ANOTHER GIVEAWAY....AND THE TEETH

NO.. not from me! Mine is coming up SOON... but until then:

Pop over to here to get a chance to win a few things, including these neat Fat Quarters! (if you are 'into' fat quarters that is!)

If you're not, well then don't enter.. all the more chances for me to win then !

I suppose I should tell you I am having a GIVEAWAY soon... to mark the 3rd Year Anniversary of me being a Blogger! I'm starting it off on October 1st... and adding one thing a day until the 10th.... which is my Blogaversary! (Sp?..oh what the hell, who cares anyway?) You can enter each and every day (I likes comments!).... so the more you comment the more chance you have to win my stuff!

BRLYEE: Yesterday Mum and I visited an Orthodontist because:

ABOVE: I have fangs! I don't like having fangs. I get teased at school cos I have fangs. It sucks to have fangs. But I am so lucky, cos the Orthodontist is going to give me a lovely wee plate to start the process off.... I know I will need to have the full works (braces) in a few years... but for now... $600 for a plate. It will be worth it. AND I can have a plate that is pink ... with glitter in it! How cool is that? I have to wait two weeks for my plate. That's OK though.... it gives Mum time to come up with the MONEY! LOL

Today we are probably staying home.... I'm sure I can find something to do.... hopefully Mum will give me back my Barbies!

First off: Griffin slept in until 8.50 am! Unheard of ! The pills worked!

Second: a small tsunami is expected to hit New Zealand in an hour or so... will update later if there is anything to tell, rest assured WE are safe! We live a reasonable distance from the sea, and we are up high.

The ETA of the expected Tsunami has been and gone with nothing happening here in New Zealand, there was loss of life in American Samoa though, very sad.

I forgot to mention: My 'Esteemed Weight Watcher Leader' Sandra is coming up to visit today! I'm expecting her at dinner time... and she's staying for a few days! How awesome is that then? LOL... I better make sure I have lots of good, healthy food in the house!

End of Day: Sandra got here safely.... I picked her up on Great south road at 7pm... took her home and fed her chicken! LOL

Going to watch some mindless tv and yak now. nite nite.

MAD COW ( WHOOPS, BULL!) VIDEO:

Let's start the day with something truly DISGUSTING EH? ** WARNING.... not for small children's eyes **

Above is a wee video I took yesterday... My brother Vern gave this cow to my Mum for Christmas one year... she thought it was DISGUSTING and put it away in a box. I found it on Sunday and decided to give it an airing!

Now you can all be DISGUSTED along with me! Not that I am disgusted actually! It's funny... it's a bit grubby, but harmless to adults!

Today we have Griffin going to the Doctor in the morning, then Brylee going to an Orthodontist in the afternoon. So, out and about! I also need to do the housework... what fun!

ONWARD... Took Griffin to the Doctor.. he's given him some Pseudoephedrine tablets to help dry up his nose, which hopefully will also stop him coughing! Poor Stew was up and down for ages last night while Griffin coughed and vomited.

Right, after that we came home for a quick lunch, then went to the supermarket to get a few things I forgot yesterday... STEW... I forgot the dishwashing liquid/powder AGAIN! LOL

Now.. I've just made a HUGE HUGE meatloaf... hopefully enough for 4 meals! I want to freeze the extra.

***MY Meat loaf: about 1.5kg mincemeat, 1 kg sausage meat, CHOP UP small: 4 large onions, 4 large potatoes, 2 large carrots, 6 large tomatoes, some silverbeet or spinach, and any other veges you want to add, 8 eggs, 2-3 cups of fine breadcrumbs, herbs and spices you like, garlic granules, 3 Tblspoons Beef Stock, bit of salt... mix it all together.... chuck in a roasting dish and cover... cook for a couple of hours at 200 degrees Celsius. It's yummy.

Soon we are off to the Orthodontist...Brylee is not having orthodontic treatment yet.. I'm just taking her to see what , if anything, can be done now! She is very self conscious of her protruding teeth.. poor kid.

I'm VERY pleased with how our visit went... more about that tomorrow....

For now... I'm done going out and about for today! We have hardly been home. The drug Griffin took today was supposedly going to make him hyper... it didn't work luckily! He has been quite dopey. OOO what's new! LOL

End of Day: a long day... glad it's drawing to an end... the meat loaf smells delicious! nite nite. **** We are having the MOST AMAZING THUNDER/LIGHTENING storm tonight! I love it!

ROOM IN THE FREEZER!

ABOVE: The primary reason we went to Whitianga yesterday... to get this freezer. Now I can buy enough bread and milk/meat and veges to last a fortnight, instead of having to go to the shop every few days. YAAA HOOOO! And it fits in this corner of the garage great too.

