So you want to get to know me a little better do ya?

7 Random things about me.....

One - I am very particular about my hair brush. Under no circumstances will i share this with anyone and if it happens to fall on the floor for any reason then it has to get disinfected before it can be used again ...... a little weird, i know.

Two - When i was growing up i always wanted to be a Marine Biologist. Even to this day, in an ideal world, right now i would be out on a boat on the ocean doing research and helping dolphins, wales and the likes.

Three - I tend to be more of a loner than a social butterfly. I'm one of those people who only seems to have one or two very close friends rather than loads and loads of acquaintances and that is OK with me.

Four - The day that i was born, 11 September 1981, was the last time that Kempton Park, South Africa has received snow.

Five - I have a squishy nose (literally no cartilage at the tip of my nose), toes that stick straight out like a ducks and very long fingers.

Six - According to my mom and dad, i whine a LOT when i don't get my way or when i want something now. ME, i just don't see it!!....lol

Seven - When there is a bag of sweets in the house i will only eat the orange sweets and then the green sweets. The rest of the colours are left in the bag for someone else - Is that not nice or what??

Thought that i would also just quickly share a very gorgeous site that i came across a few days ago. The Pier - I love the stuff on this website, not so much the prices but the stuff most definitely!

Today

Dear Lord,

So far today, I'm doing all right.

I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, nasty, selfish or self-indulgent. I have not whined, complained, cursed, or eaten any chocolate. I have charged nothing on my credit card.

But I will be getting out of bed in a minute, and I think that I will really need your help then.

Just Do It!

People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do ~ Lewis Cass

This is my motivation at the moment, my driving force. It is so true. I can go around telling everyone about what i want to do, how i want to do it but if i actually never get around to doing it then all that i am doing is talking.....and we all know that talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words and if i want people to take me seriously, if i want to take myself more seriously and get some more confidence in myself then i need to start to be a doer rather than just a sayer! So from today forward, I am going to do my best to be a doer. When i fall down i am going to get back up and keep going. I am going to achieve those things that i have only been talking about for the past year. I will keep you all updated.

Last night i decided that this is going to be my next knitting project. Saturday morning i am going into town and going to get all the necessary things to make this beautiful wrap. Oh yeah, the only difference is that i am going to make it short sleeve for the spring/summer rather than long sleeves. You can find the pattern here if you would like.

I also managed to finally get around to making these. Stitch Markers. Now as i am such a newbie to this fun hobby i am not too sure what or how they are used but i have made them anyway as a few of my patterns call for them. What do ya think? Cool or what!

This is my layout for this weeks scrapjacked challenge. So not my normal colours, my very first circle layout and my very own stamping....i LOVED putting this together. Once again - thank you ladies for a great challenge.

I haven't been to the gym once this week yet but tonight i am off somewhere and tomorrow night is grocery shopping night so i might not get there till Saturday! Next week i am going to be a doer and go to the gym at least twice during the week.

I need to grow a back bone!!

I am just having one of those days! One of those days where i feel like i am tip toeing around so many different people i just don't know where to step next......and it is driving me CRAZY!! Now, the typical personality me says "They are your bosses - you don't want to make waves" and " You'll start another argument and you don't want that do you?" and "Just put it aside this time and see how things go and THEN say something". I'm tired of this! I feel like i need to make a stand. Make a stand for ME before the poor ME gets even more overwhelmed!!

Sorry guys, i just needed to get that off my chest. Its something that i am going to think about and look at working on but i just wanted to write it down.

Below is last weeks Pencillines Sketch challenge and this came together so nicely. I decided to combine it together with the Making Memories use your old stash challenge and Everyone is Special challenge and wala! A fantastic layout. I am ashamed to say that while i was doing this i begun to realise just how much stash i actually have and so i have decided that this weekend....or sometime soon....i am going to start cleaning up my stash room and sell whatever i don't like anymore or whatever i know i wont use on eBay. Definitely some nice stuff in there but just not my taste and style at the moment.
And just in case you cant read it is says F.L.G - Finger Licking Good and does NOT read Fig as Stuart so quickly pointed out!

