Friday 26 October 2012

Dullstroom weekend< shotgun and hangovers

BWWAHAHA- sounds really bad with that all in one heading ;-P.

* WARNING -Long post with lots of photo's*

As you all know we had planned a trip up to my sister Gaye's (GSCreations) little Village Dullstroom for the weekend so Vicki could meet up with the rest of the "South African" digi girls that she has got to know over the last few years online. Unfortunately Renee could not make it due to health and family commitments and we seriously missed her.

Friday Vicki was dropped in Dullstroom by her Kruger Park tour bus and Gaye fetched her while they waited for us to arrive from Pretoria. A good ol' South African Braai was organized for the Friday night.. and lets just say that I am STILL recovering! BWHAHAHA.

2 Photo from Cherye Leah's Facebook page:  (from back: Gaye , Me, Jenni , Vicki, and Cherye (Jenni's daughter).

Eventually all together and mmmm only 9pm and in the kitchen concocting cocktails and shooters while the men stood cooking food over the fire in the storm outside- lol

1 Photo from Cherye Leah's Facebook page: Having one of my favourite shooters - Chocolate Cakes!

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And these are just a few of what we had that night (and which kicked my butt for the rest of the weekend)- as you can see by the photo's that follow- BWHAHAHA

6We moved up to Cadens "play room" to play darts! Jenni packed the huge cooler box full of the "cocktail and shooter bottles" and gosh for some reason I couldn't get my flight feathers to stay in my darts! BWHAHAHAHA- wonder why? lol

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Yup- well - looks like trouble to me too- bWHAHAH

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Vicki and I just could not seem to hit the dart board and left Ben (Gaye's Hubby) a wonderful intricate design of HOLES in his wall to fix up- BWHAHAHA.- you can see Wayne's face going- OOOOPS! lol

9 Saturday - the morning after and feeling a bit tired but ready for the day ahead! lol - We had a breakfast planned at Jenni's cottage with Mark cooking- thank goodness as I was STARVING and hadn't eaten much the night before- we laughed and drank and yakked more than we ate- go figure! lol

10Champagne breakfast and mmmmmm, Jenni you should know better than to give me MORE alcohol as my mouth goes 10 to the dozen normally.. now it's on steroids! BWHAHAHAHA!

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Marks famous Mexican breakfast ( well by the time we ate it was near lunch so lets call it Brunch- lol).. It was DIVINE and Wayne has already said he will be making it again soon.

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And of course Wayne had his favourite "girl" with us most of the weekend too. Miss C loved having us all around and had us giggling at her little antics.

We landed up in the local pub called the "Duck and Trout" from 4pm onwards.. and I say onwards as we only got back to the cottages at 11pm!

It was RUGBY time and Vicki has even got to know how the game works and was shouting and screaming with us too- lol ( she hasn't had a choice with the boys - it's watch or get left out! hahaha). Jenni , Cherye, Mark and I all support the SHARKS and they won! WOOOHOOO! Wayne's team(the Bulls) lost to us...mmmmmmmm so you can imagine the teasing and of course celebrations after(GASP)-lol... I don't have photo's of the night but will be getting from Cherye - I don't think I want to see those actually- BWHAHAHA!

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Sunday was overcast and COLD ( thank Goodness! lol) and we had reservations for Breakfast at a little country styled Bistro in the mountains. ( don't know which idiot decided we had to leave at 8.15am after the night we had before- BWHAHAHA)

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COFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEE- and peep holes in the snow for eyes! OMG, I was soooo tired and hungover that I didn't even do my hair- BWHAHAH!

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Poached egg with smoked trout (fresh from the Bistro's farm) and OJ was Vicki's hangover fix ( and for us all too! lol)

With Breakfast we had booked "Skeet Shooting"- mmmmmm, don't think this was the best idea with Hangovers..lol.... but we had a blast!

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Wayne of course loved it.. I mean which man doesn't enjoy holding a shotgun and hearing loud BANGS right?? lol

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Mark was a real HOTSHOT and hit just about every skeet they sent up..(a ringer for sure- hee hee) He like Wayne couldn't get enough.. lol. Wayne wants' a rematch soon Mark- BWHAHAH!

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As for the girls.. well Gaye had done it once before and she hit a couple of skeets too.. "Annie get your gun" has nothing on sis! lol

Jenni, Cherye and I had never even seen a shotgun.. let alone shoot one.. we were as nervous as hell but were game to try it out...

