Have Memories, Will Scrap

Scrappin Patch Spring Retreat

2011-11-11T12:03:00.007+13:00

It has just occurred to me that I never blogged about this! How remiss of me! Especially given it was an amazing weekend from start to finish.

Actually it started on Wednesday beforehand when my good friend Tracy arrived down from Whangarei. We spent a fun couple of days hanging out before camp. Her arrival coincided with the reopening of our local mall (shut since the February quake) so all in all it was a very auspicious week!

The retreat was set in the picturesque area of Oxford in North Canterbury at GlenTui Meadows.
I had been there once before on school camp, aged 10! but obviously didn't really remember it that well. It was a stunning location to scrap, with gorgeous views out of the crop room windows which let in lots of lovely natural light to scrap by. The mood in the room was constantly cheerful (was that the alcohol or the sweets perhaps?) and the idea sharing and laughter was awesome.

Please excuse Robbi in this photo, she just can't resist being a little bit cheeky!

Part of the appeal of camp this year was having an international tutor come over to work with us on two classes, one off the page and one layout. Steph Devlin (of Websters DT, Prima designer, etc!) was a real inspiration and even though I am not a big fan of OTP I did find myself really enjoying the class.

But my first love is layouts, and I did manage quite a bit of work over the course of the weekend!

Had so much fun I have already submitted my registration for next year, just can't wait! These chicks made our table just rock with laughter and fun the whole weekend!

And in other news...

2011-10-11T11:01:00.003+13:00

My friend Tanya, who began Little Shop of Sketches asked me to join her team recently. Every fortnight a new sketch goes up on the blog above, and all the team give their take on it. If you haven't checked it out yet - you should! It was the last wee shove I needed to get back in to regular scrapping again.

This was my take on Sketch #94, the first I was involved in:

And this was my take on Sketch #95:

So if you are looking for another fortnightly challenge to get your teeth in to, I suggest you go take a look!

~ Nic

Saying Goodbye.

2011-09-18T21:12:00.002+12:00

No-one likes saying goodbye. Goodbye is final, it's forever. Well yes, usually it is. But it doesn't have to be. I said goodbye to my best friend in the entire world recently, but I know it's not the end. We are already making plans to visit just as soon as we practicably can.

I love my Debs. When I have been sad, she's been the one at my side carrying a caramel sundae in one hand and licorice allsorts in the other. When I have been at my happiest, she has been there too. We learnt to scrapbook together. We learnt to like ourselves better together. And we may have had a few drunken escapades together too.

See that smile? it lights up a room. It never fails to make me smile too. And even though I know the next time I will see it in person is at least 18months away - I carry the memory of it with me always. And now we have skype I will see a digital image of it whenever we can manage to call each other.

Debs, love you, miss you - but goodbye is not forever. I will see you again! ♥

~ Nic

Six months on -

2011-08-22T22:06:00.011+12:00

and the hurt is still as palpable as it was on that day.

At 12.51pm on February 22, our world tilted on it's axis. It wasn't the first quake, nor even the 10th, it was over 6months from our first and we'd lived through literally hundreds since then. But on that fateful afternoon it was brought back to us with startling clarity just how much at the mercy of nature we are.

Personally, our family had it pretty good after September, power, water and toilet all intact, house suffered very minor cosmetic damage, no loss of contents. Even the Boxing Day cluster didn't cause us undue amounts of stress. But February was different. February was very, VERY different.

Even now when I look around things here aren't quite right - that door frame looks like it's out of a Tim Burton film, that sliding door isn't meeting in the middle properly, that fence is not straight.... but we've lived with our 'new normal' for six months and it is hard to remember what it was like before.

We have had our full assessment, and the resulting report. The damage is worse than we thought, and we came very close to being over the "cap" of $100K - although when you throw in the seperate claim for contents and the seperate claim for fence and paths we are well over it. We're now on the list to be visited by a team from Fletchers who will prioritise the work, arrange the tradesmen etc. It's kind of daunting - a big job! - but also feels like we are at least on the right road and progressing.

My children continue to amaze me - with their resilience and their willingness to embrace "the new normal" which has become their school year. Site sharing for the rest of the year for Aleisha, means bussing to the other side of town and back but she doesn't complain. I know it's not been the amazing first year of high school she'd (or we'd) anticipated but she gets on and does her best with it. James and Matthew will be back in their own school in a couple of weeks, and their new days will start early and see them have more classes in a day in an effort to prepare for their exams. Haven't heard any complaints, just a stoic acceptance that this is how it must be for now.

Craig's work has had to relocate, the last time I went past their building it was a forlorn sight standing bowed and broken behind more of the ubiquitous Fahey's Fencing that has sprung up all over the city. His day now necessitates an extra 25 minutes of travel time each way, on roads that might be open and passable today - and closed and munted tomorrow! The only upside is they have been frantically busy, and in these uncertain economic times a guaranteed paycheck is very much a bonus!

Me? I'm good some days, less so others. The days when I can see all my chicks in the nest, or know they are within reach are good days. The days we have aftershocks and my chicks are across town I struggle with. Being here on my own makes me nervous. Being further than 20minutes walk from home makes me nervous. Knowing Craig is doing jobs in and around the cordone makes me nervous. Knowing my youngest was stuck in a stairwell for a 6.3 shake in June makes me physically ill with the "what if's". Emotionally it is like being on a roller coaster - the good days are amazing, the bad days are wretched. I miss, like a death almost, my best friend whose family have relocated because they were given an opportunity to start over in a new and unbroken place. I feel guilty because we stayed. I feel like maybe I should be prepared to take that leap too.

A lot of buildings are gone, over 350 in the city alone, with more yet to be demolished. Standing outside the cordon and seeing the gaps is heartwrenching, and seeing the buildings waiting for their turn is worse. Watching the hungry teeth of a digger pull away another piece of the city makes me cry.

And we wait to see what will become of the Cathedral. It holds a piece of family history for us. You see when Craig's father was a stone mason he was asked to rebuild the beautiful Rose Window, which had suffered damage. There were very few men as skilled as he, in this kind of work so to be asked was a huge honour. He did a beautiful job too. However after the events on February 22, the Rose Window was damaged, and had to be propped up to hold it in place. This seemed to keep it safe from further harm, in the hopes they could find someone, at a later date, to do the repair work.

Most of the spire has also been lost, and the damage to the interior is huge. Whether the Cathedral can be rebuilt or will have to be done from scratch remains to be seen. One can only hope that this beacon of our city can in some way be restored for future generations to enjoy. However not content with ripping our city apart in February, mother nature had another crack at us in June and that window was lost. Despite the best efforts to keep it in one piece, it was lost in to the interior of the damaged cathedral. And our hearts were broken. For us this is the symbol of our heritage, because when we look at it, we see George. To look at it, and know it is so broken, possibly beyond repair is absolutely heartbreaking.

There are stories like this all over Christchurch, places that mean something to families like ours. Places that will never feel quite the same again. And yet despite all the brokeness and desolation, there is an undercurrent of hope.

Adlin Sinclair says it best:

'Without faith, hope and trust, there is no promise for the future, and without a promising future, life has no direction, no meaning and no justification'

So we hold on to faith - faith in our city's leaders, in our government, in those charged with the rebuild process, and we hope and we trust.... because the alternative can not be countenanced.

kia kaha Christchurch, our hearts are here and here we stay

~ Nic

Make a pretty flower - tutorial

2011-07-19T14:53:00.006+12:00

Right, I was taught to make these flowers recently, and have decided it's worth sharing around. It's reasonably straight-forward, you don't need a heap of expensive things to try it out. If you do try them please let me know how you get on!

First off assemble together some bits and pieces, if you don't have the exact items it doesn't matter - you can punch your flowers out, cut them on the cuttlbug, or cricut, or even hand cut them. It's a time when perfection doesn't matter! All you need is flowers in two sizes that will go together.

Punch out some flowers, two of each size from whatever paper you have to hand. I used plain white, an old book page and an offcut of patterned paper (it was double sided so was a good match colourwise both sides).

You should end up with a pile like this - please note I only punched one small size of the patterened paper one, I preferred to leave this one slightly different but you can do it the way you want. There is no right or wrong way.

Then stack them up by size and take to them with scissors. Do a bit of a zig zag cut across the top of each petal. Again you can leave them rounded but I prefer the shape when they have been cut this way.

As you can see they aren't uniform cuts, they aren't meant to be - remember I said perfect doesn't matter with these ones.

Next you can take to them with whatever you have to hand - I used Sherbert glimmermist on the plain white ones:

And Tim Holtz 'Chipped Sapphire' distress ink on the book page ones:

Followed by a light misting of water to make the ink run:

The patterned paper ones I inked using pinecone ink:

Right now to assemble all this flowery goodness! Grab something you can roll the petals around, I use a clean chopstick that lives in my craft tote, good for stirring paint, applying rub ons, and also for this. Roll each petal around the chopstick and release.

Assemble using a good glue, layering the flowers so the petals are off-set and your patterned papers complement each other:

Top with a bling rhinestone, or pearl:

The finished product - made with patterned paper:

The glimmermisted flower, topped with a brad:

And the inked flower, from a book page, topped with a button:

All three flowers together - why not try some for yourself?

~ Nic

14 Before I'm 40

2011-06-08T16:13:00.001+12:00

in one year and one week I will have a big OH birthday. While out walking today it struck me that I haven't done everything I want to so I have compiled a list. 14 things to do before I'm 40.

Am I sharing the list?

Not yet. There's a couple things on there that actually scare the knickers off me, and the thought of people asking 'have you done XYZ yet?' just doesn't do it for me right now.

I'll share as I knock things off though, most definitely!

~ Nic

oooh look - a new challenge blog

2011-06-05T16:03:00.001+12:00

http://challengemehappy.wordpress.com/

This looks like it might be fun....

When all you have is hope...

2011-04-30T21:22:00.002+12:00

So much of the last 9.5 weeks has passed in a blur. The catch phrases in our city are 'it's munted' 'new normal' and the ever popular 'shit did you feel that?'. I can use liquefaction and other big words in everyday conversations. My grocery buying has gone from loading up on meat on sale to freeze for later, to 'hmmm that would bbq ok if the power goes out' and a lot more reliance on non perishable packet foods and canned goods than before. My days are taken up with feeding teens a seemingly insane amount of food as their school day is now fragmented.

So what do we have but hope? Hope that one day life will regain it's equilibrium, hope that one day the fault lines will quiet down, hope that we've seen the last of the really big shakes.

An angel sent me this Hope Angel, and it reminded me that as long as we have hope we do have a future, without hope we have nothing. Debs thank you for reminding me that I can hope for a better tomorrow.

~ Nic

Putting up a blogpost

2011-04-02T22:10:00.002+13:00

but only a short one. Not really sure what to type to be honest. Unless you live under a rock you would be well aware that we've been hit again by another devestating earthquake. This time it hit at lunchtime on a business day, and in 20secs of shaking our city was changed forever.

On a personal level, our home is damaged, the land is cracked and we have had liquefaction on a good 70% of the ground around and under our home. We are still living, 6wks on, without a working sewerage or waste water system meaning we have to shower and do laundry in other suburbs where they have facilities. A chemical toilet is our new 'best friend'.

