I'M SO PROUD OF HIM!

Last night we went to a black tie awards dinner at the Duxton Hotel in Wellington. The event? Unlimited Magazine's 2005 Best Places to Work In New Zealand and theHRINZ (Human Resource Institute of NZ) 2005 awards. Darryn is a principal shareholder in a business development consultancy company called AMR Consulting. They were finalists in the Best Small Company section (under 100 employees - they have 37). They came 5th (and 6th overall out of over 200 companies that entered). We were really proud as it's the first year they've entered and they were up against people like the NZ Rugby Union (who they bet!) and Outward Bound (who won). It was a great night.

The best thing was seeing so many people make an effort to dress up. Tuxedos and evening dresses everywhere. Can't really see what I'm wearing but it was actually an evening dress from Annah S and high heels (which I never wear). Hate what my hairdresser did to my hair, though.

Darryn, you are one clever man - I am so proud!

"I WOULD LIKE TO BE A TENNIS PLAYER"

Elliot (age 5 and three quarters) doesn't do much in the way of extra-curricular activities. He has swimming lessons and that's it. He's never been interested in trying anything. I took him to dancing lessons (he loves dancing) and he sat on the side and watched for 3 lessons and wouldn't join in. We took him to soccer and he watched and wouldn't join in. So imagine my surprise when he was watching big sister Caitlin's first tennis lesson and he announced "I would like to be a tennis player". I couldn't enrol him quick enough.


Elliot was delighted to find out that the fees for the lessons included his very own kid sized tennis racket. Of course I also had to go and buy white soled shoes as he didn't have any. But it was worth it to see how proud he was on his first lesson. He even managed to hit the ball a few times.

"I like being a tennis player."

SELF PORTRAIT TUESDAY (OK IT"S WEDNESDAY)

It's Wednesday and these things have a habit of creeping up on you and before you know it...

I've dug into the depths of the past to find this photo taken a couple of years ago. One of those unsuspecting times when someone calls your name and you look around and ...oops.. they've got a camera. This was pre-weightloss. Bad hair. But I guess at least I was smiling.

I can't wait til the SPT topic is something more glamourous than a warts and all approach but anyway...this was me... once.

MAYA ROAD

Is this gorgeous chipboard or what? Check out Maya Road. And if someone knows someplace in NZ that sells it - let me know. I got my first taste from Tamar a while back. I love this stuff!

SELF- PORTRAIT TUESDAY - THIS WAS ME

Tuesday again. No this photo is not me. It's Dave Gibson, the lead singer of NZ band Elemeno P. I took this photo on Saturday night at the Summer Hummer concert in Upper Hutt. It was a family concert.Hip hop band Fast Crew (actually they were great) and Elemeno P. Frankie Stevens was the MC. There were heaps of kids and parents there (so we didn't feel like oldies - well not too much). Anyway what got me was that Cait (who's 10) really wanted to go as she knows all the songs. But she just watched. She didn't sing like she would at home and she didn't dance. She sat and watched and stood and watched. She just kind of 'hung'. She told me she was too embarassed to join in. But wait... that was me. As a kid I loved music and I sang in the school and church choirs (heck, in my late teens/early 20s I even got PAID to sing at weddings!). I knew all the words to all the latest songs. But when I went to pop concerts I could never let myself go. I just 'hung' too. That's why this photo is me - how I wished I'd been!

THANKS, TAMAR

(This is "Where to go when the soul need soothing" - Rarotonga!)

Tamar had this on her blog- had to steal it;

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
A set of screwdrivers,
a cordless drill,
and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
One friend who always makes herlaugh...
And one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
A good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
Eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored.

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
A feeling of control over Her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to fall in love without losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to quit a job, breakup with a lover and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
When to try harder... and when to walk away...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
That she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...That her childhood may not have been perfect but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...What she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...How to live alone...even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...Whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...Where to go...be it to her best friend's kitchen table..or a charming inn in the woods...when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...What she can and can't accomplish in a day...a month...and a year...

SELF PORTRAIT TUESDAY - RUDOLPH!

Gosh, Tuesday rolls around quickly. Caitlin's first day at Intermediate School (year 7) today. She loves school so it wasn't a drama. Elliot and I were even allowed to go into the classroom with her. Miss Bolger, her new teacher, seems nice (yes, Jim's daughter!). Elliot starts tomorrow. Note to self - expect a wee drama!

So, Self Portrait Tuesday . This month's challenge is kind of a warts and all approach, no glamour shots (not that any glamour shots have ever emerged when I'm in front of the lens!). Anyway... this is a real self-portrait taken by moi this morning. No makeup, hair not done and accentuating my large red nose (hence, Rudolph). Large red nose part of an ongoing (read 3 year) undiagnosed ear and nose problem which has ENT specialists and Dermatologists bafffled. Currently trialing various dosages of prednisone to get it under control. We're down to 10mg per day (from an initial 60mgs) but it's obviously now not working. I think the next step is a referral to a rheumatologist. Some auto-immune thing they think. At least my ears are no longer raw (not pretty I can assure you).

So that's me, Tuesday!