I'm back..!

Oh gosh I have been gone for so long...and  I missed my blog but now I am back. I had to put everything aside and crack on with school and last class was this week so now I have more time to get back into my kitchen and garden and spend time with the kids!!

Alot has happened though and I just had to push it all aside - kinda mentally block it all out, now I have my life back again, I guess I will be able to process and vent so as the days go by - please excuse me if theres venting, tears, yelling or simply just sulking!!!

Frankfurt..

I have spent the most amazing day in Frankfurt...well, we have started doing  Lingual Braces Incognito at work and I love it!!! This is a wonderful system that has been magically designed in Germany  invented in 2002 by the German doctor Dirk Wiechmann, also being the most popular lingual bracesand with me being a German speaker and knowing Germany like I know my kids, it so helps ....we, an Orthodontic Consultant and I, were invited to spend the day at a German Dental Practice that does Incognito and we had a day to remember, the weather too was perfect with clear blue skies and warm temps...sadly we flew back to a wet and windy London airport tonight but before we left we had a little tour of the city and standing in the City square I suddenly realised that the building in front of me was pink...how perfect for my Pink Saturday post!! It is the Frankfurt am Main Rathaus - the City Hall.

London...

I am so so tired and its only mid-week!! We have been on a course away in London for the last 2 days and I do not like being away from the kids at night, I always want to be there to tuck them in...so I am doing the 2 and half hour drive either way and its madness driving in London, never mind the extortionate parking charges!

Thought I would share a shot of London on the River Thames, to see more watery pictures...Watery Wednesday

My Clematis....

..has survived the harsh winter and is showing signs of life..!! Just been outside and it has many health buds...I am so looking forward to the many many purple blooms!! This plant has been faithful and it gives me renewed hope that my lilies are safe, fingers crossed!

My Pinkie..

...toe and left foot really really hurt...a few weeks ago I stupidly broke my little toe and there has been nothing anyone can do!!!! Its just too small to splint - so I have not been able to wear any decent shoes and been spending every walking hour in my Uggs...even in surgery at the envy of all the other girls...but anyway my boss tragically rolled over my bad toe with his dentist chair and I ...in this order
 1) Swore, 2) Howled out loud, 3) Fell to the floor in pain and 4) Jumped right back up in extreme embarrassment in front of a patient and his Mom and Dad and apologised for my language and howling 5) Hobbled out the surgery and limped to the staff room...so now my foot feels enormous!

This was the look on my bosses face at my reaction....

Not quite...but something like it..!!!

Sharm El Sheikh..

With all thats going on in Egypt the girls and I have been looking at some holiday pictures of us at Sharm El Sheikh, a place of tantalized by the white sandy beaches and endless desert landscape, which contrast with the crystal clear blue water of the Sinai peninsula. Sharm El Sheikh has been heralded as "The City of Peace" and now to read about and watch on TV the upset and uprising it is so hard...to comprehend.

Linking to

I remember taking these photos and thinking...what lovely pink buildings! I just seem to be attracted to anything pink...

Anyway, my Dear other half re-enlisted today for another 6 years to add to the 10 he already has and as I could not be with him I recived a very nice but simple flower arrangement  from Interflora...was so totally unexpected and in the card read ..

Behind every soldier there is a girl.
.. 

She is always with him- heart and soul.
She goes through everything he has gone through.
She feels his pain, his sorrow, his joy, his longing, and his devotion.
For every minute they are apart her heart aches but she smiles.
She is a model for other girls who watch and wonder 'How does she do it?'
She is the picture of everlasting love and fidelity to her Soldier, his cause and their country.
She is his rock, his support, his best friend, and his lover.
Her job is the hardest and most painful thing she knows.
It may also be the most rewarding
Their relationship will weather storms, cross miles and reach indescribable heights.
Not only because of who they are, but also because of the love they share.
A love that is patient, honest, true and kind.
A love that transcends the distance.
A love that is deeper than any ocean.
A love that is more abundant than all the stars in the sky and a love
that is perfect in all its flaws.
Behind every strong soldier- there is a girl.. and she will always love
him!!

aaawww, how thoughtful of him ...and even though I know he has got it off of somewhere, the simple thought of him adding it to the message card was so so sweet...Darling I am so sorry we could not be with you but we all love and miss you so much..see you soon!!

