Blonde very very blonde moment, okay, so you know the cyber crop isn't tonight...LOL LOL LOL!

Last day of Feb!

Really short post tonight as I'm running late, and there's the cyber crop on over at SE! And Hannah and Janine, of course, come and use the chair anythime...it really is a beauty! So here's my final photo for blogging daily for the month of Feb, it's those little cane ball thingiees! Now I'll be back to blogging just when I have something to say! LOL! Have a good weekend!

Thursday...

Yep, too funny with the burger king. And dinner being cooked for me won't be happening anytime soon, as this weekend the chef will be at his paid job on Saturday and then Sunday there's a bit of boys working bee, where they will be shifting the hot water cylinder from the kitchen to the laundry (the laundry used to be in the kitchen...) I will be buggering off on Sunday to catch up with our Godson who is two in a couple of weeks, so Aunty Tracey is taking him to see Thomas the Tank Engine out at Glenbrook for the morning! Unfortunately that means no hot water Saturday night until Monday when our neighbour (who just happens to be a sparky) will be doing all the wiring side for us, the boys will have done the plumbing side -they're handy like that.

Now if your the mystery rakker, and your reading this, thanks!! Nothing quite as nice as getting a RAK in the mail box!

Okay, I know this may look like an instrument of torture but this is our massage chair, and it is divine - I think that once I'd recovered enough to use it, when I had my back injury it certainly helped with the long term recovery. We actually brought it because we had planned on shifting down south, and assumed we'd be spending copious amounts of time inside, so may as well enjoy it to the max! However that fell through, but we'd already got the chair. Shame. LOL!

LOL Janine, just asked me what WAS for dinner last night, since Lyall was chef...ummm Burger King...because he worked late, and as he hadn't got anything out of the freezer...LOL!

Nearly the end for the daily photos...

In the lounge we have the most delightful glass archways, and this is the lovely yellow glass that's in them. Not really me. There on there way out. Sorry if your a retro fan, and your now running around the house screaming...LOL. Quite a cool pattern though!

I was off reading on Janine's blog, about lists (and my day to day life runs because of lists, I have to write things down, otherwise I would never sleep because theres always too much going on in my head!). Anway, I digress, Janine asked what would you like from your parents lounge...tricky question, and Dad reads my blog, so best I be careful LOL! So Dad from your house, I'd take the quirky little things that were around when we were kids, like the little house salt and pepper shakers, and the not so PC ornaments, yep you know the ones I mean LOL! And my Mum has already passed away and my sister has stayed on in that house, so it wouldn't feel like home to her, if I went and took bits and pieces out of the lounge, but if I had to choose it would be the Crown Lynn pottery, because it was my Nana's and the dog ornaments that Mum collected over time. I've already got lots of memorabilia from both Mum and Dad, because of scrapbooking it's in good hands. Quite neat really, I have both my Grandad's (Mum's Dad, and Dad's Dad) original driving licences.

Right, since I've just found out about bloglines, I am off to sign up for that...

Tuesday's photo...

So I have a bit of quirky sense of humour, so when I saw Mr Seagull a few years back when visiting Nelson, he just had to come home with me...gotta love those wonky eyes!

Now if you haven't been out visiting Janine's blog then I suggest you do...she's got a great link to www.wearewhatwedo.org.au/actiontracker/ When I went through the list it was quite an eye openener to see what we already do...but there's one or two that just aren't going to be a happening thing in my house! But some like turning off appliances at the mains when finished, we've done that forever and a day, thanks to my sister. Anyway go check it out, or Janine's blog - http://angelgurl.wordpress.com it does make for interesting reading.

Our kids at work all have some idea about recycling - we have a worm bin, and a little vege garden. The morning children sort paper from other items (the afternoon children are still figuring out where they are, and what it's all about, without expecting them to do that too!).

Anyway, Lyall said last night, that he was going to cook tea tonight, so I'm holding him to that. Which means I can sneak off to the scrap room as I've got all the other usual jobs done and I don't have to cook!

Just a photo...

The lemons are starting to grow again, maybe Autumn is on it's way...if you use your imagination you can make out two eyes and a nose...LOL!

Sunday...

Last night as the rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing, we were sitting in our lounge drinking Pina Colada's, thanks to this bottle of Malibu. I'm not a big drinker, but I do enjoy a cold beer on a hot afternoon and the occassional mix such as this. Must say it was rather nice...and fun, to use the blender for something other than smoothies. And the bottle's still half fill so no, I'm not suffering this morning, and I'm not even considering the calories involved LOL!


