Ayoba Africa

Day One of The A to Z Blog Challenge and we're finally here!  I was late signing up this year (this is my fourth year doing the challenge) and so I am #1055 on the list

A huge, South African welcome to all the old Plonkers and all the new visitors to my wee bloggy.

My Theme for the A to Z Blog Challenge this year is SouthAfricanisms.

So, sit back, relax and you just may be enlightened about South Africa and the jargon we speak.  It is such a beautiful country, that has so much to offer and so many different cultures and quirks.

We start with the Letter A...

Ayoba [pronounced ah-yoh-ba] is a slang term used by South Africans to express amazement.  Its is derived from other slang terms like "Ayeye" and "Ayoyoyo".  It was originally meant as an approval or appreciation of good dancing, other the exact origins of the phrase are unknown. 

"Ayoba" is thought to have roots in a Johannesburg township culture.  It also became really popular during our hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.  Even a major cellphone network, MTN, snapped up the word and used it in all their television commercials.  

It is uniquely and proudly South African and expresses delight, excitement, agreement and approval. It's also used as a greeting.

All-in-all a brilliant Southafricanism.

Usage : Crowd surfin' is totally ayoba!

Day #1 Motto versus Insults

At first when I signed up for the A to Z Blog Challenge, I thought I’d just think up random shite as I went along (like I normally do on my blog) but then I figured I should put a bit of thought into this. 

As I smelt my brain burning, I thought this could be the perfect opporchancity to potentially kick off my blog mojo again. So, while I was pounding the treadmill at gym, I came up with a theme idea for throughout the challenge.

Mottos versus Insults

Most of you regular Plonkers know that A Daft Scots Lass has both a wee sprinkle of sweet and smidgeon of sour. Much to everyone’s surprise, I do have a deep philosophical side as well as my wickedly twisted sense of humour. I thought I’d fuse the two together in this blog challenge (as I do on a daily basis on my blg) and bring you a bit of naughty and a bit of nice in each post.

Here is today's sweet motto - Attitude

So True! 

Today's sour insult:

If I wanted to hear from an arsehole, I'd fart

and another one of my favourite arsehole insults


"You're uglier than a bag full of Arseholes"

Remember this funny moment from the film "Meet the Fokkers:?

A Day in My Life - Day 1 of The 30 Day Blog Challenge

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Topic : My Typical Weekday

6am : I'm usually woken up by my 4 year old girl-child by her yelling "Wakin' up time, Mum!" about 2 inches from my face.  She climbs in the bed and we cuddle and chat.

6:10 Get up and go to the kitchen to make school lunches and breakfast for the girls.  General tidying up and dishes from the night before.

6:30 Megan normally shuffles through to the lounge to watch cartoons through one eye and drag her school uniform on painfully slowly.  Meg is NOT a morning person and hates to be rushed first thing in the morning.  She is ultra grumpy and I just leave her until she's been awake for at least half an hour before even thinking of talk to her.

6:40 I switch on my laptop, moderate comments on my blog and published the scheduled post for the day and if I have time do a wee bit of reading.

6:50 I get dressed, brush my hair, teeth, paint my face in amongst nagging the girls to brush their hair, brush their teeth, get their school bags ready, stop fighting, stop terrorising the cat, stop jumping on the bed, stop screaming, etc. etc.. 

7:20  I yell at top volume:  "Is everyone ready to go?  I'm leaving with or without you".  I usually get a YES! but sometimes its just another final reminder of what I've asked them to do before we hop in the car.

7:30  We load all our junk in the car, it always looks like we're departing on a fucking long weekend with all the baggage we have.  School bags, sports bags, lap top bag, handbag, lunch boxes, lunch bags, toys...

7:40  Drop Meg at primary school and drive to Kaylin's school, all the while being told which songs to play on the DVD player by KK.  We like our driving music loud, okay?  Usually rock music to bang our heads to.

8:00  Drop Kaylin at nursery school and either kiss her goodbye calmly and blow kisses or have to deal with crying, sobbing, screaming and the teacher prying her out of my arms.  KK screaching  "Don't Go, Mummy!" at the top of her lungs, with dramatic arms outstretched...

