Garden Update

We moved into our house here 4 years ago.
The back garden was a complete mess. Still is really although we have done a lot of work on it.

When we moved in there was a large area of tarmac out the back for no reason. There were large ferns halfway down the garden that cut off the back area.

Before any work

Of course we started, very slowly I will have you know, clearing the ferns and other rubbish from the area. As you can see there really is life at the end of our garden, another house!

After a little large amount of clearing, which was very slowly done! We got rid of the ferns and all the other rubbish. This included all the tarmac that was once in the back garden where the play set is situated in the above picture..
We have stuck a retaining wall at the very end and are slowly filling in with soil. Seeing as there was a difference of 75cm between the lowest point and the highest point, then we are requiring a rather large amount of dirt.

In December last year a friend put us in touch with a Bobcat owner who regularly had truck loads of soil to be dumped. So he came and visited and agreed that if he had anything to dump in this area then he would dump with us rather than taking to the council dump way across town. Win win for all really.
He dumped a few loads before Christmas and then everything went quiet.

Of course we then hit winter and weather has not been the greatest for digging out plots of land etc.
So last week Steve decided that we could maybe look at buying the final cubic meters that we required.
My first question was "Where the hell do we buy that much dirt, cheaply?"

So I called the bobcat owner and asked if he could help, did he know of somewhere we could buy soil cheaply and could he also help us deliver it? Sure he said and suddenly we have dirt coming out of our ears.

Seems he called a few earth movers in the area and found one of them had just started a job in the local area. So I came home on Tuesday to a pile of dirt on our front verge.
Next afternoon came home to another pile of dirt, so Steve and the boys decided to start moving it round the back. However whilst doing this Wayne showed up with yet another truck load of dirt!

Don't ask me how he managed to get the truck down the side of our house, it is so tight, although the only advice we gave him was please take the hedge out before the house!
The boys were once more in their element and helped at every possible moment.

Whilst writing this post this morning, Wayne has already arrived with yet another truck load. It is dumped out the front and he will be back either tonight or tomorrow morning with the bobcat to shift it all round the back for us. All he is asking is money towards his time, nothing for the dirt!
If it is anything like last time he used the bobcat here, then the boys will be in for a real treat again.

At this rate we will have grass seed planted in a few weeks and maybe a lawn to play on by February! Wow

Scavenger Hunt - #8 A Statue of An Angel

Even thought I still only have a few more items to find, the last few are not happening quick enough.

• A border
• A person playing an instrument
• A horse
• A maze
• Someone dancing
• A Bride
• A movie poster
• Picture of me with national symbol

Some are of course right under my nose but I just haven't managed to get a picture of them yet!
I know many of us have suffered with this concept.

We did have a weekend a few weeks back where we managed to find a few, but this did entail us walking round a cemetery to find a statue of an angel.

The boys were actually quite intrigued with this and fascinated too.
We got to view all the graves and see what was written on them.
It was obvious from some of the headstones that ones occupation was very important back many years ago, because as the following picture shows, this seemed the important thing to have on your headstone to allow all to see your current status within the community.

I did however find a statue of an angel.

It was sadly on the grave of a young 6 year old child, dear little Irene Doris who's headstone read "Fell a sleep on 16th May 1932"
From the size and beauty of the stone it was obviously from a family who loved her dearly and were doing everything they could to remember and cherish the memory of her.

The boys were intrigued by the cemetery and what it all meant. It did take us a few times to get them not walk over all the grave sites, showing them to respect the people and their graves.
There was a large Military area which they were interested in as well. We were able to discuss with them about the wars and what it meant and how some of these people had obviously been killed at war or in some of the cases, injured as the war ended but sadly lost their battle a week or 2 after the war ended.

We managed other items on the scavenger hunt list but will post about them another time.

The Rose

My mother sent this on email to me and I just had to share it, just perfect

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being..

She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?'

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a giant squeeze..

'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked.

She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...'

'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

'I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experience with me..

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.  

 Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, ' We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody! Can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets..'

She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The Rose.'

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those months ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get. We make a Life by what we give..

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Good friends are like stars..... .....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there

If your want to see the lyrics to "The Rose" by Bette Midler then just Google them

Breakfast

This morning I woke to hear the boys making breakfast!

Our bedroom is upstairs but directly down the stairs is the kitchen so we can hear what is going on in there.
I was not concerned, I established pretty soon on that we were going to receive something on a tray, however the snippets of conversation (that had me concerned) that I heard made me laugh and I even nudge Steve to check if he was awake and knowing what was coming our way.

