I’ve been seeing…

…Stitcher’s Angel projects popping up all over Blogland as the deadline for mailing is today….I’ve just emailed my partner as I haven’t been able to finish my chosen projects yet…I may have been a bit too ambitious wanting to make it a good experience for both her and I.  That and sometimes it just took Blokey a wee few reminders (or a lot!) to print out the patterns! 

I really want to be more prolific with my making…I’m making more now than I have before but still I think I have it in me to make more…I’m also aware I have a tendency to over commit myself…mostly as I’m a really nosey person and it gives me an excuse to know what is going on…but in the end it really does me no good to be doing something for the wrong reasons – and the family suffers too.

Tomorrow is Halloween…and I’m not into it at all.  Normally the kids will head off to a church party but this year we have some work to do for their First Communion coming up in three weeks time…so I’m going to try and find out a bit about the beginnings of it all…where it really came from.  I know it’s to do with All Hallows Eve…with All Saints Day being the next day…but other than that I’m really not sure where it comes from or how it got turned into the commercial thing it is here…the cynical part of me says it’s about the retail business making something big happen at a quiet time of the year…but in a few days time we our own celebration of Guy Fawkes day…four days of hard out fireworks selling…we make more usually at this time than we do any other time other than the last day or two before Christmas…but hey, Halloween makes money between Father’s Day and now and that’s what it’s all about.  I really should get out of the whole retail thing and find a job somewhere else!  I’m too comfortable where I am and too lazy too look elsewhere…I’m not complaining really…just a bit cynical at how we have taken up something that doesn’t really belong to us without knowing (or caring for that matter) what it is really about…

Yesterday I came across a book at work and impulse bought it!  I’m not supposed to be doing that anymore!  However…it’s a book that has spun out of a website I joined the email list for a long time ago and regularly read their newsletters.  The book is called The $21 Challenge and it’s really a great idea.  I’m going to try it over the next couple of weeks (just need Blokey to remember to print out the planner sheet for me) starting from tomorrow.  Kind of a spontaneous thing…but it’s our usual grocery day tomorrow and I only go once every two weeks…so we shall see if we can manage two weeks on $52…the firgure of $21 is based on a family of four so I’m adding $5 more for our family of five…it could get interesing but I think I have more food inthe cupboard and freezer than I know I have!  So tomorrow hopefully I can do the stocktakes and then plan what we’re going to eat and what I ned to buy.  There’s a great recipe section that takes up over half the book…including some from my favourite Sophie Gray!  Another reason to recommend this book.  It would be good to be able to so this every couple of months as a way of keeping the pantry and freezer up to date and limiting the wasteage we have…I’m hoping to I can be more disciplined about putting down exact amounts on the shopping list and buying only those…maybe shaving a few dollars off the bill!  I’m thinking too I might post each day over the next two weeks with the days meals…how we go, etc…and maybe some photos if I can get the camera to work…Blokey’s is a little complicated for me right now….

Well, I have some stitching to do…hopefully tomorrow I can plant the last of my plants – a couple of herbs, a courgette and a capsicum…and take Thing two out somewhere for a bike ride or something…..

Tonight I’m…

…tired.  I’ve been working on having a good attitude this week and I think I’ve done ok…for me…where I am right now…where I was a few weeks ago.  It’s hard to let things go when you’re a control freak…although I think I’m getting better…or maybe I’m more aware.  I listened to a very challenging Joyce Meyer sermon earlier on.  About liking yourself…being at peace with yourself…and allowing God to do what He will in His time.

Years ago now I was involved in church leadership…I felt very important…I was the youngest person on the church board, ran the youth group and had no love for anything or any one….living by rules, I thought that was how you got God’s and everyone else’s favour…and had no clue what it meant to love.  I still don’t think I get it…and I have no idea why I’ve just written this.  Except to say that I was miserable…doing what I believed everyone else expected of me and thinking that would be how I got them to like me.  And that’s the kind of person I’ve been listening to Joyce very clearly describe, the person I wanted least to be like at that time and thought I was doing the right thing…maybe I was, but where was God in all this?  But today, tough as it was to listen to, I realised I can put all that behind me now and everything else that has happened between then and now and I can start afresh if I choose.  I used to think I knew the Bible pretty well back then and read it enough…but what I’m hearing Joyce saying is that reading it is not enough…and sure I tried studying with my big concordances, trying to understand, but I’m not sure I was doing it with a right attitude, or that I even knew what I was doing.  This woman has a way of putting things that makes me want to go and search out these things she talks about for myself to see that they’re true…or is that God telling me to go check it out for myself?

