I know... it's about time!!!

I've had a few emails lately about Creating My Life... mostly along the lines of "when are we getting some more?" I have no excuses, reasons or anything else... but I do have 4 more weeks of prompts ready for you!

Week 19: Spoil Yourself

If you're anything like me you don't spoil yourself that often... and when you do you tend to feel guilty about it because there are bills to be paid or kids that need something etc

Back in February I visited my cousin in Taupo. He's a really busy single dad, has his own business, looks after his parents and generally takes care of everyone around him. He wanted to show me his new 'toy' which turned out to be a really cool motorbike... looks like a Harley, sounds like a Harley... and costs a fraction of a Harley! He was super happy with it... except that he felt guilty for buying it! As I said to him: "You work far too hard, have far little time off so why shouldn't you have something that makes you happy?" After that he felt better... and he's enjoying his bike!

The journaling reads: How often do you spoil yourself? Mother's Day reminded me that I don't spoil myself very much as all! And when I do I often feel guilty!

Krystal and Mikayla went 'all out' this year! A gorgeous breakfast of crab & pasta in a creamy sauce, a huge bowl of shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, marscapone and croissants... all washed down with sparkling grape juice! It was wonderful!

Once we sat down to breakfast there was another surprise... a box of presents!

• Sleepless in Seattle DVD
• Haircare products
• Fancy chocolates
• 3 fantastic canvses that Krystal made!

I started to think about how lucky I am to have great kids... and then realised that they spoilt me because I was worth spoiling!

I often treat them to little things... hot chocolates, stationery, paying for something unexpectedly... and then I realised that I don't actually spoil myself!

So I've made a list of simple treats: a lovely bubble bath, special soap, perfume, candles etc and I'm going to spoil ME!

So here's a wee challenge from me to you... do one little thing to spoil yourself this week... even if it's shouting yourself a nice coffee... because YOU are worth it!

Week 20: Teamwork

It's amazing how much can be achieved through teamwork. Sometimes you are required to work as part of a team for sports, employment etc My sister and her husband work as a team with their family and raising their children. So this weeks prompt is all about team work!

The journaling reads: Working as a team is becoming a real theme for me this year!

At school, I'm team teaching with the teacher next door and loving it! It's so great to have someone to bounce ideas off, share the workload and help with on the 'bad' days. I'm still not completely used to it yet... but it's a lot better than I expected it to be!

At home, we've always been a team. We work together really well most of the time. And last weekend was a perfect example!

Our truckload of firewood arrived and they dumped it on the driveway. There was a lot of wood and I thought it would take ages to put away... but within half an hour we were done!

We've got a good system now! Mikayla brings up the firewood... I chop it and light the fire... and then Krystal cooks tea. By the time tea is ready the fire is going well and we can all eat dinner in a nice warm house!

I'm even letting the girls be a bigger part of the 'scrapbooking team'... with awesome results!

Each team is unique and serves a different purpose... so what sort of teams are you on??

Week 21: Things kids say!

I've had several little things said to me lately by nieces and nephews so this weeks prompt is dedicated to those little funny things kids say!

When Krystal was little she had a fox soft toy which she called 'Sockie' instead of 'Foxie' :) She also used to sing: God of Nations at MY feet!

Mikayla used to call her sister "Tistal" and she once said to her Grandma... "You're not a TROLL are you Grandma?" While I wanted to die, Mum calmly said "of course not". Mikayla replied: "Dave says you're a troll but I said you're not a troll you're nice". Mikayla was only 3 at the time and had no idea what a can of worms she was opening!!! It's all funny now 10 years later though :)

The journaling reads: Kids really do say some funny things sometimes!

Yesterday, while I was at my sisters place, my feet were really cold so I put on my new hot pink socks and my niece came rushing over and said, "Auntie, you've got pluppy socks".

I couldn't work out how she got 'pluppy' from hot pink... until my sister said "She can't say her F's properly". She's saying you've got fluffy socks!

The next thing I know she's looking at me with big puppy eyes and saying "I haven't got ANY pluppy socks Auntie Shelley"... doesn't it just make you want to buy her some??? I couldn't resist... so I now have a pair of 'pluppy' socks for her!

