Update Post

If you have missed it I am currently taking part in a blogging challenge....A to Z Challenge where you blog from A to Z throughout the month of April. It is such fun and I am enjoying it, have met some super great blogs along the way and made some wonderful new friends.

It is just what I need actually because I have been sick and we are not just talking a few days in bed or on the couch we are talking that I am on day 10 now and things are about 60% better.
As mentioned here and then again here I thought I was getting dizzy due to my blood pressure being low, turns out that was maybe just a little cover for the real problem.
I saw the doctor and my bloods were all back and good, no worries there. However he did not like the extra fluid in my ears so decided that I had a balance problem due to too much fluid so put me on decongestants to help dry up the fluid. These did nothing, with the exception of making me realise that I was allergic to the drug!
So 2 days later, when I finally succuumbed to the illness and gave in and lay on the couch and just didn't move, I went back to the doctor. Saw a different one this time, just coincidence, but he decided that I had Vestibular Neuritis, a viral infection that effects the inner ear and makes your balance go totally out of whack.

I have no energy, I can't concentrate, things keep swimming in my peripheral vision and the rooms spins regularly.

My father has told me that he too has suffered from this in his time and so has his sister, my aunt. So is it hereditory? Or just chance?
At the moment I hope it is just chance because another attack of this, that could knock me out of action for 4-5 days, would be my worst nightmare come true.
All websites I read talk about recovery being anything from 1-3 weeks!
Good job, to an extent, that I am on holiday next week with the boys due to school holidays, but not so good a job because this is not how I wanted to spend my week off, sitting on a couch half the day resting!

So thank you to all my new blogging friends I have made over the last week. It is fun to read what you are writing about. I have laughed, I have learnt and I have agreed with you on many things.
I look forward to catching up more during the month of April and then on throughout 2012.

New Design?

Are you happy with the new blogger interface?
Do you use the new design?

By accident a few weeks ago I changed over to the new blogger interface and I am not sure about it. It has taken time to get use to, I do like the layout of the new post page, having everything across the top of the page is working but the rest of the website I am finding difficult to use.

It won't work at work anymore because it doesn't mix with basic google nor does my lap top seem to like the new interface.
However last night I found a button that allowed me to revert back to the old blogger interface and suddenly I feel like I am home again.

I want to keep moving with the times but at the same time I wish the move wasn't so drastic.
Am I the only one struggling with this change, is it something I will have to bite the bullet on sooner or later as it will be the only interface available?
Honestly Blogger.com I am trying, really hard, I just wish all my computers were accepting of it!

How are you finding it?

Challenge Update

I have a Challenge Page.
You will find it at the top of my page under the heading picture.
Here it lists all the challenges that I want to achieve. Ok I was trying to achieve them all in 1 year but that didn't come about, so now it is just an ongoing challenge that I am achieving.

So what have I achieved in the last few weeks?

#14 Help a Charity - I am completing Relay for Life in 10 days time. This will be raising funds for the Cancer Society. I will post all about this after March 3rd / 4th when I have completed it. However if any of you wish to support me in doing this then please go to their website and donate. Our team Is Wig Girls and you can register under Robyn Creighton.

#24 Clean out your closet and donate everything to your local charity shop rather than sell it on Trade Me - I have a bag sat behind my bedroom door at present that is being filled with things I am being brave enough to part with. As I go through each draw, shelf or wardrobe I am filling the bag.

#62 Write a list of things you would like to do or achieve before you die – ‘Bucket List’ - I have been thinking about this one recently as the Relay for Life is one of the things on my bucket list. So just need to sort my page out on my blog to show my Bucket List - Challenge Achieved


#89 Take baking to a person that you appreciate but pay for their services. E.g. hairdresser, doctor. Take it to your next appointment and simply give it to them and say Thanks - I achieved this one just before Christmas when I had a hair appointment. I made them some of my little Chocolate Christmas Puddings - Challenge Achieved

#90 Have a whole week with no TV - I achieved this one over Christmas whilst we were away for 3 weeks. We don't have a tv at the caravan, so couldn't watch it. Maybe not quite what the challenge was about and probably an easy way out of completing it at home, but hey this is my challenge so I get to make the rules! Challenge Achieved

100 Challenges Update

Seeing as I only have 23 days until this challenge should be finishing then I better do an update as to where I am up to on succeeding on completing these 100 challenges.
I currently have writen down that I have completed 7/100 on my blog, but I have gone through the lsit and I think this may have crept up by 1 or 2.

So here is an update:

#6 Baby sitting for no reason - I 'baby sat' or more like 'babies sat' for a friend one Saturday afternoon with her twin 6 month old boys. She was attempting to watch 3 soccer games throughout the day and had been out of the house since 9am with the twins. It was cold and so I offered to take them home and look after them until she has finished all the games she needed to watch for her other 2 sons.
It was a challenge to feed to both babies at once but I got myself nicely set up in the armchair, 1 baby each side and a bottle in each hand, not sure what I would have done if one of them wanted to move! Completed

#19 Go to a Sunday Market - everytime I see the sign advertising the Farmers Market not far from us then I think of this challenge but as yet I have not remembered to go and visit it with the family. What I need to do is actually mark it on the calendar and then I will remember to get the family organised to go to it.
Note to self - place on calendar when get home from work tonight!