Was also just thinking...how did families interact and get in touch with each other 50/60 years ago, how far we have come...is just but amazing and we are thankful, very thankful for modern technology...I managed to recieve flowers from a man who is so very far away from home where little or no modern life is within walking distance..Thank you Babe!!!

Bell Ringers...

So want to share this photo, share how clever swans can be,....this clever birds have figured out how to ring  bell to get attention....

...not the best picture but if you look closely one of the signets has the blue cord to the bell in her mouth.
Got to share this on Watrey Wednesday here!!

Peony..

It was so hard to leave the house today, freezing temps and I just dont get along, but anyway I did eventually get out and I came back with a Peony tuber, I was hoping to get a dark pink,  cherise colour but this pink is all that was available - dont really mind as long as I get some peony blooms!! I am hoping I will get some blooms this year, fingers crossed!

Tangled...

What a cold night, infact it has been cold all day today. Was not able to sleep last night and when I did eventually get some shut eye it was time to get girls up for Ballet, yeah - its Ballet on Saturday for the 2 younger girls and its more stressful trying to get girls ready for Ballet than it is to get them ready for school all week long..!

Doing Leilaah's hair is somewhat of a challenge and today she made me laugh - she says, "Mummy, you are pulling my brain out, stop combing  my hair or I will have no brain left..!!!"
This was as I was detangling her locks, so explaining what I was doing led her to asking if they could go and watch Tangled...so after Ballet we ended up at the movies and the girls have had a great time watching Tangled while I sat in the foyer and read the newspaper.
Going to get some rest now, tomorrow want to go out to our local town garden centre and see if I can find some items on my garden wish list - I really would like to have a Magnolia and a Peony bush in our garden!!!

Just wondering...

...if my treasured lillies have survived the winter, unfortunatly I am not in the habit of lifting bulbs over the winter...I hope my faithful lilly plants are ready to start shooting now as I so look forward to many scent filled, lilly blooming summer days..!

How pretty..!

To see more pretty, pink pictures go to Pink Saturday

Where is the justice..?

This week has been a week of emotional ups and downs and I guess it is bout time I started to learn how to talk and share problems and burdens, I dont have anyone "near and dear" to talk to living close to me so I guess I will talking on here to you...here goes, a few months ago I became victim to a (previously convicted thrice over, registered) sex offender.
Too cut a long story short, I took my laptop for repairs and the shop owner, unbeknown to me was and still is a sex offender who targets women by obtaining their details in the light he was taking details to book the repair job in on his system.
The local newspaper got hold of the story and kinda got the story but not as in depth as the actual facts in my case, not sure about the other previous victims...
The paper then got hold of the court appearance this week and published another story..At this point in time I am not allowed to talk to the media to correct the facts they have wrong or give them the full facts, I am also angry that the way the public prosecution have handled the case has left me feeling terrible, due to the nature of my work and other factors, I did not want to be identified by name and that is being used against me, I did not want to appear in court, having to go through the police interviews after I reported this vile character,  left me feeling like he was the victim and I was perpetrator, I was ripped to pieces and my character scrutinised to no limits imaginable...so after that, I refused to appear in court...all the evidence that was needed was available in print, text messages and photo text messages. So the police decide to do a "evidence based report", therefore the policewoman would stand my place in court...this is now being used against me and I am angry!
In the first place why is this nasty piece of work still allowed to trade and be involved with he general public in a field such as computers...how?, how is a character like him allowed to live and trade near a school...yes a school, my kids school as a matter of fact...how? I am told he has "Human Rights" and has a right to live where he wishes, i.e....1 min, (if that at all) walk from a school.
What makes me really angry is the judge in the case wants to look into wether this character was "encouraged" by me as this sick offender claims, if a reply text asking how much the repairs will be or a text saying that receiving a picture message of inappropriate measure was not appreciated is seen as encouraging...I dont know then ....he breached his previous bail conditions for previous offences, he is a known, repeat sex offender and is still loose on the streets..jail him, end of story?!!

Watery Wednesday..

Serenity at its best...a lake at Leopard Rock Hotel in the Vumba Mountain of the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, a place described by Her Royal Highness The Queen Mother in 1953 as..

"There is nowhere more beautiful in Africa"

Linking to Watery Wednesday

Roller Coaster....

Not much to blog about, I am kinda feeling a little like this.....

