Hip Hip Horaay!

Oh my goodness, I'm now officially hooked! I can't believe how excited I got to see that ten people had actually read my blog yesterday. Now I understand the importance of leaving comments. Thank you to everyone who visited and commented - I feel..... Popular!

Anyway, it's school holidays at last, and we are going away. I'm so excited, but I'm going to miss next week's writers' workshop. Just as I'm feeling like blogging every minute, I'm being seperated from my computer (don't think the family would appreciate my spending the holiday blogging)! Watch this space, hopefully I'll have lots of good photos and stories when I get back.

Writers' Workshop - My Thoughtless Teacher

Her name was Mrs Shepherd and she was my Afrikaans (one of South Africa's 11 official languages) teacher in grade 12. I hated Afrikaans. Although I got good grades for written work, my ability to speak it was somewhat lacking. It is a language similar to Dutch, with lots of rrrrr sounds and gutteral-sounding G's. I tried my best, but I always sounded English. One day in class each student was taking a turn to read a passage from our set book. When it came to my turn I was so nervous I felt ill. I haltingly started reading, only to be stopped in my tracks by the words forever burned into my phsyche "Alison, for heavan's sake stop, you're killing the story!". It scarred me for life. Although I married an Afrikaans man, I refuse to speak the language - unless absolutely necessary (that being if someone held a gun to my head). When I have to speak it I feel stupid and hysterically nervous and stumble over my words just like I did that day in class.

The strange thing is that Mrs Shepherd was a really good teacher, and one of my favourites - perhaps that's why her words cut so deep. I suppose she was just having one of those days... Anyway, Mrs Shepherd, you scarred me for life. 20 Years later and I still have nightmares about high school (note the recurring dream theme), and it's all your fault!

This picture was taken a few years ago, but it's one of my favourites. It's my three children, their cousin Kirsten (front) with their Ouma (Afrikaans word meaning "Grandmother" - for my overseas viewers). It's such a lovely picture and all those in it make it into my "Top Twenty Most Important People in my Life" list.

Mentos Moments

The kids will now demonstrate:

This is the latest craze of my children. They saw it on TV, some science programme, and of course they had to try it!

First you take a few Mentos sweets - the more the better I believe.

Then you put all the Mentos in your mouth, and take a large swig of Coke...

.... And it explodes in your mouth and sprays everywhere.

When I think of some of the terrible things other mothers of 12, 15 & 18 year olds have to worry about, I'm so thankful that my biggest worry is how to get Coke stains out of a white sweatshirt!

Dear Me From Me at 56

Dear Alison,

You are still so young! Stop thinking you are old. Stop studying your teeny weeny wrinkles that nobody else can see - I'm looking back at pictures and I wish I looked as good now.

Stop wishing that the kids' teenage years would be over - what do you think comes next you idiot? They leave, that's what! They have families of their own, and move away to other countries. I promise you, you will wish for those years to be back again.

For heavan's sake stop obsessing about your weight! You may be a few kilos overweight, but in 20 years that won't matter. Your husband loves you and thinks you're sexy - there's nothing more important because in 20 years there'll only be him and you.

Lastly, and most importantly, stop wishing your ex-husband would get hit by a bus. When he does you will feel bad - NOT (cackle, cackle, cackle). Tip: Do Not go to his funeral! Drinking champagne and dancing on his grave will not go down well with the other mourners - some people actually do like him!

Love, Alison

Assignment: The Last 3 People I E-mailed & Why

Because I am such a bad blogger I have decided to take some hints from my favourite blogger mamakatslosinit. The photo of my cat Misty has nothing to do with anything - she's just cute.

Person 1: My Favourite Cousin Catherine in the USA
Just like my blogging record, my e-mailing record is pretty tardy. I go through stages where I inundate the poor woman with mails, and then there's a drought. At the moment we are experiencing drought phase, and I sent her a quick mail to tell her that I'm still alive here in sunny South Africa and that even though I haven't mailed her, I am thinking of her.

Person (or not) 2: My ex-Husband Shaun
Oh dear, this is a tricky one. I mailed my ex to tell him of all the wonderful efforts my husband David & I are making in raising his children while he lives the high life, including our trying to raise funds to send HIS daughter to USA for a leadership conference she was invited to and to which he has contributed absolutely sweet NOTHING! Well success was mine because this morning I got a call saying that his wife would cover the next USD300 installment which is due at the end of September. Well, Praise the Lord! is all I can say. This is the first time that he and his wife have EVER done anything like this. Maybe I've been misjudging her for the past 9 years.....

Person 3: The Manager of a Computer Shop

SCREEEEEEECH! I just deleted half my post by accident and now I have to do it over.

As I was saying...

Person 3: The Manager of a Computer Shop
To try to convince him to sponsor a prize for a raffle our school is running to raise funds for Sherae's trip. I went to see him in person yesterday, and he was decidedly unimpressed by my plea, and was actually quite sarcastic and obnoxious. All the others I've approached have been so friendly and willing to help that his attitude was quite a shock as by the time I got to him I was floating on the rosy cloud of success. I found myself tangling up my words and feeling flustered, so I decided to mail him my proposal as a back-up to my poor performance. No response from him yet - surprise, surprise. But perhaps I have misjudged him too.... I can only hope.

Now in case he gets jealous, or feels left out, here is a picture of my other cat, James. Also nothing at all to do with my blog, but he's also so cute sleeping with his teddy bear. Oh boy, I really do need to have another baby don't I?!?