All I've done in the last 2 weeks. This was going to be my Junkitz entry and since I didn't have any Junkitz p/p, only embellishments, I thought I'd make my own p/p. But it turned out my Junkitz embellishments didn't match either so there you go then. No Junkitz entry.

But I do like my p/p. Made with Heidi Swapp stamps and outlined with pen. The blue is made with the end of a fax machine roll LOL, bit hard to see.

I am trying to make my Xmas cards at the mo but can't get motivated. I need ideas. Can anyone help me. Need to make them this weekend.

Regrets - I've Had A Few

Michelle tagged me.
There are some "rules" that go along with this tag - they are as follows:
1) Call the meme "Regrets - I've Had A Few"
2) Always refer (and link back) to the blogger who tagged you.
3) Always tag (and link to) at least two new bloggers.
4) List as many regrets as you like, but list a minimum of one (even if you have to re-interpret the term 'regret' because you feel strongly that you don't have any)
5) Include these five rules in each post as the meme instructions.

Regrets - yes I have had a few.
My first regret was that I didn't do my last grade in piano. I had one grade to go before I could teach piano. I was 15 and I had better things to do than take piano lessons and sit exams. Silly, silly girl.
My next regret was not staying at school for 7th form and going on to University or Teacher's College or learning a trade.
Next was leaving home at 17. Why didn't I just stay at home and save money.
Next was not doing an OE. But how could I when I had left home at 17 and was working in a bank and spending all my money partying and nightclubbing. Silly girl again.
Next was not completing my 3rd and final year of a Naturopath Diploma. I would have been a qualified Naturopath if I had just done that final year.
What else, I think those are the main things I regret.
Yes if only we knew what we know now back then.
I think I regretted not finishing things off and I try to install that in my kids now that once you start something you must try and finish it. I tell Emma all the time when she wants to stop dancing how much I regret finishing piano. She is still hanging in there just, with just 2 grades to go in Tap. I hope she completes them.

And I tag Yolande and Delys.

{Thank God it's Friday}

The end of a busy week. It's a busy time of year with the annual dance production preceded by a week of practices and a dress rehearsal, then the performance. I dread this week every year - arranging transport for Emma and late evenings home. If I thought I was going to get any scrapping done this week I had another thing coming.
So anyway every Friday after work some of our staff go for a drink after work - sometimes a coffee and sometimes a drink drink. I usually can't go because I have things on - going away, having to get kids home, etc etc. So this week I went and we went to the new Robert Harris place in Pukekohe - very nice. So I've heard all about this Chai tea and how nice it is and it's the in thing at the mo. I see on the blackboard they have Chai Latte. So I say I thought Chai was a tea and she says it is, do you want to try a bit. So I say OK and she gives me a small amount in a cup and it's very sweet with froth on top and I say I don't like sweet tea and she says it's not usually that sweet in a proper cup so I say OK I'll try one. Yeah well it is sweet and very spicy and I didn't really like it. It was quite sickly. So I wonder what a normal Chai tea is like - if it is that sweet. But I don't think I'll like it. It sort of tastes like burnt spices I think. I don't know. It keeps repeating on me. I so wanted to have a new tea I liked rather than my good old Earl Grey tea. I don't like Herb tea but I wish I did. It always sounds so cool when people say I had a lovely cup of Peppermint tea to start the day or I had a nice Chamomile tea before I went to bed to relax me - I'm so jealous cause I'd love to like Herb tea. I thought I might be in with the Chai but no no.
Anyhooooo, as Nic says, we went to the Monarch for a drink drink after cause apparently the Robert Harris shop shuts at 3.30. So we got kicked out. Had a nice chat there and one drinky and came home with Emma.
Now James has been going out with his girlfriend for a year today and he is making a nice dinner for her, how sweet is that. He's also bought her a lovely gift - a silver friendship ring (gorgeous) and earrings and I altered a domino box for him to put them in.
So we're waiting for them to come home from touch football for dinner. I'm hungry and Chai tea is repeating on me and I'm going to have a Bourbon and diet coke while we wait. Of course I've started preparing the dinner - I'm making the mince part for James for tacos and we have chocolate mousse - yum. I'm looking forward to seeing what Jayde (James' girlfriend) thinks of her gifts.
AND one more thing - Emma is so excited because she got results today for Social Studies and Maths. She thought she did really bad in Social Studies and discovered today she did extremely well by getting 75% and coming 2nd in her class. She got 71% for Maths. More results to come next week. So she is very happy and I'm very proud of her and that she's happy about it.

So let me explain why I left my post for so long last week. I actually don't know where the week went. I did NO scrapping and hardly looked at the computer. We went to Raglan for the weekend for the Maori Nationals surf comp with James. He made the semifinals in case you wondered but not the finals unfortunately this time, but that's the way it goes sometimes. But wow some awesome surfing was going down there. We have some great talent here in NZ including my son I must say.
So we were getting organised for that and James and Emma have exams at the moment and this week Emma has dance practice every night for her production Thursday night and Saturday morning. I think it is just a busy time of year. And of course I'm busy at work.
So that's my excuse. Hope, hope, hope to get some scrapping done this week and do the Doodle challenge on 2peas from last week and maybe some stuff I could submit, maybe. :))
Yeah so that's it then. Hopefully have some work to share by end of week.
And hey did you know I have a new song on here. You have to wait a minute for it to get started.

