One Week

Yay! I've made it through the first week! Certainly not without it's challenges! Last night I managed to go for a little jog with Jaco & Kudu. I was impressed that I made it as far as I did. However, my knees and ankles are reminding me (gently) today that I did something. 

Today we went to the beach and took a drive up Rotary Way. It's a stunning lookout point and gives great views on clear days - like today! The beach was quite busy, since it was hot, so we didn't spend too much time there. I managed to get sand spilled onto my camera and lens, so I'm a little upset this evening! :o( We're off to Cape Town tomorrow, so I'm taking in my gear to see if I can have it professionally cleaned. Fingers crossed! 

My weight loss has hit a plateau, but I'm not too worried about it right now. I haven't been enjoying the green drinks as much as I should be, but perhaps it has a little (a lot) to do with the cabbage, beets, and broccoli I've been putting in. I think I'll 'tame' down my imagination in the juice department.

I'm feeling much better after this first week. I'm looking forward to the coming week to see what changes happen. The idea has been popping into my mind to just keep going after this week. We'll see.

I hope you enjoy the video. I had fun making it. I really enjoy picking out the music to go along with the footage. Maybe it's just because I love music so much and when I edit I can put my headphones on & have my own little concert. (If only in my head. Literally!)

And a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Juice Girl on completing 3 weeks of juicing! Wow! That's amazing! You should be very proud of yourself & how far you've come! You've kept your commitments to us, to Eric, your friends & family, but most importantly to yourself! Keep up the great work & we're with you every step of the way. It's an easy ride from here on in!

Enjoy the video!




P.S. - I'm typing this waiting for the YouTube version to load & listening to my 'juice splatter' fix - Trots Afrikaans Vol. 6 - I'm lovin' every minute of it! Perhaps I'll feature some of the tunes in a video yet...

Day 6 - Presenting Whales!

I'm baaaaack! I'm sure you missed me! :oP Today's footage is actually from a few days ago, but I wanted to share it with you anyways. We were supposed to go to Cape Town today and then decided against it. Looks like Monday is going to be stellar weather, so fingers crossed, I'll have some excitement for you by then!

I went for a run this evening with Jaco & Kudu. I struggled, but crossed the finish line. Looks like I've got a long path ahead to get fit, as well as healthy! But I'm feeling encouraged by the scale thus far. I've lost 8.6 lbs. Nearly 4 kgs. I'm happy about that, as I have been struggling to lose more than 1 or two pounds, which then creep back on magically!

A huge shout out to Juice Girl and her amazing success! Three weeks down! And 10 kg sugar bag lost!!! Amazing!!! And kudos to Eric for sticking with you! That's amazing support!

In any case, I won't ramble on... I hope you enjoy the video. Stay healthy!

xxxx Mama Africa & her village

Days 4 & 5 - MIA, but here's a re-enactment

A little hiccup along the path - but we're back and on the air. Kind of. I did a little re-enactment just so you could experience a little taste of the past two days. It wasn't all bad, but I was certainly tired and in pain! 

xxxx Mama Africa & her village

Still on Track!

Just a quick note to let you know that I didn't fall off the bandwagon! I had a really rough day & night, so I went to bed early & decided to forego the day's edit. I was in bed by 8:30, but woke up at 1 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep until 4. My head was pounding and still is this morning. I have severe muscle tension throughout my sinus area, jaw, occipital region, down the back of my neck, shoulders and between my shoulder blades. Sounds like fun, eh? Stay tuned, I'll see what I can get together once my head feels better!

xxxx Mama Africa & her village

Stellar Day at Grotto Beach

Today was GORJUSS! It was hot and sunny. I still had some juice from last night, which was perfect, as I am always hungry in the morning. I was another kilo down, weighing in at 67.5 kg. 

We went to Checkers, nearly bought them out of coconuts, along with 2 bags of fruit and veggies. The bagging lady said something about not eating any more mealies now that it is summer time and how she has to eat meat everyday. First off, that make me a little queasy. Second of all, the health magazine I showed in another video talked about GMO corn and how it's causing tumours in mice. Africans live off of mealies - cornmeal, basically. The women are notoriously big. It's actually quite frightening to think of how many people are eating this 'death trap'. I've never seen organic corn in any of the stores. If you haven't heard about it, read this. California is fighting to have GMO foods labelled, which I think is a smashing great idea. Just do a quick google search to find out which of your favourite food brands don't care about your health. Even some of the so called 'healthy & organic' companies are listed on the 'dark side'. If you're interested to know what countries use GMO & which don't, here's another article. Having had cancer and survived, I feel quite passionate about things like this. 

