Bucket List…

Firstly – I’d like to apologize for the length of this post for those of you who decide to read the full post.

Lately I have been reading a few blogs that go into detail about each person’s personal bucket list and I have decided to let you guys in on a small part of mine… some things are simple and some may take years to accomplish but I’m determined to complete my bucket list over the course of the next couple of years of my life (I have also decided to find myself a good old leather bound journal to keep track of my bucket list, how far I have come and what I still have to complete)

I will keep you guys updated with each part of the process, my travel stories, how I achieve each goal and anything else you would like to know…

Here are just a few items on my bucket list to complete before I am 30: Read the full post »

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by courtneyjadebez on October 2, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on October 2, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/bucket-list/

The meaning behind the name…

                                                                                   Kelebek Ali

My reason behind my name is more about expressing myself. Kelebek means “Butterfly” in Turkish and “Ali” means “Wings” in Italian.

In the past couple of years, butterflies have been showing up in my life:

  • my cousin put a butterfly sticker on my phone

  • I got a butterfly necklace as a gift.

  • Both are the images I used to teach my niece the word “butterfly” (the first word I taught her)

  • my sister gave all her bridesmaids a butterfly necklace earlier this year;

  • I had to hunt for a white shirt for a family photo shoot and it ended up having a butterfly on it.

Read the full post »

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by courtneyjadebez on September 19, 2014  •  Permalink
Posted in Blogging 101
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on September 19, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/the-meaning-behind-the-name/

Driving Update

Hi everyone

So Mondays post is a rather short one. I didn’t end up doing my driving lesson, cancelled at the last minute because I completely forgot about my niece’s Christmas concert – my driving instructor wasn’t very impressed but it was worth it!

Hopefully I will have more to tell you next week!

xoxo

Kelebek Ali

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by courtneyjadebez on November 3, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on November 3, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/driving-update/

Sunday’s Food Court

Hi everyone, sorry about the day late post. I’ve been sick this weekend and ended up sleeping for hours on end. To make up for the lost time, here is the post that was meant to be posted on the 2nd of November…

As most of you know, cooking for children can be rather difficult most of the time but they can be made more enjoyable by including the children in the actual preparation process…

The following meal is rather simple and my niece only really participates in a few activities but I thought I should start this off with an all time favourite: Sausages (Bangers) and Mash

Firstly I peel and chop the potatoes; then put them on to boil.

While the potatoes are cooking; I fry up the sausages (I’m not a chef and definantly not good at explaining recipes, so if you guys would like more information, I have turned to google for some step by step tips: here)

Once the potatoes are ready, my niece likes to stand on a chair in the kitchen and mash the potatoes herself (with a little bit of milk and margarine, salt and pepper)

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Once the mash is ready, my niece dishes the mash up and the adults help with the sausages.

She also enjoys taking everyone their plates/knives and forks etc…

How do you guys incorporate children’s activity into your evening meals?

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by courtneyjadebez on November 3, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on November 3, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/sundays-food-court/

Driving Lesson Update…

This update I never really considered before but it is relevant in my au pair journey because a driver’s license is something an au pair needs, therefore I have decided to update you guys after each lesson on my progress.

So far I have done 7 lessons; my first lesson absolutely terrified me! My expectations were that I was going to drive in a parking or quiet area until I got used to the car, boy was I wrong! My first lesson was driving straight through rush hour traffic through one of the main parts of the area – never mind the fact that I was freaked out by the potential of damaging the car; I was petrified of pissing off a taxi driver! Yet, to my amazement the taxi drivers were the most patient with me and the ones who gave me gaps (I understand that most fellow South African’s won’t believe it, but the taxis were the best part of that lesson) Read the full post »

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by courtneyjadebez on October 21, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on October 21, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/driving-lesson-update/

Just a little update…

Good Morning/Afternoon and Evening everyone

I feel it is only right that I address all time zones because as I recently noticed, my blog has been viewed worldwide on an almost daily basis.

