Roundup

It's been a while since i last blogged. Life has been plodding along, my birthday came and went - not that i really feel much older. Our landlord finally sorted out the heating which is a lot better and quite good since it's suddenly got really cold, snow is expected tomorrow, although i hear some people have been snowed in up North. I'm praying for a snow day so i don't have to go into work! I'm not really enjoying my job at the moment, i'm really bored and feel there are so many other things i could rather be doing with my time. Although since i've not got a lot of work to do i have been doing other things!

I've decided to try and see if i can make some money selling my crafty things. I've created a few designs which i want to put on bags and t-shirts and see if they will sell. I've shown a few designs to my family and friends and have gotten quite positive feedback. My mum was really excited with my ideas, i had to tell her i'd not actually printed my designs yet, that she had to wait to see if anyone would actually buy them! Sweet though and nice to have the support. I will upload some pics when i have printed a few designs and created a folksy account. I am very greatful for the internet otherwise i don't think any of this would be possible. So watch this space because i should have a few items to sell shortly!

Back the the design drawing board.....

Happy days!

I am in quite a good mood today. It's Thursday and nearly the weekend - just this thought makes me happy. The fact that it's my birthday on Sunday makes me smile even more! CJ has booked lunch at a restaurant somewhere and invited some people. I don't know who and i don't know where but i've been told to be ready at 11:30 Sunday morning - how exciting! Although I'm not very excited for another birthday to be honest, it's depressing getting old, especially now that i've left my 20's. Aren't you meant to work backwards when you hit 30??

This is the bag i would LOVE for my birthday - but it's a crazy £150 and i can't justify spending that amount on something which may only last a year... could you?










Our landlord finally got our windows replaced yesterday, so we now have double glazing. It really does make a difference, the cold doesn't come in so much at night. I was seriously considering turning on the heating on Sunday but may be able to hold off a little longer now. At least when it is on though, it won't all escape out the windows, especially since all the radiators are right under the windows. Why is it that most radiators are under a window, i guess it looks better but unless you have double glazing seems pointless!
I was quite impressed by the company who put the windows in. They made minimal mess and apart from the smell of the glue, you wouldn't know that they'd just been put in. Oh and apart from the fact that all our furniture was in the middle of the room! The next venture - though i don't think it's going to be as painless - is going to be when the landlord replaces the boiler and all the radiators in two wks time. I don't have much faith in his abilities from work that i've seen him do sorry to say, so his estimated 3 days i'm sure is going to take a lot longer. He's switching our water off for a day and night only - so he says. Needless to say i'm not looking forward to it at all! Well i guess there's no point worry about it until the day arrives!

Back from holiday ( if you can call a week off a holiday!)

Last week CJ and i took a weeks holiday. We decided to visit the family i used to au pair for in Sussex and then headed off to Cornwall. The weather wasn't great, it didn't rain too much but was quite cold and very windy. We visited St Ives, Lands End, Lizards Point, Mevagissey ( what a tiny little town!) Newquay... we also went to the Eden Project which was quite impressive and went on a tour to a cider farm. We came home with quite a few bottles of cider!

St Ives

Eden Project

House on the rocks in Newquay

Don't you just love this house! I think it's amazing, with a little bridge connecting it to the mainland. You can see from the picture that the tide has come in a bit, the sea does surround it when it is high tide. The beach is really weird because at low tide the sea is so far out it looks like a totally different beach.

Unfortunately we didn't spend too long in Cornwall, with the weather not being great and accommodation being the most expensive part. I think next time we will go camping as there as so many campsites around. It was nice to get away though and have a break. We came home on Thursday evening which meant i had 3 full days to relax before going back to work.

 

My One-Year Anniversary

Wow i can't believe it's already September and i've now been in the UK over a year - scary! Looking back over the year i think i have made a few accomplishments, but still there are many things i want to do.
Since arriving in the UK i have:

Found a waitressing job ( although i may be quitting soon and working somewhere else)
Found a full-time day job
Moved once already
Got a new kitten
Swopped my South African drivers licence for a British one - bit of a sad day
Planted and grown my own tomatoes - and yes they are FINALLY going red!!! CJ and i even tried one, they are nice and sweet
Made a few friends - ok so still have to work on that one
Joined the gym
Started a bookkeeping course
Bought a bicycle
Given blood for the first time - and managed to get a huge bruise which made me look like a druggie!
Turned 30 and got engaged - woop!

i'm sure there a few other insignificant happenings but i can't think of them now. This next year i plan to get a better car - one that doesn't look like i've been playing bumper cars with it! i want to finish my course, with good results. Get a better paid and more interesting job, and hopefully quit waitressing altogether. Plan our wedding and maybe start a family. Although i do need to get myself into better shape ( i got sore arms after hitting a few balls at the driving range - honestly!) I don't want to get a saggy belly after my first baby, i want to be a yummy mummy after all!

