A time for everything...

I recently found out that a friend of mine passed away in a very painful manner...
I found myself questioning a few things- Life, God ect ect, as is the normal reaction...

I realised that you cannot live your life with regrets, you need to live your life to the fullest-as you never know if tomorrow will come.

Work 210% harder than everyone else to achieve your goals and dreams and do not let any moment pass you by- Also do not put off what you can do today for tomorrow...


on that note - RIP Muzi Clive Ngwenya...

Timothy Bloom ft. V Bozeman "Til The End of Time" (clean)

I thought I should share this Video with you- a friend shared it with me and I was personally blown away!!! People do not make music like this anymore....

This is what music is all about...

Enjoy :):)

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

The Beat in my Heart

The beat in my heart,when we came to a start
The love was there,so we drew near-
Oh what a kiss we shared,over their eyes that stared.
You make me yearn for more,oh your passion just hits me deep down to the core....
The dictattion of time will tell if we are made for each other-
Where to now my lover?

Miranda Mokhele

Marsha Ambrosius - Late Nights & Early Mornings

for the grown and sexy ladies...hee heeee!

WHY DO SCHOOLS NOT TEACH THIS AS A SUBJECT????Part 2

PAYING TAX!!

I find it soooo amusing that quite a few people are very clueless when it comes to paying tax and recieving money back from the tax man ( yes you can get money back from the tax man)-

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU PAY TAX AND VAT ON PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT YOU PURCHASE IN A STORE??

We are now nearing the end of tax submissions online for non-provisoonal tax payers ( these iclude freelancers, actors, musicians ect - those that do not earn a salary or get extra income somehow)-

if you are a privisional tax payer then you have until the end of January next year to submit online ( these include the people that earn salaries eect)

HOW DO YOU SUBMIT YOUR TAX RETURNS?

• First you need to apply for a tax number-
• then you need to register with the efiling system online, i find this is the easiest way- no need to stand in a line for hours ect.
• gather all of  your slips for that specific tax year- and then calculate the total amoounts for all cataegories ( be it medical bills, groceris, rent ect..)- rememeber you can pretty much claim tax on anything...
• if you are a non- provisional tax payer- all of your RIP5's should be on the system already ( this means you can claim for those)
• you then put these amounts in their respective colums and the vuala!
• wait for a couple of days- and wait for your phone to beep to tell you that you got money in the bank from the tax man.
• remember SARS can aks you to send these slips to them to prove how you got to all of the "claimed" amounts.

DID YOU KNOW THAT CHILDREN PAY TAX TOO???

I work for an acting management company and when our children work- they get taxed 25% on every single job they do- yes this means that children claim back tax too- and yes they need tax numbers.

Be carefull of not being taxed- because if you do not get taxed on something or a job that you did, that means you are liable to pay the tax man that certain amount of money- and it is your responsibilty to do this.

Turst me you do not want the tax man to be coming after you for their outsanding monies!!!lol
if there is one thing that runs smoothly in this country- it is SARS...lol

HOPEFULLY WE WILL HAVE LESS TAX PROBLEMS IN S.A...hee heee

WHY DO SCHOOLS NOT TEACH THIS AS A SUBJECT???? part 1

HOW TO BUY A HOUSE?

I do not know about you- but I am at that stage where I am sick of moving around and living in apartments. My future hubby to be and I have recently decided to purchase an asset in a form of a house, that way we have a home to live and to build a family.

Only problem is- where do you start?? No one ever taught me how to do any of this- who do you talk to???
I found myself having to ask advise form my boss, the accountant at work and my parents and yet no one really had any clear advise for me on how to go about purchasing a house.

what makes it worse is that the house we wanted to buy was what the bank calls an "insolvent property"- this by the way means a whole lot of red tape and extra costs ( if I had known all of this before putting in my offer with the auctioneers- trust me i would have 180'd my decision)

anyway so- first thing is first, we decided we wanted the house we where currently renting ( the owner was proven insolvent and we where told that we had the option to put an offer on the house or move out in 30 days)

we obviously decided that the most adult thing to do- would be to purchase the house since we had fallen in love with it.

our next step was to call the auctioning company,put in an offer,sign the papers and we where good to go right? ( NOT!!!!!!!)

little did we know that because its an insolvent property things would turn out more complex than a "normal" purchase.

steps to follow when wanting to purchase a house:

• all banks have online bond calculators ( see if you qualify for one an if so how much)
• sign purchase offer
• go to the bank and apply for the bond
• if you get approved ( this procedure should not take more than 2 weeks) then good for you- if not
• apply with another ( i found that the bank that banked with gave me the least amount out of all banks- so I applied with other banks to get a better offer)
• once you get approved- the bank organises a transfer attorney for you- to transfer all documents into your name.
• once the transfer attorneys have done their part- the bond attorneys get contacted
• you then get called in and you sign the bond papers and transfer attorney papers.

