Tuesday 30 August 2011

Play time.

Mike is on leave this week as he starts his new job next Monday - we are very excited about this and so happy for him to have a break!! I have Thursday and Friday off so one more working day then i get to spend some time at home!
Mike has been loving being at home with the pups and the pups have been LOVING him - they don't even say goodbye to me in the mornings :( they just want to snuggle with their dad!!
Tim's came to mike the other day and threw his toy at him so we had some play time!!
Tims LOVES to play!!!
I'll have you know that this toy is all the way from China - from his cousin!!
I love seeing my boys play!
Our pups love having us at home and they are loving having mike at home... precious little things!!

Saturday 27 August 2011

A lovely suprise!!

Today mike and i woke up late - lovely!! we lazed in bed and i was still in my pj's when our intercom rang, when i answered it the guy said "flower delivery for Candace"!! i was like WHOOO HOOO! I love surprises and i love flowers! I went out in my pj's to get my special delivery i was so excited!!!
What a lovely way to start the day!! these were from a client of ours who was really grateful for the help i gave her... how sweet is that!!!
These are really gorgeous too... i have displayed them proudly!!

Our day just got better after this! I made us some breakfast and we lazed around until puppy school.... Holly and Tim's are training so beautifully that it is such a pleasure to train them on Saturdays - it has become a highlight of our week!!

Now i am just doing some kids ministry prep and then some dvd;s tonight!! we have really been enjoying home these past few weeks!! I normally get antsy on weekends and want to do something all the time but lately i have just loved being home, pottering around, spending home time with mike and the pups. I feel really settled and secure at home and that is such a lovely feeling!! Mike is definitely the one who makes home feel like home... i could live in a box but as long and mike was beside me it would feel like home! nothing beats being in love hey :)


Friday 26 August 2011

Bath time.

Timmy and Holly were in desperate need of a bath last week so we bathed them... i love bathing the pups cause it really is so easy - they are so small so it isn't a huge fuss! we wash them with special doggy shampoo and then they get conditioned with my expensive conditioner!! and then they smell delightful for the next three days! We shampoo, shampoo again, condition, blow-dry and brush and then they are as good as new! They pretend they don't like to bath BUT they prance around like they are kings and queens once they are bathed!! We had a bit of a giggle at tims hairdo...
We call this his Donald Trump style.... Holly is known as veranda fringe and tims is known as Trump!!

Today i had an afternoon nap as i do most Friday afternoons... and the pups decided to have a nap with me... on eachother!!!

Stolen blanky.

We always laugh cause the pups LOVE stealing our blankets - we make one move and they're there and trying to move us out!
Mike was using a sleeping bag in front of the TV and the minute he moved Holly pounced and got comfy! man she looked to happy and comfy we kinda left her there for a while :)
She snuggled and fell asleep!
We didn't want Tims to feel left out so we snapped a few shots of him too!!

we LOVE our pups - love love love them!!!! They really do bring us so much joy.... a few thing we treasure
- morning kisses and cuddles
- holly rolling onto her tummy for a scratch
- Tim's dropping his toys at our feet cause he wants to play
- Friday afternoon nap time
- how well they are doing at training (they were even mentioned at the dog clubs AGM - and this is a German Shepard Dog Club)
- treat time - the LOVE it!
- couch cuddles
- how they bark when we get home as if saying "yayayay - mom and dad are here"
... and the list continues!!

Wednesday 24 August 2011

A chapter closed!

So today was mikes last day at work - woooohooooo!!!
He now has two weeks off until he starts his new job... this is him beginning his holiday! xbox and relaxing with the pups!
We went out to dinner tonight to celebrate mikes last day of work... We went to musgrave center...
Ryan and Katelyn joined us and we had some fun!!
... took some cool pics!!
Katelyn drove us in her new car - very smart!!
We went to wakkaberry afterwards for the best frozen yoghurt ever... what a nice way to celebrate mikes last day!!
Now off to bed... sleep tight!!

Tuesday 23 August 2011

COUNT DOWN...

The countdown began a few weeks ago and it is has come to this....
ONLY ONE DAY TO GO AND MIKE IS DONE WITH HIS CURRENT WORK!! tomorrow is his last day thank goodness! we only heard today that tomorrow will be mikes last day cause his one boss wouldn't give him leave and wouldn't pay him out either so it was a bit of a mission to actually get the leave that was owed to him!! Thank goodness Barry, mikes other boss who is so lovely fought for mike and now tomorrow is his last day!!! Near the end things at work got a bit ugly so mike is super relieved to have his last day tomorrow!!!
This is Mr.Prices (mikes new work) logo hence the red cap on the countdown!!
This is a very exciting time for mike - this job opportunity is HUGE and he is so so excited to start his new career with Mr.Price!!
He is off now until the 05th September so he has a lovely break at home!!

