Features
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Prepping for 2018 with Priscilla Shirer
With the end of the year quickly approaching, I find myself looking back on the past year… mistakes made, lessons learnt, that sort of thing. I love this aspect of life… that we are always growing and learning. No one year looks like the next. Well, it doesn’t have to, that’s for sure. We were gifted with choice and the ability to change and (most importantly) adapt to that change. So to help me get my house in order, I picked up two insightful reads (sent to me by Christian Art Media) and I really want to give one of them to one of you!
Firstly, do you guys know who Priscilla Shirer is? Well, she is the lead actor in the amazing Christian blockbuster War Room and is an author, motivational speaker, actress and evangelist. Priscilla has inspired me, since watching that movie, and I was super keen to hear what she has to say in her new devotional book called Awaken.The 90-day devotional will have you reading with intention. In fact, the back of the book says that “this kind of reading is not merely for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment. With this kind of book you’re praying for something more – to hear from God, receive His direction, and be refreshed in the depths of your soul.” Uhm, yes please!
Each day has a dedicated message with the sole intention to equip you to better hear God’s voice, empowering you to make sound decisions about the rest of your life. I needed this for 2018!
I was also so excited to get my hands on Chrystal Evans Hurst’s latest book, She’s Still There. Chrystal is actually Priscilla’s sister. Priscilla has highly recommended this read and, in the foreward, says: “each page will take the numbness away from your emotional limbs and spark a flame in your soul to mine the treasure you’ve been given by God. It will shine a spotlight on the clutter in your life that you’ve been too busy or too tired or too disinterested to unpack so that you can get to the good stuff.” In She’s Still There, Chrystal shares the secret to loving and honoring your life… even if your story is messy. She speaks about her teenage pregnancy and struggles with her weight. Man oh man, I can relate with so much of what she has to share!
When I opened the book and saw the title of the first part called “Fight for your life”, I could immediately feel the hairs on my arm stand on edge. Isn’t that what we feel we constantly need to do, ladies? We’re always fighting for our lives… for our happiness… for justice, acceptance, sometimes even for love. This book will equip you to reject the lie and move forward. Expect to be equipped and refreshed!
Giveaway! Can I please give this book to one of you? Consider it a Christmas present! To enter the giveaway, simply make sure you’re following my Facebook page over here and drop a comment on the specially marked post (like the one above) letting me know what you find the most interesting about it.I’ll draw a winner on Monday, November 20th at midday and will do an announcement on my Facebook page.
Update: Congratulations Carren Brandt!
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Three ingredient meal cooked to perfection in my LG NeoChef Microwave Oven
When it comes to cooking, I’m not exactly the next master chef. I mean, I take the easy way out versus serving up intricate gourmet inspired meals, any day! And hey, the less time needed for preparation, the better! Which is why I was super impressed with the very pretty LG NeoChef Microwave Convection Oven. Yeah, I know, how can I call a microwave “pretty”. Well, it’s that good looking, yo! With a sleek design and stainless steel and matte black accents, this is probably the best looking appliance that I have in my kitchen at the moment.
The other day I decided to give it a go, using a very simple three ingredient recipe, passed on to me by a very clever mom of three who always has the best supper ideas for her family. Yep, you heard me. Three ingredients! Guys, check how easy this is:
I mixed a packet of brown onion soup with some water, to make a quick stir in sauce. You can spice this up, if you want. It can be quite unadventurous without some pepper and/or chillie.
I then lined my chicken pieces up in an oven-friendly dish, poured my soup sauce over it and popped it in the oven for about 10 minutes. I added my veggies (mixed it in nicely) and returned it to the microwave oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, and ta da! My chicken and veggies were cooked to perfection! I read the words “preserves nutrients and locks in flavour” in the LG NeoChef press release, and didn’t truly get it. But now I do!
So in a nutshell, the NeoChef is more than just a microwave. It has new, very clever smart inverter technology, making it a convection oven as well. Basically, a microwave convection oven can cook food evenly and quickly, as opposed to a normal microwave which simply uses hot, circulated air, to heat something up.This baby can roast, bake and even air-fry, your food to perfection!I guess the reason why it cooks super fast is because it heats up to 1200 watts. According to Hubstopher, that’s pretty impressive. It can do a bunch of other really legit things too, like dry fruit, make yoghurt and even bake a cake. I mean, really! What more do you want?!