Anyway, other parts of her teachings have caused me to want to do things differently wuth a diferent attitude as I’m doing them.  Being better about keeping the house tidier…until the kids are home for four days running and I’ve been allowing them to create things as they like (remember Iron Chef?).

Today Thing Two and I planted another 30 plants…18 were flowers and the rest were cabbages and broccoli…so I’m feeling rather virtuous right now…last year I was buying plants but apart form a few tomato plants nothing got out of the little plastic pots I bought them in….and then when I did plant some in autumn they got munched in about two days!  I wasn’t going to plant anything either but the deal at work was too good to pass up and I figured if I could rope the kids into it then we could make a quick job of it…and we did!  And tomorrow it’s meant to rain, so it’s all good!

The other thing I did today (other than laying in bed this morning reading through blogs on my iPod ) was to make up some job charts for the kids using a tutorial I found on TipNut.  I trotted down the hill to get some papers and card and contact paper and now I have three seperate charts on the cupboard door…I shall try to get some photos in the daylight and post them tomorrow…they don’t look nearly as pretty as those in the tutorial as I couldn’t find decent stickers for both boys and girls at a decent price…but what I did see was some of Heather Bailey’s range of gorgeous papers and scrapbooking bits…gorgeous!  Thing Two baked choc-chip biscuits while I made the charts and then we watched one of his favourite food shows – Ace of Cakes – he’s funny, loves to watch the baking shows as well as Iron Chef (guess who’s idea it was for the other night?!?)…oh and there are photos of those creations as well which if I can wrangle Blokey into uploading I shall post tomorrow (it was his flash camera and I won’t touch it!).

Tomorrow’s a public holiday here so Blokey is taking the kids swimming so I can do my usual Monday Home Blessing a la FLYLady – the house is trashed.  And there’re croissants for breakfast…already out of the freezer and sitting in the oven ready to bake when we get up…yummmmmm!

That’s it…I’m going to bed.  Let’s see what tomorrow brings…

Iron Chef….

…and the secret ingredient is…..pizza dough!!! The kids had teacher only day today and I was fortunate enough to get the day off to stay home with the kids. Last night I bought some vege plants and some potting mix with a plan to plant a summer vege garden. For under $15 I got 30 plants and 80 litres of potting mix. Tomorrow I’m getting some more vege and some flowers and more potting mix! So we cleaned up the garden areas and threw out the rubbish first. Thing two was dead keen to dig holes but I made them do the tidying up first. After lunch we got the veges planted and it began to rain. Inside the kids began to make marble movers out of an old Lego box. Then thing two asked if they could do Iron Chef tonight….I was going to say no but then thought as we were having pizza that could be the secret ingredient….so I made the dough and rolled it out and let them have at it!! Blokey and I are the judges so we get our dinner for very little effort. So right now I’m sitting here listening to a podcast and stitching for the Angel swap.

I need to get…

…more organised with this here blog thing!!  More organised full stop!  I haven’t been doing much really but yet I feel I’ve been more productive of  late than I have for some time…not only that but doing it with a slightly better attitude – I think.

I’ve had the urge to write things down of late…some personal things about where I’m at right now…but I’m not sure if I should, if it will sound coherent or just like a rambling mess!

A couple of months ago now we were having major issues with Thing Two’s behaviour.  I ended up in such a state one Monday  morning I headed into town to find a Christian bookshop…it took me two hours to find it…but in the end I came away with a book that sounded too good to be true!  I didn’t read it immediately…in fact it was only after the kids all went away for the holidays that I pulled it out and figured i should read it and be able to put it in place by the time they all came back home again.  What an incredibly simple premise for changing kids behaviour!  But the biggest change has been my attitude and the way I view the behaviour now.  Not only that but Blokey read it at my insistence – first time ever he’s done that!  And it’s given him fresh perspective as well.  I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have found something that let’s us get on with each other and at the same time teaching us all to treat each other with respect.  It’s been a big change so far…I noticed though this weekend things slipping back a bit…time to redouble the efforts and be more vigilant!  The book is called “Have a New Kid By Friday” by Dr Kevin Leman…and even for lazy people like us this book is really simple to make work!  I don’t have to feel guilty about treating the kids differently….they’re all being polite and nice to each other…apologies are happening unprompted…and the two youngest are actually playing nicely together…!?!  Of course there’s much work still to be done and the need to be constanly vigilant but it’s opening up opportunities for conversations that have not been had…one in particular I had with Thing Two today on the way to a party, expressing his fear of me dying young and not making it to a ripe old age because I don’t exercise the way he sees my mother doing when he goes to visit.  I got to to tell him that when I was his age and Mum was my age she was more like me than how she is now.  She had her chocolate stash, didn’t exercise, worked and brought up three kids with a husband who was always on one shift or another…and yes, I thought I was hard done by back then!  I got to tell him that I want to be able to exercise but I struggle with fitting it in…that I do think about it a lot and know I need to make some changes.  I think he listened and I hope it calmed his fears a little.   It’s made me realise though how what we’ve been doing this past week has allowed for that conversation to take place.  I’m trying harder….and, I think, so is he.  As a result of our conversation I headed to the App Store and found an app by SparkPeople.  I used to have amemebership there a few yers back now but deleted my account as it was too difficult to keep up with…but now having it on my iPod and a couple of clicks can enter everything I eat as well as any exercise I do…who knows where I might end up!

