Helloooo...I'm quite excited about a few things that are coming up and thought I'd share them with you.

My class is going rock climbing in a week and I'm excited because this usually results in a catastrophe of some kind which is always exciting!! As a recovering adrenalin junkie, mayhem is my bread and butter.

The school is having its annual disco and I'll be chaperoning. These are a lot of fun, there is always a mixture of nervous kids, too much hair gel, too much white eye shadow, plenty of crimped hair, not enough embarrassing teacher dancing and waaaaayyyyy too much dodgy disco DJaying. Lots of fun and I've promised to absolutely shame my kids by mincing up to them and dancing in the most arrogant way I know how.

I've found a band that I'm really happy to be listening to. You know how I said there will always be new songs that remind you of old times? Well, this is one of those bands and the moment I heard them I knew I wanted to purchase all of their albums (lotto would be awesome in this instance). I don't usually like to share these finds because I'm a bit greedy but I can with you because you've taken the time to read this wee blab.

Firecracker has returned from a mini-break and had the best time with her rellies. The moment she opened her eyes from her long nap she looked at me, realizing she was now home and burst into tears. Didn't miss me one bit! Monkey!!

I saw a quote today, and I think it was an Earnest Hemingway one: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”  :-)

Good night!

Just a shorty...

serendipitous...might be falling in love with a song and finding out that the band is playing in the city you'll be visiting, at the exact time of your visit. Possibly a coincidence or (my favourite) it's the universe returning to me what I put out there :-)

It's been a mad week of small triumphs and exhausting failings but there are only a few weeks left until I finish this leg of my journey...one that has taken (on and off) seven years. So I'm keen to see this last bit through, pause for some unbridled celebration, a bit of reflection and probably a good hearty cry for the achievement, effort and sacrifices we have all made along the way, before we get on with the next stage.

Leaving you with a little ditty that has always put a smile on my face :-D Turn it up and dance like no-one's watching xx

revelations...

Hi blog :-)

So I've been a bit naughty. I have been treating facecrack like it's my own personal domain and posting anything and everything that I think my friends and family would like to see...turns out, they don't. That's why we have blogs.

I don't even have time to have one of these but I'm a writer at heart (not a very good one) and I heard that in order to get better at writing, you've gotta write a lot. And read, lots of reading. One of my lecturers thinks my writing in convoluted...feel free to comment, feedback is awesome.

Status updates not fit for facecrack, so bear with :-)

- I found out that I have soft spot for country music even though I swore against it (thank you Garret Hedlund). 

- There are always going to be new songs that remind you of old times and the people who write those songs are magicians. 

- You don’t have to be drunk to write a really interesting piece…you can just be dog tired. Editing could be the biggest mistake, it takes off the shine. 

- Punctuation doesn't always work…sure it breaks down sentences into a structured, readable piece of work but if I wanted you to understand how important the next line was…I might have to YELLandtalkreallyreallyreallyfast. 

- Relationships are everything, especially relationships with yourself, language, food, nature, and yourself as the consumer but most importantly, with others.

Firecracker is half my height now (aged 3.5 years), and that's a beautiful and scary thing. 

"Firecracker? Can I have it back, please?"

"What?...pardon?"

"My heart. Can I please have my heart back now?"

"(smiles) Nope!" watches me with a mischievous grin for a bit..."Oookaaayyy, you CAN have it" reaches into her mouth in an attempt to retrieve my heart which is naturally lodged in her body, and gags on her fist. "YUCK Mummy! Your heart tastes yucky!". I can sleep easy knowing that humans are off her menu for life. 

We might need to have the birds and bees chat sooner than expected, Firecracker is worried that women get babies in their tummies by eating tiny babies. I can't begin to describe the looks she has cast at heavily pregnant women in the shops and supermarket.

I'm waiting for her to whisper to one of them

"baby eater!"

:-P

(disclaimer: Fearnot doesn't condone the eating of humans...ever. Not even the mean ones.)

Fearnot by name...Fearful by nature...or am I?

Hi blog :) I've been absent. But now I'm back.

I'm not sure for how long or if I can be bothered writing down all that comes to mind (there wouldn't be enough room) but I can tell you what's been happening as of late.

I faced a fear. Some might say it was an irrational fear. I went to the dentist.
Technically it was the pain and swelling that made me go but in the end, I made the decision.  It had only been 14 years since my last visit.

3 years ago I married The Rock and on that day my wisdom teeth decided to make announce their arrival. My fiance's aunt said "Ooh, maybe it means something...wisdom teeth appear when you're not sure of something"...yes, with regard to her, I wasn't sure about the words coming out of her intelligent face.

So one of the wisdoms was putting pressure on a tooth that had lost it's filling. I took copious nurofen (big ups to them!!) and the pain went away. Then 2 weeks ago we went to CHCH for a holy reunion of sorts and again the teeth started singing...It's here that I'll go back to the start.

When I was a young teen I was exposed to the biggest house of horrors you could imagine. It's where dentists train to drill, fill and unintentionally strike fear into the heart of man, woman and child. While I was enjoying a moment of anticipation, one of these students was about to stick a teeny needle into my gums...I'm not sure what happened next but the needle was through my cheek and Novocaine was squirting past my eye and onto the floor. The student apologised, my eye, cheek, mouth and one ear was numb so I let her finish the drilling and filling before fleeing the building and never taking a backward glance.

