Make-it Monday - alternative uses for Project Life cards

Inside my diary's cover, I have two Project Life cards with tons of promises of God. I made it in church one day when I decided to believe what God says about me as opposed to what people may think of me.

Things like - I am the head and not the tail, I am above only and not beneath, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, etc.

It's been REALLY useful to keep focussed on good things and not on other rubbish.

So I offered to make a set for a friend. With whatever I felt was right for her at the time :)

these are the 8 I used and I threw in a couple extra blank ones

Mrs FF's favourite scripture

my favourite scripture

I would put these up all over the place to remind me to keep focussed on good things.

I also use Project Life cards to label my photo albums, for to-do lists (probably my favourite use for them!), and for gift tags.

How else are you using Project Life cards for non-PL purposes?

Kitchen experiments and more on the bee sting

The bee sting is super annoying. It is itching like crazy, so much so that it woke me two nights last week because the itching was that bad.

I actually went to the pharmacy yesterday to see what they could do but apparently all this itching is normal. When I asked when I will know that it's not normal and need to take action, she looked at me like I was crazy. I must say, I felt very dismissed. Not good, Clicks!

Today I put on some Mylocort, put a plaster around the entire finger and no itch whatsoever. Either my little hack is working or the bee sting is working its way out.

In any case, I really would never like to have this happen ever again!

Connor doesn't believe in leaving any white space on a page, or gaps between words. It's a cool effect though.

We made playdough this week. I then left the kitchen, the kids got into the blue food colouring, it was a huge mess, so I banished them to the bath.

I then made another batch which was perfect. Really. And then the third batch yesterday didn't want to get unsticky so we added a lot more flour than anticipated. But it's all well in the end = happy kids. Best, D and I get lots of time to read every night after baths (30 - 45 minutes) while the kids made us "pizza" and "cake". Divine.

I thoroughly recommend it. My recipe - 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 2/3 cup boiling water, 2 TSP oil. Mush together, add more flour if too wet, add some essence (I did lemon to Kendra's batch and vanilla to Connor's) and or food colouring. And Bob's your uncle!
 

this one was having a tantrum....but isn't the light gorgeous. My friend with the twins, C, got her mum to make us these pillows when the babies were real babies. They're the most well-used baby gift ever (certainly the longest-lasting) other than the bottle steriliser. I should do a post!

Speaking of kitchen experiments, I also made rice crispy treats. I bought rice crispies for the party but we don't actually eat them so I had to use them up somehow. They're interesting, not my thing at all but the kids like them.

I tried to add in some chocolate to make it a bit more interesting, forgot that Cadbury's never ever melts, so there are random blobs of chocolate scattered throughout. Hmmm.

I've been very busy making my vision board. VERY happy with how it's turned out. It's 96% done and tomorrow once I print the last few photos I need, I'll take pics and show you. I must say, it's extremely satisfying to cut and paste things. Once you start, it's all systems go!

I also spent some time this evening selecting photos for my #marciaturns40 mini album - both photos from the birthday lunch and those from my actual birthday (6th). Can't wait to get those too so I can show you.

Okay that's it - my warm bed is calling to me, and so is my tea.

How was your weekend?

{Snapshot Saturday} Painting the town red

I really want to hear about the weird things South Africans say so go ahead!

PS Braai is an Afrikaans word which is maybe why it's weird to hear :)

Also, thanks for all the lovely comments on the crazy busy post! Love that you could all relate to the word pic!

Without further ado, here we go - red Saturday Snapshots.

Next week - BLUE and then GREEN for the first week of Spring.

as I walked out of the study with my camera, I saw all this red - yes! Birthday flowers from my sister.

pic by Kendra :)

Connor: Look, Mummy! A red car. I was quite impressed that I managed to whiz around quickly, compose and shoot!

I may have a thing with street signs - I have another 5 I could have showed you...

why indeed?!

my gorgeous red leather bag

seen in Newtown

Which is your favourite?

PS we went to see Jersey Boys today - LOVED it. I also loved the show - different kinds of love!

Some reading for the weekend, and weird things South Africans say

 
Things multiples are tired of hearing

Proof that kids fight more when both parents are around

On 5th grade mean girls

Her definition of good friends

Weird things Australians say.

I commented on that last post but as usual, my comment is somewhere in Wordpress Neverland. (Right there is why I don't comment on many WP blogs I actually find interesting)

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We should talk about weird things South Africans say. We say "robots" for "traffic lights" and "tomato sauce" for "ketchup".

What else can you think of?

Which was the most interesting link?

Life is crazy... or is it?

I did my July Project Life on Sunday and, as I was selecting the filler cards from the Honey and Sunshine kits, I wanted to use a lime-green/ yellow.

I kept being drawn to this card and yet my life is not crazy.

So this is what I did.

 

To get a bit serious for a moment, I'm well aware I'm in a season of less busy. I also know it won't last but I do want this feeling to last.