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Check Jenni go! (She had to borrow some hair clips from Caden so her hair didn't get in the way- lol)... and she shot down skeets too ( WOOHOOO- way to go Jen!) lol

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Cherye is tiny and when she went up Gaye lent her a scarf to help with her shoulder not taking too much of the recoil.. But Jenni and I started laughing as we thought she looked the same size as the rifle- BWHAHAHAH! (sorry Cherye couldn't resist- lol)

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As for me... I hit absolutely SQUAT! - with eyes as small as those and a head from hell- who would- lol. I had more fun blowing the smoke out of the barrels after each shot than shooting the shotgun! BWHAHAHAHAHA.

We had a great time and I must admit that it took me 3 days to recover and I only felt normal yesterday! Thanks sis for putting us mad hatters up for the weekend and for making it soooo much fun!

********************paying rent************************

NEW CU @ 25% off at Sugar Hill Co this weekend.

kb-bloomers26 Bloomers 26

kb-patsnprints23 Pats n Prints 23

And a CU Blog freebie for you today:

kb-PatsnPrints-freebie_2610

Layered PSD paper print pattern:

You can grab it HERE: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63412554/kb-PatsnPrints-freebie_2610.zip

Vicki is off to Cape Town for two weeks now and I am planning to have a seriously QUIET weekend in front of my PC working on some new goodies for DSD weekend..( I did say plan- mmmmmmm)  lol.

Have a great weekend, Hugs and Loves

Friday 19 October 2012

Vicki's SA tour (so far)

Gosh thanks for all the messages about my dad.. I can tell you that he is recovering quicker than even the surgeon and physiotherapist expected! He is on crutches and at home with my son Nathan.. driving Nathan crazy as his hearing aid isn't working as it should due to him dropping it off the bedside table at the hospital- BWHAHAHAHAHA. Nathan and I have a little "Poppy" giggle everyday about something my Dad has done or said.. so I can relax a bit knowing he is really healing well and in good hands.

As you all know my friend and CT member Vicki made the long trip here from Texas USA last week Thursday and my team have been begging for updates and photo's of our "doings and outings"... so hang on to your coffee, tea or soft drinks as this is only one weekends adventures- BWAHAHAH ;-P

Friday last week (12th Oct) we spent the morning getting Vicki settled and unpacking cases and setting up all the electronic goodies... in the afternoon I took Vicki for her first "site seeing drive" around the area we stay in while we waited for Wayne to get back from work.. mmmmmmmmmm, well I don't know my own area that well (BWAHAHAH, only been here a short time myself) and we landed up on the "wrong side of the tracks"  so to speak in a little mining town called BRITS near our little town just following roads and checking the scenery! BWWWWWWWWWAHAHAHA- seriously..on a Friday afternoon of all things - it's home time for most of the area..and our local TAXI's where all over.. gosh did we giggle as Vicki got to see the stuff I would never have shown her normally...before she even saw anything else- lol. Nathan was like MOOOOMMMMM, what were you thinking?? errrr, I didn't- we just drove! lol

I decided to take Vicki to our little local pub ( as Vicki says' .. I come all the way to South Africa to land up in a IRISH pub- BWHAHAHA) as Wayne was catching a snooze after the chaotic week..

1 *taken with phone*

Well Irish Pub or not.. Vicki had her first typical South African shooter called a "Springbok"! Called that due to the "green and gold" colour (peppermint liquor and Amarula Cream) It was made to support our local Rugby team years ago.. hee hee, ok we had two of those each and a couple of beers and a margarita too.

We went out for dinner Friday night and Vicki got to eat her first SA meat - Springbok Carpaccio ;-)

It had been storming and raining since Vicki arrived and Sat morning the sun popped it's head out- WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, time to get out and show Vicki the BETTER part of our little area! LOL

h-1

First stop was the Aerial Cableway ( http://www.hartiescableway.co.za/) a few minutes from our house: They had renovated it and opened it about three months ago again. Wayne and I had both been wanting to go and Vicki was a great excuse to get there- bWHAHAHA.

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WHEEEEEEEEEEEE- and UP we go! Ok I will admit I was a little nervous as I don't do heights that well and hanging from a few "wires" sort of set my teeth on edge.. but besides the little transition bumps as it went through the different "pylon" sections I had a blast going up- lol

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BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAHAHA- mmmmmmm, thought the view was supposed to be "pretty"??? lol.. OMG, I swear we get off the cable car at the top and this is the "first view" we are greeted with! Wayne saw me start laughing and grabbing my camera and he is saying "NOOOO KIM" (he knows me way too well- lol) ... but OOOOPS toooo late as I had already snapped the "view" .. Vicki's chirp was .. just say NO to crack! Well it cracked us both up - excuse the pun ;-P

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The REAL view of the area I stay in..lol,  it's settled in huge Valley with a beautiful Dam.  We had a great time up on the mountain.. had a beer and strolled around seeing a good 180 degree view of the whole area. ( tons of more photo's but gosh.. would be here a week- lol)

We were then off to our typical South African Craft and Food market called the Chameleon Village (http://www.chameleonvillage.co.za/) .c-1

BWWWWWAHAHAHA- this Zulu warrior called Vicki his "Zulu Mama" which we all had a great laugh at.....

c-2 

Dressed in his "skirt" and all- BWHAHAHAHA. Gosh we spent a few hours in the Craft Market and I think Vicki is going to need another suitcase to get home as we came home with gifts for everyone she knows- LOL.

