Cleo Livin' life

2010-11-08T12:46:00.000+02:00

At this moment in time, there are 4 things that are getting me through the day ... My family, my friends and this wonderful VIP ...

and this ....

Walk in the rain, jump in mud puddles, collect rocks, rainbows and roses, smell flowers, blow bubbles, stop along the way, build sandcastles, say hello to everyone, go barefoot, go on adventures, act silly, fly kites, have a merry heart, talk with animals, sing in the shower, read childrens' books, take bubble baths, get new sneakers, hold hands and hug and kiss, dance, laugh and cry for the health of it, wonder and wander around, feel happy and precious and innocent, feel scared, feel sad, feel mad, give up worry and guilt and shame, say yes, say no, say the magic words, ask lots of questions, ride bicycles, draw and paint, see things differently, fall down and get up again, look at the sky, watch the sun rise and sun set, watch clouds and name their shapes, watch the moon and stars come out, trust the universe, stay up late, climb trees, daydream, do nothing and do it very well, learn new stuff, be excited about everything, be a clown, enjoy having a body, listen to music, find out how things work, make up new rules, tell stories, save the world, make friends with the other kids on the block, and do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage, balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, relaxation, communication and life energy to...all living beings on this planet.

Bruce Williamson, "It's Never Too Late To Have A Happy Childhood", 1987

If i remember the above 4, this pain will pass and I will be happy again.

Birds of a feather flock....

2010-10-05T13:06:00.001+02:00

.... half way there!! Loving the colours!!

Using spoolsewing's simple and quick bird pattern... Can't wait to have it finished and up in my spare room!! I had planned to walk my neighbourhood with Miguel this week to look for the perfect branch on which to settle them all ... but mother nature has decided to send us rain - the first in months!!

So these lovelies will have to wait a few days before finding their perfect roosting spot!

this is where you will find this very easy pattern, that looks so amazing ..

{embroidery quote]

2010-08-31T20:14:00.001+02:00

embroidereading contest, originally uploaded by the_cleof.

when I get sad
I stop being sad and be
AWESOME
instead. true story

-Barney Stinson (how i met your mother)

{ CraftGossip : 3 Etsy shopping sprees >> EEEEEK!!}

2010-08-31T19:58:00.000+02:00

Can you believe this amazing give a way via CraftGossip.com ... They are giving away 3 ETSY shopping sprees to the value of $100 EACH!!! plus they will pay for shipping!!

All you have todo is make a wish list!!

well here goes, as you know i am always be moaning the face that here in south africa you cant find beautifully patterned fabric and when you do it costs the earth ... so there is little wonder about what I chose ... there are soooooooo yummy!!!!:

half yards of :
Dino Fabric
M. Miller Snow Monkey Fabric
M.Miller Mermaids
Colourful Christmas in Red   (yummy bundle)

ribbons :
4 yards of Robot Ribbon

then plushie patterns by the best plush pattern maker of all - the awesome Jodie from RicRacSews ....
Parsley and Beet Elephant
Ernest and Pebble Turtle

This awesome octopus pendant, i mean who could resist

well all i can do now is keep these fingers crossed!!!

LEGO BIRTHDAY PARTY

2010-07-15T19:34:00.000+02:00

Miguel turned 6 this week ... i just cant believe it! what on earth happened to my baby? When asked what theme he wanted i knew the answer well before the said it .. LEGO!!!

So I got busy and ticked of the long wish list .... I thought that I would share with you what I made as well as the printable PDFs as I know from the many hours of searching on the net that this is a popular theme with very little info.

The first were the INVITATIONS :

It consisted of 4 pages and a VIP tag. Page 2 was the actual invite with the party details on it. I had left the date blank, because I used a stamp with glow in the dark ink to add the date. The moms told me later that the kids were closing themselves in their closets to see the date magically appear, as they could not wait for night time! Page 3 was the RSVP and map details, and the last was the biggest hit of all ... design your own Lego man! You should see the amazing drawings we got!

Assembly is really easy ... each page is 4 up on a A4 [A4 paper is 6 mm narrower and 18 mm longer than the "Letter" paper size], the tag has 8 on a page. Print them and cut out on light grey lines. Take one of each kind, & stack together in the order shown in the photos above and punch a hole in a corner. Then using 2 inches of ball chain and a connector (the kind to attach a plug to a sink or bath and can be bought from any building/plumbing supply store - or use cord) thread through the pages and use the connector to join the two ends together. Finally I used a corner punch to round the corners, but it is not necessary to do so.

The link to download the INVITATION is HERE

If you dont see the Green download button just click on a thin grey bar at the bottom of your screen and the menu should appear.

For Miguel's name I used a font called LEGO THICK that can be downloaded for free here (just scroll down). {

{NOTE : for some reason because the lego font is not a true font it wont work in the PDF>> it just overides the settings and makes it Ariel, i have tried to fugure out how to get around this, but it wont let me - the only round the backdoor way to get arpound this is if you have photoshop, you need to open the invite page in PS and then use the lego font to write the name. sorry I have really tried to fix this to no avail.}

PARTY PACK COLOURING IN BOOK - NOTES:

The Colouring-in Booklet PDF is 5 pages. To make the cover, I printed page one on yellow cardstock only page one. The inside of the book consists of the 4 remaining pages which I printed double sided (but its not a train smash if u cant). Cut the all pages in half on the lines provided. Then put one of each page together with a cover on top - the order does not matter but just make sure that the maze page is in the middle as it covers 2 booklet pages.

Make sure that when you fold you make a nice solid crease. I then used my sewing machine to stitch the pages together. See sewing isn't just for old ladies making doggy coats! You can do all sorts of cool stuff with them!! If you don't have machine you can use a stapler just as well. Now just trim the edges of the booklet so that all the pages finish neatly together.

The link to download the COLOURING IN BOOKLET is HERE

LEGO BUNTING :

Bunting is one of the easiest things to do to make an occasion festive. I will use any excuse to make and string up a gorgeous bright row of bunting!! ANY EXCUSE ... Easter, birthdays, Xmas, Friday .... Sunny weather, cold weather ...

Bunting is a string of flags all sewn together on a fabric line. I made a awesome string of bunting for the party .. with loads of Lego pics and bright blocks of colours inbetween .. but in my old age I forgot to take a photo of said wonderful bunting, so you will have to believe me when I tell you it looked amazing flapping in the sea breeze!

I made a really long bunting - about 7 meters, so I printed the pdf out 3 times. The pics are 2 up on a page. Print and cut in half. I also cut out card stock of the same size in yellow, blue and red. The order that I put them in was, one pic and then a card stock - but any order will do. You will also need bias tape if you are sewing or just some cord or string if you are not going to sew the bunting.

I am not going to bore you with a tutorial as there are many out there. Here are two really good ones...

Scissor Variations - has one showing you how to make paper bunting if you don't have a sewing machine.

Katie from Explanation Required a brilliant tute on sewing bunting - except instead of using fabric flags you will use your paper ones.

The link to download the BUNTING PICTURES is HERE

{EXTRA NOTE :I have a Bias binding foot for my sewing machine and it is worth every cent i paid for it (though they are not particularly costly). If you use bias banding a lot you need to go and buy this foot!! the reason why i say that is that you don't have to pin your bias! Yip it just feeds the tape it through the foot, folds it in half and you just need to hold your center in the gap provided on the foot! I LOVE IT! To sew 6 meters of bunting it only takes me about 15 minutes.}

I do have one little tip for sewing loooooong strips of bias though. It can get twisted as you sew, so it can cause quite a bit of teeth gnashing and hair pulling to keep having to un twist it so that it feeds though nice and straight. I buy my bias on rolls that are 25 meters long, all I do is thread the roll onto a stick (or on my case a baking spoon -a very necessary sewing tool) hold between my knees and off i go!!

The last but most certainly not the least, the THANK YOU's for the party packs. Print onto A4 adhesive sheets. Cut them out on the lines. For the pack I used clear packets for the party bags, which after filling with a few tasty treats I simply folded over and closed using the sticker that I had made!!

The link to download the THANK YOU is HERE

The last thing I made for the party were chocolate Lego blocks ... yes i know I'm a HUGE sucker for punishment! Actually it was really easy to make, i was really surprised and I am sure that I will do it again!

I used a food grade silicone (it will come with instructions so you'll be fine!!) I glued some Lego pieces right side up in to a disposable foil baking tray. I then poured the mixture over the lot, making sure that it covers the Lego about 1 inch. I let it set overnight, but check your instructions as different products may require different curing methods. The Lego blocks being plastic just slide right out the set mixture, so there is no need to put any lubricant on them before casting.

I then melted milk chocolate on my stove in a glass bowl sent on to a pot of hot water and let it slowly melt (not boiling water as it could burn the choc). When it was melted I used a spoon, scooped some out and poured it into the mould, put it into the fridge and on 40min .... da daaaa yummy Lego blocks !!

Well i hop that some of this was useful to some one out there in desperate mommy party land! If you have any questions at all just let me know and I'll do my bst to help out ... Have fun!!

{~~EDIT : 26/7/2010 - I cannot get comments to work - if anyone can figure this out please let me know - I have tried everything ... thanks ... cleo [at] techgear.co . za~~ GOT IT TO WORK! WOOOHOOO}

Grosgrain 'Oh Dear' frock Giveaway

2010-05-11T08:35:00.000+02:00

The frock is dark navy blue. The material is thin and finespun. It is gorgeous and worth wishing for... go and check it out here http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2010/05/oh-dear-frock-grosgrain-giveaway_10.html

look at how gorgeous this is !!

Grosgrain: Romeo & Mae Sewing Patterns GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-04-15T10:25:00.000+02:00

Grosgrain: Romeo & Mae Sewing Patterns GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check this awesome give away : "Just in time for the warm weather, Romeo & Mae is offering 5 of their springiest patterns to one lucky Grosgrain reader.The cute little dress to the left is their Madeline Knot Apron Dress. Knot dress are great for growing kids since you can tie the know wherever you need it. Pair the knot dress with boots, tights or even my ruffle pants!"

go go now and have a look see!

stitchado: finally done!

2010-02-26T08:48:00.000+02:00

stitchado: finally done!

[DISSAPOINTMENT UPDATE ... SUBLIME STITCHING]

2009-12-10T09:24:00.000+02:00

Well if any one had any doubts about the power of the Internet, doubt no more ...

My last post was about how disappointed I was in a book that I had purchased and could unfortunately not return. Well a few days after posting I received a message from Jessica who works at Sublime stitching via Facebook!!

This is what they had to say :

Hi Cleo,

I saw your blog post about "Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-To".I'm really, really sorry you were disappointed with the book. I'm not sure why it was shrink wrapped - Chronicle Books is the publisher and distributor, and we've never seen it sold that way.

I can understand your frustration when you unsealed the book, and it wasn't what you were expecting. I'm also sorry you were disappointed with the simplicity of the patterns. The book was designed for beginner stitchers who want to be able to iron on the patterns in various sizes rather than copying the images with transfer tools. Since it wasn't bought through our site, I can't offer a refund, but I'd really like to send you something of equal value that you would like.

We work hard to find what we believe are the best quality textiles and embroidery tools and I want to make sure you're able to experience what Sublime Stitching prides itself on!If that's okay with you, just let me know where you'd like it mailed, and let me know if there's something in particular you'd like.

Thanks,

Jessica

Even when I reiterated to her that the book did not state that it was for beginners like her mail said .. and that it contained a lot of unoriginal designs, she remained polite, professional and friendly. Then a few days later a note from Jenny to say that she was glad that I would be getting a product of hers that I would be enjoying.

WOW!!! So a surprise Christmas gift!!

Thank you Jessica for your superb customer relations and I really look forward to getting the CRAFT PAD - which I hope is more of what I am looking for - as well as the SPACED OUT pattern.

{DISSAPOINTMENT...}

2009-11-27T12:10:00.000+02:00

There is nothing worse that reality not living up to anticipation ...

I have for along time coveted Sublime Stitching's designs, look at the site and tell me any young / young at heart embroiderer would not wnat them .... i mean look at these.

Whilst I do understand that there are some that are by guest artists (those designs are denoted by the ARTIST SERIES) the majority are her own designs, unfortunately have not been able to indulge in this clandestine crush.

Then my local book shop brought in -

well I almost PLATZED!! I was so excited .... I rushed over and picked up the shrink wrapped book with gentle shaking hands & turned it over .... my heart sank.. It was out of my budget. I went home and said to myself it it was meant to be it will. So I did some extra sewing on consignment etc to save the money for this. I thought to my self buying this book of "100's of origional and hip designs" is sooooooo much better than just being able to buy a only couple of her designs on line.

So I saved my pennies for 3 months and went off to the shop .. and there she still was, waiting ever so patiently for me. I paid for her, took her home and tore of the shrink wrap cling film opened the cover and was thrilled at how beautiful the book was made and how lovely the introduction pages were, then I got to the transfer section which is 90% of the book ... and after a few pages my heart just dropped.

Instead of the amazing "innovative, original and HIP designs" that were promised on the cover of the book I got this :

They are the most simplistic drawings, that 5 year old Miguel could manage a pentagon star or a circle with a line drawn through it to represent a planet. Can any one honestly tell me that the above are original and hip?? We have seen them done before and to be honest far less crudely done as well.

Not only are the transfers basic, I don't think they are too stylish, most are quite crude and you could find better in children's colouring in books. I could draw a little cherry and stem or a 5 pointed star that has way more flair. There are about 10 designs that are really good but the rest is just more along the lines of the above ....

There are not 100's of designs there are only 86 ... that are repeated again and again in various sizes. In this day and age of home scanners and printers is that really necessary? If you were a complete novice and had never stitched before then perhaps this is the book for you .. but it does not say that it is for beginners on the cover or even for people that are artistically challenged who cannot draw a star.

I feel so mislead and angry!! And the worse thing is i cant even return the book for a refund as I have taken it out of the cling wrap that it comes in... now I know why it was wrapped so you cant look inside !!