This evenings inspiration for my little update came from my little monkey (my niece) who decided that today was her Aunty Courtney’s turn to bath her (she normally gets an extended play time, bubble bath or both when it is my turn) today I decided that I would pull out my journal and write for my blog while she played with her ducks (the imagination she has is an inspiration) eventually after awhile we came across the topic of age (although she was playing and I was writing, we kept talking throughout) She was astonished to say the least, to discover that I was 20 (which I described to her as all her fingers and all her toes) after the long discussion about my age, she lifted both her feet on to the edge of the bath and spread out all her fingers to see exactly what I was talking about and then giggled when she realized how many fingers and toes there were. She did ask me why I am that old and I have yet to come up with an actual answer to that simple question… Read the full post »

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by courtneyjadebez on October 21, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on October 21, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/just-a-little-update-3/

Just a little update

It is finally official, I have booked my driver’s license for the 24th of December 2014 – my mom has nicknamed it my Christmas present to myself – I have no idea why but after booking, it became slightly scary; I finally have a deadline as to when I will be granted the ability to drive unsupervised!

The last few weeks, my lessons have been fun and I have had the opportunity of learning so much through my lessons but now it seems like there is so much more that I need to know in such a short time! It almost feels like I am back to preparing for my matric finals.

Although it has gotten slightly scary, I am also sooooo excited because once I have my drivers, I am one step closer to becoming an Au Pair

Until next time

Xoxo
 Courtney-Jade

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by courtneyjadebez on October 17, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on October 17, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/just-a-little-update-2/

Santa Shoebox Foundation

glamour

I just spent an hour sorting out my own 2 pledges as well as 2 of my company’s 4 pledges for the Santa Shoebox Foundation; followed by challenging our customers and suppliers to pledge as well 🙂 Can’t wait to see the responses!!!

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by courtneyjadebez on October 1, 2014  •  Image  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on October 1, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/santa-shoebox-foundation/

Another Short Update…

Lately I have been focusing on my blogging 101 tasks and I’ve missed a few au pairing updates, these are just a few updates from recently. To keep up with my blogging target target, I will continue with my 500 word challenge.

At the moment I am working toward getting my drivers. I’ve had a few lessons on quiet roads and I’m starting to get the hang of it (Yielding is not exactly one of my strong suits yet) my instructor finds it entertaining how I do the hard things with ease but struggle with the easy things. On the 15th of October at about 8:30am I will be sitting/standing in a line waiting to book my drivers (around the end of November, beginning of Jan) but in the meanwhile, I am doing 2 hour lessons every weekend (this happens to be my favourite part of the weekend… each lesson is one step closer to reaching 1 of my dreams) The next thing on my agenda will be to apply for my passport, which I am hoping to do in November. – Just another stepping stone to jump across. Read the full post »

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by courtneyjadebez on September 30, 2014  •  Permalink
Posted in Au Pair Update

Posted by courtneyjadebez on September 30, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/another-short-update/

Dream Reader – Blogging 101 #4

“Today’s Assignment: publish a post for your dream reader, and include a new-to-you element in it.“

To my dream reader, although I may not know who you are at present and I may not know what I want to say to you just yet, I am going to let you in to the little babbling thoughts floating around in my head. Right now, this is my gift to you – a part of me. I hope that one day I will know you are and I hope that one day you browse through my blog and stumble across all my little babble sessions… Over time these are the things I have grown to learn and the lessons that I hope I will continue to take into my future… Read the full post »

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by courtneyjadebez on September 30, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on September 30, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/dream-reader-blogging-101-4/

Blogging 101 # 10 – Be inspired by the community

Firstly, I will admit, I have slacked a lot of my blog this last week and as I catch up, I have decided to add on to my blog the “500 word challenge”… by chance, while going through my updates and recent comments on my posts, I came across an article by “The fickle Heartbeat” called “Finding me before I find you” in Irasia’s columns (http://thefickleheartbeat.com/2014/08/17/finding-me-before-i-find-you/ )

As I was browsing through her blog, the title caught my attention because it is something I am currently going through – finding myself as an I, not a WE. Read the full post »

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by courtneyjadebez on September 25, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by courtneyjadebez on September 25, 2014

https://journeytoaupair.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/blogging-101-10-be-inspired-by-the-community/

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