Category Archives: me

Movie Review – In-Lawfully Yours

Posted in me, Movies by

inlawfully-yoursFollowing both the death of her father-in-law and a divorce, Jesse, a New Yorker, returns to a small town to live with her now widowed mother-in-law. Jesse struggles to fit in with the local townsfolk who don’t welcome her with open arms to say the least. Jesse becomes acquainted with the local pastor, her widowed brother-in-law, falling in love with him, much to the dismay of the community. Things get even more complicated when her ex-husband comes calling, suspiciously trying to win her back. Between her love life and entangled in-laws, Jesse is tested as she seeks the answer to where she truly belongs.

For an interview with Marilu Henner: http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/66576/20160916/in-lawfully-yours-actress-marilu-henner-discusses-new-faith-based-romantic-comedy.htm

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL0Y68422Gw

Take-away concept:  the importance of embracing everyone – no matter where they are on their (faith) journey.

This one popped up on my Netflix queue yesterday as I was having a hermit day (solo parenting 4 kids is no joke, peeps). I do like Henner’s work, and think she’s really funny as an actress, and her performance didn’t disappoint. I’d never seen some of the other actors (clearly I stopped with the Grey’s Anatomy too early) but they also seemed well cast. I particularly liked Erin Muroski as Daphne.

Three quarters of this movie is good, bordering on great. Some of Jessie’s dialogue definitely made me smile. My only issue is the ending – it was too neat & I didn’t feel that the baddies got their comeuppance. I guess as a book it would work better – SPOILER ALERT – you’d understand why Ben felt it was time to move on, and why Doris is so judgemental but I guess that is one reflection of how some Christians are.

Don’t look to this movie to answer any of the big questions but it’s one to relax with & safe for the younger tween/teen girls who look for a rom-com.

3 ½ stars (out of 5).

Solo September SAL

Posted in cross stitch, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

Reading today’s blog digest lead me to this SAL – just what I need to get committed to the large stitch Mirabilia round robin I was invited to join. Andie is organising it, & she’d be one of my favourite people.

I decided on Mermaids, got the Simon input (vertical, so it will hang in a certain spot in the house), sorted designs, then got a mad hair on and decided to stitch the “frames” in a shiny thread. Couldn’t get to Ribbon Rose and I was too impatient to mail order, so I grabbed a DMC satin.

Never again. I am not enjoying this part of the process at all!

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The fabric is actually much deeper than this picture: Catherine @ CountryStitch’s Cook Strait, in a 28ct lugana (my fav). The frame is from Cathy Habermann’s Chalk Christmas ornaments set II.

Sharing is Caring: Smartest Person podcast

Posted in growing, me, playlist by

As you know, I listen to quite a few podcasts. One of them is Sorta Awesome, which is made by Megan Tietz & features some regular co-hosts. I love the ridiculous and interesting bits that make up this podcast, and it’s always good to look for the little awesomes in your life (and I am NOT talking kids here. Not).

cover170x170Anyways, Laura Tremaine now has her own podcast, Smartest Person in the Room. It’s available thru iTunes and the android app Podcast Addict (so I’m sure it’s available elsewhere).

Description : Laura Tremaine is not the smartest person in the room, but she knows someone who is. Driven by her belief that we all learn, grow, and become better when we surround ourselves with people who are smarter than us, she’ll take you along to meet people who are brilliant in their fields. With the casual tone of the best dinner party conversation you’ve ever had, Smartest Person in the Room offers fascinating, funny, and thought-provoking learning you won’t want to miss!

 

Review: Daughters of the Bride

Posted in books, cross stitch, family, me, round robin by

cover-daughtersDaughters of the Bride – Susan Mallery, July 2016, HQN Books

Courtney ~ The Misfit ~

As the awkward one, Courtney Watson may not be as together as her sisters, but she excels at one thing—keeping secrets, including her white-hot affair with a sexy music producer. Planning Mom’s wedding exposes her startling hidden life, changing her family’s view of her—and how she views herself—forever.

