Take a Chance

I've had the words of that Abba song floating around in my head this weekend. That is, since we thought 'blow the incessant rain' we're gonna take a chance and get out for a drive at 4pm yesterday afternoon. We went, not knowing whether we'd even be able to get out of the car during the drive.

The original plan before we left? Take Noah's bike to Karori Park for some riding practice. But as we left the house, another rain shower was in full swing, pelting against the car windows. So we drove on by the park, making the next right on the road to Makara. We knew we'd at least be going up and over since there's lots of  'ra-ra's as Mylo calls them (aka wind turbines) which come into full view as you come over the crest of the hill. Mylo was completely entranced by how many there were. All along, his little brain has been thinking that the one on Brooklyn Hill we can see from our house is the ONLY one! We counted about twenty as we pulled in for a quick photo, but  I only took one or two as the camera was getting wetter than I'd have liked, and it is a very precious wee companion I'd be lost without these days!

On we drove, winding down through the tiny hamlet of Makara and past sheep, goats, Shetland ponies and a few geese and pukekos. Despite the very narrow roads, we pulled in where it was safe enough to stop to give Mylo the opportunity to see the animals a bit better, as his little eyes are still only level with the back windows whilst sitting in his car seat.

Once back in the car, we very nearly turned around there and then. But something in me said 'keep driving'. Keep driving to the end of the road which would take us out to Makara Beach. The beach itself is not much to look at - a stony fisherman's paradise with a nice view out to the Tasman Sea on a good day, and terribly wild and windswept on others.

So we took a chance. Not expecting much. But instead....

Finding solace being bathed in the afterglow of stormy light

Seeking the rays of the sun, but finding it tantalizingly out of reach dancing to its own tune on the water

Hearing calming music in the rhythmic sound of pebbles rubbing together as the waves washed over them, brushing them to and fro

Finding invigoration in the tangy and bracing salt air that assailed us, daring ourselves to breathe in and breathe deep

The light reflecting off the swirling water as if a mermaid from the deep was shining a light from below penetrating right through to the surface

The isolation here both beautiful and forbidding all at once

Where more than here would you find a simple and fulfilling life?

A little person so embraced the fresh air that a jig fair jiggled his feet

And had him pulling out his coolest moves

Our imagination took us away, soaring high in the up-drifts and returning to swoop low again over the water

Whilst in reality on terra firma, we searched to find the magical and unique amongst the stones. Rescuing a starfish back to the water and popping inky black seaweed between little fingers.

And at the very last, finding magic in the very rocks themselves.

Things I'm Loving 17.6.11

Don't ya hate it when you push CTRL+P instead of Shift+P and you hit publish a whole two days early....grr. Apologies if this is the second time you've seen this post!


♥ Odosketch ♥


Calling all bloggy artist friends. There are some I think will LOVE this site for sure - Widge? Sarah? Dee R? Anyway click here http://www.sketch.odopod.com/. Below is a super quick version I did - as you can tell I am SOOOO not an artist!



But here's what one WAY more talented artist than me came up with!



♥ Free Hug Movement ♥

I dare ya to watch this and not get a little teary-eyed at the corners :-)



I reckon we could all do with a few more spontaneous hugs in our world don't you?!

♥ Scootering ♥

On a gorgeous Wellington winter's morning, one little nearly five-year old asked if he could scooter to daycare. Whilst we couldn't quite manage this, being a good half hour walk down some pretty steep hills, we did throw the scooter in the boot and Noah and I got off a few blocks early to scooter the rest of the way.

We stopped in at a coffee shop (that I am trying to use some vouchers up for). It's not my regular (Finc) and man the service is crap (hence why I'm not naming it!), it took about ten minutes to get my takeaway coffee even though there were only 2 people in front of me. I'd have been in and out of Finc in about a minute flat despite HOW many other people were waiting for their coffees - they are good to me!

Noah was so patient waiting that I dug out some coins and treated him to a little Whittakers Sante Bar - yes it was chocolate at 8am I know, but he loved it! And he thought he was the bees knees scootering along the street to daycare - he was BEAMING!

