Wednesday Wonders 7 Nov 2012

Boolings, Wednesday has snuck up on me again. I’m not entirely sure how that happened, but hey… Times flies when you’re having… panic attacks? Anyway, here’s a few things which have made me happy this week:

* A totally chilled weekend. Enforced by a shitty sinus infection. But still, I think I’ve needed some down time and this was perfect. On Friday night, I was asleep by 8, and snoozed for a while before getting up and watching a DVD. And then going back to bed. Saturday was spent almost entirely in bed. Mister Boo kindly did all the grocery shopping without me (win!), and Sunday was spent mostly on the couch, with familia. 

* The wonders of modern medicine. In other words: Antibiotics. I try and avoid them as much as I can, but sometimes I just need to suck it up and get better fast. This is one of those times. 

* A Storm of Swords. Geek Girl Alert!

* The arrival of Angie’s little man, Sebastian!* We've been trying to talk him into coming out for a couple of weeks now, and he finally caved yesterday! Welcome, little dude! Congrats to the VERY proud Mama and Papa

* More baby shower crafting… ‘Tis the season for spawning! Can't wait to show off the latest project :D 

* Kai Thai Stir-Fried Sweet & Sour Pork. NOMILICIOUS!

* Magical Trevor’s Magical Chili. Diviiiiiine

* Mr. Brooks. It never gets old. The scene with Marshall and Earl in the car, laughing in almost perfect unison? The best! 

* Chilled family lunches on a Sunday

* This t-shirt, which was MADE for me! 

* Finding the exact wool colours I was looking for, on a whim, in perfect quantities

* Turning a dress into a top without cutting anything off

And, in light of the US Elections, this


I hope the next week is filled with cupcakes, unicorns, and beauty. 

* Angie is, indeed, the Very Pregnant Friend from this post. Which makes Sebastian both adorable and terrifying. 

Wednesday Wonders - Hallowe'en Edition

Happy Hallowe’en, Boolings!

I know I was a bad Boo and forgot to post last week, but in the build up to our Hallowe’en fest, Wednesday came and went, and so did Thursday, and suddenly on Friday, I got the 'Oh crap's! So here’s a slightly plumper Wednesday Wonders, for your pleasure:

* 8BitStereo!! God, I love them! And believe me, if I wasn’t friends with the boys, I would STILL yelp and leap around. And their ‘Come Together’ cover? Hoooolyyyyyy crap.

Charley and Ray with our graffiti 

* Going through the hateful e-toll plazas, drunkenly making jazz hands under the UV lights to get the full effect of my neon yellow nails.

* Pre-party naps. I always get grouchy when I’ve had too little sleep, and when I have a ton of stuff to do and not a ton of time in which to do it, so I usually get packed off for a nap a few hours before party time. It ALWAYS makes a difference! I go from Oscar the Grouch to Tickle me Elmo!

* Curly-from-a-curling-iron hair. I neeeeed a curling iron in my life!

* Doll-face make up. 

* Our Hallowe’en party! It was awesome!!!

* “What have you learnt from horror movies?” The bottom line was: Boobs.

* Park Acoustics. As always, what a jol. This has become our monthly thing. Even if we don’t see each other for the whole month, we pull in on a Sunday together and have a blast. It always leaves me in SUCH a good mood on a Monday, albeit a hung-over good mood.

Also: Sticky Bubbles are AWESOME!

* New hair. There’s nothing that makes me feel as good as a new hair cut.

* Down time. OK, granted, it was down time enforced by a dodgy microwave meal, but time spent sleeping and reading is always much appreciated.

* Randomly looking up from my desk at work and seeing a Scream Ghostface Killer balloon floating off over the cars. On a Monday.

* Dinee’s birthday dinner! It was all shades of fun, and I woke up feeling ever so slightly rough the next morning. Always a good sign!

The Girl's Room!!!

* My new nail stickers! I’ve read about them for aaaages now, and I finally found the ones I wanted on Saturday!! How awesome (and perfectly Hallowe’eny) are they!?!

* Impromptu tarot readings and feeling more connected to the Universe than I have in YEARS

Little things which made me smile: 

* All my Hallow’en props * Getting an earlier slot than expected at the doctor on Saturday, because another patient was impatient. Bonus!  * Finally finishing A Clash of Kings! * 

And tell me, what's made you happy little Frankenweenies this week? 

