We're back!

We are back from a great, albeit freezing, weekend away! It was good fun...even got sunburned on my face...figure that, in 2 degree weather...although it did warm up towards midday each day.We relaxed, fished, spoke junk & generally detoxed...all in all a FAB! family weekend away. I still have to download pic's...when I do I'll post a couple for you to look at.

Before I left on Thursday...I did draw a RAK winner for challenge #7...it was MARTHA!!!
Well done...I'll get you something into the mail ASAP!

In all honesty I haven't given challenge #8 any thought....I will though & post it in the next day or two. The fact of the matter is that I have still have got far too much mountain air between my ears to think straight. So bare with me, I'll acclimatise in a couple of days.

I'll blog again later.
KJ
XXX

Hello!

Just a quick pop in to say HI! I have been so busy since Sunday that there has just been no time to blog. I have had a scrapping marathon, with all the deadlines being for today & tomorrow, I have been heads down in my paper, ink & glue. I did it though, I finished & sent off everything, eight 12x12 L.O's in 2.5 days....that has got to be my all time best achievement yet. I am so relieved it is all done & dusted tho', because now we can go away for the weekend & I can relax.
We are heading to a fishing camp near Bonnivale, which is just short 3 hours away (nice & close). The accommodation is right on the waters edge....& the dams are heavily stocked with fish...so I can lie in bed & chuck a line into the water from out of the window & be guaranteed to catch a large mouthed bass with hardly any effort at all.......my type of relaxation.
Where the kids will be at this point in my fishing fantasy, I have no idea....preferably in life jackets FAR away from the large fish I'll be landing. Oh....Pops.....! (my Mom isn't coming with us, she is still in Port Elizabeth, with my terminally ill Aunt :o( We will miss her not being with us, but we understand her needing to be with Aunty Col.

On a more cheerful note, my August Cocoa Daisy kit came....it is so beautiful! Have a squizz .....Aren't the colours amazing! This is the reason I have been MIA the last little while.

Well guys I am bushed. So I am going to have a LARGE cup of vanilla coffee, curl up on the couch with my delish bloke for a bit & then hit the sack.
Have a great day...or nite for those on my side of the equator.
XXX

Boy it's cold out!

{Ok, so this post is long overdue........I have had it saved in drafts for days but I just haven't had a chance to publish it until now. The other thing is that the photo's have nothing to do with the post, that is because the pic's that do are on Tersh's Mac & he has been too busy with CV/work stuff to get the pic's to me. I mean what is a post without pic's hey? They are of us building a "snow goat" .....Maxi's decision....I generally having a ball!}

Now as I was saying......

I not joking either....the temp is -12 degree's outside. We attempted a brief moment outside yesterday arvi {braving the elements that is} but lasted all of about 7 minutes before bolting back into the car. Wheeeu! we underestimated just how chilly -12 really is. Our biggest problem we are finding is we don't have the right type of clothing, so any jaunt in the snow leaves our legs, shoes & socks wet. That can be remedied tho' in a jiffy, with a visit to the Canadian outdoor store, which we plan to do next week because to brave the ski slopes without the right kit could be fatal, especially for Tersh {he wasn't called Racing Snake for nothing you know}.

We did a bit of driving around the area yesterday to get a feel for the geographic's of the surrounding area in terms of where we would like to live if Tersh is successful in finding a job here. The strong Anglo influence is very evident in architecture & design, we felt like we were in the middle of England and almost every house is dresses to the roof with all manner of Christmas paraphernalia. Santa's, sleighs, reindeer, trees, candy canes, twinkling lights etc, etc. {Obviously no Eskom problems here} The only difference between here & the UK is the ENORMOUS Canadian cars that you see everywhere....no compacts that's for sure. Most cars are 4x4's & heavy duty, to deal with the icy roads.