Sienna ~ The Free Spirit ~

When Sienna’s boyfriend proposes—in front of her mom and sisters, for crying out loud—he takes her by surprise. She already has two broken engagements under her belt. Should she say “I do” even if she’s not sure she does?

Rachel ~ The Cynic ~

Rachel thought love would last forever…right up until her divorce. As Mom’s wedding day draws near and her ex begs for a second chance, she’s forced to acknowledge some uncomfortable truths about why her marriage failed, and decide if she’ll let pride stand in the way of her own happily ever after.

This book links into Mallery’s Mischief Bay series (see here for my reviews  ) which I loved. This title is one I’d solidly rate 4 stars also; it ticked nearly every box. I would put myself in the Rachel camp, so I’ve learnt something from this book – it is okay not to expect the same effort in bathroom hygiene from my boys as I would put in, but it’s definitely okay to give them a checklist for guidance!

  • Well drawn characters
  • Believable plot
  • Consistency in character behavior
  • Consistency in story line
  • The animals didn’t hurt the story either!

IRL, I have not lost more weight altho I have stayed static for the last two weeks. I can however slide my jeans off without undoing them and I need new bras. This is progress! Simon’s torn some cartilage in his knee, and is on a wait for surgery. Understandably, he’s in discomfort most of the time and outright pain at other times. Yesterday I picked up a brace – and we both slept solidly. 7 hours or so my Polar tells me! Apart from the night he fell asleep on the couch, I haven’t had more than five to five-and-a-half hours for a few weeks. I’m hoping this is the start of a beautiful friendship. It’s very hard to get up at 5am and go swimming without restful sleep!

20160814_205158I didn’t stitch for a couple of weeks, but then I binged a little over the last weekend and finished Afternoon in London! It’s currently on my noticeboard here at work, as I need to make time and go to the framers in Mt Eden. I’ve started the Harry Potter House Banners for Z, and it’s BORING. Seriously boring. It’s going to be a Netflix binge watch to get thru these things. I have also joined up a large format (5K stitches) round robin – what was I thinking?!

 

 

IMG_20160816_213950.jpgMase is collecting the Countdown Star Wars cards right about now. He wrote Pete, our COO, this cute letter to say thanks! It’s one for his 21st wall.

 

Why, helloooo out there!

Posted in family, goals, grateful, me, weight loss by

I’ve been too quiet here – a lot is on my mind. THREE days until RC leaves work & I formally take on her role. I am now thinking that I was very stupid indeed! Never mind, I’ll get thru it. At least the other side of my role is steadily decreasing; July delivery errors were down another 18% YOY. This is good. This is bonus material. This is potentially (if I win the argument) a family trip to Hawaii.

IMG_20160808_070629Anyways, the “new me” plan took a few steps forward, a step back, step forward again. I was massively annoyed two weeks ago to find I’d put on 500g, then last week I’d lost 1.2kg; I worked my a$$ off last week (walking over 45km!) and lost 400g. Huh. I had expected that I would climb over the 5kg mark, but I’m still 300g shy. Next week!

I am posting morning pictures for Rochelle (@stitchynerd) on IG as my morning swim accountability plan. So if you see a lot of semi-sunrise, that’s why. This is thru the car window, looking north from the base to the North Shore area.

On Saturday I took advantage of Bran’s assignment at Cornwall Park and had some alone time walking around One Tree Hill. I used to run this when I was at high school.

TOP: I love the architecture of the trees; I’m always wanting a cupola; the view from half-way up (where the buses have to stop).

MID: Looking south in a gap at the archery club; the replacements for the “one tree” & noting that usually you’d see the city & harbour beyond that; Sir John Logan Campbell’s memorial with the Maori warrior.

BASE: a map of the park (I walked the orange roads then the climb to the summit); the tulips, daffs & crocuses were out; the rain had died down by the time I got to the bottom again!IMG_20160806_102613.jpg

Sunday I took Mase and Zac to Cascades Kauri, the regional park near Bethells Beach – Z’s choice. Next Sunday it’s hopefully KiteKite Falls.

