Life etc

Too special to write about

~ WorkFoodHome ~ 14 Comments

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Everyone has them.  Things that you save for only those ‘special occasions’.  And boy, the occasion needs to be pretty special.  Why else would you feel up to first wiping the dust and cobwebs away?

To illustrate my point, herewith a few of my ‘elite’ little items (with the corresponding special occasion it was last used at):

Glass salad bowl from Spain:  Yet to be used; still waiting for that special occasion to materialise.

Tablecloth bought in Arles, France:  Hubby’s birthday in November; used once.

Dinner set:  OK, this comes out a bit more frequent, but it is packed in its own little cupboard. It makes an appearance on Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day, birthdays and Christmas.

Chanel No. 5:  Only when I’ve carefully considered whether the occasion is really worthy. (I’ve had it for 2 years now; quarter used!)

Crystal champagne glasses picked up at a charity shop:  Birthdays.  (Nope, not even new year.  By the time the champagne must be popped, too much champagne has already flowed.  Can’t risk it!)

Moleskin notebook… notebookS…:  I confess!  I have a thing for books/journals in general.  I never want to write in them.  It feels like I will somehow spoil them. But I keep getting them.  So, when last used?  Never!

Today though I realised that I’ve carried this vice for protecting beautiful things for exceptional circumstances to my writing as well.  There are many beautiful things I want to write about, but each time I contemplate putting fingers to keyboard I’m scared that I will spoil it.  How can I write about something special with inadequate words?  How can I describe something that is indescribable?

I’ve been thinking about it and the only way I see calls for me to just go for it!  Caution to the wind!

Here’s to laying the table with the French table cloth and that packed away dinner set, while serving salad in the Spanish bowl, and having champagne out of crystal champagne glasses while wearing a little bit of Chanel No. 5!

(Thank goodness I can still save the Moleskins!)

 

What’s in a name?

~ WorkFoodHome ~ 10 Comments
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Work!

I won’t lie – I spent quite a bit of time deciding on a name for my blog.  I wanted a name that resonated with me.  That told my story.  That gave a glimpse of who I am and what I am about.  (And from my first post, New Beginnings, clearly it also had to be perfect – to me, in any case!)

There were a few contenders but ultimately, over a glass of wine and testing it with hubby, it became apparent that WorkFoodHome was the one.  Why?

Well, for me, that’s my life in a nutshell really.  I work, I eat and if I’m not at work, I’m at home (mostly).  Sounds terribly depressing, doesn’t it?!  But is it really?  I suppose it could be, but it doesn’t have to be.  It’s the reality in which we live.  (And it’s not just my reality, but a reality shared by most people.)  How I choose to live that reality is up to me though…

So that is what WorkFoodHome is about.  Creating my reality every day.  It includes the people (and dogs!) I love and share my life with, it’s about the things I choose to occupy my mind with, the experiences I have, the places I visit.  It’s about good food and wine, things that I enjoy doing, things that makes me happy. It’s about what matters to me, all while trying to live as positively as I can.

So that’s WorkFoodHome – And A Life In Between.

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Food!

Looking back at my first post it is evident that I suffer from a bit of performance (perfection) anxiety!  Before I took that first step I was so caught up in my own head – what would people think… what do I want people to think – that it kept me from making a start for quite some time (years, if I am honest).  Now, about a month into this journey, I am so happy that I finally did it!

The most rewarding thing so far has been rediscovering my creative side – my love for writing and photography.  (Although hubby would say that my smile when I receive a “like” on a post or a new follower can also be likened to that of a child on Christmas morning!)

I’m not sure when I will feel that I am ‘successful’/not failing at blogging.  For now, I am just reveling in the experience and I am utterly enjoying it.  And I hope that somewhere in my stories someone will find encouragement to make stories of their own, to try something new, maybe take time to reflect or to just take that next step!

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Home!

 

 

New year’s resolutions, continued…

~ WorkFoodHome ~ 2 Comments

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“When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.” – Leo Burnett

This was the first quote I ever quoted.  I was in grade 11 in high school and had to write the foreword for our school yearbook.  It had to include a message to the grade 12 pupils finishing school that year.  For some reason I had this urge to share something really profound with them.  Some knowledge or secret that would forever have an influence on the people they were to become.  I didn’t quite know what (probably the only thing I didn’t know at 17!), but I knew it had to be motivational, inspirational.

