Looked out the kitchen window this moring and saw all the dew drops on the mini Japanese maple, it looked so pretty. Andy was obviously very taken with it, because I found these pics when I took my art journal pics.

Day 17 Art Journal Challenge. Yippee, Rhonna is back so I am back to her quotes again. Bother, I found heaps that I really liked.

Day 16 Art Journal Challenge

Day 15 Art Journal Challenge. Looks like I am on my own doing this now. Rhonna has had some trouble on her blog and is not posting any more quotes. Now that I have managed to get to Day 15 I am not keen to give up, so have decided to find my own quotes and keep the challenge going.

Workout.

Today has been a me day getting lots of bit and pieces done. We have just had one of those PowerPlate shops open in town where you stand on this machine in a squat and it vibrates like crazy. Apparently it contracts the muscles heaps and is the equivalent of an hour long workout. Anyway they have a free introductory session so I figured I would give it a go - wow, I can't believe how puffed I got just standing still and tightening various muscles. I can even feel the familiar tired ache of worked out muscles too, so it must work. Hmm, maybe combining that with the gym might be a bit of overkill.

Headed into Whitcoulls again (can't keep away from there lately), and picked up a leaflet on NZ Book Month. No giveaways, but they have excerpts of 25 books written by NZ authors. They are in the middle of judging at the moment and the top 6 will be sold in Whitcoulls. You get the opportunity to read these and pick your own top 6.

I have also made the decision about going back to work, and figured I don't really want to lose the freedom that I currently have unless it means I am working for us in a business of our own. To that end, opportunities keep cropping up and we are actively pursuing a couple of different things at the moment. So even though I am not going to work immediately things are definitely heading towards that way and the opportunity has got us thinking and talking in that direction again.

Day 14 Art Journal Challenge - loving these quick and easy pages. I think I need to take the idea of these and extend it to scrapping my photos too :-)

Day 13 Art Journal Challenge

Pick Me.

Yep, I was the annoying one that you get really peeved at in the supermarket! I knew I needed something at the deli, but there was a huge line so I figured I would get it after I had everything else. It wasn't until I had unloaded everything else at the checkout that I remembered I hadn't got it. The checkout girl gave me the OK to go so I ran and there was still a line. By the time I got back there were 3 people waiting behind my processed groceries. Oops! Lots of sorries etc, but did I feel guilty - not a bit!! Absolutely gorgeous day today, ya gotta live in the sunlight!

The baby cards that I spent the day making at my lss on Friday, bottom left one still to be finished. Lots of fun making these, the first cards I have really gotten into. I think I might have the bug now.

Day 12 Art Journal Challenge - nice and quick and easy for a lazy Sunday when I am trying to update my blog with dozens of pics.

Day 11 Art Journal Challenge. No quote posted by Rhonna today, so I went into the past challenges and found one that I really liked.

Day 10 Art Journal Challenge

The very proud new boat owner. Sarah puts the newest bu through its paces and can't stop smiling. Roll on summer!

Launched.

9 children, 8 adults, 5 cars, 1 boat and 1 lake and you have the perfect setting for a boat launching party. The weather was looking good this morning with lovely blue skies everywhere - launch party at 1pm! We all rug up and head on over to discover just how cold it is at the lake in the middle of winter when the wind is blowing into the camp.

Hugely successful day though with everything going very smoothly and Huw and Sarah being the proud owners of the newest Malibu in the Club. Lots of driver changes as they start the running in process. It is finally pulled out of the water with 2 hours on the clock and we have a celebratory bubbles to confirm the success of the day.

So the camera has lots of pics of the boat launch but none of my scrapping projects and now the light is not good enough to take a pic without the flash and I don't like how they come out!

Cards

For some reason we run late this morning and it is a rush out the door to get the boys to school on time. I go to the gym and do my full workout - the second day of weights in as many days for the first time in about 3weeks - just as well I have the weekend to recover. Home for a coffee and then off to my LSS so I can actually get some scrapping done. Aside from that it is way too cold to sit around at home.

