Saturday, November 29, 2008

My Fabulous Finds

I started a new blog, I know I know as if I'm not busy enough already but let me explain .......

This past year I've been making mails with links to fun things I'd found on the net on a regular basis, I was mailing them to my crafty friends when this past week one of them said I should be sharing this on a blog or something (well Kirsty I decided to do just that !). Because I was afraid I would otherwise forget about the great things I shared with you all when I needed them as inspiration.

You can find all the links on my new blog Daan's Faboulus Finds, put in the date order that I shared them with my friends and I hope they can inspire you too !

Thursday, November 27, 2008

For ?

I don't know if I have (m) any US readers (although Clustrmaps begs to differ) but just in case I do I wanted to wish you all a wonderful and special thanksgiving !



Friday, November 21, 2008

I feel good

First of all, something for someone who has a fun blog, is a cupcake & scrapbook lover like me and makes the most fun jump pic's in the world ;

crowdSPRING, hire Kelly Purkey for your new Community Marketing Manager!

Second thanks everyone for your good health wishes, it took me 2,5 weeks but finally I'm kicking this bug in the BU... unfortunately DH is ill now ...

Third, our DT getaway was so much fun. Didn't have much of an appetite so we had way too much food but it was great fun. Got some scrapping done, back in the mood for it, good conversations and lots of laughs always good for the soul !

Fourth, did you see the sketches the girls made on the MLS blog, very cool. I love them all except mine. Oh well that happens a lot ...

Fifth, I've lost a total of 3,5 kilos since the flu started so I'm back on my old weight from before my car vs. knee accident. Very happy about this ! and I'm aiming for another 3 kilo loss before the new year, I'm starting to feel better every day getting back to my old self.

Sixth, I'm set tommorow to get creative for Xmas with the boys and make about 6 orso overdue raks ...

Seventh, so whadaya think of my new banner, my DH made it for me. He's the best (better in photoshop than me that's for sure !) !

That's all for now, hope you have fun creative plans too, thanks for checking in !

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I was tagged

by Martine and I've taken my time thinking about this (nothing else to do as I'm ill again, for the 2nd week), are there any more weird things I can tell you that you didn't already know from last time ?

Uhm yep ...

1. When I'm naucious I cannot lie on my back or left side only on my right side or I will throw up ... I realised this again on monday .....

2. I like eat 2 toppings on my sandwiches and have already got the boys eating cheese and jam, which not everyone thinks is too weird but I also looooove peanutbutter & jam, peanutbutter, banana and chocolate sprinkles, peanutbutter and just chocolate sprinkles and nutella with banana :) not allowed this for a while though ....

3. I like to have complete sets of things ... when I'm collecting I can go a little crazy and not only with material things you see I also collect images on the pc like crazy. It's a good thing we have a big server or it would be too full ... You see if i don't I can't remember it and where I saw it so I love to keep them safe if i ever remember i saw something I can browse in my little files and find it again and be inspired all over again :)

4. My pillowcases are much nicer to lay on when they are ironed, I don't mind it when my duvet cover is not ironed though.

5. Everything has to be dated that comes in to our home. Whether it's drawings & art from the kids or photo's & home movies it has to be dated to keep me sane as I cannot remember when events were or when art was made and I hate guessing & not knowing. This is why preserving memories is VERY important to me.

6. I love whipped cream but not in pastry ! I love it on ice-cream, I love it on an apple pie (notice the on part), I love it on my hot cocoa, I love it on fresh fruit but not in pastry. So no slagroomgebak, bossche bol or slagroomhoorntjes for me ....

7. My starsign is virgo, yet since I have kids & my own company I've become very chaotic. This is so not working for me .....

I won't be tagging anyone as my recipe swapp didn't go very well either so just enjoy the info and share something with me in a comment (big hint for Kirs, Marianne & Evi) and I'll be happy ;) it will take my mind of being ill ......

Monday, November 10, 2008

This is me



Just me and my aura ....

For those interested in what the colors mean in general (an english version can be found here) and if you want to know what kind of cupcake I am (LOL) check out my other blog.


Hier geven we informatie over de basiskleuren in het aura. Hiervoor gelden algemene uitspraken.Uiteraard is iedere aurafoto uniek en kent dus zijn eigen verhaal. Een veel gestelde vraag is dan ook of de aura verandert. Het antwoord op deze vraag is volmondig JA. Want je bent een mens met veel ins en outs. Ieder mens is een onafhankelijk individu, en je kunt te allen tijde kiezen iets wel of juist niet te doen. Je leeft en beleeft en daarmee verandert ook het aura. Zeker als het gaat om de rechterkant en linkerkant op de foto.
De linkerkant staat voor je uitstralingskant, deze geeft informatie over je recentelijk verleden.De rechterkant op de foto staat voor de energie die je op dat moment nodig hebt. Dit kan een snelveranderend veld zijn. Je karakterstructuur is stabieler en verandert naarmate jij zelf verandert. Wanneer je een sterke emotionele beleving ondergaat; je wordt boos of de vonk slaat over en je bent ineens verliefd, geeft dat ook een directe verandering op je aura. Wanneer alles weer rustig is, ga je terug naar je basiskleur.