I have finished my Shrug. Wohoo - i cant not tell you how excited i am about that. Here is a photo of the finished product(as you can see i still need to sew in the last few threads) but i am so pleased with it.

ts actually a good thing that this is now finished as today i got my order from amazon and look what was inside.....

Now let me just say a HUGE BIG THANK YOU TO ADRIENNE for all her help with the 25 Fitted Knits book. If it had not been for her i might not have bought it! Thank you Thank you! I will let you know shortly what my next project is going to be. Oh yeah, while i think about it, does anyone have a pattern or know where i could get a pattern for an African patterned blanket, or other item that i can alter into a blanket pattern. I have been feeling a little homesick lately and thought it might be nice to do an African style blanket....just thought i would ask.

More to follow tomorrow so have a great Wednesday and see you all tomorrow.

A weekend in Photos

So i had a fab weekend. Lots of time alone, lots of cleaning the house, lots of playing my music on full blast, lots of scrapping and lots of knitting. What a great feeling to get up Monday morning and feel refreshed and ready for the week ahead.

This is a photo of shrug as of Sunday morning. Since then i have managed to pick up my stitches, knit the ribbing, cast off and try it on! Yup it fits - I am so psyched!! The only thing left for me to do is sew in all the little threads and then i am going to wear it to work. Will post a completed photo soon.
Thursday night we had a BBQ so thought i would share a couple of photo's from that. I hope to be doing a layout soon with it.

and who could forget the yummy food......I also had a chance to go for a walk with my camera on Sunday. This photo is of my neighbours flowers...
And this photo is of the trees in our cul-de-sac. I LOVE the colours of spring!
I also did quite a bit of scrapping this weekend. I had such a great time doing it and my creative juices were really flowing. This lovely paper is the Fancy Pants Kewl paper range and i love it!
I did this layout for the Elsie Flannigan - Scrapjacked challenge. I know I'm a little behind, lol, but i had fun doing it.

I also managed to get to the gym this weekend so all in all a very productive but relaxing weekend. Tonight we have a Mortgage advisor coming round to look into getting a mortgage so fingers crossed that everything will work out for the best.

Have a great Monday everyone.

Wohoo - Its Friday!

Twelve plus hours since opening this parcel and i am still buzzing with excitement! Thank you Tara! My name was selected on Ali's blog and Tara very kindly sent me this signed photograph as you see below. This weekend i will be putting it up in my scrapbooking room. This is just too cool.
Now that i have started to float back down to earth i wanted to share this project that i worked on middle of last week. I love how the colours go so well together and i love how the final project has ended up looking. I am one of those people who has big dreams and once i have my mind set on doing something or having something i tend to do everything i possibly can and more to get what i want. Now i don't mean that in a materialistic way or in a way that would be hurtful or horrible to those around me, what i mean is that i tend to look at the positive side to things and i tend to believe that if you want something badly enough then there is always a way to work towards getting it. Nothing is impossible. Now, the problem comes in when i try and do this all on my own. I believe that God has a plan for my life and that everything happens in His timing so when i try and make it happen NOW when i want it i just end up getting frustrated, stressed and depressed. Not a good thing! So i made this box and this box i am using as a reminder. I have put my dreams and the things that i want for my life on an individual paper and put that inside the box. Now that it is in there, these things are in God's hands and it is up to Him to bring them to pass in my life.

The Bible verses on the tags are as follows and all have a special meaning to me:

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Romans 8:26-28 - Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

1 John 4:16 - And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.

Colossians 1:13-14- God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

Philippians 4:4- Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

Friday afternoon is here and before i know it I will be starting my weekend. I hope that everyone has a great weekend and I look forward to catching up with everyone on Monday.

Be Safe.

