I'm back from Oppikoppi & guestpost

This post was supposed to be up on Friday, but technicalities made it impossible. I thought I would say hi! I'm back from Oppikoppi! Posts about this will come soonish. Since this post was written for Friday, I thought I would leave the words as they were typed originally. enjoy

Hey people! I'm leaving for Oppikoppi soonish, and I am so excited.
Would you believe that our power went out last night and I couldn't pack anything.
Just teaches me not to leave anything till the last minute!

Luckily, I have a guest post lined up.
It happened entirely by accident. Breeanna and I were chatting via email and the thought just came to me that I should ask her.
I simply love her stunning photography skills.

Here she is:

Hello there! I'm Breeanna from A Brilliant Melody. Thank you to Megan for inviting me over to her lovely blog for the day! I’m so excited to be here and share my passion of PHOTOGRAPHY!

Last year my wish came true when I bought my first ever DSLR camera, the Nikon D90. I had been using a point and shoot camera for years and I felt like I need something more to let out the creativity hiding inside me. Megan wanted me head on over here and share some things I’ve learned as a new photographer.

So here are 4 important things I’m taking from my personal experience and giving over to you.

1) The best way to learn is by using manual mode.
My camera is always in manual mode, and even though it may take more time to get the shot, it helps me learn. Every mistake I make is a new lesson learned (even though at the time it may be frustrating).




2) Lighting is key
Using natural light is my favorite. It gives things a very soft and natural appearance. I hardly ever use the flash. It’s also important to know what time of day has the best light (for me I like morning or evening). Direct sunlight can wash out your subject, so find a nice shady spot. In a few weeks I’m attending a seminar on using natural light in portraits. I’m excited to learn more!




3) Take a lot, I mean A LOT of pictures!
If you take 10 pictures of the same thing, there’s more of a chance that one will turn out how you like. That’s the beauty of using a digital camera! Also the more you take, the more experience you get!



4) Have fun and be creative
If the shot is not working out, it can be frustrating. Try a new spot or angle. Take pictures of things you don’t normally take pictures of. Mix it up and just have fun! Taking pictures is very relaxing for me, especially if it’s just me and my camera out alone.



Well, I hope my experience of learning about photography has helped or inspired you in some way. Thanks again Megan for having me over!

Thanks Breeanna for stopping over!
I might use some of these tips for the weekend.
Hope everyone has a lovely Friday and an AWESOME weekend!
I know mine is going to be FANTASTIC!
See you on Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday.
Oh, and don't forget to enter the giveaway.

Reaching a milestone and saying thank you!

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that I have a 101 followers already!

I feel so blessed to have so many people interested in the things I write about.

I really never would have expected to come this far.

And I have to say, I made it without sponsoring any other blogs.

But here I am, and here you are.

And to say thank you, I decided to have a little giveaway.

One lucky lad-eh or guy-man

(ha! it would be funny if a guy entered)

can stand the chance to win this:

I walked around in Body Shop and smelled and probed at everything.
These were the smells I liked most.
Perhaps I liked it because I'm a nutty person.
Geddit?
Nutty as in crazy. Okay? No.
Anyhoo, I must say that I am very jealous of the winner, because I have never in my life bought anything for myself at Body Shop, I only buy gifts there, but only because I have an extremely senstive skin and can't risk using any funny products I have not been using since I was a baby. I get all kinds of funny rashes.
Overshare much?

But you don't!
So enter and stand the chance of spoiling yourself to oblivion with these yummylicios products.
This is not a product review. I haven't used it myself.
But it smells great!

How to enter:
Be a follower of this blog with Google Friend Connect! (Click "Follow" in the upper nav bar and follow with Google/Blogger, Twitter, Yahoo, or Aim!) and then leave a comment with your email address! (This is just one entry!) You must do this entry first to be eligible for additional entries!

 

To gain additional entries, you can blog, tweet, update your status on Facebook with a link over to the giveaway.

These all count as extras, but you have to let me know that you did this by commenting on this post.  

The winner will be announced by next week.
Good luck.

Last night I was writing a guest post (I'll let you know when it's up. I'm not sure when) Anyhoo, this post contained something very dear to my heart. Creamy, cold, crunchy. Lovely!

I just have to profess my undying love for the little amazingness that is Ice Cream.

I love you Ice Cream.

I was searching for pictures on Pinterest for my guestpost and then I came across all these funnies.

I can't wait for warmer weather so that I can sink my teeth into the deliciousness that is!



I had a weirdish nightmarish dream last night that I was stuck inside a Pinterest like world. Very funny. I also had another very weird dream that I can't remember much about.

I've been having a lot of weird vivid dreams these days. To a point where I can't distinguish dream from reality. It scares me.

A glance at my weekend...

