Gisborne

Would you believe Gisborne has shops, really good shops, the type of stores that paste your face with a look of wonder and rekindle those wants and desires long lost due to mind numbing creatively challenged shops.

Food, have I mentioned the fooooooooood? Gisborne has food, wonderful gourmet delights of every genre from Oysters served with raspberry and champagne foam to Burger Wisconson and charcoal chicken.

Earthquakes!!!!!!!!!!!! did I mention those????????? lordy, months after they event the cracks and damage are still severe and almost everwhere you looked in the hotel there was evidence and every creak and moan of the elevator gave me the willies going to our hotel room.

The girls and I spent three days looking around the place and dining on the company for brekkie, lunch and dinner, cruising around the shops and meandering though op shops and reveling in the districts obvious wealth of Talented knitters(yes I love knitted baby clothes and I got this most fantastic knitted dress for Poppy, I just could not leave it there as it is simply equisite and I cannot believe the time and effort someone put in only to be given away!) shit I really am a soppy sap as the thought of leaving it there almost broke my heart as it needed to be loved and appreciated in the spirit it was made and by golly I will.

About to learn to crochet.......................right off to put on my nana knickers now

Roar

My humble apologies for the last entry it got away on me a bit there, so here is a wee ditty for all of us passionate women who dwell on trivial things far too much.

Sing with me, I find myself singing this to myself alot lately and it seems to have replaced 'Akuna Matata' as my stick a smile on your face and keep going song!

I Am Woman-Artist: Helen Reddy from "Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits": EMI ST 11467-peak Billboard position # 1 for 1 week in 1972-Words and Music by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton

I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend'cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

CHORUS
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of painYes, I've paid the priceBut look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anythingI am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

You can bend but never break me'cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer'cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul

CHORUS
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of painYes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anythingI am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand

Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of painYes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to I can face anythingI am strong (strong)I am invincible (invincible)
I am womanOh, I am womanI am invincibleI am strongFADEI am womanI am invincibleI am strongI am woman

you bet your arse I am official!

Well it is official I now work for St John's, I went through the final interview process and and was signed on last wednesday. It is actually a really exciting time for me and it is unfortunate however that no one else seems to be interested at all. Even CH was completely blank and did not realise the signifigance until I had to point it out after hours of tight lipped yes and no answers. I do not know what it is but it all seems old hat to almost everyone, it is hard to explain but I feel it is like most are just ignoring my new choosen career with the hopes of it just going away or at the very least waiting for me to say it was not my thing.


It is an odd set up really, I have been not close to my family for most of my life but here and now I really want them to be proud of my achievements rather than relish and gossip over foibles and failures. Geez I really am going soft in the head(I had better have a pregnancy test!) Why the feck do I need validation from a bunch of people who were never really nice to me anyway, it just makes me so god damn angry as I have always achieved well and those bastard always want to see the worst in every blasted thing or simply take glee in cutting down those tall Poppies whenever they rise and grow in their festering gardens of doom.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Oh yes Ella is completely toilet trained and has been nappy and accident free for weeks,
Amazing!

Easter

For those that know me will be under no illusion about how important Easter is to me.

I just adore it, decorating beautiful cane baskets for my girls to awake to and then to go a hunting through the house and garden for all Easter treats. The excitement was huge this year and was just a pleasure to watch unfold. As per usual I went completely overboard and will be finding chocolate in unusual places for the next wee while, that is part of the magic and testimony to a job well done!

Easter is also a time for harvesting and preparation as it is normally the time I stock the cupboards with homemade spaghetti and relishes for the long winter ahead. I chose not to preserve spaghetti this year but store it in the freezer instead, I am sure it will taste just great as per usual but I really did miss the feeling of pride when seeing all the jars finished and waiting to be stored. This afternoon I will be making Cucumber and pineapple pickle, the best pickle known to man.

It has been such a busy Easter this year with all of our normal family time and with getting the rental properties ship shape and spending all of Friday and Saturday cleaning. I actually had a great time as we got a baby sitter for the whole time and managed to go on a date of dinner and movies. We went to a lovely restaurant, truly one of Whakatane's hidden gems, Babinka, has a huge menu, something for everyone with surprising combinations of the highest gastronomic ingredients and the most superb range of desserts I have ever seen in the one place, I had an amazing Passionfruit and saffron panacotta, stunning. We went to see 3:10 to Yuma, not a bad flick I think I may have been cured of my utter utter dislike of Russel Crowe as I quite liked his character, infact most were likable accept some annoying kid. My favourite actor was by far Ben Foster who played Charlie Prince, I just love the western genre at the moment but to be honest I just do think we do a very good job of producing them in this day and age, some things were just plain wrong, clothing and the use of language

Well I had best go as I have much to do and I am working tonight.

It's happened again, I knew I was looking a little warty around the edges but generally thought I was still young at heart. Much to my suprise I have become that old middle adged person that young teenage gals can benchmark the point never to allow themselves to get too.

I can no longer talk to the youth in a manner they understand and strangely enough can no longer process a word they say worth listening too. Perhaps I am being a bit harsh and impatient and it is just the magic age of 14 and being on the cusp of adulthood that befuddles a young mind already intoxicated with early sexual experiences, pilfering from parents liquor cabinet and learning to drive a car..........................................Christ and I am letting these timebombs babysit my children!!!

Strange breed these teenagers, disguised in the body of a woman, but with a much better figure. They appear to only be able to communicate in one syallable of 'yep' or 'nah' unless it is a flurry of giggles. Obvious deformities include, life dependancy on cell phone attached to thumb, head often bent to one side, shoulders hunched and walking with a gawky gait. I will not even attempt to describe what they clothe themselves in but 'Fluro' is my word du jour

Another disturbing factor of this weekend happened whilist watching an old Magnum PI episode. I just love the programme but yesterday was different. Never in my life have I found Tom Sellack appealing and could never understand why so many woman were attracted to him.

Until now OMG! What a fine figure of a man. I have turned the corner and am finding manly older men attractive! Could it be a natural defence mecanisim so as I age older men look appealing so as to avoid the crushing dissapointment of never being attractive to a younger fellow?

I would be worried accept I had a rather naughty dream last night involving a rather handsome younger chap caught on the wrong side of the law.................................you get the picture. Unfortunately I awoke at the time before the dream got interesting but reassured the inclination is still there.

Oh yeahhhhhh, do you feel it? Come bask in the glory of my Parental Knowledge, dip your tootsies in the well of my greatness.

ELLA 56 V's MUMMY 1

Finally the 'Poo Fairy' visited and left three amazing sized cables in our toilet, Oh there was much rejoicing and slapping on the backs for these proud parents. Jeepers I was beginning to get worried as I had been feeding Ella with as much Metamucil and blinking kiwifruit as I could get in and almost getting nervous about leaving the house just in case her poo hole exploded and drowned me with it. Bet your arse it would have been in a supermarket.

I do suppose it could be a once off. I will let you know.

Honesty, is it really the best policy?

Out of the mouth of babes come words of pure wisdom and honesty and more often than not leaving me cringing. One three separate occasions this month Ella has chosen to completely humiliate me in the supermarket.
"Mummy that lady has a big bum" I managed to avoid eye contact with said lady, whew

so next time Ella made sure I could not ignore by walking up to a lady, looking her in the eye and announcing "You have really big boobies" FECKKKKKKKKKKKKKK I was so shamed

So by the next week when she told a poor little girl of about nine or ten that she had a "Huge fat tummy" I was a seasoned veteran.

Last week Ella turned to CH and said "Dadda I love your eyes, they are a lovely brown, green and pink!"

This morning, "Mummy my bum is like a hill, Poppy's bum is like a little hill and yours is like a big mountain!"

Silver clay

Have you ever heard of such a thing? It is the most amazing, innovative, creative product I have seen in some time. I am simply gob smacked.

On Saturday I did a workshop learning how to use this wonderful stuff. The product is completely recycled from all sorts of sources like camera film, there is no wastage and if you make a mistake you can start again looks like clay, works like clay, you shape and mould it with water, dry and then put it in a kiln and as if by magic the final product is 99.85% pure silver, fantastic for the likes of moi who is allergic to sterling silver. It was only a beginner course but as per usual I had delusions of granduear and boxed far above my weight and skill level but managed to be happy with what I achieved and am now completely inspired to continue and expand this exspensive but rewarding habit.

Get ye to a course now. I am quite happy with my pieces, I like the Brushed look and could still buff them to a mirror finish if desired. They are far from perfect but for a first attempt I am rapt.

This was a birthday gift from CH and words cannot explain the joy I had, a full day of uninterupted creative stirrings, oh how I miss and desire so much more...............................

Life was never meant to be easy

Although I have been a Mum for three years now those big black and yellow L plates are firmly taped to my arse.

We are currently struggling with toilet training and when I said 'we' I should have said 'me' as Ella really and truly is quite comfortable with the current situation. We have gone from being fully trained and suddenly rocketing backwards by the simple words of "Mummy I will not be going to the toilet anymore!" so she did'nt and even went to the extent of refusing to drink so she would not need to go. Finally we got over that one with weeks of mini M&Ms as bribery and offering watered down juices instead of water.

