New Zealand Holiday

Hi everyone,

Just in case you've been wondering why I've been so quiet lately I thought I'd show you what I've been up too. I was on a 2 week family holiday on the magnificent South Island of New Zealand. My hubby and I had been there before - about 22 years ago - but it's such an amazingly majestic place to visit and we thought the kids would enjoy it too, especially as my son loves the Lord of the Rings movies and we would be passing through the countryside it was filmed in. I had hoped to pop photos in as we travelled around - but internet acces wasn't great so now I'm doing one big post - I'll try to pick out the highlights and not bore you though - LOL.

We landed in Christchurch and the next day there was a market in the Cathedral square. The kids loved looking at all the hand carved stone, shell and bone - most of the carvings are in traditional shapes which have specific meanings.

A lot of the city is held together with bracing and scaffolding as a result of the recent earthquakes - and we were rudely awaken at 6am on our last morning there by a 5.1 earthquake - we don't live in an earthquake zone and have decided we are happy to forgo this pleasure after this experience!!!

Our next stop was Queenstown - where we rode on the Shotover River on a jet boat - such FUN! This is the gorge we jetted through - with the driver taking great delight in getting as close to the rocks as possible!!! Richard and the kids also went quad biking - while Sarah and Richard voluntarily jumped off a 60m plus high cliff face doing the canyon swing - CRAZY!!!!!

We also rode up the gondola to the lookout over the town.

It really is a spectacular place to visit with all of it's glacial valleys and fjords!!!!

We had really fabulous weather in Queenstown but our timetable was pretty tight and unfortunately the weather turned nasty the day we went to Milford Sound. The upside was that the walls of the cliffs were just streaming with hundreds of waterfalls - the drive in was AMAZING, although my kids have decided they don't EVER need to see another waterfall -  LOL.

We were  on the last boat trip for the day around the Sound - the weather was getting pretty nasty - the wind was blowing soo hard the some of the waterfalls were being blown back up the cliffs. Poor Toby got a little seasick with the rough water.

We also went into the Te Anau glow-worm caves - a fabulous experience for all!

Our last big adventure on the trip was a half day hike up onto Fox Glacier. Here we all are at the top of the hike - it was an incredible experience but I have to say it was a whole lot easier when I did it 22 years ago - LOL. The hired hiking boots we had to wear gave me a shocking blister though - and my poor legs just didn't want to work properly for the next couple of days - I'm sooooo unfit.

Well that's my trip in a nutshell - now to catch up on all the washing, emails and getting my son ready to start High School on Friday. And then it's back to CREATING and blogging!!! My poor copics are looking all sad and neglected and I'm hoping they'll behave when I start using them again - LOL.

xXx

My House

I have been such a BAD blogger lately and for that I must apologise. I really miss visiting other blogs but this time of year things just get a little crazy. It's also the end of the school year on Friday as we head into our Summer holidays. It's a big event in my house this year with my son heading off to High School in February. We have class parties and gradution to get through this week! 

I've been missing playing in my craft room too - but I have been getting my home ready for Christmas so thought I'd share a few pictures with you. As it IS Summer here I decided to clean out my fireplace and use it too. Although the weather turned nasty the other day and my hubby mentioned an open fire - grrrrrrr. Several of the pieces in and around the fire were made by yours truly - I think my hubby wonders WHY I keep on making things for Christmas but I just LOVE it!!! Most of these and the 2 wall hangings were made in my life before papercrafting though - LOL. I have other things tucked all over the house - it's a massive job getting the house ready - sometimes I wish it was JUST a tree - oh OK - not really ; )

My present shopping is almost done - most of my cards are on their way and my pantry is starting to fill with all the fixin's for our family dinner. Now just to get all the presents out of their hidey holes and wrapped! Phew - life will start settling a bit now and I hope to pop around some blogs for a visit!

xXx

Debutante Album - A Couple of Pages

As I mentioned before I have FINALLY started on my daughter's Debutante album - the hard part is too GET started I've found. The reason it's taken soo long (18 months!) is lack of confidence with scrapbooking - which is really silly because I'm really enjoying the challenge. And to see my daughter check out what I've been up too with a smile on her face makes it all worth while!

This is the opening page of the album. My daughter Sarah asked one of her best friends to be her partner. Luke and Sarh have known each other since they were 3 - it's soo nice to have a good friend of the opposite sex who can share these special occaisions with you!

This next page is part of a 2 page spread - I haven't included the right hand side as it only has a picture of the ballroom and the programme for the evening. I thought it was fun to have the "getting ready" pictures in the album as this part often takes longer than the actual event - LOL.

The next thing was to meet up at a friend's house to have some champagne and catch a limo. We took some group shots outside before the limo arrived - these are the boys and the girls!

The next page features 6 of the kids partnered up. The only problem with these group shots is the shadows. It was a very sunny day so some bright spark decided to set the kids up under the trees for the shots - this does NOT make good photos - but the kids were more comfortable!

Then came the limo ride! I figured this was the FUN part of the evening so I created a spread to match! The rest of the album is fairly formal - I figured it should suit the event!

Some fabulous cutouts from the DP and funky letters cut using my Cuttlebug all add to the fun!

The DP and stickers I've used throughout the album is from Basic Grey's new Sugar Rush range. All the letters are cut using cuttlebug alphabet dies. The border punch I've used is from Fiskars - and I've used the punched out leaves and flowers too. The rub-ons are all from Kaiser.

I still have more pages to go - I'll bore you with those when they're done -LOL!

