Sunday, October 18, 2009

Week 37: Frustration

I almost called this prompt 'Temper Tantrums'... in fact, I even had the title ready to go... but in light of the fact that Mum just brought me back some lovely scrapbooking goodies from Perth... and it is almost Christmas (Yup I'm hoping for a present!!) I changed it to 'Frustration' LOL

Before I share my layout I want to give you the story... I arrived at Mum's late afternoon and heard a 'not very happy' voice from her craft room saying "I'm in here"... I probably should have turned around and gone home... but I braved it and went in! Here's how the conversation went:

Me: What's wrong?
Mum: I keep breaking needles. I've broken six in the last hour!
Me: What's wrong with it (the sewing machine).
Mum: Well it keeps breaking needles doesn't it!
Me: What were you doing when the first needle broke?
Mum: Well I was sewing wasn't I!

Hmmm... you can see how this is going can't you!

Me: Have you 'fiddled' with anything inside it?
Mum: Well of course I haven't!
Me: Can I have a look?
Mum: You won't be able to do anything... it's going to have to go to Wellington on Monday and now I can't get my sewing done for Perth!!
Me: Yes but can I just have a look?
Mum: All right (and there was a little foot stamping happening at this point too!!)

Me: How do you take the plate off?
Mum: You're not allowed to take the plate off... only a technician can do that!
Me: Well maybe there's a bit of needle still stuck inside.
Mum: There's NOT I cleaned it all out!
Me: I thought you said you weren't allowed to take the plate off.
Mum: Well I had to clean it didn't I!!

End result: I took the plate off and it turns out that when MOTHER cleaned it out (even though only a technician can do that!) she didn't quite have the bobbin shuttle in right. I turned it a tiny fraction and it dropped back into place... and voila! Machine sewing again... needles not breaking... and Mum no longer stamping her foot! :)

Here's my layout:
The journaling reads: Let's face it... we ALL get frustrated at times! Sometimes things don't go right... sometimes other people annoy us... and sometimes we get incredibly frustrated with ourselves!!

I went to visit Mum a few weeks ago and she was ready to explode! She was in her craft room... and going on the sounds coming from inside, it might have been wiser to leave!

It turned out that she'd broken SIX sewing needles in the past hour!

Logic would tell you that something was wrong with the machine... but logic wasn't high on Mum's agenda at the time!

In the end it turned out that the bobbin shuttle wasn't quite in right!

We got it all sorted out before I left... but it made me think about my own actions when I get frustrated. I have since made very concentrated efforts to keep calm and even the girls have noticed. Thanks for the life lesson Mum xx

After leaving Mum's place I went and visited one of my sisters and her little girls. We'd done the bathing thing and Kody (2 years old) was meant to be packing up her toys and she threw one of them... so I said "Your just like Grandma... she throws her toys too!"

Kody: Grandma not do that!
Me: Grandma DID do that (Katey - my sister - pricked up her ears and I said I'd explain later)
Kody: That's naughty... your not allowed to throw toys.
Me: I know... but Grandma was throwing all her toys out of the sandpit.
Kody: Kody NOT do that... Grandma naughty!

I'm not sure if that particular conversation got back to Mum... but it really was funny!

I hope you all have a good week... and try not to let frustration get the better of you :)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Weeks 34 - 36

I seem to be on a bit of a roll with these prompts so here's three more!

Week 34: Reach your goal

I've always been one to set goals... and usually they're pretty realistic! I haven't reached my goal of winning Lotto yet though LOL This time it's about my BIL and his goal:


The journaling reads: I think it's really important to set goals for myself. Some of my goals are really easy: things like "by the end of this week I want to _ _ _"

Some of my goals are a little more challenging or take a bit more time like: "By the end of this year I want to _ _ _"

Mostly I think goals need to be achievable because if they're not I just end up feeling like a failure.

My brother in law set himself a goal last year to complete the Tough Guy Challenge... and he did it!

This year he 'upped the anti' and set a goal to beat his previous time.

Then he set to work training! He ran daily... sometimes twice a day!

