The Work Week

Thought I’d keep them coming… Thanx Poppet for your Friday grin… I miss you!

Monday: Mad as Hell




Tuesday: Slowly coming out of it




Wednesday: but not quite there, so watch it!




Thursday: The end of the work week is in sight




Friday: TGIF




Saturday: Love my Saturday!




Sunday: Oh-oh!

Here we go again!

Laughter

So… if laughter is contagious…

and it’s also the best medicine…







I hope this gets you going…





and if you cant laugh…



Smile…

Ghost Stories

I decided to type some of my “true life” ghost stories…

Since a little girl I would always hear about my mom’s encounters with the “other side”.
Yes - I have my own “John Edward”, if you would like to call her that.
One of our living ghost stories is Bremen.

Bremen was a white Mercedes Benz from the late 1970’s, and Bremen came with a story. You could even say that Bremen’s previous owner lived through her. This is the creepiest, car I have ever had the misfortune of being a passenger in.
To understand the story behind Bremen you have to know that her previous owner committed suicide by gassing himself while sitting in the back seat between 10pm and 2am on a Saturday night.
As you know we are a family who love watching movies and we loved going to the drive-in. The problem was if we decided to take Bremen along on a Saturday night, we would have to leave before the second show. If we stayed Bremen would not start– no matter what you tried. Bremen imitated a fossil between 10 and 2pm .This was one of the most creepy times to be around Bremen as you could see hand impressions digging into the back seat. I was only seven or eight at the time and I was pretty sure I was witnessing a true life horror story.
At 11pm Bremen would once again start with ease, and you could be on your merry way again.

Another problem with Bremen is that she didn’t like women very much. My mom and I took Bremen along when we went grocery shopping one Saturday morning. My mom had filled two trolleys to the brim, and Bremen refused to open her doors, or boot. We stood in the blazing heat for almost an hour trying to open the car. My mom tried the driver’s door, then the passenger door, then the boot, then she handed the keys over to me and I would try, It was like we were kids completing shampoo bottle instructions, *wash, lather, rinse, repeat, wash, lather, rinse, repeat*. No matter what we tried we just couldn’t get those doors to open.
My mom was furious by then, and she shouted at Bremen “Damn it if you don’t open your doors now – I’m going to make razor blades out of you!”
The doors opened almost immediately but then Bremen decided it would be fun to push an already angry woman further. Bremen decided not to start. It was nothing like the night time stints; Bremen was eh-heh-eh-heh-eh-hehing. My mom shouted at the car again and low and behold the car started.
Off we went to fetch my step father at work, with Bremen coughing and spluttering all the way. My mom told my step father in no uncertain terms - that she would not be driving home due to our mornings adventures with Bremen.
“Ahh my poor baby, is daddy’s girl sick?” My step dad said to Bremen.
He put the key in the ignition and started her up. Bremen was once again fine, no coughing, no spluttering, no refusal to unlock doors.
He stood outside the car allowing Bremen idol for a couple of minutes.
“See” He said, “There’s nothing wrong with her. What’s daddy’s girls’ name?”
Bremen answered without hesitation – “B-r-e-e-e-e-m-e-e-e-n”

I'm No Grinch.

I’m no Grinch…

I was thinking about how many people there are in the world that is so called Grinch’s.

I love Valentine’s Day, Guyfaux (with the sparkles and romance – not the loud bangs and injuries), Christmas, April Fool’s Day and even St Paddy’s Day. I love to give, even if it is an invisible gift or something handmade. I like people to feel special.

I love waking up on Valentine’s Day with the perfect contented feeling that I can share love and feel it too. Yes I agree, you should tell people far more often than you actually do, and definitely not just on one day of the year. Valentine’s Day should be a celebration of all those times that you did just that. It should be about the time that you helped a friend in need and at the end of it all said “I love you too” or just said “I love you” at the end of a phone call. It could be a day for someone who usually finds it difficult to say the words – to step up and feel the freedom of telling someone how much they are valued.

Valentine’s Day to me is like New Year. It gives me a new lease on life, I feel hopeful and get a dose of wind pollinated Red Bull. I mean really open your eyes on Monday. Take a look at the kiddies all dressed in red and white, spreading innocence and love. Yes Grinch, take a look at that old married couple who pulled their red T-shirts out of their cupboards for the day and are staring lovingly into one another’s eyes. It’s down-right inspirational.

This brings me to today, thinking of the Grinch, and how he’s stealing Valentine’s Day.

There is so much stress, hate, drama, war, anger and disappointment running rampant like raging bulls around the world today. Think about having one day to take a break from the harshness of the world and concentrate on Love, romance, happiness, laughter and peace.