#22 Teach someone a new craft - my cousin has asked me to teach her to quilt. I have accepted this challenge and will be assisting her one Wednesday. We were waiting until I had finished study for the year and for her to finish the job she is currently completing. So this challenge is not completed but is planned ready to go.

#23 Dessert only dinner with friends - this was achieved with a group of mum's from school, 4 of us went out one evening for coffee and dessert and believe me a full chocolate dessert plate is beyond dreams, especially as the restaurant had half price desserts on the night we went, it made obtaining a dessert plate each so much more easier. Completed

#39 Watch the clouds with your kids - never managed to achieve this on a blanket but on the drive to the caravan the other day the kids and I happily looked for shapes in the sky. We say dolphins, rabbits, ships and many other shapes that kept them amuzed on the drive over. Completed

#49 Spend an hour in silence - this was easily achieved when the family took themselves off to the caravan for the weekend so mummy could get her latest essay completed. They left Friday and returned Sunday, so I had hours of silence to myself. Completed

#65 Get old magazines, find pictures you like and stick them in a book - I have some great magazines and have found some lovely stuff I like, I just haven't sat and cut it all out yet, or glued it in or commented on why I like it. So half way there, maybe now I have finished my study for the year I can use 1 of my Wednesdays to complete this.

#68 Learn something new - this one can be quite liberal, I have learnt the art of mail art, although not sure if that was too easy a subject as not difficult to do, however I have just changed jobs and I am learning all about the business side of running a hospital, so am in learning overload at present, but I have also just completed my essay on law and ethics within nursing and that was also a steep learning curve. So I am saying I have completed this one and learnt lots recently. Completed

#89 Take baking to an appointment - I haven't done this yet but I ahve a Doctor's appointment next week and a hairdressers appointment 2 weeks later, so just need to plan it.

#91 Surprise your kids with a day off school - now I have done this with one of them although I am trying to remember if I did it with the other as well, sadly we did not have fun days planned just a day at home with mum. Although thye are both going to have 2 days off school in a few weeks doing lots of fun stuff when we fly to Nelson. We don't normally plan activites where they take days of school for it, so this trip to Nelson is going to be such fun.

#92 Organise a night away with you husband - this was achieved a few weeks ago when we went to Rotorua for a Family Anniversary party, the boys stayed with Grandma and we snuck off to a hotel for the night. It was well deserved. Completed

#96 Buy a song off the internet and sing it loud - I brought the Bruno Mars album from Digirama and it is on my phone, this last weekend at the caravan it was the only music we had and the boys sang it with me loud and clear all weekend. Completed

So there you have it, another 7 completed. My total is now up to 14/100. Still not a fabulous amount but I will try and work on it

Huge Update

So it has been 2 weeks since my last post. Lots has happened, life has kept going and I have just been trying my best to keep up.
I feel like I am in confession here "forgive me father, it has been 2 weeks since my last confession/post....!"

Anyway, here are some pictures and info about what we have been doing, decided to do a large post rather than sit and write many posts.

 At the beginning of June, Alex turned 6. Sometimes I am amazed that he even makes it to his birthday each year!
We had a great time and as usual I made a cake, as requested. I am at present, eternally grateful that neither of my boys have ever asked for a specific type of cake with a theme. They always want a chocolate cake, which is easy to do but they have never asked for a particular shape.
So for his birthday this year, he had a round simple chocolate cake, with frosting and sprinkles. That was it, nice and simple. No staying up half the night building trains and shunting yards with liquorice straps here.
Last year he wanted Ben 10 and again I happily helped by making a round cake with blue/green icing on top with a Ben 10 figurine. It was greatly accepted and loved. What more do they want or need?

 His request for his party this year was to go rock climbing.
Every year, for the first 5, we have done a party and it usually consists of family and some dear family friends. Never have they invited actually friends because up until then they have not really had any that were not family friends.
So I always said that their 6th birthday could be big as it was going to be the first one that they would have school friends. Ben happily agreed and had a big party for his, Alex however wanted 2 friends from school and his 2 cousins, total.
No matter how much we told him he could invite who ever, he stuck with those 4 and that was that. But then that is Alex for you, decision made end of story, no moving an inch yet alone a mile!
He had a great time so that was all that mattered.

 The first Judo fun day of the year came around in June and the boys were all excited about that. However Alex came out in a huge rash and did not feel great so he didn't compete but Ben did and he worked hard all day.
Which, if you do, then you get rewarded for your hard work and that for Ben was rewarded by winning the Gold medal in his class. He fought hard in all his fights, had some great fights (I wish I knew how to upload video because there is one I would love to show you all) he won everything and deserved that Gold medal.