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I don’t ever remember seeing the water level this high; normally you can see the base of the measure. 3M is huge for this stream! And isn’t Z cute, climbing & exploring? He doesn’t like photos right now, so this is something awesome.

Lastly, I saw a post on Kerry’s Love Those Hands at Home that made me laugh. Click here to go read! You will smile (unless you support the Wigged Wonder. If you do, just remember I can’t vote in this election & this is purely my opinion – but he’s a nasty small minded bigot. Nuff said).

Enjoy your week – and thanks for reading so far!

EDIT: Si just sent me this. NZAAC is the unit he was part of. Aww.

NZAAC

Whatever happened to WIP Wednesday?

Posted in cross stitch, me, weight loss by

Long story short – this is one of the last hang-overs I had from FB. Right now, I simply don’t want to update my WIP when (for this month anyway) my rotation finish date is the very next day. This may change; I do post more often on IG or maybe it will be my Work WIP Wednesday?

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Here’s my stitch calendar, for anyone who is interested. July doesn’t have heavy goals; to simply be loyal to one WIP each week at home, and to bead the Mill Hill ornaments I finished stitching last month. Simplicity is key, especially when your current season includes school holidays. I need to get out my WIP pile and work out who will be what week next month  – altho it will probably be Persephone for the first week again. A “tick” indicates that I stiched on my home WIP that day – satisyingly, there are more ticks that I hoped for!

On the being honest about my weight loss front, I had an amazing loss despite feeling blah towards the end of the week and my Sunday/Monday migraine. Another 1.5kilos – 3.3lbs, for a total of 3.9kg or 8.6lbs, very nearly Mase’s birthweight. My polar shows that I was particularly lazy some days (pretty shameful days actually) so the loss was a big surprise.  I’m going to reward myself at the 5kg mark with a Pandora five charm – they don’t appear to have a ten so not sure at that point what I will do! I am still struggling to fit in all the food (my rep says about 80% of who they see are actually not eating enough to kick their metabolism into gear, and isn’t that interesting?) but I am trying.

Tourists in our own Island

Posted in books, cross stitch, family, grateful, me, photos, travel by

My rotation plan has gone out the window- well, not entirely but there’s an edit. When we checked the referee’s draw on Thursday, neither Si nor B had been allocated games, so we decided to escape Auckland for the weekend (thanks Emma for feeding the fish!). We knew the weather wasn’t going to be sharp anywhere we went, but it’s all about the adventure. We don’t know how many more weekends we will be able to get away as a family of 5 (B plans on finding an apprenticeship for 2017) so we want to take advantage of the opportunities. Raven Queen is too unwieldy to do in the car (32ct dark fabric? ah no) so I picked up Afternoon in London. I needed a jump to get over my stitching hump with this one.

We booked in at a little cottage in Opua, in the Bay of Islands. It’s just before Paihia (too touristy) and it’s where the car ferry for Russell leaves from. Small, but we could see ourselves retiring there. They even have a Stitch & Bitch session! Sadly we did not win lotto so that dream will wait a while longer. Even in the gloom the view from up on the hill was engrossing and I spent time at the windows both mornings. My only complaint would be that the kitchen doesn’t face that view.

Saturday we were all up early so we jumped in the car, planning to get to the northern most tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. Mase wanted to be the first boy to have been at both top & bottom of the islands (he’s forgotten all about Stewart Island!) & goal achieved. We did stop wherever we felt the need – lots of junk shops & second hand bookstores. I found some haul too as well as a very thick bio on Mary Magdalene (amazon link here).

Williams House, Paihia – part of an Anglican Mission
sailboat under repairs at Opua
Wesleydale Memorial Church, Kaeo-KeriKeri parish, c 1820’s – & still in use
Simon mourns the ruins of old houses

The Cape was a bit different from what Simon remembered as a teen. The parking lot is now well back from the lighthouse (a ten minute walk) and the entry has been all tourist-fied with piped in traditional Maori music and planned plantings. Never mind. Once you’re thru that, it’s raw and as it should be.

where the two seas meet

The lighthouse is smaller than I thought, much smaller than I remember Castlepoint being. Sadly it’s operated by remote computers now, but I could imagine the loneliness a keeper would have experienced. It’s so open and you can see where the two seas meet – Tasman on my left, Pacific on the right – and recall the Maori myth about this being the departing place for the spirits of the ancestors, as they made their way back to Hawaiki (better story here).

