Friday, July 22, 2011

Woop Woop!

I'm a very lucky girl.  Not only am I on leave, but it is my birthday today, and look at what DH Daz made for me over the past couple nights...



...a GIANT cupcake birthday cake!  I usually make my own cake, if I have one at all.  But because baking is kinda 'what I do', he really wanted to make me a cake, all on his own.  I just had to make sure we had all the right ingredients and point him in the direction of the recipe.  He even piped the icing on the cake all by himself.  What a clever husband!!!


And to put it in perspective, here's what it looks like next to a regular cupcake... it's a whopper!


So, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me-eeeeee, Happy Birthday to me!  Ha ha ha.  I shall be seeing some of you tonight, at Benny's Again, for dessert.  YUMMO!


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Monday, July 11, 2011

Tyler James...


SUCH a handsome wee manny :)  Look at those baby blues...


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Baking for a BIRTHDAY!

It was DH's birthday today.  I asked him a while back, at around the time I had made a make-up case cake, a surfboard cake and a caravan cake, what kind of cake he would want for his birthday...  'a Kit cake of course' was the answer....  (as in Kit from Knight Rider - if you're too young to remember this, google it!).  

So... I didn't really want to make an all black cake, as that amount of gel colouring has a nasty effect on your insides, if ya know what I mean, so I decided on a chocolate version.  It does have the red Kit lights on the front though, see?



As the day has gone on, Kit has shrunk, bit by bit, like some sort of cruel torture.  Oh well... like Marie Antoinette once famously said 'LET THEM EAT CAKE'!!!!! (and they did, teehee!)

So this post is for D - Happy Birthday honey... only two more years till the Big 4-0!  Woop woop! xxx


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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

So there's been a bit goin on here lately...

SO much to tell you, so little time...  Job changes (I KNOW!), SENZ de-brief, and lots of other things too...

I have had a bit of a rough trot at work lately.  Some of you know what I'm talking about.  So after 15 years working for the same firm, I handed in my resignation last week.  I start a brand new job on Monday 25th July.  I had been considering making a move for a wee while, but only got the courage up to actually send in an application for a job last month.  Out of 120-something applicants, I was one of three interviewed for the position.  Then I got the 'Dear John' letter in the mail :(  Bummer.  Oh well, I thought, there's still SENZ to look forward to.  Then I got a phone call from their HR guy on the Friday night that I was in Auckland at SENZ asking me if I wanted to come back in and see them, as there was another opening they thought more my cup of tea.  Sweet!  When do you get home?  Sunday night.  Can you come in Monday lunchtime?  Um, OK!  Turns out that due to a shuffle-round of staff, there was this new job available, and I was the only one being considered for it.  Was I interested?  Let me think about it... um, YES PLEASE!  So I now have 7 more working days left at RSM, and that's it.  End of an era.  Well, end of a lot of things I hope.

And SENZ?  Well, that was FANTASTIC.  Loved the shopping.  Loved the trip away with my Ma.  Loved staying with my sister, her partner and bubs.  LOVED working for Trina.  She's the best.  Loved the yummy class kits that I am still yet to play with at home.  Didn't love the ash cloud that nearly prevented us from getting there (thank GOODNESS we were booked on Air NZ).  Also didn't love the self-deflating air bed and Ma and I were sleeping on.  Tee hee.  Someone made a naughty comment about the bed going down, but I had no idea what they were talking about.  Honest.  *wink*  Oh and loved the dinner out I had on Saturday night at The Lone Star with Trina, Nic, Lucy, Rachel, Tana, Ange and Skye.  Thanks Ladies!  Interesting conversations about a 'bad pork experience' and scratch and sniff clothing!!!  Lucy, you are a MACHINE when it comes to dessert.  You're awesome.  *grin*

Now, I haven't even had time to photograph any of my SENZ purchases or layouts, or even to 'pretty-up' the photos I do have to show you in Photoshop, but here they go, straight from the camera, unedited...

This little man is just the CUTEST!  Although this was the look that Ma and I got initially... kind of a 'Who are you freaks, and where has my Mummy gone?' look, don't ya think?


And he was cutting his first teeth while we were there.  Can you tell?


But Auntie Beck did manage to get a few smiles in the end :)


So that was nearly two weeks ago already.  All going well (and ash clouds staying away), Sarah, Kelv and Tyler will be arriving in Timmers on Saturday for a few days.  They don't go home until next Wednesday. 

The weekend just been saw me catching up with some old friends.  My oldest friend Ange (as in I have known her the longest of all my friends, not that she IS the oldest of all my friends!), is back from Kuwait with hubby Andy and baby Jessica.  They are here for 6 weeks before they start their new teaching jobs in Thailand.  There was a baby shower for her on Saturday afternoon (even though Jessica is now 3 months old), as us NZ friends hadn't met her yet, or had the chance to have a baby shower for her before she arrived!  I took a cake to share for part of the afternoon tea, and made a present for Jessica on Saturday morning.  So here's a quick kitchen bench shot of the cake, the card and the pressies...


Mmm, caaake!  Oh and SOMEONE had TWO pieces of cake... how they managed it, I am not sure - it's hell sweet with all that icing all over it!


And a close-up of the card... the two flowers are satin lollipop flowers with pins on the back, so that they can pin them to a headband, bag or dress for Jessica.  Handy!


And the fabric dice/ball... with lots of little ribbon loops for Jessica to grab on to, and a small (and very quiet) bell on the inside, so that it makes some noise.  I appliqued her name on the outside of it too.


One last note to all my Auckland friends who were complaining of the cold during SENZ.  Yes it was wet, but you peeps wouldn't know cold if it jumped up and bit you on the arse!  Here's a photo I took at 8am this morning.  That's our lawn.  With frost on it.  It was -1 degree.  At 8am.  Seriously.


See, this is wash COLD looks like.... brrrrrrrrrrrr


Oh, and last minute open invitation to those of you who may be interested... I have booked a table at Benny's Again on Friday 22nd July (which just happens to be my birthday) from 8pm for DESSERT.  They have the best desserts.  If you want to come join me and my family for a scrummy pud, feel free.  Just let me know if you're coming so I can make sure there's enough seats booked!

Right, that's my break nearly over, so I gotta dash.  Seven and a quarter working days to go, and counting... Wahoo!