...like I am on a roller coaster ride, emotions with highs and lows all wrapped in one ride including missing my other half....but looking forward to up coming R&R, class is demanding....but looking forward to my new title once I qualify, cant stand the cold and dark days anymore...but looking forward to our summer break on the beach and... aarrgghhh the list could go on!

Exitement in the house of Haze...

...Malaikaah has her first loose tooth!!! Our middle girl has not had much luck with her teeth..even the children of Dental nurses have bad teeth. Malaikaah had extreme respiratory problems right after birth and was diagnosed with Asthma and at the age of 15 months she and her new born sister, Leilaah were diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis....then when her first teeth erupted she was diagnosed with Amelogenisis, this is the abnormal dental formation of enamel in children who suffer for respiratory problems. So  little girl has had sensitive teeth and symptoms and signs similar to that of acid erosion..and has also had to have one of her premolars extracted, which for her was not pleasant at all and it left me feeling sooooo helpless ...

(Excuse the messy look, girls had just got up...and discovered the loose tooth)

Anyway going back to this wobbly tooth now, we all know about the Tooth Fairy, but Malaikaah (who will be 6 in 9 days) is not sure is the Tooth Fairy really exsists..!! So our trip to the library this week was to look for facts on this special Fairy, we did manage to find 2 books, not sure how many actual facts are in the books but they were good reads all the same.
I was also excited to dig out  a book I had bought a while ago in anticipation of wobbly teeth...has a little tooth tin too...

Proteas

My  post today is to do with a South-African plant, the Protea is the South-African national flower...it is an amazing flower that grows off a woody bush and blooms for months, as a cut flower too, it will last for a good 4-6 weeks. I took this picture on my last visit to South -Africa in 2002 and I hope one day soon I will be able to take the girls to see a Protea or two ..

Linking to ...Pink Saturday

Talking about flowers and plants, my spring bulbs were beginning to peek out - we had had some lovely days, with warm temps of about 10 degrees Celsius (=50 degrees Fahrenheit) and guess what...we got up yesterday morning - ground covered in sever frost and it was -2 degrees all day ...hope my precious bulbs survive..! My hyacinth on the kitchen window sill is doing great, its the ones outside I am worried about!!

Mr Jack Frost, I am willing to give up a weeks wages to get you a one way ticket outta here!!!!

A little Rant...

What a hard first half to my week, work has be depressing to say the least...I love my job, dont get me wrong ...its just all our managment and senior clinical staff members have been so very stressed and this ofcourse leaves us nurses on the recieving end of the frustration...we can totally understand the frustration....

It has been well-reported in the news that more people in the UK are struggling to get access to and afford a regular general dentist, let alone specialist dentistry such as orthodontics,  the BBC also reported that the threat to specialist dental work is continuing according to a survey of primary care trusts(PCTs). Specialist dental treatments are simply not being funded anymore in many areas of the UK leaving more and more people  turning to private orthodontists for orthodontic treatments or not seeking treatment at all. Orthodontic treatment is only available free-of-charge on the National Health Service for young people who:

                                                                  •are under 18 years old - some patients have matured to the age of 18 whilst awaiting treatment on a long waiting list, our waiting list is +/- 15 months or

                                                                  •have a clear clinical need for treatment

Well, with all the cut backs, the "clear clinical need" parameters are being moved closer together leaving alot of potential patients failing to qualify for free treatment, not only that...the financial allocation being given to specialist dentistry by the Government to facilitate the free treatment has been cut by 30%..! Unless you are very wealth...who can afford the fees of no less than a couple thousand ponds?? Do the pen-pushers not realise it not just about having straight teeth for cosmetic reasons or aesthetic perfection?? Do they not have the knowledge of what other health issues arise by having problems in the mouth?? Do they realise I might not have a job if they keep cutting back...do they also realise I will be a another statistc of a social security claim therefore burdening the system even further???

Haze is missing Germany...

...so much, I just miss everything about Germany...the food the culture, my family...everything, and to think it is only a 12 hour drive from here through France, Belgium and Holland ...is really tempting, I miss it so much the drive is just too tempting to try..anyway, this photo was taken from a restaurant in Cologne/Koln of the Rheine River that runs through Cologne/Koln, look at how beautiful the world famous Dom looks lit up at night

Linking to \Watery Wednesday

So no doubt I had to whip up a typical German meal for tonight of Dill Potatoes, Soft Pretzel, Klausen Dill Pickle, German Sausage with Saurkraut and some fresh pressed apple juice

Will be tying to do a food dishes a week and get girls to eating a little more of the  German foods

Haze is in a daze...!

