Bathroom

Further to my post the other day

Rotten floor boards = new shower

New shower = new lino + new roof.......

New vanity...........

.....Retiling......

$$$$$$$

It doesn't end

Here is the bathroom, as it looks now, half way through being ripped out.

And here is the kitchen. You may ask why I'm showing you a picture of the kitchen. If you look carefully to the side of the sink, you will see our bathroom vanity aswell. LOL. Yes, that's right, while the bathroom is in pieces we have to wash and brush our teeth in the kitchen.

And you ask about insurance??? Don't ask! $1500 is all they cover, and $500 of that is gone already on 'ChemDry', trying to save the walls, which leaves us enough to pay the for the shower itself, and everything is up to us, the builder expenses, the new lino, tiles, vanity unit, everything, lucky we've got some money due to us!

Soccer

While driving Braden to soccer yesterday, I chatted to him about the game of soccer. On the way there, and the way home we always casually chat about the game coming/had.

I asked him "What do you need to remember today?"

"Kick the ball out to my team mates" (cause at this age, they are still like bees around the honey pot)

"Yip" I say, "what else?".

"To have fun", "Yes", I say, waiting for some great soccer tip, then he says

"To try my best"

A huge smile creeps across my face, 'cause I realise 'he gets it'

Trying to be domesticated

I had a Tupperware party last week, and bought these great silicon muffin trays. I know you can get them at the WH for half the price, but I really love the shape of these ones, they are tall and skinny, they make really 'elegant', (not that I do elegant) desserts, just a chocolate fudge pudding, a little sauce, and you're away laughing.

Anyway, I made the most of feijoa season, froze some pulp, and also made a cake, and ABC muffins. When my MIL asked what I was making I had to tell her ABC muffins, and leave it at that, as mister 8 was in the room, and loves ABC muffins. Problem is mister 8 doesn't love bananas the same as he loves ABC muffins, and if you've figured out what the B in ABC muffins stands for, you'll know why I couldn't tell her while he was listening!!!

PS Apple, Banana & Chocolate muffins.

aka - do I actually have a life??

I saw this on Kelly's blog - cut and paste it on to your own, marking with an x the ones you have seen and leave blank the ones you have not. Apparently if you have seen 85 or more, you do not have a life!

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( x) Fight Club
(x ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
( ) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
(x ) Napoleon Dynamite
(x ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
( x) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

(x ) Scream
( x) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( x) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x ) American Pie
( x) American Pie 2
( x) American Wedding
(x ) American Pie Band Camp
( ) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
( x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( x) Robots
( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x ) KingPin
( x) Never Been Kissed
(x ) Meet The Parents
(x ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(x ) King Kong

( x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( x) Final Destination
(x ) Final Destination 2
(x) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
( x) Flubber
(x ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
(x ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
() Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
(x ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( x) Bad Boys
(x ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x ) Christine
( x) E.T.
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
( x) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x ) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3

( ) X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X3
(x) Spider-Man
(x ) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( x) Catch Me If You Can
( x) The Little Mermaid
( x) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
(x ) The Skulls
( x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
( x) Shrek 2

( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street*
( ) Old School
( x) The Notebook
(x ) K-Pax
(x ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( x) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x ) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
( ) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
( ) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
( ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( x) Elf
(x) Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc
( x) Titanic
( ) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x ) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
( x) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
() Kill Bill Vol. 1
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness

( ) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
( ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
( ) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
( ) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
( ) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
( ) The Matrix: Reloaded
( ) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
( x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

OK, so the ones in blue are ones I would recommend Kelly watch, she hasn't seen them yet, and I think they are worth it. The one is red, I just wouldn't bother, sorry for those Napoleon fans, but it sucked!!!

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behaviour.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache .

Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be. Slower is better.
Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't "be friends ".
A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
Don't settle .

If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is. Don't stay because you think "it will get better ."

You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.
He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?

Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.

Never let a man know everything.* He will use it against you later.

You cannot change a man's behaviour.* Change comes from within.

Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are... even if he has more education or in a better job .

Do not make him into a quasi-god.
He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man.
If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.

A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
All men are NOT dogs.

You should not be the one doing all the bending...compromise is two way street.

You need time to heal between relationships ...there is nothing cute about baggage... deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship

You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you...a relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals...look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.

Dating is fun..even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.
Make him miss you sometimes...when a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him - he takes it for granted.

Never move into his mother's house. Never co-sign for a man.
Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need.* Keep him in your radar but get to know others .

Scared of being alone is what makes a lot of women stay in relationships that are abusive or hurtful : Dr Phill

You should know that you're the best thing that could ever happen to
anyone and if a man mistreats you, he'll miss out on a good thing. If he was attracted to you in the 1 st place, just know that he's not the only one. They're all watching you, so you have a lot of choices. Make the right one.

Ladies take care of your own hearts....

Share this with other women and men (just so they know)...

OK so who said it's fun owning a house?!?!?

We've had a couple of things niggling around the house that needed to get looked at, so today I managed to co-ordinate with the plumber and he came and looked at them.

The first was fairly minor, and a new ballcock thingy in the toilet, and we were all sorted.

