Christmas Time!

The festive season is here. The tree is up. Fairy lights are twinkling in my windowpanes. Slithers of tinsel scatter the tiled floor - evidence of the cats at play during the day.

The radio is alive with Christmas tunes - and everybody seems happy to some extent, no matter what trials they face. 

It's Christmas. Family comes together - it is all about Giving.. it is a holiday that exudes love and hope. My favorite part about Christmas is shopping for others (and this is coming from someone that literally despises shopping...). I love picking something out for someone and wrapping it up (in newspaper I might add!) and watching their faces when they open it. It fills me with so much happiness to give something to someone, even if it is a materialistic object. I absolutely adore it. Christmas is by far my favorite of all of the holidays - and they are my reasons. 

We set up our tree the other day.. a tree we've had in our family since I born - yet I'm still not tall enough to put the angel on top of it! (blush). 

I got my brother and his wife (who is about to pop) to come around and we played some carols and extreme makeover-ed our house to match the rest of the worlds festivities. Oh and by pop I mean that in a few days I will finally become an Auntie to a beautiful little boy!!! 

That night I made a big curry for all of us which was absolutely delicious. One thing that always nails me however is the chopping of onions... so I opted for a pair of goggles and holy hell, they worked!!! 

No tears were shed - it did not look like someone died while I chopped away at those devious onions. WIN! 

The house looks amazing now too - I'm so happy to feel the season to be jolly lingering in the air. Here are some pics of our Christmassy night!

As I've been so quiet lately and will probably continue to be that way until the new year rolls in.. I've decided to make this post a bit of a catch up. 

Other things that have been going on are: 

• The baby shower 

It's a Boy!!

 Cupcakes!

 Bubbles!

And... 

• Bead Making 

Here are a few that I made last night... I was really just mucking around but I really do find it so fun. I'm a complete amateur but I can see I'm slowly getting more creative and unique with them - making things that no one else in the world would have and one day I do hope to sell them at markets etc:

• Catching up with my amazing pals...

 

Lastly...

• Nurturing my new Bonsai Tree!! 

I've been so blessed with such wonderful friends in life - and this little bonsai tree named 'Bonny' is my first Xmas pressie of the year. I'd made some comment about how I hate flowers because all they do is die no matter how well you look after them... and that if someone really wanted to get me something nice it should be a pot plant because then it is still alive and has time to grow and turn into something truly beautiful. Well.... what I thought was just a passing comment resulted in one of the sweetest, most thoughtful gifts I've ever received. I love it!!! 

Time to research Bonsai caring!!! 

Merry Christmas all!!! xxxxxxxxx

Right to Harassment Free Environment - Sexual and Verbal

For my latest uni assignment, I was asked to write a 30 minutes radio segment on Women's Rights to a Harassment Free Environment in the work place. 

As I am not the most politcal person around - it was quite difficult for me because I honestly knew NOTHNG about the topic at hand. 

Researching it turned out to be a whole lot of fun though and pretending I was on a radio talk-show??? Well... I reveled in it! :) 

See below my little radio segment - (it does actually have a lot of information for those of you who are actually interested in the matter). 

Enjoy! 

Right to Harassment Free Environment (Sexual and Verbal)
Written by Jade Wright

17:00 – 17:05            >          Good evening South Africa and welcome to those that have just joined us after work today. My name is Jade and I am going to be accompanying you while you drive through the five o-clock traffic this evening. I am going to be speaking to you about women’s rights to a harassment free environment in the work place, both sexually and verbally. Harassment to such a degree is unfair labour practice and needs to be dealt with immediately before it progresses into something even more serious. Both types of harassment are just as serious as the other and it is vital that we make both women and men aware of it. My hope is that today I will be able to help many of you better understand your rights in a situation such as this and to gain the confidence that is needed to come forward about it. 

                                    Sexual and verbal harassment happens to millions of women on a daily basis and the majority of them are too afraid to come forward about it and open up a case. This fear is often known as a fear of victimisation. Many women refuse to report this sort of harassment as it would be to the expense of being ill-treated at work, whereas in actual fact, women need to know that their complaint has the right to be treated very seriously and also confidentially. Not dealing with such a situation only makes it appear acceptable and fuels even worse behaviour.

                                    Whether it is that you are already a victim in such a situation or could be in the future, you deserve to know your rights because it is a form of illegal employment discrimination. Abuse of any sort should never be taken lightly and should be reported at the soonest possibility before it transgresses into more than just the odd comment, stare, vulgar gesture or any unwanted sexual attention for that matter. This is unfortunately often just the start of full on sexual assault.  With that being said, the abusers also need to be made aware of what they are doing and the impact that it has on the lives of their employees or co-workers at hand. They need to know that their behaviour is not normal and certainly not acceptable or tolerable. 

