RUN!!!!!!!!!

Today I entered my first ever running competition!

Now I have not even been training for road running, but its about time I actually do something where I can be times, checked and have to compete.  I entered and paid for the race today – Actually nervous, excited, scared and thrilled that I am taking on a challenge!  No use in training everyday if I don’t have a medal, shirt or some sort experience from it.  I think this could be allot of fun.  I will be doing it on my own, so my “inner voice” and I will have a good time together to get rid of all the bad thoughts.  Starting to train for road running on Tuesday – holding thumbs that I do it properly!

SPAR WOMEN’s 10 km (6.25 miles) CHALLENGE

09 OCTOBER 2011

Without God

Without God our week would be:

Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday & Shatterday. 

Remember 7 days WITHOUT GOD makes one WEAK!

 

 

Movie Review

Movie review that I did for MIX FM 93.8FM (South Africa) Streaming Audio www.mixfm.co.za

23 August 2011 @ 10h47

 

Cinema - COWBOYS AND ALIENS
 
A star studded cast that sets the movie in 1875 New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Daniel Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford).  It's a town that lives in fear! But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by flying object and aliens. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation.

As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force.
 
In my opinion, its a film that does entertain - by seeing a cowboy leap off a horse to jump on a spaceship, but it doesn’t live up to the full on madness potential the of the title. – I wondered why has there never been a film about cowboys beating up aliens? This movie will give you a pretty good idea!

Must admit that I am sure the boys and men will love the action that can only be in a cowboys vs aliens movie!
Its a simmering 5 outa 10 for me.
 
Age Restriction of 13 (Language and Violence)
Run Time: 117 minutes
Theme: SciFi, Western, Action, Triller
 
Cast: Daniel Craig (James Bond), Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones) , Olivia Wilde (TV Series House and Tron Movie), Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2), Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer
Director: Jon Favreau (Directed Iron Man 1 & 2, Very Bad Things, The Break-Up, Elf)

 

MOVIES TO LOOK OUT FOR AFTER SEEING THE TRAILERS!

Smurfs, Colombiana (Zoe Saldana *Avatar – is a gun wheeling killer taking revenge), Bad Teacher (Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz) and Conan (More guts and gore I have seen in a trailer in many a years!)

 

VISION BOARD 2011

1.       BECOME A PRESENTER / FEATURE ON A RADIO STATION

2.       FINISH DEGREE IN H.R. (Training and Education)

3.       GO SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS

4.       GET THAT PUNCH BUGGY (Fun Car)

5.       GET BIKINI BODY

6.       FIRE WALKING

7.       SCUBA DIVE

8.       START BUSINESS (Kids Clothing)

9.       BUY A HOUSE

10.   GET ENGAGED, MARRIED AND WEDDING

11.   HAVE A FAMILY

12.   HAVE ENOUGH MONEY THAT IT FEELS LIKE ITS GROWING ON TREES

13.   BUY THAT SLK I HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT FOR YEARS!

14.   THAILAND HOLIDAY (May 2012)

 

These are just some that I don’t mind sharing and putting it out to the universe that I am willing to DREAM, BELIEVE, DO TO BECOME what I want and desire!

 

FULLIFE SEMINAR

I attended the www.fullife-coach.co.za Mid Year Motivation Seminar on Saturday.

It was actually a pretty practical, fun and liberating experience to sit down for a whole day and reflect, plan and do to become a better YOU after all.

I also completed my vision board and sooooooooooo excited to reach for these dreams and goals that I have set out for myself.

HERE IS TO A NEW ME – A NEW LIFE – HAPPINESS AND BECOMING WHO I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE!

 

 

MOTTO

To be successful in life there is a formula:

DREAM + BELIEVE + DO = BECOME

 

THE SCRIPT

(Picture taken by THE SCRIPT of the biggest crowd they have ever played to - 24 June 2011 Jburg RSA)

The wintery night was freezing and I was hoping this show would be worth going out in the cold?
South African band THE ARROWS opened for the band playing a few of their song (No Robots) and a new single, they also had a drum-dance off :) these girls are rockers and silly at the same time. They ever did a little Irish dance with Irish folk music to welcome The Script on stage.

We were ready!!

Green lights cascaded on the ceiling and Irish charm filled Coca Cola dome with The Script performing to their biggest audience ever!!! I was apart of that crowd of 18500 SOLD OUT SHOW - 24 June 2011 - Here is my account of what happened :)

Their sounds is perfect and feels like u have it tuned up load in your car!!!

Opening with 1. THIS I PROMISE YOU
Crowd clapping hands and ready - screams filled air
2. TALK YOU DOWN
3. WE CRY
Danny going off the stage to the front row of screaming fans. He asked them to sing along instead all you saw on the screen was grabbing hearing screams and "I LOVE YOU" guess they forgot the words getting so close to Danny

As he got back on stage he was honest and said "She tried to rip my fucken trousers off" - even asked if we mind being called Joburg - they feel like they fooken knw us already" :)
4. IF YOU EVER COME BACK
5. BEFORE THE WORST
6. IF YOU SEE KAY
He actually recorded himself on ppls fones!!! How awesome must that be to get home!!! And see him again on YOUR PHONE - Damm wish I was closer!

7. THE END WHERE I BEGIN
Drums beat though ur whole body to your boots and little toes :)
8. SCIENCE AND FAITH
Bra's on stage with numbers _ big bra "think u bragging"
They said its a HONOUR - "we feel like we are a fooken biggest band ever bcos of u"
9. MAN THAT CAN'T BE MOVED (This is one song that every person was singing at the top of their lungs - as I was singing my heart out with the biggest crowd they have ever performed to, my mind wondered abt how much that chemistry must have been to feel so much love and write a song... Its like the chemistry here at this show;

After the song the band took a moment - just stood their smiling and totally absorbed the moment!!! Loved their humble smiles and kept thinking how special this moment is.

Danny confessed that the next song was be one of their drunk - middle of the night - jamming song writing products ;)
As the dome darkened Danny and Glen (drummer) came on stage with guitars for an acoustic set of 10. I'M YOURS

By now the crowd was total putty in their hands - as Mark (guitarist) came on stage with beer is hand, the Irish man, being himself spoke to the crowd asking if u have a drink to cheers to ourselves :) He then checked if we understood him (crowd laughing)
Mark mentioned tht they partied jhb style - they had a hard time in the morning :)
They asked about Drunk Dailing - being one myself I knew the next song was a sing-along.
Mark spoke about how they try and Heal Danny's heart with a pint or too but he always becomes a "confident" drunk and always drunk dials :)
11. NOTHING (Crowd giving it their all singing along)
12. DEAD MAN WALKING
13. RUSTY HALO (This song raised the roof)14. FOR THE FIRST TIME (These times are hard sung repeatedly afterwards with the crows chanting)
15. THIS IS LOVE

They ended off with 16. BREAKEVEN and the crowds left satisfied that they saw The Script, that we were part of something truly special - The Script gave a sterling performance!
Made this frosty winter melt (Coming from a non-fan I have changed my mind about them) - they are not the usual sad love songs band, they are true artist. Humble real and going to go far if they stay grounded - WATCH THE SCRIPT in a few years time I think they will be bigger than ever, they are the future or Irish music and might one day be among the likes of U2 and Van Morrison that put Ireland on the map in the music industry!

Thank you The Script that made my weekend xoxo CC
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