Bullet point ponderings

Dear Reader. You know what time it is? Its time for a bullet point post! I know you wanna know what shenanigans we've been up to since we last chatted!

• I'm on holiday. Yeahh! Of course that really doesn't mean much when you are a mum. What I really imagine is this....

photo credit

• What really happened was I tried to make of the most of it by getting up earlier and going to work gym the first Monday. I got all the way there at 615am and couldn't get in because I didn't know the code! I thought about going back to bed because it was still dark but  decided  to go for a walk instead. I went again the next day after finding out the code!

• I still have this stupid shoulder. Its really frustrating me, because its now in its 6th month of being painful. And it could take 18 months to heal on its own. Gah! So after pushing it in the gym for a week I'm letting it rest, and am getting some advice about how to get fit without aggravating it. I tried getting it covered as workplace injury but it got declined because I didn't do the right paperwork at the time so I have to pay for all myself. Boo :(  But still...people have it way worse than this, and deal with it valiantly. I'm going to stay positive! 

• The rest of the week was more of hanging out with this lot over their school holidays....

• These holidays seemed to go really fast. Except for the fighting, arguing and general horseplay... in those times I dreamed of peace and quiet. We managed to balance getting out for a couple of activities and general moping around. After watching the Lego movie, the kids are back into playing with their Lego...even Miss Joy. The older two would create wonderful creations and just before they were happy with them "The Destroyer" would come and obliterate it all. More arguing, more yelling....  Zak Zak seems to be quite a destructive little guy. Anyone had a kid like this? He doesn't seem to learn! Drives us all nuts. 

• I've been really enjoying having a bright coloured nail polish on these holidays! I've got on an OPI red  that is  called "Santa's Suit". Might bring that one out again at Christmas time.

• A couple of week ago I found a grab one voucher online for a bus tour to Cape Reinga. I wasn't that keen to put Zak Zak on a bus with some poor unsuspecting tourists but the hubster reckoned that was the only way to visit the cape and so we went for it. He manged to get Friday off work so we made a weekend of it. Friday rolls around and would you believe it Zak zak is sick as. A Temperature, vomited a couple of days before, off his food, lethargic, and a slight all over body rash. Grandma kindly offered to keep him while the rest of us could have fun with out him. We made the decision right at the last minute. "I can't leave him" I tell hubster. He comes with us or I'm not going at all! We decide to risk it and hope for the best. You know how kids are..one minute they are sick the next minute they are fine. And with two nurse parents we thought we'd be fine. We kept up the panadol every 6 hours over the whole weekend. And he coped and got a little better each day. 

• The voucher couldn't be used on Saturdays so we went on the Sunday after staying on the Karikari Peninsula in a lovely Spa Bath motel room at a Top 10 Holiday park. It was a tad expensive for the 5 of us but totally worth it. We saved money on food for the weekend because we filled a chilly bin full of food, snacks and drinks. And boy did we use that spa bath! 

• I had recently read in the NZ herald that the top beach in all of Northland was "Matai Bay" and third overall in all of NZ voted on the AA website. I had never even heard of this beach even though I've lived in the north all my life. We decided to check it out. And Oh my! I believe it is. We had a lovely few hours with the beach pretty much all to our selves! And such a beautifully clear hot day in May even! The water was too chilly for me but the rest of the family enjoyed a dip, especially hubster. I enjoyed catching some snaps with my camera. I put the portable tripod in and managed this one shot of us all together. Hubster is holding on to Zak Zak to keep him still for one photo!

{Crystal clear waters of Matai Bay}

• If you ever head up to the Cape make a detour to this beautiful beach. 

• The next day we got up bright and early to head to Kaitaia for our tour bus pick up. We gave ourselves an extra half hour to get there early. Just as we arrive at Kaitaia at 9am I get out the voucher to check the address and my heart sinks...I've made a mistake! The pick up time is 9am not 930am. We try to get there a little faster hoping it's still waiting for us and then we see it coming in the opposite direction out of town! Everyone in the car is mad at me...especially hubster. We try and figure out what to do. I suggest we just drive up to the cape ourselves. And then have a brainwave to call the tour company. She says I'll call the bus driver and see if he will come back for you. And he does! We hop on the bus apologizing to the other tourists! Shame! 

• He still loves me even though I'm a wally sometimes!

{Taputaputa Bay}

{We made it in the end!
Cape Reinga} 

• We got home late on Sunday night after stopping in at my mums for a quick curry feed and arrived home just in time to watch the Master Chef Final. A great weekend away!

