Mondays

Some Mondays, you really should just not get out of bed................. Today was my month end which is always hectic, trying to get everything finished for the end of the month, trying to finish on time so that no one has to work late, trying to remember to do everything that needs to be done at month end so that you don't get in trouble the next day, well today was month end.
I worked last night so that i could start Monday ahead of schedule, ja, right like that was going to happen, so i only got to bed late, i then didn't sleep much because i had broken my tooth on a Beechie on Sunday.................who breaks there tooth on chewing gum, i am sure it was the world conspiring to turn me into a raving lunatic,............. anyway so i had some tooth ache during the night............... i knew i should have taken that pain killer.
Levy the dog decided that this was the night he was going to go to the toilet as many times as possible, so woke me up 3 times to go out, i think he just pretends, and is being bribed by someone, to keep me awake as long as possible you see the consipiracy thery makes sense. And then the alarm clock went off and it was MONDAY........................
I got up as usual nothing strange, i had my bath, and then when i went into the cupboard to fetch my body lotion, it was gone....................... i never take it out of the bathroom, i am sure that we have goblins that sneak into the house in the middle of the night and take what every they want, they rearrange all my posessions........... actually it was my youngest daughter who at 16 and has still not learnt to put anything back that she uses.............................. i then had to brave her room i am afraid that if i go in there i will never come out ........................ because that is what happens to everything else that goes in there, but the alternative was have dry skin all day and itch and that was not an option. Even the fact that i would have to brave those pink, pink, pink, pink , pink walls, could not seperate me from my body lotion................................
I put on cream, and then started my hair, putting on gel as usual before i blow wave forgetting that i had residue cream on my
hand still and so no matter what i tried i ended up with a hair style that looked like i had lived in the 60's used brylcream, and just got out of bed........... the mood was set.
My daughter decided that today was the day she was going to tell me all the news she had been saving for the past 16 years, she just did not stop and this while i was trying to decide what i was going to wear, well after changing about 6 times, i found something i was comfortable in, only realising hours later at work, that i was wearing a black bra with a white shirt, that my housekeeper had burnt the trousers that i had on, and the shirt being slightly shortet than i usually wear to work, showed the top of my trousers which showed my underwear, which i normally don't wear with trousers.
Then came the cherry on the top, a lady from church had asked me to fast with her for her marraige, no problem i do it with pleasure, there is always strength in numbers, at about 2 o'clock i sms'd her to find out how it was going it was only her 2nd fast, well the reply said she had felt dizzy so had rather eaten........................ she stays at home.......................... and here i am with my toothache, a hair style that would frighten Casper, a black bra with a white shirt, burnt trousers month end and fasting................................................
Sometimes you really should just stay in bed on Mondays.