Emotionally it has been a tough ride, and we know it isn't over yet. So if I'm not on here blogging it's not that I've forgotten you it's just not something I can get my head round at the moment.

~ Nic

Cricut Cartridge Giveaway

2011-02-13T19:00:00.000+13:00

over here at Pinky's blog - http://www.blueyecicle.blogspot.com/ - and yeah I hear you say I don't have a cricut. Well I do, and you can borrow it if you win ok?? cool LOL

I keep meaning to blog...

2011-02-04T08:50:00.003+13:00

but somehow things keep cropping up and I put it off again!

See even as I write this, I think oh I'll just throw a load of laundry on! Go to do that and discover we've blown a fuse. Spent 15 minutes pretending I could fix that before ringing Craig and finding out how to do it right. Have instead run an extension lead to plug the washing machine in elsewhere. Such is the life of a lazy lump like me!! Now I just need to find a lead and do the same for the fridge....

... and I'm back. Reset the plug board for the fridge (no mean feat, it's behind the pantry with a very slim gap - weight loss has it's uses, I got my hand in there) flicked the RCD on the main board and we're back in the power zone.

Life has slowly got back its routine round here, all 3 kids finally back in school fulltime. Not sure what the point of having the boys go for 40min one day to be honest. Just start the little buggers back fulltime and be done with it, they're not babies who need to be eased in to it or anything!

Matt is in his final year of high school, Year 13, which is a bit scarey to consider really. Still very keen on engineering school at uni next year and working towards that goal. James is in Year 11 which is his first senior year. Aleisha just started Year 9 as a junior at high school this week too. They are making me feel very middle aged!

Still managed to scrap a bit amongst the madness of buying stationery, checking uniform fit, and organising replacements. Think I hemmorhaged the equivalent of a fortnights pay into both high schools this year. Scarey!

Anyway here's some layouts I did - mainly in the evenings, via Skype, with Tracy. First up is Aleisha and her BFF Rachel at the school formal.

Aleisha receiving the cup at prizegiving for Sportswoman of the Year:

And my favourite of the lot, all three of my gorgeous kids at Carters Beach just before Christmas:

I actually have some more layouts from this trip but need to save something for next time!

~ Nic

Prima product, pick and palette!

2011-01-24T14:06:00.001+13:00

All the P's - go check it out!

http://prima.typepad.com/prima/2011/01/januarys-prima-product-pick-and-palette.html

2011 - a year of changes?

2011-01-13T12:53:00.003+13:00

Well maybe. The first big change is that I have lost almost 12kg since joining Weight Watchers. Now while that sounds impressive, I still have about as much again to lose. But that's ok, I'm happily working on the pro-points plan, walking and cycling as much as I can and I know I can do this.

Another change I've made is cutting back on the amount of time I spend on some websites. It is too easy for me to lose chunks of my day reading while sitting on my bum. This is time I could better spend exercising, with my friends, or of course scrapbooking! So when Trademe blocked my usage because my account has been overdrawn for over 21 days I decided I didn't need it anyway. That is one of the biggest time sucks I have, and should the need to buy/sell arise I can always get Craig to log in and use his account. This will also make me more accountable for the $ I spend on there I am guessing!!

This year I also want to keep on top of current photos for scrapbooking. I have realised that trying to catch up my kids younger years is going to be a struggle but I can make their current and future years work in my favour. To that end I've started the year by working my way through the main events of Dec/Jan.

Aleisha's formal -

Aleisha's last day of primary school -

Trips we've made over summer -

Still lots more summer pics to scrap though, so watch this space!

~ Nic

New Year and New Toy

2011-01-10T11:55:00.001+13:00

Happy new year to you all.

I hope Christmas and the holiday season has treated you all well. We have had lots of sunny days, complete with trips to the beach, the river and bbq meals. Closest thing to heaven I think!

Santa came early to me, leaving me an android phone. This morning while looking at my neglected blog I thought "I bet there is an app for blog users" and sure enough there is.

Having used this post to test it out, I see it does have some shortcomings but will work on it and see how we go.

Will upload some layout pics soon too as I have been scrapping a bit lately.

*Nic

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What's been on my desk?

2010-12-03T08:28:00.002+13:00

Well I am still working my way around the 1500+ photos Matthew took in France, really enjoying living vicariously through his travels!

Also trying to keep up with the number of extra activities Aleisha is involved in - like performing at the Town Hall in the Cultural Festival

And every now and then I delve in to the photographic archives to add another layout to the album I am making for mum's birthday (Christmas Eve)

And am really loving the 3 CD's of digital images from the past I discovered recently too

And in between making pretties I am finishing off the Christmas shopping, planning our holiday and trying to declutter the house - who said life was dull?

~ Nic

Still alive

2010-11-17T10:16:00.002+13:00

and still chugging along. Christchurch still shimmies and shakes her tail feathers with much aplomb on a regular basis. Current shake count is 3028!

I've scrapped a bit, but as I'm submitting some for a DT application and haven't decided which ones I can't share them yet.

~ Nic

A couple of layouts, amidst the aftershocks...

2010-10-18T19:09:00.002+13:00

Yes, Christchurch continues to rock and roll, six weeks after the big one we are sitting at approximately 1980 aftershocks ranging from 2.0 through to a couple of gnarly 5.0's.

However life has to go on, despite the fact your house has cracks that match the ones in your emotions. You have to do things that make you feel "normal" when so much of what is happening is anything but.

So with that in mind, when the call went out that there was going to be an Earthquake Relief Crop Day, in Christchurch, Invercargill and Wellington I thought there would be no better way to make things seem normal than to be involved with something I love. So on Saturday Ms Debs and I tootled off in her little purple car to Rolleston to scrap the day away.

There was one small hitch in the plan - I had snowboarded the day before, and managed to break or fracture my tailbone in the process. However armed with really good painkillers, and some sugar free sweets I got through almost the entire 12hours without too much hassle.

What better way to start than by sharing the layout of me snowboarding - or more realistically, sitting on my arse in the snow. I fell a lot. I laughed a lot. But the last time, the fateful time, I sure wasn't laughing!

This was from a sketch from Little Shop of Sketches and I quite enjoyed working from a plan.

Trina McClune had also supplied a sketch to all three crop locations, so I decided to do that one too (am so much more productive when someone ELSE supplies the blueprint!) using one of the great photos Matt took on his recent trip to France. Such a good son-of-a-scrapper he is, he even ensured he was IN some pics! I have around 1500 photos to go through and this is definitely one of my favourites!

I also started another layout and a class kit that was supplied to us, but will have to share them later when they are finished. Seeing as my butt is broken, it must mean I should spend a bit of time this week scrapping rather than risk making it worse with housework eh?

~ Nic

Earthquake - 4 September 2010 - M7.1

2010-09-16T20:35:00.002+12:00

My city lies like

the leftover ruin of a childs game,

the horizon like a gummy baby's smile,

dust falls on the city like a soft rain

and my own tears fall silently

she is broken, but not fallen

she is ripped apart, but a thread remains

a thread that unites, that binds, that keeps us

all together, it is red and black

it tells me we will recover, rebuild, repair

and we will live on

older, wiser, but stronger

my city lies like

the leftover ruin of a childs game

but the child will return, the game will go on

~ Nic

Winter Sport

2010-08-28T10:41:00.004+12:00

I will not angst, I will not angst, I will not angst...

2010-08-06T11:24:00.003+12:00

much.

We're at the final end of the enrolment process for Aleisha, for high school next year. We've balloted her to 4 out of zone high schools as our local is, to put it bluntly, sub-standard.

Letters due today, and my postie just rode past.

I will not angst, I will not angst, I will not angst....

Update -

I will not angst at all now I know that all of the schools don't USE NZ Post anyway, instead going for DXMail which is motorbike delivered. We got two 'yes pleases' to her two favourite schools and two 'sit on our waitlist' from the other two.

It's SENZ Weekend!

2010-07-15T22:24:00.003+12:00

SENZ is back in the South Island for the first time since 2007. SENZ? Scrapbooking Expo NZ! The biggest convention of scrapbooking/stamping retailers and the BEST place for some comparative shopping.

Yes I am one of those who does the rounds of ALL the retailers, checking the prices of items I want to ensure I get the most bang for my buck!!

This year I am assisting a local store with their booth - ScrapItSimple - a new business owned by my friend Hilary. Specialising in Kaisercraft products and Green Tara flowers, she really has made an impact with Chch based scrappers.

Anyway I'd better head off and get some sleep, another day at SENZ tomorrow!

~ Nic

In local rockstar news...

2010-07-10T16:07:00.004+12:00

My oldest son has been part of a rockband this year. They have performed at school, at local heats for Rockquest, and last night in their first real "gig" at local youth nightspot "Zebedees".

They mostly do covers, like this one of Reptilia by The Strokes, but do have a couple of originals as well. My boy is the one far left, who really needed a longer lead but hopefully you can still see him :) Rock on Matt!

~ Nic

Raffle Winners!

2010-07-01T17:59:00.002+12:00

Very happy to announce we managed to sell around 77 tickets so this afternoon I had the school principal enter the numbers in to the number generator they use for balloting out of zone enrolments. It seemed the fairest way to pull numbers even though I had no tickets in the draw myself.

With further ado, the winners are:

Scrap It Simple prize pack - #18 - Carole of Northwood, Chch

Artfull Crafts kit - #47 - Beryl of Rangiora, Chch

Robbi's Frame - #45 - Brenda M

Stampin Up/Prima - #31 - Tracey of Swannanoa

Embellishment Bucket - #32 - Mandy B

Heidi Grace prize 1 - #30 - Marie G of Christchurch

Heidi Grace prize 2 - #49 - Nicky

Stampin Up stamps - #41 - Debbie M of Christchurch

Scrapbox voucher - #46 - Vicki P of Christchurch

Scrapbox voucher - #20 - Hilary N of Christchurch

Scrapbox voucher - #59 - Kay of Christchurch

I just want to take a minute to congratulate all the winners, but to also thank the incredible donors of our prizes. The generosity shown to support one of our own has been both amazing but humbling.

To those who came to crops, bought raffle tickets, bought trademe auctions, donated money, time and effort in to this I extend to you my heartfelt thanks. You have helped me to help a friend and I am forever grateful.

~ Nic

Raffle prizes for the Fundraising Crop this weekend

2010-06-14T14:47:00.011+12:00

If you would like to purchase tickets, but can't make it to the crop day we're selling them for 2 for $5. Maximum of 150 tickets but we will draw the winners next week regardless of how many are sold.

Please note by buying two tickets you are in the draw for all prizes - this is extremely good odds!!

You can contact me at kiwimumx3 at gmail dot com if you would like to buy tickets, and I will do my best to give you the numbers you request if they are still available.

This prize pack donated by Hilary of SCRAPITSIMPLE - an awesome box full of Kaisercraft goodies and Green Tara flowers to create the Kaisercraft "Occasion Planner"

This prize pack donated by Liz from ARTFULLCRAFTS - has enough product in it to create the Kaisercraft "Connector Kids" album and a 12x12 layout.

This prizepack donated by Robbi Bell, from SCRAPPIN PATCH design team - she has taken a 4 window shadowbox frame and filled it with all manner of embellishment goodies!

This prize pack contains Stampin Up paper pack, Stampin Up christmas word stamps, and some prima goodies etc.