I love Dr. Seuss so had to share

Inspiration

I am finding so much inspiration around me at the moment i thought i would share some of it with you.....

* Scrapbooking T-Shirts by Rhonna Farrer

* I came across this ladies blog a few months ago via MM. Wilna inspires me both in her scrapbooking as well as in her faith!

* Driving in to work in the mornings and see the fresh, blue sky around me. I am finding this so inspiring lately. Maybe its the promise of a new season, a new start. Whatever it is I am so loving it at the moment!

* Inspiration Wednesdays with Toya and Adrienne. Something fresh and interesting on a weekly basis. Thank you ladies.

* I am not sure why but the following colours are just doing it for me at the moment.

* I love looking at this website. Cupcakes - just looking at this has put me in the mood to go home and bake. Not that mine will be anything like this one but i will have fun playing.

* I just love the photography on this blog. So inspiring to just take my camera out and shoot.

* This is such a great idea for all my letter writing to my Gran back home in South Africa.

* This layout speaks to me in so many ways i don't even know where to start!

Now that i have started i could keep going and going but that is enough for now. Have a great day everyone.

Why oh why?

Will someone please tell me what the inventor of the bicycle seat was thinking when he made these. Now i say he because there is no way a woman would have invented or made such an uncomfortable and horrible thing. Let me tell you what happened. Sunday morning i convinced Stuart to come do a Spinning class with me at the gym. It was a first time for me and i didn't really want to go alone. 30 minutes into it and my butt had started aching to the point where i folded up my sweat towel and tried to use it as a cushion. 40 minutes into it and i considered getting off the bike and leaving the class (the only reason i didn't was because i was at the back and couldn't squeeze past the other people without disturbing and thus putting myself in the centre of attention). 50 minutes into it i had to get off the bike while everyone else happily carried on cycling and stand for a few minutes. 60 minutes into it i was so relieved that it was over that i was almost jumping up and down. A few seconds later the instructor came over to ask how we had enjoyed it. I promptly said that my butt was killing me and she promptly told me that the correct terminology was "saddle sore". I don't care what you call it - my butt was still aching!

So which mad man made bicycle seats 5.5 inches wide? My butt is no where near 5.5 inches wide and let me tell you that if it was i would still not be sitting on one of these!


On a different note, i had my hands slapped yesterday as i am not allowed to tell you the exciting news for a few more days - sorry about that!

Summers here!

I am so pleased to finally be able to say that Summer is here......or at least it is very much closer than what it was a few weeks ago. On Saturday i went into town with my mom and dad and while were shopping my mom picked up one of these for her and one of these for me.
Saturday afternoon i wrapped up Stu's birthday pressie as i know it would be too dangerous to just hide it around the house. I picked it up on Friday, took it into town to have something done to it *wont mention details now because i know he will be secretly looking on here for any clue as to what it might be* and now it is safely put away. Once the big day has come and passed i will post some pic's for everyone to see.
Look what i picked up from WH Smiths on Saturday while we were in town. A Simply Knitting Magazine that had a free knitting bag. Its just the right size for my needles and one ball of wool.
Speaking about knitting....i started my other sleeve a few nights ago. On Saturday night when i picked it up to do some more knitting i noticed this great big hole in it! I was like "Where did that come from!". I couldn't figure out what had happened as i still had the right amount of stitches on my needles and i couldn't see a lose stitch. I ended up frogging it completely.
I also managed to get a layout done this weekend. I will explain more about it later.Well, that's it for me. Make sure to come back tomorrow as i have something exciting to share.

The men in your life

In 19 days Stuart is turning the big 30! I think i am the only one who is counting it down to be honest....lol. Anyways, i was just wondering if you have any good ideas of what to get pressie wise. I have two ideas that i can do and i have two ideas that i would love to do but money definately wont allow. What cool pressies have you given to the men in your life - dont be shy, help a sister out.

I finally got around to uploading my photos of my yummy Banana Bread that i made two nights ago. I tried to make this about a week and a half ago but i went and burnt the entire thing. I am so pleased with how this one has turned out. Moist and yummy.

