The sun's shinning!!!

OK so it's still a bit cold but the sun's shinning and that kinda helps to get the A into G!!!!

You can see by the attached photos mum's place is now to roof height... she was a little worried about whether it was going to be big enough ... she didn't think she cud fit her bed into the bedroom!!! But now that the walls are up she can see the place is going to be plenty big enough (not sure it's big enough for my craft room !!!! Only joking mum!!!)

I am soo jealous ... mum's view will be the best of all of us... she can lie in bed and see across the whole valley as well as along the main road... Our house is set too far back to see the same lovely view!!!

The Lounge window on the left, bedroom window on the right.

The patio doors ... leading out to the pool deck (that's not there yet)

Back door on the left, side window into lounge next to that, bigger window on right - kitchen window.

This week they should start delivering the bricks for the main house ... Bruce the Builder reckons 2 weeks and we'll be to roof height on the main house ... these guys really know how to 'move their asses' when it comes to brick laying!!! The idea is that we want to try and get the roof on before the rainy season starts - end of August !!! ( keep your fingers and toes crossed that the money lasts that far !!! lmao)

I have to tell you about my phone call this am ... well first my conflab over the weekend with one of my bestestest friends Nan ... Kelsey and I are going to visit Ben, Nan and the kids for the next school holidays (end September). Now some of you who have been reading the blog awhile will have seen the kinda neighbours Nan has ... she is the luckiest person alive, she lives on a Game Reserve ... one of the few that actually has THE BIG FIVE (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Wildebeest) !!!! We chatted about all the lurverly things we gonna do while we're there , Nan's a 'virgin scrapbooker' and we are going to get our hands into some of my stash ... and of course the fact that she has such wonderful ... PHOTOGRAPHIC opportunities I am sure you all gonna get jealous !!!

She phones me this morning at 7.28am to tell me that she almost ran over a mummy lions tail... that's how close she was to her... if it hadn't been for the lions 'warning growl' she probably would have opened the gates without another thought and been a morning snack for the pride sitting just outside her front gate.... (how fab is that !!!! no silly! not the fact that she nearly got eaten but the fact that she is so close to nature in her little piece of paradise... lmao how do you explain to the teachers "sorry we're late today miss, but a pride of lions was at the gate and we couldn't get out !!!! )

Oh I can't wait to visit ... and of course to see you all, Nan!!!!(lol)

Wot !!! Crafting ??? No way ....

Can you imagine that???

I've actually been scrap booking today!!!!

Decided I had to make the effort, so I pulled out the radio... tuned it into the local radio station and I think that's what helped me to forget about time and find some MOJO, ... and off I went... and this is where I ended up...

A completed 8x8 LO for Kelsey's book AND a double page LO !!! Phew I'm knackered now!!! (LMAO) I actually feel really good about my day of crafting!!!!

Kelsey has spent his day in front of the TV playing his video games ... the ones he brought from the UK... wrapped up in his blankets and duvet... snug as a bug...!!! :-D

All I've had to do is remember to shove food in his face now and again and keep his glass filled ... I love days like this !!!! :-O

Needless to say he arrived home safely yesterday from Camp... exhausted ... with a sore throat ... seems they had to stand outside one of the evenings in their PJ's (in the cold) cos some of the boys in the dorm wouldn't shut up!!!!(not Kelsey of course LOL) But I think that was the worst, oh! his pillowcase was covered in toothpaste !!! (I know what happened there don't you? the usual boyish pranks... but he was fine with it... ) When asked if he would go again he said "yes as long as he did'nt have to share his room with the same lot of guys!!!"

Cheese Louise .....

It is soooooo bloody cold !!!! Hello this is Africa .... !!!! (Talk about global warming ... Ice Age 4 here we are !!!!)

