Blessed Christmas to everyone

Wishing everyone a very Blessed Christmas and I hope that the Hope, Peace, Joy & Love that Jesus brings stays with you for the entire year.

I want to say that every Christmas, we all work hard, getting everything ready & enjoy our day with family, extended family & friends. Its always wonderful and crazy at the same time.

We always go to the Christmas eve service, fall into bed at about 1am & the morning comes far too early.

Next year my hope is that we are not at home for Christmas but somewhere else just as lovely as home with different family.

God bless & keep you in everyway.

What is love ?

When I was younger (seems a long time ago lol) I was insecure and I guess emotionally immature, I always wanted to figure out what love was ?
Not the love of our Heavenly Father - human love.
 When I married my DH & our three children were born, I figured this whole picture was love - well I was vastly wrong ......

Love is really having the flu, a red neon nose, being miserable & grumpy & your DH very gently ( probably treading on very thin ice lol) caring for me - I must admit as the wife/mother I do not get sick & if I do as ALL women you get on with it. This time I was really down & out - so DH made soup, picked up & threw out overflowing bins full of tissues(which he cannot handle), made me hot toddys, made sure I took my medication & was incredibly loving.

Today I am feeling better, not fit & healthy ready to go - but better & the funniest thing was my DH telling our DD that he was so relieved it was the worst time of his life. DD & I just chuckled.

Needless to say , there's office work to be done, shopping to be done & oh we ran out of milk lol but we survived and I think I finally found my answer lol.

Family matters...

I love my family, we are unique, close, fun to be with & loving - most of the time. They are precious.

Then there are times when my children adult {children}fight with each other for the most stupid reasons eg where to park cars !!really that's so important - compromise - not in their life time !
I am always in the middle of the simmering undertones & I really do not like it at all - considering they don't live at home anymore I find this frustrating & really mentally exhausting.

They normally don't fight when my DH is around and that frustrates me - do I enable them, or am I just too soft {I don't think so lol } 

Anyway this weekend I was away on an Emmaus Walk at Marianhill Monastry - it was so serene, quiet & peaceful & I really need this fantastic sense of well being to continue, so on my return I found DH in an agitated state - the children had decided to keep him company incase he got lonely lol { truth be told they don't have DSTV } & so they "niggled " about the TV remote, no dishes put into the dishwasher, empty milk bottle back in the fridge !

Soultion - DH told them to pack their bags go home & give him some space LOL & they decided to be more compromising in the future. I had a good chuckle because he has just never noticed but he was very pleased to see me home. 
 

Boobs yes boobs

Today I used my Christmas gift from my family - a professional bra fitting and choice of a bra or mmmmm maybe two.

Well I have been busy & I was very excited to make the appointment with my voucher but this morning I was nervous - seriously I am not an exhibitionist I am shy & reserved when it comes to displaying my body especially with all the additional rolls etc etc. Can I do this, what was I thinking in December ????

I set off to Kloof in the search of Lisa Clifford Studio armed with a voucher, lots of misgivings & butterflies in my tummy. The directions were perfect I arrived in good time & no sooner had I switched my car off, got out tentatively I was greeted by a delightful young lady who put me at ease and took me through to the studio.

Ummm there are no little cubicles in here, the door is closed and its beautifully lit etc and there are bras of all sorts of shapes and sizes colours etc really very very pretty. Still no cubicles.........

Ok so I was put at ease, measured, not told my measurements yet and put into - yes I repeat put into a bra - stunning was the result absolutely stunning..... I squealed with delight & then the bombshell.  I have been wearing a 42C & although they are slightly big they are comfortable ( sounds terrible now i know)  ta da drum roll please ..... {36 F} is my correct size.   Ok so thats quite shocking I don't think I have ever heard of an {F} size but since their bras go up to a size L  I had to believe it.

All I can say is it a wonderful feeling to be in a super looking, pretty and such a well fitted bra - I am over the moon - they bras are more expensive yes I have to agree but so so worth it. I definitely have a spring in my step my DH was impressed with my enthusiasm & loved the two bras I got.

I am so happy I did this & its a wonderful gift - thanks to my {family} you are amazing even when i come up with crazy ideas.
 

A BLESSED EASTER

To everyone a very blessed Easter, may the joy & hope of a risen Christ always be with you.

At long last I can see the light

Today I was in court my DH by my side & after a huge wait in the most dismal conditions we were called in, butterflies in my stomach felt like giant eagles, palms sweating and my heart beat doing a tango. All of ten minutes later with not a question asked, we had to sign a form & it was over.
Seriously over.....

