i wish i went to 'around the table'

i wish i went to 'around the table'
but i didn't (i'm not a nz blogger, i'm an occasional nz blogger blogging from australia!)
so here are some pretty things instead

i love crown lynn (nz pottery no longer made)
that grey jug is a crown lynn find at an op shop here in australia
i got the matching sugar bowl too
i loooove them
score!

ikea star light hung on an antique bird cage holder

treasures (not the ninja tho - i think he's a toy in time out!)

more treasures
i'm not a hoarder or big collector
i just have a few spaces to put the speesh stuff

now this mouse has a story
i bought it recently for $8 at a second hand store
when i saw it my heart skipped a beat
i had this same mouse when i was a little girl
it's an avon perfume bottle
my mum gave it to me.......anyone else get one back in the day???
i loved the smell (back then, not the smell coming out of this old bottle)
my 'my little pony' used to be drenched in the stuff, i washed her tail with it :)
arrrrr memories

white treasures

fav cushion at the mo
very plain
i love grey
i love the button

and lastly a lot of love goes into my baking don't ya know!
i still wish i went to 'around the table' tho
it looks like you girls had a lot of fun in christchurch
i'm enjoying reading your posts about it all
xx

Easter

our easter long weekend was lovely
very low key
not too much chocolate
by my standards ;)
lovely good friday and easter sunday church services
its a special weekend

 
please do not disturb
we are busy chocolate eating mum!

it was chocolate for breakfast for these three

and first real easter for this one
last year he didn't get any chocolate
this year he learnt a new word

"chocolate"

i hope you had a great easter
its school holidays here too
so we are in our pjs till 9am, 10am or whenever :)
happy days

the best way to eat dinner

try it

where have i been?

it has been ages since i've blogged
i know!
christmas has come and gone
nz has come and gone
birthdays have come and gone
the first term of the new year of school is nearly over
it's nearly school holidays again
and easter

my kids have grown

nz was awesome
as it always is

fun with family and friends
always so refreshing
like nz icecream

laughs with my mum
much needed, therapeutic
now missed

chilling with his dad
memory making

hugs with nana and grandad
relationship building

fun at the beach
sandy nappies and new 2 legged friends

then back home to oz
sticky heat
floods
sounds lovely eh

birthday parties
mr 9 and mr 6

snake visitors

crazy children

that's what i've been up to over the past 3 months
not much time for blogging these days
but still time for sneak peaks at everyone elses blogs
i am still alive
and kicking
some days more than others :)

Christmas is coming

I can't believe December will be here before we know it.
I'm a little early in getting excited about Christmas this year but we are heading to NZ to holiday and celebrate with the family so I have to be more organised than usual.

Every year my friend Becky and I do a home made Christmas decoration swap.
This is what I made her last year...... I never got around to blogging about it, I've been so slack this year.

That was last years tree.

Becky made me these gorgeous button balls.
She has a lot of patience, unlike me.

I'm about to make this years decoration......I'm throwing around a few ideas but haven't quite decided what to make yet.

Have you started your Christmas shopping?

A time for everything.....

I went to NZ recently, with Neo, for my Nana's funeral
It was a sad yet happy trip
Nana was 91, she lived a great, fulfilling life, full of challenges that I think she overcame well, she remained true to her faith till the end and now she is with her maker, she is home.

On my trip back I bought heaps of lollies with the intention of sending them to some much loved family members
I confess
I've eaten them all
It's the thought that counts eh
I think the good thought that I had is totally stamped out by the selfish action I did
Anyway.......I do love my family, honest.

This blogging thing has really stalled in my life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says it all

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

a time to laugh a time to cry

perhaps even
a time to blog and a time to not blog
a time for meat and veg for tea and a time for chicken nuggets and chips (like tonight)

There's a lot of time to be spent with this lot, my precious family
I know I wont be wiping snotty noses and smelly bums forever

and yes it is time for a hair cut too

This poor little fella has had colds and ear infections all winter, I will be happy when summer kicks in, it's making an appearance already though with jeans and jumpers being thrust back into the wardrobe and shorts and t-shirts emerging again.

I got to catch up with a few of long time buddies in NZ
PaisleyJade and Miss Becky Boo  and a few other non bloggers.
With these girls it's always like I've never been away, the chatter flows easily, I love that, I love them!

I also got to hang with my NZ family, I loved staying with my brothers and their wives. Neo met his cousin Ollie for the first time.
That was lovely
I do miss my family

These pictures are so unrelated to these sentences.

I will have to post some NZ family pics

Anyway the week away felt like a month
I think it was the lack of housework, cooking, homework that made it so relaxing
It really felt lovely to just sit and talk with adults, remembering Nana and times gone by

But it's good to be back too

and here he is with his first ever proper hair cut
growing up fast.

Lemons

I got given a big bag of big lemons recently
They were the juciest I have ever encountered
and I've squeezed some lemons in my time

What to do with a whole lot of lemons?
I know there are a million things I could have done.

I zested some
and froze the zest
lets not waste anything here

I made lemon meringue pie (minus the pastry base)
with my trusty KitchenAid whipping up the meringue in seconds!

I froze lemon juice

 I also put a whole lemon in a bowl of water and microwaved it for 20 mins then wiped out my microwave, now that's lemony freshness!


Now I have fresh lemon juice in the freezer waiting for the next thai green curry, weetbix slice with lemon icing, or whatever needs that fresh hit of zesty flavour.


I heart lemons
and that is all.