I'm on leave!!!!

I am officially on leave!  I decided to take 2 weeks leave from work to spend the school holidays with my kids.  This first term has been so totally hectic at work - especially the last month.  It was filled with lots of pressure - both physically and emotionally.  Had some tough decisions to make and even though it wasn't always the most popular decision - I now know that I did the right thing!

I'm still trying to relax and get used to the idea that I don't have to go to work on Monday.  I plan to spend a lot of time on my new garden.  From the little that I've done in the garden so far, I've come to realise that it takes so much effort (not to mention moolas!) to make just a little difference.  Lots of hard work still lying ahead but I'm sure I will be rewarded in the end.

I have a couple of lo's to share.

This one I made for my little baby girl Leeloo:

This is a very special one I made for Michael.  He was christened when he was about 3 months old.  He recently decided that he wanted to be babtised again.  This made my heart jump with joy!

A while ago one of my colleages from work asked me to do a photoshoot of her family. She knows that I'm a passionate amature photographer who loves to take photos of especially kids. We made a date for this past Monday - which was a public holiday. I really enjoyed doing this sooooo much! I wish I could do this every day of my life. Just not so sure if I'm good enough or that the market is big enough to make a living from photography alone. Here are some of the shots that I like best:

I just love to take candid photos in a natural relaxed setting.  I think it's so much nicer than studio photos.  In our area at least there aren't any photographers that I know of who does this kind of thing and I would love to explore the possibility of doing this for a living.  I would really appreciate your feedback - both about the photos and the idea of doing this professionally.

Hope that all of you will have a funfilled relaxed weekend!

Bye for now! :)

I live for weekends!

I just love the feeling of FREEDOM when Friday afternoon arrives.  I know it's not supposed to be like that and that I should treasure each day.  Unfortunately it's not the case for me.  I find it hard to treasure a day at work filled with budgets and having to check up on others to make sure they do their job!!  I hate it!  I already feel better for just putting it out there.  I'm really going through a "rough patch" at work.  It just feels like all the wheels fell off at the same time.  I'm sure it will all get better in time. 

But now it's weekend and Idon't even want to think about work. 

Last weekend I went to Pretoria to visit this little beautiful thing:

I love little Leeloo more and more everytime I see her!  She's such a precious little creature and I miss her so much already!  That's why I'm busy making a LO of some pics I took last week.  Will show that as soon as it's done.

Last night we went to see a show of a local artist - Jak De Priester at the theatre in Sasolburg.  I just love his down-to-earth and from-the-heart poems and songs.

This past week they've been digging up our garden - if you can call the vast expanse of nothing around our house a garden!  They're busy installing an irrigation system.  I insited that we get that done before I attempt starting a garden.  I don't really know anything about gardening but I LOVE a beautiful garden, so I suppose I'll have to start learning about gardening very fast.  I know that it's not really the ideal time of year to start a garden but I really want to get a head start before winter. So - watch this space - I suspect that gardening might become a regular topic on this blog.

This afternoon a friend came over and we scrapped together.  Or at least - that was the plan!  In the end we chatted so much and didn't get a lot of scrapping done.  It was fun though and that's all the matters.  :)

I've got 2 lo's that I want to share.  I finished them a couple of weeks ago already but only got around to taking photos of them today.

This is another Chrismas LO of the kids:

And this is a VERY special lo I made of me and my best friend, Tanya.  We've been friends since 1983!  In 1986, we became "blood sisters"  by pricking our fingers and mixing our blood.  Sounds gory I know.  Actually there was nothing sinister around the ritual at all.  We did it right there in the middle of the math classroom.  I guess it was just symbolic of how we will stick together - no matter what.  And we did! I love you Tanya! :)

That's it for now.  I'm off to bed.  Sleep tight! :)