Just an update...

It's been a busy old time!

So here is the latest on the kitchen. As you can see the brick archway no longer stands. Please ignore the vacumn cleaner etc I had to take the photo while it was still light enough to get a decent shot. We do clean everywhere before we start on the cooking duties


I had a midwinter cousins Christmas party today. With only eight cousins it's a pretty small gathering. Out of that eight only two have one child each and only one of those has a partner. One cousin has just shifted from Wellington to Whangarei with his wife and two girls, but due to the weather decided not to come down - don't blame them in the least! So of course I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos of the two littlies...


Haven't done much scrapbooking of my own these last couple of weeks. I find it hard to scrapbook during the week, I'm just to tired at night, and have all the normal household type things to do after work, so my time has been taken up with getting this latest care2crop album finished. I'm going to jump off the list once this one's done. Yesterday I helped a good friend shift (we are her son's Godparents) and she needed a couple of locks for her new house, so we Lyall and I toddled off to Mitre 10 and low and behold I found a scrapbooking shop...so while he was in Mitre 10 I was shopping as quick as I could! A few papers and a stamp set later and I was on my way - I didn't want to make him wait as we really were pushed for time, but nice to find an unexpeceted shop - and they had a few different bits and pieces that I hadn't seen before. Oooo and at two years old our Godson, Brody, is soooo cute!

Okay so I just went to upload photos and they came up in the link fine, but all I have is writing at the top of this page and no photos...so on the off chance that you can see them, then here's the explanations that should go with them...

Kitchen and Lyall - well you know what that one is about!

Kids cuddling - this is Helene and Bodhi who I asked to give each other a cuddle so I could take a photo. The other one is Bodhi who was rather taken with me taking a photo of him then he would look at it and laugh his head off. I then showed him how to look at the screen, push the button and take a photo - he rather liked that idea!

Cat - well that's my wee girl who found the sheepskin and has now called it her own. Love the 'how dare you take a photo, I'm sleeping thanks' look!

Stamp'n up - See I was good, I just got the catalogue, a punch, stamp pad, and my beloved dottos!

Wednesday!

So I'm sitting here in my scraproom with my little fan heater going, cat at my feet...here's my list for this week.

- For having a teacher aide who is just about to finish training so is going to apply for the position we will have available at work very shortly

- Nearly finished the care2crop album

- Archway is half gone from the kitchen

- For dog jackets - it means I can walk him in this lovely weather and he isn't soaked through, also helps his arthritic old bones

- Midwinter Christmas party with my cousins this weekend

- Nearly term break time

- Have booked in for a facail for the term break, little bit of me luxury. Must book in for my hair as well...

Have a good end of week, and keep warm and dry if you can!

Alison tagged me, so here you go!

10 Years Ago - I was working in a daycare centre. Had been married three years. Had a dog called Rupert and a cat called Possum. Would have just been selling our first house and buying our second. Had never heard of scrapbooking and wouldn't have known a blog if it jumped up and bit me (did they even exist back then?)

5 Things to do Today - Well they are things I've done...walk the dog, feed the cat and dog, cook dinner (twice, one lot for me and a curry for Lyall), smash down some bricks, go to work.

Snacks I Enjoy - cheese and umm cheese and maybe a bit of cheese...coke!

Things I would do if I was a Millionaire -Pay off the mortgage and help the family out. Donate to the SPCA. Save and of course shop! (and yep that's my million well and truly spent isn't it!)

Places I Have Lived - Auckland, Sydney, Jerry's Plains (In the Hunter Valley in NSW), Cambridge

Right off to check the rest of my blog friends blogs and to wrap up warm! Hope you are all snug as bugs, 'cos it's cold out there, and some of you can't really go a lot further south!

My week...

Flat out like a lizard drinking...now that's how my weeks been! The old flu bug has hit hard this week. We are only a little team, three teachers and a part time admin person. Wednesday was Wacky Wednesday and all the fun that entails. Thursday both teachers were away and Friday both teachers and the admin person were away. Fortunately we had relievers - once last year and once this year we have had to shut the doors at thrity instead of forty five children because we just couldn't get in staff and no parents wanted to/were able stay and help (we can replace one teacher with two parents and still operate). Shutting the doors on fifteen families is not something we do lightly, however the law states that we can't open if we don't cover our ratios and of course we don't want children placed at any risk (though I personally think the risk is minimal, there's nothing magic that happens between four years eleven months and five years, and they go from fenced kindergartens etc etc to a big school playground that's wide open and one teacher to about six hundred kids out in the playground...). Oh and one of the teachers (she's only been with us a year) has resigned and will finish at the end of the term, so we will start the term running with a reliever as well!

