Happy Leap Year

I love leap year! To get an extra day is such a great thing. I know that a lot of people (especially those in my office today) are moaning that they have to come to work and work for free today but i am glad for the extra day. Its a day extra that we can live that doesn't make us any older, its a day extra that i have for studying and revision before my exams, its a day extra that i have to create or spend with my family.

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I say wohoo for Leap Years!

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Every night before turning off my light i always try to give myself some time to read. Normally i like to have about half hour or so but lately it has sometimes been only 10 minutes. I am OK with that for now. Here are some of the books on my nightstand. "Will the real me please stand up" is a book that i have read before but it is well worth a second read, and possibly even a third and a fourth.

Last weekend i spent some time putting together an inspiration area. I was reading about them while blog surfing last week and love the idea. It is such a nice way to add colour and inspiration to your home. Mine is not yet complete but i don't want to add just anything to it so this is how it looks for now.
These are items that i picked up from Paperchase, cut out of magazines and even a flyer that came through the mail. Inspiration truly is all around us.
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This weekend is Mothers Day here in the UK. I have my mom and dad coming round on Sunday for a nice roast dinner and cant wait to give my mom her mothers day gift. I try to let her know as often as possible just how much i love her and how much she means to me but i love having a day that is set aside especially for this. So, provided that i manage to cook the meal in my gas oven without burning it, it should be a good day for all.
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Hope everyone has a great weekend.

An insiders look into my art journal

What have i been doing lately? Studying and working, and studying and studying and .. you guessed it - studying. lol.

Only six more days and then the first one will be over.

Today i thought i would share some peeks into my art journal. These are pages that i have done over the past 6 weeks or so. They are all very personal which is why i am just showing part of them. Some of these pages i spent days doing (the envelope one) and others i threw together in a matter of 20 minutes.

An art journal is something that i have only really been doing for about five or six months now but you know...now that i have started one, i think it will be something that i keep up with for a long time to come. I love the freedom of it, the personal space. Something that is for you alone and that has no standards to meet.

I know my entries have been a little sporadic and "not my normal style" but i am hoping that soon i will get back into the swing of things. So thank you for every ones kind comments and emails over the last few weeks - lets hope things get back to normal soon.

February Love

As February is the month of Love i thought today might be a good day to focus on things that i am loving this month.

* My new hair do. I am loving it. I can blow dry it straight or if i want a bit of body to it i just have to dry it using my fingers and walla - curly waves!
* So far i have lost 10.5 pounds. I have been super good this past week or so and haven't yet been on the scales lately so i am pretty confident that it is a little more than that.
* Having the sun go down just that little bit later and later every day is a great mood lifter.
* Playing around with Photo Shop and my camera
* Mom's home cooked meals on a Saturday evening.
* The ceramics class that i went to last night - so much fun.
* I am loving bakingbits.com
* The new friends that i am making
* Getting to know myself a little better and finding me again.
* I am loving the fact that we have an earthquake across the country and I manage to sleep right through it and yet a car can drive by the flat and that will wake me....lol

Ants in my pants.....

This is something we always used to say as children in our house. It was always a big joke and whenever someone used to say it we used to jiggle about and squirm as if we really did have ants in our pants......

Today i feel as if i have got Ants in my pants. Unfortunately, not in the fun childlike sense but in the sense that i just want everything now. I don't want to have to wait anymore! Things that i know are going to take time to come to pass, things that need to be worked on, nurtured and loved ..... I WANT THEM NOW! I don't want to have to wait around for them to happen. I want to wake up tomorrow morning and if i cant have all the things that i seem to so desperately want at the moment, at least i should be able to have, lets say, two of them. I think that is a perfectly fair deal. I wont be greedy and want them all - i can be happy with just two.

I know, i know - I am sounding very childish and immature and i am really trying to "live for the now" and "make each moment count" so that i can be happy at the place where i am this very minute but today i am finding it hard. Today i want the easy fixes. I don't want to have to work hard for things or make sacrifices. I just want things to be easy.