The next was not so good. One side of our shower floor seemed to be 'dropping'/soft, so we assumed it was a leak, but he said that's not always the case, it could just be the polystyrene that has softened and 'collapsed', 'like a bean bag' was his comparison. Feeling a bit better about this I asked him what would be done, and he said "you'll need a builder, but I'll have a look." Unfortunately, once he had managed to extricate himself from under our house, he informed me it was not good, in fact it was all bad. It seems that because the 'base' had shrunk away it had made some movement, and every time we stood in the shower, it was causing the water to leak out, in between the shower base, and the floor boards, and there in now a rather large, or should I say a huge piece of rotten floor boards. I have to ring the insurance company, and the builder tomorrow, and see what to do next. Obviously, it has to be fixed, we just hope that the insurance company will come through for some of it.

A couple of weeks ago we also noticed a crack in the base corner of our logfire, and after chatting to a few guys on the Trade Me message boards we figured it was fixable, and one of Jon's mates also said he could fix it, we just had to take it to him. I thought that was a ridiculous idea, how on earth were we supposed to get the log fire out. While the plumber was here I asked his opinion, and he said it didn't appear to be too bad, fixable, and yes, you could in fact take them out, and quite easily, so that will have to get done soon.

This really couldn't have come at a worse time! I've spoken about us going to Aussie for a holiday, which we have put on hold till we know more about Jon's job. Last Thursday he came home, and said, 'let's just go, let's go to Fiji next week'. That was fine, but I still had to renew my passport, so we had a lookie around at some deals and didn't do much else. The next day he comes home, and says he's been talking to his mate, do I want the good news or the bad news. He tells me the house we are looking at buying (5 houses down the road) may be in our range after all, let's put the holiday on hold, and look into that more seriously.

Aaargh, now with these bills coming in we don't know where we stand, so the next couple of months are all up and down!

And because I like photos in my posts, here is the house we want to buy

Lots of little things happening, but not much worth blogging about, but I want to stay in the habit of blogging, so found this while surfing, feel free to copy and do it yourself, but, by no means should you feel 'tagged'

q's and a's

q: first thing you did this morning: follow a clue that lead to my breakfast, made by 6year old. Now, normally I like to brush my teeth, and actually wake up, but he was so proud of the treasure hunt he made for me, how could I resist, even if it was a day late, and the Special K had been prepared for at least 10 minutes and was so soggy (I like mine crunchy)

q: last thing you ate: stirfry

q: do you have anything bothering you? I need to wash my hair

q: what's the last movie you saw? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

q: where is the last place you went? School???

q: do you wish upon stars? Nup

q: are you a friendly person? I'd like to think I was... what do you think?

q: where did you sleep last night? in my bed!!

q: what color shirt are you wearing? Black

q: when was the last time you really cried? A couple of night ago, a disagreement with hubby...

q: what was your last thought before you went to sleep last night? sooooo tired.... must sleeeeep

q: what are you about to do? Have a shower

q: if you could drink anything right this second, what would it be? Coke Zero

q: what's your job position called? Shopfloor assistant

q: what's your favorite month(s)? Mmmm, none in particular, summer I suppose

q: what was your school's mascot?Owl

q: what were you doing at 9pm last night? Waiting for hubby to get home, finally watching the end of a DVD that I had started earlier in the week

q: did you attend your high school prom? yep, hated it. Didn't go to my 5th form one, but did to my 6th

q: did you go to someone else's prom? Do you think so???? No

q: do you prefer coffee or tea? Neither

q: something red within 5 feet? Shoes

q: how much French do you know? None

q: ever crash a car, been in an accident? Nup

q: do you look good in yellow? Can't say I've ever tried it on, would I???

q: do you sing? Only at home by myself

q: ever sing in public? After the previous answer, do you think so??

q: least favorite color? Probably pink, for me to wear, although since having nieces I've taken to liking it a little.

q: how many driving tickets have you had? Only 1 speed camera one

q: do you own your own house? Well, kinda, the bank has some interest in our happenings aswell

q: at what age did you/do you want to get married? 21

q: have you ever been married? still am married

q: how many kids do you have/want? have 2 - that's enough! Would have liked more, but in this age there isn't even to go around, not enough time, enough money.......

q: do you like anyone right now? I like lots of people...

NZ Dares

I started this dare the day it was posted, but I've only got around to posting it now (and it's not the best photo 'cause there's no light left)

When I first looked at my stash, I thought my only options were Basic Grey, but while searching I found these few Cloud 9 papers, and the letters, that I got from Spotlight.

Scrapping in Matamata

We had our first get together in Matamata for quite a while, on Saturday.

It is going to be a regular thing, so anyone interested leave a message, and I'll get in touch.

We had half a dozen come along this time, (lots interested, just didn't suit this time), including the 8 year old son of one of the ladies, who, by the way, was so well behaved, didn't hear a word from him, unless it was to show us his finished pages, boy, can he teach us a thing or two!

About 9pm there were 3 of us left, and we were just pottering, and chatting, so slowly packed up, and home by 9.30.

Nothing to show, as usual, although I hope to finish the 2 pages I started, just need computer journalling added, but that will have to wait a couple of days, tomorrow I'm back to work, then a Tupperware party in the evening, and then half day for the kids on Wednesday, so maybe Thursday I'll finish them.

Second Week of Soccer

Like I said, I would get photos, of Braden playing soccer.

He's having a ball, (sorry for the pun), really gets involved, and was so chuffed yesterday to get a goal, quite a tricky one, if a proud mum can say.

At this age it's funny to watch them, they are like bees around a honeypot, but I guess as many of them haven't played before, it will take a while to get the skills.