Phuthu Stay Phut, Don't go!

I don’t like complicated things and so when it comes to cellphones, I’ve always just gone for the simplest ones -  the ones where you can make calls, send sms’s and drop… onto hard surfaces countless times. That’s my kind of phone. So when Jem came home the other day with an iPhone in hand, it didn’t really interest me too much. Besides that, I thought why the hell did he get such a fancy phone anyway?  You can’t have something fancy that’s also simple, it just doesnt go and Jem likes simple phones too. Anyway, he clearly got a little techno phobic after his undoubtedly impulsive purchase because the phone sat on the kitchen table for weeks! Eventually, he insisted that I take the phone and use it because he realised it was “not the right type of phone for him”. But you haven’t even tried it?

Hesitant about the whole thing, I started chatting to a couple of friends who also had iPhones. They raved about them – the only real quirk (for me) being that the phone couldn’t send mms’s but apparently soon to be released software will clear that glitch.  So after coming to grips with the thought of using a fancy phone, I decided to take the plunge. Gotta push your own envelope every now and then don’t ya? Yup!

Besides, the move to the iPhone would be in-line with my 2009 goal of learning how to surf the net with my cell phone (yup, that was a goal if you can believe it). So I got the phone activated and I have been AMAZED ever since – it’s fancy but simple. I actually should have known it would be easy to use, the people at Apple always design intuitively.  I can’t stop raving about it. I keep finding new things everyday:

“Hey Jem check this!” I would say incredulously “it’s got a magnifying glass! Woweeeee!”

“mmm, wow hay!” Jem would reply.

And the next day again: “Hey Jem check this!”..

The best experience with my iPhone so far though (only had it 4 days) was when I made a trip to Woolies and landed up in one of those queues that snake around the aisles and you land up freezing your butt off because you didn’t take a jersey to deal with their -50 degree frikkin air-cons. Anyway, so you know the kinda queue I’m talking about then. All of a sudden, standing there in the queue it dawned on me that I had my iPhone with me. Relieved that I wouldn’t have to stare at a promo section of fattening desserts on my left and temptation alley sweets on my right, I whipped out my iPhone, hit the safari tab and went onto Phuthu.co.za, not because I wanted to check anything in particular but just because I could. I must say I also felt so “businesswoman” flicking and tapping the screen. Don’t mess with me, I’m a businesswoman with an iPhone and I know how to use it ! It doesn’t matter that it took the entire length of the queue to get the full page loaded, what matters is that it loaded!

The iPhone rocks! And the lesson here is that you can often be pleasantly surprised by something that you previously thought was “too difficult”

I have yet to add applications to my iphone but there are soooooo many you can get from the App store- some wonderful and some just weird. Check it out

Synchronized spooning is the name given when trying, with your husband (or wife or partner) to turn around in a bed the size of a postage stamp – the types which are usually found in lodges that have been graded 4 stars by the owners themselves. Synchronized spooning is fun, it’s like playing a little game, let’s see who can fall off the bed first. FUN!

We did the Giants Castle MTB race this weekend and stayed with friends in this “4 Star” lodge the night before the race.  We must be one of the most unorganised couples when it comes to self-catering. I keep promising Jem that when we have kids I’ll get organised but until then we’ll just have to endure “adventurous living”. So we took Woolies lasagne, salad and rolls for dinner but we forgot to pack salt, margarine and salad dressing which meant we chewed the food in the same way a dog would if it had a chunk of peanut butter in its mouth. Num Nums!

So after a few jokes next to the fire, we retreated to our mini-me concave bed and got ready for a session of synchronised spooning.

“On the count of three. And 1, 2, 3 and turn” Jem would whisper, initiating the first synchronized spoon. And we’d both heave ourselves from lying on our left hand sides to our right.

However, when we went to sleep the sync in the word synchronized grew wings and flew. When one of us turned around, the other would lose precious mattress space and deep grunts and moans would follow. And you thought it was something else didn’t you Janine?! My arm fell off the bed several times, jolting me awake every time. In the middle of the night however, things started to get a lot more comfy. Huh, this isn’t so bad, I thought to myself, we’re quite good at this spooning thing, I feel like I have all the space in the world. Little did I know that Jem had made his way to the more spacious but less comfortable single bed in the corner.  The sheets definitely lived up to the 4 star status – they were so threadbare we almost mistook them for mosquito nets. B-yooo-ti-ful!

But there was one saving grace – I brought our own pillows. Thank goodness because the pillows of our 4 star lodging smelt like the hair from someone with a greasy comb over. I’m not kidding, I got woofs of it throughout the night.

Anyway we survived the night and woke up the next morning – Jem with a sore back from the different level planks of the single bed and me with a stiff neck. We couldn’t help but laugh at the situation though.

After shovelling chocolate Pronutro down our gullets, we headed to the start of the race.  Jem and I always ride the Giants together, it’s one of the toughest one-day races in South Africa and every year I ask myself “Why oh why am I doing this?”. A lot of grass tufts, muddy ruts, hike and bike sections and the altitude make it worthy of its name – Giants Castle Challenge. You literally climb for the first 3 ½ hours, descend for 45 minutes and then climb for another 45 minutes to the finish. Jem embodied the energiser bunny from start to finish whilst I just embodied a mad woman seeking oxygen for most of the way. Although I battled quite a lot, we knocked 30 minutes off our previous years’ time to finish in 5 hours.  Go team!

