1. My parents were right.
YES, they were right all along. I come from a very conservative family and my dad was, and still is, a very strict man. I had a 10pm curfew up to the age of 19 and by 21, it was 11pm. I could not understand WHY! All of my friends didn't have such ridiculous curfews and most of them did not have any curfew at all. He said to me one day: "What does a lady want to do in the streets later than 11pm at night?" For my 21st birthday, my parents asked me what I wanted as a gift. They had planned to buy me a pearl ring, but I rejected the offer as all I wanted was to go camping with friends for a whole weekend, unsupervised. They granted me my wish and we had an amazing time. What my father said, still did not really sink in until I moved out of his house to have the freedom I so desperately wanted. On my first night in my apartment, I wanted nothing else than to stay out until whenever I want. I came home the next morning at about 3am and I was so pleased with myself. "You big girl, you", I thought. I guess that only that one night of total freedom, was enough to scratch the itch, because I never had the urge to stay out that late (or early) again. Obviously, after getting married and having children of my own, I now fully understand the words of my father and I could kick myself for preferring camping over the pearl ring, which would have been of more value to me!
2. Other people's opinions doesn't matter.
3. Listen to the advice, then go home and do what you feel is best.
An old lady once told me: "When your baby is teething, all you need to do is rub a little brandy on the baby's gums, you won't be sorry". So, I politely thanked her for her "excellent" advice, drove to the pharmacy, and I bought some actual Teething Gel!
4. A broken arm is not necessarily painful
We all did it! Fell from a tree or off a bicycle and ran home complaining that we broke something. My mother used to giggle and say: "If you broke something, you would have been in so much pain and you would be screaming!" Then, she would clean the area, kiss it better and send me on my way. So about 5 weeks ago, my daughter had a little accident with the hoverboard. Knowing the little drama queen that she is, it really surprised me that this time, she was not complaining and just came to show me the scratches on her arm. The next morning, she had some difficulty moving the arm, and after a trip to the doctor, X-rays showed that the arm was actually broken. Did you hear that Grandma??
5. Santa Claus helps with discipline.
It's all about who goes on the nice list and who goes on the naughty list. Enough said :)
6. YouTube video tutorials can be very helpful.
To me, a cake was either round or rectangular, had 2 layers, and was covered with buttercream frosting and sprinkles. No, actually, my mother baked those cakes, I only ate them, but that had to quickly change after moving to another continent with no grandma around to bake cakes. I had to teach myself to do such things by trial-and-error. Somehow, I got myself into a situation where my son decided for himself which type of cake he wanted for his 4th birthday (2013). He didn't want a "normal" cake, oh no, he wanted a 'Cars' cake! A red one! Having really nothing better to do, I asked Google for help. There was a very informative, step-by-step tutorial which I watched a couple of times and I made notes along the way. At that time, our little desert town did not have a mall yet, and I had to search again for another tutorial on how to make fondant. The cake wasn't perfect like I had hoped, but it wasn't bad either. My son did not see the cracks in the fondant and he was very satisfied with my efforts to give him what he wanted. By now, many birthdays have passed, the themes keep changing, and I am getting better at baking cakes! My daughter wanted a princess cake for her 5th birthday (2016), and although once again, it wasn't perfect, I couldn't have done it without YouTube tutorials:
7. Neighbors can be creepy people.
8. The way to a man's heart is not through his stomach.
There isn't really any exact way to a man's heart, but trust me, it's not through his stomach! In the case of my husband, it really is all about race cars. Nissan GTR to be exact.
9. Fabric softener can be addictive.
If I could drink it, I would! If I could wash the dog with it, I would! If I could convert it into perfume, I would!
I really would!!!
10. A good friend can be a life saver.
If it weren't for my friend @giantbear , then I would probably not have been able to start blowing off some STEEM here. I've known her for about 12 years, and she really is a life saver! Thank you so much for your friendship and all your help with setting me up ;)
It really is lonely and depressing sometimes being so far away from my family and loved ones, but I have been fortunate enough to find my best friend, right here in the desert. We share the same hometown in South Africa, speak the same language, and have everything in common. Love her to bits.
This was the the two of us at a 'South African' themed event (She's the tall one):