Well now I know for next time - If i cant peruse I wont use!!

What a give away!!

2009-11-10T13:09:00.000+02:00

I know that i have not been around lately, but between work and life ...there is just no time!!

Though i think i will have to make the time if i am lucky enough to get drawn for this wonderful prize on http://www.siblingcraftery.com!!

The prize is a A huge collection of fabric scraps, DMC embroidery floss (which we all know how badly i covet floss living in deepest darkest Africa!!), Two stitchable tea towels and then lastly - excuse me while i catch my breath - And a wonderful book Embroidered Effects by Jenny Hart.

OOOOHHH be still my beating heart!!! Go and join in and perhaps you will get lucky!! but remember my cut if you do!!!! LOL!!

{BUSY BUSY BUSY}

2009-07-02T20:05:00.000+02:00

Well the last couple of weeks have been hectic!! I think things may slow down next month .. i hope so. Though starting next week we have the renovations starting upstairs!! New bathroom and new bedrooms!! NOT looking forward to the huge mess, but so excited to see the finished project in 5 weeks!! Sorry guys the wedding next year is off, I blew the budget on tiles and flooring!!

We had a blanket drive at Miguel school. They are collecting blankets to distribute to various charities during the winter. Last year they raised almost 1000 blankets! Here he is with the 5 that he chose, he took the whole thing very seriously. He really seemed to understand how important it was, even to the point that he said that we could not get pink or white ones, because poor people don't have washing machines and those colours would get to dirty too quickly!! Clever boy!

In just 2 weeks they have distributed 61 blankets to Sinakalele (an orphanage), 100 to the Robin Hood Foundation, 25 to Hillcrest Aids Centre, 50 to Chilenyama, 60 to Highway Aged, 78 to the schools maintenance staff, 20 baby blankets to the 1000 Hills Feeding Scheme, 78 to the Salvation Army and 30 to Vryheid Home for the Aged! Way to go!!

They are on school holidays now... my poor mom! She has him during the day as I'm working and with rotten coincidence I have to work late every day for the last 2 and next 2 weeks!! So I'm only getting home at about 3.40 instead of 1!

Here are 3 of the projects that I have been working on :

My sister and Dad leave for the UK and Ireland next week, and I wanted to get them a Bon Voyage pressie. I had NO idea what ... until I remembered in your bag always is that awful plastic packet for your laundry ... so I took two pillow cases and recycled them into Laundry bags!! I am quite pleased as to how they came out!!

I used annieoakleaves little hedgehogs and then added my own extras!

Then my dads one I did not know what to do, he is a very manly kinda guy ... so I just did the missing sock thing!! I hope that he likes it!!

This is Bertrand, it is a pattern that I have been working on for a week now, The school is having its annual Country Fair. Every class needs to participate. Miguel class are doing a bean bag toss!! the thing is they have no bean bags .... so I then proceed to offer my services. ... and then complicate my life by saying ... 'WHATS THE THEME??' "theme?" was the answer, well you have to have a theme!! So now instead of little square bean bags ... I need to make 14 FROGS!!! What on earth was I thinking?!?

I did search for frog patterns on line, but none of them actually looked very much like a frog!!This is Bertrand, with one of his poor predecessors ... now you can see why i needed to refine the pattern a little!! I feel quite chuffed with my recycling efforts as the filling is old pool filter sand that I have washed and dried!! It is quite a coarse sand so it is perfect for filling!!

If any one wants a pattern, I should have one finalised by next week ... just drop me a line and I can send it of to you!!

Need to go now as I am off to Johannesburg at 5.30 tomorrow morning for a meeting and I still need to draw up the diagrams for the new bathroom vanity and cupboard that we are having made.

later

MWAH!!

Mothers Day Book -- back

2009-06-13T08:52:00.001+02:00

Mothers Day Book -- back, originally uploaded by the_cleof.

This is the back of the book.... This sun is the most gorgeous one i have ever seen. THe green triange is an 'Indian Tent' ... I think that that was a hint that someone would like to go camping! To the left of the teepee is a "love you heart" and then a flower.

Mothers Day Book -- front

2009-06-13T08:51:00.001+02:00

Mothers Day Book -- front, originally uploaded by the_cleof.

This was a drawing that Miguel did of me for Mothersday. See the red hair .. that was when I had just done my hair. He said that he made it red ... the same as the hair 'polish' that the hairdresser used!! I LOVE IT!!!!! I think that it is fantastic drawing by a 4 and a 3/4 year old. (the 3/4 is very important you know!!)

The teacher then covered a little note book with the paintings and then covered the whole book in PVC ... I think that I can most certainly say that this is the best gift I have ever received

[NOTE TO SELF]

2009-06-06T16:42:00.000+02:00

Sometimes it moves pretty quick. When you don't have time to think. React. Remember days when all you had was time. Time to reflect. Now. Now is for living.

Just live.

Wake up, tie your boots on and get out in it. Smell it, feel it. Roll down the windows so you can hear it. Listen. Make some noise so you can be part of it. Put your hands in it. Deep.

Pick it up and toss it around. Break it open against the ground. Flip it over. Drink it up. Let it spill. Touch.

Take the time to do that.

Take the effort to throw it a mile high and kick it when it comes down. Hug it and don't let it go. Stare at it. Clench your fists and yell it. Raise your arms to celebrate it. Hold it's hands and dance. Close your eyes and take a chance. Make it happen.

Crawl through it on your hands and knees. Surrender. Defy. Rebel. Let it break you down. Get up with it. Run with it until your legs give out and you can't breathe or move or shout.

Encircle it. Let it in. Float in it. Spin... Smile. Ride. Stack it up into the sky. Burn it down to feel the heat. Chase it down a city street.

Tell it jokes until you cry. Cry with it. Cry with it until you smile. Laugh with it for a while.
Make it pretty. Give it away. Cover it with mud. Let it stay.
Race it to the edges of the Earth. Jump with it. Fly above.

Dream about it.

Shower it with love. Protect it.

Never. Ever. Forget it.

Don't forget.

(Note to Self)

This is it.

This incredible piece of poetry is from the amazing AMANDA SOULE from SOULEMAMA also the (very coveted by me) books --- The Creative Family
How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections as well as Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Re purpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures . She is an amazing inspirational I have no idea how she does what she does, but I am so glad that she does and that she is willing to share with us. She lives her life in beauty.

Aunty Roberta - Rest in Peace

2009-05-24T21:01:00.001+02:00

Aunty Roberta - Rest in Peace, originally uploaded by the_cleof.

She had been in remission from breast cancer for 7 years.. 2 months ago she found out she had cancer of the lower bowel... in the following weeks she developed deep vein thrombosis - while she was admitted to hospital for treatment they discovered that she had ovarian & lung cancer too, it was terminal (she told no one that it was) - so she booked herself out and did what she loved most - she went drumming . She had one last amazing party at the begining of the month and this morning at 2.30 am she died in her sleep.

THis was one of the last photos ever taken of her .. it was at her benifit concert held on the 9th May ..

I am sorry that i was not back in SA to be with her and her daughters, I am sorry that I was too much of a coward to see her before I left .. I am ashamed that I put my fears of my cancer returning ahead of seeing her ... I loved her loved her very much

this was an article in the paper about the concert http://www.tonight.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=348&fArticleId=4959476

she was a very loved and popular lady. Every one from all walks of life gravitated towards her ...

paradise found ....

2009-05-13T09:57:00.000+02:00

Miguel found this coconut in the garden ... we are going to open it when we get back from Club Med

Yesterday, we went to then most stunning beach at Flic N Flac... the water was crystal clear and Miguel could easily snorkel as it was only chest high on him. We will most certainly go back there. Miguel could not wait to get in ..

It was as if we were the only people in paradise ...

He just cant leave that bloody blackberry alone ... its going to end up swimming with the fishes ... I know people that can make that happen ..

Sunset from the kitchen window ... dont have any of the beach yet, as every afternoon at sunset the clouds come!!

2009-05-10T20:21:00.000+02:00

Well we are in Mauritius at last!! 3 weeks worth of tropical weather and the beach at our feet every day!! Miguel is having a ball here going to Grandmere’s beach every day!! We went to Blue Bay yesterday ... Miguel LOVED it and wants to go back every day! Blue Bay in Mauritius is located along the South eastern coast of Mauritius.! It has been designated a Marine Park, and is in fact Mauritius’ only Marine Park.

The two things that he loved the most were feeding the fish while swimming with them and jumping off the boat into the water ... we are going to try and go back at least one more time. The waters are incredibly clear and just by looking over the side of the boat you can see an abundance of fish and more coral than I have ever seen in my life!! It was an amazing day, with Miguel just loving every second of it all!

My Boys

Blue Bay ... could you find anything better??

getting ready for his fave. part ......

Jumping of the boat ... or as he says ... jumping like a pirate into the sea full of sharks!!

Even though it was a little cloudy, so the light was not the best for photos ... you can see all the fish in the water and the coral reef under (about 2 meters below)

Have to go as I dont have much more time .. love to you all

MWAH!!

2009-04-27T21:31:00.002+02:00

My new favorite song. I found it through Blubirdbaby thanks for this great song ...

Don't you worry, there my honey

we might not have any money

but we've got our love to pay the bills

Maybe I think you're cute and funny,

maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you,

if you know what I mean

Oh, let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the South of France

let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters

and teach them how to dance

let's get rich and build our house on a mountain

making everybody look like ants

from way up there, you and I,

you and IWell you might be a bit confused

and you might be a little bit bruised

but baby how we spoon like no one else

So I will help you read those books

if you will soothe my worried looks

and we will put the lonesome on the shelf

Oh let’s get rich and buy our parents homes in the South of France

let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters

and teach them how to dancelet's get rich and build our house on a mountain

making everybody look like ants

from way up there you and I, you and I

-Ingrid Michaelson

Dont you feel sorry for my family?

2009-04-26T23:07:00.001+02:00

Dont you feel sorry for my family?, originally uploaded by the_cleof.

Well summer officially ended this weekend .. rain, rain, rain!!

Miguel has been quite ill for a couple of days now, - the poor thing had a sinus, ear, throat and chest infection!! So the night have been pretty long!!

Today he was much better so dad did most of the entertaining,so I spent a VERY productive day finishing long started projects as well as some newbies.A total of 9 completed projects!! Well done ... off to have a glass of FAT BASTARD Shiraz and then tidy up time ....

I love how innovative some people can be ....

2009-04-25T22:04:00.002+02:00

You have to wonder at how much the internet has allowed creative people to develop and showcase their ideas .. we wouldnt see 10% of the things we see now ... I shudder at the thought, how drab!!

I have joined twitter ... still dont get the point of it to be honest, but my geek love stated that i am no one if i do not so here i am - look me up : the_cleof

2009-04-19T18:06:00.004+02:00

YES!! I too sucumbed to the mushroom pincushion ... how could i resist ... I used thelittlehousebythesea tutorial with a couple of modifications. I was greatly inspired by poshplushies and her beautiful work. It was quite simple to do ... It was for a easter swap that I did.

Then this gorgeous bag (if I may say so myself) was made bag using Erins simple and easy tutorial. It is a awsome bag to make so quick and simple .. I have another 3 in various stages of completion. You HAVE to make one. (this was for the same swap)

The awsome embroidery pattern is from the great designs of Andrea of BADBIRD.

The fabrics i used were :

Pale brown linen for the centre panel

Denim for the strap and sides

And the red is a fabulous local fabric called Shwe Shwe -

any one who knows me, knows i am madly in love with it.

the embroidery was 6 strand DMC threads.

Im off now to start my new embroideries for the 3 bags that I have started, but I have to put Miguel to bed first as he is finished. My little social butterfly had such a full diary this weekend - yesterday he had 3 birthdya parties - one at 10am, another at lunch time and the last at 2!! Then today we had a 1 hour 45min mass for a baptisim and then the whole day at the beach body surfing and swiming ... to be honest I think that he is so tired he is looking forward to school tomorrow so that he can rest!!!!

MWAH to you all ...

2009-04-17T15:37:00.002+02:00

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.They went on to complete the marathon together.Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.'To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever.The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bikeride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island, Hawaii. Father and son went on to complete the race together.

NOW WATCH THIS VIDEO AND LET IT CHANGE YOUR LIFE

HERE IS THEIR STORY ON HOW THEY STARTED :

Life has been good ....

2009-04-05T19:58:00.008+02:00

The past couple of weeks have been really good. You know those kind of times in your life that you think to yourself - this is the the best that it could get - nothing can top this!! We have spent entire weekends at the beach, Just relaxing with great friends, eating good food, having the odd Mermaids Orgasm slushies!!

I have been teaching Miguel to bodyboard for a while now, but last weekend my friend Michelle Z (we have 4 Michelle's so we ID them my the first letter of their surname!) decided that it was time for Miguel to learn to surf as her 5 year old Marc is learning ... I present to your my my awesome 4 year old surfing. He had only been at it for 20 minutes before catching 2 foot waves and riding it SOLO for about 15 meters!!! Miguel and Marc were catching about 50% of their waves ... WOOOHOOO these boys rock!!

Sorry the shot is such a action shot but Michelle who was taking it was trying to keep afloat and not to drown, was not sure if the waterproof cam was working so it was just a hit and miss shot!! !!

I have also been busy making loads of things, some for a swap, and a couple as gifts .. I will just give the sneak peaks for the swap- don't want to give too much away just in case my swap partner drops by ..

I am sooo excited this is my first swap ever!!! This is the parcel waiting patiently at the front door to be taken to the post office (it went on the 31st).

Valentines day

2009-02-12T20:47:00.006+02:00

Well its another year ... and its Valentines day once again .. can you believe it?!?!

Miguel wanted to make a gift for his new teacher Mrs Duff and the teachers assistant Mrs Zungu.

So we decided on little felt hearts that we would attach to little owls that he would help me make ... well once he started into the hearts the owls were forgotten. (you can see forgotten Burt in the foreground) he insisted on attaching the owls wings onto the hearts and Viola!!!

