{scraps of jacki's life}

shitty day..

liza is a colleague and a friend, and i have blogged about her many times before. her mother-in-law, dirk's mother, died on monday evening. you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

i got this email from someone close to me* today. names have been changed to protect the innocent. and the guilty..

Thursday 28 July……

 My day has been pretty SHIT thanks.

T* woke up grumpy and nothing would go well for him. Eventually I got angry and shouted at him.

C* woke up miserable and cried/tantrumed and nothing would go well for her. Eventually I got angry and shouted at her.

A* was as good as gold as always, helped with the other 2 etc.

Then they went to the car so long, while I finished getting myself and the house ready to leave…….

Then A* CRASHED THE CAR INTO THE GARAGE!!!!!!

She is 7………

All she tried to do was turn the key so that the heater would go on to warm up the car while they wait…. My stupid instruction, but I thought she could handle it: she is The Responsible One.

Of course she turned the key too far – and started the car, which was in reverse gear, so it “jumped”, …into the garage wall and door.

It is/WAS a brand new – 3 month old Tucson, 6000km only. First time I’ve EVER had a new car. (why didn’t she crash all the previous old cars I had?)

And now it has a huge ding on the back!

And I keep imagining what could have happened if T* or C* had been standing behind the boot at the time – they would have been pinned (CSI-style) between the car and the wall!

As any good mother would do, I:

1. Thanked the Lord that no-one was hurt. (3 seconds)
2. Said to myself it was only an accident and she meant no harm, wasn’t being naughty. (2 seconds)
3. Let rip – into T* and C* for being so impossible the whole morning. Surely it was their fault? (7 minutes)
4. Cried (30 minutes)
5. Felt guilty for shouting – it is my fault after all (rest of the day/rest of my life)
6. Cried some more as shock kicked in/wore off/whatever
7. Phoned Husband*, went to assessor etc

 all of this was before 8am.

So, how was your morning???

well, here is some more misery:

our very good worker, isaac, has been trying to get an ID book for a very long time, without success. on monday he spent a small fortune to go to pretoria in a taxi, to see if he could sort anything out.

while he was there, he was mugged in the toilet. they stole all his money. he tried to phone my man for help, but he has a useless cellphone, and the battery went flat. so he had to WALK home. from pretoria to benoni. a distance that takes me almost an hour by car. on the highway. it took him 2 DAYS! 2 days with no food, water, money, shelter or any means of contacting anybody. the man tried to phone him a few times, and even his family did not know where he was.

*edited to add: someone asked me why he did not go to the police for help. in the past he was held for 2 days in cells for being an illegal immigrant. he is not, he is south african. when he was eventually released, he asked where his bicycle and cellphone were, that he had when he was detained. they claimed that they knew nothing. the police had stolen his phone and his bicycle. this is not his only bad experience with the police. so, he does not trust them, and will never go to them for help.*

this is a man who is gentle and shy and quiet and dependable. he cannot afford this, and certainly does not deserve it! my heart breaks!

on tuesday at around 6pm, the local supermarket where i pop in for groceries 2 or so times a week, and where almost everyone i know pops in regularly too, was robbed at gunpoint by 22 odd armed robbers. it seems that many shots were fired, and some were injured, and lots of cash was stolen.

i have been reading and hearing of a lot of people for who this was a very difficult week. people dying, people crying. people who's kids are causing them great heartache and worry. people who's finances and marriages are dangerously close to collapse.

and i realise how blessed i am, and how much i have to be grateful for...

