I'm a total girl...

I've got a bad case of the flu at the moment, and being a typical male (and queer to boot!) I'm being a total girl! I'm sorry for myself, I'm pre-menstrual, moody and in general just really miserable. Typically male, I'm sicker than anybody else, and deserve a lot of love and attention and chicken soup and hot toddies and all the other little treats! My goodness, but I am a demanding little shit!

What this post is really about is to wish everybody a healthy, wealthy and wonderful weekend, filled with whatever it is your little heart desires!

A fruitful weekend to y'all!

TTFN

Irritatingly Irritable!

The lack of recent activity on my blog is easily explained. Well, easily explained in my mind, so if y'all don't understand - my humblest apologies...

It's been over eight weeks since I last saw my hubby, and the pressure at work is something phenomenal. Life always seems to rush towards the end of a year, and this year, it just seems as if it's gaining momentum every single day. Every waking moment is spent just trying to get ahead of the pile of paper on my desk, and just like it looks like I'm about to gain a foothold, it overtakes me again. Now I know that we are all probably really busy, and that most of our lives we tend to run from one assignment to the other, but it really is getting me down at the moment.

Don't get me wrong, I love what I do (most of the time, at least) but I just feel completely overwhelmed. With the launch of two new products in as many months, the plans for a US$35m investment gaining momentum, and the staff compliment growing by over 200%, I honestly don't know if I coming or going. Yes, yes - do one thing at a time, and just be methodical, but even my usual 'work flow' plan is failing me at the moment. All I'm seeing is me up to my nipples in paperwork... Oh well, at least I'm having fun, right? (NOT!)

Just ranting about it makes me feel better, even if only for a little while. Thank y'all for listening to me!

Have a fruitful day now!

TTFN

Me bad!

Been really 'lazy' the last while with posting and blogging - with communication in general really. No, let's be completely honest, have been so busy at work, that I just could not face plugging in the laptop at the end of the day, and logging on from home... That, and all my creative 'juices' were sapped by writing board reports and going trough piles and piles of financial reports. (Mental note to self - in my next life, I do NOT wanna study anything to do with finances...)

Right, so what's been happening here? Endless rain, completely mixed up weather, lots and lots of work, and very little else really. Estelle - a really dear friend, has been going trough a personnel crises, and I've tried to assist her as far as I can, but sometimes feel a little ill equipped for that purpose. I grew up, after all, in a house - although loving and caring, where the general feeling was always - deal with it! I've always tried to be a compassionate and caring person, and me thinks I achieve this most of the time, but not always.

Dawie is traveling a lot for work at the moment, and out of the last month or so, he's spent only one week at home, so he is also tired and basically at the end of his tether. That little break we took a while ago just feels so much like it never happened, and I think we both deserve a longer, and more substantial break soon. Planning to tour trough Namibia in December, so really looking forward to that at the moment. Not sure exactly how yet, but we will be driving from Pretoria to Windhoek via Upington and Keetmanshoop - a round trip of about 5/6000km. Lots of time together, and lots of time just to be... Amazing part of Africa Namibia is, such stunning scenery and contrast, and so sparsely populated, that you can go miles before spotting another living thing.

Will for now focus on our holiday plans for December, all that keeps me going at the moment. Also need to go 'down South' for a weekend soon, miss my Dawie and miss just being with him BIG TIME!

Oh well, all for now, really not too creative at the mo - so sorry for boring y'all to death!

Have a fruitful day now!

TTFN

9/11

My thoughts are with my 'Stateside readers today, six years after the tragic events in NYC.

I still remember sitting in peak hour traffic in Johannesburg, listening to 94.7, and how being completely shocked at the turn of events taking place - short of unbelieveable really.

Regards from Africa, y'all!

TTFN

Life, love, history and all that jazz...

I met my dearest hubby at a barn dance (keep your chuckling for yourself you utter cow!) a few years ago. What has happened since then is a whole mixed bag of joy, sorrow, laughter, tears, silliness, seriousness, good times, bad times - but mostly love.

The one thing that keeps me so devoted to my Dawie, is love. Here is a man that can cheer me up with one word, can make me smile with a look, can read my moods better than any other person on earth, and knows, just knows, where to place his hand while we are sleeping to reassure me he is there...

At one stage our relationship went trough a really rough patch - in fact, it nearly came to an end, but trought love - and heaps of understanding from this wonderful man, we were back on track, and even more secure in each other and in our relationship. He is truly my whole world!

