I cried a lot today. Somehow doing my challenges is making me more aware of the massive challenges other people face every day.

As I was driving to town this morning, I saw a family of 3 people walking next to the road, and the little one (about 4 years) was so tired and the mom picked her up to carry her. As I came into town, I could not forget them and felt so guilty for driving past, so turned back to give them a lift. They were on their way to the Checkers in town, to collect some money their dad has sent them as the bread and milk were finished and they had no money. They have been walking for 2 hours and was so thankful for the lift.

After I dropped them I went to Pick &Pay and just sat in the parking area sobbing my heart out. The little one was so thirsty when she got in the car, and all I had was a bit of water to offer her.

Anyway, on my way home I collected them outside the checkers with their one bag of bread and milk, and took them to Eloff where they stay. They never hitch-hiked, they never asked for anything, they were very dignified, extremely poor and I do not even know their names. I did buy them a bag of vegetables, a cooked chicken, oranges, bananas and some yogurt and sweeties for the little girl. Maybe I will never see them again, but there has been a challenge I have been putting off for a long time, and today I was forced to do it. The challenge came from Ty Pennington, and it was to donate 1 hour of my time to someone in need. So I helped them and they helped me!! And I have stopped crying.

Some knitting news - I have finished something else at long last. This is a rucksack and took forever to make. It is from "The Art of Knitting", the Bits and Pieces range number 10. I asked my hubbie to model it for us, and he grumpily obliged (he was already in his payamies and gown)

The cookies I made last night was super yummie - the first one is called Jacques Torre's Secret Choc-Chip Cookies (not really a secret anymore is it?) Just look at the massive pieces of chocolate I put in. Am taking some to work tomorrow for testing.

The other one was not so nice (according to the only available cookie tester which is my husband), but you might like them. They are called Espresso-Bean Shortbread

DRUMROLL!!!!!!!!!! Here is the weekly sewing challenge from http://www.sewweekly.com/. The theme was "reality check" and I had to sew something I did not have in my cupboard. So I decided (very unwisely I might add) that I need a vintage summer dress. It was a Vogue pattern and super complicated. But I did not do maths in matric for nothing - knew it would come in handy one day, so after finishing the dress (which was the equivalent of a massive engineering project) - here is the result!!

Thank you to all of you who asked about my dear little Elvis dog - he is much, much better. here is a picture of him striking a pose. I also include a picture of the holes in his back which is still in the process of healing. On top of being ripped apart, he also got biliary and had to receive blood transfusions and spend 3 additional nights in Kempton Animal Hospital. They saved his life twice and I adore them.

It seems the gold medals ar jsut out of my reach. In my Olympic Games challenge from http://www.flylady.net/d/flylady-games-2012/ I combined event for day 1 and day 3 together, which was to throw away trash in each room for 5 minutes (filled a big black bag)

and find things to donate in all the rooms by spending 5 minutes in each. Here is my donate box, which is going into the car tomorrow so I can drop it off at the SPCA shop.

I only got a silver medal, because I did not tackle the lounge/living room area. Maybe I will get a gold medal tomorrow?

And with a twirl of my flowery summer dress - worn in the middle of winter I might add - I wave you goodnight

Lovies
Lizette

Silly challenges - this is how I can describe the challenges I am doing this year. I thought they were amazing, but actually, when I look at other people's challenges, mine is just plain silly.

Making a cookie is nothing like stoppping smoking!! Sticking a few pieces of shit on a scrap book page is not as challenging as coming out the closet!! Making a cute little card is not as challenging as doing a blog on your granpa who has Alzheimers. Making a new outfit every week is .......ok, this one is very challenging. So to all you brave people out there, facing massive challenges every day - I salute you.

But now back to my silly challenges, they give me great joy and no-they are not going to change the world or save the planet or make me live longer, but I love them and look forward to doing them every day.

Weekends are so nice - I can make lost and lots of cookies to try and catch up on all the evenings I missed. So the 2 recipes I did Friday night were Coconut Balls and Pecan Sandies.

The Coconut Balls are apparently delicious - people are popping them faster than anti-depressive pills. Maybe they work better than anti-depressive pills? They only have 5 ingredients so have a go!!

The Pecan Sandies are super nutty and super shortbread mixed together. Also nice but it seems the Coconut Balls are the winner here.

