OK chicky….seriously…you need to start looking after yourself somehow….or you need to seriously speak to the environment around you….or you need to start living in a zorb, as suggested by a friend, cause you can’t go through life abusing yourself.

But wait….let me back up and explain a little bit.  So as you all know, the week of my birthday i was sick as a dog….but the week did end with an awesome awesome party on the Friday night:) Thank you again to all who attended:) Then, last week i was on study leave as i was writing exams this past Saturday.  So on Wednesday i got to the guesthouse by the university and as I’m unpacking the car i drop the car keys.  As i swoop down to catch them in a move that would make Jonty Rhodes jealous, my beautiful car decides it’s time for the doors to close……which meant that the corner of the car door and the corner of my eye met with quite some force…and I’ve been walking around with a gorgeous black eye since then. 

Funniest part by far is that most people don’t actually believe me when i tell them what happened….in fact, most strangers come and advise me to get out of my abusive relationship. Sweet in a way….but disturbing that people automatically assume that you’re in an abusive relationship.  Sad that this is what our world is coming to.

Here’s a picture of my eye the day after it happened:

This is what my eye looks like today….5 days after the ‘incident’.

Then, on Saturday night…after a tiring day of writing exam and watching skydivers, I decided to have a nice long bath.  AND of course i just HAD to slip and fall on the tiles in my hallway. Falling solidly on my tailbone and lower back. So not only do i now have a black eye, i also have an injured wrist, a bruised hand, a bruised upper arm and an injured back. *sigh*

Above is one of the billions of bruises on my upper right arm.

Please at least try and look after yourself from now on….pretty please.

Love
Ruby

xxxxx

Happy birthday to meeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *attempts to do happy dance, almost passes out and decides to rather sit down*.

Right, so not the most awesome way to have a birthday…but it could have been worse.  On Monday morning at 2AM I woke up with a temperature of 39.5 degrees and a throat that felt as if somebody decided to cut it out and replace it with a combination of a fire, raw flesh and acid.  After unsuccessfully trying to lower my own temp and feeling awful I finally relented and took myself off to the doctor.  Turns out, I’ve got acute tonsillitis, ear infection and the beginnings of flu.  Great start to my birthday week don’t you think.  So, for the last 2 days I’ve been in a medicine induced coma, and I will admit, I’ve been feeling pretty miserable at the thought of spending my birthday in bed, alone and sick.

But i should have known better:) I’ve had so many amazing messages, phone calls, tweets and FB messages sent my way that there was no chance for feeling down and out.  And an amazing friend took me for brunch/lunch and some quality time to make me feel less miserable about the situation….Thank you so much! you know who you are:)

Anyway, so as a birthday post i figured I’d list a couple of things I’ve learned this year…from this day last year to today.  Things about myself, other and life in general…so bear with me:)

1.  My faith is what keeps me going most days…without it I’d be lost.
2.  I’m not perfect, I know this better than anyone.  There are so many things that I’m working to better and change and improve on in my life.  But at the end of the day, I’m the only one of me I’ve got…and I’m doing what i can to be the best me i possibly can.
3.  Sometimes happiness can be found in the most unexpected places
4.  A beautiful sunrise/sunset makes my heart warm and lifts my spirits
5.  It’s OK to not always be OK.
6.  I have the most amazing family.  My parentals are super supportive, loving and they’ve always given me the opportunity to be the best that i can be.  My brother and sister in law…man i love those two, even if they are so far away.
7.  My friends form an incredibly important part of who I am.
8.  Chocolate may not fix everything..but it will def improve my view of the world, even if it is only for a very short period.
9.  I’ve rediscovered the magical effect of an awesomely hot bath in my new home
10.  I love my new home!!!!!
11.  People are people and will therefore most probably disappoint you at some point….they will break promises and they will hurt you.  The important thing is not to let this get to you (I’m still working on this one).  Focus on the beautiful in people instead…nobody’s perfect.
12.  Hugs are awesome…OK, so I’ve always known this one…but it’s been reaffirmed.
13.  You can’t always control your heart with your mind or your brain….sometimes it has a life of it’s own.
14.  I started salsa dancing since my last birthday and i fell totally in love with it.
15.  I found friendships in the most amazing places:)
16.  I got to witness the miracle that is the Victoria Falls with my own eyes…what a humbling experience!
17.  I’ve also learnt that being accident prone is not something you outgrow as you get older….apparently
18.  Quality time with the people you love is way more important than anything else you could ever give them
19.  I’ve become a total apple fan since my last birthday…who would ever have thought
20.  These days all my new shoes get cleaned with spirits before i wear them due to the lovely acid burns i received after buying a pair of sabotaged shoes from a very upmarket store in JHB.
21.  It’s entirely possible to be deliriously happy and very sad at the same time.
22.  The trauma of having to see your friend’s dead body will stay with you forever…even after the hurt fades
23.  I got to ride an elephant:)
24.  Even with the everything that’s happened…I’m lucky enough to have a pretty fairy tale style life…I’m grateful, I’m happy, I’m me 🙂

