Warning

To all the people (perverts) who found my site by searching for 'Wild Girls' on Google, yes that means you Mr in Ontario and Mr in Pretoria. The subject matter in the related post is a family issue and does not actually constitute Wild Girls, as the misleading title might suggest.

I have learned a lesson too. I will never again use terms such as wild, girls, tipsy or Duran Duran in a title. They obviously attract unwanted elements like perverts or Barry Manilow fans. So thanks for that Mr in Ontario, I now don`t have a title for my latest post on Sarah Palin.

A Big Congratulations

x 10




Just a quick one. My little blog had it`s 3000th page hit today! Can you believe it? 3000? That`s like 10 times more than the title of a certain movie where guys run around without shirts and kill people. Mind you, I cook without a shirt and my cooking has been known to almost kill people. Check.

So, who was the lucky visitor responsible for the 3000th page load and in doing so won a Peanut Butter Sandwich and a cup of coffee?

Me

Congratulations to Me and enjoy the sandwich and coffee.

Actual acceptance speech:

Me: "I want to thank my wife Hayley, all my fans, you know who you are (Barack - that means you!), my dogs Elvis and Phoebe, my family, friends, the Smurfs, the inventor of the wheel who made Mr Delivery possible and......" - a please wrap it up sign starts flashing on a Powerpoint Presentation specifically made for the event.
Me: "In any case the coffee only has 1 sugar, can I get another one please and the peanut butter is spread too thin"
Me: "You made it yourself"
Me: "No need to get snotty"
Me: "No need to get all house-husband on me"
Me: "That hurt my feelings"
Me: "I`m sorry, you are special in your own way"
Me: "Thank you and so are you"
Me: "Let`s hug it out"
Me: "Ok"

Gratuitous hugging....

Aaaand cut to commercial...

God totally rocks

I`ve been fortunate enough to have become friends with one of the most gifted writers to grace the blogging community. Her blogger name is Nessie and she is truly blessed with a remarkable gift for turning mere words into something tangible and beautiful and thought provoking.

Please visit her blog and start by reading this post, which is probably my favourite post of all time. You will not leave untouched.

God bless!

Wanna become Facebook buddies?

Ok, searching for all of you on Facebook is tiring.

I have spent about an hour looking for TWO people, that`s right David Richardson and Kevin Davis, I spent an hour looking for you guys. Do you know how many Kevin Davis`s and David Richardson`s there are on FB? A lot, that`s how many...

So please find me on FB and then we can become FB buddies. If Paris and Nichole can be BFF`s (best friends forever) we can be FBB`s (FaceBook Buddies). Search for me by typing Incredibly handsome house-husband. Ok, just kidding, search for Francois Malherbe.

I look forward to poking you.... (Just kidding he he, there`ll be no poking on FB)

The award for funniest comment in a post goes to.. drumroll...

Today I created a new folder on my desktop and titled it "I am a Genius". Then about an hour later, I realized I'd spelled it "Genuis". Touche, right brain.

Find the blog here.

Wild girls, wild girls, wild girls.. (sung to the tune of a well known Duran Duran song)

So my wife Hayley and sister-in-law Lindsay are the prim and proper kind of girls. When the family gets together, it is inevitably the rest of us who indulge in the awesome wine that South Africa has to offer and especially my father-in-law`s magnificent wine collection. The two sisters will sit and have a cup `o tea and if they`re feeling really wild, they`ll add a bruscetta. They are wild, wild girls.

Lindsay is the wilder of the two. She is a crazy woman when she gets partying. Two teas will make her do silly things. The girl scares me when she gets into this party mood. Madonna will run and hide.
Here is a photo of her going full tilt at Hayley and my farewell party in Johannesburg last year. Notice how we have to struggle to hold her back.


So with that as background, I was going through some photos the other day and came upon these 2 pearlers. These were taken New Years eve 2004. Mark and Lindsay came over and the four of us had the best time. Mark and I spent the afternoon in the pool and the two girls sat sipping tea and tut-tutting every glass of wine we had. Then, things started changing. The girls got bored with the two of us and our antics and they decided to have a drink themselves. What followed was a blur as I had never seen the golden girls behave like that.

I present to you, The Woolard Girls (or Blues Brothers, not sure yet), tipsy...

The love of my life

This isn`t a planned post, I was just sitting here and decided to do it.

Sometimes we take our loved ones for granted. I try not to do that but sometimes it happens. You just live life and don`t stop to see the blessings around you. That is where my Sweetie comes in. She is my biggest blessing.