This prize pack was donated by a Trademe seller whose trade name is turkey_foot - it contains all manner of embellishments, buttons, diecuts, brads, fozz felt, stickabilities.... and more!

This prize pack contains a pack of Heidi Grace cardstock, raindots, ribbon, an acrylic stamp, and brads.

This prize pack contains a Heidi Grace collection "Orchard" that includes papers and embellishments. Also a corner punch, cupcake stamp, buttons, letters and heart shaped raindots.

These Stampin Up stamps were donated to us by Helen Williams a SU Demonstrator from Timaru.

We also have two Fiskars Limited Edition Squeeze punches, that are unavailable to buy in New Zealand listed on Trademe - can check them out HERE and HERE. These are the hot pink ones, and it is unlikely we'll see them in stores here so be in quick! We also received a Stampin Up border punch which you can bid on HERE.

We may yet be adding more to this so be sure to check back later in the week!

And we still have room for you to come and crop with us this weekend - flick me a message if you want to come and I'll book you in!

~ Nic

********NEWSFLASH**********

Just received in the post, some vouchers to be spent with Fiona at SCRAPBOX! Awesome! These will be additional prizes to be drawn from lucky raffle ticket holders!

Christchurch Fundraising Crop - 19 June 2010

2010-05-21T12:00:00.002+12:00

You may have seen on the news recently, that an officer at Springhill Correctional Facility was killed by an inmate. That man, Jason Palmer, was married (well still is really) to my dear friend Tracy.

We were all saddened and stunned at the news, and wanted to think of a tangible way we could support Tracy and her beautiful children through this awful time.

Because our common link with Tracy is our scrapbooking we thought what better way to raise some money, and help the family than by having a crop day.

To that end, if you are in Christchurch or nearby and would like to attend, I would love to hear from you.

19 June 2010

Mairehau School Hall
43 Mahars Rd
Christchurch

9am - 5pm

$20 per person

We'll supply morning and afternoon tea, coffee, milo, tea etc. But would appreciate people bringing a plate for a shared lunch. We will also have a sales table, so if you have any scrap goodies you have fallen out of love with to donate for us to sell on, we'd be happy to help! Also we will have raffles on the day as well.

So let me know, bookings being taken now! First in, first served - it seems we have a limit of probably 35-40 for comfort. (no-one likes cramped cropping!) Bring your current projects, something for lunch to share, and some cash for sales and raffles.

Hope to see you there!

~ Nic and Danice

A cool colour challenge

2010-05-03T09:33:00.003+12:00

I saw this challenge on sketches4all and being a huge fan of purples of all descriptions I just couldn't resist. Deep purple, black and white all combine to look quite stunning I think. And I even cranked out the cuttlebug to make the background interesting.

If you are looking for challenges, sketches and a bit of fun why not check out sketches4all?

~ Nic

Been a busy bee

2010-04-20T20:50:00.002+12:00

I decided to have a hunt round some websites looking for some sketch challenges and theme challenges to complete.

I ended up with a list of 6 challenges, and since Saturday I have completed three of them.

This one was a sketch challenge from http://sketchesforyou.ning.com/forum

This was another sketch from the same site -

And this was from Beverly Cunningham's blog here which was a sketch challenge with a theme thrown in - the sketch was not too difficult but the theme (5 things) I found a little more challenging. However I was able to assemble a collage of 5 things that make my life a whole lot better. While it was a given that the husband and kids would be two of the five, the other three ended up being four by accident. Friends and Scrap Weekends however do go hand in hand so really should only count as one!

Now on to the next three challenges, two from Scrappin Patch and one from the ning site listed above. Why don't you try some challenges yourselves this week?

~ Nic

Adding to the stash

2010-04-15T13:51:00.002+12:00

Have had a good shopping week all round, scrap-wise. Ordered myself some new Kaisercraft and Websters Pages papers from Liz @ artfullcrafts in timaru as a reward to myself for working at my old job for a couple of weeks. Followed this up with a trip to town with Debs, where we took in Gordon Harris, The Drawing Room and Arts, The Printers.

Arts was a real eye opener! Firstly I had no idea it even existed until Debs said, and secondly they had a real eclectic mix of goodies, from acrylic stamps, to printed papers, to inks and adhesives. Something for every crafter, and especially for cardmakers! I ended up buying a few sheets of A4 pre-printed aged papers and an acrylic stamp there for a whopping $7 total.

I had also won a $20 voucher with Scrappin Patch on their new Facebook page. Managed to spend it, and another $11 or so on a template, some Kaisercraft stamps and embellishments and another acrylic stamp.

So no more shopping for a while for me, best start saving for SENZ which is here in July!

~ Nic

Long time, no blog posts

2010-04-09T22:07:00.004+12:00

I know I know, such a slackarse! And I have done heaps of cool stuff that is definitely blogworthy too! Sheeesh!

I went to Wainui with Aleisha, on her year 7/8 camp. That was an awesome experience for me, as not only did I have to encourage 11-13yr olds to stretch their wings and take risks I also had to participate in some pretty full on activities including abseiling, high ropes, sea kayaking and coasteering.

During our week away she turned 12 as well, which was a real highlight as her class teacher went out of her way to make the day so special for her. Craig and I were the support crew for Aleisha when she did her first ever Weetbix Tryathlon earlier in the month too.

The boys have had some assessments in school for NCEA Level 2 (Matt) and practice ones for Level 1 (James) which has kept them both very busy as well.

I was also lucky enough to go to the Scrappin' Patch retreat at BlueSkies at the end of March which was an awesome weekend away with great friends, great crop space and enough laughs to ensure my abs felt like Zumba abs by the end of the weekend!

We were treated to a couple of classes as part of the weekend - this layout is the product of the first class kit we were given. While mine is not an exact replica of the original, I am pretty happy with it all the same. Plus it gave me a few bits over to use on another layout sometime.

This layout features my favourite woman in the world. If I was going to bat for the other team, she'd be the Portia Rossi to my Ellen Degeneres. I love that we just click, we share so many things in common, the Matt Factor, the J Factor, our husbands were at uni together... we both love Smirnoff and Jason Isaacs... well you get the idea.

This was the second class kit we were given. Initially it was a double layout but I didn't feel like doing the second page (which included stamping on a CD) as my photo didn't 'need' that extra page. I did love the idea of stamping on CD's though so may look at that in the future. This was Aleisha and Craig early in the morning on Tryathlon day. I so seldom get pics of Craig where he looks happy so am thrilled to have got this one!

And our little Tryathlon star after her swim/cycle/run - 200m swim, 8km bike ride, 1.5km run - to recieve her "medal". What a star she is! I loved the quote card I used on this as it sums her up perfectly!

By now you are probably thinking I only have one child LOL but no, photos of my teens are few and far between so I do end up scrapping more of the girly girl than of them. However I did sneak this gem of Matthew over summer. I love it, he looks so relaxed! That's "my boy".

At the same time I got that photo I got this one of James. He looks so handsome!

That is all the layouts from camp - pretty happy with 6 over the weekend, given there was a lot of chatting, drinking, laughing and riding the flying fox.

And back to the girl child - although this layout was completed the weekend AFTER camp. I had struggled with patterned paper for it, and initially had some pink papers out. But it just kept looking wrong. I got so frustrated that I tipped out all my patterned papers and rummaged around trying to find a better match and was thrilled with this range called "Sakura Park" by Kaiser which picked up the colours in her top so much better than the others I had initially chosen.

Notice the wee paper flowers? and the one on the layout of James? We got taught how to do them on camp, and they are definitely a fun way to add some dimension and embellishment to a layout at low cost. The three on the layout above were just made from offcuts of the papers I used.

Anyway that's me for now, will try and update a bit more often. Just won a $20 voucher for Scrappin' Patch tonight so am off to see what is in the shop that I want!

~ Nic

A survey with a prize draw

2010-04-02T16:48:00.000+13:00

http://lisafalduto.blogspot.com/2010/03/hello-everyone-i-have-my-survey.html

Check it out! And if you do the survey make sure to say Nic in Chch, NZ sent you!

More new layouts

2010-03-06T10:32:00.002+13:00

I meant to blog these a week or two ago, SLACK BLOGGER ALERT!!

In other exciting news, dad is home from hospital - 8wks and 1 day after being admitted. Having good days and bad days but getting there.

On a more selfish note - 20 sleeps til ScrapCamp!

~ Nic

So what has been on my desk?

2010-02-07T17:33:00.002+13:00

Well towards the end of last year I went to a crop run by Bee at a local community centre. Loads of fun, laughs and good food and I even managed to do three layouts over the course of the day:

Then quite recently I got in to a Menu Challenge online with a couple of girls where you chose a "meal " from a set menu that translated in to guidelines for a layout. I'm really quite thrilled with how mine turned out!

If you would like to create your own meal from the menu, please choose from the following options and via comments let me know your choices and an email address I should send your layout guidelines to.

Appetizer
Bruchetta
Bread and Butter
French Onion Soup
Shrimp Cocktail
Hot Wings

Salad
Caesar Salad
Greek Salad
Tomato and Mozzarella
Cobb Salad

Main Entrée
Fettuccini Alfredo
Steak and Lobster
Vegetarian Stir Fry
Fried Chicken
Baked Salmon

Side Dish
Baked Potato
Green Bean Almondine
Mac & Cheese
Rice Pilaf
Glazed Carrots

Dessert
Tiramisu
Cheesecake
Sherbet
Hot Fudge Sundae
Red Velvet Cupcake

Bon Appetit!

School Holiday Wrap-up

2010-01-24T16:13:00.002+13:00

Ok so we officially still have a little over a week left but what have we done so far?

~ picnicked at Spencer Park

~ enjoyed family bbq's at our place

~ visited the hospital a LOT

~ celebrated Matt's NCEA results (passed with Excellence)

~ went out for dinner for our 17th wedding anniversary

~ made indian for Matthew's 16th birthday dinner

~ taken James to, and collected him from, the new girlfriend's house

~ discovered Aleisha's glasses no longer fit

~ pared down our DVD collection and added to it again

~ helped dad move from one hospital to the next

~ celebrated mum and dad's 41st wedding anniversary

~ rejoiced in having dad here to enjoy his 63rd birthday

~ bought a lot of back to school stationery but spent far less than previous years

Looking back we have been busy!

~ Nic

A Word for 2010

2010-01-10T13:57:00.001+13:00

I saw this on a forum I was visiting the other day. They were talking about 'a word for 2010'. Of course being overtly American there were a few saying 'cherish' (sorry heidi) among others. It got me to thinking if there was a word I would use a lot in 2010.

And I think there is - STRENGTH

Not just strength to cope, but strength to succeed, strength to help others, strength to stand by my dad during his rehab and by my mum too. Strength to say no when my plate is full, strength to ask for help from friends when I am not coping.

So what about you? Do you have a word?

~ Nic

Christmas 2009 - A Reflection

2009-12-31T21:49:00.002+13:00

It didn't start well. 23rd of December, mid afternoon, dad was rushed from his GP visit via ambulance to hospital with suspected blood poisoning. His temperature was sky high, his legs were a mess and as he climbed in to the back of the ambulance my little brother voiced what we were all thinking "he may not climb back out again".