TiLT 18 Oct 2012

Ermagerd. I'm such a tit. On the way home last night, I realised that I hadn't posted Wednesday Wonders! *facepalm* I had it all lined up for posting, and then... I got stuck in to Hallowe'en party planning mode, and all my good intentions turned to shit. So, a day late, but wondrous nonetheless, these are the things I love!

* Impromptu dinner at V's folks

* Playing with one of the world's most gorgeous kitties, Orlando, the Maine Coone

* Crazy miscommunications. EG: "Baby salami? Like salami made from babies?!" And "On the way home the other night, I hit a cervix."* 

* Curry night craziness, wine in the eye and dodgy-as-fuck dreams that put mine to shame

* Ash's visit! Girl talk, crazy talk, LOTS of talk!

* Derby Gangnam Style

* DOORS!!! Despite the douchey bouncers, we had another incredible night at my home-away-from-home. It wasn't the usual crowd, but that made it no less awesome. We were there super-early, and got to watch the crazies flooding in. I realised that the best way to describe Doors is this: when the freaks and ghouls come out to play at night, they come to Doors. I danced, I bounced, I shook my ass and swung my head with the best of them and I Had. A. Blast! And we only got home at 4am. Pooped!!

* Random roadtrips. We departed for Krugersdorp in a slightly fragile state on Sunday morning, with good intentions and Milky Bar Krushers. And then we realised we had No. Idea. Where we were going. 3 HOURS LATER we finally found Ash's sister!! In the interim? Party bus!!! We laughed so hard and so much that I nearly peed myself. (That could have been because we were on the road for 3 hours though!) (To put it into context, when we finally knew where we were, it took us about 30mins to get home. Talk about the long way round!!)

* A quiet night in after 3 nights of chaos

* Mad Men RickRolling you

* It's Dinee's birthday this week, and we're going for a girls' dinner on Friday night. Rumour has it there may be dancing and/or karaoke involved. Oh dear...

* The people I spend most of my time with are most definitely extroverts, sometimes to the extreme. This weekend, we had a textbook introvert in our midst, and it was surprising to see that most of us didn’t know what to do with her! We’ve forgotten how to care for introverts. The shame! So, in case you too need reminding, read this: Letting Introverts be Introverts

Little things that made me smile:

* Random epiphanies at the strangest moments. I'm learning a lot about myself every day, and it's surprisingly awesome * My new cellphone covers, which cost me R10 each, and which I can match to my nail polish * Dr. Seuss. This may have something to do with Awesome Auntying… * Scampy giving me morning grins * The new crop of Doors-Whores * Puppies sleeping on my desk all day at work * 

Et vous, Boolings? 

* No babies or cervices were harmed in the production of this post

Wednesday Wonders 10 October 2012

It’s 10.10 today! Here are ten things which have made me laugh and smile this week: 

* I have swapped my usual desk chair (named George, who I still love and adore) for an exercise ball. It’s actually pretty cool! I could feel the difference in my butt and thighs this morning already, and plan to use said ball for at least 2/3 of every day. The only time I shall take a break is for eating (because I almost face-planted when I tried to eat my lunch earlier) .

* My lunch earlier

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta, mozzarella, chickpeas, a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mayo...
YUM!

* Shelved Dolls. I was particularly interested horrified by Elizabeth Bathory.

* Angie’s baby shower. It was incredible! She was so spoilt, and so overwhelmed, and so, so happy. It made me incredibly happy to see her smile so much. And the mobile and baby shoes went down a hit! I’m really having an obscene amount of fun with this, and the kidlings haven’t even arrived yet.

* 3 days till Ash visits!! And that means:  4 days till our Rock n Roll Circus photo shoot!

* Spur of the moment best friend visits

* Someone thought it would be a good idea to try and sell me a pink stun gun

Clearly this person has no idea what a hazard I am to myself.

*No Doubt's new video 

* Feeling truly arty for the first time in months. Word art FTW!

* Winning the ‘Strangest Thing You've Done Today’ contest by blowing up one of these

WITH MY BOSS!*

So what's made you a happy llama in the last seven days? Let me know in the comments! 

* After he shoved her down the window pane into Amy's office. And then a couple of us took turns blowing her up. Just so you know, he bought her for a bachelor's this weekend. We're weird here, but not *that* weird.

Wednesday Wonders ~ 3 October 2012

I've been in such a marvelous mood the last few weeks! Here are a few things that have put such a big grin on my face: 

* Busy, fun-filled weekends. There have been SO. MANY! Birthdays, parties, gigs, and general craziness. I love it! I'm a much happier bunny when I'm around noisy people and music and sunshine or neon rays. 

