10 things I learnt this weekend...

1. It is always better to get admin out the way before one starts drinking
2. Predrinks with friends old and new is a great way to start a Friday night
3. Squeaking some takkie on the dance floor is fun fun fun
4. If you're going to wear white to a UV party - make sure it's a bright white else you look dirty and grey :)
5. Your own bed, with a fan, is the way to spend a lazy Saturday morning
6. Having my own home one day is going to be wonderful -- can't wait to decorate and feel like the space is my own
7. A chilled braai with friends is always good
8. Your best friend getting engaged is the most exciting news ever....and also quite scary how many friends and family are getting engaged these days!
9. Breakfast buffet...yum yum
10. Running 7km after two nights of drinking is entirely satisfying...and the afternoon snooze afterwards is the best reward!

My motto for the year

Celebrate life. Dream, explore, and find peace in life's adventure.

- Anonymous

The 21km Challenge

Right, so in accordance with New Year's Resolution Number 5, I have signed up for a 21km race on 6 March. Eek! That is helluva far! The furtherest I have ever run...ever....is 10km so this is certainly a big challenge for me.
That being said, I have my running wingman C and a few digsmates keen for the race too (although their athleticism doesn't do much to make me feel better!)
But anyway, I have found a novice training programme on the internet and I have changed it around a bit to suit my regular training days. I plan to stick to it rigidly in order to (a) be able to run 21km in 8 weeks and (b) just as motivation and to 'force' me to exercise.
I am therefore revealing this programme below to be my sort of online training diary and will honestly record all my training and exercise for the next 8 weeks!
Here goes...!
*Note 1 - In black is the programme, in red is my actual achievement
*Note 2 - The days that specify minutes are for cross-training

WEEK	MON		TUES		WED
1	30min	60min aerobics	4km	4km in +-30min on road	Rest	'Pool' workout (see explanation in next post)
2	35min	50min walk around the neighbourhood	4km	2.5km on treadmill (pathetic but really wasn't in the zone), weight training	Rest	2km walk, 10 x park hills and a little jog 30min leg class 45 min step class
3	40min	Car accident so think I'm forgiven	5km	Rest	Rest	7km on treadmill
4	45min	walk on beach	6km	Rest	Rest	6km on treadmill in 36min
5	50min	Rest - sore shins :(	7km	Another Rest	Rest	Hills in park and lunges
6	55min	3km on treadmill (sore shins :( Abs	8km		Rest
7	60min		8km		Rest
8	Rest		4km		Rest

 

THURS		FRI		SAT	SUN
4km	4km in 23min on treadmill	30min	Club dancing (it counts I think?)	Rest	7km	7km in 47min on treadmill
4km	1km swim 2km walk	30min	4km run	Rest	8km	5km (naughty!)
5km	6.5km on road	30min	60min power box class	Rest	10km	+- 10km run around Mt Edgecombe
7km	1km swim	30min	Rest	7km run in 42min on treadmill	12km	12km run in 72min on treadmill
7km	Strength train arms	30min	Rest	Rest	13km	Rest
8km		30min		Rest	15km
8km		30min		Rest	16km
4km		Rest		Rest	RACE

Keeping things in perspective

Thanks B for these words to start my day, I needed them!

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

And just in case I am infringing on any copyright laws..... I copied this amazing poem from the following site: http://www.fleurdelis.com/desiderata.htm  

City mouse visits country mouse

My mom got married this weekend and her cousin from Joburg brought her 16 and 18 year-old children along. Wow what an experience they must have had...because to start off with, Sarah (the emo daughter) didn't know what she was visiting. The conversation went something like this:
The mom: We're going to the wedding in Dundee?
Daughter: What's Dundee?
The mom: It's a town in Natal
Daughter: What's a town? Do you mean like Downtown Joburg?
The mom: Um, no, as in a small city....a village?

And she certainly got to experience the village at its best: after all the rain, the smell of cow dung was especially pungent around the lodge where they were staying (in silos!!)
And what's even worse...the showers had taps that you actually turn (as opposed to the lever) and she didn't know how to work them!
Needless to say, son and daughter convinced their mother to forgo the accomodation booking the next night and drive all the way back to Joburg after the wedding!

So I now very lucky to grow up in a small town and even though we may have complained about the lack of shops, movies or places to go out, I am so grateful that it was my childhood.
For us, going out for supper was a treat - birthdays and after a good end-of-term report were our tickets to the Buffalo Steak house (where Mom would order sole and chocolate mousse and the rest of us ribs with enough yummy sauce to coat our faces).

And this makes me think about where and how I want to raise my children one day....because I certainly want them to be able to turn on a tap and have rib sauce on their faces!

10 things I learnt this weekend...

1. The roads home have gotten seriously potholed...hopefully something is done about it before the next trip back there
2. Don't ever order bulk lasagne from a Mexican restaurant....they don't put any pasta in it nor any spices into the mince...so much so that it might taste like ass
3. Getting my hair straightened by someone else is a real treat...but has motivated me to stop being lazy and do it more often
4. Walking down the aisle is quite stressful (and the attention was not even on me so I will be tripling these feelings when it's my turn!)
5. Choose songs that are well-known at your wedding - it really makes a huge difference and out-of-tune voices (me) can at least blend in with the better ones around me
6. Photos in the veld are simple yet beautiful
7. Wedges are the way to go (sorry Curly but the stilettos just ain't gonna happen!)
8. I am truly blessed to have such a huge family (even if some of them are a bit weird!) and it's great to know that they will always be around
9. Don't bring up your children in a city....they might not know what a town is...or even how to turn on taps! (I'm not kidding!)
10. It's a relief to have Mom married and the wedding weekend over, so now I can  get used to the whole idea of a step dad and after a few months home will feel like home again.

Parents are people too

My recent holiday at home was not just one that involved too much good food (the joys of a fully stocked fridge!) family and lazy days in the sun - it was a period of transition for me.
My mom's getting married this weekend - to a guy she absolutely adores called Pat (who wears waisted Tee Sav shorts and tucked in golf shirts...cringe) and this means that my brother and I are no longer the sole focus of her attention.
Ouch, it seems that no matter how old you are, the experience of your divorced/widowed parent getting a new partner is tough on you: Your old routine of coffee out, shopping for fun and cooking together in the kitchen is no more....because she's no longer doing that with you.
And no matter if you're a toddler, teenager or twenty-something, it's hard to get used to not being the centre of attention.
So it's time to grow up and realise that parents are people too and just like I have someone to love and be loved by and have coffee, go shopping and cook with, my mom  deserves that too.
And hopefully once they settle down into married life, we can go back to doing those things when I come home once in a while for a visit. I really hope so. It's time to see my mom as my friend rather than the 'maternal care giver for life and money-spender-on-me' role that I expected her to play before.

But for the rest of the time, I have my own life here in Joburg and being young and alive it is time for some adventure! And, of course, it is comforting to know I have a home in Curly xxx