I spent the whole day yesterday hugging the fire with a 'blankly' wrapped around my legs ... (Like have you ever???) I was working !!!! But I had to have real strong will power not to just crawl up in bed with my hot water bottle, snuggly duvet, hot chocolate with marshmallows and a big bar of chocky for comfort food....

I didn't even have to get up to do the school run yesterday morning or anything like that... I am soooo missing my boy... I hope they have been warm... I feel like a bad mum - I sent him off with some warm clothes but now I'm having a panic attack "maybe they weren't enough"!!!! After all I didn't send him with a 'winter jacket' or a waterproof or anything like that !!!! (bad bad mum!)

I'm collecting him this afternoon about 1pm and I can't wait to see what he has to say about his first experience of 'veld school' as it's called here !!!! (When I think of my horrors when I went to 'Veld School' back in those days LOL !!!! Paul and Lawrence filled the poor boy with all their horror stories too!!! I'm actually suprised he wanted to go!!! Don't be such a woos mum, it's building character and he'll be fine ! :-)

How to waste a day....

Today has been a bit of a strange one...

Dropped Kelsey off at school, usual time with his overnight bag, sleeping bag, pillow and extra blankets and off the kids went to 'camp'!!!! I drove home and then ????

Did literally nothing for the day!!!! Well surfed the net ... read e-mails... checked out favourite web sites... checked up on some crafty bits ... looked at some houses to rent in the area (via the net of course) HOW COME I'VE BECOME SUCH A COMPUTER ADDICT?????

And just how lazy is that then ???? I shud be ashamed.... :-O

I didn't even have to get off my ass to do the home school run ... I've had all day and I could have done so much and I've done nowt.... !!!

Check out the bargain buy from my trip to UK... I can't get over these - 24 watercolour pencils for only £3.50 !!! and 12 artist pastels for £ 2.00 and all from TESCO!!!! At these prices everyone can have a go... lol.

A Thought for the Day:

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

So love the people who treat you right.

Love the ones who don't just because you can.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Kiss slowly.

Forgive quickly.

God never said life would be easy.

He just promised it would be worth it.

Brrrrrrr........!

Back into the routine...

Up at 5.30am (dark & cold) school run drop off at 7.25am (still cold), home to computer (inside house actually colder than outside) there she goes moaning again...... I can't help it... my pet hate in life - being cold (lmao) !!!! :-D

Kelsey wasn't too pleased about going back to school yesterday... and came out even more p'd off - he's sitting next to a new 'GIRL' !!!! Mum you just don't understand .... !!! And homework on the first day back too... life is so hard when you're 11!!!!

My morning flew by - answering calls, meeting with builders ... next action plan... finished unpacking the cases ... trying to find places to put things... !!! and then it was pick up again...

Dinner to prepare, line dancing to go to... stiff muscles... aching back ... pounding headache...

Oh! no! woke up this morning feeling like sh..!!! Think the cold flight and long wait in the cold airport has finally caught up with me ... sniffle, snuffle!!!

Today at school they are doing athletics try-outs ... ??? I guess it'll be athletics meetings on weekends this term ... So we'll wait and see what (if anything) he's doing ... All this sport is good for him no matter what he chooses ... :-D

I'm back to packing another bag for Kelsey as he's away at camp with the school Wednesday/ Thursday/ Friday ... to some place called Suella Zimbili ??? Why they go on camp in the winter I have no idea (character building I'm told!!!)

(Shock horror - 5 months to Christmas! AAAAAArgh)!!!!

Well we're back...

Boy what a ride!!!!

Isn't it strange how the weather changed on Thursday ??? The boys went go-carting on Thursday morning and it was a lovely morning... by the time we got to Birmingham Airport it was 'seriously shitty' (how many times do I have to tell ya all that I'm the weather witch???)

Our luggage weighed JUST under the maximum !!! my case 31.5kg Kelsey's case 30.5kg !!! OOOOPs did I do a bit of shopping or what ??? But the lurverly folks at UAE turned a blind eye to the 'little' bit over ... (I just about flashed my eyeballs out of my head !!!!)