And guess what! The Wildlands Conservation Trust received R240 000 as a result of the Giant’s Challenge!

Find the final results here

How amazing is this? Check out the mountains in the background..

I have never been a red shoes kind of girl but for some unexplainable reason, these shiny, kitsch, red shoes appealed to me in the same way that marshmallow Easter eggs appeal to my taste buds. I was obviously meant to have them – they had my size and they fitted like a good pair of jeans. Don’t you love it when that happens? The best part about buying shoes though is the compulsory cappuccino from Vida e Caffe afterwards. I met up with Jem and couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when he saw the shoes.

“Close your eyes hunni, I’ve got something to show you”

“What did you buy?” he said inquisitively.

“Some uber cool shoes – you can open your eyes now!” I replied, brimming with excitement.

“What are those?” he said with a look of utter horror all over his face.

“Heh heh, they’re so kitsch but don’t you just love them?” Clearly not

“uh……no” he said

Men!

So girls even if you don’t like red shoes, be warned, a pair will call out your name someday, and for some unexplainable reason you’ll be attracted to them like a mirage in a desert, you’ll buy them and be a red shoe convert from then on.

Jem and I spent the Easter weekend at the Mountain Bike UCI World Cup in Pietermaritzburg. WOW! What an amazing event – it was well supported and the crowds were not disappointed with top international riders gracing the downhill, four-cross and cross country courses. South African competitor Burry Stander came 3^rd in the cross country event which was held on Saturday and Greg Minnaar, also a local lad, won the downhill event on Sunday which was spectacular to watch. The supporters went mad, blowing Vuvuzelas, chanting the names of riders, jumping up and down, pumping clenched fists into the air, you name it, the noise level was high and the atmosphere was incredibly patriotic. I even got goose bumps on my arms when Greg crossed the line to finish in first place. He must have been overwhelmed to win on his home turf. Well done guys, you made us feel proud to be South Africans!

Well, with it being Easter Weekend and everything, I thought it apt to share one of the things I love about living in South Africa. It’s called the Beacon Marshmallow Easter Egg. There is something highly addictive in these eggs and all I can say is thank goodness Easter is only celebrated once a year. If only they could put that secret ingredient into tap water and apples, Easter would be a healthier time for all. I’m not crazy for marshmallows and I’m not crazy for plain chocolate either but the combo plus the secret ingredient sends my taste buds into a piranha-type frenzy! And you can’t just have one. No nee no no. Two or three, no less.

Occasionally you get the not-so-fresh marshmallow eggs. Ever had that? My husband thought I was crazy when I mentioned “stale Easter eggs”.

“Heh, you don’t get stale Easter Eggs” he said.

“Oh yes you do” I said defensively.

“They are all packaged the same though” he said in a logical kind of voice.

“I have eaten enough Easter Eggs to know my Easter Eggs”, I procalimed.

There’s nothing like Beacon Consumer Services to get the facts straight.

“Hi, I’ve bought quite a few Easter eggs recently that have tasted stale” I stated.

“Grainy?”, the consumer guy asked.

“Yes grainy, almost crystallised”, I replied

“Yes, that is quite common and it’s got to do with the storage temperature and…this…and…that…” he carried on.

I knew that I knew my Easter eggs. Can’ wait to tell Jem.

I felt quite chuffed with myself – Not only did I get confirmation that Easter Eggs can in fact go stale but I also got a Beacon voucher. Heeee!

Happy Easter everyone, enjoy the Easter eggs, have an awesome long weekend and drive safely!

I got a R40 voucher from Exclusive Books yesterday. Heee! They also sent a pamphlet of “Great South African Reads”. In January I wrote down a couple of new year’s resolutions, one of them was to read more. And because I still remember what they taught us at school about making specific goals,  I’ve set myself the goal of reading 12 books by the end of this year. Now you may think that “12″ is not a big number but I’m a slow reader okay – I take in every…single…sentence. No skimming. And to make matters worse, I’m a non-fiction girl, so sometimes I battle to find good material! Having said that, I’m trying to incorporate more fictional books into this year’s quota of 12, which I have done already with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and Marley and Me.

Even though I’m not a perpetual reader, I still love books, book stores, and the smell of new books. Don’t you love that smell? Anyway, I circled four titles in the Homebru Collection which captured my attention! In no particular order they are as follows:

Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs

By Moky Makura

Costs R224

A bit pricy but I love these kind of books. The book tells the stories of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in Africa, detailing their challenges and triumphs.

Black Jerusalem

By Happy Ntshingila

Cost R198

Looks at the origins of some of South Africa’s best known advertisements. Sounds interesting..

Cooking from Cape to Cairo

By Dorah Sitole

R254

Cooking books are always quite expensive but they usually have a lot of pics which makes it worth it. Includes recipes from 19 countries across Africa and gives a little background on the culture that created the cuisine.

Going Green – 365 Ways to Change our World

By Simon Gear

Costs R143

We should all be doing our bit to “Go Green” but many people don’t know where to start. This book claims to have simple yet easy-to-implement-tips, 365 of them!

P.S If you know of any books that I just “have to read”, let me know, thanks!

P.P.S Anyone from Exclusive Books reading this – You so need to update your website. The HomeBru section still reflects selections for 2008. We are in 2009 now.