Flickr Mosaic

This was lots of fun...
Here it is on my Flickr account with credits for the photos.

Here's how it works:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Pick an image you like.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name? Katie
2. What is your favorite food? Tiramisu
3. What high school or college did you go to? King John School
4. What is your favorite color? Pink
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Rob Pattinson
6. Favorite drink? Starbucks
7. Favorite dessert? Tiramisu
8. What you want to be when you grow up? Content
9. What do you love most in life? Love
10. One Word to describe you. Crazy
11. Dream vacation? Around the World
12. Your flickr name. Katie in NZ

Now consider yourself "tagged" if this looks fun to you!
(Discovered here: http://scrapbooklady.typepad.com/katie_the_scrapbook_lady/2008/06/mosaic-tag.html)

A New Zealand Great

G and I just spent too long (and too much of our bandwidth) watching clips of comedy shows on YouTube. We eventually ended up at this clip which G had seen before and recommended.
It's awesome and we think it just sums up kiwis rather well. Take of that what you will :-)

arggggguuuurrrrrh!

Note: I wrote this post yesterday (Thursday 19th April) and it was longer than this one now but Blogger ate it and I thought it was lost forever. Surprisingly it was in my drafts when Blogger allowed me to log in again today so here it is. It's not in it's entirety - there were a couple more paragraphs at the end but I am looking at the positives here (see below :-) ) and just grateful that 85% of it remains!

That title has been coming out of my mouth fairly often this week. It does not even deserve a capital letter as it's a negative noise and I need to get over myself and perk up.
I think I am becoming more kiwi as the days go by. I hope, in some ways, I am. That laid back attitude and ability to pick yourslef up and get moving right along is something I admire hugely...given the right situation.

So apologies, my little blog, for neglecting you. I've been meaning to swing by and pay you a visit and leave you some words but it just hasn't been happening.

Here's an update:

Decorating is on to Plan B....possibly even Plan C by now.

The stripped walls in the lounge are un-smoothable. No amount of sanding is ever gonna get those suckers smooth. So we are looking at getting it skimmed. Which means tradesmen. And waiting. And being stood up. Do these people not want my money?! Luckily, NZ tradesman are a better breed than some others I have met. The one that stood me up at lunchtime called back an hour after I left a 'where are you?' message with his receptionist and apologised. We shall now be getting up at an ungodly hour tomorrow to see him before going to work. (You can guess how grumpy I will be if he doesn't show this time can't you?). The one that didn't call me at 8pm last night as promised called at 8pm tonight instead - again with apologies and will be coming to quote on Saturday.
Once we know how much it will cost we can determine if we will have a redecorated lounge anytime soon or if we will be facing gibboard and wallpaper paste marks for the next few years.

The good to come out of all of this is that the dining room is painted. Two coats thank you very much. All good (we didn't have to strip wallpaper in there as it was in a decent condition). Now we just have to clean up the skirting/cornicing and we will be good to go.

Work in progress photos are generally being put here. I am too lazy tonight to wait for Blogger to load them so you will have to click to view this time :-)
And the hunt is on for a rainbow chandalier similar to this one. I may have convinced (heaven knows how) G that it is a good idea and I want to get moving before he has a chance to change his mind. I also ordered curtains and blinds today too. Because we can't sit here with the old ones pinned up with drawing pins forever.

Busy Bees

Wow - what a week. It's been a busy one that's for sure. Between us we spent 4 nights away from home (2 each) and I drove about 800kms. We've tried to spend all weekend catching up on....sleep, housework, washing, home cooked meals, each other, decorating, TV and the list goes on.

Hopefully this week will be a little easier. No overnights this week and with Easter Friday it's a 4 day week. Never have I needed a 4 day weekend more!

The decorating isn't going as fast as we would have hoped. We are STILL stripping wall paper in the lounge. Must be about 75% done now. Then we need to sand, prime and finally paint.

We've picked the colour and are trying to sort out new curtains. I think it's fair to say we won't be finished over Easter as was the original plan. But we are definitely planning to be done by the end of April as it's starting to get colder and stripped walls make me feel cold!

And while I was away I found a gorgeous throw at half price in Oamaru which should fit well with the new colours. It will be perfect for adorning the back of the couch ready to drag down for napping and reading on a chilly weekend afternoon.

Speaking of weekend afternoons...soccer season has offically started with G's first game taking place yesterday. They have Easter weekend off and then it's back into the regime of Saturday afternoons. All good for me - I have the perfect excuse for doing girly things like painting my toenails, watching chick flicks and scrapbooking.

Wedding plans are coming along nicely with a few RSVPs and guests booking flights over the last few weeks. We have the photographer booked (and engagement prints ordered and on their way to us...engagement photos nearly 5 years after we got engaged!) and have chosen the hotel in Wellington where we will stay the night before and night of the wedding. We're also getting there in the way of flowers and a cake.

The only thing that we haven't made any headway in and that I am slightly worried about is a celebrant. Anyone reading this able to recommend a great celebrant in the Wellington region?

Hope to get round to a Wellington and also a South Island post soon with some photos and links for soon-to-be guests.

The photo above is sunrise taken on State Highway 1 between Dunedin and Oamaru on Thursday just gone. Makes the early starts and time away from home worthwhile :-)