I am so fortunate to have such an awesome wife. A wife that sits with me and watches not only the soccer match but also sticks it out for 6 of the 7 hours that the Ryder Cup was on yesterday. She only went to bed cos she was tired and had to get up early in the morning. I know she didn`t particularly like the golf and wasn`t really watching but she sat with me. She didn`t go to the bedroom where she could have watched other tv shows, no she sat with me. Now I ask you, how awesome is my wife?

We have been through a lot during the last 8 years. Hayley has always been at my side never waivering. She epitomises "through thick and thin".

So, this isn`t a massively deep post, neither is it a big statement or a post to get comments. It is merely me, standing here and saying, I love you my Sweetie.

Here are a few of my favourite photos of my gorgeous, awesome, brilliant, gorgeous (wait, I have a feeling I just said that) wife Hayley.

My gorgeous wife, me and an awesome day

Today was a pretty cool day. We attended Hillsong Church Cape Town and Pastor Phil Dooley was once again awesome! He is one of the most gifted speakers I have ever come across and he always gets the most amazing messages across!

Some GREAT news is that Hayley and I are going to a Hillsong United Worship evening in November! They have scheduled 2 worship nights here in Cape Town. We are so excited. I`ll hopefully get to see Brooke Fraser sing Hosanna, how cool is that? The night promises to be a huge blessing and I cannot wait.

I digress, back to a great Sunday! After church we headed out Simonstown way to see if we could spot ourselves some whales. We did, not the best sightings but at least we saw a few of these amazing creatures. One specific one was jumping and playing. Great to see. I heart whales.

We got home and this was the sight that greeted us. Phoebe had made herself very comfortable in the afternoon sun. These dogs of ours are such characters.

We then settled in to watch some very serious sport. Manchester United drew 1-1 with Chelsea, after leading for most of the game. It was a great match and a perfect example of why I love it so much. Then, onto the Ryder Cup. I watched basically every minute of golf over the weekend and found it an incredible event. Hats off to the USA for winning the cup for the first time since 1999. Some of the golf was breathtaking. I predicted however that Nick Faldo would cost the Europeans the trophy and that proved right. How clever am I?

Lastly, you know how much I love sunsets, this was the gorgeous one that graced the Cape tonight.

Random Stuff

A few random facts for today:

• The identity of the person who voted "what a dufus" on my blog poll can be revealed and it is none other than my lovely wife Hayley
• Phil Mickelson has the worst "high 5" technique with not one hitting the mark yesterday
• Nick Faldo will cost the Europeans the Ryder Cup
• Today is a picture perfect day in the Cape
• Rain is predicted for the Cape tomorrow
• Snow fell on Table Mountain yesterday
• President Thabo Mbeki has been asked to step down by the ruling ANC party
• Elvis is trying to hump Phoebe, with not much luck. For reference read here
• "get in the hole" was the most used phrase in the world yesterday
• Cheering a missed putt or bad shot is just not golf
• WP moved into the top 4 of the CC last night and I will support the Bulls for the first time in my life today as they play the 5th placed Cheetahs
• I hate the Bulls

This is a totally random post with no use whatsoever and I probably wasted my time doing it and your time if you read it.

Sorry....

Breaking News

The Running Golfer has decided to enter the US Presidential Race by endorsing a candidate. The date for said endorsement will be the 1st October 2008.

A little heads up to Barack Obama (a follower of The Running Golfer +10) and John McCain (not a follower of The Running Golfer -10). I`ll be watching your every move and my opinion is easily swayed. Economic policy, Foreign policy and the length of your arms will all play vital roles in my endorsement of a candidate.

The endorsement will be based on a scientific system, especially designed by The Running Golfer and his advisors, HM, EM and RQ. Unfortunately the subtleties of the system cannot be made public but rest assured, it is scientific and it is a system. A fair result is guaranteed. What I can divulge are certain aspects that will count more than others. The following are high scoring areas but beware misters Obama and McCain, it can lose you a lot of points too:

1. Economic policy
2. Policy on David Beckham
3. Policy on Coke Zero
4. Policy on Fake Tans
5. Foreign policy
6. African policy (acknowledging that Africa exists earns a big bonus)
7. British or American version of the Office? (no incorrect answer, unless you don`t know either which will result in instant disqualification)

The following will lose you points:

1. If you or anybody on your staff can see Russia from their porch
2. Which MLB team you support (-10 if it is not the Red Sox)
3. If you or anybody on your staff has ever ordered the killing of Polar Bears
4. Which NFL team you support (-10 if it is not the Patriots - this is a trick question, patriotism should be the cornerstone of your campaign)
5. If Tom Cruise endorses you
6. Which English Premiership Football side you support (+20 if you said Man Utd, all other answers -10 and if you said Liverpool, instant disqualification)

The scale of loss depends on the weighting of the issue.

