https://fluff-free.co.za/ Recent content on Fluff Free Hugo en-us Sun, 21 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-obligatory-story/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-obligatory-story/ The Beginning I come from a small mining town. As a 7 month old infant I contracted meningitis. Almost didn’t make it, but I was lucky, and here I am. The way my mom tells it, one day my grandmother said there was something wrong with me, and they rushed me to the hospital, to find out after much confusion that I was ill with meningitis and then the struggle began. Now you might say, how did only my grandmother notice? Well I was a very quiet baby, I didn’t cry when I was ill back then. I just lay there quietly. I did cry when they did the lumbar puncture though, apparently I screamed bloody blue murder. Having seen how that is done since, I am not surprised. I didn’t come out of that unscathed. There was brain damage, but thanks to the dedication of my parents, especially my mother, I recovered and didn’t turn out too bad, at least I don’t think so. I am clumsy and I have always wondered if that is a left over affect but I guess I will never truly know. As a child I was given a lot of injections, for my immune system and also to prevent brittle bone syndrome which my sister had as a youngster. I was a petri dish of meds back then. My bones have always been quite strong. I have tumbled a lot. Clumsy as I am. Whilst we still lived in the small town we were living near to mine dumps, which are made up of crushed, sand-like by-product refuse material, known as tailings, produced during the mining process. Mine dumps are made up of a complex mixture of metals and dust particles. This means that dust exposure can be high for communities living nearby, particularly during windy conditions and when it’s dry and vegetation cover is low. One thing I remember from the time I lived there is the dust storms. Fun, and oh so unhealthy for developing lungs. Asthma came up for me in my later teenage years. My father in fact had an interstitial lung disease from the silica dust he breathed in while working underground in the gold mines. Pancreas cancer is what really got him in the end but that is another story. Before my teenage years we moved to a big city, I lived in that city for 27 years, a long time. We stayed in a part of the city that also had mine dumps, funny enough. I guess they were following me around… The Habits We Form I like sugar, always have. I used a fair amount of it when I was younger. When I was old enough to work, 16 years old, I even bought my own supply each month so that I wasn’t just sponging off my parents. At the time I went to high school I started to form some very dodgy habits. I didn’t like eating breakfast so I didn’t make it every day before school. I also didn’t really like eating lunch at school so I would give it to others who didn’t have lunch, or, in primary school, the class bunny would steal it out of my bag. That was one cute bunny. I frustrated my parents so much, and for that I am eternally sorry. I ate supper, the habits were taking shape. None of this was my parents’ fault. They tried with me. I didn’t like eating, I had this rather crooked way of thinking about eating. I felt that time was precious and there were better things I could be doing. I was a silly teenager, what more can I say. I had in fact always been a picky eater. Not a great excuse but it was a fact. At around 16-ish I was diagnosed with asthma. I was also given the pill due to heavy cycles. Looking back now, I can see where this was going. However, back then everyone was just doing what they thought was best at the time. I won’t write about fault, or blame. It was turning into a perfect storm, and we don’t have the ability to predict the future. The not eating habit was joined by a smoking habit at 23. Yeah, that was a great idea. One of my more stellar decisions. Add to that, the fact that I wasn’t sleeping properly, poor sleeping habits are still haunting me. The Health Road Continues I did get tonsilitis quite a bit, I remember that. They were not taken out because when I was in hospital my parents found out that I was allergic to anaesthetic. I have never tested that theory so I don’t know for sure. When I was younger I also had chicken pox and measles, the usual childhood illnesses. At about 9 years old I contracted strep throat. Not something I would give my worst enemy, it is so painful that swallowing is agony. At 18, around my birthday, I had glandular fever. Again, one of those really painful experiences. My spleen was a very swollen and really painful. Since then I have had pneumonia, twice, and some bouts of bronchitis. Just as a side note, I don’t get vaccinated. Personal choice and not one I am going to change. Fast forward to now. I still have asthma but I choose not to use a pump. Yes I still smoke too, but hopefully not for much longer. I have set a date. My poor man, I don’t want him to be the one who suffers when I have bouts of aggression. Using that as an excuse not to quite is, however, no longer an option. I have now also been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This one has really knocked me, I am tired, I am trying to lose weight, and my concentration is down the toilet. Those are just some of the fun surprises. The Changes I was one who had to be coaxed to drink milk as a child, my mom would add a teaspoon of sugar and vanilla essence. As I go olde I really like the taste of milk and would drink it all the time. I started out adding nesquik (more sugar, I know), but later I just drank it plain. I have now eliminated milk from my diet. I still eat cheese, but milk is out. Unless I