*~*~*~*~Wish upon a star~*~*~*~*

So my recent interest has led me to discovering new, pretty and expensive things that I want want want!!!

Even though I have always known that you need money in order to get the things you want, reality has hit me that much harder lately since my Wish list has started growing to a scary level... Being a student is tough when you're not working. I have come to terms with the fact that I will have to earn a fortune one day in order to satisfy my shopping addiction and slowly but surely start crossing off the items on my Wish list :) Even though this may depress my slightly at this point in time, it just motivates me to work that much harder (at varsity now and in the workplace one day).

I have an addiction to shoes, specifically high heels, however, because I find myself being slightly on the tall side I struggle to wear heels, but LOVE them. I often buy them, but hardly wear them, however it adds glam to the closet so it's all worth it :) One pair that I am most probably going to spend the biggest part of my first paycheck on is the Christian Louboutin Daffodile Aurora Boreale 160mm heels. I am completely obsessed with them. They are extremely high, but gorgeous! :) Anyone interested in surprising me, I really won't mind! ;)

Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS!!!!

*~How hard is it to follow instructions?~*

This makes me think of a typical scenario in the everyday life of men... I would have to say that women tend to follow instructions much easier than men do (just because we have a proper brain ;)). Men have a certain ego and 'face' that they are always trying to protect. Rather than doing something right the first time around, they always have to try and prove that they know best.

A typical example, (which I have experienced a number of times) takes place where a new hi-fi system/ table/ outdoor umbrella is purchased by a man and woman. The man accepts his role of assembling the new item, however, to try and prove his 'muchoness', he decides to skip the instruction manual and assemble it the way he thinks it should be assembled. In the end it fails and there is always something missing/ lose or unstable. All because...he couldn't follow the instructions and let his ego get in the way. This will never change, unfortunately. So, we will forever be stuck in a world with 'mucho men' and new unstable items in our households... Oh, the joys! :)

*~15 minutes of fame!!!~*

If I could be famous for 15 minutes of my life, I would choose to have my 15min of fame being able to save someone/ people's lives... 15 minutes can make a huge difference to someone and being in the right place at the right time can definitely help save as life.

If it were possible for me to go back in time, I would want to have been someone who would of had a premonition of the 9/11 attacks and been able to save peoples lives... It would have been hard, but I would make sure that all the people on the four planes about to be hijacked and in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon be evacuated within minutes and close off any nearby areas to the buildings... This way, the nearly 3000 people who died would possibly still been living today, all the families involved would not still be going through pain from their lost ones, and the war between the USA and al-Qaeda members would not have gone on for so long... It would have been amazing!

A bit off the subject, but a movie that has stuck with me called, Remember me. The main character (Robert Pattinson) is a troubled teen, whose brother committed suicide years ago... He blamed his father as he believed his father pushed him too hard at work and therefore could not handle the pressure anymore... Long story short, in the end, Robert Pattinson forgives his father and as he waits in his fathers' office for him one morning to finally declare their 'war' over, the camera zooms out, allocating September 11, and you see him standing in one of the Twin Towers, with his father still in a cab on his way to the office. All of a sudden, one of the planes crash into the building, and that is how the movie ends... Can you imagine how many of those 3000 innocent people were not prepared for what was about to happen to them? It breaks my heart having to think about it all over again...

So that is what my 15 minutes of fame would be. Not to have fame from the world, but just a thank you from the people whose lives I saved, that would be good enough for me...

One of my favourite quotes and something I like to think about...
Ghandi said that whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it, because it's a good bet... nobody else will...

*~They really do love eachother...~*

No, this is not going to be a story about a happy couple and their happy ending... It is about my two adorable Rottweiler 'pups' and their love for one another...

