Learnings from 2012 and moving forward.

WOW!!! Breath... thank goodness your curtain closed.

So 2012, (you little monster) you had me spinning out of control most of the time all while trying to teach me lessons about myself. How the hell was I meant to learn anything when you had me constantly running around trying to do as much as humanly possible (Just call me YES woman). Zen masters say, "you cant see your reflection in running water, only in still water." #BOOM

But sitting here at my "beautiful" desk after what turned out to be one of the most interesting years, I found out a bundle of stuff and it goes a little something like this... drop a beat... (I am bringing out the bullets yo)

• I have the BEST bunch of girlfriends. They are supportive, caring, funny as hell (thank goodness), they love to sing (almost as much as me), they will cry with me (just because I am doing the ugly cry) and will laugh with me (or at me). They will drive me home when I have had too much to drink (I save money this way BOOHAHAHA), they will give me their honest opinion and sometimes just listen and not give any opinion at all. We can watch sunsets together with a glass of GOOD wine and just be in each others company. We can poke fun at each other and not get all precious about it. I could not even begin to thank them or express how much I appreciate their silly faces.
• I realized that I have a problem with not finishing ANYTHING. I mean ANYTHING! I cant even finish this sentence.
• My family rock my world! I am so proud of each and every one of them and proud to be part of a solid family. SO blessed.
• I learnt that my love for wine goes far deeper than I had ever imagined. I love expensive white wine (or red) when it hits the lips BAM sold!
• I learnt that being alone is ok (your not going to DIE) although being alone but still being surrounded by people mmm is this really alone?!? Crumbs I dont care really,
• My potty mouth is a slight problem but when I compare myself to my dear friend Beatrice (name changed for obvious reason). Who seems to come from the corner of Effing (slot in real word) and Awesome, I realize I'm a little cuddly teddy bear compared. She also loves Bloody "effing" birds, "effing" around in general and gets the odd "effing" heartburn from to much "effing" drinking. I do love her so "effing" much.
• I need to learn more skills. Therefore 2013 is the year of learning and sitting still for longer than 5min.
• I learnt that I can camp. SAY WHAT!?! In fact I love "effing" camping.
• I Heart big time music festivals. Music is just the best way of expression and without it the world would be a very dull blue planet. Music brings people together (who normally would not be caught dead sharing the same floor space) it makes you smile, it makes you cry. Its such an expression of emotion and can be shared with any race, culture, age and gender. "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain" - Bob marley. "Anything too dumb to be spoken should be sung, a song is never finished only abandoned, sing if you've got nothing to say." - aKING   
• I learnt that I am actually stronger than I thought and that's all I needed to know.
• I still love (Brackets)<-
• Life is one big Bucket of fun and No-one should let themselves get to a point where they think it's boring. If you think it's boring then sit down and shut up. DO something DAMMIT! If you want change then make the change. If you want love then go out and find it. If you want a little drink, have it (sparkling wine is very acceptable at 09:00 in the morning). Stop complaining you have no money to do cool shiznizz, yet you are rocking a pair of zillion randella flip flops... trust me NOBODY cares about your stupid zillion randella flip flops.  Take that zillion Randella's and do something that you can take a photograph of and frame that Shizzle. (framing flip flops is not a cool idea) This is what I have learnt (although I would never spend a zillion randella's on flip flops) - Ok I'm done ranting.
• Be kind to children, animals, the earth, old folk and the people in between.
• Share your time. Your knowledge. Your coins. Your food. Your enthusiasm. You could even share a bottle of FMC Chenin Blanc 2010.
• Save for a rainy day. What happens if that rainy day never comes? You will have plenty of savings I guess but what else? LIVE dammit! Don't get caught up in the humdrum <- (is that a real word?) of society. 
• Don't sit back and hope things will work out, make them happen. 
• Don't grow old in your mind. That's a very dangerous place to be in my awesome opinion.
• Geordie shore... WTF happened! I learnt that I would rather cut off my pinkie than let my unborn children ever become like those people. Yes, I'm sure they have lovely hair and soft sensitive armpits but jeepers creepers... there are no words.

So, In a walnut shell I think 2013 is going to be a goodie. I have calmed down (slightly) and will embrace this "alone" time in a more sober manner. I will share openly, laugh more, love more, be more patient with the road I am on and Learn.

May the force of lucky 13 be with Ya'll.

