The Teddy Bear has been Compromised

Being an ex-nanny, I love the Nanny Diaries as it depicts aspects of the harsh nanny life. I watched it the first week I was in the States with my new host mother. I was excited for this new life; I would lift around kids, play in the sun all day, meet new people. Reality hadn't kicked in yet that I had one of Satan's spawn, disguised as a seven year old boy, and a host mom who denied my existence after I left.

We were Type C nannies : we were on call, ALL the time. Now after being locked out of the house a couple times, and having a meltdown; it was decided it would be best if I "rematched". Meaning I had to evacuate the premises within two weeks or be deported. It was a harsh two weeks (the two leading up to a very hard Christmas) and I didn't know if I was gonna survive them. But I found a great family, five minutes away from the house I was living in, with an angel of a daughter. So I moved and discovered kids weren't all that bad.

To be relied on by these kids is major. There is that one moment where you look into the kid's eyes and you just know, despite all the snot-filled tantrums, you loved them.

Annie Bradock: Okay Mrs X, now it's time for a few simple childcare rules.

Human Resources Director: Oh, alright, the teddy bear has been compromised.

Annie: Slamming the door in your kid's face is NOT okay. Spending more time on a benefit for kids that you've never met than you do with your own blood is NOT okay. Going to a SPA when your kid has a fever of a hundred and four and not answering emergency calls, that officially makes you an unfit mother....

Now I know you all busy with your hair appointments, and your watsu massages and your attempts to stay young so your husbands won't leave you. But here's an idea! Why don't you try eating dinner with your child every once in a blue moon. And heads up here, lady, try smiling once in a while. People hate you.

Yes the moms are super conscious about their looks and before we enter their home we are told to beware of the fathers! But the biggest moment, is the heart wrenching goodbye between the nanny and the child. It stays with you forever.

I still think of my little American girl everyday.

Debt Driven Lives

We have all had that moment where we wanted something so bad, we didn't care how much it was. We had to have it. Mine was a trip to California and a big debt to go with it. I was horrendous with saving which resulted in me borrowing money for basically the entire trip. But I knew every penny borrowed would be worth it.
I was not let down and that one (yes it was just one week. technically eight days) week spent in California with two of my closest mates and some Germans was one of the best weeks of my life! Hands down one of the best! Those memories have never left me and I never, not even for a nanosecond, regretted taking that trip.
Upon returning home and returning to work, I took on the massive hill that was my debt. The hike was long, but once I got my good sneakers on and got moving it seemed to get easier and easier. That first milestone felt good but was overlooked by the fact that I had so much further to go.
As the months wore on, the debt got smaller and smaller.
Until yesterday.
This morning I proudly walked up to my parents and handed them my final installment of debt. I even started crying at how far I had come and how I had paid it ALL back. It had taken me a long year but the memories of that trip are still fresh in my mind. It feels so great to have accomplished it and to know that the money is now wholly mine.
But my tendency to over shop needs to be controlled now!

Dating Revelation

Being in a relationship is great, but it's absolutely fantastic when you hear your single girlfriends bitching about their new crush. Is he interested? When is he gonna text back? How long do I wait to text him? Are we dating now? Bla bla bla bla blaaaa! It's a simple thing really: Men are not as complex as we make them out to be.

As much as any single girl will argue that, men aren't. One of the factors that helped me realize that was the movie "He's just not that into you". It became my mantra for life. Work sucks, he's just not that into you. He doesn't reply, he's just not that into you. It rains and you forgot a jacket, he's just NOT THAT INTO YOU.

I learnt a lot from that simple line. Guys that had held my fancy for a while that just weren't following up with their intentions, suddenly lost my interest. If he really liked me, we would already be celebrating an anniversary by now. It's a harsh way of thinking, but it has saved me some time and made me available for my Knight in Shining Armour, who after a week after dating asked me to be his girlfriend.

So next time you are about to text that loser back (after he took 4 hours to get back to you), know that if he was into you, you would already be dating.

Love and peace xoxo

Even Bunnies can have Everything

I have a confession...I am surprisingly addicted to the offshoot reality show, Kendra. Overlooking her horse-like laugh, I ooh and aah and gasp at all the drama every week. I even look forward to Sunday night just to watch it. It's sad how caught up I get in reality tv shows. But that's an issue for a whole other day!

This week Kendra was getting ready for her wedding (which is airing this sunday and omg am I excited!) and I was just thinking of where she came from to get to this point. She was a playboy bunny, sharing a (very!) old man with two other bunnies and (hopefully not) sleeping with him. And now she has found the love of her life that is the equal half of her. I got a little teary-eyed when she signed into the hotel under her name for the last time.

I used to be a relationship cynic. Until I actually had a real relationship. Yes we've had our ups and downs, and the first time he said "I love you" it was in response to me saying "lovely". Apparently those two phrases sound very similar! He has made me believe in love and therefore makes me get all girly like when watching love scenes!

A girl can have everything in life, even those (fake) bunnies!

Popping the Blogging Cherry.

There is quite a bit of pressure writing your first blog. It has to speak of who you are yet entice the readers (I say it as a plural as I'm very hopeful more than just me will read this) to misspell catastrophe in their URL's and seek me out again. It's like a blind date, you gonna try look your best BUT you also have to look like you not trying. It's the typical "barely there" makeup situation. Why wear it at all if it's not supposed to look like it's there? And that right there was a great example of my ADD thinking and jumping to a random, but slightly linked, topic and thinking you are following me with this sudden conversation change.

But yes, my blogging cherry is now popped and I hope more experience will come with each time I blog. To the many more adventures and blogs!