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.

CONFISCATED

ABOVE: all Brylee's Barbie and Brat dolls... mine for the next few days. WHY? Cos every day I make that girl lunch for school.. and EVERY day she does not eat it.... cos she would rather play with her friends than eat her lunch.

Normally it would not matter.. if your kid was 'normal'... but Brylee has had an eating problem all her life... it's NOT physical or psychological...it's just her being INCREDIBLY PICKY.... and having a very small appetite.

She has driven me nuts with her behaviour to the point of wanting to throttle her over and over again. If I fed her biscuits/lollies/chips/jam sandwiches/ice cream and the like she would not have a 'problem' eating it.... but I REFUSE to pander to her.

If she wants to stuff her face with crap food when she's older, that's her choice. For now... she is going to eat good, healthy food... even if it kills me!

RANT OVER... I think!

Some days I just want to forget I have any kids....cos they drive me nuts.

TODAY: probably going into a Telecom shop to get a new phone. Darn annoyed about that... cos my 'old' phone was really NEW. And EXPENSIVE. BUGGER, DAMN AND BLAST.

*smile Chris, smile, life could be worse*....sniff.

I went to town and bought a new phone... there was no point claiming on our insurance.. we would have ended up paying more than the phone was worth in penalties. pfffft.

That took over an hour... choosing a new, cheaper one that will be less enticing to be stolen, then getting all my old data transferred onto it from an even older phone I had kept (luckily)

I've spent the rest of the day learning how to use the new phone... and doing a bit of housework... sewing bla bla bla. I hope to catch up on some blog reading tonight while 'The Man' watches rugby! LOL.

I've been working on the latest sewing project... and the name for it popped into my head: "Sweetpea"...

End of Day: I'm totally bummed.. I soooo thought it was Friday today! DOH. Going to sulk now. nite nite.

IT'S A GORGEOUS DAY OUT THERE TODAY

It will be a quiet day at home today I think.

Housework
Sewing
Read a book

That's about it.... couldn't get much more boring than that eh?

If I drive myself nuts with boredom I will go down to the mall and buy grandson Joel's Birthday Present... he's almost 5 and we are going to his birthday this coming weekend in Hamilton.



ABOVE: One of the quilts I saw in the Hamilton Fair... it's gorgeous and something to aspire to.... and it filled a gap in today's post! lol

ONWARD.... It will be many years before I can make anything quite as gorgeous and PERFECT as that quilt above!

Until then....I will give you a sneak peek at what I am working on right now: Ha ha ha! That's all ya get to see .....

I went to the supermarket to buy Peanut Butter... and some A#$EHOLE stole my mobile phone from my handbag while my back was turned!!! I am livid. And cross with myself for turning my back on my handbag! What a twit. Live and learn.

Stew 'wondered' aloud the other day how a meatloaf would go in the new cast iron roasting dish.... I took that as a pretty broad hint that he wanted meatloaf:

So, there ya go Darling... MEATLOAF in the new roasting dish... all ready to go in the oven. And those tomatoes are the last from my garden that I froze last summer! I can't wait to plant more ....

End of Day: I've had a whale of a time tonight... sewing... mucking around with the design of my next project... it's really just a 'try this and that out' project! But I am hoping it will turn out OK, so I can give it to another of me kids for Xmas! Off to bed now with the man .. who has the cold... and will no doubt SNORE all night ... oh Yaaaa. nite nite.

DID YOU SEE THIS BEFORE?

So, 'Sparkling' asked me yesterday to show my first ever quilt... so I took this photo last night... OK, ok... so the kid is asleep in the bed..... but you can see the quilt! I could have waited till later in the day to take the photo... but I couldn't be arsed waiting.
As you can see, the little shit has been swinging on his curtains...

I'm gunna make Roman Blinds for his room... he will have less chance of killing them (I hope) *sigh*

Patchwork at my 'local' group today. I am soooo tempted to switch to the Papakura group on Tuesdays as well and drop this class..... ummming and ahhhing over this.