A trip to the vet

We had to take our other cat Crystal to the vet this morning. I noticed he had a swollen eye on sunday morning, like he'd bumped it. Since it was not getting better we made an appointment at the vet for Wednesday evening. We decided not to keep Crystal in on Tuesday night because kitten ( Mischievous Marley) or MM would torment him all night. Needless to say he was not in when I got home and I had to ring the vet to cancel the appointment. Luckily I could get one for this morning just before 10am. I had to let my boss know I'd be in a bit late. You would have thought that since I didn't need to get up early I would have slept in, but I felt too guilty so I got up...... such a sucker! At least Crystal is on the mend now though, he had 3 grass seeds in his eye! No wonder he was feeling sorry for himself, you could almost see the relief when the vet got them out. Poor thing!

This wind has been terrible today. I've been worrying about my poor tomato plants. They are flowering and not yet produced fruit. I will be distraught if they get damaged! I ordered a tomato greenhouse which arrived today - yippee! It's only made of clear PVC with a metal structure, better than nothing but let just hope the wind doesn't continue to blow like it has otherwise it might blow away! Unfortunately I will only be able to put it up tomorrow after work as I have to do a shift at the pub tonight. Hopefully I can keep awake!

Quick sum-up

Life has been a little busy lately and has not left me much time to blog.


I have not completed many craft projects lately but I have started a few…….

Although I did complete the bag which I got in a kit from uhandbag.com with the material and clasp I needed to make it. It turned out quite well I’m pleased to say, only I did make a bit of a mess with the glue – it was quite tricky gluing the handle to the bag without it going everywhere.

 

This is not the one I made but it is the same material I got in my little kit.

We recently got a new kitten, Marley. He’s a naughty little boy, very mischievous and playful. He’s been terrorising our other cat, I feel a bit sorry for him really – he can’t even have a nap in peace anymore. Such an innocent face!

There are so many little projects I want to do but so little time, and some of them are quite costly. Wouldn’t it be great to have a room entirely dedicated to your crafts? With shelves of fabric and perfectly organised little holders and containers with all your bits and pieces. A big table for cutting fabric on and drawing out designs. Load of colourful boxes decorated with fabric, a cushioned seat that doubles up as a storage unit.Just some inspiring study/craft areas i would love to have! 

www.home-designing.com/2009/05/craft-room-hom...

www.new-memories.com/crafts/organize/

Have a look at my folksy shop for my handpainted items: www.folksy.com/shops/dutchcouragecrafts

Our new addition

Not a great pic, but this is our new kitty. We have to name him still and can only take him home at the end of next month. Isn't he just SO cute!

Let me introduce myself....

So, a little about me. I'm a 30 year old girl from Cape Town South Africa. I have been here since August 2009, living on Oxfordshire with my fiance. CJ and i met in Cape Town while he was on holiday, we met through a mutual friend and kept in touch when he went back. Funnily enough my sister and mum had been living in Oxfordshire really close to where CJ was brought up. There are a few other coincidences that make our relationship 'meant-to-be'. We did the long-distance thing for about 8 months until i finally managed to get my passport and was able to come over. We got engaged 2 months later!

At the moment my life is rather dull and uneventful. I work as a receptionist for a fairly big company, but am really, really bored. I crave to be creative and this job is just not doing it for me. In my spare time i'm usually painting, making something, knitting or sewing (sound like a real housewife). My dream job would be to design and sell my own clothes in my own little boutique somewhere. Since i have no formal fashion design education, i have to work and save to get a qualification. I also have a little waitressing job twice a week for a little extra cash. So, that's me in a nutshell i guess.

I hope to upload some of my creative projects as i complete them. Mainly to motivate myself to finish them. I'm a terrible procrastinator and get bored of a project before i get to finish it. Not good. So hopefully this blog will encourage me to finish what i started!

I thought i'd add a picture i took, which i really love - don't know what it is about it. It almost makes me feel optimistic, looking forward to the journey ahead of me. It was taken while on holiday in South Africa about a month ago from the car, CJ was driving.

Well i shall sign off for now......