This dish took me probably half the time it would in my normal oven and I didn’t have to keep checking it. (I mean, not that I even had the brain capacity to do that, with Jo and Kari literally climbing all over me).
I was also curious to learn more about the Anti-Bactieral Easy Clean Coating, that I read about. So I learned that there is a special layer of protection, on your NeoChef, that eliminates 99.99% of harmful bacteria, making it difficult for contaminants to stick around.I can’t wait to try out a few more recipes with my LG NeoChef. Keep an eye out for more next week! Oh and if you’d like to find out more on the LG NeoChef Microwave Convection Oven do check out their website or do a google search (NeoChef) to see what others are saying about it!
Disclaimer: The LG NeoChef Microwave Convection Oven was sent to me. But the review is totally honest and my own opinion, I promise.
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#ECMeetUp – The good, the great and the food
ECMeetUp has come and gone and I’m still reeling at how amazing the people of Nelson Mandela Bay are. I’m not trying to butter you guys up, but PE bloggers, you guys are literally the nicest group of people I’ve met in like, the history of like, people, and stuff. Needless to say, the meet up was probably one of our best, no doubt probably due to the amazingness of Sarah, Ralph and The Boma team. They make us look good. There, I said it. So, after all of the gushing, let me proceed to tell you what went down at #ECMeetUp this past Saturday .
Well, for starters, the food. Because, dude, The Boma’s chefs are the bomb dot com! The theme was “street foods around the world”, and everything was delicious yo! From mini fish and chips, bangers and mash, to nachos, oriental beef skewers, mini American styled gourmet burgers (fresh from the grill… no jokes, they grilled it right there) to chicken with the best peanut butter drizzle. I don’t know. I feel like what have I been doing with my life before tasting these foods. And the dessert… goodness me, the dessert!! Jars of heaven! I had a peppermint crisp jar. Oh and a lemon meringue jar. I would have fit one more in, but I felt like people were watching me, so I tried to behave. And also, the venue is STUNNING! Sarah, Ralph and team always goes above and beyond to make things extra special for your event. Also, our live entertainment kinda just made the whole thing feel legit cool.
Couple this with the funky freshness that is SOGA’s organic juice and you definitely have a winning combination! SOGA was one of the brands that made their appearance at the meet up. They brought along an array of their organic orange juices and Shaun and his wife mingled with us bloggers, putting a face to a name. Coincidently, his wife, Raylene, owns Wear It’s @ and she spoiled some of the bloggers with vouchers for her online store!Talking about drinks, we were thrilled to have our friends of Dockside Brewery at the event too! Jane gave all our guests a taste of one of their locally brewed beers, and everyone was super duper impressed! Dockside Brewery’s cleverly named craft beers are produced at their PE brewery and have been hailed as some of the best ale that many of the bloggers have tasted in a while. So that says a lot! The Dockside Ale House is the official taproom of the brewery and is definitely worth a visit.
We also had the lovely Tenielle of Afriderm grace us with her presence and amazing product. Elle and I hung on to her every word as she shared more about the product, and it’s origin, with us. The product is for all types of skin (not necessarily dark skin), and works to improve the appearance and quality of your skin. Definitely giving this a go and will post a review soon.We were excited to spend some time with the delightful Melissa of Fox and Owl Media, Waheeda of Woolworths Beauty, Ranique of Big Mouth Entertainment, Ian of Ootrey and the always gorguess Gillian of Mastertons Coffee and we met the lovely ladies behind behind KidCoco (Hi, Salma!), Little Lotus Kids Yoga (Hey there Marelize!) and the friendly Dorae of Bubiroo. Bubiroo is an all natural baby care brand and I’ll be sharing more about them on the blog soon.
