Just try - inspirational words

Source: quotediary.me via Jennifer on Pinterest

I was brought up to be quite stoical and just get on with it, which may sound a little tough but it has been a wonderful strength to fall back on. There have been many times in my life when I wondered whether I could do something and I have always been encouraged to just try and see what happens, because without going for it, you will never know will you?

I was always encouraged to get vaccinated first (that way you won't see the other kids cry) - we had to line up at school and get jabbed!
Play in the piano recital, nerves help you (really??!!).
Try out for the play (2 left feet and not a great singing voice, a part in the chorus, so much fun).
Go to London on your own (yikes! but met a lovely girl who ended up marrying my brother!!)
Go to that party, you never know who you might meet (my husband)
Just try to drive, it will be fine (as I kangaroo hopped my way around town learning to drive a stick)
Walk off the street and ask for the job (it always works!)
Move countries, it's an adventure - just try and see what happens (love where we live)
I have breast cancer - just get through it, you can and you will. Chin up.

I have never felt particularly brave, in any of these endeavors but I guess that point is that I tried and it was fine and I can look back and laugh at all the craziness. So just try, from me to you. xx

My 3 worst traits

Gosh, Jenni is certainly asking us to lay it all out there! Like she said, we are supposed to be in the business of pretending that we lead these perfect lives, but in reality we are all human and suffer the same anxieties as everyone else. It has been incredibly refreshing reading about everyone else's traits and they are all quite similar which makes me feel humbled that wonderful people are writing such great blogs and producing fabulous posts to make our days brighter and happier and are not perfect :)

It is SO easy for me to name my 3 worst traits:

No.1 my nemesis, my elephant in the room, I am the worst procrastinator EVER!!! It is a disease that I succumb to on a daily basis. I have talked it about it here and I tried to unpack it and see what I could do about it. And it is, as I stated in the post, my fear of doing something that is not perfect, that I struggle to "put it all out there" because at the end of the day I want it to be perfect. But I also want it out there because if I don't do it, I am not helping, creating, achieving......etc. This is one of my favorite quotes and I ought to print it out on huge paper and drape it everywhere I can see it!

Source: flickr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

No.2 I am a ball/task juggler. I love the challenge of starting something new but if I don't feel like I am achieving on day one I like to jump onto the next thing. It's almost as if the more balls I am juggling in the air, the more I have a challenge. I struggle to keep all the balls in the air and then wonder why I am not achieving anything as well as I want to. My Dad works at the University of Oxford and he always tells me the reason why Oxbridge graduates are so successful is that they focus on one thing only and make it their be all and end all. I personally think that sounds soooooo boring but maybe that is the reason I didn't go to Oxford (my sister did, such a brainbox, so proud of her). I remember reading this article in a Vogue a while back and I found a pdf transcript of it, you may want to print the last 2 pages which will make it easier to read. Like the author I have several traits, including "accumulated piles" of things which make sense to me but are super irritating to look at but I don't think I have pure ADHD. Just another trait to try and improve ;)

No.3 I am unable to do simple tasks that would actually make my life easier and simpler. As above, it's as if I want to make life into a bigger challenge. Some people thrive on structure, I feel like I thrive on pressure. So instead of doing baby steps for example emptying the dishwasher in the morning, you will find me hiding pots and pans in the stove if someone is coming over. Instead of sorting out the mail, I rip open the important stuff and then make a pile of all of it. I will always remember the bills that need paying but then it takes me ages to go through the huge pile of other crap that I have created to find the actual bill. So super annoying and why do I do it?? I adore having a neat and tidy house but I only ever seem to achieve it if I do a major tidy up instead of little tidy-ups every day, super boring in my opinion especially when I am juggling lots of other fun balls in the air. You see??!! This is me, see below...

 

 

 

 

Source: fab.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Happy days my lovely friends, we push on regardless, life is good and worthwhile no matter what our worst traits are.

Catch up in the blogging challenge - a few things

A struggle:
I do have so many, don't we all? But this image made me realize that my struggles, albeit difficult for myself, can be overcome with love and determination. I've included a link to the story of how these two neighbors were reunited in the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornado, so touching.

Oklahoma Hug

 

Creating Memories:
On Tuesday I did this, Taylor Swift, so much fun, I love going to concerts and it was my daughter's first concert - great memories.

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Jennifer on Pinterest

 A rant:

Again, there are so many things I could rant about but I don't really think they are that important in the grand scheme of things. I do worry that my children are entitled and that they don't realize how lucky they are, I'm glad we got to travel to Africa and I remind them that there are lots of children in this world who grow up with nothing. I really want to work on getting them to understand that there is a whole world out there with people who live so differently to themselves and how important it is that we extend our understanding of people.

Also, people who moan, about everything! Really, why do that?? Attitude is everything. It will be bad if you think it's going to be bad, appreciate all those little things in life, we are lucky to be here.  That is not to say that I can't be a whiner, I can, and when I wake up and realize how irritating I sound I try to stop ;)

 

Source: balnea.ca via Jennifer on Pinterest

 

 

Feeling blessed:

Today I spent the day hooked up in the infusion room, my nurses are so incredibly sweet, I adore them. And it really isn't bad for anyone who may be having to go through chemotherapy, they give you lots of medicine so don't feel sick but you will feel tired. Don't be scared, it will be fine.