Peace, love and happiness
xoxo

A life time of laughter.

Inspiration - Daughtry (high 5)

Erg-hem... I hear that laughing knocks a couple of years off of a person as well as weight and lowers blood pressure (FANTASTIC PASS ME A JOKE OR 2!!)

I am lucky enough to work in an office that is constantly filled with laughter, in fact if you don't hear any laughing... well then I guess... that pretty much means everyone has gone home.

There is nothing better than the sound of laughing (unless its that kinda BOO HAHA (evil grin) kinda, sorta thing) <- (can I bracket in brackets?)  ANYWAY moving along swiftly, lately I have been laughing bucket loads and it feels soooo bleeping good man! So with this whole "good mood" thang going down I thought I would give it a shot at pointing out a couple of things that have made me laugh. ERG-HEM... oh wait... firstly wine is a crucial part of some of these moments #justsaying

• I have this friend, Agatha (name has been changed) she likes to laugh (as most people do I guess) and every so often a little or big (depends on the state) snort will pop up out of NOWHERE!! Which will only encourage more laughing but the laughing has now been directed at her. Speaking of POP up...
• The "pop up" thing is a personal joke shared amongst a few friends and I shall leave it at that BOO HAHA lol.
• I have another friend, Beatrice (name has been changed) she brought me the most entertainment recently, lets just say a lot some drinking happened and she lost pretty much everything!!! Again I guess no-one will find this funny other than me... meah!
• Gosh a child's hysterical laugh. NOTHING can beat it!
• My dog biting my feet, everyday as soon as I walk through the door... hahahahahahahahhahahahah (me preparing myself for the inevitable)
• laughing at dorky comments, random conversations, trying to mimic voices or even better trying to do an Irish accent... these are the absolute BEST!
• Bumping my funny bone. Why is it funny? What does funny feel like actually? Maybe it should be called odd feeling bone... yes, no, maybe, ag whatever I dont care!
• Drinking too much some wine and forgetting why you started laughing in the first place! Only to carry on at nothing really... Thank you girls x
• Whatsapp group chats!! Holy Ball of FIRE some of the most random conversation happen on these things. The cool strange part is you know that on the other side of the line someone is HAHAing away and smiling at their phone like a crazy person.  Don't even get me started on Voice Notes... they are the second best thing after uuum I dont know, I think I said something else was the best first.
• Dancing like a hip hop dancer on Americas got talent. No, we cannot dance like professional dancers but we will sure as anything try and ROTFL (I actually dont know why I just did that "ROTFL" thing) I could delete it but remember I'm not very good at this typing thing so deal! JOKES!
• Taking photos of people when they least expect it... BOO HAHA! man I love digital!
• Laughing at with people. Ok, whatever... laughing AT people. Some people do the most random things, they deserve a little giggle.
• Taking a walk down memory lane and remembering how dumb misguided you were at some point.
• Napoleon Dynamite...eish, who think's of the s#i%
• Being tickled eeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkk :)

I am so grateful for all the people in my life that bring a smile to my dial and make me do the super dork laugh. Never stop laughing!! No-one likes a Grumpasaurus, honey turn that frown upside down and get with the program laughing is so in this season. Don't be so damn serious!! Laugh at yourself, laugh at others, be silly, laugh your way through life everything will be ok!

Peace out home Dawgs
xxx

They did not expect a sneaky camera peeking over the door.. BOO HAHA!!

LOVE, PEACE AND HAPPINESS X

Have you ever...

So, on the drive home yesterday (after a very average day of moving stuff around the new office space) I got all deep with my life.

Deciding on how to go about this mini discussion with me, myself and hopefully an interweb filled fan base (one can only hope) was slightly challenging for my creative little mind but hey challenge accepted!!! I took some inspiration from the well known song by Incubus - Wish you were here.

Have you ever...

• sat and watched as the stars move across the night sky. I dont mean running out and having a quick look. I am talking about lying on your back glaring up and watching as the the world carries on turning. "I lay my head onto the sand. The sky resembles a back lit canopy. With holes punched in it I'm counting UFOs I signal them with my lighter And in this moment I am happy...happy". There is something about the night sky and being able to see the universe millions of miles away from where you are resting your head. Have you ever had the feeling of how insignificant we as a human race are??????