We had just enough time to have a cuppa together said our seriously sad farewells but we did have a small consolation prize as Paul collected his ticket at the airport for his next journey out here!!! He's coming 1st October so Kelsey and I can start the next countdown (and shopping list!!!pmsl) !!!! (talk about frequent flyer!)

The flight was full but fairly pleasant except for it being 'bloody freezing' the whole flight.. :- (
( I bet I come down with something - even with the Vaseline up the nose !!!! lmao) Dubai was damned hot as usual and just as we were about to board our plane !!!! duntada --- flight delayed 2 1/2 hours !!!! Now I wasn't too worried cos we had to wait about 5 hours in JHB for our connecting flight to Durban, so a couple of hours in Dubai was still ok for me...

Some of the other passengers were getting a little aggitated as they had connecting flights etc... but I made me a new friend while we were travelling - hi Hailey and boys !!!! (hopefully she's going to start reading the blog) So girls you know how time just flies when you're chatting etc... Eventually we got on our flight !!! which was also FULL and Bloody Cold !!!! (I guess they were making sure no bugs survived that trip ....they were all frozen like the passengers)

We arrived safe and sound in JHB ... expected some aggro cos of Kelsey's passport ... I just admitted my guilt from the start and we were thru ... Into SA again!!! Grabbed our bags... snuck thru customs (of course nothing to declare!!! lol) and made our way to our internal flight to Durban !!!!!!! Only to find that IT was delayed 5 HOURS!!!! WELCOME TO SOUTH AFRICA!!!

Hello we're back!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)

Kelsey was less than pleased and they had the cheek to still charge me excess luggage only to find the plane we were on was half empty !!!! Our plane eventually left at 00h05 !!!! which meant Aunty June and Aunty Irena had to stay up till 1am to come and collect us (boy am I lucky to have such good friends???and they had their family staying here with them too) We all eventually crashed into bed about 2.15am (that was 3o hours in transit!!!!) We must be mad ...

There were no dogs barking on Saturday morning (lmao) we ALL slept in late... I'm still feeling a little dazed and confused but that could be just 'normal' for me!!! We had a Braai on Saturday night with June's family and we went out today for Sunday Lunch with Lawrence, Penny and kids... It was Jessica's birthday last week and none of us were here so we celebrated it with her today... It was lovely...

The weather is not playing nicely at the moment ... it's a little bit cold at night ... hot water bottles, fires and thick blankets... but by mid day the sun's out and it's a bit too warm for the 5 layers !!! lmao ! boy do I know how to moan eh???

The last few hours...

Well just a quick one as the bags are packed (and overweight!!! as expected-gonna have to flash that smile girl!!!)

And we're trying not to think about the journey ahead... catch you all on the flip side!!!! :-)

Been great seeing those we've seen, sorry we missed the ones we missed and looking forward to the ones we gonna see again soon....

How we spent the rest of today...

After our coffee morning with the ladies Kelsey and I dashed over to Dobbies Garden Centre to Cotton Traders as I'd promised Kelsey another rugby shirt (no luck there then... BUT we did find a couple of designer shirts at the Designer Label shop... so it was smiles there ;-0)

While we were there I got a phone call from Glenis to say she was back from her 'jollies' and an impromptu lunch at Dobbies gave us the time to 'catch up'. It was great to see her and boy she was looking good - tanned and healthy!!! I'm obviously doing something wrong!!!

Then it was a mad dash across to Once Upon a Stamp (before they closed at 4pm) to get those plates that I should have got the first time round... Kelsey was entertained by the gorgeous Harry and Rob was great at running through the 'stack' needed to get my nestabilities to work with my cuttle bug (Thanks Darling!!!) Sad farewells and a quick dash home to catch Ann before she got fed up of waiting ... but luckily Paul was playing the good host...