And what a totally stunning day for it!

♥ Yeti Boots ♥

If I didn't love these new slipper/boots so much I'd consider sending them up to Paisley Jade as I know they love yetis in their household - they could go and keep the yeti softie company in the garden? Actually I love how warm and fluffy they are, so on second thoughts, I think they might stay right here on my tooties! A treat from Jackie and Heidi for me after I'd longingly been coveting Jackie's ones. Thanks girlies!

♥ Spontaneity ♥

We're quite into routines in our house. Partly cos we have to be with both working full-time and trying to keep up with two littlies, but I think it's probably just as much down to our personality types too! So what with the early morning scootering and a last minute decision to dine out at Wholly Pizza in the Hutt to cash in a free Harlem Hustle Pizza for dinner last Saturday, there appears to have been a little fairy sprinkling more than the usual dose of spontaneity around our place. I love it when this happens. I really do!

♥ Coldplay ♥

Forever You Will Be My Favourite Music Artists. Hands down. Please don't ever stop making music!
Between Fix You, Viva La Vida and this amazing new song Every Tear Drop is a Waterfall, you have my ♥!





Utterly and completely.


♥ Moon Madness ♥


There's another little man about the house who has gone completely mad mad mad for the moon. It helps that at the moment the moon just happens to be rising as we are on our way home. And like all other full moon weeks seem to be, the moon is big, bold, bright and beautiful hovering in the still and dusky pink twilight. Mylo twists every which way in his carseat to look for the moon as we go around corners, and if he can't see it says ever so forlornly 'Moon gone?'.

When we get home we have to get out of the car and immediately find it in the sky and it's as if all is put right with the world again when he finds it. Once we're inside he races between the two sets of french doors trying to get the best 'view' and will be at our feet saying 'up up' as in 'I want to be up high so I can see it better'.

And while this picture was taken whilst helicopter spotting rather than moon spotting, the look of intense concentration is exactly the same!

♥ Beautiful People ♥

Last but not least I was overwhelmed, make that more than overwhelmed, by all the wonderful, kind and heartfelt comments that were left on the 400th post Vlog and Giveaway earlier in the week. Despite having only met one or two of you in real life, I feel so very blessed to know you all and count you amongst my friends. I so hope to meet more of you in real life sometime soon xxxx

And it's not too late to enter to win the giveaway, if you haven't already click on the link to comment on the original post - closing Monday night..eeeeeeeeeeee so exciting - I do love a good giveaway! :-)

Also can't wait to see what others are Loving this week!


Hooking up with Kristy over at Paisley Jade for her fab weekly linky!

a Vlog AND a giveaway!

So here we are. You (that's the collective you!) and me.

You're still here after 4 years and this 400th post? You're still reading? Wow!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

And following in other's footsteps like Gail, Simone, Paisley Jade, Widge, Leonie and Jackie, I thought I'd step out of my comfort zone (eek!) and do things a little differently to celebrate.

Now what's the definition of a vlog? Does it have to be totally ad-lib cos if so I just COULDN'T do it? You can so tell I read out some of what's written below. Note the eyes moving across the page= real live vlog FAIL! But I had so much I wanted to say and I just knew I'd forget it all otherwise!

I'm just so much better at writing than I am at speaking - for some reason I  have this serious brain-to-mouth disconnect when I get in front of a live camera. So doing it this way was the only way you would have got anything more than a vacant stare and 'duuuuuuuuuuuh' out of me without having to do a  kazillion takes! So you can totally tell I'm reading at points but hey, it's the thought right?! Right people?!

So without further ado, here is MNM's 400th Post Vlog and Giveaway:







And if for any reason you can't listen to the Vlog here's the gist:

A year ago, I'd managed to write 200 posts in three years. So I'm not entirely sure how I managed to write another 200 in the space of just one year...I think right now there should be a flashing 'addict' sign over my head!