Now that, due to my career, we live apart I miss him every day. I miss that early morning coffee together. I miss the way he lies with his head on my shoulder when we watch tv. I miss his dry sense of humour. I miss the way he makes loving blond jokes when I do something stupid. I miss the way he would come and sit in the bathroom and talk to me when I'm taking a bath. I miss the special way he makes sure everything is just so perfect for me and my neurotic little obsessions with neatness and order. I miss the way he cuddles up to me in the morning when the alarm goes off, and with a raspy whisper says - 'just a few more minutes sweetie'...

I love him so.

It hurts to be apart.

A few pictures!

I feel really 'uncreative' today, so, going to bore y'all with a few more pictures from my part of the world! I cannot always remember what I've posted before (It's called STML - Short Term Memory Loss), so if this is a rehash - sorry!

Mombasa Old city - you can walk for hours trought narrow little streets shopping in what seems to be little shops that come from the begining of the century. Loverly antiques!

This was just such a 'pretty' picture. We went on a Dhow trip around Kilifi creek for a 'sunset booze cruise' - it was friggin' hot, but the G&T's where cold, and they were plenty!

My parents - bless them, have a cottage next to the Kruger National Park in SA, and this is the view of the Crocodile River. We as a family (Me, Hubby, my sisters and their 'better halves' and my folks) are planning a nice break here soon. It is such a blessing that my hubby is so well integrated into my extended family... (Even when I'm not home, he gets invited to the family dinners and get togethers!)

This is Sun City in SA, overlooking the golf course and stunning landscaped gardens. We've spent many a weekend here as a 'mini break' from the madness of the city. Not really into gambling the two of us, but we do enjoy sitting together at the 2 cent machines and screaming with glee if we win something... We can occupy ourselves for hours with R20 (US$3)....

Well, I've once again ran out of time, so that's all folks!

Hope y'all have a really pretty evening now!

TTFN

Kampala Part II

Right, as promised a few pictures from Kampala, Uganda - for those of you who have absolutely nothing better to do...

This is from the Hotel balcony. It is RATHER HOT in Kampala, and very humid as the city is close to Lake Victoria, and basically on the equator, so it is a bit hazy.

The biggest export product (yokingly!) of Uganda is bananas, and they are everywhere to be seen! This is a boda - boda. The cheapest form of transport, and used for both goods and people. A bicycle (or small motorbike) with a small platform on the back - these bunches of bananas must weigh a ton!

An informal banana shop next to the road. A local dish called Matoke is made from boiled banana and ground nuts (peanuts) and then mashed to look like mashed potato - very tasty with a local beef stew, or blackbean stew. (Althought, with the bean stew and the matoke, you fart like a machine the next day!)

Sorry, I've run out of time, will have to do some more later!

Hope y'all have a pretty day now,

TTFN

A whole week...

Just noticed that I've not posted anything for a whole week. just shows how busy I am... (He lies to himself.) Truthfully, been really crazy lately and have not had any real time to do the things that give me joy - instead of the things that keep me out of trouble - big difference there.

Spent a couple of days in Uganda last week - Kampala to be precise, and really enjoyed the trip, even if it was for work. After seeing 'The last king of Scotland', and now visiting the country where it took place was a rare pleasure. The history of Uganda still runs deep in the people of the country, and having talked to a lot of people while there, it seems that even after all these years, those events still have an effect on them.

The city itself is sparklingly clean, the faces all smile, and the 'boda boda's' (Motorcycle and bicycle taxi's) are harrowing. Some of these have up to five people on one motorbike! (Three adults, two kids sitting on the tank.) My driver, bless him, had me shooting prayers most of the time. He uses a ooooold Toyota that was certainly still used to transport furry animals to the Ark in Noah's time, and insisted that he was the fastest, smallest, most nimble thing on the road... My nerves where shot! (The glance I got from his side of the car after I screamed like a girl while he was overtaking into oncoming traffic was precious.) I will post a few pictures of my trip tonight when I've downloaded the camera.

The hotel - The Kampala Serena, is worth every Dollar, and the service, friendly staff, restaurants, facilities, in fact everything is top notch. Now, how can I get the company to send me there again and then I get to stay the weekend and go and see the gorillas...

Enough for now - hope y'all have a fruitful day!

TTFN