Homecoming

Mum gets back from Adelaide tonight so we have decided to head on down to Auckland and catch up with her tomorrow. I am thinking both Michael and Karen will probably be there too so it will be a great chance to see everyone again.

I've been scrapping

Yay, finally I am getting to the huge pile of pics that I have from our trip last year, 2 double layouts done so far, detailing being stranded at the airport, arriving in LA and how we spent our first couple of days. I don't think you will be able to read the journalling, but it is all taken directly from my blog, so that part was really just a cut and paste thing. I was also very lazy taking the pics and didn't take them out of the page protectors so they look a bit blurry, sorry, but you get the idea anyway!
A good friend of mine was complaining about PMS and yelling at her children. I had a real lightbulb moment and figured gee maybe that is why I was so grumpy with DH and the boys last week and took off for my girly time with Mum. Geeze all these years and it clicks. I am not going to ask DH if he agrees with my theory though, or I will never hear the end of it.

We have had a gorgeous day here and for the first time all week I managed to get all the laundry done and dried. That wind has to be good for something. Andy is talking about taking his hand mower over to the lake and doing a bit of tidying up, not sure if we will all go yet or not. If it is really windy it is a bit of a waste of time taking the boat. We will see what the morning brings. Although now I have got started I wanna stay here and scrap!! 

Sneak Peek

 
OK here it is a sneak peek of the page I did for Donna's circle journal. Can't show you it all because it is meant to be a surprise for when she gets it back after the other 9 people in the group have added a page too. Very exciting now that I have posted it off and waiting eagerly for my next one to add pages too.

We keep getting little tempting texts from Mum who is on holiday in Adelaide at the moment, she has been cruising on the Murray River for the last couple of days. Couldn't believe the weather forecast this morning that said it was 35 in Adelaide - we could certainly do with some of that weather here.

Been back to the gym all this week and really struggling with my new workout which is a lot more cardio oriented than weights. I tell ya trying to climb 100metres is darned hard work especially after the 2weeks off that I have had. Today though I managed it after stopping twice for a breather. My thighs are definitely going to enjoy relaxing in the spa tonight! 

My son is a geek (in the nicest possible way)

I am convinced now - Tommy is a geek! This kid came home from school today super excited because he had homework to do. Some reading that he didn't have time to do in class and some math stuff that he actually asked the teacher for. He finished his workbook and told her it was too easy and could he please have some harder stuff so he could do it tonight! Man I nearly fell off my chair when he told me that. I don't know anyone who would ask their teacher for math homework!!! And I am writing this here because he won't read it and then I can't pass my hatred of that subject onto him.

I have been playing with my scrapping supplies today working on the circle journal that we are doing with the glam girls, lots of fun. I also purchased a small cupboard from Briscoes which perfectly fits in my 12x12 papers, still a bit more sorting out to do and I really need some of those paper holders. Last week when I was in Auckland by myself I did the rounds of the scrapping stores and made a few more purchases. I thought I was very restrained but there are so many gorgeous new lines out there. I also managed to catch up with Lianne at the store she is working at now Scrappin Downunder and managed to check out the new Bohemia range that they have. Wow the layouts that Lianne has done with this range look even more stunning in real life than they do on her blog.

The final store I visited I was browsing the shelves and heard this lady talking about her new baby, turned around and there was Trina with a very contented looking Daniel. He is such a cutie and such a laid back little guy who was quite happy to sit there while Trina had a good look round. It was great to catch up with both these ladies and to have a chance to congratulate them in person for making the new Design Team for Up 2 Scrap, the Kiwi scrapping mag.

Pics for Mum

Wow, two weeks away and my poor neglected blog is still here. Spent an absolutely gorgeous week at the lake during the first week of the holidays, perfectly glass calm water and cloudless blue skies just perfect for the boys to get a whole bunch of training in and me to relax on the shores of the lake with a book or chatting to the girls. Very pleasant.

The second week saw me taking off for Auckland after having completely enough of everything boy! I headed down and spent the night with Mum and then ferried her and her friend out to the airport for their 10day day holiday in Australia. We started her holiday extra early by heading for a pedicure at one of the local malls. Mum's first experience of one of these and one she very much enjoyed.