You know, I would still write even if it was just for me, and for the family. But meeting and making bloggy friends has taken this whole cyber creativity thing to a whole new level for me. I've discovered creativity I didn't know I had in me, and I am constantly inspired by the wonderful women who choose to share their own lives with me through their blogs.

I know for a fact I am more grateful, more thankful, and more in love with life as a result of this whole blogging journey. I have seen beauty in unexpected places that would previously have gone unnoticed. And the discovery of like-minded and talented individuals out there has broadened my horizons further and still further again. I'm hoping that makes it worth the wrist strain I've been getting from the constant typing on the laptop, and the little "tsk tsk" I get from hubby after yet another late night slinking into bed a little (or a lot) later than I intended.

So to celebrate, I'm hosting a little giveaway to give a little something back to you.

I'd like to give away a copy of this wonderful book that I've just reviewed on the blog 'Heaven is for Real'. Despite what you might personally believe about life after death, at the very least this book is incredibly engaging and I think anyone would enjoy it - it's an easy read. And at the very most, you might come away with a fresh revelation of what awaits those who believe in the other side.

This week I had the privilege of attending the Watoto Children's Choir: A Concert of Hope. To see the incredible smiles on the face of these children rescued from a place of sorrow, abandonment and pain was incredibly emotional. To see the joy, the hope and the futures these children have where before there was nothing but hopelessness is so inspiring. Before us stood future doctors, lawers, pilots, nurses and teachers, children with futures no longer wondering where their next meal will come from or fearing for their very lives.

The bracelet I'm giving away was made by a woman at the Living Hope Center which is also part of the Watoto Vision in Uganda.

Living Hope, which was initiated in early 2008, is a programme committed to transforming the lives of 2,000 women in Uganda. Left abandoned or widowed, the target group is HIV+ single women, returnees from abduction and teenage mothers.

And last but not least...a block of my favourite choccy bar: Cadbury Black Forest chocolate.

And since I'm an inclusive kind of gal - I will post anywhere in the world. China, Canada, the UK, Aussie or the USA - anyone can win! Although it might be economy mail overseas!

But....you gotta be comment to be in to win.

So................leave me a comment about what you enjoy most about the blog and if there's anything you'd like to know or see written about in future posts. I know, I know, a totally cheeky way for me to get feedback I know but hey..we bloggers are a creative bunch right?!

So that's about all I have for now. Thanks for Exploring Beauty with MNM's!

Knowing and getting to know each one of you makes me smile Every.Single.Day!

Note: the giveaway will be open for one week until Monday 20th June at 7pm and the winner announced on the blog. 


AND.........I'd hate for Blogger's little quirks to stop you entering the draw (the comment function on Blogger has been playing silly beggars lately depending on what browser you're using -  Google Chrome for example), so if you can't post directly onto the blog, send me an email instead to be in to win.


Good luck peeps!

Wordless Sunday: Photo Trickery with a Lava Lamp

Thanks for the lamp Nikki!

Book Review: Heaven is For Real

When I saw Sarah from Catching The Magic post to Facebook that she was reading this book via the Kindle iPhone app I was intrigued. Even just the title of the book plus the picture of the wee boy on the front on the Facebook link was somehow drawing me in. (You can also read Sarah's review of the book here).

So I looked it up on Amazon and thus my first ever Kindle experience reading a whole book via iPhone began. This is the true story of  the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters Heaven.

Despite what you might personally believe about the ways in which people get to Heaven, this book is engaging at so many levels. I think anyone who read it would be hard pressed to challenge the validity of this experience being 'for real'. From the outset, I also loved that I could identify with what goes on in the mind of a 4-year old as I have one of those in my own household right now *smiles*.

Colton's experience of Heaven is as a result of leaving his physical body on the operating table while undergoing lifesaving surgery after his appendix ruptures. Over the course of the next few years, at various times, he shares with his family the details of his time with Jesus, meeting people straight from the pages of the Bible, and describing the reality of Heaven with the clarity and innocence of a young child.

Despite his parents being pastors with a strong faith in God, even they start out completely skeptical that what Colton is telling them is 'for real' because it just seems so fantastical. But no matter how much they try to 'test' him (in a nice way of course) his story ALWAYS measures up against the very words out of the Bible about what Heaven and Jesus will be like.

