Friends and Neighbour Gifts

I had a lot of fun making the washer necklaces, so I was excited to see these on another blog.

So here are the little gifts I am giving to friends and neighbours this year, using my metal stamp alphabet, washers, wire, a jingle bell and ribbon.

Stamped washer Christmas Tree ornaments

Diaper Cakes and Baby Cakes

Recently I went to a baby shower for a friend of mine. I had seen these "diaper cakes" all over the internet and couldn't wait to try one. They call diapers "Nappies" over here, but Nappy Cake just doesn't sound right to me! Anyway, here's my first attempt at one:


There are lots of places to find the directions online. A good video can be found here. I was quite pleased with how it turned out, and my friend loved it. It's a fun way to dress up a practical gift. And hidden in the center of mine was a plastic baby bottle filled with Hershey Kisses. Her husband found it inside later that day!


We were asked to bring along a plate of goodies for refreshments so I used my gingerbread cookie cutters and cut out the shapes from sugar cookie dough. Then I frosted a diaper on them and a cute little face. Sadly I forgot to take a photo of them, but they were very cute!

Washer Necklaces

Washer necklaces are all over "blogland" so I decided to make some for our
Young Women in Excellence Night.

A washer

Metal alphabet stamps

Black cord

A charm for this year's mutual theme from "charmingldsgifts.com"

"Courage" is stamped on the washer, and the charm is in the center.

The finished product! The girls loved them and they all wear their necklaces all the time.

Welcome Home Jared

Home again!

The Bro's


One of his best friends (Brian) called from AZ to welcome him home


Look at the state of his shoes!
He looks more like a homeless man than a missionary! haha

It's sooo nice to have him home again.

Frightful Treats

This past week we did a "Fear Factor" for Mutual. On the actual show they often have a challenge where the contestants have to eat some really gross food or bugs. So I wanted to find something similar that would really gross the kids out, but actually be safe and fine to eat. So I found this recipe to make "worms" from jell-o and cream and food colouring, using plastic bendy straws as molds. For the recipe go here. The colour for my worms didn't turn out quite right but they were realistic enough to fool most of the kids. Bwahahaha

Then I saw the idea to make fake dog food. So I started with a can of real dog food.

I opened the bottom of the can and emptied out the dog food, washed out the can and re-filled it with ground up cooked sausages with some melted lard to help it hold it together. Then I re-sealed the can.



And the top looks like it is an un-tampered can of real dog food. The kids looked at me with disbelief when they saw the can of dog food and I started to spoon it into dishes. It really just tasted like sausages, but some of the kids were gagging when they ate it because of the mental suggestion! It was quite funny. I know, I have a sick sense of humour. I told them all afterwards what it really was!





We had lots of other fun, messy games, and a good time was had by all. To finish it off I made them all gingerbread skeleton cookies. Pretty cute.

Grateful....

...that hubby's latest CT scan was clear, and so he had his last chemo today! Now we can't call him "Cancer Pete" anymore! He'll have to have some He-Man nickname like "Survivor Pete"! haha

Six Weeks....

.... and Jared comes home!! Woohoo!

"P" Party

A few weeks ago, Caleb was invited to a "P" themed party. He decided to go as a pilot and wear his Grandad's real, authentic flight suit.

Carlos- the Pope, Caleb- the Pilot, Josh- the Punk

I think Caleb was quite proud to wear it, knowing his late Grandad had actually flown fighter planes wearing it, some 50 odd years ago. It was "P"erfect!

The original "flyboy".

Random Photos from the Mission

He looks skinny huh?

Wild Native Cockatoos. These birds are everywhere!

Re-enacting a scene from a certain vampire movie. I never did find out what really happened to that car!

Gotta find a street sign with your name in it somewhere on your mission!

What Stormtroopers Do On Their Day Off

A photographer called Stefan did a series of photographs which I LOVE! Here are some of my favourites.

Stormtroopers aren’t fighting in battles every single day like you see in the Star Wars films. Here’s what they do when they have some free time.










As a tribute to Jared and all other Star Wars lovin' missionaries out there, I added one of my own photos!

Back To The Future Today!

One of the dates "Doc" programs into the Delorean is today's date!
I remember seeing this movie and 25 years in the future seemed SO far away!

Happy Birthday Rach

John, Paul, George, Ringo and Me would like to wish Rachael a Happy Birthday!

Dad

My Dad passed away suddenly on Wednesday.

I know where he is and that he is in a safe and happy place and I will see him again, but I miss him!

James Lawrence Blackford 26/10/1935-12/05/2010.

He was a wonderful man and lived an amazing colourful life.

