Day 4 & 5

Apologies for the break in transmission ... just a small case of our annual school fair and a sick boy with tonsilitis ... but now with the fair over (with a fantastic profit) and antibiotics in hand for the tonsilitis ... I can now continue with photos of our trip which I know you have all been hanging out for ... hahaha! ;)

 

Day 4 - we woke to a wet day in Greymouth, a bit unfortunate as we had planned to visit Shantytown. We debated for a while but decided to go ahead with the plan ... don't really feel like it was worth full price on such a wet day but think the kids enjoyed themselves. They especially loved getting dressed up and having an old fashioned photo taken (I'll scan that in for the next update).

 

Finn outside the train station

The gold panning sign

 

 On the road again ... with our lunch stop at Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks. A bit windy on this exposed part of the coast - the kids laughed at my new hairdo after that walk - hair there and everywhere!
The stop for that night was Nelson.

Day 5 - as we were staying in Nelson for 2 nights, today we visited some of the sights round the Nelson area.

This is a beach I have visited before ... I loved it then and had the same feeling again today. This is Kaiteriteri .... the lovely golden/orangy coloured sand and the sun shining ... simply stunning.

The kids loved running into the water, skimming stones and exploring the rockpools ...

The perfect settings for a photo opportunity ...

With wet jeans and all ...

Just magical ...

Whenever he found a patch of water he was skimming stones ...

Could just about have been on a tropical island ...

 

So is everyone still awake? ;)

Day 3 ...

So after going to bed with clouds closing in round the mountains it was fantastic to wake up to this view in the morning ... perfect!

This is photo was taken from in front of our cottage .... simply stunning!

 And so began our trek up to the Franz Josef glacier ... about a 40 min walk up to the glacier through a mixture of bush and rocky river bed ... the kids loved the walk and did really well ...

A family portrait with the galcier to the right (using a rock as a makeshift tripod)

It looks small in this photo but to get some perspective I zoomed in and took the shot below

Can you see the large-ish dot near the middle of the photo? It's a helicopter droppping off tourists up on the glacier!

This is a shot of Emma and I standing in front of one of the many waterfalls in the valley.

 Another bush track about 10 min off the side of the glacier carpark takes you to the Peter's pool (thnk that was the name?) and this beautiful reflection pic.

I decided  wanted to go back to the Fox Glacier to see it in better weather. This pic was at the start of the track from the carpark up towards the glacier ... just a shallow pool of water but enought to give another stunning reflection.

And the face of the Fox Glacier ... and unfortunately the weather started getting stormy again, and after walking back out of the valley, 5 min after getting into the car it started raining again.

But not to worry as the rest of the day was spent travelling up to Greymouth where we were staying that night.

Another tour that night ... hubby's choice ... yes the Monteiths Brewery! The tour was ok, the factory is pretty small now with being bought by one of the bigger breweries. The tour included pouring our own lager afterwards ... I tried an Apricot wheat beer ... very yummy. You also got 3 vouchers to sample some more product over the bar and I found my new summer drink  Monteiths Pear Cider - so easy to drink ... almost too easy! They also do restaurant meals and we had tea there after our tour ... yummy whitebait patties ... and fantastic way to finish off the day.

Stay tuned for Day 4 ...

South Island tour Day 2 ...

Hubby and I both took a week off work to coincide with the school holidays. We had been trying decide where to go and what to do ... the answer we came up with was a trip round the South Island. Well to be honest I was voting for a trip to an island somewhere else ... think Raro or something similar ;) But it was our island, the South Island, that won in the end.

It is a trip we have been thinking about doing for awhile ... neither of us had ever been along the West Coast road, or visited the glaciers. And we believe it is a good idea for the kids to experience their own country, and now they are 7 and 9 years they are at a great age to remember a trip like this.

So ... 9 days ... 2,372km ... and 500 odd photos later :) I thought I'd share our holiday experience with you ...

Day One - was last Friday night when we travelled to Alexandra to stay at the in-laws place.

Day Two - on the road of our adventure, today we were travelling from Alexandra to Franz Josef Village.

 Lake Hawea

A bush walk to see the Blue Pools near the Haast Pass

A rugged beach just north of Haast

A trek up the valley to the face of the Fox Glacier but unfortunately a storm was brewing and rolled in just as we got close to the top of the valley

Amazing rock walls down the valley from the glacier

The view from the front porch of our cottage just north of Franz Josef, looking back towards the glacier valley as the storm rolls in

And a view from same position but out towards the coast as the setting light highlighted the rows of trees and hills behind

I had fun playing with my camera on our holiday (as you can see). Maybe not the best photos technically but they capture our memories of our holiday perfectly. I gave the kids my old camera and was interesting to see the photos they took when I downloaded them today ... had to giggle at the potrait photos they took of each other in the backseat on one day of travelling. I also took a few shots on my phone with the hipstamatic app which added a different dimension to some scenes.

So stay tuned for more highlights of our trip ...

Snapped ...

... hubby took this pic of me taking photos a couple of weekends ago ... me perched on a rock trying to get the perfect shot ... hehehe!

Sorry no blog posts in the last month, honestly don't know where the weeks are going, kids with sports finishing, prizegivings, school production, relocating our work office to bigger premises, Blossom Festival in Central and now school holidays ... whew!

Heading away for a few days on a bit of a road trip ... to show the kids some of the most beautiful parts of their own country ... have given them my old camera to take photos for themselves so will be interesting what they capture ...

Enjoy your weekend :)

Dear Lizzy

... *waving* Mrs Frizz ... see I am still here!

... and hold onto your seats ... I've been creating!

... LOVE this Dear Lizzy range ... gorgeous patterns and colours ... add a doily and some stitching ...

 ... had a spare 45 vinyl record ... from when I made invites to Emma's disco a couple of years ago ...

... winter sports over with now ... so a few more hours free now on a Saturday ...

... maybe some scrapping time? ...

Inspired ...

Ever find yourself checking a blog or website ... this leads you to another blog/site, which leads on to another ... and then you emerge hours later full of ideas and inspiration?
I often refer to the internet as a giant magazine ... some amazing inspiration just waiting to be discovered!

So lately I have been inspired by:

- street art in Melbourne

- this lady (and am so glad I found the translate button for her blog tonight ... whew now I can read her blog not just look at the beautiful projects)

- found this talented lady tonight

- loving these products (watch out for some projects coming real soon)

- could spend hours trawling this gallery

- signing up to my first online workshop

... now to just find a spare hour or two to create! ;)

I took a couple of days off work last week to enjoy the school holidays with the kids. I finally took them on a tour of CadburyWorld (third time lucky ... long story) and the kids we excited when Marty joined the tour half way through. Yes, I know it's sad that with hubby working at Cadbury for years this is the first time the kids have been on a proper factory tour. They have been to his office before but never through where all the manufacturing is done. Needless to say they loved it, and loved the big bag of chocolate bars they walked out with!
The kids and I then ventured to my parents for a couple of nights. Mum heped me with a day shopping for clothes for the kids ... it's only in the holidays when they aren't wearing uniforms for 2 weeks that you realise some of their clothes are getting smaller/shorter! So the kids are sorted for clothes for the next few months ... just wish they would stop growing so quickly!!

On a final note the other thing inspiring me at the mo are the little hipstamatic pics I am taking with the app on my phone ... love the photo edge, the slight change in colours ... they have a funky feel to them. I have a few I have printed off on an a4 sheet of photo paper sitting on my desk ready to scrap ...

... my fav from the other night was this one taken by Finn ... of the the 'girls' reading a story at bedtime ... yes the four legged girl had to be a part of story time too ;)

So what is inspiring you at the moment?



I am still here ...

... just been busy (aren't we all) and to be honest I'm not really sure where the past couple of months have gone ... unbelieveable that we are halfway through the year!!!!

So since last time I blogged (back in mid April I think) lots has happened ...
- my birthday and Dunedin Scrap Camp - same weekend and perfect way to spend the my day!
- a new 'hobby' as co-coach of Emma's netball team ;)
- finally getting on the right track with Finn's learning issues
- busy days at work with financial year end
- enjoying my fitness journey with gym sessions
- and more recently a trip to Auck for Lady Gaga and then to Melb to spend time with my nieces.

Whew - maybe that is where my time has gone!

Right I have a rare day off before a few more very busy weeks - so I am off to pull out the scrap gear (wipe the dust off it) and to have a play ... got a few challenges listed down that I want to try and complete over this weekend.

And I promise I will be back soon with some more detailed updates (with pics) of what I have been up to.

See ...

... told you I'd be back soon! hahaha

Just editing some pics I took in Central Otago over the weekend - love the crisp blue sky, the golden trees and soaking up the rays of the autumn sun ...

... so here are some of my favourites ...

Will be printing these off for some layouts I have planned ;)

Hello? Anyone there ...

Thanks Mrs F for the message ... yes I am here ... but my blog has been a tad neglected lately ... :(

So it has been a long time between long weekends - and so much has happened ... where to start ... a quick recap maybe ...

... a surprise valentines pressie ... a ticket to Lady Gaga in Auckland in June (heading along with a couple of cousins)

... also just booked tickets to Melbourne so get to go meet my new niece

... Mr Finn turned 9 on March 6th

... hubby away for a week in China for work (unfortunately missing Finn's birthday)

... celebrated 12 years of wedded bliss on March 11

... enjoyed a weekend with some of the Southern girls at Gore (Pukerau) scrap camp

... stunning long Easter weekend spent in beautiful Central Otago with fantastic weather

... a day enjoying the produce of Central Otago at the Clyde wine & food festival

So here we are in April - which just happens to be my birthday month - wahoo! The month started with the scrap camp in Gore, and funnily enough the last weekend of this month will be spent at the Dunedin scrap camp - what more could a crafty girl ask for?!

Oh yeah and the good spotter out there ;) ... yes that would be one of my layouts in the 'newbie' section of this months Australian Scrapbooking Memories! been a long time between being published ... actually think last and only time was about 4 or 5 years ago in Up2scrap!!

So as you can see I am alive and kicking
promise I won't leave it so long between posts next time ;)

A long weekend

We spent Waitangi weekend with friends at Riverton down on the southern coast ... it was great to spend some time at the beach with many of our breaks away being in Central surrounded by lakes not the ocean. The weather thankfully was warm, as you quite often strike cold windy days down this part of the country.

So with my new toy I took a few different pics with the hipstamatic app. I print these on my printer at home and they are just the perfect size for 6x6 layouts which I have found myself doing a lot of lately.

Below the kids at the Riverton Rocks ...
And back to my DSLR - this was the view on Colac Beach ... loving the stripy sand ...

And with the zoom lense on I snapped a few (quite a few) shots of a pod of 20+ dolphins that swam up the river entrance while we were sitting there fishing ...

They did flips etc out of the water on the other side of the bridge then swam back past us and back out to sea ...

Just stunning to be in the right place at the right time to see them.

Oh yes ... a post I have been meaning to do ... my little word for 2012. I have decided on the word 'balance' ... after making it through my first year of my new (busy) job I decided that I needed more balance. I was concentrating a bit too much on my work and getting it all done (as you do when you first start something), unfortunately alot of other things get pushed aside because of it - mainly my 'me' time. Whether this time is for reading, crafty stuff or just catching up with friends - it is important, just as important as anything else including work and I need it to feel fresh. So this year I will attempt to create a better 'balance' in my everyday life ...

And one last shot for today ... a pic of a stunning rock I found at Colac Bay (see the giant heart) ... very applicable with it being Valentines day on Tuesday ...

A few snaps

I've had a creative weekend, well I have at least managed to sneak away for an hour or two to do some scrapping. Since Friday night I have managed two 12x12 layouts, two 8x8 layouts, and have a couple of 6x6 layouts that need a few touches to and they will be complete. That is more than I have achieved in awhile! But I am really enjoying mixing up the layout sizes, using small pics printed at home, these have been taken on hubby's iphone. Sure the print quality isn't excellent but it all adds to the style of the layouts, and I am having fun which is the main thing!

I still haven't gotten round to getting to the shop to print off holiday pics ... maybe this week? But I have a wee play in picasa ... so here a few of my fav pics from our holiday ... with not a whole lot of editing actually ...

I took my camera out on my walk most nights, we had a 2.5km circuit we went round every night so the first two shots are from these walks ...

Love the colours in the one above, such a great time to take very cool pics!

This one was taken outside an interiors shop in Wanaka ...

And this was the power pole in the field beside our camp ...

... and yes we had blue cloudless skies like that pretty much every day of the two weeks ... sigh ... I want to go back!

Well that's enough for tonight, time to wind down and have an early night before another busy week starts.

A good read

Anyone else discovered this magazine yet?
Mollie Makes is a UK mag and I recently spotted it in my local bookstore. Not a scrappy mag but a crafty one ... but lots of inspiration, colours and design which inspire all things crafty.

Actually I spotted it on Ali Edwards blog ... looked up their website and was contemplating buying an online copy because it looked like a mag I would enjoy ... then the next day guess what I spied in the bookstore ... was a very happy camper indeed!

I think they publish 13 times a year, and this is only issue 7 so it hasn't been around for long.

So if you are looking for a new read, something that covers all the crafty bases, something new to spark that creative mojo, then head to your bookstore and check out if they stock it!

Happy reading :)

Welcome to 2012!

Yes I am still here ... two glorious hot, sunny, relaxing weeks at my fav holiday spot ... followed by two very busy weeks back at work ... January is just flying past already!

I hope you all had a great Christmas with your families/friends and have been able to enjoy a couple of days off over that time.
I have lots of photos to share from our time away, and also my hopes for the coming year ... will post some more over the next few days.
Meantime off to do some appliance shopping ... RIP my faithfully hardworking washing machine ;)