ANYONE FOR THE SPLITS?

I got skates from America a couple of years ago.. then was just too wobbly to use them! So I have given them to Griffin.. they should fit him for a couple of years!
He gave it a go:


BUT as you can see... he spent more time on his bum than anything else! It was great to see him getting some 'exercise' ... ha ha ha!

Last day of school, they get out at 12.30 this afternoon.. then my days will be filled with being a 'Referee' again. You know how it goes if you are the mother of many... constantly sorting out squabbles. The 'Waltons' we are not!

ONWARD...

I am all HOT AND BOTHERED! I have been trying to get rid of 8 Agapantha's.. I have lathered them in concentrated Weed Killer, but the buggers just won't die.. so today I attacked them with an axe:

ABOVE: happy to report 'TWO DOWN'...

ABOVE: and only SIX to go! Shit it's hard work! Might just have to take a break...

End of Day: been 'yakking' to Amanda (daughter) over MSN all evening AGAIN.. and drinking my Totara Cafe... thought it was Friday even! derrr.... quite happily tiddly now... lol. nite nite.

SECOND TO LAST DAY OF SCHOOL...

So, I really must pull finger and get the rest of the kid's presents wrapped today... *sigh*.
Apart from that chore, I don't have any plans to day.. thought I might try to do a bit of sewing, and if it's fine lie in the sun for a wee while.

ABOVE: seen it before? Too bad, I love it! Really is ... like true~!


ABOVE: same with this one... I just delete all those sort of emails!... I don't believe in any of it! SORRY if you do!

ONWARD!......

It's ALL DONE! All gifts wrapped and hidden in the Cellar... thank God for that! Now I just have to get the kayak from where we are storing it and try to wrap it too~! I know... seems stupid, but I want to give it a go!

Might just head off into town to try and find a little something for Stew now.... we don't usually exchange gifts .... but as he is always 'left out' of the gifts given by my MUM for some reason.. I feel he should get something! And I loves him! *smiles*

WEll I found something for the 'man'... got a kebab for lunch and came home... not nice enough for suntanning, there's a cool wind and quite a few clouds.. so I watched telly... did a bit of this an that... just pottered around the house really. Kids are home now... one more sleep till they are home all day... yep, I'm a happy mother .. I'm sure!

End of Day: finished off my day with some gardening in the cool of the evening. nite nite.

LOOK AT THAT!

In JUST two months.. this is what has happened to Brylee's teeth!

ABOVE: BEFORE.......BELOW: AFTER!

ABOVE: BEFORE..... BELOW: AFTER!

ABOVE: BEFORE.... BELOW: AFTER!

I am thrilled to bits with how her teeth have responded to the brace... and to think I thought NOTHING could be done about her teeth for at least another 4-5 years!

Today I'm heading into the mall to pick up the last present for Xmas... and then it's DONE DONE DONE!!!! Well, except for a bit more wrapping!

This afternoon the RTLB teacher (Resource Teacher Learning and Behaviour) is coming to discuss Brylee's progress... AND to discuss Griffin! She's taking him on next year! FANTASTIC!!!....at last the Education System is doing something for him too!
ONWARD....

Just got a letter ... me boobs have NO EVIDENCE OF BREAST CANCER... woooo hoooo! So that's some good news. I'm awaiting the arrival of the RTLB lady....been out and finished my shopping...

The Resource Teacher came and went... she is going to start working with Griffin next year... but couldn't tell me how often or when she might start. But I am feeling confident that something is happening NOW. It's only taken 3 YEARS to get RTLB involved. Pfffffffft. Only been ASKING for 3 years too!

End of Day: it's been a great day, wrapped a few more presents, slowly getting through them. Nite nite.

LAST MONDAY OF PEACE....

The kids finish school this week.. and have around 6-7 weeks off over the summer. I AM THRILLED to bits at the thought!

Ha ha... well actually it will be nice to not have to rush around in the morning getting them ready for school, making lunches etc. And I know that what Santa is bringing them this year is going to keep them happily amused and occupied most of the time. So really.. it is not a time to go into MELT DOWN mode... lol!

But I must make the most of these last few days while they are at school to do all the Xmas present wrapping... I tried to make a start on it last night but was just too tired.

So today I begin... and I bloody well HATE present wrapping! Loathe it in fact. And I reckon Stew hates it even more than me cos that bugger VIRTUALLY NEVER EVER DOES IT. The shit.

ABOVE: I found this amongst all of my Mum's photos, it's TOTALLY ME. Going to keep it on my computer desk... cos I like it.