Challenge # 4

Michelle's Blog Challenge #4
Name 5 things you would do if you had a magic wand and explain why.

1. James and Emma would always be happy and content. Why not.
2. No animal or human suffered from cruelty. Because I can't bear cruelty, to animals especially.
3. Never short of money with all debts paid and up to date and I could give up work. Because we've struggled for so long.
4. I was always slim and healthy. Because I used to be and now I'm in my 40's it's getting harder and harder to stay slim.
5. I became an awesomely creative artist. Why not.

Time for an update I think

First of all Michelle's Blog Challenge # 3
choose a letter of the alphabet and answer each of the following with a word/group of words that begins with the letter you've chosen...
1. Name one color. Scarlet
2. Name one song. Stairway to Heaven
3. Name one movie. Spiderman
4. Name one vehicle. Subaru
5. Name one food. Scallops (yum)
6. Name one household item. Saucepan
7. Name one book. Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes
8. Name one scrapbook related tool. Scorer
9. Name one animal. Seal
10. Name one country/place. Spain

Parenting memories.

James was looking through my recipe drawer (which is chocka full of recipes I have pulled out of magazines or photocopied etc etc) and tucked in amongst them all was a pile of behaviour/tick charts I'd had for the kids when they were young. James must have been 8 and Emma 5. How cute!! I'm so glad I kept them and he found them cause we all had such a laugh looking at them. Here's one of them. They have a row titled 'If naughty - money off & reason' (this is money off pocket money as you probably realise). We were laughing and James and Emma thought it was so funny.
Some reasons on other charts were:
20c off naughty in supermarket (both)
20c off crying and being silly about nothing (Emma)
50c off for being so rude and naughty to Mum (James)
50c off for getting out of control (Emma) - I liked this one LOL.
And I like this one -
40c off hit me twice in shoe shop (Emma). Too funny.
On this chart they both have $1.20 off on Wednesday for hurting each other. They must have had a huge fight. LOL.

Anyway they bought back some great memories and a nice family discussion reminiscing about those days which were not so long ago.

More Rob and Bob.


















Another doodle challenge from 2peas. Doodle on a photo.



















And dinner last night. Oh so yummy Whitebait fritters. I've waited all season for Rob or James to go whitebaiting but no such luck. In the end I bought some from a parent at school. Freshly caught. Delicious. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Michelle's Blog Challenge # 2

Ten CD's you would just have to have if stranded on a Desert Island

I had to think hard about this. I love music so much and have a lot of favourites.
Not in any particular order and a couple more for good luck.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By The Way
Jonny Lang - Lie To Me (great album this)
America - Best of (I think it's called - you know with "Horse with No Name" and all those fantastic songs)
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Paul McCartney and the Wings - Band On the Run
Rod Stewart - Atlantic Crossing
Counting Crows - August and Everything After
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
Doobie Bros - Greatest Hits (I think)
Beach Boys - Greatest Hits
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Santana - Supernatural and Shaman

and then there's Sheryl Crow, Smashing Pumpkins, Cranberries, Collective Soul, Lynard Skynard, Van Morrison, Katchafire, The Beatles and so on and so on.

Without Music, Life is a Journey Through a Desert.

New Rob and Bob. Yummy.

Awards for Ex

OK I'm finally updating. Can't believe I've left it this long. What a slacker.
The For Keeps Awards for Excellence were announced yesterday. Congratulations Nic on making the Elite team - I knew you would.
I got an Award too - Award for Excellence in Design. But the funny thing is I didn't find out till this week I was getting it. So it sort of doesn't feel real. Also on the For Keeps website my name isn't on the list, but I actually received an email from the editor this week confirming it. I don't know. It'll be real when I receive my prize I guess. I'll have to ask Nic when she comes back from Australia if she did actually hear my name read out. LOL. But I am rapt. And I love the layout I won it for.

So anyway I was thinking this week about scrapbooking and how I've hit a bit of a slump. For the past year I've been designing for different mags and manufacturers and that's all I've done. But it was good because I had goals and deadlines and challenges. I had to do something specific. Now I can do anything and I'm feeling a bit lost. That's why I've been doing every challenge I can get my hands on. So for me I need a challenge to work well.

More challenges

'Look' is for a Doodling challenge

And 'Sunset' is for a Scraphic Design/White space challenge

Michelle's Blog Challenge

http://www.eforum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=3727
1. Name one productive thing you accomplished this past weekend.
Weed sprayed.
2. Name two things that you look forward to doing.
I have to put 3. Scrapbooking of course and going away (either to surf comps with James or away camping at Xmas) and watching Emma play netball.
3. Name three things that gross you out.
Maggots, bad bloody injuries and vomit.
4. Name four things that you normally do on a daily basis.
Apart from the obvious, check my emails, check 2peas, check KS, and check blogs.
5. Name five things that you own that you think you could get rid of and not miss.
This is a hard one. I honestly can’t think of anything but if I do I will add it in another post.