Over those 13 months, life was indeed crazy. I still had physical time because I set up my life that way but the mental energy required to fake smile and pretend on a daily basis meant that it felt like my life was busier than it actually was.

With enough space to think and reflect clearly, I never want to be in that position again. I think those happenings were such defining moments for me that I will never forget them.

But more than that, I'm deciding on the story I tell myself. If I keep saying "life is crazy", guess what? Life will be crazy and more important, I will feel like my life is crazy.

I'm choosing to say things like, "yes, my Saturday is full, but family gym and meeting with these friends is important to me". Or, as I currently say, "I know it's cold, but I will enjoy the walk once I'm out that gate". And I do.

I read a Kindle sample yesterday and I loved the way the author (I don't know who it was - I was trying to delete a lot of samples!) explained time management.

Like a bookcase.

Some of us try to cram our bookcases full of books when it's clear that there's no space. If you want another book on your bookcase, take something else off.

I love having a bookcase with some space and even if it becomes a bit full, I know I can move things around, toss some books, move others to another area (for now) til the bookcase looks decent again. 

I need to write some more about this on the OQ blog because I've talked about this before but somehow that image of a full bookcase is very profound.

Is your life crazy busy?
What does your (time) bookcase look like?

The fabulous grey wall in Ballito

I do think this grey wall is just the BEST backdrop for photos so when Terisha commented on my Instagram that she couldn't find it, and there was no time to meet up in person, I decided to take photos when I next went there.

(Interesting - Terisha commented on the 4th, her birthday, and I took these on the 6th, my birthday)

We stay in one of the complexes near the Granny's Pool (Terisha, I can email you - I just don't want to put it on the internet!), so out the gate and turn LEFT.

we are very close when you see this lifeguard stand

Willards Beach

it's on the back of this thing!

go down the windy ramp thing

and turn left past the outdoor showers

this is the front of that round thing, assuming you didn't go down the windy ramp

opposite the tide info, turn to look back and you'll see this road

I went onto the little ledge and peered down the railing. THERE"S THE GREY WALL from above.

if you walk around the other side, you'd turn right to get to that section of grey wall, but if you look left, you see this view

And the grey wall!

it's so very worth it!

Who's going to Ballito next?

I'm no beauty blogger but...

Don't worry - this is not going to become a beauty blog!

Aside - I sometimes see a beauty post on a blog and I wonder how these girls have the time for that whole routine. Then again, maybe they sleep less than I do :)

Let's talk about those things in the pic above and tell you why they're my current favourites.

1.Garnier Nutrisse

I used to use the cheaper things in the very beginning of my hair colour journey and then I tried Garnier Nutrisse because it was on sale. The angels sang at my lovely nourished hair! Then, when the twins were little, I switched to Loreal Excellence 10-minute colour because I had no time for faffing. But this year I switched back to Garnier and I'm happy again. No other hair colour makes your hair feel so good afterwards. Costs about R100 a box at Clicks.

(this is not a sponsored post but it should be)

2. Olay Complete Care Daily moisturising fluid with SPF15

This is such a lovely light moisturiser and I've used it for years. Now and again I try something else but I like the lightness of this the best. It costs R90 and lasts me about 5 - 6 months. Yes, months!

3. Essence Nail Base

I once asked the lady if Essence (the colour you will see on my nails 98% of the time) was any good, and she said it was but that ANY colour will stay longer if you use a base. "You do use a base?" I said no, but I was willing to try. This stuff works. I bought mine a year ago and it cost me about R25. If you paint your nails, use it!

4. Wet and Wild Intuitive Blend

We shall say no more about this dear love of mine because I've been stretching out this last tube - only using it for special occasions (like the talk I did at Louisa's secret company). I better just use it up and say farewell. Mrs FF couldn't find this at the CVS when she was in the US.

5. Sorbet BB Cream (medium)

I've blogged about this one before. Still using the same tube. I loved the comments on the original BB cream post. The Sorbet one has an SPF too.

6. Beaute lipliner (nude)

I received a lipliner as a Christmas gift one year and at first I thought, "seriously?!" but when I started using it, oh, the heavens opened.

It really does keep your lipstick looking good (lipstick is the one item I am NEVER without).

Also, my one ex-boss really is one of the most well-dressed and put together people in the office and she actually carried lipliner and lipstick to meetings and such. Before we left desks for a meeting, we'd all do the lipstick thing. I joked (but not) that our department had never been as put together as when she started working there. True.

Since I prefer not to pay R100 + for a lipliner from Clarins no matter how fabulous it is, I found this one. It's the Clicks one and goes on sale straight after Christmas and mid-year too. That's when I buy mine for just R10!

Tell me about your current favourite beauty products.

How long do you take to put on your face in the mornings?