ABOVE: I just put all of Brylee and Griffin's and grandkids presents out on my bed... FAR OUT where do I start???

So... I wrapped some blasted presents (YUK, have to do more tomorrow), then took Griffin for his last session of the year at Kip McGrath... don't know if I will take him again next year... the teacher said he couldn't give me a progress report after having him all of this term... which I thought was a bit suckful. Will have to see what the school is offering for him next year first I think. It is sooooo expensive to take him to Kip McGrath... I thought they could have given me some sort of report?

Off to prepare dinner now... not sure what it will be.....some sort of FOOD !

End of Day: all is good... had a peaceful evening... got a few odd jobs done... off to bed now. nite nite.

FAMILY FUN

ABOVE AND BELOW: Where Stew's work 'Do' was held, a winery in west Auckland. It was gorgeous there too.After that function we went home and got ready for the family BBQ... ended up with about 13 adults and the 4 kids.

ABOVE: Feeding the troops...

ABOVE: My cousin's wee boy Nico.. such a darling wee boy.

ABOVE: Rena our Granddaughter. ...21 months.

ABOVE: Nico is only just two years old, and he has a cleaning fettish! He loved sweeping the floor... he can visit again! *smiles*

ABOVE: My Mum and two of her sisters. My Mum is the eldest of 10 children in her family... her Mum had 5 girls, then 5 boys. Clever tart.

ABOVE: Four generations of Mothers/Daughters

ABOVE: Me and Rena, with Teddy licking her toes... he has a foot fettish does Teddy!
ABOVE: Me and Rena again.

Today Mum catches a plane for Australia again.. quite early too. I'm hoping Stew is taking her so I can stay in bed a bit longer!

A quiet day is planned... freakin tired I am!

ONWARD...

It hasn't really been a quiet day! Went out for lunch with the kids and Kelly and Rena.. did a lot of housework... bought a small fence thingee for the back yard to contain Teddy in a certain area.. ate a lot of left overs... and now am going to relax for a while! Will try to visit some blogs later on tonight... if I get time!

I also want to start wrapping Xmas presents. I AM NOT going to be doing it all on Christmas Eve like I usually end up doing!

End of another lovely day! What more can I say? It's been LOVELY. nite nite~!

WORK 'DO', THEN BBQ

It is going to be one hell of a busy day today!
First off we are being picked up at 10 am to go to Stew's Work Christmas Do.... that is supposed to last until mid afternoon...

Then when we get home we have to get dinner organised for a family mini get together.. expecting 11 adults and 4 kids for dinner... We are doing a BBQ and hopefully I have everything kinda in hand for that already.

IF I get a chance I will post a photo of me dress (in it's entirety) before we head out the door....

ONWARD....

The dress: It's more black than blue.. but the accents are blue/white. You are lucky you are getting to see it... cos I am FAT and I feel ugly. *sniff*

We are having a FANTASTIC day... the work do was awesome... and the family BBQ is in progress.. it is just so lovely having lots of family here. I can't do photos right now.. must get back to the family... but just know.. I AM HAVING A NICE DAY.

End of Day: photos tomorrow, I promise. nite nite.

HORMONE REPLACEMENT?

A few months ago I started taking HRT pills to stop the hot flushes at night, when they were at their worst. It worked for a while, then they stopped working.. back came the hot flushes, which kept me awake all night..... So my doctor gave me a sedative, to make me sleep through the hot flushes!

THAT worked! I sleep... so... why bother taking the HRT (which wasn't working anyway) if I don't need to? SO.... I HAVE STOPPED TAKING THEM.. I still sleep thanks to dem gorgeous little blue pills. WIN WIN situation I do believe. Feel much better about that I do.

TODAY: Stew and I are going to finish off the Christmas shopping together.. he's got the day off courtesy of his boss... she felt sorry for him... and she REALLY likes him! Heee heee.... today might just be FUN~! Oh and my Mum arrived back here last night, so she is coming shopping too... yaaaa!

Just got home from shopping for hours! Spent A LOT of money! What fun. Think we have everything SANTA needed to get now. AND Mum bought me another dress... I am a spoilt tart. *smiles*

End of Day... me feet are KILLING ME! Did a huge grocery shop tonight too.... then had to put it all away. PHEW I am knackered! nite nite.

A SEA OF....

HYDRANGEAS! Second summer here.. and my cuttings from Palmerston North are looking great!

ABOVE: my favourite one.

