Life Lately 2015 (1)

I cannot apologize enough for this space being so bare recently and while I know every good blogger should never apologize for having a life outside of their blog I do feel compelled to say I have missed all of you, I have missed writing about what's been going on and I miss reading your comments and blogs.

I just missed this part of my life.

So, last week, before I disappeared for a week I told you I went to the SA Navy Festival, it was not a planned trip but my parents decided last minute with a cheapish ticket to bring me to them. I guess the six weeks since the wedding was too long for them not to see their baby and who am I to deny them the opportunity to spoil their little girl...

Cape Town was magnificent as per usual and I got to spend some quality time with some of my besties which is exactly what I needed. I didn't realise that I was feeling so run down until I got to CT and got to relax... 

On Saturday I had the One Direction concert and ladies and gentleman these boys, well men, are ridiculously amazing performers and singers. I cannot explain the amount of respect I have for them! Obviously in light of Zayn leaving the group last week officially the fans were feeling down and the group was sad but everyone rallied and made it one of the most insane concerts I have ever attended. I plan on doing a concert recap post for you but what I will say is that I've never seen that level of love obsession for music artists, and I attended a Michael Jackson concert!

Sunday was the Gerrard v Carragher Liverpool FC Charity match which brought a whole lot of players from the past, present and future together in one game which would have already been special but add in that it was Suarez's first return to Anfield and Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres was coming was incredible. Fernando Torres had returned to Anfield before but as a Chelsea player and I wasn't sure how his reception would be at the game but the fans I think have finally forgiven him. It was a beautiful sight to see him on the field with Gerrard and SUarez but the moments between him and Stevie Gerrard were the ones which made me most emotional .

On Tuesday, yesterday, I moved out of my current place and to be honest I haven't had a moment to even process it. A lot of change is coming and I'm nervous... excited but more than anything I'm bracing myself for whatever God has planned....

What's been going on with you?

x Nats

L is for Liverpool Football Club (A to Z Challenge)

I don't ever remember not being a Liverpool Football Club fan. When I was younger I was surrounded by majority of Manchester United's fans in the beginning of Man U's glory days. I grew up in a house where my dad and I are the Liverpool fans and my mother and brother are Man U fans. It was tough. It was not Liverpool' finest hours but it taught me a lot about what it means to be a football fan.

Being a Liverpool FC fan has not been easy but I think it's the reason that being a true fan has been so character building. Yes, I've had the benefit of watching and supporting the greatest comeback in European Championship history by winning the Champions League in Istanbul to when Steven Gerrard inspired the winning FA Cup final against West Ham in 2006  but other than that, supporting Liverpool has been challenging. Challenging but worth it. 

Look How Excited I was!!! 

In the midst of the LFC vs Manchester City game yesterday (Which LFC won!!!) my mom was making fun of the fact that Liverpool had lost the two goal lead and I remember saying to her "This isn't just for fun" to which she laughed because Soccer is supposed to be fun. However for me and for most Liverpool fans, it's not just about fun. It's passion, love and loyalty. 

Perhaps the reason Liverpool fans feel so much for their team is that our current leader, Captain Fantastic, Steven Gerrard is so incredibly passionate about Liverpool and despite his once youthful wavering mind to leave Liverpool, loyalty trumped his ambition. 

~ Credit ~

I cannot explain how much I adore supporting my team, through wins, losses or draws - I have shouted with joy at their wins and I have cried with their losses. When I visited Liverpool a couple of years ago, it truly was one of my favourite memories and while a lot of people asked about Scousers and how they treated me, I only have good things to tell. 

I'm trying to keep this post short, which is extremely difficult because this is a topic I feel so much passion for but I will say that when you support a team, any team ... there's a difference in supporting and being passionate about them.

Have you ever been passionate about a team or sport or player?

13 Moments of 2013

This is the last of my 13 of 2013 series but more so, it is the last of my post for the year. A year ago, I didn't even have a blog to post on but here I am writing to you, not knowing who you are are where you are in this world but here I am once again sharing very private things with you and this post will be no different. It's the 13 moments from this year which I will remember.