I also had on a top with rhinestones that she tried to pick off. I said "Don't pick of Auntie's bling honey"... the next thing I know she's giggling away about Auntie's "Blingee Boobies"... what next???

The following day at kindy she told everyone about Auntie "Charlie's" blingee boobies and pluppy socks!

I'm just starting to make a book for each of my girls that I'll give them on their 21st birthdays and now I'm trying to remember all their cute little sayings... so if you've got little ones make sure you write them down because later on it's really HARD to remember them all!!! :)

Week 22: Tools of the Trade

I've been thinking lately about the different 'tools' we have in our everyday life. Mostly it's come into my mind because at school we're doing a big study on Third World countries. The kids are amazed that people can live without TV! So we started to think about the things we take for granted... having a tooth brush to brush your teeth, being able to use a toilet, pens and paper at school, being able to eat several times a day etc

The children are certainly learning more about empathy and appreciation! We've had some amazing discussions and lots of learning!

The journaling reads: No matter what sort of job you do... or how you live your life... everyone has 'tools' to help them.

I remember when the girls were little and I carried the 'nappy bag' with me wherever I went full of nappy wipes, nappies, pins etc

When I started teaching my tools changed to my teaching planner, pens, stickers and 'post-it' notes. My 'tools' for teaching have changed over the years too! Now I have my headset, laptop and digital camera along with the 'Smart' board.

Just recently I found the perfect container for my scrapping tools!

It's a lot like an old fashioned milk crate - but a little bit fancy!

It's got 6 great mini areas that fit my Pringles containers so now I have all my everyday tools in one handy... and very portable... container!

I admit that just looking at my tool box makes me happy!

So what are your daily 'Tools of the Trade'? What things do you carry with you wherever you go? What are the tools that make it possible for doing your job or interests?

Thanks to everyone for their emails... I really do appreciate it! I hope you have a happy week :)

Week 18: Communication

Yippee!!! I'm actually on time this week LOL

In these days of technology people can pretty much get hold of us wherever we are... sometimes that's a really good thing... and sometimes it's not! Mostly we don't really think about it unless we're somewhere with no cell phone coverage!

I can still remember growing up on the farm and having a 'party line'. You certainly learnt fairly quickly to say NOTHING on the phone that you didn't want the rest of the community knowing about! Then came dial phones... Granny used to 'dial' with a pen so that her finger nails didn't get caught LOL

These days the phones are getting smaller and smaller... but what if you phone stops working??? That happened to me this week and it wasn't a lot of fun!!!

The journaling reads: On Wednesday my phone went on the blink! I could receive calls but couldn't dial out... I could get on the net... but couldn't send a text! After several hours it all came right again... but in the meantime it was a BIG problem!

I hadn't actually realised how much communication I depended on each day. I DO talk on the phone a lot! I like to keep in touch with friends and family. I like to share what's going on, what we're up to and how things are going!

In some ways it was NICE to not have the phone interuptions... I definitely got more done!

But overall... I'd rather be able to communicate... especially with ALL of my family and MOST of my friends live out of town!

I always find that I prefer to catch up via PHONE than via text too! Texting seems too impersonal for me... but it's great for getting funny jokes :)

Thank goodness I have a GREAT phone plan!!!

Having a good phone plan has certainly made life easier too! I know that my phone bill would be HUGE without it!!!

So now it's your turn... do you like 'communicating' regularly?? Are you a 'chatterer'?? Do you prefer texts or talking??

Have a great week everyone :) And if you feel like communicating by leaving me a comment on here I'd love to hear from you!

Weeks 16 & 17 :)

Time to catch up again :)

Week 16: Time to Play

How often to do 'play' without actually worrying about the results?? How many really cool things have you seen on the net and thought: "I want to try that" but you don't actually get around to it?? If you're anything like me you've probably got a file (or files!) on your computer filled with all those really cool things but you haven't actually done any of them! So now it's time to play!!!

The journaling reads: I've just been re-discovering how important it is to 'play'. Sometimes when I'm browsing on the net or reading scrapping mags I see really cool techniques and ideas... but I don't actually get around to having a go myself.