* This outfit, which made me feel quite a lot like a rock star: 

Blurry coz I'm awesome (?) Grumpy face coz I'm concentrating.  And it was morning.

 * 8BitStereo. Yes, one of my best mates plays in the band. No, that doesn't make me biased. Yes, they're awesome! Check them out here and here if you're in Joburg and keen for a jol. Come and dance around like you're crazy and carefree! 

* The Black Cat Bones. OMG. Months ago, I heard about these guys from a friend whose music knowledge and taste leaves me in awe, and I kept my eyes peeled for a gig. Funny that they happened to be on the same bill as 8BitStereo the night we headed off to the 'Vale to check them out. DOUBLE SQUEE. I may have lost my voice a little yelling for them. I definitely danced blisters into my feet. Wow. Wow. Wow. It was like watching Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Joe Cocker, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Nick Cave all squished into one. I was blown away completely. I'm now the very proud owner of a Black Cat Bones CD and t-shirt. I also play *everyone* the CD at any opportunity. I've been told that I get the crazy eyes when I talk about them. The word ‘fervent’ has been mentioned. A lot. 

* My girl Ash is coming to Jozi in TEN DAYS!!! I'm suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper stoked about this, not only because I haven't seen her since June, but because we're taking her to Doors. And then, in our superbly hung-over state, we will be doing a photo shoot the next day. I can't wait!! There has been avid planning of outfits, concepts and props, as well as crazy activities. 

* Jeremy Loops. OMG. We saw this dude play on Sunday, and I was absolutely speechless. I can't explain how amazing he is. You just have to check him out. 

* I've been growing my hair out, as you may have noticed. I decided that it was time for a change, and I've somehow managed to grit my teeth and get through the worst of the growing out crap. Using Bergamot oil on my hair every time I wash seems to have sped up the growing process quite a lot, because I went from having a half-shaved head in February to almost-shoulder-length now. And now that it's long, I'm having so much fun playing with it! I can straighten it, I can curl it, I can tie it up in a pony tail... It's awesome! 

* Learning new crochet stitches and putting them into practice in awesome style. I've been making beanies and ... well, all sorts of things you can't know about just yet. Let's just say I'm playing nicely. :D 

The little things

* Park Acoustics * The Dollfins (Who we saw at the last Park Acoustics) - In My Head * Salad weather, and actually wanting salad! * Plain white fingernails * Hallowe'en planning * Dolphin Stampede * Hat parties and all the craziness that goes with them * Call Me Maybe - theChatroulette version (This is one of the funniest videos I have watched in a very. long. time. I LOVE IT!!) * Two Dogs, by Mister Boo's doppelganger, Arno Carstens * 

So tell me, Boolings, what's made you happy this week? Leave a comment; I'd love to know! (Maybe I'm just nosy, but I like to think of it as joy-sharing). 

Babies: Scarier than brain cancer

Boolings, I have a confession.

I’m freaked out by babies.

Lulling you in...

Stop laughing and shut up. This is a real thing!

It’s quite awkward, considering I have 6 nieces and a nephew. Lucky for me, I was born into auntyhood. Literally. My nephew was 2 when I was born! (Long story...) My youngest niece is 9 this year, so I didn’t have too much baby exposure as a kid. I also inherited 3 nieces and a nephew when Mister Boo and I got together – all done with babyhood by the time I got onto the scene, so saved there too!

The thing is, it’s not all babies that freak me out. It’s all fresh babies. You know, between 0 – 4ish months old. Once they start developing personalities and stuff, I suddenly dig them and the Awesome Auntyhood sets in good and proper. But the fresher they are, the creepier they are. And the first week? Before they’ve inflated properly, and they still have wrinkly fingers and squish-faces? That’s the worst. And they smell funny.

Look at those wrinkly fingers! Gah!!!

I never realized that my freaked-outness was as bad as it is, until yesterday. One of my colleagues wives had a baby last month. We were all super excited for them, and bought him gifts for the baby, and we all squeed when he posted the first photos of her on Twitter. She really is a beauty – lots of hair and the cutest little pout! Yesterday, his wife came to the office and brought baba with. And she’s even more beautiful in real life than she is on Twitter. A bunch of us were standing out in the sun when she arrived, fast asleep in her carry cot. Her mama put her down while were chatting, and all the girls were oohing and aahing. I was too, but from a distance. And then I realized that I was utterly freaked out. This is a bit of a problem, considering my sister-in-law and one of my best friends are both due to pop within the next 3 months.

