How long is a piece of string?

Whilst preparing to return to WW meetings I looked through all my old WW paperwork. I found a piece of string from a meeting I'd attended in Canberra. The theory was that as you lost weight, the string would become longer....well, mine has shrunk considerably!! The day I took this photo I attended my "first" WW meeting...again... After trying to track and do it by myself several times, I admitted to myself that the only thing which had really worked was Weight Watchers - meetings, weigh-ins and support. My start weight this time is 73.3kilos. With a goal of at least 64kilos that gives me about 9 kilos to lose.
I had my second Weigh-in (WI) tonight and I have lost 1kg. One whole tub of Margarine!

Home sweet home :)

After 8 days away with the kids, and no hubby, it was great to be home. B and T were hardly out of the car before they were into the pool! In our absence A had been very busy, working,and replacing "stuff" at home....we have new beds in the kid's room, new washing machine (which "sings" when the load ends) and a cover for the pool.
The dogs were beside themselves trying to get to us all, and the birds have been enjoying time outside in the fresh air.
Back to work tomorrow,and the challenge of remembering to take photos for my photo a day challenge begins.....

2011.

What will it bring?
We all talk about "new year's resolutions" but how many are broken within the first month (or week!), which just sets us up for failure....
Having said that, I will try, for the third year running, to complete a photo a day/life in photos album for 2011. Being on Holidays right now, it's easy, beaches/themeparks/extended families....but what about being at home - that's where the challenge begins. How exciting!!
I will also return to weightwatchers, being a life member is still pretty cool, but needing to lose 10 kilos that I've put back on, is not. WW is beginning a NEW points system in 2011, geared to healthier eating...I'm going to give it a try.
Money. Oh my, where does it go???? This year won't be any easier, with M living in WA for the year, where we save on expenses at home (4 vs 5) we will need to spend lots on keeping her in her tennis program, and boarding for the year....and that is without flying her anywhere to play - thankfully their will be more tournaments close by than there would be here....add to that B and T are moving from Public to private schooling...
As much as I would have LOVED to take up the offer to take up my old job, the above mentioned finances will not allow me to do this. However I will still be involved in the cluster and at State Level, taking the NT Team to Canberra in October - can't wait!!! Love Canberra :)

As for our little family, I hope we have a happy and healthy 2011 without the dramas of stabbings and motorbike accidents of 2010. Raise your glass to a Happy and Healthy, love filled, 2011.

Blogging again

Hey, it's been AGES since I was on here!! The only reason I'm here today is because I'm setting up a new blog for my SSNT commitments!!
Having a great year. 365 photo going to plan.....1 page done, no cards made.....
Planned and paid for our holiday to VIETNAM. Can't wait to post pictures of that!!! Hopefully better than I was at posting NEW ZEALAND pics!!!

May 31

I am so far behind, but really committed to this 365 project that I've decided to try to post one old and one new picture each post, to try to get up to date!!

MAY 31
Another horrid day! Although I stayed in my PJ's all day it was a very productive day. My scrapbooking area is clean, although rather unused :( and I have done most of the organisation for the SSNT Tennis Exchange. Mum came to visit to pick up her portion of my Stampin Up! paper order and we managed to get a little of the washing dry by hanging it all over the loungeroom!
B spent the entire day with Kat, with M popping over to visit them for a while and joining them for lunch. T caught up with Adam again and A cleaned the club and took a trip to the tip.
I actually love Pyjama days, but am glad that we don't get cold wet days very often as I'd probably never leave the house :)

March 13 and May 30

Photo for March 13 is the School Sport NT Desert Storm Logo. I've been doing a bit of work for them of late (and as usual it plays on my mind during the night) so I thought I'd take a picture of the logo. This picture is off the plaque I was given on leaving my job as Cluster Administrator. It sits on the desk at my new workplace. I am still a volunteer for the Cluster and get a lot of emails at work regarding what's happening (or not) in the region. Unfortunately some of the emails get quarrantined by the email administrator, but he's pretty understanding and usually lets them through when he realises what they are about :)The young lad who's taken over my job tries hard, but doesn't take notes so if he doesn't do the "thing" right away he often forgets to do "it" at all. It's also tough for him because the other person helping with the Cluster is also new to the job. I'm thankful to be able to be involved even though I'm no longer working in the school system and I'm looking forward to my next adventure - convening the State Tennis Championship event for School Sport NT, in June.

