Personal
Writing During a Pandemic
After writing for over a year, I finally finished A… Read More »Writing During a Pandemic
I Fell, And Other Life Stories
This post will come to you in four parts. Part… Read More »I Fell, And Other Life Stories
My First Buddy-Write Session
I mean, not my first. I’ve written in sprints and… Read More »My First Buddy-Write Session
So, About Patreon…
I’m reading a book about marketing for introverts. This may… Read More »So, About Patreon…
My Glasses Broke & Other Life Snippets
Do I like change? No. And especially not while my… Read More »My Glasses Broke & Other Life Snippets
Finding Myself Again
So, I’ve been doing yoga. This is a massive first… Read More »Finding Myself Again
While I was Away
This post is basically a collection of random photos. I… Read More »While I was Away
Two-Oh-Two-One
Call the Ghost Busters or a necromancer–it’s me. For realzies.… Read More »Two-Oh-Two-One
Hello From the Inside
This weekend, we went for a drive. We didn’t get… Read More »Hello From the Inside
Why Does Fandom Forget Ron Weasley?
These are the kinds of questions flitting about in my… Read More »Why Does Fandom Forget Ron Weasley?
Last Week Wasn’t a Good Week
Let’s not play games, we all get depressed sometimes. And… Read More »Last Week Wasn’t a Good Week
Growing Out a Pixie Cut & Other Random Tales
Hey, I’m growing out my pixie. My hair is now… Read More »Growing Out a Pixie Cut & Other Random Tales
I Haven’t Left the House in 9 Days
What I miss is walking. Up until last Friday, I… Read More »I Haven’t Left the House in 9 Days
Tales from Self-Isolation
Honestly, as someone who spends the greater part of her… Read More »Tales from Self-Isolation
This Post Comes to You in Four Parts
Totally paraphrasing John Green there. 🙂 DFTBA, people. Anyway. Part… Read More »This Post Comes to You in Four Parts
The Book was Better – My Thoughts on Adaptations
I recently reread the Harry Potter series, and watched the… Read More »The Book was Better – My Thoughts on Adaptations
A Study of Ash & Smoke – 7th Annual WD Self-Pub e-Book Awards
Sometime around September last year, I got an email about… Read More »A Study of Ash & Smoke – 7th Annual WD Self-Pub e-Book Awards
It’s Happening Again (A Life Update)
I guess you all know by now that when I… Read More »It’s Happening Again (A Life Update)
Spot the Differences – Writer vs Main Character
I posted an excerpt from A Study of Ash &… Read More »Spot the Differences – Writer vs Main Character
Behind the Scenes – Editing
I figure I might as well clue you all in… Read More »Behind the Scenes – Editing
How AHA moments changed A Study of Ash & Smoke
We all have little aha moments while writing. Those moments… Read More »How AHA moments changed A Study of Ash & Smoke
SA Bookswap
The South African Bookswap, organised by Tams, or Bibliobookwolf on… Read More »SA Bookswap
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Well, I’m back. I’m happy to inform you the two… Read More »Wake Me Up When September Ends
We Had More Time
Last week, we lost two family members. We witnessed the… Read More »We Had More Time
Ideas For Writers of Instagram
I’ve been trying to up my Instagram game. I stumbled… Read More »Ideas For Writers of Instagram
Books That Inspire Me – The Black Magician Trilogy
I’ve never really talked about those books that inspire me,… Read More »Books That Inspire Me – The Black Magician Trilogy
When Do You Find the Time? An Essay by a Work-From-Home Mother
When Kayla was little, I worked when she slept. This… Read More »When Do You Find the Time? An Essay by a Work-From-Home Mother
My Thoughts – Carmen Sandiego
Folks, I grew up chasing Carmen Sandiego and Co. across… Read More »My Thoughts – Carmen Sandiego
Let’s Talk Photos and Graphics
A friend asked me about the software and resources I… Read More »Let’s Talk Photos and Graphics
I’m Yolandie – Revisited
A few years ago, I had an epiphany–I’m not done… Read More »I’m Yolandie – Revisited
My Thoughts – Longmire
One night, my husband reaches for the remote. He browses… Read More »My Thoughts – Longmire
My Thoughts – Mark of the Ninja
I’m currently in this phase where I’m rewatching old series,… Read More »My Thoughts – Mark of the Ninja
My Thoughts – Violet Evergarden
Friends, I finished this series in a week. I can’t… Read More »My Thoughts – Violet Evergarden
Current Favourites
I’m always the slightest bit late with my favourites post,… Read More »Current Favourites
Social Sabbatical Results
It’s been just over two months since I announced on… Read More »Social Sabbatical Results
My Thoughts – The Office
I mentioned in another post that I was rewatching The… Read More »My Thoughts – The Office
Keeping it Current
It’s been a really long time since I’ve blogged about… Read More »Keeping it Current
One of Those Days
Some days, I have zero direction. As you probably guessed… Read More »One of Those Days
Social Sabbatical
Lately, I’ve been absent and apparently folks have been noticing.… Read More »Social Sabbatical
Looking for Sympathy.
One of those things people forget to tell you about… Read More »Looking for Sympathy.
