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

Log your Memory: Week 35

Hi everyone :)

This is the final theme for the ‘Personal Space’ section of Log your Memory.  There were quite a few ideas for this week but the one that really inspired me was the question: “What special touches or favourite items make your home uniquely yours?”

Sometimes when you come home to the same space every day you actually start to ‘overlook’ some of those things… and yet they are often the first things you notice in someone else’s home. 

I used to have lots of framed photos around my home but right now I have just three… one of me and my sisters, one of the girls when they were younger and one of my boy Toby.  It’s not just photos though that make our homes special… it’s often the little touches… the personal things and the mementos of things we’ve done and places we’ve been.

Here’s my layout for this prompt: There were so many things I could have chosen to include in this weeks layout… like the welcome sign Mum painted for me when she was learning how to do folk art:

… or the pair of camels I made completely by hand stitching… no sewing machine used at all!

… or the wooden wine box my sister gave me… or the little ornaments my step-dad gave me before he died… or the rocks with painted koru patterns made by some Intermediate children I taught years ago… the list goes on.

For me the important thing is that these things are important to me… they represent different parts of my life and people who have come into my life for various reasons. 

If you’re a scrapbooker, have you thought about doing a layout about the things in your own home that make it uniquely your own?  Go on… I dare you!

Hope you’re having a good week xxx

Project Life: Week 36

Hi everyone :)

Well it’s been a pretty good week here in our household. 

Here’s an over view of my week:

We had a VERY quiet week to the start of school… on Monday only 15 of my children came to school! Since I couldn’t run my usual programme we decided to have a BIG clean-up in the classroom. We got all those ‘little things’ done… cleaning out the art cupboards, sorting out all the games and de-cluttering to the max. It’s made such a difference!

Krystal and Chris also celebrated their third anniversary last weekend and she thankfully shared some photos with me.  Instead of giving each other gifts each year they DO SOMETHING!  This year they planned a trip to Auckland and spent an entire day at Rainbows End enjoying rides.  They also visited the zoo and other tourist attractions as well as visiting Krystal’s dad and his family.  Congratulations Krystal and Chris xx

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

We got a big delivery of newspapers in the senior school as part of our N.I.E. (Newspapers in Education) programme.  Since we don’t actually use the paper (just the insert) I collected up heaps of them and took them down to the vet so that they could use it in their surgery.  The only problem was that when I got home Toby could smell the vets on me and he WAS NOT impressed about missing out at all.  Thankfully I had a treat for him so I was ‘almost’ forgiven!

On Wednesday we had rain, rain and more rain at school and my kids were a bit fed up with being inside.  Usually they don’t worry about me having my camera out but on this day they really started hamming it up so I had to include one of the photos in this weeks pages.

Here’s the second half of my week:

Next year Mum and I are planning a trip to Australia.  I’ve already started saving but that’s not the same has having something tangible in your hand as a reminder.  A couple of weeks ago ‘Treat Me’ had a special on their website for a travel document holder so I decided to get one… in lime green!  I totally love it and now I’m even more determined and excited about our trip.

On Saturday Mum and I both went over to Hamilton to visit the craft fair so we met at Krystal’s place.  Mum had her new car with her (and it’s really a lovely car!).  When I saw the licence plate I had to laugh and Mum asked what was so funny.  The licence place starts with ‘GMH’ which to me translated immediately into ‘Grand Ma Hoons’… actually she thought that was quite funny.

While we were at the craft fair I got a few photos of the quilts (and YES I asked permission first!) and I have to say that the hours and hours of work that they have put into their quilts was absolutely worth it!

Here’s a couple of my favourite quilts from the show:

I also asked one of the ladies working there to take a photo of the three of us as we don’t actually get to see each other all together that often.  We had a wonderful time going around the stalls and Mum and I both made a few purchases.  Afterwards we went to a couple of other shops that were in walking distance and then had lunch back at Krystal’s before heading for our respective homes.  Thanks Mum and Krystal for coming with me xx and ‘Hi’ to Loreen and Joan who I also caught up with extremely briefly!

This morning when I went outside spring had finally arrived as the very first blossoms had opened up on the tree.  There are hundreds of little buds waiting for their turn so I’m sure it will look beautiful in a few days time.