The boys came down to Auckland the next day and we ended up spending the night on the wharf in the City. A great way to wrap up the holidays with a bit of luxury. Tommy picked up a tummy bug so he and I stayed home on Saturday while Andy, Ali and Nick headed back to the lake to help out with Splash Day. I really think Tommy's bug was more of an excuse so he couldn't go in the water! Little toad.

Sunday was Bathurst and the race of the season. We were really looking forward to this as we missed it last year with being away. We sat riveted to the TV the whole day only leaving during ad breaks to replenish the empty glasses. A great race which was very well fought out. Unfortunately the win didn't go Holden's way, but we were very pleased for Craig Lowndes to win anyway.

Now to the point of this post. Mum has pics of all the other grandkids but none of my boys, 'cos I don't like the individual pics they take at school. Anyway she has been hassling me for pics to put on her wall so I have been going through my stash and finding some suitable ones. Now to get them printed, framed and delivered before she gets back from holiday on Sunday night.

 

Happy Birthday Tommy

 
Oh wow, my baby is 9 years old today. Where on earth did that time go? He has had a wonderful day with a party with some of his mates. Unfortunately with it being the start of the school holidays a lot of the boys had gone away. Tommy is not a cake sort of kid and was not at all interested when I called them to the table for his cake. What he didn't know was that his cake is actually a 2litre container of icecream with candles in it. He likes that sort of cake!

I know I have been really slack the past week with updating my blog - sometimes you just gotta take a break. I am going to take a longer break now too. Andy took off to the lake this afternoon with Ali and Nick, while Tommy and I chill out here for the night. We get to gather some groceries tomorrow and meet up with them. There are definitely 2 other families arriving tomorrow too so plenty for the kids and the adults to do.

We will be popping back throughout the next two weeks but I probably won't get a chance to update here. Enjoy your school holidays! 

Catching up

Yesterday was a wonderful day, although I couldn't believe it when I woke at 6.30 when I could have slept in. Ali was a huge help to me in getting the boat all organised and his bag packed for an overnighter. Tommy was a lazy little poop and couldn't even get the change of clothes for the birthday party he had that afternoon despite me asking him 3 times if he had them - grrrr!

Towing the boat was not the big deal that I was worrying about. I think it is about the third time I have had to tow it now and although I won't admit it too loudly in case Andy hears it was quite a cruisy drive (shhh Kathryn!).

With all the rain that we had last week there had been a huge landslide at the lake right where our caravan was supposed to park, just as well it wasn't already there, otherwise the awning would have been squashed. Luckily Craig was coming up with a big digger anyway to distribute some topsoil and flatten out the bumpy bits and could very quickly move the damage. We had to leave before he was completely finished but Andy tells me although everything is very muddy at the moment it is all very level so tripping up in the middle of night now will be a result of the quantity of alcohol consumed instead of the lumpy ground - darn lost another excuse!

So two caravans are now at the lake, it was wonderful catching up there with friends again, I really didn't want to leave, but the lure of the empty house was too great. Today we have made Tommy's invitations for his birthday next week, been to the dump and done the groceries. Tommy was soooo bored and managed to talk me into letting him on my computer so I did a bit more scrapping and have nearly finished Nick and Ali's today you albums.

Read some blogs and came across Melody Ross I really like and admire the way this woman is so open on her blog. One of her favourite topics seems to be relationships and marriage - hers in particular. Her honesty in revealing the warts and all is so refreshing and really made me think twice about a lot of things in my life and marriage. At the moment she is compiling a book of letters to her children about marriage and how it isn't all fun and games and requires a lot of work to be successful and happy. I am getting all inspired and thinking seriously about writing down some of our history and what I have learned. Who knows one day the boys might appreciate it.

Should

Should do a post. Too tired. Left it too late. Drank to many bubbles. Had too much fun enjoying the house with no one else in it. Then enjoyed the time cuddling Tommy when he arrived home from the party. Good night.

Nearly home alone

Andy took the caravan over to the lake late this afternoon. Original plan was to go there, drop the van and come back, but it got a bit late. He ended up taking Nick with him and they are going to stay the night. Ali had to go to his hockey prizegiving so missed out on the overnighter.