With a "normal" sale- you would be done at this stage and you would be a proud owner of a property- but not with an insolvent property....no sir reeeeee!!!lol

I still had to pay "interest" which is in essence like occupational rent- Because I lived in the house that i wanted to purchase, i was liable to pay occupational rent until the property was put into my name.
Over an above all of this- you have to pay your deposit ( usually 10% of the purchase price)- and your transfer attorney costs ( can range from anything from R7000- R25'000) and bond attorney costs ( similar to transfer attorney costs)

I do not know if you agree with me, but this is quite a huge amount of money- and if you do not have any of this money saved up, it means that you will have to take out a loan for all of this!

Over and above, you still have to pay for an electricity compliance certificate ( which will cost you approximately R800 excluding the call out fee and readjustments done to your electricity for you to "qualify") and for your water electricity ect ect ect ect ect blah blah blah...

I know this all sounds complex- but it would not be if we where taught all of this at school!!!!!!! it is soooo humiliating for me as an adult to be communicating with my transfer attorney and not know anyof their jargon or the right procedures to follow!!!


Needless to say i am still waiting for the DEEDS office to sign the papers from my transfer attorneys - so I can FINALLY own this property!!

I really hope this has helped one of you out there- in case you are thinking of purchasing property.

My advise:

DO NOT BUY AN INSOLVENT PROPERTY- IT IS NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE AND FINANCIAL STRESS!!! TRUST ME!

Smartphone pictures pose privacy risks

Technology these days is something we need to watch out for- as much as it makes our lives easier, in some other ways it also complicates it by putting you in harms way without you knowing.

please watch this video- it was a major eye opener for me!!

Cyclonious Gone Baby, Don't Be Long (Remix ft Erykah Badu)

Erykah Badu - "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long" Offical Video

I am taking a beautiful musical Journey- this song is playing a major part in it...
It is an amazing song too- some beautiful elements to it...

Music My No1 Love...

Thought I would share a few of my favourite phrases and lines from some songs that have touched me...
As some of you have gathered by now- I breath, eat and sleep music in my own unique way :):)

"Have you ever touched a rainbows end- did you get your pot of Gold?"

"Dreamt a hundred thousand dreams before-finally I believe...see i have waited all my life for this moment to arrive"

" I believe in the impossible...I start to be the best, shine my light for all to see"

"I see past all the stars across the sky"

"Ndiyathandaz' uyive lengoma, izok' vuselel' umphefumlo wakho- ikunik' themb' Elitsha"

"Sometimes it lasts in love and sometimes it hurts instead"

"I'd wear love, i look good in love"

"Say Hello to goodbye"

"Umthwalo wam' uyandisinda- oh ndiyacela ndiphathise- ulule isandla sakho andi funi uku fana naba nikezelayo"


all of these are obviously only a few of the songs that I like- I have tons more were that came from..lol

Beyoncé - Party ft. J. Cole

Love this song!!!!

When I
woke up this morning lying in bed,
I was asking myself,
What are some of the secrets of success in life?
I found the answer right there,
In my room.

The fan said: Be Cool

The roof said: Aim High

The Window Said: See the World

The clock said: Every minute is Precious

The mirror said: Reflect before you act

The calendar said: Be up to date

The door said: push hard for your goals! TO FORGET,
THE CARPET SAID...
KNEEL DOWN AND PRAY.

Carry a Heart that Never Hates
Carry a Smile that Never Fades.
Carry a Touch that Never Hurts.

AND NOT

Unhinged - 48 Hour Film Project 2011 Top 15

for those that did not come through to the viewing of the 48 hour project here is the film we shot...

YES I SAID IT

A friend of mine is going through some man trouble at the moment, this is what inspired this poem I you are about to read.

THE MAN YOU THOUGHT BELONGED TO YOU!

The man you thought belonged to you, walks into a room and steals your shine

The man you thought belonged to you seems to secretly think other women are fine ( hot)

The man you thought belonged to you walks by other women and looks at their behinds

The man you thought belonged to you slept with another girl in the room next to mine

The man you thought belonged to you whispers sweet nothings into ear while he grabs her rear

The man you thought belonged to you is in fact the man we women grew up to fear

The man you thought belonged to you preys on other women and waits for them to agree to lay

The man you thought thought belonged to you is probably reading this thinking, is she writing about me?

Written by: Miranda Mokhele







Powerful Inspirational true story...Don't give up!

The Language of lurrveeee...

Ladies- you might find this topic hard to resist:)
Gentlemen- you might learn a thing or two...just like you I do not have this whole love thing figured out.

Ok- let me get started...
I for one love reading...as you may have gathered- a book in the bookshop caught my eye-

I am at the stage in my life where i am questioning a lot of things, like love, money and how to keep myself growing in all departments of life ect ect...

Soooooo you have been in a relationship for lets say four years-

We all know by now that the "honeymoon phase" only lasts- longest 2 years...lol, so what then after that? This book has all solutions trust me...

namely (Men, this is where you pay attention...lol)

 

Words of Affirmation This is when you say how nice your spouse looks, or how great the dinner tasted. These words will also build your mate's self image and confidence.

Quality Time Some spouses believe that being together, doing things together and focusing in on one another is the best way to show love. If this is your partner's love language, turn off the TV now and then and give one another some undivided attention.