The conversation I heard went something like this:
Ben: "Do you know how to make coffee?"
Alex: "Yes"
Ben: "Do you know how to boil the kettle?"
Alex: "Yes, but you need to put water in it"
Ben: "Do you know how to work the coffee thingy?"
Alex: "Yes, I'll do it"
Ben: "But we can't pour the boiling water, can we?"
Alex: "Yes"

What eventuated upstairs to us was 2 trays with a bowl of cereal each and a drink each. Mine was simple, cold juice, Steve's was coffee in the plunger and a cup with milk ready to go.

He asked who made this and they both smiled and said they had, however it soon became apparent that whilst making the coffee Alex (7) had remembered how to make it, adding coffee grounds etc but had forgotten to ensure it had been washed out of yesterday's grounds, so the coffee was made with double coffee half of which had been plunged yesterday!

We happily obliged as all good parents should, to eat what was given to us and say how wonderful it was.

My Day

Today is a special day to me, it is my day to reflect on being a parent.
It is my day to look back and remember that small moment of life before we had kids.
It is my day to sit back and think about what was a head, not that we could have changed any of it.

You see our oldest is 9 tomorrow and when he was born all those years ago, I had the pleasure, sort of, of being in labour at home by myself for the whole day.
You see it was that typical 1st baby lark of not really thinking I was in labour and generally ignoring it. It was only at about 4.30pm when I finally called the midwife that we got a small gist of the fact that this might be it and things may be moving.

Steve had gone to work in the normal fashion but I hadn't bothered to tell him about the braxton hicks I had had at 2am, or the next 1 I had at 9am, I mean gezz, I was 38 weeks gone, it was part and parcel of everyday to me.
But something made me start to write down the times when I realised I was having them every hour or 2, and when they went to every half and hour after that. Yet I still didn't call him and ask him to come home to me, I just knew he would be home at the normal time of 5.

Which he was by the way, although he did know the midwife had been to visit so he did come home knowing that things may be changing.

And changing they were....

Here we are now, 9 years later and I can still remember that Thursday in 2003 like it was yesterday. I can tell you things that were on the tv that evening whilst I danced around the living room.
I can remember eating a tuna fish sandwich for lunch.
I can remember that my dad called from overseas, but try as I might there was no way I was sitting down to take the call.
I remember Steve and the midwife suggesting I get some rest as we were probably in for a long night! But there was no way I was able to sit or even lie down, not my thing in labour, I stand.

I remember that in fact the weather was pretty much how it is today....sunny in parts with the odd shower and lots of strong wind, hashing everything around.

And now here we are, 9 years later, I am at home today on my own. The boys are at school till 3, Steve is at work till 5 and I am sure if I turn the tv on at 2pm I will probably come across Oprah (just like then) or something similar, but today I am not having tuna fish for lunch, although that does sounds really nice.

M.I.A

Everyone goes here at some stage, I know because you see this post appear on everyone's blog at least once a year!

Yes I have been Missing in Action, but it has been for a cause not because I just couldn't be bothered.

As many of you know, I am currently obtaining my Bachelors of Nursing. I now have 1 essay to complete and my time is done.
Yes I was away last week completing my 2nd to last essay for my degree, so I have a really valid excuse for skipping away from the land of blog.
Then of course it was Father's Day here over the weekend so we skipped away to our caravan for a family weekend of relaxation.

But never fear, I am back and raring to go....!

Sad Loss

Today I heard some news that hit my heart hard....
Sadly Neil Armstrong aged 82, (5th Aug 1930 - 25th Aug 2012) the first man onto the moon, had lost his fight against heart trouble. He had died following complications to heart surgery he had a few weeks ago.

I actually had grief for someone I don't know.

However in a small way I do know him. Or at least I know about him. I have taken an interest in him.
You see back in 1986 my parents moved to America and why to this day I will never understand, we ended up living in a small city in North West Ohio called Wapakoneta (pronounced Wapa kon eta) also known as Wapak.

It is a small city, pop of just over 9000, located on I75 at junction 111.
Its main claim to fame..........it is the birth place of Neil Armstrong. It is where he was born on 5th August 1930.
When we lived there in 1986, his parents were both still alive and they lived on the renamed street of Neil Armstrong Drive and they were lovely people, I know I met them.
Well more like I spent sometime with them holding a hosepipe over a ladder whilst people ran the marathon around the town that was part of the annual Race to The Moon.
We held a hosepipe up because the summers in Wapak are hot.
Just today I checked with the local paper and they were in the 90's (about 32c for all of us) so yes hot, but then in the winter they get cold cold and have snow, so from one extreme to another.