De overwegende basiskleur van je aurafoto is:

ROOD

Rode mensen zijn sterke karakters, vechters en over het algemeen harde werkers. Het zijn de pioniers onder ons, want ze houden van avontuur. Er valt ook altijd iets te beleven met deze aura's en vaak trekken ze het voortouw. Ze hebben regelmatig een prikkel nodig van buitenaf en zoeken daarom graag spanning op. Rode persoonlijkheden kunnen bijzonder goed individueel functioneren;maar moeten hun eigen ideeën kwijt kunnen, vrijheid staat centraal. Hoe meer ruimte; hoe meer rood zich kan geven. Rode personality's kunnen een eigen bedrijf hebben en zijn de managers onder ons. Rood is ook emotioneel en gevoelig, al willen ze dit vaak niet toegeven. Het vulkaantje op de foto zit eigenlijk binnenin. Ze hebben dan ook moeite om zich emotioneel te uiten. Ze komen lekker stoer naar buiten maar hebben in wezen een klein hartje. Tijdelijk rood treedt op bij ingrijpende gebeurtenissen in je leven; dit kan variëren van verliefdheid, verhuizingen (liefdes-)verdriet enz.

ORANJE

Wanneer je oranje op je aurafoto hebt is er nogal wat gaande, er zit veel beweging in. Het is een tijd van verandering, vernieuwing, emoties en actie. Oranje staat ook voor ambitie en een hoge mate van creativiteit. Uit ervaring zien we dat oranje veel voorkomt bij jonge mensen. Oranje mensen zijn gevoelsmensen met een snelle hang naar stress. Wanneer zich problemen voordoen gaan ze echter niet bij de pakken neer zitten want het actieve aspect van de oranje energie maakt dat ze zelf goed in staat zijn zaken te veranderen.
Geel staat voor verstandelijk denken en bied je dus de mogelijkheid om helderheid om je heen te creëren. Oranje-gele aura's zijn over het algemeen aura's die tijdelijk optreden wanneer je voor belangrijke keuzes staat en het aura verandert snel wanneer je in rustiger vaarwater komt. Oranje kan schilderen, tekenen en vormgeven maar is ook zeer creatief in zijn denkwijze, bijvoorbeeld het bedenken van nieuwe concepten. Oranje aan je uitstralingskant staat voor enthousiasme, levenslust en warmte. Een fijne uitstraling dus.

GEEL

Geel staat voor openheid en extravertheid. Gele mensen beschikken over goede sociale vaardigheden, zijn snelle denkers en ze zijn in staat om een aantal zaken tegelijk te doen. Gele mensen houden van lachen en beschikken ook vaak over een flinke dosis zelfspot. Gele types komt graag in vreemde landen en zijn gek op nieuwe ervaringen. Met een heldere geest en goed ontwikkeld verstand kan hij zich buitengewoon goed aan passen en is meestal creatief. Geel is levenslustig en dynamisch, warm en open tegenover andere mensen. Het gele type is zeer actief in de buitenwereld, is continu in beweging en heeft altijd een volle agenda. Geel beschikt over een goed organisatietalent en is een goede leider. Wanneer je geel in je foto hebt, betekent dit dat je toekomstgericht denkt.Geel met oranje; wij noemen dit beweeglijk geel en dus een tijdelijk beeld van de situatie waarin je op dat moment verkeert. Je bent dan nl. bezig om een stuk helderheid te creeëren in het maken van keuzes.Is het toekomende energie ook geel dan zien we dat je goed in staat bent geweest om die helderheid naar je toe te trekken en zul je dus de komende tijd in een rustiger vaarwater komen, want je hebt de zaken op een rijtje gekregen. Binnenkort gaat je aura veranderen. Geel aan je uitstralingskant vertelt dat je een zonnige, warme en open uitstraling hebt. Dit zijn ook de gezelligheidsdieren onder ons.

GROEN

Wanneer je een overwegend groene aura hebt beschik je over een bijzonder goede communicatieve vaardigheid en betrokkenheid. Het sleutelwoord van groen is evenwicht. Groene mensen zijn verzorgers en wanneer in hun privéleven iedereen waar ze van houden maar groeit en bloeit zit groen goed in zijn vel. Volgens de kleurenleer van Theo Gimbel, een expert op gebied van psychologisch kleurgebruik in interieurs, is groen een perfecte kleur om binnenshuis te gebruiken wanneer de bewoner de neiging heeft om het 'werk mee naar huis te nemen'. Iets wat nogal eens voorkomt bij mensen uit de zorgsector. Daarmee komen we op het genezend aspect van de groene kleur. Groen is ook de kleur van de hartchakra; het energiecentrum waarmee we diepere emoties beleven. Mensen die op wat voor manier genezend bezig zijn hebben ook vaak groen in het aura. Groen biedt troost, schept vertrouwen en laat je voelen dat je belangrijk bent. Groen is een vrouwelijke energie. Wist je trouwens dat veel jonge full-time moeders ook groen zijn. Groen staat mede voor liefde en overgave. Groene mensen hebben enorme behoefte aan veiligheid, het gezin. De familieband is erg belangrijk. Groen doet moeite om de familie bij elkaar te houden en streeft naar evenwicht. Mensen die voor de klas staan zijn ook vaak groen. Begeleiden hoort bij het groene type. Groene mensen zijn mensen van principes en verdedigen graag hun eigen standpunten. Journalisten zijn groen, denk maar weer aan die betrokkenheid, fysiotherapeuten; betrokkenheid en genezing. Groen heeft ook een valkuil; we zien dat groene aura's mensen zijn met veel kwaliteiten, ook vaak mooie mensen . Helaas worden deze mensen nogal eens geplaagd door een stuk onnodige onzekerhekerheid. Soms zien we ook een patroon van veel groen om en rond het hoofd en sterk oranje op de keelchakra. Dat betekent dat deze mensen zeer begaan zijn met het lot van anderen, maar hun eigen emoties als het ware opslaan, ze houden die te veel emoties bij zich. Groen aan je toekomstkant (rechterkant) duidt op een veranderingsproces in jezelf.