get it via a baked goodie, I don’t have it at all. I have noticed a huge difference in the inflammation I felt with regards my asthma. Which means other damaging inflammation is also minimised. I was never a big bread lover. I was a big pasta person though. I have eliminated most of the gluten in my diet, I have pasta every now and then and I am sticking to durum wheat pasta which I have noticed doesn’t inflame me half as much as the cheaper pastas that I ate. I eat bread rarely now. I cut out sugar too, unless it comes in a baked goodie though, which I also eat sparingly. In my coffee first thing in the morning I may have some honey, or maple syrup, or nothing at all. Black coffee is also a new thing, which I am really enjoying. I was always fine with black tea so no major change there. I have been drinking oat milk, It is much nicer than I though it would be. I love Okja. The point is, I am changing the habits. If it wasn’t for my other half, I would not have made the progress I have made so far. He has been my biggest supporter, and also my biggest critic. He pushes me, fights with me to be better, and fights for me. I could not ask for a better partner in my life. So a huge thank you to him! This blog started as a “organisey” one, but I feel the need to evolve that into a place where I can share my little challenges and hopefully show someone else that you can make a difference in your life, especially by making better choices. I have a really big motivator, my man and I want to grow old together. I can’t do that if I don’t do better. So I must. https://fluff-free.co.za/collections/2024/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/collections/2024/ August 2024 The Obligatory Story You must know where you came from to know where you are going. Link July 2024 A Brief Intro, & Explanation Where to start, and not seem like I am seeking sympathy. A conundrum to be sure. Link Long Hiatus We can’t predict where life takes us. Our minds, and bodies, can sometimes take us to places we don’t want to go. Link https://fluff-free.co.za/post/a-brief-intro/ Sun, 21 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/a-brief-intro/ A Brief Intro, & Explanation Where to start, and not seem like I am seeking sympathy. A conundrum to be sure. There is one way. The facts, in bullet form… I am not under 40 I have 2 autoimmune conditions One of those is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis I have a J.O.B I have pets I have hang-ups (like everyone else in the world) I suspect I may be burnt out (LOL, let’s just downplay that one why don’t we) Largely due to my own actions and decisions I am embarking on a self growth quest I think that covers the important points. Why bullet form? Well it is there as a matter of fact list and not a long rambling paragraph with adjectives that describe feelings about the points listed. Where to now? Have you ever asked yourself the question - “Am I living or simply surviving?”. The answer for a lot of us would probably be surviving. Getting out of bed, going to work, coming home, going to bed, getting out of bed… on repeat every day, let’s call this the survival mode. That does not show someone who is living, it shows someone who is surviving. The next question is - “What is your reason for surviving and not living?”. In the survival mode example I presented I would say the reason for survival is to work each day. Okay, so why do you work each day, to earn money of course. Now we are getting somewhere, why do you need money, to provide for you family and have a roof over your weary head of course. Now ask yourself another question, dig deep and answer it honestly - “When last did you do something that really excited you, challenged you?”, better still, a simpler and more powerful question is - “Are you happy?. If you are actually being honest with yourself, asking yourself if you are happy is more impactful. If you are happy you will create a world for yourself where you can be the best you can be for yourself and your loved ones. If you are not happy the people closest to you will be affected by this and in turn will be very unhappy. So you are surviving, providing for your family, but you have allowed yourself to become another machine in a world of unhappy, empty machines. Before you go off the deep end saying “But I have to work, or my family starves!”, I am fully aware of the fact that we need to make money for a roof over our heads, education and food etc… I do however think that we could make changes to improve the situation instead of just continuing down a very sad and meaningless road. I heard someone say, in a podcast I can’t remember the name of right now, that there are things life that are out of our control but we can control how we react to those things. In future posts I will expand on my thoughts surrounding ways to help yourself to live, not just survive. In the meantime, ask yourselves the questions I have asked here, and be honest with your answers. You can try harder to be the best you can be, doing this will not only inspire others to follow you but your happiness will bring happiness to your loved ones. An interesting last thought to ponder, if you are a father or mother and you find your children are a challenge and just don’t care about learning or listening to what you have to say, are you setting an example for them that could inspire them? Are you just floating through life expecting teachers or housekeepers to be the example that you should be? If you are a husband or a wife you can ask the same question, although if you expect a housekeeper to be an example, you have bigger problems that I really can’t help you with… Remember, you can’t expect your loved one to