However, as previously posted, a week later he broke his foot.
He got put in a backslab for several days which he managed with very well, however on day 4 it needed to be replaced and they placed him in a 3/4 cast (back and 2 sides, front left open) however this did not stop him in anyway. He took over the settee and played Wii all day.
2 days later the doctor decided that he actually was doing great and needed to not have a cast just a splint shoe for 3 weeks. So he is now walking on it (and running and jumping!! however much we try to calm him and get him to be gentle) and it is doing well. The swelling has reduced and so has the lovely blue/black/green colour from around his toes etc.
He doesn't complain of any pain so hopefully all is healing well. Soccer and Judo will be started again sometime in the new term but it will be a good 6 weeks after the accident to ensure all is healed and well ready.
However, with the fact we are in the middle of school holidays, then soccer and judo are not being missed as they are not happening, so all worked out well.

We are also doing some changes around the house, pulling a chimney down, flattening the back garden etc. I do have pictures but that is one thing I will definitely leave to do in a post by itself!

Start of The Challenges

Well a week has almost passed and I have made a start on my challenges.

I of course completed Challenge 1 first, as per the instructions that I had set, and so I ahve brought my notebook to use for the time. In fact I brought 2 notebooks, 1 to be used as a jotting place for things to do with each challenge, notes to self, points to remember etc.
The 2nd one is the official book that will get nicely written and have pictures pasted into to use as my journal of my challenge.

I have also made a start on several other challenges, as some of them will take time to complete.
Please refer here for the complete list of challenges.

Challenge 43 - we have a vegetable garden planted and when there is something to use I will complete this challenge early next year

Challenge 45 - I have made a start on my new collection and have decided that I will start collecting snowmen. It is the right time of year to commence this challenge as of course all the Christmas decorations are now readily available in the stores. I will post a picture when I have the 1st item of my collection.

Challenge 63 - I have started to read through some of the cook books in the cupboard to see which would be enjoyable to use. I am even considering using the cook book Alex got for his birthday this year and maybe extending the challenge a little to add that him and I will attempt all the recipes?

Challenge 71 - am constantly thinking about what I could use to develop the recipe, although I have a dip (Chick Peas with Indian Spices) that I buy from a store that I love and am maybe going to see if I can reproduce it at home.

Challenge 73 - have been thinking back over my wonderful adventerous 40 years and jotting down places I have enjoyed visiting and thinking about if I would like to take the boys there one day.

So there is my start for now, not bad going for the first week.

Preview

Have you noticed any changes to the 'Posting' page when writing your blog posts?
They have moved the preview button.
Was happy with that no problems.
Was even more happier when I realised that they have fine tuned the preview altogether.
It is amazing, when you view preview now, you actually get a preview of your blog page, you can actually get to see what it will look like when published, no more small box showing you an approximate idea, this is an actually post on your blog with 'preview' written across it.
So way much better.

So the next time you are sat writing a post, preview it and see what happens. It will make getting your layout exactly how you want it from now on

Fire Update - Man is Arrested

This is the latest report I can find out there on the www,

A man has been arrested following a number of suspicious fires in Hamilton early this morning, including one at a private hospital where patients had to be evacuated.
The blaze at Braemar Hospital in Frankton started in a wheelie bin at 2.42am on Friday, and quickly spread to the roof of the building.
Of the 32 patients in the hospital, 20 were moved out of the building to other hospitals.
Waikato Assistant fire commander Roy Breeze said the sprinkler system stopped the fire spreading further, but the blaze had burnt through gas and water mains feeding the building, and gas was leaking.
He said more than 30 firefighters attended the fire.
Mr Breeze estimated the damage would run to millions of dollars. A large x-ray machine and related equipment was drenched by the sprinkler system.
Just before 3am there was a second fire in a car in Queens Avenue, and a skip bin at Hamilton Girls High School was set alight about 15 minutes later. A fourth fire was lit in a pile of rubbish.
Police have charged a 22-year-old man in connection with three of the fires.

The fire was started in a part of the hospital just next to a Theatre that performs Cardiac Angiograms, etc. They have a lot of very expensive x-ray machines (MRI Scanner) etc so all their procedures can be done as minimal sugery rather than having to have a major open procedure. Unfortunately x-ray equipement and water do not mix.
This hospital is currently moving to new premises in April next year, so the big question will now be whether it is worth spending all this money to redo the Cath Lab, when it is all being moved in 4 months (the time it will probably take to sort out)?

Wedding Update

The wedding plans are ticking along quite nicely at present.

We have met with a Celebrant and she is lovely. We have decided to use her to marry us. We have had one meeting with her that went well, we have to have another to go over the whole service in about July time.

My dress is coming along nicely. The dressmaker has informed me that she has done the pattern and it is ready to go for me to try on. I would be rushing over to try it, but it is in Rotorua (hour away)and I want to be able to take my time doing it, so that means going over one day when the boys are not with me, so hopefully in about 2 weeks time.

The invitations have gone out and we are starting to get the rsvp's back.

I have started to check out shoes and underwear, now the dress is coming along I will need these things for some of the fittings.

I have to organise a meeting with the lady doing the flowers and I have to go up to see my cousin to sort out her Bridesmaid Dress.

So everything is coming along really well.