Well I’m a bit bored so thought I might as well catch up on a blog entry. We had a nice long weekend here in Canterbury. A hectic week in the Christchurch social calendar. I did miss seeing all of the lovely outfits and hats at Cup day but wasn’t to worried that I didn’t get to go.

Friday was my Nana’s birthday and we spent the afternoon at her place. Even though she has Alzheimer’s it was nice that she was able to partake in the celebrations. She always loves seeing her great granddaughters too.

Here are some yummy Lemon & Passionfruit cream cheese cupcakes I made in place of a birthday cake, they were simply delish.

The cuzzies in there little dresses. Vicki she now fits the dress and it look so cute!

Then on Saturday it was so hot, 31C at 6pm so the weather man said! We pottered about home, cleaned the garage out and just tried to keep cool. I let Grace explore the garden under a bush in the shade.

Her first time on the lawn.

I also got a bit carried away with the camera and took heaps of pictures of Grace playing. Great to scrapbook one day! hehe

How’s everyone going with the Jessica Sprague course? I must admit I haven’t got very far at all. I can’t believe how much printing needs to be done and my printer doesn’t seem to give the best quality.

We had a lovely weekend and spent it at Gore Bay, it’s on the coast between Christchurch and Kaikoura. I had never been there but gosh it was nice. A rugged coastline with sparkly blue water, fresh air and peacefulness. We rented this great beach house with my sister. The only problem was we weren’t there for long enough, shall definitely be booking a long weekend again.

  Here’s some rock art that my sister and I made on a beach walk.

The cuzzies hanging out! And no they weren’t meant to look like twins it was just a fluke! hehe

Well after my whinge yesterday I thought it was about time I found the positive in things today. So here goes…

1. Firstly a big Woo Hoot to the lovely ladies that read my blog and always offer support and encouragement! Your kindness is so wonderful.

2. Sitting here drinking my latest drink of choice, Red Seal’s Mi-Chai tea. It’s nice to have a cuppa that’s different sometimes.

3. Even though it miserable and raining here I can be happy with the fact that my newly planted vege garden is getting watered with no effort on my part! hehe

4. Going to head off to the mall today and find some 3/4 jeans and some new tops as an early anniversary present.

5. My car passed it’s WOF yesterday, always a good thing and we washed both cars in the weekend (they haven’t been washed since Grace!) so they look nice and sparkly hehe :p

6. Sitting outside in the sun yesterday catching up with my sister while the baby’s were asleep.

Well this week they were quite simple Woo Hoot’s but its good to find the positive in the simple everyday things sometimes. Hope you’re all having a good week! I look forward to catching up on your woo hoots.

Well I thought it was about time that I post again, I keep meaning to but every time I get distracted by something. Surely at 11.30pm on Friday night I should be able to get this post done! hehe Craig is watching "Flight of the Concords" while I post. I’m still undecided on whether I like this program but Craig thinks it’s funny.

Firstly a creative catch up. Here is a layout I did last week of Grace and her cousin Madeline. I was really stuck to start with but I like how it turned out. I have a few other layouts in the pipeline, so hope to get some time to sit and create this weekend.

If you have some spare time, check out this very cool online magazine put together by Scrapbook Outlet. I was impressed by it, it has lots of work by NZ scrap artists in it.   http://scrapbookoutletnz.co.nz/e-zine/Default.html

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Grace is doing well and I’m settling into being her Mum. She is becoming so animated and funny with each day. Here is a collage I made using Picasa 3 (gotta love it) or the many faces of Grace! hehe

We have been spending more time with my sister and her baby girl Madeline. We spent the day together yesterday and headed out to the Culverden Country Fete. It was an 1 1/2 hours drive there and we had high expectations of the fete after seeing the website but we were left a bit disappointed. Everything was so highly priced, it was certainly catering for the "Ladies that Lunch" crowd.To much effort with bubs so don’t think we will head out next year.

Here are some pictures of them together. They were born 6 weeks apart to the day but Grace has caught Maddy up in size.

I hope everyone has a good weekend planned? We are hoping to have a lazy weekend and get a few odd jobs done. Cleaning the cars and garage are high on the list, the fun never ends! hehe

Take care and enjoy your weekend!