Ten years ago my DH's business went under, I got paid a salary from it and as he and I are married in community of property - I was co defendent to be sequestrated.
We had had all the unplesantries of people poking through our things claiming what they could take & not take ten years ago - cars were taken, furniture, bank accounts frozen - it was a nightmare BUT we lived through it, some days were awful some better until finally we just were used to our normal such as it was.

The only hitch in all this was the paper work was never filed (lawyers from all sides) etc so we waited & waited for our legal documents telling us we could get on with living - in september 2012 they came but we still had to make two court appearances, really we were fabaglasted but we wanted the legal ok. Today is the "official" begining of our new lives - of course that is great but we have been building up new lives for about nine years, the first year was really just survival.

I am sooo glad to have this done & we just spent time reflecting on how much we have done & how far we have come in all this, we are wiser, much more sensitive to others needs & what they may be going through & hopefully not as judgemental as we used to be. Our children have learnt huge life lessons & hopefully they will never have to face these same trials & all of them will be married with an antenuptial contract.

Still we have an amazing life, a lovely home, an awesome family & a good life. Thanks be to God because He really does never leave you and i know He does have plans for our future.

So today I am grateful & happy & to anyone going through a similar thing - it does get better I can guarantee that.
De Colores

Balanced

Today, I am exhausted but tomorrow will be much better, I have finished my big company year end & have two more to go. 

I am going to do as much as I can & do the rest tomorrow, my days of working night & day to get finished are actually behind me - I used to be so painful about it but I have realised a few extra days really doesn't matter.

There are somethings that are so important and there are some that really are not top priority, I need to put my boundaries down & get my priorities in place. Sounds logical & practical sometimes its just not that simple.

So this year I will travel more with hubby, do less volunteering & actually take a step back. It doesn't mean I will blob or opt out just be more particular to what I say yes to. Sounds selfish & to be honest it probably is a bit but I want to grow in God & also have some "me" time. 

Starting with just taking the time to be grateful for my life and everybody in it. Last week we said goodbye to a dear friend who had battled cancer with gusto & faith & humour - she was such a blessing but it bought it back to me that we don't know how many days we have & why waste them on unimportant things.

So I hope I can look back on this year as a year that I found the balance that I need.  

Holiday is over but what a great time

Celebrating NZ Jenny's birthday at CargoHold in Ushaka Durban

Girls just like to have fun - celebrating NZ Jenny's birthday at the Spa in Nkwazi on Jozini dam

Well we planned & plotted, we booked & found the best of what we could & we waited...... till our New Zealand family arrived ! It was wonderful & we have loved every minute of it but today they flew off & now its really over. My DH humoured me my tears & said it would make next time even sweeter & he is right but I wish it didn't have to end.

Cousins on top of Moses Mabhida Stadium Durban

New Zealanders walking with elephants in Hazyview

Still we did have fun; 

Merry Christmas 2012

Well we are ready and today although busy with last minute business we are so looking forward to being able to relax with family & friends.




Merry Christmas to everyone, my prayer is that our household and yours is filled with love, laughter & peace.
God's richest blessings on you & your loved ones.
If you are travelling take care & be safe.

May 2013 be a year of happiness, health & peace.

Families are Christmas !

Christmas is coming so fast & I am sooo excited, firstly our eldest son is home & thats always a sign to me its getting close to Christmas, never mind he comes home with two bags of laundry but he's home.
This means our other two children are mostly home for dinner, getting together with their brother - its amazing how when they all live in their own homes - they still gather in ours but I love it, noise, mess & all.

We had a lovely long weekend & have tried to get moved back entirely into our home after all the repainting, re sanding of floors etc - what I can't finish now is just tough. The most important thing is that we are comfortable & all the beds are in place ready for visitors.
The tree is not up yet because its tradition we all get the live tree together - the first time we'll all be together is thursday & thats the day the tree will go up.

We are having Christmas at home with all of our immediate family & a couple of friends, then on the 26th we are off to have Christmas with my sister & hubby in Joburg, she is more than a sister she is friend & confidant & critic too. Yes we will get up at some unreasonable hour to travel the six hours to Joburg, spend a day & a half with them, saturate ourselves in family & then depart to meet up with our other family & go on a well deserved break - just can't wait.

When you run your own businesses its very hard to organise your time off, especially with the laundries, but we have done so much planning & plotting & it will come together wonderfully. I am only sure of one thing, it doesn't matter if it doesn't run to schedule or the fish don't bite or the animals hide away - we will be family together & thats the very best.

