[ A quote to live by ]

"It's tough to do, but you've got to work at living, you know? Most people work at dying, but anybody can die; the easiest thing on this earth is to die. But to live takes guts; it takes energy, vitality, it takes thought. . . . We have so many negative influences out there that are pulling us down. . . . You've got to be strong to overcome these adversities . . . that's why I never stop." - Jack LaLane

I came across this quote while sorting through my inbox this past weekend and it really hit home with me. Living, really living is hard work - especially as an adult.

Its so much more difficult to make friends, to try new things. There seems to be so many barriers and things that get in the way that sometimes you forget that you have the option to do these things. To try new things and to put yourself out there.

I had to be honest with myself and i realised that i haven't been living these past few years. Not in the real world anyway. I only have a handful of people who even knew that i exist at the moment and a lot of those friends are not even in the same country as me. Its difficult to realise that while everyone else has been living their lives and moving forward I have been .... I'm not sure really. Sitting here, waiting for life to come to me i guess. That's not how it works and i have realised that now.

I have decided that i want to live my life. I don't want to be sitting in the background watching my life go by - i want to be living my life. I want to be enjoying it with everything that i have, i want to be doing exciting things, meeting interesting people and doing things that scare me silly.

So i have taken action. "Strike while the iron is hot" as they say! I have booked myself in to a painting class Monday night, body jam on Tuesday, Body Combat on Wednesday, a Study group on Thursday and a Body Balance group on Saturday morning. I have to be out there in the real world to meet people, to make friends and to scare myself silly, right?

This weekend i also got to watch 27 Dresses, twice! And who wouldn't with this cutey, hunky, yummy man...hehe

It is such a feel good, funny chick flick so if you have been sitting on the fence about watching this movie i would say GO FOR IT!

[ A sneak into my new flat - Pre wall art ]

My weekend has been so great. The weather has been sunshine all the way and i have had plenty of fresh air and fun.

I had a BBQ with family and friends on Saturday.

Got up early Sunday morning and spent the morning in a field doing a car boot sale.Ended up making £50 from my junk - so cool.

Did some cleaning and sorting in my flat.

Got my computer back up and running.

Took some photos of my new flat and so thought i would share - Its not finished by any means but i love it!

First off we have my nice kitchen. Its so big and spacious!
And then we move on to the hallway. I have these lovely little pockets above each of the doors and they are ideal to put little bits of art works in and little trinkets like my teddies and photos.

Then we have my bedroom with my new bedding, newly painted furniture and brand new lamp shade! I love this room as well.
and

Then onto my "spare room" which is really just a long cupboard but is great for all those odd little things.....
And finally my lounge....
I am off to watch the Russian Ballet tonight with my mom and my friend so i will have something nice and simple to share tomorrow!

[ What a difference a year makes ]

Wow, what a difference a year really can make!

This year has been such an incredible journey for me. A year with a lot of tears, a lot of difficult decisions and a lot of growing.

But here i sit, on my birthday, and my heart is filled with hope and pride. Im 27 today and yes i might not have a significant other in my life, i dont own my own place or have children yet but you know what....i am happy.

A year ago today this was not the case. I was turning 26 and as bad as this sounds all that I wanted to do was to stop exisisting. I didn’t want to carry on with things the way that they were. Yes I had a man in my life and yes I was engaged to be married but I had been for over six years. We rented a house together, we both worked but there was no sign of actually getting married, of buying our own place or have ever having children together. I felt like all my dreams had faded away, all my hopes and ideas for my future had been erased and worst of all – I felt nothing inside of me except disappointment, sadness and dread.

To those of you who are reading this and thinking – wow that is harsh, to some extent you are right, but it is also true. The thing is, is that this whole journey and this post is not about him and what he did or didn’t do – he is a wonderful guy and we have somehow managed to stay pretty good friends even through all of this. This post is about me and my journey. It is about the steps and choices that I have made this year that have lead me to where I am today.

