Goals...tick, tick, fail.

Back in September, when I was feeling pretty reflective and possibly more than a little down, I wrote some goals for myself to help me keep busy, cheerful and to think of people other than myself.  I thought it was time to evaluate my goals and see how well I did and see if there's room for improvement.....sounds like my old school report card!  Of course, there is always room for improvement :)

Goal 1.

Walk the dogs daily.

FAIL.  In my defence I did walk them once or twice, ok, once but Macy and her BFF (best friend forever) Molly, walked them twice and Ezra and his GF (girlfriend) walked them once so...that's four outings in a month and a half......oooh, not looking good.

Sadly, this is how the dogs leads have looked for a while :(

Revised goal.  Walks the dogs randomly ;)  Aren't they lucky chihuahuas? 

Goal 2.

Start to make cushions.

TICK.  I have made three cushion covers but haven't quite finished them and still have a couple more to go but the goal was start the cushions!!!  And I did, so there.

Probably could have done with an iron - but they aren't finished yet!

Revised goal. Finish the cushions, easy peasy.

Goal 3.

Create my blog.

BIG TICK.  Not only did I start my blog but I'm rockin the blog!!!  I love doing my entries and it's become a wonderful hobby.....Honey even says I talk less because I'm sharing my chatter with the world.  So, to give me an audience for my chatter, share my blog with your friends, become my fan and keep reading.  I do realise some people are having trouble leaving comments on my entries and I can't work out why...so frustrating!  But if you come a member by joining google (it only takes a couple of minutes,seriously) then it might allow you to comment because I would love to read what you have to say.

Where all the fun happens.

Revised goal.  Keep sharing my witty, interesting, uplifting and informative blog entries with the world.

Goal 4.

Do Honey's business books.

TICK.  Oh yeah - two ticks in a row.  I did the books and am all up to date with all the bizzo stuff. 

Revised goal. Have them done on time again next year.  Honey always appreciates the hard work it takes to do them...hey, maybe I'll get a new perfume!!  Cos I need another one, it's true I do :)

Goal 5.

Cook more for the family.

TICKish.  I should at least get half a tick for this one.  I did cook quite a bit but Macy also cooked a bit (she's a beauty) and Honey made Sunday lunch so the family did get cooked for but not all by me.  It's not that I don't like cooking, it's that I hate the dishes!!!  So I cannot take full credit for this goal but my family ate well and did not get scurvy due to no vegetables.  I also think I should get some points for having lots of cans etc in my pantry cos they look pretty!

Roast..made by Honey.

Salad....made by Macy.

Dinner for friends...made by me :)

My pantry...no excuse not to cook.

Revised goal. Cook food for my family! There's no other way to say it. I gotta cook more.

Goal 6.

See more of Ezra.

TICK.  Ez has moved out of home and I miss him (he's been gone for a year but still!) so I have made sure that I txt him, rang him, invited him round and generally stalked him, nah.  I just want to catch up with him more regularly cos he's still my baby boy. (actually he's 19 and a half) but he's still my baby!!!

Revised goal.  Force Ezra to move back home and live with me forever.  Not joking. But he won't lol.

Goal 7.

Read the scriptures for the Sunday School lesson before Sunday.

FAIL.  I've only done it once.  I'm hopeless.  Then I moan to myself during the lesson because I don't know what is being talked about because I haven't done my reading!  So need to kick my own butt.  Now that we are having church down in Featherston while our chapel is being earthquake strengthened, I'd better do my readings or I'll look like a dummy in front of double the people.

Scriptures and lesson book...now to read them on time!

Revised goal.  It doesn't need revising, I do!!!

Goals 8,9,10.

Keep writing to Great, sending treats to Mum and write to Drewe (she's my lil sis) every so often.

TICKish.  I've continued to write to Great (my 92 year old Grandma) each week, only missing one week when we went on holiday but I've stopped sending mum the magazines I sent her and the card that I wrote to Drewe never got sent (sorry).  So I really need to pull up my socks and do a better job of this.  Face it, everyone loves 'real' mail - snail mail - with a stamp on it.  It's always exciting to get a card or a letter in the mail and that was the purpose of this goal so.....

Cards and stamps already. (that's my Grandma on the left xxx)

Revised goal.  Keep writing to Great and actually post the things I write or get for Mum and Drewe :)

So....all in all, when I break it down like this, I did a pretty bad job really!!!! Out of 10 goals, I only got 5 ish ticks.  Really, there was no reason I couldn't have accomplished all of these goals easily.  I'll redo these ones and add a couple of new goals and see how I go this time, sigh.  Hopefully a lot better.  Writing them down makes them easier to (fail) remember but I should have been more motivated.