So call me bunny hugger, call me sentimental, but I’d rather have one day that virally spreads love than a day that’s filled with hate, sadness and war. I’ll delight in preparing a thoughtful gift and seeing bright happy faces of those I love and I’ll be lovingly accepting the handmade cards and the flowers picked from my garden.

Just remember that by being a Grinch you may just be hurting someone’s feelings, and by doing so are changing their outlook on what was a special day.
So Grinch’s - why not try sharing the love rather than spreading negativity?

DVD's we've watched recently

DVD’s we’ve watched recently.

I love a good movie. I can rip a movie to shreds, but in the past week I have enjoyed watching a few DVD’s that are worth mentioning. For us in SA the Bud Spencer and Terence Hill Collection is on the shelves at popular stores, I think that they are worth looking out for. We recently bought They Call Me Trinity (1970), which is one my brother and I watched many times over as kids. For us its one of those movies that our mom got us watching and it has ended up being one of our family classics.
It’s a Western movie with a touch of silly brute humour that only Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer can provide. There’s a list of movies to choose from, but the “Trinity’s” are my favourites.
For those of you who aren’t particularly fond of Westerns – like me - you may end up enjoying these too. It’s the type of collection that the entire family can enjoy.

After a LONG wait I finally got to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. We loved Heath Ledger’s interpretation of The Joker, in The Dark Knight. Ten Things I hate about you and A Knights Tale are two of my other favourites where Heath had the lead.
Before watching The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, you must remember that Heath died during the making of the movie, so it is “unfinished”, meaning that Heath’s part would never reach its full potential. The way that the movie was completed however paid tribute to Heath. His characters departure – as in Heath’s departure - from the film was mind blowing for me.
Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell’s addition to complete the film was done in such a way that it could be expected because of the nature of the film.
The story takes you on a weird trip into others imaginations, where their dreams become reality. It gives you a taste of good versus evil and left me with many thoughts on its meaning.
I wouldn’t recommend that you watch the movie with someone who would sum it up in the first five minutes. You need to embrace the weirdness and go with it.

If you’re an action junkie you’ll love The Expendables the box says that it’s the most awesome action cast ever assembled, and it truly is. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis Jet Li, Dolf Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts and even a cameo appearance from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Story line is about overthrowing a ruthless dictator. The film is action-packed; a movie where the stuntmen out-number the designers, as well as having touches of humour. It had me laughing out loud. It’s one of those action movies - that will have you chomping at your popcorn without even realising it.
For people like me who are against abuse towards women, you’ll love Jason Statham’s characters reaction to abuse. Jason also did all of his own stunts, including one where he hangs on the front of a plane.

The last film I’d like to recommend for this post is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Nicolas Cage once again teams up with producer Jerry Bruckheimer – this time in a Disney Film. If you enjoy their combination you will enjoy this movie too.
It’s a fun adventure story for the family.
I enjoyed Jay Baruchel’s character of the “perfect” geeky student, learning about his “hidden magical qualities” and Nicolas cage adding humour to his lines in his own unique way. Teresa Palmer reminded me of a young Naomi Watts.
The special effects are really cool, and add to the magic of the film.

Its until the next blog post from me… J

Bullying -

Bullying

As a mother of a child experiencing bullying at school I think it is vitally important that parents are aware of the signs that a child is being bullied, as well as how to prevent it and what to do if it happening to your child.

This is what I have experienced and information that I have found to be very helpful.

When I first heard that my son was being bullied at school I was horrified. It took me back to the days when I experienced school bullies while I was still at school.
Bullies made my school life really difficult. There were days that I didn’t want to go to school, just so I could avoid having to deal with the children who were harassing me.

I was verbally bullied, bullied by being excluded, as well as being threatened.
Having a difficult home life, I never had the coping mechanisms instilled in me, to deal with bullies and I crept further into my shell. Years later I found my strength and I will no longer allow myself to be in that situation again. There is no way that I will allow it to be a factor in my children’s lives.

My son’s experiences have been different.

The latest bully has been picking on him in the classroom as well as seeking him out at break time to continue harassing him.

The bully:

·         harasses him on his way to his desk,

·         steals his stationery and refuses to return it,

·         hits him with rulers and other objects,

·         pushes him around, (on one occasion into the hook for the classroom door)

·         slaps and punches him,

·         tells my son that he can’t do things - that he has already cleared with teachers,

·         laughs at my son for no reason,

·         resorts to name calling,

·         he lies when he is confronted,

I realised that this is typical behaviour for a bully when I read an article forwarded to me by a friend.

