Bad blogger!!

I am such a bad blogger...I have some swap post to shear and some catching up to do!!

Tomorrow is my boy Alex's birthday so I am in cake baking hell right now. I will be back on Monday to do a nice long post about all the swaps and life things that have been going on.

Mums Can Get Face Paint Too!!

Family fund at the fireworks show at Anderson park Havelock North this weekend. The kids all had a great time and Just loved the fireworks display!! Sadly I didn't get photos or video of said display I was to busy sitting with excited children :)

oh and BTW you are never to old to get your face painted and be the only adult dancing with the kids in the front by the stage :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

15 Minute Fix

Its time for 15 minute fix. It really does amaze me what you can get done in 15 minutes!  I was just sitting there looking around my house and out of the corner of my eye I could see the window sill in the lounge, it was bugging me. Every time I walked into this room it bugged me, yet I didn't really do anything about it. Well that just changed.

 Before

After

Yes Its not perfect and it all needs to be repainted but I'm happy I'm not looking at crap all over the place. :)

Now what I want from you, Look around your house right now...Do you see something you can do in 15 minutes that would make  marked improvement...now go and do it!! Then come back and tell me bout it!!

Thanks Jennie

My Biggest Art Project To Date!

 So it was time to challenge myself and well, I don't do things by half's. I took the Mixed media to a whole new level for me, this is by far the biggest thing I have ever made. And I found it hard....really hard.

This big plank of wood started out as the top of a old computer desk I pulled apart a few weeks ago. After looking at it for a couple of days thinking "hmmm I have an idea" it was time to just do it and after a couple of false starts this is the end result.

 Just so you can see the size. Photo taken with my 5 year old Annabel

Now the question is do I try and make more this size?!?!

Things I'm Loving

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something you can be thankful for no matter how simple it is. 

Happy Mail, and cute elephants

New hair cuts, after wanting a hair cut for a while my husband finally told me to sit my bum down so he could do it...lol to be honest I hated it at first but I have gotten used to it now and love it.

Not the best pic of it but my new lounge suite...ekkkk so LOVE it.

The new skate park, man that place it awesome, I can see us spending a lot of time there over the summer, I will be doing a real post about that at a later date :)

New craft room, more about that later too :)

Joining up with the linky party over at Catalina's Cottage 

Mug Swap Goodness 2013!!

OMG LOOK AT THIS

Sorry for yelling but look at what my cup swap partner sent me!!!

I scored !! I am so blown away but my amazing little cup and the coaster...OMG look at it look at how much work went into that!! I so LOVE it!!! In fact I love it so much I can't use it, I don't want to get it grubby...lol

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Sima J for the wonderful package she put together for me it was perfect!! you rock!!

Updating A Mixed Media Canvas.

So it was time to update Annabels canvas, 

This is what it looked like before, I used a heap of scraps up and it was really cute for a while. But them everything started to fall of and it was just naff, it got put away in the ill fix that one day basket, and there it stayed till about 3 days ago

And now it looks like this!

I was a bit worried after I finished it, it's not what you would call really girly, while yes it is pink and has girly colours and patterns I really thought it might be a bit teenage girl-ish, but Annabel loved it so all goods!!

All the paper came from

Crate Paper: Paper Hearts collection

American Crafts: 5th & Frolic collection

I am very sorry about the video thou, I have a new camera and well I'm still working out the bugs, and also, I have changed my scrapbooking corner and I am still in a transitioning stage with it all so this was filmed at my dinning table with not the best lighting. but I hope you will forgive me!!

Thanks for looking!

Six Weeks!

Six weeks people!!

I’m calling it, I kicked smoking’s butt!! 

Go me whoop whoop!!

We Are All Different, And That's Ok.

Do you ever read peoples blogs and be all like man how are they so perfect?? They are always dressed nice, house always clean and organized, kids always dressed in nice clean clothes, healthy meals on the table. They just have it all worked out!!

Do you sit there like me and get utterly depressed about it?? Thinking why can’t I get my act together just like her??? FML, woe is me…blah blah blah.

Well after much thought about this and thinking, hmmm how am I going to be perfect?? I came to the conclusion that these people are not perfect at all!!! They only show us a tiny snippet of their lives.  They are only showing us what they want us to see.