Blood poisoning it was, and he was soon admitted and attached to more wires and machines than we could count. My dad who had always looked so strong and brave, looked like a tired and very scared little old man.

24th December - Christmas Eve and mum's birthday. By 10am the specialists were not happy with the progress, or lack of, that dad was making and the decision was made. Surgery ASAP. So at 1pm they wheeled him in to surgery for a double leg amputation above the knee. Due to his circulation issues general anaesthetic was ruled out immediately and he bravely underwent this extensive, and LOUD! surgery with only an epidural.

A very nervous wait for us ensued, and eventually they let him out of recovery. The surgery was deemed successful but we know the battle is far from over while he adapts to life as a d0uble amputee. He will do some rehab at either PMH or Burwood hospital before being allowed home.

Christmas Day was unusual. For the first time ever we did Christmas early morning at home alone, instead of at mum and dads. But we managed to make some fun of it, and then went to church with mum. Lunch was at hers, then we all went up to see dad and take him his presents. Kids were initially a bit funny about whether or not Grandad would still be Grandad without his legs but all coped well. James was more worried they would have his stumps uncovered but dad had told the nurses his grandkids were coming and they needed to be sure he was 'presentable'. Bless his heart :)

So yeah, roll on 2010 - cos lets face it 2009 pretty much sucked arse!

~ Nic

Christmas Shopping almost done

2009-12-14T09:37:00.002+13:00

and yes this is late in the year for me to still be doing it!!! Usually like it all done by Show Weekend (mid-November) at the latest.

However this year has kind of got away on me a bit, but as of last night I have all 3 kids main gifts bought and paid for, mostly wrapped too! Their Santa bits are bought, not yet wrapped though, although I usually do manage to add more to it in the last week for some reason.

Inlaws done, just need to arrange sending them up north. Which only leaves me to buy for my brothers and parents. I know what each is getting so really is just down to getting to the shops and having the $$ to do it! According to the budget master (ie - me!) that should be able to be done this week.

It doesn't feel very Christmassy here though. Think I need to pull finger and get the tree up and maybe that will help. Play my Christmas CD's perhaps while I wrap the rest of the gifts. Am finding it hard this year to get in the spirit, mostly I think because we're all thinking (but not saying out loud) that it could very well be dad's last one with us. *sigh*

~ Nic

My Old School - by Matthew Cotterill, Year 11

2009-11-30T21:51:00.000+13:00

Today I decided to visit my old school. As I stepped through the gate and looked around, I found myself remembering the good old days.

The grass on the lush green fields reached skyward, as if longing to be the first to bathe in the golden summer sun. The joyful cries of children rang out in Hammersley Park School. I was only ten and did not understand that I would look back on these days as the best of my life.

The tall metal fence was a barrier, blocking out all the worries in the world for six hours a day. Many played on the field and the playground, but I preferred to climb the majestic oak tree which stood tall in the fresh grass. In the centre of the field was a towering fort painted a rich, reddish brown. From it, the jewel of the playground - the flying fox - zoomed down with a soft metallic whirr and landed in a pit of bark. A soft breeze rustled through the oak branches and carried the subtle smell of leaves and bark across the fort.

But now, all that is gone. As I stand on the cold concrete path, memories rush through my mind like wisps of thread you can't quite clutch. The field is as grey and empty as the sky. The only sound is the sorrowful cry of a lone gull circling overhead. The short metal fence is stained with rust and there are holes in the wire mesh. I scan the grass, but the ancient oak is nowhere to be seen.

Slowly I wander over to the fort. It only comes up to chest height. I place my hands firmly on the cracked, faded wood and push myself up onto it. For old time's sake, I grasp the cold, steel flying fox. The flaking paint is coarse to touch. I push off, but the rusted track scrapes and screeches and the flying fox jolts to a stop.

A blanket of smog from nearby house is stifling, every breath tastes of charcoal. I shiver and gaze around. I feel out of place - here, in a place I had once belonged. Perhaps I should never have come back.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This piece of work was submitted for an NCEA creative writing assessment and gained Matthew an Excellence. It was then accepted for printing in the 2009 school magazine at Shirley Boys High School.

And in other news....

2009-11-20T21:03:00.006+13:00

Still waiting to hear if dad's radiation has worked. A month after they finished and they still can't get the camera down his throat to see if it's done the trick. And his legs continue to plague him, one is now badly ulcerated and there have been vague references to the "A" word which is a bit of a worry!

On the child front it has been a month of excitements. Started with the school athletics day for Aleisha which saw her break the longstanding record for 11y/o girls in the 1200m as well as her winning all the sprints in her age group and the high jump. This led to a day out at the zones where she ran a VERY creditable 3rd in the 1200m and came 3rd= in the high jump. Not quite enough to go to Centrals but very cool all the same! She has also just been awarded a Credit Pass in the ICAS Maths exam which placed her in the top 20% of year 7's.

James has had his first lot of school exams, and in his words "they sucked!" although to his credit he did study and try to do well, but as it was a first time and happened to coincide with an unhappy time at the school it wasn't an easy week. On that note, a reminder to tell your teens it is ok to talk to someone if things are getting tough. It may not be you, it may be a school dean or a family friend, but encourage them to do it before things seem all too hard to bear.

On an upnote he told me this afternoon he has scored 89% in Japanese for the year so he is absolutely thrilled to bits with that. Sorry no photos of that one, he is a little camera-phobic right now, think that's a hormone thing.

Which brings us to Matthew. Two thirds done with his Level 1 NCEA exams now, only two left to sit. French, English, Geography and Maths are done, just Science and Economics to go and he is free until the 2nd of February next year.

Senior Prizegiving was last week and we had had "the letter" (please come to prizegiving rah rah rah) so knew he was up for something. Were a bit confused about the RSVP for supper for supreme prize winners bit, but thought perhaps that was on all letters.

Ummmm NO! that was not. As well as walking off with Excellences in Economics, French, Maths AND Science, there was a moment when the Assistant Principal described a young man in Yr 11 who had come first in French, Economics, and Science, second in Maths, and in the top 5 for both English and Geography. He went on to say that this boy was the top scholar in all of year 11 and was the winner of this years Headmasters Prize. Well blow us down if it wasn't Matthew! Hastily shot off a few pics on stage before having a quiet mummy moment complete with sweaty eyelids.

Then snapped this one at home.

Counting down to Christmas now, looking forward to a relaxing summer! Yay! Craig has just told me tonight he has applied for leave from the 18th of December so is looking like a lovely month off for him too!

cheers
~ Nic

Happy Birthday to you!

2009-10-18T17:34:00.003+13:00

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear J-a-a-a-mes, Happy Birthday to you!!

Yes on the 18th of October 1995 we welcomed our son James in to our lives. And he has changed us and enriched our lives so much. He has an infectious smile, and a naughty sense of humour (hmmm genetics??) and a real love of life.

Have an awesome 14th birthday James!

Love from mum and dad

Have been scrapping

2009-10-09T21:01:00.002+13:00

Not a bad effort, used up an older photo in the layout of James - taken at a performance evening last year. Used a very new photo of my cousin's baby Zack. And used some new techniques too for distressing which I quite enjoyed!!

~ Nic

Haven't been a good blogger lately...

2009-09-25T13:50:00.003+12:00

but things in my real life have reached a new level of lunacy which has made things like blogging take a bit of a back seat.

The big one, and it is a big one, is finding out my dad does indeed have cancer. Not just any cancer, but the same kind as the guy on the TV ads - Adrian of the "it's not worf it eh" fame. Adrian whose cancer took his life in August.

Dad has been on a rollercoaster ride of appointments since finding out - dental, to check all his teeth prior to radiation, radiotherapists to learn how they will do his treatment, oncologists, nutritionists, the stop smoking lady, the whole 9 yards. He has had a mask made to wear during treatment, and a feeding peg inserted for when the time comes he can no longer swallow real food.

And on Monday he had his first nuclear experience. He is to go every Mon-Fri for the next 5-7 weeks. Yes that is a lot, and yes it is unusual to be going so often. But they want to get on top of this so he does not become another Adrian.

On top of this new health worry for my dad, is the continuing saga of his circulation. The oncology team told his circulatory specialist that the cancer must be the first priority but of course that doesn't make his leg troubles go away - it just pushes any treatment for them down the line a ways. The long term prognosis for them is pretty bleak, and he really only has two options - either morphine for the constant pain (morphine daily would mean no more driving the buses round the city) or amputation which would put paid to driving anyway.

I'm not 100% sure why I'm putting this on here, but in some small way it helps me to process it all too.

Adrian Pilkington
RIP
15 September 1955 - 6 August 2009

~ Nic ~

For the love of hockey.

2009-09-11T22:51:00.002+12:00

Not only has the school hockey season come to an end, but the club hockey has also ended. The team Aleisha was in (Sydenham Int. 8's Black) had a mixed season, but as the finals drew near they upped their game and ultimately played off for first place in their division.

Alas it wasn't to be the dream end they wanted but 2nd place is certainly better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! This photo was snapped after the final game, aren't they an awesome bunch? Unfortunately age and skill constraints mean that they will likely not all be in the same team again next year, but hopefully some of them will still be able to play together.

Of course when a season ends, there is always a prizegiving. Now having done soccer ones for YEARS where you arrive, crowd in, wait interminably for your childs 3minutes of fame, and leave again it was a real joy to attend one where you arrived, socialised, had a sausage sizzle in the sun then watched the awards followed by a yummy afternoon tea! Aleisha's team was one of the last, as they are also one of the older groups.

Each team was called up by name, then each girl was announced, a certificate given (and in our girls case a 2nd certificate as division runner ups) and the coach gave a short speech about the team's progress through the season. Each team also awards a trophy for Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player.

Guess who, in her first season playing competitive club hockey, was awarded Most Improved?? I know I'm a proud mum, but the coach said afterwards there was no contest for that award as she had come in, listened to coaching, practiced what was taught then brought it to the games each week. He also thinks she has a future in the game if she is prepared to work like that all the time - isn't that cool??

Last weekend there were two teams over from Queensland, their U21 development squads. They played 5 games each against the Canterbury Cats (women) and Canterbury Cavaliers (men). We took Aleisha to 3 of the 5 games sessions, often with one or two of her fellow team members in tow. The girls were able to get their sticks signed by some NZ BlackSticks players, and also were fortunate enough to be able to talk to the Queensland Girls. This resulted in them spending a lot of time sitting and watching with them instead of sitting with me!!

While talking with these young ladies, an offer was made to supply a stick with all their signatures on it. The hitch was that in return on the final game day our girls had to bring banners showing support for the Queensland teams. Aleisha and I organised one, the other girls did not, so not only did she acquire a gorgeous Mazon stick signed by future stars of Australian Hockey, we also got this amazing photo of her with her new friends!

I am now looking forward to Saturday sleep-ins again!

~ Nic

A new blog to take a look at....

2009-09-07T20:38:00.001+12:00

particularly if you have ever thought "wonder if I can do an ATC?". Short answer is "YES YOU CAN!"

go to http://nzatc.wordpress.com and take a look - they are doing challenges and swaps, and it's based in NZ so postage won't be horrendous either! I heard a rumour that they also have had some prizes sponsored from some cool places.