Another thing that has been affecting me over the last few weeks is listening to podcast of Joyce Meyers.  I haven’t been a church-goer for many years now until this year when we take the kids once a month for the childrens liturgy.  I started recently listening to a Catholic podcast called Daily Bread which was really interesting.  I must have been looking for something on iTunes to have come across Joyce Meyer not long after, and remembering my Dad liked watching her decided to download one.  She’s good…really, really good.  I hit on a website that wasn’t too complimentary of her last week but if she lives what she preaches…she’s pretty honest about the person she is (and I share some of her characteristics)…then I think she’s worth listening to.  I’ve certainly learned plenty from listening to her…and begun thinking about my life and the way I live.  This too has got me thinking about my weight and lack of excercise…she has such a refreshing, straight forward way of talking…my attitude has begun to change toward things.  I even told Blokey I was listening to her and some of the things that were happening as a result…but I figure so long as the changes are positive I’m not bothered if he thinks I’m being odd or not.  I wish I could quantify this better…give proper examples but alas and alack it’s late and I need to head for bed and get enough rest to do the things that tomorrow shall bring my way!

Coming live to you…

…from my iPod! How cool is that? I installed the WordPress app the other night and didn’t do anything. This really P
appeals to the lazy part of me…as I’m lying here on the couch typing with my thumbs. This device is fast becoming indispensable to me. I have a simple app that allows me to keep track of my knitting…how many rows, pattern repeats, row increases amongst others. I have one to collect my gmail…an rss feed reader…and one that stores PDFs and other docs. I can keep my current patterns on here and take them with me where ever I go…if I need to get something for a project I have my requirements at hand!! I’m seeing this as a way of saving on paper too…no need to print out the instructions and the pictures are crystal clear. What else is there….oh yes I can have a podcast playing the entire time flicking backwards and forwards between apps…there’s also a facebook app…and many games…I have two – a patience freebie and another called geo swarm which is addictive. There’s an awesome mind mapping app which I find myself using more and more as it allows multiple maps. I got a grocery list app as well and one for budgeting. Blokey now has his iPhone so we’ve spent a few nights playing around on them together!

I’ve been working on my angel swap projects finally making some progress. I’ve started making my Mum’s Christmas present…a cardigan, something I’ve not tried doing before but I think I’ve inspired the girls to make presents too.

Well, this has been interesting but I doubt I will make a habit of it as the typing takes a bit long! Next time I’ll be back on the trusty computer…the iPod doesn’t take allow for photos either…however the iPhone does! This is the most awesome little piece of technology ever!

Jeepers George…

…where in the wolrd has this week gone?!?!?  I find myself sat here at the end of another week wondering how I got through the busiest week in a long time and realising now why I feel so dog tired about it.  I’ve had a cold all week thanks to Thing Two.  As well as having gone back to work to nights and working on some new training that has to take place…with more to do tomorrow…there’s so much to do at work right now, it’s hard to keep up with it!  I’m hoping next week will be gentler, although I’ve been told by our project leader that he’s going to see me and I guess go over what my role is currently and possibly what it might be if there needs to be any changes made to it.  I’m a mix of supervisor and admin…plus I’ve just been put in charge of the health and safety stuff we have to do….just a little bit more involved than I’d imagined.  Some people are jealous and are either ignoring me or putting up blocks to try and make things as difficult for us as possible.  My goal is to get everything we are required to have done and get great results on our audits.  But then, I’m rather particular in that way.  I like things to be done properly…not overly-picky but as they should be done…so everyone knows what they should be doing.

