What a week!

Man, it's sure been one of those weeks in our household....

Remember my visit to the dentist?  Well, I've been back to see him twice more since then... Monday I went back because I could no longer eat or sleep, so he prescribed me oral antibiotics to kick the infection, but by Tuesday morning I was starting to be physically sick, and hadn't had any sleep for a couple nights by then.  I was a MESS.  My lovely boss took one look at me on Tuesday morning, and said 'you don't look great, are you ok?' and I promptly burst into tears... oh dear! So I was back to see the dentist AGAIN... third time in 5 days.  Long story short, my mouth is still a little tender, but I am happily eating (on the other side of my mouth!) and sleeping once more.  Awesome!!!  Back for a visit in December for a root canal... not so awesome.  However, needs must, ya know?

THEN, yesterday darling hubby had a fiddle with my car fuses, in the hopes of getting my rear de-mister and keyless entry to work again.  Today I got up (on my own cos everyone else was still dozin), and left for work at 7.30am, to find that I no longer had functioning windscreen wipers, or indicators.  Oh crap! Luckily he visited while I was at work, had another fiddle, and fixed THAT problem... but nope, still no rear de-mister, and still no keyless entry. Bugger.

AND THEN (or should I say nek minnit!) I get a call at work just after lunch from our lovely GP to tell me that he had sent D to A&E with chest pains, and that perhaps I should get up there.  Yike, panic, panic!!!  He'd had a sore chest for a couple of days, which we were blaming on the infamous collarbone incident from February, but it was getting worse, so he went in for a check-up.  By then the pains were getting much worse, and seemed localised around his heart and/or lungs.  Dr Rob was worried it might be pericarditis (inflammation of the sac around the heart), which is seriously nasty stuff.  Luckily, after many tests, x-rays, a referral to a cardiologist, some IV pain relief, and more poking and prodding from the A&E doc, it was diagnosed as costochondritis... which, to quote wikipedia is an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone (sternum).  This inflammation causes sharp pain in the costosternal joint, where your ribs and breastbone are joined by rubbery cartilage.  Pain caused by costochondritis may mimic that of a heart attack or other heart conditions. So, not a heart attack, nor pericarditis, but still reasonably serious shit.  The only form of treatment is anti-inflammatory meds and analgesics.  Poor D.  Not much fun while you're on your annual leave, is it?  Nope, not ideal.

So, it's been QUITE a week!  Tomorrow is the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal.  I help out each year as a volunteer.  I'll be outside The Warehouse between 3pm and 5pm tomorrow, might see you then?

Toodles,

Toothache, a Crop Day, Bathurst and Drifting (again)

So, on Thursday I managed to get an emergency appointment at the dentist, as I have been putting up with toothache for a few months now.  It was finally getting the better of me, so it had to be done.  We all love going to the dentist, right?  NOT!  Turns out I wasn't imagining the toothache after all... I had an abscess at the base of a nerve which was causing all the trouble.  So after a fair bit of drilling and scraping (nuf said), I was back at work with that lovely my-mouth-is-so-numb-I-may-just-dribble-by-accident feeling... yummy.  Gotta go back in December for a root canal.  SO excited about that...  Needless to say, I have had a bit of a sore mouth ever since it was messed around with.  Apparently it may take a week to settle down.  Great.

Now, to a much nicer subject.... yesterday (Saturday) was an Embellish It crop day, round at the Highfield School Hall.... very conveniently just around the corner from home!  I got a cute layout done, and also made a cool card (but I can't show you that cos the recipient is sometimes a blog reader!).  Here's the layout...

We were in Christchurch for the day last Saturday, and I dropped in to Scrappin Patch and bought these super cute My Mind's Eye papers, and yummy velvet ribbon to match.  I'm really pleased with the final layout... used my Cheery Lynn Doily Die, my Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch, and my Bo Bunny chandelier stamp, as well as some My Mind's Eye buttons that I bought at Scrappin Patch back in February when we did the Trina class.

Taz was one of our first fur-babies.  When we got married we adopted two kitties from the SPCA and Taz was one of them.  She was part of our family for 12 years.  She was one COOL cat.  Way cool.  Here's a few close-ups...

And of course, today was BATHURST DAY!  It's always a big day in our house... lots of food, visitors and race footage.  While I went out and stocked up on munchies at the supermarket, the boys hung the flags so that we were all ready.  When I got back, J and I decorated the car cookies that I had made especially for today...  I did the outlining and the flood icing, while J did the sprinkles and M&M's...

Cute huh?  Taste pretty good too!

So here's some of the munchies we had on hand for today...  mmm, mmmmmm!

Sadly Ford didn't come through for us today, but tbh we weren't really expecting them to.  They are very outnumbered by the Holdens in the field.  Our time will come, one of these days!  If a Holden has to win, I tend to back Craig Lowndes, or Greg Murphy.  Craig is one of racing's real nice guys, and Murph is a Kiwi, so it's always nice to see them at the front of the field.  The end of the race was a real nail biter... Lowndes was SO CLOSE to getting in front of Garth Tander (who I don't happen to like very much)... we were willing him on, but it didn't help in the end.  At least Lowndes got second and Murph was third.  Best Ford was 4th... bummer.  Like I said, our time will come... one of these days.  The sign of a true fan is one who supports their team, even when they aren't winning.  That's us.  Maybe next year?  :)

And finally, J has been spending A LOT of time on his trike since I last showed you.... he's got the whole drift thing sorted now, see?....





And of course, there's no drifting without Daddy having a go...!



Right, that's it from me I guess...  Oh, did you know that the class I am teaching for Embellish It next month is a sell-out already, and she hasn't even advertised the sneak peeks yet... how cool is that?!  FAB-U-LOUS!

Ok, off to watch the rest of the movie I have been watching... The Lincoln Lawyer starring Matthew McConaughey.  Quite good (so far!)

Toodles,

Here we go... Scrapping catch-up:

Ok, so now that we are 'back up and running' with technology, here's a long overdue post with some of my recent layouts.  You don't realise how reliant you are on fast internet, and how impatient you become in your old age, until your patience is put to the test!  Oops!

Here's a quick layout that I did the other weekend.  Nic came round and we spent some time scrapping (well, mostly talking, if I'm being honest!).  This was J quite a few years ago.  Back in 2005 in fact.  What a cutie!  I LOVE the photo of him on the climbing frame (third from the left) that looks like he's thinking 'Um...oh crap!'  Ha ha ha :)

And a couple of close-ups... (sorry, terrible photos, taken at night, in my haste to post them.  Note the impatience theme here?!)

Then there are the layouts that I got done at Raincliff Camp...

The firs one is once again using older photos (cos I have SO many of them to use!).  Mr Mischief, hence the title 'Who Me?' ...

Then there was the layout challenge, using some of the YUMMY Kaisercraft Miss Nelly range, provided by Embellish It.  This time I used a pic of me with my Great Grandparents, the old photo had a vintagey feel to it, like the papers.  Love love LOVE that Miss Nelly collection - VERY me!

I made a few flowers using my Cuttlebug Quilled Flower dies (which, to be honest, I bought ages ago, and have hardly used), and even used some seam binding in amongst the flowers and bling to just finish things off.

And I also love these Maya Road leaf pins.  I tend to use them a lot!

Layout number 3 was a double layout with a handmade background.  Again, sorry for the rubbish photos, but you know me, patient as a saint!  I used the Tim Holtz Sprocket die for the Cuttlebug and cut out what seemed like a gazillion sprockets, in three different sizes.  Then I placed them all over the background, interlocking the cogs, painstakingly glued them all down, then covered the whole thing in a layer of gesso, to make a whole new, crisp, white (although slightly bumpy) background.

Once the gesso dried, I watered down some funky green paint and headed outside to splatter on the background.  Don't try this at home!  Well, not indoors anyway.  To be honest, I think you should try it, it was lots of fun :)  The actual layout is about J and his motorbike.  He was really keen to have a go at a local club day, so we took him along and got him all kitted up and ready to go.  BUT, when the other kids took off from the start line with a hiss and a roar, he wasn't so keen anymore.    Kids huh?!

Another Raincliff layout... one of the three of us taken by the lovely Cathie from Phunkey Photography.  A pretty simple layout.  Loving my whitespace layouts at the moment!  Did a bit of fussy cutting, made a cutesy fence with some chipboard, florist wire and paint, and added a couple of transparency pieces.  Too easy!

Now, going back even further to a pre-Camp crop day with Embellish It, here are two more layouts - one of my cute little nephew Tyler, and the other using another of Cathie's photos - just me and DH this time.

And FINALLY, here's a SENZ layout :)  This was a class taught by the gorgeous Rachel Tucker (and her lovely assistant Tana!).  The photo is one of my Ma and Pa.  They ARE cute!  They're away on holiday this week, and it's strange not having them just around the corner like they usually are.  Gem, you'll get a kick out of this... I've been feeding Rags, and Rags caught a Bunny Rabbit the other day.  I found it, lying stiff on the dining room floor, when I went round to feed him.  Eeeewwww!!!!!  I had to make D go round there to get rid of it!

