and took 95 photos and 12 mini videos!!  Wow – he certainly loves the camera

He loved it!  The walking was hard he said, lots and lots of walking.  One tramp was three hours one way and they ran back!  Oh to be 12 and fit huh?  He thought the scenery was so cool, and took lots and lots of photos of the waterfalls and keas.  He is totally in love with keas – apparently one tried to steal one of Josef’s shoes.  All the boys went for a dip in a mountain stream – you know – prove their southern manliness – Jos went in but his face when he was telling us told volumes – we can safely say it was freezing.

Its good to have him home though – I always miss my wee man when he goes away.

I haven’t been able to post, comment or do much here for a wee while because I couldn’t log on!  Turned out to be so simple I’m embarrassed – big blush!  My web browser had glitched and decided to save a password for wordpress that wasn’t my wordpress password – so when I tried to log in I got invalid password – huh?  So I tried the reset password and it still wouldn’t work.  In the end we figured I should clear the saved passwords in Firefox – and it worked.  Only bummer is now I have to remember my passwords for all the other sites, forums etc I belong to – thanks goodness for the “forgot your password” function

Have a great weekend I plan to

Michelle should you read this – I loved your blog post the other day about having to wear sunglasses on the way home from work – positively brightened my day the power of positive thinking!

Primas – hmmmm,  they are so pretty you just want to look at them!  then I see the layouts completed by others and I see how they use the flowers and the papers and I have a raging case of not I want but OMG I NEED!!!  ScrappinPatch – a major source enabling has been talking about the new Primas due out and can we say “my pretties”!  If you go here and check out the whats new you will be in total complete understanding!   Total!

Invercargill – in fact practically the entire South Island had a good shake last night – a real doozy of an earthquake made itself known as we were settling in to watch Chuck.  Normally I am the kind of person who gets a thrill out of natures power and I love a good storm, electrical or wind and earthquakes have never bothered me before – but last night I got the shakes – literally!  I felt queasy and the sensation was very much like seasickness – I think – Ive never been seasick lol!  But thats what Leo told me.  Jess was so terrified she ended up sleeping with us – or she took my side of the bed and I ended up in her bed – her mattress needs replaced its lumpy!

Its been a  while but I’m hanging in here – I dont do winter well

I found this cool questionaire, answer in pictures, which gives a cool collage.

Here’s how it works:

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into FD’s Mosaic Maker. (I just copied and pasted myself )

This is mine:

The Questions and Answers (I got all pictures from Flickr, but I lost the credits when I saved the mosaic, sorry!)

1. What is your first name? Julie (Im a boat!)

2. What is your favourite food? Salmon

3. What high school did you go to? Kingswell High. (so there is a Kinsgwell Street in Scotland)

4. What is your favourite colour? Green

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Gee where do I start lol!  I chose Johnny Depp

6. Favorite drink? Water

7. Dream vacation? A Castle tour in Scotland

8. Favorite dessert? Blueberry Pancakes.

9. What you want to be when you grow up? Photographer

10. What do you love most in life? My family

11. One Word to describe you: loyal

12. Your Flickr name: I don’t have one (this is what come up lol)

what do you mean its only Autumn!!??  Seriously if you lived here you would think some days we were in the grip of the new Ice Age – I keep expecting to see this guy running around!!

No joke.  Although in between the really really cold days there have been some glimpses of what could have been – sunshine and warmth – OUTSIDE no less!!  I’m grumpy because all the leaves are falling and I love Autumn but so far no autumn photos because its either raining or like yesterday so windy you cant stand straight!  Yep I’m grumpy.

Now last weekend I went away to Scrap Camp in Mosgiel, Friday to Sunday of dedicated scrapbooking.  I loved it – I scrapped up a storm.

Proof…Personal favourite – using BG Porcelain range and Michelle taught me to make flowers Woohoo I am so very impressed with myself.  It was like I found a rhythm and I was off, stopping only for the delicious snacks supplied and the meals that provided much needed energy – and oh my the meals were scrumptious!!

This paper was hugely popular – and the ribbon scrunching was a hit with everyone having a go at some stage lol.  Great to meet you Bev .aka. Bubbles

The camp itself was just beautiful, what a peaceful wondrous spot – loved it!

Then I came home and was sick for a week!!  Hows that for karma – lol.  I have had the cold that is male – it lingers!!  Hung on and is drove me nuts.  I’m at the stage where I feel 95% but would love to be able to talk without throwing a few coughy coughs in there.

I hope everyone had a great Easter and for the mums with school aged rugrats – enjoy the holidays   I’m teaching Jess cross stitch and I scored a cheap laptop for Josef to make his own, but biggest score is my sister is coming down on Thursday for a whole week!!

Ohhhh the sun is out today and its supposed to get up to 19 degrees…

till next time…

Andrea is plotting again, and I dig her plots   I wonder what she has planned for this Friday?  Go visit the Scrapbook Outlet Forum on Friday and see whats what…

Those of you who are my ‘friends’ on Facebook will already be aware I have a budding baker on my hands – Josef scored 1st prize at the A&P show for his decorated cupcakes.  He came in on Friday telling me they are entering another competition.  He seems to have taken to cooking  like a duck to water – honestly Im hanging out for the meals he will cook for us lol!!

St Pats day last week and Jess totally in the spirit as always – she loves to dress up!