So there you have it. I will be watching CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg for any snippets that might mean make or break for my endorsement. I know this places massive pressure on you but only the strong will survive.

Good luck gentleman.

Evolution of the Do - The economic impact of the credit crunch

The evolution took a tricky turn the other day. Very much unplanned but like Rocky Balboa and Adriaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn, I can roll with the punches.

Basic economics is an interesting subject. Take my head for example. I have roughly 42 hair. If I had a smaller head (in square centimeters not in ego size) like, let`s say Jessica Simpson, those 42 hair would be enough to cover most of it. I could even have a fringe that starts a few centimeters above my eyes and not at the back of my head, maybe even a Man Perm. I digress, economics and my head.
It came to my attention that I was paying WAAAYYY too much to have my head shaved at my normal spot. I had to fork out R120 for this MASSIVE job. For my international readers, I have done a quick exchange rate calculation.

R120 = 14.66 US Dollar
R120 = 8.25 British Pound
R120 = 10.36 Euro
R120 = 18.49 Aus Dollar
R120 = 22.28 New Zealand Dollar
R120 = 53.38 Quatar Rial
R120 = 1538.69 Japanese Yen
R120 = 1,657,789,876,878 Zimbabwe Dollar

Now if I had the luxury of a full head of hair, I think that price would be reasonably fair. I don`t however, so the haircut works out to R 2.86 per hair! Suze Orman would soil herself and would have to go see Dr Phil for counseling. I do not wish that on anybody, let alone Suze who just wants to help me. So, we needed to make a plan.

And that is exactly what we did. Hayley and I bought a shaver. Not just any shaver, a round one that fits in the palm of your hand and which you can use to shave your own head. Incredible! I made a decision based on simple economics that would save us a lot of bucks. The shaver will pay itself off in roughly 2.67 shaves.

So, on Saturday night we get home, I whip the shaver out, chuck the Operating Instructions in the bin, plug it in, aim it down the middle of my head and away I go.

Now what I failed to do during all the excitement was check what number the attachment was. It was a very low number I soon found out, a very, very low number. All I could see was a lot of hair falling to the ground. I realised that something was amiss. So, I went to a mirror, which in hindsight (which is 20/20 by the way) I should have done to begin with.

This was what greeted me. Tah-Daaaaahhhh!

Ok, not the best move ever, I realise that now. The shock was so much that I had to take a step back and reassess things. I decided to wait until Sunday to make my next move, so this was the look I was rocking in my house on Saturday night.

I now know that errors in judgement cost me (see how I effortlessly threw the Economics thing into a sentence? "cost" - get it?). For starters I should have read the Operating Instructions. I did go fetch it out the bin. Unfortunately for me, the part that shows you how to "clean and reassemble" is covered in some kind of foodstuff. All I can make out is, "clean" and "BEWARE". Secondly, never ever do more than one thing at a time. "Thinking" and "shaving" are verbs and there`s 2 of them. I cannot multi task like that. So from now on, I am putting my brain in "sleep mode" until I`m done shaving. Thirdly, cut out the bit where it tells you how to "Clean and reassemble" before throwing the Operating Instructions away.

The most important lesson I learned from all of this? Do not make a decision based on Economics, you`ll regret it for a week, maybe two.

To get Hayley`s perspective on the situation, read this.

Western Province - It`s in your blood

I have been a Western Province (WP) fan for 31 years now. It`s not like I was born in the Cape and therefore just supported the homeside, no I was born 1200km away. It`s not like I supported the team my Dad supported, no he wasn`t even a rugby fan. Nobody told me to support them or even gave me a heads up about them. I just found them and fell in love with them and it has been a love affair which has given me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

I sat all by myself and watched my first rugby match on tv, I was 5 years old and had no idea about the rules, who was playing or anything else. I was just a little kid falling in love with a game and with a team. One team was wearing a light blue jersey and the other wore hooped, blue and white jerseys. They were called WP. I sat transfixed, mesmerised by this team in their hooped jerseys. I cannot tell you if WP won that match against their arch enemies the Blue Bulls (from Pretoria). What I do know is that I have never supported any other provincial side, even though I have lived in 3 different provinces.

WP was established in 1883 and won their first Currie Cup (the CC is the premier provincial competition in SA) in 1889. They have won the CC a record 32 times, their closest rivals having won in the region of 22 CC`s. The fact that the CC plays such a massive part in most south african lives is because it was all we had during the bad days of sanctions and apartheid. We had no international sport, only provincial rivalries to keep us going. The matches between WP and the Blue Bulls were our test matches. That`s why even today, the provincial rivalry is unprecedented. I won`t support a Blue Bulls player and will only do so grudgingly if they play for the Springboks, our national side and current world champions.

WP play their rugby out of Newlands, which is the oldest test venue in SA. It is the home of rugby in South Africa as far as I`m concerned. I went to Newlands for the first time in 2005. It was a test match between the Springboks and the All Blacks which the Boks won and in which Andre, my buddy, played a major part. I remember looking at Hayley when we sat down on the Railway Pavilion and saying to her that it felt like I was home. It was a dream come true to be there. I have gone to a lot of matches since that first visit and each time is still unbelievably special.

WP have always been known as the team that plays attractive, running rugby. It is our rugby, it is what we are known for and what the fans love. WP will forever be the flamboyant team to the dour nonsense rugby dished up by our northern rivals. It might not be winning rugby all the time but it is beautiful to watch. I suppose it`s also got a lot to do with the lack of hair I have now!

WP players are some of my favourite sportsmen. Bob Skinstad, Schalk Burger, Carel Du Plessis, Morne Du Plessis, Jean De Villiers, Tiaan Strauss, Chester Williams to name but a few. These guys are icons as far as I`m concerned.

We have been going through a bit of a slump during the last few years. We haven`t won the CC since 2001. It feels like forever. Since then the Blue Bulls have won it 4 times. It has been terrible.
But, it seems like we are showing a revival. We are building a brilliant squad and have a pretty good coach. Things are looking up.

I found this on the old desktop computer the other day. I saved it about 9 years ago and it still sends cold shivers down my spine. Like it says, WP it`s in your blood....

It was a perfect day.
There was rain, wind and a penalty right in front of the posts.
I had rushed to the grounds, not because of the weather, but because of the excitement that awaited me. I visited Newlands as often as the rain did, and like the rain I believed that I could influence a match.
Clenched fists could help a conversion, evil thoughts could make an opponent stumble, my lucky underwear made Corne tackle that much harder. The faithful didn't come here to watch, we came to take part.
It seemed to rain every time I visited Newlands, but I only seemed to get wet when we'd lost. Victory kept me warm, a try that started on our 22 kept me dry.
That's what Province is all about: running out of danger, all fifteen players handling the ball. Total rugby means wings see the ball as often as the scrumhalf, the fullback joins the line at pace, and 120kg props find themselves rushing (in a manner of speaking) down the touchline.
But today had started badly. We had lost the toss. I hate when that happens. Province is supposed to win everything. When I was at school Cape Town was where you found the mountain, the beaches, and the Currie Cup. It belonged here. Just 30 seconds ago, things seemed hopeless: behind by two, pinned in our half, unable to get our hands on the ball.
But a midfield tackle, a grubber kick and some fine handling had forced our opponents to concede the penalty.
The kick was about to be witnessed by 50 000 pairs of eyes, but for anyone listening, not a thing could be heard.
Every player on the field was still. The only movement was that of the ball boy bringing on the kicking tee. It was a time for courage. And courage was bred through courage. We got courage from the players; they got it from the blue and white. It was the courage of generations of Province players filtering through. Chris Rossouw placed the ball on the tee. And went through his familiar routine. We went through our routines too. Men, who hadn't been to church for years, prayed. Couples who had argued about parking now held hands desperately.
And all the while the northwester howled.
I hadn't held a man before. But with that successful kick (of course it was, you weren't expecting anything else from Province, were you?) I found myself hugging the closest streeptrui I could find.
I was beyond joy, but the guy next to me was actually crying. He must have noticed my expression because he shouted to me (the cheering hadn't died down yet): "That's my son, that's my son." I was deeply impressed. "Chris is your son," I said. It had been a straightforward kick, but in treacherous conditions. "Not Chris," the man replied, "my boy's the one who brought on the kicking tee."

Western Province. It's in your blood.

The Prettiest Blog on the web

You have to go check out my wifes awesome blog . It just had an Extreme Makeover. Not the kind of extreme makeover where Ty runs around with a megaphone and makes me cry in the end, no the kind where a blog is made over and becomes so beautiful that it makes me cry in the end. It is incredibly cool looking and there`s even photos of yours truly gracing the page. I suppose that gives it the edge. Either that or the fact that Fabulous K made it into a really special place.

