Another layout

Yip I managed to scrap last night... such a good feeling doing this again. But I didn't get to do my journalling or title until this morning... But it is now finished and so I thought I'd show it to you...

The dark bits around the edges are actually part of the paper (a border all the way round) but it didn't scan very well.

Brownies...

Here's the finished product... and boy are these yummy brownies. This is the second time I've made them and I think they will definately become a standard in my kitchen. So I hear you asking for the recipe.... well after extensive searching for the website I found it off ... no luck... I decided just to type it here for you... Make, eat and enjoy!

Mars Bar Cake or Chocolate Nougat Squares
roughly 200g Bar Ones chopped into small pieces and chilled in the fridge for 20 minutes
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
175g butter + 100g unsweetened chocolate, melted together and cooled
4 large eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essense

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Butter a 9x9 inch brownie pan
Sift together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.
Mix eggs with the sugar. Blend in the vanilla and butter/chocolate mixture. Sift flour mixture over and stir to form a batter. Carefully stir in 2/3 of the candy chunks.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and dot with the rest of the candy, pressing it down into the batter somewhat.
Bake for 25-40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 2 hours, then unmould and refrigerate for one hour. Cut up and gobble up!

NOTES: I decided this time around to just fold all the candy bit in and not to dot... doesn't really make any difference. Also I didn't unmould until after the hour in the fridge... worked okay.

So go on.... make some and tell me what you think.

Day 3...

Monday started with me sleeping in.... yip with Aaron not being here I don't have to get up until 6:30... sooooo nice! Got up, made Keith's lunch then we had breakfast (the usual cereal). He left just after 7 for work and then after my bath I decided to feed the birds. Also made some coffee and washed the dishes... yip actually washed dishes not only put them into the dishwasher and turn it on!

Left for work at 8:30 and had a fairly quiet day... catching up on emails. Also had a lovely surprise visit from Bev... with time for a quick chat and cuppa coffee with her.

After work I went shopping.... am looking for some circle punches so went to the crafters market first as I had got punches from them not so long ago but they didn't have, so then went to my LSSS... Local Scrapbook Supply Shop.... PNA at Flora Centre..... they also didn't have the punches :( but I did get myself two sets of alphabet stamps, some alphabet stickers as well as two new books to read.

Phew and all this before 3pm!!! Once home I turned a pile of ingredients into... chocolate brownies.... yummy. Then also did the ironing.


Who know what this evening will bring... hopefully (?) some scrapping otherwise I might just read my new book.

Saturday's scrapping results

Here are the three layouts that I did on Saturday... The Play Time one was a scraplift and I did that while at Scraptifity on Saturday afternoon.... the other two I did after supper on Saturday night.



I really enjoyed doing these layouts... now I must go and do some more this week.

Day Two

Well my Sunday morning started off very well.... I GOT TO SLEEP LATE.... yip only woke up at 7:45 (hence the pic of the clock!). I had planned to go the the early chuch service but that didn't happen for obvious reasons so ended up going to te 9:30 one instead.... lovely service with an uplifting message... "Knowing that God is in control".


The rest of the day as you will note from my pic collage was spent with the family. We all met up at a very fancy B&B run by Denise's cousin. I got a big full-speed running hug of welcome from Aaron on arrival with a nice "I missed you Mommy" from him... just melts my heart.

We had a lovely braai and spent the day sitting around chatting. Gemma was full of smiles... mainly when she wasn't crying, feeding or sleeping! But I guess that's what 5 month olds do. It was nice to share some time with Veronica too... growing into such a lovely girl.

Okay so that is my Sunday in a nutshell.

I've started...

to capture "a week in my life".... yip I've taken up the challenge that Ali Edwards is running on her blog. So here is my first day:


Today is Saturday and my day started out with me doing the washing (normal routine) and while hanging up the washing I discovered some beautiful flowers in my garden... such beauty in the everyday. This after I did what I love to do best.... SCRAP!!! Popped over to Scraptifity and had a great relaxing time scrapping... first time in nearly two months (ouch!). Will upload my layouts on Monday hopefully.


And now that I've finished posting this it's back to scrapping... yip the bug has bitten again!

Date Night...

Keith and I went out last night... first time in absolutely ages that it was just him and me. We went to go see.....

And then went to Spur for supper... yummy yummy ribs and I rounded the evening out with icecream and HOT chocolate sauce.... mmmmmmmmmmm.

