50 Things About Me

I've seen this on quite a few blogs and have always found them interesting to read. Not that everyone wants to know every little detail about you, but I figure they're fun to read and fun to write, so what's the harm anyway? As long as it's short and sweet I suppose, so here goes:

1. I was born in Namibia
2. I'm Sagittarius, which means I get bored easily, love to travel, take risks and often put my foot in my mouth.
3. I get impatient very quickly.
4. Poor service, food or attitude = no tip, simple as that
5. Ace of Base was my favourite band in my early teens.
6. I hated high school
7. I enjoyed primary school
8. Was a school prefect in Std. 5
8. I've been dancing since I was six
9. Not a big sports fan
10. I can't ice-skate
11. I can only go to sleep when the door is just a crack open.
12. "Dating the Enemy" is my favourite Romantic Comedy movie
13. I'm addicted to "Criminal Minds", "Dexter" and "Desperate Housewives"
14. I am a cat and dog lover equally
15. I often dream about our family's pets that have passed which is very special to me.
16. I'm not a big fish lover (the pet, not the food)
17. I can't grow plants
18. I hate elevators
19. I'm collecting the "In Death" book series by JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts)
20. I love reading
21. Last year was the first time I'd driven the N1 by myself.
22. I don't eat funny things like snails, calamari, mussels, oysters, etc.
23. I will always have a John Lee special when we go to Spur
24. "Dumb and Dumber" is my favourite Comedy movie
25. I have a yearning to visit New York City and Italy, have had since I can remember.
26. I wanted to be a Fashion Designer at one stage
27. I was very shy and introverted at school.
28. I'm an early morning person
29. I hate waking up late on the weekend
30. Selfish, arrogant and vain people irritate me and I avoid them like the plague.
31. I've worked at 3 Recruitment agencies
32. I studied Interior Decorating and love doing it as a hobby
33. I got engaged on my 20th birthday
34. My first job was making frozen yoghurt
35. My last job was being a PA
36. I now work 2 part time jobs while trying to get my gift and invitation business off the ground.
37. I prefer winter to summer
38. Christmas is right in the middle of my husbands birthday and my birthday.
39. I hate queues and would rather come back the next day than stand in one.
40. I like playing The Sims
41. I really do believe in karma
42. My favourite colour is burgundy
43. People usually think I'm about 17 when they meet me for the first time
44. I was a pro at pretending to be sick when I didn't feel like staying at school
45. I wish I was a little bit taller
46. My car's name is Icy
47. I love watching natural disaster movies
48. I want to learn to speak Italian
49. I believe in ghosts and am 99% sure I saw one or two when I was younger
50. Ferrero Rochers are my all time favourite chocolates

Night of comedy, wine & pizza

After another typical Monday this week, I was looking forward to settling in at home and watching a DVD under some warm blankets with the hubby, eating some good comfort food and sipping hot chocolate while it rained and poured outside. Typical Monday evening? Usually yes, but not this time. Geoff surprised me late Monday afternoon by telling me about a comedy show playing at the Barnyard Theatre at Willowbridge that night, and asked if I wanted to go. The best part about it was that it was free - but still, getting dressed up to go out in the freezing cold vs staying indoors all warm and cosy....tough choice (or so I thought). Then I remembered that it's been a while since we last did something like this during the week, and 99.9% of the time you end up having the best time. So I got home, dressed and off we went to brace the cold.

We didn't have time to eat before we left, so it was a good time to finally try the pizza at Col'Cacchio - which I've heard is pretty amazing. The service was friendly but not overbearing, the atmosphere was divine; warm and cozy, and the food was good (not as good as Massimo's pizza, but close!)

After we'd finished eating, we walked upstairs to the Barnyard Theatre. I've never been there, and was really impressed with the layout of the place, and how warm it was inside! We found some seats towards the middle of the room, and settled in to watch some comedy from the likes of Richard Hardiman, Mark Palmer, Rob Van Vuuren and Paul Snodgrass to name just a few. I can honestly say that I can't remember the last time I laughed so much that I had tears in my eyes and my mouth actually hurt! The comedy these guys came up with was insane. We actually did get to have hot chocolate that night, and later in the evening ordered a bottle of wine. It was even better than sitting in front of the TV at home under blankets!

What a perfect evening! Geoff even won himself a signed soccer ball by one of the Cameroon players. Pretty cool! This is definently a night I'll remember for a long time to come, and even though every night can't be as spontaneous as this (or we'd be in a lot of debt!), once in a while to remind us that there is so much to celebrate in everyday life, is worth getting a little cold for. :)

What a feeling!