I am learning more from the Papakura tutor.

There's quite a few ladies more my age there.

Access is very easy at Papakura, darn awful at the local venue.

I like that the class is run at a patchwork shop! I can buy whatever I need straight away.

The ONLY thing I like about the local group is the fact that I know the ladies there... even though I only see them on a Tuesday usually.

I'm torn on this decision.

Diet... is going VERY BADLY... just bloody hopeless right now. Don't even know why. Am getting some exercise in though...

Home Front: all kids seem to be doing OK right now... got a couple I'm seriously worried about, but that's nothing new.

ABOVE : The Frangipani Project hanging in the 'Tutors and Students' Exhibition at our local Venue.

Decision is made... I am going to stop going to this group. ... I left there crabby as hell today. It's just so hard lugging everything up the stairs, then having to contend with the inadequate set up there. I'm over it.

ABOVE: I followed this truck today... the 'saying' across the top tickled me fancy! ("Consultants are people who come down from the hill to shoot the wounded after the battle is over") OBVIOUSLY someone does not like Consultants... lol.

NOW... I'm off to school to either dope Brylee up with Panadol or bring her home. She has a cold.... and is a hypochondriac to boot.... grrrrrr.

I have decided today is a crap day. I had egg/cheese sandwiches for lunch and they are just sitting in me belly wanting to come back up again. NOT a nice feeling. And I'm crabby as hell... I think I already said that... but I'm crabbier now! Just... BLAH.

(Stew it IS SAFE to come home from work... HONEST!)

End of Day: a quiet evening, no sewing tonight, decided to sit with Stew and watch the telly. nite nite.

WHERE DID WE BEGIN?

Last night I was reading blogs (as I do)... and I came across a question on this blog and decided to answer it. The question is how or where did you begin your quilting journey?
Well come on... it's different from the weight loss journey eh?
So... how did I start?

I made a quilt for Griffin last year, I got the block patterns off the 'net and just winged it ... and didn't think I would ever make another one!

Then in January this year I enrolled in an Abstract Painting Class at a local venue... but it was cancelled at the last minute, and the buggers wouldn't give me a refund of the class fee... so I had to go to another class. I chose the patchwork class.... cos it was on the same day.

Luckily for me... I loved doing it... and ended up with a fabric fetish. *sigh*
So, there ya go... my START.
And ABOVE: you could win these cute fat quarters... just go HERE... to enter!

Today it is Patchwork at Papakura... I'm finishing the 'SPLASH' wall hanging. No #2 Daughter is getting it for Xmas... she saw it on the weekend and loved it.

ABOVE: the view out my window this morning.... fog. Ikkky, I hate fog, it reminds me of the Waikato....cold and damp. Luckily we only get fog here a handful of times a year!

Kids off to school in a mo... love Mondays I do! AND I will be driving them today... it's too nasty out there to walk.

Patchwork was nice today, I learnt how to do the bindings PROPERLY...

I'm picking the kids up after school and we are going to do the grocery shopping ...

OMG... just been grocery shopping.. and it's SO HOT out there! It's ONLY September for goodness sake... it's 26 degrees C in my house! ...that's 80 degrees F for you buggers in the Northern Hemisphere! I'm going to roast over Summer if this is Spring.

End of Day: I've been sewing, trying different things out all night... so much fun. I will show those of you who havn't seen it before ...my FIRST EVER quilt tomorrow! For now.. it's nite nite.

I AM A BAD BLOGGER

Today, before I do anything else.. I will read a few blogs!
I have been very remiss the past few days... and have read virtually none... too busy in me own little world!

Sorry.

After that... we must do some grocery shopping.... and not much else!

Whoop!
ONWARD......

Highlight of my day so far: I got the washing out.
Lowlight of the day: It rained on my washing.
Even lower: Teddy snuck into the spare bedroom and raided the washing pile... and chewed up a pair of my lovely knickers. Little shit.

Been out, had lunch, got Griffin two new Playstation games cos he has FINALLY stopped pissing on the floor/toilet seat! That's it.