I considered doing as many as the years I’m old, but abandoned that idea somewhere along the line 🙂 So, here’s to an amazing year ahead.  Thank you to each and every one that’s been a part of it.  I appreciate every single one of you!

Love
Ruby
xxxx

P.S. have added a whole bunch of random happy snapshots from the last year….enjoy:) Happy times! #HappyRuby!!!!!

I haven’t been here in quite some time….but man is it nice to be back:) To escape the hustle and bustle of the city for a week tranquility, even if I have to work and even though i have to spend my evenings working on assignments, is heaven.

I’m convinced this is one of the most beautiful areas in the whole wide world.  This is where i grew up, and there is a peacefulness that envelopes my soul when I’m here:) Another awesome thing about this week is that i get to spend it with the parentals🙂  Sure, i don’t get to see them a lot, because of work and assignments…but just knowing they’re here and being able to have coffee and supper with them makes me happy:)  They are such an important part of my world, that every minute i get to spend with them is a blessing:)  And great was my surprise when i arrived here on Sunday to find my gran visiting my folks…..double pleasure for me:)

I love coming here…so beautiful, so quiet, so cold and so peaceful:)

Love

Ruby
xxxxxxx

The next couple of days are going to be quite tough for me and I would appreciate it if you could extend yourself slightly and make the earth rotate slower so that i can in fact have more time all together.  See, here’s the thing.

At 2 o’clock today i need to leave my office in order to go the offices of my new, far away, client’s previous auditors.  I then need to rush through their previous year audit file in order to ensure that they did their job correctly.  Please note that we have been in communication with them for the past month and I’ve been given the run around and been avoided and ignored for most of those, and only managed to get the appointment for today because I finally lost my cool over the phone.  The 2 hours which they are allowing me to see the file isn’t nearly enough for the amount of work to be done…this is the first time I’ll need you to go by slower.

After this disastrous meeting at 2:30 I will hopefully head over to my new apartment *excitedness*, and collect my key.  Then I’ll be heading off to meet Philly_girl and G for dinner and Grease at Monte.  Then I’m heading home to finish packing for the big move tomorrow.  At the moment I’m of the opinion i probably won’t have even a minute of sleep this evening…as there is still plenty to be done before tomorrow morning at 8.

Tomorrow morning is the big MOVE….so much of excitedness 🙂  Hopefully I’ll be able to spend the afternoon unpacking some of my stuff, after which i shall head to Philly_girl for her birthday dinner..yayness!!! And for a change i won’t have to drive far as my new place is not too far away from her 🙂

Then on Sunday morning I need to pack for the week that I’ll be away for this new client, head off to the office to prepare the file for the away audit, and then at 1 I’ll be heading off to the beauty that is my hometown.  Where I will spend the week slaving away on an insane deadline, working on insane assignments that have to be in the following weekend and hopefully somewhere in between get to spend some time with the parentals.  The sad part is I won’t even have time to unpack or really enjoy my new home before having to leave for a week….the exciting part is that i will get to see my mommy and daddy, even though I’ll be very busy.

So please dear weekend…if it is at all possible…can you stretch yourself out a little bit and be kind to little old Ruby??

Love
Ruby
xxxxx

Happy happy birthday honey!!!! Hope you have the most amazing day and that the years ahead will be filled with blessings and love and too many incredible things to list.

I can’t believe you’re turning 14 already! The other day you were just a baby…..hell, when i moved to jhb you were only 8 years old….it’s insane! You and your 3 sisters have become like the 3 younger sisters i never had….and I’m still amazed when i realise you guys look up to me in life.  It scares me sometimes.

You’re growing into a beautiful and amazing young woman, filled with dreams and ideals and a passion to be something unique in this world.  Don’t ever lose that:)

I love you so very much sweetie!

Love
Ruby