...will be going on over here at SBO
So go there on Friday (late afternoon) to check it out.
Did someone say "creme eggs".....
If you're not a registered forum member...'just do it'....so you can be there!!!
Caio
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Getting to know me....
...finally, as promised. The lovely Penny set me some interview questions a while back. Thank you Penny for your questions, here are my responses:
1. I know you've got a foodie background. Tell us about your favourite food memory.
For about 10 years there we had a catering business. I could tell you about lots of disastrous memories, but picking a favourite was difficult. I'll be broad and say my best memories are of weddings where the bride and groom were willing to be creative and 'push the boat out' with a theme or idea eg: the 'totally dessert by candlelight reception' done with black and gold decor, or the full on afternoon tea where the bride said "I don't give a damn what the food tastes like, as long as it looks fabulous" LOL Anything really that involved a croquembouche, a happy customer and a fat cheque lol.
2. What would you like your kids to learn from you?
Lots of things I guess but some that come to mind include "be who you are" (integrity and congruence), "people are more important than things", how to rejoice with others in their success and that "painful experiences can grow us".
Also (of course) to chew with their mouths closed, not pick their nose on national television and to say YES everytime I ask them to do something LOL!!
3. What would like as a superpower?
To be able to bring back people from the dead....of course!!
4. If somebody made a movie of your life story, who would you pick to play you? Your Hubby?
I would like Bette Midler or Julia Roberts to play me (DH would apparently choose Bette Midler ;-) or Whitney Houston umm...hellloooo!!!) I guess I'd like Kevin Costner to play DH.....he'd be happy with that too apparently!!! When do rehearsals start? (with Kevin I mean he, he) Can you guess how many times we have watched The Bodyguard?? We are sooo sad!!
5. What's the one thing you're proudest of having accomplished in the past five years?
Olly is still a very 'alive' part of our family...OK he is not physically with us, but he is part of our conversations and we have some traditions and rituals that honour him. My grandaughter is being raised with an Uncle Olly (not some distant reference to a brother who died when he was young)
And....DH and I are still together, I haven't turned to drink (much ha, ha), my eldest DS is a wonderful father/partner, next DS is influencing younger teens in a positive way, 3rd DS is a hardworking and focused young man......should I go on???
Here is a picture of our family....thanks Penny for the link. They didn't have enough 'bad hairdos' for the kids for my lot (I has dreadlocks, T has a long mullet and at times E has an afro) Olly has a halo because he is now an angel.
Caio
PS; You may think I have given up scrapbooking. I promise to post some layouts soon
1. I know you've got a foodie background. Tell us about your favourite food memory.
For about 10 years there we had a catering business. I could tell you about lots of disastrous memories, but picking a favourite was difficult. I'll be broad and say my best memories are of weddings where the bride and groom were willing to be creative and 'push the boat out' with a theme or idea eg: the 'totally dessert by candlelight reception' done with black and gold decor, or the full on afternoon tea where the bride said "I don't give a damn what the food tastes like, as long as it looks fabulous" LOL Anything really that involved a croquembouche, a happy customer and a fat cheque lol.
2. What would you like your kids to learn from you?
Lots of things I guess but some that come to mind include "be who you are" (integrity and congruence), "people are more important than things", how to rejoice with others in their success and that "painful experiences can grow us".
Also (of course) to chew with their mouths closed, not pick their nose on national television and to say YES everytime I ask them to do something LOL!!
3. What would like as a superpower?
To be able to bring back people from the dead....of course!!
4. If somebody made a movie of your life story, who would you pick to play you? Your Hubby?
I would like Bette Midler or Julia Roberts to play me (DH would apparently choose Bette Midler ;-) or Whitney Houston umm...hellloooo!!!) I guess I'd like Kevin Costner to play DH.....he'd be happy with that too apparently!!! When do rehearsals start? (with Kevin I mean he, he) Can you guess how many times we have watched The Bodyguard?? We are sooo sad!!
5. What's the one thing you're proudest of having accomplished in the past five years?
Olly is still a very 'alive' part of our family...OK he is not physically with us, but he is part of our conversations and we have some traditions and rituals that honour him. My grandaughter is being raised with an Uncle Olly (not some distant reference to a brother who died when he was young)
And....DH and I are still together, I haven't turned to drink (much ha, ha), my eldest DS is a wonderful father/partner, next DS is influencing younger teens in a positive way, 3rd DS is a hardworking and focused young man......should I go on???
Here is a picture of our family....thanks Penny for the link. They didn't have enough 'bad hairdos' for the kids for my lot (I has dreadlocks, T has a long mullet and at times E has an afro) Olly has a halo because he is now an angel.
Caio
PS; You may think I have given up scrapbooking. I promise to post some layouts soon
Monday, March 16, 2009
My poor, neglected blog :-(
I seem to have fallen of the face of the earth when it comes to blogging....I guess sometimes life just goes on. The year is well and truely underway in all areas of my life.
E is back at school doing year 12 but hating every minute of it. He has a work placement one day a week with a Deisel Mechanics which he is loving. He realises the job market is pretty bad at the moment and that he is better off where he is and, to their credit, the school are working with him to make his days as applicable to his future career plans as possible. T has been looking for work in Radio but is being pretty fussy (which I'm not sure is a good thing;-( ) He really hasn't wanted to leave town until after the end of the rowing season which is in a few weeks. He has casual work which brings in a bit of dosh for him and I think his plan is to go to Uni in Semester 2 if no work comes along. Here is a picture of a recent rowing success he had. A boys double that he coaches won GOLD yesterday at the NI Secondary School Champs. No mean feat. I cropped the actual rowers out of the photo (those spandex they wear are pretty scary lol)
I & A are continuing to do a sterling job as parents to my delightful DGD. A has just turned 21 (her party was an education for us!!!!) and she is working now so T is at daycare for some of the week. I still has heaps of work on which is great considering the downturn in the building industry and the number of tradesmen I hear of with no work.
