Spoilt Rotten

Just had another present – Hubby bought me “Cherries” from Thomas Sabo.  The Cherries represent my blog. 

To quote the following website: http://www.wolfbros.co.za/our-jewellery/thomas-sabo-jewellery – “THOMAS SABO has helped the ancient tradition of the charm bracelet make a huge comeback. As a lucky charm, souvenir, attractive accessory and a particularly wonderful gift idea, the charms enchant all wearers in their own special way. Charms are personal altars to secret passions and obsessions. Romance and infatuations, happiness and success, moments and insights – the charms lend shape to the story of your life.”  I thought this was a wonderful description of what Charms represent.

I am so excited and cannot wait to wear it!

Click here to view more about the Thomas Sabo collection of Charms.

Spoilt Rotten

Just had another present – Hubby bought me “Cherries” from Thomas Sabo.  The Cherries represent my blog. 

To quote the following website: http://www.wolfbros.co.za/our-jewellery/thomas-sabo-jewellery – “THOMAS SABO has helped the ancient tradition of the charm bracelet make a huge comeback. As a lucky charm, souvenir, attractive accessory and a particularly wonderful gift idea, the charms enchant all wearers in their own special way. Charms are personal altars to secret passions and obsessions. Romance and infatuations, happiness and success, moments and insights – the charms lend shape to the story of your life.”  I thought this was a wonderful description of what Charms represent.

I am so excited and cannot wait to wear it!

Click here to view more about the Thomas Sabo collection of Charms.

‘Twas the week before Christmas

Well Christmas is finally over. Missed Son no 2 terribly this year. This is my first year where I have not had the pleasure of having all 4 of my sons with me. I could ramble on about empty-nest syndrome but I will leave that for another post.

Summary of this week’s events as follows:

  • Monday – did nothing – sat on the couch and watched TV.
  • Tuesday – went to see Mission Impossible and then went out for lunch.
  • Wednesday – Went last minute Christmas shopping at Sandton City and had brunch with Son no 1’s wife and her mother.
  • Thursday – Decided to have a braai – purchased a Lamb pack a week earlier which stated the contents as Lamb “Chops” – upon defrosting, there were around 5 chops and the rest was stewing meat – so very annoyed with Pick ‘n Pay (our local Supermarket) I hate being lied to! Should have taken it back and complained but just did not have the energy. 
  • Friday – Went out early and had breakfast at Wimpy. Bought dog food and went to the pharmacy for Hubby’s chronic medication.
  • Saturday – Hubby woke me up early. I made some tea and went back to sleep on the couch for awhile. Then got up, cleaned the house and washed clothes etc. (I like to wake up to a clean house on Christmas morning).

And finally it was Christmas morning…

Got up early, had tea with Hubby and then had a bath. Now that the kids are older – there is no mad rush to get up at the crack of dawn anymore – the kids would rather sleep in.

Woke Son no 3 and 4 up. Son no 1 and his wife arrived at around 7am. Made more tea and we all sat and opened presents. I must admit that we are not very religious and we celebrate Christmas for the sake of having one day where we spoil each other rotten.

It is getting more and more difficult to buy presents each year as our Sons have grown up. There are no more toys and Lego under the tree, no more stockings to fill the night before. These have been replaced with expensive gadgets and computers. This year we decided to buy one gift only for Son’s no 3 and 4 – we bought them each an iPad. I purchased these early to avoid the Christmas rush so it ended up with us buying more gifts as time went on. The iPads were exactly what they wanted so they were extremely happy. I got some “bling” from Swarovsky so I too was very happy.

I then started to prepare Christmas lunch. This year there was only 6 of us to cater for – this is the smallest Christmas lunch we have had for many many years. There is usually my 4 Sons, my mother-in-law, Son no 1’s wife, Son no 2’s girlfriend, and Hubby’s sister and her family and occasionally a few friends. This year however was different – mother-in-law is in Cape Town with Hubby’s sisters (Joburg based sister moved down to Cape Town this year), Son no 2 now lives in Dubai and him and his girlfriend are no longer together. So this year it was just Hubby and I, 3 of our Sons and Son no 1’s wife.

Still prepared the usual Turkey, Ham, Yorkshire Pudding, Roast Potatoes, Gravy, Chipolata Sausages, Bacon, Brussel Sprouts and Pumpkin. As you can guess – we ate far too much and and we now have loads of leftovers.

Spent the rest of the day watching “Ridiculousness” – the kids loved this and we spent the rest of the day laughing at other peoples mishaps.

Finally the day was over. And just like that we are almost at the end of the year.

