Living my dream

Commitment

This year I've made a commitment to myself to start exercising again. I miss it. But with 3 children under 5 I've used that as an excuse not to (apart from the fact it is harder to work it into the day).

So for my exercise today I took myself off for something different - a bush walk.

The place I went has special significance to Andy and I. Prior to children when we lived in Birkenhead we would run through this bush. It was perfect training for Coast to Coast, Head to Head or any other event we were aiming towards. It had tracks in fair to poor condition (with amazing views) which meant it was the pefect type of thing to condition our ankles to get stronger. Also being on a cliff meant we could go up and down these tracks raising our heart rates like you wouldn't believe, dragging our sad bodies along, while they ached with fatigue. And we loved it.

Later after children we went back there for a very private and personal reason. And it will forever be part of our favourite spots in Auckland due to that.

Today I went back to soothe the body and soul. I figured as it was bush the shade would protect me from the heat while I'm still getting my exercise, plus the surroundings would soothe my soul. Such a great tonic.

And I was right. I was only planning on doing a 'short' walk, but once I got where I initially planned, I decided I really did 'need' to go down to the beach and back up the other side. Gut renching stuff, but wonderful.

I took my camera to capture a part of today.

 

 

 

 

And yes, the sky and sea were really that blue, and the trees really that green. I'm lucky to live in a beautiful country!

In the meantime my children have been playing happily in the pool next door while Linn looks after them. Bliss.

Hope you've had a great day too.

Swimming pools are the greatest!

Since our neighbours have let us use their pool, we've been in it every day. Its just amazing. The kids are totally loving it. Sarah is now swimming half the length of it without any floatation device. WOW! She's still not good for much longer than that and really struggles getting around without the floaties, but its so wonderful to see her develop this far.

Matt is also loving the pool. He is very happy to jump in, do baby dives, and today both he and Sarah played swimming for something on the bottom (admittedly while still holding my hand!). This was a big step for Matt. Huge really. But he did it. And we were so proud of them both.

Dan has come ahead in leaps and bounds too. He is quite happy to float around on his floaties (water wings) kicking like crazy. Much like that saying about swans which look glamourous on the top of the water but their feet are going 10 to the dozen underneath, that is how we see Dan. A splash of white hair on a face that won't stop smiling. While underneath his little legs are flapping like crazy. Too cute.

Today it was also exciting to share new developments with friends as Amanda swam more in a 'deep' pool without floaties than before. So cool.

We're already adding a pool to the long list of things that we 'need' when we eventually rennovate. Hmmmm. Well, our wish list anyway. LOL!

We also ate the last of Matts corn yesterday so went out today and brought some new seedlings to plant. It was so exciting for Matt to share his corn with his friends. And I think he's really looking forward to more of the same with his new plants.....capsicum. The kids each have their 'own' garden and are incredibly proud of the food that grows in them. we are too if the truth be known.

So was sitting here thinking that I haven't had any photos to share in a while, any scrapping or anything, and I looked out the window and this is what I saw....

 

Wowee. What a beautiful end to a stunning day.

Hope you had a good one.

Later.

T

RAK group & other stuff

Oh wow! thanks for all the interest in a RAK Group. I've now put together a list and emailed everyone who has responded so far. If you're still thinking about it, just sing out when you're ready to join, and we'll add you to the list.

If you haven't got an email from me, please let me know so I check whats going on.

I think its gonna be fun.

Funny story of the day. I went down to feed the chooks, and one of the biggies came out of the hen house. In hindsight, she was obviously in mid lay, but she wanted to see what food was coming. She had just started to eat, when she kinda sat/crouched down and I thought 'oh great, she's going toilet in the food'. But instead out popped an egg and rolled down the hill. It was so funny. She hardly even stopped. Just popped back up again and carried on eating. Classic.

So who was back to work today? I hope it went well.

Later,

T 

Happy Mail

Ok, so when I looked in the mail box this morning and realised there was nothing there due to a holiday I realised I really enjoy getting mail. Even bills. I like the feel of a pile of envelopes in my hands. Hmmmm, is that weird?! LOL!

So it got me thinking (and as Andy says that always gets me in trouble! LOL). So I say to myself. Wouldn't it be cool to have a secret santa type thing happening all the time. You know a rak list like one I used to belong to on a scrapping forum.

SOooooooo I thought I'd put the idea out there. Would anyone else be interested in joining a RAK group a list would be circulated amongst the participants (only), that would mean anytime you wanted, you could send a wee rak to one or more of the people on the list?

I will get you to fill in a form with some 'pertinent' questions such as what are your favourite colours, do you have any children, what embellishments do you like and what don't you like etc etc (so that people know what to send you).

You'd provide the answers to those questions and your address and I would then make up a list with anyone that's interested and give the list to other scrappers who are keen.

To keep it 'safe' I'll just start with people I know either via my blog or IRL. This way you'll know that the people on the list are ok. If you wanna join in, but I don't know you, then you might need to start posting some comments ;) so we get to know you first.

Anyway, this is just an idea. Don't know if it'll fly, but hey, worth a shot right? Send me an email, or leave a comment and we'll see where it takes us.

Later.

Hot hot hot

Don't ya just love it when summer really kicks in, like with a great big karate chop?! Yeah. Me too!

Today and the last few days have been like that. Stunning weather. Stunning blue skies. Stunning summer days.

And to top it off nicely for us. Our neighbours have asked us to use their pool. Like yeah! Ok! LOL. So we've been taking the kids over there every day and making the most of it.

I took the camera a couple of days ago. Here's some pics.

All taken after dinner.....

 

 

Love Dan's hand on Andy's knee. Dan is such a Daddy's boy at the moment. Dad is definitely the 'go to' person!

 

 

I love this pic. They have the same eyes, same nose. When I saw the original picture (I've cropped alot of the pool out), it was harder to tell them apart. It just reminds me how close they are. Sigh. Soppy Mummy moment.

 

Hey, did anyone else take a walk down memory lane with tonights movie on TV? Pretty Women was my all time favourite movie for so long. I saw it 7 times when it came out at the movies. Unheard of for me. I was at uni at the time and even made my uni ball dress the same as the red dress she wore to the opera. But mine was black and made from velvet. Ahhhhh, the good ole days when I could get away with wearing stuff like that! LOL.

Anyway, hope the first day of 2009 treated you well!

Later.