Last weekend Tricia came over and we set about having a play with paint! It was so neat to actually get messy and just see what effects we could achieve.

Best of all was Tricia's smile after playing with paint and getting the background of her canvas done!

It reminded me that 'playing' is actually an important part of scrapping for me!

It's not really about whether or not it works... it's about trying something new and experimenting.

Sometimes I'll like something so much it becomes the new technique I use on everything! I've just been going through a beeswax phase!! Very cool!

Sometimes it's really nice just to try! So... I'm going to put more play into my scrapping time!

Today I found some watercolour crayons!! I've been looking for some for ages... and today I got some :) So this afternoon I'm going to play without worrying about what I'm creating... just because I'm playing!

Week 17: Relaxation

Let's face it... we live in a fast paced world where we never seem to have time to just sit and relax... or if we do we often feel guilty about it because there's so many 'other' things that we could/should be doing! I think that's part of the problem... we're so busy doing that we aren't really enjoying just being! So that's the focus of this weeks prompt: Relaxation!

The journaling reads: I got myself into a really sorry state a few months back... I had forgotten how to relax!

Plonking yourself down on the sofa at the end of the day feeling exhausted is NOT relaxing! That's what I was doing! I was so tired from doing all the time... but my mind was still running.

Then I was looking at something on the net and it said: "The art of relaxation is in the easing up from effort and attention."

So I began to think back on what I found relaxing. It wasn't relaxation music that's for sure! I've tried that and I always end up simply feeling bored!

I used to be right into aromatherapy. And while I find lavender scented oil very relaxing, most of the time I either don't want a bath or just can't be bothered lighting the oil burner. so what else??

Then it hit me... reading! I love to read but I was reading text books, business guides and technique books!

Now I'm reading other books. Books to relax! Best of all... it helps to get me off to sleep!

If you're looking for a good book then I highly recommend Diana Gabaldon! If you're going to read her books then definitely start with 'Cross Stitch' because it's the first book in the series :) There's a bit of everything in her books... war, family values, Scottish history, humour... and a few of the scenes give Mills & Boon a real run for their money too!!!

Have a good week everyone and make sure you get some 'play' and 'relaxation' into your week :)

Weeks 14 & 15

I'm playing the catch up game again tonight! But it's all in a good cause because I've been busy scrapping all weekend :)

Week 14: R.A.K.'s (Random Acts of Kindness)

We've all seen the movies based on R.A.K.'s... some of us have even won or offered R.A.K.'s on scrapping blogs etc... so what does it mean for you? I've been wanting to do this topic for a while now because it kind of goes with the 'attitude of gratitude' that I've been reading about. Basically it says that if you feel and acknowledge how grateful you are for what you have in your life then more good things will keep happening to you... which leads me into what happened to me recently!

The journaling reads: A couple of weeks ago, one of the teachers at school came to offer me some FREE tickets to go to Circus Aoteoroa. I was blown away because I'd actually thought about taking the girls to see it but decided against it due to the cost!

She also offered tickets to one of my friends, so we thought we'd both go and take our kids.

The next night we all met up... 2 adults and 4 teenagers! The kids were surprisingly excited about the whole thing!

While we were talking we found we had a spare two tickets. We saw a couple waiting to buy their tickets and offered them our spares. They were thrilled because it saved them $60!!!

Later on while we were waiting for the show to start, the couple came up to us with 6 bags of POPCORN! What a nice thing for them to do!

It certainly made me realise that good things DO come to those who do GOOD for others!!!

Sometimes life surprises us with little (and not so little) good things. Things that make us smile and feel good inside. And sometimes we get to do something good for someone else 'just because'. Why not try and make someone else's day this week... you will definitely feel good about yourself :)

Week 15: Mojo

I've been suffering from lack of 'mojo' lately! In fact, I hadn't done a layout since I prepared my layout class for Scrapfest!!! That's not to say that I haven't been 'thinking' about it... just hadn't actually 'done' any!!! The tide was OUT!!! And I was wondering if it was ever coming back... but it HAS and it feels GREAT!!! So here's my layout:The journaling reads: What do you do when the MOJO just isn't flowing? What about when you're just OUT of ideas?