So go have a look, it`s awesome.

9/11

I don`t want to ramble on about 9/11. Enough has been said about it to last all of us a lifetime.

We were privileged enough to spend a holiday in NYC last year and got to visit Ground Zero. I found that an incredible experience. The hustle and bustle of NYC seems to stop once you get to Ground Zero. The mood turns sombre, almost as if everybody is too scared to breathe and a hush descends. This quietness is brought about by respect, I have no doubt. Everybody knows the significance of that day and that place. It certainly helps to make Ground Zero a very special place to visit.

I know a lot of people would think why is this South African getting all sad about something that is in essence an American thing. Well, it is an American thing and I really respect that but 9/11 touched everybody. For once, it seemed that the world (most of the world) stood together. SA nearly came to a standstill. You can ask anybody where they were when they got the news and they`ll be able to pinpoint their exact whereabouts. It truly touched the world very deeply. Hayley and I were a newly married couple. The first thing that I thought was that this was gonna lead to WW3, I really did. I was so devastated that we had only had such a short time together. That freaked me out. I think everybody in the world, has a similar story.

There is nothing at Ground Zero except for a vast open space with a lot of building going on. It`s as if the New Yorkers are trying their utmost to NOT remember that awful day. I cannot blame them. No signs showing you how to get there, nothing. If we didn`t hop on a sightseeing bus and got directions from the tour guide, we would never have found it.

I personally thought the most special part of the visit was St Paul`s Chapel and the part it played during 9/11. This little church had survived the great fire of 1776, which left NYC in ashes. Then came 9/11 and even though massive buildings around it tumbled, this little church was left unscathed. Just goes to show, nobody touches God`s house, nobody.

The only thing that didn`t make it was this tree, of which only the stump remains.

These badges are from all the fire, police and medical departments from various cities and towns all over the world, that assisted during the day and days after the event. I love this photo and it`s obvious that my wife took it, I don`t have the talent for a photo like that.

This last photo is a view from St Paul`s looking towards ground zero. Once again, the sombre mood is almost impossible to describe.

My heart still goes out to the families who lost loved ones during that dreadful day.

It`s a fact that the bad element who caused such heartache and sorrow that day will one day stand before God and He will be the one to judge them.

PS. I have tried to get the photos alligned properly but I can`t. Sorry.

Annus Horibilis?

I have been walking around with this post in me for a while now. Most of the posts during the last month or so have been on the light hearted and fun side. Hairstyles, rugby, tennis, music, movies, family, friends, bulldogs and the like have taken preference over deeper issues. Well mostly in any case.
A lot of special people have come my way through this whole blogging thing. I have made friends in faraway places like Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, London, Johannesburg, Durban and Australia. I have learned so much from so many of them. In fact, not a day goes by where I do not learn something from one of them.

This year has had some very good things and some very bad things. We have started to feel like Capetonians for the first time. This has been our first full year in the Cape and we have enjoyed it so much. We really feel at home here. Even the weather is cool by us!

On the not so good side we have had the news of an illness in the family. With God`s help this is going very well and I can see a very happy ending to it.
On a more personal level, it has been a very tough year. The company I joined last year and which made the move to the Cape possible went into liquidation in February. That was a punch to the gut. From being very successful in my career, to being without a job in the matter of a few minutes, that was a tough thing to come to grips with. If I`m honest with myself, I`m still coming to grips with it.

I have always believed that a man is defined by his job. I believed that it defined your standing in the community, who you marry, where you live, basically everything. Now I had to face the reality that I was jobless. The things I had always held dear were to be taken away from me. I loved nothing more than surprising Hayley with a weekend away, a surprise night away for an anniversary, flowers delivered to her office or a nice watch or handbag. Just little things that would show her how much I love her. Seeing the happiness in her face made me want to do these things over and over again. I enjoyed buying myself nice things too, especially clothes, lots and lots of clothes.

I was offered another job a few days later. This was more commission based and was not a job I was very comfortable in. However, beggars can`t be choosers so I took the job and decided that I was gonna do my best to make a success of it. Unfortunately the whole SA economy took a knock, with interest rates shooting up, inflation rising to dangerous levels and spending on asset based finance taking a backseat to basic survival. This has been my reality for the last few months. Our reserves were being depleted, savings almost gone. Survival had now become our reality. No more nice gifts for my awesome wife, no more nice things for myself.

