My sleeping patterns are out of sync

I've always had a problem falling asleep come bedtime. But now lately it's become quite bothersome. I've had about 4 hours sleep in the last 3 days, not good I tell you!!

Some of you would say, then take a nap during the day. NO CAN DO!! I cannot for the life of me sleep during the day. If I should, I wouldn't be able to sleep come evening time. What makes things worse is I cannot go to bed too early too. The earliest I could get into bed would be around 23h00, by that time my brain would be fizzled & conked to even think straight!!

I suppose that's another reason why I don't drink a lot of coffee. I'm what you call a social drinker when it comes to that. And it would keep me awake for a long while after I've drunk it!! Not to talk about me bouncing off the walls too!!

The thing is, my body only needs 4 hours sleep, maximum. So as soon as I've had the 4 hours sleep, my body wakes up, PRONTO!! There are times when I wake up at 2am & instead of trying to fall asleep again, I get up & find myself something to do. Which would normally be baking or cleaning up. I think my neighbours must think this woman has lost it!! My home is semi-detached so they hear my every move, hehehe!!

I've tried everything already, chamomile tea, lavender spray, you name it I've tried it. Maybe a visit to the doctor would help heh?? All I know is, I need some sleep!!

AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!

A day out catching up with the family....

Today has been quite hectic but once again I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We celebrated my uncle's 50th birthday this morning & attended a family friend's daughter's wedding.

The only bad thing about attending functions is the endless eating that takes place. OI!! I'll have to do an extra bit of Taebo to get rid of those access kilos!! I literally had to beg Ray to go along to the wedding as I didn't want to sit there on my own while the older folk caught up on the good old days.

Don't you just hate it when you haven't seen people for a while & they say things like, "The last time I saw you, you were this high" (indicating a distance from the floor up with their hand) Good heavens, it couldn't have been that long back?? I'd just sit there smiling, thinking has this man gone insane?? How old does he think I am, wink, wink??

Then there's the part when Mother Dearest decides to mention that she's looking for a suitor for her daughter, politely pointing at me!! Aaaarrgggghhh!! I just hate it when that happens, at that point I just wish that the ground would open up and swallow me!! Phhbbbtt. At this point Shahieda would perform a disappearing act. Funny thing is, I've asked mum to be a bit subtle about her approach but I'm convinced the word doesn't exist in her vocabulary, hahahaha!!

Cricket fever!!

I had been looking forward to watching SA play Australia at Newlands for the past month. Although the wicket was slow, the SA team took advantage of the situation & decided to bat first. This decision won them the game!! SA lead the one day series 2-1, tomorrow sees another game in Port Elizabeth & the final game some time next week in Johannesburg.

We arrived at Sahara Park, Newlands just after 13h:00, the place was already thriving with activity. Shaheema, Raafiek, Shireen, Sameer & I found a spot on the grass near the scoreboard & made ourselves comfortable until the game began.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the game, although the wicket was slow & both teams struggled a bit to put some runs on the board. With quite a few of the spectators getting tipsy as well, I had a good laugh at their antics too!! I also got to see some funny characters, like a seal balancing a cadbury whisper on his nose (Raafiek) & Batman coming to the rescue too, hehehehe!!

My attention wasn't on the cricket for the first half of the game, which didn't impress Shaheema & Raafiek much!! LOL!! I promised Shaheema I would post the pic of me busy with my phone. I couldn't exactly ignore the alerts everytime, wink, wink! :)

A shift in perspective

After all the bad news I've been blogging about, I've decided to change perspective so as to avoid it consuming me completely!! Yep, that's me, as dramatic as ever!!

So, where do I begin??? Hmmmm, lets see. Firstly, the family has recently discovered some very good news! My younger sis, Faghriyya, will be having a baby soon Insha-Allah!! We're all quite ecstatic with the news and looking forward to the bundle of joy!! We were a bit worried about her because she had developed cysts on her ovaries. Then, one of the ovaries were removed and fortunately the cysts were not malignant, Alghumdulillah!!

Raihaana's operation was also successful Alghumdulillah!! The lump she had on her breast was also removed once again. According to the doctor, it wasn't anything to worry about because it wasn't malignant either. Just scarred tissue that wasn't removed properly with the first operation that took place last year.

Then, Gadijah has given birth to a healthy baby boy, Masha-Allah!! Received a text message from her over the weekend saying that she and the little one were doing well Alghumdulillah!! I need to pop in & see how they're doing, I haven't seen her in yonks!! It would certainly be awesome to catch up with her!!

Adiela has discovered that she will also be expecting a bundle of joy in the next couple of months Insha-Allah!! She too, is completely over the moon with her news for she has also been struggling to conceive. But Allah surely knows best and we can only but utter our gratitude Alghumdulillah!!

Leona, ons wag nou net vir jou, jong, wink, wink!! En jy beter gou maak, ons wag angstig vir daardie kleintjie. Of moet ek se tweeling?? :)

Shaheema's wedding plans are on track and she ties the knot in October Insha-Allah. Her family has finalised everything with Sheikh Abduraghmaan Alexander of the Bridgetown mosque. The nikaah will be taking place at the beautiful Masjidul-Quds in Gatesville. And the bridal couple has asked Moi to make chocolate mousse to serve for dessert at the reception!! Hmmm, why am I not surprised??