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

time flies...

i am still here...

 but i don't know where the time goes. before i know it, half the week is gone! i never meant to stay away this long but i felt like i had nothing new to say...

so, what have i been doing?

well, a little of this:

reading blogs. in my fabulous google reader.

and working through this:

never-ending emails.

and a little too much of this:

bricks breaking and other games on facebook.

and speaking of facebook, i have been here:

and hanging out on twitter:

and doing lots and lots and lots of photo-editing in photoshop:

(that cute little kid is me.)

why have i been photoshopping so much?

i have been doing an incredible photo-editing course with the talented jessica sprague, and also collecting and editing photos of this guy:

who became this man:

who is my father, who is turning 70 on monday. and i am making a slide-show of his life story in photos. i will share more of this next week.

also: i have been running a shop in difficult times, living, laughing, playing, stressing, and just generally been living!

i have been loving this music, that i found on rozanne's blog. thanks ro! it is made by John Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson and it is called Love Story. It is a mash of a Taylor Swift song and Coldplay's Viva La Vida. i have played it countless times these last 2 weeks!

and while you are on youtube, you can watch this very well crafted stop-action video, made with post-it notes:

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

now...

i have been playing with photoshop again. i just love it! i have been doing jessica sprague's photo editing course. i am going to learn about brushes next!

i pop into the cuttlebug challenge blog from time to time, to get some ideas and inspiration. their challenge for this week brought my butterfly post to mind, so i entered it. that post is still one of the most popular ones i ever did.

i am part of typepad's beta team, and i have been using typepad's new design for quite some time now. and i am very happy. but best of all is the AWESOME stats. their stats were not too bad to start off with, but now they are great.

for some reason i have been getting fewer comments lately. are you not talking to me anymore? i also often visit your blog without commenting, so i'm guilty too. but i have been trying a little harder, because i have been missing the conversation. please talk to me...

anyway, i have not had much to say on my blog since i started playing 'bricks breaking' on facebook and hanging out on twitter a few weeks ago. i wonder if that has anything to do with it?... nah! so, i stole this of my new blog-friend wenchy's blog, so i at least had something to post here today. besides, it seems to be list-season i blogland, so you cannot judge me as you probably did a list-thingy this week too...

1) Are your parents married or divorced?
married. 44 years last week.

2) Are you a vegetarian?
no. i like oxtail too much.

3) Do you believe in Heaven?
oh yes!

4) Have you ever come close to dying?
no. I may have wanted to, but no. (sorry wenchy. here i even stole your answer too. i stoop to great depths to provide great comic content to my loyal readers)

5) What jewelry do you wear?
chunky costume jewelry. i get bored quickly, and i don't have a rich lover. (yet)

6) Favorite time of day?
lunchtime...

7) Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
jip!

8) Do you wear makeup?
yes. always. never used to when i was younger.

9) Ever have plastic surgery?
yes. i need all the help i can get.

10) Do you color your hair?
of course. i am not as blonde as i pretend to be.

11) What do you wear to bed?
PJ's.

12) Have you ever done anything illegal?
who wants to know? who do you work for? are you wearing a wire?

13) Can you roll your tongue?
yes. why would anyone want to know that?

14) Do You Tweeze your eyebrows?
no. it shows.

15) What kind of sneakers?
crocs. i don't wear sneakers, as i don't do excersise.

16) Do you still own vinyl?
No.

17) What is your hair color?
who knows? i have not seen my hair color in years. greyer than i would like, though...

18) Future child’s name?
huh?

19) Do you snore?
of course not! that would be very unsexy! don't believe anything the man tells you...

20) If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?
new york. london. paris. cape town.  

21) Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
no. only the man, a jack russel puppy under the blankets, and 1-3 cats on top of the blankets. there is no space for stuffed animals.

22) If you won the lottery? …
i would pay my debt. and the rest? they would have to wait. just kidding. travel. fix my house.

23) Gold or silver?
silver. and silver-colored. see #5.

24) Hamburger or hot dog?
chinese. pizza. fish and chips.

25) If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Ice Cream. I declare it to be a food. (sorry wenchy! i could not come up with a better answer)

26) City, beach or country?
country. i love the bush. i just have to be within an hour's drive of a woollies, though. and have a good internet signal.

27) What was the last thing you touched?

*jacki scratches her head, thinking*

28) Where did you eat last?
here. now. salad for lunch over the keyboard.

29) When’s the last time you cried?
i cry often. cannot be more than a few days ago.

30) Do you read blogs?
Yes. all the time.

31) Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?
probably not.

32) Ever been involved with the police?
i have been living with an ex-cop for 6 years. does that count?