Was a great time out and something we need to do more often.

The movie was brilliant... the songs sure brought back memories from my childhood... mainly of driving to Rustenburg to take my brother back to boarding school and we would listent o ABBA there and back!!! And of course Pierce Brosnan is just such a dish to look at that it didn't matter that he couldn't sing all the well... didn't spoil the story at all... and boy did he look funny in that last scene after the title... hehehee

Have you booked????

If not why not.... hehehe.

Okay so I hear you asking me.... "what must I book for"... well that is a good question.... it's for SCRAPPINK... the wonderful scrapbooking event of the year... even more fun to look forward to.

I'm going to be a volunteer (doing that again!!) for this event and I'm so excited about it... so please rush out NOW and go book your ticket. They've even reduced the price to make it more affordable!

AND best of all... all the money raised will be going to Breast Cancer Awareness.... such a brilliant cause.

A-week-in-the-life Class

I just received a newsletter from Ali Edwards and she is doing a online class sort of thing next week on her blog that I think I'm going to try very hard to do... check this out.... http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2008/09/join-in-a-week.html

Yesterday...

September the 24th is my Mom's birthday... and now it's a public holiday too (Heritage Day) plus for the last few years it's also become National Braai Day.... so we had the day off work yesterday and got to spend it together as a family!

Happy Birthday Mom.... here is a pic of her cutting her birthday cake which I made... (yummy microwave Chocolate Cake ... recipe courtesy of my friend Judi)
And then we all walked around to the Boma restaurant for a very yummy lunch... huge selection of everything and we all ate way too much (no supper needed!) The rest of the day was spent getting acquainted with the new addition to the family... little Gemma who is now 5 months old.... and of course lots and lots of pics were taken (around 71 on my camera alone!!!)


And now for the awh cute moment... Aaron and Gemma getting to know each other better...


So that's me for now... we had lots of fun and laughter and it was a good day to be together.

Commenting does pay off

I read Jacki's blog last night and discovered I WON.... yip I left a comment on her blog and she pulled my name out of the hat (okay random integer helped!) and now I'm going to have 3-5 of my photos digitally edited to make me look G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!! hehehe


Today is BANDANA DAY... and I'm wearing mine... go to http://www.sunflowerfund.org.za/ and find out how YOU can help too...

Spoke to my little guy on the phone last night to find out how his day had been... and had a quite giggle to myself instead..... he told me all about Poppa putting up brackets and Granny doing the washing but couldn't remember what he had done. He did say that he watched the picture changy thing (ie digital picture frame that my brother had given my folks as a combined birthday-christmas present) plus the cinderella movie... he seemed happy (like always) so I think on the whole it was a good day.

Today I reckon pandemonium exists at their house seeing as Shaun, Denise & Gemma got back from East London last night and Veronica arrived from Cape Town... Aaron is very excited to be seeing his cousins again... I just just imaging the NOISE that's going on and I really don't envy my folks with that houseful.... good luck! And tomorrow we get added into the mix too... it's Mom's birthday, heritage day and braai day all wrapped into one!!!

Right back to work for me now... catch you soon.

Faith...Family.... and news

I absolutely LOVE the verse in Hebrews 11:1 all about faith... and when I found Stephanie Ackerman (who does RAK doodles) had done that particular verse I just had to add it to my blog... sure hope she won't mind.

Now on to news of the weekend... had a rather quiet and relaxed one... that's how it felt but it was busy-ish. Did the usual laundry chore... started on Friday afternoon and continued on Saturday... now must do the ironing! yuck yuck!

Saturday Aaron and I joined my Dad at his SAG Train meeting.... stands for Saturday Afternoon Group... hehehe... at the Pretoria Show Grounds to see a model train layout... we had such fun...

And... look who we found lurking.... THOMAS!!!

Sunday was spent at church in the morning and then we drove through to my folks for lunch, to look through their 1000+ photos of their 3 week holiday through Namaqualand and finally left Aaron there for his two week holiday! Yip 2 weeks... I have a break... I got to sleep till 6:30 this morning............. sooooooooooooooooo nice and needed!

Going to see a scrapping/school friend this afternoon... Theresa... and then it's home to do that yucky ironing and finish reading my murder mystery.

