The Memories Warehouse

If you don't know about this great South African scrapbooking site - here are 4 very good reasons to visit it today still:

1. Amelia is hosting a competition including a couple of challenges with great prizes over at The Memories Warehouse site!

The first challenge is to create a page with this sketch:

And this is the prize for the first challenge:This is the LO I made for this challenge:

There are more challenges coming up and the prizes are all yummy!

The competition details are posted in the forum - sorry can't create a direct link to the specific thread - just look for the one titled "Competition".

2. The second good reason to pop over there right now is because they have a massive SALE on in the on-line shop! I've already place two orders since the start of the Sale. They have patterned paper for as low as R1 per sheet!

3. While you're over there - be sure to say hi to all the lovely girls in the forum!

4. Be sure to visit the gallery for some inspiration too! :)

It's Friday already!

They say time flies when you have fun so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's Friday already! I'm having soooo much fun at home! Wish I can become a SAHM.

Soo ... I picked a name out of the "teacup" and the winner of my blog banner giveaway is ...

Congrats Desire! I'll e-mail you to make arrangements for setting it up.

I still haven't finished (or worked on) my blog banner. Too busy with my papers and SB room. Must admit - paper is my first love ... and it will be my last! I enjoy playing around with digi stuff but I love the "reality" of paper scrapping more.

In response to Stefanie's comment about an earlier post of mine - I'm really not as clued up with the blog beautification as you might think. I know that Wilna Furstenburg presented a course on just that a while ago - she's REALLY good at it!

Look at this beautiful thing I stumbled upon on the web:

This is what I did almost all day long yesterday! I sorted my alphas. I reckoned I had a few but never realised they were SO many! I used plastic bags to keep the smaller ones seperate.

And this is what my Alphabet Chest of Drawers that I had made recently looks like:
I absolute adore it and can't wait to make my first title from it! :) Leon put it up for me above my sewing desk in my scrap room. Here's a couple more shots of my pinker than pink scrap room. I love to paint and distress furniture. Don't you just adore my pink chest of drawers! Still need to find the perfect drawer knobs for it though.
I love bunnies - can you tell?! :)

My scrap room is still very much a work in progress as I still have shelves that I need to be put up and a LOT of organising to be done but I'm getting there ... slowly but surely!

Today I want to scrap a couple of school pages ... I think. Will have to see where my mojo takes me though ...

Too much too soon!

I think I just might be doing too much too soon! Because I'm an insomniac, I don't want to sleep during the day. I also find it VERY difficult just to lie in be reading or watching TV, sooooo .... I wander around the house and find things to keep myself busy with. Which is not so hard for me. There are a LOT of stuff that I want to do. I know my limitations at the moment, so I leave the house decorating / painting for later but I've started to paper scrap - with all the getting up that goes along with it.

I scrapped this page yesterday:

I took this photo in Nov 2007 already and wanted to scrap it eversince but never got around to doing it until now. Don't you just adore rainbows?!

I also made this Jacobs Ladder mini album:

I've wanted to make one of these eversince I first saw it a couple of years ago. It looked real complicated but it's really not. I used this tutorial. I love wildflowers and I'm always taking pictures of them but I never know how to scrap them. I decided to use some of them for this little album. I'm so intrigued by the movement of the Jacob's ladder - I played with it all day long! :)

Here's a video clip of a jacob's Ladder album in action:

I stumbled upon the Yearbook Yourself website and had a bit of fun over there. Here are some of the results:

Oh - I also baked some chocolate brownies. Yum!

I felt good all day long yesterday - didn't even need pain tablets! Last night however, my body was really angry at me for overdoing it!

Today I promised myself to take it slower. BUT I still plan to re-organise my scrap room. I will do it little by little and take time to rest inbetween - I promise! :)

Can't wait to show you my new alphabet drawer cupboard thinghy that I had made by the sweetest old guy! That will have to wait till after the re-organisation.

Have a great day! :)

Clearly I'm busy recovering VERY fast! :)

I still not mobile enough to do the "jumping-up-to-fetch-supplies" that's required for paper scrapping but lucky for me I'm bi-scraptual! I can at least sit in one place and fetch all my supplies while sitting down when I digi scrap.


I decided to create a new banner for my blog. While working on it, I get so distracted by all the lovely digi stash that I've accumulated over time. I ended up working on 2 banners at the same time! The one intended for my blog is not done yet, but I finished the other one and decided to give it away to somebody who likes it. So - if you like this banner and want to use it on your blog - leave a comment for me and I will pick a name by the end of the week (Friday, 7/8).



(Click on the image for larger view)


I will customise it with your photos and blog name and will help you to put it up on your blog too if you want.

Now my body tells me it's time to go lie down and watch a movie ... and who am I to object?! :D

I'm alive!!!!

This week has been quite out of the ordinary for me - filled with emotions and experiences that will stay with me for the rest of my life! I'm overwhelmed with the love and support that I got from everywhere! Obviously the op was a "big thing" in my life but I didn't expect it to be a "big thing" for all the people around me. After all - this kind of operation are performed on thousands of woman all over the world on a daily basis. No big deal.