So let me first start by introducing you to our 2 other family members, brother and sister - Zoe and Zeus. These are not your usual Rottweilers, they are pretty loving and caring (well with us and the people we know), I wouldn't send a stranger into our yard, because they can be vicious at times... (which is good) ;) Zoe and Zeus can fight about the stupidest things, just like any brother and sister I'm sure... Mostly about territory though and when they start their fight, you don't want to be in the middle. After a few minutes they come right and all seems to be forgiven :)

We often have to take them to the Vet for their annual check-ups, but ever so often, one of them decide to have some growth in their gum, or unusual mark on their body, and one of them need to go to the Vet without the other... Zeus has always been the 'ill' one, and when we leave Zoe at home and load Zeus in the bakkie, Zoe goes ballistic. We have learnt to lock her up in the backyard so that she cannot see her brother leaving, but she still knows. It's so sad really and I've cried numerous times, because it just shows how much she really loves her brother and cares about him... She cries and cries and doesn't want anything (not even a biscuit) except her brother. Eventually she calms down and once he returns, they play and hop around like two young pups, it's very sweet.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, we noticed that Zoe has not been wanting to eat. Almost like she didn't like the food. So, we changed their pellets, but she still had no interest. We then thought she had a sore in her mouth so decided to feed them softer food, such as rice, pasta and even just gravy for over their pellets. She seemed to eat a bit better. Still, she hadn't seemed to be interested in the dry pellets, so we decided a visit to the vet was the only way to find out exactly what was going on... On this day, we had to take Zoe and leave Zeus at home for the very first time... Zeus is normally the calm, chilled one, whereas Zoe is the hyperactive, energizer bunny. Once we loaded Zoe into the bakkie, she was calm, but all of a sudden, Zeus leaped to the front, and as the gate was opening, ran out and into the street, going completely crazy! We had to lock him in the back, and then thought everything to be fine... Zoe was going in for a cat scan, so was going to be under sedation for a couple of hours. On return to the house, we went to the back to let Zeus out. But unfortunately, he had managed to get himself stuck between the braai wall and the garage wall (approximately 20cm wide, if that) with the half of his body stuck between the wall. He couldn't move and we could see he was in pain... Yet, he was going ballistic. We called the Vet and on arrival, she gave him an anaesthetic injection to calm him down and try and get him out. He was still hysterical. She gave him another shot and eventually after it didn't help either, she phoned the other vet working on Zoe, and he arrived with another injection. Eventually Zeus calmed down and the vets had to work carefully, dislocating his legs and head to wangle him out of the gap...

My babies :)

Once Zoe returned, Zeus was very tired from all the anaesthetic... They lay next to each other, both with sad faces... It had been a hectic day for the both of them. We are still waiting for Zoe's test results, but for now she has two shaved patches on her head.

It just goes to show that even though they may want to kill each other at times, they truly love and care for one another. Zeus just wanted to be by his sister and now she was home, laying by him, as they fell asleep...

*~Top 200 Achievements~*

I know myself well enough to admit that I have a memory of a goldfish... It would take me days and days and days to remember 200 achievements which I have achieved in my life... What I can say is that I most certainly have 200 achievements which I am sure my mom is proud of, but they may not be all that big, but big enough to me and everyone who cares about me :) Here are a few of my achievements that I can think of...

1st step,
1st word,
1st run, 1st swim,
1st mudpie (making and selling them with my sis),
1st cultural exposure (going to a Jewish playschool),
learning to sing in Hebrew,
taking ballet for 7 years,
1st entrepreneurial adventure (selling things at our schools' market day),
1st baking session without a flop,
1st meal I cooked,
u/13A hockey team,
swimming team,
athletics team,
orchestra,
playing the violin for a decade,
singing in front of an audience on numerous occasions,
1st job,
1st interview,
working at the 2010 FIFA World Cup,
learning to drive,
passing my learners licence,
passing my licence,
1st drive on my own on the highway,
passing matric and all grades first time,
walking to school everyday in high school,
organising my matric farewell after party on my own in one day after the organiser let us down,
entering a beauty pageant,
1st climb up Lions Head,
getting over my fear of dogs and now owning 2 Rottweilers and having a huge passion for animals :), obtaining my Diploma in Public Relations,
moving to Cape Town on my own...

The list can go on and on and I am certain by the time that I have left this planet, I will have thousands more. Every day we achieve something, even if it is something very small. An achievement is an achievement and its what makes us want things in life so much more!

