wordful wednesday - "it's the boots mum!"

i've been wearing the same pair of brown boots for the past 3 years and and have been on the lookout for a new pair. now, as you all know with boots, it's about the toe and the heel (of course depending on the LENGTH of skirt you're wearing!)

seeing as i have quite nice calves, and DID manage to find a plain knee-length skirt (that's another post ok?!) i needed a pair of boots with a reasonable heel and a none-too-wide toe.

miss 19 and i went shopping the other day and i actually found a pair! my mum had given me a $50 voucher for my birthday to be used at this mall, and i can report that the voucher did IN NO WAY go NEAR the price of these boots...

miss 19 was not at all phased by my slight case of buyers' remorse. "who cares mum? they're the BEST BOOTS IN THE WORLD!" (so sweet)

a couple of days later, miss 19 and i are at the 1st birthday party of the place where i'm having cupcake lessons. on the way back to the car, as i'm leaning down to get into the car (it's a little car) - a car drives by and i get wolf-whistled!

now - i don't care if it's sexist or not. i'm 46 and if i get wolf-whistled - i'm takin' it ok?

i excitedly jump into the car and announce to miss 19 (who hadn't heard) - "I JUST GOT WOLF-WHISTLED!"

she replied...

"it's the boots mum! the BOOTS!!!"

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

tuesday's blog party

you may remember tuesday's wagie ride back in february. we rode our bikes to remember Tuesday, who lost her 8 month battle with cancer. she was 2 years old.

From now until May 12th, I'm hosting a giveaway to help benefit the Tuesday Fiona Whitt Foundation. to enter and win this auction, simply leave me a comment letting me know you are interested in winning the goodies below, then please donate $1 to the Tuesday Fiona Whitt Foundation by clicking here:

this is what you can win!

when you've made your donation, be sure to visit the Tuesday Blog Party to see what other fantastic items are being auctioned off by clicking the image below.

thank you

life: the update: letting go

a lot has changed around here in the last couple of months. i'm not sure why i haven't blogged about it. maybe because everything that's happened hasn't just happened to ME, i didn't feel like i could broadcast it. who knows.

what i do know is that it's a whole new world around here. and it is good.

not long after i started MY job, my husband discovered that he lost his. ten years with the company, and as a cost-cutting measure, they simply did away with an entire section. is it ironic that he was involved in "future forward thinking"? wind energy, smart appliances etc etc. probably.

as with all "clever" ideas, his company has had to spend money to save it, ie a redundancy package, so financially things aren't dire. whilst it was a shock initially, hubs quickly came to terms with it, and has welcomed his time at home and the strange role reversal he and i find ourselves in.

the girls are LOVING having him around more. if you asked them, they would tell you 'he was never here'. it is of course, all relative to how MUCH he is here now.

around the same time as the 'work restructure', his father (86) fell ill. i'm sure there are plenty of you out there dealing with aged parents, so i won't go into it.

suffice it to say, hubs is on leave - working out his notice (for all intents and purposes) at home, and jumping on a plane or his motorbike to visit his father (we're in the north island, he's in the south) periodically to ease the burden of his siblings who reside in the same city as their father.

the first school holidays as a 'working woman' came around 2 weeks ago, and i found myself going off to work while hubs stayed home!

where once i had been in control of EVERYTHING that happened in this house - i was going off to work and letting it all happen without me.

i had previously complained long and loud about how 'nothing had changed' since my return to the workforce. before i'd even GOT this job, i'd talked about the girls taking on more chores, then when i STARTED, i encouraged them to help out more.

in the end i was more sick of listening to MYSELF nagging, than i was of actually nagging them - so i simply stepped back.

• i asked the girls if they'd like to cook one night each during the holidays
• i did laundry less often
• hubs went to the supermarket for me
• he ran errands

chicken enchiladas ala miss 17

bean and meat nachos ala miss 11

shepherd's pie with kumara (sweet potato) topping ala miss 12

it all just seemed to happen. the house is still standing. everyone's happy, and it's bloody fantastic.

some layouts to share

these were taken at the hubs' 50th back in feb
miss 11 all dressed up for her first intermediate school disco

more pics from our 2003 disney trip

my eclectic brother-in-law, who happens to make a mean christmas ham!

miss 17's birthday cake, made by her 19 year old sister
about time i passed the torch!

it's just as much fun to drag out old photos, as it is to scrap the new ones.
i was 19 in the pic on the right!

you know you're living in the 21st century when...

it's 8.30pm - you're blogging, and you get a text from your 11 year old [from downstairs] to come tuck her in!

wordful wednesday - wired for...camping

i never said we liked to 'rough it' when we went camping, but REALLY how many electronic devices does one camping family need?