So here is my last BOM challenge layout for February. Just in time too, since the next lot will be out in another week. For this one, you had to keep your receipts for a week and then do a layout around the theme of shopping. So my receipts are tucked in behind the photo (well, most of them anyway!) and the photo is the entrance sign for Botany Town Centre, which is where I generally shop.



The Where to Next? layout is for the Fortnightly Challenge following a sketch. These photos have been sitting around for an age so it was good to get them down on paper, and Lyall is pretty happy because he gets two layouts in his album this week.

The Lazy Sunday layout is the Friday night challenge, where you had to use circles, stripes and flowers. Being a bit of a Chatterbox fan, this wasn't to much of a problem, not to hard to co-ordinate, although I get the feeling Megan was trying to push us away from the co-ordinated look!

Yesterday we checked out some curtains for upstairs and carpet for the house, so that means today we need to run the curtain samples back in. Might just have to have lunch out while we do that I think. And we had a four year olds birthday party to attend. It was raining. Kids were inside. I didn't stay long!

Enjoy your Sunday...and to the person whose packing to shift house, not too much longer...then you get to do it all in reverse...LOL!

Where's my random photo??

My new heading will have to suffice as my random photo today...as I can't get blogger to co-operate and upload one tonight. The photo was a lovely sunset from the reserve at the end of our street, which I took a few weeks ago. Hope it lets me upload tomorrow, as I've got two layouts half done, and plan on finishing them in the morning and then putting them on here and SE. Oh well, that's life!

Due to it being just a tad windy, these are flying around here at my house! Along with a couple of branches, all the pegs that were in a bucket by my clothesline, the recycling bin...oh and the cat, she's flying around chasing all the leaves and havign the most wonderful time, what a nutter!

Just hoping now that the rain that's been up north is going to head our way to. Like everywhere else, a big drink of water would do the ground and the tank a world of good.

Right, best I be off to do the housework - if I get most of it done tonight, then I can scrap for most of the weekend...

My cat likes to hide in boxes...

Do you know that book? The cat from France likes to sing and dance, the cat from Spain flies an areoplane, but my cat likes to hide in boxes...


If there's a bag or a box in my house, then this gorgeous girl must inspect it! Here she is on scrapbooking table, making sure there's nothing left in the paper bag to play with! Oh she's so cute (rose tinted glasses firmly covering my eyes!!)

So Vicki, Alison and Julie, I am passing on the funky blog award to you wonderful ladies. Love all your layouts and love reading your blogs. And Julie it's great that your now back online!

More techno help needed. How do I put blinkies on - in plain English please...and I know on all of your blogs you have something along the lines of a title with Blogs I read (or similar) and then the list. How do I change mine to that? Told you I was technically challenged didn't I! Keen to learn though! My weekend job is to sort my blog out a bit more and of course there will be a layout or three that I want to get done. Probably should clean the house at some point too (and the ironing...). LOL!

LOL I did it!!

Hee hee hee! Last week, Miss Angelgurl, awarded me a funky blog award (and I know there corny, but it's my first!!). But of course being just a tad technically challenged, I had no idea how to get it from her blog to mine. But that wondeful Mich, filled me in on the finer details, and lo and behold, I managed to do it. Great instructions Mich - 'cos I could follow them! So now I 've managed to do this, I will have to pass it on. That will have to wait for tonight (yeah, okay, don't let the suspense get to you...LOL) because I really should get off this computer and get ready to go to work...

Thanks for all the sympathy yesterday girls. Glad to hear that you've all had postive kindergarten experiences. Alison said that she'd quite happily keep her kids at kindy...and I had a picture in my head of a couple of sixteen year olds still hanging on the monkey bars LOL!! Mind you that's probably better than what some sixteen year olds get up to!!

And Beverley, yep, Milo was probably poking his tongue out at me for being such a tease!! Or he could be doing it to his new cyber labby friend Moro, down at Mich's house! Moro and Milo...you can see what goes on in our heads Mich!

So here is my random photo for today... Wish it wasn't just my shadow that had long legs LOL Mind you hard to shop for I suppose!!

Right, tonights job for me is to get some more layouts for the kids camp done. Mrs Frizz, I hope that the packing's going well...and if your reading this, get off the computer and keep packing woman!LOL!

Day nineteen

Random photo of Milo poking is tongue out at you all! Well, not really, just happened to catch that shot as I took photo's of him eating his dinner. But, you could add a classic caption with it couldn't you?!!