Living in the Kitchen

I am loving my kitchen at the moment. My new flat has lots of countertop space and it makes for fabulous cooking. These are two recipes that i tried last week that will be in my "to do again" book.
Scrummy Brownies


POINTS® value: 1.5


Ingredients


3 medium egg(s)
30 g cocoa powder
80 g half-fat butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
50 g self raising flour
150 g caster sugar


Insturctions


Whisk the eggs and caster sugar together. Whisk in the cocoa, vanilla and flour. Melt the butter and then whisk into the mix. Pour into a lined square baking tin greased with a spray of fry lite. Bake in oven preheated to 180 C for approx. 10 minutes . Check if the brownies are ready by putting a thin knife or skewer into the tin, if it comes out clean of mixture they are done, if not leave a little longer. When done, take out the tin, cut into 16 squares and leave to cool in the tin. When cool, turn them out and enjoy!
I found this recipe on the community board of WeightWatchers and decided that it looked too go to pass by. This is now definately one of my all time favourites and i have already made this twice. The first time i added some green leafies to it and the second time it was just as the recipe called for. Both times it was totally yum. The only thing that i did not add either time was the cumin but perhaps next time i will give that a go too.

Quick and Easy Butternut Soup

From the kitchen of SARAHBOX

Estimated POINTS® value Per Serving 0
Servings 4

Soups Community built Recipe

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash
1 onion
1 1/2 pints chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp cumin (optional)
Few drops Worcestershire Sauce (optional)

Instructions

Finely chop the onion and gentl fry in the olive oil to soften.
Meanwhile, chop the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes.
Add butternut squash and hot stock to the pan and boil for 15 minutes, or until squash is soft.
Whizz in a food processor and season to taste, adding cumin or Worcestershire sauce if desired.

We have pictures

So, we finally have some pictures on this blog! Pictures from my camera - I am so psyched about this....lol

I can only show you a few a day because well, if i showed you them all today then i would have nothing to share for the rest of the days right....and we dont want that!

Yesterday i got such a nice package from Amazon. I ordered this book because i thought that with everything that i am going through at the moment it might be a great way for me to sort out my feelings, to learn more about myself and to help with the healing processes.......and of course it looks great and has so many talented ladies in it. And i was right - this book is awesome! I sat down last night and had a quick flick through it. The prompts, the art journal pages, the work is just all so touching and thought provoking. I just know that this book is going to be a really good thing for me.

As well as the above book, i also got my SuperChicks CD! I LOVE IT. This is my favourite song at the moment for so many many reasons. Before you play the video just pause the music on my sidebar, turn your speakers up LOUD (but not if you are at work of course) and hit the play button!


This is my latest canvas that i painted last weekend. It is 6 x 6 and was a lot of fun to do. I was trying to just do something a little different, no expectations, no standards to match. I just wanted to have fun, relax and keep my mind busy. This is now hanging in my lounge and the only thing i might change are the yellow curtains. For some reason they really do look as bright and yellow in real life as they do in this photo.......will definately have to do something. If you do have any suggestions or ideas please feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!
14 days till my first exam!! Scary or what?

It's the little things

Its funny how it is so often the little things that make such a big difference - good and bad. I used to think that it was mainly the big things in life that defined who you were as a person but more and more i am realising that it is not simply those big once off events that shape who we are but it is also those small everyday things that also have a hand in shaping us.

Now i am not saying that those big once off things in life dont shape us - they definately do. I am having first hand experience with that at the moment. But by going through this big thing i am learning that life is made with those little things. Finding a parking space right outside my house after work, seeing a letter from my lovely gran in the mailbox, sharing a smile with someone who you care deeply about. Those are the moments that shape us, that make life the little bit better.

This is just something that i have been finding in my life lately - just my thoughts.

I treid to be really organised this past weekend. I took all the photos that i wanted for the week, went round to my parents and used their internet to upload them to my blog. Monday morning i came to post and something must have happened to them because i couldnt get any of them to open. So, i am having to be picture free again! Very frustrating.

I have so many things to post but for now i am going to wait until i can get my pictures uploaded properly. I dont want to tell the stories but miss out on the photos.

I came across this quote a while ago and thought i would share......have a great day everyone.

Faith Isnt Faith Unilt It's All You're Holding On To

I want to watch this....