One last thing I want to mention is about Canada. And the Prairies. The Federal Government is planning to sell off a bunch of land in a few years time. Why this should concern you is because it is currently cared for by people who have a vested interest in the land and animals using it. Not making a profit from it. If it is to be sold to private owners, it would be too expensive for the average Joe in the neighbourhood, meaning it will most likely go towards wealthy business owners who only care about making more money, or to the Hutterites, whom I've heard use A LOT of pesticides and also care about making money. Currently the land is cared for diligently - endangered species, protection from overgrazing, using natural pest control (bugs that eat other bugs or grasses and then perish). Access is controlled for hunting and oil & gas exploration. How do I know this? My Dad is one of those caretakers and trust me, you've never met someone as passionate about his job as he is! Even after 30+ years! Basically, if this land is sold, it will affect farmers and ranchers, who will no longer be able to raise as many cattle or be forced to use cropland as grazing land. How does that affect you? Guess where your food comes from? If you think, 'I don't eat much meat', think again. Where do you think your grains come from? Those farmers are growing YOUR next meal! Here's how you can help. Go to www.protecttheprairie.ca and sign the petition. Share it on Facebook and with everyone you know. P.s. - my Dad is retiring & he still cares about this issue - GREATLY! I hope you will care enough too!

Anyhow, here is the video for day three. I hope you'll enjoy it. Hermanus really is a beautiful place to live. If crime wasn't such an issue (& currently the strikes against the farmers) I would thoroughly consider staying here for good! In case you could hear on the video, our dog is named Kudu, after one of the wild animals found in South Africa. The second video shows you what a real Kudu looks like. I'll also include a photo below that I took in Addo Elephant Park. 

Have a fabulous day wherever in the world you are. Stay well, stay healthy, stay vibrant!

Maria Valentina AKA Mama Africa (& her village)




The 'other' or 'real' Kudu:




Taken in Addo Elephant Park:

Day Two of the Juice Fast

Soooooo bored! But getting stuff done! 

Today I woke up earlier than usual - only one hour, but it made a big difference. I decided to clean up my painting supplies, as I'm pretty much done Kudu's Magical Flying Box. Then I decided to rearrange the furniture in the sitting room. I cleaned, tidied, rearranged, played with the dog, made juice, knit, edited my videos and was ready for bed by 10 pm! Phew! What a day! I could get used to this productivity!

In any case, I got a little carried away with the videos... Here is the official one on how the day went:




And as promised, here is the Granadilla 'Promo':




Lastly, I have been having so much fun with music and videos as of late... I did one of Apple's built-in templates. It's only a minute long... Can't wait until I have better footage! I hope you enjoy them all!




Keep up the great work girls! I'm extremely proud of you! 
xxxx Mama Africa & her 'village'
Oh & today's weight was 68.5 kgs. 
Starting weight was 70.3 kgs.

Mama Africa (Mars)

Day 1 is done & dusted. Nearly dusted. I just need to set the video to load & I'm retiring for the day. It was a tough one. I didn't sleep well last night, monthly cramps found me taking Advil on an empty stomach at 3, 6 & 9 a.m. Finally woke up around 11. Made some juice & putted my way through the rest of the day. Managed to sneak in a great chat with Jenn. I'm thrilled we can reconnect, as I've been on ships & communication is tough. Even the slow internet in Africa is an upgrade from internet at sea!

Not much to report. Here's the video. Hope you enjoy it... I'm looking for critters to capture for you...

Mama Africa (for another 13 days!)

Mama Africa Gets Juicy

Right. So. If you check my blog regularly, you'll have the 'privilege' of seeing the video before anyone else. Here's the scoop.

My best friend's sister-in-law (you got that?) decided to do a 57-day juice fast to try and help some of her health issues. Someone suggested she blog about it & I love a good blog. I voted yes for the blog. She decided to do a vlog (video blog). I've been following her progress faithfully and she is doing AMAZING! 20 pounds vanished in 2 weeks! 

Funnily enough, another of my best friends was chatting with me about health and nutrition just a few days prior. At the time I had just changed my diet and started exercising to help my husband and I as we transition from ship to shore. She felt a little discouraged about health and eating, so I suggested she start small and we could help each other along. When JuiceGirl came along, I thought, 'Hey! These two should meet, if only virtually, they would be great support for each other!' I suggested a FB introduction and lo & behold, they are both losing weight like melting snow in African sunshine! I'm so happy for them both!

To show my support and wanting to boost my own health, I've decided to join them for 2 weeks of juice fasting. My Skoonma has a juicer, so I'm borrowing it for 2 weeks. I'll do my best to upload a video each day. I said I would try to include African animals as much as I can, but we're a little ways from any wildlife parks. I will also show snippets of what it's like over here, for those who have never been. 

It's hard to sit in front of the camera and just talk. I am used to being busy, not sitting idly, this could be a challenge. I hope this first video does what I hope it will - entertain you!

Stay tuned for more juice in life!

xxxx Mama Africa

Humble Pie, Kicking Dirt, Gritting Teeth, Inspiration or Maybe Just Perspiration...