For every mum you see looking perfect on the school drop off there are two more in their pjs. And while that mum might look flawless all the time, her house could be a disaster, or she can’t cook worth a damn, or she may not have a creative bone in her body. Maybe she is living with a mountains worth of debt, even though she looks it, she is not perfect. We are all different and that’s ok.

No I never look perfect…..Ever, my house is always a bit of a mess,  I’m a ok cook, I don’t  host pintrest worthy birthday parties, and that’s ok. I am clever and creative, I am for the most part a nice person and extremely loyal to my friends and family, I am a fun mum, I run around play tag, let the kids play face off and try and turn me into a zombie ,mess from paint, play dough glitter doesn’t overly faze me. I let the kids play in mud get grubby and could care less about the mess.

Ok so I went on a bit of a rant there…lol anyway what I wanted to say was  we are all different and that’s ok.  Remember , people only show you what they want to see. The grass may just be a shade or two lighter on the other side of the fence. Don’t go wasting your time wishing you had what someone else has.

Things I'm Loving

This is my first time doing a things I’m loving post, I don’t really know why I have never done this before but never mind we all have to start someplace.

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something you can be thankful for..no matter how simple it is.

Free bangles.

This little gem arrived in the mail the other day from ……… I answered a question on FB correctly and won myself this cool as bangle. Love it!! Thanks Legacy Antiques

Homemade washing liquid

 I am really enjoying making my own washing liquid it works great, my clothes are clean and fresh and it cost almost nothing too. 

Big skip bins.

I am so loving getting rid of all the junk and crap from around the house!!!

My new camera

 I am so loving my new camera; the photos are just so clean and clear!! 

Linking up over at MNMs

Spring Has Sprung, Time To Clean

Every year about this time I get a itch to clean, and this year is no different.  I may have taken this years clean up a step further than normal though.

Look what arrived this morning.

And with that it is time to empty out and clean the shed, I am sorry I forgot to get before photos of the mess so you miss out on them this time BUT..It really is amazing the things you find hidden in sheds!.

First off a Bayonet!!!

A real genuine Bayonet from 1910!! I have checked all the markings and stamps and stuff and its real!!! who knew...

next a old smoking add ....My Husband used to be a hairdresser and he used to own his own salon but before it was our salon it was a barbers shop and tobacconist. When we sold up we found this on the clean up bought it home and forgot all about it.  as you do.

Ironic I find it now when I have stopped smoking and say a big NO.

Elephants... lost of them but sadly most of them broken but not this we gem...lol

And Jon's old surfing ring, didn't even know he had one...lol

 These was just a few of the awesome things I house found today, what have you found while cleaning out a old shed, crawlspace, attic etc???

For my Mug Swap Partner

To the lady that has me for the 2013 Mug swap, I just realised there isn't to much on this blog about my taste, just thought I would post a couple of things about me. maybe you will see this and it might help :)

I LOVE elephants, always have, my first toy was a elephant I still have him, his name is smokey.

I love polka dots, I don't know why but if it has dots on it I love it.

I don't really have a favourite colour, but I do like pink.

I LOVE books and reading too, I'm just adding that in there cos its a well known fact...LOL

Have a fab day!!

Time To Get Real

As a family of 6 we spend a lot of money on food, our weekly shopping bill would come to about $250. And that is not including the stuff I forget and have to go and back for. So really if we are being completely honest, I would say or weekly food bill comes to at least $350-400, That is for ONE week, I haven’t really added up everything I spend in a week at the supermarket, I am way to scared to do it, but man $400 a week on food is just CRAZY!!!

Times are tough, and although my husband has a good job we can’t afford to be spending that much on bloody food each week!!! Summer is coming and with it summer uniforms, I have birthdays to get ready for and also Christmas will be here before I know it.  I would also like to have a bit of a life this summer, and maybe go on a little family holiday!!  I could do a hell of a lot with an extra $800. a month.

So it is challenge time…. Big challenge time!

Can I get our food spending under control?? Can I get our monthly food bill under $800? Almost halving it.  Is this even possible??It’s a tall order but I think with some very careful planning I might be able to do it!!

I am sort of obsessing about this at the moment. so i will be posting and updating about this often.

But I want to know what has worked for you, What tips and tricks do you have about saving money, do you have any favourite recipes that are low cost and a big family would love?? I want to hear from you!! post a comment in the section below.

Wish me luck!