So off I went in the search of some quotes.  And when I got to the Leo Burnett quote, it just felt right.  It resonated with me then, even as a teenager.  It affirmed that I could try anything I wanted.  And it gave me solace that in times when I have tried my all and I don’t end up on top, that it would be OK too, because at least it meant that I would be better off than if I did not try at all.  I liked it so much that it also ended up being my words of wisdom to the grade 12’s.

Fast forward back to now, to the pending new year.

After my mini meltdown about the pressures of new year’s resolutions I’ve spent a few days thinking about what it really is that I would like to achieve in 2016.  And out of nowhere the Leo Burnett quote popped into my head.  Sure, I want to lose weight, eat healthy, improve my skin care regime, be a better person, work harder, be a better wife, daughter, sister, friend, save all the lost dogs in the world, learn to cook better, create an amazing blog… but what does it really mean?  What is it that I would really like to achieve?  What will make me happy at the end of 2016?  When will I look back and not be disappointed by all the things I started on Monday and stopped on Wednesday?

“When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”

That’s it, really.  In the end what really makes me feel content is when I feel I am the best me I can possibly be.  And the best me is the me who knows in her heart that she tried and gave her best at whatever it is she thought was worth trying.  And then it’s OK if I don’t quite get there (like the size 8 jeans I’ve been saving in my cupboard  for years now!!) because if I gave it my all and still don’t catch that star, I know that I am more than what I was before.

So here’s to 2016!  To being me, to reach for the stars in everything I do.  To be more (and maybe a little bit less in certain areas)! To live life to the fullest.

Cheers!

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About new year’s resolutions…

~ WorkFoodHome ~ 2 Comments

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With the new year just around I corner, I really can’t believe (wait for the cliché…) how fast this year has gone.

This, of course, signals the start of the anxiety and pressure of the new year’s resolution list. You have hardly come up with them, given yourself a few “Mondays” throughout the year to get started on them, and all of a sudden January stares you in the face again! Now, at the end of the year, not only do you have the dubious pleasure of ticking off all those you got to (the majority, mostly… sort of….), but you also get to experience the joy when you move those you didn’t quite get to, to the NEW new year’s list… so that you can combine it with the list of brand new resolutions that you came up with that are REALLY realistic for you to achieve this time around.

I feel a sweat coming already. The pressure!!  But there is still time before you have to turn that new leaf …

Because technically you can’t start with your new year’s resolutions on the 1st of January (well, not with the losing weight, exercising and eating healthy ones in any case. Oh, and the no drinking one.) Because the 1st is still a public holiday, you know. You can probably start on the 2nd, but it would be better if the 2nd happens to be a Monday as well. Because all new things that a person needs to start with, works better on a Monday.

Does that mean that a Monday trumps the start of the new year? It’s a tough one. If the 2nd of January is on a Monday, then they are completely equal. You’ve got to take that new leaf and run like the wind. However, if the 2nd is not on a Monday, the first Monday of the new year will suffice, except if the first Monday happens to be the 1st. (And I’ve already explained why the 1st is just not even an option at all.)

Oh, the demands of life.

I think I need to consider my new year’s resolutions carefully. No better way to do this then to have a glass (or few) of wine. And a chocolate. And some chips. And those salt biscuits (the full pack that is still in the cupboard).  With some cheese.

Because of course you have to clear out the cupboards now in order to start afresh in 2016!

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Food for thought

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

~ WorkFoodHome ~ Leave a comment

I love December and I love Christmas time.  Love it, love it, love it!  I suppose there is not one thing in particular that stands out; it’s the combination of everything.

I love the long warm days with light in the sky until late.  Almost every night I’ll give a “look, it’s eight thirty and there is still blue in the sky!” to anyone that’s listening.  (An added bonus is that I also feel soooo much less guilt over how late we eat supper!  “Late” doesn’t happen when there is still light in the sky!)

And cherries!  I love shiny, fresh, red cherries.  There is something about the way the light reflects off them that just makes me really happy.  Although, if I can have a silly Christmas wish it would be to have pip free cherries..  Really now, that such a delicious mouthful can be spoilt like that!

Also, the beginning of December in the Cape is usually the time that summer properly arrives and for me, after the winter in which  you were all covered up from head to toe, I love feeling  my long hair on my back and my arms  – that feeling just screams summer to me!  (I’ve realised that this can also be read to indicate that I have long back and arm hair… Nooo, I just mean I have long hair on my head!)

And I love glitter! And Christmas carols! I love putting up our Christmas tree, while listening to my all-time favourite Christmas MegaMix CD and getting all sparkly while putting up our decorations.  And Christmas cookies!  I love baking Christmas cookies.  And decorating them. And eating them while I decorate them.  And then being so stuffed that I can’t face one more biscuit after the baking and decorating is done!