Tomorrow we get to get up early, hook the boat up to my car and drag it over to the lake, take a supply of food for the guys, and then get back to Whangarei by 3.30 so Tommy can go to his mate's birthday party. I am not looking forward to towing the boat as it is so big and heavy.

Over the last couple of days I have been very busy sorting and uploading all my pics of our American trip to Digitalmax. They have had a 3day special which really was too good a deal to miss. Andy picked up a whole pile of them today for me - plenty of material to scrap now and no excuses for not getting this album done! 702 pics uploaded so far which covers the west coast, across the top and the east coast. Just the pics we took from Florida back to LA to get uploaded now.

Ruth was round today and we scrapped again, can't believe this, 2days this week I have scrapped. Woohoo, Ali just got home and he was awarded the collegiate grade player of the year award - go Ali!

Thai food

Walking past the local Thai restaurant in town yesterday I was thinking that would be nice for dinner tonight. Andy went for his weigh in this morning and put on a bit much so going out is shelved for a bit. I was still hanging out for Thai though so went through the recipe books and ended up making a meat curry and a vegetable curry. Andy and I loved it, the boys will eat all their breakfast in the morning!

Cruising through the blogs last night I see that Ruth has tagged me with list of 150 things you have done. Thanks Ruth :-) Still at least you might get a bit of interesting reading other than my dribble now.

Copy and paste and highlight the things you have done
1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen an eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111.Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Not bad about halfway - 74/150. OK, now for someone else to do this - I know Mel doesn't like to post unless she has something to say.

OK Already!!

Here it is - the freshly showered (and dressed!), chuck the stuff in ya hair and try and recreate look. Didn't really make it, but I was pretty happy with the way it looked when I was finished. Don't know about the self portrait though!




And this version is the end of the day "just folded the laundry and put it in the linen cupboard - now where do I find homes for all the junk I took out of the linen cupboard" look. Can ya tell how many times I have run my hands through my hair today? Heaps, and of course because I used heaps of product this morning cos it didn't work yesterday, my hair style has changed radically!




Wow, uploading these pics and I had 29 to choose from - my god and not one of them makes me look like the gorgeous creature I see in the mirror!!! Yeah right! 

Good times

Called round to Ruth's place this morning all loaded up with my scrapping gear. We had a wonderful time chatting and scrapping. Can't remember the last time I have actually scrapped with someone not counting CC. Lots of laughs and before we knew it, it was time for me to go.

Now as for my haircut that I was going to take a photo of today. Well I put lots of product in it this morning and did what I was supposed to to make it all stand up, I thought it looked pretty good too. All was well until I saw a mirror at Ruths and looked at my hair - wonderful there was one bit that was standing up right on the top of my head, all the rest was flat. No wonder Ruth was laughing so much! Obviously I don't have the technique quite right yet. I will try again tomorrow.

Vodka

Andy came home with a new bottle the other night - a very small bottle with lots of very tasty liquid inside it. Red Square Reloaded a very tasty vodka which is doing a great job on me at the moment. Woke up with a really stiff neck this morning and Nurofen aren't working. I need alcohol to do the job.

Got my haircut this morning really short this time. Getting quite sick of turning up at 6weekly chops needing a major overhaul instead of just a tidy up. Had to buy some hair product to make it stick up properly, if I can recreate the look semi decently tomorrow I might share a pic with you. Was planning on taking a pic today but it poured down here today and I was too lazy to get the brolly out of the boot so my hair quickly lost the 'just done' look.

Routines

How scary is it that routines are so important to our daily lives. Andy and I were talking about how we each go about the day and how one thing prompts the next. Boring conversation right! All came about after each of the boys had a shower and after 5minutes were all still standing there and hadn't even washed their hair. Yeah, the boys have a time limit in the shower so we can get them all through on one tank of hot water and still have some left over to wash the dishes with. Blah, I'm bored with this topic - very nearly deleted it but then you would have nothing to read, which would probably be way more interesting than this!