My brother shared shared this poem with me and I love it:


"Death is nothing at all.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

I am I and you are you.

Whatever we were to each other,

that we still are.

Call me by my familiar name.

Speak to me in the easy way

which you always used.

Put no difference in your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed

at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word

that it always was.

Let it be spoken without affect,

without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

it is the same as it ever was.

There is absolutely unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind

because I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you,

for an interval,

somewhere very near,

just around the corner.

All is well."




Love you Dad.

Happy Birthday Caleb

Caleb turns 17 today. I can't believe how fast time has gone. I won't be there to give him a birthday hug and embarrass him, but I will do my best to embarrass him from afar! haha

Here is my birthday tribute to a great young man! Miss you and love you to bits.


Now for a birthday song. Caleb, I know you LOVE this song (not!) but I can't sing as well as Beyonce, so here are the lyrics and you can just sing along by yourself:

To the tune "Single Ladies" by Beyonce

All the birthday boys, all the birthday boys
All the birthday boys, all the birthday boys
All the birthday boys, all the birthday boys
All the birthday boys

Now put your hand up
Up in the air, we just found out
It's Caleb's special day
Time for a song, so play along
Cause this brother's seventeen

He's the birthday boy, shout for joy,
Lets' pay him a little attention
Don't cry no tears, he's seventeen years
Ya can't be mad at him

Cause if you like it then you should just sing with it
If you like it then go ahead and sing with it
Don't be mad cause we're all singing it
If you like it then you should just sing with it
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

If you like it then you should just sing with it
If you like it then go ahead and sing with it
Don't be mad cause we're all singing it
If you like it then you should just sing with it
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!


p.s. to my Mesa friends, if you see Caleb over the next few days, will you give him a hug from me??

Guardian Angel

It's very comforting to know Jared has an angel on his shoulder! ;-)

What if...

"What if the Book of Mormon had been written by Dr. Seuss?"
Author: Unknown


Nephi: Of goodly parents I was born
I've never drunk, I've never sworn
This is Lehi, he's my dad
Laman, Lemuel, they are bad
And who is this? Why this is Sam
Yes, this is Sam.

Sam: Sam I am

Laman: That Sam I am, that Sam I am
I do not like that Sam I am

Sam: In a tent, my father dwelt

Laman: And it's so hot, I think I'll melt

Lemuel: Our father's brain is out of whack

Laman: Yeah it's too hot, I'm going back

Lehi: Then go and get the plates my dear

Laman: On second thought, I'm staying here

Nephi: You said you'd leave and go away
Now all you want do is stay?

Lemuel: That Nephi always gets his way

Laman: Here we are in this damp cave

Sam: We would not be here if you'd behave

Nephi: I will go and I will do
There's the angel, that's my cue
Laban's had too much to drink
Now he'll lose his head, I think

Nephi: Look what I found, a brother from the quorum

Sam: We will take him home, we will call him Zoram

Lemuel: Oh great, another pathetic life form

Laman: Our gold and silver we have spent
I do not like it in this tent

Lemuel: I cannot read the Liahona
I must have drunk too much Corona

Laman: We hate it here, we have no lives

Lehi: Then go back to the city and get some wives

Lehi: A tree, a tree, I see a tree
The fruit is white, the fruit is free
A floating building, could it be?
Why do they laugh and stare at me?
Laman, Lemuel come and see

Laman: We will not eat your precious fruit

Lemuel: We will not wear a tie and suit

Laman: We will not help you build your boat

Lemuel: We do not think that it will float

Laman: No not his boat, it will not float
Not even in a shallow moat
I do not care what Nephi wrote

Lemuel: We will not eat your fruit I say

Laman: We will not eat it on a tray

Lemuel: And we won't eat it in a tent
Not even if your clothes you rent

Laman: We'd rather have a can of spam

Laman & Lemuel: We will not eat it, Sam I am

Sam: You do not like it, so you say
Try it, try it, and you may
Try it and you may I say

Laman: Sam, if you will let us be
We will try it, you will see

Laman & Lemuel: Say, we like this fruit of life
Sorry that we caused such strife
You've saved us from an awful jam
Thank you, thank you, Sam I am

"I Pity The Fool.."

Yesterday was April Fool's Day. I love a good prank, even better when it's one I played on someone else! Sadly, there was no one at our home to prank yesterday. But it got me thinking about some of the fun pranks that we've pulled on each other over the years, two in particular!

