Honoured

On Friday 26 March this year I became Auntie to little Isabella. She came into the world at 00:03 (*earlier than expected) weighing 3.26kg, with a head circumference of 33cm and a body length of 46cm. As part of my baby shower gift to my sister, I organised a voucher from Jeanette for a newborn shoot. The pic below was taken at the shoot and you can go here to see the rest.

Now the reason for this post, besides being a super proud Auntie, is because my sister has asked me to be Bella’s godmother. What an absolute honour! And what an important role to play! The christening is taking place in December and I’m really looking forward to it. Looking forward to being a role model and guide for this precious little girl. It’s going to be a challenge at times, I’m sure, but I’ll be ready… Any sage advice for the meantime?

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

* My sister had a c-section scheduled for that Friday morning at 8:00 but little Isabella just couldn’t wait. My sister went into labour late Thursday night and after a very quick and easy labour, she gave birth. My sister and I joke that the reason why Isabella arrived earlier is because I prodded my sister’s belly one too many times. You see I used to push and prod the belly just so I could feel little Bella move.

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30 odd and counting

…the amount of mosquito bites I have on my body at the moment.
…the amount of bumps that itch and itch and can’t be soothed by a scratch.
…the number of times a day (at least) that I moan about these itchy bumps from hell when I rediscover them by scratching.

Not only am I moaning about the itchiness, I am moaning that I am the only one being targeted (the fiancé hasn’t had a single bite)!

So, in an effort to try and get bitten less, I googled “tips for avoiding mosquito bites”:
1. I should just stop breathing because they’re drawn to the carbon dioxide. - My carbon dioxide must be like cocaine or something to warrant the amount of bites I have.
2. I should stop using soap, shampoo, deodorant and washing detergent. - Oh hell no! I like having clean clothes and clean hair and a clean body and smelling nice.
3. I should wear light coloured clothing. - Uhm…my pajamas are white! How much lighter can I go?!
4. I should cover up as much as possible. - It’s summer. There is NO way I am wearing long pants, a long top and socks to bed. Next!
5. I should use vanilla essence and dab it on my pulse points. - Now this is doable!
6. I should plant lavender, basil or citronella plants outside my bedroom window. - Also doable except that we’re renting and our doglets will dig it up.
7. I should use insect repellents. - I don’t like smelling like Tabard and it doesn’t work for me.

So not much knowledge has been gained from my research. Damn! But perhaps it’s helped you a bit? I know one thing for sure, I’m the perfect camping/bed buddy!

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Man vs Woman

I received this via email the other day about the differences between men and women. I just had to share it with you, you know, just for giggles.

NICKNAMES
· If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
· If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Dickhead and Shit for Brains.

EATING OUT
· When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
· When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
· A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
· A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need but it’s on sale.

BATHROOMS
· A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.
· The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
· A woman has the last word in any argument.
· Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
· A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
· A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
· A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
· A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
· A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.
· A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
· A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
· A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
· Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
· Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
· Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
· A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes. There’s no point in two people remembering the same things!

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10 things I learnt this week

1. An afternoon off really does help me relax
2. Having to bring work home so I could have that afternoon off was crappy but worth it
3. Buying my sister a birthday present was supposed to be the easiest errand as I know her so well, but it ended up taking forever to find the perfect something
4. Receiving an awaited “something” in the post makes me happy
5. Short weeks due to public holidays just make the other 4 days that much busier and more stressful
6. Sometimes a little breakdown can make me feel better
7. Driving my Boss’ Audi was amazing but has given me a case of the “I Wants”
8. No matter what anyone says, chocolate cake for lunch is part of a balanced diet
9. My cavernous bag needs to be tossed because I dig and dig and can’t find what I’m looking for
10. A good night’s sleep can only be achieved when I’m not stressing about work and the many things that need to be done

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Sick Day

Today was one of those days that did not go according to plan. It was one of those days that, had I known what was in store, I would have opted to call in sick and stay in bed.

It started off badly with me taking too long to get ready and leaving slightly later than I normally would. The trip to work was good and I was making up time, when, BAM, I got stuck in “accident traffic”. So I arrived at work a few minutes late. In the midst of unlocking security gates and front doors and keying in the security alarm code, the phone starts ringing. I almost see my butt on the super slippery floors while rushing to my office to answer the bloody phone. Get to it in time, deal with the necessary, and as I put it down, it immediately rings again. Instead of a friendly voice on the other end, I hear our Cape Town co-ordinator shouting at me because I’ve messed up her cost estimate for her function tomorrow…blah…blah…blah. First off I had to redo the cost estimate yesterday because she’d completely killed the template I’d sent her and her layout was not of the standard that we are known for. Secondly, the cost estimate should have been done when the enquiry was first received and not a few days before the event. She didn’t like the way we’d changed things in order to make a profit (isn’t that what business is all about?!) and was thus having a go at me. I told her that she needed to speak to The Boss as I did not have the last say in these types of circumstances (and I just wanted to get off the phone). This was sort of sorted out when The Boss came in and phoned her. The rest of the day was spent trying to get a million and one things done in between being asked for this and that, answering phones, attending to emails, etc. I felt like a mother of ten children having to attend to all ten children at once – one asking me to watch them do this, one asking me to do that. It was exhausting! To top off this day from hell, I managed to burn my palette because I ate my steaming dinner too quickly, and I decided it’d be fun to rinse my eye out with shampoo.