It is a small Indian city, where when we lived there I felt time had forgotten it.
Lima is the closest large place and was the place to go for civilisation!
Although you could survive very nicely without ever leaving Wapak.
Kids in typical fashion would complain about the size of Wapak and the lack of up to date activities however many seem to fall back there to live and raise their own families, so it can't be all that bad a place to be.

I have lived in many places during my life and of all the places I have lived, Wapak is the place I left my heart.

So to all my friends in Wapakoneta, Ohio, you are in my thoughts and prayers, as you go through this sad time.
And to everyone else, the next time you see the moon at night, look at it with love in your heart and show a smile or wink for Neil Armstrong, the man who made history but to this day felt he never did anything special apart from just doing his job.

God bless you Neil Armstrong, you will be sadly missed

Soccer Season

Today, soccer season ends.

No more early Saturday mornings!

No more having to be in 2 places at once!

No more drying soccer boots after Wednesday practice and before Saturdays game on newspaper by the heater!

yes that is fog on a Saturday morning!

No really, I am going to miss soccer season.

We are lucky to have 2 super little players in our family who have happily given their all throughout the season.

They have practiced hard, kicked for all their might, scored the odd goal along the way and saved just as many in their time.
I am proud of what they have achieved in this season and for the way they have grown in their abilities. They have learnt more about team work and team spirit and have shown they have what it takes.
Thank you soccer season 2012, it has been fun. I look forward to 2013 but excuse me whilst I just go off and have myself a great summer first.

Fostering

I have a friend and school mum, who I will call Angel (cause she is) who along with the rest of her family (husband and kids) foster children.
All I can say is that I am in total awe of Angel and am immensely proud to know her and her family.

This past weekend was however very hard for them.

Let's take a few steps back.....
Last year they started fostering, they had an older girl for a few weeks and then they looked after a 6 month old baby whilst the adoption papers were going through. Angel worked with the new parents to ensure they understood the baby's routine for at least 2-3 weeks prior to the baby leaving them and she was also available to them for a few weeks after to ensure they had a smooth transition.

At the beginning of this year they got a call and were asked to take a 3yr old for a couple of weeks, short version of the story is that it turned out there was a 1yr old sibling as well and the services were going to separate them. Angel said NO, she declared that it was in their best interest to keep the siblings together as long as possible especially as the services were already considering inter family adoption of the siblings separately.
So Angel started appearing at school with 2 extra people in tow.
It shocked our whole world, well the small community of mum's who are all friends because we all have kids the same age. We were shocked because the children were adorable, friendly and full of life. It surprised us that ones so young could have so much spirit after the neglect they had suffered.
However, 6 months later and these 2 little darlings were still in Angel's care! Yep the system was not working really really hard to place them, they seemed happy with the care they were receiving. Which on the one hand is a lovely compliment of Angel and her family but on the other hand not good for the little ones as they really needed to start having a settled permanent life. Now although Angel was working hard to get these children settled she was never happy for them to be taken from their family and placed into another family whilst waiting for adoption, she was determined that they would not be moved around the system too much if she could help it.

So after a lot of communication from Angel to the services they have finally managed to place the older child with extended family. An aunt who lives a long way away from here and has family herself but has the heart to take on 1 more.

This is where the sad part comes in folks......

The 3yr old, who we have all grown to love, who runs up to us and gives us all hugs every time we meet at school, who has had a birthday whilst with us all and is now 4yrs old and has even started to make friends because Angel pushed for the child to attend Kindergarten whilst in her care.
The same little person who when asked how are you? Would answer with either of the following answers "I'm naughty or I'm good"! Has left us all this past weekend. The process finally worked and the child has moved with their aunt.

It was sad. I have never known a community so hit be sadness over the loss of a gorgeous little 4yr old.
They will be sadly missed, we wish them all the best in life, we wish them nothing but happiness and the ability to be a 4yr old from now on, not someone who had to fend for themselves and siblings! We hope all their dreams come closer and they have a happy life.

However, the 18 months old sibling is still with us and I can see further sadness and loss when their finally get placed.
It has definitely been a village effect with these children and we have all been involved and until this past weekend I don't think any of us realised just how much we were involved.