Let’s Talk About Panic Attacks
Now here’s an uncomfortable topic. One of those most people… Read More »Let’s Talk About Panic Attacks
A December Update
It’s been one of those weeks. My parents arrived from… Read More »A December Update
Boxes and Suitcases
Boxes and suitcases everywhere. This is my current reality. Those boxes we’re not shipping to Canada are full of stuff for charity. It’s a minefield.
The clutter makes me anxious. It’s a combination of excitement and being totally overwhelmed, so every now and then I find myself disengaging to regain some semblance of focus. I do this sometimes. Browse the internet, read a book (and I’m beta reading a FANTASTIC ONE at the moment), or do a watercolour. Or, in today’s reality, write a blog post.
A(nother) Note
Today, folks, is my wedding anniversary. Nine years ago, I married the awesomest dude on the face of the planet – he’s my best friend and soulmate, the greatest father and sweetest husband ever.
In honour of that, I’m taking the day off blogging. 🙂 OK, not only that, we’ve got some errands to run too.
Explanations
Fair warning – this is a long post.
After Friday’s big news, we’ve had a lot of good wishes, emails and questions. I thought I’d address some of those today.
Most people were surprised that we’re so unhappy in Germany, especially considering how happy all of our photo diary posts look. I talked about this briefly on Friday, but one of the main things I’ve learned while living abroad is that you can’t judge people’s lives on an hour Skype session every now and then, or on the photos or blog entries they post online.
The Big News
As a teenager, I dreamed of moving to Hollywood. At first, I wanted to act. Who doesn’t? But then, one fateful day, I saw the work of my first idol, Steven Spielberg. More than anything, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and make films. I wrote many brilliant screenplays (they were Oscar winners one and all 😛 ) and the lands over the ocean beckoned.
Little did I know back then that I would end up immigrating, but to a totally different part of the world. Germany. And today is the two-year anniversary of that move.
Life Update
After the Writing Update post, I was asked how it’s going otherwise. So, here we are.
Somehow, these kinds of posts are the most difficult to write. I don’t know why. It’s such a no-brainer to put in hours of research for *writing topic* or spend an evening painting something for an art tutorial, while writing about my personal life never gets easier. And I don’t mean sharing photos of the stuff we’ve been getting up to. Those kinds of posts write like a story.
These honest ones, though. Posts like these mean being vulnerable on the internet. After six years of blogging, that’s still not a feeling I like.
Under Construction.
As you can tell, I’ve been working on the website.… Read More »Under Construction.
Before you Share…
It’s a normal Tuesday and you’re scrolling Facebook. Everything has been going great today and you feel chipper. You’re happy for your cousin who’s pregnant again, you like the pic of that high school friend’s new puppy and you laugh at the ridiculous Star Wars meme.
The following post though, it ruins your day.
Motherhood and Guilt
Now, my generation is a weird one. In South Africa, our… Read More »Motherhood and Guilt
The Travel Tip Round-Up
Since the last bunch of posts were all travel-related (you missed it? Start here), I figured I’d share some of the tips we’ve learned in our travels. I realise the internet is chock-full of travel tips, but this is a roundup of the things that work for us.
Before I go on Vacation…
I just wanted to pop in and say cheers. I… Read More »Before I go on Vacation…
Being in the Moment
A while ago, a friend suggested that I write something on this topic. Yea, I’ve been trying. Do I have a nice, glowy outcome planned for this post? No. Not at all. #idontknowwhatimdoing
All I know is that this is something I struggle with immensely, especially when I’m obsessing. As in now.
Being in the moment is difficult enough in our day-to-day lives. I mean, we’re bombarded with things to consume from all angles. We can access anything from our phones, which means from anywhere we have wifi reception. So checking Twitter while at a coffee date with a friend is totally doable, and also kind of the norm.
Gamer Girl
For me, it started way back when with Red Alert 2 and Age of Empires – still one of the best strategy games out there.
Actually, that might be inaccurate. The first game I tirelessly played was Frogger, when I was a wee tadpole myself, then it moved to Tetris and Super Mario. Red Alert and AOE came after that.
Downtime
Hi there.
I know Mondays are supposed to be for Weekends in Pictures, but this weekend didn’t go down in that kind of way. While I do have a few photos, they’re just of stolen moments in between, and I want to keep them for our personal records.
So, this is another update post, to keep you informed and my schedule running. 🙂
Sympathy
In a way, this is a continuation of my train of thought from the stigma post. Maybe you want to click there before you continue. 🙂
For the most part, this post focusses on someone who suffers in silence, but the general message can be applied to anyone who is hurting – even when they freely talk about it. With that said, let’s get to it.
On Stigma
I guess I should make it clear from the get-go that this is going to focus on mental issues, though you could probably use the message for any other kind of stigma too. I don’t know yet, I’ve just begun to write this post. 😛
This is a topic close to my heart. It’s one I’ve failed to voice too frequently. In fact, I failed yesterday when an opportunity presented itself.
A big promoter of stigma is false information – a thing we spread or allow to keep spreading too easily. So. This is my chance to redeem myself and add some facts to my ramblings. Please click the links, learn something, and hopefully, understand certain illnesses better.