Oh and I was so thrilled to see our Geek World friends there too! Dude, they had Harry Potter paraphernalia. There was a Bellatrix Lestrange wand, evens! Christmas present ideas, anyone? You need to get yourself over to their store. No jokes!We were pleased to host The Health Shack, Christian Art Media, Experience Days, Stylish Steppers and Pink Me Up. Pink Me Up is a scrub brand that smells delish. Oh and Michelle, of Stylish Steppers, is like, the nicest person in the world! I’m thinking about taking Kari to her for her very first salon visit.
Our friend Jonker, of EC Tours and Port Elizabeth Daily Photo, was there to represent the local tourism industry. He celebrates 10 years with his blog this year! Wow, what an accomplishment! Also, I love EC Tours and that they are keen to work with our local bloggers as we work towards sharing our beautiful bay with the world.Talking about #sharethebay, of course, our amazing Reuann of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism was there. She spoke about all the wonderful campaigns that Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism will be running soon. So you’ll be hearing a lot about how cool it is to visit PE (and surrounds) and what you can do if you’re in our neck of the woods. Seriously though, this is the best place in the world! (Could be a bit biased, but hey, you can’t prove anything.)
I just want to send a huge shout out to Melvin and Cameron of Yo! Media and Amuse Photobooths. They set up a legit photobooth ya’ll, that had us all acting the fool! What is a function without an Amuse Photobooth?! Pics to follow. And a big shout out to my newly made friend, Jacob, of Sabio Communications. We didn’t get to take a selfie together (gasp, the horror) but I am so thrilled to have met him!
And as always, my most favorite thing was that we got to hang out with some fellow bloggers. We talked shop, fed our faces and admired each others outfits. Jokes were told, clever comebacks giggled at and I think everyone asked me how my baby’s doing. He’s doing well, thanks for asking.
Anyways, was that enough name dropping for you? My pleasure. If you’re an Eastern Cape based blogger and you’re looking to connect, but you’re shy. Like, don’t be. Everyone’s super duper nice, I promise. We’re here to help each grow.
And if you’re thinking, hey Luchae, I wana be a blogger too! Woohoo! Join our tribe! We’d love to have you. Our next meet up will probably take place in May next year and you’re invited!
Brands keen to work with EC bloggers, you’ve made the right choice. Please do drop me an email, and I’ll pass on their deets to you!
BTW all the pics in this post was lifted from Instagram. Search #ECMeetUp to check out these and other amazing memories, shared by our delegates.
And now, I sleep.
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Music Monday: Crowder – Oh For Joy
Christmas is officially six weeks away and I’m over here, getting my Christmas music on. Legally, I mean. Mid November is a good time to start a-caroling, right? Well, whether you carry the same sentiment or not, Crowder’s All For Joy is the type of Christmas album that would get even the scroogiest cynic tra-la-la-ing.Look, I’m not exactly the worlds biggest rock music fan. (Mariah Carey, anyone?) but there’s something about the retro Crowder that makes “edgey” seem totally and utterly suave. I love his rock meets folk vibe and that he doesn’t get too serious on this album, creating Christmas music that is totally chilled and funky.
Let’s be honest, friends, come Christmas time, one expects to hear your typical Michael Buble smooth or Whitney Houston soul filled Christmas anthems. And those are amazing, I agree. But there’s something about hearing carols produced and sung in a totally unique way, that makes me sit up and listen. Sometimes we just want to rock out. And that’s okay too.
So if you’re looking for a funky Christmas album, that tells the tale of Jesus, without making you feel as if you’re at an RnB concert, then this one is for you. For the full review, check out my detailed article over at Gateway News.
But guys, guess what, remember I said that it’s Christmas and I want to give you stuff because I’m cool like that? Well, this Crowder album will go into my super special Christmas music hamper! I’ll be adding to the hamper over the next few weeks, which gives you a ton of opportunity to enter the giveaway. I know, genius papa.I’ve changed the entry mechanism, to give everyone more of a chance. Simply complete the rafflecopter below! Giveaway closes on Tuesday, December 19th!
Find the rest of the reviews here:
Lauren Daigle – BeholdMatt Redman – These Christmas Lights
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#ECMeetUp Mini Meet – It’s stalking time!