33) What’s your favorite shampoo, conditioner and soap?
whatever is on special at clicks. times are tough..

34) Do you talk in your sleep?
I don’t know. i am asleep, aren't i?

35) Ocean or pool?
neither. toilet.

36) What’s your favorite song at the moment?
the theme song from sponge bob square pants.

37) What is your favorite color(s)?
eyes - blue. money - blue. to wear - black.

39 Ever met anyone famous?
ramblerclive. oh, wait. i have never actually 'met' him. heidi swapp. stacy julian. tim holtz. karen forster. donna downey. oh shucks, now i have to find links to all their blogs...

40) Do you feel that you’ve had a truly successful life?
no. not yet. 

41) Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
twirl.

42) Ricki Lake or Oprah?
jerry springer.

43)Basketball or Football?
neither.

44) How long do your showers last?
10-15 mins.

45) Automatic or do you drive a stick?
love automatic. then i can sms while i'm driving..

46) Cake or ice cream?
Ice cream cake.  (thanks again, wenchy. it seems we have something in common)

47) Are you self-conscious?
yes.

48) Have you ever drank so much you threw up?
no.

49) Have you ever given money to a tramp?
yes.

50) Have you been in love?
oh yes!

51) Where do you wish you were?
with my family.

52) Are you wearing socks?
yes. and slippers too. at work. what can i say - it's cold!

53) Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
fortunately not.

54) Can you tango?
no.

55) Last gift you received?
a kiss.

56) Last sport you played?
scrapbooking.

57) Things you spend a lot of money on?
groceries.

58) Where do you live?
on a plot in benoni, south africa.

59) Where were you born?
windhoek, namibia.

60) Last wedding attended?
can't remember.

61) Favorite alcoholic drink?
red wine.

62) What’d you do last weekend?
went away with the entire extended family, to middelburg.

63) Most hated food(s)?
hate food? i didn't know it was possible.

64) What’s your least fav chore?
ironing.

65) Can you sing?
yes. not very well, though. but i do. all the time.

66) Last person you instant messaged?
hayley. on twitter.

67) Last place you went on holiday?
holiday? i'm self-employed, in the retail industry. no holidays. alas.

68) Favorite regular drink?
water. coffee.

69) Current crush?
my man!

and thus endeth todays intelligent blog post.

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

without words...

here are some photos of what we are doing this weekend away in mpumalanga:

eduard:

marni:

 

tian:

eduard, sean and francois - 3 birthdays in one week:

 

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

becoming a teenager...

happy 13th birthday sean!

i don't know that much about when he was born, as i was not there. but i do know that he is a kind and gentle boy, and that my life is better for having known him for the last 6+ years.

on sunday he brought us breakfast in bed, and when i asked why, he told me that it was 'evil stepmother's day'.

thank you sean, for enriching my life. without you i would not be a stepmother, evil or otherwise. and my life would have been poorer for it.

you can read what i have blogged about him before here.

tonight we are going out to supper and a surprise. typical scrapbooker/blogger, i saw a photo-op earlier in the week. and tomorrow we are going away for the weekend. with my entire, extended family. who are all already there.

and i am taking tonight, friday, saturday and monday off. wow! i hope the economy survives.

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

happy birthday!

today is francois' birthday.

23 years ago tonight, my son was born. he was such a cute baby, with LOTS of hair...

he was born at 22h30, weighed 4.01kg and was 53cm long. he was unplanned, but not unwelcome!

and this is what he looks like now:

he has become a beautiful young man.

i scrapped this quick and simple layout this week, with the photos taken of him at the photoshoot in may, by amelia.

i used treasures and colormates cardstock, pattern paper from paper explosion's wedding collection (south african), a little scrap of 7 gypsies paper, rub on alphas and ribbons from my stash, silver photocorners. and my 2 most trusty scrapbooking tools: my black pen and my stapler.

all along the border of the cardstock, i repeated morse code for i love you.

he is away with his grandparents, so i don't see him today.

happy birthday francois! i love you, and your father would have been proud of the man you have become.

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPINTIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa