Wednesday 29 August 2012

Log your Memory: Week 33

Hi everyone :)

It’s time for another instalment of the Log your Memory project… actually I’ve fallen a bit behind with it but life is like that sometimes.

This week the prompt was all about your backyard and the exterior of your home.   When I bought my house I had a big checklist of things that I really wanted but it pretty much all focussed on the inside of the house.  The only thing I had written down for the outside was a garage… which I have but don’t actually use for my car!

Here’s this weeks layout:Week 33

From the roadside you would never guess that I even have much of a backyard but in fact it’s quite big.  Initially I had thought that the girls would enjoy ‘playing’ in the backyard and when we first moved in they did like that space… but very quickly I realised that they really weren’t ‘outside girls’.

Since I bought the house we have put in a patio area and we’ve moved the clothesline to catch the sun.  We’ve fully fenced the patio area and along the driveway.  We’ve also gotten rid of a LOT of ivy!  We’ve built a retaining wall and done a little bit of gardening that has never really been maintained… and then we got Toby!

At first we had to keep Toby inside pretty much all the time and then it became necessary to put in a proper back fence.  One to keep Toby in that would also keep everyone else out!  I spent ages looking for recycled materials and was lucky enough to find a large amount of dark green colour steel which looks fantastic as a back fence.

Now the backyard gets used every day!  Toby loves playing outside (so long as someone comes with him to play with!)  He loves digging holes and jumping around in the grass… and he loves barking at whoever is on the other side of the fence!

I’d love to have it looking nicer and actually being used more… it might have to be my summer project this year!

If you have any good tips for my backyard or how to have gardens that Toby won’t dig in I’d love to hear them!

Have a great week xx

Sunday 26 August 2012

Project Life: Week 34

Hi everyone :)

Well it’s been another busy week in our household and thankfully yesterday I got most of the photos printed for Project Life because this morning I woke up with a horrible headache and now feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train.  There’s lots of bugs and things going around and it seems that I’m not immune!

Here’s a look at my week:Full_1

This week I’ve done quite a bit of cooking… trying new things like the chocolate lava cake I saw on Pinterest last week.  I also made my first green curry… not a roaring success but I know how to make it better now :)

I got a GREAT deal at Briscoes too!  A Hampton and Mason stock pot that was originally $149.99 for just $39… pretty happy with that!

Left_1

We also had a funeral… Toby’s lion had become a stinky, manky, horrible thing that really needed to go so on Tuesday night we got the fire going nice and hot and then put his lion in… and he went mental!  He was definitely NOT a happy camper however he seems to have forgotten all about it now!

Since it was the middle week of the term my top group had their reward of a McDonalds lunch.  Thankfully we're able to walk up to McDonalds, eat and get back again within the time frame so it’s quite a good incentive to use with the kids.

On Wednesday one of the middle school teachers had a wee pony at school.  I didn’t get to actually go and see it as I was being observed for part of my appraisal but Norm was able to get some good photos for me :)

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We’ve been doing more art in Room 4 as well.  This week we created our ‘BFG Dream Jars’ and we also did some more work on our banner art… I’ll be pleased when those ones are done!

A few of my friends have commented on the fact that petrol is cheaper here so they tend to fill up before heading back home.  I have to admit that I thought petrol was pretty much a standard price everywhere but it seems not.  Hitting the headlines in our local paper this week they announced that Rotorua has the cheapest petrol in the country!  Over at the Gull station at Te Ngae petrol is currently $1.99 (9) per litre… and if you have a voucher you can get another 4 cents per litre off that!

I also decided to include my Lotto ticket this week… I don’t get one every week but this week I did and I actually won a small prize… yippee!

Here’s my creativity for the week:Creativity_1

I made this wee card using some Graphic 45 paper from the Wizard of Oz collection.  Lion is one of my favourites because he’s always so scared… and quite frankly he reminds me of Toby :)  Toby is really brave when he’s hiding behind his Mumma but the rest of the time he’s a big marshmallow!

So that’s my week… I hope you’re all having a great weekend and getting set for school and work tomorrow. 

As for me… I’m off to have a lie down and get better for school in the morning.

Sunday 19 August 2012

Project Life: Week 33

Hi everyone :)

It’s been a ‘bitsa’ week this week… bits of this and bits of that!  All in all I’m feeling quite good about it and somewhere further along my checklist of things that I want and need to get done.

Here’s an overview of my week:Full_1

It was officially Toby’s adoption anniversary on Monday (13th) and a lovely card arrived from his Grandma.  It was addressed to ‘Master Toby Honig’ and he was super keen to get it into his mouth!!  Thankfully I managed to keep it safe as Mum had put a lot of work into it!

I’m also loving TV on Demand at the moment.  Quite often I miss things I’ve been wanting to see due to work and picking up Mikayla so it’s great to have the ability to be able to watch the shows I’ve missed on demand.  Krystal told me about a new show called Hart of Dixie which she thought I might like but unfortunately it’s on at a really inconvenient time for me so I’ve been watching it on demand.

Here’s a better look at the start of the week:Left_1 The Project Life pendant arrived on Monday and it’s really nice.  I’ve been wearing it most days at school and it’s had quite a few comments… including one from Dan who thought it had something to do with the Olympics!

I also included some photos from my Log your Memory project as I realised I’d never really shown them before.  I’m so pleased that my doll and dressing table have found a place in my Project Life album.

Sue made the really nice card using Tim Holtz embossing diffusers.  They are really cool to work with!!!

We’ve been working hard in Room 4 with lots of on-task behaviour thanks to the class dojo system we’re using!  We also finished reading The BFG this week so on Friday we turned our classroom into a movie theatre with tarpaulins over the windows and watched the DVD.

Here’s the second half of the week:Right_1

On Friday a few of my kids told me that I was really COOL… so I responded that YES I am indeed a very cool person.  They all started laughing uproariously and I suddenly realised that there was more to it than I thought!  After school I was on duty and I overheard some kids talking about the word cool and the fact that apparently it now means: Constipated, Overweight, Old Lady… and here was me thinking it was a compliment!

Last night I got busy cleaning, de-cluttering, vacuuming and dusting my lounge… and by midnight it was looking stunning!  Toby spent quite a lot of time chasing, barking and trying to attack the vacuum and then today he’s spent most of the day pulling his toys out of the basket!  He’s now worn himself out and is snuggled up on the sofa beside me enjoying the warmth of the fire.

Here’s my creative piece for the week:Creativity_1

It hasn’t photographed very well today as it’s so overcast here it’s ridiculous!  The background is actually rusty colours with a bit of green… but in the photo it looks really brown.  I felt like using some bling and brads this week and then just added the Week 33 in white so that it really stands out.

I’ve been viewing some cool foodie blogs over the weekend and I’ve discovered a recipe for Molten Lava Chocolate Cakes (little individual ones):

molten lava cake 2

I’ve decided to give them a go because what could be nicer for dessert on a cold winter evening than warm chocolate cake with an oozy gooey filling???  If you’d like to check out the recipe you can find it here.

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend and that your Sunday night is relaxing xx

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Log your Memory: Weeks 31 and 32

Hi everyone :)

Week 31

I had a bit of a struggle with the last prompt in the food section.  It was all about your dining table… and the reality is that we hardly ever eat at our table.  Usually it’s got Mikayla’s tech drawings or school stuff on it… but hardly ever food!

When the girls were smaller we always ate at the dining table.  I’d cook and the girls would take turns setting the table, we’d eat and then I’d clear everything away.  I started thinking about when it actually was that we stopped eating at the table and realised it was when the girls were both at high school and we’d usually eat sitting around the coffee table (mine is really big… but more on that soon!)

Here’s my layout for the prompt:Week 31

Mum, Dad and both of my sister’s families still eat at the table but the girls and I really don’t.  Now that it’s just Mikayla at home I quite often have dinner by myself because she’s at work… and I actually feel a bit uncomfortable sitting at the table by myself.  

I do love sitting at a table when I’m having a meal with friends… or going out for dinner… but I really LOVE eating outdoors!  In summer we’ll often eat at the BBQ table and we do actually do quite a lot of picnics for both lunch and dinner.

