Anxiety is Contagious in a Shitty Environment without a Village: Safety-focused parenting and communities

anxiety contagious shitty environment village safety-focused parenting communities

Unless you live under a rock, you should know that we are confronted with daily news headlines of horrific acts against children in South Africa. Alarming statistics shows that children are often the victims of horrendous crimes. The latest making headlines are a spate of child abductions and attempted abductions. With at least 13 confirmed cases reported so far.

The thing is we don’t want to be paranoid parents and let’s be realistic, we can’t protect our children and keep a watchful eye over them 24/7. These kinds of headlines make us worry. It makes us anxious and anxiety is contagious when our children are in danger. We suspect anyone who just glances at our children.

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Attitude Gratitude – August Journal

Attitude Gratitude August Journal

Yikes we at the end of August and will be welcoming the ninth month of the year tomorrow. I’m quite looking forward to September and what it holds in store for me. Although Winter is my favorite month, probably because I was born in June and is classified as a Winter baby. But the thing is I’ve grown tired of Winter now. I’m ready to welcome Spring and and have slightly warmer days. To wear lighter clothing, flip flops and having socials in the backyard.

In saying that I’m eternally grateful for what Winter brought. With it came much needed rain which filled up our dams to over 60%.

Here is a summary of what I was grateful for in August. (more…)


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Hearty Creamy Chicken Corn Soup

hearty creamy chicken corn soup

We almost heading towards the end of winter but with the cold weather still lurking around there is nothing better than hearty chicken and corn soup. It just warms your soul when you taste it. Unlike other soups that takes hours to boil, this recipe is super quick and easy to prepare.  I have added my own twist to this recipe just to spice it up a little bit and to give it a bit of a kick.

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An Unexpected Occurrence: The day I lost my independence

unexpected occurrence day lost independence

I always pride myself as being very independent. I’ve always been like that, since I entered my adolescent years. But recently I lost that independence – even if it was just for 4 days. It happened so quickly that I’m still not pretty sure what triggered it.

All I can say is – lower back ache or any back ache for that matter is a bitch.  There’s really no other way to describe it. And I wish it on nobody.

A twist, a bend, bad posture or a past injury – I just don’t know.  Or even the after effects of a spinal block from both my pregnancies which happened years ago. Weird but apparently that can also be a cause.

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Unwritten/Unspoken Rules of the Whatsapp Group Decorum

unwritten unspoken rules whatsapp group decorum

Are you driven bonkers by some Whatsapp group chats? Then it’s time we talk about those unspoken/unwritten rules of the Whatsapp group decorum.

There is no denying the fact that Whatsapp has transformed the way we communicate with friends and family. No matter where in the world they are, it simplifies how we converse with them. It’s like a virtual get-together.

I mean seriously who still makes phone calls and send a SMS these days! Ok my parents still do but they old school and when the phone rings I know it is them.

Whatsapp is a free communication tool that makes life easier and allows you to send messages to a group of people simultaneously to schedule social appointments, send motivational message, voice notes, videos, funny memes and to share ideas.

Besides the instant chat groups with family and friends, it also enables sharing information with school parenting groups, sports groups and work colleagues.

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Lunching with good friends at the Yard in the Silo District

lunching good friends yard silo district

It’s been a while since I caught up with my girlfriends. Well more than a year to be exact. The weirdest thing is we all live in and around Cape Town. You see we all have busy schedules that is overflowing with work, kids, households etc. So, setting time aside for a meetup with friends is not always easy.

And I get it, hence what I wrote in my previous blog post about finding balance.

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Exploring the New Elgin Railway Market

It’s National Women’s Day and we found ourselves stuck in traffic on our way to our two day breakaway destination. With roadworks on the N2 and a stop and go system in place; being stuck in terrible traffic for almost an hour an a half wasn’t part of the plan. So we deiced to take a detour and headed to explore the new Elgin Railway Market instead.

Not usually operating on a Thursday but due to Women’s Day there was a special market running. With the theme of the day being pink to coincide with Women’s Day celebrations; it was carried through well with decor displays at every stall and even some guests wearing pink.

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The quest of finding the equilibrium: 10 Elements of making Work-life Balance a possibility

quest finding equilibrium 10 elements work life balance possibility

Seemingly people have this perception when they look at my husband and I, that we have it all together. Well, let me just set the record straight – that is a misconception.  We don’t always get the balance right and there are times when we try to stay afloat.

As full-time working parents, running a household, having a social life as well as taking on other responsibilities – it surely is challenging. We are not super parents that have the perfect equilibrium. Trying to fulfill the needs of work, family and the demands of life can come at a high price. In saying that, In 2012 I lost the balance completely so much so that I had a spate of anxiety attacks. These attacks occurred only at night and was due to an accumulation of work and life stressors. I tried to juggle part-time studies, work, family, household chores and everything else that life threw at me. So getting my shit together wasn’t always easy.

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Attitude Gratitude: July Journal

Attitude Gratitude July Journal

Hello beautiful people. I hope that you all have been well. There is a slight chill in the air here in Cape Town but if you find yourself in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m sure you are enjoying the sunshine.

July has been great! In fact it was fantastic, with half the month spent being on vacation and the other half back at work. So that in itself was a bonus.

As I cast my mind back to the past 31 days, by looking at my entries, keeping a gratitude journal has become easier from when I started in March.

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Great Fun-filled experience at The Kids Gym {WIN}

great fun-filled experience kids gym

You always run out of ideas to keep the kids busy during the school holidays. After receiving complimentary vouchers, Lea and Mika were lucky to visit The Kids Gym at Sable Square, Cape Town. And oh my word, what a great fun-filled experience it was.

Before heading there, we anticipated it to be just another kids play area. Let’s just say, we were pleasantly surprised to see what it was all about when we arrived. The Gym and Play Combo voucher to the value of R140 affords a child two hours at The Kids Gym. This includes an hour training session using all the gym equipment and a personal trainer. And an hour free play in the separate play area.

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