Phuthu Stay Phut, Don't go!

It is National Women’s Month and we celebrate women of all ages and cultures. We celebrate our uniqueness, differences, strengths and potential.

Our challenge to you (male or female) this month is to spoil our South African woman with random acts of kindness. Whether it’s getting domestic and baking mom some cupcakes, surprising the cashier with flowers, taking your sister for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast or giving an old gogo a lift. It’s not the size of the gift or act that matters but the fact that it’s given with a genuine loving attitude.

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

- Maya Angelou

Let us know how you are sharing the love this month!

If you haven’t had a chance to watch any of the films at Durban’s International Film Festival (DIFF) as yet, this weekend is your last chance. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the festival, where films and filmmakers from around the globe gather to share and appreciate the beauty of cinema. With over 200 screenings across eleven days, DIFF is definitely not short of talent and diversity. Films range from heart-breaking documentaries, to light-hearted and humorous short films, many of which introduce first-time actors and feature directorial debuts.

For reviews of some of the films at DIFF , Click Here

See the full film schedule here

The sardines arrived in Pennington on the South Coast on Tuesday, which means they will more than likely be hitting Durban this weekend. The sardines normally reach Durbs by the end of June – just in time for the winter school holidays. But you’re fashionably late this year, guys! Well… rather late than never, hey?

Sharks Board deputy chief executive officer Mike Anderson-Reade said that “things are looking up and with a bit of luck, we just might see sardines off Durban by the weekend.” Although the shoal this year is not as big as those in previous years, it is still as exciting as ever to see the sea bubbling with activity and people frantically filling buckets, towels and anything they can get their hands on really, with sardines.

The Sardine Run usually occurs between May and July when millions of sardines – or more specifically the Southern African pilchard Sardinops sagax – spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northward along the east coast of South Africa. Their sheer numbers create a feeding frenzy along the coastline. The run, containing millions of individual sardines, occurs when a current of cold water heads north from the Agulhas Bank up to Mozambique – where it then leaves the coast line and goes further East into the Indian Ocean.

In terms of biomass, researchers estimate the sardine run could rival East Africa’s great wildebeest migration. However, little is known of the phenomenon. It is believed that the water temperature has to drop below 21°C in order for the migration to take place. In 2003, the sardines failed to run for the third time in 23 years. While 2005 saw a good run, 2006 marked another non-run.

The shoals are often more than 7 km long, 1.5 km wide and 30 meters deep, and are clearly visible from spotter planes or from the surface.

Sardines group together when they are threatened. This instinctual behaviour is a defence mechanism as individuals are more likely to be eaten than large groups. The bait balls can be 10-20 metres in diameter and extend to a depth of 10 metres, but they are short lived and seldom last longer than 10 minutes. Dolphins are largely responsible for rounding up the sardines into bait balls. Once the sardines are rounded up, sharks, game fish and birds take advantage of the opportunity.

So people, get your nets (or buckets) ready and head for the wonderful spectacle that is the world renowned Sardine Run – in Durban this weekend!

Reference: Independent Online, Wikipedia

As an adult, wife or mother, you’ve probably heard it all before. But do you actually apply these tips when you go shopping? With women it’s often about the mood they’re in, not so? If I’m in a responsible-wife-and-good-mother-mood I will compare prices and tick off all the products on my very proper shopping list. But beware when I’m in a I-am-woman-hear-me-roar-mood, then I’ll do as I please… and explain myself later *small voice*

• First things first: If you are trying to cut down and save up, Woolies is definitely not the place for you.
• Seasonal fruit and veggies are cheaper than imported fresh produce.
• Buy your fruit and veggies from a farmer’s market or a Everfresh / Fruit and Veg Store as their products are cheaper. Don’t fall for convenience – the beautifully packaged, diced vegetables are usually way more expensive than buying them loose.
• Always compare prices when buying fruit and veggies. A packet of potatoes or tomatoes might be cheaper than buying them loose or visa versa.
• Compile a proper shopping list and stick to it. By buying everything you need at once you cut out double trips to the shop. By making repeat visits to the shop you will most probably end up buying products that didn’t feature on your shopping list in the first place.
• Make sure you’ve eaten before you go shopping. It works!
• Always compare no-name brands to brand products. Sometimes the brand products are actually cheaper.
• Buy bulk wherever possible (cleaning products, tinned foods, toiletries etc.)
• Make use of Dischem to buy all your cosmetics and baby products. Their card system guarantees some money back and their prices are usually good.
• If you are a Discovery Vitality member, apply for your HealthyFood card – you can actually get money back when shopping at Pick ‘n Pay.
• Look out for specials and make use of coupons.

For some reason most men find it super hot when women save money (it makes us look clever , I guess) while women prefer being super hot with whatever it was that they’ve just spent his money on (lingerie or a new outfit, perfume, a new hairdo)!  Use this tip wisely, you can thank me later.
*wink*

Vivacious Noeleen Bridle has got so much energy that she simply needs to share it with us. A perfect picture of health, this experienced personal trainer holds intriguing secrets to a leaner, meaner you. Noeleen’s business, Strength & Mind, is all about sharing the knowledge and wisdom she has gained in her life time as an athlete, and using this as a tool in her quest to maintain health in body and most of all mind.

After having left a marriage with two children, no education and no income, Noeleen was forced to work with what she knew best – namely exercise. “My commitment to numerous forms of physical exercise in my youth gave me a good grounding in being disciplined. As I have pursued my interest in weight and fat loss I have realised just how much the mind, your past and what you have been predisposed to, are linked,” she explains.

An initial capital gave her a chance to work independently. “I am a one-woman show so I only have my time to sell, but this does give me enormous peace of mind and the chance to work hard at what I do. It really has paid off, as my clients always come back to reinforce what they have learnt and trust.” Noeleen’s philosophy is quite simply based on logic: know your body and link it to where your mind is right now.

What is unique about Strength and Mind is the fact that Noeleen is not selling a quick fix more often than not is hard to fix, but she is giving you the tools to make progress in the most important department of your life: your health.  ”My product is an everlasting one. When you embark on taking charge of yourself through your food choices, you gain inner strength and power that can never be taken away – a quick route to advancing your mind.”

Noeleen often works with people grouped according to fitness and ability, and this is where a lot of sharing and education takes place. “My interest in correcting behaviour through food choices means that loads of parents are now investing time in changing their lifestyles and also those of their children. Fatness and obesity is going to be compounded unless something is done from the time the child is born, and I am making sure that I spread my information far and wide,” says Noeleen.

The challenge Noeleen has is to make sure that she invests her spare time in sleeping. “Getting up at 3.15 am every morning requires catching up! But I feel it is my purpose to impart what I know, so my reward is that each person is forced to listen to me and will advance in his or her own time.”

Noeleen says success is relative and she simply feels successful because each day she is satisfied with what she is doing and how she goes about it. “Having a successful business is all about knowing your product,” she says. “And working within such a diverse, vibrant, energetic community – as well as knowing that each corner of our country consists of such people – makes me Proudly South African.”

So what’s the best tip a health and fitness mentor can give us? “Never ever eat light or diet products. And look after your family, friends and your body,” says Noeleen. “And remember – it’s never too late. I’ve trained a woman of 65 who ended up with only muscles.”

Now ask yourself what your personal trainer is really teaching you. Because what will sustain you daily, you will learn from Noeleen at Strength and Mind.

For more info tel 083 546 2044 or e-mail noeleen@eastcoast.co.za

Superjerm actually wrote the article below a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t publish it because I thought that the cooking bug that I contracted all those weeks ago (that he talks about below)would have disappeared by now and the lust for cooking would be null and void. But I’m proud to say, tis not the case. *Gobsmacked expression*. I’m still cooking up a hurricane and so herewith, I present to you, Superjerms personal account after the first week of my cooking bug:

I’m not sure how it happened but the Phuthu lady’s passion for cooking has been awakened……!

I doubt it’s the numerous cook books we have in our bookshelves, the recipes she posts on her websites or the take away saturation levels we’ve reached…….perhaps she thinks I am wasting away and needs to fatten me up a bit!

From someone who’s most adventurous cooking escapade was tossing a few frozen crumbed pieces of fish plus a few spuds in the oven to someone who cooks better than Nigella!

So, for the past week, I’ve had 5 course meals every night, I’ve already put on 5 kgs and am budgeting on another 5 by the end of the month! My scale whimpers when I look at it and our dishwasher groans at all the dishes it has to clean!

My diner now consists of:

Starters
Some tasty soup – pea and bacon, carrot and ginger or broccoli & lemon

Post starter
Deep fried Halloumi

Pre Main
Yummy home made fish cakes with coriander and spring onion dip

Mains
Better than Mama Lucianos home made meat balls and sauce.

Post main
Fillet with Avo on couscous and red wine jus

Pre-Dessert
More of all above

Dessert
Too packed to even eat a smartie

Every night is something new and exciting, can’t wait for tonight!

Little does he know that I’ve also had my eyes on a delicious pair of leather boots from Zoom for the past month. It’s called “cooking-for-boots”. Hee hee, just kidding.