nintendo DS, laptop, MPs players to burn, electric toothbrush, IPOD touch, cellphones, chellphone chargers, camera chargers...

there's even a plastic basin under the table to hold all the cellphone chargers! i swear we had 3 chargers for every cellphone!

for more wordful wednesday, go visit angie over @ seven clown circus

and another one

my BF saw this and thought of me.
it's called 'woman goes back to work after 20 years'
it's only 3 seconds long, but totally worth it

something to brighten your day

what are you wearing?

got my hair cut yesterday - the perfect opportunity to play along!

those pink bits are actually fire engine red!
so weird that the camera captured it that way
they love me at the salon - i'm always willing to try new colours

so - green scarf from the warehouse
brown/grey merino top from glassons
blue shoes from mischief and 3/4 jeans from MAX
tattoo by manu

photostory friday - movies, noodles and bright lights

as the girls get older, it becomes increasingly difficult to get the whole family together at one time, which makes our [rigrously planned] family time even more precious.

we took the opportunity to see one of our favourite actors, use one of the vouchers i won at the school gala, and attend a community event and rolled it into some family time last weekend.

at the end of a beautiful sunny day in wellington, we went and saw this movie

not as funny, but still very enjoyable. the 'hamburger' exchange? one of my favourite lines in movies. EVA. in fact, we can't even say the word around here without reciting the movie. we're weird like that.

After the movie, we walked along the waterfront

then had dinner here - wagamama noodle house. it was early - usually it's jam-packed

from there, we went to the 'night glow' at the basin reserve.

the 'basin' is best known as wellington's most famous former cricket ground (we now have a large stadium). to many, it's basically new zealand's largest roundabout, but while i was writing this post, i discovered that it used to be a lagoon!

early settlers planned to turn it into an inland anchorage for the city, but in 1855 an earthquake raised the flat by two metres and the lagoon became a swamp. [you learn something every day!]

dusk - it gets so dark so fast now!

we found a spot high up and settled in

the battery on the canon died just before the light show started (must check BATTERIES!!!) but my little panasonic lumix really held its own.

taken on the canon
they were doing bursts of gas to keep them afloat/aloft/inflated/upright?
so bright!

one last shot before the camera died...

taken on the point and shoot. i think it holds its own pretty well, don't you?

after the light show, we went in for a closer look

so bright! and toasty warm it was too!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

wordful wednesday - C is for clutz, not cupcakes

so i went to my cupcake class last night. we made our own frosting and iced pre-made cupcakes.tamara (who owns tempt) showed us how to make a batter and cooked them. we weren't able to ice them because they have to be dead cold, so they were just for eating!

light as air. i swear.

we learned how to make frosting and how to apply it. around and around and off. don't flatten the frosting, and if you're left handed, well, just do it the other way!!! i then spent (i swear) about an hour making EACH of these roses.

ok, that's an exaggeration (the class was only 2 hours total!) but those babies are fiddly! if you don't use enough cornflour, the paste sticks to your hands, but if you use TOO much cornflour, well then you need to use a little water. use too MUCH water, you just end up with a handful of goo. we were given 4 cupcakes to ice and decorate. i only manged to decorate 2, but they ain't bad, don't you think? nothing in nature is exact y'know.

at the end of the night we were given purpose-made cupcake boxes to take home our booty. as i was putting my arm in the sleeve of my coat, i failed to see one of my table buddies standing too close behind me...

[anyone guess what happened next?]

i SLAPPED the box of beautifully decorated cupcakes OUT of her hands. they went flying into the air...and

[you know they did]

landed upside down on the floor. i just wanted to DIE. i almost burst into tears in front of this room full of strangers right there and then.

nic (whose cupcakes i had sent into the stratosphere) was more worried that I was upset, and while she was rubbing my back to calm me down, tamara (our cupcake tutor) replaced the damaged cupcakes with spares (there are always spares!) and placed the undamaged hand-made roses on top.

can i hear you say CLUTZ?

do you think she'll wanna be my table buddy next week?