8:10 Get to work, half dead and have a morning smoke to inhale the quietness and prepare myself for yet another busy day.  My work is very stressful and deadline driven.  I'm in the media industry and work for a publication so everything is urgent and every day is a crisis.  But I love it.

WORK WORK WORK WORK MORE WORK

until 4pm.  I then switch off my computer and head to Kaylin's school to fetch her.

4:30  Get to Meg's after care and collect her.

4:40  On the way home in the car we chat  about our day and share stories about what happened.  When we get home,  I check if Megan did all her homework at after care and do some reading and spelling with her.

4:50 Go outside on the patio for a smoke.

5:05 My Boerewors gets home and i'm usually starting supper or have at least taken something out of the freezer to prepare. 

5:15 I usually switch my laptop on again to moderate the blogs day's comments and do a little blog reading while the supper is bubbling away...I spend time with the girls either chatting about their day or playing in the garden.

We usually eat supper together at about 6:30pm and watch a little telly afterwards.

7pm is bath time for the girls and by 7:30pm they are in their pj's and ready for bed.

8pm and Kaylin is usually sleeping and we watch more telly.

8:30pm Meg is usually sleeping and My Boerewors and I go out on to the porch and have another fag and a chat.  We're early to bed people and usually in bed by 9pm or 9:30pm

Fucking boring, I know but thats a general week day.

Okay here's my first video I done - EVA!!  Don't laugh okay I'm just getting started and it took me a few times to get this right and be happy with the ums and ahs and ers.  At the end I thought, och Fuck it - Take it or leave it...

Cabbage Soup Diet starts Today

Normally after each Winter Season, I go on the Cabbage Soup Diet as it gives me a kick-start to loose the few extra kilos I pick up over Winter. I've picked up almost 5kg this winter which is a record for me. Usually its only a couple. Urgh!

Let me first tell you that this diet isn't recommended for everyone as I use my own version of it and I do it because it works for ME. I don't use it as a detox programme at all. I do it purely to get the weight loss started before I go on to a regular sensible eating programme to get in shape before summer starts.

I make my soup quite spicy by using Chilli Beef Stock and adding a couple of spoons of curry powder. The normal Cabbage Soup is quite bland and you get sick of it by Day 3. I only eat the soup (as much as you want) fruit and vegetables. I don't do the complete programme eating certain things on certain days. I just live on raw foods and the soup. The only thing I can't seem to give up during the 7 Days is my cuppa tea with one sugar. I still have that every now and then to take the sugar cravings away.

So my soup looks nothing like the bowl below which is on their website.

I also take a appeteit suppresant during this time (otherwise you will get hungry) usually Duromine or Dischem's Slimming Dragess. Because eating 10 bowls of cabbage soup a day can cause havoc with your farting power. Explosiveness in the boardroom is a no-no so I normally limit myself to three bowls a day.

I have warmed My Boerewors (aka hubby) that I'm back on the diet this week. This usually prompts him to roll his eyes and peg his nose with his fingers and say "Geez you gonna fart me out the bed again". Yip, deal with it! What would you prefer - a smelly fart or two or a fat wife? This normally clams him up, followed by lots of "wafting" of the duvet up and down on the bed to let the invisible evils out.

I liquidize my cabbage soup to make it thicker and because I'm not fond of celery I don't want to see "chunks" of it so I divide my pot of soup into two batches, blend the one half and then combine them together again so I have some chunky bits that I like (carrots and cabbage) with the thickness of a blended soup. Make sense?

My Own Cabbage Soup Recipe:

• Head of cabbage
• Bag of carrots
• Bunch of celery
• Two Green Peppers
• Bunch of spring onions
• Packet of White Onion Soup
• Punnet of Mushrooms
• Four Tomatoes
• Black Pepper
• Two teaspoons of Curry Powder
• Three Chilli Beef Stock cubes

1. Chop everything up and boil slowly for a couple of hours.
2. Divide into two equal portions.
3. Blend one portion and combine again.
4. Remember to drink at least 2 litres of water a day.
5. Eat raw fruits and steamed veggies inbetween your bowls of soup for a bit of variety

Wish me luck!!! Will keep you all posted as I intend going to gym at least three or four times this week and I will weigh in today at gym to get my start weight and will refrain from weighing myself until Sunday again. I will be writing a diary of how I'm feeling this week so that you can see each day's progress.

See you again tomorrow.