ABOVE: WOULD ya look at that! TWO passionfruit... a whole two.. maybe next year we will get more? Hopefully B and G will NOT pick them off before they are ready. I might have to throttle them if they do!

ABOVE: a sea of... are they Agapantha's??? Whatever, I just sprayed weed killer on the whole lot down the right side... that is where we are going to store the KAYAK when Santa brings it! *smiles*

Today... well don't have any plans, hoping it's fine so I can get some sun.... might potter around in the garden....

EXCITMENT! I bought a new dress for Stew's Work Christmas 'Do' on saturday!!! Will probably show you all ON SATURDAY.....

ABOVE: ALRIGHT... I felt sorry for ya.. here's a SNEAK PEEK at the dress. na na nah nah!

End of Day.. and Shit a Brick it's midnight! Mum, Stew and I have been yakking all night! must go to bed.. nite nite.

WHAT A SOOKIE LA LA!

Ha Ha! Here's a short clip of Teddy getting groomed yesterday... he cried and howled the WHOLE TIME! I had to leave the lady to it and stay in the house because every time Teddy saw me he cried even LOUDER! The little shit, the whole neighbourhood could hear him.

Whoops, a bit late today!

I got waylaid by kids/postie at the door bla bla bla! I just got some gorgeous batik materials from my Sister in Law in Indonesia! Will take a photo soon and show ya all!

I'm expecting THE LADY FROM THE SEWING MACHINE SHOP here this morning to fix the machine again! Wow, she's actually coming here! WOW WOW WOW!

ABOVE: batiks all the way from Indonesia... I'm a lucky tart!

Sewing Machine lady arrived... mucked around with the machine.. couldn't get the new needle threader on... so she has taken it back to the Repairman, and will bring it back later today. Yaaa, she gets to do all the running around now. SCORE.

The machine came back! All is good there.. will test it out tonight.

It's been a super dooper fab day.. sunshine all day, no clouds... got to lie in the sun for a while... my kinda day!

End of Day: thrilled about today.. I got so much done... and the machine is going well too! What more could I ask for eh? nite nite.

TEDDY IS IN FOR IT TODAY!

Oh Goody! I have a Mobile Groomer coming today to tidy up the mutt... who was locked out of the house all of yesterday due to him having the shits. Poor dog.

Also have to go into town to pay for some Trademe purchases, some stamps.. for card making. Kinda like the idea of making my own cards, gift tags etc!.....

ABOVE: the stamps I won at auction. I just love the fish kiss one!
Too cute.
Right, better bugger off for now and get the kids off to school!

ONWARD....

All done... and I am thrilled to bits with how she has groomed him!

One exhausted little dog... ready to have a HUGE sleep to get over the trauma of being bathed/clipped! I'm off now to pay some bills... oh yaaaa.

End of Day: I'm friggin roasting! Just put a huge Bacon and Egg Pie in the oven. It's HOT today. And cos I'm bloody FAT again I am feeling it. Grrrrrr... pull finger... pull finger.... pullllllll me BLOODY FINGER... and lose some weight even! nite nite.

ASSESSMENT TIME:

ABOVE: a couple of photos of the area out Cleveland way (15-20 minutes from our home).. taken yesterday.. it's so pretty!

TODAY:

This morning Griffin is going to see a Child Psychotherapist .... arranged by the school! To try and find out why he is just not learning the same as his peers.
We have waited 13 months for this appointment! Hopefully it will help with SOMETHING?

After that I will drop him back at school and hopefully go home and relax for a while... I'm tired.

Home again... appointment went well... but time will tell if it helps. Griffin needs 'cognitive assessments'... where we were today don't do them, the schools don't do them.. we have to pay for it to be done privately... typical. So I have to wait for the child psychotherapist to send a referral to me before I can go down that road. MORE WAITING. Meanwhile Griffin falls further and further behind his mates.

I'm starving! Must go have something for lunch now....

Teddy has diarrhoea... thought you'd like to know.... ikkky.

Off now to cook dinner.. steak and veges...

End of Day: dinner was yum! Quiet evening.. looking forward to bed. nite nite.

DO YA THINK SHE WILL LOVE THIS?

Stew saw them advertised at Bond & Bond.. and as I have already bought a black one for Griffin for Xmas, I thought... NEAT! She will LOVE IT ... I'm sure.

And luckily for us STEVE our darling son is going to come up for Xmas and teach Brylee and Griffin how to use them. AWESOME... cos neither Stew or I know how the hell to use them!