So that's me in a nutshell for today.... catch you soon.

ps... got pics yesterday of the newest addition to the Sanders family.... little Kaylin Catherine Wehrli born on 23 August to Thomas and Heather (Keith's younger sister). Congrats to the proud parents.

My kind of exercise programme....

Exercise Routine


If you're over 30, you might want to take it easy at first, then do it faster as you become more proficient.
It may be too strenuous for some.


Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program!

SCROLL DOWN...


















































NOW SCROLL UP...

That's enough for the first day. Great job.

Have a Chocolate.

So true... and it is!

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

This past weekend... report back

Having worked till after midnight on Thursday to finish my competition entry I still had to get up early to get Aaron to school and then get myself to Sandton Convention Centre by 8:30 to help with packing the goodie bags for the Scrapbook Convention.... had such fun all day.... here I am in a room full of goodie bags just before lunch.

The afternoon I was part of the team that handled the registrations and in one of the quieter moments I went and set up my competition entry. Here is my complete model.... entitled "Once Upon a Time".



This is a close up of the castle that I spent the whole of last week rushing to finish. You can also see the dragon on the drawbridge and if you look extremely closely you will see the princess up in the tallest tower!

Here is the knight coming up the pathway to fight the dragon and rescue the princess...


These are the fairies of the autumn leaves forest...
Here are clips of me throughout the weekend....

1. My school friend Theresa.... you were very brave to come having just had a major op... but you did great girl

2. Jennifer and her daughter Mallory... from Around the Block

3. Celine Navarro.... what a fun class and awesome lady... Merci

4. Kelly and her friend Cydnee from My Minds Eye

5. The group of volunteers in our class... we were such a good team... thanks girls for sharing this experience with me

6. Jenni Bowlin and her husband ... a lovely class

7. Margie from Making Memories... such a card.. and we were all given an open invitiation to visit her when in Utah... such a nice gesture

8. My absolute favourite person... Stacy Julian.... I even wore miss-matched socks on Sunday in honour of her!

9. Last but not least my blogging buddy Jacqui... it was great doing this weekend with you.

There were two other teachers.... Kah-mei and Rachel with whom I didn't get photos :( but they were the absolute best teachers tooo!

And then the final news of this weekend is.... I didn't WIN the paper competition... this entry did...
.... but I did get a FREE ticket to next year's convention... so reckon that was prize enough.... hehehe.
All the late hours and Saturdays working before hand were worth it.... even the sore back and aching feet. I spent Monday sleeping (after taking Aaron to school that is!), and feel a bit more recovered now.

Speaking of Monday..... Aaron was soooooooooooooooooo excited yesterday.... the Grade 1s, 2s and 3s all went on a bus trip to the National Botanical Gardens for the day... here is a pic of my boy on the bus... his first bus trip all by himself!




And so that was the busy busy weekend... hope that tells you what I was up too...
ps.... I also got to meet Tracy, Sophia and Jacqui in person.... sooooooooooooo nice!

The final countdown

Well in less than 24 hours.. yip LESS... my model must be finished..... ouch!!! Or rather HELP!!!! I'm almost but not quite finished the castle... mainly just got the flags to stick on the turrets... but there are lots of them! And then I must still make 2 reindeer as well as a forrest of trees... and THEN assemble everything. HELP someone I think I've bitten off more than I can chew and I don't have enough hours.. or hands. Oh well will see how far I get and that will have to do then. Will take pics and let you all see my hard work once it's done.

For us who don't like housework....

Two brooms were hanging in the closet and after a while they got to know each other so well, they decided to get married.

One broom was, of course, the bride broom, the other the groom broom.

The bride broom looked very beautiful in her white dress. The groom broom was handsome and suave in his tuxedo. The wedding was lovely.

After the wedding, at the wedding dinner, the bride-broom leaned over and said to the groom-broom, "I think I am going to have a little dust broom!!!"

"IMPOSSIBLE !!" said the groom broom.

Are you ready for this? Brace yourself; this is going to hurt.

"WE HAVEN'T EVEN SWEPT TOGETHER!"

Oh for goodness sake... laugh, or at least groan. Life's too short not to enjoy... even these silly little cute..... and clean jokes

Sounds to me like she's been "sweeping" around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The countdown is on...