Oh how fast this weekend has gone yet again...I did so so much,

• took girls to swimming lessons
• took girls to ballet class
• did 4 loads of laundry
• broke left my pinkie toe
• went to 3 little girls birthday parties
• did the food shopping
• did 3 college research assignments
• re-arranged the kids play room
• got my nails in-filled
• did some chores for my elderly neighbours
• re-dressed our cork notice board

So here I sit on Sunday night and Purple Haze is in a daze.....!

Pic taken at one of the parties we went to...will write all about it in a few days!!





Dressing Up..

Is it not just too cute when little girls play dress up, my girls spend hours dressing up and often imitating people they know like me of-course and this sometimes make me think...hold on...do I really talk like that?? Other victims of imitation are their class teacher, school headmistress and rock stars....!

                                     "Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair.."
The girls have been asking for a nurses uniform, doctors coat and policeman uniform to add to their dressing up box...wonder if these are any indication of future proffessions??! My post is also linked to Pink Saturday, pop over and have a look and many other pretty, pink pictures!!

Wishing Upon An Island..

Today has been a day filled with so many emotions,

• been really busy at work so I was in a ratty mood toward the end of the day,
• didnt like the weather today so I felt sad,
•  missed my other half but just thinking of him made me warm with love,
•  have had alot of laundry to catch up on so felt lazy,
• and I have just spent a few joyful moments with the girls giggling on the bed

Girls have now gone to bed and I am sat here wishing the other half would come home and wisk me away to the ...

for another well deserved romantic break for both of us...

I could well do with getting away from the minus degree Celsius temperatures and lazy on a sunny, sandy beach..

Linking to Watery Wednesday

Monday..is that you again??

Okay..so its Sunday night and I am just amazed at how fast this past weekend - matter of fact the whole past week has gone by fast. It was back to work and college for me and for the girls was back to school, swimming lessons, gym class and ballet - come the weekend they (we) were so tired and just had a lazy weekend at home Skyping with Papa. Talking about lazy...this is as about as lazy as it can get, not even this was done....

Not really like me, but I just could not bring myself to do it, I really would have appreciated a staggered return to normality again, so I have taken notes and next year this time I shall be doing things differently....!

Pink Saturday #2

Pink Dragon Fruit..

Linking to ...Pink Saturday

These cold, dark days make me miss home so much and I often go back and look of photos of my last visit - 7 years ago - and I found this photo and thought its just perfect for my Pink Saturday post. Dragon fruit is actually a type of cactus know as the Pitaya cacti with the plant flowering only at night and wilting at dawn, its not often you get to see an open flower unless you went out at night. The large flowers rely on nocturnal creatures - bats and moths for fertilization by other pitaya plants, apparently the fruit is very high in fiber, I remember as a lil girl having my Grandmother feed me dragon fruit for tummy troubles!

Save it for the weekend please...!

(S)NO(W) MORE SNOW FOR NOW PLEASE....!

I am (not) shouting...the snow is pretty to look at, but if it does snow ...again, it will mean hours of re-scheduling appointments, NO...dont want to have to do it all again this week..!!
Dont get me wrong..I do ♥ snow, I even made this snow ♥ while warming up my truck this morning..

♥

I love this photo, there is just something about it that is beautiful, might even have it put on canvas for my wall!?

Water Wednesday #2

Linking to....Watery Wednesday

As child I used to happily sing...

"London Bridge is falling down,

Falling down, falling down.

London Bridge is falling down,

My fair lady"

 

whilst playing on the dusty plains of Southern Africa and never did I think one day I would be able to walk the length of the real London Bridge, with my 3 lovely girls. (Origionally built in 1176)

Not another diet advert...!