It’s a couple of hours away from our final blogger meet up for 2017 and yep, you guessed it, I’m semi freaking out. Why, you may ask? Well, because it’s a couple of hours away from our final blogger meet up for 2017! Aaack! As is tradish, we’re sharing a list of our very cool delegates deets, in this easy to read blog post, because we’re kind like that. But also because we know that you want to know who will be attending the ECMeetUp mini meet and we want your “small talk etiquette” to be on form. Let me help you with that…
Without further a-do, our 2017 mini meet delegates are:
Anje Rautenbach – Going Somewhere Slowly / Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Cameron Millar – Yo! Media – Instagram Facebook
Chantal Bezuidenhout – Social Media Shakeup – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Christopher Williams – Groove Station – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Clarice Geduld – A Healthy Travel Addiction – Instagram Facebook
Davene Prinsloo – Doing Dae – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Dorae Smith – Bubiroo – Instagram Facebook
Eleanor Douglas-Meyers (organiser) – Just Ella Bella – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Elgee Davies – Elgee Davies – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Eridene Coltman – Youtube: Eridene Coltman – Instagram Facebook
Gillian Pillay – Mastertons – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Ian Bosch – Ootrey – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Jacob Mohlaka – Sabio Communications – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Jane Schlapoff – Dockside Brewery – Twitter Facebook
Janet Middleton – EC Tours – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Jonker Fourie – Firefly the Travel Guy / EC Tour – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Josh Peters – Health Shack Fitness – Facebook
Kelly Adams – Basically Kelly – Instagram Facebook
Laurina Machite – Laurina Machite – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Lee-anne Kopps – Instagram Facebook
Lorelle Campher – Scarlette Raes – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Luchae Williams (organiser) – My Spreadsheet Brain – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Marilize Rosa – Little Lotus Kids Yoga – Instagram Facebook
Maverick Coltman – Maverick Coltman – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Melanie Wallis – Belly Dance PE – Instagram Facebook / Melas – Instagram Facebook
Melissa De Klerk – Fox & Owl Media – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Melvin Iverson – Yo! Media – Instagram Facebook
Michelle Kritzinger – Stylish Steppers – Instagram Facebook
Miriam Maulana – New Kid On The Block – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Nadine Rose Larter – Passing the Open Windows – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Nazma Smith – The Herald – Twitter Facebook
Odette Johaar – O so Inspired – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Ralph Dirsuwei – Chasing the Rainbow – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Ranique Roberts – Big Mouth Entertainment – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Raylene Derman-McEvoy – Wear It’s @ – Instagram
Rene Derrocks – Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Reuann Smith – Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Richard Rosa – Little Lotus Kids Yoga – Facebook
Robin Meyers – Instagram
Robyn Anthony – Bit Fit Mom – Instagram
Salma Abrahams – KidCoCo – Instagram Facebook
Sarah Dirsuwei – Chasing the Rainbow – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Shaun McEvoy – SOGA Organic – Instagram Facebook
Simran Juglal – Burgundy Beauty ZA – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Teniele Sabbadin-Jonk – Afriderm – Instagram
Tersia Muston – Geek World – Twitter Facebook Instagram
Tharwat Mahomed – KidCoCo – Instagram Facebook
Thulani Mkholi – Thuli Loves – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Tyrone Adams – This Is Tyrone – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Venean Bosch – In the Meantime – Twitter Instagram Facebook
Waheeda – Woolworths Beauty
Header photo credit: Eridene Coltman
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What my kids are playing with: Transformers, Fantastic Gymnastics and Yo-kai
It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year and if you’re anything like me, you have your Christmas gifts list covered. Spreadsheet brain, remember? Christmas shopping for my kids is usually a mild affair anyways since they are all so very predictable. Kyle wants electronics. Seth loves to learn new things, and Karis… well, she’s a princess. If your kids are not as predictable as mine are, then this post is for you. My friends over at Hasbro is keeping us in the know, with all things toy-related, and sent me some information for moms and dads who leave toy stores with a “huh” expression on their faces. Some of my favorite picks, from Hasbro, for this year’s Christmas stockings, are: Transformers, Fantastic Gymnastics and Yo-kai.