I can't show you the other class (the Nic Howard one) cos I sent that back to Auckland with Squirt for her to keep.  You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that it was SUPER cute :)

So, other than the lack of broadband, what else have I been up to lately that has prevented me from blogging?    Thinking back, quite a bit!

Straight after Raincliff weekend (which was FAB by the way, thanks Tania), the following Monday was SPCA Cupcake Day.  I came home from camp, frosted all the cupcakes that I had baked earlier and frozen, then spent Monday's morning tea break selling them.  In the end, I sold 132 cupcakes and made $383.40 for the SPCA.  Wahoo!!! Most popular flavours were Orange with Kahlua frosting, and Raspberry Chocolate Fish.

The following week I made another 'sale' baking wise.... one of my bosses bought a batch of Ninjabread Men.  She just had to have some for her boys after she heard that was what I was baking that weekend.

The week after that was my turn to run a session at Keas again, and this one took some planning in advance. And a lot of phone calls :) We had a Wheels Day to coincide with Father's Day week.  The Keas brought their Dads along, and some lovely Timaru peeps brought along their cars to share with the Keas and their Dads.  We had 14 cars in all... a GTO, three Chev Impalas, a Dodge Charger, a Cougar, a Ford GT40, another late model Dodge, a vintage truck, a rally car, a race car, an HSV Holden, an Aston Martin, AND a Cobra.  Oh and Mrs Whippy!  The kids ate ice-creams, had a shared afternoon tea with their Dads, completed a couple of car quizzes.  We also had time for a wheels-themed version of the classic Port, Bow, Starboard, Stern...we played Driver, Passenger, Bonnet, Boot!  Ha ha ha.  There are a few photos on the HMV Keas facebook page - the kids were SO excited by all the cars... and it was AWESOME that the people I spoke to were willing to help out and bring their cars along, just to 'share the passion'.  All very much appreciated by me.  Each car owner got presented with a card (made by me, but signed by all the Keas), and a wee bag of chocolate fish and pineapple lump treats.  

Last week was my turn again at Keas... Head Office's session plan suggested we focus on photography and ask a local photographer along to talk... um....pick me, anyone?  Teehee!  I took along my backdrop, external flash equipment, and all my kiddy props, as well as some wedding photo samples and my portfolio for the kids to look at.  I talked to them about how a camera works, let them look at the inner workings of it, and talked about taking photos from different and interesting angles, and WHY I like to take photos etc.  Then I let them play with the props and took their photos.  I have over 100 photos to check through!  Man they had fun though :)

In between all of the above, there is of course the usual cooking, cleaning, washing and tidying... assisted by my boys.  No wonder the weeks fly by....  

Not to mention the EXCITING news... Tania from Embellish It has asked me to design a layout class, using the gorgeous Teresa Collins Christmas Home papers!!!  The class will be in Waimate on Saturday November 12th.  Time/cost still tba.  Get in touch with Tania if you are interested, as I hear she has had a lot of interest already, and there are a limited number of class kits available.

For now, it's time for bed.  I have more photos to upload, but this lot'll do for now.  It's getting late!

At last....

...back to Broadband speed!  LOTS more posts to follow, now that I can upload photos again :)  Woop woop!


See ya soon!

Mmm, somethin' smells good....

Yup, I've been baking... three batches of cupcakes tonight, to go with the other batch already in the freezer, and the ones yet to be baked later this week.... 

All in aid of SPCA Cupcake Day, next Monday.  I'm baking in advance and freezing them til Sunday night, cos I've got Raincliff Camp this weekend, woop woop!  So you know what I'll be doing on Sunday night/Monday morning... Yep, frosting approximately 14 dozen cupcakes!  And yes, I know, that's a lot of cupcakes (do the math!)

So while our kitchen smells wonderful (and is incredibly clean and tidy), our lounge is a bombsite... I've been spreading out my photos and papers so that I can match up possible layouts to be done at Camp.  Just imagine the mess.  Then double it.  Maybe twice over.  I  kid you not!  Hopefully tomorrow I'll finish that job. Just in time for more baking on Wednesday night!

Thursday afternoon at Keas I am running the 'Make a Father's Day Card' session... getting in a week early so that the Dads don't see their cards being made when they visit next week for a wheels afternoon.  That should be fun...