Go Lynne, Go Lynne, Go Lynne

I have been home for two hours now and the adrenaline is still pumping fast and furiously through my veins. After a slow day at work, i headed off to the gym to catch a dance class that was being held. Man Oh Man! I had such fun. We did jive. We did swing. We did a whole bunch of stuff that i haven't done since i was a little kiddie in dance classes.

Where can i get more of this adrenaline stuff? Lets just take a look at my to do list shall we....

• Make Dinner. Done
• Use over ripe bananas and make Mom's special Banana Bread. In the oven as we speak!
• Do a load of laundry. The second load has just entered the washing machine.
• Do the ironing. Done and everything has been put away.
• Make lunch for Stu. Done
• Take a bath - I really smell.
• Speak to Mom and Dad. Done
• Fill the dishwasher and wash. Going through its cycle as we sit here.
• Do Pencillines challenge.
• Post circle journal - will do tomorrow on the way home from work. All ready to go.
• Start other sleeve of shrug.

And all the "done" stuff has been in the past two hours. I am so impressed with myself....Lets hope that it continues shall we. Tomorrow night i am joining a Aqua class so we will see if this carries over to that class too - who knows, i might come home and fall straight into bed.

Monday afternoon we sat down and watched this on Sky Movies. Let me just say that i most definitely enjoyed it and spent most of the movie rolling on the floor in laughter. If you find yourselves with an afternoon to fill why not watch this with the kids. It is funny on so many levels.
I am off to get my bread out of the oven and to do some more things on my list above. Have a great evening everyone and see you tomorrow!

Easter weekend Review

After having ten days off of work, getting up early this morning has been really tough. I think i hit my snooze button four times before i eventually swung my legs over the bed and forced myself to stand up.....thank goodness this is only a four day week.

Stu's mom bought us "Decorate your own eggs" on Sunday morning so this is what we spent our Sunday afternoon doing.
Late last week Stu decided that he wanted to bleach his hair so here is a pic of him, his new hair colour and also the other side of his Easter egg.
Yesterday we had both sets of parents round for lunch and it really turned out well. We had steaks (haven't had steak in months so was a real treat) with mushroom sauce, chips (i was being good so had boiled potatoes) and then salad. I was very impressed with how it all turned out.

Over this past week i also finally got a chance to finish my Pop Dots circle journal. It will be heading out in post tonight hopefully!

On the sewing front i have managed to cut out my trousers and have done the darts in the front of both legs. Sunday afternoon i had been really ambitious and decided that i wanted to get the entire thing finished by Sunday evening......lets just say that someone else ended up using my sewing space so it didn't turn out how i hoped it would have. I'm hoping to do more on it tonight after i have been to my dance class at the gym.

My knitting is going so well. My mom has been over a few times to help me with it but all in all i fell like it is a job well done so far. This is a photo of the back of my shrug
And this is a photo of the sleeve. I still have the other sleeve and then then the collar/ribbing section left to do so hoping to have it all finished by 22nd - that gives me two weeks. I just realised that you cant really see the pattern of the cuffs so i will take a few more pictures of that later this week.
Well, i hope that everyone has had a great Easter weekend and will have a fantastic Tuesday.

Happy Easter Sunday

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter Sunday. We dont have a lot planned for today but tomorrow I am cooking lunch for the in-laws and my parents so a very busy day ahead for monday. As for today, i am going to carry on with my sewing and knitting projects and also hope to get a cicle journal completed....oh yeah and go to the gym again!

P.S My poor arms and shoulders are killing me - i tried doing some weights yesterday and that wasnt such a great idea!

An update

I wanted to just share a few things that are going on in my life at the moment - nothing big, just day to day happenings......

• I have been off work since Saturday and don't go back until Tuesday! 10 days of no working and boy am i enjoying the late morning lay ins.