Transformers
If you didn’t know (who evens are you), Transformers are human-like robots with the unique ability to turn into vehicles or beasts. I’m sure you knew that though. Right? With the newly released Transformers: The Last Knight movie, Hasbro has released a bunch of updated Transformer toys and regalia that is sure to make your little one squeal with delight on Christmas morning. Karis had a ball of a time transforming Optimus Prime (head honcho over at Transformers headquarters) from standing mode into truck. Considering the fact that the movie did really well in South Africa – ranking number 1 at the Box-office in South Africa during opening week – these toys are still pretty popular. Kids are also encouraged to #pledgeYourAllegiance and join #teamautobot to help Optimus Prime save the world by defeating the Decepticons or join #teamdecepticon and help Megatron take over the world. Choose your faction on www.morethanmeetstheeye.co.za
Fantastic Gymnastics
If you have a big family and are looking for fun group games, Fantastic Gymnastics is the perfect game for you! So basically the game requires players to flip the gymnast figure around the high bar, hitting release at the right moment to let him fly and try to stick the perfect landing. It’s super fun! You can play solo, head-to-head or challenge friends to a tournament. Get into the swing of things with this compelling and fun game, ideal for ages eight and up.
Yo-kai
If you’re down with having your kids stretch their imagination, then you should totally allow them to experience the world of Yo-kai with the Yo-kai Watch and Medals. Yep, I know that you know what a Yo-kai is because kids are going nuts over this children’s anime series based on the video game of the same name. So anyways, with the Yo-kai watch toy, children can imagine summoning Yo-kai characters, and when used with the medals, the Yo-kai watch plays sounds, music, and phrases. Insert one of the collectible medals displaying a Yo-kai into the watch to hear the character’s name, tribe song and more sounds.The latest board games and toys from Hasbro are available from Toys R Us, ToyZone, Toy Kingdom, Hamleys, Lilliputs and other major retailers. You can also shop online at Takealot.com
Disclaimer: All product mentioned above was sent to me by Hasbro, but the opinion in the post is entirely my own, I promise.
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Music Monday: Lauren Daigle – Behold
Family and work colleagues know that November brings with it my most favorite selection of Christmas anthems. I love Christmas music, yo! It’s who I am! Love me for me! I will be reviewing some of the latest Christmas albums every ‘Music Monday’ from now until Christmas and, thanks to Christian Art Media, we will also be giving away a hamper of Christmas albums to one lucky reader! Today we check out Lauren Daigles Christmas offering titled ‘Behold‘.Lauren Daigle is a popular (newly discovered) Christian music singer/worship leader. Her voice has an amazing husky undertone and she has a really cool swagger about her. Now if you’re like me, and you love Christmas, then you would know that I aint playing when I say that Lauren Daigle knows what she is doing! Looking at her Christmas album’s track list, I thought that this would be a normal “tra la laaaa” Christmas album. But nay! The quirky New Orleans songstress has taken all our favorite Christmas classics and made them – no jokes – better!
For starters, from the get go, you pick up a jazzy/bluesy element to the whole album. I love that she has stuck to her New Orleans roots, which means lots of horns, lots of jazz piano and lots of husky, soulful vocal. Guys, Jingle Bells will never be the same again. She’s added a special jive to it, complete with horns and attitude.
If you love the American classics (you know, where they sing about snow and “Santa”) then you’ll love her version of White Christmas and Christmas Time Is Here. Yoh, the girl can sang! I love her rich vocal. She also does justice to the more popular Christmas carols, such as Oh Holy Night and Silent Night. I found them to be a sweet reminder of why we celebrate Christmas and baby Jesus. Both are kept sweet and simple, with an array of instruments beautifully complementing her voice as she drifts in and out of the familiar melodies that we have grown accustomed to hearing over this special time of the year.
Fans of Norah Jones and Michael Buble, you’ll love Lauren Daigle. In fact, dare I be so bold as to say that Daigle’s vocal has a lot more character than Bubles?! Gasp! But yes, it’s the truth. Looking for an easy listen this Christmas album? This one’s for you! You can read my full review on Gateway News.