OMG.....Taylor will be 2 in September. How did that happen? She is such a treasure with a real little sense of humour. I love having her to stay sometimes and especially watching her play with Java and Mocha.
Work is full on as usual. I have 8 -10 private clients on top of my fulltime job and am actively working in RJ also so I'm pretty busy (but I do like it that way)
And on the homefront - BIG NEWS. We have a builder starting very soon (like in the next week or so) to do MAJOR renovations to our house. We started them a number of years ago and haven't done any maintenance on it for years so...bring it on. I will try and record some of it here and I am NOT going to let it stress me. What's a bit of dust, going way over budget and having to make endless decisions about colours, carpet, taps ...yada, yada, yada. SCARY that's what.
Now I promise I will drop back in and answer Penny's interview questions real soon. I'll leave you with a photo of one of the lovely Labradors. This is Mocha and he is 2 and a quarter. He is a slimline Lab (lol) as he has bad joints and can't afford to carry any weight
E is back at school doing year 12 but hating every minute of it. He has a work placement one day a week with a Deisel Mechanics which he is loving. He realises the job market is pretty bad at the moment and that he is better off where he is and, to their credit, the school are working with him to make his days as applicable to his future career plans as possible. T has been looking for work in Radio but is being pretty fussy (which I'm not sure is a good thing;-( ) He really hasn't wanted to leave town until after the end of the rowing season which is in a few weeks. He has casual work which brings in a bit of dosh for him and I think his plan is to go to Uni in Semester 2 if no work comes along. Here is a picture of a recent rowing success he had. A boys double that he coaches won GOLD yesterday at the NI Secondary School Champs. No mean feat. I cropped the actual rowers out of the photo (those spandex they wear are pretty scary lol)
I & A are continuing to do a sterling job as parents to my delightful DGD. A has just turned 21 (her party was an education for us!!!!) and she is working now so T is at daycare for some of the week. I still has heaps of work on which is great considering the downturn in the building industry and the number of tradesmen I hear of with no work.
OMG.....Taylor will be 2 in September. How did that happen? She is such a treasure with a real little sense of humour. I love having her to stay sometimes and especially watching her play with Java and Mocha.
Work is full on as usual. I have 8 -10 private clients on top of my fulltime job and am actively working in RJ also so I'm pretty busy (but I do like it that way)
And on the homefront - BIG NEWS. We have a builder starting very soon (like in the next week or so) to do MAJOR renovations to our house. We started them a number of years ago and haven't done any maintenance on it for years so...bring it on. I will try and record some of it here and I am NOT going to let it stress me. What's a bit of dust, going way over budget and having to make endless decisions about colours, carpet, taps ...yada, yada, yada. SCARY that's what.
Now I promise I will drop back in and answer Penny's interview questions real soon. I'll leave you with a photo of one of the lovely Labradors. This is Mocha and he is 2 and a quarter. He is a slimline Lab (lol) as he has bad joints and can't afford to carry any weight
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
A blog award...
The lovely Sonya (who I would love to meet in person incidently) bestowed this blog award on me a while back. Thank you Sonya for your kind words. I don't feel very brave really.....just plodding on!!!I'm off work sick today so taking the time to update my blog. We have just been through our 'rough time', Feb 1st being the anniversary of Olly's death. We spent some time together up at the cemetary, having a picnic and tidying up his plot. The lovely DGD had been to stay with us the night before which is always a treat. She is growing up so fast!! Why do they have to do that??
DS (16yrs) is back to school tomorrow for year 12...that's 6th form for us oldies. He's doing subjects like autoshop and working 1 day a week at a diesel mechanics which should make school a little easier for him. He would like to get an apprenticeship through Goughs and eventually work fixing the big caterpillar machinery but in the meantime he just continues to dismantle and play with his Mitsubishi in the garage lol.
I've been playing with my new slice machine but I cant upload any LO's coz DH has taken the connection lead on holiday with him for the week. Promise I will get them up as soon as he returns. In the meantime I'll leave you with a pic of our 'Olly honouring' picnic we had on sunday.
PS Who is the grumpy looking fat chick in the white t-shirt?? .....ha, ha. That would be me!!!!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Back into things and days out.
Hi there blogging world. I've been back at work for 2 weeks now so I'm into the swing of it.....and ready for the anniversary weekend and Waitangi day holidays lol. Do you realise we are ripped off this year and next. This year Anzac day falls on a Sunday (so no day off work) and next year Waitangi day AND Anzac day both fall on a weekend day. Short changed by 2 public holidays. I should hope our new National government might do something about that.....yeah right lol.
Anyway...rant over. This month DH and I have been doing some days out on the weekend, as he has had the last 3 weekends as days off (usually he has one weekend day and one weekday...often a Wednesday) We have taken it in turns to decide what we do. The first one was my turn and we went for a walk at Lake Okataina...a truly beautiful spot on a good day...which thankfully it was.
We did some exploring in Rotorua with coffee and cake at the Fat Dog...a favourite of ours. Then it was DH's turn and we went for an explore around some of the Waikato, ending up at the Hamilton Gardens...which is one of his favourite (photography) spots but I have never been there. I must say they are awesome and I would go there more if I lived in Hamilton (which I NEVER will..intensely dislike the place....no offence to those who do)
Today we headed over to Blue Lakes rowing regatta to watch a couple of the crews that DS coaches. They did very well in the race we saw (a close 3rd in an 8's race rowing an age group above their level) Then in to Rotorua with other DS to buy him some clothes and a compulsory stop at the Fat Dog again. No wonder I'm not losing any weight lol.
Last night we went to a local show that a friend of ours has written and produced (DH was doing some photos for them) It was a clever musical amalgamation of Aladdin with Robin Hood with all modern songs and a mainly teenage cast. Exceptionally well done and a good laugh.
Oh, and I whipped these up this weekend for a friend of Abby's.
to say I'm really pleased with them...soooo cute.
