The Problem with Automated Response…

My Husband Franc, in a fit of fervent, prosperous, holiday fever, sent off a response to an inviting SMS declaring…

“BMW’s HAVE TO BE WON…TODAY!”

So, being the gorgeous blue eyed sweetie pie that he is… he sent off that first, inevitable, innocent, R10 per SMS…um,…SMS. This is what followed.

After sending off the word “YEBO” (meaning ‘yes’ in zulu) to the number provided (and spending R10 in a split second) he sat back and smiled thinking of how he would drive that BMW… before he knew it he received this…

"Vodacom celebrates 100 cars! Win 1 of 100 BMW’s in 100 days!1 BMW every day! SMS your NAME to 555101and win 30 extra entries in tonight’s draw! (R10 per SMS)"

…and so, like any hot blooded BMW inspired cell phone user… he SMS’d his name, FRANCIS to the number provided and, once again, spent R10 in a split second.
Once again, he sat back and smiled thinking of how well spent the R20 was, when, suddenly, he heard what was the start of an interesting journey into the world of

SERVICE PROVIDER AUTOMATED RESPONSE SYSTEMS (ARS)

He had sent off his first SMS at 7:05
He had received the second SMS at 7:06
He replied at 7:06
At 7:06 he received this message…

"TIP 1: Every SMS you send to 555101 is worth 10 extra entries in the DAILY draw. IMPORTANT: All the SMS you receive are free. Reply now! (R10 per SMS)"

…at 7:07 he received another SMS…

"TIP 2: You are not alone! You’ll find surprises, bonus’s, even EXTRA CARS!! Let’s start! There’s a surprise for you TODAY! SMS YEBO to 555101 (R10 per SMS)"

… in disbelief (hello! he received like 100 SMS in ONE MINUTE) then after a brief respite, at 7:15 he received this message…

"With 1 SMS a day you can transfer all your entries to the daily BMW draw Francis! Play now for more bonuses! SMS YEBO to 555101 (R10 per SMS)"

…he called me and read the SMS to me as yet another one came through, also at 7:15…

"Hey Francis! We have a question for YOU! SMS YEBO to 55510. Once you have answered it you will get 70 extra entries!! (R10 per SMS)"

…after a few minutes of amazement, at 7:25 he received yet another SMS…

"IF you would rather QUIT and not receive any tips or free info SMS STOP to 555101, don’t worry we’ll still enter you into today’s draw! (R10 per SMS)"

We then had a respite and almost forgot the experience until the next morning, when Vodacom stepped up the game 12:14 17th December…

"Hi Francis! P. Mokebi won yesterdays BMW draw…"
Now pay attention because this is where automated response systems fail us.
"…but today’s BMW may be won by a WOMAN. If you would like to enter today’s draw - SMS YEBO to 555101 (R10) GO FOR IT!"

He frowned and asked me, why are they telling that a WOMAN might win?
I shrugged. Then on the 17:23 18th December…

"Important reminder Francis! Don’t forget to transfer all of your 60 entries for tonights BMW draw. SMS YEBO… blah blah…"
(Just wanna mention that it has now gone from 30 entries to 60 entries magically)

Then, we realised what had happened when, on the 19th December at 17:01 we received this last SMS… hahaha…

"Come on Francis! Girls never quit and Quitters never win! Claim the BMW! Transfer your 60 entries now! (R10 per SMS)"

Someone, Somewhere, decided that it would be a great idea to not only have customers names attached to propaganda SMS chains, but that it would be fun to assign GENDER based on NAME. Someone at Vodacom has not yet realised that FRAN – CIS is a male name, and FRAN – CES is a girls name.

Come on Francis my man! You GO GIRL!!!

Oh yes, LEAVE US ALONE VODA-BLOODY-COM!!!!

The Snow Patrol Experience...

I had the pleasure today, of babysitting the gorgeous and famous Snow Patrol Swan. No it's not a swan, it's mommy and daddy are 'the Swans' Kim and Paul...Swan... ok. Got it.

Well, this little noonoo is at present chilling out in Aunty Sandy's old hamster cage, while it's parents decide if they like their baba with or without feathers...the jury is still out on that one but i'm sure Kim will keep us posted on her blog! http://www.kim-happy-day.blogspot.com/ until then, he is one cool dude with a funky cage and his own mirror and what-not... Kim and I took out the hamster wheel... it's lying in my dusty garage...

He has spent the day, Sitting, Sh*tting, Sleeping, Flying up and crash landing, Crawling all over his mirror, Eating and Staring at his room mate...

THE ROOM MATE
Kim dropped the little tyke off this morning and I put Hannibal our Finch next to him (in his own cage of course!)
Now Mr Hannibal has his own story - he has had two wives,...yes TWO WIVES since we got him a year ago.
After the Second Mrs Hannibal J Finch died of the SAME problem we realised that there was a suspicious link between Mrs Hannibal J Finch 1 and Mrs Hannibal J Finch 2... ie. MURDER.
Of the extreme feather plucking kind... (I hear him now "But I like's them brazillian waxed mr Judge!!")

THE CUTENESS
Well, from being really reserved and quiet, little SP has become steadily more vocal... I think the fact that Hannibal has been enticing him closer, with promises of a life of luxury in his penthouse nest has helped... what a wierd finch.

I managed to sneak up (can 8 month pregnant ladies sneak?) and catch a bad shot of them as they realised that i was there.... anyway, they have spent the day chattering back and forth and hopping around on the ground floor...
This is the shot.
Hannibal J Finch - Left, Snow Patrol Swan who is a Budgie - Right.