Gifts It is universal in human cultures to give gifts. They don't have to be expensive to send a powerful message of love. Spouses who forget a birthday or anniversary or who never give gifts to someone who truly enjoys gift giving will find themselves with a spouse who feels neglected and unloved.

Acts of Service Discovering how you can best do something for your spouse will require time and creativity. These acts of service like vacuuming, hanging a bird feeder, planting a garden, etc., need to be done with joy in order to be perceived as a gift of love.

Physical Touch Sometimes just stroking your spouse's back, holding hands, or a peck on the cheek will fulfill this need.

I must admit sometimes women also forget to do the above mentioned things- ( I am brushing up as we speak)

If you do this hopefully you will never get bored and you will always be - for a lack of a better word- "satisfied" ...

i find that by establishing your own language of love takes you a long way...

"I felt lucky to have the opportunity"

A friend of mine recently went abroad and came back with gifts...My gift was a book tittled "Knowing your Value" by Mika Brzezinski...
I must say when I received my gift at face/cover value the book looked a bit intimidating and very business like- and I was not sure whether I would read it never mind engage...lol
I have to say however that once I started reading it I could not stop-

I found it a very interesting read- I feel as people, especially in the work place , we tend to under sell ourselves. Let me break it down...

a lot of us ( especially women)- we feel that if we work really hard- someone will recognise our performance and will reward us accordingly ( I.E a promotion at work)...
What we are not told or taught at school is that no one really recognises your worth until you throw it in their faces...- In this case you have to be your own best advocate and cheerleader!!

"IF YOU'RE NOT ASKING FOR A PROMOTION...YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE GOLD RING"-Valerie Jarett


"WE WOMEN THINK THAT WE WILL WORK VERY VERY HARD...AND THEN MONEY WILL COME"- Carol Smith

Knowing your value means owning your success- Owning your success means acknowledging your achievements.By acknowledging your achievements you build confidence.
If you do not raise you hand in the work place - you will never get anywhere...

When we have prayed really hard for a certain job and eventually get the job, and the time comes to negotiate your salary- you get so overwhelmed by the fact that you got the job and how lucky you are for receiving such n opportunity that your "worth" takes a back seat.

You feeling lucky to have the job will cost you dearly-

For those that feel being liked by your boss will get you far- well think again!!and stop telling your boss that you love the job so much that you would do it for free- because trust me that might just happen. your boss will quickly figure out that you want approval instead of money and next thing you know instead of a bonus check you will receive a watch...lol

Bottom line is business should be done without emotion-PERIOD!! ( something my boss taught me...)

One thing women have in common in the work place is that they have a constitutional resistance to quitting...what do I mean by this?

We like being good, we like being loyal and we like being the good girls and we do not like people thinking we are pushy and too masculine- One of the ways to make more money in the work place is by quitting and going some place else...you have to keep moving to get a raise!!!

"WOMEN DON'T SAY WHAT THEY THINK, AND THEY DON'T DO WHAT THEY FEEL"

Too often women feel it is a mans job to make and understand money.far too often the responsibility of money is is delegated and we end up not learning enough about money- so of course we end up fearing it!

Ok so let me summarise what I am trying to say-

"wanting to to be liked, taking things personally,feeling lucky to have the job,fearing unknown consequences: these are filters through which a lot of people especially women view their work, and that influences the way they react. But truth is, the filter blurs our focus and keeps us from our goals!!"

Always be aware of your ability to walk away from an offer that is not satisfactory to you....

Hope this helps those that are stuck in a rut at the moment...maybe you should get the book

Down Time...

For those that do not me- let me introduce myself:)
I am firstly and foremost a Fiance to an amazing man, Daughter to amazing parents, a performer ( this includes my music and acting) and lastly but not least I am a budding business woman and a God loving woman...

My daily life includes managing quite a few people's lives within the performance industry- I work for an artiste management agency called Gaenor artistse management...this is a normal nine to five-
In between all of this I try and do my acting and music.

Talking about music I recently got signed to BBB- music,for those that are familiar with my hustle should know that music has always been my first love- I am currently working on my first offering called "Beautiful beginnings"- to be released May 2011
For those that have been wondering where I have disappeared to in terms of acting- I have been concentrating a bit more on my music and business side of things...I do however try and do small projects on the side- like, recently I took part in the 48 hour film project.

For those that are not familiar with this project- what happens is that different people from the acting industry volunteer their services to making a film in 48 hours. I went to the screening today and I must say that the level of quality in the S.A Film industry has improved immensely...we are moving up people slowly but surely

my routine comprises of my 9-5 job during the week and my music and acting on the weekends...sounds hectic  I know- but I Blossom when it is "hectic" trust me.
when I am not doing anything I stress...lol

so this is basically me- as I said I am not sure what the normal etiquette for blogs are- but I figured I can pretty much write anything because this is my blog and my freedom of speech...so expect for me to keep you updated on what goes on in my life:):)

I have attached a link to my music for those that have not heard my stuff:) let me know what you think.

http:http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fbbb-music%2Fmiranda&h=HAQCMMDmGAQAdxpqz_Nygvv9fGrKyA_TscavqmsYyLTwrDQ

*Miss M*

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

 

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees. 

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

By: Maya Angelou