                                    The fact of the matter is that if you let the harassment continue without coming forward about it, the subconscious stress and psychological damages it can have on you are ginormous. For example – without even realising it, your work performance could plummet downward, dropping due to the stress. This in turn could lead to your dismissal in the work place. That is just one of the effects that sexual and verbal harassment can have on your life if just brushed off or ignored. I will go on in more detail in a few minutes time after a few songs I chose out that I think relate to the topic at hand. Don’t go away – there’s much more to come.

17:05 – 17:15            >          It’s Been a While – Staind
            Empty – The Cranberries
            Someday You Will Be Loved – Death Cab For Cutie

17:15 – 17:20            >          Alright, it is now quarter past five in the evening and you’re with Jade, discussing women’s rights to a harassment free environment in the work place both sexually and verbally. 

                                    Firstly, let’s discuss what sort of behaviour could be classified as sexual or verbal abuse. Some more common behaviour include bribery such as promising an increase in return for sex, inappropriate touching, vulgar gestures and staring at your body indiscreetly making you feel uncomfortable. It can also be smaller things such as a simple whistle or sexual joke, comments about your skin colour or religion - anything that affects your dignity as a human being.

Have you ever been harassed at work? Have you ever received unwanted attention from your boss, manager or co-worker? It is more common than you think and needs to be dealt with immediately before it affects your life in some of the following ways:

·         Dismissal from your job

·         A loss of recommendation or a good reference for future job opportunities

·         Decreased sex life with your partner

·         Divorce

·         Depression

·         Anxiety

·         Insomnia 

Another effect it could have on you is self-destruction. You could revert to drinking alcohol or develop an eating disorder to deal with your situation. You may even find yourself experiencing emotions such as guilt and shame. More often than not, women have a tendency to shift the blame upon themselves. They start to pick themselves apart and wonder what they did to be treated that way. Was it the way that they dressed or were they too friendly? They are the sort of questions they will start asking and this evidently begins to break them down therefore resulting in some of the effects we have just discussed.   

Two recent cases of sexual harassment here in South Africa portray all too well the fear and consequences that such a form of abuse can lead to. 

A twenty-eight year old telecommunications technician in Durban experienced unwanted behaviour from her executive manager in March this year. When he asked her for her personal telephone number she didn’t even question it as he was a senior person at their company. Only after he started fondling her did she realize that this needed to come to the attention of her supervisor. Although she knew that, she was still petrified to come forward because she was worried she could lose her job if she did. 

Many ‘sexual predators’ as I like to call them, definitely revel in the fear their employees or co-workers have of losing their jobs. It makes them feel untouchable, which is why women need to start putting an end to this sort of situation before it happens to another unsuspecting victim. Did you know that forty to fifty percent of women in the European Union experience sexual and / or verbal harassment at work? That is exactly half of the working women in Europe – and will unfortunately only keep on escalating unless women come together and fight for their right to a harassment free environment in the work place. 

Another recent case in South Africa happened in Johannesburg, at the University of Witwaterstrand. Three lecturers were dismissed by the university with immediate effect after sexual harassment complaints were filed against them. Two of which were fired in July this year and the third in September. Now a fourth lecturer from the same university has actually resigned after being accused of sexual harassment. The vice-chancellor Professor Adam Habib states that this brings an end to all individual cases that were being investigated. This is a prime example of why women shouldn’t be frightened to stand up for their rights as now Wits is actively establishing an adequate harassment structure which will from now on be dealing with all matters relating to sexual harassment at the university. 

Hopefully one day women will no longer need to ‘fight’ for their rights to a harassment free environment in the work place as hopefully one day such form of abuse will be unheard of. For the meantime however, we all need to work together and fight to make this a tangible future for us.

17:20 – 17:28            >          It’s My Life – Bon Jovi
                                                I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
                                                Fighter – Christina Aguilera

17:28 – 17:30            >          Well I think those last three tracks, It’s My Life by Bon Jovi, I will Survive by Gloria Gaynor and Fighter by Christina Aguilera managed to give us all some inspiration and confidence. It’s almost half past five and you’re with Jade. This evening I discussed Women’s rights to a harassment free environment in the work place. We learned that it is so much better to come forward and open a case against someone who is treating you with unfair labour practice because it is your right to be able to feel secure with your job if someone is treating you in an inappropriate way. Your situation has the right to be treated seriously no matter how slight the harassment may be. Your claims are also completely confidential and should be treated with the utmost respect. 

                                    Thank you for listening to me this evening and I hope that you all have a wonderful evening ahead.