be their absolute best if you are not going to take your own growth seriously. My goal now is to start working on myself. Small things will build up to bigger and better things. https://fluff-free.co.za/post/long-hiatus/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/long-hiatus/ Long Hiatus We can’t predict where life takes us. Our minds, and bodies, can sometimes take us to places we don’t want to go. A lot has changed in the years since my last post. Some good things, and some not so good. I have a chronic condition, which has steered me in another direction healthwise. I sleep more than I used to but feel less refreshed, definitely something I am working on. I have changed my diet and cut out some foods that my body didn’t particularly get along with. The road ahead is still long, but I am fortunate to have someone in my life who not only puts up with me, but also challenges me and supports me. This all means a shift in the direction of my posting as well. I want to share my step by step changes and improvements with you, while also sharing the moments where I stumble. You may ask “Why would I care?”. There are so many “share my journey” sites out there, and “my life story” sites too. I am not planning to go in that direction at all but to rather share an honest and open account of someone who is not perfect, knows that she is flawed, knows that she fails (a lot), but also knows that she must keep moving forward. She must do this, for her own furture, and by extension, the future of the love of her life. I won’t commit to a posting frequency just yet. Some weeks there may be many, and some weeks there may only be one. I do believe though, that making myself accountable to not only myself and my better half, but also to anyone who reads this, is the way to go. Here’s to a wild ride. May the odds be in my favour. https://fluff-free.co.za/collections/2020/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/collections/2020/ June 2020 Sleep is a Luxury For some reason I am not yawning… My eyes are burning but I’m not yawning. Link May 2020 The Art of Distraction Your country may or may not be on lockdown currently, or it was on a full lockdown which has now turned into a watered down version. Link Motivating Yourself & Others Motivating yourself is one thing, but having to motivate others is particularly tricky. Link What Comes Next If you sit down and think about it, I mean really dig deep and think, how different is today’s world to when you were a child? Link https://fluff-free.co.za/post/sleep-is-a-luxury/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/sleep-is-a-luxury/ Sleep is a Luxury For some reason I am not yawning… My eyes are burning but I’m not yawning. It is currently 02:30 and I am still awake. I don’t have work tomorrow, or should I say today, but I do have work I want to catch up on and lack of sleep is not helping the situation. The reasons for sleep not coming easily are many but one of the most glaring issues is that I don’t currently have a set routine. I worked today, or should I say yesterday, until about 22:00, or 22:30, not sure anymore… Which means supper time was about 22:45 or so. This eating late habit means that my mind isn’t turning off, it’s playing a real of what I didn’t get to today in my home, what I am behind on at work, issues I need to fix. Instead of thinking about what I can do to enrich the life of my loved one and our relationship I’m spending most of my time stressing about where I am going wrong at work. Sometimes we have to stop, think, and listen to that inner voice that we all have. Mine is currently telling me to close my eyes. I am going to do just that. Good night all. https://fluff-free.co.za/post/what-comes-next/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/what-comes-next/ What Comes Next If you sit down and think about it, I mean really dig deep and think, how different is today’s world to when you were a child? If you say “No different” then you may not be paying attention, or you live on another planet Just watching the news nowadays is like a lucky draw, will it be about a virus or war or a political spat that is destroying lives or endangering our future? It is hard to be a “glass half full” type of person with the world being the way it is. Now you might say, “Just don’t watch the news” or “Don’t be so melodramatic, we have lives that are so much better than our parents or grandparents”. I disagree with both of those statements. Not watching the news, or even just checking the headlines, will make you ignorant to what is happening around you and will put you and your loved ones at risk. BUT, don’t take everything you see, as truth. Be smart and think about it carefully, do research and understand what you read or hear. If you are told that a politician is going to end the world, don’t take that as gospel and let yourself become an emotional wreck. Be rational, maybe do some research and you will find that it is not the first time that has been said on any news channel. Think about what you hear, you may even realise that every news network in the world has an ulterior motive for what they report on, watching the news when you have accepted that truth helps you to filter out the ridiculous and see what is relevant to your life and family. When it comes to the second statement, I will ask you this, do you remember your childhood? I do, 30 years ago I was living in a different province, in a small town not a big city. As children we played innocent games together. We played ball or played pretend games with our dolls, or toy cars for the boys. We spent time playing games as families with our fathers and mothers and siblings. Nowadays a child is envied if