But............what blew me away the most (and it is what makes this book not just another nice 'story') is the personal encounters he has with family members in Heaven he had never met on Earth. He never knew his baby sister who had been miscarried before he was born and who his parents hadn't even told him about. And yet he met her in Heaven. And his great-grandfather who died some 30 years before he was born.

He also describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

But I'll stop there as I don't want to give too much away and spoil the lovely moments of the book because I really hope you will take the opportunity to read it for yourself.

I wholeheartedly believe in the truths contained in this book. Despite never seeing these things for myself, I choose to believe. For me it's a matter of FAITH. Knowing it in my knower.

Prepare to laugh, prepare to cry, but be prepared to BELIEVE. Whether it is to reconfirm truths you already know deep within, whether it reconfirms what you once knew but had forgotten, or whether it is to believe for the first time, be ready.


I'm giving one lucky reader the opportunity to win a copy of this book in the next few days, so stay tuned!

Things I'm Loving 10.6.11

♥ Our Very Own Somerset Hero ♥


Our lovely English Mummy, or Grandma as she is known to the boys had rather a special night out last week. Which she kept quiet and only told us at the last minute, modest mummy that she is.

The BBC Somerset sponsored the inaugural Somerset Hero awards with the following guidelines: Nominations are open to people of all ages who may have overcome adversity, an illness, or perhaps have given something back to their community.

Mark's Mum was nominated by one of her friends for the volunteer work she has undertaken with stroke victims at Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset. She goes along every week and supports and encourages those who have been recent victims of strokes. We know that her gentle way would be an encouragement in itself, but even more that that, sharing her own journey  since suffering a stroke in August 2008 is a real motivation and gives others real hope for their own futures. To see Grandma now, you would never know that she had a stroke such has been her determination and hard work to get back the life she knew.

We are so proud of you Mum, and loved that we were able to share in your special 'live' moment on BBC Radio Somerset talking about the award. The wonders of the Internet that we were able to listen to live radio in the UK, and record it for other family and friends to hear. Here's what our lovely mummy had to say about her work and the award:






And here's the link to the photos, with our lovely mummy at photo number 7 of the bunch.

♥ Jungle Book Comics ♥


I'm keen to know if other lovely peeps out there who grew up in Christian homes remember these fabulous comic books and cassette tapes? I'm not sure what made me think of them, but one day recently they just randomly popped into my head. So in fact, I'm pretty sure it was God reminding me! I asked Nana & Poppa whether they still had them, and they were dusted off from out of a box and duly brought down to Gee Gee's when they visited her a couple of weeks back so that we could pick them up over Queens Birthday weekend. In the meantime, I'd had a search on the Internet for them, and was somewhat sad to see the original comics are out of print, but have been re-printed in updated versions which you can find here.

While I was searching, I also came across a Christian Internet resource library called Max7. If you are in children's ministry or want free Christian resources for your own kids, you should definitely check it out! I contacted them to ask how to access the Jungle Doctor videos and cassettes they had listed on the site, and a wonderfully obliging girl replied to say that they were still in the process of building that part of the site, but that she would burn all of the stories onto DVD (they are still slideshows of the pages of the comics with the original audio cassette voice over accompanying it) and send them (from Aussie) to me for free. How totally awesome is that?!!!!

Noah and I spent a good part of the weekend at Gee Gee devouring all the comics my mum and dad had found. We read about 'The Goat Who Wanted to Become a Lion' 'Safe as Poison' and 'The Great Wall' to name a few of the favourites. And the DVDs arrived from Australia this week too, so I have enjoyed cuddling up under the duvet with Noah these past few nights to watch them together. Each story has wonderfully simple Christian concepts captured in a story that kids can identify with. It certainly took me back to my childhood reading them all again! Happy happy memories.


♥ Back in time ♥
Saw this at Puke Ariki Museum last weekend in New Plymouth, and had to laugh. It made me think...did I suddenly get old and no-one told me?! We had one of these exact models, colour and all! Did anyone else have one of these lurking in their cupboard in years gone by?

