Okay, okay...So I went AWOL!

Hiya folks! Some of you are starting to wonder as to my whereabouts so thought I'd drop in with a quick update. Wish I had downloaded the photos off my camera but alas no time for that in my lfe right now! You would have seen in my last post that I was off to fetch the keys to our new home. That was achieved & since then I have been there every day, from 7.30 in the morning - straight after I've dropped the kids at school - to 7.30 in the evening, once I've dropped Jack at football practice. There is a lot to do & a limited time in which to do it so I have had to make moving & renovating a priority.

I wouldn't say it's coming along smoothly but would say that all the issues we face can or have already been overcome & we will be moving in as scheduled for 8 May 2010. Our biggest challenge has been finding reliable workmen. Not sure if that problem is the world over but certainly here in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, you would never believe these were recessionary times. Still some of the jobs have not even yet begun as I am still looking for new workmen as others have simply never got back to me or quoted me insanely high prices that the work most definitely doesn't warrant.

We are slightly behind schedule due to the fact that I got seriously ill for the best part of 5 days last week. Living tropically as we do here means that there are often gastro bugs doing the rounds & I got hit incredibly hard by one & lost 3kgs in vomiting & diarrhoea - of course after the weekend one of those kilograms was back on but in total I have lost 15kg's so far this year & am down a jeans size so it ain't all bad! Since we last spoke Chelsea has had her matric {graduation} dance & all went well, although her dress was completed just in the nick of time & collected on the day!

As you can imagine she looked a million bucks!!! Photos to follow soon...still haven't uploaded them from my camera would you believe?!? Every day I am carting our belongings from one house to the other {about 5km's apart} so am feeling more like a taxi-driver than EVER! But the good news is the weather has cooled off a bit & our air-cons are in! One per room - how's that for celeb status?! 4 years of boiling in this cooking pot & finally we get to C.H.I.L.L...We have slowly been accumulating air-conditioners since we arrived & just snagged a great 2nd hand deal to fill our quota. Score!

Shane has embarked on his annual China trip - had to squeeze it in between Chel's matric dance & her birthday - so he is missing out on the icky work but paying for it through his efforts so I can't complain really can I? Of course the shower tap snapped THE DAY he left & water was pouring out all over the place so I had to raid the tool box, buy some washers, undo it all, etc, only to find the whole internal unit had perished & needed replacing. R120 later I had a new unit installed by MOI, saving hundreds of rands in plumbers fees...LOVE being able to work out how to do things like that!

Feel TERRIBLE that I have not been able to blog-hop & pop in on all my favourite blogs of late {did manage one via my mobile but tried another & couldn't "choose a profile"}. You know that when things are back to normal I WILL BE BACK & you know I'll catch up with the comments, I always do, you know I'm good for it ;-D We have internet issues at the new place as there is a cable fault there - hence no hurry to move in until the very last minute. So with that I leave you as I have my gardener here for the day today & my car is now chockablock with garden pots & I am off down the road again....



And because I simply HATE posting without a pic or 2 here are a couple of old ones still on my desktop. Why?!? Well because they are FINALLY going to be in my hands soon, courtesy of Shane's Hong Kong stopover on the trip back. Woo Hoo for South East Asian shopping...

It's all over...{& I got creative!}

Back to reality tomorrow morning...Easter is over, eggs are eaten & altogether I am feeling worse for wear as a result! So much for my resolution of not eating any eggs...far too much chocolate in da house at the moment!!

We were here again this weekend. Looks idyllic? TBH it's a bit creepy...desolate with an angry sea as far as the eye can see. The weather was unpredictable & rainy yet humid & windless...

We were staying in holiday accomodation with elderly relatives who kept closing doors & windows when all I wanted was some fresh air ;-D Yet again no air-conditioning but I had the good sense to take my fan along this time!

I had no idea I was so impatient, intolerant & selfish but spending a weekend with a stage 5 Alzheimer's sufferer brought that home to me...I now know I could never earn extra money as a care-giver!

As a result of all the stress I had all my camera settings wrong & took the most hideous photos!

The Easter Hunt was a shambles & only got underway at 4.30p.m!

I hate that I made such a mess of this photo series that I so look forward to each year...

Anyway, despite feeling exhausted by the end of it this weekend was a good thing on many levels...

I sent some goodies back to Cape Town with our visitors...

And enjoyed the presentation process although I only had one ballpoint pen with me!

I recently cut out all the images from last year's Sassafras papers & have used a lot of them on my projects lately as a result...

I decided to make a card at the last minute & didn't even have a sheet of cardstock with me so had to use a sheet of A4 computer paper the kids had brought with to colour on!

I used some product packaging for the "printed paper" on the front & covered up the words with offcut strips {I took a bundle of offcut strips with me to work on another project that I'll show you soon...}

I threaded some gingham ribbon through the hole already there at the top of the product packaging & layered some Sassafras elements together with some 7Gypsies sentiment stickers & a bee that I've had in my stash so long I have no idea where it came from!

Our South African Easter was marred by a racially motivated gruesome murder of a high profile figure but the good news is I should be receiving the keys to our new house tomorrow!

Easter Eggs!

Feel like crafting this weekend? Check out this very cool papier mache "cracked egg" tutorial on Martha's blog. Just wish I had some balloons at home so I could give this a go this weekend {& being Easter all the stores are closed today}.

Happy Easter! {& can I borrow R25?}

Happy Easter to you all! I hope y'all enjoy the holiday & have a blessed family time. I'm sharing a story I received via e mail some time ago because it "fits" with the post I think!

Can I Borrow R 25?

A woman came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find her 5-year old son waiting for her at the door.

SON: 'Mummy, may I ask you a question?'

MUM: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the woman.

SON: 'Mummy, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the woman said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'If you must know, I make R 50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Mummy, may I please borrow R25?'

The mother was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door..

The woman sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions.. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the woman had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that R25.00 and she really didn't ask for money very often The woman went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' She asked.

'No Mummy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard o n you earlier' said the woman. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the R25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you Mummy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The woman saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again..

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his mother.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the mother grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Mummy, I have R50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The mother was crushed. She put his arms around her little son, and she begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that R50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

So keep safe Bloggers & don't forget to give your kids {or your furbabies} an extra hug this weekend!