Tuesday, June 19, 2012

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!



Monday, June 4, 2012

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!



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


God Bless!






Tuesday, May 29, 2012

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.



Sunday, May 27, 2012

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!








Tuesday, May 15, 2012

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!

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!!




Wednesday, May 9, 2012

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!!