Uugh...! Its only 4 days into January and I so sick of all the diet adverts e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, now dont get me wrong - I do want to shed a few pounds but c'mon now.
 I am not sure that I will slim down by drinking a special elixir in a can, buying specially food that is delivered to my door or swallowing special potions and pills, I want to and need to learn to shop for food in a more disciplined manner and be able to create a meal from that food, food that is healthy for me. I also want to be able to control portion sizes - this also includes me having to learn to eat just my portion and leave it at that instead of finishing off the kids left-overs!!
Talking about healthy eating, 18 months ago we rented a vegetable patch (also called an allotment) which I (we - the girls did their bit too..!) had to give up as I took on a full time job, I might just try and see if we can get another and start growing our own veg again- so that coupled with the shopping I intend to do at the farmers market would be great.
I will never forget though our first attempt at growing our own brussel sprout. The girls were horrified to find out that what they though were cabbages were actually brussel sprouts and this is the reaction to the finding...

Then this happened....literally overnight...

I was mad, the girls found it so so funny....didnt hear the end of it for months!! Oh well if we are able to rent another patch of land , we will definitely be growing some of these as they were a hit on our dining table...

Back to Reality...

So today was the last day of our festive holidays and it is back to work for me and to school for the girls now as normal, oh and I go back to class too in 2 days, that said, the morning chaos in our household commences tomorrow morning - not only that, but so does the early morning ice-scratching of the truck windscreen ....aaarrrrrggggg!!

The snow around us is beginning to slowly thaw...but it is still bitterly cold outside, I went out to see how my garden was doing and empty out pot plants collecting water from the thawing ice and snow and guess what I found...

...a single snow drop! I know that area has 100's of them, but she is just a single lady for now! I cannot wait for Spring...the girls did plant up some containers with some spring bulbs and I await my hyacinth which in actual fact have started to push out from under the soil and peek through the snow.

Well I guess I shall wind down now and make use of the calm before the storm...!!

Whats in for 2011...?

It is always interesting to look at the "Whats In" and "Whats Out" articles...not that I am a religious follower of trends, but this maybe a trend I will have to at least once try...

Read article here..

So Burgundy Lips are so 2011....I am not a big lipstick wearer, I tend to wear more tinted lip glosses...so the shopping begins now for a nice Burgundy Lipstick..!

Pink Saturday #1 and New Years Resolutions!

Linking up to ....Pink Saturday

Happy New Year..! Well last night I managed to keep 2 of my girls awake to see in the new year and today we have just spend a nice lazy day in our pj's kinda watching TV, talking and laying around dont nothing!! This year I dont really have a New Years Resolution this year but I do have a list of things I would like to try and do - all in different areas of my life, like work, school, my well-being , beauty, kids and things I would like to acquire. So-o Aaliayh and I (my 15 year old) have been working together on our Beauty Resolutions for 2011....and I vow to try and ....

• Wear Sunscreen...mmm okay, see now I was born on the African continent and lived under the blazing Southern African sun for 29 years and have never, ever used sunscreen, so I have no idea where, what or how, but I soon will!
• Update my skin care regime...to include taking care of my neck and not just my face, I kinda always tend to moisturise and exfoliate just my face, my neck is crying out for so TLC too!
• Be kind to my hair...I vow to use less direct heat on my hair and wear more protective styles alongside weekly hot oil treatments.
• Drink more water...plain good old water, not flavoured water, not vitamin water and not diet water either - just plain, pure water .
• Floss my teeth...a little more than I already do! I of all people should know this, a typically day at work for me involves giving oral hygiene instructions to patients so now howz about me practising what I preach!!
• Green my beauty products...where possible, kinda like using virgin coconut oil in my hair and as a body moisturiser, using sugar as a body exfoliate. Though I do already occasionally shop at The Body Shop and Lush I want to buy more products that support Fair Trade and Third World populations.
• Shop for fruit and vegetables at Farmers Markets...being the daughter of a farmer I love, love fresh fruit and vegetable and dont really care if my leeks have a lil sand in them when I buy them or the lettuce has a few brown spots - organic is what I am trying to say -more skin friendly food which contain alot of anti-oxidants which I am told are good for slowing down aging and repair damaged cells -  "organic" labeled stuff in the food stores is just too expensive, so Farmers Market here I come!
• Use Positive Talk and Mantras...trying to banish all negative talk and thoughts. Positive thoughts=healthy soul=healthy body=BEAUTY
• Loose some weight...my thinking is if I try and keep on track with my eating healthier and drinking more water I may loose some weight without much effort!!

So here to a wealth of health and beauty in 2011..!