Sunday we had booked a tour at the Elephant Sanctuary ( http://www.elephantsanctuary.co.za/) also just around the corner from us.. and even Wayne was looking forward to this one> Shopping wasn't quite his thing the day before but he never complained once- ahhhh, thanks Waynie! lol

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Not the best photo as taken with my phone when we arrived but had to show the sign of course ;-P

We were all given a brief description of how the place works and just how the Elephants live, eat and just how easily you can become a "pancake" as our tour guide says it- lol.

First stop after a brief hike through the African Bush was to this young Bull Elephant who is the youngest Elephant in rehab at the centre:

e-3We all got the feed him to feel how they use their trunks as "fingers".. Well lets just say it's more like a Vacuum Cleaner on Steroids! BWHAHAH.

e-4  Even Waynie had a go ;-P

e-5 And of course I wasn't going to miss it either- BWHAHAHA.

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We then got another little hike through the bush to actually meet up with the older calmer Elephants to "feel touch and learn" up close.. This was taken by the tour guide who said it's the "Facebook" update photo- bWHAHAHA

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I won't even tell you what my comment was here- just know that poor Vicki nearly chocked laughing at it- it's censored- BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

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OMG... as you can see I had the best laugh at the "Elephant kisses"... this young Bull Elephant loves giving "kisses" and Vicki being first got a FULL MUDDY sloppy one that half sucked in her face and left a huge muddy "lip mark" around her face and into her mouth! BWHAHAHAHAHA

e-8  mmmmmmmmmm, maybe I shouldn't have laughed so hard at Vicki...as it was my turn soon enough! It's almost a shock when his trunk hits your cheek (ok half your face- BWHAHAHAHA) but lucky enough Vicki took most of the mud and I had minimal clean up afterwards- hee hee.

WE had a full and fun weekend ( with Wayne also making a tradional braai for supper on Saturday night). Vicki is now at the Kruger National Park on a 3 day tour to see our South African "Big Five" in their local surrounds. I am sure she will have filled hard drives with photo's from there and I can't wait to see them.

We are meeting up today and invading my sister Gaye's (GSCreations) little Village Dullstroom for the weekend............Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee, with  Jenni and her hubby Mark are also joining us... I don't think Gaye knows what she is letting herself in for- bWHAHAHAHA.

I know I'm sooo looking forward to seeing Jenni and my sister again... and sure Vicki will have a blast meeting them too.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and yup, my camera is already packed- lol

Hugs and loves

Friday 12 October 2012

More "doodoo" hit the fan + Vicki here

URGGGGGGGHHH- I can't seem to get out of the "deep end" of the swimming pool this year.. when all things looked like they were going to be "just fine"... Friday last week... I got pushed under again on Monday.

My Dad who had been with me for over a month and was strong and healthy when I put him on a plane Friday last week went and slipped in the rain on a busy main street and lands up breaking his hip and having a 30cm gash on his other leg that needed "stitching".. I nearly landed up next to him with a hernia and heart attack when I was phoned with the news! WTF??? Seriously??? ... to cut the looooong stressful story short.. He has landed up needing a full hip replacement (GASP!)... money my dear hubby and brother-in-law had to find before the hospitals would even admit him. EEEEK! But all's well and Dad's op went well and is already walking with the aid of a walker on the first day post Op.

Nathan has been my shining hero and God seriously blessed me with the best son in the world.. He knew that I had Vicki ( TXBubbles) dear friend and CT member for over 4 and half years arriving yesterday from Texas...and that I had been flying like a loon backwards and forwards to Port Elizabeth... he just stepped in and took over.. spent two full days at the hospital seeing all the specialists, filling in forms..keeping ME calm.. and making sure everything was ok ... Man I don't know what I would have done without him this week.. LOVE YA BOY!!

Yesterday I got to go fetch Vicki at the airport with hubby Wayne.. ( had to get there through our first really bad summer storm too- lol) ... WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, she arrived safe and sound and seriously "numb bummed" after sitting for 18hours on a flight to get here- OY! lol. We spent a bit of time last night chatting and laughing in the kitchen of all things( both getting used to our different accents- BWHAHAHA). We sent her to bed before 12 hoping to get her "time clock" in synch quicker- lol.  Today we will gallivant around my little valley here so she can see how this "Ol' Duck" lives- lol.

Anyway enough blabber for now... and I'm hoping the next few posts have just the FUN and good stuff to show you with Vicki being here.. Gosh it's sooo cool eventually meeting up with someone you have yakked too online for over 4 years- KWIM?

**********************paying the rent *********************

I did manage to get a kit finished ( which I actually started a MONTH ago while in Port Elizabeth- lol .OMG, longest taken kit ever I think!... but due to everything going on only managed to get it up yesterday.

20% off this WEEKEND @  ScrapMatters

kb-HallowEve_kit Hallow's Eve

Contains:
17 JPG papers 12x12
45 Elements: 1 Full Alpha + 9 word art strips

+ BONUS FREE WITH PURCHASE GIFT:

kb-HallowEve_ApothecaryLabe

Get these labels FREE when you purchase the kit - great for printing on tags or crafts for your Halloween Parties:

kb-HallowEve_kit2 Close Up Detail

And a HUGE Thanks to my CT team who jumped in yesterday to do some amazing inspirational pages for me ( You girls have been a life line from Heaven and I love ya!!)

lcc_TrickorTreat-1 By Loucee

All-Dressed-Up By Jenni

253090_10151203904107188_1587002714_n Art page by Ruthy

lcc_DressedtoKill By Loucee x2

pjk-halloween-spooky-web By Paula

carol By Carol

And you can grab this FREEBIE ADD ON right here today ;-)

kb-HallowEve_addon

Download it HERE: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63412554/kb-HallowEve-Addon.zip

Monday 1 October 2012

Mix a Kit time and SALE + freebie

AHH thanks so much for the messages guys.. Dad is doing much better and Nathan is just a frustrated energetic young man at the moment- but both are healing well. Now if only I could just buy some more patience and a couple more  hours in the day somewhere?? lol.

Yesterday was a very special day for me... It was our Wedding Anniversary. Wayne and I have been married for 23 years (+ the 7 years we dated before we got married makes it 30 years together!) OMG, sounds like a real lifetime huh? But as you all know, I love my man more with each year that passes and it really does feel like "yesterday" that we said "I do".  He is my heart, my rock, my best friend and my "other half".

kb-Myheart Using my "Heartwarming Mini kit" (journaling removed- lol)

He did spoil me with 12 long stemmed red roses ( which is REALLY something special as Wayne is not a flowers man- lol). He also cooked us a full roast lunch with pudding. I was given some time to myself yesterday which was one of the best presents I could have received at the moment.

kb-heartwarmingQP

You can grab this Freebie QP in my newsletter today ( yup, it's a MONDAY I know but it is the 1st of the month and I have lots of goodies to show you (+ some extra discount coupons too)

*******Exciting News @ ScrapMatters******

WelcomeSale_FULL

We have 4 New(and not so new-lol) Designers that have joined the ScrapMatters family and to celebrate the

WHOLE STORE is 30% off

*be sure to check my newsletter for an Extra Discount Coupon to use during the Sale too*

Being the 1st of October it's time for the ScrapMatters :: *Mix A Kit time.

All products coordinate and you can pick and choose your own bits - and this month you have over 52 products to choose from!

Here are my contributions:

kb-falling4U_elements-web Fall 'in 4 U - Elements

kb-Falling4U_prints-web Fall 'in 4 U - Prints

kb-Falling4U_plaid-web Fall 'in 4 U - Plaids and Tartans

kb-Falling4U_plains_web Fall 'in 4 U Plains

And a few inspirational Layouts using my bits above:

pearfect-jldwhodunit4-jpg60 By Hutchie

Tank-1 By Jenni

ruthy By Ruthy

28092012 By Renee

lcc_Fallin4U_hybrid copy Gorgeous Hybrid Card and bead box by Loucee.

kb-perfectlycute_web And by Me

And some Extra inspiration that I haven't managed to show off yet:

kb-WonderOfU the Wonder Of U

004-1 By Renee

Becca By Becca

pjk-Wonder-of-U-web By Paula

The-Wonder-of-U By Jenni

All Kits and Mix a Kit portions are 30% off with the store Sale now on.

I've made my Mix a Kit Layout into a Freebie QP for you too:

kb-falling4u_qp

You can Grab It HERE:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/63412554/kb_fallin4U_QP.zip

I hope you all have a fantastic Day and Week.

Hugs and Loves