Croatia and Switzerland

Wow. It's been a while. The last time I blogged it was a month after break up. Well it's now 3 and a half months since the break up and I am really good. Hell, I'm impressed with myself. I am stronger than I thought.

Sometimes it still hurts, like finding out he has a new girlfriend when his reason for breaking up was that he couldn't be in a relationship with anyone and needed to find himself...Oh look at that... a month after our break up, he got himself a new girlfriend. Men.

The good news? He really does make it easier to move on and get over him.

Croatia is ridiculous. I am sorry. It is not possible for a place to be THAT gorgeous and magical. Unless you've been there, I can't actually describe how MAGICAL the place is. The ocean is turquoise. There is no beach sand, so the clean, clear water is warm and extremely salty. You literally float and bob (no treading water) - it's amazing.

The culture is warm, friendly and welcoming. It doesn't matter who you are, you are welcomed and welcomed warmly. We swam from our villa to another island about 600/700m away and when we got onto the beach, a warm, friendly woman invited

us into her stone home for coffee. Incredible. Coming from South Africa, we obviously we skeptical and wondering if we were walking into a sex-trade syndicate. Kidding. But you do feel guilty for feeling so on guard when people are so friendly and genuine.

The villages are just gorgeous with lots of stone homes and buildings, cobbled streets, wild olive trees, vineyards, gorgeous cafes, shops to die for, shoes to die for, the vegetables and fruit are just too delicious. I have been spoilt with the taste of genuine olive oil, home made wine and the potatoes and tomatoes are something else.

It was exactly what I needed. My soul completely rejuvenated! I bonded even more with my amazing-don't-know-what-I-would-do-without-them girlfriends. We had fun regardless of what we did, from the car trips and ferry trips to the walking around the cobble streets, hav

ing coffees, lying in the sun listening to music, shopping, taking taxi boats from island to island listening to Croatian bands while drinking G&T's, finding children play areas and satisfying our inner child, cooking together, our wine drinking, sitting in peace and watching the ocean, our coffee and chocolate tradition before bed and our laughs. I will never forget this trip. It was the best trip I have ever had.

Dubrovnik

The Stone Villas where we stayed - we had the place to OURSELVES!!

The view from our villas.

Vela Luka.

Special K and my feet on the speed boat :-)

Split - best place for shopping :-)

I also had the pleasure of going to Switzerland... I haven't seen my gran, cousins, uncle and rest of the family in 5 years. I don't really know much about my Swiss family and spending time with my 81 year old gran was just so amazing. I found out things about her and my late grandfather, found out things about my dad, how he was when he was little, all the stories etc etc ... It's made me learn more about who I am and where I come from. The last time I saw my grandpa, I was 9 years old (1992) and he passed away in 2001. I learnt so much about him and there are several things about his personality and character and even his hobbies, that now make so much sense... I have a lot of them and never knew where they came from. Awakening.

I've also only ever been to Switzerland in winter. It was most bizarre to not see the country covered in snow. Instead, it almost looked fake. I have never seen such greenery everywhere. It was so lush and I honestly think the alps looked like they are covered in green felt material.

It was quite something to think that in one morning, I had been in Croatia lying in the sun on the beach and then not even 14 hours later, I was hiking in the alps and standing in snow that had fallen and was starting to melt.

The photos I took, looked like I had doctored them. Incredible.

Switzerland is such a clean country and it's so efficient. If the train says it will leave at 15h03 ... it leaves at 15h03, not 15h04 or a second after. Wow.

It was a whirlwind trip and I travelled around Switzerland within 6 days, I even crossed into Germany for a day. It's amazing how easy that is in Europe.

The food. Don't get me started on the food and the chocolate. *drool*

Davos

No pain; no gain....apparently

Man oh man. I try, I really do. I just can't seem to get back into the blogging lifestyle, but if you wanna bear with me, then there will be a post every now and then. Might as well be honest about it.