Kelsey and Paul decided the 'Family of 3' had to have a BBQ tonight!!! Boys and fire!!!

But before dinner another quick dash to visit Bella (mum's friend, otherwise I'd be in big trouble when I got back for not "doing the only thing I asked you to do") Paul cooked dinner, made a salad (yup you read it right Ann - salad) and we had a cheesy garlic bread too... yummy all round washed down with a glass of Chenin Blanc followed by rice pudding (have you ever!!! my connoisseur palate!!!)

Now blogging and have a packed anything yet ????? NO !!!!

1 day to go!!!!

How sad is that??? We're down to almost our last day... well today is our last full day... we fly back to SA tomorrow!!!

Maybe the weather today is a true reflection of how we're feeling???

There were still a lot of friends I didn't get to see... just where has the last 3 weeks gone??? well technically we were here for 2 full weeks and 3 days !!! but that's no excuse... still not enough time.

Rita & Kelsey (notice with the haircut!!!)Carole & Kelsey (he's now taller than both of them... Unfortunately Pauline had left by the time the camera came out... lucky Pauline (lol)

I've had some of the ladies (Carole/Rita and Pauline) round for coffee this morning and it feels just like the old times!!! Except for the fact I had no crafting for them to do (lol) but we had lots of catching up to do... oh! and Happy Birthday Carole!!!!

Kelsey wanted to show the ladies just how tall he's got so we had to have 'posed' shots with them!!! Hence the photos...

So we're off to do our final bits of shopping (wot again!!! lmao)

Gotta decide what we're having for our Last Supper tonight ...
Oh we met up with Jane & Nigel last night for dinner we went to Dynasty in Chesterfield Very Nice... recommend the Crispy Pork...that was the favourite of all the dishes we tried ... voted by all of us!!!

Saw Liza and the girls from Craftime yesterday... got told off cos I didn't get in touch sooner ... well maybe next time...

The beginning of our last week...

So Sunday was spent doing one of our favourite 'family' pastimes - MOVIES... We decided to have a movie day... only managed to see 2 at the pictures (Night at the Museum 2 and Transformers 2 both excellent films...) then we went home with our 'take aways' for dinner and could have watched another 2 films but we had to watch Top Gear first !!!! But we were allowed to watch another movie at home: Underworld Rise of the Lycans... not as good as the first couple !!!

Once upon a time Movie Days were a regular tradition... definitely a tradition we are going to have to take up again.... Just not soooo much popcorn!!!!

Today Kelsey enjoyed some riding with Holly . Here's some photos of Kelsey riding Star...

Kelsey on Star getting some expert advise from Holly...

Learning the ropes with Star in charge...
Which ones the prettier???
Then we had to pop into Chesterfield to stock up on 'fresh' sweeties... (lmao) and get Kelsey those clothes I promised... spent my Boots advantage points on my favourite lipsticks ... Kelsey bought all the games he's been hankering after and saving up for... the one thing we didn't get done today was his haircut but that will happen before we leave (he'll do anything not to get his haircut, even offer to go the barbers - when he knows they are closed Mondays!!!! little bugger!)

Tonight dad and Kelsey were back at the pictures to see Ice Age 3D... I took a trip BACK to Asda!!! How sad is that and spent another fortune (didn't I Sharon!!! lmao) ... How the hell am I going to fit all of this in our suitcases??? Excess luggage here we come... ha! ha!

Saturday Crafting in Bolsover...

Yet Another great day...

It was so nice to get to spend the day 'Crafting', with really good friends!

Well some of the others crafted all I did was talk and talk some more...(lol) :-D

Sharon being very busy...
Left to Right Karen, Denise and Jayne.(Catching up)

Julie being very industrious... already thinking of Christmas !!!

Ann also working really hard...

Karen & Jayne again.... With Nicola hiding in the corner...