Hello Lovelies! Is it really August already? Where did this year fly? This month will hold a few big things for me. It’s only four days till my first Oppikoppi, which I am extremely excited about! It's my mom's birthday month and Flip and I will celebrate being together one year and three months. I can’t believe it’s been that long already.

I want to tell you about my pretty new pink gumboots that I bought this weekend, but I also don’t want to spoil it. You’ll have to wait for my Oppikoppi post to see them.

I have a lot of other things to share though. Here goes:

On Friday, I had to say goodbye to a good friend who worked with me for the past year. She has found a job as an editor for four industry publications. I was expecting tears and sadness, yet it was very anticlimactic. We had a good lunch on Friday afternoon; I had mussels in white wine sauce and garlic bread. Flip complained the rest of the weekend about my garlic breath. Ha!

Later, after work, we had chai tea and shared a chocolate cake, as a last farewell. Not one tear. I know I’m going to see her again, so that’s probably why I didn’t cry. Flip had a meet-and-greet with his new colleagues. He started a new job as regional manager for a logistics company. He then proceeded to have a boy’s night. I chilled on the sofa. It was cold and I was very grateful that I didn’t have to move. Apparently, it snowed elsewhere in Gauteng.

We started the day with something that has become somewhat of a tradition, bacon and eggs on toast for breakfast, with cappuccinos. For someone who doesn’t drink coffee (how does one function without it?) Flip actually enjoyed himself a cuppa. I had two. We had it at Mugg & Bean, my place of preference. Flip likes Wimpy, I don’t.

Sorry about the quality of the pics. They came from a cellphone, ya know.

Clothes shopping for Flip followed this. I really didn’t know that men could be that much into shopping. Is this a sign ladies? Should I be reading into this? Ha! Nevertheless, I also scouted a few pieces to try on, despite my utter hate for shopping. And this is why I hate it so. It should actually be a blog post on its own.

I have extreme body issues. At school I have always been told that I am too skinny and that I look anorexic and that I should eat more. See, at school I had a funny relationship with food. I ate very little and there was very little that I liked to eat. I also didn’t drink alcohol, fizzy drinks or juice. I walked to school, exercised in the afternoons, jumped on the trampoline all afternoon, swam for hours, I was in some ways, very fit.

And then I went to varsity. I started drinking alcohol, which puts on the pounds like crazy, I started eating a lot more types of food than I did at home and I also enjoyed more starches, as most starchy things are quick and easy to make. I had the luxury of a mom cooking for me during high school and this rarely included starch. And then after varsity I lost a lot of weight, only to put everything plus more back on when Flip and I started our relationship.

I’m not blaming him and I am not saying that it was one of those types of weight gains that come along because “I’m comfortable and I have a boyfriend so I don’t have to watch my weight anymore.” Flip simply made the most delicious food on earth. And living across from a garage with convenience store was also not the best thing. On Saturdays we would walk across the street and buy packets of chips, usually followed by pizza or Flip’s cooking for dinner. I gained like crazy.

Long story short, I ballooned so much that I actually had a stretch mark. This resulted in a breakdown and a long teary conversation with my mom on the phone. I decided to go on a diet. This worked; I lost a lot of weight very quickly. But then I discovered all the foods I love so much again. This is actually not food food, but biscuits and chips. I also don’t have that little voice in my head (stomach) that tells me that I am now actually full.

Although I didn’t gain, I all of a sudden expected everything in the shops to fit. And on Saturday, after trying to fit in a nice looking denim, which didn’t fit the way I liked it to, I broke down again.
Crying in the middle of a mall.
Classy.

So I decided to join a gym. Not the one we have in our complex, which I am already a member of. But a big outside gym, that has classes and a swimming pool and lockers and that type of thing. I’m going for my first session tomorrow. With my friends, thank God for that.

In the evening we went out to a really trashy place. It was a “Get out of your comfort zone”evening and I made Flip dance with me. He doesn’t dance. He steered me into a short girl, who then proceeded to elbow punch me in the kidney. I cried. Again. I’m such a wuss.

Both Flip and my parents came over.
Flip made a rad lamb potjie.
To my American readers, I don’t know what that is in American, I suggest you google it :)

That’s pretty much what happened.
Oh, and I acquired a second degree burn on my arm.
Curiosity killed the cat. Or in my case burned the fuck out of me as I tried to lift the pot’s lid.
Luckily my mom saved the day.
Burn eaze and bandages, hoozah!

Back in real time, I woke up with a cold again this morning. I am going to scream my effing head off if I’m not well by the weekend.
 I hate this winter bug I’ve been having.

How was your weekend? Post a comment with a link to your blog so I can see what you guys got up to! Hell yeah!

(Ps, can't believe I am only one follower away from 100! Jho! )

And remember: