Womanity Archives - Page 8 of 16 - Living Our Sunshine with Susann Deysel

August 11, 2019 4 Mins Read

Relax – because Revive Wellness Spa wants to spoil you!

Did you know that one of my favourite spas in Johannesburg, Revive Wellness Spa, just opened a spa party venue for kids? That’s right, now you can add a little extra sparkle to any birthday party!

REVIVE KIDS PARTY

Taking ordinary and turning it into extraordinary. Revive Kids Spa & Party Venue will ensure your kids party is unforgettable. The magical two story party venue provides for an interactive awesome experience that you and your friends will not forget.

To celebrate their new Kids Spa & Party venue they are offering one goddess the opportunity to spend the day with them to have the chance to relax and scope it all out.

WINNER
CONGRATULATIONS ILSE, you are going to the spa!

One lucky follower can win a day at Revive Wellness Spa in Johannesburg to the value of R1750!

Gel Manicure + Parrafin dip R500
Gel Pedicure + Parrafin Dip R500
30min Floatation Session R300
15Min Foot Ritual
60min Soy Candle Massage R750
AND a wash and blow wave

You will also get complimentary use of the spa facilities such as heated hydro pool, outdoor day beds, relaxation lounges and much more.

You can also read about my previous visits to Revive Wellness Spa in Johannesburg here:

Just to remind you of just how amazing the spa is, follow Lexa…

So, what do you need to do to get your hands on this amazing prize from Revive Wellness Spa in Johannesburg?

Answer the 2 questions as a comment on this blog post
- What is Revive Wellness Spa’s address?
- How many stories is the Kids Party Venue?
Like Revive Wellness Spa on Facebook and Instagram
Like Goddess on Facebook and Instagram
Tag a friend on this Facebook post, click here
Tag a friend on this Instagram post, click here
Record all your actions on the Rafflecopter widget

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions

Prize sponsored by Revive Wellness Spa.
Competition starts on 11 August 2019 and ends midnight 22 August 2019.
Only completed entries will count.
The competition is open to all fans of Goddess, who are Residents of South Africa and over the age of 18.
The spa is in Johannesburg and you will need to arrange your own transport to and from the spa.
By entering the competition, you are deemed to have read and accepted these terms and conditions. All entry instructions form part of these terms and conditions.
If the winner is chosen and there are noted irregularities (i.e. the email address or person does not exist, is not delivered to a person, or is forwarded to a person with a different identity etc.) the winner will be disqualified and a new winner will be drawn.
Any entries received after the closing date will be invalid. Goddess accepts no responsibility for any errors of any other kind which may restrict or delay the sending or receipt of an entry, or for delayed or lost entries.
If we are unable to contact a prize winner, we reserve the right to pick another.
All entries will be examined and the prize shall be awarded to the winner selected at random by Goddess from all eligible participants who have correctly entered the prize draw in accordance with entry instructions. No correspondence will be entered into.
The winners will be notified via Facebook and/or Instagram, and the prizes will be issued as soon as possible.
The winner has until 26 August 2019 at 9am to respond after the winner announcement.
Prizes are not redeemable for cash.
Goddess reserve the right to cancel or change the promotion at any time and will endeavour to give you advance notice of any such change or withdrawal. However, in some cases, advance notice may not be possible.

July 26, 2019 3 Mins Read

Turn your attention to the sea – and those who draw inspiration from it

One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I love shells. I’m scared beyond words to pick them up from the beach because it might have an inhabitant that pops out unexpectedly – and I don’t want to see that!

While we were down in Ballito we went to Sage for breakfast and as per usual I browsed the little shops while dad and the eldest kid were in the park. That’s when I saw the most amazing piece of jewellery ever…

There it was, a choker with cowrie shells in sterling silver – and a matching ring. I had to have the ring immediately, but with my thin fingers it looked like I was playing with an adult’s jewellery. I left without buying a piece but couldn’t stop thinking about that ring and a few hours later, I was stalking the maker Miss D Jewellery on Instagram.

I inboxed her and met her the next day at the Ballito Pro to buy a cowrie shell ring. I walked away from the pop-up shop and placed an order for a pair of custom cowrie shell earrings. The night before delivery I message her to add a necklace with single pendant.

She met me in Salt Rock with a beautiful parcel – and I couldn’t wait to wear my new pieces. As she drove away I had the necklace on. By the time she exited the shopping centre the earrings were on me too. I couldn’t stop touching them – and I’ve mostly worn these pieces out in the last month.

I own other cowrie shell jewellery bought on Zanzibar and the Maldives – but this, I don’t know… It’s a little more special because I now know who the maker is; I can go back and add to my little collection; or even ask for a custom piece.

I love showing it off – and if you ask me for her details I’ll give it to you, because I want local makers to make it. I want everybody else to buy local too.

There is something about shells…

Shells are little magical things from the sea that wash up on the beach. Some are broken, some look new – and yet you can never be sure just how old they are. I love holding smooth shiny shells or the “crinkle cut” shells and gently running them between my fingers. It’s quite therapeutic when you sit and stare out over the ocean.

Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home.
Sylvia Earle

I think there is a reason I am drawn to the sea and anything connected to it. It’s probably a reason I won’t ever speak about. I’m just thankful that I can carry something from it with me wherever I am.

July 24, 2019 2 Mins Read

Ag please take me to the spa again!

Do I even dare say that I needed a day at the spa so badly that I considered not taking my eldest daughter – but did because, I’m a good person? Plus Revive Wellness Spa extended the invitation to both of us – as they now have a kiddies spa area too.

I love seeing Lexa experience new things – even if it is just to get her nails done or relax while I get a hot stone massage (and she takes photos with my phone). When she spots anything that resembles a nail file, I get my nails filed by the way…

Lexa and I at Revive Wellness Spa in Johannesburg

This time I went for a skin analysis, Razul steam room treatment, hot stone massage and quick manicure/paint. I’m going to be honest, few places can hold up candle to Revive Wellness’ hot stone massages… they are simply the best thing since the invention of sliced bread.

The skin analysis confirmed my DNA test that I did with Optiphi (will still write about that next week). I did however buy a Nimue Vitamin C Moisture Mist as I’ve tried it before and with winter my skin has to stay healthy and hydrated.
Razul… this was my first time going into a steam room. It was a great room and I loved the warm steam – but I realised that smallish spaces which reminds me of a cave in a tropical location is not for me.

Plus then I spotted the colour, treatment and blow dry special for R650. Megan, the stylist have blowdried my hair twice and I thought I’d take the chance in the new salon – which is HUGE by the way! I phoned to make an appointment for the following week and this I actually paid out of my own pocket.

They always have a special popping up on their Facebook page, so like it and find a special that will take you to one of Jozi’s best spas.

You can also read about my previous visits to Revive Wellness Spa in Johannesburg here:

June 24, 2019 2 Mins Read

Memories to last a lifetime

I fell out of love with my Instax Mini 8 and 9. It can’t give me what I need, to print the memories I already have and I can’t move onto capturing new memories just yet.

We were next to my mom’s sickbed for a month, day in, day out from 9 to sometimes after 6. At first we hoped she would get better, get out and give us all hell again. She didn’t get better, she got worse day after day. She shrunk and all we got do was be there until the end.

Those last images of her are etched onto my mind – and those are the only images I want to forget. That is not who she was. That is not her life. That is not her.

She made enough memories to last us a lifetime more – and we have them spread out on albums and in our phones. I’ve started printing them to help me come to terms with the loss of my mom – but also to replace those haunting hospital images in my mind.

The day I realised what I needed…

I went to the Instax mini LiPlay and Printlife Exhibition launch at Sandton City. I didn’t want to go out just yet, but I’m glad I did because I tried out the FujiFilm SmartPrint app and printed a few photos of my mom and family. The best part of my day was winning an Instax mini LipPlay. This little camera gave me what I wanted, instant print from my camera phone.

I’ll do another post to show you how to create a memory jar with Instax photos – because that’s what I did with these precious photos.

June 20, 2019 1 Min Read

Haar hande is uiteindelik stil

Sy was altyd daar vir ons met ‘n brei- of hekelpen in die hand. Sy was ons skooltaxi, kleremaker, koekbakster, grootste ondersteuner langs die sportveld, trooster, briefieskrywer, verorberaar van boeke, beste viendin en kwaaiste kort ma.

Ons is dankbaar vir al die wonderlike tye wat ons saam haar en my pa kon hê – van bo langs die Zambezi en Hwange tot onder in die Kaap. Haar voete het nooit ophou jeuk nie en sy het lank na ons uit die huis was nog my pa na die Kruger Wildtuin bly sleep en ook saam ons families gaan rondry in Mosambiek. Sy het selfs dit oorsee gemaak met haar naamgenoot.

Sy sal altyd deel van ons wees en ons sal altyd die goeie tye onthou, maar ons sal haar dwarstrekkery altyd mis.

Jy kan ook die gedig lees wat ek vir haar geskryf het, ‘Soos ‘n Modjadjipalm’

May 31, 2019 3 Mins Read

25 inspirational quotes about life

Life has to be more than living from paycheck to paycheck, promotions at work or paying off posessions. It should be about adventures, making memories and living the best life you possibly could.

Here are 25 quotes to inspire you to live your best life:

“Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.” – Oscar Wilde
“Dare to live the life you’ve always wanted.”
“Life is a journey. Make the best of it.”
“In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”
“Take every chance you get in life, because some things only happen once.” – Karen Gibbs
“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.”
”I’ll look back on this and smile because it was life and I decided to live it”

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. Carol Burnett
“The way get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
“Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
“Instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure, and go ever upward.” – Drew Houston
“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.” – Thomas Merton
“Your life is your canvas, and you are the masterpiece.” – Kerli
“The whole point is to live life and be – to use all the colors in the crayon box.” – RuPaul
“When life gives you Monday, dip it in glitter and sparkle all day.” – Ella Woodward
“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all. Khalil Gibran
“The best things in life are often waiting for you at the exit ramp of your comfort zone.” – Karen Salmansohn
“Live life for the moment because everything else is uncertain!” – Louis Tomlinson
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.” – John W. Gardner
“Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time.” – Charles M. Schulz

May 27, 2019 1 Min Read

Vasgevang in dié oomblik

Dis moeilik om te skryf as jy vassit in ‘n familiekrisis. Die woorde wil nie mooi vorm in jou kop en jou vingers haak vas.

Ek het al hier gebly, vir een jaar ‘n leeftyd gelede. Nou is ek terug vir my ma. Alleen, sonder my familie of my kat met te min klere en een paar skoene.

Ek is vasgevang in dié oomblik, die pad hospitaal toe en terug. Blou sirkels om my oë, wange wat half ingeval het en ‘n traan in albei oë wat nie wil uitval nie.

Dis asof ek wag vir ‘n wonderwerk, maar die realiteit is dat elke dag die laaste dag kan wees. Ons weet nie, die dokters weet nie – ons wag en hoop dat sy nog sal bly.

May 18, 2019 3 Mins Read

Why you should second guess that diagnosis

I fell of the face of the earth, suddenly. I was there and suddenly I had to jump in my car and drive ‘back home’ again. It’s been like this for more than 2 months.

Every single time someone phones from back home my heart drops into my stomach. I expect bad news every single time.

My mom is old. She is weakened after chemo. Her bone marrow isn’t working and all the (oncologist) doctor does is pump her full of more medicine, more platelets, more time in hospital… and she keeps on getting smaller, older, weaker.

I’ve been questioning the treatment my mom received since chemo ended. Surely that when bone marrow hasn’t been kickstarted after 21 days in 1 month in hospital then it is time to call in someone that knows more than you?

She now has a second doctor, an internist. The first time I spoke to him he could tell me what is happening, what her white blood count is, what it should be and what the acceptable level would be, what he is currently treating and what he may do on Monday and even that he might call a bone marrow specialist back in Gauteng (there is no specialist for that here).

Now isn’t that what you would expect? Someone that listens to your concerns and that has a plan of action if plan A doesn’t work.

My question is how did the cancer get that far undiagnosed? Each time I come back to the same answer. There was a GP who didn’t think that a recurring complaint about swollen glands in my mom’s neck was an issue. Another doctor that thought that nah, I’m just going to sit here and not do the job I’m supposed to be doing. Another doctor that was too #### lazy to just do their job.

Is it too much to ask that doctors just be better and do their jobs? Is it really that much to expect care when human lives are in their hands?

I’m bursting at the seams to get in my car and confront my mother’s GP. I want her to know that her incompetence has cost my children their grandmother. I want her to know that she cost me my mother. I want her to know she cost my dad a wife that he would be able to retire with, go on holiday with. I want her to know. I want her to live with that. I want her to be better at her job. I want her to second guess each and every diagnosis she makes. I want her to feel bad about it each time she charges a patient and sends them home with a script because she didn’t take the time to think about it.

I know that I won’t leave it there. It’s not in my nature to just say oh well, it’s too late now. I can feel the anger and resentment building by the minute…

I am tired of doctors not doing their jobs. I complained for 20 years about the same thing to GPs and gynaecologist and yet I had to find out from a fertility specialist that I was right. So yeah, I have earned the right to question the competence of doctors.