Caio
Anyway...rant over. This month DH and I have been doing some days out on the weekend, as he has had the last 3 weekends as days off (usually he has one weekend day and one weekday...often a Wednesday) We have taken it in turns to decide what we do. The first one was my turn and we went for a walk at Lake Okataina...a truly beautiful spot on a good day...which thankfully it was.
We did some exploring in Rotorua with coffee and cake at the Fat Dog...a favourite of ours. Then it was DH's turn and we went for an explore around some of the Waikato, ending up at the Hamilton Gardens...which is one of his favourite (photography) spots but I have never been there. I must say they are awesome and I would go there more if I lived in Hamilton (which I NEVER will..intensely dislike the place....no offence to those who do)Today we headed over to Blue Lakes rowing regatta to watch a couple of the crews that DS coaches. They did very well in the race we saw (a close 3rd in an 8's race rowing an age group above their level) Then in to Rotorua with other DS to buy him some clothes and a compulsory stop at the Fat Dog again. No wonder I'm not losing any weight lol.
Last night we went to a local show that a friend of ours has written and produced (DH was doing some photos for them) It was a clever musical amalgamation of Aladdin with Robin Hood with all modern songs and a mainly teenage cast. Exceptionally well done and a good laugh.
Oh, and I whipped these up this weekend for a friend of Abby's.
to say I'm really pleased with them...soooo cute.Caio
Thursday, January 01, 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR...(warning-long post follows)
...and welcome to 2009. I've had my head down, just getting through the festive season so I haven't managed the "blog thing".
I did come through Christmas having achieved some sort of 'domestic goddess' stuff which is good for me. Since losing Olly I have struggled to do any sort of Christmassy thing...usually managing something but not much. This year, although I was frantic right up til about 2 weeks before, I did manage to do some creating and effort. Thanks go to SBO for their Very Sweet Christmas Competition which provided some motivation to get stuff made, tree up etc.
Christmas day was spent with my Mum, our family and my brother and his family. Our table looked fabulous (my domestic goddess bit) and the food was plentiful and yummy.
Mum has been unwell and it was good to just all hang together. My DGD is starting to get into the celebration thing and it was cool to have them here with us.
So...2008...was a very busy year workwise for me and 2009 is shaping up to be the same. I'd like to share a layout I did at SENZ 08 with Lusi Austin which, for me, sums up my joys of 2008.
are in no particular order:
- Toby - 18 yrs, heaps of fun and finding his niche for now in radio work
- Elliot - turned 16 and I'm so thrilled he's decided to return to school in 09 and persue his dreams
- Izzy - now 20 and I'm so proud of the wonderful parents he and Abby are turning out to be.
- Taylor - my DGD. She is a delight and I love her to bits. I'm loving my Nana role too
- Steve - I have really enjoyed watching him develop his passion for photography and start teaching it too
- My RJ work - love the work and the people. Ask me about it sometime if you are interested
- My scrapspace - I love having my own room and the whole scrapping thing...friends, time out, creativity etc, etc
- Making my jewellry - I think I am (finally) finding my feminine side lol
- Food - I have enjoyed getting back to a little creativity with food
So...2009...what does it hold for me..
A few challenges. We have to do something about our house (we have been saying that for about 8 years now) It was going to happen in 08 but interest rate rises and an unplanned trip to Chch for all of us when DH's mother died meant it all went on hold (again!!) This year (01/02) marks the 5th anniversary of Oliver's death and it will fall on the same day (a Sunday) which feels like a biggie for us. My mother's ongoing 'wellness' challenges will mean I am supporting her alot too. I will do another paper at WINTEC towards my PostGrad Diploma in May/June this year too
A few good things I hope too. DH and I hope to visit Melbourne and his brother in Tasmania for a holiday in October (ish) I want to get back into more food creativity (so if you live near me you may get an invitation to dinner sometime :-) ) I will continue to scrap and create stuff with paper - I have booked into the Autumn Escape in May so far. And to continue to enjoy time with the very lovely Taylor
So there are a few of my musings about 08 and 09. Of course the usual healthy eating/.exercise/declutter/use my stash etc etc type plans also.
So, as I said at the beginning...HAPPY NEW YEAR. May you be blessed with things that bring joy to your life, and may you find the strength to go through the hard stuff
Caio
Sandra
I did come through Christmas having achieved some sort of 'domestic goddess' stuff which is good for me. Since losing Olly I have struggled to do any sort of Christmassy thing...usually managing something but not much. This year, although I was frantic right up til about 2 weeks before, I did manage to do some creating and effort. Thanks go to SBO for their Very Sweet Christmas Competition which provided some motivation to get stuff made, tree up etc.
Christmas day was spent with my Mum, our family and my brother and his family. Our table looked fabulous (my domestic goddess bit) and the food was plentiful and yummy.
Mum has been unwell and it was good to just all hang together. My DGD is starting to get into the celebration thing and it was cool to have them here with us.So...2008...was a very busy year workwise for me and 2009 is shaping up to be the same. I'd like to share a layout I did at SENZ 08 with Lusi Austin which, for me, sums up my joys of 2008.
are in no particular order:
- Toby - 18 yrs, heaps of fun and finding his niche for now in radio work
- Elliot - turned 16 and I'm so thrilled he's decided to return to school in 09 and persue his dreams
- Izzy - now 20 and I'm so proud of the wonderful parents he and Abby are turning out to be.
- Taylor - my DGD. She is a delight and I love her to bits. I'm loving my Nana role too
- Steve - I have really enjoyed watching him develop his passion for photography and start teaching it too
- My RJ work - love the work and the people. Ask me about it sometime if you are interested
- My scrapspace - I love having my own room and the whole scrapping thing...friends, time out, creativity etc, etc
- Making my jewellry - I think I am (finally) finding my feminine side lol
- Food - I have enjoyed getting back to a little creativity with food
So...2009...what does it hold for me..