ABOVE: I also picked up the little dresser that was my Mum's for over 40 years... my paternal Grandfather made it for her... and now it's mine. It's very heavy! But so cute.

ABOVE: inside on of the dresser's drawers was this darling Silver Fern broach, covered in diamante's! MINE... finders keepers and all that! LOL, it was probably my Mum's or Grandmother's....

ABOVE: I scored these lovely dishes too... totally ME... just had to slip them in the car....

ABOVE: THE coffee table. My Dad visited America/Hong Kong about 25 years ago and got this amazing table then... had it shipped back.. it took ages too. Anyway, Mum gave it to me and I have finally got it in my home. It has 6 little tables tucked under it.

ABOVE: Some of the detailing on the top. It really is an awesome table.

We also got all my Dad's fishing rods... I'm going to sell the really big Game Fishing ones.... can't see them being used off the side of the Maraetai Pier! LOL

Today... well I'm hoping for a nice quiet day...

Will have to take Griffin to the Doctor... he's really sick .... dreadful cold.... sore throat, very bad DRY cough, vomitting.... YEP QUITE MISERABLE.

ONWARD... well... Griffin's feeling a bit better this morning! Typical... I have made a Doctor's appointment anyway... can't get in till tomorrow. Pfffft.

AND Teddy is seeing the Doctor today.... I'm changing Vet's. The one we've been going to has dreadful access/parking issues AND they keep prescribing only 2 weeks worth of pills for him, making it necessary to go there all the time and pay over and over again for the same pills. Rip off artists me thinks. So, lets try another one eh?

It's absolutely pissing down with rain today.... lucky for us it wasn't like this yesterday!

I've got lots to do around the house to keep me busy....

We went out to do a small grocery shop... and while in Sylvia Park Mall I decided to get my Camera Card copied to disc... in Palmerston North I used to get it done at the Fuji Shop for $6.75. Here? That bugger charged me $40! I paid, left and vowed to never go there again. Why do people do that???? Are they so hard up they have to rip you off at every opportunity? I'm so disappointed. And I have to find somewhere handy that is not going to charge me that much!

Almost time to take Teddy to the Vet's... I liked that vet! AND he gave Teddy an injection right there and then to stop his current scratching problem... AND he's going to give me a long lasting prescription....AND the parking/access is FANTASTIC there... YAAA all round.

STEVE: oooops, Sorry son! I was TIRED... I FORGOT... I am a bad mother! A little bit of Totara Cafe' MIGHT have helped with the 'forgetting department' too! hee hee.

End Of Day: it's been a good day....shock/horror! nite nite

WHITIANGA TODAY

We are off to Whitianga today... just there and back in one day.
We are going to pick up a chest freezer and a coffee table from one of the beach houses my Mum owns.

I really need the chest freezer, I just don't have enough freezer room for all the stuff I want to store.
This summer I want to grow MASSES of tomatoes and free-flow freeze them to use all year round in soups/casseroles etc.

So, it will be a long day for sure... hopefully the weather is OK, and the kids are not too bored in the car! I tried to get them babysat, but it was a last minute decision for me to go too... and I couldn't get a sitter... OH WELL.

All going well I will be back later tonight with some photos of our day!
ONWARD.....

We got up nice and early and left Auckland at 8am... got to Whitianga around 10.15 and proceeded to load up the trailer:

ABOVE: all packed up and ready to go by 11.45 am....
ABOVE: A little map for you to get an idea where I'm talking about!

ABOVE: this is the last view of Whitianga as we leave....

ABOVE AND BELOW: Views from the top of the Whitianga to Tairua road...

ABOVE: first glimpse of Tairua....

ABOVE: just before getting into Tairua, a very popular stopping place... where you can view the 'Twin Kauri's'.... very special Native Trees... which can live for centuries and grow ENORMOUS. There's not many left.
ABOVE: Tairua Harbour / harbour mouth...


ABOVE: I Love these hills at Hikuai.....


ABOVE: Starting to head down, then up and over the Kopu-Hikuai Hills.... I first went over these hills about 35 years ago when this road first opened!

ABOVE: still on the hills... and you can see on the left the Coromandel clay these hills are made of... when it rains a lot there are always lots of slips and the road can be covered in clay and trees. Actually, it happens A LOT!

Once we got over the hills we detoured into Thames for a late lunch then came home. I will show you what we brought back with us tomorrow, there's quite enough photos on for today!

End of Day: it's been a nice day actually... the kids were FINE... no trouble at all considering how long they had to sit in the car! We were amazed! Going to have a quiet evening now... quite tired! nite nite.

ALL WET AND MISERABLE:

I'm hoping that today is a better day than yesterday.
I let my emotions get the better of me yesterday.

Sometimes it really is just impossible to feel happy, no matter what you do. I was there yesterday.

When I was at Amanda's last weekend I saw, (and took), a photo of my deceased younger brother that I hadn't seen before. I am getting a copy for myself. Anyway... everytime I looked at it I cried. So silly really, Vern's been gone for 10 years now! But I loved him so much, and miss him dreadfully sometimes. Add to that how I was feeling overall and I was just having a miserable day. ( I had two brothers, Peter was 2 years older than me, he died in a car accident when he was 27. Vern was 3 years younger than me, he died in a car accident in Indonesia when he was 36)

I was on the verge of deleting my blog too... sometimes I just get like that .... but I think not having this blog would totally do me in! I rely on it so much... it helps me not feel so alone during the day. Sometimes I feel bad cos I have bugger all to put on it, so when I'm boring... I'm sorry!

ANYWAY, I'm going to make sure today is a better day!

I will make Stew take me and the kids out somewhere.... darling Teddy can come too! That photo (above) was him in the shower recently... he sure looks ugly all wet! Poor boy!

ONWARD....

Lunch out.... was nice. We also did a tiki tour around Ponsonby.... lots of lovely houses! But old.. and so many in need to some TLC.

Home again and I had a snooze on the couch! It was really wet this morning, but warm this afternoon! Not much else to blather on about right now.... might go do some sewing!

End of Day: Well... I was looking on an Australian Auction site... at material... and saw another piece of Batik that I loved... and sent an email off to a girlfriend (Maggie) asking her if she could get it for me.. then I thought maybe she would not get the email in time... there was only about 15 minutes left to go... So I tried to join that site... it took me 20 minutes! And I missed out on getting the material... booo hoooo! BUT... seconds later I got an email from Maggie, and you guessed it, that gorgeous girl had managed to buy it for me! It made my day. And with that... it's nite nite from me.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL TERM

The kids finish school today.. and have two weeks off. SHOOT ME NOW.
It's the holiday I don't like the most, cos it's usually wet and horrible and I can't get them outside much... so they will be inside... driving me nuts ... for TWO WEEKS.

As far as I know, Stew isn't taking any time off either, so it will just be me and them.

Today: no plans... might clean my car... it's starting to look grubby inside... kids will do that to a car. SAD.

And I am wanting to make a table runner or something similar for my Mum for Xmas.... I got some really cute 'Xmas type' fat quarters a while ago that would be lovely to use....

ONWARD...
So, what do you do when you really don't have anything to do? Me.. I move furniture!...

ABOVE: I totally reversed where everything was in Griffin's room... and I flipped his quilt too... I quite like the plainness of the 'wrong side'.. *smiles*. The other benefit from doing this is that the little shit is nowhere near the curtains... so he can't ruin them anymore! I have pinned them up for now.... until I make blinds for his room.

NOW.... I'm gunna vacum... I've been putting it off all week...

I got a lovely kiss from Griffin when he saw his room. He loves it when I move his stuff around! I think that boy is too much like me.... he LOVES shopping too.

End of Day... early. I'm obviously boring as shit today! FINE. I tried. Going now. nite nite.

*****************PEPSI UPDATED ********************

I'M PRIVILEGED!

ABOVE: one of my best'est mates.... Sandra. She was my Weight Watcher's Leader back in Palmerston North....
I was feeling lonely yesterday afternoon so gave her a ring...... and she is gunna be my 'Personal Weight Loss Leader' ... over the phone!
She knows how I have struggled to find a WW Meeting here that I like... so she's going to help me continue the battle from afar. How lucky am I then? PRIVILEGED I AM.

I lost 61 kilos going to her meetings... she ROCKS.... and is IMPOSSIBLE to replace. I am trying to get her to move to Auckland.... *sigh*

Now... today it's just a normal, boring day here in the 'H' household.... kids to school, man to work, me to...?

It's crap weather here too... wet wet wet.... maybe I will wash the floors....or NOT. lol

ONWARD.... and NO Blondie... nothing is coming your way in the mail! ha ha... you really had me going with your comment yesterday!

My 'Esteemed Leader'... (that's the Tart Above!) did ring me already this morning... to check on how I was doing! What a woman... she's 'ON MY CASE'! Love it.
I'm off to morning tea with my Aunty now.....


HA! 'Morning Tea' was me having a sip of me Diet Coke then helping me Aunty move all the toys out of a cupboard and into a wardrobe! Oh, and a yak I suppose.
After that.. I headed off to the supermarket where I wanted to get more Diet Coke and a salad for dinner...:


OOOPS! I got quite a bit more (as ya do)... and I found some sausages Sandra was telling me about (Helliers 95% Fat Free)... will try them out tonight.

ABOVE: I also found these rice crackers.... 98% Fat Free... and very nice they are too.
*sigh*..... havn't had breakfast OR lunch yet... and it's 1.26 pm.... better do something about that.


End of Day: been a good girl, ate all me points... drank . . . . Diet Coke (sorry everyone). . . . and now looking forward to a quiet evening watching the telly... OOOOO Coronation Street tonight! Yipeee. nite nite.

PRETTY MUCH DONE

ABOVE: there it is in it's entirety... "Sweet Pea"... I just have to stitch down the binding now.

ABOVE AND BELOW: I tried to give it a 3-D effect by adding things on top of the 'background'.... and of course I had to add some 'bling' too!
While it is a very 'busy' piece... it's cute I think.

We watched a TV programme last night about a kiwi bloke who had a Lap Band put in... and he lost 30+ kilos in a year.. it reminded me of how bloody neat it feels to lose the weight... so with renewed vigour I am going to keep working hard to get it off... AGAIN.

I am not going to be a bloody statistic... you know... one of 'those' people who lose it, gain it, lose it, gain it PLUS MORE... forever and ever. I am going to win this personal battle with MYSELF.... goddammit.

ONWARD.... where's me bloody lettuce leaf???

Well... it's a horrible day here... cold, windy and wet.... and I've done bugger all so far today! Just a little housework.... and watching some telly. With a blanket. Cos it's cold. I don't like being cold. *sniff*

I have spent the afternoon mucking around the house, moving this... tidying that.. it's been quite nice actually. I've got chicken in the oven... the smell is just devine! It's cooking in Teryiaki marinade, honey, 5 spice, ginger, garlic granules and onions. MMMMmmmmm.

End of Day: well I'ts been a good day overall... dinner was really lovely...nite nite.

LAST DAY AT THIS PATCHWORK CLASS

Off to Patchwork today.... and it's the last time I'm going to this class. The Tutor is away today too...so I am saved from having to tell her I won't be back. I'm chicken like that. Then after class I'm going over to the sewing machine shop to show them what the machine is doing... I'm STILL not happy with it... wonder how long this will drag on for?

That's about 'it' for now... no photos for the day either! Maybe I'll have something later on? LOL

Till then... have a nice day....

I feel bad... I went, and sewed, and left. I didn't say I wasn't coming back. Coincidentally... we were handed Forms to fill in about how we felt about the course.... I didn't fill it in either! I didn't want to put down on paper how I felt about the class/venue. CHICKEN... squark.. squark!

After class I spent 2.5 hours at the sewing machine shop.. the lady there spent all that time tinkering with the machine, adjusting this and that.. and I've brought it home AGAIN to see if it's any better. *sigh* When will I learn to just OPEN MY MOUTH and say I WANT A NEW MACHINE??? OH hold on.. I already have! PPPFffffft. So back to the drawing board.

ABOVE: my new favourite food! Soooo tasty..... and I think good for you too! Made with bean flour, Wheat flour and spices etc.... eat with salad, hummus, Tabouli.... love it!

End of Day: well it's been quite stressful... class then the sewing machine shop.... got a friggin headache now. NICE. nite nite.

THE TABLE

ABOVE: The 'Love Birds'.... lol
ABOVE: Griffin and Tim doing the 'handshake' thingee... Lacy and 'CC' (their mate), liberating my new table from the boot of the car...

ABOVE: How cool is that then????

ABOVE: The Table, 'in situ' ..... doesn't it look gorgeous!!! I am totally wrapt with it. THANKS TIM my man.

TODAY: it's patchwork class in Papakura again....it's the last week before school holidays so I better make the most of it....

In class today, I was mucking around with little iron on butterfies for the "Sweetpea Project"... but they just weren't DOING IT for me... so I went hunting in the shop for something else to use, and :

OMG! I found the most PERFECT buttons to go on it! I laid them on the material and just went... "YES ! ".... isn't it so neat when you find just the most perfect 'thing' that you didn't even know you were looking for? LOL

Class today was just lovely, I know I have made the right decison to move to this class... I feel almost guilty about not continuing with the other Tuesday class I've been going to... but I have to do what feels right for me eh? ONWARD...

The damn housework awaits....

End of Day: an awesome day... got heaps done... feeling great. nite nite.

OFF TO HAMILTON AGAIN

My computer chair is broken... it was a cheap and nasty chair... you get what ya pay for ... *sigh*... Stew had a look at it last night.. and condemned it.

We are off to Hamilton today, Joel is turning 5. He's Amanda's youngest boy. So, hopefully the weather stays reasonably nice for his day...

Lacy and Tim are coming over from Tauranga too... and maybe Kelly will turn up too? That would be nice. I understand the table Tim was making for me is finished too... I hope they can bring it with them!

Right, that's it for now... gotta get moving...

ABOVE: it was a beautiful, sunny spring day in Hamilton.

ABOVE: The Birthday Boy, Joel.... eating cake and jelly.

ABOVE: believe it or not, there WAS an adult under that pile of kids!

ABOVE: Amanda had a haircut.... totally loved it.

ABOVE: Rena and her Dad....

ABOVE: Rena and Logan.... having their own little Party ... with the pegs. So cute.

ABOVE: Logan's Mum, having her own sort of 'fun'....

ABOVE: Lacy, Tim and Amanda. Stew had a FIRST today! Tim got him alone today and 'formally' asked him for Lacy's hand in Marriage! Awwwwww. So sweet. He loves her so much.

ABOVE: Me and my girls.

We have had a really lovely day... is so nice when a lot of friends and family get together.

Tim and Lacy DID bring me the table he made.... but I will show ya all it tomorrow... have to leave something for tomorrow's post!

End of Day: a really neat day. Ate too much, but it was a party! nite nite.

I AM TURNING INTO A PISSHEAD!

Tipping it upside down DID NOT HELP. It's all gone. I blame Lacy... she helped me drink most of it last weekend. *sigh*
I will have to go buy some more. I like it!
While out today we have a few things on the list.... but one of the biggest is a mouth guard for Brylee!

She grinds her teeth when asleep! And I don't mean just a little bit, she really, really grinds them badly! AND LOUDLY! We can hear her all night long. It can't be good for her teeth, or jaws! AND NO, she doesn't have worms! LOL... my Mum suggested that was the cause. She's done it for years.... but it's gotten worse in the past year or so... probably stressed out from the big move, her Dad being away so much before we came up to Auckland, etc, etc.

I have an appointment for her to see an Orthodontist in a week or so... not that they can do anything right now for her grinding, or her crooked teeth.. but I want to know what can be done, and the costs before it has to be done. It's not cheap! Oh happy, happy, joy... joy!

So it will be our usual Saturday really... out and about in the BIG SMOKE... (Kiwi 'slang' for Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand!)....

ONWARD.... it's been raining most of the day, and it's gotten all cold again. Pfffft. We did our shopping, got the kid a mouth guard.. hopefully it works. Since coming home I've been doing a bit of sewing...

I'm really hopeless at free motion quilting, but I am still trying! I suppose I will eventually get better at it! This 'Sweet Pea Project' is going to be another Wall Hanging.. in case you are expecting to see a quilt! I am working on Xmas Presents... almost got all my girls gifts done and dusted. YAAAA.

Lamb chops are in the oven, roasting in mint sauce and onions. OHHHH YUM! AND I have some more Totara Cafe'... nummm nummm.

End of Day: dinner was really nice. The All Blacks won their game... ABOUT BLOODY TIME.... and I am doing really well on the latest sewing project. It's now almost 11.30pm and it's time to hit the sack. nite nite.

SWEETPEA PROGRESS...

WELL... If nothing else, it's colourful! I'm nowhere near sure what the hell I'm doing with this one ... YET. LOL ...AND yes, Daughter No #3... it's for you...why else would I call it "Sweetpea" eh?

Today: it's Friday, thank god. It's been a long week. And quite stressful. Just the normal shit... but I'm over it.

I'm looking forward to just relaxing with Stew and the kids. Doing nothing pressing... just chilling out. We have Joel's birthday party on sunday in Hamilton... something else to look forward to.

DID I mention that I lost 1.7 kilos in the last two weeks? NO... oh well... I did. I hope like hell I don't find them again.

ONWARD....
Hmmm... what have I done today?
Went to the mall and got a bluetooth thingee for me phone..
Fogot to buy Diet Coke... which was TOP of the list...
Came home and had lunch and fell asleep on me chair...
Woke up in time to get the kids from school...
NOW?
Got a headache.
Joy.

End of Day: well we had fish 'n' chips for dinner... and honestly... it was crap! I feel ill. I don't think I ever want fish 'n' chips again. Too oily. Ova it. Been reading/commenting on blogs all night... WHY OH WHY do I have so many to read? Like about a hundred a day is all!!!! *sigh*... I may have to start culling the list again... it's getting too much! nite nite.