• Ran onto the beach because it excites you THAT MUCH! Taking a moment to feel the warm sea sand scrub and tickle the underneath of your feet. Lying on your back in the sand, arms spread out without saying "OH MY WORD I HATE SEA SAND ON ME"... WHY??  "I dig my toes into the sand. The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds. Strewn across a blue blanket. I lean against the wind, Pretend that I am weightless. And in this moment I am happy...happy"  Have you ever woken up far too early while on holiday in summer (the sun rises at flippen 4:45) just so you can watch the sun come up AGAIN from somewhere behind the ocean. Apparently these things are guaranteed... really?!? In fact have you ever climbed to the highest point, it could be the roof of your house, the highest point in your neighborhood just to watch the sun rise AGAIN? if you have not then why the hell not?!?

• Sang along to your favourite songs. All because you think you sing like Whitney Houston in her glory days and you just dont give a BLEEP if Micheal Bolton is not everyone's cup of tea. Why do you care what people think about your taste in AWESOME music? Surly it is them that lack the knowledge of the fantastic lyrics, great style and amazing dance moves and of course the love for music of all genres.

• Someone once asked me "Hey BoneyM, dont you feel like your life is a movie and everyone else that roams the earth are just extras?" AAH YES!! WOW life!! Why is that people read those little emotional internet card thingies about chasing their dreams and living for the now, yet they stand still too afraid of what might happen if they do take the leap, so would rather keep guessing of what could be? (Maybe I suffer from this SOMETIMES) I have taken leaps and its a hell of a lot better than standing still I can assure you. So if you are the executive produces and as I believe God is the director, why not live your life the way you want to rather than the way your "extras" think is the "right" way to play this little movie out... YOUR BLOODY MOVIE!

• Have you ever drank too much wine by mistake? 

I do the last one quite often so is it still a mistake? ANYWAY to love and leave you with the lyrics to a song by Micheal (just because i can) yes Bolton. All about dreaming and my thoughts are (because everyone cares) let your dreams be big and let your desire to reach them be bigger. I will also leave you with some fun interesting facts of this super cool dude.

PEACE AND LOVE YO x

Michael Bolton

AKA Michael Bolotin
Born: 26-Feb-1953 [1]
Birthplace: New Haven, CT
Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish - I NEVER KNEW!!
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Singer/Songwriter
Nationality: United States

Father: George Bolotin
Mother: Helen Bolotin
Brother: Orrin Bolton
Sister: Sandra
Wife: Maureen (m. 1975, div. 1990, three daughters)
Daughter: Isa
Daughter: Holly
Daughter: Taryn
Girlfriend: Cher
Girlfriend: Brooke Shields
Girlfriend: Ashley Judd
Girlfriend: Paula Barbieri
Girlfriend: Marla Maples
Girlfriend: Deborah Yates
Girlfriend: Nicollette Sheridan (broken engagement)

"Dream While You Can"

Dream little child, dream while you can
Dream my child, dream while you can
Of everything that I would dream
If I had the time, dream while you can

And fly little child, fly while you can
Fly my child, away while you can
Far out places and new born lands
Fly while you can

And be little child, be while you can
Be my child, free while you can
Anything that you wanna be
Well, it's in your hands
Be while you can

Dream little child, dream while you can
Dream my child, dream while you can
Of everything that I would dream
If I had the time, but dream while you can

Dream while you can
Fly away while you can
Be free while you can
Dream while you can, dream away
Dream away while you can

Fly away, fly away
While you can
Be free, be free
While you still can

Ooh, dream while you can
Fly away, dream while you can

Functioning on nothing.

Well, this past week was uuummmm rather random. Firstly, after the last post I think my brain switched over to "I Don't give a rats ass" mode and attempted to kill me - Death by lack of sleep!

It was a cold, wet Thursday evening. The wind was howling and sending shivers down my spine. - see how I attempted to create the mood and make it semi dramatic?! ANYWAY, a dear friend thought it a grand idea to paint the town red on this here THURSDAY night (did she not think the paint would wash away from all the bloody rain!) Bon - Party on a school night SOUNDS AWESOME! Too many nonalcoholic beverages and in bed at 01:30ish only to wake up (body clock time) 05:30, Ef you gym! - tea, shower, wake up and work.

