What's in a handbag...

WritersBootcamp challenge Day 24 topic: What's on my desk/in my handbag/my pocket/my car....

A couple of weeks ago myself and two work colleagues went to The Toad on the road for lunch. During our time there we had a few glasses of wine. At some point my one colleague Tracey reached into her handbag to get something and pulled out a pair of tiny socks, to which she pronounced "You know you're a mom when you have toddler socks in your handbag". We all chuckled for a moment and then my other colleague Heather proceeded to empty the contents of her handbag onto the table while saying "Check what's in mine".

My reaction to all this (while giggling and sipping wine) was to feed my social media addiction by whipping out my smartphone and taking a photo of said contents. This was either to Tweet, Instagram (latergram) or blog about at a later stage, I was undecided at the time). So today's post was meant to be, as I blog the contents of my friend and colleagues handbag.

1 Wallet with the usual wallet type contents.

1 Identity book in a lovely sunflower cover.

1 Plastic medicine spoon. (she is also a mom).

1 Car key with remote.

1 Pink plastic container, minus the lid which was mysteriously missing.

1 Tube of hand cream.

1 Packet of tissues.

1 Breath freshener spray bottle.

1  Cellphone.

1 Lighter.

2 Packets of cigarettes.

Various till slips.

1 packet/box of Tic Tacs.

An old R 2 and R5 note (haven't seen those in years).

A pink highlighter (she is a teacher after all).

And a thing that I don't quite recall the name of, but it's apparently a device to measure running distance. This was particularly strange and Heather is neither a runner nor a jogger type of person and the device had no batteries in it.

My own handbag is quite standard: Wallet (usually on the empty side)..

                                                       Lip gloss.

                                                       Deodorant.

                                                       Sunglasses.

                                                       Tissues.

                                                       3 pens.

                                                       4 USB sticks.

                                                       Hand cream

                                                       Hairbands x 3

                                                       Cigarettes.

                                                       Miscellaneous papers, among them old till slips.

So, what's in yours?

Music

WritersBootcamp day 23 topic: Music...

Music the universal language....

It can feed your soul, create a mood and set a scene.

It can help you relive a memory, good or bad.

It can uplift and encourage you to dance like a fool in your own living room.

It can make you weep like a little baby when the chords have touched your heart. 

You can be moved by gentle lyrics that speak of unrequited love.

Music is everywhere and in everything.

Very often while listening to a piece of music that is soft and gentle I would imagine the scene from a movie that it would accompany. A lover saying goodbye as he goes off to war or a mother holding onto the corpse of her only child. These are the emotions that music can stir up inside us.

Music evokes emotion in us and can intensify a feeling.

I have a very eclectic taste in music, my mood often dictates what I will be listening to at any given time.

My emotional set list:

My happy song: Dancing in the moonlight by Freeloader when I hear this song, I can't help but get up and dance.

My most emotional love song: The Rose by Bette Midler This song has the most beautiful lyrics and whenever I hear it, it make me feel quite tender.

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

My thinking music and probably the most beautiful piece of music ever written Air on a G string- Bach

My 'I'm feeling gangster' song: Akon- Locked up

And finally a very well written song with a sad story: Stan- Eminem

Someone who’s made a big impact on me recently

WritersBootcamp challenge day 20 topic: Someone who's made a big impact on me recently...

my gran, my mom, me and my daughters with their daughters. 5 generations in all.

I had to think long and hard about this one, I can't really say that anyone has made a huge impact on my life recently, but there is one person who has made the biggest impact on my life from day one and continues to do so...my gran.

My Ma as I like to call her has been the moral compass in my life. She was my first parental figure and her influence has and continues to steer the course of my daily life.

She is a woman of high morals and virtues, she has a loving soul and is the epitome of compassion.

The way she reaches out to others in need has been something I have always admired and hope to simulate in a small way.

When making decisions regarding community and dealing with others I always stop and reflect on the way she does it and this has definitely influenced the way I do things.

She celebrated her 80th birthday in May this year, we had big party for her with all her family and friends.

As I looked around the room, her 5 children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren and even her great great grandchildren, I realised that none of them would be here if it were not for her.

Her life has touched so many lives through the years and I only hope one day to have half the legacy she will leave behind some day.

Utter randomness

Writers Bootcamp challenge day 21 topic: Utter randomness....

As random as it gets...

I love the sound of dried leaves as they crunch under my feet.
I love the way the trees are awash with colour.
I love that it is neither sweltering hot or freezing cold.
I love the earthy smell in the air, the promise of winter rain.
I love the feel of a comfy sweater and well fitted jeans.
I love doing leaf rubbings with wax crayon in class.
I love painting images of orange, yellow, brown and red.
I love cool nights and warm days.

I love Autumn

Letter to my childhood self...

WritersBootcamp day 22 topic: A letter to my child/childhood self...