So, this has been the story for the last few months. I started looking for another job but as with most things in SA it is taking time. I had become very down on myself and my own self-confidence was / is at an all time low. I have to keep reminding myself that God does not make losers.

It is a pretty crap story and if you had asked me at the beginning of the year what would be the worst thing that could happen, I would have said losing my job. My worst nightmare had become my reality.

BUT, things are not all bad.

Firstly, I have committed myself to my God and have been in His company ever since. Secondly, my absolutely awesome wife and I have become inseparable. She is such a rock in my life, what would I ever do without her? I have found that cooking a nice meal or fixing something around the house brings the same happiness to her face as an expensive watch or handbag. Sitting on the couch at night, each with our laptops, each on our blogs is just as cool as spending a night at an expensive hotel. Having a braai at home is just as cool as going to a nice restaurant, in fact it`s better cos you get to kiss the cook.

I have also learned that a man is NOT defined by his job. He is in fact defined by what he has inside and by how he treats the people around him, the kindness he shows to strangers and how he reacts to adversity and importantly the family and friends he surrounds himself with. Those things define you, not a fancy title or a paycheck.

I still get very down on myself every now and again (if I`m honest it`s most days) but I try to remain positive about the situation. I know that God will provide and I hang onto that fact with all I have. I really have no idea what He has planned for us but I thank Him for what He has taught me this year. The small things in life are in fact, the big things. The things I thought meant the world to me in fact does not matter at all. Love, friendship, family, togetherness, those things count, not the amount of money in the bank.

We are so blessed that we have the best parents in the world (I will not call them In-Laws anymore cos they are so much more than that). My own Mom and Dad are not around anymore but they made me into the person I am today and laid every foundation I hold dear. It might have taken me 30 odd years to figure it out but at least I have. I am now so fortunate to have 2 other people I can call MY folks. They have shown me that you don`t need to be blood to be loved like you are. They have shown such kindness and understanding during the last year that it will be impossible to say thank you. Their support, which has taken a lot of forms, has been immeasurable. I feel so guilty but at the same time so thankful. I don`t know how I will ever be able to repay their kindness.
My sister Monya, has also been really supportive and her awesome kids were responsible for one of the kindest gestures I have ever come across in all my years on earth.

So, looking back, this year has been a very difficult but vital one. I needed a wakeup call to show me what the really important things are. It`s been a tough learning curve and I`m sure there is a lot more to come but I am surrounded by love and I feel more blessed than ever.

Writing this post was very hard. The image I have always tried to project was that of a confident, happy go-lucky man, with the world at his feet. That man has been torn down like the Berlin Wall. God and I are busy rebuilding him into a better, stronger version of himself. A version that does not care if people see him as somebody who does not have it all together, who has worries and who doubts himself constantly. I am a work in progress and there is a lot of work left to be done but I am not doing it alone, everybody mentioned on this post has a role to play, no matter how small.

Everything - Lifehouse

I am a big fan of Lifehouse but for some reason never bought their album, No name Face. I got the song Hanging by a moment on a compilation album, so just never had the urge to buy the whole album. Also, it was only Hanging by a moment that got any airplay here in SA, so I had no idea what the rest of the album was like.

Their self titled 2005 album is one of my favourites and I love listening to it. Quite a few songs from that album grace the Favourites folder on my Ipod.

I was doing my regular blog reading yesterday and happened upon a site where a video for the song Everything was added. The video is a skit done by a Christian Church with the song Everything as the soundtrack. It has more than 7, 000, 000 hits on Youtube. Very, very popular, to say the least.

I decided to have a look and was completely blown away. It is such an amazing song. I immediately did a search on the web and read as much as I could about it.

My first question was "Is this a Christian song?". So, I did the only logical thing and posed the question to WikiAnswers.

Q: Is the song everything by Lifehouse Christian?

A: Jason Wade, the lead singer and primary song writer for Lifehouse has said that the song was written in a Christian context. So yes, it is a was originally intended as a Christian song.

VICTORY!!!

I think it would have taken a lot away from the song if it wasn`t a Christian song. I just needed to get that comforting tap on the shoulder, saying "It`s Christian, you may enjoy it". Don`t get me wrong, it would still have been an awesome song even if it was secular but it`s nice to know that this band, a mainstream band, wrote this awesome Christian song.

Here is a sample of the lyrics:

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you

You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.
You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want,
You're all I need
You're everything,everything
You're all I want your all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

I have decided to add a video from the movie The Notebook, which is set to this song. It does not appear on the soundtrack but it`s a great song and a great movie and a perfect mix. I know the song is used in a different context in this video but I already told you that it is a song sung to the glory of God, so keep that in mind.

