My very first meme!!!!!

I got tagged for this fluffy meme (and my first for that matter) by Jenty … so here goes… !

1. What time did you get up this morning? Half past 4 after snoozing my cellphone 3 times
2. How do you like your steak? Don't eat steak - hate red meat
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Cannot remember for the life of me - too long ago
4. What is your favorite TV show? Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy but only if I can watch the whole series on DVD at my leisure - I hate being left hanging until the next episode.
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Definitely Paternoster or Tietiesbaai
6. What did you have for breakfast? Only coffee so far planning on having All Bran just now
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Grilled prawns, pavlova
8. What foods do you dislike? Red meat and chillie
9. Favorite Place to Eat? The Boomhuisie restaurant for sentimental reasons (Kallie and I frequented this quaint little restaurant and also celebrated our wedding reception there) 11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? Golf TDi Estate (a real mommy mobile)
12. What are your favorite clothes? PJ's and jeans (Don't worry I don't wear them at the same time)
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Eiffel tower in Paris
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Could change from moment to moment depending on how my day unfolds
15. Where would you want to retire? Definitely Paternoster or Tietiesbaai
16. Favorite time of day? Evenings when the boys are finally asleep and I am surrounded by silence
17. Where were you born? Durban
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Diving
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? No idea
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? I dunno
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? I dunno
22. Bird watcher? Definitely - have just neglected this hobby for quite a while now but am planning to rectify that
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night person.
24. Do you have any pets? Yes, a whole zoo which includes 3 dogs, 1 bearded dragon (and no I am not scared of it), a hamster, 2 love birds and a 1000+ earthworms in our "Going green" wormery! (There were a couple more pets at one stage but we had a few casualties along the way.)
25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? Jenty has helped me revamp my blog and I am now able to add gadgets/ widgets (I think). I feel like such a techno wizz!!!
26. What did you want to be when you were little? A doctor or a vet
27. What is your best childhood memory? Caravan holidays
28. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog
29. Are you married? Yes in my heart - my husband passed away recently
30. Always wear your seat belt? Always.
31. Been in a car accident? Only a bumper bashing or two
32. Any pet peeves? Clutter, lies, office politics
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Cheese, chicken, avo
34. Favorite Flower? Longstemmed red roses
35. Favorite ice cream? Lemon sorbet (don't know if that counts as ice cream)
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Nandos
37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? Passed first time (probably because I drove around for quite a while without one)
38. From whom did you get your last email? Chantelle - was a mail on how short life is and it made me cry
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Woolies
40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Bought myself a framed print of the Eiffel tower (not sure where I am going to hang it yet)
41. Happy with your job? Some times
42. Broccoli? Yes
43. What was your favorite vacation? Going to St Lucia for my honeymoon
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My mom and my 2 boys
45. What are you listening to right now? Airconditioner and colleagues talking in the distance
46. What is your favorite color? Blue (I think)
47. How many tattoos do you have? None (except if the permanent make up on my brows and eyes count)
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? Not sure this is my first time at this and all the bloggers I know personally have already been tagged, so I am going to be wild and tag 4 I have read for a long time but who probably doesn't even know I exist!
49. What time did you finish this quiz? 7:09 am
50. Coffee Drinker? Oh yes cannot survive without my caffeine fix

And I tag 4 bloggers I am in awe of , and who to my knowledge have not been tagged yet

Kirsty from "We are that family"
Mel from "A box of chocolates"
Angel from "Angelsmind"
Laurakim from "Harassed mom"

About me - 42 things I love ....

To kick start my journey of self discovery I have spent the last week or so since my birthday contemplating my likes and dislikes. This was quite difficult initially. I set myself a goal to make a list of 42 things (for 42 years) I love. Nothing hectic or philosophical just silly everyday things and places (not people - I will get to that later) that tickle my fancy. Wow I was amazed (and sometimes even shocked) at times. I would, totally out of the blue, remember old favourites or recall long forgotten memories when I was least expecting it.

Here is my "42 things I love" list in no particular order; I just jotted things down as they came to mind -

1. Sushi


2. Long stemmed red roses


3. Frogs


4. Dark Albany chocolate (especially Toblerone or Ferrero Rocher)


5. Books


6. Sudoku puzzles


7. Reading - books, blogs ...


8. Numbers & calculations


9. Bird watching


10. St Joseph's Lilies


11. Pater Noster & Tietiesbaai


12. Blogging


13. Wimpy Coffee


14. Candy floss


15. Surprises


16. Lists


17. St Lucia


18. Starfish


19. Cafe Latte


20. Meringues especially pavlova


21. Prawns


22. Hiking


23. Sherbet


24. Scrapbooking


25. The Boomhuisie restaurant (Kallie and I frequented this quaint little restaurant and also celebrated our wedding reception there)


26. Photography (I am such an amateur and will probably never reach Jeanette's standards in my life time yet I get such a kick out of it if I happen to take a special photograph.)


27. Notebooks (I am always making notes and lists in multiple notebooks at the same time, a habit that used to frustrate Kallie no end as I was always looking for the one specific notebook that contained the information I needed.)


28. Organisation


29. Four Cousins Rose wine


30. Camping


31. "Godincidences"


32. Tidy cupboards and drawers


33. Cream Soda float


34. Belly laughs


35. Candlelight


36. Giving the perfect gift


37. Detail detail detail (The saying goes that "the devil is in the detail" and I have learnt that it is always the small, seemingly insignificant, little things that count the most!)


38. Chick Flicks


39. Television series on DVD so I don't have to wait a week to see the next episode.


40. Symbolism (I firmly believe there is more to life than meets the eye.)


41. Music (No specific preference as long as it is not heavy metal.)


42. Art that speaks to me - Beauty is after all in the eye of the beholder

My next challenge is now to see how many of these favourite things I can enjoy in the next 3 months. I will keep you posted.

Journey of self discovery ...

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lao Tzu

Things have finally settled down enough to allow me to start thinking about and processing all that has happened in the last two years of my life since Kallie fell ill. I have realised that we have been on one hellluva rollercoaster ride since his first heart attack on the 2nd of July 2007. My prime focus during this time was his illness, especially towards the end when the heart transplant was becoming a reality. I became a student of heart disease (and might I say a damn good one at that). I am able to recite the long list of medication he took by heart down to the very last milligram without missing a beat. Yet I have come to realise that I have lost a big part of myself along the way. Ask me about heart surgery, heart transplants and organ donation but don't ask me my favourite colour. I am in the extremely fortunate position that I am able to spend time with and amazing psychologist who is slowly helping me process and come to grips with all that has happened. I am on a journey towards finding "me" again and S is gently illuminating the way....

I celebrated my 42nd birthday on the 22nd of July. Although I was still sick at home with bronchitis it turned out to be a really special day, sad but special. Old friends that I had not heard from in years phoned and sent SMS's. New friends, who I met for the first time when they reached out to me at church the Sunday after Kallie's death, dropped by with flowers and gifts.

My dear friend Sam travelled all the way to Krugersdorp to spoil me with the most gorgeous birthday cake. Before Kallie passed away I always joked that all I wanted for my birthday was a new heart. She made this gorgeous and DELICIOUS heart shaped chocolate cake decorated with a green bow. (Green was Kallie's favourite colour). I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful friend!!