MAY 30
What a horrible day!! Wet. Cold. Grey. We couldn't even see the the mountain from our front door. It stayed like this for the whole day and the next as well. It makes it tough to get the washing dry as it rains so rarely that most of us don't have clothes dryers. Saturday is usually our big sport day - coaching, umpiring, playing or watching, sport takes up most of the day. On this cold wet May day almost everything was cancelled. Soccer was most organised, letting us know early that the whole day was cancelled, where as netball unfortunately cancelled game by game, which meant we had to sit by the radio or computer to know what was going on. After attending the delegates meeting at lunch time I'm not sure the policy will be any better next time, although I'm hoping they'll cancel by blocks rather than games...
After buying a heap of hot food from the no longer required canteen at netball we spent some time down on our bed, all five of us, laughing and joking and talking. We are usually so busy these times, are few and far between so it was great to be able to spend the time together! I had a granny nap, T went to his friend Adam's, B went to sleep over at Kat's and M went to a party. A cooked a curry for tea, but it wasn't ready in time so we put on the menu for sunday.

March 12. 12 on 12 day.

As usual, I've taken my 12on12 photos...but who knows how long before a layout gets done? Today was a busy day, like any other Thursday. With work, Netball and Cricket it gets a bit long. When I got home from work on this particular Thursday, B had been cooking...Jam Drops or Billy Buttons. She loves to cook. Cakes. Biscuits. Chocolates. I used to love to cook too. I love having home made wares in the cupboard, but I no longer enjoy cleaning up after the baking process. I'm happy for B to do it :)
Jam Drops
INGREDIENTS:
120g Butter or Margarine
1/2 Cup Castor Sugar
1 Egg
1 3/4 Cup Self Raising Flour
Pinch Salt
Vanilla Essence (1-2 drops)
Jam for "drops"

DIRECTIONS:
1. Butter and sugar to cream
2. Add egg and vanilla
3. Gradually add sifted flour and salt
4. Mix with spoon until mixture forms a dough like consistency
5. Spoon small amounts and roll to form a ball
6. Use small finger knuckle to imprint into ball
7. Spoon small amounts of desired jam into ball centres

Oven Temp: 180*C
Ready when biscuits are brown
Approx 20-30 minuntes

March 11

This is a terrible photo. But it's a photo...taken on March 11th. LOL. I was trying very hard to get a photo of the awesome moon. I'd walked around to Kat's house and seen the moon and asked her to take a photo of it. She tried, but couldn't figure out which setting, and with no tripod it was blurry. I tried from home, but unfortunately the street light kept interfering with my shot.....
March 11th is my mum and S/dad's wedding anniversary. We don't do anything special for them, it's their celebration, but it was interesting to note that when I emailed her to say "Happy Anniversary", she'd forgotten until she arrived at work! This has happened to me on occasion too. Once I went to work and only realised it was our wedding anniversary when I wrote the date on a cheque! True romantics aren't we...?

March 10

This was dinner. Nothing is more frustrating, than getting home from work on a day when your DH has been home on a rostered day (or two) off, and having him ask "What did you want to do for tea?" It happened so often in recent times that on this occasion I simply said, "I don't want to think about it. Let's go to the club" So that's what we did.
Apparently A didn't know what to cook because I often don't want fattening things - like sausages. Well, I don't like sausages anyway, but pretty much anything else would be good. As you can see, this meal from the club is hardly fat free! LOL, Men.

March 9

Pack. Unpack. Take out half. Put it back. There you are ready to go....
That's what they say anyway. I'm not really sure how many times I packed and repacked, but I was pretty sure it was not all going to fit and I was pretty sure I wouldn't have room for my shopping!! We did so much planning for our NZ trip, it seemed it would never come. I got A's backpack out of the shed, months before I needed it, to see if my items would fit or if I'd need to buy a bigger pack. In the end I decided to go with A's pack as it was clean and easy to carry, most of my gear fit and there was no point wasting $200 on a pack I'd rarely use...
This photo is of all my gear that wouldn't fit into the backpack! I bought a day pack to use as my hand luggage and for our day trips, but with all the bits not fitting into the big backpack I borrowed B's school bag to use as my carry on luggage. Her bag was bigger and had more pockets... I packed my day pack into the big bag as well, to use as my day pack in NZ so I wouldn't have to carry everything with me every day during our vacation. It also doubled up as an extra bag for my shopping if needed.
Initially I had my clothing sorted into stuff it bags (see the red bag) but decided it was probably not making the best use of the space inside the backpack, so I removed the bags and packed my gear straight into the backpack instead. Kat convinced me on one such repacking venture, that I really didn't need 8 pairs of socks and liners, freeing up quite a lot of space, which when we finally got to NZ I was grateful for :)

