Chasing Noodles

Almost to the day this time last year, I was also here in Shellfish Shoreline-Indentation. A couple differences though. Then: I was here with four friends that I have big love for Now: With a work colleague Then: For a fun sailing, tanning Easter Weekend Now: A sports festival Then: Squeezing into a teeny tiny little room part of an old train, sleeping head to toe Now: A massive flat on the beach with a huge but empty double bed Then: sunshine Now: rain The only thing that is exactly the same as last time, is my heart. All over the place, confused, hurt and messed up. Oh how depressing Suze, cry me a river! Haha, no, what I am trying to get at is that SO much can change in one year and in the same breath, nothing changes... If I think of how I have grown in so many different ways since last year and how I have changed careers, hair styles, attitudes, outlooks, yikes, so much. So, I guess what I am trying to say is, you might want to sit down for this, its like so profound like, no mat...

Wow, and straight back into the serious stuff. Cliches . Sigh, Let's recap a couple of our favorites: Cliché number 1: “Forget about the past; what’s done is done.” Yes, because we all have the ability to erase all feelings from the past and move on immediately.Check. Cliché number 2: “Everything happens for a reason.” Okay, thank you for that. Thought things happen just because, and the bad things happen to make you feel even worse. Cliché number 3: “Everything will wor k out in the end” When you have had a super bad break up or you going through a rough patch, this is the last bit of advice you need to hear. It's meant to be the silver lining for you, but the end could be tomorrow, next year or the day before you die. Not that comforting at the time of sadness. Cliché number 4: “There are plenty of fish in the sea.” My best, why thank you. Because there aren't 6 billion other people fishing off the rocks for their own fish. Cliché number 5: "It will happen when...

Can everyone give me a WHOOOP WHOOOP! Yes please. We are officially done with this crazy yet successful eating plan. We didn't leave the house today though, which i think helped with making it through the last day. Managed to get a lot of work done though. The last few bites of our meal were like little bites of joy. We must have high fived about 10 times, and we have discussed our reward meal for tomorrow. Soup from the Zoup stand, sushi from the sushi stand and then a jug of daiquiri /margarita. I know what you all thinking, we going to ruin the whole 13 days of hard work by binge eating, but that isnt the case. The whole point of the diet was to restart our metabolism so we should be able to eat like normal people again now, but maybe just smaller portions. And less shooters . A massive thank you to my beautiful Suze Original, i would have failed miserably without her. Thank you to you all for the support and my amazing family and friends that have had to endure watching us eat...

Breakfast with the gang went just fine, cause I had my gorgeous little Bambino on my lap and she was sharing my delicious carrots while everyone else ate their very average meals (according to me of course, not them). Lunch unfortunately was a fail. I forgot my soup at home so had to deal with real tomatoes again, but the boffin in me decided to grill the life out of them with my fish. Not a terrible idea i tell you. Crispy thinly sliced grilled tomato is a whole lot more edible than than normal. Last night worked out perfectly. For Dancing Queen's birthday we all went out to our favorite restaurant. Our dinner was steak and green salad so after a bit of explaining to the waiter about our ridiculous needs, we had a delicious meal and felt included with the whole group. We just had to make a conscious decision not to look at the mesa platter with dolmades, shrimps, humus, meatballs and dips, finished off by a baklava with ice-cream. Shortly after that the DJ started playing some a...

Yes! Day eleven, done and dusted. And it was awesome food too. The usual for breakfast, the yummy combo of carrots and cheese for lunch and the best, fruit salad and yoghurt for dinner. For the first time since Sunday I am feeling satisfied and content. Food wise. Today was Lovely lambs birthday, happy happy gorgeous girl. Wish I was there to have a drink or seven with you. Tomorrow is Dancing Queens birthday and for breakfast I will be taking my Tupperware of carrots and my bottle of water while everyone has omlettes, French toast, English breakfast and croissants. But I don't mind, this is worth it!! Two more days! It has, can and will be done! Over and out.