Childrens Birthday Parties

Today i went to my nephews birthday party, and it was really nothing like the birthday parties i had as a child, or like those i gave my daughters as they were growing up.
When i was young it was a few friends come over , some sweets and cool drink, some jelly and ice cream a real treat, and we would spend the afternoon inventing some games to play so that we would just keep ourselves busy and away from the company of the adults.
With my children the world had progressed a little bit, and it was either, jumping castles or slip and slides depending on the weather, they were generally held in the garage or in the garden again depending on the weather, it was hot dogs, and sweet, chips and cooldrink, and there was a clown or something to keep the children busy.
Now it is an event, and the more things that can be crammed into the day, the better, the more things there are to do at the party the better, you now have party packages, the standard, then the upgraded and then the deluxe package.................. for childrens party............the children are just spoilt for choice.
Tomorrow is my nephew birthday and so today we went off to Camp Candy at the Reitvlei Zoo, to spend the afternoon with him, it really is a very homely looking place, but the fact that we had to sign in at the gate, should have warned us what was waiting for us inside...............
My eldest daughter was quick to point out that Camp Candy sounded like a strip joint. However we were soon to discover that Camp Candy was boot camp................... we arrived at the venue, and were ushered at double time to the "party" area, we actually had to run to keep up with the farm staff person, who showed us the way, as we entered Camp Candy we were
"briefed " by the sargeant major what was expected of us we had to sign in.............................. sign in for a childrens party............... we thought she was joking, but the look on her face told us that she was " deadly" serious, and we were not prepared to argue with this lady in mens jeans and a checked shirt...................
We were then told that we were in the coffee shop, that the toilets were on the right, and smoking was only allowed on the chairs that had red buckets next to them..............................
The "coffee shop" was lovely and we sat down to enjoy the afternoon, we were summonsed about a half hour later it was time to feed the animals, we were all given a bag of carrots and cabbage and commanded to go and feed the animals................................................ we were warned that the camel, needed to be watched as it could get aggressive, and had in fact the previous week, throw a gentleman off who was silly enough to try and climb on its back. So off we went to feed the animals, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks, geese and the horses and we all looked at the camel from a very safe distance.
About a half hour after that, it was time to play putt putt............ these golf clubs were given to these small children, with no supervision, how some of them did not land up with a few teeth removed, the children were all giving perfect imitations of Tiger Woods ........ not ideal for a putt putt course, and about a half a hour after that the sargeant major came back and this time it was time for paint balling............................
Coffee was an interesting concept because no sooner had you put your cup down that the sargeant major whisked it away for washing, paper plates were gathered and removed in seconds................................. they really believed in keeping the place clean.
I must say though we never heard the children, with jumping castles, slides , jungle gyms, motor bike roads, animal shows .............. it was no wonder................................

Computer Mouse

For the last two days, i have been at head office, which is an experience in its self, why is it that some IT people just don't have any person skills, i think i was rather a culture shock to them, being the quiet, reserved person that i am.......................... (hahaha) they really had no idea how to deal, with my off the cuff comments., or my wit ............... On the first day people would come into the room and sit down, without saying a word, i know that my parents taught me when you enter a room you greet everyone before you sit down, as the people were coming in to the conference room i was asking who they were, which branch they were from, in the beginning you would have thought that i was an alien from another planet, but it was amazing how quickly they relaxed, and took part in the discussions.
The reason that i had to leave home at the crack of dawn for the last two mornings ( and boy were were those crack of dawns absolutely breath taking ) to get there was because we are going on a new computer system, and all the ground work has been completed and we were making sure that everything that we asked for had been done. We were going through all the features, that the system has to offer. I don't think there is anything more boring than watching someone else, operating a mouse, while you sit and watch.........................clicking here and clicking there showing you what all the features are.............. right click here and this happens left click there and that happens, tab and this happens, drag and this happens...........................
It made me start thinking, wouldn't it be great if our lives were that simple, if you do this for your husband he will do that for you................... if you do that for your daughter she will do that for you............................ if you ask for this you will get that ..... it you dont do this you won't get that..................................... if you make a mistake you can "delete" and "reinstate " and no one will know you made a mistake, if you use the wrong words, you can "bounce" them back and all will be as it was before the words were spoken.
Unfortunately life is not like that, and actions have consequences, and every decision we make will positively or negitively affect either ourselves or someone else how easy like would be if we could just use the "mouse." .............................. but...........................how boring would life be, no excitement , no joy, no expectations, no surprises, no unexpected acts of kindness, no sms's from friends, no unexpected coffee dates , no need for faith......................... and is that not what life is all about, embracing the unexpected, finding hope in the unknown having faith that God is in control and that he knows exactly where your life is going..................our responsiblilty it to pray that we do it right................. and the best part is, if we don't get it right today then God gives us tomorrow to try again............................. So i am glad that life is not controlled by a mouse.................. but by the choices i make every day whether they are right or wrong, whether the take me forward or backward, whether they bring me joy or sadness at least they are my choices. made with a lot of faith ...................................