Mandy sitting and Leslie playing with the Big Shot
Nicola sitting and Leslie standing

I did get to play with the Big Shot and some new nestability dies I bought yesterday and I actually started another 8x8 page for Kelsey's book... but didn't quite get it finished... (story of my life)

I really miss spending days like today, with like minded people crafting, chatting, sharing ideas, learning from each other. With no kids to interrupt (well OK Kelsey and Paul did pop in and disturb us a little bit) but no phones ringing, no dishes to do or washing to hang out etc. I don't understand anybody who wouldn't want to spend time like this... Quality YOU (ME) time....

Another great day...

Well once the shopping bug hits it hits HARD, fast and furious.... All that's left in the wallet now are moths!!! (lol)

Had another great day of shopping... started with an order of beads and beads and beads ... followed by a trip to Trimcraft in Hucknall... Great to see Jackie and Liza, sorry I missed Alison who's of jet setting on her holidays ... of course a quick visit for me entails a shopping trolley of stuffs and 3 hours later ... but I HAVE TO SAY the new My Mind's Eye Ranges (Bloom & Grow / Wild Asparagus) are just 2D4!!!! Of course I couldn't decide which one I liked the most so I had to have both and lots of them... (lmao) ... :-)

From there it was off to a late lunch followed by a trip to Pleasley to see Rob & Gordon and of course the adorable Harry at Once Upon a Stamp... it was great to see them... and some of the fantastic products they have in stock... definitely the best range of Nestabilities ever and the best darned prices too... on lots of things... Get down there if you haven't been to visit them yet you will not be disappointed ... and Rob was working on a demo board for a class he's doing and the samples were 'fandabbydosy'... (well it made me buy some stuff!!! Good sales pitch Rob lol)

Needless to say got home a lot later than anticipated... had a job hiding all the parcels from Paul tonight :-> he was already in (don't know how the hell I'm going to fit all this stuff in my suitcases!!! lol) Well already starting on the suitcase for Paul to bring next time he comes!!!

One things for sure I intend to make sure I have the best stocked garage ever !!!!!!!!!! :-@! Who said anything about selling it??? I'm an addicted stash stroker!!!! (lol)

We're childless tonight (ooooH!!!) Kelsey's off to James' for a 'gaming night' !!! Told best not to ask!!! But expect him to be very tired tomorrow I'm told!!! (me too?? pmsl !!)

Talking of tomorrow (Saturday) - I'll be at the Bolsover Craft Club tomorrow 10.30am - 3pm if any of you are free to pop in for a cuppa it would be great to see any of you... but I am also hoping to get some crafting in too.... well bought enough paper and stuffs so why not start tomorrow???? lol

Now I know I'm home...

Here I am tonight sitting at home, after having had a great day out - SHOPPING for CRAFTS!!!...

No boys,(Paul took Kelsey for a day trip to London today !!!) a bowl of leek & potato soup with semolina to follow and watching Torchwood!!!! Yummy Capt. JACK!!!!

Went to Elsecar today to The Craft Box, had a nice morning shopping and catching up with Lynn... (If you've not been there before definitely worth a visit... ) spent yet again much to much (don't tell Paul!!! lol) Then as I was already in Barnsley popped into one of the Wholesalers and had a nice catch up with Sheila & Geoff... Spent much to much there too!!! And to end the day perfectly arrived home to find 4 large boxes of 'craft stuffs' sitting on the doorstep...

So there are boxes all over the 'craft room' (I mean dining room lol) again... you can't get up the stairs for bags of shopping and the house looks like a bombs hit it!!!! (LMAO)

Hi Honey, I'm home !!!!

Oooops have I jinxed the weather or what???

What the hell happened to the sunshine????

I know I said that it was unusual to be in the UK without rain and lots of heat and sunshine.... but I meant it in the nicest possible way(lmao;->)

It's chucking it down with rain and it's bloody cold !!!! Come back Spikes all is forgiven....