Today is Human Rights day and for many South Africans, the day will always remain Sharpeville Day, a commemoration of the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville massacre, when the police mowed down 69 unarmed people and injured 180 others who refused to carry the hated dompas identity document. The day, sometimes also referred to as Heroes' Day, was a watershed in the country's liberation struggle, hence its inclusion in South Africa's post-apartheid holiday calendar. Today is also day 10 for us, obviously nothing compared to Human Rights Day and I'm not taking anything away from it. To celebrate Human Rights Day, we started with a nice late sleep in and then our old faithful sugarless coffee and toast. I made it through lunch purely because I replaced the repulsive evil "fruit" with a tomato soup. We ended off the day with an incredibly exciting ham and green salad. We have both vowed not to have ham for a very very very long time. Or boiled eggs.

Deboned rib burgers with cheese, salmon roses and prawn tempura, Malva pudding, lemon meringue, nick naks, paella, quiche, a bag of Lindt and mostly a gorgeous cup of tea and cupcakes. These are just some of the things we are now craving like crazy. Suze Original had an average day today but I really didn't have a good one. Besides feeling like moldy Gouda today with a headache from hell, we've both hit a bit of a slump. We only have 4 days to go, but it just seems like too much now. That being said, Smart Girl started today and we need to be good examples for her and show her it's not all that bad. I'm working up the courage to tackle tomorrow's tomatoes. Chin up they say. I might be cheating a little and try the tomato soup instead. Don't think my body will allow one more gagging session. Once, fine. Twice, not cool. If I did it a third time it will never forgive me. Okay, tomorrow will be a positive one! Whoop whoop.

No, not a good day today, for either of us. It could be that we are repeating the exact same diet as last week and know now what to expect, and let's be honest, doing it once off last week was tough enough, but now doing it all over again? Not ideal. We have been so lucky though to have been surrounded by beautiful people that have been nothing less than amazing and have kept us motivated and encouraging. The spinach and boiled egg today tasted like a bowl of smelly sandy leaves. Suze Original bought me a small cow for dinner and I must say, I'm lying on the couch now like stuffed ... Wait, that won't work! I'm full, and tired, and ready for today to be over. Tomorrow is a new day, it WILL be better.

And on the seventh day they were allowed a treat! A well deserved one at that. They definitely make sure that you are completely ready for this treat cause we had lemon tea for breakfast and steak and mango for lunch. So for supper we were allowed to have whatever you want. Tell me, after a week of gagging on tomatoes and the smell of boiled egg, what would you want for a treat? All the meals went through our minds, Spur burgers, Tim Tams, Avalanches , Casareccio's pizza's, Deez chili poppers, Simply Asia Peanut dish, spaghetti , nachos... you name it, we spoke about it, but in the end it was a mutual decision to stick with our first idea of the best Massaman Curry from Thai cafe . Well, that meal didn't stand a chance, before it had settled on my place mat , I had finished it. One word, AMAZING. I wont lie, it felt good eating it, but also felt like we had earned it. which is good i guess. Anyway, don't think the scale will like us much tomorrow, but right now, I don...

How is it possible to sleep this much? After my monster afternoon nap yesterday for 4 hours I still pulled off an 11 hour sleep last night. Not complaining though, was amazing. Great breakfast this morning in the most beautiful place in the Western Cape, overlooking the sea and feeling the breeze. Made me forget about this whole eating plan all together. Suze Original and Smart Girl arrived today just to make my day that much better. Lunch rocked, chicken strips with lemon juice and salt. One very chilled afternoon mixed with work and play brought us to a dinner that shocked us at how tasty it was. We think it was the onions that made all the difference though, I mean, how exciting do you think 2 boiled eggs and carrots could be, all topped off with the best Jacuzzi , bubbles without the bubbles though. We have made it to the end of day six and we are doing well. There are obviously moments when we want to smash some chocolate or wine in our faces, but we have pushed through the cravi...