1. Had our first plunket group meet up yesterday, I met this lovely lady who lives around the corner and has a wee girl and an interest in crafty things! YAY

2. Sitting here with a lovely hot cup of tea and catching up on blogs while Grace is asleep. Bliss!

3. Daylight saving has started! Yay we are coming closer to warm summer evenings and BBQ dinners!

4. Spending Sunday afternoon at the in-laws for a BBQ lunch to celebrate my brother in laws birthday. Got some nice pictures of the two cousins. I can’t share them yet as they are on the in-laws camera.

5. My fabulous new look blog… I found it the other day as I thought it was about time for a change. I think it looks very scrappy hehe

6. British cooking programs, the Hairy bikers are so funny!

7. Some cute photos of Grace from the past week.

Just thought I would share some of the creations I have been working on. With Grace sleeping better during the day, I am making the most of some creative time. It seems since Grace was born my mojo is slowly coming back and I am getting back into some layouts. The first one is a layout I scrap lifted and wanted to add to Graces 12×12 album about the things that I went through in pregnancy. Simple but tells the story.

Then I had these photos from my birthday this year that needed to be scrapped. I wasn’t sure about this layout to start with but really like how it’s turned out. It inspired me to submit 3 layouts to the BasicGrey gallery. I shall see how I get on. I’ve been thinking when I get a little more in the swing of layouts I may submit some to mags and see what happens. You just never know.

Lastly just a very quick card I whipped up with the cuttlebug for Craig’s brothers birthday.

Well better get back to some more creating whilst Grace snores logs! hehe

All this WOO HOOTING about my week is good fun, if you haven’t tried it give it a go! Makes you realise just how lucky you are…

1. Visiting the Dunkleys Craft show with my sister and friend. It was worth a looksie but there wasn’t anything new so will wait a few more years to go again.

2. The STUNNING weather!! It has been so warm and nice, but I believe we are in for rain. I think for us scrappers it’s a win/win situation because we can enjoy the sun then create when it rains! :p

3. Creating a layout, it’s be awhile. It’s simple but was in the to-do pile of photos.

 4. Completing Grace’s 12 months album up to date. (see other post for photos)

5. Sharing the first BBQ of the season with friends on a glorious sunny Sunday. What a yum spread we were indulged with!

6. Getting out walking on the beach. Note to self - DON’T try to push the stroller over huge sand dunes! It’s jolly hard work hehe

Here we go again, where do the weeks disappear too!

WOO HOOT WEDNESDAY!

1. Milo with marshmallows - My all time favourite treat at the moment!

2. Watching Outrageous Fortune, brilliant NZ tv!

3. The bright Summery colours in the clothes stores, yay Summer must be coming.

4. Seeing how happy Craig was when we celebrated the first Father’s Day as him as a Dad.

5. Spending time with my Mum.

6. Our little Grace is growing everyday and smiling and gurgling more, it’s so much fun to watch!

Just a quick post today , it’s a beautiful frosty sunny day so we are off out to enjoy it. First though here they are, the layouts I worked on yesterday.

Well I’m gradually getting into the swing of motherhood. It was a bit daunting on Monday when Craig went back to work, but we had a good day and Grace and I even ventured out to the mall and spotlight. We have been out for a  few walks in between the rain and crap weather. I shouldn’t complain but I am so totally over this weather!! We just have to remember each day is a day closer to spring. I was really happy to see on our walk earlier in the week that the daffodils and springs bulbs are coming up, YAY!

One thing Grace is struggling with is lower wind pain, I think it’s known as colic (not to sure). If anyone has some old fashioned cures or tips to ease it for her I would be very happy to hear them. Other than that she is an easy baby, great for a first time Mum. hehe

Since I’ve been inside I’ve managed to get some wee canvas’s finished. I’ve used small 4×4 canvas’s with pretty pink shades of paint, ribbons and letters on each that spell GRACE. I also decorated a plain lamp for her bedroom with more pink. They really look cool in her room.

I also got some photos printed and papers chosen to finally do some layouts. I hope my scrapping mojo is coming back! hehe Some friends are getting together on Tuesday to create so hopefully Grace is happy enough so I can get some scrapping done.

I’m so happy it’s the weekend, it will be nice to spend some time with Grace and Craig. I know he has missed her this week while he’s been back at work. Grace’s Nana and Granddad arrive home from Singapore too so that will be good to catch up. I know they are hanging out to see how she has changed in the past weeks.

Not much else to add except I hope everyone has a brilliant weekend!