Time-Out

Hi Everyone,

Yes, I am still here! I was scolded by my Laptop with a TIME-OUT!!

A few months ago the battery decided that it is time to go and left me with using my laptop with the charger. It worked well, until one morning it just went off and I could not get it back to work again. My PC Surgeon took a look, I fierce the worst of course, mother board that’s packed up or something major. Immediately you think oh golly, I did not back up all my documents, will everything be lost? Technology is wonderful, but when it comes to things like this that you don’t really know anything about, it can be quite frustrating!

Luckily, the diagnoses were that the charger has a loose connection or wire, and I need to get a new one! Easy yes, if you have the money to replace it immediately.  So, now we operate with a wiggle here and a wiggle there!! And BEWARE, DO NOT BUMP THE DESK!! Then it is goodbye work, hello time-out!! Sometimes it behaves so well, that I can work a whole day without doing the wiggle-wiggle, but then it can be as stubborn as a mule and doesn’t co-operate with me at all.

So, thanks to my PC I was forced to TIME-OUT and this just before Fathers Day. My daughter, Monique had really great ideas that she wanted to make for dad. We could manage to do the designing, but came Saturday, we were on serious time-out and could not do anything. The wiggle-wiggle did not work!  Shame, poor dad, nothing special for Fathers Day!  I promised her that I will still include everything on my blog as planned.

So, our Fathers Day Ideas presented to you (for next year!)

The next week or so I will be focusing on more food for the soul or daily inspiration.

 As a mom I am going through a bit of an emotional low concerning my daughter. Monique is a performing artist, acting, singing, dancing and modeling is her passion and she is so dedicated and really excels in all of these. She was part of a performing arts studio here in Margate, participated in the National Talent Championships and was chosen last year to go to America to participate in the International Championships. Unfortunately, the cost was R100000.00 for us to attend and we could not manage to raise the funds. This year, she made it through to Nationals again, but her Drama Coach is immigrating to Australia and she had to withdraw the students from the competition. That is all well, but the major sadness here is that there is no other studio offering classes in performing arts. And to make things even worst, we are friends with the coach and her two sons. Monique is like a daughter in their home and very close to the two boys. She is heart broken!!

As a mom you think, OK, this is all part of life, part of growing up. People come into your life and they leave. We have all the precious memories and yes, we have Skype, BBM and e-mail. We can still keep in touch. But all of this does not take away the hurt and sadness!!

So, with that we can still cope. But then as a Mom you start to think about the future of your child, her dreams, aspirations, passion and talent. WHERE TO NOW?  Do you simply give up on those dreams and don’t encourage them anymore? Or do you try to find a solution to the problem? Yes of course, try to find a solution to the problem. In this case, quite a tall order as we live in a typical small town, with not lots of facilities and opportunities. In this case, no other alternative or substitute is available to her.

In order to help pick up the pieces of her broken heart and dreams I need all the inspiration, guidance and encouragement to help make this better for her!

Let's Do Lunch - The Perfect Table Setting

Hello Everyone! 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend with your loved ones!

Come fly away with me to a magical wonderland full of creativity and craft inspiration!

During one of my recent visits to Pinterest for a quick kick start to set the mood for the day, (one’s spirit can only be lifted when you see so many beautiful things!) he did it again! That is Michael Wurm, from Inspired by Charm. He showed his table setting pics from his Mothers Day brunch. They are just awesome!! The colors attracted me at first and then I actually zoomed in on the detail. He is so talented and definitely inspiring! I just had to share this with all who is not following me on Pinterest.

Here is a sneak preview of what to expect at www.inspiredbycharm.com. Go see for yourself!!

His beautiful table setting got me hooked and I have decided to share more on this topic.

Visit my Creative Magic page for more stylish, yet simple tips and ideas for that perfect table setting.

If anyone has inspiring and creative bits you are willing to share, kindly e-mail them to me to showcase on my blog. Remember, my blog is all about the joy of giving and sharing!