And when I got home, I found this beautiful basket of goodies and a bucket of gorgeous herbs and gardening tools, and a beautiful handmade hat, all from my anonymous "chemo angels". How incredibly blessed am I!

What I didn't learn in school:

• That the mean girls (just as Taylor says) are always going to be mean!
• That love really does conquer everything
• That my mother was right all along (and that unfortunately we typically figure that out when we become parents ourselves ;)
• That working hard does pay off, in so many ways and that everyone posses a gift that is not always evident in school
• That figuring out life is part of the journey that we need to embrace
• That listening is just as important as speaking out
• That we need to be tolerant
• That kindness is more important than popularity
• That we can learn so much by travelling and meeting other people
• That reading, in any form, can bring joy
• That you need to follow your heart
• That being a bit nerdy gets you way further in life than being super cool

All caught up, apologies for the few days of silence. I missed my lovely readers. xx

My favorite blogs

What! Only 5!! I don't know if I can stick to my limit, let's see how we go.

Source: abeachcottage.com via A Beach on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Shell on Pinterest

I love the beach cottage which is written by Sarah, an English girl who has moved to the glorious beaches of Sydney. She posts beautiful pictures of beaches which satisfy an ex-beach girl who now lives miles from the beach, delicious and easy recipes, pictures of her beautiful dog Barley, great furniture that she has revived. Go on over and have a look, you will be guaranteed a beautiful day.

Source: clothandkind.com via Krista Nye Schwartz on Pinterest

I simply adore reading India Hicks's blog. India is royalty, she was Princess Diana's bridesmaid and she currently lives a very exotic life in the Bahamas on a little island where she owns a boutique hotel, has 6 beautiful children and oh yes, she is a model! She is also incredibly funny which, despite her out of this world enviable lifestyle, makes her incredibly appealing.

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.ca via Kay* on Pinterest

One of my most favorite DIY blogs is the little green notebook. Jenny is so sweet and works so hard. She posts fantastic DIY projects on her blog and you can see her doing up her rental brownstone in NY.

Source: brightbazaarblog.com via Jennifer Chong on Pinterest

Will writes the gorgeous Bright Bazaar - a blog devoted to all things bright and beautiful. He is in the process of writing a book, I can't wait to see it.

Source: royaldesignstudio.com via Royal Design Studio Stencils on Pinterest

Maryam is based in Morocco and her blog My Marrakesh is about her life in Morocco and running a beautiful hotel called Peacock Pavilions. She also has an amazing career which takes her all over the world, a fabulous read.

Source: lanaloustyle.blogspot.com via Heidi on Pinterest

Lana lives in Cape Town, South Africa, and her blog Lanalou Style is beautifully curated and has wonderful ideas of what to do in Cape Town. I recently recommended her blog to a friend who was moving from LA to Cape Town for a couple of months, lucky girl, such a beautiful city. You will see how beautiful it is by looking at Lana's gorgeous photos.

Source: thebrightsideproject.com via Kelly Beall / Design Crush on Pinterest

I LOVE the happiness project. Gretchen writes all about happiness and interviews writers all about happiness - it's a great inspiration.

Source: katemurphyphotography.com via Linn on Pinterest

Jamie and Kevin blog at Ann Street Studio - their photographs are amazing and their wedding pictures are sublime.

And please go on over and visit my lovely new reads via Jenni and her great idea to Blog Every Day in May: Desperate English Teachers, Trying for Sighs, The Leaflet Blog.

My new toy - iPhone 5

Whoop Whoop, I love this beauty, BUT what apps do you, my lovely readers use (I've gone from an awful, non-android phone)? What is really useful to you, especially since I'm trying to get more organized.

Thank you gorgeous people. xx

A childhood memory - school swimming galas.

I am late with this post, sorry, but I do have an excuse for which I need some advice, I am going to do a separate post - please send all your great ideas!

I loved school swimming galas. We didn't have the same school system as they do in the US, in South Africa you attend a primary school from 7-13 and then high school from 13-18. This picture   is taken at my primary school gala - don't you love the picture quality from the 80's!! When you start school you are allocated a team (our teams were named after birds, I was in Weaver (yellow) and I was the Captain, which was a bit ironic because I was definitely not the best swimmer. However I was the tallest, you might be able to spot me in the front with a very homemade sash that says Captain ;). We would all gather on the field in our team colors and then march on to the stands to tinny music played through not very strong speakers. Our parents would come along and cheer us on. It was such great fun and at the end the winning team is awarded the trophy. We won that year and myself and my joint boy Captain got to hold the trophy up to much cheering (unfortunately he was quite short - so we must have looked quite funny). Happy days.

My favorite photo

This is actually not my most favorite photo of myself, but I am so incredibly happy in this photo that I had to share it, on safari, in Africa, with a glass of wine - bliss :)