It has not been a good day. I wouldn’t want to redo it even if I were paid in #SexyShoes and #SweetTooth things.

So it’s off to bed for me as soon as possible so I can hide away from the rest of the day…just in case. And if I wake up tomorrow morning with a bad feeling, I’m going to hit snooze and pretend to be sick!

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

Time to Move

The time has come to find a new place to live. At the moment we live in a spacious two bedroomed cottage that has a walled-off garden and a separate entrance from the main house. Problem is our landlady told us a month or two ago that she had subdivided her property and would be putting the cottage on the market.

This was a bit of a shock but it was the desperate kick in the pants that we needed. You see, we had gotten lackadaisical in that we’ve been *unhappy here for the last few months but had not started to look at available rentals. Now we have the necessary incentive to get a move on and find something better.

I started searching the web trying to find places that fit within our specifications – budget, location, pet-friendly, number of bedrooms, etc. I did manage to find a few places that seemed perfect so I emailed the estate agents through their online form. I am STILL waiting for someone to get back to me.

I then mentioned my irritation to my step-mom who then got in touch with one of her rental contacts. (My parents have a bachelor cottage on their property and they used this contact to get a tenant.)

Anyways… This contact called me last week and once we’d chatted about requirements, she told me that she had something available Northgate way. We arranged to view it last Saturday and were happy with what we saw. It’s a two bedroomed, one bathroom unit with a small garden, carport and garage in a quiet complex. It was perfect for our needs EXCEPT that I would end up sitting in traffic for ages each day. I know I shouldn’t complain about traffic as my daily traffic is minimal and most others have to battle with traffic, but I can’t see myself sitting in hours worth of traffic each day…

So it’s back to the drawing board to see what else we can find. Hopefully there is an estate agent out there that will actually take the time to contact me, else I’ll have to pitch a tent in one of your gardens…

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

*The cottage is beautiful and modern so at a first glance one wouldn’t think that there were any problems. However when it rains the roof leaks (mainly because of the build-up of leaves on the flat roof), the ceiling cornices aren’t sealed properly so gunk from the roof sifts through onto all surfaces including our pillows, and the gas oven needs to be monitored when cooking as the gas just “decides” to switch off – to name but a few. These problems aren’t huge! The could be solved in an afternoon or two if the landlady cared a little.

PS: After drafting this post, we saw that our landlady had an open house last Sunday. We then found out that she hasn’t been able to sell the cottage and so was putting the main house up for sale which would mean her and her son would move into the cottage. Seems like a wonderful twist of fate because now she’ll experience what we’ve been struggling with the past couple years. Can you hear me do a little Dr Evil giggle??

Girl Guides: Snapshot of the Nokia X6

Given the small size of the phone, I was surprised to see that it comes in such a huge box! Like the size of one of my shoe boxes! Inside you’ll find the sexy little X6, a set of old-school style “over the head” earphones, a data cable, a charger and the necessary user manuals.

Take a look here for the full snapshot review.

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What a week

This past week has been chaos. And if I’m completely truthful, I’d say that last week was chaos too.

First let’s discuss last week…
Doofus (the event assistant) put in his resignation last week Tuesday. It just so happened to be the day that his three month probationary contract expired. This couldn’t have been a better explanation of a Catch 22 if we tried – he wasn’t doing a great job so we were happy that he resigned, but we had a wedding in Durban that Saturday and he was going to be driving down in the company vehicle transporting our props etc. The rest of Tuesday was spent trying to “plug holes” by finding an alternative driver, ensuring all the things he was supposed to have done were done, etc. It was a stressful day! He arrived at work on Wednesday, after he and The Boss had gone to coffee on Tuesday evening, and announced that he would be assisting with the wedding and then would be leaving after that. Crisis semi averted. Now we needed to get help in to assist with the chaos that was this week. Luckily we managed to find an appropriate “new” events assistant and brought in another events co-ordinator to assist.