We are so enjoying staying with our family......admittedly they were a little nervous about what they were getting themselves into by letting us stay with them for the length of time we planned...but I am relieved to report that we passed with flying colours. We are all pretty easy going people so it has been a breeze all bunking together. Uncle Ian & Aunty Kathy are the most generous, understanding & AWESOME people to visit with. It has been wonderful to spend time with my cousins too.......the last time we all spent any serious time together we had only just gotten our big teeth, so this time together is sort of like a long overdue reunion.
We dressed the Christmas tree on Friday night, Uncle Ian was working overtime {until 3am!}, so it was Tersh, myself, Max & Aunty Kathy. What fun we had......Max loved discovering and unwrapping decorations that have been in the Venter family for years. Then finding just the right spot on the tree for them. It is idyllically perfect with the blinking, sparkling tree against a backdrop of snow laden holly bushes & winter maple trees, through the window. What is it about Christmas & falling snow???? It just feels right somehow!

I was tagged by Joscie the other day~ 7 more facts.....so here goes!

1) A dream of mine is to brave the Canadian wilderness & head up to a mountain river & go fishing for salmon in a canoe.

2) I would love to go to a CHA one day......anywhere would do me just fine!

3) I would love to be able to enter HOF but to do that I would have to live somewhere other than SA.

4) I am really looking forward to eating a meal @ a Taco Bell.....no laughing!!! I love Mexican food & I have heard of Taco Bell for years but never actually been in one, so next week hopefully I will get to do that.

5) I have been planning & designing my own scrapbook range for a year now. I called it~ Doodle Studio, I am hoping that I will get to manufacture & get into stores before the end of next year.

6) I am seriously NOT a morning person....that is until I get my first mug coffee.

7) I am a ridiculously light sleeper....ticking clocks, dripping taps....squeaking of any kind keeps me awake, even the red light of our music system on the dresser wakes me up. Dumb hey?

Well guys I must go & be social....the house is filled with voices & laughter....I am in my element!

Have a super day & hopefully I will post again soon.

KJ

x

Pic's at last!

A couple of pics......

Cute hey??

Hiya doing??

Hello guys from the frozen North. Yip we are here, we arrived in one piece, a bit tired but extatic to be in Toronto. I don't have much time to post right now...we are sitting eating oats porridge with the whole family & it is so cool!!!! The ground is covered in snow....it is seriously cold outside....it is FANTASTIC!

I have no pic's as yet because we have no camera with us. Shock, Horror!!!! no camera, that is because we did'nt pack one. The plan is to buy a compact here....mall here we come.

I will hopefully post again soon
XXXX

Christmas come early!

Hello there you lovely lot!!!!
I have been so snowed under my to-do-list for the last couple of days, that I just haven't gotten around to posting. But thankfully I am almost there. The suitcases are packed......the VISA's came yesterday {early I might add, I was expecting them on Friday} & the house type arrangements are almost there. YAY! for me!! 24hrs to go & we will be at the airport sipping latte's & waiting for our flights.

******The other fantastic unexpected news....the cherry on the top of everything, is that Creating Keepsakes magazine want to publish another one of my L.O's.
And to make my day even more WOW!, a local SA magazine~ Time & About want to publish x4 of my L.O's for early next year. Goodness, I feel a bit euphoric & spoilt......a great way to start a long awaited holiday tho'!*****

On the scrapping front, I haven't had much time of late to finish many 12x12's but I did finish this cute 'Photo Wallet'. I got the instructions off Samantha's blog. It is a Christmas gift for Aunty Sarah. It was her birthday the other day & I wanted to give here something to remember it by. It is super easy and VERY quick to finish. The actual wallet doesn't even take an hour....it's the resizing & printing of the pic's that took longer. If you have SERIOUS time constraints, it might be easier if you take jumbo's you already have printed and cut them down to the right size.

This is the 'sleeve' that holds it together when closed.

This is the wallet open with the flaps closed.

This is the wallet & flaps open.

It is an amazing SUPER QUICK gift to make for someone.
Anyway guys I must go & finish up.

Have a gr8 arvi.
Chat soon
KJ
x

So much to do!

As promised I mentioned earlier that I would post again tonight if i could....well I am behind my laptop with mountains achieved today, although I do admit to being just slightly shattered by the volume of people in the malls already. I mean schools only broke up on Friday, one would assume that the least they could have done was sleep in today.
The good news is though, that I will probably not have to step foot in another mall until 2008....yeehaa! that is GREAT news in itself, in that I HATE the mall, especially when it is full of lurkers.
{definition being~ people who cruise the mall without purpose & stare aimlessly in store windows, just waiting for an opportunity to step in the way of any desperate mom type person, wielding a shopping trolley containing a yelling child.}

I am feeling quite organised at the moment & will start packing tomorrow....not that you would say so from the chaos on the floor of my bedroom. Max decided to put the suitcases to the test. He emptied everything into a pile on the floor and spent half the afternoon playing boats, rocket ships, hide 'n seek....you name it he tried it.