ABOVE: Mum and Amanda this morning... Mum has just left in a rental car for Whitianga, where she has some business.. she will be back here later on in the week... yaaa. we can go SHOPPING together! LOL

It's a lovely day today.. quite warm. Think we are heading off to the mall now....

Well we ended up at Maraetai Beach for lunch by the sea! It was lovely.

Me under a tree... you can see how dark my hair is now... I HATE IT.... I am going to get blonde highlights as soon as I can. The darkness of it drags me down.

End of Day: and I think that photo of me is gross! I look and feel so fat and ugly now. I don't know what it is going to take for me to truly pull my finger out and lose the weight again? NO IDEA. But just know this, I am miserable about it. And I hate myself. TOTALLY. But tomorrow is another day... and I will try to enjoy it. nite nite.

SATURDAY... THANK GOD!

MY KINDA WOMAN. Of course, this has been 'doctored' by some clever bugger... but it made me smile!

We are both back to our doctor visits this morning... then we will no doubt go to lunch...

Amanda is coming to visit today... so that will be neat.

Stew and I have been going to the Dr's every saturday morning for a few months now... we go to a support group to try and deal with issues around overeating / sensible eating... and working on our minds to overcome some of our own self-built barriers ... all very HIGH BROW I'm sure! It is working though. We don't go back now till sometime in February.... eeeeek!

WE had a nice lunch out... mad dash home to meet Amanda ... she arrived 5 minutes after us.

Then the friggin phone goes.. it's me Mum.. in Sydney airport.. can we pick her up at 7.50pm at Auckland airport... with a coffee!

YEAH RIGHT... *sigh*

Have not seen Mum in a while... FUCK.. how do ya hide a 10kg weight gain?????

End of Day: well the Mum has landed. All is good. She too has gained weight! PHEW! RELIEF! She didn't say anything, nor did I. I think we are both pretending we havn't noticed! lol. nite nite!

TIME IS ALMOST UP...

I was going to give it a few more days.. but I feel the need to close this blog to the public sooner rather than later. So today is the last day to get invited to read it. I will send out invites to read tomorrow... I HAVE received your requests, but have not replied to them as you will know tomorrow if you get an invite. I'm sorry, but some of you (lurkers, total random strangers) who I have never heard from before are not going to make the cut... as I said before, I DON'T KNOW YOU. And all you PEPSI readers.. you will have to go there now to read DIET COKE ROCKS!

I am trying to leave a few spaces for faithful readers who havn't had time to email me yet. At the moment... it looks like there may have to be a Diet Coke Rocks 3! Won't that be just PEACHY for me? Having to write out my blog THREE times every day! But.. if that's what it takes to keep all my GORGEOUS, FAITHFUL readers, then that is what I will do!

It is really easy to say 'NO' to some invite requests though! When you write "I want an invite", or "Invite me", or " Give me an Invite"... and THAT. IS. ALL. .. you are not gunna get one!

Well it's friday... and I'm really RELIEVED to tell ya the truth. It's been a long, stressful week... and I will be happy to spend some quiet time with my hubby.. who is the forgotten one in all of this family drama. He has had to put up with a lot this week... not just from me, but others too.

My Darling Husband married me when I was a solo Mum with 4 very young kids, he adopted all of them.. and raised them with all the love a GREAT DAD could. He is my HERO. And it has been thrown back in his face by someone. No 'Thank You' ..'Kiss my Arse' ... NOTHING.

So today I am just hanging out till tomorrow.. to go Private and block some people from EVER reading about our life again.

BRING. IT. ON....

Ikkkkkk... it is the most awful day out there today! It's pissing down with rain. BUT.. I have achieved a lot today!

Went SHOPPING and managed to score the very LAST of something I wanted for Christmas for Brylee.... paid some bills, posted a parcel... had a nice lunch in a coffee shop (on my own sadly)... and now I'm home again.

End of Day: another busy, tiring day at the coal front... whoops .. I mean computer desk! Looking forward to tomorrow when I can sort out all the invites and get them out! nite nite.

THERE WILL BE A 2-3 HOURS GAP WHEN NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO READ DIET COKE ROCKS WHILE I TYPE UP ALL THE INVITES.

I AM A GODDESS

I'm sure!
Today I go for my second ever Mammogram... OH YAaaaa.