A few challenges. We have to do something about our house (we have been saying that for about 8 years now) It was going to happen in 08 but interest rate rises and an unplanned trip to Chch for all of us when DH's mother died meant it all went on hold (again!!) This year (01/02) marks the 5th anniversary of Oliver's death and it will fall on the same day (a Sunday) which feels like a biggie for us. My mother's ongoing 'wellness' challenges will mean I am supporting her alot too. I will do another paper at WINTEC towards my PostGrad Diploma in May/June this year too
A few good things I hope too. DH and I hope to visit Melbourne and his brother in Tasmania for a holiday in October (ish) I want to get back into more food creativity (so if you live near me you may get an invitation to dinner sometime :-) ) I will continue to scrap and create stuff with paper - I have booked into the Autumn Escape in May so far. And to continue to enjoy time with the very lovely Taylor
So there are a few of my musings about 08 and 09. Of course the usual healthy eating/.exercise/declutter/use my stash etc etc type plans also.
So, as I said at the beginning...HAPPY NEW YEAR. May you be blessed with things that bring joy to your life, and may you find the strength to go through the hard stuff
Caio
Sandra
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Update and stuff...
So, I'm sick of apologising for not blogging very often...so I won't....right (insert evil grin here)
Wassup in my world you may ask.....I'm scrapping away doing the SBO "Very Sweet Christmas Competition". I decided to enter coz it's not a judged one but a raffle type one which means I stand a chance. Fitting it all in can be a challenge but I've kept up with it so far.
Here are some pics of my entries so far....
I've had to take so much time off work lately for personal matters that I had to go into work today (Sat) for 4 hours to make up time...and I'll have to do it again in a few weeks. Bummer in some ways but it's nice and quiet and I got heaps done. It's probably quiet coz I have no-one to talk to...I think I'm the distracting noisy one in the office...ooops!!
On the home front I have lots happening. My Mum is not well and has been deteriorating in her mobility. She doesn't drive and since Dad died I have been taking her out most weekends for her groceries and a bit of an outing. In the last month or so this has become the only outing she has :-( We are trying to get her to a specialist and I am taking time off this week also to get her assessed for some help at home. She wants to sell her house and move into a smaller unit and this is a major mission for us as we are the only family living locally. DH works hospitality hours and balancing these needs with having my grandaughter to stay sometimes and supporting my teenage boys means that I feel like a very busy bunny. Thank God for scrapbooking and hiding away in my room for hours on end "cutting up bits of paper and sticking it to other bits of paper". Keeps me sane sometimes I reckon.
Is anyone else not coping with the hurry everyone seems to be in to 'stress about Christmas'. Isn't Christmas in December??? It's not even the end of November yet...what's with that???? I'm a true fan of the 'Ostrich approach' then the 'panic in the last week or so' approach. Am I the only one?? Besides, if I deal with Christmas too soon the family don't focus enough on my birthday in early December. Priorities right??
I'll leave you with a few random thoughts...
I want a MM Slice
I've decided to do the Rotorua Scrapcamp in late Feb and Autumn Escape in May then maybe SENZ in July
I need to win lotto (lol)
DH and I decided last night to plan a holiday to Melbourne and Tazzie (he has family there) next October (hey, if I log it here it may happen!!)
Ciao
Sandra
Wassup in my world you may ask.....I'm scrapping away doing the SBO "Very Sweet Christmas Competition". I decided to enter coz it's not a judged one but a raffle type one which means I stand a chance. Fitting it all in can be a challenge but I've kept up with it so far.
Here are some pics of my entries so far....
I've had to take so much time off work lately for personal matters that I had to go into work today (Sat) for 4 hours to make up time...and I'll have to do it again in a few weeks. Bummer in some ways but it's nice and quiet and I got heaps done. It's probably quiet coz I have no-one to talk to...I think I'm the distracting noisy one in the office...ooops!!
On the home front I have lots happening. My Mum is not well and has been deteriorating in her mobility. She doesn't drive and since Dad died I have been taking her out most weekends for her groceries and a bit of an outing. In the last month or so this has become the only outing she has :-( We are trying to get her to a specialist and I am taking time off this week also to get her assessed for some help at home. She wants to sell her house and move into a smaller unit and this is a major mission for us as we are the only family living locally. DH works hospitality hours and balancing these needs with having my grandaughter to stay sometimes and supporting my teenage boys means that I feel like a very busy bunny. Thank God for scrapbooking and hiding away in my room for hours on end "cutting up bits of paper and sticking it to other bits of paper". Keeps me sane sometimes I reckon.
Is anyone else not coping with the hurry everyone seems to be in to 'stress about Christmas'. Isn't Christmas in December??? It's not even the end of November yet...what's with that???? I'm a true fan of the 'Ostrich approach' then the 'panic in the last week or so' approach. Am I the only one?? Besides, if I deal with Christmas too soon the family don't focus enough on my birthday in early December. Priorities right??
I'll leave you with a few random thoughts...
I want a MM Slice
I've decided to do the Rotorua Scrapcamp in late Feb and Autumn Escape in May then maybe SENZ in July
I need to win lotto (lol)
DH and I decided last night to plan a holiday to Melbourne and Tazzie (he has family there) next October (hey, if I log it here it may happen!!)
Ciao
Sandra
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Well...we've been back nearly a week....
...so it's time for an update, right??
We had a lovely holiday away despite
- the dog running away and going to prison again (this time for the weekend and the kids had to find the $$ to get him out lol)
- No 3 son (16yrs) doing something very silly and getting himself in trouble (not prepared to share that but lets just say we are still NOT IMPRESSED)
- the weather being a bit grotty for a few days. We got stuck at the base of the Rimutuka's for 4 hours but it wasn't worth driving around the long way.
