Melbourne

Howdy, this blog comes to you from the lovely Melbourne. Have been busy shopping - but of course! Today I took a train, then a bus to get to Paper2, in Mornington, was nice to get out of town and see some of the countryside.

I'm typing away at an internet cafe in Southland, it's damn cold out, bloody pissing down, and here I was thinking I was escaping Christchurch's storm :o(

Last night we went to see "Wicked" it was fan bloody tastic! Have been a Rob Guest fan for a long time, and it was super to see him live in the role of the Wizard of Oz.

I love the vibe and feeling of Melbourne! Have shopped til I dropped yesterday, it was a long day, I got to bed at 1.00 am and wasn't really ready for the alarm clock to go off at 2.45 am to head to the airport for 4.00 am.

Must dash, hope everyone back home is well and scrapping up a storm.

Woo Hoot Wednesday

Now, its confusing, I type on Wednesday but the header will say the date is Tuesday, thats cos its an American site right?

Firstly, our team drew again at Netball last night 14 all, not bad for a bunch who mostly havent played in years ...

Secondly, hmmmm I gained 1 kg :o( Overall, am still down .8 kg.

Am now back home after housesitting for a friend and his four legged babies, have always wanted a little dog, a sydney silky, they are the sweetest wee things. After looking after Lexi for two weeks, am now off the idea of a little dog, they find all the holes under the fence and escape. Little bugger! Am happy to report she did keep coming back, but man, did I have kittens every time she did a runner.

Other than that, havent got a lot to report, I did get crafty at Tanya's the other night, but am yet to complete my lo's, thats a job for tommorrow night.

Must dash, am off to visit a friend while I'm on my lunch break.

I've been tagged ...

Stuff about me ...

10 Years Ago - I was 32, I owned my own home. I was working for a security company doing alarm montoring. I had a sweet 6 year old daughter (this was pre attitude and hormones). Gee the times flown!

5 Things to do Today - Work :o(, washing, visit a friend in hospital, cook dinner (get takeaways more like), play pool in the pool competition I am in.

Snacks I Enjoy - Sweet chili philly and crackers ... and anything sweet

Things I would do if I was a Millionaire - Purchase a block of townhouses, one for me, one for Mum and the third would be an investment property. Share the wealth with family and friends, travel the world.

Places I Have Lived - Am a One eyed Cantab from way back ... also spent 8 years in Invercargill.

Right now I get to tag some friends - so I tag Michelle and Tanya.

Woo Hoot Wednesday

I've several things to be woo hooting about this week, firstly I lost 1.8 kg, as part of getting active, have dropped sugar, fizz and sweets from my diet. So thats a good start ...

Next, our netball team won last night, 12-15, we played against a team of 15-16 yr olds, who we thought were going to thrash us, and they didn't. Woo Hoot!

And lastly, I have been accepted to become a Youth Mentor, it's all very exciting and scary, I get paired up with my student on July 20th. Did I mention it's a boy? I can't wait!

I've been in the wars ...

I've been busy with training to become a youth mentor with Project K, have had training a couple of weekends ago and again Fri night this week and all day Saturday, so I missed playing the gorgeous snow. I hope theres more snow to come, I'm a big kid and would love to play in it, given the chance. Anyway, I digress, Project K is an awesome concept, it pairs trained mentors with one of 12 students per programme for a 12 month period. If I am accepted, it will give me an opportunity to learn and grow, as a mentor and as a person. I see lots of challenges ahead, and a lot of fun. Yesterday we were trying to figure out how to put 12 people and their bodies thru a hula hoop as quickly as we could, and I managed to cop a knee in my eye, and now I've got an awesome black eye, looks like I've gone a few rounds in a boxing ring. It was funny at the time, but it hurt like hell ... the bruising is still coming out. I went to Riccarton Mall today and got a LOT of weird looks.

Worth the wait?

This layout of my nephew Nathan has been a while in the making, I put it together Friday night at Tanya's crop night, for this weeks challenge at stampinscrap. I started it last year but it wasnt a happening thing, so was shelved. I saw Tanya's take on the challenge and thought "I've got that paper", and just the right pics. Nathan was about 11 when these pics were taken. Russell and Nathan have been going duckshooting on the first weekend in Duckshooting Season for many years now.

If I were to win lotto ...

I've always wanted a Harley Davidson, and if I ever to win Lotto, thats what I'd want to buy myself, course it would have to have training wheels. I spotted this little beauty in Akaroa on my last visit, and immediately saw a layout in the making,

It's official ... I'm a slack blogger

Mothers Day card for my Mum


This was a card I made for a workmates friends 60 th birthday.

The Pumpkin Festival

This wee cutie was my favourite of all the competition entries. He didnt win a prize unfortunately.

This pumpkin is a reference to Bob Parker, Christchurch's Mayor. I thought it was well done.

I've been scrapping ...

I brought some Crate Paper yesterday and had in mind a layout with some pics of Trekessa. My big sis sent me a pic tonight of a stunning layout also of Trekessa. Snap ... would you believe we used the same range of supplies? Great minds are thinking alike there kiddo.

Little River Rail Trail

One of the things I wanted to do on my bike was ride the "Little River Rail Trail" ... a cycle trail from Prebbleton - Little River which is being completed in sections, there are 6 sections in total, and 3 of them have been completed.

Just after 1000 on Anzac Day, a friend and I drove to Motukarara and biked from there to Little River. The Motukarara - Birdlings Flat section is 7 kms, Birdlings Flat - Little River is 13 kms. The plan was to bike to Little River, and meet up with friends who were driving out to join us at "The Little River Country Bumpkin Pumpkin Festival", 20 kms seemed an easy enough ride, but I think I was waaaaay too optimistic about being able to ride both ways. I was really pleased when Steven suggested getting dropped back at his van and bringing it back to collect me and the bikes, I think we both need to do a lot more off road riding before we attempt the return trip! It was lovely scenery, I didn't take any pics though, was too busy trying to get to Little River to meet up with our friends. The 20 kms took us 2 hours to ride, my butt sure as hell wouldn't have managed another 2 hours on it. If you get the chance, its a really nice ride.

Anzac Day

It was an early start for me ... the alarm went off at 5.30 am, I've been going to the Dawn Service in Cathedral Square on Anzac Day for the past 20 years, and have only missed a couple. I was a Territorial Soldier for a number of years, and took part several times in services around Canterbury, I was even in the firing party for a service in Hamner Spring in 1989. I think it's important for us to remember those who have gone before us and the sacrifices they made.

The day dawned with a really mild 8 degrees, sure beats Anzac Days of the past when I've had to wrap up bloody warm, as it gets pretty cold standing in one spot at 6.30 am. It was a huge turn out, they reckon over 8000 people. It was super, the dodgy sound system of last year was replaced with an excellent one, and the fly over of the Iroquois helicopter was a sight to see.

If you haven't been before, please make it a "must do" next year.

On a roll ...

I seem to be on a roll with loading pics tonight, so better put up some layouts I have completed recently.

The Giants House

These pics were taken at The Giants House, owned by a local artist Josie, the house was originally built in 1880 for Akaroa's first BNZ Manager, the house is called "Linton" named after the town in England the bank manager came from. Josie has created amazing colourful mosaic sculptures, there are nearly 30 of them in and around the house, her paintings which adorn the house are equally colourful. Trekessa and I visited in January, and I made a return trip with friends a couple of weekends ago. The grounds have been landscaped by Josie and are just as colourful. It's a must see!

Akaroa

Friends and I recently spent a weekend in Akaroa, it is one of my favourite places to escape to, whether it be for a day or a weekend. If you havent been ... it's on an hour and a bit away from Christchurch. How can you not relax with amazing views like this?

Another first ...

Unfortunately I had an accident on my bike last Thursday night, another cyclist overtook me on the inside and my immediate reaction was to brake so as to avoid hitting them. On the plus side, my brakes work really good, on the negative, I flew over the handlebars, somersaulted and went splat. Bugger! am a tad sore, musclewise, have a graze on my arm and a headache which hasnt gone away. Am counting myself very lucky. I got back in the saddle this morning, and have to admit to being a lot nervous on the ride to and from work today. The guy I braked for didn't even bother stopping to check I was ok, he had to have heard me go down, and known he was in the wrong. Tosser! It happened exactly one month to the day since I started biking. My bike is fine, cant even find a scratch on it.

Another first ...

On Sunday 30th March I walked the "City to Surf", from Cathedral Square to QEII Park, 12 kms. My aim was just to finish, and I worked out it would take me 3 - 3 1/2 hours to walk it. I finished in 2 hours 38 mins, and surprised myself big time.

I rang my Mum when I got home to tell her my time, and she told me she was proud of me, I've never heard that from her before, so it was really something. Trekessa also said she was proud of me, so all in all a great day. I didnt tell many people I was doing it, so a few of my friends were really surprised I finished it.

Challenge one accomplished, am working on challenge two ... watch this space.

A friends daughter got married yesterday, I couldnt resist a peek at Allanah on her big day. Allanah and Sym are both wanting to get into scrapping. I'm thinking a wedding album is a great place to start!

Blog Virgin

As new and scary as it is ... I decided to create my own blog. It can't be that hard right?

It's been a week of firsts, first time on a bicycle for 25 years, and first time biking to work. I cant remember the last time my butt hurt so bad. Those gel seats aren't made for a rear like mine!