The Ikea Experience

So we have moved into our new house, much of our furniture was unable to actually make it into the house, and we now need to furnish the apartment – on a budget!

Off to Ikea we go. Now I’ve heard that this place is and experience, but really, I had no idea!

We arrive with a vague idea of what we want but with no idea of how many options we would have!

To paint the picture – Ikea is a super huge store that offers absolutely everything you can think of when it comes to furnishing your house or putting on the finishing touches. I mean everything!

It is laid out with various rooms on display to give you ideas as to how you want to do your rooms and then there is every possible option to make it your own. You look around for hours and get ideas and then when you’ve made your decisions you simply write down the product code and other info and move onto the next step.

The next step is actually getting your stuff. Now when you are writing down the info of the furniture you write down the isle number and bin number. I was not entirely sure what this meant when I was doing it but I was soon to find out.

Basically you make your way into this HUGE warehouse, with countless numbers of Isles and Bins where you – yes you – find your items. Everything is flat packed and it is up to you to put it onto a cart and go checkout.

Now we were most happy to discover that most of our items actually fitted into the boot (trunk) of the car! Ok I have to admit that even though I will never admit to liking the Camry due to the lack of excitement it offers, I am becoming increasingly impressed with what it has to offer – in this case – boot space. We only had to have a few longer items delivered which was also a pretty painless experience.

So all that was left was to get everything home and built – which was my job. Yes I was partly dreading it but pretty excited as I’ve always considered myself a bit of a handy-girl. So borrowing a tool kit from The Neighbor, I got to work.

I have to tell you that even though the tasks were pretty simple considering, it was still exhausted! It took me a full two days to put everything together.

I have to give credit to Ikea in that their stuff is good, the experience was great and thankfully, the instructions were simple! I have plans to go back this weekend and maybe get a couple of extra’s.

The U-Haul Experience

Ok to paint the picture – we are moving up to DC with more than a little stuff, most inherited. We have a Toyota Camry (yes I know – boring!). So needless to say we needed help. So to U-Haul we turn…



We picked up a rather large truck and a full flat bed trailer and have every intention of doing this all ourselves. We manage to pack the truck and load the car onto the trailer and off we go!




About 3 hours into the drive we realize that the gas is going down faster than we anticipated and we now have the mammoth task of getting this rig through a gas station – thank goodness for Americans and their Truck stops.



14 hours later and about 4 more tanks of gas we find ourselves almost into the city. Now comes the thought that even with “The Other Half’s” amazing truck driving skills, there is no way we are firstly going to be able to maneuver this all through the downtown DC streets, and secondly if we do, there is no ways we are going to find space to offload the car off the trailer.

So an abandoned parking lot we find and proceed to offload the car there. We then drive the final few minutes in separate vehicles. (I will not get into the fact that I got caught at a red light and left behind with an almost dead phone and no idea where I’m going – I got there eventually).

We finally arrive at our destination (a few minutes apart because of my detours). We are very happy to discover that there is a barely used alley behind our house where we can park and offload the truck – which we proceed to do.

So as we are unloading we discover that the majority of our inherited furniture does not actually fit through the door of the apartment and we are forced to leave it in the truck and find something to do with it the next day. (I’m gonna take this opportunity to throw in an “I told you so”).

Next day arrives and we are up bright and early to find a furniture store to buy the furniture and then return the truck and trailer. All I’m gonna say is that the odds were against us on this particular morning and the furniture now sits in the U-Haul storage facility (minus half a glass table cause I broke it).

The bottom line is that I am still in two minds as to whether I will ever use U-Haul again due to some complications. The final moral of the story is that I hope to not have to move again or a very long time!

The Big Move - It's Happened!

Ok so it’s been a little while since I’ve written and a lot has happened. I think I’m gonna document all my little experiences as a part by part series so expect a lot of posts coming up!

So the biggest news of all is that we are now safe and settled in Washington DC. For the details of the trip see (The U-Haul Experience).

As you know I was more than a little nervous as to what I was getting myself into as I was moving to a city that I had visited for a mere few hours and moving into a basement apartment which I had not seen.

Well I hereby consider myself pleasantly surprised. Our new home is adorable. I find adorable a fitting word as yes it is pretty small but for us it is perfect. It’s a one bedroom basement but with lots of light and just enough space. For more details on the décor see (The Ikea Experience).

Although I have not yet fully explored the neighborhood, from what I can judge it is fantastic. I have sampled two of the local little restaurants which were excellent and our street is so quaint and actually very similar to London – except the sun has been shining constantly since we moved in.

