PLANKING, THE NEWEST FAD.

ABOVE:  And here is our wee Emily doing 'the plank'.... she has it down pat.  Such a clever wee girl!  lmao

TODAY: hopfully Stew will talk to the Hot Spring Spa man and get our discount sorted out .... as the Spa arrives tomorrow!  OOO we can't wait.
It will take 24 hours to heat up before we can christen it apparently.

That's OK, what's a couple more days? 

ONWARD...

I have a beef curry in the crock pot for dinner tonight, all I want to say about that is:

AUSTRALIAN COWS MUST BE HUGE!!!  I used two of these monster steaks for my curry.  It is the most beautiful beef I've ever cooked. Soft and so flavoursome.

I think Iain at Hot Spring Spas is dicking us around!  We have not heard from him at all... and so I have rung the Headquarters of Hotspring to sort out the discount BEFORE the spa arrives tomorrow!  If they can't guarantee the discount in writing we shall be cancelling our order at 4pm.
*sigh*...  much as I want the Spa, I am not paying $2,000 more when if I'd waited a mere 6 days it would have automatically been $2,000 less!  Grrrrr.... feeling cross about it now.

After much to'ing and fro'ing between phone lines .... our Order for the Spa Pool is going to proceed.  We have been given fair recompense... and are happy.  I am so relieved as I really do want the spa pool.

I'm finally cold.  Been cold all day.  Am sitting in the lounge with a blankie on up to me chin.  Shame I have to get up now and check dinner...  and rotate some washing through the dryer...  oh the joys of HOUSEWIFERY.  NOT.

End of Day: and my curry was nice... but not enough curry me thinks.  It was so mild it was hardly a curry at all.  Oh well... it was still nice.
Got the cutest wee video of our newest granddaughter Sienna tonight... will put it on the blog on Wednesday as I think there will be quite enough on it tomorrow!  lol
nite nite.

BIG BLUE CUDDLY BUDDY!

ABOVE:  how cool is my new Big Blue Cuddle Buddy?  Stew bought it for me yesterday ... I've wanted one for ages!  I know I have STEW to cuddle in bed...BUT... he's so HOT I can't lie too near him for long before breaking out in a sweat!  So now I have a new 'cuddle buddy' ...  lol!

We are still in Hamilton, heading home soon-ish I expect, once we have picked up Steve and the kids from Amanda's.

I will yak more about last night once I get home, and hopefully post a photo or two as well.. until then...

ONWARD!  ...

LAST NIGHT:  was awesome!   We had a blast... I has seriously thought of finding an excuse at the last minute so I didn't  have to go but in the end I went reluctantly and I had a fabulous time!
It was so very neat catching up with all the Hamilton crowd... all Stew's mates and wives from when he lived and went to school there.  I decided to just try hard to have a good time and it just happened! 
I didn't stop yakking to friends for hours on end! AND I only had about two drinks and a tiny savoury snack... so didn't go overboard with food either.
I finally dragged myself off to bed at about 1.30am.. but didn't get to sleep cos the 'hostess' decided to join me (with all her clothes and boots on) at 2am! She shoved me over onto the cold side of the bed and yakked... or should I say slurred... for  a while until Stew and her husband came in ... it was a scream!  She was drunk as a skunk and trying to find a quiet place cos her head was splitting!  She knew I'd gone to bed so decided to join me!  What a hard case.
I can't say enough how much of a good time I had!  *smiles*

OH we had a nice visit with Amanda, Andrew, Emily, Kelly and Rena today too... had lunch with them at Chartwell Square.

ABOVE: some photos of Emily and me today.  She's such a happy baby, a real joy to have in the family.  I can't imagine life before she came into our lives now.

End of day: we had a lovely rich beef and bacon stew for dinner... watching some mindless TV now.  So tired!  Have a bit of a headache too... just overtired I think.  Off to bed early tonight.
nite nite.

TIME TO TART UP... PARTY TONIGHT

One of Stew's very best friends is celebrating his 50th Birthday tonight in Hamilton.. and we are going and staying the night too.
Yaaaa.... the kids and Steve are spending the night at Amanda and Andrew's  so we can really make the most of our night out!

