what's in my bag?

A while ago, I was tagged (thank you, Abbie) to do a what's in my purse post. My life has been a whirlwind of busy lately so it's taken me longer than I had hoped to do this. But finally I'm getting around to it.

To start off with, I just want to say that I call my purse a bag (short for handbag) and my wallet a purse. Just to clarify :-)

So lets get started:

This is my bag

And my purse

Phone

Sunglasses

Tissues - very handy

Hairpins

Glasses cleaning cloth

Paperclips

Lighter

Pens

An assortment of lip products

Hand cream in an easy-to-carry size

And my camera. What a great reflection from the computer's screen for me to show it to you:-)

And that's it. The contents of my bag revealed! Hope you enjoyed it. I had lots of fun doing it.

NB: I just realized that I totally forgot to tag anyone for this. So, if you'd like to give this a go because it looks like fun (it is!) then you're tagged. Let me know so I can read it:-)

on a saturday afternoon

Just for fun and because I'm currently procrastinating...


My lovely mum and I went for a little drive the other week to a lake with a beautiful restaurant and had lunch. It was special. Mother daughter time always is:)

Isn't the view just divine?? And I just had to make it a bit arty by including the wine glass in the shot. And as a random side note, that was the best glass of wine I've had in ages! Beautiful.

And amongst photos of beautiful landscapes on the drive back home...

We encountered...well, this.

It made us laugh so much :D
And that's about all that I want to say. Because I feel guilty about procrastinating so I should go and do the thing that I'm really meant to be doing right now aka writing an essay!!

"i'll have a soy, decaf, caramel latte with cream and an extra shot".

I spent the greater part of eight hours yesterday making coffee at my work.

So what makes a good coffee?

Well, it's all about the crema. Of course, this is getting into coffee-speak so I'll explain.

This is a beautiful extraction (coffee that is extracted from the ground coffee beans and compacted. Water runs through the compacted, ground beans and comes out thus) with an amazing crema. So, the crema is the stuff with the lovely golden colour which when settled, forms a layer at the top of the coffee in the cup. Get it?

Pictured above is a long black, which is as it sounds, black. And long because water is added before the extraction so it's not pure coffee! A coffee with milk, like a flat white or latte is a shot or double of extracted coffee with frothed milk. Milk is an art. It took me about a year to master the skill of frothing milk! Needless to say, I got pretty good at it.

Depending on the kind of coffee being made, so depends the kind of milk being made. Flat white is smoooth, with hardly any bubbles. Latte is about the same but in a mug not a cup. Cappuccino is lots of froth, not quite bubbles but thick and full. The kind of milk that will give you a moustache when you sip it! And hot chocolates? They're almost fool-proof. Just add chocolate powder with the milk and froth away. And finish with marshmallows! Just the best when you put them into the hot chocolate and they're melted by the time you finish.

night lights - part two.

These pictures are the result of an early morning adventure I had with my dad on a few months ago. We went into town for the Anzac Day dawn parade. As you can tell, I had a bit of fun with my camera on the walk from our car to the square:)

chocolate cake goodness.

Last week we celebrated my dad's birthday. Unfortunately, he had to work in the morning and I had to work from three in the afternoon till late. Not ideal when it's a Saturday and a family birthday. It made for a very uneventful birthday for my poor dad. I didn't even have a chance to make him a cake. So yesterday, since I had finished my last exam the day before, I had time to whip out the baking things and make him a cake. A chocolate cake. His favourite! Just a warning though, this is a secret family recipe, so no matter how good it looks, I can't divulge it to anyone!! But don't let it stop you from doing your own version! Happy Baking :)

The batter starts off with hot water, cocoa, egg yolks, sugar, oil & vanilla essence.

Next, flour and baking powder are sifted into the batter with a tiny bit of salt.

The egg whites are beaten then folded into the batter.

Ready to go into the oven.

The final product.

Hmmm...yummy!

night lights - part one.

I've been thinking for awhile that I'd like to do a photo series on some of the night shots I have. I find lights the most intriguing thing at night because my camera can't really focus long enough to freeze the image. So, my photos taken at night have all got a really cool, funky, creative feel to them. So here goes...

These were taken about a year and a half ago on a trip to South Africa, a place where I was born and also where most of my extended family still live. Myself, my mum, my aunt and my cousin had road-tripped from Johannesburg down to the lovely (although extremely hot and muggy) city of Port Elizabeth. I happened to spend my younger days growing up in this city and our trip brought back many happy memories. We decided to make a visit one evening to the waterfront and pier that the city was so well-known for.

Enjoy!

The great South African institution that is the Wimpy! I can't tell you

how much I love this place. Waffles, ice cream, coffee, burgers...hmm.

And the one and only creme-sode float, which is a delicious green

(I know that sounds weird, but trust me, it's good) soda with generous

scoops of ice cream served in a tall glass.

Happy Valley - it's a happy place.

Under the sea (a disney song jumps into my head!)

The pier

Having fun with our shadows being cast on the sandy beach

And just across the road from the beach, this lovely place

a break from the busy.

Sitting down in front of my computer is finally a joy again. I've spent so much time over the last week or more staring at the screen wishing I could be anywhere but there. The workload has been epic! And I don't usually use a word like epic lightly. In this case, I must. It's the only truly fitting word. Today I completed an online test. For 50 minuets of my life, my brain was in a flat out rush to remember everything I had learnt. Since it's now over, I've semi-recovered, with a normal level of brain activity and a somewhat regular heart rate. I'm finally doing something much more pleasurable with my time.