No dwelling on the past, onwards and upwards!

I'll try harder this time.

trudy_n xoxx

One ticket, Two games.......

On Thursday night, I was lucky enough to be able to go to Wellington to watch two games of international netball with my dear friend Leah, her two gorgeous girls and my Macy.  None of us had ever been to a big netball game like this before so we were fully excited.  We bought a few dress up items to get into the spirit of things, blew up our clackers (a highlight after seeing them on tv) and waited......

The first game was Australia versus South Africa and being Australian, I felt proud to watch the Diamonds and Macy and I got to see some of our favourite players.  Goal shoot Caitlin Bassett is more amazing in real life and just effortlessly shoots her goals, Madison Brown zipped around the court and Bianca Chatfield was impressive in the goal circle.  It was a good game with the Diamonds winning 68-36.  Here's some of my fav photos from the game and before.......

Wellington......beautiful.

 

Having a swing to burn up excited energy before the games.

Leah and I....friends forever xxx

Heading in to the arena......yellow ribbons for Australia

Ready for the Diamonds to come on the court.  Go Australia!!!

National anthem time...I sang a bit but was the only one lol...

First goal goes to Erin Bell....

Group huddle....great game.

Game number two was between the Silverferns and England.  What a thrill for Macy, Levi and Jemma (along with their mums, lol) to get to see some of their idols play netball in 'real life' and to be pretty close to the action.  We were sitting right behind the netball goal and saw the shooters take some impressive shots.  The shooters are who we concentrate on as Macy is a shooter so we closely watched the techniques they used.  Macy even recognised some of their warm up drills as ones she did at netball practice (way to go Mrs. W xx) Taking the girls over to Wellington to see these games has really increased their passion and love of netball, especially when they won 57-46.  Here's some photos from the Silverferns game........

Quick change into the afros to support the Silverferns...Jemma and Leah.

From yellow to black.  We support both!!!

Our favourites.....Irene Van Dyk, Cathrine Latu and Macy's hero, Maria Tutaia

National anthem time...this time everyone sang lol.

Maria, she shoots and scores from just about anywhere.

Irene shooting from far away (for her) but got it :)

Latu sinking one...love the hand movement.

We had such a fabulous time, the crowd was great and Leah got a txt to say we had been on tv, so the girls were stoked. Actually, I think Leah and I may have high-fived about that! And speaking of shopping...we were weren't we???  I finally spent my Acquisitions voucher that my lil sis gave me for Christmas!!  I know!!  So because I like to buy practical things, I bought somethings that I will use a lot so I can think of my sister when I use them...and then I got two little bits cos they were too cute not to get....

Practical gravy boat and butter dish....

and sooo cute cupcake stand and birdie.

What an awesome day......a drive over the hill, a bit of shopping and lunch, some hot drinks and hot chips in a fancy cafe then onto Quad series netball.....certainly a day/night not to forget.

Thanks Leah, Levi, Jemma and my Macy for sharing it with me.  

Let's do it again soon!!!

Love trudy-n xoxx

Smells good.......

I got a lovely surprise on Saturday.  I was having lunch at work and when I returned, on my desk was a little present from Honey and Macy.  It was the new Lady Ga Ga perfume Black Fluid!!!!  Lucky me, right?  Well, I am very lucky when it comes to the perfume department.  I have a bit of a 'thing' (ok, obsession) for famous people's perfumes and Honey has a bit of a 'thing' (for me lol) for buying them for me, so I have quite a collection......25 to be exact!  

It all began when I was pregnant with Ezra many moons ago (almost 20 years actually, sad face) and Honey bought me my first bottle of White Diamonds for Christmas.....my first grown up ladies perfume.  I still have the empty bottle.  So I rocked the White Diamonds for a few years and then when I was pregnant with Macy, 7ish years later, he bought me another bottle of White Diamonds for Christmas.  Nawwww, I hear you all say.  He's a honey!!!  So that started the perfume craze and I've been getting a new bottle for each birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day, anniversary and just cos I'm so damn fine ever since!

Honey is very good at picking the new ones and knows which famous people I like and I don't like, for example.....I love Britney Spears so naturally I love all her smells....I have 4 of hers.   I love Kim Kardashian (it's true)  so I love her smell (it's gorgeous)  and I love Sarah Jessica Parker so I love her smell (it's one of my favs)  Luckily, he's never give me someone I don't like!!