♥ Dr Seuss ♥
When I took this picture last weekend, all I could think of was that it looked like a scene out of a Dr Seuss book. Are ya with me?

♥ Free parenting webinars ♥

At the moment, The Parenting Place has free parenting webinars for all! I've loved listening to the Mums and Sons webinar, and plan to listen to a couple more before the free period runs out. FREE until 2 August 2011 thanks to AMI Insurance, Parents Inc's. principal supporter. Here's the list:

• Dads and daughters
• Going the distance in your relationship
• Helping children after stressful events
• How to deal with angry children
• Mums and sons 
• My child the lawyer
• Preparing for adolescence
• The perfectionist child  
• The strong willed child

What a fabulous opportunity to hear sound advice from well-respected experts on parenting!

Wishing you all a Blessed and Happy Weekend!

Go and check out what others are loving at PJ's linky:

Something's Gotta Give

Have you ever worked through one of those Belbin Team Role tests that puts you in categories such as Team-worker, Implementer, Co-ordinator, Completer-Finisher etc.

Although mine comes out across a few categories, by far my strongest trait is the Completer Finisher. Here’s a definition of this personality type:

The Completer Finisher is a perfectionist and will often go the extra mile to make sure everything is "just right," and the things he or she delivers can be trusted to have been double-checked and then checked again. The Completer Finisher has a strong inward sense of the need for accuracy, and sets his or her own high standards rather than working on the encouragement of others. They may frustrate their teammates by worrying excessively about minor details at the expense of meeting deadlines, and by refusing to delegate tasks that they do not trust anyone else to perform.

A lot of this rings very true, but definitely not the ‘not meeting deadlines’ bit as my next highest trait is the Implementer – who is ALWAYS trusted to meet a deadline.  In general, I HATE starting something that I’m not sure I can complete on time and to a really high standard, and this means I often won’t start something unless I’m sure I can give it my all AND deliver on time. I love ticking things off my to-do list and  my own personal feeling of satisfaction from ‘finishing’ a task always means more to me than any subsequent recognition for a job well done.  

Sadly though, what other people would accept as ‘good enough’ for my efforts at something is often still not ‘good enough’ for my own high standards. Case in point, I bet you didn’t realise that I read and re-read my blog posts about ten times before I ever push the button to ‘post’ them, tweaking here, adding there. I am my own worst enemy sometimes.

Where am I going with all this? Well a few weeks back I was talking about doing a photo book for Noah’s fifth birthday? Yeah, well, it’s not going so well.


Phew...it’s out there. I said it.

And I’m feeling like this huge disappointment of a mother who had promised to do something and is failing to deliver. Never mind that the only person I promised to do this before his birthday was myself, Noah doesn’t even know about it and I’m sure if he knew he would care even less. He’d much rather have an awesome Star Wars birthday party to remember, and well…I am also working on that!

So it’s only me who is beating me up and yet I AM beating myself up over it…and then when I realise I’m beating myself up about it, I beat myself up a bit more for being so silly for even thinking it’s worth beating myself up over in the first place. Seriously what’s up with that?!

It’s not as if I haven’t started the book. And I totally intend to finish it. But I’ve fast realised, it’s just not gonna happen between now and 2^nd August. My biggest struggle is having to decide how to shape it. I mean how do you rank five years of amazing memories to decide what makes the cut?! I'm also struggling with the fact that all our early photos of Noah are from three cameras ago when I was completely clueless about taking good photos – so I've been very critical about finding any that measure up to today’s standards. And after completing a few chronological pages up to about 17 months in age, I realised it is near impossible to cram several months’ worth of life’s special moments into one 2-page spread. So I’m now thinking about changing to themed pages: grandparents, other family, his soft toy monkeys, his bikes, favourite spots around Welly, Star Wars, Punch Buggies, special friends, being a big brother, holiday highlights etc, but that in itself means major revisions.