Max came to me this afternoon saying that he had all his friends ready to be packed.....that they all had to come.....I hesitated for a second before explaining to him that there was no oxygen in the cargo hold, so they wouldn't be able to breathe & that it would be better if they stayed at home. He agreed!



Whilst digging in the garage for suitcases I came across a suitcase of Maxi's baby clothes that I didn't know I still had. Max had loads of fun digging around in there. He came across a fluffy sleepsuit of his size 18-24mnths that I had cut the feet off of for extra wear. The next thing I see him wriggling into it.......to celebrate his success, he raced down the passage shouting:

"Look @ me, I am a super hero!!"

We are all so looking forward to this trip. I must just get through the next couple of days with insurance companies, glass companies {replacing our shattered door etc} & then I can relax & get into the holiday mode.

I will keep you posted.
Nitey-nite.
XX

Running around!

Morning all.....I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I did.....managed to spend some quality time with my boys. It was much needed with Tersh, who has working until after 2am, most mornings in an attempt to break the back of the work he needs to get out by Thursday.......BECAUSE WE LEAVE FOR CANADA ON FRIDAY!!!! As you have probably guessed by now, I am SERIOUSLY! excited about our trip! Our visa's haven't come back from Pretoria yet but I am not worried....they'll be here, I know it! And this is the first real holiday we have had all year. It is hard to believe by Sunday this week, we will be up to our eyeballs in snow.....Yay!!!

AnywayI can't do much of a post this am because I have a million things to organize & get done before Maxi comes back from his play date. So I better 'get on my horse'.

So Hi & Bye until later.

XX

We are going!!!

This will be us in a month or two!!

I confirmed the tickets today....YIPEE!!!! I am still pinching myself that it is real. Wow! I can't wait to see my family again......I get so lonely for them, now all we need is a bit of snow for Maxi's first white Christmas. Please can you pray people that if this is indeed what God wants for Tersh & our family, that He will open the right doors for him to find the job of his dreams.

Best I get onto the internet & do a bit of stash shopping........'cos postage to Toronto is certainly cheaper than Cape Town.

Before I go I must tell you about a nugget that is definitely amo' for my next scrap page. To set the scene.....were driving home from church on Sunday along the coast. The road we took overlooks the ocean, so one can see for miles around False Bay....when a voice pipes up from the back:

Max: Oh look there guys {Max's new word}.
{Suitably distracted not to take much notice}Mama: ...oh WOW! babes.
Max: Mama, you are not looking!
{so much for that trick} Mama: Oh sorry, Moeks, what must I look at??
Max: The oil rig, over there.
Mama: Huh? oil rig???
Max: Yes mama, it is sucking oil out the ground.
{Double huh??????}Mama: Wow! thats amazing boy!!! Do you know what we need oil for???
{Matter of factly}Max: Of course mama, cars need oil & fuel to go!
{Now speechless} Mama: You are right about that honey, where did you learn that love?
Max: You told me Mama!!
Mama: Oh! did I....I forgot?

The moral of this story is that they are ALWAYS listening, learning, absorbing, sponging, so don't underestimate the effect your constant chatter has on their developing minds. They HEAR everything......GOOD & BAD, so be ever careful about what leaves your mouth, less you want to hear it coming out of theirs.

Have a fab. day....chat soon.
Luv
KJ
XXXXX X

The tickets are almost booked!!!!

Just a quick update for all those interested, that it looks as if we are almost there in terms of finalizing the tickets to Canada in Dec. I am sooooo looking forward to seeing family I haven't seen in ages and getting a chance to have a good look around the city which might end up becoming our home in the next year or so. This is what we have to look forward to......with a few meters of snow or ice included......brrrrr!



See they have beaches too!!!!! Surf too, apparently ;o)



Well I'd better get onto the travel agent and confirm things.......hopefully on Monday I will have our tickets in my hand. Yipppeeeee!!

Will keep you posted!!
X