I spend a very pleasant day the owners of the store, apparently most of the other ladies come a bit later. My aim was to get stuck in and make some cards which I managed to achieve - 3 cards completed and another 2 that need some finishing touches. Get a huge fright when I realise that it is now 2.30 and I have to pick up Nick at 3pm so we can get to the hockey game by 4pm.

Wrap up in the warmest clothes I can find and watch the boys put their best feet forward - not good enough unfortunately, they lost 2-0, although Nick came very close to scoring 2 goals. Andy tells me when he arrives that Sarah's new boat was delivered to their place at 4pm so we are heading there after the game.

Woohoo, new carpet and upholstery in the boat smells so good, the boys climb in and around, Andy shows Sarah how to hook up the hose to flush it out and the boat makes its first throaty grumbles - very exciting, bring on the champagne!

Home for pizza for dinner and I have just hopped out of the spa pool in an attempt to warm up a bit - very warm now :-) I am also way to lazy to go and take any pics of either my art journal challenges or the cards I completed today, so you will have to wait until tomorrow.

Homework

Nick hard at work on his science project that he has worked on continuously for the past 3weeks. He has been so interested in getting this done - I guess his chosen subject has a lot to do with it. He has been testing the aerodynamics on all his model cars in the hope of finding the most aerodynamic vehicle. I tell ya, I have learned more about streamlined vehicles than I ever wanted to know, I guess it will come in handy one day though. Andy and I have been watching Nick in amazement at how dedicated he is to this project, jumping on the computer any chance he gets to do more research - he is so completely different to way his brothers approach their homework. Keep it up Nick and you will go far!
 

I can't believe this, the shortest day tomorrow and look what I saw in our garden today. That gorgeous yellow really makes you feel warm and sunny even if the weather is cold and grey.

Day 9 Art Journal Challenge

Day 8 Art Journal Challenge - A couple of firsts here, printing the text onto a transparency and painting the background - cool fun.

Day 7 Art Journal Challenge

Quotes

I am loving these quotes that Rhonna is coming up with for art journal challenge. My challenge at this stage is to do something creative every day. So far, I am managing to keep up and even better I am using some of my stash and trying really hard to use different techniques as I go.

Mel mentioned about the Whitcoulls list a while ago and I put my favourite books on her blog. One of the books that kept being mentioned there was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Everyone was raving about it, so I added it to my list of books to read. Oh my goodness what a tear jerker! Geeze, I don't think I had even read 4 pages before the first tears started pricking. A great book and very well written but boy you need to have a tissue handy and don't read it round the kids unless you want to tell them why you are cying every 2 seconds!

Tommy is at a birthday party this afternoon and Andy & I have spent the day cutting down the huge leaves off the banana palms and taking them to the tip. A huge job that has needed doing for a while. Now, I think I am going to go an relax in the spa pool with a glass of bubbles. Cheers!

Day 6 Challenge

Day 5 Challenge

Day 4 Challenge

Day 3, 21 Day Art Journal Challenge

Day 2, 21 Day Art Journal Challenge

Day 1, 21 Day Art Journal Challenge

Challenge

Still not a lot closer to a decision - went for one interview today and totally stuffed up all the questions they asked me. I mean, I can hardly remember what I had for dinner last night let alone what I did at my last job a whole year ago! Must have something right though because they want me for a second interview next week. Tomorrow I have another interview which is for the job I got the phone call about I was talking to Andy about it tonight and he is more worried about how a full time job for me will affect our going away for long weekends and school holidays etc. I am beginning to think he just wants me to be around the whole time. So that really just adds to the decision pile, do I want to be around the whole time, or get out and do something for me whether that be full or part time work or something completely different. Too hard!