June Desktop Calendar Freebie!

DOWNLOAD

REMEMBER FATHERS DAY IS COMING UP! BE SURE TO COME BACK FOR TIPS, IDEAS AND FREEBIES!!

God Bless!

Spruce Up Your Patio - D.I.Y.

Hello Everyone,

I was paging through magazines the past weekend to get a bit of inspiration to re-decorate our patio. I found the perfect project for our family to do together! Wooden Pallets will be transformed into beautiful, useful furniture! Inexpensive and so easy to do! A project that we all can work on. Of course, the technical stuff will not be attempted by me, I leave that to my husband and daughter. Yes, can you believe it, a teen girl that's actually quite a handy man, or is it a handy girl?

I found quite a bit of useful ideas with wooden pallets and could not really decide what I want to do with ours. But, we all agreed to make a rustic-looking coffee table like the one in my picture here.

TIP

Cover old cushion inners with bright new tea towels to match your theme!!

Go to my HOME AND DECOR PAGE to see all the useful ideas with Wooden Pallets!

GOD BLESS.

Sweet and Sour

Ten days ago I posted about gratitude, and me being so grateful to still have my mom around. A 75 year old that is as fit as a fiddle! No ailments what so ever.

Friday night my sister tried to get hold of me, but my cell phone for some reason did not ring. She asked her daughter to text my daughter that I should phone her urgently, there is an emergency! The first thing that came to mind was something happened to my mom, my sister will not phone me if she has an emergency because I am 700km away from her and will not be able to do anything immediately. So, it had to be something about my mom or brother. But if it is something about my brother, then my mom would have called me. That’s it, it must be about my mom, the absolute dreaded phone call. One that I definitely don’t want and I think will never ever be prepared to receive. My heart was racing, expecting to hear a distressed voice on the other side. When my sister answered, she sounded quite normal and I immediately thought, OK, there is no emergency. My daughter, a bit of a drama queen, maybe just misunderstood the message from her cousin. But, unfortunately, it was bad news. My mom is in hospital. They initially thought she had a heart attack, but by the looks of it, it was not. They ran all sorts of tests and we will only know by Monday what the outcome was, and what is really wrong with her.

The sweet with the sour, the sweet, my mom is OK and the sour, there might be an underlying problem and now her fit as a fiddle health status, might have changed to a true 75 year old person with maybe heart problems?  But, it is the way we deal with the sweet and sour in our lives. I choose to look up and still thank God for my blessings and ask God to please guide me and assist me to deal with the sour bits.

And so, on Saturday morning in between house work, I decided to quickly read one or two  blogs that I follow and both authors, Brenda from Bamboo Heart and Ellie Lash from Ellie Lash Designs were sharing their sweet and sour  moments. Brenda about her husband’s promotion, the sweet, but the sour, they will have to relocate to another province. And Ellie, her husband was unemployed for some time, the sour, and then the sweet; he changed his career and is now employed as a long distance truck driver, yet a bit of sour for pour Ellie, as he will be away from home for long periods.

In conclusion, we all experience the sweet and sour bits of life!!  It is not just sour all the time and it is also not just sweet. We just need to ask for guidance and assistance when we have the sour bits and be thankful for all the sweet bits.

I leave you with a poem about courage – (Scrap Girls e-newsletter)

Courage
We lead out our days in monotonous ways
The humdrum of work and of sleep.
Time slips along, no thrill in the song
Not even a reason to weep.
And then, like a flash, there comes such a crash,
We're stunned by the buffet Fate gives.
In the blackness and blur we feel the soul stir
And that is the moment one lives.
When disaster beats down, the true men are found
And cowards are marked with a brand.
They whimper and whine: they cringe and repine
And the whiplash Fate holds in her hand.
The brave men fight on though the chasm may yawn
And midnight's unlit by a star.
How you face defeat in the crisis you meet
That measures the man that you are.
All through the years there are smiles and tears,
But they, in the end, are the same.
One moment of life in the midst of the strife,
Is worth ages of watching the game.
With dismay in your heart, if you still played your part,
Though bloody and beaten and sore;
If your soul flamed white in the hopeless fight,
The world will ask for no more.
- Anonymous

God Bless!

