Green with Envy...?

I have really enjoyed Bible School this year. And I am so glad that I have been able to learn everything that I have learned.

Pastor Shaun has been teaching on a subject titled "financial fitness". And in this subject he covers envy. Initially I thought wow... Interesting perspective until I realized there was something in this teaching the Holy Spirit wanted me to see in a specific area of my life.

Envy can only take root in the heart of some one who has become ungrateful. We all start out being very grateful for everything in life. Grateful to have a bed to sleep in, grateful to have a nice warm house... Grateful for friends and family - and the list goes on. Until we see someone who has something we don't have and feel that we deserve to have that same thing too. Thats where the little seed of starts to grow... What should be a privilege becomes what we are "entitled to". And trust me... one sure negative sign is when you find yourself saying "but Lord, I have served you and honored you with my life...". I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have pulled that stunt on God... And if there is something that God does not fall for its manipulation.

God would love to give us everything our hearts desire. If only we'd ask him. And perhaps before asking, consider our motive for wanting what we desire so badly to have. He knows us best and will give us only good gifts.

If you have a little "envy fever" and don't know how to stop that ugly green monster from rearing its head... make a nice long list of all you DO have and start with things like, eye sight, the ability to even hear sound. I have made a list... It really puts things in perspective... Plus... How many times would someone not desire what you have... So... Fully Enjoy what you have on behalf of others!

Memories... Canada 2012

Just a couple things from my trip to Canada in June last year - I'll be going back there this year - except for this time... in the Winter... If you ever go there, try some of these places and eats...

Ps... For those who wanna know places to shop at? I'll bring that info later...



Top Left hand corner is Taco Bell - loads of unhealthy stuff - if you google Taco Bell you'll find many people make fun of this place...

 




Road Signs and Street Names...



Niagara falls - Promenade



Niagara falls - Promenade



Harley Davidson & Guinness World of Records - Nagara Falls Promenade



SkyWheel at Niagara Falls Promenade

  

Madame Tussaud - Niagara Falls Promenade - Most probably the worst Madame Tussaud in the world - but still a fun experience



China Town - Toronto



China Town - Toronto



Underground Trains - Toronto



Toronto




Toronto



Toronto



Lake Champlain - it looks like an ocean - the locals call this the beach.





St. Jacobs - Armenain Town



Stampede Ranch - Bull Rides, Line Dancing, Eating and loads of fun

 
Visit Toronto if you get a chance! It's great fun... Besides... for those woh love New York... You just need to cross Niagara Falls to get to America... with a couple hours worth of driving you'll hit NEW YORK!

Super Basic tips on general song-writing…

For those of you keen on writing songs… I thought I would share some tips on where to start… Each person would write differently – so don’t follow the rules here too strictly. Your style will develop over time…

1.       Find a topic that you can relate to emotionally – if it’s not real to you, it won’t work – usually a life changing event is the greatest to write about – your words will express what others feel but cannot express themselves – and if they can relate the song will grab them. Vulnerability is key.

2.       Write down lines or expressions and words that make that experience come to life and evoke emotions.

3.       Not everything has to rhyme.

4.       Get a great “hook” going… a hook is the part that catches everyone’s attention… usually a riff or the chorus part of a song. I just recorded a song for my album where the chorus is the 2^nd hook. The biggest hook in the song is a vocal doing a repetitive rhythm… “too-doo-too-doo”... it’s incredibly catchy and up-beat.

5.       Decided which tense you are going to write the song in… there are times in which you can change tenses in a song – this works well in story songs. (Country songwriting is genius for this) PAST: “You did me wrong…” change to PRESENT: “Now I wait…” FUTURE/RESOLUTION: “I Will never again…”

6.       Try not to repeat the same words… get a good thesaurus and find a new word – avoid cheesy, predictable lines…  Every line can be expressed in more than one way… eg. “I love how you make me feel” vs. “I delight in how you move me” …

7.       Perspective… Who is telling the story? 1^st person? 3^rd Person? – it is important to keep this person the same way through-out unless you are writing a duet.

