Category Archives: NaBloPoMo

Cupid Stunts – NaBloMoPo eleven

Posted in friends, House, Journal, NaBloPoMo by

Wow. Day eleven of continuous posting. Just quietly, this scheduling stuff is working for me. Yay for planning!

Tonight is Pub Quiz night. It started a couple of months ago, when Si and a few of his fellow Dockyard apprentices got together at a pub to reminisce (we’ve reached that stage of life apparently!) and by accident came third in a quiz. Now we meet every second Tuesday, wives & hangers on included (do you know how weird it is to be at the pub watching one’s own child drink?!) and the best we’ve ever come? Third. That twenty buck voucher has our name all over it! And the title? That’s our team name. Try saying that ten times fast. Points if you know the movie reference 🙂

Also today I had a moment where I thought I might have to start a Give A Little page to pay for the rates. Our property value has gone up $170K in three years (cough, choke, this is freaking stupid money!!!). That’s probably fairly median for Auckland; it’s more than the MILs or SILs raise tho. I am not looking forward to paying the huge 2015/2016 bill and the accompanying loss of council services – as I am not naive enough to believe that increased rates mean increased services. So far we are a “super city” with increased councellor and mayoral salaries and an increase in overall staff members compared to when Auckland was five or six different regions. Come back, Bob Harvey (or even Tim Shadbolt) – anything would be better than this!

Bonfire Night – NaBloMoPo nine

Posted in Journal, me, NaBloPoMo by

Let’s start off with this – I am Madam Miseryguts and I want the retail sale of fireworks banned. Not only because the freaking idiots letting them off every night for a month screw up my sleeping patterns, leave sh*t on my roof, scare kids/dogs/cats, set off fires so causing a high workload for Fire Service staff & leave the rest of us to foot the bill but because every year some backyard Rambo maims himself/someone else. One year that was nearly my brother D’s eye; I still remember blood, tears and my mother ranting (it was a justified rant and not at dad) & panicking.

If we aren’t paying for Len Brown’s personal gym at Town Hall then there is plenty of money to spend on public displays and plenty of appropriate places and vantage spots in Auckland.

Anyway, rant over. Last night we went to the FIL’s for a bonfire. FIL is a widower whose stepdaughter has JUMPED at the chance to live almost free in her mother’s old house, relegating the FIL to a small cottage on the property. This is regardless of the ammt of money FIL put in over his marriage to J (and I think he is only just realising that he’s been stiffed by the will. If it wasn’t for J snagging him, a married man at the time, there would be no house/orchard/business). I can’t stand this woman; she is mean, small minded, petty and grasping. Her husband is almost as bad and both like to blame breakages on anyone else – including my children who are so rarely there it’s a joke. So I was really looking forward to this evening. Yeah, right. Whoops, that’s another rant.

We didn’t really congregate with this D and her “friends”. We brought our own! Which sounds kind of bad, but really, no money changed hands!

I’ll leave you with this thought that I heard as part of a comedian’s soliloquy – is it unfair that we celebrate the activities of a domestic terrorist given today’s global situation? Is it just plain stupid?

It’s Called A Day Off Work. Really? – NaBloMoPo eight

Posted in books, family, food, friends, Journal, me, NaBloPoMo, Nora Corbett, Project Life by

It’s Saturday, Saturday, hey hey it’s Saturday…

Yeah, nah. Today I plan to:

  • Sleep in until the luxurious hour of seven. Usually foiled by some berk turning the lounge TV on real loud or fighting over the channel/remote or a craving for coffee.
  • Sort out my personal planner for next year. I am designing my own Project Life planning pages to fit a personal Filofax – let’s see if they work!
  • Clean the fish tank – vacuum gravel, water change, filter media change
  • Get the men to the hairdresser
  • Get some of the excess metal to a scrapyard to pay for the haircuts!
  • Download some books for next week
  • Iron some summer clothes and get the new dress off to the seamstress – it needs about 6 inches hemmed as I am a shorty
  • Download some podcasts for next week
  • Sort out threads for Arezzo so I can continue with the roses
  • Cook, then cool chicken, potato salad etc for tonight’s bonfire at the FIL’s
  • Prepare everything else I need for tonight’s meal
  • Process loads of washing in between everything else

There are no TAB odds as to how much will actually be achieved. Food and scrap metal yes as these will match Si’s priorities but the rest is family dependant. But I brought myself some time – this was written & scheduled yesterday 🙂 while at work too – tut tut!

