Friday, 13 June 2014

Wakaberry







Yogurt never looked this cool!


The very first self serve frozen yogurt bar from our very own shores, Wakaberry has hit Mzansi by storm.

Made of 100% real yogurt made of low fat milk, with over 50 delectable flavours from vanilla, cherry, blueberry to pineapple, pomegranate and chocolate topped with a yummy selection of sweet treats and fruit toppings to choose from, you are in for a treat!

As if the froyos aren’t awesome enough, Wakaberry has just launched a range of ubercool branded gear just in time for summer.
Sunglasses, caps, beach towels and water bottles in bright, cheerful summer colours.

So whether you are still stuck on your Christmas prezzie list or are just a froyo-krazed wakafan (We don’t blame you), pop into any one of the 30 branches across SA, enjoy  a froyo or two and stock up on some really cool gear.






Wednesday, 11 June 2014

A few of my not-so-random musings

1. If you carry bricks from your old house, to build a new one, you will build the same house. A friend on Whatsapp had this saying as her status update. Although she meant it with regard to relationships, like if you take past issues into your new one, then you are essentially going to have the same experience in the new relationship as you did in the last one. It resonated with me, more so because I found it applicable in almost every area of life. any mission or project we embark on be it weight loss (I mention weight loss a lot hey), a work project, tackling a tricky problem, re-submitting a proposal that was declined, re-applying for a post or scholarship...whatever really

The essence is that if you use the old, unsuccessful, unyielding formula, if you tackle the problem with the same attitude, same methods, same mindset, you will keep getting the same result
Albert Einstein said it best actually: to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result is insanity so for the remainder of the year, I resolve to tackle things differently, to take a step back from any tricky situation, assess it objectively and figure out how I might be perpetuating the bad situation by approaching it with the same attitude, same old reactions and same old unyielding methods.
In my quest for weight loss, I started a jogging 3 times a week and attending a yoga class twice a week..great right...but my eating habits always work against me, I would have the most amazing workout, the kind you can actually feel the kilos melting off...but then I get home I start loading up on refined carbs, fatty food and sugar and by the end of the week I am 'surprisingly' disappointed when the scale won’t budge...insanity!! so going forward, I need to watch what I eat as much as I stick to my physical activity programme. I need to get new bricks and throw out the old one so I can build a nice, tight, toned new house :)


2. To remove a mountain, you have to start by removing a few stones...this saying is a loose translation of a Chinese proverb. It stuck with me and I was especially fascinated by how it is also applicable in just about every area of life. Seemingly slow but steady progress with work projects, relationships, tricky task, weight loss(again), career plans, goals and aspirations...plans to conquer Mars...Whatever it may be. The lesson here is that slow progress is still progress all the same, start small, stick it out, put in the effort and hours, start where you are with what you have and you will finish the project, reach your goals and build your dream career…whatever floats your boat. I am currently in a journey of self discovery, personal branding (aren’t we all) and at times, more often than I care to admit, I get frustrated when I don't get immediate and favourable outcomes..but over time ( read: after many mini depression episodes and bucket loads of tears) I have learnt that you try your best, do what you can, move tiny pebbles, then stones, then rocks and before you know it...sometimes much much later to be honest, the mountain will eventually move....Patience, Perseverance, Progress!!!


3. Internet access is a basic human right...or at least it should be. Having the World Wide Web at your fingertips is a privilege that is incredibly under-rated! Imagine paging through an encyclopedia for tips on how to treat stretch marks or calling a hotline for date night outfit ideas or having to wait for you fave monthly magazine to learn how to perfect your eyebrow game like celebs do... having Google, Pinterest, Instagram, Wikipedia and yes those godsent 'How-to" websites that walk you through anything from how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew, writing a ‘winning’ cv  to preparing a gourmet restaurant-type meal at home
I bet there's probably a "how-to-walk tutorial somewhere on the net... that’s the beauty of the internet, it is basically that know-it-all relative (minus the overbearing and annoying personality) who knows everything about everything and everyone, what to do and how to do it and certainly what NOT to do...or is that just Google? now even I am confused .but I digress....My internet connection was cut off for close to a month and I found myself constantly at a loss on what to do around the house..I mean browsing the net had become my favourite past-time..I found myself flipping through tv channels, watching Generations, re-reading magazines articles. No Twitter, no make-up tips, No Instagram...Gosh no Pinterest!!!! I was dying a slow painful death..No really I was!
Internet access is a basic human right. I declare it so and so passionate am I about this that I am prepared to find the 'missing' Malaysian airplane, sit through all the soccer World Cup matches andmaybe give away half of my wine collection...All for the love of the www.



For the love of haters



"Eat your hearts our haters"…'Haters gonna' hate" "Middle finger in the air for all my haters'...these are just a few of phrases commonly used (mostly in popular culture) in reference to the naysayers, those who supposedly do not wish one well, those who marvel at one's misfortune, those we've come to know simply as haters.

Blame it on Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj and the rest of the urban, love and hip-hop/basketball wives, in your face, look at me now society..but for some reason or other we have become so engrossed in the idea (read misconception) that there's always people (note the plural form) rooting for our demise at every street corner, intersection and traffic light.

Haters have become the popular choice for validating our achievements, capabilities, decisions and sometimes sadly who we are. Hater-lover mentality dictates that if no one hates it, if the action, decision or achievement is not supposedly getting any hate or shade, it is simply not good enough, not worth the fuss, not nearly as cool or noteworthy.

Achieving whatever goal you have your hearts set on is great, really, great achievement, be it getting a job, graduating from varsity or buying a car… but the thought of hordes of (imaginary) naysayers hoping you wouldn’t make it is just the icing on the cake needed to shoot up this piece of info from great to jump-up-and-down, fist in-the-air-awesome!

Having an opinion that differs from the next person's view (as should be expected), landing a job after months of job hunting, rejection and endless waiting for the call that never came, finally feeling like the wheels of life are set in motion and you are getting closer to your dreams inch by inch. all of these are great, fulfilling moments that ought to be celebrated, shared with friends and family, even announced on social media if that floats your boat. They are very much worthy of celebration and in my books each makes it right up to the "jump-up-and-down, fist-in -the air awesome" notch on the scale. No validation from haters needed here thank you very much.

Note my use of the words 'supposedly' and 'imaginary'; here's the thing, i am willing to bet my last few Rands...and I don’t have a lot of them… that more often than not, these supposed haters are either busy living their own lives, pushing their own agendas and not all that concerned about your comings and goings or possibly (very likely) they are also engrossed in the sad misconception of other imaginary haters hating on them and their biznis! Ironic isn’t it?

Are we as a society wired up to expect, accept and even subtly yearn for negativity to validate our achievements? What happened to good old positivity, confidence in self and faith? Or have we for so long been subjected to such brutal negativity that the hater-lover mentality became our defense mechanism?
Whatever the case may be, our reception of negativity certainly speaks volumes about our faith in our own capabilities and competence, our attitude towards negativity and the over-rated value we place on the need for external acknowledgement.