How I Spent my Birthday

I took a day's leave from work and...

Went for an early morning walk.

Hint of sunrise

Got spoiled (flowers from Angie and the camera from mom & William).

Enjoyed some pampering at Pumula Beauty Salon.

Donated a pint of blood at the South African National Blood Service. There was also good news at the blood bank in that my health has improved quite a bit since the last time I donated in 2010. From nearly failing the iron test, and taking close on 45 minutes to fill the bag I was in and out in 30 minutes.

Then mom and I bought some blankets, bowls, collars, leads, food and harnesses and toys and donated them to the Kempton Park SPCA. We then volunteered for a few hours at the sanctuary, mainly walking the dogs, feeding them dog biscuits and giving all the dogs and cats some love. It really is sad to see that so many pets are without homes but they are in good hands at the various rescue centres around the country.

Thereafter we had some tea and cake at the Mugg & Bean.

Then ended the day off with dinner at Fahrenheit.

I had such an awesome birthday, and loved giving back to those in need. I challenge everyone to support a worthy cause on their own birthday. It does not matter how small the gesture, it will make the world of difference to those affected and effected.

There was also good news at the blood bank in that my health has improved quite a bit since the last time I donated in 2010. From nearly failing the iron test, and taking close on 45 minutes to fill the bag I was in and out in 30 minutes.

Thank you to everybody that wished me, I loved reading each and every message and chatting to the callers.

Here's to the start of a fantastic year!

It's the Small Things

So often we get caught up in the pursuit of the marriage/house/kids paradigm (as a friend aptly referred to it), we forget to appreciate the small things in life.

Simple things like admiring that sunflower growing on the side of the N12, taking some time out to read a magazine, enjoy a piece of confectionery, or watching a bird bathing itself in a puddle. We are so concerned about earning the money needed to survive in this competition called life we cannot comprehend wasting our time on anything as trivial as the above.

It's OK to lose sight of the bigger picture for a little while. Stop. Look outside. Take it in.

More often than not it will be a welcome break from that household chore or writing that report. Life is to be lived, not looked back on with the thought of "I would have rather done things differently". There is more to life than being a serious no-room-to-move person.

Have fun. Make mistakes. Laugh at yourself (or someone else for that matter). Help others. Make the best of what you have. And most importantly, be the best version of yourself as possible.

Surprising Angie on her Birthday

Yesterday, the 2nd of September, one of my nearest and dearest friends celebrated her 29th birthday.

Roger (Angie's fiancee) and Jackie (Angie's sister) organised for Angie to go sky diving on Sunday for her birthday, but unfortunately I was unable to watch her jump (too much of a wuss to go skydiving myself) due to other commitments.

So, Jackie and I hashed a plan together that involved me meeting them for lunch at the restaurant in the business park complex. Jackie told Ange the two of them would go for a quick lunch to celebrate her birthday, and then she'd walk in and see me sitting at a table. This plan worked in theory, but not in practice as Ange didn't even see me in the restaurant (even though I had helium filled balloons tied to her chair and a bunch of flowers on the table) and proceeded to sit down at some random empty table, much to Jackie's and my amusement. After sitting down at the right table, Ange asked me "What are you doing here?" to which I responded "I've come to have lunch with you on your birthday!"

We had a lovely afternoon, and thanks to our very accommodating waitress, everything ran smoothly and Angie and Jackie were back at their office at 2pm. I found a singing birthday candle at Cardies and improvised with a choc chip muffin for the "cake".

Happy birthday Ange, last one as a Miss and next year is the big 3-0!