If you want to see the skit, which is done in a Christian context, you can view it on this blog. The accompanying post has a great testimony too, I suggest you go have a look at the video and read the post.

Roger Federer and the lucky number 13

I woke up to the good news this morning. I watched ESPN till about midnight last night and no sight of the final, so I reluctantly fell asleep. I hate the fact that I missed it but at least my nerves were well rested upon waking up. No pulling out the remaining 27 hair on my head.

Note to myself, maybe that`s the way to do it? Wimbledon final 2009, I`ll take a nap at 15:00 when it starts and wake up at 20:00, to be given the good news. Nope, that ain`t gonna work.

As I predicted, Roger did it fairly easily. In fact much easier than even I, the biggest Roger fan in Somerset West (I`m 97% sure of that fact), could have hoped for. I suggested 4 sets, Roger needed 3.

It`s great to have him back in the winning circle. Now it`s forward to number 14 (Aussie Open 2009) and then 15. By my calculations 15 will be the French Open, where he`ll bury Rafa in the final.

We can dream, can`t we?

For now I`m just very happy that Roger, who is half South African I might add, has another Grand Slam under his belt.

Viva Le Federer Express, Viva...

Roger Federer - The story continues

So today is the final of the last Grand Slam of the year, The US Open. This is the one Grand Slam that we (in SA) do not always get to watch due to the time difference. The final is either early in the morning or very late at night, so I have missed more finals than I`ve seen.

Today will be different though. It is Roger`s 3rd GS final in a row this year and his nemesis (this year in any case) Rafael Nadal was knocked out by Andy Murray. A 0 for 3 record is unheard of when it comes to Roger, so I am very comfortable that he`ll put it right this evening. I found this on Rafa`s blog and it shows just what a great sportsman he is:

“I am writing a short note as my last blog post from New York. I am flying back home to Spain and will have 3 days of rest. Andy played better than me both yesterday and today and he deserved to win. No excuses, no complaints. Some have asked if I had something to say about yesterday and the match being changed of courts, etc. The conditions are the same for both players and he simply played better. I had said on my previous blog that I knew this was a very, very difficult match. That Andy was playing great and that I knew this could happen. Well, it did.
Tomorrow it will be his first Grand Slam final and I am happy for him. It will be difficult for him since Roger is still Roger. I remember when lots of people were saying he was finished. I always said that Roger deserved more respect, and that he is still there, the favourite always. Well, he is in the final, again. Good luck to both and let's hope we see a great tennis match.”

I must say I have been very impressed by Andy Murray. He is a very talented young man who seems to have gotten his temper a bit more under control. He has been known for his petulant behavior in the past but has been pretty well behaved during the last fortnight. However, it`s easy to be well behaved when things go your way, like it has been going Andy`s way. What will happen when Roger puts him under pressure and things start unraveling? Well, we`ll have to wait and see.

I always get very nervous when Roger`s on court. I am just such a big fan that I live those matches myself! I know, I`m a loser but I really get very tense whenever Roger plays. I so want him to beat Pete Sampras` record of 14 Grand Slams. At the beginning of the year, I thought he would have been at least equal by now. That was not to be. Roger fell ill just before the Aussie Open and has not been his imperious self this whole year. He has however been fighting all the way and today might just mark the occasion where he gets his 13th GS. I really hope he does.

So, will a venture a prediction? Of course I will! It`s gonna be Roger in 4 sets and he`ll make it 5 in a row in NYC.

Please, please, please let me be right…..

A great Friday turned into an awesome weekend

The last time we chatted, it was late Friday night and I was in bed, Hayley was snoring next to me and the US Open was on.

It is now 21:30, Sunday night. Hayley and I are in bed, each with our laptops, each on our blogs. Very much the same thing we do every Sunday night!

I had a great Friday night and that has continued through the weekend. The dreaded Spring Cleaning came and went. I DID mow the lawn and that led to me being treated like a King the whole weekend. Ok, let`s put it into context. I am not a manual labour kind of guy. I have always been the one to get people to mow the clean, clean the garden and do the cleaning. You get the picture. Well that all changed yesterday. I mowed the lawn, cleaned the back yard, the patio and the garage. This resulted in my wife falling in love with me all over again. I might just do this again.