Today I sit here and I am happy! I have just moved into a beautiful flat and started a lovely job. I am making friends and I am starting to follow some of my new dreams. I still have days where I worry about all those things that I am expected to have at my age, but for the most part I look forward to what my future has to hold for me. I am so proud of myself for taking that step and for doing all of those difficult things that have brought me to this place where I am at right now.

I love who I am becoming once again. I look ahead to a new year, a year that has got so much in store for me. So many good things. I am looking forward to growing even more into who I was created to be!

Happy birthday to Me!

[ My heart is here ]

I so miss New York City.

I was speaking to my friend who is living in Brooklyn at the moment and we were chatting about old times. About how we used to catch the train from Fairfield CT and go down to NYC for the weekend. How we would watch out for those strange people you see on the train and then chat away in Afrikaans so that no one could understand us. How we used to go somewhere different almost every weekend and how we used just agree to go meet strange men off of the internet. I tell you, we had no fear in those days!

Such good times and such good memories. I may not have been born in America much less live there at the moment but let me tell you, my heart is most defiately there.

I love New Yorkers. I love the City, the architecture, the atmosphere and everything else about it.
New York I miss you!

All my photos from my time in the states is currently packed away in boxes so i got the next best thing of of google images.

[ So psyched ]

This week has really been a good one.

Work situation. Not only did i get the job that i wanted but they also agreed to give me the increase that i wanted. In fact, they agreed to give me £1000 more rather than just the £500. Fantastic!

The future. Today i bought two tickets to.........*drum roll please*......... the ballet! Yup, you read that right. I have always wanted to go to the ballet but never actually thought i would ever do it. Now i am! September 22nd at 7:30pm i will be there! Oh, i am so psyched about this!

I am going to go all out and get dressed up to the nines!

Eating plan. Day 2 and everything is on track and going well. I have been feeling full and confident. I have written down everything that i have eaten and stayed within my points. Go me!

LOL - I am sure i had more to share with you guys than this but its late and this is all that i can think of. Have a happy weekend everyone.

[ Things are Good ]

So things are going pretty well for me at the moment. It feels like things are finally coming together and i am so grateful to God for this.

This morning i received my permanent residency back from the Home Office. It only took 4 weeks compared to the 6 months it took them to give me an extension on my visa last year. I know this is going to sound a little weird but i am really proud of myself for getting this. I did this whole thing on my own. I did it properly, and even though there was a lot of worrying and a lot of tears and a lot of money i now have it! All on my own.

And i also have Internet at home again! Yup, i am reconnected to the Internet world - I have missed it!...lol. Hopefully this will mean that i will be able to update my blog a little more frequently and start adding a lot more images (but for some reason not in this post..lol) I will also be able to start leaving comments again....Yippee!

This morning i did a Body Combat class at the gym and man i have not sweated that much in years. I had it literally running down me. Wow! Another thing to be proud of myself about.

I am trusting God for an interview next week. My CV has been sent off to this company and it is close to home, it is a huge company, a great opportunity for me and the salary is whole lot better than where i am now. If i get this job i will even be able to quite my second job and still be earning more than i am right now. That will be such a relief. So if you could keep me in your prayers this week i would love that. I will let you know more about this as i do.

I am off to pick up my brother. Have a great weekend everyone!

[ Happy Days ]

First things first - I got good news today. I am healthy and happy. I might need to go in for minor surgery but that is all that it will be ….minor. I am so relieved! This experience has really been an eye opener for me and like everything else that has been going on in my life this year - this is something that has really been challenging for me.