20160709_145257Being back at work is kind-of a letdown. I would much rather be back at the lighthouse.

and lastly – Mase reenacting the story of Jonah…

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Current Favs

Posted in family, goals, grateful, me, weight loss by

IMG_20160702_090214We had an amazingly beautiful, clear weekend here in Auckland. On Saturday, most council grounds were closed, so we only had to get to Si’s line (that game was on TV, and certain people (coughmeaswellcough) have taken delight in commenting), B’s line and Zac’s school rugby game. I did a lot of driving tho and not much walking.

This is from the top of Metcalfe hill – I thought the fog looked like an ethereal wave taking over the city. That’s Rangitoto on the left; you’d usually be able to make out the Harbour Bridge in the middle – not today!

Sunday after chores I chose to head out to Bethells Beach – still my all-time favourite place. The tide was all the way out, so we explored rock pools and the caves.

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It was surprisingly busy (even tho it looks empty in the shots) with full carparks – so probably a few hundred people there.

And my week was alright too – making the decision to put myself first above work has meant that I’ve already made a difference. I’m trying to get out for longer at lunchtime but as I do generally walk with someone else that can be a compromise. But Monday I could only manage 4 lengths – today was 10. I’m getting there.

 

Hellooooo July!

Posted in books, cross stitch, goals, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL by

Well, I finished Firefly Lane AND the sequel Fly Away. I enjoyed Firefly Lane very much, getting so engrossed in the characters that I had no shame bawling my eyes out while waiting for Zac’s sweet & sour pork the other night. Fly Away not so much, but it had a redemption theme which I do like.

firefly laneIn the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable. 

I have a bestie like this. We’ve been apart for a long time, but as she’s moving to Auckland very soon I hope we can slide straight back into that easy friendship.

Stitching-wise, I haven’t done a lot this week. I woke on Monday feeling quite dissatisfied with things, and decided that I was going to change. So I hauled a$$ & went to the base early to start.

Now, I used to swim competitively. I went to meets all over, and secondary school nationals a couple of times. I thought I’d slide back in – oh no. But I managed 4 lengths (of a 25m pool!) before everything turned to jelly. And once I was back at work, I rang the local Jenny Craig office and got a same-day appointment (no room to chicken out, right?). Turns out that mentally I’m ready for this. Ready to turn around my health spiral. It took 6 months of being out of the yes-I’ll-volunteer cycle to get myself to this point. I wonder if in a few months I’ll be able to give up the headache pills? Look for an activity/weight loss update Monday – if I don’t post it, YELL at me. Please keep me accountable!

So I’ve managed maybe half-a-dozen threads at work, and a couple of hours on Mermaids at home. And as today is the first, I am rotating out from Mermaids to Persephone for a week. My only issue with her is that she is on the big stand so can’t go to league with me tomorrow. But a limited time period might help me get some progress on that skirt – the carrot being that I plan to switch out to Raven Queen next Friday. Then Arezzo, and lastly nine days back on Mermaids – or maybe 7, with the 2 days of the weekend doing something new? We’ll see what happens!

For the Smalls SAL, I finished a Mill Hill kit (Fireflies) and have two Holly ornaments ready for beading, and another two Berry ornaments being stitched. I decided to stitch a second of each of these on Darine 14ct plastic canvas, not only so I have a set to keep, I’m feeling like I get more value for money. These kits are not cheap here in NZ  – roughly $18 for fireflies and $14 for the Christmas Jewel series, each! I also finished the Bunny kit from Cross Stitcher magazine – he’s going to stay as is, without the ribbon, and become my massive needle minder.

 

Hope you all have a fun-filled weekend with your family & friends!