Friday Finish – NaBloMoPo seven

Posted in Christmas, Journal, NaBloPoMo, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler by

One of my favourite new friends, Anne, collates a whole heap of stitching finishing techniques on her blog Feather Stitching. I find it a great resource for trying something new (not my forte at all) but also the basics. Some of the links are dead – they are mostly to other people’s blogs so have patience http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/tutorial-links/ another link I like is here: http://stacybinnj.wordpress.com/basic-no-glue-ornament-finishing-tutorial/

This is an exchange piece from Claire (yes, same Claire) that I received last Christmas. It’s a Teresa Wentzler freebie, designed to introduce some of the colours & speciality stitches that are involved in her larger Father Winter sampler. You can download the freebie pdf here: http://www.twdesignworks.com/Free/fworn.html Just remember to respect the designer’s copyrights and not make this piece for sale and so on.

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You Can Quote Me Part I – NaBloPoMo six

Posted in Journal, NaBloPoMo, photos by

This week’s mini-topic seems to be (by default, I haven’t entirely planned this) Pressure. I said on Tuesday that one of the tools I use to alleviate pressure is inspiration. I use Pintrest to group these in a folder I call “printables” – which also includes stuff for my personal planner.

 

Bethells Tower at Sunset

Bethells Tower at Sunset

To me, a lot of the inspiration also brings back awesome memories as well as getting my thought process back on track. My current favourite is a poem by Victoria Erickson I’ve mentioned before in the blog. Mentally I always combine this with Bethells.

If you ever find yourself empty

from something you cannot know or name,

find a stretch of ocean,

a field, or mountainside,

or even clouds or trees

Because there are a thousand simple ways

to fill your tired soul

so you can remember

how to be,

how to see,

and most importantly,

how to breathe.

 

Photo image isn’t mine; I’m not sharing that until it’s complete as I am planning it to be a gift for S. I intend to over-write a photo of Bethells Beach that I took a couple of years ago and then print this out as a wall paper panel or canvas for the house this summer. This one is also used earlier in the blog; credit goes to Summit Walter Rao. Contact details are on his blog.

 

Where do you go when it all gets too much? What’s your re-inspire place? What poem brings you peace or inspires you to more?

WIP Wednesday – NaBloPoMo five

Posted in Journal, NaBloPoMo, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

I have a few pieces that are still sitting around, languishing incompleted. Today’s WIP (work in progress) isn’t going to be one of those – this is the Nora Corbett Yellow Figbird (NC186). M says with all the innocence and disgust of a five y.o. “It’s GREEN!” Yes, yes it is…go save your indignation for the new CGI Bob the Builder, honey.

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This one has been super quick – today is day 11. If I pick up the missing thread colour from Spotlight tonight I’ll be finished by Friday. And if it’s sunny this weekend I’ll pick up Arezzo and work some more on her. Over one on 28 count was totally stupid and overly ambitious!

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Close-up of the beads; this is a design where I prefer to stitch the beads with a full cross as they are so large. Actually I do this on most pieces as I think this makes them more secure, and I like to see them vertically rather than on a lean. Also very important is to NOT carry the darker threads under a light coloured fabric. If you are a new stitcher, remember that you can flip your fabric 180 degrees and your crosses will still go in the same direction! And if you are stitching massive blocks of background, either buy that thread ensuring it’s from the same dye batch or stitch that block using one thread from each skein to get a blend.