8.       Make sure the melody line is easy. If you aren’t a musician – you could always sing it onto your phone and ask a friend to help you work out the chords.

9.       Remember to set the scene in the opening verse (or perhaps opening with the chorus can do that), middle part of the story in your second verse… and close with the chorus or ending of a verse to seal the song and bring closure to the listener.

10.   The Bridge of the song is exactly what it says it is… It bridges main part of the song to introduce the end… It can build up into a key change or build and taper down into a low key chorus which then lifts up again.

11.   Don’t be afraid to have someone crit your songwriting… you are writing for the audience and if they see areas in which you can improve listen with an open mind – try their suggestions… It will grow you as a song-writer – and ill do your character a lot of good!

Hope this helps a little… There are plenty more… but we’ll save those for later…

But...those pieces don’t even match!

I am not a fashion blogger and most probably will never be one… But I thought I’d share this interesting experience I had regarding shopping for an outfit for my album cover and web shoot.

Growing up – if it matched – that’s what worked… A yellow top with jeans and yellow shoes, with yellow bangles and yellow hair goodies – and a yellow bag... with yellow socks! My worst was the frilly dresses my ouma always wanted to buy for me – and I she can testify to this… I hardly wore those dresses! I may have looked pretty – but I was about to get ready to set those on fire…

 I think I got left behind in the early 90’s! My mama is one of the most amazing people I know… a godly woman with strong heart and the greatest personality ever… anyone can get on with her… that’s where my brother, Emil, got his “awesomeness” from. But as beautiful as my mama is – inside and out – I was never really brought up to be concerned about fashion. So here I am… stuck in neutral. Jeans, t-shirt, tekkies… and big dreams of hitting the stage!

I am currently starting a personal CD project which requires me to have a certain image… So I called up a friend of mine, MrsRogero, for some assistance. She helped me by sending me pictures and even wrote out what each “look” should be made up of. I was super excited and decided to tackle SANDTON CITY all by my confident self. She had given me what I can totally see myself in and couldn’t wait to look THAT way!

It was most probably the worst shopping experiences of my life. I kept sending pictures back and forth to her and kept getting colours and things wrong… I walked out of there after 6 hours of shopping in Mr. Price, Cotton-on and Jay Jays… 6 HOURS!!!! By the time I got to Trutworths I just burst into tears and made my way back home – absolutely discouraged. I couldn’t even buy clothes looking at pictures and following written instructions… And I am a seriously visually motivated person! (I most probably gained an extra 5kg’s after all the comfort food from Ocean Basket)…

So I decided to get even more help… Along with my 6 page instruction manual and colours from MrsRogero, I borrowed a friend of mine’s 16 year old daughter and took her to the shops with me… It took her 10min to find 3 outfits for me to try on… I don’t know how she did it… NOTHING matched but EVERYTHING worked (not in my mind – but according to fashion rules… yes!)…

I felt hopeful again! It was then that I realized that it won’t be a bad idea to ask someone who has an eye for these things to jump in and help… like their strength is my weakness – so my strength is their weakness.  And this is where I’d like to apologize to every fashion-blogger and well dressed person I have ever looked down on… I may have thought what you had to say was insignificant in the bigger scheme of life. May you all continue to write and blog regarding the things I am ignorant of!

I’d like to give a huge shout-out to my dear friend Arlene August  with whom I seriously enjoyed this past Saturday’s shopping experience at Sandton City (using MrsRogero's instruction manual). We found the cutest outfit for the big photo-shoot that I am doing this coming weekend… and I could never have done that without her… all under 4 hours of shopping with time for lunch included! J My heart is grateful for fashion savvy people… I NEED YOU! And might I add… We managed to walk away from Sandton City with around R3 from the budget to spare!

Thanks to everyone who made the past 3 weeks of image consulting and shopping an educational experience! I will upload photo's of the "look" soon!

Have a fab week!