I haven't done a layout since JANUARY! I was getting WORRIED!!! Then I was having a look at one of my paper kits... and I felt an excitement I haven't felt for a long time!

I gathered my supplies together and actually started to SCRAP! Within 24 hours I had one 12 x 12 layout, two 8 x 8 layouts and a completed mini album!

Now the ideas are coming thick and fast!!! I don't really know why... all I know is that it feels FANTASTIC to scrap again!

I don't really know what the mojo actually IS... all I know is that sometimes it's FLOWING and sometimes... there is nothing!!!

One thing I do know is that it ALWAYS comes back! Otherwise I'd never get any scrapping done!

So after a full weekend of scrapping I'm feeling GREAT! Really creative and inspired! It's a happy place to be!

So how's the mojo going for you??? If you're feeling inspired and creative... Great!!! And if not... just remember that it WILL come back!!!

If you'd like to take a look at what I've been scrapping then have a look at my other BLOG... there's lots of eye candy to look at :)

Have a great week :) Shell xx

Weeks 12 & 13

Well after being so organised on the last prompt I'm running behind again... but all will be revealed why in just a moment!!!

Week 12: Suprise!

I had a really good prompt in mind for Week 12... and I was actually working on it when I got a text at 7.59am from my sister that said: Hi all, just to let you know bubs arrived at 8.52pm yesterday 5lb 13oz. All doing well after great delivery. Name yet to be confirmed :)

Talk about a SURPRISE!!! 'Bubs' wasn't due for another 3 weeks!!

The journaling reads: Last Sunday I was busy in my craft room when I got a text from my sister. Luckily I checked it straight away because it contained a BIG surprise!

My new niece was born 3 weeks early!!!

The girls and I did a quick trip over to see everyone and meet the latest addition to our family :)

When we arrived at Mum's we got another SUPRISE because my other sister and her family were already there! I got to have LOTS of cuddles with my nephew and play with the 'bigger' kids too!

Usually I don't like surprises... but these ones were definitely welcome!

After a couple of days my wee niece got a new name. Welcome to the family:

Jessica (Jessy) Mackenzie

Miss Kody is a very proud big sister who just loves 'her' new baby :)

Jessy is now settling into family life at home with her Mum, Dad and big sister. Kody dotes on her and wants to touch her constantly. She's very proud of her little sister and is quite taken with her. I'm sure there's going to be lots of layouts to come of this pair of girls!!!

Week 13: Reunite

Over the past 6 months or so the girls and I have felt a bit fractured from each other and the signs have been there but we've been plodding along... and this week it all came to a head!

Krystal had a 'mini meltdown' last Sunday just before we left to come home and we've all been feeling the strain of not connecting with each other. The journaling reads: The girls and I have been a TEAM for a really long time. Over the years it's always been 'The Three of Us'.

When Dave moved in the dynamics of our family changed... some positives and some negatives formed. But after Dave left we just seemed to COAST. And like a ship with no sails we landed on the rocks!

On Friday I didn't get home from school until 8.30pm and I got a shock!!! The house was a MESS but it wasn't so much that... it was more that Krystal and Mikayla were in their pj's plaing on their computer and playstation and NOTHING was getting done!

So in true 'Shell style' I lost the plot! I was so angry about it all... not just the girls... but my part in ALLOWING it to get this bad!!!

So we sat... I talked... the girls listened... REALLY listened! And we made some plans and goals for ourselves.

24 hours later... our house is a HOME again! It's clean and tidy, we're all smiling and feeling happy :) Our team is REUNITED and our ship is in 'full sail' once again. The best part is that we're WORKING TOGETHER to get things done!

Now almost 48 hours later... our home is a really nice place to be! It's not just clean and tidy... it's calm! We all feel more relaxed and 'together'. Friday night wasn't nice... but I think we needed to experience that to get to where we are today.

Last night we got some take out Pizza and chilled out together. We all slept in beds with freshly laundered sheets... no mess anywhere... and today has gone so much smoother than it has for a long time!