Now, let’s change the subject a little.  Do you know what?  Blokey’s let me buy a new iPod Touch…the new generation one…just released…Thing One was getting one for her birthday until I got an email today about an online special which was about $20 cheaper than she was paying for it.  So I talked to her…told her about it…used the money we were giving her plus the money the other two kids were going to spend on her as well as all her pocket money savings…and wouldn’t you know it she had exactly just enough!  How cool is that…and she’s happy to be getting the most up to date version.  Then talking with Blokey after he got home I mentioned about getting on for Christmas…but the rationalising it all out…they’re selling for $40 more in the shops…and this offer is introductory…plus my employee discount…so I bought another one!  Yikes…I always said I didn’t need an iPod…but well…Blokey’s been checking out iTunes and what’s available on there and he’s looking forward to getting his iPhone…and everyone else already has an iPod…the Touch will be Thing Two’s second…she has one of the original nanos.  I’m hoping maybe I can get something that allows me to plan my menus and then build a shopping list off it so I don’t have to keep writing it on paper all the time…and I can do it anywhere…plus it will be cool to lay in bed and listen to podcasts from my Google Reader using the wireless network…blog reading in bed…now how’s that for decadence!  Not to mention e-books reading.  That will be seriously cool…and I can’t wait!!  How about a kniting pattern…anything really, ay!  Hopefully early next week….can’t wait.  Did I mention…I can’t wait!!!  In fact I’m going to go now and check out the iTunes thingy on Thing One’s laptop that Blokey set up the other night in anticipation of all this iPod Touchiness that’s about to occurr here….hehehe.

Now it’s my…

turn for a cold!  Great way to spend my weekend…oh well, I’m better than I was yesterday, so I shall be at work tomorrow.

I’ve used up most of the day doing nothing of any value.  Spent some time in town looking for a particular bookshop which I eventually found…and picked up a book on how to deal with a kid with attitude out the window that we are struggling more and more to deal with.  I suspect we are coming at it from the wrong angle and may need to do some more work on ourselves before we can get anywhere with him.

And that was as far as I got!  It’s the evening now and I’ve just booked Mum’s tickets up here to stay with us over Christmas…YAY!!  And along the way discovered we have way overspent this past week….so we’re going to have to really seriously focus on getting that budget sorted as ignoring it is doing nothing but losing us money!  Methinks Wednesday night will be the night!

G’night!

It’s all topsy…

…turvy!!  All the blogs  (ok, most) I’m reading are talking about the end of the hot weather and the slide into cooler times…and here a couple of days ago was the official first day of spring!  And today we had/have a freezing southerly, hail, rain…so spring is here!!

Well, we’ve had our property inspection today…now we wait for the letter to find out what we haven’t done up to their standards – there’s always something and we found some carpet nastiness and hadn’t done the lawns or garden yet…so I can’t wait…so long as there’s nothing else wrong I shall be happy…it’s probably the most effort I’ve put in on the inside tasks and I’ll be disappointed if they pick at it the way thy have in the past.  For instance, one time we washed and vacuumed the floors the night before and we got a letter asking us to wash and vacuum the floors!  Another time I missed one window sill and we got a letter telling us to clean the window sills.  W’e've been here over three years now and have managed to only have one inspection with no follow-up letter…we get inspected every three to six months…this time it was three as the previous lady was picky to the point of telling Blokey we need to get rid of our clutter…I mean how rude!  So long as none of our possessions are creating damage to the property or causing a safety hazard then it shouldn’t matter…and then poking at the peeling paint in the bathroom…that has been peeling ever since we moved in and noone has mentioned it!  It’s just a tad inconsistent…and me, I’m not the world’s best housekeeper!  There are many more interesting things to be doing…like reading all my favourite blogs…cutting out softies…crochet…knitting…really anything but cleaning!! End of whinge.

I’ve started planning my first Chrstmas decorative project…out of the Christmas in July issue of Homespun…speaking of which, after my mentioning that delightful magzine the other day I had a nice message left for me by one of the editiors which I was surprised and excited about!  I’ve stopped buying magazines – and it was only ever craft or sewing mags I bought.  I even went so far as to declutter nearly 25 years worth of magazines…a large cabinet full over a period of several months.  My rationale being that there’s more than enough content on the blogs I have been subscribing to on any number of subjects.  However Homespun has wrangled its way in where others have failed and I dare say it shall remain for quite some time!  By the way this post is not designed to illict more lovely comments from the people at Homespun – much as I did enjoy it!

Well, I am back to work shortly for a few hours to be on the shopfloor while the evening crew are in a meeting for a couple of hours.  And I might shout myself fish n chips for dinner.

Here I sit…

…at home on a work day!  Thing Two is in the bathtub breathing in lavendar oil to help his cold…overnight, it seems he developed a really sore (burning he said) throat and all the trimmings of a cold.  So I’ve kept him home…next up is the hot lemon and honey and a bit more rest.