Gratitude Journal

Hi Everyone!!

I sincerely hope everyone had a super awesome Mothers Day.

Sunday night in bed I was actually thinking of how grateful I am for my mom. She is 75, very active, no grey hair, no granny looks, no serious health problems, just suffering from Arthritis, and that is basically it. She is as fit as a fiddle! Yes, I am blessed to still have her around. So, I was thinking to myself, “When I pray tonight, I am not going to ask for anything, nope, I am just going to say thank you for everything that I am grateful for in my life”.

If you sit down and actually think about this, there are quite a few things that we should be grateful for, and not just being grateful, but to actually say thank you. My list grew after I sat down and jotted everything onto a piece of paper. Things we normally take for granted was added to my list of thank yous. From the most stupid little thing to very serious ones, I said thank you for every little thing. It felt good, and I realized once again that my family and I are truly blessed. Yes, we all have difficult, troublesome times, but in the end everything just works out perfectly at the right time by the Grace of God. To this I can truly confess!

Now, just see how amazing God is – My sister sends me a daily e-mail from Joyce Meyer. I attach a copy of the one that I received on Monday! All about being grateful and to say thank you!

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 
—Psalm 34:1 NKJV

It is good to have love for God in your heart, but even better to express it with the words of your mouth.  Tell God several times each day that you love Him; say with the Psalmist David: “I love you fervently and devotedly, O Lord my Strength” (Psalm 18:1). It isn’t good enough to merely think, “God knows how I feel.”

Are you blessed when people tell you they love and appreciate you?  Of course you are, and it blesses God when we verbalize our love and praise for Him. Verbal expression of love and gratitude improves all our relationships, including our relationship with God.

It is also good to verbalize thanksgiving several times each day.  Quite often we should say as we go about our day, “Thank you, Lord for everything, I love you.”  One hundred times a day would not be too much.  Psalm 104 says we should be thankful and say so. Expressing gratitude is good for us; it reminds us of our blessings and helps us not to complain quite so much. 

Don’t offer your petitions to God without telling Him how grateful you are for what He has already done for you. As parents we are more likely to answer the request of a thankful child than we are a grouchy and ungrateful one.  As an employer I want to do even more for employees who are appreciative.

Offering our continual gratitude to God for His goodness and mercy in our lives moves Him to want to do even more for us. Our gratitude shows God that we are mature enough to handle even more blessing and responsibility. 

Women often say, “I know my husband loves me, but I wish he would tell me more often.”  Let’s try to be more diligent in telling God and the people in our lives, that we love and appreciate them and what they mean to us.  

Love God Today: It is impossible to love God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and not hear it come out of your mouth.

 But, that is not all – I read this from Joel Osteen – Your Best Life Now -

In the light of the above, I have decided to start a GRATITUDE JOURNAL.

Gratitude is an emotion that opens up your heart and allows you to connect and align with Spirit. Gratitude makes you aware of the richness and abundance already present in your life.

Begin a gratitude list, at least once a week. Write down all the things in your life that you are grateful for. Making and adding to the list and reading it will open your heart and align you with Spirit. When you count your blessings, your blessings multiply.

START YOUR GRATITUDE JOURNAL TODAY!!

God Bless!!

More Mothers Day Goodies and Gift Ideas

Nope, I did not forget about my blog.  There is just not enough hours in the day for me. Between running our business, cleaning the house, doing washing and simply being a mother to a very active 12 year old with lots of activities, my time is sort of not enough. I think it was just one of those crazy weeks, where you wish you had more than two hands and feet. I am sure you will all agree with me that life sometimes can be really hectic, and before you know it, another week has passed! So, before it is the end of another week, some more Mothers Day Goodies, a few gift ideas and a bit of daily inspiration to Spice-up our everyday lives.