I did a lot of manual labour as a kid. I felt like one of those slaves who make Nike`s in Indonesia. My Dad made me mow the lawn, wash the car, fix the roof, put in new garage doors etc etc. I must say that I always helped him in all the above but it always felt like I was forced to do something I didn`t want to.

Let it be said, I was lazy. My Dad had to force me to do all the above.

So, lest I digress, I felt like I had turned into my Dad yesterday. I was mowing the lawn on a Saturday morning. I`d usually be in the shops on a Saturday, definitely not doing manual labour out of my own free will. My, how things have changed. The scary thing, I really enjoyed it (Ps. do not tell Hayley).

I watched rugby the rest of the day and we had an awesome braai (barbeque). We then watched Stand up to cancer, a subject which is very close to my heart as I lost both my Mom and Dad to cancer and one of my favourite people on earth, who is both my inspiration and the best man I have ever met, is currently kicking it`s butt. You keep kicking it`s butt, you are such an inspiration to all of us and your undeserved love keeps all of us going every single day.

Today was another awesome day, although Spring lasted all of one day, yesterday. Today was terribly windy and very cold.

I got up this morning, weighed myself and then went for a 10km run. The result of the weigh-in inspired me to run as far as I did. I`ll leave it at that.

Hayley and I watched a dvd by the name of "As it is in Heaven". What an awesome movie, I loved every second of it and it is definitely on my list of all-time favourites. It has so many themes running through it, I am still trying to contemplate it`s vastness. I hope to do a post on it very soon.
So, here we are, another Sunday night. Tomorrow it`s back to the grind and the stresses and worries that are our lives. I know it`s gonna be a good week, my faith tells me it`s gonna be and I look very much forward to facing it head on.

A great Friday night

Ok, Hayley and I are weird like that. We both love movies but NEVER go to them. Strange really. We always end up watching everything on dvd.
I think it`s my fault. Take tonight as an example. Hayley said "I know, let`s got to the movies!". I said "No, let`s get dvd`s".
I won.
Don`t ask me why. Ok, at the moment there is a money issue so I can always use that as an excuse. We ended up getting dvd`s and I had fish and chips which we cooked ourselves. I opened a nice bottle of red wine. The perfect evening if you ask me.

It is now 22:30. Hayley is deep in dreamland next to me and I am watching the US Open tennis. Unfortunately the "Not so good looking one" is beating the "Reasonably good looking one" so I have lost interest. What better opportunity to get my "bloggin` down"?

We have watched some amazing dvd`s in the last few weeks. The Storm of the century hit last week. Ok, it was literally the storm of the century, the 21st century that is. Which means it was the biggest storm for 8 years and that a bigger one hit in 1999 but seeing that 1999 was not part of this century, we could call this one the Storm of the century. I digress. Because said storm hit last week we spent all weekend camped indoors. In fact cabin fever hit badly and I have the post to prove it. But, we also got to watch some dvd`s.


My favourites over the last 2 weeks or so have been Juno and Into the Wild. Both are incredibly cool movies with awesome stories to tell. I loved the performance of Ellen Page in Juno, she was amazing. Also, I have never been a big Jennifer Garner fan but her performance was exceptional. I actually found myself liking her.


Into the Wild is such a cool movie. It was a voyage into the unknown with the music of Eddie Vedder as your companion. I love Eddie Vedder. He has such an expressive voice and with Pearl Jam has made some of my favourite music.
Sean Penn is a really gifted director and I am a big fan.
The real star of the movie is Emile Hirsch. I think he is one of the best young actors in Hollywood today. I love the way he picks his movies. He obviously has a good head on his shoulders. The show stealer was Hal Holbrook though. If his character leaves you untouched, you must be a serial killer...

I am now watching a re-run of a Man Utd vs Man City game on ESPN Classic. Man Utd is winning, if they weren`t, I would be watching this specific match.

Tomorrow looks like a cracker weather wise. Not sure what we`re gonna do but Hayley mentioned Spring Cleaning. I hate those two words used together. By themselves they are really cool and I even like them. Together they do not inspire me. So wish me luck as I mow the lawn and pick up dog poo. It`s gonna be awesome....

What if?

My post the other day got some very funny comments with regards Man Perms and Mullets from two of my friends, David and Kevin. That got me thinking, what would I have looked like with those cuts? I can in all honesty say I have never had the privilege of owning either. Firstly I have the straightest hair in the world and secondly I have a healthy brain.

I found this site a week or so ago and it`s really funny and worth a visit. So, without further ado, I present to you, the Man Perm (more Afro than perm but what the heck) and the Mullet as worn by me, the Running Golfer.