My first thought when I saw this topic was of a scene from back to the future, I can warn my self of all the bad things that happened in my life and maybe prevent it from happening. But you know the theory of the butterfly effect and all that. Well it prevents us from changing things in our past because the outcome will be different. I thought maybe I could prevent the rape of my 12 year old self, but again my experience has drawn me to other survivors who I could relate to and helped me counsel others in a similar situation with complete empathy. I thought about not getting married so young and in order to save myself from the heartache that is divorce but again I love my 3 children and without my marriage they might not be here. So in the end I decided that I can't really change anything, even if I want to because everything I am now, everything that is in my life right now is all a combination of everything I have been through the past 42 years to get here. Right now I am happy, I don't have everything I want but I have everything I need. So without changing anything here is the advice I would give 10 year old me...

Dear Karen

Life is hard and it's okay to admit that sometimes and ask for help. We are not meant to go through all the bad stuff alone, seek companionship and confide in people you can trust. Tell, tell, tell!!! I can't stress this enough, if something bad happens to you, don't keep it all to yourself. You have a family who loves you and they will understand and maybe help you if you only trust them. If an adult takes advantage of a child that adult is always in the wrong and it is always their fault not yours!! Trust me on this.

Love your mom more and give her a break. She may not be perfect but she loves you. I know you can't see it right now but she does I promise. She has some good advice for you, she has experienced this world a bit more than you and she does know what she is talking about...sometimes.  Respect others and know that your trust is precious and must be earned. 

Study more, I know you like to just cram the day before a test but imagine the regret you may have years later when you wonder if you could have been an A student if only you put in a little effort. Life is too short for regrets. You will have plenty of time to go out and have fun when you are older, it really isn't what life is all about.

Your life will have a mix of happy and sad moments but you are stronger than you think and you will endure. Just when you are about to give up, something good will come your way. So when you're feeling down remember that nothing lasts forever. On this note, love your family they may not always be around. Your life will mean something to certain people so make it count.

You will discover that money is just a means to an end and having material possessions cannot satisfy your soul. Try collecting memories instead of things, they will mean more in the long run. 

The world is a crazy place at the moment, there is much sadness all around you, you will feel deeply for people you have never even met. I know its sounds strange but it's true.

Well I guess I better get back to 2014 because there are some exciting things happening right now, but you have plenty of time to catch up.

Ps: Dance more, jump around and enjoy your youth full energy.

Love Your older self

My favourite film quote of all time

WritersBootcamp Challenge day 19 topic: My favourite film quote of all time...

The greatest thing you'll ever learn...is just to love and be loved in return.

This is taken from the movie Moulin Rouge a tragic love story that left me in tears.

It puts the lotion in the basket.

Taken from a scene from the 1991 classic Silence of the Lambs. The killer tries to dehumanise his victim by calling her it.

From my favourite television series of all time, Breaking Bad.

I am the one who knocks!

Taken from the television series True Blood. When describing her dim-witted son, Sam's mom says these words: Sometimes I think that boy's cheese done fell right off his cracker.

 I found this quote to be one of the funniest quotes I have ever heard and every time I think of it, I have a little chuckle.

Guilty pleasures...

WritersBootcamp challenge day 18 topic: Guilty pleasures...

When I think of a guilty pleasure my mind immediately races with things like having an affair or flirting with a colleague, quite reminiscent of Alexis Carrington from Dynasty but as I get older I realise that being a responsible adult means that things I took for granted years ago have become my guilty pleasure. I know, very unglamorous and quite boring actually but this is what happens when you are no longer 22 years old and the thought of clubbing till the early hours of the morning seems like a foreign concept.

Chocolate.... Something I truly enjoy and nothing can quite compare to the joy of having it all to yourself. Since my fiance and I are on a strict budget financially this is somewhat of a luxury for me so when I do get to enjoy chocolate and I don't have to share it with any of our collective 6 kids, it does make me feel a little guilty but hey YOLO.

A trip to the Toad on the road... This is our local pub, it is our place to be free, have a few beers and hang out with other grown ups. We go there as often as our finances will permit (which is maybe once a week) It started out as our Sunday evening reward, after having the children all weekend and only doing family type activities with them (which doesn't include any grown up type stuff). We would drop them at their moms house and stop by the Toad on the way home for a drink or two. Now days it is our 'go to' place when we feel we just need to get out of the house for a bit. It seems to have become the place we make most of our decisions (good and bad).

Weekend lie-ins.....I think almost everyone who works Monday to Friday can relate to this one. I start at 7am every morning as I am the one who opens up the school, I leave the house at 6:30 am so I am up early every morning. My Saturday and Sunday morning lie-ins are very special to me, I don't get out of bed before 8am. Now that out kids are all big enough to sort themselves out this is something we are able to do without any guilt, but it still feels like a treat every time.