I'm Listening to Bethels latest album with the Ladies only called "You Make me Brave"

• I'm Creating a knitted blanket. Since I'm such a crafting retard and can only knit rectangles, I'm making my self a blanket with colors that have special meaning to me. I even did some on the bus. Its going have 25/25 stitch squares that will look like a patch work of colors...I hope. I'm not following a pattern...and hope to finish it some time this life time....

• I'm Reading:  Kerre Woodhams "Short fat chick to Marathon runner". And have the Daughter of Smoke and bone Trilogy coming from the book depository in the mail soon. I had to see what ya'll were so excited about! 

• Im cooking:  After seeing Simon Gault at a stall at our local New World selling his new product range, I've been wanting to try his Cloudy Bay Clam Chowder recipe. Oh My! So good. 

• Funny: 

  

  {credit}

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods

Jacksta

xx 

bullet point ponderings

• Why hello there?! I trust all is well in your neck of the woods. Just me, checking in with my favorite bullet point ponders. 

•  I'm not sure whats going on with me at the mo. Social media. I'm a little bit over it. I finally took the first step, I got  rid of Facebook from my phone. I was getting a little bit ridiculous, checking it constantly and it was bringing out the worst in me. So both the hubster and I have taken FB off our phones..and he went one step further and got rid of instagram too. I still  dig instagram for now, so it stays. And I do still  check in with my favourite blogs too. Although our kids don't have phones yet I am trying SO hard to prevent them from getting trapped in the social media black hole. I would much rather they met or  talked to their friends in real life rather than these silly screens! You know....like WE all used to do once upon a time. 

• Anyhoo...I don't know what the answer is. We will probably all end up like these people from Wall-e

link

• SO I did something fun a couple weeks ago ....I got a nice long needle to the shoulder joint! I may have mentioned before that I have had this crappy painful shoulder since October last year. Well I saw an orthopedic surgeon about it and he diagnosed it as "adhesive capsulitis" or "frozen shoulder". He recommended another steroid injection but into a different spot. Man it was painful! But guess what!? Now my shoulder is mostly pain free! Now I just have to improve my range of movement and I'll be playing golf in no time...ha! Maybe. My lovely physio "invited me" to our work gym and gave me some exercises to improve my strength and range of movement. And guess what? I actually enjoyed it...so much so I'm thinking of joining one of the local gyms while our work one is getting remodeled. Time to get this fat butt into shape. I say that every year!

• On the mummy front the kids have finished their athletics season. The conclusion is long distance running is their strength. Throwing things like a discus and shot put....not so much! They do have the skinniest arms around! Anyway, its all good learning. 

• We have also been doing cooking lessons with mumma again. I honestly think the food tastes better when they help me. I take the time to teach...and we taste and take our time, and in the end the food is better. Case and point. A while ago I was teach miss joy to make the perfect steak. We like it medium rare... and this piece of rump steak was one of the best we had ever cooked! Perfectly pink in the middle. And I have found their taste buds are changing as they try new things. Win for all. 

{Delicious butter chicken and homemade naan bread}

 In other news....

{I went to the beach recently with the sole purpose
of eating this ploughmans meal for a picnic} 

{And of course to hang out with this lot}

{A day at the beach is never wasted}

{ I started a skin care regime for the first time in my life.
With the help of my beauty therapist I am trying to get rid
of my "pregnancy mask" using the Aspect range.
 Morning and night!} 

{ I tried my first ever spinach smoothie...
thankfully the banana and blue berries disguised the flavour}

• My birthday is coming up next month. Just saying. There may well be a giveaway...

• I'm thinking of doing what Katie from Mummy Adventures  does this year. She thinks up a number of  things to do before her next birthday that is about her age. Since I'm turning 33 I have to think up 33 things to do before my next birthday. I have an idea! Can you throw some suggestions my way in the comments section below. OOOhhh This could be fun or rather daunting! Making things...reading things....watching things...doing things....climbing things.....Help me out here! Ill take your  suggestions and come up with some of my own and we'll make a birthday thing out of it!