~ Nic

Colour Me Happy - Part 8

2009-08-31T12:33:00.015+12:00

BLACK AND WHITE

Well that is the end of the colour me happy prompts, from the ANZ Fiskars Blog. I've really enjoyed looking for the colours in my world to share with you.

~ Nic

Colour Me Happy - Part 7

2009-08-28T12:49:00.004+12:00

ORANGE

Just a random sampling of orange from around the house, and before anyone gets carried away - the baby wipes are for cleaning stamps, NOT because there is a new Cotterill on the way! LOL

And of course you can't DO orange, without Fiskars who after all are the Kings of Orange!!

And because I can, some orange jokes!

Why did the orange stop rolling down the hill?
It ran out of juice.

Why did the blonde stare at frozen orange juice can for 2 hours?
Because it said 'concentrate'.

How do you tell the difference between a walrus and an orange?
Put your arms around it and squeeze it. If you don't get orange juice, it's a walrus.

~ Nic

We Are The Champions...

2009-08-24T21:21:00.005+12:00

This is my team - the Year 7/8 hockey team from Mairehau Primary School. I have coached that age group now for two seasons, and last season we placed 3rd. After a few teething issues at the beginning of this season (placed in A grade instead of B) we were moved to the correct grade and set about compiling some great efforts.

This culminated in a mighty 6-1 win in the final last Thursday against Our Lady of the Assumption School. So stoked, and to see the kids hug each other and be so excited at the games end, well it just made my day. Aleisha scored 4 of our 6 goals, taking her personal tally for the season well in to double figures. Go that girl!!

So Logan, Caleb W, Caleb S, Sage, Aleisha, Ellie, Brooke, Elaine, Phatra, Nicole and Megan - thank you all so much for a wonderful season. Logan, Caleb W, Nicole, Sage and Megan - good luck with high school next year. To the rest of you, please come back and play again next winter!!

As far as layout details go, that's bazzill cardstock, patterned paper by My Minds Eye, some green tara paper flowers and Heidi Grace black alpha stickers. The cricut proved invaluable in cutting the #1 to the size I needed. And although its hard to see in the photo, I have done a lot of distressing on the edge of the cardstock, the shaped piece and the smaller card rectangles.

~ Nic

Colour Me Happy - Part 6

2009-08-23T20:39:00.004+12:00

YELLOW!

~ Nic

Colour Me Happy - Part 5

2009-08-19T21:29:00.004+12:00

GREEN!!

Admittedly not one of my favourite colours in the world but I did manage to scout round the house and find a few things to share with you all!

Buttons

Tools n Bits

Broccoli

Reusable grocery bag

French Vocab Workbook

Magnet Man!

~ Nic

Colour Me Happy - Part 4

2009-08-15T11:15:00.004+12:00

BLUE!!

I would love to have given you pics of the hockey game this morning, but it RAINED like you wouldnt believe, so have had to resort to last game pics I took on a nice day. Was not going to risk my lovely camera in this weather.

The plaque I blogged about earlier - made for me by Danice for my birthday this year.

~ Nic

Colour Me Happy - parts 2 and 3

2009-08-12T17:04:00.004+12:00

Unfortunately I missed the pink section, but I did play catchup on the ANZ Blog Challenge. Never hard to find some pink when you have an 11 year old daughter around!

Pink Nintendo DS Lite

Pink Cellphone

Pink Glasses Case

Pink Deodorant

And on to the purple segment - again not difficult as Aleisha's room is entirely painted and decorated in purple.

Then in to the bathroom, and look what is lurking in my shower!

And then along a craft vein, look what I am making in purple for Aleisha - a scarf for those cold frosty Christchurch mornings:

Looking forward to seeing what the next colour in the challenge will be,

~ Nic

A bit more RED

2009-08-04T18:55:00.003+12:00

Not quite done with the RED yet. Was cooking dinner tonight and couldn't get over the vibrant red of my canned tomatos. After snapping a quick pic of them I went to the pantry to get something else and found another red can.

And as an addendum to James' red stash in his room, I found his milo mug in the dishes! What can I say this boy REALLY loves red!!

~ Nic

Colour Me Happy - RED

2009-08-02T16:40:00.004+12:00

I have started following a month long challenge over at the ANZ Fiskars Blog which is being run by Annette Hannigan. 9 colours will be highlighted over the month of August, starting with this one - RED

Firstly I photographed the rubbish bin - we have 3, one for foodscraps/green waste with a green lid, a yellow lidded recycling goods bin and this one which is for all that does not fit either of the other two:

My peg bucket, which is actually a cookie-time christmas cookie bucket repurposed for pegs (you do have to drill holes in the bottom or in the middle of winter you will get your bucket full of rain, and then frozen over in the frosts!)

And then this, which I found exactly like this in my 13yr old sons room. He has ALWAYS had a red fixation for as long as he has been able to voice an opinion. He loved Elmo, Po the red teletubby, and Murray the red wiggle! Needless to sa y even as a teen, his PE kit bag for school, his retainer case, wallet and cellphone - ALL RED!

Why not pop over to the blog and play along too? Would love to see what you come up with!

~ Nic

More on school pride -

2009-07-30T11:04:00.005+12:00

Take 1300+ teenage boys, add one local mall carpark, a sunny winters morning, around $2000 of fundraising for Heart Kids, and a very stirring haka. Mix all together and enjoy!

~ Nic

Explaining the graduation process and more...

2009-07-18T17:52:00.004+12:00

For those who commented and said "huh?" yesterday, I thought I'd give a brief rundown of how the graduation system works. Like I said then this has NOTHING to do with how bright you are, and everything to do with how much effort you put in to school life.

Each class teacher marks each boy out of 5 on 4 different aspects - attitude, classwork, homework and equipment. A 5 = always and a 1 = below standard. Each mark out of 20 is added together for a total out of 160 which is then converted to a percentage.

Boys are expected to achieve 60% or greater all year long to move on to the next year level. If at term 3 boys are struggling with this then a plan is put in place to help him achieve. At the end of the year when reports are given out the boys are also given their graduation certificate. 60-74% is a pass. 75% to 89% is graduated with merit, and 90% plus is graduated with excellence.

I know for some this will sound a little outdated - and maybe even Victorian - but this school does pride itself on turning out top quality "Shirley Men" and while it may not be PC they do want boys giving their best effort or moving elsewhere where a half-arsed effort is good enough.

We recieved another letter from the school today. Well actually it was addressed to Matthew and signed by the Headmaster. It was to point out that he is on track to achieve Excellence in Level 1 NCEA, and become a member of the school's 90's Club. This is made up of kids who are achieving 90%+ in any subject. A nice touch I think, as it has redoubled his efforts in studying. He has senior exams in week 6 of this coming term, and then his finals early in term 4 which are the big ones for NCEA.

Do I sound like I really like this school? Yeah I do, it works well for my boys. Our boys. Hmm have to watch that ownership thingy in case the Mr is reading! (yeah right, like he could find a blog when World of Warcraft beckons)

~ Nic

Awards and reports and other good news.

2009-07-16T20:33:00.003+12:00

First off I was thrilled this morning to get the post in and find James' graduation report in the mail from school. Now a graduation report has nothing to do with achievement, and EVERYTHING to do with attitude. They expect boys to get better than 60% all year to be able to move in to the next year group.

Last term there was a bit of an issue in his class with a stand-in maths teacher who decided to mess with the grades and give boys who had worked hard, a 2 in some areas pulling their overall grades down. Thankfully the school were on to it, and retroactively gave the boys this terms maths grades for last term and recalculated their percentages.

James received for term 1 - 96% (after recalculation) and for term 2 - 97%. This is an awesome effort! He received full marks in English, Maths, Music, PE and Science, and lost only one mark in Graphics, Japanese and two in Social Studies.

I also received an award - a blog award from my good friend Hilary

I am going to pass it on to a few friends too - Debbie, Danice and Tracy.

cheers!
~ Nic

Pictures aplenty!

2009-07-12T12:59:00.003+12:00

Be prepared to drown in luscious Kaisercraft goodness! God knows I am about drowning on my own craft desk with all this stuff waiting to be used!!

Offshore Collection - this was part of my prize pack, from ArtfullCrafts -

This is the full PennyRoyal collection which I ordered for myself -

This is Loire Valley, some of it I ordered in my second order and some was part of my prize pack. I'm not telling how much of it is in which part -

And these are just a few bits that don't fit with any of the other collections, but managed to find their way to my desk all the same -

So there you go - luscious Q1 goodness from Kaisercraft. Yummmmmmmm.

~ Nic

My Lucky Day with Q1 From Kaisercraft

2009-07-07T20:01:00.002+12:00

I will be the first to admit I'm not a paper purist, if I buy it then it's because I LIKE the colours, patterns, feel of it, whatever. I'm not brand specific, but when Kaiser released their Q1 ranges on the 1st of July I fell in love. And with more than one collection.

So seeing as the release coincided with a healthy tax refund I decided to treat myself to one collection. I agonised for a while over it, and decided PennyRoyal was the one for me. Now in New Zealand there is one person who I think promotes Kaiser the best, so it was no surprise that my order went to ArtfullCrafts who are based in Timaru. I have purchased from Liz before via her trademe auctions and have always been impressed with the speed of delivery and the friendly customer service.

So when I moseyed over to the website to place my order I saw she was running competitions - for every $25 you spent your name went in the draw to win an entire collection FREE. For every order placed each day you got the chance to win two paper packs. Plus she was giving away magazines via her blog.

I received my order on an overnight courier (remember I said she was FAST?) well it is even better in real life, and I can't wait to crack in to the collection and create some new layouts.

Sunday night I got bored (such a dangerous place the internet when you are bored!) and I started filling my cart again. Long story short, my second order was placed and paid for and will hopefully be here tomorrow.

Monday I get an email from Liz just titled "The Big One". I was curious! Opened it, and went into total cyber meltdown freakout mode. I had won the competition to win a full collection of my choice for FREE!

So tonight I sent the order for that one through as well. It really has been a lucky week for me! I won't mention how many times my name was in that draw (you never know if the husband is lurking!) but shopping paid off! Woot!!

~ Nic

Layouts from Methven

2009-07-05T21:51:00.010+12:00

Not quite sure where to start with this post - which is possibly why it has taken so long to blog it! The weekend is almost just a memory now, although the friendships forged will not so easily disappear into the dank recesses of time.

Friday we arrived up at the retreat via Methven township for what I can only describe as the best hot chocolate this side of the Southern Alps at Cafe 131. While we thought we'd timed it quite well, we were among the last to arrive! But luckily that meant the fires were both lit, and the hall was all set up to begin creating almost right away.

Debs and I found ourselves a nice little piece of Auschwitz, er I mean a lovely bunkroom with multibunks and got settled pretty quickly. It was a real treat to be able to dump our scrap stuff off on a table and know it could stay there all weekend. It was also VERY cool to have a big table that you only had to share with one other person, so you could spread yourself out a bit and not feel like you were forever doing that "oh sorry let me move that for you" dance.

Without any further ado let me show you the fruits of a weekends work:

Those were all layouts completed during "freetime" which was pretty much all the time, except for the odd (non-compulsory) game and two VERY cool classes. The first class was a hybrid layout which was designed and presented to us by the very awesome Janine Worthington of digi-rosa. To see more of her own very cool stuff click on her name, I've linked it to her blog. The woman is more than a scrapper, she is a hell of an artist! Anyway she had designed a page with several colour options, and some very cool transparent overlays. I'm thrilled with my first ever hybrid scrap layout and my first real foray into distressing techniques. She even had us SCREW UP! our papers!!