As you all know, I love my job, but there is a part of it that's tough. We pick up pretty quickly if a child starts, and we have a few concerns regarding their development. It's not a case of one thing, but when we look at a bigger picture, and when we ask some pertinent questions, then often little alarm bells start going off. So this week I've had to recommend to, two parents that I think their children need to be assessed by GSE or if they can afford it a Developmental Peadeatrician (that just jumps the gun a bit, because they would be referred on by GSE anyway, but at no cost).

Now these two children have only been with us since the start of this term, but it's the second child in both families that I've taught, so at least I have some prior rapport with both parents. One parent was absolutely relieved, the other took it really hard, as she already has a child with special health needs. It really is a tricky part of the job, as you really feel for the parents, are unsure of what their reaction will be, but know with the right support life will be so much easier for their child, and ultimately for the family. Shame the system doesn't work faster, as it leaves families in a state of worry until a diagnosis is made - like anything it's the not knowing. Once you know what your dealing with, then you can put strategies into place. Oh well, I guess that's why they pay me the big money LOL (yeah right!). I'm just after some sympathy here girls!! Or tell me to shut up and get on with it LOL!!

Random photo #18

That's pretty random - our cars in the driveway! Arrived home to find the latest SE kit on my doorstep, so shall have a wee play during the week. Been having cuddles with my friend Chrissy's boy this afternoon, who kindly invited me to his birthday party, but I must go dressed as a pirate...yep, I'll just pull a pirate outfit from the wardrobe (it's next to my witch one you see LOL). And I know some of you have your mind in the gutter about now. STOP. Behave yourselves!LOL. And yep, I know who you are...

Sunday...

C'mon you two get up, places to go, lawns to be mowed, gardens to be weeded LOL. So this is what it looked like in my house this morning. Don't cats just have the best life?

This layout is for the BOM challenge over at SE. You had to choose the three things you would take with you in an emergency (assuming pets and family were all safe) and why you'd take them. For me, ever the practical one, it was my handbag ('cos like most woman everything but the kitchen sink is in there!), discs with all my photos on (good excuse to redo all those layouts from beginner days!) and dog and cat food (well, there my babies, if their happy, I'm happy!)This one is a lift of the layout for the Friday night challenge. It's my brother and sister in the backyard of our family home. Back in the days when there were no fences and kids could run safely around the neighbourhood. Well since my hubby is out there gardening, best I go and join him. Nice day for it, too, not hot and not cold - just right!

Saturday...

Now there seems to be a perception that I'm just a little addicted to scrapbooking magazines. Totally deny it. Don't know what you mean. Really, come on, I'm sure you all have a shelf like mine. It can't just be me (and Mrs Frizz)...Well, maybe I like to buy one or two. Three or four. Ten or twelve. Okay, okay, I'm addicted. Anybody know of a good support group? And best I don't sit there looking at them and thinking about how much they cost...that's probably a trip to Oz sitting there LOL!! Right best I be off now, right this minute, I think a new magazine has just come out....

I got happy mail yesterday. Thanks Mrs Frizz. It's a little bit funny, 'cos it was a belated birthday present. Only six weeks too late LOL! I think I should give myself another birthdate, January just doesn't work, everybody's on holiday, and recovering from Christmas, not thinking about poor old me (umm old being the operative word here!!)LOL. Poor poor me. NOT. LOL!

Good old Dad (who about now, will be saying 'enough of the old' you!) has been over today, giving me a hand to paint. I'm lucky to have you not too far away Dad...your handy when it comes to painting and I would have been lost without you when it came to taxi services for the specialist etc when I did my back injury. So thanks. Love you. And in honour of Dad, here's my random photo for today. Good looking bloke isn't he!

A couple of days ago, I posted a link to Trina's blog. She was asking for a bit of help to get some really simple pages made to send to a camp in Aussie. Here are the ones that I whipped up. Really simple and a good way to use up a few left over bits and pieces. Nice to know they are going to help a few kids.

Smile!

Oh look, here is a cute little playdough smiley face with glitter to bling it up a bit!...and here's a few of my scrapbooking magazines...

Busy night tonight, so have posted this morning.

Have a great Fridy!

Happy Valentines Day...

Oh well it won't let me upload a photo, so picture in your head pink playdough in a smiley face, and I will try again later...anyway Happy Valetines Day ...my evening will be spent painting walls, how romantic is that NOT!! LOL! Still it looks great when it's done. And Vicki, my friend, thanks for the lovely RAK, nothing quite like getting happy mail! Have a nice night my friends...and my lurking family who tell me they read this but don't leave comments...

Want to help?

I was just checking out Trina McClune's blog and she's looking for a bit of help...go and check it out, if you've got some of your stash that you probably aren't going to find a use for, it might be a great way of helping and having a bit of a sort out...

Day thirteen's picture is this...

We live on a peninsula, so at the end of our street is the cliftop, at the end of this is a walkway, and after about five minutes walk, this is where you end up - Pine Harbour Marina...so here's what it looked like this afternoon! Quite a nice cafe there too...LOL!

Work...

I thought that this week, I would take my camera to work, and take a random shot at work. Here is a fantastic original piece of art, of a girl and her family. It's dye and bleach. The kids dye the paper on one day, and then the next day use bleach pens to draw with.

Yep, I did find a nice cool spot yesterday and lay down to read my mag, (and I must say it's much cooler todya - bliss!) only to find I had a letter to the editor published, so that was a bit of a shock! Congrats to Mich, your layout looks great. And of course it's fantastic to see the famous Mrs Renfree's work in there...I feel the need to scraplift me thinks Megan! Well off to check out all your blogs now...

Hot, way too hot!

I can't believe the humidity...nor can I stand it!! I'm not a girl who copes well with the heat. So this is very short, because I need to go and find somewhere cool...and read the latest Up2Scrap which was in my letterbox when I arrived home. Oh and the random photo is my pot plants...

A funny thing...

A funny thing happened this morning, there was this wet stuff falling from the sky. Now if I remember rightly, in the olden days, I think they used to call it rain...LOL. It wasn't much, but it looked like this on the leaves...and it's been a long time since it looked that way, so I just had to capture it. It also made a delightful sound as it ran into our water tank...those of you on water tanks will know just what I mean. I stood there listening, and thinking YIPPEEE, please just keep filling that tank up. Lucky for us, we have two 5000 gallon tanks, but we've gone through one, and last Friday, swapped to the other tank. If you've been practicing your rain dance, please keep it up, it's kind of working...This is underlining itself now, and I don't know how to make that go away - my silly fault, thought I would play with the font colour and now I've got this...oh well. This is my name page for the BOM challenge over at SE.
Oh, okay the lines and the colour has now changed...well best I be off, Lyall has just finished sanding and I'm going to be hitting the paint pot...(no, stop thinking that, not literally...)

Shot number nine...

This is my layout for Friday nights challenge and is also for the BOM challenge - the one where you have to decide where you would go, on a magic carpet ride. I've been wanting to do a BOM so this has given me a push to get started. I've also decided it's going to be all circles - just for something a little out of the ordinary!
These we souls used to be our cookie jars when I was a young 'un! Not airtight in the least, but how kitsch are they! So one now houses bits of ribbon that don't fit in my ribbon basket, and the other one holds bobbins and cottons for the sewing machine.

Now the following was in the latest Care2Cro newsletter, so I just had to share, 'cos it's really nice to get such warm feedback...when your doing something for someone else, you don't know their likes and dislikes so it's fun, but I found myself thinking, man, I hope they like this, often!

And Trace:Wow!!!!! I can't believe how amazing it is. We will always treasure this, that is for sure.Thank you so much, and please give my huge thanks to Trace for doing such wonderful work.Thank you again. Your group is so incredible.Bridget

So thanks Deb and Louise for sharing that with us... and your doing a great job pulling all this together.

Now Miss Angelgurl only likes good old banana smoothies so for a little twist on this, here you go Janine...

Banana boat

1 small banana
75mls chilled milk
25mls cocount cream
25mls pineapple juice
1 good scoop of crushed ice

Put the banana, milk, coconut cream and the pineapple juice into the blender and blend together until smooth. Stop and add the crushed ice and blend again briefly. Pour into a tall glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple or a cherry!

Now this is a favourite of mine...do you see a pineapple theme happening here...

1 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp grated coconut
3 thick slices of pineapple (either fresh or canned)
150 mls of plain yoghurt

Blend the almonds, coconut and pineapple, then add the yoghurt and blend again briefly. Pour into a glass and sprinkle a few flaked almonds on top.

Go on, have a try of one of them...or make up a concoction of your own...and let me know the recipie!!

Meet big Ted!

And for today's random photo, let my introduce to you Big Ted and Casper the Friendly Ghost! Ironically enough neither of them were my toys as a wee girl. Teg belonged to my brother, but wasn't he well loved (not as much as monkey boy...wonder where he ended up?) look at him, poor soul, he has no nose and only one eye! Now Casper, he belonged to my sister, who a few years ago was going to chuck him out - but I rescued him. I imagine he's on his way to being an antique - he has a pull cord at the back of his neck, and a very strange sounding recording say, ooooohhh I'm casper, I'm a friendly ghost... along with about three others!