So as you can see I am a very happy puppy right now and all that is left to do is find a job! Our next furniture purchase is also gonna be a sleeper couch so please come visit!

The Big Move – It all begins!

So as many or most of you may know, the time has finally come for us to part with Sweet Home Alabama and head to the nation’s capital – Washington DC. With “The Other Half” highly anticipating himself getting the job after he went to the interview, we’ve been partially packed for a few weeks now but I still find that as we draw nearer to the Estimated Time of Departure there is just so much to do.

I had all good intentions of working as close as possible up to the date we leave in order to maybe pay for the gas (petrol) for our 12 hour drive to our new home. But now for those of you who have had the pleasure of hearing me talk about my job, you probably knew that was not going to happen. But I did work Monday and was glad to say that I consider that an achievement in itself. But here I sit on Tuesday blissfully unemployed.

So today we tackled some last minute packing, some urgent admin and the essential task of trying to find somewhere to live! Ok before you all panic, we have a place, we are just trying to tie down all the loose ends and handle all the boring and stressful official stuff. Now I will take this opportunity to advise against embarking on a long distance house hunt in the future. Although I fully trust our dear friend who has checked the place for us I still find myself rather anxious at what we may find. Of course my stress levels are increasing as I think about the fact that I truly don’t know how much closet space we have, how big is the shower and will I be able to suitably entertain in my new place.

But I promise to keep you all updated with the progress of the move and I promise to let you know as soon as I know what I have gotten myself into! Now that I am a lady of leisure once again I guess I have no more excuses for not writing.

Love you all
XX

Hyperhidrosis – a condition not many know about

Many people today suffer from excess sweating; and it was not until a few years ago that I stopped becoming embarrassed about it and sought out to do something about it.
Little did I know that this embarrassing problem was actually a medical condition.

Hyperhidrosis is a condition characterized by an abnormally increased amount of perspiration which is in most cases is in excess of the amount required for the regulation of body temperature. In my case it was not about heat, I would perspire in the coldest weather.

The cause of hyperhidrosis is mostly unknown, although there are various opinions. Some say that Anxiety can exacerbate the situation for many sufferers which I think may be one of my contributing factors. Other things which could play a role include certain foods and drinks, nicotine and caffeine. One big thing for me is different fabrics. If I put something on which doesn’t agree with me I can tell instantly that it’s going to be a problem.

Many people who suffer from this condition do not even realize that it exists and most certainly do not realize that something can be done. This is why I am writing this today. I suffered for so many years, only able to wear black or white clothing as the sweat was least likely to show on those colors.

This condition can affect various areas of the body, including hands, feet, the groin area and armpits. Other parts of the body can be affected but it is most common to the areas with the highest amount of sweat glands.

The news that I was very happy to learn is that Hyperhidrosis can be treated and managed. If you suffer from this problem I only encourage you to look into treatment, it changed my life and can change yours.

Many people, like I did, simply resort to using increased amounts of antiperspirants but don’t realize that hyperhidrosis needs a significantly higher concentration of the Aluminium chloride ingredient to effectively treat excessive sweating. There are antiperspirants which contain these high doses but they normally take between three to five days to see any results and they can cause irritation.

Another thing that people do not realize is that Botox not only used to get rid of wrinkles but can also be used to disable sweat glands. Now I have actually tired and tested this procedure and this is the basis of what I want to talk about today.
Yes this procedure can be painful and yes it certainly is expensive but for the short 9 months that it lasts, it is a blessing in the form of 50 needles.

Now to let you know, I freak out going to the dentist so making a conscious decision to put myself through this (twice) must have been for a good reason. After some research I decided that anything was worth trying if it meant that I could live a somewhat normal life. I found an amazing doctor who was qualified and practiced in this procedure and she talked me through everything.

So first the doc did this neat little trick with some powder stuff and some liquid stuff which showed exactly where I was experiencing excessive sweating. Then after using a blue marker to make a cute little grid like thing in my armpit she calmly told me that I would need around 50 shots…per armpit!

So I guess it was too late to change my mind and the bare thought that this could actually work got me through it. Now I’m not going to lie – it hurt. It was not unbearable but for someone who does not like needles it was not fun. But I can honestly and truly say it worked. The effects did not last for as long a time as I had hoped, but for me it was enough to make me do it again.

If you are thinking that you would like to go the surgical route there are options for that too. Let me know if you want the gory details…

Acupuncture - Just a little scared to try

For the longest time I can remember my dad going for regular acupuncture treatments for his shoulder. I can’t remember at what stage I found out that acupuncture included getting lots of tiny needles pushed into your muscles until they relive the pressure and tension, but I know that from the beginning this did not sit well with me.

