grazie and arrivederci

i have the best blog friends in the world

my daughter is going to be so surprised when she hits the tootsie roll jackpot on her birthday
(she doesn't know i've asked you guys!)

your generosity humbles me

i hope to thank each of you in person one day
(and given that i've met a goodly amount of my blog friends already, i don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that)

look for me'n'mr scrappy on facebook

we've got the whole iphone/facebook thang down...

if my blog should be hijacked in my absence, you can be fairly certain it will be at the hands of this child...

...to whom i gave birth some 17 years and 337 days ago

Arrivederci miei amici mi troverete arrivederci a presto

[good-bye my friends, i'll see you soon!]

and in the case of this blogger and this blogger - that's actually true!

look - it's our prime minister on letterman!

a winner, an award and a request

first off - i'm back from my work annual conference
it was amazing but i'm SH-aaaaaaaatered

4 days away and 3 days until i leave for italy
freaking out ever-so-slightly
(but dont' feel too bad for me - HUH!)

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how slack am i? i launched a giveaway in JULY and said it would be for TEN days - sheesh!

what a slacker

so, without further ado - my 100th follower is

the misadventures of mub!

congrats to you!

'mub' is a 27 year old transplant to the netherlands, she makes stuff, does menu plan monday, is a daring baker, and takes lots of very cool photos - go check her out!

mub - you win....

something i've been TOO slack to take a picture of, so PLEASE take a picture of yourself in it and blog about it and link back, ok??? (thanks!)

and the random draw for my faithful followers, went to an 'oldie but a goodie' - follower #19...

ELAINE at the miss elaine-ous life.
she's just about to have a baby girl after 2 boys, so she's gonna love her prize!
(it's the same as the one above).

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in other news...

i won this

from this cool chickie

THIS award had rules - ooooooooooooooooooo, and here they are:

1 - share it
2 - pass it
3 - notify
4 - link back
5 - oh, and i gotta do some sharing too - 10 sharing to be precise, so here goes:

1 - i went to a garden party at buckingham palance in july of 1981. i wrote to the queen asking her if i could go to one, and the chancellor of the exchequor wrote back and said yes.

2 - i always knew i'd have 4 children

3 - i love being the age i am now, more than any other age i've been

4 - i expect i'll feel this way for a goodly while too!

5 - i don't get along with my sister

6 - i love being left-handed

7 - my favourite cake/slice growing up was custard square

8 - if i had unlimited funds (and time) i'd travel for at least 3 months of every year

9 - i'm not a very patient person

10 - i had childhood asthma and in my school reports, my teachers wrote that i did well 'despite my handicap'.

thankfully - times have changed!!!

i pass this award onto MY NEWBIES [on my right sidebar]. yes, there's 12 of them and i'm only meant to pass it onto 10. what a rebel.

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and lastly the request i have.

the next family birthday - the one where miss 17 turns 18...

..she's become slightly addicted to american candy and would love someone (anyone) to send her some of these...

please.

and thank you.

wordful wednesday - "it's just a phase"

tara's miss 12 and my miss 20 are so very similar.

both are TYPE A personalities, and when they got to a 'certain age', they underwent a [shall we call it] personality transition

my miss 20 was less than pleasant to live with [read: totally in my face, criticised everything i said, DISAGREED with everything i said, made no room for the possibility that her mother might know something etc etc etc)

she wore a towelling bucket hat that totally covered her eyes
i think there was a period there of about 18 months where there was minimal eye contact...

YOU know, she was a normal teenager

tara's miss 12 is in the same place

luckily for tara, has the benefit of way more patience than me
she can look at my miss 20 and KNOW that's just a phase, and of course she has me to sympathise with

while i would NEVER take any joy from other's pain or frustration, a TINY part of me is grateful for tara's experience...

...because i know she's gonna turn out just fine

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

spring tulips

we had a wonderful afternoon wandering around the botanical gardens yesterday, admiring and photographing these spring tulips

here are some for your enjoyment too!

the gardens are very popular for wedding photos. we're not entirely sure whether she was aware of it or not, but this gorgeous bride's dress was totally see-through (not that you can tell from this shot, and i wouldn't be so rude as to post a picture!) she and her bridesmaid were stunning

the view looking down at the rose garden (it's much prettier in the summer)

the hubs took this one

and this one too

i took this one on my point-and-shoot!
this bed was planted to honour the dutch community in new zealand

this tui bird was full of the joys of spring

but his enthusiasm wasn't matched by everyone...

there's a path (that we're sitting on) that has been put there especially, so that when you're being photographed (as we are!) - it looks like you're sitting in a field of tulips

tara and i

me and the hubs

9 sleeps til italy!!!!!

photostory friday - the last time

as mentioned in the last post, miss 17 got a mercy call from the hockey 1st XI to be their goalie in their play-off for 3rd and 4th, last friday night

as she was 'donning' her gear, it occurred to me that it would be the last time

she's in her final year of college (high school) and this would be her last game of hockey for the school

so, like all good photo-crazy scrapbookin' mumma's, i grabbed my camera

she already had the 'kickers' on before the thought occurred to me

and even though she's tolerated me shoving a camera in her face over the years, she didn't want to co-operate tonight

she kept turning away from me and i got rather dizzy walking around in circles trying to take these pictures!!!

the buckles on the kickers can be tricky

'bloomers' already on - purple shin pads next

chest vest thingee - i was having to chase her for the photo by this point...

elbow protectors

shirt

neck brace

my hands! i need something in my hands!

giant mits and stick will do!

here she is taking the field.
she'd just run through the guard of honour they made for her with their sticks

waiting for an opposition penalty corner

yeah. it was a shitty night weather-wise

but these girls are tuff

and practical

ya can't get past me!

yay - we won! 6-1

good game, good game, good game.....
that's what they say as they file past each other

team manager thanking her for all her 'years of service'!!!

and a couple of random shots to finish - my new red hair!!!