Must straighten my hair at some point before we go but that is about all I need to do... got 'the face', the clothes and the PURPLE boots!  lol

As we are not leaving until late in the afternoon I suppose we will go to the mall for lunch?  Not sure.

I've been so busy lately... I've missed reading a lot of blog posts!  Will make that my mission when we get back on Sunday! 

ABOVE:  this is what Stew and Steve also need to do this weekend...make us some Spa Pool Steps!  How hard can it be???

We went to the spa pool shop to check out their steps.. cos it was right beside Mitre 10 where we were going for wood.  While talking to the man in there (a temp) he said how well their spas were going at Mystery Creek Field days... and that our one was going for $8,000!!!  I literally got right on the phone and text'd the guy who sold us our's for $10,000 and kinda spat the dummy!

Told him we were not happy about the price we were paying for exactly the same spa he was now selling for $2,000 LESS... and he got back to me right away and said we would be getting a $2,000 refund OR products of equal value... up to us!  VERY HAPPY NOW... *smiles*.
Sometimes it pays to get stroppy.

End of Day:  yep a very early finish for today as we are heading off to Hamilton soon ... won't be back till tomorrow morning sometime.
nite nite.

MORE TINKERING, AND ANOTHER VISIT TO THE HOSPITAL

I did some more 'tinkering' with that necklace I bought the other day:

 ABOVE: this is how it was when I bought it....

ABOVE: and this is it now.  I took off most of the stones and added more 'bling' to it... more blue and purple and crystals.  I love it! 

I'm wearing it on Saturday night... I want people to notice the *bling* and purple boots and NOT the chubby me!  I hate being fat again... HATE IT so much.  I lose all my social confidence and try to avoid running into old friends when I'm fat.
Saturday night will be a trial for me... I have thought about not going, inventing an excuse not to go.... but I know Stew really wants to go... so I will just have to suck it up and plaster a smile on me dial.  *sigh*

TODAY:  I'm taking the train to Middlemore Hospital to visit my little old neighbour Myra... hopefully I will find her ward in the daylight!

ABOVE:   a really funny joke... Steve found it and I just have to pass it on!

ONWARD...

Slight change of plans... going to drive to Sylvia Park and get me some nails, then go to the hospital.  Have only ever had 'nails'  once in my life... want them again.  No drastic colours... just natural looking nails.

ABOVE: nails are done, and for about half the price I paid in Palmerston North! 
Decided to get me hair washed and trimmed while at Sylvia Park... asked how much? at Rodney Wayne... $81!  Ahhh NOPE... wandered down to Just Cuts and they did it for $32 and dried it for FREE.  Lovely people!

Then I drove to the hospital, found Ward 24 and visited Myra for a wee while, then my 'boss' friend Debs in Ward 35 and came home.
All up... out for 4.5 hours!   Tired ... gunna go put me feet up for a wee while before thinking about what to do for dinner.

OH and I can still type with the nails.. so that's good.

Been watching Drop Dead Diva on DVD... love it!  *sigh*... its now 6pm and I've not done anything about dinner... might just have to be baked beans on toast!  It's Friday night afterall... we always have an 'easy' dinner on Friday night!

End of Day:  dinner was Ok-ish.... fed the tribe anyway. nite nite.

CRANE ANYONE?

There is a lady calling in today to have a look see at our section and how she's going to get our new Spa Pool into our back yard... with HER crane!

Totally cool.... she must love her job!    You just don't expect a lady to be operating a crane... is that sexist of me?  I hope not.  lol

What else?  The usual Thursday, taking Griffin to his Speld lesson out Pukekohe way... while he's there I might go have a walk around the streets of Pukekohe... it might involve detouring into some shops!  Ya know me....

ABOVE:  Our son and his partner Tess are moving permanently into the wop wops of Australia where Russell works in the mines... so I am not going over to visit them now until they have moved and are settled.  It means Sienna will be just that bit older and no doubt smiling and cooing... which will be lovely.  THAT is why I'm not going right now, in case anyone is wondering ...  I think I need to get a liking for ORANGE soil!  lol

ONWARD...

DEBBIE: I don't know what sort of mine it is!  How bad is that?  lol

GARAGE DOOR:  last heard from them on May 23rd, when he said we would have our new door in 2 WEEKS. Just spoke to them over the phone... more likely to be another 3-4 weeks!  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

FURNITURE FROM WHITIANGA:  they ain't answering their phone.  Expected that.  Shame they gave me their address.... might just VISIT THEM soon.  With a big stick.. to shove up their bums. (yeah I know that ain't nice, but come on, they have been dicking us around with this for weeks!)

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

The crane lady arrived, she does not drive the crane, she just organises the jobs.  Pfffft.  Anyway, it's going to cost double what I thought it would... how typical! 
They are coming on tuesday at 10am.. I have to let all affected neighbours know the road will be blocked for about half an hour, hope no one complains! (Yikes)

Stew had taken the latter part of today off work so he can mow the lawns before the expected rain this weekend (plus we ain't home this weekend).... we are going to a friend's 50th in Hamilton.  OOO neat... a night away from kids.  BLISS.
I have asked him to mow our neighbours lawn too as she is spending a lot of time up at the hospital with her Mum (Myra), on top of working full time... he doesn't mind.  Isn't he a love? 

MARK:  it's NO WHERE NEAR water... it's hours away from the sea in fact! 

End of Day:  we had nachos for dinner and Stew, Steve and I all agreed we felt ill afterwards!  Not cos it was awful, but because it was very rich in flavour and didn't sit well in the tummy.
Maybe next time we will halve our portions?
Off to bed... tired as.
nite nite.

HOSPICE THEN HOSPITAL TODAY

I'm off to Hospice Shop today... looking forward to it too.  I love being there!  And NOT just so I can find treasure either!  lol
I like the girls I work with... well .... MOST OF THEM.  There is this ONE who keeps farting...
But nothing can be done about that eh?
I just walk out the back until the stench clears!

After working there I'm popping up to the hospital to see my dear little neighbour Myra again.  She's in Rehab now... hopefully she won't be in for months like last time. edit: going this evening...

While I'm out... here's the latest photo of our granddaughter Sienna:

ABOVE:  isn't she just adorable!  My fingers itch to hold her.... so tiny, so cute, so kissable...

Work today was incredibly SLOW.... and quiet!  Our boss lady is in hospital with an infection of some sort.... so will visit her tonight too...

ABOVE: today's 'treasures'... a white top for Amanda, a purple one for me, some awesome patchwork books, a bunny for Sienna, a magnetic photo frame and a cute and colourful jam jar cover.

AND two lenghts of fabric in blue/purple with FISH!  How could I resist??

Tisco men came and picked up our big tv after lunch today... and they said it looks like a problem with the TV... so fingers crossed we don't get the bill for fixing it ... Panasonic will!

Got up to the hospital just before dinner time... found my boss Debs ward no problem... poor woman is looking FRIGHTFUL... it looks like someone punched her in both eyes then slammed her forehead into a brick wall... she's all swollen and red ... the doctors THINK she has a massive infection in her sinus cavities but they are not sure.  She's on intravenous antibiotics for now.
Then I tried to find my neighbours ward to no avail... it was in another building altogether.  Will try to find it tomorrow or friday in the daylight!

Expect Stew home any time now with dinner....

End of Day:  We had evil chinese takeaways for dinner... so I better be careful for the rest of the week!
nite nite.

YAAAA FOR PANASONIC

Remember our gorgeous 50 inch Panasonic TV that crapped out on us in January?  It has a thick black line running right down the middle of it?

Well we rang Harvey Norman's where we bought it from and they said it was out of warranty and there was nothing they could or WOULD do for us... even though it cost us $2,795  in August 2008!!!

Well... I decided to ring them back yesterday to find out where I could take it to be fixed (at our cost) and the person said why didn't I just ring Panasonic myself to find out?  (BITCH)

Anyway, I did ... and it turns out that they may give us a new TV ... as long as the service man from Tisco finds that it's crapped out through no fault of our own!  And I don't see what we could have done to bugger it !  So I am hopeful we will get some satisfaction from Panasonic!

This is what I think of Harvey Norman's:

Fingers crossed the Tisco man can come out soon... we are heartily sick of watching this TV!

Today:   going to chase up the Spa Pool man... have not heard from him about when our Spa is being delivered.  *sigh*... I so thought this would happen too.

MISS GETTING COMMENTS FROM ME LATELY? Could be due to a glitch with Blogger/Google... the only way to get my comment : Natalie, Cottonreel, Tania and many more is to go to your Settings - Comments and allow 'Name/URL' as an option OR set your comment box as a SEPERATE box... that will then mean I am not redirected over and over again to Google sign in... which is darn annoying!

SHONA:  my boots might not be Minx boots... they are made in Portugal... and the shoes are made by rieker.  Both in the 'fairly' expensive category, but nowhere near as expensive as some I saw in other shops! 

ONWARD...

Steve and I just had a very good morning... we went for a walk, then we went to the mall and found some beads to do some 'adjustments' to a new necklace I got the other day:

ABOVE:  Steve at work...

ABOVE: The new necklace before 'adjustments'...

ABOVE:  and after... with some purple added to match me new boots and shoes!

ABOVE:  Steve then made me some earrings too!  Quite crafty is our Steve.

ABOVE: remember this necklace I bought ages ago?  We also found the PERFECT green glass heart to hang off the bottom of it too!  It's so cool... I'm chuffed with it.

Our spa pool is arriving next tuesday!  I can't wait... just need Steve or Stew to make some steps for it now....

Lose2live:  thanks for the comment about comment problems... anyone else having problems leaving comments check out her suggestions.

End of Day: clearly a quieter day on me blog!  Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment yesterday! 
nite nite.

SAVING A BULLET...

AMANDA hates my new shoes!  And tells me I should be shot... so she's 'saving a bullet' for me!

*sniff*.... she has no 'funk' in her that girl!

You have to be yourself... and if that means buying outrageous shoes and boots... I say "GO FOR IT"...  Ya only live once.

ABOVE:  this is the Village Shoe Shop in Devonport.. if ya live in Auckland I highly recommend it!


Today I would NORMALLY be doing the housework... washing floors and the like... but Steve and the kids did it for me while I was shoe shopping yesterday!  How awesome is that?  I'm a spoilt tart, I really am!

So, I'm going out to find me a purple necklace instead!  I can't think of a better way to spend the morning, can you?  *smiles*  AND if I'm spending me money on 'stuff' it ain't being spent on naughty food for me gob eh!  *sigh* I have to do the grocery shopping too... that took a bit of the fun outta today...

ONWARD...

Had an great morning... bought a necklance to match me boots/shoes, and a cardi from City Chic for $30!  It was on sale... SCORE.
Also did the grocery shopping... it was almost OK as there were bugger all people in the supermarket.

ANONYMOUS:  Jealousy will get ya nowhere. 
As long as I am happy with them that's all that matters.  I don't give a rat's arse what you think.

LYNDA:  too funny!  Thanks for the laugh.

MISS GETTING COMMENTS FROM ME LATELY?  Could be due to a glitch with Blogger/Google... the only way to get my comment :  Natalie, Cottonreel, Tania and many more is to go to your Settings - Comments and allow 'Name/URL' as an option OR set your comment box as a SEPERATE box... that will then mean I am not redirected over and over again to Google sign in... which is darn annoying!

End of Day: see why I don't normally publish nasty Anon comments?  They are not nice. 
On a whole, a good day, food on track too!
nite nite.

THE CONE HEAD...

ABOVE: yep he's done it again... gone and scratched under his chin and made a mess ( do dogs even have a chin?).  And he HATES the cone but it's a necessary evil ... otherwise his self inflicted wound will only get worse.  Grrrrr.

ABOVE: a cute photo of the two of them gazing lovingly up at Steve... he's their new fav around here. 