Had lots and lots of visitors this weekend - love that, especially watching my boys entertain the little kids that come round, they are so good with them. Andy and Ali took off to the lake and spent the afternoon dodging rain showers. Must have worn them out because Andy was in bed before all the boys tonight and I can hear him snoring from here. Might need another vodka to knock me out so I can go to sleep.

Cobwebs

What is it with these things that can be seen really clearly at night with the lights on when I don't feel like dusting or vacuuming them. But in the morning when I try to find the very same things that annoyed me - they vanish! Man, I wish the rest of the mess would vanish just as easily!

Extra curricular education.

I am a huge fan of extra curricular education and the all the opportunities that the kids get through these. I am not in the least impressed with what Nick has come home with in the last couple of days though. Unfortunately through recent local events the main topic of news has involved criminal elements. Yesterday these culminated and Nick came home and told of us his latest learnings. I really do not care what it takes to get to the top in a gang, and I really don't want my children knowing what it takes either!

It wasn't until this morning as I drove to the gym that it really hit me what we had discussed the night before. Andy and I had a big talk when I got home about what we could do about it. The options are hugely limited as it is at school that this talk is all coming from. Unfortunately there are no other options for schooling unless we either homeschool or send the kids to boarding school. Neither of these are really options. We reiterated to Nick our conversation from last night about talking about all the things, good and bad that happen at school, and being aware of what is right and wrong. Hopefully, with ongoing reinforcement we will instill the good, and limit his exposure to the bad.

Weights

Had a really good workout at the gym this morning and put a bit more effort into it than I have the last couple of days. Not quite sure who I thought I was cheating with the slack workouts. Anyway I get to the handweights bit and go to get my weights and the whole lot are jumbled up. OMG I couldn't cope with that. Found the weights I wanted and then stared at the mess while I did my routine. I just had to put them all back in the "right" places. I have no idea why this bothered me so much - must be time for me to get a life!

Good times

Yesterday after school has to have been one of the best afternoons we have had for a long time. My boys all really gelled together. They got on. They helped each other. They asked when they wanted something, and when one was being annoying and asked to stop they did. Ali and Nick locked themselves away and timed each other with their speeches that are coming up. It really was a pleasurable day and caused Andy and I to both comment on it. I hate it when they fight and pick on each other, it really hurts! This afternoon was nearly as good but we did have a few words. I hope all this lovely weather is bringing about a lovely change in my boys, man we could be in for an awesome summer!

In other news we finally got the septic tank emptied today - geeze that has to be the crappiest job out - yuck!!! Such a relief to have it all gone and to learn a bit about how they work - quite clever really.

Mini Album

I have been creating a little album for the past several weeks and then got interrupted with CC06. Finally I finished it over the weekend. There are 11 pages in the finished album but I will only share 2 with you.


Yep they are the photos I took when Steve and Marshall came up for the school holidays. The idea for the album came from the Big Picture Scrapping classes I am doing with Donna Downey. I went and selected a whole bunch of paint samples from Bunnings (cos they have the biggest ones). They still weren't quite big enough for my 6x4 pics so I glued them onto white cardstock. Punching holes and adding file rings and there you have a completed album. The most expensive part of the album was the photos. Neat concept eh!

I seem to have so many mini albums around at the moment and have been wondering what to do with them. When I showed Andy this one he suggested I send it down to Steve as a memento of their holiday. LOL, he must have been wondering what on earth I am going to do with all these albums too!

Happy Fathers Day!

A huge big long sleep in, cuddles and pressies, and then cooked breakfast (by Nick), while he watched the rugby. He got lots of socks so he can now stop yelling at Ali for pinching all his socks.

We headed over the lake today stopping off to pick up some lunch on the way over. Ali and Nick both skied and enjoyed the calm conditions. I took over a pile of scrapping stuff and pottered around inside looking out the windows at the wonderful views. A couple of finishing touches to go and then I will share.

Ali has really been trying hard with his slalom skiing lately so we decided today to throw in a sweetener for him. When he can run his 58km pass "off the dock" we will give him the mobile phone he has been after forever. He has a bit of work to do yet as he is really only just getting into 52km. With the way he is growing and the strength he has though it won't be long before he is doing though.