It's been one of those days...

The colour of puberty.

A visit to the library.  What’s the first mental images you have?  Books.  Peace and quiet.  A stereo-typical librarian gently holding one finger up to her mouth and saying shhhhhh to someone who has raised their voice a little loud.  Quiet time.

So the visit I had to the library yesterday.  Boy with straw, chewing spit-balls out of paper and shooting them through the library racks.  Stop it.  Boy running around the racks trying to hide other boys bag by throwing it on top of shelves.  Stop it.  Boy asking me to help him because he is being hurt by another boy who has him.by.the.nipple.  Stop it. 

I find a quiet chair.  Away from them all.  Away from where they congregate after school until their parents care to show up and take them home.  Boy in quiet chair next to me, snorting and stopping one step short of spitting it on the floor, Stop it. 

Please.  Some quiet time.  When did kids get so flippin disrespectful of things like library rules? 

Books in hand, I leave.  I can find quieter time at home.  And believe me, my time at home has been way less than quiet lately. 

(Thank you oh Creator of all – puberty is a fabulous spanner to throw in the works, just when one is enjoying one’s children, they turn all nasty.  In the big scheme of things, was puberty reeeeeally necessary?  Couldn’t you have just sent a certificate in the mail to say they were all grown up now?  Perhaps a certification course? A 3-day “everything you need to know about being grown up” course?  Growing up 101?   Anything would have been easier than the attitude we are prevailing with right now, and I believe that it’s just the start of the mighty plan you have for the next 4-5 years…)

Anyway.
I can distract myself.

With stuff for me.

Like GlimmerMist in very cool new colours…

And with making flowers out of paper and new GlimmerMist colours….

And creating layouts with new BasicGrey, for CHA-S which is in a month. 

What colour do you think a ‘Puberty’ GlimmerMist would be?  Kinda dark.  With tiny speckles of hope.  Beautiful rainbows of Glimmer that can only be seen when the GlimmerMist bottle agrees to get along with everyone around it.

What do you think?

Laters

Keeping up with the times...

I conclude,  that women nearing their 40s, or, well, you know... within 2 or 3 years of their 40s,  should not attempt to wear skinny jeans. 

After a 27year old visitor gave me crap a few weekends back for not staying with the times and owning a pair, I went and found some last week.  She left me with homework to get some, so I followed through like the girlie swot that I am.

 

Oh my GOD.  These feel like the compression stockings I had to wear when I was pregnant because of my varicose veins.  'Wear them for a day and they will give half a size' the shop assistant said... yea right! That one should be on a Tui's ad.

 

They make me look fat - (how to skinny jeans make one look fat?) and my ankles are cold... because one tends to have to wear a) jandels, b) flats with no socks or c) boots with them, and I'm not walking around the house with 2 inch boots on.

 

Not to mention how one gets one's jeans off in a HURRY.

Like if one's husband is getting all amorous.

Or if one sneezed a little hard and needs to run to the loo.  Cos one is nearing 40, remember?

 

Just sayin'.

Countdown to the shortest day, scrapbooking and hipstamatic...

I’m so tempted to start this post with a comment about the weather.  About the rain.  And the temperature.  And the lack of light.  That’d be cliché though, and I’m trying my hardest to stay away from cliché.  Except that there are a few things really bugging me right now and the weather is one of them. 

 

Winter in New Zealand, or at least the north of New Zealand is mild.  Compared to other places that is.  We don’t get snow.  It doesn’t freeze often.  I’m positive it sleeted once, but I can’t be sure about that because I was too disgruntled about the cold to go outside and look.  Winter still gets me down though.  I got soaked to the skin going for a run on Sunday; I’m hugging the dishwasher to stay warm and cursing the low light through the windows making them look filthy.  It’s not the windows that are filthy; it’s the low light through them… yes?  These are the exact reasons I will be celebrating the shortest day coming and going.  I may even buy myself flowers and shout myself lunch.  The sooner the emphasis goes from days getting shorter, to days getting longer, the better.  Join me if you like.

 

 

What’s going on in my scrapping world?  I’ve been added to the Prima Design Teamagain. It’s an amazing team, I’m honoured.  I’m just finishing up with Dimensional Details at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  I’ve started assignments for CHA.   I’ve booked my flights to South Africa to teach at the SA Scrapbook Conventionin September.  Autumn Escapeis 95% sold out. The Tarisota galleryis online and I’ve discovered a really cool application on my iPhone that creates photos like this.

Those of you that can access apps, it’s called Hipstamatic, thanks Lee Woodside for tipping us off on Facebook!

Leaving you now for a good book and warm fire.  Here’s a layout from the latest Tarisota kit.

  

Laters.

Charity crops, Prima layouts and smashing poor defenceless mousies...

Typepad drives me crazy.  If I make a mistake as I type and have to backspace, it takes ages to catch up with me.  There is a delay as I type.  It drives me nuts.

 

Clearly I have given up blogging a little lately.  Perhaps because I’ve been busy, perhaps because I’m just lazy, perhaps because I’m visiting facebook a little more, or perhaps because this delay wants me to place my laptop on a concrete footpath and smash the living crap out of it with a sledgehammer.

 

Which is precisely what happened to my wireless mouse a few months back.  And as I’m smashing it I see the battery.     Oh.     A battery.  I slowly put the sledgehammer down.  Poor wee mouse.  I then apologise to the smashed up wireless mouse for not realizing it needed a battery.  
I’m nicer to my new mouse.

 

So I updated my facebook with a ‘typepad frustrates me’ quite little vent and someone suggested I type a blog update in Word first and then copy and paste.  Oh my goodness!  Sometimes I wonder about myself.  How I didn’t think of that myself I have no idea. 

 

What’s on with me right now?  A Tarisota kit… finishing layouts started at the weekend and sending them through to Tamar, have you seen the new look site?  Looking forward to sharing projects on here soon!  Especially now that I have figured out how to type posts without smashing something.

 

I also have CHA tradeshow work on its way to me.  I have classes to create.  For someone that has given up a lot of her work, I’ve gained a whole lot more.  I have another small Big Picture Scrapbooking project to do.  I guess I just can’t. do. nothing. 

I’m carrying on with Prima until the next design team is announced – hopefully I’ll be on that list, and hopefully that list will come out any day.
Here’s my latest layout, done with their June sketch.

 

 

What am I doing this weekend?  I’m going to the Palmer Family Fundraiser Crop, I mentioned this in my last blog post, but I’ll say it again, I’m sure there must be people that still don’t know it’s on!

When:     Saturday June 12^th
Time:      9am to 5pmWhere:    Indian Association Hall, Ward St, Pukekohe

Who:   A day for scrapbookers, stampers, cardmakers and crafters – inexperienced or experienced, all are welcome!!

What to bring: Your projects for the day, your sense of humour, and cash for the raffles and the Absolutely Crafty retail table !!

Cost:   $20 per person, includes morning and afternoon teas, spot prizes and tips and techniques offered throughout the day

Bookings are limited, so please book today!!!!!!!!

Email: [email protected]or call Liz on 09 236 4549

 

Alright.  Time to create.  What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.  Making a plan.  Going with it. 

 

Laters.

Back...

I looked at the weather blogs this morning, as I do.  I saw that rain coming and thought... Tuesday.  Apart from Cheeseday it's also the day we do nothing after school.  I am so glad I'm going to home cuddled in front of the fire with my family around me when that hits. 

So when I found myself in nil visability on the motorway going to an emergency specialist appointment with Abby, I wasn't thrilled.  Nothing serious (the appointment, not the rain, we all know that was serious!), we weren't out long but I can't help feeling ripped off that I wasn't at home in front of the fire with the kidlets.  June 1st.  Hello winter. 

Yep, been busy.  Blog neglected.  I met a huge deadline, finished a contract, met a goal this past Saturday and it's taking me a long time toget used to not to have the deadlines hanging.  Not sure where to go from here.  With the blog.  With my commitments, with everything.  Letting time decide. :)

Anyhoooow - here's a layout done a few months back, took me only 30 minutes - a record!

Anyone else going to the Palmer family fundraiser crop here in Pukekohe?  jason Palmer was an officer at Springhill Correctional Facility until he passed  away recently.  Jason's wife Tracy is an avid scrapbooker, so the scrapbooking community is coming together to help raise a little money for his family in the days ahead. 

I'll leave you with the details, I might see some of you there!
When:     Saturday June 12^th
Time:      9am to 5pmWhere:   Indian Association Hall, Ward St, Pukekohe

Who:   A day for scrapbookers, stampers, cardmakers and crafters – inexperienced or experienced, all are welcome!!

What to bring: Your projects for the day, your sense of humour, and cash for the raffles and the Absolutely Crafty retail table !!

Cost:   $20 per person, includes morning and afternoon teas, spot prizes and tips and techniques offered throughout the day

Bookings are limited, so please book today!!!!!!!!

Email: [email protected]or call Liz on 09 236 4549

 

laters