Look at the concentration ...

SO I bought some broach backs and stitched them on and there we go ... what do you think of his sewing . I think that he did a awesome job!!!

I quickly drew up some little valentines cards with Miguel on them (yes I know the likeness is astonishing!!) to attach the hearts. I was hoping to have 2 more don't for my sister and mom but i have been man down for two days with the flu ... I feel battered and bruised!!

Today they also had to wear Valentines civvies to school .. the requirement in order to participate was to bring a tin of food for a charity ... which is one of the things that I love about his new school, they are extremely community orientated and are always getting the children involved in charitable projects - even the little ones. They had to wear something red and white, preferably with a heart on it. Now if any of you have little boys, you know that that is asking the impossible ... Whilst trolling through Flickr my most favourite site in the entire world .. I can across this very talented embroider ?!?!? (is there such a word? What is a person who embroiders called?) She goes by the name of torrance and i thought to myself .. now that is a awesome idea!!!! SO here it is ..

Hope you all have a awesome weekend!! And happy Valentines day to you all!!!!!!

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

2009-02-01T19:56:00.005+02:00

It was just Miguel and I this weekend as Chris went to Johannesburg to see the Top Gear Car show with Jeremy Clarkson. Miguel and I just spent the day goofing around and being silly ... It was one of the best days ever!!!

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

he looks like Dick Dastardly from Wacky Races!!

Inspector Clouseau !!

Just a little cuddle .... mmmmmm

not sure if I'm going to get a kiss or he is going in for the kill!!!

His communications watch and rocket launcher!!

I had to draw flames on his feet ... see the blue buttons ? These are the ignition switch for the rockets in his feet!!

I have a couple of projects that I will be Posting soon .... i AM LOVING MY NEW SEWING MACHINE .... IT ROCKS!!!! I cant wait to show you what i have been up to!!

success !!!

2009-01-27T21:03:00.005+02:00

Well, Miguel's new school is a complete success, he loves it!! The first day of school he woke up at 5 in the morning!!! Never in his entire life has he ever woken up that early - not even as a new born!! He was so annoyed when he realised that he had to wait 2 hours before leaving!!

" When its time to go I will be so tired that I wont have any fun - its going to be forever!!'

those baby blues get me every time!!

the grade 00 - 0 playground. The class rooms are in the background

He took to it like a duck to water! At midday I went to collect him from his school, bringing along my mom and dad, so that they could see the school and where to collect him from. Only to find his highness lying in the reading corner on some pillows as if he owned the place!!

He could not stop talking about the 4 jungle gyms, the climbing wall, the play cave; also how in this school they have their own swimming pool for the 'small' (grade 00-0) school to swim in and he will be doing PE every Friday. "How cool is that mama - even better than an ice planet!!"

walking with abuelo (my dad) - filthy and tired after a great day!!

huge kisses for abuela (my mama)

posing with his first art work from Thomas More!!

apparently it is a picture of a laser that fires out rainbows!!

When we got home, I made him go down for what I thought would be a short nap .. 3 hours later he wakes up and asks if it is time to go back to school!!! When he heard that it was still the same day and that he would have to go to sleep again in a few hours he was madder than a hornet ..... ' i have to wait forever again!!'

This is one of my old shirts that i recycled, by appliqueing the letters MESS on the front. The fabric for the letters came from a pair of sleeping shorts that had a large burn mark on them. (okay so I suck at ironing!) This is for Miguel to take to school and use it as a painting shirt!!

More goodies that I have finished ...

2009-01-14T20:34:00.009+02:00

IM ON A ROLL PEOPLE SO WATCH OUT!!! ....

Miguel stated that he needed some monsters quick .. so I made these bad boys for him on Monday night, based on his detailed requirements ....... I am constantly inspired by etsy and I saw ones there that really inspired me.

After the monsters, His Highness decided that he needed more - but now he needed something that the monsters could scare .. so I made these up for him last night. I think that they look suitably timid enough - what do you think? If these little faces doesnt say scaredy cat nothing will!!

This shirt was a belated christmas present for the ever cute 18 month old Corban --- and i had to put a little heart on the bum just to show how much I love him!!

Miguel is getting ready for school .. well it starts next thursday, but we are getting into the routine now, but he really does not like mornings. He is into Magic at the moment ... yip not only is he going to be a pro-golfer, a truck driver, a builder, an astrounaut (only on weekends though) and a game ranger - but now a magician too!

His favourite thing to do at the moment, is to say ...

'Mom i am going to make some thing dissapear like magic!! Close your eyes...'

and while your eyes are closed he magically makes and entire biscuit or sweet dissapear in his mouth!!!

Cheeky little monkey!!! MMMMM but you gotta love him!!

oooh and just behind him is the ever lovely Kate with her new blanki that i made her, as her fave was falling appart, so I decided to make her a big girl one with graphic flower print and a felt flower with her initial ....

iM SOOOOOOOO EXCITED ... i Start my quilting course on Saturday, my folks and chris payed for my course and the fabrics as my christmas present, now who is the luckiest girl eva!!!!!

Miguels newest invention

2009-01-14T08:56:00.004+02:00

Miguel is up to his tricks again ... he loves nothing more than to invent and build. A few months ago we bought his a marble run, where you stack different slides together to make your marbles run from top to bottom triggering different things. We he decided that this would make the perfect loader for the model car that he received for Christmas... so what do you think of my little engineer?

I think that they did an amazing job on the model car. he had to sand it, paint it and then assemble is using glue, nails and screws. They even found tiny Mosaic mirrors to use as side mirrors. They covered the wooden chair with a vinyl so that it looked like a leather car seat! Great job guys!!

the above is Miguel's new pencil case for his new school which he starts on Thursday .. he is so excited to be starting there, as they have a climbing wall that he is dying to get his hands and feet on!! I hand stitched the felt applique and used a great step by step tutorial at Crafster to line it, something i have always had great difficulty. Though I think that this time i hit the nail on the head don't you?!?!

I started my quilting course last Sat... it was fantastic and even though at the moment i am learning the simple log cabin - I LOVE IT!!! I cant wait for this weeks lesson!!! I have to upload the fabrics I bought so that you can see them. I will try to do it tomorrow .. the are to quiltilicious!!!!

m off to finish up MIguels school uniform ... later

This made me happy ... very happy

2009-01-13T20:15:00.003+02:00

You need to watch this video ...it will make you smile and lighten your heart ....

14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Mishap Betty

2009-01-05T23:56:00.007+02:00

I have never made a doll of any kind before and I came across a photo of this BLACK APPLE DOLL online... and i thought to my self how hard could this be?? Well armed with only a picture I made my own pattern cut it out and put her together ... I will now say I officially eat my hat. It is really hard to put all the pieces together.

Her head is too short, her arms and legs are too skinny .. plus i gave my self not enough seam allowance. So her leg was not sewn on properly and promptly self amputated itself.... Sewing the head closed is not a pretty sight either!!

I have drawn up a new pattern (can be seen with mishap Betty as she is now officially known.) That i will give a go at tomorrow - will be keeping my toes crossed during the attempt as i need all my fingers to get her right!! If anyone had tip and/or suggestions give me please drop me a line ... or perhaps even a different doll to make for little ones!!!!

But on a much better note, we are FINALLY members of the DUC... Durban Undersea Club. Thanks to our Friends the Zeirvogels and the Radcliffs - THANKS GUYS!!

The club is situated on the beach in Durban at Vetch's Pier, between Ushaka Marine World and the northern harbour breakwater. The facilities at the club include the following : A large clubhouse with bar and kitchen facilities, clean ablutions, dining area, function facilities, a fully equipped dive locker with a 450lt/min air and nitrox compressor and 12 sets of SCUBA Equipment, a washing up area with rinse baths and showers for dive kit and boats, safe parking with controlled access and easy foot access to the beach from the sun tanning lawn area outside the clubhouse.

The beach in front of the clubhouse is protected from large waves and currents by the Vetch's pier breakwater, a +- 500m long submerged reef which, along with adjacent limestone reef, is home to hundreds of species of marine life and is a great snorkel and or shallow SCUBA dive (max 6m depth). The calm waters and protection from the Bluff makes the DUC beach one of the safest and best for beach goers with children.

The best thing according to Chris is that the beers are always cheap and cold!! BBQ's and charcoal are supplied every Sunday, so all you have to do is bring your meat and slap it on the grill!! We cannot wait to make it our home away from home .. it is about 15 - 20 min from our house so its not far at all!!!

this is the view from the grassed area ... on the far right is the clubhouse, the beach is directly in front and on the far left is Durban beach front.

Miguel loves it there, as they also have a Jungle Gym that he spends ages on. I have been teaching him how to body board over the last few days, and he is really getting the hang of it now, unfortunately i don't have any photos of him, as I am always in the water with him. But I will try to get some soon.

This is him setting off fearlessly, with out a backward glance to see if im coming ...

In the water with the Zeirvogels - Mike, Michelle and as Miguel calls him '5 year old Marc' - (don't forget that Miguel's younger cousin is called Marc too)

Carols by Candlelight

2008-12-21T19:24:00.007+02:00

WE had the most amazing time with our friends last Monday night. We went to our local Botanical Gardens for carols by candle light with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra along with the Durban Symphonic Choir and soloists. We all brought our picnic baskets and wine, and just sat and enjoyed our beautiful summer night. The kids were in their own little heaven. first for having the biggest garden in town to play in and secondly, and probably most importantly they got to play when it was past bedtime AND in the DARK too!!!

We handed out gifts for the kids, as we would not be all together again until after Christmas. I make the adorable Kate a ballerina monkey called MURIEL, who is allot like Kate actually... Murial is terribly cute, quietly independent, and a good girl over all, though she does dream of Johnny Depp and being a Debbie Harry impersonator when she grows up!!

I think that it was a great success, apparently Muriel and Kate are inseparable.

I had made super hero capes for Miguel, Mark and cute number two of the night Rachael. But it seems as us 'super moms' enjoyed them more!!

though the kids did finally have a chance to give them ago!!! The boys capes are reversable. Their initials are done in gold satin. And apparently (according to the two super heros) they make you run sooooo fast that hot lava comes out of the back!!!

Sorry about the next photo, but a glass of wine and no tripod does not do camera on a low shutter speed any good !!! But i think that you get and idea of the wonderful atmosphere of the night!!
Goodnight everyone ....

Guess what we did last night ....

2008-12-10T19:56:00.006+02:00

Can you believe that it is only 15 days to Christmas ... AAAAAARGH!! We put up our tree On Monday night ... I love our tree it is a mixture of handmade and bought goodies, the best hand made goodie of all, is the gorgeous star that Miguel made for the top of our tree!!

I swear that my son is going to be a really great corporate lawyer with all the wheeling and dealing that he is capable of! Yesterday morning he wakes up and says to me...

Miguel : 'Ma, is it true that God can talk to us in our hearts and heads?'

Me : 'Yes Miguel it is true.'

Miguel : "If God tells you something, you have to do it don't you?'

Me : 'Yes, that is also true.'

Miguel : 'Weeellll, don't you know ...'

It is when you hear those four words spoken that you need to brace yourself for what is coming.

Miguel : 'Last night God told me that the day after you put up your tree is the new Christmas day, so I think that a great plan is to go down stair and open all the presents ... because that's what God told me!'

Remember in the last post I told you that i took the Handmade Pledge and decided to make most of my gifts .. well i get to show you a couple now, as we saw my nephew 2 weeks ago and we decided that we would give him his Christmas gifts then, as we probably would not see him for Xmas ...
I appliqued a rocket man shirt for him, taking into account that according to Miguel no self respecting boy would wear a rocket shirt that did NOT have hot lava spewing out of it. Sp pattern altered and Da Daaa ... Also on Miguel's advice every boy needs a cape with his name on it too, otherwise how are you going to fly faster than a rocket ship?? So i made a reversible cape with Marc's initial on it. As you can see in the photo, I had made the cape so exactly to Miguel's specifications that it has made him a speeding blur!! I have since then tweaked the pattern as I was not too happy with the shape of this one. The last ,was my first dip into the world of Sock Monkeys!! I *heart* them. They are a complete unknown in South Africa and I have fallen for them hard. Sorry Chris the romance is over, I have found a new love .... I cant wait to make more !! I am quite chuffed with this lot ... oooh and thanks to my superb model, Miguel.

A friend of mine Catherine had a sweet baby girl, she arrived 2 weeks early - so I was completely unprepared for little Kira's arrival, so off I shot to get 2 little onsies and i FINALLY had a change to do something in PINK!!! I made these in an hour or so .... No flaming hot lava or bone crunching robots any where ... aaah bliss

And now for you all a little something too ... just two little Christmas tags, using some of the home made Christmas decorations on my tree!!

all you need to do is click on them and then once they are in the new window, right click and Save As ...

love you all ... Later ..

HI THERE

2008-11-25T18:13:00.013+02:00

Hey every one ... I'm sooo sorry that i had disappeared, but time just escaped from me, to be honest I think that I needed the break!! I took the HANDMADE PLEDGE , why don't you?? I have rediscovered my love of sewing and I have decided to make all my Xmas gifts this year, so I am up to my eyeballs in gifts that are half done and i only have 3 weeks left!! I cant even do a little brag here in case someone sees them and then the surprise is ruined!! But as soon as i can i will post them all as I am quite proud of myself. Think i may even crack and give a little preview soon!!

Last night i went to the Lionel Ritchie concert ... it was AMAZING!! I absolutely love him, cheesy i know,i know . . . but who cares!!! At one time the crowd was singing soooo loud that you could bearly hear him!! I love my sister ... as she spoiled me with the tickets as a surprise treat, because last Friday was 1 year ago was when i found out i had cancer ... can you believe it was sooo long ago. It truly feels like it all happened only yesterday !!

I am posting 2 freebies for you today in order to beg your forgiveness. The red frayed one is a old one with a new link, whilst the white torn corrugated board is a new one ...

