Bridal competition
I just want to say thank you to all of you that voted for me in the Bride of the Month competition, it really helped a lot. The results are out and I came 8th. Thank you to everyone that helped me get there!

In other areas of life
I love December!!!! I have always loved December for so many reasons. December is the month where summer strikes in full, it's the month of Christmas and it's my birthday month. I used to love December even more when we were still living in Mossel Bay - the holiday spirit, the smell of suntan lotion on sunkissed skin, the feeling of the sand between your toes and the glorious sound of waves crashing onto the beach.

When we moved up to this dry and dreadful place called Guateng, I had to change my views to be able to stay happy and positive and it wasn't easy but I think I'm at that place in my life where I can deal with it happily. We used to still visit Mossel Bay in the years after the move for sunny December vacations, but nowadays we're all grown up and working and we can only go on vacation when full-time jobs allows us to. I do hope that one day we can start this tradition again... or even better, move back there



The other reasons to love December are still the same. It is my birth-month and this year the events leading up to the big day was rather special. It's not my birhtday yet, but for some time my dad has been filled with excitement about something and it was apparent that his excitement had something to do with my birthday. In the last few weeks it happened a few times that my husband's phone rang and he would leave the room, smiling and closing the door behind him, as if I'm not supposed to listen to the particular phone conversation. It even happened once in a shopping mall: We were having dinner with the parents and my mom would pull me into a furniture shop, trying very hard to get my attention on various things in the shop, while trying to prevent me from noticing that my dad and husband dwelled off elsewhere. I soon realized they were planning a surprise of some sort.

But with all the excitement building up inside my dad, he decided one night that he cannot wait any longer and that I should receive this special surprise gift before my birthday. And so I sat there with this large wrapped box on my lap, guessing what could be inside that caused so much excitement. And I knew so well! It's been my dad's dream for a very long time to buy me a decent camera, and he got a few people to contribute as it's not cheap. I got a camera for my birthday!! And not just any camera, a Nikon D3000 with 2 lenses as a starter pack! Sure it might not be the best Nikon there is, but this is more than I could ask for!

I'm still searching for something worthy of taking pictures of though, hopefully I'll upload some soon!
Thanks mom & dad, Niekie and Uncle Lieb for making my dream come true! You guys are the best

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. Keep warm - for those of you in the icy areas of our world. As for the South Africans - enjoy the beach everyone, sip on something cold and use sunscreen

Enjoy a special Summer Christmas to all South Africans out there!

I just want to say thank you to all of you that voted for me in the Bride of the Month competition, it really helped a lot. It helped so much that I moved from page 10 to page 2 according to rating in one day, and into the top 10 yesterday! So now it's up to the judges to pick a bride, but thank you all for helping me get there

Thank you!

was the one who caught my 15000th pageview here on deviantArt, and it is such an honor to be part of such a great art community, you guys are the best! Ray is one of my oldest friends on dA and I am proud to present to you some of his best work up to now! Enjoy and show him a little love too

Hi guys!

Thank you to those of you who've already voted for me in these past few days, your help is showing as I've moved up to page 2 from page 10 judged by ratings in only two days! But still, to stand a chance to win I must reach the top 10 brides and from there on it's in the hands of the judges, so I still need all the help I can get!

Here is the link you should use: [link]

Simply look for my name (Anneli Strecker), click on the picture, and give me a high 5!
Please do vote before the 30th of November, as the competition ends then and remember to vote ONLY ONCE ))

Thank you!

was the one who caught my 15000th pageview here on deviantArt, and it is such an honor to be part of such a great art community, you guys are the best! Ray is one of my oldest friends on dA and I am proud to present to you some of his best work up to now! Enjoy and show him a little love too

Hi guys!

If you can all spare a little time today to vote for me in a bride of the month competition, I would really appreciate it!

Here is the link you should use: [link]

Simply look for my name (Anneli Strecker), click on the picture, and give me a high 5!
Please do vote before the 30th of November, as the competition ends then and remember to vote ONLY ONCE ))

Thank you!

was the one who caught my 15000th pageview here on deviantArt, and it is such an honor to be part of such a great art community, you guys are the best! Ray is one of my oldest friends on dA and I am proud to present to you some of his best work up to now! Enjoy and show him a little love too

So, I am busy writing exams at the moment and I don't find a lot of time to spend here on dA lately, but I sure will try when I'm done writing tests.

Thank you to every single person who supports my work and fave, comment and spreads a little love. It means a lot to me!

was the one who caught my 15000th pageview here on deviantArt, and it is such an honor to be part of such a great art community, you guys are the best! Ray is one of my oldest friends on dA and I am proud to present to you some of his best work up to now! Enjoy and show him a little love too