Now for my creative piece for the week:

In Term 4 my class will be working with two others on a study about elephants and while I was looking for some resources I came across this gorgeous photo of a little boy and a baby elephant.  It was too adorable not to be used in my album so I combined it with some MME paper and a 7 Gypsies sticker to create my little piece of art for the week.

So that’s been my week… lots to do and lots of fun.  I hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll catch up with you again on Wednesday xx

Log your Memory: Week 34

Hi everyone :)

I’m still playing the ‘catch up’ game with Log your Memory but at least I’m not getting further behind!  The prompt for this week was all about floor plans, how you arrange your furniture and the way you use space in your living areas.

This is the first time that I’ve lived in one house since I was a little kid and as my girls have grown into young women it’s seen some changes!

One of the things that changes regularly is how we use the living spaces.  We’ve had times when all three of us lived here… then it was two… then it was me on my own… then me with Toby… and now Mikayla has been back for almost a year.

Here’s my layout for this weeks prompt:

As you can see from the photos the furniture tends to stay the same but the placement of it certainly doesn’t.  Sometimes I think I’m quite mad taking photos of my living areas for no particular reason but when it came to this weeks prompt I was pleased that I had!

After looking at the photos, the thing I miss most is having the dining table in the lounge… last winter I got so much scrapping done because I could come home from work, light the fire and scrap in front of the TV with Toby curled up on the sofa.

So that’s my living areas… how do you use yours?

I hope you’re all having a really good week xx

Project Life: Week 35

Hi everyone :)

Somehow my clock went from 4.30 to 8pm in a blink of an eye!  How did that happen???  Meanwhile my whole week has been like that… it’s been busy!

Here’s a look at my week:

My week has been all about multi-tasking!  I’ve felt a bit like an octopus with all my arms busy at the same time.  Early this week I needed to get my maths books marked and I also needed to get my laundry dry… the solution?  Take my books with me to the laundrette and hey presto I got everything done!

This week at school we also had the Wearable Arts competition and the school disco.  Toby has decided that he doesn’t like school discos because it means Mumma doesn’t come home in time for him LOL

The disco was to raise funds for the Rippa Rugby group going to Wellington for the big NZ finals soon.  It was all hands on deck.  We had dads cooking the sausage sizzle, teachers and parents in the kitchen making toasted sandwiches and selling drinks and popcorn and Ashley and Connie were in a separate kitchen cooking hot chips… the end result was lots of happy kids and we raised more than we needed for the kids in the Rippa team :)

When I got home Toby decided that ripping up lots of newspapers would be a good welcome home… the poor boy couldn’t understand why I wasn’t impressed!

On Thursday we had our interschool sports against Saint Michael’s school which went really well.  My hockey teams played awesome games!

After school on Thursday Peter, Wendy, Glenn and myself all headed down to Gisborne to visit another school.  It ended up being a REALLY long day!  Peter (the principal) took us all out for dinner and I had one of the best steaks I’ve ever had… super yummy!

We stayed at the Captain Cook Motor Lodge in Gisborne and it was wonderful… super clean, lots of space and very relaxing! I’ve got an insert to show you soon all about our trip to Ilminster Intermediate.

This weekend I’ve spent lots of time with Toby.  We went to the canine supermarket and he got to pick some treats.  He ended up coming away with some more meat medallions, pet bones which is had one last night and thought it was wonderful, some pet ‘ice block’ treats and a really big tennis ball!

We also got the backyard mowed.  It took most of the afternoon because the grass was so long!  I got tired of emptying the catcher but the end result looks fantastic!  Toby treated the lawnmower exactly the same way as the lawnmower… lots of barking and chasing!!  He was super funny!

As promised here are the inserts about our visit to Ilminster Intermediate.  We saw so many good ideas and being a visual learner the best way for me to remember is to take photos to remind myself later.

Here’s the front:

And here’s the back:

And here’s my creative piece for the week:

Wendy and I went for a walk on Friday morning while we were in Gisborne and we bought our Daffodil Day stickers. Unfortunately they weren’t very sticky and wouldn’t stay on our clothes so I saved mine to use in my album. I made the background using an embossing folder and adding lots of ink :)

So that’s been my week… I hope you guys are all having a restful Sunday night and that your week ahead is great xxx