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOAD HERE
I hope that you like them ....

FOR THE FAMILY : Just wanted to add a couple of new photos of Miguel, and also to let you know that he was accepted to THOMAS MORE COLLAGE, we are so happy and excited.

Here he is ... he is so grown up now that some days i forget that he is just 4! He tells me today.."moma (not sure where he gets that pronunciation from?!?!) when i grow up and I'm 13, I am going to be a astronaut and on the weekends a game ranger, but i will have assistants because i wont be very strong because i just cant eat vegetables. I'm sure that they make me sick. See ...." (followed by a huge Oscar winning performance TB sounding cough!!)

How can you not fall in love with this???

{CUPCKAKES AND SCHOOL REPORTS}

2008-07-21T19:14:00.011+02:00

I know, I know ... I've been a shocker. The last 2 weeks have been insane what with Miguel's birthday and all ... let my try and give you a rundown of some of it ..

first of all my son had his school photo and and school report given. I am very proud of how much he has matured in the last 2 months. He just seems so grown up now .. what happened to the baby ?? They say that the average 4 year old asks 400 questions a day, well I'm sure that Miguel far exceeds this quota! He never stops asking questions - I don't mid the questions, except he has a way of stumping me at times and I'm not too sure how to answer them. "Ma, who made God?"

(this is for grandmeme and grandpepe in Mauritius)

Tomorrow morning Miguel has his assessment for entry in to grade 00. The school that he is applying for is called Thomas More College . It is a lovely school, they seem to be able to get the right mix of academia and just letting kids be kids too. We hope that they accept him. So keep your fingers crossed for us!!

I have also found out the one of my most favourite artists Jamie Cullum has done a cover of Pharell Williams song Frontin .. Oh man it is good ... I love him he is so young and innovative with his music, always pushing the envelope .. Just listen here

sigh ... does it get any better ?? Listened to quite a bit of him when I was having my chemo treatments...

Oh yeah i got an new hair cut ... what to add a little va, va voom to it - so i am wanting to colour it. I want to do something WOW with it, so I will have to see what happens. I need some vibrant colour to distract every one form how thin it is. I was very lucky not to loose my hair during treatment .. but it fell out enough to be very thin .. so if any one has some great ideas on how to get your hair to grow back fast and thick ... send them my way !! You can tell that I'm getting better, my vanity is returning !!! I 'heart' cupcakes .. I have truly fallen in love with them ... I just love all the innovative things that people are doing with them .. check out these super talented ladies ... CupCakeBlog and also Bakerella does the most amazing cupcake decorating ... must learn how to do that!! Here is my small attempt at cupcakes, i had to bake 40 for Miguel's school mates for his birthday .. I made the M stars by creating the stars with the letter M on Coral draw (though I'm sure any software would do), printed them out onto adhesive paper. I punched them out using a star craft punch. Peeled and suck them back to back on a tooth pick !! What do you think I found a really fantastic recipe on the net ... nice and moist and not too sweet. Here it is if you're interested.

Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
3.In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4.In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

and last but not least after that loooooooooooooooooooooong post a freebie for you

click here to download

Well I will keep you posted on how tomorrow goes ....night

{IM BACK !}

2008-06-25T17:21:00.012+02:00

Hi there .... I'm very sorry that i did not keep this updated during my treatment, but to be honest I was just so exhausted all the time that I couldn't. But finally after 5 months, 8 Chemo sessions, 35 Radiations, incredible pain, extreme nausea, 2 hospital stays of a week long each and one full hysterectomy I'm on the mend !!! The up side of getting better is that I get to go back to work ;op

You can tell that i am getting better and SO over the whole cancer thing ... Im complaining about the size of my butt! I put on quite a bit of weight because of all the cortisone's I had to take to try and counter act the side effects of the Chemo. Everyone else lost weight and looked fragile, me ??? Nope ... porky, but i like to think of it as BOOTYLICIOUS!!!

Well it is Miguel's birthday next month and I have made his invitations and they have been sent out .. once again my DS wants Winnie the Pooh.

Miguel had Egypt day at his school a while back. He had to go dressed up as a Egyptian. So I made a robe and a stunning (if i may say so my self) Pharaohs Collar. It was a complete success!! Geraldine (my sis) drew a template for the collar out and printed it onto card stock (I still have the pattern if anyone needs it). I then ironed on interfacing to give it a little more resilience. TheWe then coloured the collars in with gold marker pen and metallic blue paint. I had found some gold bead trim and some beautiful large gold and gem stone buttons at a local haberdashery. We glued these on the to the final collar once it was dry and da-da ... what do you think? Miguel worked so hard on his one, i was very proud at the effort he put into his one.He was the only blond Pharaoh in his class so he stood out!! the kids looked sooooo cute, especially the little girls. It was wonderful to see how every one put such effort into the day!

I have also loaded one of my old freebie alphas, I know it was a great success 18 months ago, so enjoy it if you did not catch it the first time round.

download here

{DAY 3 ... }

2007-11-09T09:54:00.000+02:00

Well yesterday (they changed the date of the Chemo to Thursday morning) was more tiring than I expected, the treatment lasted 4 hours and was as the nurses warned me quite an anti-climax. Just sat around in a big Lazy Boy Chair with a drip in my hand watching my movie on my notebook, reading my book and of course chatting to every one in sight!!! The only bit of action that I got was leaping off my chair 2 drip bags held over my head dashing off to the toilet to pee every 15 minutes they gave me about 2 liters of fluid intravenously as well as the 2.5 liters that I drank (they said that flushing the kidneys is vital) ... I think that is more liquid than I normally drink in a week!!!

Once treatment was finished I felt a little 'drunk'. Chris and my sister commented that I sounded a little 'stoned'. About two hours later the hangover hit, which is very disappointing as I did not even have a glass of wine!!! - my head was quite painful, but it cleared today at about 11 am. At least I did not get the side affects that they said I would, which would be insomnia and nausea - well the nausea might only come in a day or two. I do have the sunburnt feeling on my face though that they said the cortisone might give.. Tonight I feel very achy - like a bad flu.

Though after sleeping most of the morning I felt better by lunch time. I fetched Miguel and took him to the park, where they allowed him to feed the ducks and help clean out the little paddocks of the pigs and goats, he giggled and laughed for a solid 2 hours. He also 'rescued' 3 baby ducklings by helping them over the fence to their mom, he was immensely proud of himself, though no more than I at his display of gentleness and caring. The two of us had a early bath and we were relaxing in bed by 4 pm!!! He fell asleep about 4.30 and is still out - he was so happy, it was worth dragging my body out of bed for that - he has been very tense and angry over the last week, he knows that something is not right and panics every time myself or Chris have to leave the house. . .

I am off to try and sleep, I just cant seem to get comfortable though I am tired.

Ciao for now, love to you all....

{DAY 1 ...}

2007-11-08T07:07:00.000+02:00

The scans came back yesterday ... stage 3b cancer, it is the size of an egg. but HIP PIP HOORAY it has NOT spread to the lymph nodes, or surrouning organs. Also it seems that my kidneys are a-okay so that they can give the chemo they want, coz the kidneys are tough enough to handle it .... so today at 8.30 im off for my first chemo, it will last about 3 hours, so im all ready i have packed the following :

music
the new Terry Pratchett book - MAKING MONEY (cant wait to get
note book with a funny movie on it
fruit
LOTS AND LOTS of water

oooooooh how could i forget ... 'THE HEELS' Let me introduce you to them

I will wear these to every treatment that i have until im all better ... arent they divine!?!?!?!?

{THE DAY MY LIFE CHANGED ...}

2007-11-03T08:46:00.001+02:00

Yesterday my whole world was turned upside down, inside out and just stopped spinning on its axis for a couple of hours. I was given the news that I had Cancer .... did you just feel the world give a little wobble???

Yes ... I have been diagnosed with Adenocarcinomas cervical cancer (more detail here). - The doctor said that it is advanced and if it had remained undiagnosed it would have killed me with in a year. I start my course of Chemo next Friday for 6 weeks followed by six weeks of Radio .... They say 3 in 4 beat it so i think that those are pretty good odds - don't you ... I really think that I need those red heels that I have been going on about for ages for my first treatment don't you ??? The Oncologist said that the radio treatment will destroy my ovaries and that I will, at the age of 33 go into early menopause - I am mad because even though i do not want any more children, my choice has been taken away from me and it makes me mad ... how silly is that???

On Tuesday I go for my CT scan and Chest x-ray so that they can grade and stage the cancer ... I'm not sure how i feel at this moment in time, I keep thinking that 1 in 4 do die and my luck health wise over the last 4 years has not been good .. but at the same time, why should it not be my turn to win the health lotto??? If 100 of 1000's of other women make it there is no reason that I cant!!! I will keep you up dated as soon as I know what is happening. I think that once i know the grade and stage of the cancer I will be able to deal with it better, because at the moment it still seems a little up on the air to me and I am thinking ridiculous things - like my cancer is the size of a small turkey!!! LOL.

Love to you all ......

OOOHHH we have Miguel's first school play tonight - my little boy is going to be a speckled frog ... I cant wait to see him in action!!! We are off now to a birthday party, so I have to get the team in order ... ciao

{IM BACK...}

2007-10-26T10:45:00.000+02:00

Well after being away for a week in the UK, we are home ... I will fill you in on the trip once I have gone through our 1000 photos (well I'm sure that it must be around the number). I am renowned to have similar genetic traits as a Japanese tourist .... We had a WONDERFUL time and I could not give enough thanks to IBM for hosting us in such a magnificent manner (you too Greg, our incredible 'tour guide' from Penquin). I will post some pics as soon as I have processed them ...

Tomorrow we are off to Chris's cousin Didiers wedding - it is to be held at a stunning B&B called Collisheen Estate in the beautiful sea side town of Ballito, which lies just 30 minutes north of Durban in the heart of the KwaZulu Natal North Coast, is nestled between rippling fields of sugar cane, KwaZulu Natal's famous Green Gold. The Dolphin Coast, as this area is otherwise named, gets its name from the many Bottle nose dolphins that frequently surf the waves along this stretch of coast. Ballito is flanked to the east by golden beaches and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

I did not know what to get Dids and Hilke for a gift, so I decided to make them a visitors signing book for the wedding (please dear God don't let them have one!!!) .... this is what I came up with. I did 6 layouts with photos of them - the photos are not very good as I had to scrounge them from Face book etc .. so I ran a few actions, then made them black and white so that they (hopefully) look grainy and a little dreamy on purpose. On the opposite page of the lay out I gave words of advice ... things like :

For each time you vent about your husband/wife to your friends, tell three positive stories.
Never go to bed angry. (Unless it's 3a.m. and you're exhausted, angry, and not thinking straight.)
Never compare your marriage to others. What you see on the outside is not always what it is on the inside.
Don't make love in the same place/position everytime. Variety is the spice of life!
Fight naked. ;)
Marry someone that you enjoy listening and talking to.
Do you want to be right or do you want to be married?

All the paper and card embellishments I have made myself & the papers are ones that I have scanned and reduced to the right size and printed. The remaining 8 pages are for the gusts to sign ... I am quite pleased with the result - except for page one, it is soooo not my style and I cant bring myself to like it. sooo here goes ...

well it is 1 am here and i think i should be off to bed ...night!!!

{though for the day...}

2007-10-14T03:39:00.000+02:00

credit : weeds & wild flowers brag book...

2 days (well technically one and a half days) and counting for my trip ... sooo excited!!!

First 3 Things Challenge

2007-10-12T10:39:00.000+02:00

Here is my layout for the weeds & wildflowers challange - check it out here...

CREDITS :

Natasha Whiteley - Diffuse Glow Action

Weeds & Wildflowers - Lazy Days - red paper

KSKD - bubba boy blue paper

Kim De Smet aka Shaky - paper - recoloured yellow

KHMize-AdChalFree-041507 - yellow label

khadfield_UKSclass template

{sometime you have to ask why ...}

2007-10-12T05:01:00.001+02:00

and so it goes ....

{A fantastic Weekend!!!}

2007-10-07T07:53:00.000+02:00

Well we had a great week - it was Chris's birthday this week and his very good, long time friend since childhood - Justin came down form Johannesburg to spend the week with us!! YAY we LOVE Justin. Chris had a blast having him with us, it has been a while since i have seen him so carefree - the two of them acted like teenagers the whole week, just what the doctor ordered.

Miguel loves having Justin around, he treats Justin like one would a big brother - teasing, joking and just having fun being as silly as you can. Justin thank you for being so good to Miguel - we all love you ... come back soon.

dont you love bobble heads - it is my new fave thing - you will be seeing a lot of it so brace yourselves)

On Saturday night we had a birthday party for Chris, we had a blast. A BBQ was the order of the day , with much wine, laughter and seeing which was the most arb one hit wonders that we could find in between out MP3 collection with has about a bizillion songs!! Of course with those long forgotten one hit wonders can out all the screaming recollections of bad haircuts, perms, MC Hammer pants, Madonna bangles etc ... as well as live renditions of our 'hot' dance moves from the early 90's ... goodness when did we get to be middle aged?? though admittedly we sure do look fine!!!

Guess what i did for the first time today ???? make cup cakes!!! Tomorrow Miguel is baker man and this means that he has to bring cupcakes to school for his class mates ... my brilliant neighbour Antoinette ('Tony') offered to make them for Miguel & she whipped them up in about 3 seconds flat and then left the icing to me - not bad for a virgin icier if i may say so my self!!!!!

{WHAT A NIGHT OUT!!!}

2007-09-30T10:23:00.000+02:00

Last night a group of us - Myself & Chris, John & Michelle, Michelle and Brendan, Charmaine and Branden too (and then later we were joined by Danie & Inada) - went out on a nights out - yes folks with lipstick, perfume and high heels !!!!! All the kiddies were sleeping at their grannies and grandpa's and we had the night to our selves.

We started the evening at PRIMI PIATTI - I think that this is the BEST restaurant ever. It has the best food, the staff is amazing - they have this fun, funky slightly cocky attitude that is all about fun & excellent service. We started the evening off with a round of cocktails - I of course could not start the evening with out my frozen Margarita ... MMMMMMMMMM This drink I'm my humble opinion is the MOST delicious drink ever made. The problem was that this was only the beginning ... as the evening progressed we got louder and the drink list got longer - Jagga Bombs ( Jaggermeister mixed with Red Bull), Suitcases ( Shot of Jack Daniels held in the mouth followed by a shot of passion fruit, shaken in the mouth and swallowed - like a slice of heaven!!!)

The evening ended with us all laying on the body outline in the middle of the restaurant, trying to see who was the most convincing corpse - I think that I made a dramatic and good looking corpse - what say you??
Wanda (the Incredible waiter) stated then that the evening would not be a resounding complete success without a zip down the fire pole - all the girls copped out, but I had to give it ago ... I was terrified I thought that I would drop to the floor like a stone and at the very least break a heel. But I did it any way and all I can say is YEAH HA!!! It was a blast.
Then we were off to Joe Cools for some dancing ... I haven't had such a great time in forever, thanks guys for the fantastic night - my cheeks and face are still a little tender from all the laughing!!

Special mention must be made to John who took it upone himself to relieve me of my usual designator driver duties and he was as good as his word .. THANK YOU John for my night off - your name is now officially JOHN-A-LUSCIOUS.

Guys I think that we should do this every second month !!!

{JUST A PHOTO TODAY}

2007-09-28T11:30:00.000+02:00

I must say, i am very proud of this photo .... took it when we were at golf. Quite pleased with the result.

Have a very busy day tomorrow - Miguel has a birthday party at 11am, then I have a baby shower at 2pm, then we are meeting our fabulous friends Michelle, John and branden for dinner and a night out on the town ... YAHOO!! Will let you know how it goes .....

{INVITATION}

2007-09-26T10:33:00.000+02:00

On the 4th it is Chris's 35 birthday, so we are having a littly party to celebrate ... just wanted you to see the invite that I did for him ... i think that it is really fun plus i think that he looks really devilish inbetween Holly, Kendra and Bridgitte, dont you ????

Miguel looks like he is on the mend and went to school today for the first time in over 2 weeks. He came home happy but very tired ...

i forgot to tell you what he said when last week when i had to take him back to the hospital last week when I could not get his fever down the one afternoon. I took him to Parklands hospital, the same hospital that he stayed in for the 4 days the previous week, in the peadiatric ward they have a tiny court yard with astro turf and a jungle gym for the kids to play on - Miguels most favourite thing in the world is golf followed by your guessed it - Jungle Gyms. He askes me on entering the hospital if he was allowed to go to the jungle gym later when his head felt better. I told him that he could'nt as we were going to emergency and that you could only play on the JG if you were VERY sick and had to sleep at the hospital. About 20 minutes later when the ER doctor was examining him, he asks Miguel if he was feeling very sick? To which Miguel instantly relpies .. "YES!! Im very sick, i think that i might even be dead - so i think that i should sleep here!!" Cheeky monkey!!

Mig Ayesa - Baby I Love Your Way

2007-09-24T23:13:00.001+02:00

this song was so beautifuly performed, that it made me cry and my heart ache - i think that it is the best performance i have ever heard!!

{AT LAST ...}

2007-09-21T08:23:00.000+02:00

At last i have a few minutes to sit and think ... Last week we had to rush Miguel to the Hospital on Sunday morning, as on Sat night he was running a constant fever of 40 deg Celsius all night, they diagnosed him hospital with a serious bacterial throat infection. We were there for 4 days so that meant 5 days of 40+ degree Celsius fevers. On Wednesday they said that we could go home and I thought that he was better this week, but no such luck its back.

He stared with the fevers again on Sunday night, the Doctor at the hospital confirmed of Wednesday that it was back ... looks like the only way we are going to get rid of it is to remove his tonsils ... and now it looks like he is developing a nasty sinus infection on top of everything, this evening on top of his fever he was choking and throwing up. Oh my poor little angel, he really is having a tough time of it ...

I had to post this to remind you all of that smiling face and cheeky grin ... I could just eat him up at times.

but he did have one good day though ... on Friday Chris managed to get home in the early afternoon, so because Miguel was feeling better we said that he could have a treat - the first thing that came out his mouth was - GOLF. Golf is his obsession, he cant get enough of it. So we took him to play mashie at EMBERTON GOLF CENTRE.

It is such a lovely course and perfect for Miguel. He played such a great game and had some real hum-dinger of shots, getting some great lift and length on a few of his shots. The putting is still some thing he is too impatient with - I think that when it comes to putting he is under the impression that you play it the same way you would an action filled game of hockey, but hell the boy is only 3!!! After finishing the 9 holes with dad, off they went to the driving range and hit a bucket of balls between them (about 40 each). Miguel thought that he had died and gone to heaven - playing 3 hours of golf AND spending a weekday afternoon with dad.

I wanted to give shout out to our friend Alan and Lisa who had the following exciting news .. Squishie was born at Parklands Hospital on 19 September 2007 @ 13h50, weighing in at 3.48kg's and is 53cm in length. Squishie (his name for the last 9 months) is now officially named... Corban Spies

Welcome to the night shift guys! The hours are lousy, but the benefits are great! Congratulations on Your New Baby. A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longerbankroll smaller, clothes shabbier,the past forgotten,and the future worth living for.So not all bad then?

INTRODUCING CORBAN ...

the poem in the LO goes as follows:

Someday I'll jump through puddles,

Take a stroll or run a race.

Someday I'll walk across the street,

Or maybe walk in space,
Someday I'll scale a mountain,

Or I'll join a ballet corps.

Someday I'll walk a tightrope,

Or explore the ocean floor.
Someday these feet will do some things,

That only heaven knows,

But for today they're happyJust to wiggle all their toes

2007-09-21T08:13:00.001+02:00

{SORRRYYYY .... }

2007-09-01T04:11:00.000+02:00

I am so sorry... things just seem to be getting away from me these days. I have created a new layout of Miguel and those incredible baby blues of his!!!

My for my sisters birthday, she treated us as well a a friend of ours Pam, to see an I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E show as Sibaya Casino. I saw Marc Salem's MIND GAMES.

WOW!! WOW !! WOW !! is all I can say ... this man is incredible, he insists that he is not in any psychic but im not sure if he is quite telling the truth. Follow the link that I have attached to his name above and watch the video. It will blow your mind. If you ever get the opportunity to see him, DO SO!!!

We are now off to a birthday party followed by a house warming ... will try to catch up with you tomorrow!!!

{TOOO CUTE}

2007-08-14T08:05:00.000+02:00

I have to show you how cute Miguel was this day. We had been painting in the afternoon with a couple of the kids from the complex, they had a blast - I think that you can see how much fun they had by the mess in my kitchen!! I was trying to film Miguel doing one of his masterpieces when I got this cute little 'hello'.

2007-08-09T04:10:00.000+02:00

Photobucket Album

{POOR BABY}

2007-08-07T08:06:00.000+02:00

My poor baby Miguel ... yesterday morning I got a call from Miguels teacher saying that she thinks that he had sprained his left ankle. When he got home at lunch time, he kept moaning that it was sore and he would not put any weight on it. I put a bandage on it and he seemed a little better for the afternoon. During the night as he slept he kept complaining about it - even in his sleep. I kept him home from school as i did not like the fact that he was saying that the arch of his foot was sore and not his ankle. I took him to the doctor in the afternoon, she said that she did not like the place that he was saying it was sore too.

So off we went ot hav ex-rays taken, Miguel took it all in his stride - he sat so still for the x-rays. When I showed him the film, he asked where is 'naked skin was???' The doctor then confirmed my suspicion - he had a green hairline fracture on his 1st Metatarsel (the long bone that makes up the arch of his foot). No cast has been put on .. as the doctor said that a hairline fracture does not need one. Just keep it supported and in about 2 weeks it should be healed. So I am keeping him out of school tomorrow and he is off any way on Thursday and Friday die to public holidays ... my poor baby!!!

I wanted to show you some of the work he has been bringing home from school this term ... I am so proud of him. He tries very hard and his cutting skills are improving nicely - he says that he cant do it like his friends but they are all between 7 months and a year older than him ... I think that he is doing brilliantly!!! We had a parents night not so long ago .. his teacher Maria said that he was the quitest boy in the class - WHAT ??!!?? Are you sure that you have the correct child?? Miguel does not stop talking and singing from when he wakes up till he falls asleep - she assured me that she indeed was talking about the correct child!! She said that he was doing very well and was on par with the 4 yearolds in the class with regard to number recognition and was ahead of most of his class mates on recognising letters of the alphabet - he can easily recognise 9 letters of the alphabet!!

A last little Miguel-ism for you - 'Miguel close your eyes and go to sleep' ... ' but mama if I close my eyes they cant work!!'

{lots of new things!!!}

2007-07-31T08:46:00.000+02:00

Well here is part two ...

The last month has seen a lot of new beginnings happening, the first most precious one is the arrival of a new family member to our family. Her name is Isabella and she is just perfect. She is my brothers daughter - not to mention the person with out whom it would not have been possible, his stunning wife Bernadette - Well done the two of you - you have done an amazing job... Isabella (that would have been Miguel's name if he had been born a girl like we were all convinced that he was) made her arrival on the 20 July 07 at 4.15 am, weighing 7 lb 12 ozs. Her full name is Isabella Niamh Spencer .. without further ado her she is, let the cooing commence ....

Is she not the most beautiful new born (this picture was taken when she was 4 days old!!).

The second thing that has happened is that I have gone back to work, my sister needed a half day DTP operator (computer graphics) to help her at work as she is drowning with her work load and I went for the interview and I got it. The position is a inhouse DTP operator for a stationery company, where we design their packaging, catalogues and any other graphic work that they need. I travel to Umhlanga every, which is about 35 km up the north coast from where we live and still getting used to being in traffic, but im getting the hang of it now, thak goodness most of it is freeway. My mom and dad pick up Miguel from school at 12 and I get to their house about 1.15,so I still have time to take him to the park, the beach or anything else we decide to do.

Ohh I have to tell you what HRH said the other morning - last week we were going through quite a cold spell, so the mornings were quite chilly (well for Durban standards it was actually bloody cold!!). He gets out of bed, takes his pyjamas off and is standing in his underpants and is shivering with his teeth chattering (he wont let me help him to dress quickly). 'Mama. i think that you can help me quickly, cos look my teeth are wiggling!'

Credit for this quick page goes to EMerritt.

He makes me cry with laughter at least once a day ... the other day is was a miserable day and he was not feeling very well as his sinuses were playing up again to I said that he can have a relaxing TV afternoon and can watch a marathon run of Cool Kat and Tom & Jerry. He was about a half hour into it when the satellite (think you guys in the states call it cable??) lost its signal and the picture kept coming and going. 'Mama!' hear in a voice of pure raw exasperation, tinged with desperation (you know all how mean i am with his TV time) 'please come fix the TV!' What was wrong I asked him, 'Its got hick-ups please give it a fright, so that it can be fix for me!!'

Sorry about the deviation ... My last bit of awesome news is that today I took possession of ... wait for it .. my NEW CAR!!! I bought a car, a new one, not a old one but a brand spanking new car! I cant believe it, I never thought I would ever be able to have a car at this stage never mind a new one. It is a Toyota Yaris T1, 3 door and I am in love, the space in the back is huge ... sorry Chris I have traded you in for a newer younger model... ;op ...I love this little car and cant wait to drive it to work tomorrow. Watch out world here i come!! I have to at this point make a very large and loud public 'THANK YOU' to my mom, for the last month now she has let me use her car without a work of complaint, even though she was missing her scrap booking club and her Italian lessons. Thanks mama you are the best!!!

Well im off to bed, I have work tomorrow you know!!!

{MY MOST HUMBLE APOLOGIES}

2007-07-23T09:44:00.000+02:00

Im sorry every one that I have been MIA, lately I just never seemed to get around to it!! Well I have lots of news -

YIP His Highness turned 3!!! Can you believe it!! The first thing he said on the morning of his Birthday is 'Mama, I'm in charge!' and so he has been!! He had a blast - once again we spent money on way cool scooters, pirate swords, pirate hats and hooks, a stunning Pooh kite and all he wanted was the 10 helium filled balloons that I had promised him .. when will I ever learn?? Like we have been instructed by his RH - we had to sing Happy Birthday and 'Funk' (his word for light -its the sound that the lighter makes) the candles 3 times so that he could yell at the top of his voice ..' happy birthday to MEEEE!....' and blow out the candles. He loved it!!

CREDITS : Sharon Kenealy - Bubbaboy_Blue paper, star stitchingprisalles_kraftframeRedju_torn paper, TemplateHM_Kit_ILoveYou_LabelMissMint_PlaygroundPop_bracket - RE COLOUREDmISS mINT_Party Pants - Cupcake, pressie, word art

A few days later we took him to PHEZULU SAFARI PARK is an exciting tourist venue, situated in Botha's Hill, This picturesque park has magnificent views of the world-famous Valley of 1000 Hills only 35km from central Durban. Miguel loves it there, the sound of the Zulu drums beating through the air, the way that you can feel them in your chest. The sound of slapping as the dancers feet hit the ground ... He will sit there entranced beating out the rhythm on his lap listening to their voices, completely captivated.

At PheZulu village, the well-known Zulu clan of Gasa have, over the last 30 years, allowed visitors to PheZulu the opportunity to savour the taste and feel the rhythm of Africa.
Visitors are taken into the traditional beehive shaped thatched huts, where the various artifacts, beliefs and rituals are explained, giving foreigners an insight into the fascinating Zulu culture. The Zulu dancing show is impressive with the dancers in their traditional garb, showing off their skills with grace, agility and humour - a truly unforgettable experience!

Facilities include a reptile farm, which boasts a large selection of Nile crocodiles, including the oldest (nearly 100 years) and largest (4.5 metres) croc in captivity - called "Junior". There is also a superb collection of indigenous snakes.

4x4 vehicles take tourists into the valley of 1000 hills on a game drive and a visit to a contemporary village (this is a community based project). There are two curio shops and 2 restaurants to cater for all tastes.

I have loads more to tell you all about quite a few exciting things that have been happening ... but you will all have to be good and wait for the next installment .....

{Another Winters Day In South Africa!}

2007-07-04T10:45:00.001+02:00

It was such a stunning day yesterday, that after I picked Miguel up from school we collected my Mama, my Da, Gen and Justin and headed off to the beach. If I may say so my self that was a fantastic idea. We went to the Beach Cafe on Durban Beach Front. This is a awesome little restaurant, the tables and chairs are all on the sand - so this means that you can sit and have something to eat or drink and the kids play right next to you!! I love this place - just might go there today again!!

Miguel was in his element digging and bossing every one around on how to dig, where to dig!! He is going to grow up to be president one day - actually he is SOOO good at directing every one, he may grow up to be a dictator!!!

It was also his first day with NO NAPPIES !!!! YAY!!! I am definitely more excited about it that he is ...

He did very well the whole day and every one was very proud of him. Last night after dinner he tells me ..."Mama, I'm a VERY (Said in a deep voice, standing on tip toes) big boy now, coz i don't wear nappies, so I'm thinking about (with finger tapping on side of mouth) big boy things now - so the good idea for a big boy is 2 Little Einstein's before bed!!" That was so skillfully done that he got his 2 Little Einstein's at bed time, and as a treat he got to watch them in bed on daddys notebook!! He was very pleased with this sucessfull wheeling and dealing ... waiting for tonights negotiations !!!

2007-06-29T11:46:00.000+02:00

{CHEEKY MIGUELITO}

2007-06-28T07:56:00.000+02:00

Miguel is going through the typical 2-3 year old stage of not wanting to eat his veggies. I try my best to get around this by telling him that if he eats his veggies, his stomach will take the food and turn it in to energy for his muscles so that he can then go play golf, read, build blocks etc. As I have told you before I limit Miguel's TV time to one 30 min program a day - his favourite is 'Little Einsteins' and will do his best to wangle as many viewings as he can. Today at lunch I again use my energy for muscles speech to get him to eat. He goes very quiet for a few minutes when all of a sudden he says "Mama, I have a great idea. If I eat ALL my lunch my muscles will have lost and lots of energy, so I think that i must use all my energy to watch 2 'little Einsteins' - okay? Is that a deal? Lets shake on it!" He says holding out his hand, head cocked to one side with that little cheeky grin... needless to say that he got his 2 Little Einsteins as a reward for resourcefulness and great invention!!

p.s The poor little thing was so tired from school that he fell asleep 10 minutes into the first one!!!

{FINALLY A NEW LAYOUT!}

2007-06-25T00:21:00.000+02:00

Yes I know I have been very bad .... 'my bad'.

I did this one to say thank you to our friends the Banfields - you have come to know them over the last few weeks - Michelle, John, John jnr, Hannah and Rachel. We spent a great morning with them all on the beach yesterday. The kids had a blast in the freezing water.

Especially Miguel who has found two new 'best' friends or as he puts it "my friend the boy John' and 'my friend the big girl Hanna'.

On Saturday afternoon we went to their house for a BBQ for the Rugby - Miguel was in heaven, playing in the the garden, weaving in and out of all the bushes, jumping on the trampoline - Hannah made his week when she suggested that they play hide and seek, she was so patient with him and let him find her most times. He was shrieking with laughter and excitement!!! Thanks Hannah for spending time with him.

{JUST FOR MY SISTER}

2007-06-22T10:59:00.000+02:00

Look what I learnt to do ... Just a little something to say hi to my sister and to thank her for all the baby sitting that she does for us - my own personal lifesaving princess!!

I tell you what ... im feeling pretty chuffed with myself!! ooohh now I have to go and tidy up the house enough me time!!! later ... :o)

{ANOTHER BUSY WEEKEND!!}

2007-06-18T11:36:00.000+02:00

Well on Tuesday last week we had a grown up night out with Branden, John-Terry and Michelle. We decided that it would be great to go go-karting. We got to the track and Michelle chickened out ...'cheep, cheep, cheep". She left me all alone with the boys on the race course. My Larry those karts are fast!! I felt like I was flying - flooring it on the straights, skidding around corners - I was an animal. I thought that was actually a contender, until I realised that Chris had won, followed closely by second place John (ooooh... I bet he is hating to see that in writing!!) and then Branden - when I realised I still had two laps to go !! To drown my sorrows we went our for sushi afterwards.

This is Michelle, she and John are the funniest couple that I have met in a long time. We all actually knew each other about 15 years ago whilst we were at school. Michelle and I did not become friends then, but now reconnecting with everyone after all these years. We have connected and I think we are on the way to becoming friends ... gosh I hope so, she is such a down to earth person who is incredibly funny and positive - she (and John) make you feel good just being in their company.

On Friday night we decided to have a FONDUE or a fondle as Chris likes to call it ... Michelle THANK YOU SO MUCH for the fantastic organisation, the food not only tasted great but it looked to good to eat!! Miguel fell asleep in the car on the way there, so we had loads of grown up time, while he slept! Yay! Thanks Miguel. Brendan and the OTHER Michelle joined us. We started off with a cheese fondue and some wine. We tucked in like children at a party ... the wine started flowing and the laughing started. I cant remember when last a laughed like that. The boys were hilarious, the more they laughed and joked the more wine was consumed - it was a vicious circle, till I was begging for mercy.

For desert we had a CHOCOLATE fondue ... good God, I think that i died and went to heaven, I made and absolute glutton on my self and I say this with absolutely NO shame. I revelled in chocolate and I am proud. Then the photos came out - you know the ones ... the 80's photos - oh my goodness, the Madonna hair, tanktops, stone washed denims. We were screaming with laughter and Brendan and Michelle just kept the commentry comming, until we were almost falling down with laughter. The party ended at about midnight and to tell you the truth, if Miguel hadn't woken up, I think that we would have all been there till the wee early hours of the morning!! Thanks guys for a awsome night!!

I have to tell you some of the things that Miguel has come up with lately .. he is always making me laugh!!

The other day I am trying to give him some medicine that he is not very fond of, when he tells me ... "Mama, coz im a big boy I will take my medicine, but after I'm going to say YUCK!"

I have been trying to teach Miguel the concept of brothers and sisters, explaining to him that boys and girls that have the same mama and daddy are called brothers and sisters because they are family ... he thinks about this for a while and promptly states that " daddy is my favourite brother because he is my family!"

I an still trying to convince Miguel to move from nappies to underpants as he is now a big boy ... well to say the least - this has been met with great resistance. On most days he will use the toilet with confidence, but on this day he was too busy too and did not have the tine to take a loo break (according to him " No fanks mama, I'm busy"). I kept asking and he kept turning me down until at one moment I said to him "All your friends at school use the toilet and underpants" " Yes mama" he replied, "but they are not here .." How can you fight logic like that??

{WHAT A BUSY WEEKEND}

2007-06-11T09:22:00.000+02:00

Well i don't even know where to begin ... oooh oooh i know I think I will begin where I whipped the boys at Poker on Friday night !! Yea Ha !! Malcolm has made me promise to let you all know that he was NOT there on Fri night to defend his title and according to him my win would not have been possible if he had been there ... humbug is what I say, GIRL POWER IS WHAT MADE ME WIN !!! Not the lack of Malcolm's 'expert' competition.

On Sat it was Brendan's birthday we went to JT and Michelle's house for a stir fry ...mmmm it was good!! Miguel stayed overnight with Abuela as he was not 100% better yet and I did not want him in the freezing cold air in Kloof. He picked up a bug - I assume from some-one at school, and was so ill on Friday.. Poor thing had his first school outing marred by coming home and being sick allover Abuelas couch and himself. Took him to the doctor because he kept complaining of a sore head and I know that it is unusual for young children to have headaches - Dr van Rooyen said that it WAS a virus and the headache was caused by the glands on the top of the back of his neck swelling (did you even know you had glands there?). Ran a very high fever all night 40/41Deg Celsius (40 degree Celsius = 104 degree Fahrenheit). By Sat mid morning he was 100% better - im so glad as it breaks my heart to see my Miguelito down and out.

Branden, Michelle and JT thanks for an amazing party - it has been ages since I have laughed and chatted like that - it was a medicine that the doctor ordered. Thanks. (See you on Tues at Go Karting - watch out baby I'm a mean machine!!!)

On Sunday we met up with Branden, Michelle and JT and their great kids - Jonh Jnr, Hannah and Rachel at Giba Gorge Bike Track. What an amazing place, it has over 20kms of off road bike trails for just about every one (though none sedate enough for me!!) as well as a huge BMX track that was infested with dozens upon dozens of kids of every age, shape and size. There is place to picnick, BBQ as well as a little coffee shop. We will be going there again.

Here are some photos that I took of the kids having the time of their lives, Thanks Michelle for allowing me to put photos of your kids on my blog. Will let you all know how the Go Karting goes tomorrow night ...

{Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com}

2007-06-11T09:05:00.003+02:00

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, including condensed excerpts of Wikipedia articles and IMDb profiles, instant playing of videos, display of stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots brings the information needed right to the readers, without them having to leave the site, while other times Snap Shots enables users to "look ahead," before deciding if they want to follow a link or not, saving them time and effort and increasing their ability to focus on the content that matters most to them.
However, should you decide this is not for you, just click "Disable" in the upper right corner of the Snap Shots bubble and opt-out.

2007-06-11T00:21:00.000+02:00

{NEW GLASSES!}

2007-06-04T11:54:00.000+02:00

We have had such a busy weekend!! Poker on Friday night (sorry ladies, I let the team down... Malcolm won!! sigh ...). Got new glasses too!! What do you think?

Went to Debbie (Chris's cousin Nick's wife) birthday party - thanks Debs it was great, Debbi is one of the best party thower that I know.

Yes folks - I actually did a paper card, I must admit it was a lot of fun to work with paper again!!!

Then on Sunday Malcolm and Elmarie came round and the boys did a roased chick on the Webber (kettle BBQ) with all the trimings ...mmmm. Thanks boys im now stuffed for the week and i am going in to hybernation!

{NEW SHOES & MORE MIGUEL}

2007-05-30T11:24:00.000+02:00

Don't you love these ... I got them as a belated birthday present from Chris. I love this style of canvas shoe, think I will wear the soles of them like I do my Levi ones. Thanks Chris, I was beginning to get New Shoe Withdrawal.

Well the last week Miguel and I have been spending the afternoons with my folks. Miguel has decided that he no longer needs his afternoon naps (try convincing me of that fact when I have a grumpy 2 year old at 4.30 in the afternoon) - So Abuelo has taken advantage of this fact and put Miguel into service. Miguel thought he had died and gone to heaven, when he was told that they were going to use the giant wheelbarrow, cement, sand and of course his ultimate favourite water.

He worked beautifully, following instructions very carefully and to the letter. "See Abuelo, I'm big now I can do this. I have a good idea plan .. when we finished this we can go watch Pooh, alright?" Little conman, he can only watch a short movie (30min) at night if he is not tired or if he has been very good that day. But you cant be mad at him when half way through he goes running into the garage and come out with a piece of foam and says 'here Abuelo, use this for your old legs. Tomorrow when you pick me up from my school, we can go to the shops and buy you new ones!' Don't you love him! Tonight he was out by 7.30pm with for him is an incredibly early night. See with every down there has to be an up!

Chris bought me the most intriguing book today called FREAKONOMICS - I cant wait to dive into this one!!

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.

{MY BIRTHDAY}

2007-05-24T10:37:00.000+02:00

It was my BIRTHDAY yesterday ... 33 years old!! Damn were did the time go?? Well, we all had dinner at my folks place, my dad made one of his famous stews ... yummy just perfect for a very cold day. I got very spoilt .. I got 3 beautiful jerseys, very elegant with wide ribbed bottoms so that they are snug over your hips and more loose over your torso. I am loving them!!

Miguel as per usual needed no encouragement to sing happy birthday and blow out candles, in fact he encouraged us to do it 3 times over! He loved it ... but there was a damper on his day - 'mama where are the balloons? I cant be a birthday party without balloons!'

Chris got into the swing of things and bought himself a birthday gift too ... and Xbox 360, his way of getting away with this is that the whole family can play ... yip a 2 year old and me who has zero hand eye co-ordination. YIP fun for the whole family! Cheeky boy!

I have started a new blog CLEOS PHOTOGRAPHY for all my photos, especially the photos for HER SPACE : MY SPACE photos. The concept for this is to take a word, take a picture. A blog to share snapshots of everyday life with no props and no limits.Just plain old fashioned photography. This blog is for my photography .. don't expect to be blown away, it is something that i am working on at what feels like an infinitesimal pace, but i will keep going forward.

{MMMMM SUSHI ...}

2007-05-15T09:26:00.000+02:00

YUUUUUMMMMMYYY.. tonight we are going out for sushi, gosh I love sushi, it makes me very happy. I think that perhaps I should have put sushi in my new header!

I took this funny quiz earlier ... WHAT KIND OF CAR ARE YOU ?. Well according to this i am a Mercedes SLK!! Of course I am .. like you doubted - probaby all thought id be a fiat UNO!!

It means that You appreciate the finer things in life. You have a split personality - wild or conservative, depending on your mood. Wherever you go, you like to travel first class. Luxury, style, and fun - who could ask for more?

Miguel did the funniest thing yesterday. He found a piece of plastic tubing that resembled a microphone and thought that he would give us an impromptu concert. He was great, actually fantastic (as of course only my child could be!!). He reminded me of Mick Jagger. He would strut (that is a perfect description of his performance) across the lounge with a huge amount of swagger, singing at the top of his voice ' I like to move it, move it" from he movie Madagascar. He would then stand still and throw his arm in the air doing the 'Rock On' hand gesture and yell 'IM A ROCK STAR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!" and bow. The harder you clapped, cheered and whistled - the bigger the swagger, strut and performance!! It was the best thing ever!

So not only is my Migelito going to be a professional, top ranking Golf player, an internationally acclaimed National Geographic photographer, a litigator (because he is so good at reasoning and arguing his way out of anything), he is now going to be a rock star too! Well a mother can dream cant she!!

{MMMM}

2007-05-14T11:53:00.000+02:00

Just had to show you this photo of Miguel tucking into a Chocolate Donut ... he is seriously enjoying this. Normaly he is very good at sharing his things including treats with others without you having to ask...but this time I had to ask and he said to me in a very down trodden tone "I suppose so' and then proceeded to give me the most minute crumb of the donut pastry!! Mind you when he had finished his donut he did offer to give me a chocolate donut kiss of his own free will - which I accepted whole heartedly!!

Today Miguel had nap time at his Abuela & Abuelos (grandma & Grandpa) house. He was quite reluctant to go to bed, even though Abuala said that he could sleep on her bed. Finally he conceded only after I agreed to join them! He said that he wanted a story and my mom got out a book to read to him. 'No Abuela, I read you a story". He proceeded to get one of her Historical romance novels of her shelf and lay in bed, rested one foot on the other legs knee and started to 'read'. He gave us a long and detailed story about everyone he knew (named them all by name) including POOH and his buddies, every animal from the movie Barnyard all going home after school in his Abuelos Jeep and how they had to all go for a nap! It was soooo cute, that my mom and I almost laughed out loud, but could not as this would offend our little literary genius!

I was very surprised (and impressed) to see how many letters of the alphabet he knew by sight without any hesitation - A,S,M,C,O,P,R,T & E!!!

When Chris put him into bed to night he was lucky enough to have edition 2 of the 'Going Home' story.

Caterers, crockery, glasses and champagne have been booked for Saturdays party. As well as a VERY yummy desert!! I just hope that every one comes - Just my luck that our home town rugby team won their semifinal game on Saturday and now the final is this coming Saturday in our home town!!

{Alpha Freebie no 7}

2007-05-09T11:18:00.000+02:00

Hi there all - been working hard on another alpha for you ... let me know what you think of this one, as im not sure if it is a practical Alpha or not!!

Download it here

{School Update}

2007-05-08T10:03:00.000+02:00

Well I thought that I'd give you an update on how Miguel is enjoying school. All I can say is so far so good ... In the morning I get about 5 minutes of a Oscar winning performance about how he cant go to school with the requisite two tears sliding extremely slowly out the corner of the eye, the pouty, wobbly bottom lip. But the second he is in the car he is quite happy to go. He begins to get quite excited talking about his teacher,Maria; the painting he does at school, the huge jungle gym etc .. and he is fine.

His vocabulary has changed Ive noticed in the 5 days that he has been going - it's regressed. His two new FAVOURITE word are 'huh' and 'hey'. Ooooh it grates me to hear his beautiful use of the language to now include those words, mind you when I hear what other kids pick up at school, I think that I can learn to live with those two!

Ohh ... the other day he came up with one of his best words yet !! I was trying to put him down for is afternoon nap, but he was over-excited from school. I had just told him for what felt like the 100th time to lay down and close his eyes, when he piped up with this look of pure consternation on his face and stated "but mama, it is impossible for me to close my eyes!!" Needless to say when confronted with that argument, mama caved in and Miguel when napless that day!! I think that we may have a future litigator on our hands. Gosh he is going to be busy, between professional Golf, Singing in a successful band, professional soccer and now a litigator - my busy little genius had better learn to live on naps after all !!!

Just thought Id show you the invitation that I made for our engagement party ... I will take some photos and let you know how it goes!! Im quite excited about it!!

2007-05-02T10:49:00.000+02:00

Miguel went to school this morning .... he was semi excited, until he realised that I would not be staying. When we went in he seemed quite calm. His teacher Maria is a pro, she immediately engaged him in to putting all his supplies away and finding his bag shelf - that he did not kick up too much of a fuss when we left. But we will have to see how tomorrow goes - cant count my chickens before they hatch!!

He even took a photo of his school bag ...

My friend Michelle of Watershell Photography took this beautiful photo of Miguel, I love it because it seems to capture who Miguel is. Hopefully when she has some time she can do some family photos as we have none of the 3 of us together!!

{Beach & Freebie No 6}

2007-05-01T11:02:00.000+02:00

Miguel and myself have been man down for a few days as we both have nasty sinus infections so when Nena, my sister offer to take myself and Miguel to the beach yesterday we jumped at the chance for a little fun in the sun. It could not have been a more perfect day for us to go - the temp was about 26 a light breeze. Miguel played in the sand. Nena got her weekly quota of exercise by playing Frisbee with my neighbour Genevieve (Gen). I love the photos I took of them - they all look so happy. Definitely feel a layout coming on.

Miguel starts school tomorrow -- I am so excited, is it normal to be this excited at the thought of some "me" time?? I just hope that he takes to it. We tried school about a year ago and it was a disaster he could not adapt and it just got worse as time went on. I really hope that he is now more ready to handle letting mamas apron strings slack a little.

A new freebie for you - I really love this one I think that it is my best yet ... but you will all have to let me know. Don't forget to send me your layout links if you use them, so that I can visit and see the wonderful work that you guys are doing!!! Get it here

{New Haircut!}

2007-04-27T00:25:00.000+02:00

Hi there, I had my hair all cut off today ... YAY!! I love growing my hair and then cutting it all off, it makes me feel fantastic. Like a snake shedding its skin!! It is Victoria Beckhams new cut - I love it - I think that it is gorgeous... here are some shots of it, they are self portraits so they are not the best, also I had just played 2 hours of golf with Miguel in the wind so i does not look exceptionally stylish!!

Miguel took some more photos today .. Miguel is very much a budding photographer - I have visions of him working for National Geographic, Vogue, Harper's, Time Magazine... I must confide in you something, he gets his talent purely from me !! :o) He gets no help from me to take the actual photos (apart from me making sure the wrist strap is on). He switches it on, looks at the screen and presses the 'click' as he calls it - all on his own.

He is unfortunately running a fever tonight, not sure why. I think that it is a cold - Murphy's law ... as he is finally starting pre-school on Monday, if he is ill I cant send him. He is not very keen on school - he hates been away from me. He has gotten very clingy over the last few months, to the point that poor Chris cant do a thing for him. School will be very good for him, as well as me!! The school he is going to is a fantastic place, Hopewell is just up the road - a beautifully renovated house. Big windows, glossy wooden floors, lovely outside play area, with what Miguel calls the 'most giant and pit ever'.

I have to tell you a story of how well Miguel speaks for his age. His new words are 'quite actually'. The other day we were running a little late for a birthday party that he was invited to. I got him dressed and ready and told him to play down stairs, while i got my shoes on and my hair dried. As im drying my hair, I hear him coming up the stairs and go into his room. I finish my hair. I come out of the room, shoes in had - hopping down the stairs trying to put my shoes on and do my belt at the same time, whilst yelling at Miguel to come down as we have to leave. Half way down I hear a soft serious 'mama, ummmmm, quite actually i have to tell you something'. This made me stop dead, - if you have kids you know the tone of voice that I am describing, its the tone that makes you heart fall to the floor and you know that now you are going to be VERY late.

I really did not want to look, so i just asked him 'Miguel what do you want to tell mama?' in a perky tone of voice, hoping against hope that my sinking heart is wrong. 'quite actually, ummm, well, quite actually there's something on my head and its stuck there!' I am now having all sorts of visions of what could possible be on his head. So I ask him what is on his head. 'In fact its an egg!' he replies. SO I brace my self and turn around - he has some how-i have no idea how, gotten his hands on a chocolate marshmallow Easter egg. This gungy, sticky mess is not only ON his hair - it is so well rubbed in that it was nourishing the roots beautifully. Needless to day that we were 40 minutes late!!

Today he was playing golf with my Da, and after 40 minutes, my Da told him his leg are very sore (he suffers badly from arthritis) and that he was going to sit down. 'Why are they sore abuleo?' 'Because they are old and have been used allot' 'Don't worry abuelo, when i go to the shops with mama I will buy you new ones and we can throw away the old ones fornever (ever).'

Thanks to every one for their well wishes to Chris and myself, it was a fantastic feeling.

{Miguel and Golf}

2007-04-24T11:28:00.000+02:00

Miguel has this OBSESSION with golf, he loves it he cannot get enough of it. Every day we have to play golf for at least an hour and a half - he would go on for longer, except by then I have had enough of playing!! Chris has often commented that he has a excellent natural swing, a strong drive and that he has no problem keeping his head down ... apparently a good thing! He loves to watch it on TV, which according to me is better than most of the rubbish that passes for kids programs.We were visiting my folks for the day today and Miguel was helping his abuelo (Spanish for grandpa) in the garden, like he loves to do. When he found a little hole in the ground and proceeded to state that this was a golf hole. He told his abuelo that they need to go inside right now and get his 'chipper' (golf club) so that he could practice. My dad had a great idea - he cut a piece of pipe and placed it into the hole so that M had a proper golf hole, i then made a flag out of red card and stuck it to a chopstick. My Migelito thought that he had died and gone to heaven and spent the next 40 min putting. With every ball in the hole he would shout 'yay, i did it' at the top of his voice. Followed by 'I can do anything cos I'm a a big golfer!'

I have come across a blog with an amazing concept. her space : my space gives you a word every day and challenges you to intemperate it and them take a photo of your interpretation. Today's word is Garland : A collection of materials that adorns for special occasions or just everyday. Find a garland in your space today.

Here is my take on it .. it is one of my may scrap boxes that I keep all my little bits and pieces that I have collected over the years, bits of ribbon off wedding invites, buttons that have fallen off things, hair clips that I find - they all get recycled into cards and present embellishments for loved ones..

{Thank you}

2007-04-23T10:58:00.000+02:00

I dont have much to say, except THANK YOU for all your well wishes to both myself and Chris. I could not resist giving you another look at my fab ring - cant wait for the bands to join it!!

I received a little Olympus point and shoot a few weeks ago and Miguel is in love with it - He is a budding photographer and will take photos given any opportunity. "Please mama can I have the camera and take a click??" I dont think that he is too bad for a two and a half year old??

{ENAGAGEMENT & A FREEBIE}

2007-04-22T10:34:00.000+02:00

Yes folks you read right, Chris and I after 5 years have decided to make it official. We got engaged this weekend ... look at my gorgeous ring, am i not the luckiest girl in the world?? We have not set a date yet, but it will be end of this year or beginning of next. We are not going to have a big wedding - probably only immediate family, as we are both of the same mind that we would rather use the cash for something else - like an excellent honeymoon instead!! We just might elope on a cruise liner to the Caribbean and get married on board!!!

News number two - is that my future brother & sister in law (sounds very strange to be saying that) - Chris's brother and his wife, are going to have another baby, a little playmate to Marc (Miguel's cousin with the great head of red hair)

Here is a little freebie for you all to celebrate this stunning weekend!!

Download link here

THANK YOU so much to every one who has left a comment I cannot believe how many times you guys have down loaded my freebies it is the best 'happy pill' that I could ever take to see you guys enjoy these - so don't forget to show me what you do with these !! Take a look !! I am working on another 2 for you, chack back at the begining of May. I have exhausted my cap so im all out of bandwith for this month .... :o(

I want to give a shout out to our friend Branden who is working in Angola for the next two months - hey dude, how is the "kakest place in the world"? He has started a blog about his experiences working there ... i will give it to you all once he remembers to send me the link!!

{I AM ON A ROLL FOLKS .... FREEBIE NO 3}

2007-04-12T08:38:00.000+02:00

Hi all, the last few days I seemed to have gotten into a great stride, so I'm giving it away while the iron's hot or atleast as long as you all still like them. If you use one of my alphas, let me know as I would love to see what you do with them ... can you believe that I still have to use one of them!!

Download link is here

I did this layout of Miguel very late 2 nights ago, I loved these photos and I have been wanting to use them for ages. Miguel had this fixation with pillows, he has to round up just about every pillow in the house for bed /nap time ... thank goodness that I've managed to dissuade him from the pillows in the lounge. He then sets them up like a fort around him, using one as a 'door' and then proceeds to build up, until all that is left is a nose sticking out for air. Now he is happy and able to sleep .. don't think that you can fool him by hiding one or two away, because he instantly knows if one is missing. I also loved the colours of the pillows and had to recolour papers etc to match. I think that they go beautifully. I greated the Die cut sticket at the bottom by deleating the negative space onthe patterned paper and then adding a stroke to it.

Journaling :
you love pillows, you cant get enough of them. Some times there are 12 pillows on the bed, barely any room for you. All that we can see is a little nose coming up for air.
Credits here

{HAIR CUT & FREEEBIE NO 2!}

2007-04-11T02:21:00.000+02:00

Miguel had a haircut today, he was so good sitting in that chair while the hairdresser cut his hair. His patience was fantastic, as his hair takes a long time to cut as he his afraid of the clippers and she can only use scissors. It needs to be layered and razor cut just right as his hair is so straight and fine (though lots of it) if it is not cut perfectly you can see all the edges & cut lines.

He is just like his father, every time they get their hair cut, I fall in love all over again as they seem to get cuter than they were before ... come-on Chris time to cut your hair, I'm overdue for butterflies in my stomach. ;o)

I was so overwhelmed by every ones responses to my Denim Alphas. I am absolutely flabbergasted at the amount - the Double stitch 323 times & the zigzag 297 times!! That I was inspired to do another one. All those lovely comments were the best feel good medicine that anyone could ever have. THANK YOU, THAK YOU, THANK YOU EVERY ONE ...

Download Pink Girl Checks HERE

Download Blue Boy Checks HERE

you know the drill, let me know if you digg them - please dont leave comments on the 4file sharing site leave them here so I can say thanks to you !!