BLAUW

Blauw vertegenwoordigt intimiteit. Blauw "geeft om..." en "zorgt voor...". De belangrijkste sleutelwoorden van blauw zijn rust en ontspanning. Wanneer je aurafoto blauw is, het gebied rond en boven het hoofd, dan ben je een overwegend introvert persoon, je neemt het leven serieus en bent voor velen een rots in de branding. Blauw beschikt over toewijding en betrouwbaarheid. Opmerkelijk is dat blauwe aura’s vaak zijn terug te vinden daar waar het om precisiewerk gaat. Blauwe aura’s zijn perfectionisten. Blauw houdt niet van verrassingen, ze willen graag weten waar ze aan toe zijn en bouwen daarom graag zekerheden in hun leven in. Mensen met een blauw aura zijn gevoelige mensen met een sterke belevingswereld. Blauw heeft stijl en is kwaliteitsbewust. Ze zijn in staat om vrij sober te leven, maar wat ze aanschaffen is goed, degelijk en stijlvol. Ook gaat hun belangstelling vaak uit naar kunst en cultuur. Wanneer blauw zichtbaar is aan de uitstralingskant duidt dit op afstandelijkheid. Deze mensen kijken graag even de kat uit de boom. Typisch bij deze uitstraling is dat de omgeving deze zgn. afstandelijke uitstraling als vertrouwelijke energie ervaart. Blauwe persoonlijkheden zijn altijd op zoek is naar de echte zaken in het leven. Waarheid, eerlijkheid, rechtvaardigheid. Daarom zijn vriendschappen voor blauw vaak voor het leven. Het duurt even voordat ze iemand in hun hart sluiten, maar eenmaal binnen dan zit het meer dan goed.

VIOLET

Heb je violet in je aurafoto dan sta je het hoogst op de ladder van spiritualiteit. Zien we paars, lila of violette kleuren aan je uitstralingskant, dan ben je niet goed in te schatten door je omgeving en straal je een bijna geheimzinnige innerlijke wijsheid uit. Mogelijk zit je in een periode in je leven waarin je de kans hebt om contact te maken met je eigen spirituele taak of overtuiging. Je hebt de behoefte om jezelf te uiten en je hebt een vanzelfsprekend begrip voor de gevoelens van anderen. Als je doorgaans niet zo heel veel toegang tot je gevoelens hebt, dan is dit de tijd om te proberen er naar te luisteren en vast te stellen wat ze je vertellen. Een uitstekende tijd voor zelfontwikkeling dus. Violet droomt graag weg in een wereld van fantasie en geloven sterk in idealen.

Naast de 6 basiskleuren zijn er nog een aantal kleurnuances; deze kleuren ertegenwoordigen emoties welke je in deze periode van je leven ondergaat.Hieronder volgt de lijst welke ook terug te vinden is op de achterkant van je kleurenkaart:

Rood: activiteit, extravert,avontuurlijk, beweging, nervositeit, emotionaliteit, impulsief, dynamiek.Lichtrood: enthousiasme, vreugde, seksualiteit, gevoeligheid, dominantie, vastberadenheid,zeer erotisch.

Donkerrood: daadkracht, sterke wil, mannelijkheid, ergernis, leidersnatuur,moed, eigenwijs.

Oranje: creativiteit, actieve intelligentie,zelfverzekerdheid, levenslust, warmte, openheid, ambitie.

Oranje-Geel: scherp verstand, speels, zelfbewustzijn, ambitie, humor, vrijheid.

Geel: spontaniteit, intellect en verstand, organisatietalent, ego, sociale vaardigheden, originaliteit.

Geel-Groen: communicatie, sympathie, medegevoel, toekomstgericht, opgewekt.

Groen: communicatie, betrokkenheid, groei, verandering, overgave, rust, liefde, zorgzaamheid.

Blauw: introvert, rust, verdieping, afstandelijkheid, stijl, waarheid, toewijding, stabiliteit, perfectionisme.Lichtblauw:toewijding aan idealen, zachtheid, incasseringsvermogen, mededogen, helderheid.

Indigo: genezende eigenschappen, goedheid, geslotenheid, serieusheid, voorzichtigheid.

Lila: mystiek, magie, diepzinnigheid, tolerantie, artistiek, fijngevoeligheid, expressief.

Roze: sensibiliteit, emotionaliteit, vrouwelijkheid, onvoorwaardelijke liefde, tederheid, sentimentaliteit.

Violet: intuïtie, kunst, creativiteit, inzicht, geloof, fantasie, gereserveerdheid, spiritualiteit, wijsheid, eenzaamheid.Wit: hoger bewustzijn, invoelingsvermogen, levenservaring, ontwikkelde spiritualiteit, tevredenheid.

Aura en erotiek, zin of onzin? Bepaal het zelf!

Rood: Een persoon met veel rood in het aura is gewoonlijk dol op sex. Voor hen is sex een dierlijke, wellustige, speelse en vrolijke ontspanning. Roden hoeven niet persé verliefd te zijn om van sex te genieten, het fysieke plezier is voor hen het belangrijkst. Bovenal zijn roden gepassioneerde minnaars die niet bang zijn zich seksueel compleet te laten gaan. Rood geeft enorme energie op fysiek, emotioneel en mentaal vlak. Wanneer een rode geen actief sexleven heeft, kan hij die dynamische levenskracht inzetten bij andere activiteiten, zodat die passie tot uitdrukking komt in hun creativiteit, zaken en sport.

Oranje: Oranje personen houden ook van sex. Voor hen is sex een vrolijk en natuurlijke bezigheid, maar ze zijn niet zo gericht op sex als de roden. Ze houden van avontuur, opwinding en intrige, vaak zullen ze meerder partners hebben. Zij hebben een neiging tot onafhankelijkheid en voelen zich minder emotioneel gebonden.Voor hen is de spanning en de uitdaging van de jacht meer opwindend dan het werken aan een emotionele en intieme band. Vaak zijn de oranje mensen zo onafhankelijk dat ze het aangaan van een langdurige en monogame relatie beperkend en verstikkend vinden.

Geel: Mensen met overwegend geel in hun aura zijn gewoonlijk speelse, humorvolle, plezierige en wat kinderlijke types. Zij flirten graag, houden van hun vrijheid en genieten van het fysieke plezier dat sex hen geeft. Sex is voor hen als spelen, maar zij kunnen ook veel liefde en aandacht aan hun partner schenken. Omdat een geel persoon ruimte en vrijheid nodig heeft, kan een veeleisende relatie hun energiepeil omlaag halen, waardoor zij zich gevoelsmatig voor hun partner zullen afsluiten.

Groen: Wanneer groene mensen hun gevoel voor ambitie sterk nastreven en dus voor succes gaan, vragen zij van zichzelf een bovenmenselijke inspanning. Als resultaat van zulk een doelgerichtheid, zal het sexleven vaak op een tweede plan komen. Hun partners zullen zich dan ook vaak afgewezen en jaloers voelen door de betrokkenheid die een groene heeft met zijn werk en carrière. Boven alles willen de groenen graag de zaak onder controle houden. Vaak uit zich dat in dominant gedrag van macht en heldere intelligentie. Groenen hebben een sterke partner nodig die zich niet geïntimideerd zal voelen door de kracht van het groene.

Blauw: De blauwen vertegenwoordigen de zorgzaamheid in het kleurenspectrum. Zij zijn emotioneel en heel gevoelig, houden van intimiteit en zinvolle communicatie. Bovenal houden ze van een liefdevolle, ondersteunende en monogame relatie, waarin ze kunnen geven en zorgen. Zij willen liever ondersteunen dan zelf het middelpunt zijn. Zij zijn zeer warmhartig, gul, gevoelig,meevoelend en spiritueel. Blauwen moeten er meestal niet aan denken sex te hebben met iemand waarmee ze geen liefdevolle relatie hebben. Voor hen verhoogt de sex de emotionele intimiteit, nabijheid en liefde tot de partner.

Violet: Mensen met veel violet in hun energieveld hebben de neiging in een fantasiewereld vol dagdromen te leven. Zij leven in de prachtige wereld van hun magische voorstellingsvermogen. Met als resultaat dat de fysieke daad van de sex voor hen minder belangrijk is dan hun fantasieën hierover. Zij houden van een fysieke intimiteit met een liefdevolle, zorgzame partner, maar alleen als zij zich bij deze persoon veilig kunnen voelen. De partners van violette mensen moeten dan ook zeer behoedzaam en geduldig met hen omgaan, om de sexualiteit van de violette mensen aan te moedigen.

Friday, November 07, 2008

October may have gone

But we still have to be aware that Cancer hasn't ....

As a wife, daughter-in-law & friend of cancer survivors I urge you to never forget to donate, never forget to check yourself, never forget to keep showing you care for those that have faced the battle even after they've had the worst of it behind them cause that's when it really hits them and most of all ..... live life like there's no tommorow !

this film (with thanks to CZ) reminded me ....