News? Plenty.
I have moved into my little matchbox and I adore it. I had no problems of settling in and it felt like home immediately. It's my little haven that I can relax in and it is just super cosy.
I will have to take photo's and post them one day.

I haven't had a housewarming because every weekend is pretty much out. I have so much going on. I looked at my calendar the other day and the first weekend that I will have to myself is the first weekend of November. Hectic.

This weekend I am going to Sin City for Spring Break. I have never been...to Spring Break, I mean. Apparently it's one massive concert/party vibe in the evening and during the day you chill out at Valley of the Waves sun-tanning and playing with the water slides. Should be good.

European Boy and I are awesome. I'm madly in love, really happy and I'm excited...he's taking me away to Mauritius in November. Yes. It's always been a dream of mine to go to a Tropical island. I am getting a dream come true. I can't wait for the Turquoise waters, white sandy beaches and plenty of sunshine, snorkelling, pina coladas and utter relaxation.

Have you noticed how all the things that are coming up involve something that I shudder about.
B-I-K-I-N-I.
I actually have to go bikini shopping today because I don't know what has happened to mine. I swear there have to be "Moving Gremlins" ... so many of my things have disappeared from the move. Odd.

Why couldn't I have stuck to my winter gym routine so that I wouldn't be a whale...a lily white one to be exact? Oh wait. I got sick in winter and couldn't continue the gym routine. Bloody hell.

I am officially back though. I have moved to a new gym that is 5 minutes from my house. NO EXCUSES. I've started doing Spinning Classes at... wait for it ... 05:15. Yes. In the morning.
I know!!

I also bumped into my old personal Trainer. The gentle GIANT. He has muscles on top of muscles and looks like a mean muscle machine, but he is the gentlest, kindest, sweetest man. I went to him about 4 years ago for a month and he transformed my body (not completely, but for 1 month it was remarkable) however, he then moved to another gym and I couldn't continue with him.
I was so thrilled to see him. So now I am going to him every other day at 6am for an hour session.

I am determined to have a toned body. I'm sick of complaining about it. I've started eating right and exercising and I am certainly going to give myself a proper shot.
Why do I feel like I've heard this all before?
Oh yes. I try this each year. Here is hoping that it will actually work. Hell, if I can stop smoking cold turkey, then I surely have enough willpower to do this. Hell, if I have enough will power to be on the seat of the bicyle at 05:15 then I don't know.

Wish me luck.

Now for the part that I have really been putting off thinking about, let alone writing about.

The De-fuzzing Down There.
I wish I could shave - tried that - itched like hell when it grew back. Just saying. TMI? Sorry.
I'm allergic to hair removal creams. I found out the fun, hard way.
So what other option do I have?
To pour gooey hot stuff all over and rip the &*%$#@! out of me. Awesome.

Guess what I have scheduled at 2pm today? YAY for me!! Not only do I have to get into a ... *shudder* .... bikini... *shudder*.... this weekend but I also really don't want to look like the chick from Scary Movie ... you know the scene where he needs a weed-whacker. Nice.

I am not really a fan of pain. Never have been. So there's that and the fact that some stranger (I don't care that she has seen hundreds and does this all the time or the fact that she is female) is going to part my legs and wax me.
I mean, is there a code out there like there is for doctors and pyschiatrists? Thou shalt not discuss clients at weekend parties?
God I hope so.
I mean I don't know how that topic could ever come up, but hey...stranger things have happened. Right?
Beautician to mates: "Damn - you should have seen this one cookie I was waxing...."
Ok. That would be weird. I don't know if I would like to hear that from my beautician friends.

I really cannot believe that at 2pm today Im going to be gripping the side of the bed and biting pillows. Hopefully the bikini shopping won't be as painful.

Wish me luck.

I'm BACK!!.... sort of....

Wow. I'm super embarrassed. I haven't blogged in over a month. That is disgusting.

I have been ridiculously busy and haven't had much time to blog. I blame Twitter, which has kind of taken over really, because it's like microblogging. I can "blog" automatically as to what is happening, rather than sitting down and trying to write everything thats been going on in one piece.
I'm making terrible excuses aren't I?
I'm sorry.

I am still apartment hunting. I am ready to gargle with glass, put toothpicks through my eyeballs...ANYTHING, to find the perfect place.
Perhaps I am a cheapskate, but I am struggling to find something in my price range. I just cannot afford anything more. That doesn't mean, however, that I will accept living in a flea, cockroach-infested, dangerous and ridiculously small place.

The search is driving me crazy though. Seriously.

Let me give you an idea. I have tried Private Properties, Gumtree, every other search site available....I'll be here forever if I have to name them all...but feel free to send me more... I have tried Fourways Review and Sandton Chronicle.
Get the idea?

I have also been really busy career wise. It's strange though, because I feel like I am in a career rut. I feel like I should be doing more in my line of work and challenging myself more and yet I'm not quite sure what to do. LOL. I'm sure that it's just a phase. Let's hope so.

I am also madly in love. I haven't felt "this" before either. It's scary. A good scary. I am ridiculously happy; I can't wipe the silly grin off my face and I get butterflies everytime I think about him or see him. Today is actually our 3 months together (officially.)
I've never been treated like this before and I could kick myself actually. Every woman deserves to be treated like a queen. No settling, no excuses and no compromises. Why do we allow men to treat us badly? I look at my friends and my sister...I expect the men they are with to treat them like gold and I will say as much....I don't know why I never applied that to myself.
I can only say this because of the awful experience I went through. So everything for a reason, no regrets and huge lessons learnt. I can only appreciate the good, because I experienced the bad.

What else has been happening? Ooooh a BIGGIE! I have quit smoking. Today is actually Day 15 of no smoking, not one drag. Nothing. I have also done this cold turkey and to be completely honest, I have gobsmacked MYSELF. It's not that I didn't think I could do it; but at the same time, I didn't! LOL. Does that make any sense whatsoever?

I'm totally proud of myself. It also wasn't planned. This is what happened. After my Cancer scare, I knew that I needed to quit. I'd also been wanting to quit for a while, but in all honesty, I really enjoyed smoking for the social aspects and having something to do when I was bored etc etc...all the excuses under the sun. I had been saying for ages that I was going to quit...next month...next week....next Monday and so it went. I also got one hell of a fright when I actually worked out how long I have been smoking for. I don't know why (in my mind) I thought I had only been smoking for "two years"...I've been saying that forever. I've actually been smoking since 2001. A box of 2o a day for 8 years. On weekends (with alcohol) 2 boxes in a night. DISGUSTING.

On Sunday 14th June I had half a cig. Half a cig, because I just really didn't enjoy the taste of it. Perhaps it's because I had smoked nearly 2 boxes the Saturday night before with all the alcohol I consumed (haha) but I just didn't enjoy it. I stubbed it out and didn't smoke for the rest of the evening. That Monday morning I woke up and didn't even think about a cigarette. I went for breakfast and a movie with EB and when it was time for me to go to work it hit me that I hadn't had a single cigarette. I wish I could say that I was struck by an angel singing "Aaaaah" epiphany, but something inside me and inside my mind just snapped. It's like my mind shifted and I just decided to stop or at least to see if I could. Hours turned into days and weeks. I can't even use a glass of wine as an excuse because while the craving is strongest when I'm drinking a cocktail, it's so manageable.

I almost feel guilty because I know that stopping smoking is supposed to be horrific and a major struggle for people, but I have found it relatively easy. I'm not going to lie and say that I haven't struggled, because I have and I've eaten SHITLOADS of sour worms, but it hasn't been as hectic as I was expecting. I was expecting to crawl the walls, to have night sweats, to see everything as cigarettes and to be a royal bitch to anything that moved, but it just wasn't the case. It hasn't been that awful and perhaps it really and truly is ALL IN THE MIND.

Man I hate cliches, but you can't fault them.

I have become one of those ex smokers. I am annoying. I'll admit it. I can't handle the smell of smoke now. It freaks me out, it makes me sneeze and I actually hate waking up in the morning (if I've been in a smokey place) smelling of smoke. My hair and my clothes STINK of it and I just wonder WHY I never noticed it before. I am noticing that I can smell my perfume, that my clothes still smell like Sta-soft hours after I've had them on and my taste has changed. Everything is tasting delicious. I had a curry at Bukhara in Cape Town on Friday night and the spices were even better than I ever remember.

The downside? I got sick the day after I stopped smoking. It was a combination of this God-awful strain of Flu and my sinuses acting up from...get this...the lack of smoking. My doctor explained that when you stop smoking, the hairs in your nose and lungs start to move and shake off the tar, nicotine or whatever gunk it is. It starts to come up (this is attractive) and so people cough, blow their noses and so forth... The perception is: "I was healthier when I smoked!" but it's not actually the case...if you can bare with it for a few weeks, you'll realise your body is just rejuvinating and that you're getting healthy...damn cliches....you have to get worse to get better. Most people can't stand it and so they just start smoking again.

Screw that idea....I'm not going to go through this sneezing, coughing, sinus-y mission to pick up a cigarette and then have to go through it AGAIN when I wanna stop smoking AGAIN! I'm going to go through this ONCE. Sure, it hasn't been as difficult as I expected it to be, but with that said, it's still been a struggle (a personal one) and I would be so F*%`^ed off with myself if I crumbled and had a drag. Just saying.

So, yes. Day 15. Here's hoping that it long continues.

I'm going to do my best to blog more often. I mean look at this essay...woah...sorry for the eyeball strain! It's just that I don't really have as much time as I used to have. I wont promise, but I will try! :-)

Birthday Weekend

On Friday night I had my Twenty Sexy Birthday Party at Cedar Square. I hired out a private dining room and bar and had all my good friends there for dinner and drinks. It was absolutely fantastic. I had to drink so many birthday drinks that I am surprised I lasted as long as I actually did!
We landed up at FTV and eventually left at 3am. It was a total blast, even if I didn’t feel the same the next day.

I spent most of the day trying to recover for Sugar’s Twenty Sexy birthday party. It was at Colony Arms for the karaoke. I was warned that we would probably be the oldest there and not to expect too much. Um. Ok.
Well I felt as if I was surrounded by twelve year olds and I was back in my student days with drinks costing the bare minimum. It was great fun. I owned Britney Spears’ One More Time in karaoke. I even did some of the dance moves. Yes I did. What? The drinks were cheap. I met all of Sugars friends...great group of people... especially a certain someone;someone that caught my eye. But, *sigh* they left early so there went that idea! Haha! Just kidding!

I eventually went home at 1am and avoided the road blocks. Metro Cops had stopped striking so I think they were making up for lost time.

Sunday morning was spent driving to Hartebeespoort Dam with my family to a place called The Windmill. It sells organic fruit, vegetables, freshly baked bread, homemade jams and cheeses, amazing meat selections and so on. We love going there, stocking up on gorgeous foods and enjoying the drive with the roof down of the car and taking in the fresh air.

I got back just in time to get ready for the twins 30th birthday party at Longmeadow’s. Tables were set out in the garden and it was really beautiful... speeches were made, the most delicious food was served...don’t get me started on the chocolate brownie and white chocolate birthday cake. I went to spinning today and I think I just worked off the cake.

The Twins cutting their birthday cake!

Right so, after a hectic weekend, Monday night was spent in bed. Nope. It was spent at very good friends home. Survivor and his fiancé cooked Burmese chicken with a coriander and pear salad. Chocolate Soufflé was served for desert with chocolate tot glasses, Bailey’s Irish Cream and champagne. I laughed and laughed and had the best night. I only got home after midnight.

The single life is great… I’m doing whatever I like, how I like it and according to my style. Selfish? Not at all. I’m connecting with all the people I really love and never got a chance to spend as much time with as I liked. It’s not to say that I didn’t spend time with my friends, it’s just that I’m getting to spend MORE time with them. It’s wonderful.

Perfect weekend

I had the best weekend. It was awesome. It was awesome because it wasn't typical and it was so enjoyable that I was rather content in starting the week.
Something that rarely happens.

Being spontaneous is sometimes the best thing ever. Blondie 2 and I decided she would come to my place for the first time, we'd get some wine, cheese and biscuits and see where our Friday takes us.
Brie cheese, olives, pickles, crackers and 2 bottles of wine later, Blondie 2 and I stayed on my couch chatting about everything and anything! It was AWESOME... we spoke about everything from fashion to work to sex and even our late grannies.
It was such a perfect Friday...no screaming over the music, no scrambling/stumbling to the bar and pushing your way through the crowd, no worries about the bitches looking you up and down and no worries of cigarette butts flying into my hair or landing on my feet.
I know this may sound as if I'm getting old and I've come to the realisation that it's actually ok!

Saturday morning I woke up with no hangover, despite the 2 bottles (bottle each) and I think that is largely due to not having a smokers hangover!
I had to be at a work function from 10 -2 and then Blondie 2 and I went to the Corner Pub and drank Savanna Lites, ate pizza, spoke shitloads of shit and laughed even more.
At 6, I had to get home, change into something a little classier, straighten the curls and head off for a dinner with Special K and BB!
We ate such a delicious meal with virgin strawberry dacquiri's (virgin because we were supporting the pregnant BB) and then guilty-as-charged, ordered the chocolate parcels. I promise you now, if men had to go extinct and chocolate parcels were available I'd be a very happy woman.
I hate using the tasteless (excuse the pun) cliche of calling food Orgasmic, but seriously. ORGASMIC!
They're little phyllo pastries parcels and as you cut into them melted chocolate oozes out! MOUTHFULS OF HEAVEN!
I literally put the spoon of heaven into my mouth, sit back and "Oooooh and Mmmmm!"
Delicious!

Those pastries are FULLED with melted chocolate! Y-U-M-M-Y!!

Sunday was the day of 'I am not getting out of my pajamas for anything or anyone.' It was awesome, lazy, sleepy and comfy!
Just the way I like it!

Blondie is in a Bad Mood...

I'm trying to stop smoking. I actually have to for health reasons! I am totally cool during the day, which is weird and impressive all at the same time.

Night time arrives and I'm stuffed. I just cannot seem to get it right. I literally sit on my hands or pace the room. I can't believe it.

3 days so far and as good as that is, it's not great...I've cheated. I had 3 cigarettes last night with a glass of wine. It's awful!

Alcohol is evil.

Beautiful, but evil.

I'm not in a great mood today. Had a mega fight with my man. I hate fighting. I hate confrontation with everyone but I seem to have no problem to confront the people closest to me, like my family and the man. It's not right and I know the psychology behind it, but it doesn't make it better.

I lost it with him today and I'm furious. I'm furious at him and at myself.

The worst part, is that other irrelevant shit came up too. It's the 101 in What Not To Do In An Argument. It's the worst. Don't know why it happens but all of a sudden the fact that he stayed out all night without calling to let me know he wasn't lying in a ditch 3 months ago and the fact that he put empty milk back in the fridge 2 weeks ago, is suddenly raised again. Why?

Argh! It's infuriating!

Just needed to get that off my chest. Must say that while I am moody from not smoking, I didn't turn to my trusted Marlboro's with the stress of it all.

I've even put this pic up...I mean how tempting is that? And I still don't want one. Ok, that's not true, but I'm still not reaching for the box.

Good, yes?

This is the first weekend that I'm not working, not going to weddings, baby showers and I reckon I'm going to have me one of those "cosy, sleep in late, not get out of pajamas, watch DVD marathons and then blow the dust off my stiletto's and hit the club" weekend.

Yes!