Finally, after 2 months I found the courage to stand on the scale this morning - not an easy task! I've been on a new gym & eating plan since 1 April, and have been trying hard to stick to it. It's not one specific diet or workout program, I've talked to trainers and done online research and stuck to what I'm comfortable with.

Basically, for the diet part: I've cut out sugar, white breads, a lot of pasta and stuck to low fat dairy, lots of fruit and veg, chicken, salads and soups. I do sneak in the odd brownie or glass of wine here and there, but stay far away from things that I used to really munch on, like popcorn at the movies, any kind of slap chips and cool-drinks (including flavoured water). Yesterday, I decided to try and cut out the low GI bread I normally have for lunch and snacked on a few almonds, yoghurt, provitas and a banana throughout the day. Thought I'd be starving, but I actually felt great!

For the excersise part, there I was going to gym on average four times a week for about an hour, thinking the kilos were just going to fly off. Haha, not so. I spoke to 3 trainers at the gym asking them what I can do to lose weight, but what they told me didn't help. One day, earlier this month I was on the treadmill and this woman who I see at the gym every day started chatting to me. She told me to try to increase my gradient by 1 or 2 every day and increase my speed. Wow, what a difference! I can't believe how much more I'm doing now just by those few words of encouragement, and not by a "trainer" talking absolute nonsense. I can feel I'm a bit fitter and can now keep up with the 10 year old tomboy I look after (who insist on us playing hockey, tennis and soccer in free time), and am confident enough to start hip hop classes again - I cannot wait! :)

The moment of dread arrived this morning, and as I expecting to have gained weight, I didn't get my hopes up at all. That's why I was so shocked to see that I'd lost just over 2kgs in the last month and a bit! YAY! Awesome start to the day and the weekend! Now I don't feel so guilty about sampling some of the brownies and chocolate truffles for the new gift favour range tomorrow ;)

Just keeping it all in perspective...

Massimo's Pizza

The highlight of this week was knowing that after 6 days of working furiously, we'd be able to sit back and relax with the best pizza in town. No, I'm not talking about Scooters, Debonairs, St. Elmo's or Butlers Pizza - I'm talking about REAL Italian pizza. The kind of pizza that makes you want to carry on eating even when your stomach's telling you it's had enough and is about to explode. The kind of pizza that makes you drive all the way from Durbanville to Hout Bay, just for the pizza.

If you haven't already heard of Massimo's Pizza Club, I suggest you make a plan and get there this month. They're situated on the outskirts of Hout Bay, in a cozy little corner restaurant that offers a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, a fireplace and the best pizza money can buy.

We arrived around 7.30pm last night, welcomed in from the cold by Tracy, and led to a small table right opposite the fireplace. From our table we could see the pizza oven and smell the delicious aroma's of garlic, pesto and roasted peppers that filled the air. Soft Italian music filtered across the restaurant, but the most distinct sound was that of pure laughter and happy chatter amongst the families and couples who were enjoying their food and each other's company.

Choosing your pizza is no easy task, the list of choices are endless and each pizza on the menu sounds even more mouth watering than the one before. They also have daily specials that are put up on a board that leave you even more confused! Luckily, if you're as indecisive as me and want two or three different pizza toppings but only want one pizza, they offer this option as well. I ended up having a duo pizza with half pesto and baby tomatoes on one side, and on the other half,  sweet roasted peppers with feta, garlic and basalmic vinegar. It was so good that we ordered another pizza to take home which we promptly finished for breakfast the next morning. :)

We ended off our meal with two Italian liqueurs: Limoncello, an Italian after dinner drink, made by Massimo with local organic lemons, and the Bicerin - a traditional Torinese chocolate liqueur. If that wasn't enough, our waiter brought us a large jar filled with sugar cubes drenched in the same alcohol. He took out each cube, placed them on a spoon and lit them with a lighter. After the flame had caramelized the sugar cube, we blew it out and ate it just like that. Wow, what an experience! Great way to end off the evening.

I highly recommend taking a late afternoon drive to Hout Bay, and after a sunset walk along the harbour visiting this fantastic restaurant. They are open Wednesday to Sunday from 6pm, but will be closed from the end of May to early September as they will be opening at new premises in Hout Bay.

Massimo's Pizza Club @ Scarecrows, Oakhurst Farm Park

Main Road, Hout Bay, Cape Town

Contact Massimo and Tracy

Call 073 3901373 or 021 7907906, or sms PIZZA to 073 3901373 and we will call you back

email: info@pizzaclub.co.za