Today:  well I think Stew and I are going out and having a couple of hours together, just the two of us.  AND I want to get some comfy shoes to wear out and about.  Can't keep wearing me boots, even though I LOVE them... they are not designed for hours of wear each day. 

ABOVE:  before anyone asks... these are me boots ...  There is someone in the family who thinks they suck (Amanda) but that's only her opinion!  I love them cos they are funky and a bit different.

ONWARD....

Well I've had a VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL day shopping for some winter shoes or boots!
Stew and I went into Newmarket first... as there's masses of shoe shops there, but I didn't find anything I liked, so I suggested we go over to Devonport where I'd already seen some cool boots in a shop there.

Well... Stew spotted another shoe shop in Devonport called 'Village Shoes',  so we went in there first.... and found the most PERFECT, COMFY, FUNKY shoes AND boots!!!  I couldn't make up my mind which ones I wanted... so Stew got them both....they are a bit 'OUT THERE' (particularly the boots), but I love them....and who wants to be the same as everyone else anyway?   NOT ME.

ABOVE:  yep, they are Purple!  and I love them.  All I need is some purple costume jewellery and I'm good to go!  

 ABOVE: the shoes... oh so comfy.... and a bit different too. 

ABOVE: we found a cute wee handbag in Devonport too... purple obviously!  lol

ABOVE:  Steve took this photo of Coco while he was photographing me boots and loved it, so I have to put in on here too.  He wants all the credit for it too.  Whatever~!  lol

OH WEBBY:  you are so right!  She would try and nick them if she loved them, I have to literally search her bags when she leaves, she's a crafty one!  lol (no offense intended Toad).

JAXX: yes I am!  And I have never denied it... lol!

WOMBAT:  hopefully she IS up the duff!!!

End of Day:  it's been a fab day!  And I've been very good with food consumption too.
nite nite.

TEXT ME!

ABOVE:  Steve ever so sneakily put this ringtone on my phone, so now when I get a text is sings the darn Telly Tubby's song!  I suppose it will keep me focused on NOT being a Telly Tubby I suppose.  *sigh*
I must say though, I am feeling more motivated now than I have in a very long time.  There is hope for this fat Tart yet!

Today is weigh in day... which I shall do at lunchtime... which gives me lazy kidneys time to get rid of me 'water'!  I don't pee unless I take medication in the morning ya see.

TMI?   Am I bothered?  Nah.

Amanda and Emily are leaving at lunchtime.  Once they have gone I think we are heading out to do some shopping, groceries.... bla bla bla.

ONWARD...

I lost .300 grams this week.  Not impressed.  Thought I would have lost more after all the bloody walking I did.  *sniff*

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my boots, but OMG they hurt the soles of me feet after walking around in them for hours shopping!   Tomorrow I'm going to go buy me some comfy walking shoes! 

Today we got some rubber matting for the concrete by the spa pool... well once we get the spa pool!  Waiting for a date from the shop for delivery... hope it's not too long.

End of Day:  we have had a really nice day/evening... right now I'm watching a tv movie about a man who sued God.  It stars Billy Connolly, it's quite interesting.
nite nite.

FUNNY HA HA

ABOVE:  if it's worked there should be a little video of the Telly Tubby's above!  Just for a laugh!

Today:  Amanda and Emily are here so there will be some serious clucking going on!
And the Spa Pool man is coming around to collect the $'s for the pool... which SHOULD be arriving next week sometime.

That's going to be exciting!  I think I talked him into investigating getting a crane to get it in position ... he conceeded that it could be problematic trying to manhandle it in.

As I plan on staying home most of the day I shall probably do a read of blogs too....

ONWARD...

Answers to Questions:

- Garage door... waiting for a totally new door... in fact we should be hearing from them any day now (YEAH RIGHT!)
- Furniture from Whitianga?  Have not heard from them AT ALL. Wankers.
- Pool Fence, as our property is fully fenced and no child can get into it without being 6 foot tall we do not need to fence the spa pool.  PLUS the pool comes with a lockable cover... so double safe.

