Crafty To Do List - Updated

Awhile ago I posted in the main part of my blog about how I have a lot of projects that I am working on, some 5 years old. So I have found even more projects in my cleaning up time (a whole other project in itself!) and have decided I will list them in the order I intend on completing them. Although that is bound to change as I procrastinate my way through 2011.

Enter AUT Creative Writing Competition. This actually closes tomorrow and I am almost done, so will be able to complete this soon.
Mums birthday necklace. Her birthday is in 2 weeks so hopefully will get this done soon also.
Tissue Carnations that were meant to be a bouquet for a Christmas present.
Dexter's birth til now Scrap book. So far birth-6 weeks is done. Gulp.
Display for my Keyring collection.
Brooch bouquet.
Wedding Photo album
Honeymoon Scrapbook
Australia, Fiji and South Island holiday scrap book. 5 years old.
Finish sewing my first attempt at a kids dress.
Tutu and Fairy wings I have always wanted to make. (I know, I don't even have a daughter).
Complete the half finished bibs I have sitting around.
Dexters playgroup scrapbook.
Dexters Words book.
Up North holiday scrapbook. Only a couple of pages left to do on this one.
Friends Scrapbook. Very out of date.
Start making "softies".
Complete shell display (I have been collecting over the years)
Memory box for me.
Book for all Dexters' baby shower and 1st birthday cards.
Memory box for Dexter.
Learn to Crochet.
So I have enough there for 2 projects a month. That is kind of a big ask, but also acheiveable, as a lot of the projects are half done already.

Wish me luck!!

Fat Loss Friday - 1.6kg down!! How did you go?

Yay!! First weigh in since starting Fat Loss Friday last week and 1.6kg down! Also 1cm off my waist (belly button) which isn't huge but hey, a loss is a loss!!

I haven't really tried that hard this week either, although there has been no McDonalds etc, which is a good start!

Hubby and I are having a bit of a healthy detox this weekend. Not a proper detox for me, but no bread, red meat, sugary foods. Have bought lots of fresh fruit and veges and some boneless skinless chicken breast. Will be interesting to see how I feel after the long weekend.

How did your weigh in go? What has worked for you and what hasn't?

Fat Loss Friday Tomorrow!!

Don't forget to come tell me how you got on!!

Ok, I've decided... I'm a BLEEK (Blog Geek)

That's about all I have to say tonight. I got home at 8.15, put the Tornado Child to bed. Put some tea in the oven and sat down to catch up on blogs and add a few new ones to my following list.

And I'm super keen to get to 20 followers. I have 19 right now. But I know as soon as I get to 20 I will want 30. So, please, put me out of my misery and follow me if you don't already!!??

And while I am typing this, hubby is sitting beside me eating the last of the saucy caramel icecream straight from the container. Apparently he is saving the environment by not using a plate. **SIGH** Oh well, at least it's one less plate for me to wash.

Time for bed soon so I better go

Nikki xx

Fat Loss Friday - A day late for first weigh in! Ooops!

Hello!

Well my trip to Auckland yesterday morning was so unorganised I never got near the scales, nor near my laptop, so the first entry on my new weight loss journey is a day late. OH WELL!!

So I just weighed myself and I am 89.90kg. At 165cm tall, there is a lot of room for improvement. I also did my measurements, and won't go into great detail except to say My waist measurement (around belly button, which, post child, is by far the biggest part of my stomach area!)

I have had a text with someone else's first weigh in results, and she was much more organised and did it on the right day!

I am back from Auckland now, and we ate a fair bit of rubbish and are feeling the effects of this, looking forward to a nice healthy dinner and getting back into my walking.

First goal I have set myself is to lose 5kg over the next month. This may seem like a lot, and I hope I'm not overreaching, but it went on really quickly so with a bit of effort (ie, actually DOING SOMETHING!) I am hoping it will come off. We are hoping to start on baby #2 soon so the fitter and healthier I can be, the better.

I hope that you will join me on this, please feel free to post a link to your blog below, or to just comment with how you are going/starting on your Health and Weightloss journey, I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Nikki

Fat Loss Friday - Who's keen to join in??

So I have been contemplating this layer of fat I have accumulated over my existing layer of fat... And I am wondering what to do about it. Besides the obvious option of exercise and watching what I am eating of course, which I will be doing as well!!

My idea is for whoever is keen to jump onto my page every Friday Morning and share how they have gone that week, whether good or not so good, weight loss/gain, and we can help to motivate each other to keep going and share tips etc.