I have a washing basket full of dirty clothes... a clothes horse filled with wet clothes and nothing to wear .... OOOOH more shopping I guess ;-)

I've spent the day 'ordering' more craft stuffs (yippee) and packing the boxes of crafty stuffs that I have been ordering on the net.... I'm so pleased we have another container of 'personal' belongings (Ha!Ha!) being shipped out!!! I have to have the biggest 'stash' in the world... (it's an addiction lol)

A hectic exhausting weekend....

Well in case you hadn't noticed I haven't blogged since last week Tuesday - unusual eh?

Well my damned laptop did the death thing on me AGAIN!!! Wednesday night around 9.30pm, tried to switch it on to let you all know what we'd been up to etc ... and NOTHING - DEAD!!!!
So what can you do at that time of night???? Try to fix it if you know what you're doing??? Or just go upstairs and pack cos hubby has informed you of the surprise long weekend away to Euro Disney!!!! I was planning on making you all feel jealous by telling you about it on Wednesday night... See what happens when you're being 'ugly'(lmao)

We set of Thursday morning to drive down to the Tunnel and a hop across the water to France... The weather across there was as great if not better than what we left here... I can't actually believe the fact that I'm in the UK and no rain and it's hot!!! (lol) We took a leisurely drive through France arriving at our Hotel at about 6ish. We stayed at Disney's Newport Bay Club. Kelsey had to dash into the hotel upon arrival as he 'needed' the loo... As I was standing waiting for Paul to check us in Kelsey comes running back across the foyer nodding sideways and calling me (there I am thinking maybe there's a Disney character behind the huge pole in front of me) no behind the pole are Jane & Nigel some good friends of ours.... ;-) all planned by the lot of them as another surprise for me!!!! (I WILL get you all back) lol

It was great to see them and the whole weekend was fantastic although HOT, STICKY and very TIRING... I am really getting too old for this jet setting (PMSL). Kelsey loved the weekend too. We had leisurely breakfasts together, sauntered thru to the parks, stood in ques as only can happen in Disneyland, persuaded Jane to join us on most rides (even though she's not a roller coaster lover oh! p.s neither am I but we girls had to show the boys we could do some of them too... ) and stayed up late most nights enjoying good company and good food.... the best kind of holiday...

Oh and I have to tell you this, my 'theory' about roller coaster rides has been shattered courtesy of 'Crush's Coaster Ride'. If you are an adrenalin junkie and you want a ride that scares the s...! out of you ... try this ride. It is not even considered as one of the main attraction rides... I mean after all it's supposed to be all about 'gliding' thru the ocean finding Nemo with his buddy Crush (the sea turtle) !!!!! Yeah sure it was the scardiestest ride I went on!!!!! (even Jane went on the ride cos we all thought no over the shoulder restraints etc. can't be such a scary ride HA! HA! We both got off there giggling 'hysterically' trying to get over the fear!!! lmao) It will haunt me for a very long time !!!!

Anyway we had a brilliant, fantastic, enjoyable, fun filled, great weekend...

Back to reality and the washing etc... (well Kelsey & I only have 1 weeks supply) needed the extra space in the suitcases for the shopping.... Talking of which ... Ann called round this am for coffee... mentioned she wanted to visit Once upon a Stamp at Pleasley - as she has'nt been to their new place (me either) so off we set ... got lost (ha! ha! thnx TomTom !) Only to discover they were not open... damn it ... Summer Hours only open Wed - Sat (guys really I wanted to shop! don't have too much time you know!!!)

So we shot off to ASDA in Mansfield (how exciting is that?)... Ann did not know that you can spend 4 hours shopping in 1 supermarket (pmsl) and I think I may have to go back there again... so much shopping - so little time ....

Oh! and my laptop is still playing up so girls ... your phone numbers are stuck inside my laptop and we will hopefully get them out tomorrow when the 'dude' comes to see what the problem is and hopefully I still have plenty of time to get together with you all...