My scrapbook challenge from http://studiocalico.typepad.com/ this week was to do a big title, and after some digging though my old photo's, I discovered these pictures of a very young David having a party at the Spur.  Ha-ha-ha- look how 'gatvol' he is afterwards.

My friend Nevi gave me this scrapbook page with all the background layout already done, so I just had to do all the little stuff on top. Thanx Nevi!!

Last night I only went to bed after 1h00 in the morning - I was watching the Olympic Game's opening. So today I was all inspired and feeling very olympish, so how happy was I when I logged onto one of my favourite websites called http://www.flylady.net/d/flylady-games-2012/declutter-games-medals/. So I partook in an additional challenge today and received my silver medal. (I did not declutter the main bedroom and bathroom)

 I missed challenge one but will catch up on it tomorrow!! Please read below what today's challenge was - maybe you can do it in your own house, it is fun and makes a big difference in your home.

De-Clutter Games Day 2 - 7/28/12
flyladykelly, 7/28/2012 1:00 am

Dear Friends, Welcome to Day 2 of the FlyLady De-Clutter Games. Yesterday we went on a trash hunt through out the Zones to get rid of anything that just needed to be tossed or recycled. Today's event is the Put Away Challenge. You will need your Put Away basket ( http://shop.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_declutter.asp) or box and your timers (http://shop.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_UTimer.asp ). When you have completed your challenges go visit http://www.flylady.net/d/flylady-games-2012/ to claim your medal! Let's have some fun! Zone 1 - The Dining Room Event Set your timer for 5 minutes, as fast as you can grab up anything that belongs in another room in the house and put in your Put Away basket. Once the timer goes off, set the timer again for 5 minutes to deliver the items to their home. Things like jackets, books, shoes, mail, and toys. Zone 2 - The Kitchen Event Set the timer for 5 minutes and as fast as you can fill your Put Away basket with things that don't belong in the kitchen. Set the timer for another 5 minutes to Put Away the items in the basket. Zone 3 - The Main Bathroom Event Set the timer for 5 minutes and quickly grab up the things that don't belong. Usually in the bathroom it is clothes and shoes that get left behind. Toss them in your Put Away basket. Set the timer for another 5 and away you go to put the collected things away. Zone 4 - The Master Bedroom Event Set the timer for 5 minutes and look for things that just don't belong in the bedroom that need to be returned to their proper home. It could be books and magazines, cups and glasses, mail that needs to go to your home office area and assorted things that have gathered in the room from your last stash and dash. Set the timer for 5 minutes and send the items in the Put Away basket packing. Zone 5 - The Living/Family Room Event Set the timer for 5 minutes and get to it! You all have the hang of this now, grab up those jackets, shoes, books, tote bags, toys and more, toss in the Put Away basket and set that timer for another 5 to return the strays to their homes. You will find in some rooms you will beat the timer, this is such a great feeling. Yesterday's trash and today's Put Away events will make a big difference in how each room looks and feels. You may need several more sessions for each zone, that is completely ok! Remember to drink your water and take a break then jump back in. You can do this! Go and take a look at our FlyLady De-Clutter Games Ultimate Package:http://shop.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_gp.asp -------- You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.? Perfectionism is Shelved in 2012! Get your FREE Cozi Calendar http://www.flylady.net/d/cozi/ Copyright 2001-2012 FlyLady and Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved, No reprint to other email lists or websites without FlyLady's permission. You have permission to forward to a friend. Join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TheFlyLady Lovies Lizette

Why do I bake so many cookies? - that is an easy question to answer. I have a challenge to find the best Martha Stewart cookie recipe this year.

Why do I enjoy baking cookies so much? - this one was not so easy, but I have worked it out. I love the fact that someone else is telling me what to do. I am not comfortable with taking instructions from anyone, so this revelation was very interesting to me. I think it is because I have to make so many decisions all day long. At work, at home, about money, about the house, the animals, decisions, decisions, decisions!!!

So it is extremely relaxing for me to just follow a simple set of instructions, with no pressure associated to the outcomes. If the recipe is horrible, my dogs will eat it. If the recipe is great - the people will eat it. If it is amazing, I might even eat it. So now I know why I love baking - I can blame someone else if it is not a success (hie-hie-hie), and I do not have to make any decisions for a short, sweet-smelling, dough-mixing period of time.

Getting us straight onto the cookie for tonight - which is  non-bake cookie and super easy. If you have kiddies, or if your inner kiddie needs something nice - please make these cookies over the weekend.