I bet you're thinking 25 perfumes is a bit excessive....not even!!!  

There's still so many more that I want!!  But here's my favourites from my collection.....

'Darling' Kylie Minogue and 'Lovely'  Sarah Jessica Parker.

'M'  'Lucious Pink' 'Lollipop Bling Honey' Mariah Carey.

'Wonderstruck' Taylor Swift and 'Kim Kardashian' Kim Kardashian

They all smell so yummy and I try to use a different one each day but my little sis says I don't spray enough on, I'm always worried they will run out (she's laughing at me right now saying I'm stingey)  I store them in my wardrobe out of the sunlight so they are lasting quite well....although I have a feeling I'll need to use a couple up soon because Christmas and my birthday are rolling around pretty quickly and I should get 2 more!  Exciting.  Perhaps Nicki Minaj and I think I need a Rihanna.  Or maybe a Beckham or Vera Wang...........

Unfortunately, my Macy has picked up my habit and at the tender age of 11, has 5 fancy perfumes already, lol.  She's hinting for the Justin Beiber one for Christmas, cute. But a girls gotta smell good :) So it's all good!

I'll be wearing my new Lady Ga Ga tomorrow so if you happen to bump into me, have a sniff and tell me what you think!  I may even burst out singing Pokerface for you if you are lucky!  or unlucky!!!! :)

Thanks for reading me,

See you soon

trudy_n xoxx

The junk drawer.....

Macy slipped and fell in the shower the other night and banged herself up pretty good, poor little thing. So it was arnica cream to the rescue for her bumps and bruises, however, it proved to be pretty hard to find.  It's normally kept in Macy's room because she is always bumping something, lol but for some reason it wasn't there.  The next place to check was.......the junk drawer!!!!

Now I know everyone has one and it's probably filled with things similar to mine. So as I was looking for the arnica (while Macy cried - no, she wasn't really!) I took a wander through my junk drawers (oops, forgot to mention I have 2 and a junk basket) to see what kind of junk I actually kept in them.

Junk drawer #1.

Location: Kitchen, Top right drawer next to fridge.

Contents: 3 ice-cream containers filled with hayfever tablets, plasters, creams and ointments, asthma inhalers, staples, cotton, tweezers, tape, hair ties and birthday candles.  A medicine cup, double sided tape, a random plastic container containing nothing, school newsletter, gun stapler, photo of Macy's winning netball team, double plug, serviettes, card, battery operated toothbrushes both with flat batteries, iPod plug, video vouchers and a CD with my paintings on it.

All pretty useful stuff really.  I'm glad I checked that drawer out because I need the iPod plug, double sided tape and the video vouchers.  Bonus! But nooooo arnica.......so I kept looking.  

Junk drawer #2.

Location: My bedroom, Top drawer next to my bed.

Contents: Jewellery box, afro comb (for my fro!) old perfume bottle, sunglasses, Dove tinted moisturiser, iPod earphones, card from Macy, photo of Ez, eczema cream, my camera in the little owl baggie, lint roller, ring holder, 2 Mariah Carey perfume boxes filled with crap!! and other assorted 'can't live with out' knick knacks.  

Once again, all pretty useful stuff but alas!  Still no arnica.  Time to check the junk basket........

Junk drawer/basket #3.

Location: On the bookshelf in the hallway by the front door.

Contents: Golf balls, inhalers, post-its, deep heat, the smoke alarm that should be hanging up on the ceiling!, matches, receipts, loose change, memory stick, nails, a zip tie, screws and chewing gum.

Looking in that basket has reminded me to hang up the smoke alarm, get some more matches for the emergency kit because I stole those out of it and get Macy to collect the change and put it in her money box!  But, you guessed it......no arnica!  By now Macy is screaming with pain (not really but sounds dramatic) and I am totally frustrated because in my super organised home I can't find something and I'm almost disgusted with myself that I have 2 junk drawers and a junk basket.....when all of a sudden it hits me....

...I know where it is!

It's in the junk bowl!!!!!!! Lol.

I guess I forgot to mention the junk bowl earlier, hidden in the kitchen cupboard.  It's home to panadol, ibuprofen, more inhalers, lip balm, a vivid marker, a candle, batteries and bread bag clips...and the arnica!!! Hooray!!!!  Looks like I need a new tube but Macy's bruises will be better in no time. Arnica is brilliant stuff.

