Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days

okay ... so i'm posting one for each member of my family here, I'm so proud of all of them and often stop and think how grateful I am as well.

Mark: 

Easy - how can you not be proud of such an accomplishment! .. he's one step of creating a pizza oven for our backyard!

Isn't it just so cool!

Emma:

Last night just before we had dessert she said a Karakia, this is from her learnings at preschool.  Now it certainly wasn't perfect @ 9pm (when really she should have been in bed) .. there were actions and mumbles, but it was so heart warming for her to share something so special on her dads birthday.

Rebecca:

At such a young age (1.5yr) there are so many things to be proud of as a mother.  One of these moments was her ability to help her sister set the table without aid from myself.  In our family our girls help hands on with whats going on (so long as mums in the patient mood).  This moment made me realise just how fast my baby is growing up - i know sometimes were so busy and keep treating them as babies, but when you start giving them the responsibility then they also become proud of themselves.

Myself:

This ones a hard one as i'm not that big on self gratitude.  

I guess i'm proud of myself for getting the glasshouse weeded, composted & ready for another round of growth to feed the family - there really is nothing better then producing your own food.

Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why.

I always have goals in my head but very seldom do i write them down (i should i know!) So heres this months:

• Weed the gardens after the spring weed growth (then hopefully keep on top of them)
• Provide my Husband with a 30th to remember - should be easy as we can hardly forget when the pizza oven was constructed
• Start on my Santa Sewing list - This year i'm going back to basics with our family Christmas and making it 'Home Made' ... nothing like gifts constructed with love and thought - i hope to teach my children that Christmas is not commercial but about Family - making time to catchup with those whom you seldom see,
• Try (i say try as its a big task for me) and sort out the office ... if i'm brave i'll take a before picture
• Complete the 30 posts of me :) (yes you'll find there may be two or three per day now as i'm behind ;) )

Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

The last biggest personal impact was the birth of my second child Rebecca, I love being a mum with my complete heart and then some if it was there to give them. 

Life has certainly changed since I added such a responsibility, but not a day has come where I've regretted it.  Passing on the traditions and values Mark and I both hold close from the teachings we've been given are endless and priceless.  Watching our children grow fills me with true admiration for my own parents - respect over the decisions i never understood and understanding as to all the small things that didn't make me think twice at the time.

My children teach me something everyday (well on the days i'm open to learn from them). From the simple things like patience to helping me stop and open my eyes to just how amazing they are.

Of-course theres a part of me that misses independence and the freedom you have without the additions but it just makes the nights you get a break even more worth it.

With our kids came another impact on our life - we moved rural! and i love it ... - the open views of the mountain and sea

- the friendliness of the community

- the interactions our children have with the surrounding animals and nature

theres actually not much i miss about living in town at all one year after the big move.

Day 06- Favorite Superhero and Why

I'm not one to follow superheros - not sure if thats a girl thing or not?

But when i think of superheros the first one that come to mind would be Superman.

  Maybe it has more to do with watching the 1990 series of The New Adventures of Superman, Clark Kent (Dean Kane) & Louis Lane (Teri Hatcher), rather then superman himself.

In general though i do like that superheros help out the general population, coz lets face it life does get challenging and to think that maybe a super hero would turn up and help out in times of need is a tad reassuring right? (crazy to think as well but lets not talk about that) - and I for one know that I do have real superheros in my life ... my friends & family.  It sure is amazing how at times they show up when things get tough & for that i love each and every one of them, they may never know just how much it means to me. ... and you never know some of them may lead double lives haha!

Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

 So I haven't traveled the globe and don't see that happening any time soon but so far in my life I've jumped the ditch to Aussie years ago, been on a surprise honeymoon in Fiji, but the most eventful of all was travelling to Port Craig at the start of the year.

It was for my sisters wedding - now we always knew that her wedding would be somewhere remote and somewhat low key but this certainly topped the cake, for us anyway with a 11 month old and almost 3 yr old.

Our Journey:

Day One ....

Drive from New Plymouth to Auckland and stay the night at the lovely Bucklands Beach Motel with my Aunty ... at the end of the day the kids were pleased to get out of the vehicle 

Day Two ....

Jump on a plane to Queenstown ...

Then drive to Tuatapere ... was great to get there and let the kids out i tell you! 

Day Three ...

  and where almost there!

This is the Port Craig Village .... note the 'lack of roads' ... to get to the venue you could either walk a few hours or grab a helicopter ride.

You guessed it! ... i'm not the fittest and with two children walking wasn't really an option after the journey thus far so we took the easy way while Hubby walked with the rest of the wedding guests.

I also had to get there early as i had a job to do ....

Emma helped as i iced the cake:

Day Four .....

We celebrated on the beach with sand-flys and all

Day Five:

Fly back out to Tuatapere 

Day Six:


up before dawn to drive back to Queenstown for our flight back to Auckland

Then that night we trekked home to Taranaki ... the kids were besides themselves when we got home it was a mammoth task ... but it sure was for a wonderful reason and the memories are life long.

Day 04 - A habit that you wish you didn’t have

Hording! .... I know I know just throw stuff away right?

but its just not that easy

The reason I wish I didn't horde things is because i think it would help me keep the house a tad more clutter free - i'd love to think that one day it would be clutter free anyway (I can dream right?) 