Reading

I am a terrible reader, don't get me wrong, I can read! Have been able to since I was about 7yrs old.
I am a terrible reader in that it is all or nothing.

Once I pick up a book then life stops.

I am not the person who reads a little prior to falling a sleep. I am the person who reads a little prior to going to sleep then gets so engrossed in the book that suddenly it is 1am and I am determined to finish the last 2 chapters before I turn the light out.

I am a person who will do everything else around reading.
I will watch the tv but as soon as the adverts come on during the programme I have my book open and I carry on reading.
Same with cooking. I love that the kitchen is not connected to the living room. I can stand and read whilst waiting for something to cook, stopping every now and then to stir the pot.

If I get into a good book and then find that it has another connected to it then I am screwed, as I will want to finish book 2 just as quick as book 1.

I have been known to read myself stupid, so much so that I have then not picked up another book for weeks  due to being read out! At that time the thought of reading a book is the worst thing imaginable.

And just to prove the point, I have just spent the last week reading 5 out of 7 books in a series. Thus the reason why there have been no posts for a week!!

Weighing In

I am still slowly plodding my weigh (ha ha) through this weight lose.
I have chipped at it week by week and am still enjoying it.

I don't get too much out of the meetings each week but still enjoy going. Only once have I not felt like going to weigh in but at the last minute I decided against not going and rushed in to weigh. I find I feel guilty if I don't weigh, which means that so far I have attended and weighed in every week I have been on the programme. Very proud of myself for that.

I am actually doing really well and thought I would share some stats with you:

• I have lost 6.2kg (13.67 lbs) to date
• I have achieved my 5% goal. This is loosing 5% of your starting weight.
• I have 100g (0.2 lb) to lose to achieve my stone (6.3kg or 14 lb approx.)
• I have 1.3kg (2.86 lb) to loose to achieve my 10% goal
• I have only 2.8kg (6.17 lb) to loose to achieve WW Goal.
• Then I have to maintain for 6 weeks to achieve Life Membership
• Personally I then still have 2.5kg (5.51 lb) to loose to achieve my personal goal

So life is ticking along at present and all is good.

I am still eating the crap some days but it is not the main thing to eat.

The biggest thing I have learnt from all this:

• Drink plenty of fluids
• Watch your portion sizes, this alone can screw up an otherwise great week
• Listen to your body when eating. If it says it is full then stop eating!
• Get enough sensible sleep
• Get moving......I wear a pedometer everyday now and this is helping me to move more as I must achieve my 10,000 steps per day (ok I am not achieving them but I am getting closer)

I have 5 more weeks of this cycle before I have to start paying to attend, up until now this has been an at work programme that they have paid for. So I have to work hard to achieve goal in that time then I only have to do 6 weeks of maintaining to be a life member and not have to pay anything. Yea me.

17

This past weekend I found some new blogs, this all came about because Rinda, who organised the scavenger hunt I am currently undertaking, did a catch up
This allowed us (all 70 of us) to link up with her and go and view what the others had been photographing for the hunt.

One blog I got to reading mentioned about being 17, at the time she was 17 but everyone else that linked up to the post were writing about when they were 17.
This got me thinking to when I was 17, to when I turned 17, which if I have to be honest is just coming up to 25 years ago! Yes I turned 17 in 1987.

When I turned 17 my parents were living in America in Ohio.
My brother was with them going to Junior High and I was in England at boarding school on my own.
I was just starting my last year of my O Levels, yes I was in the group of students who were the last to complete O Levels, everyone after us took GCSE’s.

I was loving life and having a lot of fun. I was loving school where I was taking my normal courses plus singing in the choir, playing the clarinet. I remember during this year going on choir trips to other schools to sing evensong.

I remember that when I flew back to school after Christmas I got stranded at Newark Airport about an hour before my flight was due to leave. It had started to snow and the flight from the day before had been cancelled. I was not a happy traveller when I managed to get in touch with my dad before my flight left.

The Easter after I turned 17 my parents were not sure if they were going to be in the US so I stayed in England for the holidays on my own and travelled around to stay with relatives and friends. I got to stay wherever I wanted, I planned my itinerary and had a wonderful time travelling between people and staying a few days.

When the school year finally ended my parents were still in America so I flew over there ready to go to High School. I got to go to Band Camp ready to start the new school year and had a great summer hanging out with friends I already knew in the small town we lived in.
Sadly I never made it to High School, immigration caught up with my dad and gave us 7 days to leave the country. It was a great 7 days too.