*~Crying: a sign of weakness or strength?~*

Everyone may have their opinion on what crying is a sign of... But, in our family, we are all very emotional people. My mom, sis and I cry about the smallest things... Even if something isn't as sad to my sister or mom as it is to me, they'll cry because I am crying... So to me, crying is a sign of strength. In our family it shows that we deeply care about one another and even if we have no words to describe the way we are feeling, the tears start rolling and we understand one another, and later have a good laugh about it. It may sound weird, but it's what makes our bond strong. That is my way of looking at crying being a sign of strength! 

*~A skilled set called Leadership~*

Leadership is not an easy task. You have huge responsibility and everyone looks to you for guidance, no matter which field you are in and leading. I'd like to believe that we all have some leadership skills... The one thing to me that distinguishes a leader from a great leader, is how he/ she combines and uses those skills in order to make the final product a success! Some people enjoy leading, while others enjoy following... We can't all be good leaders, imagine what a disaster life would be then!

*~Growing up...~*

In school, we were a pretty big group of friends, approximately 14 girls... It has been 4 years since our matric year and most of us are still pretty tight... I am the only one of all our friends that decided to come to Cape Town for my tertiary education... I have certainly missed them, but we still keep in contact and every time I see them, it feels like nothing has changed...

Our Matric Farewell :)

We recently had our annual girls reunion in Cape Town and once again, it was one of those nights none of us would forget. Because I don't get to see them all that often, I notice changes in them, even if they are very small. One dominant change that I have seen in each of us, is that we have all grown up... Grown into the people we know we are but were sometimes too scared to show all of... It just shows that we have grown up in the sense that we now want these 'differences' to be portrayed, which makes us even closer, because every time you share something new with a friend or friends, it makes the bond stronger... I know that we will all be friends for a very long time, and one day when we are old grannies, we'll have so much to laugh about, because there is never a dull moment when we all come together!

*~ Frank ZAPPA - crazy man~*

"Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read".

Wow! Personally, this quote is way to complicated for my liking. It definitely makes you think, but also makes me think... what on earth was this guy smoking?! I have heard of him and I'd probably know a song if I heard it, but I had to look him up in order to get an understanding of what he was saying... Frank Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film editor. So that was who is, but now back to the quote... Personally, I don't have much to say about this quote, but what I can say, is that Frank Zappa must of been a deep passionate man to have written this along with some other quotes I found said by him... Another quote that I found quite interesting was one he wrote about Freak Out (which was his debut album in 1966), saying:

"On a personal level, Freaking Out is a process whereby an individual casts off outmoded and restricting standards of thinking, dress, and social etiquette in order to express creatively his relationship to his immediate environment and the social structure as a whole."

Crazy musician, Frank Zappa!

*~The BIG move~*

My grandparents have lived in Johannesburg ever since I can remember, and I have lived in Paarl since the age of 1. Throughout the years, they visited us in Paarl during Christmas time, special occasions, birthdays, but not as often as we would have like to see them... They have always loved Paarl and I can recall them saying on numerous occasions that they would like to retire to Paarl one day... I didn't really believe them until about 10 months ago when they broke the news that they would be moving to Paarl in June 2011. We were all very excited and before we knew it, they were here! It is so amazing to be able to stop by and see them whenever I want and know that they are no longer thousands of kilometers away... Not to mention all grans home-cooked meals, mmm... :)
Fortunately, I was on holiday when their moving truck arrived, so I helped them unpack and get everything ready for their new home. It was all very exciting. My gran was determined that she needed new bedding and some new furniture to suit their new lifestyle, so my mom and I took them to Canal Walk one Saturday for some shopping. After many hours, we had gotten all that we needed and my grandparents are very much at home in their new house :)
The only thing left to do now, is to get my aunt, uncle and cousins to move down to Paarl or Cape Town, so that they can also be close and our whole family can spend Sunday afternoons at my grans dining room table enjoying a good meal and fantastic company with lots of laughter! :)

*~~What motivates me?~~*

In short, the first thing that sprung to my mind when I read this question was EASY... My mom. She is my biggest motivation. Just by looking at all the things she has been through in order to get where she is today, she is my biggest role model and the biggest "thing" (if you could call it that), that motivates me to do everything I do to my very best ability. My biggest fear is to disappoint her and that is why I always try my best to make her proud... She always makes me feel good about every task that I embrace and motivates me to do what makes me happy and what I feel is the right decision. She guides me, but never forces me. She is the strongest person I know and for some or other reason, I can't help but agree with the phrase that all us 'children' hate to hear: Mom sure does always know best! :) Love you mom! Xxx

*~ Namibia - Part 8 (final) - Amanzi Noordoewer to PAARL~*

The following morning, we headed to the camp reception to collect our gear for our row down the Orange river. It was our last day in Namibia and we were going to make the most of every moment! We met a couple of other South Africans who joined us with our row down the river... It was incredible. There wasn't a breath of wind and it was a perfect summers day... We had such a good time, chatting and laughing in our canoes :)

The view from our tent early in the morning...

Once we returned to our campsite, we made lunch and Kylan and I headed up the river to take a swim down. The current was strong enough to pull us all the way down where we got out by our campsite. We all went and had a shower to freshen up. We had packed most of our things in, as us four were planning to sleep on only our mattresses and sleeping bags under the stars for our last evening. But all of a sudden, we saw a mist in the far distance which looked like rain... But, it wasn't. The wind began to blow at an incredible pace and before we knew it, we were in the middle of a sand storm. It is the worst weather I've ever experienced. there was sand everywhere, we could hardly stand up straight and all of a sudden we heard a bang. As it calmed down a bit, we wiped the sand particles and dust from our eyes, ears and mouths and saw a thick branch of a tree had broken and fallen onto another campers' bakkie. Luckily the damage wasn't too hectic, but it still left bad marks... That was the quickest pack-up session we had endured that holiday. Our plan to leave in the morning fell away and before we knew it, we were making our way to the South African border... Just like that, our holiday came to an unexpected end... It was still amazing though...

Our campsite.

Kylan rushing to get all the gear packed and ready to go...

The sand particles from the sand storm.

I had the most incredible time and had an even better time than I had expected... Namibia is a true gem and I'd love to revisit it and tour the rest of the country one day. My amazing holiday was also due to the people I went with and without them I wouldn't have had the opportunity to go. We had lots of fun!! I formed a new kind of appreciation for nature and Namibia as a country with all its beauties and upsets. I would urge any and everyone to experience it in their lifetime, you don't know what you are missing! ;)

*~Namibia - Part 7 - Amanzi~*

The following morning we got an early start, as it was a long drive all the way to the Namibian side of the border, i.e Noordoewer - Amanzi Trails (Campsite). We stopped by Helmeringhausen for their legendary toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich on their farm bread, yummy! :) We then continued the drive and stopped for a bathroom break by one of the smallest towns in Namibia, Seeheim. It only has a hotel and train station. The strangest thing I had seen that day was a very tame Gemsbuck who was surrounded by chickens, sealed off by a chicken mesh fence. It was just laying there very happy with all his friends surrounding him, too cute. :)

The yummy Toasted ham, cheese and tomato :)

The Gemsbuck and his chickens :)

We continued on the long road and took a detour to the Fish River Canyon. It was breathtaking. We read about the 5 day hike that you can do with a tour guide, which we all seemed very keen to do one day... :) We took some pics and headed back to the main road...

The Fish River Canyon.

The four of us by the edge of the Fish River Canyon.

We arrived at the Amanzi Trails campsite just as the sun was setting. The campsite is located right on the Orange river, and our site was almost in the Orange river, absolutely stunning! :) We set up camp and started the fire for our dinner... A long day on the road with a well deserved meal and sleep...

The view of the Orange river from our campsite...

*~10 most unexpected consequences of being online~*

A few unexpected consequences that I think result from being online...

1. Becoming an online addict (social media specifically).
2. Wrong information being portrayed to others about yourself.
3. Getting caught in an online scam of some sort (there are so many online geniuses out there trying to catch the not so genius online addicts).
4. Being listed on a site that you do not wish to be associated with.
5. SPAM SPAM SPAM from all over!
6. On the positive side - being continually up to date with the world and its happenings.
7. Competition increase as a result of all the many powerful marketing tools online can offer.
8. Being able to communicate at the fastest pace possible, reaching the masses.
9. Your personal information being provided to the wrong people or companies.
10. The pace of production reducing to a minimum due to the large amount of hours employees spend  on online sites.