Who wouldn't want to start their day with carrots and black coffee? I know! Sha. Small shock to the system, I wont lie, but nothing could have prepared me for the unpleasant experience I had at lunch. Being the novice tomato eater that i am, i learnt very quickly that making a smoothie out of onions and tomatoes did not work well, at all. So for today's lunch, which was fish and tomatoes (yay!) I thought long and hard. How was I going to combat this evil thing that no person can tell you if its a fruit or vegetable. I mean, really? Doesn't that already tell you something. Suddenly, a flash back. Easter lunch with "Someone I used to know" at his Dad's house. We sit down, napkin on our laps, all very fancy and my plate arrives in front of me. I was not prepared for this, but being the polite young lady my parents brought me up to be, I smiled and tuck into my seared tuna steak (nom) and baby tomato meal. I did so well, hid the tears and even managed a smile her...

Who said its only the first three days that are the hardest? Cause they need their heads read, well, that or they have never tried this. I think my detox just hit me as I have had the most horrific headache all day. Not even my trusty Grandpa's have worked against this demon. That being said, missing my coffee for breakfast and only having the whole wheat bread didn't seem to make a huge difference, and the carrot cheese combo while very interesting, was not too bad. Now for fruit and yoghurt. Nom. On the really plus side, Suze Original is rocking this and loosing faster than you can say "raw tomato". Good job!

I had no idea how deep routed my fear and disgust of tomatoes was, until today. I always knew I didn't like them, could never explain exactly what it was about them, but after today I can tell you that there is simply nothing good about them. I understand their nutritional value and all that, but I simply cannot ever enjoy a tomato. I think I would rather eat a fish eye than go through what I did at lunch today. Granted, what I did was not my best idea, but I had thought, being a non-lover of tomato, that if I take some onion, put it in the smoothie machine and try make a salsa to put with my green beans and boiled eggs. I guess that's why it's called a smoothie maker and not a "finely chop tomato and onion" machine. A quarter of the way through the meal, tears started running down my face from repulsion. Then my stomach started cramping and finally the gagging. In all my life, I think I can say that that was one of my top 10 worst moments in my life. Dinner was...

You know what, today wasn't half as bad as we were expecting. The whole wheat went down "soos nectar op die tong" as the Afrikaans say, after the previous mornings black sugarless coffee. By 2:30 I thought I was going to pass out from hunger, but managed to make it through my meeting, successfully I might add. Suze Original coped better than me, but we are finding late afternoon naps to be very helpful in forgetting the hunger. That, and rivers of water! See ya day two! Only 11more to go.

So today Suze Original and I have accepted a family challenge to get back into shape. It's Joburg vs Cape Town and the challenge is on. We are on a metabolism diet to restart our systems and hopfully lose a couple while we do. Today was day one, and they say the first three are the worst. Tell you something for free, not looking forward to the next two days if today is anything to go by. But we made it, so one down, twelve to go. Today consisted of black sugarless coffee, spinach and boiled eggs and then steak for dinner. Funny thing is, drinking 2 litres of water was the hardest part for me, haha. One sip at a time they say. Buttnutt is loving this idea cause he gets to clean out our fridge of all the yummy things. Sigh...

This quote comes from a called A Gift to My Children by Jim Rogers , and it is a book with essentially pearls of wisdom from his world of "hard knocks", which Jim wants to share with his two beautiful daughters, respectively nicknamed in Chinese as 'Happy' (7) & 'Babe Bee' (2). This is part of some investment advice that he is offering his daughters. Here are some other bits of advice from him: - Swim your own races - do not let others do your thinking for you; - rely on your own intelligence; - it's important to decide for yourself what's important to you and what you want before you turn to others; - if anyone laughs at your idea, view it as a sign of potential success; - be who you are; be original; be bold; - above all, be ethical In the end, its you that has to be happy and if you spend all your time worrying about what other people have to say or what they think then you just going to end up disappointed at the end of the day and then you h...