"If we truly want to create a life that is grounded in basic well-being, we must decide to commit
ourselves to learning what it take to thrive instead of merely survive." - Susan Velasquez

In light of what I have been facing I have had some fantastic emails sent to me. The first was the quote above which was sent by morningmantra and this little quote reminded me that I don’t just want to get through this life ….. I want to thrive! I want to love my life and live it that way. When things go wrong, when dreams are broken, relationships end and you face health scares it is easy to find ourselves in the surviving mode. And you know what, I think that this place is sometimes where we need to be when we are dealing with these situations at the start but for me the key is to not stay there. To not wake up six months down the line and realise that you are still just trying to survive. I want more and I have started to live my life like that. I want to thrive. I want a great life!

And then there is my new banner! I love it. Again it is a gentle reminder for me not to waste my life. To make the most of every single day. To look at my priorities in life and jiggle them around so that they better suit what I want to achieve and how I want to live my life. It is so easy to find yourself going through the motions and I just don’t want to do that anymore. I want to be aware of what is going on around me, as they say I want to stop and smell the roses.

Another thing that I have been working on is being more positive. Thinking positively, doing positively and most importantly speaking positively. A little while ago I got an email from Joel Osteen about Giving your Faith a Voice. He says it better than I do so if you have a few minutes please have a read….it might just change your life!

"Every believer has been given a measure of faith. In order to see the promises of God come to pass in your life, you have to give your faith a voice. You must declare what God says about you in His Word. Those seeds of faith inside you are activated when you speak them out into the atmosphere. That’s why the scripture tells us, “Let the weak say I am strong. Let the poor say I am rich.” When you give your faith a voice and send forth the Word of God out of your mouth, the Bible says that He watches over His Word to bring it to pass in your life. Don’t dig up your seed by speaking against His Word. Don’t allow words of defeat or negativity to come out of your mouth. Instead, water your seed by continuing to declare the Word of God. When you wake up every morning, thank Him that His promises are coming to pass in your life. As you do, you will see those things come to pass, and you will live the life of victory God has prepared for you"

Enough chattering from me I guess. I am off to have a lovely weekend, to spend time with family and friends, to do some exercise, some baking and I might even take some time to do some painting. I haven't had much time to paint these past few months and I miss it so I thought I would get my hands dirty.

Oh yes, did I mention that I already know what I will be giving for Christmas pressies this year? Yup, I am on the ball!

[ Today I *Heart* ]

Making people around me feel good about themselves

Making a healthy menu

Making.....so many different things

*

Smelling a freshly brewed cup of coffee

Smelling the air just after it has finished raining

Smelling my grans perfume on her letters

*

Taking time out for me

Taking a walk in the park

Taking a different route home

*

Watching the sun rise

Watching ArmyWives

Watching dogs run and play in the park

*

Finding money in my jeans pocket

Finding some cool mail on my doorstep when i get home

Finding those "everyday" blessings in my life
*

[ So Grateful ]

I am so grateful for so much in my life at the moment:

Fond memories of a happy past

A hopeful and blessed future

My family

Friends - near and far, old and new

Mom's family muffin recipe

Feebie

Shoes that fit well and don't give me blisters

My ittle sewing machine

My "arty farty nature" - thanks Dad for the term

Those old songs that send you back in time to both happy and not so happy times

Dreams

For learning to loving those things about me that make me Me

To my Heavenly Father for the relationship that we share and that we are building on

For the promise of Spring and all that it brings along with it

For Life

Its finally started

I feel like i am actually on a journey. Its a little weird because i have been feeling like i have been standing still for sooo long now. Its nice to know that i am starting to move forward. Part of me feels anxious - the other part feels peaceful. It probably sounds a little contradictory but that is how I am feeling at the moment. I feel like some big changes are commig my way. Im not sure if they will feel like good changes at the time but i have a peace about them. Im not making much sense am I?

Giving thanks

First off i just want to share this recipe with you. I am sure that a lot of you already have it, or at least something similar but for my non US friends this is definitely a very nice recipe to try.

Whipped Sweet Potato Casserole

Recipe found on Allrecipes.com

Original recipe yields: 5 servings but i just scaled it down for the two of us at our home.