*~Namibia - Part 6 - Sesriem continued~*

The following morning we had a good breakfast an headed for Sossusvlei. Here, we embarked on the extremely long and steep walk up the Big Daddy Dune. It was tough, definitely not for the faint hearted, but so worth it once we reached the top... Usually the Sossusvlei "dam" is dry, but due to all the rain they had had, it was pretty full. Kylan and his moms fiance couldn't help but take the moment to dive in and have a cool down... It was literally a once in a lifetime opportunity...

The BIG Daddy dune, longest and steepest walk, but stunning!

We then headed for a picnic spot to set up for a brunch to regain our energy for our next walk. We drove to the beginning of the next starting point for the long walk to the "Dooie vlei". It was one of the longest, toughest and hottest walks of my life. I hadn't thought of the heat of the sand and what it would do to my feet. 1/3 the way, my feet started burning like they had never before. Kylan had to walk all the way back to the bakkie to fetch my tackies... Shame, I really felt bad, but had no other choice, my feet were on fire and going to be filled with blisters. Anyway, after the long walk, we reached the destination point. It was stunning and incredibly quiet. Absolutely breathtaking. On return to the bakkie, we each helped ourselves to a drink.You could say my prayers were answered, the Savanna Light was frozen and NEVER tasted that good. :)

"Dooie vlei"

We dusted ourselves off and headed for the Sossus Canyon. It also had some water in it from the all the rain, but luckily we could walk through it... It was amazing :)

Walking through the Sossus Canyon...

It was time to head back to our camp where we enjoyed a braai and couple of round of cards. It then started to drizzle so we headed for our beds... Left with the sounds of the jackals crying, with only material separating me from them, yet I felt safe...

*~The elephant in the room~*

So we have all heard the popular phrase: the elephant in the room. for those of you who are not familiar with its definition, it can be defined as an important and obvious topic, which everyone present is aware of, but which isn't discussed, as such discussion is considered to be uncomfortable...

Personally, I am someone who hates awkward or uncomfortable situations. I hate having an elephant in the room. I prefer to always raise the topic which is causing an uncomfortable situation and sort it out. After all, we are all human and we all know what is going on around us most of the time, so if we all know about the elephant, why not place a mouse in front of it and get it out of the way. That way our social surroundings will be much more enjoyable.

*~Namibia - Part 5 - Sesriem~*

Our next destination was Sesriem. It was quite a long drive, but the scenery was beautiful. We stopped in Walvis Bay where we headed to the 'lagoon' filled with beautiful flamingos. I haven't seen so many of them in real life... We passed Dune 7, which is one of the tallest dunes in the world. We didn't dare climb it, but the closer we got to it, we saw more and more people on journey up to the top. They looked like the equivalent size of ants, it was kind of scary... But, incredible... We then reached the Tropic of Capricorn mark and stopped for a quick pic :)

The intense Dune 7 with the little ants ;)

We then stopped in solitaire for the very famous Apple Pie by the biggest baker I've ever seen. The bakery/ restaurant and hotel looked a bit  like a hillbilly ranch, but we weren't going to let it ruin our craving :) It was packed with tourists, some very rude ones, but as we headed for the counter, a fresh batch had just been removed from the oven. It was divine and worth the wait! :)

The famous Apple pie at the "hillbilly ranch" in Solataire :p

We finally arrived by Betesta campsite which was about 30min from Sesriem. It was beautiful. We immediately set up camp and I then realised that we were back to the plague of 'vet-gat krieks'. My night was about to get interesting, but luckily Kylan knew...the bodyguard was ready ;)

Setting up camp for our next 2 nights at Batesta campsite!

We started the fire and got ready for dinner. A long day on the road with a well-deserved good nights' rest... The next day would be action packed in Sesriem!

*~Every day is a good day~*

I wouldn't say that this statement is 100% accurate. If we have to be honest with ourselves, not every day is a good day. It can't be, because life would be kind of boring then. Life tends to throw us a curve ball every now and then, and this may cause our day to not turn out the way we had hoped it would. We need a bit of negativity every now and then, even if it is to just make us appreciate life that bit more. So, instead of being completely dishonest and say that every day is a good day, I would like to say that every day has something good or positive that we can take from it which leads to making every day filled with some form positivity and happiness! :)