wordful wednesday: happy birthday to me!

i became 47 fabulous years young last friday (the 26th)

considering tara wasn't here (a vital component to the enjoyment of ANY birthday!) - i had a pretty good day.  a fabulous day actually.  i had previously asked for a Wii fit - and i got one!

i also got some great new headphones for my ipod (which will come in handy on the plane on saturday!), a lovely scarf from the girls at work, the 'living oprah' book from miss 20, along with some gorgeous bangles and bracelets from her work, ready to drink cosmo mixture from miss 18 and all sorts of lovely other bits and pcs.

tara is also planning another birthday once i get to sydney!

i started my birthday with a body wrap and chakra massage, followed by lunch with the girls from work, afternoon tea with my friend sara then dinner out with the fam.

i had resigned myself to the fact that i wouldn't have a cake this year (tara has been surprising me with delicious home-made gourmet (her dad's a baker) birthday cakes for years), but my darling husband ordered this plate of chocolate, caramel, couli, cream and icecream goodness.

those wedges are solid chocolate - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special

you're never too old to get excited about your own birthday

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

our wonderful weekend part 2

saturday we did housework!

this is in fact an unusual occurrence, as we have had cleaners for several years. those years where i was too busy having babies and too tired to clean or care - we were blessed to be able to afford to have someone do it for us.

i must say it was a lot of fun using the ole' elbow grease, and the girls did an immaculate job of cleaning the inside of this car.   i really didn't want miss 20 to get in it, coz i know she's just gonna mess it up good all over again!

saturday afternoon i sat down to watch a dr phil on kids and money, and an oprah on the law of attraction. miss 13 was on the floor drawing, but eventually she became quite engrossed, and it made for some wonderful conversation later in the afternoon.

after seeing martha, cheryl, louise and oprah, miss 13 and i were inspired to make our own VISION BOARDS. it was just wonderful.

i used photos, old oprah magazines and google images. i initially was drawn to WORDS, then added images later. i tried to not over think it (something i'm always guilty of!) and cut out words and images that appealed. we worked quickly, quietly and separately and i just love the way it all came together.

i love miss 13's interpretations and i'm REALLY happy with my own. i've since added a few other images and know that i will continue to do so.

i realised too late (after i'd glued them down), that i've given mel a giant pair of TOONIE BOOBIES!

that's her next to the canadian flag (click to make the pic bigger)

if you want quick lesson on canadian currency, click here.

the way i was crouching made for the 'crushed boob' shot, so i covered myself with these lovely green butterflies!!!

yeah - we had some help, well - relaxed supervision if you will...

later on we stayed in and watched another movie...this one:

(we need to get FotB 2 in the school holidays!)

stay tuned for part 3 where the hubs and i head out of town for the night to a FABULOUS cliff-top resort for a family wedding!!!

our wonderful weekend part 1

*sigh*.  it was one of those wonderfully busy, not busy, chilled, family, housey, quick out-of-town trip for-a-family-wedding weekends.

first up: friday night.  as luck/preparation/opportunity/planets in alignment-would-have-it, the 6 of us went out to dinner together.  miss 20 said she would come as long as long as i didn't call it a 'family dinner'.  (i could agree to that) - so the 6 of us that comprise our FAMILY, went out to DINNER.

we went to our favourite curry restaurant MASALA, 

...and when we got home, we watch an old movie

can u guess which one?

i deliberately chose old movies.  it's about time the girls saw some, and i figured renting old movies would cut down the debate over which one to watch.

hey!  i don't remember HER being in the movie!

(sorry, i couldn't resist)

i'd only seen BIG once, and i enjoyed seeing it again

everyone else loved seeing it for the first time

the following night we followed it up with 'father of the bride'

Hosted by Cecily and Momma

wordful wednesday: a post for auntiegwen

i made this for dinner

tuscan lentil soup (click for the recipe!)

it's a fave of miss 20's

normally when the girls take care of the dishes [read, argue for 20 minutes over them], the leftovers are literally LEFT OVER - (for a parent to eventually take care of)

tonight miss 20 was first in line to secure lunch for the next day

to make sure no-one else in the family took it by mistake

she left this note...

the funny thing is, she has no idea that FECK is one of auntiegwen's favourite words!!!

...most often used (and used often it is!) to break up the word TECHNOLOGY
as in 'techfeckinology part umpteen'

auntiegwen - we feel your presence in our home halfway around the world!

(feel the love...)

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

cleanin' house

decided to spruce things up a little around here

whaddyathink?

wordful wednesday: the cupboard of shame

hands up who has a cupboard like this?

normally it's referred to as  'the plastics cupboard'

i actually went in there last week (lost my arm up to my neck i tell ya...)

and could NOT find a lid to match.  anything.

thankfully misses 12 and 13 are on a quest raise funds for our upcoming trip to OZ

17 sleeps - weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

so by the end of saturday afternoon, the cupboard was transformed

to look like this.

way2go gurlz

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

you guys missed the recipe link - so here it is again!

thick and chewy chocolate bars

from my kitchen cafe

make some today!!!

...and remember to share!!!

photostory friday: being neighbourly with eye candy

(had you goin' there,  didnt i?)

i made these for my new neighbours who recently moved into our street.  they're from the uk (even tho they've been in nz for 4 years) and have 2 young boys.

more than seeing the joy on her face when she opened the door and saw me standing there with these still warm chocolate chewy treats in my hand;

more than sharing the other half of the batch with my scrapbooking friends at a crop that afternoon;

MORE than actually making something that looked even REMOTELY like the picture in the recipe (my kitchen cafe - great site!);

i love that the pictures i took of them turned out this well!

as i've said before, it REALLY doesn't take much to keep me happy!

my portrait lens in action again.  if only the light in my kitchen was better.  photographing food is tricky!

...and yes, they tasted as good as they look.

photostory friday: the self-timer is NOT my BFF, but i'm still having fun

one of my favourite bloggers to visit is Nik of WhiMSy love.

don't ask me how i found her or how long i've bloggy known her, but it's been a while
(given that i've only been blogging for 2 years)

she's crafty

she's incredibly talented

she's funny

(and a little bit goofy too!)

she's got a gorgeous family and friends

and her signature is the 'jumpy' pic

recently she spilled the beans on the jumpy pic

she gave some handy hints, most of which i seem to have completely ignored:

tuck your legs under - it'll look like you got more air

(yeah she did!)

throw your arms up to make you look higher

it will take some time to master those self-timer skills

YA THINK!?!

work on your jumping smile

(does looking like a crazy person count?)

yes, most of north america is buried under 10 feet of snow right now

there's no need to gloat with all that blue sky

(note, how i totally nailed the landing)

tuck your shirt in - ooops

(and no, i'm not wearing nipple covers!)

she said that your self-timer is your BFF

hmmmmmmmm

i'll let YOU be the judge...

Hosted by Cecily and Kelli

wordful wednesday: she's in the money

i get the feeling i've talked about our $50 note before, but anytime's a good time for trivia, so here we go!

this is miss 18 with her 'earnings' from drumming tuition

i love that after learning the drums herself for the past 9 years, she's passing on her talents, AND making money in the process!

note the crisp clear, close-in photo - care of my fabby new portrait lens

- i just can't get enough of it!

so, sir apirana ngata is on our $50 note

he was a prominent new zealand lawyer and politican of maori decent, who lived from 1874 unti 1950

he was the first maori to complete a degree at a new zealand university, AND the first new zealander (of any ethnicity) to complete a double degree

on the countdown front:

29 sleeps til i finish at work

31 sleeps to oz and tara

miss 13 earning plenty and going without her cellphone this month all in the quest to have plenty of spending money

miss 12 on track for her stay at the 'i have no money' hotel in flat broke city

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