 

The Truth About: R.E.L.I.G.I.O.N

I watched the above video last night while having super and wine with my friend Hendre. It blew me away. 

It is raw, real and true. 

I hope it inspires you.

A poem by Jeff Bethke:

"What if I told you, Jesus came to abolish religion?

What if I told you getting you to vote republican, really wasn’t his mission?

Because republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian,

And just because you call some people blind, doesn’t automatically give you vision.

If religion is so great, why has it started so many wars?

Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor?

Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they’ve ever been divorced

Yet God in the Old Testament actually calls the religious people whores

Religion preaches grace, but another thing they practice,

Tend to ridicule Gods people, they did it to John the Baptist,

Cant fix their problems, so they try to mask it,

Not realizing that’s just like sprayin perfume on a casket

Because the problem with religion is that it never gets to the core,

It’s just behavior modification, like a long list of chores.

Let’s dress up the outside, make things look nice and neat,

Its funny that’s what they do to mummies, while the corpse rots underneath,

Now I ain’t judging I’m just saying be careful of putting on a fake look,

Because there’s a problem if people only know that you’re a Christian by that little section on your facebook

In every other aspect of life you know that logics unworthy

Its like saying you play for the lakers just because you bought a jersey

But see I played this game too; no one seemed to be on to me,

I was acting like church kid, while addicted to pornography.

I’d go to church on Sunday, but on saturday getting faded,

Acting as if I was simply created to have sex and get wasted.

Spend my whole life putting on this façade of neatness,

But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness.

If grace is water, then the church should be an ocean,

Cuz its not a museum for good people, it’s a hospital for the broken

I no longer have to hide my failures I don’t have to hide my sin,

Because my salvation doesn’t depend on me, it depends on him.

because when I was Gods enemy and certainly not a fan,

God looked down on me and said, “I want that man!”

Which is so different from religious people, and why Jesus called em fools

Don’t you see hes so much better than just following some rules?

Now let me clarify, I love the church, I love the bible, and I believe in sin

But my question, is if Jesus were here today, would your church let Him in?

Remember He was called a drunkard and a glutton by  “religious men”

The Son of God not supported self-righteousness, not now, not then.

Now back to the topic, one thing I think is vital to mention,

How Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums,

One is the work of God one is a man made invention,

One is the cure and one is the infection.

Because Religion says do, Jesus says done.

Religion says slave, Jesus says son,

Religion puts you in shackles but Jesus sets you free.

Religion makes you blind, but Jesus lets you see.

This is what makes religion and Jesus two different clans,

Religion is man searching for God, but Christianity is God searching for man.

Which is why salvation is freely mine, forgiveness is my own,

Not based on my efforts, but Christ’s obedience alone.

Because he took the crown of thorns, and blood that dripped down his face

He took what we all deserved, that’s why we call it grace.

While being murdered he yelled “father forgive them, they know not what they do”,

Because when he was dangling on that cross, he was thinking of you

He paid for all your sin, and then buried it in the tomb,

Which is why im kneeling at the cross now saying come on there’s room

So know I hate religion, in fact I literally resent it,

Because when Jesus cried It is finished, I believe He meant it. "

***

I'm really not the type that goes to church anymore... although I used to when I was younger out of my own will. My folks didn't bring me up with religion but I wanted to go for myself - I went to church camps and youth groups in the evenings... even so.. I am incredibly spiritual and this video that I watched last night changed my life - as my friend Hendre said it would. It really opened my eyes. 

Have a goodie bloggers!

Trifle Recipe

The Trifle Recipe

As I am sure the whole world knows by now - Nelson Mandela has passed away. After the passing of this hugely inspirational man, I decided to make a trifle in his honor. 

The ingredients you will need to make this easy dessert are as follows:

• 2 Cans of Mixed Fruits
• 1 Packet of Boudoir Biscuits
• 2 Packets of your preferred jelly (I chose Raspberry)
• Custard
• 1 Bottle of Cream
• 1 Chocolate Flake
• Blueberries
• Strawberries

Start with placing the boudoir biscuits around the bowl and pouring the fruit in the center of them.

Boil the kettle and dissolve your jelly in a jug. Add in about 500ml cold water to your jelly mix (see back of jelly packet for instructions. But if you don't know how to make jelly...... I say nothing).

Once your jelly mixture is cool enough, pour into the bowl containing your biscuits and fruit. Set aside in the fridge to set.

Now that your jelly is set you can pour your custard on top. Then take a whisk or one of these fancy contraptions like I have and thicken up your cream. Make sure it is lovely and thick before spooning it on top of the custard.