Peanut-Butter Granola Balls

And still my favourite challenge is the mini-art journal challenge from http://embers.typepad.com/e/mini_art_journal_challenge/page/5/. This week I had to do a card using a symbol that means a lot to me.

Hearts are very special to me, and they fill my house and my walls. So it was easy to decide on the design this week, but it was very difficult to write the ode to my mom on the back. I think I got my love of hearts from her. Thinking about it, even my sister's shop in Pennington is filled with hearts. The heart I used is made by my husband from the bones of an animal, and the hole in the heart symbolises the emptiness I feel when I think about my mom and I miss her terribly.

Talking about bones - they fit right into my recycle/reuse challenge. After the bones were cooked, sterilised and dried, we made all these hearts out of them and they now adorn my kitchen window.

If you still have a mom, please let her know how much you love her tonight!!! Now I am saying goodbye before I start crying and making you all cry. My blog is suppose to be uplifting and motivating, so roll on the good times - yipppeeee!!!

Talk to you tomorrow night

MWAH



Payday!!!!!! yipppeeeeee!!!!! But then it is over and we have to wait a whole month for it to happen again. Until then, I have a lot to keep me busy so here goes.

I would like to complete all the card making challenges tonight, and there are 3 this week. I know some of these cards are very ugly, and I am just going to throw them away. So if you would like one please let me know with your postal address and I will send it to you. They are all blank inside so you can use them for any occasion. You could even give them to people you do not really like, but are obliged to give birthday, get well, go away cards.

From http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.jp/ comes the challenge of doing a card in monochromatic colours. Yellow is maybe my least favorite colour (after orange), so to make the challenge more interesting I did it in yellow (blah!)

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/projects/challenges/current-challenges/ challenged me with a card layout, using banner flags. You can see the sketch below, as well as my effort. I feel this is the most successful one of the three.

And then lastly papertake wanted me to do my worst nightmare - "All things girlie". I hate this card - sure you will also hate it. So if there are no takers the little girl will dissappear in the round filing cabinet next to my desk.

And what would an evening be without some cookies. Luckily all children should be in bed by now, because these are adult cookies only.



They are called Bourbon Pecan Chews, and just like magic I turned this

into this!!!

Just a note of warning - my kitchen smelled like a cross between a christmas pudding and a shibeen. Hubbie says he cannot taste the bourbon, and the cookies are crispy yet chewy and very nice. I will have to put a warning on these cookies tomorrow for all the people at work who cannot have any alcohol.

Jack Daniels make me think of my son David, and his band BELOVED is playing a gig at Rumours tonight - so I am thinking of him and am sure he will be brilliant!!!

Grunge greetings
Lizette

A challenging week this week, and I do not mean filled with challenges, but filled with challenging challenges.  let's start with the cookie challenge. Tonight I had to make a very easy, plain, normal cookie from the Martha Stewart website, called Mocha Slice Cookies.

They are suppose to look like this:



I know it sounds like a very fancy name, but it is not. So the challenge was to use one cup of sugar, but no, Zettie was not concentrating so I put in 2 cups of sugar. And no, Zettie thought it would not make a difference. But Zettie was wrong!!! My cookies came out like bullet-ridden flying saucers, some massive, some smaller, some flat, some domed, but never mind - I am sure they all are VERY sweet.

I have also been challenged to show people what was in all those cookie tins from last week - here are some of the njammie cookies that I made to fill them up. (and hubbie emptied all the tins while I was gone last week)

Rustic Apple pie

jam cookies

Rice Crispie cookies

Another big challenge this week will be the sewing project - please see the pattern I will be attempting. The dress has 14 individual pieces, it is 3 sizes too small, and I did not have enough material for all the pattern pieces so had to improvise with two-tone effect. Hope to have it done by Sunday and model it for the blog. Watch this space, I think it is going to be hilarious - a real LOL moment.

OK, so let's get the photo challenges out of the way:
From the http://dailypost.wordpress.com/ comes a challenge to take a photo of somethings "INSIDE" I first took a photo of the inside of my mouth, but since I do not drink anymore I was not drunk enough to publish that on the blog, so now you get the inside of an orchid - weird hey?

http://www.photofriday.com/ wanted a photo themed "YOUNGSTER", and since I adore dogs, I want to publish this picture of our little Durga. Wish I could kiss her and inhale that sweet, musky puppy smell right now.

last photo challenge comes from http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/projects/challenges/weekly-challenges/ and has a very difficult theme of "HOT & COLD" So this is the perfect picture of a hot bod in a cold pool - trying to make the best of what nature can offer.