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

I did it all

Well almost all during our fall break;

*pumpkin decorating
* Lego World
* purging in the attic (that went really well)
* spending a day with mommy
* wrote all bday cards on time !

The downpricing in the store didn't happen, didn't plan the crop yet, no research on italy yet. But 5 things out of the 7 that I had planned, that's not bad !

And the week after was such a busy week, every evening was booked I was really tired this weekend but had just enough energy to go to the Piens Album Track, great to have an album almost finished ! And this brings me back to some more scrapping which has been on the backburner a bit since I just wasn't in the mood for a while. I didn't join in the dutch dare although I had a pretty good one I could make and I will sometime but you really should check out what the rest of the Design team did !

Now I'm off to bed as I have the flu....

Monday, November 03, 2008

don't you just love

Downloading really old pic's from your "extra" camera that you had forgotten and finding gorgeous, special & other fun time photo's on there ? I know I do !


I cannot wait to scrap these pics of the boys !!


Love these quotes I saw in Utrecht. My favorite is the protect me one ;)


He loves a special lunch or dinner at school, I believe this was easter 2008.


A fun dinner with friends a while back


A gamecomputer makes everything better in his world ...


Yes she really can be a diva sometimes ;)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

vacation plans


Life is getting back to normal after the schock of the accident has settled.... She's doing ok, very sore and tired still and lot's of pain in her shoulder. DH and I are very concerned it could be whiplash but appearantly we are the only ones there (probably bcause dh knows what it's like to have one ..) as the doctor and mom aren't too concerned.

I'm so happy with the slide show I received from our new photo shoot with Flo :D Oh my that is always so worth the money !

And now my fall holiday has already started and I have so many things I want to do I already know it's not all do-able.

  • I know I want to bake more cupcakes (that is do-able)
  • I want to purge the attic (hmmm I hope I can do a lot there, but need some help in that dept. unfortunately the ones who have offered help are allergic to my cats or recouperating from a car accidnet so I guess I'll have to see how that goes)
  • Continue downpricing most products in the store (that should work as I have been doing this everynight) and I'm already a long way and I hope this will be tempting for all my customers ;)
  • Write a lot of overdue cards (I love sending people cards and I should be able to do that)
  • Go to lego world with the kids (I have tickets so we are going, if anyone wants to join in let me know)
  • Plan a fun crop with friends SOON (haven't scrapped in ages :( ...)
  • Do some research on our Italy tips that lot's of friends have been giving us (but keep them coming if you have any LOL)

and... and.... well that should be enough for one week don't you think ?!

Monday, October 06, 2008

Miracles do happen

And boy there was one last friday !

My mother had a car accident, only 10 minutes from our house, due to a black out (probably due to wrong medication) she had. We were lucky there was an icu nurse at the scene who helped my mother and called me so she wasn't alone long. Bcause she had the black out she took a left turn without any notice and got hit by a car and stopped against a traffic sign. She was shipped off to the hospital, been checked, photographed and scanned and held overnight and now she's back home (this is the short version) :D

You will not believe it but besides being sore all over and a slight concussion she has nothing, NOTHING ! Now that is what I call a miracle ! (she can't believe it either after seeing the pics I took, lucky thing I did as she cannot remember a thing and how do you explain all that ...)

Me, I'm a wreck, been sleeping for 2 days, but over the worst shock ....

Thursday, October 02, 2008

whaaaaaaatzzzz up

So it's been a while, I've had a bit of this weird flu thing that's going around and very busy trying to get some stuff more organized at home and in the shop inbetween the normal day life.

We've been making some changes on the MLS designteam blog and it looks even fabber if that is possible (just small changes here and there) and some new changes in the schedule as well. We've made ourselves a hyves group so we can connect with even more scrappers. And the newest dare is so fabulous, Dutch Idols LOL !!! I will be working on one this weekend.



We've been making some plans for our home, new exciting stuff and I have to do plenty of research for these. Starting with bathroom inspiration ! You see I would like to have a new bathroom but without tiles but paint on the walls, specialist paint or colored swimming pool paint. But I have a hard time finding pics for inspiration/tips/ideas, as I lost the magazine i saw it in. So if you know of pics online, or have experiences to share (or have the Ariadne at home with the beige/cream bathroom without tiles) plse let me know !!

Oh and speaking of tips, we're thinking of Italy. A ready set camping ground (no DH and I do not like tents ;) .... ) with a caravon or so would do fine but there are so many so we'd love to hear your fave spot/place so we can check it out.
I haven't been running pr to the gym but I've been taking streetdance classes ( yes I secretly want to dance like they do in Step up ;) and no I cannot ....) and they are so much fun. I recommend it to everybody bcause you get a work out without realizing it (trust me I have the sore muscles to prove it ...), have a lot of laughs and great music, it's over before you know it !

Bought myself this pretty bracelet to support pink ribbon, and the magazine ! How are you supporting Pink Ribbon this month ?



And this website was brought to my attention and I'm sending this little dutch boy some cards bcause he's pretty lonely and could use some cheering up!
And I've been making fun plans with friends to get together every month and have some baking fun, can't wait till next week girls so I can try my new mixer ....