Fabric: Wichelt Lugana, 25 count, White

Threads: DMC as charted EXCEPT 827 for the background rather than 3846. Definitely two skeins needed.

Beads: Mill Hill as charted.

scheduling worked well then, didn’t it?

Posted in books, Journal, me, NaBloPoMo by

Fail! Prompt four ended up posting before three! Honestly – it was written after. My time zone keeps bouncing back to default whenever I use the app version unless I check & re-save before typing the post. Wonder if I can go back and alter the time now?

Melbourne Cup day here “down under”. It’s the only day in the calendar where I plan to bet. Usually just the office sweepstake. This year it’s organised by the lovely Amanda, complete in heels and a fascinator. For a massive mad two bucks, I have #5, Protectionist. Reasonable chance with 22114, right? Apparently he’s German. It always amazes me that horses can move quite freely between countries but I can’t take the dog or cat (not that I have either) or goldfish. Photo stolen from some Melbourne paper. Love how his handler’s sneaking in a pie.

protectionist

Reading “The White Horse King” by Benjamin Merkle, all about Alfred the Great. I’ve read a couple of things previously (mostly fictionalised, TBH) and this has “a ha!” moments. Like the bit about the earlier Viking raiders. They would plant the crops then sail over to England, raid a monastery or other soft target, and be back home in time to harvest. Now that’s efficient.

Dealing with Pressure – NaBloPoMo four

Posted in books, Journal, me, Mirabilia, NaBloPoMo, photos, stitching patterns by

normal

Normal by Lizzie*Kate & stitched by Claire. Pattern available here: http://www.123stitch.com/item/Lizzie-Kate-Normal-is-Just-a-Setting-Cross-Stitch-Kit/LK-K32

Sometimes I can deal with pressure like a sponge, and soak it all up. Sometimes the smallest thing will set me off. I guess everyone goes thru phases like this. After going thru a crap last six months at a previous employer, I have learnt a few things. I also know that I would rather work for someone else and be able to shut the door behind me at night.

four

  1. Have a PLAN for achieving things. If I record something, I am not only more likely to do it, I’m more likely to achieve more. Plus planning allows for movement. Urgent report? Move this to do that. Easy. Take a look at the diary offering at your local stationery/big box store or try the planner link from yesterday.
  2. Have an ESCAPE HATCH. Do something that makes you happy, be it something crafty, read a chapter, surf the web, go for a short walk. I return to work refreshed when I do one of these.
  3. While I have been known to crank up Seether, I usually listen to something softer. (Confession? I am a closet Nickelback listener, but more of their earlier stuff. Yeah I know, such little justification!) Make a playlist of your favourites, hook up the iPod/phone, find a radio station, listen to a book. I am a bit late to the party but have discovered podcasts. BBC comedy? Yes please. Lee Mack, you need to get on there more.
  4. Have something in your pod/office space that INSPIRES you. I have no outside windows so I have a few extra things. A huge Eiffel Tower canvas from Typo in Onehunga. Glass candlesticks with globes, turned to where my friend Jill is sailing presently or where friends who need prayer are (it will be showing Noo York for a while). A framed stitching piece (converted version of a Mirabilia mermaid’s compass). Inspirational quotes – we’ll get into some of those each Thursday. A Garfield coffee mug from L that holds my pens & pencils & stuff and makes me smile, as I know she was thinking of me when she brought it. Photos that bring back memories. Too many electronic devices.
  5. Nine times out of ten, a toddler is cranky ‘cause they’re hungry. The same thing applies to us too. Eat lunch away from your desk for an extra mental break. And so your keyboard doesn’t get full of crumbs and yucky stuff.

What do you have around you? What do you do to help alleviate pressure at work? Do you have any other podcast recs?