It would also be great if everything could always be put back in its place and you'd know exactly where to find it.  With a husband and two children i feel like i'm forever chasing my tail with this and would rather not feel like i spend most of my time cleaning up and putting things back - over spending time with my girls (who do at-times help me put things away of course)

BUT the reason that i'm glad that both myself and my husband horde, is because things ALWAYS seem to come in handy!  Being a crafter i can normally see a way to use something by up-cycling it and i hate the idea that i'm adding to the tonnes of rubbish that head for landfills every year if i just throw things out - so i put things aside waiting for that moment of free time i can get-to and create the next master piece. Then the 'put-a-side' pile grows and so on until that one day you know exactly the thing your wanting to use.

I do have to mention however that after shifting house i'm so glad that we 'horded' the taps from the old bathroom we redecorated ... as they are now in use in our 'new' bathroom - perfect right, nothing better then saving money as well as putting items to use.  

Also means that everyday i seem to be reminded that hording comes in handy so just de-stress and live amongst the slight amount of clutter we have from hording.

Day 03- A picture of you and your friends.

Now here a tough one ... for some reason i'm normally behind the camera or all the photos are of the kids! ... but I've found a couple (that i hope no one minds me sharing here)

Firstly a bunch of greatly talented friends (some who left before a picture was taken) who get together weekly for a night off from the kids :) ... not sure where i'd be without these ladies they are so wonderful xx

Some more really great friends. These were taken on a night out in town

(Yip love you Mary - hope you don't kill me) 

... we sure did have a great night too - whens the next one?

A friend I have had for life - My big sister Bobbie ... how beautiful is she!

And friends from Years ago ....

Nothing like digging up those old school photos huh - that was my last year at primary school.

Day 02- The meaning behind your Blog name

No big story there ... just a name that was typed in as i started this blog.

however - i've recently started a new endevour called

and that name came about through brainstorming with a great friend, we threw all sorts of names at each other - until she mentioned Flat Tack - which stuck - i love it! .. and lately it describes many aspects of my life.

Heres the Blurb if you've missed it:

█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌║▌║ ® MADE IN NEW ZEALAND ™ 

I'm one crafty mumma that loves to create unique items for my family. People asked me to start creating items for them 

- I accepted & became Flat Tack.


theres a Facebook page too if you'd like to keep updated 

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.

Right - starting at Day 1 (due to popular demand lol and delayed a day due to no time to think!) 

 ..... taking a deep breath and here we go...... a recent picture is easy

This is me & my big girl just after I got my haircut (first true fringe in years!) and we were playing with the webcam

Shes just beautiful, a cheeky wee girl who captures my heart many times a day 

(we have our 'moments' as well though)

now 15 interesting facts about myself ... not quite as easy but will start with some obvious ones and i'll try to make them interesting but no guarantees.....

1. I'm a mum to two beautiful girls, Emma (above) and Rebecca (Beca Boo)
2. I got married to an amazing guy (yes how lucky am i??), I can't believe that we are coming up to our 5th wedding anniversary in February 2011.
3. I'm very drawn to thinking of health & life in a holistic way.
4. I can't spell to save myself (and my grammar can be rather shocking as well) 
5. I'm a Kid Start Educator - so look after up to four children under the age of five in my home on any given day ... its great!
6. I love herbs - nothing better then popping out to the garden and picking amazing plants to add to a meal - or into some boiling water for a refreshing cup of tea.
7. I grew up on various Dairy farms ... having moved 3 times when i was growing up.
8. My family and i live on 2.5 Acres on the Taranaki coast - we love it here, great views, great community and perfect place to raise our kids.
9. I love baking - but its not to often that i stick to a recipe (a 'skill' of which my Mother and Grandmother also possess)
10. I’m easily addicted to all things crafty - Sewing, Beading, Cross stitch, Knitting, Scrapping (Digi & Paper), Card-making, Painting - you name it i’ll give it ago .. and recently added spinning!! & very addicted to craft swaps.
11. I have a love of fabric - browns, reds, greens, simple patterns and who could go past black and white. 
12. I'm becoming an even keener gardener - I've always loved harvesting fresh veges from the garden, but recently become even more involved with the growing side of things and also flowers - I love our roses that we acquired when we moved here.
13. I love quotes - a positive outlook is great and find these help keep my mind on track.
14. I can be very lazy .... a trait i'm working on changing one step at a time.
15. As a kid i had a very messy room - it consisted of a constant horizontal wardrobe  (yip can't think of anymore)
16. I totally have the best family & mates ever! ... sure can depend on them when my energy is low and a hug is all i need ... or a kick up the arse! ... yip love you all xxx

So now I challenge you ... whats an interesting fact that you know about me that I've over looked? post it below in the comments as i'd love to read it :)

ME: Watch this Space ...

Gen friend over at Purls Paws is taking part in a challenge and invited her readers to join.  I thought it sounded like a great idea and have taken her up on that challenge.  


This is what you have to do each day....

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 02- The meaning behind your Blog name.
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends.
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about Blogger and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Your favorite song.


Now i'm joining in from day 4 - tomorrow, better late then never right?