So, though it pains me to say it, something’s gotta give. Being able to dedicate sufficient time and creative inspiration to doing this when my brain is already abuzz with party ideas and blog posts is impossible. There are already a very limited number of hours in the day and week once you knock out 40 hours for work, and then as many hours as we can pack in with family time with what’s left.

I am trying to accept the fact that - I JUST CAN’T DO IT ALL. Oh but that doesn't stop me from wanting to.You see, I’d also love to be doing the 30 Day Photography Challenge that a few other bloggy friends are doing during the month of June. Or write the Letter to My Self Aged 85 that others have recently done.  I find I have to talk myself out of doing more, committing to more than I can handle on a daily basis. 

So I’m still disappointed about the photo book.

Meh.

And more disappointed for letting it get to me.

Somewhere along the way, I need to get a grip and get over it. And you know what, I might just have the perfect distraction ….. after all the next thing on the to-do list is to make a Death Star piñata for Noah’s party from scratch …..um yeah... My. Own. Worst. Enemy.

Does anyone else struggle with this? Tell me I'm not alone here!

Thanks Queenie

Thanks….for the long weekend that is. It’s Queens Birthday weekend in NZ, the last of our long weekends until late October, which is a long haul through the coldest part of the year!

It started with a good old roadie up to the Naki on Saturday morning to spend the weekend with Gee Gee. Apart from the coffee made with ‘off’ milk at Bulls which was totally undrinkable and an only slightly better replacement at Wanganui, it was a quick and easy trip. The birds at Virginia Lake were in fine form to greet our leg stretching halfway through the five-hour trip.

Sunday, Gee Gee shouted us a lovely brunch at Arborio followed by a walk around the local museum, Puke Ariki. 

I was most enthralled by an exhibition on War Brides – beautifully displayed with pictures of the women painted onto wood.

After a visit from my uncle and cousins, we felt the need for a dose of fresh air to avoid the onset of cabin fever which had threatened all afternoon, so a late stroll down to the river was the answer. We couldn’t believe how the water was raging compared to six weeks ago when we were here at Easter.

I was awakened early on Monday morning by little fingers tickling my toes in the dark. Mum, mum, I’ve lost my tooth. Oh great, says sleepy me, can I have a look? The light of the iPhone confirmed indeed a hole replacing the spot where a tooth had been just last night. But I need you to help me look for it, says he, I dropped it on the floor in the dark. Awesome, just the wake-up call I wanted at 6am! I searched for a few minutes but gave up and went to bed giving him some books to read, returning for a much more successful hunt once it was properly light. He’s gone to bed tonight with his tooth under an eggcup, waiting for a visit from the Tooth Fairy. I must admit I’ve been taken a bit by surprise by the suddenness of it all. A slightly wobbly tooth on Friday turning into the loss of his first tooth three days later at not quite 5… where has my baby gone?

Overall, today dawned brighter, and so we high-tailed it back to the ‘whale’ bridge as we’ve named it.

We shared our sojourn with early morning surfers, seagulls, dewy spiderwebs and silken skies.

So despite the frequent showers all weekend, we have been so fortunate to be able to get out amongst it, making the most of every rain-free moment to embrace the outdoors.

And it is still incredibly warm…for winter. The daffodils and jonquils are already out at Tupare – I think they must assume we’ve skipped a season straight into spring. I don’t blame them, it’s been so mild – apparently it was the warmest May on record!

Mylo has proven to have boundless energy by choosing to walk over sitting in the stroller most of the time, and has been regaling us with his vocabulary which is growing on a daily basis. This weekend there’s been lots of ‘No, stop’ or ‘Stop please’ – usually when he’s had enough of rough n tumble, ‘coffees’ ‘thank-you’ ‘bunny and giraffe?’ when looking for his favourite toys.

There’s been plenty of indoor trampolining on two single mattresses we’ve had set up in the lounge (for me and Mark to get a good night’s sleep sans children) , plenty of book reading, skittles, and eating up a veritable storm with Gee Gee’s home cooking. 

Ah…..just the way all good long weekends should be.