Wait

The old saying goes that patience is a virtue, and it is certainly a virtue which i have never had, if i want something i want it now, if i need something i need it now, and i hate not finding what i am looking for, or being able to do something, such as book tickets on the internet, it drives me crazy. But have you ever tried to find out something and no matter what you did you just cannot find the information you need, every corner you take is a dead end, every bit of information ends up at the same brick wall, well today was one of those days, that without even trying, a friend and i have found some information we have been looking for, for 10 years, 10 years i cannot believe that it is that long, i cannot believe that this has been bugging me for this long, jokes aside, it is information which for some reason the Universe decided that i just should not have, and believe me we tried everything short of hiring a private detective, and that was close for a while, and today with the fantastic invention of Google the information was handed to us on a plate...................... on a plate when we weren't even looking. Now i start to wonder, why today of all days was this information available.................. is it because i have matured and will no longer use the information incorrectly as i would have done 10 years ago............................ , as a Christian i could just no longer justify what i would have used it for all those years ago, is it the answer to pray and i will finally find closure on that part of my life................................ , or is that it is just not relevant anymore, or is it that i need to use the information, i need to find out the truth once and for all..................................
I don't believe in coincidence so i have to believe that this information was given today for a reason, i was feeling quite down this morning, the medication was beginning to get me down, but now, i feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and i feel that i am ready to face what ever the world throws at me, and all this because i found this information...................................... today.
The bible says that all good things come to those that wait, and that everything is in Gods timing, boy oh boy does this give the defination of wait a new dimention. I think that God is working and maybe today is the beginning of a new time in my life, just maybe....................................... oh ...............what to do, what to do.
83005 lets see whether that adds up tomorrow..................................

Hospital

When I went to the doctor on Monday last week, who would have thought that i would spend 5 days in hospital, 5 days of my life wasted lying in a bed, waiting, waiting, for tea time, lunch time, waiting for visitors, waiting for phone calls just waiting.
I learnt a few things during this time, when the nurse fails to find a vein after the 6th attempt call in the reserves, the marines a drug addict, anyone, as the chances are that she is never going to find one, ask me, i have so many holes in my arms that i am a human sieve, they are all now shaded in with lovely purple bruising, and the best is the nurse never found a vein, the ward sister had to come, and guess what she found one on the first attempt, how can they let these untrained sadists loose on our unsuspecting veins.
I learnt, that hospitals make you all equal, you all walk around in your pyjamas with your drip in tow, looking like something from an alien planet, i cannot believe that with todays technology that they have not invented something a little more user friendly a little more easy to manage. You spend every waking moment, worrying about your drip, just in case you pull it out of your arm, and you have to go through the whole pin cushion exercise again. On the day i walked to the hospital shop i was in need of some new reading matter, i had a coughing fit and you could see everyone take one step backwards, after that when ever we would go to the shop, we would say we are going to scare all the visitors away, because they think we have swine flu.......................
One thing you don't do in hospitals is rest, the first night i was there someone died, and at 1 am in the morning, the whole family came, crying and performing, the person was dead what was the point, surely you would rather remember them as they were, not as the lifeless person they ended up.
The bells, oh the bells, do sick people not sleep, every five minutes someone was ringing the bell, to get the nurses attention, and the phones, who in their right mind phones a hospital at 2 am in the morning, to check up on someone who is sick...................
The nurses are like little ants, running around all day, is it really necessary to take you blood pressure 10 times per day unless you have a blood pressure problem. Every nurse told me mine was low, but not one of them throught to do anything about it.
Another wonder in a hospital is the toilets, i really wanted to give everyone a lesson on the fact that red means occupied and white means empty, simple everything time i thought this was the time for evacuation to happen, some moron tried the door and the mood was gone, eventually after 3 days i began to feel like a toxic waste dump, literally and figuratively so asked the nurse for something to release the pressure.....................................
From my bed i could see a big black door that said sluice, and the nurses went in and out all day, what is sluice............. i must say i was too frightened to ask.................................. i think i will just let my imagination answer that one.....................
By the third night, i could not take the noise any longer and asked for a sleeping pill, what a pleasure it should be standard issue in hospital, at least that way you get some rest, although somehow i am not sure that you ae supposed to take it at 10 pm in the evening, which seemed to be the time that they were handed them out every evening.
I am glad to be home...............................