When it comes to family events we’d be lucky to find a table big enough for us all to sit around so it’s just as well we all enjoy a more relaxed style of entertaining!

Week 32

The Log your Memory prompts for August all focus on ‘personal space’.  To get things started there were a few questions about collections and furniture and I realised that I’ve actually been collecting specific things for quite a long time.

I really love old wooden furniture… no glass and modular steel for this girl! LOL

Here’s my layout:Week 32

My dressing table could tell you a few stories!!!  When I was little I used to go and stay with Nana and Granny.  They both lost their husbands within a year of each other and since Granny’s kids (my Mum and her brothers) were all leaving home Nana went to live at Granny’s house.  The dressing table belonged to Nana and we used to spend lots of time sitting in her room chatting without Granny around. 

One day we were in her room and she produced a box of chocolates that someone had given her.  Nana and I sat their chatting and gorging on chocolates all afternoon and then when dinner time came we weren’t hungry at all and Granny hit the roof!  She confiscated most of Nana’s chocolates off her. 

I say ‘most’ because we actually had another secret little stash (my Nana was pretty cool!)  We decided to be pro-active just in case Granny tried another raid so we taped chocolates (the wrapped up kind) to the bottom of Nana’s drawers.  Granny never found them!!!

Granny gave me Nana’s set of drawers when she moved into a rest home and the first thing I did was check under the drawers.  There were no chocolates but there WAS evidence of tape marks from where they had been!

Since then my dressing table has been restored and it’s really lovely.  I’ve also been lucky enough to find a tall boy that matches in fairly well, as well as a bed frame with headboard and footboard too!

Sometimes I see lovely wooden bedroom furniture for sale but I’ve never been tempted to buy it because that dressing table holds far too many memories and stories for me to ever replace it… I’m a bit sentimental like that!

So that’s it for this post.  I hope you’re all having a wonderful week xx

Sunday 12 August 2012

Project Life: Week 32 + 2 inserts

Hi everyone :)

As you may have guessed by the two inserts it’s been a VERY BIG week here.  Mostly it’s all school stuff but it sure did make the week go fast!

Here’s an overview of this week:Full_1

My week started off with the school Olympics day… and boy did we have fun!  There were 23 events… 46 countries and everyone from students, teachers, parents and support staff were involved.  Carey (the ICT teacher) took nearly 1000 photos so I decided to do an insert of the games.  Apart from the first couple of photos I only chose ones that featured my kids.  Here’s the first side:Olympics 1_1

And here’s the second:Olympics 2_1

The kids had a real blast and there were lots of nice comments about the medals I made for the prize giving.  I’ve included a photo of them in my pages but here’s a close-up view:IMG_7208_1

Getting back to the start of the week… I got an email from Brenda asking if I’d read the Craft House newsletter… and it’s just as well she asked because I’d missed the bit she wanted me to see… I WON the Project Life giveaway from SENZ!  Super happy about that and a big thank you to Mary, Beverley and David for making my day!

Here’s the first half of my week:Left_1

My Olympic Games display wall is coming along really well and we’ve had lots of positive comments about it from other teachers!  The kids have been producing top-notch work to put on the wall… awesome!

We spent a lesson looking at the official London mascots and then we started making our own mascots to represent New Zealand.  The kids were really into the whole idea and produced some great work for our wall… and then we made our final mascot using Photoshop which the kids really loved.  Here’s what we came up with:Room 4 mascot copy_1

It was also Wendy’s birthday this week and she normally makes us all a special afternoon tea when it’s our birthdays so I decided to do something nice for her.   We had carrot cake cupcakes with pretty sprinkles on them for afternoon tea at our team meeting… YUM!

The second half of the week has been just as busy:Right_1

We had an interschool winter sports afternoon with another school and the powhiri was pretty awesome!  Our school band also performed for the first time and I have to say that these kids are REALLY talented!

This weekend marks the official ‘adoption anniversary’ of Mr Toby!  Auntie Esther and Uncle James sent him a gorgeous book called “All dogs have ADHD” and after reading the book (which also has wonderful photos) I have to agree that Toby probably does have ADHD!

We were originally going to have an adoption party for Toby on Saturday but there was a few hiccups along with all the good stuff this week so we’ve decided to wait until it gets a bit warmer and all the winter sports are done.  It’s hard to believe that my little boy is so grown up! LOL

Toby

Since we weren’t ‘partying’ Toby and I went to Hamilton to visit Krystal instead.  He had a wonderful play with all the other ‘kids’ at the dog park and then he had a big sleep in the car while Krystal and I did some retail therapy… it turned out to be a fabulous day.

As I mentioned earlier there are two inserts this week.  The second one is all about our Matariki celebrations at school which happened on Friday afternoon/evening.  We were allowed to take our classes through for a look after lunch and I’m glad we did because I’d have never gotten photos later as the hall was so packed with parents, grandparents and other visitors.

Here’s a look at the front of the insert:Matariki 1_1

And here’s the second side:Matariki 2_1

LOTS of fabulous artwork on display and by the time I came in from doing duty on Friday afternoon a LOT of those cakes had already been sold!

To finish off I’ve got my little piece of creativity for the week.  I decided to do a ‘Toby’ piece of art to mark his adoption:Creativity_1

So that’s been my week!  Packed full of lots of different things.

I hope you’re all enjoying what’s left of the weekend and I’ll be back on Wednesday with a long-overdue update of Log your Memory

Have a great week everyone xxx

Sunday 5 August 2012

Project Life: Week 31

Hi everyone :)

This week has been really good… and I’ve had an extremely productive weekend!  I’ve spent a lot of time in the newly cleaned (and still clean!) craft room using the Cameo to cut out things for school… and I’m currently working on completing 39 medals for tomorrow’s Olympic Games at school!

Full_1

At the beginning of this week Mikayla took me out for dinner for the first time.  She bought tickets from her friend Jack as he was raising money for the Lakes High ball.  We had pretty good meals at Nando’s and the food came out really quickly!

We had the sofa bed pulled out on Tuesday and Mikayla and Toby snuggled up… had play fights and just generally acted like kids while I got out my camera.

Left_1

I got a really wonderful email from one of my night class ladies that I included in this weeks pages too as it made me feel really appreciated as a teacher.  Thanks Chris for the email xx

At school we’ve been busy finishing off our Matariki cloak to go in the exhibition for next Friday.  It’s almost done now and the kids ‘zentangle’ feathers look really amazing now they’ve been died and cut out.

I also started using a new behaviour management idea in class that another teacher told me about.  It’s called Class DoJo and it’s having a really positive effect on the kids!

On Thursday night we had another night class and the ladies were all super impressed with the craft room… they really couldn’t believe how much space there was!

Right_1

More school stuff… I’ve been reading my class The BFG and they’re really loving it.  When we finish the book we’ll watch the movie and then compare them.  I highly recommend it as a great story for kids and adults alike!

We’ve gone Olympics crazy at school this term and after seeing all the bunting around London we’ve decided to make our own for the classroom.  The kids have all designed a piece of bunting using their initials and we’re now working on our ‘good copies’.

On Saturday I was up super early (5.30am) so I got straight into making the title for my classroom display.  It’s looking really great now and I’m looking forward to getting it all up on the wall tomorrow afternoon.

I’ve also been working on creating 39 medals for our school Olympics tomorrow.  I hit a snag yesterday afternoon and since it was really cold I decided to have a mid-afternoon bath.  The best part was that by the time I’d finished in the bath I was lovely and warm AND I’d worked out how to finish off the project!

Creativity_1

Keeping with the Olympic theme this week I cut out an Olympic torch with flames using my Cameo and then added a bit of bling. 

This afternoon has been really productive too… down at the launderette!  I managed to get all my towels and work clothes washed and dried along with my sheets… and as a BIG bonus I was able to get the mink blankets of the sofa and my bed washed and dried too!  The smell simply divine now and look like they’re brand new again!  PLUS while I was doing all the laundry I had a roast cooking in the oven so I’m feeling a little like a domestic goddess again LOL

So that’s been my week… I hope you’ve all had a great week and weekend and that you’re all safe and happy :) 

Thanks for visiting my little corner of the net xx