March 8

This was photo was taken after the School Sport Tennis Exchange selection trials. For the first time, both our girls were selected to the team. M has been a part of the team for the last three years and plays heaps of tennis, but B only decided to try out because we were there. I have been a coach/manager of the local representative team on and off since 2005. This year I am convening the State event so won't be taking on a team. As I was at the trials to assist the new team management, and M was trying out, B came too. She filled in during the Bump Doubles to help even up the numbers. The following week she got her forms filled in and entered to try out at the final selection trial - and was selected to represent our Cluster! She was very excited and it was great to see both her siblings excited for her. She's since joined the local club and is having some successes.

March 7, Day 66

B is the most accident prone of all our children - and has lots of scars to show for it! On this particular occasion we were attending the Middle School's Movie Night (Bedtime Stories)...a fairly safe venture, right? Unfortunately B and her friend Ebony had already seen the movie so were a little restless. They wondered off to the toilet (and side tracked to the playground) and didn't return for some time. Eventually Ebony came to get A and let him know that B was stuck, and there was lots of Blood! A went to see what the fuss was about, bringing B back into the hall, just as the movie night was winding up. She sat at the back, resting until the lights came on. When they did come on there was a lot of fussing as everyone realised just how badly B had cut her toe, and how much blood there was. She had slipped on the play equipment, slicing the skin off the back of her big toe - kind of like it would look if a big blister had popped. The principal, seen above, raced off immediately for the first aid kit, tendered to her and with a worried look sent her home. I must say, everyone else was more worried than we were...I wonder if it was because of all the scrapes B has managed to get herself into over the years? FTR - the toe healed quickly and B was able to play tennis the very next day :)

Happy Holidays!!

Hi :) Just a quick message to say "HI"! We are having an awesome holiday in New Zealand, and until today the weather has been GREAT! We were meant to go on a heli-hike up the glaciers today, but it hasn't stopped raining. Even on a walk you can't SEE the glacier!
We've done a 19.4km mountain hike (AWESOME), zorbing (in a bubble ball down a hill), seen countless geysers/mudpools/mountains/lakes etc, ridden the Tranz Alpine train, swam with DOLPHINS!!!!!!!!!!!!! (in the pacific ocean!!), driven around more bends than I've ever seen, caught up with Liz from SS, gone 130m into a cave, walked on a SWING bridge (waaaaaaaay out of my comfort zone!)
Loving it!
We've stayed at backpacker lodges and have met some lovely people. Hopefully we won't have THIS much rain for the rest of the week :)
Unfortunately I can't upload any pics from this computer so I'll just say...it's AWESOME!!!
I'll get back up to date with my pics soon :)
Take care!
xx

March 5 and March 6

March 6

Every week, at our school, somebody from each class gets an award. The student of the week receives a certificate for some reason or other. The kids love it. I'm not sure it's great - after all, EVERY kid gets it at some point during the year, usually twice.
However, on this occasion I was very proud to be able to attend our assembly to witness B receiving her award. Her Teacher had handwritten a note to say how wonderful B's work was and that it was of a 5/6 standard, even though she'd just entered year 4.
With my new job, I am unable to attend assemblies as often as I'd like, but I'll always make time for something special like this.
If the kids are performing at assembly, usually A or I will make the time to go and support the kids. The assemblies are run by the students in 5/6 and are usually good fun.
I am a hopeless sap though, and often have tears in my eyes during assemblies - even if it's not my kids doing it! LOL, I even cry when people leave and I don't know them...

March 5
After some very busy days, I decided that this morning picture could quite possibly be the only photo I'd have a chance to take on this day. So, I took it :)
As usual, being a Thursday with work, netball and cricket, it was a huge day!

Day 63 - March 4

Wednesdays are so huge, with netball and tennis!
If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.
Lucille Ball
It seems all I do at my house at the moment is sleep. This is what it looks like if I ever get home before dark :)

March 3, 2009

Homework. We spent a couple of years thinking our dd didn't have enough homework. We knew she'd get heaps when she got to Middle School as we'd heard from other kids who'd gone from our Primary School to the same Middle School as M. Well, we got our wish! She has so much homework it's not even funny. But it's good for her..right? Wait, did I say SHE had homework? I'm sure I did. And I know she does a lot of good work on her homework (we are very proud of how she's settled into her new school) but you know what? I don't think I have ever done this much homework either...
So far I've done Maths palindromes, used my Cricut to cut the title on this timeline(as well as helped her with dates, layout and construction), studied Egyptian Gods and all about Moses.
Thankfully she gets home before I do and does a lot of it then. I'm usually her editor in chief :)

Wowsa!! I am so far behind!