Headaches, bees and interviews

Let me catch up on a few things:

The headache is all gone! I'm still being a little cautious, as in I'm drinking my 2L a day even if I don't feel like it (on Saturday I only managed 1,5 L) and avoiding caffeine. I've also only had one small Cadbury's Dairy Milk slab, which for me, is like avoiding chocolate :)

Thank God!



Also, I was stung by a bee on Saturday at a party. Milestones I don't wish to repeat!

Apparently it was in my hair, I just felt an annoyance and flicked at my head. And the bee stung me. Of course I screamed and had a few helpful people try and get the stinger (?) out. I still think there's a small part in there but it's mostly fine now. I had visions of My Girl - dying dramatically... or being rushed to the nearest hospital, which my friend's husband told me was right there and he knew the way. Comforting!



At the same party, I warned the kids that last year there was misbehaving and this year I will have none of that. They were fine! My kids always get more and more into it as the party progresses, so they had a BALL right at the end when we had to go. It was just getting colder and colder, and while the grey skies are beautiful, we weren't dressed for SUPER cold, only cold :)

This is weird too - my camera just flat-out stopped working right at the end. Battery was fine, but wouldn't click. Maybe overwork??? I shut it off (imagining schleping it to the camera shop on the other end of the world) but when I got home and switched it on, fine again.



We also had our interviews with the school principal on Saturday. I loved it. First time ever in the principal's office (first time for D too!) except for when I had to have a brief chat with the principal as the newly elected SRC chairperson. Those were the days when my bolshiness was a good thing!!!

This principal is a lady (which is a lovely dynamic for primary schools, don't you think?) and she's also a mom of girl/ boy twins and an ex-colleague of my 3am friend who was hijacked (Mrs FF, she was at my birthday lunch).

 

The kids will be in the same class next year. Can I tell you it was so nice to be ASKED what we as their parents would prefer?! I did say that the current school policy of no twins shall be in the same class or play together at break time may work for other twins (works fine for the same gender twins, according to my friend) but not for MY twins. She agreed! She said it was better for her two also in the early years to be together and only to be separate in the later years.



So when I told the kids about the interviews, they said, "what will she ask us?" and I didn't know but I guessed, "maybe what you like doing...."

I then asked them what are their favourite things to do.

K - watching movies with Daddy,  something else and still something else

C - sleeping

K - well then, why don't you SLEEP instead of talking to me at night?! (my feelings exactly)

Yes, she's getting sassy!

C - okay, sleeping, eating and watching movies with Daddy

Me - what about me? don't you like doing things with me?

C - I like being with you all the time but we don't need to be doing anything specific. (this, right there, is a quality time child!)

Me - okay, what about going for walks?

C - oh YES, that IS one of my favourite things to do. And to take photos with your pink camera (Sony Cybershot).


I finished all my photo organising and printing for July and wouldn't you know, my little Canon had JUST enough paper and ink to print them all. I love it! My printer just stops when the cartridge is empty - it won't carry on at all. Because there's nothing worse than 95% complete.

And this is a good place to end. Because I can quite happily ramble on forever.



What was interesting about your weekend?

PS Obviously all the photos in this post were taken while on a photowalk with Connor (winter walk 4)

Party posts wrap-up!

I'm finalising July photos.

If anyone is interested, all 6 of the party posts are on the organising blog here. Enjoy :)

Surprise! Snapshot Saturday - yellow!

So Mrs FF asked (in a comment? in an email? in an SMS?) me when I was going to do Snapshot Saturday again.

I think I said something flippant like "never... since I was the only one doing it, it felt like". She did tell me that she also used to participate, and now that I'm thinking a bit more clearly, I think Mandy also played along.

Anyway, I'm not saying I'm bringing it back proper but I was editing these pics (the last from July - yay, I can now move onto my birthday and Ballito!) and realised that Connor and I took a YELLOW photo walk.

A bit about the colours. The kids and I have taken a blue and pink photo walk too (with the iphone), and after this yellow one, a pattern one too (also with the iphone) because of #augustbreak2014 and it is SUCH fun.

So nice to challenge yourself creatively to LOOK for different things and not take the same old boring photos.

It's also easier to take quicker walks with the iphone and look for a particular prompt.

Anyway, these pics were taken on D's birthday very late in the afternoon (we left at 4:56 and were back at 5:18). Connor makes me live up to my promises of walking even when I'm feeling a bit lazy and I love it. Once I'm up and out the gate, I'm fine and I love the alone time with him, and of course, the photography.

I like this one because I pushed my lens through a fence to take this one :)

does this count as yellow? Connor said no!

he told me on Friday he doesn't like to do anything specific with me; just BEING with me is nice (my quality time child)

So post some yellow photos and link to me or comment so I'll find them. And next week, let's do red. I've been craving a red photo walk so it will get me off my butt and make me do some walking this week.

Will you join me next week?

PS from the times above, you can see we don't make a huge thing of it. For one, it's freezing (see my blue lips?) and two, I'm a big believer in anything is better than nothing.