It’s an honour

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again:  I love blogging.  Through blogging I have come to “know” some really awesome people.  People who inspire me, who challenge me to be the best Hanlie I can be.  People who make me laugh, make me nod my head in agreement, make me cry with their poignant stories and, very importantly, make me think and understand.

In my little blogging community we have all races, religions, ages, genders and backgrounds.  I am constantly amazed when I look at my stats to see where my readers come from - seriously, Japan?  Someone in Slovakia reads this?  Isn’t it great that borders and nationalities mean nothing when we are baring our souls and sharing our lives?  That  something that occurred to me this morning and which I shared on my blog, may be the impetus that will get someone else, thousands of miles away, to start making changes in her life.  To love herself more.  To drink more water or to juice some greens.

I love blogging! 

And I have to tell you, I love it even more when I get some recognition in the form of an award.  The beautiful Rupa, all the way from India has awarded me the Nice Matters Award!

“The Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”

Thank you, Rupa!  I’ll display it with pride!

When you have a google reader with almost 200 subscription (yes I know, it’s a wonder I get anything else done!), it’s hard to choose who to pass this on to.  But I’ve chosen a few people who mean a lot to me and I would like to award them with this token of my appreciation.

Chubby Chick for her upbeat and caring comments and support. I love your blog!

My wonderful friend Michelle who has sometimes almost carried me in this juice feast. If we lived in the same town, we’d be best friends!

My blogging sister, from whom I’m sure I was separated at birth, Daniele. Even though you’re taking a little break from blogging, I think about you often. I miss you!

I couldn’t possibly overlook Felicia, who is making life happen in such an inspiring way.  You are awesome!  Here’s some “huggles” and an award!

One of the first blogs I read every day is Ben’s. Another juice feaster who has taught me a lot and inspires me daily.

Then of course there’s Rebecca.  She’s such an interesting and courageous person and I love reading about her life and travels.

So many more of you come to mind!  But I suppose I’ve got to leave some for the above people to award.   

Does this blog make me look fat?

I need your advice.  Please!

I started blogging in July of last year, with Blogger.  Being a nitpicking, anal Virgo, everything had to be perfect from Day 1, which of course it wasn’t!  So I fired off some missives to the “Help” function, to which no replies were forthcoming.  In a fit of pique, I decided to try out a South African bloghost, iBlog.  I moved my few Blogger posts over and found a happy home for the next six months.  Then in January iBlog started suffering from serious blogstipation, becoming so slow and often not even allowing me to access my own blog.  I joined in the general exodus to Wordpress, and thought that I had finally arrived.  Except that Wordpress is so frigging exclusive, it won’t accept most html or support advertisements.  I can’t even get a slideshow going!

As you know, I gave up my high-powered corporate job to devote myself fully to healing, getting fit and losing weight.  But that means asking my husband for money for every little thing!  I would like to earn some money for myself… and I would like to do it online.  I’m not interested in selling Herbalife, or Amway, or any other multi-level marketing scheme, or pyramid scheme, or whatever crappy scam is doing the rounds.  Fortunately I have stumbled upon a few blogs that actually have good ideas on how to earn money online, but for that I need a less prissy bloghost than Wordpress.

So, where to now?  Back to Blogger?  I have since figured out the things I couldn’t do before.  Or do I make the leap to something like Typepad or whatever at a nominal monthly fee?  Think towards the future, when I may be promoting my book, writing about sustainable living, publishing newsletters, and keeping everyone up to date with the doings of my kids, cats and husband, etc?  Which would require a more involved setup that I can develop as I go along…  I wouldn’t want to move again, you know!

If you are hosted by someone other than Blogger or Wordpress, please let me hear your thoughts… and advice.

Got eggs?

I love Tertia Albertyn. She wrote a painfully funny, brilliant book, So Close, about her harrowing journey to motherhood, via 9 IVF’s, numerous miscarriages, the death of her firstborn and the eventual birth of her twins, Adam and Kate, now three years old. Tertia introduced me to blogging. Without her I’d be a much poorer person in so many ways.