 

My Living Space right now.

This is my lounge in real life - but as of now with the painting - its the kitchen, office, laundry etc

RIP DEBS

Debs (Debbie Boyer) lost her fight to cancer on Saturday 20 October 2012, with her beloved family close by at home in Mauritius. She was peaceful & full of faith & love to the end of her struggle.

She was my best dearest  friend & I loved & admired her greatly.

We have always been more like sisters & shared everything, our families are almost interwined.

I am so glad for her to be with our Lord and safe but I am so sad for all of us left behind.
To Jean Claude, Jacques & Damian my love & prayers are with you always & we will keep our bonds strong.

She always was so faithful & strong in her faith & love of our Lord & that makes me feel very small when I feel so sad now for myself. Still the lay out above makes me smile, the times we shared, the laughter & tears we shed were all so special.

"wait for me Debs till we meet again." 

Painting !

Yip we are painting the inside of our house for the first time in forever !

The first week was full of anticipation & excitement, I didn't mind cleaning & clearing up the first two rooms really felt quite wonderful. Then came the dust, smells of paint & turps & did I mention dust aaahhh. Anyway after the room was finished it looked gorgeous & empty & wonderful, hah until I realised we had to move the next rooms stuff into there plus plus - aahh now its just our bedroom & office that has anything resembling living space.

No I am not complaining just reality hit me square in the face of how doing anything worthwhile is not easy but the end result will be a fabulous clean flowing colour scheme, vanilla walls & white ceiling in the bedrooms, everything else is cobbler beige (which I call putty colour) & white ceilings but it flows. Another week & we should be finished roll on next Friday 26th October.

Then DH decided to have our floors re-done, they are oregon pine & so yes i caved in & the next two weeks after that will be floors - quite easy really move everything out (yes everything) & we will sleep & work out of our granny flat in the back garden - that right now is a storeage space for anything & everything, we don't even know if the bathroom works.

My husband never promised me a boring life, whew he has kept his word lol but seriously it'll be the last time we do anything to this house, after that I would like to go into a secure complex where I can lock & go. 

We are living with empty rooms & I really like the space & keep saying we need to down scale our furniture & belongings - my DH is a horder & I am not so its a matter of us both compromising but i think he's seeing my point of view somewhat. My DD & I had a good laugh we hauled out my wedding dress & veil from the back of a cupboard ( DH & I have been married for 32 years!!!!) & I am going to clean it & get rid of it my poor hubby nearly had a fit but I just said no its got to go. 

Anyway i am off to cook dinner in a kitchen thats relatively dusty (that fine dust that comes from sanding down walls that look perfectly good to me !) even though my dear maid has cleaned it . Aaaagh the good life.
 

01st October 2012

I can't believe I last blogged four months ago,still I am alive & kicking.
June & July & August whizzed past, I celebrated my birthday in August,went away to our timeshare in Pilansberg  where we always meet up with my sister & brother in law & just enjoy the time together. Coming back to Durban after the dryness in the Pilansberg & Johannesburg is always wonderful - we really are a Durban by the sea family.
In September DD & I headed down to Cape Town for the scrapbooking convention at Spier wine estate & it was lovely, we flew in on the early flight on Thursday to a cool wet cape, but by the time we had booked our car & whizzed off towards Stellenbosch it was already lifting. We went all over on thursday & just explored, on Friday the sun shone & off we went to Kirstenbosch Botannical gardens which are magnificent, went to Hout Bay for a late lunch & then off to the V & A water front which was so busy but had such a good vibe. We just made it in time back to Spier for the registration on Friday afternoon exhausted but happy. The one thing that struck me was how clean all the areas were, even driving past Khayalisha area was really clean, the other thing was that they sell beautiful proteas along the roadside at incredibly cheap prices & they are so big & beautiful.
Saturday & Sunday we had 6 sessions & thoroughly enjoyed them, made new friends & relaxed, we finished just before 5pm on Sunday but had wisely booked our flights for Monday morning at 10.35am. So we had a last supper out in the Stellenbosch area and relaxed for the evening. we flew back on monday relaxed & refreshed & really feeling like we had had a super break.
Then its been the church fete, cooking & serving bacon & egg rolls till twelve, then a quick dash home to change & catch a flight to Joburg for a 21st birthday party, whew I am exhausted now but great fun was had by all & I am glad we made the effort.
My DH business is in an unatural slow time & he gets incredibly edgy & stressed, add to this the decision to paint the inside of our house - for the first time in about 16years. We are still uncertain about bedroom colours but are in agreement for the flowing of the open plan dining room/kitchen area into the lounge & passage area so yay for that. My DH is very conservative & so its a battle to get colour into our home but he is compromising this time so lets hope it works out. I don't see us painting again for a very long time. Moving everything out of each room is a pain but its been good too as we need to declutter as we go along, even the inside of the cupboards have been emptied to be repainted & that was a mission especially as our eldest son moved to Joburg nearly 4 years ago but his cupboard is full of all his stuff, so he said I need to sort it out - he may just be sorry he said that.
So its a postive outlook for this month & hopefully a calmer one too.