Hosted by Cecily and Izzy 'N Emmy

good'n'crazy

first of all, thanks to all those who asked:

YES. i survived the sleepover.
i slept. they didn't (so whaddoicare)

...and 14 sleeps to italy!
i think i may actually pee my pants
(from the excitement you understand. not from any previously unmentioned bladder control issues...)

WARNING: LONG POST!
filled as always, with photos and interesting tidbits

my day off (friday) was interrupted by a sick child, so i resigned myself to not doing much. at least i could still work out (on my exercycle). miss 13 wasn't particularly ill, she was just feeling very flat. we like to call these days off 'mental health days', ie where a day at home is good for the soul, and day of missed school won't kill you.

i had previously committed to take miss 11 and 5 of her classmates to our local SPCA as part of ther 'a 12 year old can change the world' social enquiry. we loaded up the car with shredded paper (for bedding), blankets and cat food and off we went.

the puppies were just totally depressing, and that's all i'll say. cute but depressing.

i don't know this guy's name, but he's blind in one eye and very cuddly.
there are currently 39 cats awaiting re-homing.

this is tiny- he climbed right into miss 11's lap and made himself comfortable while she groomed him.

friday night miss 17 got a mercy call from the hockey 1st XI to play in their final (play-off for 3rd and 4th).

they made a guard of honour for her before the game - this is her LAST game of hockey for her college (high school) - EVA. they won 6-1.

the game didn't even start until 8pm, so by the time we got home, i'd been up and on the go (and totally over the day) for way too many hours.

still, look at the lovely weather i got to stand in.

we build 'em tough down here - 'twas but a passing shower...

saturday morning we were up early for a family photo. the FIRST weekend post-netball and i drag my family out of bed for a photo. there's a whole other post on family photos that i'll share some time too!

anyhoo - it went really well, and we all went out for coffee and hot chocolates afterwards.

then it was home to get ready for the SLEEPOVER - you know the one, where you take in 11 teengers you hardly know and entertain them for the next 18 hours.

so here's the dealio - MOST of the girls had never been to my house before, so i was expecting to run up and down the stairs several times to answer the doorbell and make the acquaintance of many-a-new parent.

guess how many parents came to the door.

ONE.

as tara said to me when the same thing happened to her a couple of weeks before:

"i could have been an axe murderer and they just DROPPED their kid off!"

in this age of helicopter parenting and OTT PC, i find it unfathomable. i guess the bottom of my long drive looked good'n'average'n'safe-like.

fast forward to the next morning. the invitation CLEARLY stated 'collect at 10am' (coz, ya know, after i've had your kid 18 hours, i'm gonna want to get on with my day).

the first got collected at 10.10 - the last at 10.35. admittedly this parent got lost, but PULEEEZE!!! where are these people's manners?

and how many came to the door you ask?

TWO.

i'm over it now, but i would NEVER leave my child at someone's house without going to the door and meeting the 'rents'.

how's it work where you live?

anyhoo - back to the party
-here's miss 13 again - that's her on the wall too

tara came up with this cool pass the parcel idea a few years back. once the kids are old enough, you can make them WORD for the candy, and make it interesting too!

attached to the candy is a question about the party girl
it's fun - AND you get to know your friend that little bit better!

that's me on the music

the final round i absolve myself of responsibility

that's tara trying to be impartial while the girls pass it around on the last layer
-funny-

i made THREE pizza doughs in the bread maker. this is them: slightly out of control during the 'proving' process.

2 kid-friendly pizzas and this one. it's all about the combination of flavours. trust me.

a little bit of rock band

and no party at my place is complete without a little 'craft'

they made these

i made TWO banoffee pies. one with a gingernut biscuit base, and one with a krispie biscuit base.

AMERICAN EQUIVALENT: Graham Crackers

Here's the recipe:

mix together 250g biscuits (cookies) - crushed with 150g melted butter
press into pie/flan dish. refrigerate

slice banana on the base.

for the topping:

125g butter
395g condensed milk
50g brown sugar
3 tablespoons of milk

bring to the boil then stir for around 5 mins until it thickens a little.

pour over bananas and base. refrigerate.

KIDDING!!!

when caramel sets (it won't set rock hard tho) - top with whipped cream and grated or flakey chocolate.

ENJOY!!!

i only have one day in the office next week (monday) before i head out of town for my work annual conference. when i get back, i literally only have enough time to unpack, do laundry and pack again before we head out to italy - no peace for the wicked!!!