What inspires you to get up in the morning?

Yesterday morning I watched one of our Breakfast TV Shows, Expresso, and they asked, ‘What inspires you to get up in the morning and cease the day’ Well, I did not have to think about it at all. The first thing that came to mind was my family and friends – PRECIOUS MEMORIES!!  It was not a big house, fancy car or anything like that. To be truly thankful for all my blessings, I have a good, loving, hardworking husband, a beautiful, talented daughter who excels in drama and modeling and have only recently discovered that she is quite artistic as well! My mom is an active, healthy 73 year old great grandma, my loving sister with her sparkling personality and my brother, the intelligent, soft spoken IT guy who recovered just a few months ago from a triple bypass heart operation. And then there are all their wonderful talented children, each unique with their own beautiful characteristics.  This made me realize that’s why I love digital scrap booking so much, because all of these precious memories are kept safely on a disc, preserved with my creative passion to share with everyone. And, the other plus point is that I do not only have to have them digitally, but can print them in full colour and use them with other mixed media and creative projects.

This inspires me, when things aren’t going too well, I just sit quietly and think about all the beautiful things in my life, and realize  that this too will pass and that the sun will shine again with happy, fond memories that can be captured in my heart but also on disc!! I then tell myself I have to do this or I am going through this for my husband and daughter whom I dearly love. This makes any bad day tolerable, I quickly browse through my scrap book pages and quick, quick the mood has been lifted and I can deal with the obstacles in front of me. Everything right here on my laptop. No need to go and search for all the old, dusted photographs. And with technology, we can now even have our photos or pictures on our computer screens. We can change them how often we want to and to what ever we want. Personalize our working space!

We spend most of our time at work unfortunately, and what better way to have our precious memories with us all day long on our computer screens.

So yes, I get up in the morning because I have wonderful people in my life and I am truly grateful for all my blessings.

MY CURRENT DESKTOP BACKGROUND

PENCIL DRAWING BY MY DAUGHTER, 12 YEARS

Faith

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!!

OR, Simply put them to good use. See these great cleaning tips and yes, save money on all those cleaning detergents!

LEMONS –

        GREAT CLEANING TIPS

Forget the cleaning products under your sink. You probably have a very powerful one right in your fridge: Lemon, which adds such welcome zest to food and cocktails, is also a mild but highly effective cleaning agent.

What makes lemon such a powerful cleanser? Its high acid content, which enables the fruit to work as a powerful antibacterial sanitizer that combats common household bacteria.

Put a shine on metal

When it comes to copper, brass and chrome, nix harsh chemical polishes and instead put some elbow grease behind half a lemon. “Lemons are highly acidic, which enables them to cut through and loosen mineral deposits, making them easier to wipe away. For extra oomph, before scrubbing, dip the fruit half in salt—it will help exfoliate the surface for added shine.

Sanitize the microwave

The lingering smell of popcorn, pizza and whatever you might have heated up recently can overwhelm a microwave. Cut a whole lemon into super-thin slices and put the pieces in a microwavable bowl. Fill the bowl with hot water, place in the microwave and cook on high for one minute. The citric acid’s antibacterial properties will kill bacteria while the heat works like a humidifier to loosen icky, caked-on food. Afterward, wipe the oven with a damp cloth.

Nix soap scum in the shower

Instead of tending to the shower tiles, doors and fixtures with an abrasive chemical treatment, use this homemade natural remedy: Juice six lemons and pour the contents into a spray bottle. The citric acid will break down hard water deposits and dissolve filmy soap scum. Also, the antibacterial and antiseptic properties will sanitize the space.

Hand-wash dishes

When you run out of dish soap, slice a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on top, working the lemon half like you would a Brillo pad. Watch as the citric acid cuts, loosens and then dissolves grease, giving your pots and pans a shiny glow. Oh, and your dishpan hands will smell sweet!

Deodorize the laundry

It doesn’t take much to combat the odors of work, the gym and the everyday grind. Adding just one teaspoon of lemon juice to the laundry along with detergent will provide a fresh, clean scent to socks, undergarments and other clothing.

Wash the windows

Four tablespoons of lemon juice (either fresh or out of the bottle) mixed with a half-gallon of water makes an effective window cleaner—sans chemicals and streaking. The powerful citric acid dissolves dirt, grime and water stains, leaving your windows sparkling.

Sanitize a cutting board

Spruce up that kitchen workhorse—the cutting board—by squeezing a lemon half over the top and letting the juice absorb for 10 minutes. (It soaks into wood especially well, but this also works on plastic cutting boards.) This will loosen stains. Next, kill bacteria by using the fruit to scrub the board.

Clean hard-to-reach places

Make a paste of lemon juice and borax. With a toothbrush, use the fresh-smelling cleanser to scrub tiles and around drains. This mixture is also ideal for all those evil nooks and crannies!

Gardening in April

APRIL EASTER CALENDAR

The Month of April - Happy Easter

The month of April represents a few things that I love – Easter, pansies, hot cross buns and school holidays. Which I think is more fun for my daughter, but to have a house full of teenage girls with Blackberry phones, loud music and laughter warms my heart!!

I just adore the childlike portrait of Easter - bunnies, colored eggs and pastel colors. It really brings back childhood memories of Egg hunt and receiving those beautiful big chocolate bunnies or hens, and not even to talk about the plain white ones that look like real eggs. Those are actually my favorite.

But, just like Christmas it is not about the bunnies and the eggs, it is so much more!! It is a time to reflect and to be so grateful for the biggest gift ever received.

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm,

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones he came to save:

Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied -

For every sin on Him was laid;

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then, bursting forth in glorious Day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as he stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death.

This is the power of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can every pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

Copyright© 2001 Kingsway Thank you Music

Hi All,


As promised, my first gift to you. An Easy as Pie Cupcake Recipe. So quick and easy. Enjoy!! 


Should you wish to receive this recipe card in your inbox to download and print, kindly e-mail me at tharina.venter@gmail.com.