Baking Tray Memo Board

Kitchen Clip Board

Personal Spa

Gifting Cook

Scrap Booker Gift

GOD BLESS!!

Mothers Day Goodies and May Desktop Calendar

Hallo Everyone!!

Well, as promised, a few goodies for Mothers Day from my side. I know, a lot of pink and cup cakes!! I LOVE CUP CAKES. I am not sure why I am so obsessed with them. I think they are just so cute.

May Desktop Calendar - Insert your own Photo!

My Cup Cake Gift Card

You can DOWNLOAD all of the above here

http://www.4shared.com/office/N2ZQpXc_/Mothers_Day_Goodies_Instructio.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/z5vcWPyh/Mothers_Day_Cup_Cake_Sticker.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/ep9VKduK/Happy_Mothers day__Card_1.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/OGoCYh_N/Happy_Mothers_Day_Gift_Tag__1_.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/imI_T8N2/Happy_Mothers_Day_Cupcake_3.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/6VVEfSVS/Happy_Mothers_Day_Cup_Cake_2_p.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/WexT5zJj/Cup_Cake_Sticker_2.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/ewecmLy-/Cup_Cake_Gift_C_ard.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/WMP6sU2p/May_Desktop_Calender_without_p.html

http://www.4shared.com/office/luKL9CH6/Desktop_Calender_Instructions.html




I will still surprise you with more goodies this week, so make sure to visit me again.

God Bless!!

FREE GOODIES - REMEMBER MOTHERS DAY

Hi All!

I normally don’t do any posting on a Sunday, but I had lots of inspiration and there are so many things that I want to share with you. So, I thought I will give you a heads up of what will be coming this week. – FREE GOODIES!!!  (Lots of free print ables and great ideas)

Seeing that Mothers Day is coming up, which I love, I thought, for those of you who also like to make your own gifts, I will share a few of my goodies with you. Gift bags, gift tags, Calendars, Book Marks and Greeting cards, everything ready for you to download and print!

I am also adding more pages to my blog:       

Crafts and Makes

Family Life

Fashion and Beauty

Health and Well being

Home and Decor

AND then of course more words to inspire.

You can also sign up to my FREE E-NEWSLETTER delivered to you weekly where I will be sharing more info on these topics with you. Instead of spending hours searching for info, tips, ideas and images on these topics, all the hard work has been done for you. So much info with ONE FREE E-NEWSLETTER, lots of direct links to super cool sites not to be missed.

 I have come across the most amazing, inspiring sites that I would love to share. Hey, you can even contribute to my News Letter if you have something nice to share!! Yip, some SUGAR AND SPICE FOR EVERYDAY LIFE!!

WHY NOT TRY OUT MY FREE E-NEWSLETTER –

Leave your e-mail address below in the comment box to receive your first FREE News Letter. Remember, I hate spam as much as you do, and WILL NEVER , EVER pass your details on to any third party companies. That’s a promise. You can also stop your subscription any time you wish!

Best Wishes

REMEMBER

Life's Unexpected Curve Balls

Hi Everyone,  

Wow, what a week so far! Yes, it was one of those weeks where life throws a few unexpected curve balls at you. I had quite a few of them in one week and thus my posting for today, HAPPINESS. I know, very hard to put on the smiley face if everything within you just wants to show the upside-down smile! But then, as always I received tit-bits of encouragement and love from various sources, whether it is an e-mail form my sister with encouraging words from Joyce Meyer or a web page that out of nowhere pops onto your screen while searching for something completely different. I believe it all happens with a reason and was specifically meant for me to look up and realize that I am not on my own, God is watching over me and is guiding me every step of the way.

I am firm believer of positive thinking and that it can actually attract positive things into your life.

Positive thinking brings inner peace, success, improved relationships, better health, happiness and satisfaction. It also helps the daily affairs of life move more smoothly, and makes life look bright and promising.