I'm off on holidays today - to New Zealand - for just over two weeks, with my mum and sister. Kid free. According to my countdown, we will be taking off from our local airport in 7hrs, 57mins!
Sooooo, I thought I'd better update here before I leave :)

Day 61: March 2
Grrrrr. First CM frustrated me for months by ignoring my request to send my orders via Australia Post and ensuring my delivery time took much longer than was necessary. Eventually, after having got CM sorted, Australia Post decided to ignore my delivery instructions, meaning I had to wait for the weekend to go by until I could pick the parcel up from the post office... what next?
Well, at least it wasn't like last year's episode, where the Delivery Lady ignored my instructions, left the parcel around the back, and the dog ate my order!!! After chasing it through the Post Office, my order was replaced and the delivery lady gave my chewed product to her daughter for Christmas LOL

Day 60 - March 1st!

I enjoyed a quiet morning at home, in my still spotless, child free home :) I organised my netball coaching and did a few loads of washing. After lunch we had to go to the School Sport Trials and then after a short break, the first round of the town Championships.
I LMBO when I discovered that I was a "seeded player" in the competition! M is seeded Number 1 in the ladies comp!! As I was seeded I had a bye in the first round but played a nice match with one of the tennis mums, including a nice chat half way through the second set about schooling... I won 6-0;6-0, a smooth transition into my return to tennis..
Next weekend I won't play at all as my opponent lives out of town and won't be here. I need to arrange to play her on the Saturday of the following weekend, meaning two matches in one weekend for both of us!!
Today's photo is me a couple of hours after the match, but still dressed to play...

Day 59

OH MY! Can you believe how fast February is flying by? It's all good, it means my New Zealand holiday is coming up very soon!! Less than 25 days now!!

Bonnie's friend ended up staying all day whilst her parents worked and I was seriously in need of some adult company! After tennis we popped into town and grabbed some kabanos, coleslaw, noodle salad, potato salad and smoked salmon for lunch and headed over to Auntie Kat's. After lunch we piled all 6 kids in the car and went back to our house for the afternoon. Kat and I spent the afternoon working on our New Zealand holiday, making sure we had all the addresses we needed along the way. Kat even managed to cut some scraps out of her travel brochures, in preparation for her New Zealand Holiday scrapbook.

The kids swam, skootered, rode the ripsticks and watched Horton Hears a Who? whilst Kat and I chatted, typed and cut over a couple of quiet Vodkas. Literally a couple as there wasn't much in my bottle!

Around tea time Bonnie's friend was gone and Kat took all our kids back to sleepover with their cousins. As I rushed around tidying my now kid free home I got a phone call inviting me to mum/dad's for tea. It was a lovely quiet meal with just the three of us. After tea mum and I printed the vellum for Kat's birthday card and then I went home to watch a bit of tele with A before bed.

Day 58

Sleepovers. Why is it kids always want to have a sleepover? Why can't they just "play"?
Last weekend B did an impromptu sleepover at her new friend's house and spent the whole next day at her house. On pick up I was greeted with a lovely artwork promising me the world..if D could sleep at our house..LOL
I agreed to a sleepover this weekend as I knew A would be out, doing his new job as a "barman" at the club.
In all honesty the little girl was fine (I'd only ever spent ten minutes in her presence prior to the sleepover) it was me. It was the end of the week, a week of nights out. Fridays are no different, with Tennis straight after work and usually going until late. I work full time and I was ready for bed..last thing I felt like doing was entertaining an extra person and the bickering that always happens when one of the kids has a friend over.
We watched "Mama Mia", with the kids on the lounges and me on the computer chair. I think the computer chair might be my new movie chair because I actually watched the WHOLE movie!! Usually I fall asleep on the lounge....this time I stayed up long enough to put all the children to bed at a decent hour and we all got a good night's sleep which was very unusual as often, sleepovers mean not much sleep....
And, incase you missed it...friends equal makeup/dressups where B is concerned..there's a bit of a trend in the photos of her on my blog!