I hope you all had the privilege of spending Christmas with family and friends too.

‘Twas the week before Christmas

Well Christmas is finally over. Missed Son no 2 terribly this year. This is my first year where I have not had the pleasure of having all 4 of my sons with me. I could ramble on about empty-nest syndrome but I will leave that for another post.

Summary of this week’s events as follows:

  • Monday – did nothing – sat on the couch and watched TV.
  • Tuesday – went to see Mission Impossible and then went out for lunch.
  • Wednesday – Went last minute Christmas shopping at Sandton City and had brunch with Son no 1’s wife and her mother.
  • Thursday – Decided to have a braai – purchased a Lamb pack a week earlier which stated the contents as Lamb “Chops” – upon defrosting, there were around 5 chops and the rest was stewing meat – so very annoyed with Pick ‘n Pay (our local Supermarket) I hate being lied to! Should have taken it back and complained but just did not have the energy. 
  • Friday – Went out early and had breakfast at Wimpy. Bought dog food and went to the pharmacy for Hubby’s chronic medication.
  • Saturday – Hubby woke me up early. I made some tea and went back to sleep on the couch for awhile. Then got up, cleaned the house and washed clothes etc. (I like to wake up to a clean house on Christmas morning).

And finally it was Christmas morning…

Got up early, had tea with Hubby and then had a bath. Now that the kids are older – there is no mad rush to get up at the crack of dawn anymore – the kids would rather sleep in.

Woke Son no 3 and 4 up. Son no 1 and his wife arrived at around 7am. Made more tea and we all sat and opened presents. I must admit that we are not very religious and we celebrate Christmas for the sake of having one day where we spoil each other rotten.

It is getting more and more difficult to buy presents each year as our Sons have grown up. There are no more toys and Lego under the tree, no more stockings to fill the night before. These have been replaced with expensive gadgets and computers. This year we decided to buy one gift only for Son’s no 3 and 4 – we bought them each an iPad. I purchased these early to avoid the Christmas rush so it ended up with us buying more gifts as time went on. The iPads were exactly what they wanted so they were extremely happy. I got some “bling” from Swarovsky so I too was very happy.

I then started to prepare Christmas lunch. This year there was only 6 of us to cater for – this is the smallest Christmas lunch we have had for many many years. There is usually my 4 Sons, my mother-in-law, Son no 1’s wife, Son no 2’s girlfriend, and Hubby’s sister and her family and occasionally a few friends. This year however was different – mother-in-law is in Cape Town with Hubby’s sisters (Joburg based sister moved down to Cape Town this year), Son no 2 now lives in Dubai and him and his girlfriend are no longer together. So this year it was just Hubby and I, 3 of our Sons and Son no 1’s wife.

Still prepared the usual Turkey, Ham, Yorkshire Pudding, Roast Potatoes, Gravy, Chipolata Sausages, Bacon, Brussel Sprouts and Pumpkin. As you can guess – we ate far too much and and we now have loads of leftovers.

Spent the rest of the day watching “Ridiculousness” – the kids loved this and we spent the rest of the day laughing at other peoples mishaps.

Finally the day was over. And just like that we are almost at the end of the year.

I hope you all had the privilege of spending Christmas with family and friends too.

Erotica and other books I’ve been reading



I go through periods where I read a book a day and I go through periods where I don’t read for ages. I also read different types of books for various reasons.

I love my iPad and I download most of my books now days using iBooks. I find it is comfortable to read and I can adjust the text size (major selling point for me). Buying books online is also far cheaper than buying them at our local bookstores.



I do however still like to buy the odd softcover book as I like to read in the bath and I daren’t take my iPad into the bath. These are some of the books I have read in the last 6 months – I have separated them into various categories:

Books I read in bed:
I like to read historical / period romances in bed – this is light reading, I don’t need to think about what I am reading and it generally helps me to sleep.

Sabrina Jeffries:

  • Dance of Seduction
  • The Dangerous Lord
  • The Forbidden Lord
  • A Hellion in her Bed
  • How to Woo a Reluctant Lady
  • Married to a Viscount
  • The Pirate Lord

Nora Roberts: I have read a lot of her books, but not that many recently:

  • The Heart of Devin MacKade

Lyndsay Sands:

  • Born to bite
  • Hungry for you
  • (both of the above are part of the Argeneau series about a modern family of Vampires)
  • The Countess

Christina Dodd:

  • Taken by the Prince
  • In Bed with the Duke

Jane Feather:

  • A Wedding Wager
  • Rushed to the Alter

Laurell K Hamilton:

  • Guilty Pleasures (about a vampire hunter)