BRING ON THIS NEW SEASON!! WE ARE EXCITED!!

Monday 22 August 2011

Sunday naps - ahhhh the joy!!

I love Sunday afternoon naps, i look forward to them all week and its the only time all four of us can nap together!!
I was on kids ministry in the morning and we had to fetch Ryan from the airport in the afternoon so the precious time in between was spend the best way we know how!!
This was our Sunday afternoon nap... Holly crashed first and she looked so comfy we all were soon to follow!!
Doesn't she look so comfortable and gorgeous!!!
Timmy all nice and cuddled into my blanket and the crack of the couch!! i was sure he was going to slip into it and disappear!!
And mike dreaming sweet dreams!!!

i LOVE lazy Sunday afternoons!!!

My favourite things...

I am a huge Oprah fan and i love her favorite things show... so from time to time i will post MY favorite things!! My two most obvious favorite things are my husband and my pups but you see enough of them on a daily basis!
Today my favorite thing is....
Its my monthly pick and pay magazine... its only R13.95 and it has the most amazing thing is in it!! Cheap and easy meal ideas and so much more!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!
A few highlights from this months magazine is the kiddies cupcake ideas...
I don't have kiddies BUT i do have a husband who LOVES cupcakes so i might have to try some of these!!
Pie / pastry tips...
Some divine looking dinner ideas... and all for a reasonable price and with regular ingredients that you would have in your cupboard!
... and some TO DIE FOR pudding ideas!!!
I love inspiration for the kitchen and this fulfills every inspiration need i have from month to month - its awesome!!!
They have human interest pieces, some crosswords and Sudoku, "how to" articles, product information and of course they advertise everything they sell in store which is awesome!

So this is the first of my favorite things, there are lots more to come!
I warn you though, i love the simplest things!!!

Thursday 18 August 2011

A Meal for friends...

Growing up at home if someone was sick my mom would make the a meal - it was just the thing to do!! So now if any of my friends are sick i try and make them a meal... and it know how much it means not have to cook when you aren't feeling well!
To this day if i am sad or feeling sick my mom makes me pea soup :)
Ruthie and Jurgens (our homegroup leaders) are both not well - they have two precious boys and are hosting Mads and Manon - our special Mauritian friends - until the end of the year so their plate is full!! The least i could do was make them a meal... and i love making things like this a little special to make my friends feel a little bit better!
I decided something warm and hearty would go down well... so i pie it was!! I made a chicken and mushroom pie and decorated it accordingly!
i LOVE decorating my pies....
and i figured "get well soon" was rather appropriate!
With this i made sweetcorn (MY FAV), rolls and a nice slab of chocolate for pudding!
Ruthie is our church secretary and she is always on the move - she is involved in SO much and gives so much!!! She is amazing and someone i would like to become like!!
I hope this gives Ruthie a bit of a break tonight and helps her and Jurgens feel better soon!!

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Kitchen confindence.

I love messing around in my little kitchen and making delicious things... mikes favorite thing at the moment are hash browns! He loves a roll with egg, bacon and a hash brown on it... i have just been buying the frozen ones but been promising to make home made ones for ages! This weekend we had a late lunch / early dinner after puppy school and hash browns were on the menu.
Doesn't every good cooking experience start off with a few empty pans
.. and a couple recipes printed from the internet :) well mine do anyway!!
the hash browns turned out to be a breeze and it is forever lodged into my memory for an lovely easy meal!!
Potatoes...
Grated... i didnt even peel them i just made sure they were nice and clean!!
add eggs, salt pepper and flour...
and what i think is the secret ingredient is onion - this is a must in making hash browns... now having said that i totally forgot about them so my poor (and amazing) husband and to run out and get some!
all mixed up and ready to be cooked!
In the pan and cooking - i used a non-stick pan so we didn't have to use too much oil...
hhhmmm it smelt good when it was cooking!!
and it flipped over and browned... YUM!!
I thought the perfect topping for this would be...
cheese sauce!!
AND bacon bits!
The end result was explosive and delicious!!!
This is definitely a keeper!!