One night when the kids were much younger, I told them that we were having a mixed up fun dinner - we would have dessert for dinner. They were quite excited as I served up these colourful cupcakes. Have you ever bitten into something only to find it doesn't taste anything like you were expecting it to taste like? Then you'll know how my kids felt. Haha - these "special" cupcakes were actually mini meatloaves with dyed mashed potato on top. It was priceless!!


Another good prank was when I sewed the bottom of Caleb's favourite pair of shorts together. So when he tried to put them on, his feet wouldn't go all the way through.

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." E. E Cummings

Who You Gonna Call?

This past week a lady had a very unusual auction going on Trade Me ( NZ version of ebay).
This auction actually became an international news story. She was selling two captured ghosts in bottles. She said her house was haunted by an old man who lived in the house in 1920 and a little girl who turned up after a session with a Ouija board. She had a spititualist come and exorcise the ghosts and they were trapped in these bottles of holy water! the spiritualist advised her to burn the bottles, but she said she couldn't bring herself to do that so she wanted to offer them to someone else. She said the proceeds of the auction would go to cover the cost of hiring the spiritualist and the rest would go to the SPCA.



The site had over 200,000 views and had hundreds of comments ranging from people congratulating her for such a unique auction, people calling her a scam artist, people very concerned for the welfare of the trapped spirits, people asking what would happen if they drank the water, to people saying they had their own spirits in a bottle - namely Jim Beam and Johnny Walker!
The winning bid was $2,830!!
Now there are all sorts of bottles of coloured water appearing on Trade Me - with very "tongue-in-cheek" descriptions of their contents!! Pretty funny!

RWH

A girl from our ward has just returned from serving her mission in Australia. She was serving in the Melbourne East Mission, Jared is serving in the Melbourne West Mission. Normally missionaries don't get to see people from other missions, but the two Melbourne Missions had a combined conference when Elder Cook came to visit. So Jared and Cristy got to meet up and had a photo taken together. How cute is this photo!



It was great to hear all about her experiences and how her testimony has grown. I love listening to returned missionaries speak. 8 more months and we get to hear Jared speak about his mission!

The Maze Runner

I finally got my hands on this book. (Thank you Rachael!) I've heard good reviews and I'm excited to read it. I love having a good book to read, especially while I am on the bike at the gym. The time just flies by and I don't think about how tired I am or how much time there is left on the little clock gizmo on the bike.

The Empty Nest

I'm feeling sorry for myself right now, so I will let myself have one pity post and then be done with it! (I will also go and eat chocolate)
Today Rachael left home for Auckland, to attend University up there. Caleb is in AZ, Jared is on his mission in Aussie and Pete is in China at the moment. So I am all ALONE! (cue all those sad songs..."All By Myself", "Lonely" etc...)
Our family is scattered across 5 cities, 4 countries, 3 continents and 2 hemispheres! What the heck? It sucks - *sniff*



*update: My wonderful Visiting Teachers turned up on my doorstep later today with flowers and chocolate and a sweet card to cheer me up. Love those ladies!

NZ Sevens

On Friday I went to the Sevens Rugby Tournament in Wellington with my sister. The Sevens is an international rugby tournament where the teams are only 7 players a side (normally there are 15 players) and the games are 7 minute halves (14 minutes total for the mathematically challenged!) 16 countries were represented at this tournament, including USA and Canada. The Wellington NZ Sevens tournament is one of eight world series tournaments held around the world. Other venues are Dubai, South Africa, Las Vegas USA, Australia, Hong Kong, England and Scotland.
It's become tradition for all the spectators to dress up for the event. Many people go in large groups and they all dress up the same. My sister and I were trying to decide what to dress up as. We went thrift store shopping and decided to go as golfers! All night people referred to us as "Tiger Woods." We actually never intended it to be any sort of trendy news item statement, we just wanted something that would be comfortable and practical in the summer sun.

We made these funky golf hats from stuff we found at the $2 shop.

We caught the train into Wellington city and the station was filled with people on their way to the stadium.

Walking to the Westpac Stadium.

Inside the stadium, we saw every costume imaginable ( and some I would never have dreamed of!)

Weird morph suits

looking down on the rugby pitch.

The stadium seats starting to fill up.

My cute sister Fiona.

Go Go Girls.

Cave men.

There was a large group of Frankensteins - this is one of them.

There was also a group of Queens, (of both genders!)

Some Buzz Lightyears getting their beer buzz on.

Some large Leprachauns.

Some "Navi" straight from Avatar.

And... I don't even know!

These guys are police dog handlers. ( My sister knows them from work) Every year their costume is a watermelon on their heads!

Basically it becomes like a huge party/carnival
Oh and the rugby was fun too!

Some video of "the party!"