{FREEBIE}

2007-04-10T00:21:00.000+02:00

This is a little something that I created to say thank-you to everyone in the Digital Scrapbooking community who has been so welcoming to me over the last 2 months.

Link for Zigzag Denim Alpha

Link for Double Stitched Denim Alpha

Leave me a little love & let me know what you all think some CC would be great too!!

{LAST NIGHTS POKER...}

2007-04-08T00:08:00.000+02:00

Well I thought that I would give you an update on last nights poker evening ... Well i think that every one had a good time. The evening started off having a braai (BBQ) and everyone had a great time eating and drinking - just getting to know each other, so much so that I missed the first hour of poker because of chatting to my sister - Geraldine and Elmarie. When I got down to the business of playing they had changed for 5 card draw to Texas Hold'em. I suck at Texas Hold'em - I can never find the rhythm of the game and always feel out of sorts - so needless to say - I did not do to well. But lucky for me we changed back to 5 card draw and off I went.

Got a couple of decent wins and was doing great, until Malcolm won a pot of note on what he stated was a calculated risk, as my sister said 'yeah right!'. For me that was a pure" balls to the wall" move, which lucky for him payed off B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. Well done Malcolm. But sleep with one eye open Ill get you next time! ;o)

I will send you photos of my new garden the moment that it stop raining and I can get a decent shot !! I think that you will love it as much as I do.

HAPPY EASTER for today.

{HAPPY EASTER}

2007-04-05T02:14:00.000+02:00

Hi all, just wanted to post this before the busy weekend starts ..

Happy Easter to everyone and remember at easter the chocolate is fat free !!

credits here

This is to wish my very good friend Debbi's son the gorgeous Harrison a Happy 1st Birthday

{New Garden...well almost!!}

2007-04-04T03:49:00.000+02:00

I am sooooo excited my new garden is halfway done .. It looks amazing. I will show you the finished product tomorrow - they said it should be completed by lunch time .... yippee!

{POKER NIGHT}

2007-04-03T10:07:00.000+02:00

It has been confirmed that Friday night is Poker night again .. I am so looking forward to this. I L-O-V-E Poker and im quite okay at it, well I am so long as no actual money is bet. As soon as real cash is put down even if it is 1 Rand, I go from card shark to cowering guppie and I loose all instinct and risk taking abilities - oh typical woman, no killer instinct ....

The players are Chris & my self, possible my sister Gerladine, Branden, Danie and that great couple that I told you about ... the ones I met during sushi night - Malcom & Elmarie.

This is the invite that I made and then sent out to every one. Everyone is coming a little early so that we can BBQ and get to know everyone a little bit... then the fun begins !!!

Then on Tuesday night I have been invited to a Ladies Night at my friend Briony's place. I am so excited because I have not seen her in over a year. I have not even seen her twin boys yet & they are already 1!! That is shameful.

Will let you know whether I remain reigning poker champion or whether my lucky streak is over ...

{BUSY, BUSY WEEK!}

2007-04-01T10:12:00.000+02:00

I have had such a busy week that I'm not sure where to begin ... went out for dinner on Wednesday and Thursday. Yay for me! Chris had work dinners on both nights. On Wednesday we went and had Sushi .. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sushi! I would eat it every day if I could, I cant get enough of it and I always think that it is amazing, BUT last night our Itamae-San or sushi chef Rodney topped himself. He made a SUSHI COCKTAIL.. OH MY GOD !! It was the most beautiful piece of food I have ever seen. It was quite literally a word of art. It took him 40 minutes to make. It was a mixture of prawns, tuna, salmon, avo, sprouts, paper thin cucumber & white radish. It was almost a pity to eat it, but Chris is very glad that he did.

We met the nicest people, including Greg - Chris's brother, who hosted the dinner - thaks Greg. I had an awesome time, chatting and drinking Vodka, lime & ice till 1 in the morning!! For once Chris drove, I had such fun. So much fun in fact we are organising a poker evening at home next week and hopefully they are coming! Honey's you had better bring loads of cash, mama needs those red peep toe Nine West shoes.

On Thursday night we went to 'Ciao Italia'. In my opinion one of the best Italian places in town. Had a Divine parma ham starter followed by D-E-L-I-C-O-U-S prawns, and a class of good red wine. Thanks Dimension Data for a great evening.

Friday Miguel had a birthday party in the afternoon, he had a blast running around shouting 'en-gard' with his balloon sword. He loved the trampoline and eating the birthday boy, Marc's superman cake. By the time the party was over they were all practically bouncing of the walls, it was then off to Chris's work for a mid-year/Friday pub afternoon, It was Chinese themed dinner - Hats of to the chefs, they did a great job. Everyone brought their kids and while juniors ran amok in the grounds and offices, we all had a chance to catch our breath & to catch up with each other.

Last night I went out with my friend Danie and my neighbours to a traditional Afrikaans 'sokkie'. This is where they all get together in a hall, bring drinks and snacks and dance the night away to traditional 'Boer' music (Boer means Afrikaner farmer - but it is a slang term for Afrikaans speaking people). This is the first time I have ever been to one, as my family are immigrants to SA, so there for never really been exposed to the traditions of the Afrikaners. I tell you what, i was finished by the end of the night - I had never danced sokkie before, as well as quite unused to dancing with a partner. Once I learned the steps (very similar to a two step) I loved it and had a great time. I'm not sure if any of my partners feel the same though and I doubt that I will ever match the expertise of the dancers that I saw there, including a man that had just celebrated his 84 birthday - he flew around the room like he was dancing on air!! This morning though, the balls of my feet were aching!!

Today we had a great time, we all had a bit of a sleep-in this morning. After breakfast we took Miguel to Durban Harbour for a 40 minute harbour cruise. He was so excited that he could not sit still for more that 2 minutes before moving to another part of the boat to get a better 'look see'. "Look at the giant green boat, look at the baby boat (tug) pushing the mommy boat - is he naughty for doing that? Why is this boat big, why is that boat small, why does this boat have no roof, Why are those cranes small ones and those ones big ones ...." He did not stop asking questions at the top of his voice for 1 minute. Halfway through he made buddies with a boy about about 7/8 years old and cornered him for the rest of the trip. He kept running back and forth giving Chris & I these little excited hugs and squeals. He was exhausted by the time we got home & went down for a solid two hour nap! BUT before he could go down for his nap he asked for his new chalks and drew his harbour trip. This drawing took him almost 20 minutes, he spent ages on little details. Stating here are the birds, big mommy ships, tugs, sailing boats (yachts).

Chris had a great time taking photos & dreaming of being 'P DIDDY' on one of the yatchs, well we can all have our day dreams cant we ...

{New Garden}

2007-03-27T01:35:00.000+02:00

I wanted to show you this while & had a few minutes to myself.

We live in a duplex and we have the most awesome patio - it is very large & we live on it. We use it pretty much year round & it is a second lounge for us. The thing is we also have a small garden outback but ...

You can see why we don't use it much - it is so depressing I keep my curtains closed most of the time. Although Miguel loves it, he plays with his 'diggers' in it all the time - his ultimate aim is to 'dig a hole to china to see where the sun go's to sleep' so he tells me. As you can see by the holes he is not that far off from success.

We have decided at long last to do something about it - as neither Chris or myself have 'green fingers' in any way mean or form ... we have decided to get some help. Our brief to them was : simple to look after, child friendly, local indigenous plants, butterfly attractive & usable. This is what they have proposed to us, I think that they have done marvelously. Im so excited it look so structured & beautiful, so grown up - I never thought that I would have a garden that looked like this.

ps I made the scalloped, bent photo frames - what do you think??

{Birthday Cake and New Layouts}

2007-03-27T00:36:00.000+02:00

We've just returned from my Da's birthday dinner. Miguel flew threw his dinner like a starving orphan. His goal was to get to the cake! As soon as he was done he was running around asking for the candles & the funker!! He stated that his abuelo (grandpa in Spanish) must have 4 candles as he was 'big and grown up'.

He kept asking for his abuela (grandma in Spanish) to 'funk' the candles. Funk is the sound that a lighter makes when lit - so he calls it a funk! He loves blowing out the candles and so we sang happy birthday 4 times, just so he could have the candles 'funked' again to blow them out. He was having such a great time ... giggling & laughing like a mad hyena!! Kept trying to get the Champagne when no one was looking. I love watching him have fun.

[Sorry the photos are not so great ... I took them with my phone - cant wait for a new point & shoot..its on my wish list.]

Here is a layout that I have just posted at digitalscrapbooking for a challenge that we have just had.

Credits can be seen here

Here is another one of a picture that we took in Balito last year on holiday - I love it . I'm really loving this use of white space ... I think that it is my new thing!!

Credits can be seen here

...I say that and here is one that is pretty busy though!

Journaling reads : Miguel, you were born with an artistic thumb. You have a passion to draw, paint mould, stick & colour - there is nothing that you wont try in order to express yourself. You are pretty good at it too, especially drawing on abuela & abuelo’s newly painted front door wall

credits can be seen here

{DA'S BIRTHDAY}

2007-03-26T02:31:00.000+02:00

It is my dads birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DA!! He is an amazing man who has been there for his family first and formost my whole life. He is now the best grandfather that Miguel could ever have. Miguel is never a problem or a nuisance to have around, even though he is always 'helping' when my dad is doing work around the house.

See you tonight Da - we love you & have a great day!

WHY THE HELL ... has no one ever told me about TIM MCGRAW! Shame on you all for keeping it a secret. I discovered him today quite by accident inbetween our bizillion MP3's. The man is amazing - never mind that he is a 'bit' of a babe!! He is amazing - gosh those country lyrics are really powerful. In SA country is not listend to at all, so I have never been exposed to it.

{Botanical Gardens}

2007-03-24T11:20:00.000+02:00

New look, i wanted to try something out... I wanted it to feel like a journal and not a web page, it is more work but I think it is worth it ... leave me a note & let me know what you think... :O)

On Wednesday there was a public holiday here...yay!! It was a gorgeous day so we decided to go off to the Durban Botanical Gardens. We love to go there, It is extremely popular for weeding photographs & it is not unusual to see any where from 5-9 bridal parties at one time during the weekend!!

The site originally selected for Durban's first botanic gardens was on the flat land at the end of the Berea ridge besides the Umgeni River, near what is today Quarry Road. Here in December 1849 Dr Charles Johnston began work on planting out plots of 'economics'. Town was a good four kilometers away and the area was still rather wild: hippo and crocodile lived in the river and African python and mamba romped among the Euphorbias, a few of which still survive today on the slopes of the nearby Berea. To think that this amazing place a oasis in the middle of the city!

We just packed some hot dogs & then picked up my sister - Miguels aunty Nena (Geraldine) and off we went. Miguel Was in his element, playing ball, throwing frizbees, engaging strangers in his conversation, climbing trees(they allow the children to do that - how great is that?). , feeding the ducks. Im not sure who was more exhausted by the time we left, Miguel or Geraldine & Chris. I on the other hand felt completely relaxed, as it was FINALY my day off - I just lay on the blanket & took photos.

On some Sundays there is Music at the Lake, every thing from Orchestral to Pop music - we have even had Jamie Cullem play there (sorry I missed you, but Miguel was sick). Is is amazing ... it starts early afternoon & whole families, couples & groups of friends come with their picnic baskets & drinks - some go as simple as sandwiches & soft drinks on their blankets, while others go all out Champagne, wine, cocktail snacks with their tables & chairs set up under trees that are hundreds of years old and spend the rest of the afternoon & evening just chilling, relaxing and being together.

Heartbreaking Africa

2007-03-24T00:07:00.000+02:00

Well tonight was my first night out in about 5 months, I was so looking forward to doing grownup stuff again. Having a few getting dresses up, doing my hair. Having a couple of drinks, chatting listenting to a friend of mine's pals playing in a band at a trendy bar/side walk cafe in a very trendy part of town.

I enjoyed myself for the first half hour & then I started to look around me at the people walking by on the street and thats when it hit me like a ton of bricks and my heart broke and the fun night was over ... Africa along with all its beauty comes the abject poverty & desperation. Not 5 meters from where we were sitting there was a young african mother with her little boy about 10 months old making their nights home on the pavement with one thread bare blanket. The awful thing is she was one of many. Then as she was falling asleep trying to get her child to lie still on the cold concrete floor, the bar managment chased her away & now she had to find somewhere else out of the rain for the two of them.

I have become so insulated and yes isolated, in my little world of Miguel, Chris & my house (I have no car so I dont get out very much) that I had forgotten what was out there. God forgive me for forgetting and for taking what I had for granted. I sit here crying feeling the worlds weight on my shoulders asking myself how do I make a difference, is my contribution, raising my son to be a good man, a compasionate man, a giving & caring man - is that enough? How do I even begin to make a dent in the pain & desolation of this country? I love this country so much, but I have forgotten.

In south Africa we have over 44 million people, our unemployment rate is 25.5% (2006 est.). Population below poverty line: 50%. Did you know that our infant mortality rate is 60.66 deaths/1,000 live births !! That life expectancy is 42 years!! Thats insane! To put it in to perspective these are the stats for the USA ...

Infant mortality rate: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: 77.85 years
Unemployment rate: 4.8% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line: 12%

We have a president who is more inteseted in buying private jets amd Armani suits, a minister of health who releases a press release stating that anti-retrol viral drugs will not be given to HIV positive people, because beetroot & garlic will cure them!

You all know how much I love this country, but how do I keep living here and bring up my child in this ?? I just feel so despondent. Will I too feel like I have no option but to leave . . . like so many before me? Im sorry .. i keep telling you about how wonderful my country is & that you should all come here, but unfortunatly there is a sad truth to the beauty here. I just had to get it of my chest. Im off to give Chris & my beautiful baby boy a hug & kiss, then im off (even though im not a particularly religious person) to thank God for everything I have & to ask him for forgivness for my blinkers, also to ask him for guidence on how to make a difference. And please God help her ...

i love you all