Now, its Friday OK and as a glorified FOMO I cant stay home on a FRIDAY... WHAT, dont be silly! Food, party, party, party, bed 03:30. Wake up 07:00 appointment, movie, sundowners... SLEEEEEPPPPP 10:00. Sunday morning 06:30 drive, airport, fly, work, fly, drive and then DIE!

So, after all of this I survived. Please tell me I am not the only person who feels as though they aged about a zillion years after one bender of a weekend?!? RYAN GOSLING... crap... sorry mind fart moment... HOT! Having a rocker lifestyle - yes because I classify this weekend as a rocker lifestyle... it's hard work man and flippen expensive but hey! I mean do you ever want to regret having too much fun? I didn't think so.

Peace be with you all.
x

TWENTY SEVEN...

OH MY WORD I AM TWENTY SEVEN!!!! For some reason this hit me BIG time after this weekend. You have all heard them older folk saying "my body is 50 but in my mind I am still 21" well I am 27 and in my mind I am still flippen 21, 22 even 23!!!

What makes you older than you seem? Or what makes you feel younger than you are? Do I dress, act, take life seriously enough, speak, look like a 21 27 year old and what would one actually look like if you dressed according to your age... am I making sense here? I have always been more of a tom boy, who dances (really well) around the house singing, dive bombing my sister when she is sleeping, running around the pool chasing my dog while throwing my arms up wildly in the air, no shoes please and play fighting with my brother and boy cousins.

With saying this, I have found that I have become slightly too old for certain clubs around Jozi (not saying I will not go) I do prefer a nice dinner with friends with a bottle glass of wine (not saying I don't like to dance my behind off). But that is just clubbing this is more about me growing up. I think my saving grace is that my cousins (most of) are all in their 20's and since I do hang out with them A LOT I do not feel judged on my random behavior (and it is oh so random!)

I guess this goes back to the last post on "time, I do not think I will ever grow up to be this super serious woman. I love life far too much to give it up to boredom, routine, what society thinks is acceptable behavior (still have morals though) and I guess I do not ever want to regret ANYTHING! Yes age is just a number so does that mean I should just carry on the only way I know how... randomly? MMMM big thought in this little head of mine today!

Peace out yo!!! - would a 27 year old say that?... sh*t!

P.S. OH brother... I just had a daymare... THIRTY!! haha Jokes!

About time!

Let me try define time without using the good old Oxford, I shall call a Bronanition of time... sounds good!

(Clear throat) Time...

• the space in between where you are and where you want to be.
• the waiting period in a persons life.
• the period you wait for something, anything to happen.
• it heals wounds.
• it has the ability to heal a broken heart.
• it can clear the mind.
• it is not guaranteed.

Actually... wait! Let me complain about time rather. Why does it always seem to lag?? When it comes to work the clock stops, time stands still or moves forward at snails pace... REALLY! But.. oh wait when you are having fun it seems to race off towards the finish line... again REALLY!

Time requires patience, this is something that I seriously battle with. So now, I have this master plan of leaving my job and becoming a world famous artist ( I am like being serious ok!). I had all these concepts, ideas, plans and have nailed it down to ONE. Now, with time comes the process, I get that! I also have to be realistic about how I go about this whole new venture. I need moola (cash, money, tom) to sustain whatever life I will have in the mean time before a gallery sweeps in to exhibit my work. I need to research bla bla but all I really want to do is paint and yes the ball is rolling but cant it roll a little faster. This is my patience problem coming through ANYWAY!

SO, time (you little biscuit) I have a love hate relationship with you. I love the fact that I need you to make sure that I do things right, that you can heal broken hearts. I love that you can surprise me on being perfect, I love it that you allow me to spend precious time with family, friends, sunrises and sunsets. I LOVE my quiet time.

I hate it that you are too short, we never have enough of you! I hate it went you run out on a song that I wish would carry on just a little longer. I hate it that you cut some peoples time short. When you have longer periods causing heart ache while a loved one is away. I hate wasting you and Holidays are too short by the way!

So with all the above said I kinda dig you regardless. There is a Huge reason for you and when my time comes I will throw one hell of foot stomping, 80's clapping, semi dress up party.

Sincerely
Bronzi

P.S. In closing I will leave you with some super cool passages on time.

A time and season for everything

Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens:
Ecc 3:2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pull up what is planted;
Ecc 3:3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
Ecc 3:4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Ecc 3:5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
Ecc 3:6 a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
Ecc 3:7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecc 3:8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.  