Books I read in the bath:
These are typically books that have more of a storyline and equire the brain to gently kick into gear for the day – usually takes me longer to read as I don’t often have the time to linger in the bath for long periods:

  • John Grisham – Theodore Boone – The Abduction (part of John Grisham’s 9-13 year old series)
  • Patricia Cornwell – Port Mortuary
  • Jeffrey Deaver – Edge
  • Jeffrey Deaver – Burning Wire

Erotica:
To read when feeling down or neglected, or just curious……

  • Best Women’s Erotica 2011 (short stories)
  • Bella Andre – Candy Store
  • Lillian Snow – Threesomes, The Collection
  • K Lyn – The Hot Repair Man
  • Anne Rice – The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty – This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. It fits firmly into the Erotica category and it brings a whole new meaning to the term “Sex Slave”. Somehow though, I could not put it down and I read the whole book – I kept thinking there would be some point to the story (not that you expect a storyline when reading Erotica) or that it would get better (or perhaps I was just curious). Wikipedia classifies it as Erotic BDSM set in a Medieval Fantasy World. Definitely not
    my type of book and I won’t be reading the other 2 parts of the Trilogy.

Currently Reading:

  • Philippa Gregory (One of my favourite Authors) – The Lady of the Rivers (reading in the bath)
  • Nora Roberts – The Return of Rafe MacKade (reading in bed)

 

Sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read:

  • Nora Roberts – Chasing Fire
  • Jean M Auel – The Clan of the Cave Bear (This is apparently classified as Erotica – 1501 pages of it – rather curious as to how or why it would be so long)
     

Let me know what you are all reading…

Erotica and other books I’ve been reading



I go through periods where I read a book a day and I go through periods where I don’t read for ages. I also read different types of books for various reasons.

I love my iPad and I download most of my books now days using iBooks. I find it is comfortable to read and I can adjust the text size (major selling point for me). Buying books online is also far cheaper than buying them at our local bookstores.



I do however still like to buy the odd softcover book as I like to read in the bath and I daren’t take my iPad into the bath. These are some of the books I have read in the last 6 months – I have separated them into various categories:

Books I read in bed:
I like to read historical / period romances in bed – this is light reading, I don’t need to think about what I am reading and it generally helps me to sleep.

Sabrina Jeffries:

  • Dance of Seduction
  • The Dangerous Lord
  • The Forbidden Lord
  • A Hellion in her Bed
  • How to Woo a Reluctant Lady
  • Married to a Viscount
  • The Pirate Lord

Nora Roberts: I have read a lot of her books, but not that many recently:

  • The Heart of Devin MacKade

Lyndsay Sands:

  • Born to bite
  • Hungry for you
  • (both of the above are part of the Argeneau series about a modern family of Vampires)
  • The Countess

Christina Dodd:

  • Taken by the Prince
  • In Bed with the Duke

Jane Feather:

  • A Wedding Wager
  • Rushed to the Alter

Laurell K Hamilton:

  • Guilty Pleasures (about a vampire hunter)

Books I read in the bath:
These are typically books that have more of a storyline and equire the brain to gently kick into gear for the day – usually takes me longer to read as I don’t often have the time to linger in the bath for long periods:

  • John Grisham – Theodore Boone – The Abduction (part of John Grisham’s 9-13 year old series)
  • Patricia Cornwell – Port Mortuary
  • Jeffrey Deaver – Edge
  • Jeffrey Deaver – Burning Wire

Erotica:
To read when feeling down or neglected, or just curious……

  • Best Women’s Erotica 2011 (short stories)
  • Bella Andre – Candy Store
  • Lillian Snow – Threesomes, The Collection
  • K Lyn – The Hot Repair Man
  • Anne Rice – The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty – This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. It fits firmly into the Erotica category and it brings a whole new meaning to the term “Sex Slave”. Somehow though, I could not put it down and I read the whole book – I kept thinking there would be some point to the story (not that you expect a storyline when reading Erotica) or that it would get better (or perhaps I was just curious). Wikipedia classifies it as Erotic BDSM set in a Medieval Fantasy World. Definitely not
    my type of book and I won’t be reading the other 2 parts of the Trilogy.

Currently Reading:

  • Philippa Gregory (One of my favourite Authors) – The Lady of the Rivers (reading in the bath)
  • Nora Roberts – The Return of Rafe MacKade (reading in bed)

 

Sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read:

  • Nora Roberts – Chasing Fire
  • Jean M Auel – The Clan of the Cave Bear (This is apparently classified as Erotica – 1501 pages of it – rather curious as to how or why it would be so long)
     

Let me know what you are all reading…