Now it's time for me to go because I promised the girls I'd cook them a home cooked chicken roast with roast potatoes, kumara, gravy and my own special recipe stuffing!!! YUM :)

So now you've all got two prompts to work on... looking forward to seeing what you all do with them!

Have a great week... Shell xx

Week 11: Try Something New

Hi everyone :) I'm a bit more organised this week and have the prompt already to go!

I've been doing a lot of learning lately... and it made me think about trying new things. There are some things in my life that I really like to stay the same... and some things that I don't mind changing or trying out.

Here's my layout:

The journaling reads: I tend to be a 'creature of habit'. For instance, I'll ALWAYS get Butter Chicken when I get Indian Takeaways. My wardrobe ALWAYS has denium and black in it. And I'll ALWAYS prefer eathing chocolate to exercising!!!

But lately I've been learning a lot of NEW things. I've just gotten a SMART BOARD in my classroom... and now I'm learning how to use it! It's a bit mind blowing at times but it's a lot of fun too!

This week I also went to my first night class in a LONG time! I'm learning how to make hand stitched books - something I've been wanting to do for AGES!

The one we're making in class is a cool hardcover notebook. I've learnt more about paper grain, stitching and glue techniques - VERY useful.

I decided to use my book to write all my kit ideas into - instead of having them all on random bits of paper which I lose!

I've found tht trying new things is a LOT of fun... but I'm not giving up on Butter Chicken just yet!

In this weeks class we're learning how to attach all our 'signature' pages into our covers and lining the inside. So by Wednesday night I'll have a finished book. I've really enjoyed making my book and I've already got another two on the go because they really are a lot of fun to make.

So now it's you're turn... are you a creature of habit??? or do you like trying new things???

Have a great week!

Week 10: Know... when to fold!

I had something completely different in mind for this week... until a particular situation came up and I knew I wanted to share it because I'm sure lots of you have had similar situations.

I grew up with Mum playing Country music (and I still listen to it) and sometimes one of the 'old' songs will pop into my head. Today it was Kenny Rogers song 'The Gambler'. It's been going around in my head all afternoon!!!

You know how sometimes you're working on a project... and try as you might it just WON'T come together???? And then other times everything just FLOWS! I've had that happen a lot since I've been scrapbooking... and today I realised that I have it in other areas of my life as well.

My layout is all ready to go (except for the photo) but I can't get a good photo so I'll have to upload it tomorrow. In the mean time, here is the journaling:

Have you ever tried REALLY hard to make something work but it's just NOT a happening thing? I'm all for perseverance... but sometimes you just have to KNOW it's time to fold!

This situation happened in our family today. Krystal has had her Learners Licence since October 2007. She got her 'Learners' because she thought the age limit was going up and she didn't want to miss out... but she didn't really WANT to learn to drive.

Since then she's only had 4 or 5 lessons with me... and a few with her Auntie Katey. So today we had another go. She talked her way through everything she had to do... and STALLED. "No biggie" I said. So she tried again... and again... and AGAIN!

Meanwhile she is getting VERY frustrated! And she's NOT listening to me! I managed to stay CALM (just) and tried to help... but it just made things WORSE!

So... I'm FOLDING!!!

Miss Krystal can have professional lessons! I think we'll both be much happier now :)

Here's a bit more of the same sort of situation... It's been a strange experience because I always thought Krystal listened really well and then I realised... we had the same thing when she was learning to ride a bike! When she was about 6 she got given a bike by her Dad and she asked me to teach her how to ride it. Luckily we had a park nearby so EVERY afternoon we would walk the bike down to the park and I'd spend an hour pushing the bike and telling her to pedal... after 6 WEEKS we were still doing it and I was running out of patience.

A little while later I'm coming home from work and I see Krystal's bike going down the road... and I thought she'd finally gotten it... but it was Mikayla!!! She'd watched what we'd been doing and figured out that she could do it all by herself!

p.s. Krystal still can't ride a bike!

So now it's your turn... how do you know when it's time to fold???

Have a great week :)
Shell xx

Hi again :) As promised... here is my layout. Notice that it doesn't have the photo of the drivers licence??? Yes I'm still getting the silent treatment!!! But this too will change :)