Tomorrow is my recycle/re purpose challenge, and I am very excited to share it with you. I am also very excited to go to bed and sleep, so good night

Lovies
Lizette

Blank. Like a blank page. That is what my mind is like tonight. I have been so tired and have slept so much the past 3 days, I think my brain cells have not woken up yet. Almost like sleeping beauty, I need a kiss from a handsome prince to wake me up and bring me back to life. But alas, my prince is also asleep!!!

I am ready for the new week (in my book and in blog-land, my new week will only start tomorrow). I have about 13 challenges this week, so I am very, very excited to get going. But tonight is basically a report back on last week's challenges that I found time to do, but no time to blog.

My favourite first - my personal deck of cards and the challenge comes from http://embers.typepad.com/e/mini_art_journal_challenge/ . Last week I had to make a card with a "I AM" statement. This is a tough one - do not know what you would do if you had one card to make a "I AM" statement, but would love to find out.

So after some thought and some dreaming - my statement is "I AM PERFECT IN MY IMPERFECTION"

I used a piece of art I did in second year as background, and it was a tough year for me emotionally as I did a lot of work around my facial paralysis. But what a pleasure I got from ripping of all the doll's heads and scarring them on the one side. Then packing them all in an old pram like precious new-borns and believe it or not, I had a big blow-up sex doll wrapped in cling wrap pushing the pram. (Still do not think the sex shop believed me when I said I want a blow-up doll for an art project - hie-hie-hie)

From http://inspiration-avenue-team.blogspot.com/ came a challenge to do a creative piece with the theme "FLY" - and since it is winter and there are no flies around, I did one like this:

And then I had a gagga challenge - from http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/ I had to do a scrapbook page to do with the olympics. I did not really have stuff to do anything athletic (not really my main interest in life) - but I did an abstract page and if you use a LOT of imagination you can see the olympic theme very clearly.

The last scrapbooking challenge was to use buttons and banners, http://studiocalico.typepad.com/studio_calico/  We had a lovely house girl called Figile, and this page is in honor of her. She died of TB and I still miss her dearly.

Thank you, over and out - talk to you 2morrow night

Lovies

Lizette

Hallo from the cookie house!! I have cookies coming out the front door - see my stack I have built up over the weekend. And no, it is not in preparation for a time of famine or unrest - it is so I can keep the blog going while I am not at home.




Cookie Stack


So I took all my challenges for this coming week, and did most of them over the weekend. And just like a bad movie with lots of equally bad sequels, I will be releasing my challenges on my blog over the next week.

But tonight I would like to entertain you with some breakfast cereal. It is amazing what you can do with oats and toasties. These 2 breakfast cereals are the star features in the recipes from Martha's Stewart's website today.

Recipe 1 is called Oatmeal Raisin Bars and they do not get my engine revving, but I guess if you want to be a bit healthy and boring, they will be just perfect

Second recipe also contains some breakfast cereal, but something I have never tasted before - called Nestle Oaties or Toasties or something like that. This recipe just needs a pot, a wooden spoon and some very quick action as it sets fast!

Cranberry-oat Cereal bars (They look like a mess because they are a mess)

One of the challenges I do not really enjoy is the card making ones - they are too sweet and cute and so totally not me. But I guess that is part of the stretch a challenge brings. So from http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/ comes the weekly card-making challenge, and the theme is "Strawberries and Cream". This is my effort, but must say my heart was not in this. Whoever wants it must please let me know.

 And then finally tonight I would like to share another of my recycle challenges, and this is all happening in my wonderful walk-in pantry, or as Edwin calls it the mini "Pick-&-Pay".

While at sales conference, all my colleagues made some hearts, and all these lovely hearts were left behind and abandoned. So I saved them and used them to make myself a colourful heart wall. it makes me happy every time I walk into my pantry. Because even if the shelves are empty of food, the pantry is filled with love.

See, I should not be making cute cards as I now sound just like a Hallmark card myself.

I also adopted an abandoned table from the auction, and just loved its imperfection, so used it as is, and now it hosts all my cookbooks. Just one or two more things to fix in the pantry, then she is done and dusted.

I am now also done and dusted for the evening, and will talk to you while on the road this coming week.

Lovies
Lizette