INGREDIENTS
3 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoons orange juice
1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
Sprinkle of ground nutmeg and cinnamon
1 tablespoons butter

miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large saucepan cook sweet potatoes in salted water over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes, or until done.

Drain, and add orange juice, brown sugar, spices and butter. Whip until smooth. Spread into a medium size casserole dish and top with marshmallows.
Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until marshmallows are golden brown

My notes

I did find this recipe a little on the sweet side so next time i will probably skip the sugar all together. Oh yeah, I almost forgot that i made one big casserole rather than smaller ones.

Now onto my tittle. Everyone knows that this month is Thanksgiving in the US. When i lived there, this as well as Christmas, was my favourite holiday. Since i moved to the UK i haven't celebrated it in the sense of decorations and turkey but i do still take this opportunity to give special thanks for those things in my life that are special to me. Often things that i overlook or take for granted suddenly get the attention that they deserve. I do try and live with a grateful heart but i guess there is always room for improvement, right?

So, here is my list of things that i am grateful for. Thing that have been around for as long as i can remember and things that i am grateful for just today.

* My new car, Feebie. I am so grateful to have her and to know that she is in good condition and is reliable.

* For being able to see my gran this year and to spend some time with her

* Having a little sachet of Hot Chocolate sitting in my desk draw just waiting for me to need a pick me up

* My family who have blessed me in so many ways this past year

* Stuart has managed to pass his truck licence test and is now much happier at his job

* I just love the talents that God has blessed me with. Painting, Knitting, scrapping, drawing and so much more.

* Thankful for my freedom and safety that i have

* For the job that i have even though at times i wish i worked somewhere else

There is so much more that i have to be grateful for but i am doing this at work today so probably should stop here for now.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Be safe!

Kindness is....

I wanted to share something really cool and exciting with you guys today but unfortunately Blogger would not upload my photos so it will have to wait until tonight to try again.

So instead of sharing my news, updating you on my knitting and showing some of my latest art journal work off i am just going to share this cute image with everyone. It is so true -

Kindness is a very BIG thing!

So today try and find someone who you can do something nice for. Give someone a hug or share a smile - its those small things that can really make someones day Oh so special.

Love

Girls are like apples on trees.

The best ones are at the top of the tree.

The boys don't want to reach for the good ones

because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt.

Instead, they get the rotten apples from the ground

that aren't as good,but easy.

So the apples up top think something is

wrong with them when in reality they're amazing.

They just have to wait for the right boy to come along,

the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top!

I got this little poem from a friend of mine yesterday and i wanted to share. Yesterday I received two little surprise emails from Stu. He had only gone onto my blog, found my wish list and purchased Green Gable and Forest Canopy Shawl for me......What a sweetie!

I'm so glad my man liked climbing trees :)

Love You Honey

Inspiration all around

Lately I have really been seeing images. I don't mean just looking and thinking "oh that's nice" but i mean feeling them, admiring the art and the images for what they are. We live in such a diverse world and if we are able to keep an open spirit and an open heart then i think that you will find so much more than you bargained for.

Please note that none of these images are mine and that i have picked them up off the Internet and off emails from friends over the past few months. I have given credit where possible.

These photos one of my best friends sent to me.....

Shopping Cart Art - I LOVE it!

and how about this one as well. The entire art work is made from only Shopping carts.

Then we have this photo. I found this on Google images a little while ago as i was working on a mini album (that i have yet to finish and share). I love the greenage of the photo and i love the angle of the shot. Makes me feel like i want to get out the lemonade, pop a few ice blocks in it and relax while sipping my drink.

This image i just happened to come across while i was blog surfing a few months ago. I cant remember where i saw it but i loved the "thinking outside of the box" mentality that went into the image and the shot. Very funny and very clever.

And then we have fabric. Oh i am just loving fabric at the moment. The colours are so inspiring and i am finding that the more images i see the more i want to try different, out of the ordinary, colour combinations. This image was found on the PurlSoho website. I just love the colours. Another great website for fabric and a few free patterns is Amy Butlers if you are interested.