Freezing

I never in a million years would have thought that i could be cold........... me cold............. it is almost unbelievable, everyone who knows me knows that i am the Ice Queen my air conditioner is on summer and winter, there have been times when people will not come into my office because it is just too cold, they stand at the door, and talk to me at least that way they are getting the warmth from the heaters in the main office. My children when i used to drop them off for school in the morning, used to be dressed like they were preparing for the crossing to the North Pole......................... in fact people just did not want to ride with me in winter because the inside of my car was just too cold. I think i am the only person in the world, whose car mists up on the outside, because it is warmer outside the car than inside the car. Well yesterday i was cold.................................yes as unbelievable as it sounds i was cold................. freezing, freezing cold.....................
I was up early yesterday, we had a leaders retreat at Emseni in Benoni, and i was the taxi driver, we had to be at the church at 7.45, so i was on the road, be 7.15, and i was fine, nothing that warned me for what the day was to bring, because it was raining, i had taken a rain coat along, which was my saving grace, as i am sure the headlines into days paper, would have read " Woman freezes to death in Church Service" as the trip began i started to get heart burn, and then i started to sneeze, and sneeze and sneeze, one of the ladies , who is in fact very clued up on medical matters, advised me that heart burn could be a sign of a heart attack, and i should just tell them if i am not feeling well................. as she really did not want to land up in a ditch, somewhere, that of course made me feel much better.......................... i know she was really concerned, because i really was in terrible pain.
When we arrived at Emseni, it was cold and windy and wet, wet , wet, and i must admit my first impression was that it is nothing like the advertising pamplet, you see, we are holding a woman's retreat here in October, so i was very interested to see what the place looked like, and braving the cold, to visit the ladies, which was probalby about 30 metre way, but in that weather if felt like you were on the way to climb Mount Everest, i could see the potential of the place, and obviously in summer it would be green and pretty, i was very impressed with the rooms, and i know that we are going to be blessed at our retreat.......... or as my praying partner says God's retreat
We were having our meeting in the church, a massive church, with no heaters, windows all around, and a high thatch roof, nothing which gives you the warm glowing feeling of warmth.........., in fact there was no where you could sit, that you weren't blasted by cold winds.....................
Well i froze, froze, froze, jokes aside my hands were blue, and i was shaking , it was like all my insides had come loose and were going to fall out, i could imagine a pile of bricks, and you pull out one and everything collapses, i had on 4 long sleaved pieces of clothing, shirts, jackets and coats and i was still freezing.
I am not sure how much went in because i am sure my brain was frozen, what i do know was my running nose was frozen and blue, i looked like i had been on the bottle for years. What i do remember is as i was looking out of the window, at the rain, there was some roses around the dam, and some of the branches had grown much faster than the rest of the plant, it was almost as though they were trying to get away from the rest of the rose bush, and i knew that sometime in the next week or so someone is going to come and prune them all back to the same size to grow again............... and i realized that my walk with God is like that, when i go out on a tangent, when i try and do things on my own, without consulting him and praying for guidance, he trims me down, and brings me back to his flock where he wants ume to be ...............................
In the car on the way home i had the HEATER on, yes the HEATER on, i don't think it has ever been used before, i came home put two HEATERS on in the bedroom and got into bed, i woke up at 9.30, starving. I then had a headache of note, but i am sure it was because i was holding myself so tense so that i could stop shaking.................
Today i am coughing and sneezing and am sitting here writing this with the HEATER on............. i will never, never mock people for being cold again............................ and then it got me thinking, can you imagine, those poor people with no homes, no blankets and not enough warm clothes..............................are we doing enough, what more can we do, no one should be cold ever...................... how blessed we are.