Ways to clear negative thinking:

• Listen to your favorite music.
• Spend some time with God in prayer.
• Before starting with any plan or action, visualize clearly in your mind its successful outcome. 
• If you visualize with concentration and faith, you will be amazed at the results.
• Read at least one page of an inspiring book every day. (Greatday.com and Joel Osteen Ministries is my favorite sites to visit for my daily inspiration)
• Watch movies that make you feel happy.
• Always sit and walk with your back straight. This will strengthen your confidence and   inner strength.
• Walk, swim or engage in some other physical activity. This helps to develop a more positive attitude.
• Do something you really enjoy, painting, crafting, and gardening, anything to take your mind off the negative situation. You will soon find yourself in a different mind set!

Have a wonderful, blessed and HAPPY life!

Body, Mind and Soul

TIP FOR TODAY:

We are of no value to our family and company if we are frazzled, depressed, sick or just plain burnt-out! So it’s vital that we take care of both our physical and mental health.

To be productive at work, we need to get enough rest, eat right and regularly, exercise and most of all do the things that make us happy: Whether it’s going for long walks or spending quality time with our family.

The Body and Wellness

By Donna McCullum – The Fairy Godmother’s Guide to getting what you want.

The body is a brilliant, complex system of muscles, nerves, blood, organs and cells. Any system has inputs and outputs. The body system runs on three energy inputs and the resulting output when correctly functioning, is a self-regulating, self-healing body in a state of health and wellness.

The inputs are obvious:

FOOD

EXERCISE

REST AND SLEEP

The quality of the inputs determines the output of health and wellness the body is able to produce over time. The body is the foundational platform for a human being, because it is the vehicle housing the mind and soul. Without the body, the mind ceases to exist, and when the body is ill, the mind finds it difficult to function properly.

When the body is in health and wellness, it can align with the other systems in the being.

I hope this will inspire you to take care of yourself!

Blessings - Sow Generously

Something to think about!

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Life is like a Box of Chocolates!

Hi Everyone.

Hope everybody had a great week-end with friends and family.

My daughter and I have decided to save a bit of money by baking every week-end something nice for the week to come. I usually buy sweeties and cookies which I also use to top-up her lunch box with. This actually works out quite expensive. So, we spent the week-end with recipe books and magazines searching for various yummy delights to make and bake instead of buying. The result was quite amazing! You will definitely be receiving more recipe cards from me as I am on a mission!!

Our first recipe that we chose for the week was CHOCOLATE BROWNIES!! Don't they just look yummy?

HUMOR FOR TODAY:

DAILY INSPIRATION:

Bible Chocolates: KIT KAT - TAKE A BREAK, SPEND SOME TIME WITH GOD!!

Have an awesome day!!

PRAYER FOR A FRIEND

I have not posted anything for a couple of days as it was Easter Weekend, and I have decided not to do any work or hobby related activities. I simply spent my time with my daughter, husband and mom! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Weekend.

This morning when I started to prepare for my next post, I quickly went over to one of the blogs that I follow about Digital Scrap Booking, Summertime Designs. She posted about her friend Brittany, that had a terrible Mountain Biking accident, which left her paralyzed. To cover all the medical expenses and prep work at home to make it wheelchair friendly, they need all the financial assistance they can get, and I think it is not just money that they need, but prayers, love and any other support that people can offer.

This made me think again that each morning when we get up, there are so many things to be thankful for and we need to give praise to our Lord for all our blessings. And in return be a blessing to others. We can not always give financially, but we can share our prayers, love, time and talents to bless others.

My Prayer to Brittany and everyone that reads this!

I have created the above page with digital elements from Ellie Lash and digital Papers from Summertime Designs combined with my own elements and digital paper. 

PLEASE FORWARD THE PRAYER TO YOUR FRIENDS!

God Bless!

True Love

My daily inspiration for today.

As promised, two Desktop Back Grounds for you to download:

http://www.4shared.com/photo/xOWcfcMn/Desktop_Background_Nectarine.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/J9u40Atz/Desktop_Black_no_photo.html

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