I haven’t gotten Christmas Crazy at home yet, but give me a week or two to get my ish together. This year we plan to make our own decorations and I definitely want to do a tree decorating party/ceremony. I mean, what’s the point in having a small army of children, if you can’t make them do embarassingly mushy Christmas related activity?! What do you have planned for tree decor this year?
Win a collection of Christmas albums!Guys, guess what, I’m giving away a special Christmas music hamper to one of you special Christmas crazy readers!
I’ve changed the entry mechanism, to give everyone more of a chance. Simply complete the rafflecopter below! Giveaway closes on Tuesday, December 19th!
Find the rest of the reviews here:
Crowder – Oh For JoyTop 25 Christmas Hymns compilation
Matt Redman – These Christmas Lights
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#ECMeetUp: Meet the speakers
So as you may know, our last #ECMeetUp blogger gathering takes place next week Saturday and I’ll pretty much be aaacking from now until then. I’m just so gosh darn excited! Okay, for starters, if you haven’t purchased your ticket, you literally have a couple of hours to do so! Secondly, yes there will be mini meet goodie bags (I know you’re wondering, so allow me to be that person). Thirdly, our venue, The Boma is literally the most magical place on earth! And lastly, yes, our awesome speakers are ready to answer any and every single “but why don’t brands wana work with me huh?!” related question.Talking about speakers, have I told you who they are yet? No?! Gasp! The sheer audacity of me to withhold this information from you! Apologies, my dear friends, here they are:
Gillian Pillay
Gillian is the Marketing Manager over at Mastertons Coffee and the owner of the newly launched The Beauty Store. Besides for managing all things marketing and PR, for the Bay’s most favorite coffee roastery, she basically runs her makeup store on the side and works hard to bring high quality brands to our shores. She has quite a bit of experience working in the PR and marketing industry and is going to share a few golden nuggets about relationship building.
Melissa de Klerk
Mel is the brains behind Fox & Owl Media – a studio focused on web design and digital marketing strategy. She focuses on building beautiful, state-of-the-art websites that propel business growth. Melissa believes that your online home is a business asset and the ultimate storefront. She loves learning about her clients’ businesses so that she can design bespoke solutions that best serve a business’ needs. She will be sharing more on how to make your site more appealing and professional looking, in a nutshell. From hosting to lay out, there is just SO much (on the tech side) that we all want to know about! If you have any questions please feel free to pop them on this post and we’ll get them to Melissa.
Reuann Smith
Our beloved Reu is the PR sweetheart behind Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism. NMBT is the destination marketing organization of the city, taking care of all the city’s Public Relations, communications and advertising needs. Reu has worked on countless influencer campaigns, in and around the city and believes in the value of the local influencer. She has a deep passion for our city and more so for the people of the Bay. We really can’t wait to hear what she has to share wrt working with brands. She’ll tackle the nitty gritty’s like what is expected of you when you agree to work on a campaign.Excited? Me too! So there you have it peoples of the Bay! #ECMeetUp tickets cost R150 and can be purchased by using the bank deets in the banner below. Oh, and before I forget, allow me to just say: Aaaack!
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Loving your rebellious child {Giveaway!}
I was a rebellious child. Well, I was mildly rebellious. But I often wonder what on earth my parents were thinking when I fell pregnant at 19. Or when I went through my “party till I die“ phase. Granted, I was pretty much a good girl, but I’ve had my moments of basically throwing my parents hard work and sacrifice right back into their faces. Fortunately, that soon ended… we all made it out alive, with our original teeth intact. But it got me thinking: what would I do if one of my kids started rebelling? Well, the other day, I picked up a brilliant book titled ‘Loving your rebellious child‘ by H. Normal Wright, that deals with this tough subject! -
Review: Goodsky vacuums your blackheads!
If you’re a blackhead fiend, then you’ll be interested to know that the Goodsky Blackhead Blemish and Acne Pore Vacuum Extraction Tool is now available in South Africa. You never have to pop a pimple again! Well, you shouldn’t be popping your pimples anyways, yo. It is damaging to your skin and can leave permanent scarring and blemishes.