Still two months down that track she completely refuses to poo on the toilet and would wait for the comfort of her night nappies before soiling herself and wallowing in her gagging stench. Night after night and really for me I was pretty cool about it as I completely supressed my natural reaction to rant and rave.............................deep breaths through gritted teeth................. and say next time honey will you do Poos in the toilet? She replys, "yes Mummy and it will make you soooooooooo happy" and for that moment I am completely suckered and actually believe her.

I have friggin stickers and star charts, goals and bribery from here to Africa and still no Mr hanky in the toilet. Seven days ago I had enough and decided to not buy another nappy, including for nightime. I really did doubt my motives as it did feel like I was the one throwing a wobbly and I was taking away the nappies as punishment. The weird thing is that it is working as Ella never had a dry nappy in the morning but now has not even wet the bed.

Sadly still no poos, we did have a small accident at night and I made her scrub her knickers the next day, she loved it! DAMMIT.

It is a standoff, I will not give her a nappy, she will not give me poos, the will is strong, I am currently lacing her food with loads of fibre and still no huge cigar. I fear she may soon burst as what goes in must come out........................................just a thin wafer sir...................................

Oh yes I forgot to say since my last blogging I have done 48hours of volunteer work on the back of an ambo and loved every minute of it. Hopefully sometime soon I will get my little letter of acceptance which means I am well on my way to becoming a paramedic. So excited and I fully encourage you all to do this as it is just marvelous fun!

CH has just got a promotion but since we are still in negotiation stages so I had best not tell you the details but we are dead excited.

Love to you all and catch up soon

Ella Enchanted

Can you believe this girl is now a big three year old? Would you look at her new cheesy grin, no it is not the standard version but a new dreamed up one that she reserves especially for photos! That bunch of flowers she is holding was one of the best presents ever as not only was it her first bunch of flowers from a boy but little did I know how much she would love them and repeatedly tried to take them to bed. Twas a lovely birthday and I think it is more about the Mothers than the children as I spend all day reminicing about what happened three years ago to the Day, hours and minutes. Yes I am such a sappy geek but I love every moment and am very wary of the fact that I could not tell you what I had for lunch last Wednesday so I must keep the memory going and before long in my memory the birth will have been nothing but candlelight, choirs singing and looking gorgeous as I cough and out pops a baby already cleaned and smelling of baby powder wearing Dior baby

Poppy Updated

Here she is, My Milatant minion testing out her moves at her sisters birthday party. She is simply amazing and I could just cuddle her all day. Unfortunately she does not share this vision as she is far too busy taking over the world and finding a new family. She is a sulky little love who is fast learning off her sister and may I say learning nothing nice. Oh mark my words I shall be a terrible wrecked insane mess in about six months, I have thought it has been hard with Ella through the terrible twos but I fear it will have been a doddle in comparison to what Miss Pops has in mind.

Scilla Chocolates

It once again has been so long since my last blogging that to tell you of all of my outings, and thoughts over the last months would render you completely unconscious by blatant boredom.

I will however let you in on my finest and most luxuriant find, Scilla Chocolates. If you do not know the name do not panic but get ye to Ohope or get online and purchase. As you all know I have a bit of a choccie problem and reached the point about one year ago that no chocolate on the market in NZ could meet my ever increasing rich taste so I made my own. With great success.

These Chocolates fill MY void, now they are not the sort of chocolates you share and all of you Cadbury quaffing whimseys out there beware. These opulent delights are the sort you spend time alone with, the sinfully rich fillings, laced with liqueurs that rush out and bite your ear lobe.

What do you think?

Hey what do you think of this? I have had yet another birthday since my last blog so I thought I would try on some italic just to see how it fits and of course a slightly larger font, for if I am getting older then some of you old tarts out there will be glad of a little help..................and you know who you are.

No did not really work out for me but now that I type in this font the former seems pleasing to the eye...........................yes just another reminder I am getting older and my tastes are changing. Last week I walked past a window display of little cute ceramic animals and had to stop and look at every one. Then I thought where would I put them and who else I could give them too, it was then that I realised that even my elderly mother would find them a but silly and for the love of god THEY WHERE CERAMIC ANIMALS WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING! I seem to have woken up this birthday to find that not only my youth and waist gone but some fucker has stolen my taste as well. SO I went and bought a pair of shoes, and of course they are nothing a ceramic animal lover would purchase!