Since my life has been so full of
business and serious study lately,
I thought I'd write a fun post here today.
Well, I really don't feel I have the energy
to think, let alone write something imaginative and creative. So I'll share a little treasure I found while randomly browsing the internet. It's Pride and Prejudice in emoticons. A warning though, if you know the story, you'll most likely love it, or at least find it mildly entertaining. If you don't, I'm afraid it's not going to made any sense at all.

Interested?

The trail leads here.

visions of 2020.

Thank you, Abbie, for awarding me with my first ever blog award! It made my day. In order to accept this particular award, I need to say where I see myself in ten years time. Well, that seems such a long time away. However, from previous experience on the contemplation of this question, it's not really such a long time in the grand scheme of things. It's really only an elusion!

So, where do I see myself in ten years time? It's now 2010, it will be 2020. It does seem odd to be thinking about 2020. So futuristic! (It is, silly - it's in the future). I would like to think by the time ten years have passed, I'm a wife and a stay-at-home mother with about two or three kids with one on the way...but how am I to know. Where I'd really like to be is exactly where God wants me to be, whether that means married with kids or doing a great job that I love, or just a job that I do. But besides the reality of my situation in life, whatever that may be, I would like to be a woman of faith, an illustration of God's goodness and faithfulness and above all, I'd just like to walk in all that God has for me. Sometimes that's a scary thought, since I don't know what that will be. But thankfully he does.

So yeah, that's where I'd like to be in ten years. I wonder what I'll acually be doing?

P.S. Abbie has a fantastic blog, which is on the list as one of my favourites! You should definitely check her out. There's a link in the sidebar. The very cool one which says "Abbie Writes". Or you can click here.

Oh yes, and one more thing. In order to get this award, I'm meant to tag others to do it too. But I don't have anyone to tag as of yet, so if you're here and you'd like to share where you see yourself in ten years - I tag YOU!! Go for it, just let me know so I can read all about it.

teddy bear.

A bear, however hard he tries,

Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,

Which is not to be wondered at;

He gets what exercise he can
By falling off the ottoman,

But generally seems to lack

The energy to clamber back.

Now tubbiness is just the thing

Which gets a fellow wondering;

And Teddy worried lots about

The fact that he was rather stout.

He thought: "If only I were thin!

But how does anyone begin?"

He thought: "It really isn't fair

To grudge one exercise and air."

For many weeks he pressed in vain

His nose against the window-pane,

And envied those who walked about

Reducing their unwanted stout.

None of the people he could see

"Is quite" (he said) "as fat as me!"
Then, with a still more moving sigh,
"I mean" (he said) "as fat as I!

Now Teddy, as was only right,
Slept in the ottoman at night,
And with him crowded in as well
More animals than I can tell;
Not only these, but books and things,
Such as a kind relation brings --
Old tales of "Once upon a time,"
And history retold in rhyme.

One night it happened that he took
A peep at an old picture-book,
Wherein he came across by chance
The picture of a King of France
(A stoutish man) and, down below,
These words: "King Louis So and So,
Nicknamed 'The Handsome!'" There he sat,
And (think of it!) the man was fat!

Our bear rejoiced like anything
To read about this famous King,
Nicknamed "The Handsome." There he sat,
And certainly the man was fat.
Nicknamed "The Handsome." Not a doubt
The man was definitely stout.
Why then, a bear (for all his tub)
Might yet be named "The Handsome Cub!"

"Might yet be named." Or did he mean
That years ago he "might have been"?
For now he felt a slight misgiving:
"Is Louis So and So still living?
Fashions in beauty have a way
Of altering from day to day.
Is 'Handsome Louis' with us yet?
Unfortunately I forget."
Next morning (nose to window-pane)
The doubt occurred to him again.
One question hammered in his head:
"Is he alive or is he dead?"
Thus, nose to pane, he pondered; but
The lattice window, loosely shut,
Swung open. With one startled "Oh!"
Our Teddy disappeared below.

There happened to be passing by
A plump man with a twinkling eye,
Who, seeing Teddy in the street,
Raised him politely to his feet,
And murmured kindly in his ear
Soft words of comfort and of cheer:
"Well, well!" "Allow me!" "Not at all."
"Tut-tut! A very nasty fall."

Our Teddy answered not a word;
It's doubtful if he even heard.
Our bear could only look and look:
The stout man in the picture-book!
That 'handsome' King - could this be he,
This man of adiposity?
"Impossible," he thought. "But still,
No harm in asking. Yes I will!"

"Are you," he said,"by any chance
His Majesty the King of France?"
The other answered, "I am that,"
Bowed stiffly, and removed his hat;
Then said, "Excuse me," with an air,
"But is it Mr Edward Bear?"
And Teddy, bending very low,
Replied politely, "Even so!"

They stood beneath the window there,
The King and Mr Edward Bear,
And, handsome, if a trifle fat,
Talked carelessly of this and that....
Then said His Majesty, "Well, well,
I must get on," and rang the bell.
"Your bear, I think," he smiled. "Good-day!"
And turned, and went upon his way.

A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at.
But do you think it worries him
To know that he is far from slim?
No, just the other way about -
He's proud of being short and stout.
//--//

A poem by A.A. Milne