The day of the challenge arrived and he was ready! We all went to support him and he reached his goal! It goes to prove that working towards your goals really pays off!

We were all so proud of him and what he had accomplished! He had a big grin on his face when he finished and it was really good to see my nephews and niece watching their Daddy reach his goal too!

Week 35: Full House!

I've always enjoyed peace and quiet... even when I was younger. I like being sociable and being around other people... but I also like having 'time out' by myself. This week my peace and quiet was shattered by a group of roudy teenagers!The journaling reads: I have a fairly quiet life. After working at school with over 500 people around me all day I need somewhere to come home to and relax!

The girls are generally quiet people too... Mikayla especially!

Recently Krystal asked if she could have a couple of friends over... and I was ok with that.

What I hadn't realised is how BIG teenagers are!

They arrived to watch videos so the first thing they did was close all the curtains! Then they all squeezed onto one sofa!

Out came the food ... and it disappeared pretty quickly too!

When I went into the lounge it was NOISY! They all were talking at the same time! The video was on loud! It felt like they were sucking all the oxygen out of the room!

But... they all had a great time! And today it's quiet.

I must admit that they've come over several more times recently... and it's the same every time... LOUD! But they really do seem to enjoy spending time together... and I think I'm kind of getting used to it now LOL


Week 36: Finishing Touch

This week it's all about those finishing touches that make a project feel really done! The journaling reads: How often do you do a layout or project and feel like it needs that one more thing to be really finished?

When we did the BIG patio project I'd always felt that it needed something! I knew it wasn't pot plants because I'd already tried that.

I decided to wait until the right thing came along... and 18 months later it did!

I was in a pot and cane shop with one of my girlfriends just looking. Then I turned around and there it was!

A fantastic piece of garden wall art!

He was the right size and the perfect colours for my patio area!

I knew I had to buy him!

Mr Pig has now found a new home on the patio fence and everyone that sees him comments on how cool he is! Sometimes it really is worth waiting for the perfect final touch!

Now my patio is 'almost' done because Mr Pig made my old pots look a bit shabby so I've starting re-vamping some old ones... they'll be coming up in another Creating My Life prompt soon!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Weeks 31 - 33

As promised I have another update :) I have to admit that it feels pretty good to be catching up again!

Week 31: Explore

This week it's all about looking at things in a new way... whether it means literally exploring is up to you :)

The journaling reads: It's not often in our busy lives that we get a chance to explore things.

When my sister and I went to SENZ in Auckland we took my wee nephew with us and it gave me a chance to explore the world in a different way.

Obviously we went to see new products, get ideas and inspire our creativity. But for my nephew it was simply a day out with Mummy and Auntie!

After the first hour of being stuck in his buggy he was bored... so Auntie decided to take him exploring!

What a laugh! He loved it!!! He wanted to see everything! And best of all... EVERYONE thought he was SUPER cute!

Looking at life from his eyes gave me a different perspective! Everything became more interesting, people more friendly and the event was a lot more fun!

Wide aisles are also great for a wee boy to dance in!

We had a really great time at SENZ... and my wee nephew slept the whole way home!

It was definitely a great day spent in each others' company!

Week 32: Time Limits

Some people hate being late... and for some it's not an issue. This week I learnt a bit about setting time limits!!

The journaling reads: I'm a bit of an eleventh hour girl. I almost always leave things to the very last minute to do!

I've always been that way! But I didn't realise how much it was rubbing off on my girls until recently.

Krystal's senior ball was approaching and she had made up her mind that she didn't want to go. Then on the last day of ticket sales she changed her mind!

We went looking for dresses but didn't find anything she liked... not a major problem because we still had several weeks to prepare.

However, 8 days before the ball we still had nothing!

Finally she found the perfect fabric and pattern and all of a sudden I was on a very tight time frame!!!

In the end she did wear her new dress. But I was still hemming it 30 minutes before she left!

Next
year it will NOT be happening like that!!!