For now, it's almost time for bed.  I had a wee slip down the stairs at work today and jarred my back.  Perfectly comfortable standing (hence the loads of cuppycakes baked tonight), but not too comfy sitting.  Bed is calling.... I need to lie down :)  Night!

Toodles,

Check out this fabulousness...

You just HAVE to go take a look at this blog... seriously, click here NOW to take a peek.  Sweetopia is having the most amazing giveaway.  Leave a comment telling her that I sent you, and we might both win one of these beautiful Raspberry Ice KitchenAid Mixers....

I know that it'd look mighty fine sitting on my kitchen bench... how bout yours?!

Seriously - go take a look.... NOW!

Toodles,

Must be about time for a catch-up...

I know, I know, it's been quite a while... but there's been a bit goin' on.

Going back a bit, first of all, DESSERT!  Yup, I had a lovely time at Benny's Again with some awesome friends, eating some yummy desserts on the night of my birthday.  A special thank you has to go to Heidi, Glen, Ashlee and Mitchell for coming down from Christchurch to attend.  Just awesome!  It's been a long time since I made a fuss on my birthday... I generally treat it as 'just another day', but I have to say that I really enjoyed my dessert-night-out.  I was spoilt rotten with all things pink and cupcakey (surprise, surprise huh?), and had a respectable turnout of 17 peeps (including myself).  Wahoo!  Who'd have thought so many would come celebrate with me?  There were some SCRUMMY desserts, so I had to take the obligatory photos...

Sticky Date Pud with Toffee Sauce

Caramello Cheesecake

Caramello Cheesecake-eating Monster (aka Jake!), and yes, he  DID eat it all!

Boysenberry Parfait

The Dessert Crew - Dom, Nic, Heather, Me, Glen, Ange, Daz, Ashlee, Mitchell, Heidi, Jacob, Carol, Mum and Kath

And for some strange unexplainable reason, I let them peer pressure me into 'planking'... Hmmm, not one of my best moves, I must say.  What the *;^% was I thinking?!!!

And, not to be outdone, J wanted the obligatory photo with Marilyn.  There has been many a photo taken of our menfolk with Marilyn over the years.... Kelv was the last inductee, hence J's need to 'be one of the guys'  :)

So that was my birthday in a nutshell.  I had a lovely day, although no sleep-in, as there was a doozy of an aftershock at 5.39am (Magnitude 5.1), which woke us all up, and there was NO SLEEPING after that :(

The following Monday was my first day in my new job.  The last 'first day' I had was 15 years before.  Talk about nervous!  But now, just over 3 weeks into it, and there's no looking back.  Best thing I could have done, and something that I should have done long ago, to be honest.  Sure, I'm still learning new stuff all the time, and sure, there's times when I have NO IDEA what I'm doing, but you know what?  It's great!  Jen B, you were SO right.

And now the countdown is on for two more big events...  Tania's Embellish It Raincliff Winter Camp is only two weeks away (wahoo!), and the week after (actually the day after) I have signed up as a volunteer baker for SPCA Cupcake Day.  Click the link here for more info.  I baked up a storm a couple weeks ago and took some 'samples' in to work.  You see, how could I expect them to buy cupcakes from me when they have no idea if I can bake or not?  So I made 4 different kinds... Vanilla and Passionfruit with Lemon Buttercream, Orange with Kahlua Frosting, Chocolate with Ganache Frosting and Banana with Cream Cheese Frosting.  Let's just say that they went down a treat!  Of course!  Not a bad way to make myself known in a new workplace either!  Teeheehee.  So, the weekend of camp will be finished off putting frosting on the gazillion-and-one cupcakes that I plan to bake and freeze between now and then.  I am aiming at the 10 dozen mark, maybe more.  So this time, I don't think I'll be pulling a 3am-er on Saturday night.  I don't have the time!  Any of you local gals that want to get in on the cupcake action, email/text me and let me know.  I'm going to make all except the banana ones again, and am selling them for $3 each.  All sale proceeds go direct to the local SPCA.  Pretty awesome cause.  Hey, Nic and Lucy, maybe I could courier some up to you?!  Ha ha ha ha ha!

Righto, that's enough for tonight, I have sleepin to be doin.  Here's hoping we get enough snow tonight so that I am forced to stay at home in front of the fire tomorrow...  (Except for Christchurch, you've had enough crap up your way lately.  Someone needs to give you guys a break, seriously).  So here I go, off to bed, doing a little 'snow dance' on the way, wishing for a lie in :)

Toodles,