The last time I went was hysterical... I came out of the room where I'd been squished flat.... at the same time as another lady .. who was REALLY OLD... came out of her room and said "OOOO, I havn't had so much fun in YEARS!".... it totally cracked me up! Then she toddled back to her husband in the waiting room.. I swear she had a spring in her step! *smiles*

So, I'm not really looking forward to it.. not because of what it could show.. just the discomfort involved!

Apart from that... not much else on the horizon!

Totally exhausted.... emotional shit .... drags you down eh?

I am not having a good day. I am so over some stuff... some days I really love blogging, and other days (like today) I don't. It is a weird little world.... one that can trip you up sometimes... like leaving comments in support of a blogger, and unwittingly hurting someone else at the same time. I just don't like that. Pffffffft.

GOING PRIVATE END OF THE WEEKEND.... get your invite request in.

I'm feeling very nervous.. and I have to keep running to the loo... could my day get any BETTER?

YEP, so now I'm a Goddess with SQUISHED BOOBS. And it wasnt' that bad.... or horrid. Now I have a stress headache and I can't lie down or I'll go to sleep! CRAP CRAP CRAP.

End of Day: while in a shit mood, I stopped biting my tongue over another family issue and said my 10 cents worth! Whoops. I'm probably person non grata with that lot now too! nite nite!

ANOTHER DAY DAWNS....

GOOD MORNING! Another good sleep I've had... yes indeed. I've woken up feeling FANTASTIC. Yaaaaa.

It will be interesting to see how tired I get today... if those pretty little pills knock me out again in the middle of the day? I hope not.

I'm feeling GREAT... top of the world. Made some decisons overnight about a few things.... one is a BIGGIE which I will start work on real soon. Need to sort out some family stuff.... to look after the future so to speak.

But for right now.. I'm gunna go outside and muck around in the garden... get some more vege plants in... do a bit of weeding... hope it doesn't rain!

OMG... I just thought of the perfect solution to a problem .... this blog is going to go private! That way I can protect my personal stuff from people I DON'T WANT reading or knowing anything about me!

SO... in about a week... it will be private... giving YOU who I like time to get permission to read it! So, send me a comment or email so I can add you to the list before this goes private..I will NEED your EMAIL address to add you to the list! There can only be 100 readers on a private blog.... so I will probably set up a second DIET COKE ROCKS blog so I can add everyone! They will be identical.... so don't worry!

IF you have permission to read PEPSI, you will not need to ask me for an invite to read Diet Coke Rocks, as Pepsi is going to be DIET COKE ROCKS 2... it will be exactly the same as this one!

"PICK ME..PICK ME" is not going to cut it this time sorry. I need to KNOW you... you need to prove you are who you say you are... I am not letting total random strangers read my blog anymore. This way I protect my blog from UNWANTED readers. OK.

PHEW! It has taken me almost all morning to set up PEPSI as 'Diet Coke Rocks 2' ... so that I have room to keep all my faithful readers/commentors! I hope you get in touch with me real soon so I can add you to the list of readers....

End of Day: I'm exhausted from all the to'ing and fro'ing from one blog to the other... but it will be worth it to keep my blog.. even if it is private!

Got dinner sorted.. steak and salad for grown-ups, cherrios and baked beans for the kids! nite nite.

ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz...........

HELLO!

I slept in.

I slept well! Dem pretty blue pills worked. AWESOME.

I did still wake up a few times, but went back to sleep really quickly... so I shall take some more of them... they work!

Now... today.

The weather is kinda crappy... overcast with showers by the look of it. Perfect weather for shopping I believe! I am still finishing up the Christmas shopping, just have a few more things to get for the little grandkids... so I might do that today.

And I might just get some more lettuce plants ... you can never have too much lettuce in summer eh?
ONWARD....

Hmmmmmm... I did some shopping... then came home and promptly fell asleep again! Hmmmmm... not good! I have just woken up and feel like shit! All fuzzy in the head... maybe those pills are evil afterall?

I hope that doesn't happen again.. I've been asleep for over 4 hours!!!! The day has turned out nicer this afternoon... it's even sunny....

Feeling better now! Read a few dozen blogs.. put some chicken in the oven for dinner... got out the Christmas lights.. took one look at the mass of tangled wires and put them away again! I hate tangles... Stew can sort it out for me later!

That's about it for me day ... totally wasted it really! AND it's the first of December! Far out, where has this year GONE??

End of Day: OMG our chicken dinner was yum! I cooked crumbed chicken pieces in an Oriental Plum Sauce.. baked it slowly ... added a side salad... *drool*! Stew is outside playing ball with the kids before bed... and I'm watching the news. All good. nite nite.