The part that struck me was that it wasn't the time frame that bothered me so much... it was the time frame 'imposed' on me! When I leave things to the last minute I've almost got it planned out in my head... I've walked myself through the steps I need to take etc. But with Krystal's time frame I hadn't had a chance to do all that. I think it might be time to set some NEW time limits :)

Week 33: Copy Cat

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

The journaling reads: What happens when you see a really great idea?

If you're anything like me you give it a go yourself. That's one reason that we have trends! Someone does something new and we all want to give it a go!

There's been lots of times when I've needed a little creative inspiration and I've done a Google search to kick-start an idea.

Last weekend we had a wee example of this exact thing happen in our house!

Miss Kody came to visit while Krystal was getting ready for the ball.

She was all eyes watching her big cousin getting her hair and make-up done with constant cries of "Kody too!"

After Krystal had gone, Miss Kody had full use of the make up! It was all very serious as she put on her blusher!!!

Thankfully make-up comes off in the bath!

The girls used to think it wasn't very fair having no cousins their age... but they both seem to like having the little ones copy them now :)

Weeks 28 - 30

Well it's about time isn't it!! To be honest... the prompts have been in my head... I've been putting aside the photos... I just haven't been getting them done! This week I'm aiming to catch up completely again :)

Week 28: Take care of YOU!

As a lot of other mothers' do... I generally take care of everyone else and forget to take care of me but I learnt the hard way that sometimes you actually NEED to take care of you so that you're ok too!


The journaling reads: How often do you take care of everyone else and then end up sick yourself?

With all the 'sniffles' and 'snuffles' going around school it was no wonder that I caught a few bugs! What amazed me has how sick I got!

On a scale of 1 to 10 this bug was right up there! I wasn't much good to anyone! I certainly couldn't teach... and I was fairly useless at home as well!

In the end it became a matter of taking care of myself!

Instead of just soldiering on I had to actually stop and rest!

I learnt that sometimes your body actually gets the last say! Even though we sometimes think we know best!

So it's been early nights around here! The funny thing is that it made the girls more responsible for helping out around the place... and that's got to be a really good thing!

I'm still learning to take time out to relax... it's something I actually seem to fight (no idea why??) But I'm definitely getting better at listening to what my body needs... and if it NEEDS sleep or relaxation then who am I to argue??

Week 29: The funny side

This week it's all about trying your best to see the 'funny' side in a situation that doesn't actually 'feel' that funny!

The journaling reads: We've all had those days when it doesn't matter what you do... it's WRONG!

Yesterday was one of those days! My friend and I were in town... we were extremely tired and things just weren't going right.

In an effort to make things easier I offered to cook dinner... BAD idea! We should have just got takeaways!

Anyway... one of my speciality dishes is fettucine with chicken and a lovely creamy mustard sauce. Esther said she had a past machine so decision made!

The dough came together perfectly, then we set up the machine... and disaster struck!

The machine kept clumping the dough! It was all looking pretty BAD!!!

In the end I cooked up the pasta... the fettucine as well as the clumps! It looked like gnocchi so we decided to call it Gnoccho-cine! It's probably more Italian than Dominoes!

We actually ended up laughing ourselves silly... and repeating "Gnoccho-cine... it's more Italian than Dominoes"... which was terribly funny to US! But it actually tasted pretty good :)

Week 30: Space

This week it's all about clutter & space!

The journaling reads: Let's face it... sometimes we get so used to our own space that we don't actually see it anymore!

How often have you looked around your home or work place without actually noticing what's there?

I get so used to my own clutter that I just stop noticing it!

I came home from work one day... leaving behind a very cluttered desk!... and walked into my bedroom and realised just how cluttered it had become!

So... I decided to give my room a makeover. Nothing extreme... no painting or wallpapering.

All I did was move things around, throw things out and re-organise.

Then I bought a new duvet set, some nice sheets (chocolate coloured :) ) and a couple of candles. I also opened a box of special things I had been saving and hung them on the walls.

The end result felt like a million dollars! I love my new space!!!

A couple of months on and I STILL love my space! It feels calming, relaxing and a little bit 'grown up' which I like :)