(this photo was obviously taken BEFORE i embarrassed myself in front of the entire class)
the lighting was awful

as i was kneeling on the floor looking at the smoosh of cupcakes, one of the first thoughts that went through my mind, was this is SO going on my blog!

i have no shame!

for more wordful wednesday, go see angie @ seven clown circus

a couple of layouts

easter re-cap to come, but it did include a couple of layouts. this is for sketchbook's fortnightly sketch challenge. i'm having fun with these 5 year old photos from our disney trip.

it was melinda's turn to host the challenge this week, and i actually managed to participate! the challenge was to use your punches, border or otherwise. this photo was taken at our local botanical gardens last september (spring-time here!!!)

my quest

an open letter to the manufacturers of the working woman's wardrobe...

black is not a colour. it is an absence of colour. i do not want to go to work every day looking like i dressed for a funeral.

i do not wear black. i do not wear grey.

i wear brown. i wear navy. are you familiar with these colours?

if you manufacture clothing in these colours, you do NOT have to make them with black stripes, or grey flecks. or both.

are you familiar with the concept of a plain brown knee length pencil skirt? if you are, please note that it does not need to include the following:

• a high waist/band
• a narrow [black] belt
• a frill down one side
• side pockets
• pleats. of any kind. pleats and side pockets are no friend of the women who has birthed 4 children.

please note that KNEE length means on or slightly above the knee. NOT below. if by some miracle of nature the woman who has birthed 4 babies is 5 foot 6 and still a size 10, a narrow skirt sitting below the knee will make her look 4 foot 6.

lastly, in this futile quest, can you please make sure the 17 year old retail assistant doesn't tell me that every item i try on 'looks sooooooooooo good on you!'

signed...

frustrated, 46

what a difference a day makes

i really enjoyed blog-hopping through the 5 chick chatters yesterday. chick chat is a SITS feature that allows bloggers to go beyond the written post.

the general consensus was that:

• comment-pasters
• blog stalkers; and
• perfect life bloggers

are generally a blogging no-no.

the last one got me thinking. i absolutely admire those bloggers who share personal tragedies and journeys, but i'm not sure that's me. i mean, once it's out there - it's out there! my blog is fairly middle of the road, and i do tend to share only the good stuff.

so, in the spirit of "nobody's life is perfect", i would like to share a conversation between myself and miss 19 that took place 24 hours ago.

[miss 19 ready to leave the house in my car]: i'll return these videos for you (did anyone miss the subtlety there!?!)
me: i told you you couldn't have the car
miss 19: WHAT? you never said that! you can't just spring that on me now! why not?
me: i told you the car's 'off the table' until i see more proactivity around chores (a WHOLE other post...)
miss 19: what? no you didn't!
me: yes i did. yesterday
miss 19: no you didn't!
miss 19: are you sure you want to make this decision today? because if you do, i'll NEVER do anything around the house ever, EVER AGAIN!
[the status quo btw lol]
me: that would make living here extremely difficult
miss 19: well good luck throwing me out!!! followed by family room door slam, bedroom door slam and extreme volume on her personal stereo.

rather than beat myself up about how i could have possibly given birth to and raised such a selfish ingrate, i took the younger girls down to the waterfront. it was a stunning day.

i mean - how can you feel like you're a bad mother when you live 10 minutes from this?
fast forward 24 hours: i'd returned home after taking the younger girls to get some easter-themed cupcakes at the farmers' market, got some photos developed (12 cents a print!) and been a craft exhibition at a local art gallery to find miss 19 in the KITCHEN; cleaning out the fridge.

butter wouldn't have melted as she greeted me with smiles and a 'see me being proactive mum?' 'yes i do' i replied. right now, she's playing rock band (rather loudly, but i'll pick my battles!) with her younger sisters.

what a difference a day makes...

photostory friday - what kids will do for takeout

the things kids will do for takeout: (all their idea...)

laundry
dishes
unpack groceries
pour wine
run footbath
collect youngester sister from drama
order and collect dinner
make MY dinner (coz i didn't want takeout!)

why is it cats either look totally superior, or freakishly evil in every photo?

HEY! who turned on the blue light...?

friends re-runs. AGAIN. it never gets old

i wonder if chemical peels really work...

(the only reason i even KNOW about chemical peels, is that miss 19 has become strangely addicted to watching DR 90210). what it must be like to build a career and make money off people's insecurities). don't even get me started on the woman who had the fat sucked out of her knees and put in her hands. HER HANDS???

and since when did i have cankles? i actually don't, but remind me never again to shoot from THAT angle! miss 12 ran me a foot bath - and it was good

my new fluffy bed sox wot the hubs gave me for my burfday

for all those mums out there with little ones (lee, i'm thinking of you!)

it DOES get easier...


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

edited to add: i did NOT bribe my children - it was all their idea!!!

wordful wednesday - girls live here

i always remember when we visited my best friend and her daughter (who was 13 at the time - miss 19 was 10). the hubs took one look at the 13 year old's bathroom and declared:

"i think you are over-pharmaceuticalised!"

of course he couldn't see into the future and know what living in a house with 5 females (including 2 teenagers) would be like...

i'm fairly sure he's just glad he doesn't have to share a bathroom with them!

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus