Project Life: Week 39

Hi everyone :)

I’m totally loving daylight savings today!  We’ve got great weather here in Rotorua today and the temperature has certainly improved… I guess all good things DO come to those who wait :)

Here’s an overview of my week:

I’ve just had a full week off work (thanks to ACC) and I’m making very slow but steady progress.  My world seems to have shrunk dramatically this week without school and getting out and about to keep me busy and entertained!

On Monday a friend called in and I was able to get them to do my vacuuming for me… somehow it is easier to be incapacitated in a tidy home LOL

Toby didn’t take too kindly to the tidying up though and as soon as it was done he got his toys out again… but then he tried to tidy up himself… have a look at the close up and you’ll see what I mean:

I’ve been working on projects in very small doses this week… on Monday I actually got my September ATC’s done and sent away… yippee!

Mikayla was good at keeping Toby occupied for me outside too… he loves playing the ‘scare me’ game and never ceases to have enough of it!

The Rotorua Young Achievers were in the paper this week too and it was so neat to see kids that I either know or have taught being selected.  They’re all in their last year of college and it seems just like yesterday that they were only at primary school.

Here’s the second half of my week:

I’ve been playing around with resin, molds/moulds and paint over the past few days.  Mostly I’ve been working on my swap pins for the Scrapbook Dreams retreat next weekend and they’re almost all done now!

I’ve also been working on some samples to show the ladies when they come and I’m hoping to get lots more done this week.

When Toby was a ‘little boy’ he used to curl up in our lap and have a sleep or a cuddle and this week he seems to have decided that he’s a ‘little boy’ again!  He’s been trying to get onto Mikayla’s lap most of the week and as you can see from the photo he doesn’t have much chance of that happening!

This time next weekend the scrap retreat will be all finished but at the moment there’s still loads of little details to take care of and things to do.  I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone again and meeting the new people who haven’t been before!

Here’s my creative piece for the week:

Since daylight savings has started I decided to do a piece about ‘time’ using some of the resin clock faces I’ve been making.  I also used some Tim Holtz paper and spinners and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

So that’s been my week… I hope you’ve all had a good week and are having lovely weather too xx

p.s. Since it’s the retreat next weekend my Project Life won’t be up on the blog until Monday night.

Log your Memory: Weeks 36, 37 and 38!

Hi everyone :)

My Log your Memory project is well over-due for an update… but I have three finished layouts today.  It’s quite apt given the problems I’m having with my back that the September theme at Log your Memory is “Life’s Challenges”… so here we go.

Week 36

The prompt for this week is all about health and well being.  I know that I could have done a page about my current back issues but I had something a little different in mind… something that I’ve never scrapbooked before that I really wanted to include in my album. 

For some of you this may come as a big surprise but twelve years ago I survived a brain aneurysm.  For me it’s no longer an emotional thing… it’s something that happened and that I’ve recovered from.  Ask my family though and you’ll probably get a different reaction.

Was it hard?… YES!  Did it change my life?… YES!  Did it have any positive effects?… YES!

I certainly look at life differently now than I did back then.  I ‘listen’ to my body more and I’ve learned to listen to the signs for when I need to slow down a bit.

To be honest the hardest thing about doing this layout was re-discovering the notes the girls made for me in the hospital and realising how much I would have missed out on if I hadn’t lived through it. 

I wasn’t a scrapbooker when I had the aneurysm but I’m so pleased that I kept the memory box with all the ‘little things’ in it.  I kept EVERYTHING… even the little salt and pepper sachets from my dinner!

That memory box is a big reminder to me of how far I’ve come despite the surgeons prognosis.  It’s also a reminder to me to make every day important.

Week 37

Leading on from that… this weeks prompt it all about getting everything done and managing your daily to do’s and stresses.

One thing I realised after having the aneurysm was that some things won’t matter later on in life and some things really will.  My kids will never remember how often (or not) I did the vacuuming but they WILL remember me spending time with them.

Like most people I lead a pretty busy life but I’m NOT super woman!  I know I can’t do it all (although sometimes it bothers me that I can’t!)

While I can run a productive and happy classroom… run a small scrapbooking business… and spend time with family and friends there are some things that I just don’t seem to get done… and mostly I’m fine with that.

Sometimes a whole week will go by when I don’t vacuum… sometimes there will be unwashed dishes on the bench for a couple of days… and sometimes the bathroom could really use a good clean. 

But when I think about everything I have done in a day… and how much I have achieved, I’m pretty much ok with it.

Week 38

The last prompt for today is all about the headlines and news.  One of the questions was “Where do you stand on specific local or national issues of interest to you?”

Since I’m a school teacher it’s probably not much of a surprise that educational issues are pretty important to me.  I watched the news absolutely stunned the other day to hear the government proposal to close and merge schools in Christchurch.  What are they thinking???

I came across this poster on the internet and personally I think it explains things perfectly:

When I had my first opportunity to vote I knew next to nothing about politics or issues.  I’d turn on the TV to watch the political debates… and then within 5 minutes I’d changed the channel.  I was young… but I was ‘allowed’ to vote… and vote I did…. for the McGillicuddy Serious Party! 

I’m sure a few of you are smiling at that statement but let me tell you that my step-dad did NOT smile… in fact he didn’t see anything even remotely humorous about my actions! 

Thankfully things have changed since then and I am now a little more politically aware of what is happening in New Zealand although sometimes it’s really hard to fathom the ideas the government have about the educational future and opportunities for our young people.

Here’s my layout for this weeks prompt:

I will certainly be watching what the government decides to do with our education system and how they propose to do it.    When you think about it, it’s not just our kids future it’s our future too because when we all hit retirement it will be them who are running the country!  Let’s hope they make some good choices!

