Pap Smear - abnormal *karma needed pls*

Please spare a thought for me...

In January I had a routine pap smear done.
It came back as having 'abnormal cells'. I was told not to worry as it was most likely nothing, but to have a repeat pap in 6-months to double-check confirm.

I went for the follow-up on Friday. It has come back iffy again showing 'abnormal cells' on my cervix, so my sample has been sent off for more detailed analysis & testing.  

I don't want to worry about it too much before I know what the situation is, and if I do need to worry or act on it, but obviously it is in my mind a bit... And I am finding my mind wondering about consequences (with the boys etc etc etc) if it IS a problem. And they are not pleasant thoughts...Meh.

I should find out more on Friday. But please spare a small thought that it is not a big issue. Please.

*update*: I had to go for a colposcopy biopsy - most unpleasant medical experience I have ever endured. It was really not fun. but thankfully the biopsy results showed nothing to be too alarmed about so I just need to make sure I have regular pap smears and keep a look out but otherwise everything is ok! :)

Quinn yet another milestone on the journey to adulthood

So on Sunday Quinn wrote a bunch of very specific stuff on our whiteboard shopping list: 
- Gillette Fusion 3D Razor, 
- Shaving Gel, 
- Deodorant, 
- Special Hair Wax,
- blah bah the list went on.
Of course all top of the range expensive stuff.

So we had a discussion about budgeting and cost effectiveness and being a smart consumer, and I agreed that he could have a budget for toiletries that he can manage and then he can decide if he REALLY needs Gillette Fusion (battery operated vibrating) razor, or if a BIC disposable will do etc. He of course decided he must have the vibrating 'cool' one. I explained that once we set the budget he can do what he wants with it, but I won't be buying toiletries he'll need to cover what he needs(wants) with that budget.

We also had a big talk about shaving since he's started getting a darkened 'moustache' area and says some boys at school have started shaving already.

So I said we can talk/think about that and get advice etc and I'd get someone to teach/show him and we would take it from there.

So we drew up a budget spreadsheet and then he was going to research some pricing etc so we could compromise on a reasonable amount.

Last night he came to the shops with me and went off with a notepad to the toiletry section to do his research. He came back saying the Gillette Razor is R120! He went back to look some more and eventually settled on some decent 2-blade disposable razors in a 5-pack for R30 and then found a 2-pack of Shaving Gel for R20 (while the other was R50 for one), a nice toothbrush/toothpaste set for R12 etc.

I agreed we could get the stuff he chose, since he was making wise and frugal decisions and looking at what was on promotion etc, and that we would store it for now.

So what do I find when I got out the bath after we got home..?

The child had decided to go off and shave right then and there!  He was so chuffed with himself and how smooth his face was.  

So I now have a really large (pretty much taller than me now) size-10-footed, face-shaving child. Just when and how did that happen?!? I mean really. Yesterday he was small and cute and only 6!!!

This is all happening really fast!

Anyone else have shavers??

Toasty!

So ever since we moved to this side of the building in May, once or twice a week we get a very distinctive TOAST smell here around mid-day. It smells quite nice!

Today I finally asked who is making toast and where the toaster is..? Only for the old-hats to tell me that's the smell from the crematorium down the road!!!

Flip, dead people smell delicious. So now I can't decide if the small makes me hungry or should put me off lunch!

Altius et Latius

YAY! Quinn has been accepted to attend Rondebosch Boys High School * next year.

It has always been our first choice school. We have had our eye on the school right from the beginning, pretty much since before he was born actually. Both boys are in the prep school and we have loved being part of the Rondebosch Family so far... and that's what it is, it is not just a school, it's a family and a lifestyle.

We are THRILLED!

Do us proud Quinn and keep aiming Higher & Wider.

* I just need to pay the deposit to make it official now! :)

Team Awesome

So while I was away in Climbing a Mountain in Borneo my amazing team at work - who really are so cool I call them 'Team Awesome' - created this for me and posted it to my FaceBook page to show their support and encouragement while I was away.

How cool and awesome are they hey!?

I <3 them lots!

Madiba's End is Nigh

The father of our nation and world icon of principle, freedom, peace, humanity, humility, forgiveness and love is reaching the end of his days.

I feel melancholic, but not sad. He is an old man, and he has lived a full, hard, rich and very important life. He has achieved much and touched the whole world with his spirit.

I think he is ready. He is tired and he wants and needs to rest now. Much as we want him to stay with us forever, we need to let him go now. He has done what he came to do, and he will never be forgotten.

Rest now Tata Madiba. Go, knowing you changed our lives forever. We respect, revere, praise and love you.

Thank-you for everything. You have been a true hero and role model. Viva.

HELP - I need Retirement Savings Advice

Hi lovely people on the interwebz...

I know some of you out there are pretty clued up and on the ball in terms of retirement planning and the various options. So can any of you please help me? 

I am 39 now and have no, as in na-da, formal retirement savings at all. It's suddenly dawned on me that THIS IS A PROBLEM!

I neither want to be a burden on, nor expect or rely on my children to have to look after me, and nor do I want to work till I die. Well I don't want to HAVE to anyway. If I do I want it to be out of choice not necessity.

So while I have spent the last few years, since my divorce, getting on top of my sizable bond, paying school fees, getting Quinn's ears (and all the associated ops) and eyes sorted, and basically muddling through life as a single parent (with no maintenance or any other support) - including some job changes and retrenchments etc along the way - it now feels like I REALLY need to start focusing on some formal retirement focused savings.

The trouble I have no idea where to start, or who to trust. My instict tells me any financial advisor will advise me on whatever earns THEM the best commission and I am pretty inherently distrustful of the financial service industry as a whole.

I know I am already 'about R2M behind the curve' in terms of what I should have saved and invested already. But I can't panic about that, or be paralysed by it. I have to just start now and see how I go.

I have worked out/decided that I need a Retirement Annuity/Unit Trust investment and my main options seem to be:

- Old Mutual

- Alan Gray

- Coronation

- Investec Asset Management

So how do I assess the various options and decide which is best - in terms of fees and performance/ROI?

And once I have chosen the company, how do I decide which actual funds to invest in? Noting that I am willing to go med-high risk now since I have a bit of time before I need to secure the investments and feel a need to be a little aggressive (and not too conservative) about it for now.

While my very brief 'calculator'  exercise indicated I should be saving about R8k per month, there's no way I can manage that!

I also need a vehicle that allows me to top up as and when I can, and gives me the ability to pause payment in the event I am in between jobs, or sick or something for a month or 3 at any time.

Can anyone help me figure this out..? Or point me in the right direction as a starting point..?

Is there anyone out there?

I have been wondering if there really is any point to me blogging anymore.

I like having a record of stuff we do, but I don't think anyone reads it or cares.

It takes time to do, and though I think it's great to look back on over time, it just doesn't seem relevant right now.

So is anyone actually out there?