Now to the chaos of this week…
Event number 1 was a breakfast on Tuesday morning at 08h00 for 8 guests. Luckily it was a small number of guests as we only got confirmation on Monday morning. This meant running around sourcing caterers, flowers, getting the decor ready, etc.
Event number 2 was the styling of rooms at a bank for their exclusive clients to sign new credit cards or such like. We only received sign off of the quote yesterday afternoon which again meant chaos in getting the relevant props from suppliers, flowers delivered, etc in time that we could setup at 4pm yesterday.
Event number 3 is a 50th birthday that took place this afternoon. When we were first briefed on it, it was going to take place at the client’s private home. The relevant suppliers were provisionally booked so all was in order. Then last week the venue changed to a restaurant in Morningside. So we had to cancel some suppliers and change other orders to suit the new venue. Then at 2pm yesterday, it was moved back to her private home again. Chaos ensued! We needed to get in touch with all the suppliers and get them booked for the last minute change. It took some serious effort in getting the bar and catering services booked as well as the necessary tables and chairs delivered in time.
Event number 4 is a wedding that takes place tomorrow afternoon. We had the final meeting with the client on Wednesday afternoon and she decided then that she needed table numbers. So again, more chaos in trying to get an urgent printing job done with our already busy suppliers. On the brightside, all other aspects of her wedding are sorted so this last minute hitch didn’t matter that much.
Event number 5 is a 50th birthday party also taking place tomorrow except it’s an evening function. This client has been particularly difficult and demanding. We were approached with this event a couple months ago but she has been so disorganised that everything has been last minute (I am still waiting for the table seating plan). She requested last night that she no longer deal with me because I’m rude. Gary made me feel better about this snotty comment by saying, “some people just mistake rudeness for efficiency”. Thanks my Sexy.
And finally, event number 6 is a small teaspoon exhibition that is taking place at our offices. Everything was setup during the day yesterday with the opening taking place last night. They are exhibiting today until 6pm, and again tomorrow from 10am until 1pm. I am “running” this from my desk as not much needs to be done from my side other than letting in the visitors.

How’s that for chaos?!

Hope your week(s) has been better than mine!

Hugs & Kisses
Jessica Giggles

How I Met Your Father

Continued from part 6…

A recap…
His Sexiness and I began dating in the summer of 2008 and ensured we saw each other whenever possible. We had our first date. We had our second first date in the hope of making a better memory. And we celebrated our first Valentine’s Day.

By the autumn of 2008, His Sexiness and I had already discussed, in detail, about moving in together. We even went so far as wanting to sit down with both parents (separately of course) and chat to them about our thoughts and plans.

His Sexiness brought it up casually with his parents, without me around. His mom was thoroughly pleased with the idea, while his dad was somewhat undecided (though this changed within about 10 minutes, or so I’m told).

My parents were different!

Over dinner one night, we explained our plans of moving in together and were met with looks of disdain and many questions. We were asked why we wanted to move in together so soon? And we explained how we weren’t planning on doing it immediately but rather wanted to test the waters and move in when we could. We were asked why we didn’t just get engaged first? And we then had to explain that ultimately marriage was on the cards but that living together would be a great “test” to determine whether we are well suited etc. We also reminded them of the fact that both sets of our parents had been divorced and have remarried and so we were looking at doing things a little differently to the way they had done it. This comment really struck a chord with them.

More discussions ensued between June and September.

Finally we received the approval from my parents and we started planning. It was decided that I would move in with His Sexiness on Saturday 13 December 2008 – the day after I finished work for the year.

So…for the two weeks leading up to the big move, I packed a little here and there after work each day. And by the time that last Friday arrived, I was almost done.

Saturday morning arrived and I began transforming Bullet (my car) into my mini truck by folding down both of the back seats. I had already loaded my car up to it’s capacity by the time His Sexiness arrived at 9am. We then packed his car to capacity as well. My sister and BIL arrived soon thereafter and since we now had two strong men, the heavy lifting began. My bedroom unit and mattress and bed were hoisted and manoeuvred onto the hired bakkie and tied in place. All in all it took two trips to get all my stuff moved across. And because we’d started early in the day, everything was moved in by lunchtime (excluding the many many boxes which were just piled atop one another).

We then took the rest of the afternoon to get everything in place – the bedroom was first on the list, with the rest of the cottage taking second place. By that Wednesday, most of my stuff had been sorted and put away. There were still a lot of boxes to sort through and junk to throw out but I was moved in! I now lived with my boyfriend! I was beyond excited!

Continues in part 8 soon…

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10 things I learnt this week

1. Long working hours and stress are taking their toll on my body and energy levels
2. Dealing with prima-donna’s takes a lot of patience
3. There are not enough hours in the day to get through all the work that needs to be done
4. I need to spend quality time with my fiancé after barely seeing him this week
5. I need to make sure there is always chocolate in my house, Milo just doesn’t hit the spot
6. Drinking a cuppa tea while lounging in the bath is the ultimate indulgence
7. The new season of Brothers & Sisters seems like an emotional one – I’ve only watched two or three episodes and I’ve cried in each one
8. I could teach Old Mother Hubbard a thing or two about bare cupboards – can’t wait to go grocery shopping tomorrow (Did I really just say that?!)
9. Rental agencies are bloody rude – I have left messages for and emailed three different agents about their property rentals and have yet to hear back from one of them
10. The stress and exhaustion of work, the stress of having to find a new place to stay, and the emotions from last week make the weekend ahead look relaxing and wonderful

PS Since I find it so difficult to relax and unwind, I really do wish there was a simple button I could press that would initiate relaxation. A girl can only wish…

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