Phew! What a week!

What a crazy, absolutely hectic week I had! I'm REALLY glad it's Friday!. I don't talk about it often but I do have a job - a full time job. I'm not crazy about my job - not anymore - which is sad cause I spend so much time there. I don't talk about my job a lot because I try to focus on the positives in my life and trust that the Lord will lead me on the right path at the right time.

Now, it's the start of the weekend for me and I'm happy and sad at the same time (if that's possible at all!) My sister is coming to visit me! Yay! I don't see her that often and I love her so much. Can't wait to see her this afternoon. :)

I'm sad cause I have to say goodbye to Leon for 12 full days! :( We'll have to test the whole "absence makes the heart grows fonder" concept - not that I think my heart can possibly grow any fonder!

I've been struggling with my eyes this week too. Probably too much computer work, too little sleep add winter dehydration and you get 2 eyes struggling to cope! I will therefore try not to work/play too much on the computer this weekend - just to give them a bit of rest.

Lastly I want to say my thank you's to the Dear Lord:
1. Even if I don't like going to work every day I am eternally grateful for my job! It's a good job with a good salary and there are positives that I don't always see but I know that this job has provided for me and my kids for the past years. Sorry for being such a spoilt brat most of the times Lord.
2. What a wonderful privilege it is to be able to see! The beauty of God's creation is just breathtaking and I am honoured to be able to experience it through the wonderful gift of vision. In preparation for Leon's course we've been spending a lot of time learning more about birds and wild animals and I realised once again that nature is a never ending treasure chest just waiting to be explored! Thank you Lord for my eyes - even if they're not perfect and I sometimes get frustrated - I can still see and for that I praise You!

I'll try to fit in Jessica's It's Real Life challenge this weekend - I see we're peeking into each others bedrooms this week - mmm! I just love my bedroom and would love to share it with you all! ... Uhm - I don't think that came out the right way! Well - I'd like to virtually share it with you! Does that sound better! :)

My very first freebie!

I promised you a freebie so here it is - my very first digi freebie! I know it's not much but hey, I'm getting there. I was so inspired by the little clouds on the ad in Kim Watson's challenge #4 that I decided to make my own in PS and while I did it I decided to share it with whoever likes it.


Here is the LO I made for her challenge inspired by that gorgeous Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream ad. Part of the challenge was to make a LO about desert. I decided to use this photo of Marco - taken a couple of years ago. The history behind the photo is as follows: My mom makes a devine chocolate sauce and everytime she makes it, my kids fight over who gets to "lick the pot". Needless to say - on this day Marco won the fight and I took this photo when he was finished "licking the pot". Notice the chocolate sauce all over his face - even on his forehead!!! Translated the title means "Granny Anna's chocolate sauce is heavenly!"



Now on to the freebie as promised. Click on the picture or here (link expired) to download all the clouds - transparent and white - as well as the brackety notebook paper that I used as the background. Hope you like it. If you use it - please let me know so I can see!

My Hunting Man

Leon is going on a Professional Hunting course next week. Don’t know how I will survive for 2 weeks with him 600 km’s away from me! He’s busy preparing all his stuff to take with him. Amongst other things he has 3 Buck Hunting Knifes. Coincidentally, he read the insert in one of the knife’s boxes. How beautiful is the philosophy of this company! The very first thing written on the insert is a “message from the Buck Family”. Here’s an extract from what it says: “The fantastic growth of Buck Knives was no accident. From the beginning, management determined to make God the Senior Partner. In a crisis, the problem was turned over to Him, and He hasn't failed to help us with the answer”. That is just so beautiful! No wonder they’ve been so successful! You can read it all and about the rest of the company on their website.

Here’s a photo of my Hunting Man – all kitted out in his camo! Ever since I met him, he wanted to go on this course. It’s like a dream come true for him. He loves anything to do with outdoor life, nature preservation and responsible hunting. I wish him all the best because from what I heard it’s quite a tough course. At least he has an excellent general knowledge about the topic.

Today I'm thankful for ...

A good nights rest! I haven't been sleeping good at all this entire week. Last night I slept like a baby. I slept in until - uhm - I don't have a clue what time cause just now was the very first time that I had a look at the clock! I'm thankful for that too - I don't have to look at the clock today!

A beautiful, beautiful winters day! Clear sky, warm sun shining oh so brightly and the birds are having a ball in the garden - just as if they all want so praise the Lord for the beautiful day too! :)
Leon and I drew up the draft building plans for the extensions that we want to add to the house. How privileged we are to be able to plan and build our dream home!

That's all for now - I'm off to enjoy the wonderful gift of today!

May every person reading this thread be just as blessed as I am! :)

XO

It's Real Life!

This was fun! Thanks for the challenge Jessica!

This is what my real life looks like - well sort of. See I took these pics at my second home (Leon's house in Parys) since that's where I am now. We'll probably move in her permanently one of these days after we've refurbished the house the way we want it to be. So technically - it is my home.

Curb appeal - The first thing you see - even as you approach the house - is the huge oak tree. I absolutely love this tree and I recon it's the best feature of the entire house. I took pictures of the tree from the same angle at various times of the year. This year autumn arrived late in Parys but when it did - it hit with full force! Just look at the difference between the picture taken on 7th June and the one taken today! (click on the photo to see a bigger picture)

Our Junk Drawer is also actually a Junk Cupboard in the kitchen. In there you'll find anything from vitamins to duct tape to glue! Bet there's not a lot of junk cupboards with lace edges around! :)

I'm not big on jewelry and although I have a whole lot of other beautiful jewelry I almost always wear only this mabe ring. Not even sure why I like it so much - thing maybe I'm just so used to it - it's just so part of me.

This is the place from where I blog - we're busy redecorating this part of the house so one of these days it will look a bit better but for now it's a great place cause it's sunny and warm! :)

My best feature - uhm - that's a difficult one! I've heard that I have a nice smile. I'll go with what the "other people" say on this one!

Gratuity Journal

I decided to deliberately start blogging about things that I’m grateful for – sort of a gratuity journal as part of my blog. I have so many blessings and I can’t thank the Lord enough for them all. Sometimes I don’t appreciate all those blessings and by journaling them I hope to start really seeing all my blessings – big and small.

I’m so grateful that we’ve all adapted and everything turned out so good for all of us after the divorce.

I guess my life now is not that of a typical mommy – spending quality family time every weekend with the kids and doing things together. I had to adapt to not being with my kids every second weekend when they go to their dad. After 8 years I think we’re all used to this lifestyle and I actually enjoy my “alone” weekends just as much as my “kids weekends”. It gives me a little chance to do what I want and spending time with Leon without worrying about the kids. They enjoy spending time with their dad and we’re all happy to see each other on Sunday evenings.

Watch this space

What do you think bout my new banner? I think I like it and I'm going to stick with it for a while now.

Saw this challenge on Kim's blog and it looks like fun so I think I'll give it a go. Will try to get all my pictures taken and posted by the end of the weekend.

















My other mission for this weekend is to create some digi papers and elements and lo's and you know what - I plan on posting my first digi freebie - so - watch this space! :)