Happy Birthday to my dearest!

Today is Flip's birthday! And I decided to make him a small video in which I recap the last year we have been together as well as his wonderful birthday. Enjoy the video!

oh and I saw that my Phuza Thursday Tom Collins post popped up again. I have no idea how that happened. Crazy blogger

And for fun, I though I would share 7 things about my favourite person in the whole wide world:

• He doesn't laugh much, he usually just gives a smile, even when something is really funny. But when he does laugh, it's absolutely contagious! 
• He will go out of his way to take care of me. He will do the most random things I ask him. And I love it! And I don't take advantage of it. Not always.
• He has the funniest and most random conversations with people. Sometimes, I just sit and watch as the conversation progresses. 
• He is the biggest fan of comedies. Anything with Will Ferrell and he loves Family Guy.
• He dislikes zoos.
• Sometime, he can be a real boy. He opens his car window when a bike or Ferrari or Porsche is close by, just so that he can hear the engine roar. I do the same.
• He isn't a big camper, but he loves walking around in camping shops and wants to buy every little camping gadget available.

Bonus Fact: There is no-one I love more on the earth than this boy (or should I say man?)

 

Untitled from Megan Wait on Vimeo.

I found Tom Collins!

Remember the other day I spoke about a Tom Collins? If you don't remember, or haven't read it, take a look here.

Being a journalist, I am naturally curious, to the frustration of a lot of people. But sometimes it can be quite beneficial. Some times includes: breaking a scandalous story that nearly gets you fired, and finding out who or what Tom Collins is.

I used an old friend, called Wikipedia. I'm sure you all know it by now. But this is what it said:

In 1874, people in New York, Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the United States would start a conversation with "Have you seen Tom Collins?"

After the listener predictably reacts by explaining that they did not know a Tom Collins, the speaker would assert that Tom Collins was talking about the listener to others and that Tom Collins was "just around the corner", "in a [local] bar," or somewhere else near.

The conversation about the nonexistent Tom Collins was a proven hoax of exposure. In The 'Great Tom Collins hoax of 1874' as it became known, the speaker would encourage the listener to act foolishly by reacting to patent nonsense that the hoaxer deliberately presents as reality.

In particular, the speaker desired the listener to become agitated at the idea of someone talking about them to others such that the listener would rush off to find the purportedly nearby Tom Collins.

Similar to The New York Zoo hoax of 1874, several newspapers propagated the very successful practical joke by printing stories containing false sightings of Tom Collins. The 1874 hoax quickly gained such notoriety that several 1874 music hall songs memorialized the event (copies of which now are in the U.S. Library of Congress).

Did that make much sense to you? No? Me neither.

But if you would like to try the tasty drink that is Tom Collins, take a look at this recipe:

2 oz gin
1 oz lemon juice
1 tsp castor sugar
3 oz club soda
1 maraschino cherry &
1 slice orange

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the gin, lemon juice, and sugar. Shake well. Strain into a collins glass almost filled with ice cubes. Add the club soda. Stir and garnish with the cherry and the orange slice.

 

Enjoy Phuza Thursday! I know I will!

Phuza Thursday: It's a hot one!

Brrrrr! Ohmywhiskers! Johannesburg sure is freezing its tooshy off this morning!

My beau is on a business trip, driving down to Durban and as he passed the Gauteng border he phoned me. "It's -4 degrees!" he says. I cringe.

So today's Phuza Thursday will be one for the Saffas, a nice hot drink! I found the recipe here.

Hot Chocolate!

You will need:

2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 cups milk, divided
2 (3.5-oz.) dark chocolate bars (at least 70% cacao), chopped
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

and then

1. Whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk until smooth.
2. Cook remaining 3 1/2 cups milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until bubbles appear around edge of saucepan (about 4 minutes; do not boil). Whisk in chocolate, honey, vanilla extract, and salt until blended and smooth. Whisk in cornstarch mixture.
3. Bring milk mixture to a light boil, whisking frequently (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat. Let cool slightly. (Mixture will thicken as it cools.) Serve immediately with Marshmallow Whipped Cream, if desired.

This will make about 4 cups of steaming hot bliss! Enjoy!

On a sidenote, I though I would share something funny with you. This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I remembered that some of my clothes were rolling around in the tumble dryer. I found a pair of warm, fluffy tights in the bundle and as I put it on I shouted "This is effing legit!"

I have no idea who I was shouting it out for. I was alone at home.

When mothers go crazy

I mentioned this on my bucket list, but I haven't posted about yet and thought that today would be a great opportunity to tell you about the day my mom decided to jump out of a plane.

That's my mom in the green suit

It's a bit of a soppy story, really. A guy I have dated for a year decided to dump me out of the blue. I was shattered, as any young person terribly in love would be. It was my right. Like most broken hearts, I was sad. I didn't, or rather couldn't eat, which was awesome, because I was probably the skinniest I have ever been in my life, however, these photos were taken before the drastic weight loss began. I didn't want to interact socially, that was too much. Let's just cut it short and say I didn't do much but sulk and cry.

And then one day, my mom came up with this brilliant recipe for a broken heart:

1. Take one mom.
2. Take one daughter.
3. Put them on a plane with guys strapped to their backs.
4. Jump.

And that is how my mom and I ended up skydiving. It was her way to give me that adrenaline rush, to shake me up. It was the scariest experience in my life and I will probably never do it again, except if I convince Flip to jump with me. It also hurt pretty much. I couldn't recalibrate like most other people do, and had to lie on the ground for almost an hour, with a headache, nausea and earache. (And I was waiting for my jump-dvd to be written. And maybe the symptoms were as a result of the slight hangover I had from the night before, my friends thought we should do a pre-jump celebration, in case I died.)

But was it a rush? YES!
Was it a thrill? YES!
Would I recommend it to anyone? OH HELL YEAH!

I believe it's one of those things that every person should at least experience once in their lives. So, if you have been thinking about doing something crazy like skydiving, then make your appointment!  It's something I will never regret.

Oh, and did I mention that my mother was a ripe 61 when she jumped? So, don't ever use the excuse that you are too old to do anything!

Touchdown! Oh my life, I love the ground

And here comes my mother!