I took my car to the Vehicle Testing Station this morning... drove in the WRONG WAY... everyone there was looking at me like I was a Prize Twit... well I was I suppose!  But I'd never been there before and got confused!  It can happen right?  lol

ABOVE:  serious cuteness going on here!  Would ya look at those chubby cheeks.. so kissable!

Absolute crap weather here today, so we piled into me car and went to Sylvia Park for lunch and a look-see.  Meet Stew and Jackie (my 'Auckland BF)... then we bought some new phones for the house.. Amanda and Steve made me buy the cheapest, nastiest pieces of shit phones... *sigh*...  there were no BLUE ones.  *sob*

I'm leaving them to install them.  God help them if I still can't hear on the new phones.  I wanted to get the ones that were better for people who can't hear well on the phone (like me).

The only consolation for being made to buy cheap and nasty phones... I can afford to get me some new winter boots!  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

End of Day:  spent the evening playing cards with Steve and Amanda.. it was nice.
nite nite.

COUNTRY WALK...

Firstly:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our son Russell, and Karen in Wellington!  Hope you both have a lovely day.

Today:  Taking Griffin to his speld lesson, and while he's there Steve and I are going for a walk in the countryside.

ABOVE:  this is a little lake we will pass on our walk... and we are going to walk rain, hail or shine! 

I have to mitigate the damage done from last night's dinner out... curly fries are EVIL is all I'm going to say.

At least I didn't have any dessert...STEVE wouldn't let me!  I have told him he can slap me one if I try to have anything bad for me!

I do believe he will too!  The little shit.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  some cute cows we saw on our walk...

 ABOVE: and some darn cute alpaca's...  yeah we saw some idiot horses too... who ran around and kicked up their legs.... was quite funny.  ON our way home we saw this on the road:

ABOVE: a bike like I'd never seen before!  The bloke inside was holding up all the traffic too... *shaking me head*!

Home now and cooking me lunch... veges and a cheese sauce.  Yum!

Had a visit from me Aunty up the road... which was nice.  Don't see much of her which I feel bad about... but I like being at home! 

End of Day:  whoops!  Been busy doing bugger all but clucking over Emily.  She's changed so much in just two weeks!  Much more aware of her surroundings.  Delightful wee bubba.
nite nite.

IT WOULD APPEAR I HAVE A NEW NAME:

Seems my three girlfriends down in Palmerston North have decided we need new names, and as we are calling ourselves the Telly Tubbies (for now)...

ABOVE:   it would appear my name is Laa Laa,  and I'm friggin YELLOW... f*#k I hate yellow!  But... it's a bright, happy colour... YES?

So, I've thought of something fun to do!  I want a new name for our group to use ONCE we get to next June and are better shapes!  I refuse to be Laa Laa any longer than that!!!

I am going to give a prize to the person who comes up with the best 'group' of names for us four girls... you have one week to give it your best shot... and it has to be agreed by all four of us... so it's gunna be DIFFICULT!  lol

Now... back to normal shit.  I'm off to the Hospice shop today... will be getting all the stuff I have put aside today too... so expect a photo or two of me treasures! 

ONWARD... it's going to be a lovely LAA LAA day!  It's raining so maybe not such a nice day..

Yaaa... the sun came out and transformed the day.. it's stunning now.  Was a fairly busy day at the shop... I got me treasures too... will take a photo once I've had lunch...

 ABOVE:  today's treasures... a really lovely pure wool jacket for Griffin...

ABOVE: two brand new hand knitted tops for Sienna...

ABOVE: yummy home made jam, a cute cup and saucer and a glass 'thingee'... it was too pretty to leave there!

ABOVE :  baby toys for our toybox I think...

ABOVE: and finally, a lovely top for Brylee.

ABOVE:  and talking about Brylee... she was playing yesterday and smacked her eye into a dining chair... Ouch!  It was all swollen this morning, but has settled down a bit now.  Wondering if she will end up with a black eye...?

End of Day:  and we decided to go out for dinner.. ended up at a place called "Denny's" in Manukau... it was OK... nothing to rave about.  I didn't totally pig out, but I didn't starve either!  lol
nite nite.