they have a mother and a father, even more so if they live in a house with both parents and don’t have to live with either parent on and off in different buildings that will never truly be homes. I don’t agree that life today is “so much better”. We have lost the meaning of family, we have lost the meaning of community, we have lost the meaning of innocence when it comes to our children. What is the point of this post you may be asking? With the world being the way it is today, how does a person live, happily? Get off your chair, go and look at your significant other, go look at your children. Remember the day you first realised that you love your husband/wife. Do you remember that feeling of excitement? Do you remember the late nights talking, do you remember watching the clock at work, hoping time goes faster so that you can be with them again? Do you remember the first time you saw your son or daughter, on the day they were born? Do you remember their first steps? Or even their first word? No matter how the world grinds at us, trying to pull us down, there is always something positive in your life to hold onto. Wake up in the morning and walk outside. The sun shines on you and it rises every day. Look for the positive, use it as shield, don’t let darkness rule you. Don’t let negative circumstances in your life be the thing that defines who you are. Let yourself be who you know you can be. https://fluff-free.co.za/post/motivating-yourself-and-others/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/motivating-yourself-and-others/ Motivating Yourself & Others Motivating yourself is one thing, but having to motivate others is particularly tricky. That saying about leading a horse to water but not being able to make the horse drink becomes especially true when you have to deal with another person’s personal or emotional challenges. My knee jerk reaction is to say that you can’t force others to do what you think they should be doing. You can work on your own goals, critical tasks, work related commitments. Remember something, don’t make a colleague’s job your own, the stress of trying to juggle their work as well as your own may be more harmful to you than you think, it may even affect your health. Motivating someone does not mean doing things for others because they just don’t want to do it themselves. If the person needs assistance due to lack of knowledge or experience by all means help them by guiding them, teaching them. However, if the person you are try to motivate is your spouse / partner / child, the challenge of motivating another person becomes personal. Their success will more than likely be interlinked with yours, their failure too. There are things you can try to help them, and as a result yourself too. If it is your spouse, do you know them well enough to know what makes them excited? Do they enjoy one particular thing that could create a chain reaction in the right direction? One example of this could be fitness, does your significant other enjoy time in the gym? Does it excite them? Encourage that, when they learn something new about how to best work that stubborn calf muscle, listen and encourage further learning. Why you ask? If they feel accomplished at working that muscle and realise they can learn and improve that skill, it will spill over to other interests, while at the same time motivating them to keep going and not just sit back feeling defeated and hopeless. Same thing applies to most interests really, if you feel success in one thing it spills over to other things in your life. Try completing a project you have been avoiding for quite some time, you will be surprised at how much you complete after that because of the chain reaction you started with one project. https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-art-of-distraction/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-art-of-distraction/ The Art of Distraction Your country may or may not be on lockdown currently, or it was on a full lockdown which has now turned into a watered down version. Either way, if you don’t know what COVID-19 is then you have been living under a rock. I am not going into the “ins and outs” of what the virus is or what it may or not be cured by etc etc… This post is not about that. What I have noticed is that people are suddenly cooking at home more, or they have decided to finally sort out their garage or office or study, because they have the time to do it. With the limit to where you can or can’t go, and in some cases curfews limiting time away from home, people are finding more time on their hands. However my question is why does it have to take a worldwide pandemic to change how we prioritise our time at home? Why can’t we do that every day regardless? I am just as guilty as everyone else here, I let distractions keep me from what is actually important. There is a sale at “Wheresoever” so I won’t have the time to write that blog post or clean out the fridge. There is a music festival at “Wheresoever” so I won’t have the time to study and improve that skill. Why can’t we prioritise ourselves above the many distractions that surround us? I have finally started to prioritise my blog again, I re-packed my office so that I can focus on what I need to. Why didn’t I let myself do these things before? The answer is simple, I was being weak, distracted by every “squirrel” that ran past me. Sales and the next best shop are my weakness. It is time to be stronger is now. Make a list of your current skills and what you want to improve on. Maybe you want to learn new skills, go ahead and do that. It’s funny, and also more than a little sad, but it took a pandemic to make me realise that I am wasting time. There is no perfect time to start doing what is important to you. Start now! https://fluff-free.co.za/collections/2019/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/collections/2019/ April 2019 The Great Ideas Black Hole Sometimes we have a great idea for a blog post and sometimes, well we just don’t. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Link March 2019 The Benefits of a Routine Each day we wake up and wash our face, make the bed, clean our teeth, and have a hearty breakfast… Or do we? Link Unforseen Changes You may ask yourself – “Where are the posts from 2017, and 2018?” Link https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-great-ideas-black-hole/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-great-ideas-black-hole/ The Great Ideas Black Hole Sometimes we have a great idea for a blog post and sometimes, well we just don’t. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Work, and your home responsibilities, sometimes take over, and you are unable to get to that all important blog post that you wanted to get out there for your readers to peruse. Sit down and plan, create a list of things you want to share. Watch some relevant YouTube content, just don’t get sucked into the YouTube black hole. Listen to a podcast or read a book that is relevant to your particular blog. Just don’t give up. When you have your topic, write it down on your planning list as the next post topic you will be writing about. Then, and this is the fun part, start doing some research into that topic, nothing overboard, just some basic points or lists of steps pertaining to the topic. Most of all, don’t overthink, have fun with it and the peple who read your content will definitely see that in your work. https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-benefits-of-a-routine/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/the-benefits-of-a-routine/ The Benefits of a Routine Each day we wake up and wash our face, make the bed, clean our teeth, and have a hearty breakfast… Or do we? Routines have become a luxury for a lot of us. Whether you are single, or in a relationship, or married you may find it difficult to get into an all-important routine. While I am generalising, I do know that a lot of us struggle to stick to a routine. A lot of the time we can start one, but it can be very challenging to follow through every day. Why is this such an important issue? From a personal perspective I find that not having structure to my day makes me feel stressed, overwhelmed, and when I don’t “get to what I need to do” I can even sometimes feel like a failure. I have been making some rather pathetic excuses over the last year. One of those excuses is that I have moved again, for the 16th time in my life, or the 12th time since I left my childhood home. One minor difference is that I moved to a new city, in the suburbs of a new city, no tall buildings… I really surprised myself with this move. Within 6 months I had experienced loss twice, left a job I had been at for just over 9 years, and I had moved from a city that I called home for 27 years, and I developed a rather nefarious health condition. Let me address one question I may be asked, “Do I regret making the decision to leave that job, or moving to a new city?”, no I do not, not for one second. What I do however regret is that I allowed myself to spiral into destructive behaviour mentally after I made the first decision, which only worsened after I moved. I was faced with a challenge and I literally derailed myself mentally and, well I didn’t exactly slow down the health condition, if anything I allowed it to take hold and I am still struggling to get myself back to where I was. What does this have to do with a routine? Why am I waffling on about me, me, me? Speaking about my “tripping over myself” is my way of telling you that nobody is perfect and least of all me. I am pulling up my socks and moving towards who I should be once again. In other words, because that sounded so weak and “snowflakey”, I am working on fixing me and I want to share the specific benefits I have experienced when it comes to a solid routine. You will be at work on time You won’t fall behind on the dreaded home management You won’t fall behind on projects You won’t be caught with a roast in the oven when loadshedding (power cuts) starts You will have the free time you crave to garden or read or – insert your favourite hobby here I have only listed 5 benefits, and I am not just referring to a morning and/or evening routine, I am referring to creating routines for your whole day. Plan out the week, and even the weekend. This way you make sure that you don’t just waste time running around like a headless chicken unsure of what is next. I have not had time to craft anything for quite a while now, this is not entirely true. If I had a set routine, I would have the time, to be honest. In fact, if I had a set routine, I would be a lot more organised in every aspect of life. I am going to leave this post right there, I could go on for ages about routines and list ways in which to create them but that will come in future posts. For now, ponder what you do each day that can be seen as your own routine, build on that and you will see amazing results. https://fluff-free.co.za/post/unforseen-changes/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://fluff-free.co.za/post/unforseen-changes/ Unforseen Changes You may ask yourself – “Where are the posts from 2017, and 2018?” Well due to something rather stupid… which I admit was my own fault entirely, I lost my original website. This is a new iteration and I hope that it will be fun to see all the new additions. Join me while I recreate the Fluff-Free space.