Today Jaco & I went to a nearby town called Kleinmond. We were meeting one of Jaco's colleagues from the ship. Jaco needed a reference from her for his Canadian application. We enjoyed a lovely visit at a seaside restaurant. The service was wonderful, they even brought a bucket of water for the dogs, and the views were stunning. 

It wasn't too busy at the restaurant, but one large table was sat beside us. There was one fellow who had a nice camera. A Canon 7D with a 24-70 lens. 2.8, L-Series. It's a serious lens. It retails for around $1500 Canadian. In Rand, it would be significantly more. But the guy didn't have a UV filter on it! Seeing this mortifies me! My Mom taught me most of what I know about photography & one of the very first things she taught me was to put a UV filter on my lenses. That way the lens is protected from dust, dirt, bumps, scratches, dog's noses, kids fingers, etc, etc. If your lens is scratched, it's ruined. If your UV filter is scratched, it's replaceable! 

When I worked on ships, we would get a lot of passengers who would come to the counter for numerous issues. If I noticed they didn't have a UV filter, I would always recommend it. Well, today it bit me in the butt.

I hesitated telling the young man, because nobody likes to be told what to do(*ahem*). When I did, I started out by commenting on his lens & how good it was. Then was he a professional... He hesitated on professional, but his friends said yes, with emphasis. I asked him why he had such a great lens, but no UV filter on it. He replied saying it affected his focusing, and besides, he has a lens hood. A weak argument, but that wasn't the point. 

The points are:
1. He is much younger than I.
2. He has a business in Photography. (I don't)
3. He hands me his business card. (I don't have a business, why would I have cards?)
4. He is from up country, but shooting near Cape Town. (Obviously has clients around the country)
5. You get my point?

I don't have a leg to stand on. I'm just a girl with a nice camera. I bought a domain name in 2010. I haven't done anything with it. I bought a Lightroom tutorial book. I haven't done anything with it. I have a decade of travel photographs. I haven't done anything with them. 

Blimey! It's a real struggle! This kid really knocked me today! I'm like the child-less friend telling her friend how to raise her kids! (And we all know how much Moms hate that!) (I really try not to!) 

In fact, part of the reason I stopped my blog was because I thought I should be investing my time in a photography business, not blogging about what I did or didn't do for the day! These days I'm lucky to be up & dressed before 2 in the afternoon! Who am I kidding!?

So, here I sit. Tools in hand. But where is the key to get the engine revved up & rolling down the road?! Seeing as it's after midnight, I'm not looking for the key tonight. Maybe tomorrow, but certainly not today!

On the lighter side of things, and please don't judge me for what I'm about to say... I painted Kudu's nails yesterday. His first paw-dicure. What's that? Paw-dicure? Photo business? My head hangs in shame, but my dogs toes are a pretty blue! 

Jaco & I walked around town this afternoon - it was a glorious sunny day! I've committed to a 10-14 day juice fast to support a few friends and to help myself get on track. I'll begin it on Monday. Who knows, maybe I'll even finally tackle that Lightroom book and get started with learning what to do with all these photos!

I hope I'll look back on this day & laugh. But for now... I'm unsure of the word to describe this humble feeling. 

Sincerely, 
Maria Valentina

I was going to look for some pretty pics to try & validate that I'm not a lost cause, but it was so bloody overwhelming! Now it's past one, so this is the only one you get! 

And Then One Day...

Gosh, it's been such a long time since I've posted anything on here, I feel like I'm starting over again. And in a way, I am!

So much has happened since I blogged regularly, it really is difficult to pick a starting point. Perhaps I'll try to include snippets of the past 1.5 years in the days to come, but for now... An update on present day happenings.

Jaco & I have officially claimed our land legs. We have said goodbye to Princess & then have most certainly set sail without us. Jaco is happy & I suppose I am too. Obviously I will miss the travel opportunities - who wouldn't want to wake up in another exciting location from one day to the next without having to drive or fly? But I hope in the future both of us will be able to enjoy a trip together. Certainly we will if I have a say in the matter!

Jaco has been busy applying for his Canadian registration. He has a job. He has a work permit. He only needs to certify with the College in BC and have a few references sent it and it's a green light for life in Canada!

He has a job in Penticton. Where? Penticton, British Columbia. A quaint little town that sits between 2 lakes & mountains on the other sides. Kelowna is to the north and Osoyoos is to the south. The area is known as the Okanagan Valley & is home to many vineyards & fruit orchards. The climate is as close to Mediterranean as I could find in Canada & apparently the winters are mild. We'll see about that! Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Penticton. 

I'm very excited to finally move into a house and unpack. No more suitcases! No more 50 lbs is your life! No more baggage! And our 3 dogs will finally be together. Three dogs you say? Yes, since my previous blogging days, Jaco & I have acquired another dog. His name is Kudu and he is a Miniature Pinscher born and raised in South Africa. We have had him for just over one year. A brief history...

