Back to Normal & Bye Bye Aunty Laura

Whatever the heck normal is, I think I may have forgotten.

Just after my sisters visit, like literally the morning after she departed, I was struck down with a very nasty Stomach Flu.

I ached from head to toe, my sinuses blocked so severly my head pounded all day and all night and for six or seven days I couldn't eat, move without hurting or do much of anything at all really.

I am better. Far from recovered as yet, but better.

I'm left with a nasty cough, very tense and sore stomach muscles (all that coughing) and I haven't got my appetite back yet. Which, for anyone who knows me and my love of food, is totally out of character. I'm having to tell myself every day to eat.

Oh, and the strong sinus meds I'm taking kind of ... well, trip me out!

It could be fun, Hubby says I should enjoy the trips, and they are kind of fun. I feel spaced out and a little fuzzy, prone to giggles and unnecessary grinning.

Hard to work though, I'm a bit worried I may do something silly in my 'airy fairy' head.

I decided to post instead, a wacky little post I can look back on later and laugh at! Good idea? Maybe not, but here goes anyway ....

Reading, Writing and Visitors from Overseas

Gee whiz it's been busy in our lives of late. And that busy-ness (not business) combined with my usual limited internet issues leaves not much space for blogworld. And I love Blogworld!

I know, it's not really a 'world' as such, just not sure how else to explain it. I love blogging, I love the blogs I read and the folks that write them. What would you call it? Blogworld ...?

socialmediamagic.com

I have SO much reading to do. And it's not like when you were at school, with a pile of reading to do that you're not that interested in. I have SO much reading to do written by people who's writing I love man. So it's more like that feeling you get when you're into a good book, and can't find the time to sit down with it.

I need to buy myself some serious MB's, make myself a big mug of tea and find the time to sit down and read, read, read. I can't wait!

It will have to wait for now though ...

Real Love, not Perfect Love

I don't know about 'most folk' (whoever the heck they are ...) but my life's experiences of love and relationships, thus far, hasn't exactly been text book.

But then, there isn't a text book hey? I guess that's the point. But like a lot of young teenage girls all I knew about love at a young age was romantic fairy tales and rescued princesses. Real life can hit a bit hard after that.

If I ever have a daughter I will try and teach her to be strong, independent and in control of her life and body. I'll also tell her to expect to kiss a lot of frogs, maybe even marry one or two, before she finds her Prince. Nay, King. And when she finds him, don't expect a Perfect Love. Instead, look for a real love. Keeping it REAL people.

I remember my first experiences from the age of about 12 or 13, lots of snogging competitions (who can go on the longest without coming up for air) and all the usual teen exploratory stuff but I didn't even consider a relationship or anything like one until I was well into my thirties. I held on to my virginity until I was 18 and my solemn belief in 'true love' gave me an inner strength to hang on in there for the real thing.

And hang on I did.

Apologies for My Sporadic Blogging

As a Brit, I discovered the internet in the UK as it became popular in business in the 80’s. Pretty soon it was as widespread as we know and love it today, and I was quite happily online at home also. Using British Telecoms affordable Broadband options, it was never an issue to get online. In fact, when at home my PC was always online.

Here in SA they handle the internet a little differently. I have my suspicions that the Government are just trying to ensure that the masses don’t have free access to information. So good are the ANC Government here at confusing, befuddling and conning the people to keep themselves in power, despite how badly they run things. I think they worry that the internet may give all their voters the opportunity to see how it really is. And they don’t want that.

Internet is still something that’s controlled, limited and fairly expensive. Something easily accessible to the rich, but not for the everyday man.

Okay But Seriously, What if There WAS a Zombie Apocalypse?

Hubby and I love a good horror movie. Heck, we love a good movie full stop but I think a good horror tops our list.

Couple that with my love of Heat magazine, who ran an article in SA’s June edition entitled “A Daughters Despair: I Now Know Who my Father is Because His Face Was Eaten Off” possibly led us to have, one night last week, the ‘Zombie Apocalypse conversation’.

And if you’re frowning right now, wondering to what I refer, then you obviously haven’t read or seen the harrowing news stories about Ronald Poppo. Or Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie. Or Jun Lin. And don’t follow those links if you are at all squeamish or easily shocked. No really, please don’t. And don’t say I didn’t warn you if you do.

Rather check out the awesome Katoninetales, written by the lovely and talented Kat who has a bit of a Zombie ‘thing’. Sure she’ll have a category on her blog that covers all you need to know As does the equally lovely and talented Nicki on her blog TheLoadedHandbag. See? Not just me ...