1. My admission as an attorney. 

2. Returning to Ireland, and the moment I had my first drink.

3. The moment I found out Nelson Mandela had died.Coupled with the day after when my colleagues and I went to the house. The scenes there were incredible. 

4. Being lost in Brussels for 5 hours all on my lonesome.

5. Pepe Reina waving at me (and Charne)

6.Sitting at the Moses Mabida stadium for the Liverpool Legends game thinking, if this is how incredible the atmosphere is here, thousands of kilometers away from Anfield, I can only imagine what it feels like to be at Anfield during a game.

7. Justin Bieber's concert - the whole day was crazy and a once off experience. 

8. Arriving in Hamburg and thinking "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING COMING TO COUNTRY WHERE YOU DO NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE ALL ALONE?" Thank goodness for nice people on trains who speak English!

9. Leaving Juls and Oli at the train station in Mainz. I remember feeling so grateful and excited but scared for what I had experienced in Germany and what would still come.

10. Resigning from my job and the reception from my colleagues after that was humbling.

11. Leaving Ireland, I was so grateful that I had no one next to me on the flight because I cried a lot more than I would have ever expected.

12. Uptothemoon, after her last win, when she was upset with me and she was so angry. 

13. Family moment montage, from my mom's 50th to family picnics to music shows... great food, joking around to walking on the beach.

While I cannot lie to you and tell you this year was perfect or even great I can tell you that this year I achieved incredible things. I had so many moments wherein bringing it down to 13 was extremely difficult. However, I also closed a lot of unopened chapters this year which can only excite me about what 2014 holds.This year was difficult and challenging but I can say I have made it through and I am thrilled that I get another chance at trying again in 2014....  What will you do to make a difference in 2014? 

What was your moment of 2013?

Have a great New Years Eve... and I'll see you next year!

Football Friday : South Africa vs Spain - A Dream Game for SA

On Tuesday evening I made my way to the FNB Stadium (Soccer City, during the 2010 Soccer World Cup) this is the stadium where I watched Justin Bieber perform, where Spain became world champions for the first time and where South Africa shocked Spain into their second defeat of the year.

 

 

 

I honestly battled to decide who I would be supporting because Spain is my favourite team and well, Bafana is my Country. So I decided the way any girl would - which shirt looked better and it turned out to be Spain.

 

Dean's reaction to Bafana's goal

 

Of course at that time I did not think I was going to get caught on camera at the end of the game and then receive several messages from friends who saw me!

 

BUT believe it or not, that was not the most exciting thing that happened to me that night - the most exciting thing that happened was Pepe Reina waving at Charne and me! It was an awkward wave - because Charne and I were the only two waving like crazies but it was so worth it because not only is he hot, he plays for Spain and is a Liverpool favourite :)

 

 

 

The game was so much fun and it really helped me feel better because I've been having a bit of a tough time. There was so much eye candy going around, I was so entertained! I even spotted this guy who is so channelling Harvey Spector. 

 

 

 

Anyway, enough with the stalking pictures - I had an amazing experience even though Spain lost.

What's the most exciting thing that happened to you this week?

 

Bucket List - Liverpool FC vs Kasier Chiefs LEGENDS Game

I don't think it's accurate to include this particular game on my bucket list because I would have never thought it would be possible to even watch some of the players I did watch.

On Friday, I mentioned how excited I was and I had no idea how that would only be the tip of the iceberg.

I bought the Liverpool Tattoo when I visited Liverpool in 2010 ~ I knew it would finally come in handy

Last week was rough for me, work was rough and my sleeping patterns were completed messed up and if I thought that was hectic, things only got worse when we almost missed our flight because we were running a little late and the lady helping us well, didn't help! She printed my ticket twice and my dad was left without a ticket then when we finally all had tickets I thought my flight wasn't boarding so I went to buy a book and almost missed my flight. So if you were in OR Tambo on Friday and saw a girl running thought - it was me!

When we arrived at King Shaka International, none other than Kaiser Chiefs (and more so Bafana Bafana) legend - Doctor Khumalo was on my flight and he was nice enough to take a quick picture with me.

Back to the game, I was so psyched on Saturday to see so many Liverpool fans and for the short time it felt like we were all going to see Liverpool play at Anfield. When You'll Never Walk Alone was playing at the beginning of the day, it was definitely a "MOMENT".