Since the doctor told me that it will have to be a hysterectomy and not only a sterilisation as I expected, I was really, really scared of the op. I tried to avoid thinking about it too much but I expected to be very nervous and stressed out on the day of the op. Quite the opposite happened. I was soooooo relaxed about it all on Tuesday. I received so many phone calls and sms's from people wishing me well and saying that they would pray for me. I could literally feel the power of all the prayers that went up for me on that day! Our God is such an AWESOME God! I don't even have words to describe the calmness and peace that I experienced during the entire week.

Everything went so well - beyond my best expectations. Only directly after the op I experienced severe pain but once that was under control I can honestly describe the pain as minor to moderate at worst! I was at home lying in my own bed only 48 hours after I was admitted to hospital!

I can't express my appreciation for each and everybody who supported me during this week - whether it was with a message on my blog / facebook, a sms or phonecall or just a distant prayer. I really appreciate it beyond words! A special thank you to Leon as well - he was by my side all the time and he's still spoiling me at home. I feel like a real life Queen! :)

Today my sister and mother came to visit me at home. They brought me a beautiful bunch of roses and the prettiest little angel figurine! I've got the sweetest sister in the world! I love you soooo much sis! (I know she reads my blog - but she never leaves a comment - come on sis - please leave your footprint this time - pretty please!)

Leon took before and after pics of me in hospital with his cell.

Before:

After:

This is the flowers that my sis and mom brought today (dankie Martie!)

And this is my little angel of joy! She is sooo tiny and delicate!

This is the flowers that I got from the office:

I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life!

What a week!

Phew! What a week! I'm soooo glad that it's Friday.

Clearly my life is back to "normal" which means running around like a chicken with it's head chopped off! Leon is back from his trip and the kids are back at school. At work I had literally a million things to do because ... and this is where I start having difficulty breathing ... I'm not going to be at work for 6 weeks! Yip - I know it may sound like heaven to be able to stay at home for 6 weeks but the reason for my absence is not so thrilling.

I have to go for a hysterectomy on Tuesday (28/7). I am sooo scared of the operation and the recovery too.I used to think that I'm a tough chick who can handle pain without too much fuss but through the years I've realised that I'm not as though as I like to think.

I try to focus on the possitive things like being able to catch up on my reading list (first week or two), then using up some of my ever growing scrappy stash (hopefully by week 3), then getting some sewing done by week 4 or 5.

Everybody tells me that you feel very weak and tired for up to 4 weeks afterwards. To me this sounds horrible. I'm just not the kind of person who can lie in bed for such a long time! Let alone not being able to get out of the house for so long! I get claustrophobic after staying home for a day!

Sooo - what I need is all your prayers that all will go well with my op and that I will maintain my sanity during the recovery stay-at-home period.

Hopefully it won't be long before I'll be able to sit in front of my PC for long enough to update my blog.

Not sure if I'll be able to blog this coming weekend cause I have so many things I want to get done in and around the house. I also try to think and plan ahead and stock up on things as far as I can.

I found a wonderfull site with online support to woman going for hysterectomies called hystersisters. I found a lot of practical pre and post op advise on there. I just love how the internet opens up the world!

So watch this space (or my Facebook page). I will try to post an update as soon as physically possible.

Hugs
Michelle

I've been tagged ...

... by Lynette to do this list:

I am: Michelle .... and I'm a scrapaholic! ;)
I don’t think: about bad things too often
I want: the builders out of my house and my life!!!
I have: an unbelievable blessed life!
I like: being a woman
I dislike: queues
I hate: unfairness
I dream: of travelling all over the world to all places weird and wonderful!
I fear: missing my real purpose in life
I am annoyed: with the lawlessness in our country
I crave: a good night's uninterrupted sleep
I usually: drive too fast!
I search: for my keys - always!!!
I hide: my emotions
I wonder: where I put my car keys?
I know: that all will work out in the end
I just can’t help: but be amazed when I look at the little details of God's creation
I regret: that I had Daisy (our Dashund) fixed. She would've made such a good mommy and we all would've love to see her puppies :(
I love: being a mother
I can’t live without: breathing :D
I try to: live close to my Heavenly Father
I enjoy: reading good books
I don’t care: too much about what other people think / say about me
I always: sleep on the same side of the bed - no matter where I sleep
I never want to: lose my sense of humour - no matter how old I get
I rely on: The grace of God to get me through each and every day
I believe: everything happens for a reason
I dance: while I'm cooking :)
I sing: along to the music in my car
I argue: only when I know the outcome really matters
I write: lists so I can remember
I win: when I can maintain control over my tongue and my emostions in tight spots
I lose: when I lose my self control
I wish: I could one day pick up a newspaper and only read good news
I listen: to what people say between the lines
I don’t understand: how anybody could hurt children and animals
I’m scared of: something bad happening to my kids
I forget: everything unless I set a reminder or make a list
I am happy: when I have all my loved ones under one roof

Everybody reading this and feeling like doing this list - consider yourself tagged! Just let me know so I can go check out your list. :)

I watched this movie on DVD last night:

Everybody who hasn't seen this - go get it at your DVD shop and watch it - it's unforgettable!



This afternoon I went to scrap with my new scrappy friends at our local Scrap Shop. We had so much fun creating s littlr mini book! I will try to finish it up romorrow and will post piftures when I do.

Now it's off to bed time for me!

Sleep tight :)