I am! Are you?

Today Kallie would not only have celebrated his 40th birthday, but August is also Organ Donor awareness month. Just one more "godincidence" on my journey through life. I realise that it is very difficult for the ordinary man on the street to understand the importance of organ donation. It is only when you or someone near to you is on the "receiving end" that you realise that organ donation is indeed the ultimate gift - a gift of life!!

I urge you to please consider registering as an Organ Donor right now on the Organ Donor Foundation of South Africa's website.

THERE IS NO CHARGE TO REGISTER AS AN ORGAN DONOR.

A few facts about organ donation in South Africa:

"South Africa is a world leader in the field of organ transplantation; however, while the number of patients waiting for transplants continues to increase the serious shortage of potential donors continues to be of great concern. The Organ Donor Foundation is a non-profit charity, established to address the critical shortage of organ and tissue donors in South Africa through awareness and education campaigns. Currently there are over 3,500 South Africans waiting for organ and tissue transplants. Sadly, as a result of this critical shortage less than 1,000 of them will receive a transplant and the "Gift of Life" this year. Research has shown that organ donation is acceptable to the majority of South Africans and contrary to popular belief, a grieving family takes great comfort from the knowledge that they are able to help others through the donation of their loved one's organs and tissues."

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"

The significance of Starfish ...

As I mentioned in my "42 Things I Love" post, Starfish are of great significance to me. My fascination started with an e-mail I received. The e-mail contained the "Starfish Story". Over time I have come across the story, and numerous permutations thereof, many times. The story left such an impression on me that in my mind a Starfish became the symbol of "making a difference". I had been wondering about the origin of the story for a while and decided to a bit of research. I was amazed to discover that it isn't just a little tale that has been passed on over time, but and adaptation from a book ,"The Star Thrower", written by Loren Eisely.

Apparently Loren Eiseley was an anthropologist who wrote extensively. He was the 'wise man' in the story, and he was walking along a beach after a storm and encountered the fellow throwing the starfish back. I am dying to read the original book myself and I have managed to find and purchase it online. I am now waiting in anticipation for it to arrive. Needless to say I will definitely post about it as soon as I have read it. Can't wait!!!

The Starfish Story

Adapted from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

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!!

Happy birthday Chave...

Tuesday the 14th of July is a very special day, for a very special little girl! Kallie's youngest sister Marelize's little girl, Chave, is turning ONE that day.

It feels like yesterday when we went to visit Marelize at Garden City clinic straight after Chave was born and Kallie commented that she was still "very fresh".

Kallie's other sister, Carlien took these awesome photographs just before Kallie passed away. Isn't she the cutest thing? It is so nice to have a little rose among all the thorns to buy pink and frills for!!!

Friends ...

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have Forgotten the words."

Unknown

The love of a friend comes in many shapes and sizes, sometimes loud sometimes quiet It is in the little things, the big things. It is chocolate cup cakes, sago pudding, laughing, crying, sharing, talking, listening and silence. It is a specially chosen pot plant with dark purple flowers where the edges of the petals grow lighter at the ends to symbolise that your grief will too, with time subside. It is spoiling the kids with fluffy fun blankets to wrap them up snuggly, just like the thoughts and prayers of friends wrap around the broken pieces of your heart snuggly.