So there is a sneaky view of my life coming up to 25 years ago.

Memories

Has the Olympics sparked any memories for you?
One of the events I love in the summer Olympics (and I don't like many as I love the winter Olympics much more) is the equestrian events.
The show jumping and the cross country in the 3-day event is enough to have me glued to the tv for the entire event.

They actually do a 3-day event in Auckland at the beginning of December. Steve and I have been once or twice, think we may have to go again one year and take the boys. It is such fun.

Anyhow, back to my memories......the equestrian events make me think of an amazing film that I loved as a child, must have been a child as it was made in 1978.

 International Velvet

That wonderful sequel to National Velvet

I was never into National Velvet, although when you look at it today and see the wonderful cast involved, I am amazed at who was in it Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Angela Landsbury all as young children.

However I loved the sequel International Velvet. The story of a young girl Sarah, who is orphaned by a car accident and goes to live with her aunt, Velvet Brown (yes a now grown up). She still has her famous horse Pi and when a foal is born of Pi's Sarah falls in love with the foal and names him Arizona Pi and what follows is her story of horse riding and eventually attending the Olympics for the British Team.

It contains some amazing actors:
Nanette Newman plays the aunt, Velvet Brown

Her partner in the movie is non other than a young Christopher Plumber

The other main character is Captain Johnson, the horse riding coach who is played by the wonderful Anthony Hopkins, a very young Hopkins I might add

The young niece, Sarah is played by Tatum O'Neal and she does a great job, seeing as the whole movie is based around her.

Now you do have to remember, if you ever get the chance to watch this movie, that it was made in England in 1978, it is old and will show in the style of movie and the acting. However it is a lovely story and will sadly be one that you require a box of tissues for, because even though there are sad parts the happy parts will have you reaching for a tissue just as fast. It is heart warming.

Welcome

To the 2 newest members of our family
Banana Monkey and Tigress

Via Creating Paper Dreams I found Lizzie Made who had a small tutorial on how to make sock monkeys. Next thing I know I have brought some socks and was starting to make one, however he got adopted twice in the space of 5 mins so when finished I had to quickly make a 2nd. Not bad for 1 afternoons creations. Although I do now have socks to make cousins and friends so watch this space for more additions....!

Sad but Proud

Today is my baby brother's birthday (my only brother).

My brother and I at my wedding in 2008

He turns 40, yes he is now a big boy and can officially join the ranks of adulthood.
He has survived, he has made it. He has fallen down and broken things, fractured things and crashed things but he is still here and is alive & kicking his way forward.
I am very proud of most of the things he has done and achieved over the years, ok there a few down right stupid things he has done but we will forgive him those minor indiscretions.

This also means that it is a sad day for my parents as both of their kids are now in their 40's and that means their kids are no longer babies, to some extent (although I know it never stops) their job is done. Although I think we both still have mum on speed dial.
They can both be very proud that they have grown 2 super children to adulthood. They have gotten us both through the trials and tribulations of childhood, university, first loves, 2nd loves and even 3rd, 4th and 5th loves!
They have watched us move countries, leave their side and grow by ourselves.
They have been there to support us when we finally found the 'one' and celebrate us both getting married.

Iain, Mum, me and Dad

As my brother and I are both very obliging, we have happily produced 4 grandsons between us (sadly no girls) and they know have the pleasure of watching us grow these little people, although they are not so little either ranging in age from 7 to 11.

So happy birthday to my brother, may you survive another 40 years and just keep on growing with age.

Pinterest

Have you joined yet?
Word of warning.......it can be addictive!

I am going to have to live to well over 100 to manage to achieve all the things I have posted that I would like to make, see, cook, read, watch!!

However I have made a very small step towards that and made this recipe the other night when I had a girls night.
I made this creamy hot chocolate, seeing as it is winter here then having this cooking on such a cold night was just perfect

This picture and recipe came from Mrs Happy Homemaker

Recipe

1.5 cups cream
1 14oz can Condensed Milk
6 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix altogether with whisk in the crock pot on low, stir occasionally, let cook for 2 hours on low.
Serve in mugs with marshmallows on top

I found this amazingly over sweet, the condensed milk just sent it too much over the sweetness edge for my liking, and my diabetic husband nearly had to take more insulin after just 1 little mouthful of this!
If I was making this again, which I definitely will do, I will omit the condensed milk and add an extra 1/2 cup of cream.
Apart from that this has a yum factor of at least 100.