Where you Relax

This is my favourite place to relax, I love my bedroom, come winter time I tend to hibernate here.  I get home, cook dinner and hastily make my way through to my bedroom.  We put the air con on warm and sit and watch telly all toasty and warm.
Till next time
xoxo

Toys

These are some of our little dogs toys, they have a ton of them that lie on their bed outside the kitchen and randomly pick them up and leave them deposited all over my home, these three are actually Roxy's favourites she loves throwing them in the air and catching them.  If you say to her "where's your baby" she totters off to the kitchen to get one and brings it back to you, she's a smart one, Doogie-bug on the other hand just looks at you like your mad then steals the toy off Roxy when she gets back.  Never quite sure if Doogie-bug isn't a full box of chocolates or a mastermind genius.

Till next time

xoxo

Goal Update: Two

It's time to review those pesky goals again, so lets get right into them
1. Gym: what can I say, still an extreme lack of visits to the gym, not through lack of motivation I may add, I am just finding that I get home so late at night from work these days that by the time I would be able to change and drive up to the gym, they would be closed.  I have been care taking an additional portfolio this month, however will be handing it over early April and so with only one job to do, I vow to myself to get myself back into that gym again.  I love it there, I love the smell of the air there and I really love how I feel after having worked out.  April is THE month I will get back there.
2. Reading: now this I have made great strides to get back on track, I finished 10th Anniversary by James Patterson, and moved swiftly along to 11th Hour, his next book in the series of The Woman's Murder Club.  I loved the 10th Anniversary and was steaming my way through 11th Hour.  I find his books really easy to read and never feel like I am ploughing my way through any of his books. I have read from number six onwards thus far, however book one through five were not on kindle version, which was quite a drag as I really have gone off reading paper books, reading on an e-reader is just so much easier, I however went back to check, and lo and behold number one through five were now on Kindle version, so I bought them all and stopped reading book eleven and went back to start with book one.  I got half way through book one and got side tracked by a book called Room, by Emma Donoghue, what a thought provoking book written from the perspective of a five year old, who was born into "11 ft by 11ft Room" and has never known anything other than "Room".  His mother was abducted at the age of 19 and kept in captivity in "Room".  This is a fictional book, but gives insight into how those poor women that were found having been held in captivity for many years and also having born children from their captors.  I read this book in two nights as I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend it.  For now I am back to book one in the Women's Murder Club books.
3. Blogging: the photo a day challenge was great fun and gave me something to think about each day and obviously post on my blog so I would say I am back into full swing with the Blogging and am looking forward to the month of April Photo a day challenge.
4. Eating Plan: back in place and working well again, I have a four week menu that I rotate, so the family don't get bored of having to eat the same thing every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc, I put it together with an ingredient list required for each meal so Sunday grocery shopping is more organised and takes very little time to do.  Jordy then knows exactly what we are having that night and starts the prep work before I get home (bless her).  An example of one of our weekly meal plan is:
Monday:        Lamb chops, Baby Potatoes &Veg's
Tuesday:       Beef, corn & Avo salsa wraps
Wednesday:  Pork Stir Fry
Thursday:     Meatballs on spaghetti
Friday:         Fat Free Chicken Burgers
Saturday:     Beef Stroganoff
Sunday:       Roast, veg's & Potatoes
5. Cook & Bake: Back on track with the cooking and I gave a caramel cheesecake a go click here   Can't say it was a resounding success, but I will eventually get this baking thing right, I have only failed if I stop trying.
6. Spring Clean: Got loads of this done, and am planning on overhauling my closet this weekend, need a really good purge.
7. Be Thankful: I am thankful for how blessed I am with the people I have in my life.  my wonderful husband, our amazing daughter, our very loving and close family and our incredible friends.
8. Be Adventurous: Hmmm, nothing really on this front, Mum arrived back from overseas, spent the weekend then left to go back with Dad to Gaberone and was back down a couple of days later as Dad had to have an op, so unless visiting my Dad in hospital is deemed adventurous (mind you with those "Super Bugs" on the loose in hospitals, it really was possibly quite adventurous to be there) other than that not much of anything exciting happened, Grant however flew down to Cape Town to do the Cape Argus and completed in 4 hours 13 minutes.  Technology is so great, here we were sitting in JHB being sent sms' as he passed over 6 tracking pads through out the race, so I was tracking him on the route map and working out all along as to what finish time he was on track for.  As the people in Thailand would say it was a month of "Same, Same, but different".
Till next time
xoxo

Photo a Day April

Photo a day challenge by http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/ was great fun, especially as friends of mine with their own blogs joined in.  So Corenne from http://sexymomgp.blogspot.com/ &  Ross from http://tsx.co.za/ hope you will be joining in again for April.  I may even try to convince Grant & Jordy to join in this month.
Here is April's themes.
Till next time
xoxo