So that’s it from me today… I’m just about caught up again!  I hope you have all had a great week and enjoy your weekend xx

Project Life: Week 38

Hi everyone :)

Well it’s been a pretty tough week for me.  As most of you know I injured my back last Tuesday and everything was slowly coming right thanks to my lovely chiropractor Nicola… BUT (and it is a BIG BUT!) on Tuesday morning I woke up and SNEEZED! 

Instantly I was in incredible pain and it turns out I’ve done plenty of damage to my lower back.  I’ve been going to the chiropractor every day and now I’m able to stand up relatively ok and I can lie down kind of ok… but I can’t sit down at all! 

This week it’s been a challenge to stay positive at times but I’m finding Project Life quite helpful in that area so on with the week:

On Monday it was Sonny’s birthday.  He’s a lovely kid and I took him and one of his friends to McDonalds for lunch.  Sonny was thrilled to bits and it was nice to do something for his special day.

Good things do come back to you though and when a friend turned up with McDonalds for breakfast the other morning I felt really lucky :)

Here’s a close up at the start of my week:

The blossoms on the tree outside my door are absolutely gorgeous… and a perfect pick-me-up in the morning. 

I also got a lovely surprise on Thursday when Krystal came home for the day.  She helped me out and kept me company… and Mr Toby loved seeing his big sister again!

To celebrate Krystal’s visit Toby decided to ‘entertain’ her by doing ‘unmentionable things’ (nudge nudge wink wink!)  Krystal was instantly appalled at his behaviour but she just couldn’t stop laughing.  She ended up with tears running down her face from laughing so much. 

Krystal also kept checking on Toby’s ‘progress’ which just seemed to egg him on!  I guess I’ve gotten a bit more used to his once-a-week habit but her reaction was priceless!

Here’s the second part of my week:

Mikayla helped me out by hanging out all the washing on Saturday since I couldn’t do it.  She’s not a morning person so her help was doubly appreciated!

It was so beautiful yesterday… lovely and sunny and warm so Toby and I went out onto the deck.  He saw me with the camera and instantly started to chase his tennis ball, pounce on his shadow and do other funny things to entertain me.  That boy is such a Drama King and he LOVES the camera!

Last night I really wanted to see the final of Masterchef as I’ve watched every single episode.  The only problem was that I couldn’t sit down to watch it so when I got a visitor I asked them to please bring my mattress down to the lounge for me… and thankfully there were plugs handy for my electric blanket too!

Toby and I had a very comfortable night in front of the fire which was great… and as for the final… well done Andy!  It was pretty exciting to watch.

Here’s my little piece of creativity this week:

This week I’ve done a digital piece as I’ve got the laptop on the kitchen bench which is the perfect height for me to stand at to work.  It’s just a little reminder to myself to keep thinking ‘happy thoughts’.

Before I go I just want to wish Miss Loreen and Miss Brenda both a happy birthday for today! 

Hope both of you are having a wonderful day and getting spoilt :)

I hope you all have a great week and hopefully I’ll be back on Wednesday with a long overdue Log your Memory update.

Take care xxx

Project Life: Week 37 and a YUMMY insert!

Hi everyone :)

Don’t you just hate it when circumstances conspire against you getting the things you want to do done!  I was feeling great this afternoon and all ready to do my blog when suddenly it was time to go to the launderette and then down to the supermarket.. but at last there is time to blog :)

Here’s an overview of my week:

I had a really funny start to my week… Mr Toby decided that he REALLY didn’t want to go outside on Monday morning.  I went down to the bedroom to find him and here’s what I found:

You can almost hear him saying… “But I’m asleep Mumma”… notice him looking at me with one eye!

I waited just a moment and here’s what he did:

“See Mumma… I’m REALLY asleep!”  There was no fooling this Mumma though because 5 minutes later Toby was outside and I was on my way to work LOL

Here’s a closer look at the beginning of my week:

On Tuesday morning I put my back out quite badly… in fact it was REALLY bad.  I did manage to hobble around work all day and then went to the chiropractor… turns out I’d slipped four discs in my lower back and two in my neck… OUCH!

On Wednesday I had the day off work and got a friend to take me out to the Waikite Hot Pools for a relaxing soak.  It wasn’t quite as relaxing as I’d hoped but Toby and I did get a lovely photo together.

The second half of my week was definitely an improvement:

We had a Duffy assembly at school and my class ended the week making fresh pasta as part of our Italian Food topic we’re doing at the moment.

Speaking of food… my chiropractor made the most delicious chocolate cake and gave me a slice to take home… totally yummy!

On Saturday I decided to go over to see Mum and spend some time with her.  We ended up mucking around with resin and moulds and had a wonderful time experimenting… thanks Mum for a really fun day! 

Which brings me to my piece of creativity for the week.  While Mum and I were experimenting with the resin we discovered some cool techniques for colouring them and I’ve used two of my moulded pieces on this weeks creative piece.

The fairy has been painted with Tattered Angels Glimmer Paint.  In real life it looks almost like porcelain and has a lovely soft sheen to it.  The clock face has been painted with Charcoal Gesso and then had metallic rub stippled over it. 

Here’s another view so that you can see some of the detail:

And now for the insert… on Friday while we were making pasta I had my camera out and between me and the kids we took over 60 photos!  I had enough photos to do a ‘step by step’ type of insert. 

Here’s the front:

And here’s the back:

Next week we’re making pizza dough and I’ll be sure to get some photos of the kids cooking again.

Thanks for visiting my blog… I hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll catch up with you again soon xxx