Grandad

At 1pm on Monday 20th October 2014 with the love of his life by his side, my grandad took his final breath and very very peacefully left this earth.

 

12.5.1926 - 20.10.2014

 

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”  - Dr. Seuss

 

 

new tattoo

In January this year, I came up with what I wanted for my new tattoo... I came up with what I thought symbolised so much in my life... last week, I finally got my new piece... and I love it...

 

 

Cammy turns 6

Cammy turned 6 during the school holidays... he wanted a frozen party

we had a great day ice-skating with a few of his friends and finished off the day with cake... here are a few pics of the day

favourite places

everyone has a favourite place... a place where they love to go, to relax, to think, to go and be alone with their thoughts... for me, this place is Ruakaka Beach early in the morning... I was up in Ruakaka for the 2nd week of the school holidays, and went for a few runs down to the beach, where I would then take a break, sit and relax... I took this photo during one of these breaks, and I love it...

following on from this post about finding myself this year, I thought I would post my progress shots...

memories

 On the eve of Cammy's 6th Birthday, I thought I would post a picture for each year of his life so far...

family IS important

My grandad is the head of our family... and as he enters his final weeks, it makes me sad to think of a life without him... here is a photo of him with 8 of his great grand children on fathers day 2014

Finding Myself

In december last year, I hopped on the scales and was shocked at the numbers I saw, I also was at that stage where everytime I looked in a mirror at myself, I cried... I decided that I HAD to something about it... so I set myself a goal to lose 24kgs in 1 year... it seemed an impossible goal way back then, but today, I'm only 5kgs from the finish line, and I feel amazing...

Along the way, I have not only lost weight, but I have gained a new me... I am now a person who loves exercise, I go to the gym 3 nights a week, 1 boxing bootcamp per week and as of next week, 1 body balance class per week... but apart from the weight loss, the biggest change of all is...

I CAN RUN!!

15 weeks ago, I struggled to run for 1 min, now I can run 5kms!! every night I go to the gym, I run on the treadmill for no less that 2kms, and I'm so darn proud of myself... I walked a half marathon earlier this month, and next year, I plan to run one, so that is what I am now in training for...

wish me luck...

The kitchen...

Not much more to report since this post about our renovations... EXCEPT - I finally have had some of my splash back installed... only some, as I have to save up to buy the rest... but oh well, I'm still loving what I have:

Sunday with my boys

with hubby now working on Sundays, it was fast becoming the day of the week that I dreaded... it was an awful feeling, and I felt terrible for feeling it, but I couldn't help myself... we have no money for me to do things with the small boys... the teens are off doing their own thing each weekend, so I was left at home alone, with two boys who wanted to do things...

Last week, I decided that Sundays were no longer going to be a day a dread, but instead, a day of time spent doing things with Cammy and Axel...

So today, we baked... LOTS

We have artisan bread sitting on the bench rising as I type, we have made weetbix slice and cinnamon scrolls... the boys love baking and so do I, so it seemed like a perfect thing to do together...

Our bread before we covered it and set it aside to rise for a few hours

making the weetbix slice

Cinnamon Scrolls ready to go in the oven

Weetbix sliced all iced before going in the fridge to cool

Cinnamon Scrolls all iced waiting to be eaten

 

They were a hit!! the boys both informed me they were YUMMY!!

Catch Up

OMG It's been so very long since I have even thought about this blog... BUT I'm going to try again... Even if I only update once a week...

So much has happened since December when I last posted... I'll keep it short in bullet points:

• My hubby got quite sick and as a result was no longer able to work in his job
• 3mths we survived {barely} on just my income alone... it would not have been possible if not for the 2mth mortgage holiday the bank so kindly gave us
• I started a new job in January at a high school and I love it
• In March my hubby finally found a new job - which thankfully he loves
• It does however mean he is only earning half of his old income
• It also means he now works sundays - Fridays and Saturdays are his days off
• BUT - we are getting used to living frugal
• Axel turned 3 in March
• Paris turned 15 in July
• Josh turned 15 in August
• Paris got a part time job in a Hairdressing Salon - she loves it, and really wants to be a hairdresser
• Cammy started playing hockey this winter season - turns out he is pretty good too
• Cammy got glasses {he has stigmatisms in both his eyes}
• And me - well, I got skinny {skinnier at least} and fit...

Keep tuned for more updates - thats if you are still with us :)