Am planning to start this tomorrow morning with a starting weigh in, who would be keen to join me?

Nikki

11 Step Program for anyone contemplating having kids

I got this from a friend, so I'm not sure where it originally came from. A bit of a giggle but also pretty accurate :)

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

My Crafty To Do list for the next few months

My pile of crafty project goodness, some over 4 years old!

Those of you who know me are well aware that I am prone to starting projects and not finishing them. So over the last few weeks while sorting out our house and getting rid of heaps of stuff so we have room for an addition to our house at some point, I went through my copious amounts of "craft boxes" and wrote myself a list of projects that I really should finish before I crack into any new ones.

Dexter's Playgroup Scrapbook

Dexter's Birth - now (16months) scrapbook

      There are a few other projects besides the ones    pictured.

 * A necklace for my mum that I started for her last      birthday. Am aiming to complete that for her
 next birthday (just under a month away)

 * My own Memories Box, as well as one for Dexter

 *Wedding album (married 4 years this April)

 *Complete all the bibs I cut out months ago

  

Dexters' Baby Shower and First Birthday Cards, to be
made into a book for his
"Memories Box"

* Honeymoon and Wedding Album and Scrapbook (we have been Married 4 years this April, so want it done by then)

* Australia and Fiji Scrapbook (We went away 5 years ago this year, so a little overdue)

*Friends Scrapbook (lots of pics cut out but nothing more done since then)

* Get started on Dexter's Memory Box, I've kept his little birth card, wrist and ankle tags and birth notices to get that started.

* Dexters' "Words" book that I started for a Christmas present but didn't get it finished. It's really cool, lots of pictures of Animals, cars etc, and the sounds the all make.



So I have a fair bit to keep me busy! As I complete them I will upload photos to the "Crafty Goodness section of my page.

A Recipe a week for 2011 - Tuscan Chicken and Zucchini Pasta

You'll have to excuse the lack of flair and presentation on this one, didn't think about it until after it was in the oven!

Ok so I missed the first week of 2011, but I only decided on this last night!!! I wanted to do a creation a week, as done by Faery Sarah on Bobby Robin but I struggle to even complete a creation a month, where as I am always cooking or baking! So now I just have to remember to take photos before eating and to get more creative!!

So this weeks isn't much of a recipe but it is one of my favourite dishes to make (and eat).

Tuscan Vegetable and Chicken Pasta

One jar of Leggos Tuscan Garden Pasta Sauce
500g Boneless Skinless Chicken
Half a zucchini
Home Brand Large Spiral Pasta
Grated Cheese

Preheat oven to 180deg and cook pasta according to packet instructions.
Cut chicken into small pieces and cook with a little oil in a pan.
Cut Zucchini into small pieces

Pour all ingredients into oven proof dish and mix well. Cover generously with grated cheese and place in oven uncovered. Cook approx 30 minutes, until cheese is melted an sauce is cooked through.

Serve and enjoy! I made this last night and adding the zucchini made it even better!

Would love to hear any recipes that are your favourites!!! Please feel free to post a link below.

First Weigh In for 2011 - An unexpected sucess!!

So I just weighed in this morning for the first time for 2011.. Actually the first time in about 3 weeks, as I have been eating badly, not exercising and generally just staying away from the scales.

But I've lost half a kg!! I'm happy with that seeing as it was over the Xmas Period and chocolate has been my best buddy through all of it. So that brings me down to 86.8kg and that slightly below my weight when I got pregnant with Dex. So I'm very happy as surely that means the only weigh/way is down from here, right? Until #2 starts making an appearance and I go back to whaleness!!

We are off to the supermarket today and have promised each other we are to buy no chocolate, or general naughty stuff. We still have a bit here from gifts etc and have agreed to make it last as long as we can and not buy any more for some time. I'm actually hanging out for a nice big chicken salad with some nuts on it. Mmmmmmm.

Another beautiful day here in Tauranga, will have to make the most of it.

If you are trying to lose weight, have you braved the scales for 2011 yet? How did it go?

Talk to you again soon
Nikki

Day 2 of 2011 - Beach Day!!

After a pretty mediocre first day of 2011, day 2 (today) was pretty good. Went to the beach with some friends, got lots of sunshine and had m&m mcflurries on the way home. A good day :)

Start as you mean to go on, just start it from day 2 in this case!!

I hope that you are enjoying the New Years break. What have you been getting up to?