Liverpool lost over penalties but the game was played in such a good spirit and there were so many goals it really was a great experience.

When leaving Durban on Sunday evening I then bumped into Liverpool FC legend, Bruce Grobbelaar and I am so happy that I got that opportunity. I was definitely reminded this weekend I am extremely blessed.

Who is the most surprising celeb you have met? Were you at the game?

Hi, my name is Natalie and I'm a technoogy hoarder

Firstly - can you believe we are already 5 days into November? This year is GONE and boy am I glad.

Secondly, an update on how I did with my October mindset....

1.Spanish lessons : I finally completed the first disc of my Spanish lessons and I will move onto disc two. BUT does anyone know of some good Spanish Apps I could maybe download? Or even better.. spanish music? I love music and I think if I could sing along to some music I would learn the meaning and pronounciation better?

 

 

2. I failed at the physical activity 4 times a week. I wish I had a reason worth repeating  but I don't HOWEVER, I did purchase a nice new piece of equipment, the Orbitrek which now doubles as a stepper and elipitical walker. So after paying a big lump sum for it I will be sure to be getting my exercise on.

 

3. Booking another trip - well I did accomplish this but it sort of happened by accident. As I did this post, Liverpool announced that the Legends team were en route to South Africa but they would be playing at the Moses Mabida Stadium so ofcourse I booked tickets and I will be off to Durban in just under two weeks!

 

4. Another one I failed at, I haven't decided what to do with my blog design but I have given it a lot of thought and I think it will be a work in progress until the new year.

 

 

Now back to the original post idea. It occured to me, as it has many times before, that I am very much into social media and different forms of communication and then while on lunch yesterday I realised I keep a lot of unnecessary mails and then I started going through my Bloglovin account and then twitter and then facebook and I came to the conclusion that I have a hard time letting go.

 

I have mails since the day I started my current position(last year October) and I have blogs that I follow or subscribe to which I maybe liked one post but not any other or I follwed people on twitter because I once liked one of the TV shows they were in and thought that their TV charcters would automatically make them interesting people. I was wrong. I have people who requested me as a friend on Facebook when I joined and thought it was ok to accept even though I didn't know them and I am yet to delete them?

 

BUT all this just reaffirmed my shock which I went through over the weekend when I got a very nice pop up meassage on my phone to day that I don't have any more space to take any more pictures! I was horrified, I mean I archieve and delete unnecessary pictures when I absolutely have to.

 

All this made me think WHY? Why am I not letting go of the deadwood? But I realised I don't like letting go. I have this fear that I will miss a really great post or someone I met once and now we're Facebook friends and I need to know when she's getting married and having kids? Or why I would follow people on twitter just for the sake of having some different people on my timeline?

 

 

I decided, I've had enough. I am putting everyone on probation. Just like how with clothing items I haven't used or even wanted to use in the last year - I am getting rid of it all. I just feel as if I am carrying extra deadwood for nothing. I started by deleting about 1000 of the 2899 photographs I had on my phone and then getting rid of music that I don't like or apps that no longer serve any purpose. Come on Natalie, the Euros 2012 App cannot help you in November 2013!

 

So the purging begins and I think it is perfect timing. There are a lot of things happening in my life right now... and I need to make sure only the relevant survive. And while Android and Apple finally have BBM, I am going to be very selective in who I add to yet another social media platform.

 

I just feel like any people who hoard clothes or old items, that by me holding onto all these additional people for no good reason that I am holding myself back from letting the right people into my life or creating space for the people who matter.

Are you a technology hoarder like me? Or do you hoard something else?

 

Football Friday :Miguel Ángel Britos Cabrera

After the whole Blogtember challenge, I must be honest I am feeling really tired and I have been so busy in my day to day life that I haven't been able to blog much.

Today will be quick, I am not sure if I should continue with Football Friday or if I should switch to another day reserved for some good old eye candy. So tell me what you think I should do?

Today is all about an Uruguayan footballer who plays for Napoli FC, which means he lives in Italy (lucky him).   I actually became aware of him from a picture that Pepe Reina posted on his facebook page.