 

To add to the presentation, grind your flake chocolate over the top of the cream. Halve some strawberries and decorate the top of your trifle however you like with the blueberries and strawberries!

Serve up and ENJOY! 

Trifle is without a doubt my favorite dessert. What is yours?

SCIO - Therapy

I went for my first ‘session’ of Scio-therapy up in Johannesburg in late November and was completely mind-blown.

The reason that I had gone to get this alternate form of healing done is because I have been sick for a while; three weeks to be exact. It had started with getting rushed to hospital in the middle of the night with a meningitis scare. After being put onto a drip and having countless blood tests done the doctors confirmed that it was not meningitis despite all of my symptoms. From not being able to put my chin to my chest to pressure swelling on the brain – I seemed to have it all.

The next theory was that I had tick bite fever but the blood tests were negative for that too and I was only getting worse. Every day a new symptom seemed to spring up such as glands the size of golf balls popping out of my neck, fevers, excruciating pain in my eyes and a ring of red around my throat that made it impossible to swallow both solids and liquids.

I literally thought that I was on my deathbed.

Three weeks down the line and two courses of antibiotics later and things had only worsened. Now the doctors wanted to readmit me back into hospital and do a lumbar puncture on my spine. This is when a very good friend of mine stepped in. I was flown up to Johannesburg and sent to a woman who I was told did ‘alternate healing’. I was keen for a second opinion but also very interested in her form of therapy.

The woman figured out what was wrong with me in a matter of minutes and healed me within hours. There were no needles or x-rays needed. No chemicals or medicine. It was a miracle.

I arrived at her house at 8am in the morning barely able to breathe, with a fatigue virus so bad that I looked half dead. At first we just say alone together and got to know one another – although it must have been rather hard for her as I sounded like I had a pillow over my face whenever I spoke!

She asked me a few personal questions about my lifestyle and diet, jotting things down as she went. The questions she had compiled were so cleverly structured that they evoked long forgotten past events in my life to be shed into our meeting. Soon enough her page was filled with notes and scribbles – all the little intricate details that form who I am as a being.

She told me that the therapy session would take two hours – we were busy for two and a half.

SCIO (Scientific Conciousness Interface Operation System) is an electrodermal screening that tests stress and can give you biofeedback through the aid of a computer.

Basically you are strapped to the machine with roeps around your wrists, ankles and forehead. It measures your resonance pulse and send back a differennt pulse that your body responds to which creates a 'change'.

The Scio device scans the body and reads the energy that your unique body gives off. It is much like a virus scan on a computer. It looks for all sorts of interesting things in your body such as viruses and disease, food sensitivities, emotions, disabilities and abnormalities to name only a few.

The reason it was able to detect my ailment is because most diseases / illnesses are brought on by stress of some kind or another and the device is basically used to detect and relieve stress.

The machine picked up that I have sensitivities towards a number of things such as albumen (egg whites), MSG, tabacco and mushrooms. They suggest excluding these sensitivities from your diet for four months and then slowly reintroduce them back into your diet one at a time, noting any negative occurances such as digestive problems.

Beyond scanning and testing, the machine also balances the body using its own subtle energy levels.

It can detect whatever main issues you are currently facing in life - mine were nervousness (something I've always had due to my panic attacks), resistance to change and sexuality. The last issue left me confused and surprised me greatly but the lady was able to reassure me that it could be a number of things such as past trauma's or merely just exploring your own womanly body.

Another fascinating thing that this machine is able to do is pick up your seven chakra's and your aura. Not only that but it helps your aura too.

When they scan you, they need to leave the room so that the machine does not scan them too and interfere with the reading.

Ultimately your aura should be gold - my aura was multi-coloured (hey, no one is perfect, right?!).

Right in the centre my aura was red which means that I am angry at myself for things in the past and that there are certain things that I am not letting go of.

My aura also had a lot of holes in it which show up as white breaks between the colours.. it almost looks misty. This occurs from all of the negative impacts and substances in your life.

Yet, with one click of a button she took the red away from my aura and it turned purple on the screen before me. I must admit that I wasn't sure if that part of the treatment was more of a mind-game but I did instantly feel lighter.....

The thing that truly amazed me however is when she said, "Alright, in a few seconds you are going to be able to breathe clearly again..." and miraculously a few moments later I could breathe clearly for the first time in weeks. I'd been so blocked up with a fluey head cold on top of everything else that I was bewildered and astonished by the sudden transformation.

Just hours later I was feeling like my old self again - she discovered what virus I had caught and said my body had been fighting it so strongly already but with her help - we combatted it together.

I was beyond amazed and will forever be mind-blown by this incredible energy medicine.