Its been a busy busy few weeks and finally I am finding a few moments here and there to catch up on things – I’ve been missing my exercise mostly so Im eager to get back into my normal routine.  I have 2 weeks till I go to Dunedin for scrap camp – Im really looking forward to this wee holiday.

Layouts to share

Pardon the super quick post I have a page sitting on my desk I want to finish before I mash the spuds and dish up tea.

Enjoy your week!

Oh and Sandra – I cant email you??? It keeps coming back to me?

I’m trying to figure out where the week disappeared to!  It was a busy one and I’m finally getting the chance to catch my breath.

Last Saturday we played host to Leo’s cousins from Adelaide, Andrew and Rosemary.  For the last 13 years we have exchanged Christmas cards but I never really knew them so I was delighted to be getting the opportunity to have them staying with us for a few days.  They were treated to typical Southern weather – fine/cold/not to bad/very cold – and that was just one morning   Apart from just chilling we did a couple of touristy things like the museum and the visit to Bluff to stand under the famous sign.  We had lunch in a cafe called The Drunken Sailor, Leo and I went there for tea once and it was jawdroppingly beautiful.  The entire front of the cafe is huge glass windows and while we were eating the sun was setting and fishing boats were coming in to the port – it was just stunning ( I love the ocean so it was extra special to me).

Jessica has joined a book club out the Public Library so while she does that Jos and I curl up and read – perfect downtime – and my excuse is that the bookclub is only for an hour and it seems silly to go home then practically turn around and go back.  We came home from the library with over 20 books!!  I am on a crime thriller bent at the moment and Josef chews through books like crazy.

I started a new pain med for my face last week ( I have a facial neuralgia – most likely ATFP) for the last month or so my face has been hurting on a more regular basis and the pain is more intense.  I feel like giving up sometimes, its a little hard some days to deal with especially when you never know when it will happen, how long it will last or how bad it will be.  And add into the mixture is the hard knowledge you will never be rid of it, doctors don’t know why it happens and they cant cure it.  Most days you just deal you know, but some days when my face is burning and my eye hurts and the pain is going down my neck I want to throw in the towel.  So while Leos cousins were here I was coping with this new medication and the side effect of nausea – not a good feeling at all.  Good point is the pain med seems to be working well and the health shop sells a wonderful product called nauseamed.  After our guests left Leo went up to Nokomai with Danny – where they spent the next 5 days reroofing the crib, the young dude with Leo is my nephew Jonty who we call Johnny Bravo after the cartoon character – because Jonty is such a poser!   I went up to the crib with the kids on the Saturday, we took Josef’s friend Griffyn with us and the boys gave me grey hairs – they took some offcuts of ply and sledded down the hill behind the crib!!  Jos has a huge bruise on his thigh, but he probably fell off the ply because he was laughing so hard.  And last night when I got home I was so so so over whelmed with good vibes – I had happy mail from Kelly – hugest hugs girl, you have made my day!!   I logged on and found an email saying I had won the random draw over at Scrap The Boys and to totally celebrate my love of the random I was picked at guest designer for the March Kit at Scrapbook Outlet - I love random – life is good!

Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway. (Emory Austin)

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My friend Jude sent me this email with the Northern Lights photos attached – OMG it just looks so so beautiful.   I hope you get the same sense of wonder and peace I got from looking at them.

The photos were taken at Yellowknife, Yukon, Canada

Check out the temperature!!This next picture is a Fire Rainbow – the rarest of all naturally occurring atmospheric phenomena.  The photo was taken on the Idaho/Washington border.  The event lasted about 1 hour.  Clouds have to be Cirrus, at least 20,000 feet in the air with just the right amount of ice crystals and the sun has to hit the clouds at precisely 58 degrees – amazing huh?

Have a great weekend – HUGS

Wow!  Where did the week go huh?

Today started on such a wrong foot I’ve been out of sorts all day!  Spare a thought for Jess who is the reason we were in a wee rush this morning.  She came to me last night complaining of a sore gum and when I looked she had a large red lump there.  So this morning a friend rang the dental clinic and said we suspected an abscess, I was told to take her in right then.  So Jos was dropped at another friends for a lift to school and I whipped Jess up to Fernworth school where the clinic is for South Invercargill primary students.  The dental nurse was a doll and took Jess straight away.  And yes it was an abscess and a baby molar had to come out.   Jess was soooo brave – the needle hurt more than anything else she said lol.  But because she had a tooth pulled and wasn’t a happy lass I popped over to her school and told them she was staying home.  I had to take her to work with me – thankfully it was only a few hours and she was content to read – she is reading one of my old childhood books The Dollshouse Caper – cool book!!!

Anyway for some reason only known to God and female hormones I just could not find my groove this afternoon.  So I decided to take a few pictures of things in front of me that are plenty of reason to be happy and what me make me smile.

I ended up with heaps of pictures – and made myself smile I am blessed with a beautiful family, a lovely home, and all the other wonderful things that make up my life – blessed

Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway. (Emory Austin)

The huge wall rub on in my conservatory

The painting Jess made when she was 5 that we love so much it hangs in the kitchen over the door.

My room, my retreat!

Jess and Jos – whatever they may be up to

My gardens, my books and dvds, my scrap space and the clutter of kids toys under the deck…..

When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself.                             (Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief)

What a wonderful week this has been, and this challenge has encouraged me to take more time to document the little things – hugs Vicky for for pointing me in the right direction – its been fun hasnt it?