Tertia’s a real go-getter! And she’s about to launch an exciting new venture, that promises to change the lives of many people.

We are delighted to announce the launch of South Africa’s premier Egg Donor Program.

nurture Egg Donor Program is a concept conceived by two people who are passionate about the world of infertility and egg donation. Tertia Albertyn, well-known author, former infertility patient and now mother of twins, and Melany Bartok, former egg donor herself and the country’s leading Egg Donation Director are both elated to be doing what they feel is their life’s calling!

At nurture, our focus is on recruiting, selecting and supporting top quality donors who are committed to the process of donating. Our objective is to provide complete donor care – encompassing education, information and support throughout the entire process, from application through to donation and beyond.

We look forward to connecting with you and all the other people whose desire it is to give others a chance to realize their dreams.

For more information about Nurture Egg Donor Program please contact either Tertia (tertia@nurture.co.za / 0824418639) or Melany (melany@nurture.co.za / 0766848489)

It is still very early days. We might not have our website up yet or fancy stationery etc, but what we do have is lots and lots of passion and excitement; and 100% conviction that this is going to be absolutely wonderful, not only for us, but for everyone involved - the egg donors, the recipients and the clinics as well! We are totally into creating a situation where everyone benefits - a win-win situation for all.

PS: If you are a young, healthy 20-34 year old South African woman who would like to find out more about egg donation, please send an email to info@nurture.co.za. If you are an old bat with tired, overcooked (vrot) eggs like mine, but you know of young, healthy women who would like to find out more about egg donation, tell them to give us a shout.

PPS: If you are a South African blogger, please consider posting a note on your blog to spread the word about Nurture Egg Donor Program.

PPPS: If you are a man, thanks but no thanks. We don’t need your sperm right now, but thanks for the kind offer!

PPPPS: Woooo hooooo!!!! Do you have any idea how excited I am about doing something that could potentially mean so much to so many people! Very, very excited indeed.

A-B-C

Just when you think your know everything about me, I get tagged again!  This is courtesy of Natalie. 

A - Age: 38

B – Bed size: Queen

C - Chores you hate: Ironing

D - Dessert you love: Fruit salad with cashew cream custard

E - Essential start your day item: Barleylife

F - Favourite actor(s): John Travolta & Denzel Washington

G - Gold or Silver: White gold

H - Height: 1.77 m (5 ft 8 inches)

I - Instruments you play: Guitar – badly!

J - Job title: Home executive, Nutritional Consultant, Fitness Student 

K - Kids: Yes, please!  Make that 3…

L - Living arrangements: In our renovated Victorian house in the city (as opposed to the suburbs) with my husband and 3 cats.

M - My name is: Hanlie

N - Nicknames: Angel baby (of course only my husband calls me that!)

O - Overnight hospital stay: Laparoscopy, Myomectomy (removal of uterine fibroids), Appendicitis, Allergic reaction resulting in severe facial swelling, Appendectomy and then again to fix the mess the doctor made.

P - Pet Peeve:  Telemarketers!

Q - Favourite quote:  “If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come”. ~ Chinese proverb

R - Right or left handed: RightS - Siblings: One sister and a half sister

T - Time you woke up today: 06h45

U - Unique habit: I always give people the benefit of the doubt

V - Vegetable you hate: I like all vegetables! 

W - Wishing for:  A pregnancy later this year

X - X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, chest, ankle

Y - Yummy food you make: Soups and salads

Z - Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Now you know my ABC’s … Let me know if you’re doing this!

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1-2-3

I saw this on Kelly’s blog and thought it would be interesting! 

Here are the instructions:
1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

This is from the brilliantly thoughtful Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Alblom.

The quote was from Ted Turner, the billionaire media mogul, founder of CNN, who had been lamenting his inability to snatch up the CBS network in a corporate megadeal. I had bought the story to Morrie this morning because I wonderered if Turner ever found himself in my old professor’s position, his breath disappearing, his body turning to stone, his days being crossed off the calendar one by one - would he really be crying over owning a network?

“It’s all part of the same problem, Mitch,” Morrie said.

This little meme is completely voluntary and open to anyone who wants it. 

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