• I finally got around to having a go at one of the Scrapjacked challenges. Here is my layout below for this weeks challenge. I am so pleased with how the colours came together and the photograph.
• I have been enjoying watching 7Th Heaven on Hallmark at 10am. I used to watch this when i was a young teen and i couldn't believe that it was still on when i happened to flick over to it Monday morning.

• I started knitting my shrug over the weekend and this is the progress that i have made with it so far. I am supposed to make a start on the sleeve hole now but the pattern lingo has really confused me so i am heading over to my mom's tonight to get her help with it. Since this is my first knitting project i am really pleased with what i have done so far. Casting on, knitting, pearl and adding stitches - I have learnt so much these past few days.

• I won one of Ali's giveaways on Saturday and i feel so honoured and lucky. I won a photograph (the two peas in a bucket photo) which was taken and is going to be signed by Tara Whitney!! Yup - how incredibly honored do i feel!! I will take a photo of it when it arrives or you can take a look at Ali's blog to see a picture of it. I won drawing number 7.

• The postman delivered my two patterns that i ordered from the show on Saturday. Wohoo! I hope to make a start with the skirt A or B tomorrow.

• On Monday we, as in myself and my other half, joined Greens Gym. When i lived in the states i used to gym 4 - 5 times a week. I loved it! I lost loads of weight and felt better about myself than i think i ever have. I am hoping that the same will happen over the next few months. I have already been to a dance-fit class last night and had such a great time. We did some swing, some jive and some other really fun steps! Cant wait for next weeks class.

• I hope to get out with my camera and take some photographs over the next few days.

Just a quickie

Morning everyone, I just thought i would share with you my layout that i did for the Pencillines sketche number 25.

Have a great day everyone.

What a weekend

Wow, we had such a great weekend. This might turn into a rather long post so i think i will cut this into two. Today i will share with you about the show and what i bought and then tomorrow or Wednesday i will share with you the projects that i have been working on and some other very exciting things.

We arrived at the show at around 9:30am Saturday morning and decided to go into the sewing section first. This was amazing. They had sewing, embroidery, quilting, cross stitch, knitting - the lot. There are such talented people out there! I should have really taken more photos but here is what i did manage to take.

This quilt is just stunning in real life. I love the mixture of the circles and the angles.

This was just amazing. Would you be live that the quilt in the back of this photo is actually made of carrier bags? Yup, carrier bags!

This is myself and my mom half way through. Not the best of photos and not the best of lighting but that's OK.
Now this was in a huge display at the back of the hall. I think that each school had made a project like the one above and then entered into this show. They were all so amazing and so different but i especially loved this one for the obvious reasons......(Proud to be South African!)

Now this area was just fantastic. So much to look at and so much to take in. This entire scene was knitted. Every little detail of it was knitted. This was done for a charity but i cant remember which one at the moment - totally awesome ladies!I also managed to pick up a few much needed accessories while we were walking around. Some more bobbins, a bobbin case and a fabric marker.I bought this fabric to make Simplicity 4164 (pattern is in the post so will show you a picture when it arrives).The lovely blue fabric I am going to be using to make Simplicity 4197 (again when that arrives) and the other fabric showing I am going to be using that to make some trousers.I also found this wonderful wool while we were out and about and i am going to be using this to make this. I have started this pattern and am so pleased with myself for what i have done so far but that will wait for another post.

After we had lunch we then moved across to the paper crafts side of things and here is what follows... This beautiful art work is some of what we saw while walking around.

Ohhhh, a doodle genie. I have heard so much about these things but until Saturday i hadn't seen any. So when i came across this on one of the stands i just had to buy it! I will let you know how it turns out.

This is another thing that we found while working by. It is the most amazing thing. If i am not mistaken, this is done with little pieces of fabric and pins that are stuck into Styrofoam objects. Fantastic!I also came home with this,this,this, this,

and finally this.

We had such a great day! If you made it this far then thank you for sticking around-i promise that tomorrows post will so much shorter!