Feet

Winter is definately on its way, I can feel the nip in the air, winter isn't my favourite time of the year, I don't do cold well, so it was out with the socks to keep my feet warm, as the old saying goes, "cold feet, warm heart" but when your feet are cold it is really hard to feel any kind of jolly at all.
Till next time
xoxo



Trash

My first attempt at these retro type photographs, I present, my Office Dustbin
Till next time
xoxo

 



Your Name

I have two middle names, not many people know that about me, I have never really understood the need for more than one name. Hence why my daughter was not given a middle name.  I also don't like my name to be shortened, much to the chagrin of my hubby, who feels he has earned the right to call me by a shortened name.  My name is Stephanie, not Steph, Steffie, Phanie or whatever else people come up with.  What really gets my goat is when I introduce myself to a new person by saying "Hi, my name is Stephanie, please to meet you" followed by them replying "Hi Steph", I just don't get it, why would I refer to myself as Stephanie if I wanted you to call me Steph.  This may seem petty to some, but I happen to like my name, my whole name, all nine letters of it.
Till next time 
xoxo

Key

The keys to my office cupboards, attached to a little bag that carries my camera, cell phone, memory stick & access card
Till next time
xoxo

Sunday cocktails

Watermelon Cosmopolitans in a very unuasual glass. yum

Till next time

xoxo

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Breakfast

I am not a breakfast person, too much to do in the morning and too little time. I do however have a glass of Berrocca and a glass of fibre with my vitamins every morning. So i suppose this is my breakfast
till next time
xoxo

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Animal

These are my white ceramic animals that sit in a cube unit next to my dressing table. I just love the expressions on the bull dogs faces. Just adorable
till next time
xoxo

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Moon

Spotted the moon when I came out of the office
Till next time
xoxo

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

It arrived

The downside of ordering things online from overseas, is the long wait for it to get here, the upside is, it feels like Christmas when it arrives.  I am very good friends with the chap who collects the post at work, he calls me Mama Steph.  he knows how excited I get with my overseas packages and rushes them to me as soon as he gets them.  Thank you Linda for cheering my day.
Anyhoo, my Regina Pierallini necklace arrived today and it is just beautiful, there is something about owning a hand made piece of jewellery, that just makes it that bit extra special.  Her packaging as well as a hand written thank you is just such a special touch.
Till next time
xoxo

Kitchen Sink

No jokes, this is generally what my kitchen sink usually looks like, I don't do dishes, I have a thing about sticking my hands into water that has floaty things, even with gloves on I know those floaty things are there and it just freaks me out.  I would rather scrub my loo's than do dishes, that's how much I hate doing dishes. I am fortunately blessed to have a full time house keeper who magically takes care of the dishes during the week and from when I get home on a Friday night all dishes go in the dishwasher, we keep adding to it until it is full then switch it on and repeat until Monday morning when dear Kate is back to work her magic.  I think dishwashers are truly one of the best inventions of the 20th century.
Till next time
xoxo

  

Delicious

Today was Human Rights day, with Jordy being away on holiday with her friend, Grant and I went out for lunch, I took a picture of my meal, fully expecting it to be delicious but sadly it was actually quite dry and blah.  However we went over to Cinnabon after for our pudding and those were absolutely delicious.  I first tasted Cinnabon's when I was in New York, I bought a strip of mini's for us all to share, however neither Grant, Jordy nor my father-in-law were interested, so I embarrassingly admit that I ate the entire strip myself.  If you haven't tried them do yourself a favour and go and get some, they are like a little round of heaven on a plate.
Till next time
xoxo

Before and After

Went out for a really yummy lunch to Central Grill

As you can see it went down well

Till Next time

xoxo

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Funny

Let me introduce you to Doogie-bug, he is my baby boy, but he truly has a screw loose, I love him dearly for all his insanity but he really does the funniest things.  Most dogs love tickles and so does he, except when it gets to night time where, when you tickle him he rolls over, lies on his back with his legs in the air, for some more tickles, but then he starts growling, it is almost like he loves/hates it but only at night time, he growls until he can't help himself anymore and jumps up and runs away.  we of course find this hilarious and keep doing it.  We figure that he kind of gets to a point where he wants to sleep and now we must leave him alone now.  He also has a nasty habit of jumping up on the table and walking around to say hello to everyone that is sitting  at the table.  For some reason we just can't seem to stop him from doing this.  He also doesn't walk down stairs but jumps them, looks like a spring lamb, he really is such a funny boy.
Till next time
xoxo

I baked

Yup, stop the press, I actually baked, those that know me, know this is my Achilles heel, and I have this stubborn streak in me that keeps whispering in my ear "if you keep tyring, you will eventually get this right"  Well try as I may, I am no Julia Child and won't ever be giving Martha a run for her money.  We had friends over for Lupper (Lunch/Supper) yesterday and thought I would attempt a caramel Cheesecake, my poor friends were so supportive and finished a piece each (please note my own family didn't) but both Cally and Ross cleaned their plates (now that's true friendship for you), I really and truly do not know how I can NOT bake anything, I just is beyond me, how can a person cook really well (even if I do say so myself) and not be able to even make a fairy cake without some disaster occurring.  I am well beyond understanding this.  With all that being said here is a pic of my latest attempt.
Till next time
xoxo

Corner of my house

I haven't had a dressing table for approximately four years, in January I decided enough was enough and went out and bought this dressing table and cube unit.  It was a flat pack that my darling hubby built for me, I love this space, Grant calls it the Bat Cave.
Till next time
xoxo

Green

Lovely frangrance from Bath and Body, used as an everyday perfume
Till next time
xoxo

Sunglasses

Living in South Africa, sunglasses are an absolute necessity, I never go out without mine.  I have had the same make and type for the last 11 years.  When ever the pair I have start to look well past their sell by date, I pop right back in to Nine West and get myself another pair, this is my fourth pair in a row.  Not very adventurous I know, but if it works why fix it.  I also walk around all day with my Sunnies on top my head, it has almost become a signature look for me, they are either on my nose or on my head.
till next time
xoxo

Car

This little car

is actually a memory stick, her headlights flash when she is plugged in

She is ever so cute, and the closest I will ever get to owning a Porsche
Till next time
xoxo

Cloud

This morning's sky kind of reminded me of the lyrics to the Carpenter's song, On Top of the World.
"Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eye, and I won't be surprised if it's a dream".  Yup, where are the clouds when you need them.  Clear blue skies all the way to work.
Till next time
xoxo

Sign

I know I have blogged about this sign before, however I drive past it every morning and it still intrigues me and makes me laugh.  Seriously, what is it you are to beware of moving machines or crocodiles, this is outside one of the De Beers office buildings, I am quite sure they don't have any crocodiles anywhere nearby, or are there ?
Till next time
xoxo

Fork

Still got the family staying with us so more than the normal amount of cutlery needed at meal times, makes me happy to have people staying over, the more the merrier.
Till next time
xoxo

Someone I spoke to today

Mum and Dad, arrived yesterday and will be staying with us for a while, I always love spending time with my parents, we have such laughs and this weekend is no exception.  Family is just the best.
Till next time
xoxo

Loud

I know I am going to sound very old and out of touch, but I really find it hard to enjoy the majority of the latest music.  I actually don't even know how some of it actually falls into the gambit of music.  I however have a teenage daughter who obviously is an avid fan.  Fortunately I avoid this form of torture in two ways. 
One, her bedroom is far away from my room that she can blare her music as loud as she wants and I don't hear it.
Two, she permanently looks like she is wired into her i-pod touch as she bops around the house listening to that hideous noise, however as loud as she may be listening to it, I hear nothing.
Bliss and Joy
Till next time
xoxo

Red

Looking around this morning for something red, it dawned on me that my Tablet has a new red cover.  I adore this tablet, it has everything I need on it, from my kindle books, to my downloaded magazine subscriptions to email, Internet, shopping lists, and hundreds of applications that keep me occupied at any moment of boredom.  I chose this tablet due to its size, it fits nicely into any of my handbags and thus is on hand at any moment, even when I find myself in a queue or waiting to pick Jordy up from Extra math.  I know most people prefer the i-pad, and it is just lovely, however the size is just too big for it to be practical for me to carry around in my bag, the i-pad needs a bag of its own, I already carry a bag and a briefcase, I would start to look like a pack horse with yet another bag.  So here's to many more enjoyable hours with my table
Till next time
xoxo

Window

We live hectic lives, we work long hours, I would love to say we dutifully sit down each night to a cooked dinner at the dining room table and catch up on each others days, this sadly is far from the truth, it is more likely that we  hang out in the kitchen whilst we all get involved in putting together that nights meal,catching up on each others day,probably enjoying a glass of wine, and then we go eat dinner in my room.
I walk in the door at night, and do not sit down until such time as the meal is done, otherwise I probably wouldn't get up again and my family would be very hungry. 
Last night I arrived home to find both Grant & Jordy already started with the meal, so I quickly took a shot of them in action through our kitchen window, I love how well they get on, it really is so special.
Till Next time
xoxo

Something I wore

I love, this necklace, it adds a little sparkle to an otherwise very plain dress
Till next time
xoxo

5:00 pm

Nothing exciting about 5:00pm for me unfortunately, still stuck at my desk, working away, trying valiantly to clear my 187 emails.  I do however love what I do, I always have, I do feel very blessed to be in this position of loving my job, in fact I have always felt very sorry for people who hate their jobs, I can't imagine waking up each morning dreading to go to work, dragging themselves through each day, pinning for the weekend.  I have always been of the opinion if you don't like what you are doing, do something about it, start looking for another job (whilst you are still working) at least.  My hubby often says I should check his lottery tickets in case he has won, so we don't need to go to work on Monday and I always follow with "but I like my job", he thinks I am mental, but what can I say, if you are passionate about something, it doesn't seem like work. You only have one life to live, you don't want to look back and say, I should have.  Don't get me wrong, my job isn't like a fairy tale, with Snow White singing and dancing her way through a forest full of friendly creatures, it has its ups and downs, like everything I suppose, but overall, I feel like I accomplish things and make a difference and am fortunate to work in an environment that is constantly changing and thus keeps my boredom at bay, what more could a girl ask for.
till next time
xoxo

I'm looking over, a four leaf clover

I have had my eyes on the Regina Pierallini black enamel clover necklace for a very long while, I waited too long the last time to make a decision, that she ended up completely sold out, leaving me regretful for not getting one.  Last night over at veronabrit.blogspot.com, Veronika did a vlog on her Regina Pierallini collection and was offering a 15% discount code on all Regina Pierallini purchases.  So I popped on over to her website and they had but one of these beautiful creations left, again a limited edition, with 12 clover stations & 3 large open design clovers.  This time there was no procrastination, so now, with the help of a 15% discount, it is now winging its way to me.
Till next time
xoxo

Smile

Frantically rushing around on a Monday morning, there wasn't many smiles to be found in my house, however just before leaving I asked my beautiful daughter to give me a smile and she happily obliged. However the picture came out dreadfully (rookie mistake only checking when I got to work, what can I say, Monday's are a rush) so I pulled out a picture I took of Jordy on Christmas day.
Till next time
xoxo

Bedside

Being a little OCD, I don't like clutter, everything in its place and a place for everything, so I don't have very much at my bedside, a lamp with a string of Misbaha (Muslim prayer beads, a gift from a colleague), a picture of my family, an old fashioned telephone (fits with my decor, works terribly) a coaster for my drink at night, a Carrol Boyse oil burner & a Carrol Boyse ornament, along with crisp white bedding and pillows.
Till next time
xoxo

Our Neighbourhood

Today's picture is of our Neighbourhood, we bought our house 5 years ago, it was a 40 year old farmhouse, we spent a year ripping it apart and renovating it, and moved in 4 years ago, I absolutely adore living out in the countryside, although we are only 6km away from our nearest shopping mall we feel like we are out in the middle of nowhere and permanently like we are on holiday, it is just so peaceful out here, with our nearest neighbour being far enough away that none of our party's disturb them but close enough that you don't feel like you are living a solitary existence.
Till next time
xoxo

Fruit

When life gives you lemons, what do you do ?
I stack them neatly and put them under a cloche.  I love the smell of lemons, so fresh and clean as well as the vibrant yellow colour, so reminisant of summer.
Till next time
xoxo

Up

So today begins the photo a day challenge for March.  Today's word is UP.  Not as easy as it sounds, I started off by asking myself, "what gets me up in the morning?"

What gets me up in the morning, is a song on my phone called Count on me by Bruno Mars, the song kicks off with the lines:

"If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea, I'd sail the world, to find you.  If you ever find yourself in the dark and you can't see, I'll be the light, to guide you. 

Find out what were made of,when we are called to help our friends in need" with the chorus "you can count on me like 1, 2, 3, I'll be there and I know when i need it I can count on you like 4, 3, 2, you'll be there, cause that's what friends are supposed to do".  I actually lie in bed each morning listening to the entire song, rather than switch off my "alarm" and it makes me smile, such true words that mean so much.  But I digress as I couldn't take a picture.

So all the way to work I had my eyes peeled for what is UP.



Up arrows on the dreaded Car Park aka William Nicol



Up Arrows on a advertising billboard

A view of the sky whilst I was stuck in yet another traffic jam

And then I thought, hang on what gets me UP each morning is actually my daily dose of Red Bull, this is a terrible habit I have, however I try to justify it by telling myself that, I don't drink coffee, I don't drink tea, I don't drink fizzy drinks, so what harm can one Red Bull do.  I just adore the flavour of it and will deny that I am addicted, however on the odd occasion I don't have one in the car on the way to work, the trip (aka mammoth journey due to the time it takes to get there) just doesn't sit well with me, all does not seem right with the world.  So I will continue to keep the shares up in the Red Bull Company for now until such time as something more delish comes around.

Till next time

xoxo