Scrapbooking wise, I have been hard at work getting my latest care2crop album done. I'm getting there but I'm finding this one hard going. Not really sure why, as the parents have supplied good photos and lots of information, I'm just finding it a bit of a struggle to put it all together. Oh well, such is life, I'm sure it will all work out in the end. I've also managed to do a welcome card for our new neighbours. I thought I would just whip up something easy, but would it work...of course not. Just a simple circle door design and I wanted to thread a bit of ribbon to add a little something, but the darn holes that I was threading the ribbon through kept ripping - and you can add in a few expletives here - but I kept at it and was pleased with the final result, however in my rush, forgot to take a photo to show you!

House wise, the lounge is finally painted and the dining room table is now in there, covered in all the stuff that would usually be in the pantry along with all our glasses and coffee cups etc from an overhead glass cabinet thingy. The kitchen will now be started. There is the most delightful brown brick archway to pull down...an orange swirly glass cabinet...green benchtops with brown cabinets...and the nicest of all embriodered panels on the front of one section. My apologies if seventies decor is your cup of tea, but it ain't mine - I think for it to look cool and retro all your furniture needs to reflect that style, and ours certainly doesn't. I can't see us going back to the formica table with orange chairs...Still I'm looking forward to seeing this finished as then it's just the flooring (and that's all chosen and waiting for us) and then the best bit, we get to 'dress' the house. I've missed having art work up on the walls and all the bits and bobs out that make a house a home.

And just think it used to have hanging floral lights too...

Right, best I get stuck back into this album and I've promised Lyall a curry for dinner (not something I can eat, but I love the smell!). Enjoy your week.

Just because I could - here's Lake Ianthe, which is on the West Coast of the South Island, stunning isn't it?

The list

This is for the fortnightly sketch challenge, and umm I just realised that I had covered a chipboard scroll and a little chipboard boat and left them to dry on the windowsill, so I will add these to this layout LOL. Blonde moment.
My take on the celebrity challenge.

Believe it or not, I managed to get through most of it. Friday night's challenge, the fortnightly challenge and the celebrity challenge. Another couple of pages in the care2crop album. But no BOM. Will shift that to next weekend.

Friday nights, black, white and one other colour....


I can do something next weekend, as DH will be working and my darling niece and her friend are coming to car clean - for ten dollars they will wash the car and vacumn out. Two cars that's ten dollars each. Cheap labour and they are supplying all the products (the friends Mum works for CRC who produce car products). They are trying to raise money to go to Aussie in the September school holidays for a soccer tournament. So as a team they are doing lots of raffles etc but these enterprising girls thought they could do with some extra spending money for themselves so are busy working. Am trying to talk them into weeding, because I'm sure I have a garden out there somewhere LOL!



Reading Vicki's blog I see she has some new shelves. If anyone is interested there are some excellent shelving options available at Manukau Warehouse Stationary, perfect for a scrapbooking room and I think the most expensive was around the ninety dollar mark, but that gave you a twelve cubed shelf unit at forty cm squared each cube. They also have twenty five percent off their Fiskars trimmers, so if your in the market for one, that would be the place. I did look out for the Fiskars finger knife for you Vicki, but no such luck.

Right, catch you all later. And Mrs Frizz, you look after yourself...

Phew, at long last I feel like I'm back to my normal self. Have been given another five days of antibiotics just to make sure it's really been kicked, but to have energy and just feel normal again, well that's great!

Got a busy weekend planned. Am off to a conference tomorrow - it's meant to be all day, but am going to bugger off at lunch, because the afternoon is a load of rubbish, and I would rather be stopping in at a scrapbooking shop, because I'm out it's way! And Sunday I'm off to an art show with my sister, so that pretty much just leaves the rest of this evening and tomorrow night to scrapbook. Not a lot of time if you could see my list LOL! I'm pretty keen to get the celebrity challenge done and hopefully the Friday night and fortnightly challenges. My BOM hasn't even had a look in yet, and I'm in the midst of doing a care2crop album. So that's my list, ummm don't know how much I'll get done, and it's not unusual in my house for people to turn up on the doorstep so who know's I may be burning the midnight oil (don't put money on me being able to keep my eyes open though!).

Last night my friend Mandy did a Piggy Tales workshop over at Scrapbook Studio and made a neat board book that has flaps, and they also did a card with one of the new Piggy Tales ranges. Now this sweet woman brought me the cutest little owl chipboard shapes and herself branches, she then swapped them half and half so we got some each. How unexpected and very cool. Now I know Mandy doesn't read my blog, I haven't got her inducted into the dark side yet... yet! But hey, at least I got her onto the SE and then Sketchbook forum and into a few challenges, and she will be joining us for the Waikato crop and at SENZ.

And one of my lovely colleagues Sue made me this delicious date slice - very yummy. I've managed to covert her to scrapbooking (actually so much so that she is in the midst of turning an empty room into a scrapbooking room!) but haven't got her onto the net yet... yet! LOL! Give me time...