Oh and would love it if the lurkers would say hi, so I can see who you are and check you out, I love to make new blogfriends !
Busy enough wouldn't you say ;)
























Monday, September 22, 2008

I do good, you do good, we should all do more good

I like to do good, give money to a cause, walk the sponsor walks, give promotion to something I feel strongly about (hence my 90 pink ribbon cupcakes ...) and if I had more time I would surely be a volunteer somewhere so that's why, when I read about these 2 causes I just had to share it with my blog friends.

Unfortunately I cannot donate to the 1st one for obvious reasons which will become clear when you read it. But the other cause is so easy for everyone who wears crocs, you just have to do this ! I read about it after I had thrown Colin's out and so I jumped in our trash bin to get them back out, I told you I can feel very strongly about good causes ;)

Healing Miles = This dutch foundation asks people to donate their frequent flyer miles for sick children & adults that need medical care abroad but cannot afford the costs of the tickets. They also take donations btw for the airport taxes etc. that need to be paid.
Now how cool is that because you don't really miss your frequent flyer miles if you were to donate a few, it's different to say giving them 100 euro's or 100 miles ... Great deal if you ask me, kinda wishing I traveled more !

Soles United =
the first-of-its-kind recycled footwear donation program. give back your worn-out crocs shoes to be recycled into new shoes and they will be donated to people in need around the world.
Now how easy is that, just send them your old crocs instead of chucking them in the bin and you've helped someone, all you need are stamps and an envelope .... I will be emailing them to find out if they have a european place to send them !

Makes me feel better even if I only share these links with you bcause I feel really crappy today after a busy weekend I think due to a bit of frustration/disappointment and a bit of a really bad cold.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

May we have your votes please ?

My dt member Marianne is one of the finalists for the Dutch Scrap! Awards 2008 and she needs your vote. Only a few clicks for you but a joy forever for her ;)

1. click on this link

2. fill in first your name, then your e-mail adres, then the place where you live (this is all to avoid fraude). You may fill in your phone number, but it's not necessary.

3. then you click on the Marianne Hope's name

4. click on the "stem nu" box, and you have voted

Itsa simple & I thank you !

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

A song for my friends

You know who you are & you know you are stronger than you think, I've felt it ! And like she says in this live version, some times you just have to hear the good words ...

Sunday, September 14, 2008

B'day Recaps (not only mine)

So I totally forgot to show you Colin's gorgeous bday cake (beware birthday photo overload ....) made by this lady found via this forum.

He had a disney party and she was totally into making a toy story cake for him. When Colin saw it he exclaimed "oooh that's buz" (so happy we have that on the flip !) and I can understand he was in awe :



Oh and he liked the mickey mouse confetti on my cupcakes as well ;)



He was spoiled a lot here are some prezzies he got and there were a lot of vouchers for which he bought an epet (monkey), 3 boardgames (of course), a flashlight, a smurf, a game for his vtech and he still has plenty left but we're spreading it not letting him spend it all at once ...



And some pics from the celebration @ school:



For his party with his buddies we had a whole summer beach party planned but it was cold & rainy .... so we had to revert to plan B (which is actually something he came up with a week prior to the party but we had everything set for the beachtheme ...) and that was to go bowling (he loved it and kept asking all the kids at the end if they liked his party, how sweet is that?!)! To add another fun factor we did our "wild fast food" lunch which is always very popular with the kids (translation : we package our whole table in alu foil and spread the french fries, snacks and mayonaise, appelsauce etc. on the table and let them eat ... ALWAYS guaranteed to give you faces full of amazement LOL). And then as a grand finally stomping (well sometimes it's sitting or lying) on the numbered balloons so the corresponding presents can be opened :




And as for me I was spoiled too on my birthday by the boys and my family and we had a fun day celebrating together. No breakfast in bed as the boys had a game, but a fun breakfast together and the unwrapping of presents. The boys gave me a pink apron and a baking book with great recipes and Ed gave me a Wii FIT !! then my parents joined us to go to the game (they won and Michael scored a homerun !) and a great brunch at home, they got me a tickets to go to Stevie Wonder (mom & I are going, so excited), my brother joined us for games and installing the Wii Fit (hilarious with the weighing and such but hey I'm very healthy appearantly) and then we went for dinner. It was a very relaxing most perfect birthday in a very long time ....

And yesterdayevening my party.... although I didn't have a lot of guests (somehow there was so much stuff going on ?? what the &#@$%!!! it all was I still don't quite know but it depressed the hell out of me ... and I didn't even want to make cupcakes for the guests that were coming) but at a certain point I just said f... I am going to make cupcakes anyway bcause otherwise I will have nothing partylike to serve my guests so I started making them anyway and it's just like scrapping I swear ! It's very therapeutic to bake when you're a bit depressed when your friends are having a rough time and there's nothing you can do about it (it was definately a full moon this weekend...), but I must say, the cupcakes turned out yummy (click on the picture to see the embossed fondant), I felt better and it was great fun with the girls that came !