{ #nomakeupselfie}

ba hum bug

• So finally after a couple of years of this blogging thing...I have finally have to write the words I hate reading on other peoples blogs..."hello poor neglected blog"

• I'm not going to say I told you so...but I will... instagram has killed the blog mojo. I knew it would happen...I saw other bloggers fall into  instagrams miry dark underworld. A place where friendships soar over a picture of a cup of coffee and followers are gained from a hipstamatic picture of pink neon nails. Curse you instagram and your ease of use. Your ability to fill my time in line at the coffee shop as I scroll through endless pictures and comments and short descriptions, simultaneously placing me and other strangers connected by the same hash tag in real time some where, some place. Interconnected and scrolling. Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. Curse you little heart that quickly informs the instagramer that I have indeed seen their picture and have decided to 'like it". And curse you little heart that make me want my pictures to have many hearts also. *waves fist*

• If only blogger could figure out a way to be easier to use on the iPhone...or at least figure out a way to leave comments on other peoples blogs from the iPhone/Android. Unless you have already figured it out...please share with it with me! Until then reading blogs and commenting while on the go will remain a mystery to me. 

• On a lighter note. I watched Pitch Perfect again recently, and I cannot get the songs out of my head! I think I might get the DVD version. I think it is going to have to be a "I'm having a bad day" movie pick me up. SO far my current bad day pick me up movie is "50 first dates". Oh I love that movie. 

• So we are back into some semblance of a school routine. Except for today. I'm bunking Mainly Music. Been working the last 4 days with this afternoon to come, and I'm kinda tired. Clapping and pretending to enjoy myself so that Mr Zak zak will finally show some enthusiasm for it was not on my agenda today. Honestly why I force it, I don't know. Maybe its the coffee and the cake for the grown ups and a natter with a friend that keeps me going. We are  having a quiet morning  instead.  

• On the first day of school Joe had his bags packed, lunch made and was ready to go to school at 7am...only a cool hour and half before necessary. I'm glad he loves school so much. Miss Joy couldn't wait to see her friends again too. It seemed like a really long summer holiday...7 weeks! 

• Although I must say we did squeeze in a few adventures....
• These two gorgeous monkeys entered into their first real sporting event. Both were rather apprehensive but gave all their athletic events a good go. Over 1000 young children aged 7-14 descended on Whangarei early in January for the North Island champs. What dedication these parents and children have! And I was so proud of Miss Joy who managed to get a gold medal with her mixed medley relay team. Initially she didn't even want to compete in this event! SO pleased we encouraged her to fulfill her potential! Well done my girl! Joe won himself a few ribbons for his troubles. 

• Exploring:  So there's this one museum we walk past on a weekly basis in our city..The Claphams Clock Museum but we had never been to it. One day on a rare occasion when we were all together we rather spontaneously decided to do it. And we really enjoyed it! The cuckcoo clocks were our favorite. I highly recommend going when the tour is on. The lady was quite knowledgeable and gets to touch the clocks and set them off together.  Zak Zak was a good boy for the most part and kept his hands in his pockets under my instruction. He did try sneaking through the barriers a few times though!

• Off the beaten track:  SO we have been to Auckland so many times and done all the usual kiddie things.  I thought this time we would try some different activities. I saw the ad for the Maize Maze. I googled and decided we would try it. We were staying in the area for it so it worked out well. It was super creepy driving in to the place. It is situated where the "Spookers" attraction is at an old mental health hospital. Its all abandoned, derelict and creepy as!!

{creepy place}

• The three year old was pretty over it quite quickly stating every few minutes "I want to get out of here". Dadda found another family who were losing their way a bit...and suddenly it was on! Us against them....who could get out alive first! They beat us by a narrow margin...only because we got stuck behind their push chair...Ha! Ice blocks all around afterwards. It was super hot and only 10am. Great fun for the family. 

• The Next day we thought we would join half of Auckland at the Pukekohe race track to watch the Colour Race. Major traffic jam getting there...but I managed to direct us through a few back roads. A friend was doing it...but do you think I could find her any where!? Needle in a haystack. We all decided we would be back next year to compete in it our selves. It looked like so much fun. 

• And on the way home we decided to take the scenic route home through Mangawhai...a bit of detour...but the coastal route home. We stopped off at the Bennetts Chocolate Factory for some goodies! And found a couple of fun play grounds for the kids to explore too. 

{The glee of an inward facing swing set}

{mmm Chocolate...}

{ Mangawhai }

Mandatory Selfie...otherwise who would even know I was on this trip!

I've decided...its fun exploring with this lot...and may there be many more adventures to come. 

Is it Christmas Already!?