Our Garden Again...

This is our darling porch.

The paved area on the right sits on top of a retainer wall that my husband built. It is very pretty - log rolls, and added an extra metre onto our existing porch.
We are going to finish the fence along the top soon and enclose our porch for when little Savanna Rae makes her appearance.
I must say, love this addition to our little porchie, it makes it feel like a small italian villa - I love the soft greens of the ground cover coming through the paving stones. yummo! When we sit in our lounge we can only see to the end of this section and then we look straight into the branches of our stunning Ficus Tree.



This is our bank.

The top left is the retainer wall and the start of our porch.
The middle shows our bottom entertainment area (waiting to be paved) and our Ficus tree.
Our very bohemian lounge is level with the middle of it's branches.
This pic was taken at the beginning of spring - our garden is very brightly coloured now and the tree is in full sprig - nice!


This is our bird bath and the top of our stairs.

The small round bush on the left is at the top of our stairs going down to our bottom entertainment area - there is a matching bush on the other side of the steps.
The small bird feeder has a funny story...our black maltese Oscar, doesn't like his paws geting wet... so when we've had a heavy dew fall or rain - he runs as fast as he can and jumps up into the water bowl... I think he hopes that it is not full... funny dog.

This is the flower bed near our bedroom window.

It is now full of flowering plants. Pansies, Dianthus and Selenium to name a few. It was the last garden patch that I planted before my tummy got too big! I love my garden and all the beautiful things in it!

Our little leopard tree is growing beautifully and its hard to believe that it was just a little seed in Francs hand once!

Will add some more pics another time :)

Interesting Info...

This is how big my baby girl Savanna is, it is hard to believe! No wonder i'm exhausted!!

Birth plans and being informed
http://babyzone.com/loadpage/article.asp?contentid=1825

Your rights during labour
http://babyzone.com/loadpage/article.asp?contentid=1662

Secrets to a more comfortable labour
http://babyzone.com/loadpage/article.asp?contentid=1917

What to pack in your hospital bag
http://babyzone.com/loadpage/article.asp?contentid=731

For a personalized Pregnancy Calendar
http://healthresources.caremark.com/Pregnancy.do

Birthing Traditions
http://www.babyzone.com/loadpage/topicarticles.asp?topicid=125804

An incredible video - a animation of how the baby grows and is delivered (not gruesome!)
http://www.babyzone.com/videos/default.asp?playlistGUID=f4557fbf-d3bc-490d-a489-81157dc80725&forcePlayClip=mms%253A//broadent.wmod.llnwd.net/a351/o2/Babyzone/144_Epidural_.wmv

The Law of Murphy Regarding Baba's...

The minute you've fully dressed your baby, she will poop.
There are other Murphy's Laws of Parenting. Perhaps you too have found your life governed by the following:
Upon removal of the baby's bib, even after baby has burped, the baby will inevitably spit up.
Hand-me-down outfits stay perfectly clean. New ones are spit up on.
Corollary #1: The more the outfit cost, the more the baby will spit up on it.
Corollary #2: If mother is wearing a ratty old T-shirt, not a drop of drool will come out of baby's mouth. If mother puts on a new cashmere sweater, whammo!
If baby has been an absolute angel all day while alone with mother, baby will fuss and cry the minute a play date begins.
The baby will sleep when mother needs her to be awake (like during a music class or when someone has dropped by to see the precious one) and stay awake when mother needs baby to be asleep (for instance, at 10pm when mother wants to go to bed).
Baby shall always achieve a new milestone, such as rolling over onto her tummy, the minute mother leaves the room. Someone else will witness it, in order that mother may be told how great it was and what a shame it was that she missed it.
TAKEN FROM :
http://parenting.ivillage.com/mom/0,,7lfjdswm,00.html
by Jennifer Saltiel

The Thing with Pregnant Ladies…

You see, I am nearing 33 weeks pregnancy… for those of you who are a part of the “what blinkin’ month ARE you in??” let me explain…

We are not – as is commonly taught in all schools – pregnant for 9 months.
We are actually pregnant for 10 x 4week months – we give birth at the start of the 10th x4week month.
SO technically we are pregnant for 10 FULL 4 week months.
Now, by month I do not mean a CALENDAR month – I mean a 4 week month.(enough repetition here?)

So, we are preggers for 10 x 4 weeks ok…

Now, with regards to CALENDAR months – we are preggers for 9 FULL calendar months. In my case I was ‘lekker ge-pomped’ and conceived on the 8th of May, so let’s count it together now…
8th May…
1. 8th June
2. 8th July
3. 8th August
4. 8th September
5. 8th October
6. 8th November
7. 8th December
8. 8th January
Due Date : January 27th
So technically, yes, I am due inside of the 8th calendar month but I am a mere 3 days short of February which would be…let me hear it? NINE MONTHS. Or as we in the pregnancy state call it “40 weeks pregnant”

Confused? Me too.

The Lounge Wall Phenomenon…

We had a dining room and a lounge.
We had a gaping hole between them.
We got a huge piece of board.
We stuck it in the hole.
We nailed it in.
We polyfiller’d it.
We coated the house in polyfiller dust.
We primed it.
We undercoated it.
We painted it.

We have a lounge now.
We have a third bedroom now.
Case closed.
See photo’s for details. (will put them in later  )