Me and needles simply do not go together. I scream blue murder having my finger pricked for a blood sugar test or when the dentist needs to give me a filling. I have the chills just writing about it now!

I have of course grown up (a little) since then and now know that acupuncture is not a barbaric act but rather a form of oriental medicine which uses very fine needles inserted into various points on the body to release tight muscles, increase circulation and to balance energy within the body. This is of course all done by a professional who has a qualification. Does this make me feel better yes – will I try it – no.

I don’t know what it is about this practice that makes me so squeamish. I mean I love other forms of traditional Chinese medicine and know that the after effects are fantastic. I just cannot get past the needles. Even when I was going through extremely painful treatments for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome on my shoulder and my physio kept trying to tell me that acupuncture would be far less sore and traumatic and would leave far fewer bruises I still could not do it. Even my dad tried to persuade me into it – and I trust that my dad would never put me in a situation which is not good for me – still not luck.

According to ehow.com, I should follow these steps:
1. Step 1
Go to the doctor/tattoo parlor/acupuncturist – any place that has needles – Ok I’ve been to these places but do I have to undergo the treatments? Well actually I have – I have a tattoo and I was able to sit in the chair for the full twenty minutes and only started to feel faint once the guy was done.

2. Step 2
Take deep breathes, do not look at the needles, do not look at the bottles containing the medicine, in fact, do not look at anything if possible. I’ve tried this one too but still knew what was coming and I cannot trick my mind.

3. Step 3
Request the best shot giver in the house. If other patients have completed their appointment and are waiting to check out, ask them how their needle work went. Was their nurse/tattoo artist/acupuncturist amazing or is their arm bruised to the high heavens?

4. Step 4
When it comes time to get pricked take deep breaths, take yourself to your happy place, close your eyes and keep breathing.

To me, although these sound like obvious solutions to my problem I don’t see them helping - maybe this is more of a problem that I know, after all “Needle phobia is a defined* medical condition that affects more than 10 percent of the population to an extent that it causes them to avoid needed medical care.” Should I be seeking professional help?

Whatever my problem I hope I get over it because I know that acupuncture has helped my father and I hope that it will be able to help me one day – that’s if the therapist can get me to lie still!


Additional reading:
http://www.futurescience.com/needles.html

Weddings - SA vs USA

So it has been a busy couple of weeks over here with wedding season. As many of you know I am mildly obsessed with weddings and all things involved in any opportunity to get all dressed up and celebrate in style.

So I have recently been to a couple of weddings and all the other fun occasions involved in the leading up to weddings and I thought I'd share because there are a few differences between what we do back home and what they do over here.

Firstly, we all do the pre-wedding celebrations but the people of the South over here really know how to make the wedding couple feel special - and decorate three houses at the same time. Now I know at home we do hen parties but over here it's lingerie parties, bridal teas, pampered chef parties, tool parties for the boys and so much more. All of these things (whilst putting a strain on all the guests wallets) give the lucky couple a chance to build a full house full of lovely stuff.

Now for the actual wedding celebrations. There's not too much difference here, you know the whole concept is the same. In terms of the ceremony, in America they put a lot more emphasis and focus on the parents which I find really nice. There are some really sweet traditions which I've seen like the sand ceremony which symbolizes the coming together of two families.

Now to the fun part - the reception. Now this is where I've seen the most differences. Now I'm not saying that either one is better, I guess its just a matter of personal taste and where you want to put your focus and of course money.

So firstly, at any South African wedding there are a few close family friends that are never left off the guest list - those are of course Mr Jack Daniels, Mr Smirnoff and lovely Aunt Bubbles. So far on this side of the world I've only seen Bubbles make one appearance and I seemed to be the only person who embraced her.

Another difference is that we seem to place a lot of emphasis on the celebration and the traditions like cutting of the cake and the first dance. South African wedding celebrations are all about good food, good wine and great company. Over here the company is probably the biggest thing which is never a bad thing. Also in SA we focus a lot on decor and service, paying maybe too much attention to the small things in order to portray the perfect look and image and to make sure that every wedding is better than the last persons.

Maybe in SA it is more of an industry and over here its really each to their own. Over here the families put in a lot of the work decorating and cooking and making center pieces. In SA there would be a lot of people out of business if we had to do things that way.

So again I"m not saying that one is better than the other but there is definitely a few differences. So bottom line being that for my day I hope to take a little from each side and make something fantastic! And don't worry Uncle Jack, Mr Smirnoff and Auntie Bubbles - you will definitely be receiving an invitation.