Feeling nostalgic on my Eldest's first day at a real job

She got a job! She's not The Student only, any more! She has a job in the Corporate World and we are very proud!

I had to drop her off today at her workplace. This is a new beginning! 

I am feeling a bit nostalgic today! It is like a first day at school, high school or university. It is a new phase in her life, but also ours! (There's a few tears here! But that's just me!)

This is where we want our children to be! Independent adults who have their own careers!

"We" made it!

"We" successfully helped her to become her own!

I think we do have "license" to say that we have a part in it!

We are very proud of you, my Girl!

My words of wisdom today: Don't be a wise-ass, but listen to what they are going to teach you! (I cringe when I think back to my own first job, and how smart I thought I was! I was a real pain in the bud...)

Take all the experience you can get!

Photo: Junior SEO Copywriter walking away to her first job!

5 Tips to a job seeker

Keep on searching for the perfect job! - Bitstrip

(From the Job Seeker’s Mom)

We have a job seeker in the home. The Student is finishing her final subject in the first half of this year. The initial idea was that she stayed on at University and to get a student job while at it. But the student jobs are few and not paying very much. She is now at home near the city to find a job while completing her final studies on every second Saturday.

A head hunter told me last week that the job market is saturated, and that the employers can be very finicky! We experienced it already! The Student was at University last week to register and she could not go to an interview that she was invited to for the next day. She was immediately disqualified! Although she said that she would be available on Skype or back home this week, it was not acceptable!  That’s how cut-throat it is!

So I thought I would get in a pep-talk for this Monday…

Tips to a Job Seeker

(Translate: Mom’s wisdom on finding a job!)

1. Do not get despondent too soon! 
It feels like it’s taking too long, but a few months is not too long measured against a lifetime of work.
You are not “unemployed”, but a “job seeker”.  (There’s a difference! Yes, there is!)

2. Make sure all your CV and online information are up to date!
Do a regular Google search from another computer (not your own) to ensure that your online profiles are “job-worthy”!

3. Engage your social media networks!
It’s usually through contacts and who you know that get you a job. People love helping people when they are asked to or know how to help!

4. Do not take any job because you are getting frantic.
You have studied to have a specific career, and don’t let go of that goal. The jobs that we do tend to define us, and sometimes it can limit us in our future job seeking efforts!  (Trust me! I know!)

5. You are still a student! 
In today's  workplace you will keep on being a student!  Work that title as much as the title of being a “job seeker”!


Do you have any more tips for a job seeker?

She is going to be...

First day page by Cupcake Mummy

Cupcake Mummy offered to print a First Day Page on her Facebook page for people asking for one for their own children. I got Little Missy's yesterday.
(It is very cute, thank you very much, Cupcake Mummy!)

I had to phone the Little Missy to ask her what she want to be.
I made a couple of suggestions, but she decided that "doctor" sounds the best!

The last word on this was in December when she announced to a game drive audience during the bushveld holiday that she wants to pack the bags in a supermarket when she grows up...
Previously she got very upset when asked about what she is going to become, but now she is willing to discuss it.

Last night we spoke about it again, and she told me she wants to become a pizza-maker!
No, a spacewoman!
No, not a doctor, a nurse! Definitely a nurse!

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As long as she know that she can become anything she wants to be!
That is what I will keep on telling her!

What are you going to become?

Some children know what they want to do and become with their lives from a very early age.

I asked Little Missy the same question the other day. Up until now Grade R is still the ultimate goal in Life...


She wants to become a house worker.

(Obviously I asked for an explanation.)

Because a house worker is in Grade R.

She learns the children how to write.

It is not being a person that cleans people's houses!


I tried to press the issue some more, to understand what she means.


I am going to become what I am going to become!

You have asked enough questions (VERY ANGRY)!

Looking back, and looking ahead to 2013

2012 was a great year! It was the year of being sorted!

Sort of... ;-) (Life happens!!)

There was a lot of new beginnings...

We started out with a student going off to Varsity, and then having to deal with initiation stuff which seemed a lot orientation! I felt like I had failed my child, especially since it lasted for the whole year! Next year is definitely going to be much better for her with no more of these practices, which I totally abhor!

The toddler also started at a new pre-primary school, and we know we have made the right choice of moving her! She is extremely happy where she is, and can't wait for a new year with a new teacher in the Dinosaurs' class.

The toddler is four now, and sometimes she is still the toddler, and sometimes we see some of the little girl she is becoming!

I made a few new year's resolutions this year, and some were met. I lost a few kilograms, but next year I have to make serious plans for dieting and exercising. We are also now card carrying members of Virgin Active, and next year you will be seeing more of us there! (Yeees! Of course!)

Hubby went to Mauritius which left me a bit lot envious, but we got to spend some time at the coast as well. The toddler loved the sea this time around!

We definitely need to go on more holidays to recharge and to enjoy our beautiful country!
I did not get to go to Cape Town for a weekend, so it's on my vision board for next year again!
We have an upcoming holiday in Mpumalanga, and we can't wait!

I have studies as a major goal listed for 2013, and maybe this year I can complete my Masters with a longitudal study! (Putting it out there, Universe!!)

I loved loved my iPad this year, and a whole new world opened up to me because of the possibilities with regards the education value of iPads for children. (I am still thinking of taking it up at my child's school - there are ways to put it in every child's hand!)

It has not been a year of any major upheavals or problems in our lives! Yes, we are lucky!
Boring is sooooo good!

We had a near death-defying accident on the highway two weeks ago, and we got away with only a bumper that needs repairs! Yes, we are lucky!

Careerwise it seems we both will have to look into some changes... You know when you have reached the tipping point! When you need new challenges...
2013 seems like a good year for changes in our careers!

I am still working on my goals and visions for 2013.
I believe that it helps in steering us in a definite direction!

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My best wishes for 2013! I hope all your dreams/goals come true!

What goals have you formulated for 2013?

Taking the Toddler to work

You know it is going to be hectic, but you don’t know how much. Toddlers are extremely busy!

Taking a toddler to work really need some multitasking. Luckily we had a party and some rugby on for the day...

I had to think of a lot of stuff for a toddler to do in the enclosed space of a studio:

• Making a “tent “with a chair, a blanket and a jacket.

• Clearing my desk so she can swing underneath.

• Going on an "expedition" to the coffee shop.

• Going on an "expedition" to the toilets.

• Playing with my Peanuts figurines in my office.

• Lots of paper and crayons.

• Giving her my BlackBerry so she can colour in. It involves a colour switch every five seconds which I had to help her with!

• Lots of snacks to keep her busy for five... seconds!

• Making a bed underneath the desk. She spent a few second there as well!

• Pressing all the buttons in my studio.

• Giving her the t-shirt hanging n my wall as she insisted on wearing it (the 3^rd outfit for the day) 

• Playing with the water dispenser and getting herself wet.

I was totally beat after that! And Missy had a good sleep in the car on the way home... 

What do you do to keep the children occupied at the office?

Photo: Mieka in my office with Springbok headgear (Rugby World Cup fever while we were still in the game)