Task #16: Donate Blood

This may be a weird task to have on my bucket list, but I felt that donating blood was a relatively easy good deed to do. I could not have been more wrong. My whole quest to give blood began about a year ago, when I was back home in Sydney for Christmas. The Red Cross kept advertising for blood donors, and I thought why not? I'd always been healthy, and as far as I was aware I had no diseases or any reason to not donate. So I filled out an application form and made an appointment. When I went to the interview stage with the nurse everything went well until she asked me where I currently lived - my reply South Africa. Which she immediately replied that I could not donate because I "most likely had HIV/AIDS". So, you can all imagine my shock, after being educated multiple times on this topic that a certified nurse was telling me that I could contract AIDS from sharing a toothbrush with people who did have the disease.

Needless to say I was devastated, not only that I couldn't donate, but that I was so offended by the Red Cross personnel. Then, I was in Mallorca about 5 months later and saw a Red Cross bus that would stop in various places around the city, so I tried my luck again.... Unfortunately, this time I couldn't donate because I had been taking medication that could affect my blood (Roaccutane), this time I wasn't as disappointed because it was a legitimate reason.

Finally, (and here comes the victorious part) I was in Madrid and saw the Red Cross bus driving around. I knew I hadn't taken Roaccutane in a while so I was in the clear. I was so excited when the doctor accepted my application and I was cleared to give blood! The nurse hooked me up to the machine and in a second blood began draining from my body. I felt like I was being converted into a vampire.... They took almost half a litre of blood, and the whole process was over in 10 minutes....

At the end, I was given strict instructions for the next 24 hours and a Fanta to get some sugar... However, I fainted regardless. Of course, the doctors freaked out and began taking off my coat and putting ice on my body to "shock my system". Keeping in mind that it was about 10 degrees outside, my system was shocked very quickly...

Other than that I managed to do my good deed, and managed to cross another task off my bucket list... Only about 50 to go...

Task #15 - Visit Lalibela's Churches

According to UNESCO, Lalibela Ethiopia should be visited as soon as possible because the sun and weather is slowly starting to disintegrate the churches. I spent New Years 2013 there with my family and it was such an inspiring trip. We met so many friendly people along the way. Ethiopia is a very proud, religious country and we were fortunate enough to be included in some celebrations in the lead up to Christmas. They were so exciting and I felt very honoured to be included in them.

Ethiopia is famous for coffee so I tried to see if I could make some - Ethiopian style. It was fun and very specific about the steps needed to be taken before serving the coffee.

 We met a lot of wonderful people along the way, including these two girls who ran to the van we were in to say hi!

 This woman had never seen her photo before, so she gave me a big kiss and hug when she saw it!

I tried my hand at drumming, which is done during most celebrations.

Here are some of the churches, the most famous one is St George's (left). King Lalibela built them into the ground and carved them out, taken a very long process. His churches are breath taking! I would highly recommend to anyone to visit this place ASAP.

 It was a pure joy to experience this beautiful, vibrant, and diverse country. Hopefully, I'll be back to visit soon!

Words To Live By....

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short - enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But it's all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy clothes. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Task #14 - Visit Namibia

It's been a while since I could check something off my bucket list but I finally managed! My parents and I visited Namibia this July! We did a driving tour for 2 weeks working our way from Fish River Canyon all the way around to Windhoek. We had an amazing time! We had multiple run-ins with baboons, an ostrich ran into our car, and we found a dead gemsbok (oryx - see pics below)! It was an awesome trip and we met so many friendly people along the way. It is a beautiful country with gorgeous landscape! Make sure you put this one on your bucket list!

This is the dead gemsbok!

Fish River!

Fish River Canyon

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei

Cape Cross

Vingerklip

Vingerklip

Wild Dogs

Etosha

Etosha

Etosha

Etosha

During the two weeks, we had to change tyres, three times, and one of those times we were in the middle of the safari/game park! Exactly 100m from where we had previously seen a male lion!

We had an amazing trip - Namibia is truly a special one-of-a-kind country!

These are the places we stayed at if you are keen to visit:

Canon Lodge - Fish River

A Little Sossus Lodge - Sossusvlei

Meike's Guesthouse - Swakopmund

Twyfelfontein Country Lodge - Damaraland

Vingerklip Lodge - Damaraland

Okaukuejo Resort - Etosha

Waterberg Plateau Lodge - Waterberg

Hotel Safari - Windhoek

Task #13 - Spend New Years Eve in Sydney

It sounds weird, doesn't it? I am Australian so why have I never seen the Sydney NYE Fireworks in person? Who knows, but this year I put my foot down and thought that 2013 should start properly - which in my mind is; a glass of champagne, camera in hand, looking over the entire Sydney Harbour and City counting down to midnight.

Sydney definitely knows how to begin a New Year! There were the preliminary fireworks for the kids at 9pm and then the important ones at midnight! It was a terrific place to be and the fireworks were great. Some of them were being let off from the tops of buildings, the harbour bridge, and barges along the river.

The theme this year was "embrace" and the key colours of the fireworks were yellow, red, and crimson. It was fun and most definitely a good way to start 2013 off! Let's hope the rest of the year is just as awesome! Happy New Year to everyone!

Task #12 - Be Published

I, honestly thought this one would NEVER happen! Or at least not now! I study interior design and my only real chance of ever being published was if I wrote a book for fun, on the side, or if I eventual ended up writing for an interior design magazine.

Yesterday, my first article was published in an English Property/Design magazine that is distributed throughout all of Spain & the Islands. Such a surreal feeling! For this article I was asked to write about a local interior design company called UDesign- who create some very innovative furnitures and interior spaces for their clients.

Now this one has been published and I'm working on the next one is an 8 page spread where I get to do the layout as well. It's very exciting!

To see the magazine online follow this link, the article is on page 50: 
http://issuu.com/sunsearchmedia/docs/perfect_homes_2_edition_lowresfor_web

Task #11 - Visit Ireland

I've always been fascinated with the thought of Ireland. A different country to visit, with a lot of culture and history, and even more beer! In my mind it is the land of green pastures, leprechauns, Guinness, & pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I traveled to Dublin this weekend to see if any of that was true. It was amazing! The Irish celebrate Christmas in the most amazing way and Dublin is such a vibrant, historical city. There was Christmas lights on every corner and so many people dress up in some very ridiculous costumes to celebrate this festive time of year! I saw this one girl who had spiked her hair up into a cone, spray painted it green and then covered it in tinsel & lights - it was awesome!

Basically my time in Dublin was spent walking, being in awe of the amount of shops they have there, looking at the Christmas lights, and also drinking Guinness! It is a beautiful city, although a tad chilly, but it is filled with surprises on every turn.

I wish I could've spent more time there exploring the countryside. I caught a glimpse of it when flying in and out of Dublin and it is very green so it lived up to my expectations! :)

Next time I go back, I'll be on the hunt for a leprechaun and that pot of gold!