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Mondays are all about the (work) routine – NaBloPoMo three

Posted in Journal, me, NaBloPoMo by

minion-monday

I’m not my best on a Monday. Especially if one’s neighbours set off fireworks past eleven at night. $@%^%^^% So I rely on a routine, and a planner. Coffee, and chocolate. Chocolate is a better carrot for me than actual carrots, even given my ex would call me an ass. Monday means methodical. I usually record what I need to do in my work planner on Fridays as I can turn off work when I have a plan for the next day. My favourite planner is very simple and if you’re in NZ or AU is available through Office Max. Everywhere else it is available from the publisher or Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/AT-A-GLANCE-Remember-Two-Days-Per-Page-Planning-80-6204-30/dp/B003OERJJY

 

0525: Alarm goes off. Roll over and DO NOT SNOOZE (I can allow myself to snooze later on in the week)

0600: leave house. Sometimes re-enter house if Z has forgotten something.

0630: first coffee at desk. Run sales reports; send F his extra report (my boss is currently travelling)

0700: Breakfast with the other early starters. Laugh until second coffee threatens to come out my nose. Kiss Z goodbye (he comes with me as he buses from my work to his school in central Auckland)

0715: run vendor’s weekly or fortnightly reports. Stitch or read while each report runs; email to appropriate vendor.

0900: weekly Sales meeting. Involves Category, Ops, DC, Marketing & Online peeps, and sometimes Call Centre and Store. Usually a bit of a laugh.

1000: start with the teas, have snack. Finish any outstanding vendor reports. Respond to any Monday vendor emails, also accounts. Then start responding to Store delivery issue emails.

1300: walk with Sarah DB to mall/library/circuit – the plan is to get out of the office!

1330: lunch. Usually leftovers, or Vita wheat with Puhoi basil feta and tomatoes, two things Simon can’t stand. On Friday it’s sushi for a treat. Work supplies fruit so that’s one less thing I have to remember.

1345: afternoons are a little more variety. More store issues, respond to new emails (I have a thing about clean email inbox).

1530 – 1600: Escape. Timeframe depends on which bus Z catches but I like to be on the motorway before 4. If I get on later I’m caught up in the factory finishes from Patiki and I hate rush hour traffic. I hate it more than getting up early. Another bonus has been the time each day with Z (although he is currently very annoyed that he has kitchen duties) and the books we are listening to. Right now it’s Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon. He likes the action and I’ve liked this author’s adult series because of the mythological aspects. However it’s gone a bit stupid for me, like too many sequels often do so I stopped a while ago.

1730: prep dinner. M & B have swim lessons on Mondays at the Base pool so are knackered when they get home. Early dinner, early bed means less tantrums. Except from whomever is on kitchen or bathroom duties.

1930: all three are in bed, usually B & Z read to themselves and M has a story. Currently David Melling, Joy Cowley, Lynley Dodd or anything Cars. New favourite is reading Thomas/Rev W Awdry with dad.

2030 – 2130: crash.

 

Same Same But Different; NaBloPoMo two

Posted in Journal, me, NaBloPoMo by

We have what is today conventionally a large family, four kids. No plans for more,  BTW, please no more God! But we brought a people mover years ago when we just had two kids, & all jokes aside,  it was one of the best things we ever had.

Friends of ours ended up with a PM for a South Island road trip years ago when Avis rented their booked Holden Commodore to someone else. Jonesy raved about it for ages. Children separate, no fighting,  plenty of room for stuff and nice to drive.

We got a Honda Odyssey. Seven seats, sun roof, all the bells and whistles that Japan could come up with in 1998. We drove all over the North Island. Twice around the clock. League games. Netball games. Kayak trips.  Two more children. Designated driver trips, listening to happy tales. All I missed was the Labrador.

But the gear box started to go last year. I avoided using it as much as I could, choosing to drive the Toy Car even when it had a leak. I tried to convince Si that we needed to replace it, but he holds onto cars for as long as he can. I was long past the love.

Then yay! Everything fell into place. And I have a new friend. And it’s an Odyssey. Again. But new shape. Again in white! But no sunroof. Or Labrador. That bit sucks.
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Z and the Beast. Bye bye Beast.