"But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" (Habakkuk 2:3 LB)

I seem to be really bad at.....

• Keeping up to-date with posting on balloonvine. The reason I think is firstly, I am lazy FULL STOP! Blogging is something that needs to be planned in order to engage with the reader. To not be boring and actually enrich a life with interesting facts, inspirational somethings and well I guess so that people will spread the word. 
• Saving money, Especially at the moment..... jeepers! I cant seem to say no to anything. Friend: Hey lets do lunch? Bron: Sounds awesome! Friend: Hey, you free for dinner every night this week? Bron: Let me check my diary... YES! Friend: You keen to go to every single festival possible this year? Bron: Oh my word.. YES!!
• Wearing my heart on my sleeve. That stuff is crazy the whole falling deeply, madly note book vibe in love thing. Butterflies having a rave in your stomach, only having eyes for each other, not caring about anything else... WHAT! I really wish I was slightly better at not being such a cynic when it comes to falling in love. The wall around my little heart is about 100m high and +/- 3m thick.. give or take. Oh and not to forget the electric fence.
• Being on time. I will make sure I have enough time to either get ready or just to get somewhere but those little last 10min are hazardous and flip man.... i land up being late. Even tried tricking myself by setting my watch 10min later... still late!
• Dealing with being cold. I hate being cold HATE HATE it!!! Really nothing more to it! I am just not a happy camper and cannot hide it well.
• Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar. You know the formal writing thing.   
• Leaving tea bags, next to the tea cup, on the counter after making the most awesome cuppa tea.
• Singing.... But boy oh boy do I love to hit them high notes.

With all the above said, I do think I am good at things too. Does one not find it easier to point out their negatives rather than their positive point, attributes and characteristics. I will have a good think and see what I can come up. Hope you do the same!! 

THE CLARITY THAT CRAZY BRINGS.

Here’s a headline for a life resume: “Selectively, but wildly excitable.” I adore exclusively stoked people. They’re discerning — not everything is a great opportunity, in fact, golden ops are rare. But when they see something that glimmers with uniqueness, or resonates with their reason for being, they just they freak the EF out. This is how brainstorming goes with brightly faithful people: “Hmmm. Uh huh. Nope. Nah. No. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Ooh. Ahh. Wait a second. Holy shit, yes yes, yes, we could…and then we could…and it would be so…and Holy yes and…I’ll sell it all if I have to…and what am I going to wear when I accept the award?! Who will we invite to the wedding?! How big do you think we can build it? Excuse me while I make a phone call.” They go OFF.

It’s illogical, and grandiose, crazy and most certainly romantic. It’s FAITH. But these are the essential ingredients for breaking through mediocrity and cynicism. Bright faith is a divine kind of madness. And what the Spocks of the world don’t quite get is that the chaotic sparks of bright faith actually burn a path to clarity of mind.

To create things of beauty — in form or between two people — it’s a passion first, discrimination second formula. And yep, it’s dangerous.

COOL IS DULL

If I have to choose between two service providers with similar skill and equal pricing, I’ll always go with the one who expresses their excitement. I did a gig recently with someone who said, “I’m so excited to work with you! I’m going to hang up the phone and do the happy dance.” She was so uncool about it all. No pretense, just joy and bright faith in how much fun we could have. So then I said, “Me too! Now I’m really stoked. I’ll do the happy dance when I hang up too. Let’s do this!”

My best strategic meetings have been the most uncool. Un-self-conscious. Everyone comes to the table with bright faith. They’re happy to be there and they say so.

Bright faith shows up at the beginning — that extremely precious and fractional space when you need as much light as you can to see which way you want to go. The more possibilities you let shine — the more you shine with possibility — the more lucid and discerning you can be. - Danielle LaPorte

Run BRONWYNNN Run...

Yes!! Run time's for runjozi have come in and I am super happy with my time. From the time the siren sounded to the finish line my time was 1h 09min BUT apparently we need to take 4min off because we were standing at the back and needed to walk to the start once the siren went off. SO I am claiming 1h 05min for 10 km

BOOM!!

My sister is cool FULL STOP!

My sister sent this to me the other day, she made it all by herself. This photo was taken when we were at our farm trekking (hiking) up the koppie (hill SLASH small mountain). The chick in the pic is me and my little sister thinks I'm pretty strong :) BIG SMILE!