All things bright and beautiful

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Muffin Tin Monday on a Tuesday

It's been ages since we've had one, but thought I would join in this week for the St Patrick's theme.

Rice crackers, grapes, pear, celery
kiwifruit, M & M's
corn & relish dip

For more great muffin tin ideas please be sure to visit Her Cup Overfloweth.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Kate performed a jazz item at the Corymbia festival today, which is yearly event with lots of fun things for everyone. The best part of all it's all free! Well that is except the food and drinks of course, oh and a few stalls. The girls went on a few rides each, however we ran out of time for a camel and pony ride. WE ate hot dogs and sat in the sun and chatted with lots of local families. And of course no fun day is complete without face painting!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

We went to visit a farm one day ...

well today actually! The second school excursion for this week was with Ella's class to Lockridge Farm, which is actually part of a high school. Students at the school help out on the farm as well as their regular subjects. We had two lovely girls with us today as well as Farmer Brian.

The kids got to milk Ruby the Cow, collect eggs from the hens and cuddle baby chicks, watch a sheep being shorn and feel the shorn-off wool, see a one day old lamb and a few other things. Everyone had a great time!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Wellington, NZ

I came across this site today, FreeLargePhotos.com so had to have a peek at photos from my birth country ~ New Zealand! They made me feel a little bit homesick, which usually means it's time for a trip back. Maybe we'll go in the Spring!

The New Zealand Executive Wing (The Beehive, left), and the Parliament House (right).

Photo Source:
Copyright 2009
Roy Tennant
Freelargephotos.com

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

School Excursion

I volunteered myself as a parent helper with Kate's class to the Perth Zoo a couple of weeks ago, however I did not anticipate it being so HOT when the time came. It was a hot 37 deg, far far too hot to walk around the zoo. Anyway despite the heat, it was a great day made even better by the wonderful group of four girls I was in charge of!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

March is no spend month!

I am going to give this challenge a try from the Simple Savings website. Now that the February birthdays are out of the way, school is all sorted, I think we can do it!

Wish me luck!

Here goes:

Your goal, should you choose to accept it, is to avoid spending money on ANYTHING in March other than the absolute essentials for your work, education or survival. Let's see how little you can spend. Obviously there will be some things you cannot avoid, such as basic food and prior bills but apart from that your mission is to make sure you don't buy anything that is not essential.

Just for clarification, this month you should NOT be buying:-

Takeaway food of any sort
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Frozen dinners
Movies or videos
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol

Yes, we know it's harsh, but look at that list. How many of those things do you currently buy each month? Imagine how much you would save by not buying them for a month. Imagine how much headway you could make. Imagine all the things you could do to get ahead financially if you managed to keep all that money in your bank instead of automatically handing it over to shopkeepers for things you don't need. You could use it to pay off a credit card. You could pay some extra off the mortgage and save yourself some interest. You could use it to create an emergency fund to bring a little extra peace of mind. You could use it for a reward or holiday for your family. Put like that, isn't it worth the effort for a few short weeks?

Things you CAN spend money on:-

Rent or mortgage
Basic food
Utilities
Insurance
Petrol
Car
Health care
School essentials (meaning uniform, camps or stationery requirements, NOT money for the canteen!)
Other prior bills (we don't want you incurring late fees!)

To make your No Spend Month as easy and successful as possible, all it takes is a few minutes planning each day. Keep a savings diary and fill it in at the end of each day with the following:

Write down every item you purchased for the day.
Write next to each item if it was essential - or not.
Write down a brief plan for the following day. What do you HAVE to do? Where do you HAVE to go? Can any of these be avoided or at least put off until another day? Thinking about what you need to do the night before will leave you clear headed and organised for a No Spend day the next day.
Write the following mantras in your Savings Diary and remind yourself of them each night, or during those times when things seems really tough:
STOP, THINK and SAVE.
Is it essential for survival?
If in doubt, go without!

So let's get to it and see how little we can spend this March.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Let's Party!

We had Ella's sixth birthday party today at Jungle Gym It's such a wonderful place to wear the kids out. The jumped and swung and ran and climbed solidly for a hour before heading to the party room for food, drink and cake!!! After that a few games in the party room and then home for some dinner (which they hardly ate) a shower and flopped into bed, utterly exhausted. Ella was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Student of the Week

Ella was awarded student of the week for her class today. She is the second class member to get it for the year, and the first girl! She gets to do all the important jobs like ringing the bell, being the leader when walking out of the classroom, choosing class members for jobs and other bits and pieces.

We are so proud of you!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

21 Years Ago ...

we welcomed our first daughter into the World
2:23pm on a hot Monday afternoon in February (yes Ella was exactly the same!)
7lb 8oz
Hastings, New Zealand
lots of dark hair