To the present day...and the holy reunion. The Rock and Firecracker are at the First Communion and I'm in Hell expecting the worst and being teased by this young dentist about my fear...in one sitting he pulled out the offending but otherwise beautiful wisdom tooth and performed a route canal procedure on the empty tooth. Apart from the injections, I didn't feel a thing!!! Couldn't believe it...so (having had such a positive experience) when we got back home I made another appointment at the House of Horrors and had another tooth drilled and filled. Just yesterday I met with my new dentist and had X-rays, a bit of a scrape and was told to come back in a couple of weeks to have my temporary fillings replaced to the tune of a mere $1450.00 (ohmygosh!!) but aside from the money I'm looking forward to getting it all sorted.

Yes, each time I go to see the dentist my bowels turn to water and I become slightly pale but when it's all over I feel amazing! Because I did it!! Next up is the orthodontist to help get my bite sorted...I look forward to being able to bite sandwiches again like a normal person :P

Keep shining...and smiling!

...it's the stay puft marshmallow man...

Boy am I glad to write to you :) This weekend I have been most productive and have localized said productivity to the kitchen. Again I created the GF cupcakes and divvied them up between my folks and my whanau to some delight but more about the cuppies in a minute...
Firecracker is celebrating her 3rd night in a Big Girl's bed...I haven't had a chance to spruce it up so that's my Summer project...

I have finally finished those star cushions I told you about a while back. I'm NEVER DOING THEM AGAIN!! But here's the finished product...

From this....

to this... :)

So :) I've decided to wear my running shoes all. the. time. And for good reason. I've turned into a bit of a whale in recent times which is partly related to stopping breastfeeding/learning to bake/complete reduction in physical fitness/daylight savings...okay, maybe not daylight savings as that's really only just started to occur but honestly, I can not make the time!! :( I took up running last year and I was good at it. You've all probably seen this...

I can't take the credit but I sure as hell can identify! So my mission is to get back into it. If you see me running in broad daylight, please don't toot. I'll probably trip and fall into a bush or roll down one of the steep streets in my neighborhood :) This is my new running song and YAY, she's a Kiwi :)

Back to the cuppies...there's one left. And that's the last time I bake them. I have given the recipe to my mother so I have no excuses. Most of my blogging will be about food, but slowly I hope to overwhelm you with fitness info and personal bests. My apologies but my health is totally worth it :)

Keep shining xxx

P.S. I got this fantastic flour sieve for free...to sit on my shelf until I repaint it and never use it for the baking that will soon cease to exist *sigh*



...dreams of planning a time travelers ball...

Hands up if you enjoy that overwhelming urge to put into practice something you've seen online??

I do. I enjoy it very much and frequently :)

There's a place near to where I live, it's called a Castle but is more of a mansion in ruins...think the mansion in Great Expectations (the Gwyneth Paltrow versus Ethan Hawke version) and it overlooks the ocean from high 'atop' a cliff. Frankly it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen but have never been able to get near it. 

 

Fueled by images like these...it's easy to dream about holding an event in such a place :) 

I love ghost stories, masquerade balls, dramatic scenes of anything taking on a life of it's own so I think the mesh dresses would look amazing on a croquet lawn matched up with suits and lit with different colors (at night of course)...and the umbrellas!! They remind me of the mops in The Sorcerers Apprentice (Disney). Such a fantastic idea!

Any-who, might do it for my 30th lol :P Who knows?

Off to bed, keep shining xxx

aahhhh...(chuckles)...good times :)

Where is that moderately sized rock to hide under when you need it?!

Today was one of those glorious days...I'm sure some of you have had them.

You know, the ones where you haven't quite had enough of that delicious, tasty FOOT!! And NO! I'm not talking about fetishes. Although, some people to have fetishes for the blushers that walk among us. Another irrational fear to add to the list.

1. A dialogue...

Me: (smiles cheekily - god only knows what that really looks like) Do you think you could tell the landlord we need a new toilet?

Handyman: But, this toilet is fully functional...

Me: I know (more hideous smiles) but, it's very ugly and old...I don't think it should be making that tapping noise.

Handyman: I see...

Me: The plumber who was here last, he told me to tell the property manager to get the landlord to replace this toilet...on it's last legs etc...

Handyman: A wee secret then...I'm your landlord.

Me: shite.

So what did I do?
I made him a cuppa tea and acted like nothing had happened.

2. A scenario...

We're in the car sitting at a set of lights when I notice a man trying to lock his bike to a tree next to our car.

He looks very familiar.

I'm staring. I'm really trying to figure out how I know him and at the exact moment I realize who he is, he stares straight back at us. 


"Poor dude" said The Rock, as the man grimly picks up his bike and wheels it to the nearest lamp-post.

I'm blushing and beginning to sweat a little...partly due to (A.) the fact we are completely stationary and I've just been caught blatantly staring at one of the (few...) 'romantic figures from my past', I desperately wanted to drive off; and (B.) because the whole time I was staring I hadn't realized that he'd been unable to lash his bike to the tree due to his lock being too short.

This all happened on the same day...today. Due to be over in 25 minutes.

On the upside, yesterday I successfully made my first batch of Gluten Free cupcakes for Mum and Dad's dinner party.

Also, Firecracker has locked onto Wrong Direction and dances with carefree abandon to all of their Greatest Hits (it'll probably be available by Xmas)...might post a video depending on crap internet provisions.

Keep shining...or in my case blushing and sweating :P
xxx