Trading Woe for Whoa!

Okay so try to stay with me here because I might not be making 100% sense but here goes, so my friend Sal over at this blog had a status up yesterday “Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction . Break the habit. Talk about your joys”
 It got me thinking…I actually believe talking about our problems is very healing because sometimes you just need to vent and also you don’t know who is either going through a similar thing or could even help you in your situation. But Sal is VERY RIGHT we just don’t speak about our joys enough, we just don’t ,we can be such negative Nancys (no offence to anyone named Nancy, hehe).
This in turn got me thinking about how “woe is me” I’ve been lately, my weight has just been such a source of unhappiness and at my job I have had to deal with a lot of confrontation (part of my job, yes – part of my personality, no), then there is our finances and pending dental work which is likely to break both bank and spirit (really hoping braces are not my only option) – I’ve just been really down on myself and I am determined to stop that nonsense.
– I need to remember: If God is for me who can be against me, I am extremely blessed and it is time I start living like that again.
So what if the weight loss thing is taking longer than I’d hoped, I’m still losing and every little bit helps (another 1.5kg at yesterdays weigh in,  go me)
So what if I can’t afford all the things I’d like, I’m still blessed to have more than many and with careful planning I can even share
So what if I haven’t slept in ages, I do it for  a wonderful little boy who is teething and for him I’d give up all the sleep in the world (and I think I have, hehe)
So what if work has been stressful, this is what I do , not what I am J
-My friend, Robyn’s, 14-month-old son Blake has a tendency to say Whoa for things A LOT! Not “woe is me” WHOA! As in WOW DID YOU SEE THAT! He does it when something happens in his favorite cartoon, when he sees animals, when anything excites him , whoa to anything really, and I think that’s a good philosophy, it wouldn’t hurt to see the special things in every day and to grab opportunities to make you happy….
Like yesterday when I needed to do something in Kirkwood, and Robin decided that it would be a waste to just go back home, “why not go on a game drive at Addo Elephant National Park” (which Rob recons should be renamed Addo Buck park because that is all you really see) and for once I didn’t shoot him down and explain.. 1. We don’t have money for such frivolities  2. We are spending a weekend on a game farm at the end of November so technically this is redundant 3. In this heat I’d rather sit under my favourite tree at home.
Instead I said sure lets go and we ended up having a blast even though Aidan could literally not care less about where we were.
We got to spend time together as a family and although my heart broke when I realised I didn’t have my camera with me, I just took in the wonder of God’s creation and thought about how lucky we are to live in a part of the world where you can go on a game drive on a whim
GOD IS GOOD! HAVE A BLESSED MID WEEK! And remember to see the WHOA! In your day

Party like it’s 1950….

 Computer problems are stopping me from loading more pics but here is the man of the hour and a great collage, which you would prob need to zoom into done by mofire photography 🙂

Happy Monday all

Mom and Dad: Man of the hour with his partner 🙂

Super Happy Birthday Dad (granpa)

Happy birthday daddy, thank you for always teaching by example…
Teaching generosity by sharing
Teaching humility by not being afraid to say I’m sorry
Teaching the value of learning new things by always being up for a challenge
Teaching the value of family by putting us first
and the value of being young at heart by not taking yourself too seriously.
We love and appreciate you more than you know
FROM: Robin, Eleanor and Aidan

a sad post



from fanpop.com



I’m sad this morning, a profound sadness that catches you by surprise and leaves you breathless and fighting back tears…This morning I just miss my aunt/godmother soooo much. There is something to be said for funerals I guess, I was in hospital [just having given birth to Aidan who could not breath unassisted] so going to the funeral was not an option, maybe if it was, maybe if I saw her being lowered into the ground I wouldn’t have these “episodes” the fact that she’s gone wouldn’t hit me like a ton of bricks and I wouldn’t have to catch my breath and wipe the tears which have fallen on my child’s sleeping face.
Every now and again I remember that I can’t phone her to ask advice or just vent, I can’t pop over for tea and she will no longer send me a message to  “change the channel NOW” because I’d be very interested in a topic on some show [usually Oprah] It breaks my heart when I think how she has been a part of every part of my life, every big move from confirmation to graduation, first job to wedding , but now when I need her most she’s gone. Now when I have realized the dream of becoming a mother [a dream she couldn’t fulfill and we both feared I couldn’t either] she can’t share my joy.
I can just imagine how much she would have loved him and how she would have spoilt him. I think of the articles she would have got for me to read about raising a son and how she would get a kick out of his fascination with books… Before she died, I saw her on my birthday and breathlessly she half teased that she didn’t have a message for me, that we have had enough conversations to last a lifetime and I could just draw from that,  but today as I type and try to fight back tears I’m pretty sure she was wrong…I have so much more I would have loved to learn from her and so much more to talk about. . . I guess it’s just one of those lessons that are super painful to learn, Nothing lasts forever so appreciate what you have now because things change in the blink of an eye…