Whose my Jelly?

LA is having a challenge over at her blog and when i read it i just totally knew i had to do it.Your PB & J:
You know that friend who is perfect for you and you for them...the one that is easy to love and easy to be with. The one you start to miss with a "what is missing" feeling in your tummy when you haven't talked or seen or connected with.
What to do:
Post a photo of you and your jelly or just of your jelly and tell us why you love them so...Blog about your Jelly...

She is my Jelly.....

This is Rayo. My jelly. My BFF. She gets me. She knows me. She tells me what i need to hear and not always what i would rather hear. We have laughed togher, cried together, grown together and been on holidays together. Even now, after not being able to see her for six and a half years her words can touch my heart. She is down to earth and keeps me grounded. She is my Best Friend Forever! I love you Rayo - Thank you for being such a big part of who i am today. Thank you for loving me and accepting me just as I am. It is so rare to find someone who gets you, who knows how you feel without you having to say a word. You are my gem, my light in this sometimes crazy world.

A bit of fun....

I came across this test for your TV boyfriend on this great blog! My TV boyfriend is no other than......*drum roll please*.................

Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)
McDreamy, McSensitive, McSmartypants, McDedicated and devastatingly McHandsome, the good doctor of Seattle Grace is, quite simply, McPerfect. Oh, okay, he's only human, which means he has a flaw or two, but heaven knows it's nothing that hair won't make up for. Besides, how can you not love a man that sexy, stylish and, well, let's be honest, loaded, who chooses to live in an Airstream in the woods? You've got fine taste, girl!

When this came up i laughed so hard i almost fell off my chair - and at work of all places!! McDreamy - your my tv boyfriend - yum!

Happy Valentines Day

Got this in my email today - thought i would share it!

The why's?

This is a post that i wrote on Friday. I had every intention of posting it and then chickened out. I wasnt sure if i should put it all out there for everyone to see. But i have decided that living involves the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly. So today i am being real - I am putting it out there. Not for your sake but for mine!

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I guess i am struggling with this at the moment....i call them the why's? You know the questions, the thoughts that run round and round your head. The questions that you know you will never really get answered and yet you still find yourself thinking about them.

Today i came across this post. It was me all over....

"There are moments when we want to cry out of anger and frustration, moments of deep sadness where the tears seem to pour out of our eye sockets like a burst dam, and unexpected moments like these where the tears surface and catch themselves just on the edge of spilling over. I find those moments often times startling and bittersweet, because those instances tend to occur when it isn't appropriate or convenient or maybe even necessary to immediately dive into a good, solid cry. They are just little reminders of what makes our hearts tug, what sends a chill of recognition and maybe even gratitude right down into the depths of our souls."

I am concentrating really hard at the moment to stay positive but when you find out he has managed to move on after only three weeks of a six and a half year relationship ending you tend to wonder. How is it that he has managed to find himself someone else to love so soon.

I was sitting at my desk at work when i found out. And it was just one of those moments where i couldnt stop the tears from coming. It was not the right place or the right time but i had no control over it. I sobbed all the way home - that type of crying where it comes from your very inner being. You feel like your insides are breaking, your chest is caving in. You cant stop the tears. I bet my fellow other drivers must have wondered what on earth was the matter with me.

Yes, it was me who made the final decision to ends things but what seems to be forgotten are all the little decisions up to that point which left me feeling like this would be the best thing. Just because i ended it doesnt mean it doesnt hurt.

I was feeling better, my spirits were lifting and then , out of no where BAM the feelings hit once again like a wave against the ocean. If i had to put a title to my day it would be "Im too sad to tell you". Sometimes words are not enough to explain all that you feel - sometimes the only thing that you can do is let the tears fall.

Whats new?

I must say that i seem to be having major photo withdrawl at the moment. Last night i took loads of photos, edited them but as i am without internet they are still sitting on my hardrive. Poo!

So, today i decided that i would do the naughty thing and pick up some photos from google image. Just to make sure - Please note that none of these photos were taken by me.

My spirits are lifting which is a good thing. I feel like a new flower blooming and i am loving it.

So whats new with me? What have i been up to? What have i been doing? How about some visual prompts.....