Great things about our holiday included
- yummy gelato in Napier and Taupo (yes I fell off the exercise wagon but tried to eat a bit healthy most of the time)
- stopping here for a beer
- wine and olive oil tasting in martinborough
- BEAUTIFUL WEATHER in Wellington (hear that those cynics amongst you!!) all the time we were there
- a visit to Tempt for these
- lots of wandering around the waterfront and DH taking lots of Wgtn photos
- SENZ
- Dinner at Cobb & Co Upper Hutt with a load of scrap buddies, most of whom I had never met before. I love that about scrapbooking
- Cropping at Kiwiscraps with scrapbuddies mentioned above
- Just hanging out with DH
- Catching up with old friends (Pete and his family and coffee with Tracey)
Gosh I love Wellington and DH and I have always thought we might move back there one day....I was Wgtn born and bred and we were married there and lived there for 2 years before moving to Tauranga.
One great part of the holiday was coming home. The kids had all worked very hard and tidied up our back yard and the gardens. HUGE THANKS GUYS xxx
So coming up I have:
My scrappy friends coming round on Friday night to do some SENZ catchups
Sketchbook retreat in Auckland in 2 weekends time...please leave some room in the car for my stuff Delys and Angela
I'm going to the National Ballroom and Latin champs here in Tga with my Mum next weekend. An old family friend is judging.
I'm thinking of going to Nic Howards Autumn Escape next year...quite pricey but sounds like a bit of luxury I could do with.
Work, work and more work....
Caio
PS: Kate, if you read this...what scrapcamp in Feb???
We had a lovely holiday away despite
- the dog running away and going to prison again (this time for the weekend and the kids had to find the $$ to get him out lol)
- No 3 son (16yrs) doing something very silly and getting himself in trouble (not prepared to share that but lets just say we are still NOT IMPRESSED)
- the weather being a bit grotty for a few days. We got stuck at the base of the Rimutuka's for 4 hours but it wasn't worth driving around the long way.
Great things about our holiday included
- yummy gelato in Napier and Taupo (yes I fell off the exercise wagon but tried to eat a bit healthy most of the time)
- stopping here for a beer
- wine and olive oil tasting in martinborough- BEAUTIFUL WEATHER in Wellington (hear that those cynics amongst you!!) all the time we were there
- a visit to Tempt for these
- lots of wandering around the waterfront and DH taking lots of Wgtn photos
- SENZ- Dinner at Cobb & Co Upper Hutt with a load of scrap buddies, most of whom I had never met before. I love that about scrapbooking
- Cropping at Kiwiscraps with scrapbuddies mentioned above
- Just hanging out with DH
- Catching up with old friends (Pete and his family and coffee with Tracey)
Gosh I love Wellington and DH and I have always thought we might move back there one day....I was Wgtn born and bred and we were married there and lived there for 2 years before moving to Tauranga.
One great part of the holiday was coming home. The kids had all worked very hard and tidied up our back yard and the gardens. HUGE THANKS GUYS xxx
So coming up I have:
My scrappy friends coming round on Friday night to do some SENZ catchups
Sketchbook retreat in Auckland in 2 weekends time...please leave some room in the car for my stuff Delys and Angela
I'm going to the National Ballroom and Latin champs here in Tga with my Mum next weekend. An old family friend is judging.
I'm thinking of going to Nic Howards Autumn Escape next year...quite pricey but sounds like a bit of luxury I could do with.
Work, work and more work....
Caio
PS: Kate, if you read this...what scrapcamp in Feb???
Friday, October 03, 2008
A busy (but slightly lighter and fitter) blogger, he, he, he
Ok....it goes without saying... I've been a bad blogger. But I prefer to be thought of as a busy blogger. Not been doing any scrap stuff, unless you count the odd card. Just work, my private practice (on top of my fulltime job) and stuff for the whanau... my elderly mother and my beautiful grandaughter included.
So here is what is happening in bullet points:
- 12 week challenge going well. I'm now on week 7, I feel trimmer, fitter and I've lost just on 5kg. Yeeehaaa.
- DH and I are off for a holiday today (leaving kids and someone in our house) We are heading to Napier then down to Martinborough for a few days to do some wine things. Then we are in Wellington for a while and I'm going to SENZ and then we come home. We are both so looking forward to a) the break and b) spending some time together (we don't see each other much coz of our work hours) and c) him doing lots of photography and me going to SENZ.
- Life just goes on really.
If you are at SENZ and read my blog, please say Hi if you recognise me from my piccie. My hair is very red at the moment :-)
I'm doing 6 classes so I will be around most days.
I'll update with some holiday stories on my return
Caio
So here is what is happening in bullet points:
- 12 week challenge going well. I'm now on week 7, I feel trimmer, fitter and I've lost just on 5kg. Yeeehaaa.
- DH and I are off for a holiday today (leaving kids and someone in our house) We are heading to Napier then down to Martinborough for a few days to do some wine things. Then we are in Wellington for a while and I'm going to SENZ and then we come home. We are both so looking forward to a) the break and b) spending some time together (we don't see each other much coz of our work hours) and c) him doing lots of photography and me going to SENZ.
- Life just goes on really.
If you are at SENZ and read my blog, please say Hi if you recognise me from my piccie. My hair is very red at the moment :-)
I'm doing 6 classes so I will be around most days.
I'll update with some holiday stories on my return
Caio
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Just a Quickie...
A quick post (off to work soon) to update my progress with the 12 week challenge.
I'm going well-sticking to the eating part and haven't skipped any exercise yet. the week1/week2 interface was a challenge coz I bumped up the rowing a bit from 2x10 mins to 3x10 mins but now in week 3 I'm coping well with 3x12mins.
I lost another 1.4 kgs last week. I'm in the middle of week 3 now and have had a hard day yesterday (really hungry last night for some reason) but my trainer comes to see me on Fri so we can tweak things then.
Just think...at the end of this week I'll be quarter of the way through and I can already feel some good benefits.
Caio
I'm going well-sticking to the eating part and haven't skipped any exercise yet. the week1/week2 interface was a challenge coz I bumped up the rowing a bit from 2x10 mins to 3x10 mins but now in week 3 I'm coping well with 3x12mins.
I lost another 1.4 kgs last week. I'm in the middle of week 3 now and have had a hard day yesterday (really hungry last night for some reason) but my trainer comes to see me on Fri so we can tweak things then.
Just think...at the end of this week I'll be quarter of the way through and I can already feel some good benefits.
Caio
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Week one Success
Well, I've made it through week one of my 12 week challenge. I've lost 1.2kgs and I'm now doing 30 mins every 2nd day on the erg (rower) and I'm onto week 2 of my weights training. The only weight involved so far is me (lol) but thats all good. I've stuck to the plan religiously so far and I'm being very disciplined in the eating department too. I have to eat a small (incl protein) snack every 2.5 hours so there is no chance of going hungry.
Whoo hoo....go me. I feel firmer already!!!
Off to a SU party now at a friends to buy more goodness :-)
Ciao
Sandra
Whoo hoo....go me. I feel firmer already!!!
Off to a SU party now at a friends to buy more goodness :-)
Ciao
Sandra
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Why...hello there...
...is anybody reading this?
A few quick bullet points to catch you up on the happenings 'chez moi'
*not a lot really ha ha
*enjoying the olympic rowing (and txt conversations with Andrea during it lol)
*I'm sick of the rain - who isn't I guess
*Seriously addicted to SU products at the moment - loving that pumpkin pie colour especially
*Had something exciting in the wind but it didn't eventuate :-( C'est la vie.
*I've booked 6 classes for SENZ and I'm really looking forward to having a holiday away with DH
*Did I mention I'm sick of the rain??
*I've done lots of scrapping/cards but I haven't taken ANY photos sorry.
*My grandaughter is nearly walking and it's only 6 weeks till her 1st birthday
*More importantly DS turns 16 on Thursday and I haven't got a clue what we are going to give him yet!!??!!
OH, how could I forget. BIG FOCUS for me at the moment. I have joined a 12 week challenge with a local fitness trainer.
OMG...what have I done. This is serious...exercise, nutrition, measurements, consultations etc. My goal is to lose at least 8kg (or more) and develop some good habits around exercise and healthy eating. I will sign up for another 12 weeks if I feel I need to. I've promised myself a big (ish) reward at the end of the 12 weeks if I stick with it - no, not more SU products...I'll get those anyway ha ha.
I started on Saturday (yes, only yesterday) so I will update with my progress each week. He visits me wks 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12.
2 days achieved, 82 to go. I have a week away in there somewhere but I'll have done 7 weeks by then so I'll allow myself some treats (like visiting this place)
Watch this space.
Ciao
Sandra
A few quick bullet points to catch you up on the happenings 'chez moi'
*not a lot really ha ha
*enjoying the olympic rowing (and txt conversations with Andrea during it lol)
*I'm sick of the rain - who isn't I guess
*Seriously addicted to SU products at the moment - loving that pumpkin pie colour especially
*Had something exciting in the wind but it didn't eventuate :-( C'est la vie.
*I've booked 6 classes for SENZ and I'm really looking forward to having a holiday away with DH
*Did I mention I'm sick of the rain??
*I've done lots of scrapping/cards but I haven't taken ANY photos sorry.
*My grandaughter is nearly walking and it's only 6 weeks till her 1st birthday
*More importantly DS turns 16 on Thursday and I haven't got a clue what we are going to give him yet!!??!!
OH, how could I forget. BIG FOCUS for me at the moment. I have joined a 12 week challenge with a local fitness trainer.
OMG...what have I done. This is serious...exercise, nutrition, measurements, consultations etc. My goal is to lose at least 8kg (or more) and develop some good habits around exercise and healthy eating. I will sign up for another 12 weeks if I feel I need to. I've promised myself a big (ish) reward at the end of the 12 weeks if I stick with it - no, not more SU products...I'll get those anyway ha ha.
I started on Saturday (yes, only yesterday) so I will update with my progress each week. He visits me wks 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12.
2 days achieved, 82 to go. I have a week away in there somewhere but I'll have done 7 weeks by then so I'll allow myself some treats (like visiting this place)
Watch this space.
Ciao
Sandra
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Okay...it's been over a month
... since my last post. July has been a hard month for our family and I guess blogging has been in the too hard basket.
DH and I had a wonderful 3 days in Auckland at the end of June for our 25th wedding anniversary. Priscilla was great and I had a wonderful day exploring the scrapshops of Auckland.
The following week we got a call from Steve's brother to say their mother, who lives in Christchurch and we knew she wasn't well, had been given 24-48 hours left by the Dr's. We managed to sort everything out and get all of us (including Izzy, Abby and Taylor) to Christchurch within the next 36 hours. We got some precious time with her at the hospital and I'm pretty sure she knew Taylor was there and who she was. Sadly she passed away on the Sunday (5 days later) It was special to have all the family there (from NZ and Australia) and it was the first time all the cousins had been together ever (except our precious Olly, of course) Also special was it was Abby's first time ever in the South Island and it snowed. Her funeral was what she had wanted, and Steve's oldest brother gave a lovely eulogy about her life. It was hard for all of us of course.....and I found it especially hard to see my wonderful boy's be pallbearers again!!! (they were pallbearers at Oliver's funeral too) I guess it's often the little and unexpected things that upset me :-(
Getting back into things after that took a while and I guess we have just been looking after ourselves. Work is pretty challenging at the moment for various reasons and all I would like to say is "watch this space".
Scrapwise I have been plodding on. I have stopped our Thurs night scrapping at the moment as I have committed my Thursday nights to babysitting Taylor while Izzy and Abby do a great parenting course called Incredible Years. I used to be involved with facilitating it when I was a family counsellor and I think it's the greatest course. Instead scrapping is going to happen on alternate Friday nights at my house for the rest of this year.
I did get over to Hamilton yesterday for Crop Waikato though and I got 4 pages done which I am pretty happy about. I'll try and get some photos uploaded this week. It was great to scrap with a load of people who I have met thru scrap events, blogging and forums etc. A big thanks to Neen and Vicky for organising it.
Oh and last week, my oldest baby turned 20 years old. What a milestone. My boys are now 20, 18 and nearly 16. How did that happen?? When they were younger I used to wonder what life would be like when they were all teenagers. Now, although I love them to bits and am enjoying them all at the ages that they are, I would give anything for them to all be loud, little boys again (especially to have 4 of them!!). I'm sure it was only last week ... how time moves so quickly.
So that's me for now. I'm in bed today with a cold and trying to get better as I have stuff on this week I need to be well for.
I'm going to try and blog more...Promise.....
Caio
DH and I had a wonderful 3 days in Auckland at the end of June for our 25th wedding anniversary. Priscilla was great and I had a wonderful day exploring the scrapshops of Auckland.
The following week we got a call from Steve's brother to say their mother, who lives in Christchurch and we knew she wasn't well, had been given 24-48 hours left by the Dr's. We managed to sort everything out and get all of us (including Izzy, Abby and Taylor) to Christchurch within the next 36 hours. We got some precious time with her at the hospital and I'm pretty sure she knew Taylor was there and who she was. Sadly she passed away on the Sunday (5 days later) It was special to have all the family there (from NZ and Australia) and it was the first time all the cousins had been together ever (except our precious Olly, of course) Also special was it was Abby's first time ever in the South Island and it snowed. Her funeral was what she had wanted, and Steve's oldest brother gave a lovely eulogy about her life. It was hard for all of us of course.....and I found it especially hard to see my wonderful boy's be pallbearers again!!! (they were pallbearers at Oliver's funeral too) I guess it's often the little and unexpected things that upset me :-(
Getting back into things after that took a while and I guess we have just been looking after ourselves. Work is pretty challenging at the moment for various reasons and all I would like to say is "watch this space".
Scrapwise I have been plodding on. I have stopped our Thurs night scrapping at the moment as I have committed my Thursday nights to babysitting Taylor while Izzy and Abby do a great parenting course called Incredible Years. I used to be involved with facilitating it when I was a family counsellor and I think it's the greatest course. Instead scrapping is going to happen on alternate Friday nights at my house for the rest of this year.
I did get over to Hamilton yesterday for Crop Waikato though and I got 4 pages done which I am pretty happy about. I'll try and get some photos uploaded this week. It was great to scrap with a load of people who I have met thru scrap events, blogging and forums etc. A big thanks to Neen and Vicky for organising it.
Oh and last week, my oldest baby turned 20 years old. What a milestone. My boys are now 20, 18 and nearly 16. How did that happen?? When they were younger I used to wonder what life would be like when they were all teenagers. Now, although I love them to bits and am enjoying them all at the ages that they are, I would give anything for them to all be loud, little boys again (especially to have 4 of them!!). I'm sure it was only last week ... how time moves so quickly.
So that's me for now. I'm in bed today with a cold and trying to get better as I have stuff on this week I need to be well for.
I'm going to try and blog more...Promise.....
Caio
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Goodies and going away...
OMG......I had a Stampin Up demo at my house yesterday. 16 (yes 16) lovely ladies came and made a lovely card (I didn't coz we ran out of room at the tables and I was too busy helping the demonstrator lol) Some of them bought stuff (so did I) and now I get to choose loads of free goodies because there is an extra hostess promotion on at the moment. Awesome products and I love most of the catalogue. Think of me as I struggle to choose (insert evil grin here hehe.)
This week I only have 2 days of work as I am taking Tues, Wed and Thurs off. DH and I are off to Auckland for a few days to celebrate our 25th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. Well done us!!!! We are going to the stage show of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert one night and dinner up the Sky Tower for the other. He has a work meeting all day Wed so I am heading out to NZ Scrapbook for some scrapping retail therapy. Can't wait.....
caio
Sandra
This week I only have 2 days of work as I am taking Tues, Wed and Thurs off. DH and I are off to Auckland for a few days to celebrate our 25th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. Well done us!!!! We are going to the stage show of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert one night and dinner up the Sky Tower for the other. He has a work meeting all day Wed so I am heading out to NZ Scrapbook for some scrapping retail therapy. Can't wait.....
caio
Sandra
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Been sick....
Ok...so another post. Not bad.....2 weeks lol. I've been sick (NOT the flu) and I'm feeling much better but still in a bit of pain. Anti bugs are kicking in (on 2 sorts) and I even ventured out of the house today, taking my Mum to the supermarket and then a wee trip to HN's so DH could get some photos printed. I will go back to work tomorrow so I better feel better.
I've been doing some scrapping....but haven't taken any pics sorry. Maybe another day. I seem to be liking the way my supplies are set up at the moment so that is a good thing right!! The creative juices are starting to flow.
Speaking of creative juices, I'm really impressed with DH's photography at the moment. He has come a long way and is currently putting together an assignment for a course he is doing.
I'll leave you with a few of my favs.
And (of course) a couple of the very lovely Taylor....
Better go and finish a report I am writing and then I guess it's Monday tomorrow
Ciao
I've been doing some scrapping....but haven't taken any pics sorry. Maybe another day. I seem to be liking the way my supplies are set up at the moment so that is a good thing right!! The creative juices are starting to flow.
Speaking of creative juices, I'm really impressed with DH's photography at the moment. He has come a long way and is currently putting together an assignment for a course he is doing.
I'll leave you with a few of my favs.
And (of course) a couple of the very lovely Taylor....
Better go and finish a report I am writing and then I guess it's Monday tomorrow
Ciao
Monday, May 26, 2008
Helllooo....
.....out there. It's been ages since I last posted. Just haven't felt like it really and life is pretty full on. Work has it's ups and downs (what work doesn't I guess) and with the other private work I do I feel like I lurch from weekend to weekend really.
My scrapping mojo has been seriously absent lately....to the point where I have got grumpy and not liked anything I have been doing :-( I've still managed to purchase some goodies tho. One (very) rash spend has seen me get a Fiskars Threading Water punch. For those who don't know, it is a cute long scallop edge punch with holes in. I won it on Trade Me (apologies to anyone who I might have bidded against in the process) All's fair in love and scrapbook shopping right!!?? The boys have banded together and ordered me a cropodile bigbite (OK...well I had to order it) for Mother's Day, so once that arrives I'll have no excuse right. I'll have to get into it right???? Who am I trying to kid.
I went to my first Stampin Up party the other night (another rowing Mum) and I've said I'll have one myself. I bought some of their papers (great price) and the stamp cleaner thingy and a set of stamps for general cardmaking. I've got my eye on the scallop circle punch and maybe a few other things too.
My mojo got a bit of a fire up this weekend. I went to the Itchy Nail (scrapshop in Whakatane that I hang out at sometimes) scrapcamp for the weekend. 2 and a bit days of uninteruppted scrapping with some fun people in the most beautiful place on earth....right on Ohope Beach. No kidding...it was a 20 metre walk to the beach and we could look at White Island out of the windows while we scrapped.......bliss. Throw in a mobile massaage on the Saturday and wine with our yummy food and I had a blast. We did a cool thing on Sunday morning where we all contributed to each others pages (5mins then pass it on) Thanks to anyone involved who might read this. It will always be a special page :-) Watch out over at the Itchy Nail blog for pics.
Ok...that's me for now.
Caio
My scrapping mojo has been seriously absent lately....to the point where I have got grumpy and not liked anything I have been doing :-( I've still managed to purchase some goodies tho. One (very) rash spend has seen me get a Fiskars Threading Water punch. For those who don't know, it is a cute long scallop edge punch with holes in. I won it on Trade Me (apologies to anyone who I might have bidded against in the process) All's fair in love and scrapbook shopping right!!?? The boys have banded together and ordered me a cropodile bigbite (OK...well I had to order it) for Mother's Day, so once that arrives I'll have no excuse right. I'll have to get into it right???? Who am I trying to kid.
I went to my first Stampin Up party the other night (another rowing Mum) and I've said I'll have one myself. I bought some of their papers (great price) and the stamp cleaner thingy and a set of stamps for general cardmaking. I've got my eye on the scallop circle punch and maybe a few other things too.
My mojo got a bit of a fire up this weekend. I went to the Itchy Nail (scrapshop in Whakatane that I hang out at sometimes) scrapcamp for the weekend. 2 and a bit days of uninteruppted scrapping with some fun people in the most beautiful place on earth....right on Ohope Beach. No kidding...it was a 20 metre walk to the beach and we could look at White Island out of the windows while we scrapped.......bliss. Throw in a mobile massaage on the Saturday and wine with our yummy food and I had a blast. We did a cool thing on Sunday morning where we all contributed to each others pages (5mins then pass it on) Thanks to anyone involved who might read this. It will always be a special page :-) Watch out over at the Itchy Nail blog for pics.
Ok...that's me for now.
Caio
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Yay...a quiet..restful...
....weekend. I've done some housework (yuk but very necessary) and this afternoon I have been making some cards for some people at work (like commissions really lol) Here they are. The cute handbags are envelopes and they have the matching little cards inside.
And here are some layouts I've done recently....
Otherwise a quiet one here really. Went to The Itchy Nail last weekend to crop and shop with some of my Thusday night scrapbuddies. That was fun...thanks Delys. I'm off to the Itchy Nail scrapcamp at Ohope Beach (one of my most favourite places) at the end of May. I can't wait. I bought my SENZ tickets this week too. DH and I are hoping to go down for a week or so and have a bit of a holiday together. We might even stay on a vineyard in Martinborough and do some wine tasting...yummo. Something later in the year to look forward to.
Caio
And here are some layouts I've done recently....
Otherwise a quiet one here really. Went to The Itchy Nail last weekend to crop and shop with some of my Thusday night scrapbuddies. That was fun...thanks Delys. I'm off to the Itchy Nail scrapcamp at Ohope Beach (one of my most favourite places) at the end of May. I can't wait. I bought my SENZ tickets this week too. DH and I are hoping to go down for a week or so and have a bit of a holiday together. We might even stay on a vineyard in Martinborough and do some wine tasting...yummo. Something later in the year to look forward to.
Caio
Sunday, March 23, 2008
OK..so I haven't posted for a while...
.....does anyone still visit???
It's Easter, the rowing season is almost over, I've finished my module at WINTEC and I feel like I might have some life back. I've found my desk in my scraproom and started some cards and layouts...all is well lol.
Guess who came to stay with me Saturday night....
....wearing sparkly jeans no less. How cute is that?? For those who don't know, this is my DGD (Darling Granddaughter) She's not even 6 months old yet and she is trying to crawl.
DH and I had a very pleasant afternoon yesterday sipping pinot gris downtown Tauranga at the Jazz festival. What a huge event...the council now closes off about 4 roads...and it is such a cruisy atmosphere. Great music too.
Off to scrap some more. I need to make a dent in all this product so I can have an excuse to buy some more. I'm loving the new MM 5th Ave (Sophie) and the Animal Crackers.....such yummy stuff.
Caio
It's Easter, the rowing season is almost over, I've finished my module at WINTEC and I feel like I might have some life back. I've found my desk in my scraproom and started some cards and layouts...all is well lol.
Guess who came to stay with me Saturday night....
....wearing sparkly jeans no less. How cute is that?? For those who don't know, this is my DGD (Darling Granddaughter) She's not even 6 months old yet and she is trying to crawl.
DH and I had a very pleasant afternoon yesterday sipping pinot gris downtown Tauranga at the Jazz festival. What a huge event...the council now closes off about 4 roads...and it is such a cruisy atmosphere. Great music too.
Off to scrap some more. I need to make a dent in all this product so I can have an excuse to buy some more. I'm loving the new MM 5th Ave (Sophie) and the Animal Crackers.....such yummy stuff.
Caio
Thursday, March 06, 2008
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