The next thing that has caught my eye are these journal covers. Again, i think it has something to do with the entire fabric thing i am feeling at the moment but to me, these are just fantastic.

The instructions on how to make these lovely covers can be found on the Kirin notebooks blog along with some more photos. This is definitely on my to do list for my next new journal.

How about this little guy! My mom and dad went to the London Aquarium two weekends ago and this is who they saw there. This is a photo from the brochure that they brought home which i have played with the colours in photoshop on.

We are in a baby boom in our family at the moment. Would you believe we have two babies due within four days of each other!! Because of this i am on the lookout for gifts for them. I thought about knitting a baby suit for both of them but i was wanting to do something a little different. What do you think to this cute Ribbon Baby Blanket (Evelyn Clark for Fibertrends)
or how about this cute little hat which i found on Sara's blog along with her pattern?
They don't know if they are having bouncing boys or gorgeous girls yet but i can work around that. Plus i think these will be really cute and unique gifts to get.

I have so much more to share but i think i had better stop for now. If you have read this far then i hope that you have enjoyed it all.

Yes we did go and watch Harry Potter last night and yes were were there and hour and a half before the film started and yes we were the second couple in the que and yes the movie is really good and yes i am so glad that we have seen it. Pretty good, i didn't let any details slip. Definitely a must see!

Have a great weekend.

What do you do....

So tell me. What would you do if you loved your job but hated the people you work with? This is not just some personality clash. This is a woman who is at an age who should behave in a much better matter, this is someone who is nasty, selfish and childish. This is a woman who thinks that it is alright to make a huge scene at a work due in front of everyone for no reason at all. To make things worse this woman is now best buddies with my boss and so gets away with everything and anything. My boss always takes her side no matter what. I love my job, the money is good, its close to home but this woman and my boss......is it worth staying when i have to put up with her every day?

In happier news i just want to wish my lovely the best of luck for his LGV theory test today.
Go get em babe!

Look what arrived yesterday in the post. Wreck this journal by Keri Smith. It is so amazing and i can not wait to get started on it. I decided that before i started smearing dirt and punching holes in it i had better take a photo of it in its clean and new state. Also, what good is this journal if i don't have any pencil crayons? So, i just had to go out and pick up some water colour pencils!
Rhonda has tagged me so make sure you come back on Monday for my update on tag!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Peace.

Things are looking up

There is nothing nicer than the aroma of freshly baking bread in your house! Yesterday i got home from work to find just that in. It was wonderful and five and a half hours later, while climbing into bed, i could still smell the bread!

I seem to finally have some good news to share. After spending so many months waiting and waiting i received my visa extension. It only took eight months to get a twelve month extension...lol. But finally it is here. That means i am now one step closer to being able to apply for my British Passport.

And i can also share that my company has finally agreed to help me pay to study further. I have registered with the school, sent off the cheque for the first two papers and am just waiting for all the study material to arrive. As sad as this is going to sound, i am a nerd! I love studying and learning new things and taking on these challenges so i am very excited to get started.

All in all, things are just starting to feel better for me. Work is going well, I have study prospects, the visa has come through and my brother is moving over to the UK within the next few months (I haven't seen him in about two and half years if not a little longer than that).

I feel like finally i am starting to get myself back. I am finding out who i am again and i like it! My self confidence is growing, my passions are growing, my personality is flowering and i am so happy that all of this is taking place. Even down to simple things like I have really started to do more things for me, for example - i found out that i really like Fergies song - Big Girls don't Cry and that i still love singing along to to FLO. I love cooking but hate spending the time searching for the recipes. I love having my hair short, straight and highlighted and hate shaving. So many things that i finding out and relearning. I am hoping that as i go through this experience i will begin to feel confident to make those decisions that i have been unsure about.

Life is Good!

Thought i would leave you with Fergies song.