This week I've also managed to fit in a committee meeting for work (ours aren't bad, we have them at a local club and the parents grab a wine or two!) and a Stamp'n Up party, so yippee I've ordered my beloved adhesive. And a punch. And thought I probably needed this years catalogue. Yeah, I know it's online but it's just not the same...

Right, best I get off this computer, cook some dinner, walk the dog, and then get stuck into some serious scrapbooking. Have a good weekend all.

wOO hOOOOOOO

+ That we have found an antibiotic that I can take and don't have an allergic reaction with.

+ To be getting the energy to start scrapbooking again

That's it. That will do me just nicely. Any day above ground is a good day...(and now that song is in my head LOL!)

Having fun...

I'm feeling a lot better, which is great, finally on the up and up.

Caught up with Beverley on Friday night. It was great to see you again my friend and thanks for the goodies. Hopefully next time we catch up I will be more like my normal old self (don't know if that's good or bad LOL!) I just have to share with you this gorgeous wee bird that Beverley got me...

Cute, isn't it!

About a month ago I did a page swap over at SE, here is the page that I got back. It's totally different to my style of scrapbooking and I love the vintage feel to it. Check out the train it has an almost ghost like appearance, very cool.

Angela, thanks for your comment on my last post. For some reason the post has got up and left...hence this shortened version...Right I'm off to the couch again now!

Wednesday!

So that means it's Woo Hoot time...

* Having caring and kind colleagues and parents at work. They all told me I sounded terrible and so I'm back at home and aren't going to work till next Monday. (oh yeah, Mrs Frizz, I have tried kicking it...hitting it...punching it...but it won't get up and leave, (insert swear word here LOL!!)thing!

*My order from SE arrived. Meg sent it last week, but it was missing in action for a while before it got sad and went back to her place. She told it to toughen up and it arrived at my house this morning, along with my prize for last weeks Friday night challenge.

*To sketchbook, and in particular a lady called Katrina (crigs) because now I know how to access my beloved dotto refils...mmm so happy now!

Now I was scrolling through my photos and found this one. I live in a little seaside town (that's rapidly growing I might add) and at Christmas the volunteer firemen jump on the engine wearing the appropriate costumes and drive round the streets with the siren going throwing out lollies to all the kids (big and small) and of course picking up the odd can of beer from us locals on occassion. I think it's cool that this still happens, and don't think it will happen for much longer. If nothing else we are getting to big to warrant a volunteer brigade and it will need to become professional (and I for one will miss the siren going off in the middle of the night). So does this still happen where you live? Is there something special that your community does to celebrate Christmas?

Look, we don't even have footpaths...and no underground power...

As promised...

A photo of my boy in his drizabone - sorry it's not a great photo, but I had mentioned to dh that I needed to take a photo of Milo in his drizabone and he said he had a few on his camera from walking him last week.

Thanks for all your well wishes, I'm sharing them with Annelie, she's not well either, and unlike me she has a toddler to worry about too. So Annelie, hope those get well vibes find you...especially with your big trip rapidly heading your way. Right, back to my possie on the couch in front of the tv. Not even going to work tomorrow, going to stay snuggled up at home, not a job you can do when your sick.

Jinxed it!

Last week on Trina's blog she was talking about how she had got sick a few times in a row. I take honey most days and this seems to stop most bugs (cos there's usually a few bugs around when you work with kids - they don't have great immunity and they don't have great hygiene!) So I suggested the honey to Trina, with the footnote that I hope I haven't jinxed myself and get sick now. Bugger, I did! It started with a head cold about Thursday and last night I couldn't breathe properly so this morning I was off to A & E to get checked out. Just a wee chest infection, but due to it most likely being a virus, just lots of fluid, panadol etc. Suits me just fine antibiotics and I don't get on well. They are on my list of allergies. So send get well vibes my way please! And large doses of sympathy (it's not quite man flu, but ya know I could go there!)

Friday night challenge at sketch book

Being sick has necessitated nana naps each afternoon, so not much scrapping being done. I helped my sister to do a canvas for a local Police officer, who had been and visited the centre where she works (yep she's an early childhood teacher too, but in a private daycare). The officer had admired the album that I had made for my sister, so Donna wanted to make something other than a card to say thanks, hence the canvas, and when we had finished she took me down to Maraetai for fish and chips for lunch. Didn't think I was hungry, but throughly enjoyed it. Came home and slept for three hours! I have managed to get the sketch book Friday night challenge finished. And my Care2Crop pack has arrived (thanks Deb) so I will get stuck into that over the next few weeks - that's pretty easy anyway because I just scraplift layouts that I've already done, no thinking involved...

This is what it looked like out my window this afternoon - still quite foggy. This morning was a real pea souper!
Enjoy your long weekend.