And the second class was a page kit supplied to us and designed for us by the amazing Nic Howard. Because she was unable to come down, it was Bee who walked us through it - showing us how to create some really cool distressing effects, and how to use glimmermist (the big flower was originally a hideous yellow) and boy was it really cool to see how we all took the same instructions but made quite different layouts!

Between games, eating, layouts, watching the rugby on Prime, (somewhere there is an awfully incriminating pic of me doing a haka!) talking, laughing..... I feel really blessed to have had this awesome weekend experience. I can not wait for the next one, and will be signing up right away.

A special thank you goes out to Tanya Leigh for her amazing patience and work in getting the weekend sorted for us, although it looked like a calm process I am sure you went through your share of sleepless nights making sure we had such an awesome weekend!

Cheers

~ Nic

More from Methven

2009-07-01T20:53:00.004+12:00

As a good friend reminded me tonight (thanks Hils!) I still have to upload photos of the scrapwork done at camp. Of course these kinds of photos are best taken in daylight, and she reminded me in the evening so....

As a kind of 'keep you going' snack here is a pic of all the ladies from camp:

This photo was only accomplished after much figuring out of the self timer on my camera! LOL

~ Nic

How Cold Was It In Methven??

2009-06-27T21:35:00.006+12:00

You tell me! that pond was entirely frozen over! We threw rocks to see and they didnt even make a dent. And keep your eye on the post sticking up right at the back of the shot....

that is the post right there, along with the frozen into the water boat! brrrr!! No wonder it took ages to thaw out when we got home!

And a couple of very arty ice shots caused by a leaking sprinkler hose. Love how each blade of grass is carefully encapsulated in an ice casing!

~ Nic

A brief debrief

2009-06-24T22:09:00.002+12:00

Camp was AMAZING. 3 days of lollies, laughs and crafting - what better way to spend the weekend? I'm still suffering post-holiday anti-climax syndrome (PHACS) and a bit of culture shock at having to make meals for the family again instead of having them just magically appear but slowly getting back to routine.

3 things I did discover this weekend -

Debs is still my besty in the whole wide world. I love this chick so much (and in case either husband is reading I mean that in the totally lesbian way!!) If you know what I mean!

It is possible to get high on sugar.

I have changed my scrapping style, thanks to amazing classes from Nic Howard and Janine Worthington of digi-rosa. And I think I like it!

More soon I promise, including some photos

cheers
~ Nic

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-06-18T18:36:00.004+12:00

Earlier this week a funny thing happened. I became a year older. Ordinarily this would not make me laugh, but because of the way things transpired I certainly saw the humour in it!

See I am off to scrap camp this weekend, and between the cost of camp and some spending pingas I told the Mr not to buy me anything for my birthday. He wasn't convinced but I told him that really my trip was the best present ever and it would be fine.

He was up early on my birthday and actually left before any of the children got up. Because there was nothing to 'open' they didn't remember either and in fact it was Aleisha who remembered as we were walking to the bus. Top marks to her, it was 6.30pm THAT NIGHT before her brothers cottoned on!!

The actual day was a good one all the same, mum took me out for breakfast and her and dad spoilt me rotten with lovely new top, hairdryer, showergel and socks. My dear friend Hilary bought me new mats for my cricut (now that girl GETS my hobbies LOL), another friend Lindsey sent me a voucher for a girly lunch, and my mother in law funded my nice new jammies.

Then today a courier arrived. And this was inside:

I've know Danice online for a couple of years now, and I know the love and effort she puts in to her work. I've also known her to rip things apart if she isn't happy with them and she pours so much love into things she gives as gifts. I will admit to a wee dose of 'sweaty eyelids' when I was looking at it. Thank you soooo much - it is totally gorgeous and I am going to hang it somewhere that will remind me every day to count my blessings, and you are one of them!

~ Nic

Prize winner belatedly drawn

2009-06-04T10:06:00.001+12:00

Sorry guys, been up to my neck in sick children - at one stage both my boys were dying of man flu and had their father come home sick from work then I was plotting to move OUT!

But I am happy to announce that Sandrine! you are the winner of my anniversary RAK. Please send me an email with your mailing address and I will post your goodies off to you.

I can see from the comments that my next blog post needs to explain RTD's in cans - stay tuned!

~ Nic

Happy Blogaversary Baby!

2009-05-18T22:04:00.002+12:00

Well ok strictly I am 3 days late - but yes as of the 15th of this month I have been blogging for 12 months. Now given my track record of sticking to things, I find this to be quite impressive!

My anniversary, but you are getting the gift. That's right after my purge and clean I have some things to give away. I will enter your name in the draw if you leave a comment here. If you link my post on your blog, then come back to tell me then I will enter your name a second time. I will enter you a 3rd time if you are responsible for sending more than 3 others my way - so make sure they mention in the comments that you sent them my way.

I will upload a sneak peek of the goodies on here tomorrow!

Happy Anniversary darlings!!

~ Nic

Had a bit of a clean-up

2009-05-16T23:24:00.005+12:00

- and now I have a lot more room on my desktop to create, and still keep up to date with the happenings on the internet.

Dragged in an old set of drawers that I found in the garage, and they now house things that were over-crowding me like cricut cartridges and cuttlebug folders!

See those pizza boxes up there? Two of them are full of completed layouts that need albums. I got one today from Kmart who have 40% off all the scrapping gear this week but I can see I will need at least another two or three.

~ Nic

What do these things have in common?

2009-05-10T15:05:00.003+12:00

Fluffy slippers, a leather wallet, chocolate and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc?

Well for me they are all indicators that my family DO appreciate what I do for them. Today is Mothers Day and I do feel really loved!

To all the other mums out there in the blogosphere I hope you too have felt love from your family in whatever form it takes.

Cheers

~Nic

National Scrapbooking Day - a layout challenge

2009-05-04T19:14:00.003+12:00

Over on the Fiskateers website they have been celebrating NSD in fine style with a weekend full of challenges.

Because of the time differences we in NZ went in to the day ahead, so one of the leads set a challenge for any kiwi or aussie to produce a layout themed as 'time' - lately my scrapping mojo has been a bit on the hibernating side so it was kind of fun to sit down last night and play with my photos and papers.

~ Nic

Hockey 1, Hockey 2, Hockey 3....

2009-05-02T13:53:00.007+12:00

Ok so they don't start games like that anymore LOL in fact a lot of the rules and playing conditions have changed markedly since I was a skinny kid running the field waving my stick madly.

But what hasn't changed is the kids enthusiasm for the game - was so much fun this morning to watch Aleisha and her team mates enjoy their first game of the season. It's her first EVER club game, having only played socially for school for one season last year. The excitement mounted when it was decided she would play right striker (or is that a football term? should I say wing?) with one of her best friends on the left wing.

Sydenham Black, that's us! played Selwyn House (private school team) in the first game of the season this morning at Wycola Park in Hornby. Sydenham took an early 2-0 lead in the first half.

In the second half Sydenham upped their attack but it was Selwyn who scored first to make it 2-1.

Then came the moment that makes a mum glow! Aleisha took a shot from near the top of the circle, which hit the base of the goal on the side and went in - 3-1 to Sydenham, full time! Although that is Eleanor in the forefront of the shot, it was the end of the shot from Aleisha that brought up their third goal. You can see Aleisha well behind her, yes it was a GREAT shot!

And as if that wasn't enough for one week, that game came hot on the heels (like 24hrs after) she ran second in the school cross country.

What can I say? she doesn't get any of her athletic ability from her mum!

~ Nic

Back to school

2009-04-27T19:51:00.004+12:00

Don't get me wrong, love having them home with me (and LOVE the sleep-ins!) but it was nice to see the kids get all kitted out in their winter uniforms and head out the door this morning.

But not before I snuck some photos - yes even of surly teens who don't do mornings well! thanks Matt for playing the game LOL

~ Nic

Lest we forget...

2009-04-25T20:42:00.003+12:00

They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Anzac Day - 25 April - is a day that is pivotal in both the history of New Zealand but also in the history of World War 1. On that day in 1915, the ANZAC's (NZ and Australian soldiers) landed at Gallipoli in an effort to take over Turkey and the surrounding areas from the grip of Ottoman Empire who were allies of the German army.

While they did not achieve this objective, ANZAC day is remembered as a public holiday where we remember not only those who fought at Gallipoli but ALL servicemen who have fought for our freedoms.

Part of the history of the ANZAC's is the good old Anzac Biscuit. The beauty of these is they stayed fresh for ages, so were ideal for transporting to the back of beyond by soldiers. The other beauty of these is they are so easy to make, and so yummy to eat!

In one bowl combine 1 cup of flour, 1.5 cups of dessicated coconut, 1.5 cups of rolled oats, and 3/4 cup of sugar. In a pot melt 125g of butter and two tablespoons of golden syrup. In a mug, dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 4 tablespoons of boiling water.

Combine all three and mix well.

Spoon on to a biscuit tray in high piles and bake in the oven at 180 Celsius for around 15-18 minutes.

Allow to cool (if you can wait!) and enjoy!

Remember I said these were easy? Well that is James my 13yr old making them, completely on his own. They are THAT simple.

~ Nic

~*~ Lest We Forget ~*~

Just checking in

2009-04-22T19:39:00.003+12:00

hasn't been a lot of craft activity going on at all but hopefully this week/weekend should change that!

Have some photos to work with, some nice Kaiser papers to play with and a tidy desk to mess up - all I need is some time, and motivation. Must check TradeMe for both! LOL

~ Nic

PS! Vicki just reminded me in my comments! I'm going to a scrap camp! How cool is that?? Methven in June, a whole weekend of scrapping!!

My first EVER blog award!

2009-04-17T22:12:00.003+12:00

I was so excited to be reading my friend Vicki's blog to see she had awarded me this very cool 'Blog Award' It is the first Award of my blogging life-span (which is ALMOST 12 months!) so it makes it extra special.

In true Blog Award style, I am awarding this to a couple of my blogging friends too so Kelly, Hilary and Tracy - time for you to add this to yours!

Cheers,

Nic

What's new in my 'creation station'

2009-04-08T20:42:00.004+12:00

Been a busy wee bee of late, with a kit for the Design Team at this site as well as making around 45 birthday invites for a friends 30th party and a birthday card for Aleisha's 11th birthday.

Bundled in with all that I was asked to photograph a fashion show for the school who are fundraising to get a new hall built, we also marked the passing of two years since Craig's father died, and 16 years since we lost Baby Nicky. Yes I guess you could say life is never dull!

Anyway on with the show! The kit was a black and white affair which initially scared me - I like colour! - but I am happy with my results. Luckily for me the week before I received the kit I had taken heaps of photos of the kids down at Horseshoe Lake.

James is always keen to have his photo taken, although this day he was suffering from a migraine hangover and had to keep the sunnies firmly on. Didn't matter as it just made the 'cool dude' stand out!

Those of you with teenage boys will know that they are creatures of rare smiling. So this photo really thrilled me - such a nice natural smile, and a reminder that beneath the grunts and funny smells there lurks a reasonably pleasant young man!