A few people have suggested that I put on the odd smoothie recipe, so this is rather a nice one...

Strawberry Shake up

100 g strawberries
100 mls yoghurt
50 g grapes or 1 cup of grape juice
1 orange

Wash and hull the strawberries (or do what I do and use frozen ones!) Blend the strawberries, grapes and orange together. Then add the yoghurt and blend for about 20 seconds. Pour into a large glass and decorate with a strawberry.

Banana and Coconut Milk

2 large bananas
250mls of coconut milk (coconut cream is nicer, way more calories, but yummo!)
pinch of ground cinnamon

Blend the bananas and coconut milk then pour into a glass and sprinkle on the cinnamon.

So there you go - tell me your favourite fruits and I'll go through my books and see what I come up with!

Have a good weekend all...

Umm not sure what happened there, but anyway you can see what I'm into at the moment...smoothies, so if you know any good smoothie recipies feel free to send them my way!

And after my lazy day yesterday, got off my butt and did the strip journaling and title for a layout I half did at Deb's crop, so finally I can start on the BOM challenge over at SE. Oh and Deb, if your reading this, I left my chilly bag and freezer blocks at your place, so find a hole for them and I'll grab them at the next crop!! That's if David hasn't hidden them LOL!

Another random shot...

More random photos...

Whoops, forgot to crop this before I loaded it to blogger...
This is my random shot for the day - reflections in the mangroves...
And here is my boy going for a swim, which of course afterwoods he has to have a bath, otherwise he has that really delightful wet dog smell! At least after a bath it's a dog shampoo smell...

Hope your Waitangi day is going well, I had the best of intentions to get a heap done, but actually have been for a walk, (hence the swimming dog and mangrove photo) eaten lunch and read!! Oh well you've got to have days like that don't you...

Lace

Here's a photo of the lace, in case you decide to go in that direction Kelly.

Day five

So this is what some of your house looks like when your renovating! You know, plugs and light switches hanging out of the wall...One more upstairs room to go, and then just the kitchen, hallway and lounge. We are hoping that we will get upstairs, and the hallway finished in Feb, and get the wallpaper peeled and bricks removed, and nice yellow glass archways removed in March in the lounge, then we can go on holiday and come back, do the kitchen, get new carpet in and then be on our way. But then you know what can happen to the best laid plans...LOL!

I was reading angelgurl.wordpress.com - Janine's blog today (you know, while I was munching away on my sandwhich at lunch...) and she had written a post about how her and her other half have different ways of folding socks - and how it really doesn't matter as long as it gets done. So true. Made me think about my DH, now he's a good cook, and he enjoys it, but after fifteen years of being together, I still haven't managed to train him to tidy up as he goes - he makes a big mess and then cleans up, no probs as long as he cleans up...so what do you do? Do you tidy as you cook or do you wait till you've eaten and do everything at one go?

Anyway enjoy your last public holiday (National one that is) until...April!

Day four...

Here is random shot number four...our grapes are just starting to ripen, look lovely and summery but are sour!! Mind you it's keeping the poor old birds fed, and with it being so brown around the place at least this is something nice and juicy for them. This layout I half did over at Deb's crop on Saturday, came home and did the journalling and title.
And this one is for the SE fortnightly challenge...
Now Vicki, I promise I will put up more of what I did at Deb's when I actually get them finished LOL!! Silly us, we didn't take any group photos, Megan did suggest it at one point (and I told her she should have done it earlier when our hair was nicely brushed etc etc LOL!) but then we all carried on scrapp'n and I guess it kind of got forgotten about.

Catch you tomorrow...

A challenge

So Janine has set a challenge, to take a random photo everyday for the month of Feb. Yep, I know I'm three days late, but I thought it would be kinda fun, so have taken three random shots this morning and then will give this a go for the rest of the month...or that's my plan anyway!! He he he they sure are random they all came out landscape...LOL! Okay, so the first is some green leaves that I just liked the look of, probably 'cos everything else is rapidly going brown... the second one is my dogs bed out in the garage, and the third one is breakfast - looks messy eh, it was sitting in the blender waiting for me to push the button to turn it into a smoothie, that's why!

I met a few of the SE girls yesterday, so big hellos to Deb, Louise, Megan and Annelie - it was great meeting you all. And thanks Deb for hosting it, and for our wee treats. And the cookie dough chocolates lol!! Now I half did my layouts yesterday, so best I bugger off and finish them now, 'cos none of them have journalling and most don't have a title...

Have a great Sunday...