Now going to read/comment on blogs.... as many as I can before dinner anyway!

ABOVE: the view from my computer desk right now.... where I have been sat for the last 2 hours reading blogs! NASTY. Hope we get a thunder storm, that would be nice.

End of Day: no thunderstorm.. drat! nite nite.

IT'S SATURDAY!

And we have virtually NO PLANS for the day!

That's quite awesome.

OK, we do have to put the rubbish out for collection...
And I do believe Lacy and her fiance (and a friend) are due for lunch... and maybe dinner too.

So that will be nice.

We have only met Lacy's fiance Tim once before, but we liked him... here's hoping that he's still just as nice as we remember! LOL.
I havn't told the kids they are coming... it will be a nice surprise for them. They love visitors.

Lacy and Co. arrived safely... and we are having a nice visit.

ABOVE: the two of them....

ABOVE AND BELOW: playing on the swing set...

While Stew and Teddy....

WATCH RUGBY!

So far it's been a nice day!

End of Day: pizza for dinner.. naughty! But nice. Visitors have gone.. in all a lovely day. nite nite.

FORTY ONE, AND A PATTERN

FORTY ONE PIECES OF MATERIAL....
AND one pattern! There ya go, my craft fair purchases! YES Karen from Windy Wellington... I LEFT YOU SOME. I hope you have a fabulous time there tomorrow!

Today I am probably going to just drool over my new fabrics.... lol!

Once the drooling is over... I shall probably re-arrange my sewing drawers etc to fit it all in! That might kill the morning.

I think I will do a workout too... can't have Stew getting all buff and me not eh? He's looking rather YUMMY if ya ask me.... *smiles*

ONWARD... I'm in a great mood for a change. Me thinks this is good.

I have not been idle:

BEFORE: juggling things around.. this took a while ... to get things in the EXACT right place...

ABOVE: taaa Daaa! Done, and it only took 4 hours!

ABOVE: My Stash! Who would have thought I could get excited over friggin MATERIAL! It's Nuts.

Time to take a break and have some lunch...

Lunch done: ate too much and feel sick. DOH, did the same thing last night too. I'm a friggin idiot, never learn.

GGS: hee hee... it's a bit like 'Where's Wally'... only with me it's 'Where's the Diet Coke'... you can bet wherever I am, so is the DC! LOL

It's a darn miserable day here, winter having it's last HORAH!...wet and very windy, Glad I'm not on a plane!

End of Day: feeling rather tired... AGAIN! Age eh? Going to do some more sewing tonight, then go to bed. Expecting visitors tomorrow. nite nite.

NEED TO WEAR COMFY SHOES TODAY!

The Patchwork ladies and I are off to Hamilton today... to attend the Craft/Quilt Fair! It is supposed to be really great... I've not been before so I hope it is....

Apparently all the retailers will be there selling their latest and greatest products.. all crafts covered by the sound of it... scrapbooking, quilting, beads etc. I wonder if I will find anything to buy?????So sadly I will be away from the computer ALL DAY! No updates till much later tonight....

HAVE A GOOD DAY WON'T YA? I'm going to!

OH! I will leave you with this:

ABOVE: this is "SPLASH"..... it is 90% finished... I just have to put the crystals on and the backing, binding and label. I am wrapt with it, what do you think?

End of Day: it's still early, but I'm knackered! The show was neat.. I added a few bits of material to my 'STASH'... *smiles*... but for now I am going to put me feet up and have some dinner! I will show off my new material tomorrow. nite nite.

INORGANIC COLLECTION

Weird Title eh? LOL

(p.s. that ain't my rubbish pile, it's just some random pic I got off the net!)

So, today I am going to go through the storage room/attic etc and find all the stuff we simply don't use/need and get it ready for the inorganic rubbish collection this coming week.... sounds like fun eh?

Well... I'm sure it won't be, but it will keep me busy if nothing else!

Apart from that, just the usual shit... different day! Hopefully I will get some sewing done... and some friggin housework.... and I'm going to let the kids walk to school on their own again... and NOT follow them in the car! (I hope).

