The Life of Mrs. Miles

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I hope you enjoy this lovely photo frame which Olivia has blessed you with. She's such a Champ! She's feeling very generous as she is launching FOUR new element sets tomrrow at the Sophia Sarducci shoppe tomorrow. You will want to be checking these out if you are either a designer or just scrap for your own pleasure... because, Olivia is making her stuff available in Vector format, as well as all the .png formats too. Actually she's making them in so many formats her head is spinning. She's been getting plenty of good critque from her favorite designers, namely Sophia (boss AND freind), Amy W, and Kim B. She tells me that without them she would not have been able to do all this wonderful stuff. BE ON THE LOOKOUT TOMORROW at the Sophia Sarducci Store for Olivia's kits and also for another little freebie on the Sophia Sarducci blog perhaps???

I hope you all got a sore neck craning over my shoulder trying to peek into my husband’s undie drawer (ROTFL) Scram! I’m the only one who gets to look in there. Well, I will TELL YOU what was in there, at any rate. Buried within the layers of boxers and silkies were two huge bars of dark, dark luxury chocolate (hmm ok there is something a bit unnerving about chocolate in underwear, I admit) ... we won’t go there. There was also a gift certificate for music downloads at the itunes store! How cool is that? While these sweet gifts turn my heart into a hunka hunka burning love, his ‘hacking’ my blog was what really the most amazing thing he could have ever chosen to do for me. I never had a clue!

So how did I reciprocate?

CLICK TO SEE MUCH LARGER!
Kit - Love Actually by Franziska Altmann
Messy Glitter Alpha - by Carol Abram

Well, with no money, (self imposed savings plan) except for the ‘frift shop cash I cadge from the recesses of hunny’s pants pockets (got to get paid for the laundering service, right?) - this gal has become very imaginative and resourceful when it comes to gift-giving. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I have free-range to our bank account, but that would be the easy way out. My creative juices work best under (financial and otherwise) pressure. So I put my thinking cap on and sat and thought and thought. Then, I decided just what to do!

I created a SPA for my hunny, right in our own home. I researched what the classy spas offer and then set out to turn our guestroom into a dayspa.

I tried to think of all the touches. I set up

a massage table (bed with a crisp, white sheet),

plenty of fluffy white towels and facecloths

an electric crockpot filled with eucalyptus water and smooth river rocks (massage)

massage lotions

implements for a manicure & pedicure

home made blueberry/oatmeal/honey & nut facial masque

soft, plushy gorilla prezzie

foil wrapped chocolate (regifted from undie drawer buhahhaa)

hand painted valentines card

soft music piped in

a special chandelier for soft lighting

plenty of candles

hand painted watercolour sign on door saying ‘The Spa’

my own homemade decadent puff pastry dessert

and I dressed ‘all out’ for the occasion

What a hoot!

I spent three HOURS pampering my sweetie – and he took it all in like a little puppy getting patted. My hands felt like gnarled tree branches by the time I was done – used every towel there was, all the hand/feet crèmes and burned the candles down the the stubbs. But it was oh so worth it!

This is something anyone could do with a minimum of cost and a lot of imagination and to help you I’m giving the link to the website where I found the recipe for the facial masque. This site is a wealth of home spa recipes – many of them can be made using ingredients you have on hand.

Let me tell you, the blueberry masque I made for Miles looked and smelled so yummy I was tempted to lick his face – or eat the leftovers for breakfast. You can find your own delicious recipes HERE.

And no, I resisted licking my hunny’s face and instead enjoyed the dessert I whipped up. I made my second successful batch of puff pastry and filled it with a whip cream/cream cheese concoction. I layered it over that with a blueberry and lime filling, topped it with another heart pastry slab. Then I topped it all with our initials and swirlies made by piping melted chocolate from the snipped corner of a ziplock baggie. I put it first onto a sheet of plastic wrap which was stretched over a dinner plate. Then I chilled it in the fridge till they bits were firm enough to move onto the dessert. Mmmmm!

Now I mentioned to you in an earlier blog post, that my being so blessed and happy in marriage gives me a heart for those who we tend to forget on this ‘day of love’ I racked my brains as to what to do for the women in my circle of influence who are widows. I prayed about it. In the end, the answer was very simple. While I ran around like a chicken making all the preparations for my hunny’s BIG surprise, I phoned each of the ladies I know who are a widow. I opened my heart to them and told them I knew it must be a difficult day for them, and that I was thinking of them. I asked them if they wished to talk about their husbands, to share their memories. Several shared happy memories and even how they first met. Talk about being blessed back – I was in tears afterwards. You see, it does not take ‘doing’ something sometimes (especially if you are really busy) but just be obedient to pick up the phone or write a note of encouragement when God tugs your heart. I think that by being bold in those instances you allow people to open up, where they might not otherwise.

You always have time for that which you place first.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God,

and his righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33

Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile.

Mother Teresa

Things are poor substitutes for giving.

The only true giving is a portion of yourself.

“God has given each of you some special abilities;

be sure to use them to help each other,

passing on to others Gods many kinds of blessings.”

1 Peter 4:10

I will be blogging more on being a ‘giving’ person in the next blog post.

Ok, on to other things. I am very excited when I find a ‘good read’ book, aren’t you? Well I am blushing to tell you that my blogger friend Camy Tang is a published author, who I’d never read before. We had reciprocal blog links like forever, then when I switched from the OLD blogger to the NEW blogger (and thats a long sordid tale in itself – ‘nother time rant) well, somewhere during the move, I dropped Camy’s link off in cyberspace somewhere.

One day recently, my friend Becky and I were surfing the net and searching our public library for Christian books and who’s book should pop up, but Camy’s? An’ I sez, “ I’m linked to Camy” – NOT! Oops, so I went and added her back and ordered her book “Sushi for One”- sometimes romance needs a kick of wasabi. Its funny but when you just assume a link is there on your blog you don’t realize its gone till you ... look!

Well her book arrived at the library very quickly and I was excited to read it. Now both Becky and I (besides all the serious, learning type books) especially like to read and swap Christian Chic Lit type books, and this one is a wonderful read. Filled with humour and steeped in Chinese heritage, the story sweeps you into a fast paced, witty, and actually informative and sweet, modern-day love story.

Her main character, Lex, is a strong young woman who, because of a traumatic incident in her past, does not have the need/inclination/desire to be in a hurry to find a perfect mate. She’s created a checklist of biblical credentials she’s complied from Ephesians that any mate would have to live up to. Not that she’s really looking. But Lex belongs to a big, close-knit Chinese/American family – and the matriarch, Granny holds the means to fund Lex’s girls volleyball team – something dear to Lex’s heart. Granny’s stipulation to Lex receiving the money is that she turn up at a cousin’s wedding – with a REAL boyfriend.

What follows are Lex’s adventures as she searches for ‘Mr. Right’ – and fends off her brother’s ceasless stream of ‘friends’ who he hopes to set her up with (for his own sneaky reasons) I especially appreciated learning all about the Chinese foods and events, and Camy has thoughtfully included a glossary of terms in the back of these items.

I don’t want to give any more away, but be assured that this book is TOTALLY worth reading and buying for your collection. You can find Camy and even order her books by clicking HERE. And Becks, the book is just WAITING for you!

Well, I have bent your ear long enough for today. I am actually scrapping the rest of my big Valentines adventure to share with you over the next few days. Thank you for taking the time to drop in.