Therefore I cannot tell you much about his ability but I will be sure to watch the next Napoli game and see if he looks better on TV or in pictures!

 

 

In the News:

1. Aresenal appears to be doing well this season, then again, they always start off well but I am unconvinced that they will be able to keep up at this level unless Ozil really is something magical...?

2. It appears that despite the rumours, Qatar will still host the 2018 World Cup.

3. Man United are playing badly and everyone is playing the blame game.

 

and

 

Liverpool FC have released their new team photo

Don't you think he looks similar to Nacer Chali?

 

Blogtember : Monday, 16 September 2013, A Public Love Letter

Blogtember Challenge

Dear Liverpool Football Club

How do I put into words what being a supporter of this team means to me?

I remember always being aware of LFC because my dad was a supporter and if I had to pick I would LFC but then the night before my first University exam, Introduction to Constitutional Law, and Istanbul happened.

 

I was hooked. I remember watching the team defend like crazy and then win on penalties. It was magical even all the way from South Africa.

 

However supporting LFC didn't mean I was in for an easy ride, you are a team which makes supporting you a challenge. In the past, we have been inconsistent, we have been great at playing but bad at scoring... we have been playing badly and then scoring.

 

We have the most intense football rivalries... it may have just been Man United and Everton, once upon a time but now... after Fernando Torres... Jose Mourinho... Chelsea is most definitely up there with teams we love to hate.

 

When planning my first trip overseas, I made sure to include time in Liverpool, and the day I spent in the museum and at Anfield, was easily one of my top 5 best days of my life. The aura as I stood in front of the gates was at times, overwhelming and simultaneously comforting.

 

 

When Fernando Torres left, I stayed up all night waiting to see if he would betray the fans or not and when it was official... I cried myself to sleep and it broke my heart to hear Stevie's hurt

 

 

 

His betrayal only pushed me further into my love for Steven Gerrard. Our captain fantastic, brings so much joys that he deserves his own public love letter but that will be another day.

 

 

On game days, I feel anxious the whole day, I try to wear red and keep positive thoughts... I add LFC to my prayer list because, you are my team but more than that, you are my family!

 

 

Our song... is the most beautifully suited song for our relationship.. because I know that no matter what happens, I will never walk alone.

 



It's unexplainable to describe the bond I have to you but over the years I have come to peace with the fact that those who have experienced, understand it deeper than words could explain.

Love always.....

Natalie

Football Friday : Freddie Ljungberg

Ok so I am sort of cheating with this week's Footie Hottie by using an old fan favourite in the form of Mt Freddie Ljungberg BUT considering that the Barclays Premier League will be starting this month I can't help but reflect on some of my old favourites including him.

Freddie is a retired Swedish footballer BUT he was also a Calvin Kein model, and by the pictures below, you'll understand why!
Freddie played for a number of teams over his professional career but most noticeably, Aresenal. He was part of what could be considered one of Aresenal's most successful teams.

He endeared himself to Arsenal supporters by having a bright red stripe in his hair."We love you Freddie, because you've got red hair, we love you Freddie because you're everywhere, we love you Freddie, you're Arsenal through and through" Later when he shaved his head this was updated to "We love you Freddie, because you've got no hair").

It's no wonder that they have now named him an Aresenal ambassedor of the club.

 

Onto Some Football News:

*Apparently Gareth Bale is desperate to leave Tottenham Hotspur for Real Madrid. I suppose he wants to get more of the Spanish sun in. The big question is, if Bale leaves, who will Totts buy to replace him?

 

* Rumour has it that Cristiano Ronaldo may be on his way back to Manchester however this purchase will cost around 80 million Euros!

 

* Also, Wayne Rooney, may decide to stay at Manchester United, depending on how the fans receive him during the pre-season friendlies.

 

*Is Liverpool FC up for sale again? According to Fenway this rumour is not true.

 

*Lastly, Liverpool loaned Pepe Reina out to Napoli and he wrote an open letter to the Liverpool fans AND the emotion which comes through his letter is so thick and you can tell he is incredibly hurt by the way in which the loan deal occurred. I have to tell you, I am so angry with Brendan Rogers as I really don't believe that we should have loaned him out.

 

Either way, have a good weekend everyone! x