I am particularly pleased with this layout, for a number of reasons. One is that I often keep loading stuff on my page to the point of saturation - and this time I resisted. I also had an enormous rub-on that read 'together' that I had the bright idea of cutting in to, hence the 'her' and the flourishes. Who says you have to use it the way they give it to you?

I made 45 of these for my friend Becks, really enjoyed doing them for a change but think I am really a layout girl, not a card/invite kind of crafter. Nice for a change of pace though!

And despite saying I don't like doing cards, I am quite pleased with this one - done entirely in Aleisha's favourite colour PURPLE. If you look closely at the background there is a horrendous photo of me with the kids, circa 1998.

Anyway that's all for now, I now have the unenviable task of digging my desk out from under all the offcuts of invites etc

~ Nic

Happy 11th Birthday Aleisha

2009-03-25T08:55:00.003+13:00

Eleven years ago today we welcomed our one and only princess to the family. We had been told in 2 scans she was indeed a pink and not a blue, but she was actually almost 18hours old before I got 'visual proof' because she was not a very well baby initially resulting in her being rushed to NICU before we had really even seen her.

She was gorgeous though, with so much thick black hair that we could put hairties in it from day one, and she was the most perfect little sister that two boys could ask for.

As she grew we watched her personality develop, she was so cute it was hard to growl at her sometimes!

And that hair just got longer and longer too!

This picture was taken earlier this month - watch for it in a layout when I blog next week with my DT stuff. Isn't she just perfect? We love you very much Aleisha, have an awesome birthday!

~ Love mum

I'm home, did you miss me?

2009-03-21T14:35:00.002+13:00

I have just spent four days at Hanmer Springs as a parent helper for Aleisha's Year 7 and 8 camp.

Those who know me well, know I am built for comfort and not speed but still I managed to participate in all the activities with the group I was in charge of - which included belaying up very tall trees and mountain biking over 12km! Got to tell you my bum is only just starting to feel better now!

Took a few photos but mainly of other people's kids so not a lot of point in sharing them here but I will get some of the ones taken of Aleisha by others for scrapping purposes.

Hope you are all well

~ Nic

Do you want a pretty blog?

2009-03-07T18:17:00.002+13:00

I have to admit I'm not one for tinkering with html and stuff in the search of a pretty blog, but when I logged in to my friend Kelly's blog hers just looked so much nicer! I saw the link to the site she had used and decided to give it a go.

So if you want one too, go here and with just a quick registration you too can follow the simple instructions to create a pretty blog!

~ Nic

Just Checking In...

2009-03-04T22:25:00.002+13:00

have got some great new photos to scrap, and another DT pack from here on its way to me via courier.

Of course I won't be able to share them here until they hit the newsletter on the 1st April, but the theme of all the products is black and white which throws me some interesting challenges.

Stay tuned!

~ Nic

Crop Til You Drop!

2009-02-27T09:14:00.006+13:00

Well we tried!! Last friday night, my bestie Deb and I went to a crop at The Stamping Ground from 6 til midnite. I have to say the best place to run a scrapshop is handy to a McDonalds because that sort of food really gets the creativity buzzing!

During the night we both managed three layouts, although I didn't journal on mine until over the weekend because I forgot my pens!

Then on Sunday night I went back to Bossy Scrapper which is an online chat where one person (the boss) gives instructions to create a layout. Although you all get the same instructions its very cool to see the different layouts that come from it. This is mine:

Please note there are four layouts, two each of James and Aleisha. Matthew commented there were none of him, and I had to remind him how he runs screaming when I get the camera out!!

Will have to see if I can scrap some more this weekend - starting to get my groove back I think!!

~ Nic

Most recent works

2009-02-17T20:36:00.002+13:00

I have never professed to being a cardmaker, but I am quite happy with how this turned out for Matthew's 15th birthday last month:

These three layouts are from the Scrap-Pack Premium for sale here. I have been on the design team for them since the beginning of 2008, and the packs are just getting better and better. The only additions from my stash are stamps/inks and the thickers letters on the third layout.
.

These were completed in January and February is shaping up to be a slow scrap month, although I am off to a crop for 6hrs on Friday night at a local store so there could be a few layouts to share after that.

~ Nic

Because I can't resist a dare...

2009-02-14T18:44:00.004+13:00

I love reading my friend Vicki's blog, and she issued me a dare over this post. I had chuckled right out loud at the sight of all those pale blue school socks, and commented that I thought she was in my backyard until I realised there weren't enough socks. "Dare you to take a pic of yours" she replied to me via email.

So I did:

8 pairs of socks, and so easy to tell which ones belong to the Year 9 and which belong to the Year 11, solely based on the length!

~ Nic

Another First Day

2009-02-07T21:20:00.002+13:00

Although our school encompasses intermediate years (Yr 7 and 8 or in old language Form 1 and 2) I think these photos are worthy of their own blogpost. Aleisha is in Year 7 this year, with all the rights and responsibilities of being a 'senior' like the new senior uniform, and being a Student Leader.

When the boys got to start school a week earlier she wasn't overly happy about it. In her words "they don't even WANT to go, so how come I can't when I want to??" Luckily for her she has been placed in a class called 'like minded learners' with a woman who is, in my opinion, the best teacher in the entire country. She inspires kids to set goals and reach for them. She believes they can do things when they are not sure, and in doing so she allows them to believe in themselves.

We are all very excited about this year!

~ Nic

New Beginnings...

2009-01-27T08:25:00.004+13:00

I have always loved the start of a new school year. New books, new shoes, new uniform if you were lucky (and new to you if you weren't so lucky!) and sometimes even a new school.

This year James is off to high school and it seems such a big jump from his primary school of 365 kids to one of 1300+ some of whom are big and hairy menboys! His uniform looks fab, although a little on the roomy side LOL but we will call that growing room!

Have an awesome first day James!

Time flies....

2009-01-18T21:13:00.004+13:00

this does not seem like 15 years ago at all:

and yet 15 yrs ago, on the 16th of January 1994 we welcomed Matthew George into our lives. At a whopping 9lb 2oz he did look rather out of place in an incubator in the NICU but he soon learnt to regulate his own temperature

and then we got to take him home!

And then we blinked and he was 15 -

Happy Birthday Matthew! Sorry no car keys this year - maybe next year (but dont hold your breath too hard k?)

~ Nic aka mum

Happy Anniversary baby... got you on my - miiiiiiiiiind

2009-01-02T20:56:00.003+13:00

Yes 16 years ago today, on a wet but warm Christchurch day I married my soulmate. Would it have been easy to walk away anytime in the past 16 years? oh hell YES but marriage is a commitment and one we have worked at over and over. We meant it when we pledged to each other, and despite a few hairy moments over the years we have managed to stay not just lovers but friends.

And hell who can be bothered starting over and having to retrain another one???

~ Nic

Want a late Christmas goodie?

2008-12-27T15:12:00.000+13:00

then check out my friend Danice's blog at http://danice2008.blogspot.com because she is giving away some really awesome acrylic stamps to one lucky person who leaves her a comment! Make sure to tell her I sent you!!

~ Nic

Merry Christmas - from down under to you!

2008-12-24T22:59:00.004+13:00

It was the night before Christmas, and all round the bach
Not a possum was stirring; not one we could catch.
We left on the table a meat pie and beer,
In hopes that Santa Claus soon would be here.

We children were snuggled up in our bunk beds,
While dreams of pavlova danced in our heads;
And mum in her nightie, and dad in his shorts,
Had just settled down to watch TV sports.

When outside the bach such a hoo-ha arose,
I woke up at once from my wonderful doze.
I ran straight to the sliding door, looking about,
Jumped out on the deck, and let out a shout.

The fairy lights dad had strung up around the door
Let me see everything down to the shore.
And what did I see, when I took a peep?
But a miniature tractor and eight tiny sheep.

With a little old driver, his dog on his knee.
I knew at once who this joker might be.
He patted his dog, and in a voice not unkind,
Cried "Good on ya, boy! Now, get in behind!

"Now, Flossy! now Fluffy! now Shaun and Shane!
On, Bossy! on, Buffy on, Jason and Wayne!
Up that red tree, to the top of the bach!
But mind you don't trample the vegetable patch."

So up on the roof those sheep quickly flew,
With the tractor of toys, Santa and his dog too.
As my sister awoke and I turn around,
In through the window he came with a bound.

He wore a black singlet and little white shorts,
And stuck on his feet were gumboots of course;
A sack full of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a postie just opening his pack.

His eyes right as paua shell - oh, how they twinkled!
Like an old tuatara, his skin was all wrinkled!
He had a wide face and a round, fat tummy,
That looked like he'd eaten lots that was yummy.

He spoke not a word, but got down on one knee,
And placed a cricket set under the tree,
A present for sis, one for dad, one for mum,
Then he turned and he winked and held up his thumb.

He jumped on his tractor, to his dog gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, as fast as a missile.
I called out "thanks," as he flew past the gate.
He called back: "Kia ora to all, and good on ya, mate."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

Merry Christmas to all my friends in blogland! ~ Nic

Another day, another prizegiving, and

2008-12-18T21:08:00.006+13:00

another proud parenting moment! Although it was also an evening to shed a few quiet tears, as it was also James' graduation evening. As of January 27th 2009, he is officially a High School student.

The evening started fairly quietly, the graduating Year 8's were brought in by name to sit on special seating to the side of the stage. Then they presented the Student Leader certificates to thank them for their efforts:

Then was the presentation of certificates to House Captains and their deputies, James was deputy for Whero house:

Then each class is able to award 5 certificates based on the key competencies. James was awarded Managing Self for his strong work ethic and for setting his goals and acheiving them. Not sure why the funny face, but really he was happy!

Then was the presentation of the Year 8's portfolios and Graduation Certificates - James graduated at the highest level, which is platinum:

We thought that was the end of it to be honest, as they began to read out the cups for arts, culture, sports etc. So you can imagine our surprise and excitement when the joint winners of the Lowe Cup for Academic Excellence were called and it was James and his best friend Cai!

The lolly leis were made by the family of the physically disabled boy in their class who also graduated - Rock on Junior! We'll miss your smiling face next year!

~Nic

SBHS Junior Prizegiving

2008-12-13T20:07:00.003+13:00

When the school sends you a letter - it's usually a bad thing LOL but not this time. We got a letter last week inviting us to Matthew's end of year prizegiving to see him receive an award. Well the letter said "an" award but on arriving and seeing the ceremony it was more than one!

Here he is lining up to receive his awards. There was a collective gasp around the hall when the deputy principal called out "Matthew Cotterill, Excellence in Economics, in English, in French, in Mathematics and in Social Studies" - and his mum, dad and nan were probably as stunned as any.

The certificates were awarded by the dean of their year, Mr Hay.

The surprises however, were not over yet. During the awarding of the special prizes Matthew was awarded the Webb-Holmes Cup for outstanding examination results through the year. This cup was presented by the Principal, Mr Laurenson.

That concluded the school year for Matthew, and he collected his end of year report, school magazine and class info for 2009 and was released into his summer holidays.

Isn't he just a gorgeous young man?

~ Nic

Just a quick catch-up

2008-12-06T20:19:00.003+13:00

life gets a bit manic this time of year doesn't it?