Reading through blogs last night I came across http://www.rhonnafarrer.typepad.com/ and the 21day challenge that she is running yet again. I have looked at this in the past and figured I should get into that. The quote for the first day (Follow your dreams, transform your life), really struck a chord with me, so I am doing that too. Hopefully while I am creating this journal and thinking about the quotes I will work out what I want to do. Pics coming tomorrow of my efforts, can't be bothered finding the camera at the moment.

Decisions.

A telephone call out of the blue and now I don't know what to do. A job opportunity that sounds exactly like me doing what I know and love, but full time work. Do I want to go back to work full time? Do I really want to work for someone else? Should I wait a bit longer and get really stuck into sussing out a business for me? So many questions and so few answers. I am heading in this afternoon to find out a bit more and hopefully make some decisions one way or another.

Weekend Pics

The view from Stephanie's house and where we all turned up for breakfast.





Piling into the Chev.

Poppa demonstrating the separator, getting the kids to do the hard yards turning the handle.




Just a few of restored separators that Poppa has in his collection.







Poppa and Jake making butter balls from the cream we separated.










Glen and Julie's future house site overlooking their irrigation dam which we reckon would be a great alternate site for another waterski club.

Friends

Grrrr, don't you hate it when you type an amazing post then go to alter the font and the whole lot disappears! I am peeved. I was rabbiting on about the amazing weekend we had welcoming Rhys and Mary back up from the South Island to their new farm in Northland. A hugely wonderful weekend that really makes you realise just how much you miss the lakes and all the lovely people that we live with when we are there. Will post more on that tomorrow when I get the pics to post too.

Nick came home fizzing tonight from his guitar lesson. He had just learned a new blues song and could play it perfectly. We were amazed as it flowed from his fingers without the hesitancy that has been there before. I think this boy might have found his niche.

The day in Paihia was magical and just so calm. It was very peaceful looking out at the views.

More Paihia

Just for Yolande, some more pics of our Paihia day, leaving Russell. Glad you enjoyed the pics Yolande. It still amazes me that Paihia is a day trip for us with it taking only an hour to get there. I am still in the Auckland mindset that you only go there for the weekend! We love this place and often head up there, I will keep an eye out for your old house next time we are there.

Paihia with Mum.

We had a really fun day yesterday. Dropped the boys off at school and then headed up to Kerikeri to check out all the crafty shops etc. Found a stack of really great womens clothing shops, now I need somewhere to go so I have a decent excuse to go back up there and spend some money on clothes.

Checked out a few crafty shops, although there weren't as many as I thought there were. Off to Paihia for lunch and then a cruise over to Russell on the fairy.

Mum is heading over to Melbourne in October so we are lending her the digital camera that the boys used while we were in the States. Figured she had to get used to it, so we took it with us, these are the results so far. The last pic of the two of us is a demonstration of how you can take your own self portrait. She was most impressed with that!

Mum on the ferry

Self Portrait.

Demonstrating to Mum that you can take your own pic if there is no-one else around to take it for you. Sitting on the ferry waiting to go over to Russell.

Blah, blah, blah

Is how I feel at the moment. I started to feel sick on Monday night and have got steadily worse all week. I hate head colds with the nose that either won't breathe or drips continuously! I think I must be winding down after scrapcamp. Anyway my guys are taking me away for the weekend, down to Auckland to see the boat show. Really looking forward to going and blobbing in the hotel room, although I think I might let them go to the boat show by themselves. I haven't done any scrapping since getting home and think I will take down the mini album we started in Faye's class and finish that off over the weekend.

The financial year for the ski club finished on 31 May so I have spent the last couple of days sorthing through the bulk of the accounts. Everything is looking really good and on target for when the last bank statement arrives next week. Just the last few transactions to tie in and then off to the auditor - wahoo!

Mum is coming up to stay next week, she arrives on Tuesday and stays until Saturday. She is really keen to see the boys playing their hockey matches on Tuesday and Friday nights. I hope the weather is good while she is here. We have had a couple of absolutely gorgeous days and managed to get a whole pile of laundry done.