ONWARD....

So far today:

- done the housework

- read some blogs

- found some junk for the collection

- sprayed stuff on Teddy cos he's scratching himself again...

And now I'm just watching him go NUTS! He hates the spray...it sends him into a frenzy! Maybe it stings? Getting him more steroid tablets today... he needs them.

- thinking about lunch, got dinner all ready for the oven... thinking about food... *sigh*...

- and the kids walked on their own and I didn't follow them!

End of Day: Stew was home late tonight.. a work colleague from Palmerston North and her husband were up here on business when he got VERY ILL and was taken to hospital... so Stew visited them at the hospital before coming home. Scary stuff...

What else? I cooked a lovely beef stew and veges for dinner... yum it was. nite nite.

BLOODY PHONE!

My lovely, almost new phone is on the blink!
I am not getting texts sent to me! Me phone is SILENT... it's bloody awful!

So, after patchwork class today I will have to go to a telecom shop to find out why. Grrrrrr.

It's just NOT ON... 90% of the 'communication' with my kids is via texts... funny how you come to rely on them. Texts used to drive me NUTS, but now that I understand 'text' speak they are fine. I hope there isn't too much wrong with my phone, and it can be fixed.
And because I have nothing better to put up so far today...
Here's Teddy, curled up on me lap last night, on MY blankie.

I just did something I never thought I would do! I opened my front door, kissed the kids goodbye... and let them walk to school ON THEIR OWN! I have never done that before!

I decided I was being too overprotective and should give them the chance to take responsibility for themselves a bit! It felt awful... and the moment they were out of sight I jumped in the car and followed them.... so I could see them get to school safely! I did not let them see me though... I want them to feel like they did it all by themselves. MOMENTOUS for me.

ONWARD! yaaa my phone is fixed! The lady in the shop reset it... and it works again.

Class today was OK... one of the ladies brought in a quilt in the style we are doing next term:

ABOVE: It's called 'Shattered Nine Patch'... and she used New Zealand materials to do it. It's really lovely.

It's a gloriously sunny, warm day today... makes you feel like summer is almost here! Lifts the mood somewhat too. I'm off to get the kids shortly... am thinking of letting them walk home alone soon too! (our house is only about a 4-5 minute walk from school)

End of Day: normal sort of evening... wanted to do some sewing, but just couldn't be arsed! Lazy tart I am. nite nite.

IT'S COMING ALONG....

I'm off to Patchwork class in Papakura today.. I will be working on the 2nd Frangipani Wall Hanging. I have made a start on the satin stitch.... It amazes me how the black stitching just makes the whole thing POP out! I love this technique.

ABOVE: Teddy getting spoilt by Amanda.... and FORGIVE ME ANDREW, but I just loved this photo:

ABOVE: Andrew and all the kids last night! It just tickled me fancy this one did!


ONWARD..... ************************PEPSI UPDATED********************************

EEEE Gads! 1 comment all day? I am not feeling the love people! If I'm that boring I will bugger off then.
Got to pick up the kids from school anyway....*sniff*

ABOVE: 'L' the tutor at Monday's class with a baby's quilt she has almost finished. IT. IS. FANTATIC. I love it.

THANKS for the comments, they cheer me up no end some days... and the days I don't get many... I. IS. SAD. *smiles*

End of Day: shit now I feel guilty for making you all leave me a comment! But thanks! Going to bed now to S#*G the man... lol! Not really, he wishes is all! nite nite.

GO AWAY! I'M ASLEEP.

I am 'forward posting' this! OK .. I'm TRYING TO !

Cos.... I am friggin well asleep! Wouldn't YOU be if it was the first time in YEARS you had the chance to sleep in... just the two of you ... together... with no kids.....

So.... bugger off.... I'm asleep!

WHEN we wake up we are going to Maraetai for Brunch... NEAT!

9am... the phone goes... some GIT at Stew's work set off the alarm...*sigh*.... YES we are now awake. It's a gorgeous day out there... and it's Father's Day too!

I suppose we will get ourselves moving shortly and go out for brunch...

Brunch was lovely... the setting was devine... a blissful, sunny interlude by the sea.

ABOVE: Saw this gorgeous car at the beach.... love the graphics! *drool*

When we moved here a year ago (!), I planted two grape vines... and I was sure they had died... in fact I was about to pull them out...

ABOVE: see, looking QUITE dead...

BUT: they are alive... and budding! SPRING has sprung.... and there is the promise of grapes one day. I LOVE GRAPES.... and watermelon.

End of Day: well the kids came back.... Amanda and Andrew and all the kids arrived back here for dinner.... it was nice. All gone now, kids in bed... can relax and look forward to tomorrow! nite nite.

HAMILTON TODAY, PARTY TONIGHT!

I reckon it's going to be A GREAT DAY/NIGHT! ABOVE: is Hamilton, where we lived for 12 years before we moved to friggin Palmerston North! I had Mike in this city, and Brylee and Griffin were born here too.

This morning we are heading off to Hamilton... to drop Brylee and Griffin off with their Aunty Amanda and Uncle Andrew for the night... so Stew and I can attend a PARTY tonight, back here in Auckland.

This will be a FIRST for the kids (and us)... the only time they have ever spent the night away from us in ANOTHER city....gawd it is amazing! And I might add, the first time they have ever stayed at Amanda and Andrew's...

Am I nervous? NOPE, not at all! I am just looking forward to having a really nice evening out with my Darling... and not having to worry about getting home at a decent time...

AND OMG! We will get to have a sleep in tomorrow morning too! NO KIDS... no kids!!!!!!!!!! When was the last time THAT happened? Fu#k I can't remember!

So... I'm looking forward to the day starting!....

Right... been to Hamilton, had lunch, did a bit of shopping, dropped the kids off and came home!

ABOVE: I got these movies/music DVD's to watch while I am sewing...

ABOVE: while shopping for a Housewarming gift for the party tonight... Stew found this little cutie... and bought her for me... we have named her C'ped ... (cupid)... cos she's a Cute Purple Eyed Dragon eh? lol

ABOVE: had to stop so Stewy could have a pee... and I couldn't resist taking a photo of this awesome tree in Gordonton. Huge, gnarled old bugger.

So, we have a couple of hours to kill before heading out to dinner (just the two of us).. then on to the paah--tee! Whooooop.

End of Day: a lovely day it has been too! nite nite.

SPECIAL PIECE

I have this special little bit of material... and I don't know what to do with it. (it's quite thin)

- It's 31 years old!

- I made myself my first ever Maternity Dress using this material, then also used material from the dress to make Amanda a dress when she was a baby.

- I have this little bit left... and I want to do something special with it.

ANY AND ALL IDEAS will be considered, so come on... give me some ideas!

It's freaking friday... yaaaa! I like fridays... we have PLANS this weekend, which involve JUST STEW AND ME time! That is going to be AWESOME. AND we are going to get a real sleep in on sunday too... NO KIDS!

BRING. IT. ON.

As for today... well I will be doing some work on the 2nd Frangipani wall hanging.... and reading some blogs... and (darn it) doing some bloody housework too. *sigh*

ONWARD....

Well.. I've had an incredibly quiet morning... lunchtime... and done bugger all! I had to do some 'tinkering' with the wall hanging I'm working on... in the light of day the white I'd put on it just looked bloody awful, so I've spent an hour or so taking it off and replacing it with other material.... oh well.. that was a learning curve!

That pretty material above.... hmmm... I think it will get incorporated into a quilt somehow! That I will keep! It only has HUGE sentimental value to me... so it should stay with me, what do YOU THINK?

PHEW! The Sewing Granny came up with a shit-load of ideas! Thaks for that chick! Now I am thinking a small wall hanging or a small quilt...

End of Day: it's been a semi-nice day... can't say much more than that. Just... OK. Looking forward to tomorrow. nite nite.