Amy's new store

Blogging friend Amy has just opened a new Cafepress store with some cute baby stuff. The store is called Cute as a Bug. I particularly like the "instructions" t-shirt! :-) But there are others there that are cool too. Pop by and have a look.

Wallabies and trout

DH wanted to go and photograph some steam because the theme for his photography club this month is steam. So we spent a night in Rotorua. (AKA Roto in our household). I waved in your direction Karen! :)

Small Boy was intrigued by the thermal activity. "We saw the boiling mud! It was boiling!", he told my parents who joined us. He inspected each pool and hole at Kuirau Park and took a deep sniff each time to "smell the steam".

We visited Paradise Valley Springs on Saturday while DH and my Dad went to Orakei-Korako. The wallaby and the trout were the only creatures he would touch or feed. I suggested we catch a trout for our lunch, but he rightly pointed out, "But Mummy, we need a fish stick!".

Indeed.

Honey I cloned the son...

A bit of photoshop fun...

A tripod, wide angle lens, 3 photos, and 3 layers in photoshop. Erase the bits to reveal the 3 ratbags!

Aaaack! Imagine having 3 of them! Scary thought.

Nourish

My entry for the NZ Dare competition.

Journaling reads:
Each morning before your sleep you like to drink a little milk. I enjoy this particular time as I relax and enjoy an island of calm in our busy day.

I was going to write a poem about it and I think I still will, but I need some time to muse about the words first.

Letter sounds

Small boy is working on his letters at kindy so we have conversations about it.

DS: What's K for?
Me: ummm... K is for king and for Kelly [his swimming teacher]
DS: What's for garage?
Me: G. G is for garage.
Me: T is for....
DS: Tim! *giggles*
Me: What's Mummy's name?
DS: Penny!
Me: P is for Penny. What's Daddy's name?
DS: Sweetie!
Me: *cracks up*

Botheration!

Rats! DH has managed to lose all my special brushes in his upgrading of Photoshop. I shall have to go looking for them again.

Got any special ones you recommend? Leave a linky in the comments and I'll collate them and make a section on my side bar for them so I don't lose track of where they are.

Here are some that I like:
Misprinted Type
Spyglass
Deviant Art
Scrapjazz post about brushes

BTW - for some reason I'm having difficulty leaving comments on Wordpress blogs. It might just be my laptop/Firefox... so I am reading and trying to share the love but it's a bit sporadic!!

Photoshoot Disaster

Tried to do a bit of a photo session yesterday with the kiddos but it was mostly a waste of time. Small Boy was so busy being "helpful" taking pictures with his "camera" that it was annoying, and Small Girl would not smile. Most of the shots aren't sharp because the target or my hands were moving.

However, Small Girl is now 6 months so I thought I'd better record it. She is sitting up well and is working on her top 2 teeth. Won't be long and she'll be crawling judging by her tummy time behaviour these days.

I must get out to some better venue than my lounge and my dodgy black back drop....

A tisket a tagit

I've been tagged by Ruth! :-) These tag thingies remind me of the stuff we used to do at school with our friends.

My roommate and I once: ate a "midnight feast" which consisted on pickled onions, chips and licorice bullet lollies. eeeuw!

Never in my life have I: been to a tropical island.

High school was : a mixture of great times and some big time cringe factor moments! LOL!

When I’m nervous : bite nails, jiggle my legs, pee a lot

My hair : is getting darker as I get older. I used to be much blonder.

When I was 5 : I was living in England and went to Primrose Hill Primary School. I had a friend called Anunga who was from Africa - we used to feel each other's hair. Mine was long and blonde, his was tight black curls.

When I turn my head left : I see the laundry on the clothes horse and a pile of scrapbooks.

I should be : doing housework or scrapbooking or sewing

By this time next year : I'll be another year older.

My favorite aunt is : is not really my aunt but a close family friend.

I have a hard time understanding : some maths concepts

You know I like you if : I tease you

My ideal breakfast is : Hmmm.... that depends. Yoghurt and muesli is good. Can't go past Toast and Vegemite either. Porridge is good especially with naughty cream and brown sugar. But I wouldn't say no to bacon, egg and pancakes either.

If you visit my home town : you won't find it hard to get a decent coffee

If you spend the night at my house: Small boy might get into bed with you

My Favorite blonde is : my family

My favorite brunette is : my family

The animal I would like to see flying besides birds : pigs? Nah... imagine the mess on your windscreen.

I shouldn’t have been : spending money

Last night I: Went to bed round about 10ish and Small Girl woke me at 1am for a feed.

A better name for me would be : Hey! Small Boy called me a Good Mummy today.

I’ve been told I look like : Brooke Shields - it's the wide mouth ;-)

If I could have any car, it would:be so much better than the one I drive now!!!!

Mystery Revealed

The mysterious parcel has been opened! It revealed this! I am thrilled!

I've been throughly spoiled this birthday. Not only did I get my highly-desired-above-all-others cake mixer in Empire Red, but I also was given this by my folks....
Yep... that's a Cuttlebug (+ 2 dies and 2 embossing plates). I was totally surprised about this one. I hadn't asked for it because it seemed a bit OTT to ask for. It was on the wishlist for 20 years down the track. So it was a beautiful surprise.

And... my friend gave me a voucher for Shop'n'Crop; someone else gave me chocolate (mmmm).

I am the most spoiled birthday person. Hope I don't sound too mercenary- I'm just really stoked about it all! . DH made me a card using PSE and one of his photos. The words he put in the card made me cry --> in a good way. ;-)

I've made my birthday cake with the mixer and now I am going to order some goodies so I can play with my Cuttlebug. Small Boy has been also delighted with my gifts and has been haranguing me to use this so he can "help" me.

Turning 34 has been pretty exciting! :-)

What inspires me?

Mel has a meme going - write down 6 random things that you love. Not people, but places, buildings, art works, inspiring places etc.

1. Children's clothes - I think since I've got kids and make layouts for them, I tend to see inspiration in the designs and colours. Related to this point - fabric stores.
2. Interior decorating stores - particularly the fusion stuff that we're seeing these days. It appeals to me.
3. Fruit, veges, plants, flowers, the beach etc - I like looking at what nature puts together and how.
4. Old houses like Highwic, Alberton and Katherine Mansfield's Birthplace. I like to touch the walls and think of the life people lived there. How people played in the gardens, made love in the bedrooms, conceived their children and maybe even died there. How the kitchens once buzzed with activity. Cooks laying out their ingredients for making jam from the fruit they got from the garden.
5. Universities. I feel most comfortable in academia and get a "buzz" from learning. Related to this point - museums, libraries and their collections. I'm the one who can spend ages looking at beetles pinned on to polystyrene! I love the smell of the stacks in the library. I could spend a happy morning pulling out files at a herbarium to look at their contents.
6. The written word - novels, poetry, my Bible, even blogs have a place inspiring me.