Thanx too for all the kindness and understanding I've received over my lack of Valentine's cards! You guys are AWESOME...

xXx

What Have I Been Up Too???

I haven't had much crafting time lately as last week was my daughter's final week at High School!! Yup - she's all done bar the actual exams. At last Friday's Graduation Dinner there were plenty of tears shed as the kids farewelled their school days and some favourite teachers.

During the week we had friends over for dinner, early morning champagne breakfasts, school uniform "re-designing" for the last day, the final parade of the year 12s to school and the Graduation Dinner - what a week!!! And considering I work at a High School - the one my daughter's boyfriend attends! - I seem to have done a lot of it twice - LOL.

And then to top it off I had my family over for lunch on Sunday - a small gathering of 17!

Anyway - I thought I'd share some pics from Sarah's last day. I've always been proud of her and this last day was no exception. She left the Graduation Dinner carrying a framed certificate she was awarded - along with a cheque for $300 - for her outstanding contribution to the college. Now onto the pics...

"Muck-up" morning and breakfast with the teachers - Sarah (2nd from right, the short blonde - shhhh - don't tell her I called her short - LOL) and her beautiful "girlies" in their altered school uniforms!

Those same 4 gorgeous young ladies later in the day at their Graduation Dinner - what a difference a few hours make - LOL.

xXx

ANZAC Day

Today is a special day for all Australians - it's ANZAC Day! Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. It is commemorated by both countries on 25th April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey. It is also a day to remember all our brave men and women who have fought for their country!

The day usually begins with a Dawn Service - and these are held around the world and in every major Australian city. I had the honour of attending the dawn service in Singapore on the 60th anniversary of the fall of Singapore, we were living there at the time. We had to walk through the graveyard to attend the service and my daughter sang with the Australian International School choir. I was amazed at how emotional the whole event was - most of us were very sombre and a little red eyed as we left - but it was a great thing to experience.

I spent the afternoon today with a few fellow SU Demos - we had a fabulous time and Yvonne had organised for us to bring some "make & take" shoebox swaps - it was sooo much fun and I'll post what we did when I get a chance to take some pics - no daylight left today!! Spending the afternoon with friends is a great way to spend the day!!

One tradition of the day is the baking of Anzac Biscuits. Some say that they started as biscuits made by the Troops in the trenches with provisions they had at hand to relieve the boredom of their battle rations. And some say they came about due to resourceful of the women on the "home front" in an endeavour to make a treat for their loved ones that would survive the long journey by post to the war front. I've found a simple recipe from here and have popped it below for you to try! They are very addictive and well loved!! Hope you give them a go and spare a thought for our armed forces while you do!!

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour (all purpose)
1 cup rolled oats (regular oatmeal) uncooked
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Method
Combine the flour (sifted), oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl.
Melt the butter and Golden Syrup (or honey) in a saucepan over a low heat..
Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water and add to the butter and Golden Syrup.
Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spoon dollops of mixture, about the size of a walnut shell, onto a greased tin leaving as much space again between dollops to allow for spreading.
Bake in a moderate oven, 180C / 350F, for 15-20 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack and seal in airtight containers.

Tips
The American tablespoon is a little smaller than the British tablespoon, so be generous with your Golden Syrup (or Honey) and Water.

My Sister's Blog!

My wonderful older sister has just started a blog - or should I say I started it for her and then left her to it - LOL. That's her on the right, I'm the one in the middle with my mouth open as always - and my younger sister's on the left - she's also an amazing crafter!!!

Sharon is a multi talented crafter - she's an amazing sketcher, painter, patchworker and embroiderer. Unfortunately she is resisting ALL my attempts to drag her over to papercrafting. I'm trying to work out a good way to incorporate stamping and quilting as I know she thinks some of my stamps are adorable - any suggestions???? I'll wear her down eventually - LOL

Sharon has 3 boys, the eldest got married late last year (this photo was taken at the wedding) and the middle son is getting married next year. She also has a beautiful young son who is turning 5 in August. Unfortunately the youngest is autistic as well as having other issues. I made a little mini album for him earlier - check it out here, how can anyone resist those eyes??? By starting her blog Sharon is hoping to make blog buddies with similar issues, as well as meeting some fellow crafters. We all know how time consuming our kids can be - kids with special needs place so many extra demands on their parents and this should be a great outlet for Sharon. I am in awe of her and her devotion to her son - although you can't help but be drawn in by Liam's innocence and quirky habits.

You can find her blog here if you want to pop in and say "HI".

P.S Just noticed I'm wearing the bracelet my friend and fellow stamper Carolann made me - check out her blog at Black Cat's Miaow. Carolann had to make 2 more of these after friends saw mine - must wear it more often!!!

Christmas Fun

I have finally downloaded my pictures from Christmas Day and wanted to share a couple with you - the first is of my gorgeous kids opening up their presents - by the end of the morning there was paper and smiles everywhere - just the way it should be! Soon after the excitement of checking out everyone's goodies the realisation that we'd had an early morning hit, and Sarah decided to crawl onto the trampoline and enjoy the gorgeous day we had - remember it is Summer here!

Unfortunately for her, Dad soon decided to join in - followed by young master Toby who decided to toss balls onto the trampoline from the deck - ensuring lots of squeals and mayhem. It was a great way to start the day before heading off to Grandpa's for Lobster and Prawns - and the odd drink or 2 for the adults!!!!!

Our poor dog Holly looks like she was looking forward to some well earned rest - it must have been tiring checking out all the new smells and trying to keep the kids in check in the backyard!

I hope you all had a great day too......