May 8, 2019 4 Mins Read

Start a tradition of a Mother’s Day with meaning

I don’t need more jewellery, gifts or breakfast in bed this Mother’s Day. In our family (when I was growing up) we never celebrated the Mother’s/Father’s/Valentine’s Days, we celebrated birthdays, Christmases and victories – that’s it. It was really strange when I started dating my Irishman and they celebrated every single commercial holiday with extravagant gifts and restaurant lunches.

It is different for me, I didn’t get to have babies like (most of) you. I didn’t choose when I could have them or even if I could have them. All I knew was that I wanted them and I would stop at nothing to have my own kids. I was 37 and 39 when they arrived. Being older and wiser has its perks – one of them that I already have wisdom and everything else I want and need.

Don’t worry about the pressure or the responsibility. Just live in it, have fun, and when everything seems to be going right, just stay humble and remember your family.
Roman Reigns

I’m under no illusion that I will be there to see my grand kids, all that matter now is that my kids know that they are everything to me. I want them to have the best of the world I grew up in and the life their parents built and dreamt of. I want them to always know that I’m there, even if I’m gone one day. I want them to know that I knew them, thought of them, fought for them and loved them. Mother’s Day is not about me, but rather about me starting a tradition to add another charm to their bracelets…

I have written about my kids’ bracelets before. I started the bracelets to celebrate moments we shared, dreams I had for them and just to add something I loved. One of Lexa’s very first charms is a little Christmas cat, because we got Sandton when she was a year old and she loved him from the very first moment. Lily’s bracelet I started off for myself while waiting for her time to come and she has blooming flowers, because she was my wish that had to bloom. They both have a charm representing having a sister and that I added the day I was sure there would be two kids to love.

I don’t need more jewellery, gifts or breakfast in bed – but I do need to make sure that my girls have special pieces that I put together for each of them. I chose Pandora because it is a timeless gift that they can continue building, changing and customising wherever they may end up in the world one day.

There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.
George Sand

Joined by Love, a tribute by Pandora to the bonds we share

Pandora has also launched a unique collection to celebrate the bonds that connect us. This very special collection is called JOINED BY LOVE and it tells the story of Mother’s Day in a versatile, new way. One where motherhood and the idea of being loved and embracing the people you feel connected to, not just through DNA, play a central role.

Their signature design, craftsmanship and attention to detail reworked classical symbols into modern sensibilities. The iconic heart shape melds elegantly with the classic love knot to create a new and inﬁnite link of love with a modern edge.

We’ve mixed symbols of unending love and linked them to create a new symbol inspired by the fabric of love and family bonds.You can put your own meaning and sentiments into the jewellery or see it as a complete style story.
VP Creative Directors, Francesco Terzo and A. Filippo Ficarelli

The new Knotted Heart Bracelet is crafted from sterling silver links that hold a central knotted heart as a tribute to timeless emotional bonds. For wear without charms, the heart-embossed toggle slips through the largest link to close. Combining smooth sterling silver looped with lines of glittering pavé-set stones, the Knotted Heart statement ring redeﬁnes the ultimate symbol of love – forever modern, forever connected.

#PandoraMothersDay #JoinedByLove

April 23, 2019 2 Mins Read

Still fighting

This is me sitting next to yet another hospital bed. It is the third time for my mom in the last 8 or so months. She has cancer.

My mom is over 70. Most days you wouldn’t guess she is “that old”. You would never have guessed she already had cancer when we went to Reunion Island last year. We didn’t know. It was only 2 months (or so) after we came back that she could barely breathe, didn’t get up – and didn’t tell us.

She was rushed to hospital 56km from their home via ambulance that night. The next morning while the rest of Joburg was still tucked in bed I was already on my way back “home”. I sat next to my mom’s bed working on my laptop for a week while she was brought back from the brink.

She went through 6 monthly chemo treatments and at the end the poison destroyed more than the cancer.

Last month just as I was about to celebrate my big birthday I got yet another late night call that my mom is on her way to hospital via ambulance. We packed the kids 2 days before my birthday and rushed to Polokwane. My mom’s white blood cells were destroyed and she had no immunity and looked deathly pale with dark circles under her eyes.

It took another week before she was discharged.

Just 3 weeks later here I am again sitting next to her bed watching another bag of someone else’s blood make its way into her system. She doesn’t look as bad as the last time, but she’s smaller and older. She’s still fighting.

Note:
Currently my mom is out of hospital and at home.