Life is not always great

I feel like a hamster spinning on a wheel & getting nowhere fast, I like being busy & normally cope well, lately I feel as if I am going  to fall into a pit & never get out.
Why ? probably because life just happens, we haven't had a free saturday/ sunday for 2 months due to work, church, charity, social committments & we don't always get enough sleep due to travelling all over. Yes travelling is a bonus of our work but it can be very tiring & 2 testy people in a car for eight hours not so much fun, especially since I do battle to keep my opinions to myself ( really am working on it but can't say its easy.) The same can be said of sitting at an airport waiting for a delayed plane.
Our family has gone through an emotional year & a bit with our extended family having huge issues to work out & because we can't be there for them it is so so so frustrating. I really believe in "it takes a village to bring up a child"as there is always the community to support &  encourage & rely on. These days families are fragmented & its definitely not a positive thing although if I had to be face to face with this particular family member (whom I love) I might just be tempted to wack him one. ( not nice I know but so honest.) I also realised how much I was hoping for a fairy tale ending & that takes a lot of emotional pounding when you have to really take off the rose coloured glasses. ( though I still have hopes.)
Then I have just had an SARS audit for one of our businesses, not too bad at all but quite demanding still & hopefully they will sort out the end result. I have to admit to not having a problem with SARS so shouldn't complain - it just adds onto my load.
To top it off my son thought it was just fine doing a baited shark dive ???? I mean really at 26 I thought he had grown up - still it went well & he's in one piece although he does seem to have a much more healthy respect for sharks. Thats another thing our youngest is going overseas hopefully at the end of the year & although he doesn't live at home he works in the family business & father & son are like two circling lions recently - whew its sometimes too much & Mom always lands in the middle & it is horrible.
It will get better ....... at the end of the year we will have overseas family visiting & right now thats my light at the end of the tunnel.


 

Nikon School of Photography

DH & I just spent a morning at the Nikon School of Photography in La Lucia Durban, not to do photography that will have to wait. To learn about our new Nikon D3100, it was really very interesting.
There were 24 people & I felt that was a lot but it did work, the lecturer Mark Young was very good, he's an international photographer & gave us lots of good tips & laughs at common faults but what impressed me more was his knowledge of the camera.
He was very comfortable with it, never had to look up anything & was quite happy to help all of us, he had a super way of making you do it - rather than show you how and for me that really works.
Everything was hands on & he had us taking photos changing settings & getting different results - I enjoyed it thoroughly but by the end of 4 hours I was just overloaded with knowledge & technical jargon, thank heavens DH & I did it together because we both can't forget the same thing hopefully.
So we decided to go for a light lunch at Gateway, why I am not so sure because everyone was there aaaahh I can't stand crowded places but we found a relaxed table & enjoyed lunch, thank fully it was much easier going out than in.
On our way home our DD said to stop off at her house & see her garden, she has started with nothing & has got her lawn going, a few roses & a few shrubs, its coming on. What she was so excited about was her old wheelbarrow which she had planted bulbs in & they are sprouting, I am not sure how well they will do in durbs but we'll have to wait & see.
So now its off to have a nanna nap lol I need it.

A Blessed Easter

Wishing you all a Blessed Easter, full of Hope, Love & Joy.

Today I am

Today I am

• Grateful its Friday & I got through the week.

• Grateful for finishing 3 business sets of books & filed their taxes yay.
• Grateful for my hubby & family's support even when I am grouchy.

• Grateful to know I can relax this weekend.
• Grateful to have long distance relationships with family overseas.

• Grateful to know I don't have to get up early tomorrow.
• Grateful to be meeting friends for lunch on Sunday.

• Just so so glad to know I can see things a bit clearer right now.

Peace & Quiet

Fish Spa

Fun photos