My adorable niece, Zandrie, got a guinea pig last year when I visited her family for the weekend. Jaco was attending a recertification course nearby. On Sunday afternoon, Zandrie, her Dad, and myself went to a few pet shops to try and find a pen for the guinea pigs. When we entered one of the pet shops, they had one puppy. The store was just opening and was still preparing the shelves and shop. This poor little puppy was lying there all alone. No toys, no blanket, and fleas and worms as I later discovered. When I saw him I said, "Oh, look at the little puppy!" He went crazy when he heard my voice. Crying, whining, scratching at the door, licking my fingers... It was unbearable! He even came with a little upside down heart on his chest! I immediately called Jaco, who said I would have to ask his Mom, as she would have to care for Kudu while we were on the ship. To my surprise, she said yes! We drove back to Cape Town the next day and brought Kudu home. He weighed a whopping 1.4 kgs and he has been such a delight to get to know. In South Africa it is against the law to crop dog's tails & ears, a topic which is dear to my heart and I hope the rest of the world will catch on! Needless to say, Kudu's huge ears are one of his most endearing qualities. Of course, his spirited personality is another! 

I took him to puppy classes and he loves them! He caught on very quickly and whines the entire class because he is just so happy to be there! In fact, since I've been away this last little while, if the dog walker didn't come to collect Kudu for puppy class, Kudu would clear the fence (over 1m) and run down the block and into the municipality where he would completely disrupt the class. The instructor loves the fact that Kudu likes puppy classes this much. He is truly an example of 'the Teacher's Pet'! 

Currently we are making arrangements to fly Kudu to Canada. I bought a wooden box last time I was in SA to fly him in. He can not fly in the cabin of the plane & must fly cargo. Not impressed! In any case, I have spent the past 3 weeks painting his 'flying box'. Primer, white enamel, SA flag, Canada flag, Kudu's name, checkerboard, stripes, and I still have the inside to do! And then he needs to get used to it!

He loves to play ball and run - very much a Daddy's boy! I am excited to see how Kudu will get along with the girls. Valentina's nose might be slightly out of joint as she does not have the long legs Kudu does to run & jump for the ball!

Jaco & I are currently in South Africa at his parents place. We have been enjoying quiet days. We have started eating healthily and preparing our own food. Yes, you read that right. I have been cooking. *gasp* I am doing my best to try and give us a good start for our arrival in Canada. Jaco has been very helpful in the kitchen and he even does the dishes! I'm so lucky! My Mother-in-Law used to cook and bake professionally, so I have a plethora of expertise at my fingertips. Although I think her and my Father-in-Law are a bit skeptical of the 'alternative' ingredients I use! Buckwheat flour, agave, coconut oil, cacao nibs, almond butter, kelp noodles... Good times and challenges for the taste buds! It has also been very interesting for me to learn of some of the traditions South Africans use in the kitchen. For example, they eat their gem squash (think mini acorn squash) by boiling them in a pot of water and then putting butter and sugar inside.(seeds removed) We always baked them in the oven and then put butter and salt and pepper in them. 

Our days are filled with internet (!) (Yay for no more satellite internet that is as slow as dial-up!), yoga, a walk or a jog, taking the dogs to the beach, and sometimes Jaco will watch some sports, I'll paint or knit a bit, we'll get groceries and then make dinner. I haven't quite figured out how parents do it in the real world. I don't wake up early and I'm lucky to get 3 things done in a day. (This blog thing could be a challenge!) Hats off to those of you who manage to handle yourselves and children day after day!

Oh and speaking of internet... Our internet was out for 11 days last month. We spent hours on the phone with the Internet company. They told us our password needed to be changed, they told us the transmission cable was out and 82 other people were without internet in our area, they told us what their colleague was telling them to tell us, they sent one technician who couldn't fix it. I was nearing my breaking point with South African service. Finally, I had a lovely gentleman on the phone who escalated our need for service and the following day a second technician came out to fix our internet. The problem? Kudu. Yes, the dog. Kudu managed to bite through the cable. He must have had a ball in amongst the wires and played away until he bit through the cable. Rather humorous, I must say. He has had his photo, along with the cable, submitted to Dog-Shaming.com Apparently they have over 12,000 submissions, so I don't know if Kudu will make the cut, but in any case, it's a funny way to laugh your way through a lunch break!

I suppose that is enough of an update for now. I'll do my best to submit some more posts on a much more regular basis!

Until then... Keep well and enjoy your day!

Maria, Valentina, Oceana, Kudu, Adios and of course, Jaco

The day we brought Kudu home

Just look at those ears!

Sorry Telkom!

He looks guilty, no?

On his skateboard

Mama's boy.