So as not to repeat any of the information here is a link to the page. It describes types of bullying, why students bully and the impact of bullying.

http://www.olweus.org/public/bullying.page

http://sooozsaysstuff.blogspot.com/2010/12/zero-tolerance-to-bullyinghow-to-deal.html?spref=fb

The Result:
I had a meeting this morning at my son’s school. The class teacher is at her wits end with the bully. The Head of Department for grade 4 and the Principal are all dealing with the issue at hand. The parents of the bully have been contacted.
I have ensured that they have all the info that I could possibly give them, so that they could deal with each problem area effectively.

I now hope that the bully’s parents take action and work with the school. I am taking my zero tolerance approach, and I hope that you would do the same for your child.

My tips would be that you always speak to your child. Have an open line of communication.
My son and I have our time in the kitchen every evening. He has a passion for food so while we are cooking together he talks about his day. It’s a relaxed atmosphere so it is easy for him to talk about anything that is bothering him.
Go with your gut. If you feel that something is not right – it probably isn’t.
You’ll know when to push your child for answers.

Don’t leave the situation at educating your child on how to react.

Always take things further.

Go to the school prepared. (In my meeting today I was able to enlighten the teacher as to problem areas that had not been addressed)

You can’t be sure of what will happen in the future, but making sure that everyone is aware of the issue at hand is a vital step.

Ensure that you and the class teacher have a clear plan of action and ask the teacher to explain this plan to your child as well as you explaining it to him or her. It leaves your child with peace of mind.

One tip from the articles I read that resonated with me was not to allow a meeting with both children in the room. I had been down that road before – and the outcome was not what I wanted or expected.

Thank you to Soooz for all the information.

I learned earlier this year, that it helps to share your story with others. Your story may just help someone else who is in the same situation. I will post updates of any new developments...

Positive Food For Thought

Positive food for thought…

So I’m a month down the line from feeling so hopelessly disconnected from everyone and everything around me.

I wanted a fast return of my positive self but unfortunately I first had some “mind” obstacles to overcome.

My ponderings for today are about positive thought.

Do you believe in positive thought? Do you believe it can work?Before you jump up and answer my question, read on - and then decide.

A couple of years back a friend of mine gave me a DVD copy of The Secret. I’ve watched it a couple of times and looking at the testimonies of the people on the film I was pretty much in awe of how it worked for them.

Last week I found a copy of the first book.
I’m reading it slowly and “taking it in” chapter by chapter.

Oh NOOO!
 it's one of THOSE days -
I'm going back to bed!

I definitely agree that if you stub your toe in the morning, it’s probably a given that you’re going to have a clumsy day and the more you “focus” on those negative moments they just keep on happening.
I’ve had a day where my friend’s car seemed to be attacking me, yes – every time I’d have a clumsy moment it involved the car!
I bumped my noggin on the roof, the door slammed into my leg, It seemed to be a vicious circle of me against the Raider. I ended up looking like I was abused.
For those of you who know me well enough, you will know that I’m a natural clutz, but I wonder if those who don’t believed me when I told them what happened. It could easily have been construed as – hmm – ok – she was attacked by a car… sure!
By the end of the day I was laughing at myself and the day started to improve.

Note to self: You still worry about what other people think?? Duh! You know the truth and that’s all that matters.

I’m seriously veering off the subject here – so straight back to it then.

This week I decided to start changing things here and there so that I could lead a more positive life.
I have honestly had a pretty decent week.
Monday was positively stressful. My husband went back to work - for the day - during his time of being booked off work with a broken femur - and now he thankfully knows himself that returning so early was not such a good idea. This is what made me decide to make my days more positive, so I decided to give each day of the week a positively delicious name, and see how things went from there.

Tremendously Terrific Tuesday went off without a hitch; Wickedly Wonderful Wednesday was just that. I’ve had moments with a friend that I wouldn’t exchange for any cash in the world and other things have been working out as if they were arranged to perfection.
I even managed to change from a negative mindset to a positive one.
I caught one of my kids being really naughty, usually that would set the day off into a tailspin on negative happenings. Without even considering the secret’s teachings I had thought of something really good and I had a smile on my face. I felt like a super star when I realised what had happened.

Hmm… this is really working…

On good days the kids and I usually choose a really loud and bouncy song to sing-a-long to in the car in the mornings, on the way to school. It’s an awesome way to start the day… so now we do it every day. It just sets our days off on the right note. (For us music addicts that is ;))

This is one that my kids and I get going to... Dunno why but it brings on our happy vibe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMv2nrZahD8

So this is the point I’m at right now…
Have you had moments like these?
Would you test it?