And last, but certainly not least, I shall be on holiday from tomorrow till next week Tuesday Insha-Allah!! YAY!! AND I will be attending the one day international match at Newlands tomorrow, between SA & Australia!! Shucks, I cannot contain my excitement!! SA has been playing a good game so far & they better not disappoint tomorrow. My kids have been making fun of me the whole week already. They've seen what I'm like when I'm watching a game on the telly and they can't imagine what I'll get up to watching the game live!! OI!!

On another note, Shahieda has discovered that she's quite the scaredy cat!! *hangs head in shame* I had a light bulb moment today that stopped me right in my tracks & made me rethink the way I have been doing certain things lately. Hmmmm, suffice to say, I need to throw caution to the wind & just go for it. What do I have to loose heh?? So, first thing in the morning I shall be visiting the home affairs department to make application for my passport!! YAY!!

Ta-wak-ka-lullah!!

Why am I not surprised....

that the court case that Jacob Zuma was to appear in has been dropped???

So much for my wishful thinking. When the announcement was made today at 11 am, my heart sunk into further despair. What happened to truth & justice for all?? And now it looks as if the country's worst fear will materialise and Jacob Zuma will be in the running for the highest seat in the land!!

This man never fails to amuse me. His ignorance & audacity is really something to behold. Don't even talk about his ability to put his foot in his mouth, it gives new meaning to the phrase 'not having a leg to stand on.' But then again, he slithers around & therefore doesn't need any legs!! LOL!!

I've become quite cynical of late. Can you blame me?? With the elections only two weeks away and the Confederation Cup to take place come June, the SA government has proved what puppets they are. When the announcement was made to deny the Dalai Lama a visa on the grounds "that it's not in the best interest of the country," I was completely livid!! Has our government forgotten their struggle against apartheid?? Those same people who were exiled from their country & forced to flee for their lives, were now turning a blind eye to a man who personifies peace for all of humankind. It doesn't make any sense does it??

I wait baited breath for the results of the elections, because God knows, if Zuma wins we're in need of a miracle!!

Milk tart, Cape Malay style

After a whole lot of coaxing from the kids & my taste buds, I finally managed to make some milk tart after a long while. I just love the homemade variety, the commercial one contains too much cornflour & doesn't taste as good. Secondly, you can have yours as soon as it comes out of the oven, instead of a cold commercial one (which can be warmed in the microwave, but humour me, ok.)

With winter almost on our doorstep, the hot milk tart will make a good end to your supper too.

For the base you will need:

200ml castor sugar

30ml sunflower oil

250g butter

2 eggs

5ml vanilla essence

500ml cake flour, sifted

500ml self-raising flour, sifted

For the filling you will need:

10 eggs

125ml sugar

1 litre milk

30ml custard powder

15ml cake flour

5ml sugar

10ml vanilla essence

5 drops almond essence (optional)

2 pieces stick cinnamon

3 cardamom pods (elachi)

60ml butter

3ml ground cinnamon

For the base: Beat sugar, oil & butter in a large bowl till light & fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla essence until well blended. Mix in flours until you have a soft dough. Using two thirds of the dough, press into rectangular oven dish including sides. Allow to rest in the fridge until the filling is ready.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius or 310 degrees fahrenheit.

For the filling: Beat eggs & sugar in a very large bowl till thick & well blended, set aside. Mix 50ml milk with the custard powder, flour & 5ml sugar. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan until it reaches boiling point, remove from heat. Stir in custard mixture and mix well. Slowly pour milk mixture into eggs, while beating continuously. Add vanilla essence, almond essence (if using), cardamom pods & stick cinnamon & mix well. Pour filling into prepared biscuit crust, dot with 60 ml butter & sprinkle with 3ml ground cinnamon. Bake for 35-45 minutes until set.

With the one third of biscuit pastry that is left, I normally make some hertzoggies too!! YUMMEH!! They're my favorite because it contains coconut & apricot jam. I normally hide them away, for these treats I DON'T like sharing!! LOL!! Only drawback is I won't stop gobbling them up until they're all done. OI!!

For hertzoggies you will need:

biscuit pastry

apricot jam

coconut filling (heat coconut, sugar to taste, butter & hot water in saucepan until sugar & butter has melted)

Roll out the left over dough till about 3mm thick, cut out rounds using a cookie cutter. I normally use the flower-shaped one. Spray a patty pan with non-stick spray. Place biscuit rounds into each cavity. Place a half teaspoon of coconut filling onto one side of biscuit round & a half teaspoon apricot jam on the other side. Bake at 180 degrees celsuis or 360 degrees fahrenheit for about 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to bake it too long so as not to burn the coconut or the jam.

What have we become....

that we feel the need to inflict harm on the next person???

What has society on a whole become, when we are so desensitised to the plight of others??

How is it that the people who are in positions of power are able to do as they please without having to take responsibility for their actions??

How can a country who has fought for democracy so fiercely turn around & dish out the same medicine that was handed to their people during Apartheid??

These are all questions that have been running through my mind for the last few days. Is it just me who feels that we're regressing instead of progressing?? This is something I have written about before elsewhere on my blog & I suppose I'll probably write in the future about it too. The thing is, am I going to be able to get any answers to my questions??

I don't wish to recount the happenings that have led to my asking all these questions. I fear that if I go that route I shan't be able to stop & my emotions would run haywire. I'm sure everyone has seen the news headlines of late.

All I can do is fervently pray!! God help us, we're in need of Your divine intervention!!