Yip it's only 4 more sleeps till convention... okay 5 if you're a delegate... but for me Friday is the day.... So the heads up is IT'S GOING TO BE FUN... the kits I've helped pack are gorgeous, the colours are so pretty and the excitement is climbing. If you haven't booked yet, I'm sure there are still a few places left... so go to http://www.scrapbookex.co.za/ and book asap.
And then of course the rest of my week will be spent finishing my entry for the paper craft competition.

So please if you are at the convention come and see my entry and if possible vote for me... I'm still trying to make a castle, need to do a sleigh and reindeer (x2), and cooking pot, a whole bunch of trees & leaves and then still assemble it all... all before Thursday evening... ouch... what have I let myself in for?????? Oh and inbetween all that I've still got to work each morning, go to bible study tomorrow, do shopping and my brother is coming to stay for the week... life will be VERY hectic this week... but fun!

Chat again when I get a chance.

Casual Day

It's Friday and today is officially Casual Day... Aaron's school went all out for this and sold the stickers to raise money for Casa Do Sol School and all the kids went to school dressed in civies this morning. Well before we left home it was time for pics too so here are we all dressed for Casual Day... enjoy.

And this last one is just for fun.... hehehe

Aaron was playing with my camera and zoomed in to take a photo of Mommy... now you can see me in all my glory... hehehehehehe

Speaking Japanese

You know those emails that keep doing the rounds... well I got this one yesterday again and decided... what the heck I'll answer it here and now you can add in your 10 cents worth too!! SO...

Fill your name in Japanese (refer to table below) and send it to all of your friends to show how crazy it looks...

A - ka B - tu C - mi D - te E - ku F - lu
G - ji H - ri I - ki J - zu K - me L - ta M - rin
N - to O -mo P - no Q - ke R - shi
S - ari T -chi U - do V - ru W -mei
X - na Y - fu Z - zi

So here's mine..... CATHY = Mikachirifu

hehehehe.... now you know what to call me in future... hope I remember and answer!

Pleasing a little boy

It's amazing how little it takes to make a little boy happy. Last night was Survivor on tv... the one night that Aaron is allowed to sit up late and watch tv. Anyway early in the day we had been grocery shopping and I had bought some microwave popcorn, so Aaron asked if we could have a treat while watching Survivor.... "put all the lights out, eat popcorn with sugar on and was Survivor like at the big scream".... well that's what we just did... him and me cuddled up on the couch with the lights off (except the kitchen light so we could see what we were doing!) and with a big bowl of icing sugared microwave popcorn to share while watching the intrigue of the team reshuffle on Survivor.... just like as if we were at the movies!!!

I sure hope that it will always be this easy to make my little boy happy.... it's the small things that count!

Blog Award

I've been noticing these "blog awards" doing the rounds of a few of the blogs that I visit and was wondering if I was EVER going to be lucky enough to get one and then last week Michelle so kindly said she had left me a little something on her blog for me and there it was... my reward.

So now here's what I have to do....follow the rules... hehehe.

The rules are simple:
1 Make a blog post where you pass the award on to seven blogs you like and
2 Post a comment at their blog to tell them about the award!

Well I reckon my seven blogs will include some return visits to some of my loyal readers and then a few extras, so here goes:
1. Jacki JvR
2. Sophia
3. Michelle
4. Desire
5. Ro
6. Lara Cousins
7. Rachel Scholtz

Enjoy visiting all these blogs (and thanks to them for visiting here!).

Spring has arrived

Yip it's the 1st of September today so officially it's SPRING... just someone PLEASE tell that to the weatherman!!! It's cold and blowing up a storm today.... poor little guy went to school in civies today dressed as if it's WINTER... hehehe. What happened to that lovely spring weather we had last week?? Well I don't think we've EVER had a 1st of September where it's been HOT... so reckon this is just par for the course.


And then to prove even more so that Spring has arrived we got our first Clivia flowers in our garden this weekend. We've had this plant for over a year now and this is the first time EVER that it's had a flower... so here it is in all it's glory.

And just an update on the "sick patient" (as Aaron calls me!)... I'm still coughing and spluttering! Went back to the doc on Friday as I was no better and got yet more meds... have been inhaling Karvol all weekend but the cough still does not want to disappear. Am having yet another day at home! Next course of treatment is xrays to see why my sinus aren't clearing and then possibly scrapping my sinuses surgically.... no thanks I'd rather cough!!!

Well off to rest a bit more... cough, splutter and cough some more. Enjoy your spring day wherever you may be!