We have end of year things for school, brownies, music, etc and seems there is just not as many hours in the day this close to Christmas!

Lots of cool news this time of year too - while they didn't say exactly what his results were, the Shirley Boys interview person told James' class teacher they were blown away by the work he did on his entrance exam! YAY James!! We've had a letter to say he was in the top 60, and would we apply for the extension class. Very cool news for James who has a history of working well all year, then flubbing out on exams etc. his end of year report was all A's! And his teacher left the most awesome comments on it too. He also passed his clarinet exam with merit - 82%! Considering his braces came off two days before the exam and he had 48hrs to relearn his mouth positioning he did great!

Aleisha has finished Brownies, and is off to Guides next year - still not sure which troup but will decide over the break. She received her Challenge 9 award at a recent ceremony for the district, which is the highest badge you can do at Brownies. She also passed her violin exam with distinction, 85%. Her end of year report was all A's bar one! She received a Principals Award for it too.

Matthew got through all his exams - all 9 papers! - without too much drama. We won't get the results for two of them until the NCEA results come out in January, but his Yr 10 exam results are great. 81% for English, 89% for Science, 90% for Social Studies, 94% for Economics and Maths, and 96% for French. His PE/Health mark is as yet unaccounted for. We had a letter this week asking us to attend Junior Prizegiving this Friday so that is very cool for him too.

Craig's stepdad is doing well too which is lovely and positive. He still has three working stents from his 8 or 9 yr old quad bypass which is incredible!

Anyway better dash - need to make this lounge tidy so we can get our tree up tomorrow!

~ Nic

James - the journey to the perfect smile

2008-11-27T21:40:00.010+13:00

Two years, 10 days and $4900 ago we had a just turned 11yr old son whose teeth looked like this:

He did not like to smile, or open his mouth at all. So we met with a lovely orthodontist called Donna who made him look like this:

He visited Donna every 4-6 weeks and had his braces tightened, the coloured clips changed and new wires placed. He was very patient and brushed carefully so he would have nice teeth after all the effort. Eventually he looked like this:

And Donna said "lets take these braces off!" and she did! Well actually her really kind and patient assistant Kelly did that bit. And then the sad quiet little boy who didn't smile, and wouldn't speak to people in case they laughed at his teeth, suddenly beamed a beautiful white shiny smile:

And everything was right with the world again. And his mum and dad heaved a huge sigh of relief.

~Nic

"Plotting" my vegie garden

2008-11-25T19:17:00.005+13:00

We're not blessed with green thumbs here at the Cotterill house. Well we might be but we lack the gene to actually usually give a shit about gardening. This is what the whole of our back yard looked like (ok no-one sees behind the garage so we didn't do that bit but it gives a great frame of reference):

We cleared most of the back and planted spuds to try and break the soil up a bit.

Then Craig built these AMAZING beds on the front third of the vege garden, which we planted out a couple weekends ago:

In this section we have chives, lemon thyme, and celery on the lefthand side, peppers from seed (not showing yet) then two rows of bok choi. The back row is peas.

In this bin we have chinese cabbages (seed), regular cabbage, spinach, silverbeet, cauli and broccoli. Running along the back we have butter beans.

In the third bin we have mesculan lettuce, regular lettuce, carrots (not yet showing), peas along the back and in the pots still tomato plants.

And because I went out with the camera my little tart had to have her photo taken!

Would love to see some of your vegie plots too - leave me a note on how to find them!

~Nic

I'm not good with stress...

2008-11-20T09:12:00.002+13:00

and I'm even less good with it, when it involves my kids.

Matthew is currently on exam leave. Only in year 10 but still has an exam in every subject, plus two science papers to sit at NCEA level 1. He's good at sitting and studying, but he analyses everything after the paper berating himself if he missed a sitter or second guessing himself over things.

James is in the middle of an investigation at school over bullying. Apparently its been going on for over a term, but he only told us this week. It kind of blew up at school too, with him retaliating (like in rugby retaliation is as bad as starting it) so there is a big investigation under way and it's making him (and us) feel quite ill.

And if that wasn't enough to be going on with, Craig's stepdad Jim had a heart attack. Another one. He is having an angiogram today with a view to bypass surgery (his 2nd lot). We have not mentioned it to the children - bad parenting maybe? - but they have enough on their plates.

Roll on 2009, this year/18mths has sucked arse.

~Nic

Apparently I AM a cardmaker

2008-11-16T21:55:00.006+13:00

despite my assertations to the contrary!

I really enjoyed my class at Scrapbook Art yesterday. Two and half hours of full on creating, resulting in 10 cards! That's about one every 15minutes! We did a card for almost any occasion too - see:

Boy Birthday:

Baby Girl:

Christmas Gift Cards x2:

Wedding:

Spring/Easter:

Baby Boy:

Girl Birthday:

Invite and Love Card:

~ Nic

A little bit of karma in my life....

2008-11-14T11:32:00.002+13:00

Let me preface this by saying I don't do nice things for my friends in the hopes of a reward, but earlier this week just that happened to me!

My friend Kathleen's mum was in hospital with a stomach bug, and then developed pneumonia and ended up comatose and intubated in ICU. As a solo mum of 4 kids, whose ex is as useful as a fish's bicycle being up with her mum and home with her kids was one hell of a juggling act. I offered to help her with the kids, leaving her free to sit with her mum.

Thankfully she is doing a lot better now, although she is still a long way from being allowed home. She will need some time in a regular ward, followed by some rehab at another hospital.

Thing is Kathleen and her mum had booked to do a class at Scrapbook Art this Saturday. So Kathleen has offered me her mum's ticket! YAY!!!

~Nic

A bit of a catch-up, and men as well

2008-11-08T20:27:00.003+13:00

I seem to have been a bit slack with the blog lately, mostly due to being busy doing "mum stuff" like helping at school athletics day, and working as a temp back at the print shop to make money for Christmas and other exciting things.

So to clear up unfinished blog business - could Gen, Tracy AND Beth email me your postal details as I want to send you all "oddments".

Do you know any male scrappers? Would you think less of a man who was in touch with his creative side? I've been a member of a website for a while - and for a lot of the time it's been a purely female domain. But lately there's been men joining in, not a lot of the 5000+ members, like maybe 4 or 5 of them, but still it is really interesting to see their perspective on things.

I'd love to hear about the male scrappers in your life!

~Nic

Post SENZ Rak-Attack Winner!

2008-10-25T19:57:00.005+13:00

You will have to click on the image to be able to read the information, but it tells us several interesting things!

One - I am on msn to Danice/Dana
Two - I have the tab open at the winners blog

and most importantly, especially for her, the winner was comment #24 - Jess! So Jess congratulations and please let me know your postal address so I can mail this wee baby off to you!

Thanks for all your fab comments this week, for another lucky dip envelope of random goodies see the post below this one!

~Nic

Sending out an SOS

2008-10-24T20:49:00.001+13:00

I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle... mmmm Sting.....

http://cosmocricket.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-many-people-can-you-fit-into-cosmo.html

help me vote Genevieve Rodriguez into first place, so she can win some yummy cosmo cricket stuff! you just have to leave a comment on the blog above saying she sent you (not my name - hers) and she stands to win big.

In return I'll pick someone who comments here to say they did, and send them an envelope of oddments.

~Nic

Post SENZ Rak-Attack

2008-10-20T19:45:00.003+13:00

I have acquired some serious stash via SENZ, and sometimes when I am out I see things on clearance and buy them then go "why the hell?" or "ooops got that already". Well here's one of those "hey thats cheap I'll buy it" but "oops have one already" items.

So I'm going to RAK it to a reader. Leave me a comment, and I'll draw a name on Saturday.

~Nic

SENZ - it's a wrap!

2008-10-13T21:03:00.007+13:00

I don't even know where to start! What a crazy CRAZY 72 hours. Seriously. I did not know it was possible to laugh so much that your ribs ached and with girls you had really only known online for so long.

I will try and give you a brief rundown of our weekend - but as for any juicy bits well, as the old saying goes, what goes on tour stays on tour LOL so I won't be divulging any secrets here. Can't speak for either Danice or Sandra of course!

Friday morning I met Danice at Wellington airport around 8am, having flown in myself half an hour before hand. From the time she came off the plane and we hugged, it was just non-stop fun and laughter. We claimed the baggage, and waited to meet Serah who was going to chaffeur us to the Silverstream Retreat. When we got there we had to wait for the cleaners to prep our room so we hung out with some Trademe mums who were staying there too, but checking out that morning.

Dallas and Sandra arrived as we were settling in to our unit, and although I had met Sandra before I hadn't met Dallas but she was really cool too and the four of us had heaps of fun over the weekend. We decided to head for SENZ prior to lunch, as Dallas and Sandra had classes booked and Danice and I were keen to shop. We had the foresight to source a liquor store too, and her and I took some RTD's back to our unit and "warmed up" for the PJ crop that night.

The PJ crop was well, average LOL overcrowded tables, that wobbled perilously did not lend itself to cropping but we had huge fun and I am sure that the rest of the room thought we were all completely mental. We damn near wet ourselves everytime we heard the ballsy tones of LADIESSSSSSSSSS! We had Liz and Amanda at our table, and they seemed to fit in although I'm not sure they are as mental as we are!

Saturday was a "do your own thing to your own timetable" day. Between classes and shopping I managed to cram in a duty call to the mother in law (big brownie points there) and score a brunch the following morning with my brother and sister in law. Saturday night we went to a MUCH better organised crop at Kiwiscraps, which had been arranged by the girls from the sketchbook forum.

Sunday rolled round waaaaaaaaay too fast, and a last quick shop (a few places offering last day discounts) while the others did classes, then it was off to Wellington to an amazing cupcake shop. We were wowed with the stunning decorations (and the amazing TASTE) of their creations. From there it was time to split up, with Sandra driving back to Palmerston Nth and the rest of us figuring out the Wellington bus system to get to the airport. Danice flew to Auckland, Dallas and I through to Christchurch, where she headed off to get another flight to Dunedin.

Girls I have to tell you I would do it all again in a heartbeat! Yes I am physically SHATTERED today but you are now in my "forever and always" friends list. Thank you so much for the laughs, and for being my partners in crime.

Now I'm guessing you want to see the stash! First off I admit to LOVING the Kaiser papers so went and bought some not based on projects in mind but solely on the fact the colours were gorgeous:

I also had never seen the CoreCard which has a coloured centre instead of white, so again chose all my favourite colours to bring home:

I bought a lot of other bits n pieces too:

Lusi's class was an envelope album, based around some Buzz n Bloom chipboard covers, that encouraged us to write 12 letters - one per month - for a special reason:

I have to mention its barely 20% done, so will update it when I have done the rest of the work on it! I did get Sandra to snap a pic of me with Lusi too, as she is a fellow Fiskateer:

And finally, the ONE - yes you read that right - the ONE layout I did manage over the weekend:

I have other pics to share, but thats enough for today.

~Nic

Tomorrow, tomorrow - I love ya! Tomorrow......

2008-10-09T20:41:00.000+13:00

I'm packed, stacked and effing fantastic!

Roll on 5.15am and I am up baby! Woohoooooooo! See you all next week, unless I find a wireless hotspot over the weekend,

~Nic