I am going to watch Juno on Saturday evening - cant wait!

I have been really enjoying the warmer weather, bluer skies and little blossoms which are showing up everywhere.
Home and away is the only Soap that i watch ....but i do have to watch it every day!

I feel like i am becoming a wize in the kitchen. My most recent creations include Butternut squash soup and some delicious weight watchers brownies. (Actual photos and recipes to follow sometime next week) I am loving Superchicks! Been listening to them non-stop. Waiting for another one of their albums to arrive in the post.Started a new knitting project a few days ago. I only knit for an hour or two while i watch my soap and perhaps another programme.Have i mentioned i have also been catching up on CSI? I went through a phase of not enjoying it that much but the bug seems to have snuck up on me again and i am watching it when ever i can.I also have a few paintings which are on the go at the moment. I really should sit down and finish one before i move onto another one...lolJust around the corner from my new flat is a lovely park that i have been going for a walk in the past few days. Getting home by 4:40 gives me a little more sunshine in my early evening.And this little book has been a great inspiration to me over the past few weeks. I am so pleased that bought it when i did.

This is probably about it for now. Happy hump day - Looking forward to tomorrow night and saturday!

Oh yeah, and my spell check doesnt seem to be working so pardon any bad spelling which makes it past me.

Me

"It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are — not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within — that you begin to take control." - Oprah Winfrey

This morning this quote arrived in my inbox and the moment i read it i knew that not only was it true but it also applied to me.

These past few weeks have been a bumpy ride as they say, but looking back and looking at where i am today i can honestly say that i have begun to take control. Control of my life, of my eating habbits, my thought life, my finances and my social life. Each morning that i wake up i wake up with this feeling of hope and expectancy for good things. Its nice to wake up feeling like this rather than waking up feeling low.

Yesterday i went for a job interview - fingers crossed i hear from them soon. Thursday night i am going round to a group from the church for dinner - really looking forward to this. I have been concentrating on my eating and my health and so far i have lost 8.5 pounds. I have been working on myself, getting to know how i am, what i like and dislike and most importantly what it is that I want from this life. This last one is definately an ongoing process but i feel good that i have made a start on it.

Between working and studying i have been doing a lot of work in my art journal. Its has all been very personal, very honest and very deep. I love it! I love how it has helped me realise what my feelings are about certain things. It has given me an avenue to express my dissapointments, to get my feelings out in black and white and to see the growth that i have experienced in just these short few weeks. It has given me some much needed perspective.

I have a few other projects that i have been working on, a painting that is probably half way done, a new knitting project that i started last night. Things are looking up!

Art Slam - What do you stand for?

Last night i decided to take some time off of studying and spent it watching CSI and doing some paiting in my art journal. I had so much fun with this page and am so pleased with how it has turned out. This prompt is from Art Slam. I am a few weeks behind because of the move and studying but i dont think anyone will mind. I used acrylic paints, water, post it notes, masking tape and a magazine. Totally fab!

So, what do you stand for?

Flowers and art

I am really missing my internet connection at home. It is surprising just how much you come to rely on it. This weekend i had a hundred and one things i wanted to do on the net but alas i only managed to do a few of them while visiting my folks. Oh to the days of having broadband at my finger tips....lol

Friday afternoon i got such a nice treat from Marilena. Some beautiful flowers and a card wishing me all the best in my new home. They made my day and have most definately made my hallway very beautiful!
Saturday morning we woke up to a light covering of snow. It was unexpected and so beautiful. It made for a lovely snuggly morning. I stay in my pj's till about 1pm. Such a treat.
Saturday morning i got some much needed studying in and when i had had enough of that i decided to treat myself with a little art. I got out a canvas, some paints and went happily on my way.
This is now sitting up on my wall in my bedroom. I love the three canvas's that i have up above my bed but the wall does look a little bare so hopefully over the next few weeks and months i will be able to put some more art up there. I already have some nice ideas but now i just have to find some time to sit down and get it done.
Today i have also managed to book my first exam. I was going to write all three in June but i have found out that i can now write these three any time i wish. So the first one is booked and paid for - March 5th at noon. Wish me luck...lol