So now you know about my junk drawers, it's time to check yours out and see what treasures you can find......or find stuff you need to throw away! And I'm off to put up (well, get Honey to put up!) the smoke alarm :)

Happy long weekend

trudy_n xoxx

Onigiri.....

Out of my two children, Macy is the healthier eater.  She'd rather have Subway than McDonald's, loves salads, vegies and doesn't eat much meat.......Ez on the other hand loves noodles, pies, butter chicken and biscuits!  Not to mention his love of energy drinks. So it's no surprise to me that Macy loves sushi and we finally got around to make onigiri or sushi balls for her to take to school in her lunchbox.

With Macy's help, I've photographed each step of our sushi session so you can see how easy they are.  Maybe you could give them a go :)

Teriyaki Chicken Onigiri.

Chop and cook some chicken breast with some teriyaki sauce.

Cook sushi rice as per instructions.  It has to be sushi rice!

Line a small bowl with cling film, sprinkle some water on the film and 

sprinkle some salt on it.

Fill the bowl with rice.  Don't pack it in though.

Using your finger or the end of a spoon, make a well in the middle.  

This is where your filling will go.

Place filling in and

cover over with rice.

Gather the cling film together and...

twist!

Your rice ball should now look something like this.

Refridgerate.

If these are going in a lunchbox, leave the cling film on.  

If not, once cooled, remove the wrap.

The finished product.  Yum!

We had a great time making and photographing these.  

It was like having our own cooking show!

So, you can see how quick and easy they are.....have a go at making some....be inventive with the flavours!  We are going to make some vegetarian ones next time

and give sushi rolls a go too.

Until next time

 Sayonara

trudy_n xoxx

New York, New York......

In the not too distant future, (3 months and 11 days), I'll be turning 40....yup, 40.  I've always had a small bucket list but now that I'm nearing this milestone age (help) I'm beginning to take my list a bit more seriously, I mean, I'm gonna be old!!!  So I thought I'd share number one on my Bucket List, and over the course of my entries, you'll be able to read more of my "what I wanna do's before I dies".  Some of them may seem totally unrealistic but let's face it, a girls gotta have a dream :)

So, #1....New York, New York.   

There are only 5 or 6 places that I want to go to in this world and top of the list is New York.  My honey made me a gorgeous print of the Manhattan skyline (with the Twin Towers and the Brooklyn Bridge) and it hangs over our bed.  So every night, I sleep under my dream.

I've got a love affair with NY for a number of reasons......here they are.....

• Carrie Bradshaw lived, loved, worked and played in New York City.  I want to sit on her brownstone steps wearing a pair of Manolo Blahniks.  

•  Ground Zero- I want to go and pay my respects for all those that lost their lives on 9/11.

•  The apartment building that was used in Friends in Greenwich Village, I want to find it and quote one-liners from the show, then find a cafe and pretend I'm in Central Perk.

•  Central Park is huge and in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world....I'd love to run (ok, I'll walk) through Central Park and hopefully not get mugged.....although that could add to the New York experience.

•  The Empire State Building- I'll go to the top but I won't be able to open my eyes because I'm scared of heights.....but I'll take some random photos and look at them when I get down. 

•  The Statue of Liberty- I'll copy her pose while wearing one of those cheesy Statue of Liberty hats!!!  Way cool! 

•  Of course, the shopping.  First stop, Macy's department store.....they named a store after my daughter, how cute :) I also want to go to FAO Schwarz, Bloomingdale's, Tiffany & Co and Barney's....I won't be able to afford to buy anything from these stores but a photo outside will make me happy. 

•  Grand Central Station and a ride on the subway would be great.....as long as no one smelly or sweaty sits next to me, lol (and Grand central Station is a part of another thing on my bucket list - but more on that another time.....the suspense!!!)

•  And a girl's gotta eat and there are squillions of brilliant places to eat in NY and I could even bump into someone famous....imagine that!  Someone super dooper famous!!

 Ahhhhh, New York.  Top of my list, magical city, there's so many other reason to visit but alas, I have no plans to go anytime soon (no money growing on the money tree)  but if anyone wants to take me, I can be packed in about 20 minutes!!!

But there's no harm in dreaming........hopefully one day, I'll get to cross it off my list and be able to share the photos with you all.

Have you got a bucket list?   I bet you have, even if it's stored in your head!  Write it down and put it somewhere you can see it and dream about it.... cos remember dreams are free :)

Time to go and do a bit of housework before work, think I'll put "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys on the stereo and get busy.

Love trudy_n xoxx