Some gifts I got were Nigella Lawson - domestic goddess, a kookbook with kids bday cakes, a gift certificate for a chocolaterie, great bodylotion & showergel, a cute bracelet, lipbalm, a candle, a soap with some money attached to the package, money, a ticket to see Alicia Keys with Martine, a gift voucher & money over the mail and a gift voucher so I can get this perfum that I've been wanting for a while :



Yep this girl was definately spoiled :D!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Special Events

It's my birthday



I've supported a friend in her goal to get 1.500 sponsor donations for a breastcancer charity fund "A Sisters Hope" walk (she not only has to raise this money but also walk 60km) which I think is so awesome !!!! I wanted to help so I baked about 90 cupcakes which sold really well at a bake sale. Feels good to donate some time and ingredients that quadrouple it's value :D



I started a new blog so I wouldn't bore you with all my cupcakes on this blog (I've been making a lot lately), if you want to see them you can find them here, but wanted to share these, since they are my fave's till now. Made them for a special date with my friends Co, Jo & Flo


photo courtesy of C. Delis

Monday, September 01, 2008

New addiction

I regularly send my crafty friends fun links I know they will enjoy for inspiration, fun or just plain IWANNAHAVEIT stuff.

This was the latest : WORDLE

And with it I created a wordle based on this blog of mine



(sorry the image is so small I have nooooo idea how to make it bigger, I was happy with the mere fact I was able to paste it in LOL). I will work on one based on words I think are important to me but I am still working on that list.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

So busy that I'm behind with EVERYTHING

So what's everything you may ask ? Well I'll start today and work my way backwards ....


nr. 1 Totally forgot to take a pic of the card I sent to Mandy that is too late for her b'day today(shame on me ...) ....
Congratulations sweetie, I hope you got spoiled today, you deserve it !!

nr. 2 Totally behind on posting about her b'day due to Colin's last bday celebration today ... Will share lot's of pics this weekend.

nr 3. Behind on telling you what a fun day I had with my friends Flo, Corinne and Jo-Anne yesterday ....

nr. 4 Totally behind on sharing my sketch with you, that went online monday ...... Here was my layout :



nr. 5 Behind on sharing this thought with you: I really should laugh more till mu jaw hurts. Discovered in bed whilst replaying the fun night out with my workcolleagues !....

nr. 6 Behind on sharing the great news my mom is home safe and sound from Canada and she spoiled us rotten, me especially bcause she shopped till she dropped for the following stuff i had on my list : Martha Stewart punches, life savers, chap stick, lanacin spray and loads of prezzies for the boys ! ...

nr. 7 Behind on telling you I've developed an addiction to baking cupcakes ! Here are a few I've made and this coming friday I'm going to a workshop to learn some new techniques.... with marzipan and such.



Now you're all up to speed !!!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I do scrapbook

Really I do and here are 2 layouts to prove it :D

First one is for the Dutch Dare, about your fave yummy recipe, check out what the other girls did over here and you really should, total eyecandy in all styles you can imagine !



Most of you probably know what klaasbrokken are, they are a recipe from supermommy Francine shared on her blog and they have been a big hit in our household ever since....

And the second one just for fun, clean and simple about Michael meeting Colin. I really didn't think any journaling was necessary, the pic says it all ;)

Monday, August 18, 2008

Super Size Me

OMG I am watching the SSM documentary and am becoming sick to my stomach, also quite amazed by his appearant addictive reaction to all the Mc Donalds. Hmmmm I think that I've found an explanation for my potatochips addiction that I seem to have aquired after my little knee accident .... I should just stick to chocolate, a better addiction bcause that at least gives you a happy feeling !

But anyhooo I have decided after today I'm really going to leave them alone during the week and get back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon (which for me equals just eating healthier according to their guidelines).

We do eat pretty healthy I think, the boys (and so do I, DH is another story) take fruit and veggies with them to school, we don't eat a lot of gravy with our food and we all get plenty of excercise. But we eat from our local fast food (patatzaak) once a week, I think we shold cut down on that a bit. At least how many snacks we order with our french fries ... And lemonade & juices we try to keep that to a minimum and give water & tea too, but sometimes it creeps in as it's easy to grab so I'll be watching that a bit more.

What do you do to eat & stay healthy ?

Monday, August 11, 2008

I showed off

My techniques on the MLS Blog today, wow it took me a while to think up what to do, but once I had the idea it was a sinch to work out.

So many things on the news today making me sad (the war going on over in Georgie) and the news about Isaac Hayes who died, he truly was a talented soul man ! So here's a little tribute :



Thank goodness there are also happy things in the news, like a silver medal for Holland in Judo !

And my boys having a great first day @ school was also a happy thing today. Here they are with the taking of the obligatory 1st day pics :





Tuesday, August 05, 2008

The worst concert of my life

Yep and I've been to quite a few but let me tell you Meatloaf has had his best days. I wish we had read into past reviews so we had not bought any tickets. He was slurred, off beat, catatonic at times and I have to hand it to the band and backup singers for attempting to carry him through the show, which didn't work btw .... They were fab, he s%$#@!d. Such a shame I was so looking forward to this but DH, and I couln't even bear it after Paradise by the dashboard light and Bat out of hell we bailed before the last 3 songs of the concert ..... (Daphne couldn't stand more than 4 songs if I'm not mistaken and went out for drinks ....) It is understandable you cannot singalong with newer songs but usually you can singalong for a bit but in we couldn't even singalong with the songs we knew as the songs were played way slower and because he was constantly off beat it was impossible ... such a shame


I don't think I will ever be able to listen to his cd's without the memory of this fiasco ..... RIP Meat Loaf and Michael Lee Aday you should think about a retirement home even though you're only 60. Or maybe better become roommates with Ozzy ....


Sunday, August 03, 2008

He's 5

Yep our bubbly bouncy boy is 5 today ! You can congratulate him on his blog, he'd love that.

Monday, July 28, 2008

My current fave

A layout I made from Evi's sketch posted on the MLS Blog today, you should definately check out what the other girls did here. I'm loving this layout I made with one of my alltime fave pics of Jo-Anne, I guess you're allowed to be really happy when you think you've made a fab one right ;)

Sunday, July 20, 2008

3 weeks of holiday have gone by

Updating on the last 2 weeks (I am typing up a recap of disney for your reading pleasure and will post it soon) of our very rainy days spent at home;

* My cute (& very tall) brother came over to stay for 2 days and the boys wore him out ... Hope he comes again soon.




* Went for a superyummy High tea over here with my aunt (it was her b'day present) and my mom. I definately want to go again with some friends of mine ! Here's some pics, I can't believe I took so many good shots and even got the girls to do some fun poses :
Oh and I'm sorry I forgot to take pics of most of the food, but it was so good and we were so hungry it was gone before we knew it ..... but if ever you are in Heemstede, check it out !
* Colin just had his 1st ski lesson and he did really well and enjoyed it a lot, I had to miss it but I'm going with for the 2nd lesson.
* Getting caught up on everyone's blog, that's a lot of work even with bloglines ....
* Dvd's I've watched (and I've been watching a few) are Cloverfield (I thought it was a fresh view but I hate open endings !! DH did not like it at all), Sweet Home Alabama (Love Reese Witherspoon), Love actually (1st movie I love that has Hugh Grant in it), Flight Plan (this movie really had me doubting what was true or not so thumbs up !!), Eastern Promises (sorry Liek but we turned it off after about 45 min. it's just not us ...) Save the last dance 2 and Step Up 2 (I so wanna take up street dancing again).

* Took the boys to an indoor playground and met up with friends Flo, Mar10e and Wendy. The boys had a blast and we had some time to chat about girlstuff, laugh, complain and care ....

* Spent a fun evening with my bf's Liek & Mar10e, going for dinner in Delft and to see the SATC movie. That was so much fun it's like watching a whole bunch of episodes after each other, I almost choked laughing @ the movie .... Mar10e you have to catch all the reruns soon and we'll watch it again, you'll love it even more !!

The boys went to stay with their grandparents for 2,5 days so that gave DH and me time to ;

* Scrap all day and evening with Kirs and Marianne, we had a dt lunch with the 3 of us. I've actually been scrapping a lot lately, one lo I cannot show yet, the others are works in process but I made this project for the mls blog, if you want a step by step check out the blog.



* I've been sanding (god I hate doing that) and painting a lot of woodwork, finally I have found the color I like, SCHUIM thanks to Wendy. And for next week I have planned to do the huge window in the living room and the doorposting (sorry I don't thing that is the right word for it ...), the week after that the stairs and I'll be starting on the walls in the hallway too. Then I have to do the kitchen woordwork and the downstairs is done !!! Yay can't wait as I'm on roll now I aim to finish the painting of the downstairs before I return to work.

* Went out to a movie with DH and since we are big scifi and Fantasy fans we went to Chronicles of Narnia; Prince Caspian and we loved it ! Can't wait till the next one (there are 7 books so we should have lot's more good ones to come) which is coming out next year. Till then sweet Prince Caspian ;)

* I've cleaned and re-organised the boys rooms, de-cluttered a lot of things. I moved stuff from Michael to Colin's room as he was determined to keep the fussball table in his room, and they play in Colin's room a lot so that won't matter if the toys are over there.

* we got the garden cleaned up, threw a lot away, so we're almost done just have to relocate some old pots (found them a new home @ Ed's aunt & uncle) and then it's cleaned out :D .

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Dutch Dare #43 online

I love this long break from work, DH is home too so I'm taking lots of time to scrap, I'm halfway finished with one layout and made this dutch dare, I really like how this turned out :






You can check out what the other girls did here.

btw. It turns out we have about 1100 pics, wow lot's of scrapbooking ideas there !
I will give a little update on the disney trip this weekend, we're busy over here getting our life back to normal and having fun with the boys who just got a new trampoline in the garden and a foosball table that barely fits in M's room but is oh so fun !

Saturday, July 05, 2008

We're back !!

DH is sorting through all the photo's, all 1000 + worth but I wanted to share a few favorites of our last day and will give you a big fat update of our trip to Euro Disney soon !