For those that don’t need that much gory detail, the idea of the Zombie Apocalypse is basically this; your government are testing mind altering drugs in a secret location near you. And this is happening right now! Drugs that turn normal people into people eating zombies. And some of them are escaping on to the streets … and it’s contagious, soon they’ll be Zombies everywhere. AAAHHHHHH!!! The Zombie Apocalypse is coming!!!!!!

Back To School and BACK UP BACK UP!!!!

This isn't one of my Memories of posts, rather a recollection of a couple of days I spent in April helping Hubby with one of our companys playground projects.

Spend two days hanging out in a school playground? Twist my immature child-at-heart arm why don't you.

You can check the project we were working on here and here on the company blog (get me, the 'company blog'. Snort) but we installed several playground pieces in December and April and I went along to photograph the finished project and ... oh yeah, there was some sewing required to a large stretch tent we installed over the sandpit. 

ADD/ADHD and Ritalin: Time to Admit Mistakes

This is a serious post, about a serious issue. It’s a big one too, I didn’t want to leave anything out. Sorry if you came to me for short and snappy humour today, try this older post of mine on a remotely similar subject instead!

But seriously ...

I read a very good article in ChildMag last month entitled 'Rethinking Ritalin'. I rate the quality of any piece of writing largely on the way it makes me feel and this article made me feel like writing this post, so it must have been good. You can read the whole piece here, and I recommend it, especially to parents but it opens;

A mother describes what is becoming an increasingly common scenario in homes across South Africa and the western world. "My son was in Grade 1 when the teacher called me in." Says Lynne, a Mum from Johannesburg (could be me, could be me ...). "She said he had concentration issues and couldn't focus to finish work, he was getting bored and walked about disrupting class." Lynne immediately braced herself for the three letter diagnosis currently handed down to an estimated one in ten children: ADD, or attention deficit disorder. Then when an Educational Psychologist confirmed it, she braced herself again for the most commonly prescribed solution: Ritalin. "Today every other child seems to be on it" Lynne sighs. "But everything I'd heard made me totally against it. I was afraid and confused."

PC Nicked? Perfect Time for a Guest Post!

I should have known.  There's an old saying about bad things happening in threes so when, after over four years of living crime free in South Africa, we were hit twice recently - I should have known a third hit was on the way hey?

Last Friday night, our home and office were robbed whilst we were out.

Those mofos took everything, every scrap of clothing including the dirty laundry!!

We are currently PC-less.  Not ideal for business OR Weezafish - I can read posts and comments with my phone, but that's about it.  But never fear!
Normal service will be resumed very soon, there's no way this family will ever let the bar stewards get us down.

And in the meantime, you lucky, lucky peeps, my truly wonderful bessie mate, the lovely Kate from over at http://donotbreakthedog.blogspot.co.uk/ has graciously agreed to post this for me AND add a Guest Post of her own.

You know those friends you feel lucky to have met?  That's Kate.  Her writing, whether just an email to me, or one of her blog posts or kids' stories, her writing inspires me to write better.

So I'll shut up now and let the woman speak . . .

I've Been Elsewhere

Doing another post for The Indie Chicks, yay! Go see, go see (please). It's a post about being charming, what could be nicer than that? Ahem ..

Blatantly pleading for comments? Why, yes ... I do believe I am.

I have another WeezaFish post on it's way later also, just so I don't feel like I've been cheating.

In blogging terms of course.

Hooray for the New South Africa!

Political? Me? Not normally on my blog. Should I comment? I'm a Brit living in South Africa, and I have lived here for over four years with my Joburger Hubby who has lived through and therefore understands his country and it's people far better than I ever could.

But Hubby doesn't blog, so it's my half arsed opinion you're reading ha!

Two things happened recently, both first time occurences for Hubby and I since we've been together and living here, but by no means (far from it) unusual situations for an average South African to find themselves in.

Firstly, we got pulled over in our vehicle by the police last week. Let us just say, to protect the innocent and yet make clear the story, that we had just called on an 'aquaintance' of ours to make a ... 'purchase'. The police vehicle followed us as we left, and pulled us over less than five minutes down the road.

These cops were on a mission, and they were following a set routine.

First, they ask Hubby to step out and they search him. Then they ask me to step out, there's three male officers all now out of their vehicle, one of them talking to Hubby, one of them searching the car and the other now telling me to "search myself" as he's not allowed by law to search a female.