And the spirit of Christmas – it is a time of love and spending time with those dearest to you. My earliest Christmas memories is having Christmas at my granny’s house.  I think we were about 13 nieces and nephews together, with all the aunts and uncles.  My granny had a white Christmas tree.  To this day probably the most beautiful tree I have ever seen.  And she was a magnificent cook.  The Christmas table was always bursting at the seams.  I miss her…

But it brings me to Christmas lunch.  You spend weeks planning for it.  Looking at Jamie Oliver’s best ever Christmas recipes while treading carefully between mother-in-law’s even more better than Jamie’s trifle that she has been making every year since I met her vs your own yearning for trying some death by chocolate thing you once saw Nigella make.  Planning the table decorations…  (I wonder where my gravy boat is…?  We only use it once a year!)

And then all of a sudden the moment arrives.  You start by shopping for ingredients.  There is a gauntlet that stands between you and your perfect lunch with normally well behaved people in Woolies elbowing you out the way to get to the last limp looking lettuce! (Last year we had a good technique – hubby would stand in the background with a trolly and I would dart in like swift footed ninja – quickly grabbing what we needed!)  And then the cooking starts in earnest and you spend two days in front of the stove, getting so hot and bothered that your specially GHD’d Christmas hair goes flat and frizzy and you arrive at the table all red in the face and not looking nearly as glamorous as Nigella did when she was done with her feast!

To sit down and eat within 30 minutes.  That always amazes me.  How you can prepare so long for a moment that passes so quick!  (Apart from the leftovers.  Those damn things just never seem to finish!)  So that you can just go and lie down (and I praise the Lord for my dishwasher!)  So you can get up and have some trifle.

But I love it!  It’s such a feel good buzz and just thinking about it makes me so happy that I am smiling from ear to ear.

So this Christmas we are having the in-laws over.  The trifle conundrum?  Husband and I have come up with the best plan.  Mother-in-law is doing the spread for Christmas eve and hubby and I will produce a wonderful Christmas lunch (i.e. read no trifle implied!).

So now I’m looking forward to practising new recipes in the weeks to come so that on the day it will just be perfect.  (Let’s face it, any excuse to eat!)

Disclaimer:  No mother-in-law’s were damaged with the writing of this piece.  I love my mother-in-law dearly.  

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New beginnings

~ WorkFoodHome ~ 5 Comments
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The first sunrise I ever saw over Praiano, Italy.  It counts as one of my favorite “new beginnings” ever because this day marked the start of my love affair with Italy.

Someone left a picture on my desk at work last week.  It’s a picture of Einstein, with the following quote:  “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”  It made me smile.  I think this is so true!  Of course making mistakes is part of life.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Live and learn.  That’s my philosophy in any case.

Or is it really?!

You see, I’ve wanted to try my hand at this blogging thing for yonks’ now.  But I haven’t.  Why? Because I don’t want to make a mistake, of course!  It has to be perfect!  I can’t just venture if I am not assured of the gain.  Live and learn?  No ways!  It has to be the best blog ever written, and it has to be perfect and I definitely can’t just try.  I might make a mistake, for goodness sake! And what does that say about me?

This afternoon I happened to glance at that picture again.  “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”  It made me smile.  I think this is so true!  Of course making mistakes is part of life.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Live and learn.  That’s my philosophy in any case.

And then I realised.  I do believe that it is my philosophy – it’s what I tell people in my team, it’s what I tell friends, my husband.  Because it’s true!  That’s the way life works.  And it’s beautiful.  You can learn from mistakes.  It can make you better.  Sometimes things don’t work out, but it is never the end of the world.  Life goes on.  You make mistakes, you learn, you move on.

Wait, what?  Really?  So that would imply that I should give this blogging thing a go.  Because I want to.  Because I love to write.  Because I like to tell stories and I would like to share my experiences and the stuff in my head.   Because I might try it and actually hate it, or suck at it, or be good at it, or be completely average at it, and still enjoy it!  Or realise that it was a mistake and not for me!

I really don’t know who put that paper on my desk.  It actually never crossed my mind to ask!  Maybe a fairy godmother?!  If you are reading it, thank you!  Thanks for reminding me of what I actually hold true but forgot that I believed.  I’m going to give this blogging thing a go.  Watch this space for more mistakes and life in general!

PS:  Wait.  Can you say PS in a blog?  Isn’t that maybe a mistake?!

PPS:  You won’t believe how many times I’ve re-drafted this!

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The catalyst!