I updated my BBM status, because hey, I can laugh at myself. “Babies. Scarier than Ebola.” My pregnant friend was the first to respond. The conversation went like this:

VPF (Very Pregnant Friend): But why are you scared of babies?

Me: I don’t know! They just trigger panic, and when they’re sleeping, I get the urge to bang pots together. A sure sign that I shouldn’t breed. I’d probably eat my young*. Maybe I’m part monkey?

VPF: Is it the fact that they look like tiny old men? Or that they are drooling messes? Or maybe because they are so helpless?

Me: I have no clue. They scare me more than zombies. I’m hitting Google up to find out why I’m so fucking weird.

VPF: Stay off WebMD. It’ll just tell you you have brain cancer. But let me know what you find out.

Me: I suspect that the Great and Powerful Google will tell me to go straight to the nearest sterilization clinic. 'Do not pass go, but you might want to stop at a liquor store.'

VPF (a short while later): So? How’s the brain cancer?

Me: I think Google is trying to tell me I’m from Jersey Shore. Which I don’t understand, because that poufy one just spawned.

VPF: Dude, Snooki has refused to change her kid’s nappies. She has hired a full time nappy cleaner-upper. I wouldn’t worry.

VPF: Apparently you have pedophobia. (Pedophobia: fear of babies and children. "Pedophobia" comes from the Greek word "pais" which means child.)

Me: Ew. That sounds awful. I think I’ll stick with ‘Babies. Scarier than deadly disease.’

And then she sent me numerous freaky-fresh-baby-photos. She was having far too much fun for my liking. That’s like taking a friend to see The Ring and telling her it’s about getting engaged. And THEN she reminded me that she’s growing an ebola-zombie herself, and she’ll bring him round LOTS before he inflates and learns to sit up. It was at this point I remembered that we're both going to hell, but a new thought struck me. What if my hell is a nursery of fresh babies with colic?

Welp! 

*This concept led to an interesting conversation with my work-twin, Amy: 

Me: I'd probably eat my young if I ever bred. 

Her: I can see it now. Mister Boo comes home from work. 'Honey, where's the baby?' He'll ask. You'll look shifty and say, 'Um, I dunno. In unrelated news, we're having a small stew for dinner.' 

2012 - Long-Story-Short

Boolings!

After an epic few months, I’m back. There have been SO. MANY. CHANGES, and for a while there, I wasn’t able to juggle everything.

There’s been too much to go into, but the basic run down is something like this:

• Mister Boo and I moved out and into our own house. It’s wonderful!! We’ve had so much fun making it ours (and I don’t mean peeing on shit to claim ownership – we leave that to the diggles) and really feel settled. We’re even considering staying for more than a year!

• I realized accepted that I wasn’t coping with life, and that I didn’t want to spend every. single. day. sobbing and wailing like a mad woman, so I got my ass off to the doctor and sniffled my way through ‘I need help’. And help he did. Within weeks of going onto the antidepressants he gave me, I started feeling better and less out of control, and in the months since then, I have actually begun to enjoy life again, and see the beauty in the little things as well as the big. Life is good again!

• Mama Boo moved to Cape Town. She and Gramps made the great trek in May, and settled in quite quickly. But…

• Gramps got dementia really fast, and deteriorated almost at the speed of light, and in June, he passed away. I went down to Cape Town for a week to help Mama Boo do what needed doing, and was in a bit of a strange place when I came back to Joburg. Lots of thinking time + epic emotions = small scale melt down. But, thanks to the wonders of medicine, I managed to pick myself up relatively unscathed and move on.

• I turned 27. 26 was undoubtedly my crappiest year so far, and I was SO glad to see the back of it. I bolted into 27 head-first, and so far, I'm enjoying being anything but 26. And 27 has been an age I've looked forward to for most of my life, so I'm glad to be it. 

• I’ve been plotting awesome Aunty-type things, because one of my best friends, and my sister-from-another-mister (Mister Boo’s sister) are  both pregnant. I’m pretty excited about being an aunty twice in one year, despite the fact that really fresh babies scare the bejeesus out of me (More on this in an upcoming post).

And that brings us back to doe-doe-doe-doe. 

I feel like me again, which means writing and blogging and creating again! *happy dance*

Love and llamas

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