• Well we are well on the way to Christmas now. The kids finished up school for the year on Tuesday, and we are in holiday mode. Me included! Every afternoon this week I have spent a little time in the back yard on my swing seat and read a book. Not just any book! The freakin HOBBIT! This book is such a challenge for me...because a) I usually only read biographies and b) Im not a fantasy fiction fan. Honestly the only reason I sat through the Lord of the Rings trilogy was because it was NZ made. And you know how I love NZ made. But I am determined... and so far I am pleasantly surprised! I am really 'getting' why people love this stuff so much...hubster included!

• Our advent calendar is up and running and we are counting down the sleeps to Jesus Birthday and special times with family. We started the advent calendar last year, which I had put together from a kit set I bought at the lovely Tracy's Shop. The boxes are quite small, and can only fit about three lollies and a teeny piece of paper. And on that little piece of paper I have Advent Activities that we complete that day. Here are a few of the highlights so far...

bought a keepsake ornament

bought food for the food bank

• So far we have also been to a Christmas Parade, put up the tree, read a Christmas story, made paper chains, written out Xmas cards and done Christmas coloring in pages. I think having a little Christmas activity each day gives the kids the best gift ...and that is TIME...and they like a little sugar too! But we have so much more to come...Christmas baking...attempt to make marshmallows...go see the lights...make ginger bread men... so much fun to be had at this time of year! 

• As mentioned on this blog post...I took my annual Christmas card pic. I went for a beached theme once again... I cant help it!...we just love our Northland beaches and they provide a lovely back drop for my little sprogs. And as you can see by their faces, the sprogs love the beach...which means they smile more because they are just happy. I picked the beautiful Langs beach this year. Its not a beach we go to very often, but after this photo shoot Hubster and I agreed...if we won a million dollars we would retire here! Yes it really is that stunning.  

• Again Master Zak Zak proved to be an unwilling muse. You really have to have patience for children's photography...something I have very little of. This year I took literally hundreds of photos so there were lots to sift through. I did the stupidest thing, I left the boys nice shirts at home on the couch, so unfortunately they are in their beach clothes. Oh well! Miss Joy looked beautiful in her new dress and was photogenic as always. Hubster was in charge of project managing the "Snowman". I think he did a good job without a bucket or spade. Once he finished his project he spent the next hour in the surf, while I wrangled the kids into my shots. 

The Final Product

To all of you who read this silly little blog, Thank you! 

Your comments and well wishes really warm my heart and make it all worth while. 

I so enjoy sharing snippets of my life with you to inspire, encourage or give you a laugh. 

And So with that...May I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, filled with fun, joy, family and great food.

I'm off to spend the next wee while wrangling my kids and enjoying the sun and holidays and possibly a little less blogging. 

Stay safe and may the Lord Bless you and yours. 

♥♥♥ Jacksta B ♥♥♥

The Perfect day.

Today was the perfect day.

• It started rather bright and early. We woke at 0630 hours, which we NEVER do on a Sunday. But NZ  played England in the Rugby League World cup semi-final. It was a nail biter of a game...England were 4 up in the last two minutes of the game ...and then in the final play we snatched the victory and won the game. We play Australia next weekend in the final. Cant wait. And we will HAVE to watch it live! We are the current world cup holders so it would be great to take it from the likely Auzzie winners.

source

• We made it our church on time even! I love hanging with my fellow God loving Peeps. This morning we were on Creche duty which is always fun. 

• Arriving home just before midday...I decided today was the perfect day to head to the beach for my Christmas shot. We decided to go to a beach we never go to...Langs beach. It is a 30-40 minute drive away from Whangarei. 

• Just before we hit Langs beach we came up over the hill and we were faced with the most most amazing view of the horizon ever. Literally breath taking. The blues were amazing, so many beautiful colours. When we saw this sight, we knew we had made the best decision to drive the extra miles to this beach.

• We drove on trying to find the best part of the beach and parked up. And this sight was right by the car on the side of the road. 

{ Langs Beach...post card perfect}

•  We got to work on our project with Dadda in charge...but more on that another time... Then it was play time. 
• I kept on snapping away with my camera trying to capture some great shots of the family and beautiful scenery. The kids were mighty sick of me and the camera...especially Zak Zak. 

• On the way home we decided to stop off at Waipu Cove for an ice cream. The cove was a lot busier than Langs Beach with the waves being a bit better for the surfers. 

{waipu cove}

{waipu cove}

{Waipu cove} 

Family Pic. Ice creams at Waipu Cove

• We topped off our perfect day with a pizza and a cold one at the Waipu Pizza Barn. So much fun all one day. Now Im pooped!