So, I was quite surprised when I logged on to Gmail this morning and found several people had commented on my sewing machine cover.  Then I went to my blog stats page for a peek….and there were ten times more viewers than those who’d commented!  That is so cool.  For me it is anyway.  I don’t usually put myself out there in any way…I’m rather a self-conscious kind of person who doesn’t like being in any kind of spotlight…a couple of weeks ago at a work training I confronted it head on and made it work for me…it seems to be a fundamental fear of being judged and found lacking…in this training instance I was put into a situation where I had to play a role I had no experience of…the fear of failure and looking like an idiot almost caused me to walk out then and there.  So, maybe in some small way I’ve embarked on a journey out of this…and I feel my blog and joining bloggy activities and such are a safe way to explore this some more…and there are so many fun things to join in and do…!!!

I need to push myself to make more…I’m inherently lazy but I enjoy the making process…I’m a maker, not so much a creator, which took a while to understand but I’m happy to use others ideas…which brings me to the Angel Swap for 2009!  One of my goals for this year was to  be part of a swap.  Helen’s blog is just wonderful.  I first found out about her from her Nice People Nice Things quilt and blog (I’ve lost the link now) early on this year and have continued to follow her on this blog…I think her blog was where I first saw about the ‘Breast of Friends’ BoM that Homespun magazine is running this year…and now buy it each month but it is so much more than the BoM…I look forward each month to being able to sit down and read my way through it cover to cover in a way I’ve not done with another magazine…it’s so readable and so many differing things to make by so many talented designers…many of whom I’ve discovered are saved in my Google Reader for regular perusal. I’m almost finished my crochet table cover and am looking forward to being able to post those photos soon.

I’ve begun cutting out the softies for Thing One’s party…well, pinned a few pieces but I’ll get to the cutting later…right now must take advantage of being home and hit the cesspool that is my kitchen!  If I do it now then tonight I can sit and make…yay!

I took this photo last night.  Lately I’ve been buying flowers once a week to add something different to our house.  Whenever I smell carnations it brings back summers spent at my Granny’s house…last week I picked up this beautiful fragrant bunch of dusky pink carnations and a bunchof some other flowers that wilted in the first bit of sun.  The carnations however have lasted well and yestrday I picked up this bunch of dark maroon/burgundy ones.  While I was changing the table cloth I put the jar over behind this photo of my Dad and nephew Jack from a few years ago now…I thought it looked quite nice and I am trying to make sure each new post has at least one photo in it…the blogs I go back to most all have photos strewen through the posts…so another goal of mine is to improve my photography skills and make interesting photos.

I promise this…

…will be the last post for the day!  I mentioned a few posts back I think about the sewing machine cover I made a couple weeks back….and hadn’t posted properly about…a lame photo that showed the cat in better light than it did the machine was about it.  However, as today is d-day….I left a comment on Jenny’s post today about my effort….and promised photos…so I took a whole two photos and stuck the sd-card in to Blokey’s laptop…only to find all those other photos I meant to post over the weekend.  Which is why I broke it into three posts.  Anyway, really you don’t care at all about that…and so you shouldn’t….bring on the photos!!!

So there we have it…the front side view of the new cover…so simple to make it took me a few hours a couple of weeks ago and turned out rather well.  The only thing I bought was the ribbon as I used a small set of fabrics I had bought off TradeMe ages ago…we’re talking a couple of years here too!

I swear I’m having a bad day today….I have just typed a whole paragraph about the sewing machine itself…how it was my Mum’s…blah, blah…and all of a sudden I look up and it’s all gone!  Honestly, every time I’ve gone to do something today it’s taken me two or three goes to get it to go right…I had to go twice to the supermarket this morning as the account transfer I put through before leaving hadn’t gone through (I blame that silly, speedy wireless card!)…trying to copy files off  Thing One’s laptop took more goes than I can remember…then I couldn’t unmount the jolly thing!  Grrrr!!!  So in the end I put on a few podcasts and did my cleaning (perhaps the universe was telling me something there?!?)  Still, even tonight as I’m typing, the typos are flowing like nothing on earth!  Hahaha….but yet I persist!  I’ll jolly well get there if it kills me!  Well, hopefully not…but I got there…and I sound like a madwoman about now….so methinks it be time for bed and hopefully the wind will keep it down to a dull roar instead of the full-on storm thing I woke through all last night…and work tomorrow…we begin a new experiment at work tomorrow…a new era perhaps…if it works it will be great…but if it doesn’t, well, lots and lots of money down the toilet for nought!

Nighty, night!!!