Been back in NZ for almost a month...

and I haven't had the chance to blog about anything :(

I hate falling behind.  But I have.  Don't even know where to start, but have bitten the bullet and thought I'd better just post this at least...it's a start right?

atm the moment 4 of my 5 kids are SICK!  Sick with a wretched tummy bug of yeah, and I'm sick too...but cos I have to wipe up their shite and spew - I don't have time to be sick, so never mind me! So the poor kidlettes are not well.  Funny how they all cope.  And how badly, or not each one has been affected.  Miss 16 mths and 'both ends' flowing like a tap.  tbh honest, I can handle the 'pooh' it's the spewing part I can't stand, cos there is no warning and most of the time it just shoots out like a scence fromt he exorcist! 

I hate to think what my power bill will be next month...for the past 2 days I have been doing more laundry than usual and all in HOT water *sigh*

At the same time, when I can back from Samoa, we came back with my dad who is a #1 ol' school 'Handyman' and so we have been making the most of his time with us and have completely renovated our toilet and bathroom...which were like time warps from the 70's!

We have managed to save hundreds  on labour (thanks dad:)  Hubby (who lacks any 'handyman gene' has picked up some great skills too :)  I bought the tiles from a clearance centre, bathrub and pedestal basin from Trademe, tap fittings all new from bunnings.  We aren't going for anything flash...just clean and new :)  I have been most proud of my Trademe Bargains...but of course nothing ever goes smoothly right?  Right.  I asked Mr 14 to take some tiles out of Miss 17's room and take them to where the other tiles were...nek minnit...crash boom bang...he accidentally bumped something that lead to a domino effect and hello...my beautiful ceramic pedstal basin was cracked beyond use *sigh*  Great.  Managed to only let the F-Bomb slip out a couple of times....and left it at that...not gonna sweat the 'small' stuff.  Can't get everything for next to nothing right?  Right.  Thank you Mr 14 for reminding me. not 

I have also discovered that I am an awesome 'tiler'!!  Yes Sir.  Hubby 'cut' them, and I threw them babies up, quicker, tidier and straighter than anyone who tried - thank you :)

In between the tiles, sick kids, baby, I have been able to sew up a few orders for people.  Relisting stock on Trademe.  My dad goes back on Sunday.  Our bathroom and toilet shold be completed by mid next week (if hubby had taken a couple of days off work we might have had this done over a week ago, but nevr mind, no one listens to me *sigh*) 

Good to be back in blogland :)

Butterflies in my magava...ae oka se magava LOL

Today is a good day :)

Miss 17 went to the Bay of Islands on Wednesday for a History trip to study Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  She comes back today.

Mr Hubby-guy went to Christchurch on Wednesday for work.  He comes back today.

I miss them both and I ame xcited as heck to see them safely back home :)

I have butterflies in my tummy for my trip to Samoa tomorrow!!

I called my mum this morning, she has NO IDEA we are going over!!  I called to make sure she wasn't planning on going kua with my dad today.  She stays in Apia 98% of the time, whilst dad runs the shop in 'the village' - mum goes back now and then, like last week for Fathers Day...otherwise she's happy to stay well away from the headaches of 'the village' :)

Anyway, she's staying in town, so that's good, we won't turn up to an empty house.

So yeah...slowly getting packed...so much to take ae le kaikai lava pauga...*rolls eyes*

Oh Emmm Geeee I'm sooo excited!!

See you all in a couple of weeks people all 3 of you hehehe Take care...see you all back here safe and sound :)

Baby steps on Facebook...

I leave for Samoa in just under a week.  When I get back, I'm gonna start me a Facebook page to sell my Plus Sized Women's clothes on...

I don't really 'like' Facebook.  Well...I DIDN'T really like it.  I can't remember when I opened my personal page there, but it was mostly unused and then finally deactivated over 6 months ago...I didn't miss a thing :)

Then when Miss 17 went to the US, I reactivated it so I could keep in contact with her...and that was fantastic!  Then I made contact with my extended family there in the US and decided I'd keep the page open...and of course I always had in the back of my mind opening my 'selling' page.

So anyway...over the weekend I became curious of these 'buying/selling' pages and discovered a link to one and joined my very first plus size buy/sell group :)  I then asked other members to direct me to more...I now belong to 6 'buy/sell' groups :)  my kids think it's hilarious that I  talk about this, they think I'm a complete idiot 

Some of these groups are purely for Pre-Loved items...the others though allow business listing...new items...anything you like :)  And so I jumped in and created me an album on two different groups...and within an hour I had a sale.  I have since sold two more items via FB...and I am THRILLED lol.

Scared that I might have bitten off more than I can chew at the moment...as I also have a few things sold on Trademe and I have a wonderful lady at my son's league club who has trouble finding anything that fits at a shop that doesn't cost less that $200!! so I have sat down with her and I will be making a few items for her :)  So yeah, have stopped relisting on Trademe for now, so I don't have 'those' buyers who take weeks to finally pay for their items, giving ME badfeedback - cos THEY were slow to make payment *sigh*, will relist items while I'm in Samoa so the auctions close the day I arrive back :)

But thoroughly excited by the ease of selling on Facebook.  Can NOT wait till I return from Samoa and start my own dedicated page for my label :)

Minnie Mouse and the Owl

An OWL beanie I crocheted as part of a birthday gift last week :)

This is my little princess in her Minnie Mouse costume I made (black leggings, red stretch velvet top with cute puff sleeves and the poofy red polka-dot skirt, the Minnie Mouse ears are courtesy of Miss 17 from her trip to Disneyland)

She won 1st prize for Best Dressed Girl :)

The big reveal...lol.

Who am I?  Where am I?  

This is me.  Here I am.

My PLUS SIZE Women's clothes I've been tell ya'll about...finally a link so you can check me out :)

Yeah...so that's it.  That is me.  ia ua lava loa...poetry is NOT my strong point LMFAO

So it's not much...but it's enough to keep me busy :)  I do it all myself...design, pattern drafting/grading, cutting, sewing...and finally listing on Trademe.

At the moment I only sell on Trademe as I don't have enough time to sew the number of garments I'd need to sell else where.  I am also kept busy by the steady stream of customers who want items made in different colours/fabrics.

While I'm in Samoa, I hope to play around with an idea I have for a bolero/shrug - something to cover the ol' upper arms when ya wearing my tunics and strapless maxi dresses :)  I'll draft the pattern and grade it up in size while I'm in Samoa and when I get back I'll start making them up :)

NZ's slackest blogger??  Quite possibly :/

Oh well...no point going on about how slack I have been to update here...jsut get on with it right?

So here I am.  

I have found a bit of time here and there to be able to sew again...plus size clothes remember?  So yeah, have been doing a bit of that and selling slow and steady on Trademe...enough sales for the amount of time I actually have to sew the garments up, so that is good :) 

My eldest daughter had a school trip to the U.S.A - that's been and done...she is back home safe.  "al qaeda" did not attempt to blow up Times Square on the 4th of July while my daughter was there - a fear I had in the back of my mind when they said that's where they would be that day...I didn't tell anyone my fears until she returned lol.

She had a ball...who wouldn't - lucky girl.  She even got to meet my extended family from California on the one free evening she had a couple of nights before her return.  They SPOILT her and treated her with so much love I was blown away and overwhlemed that I sat in my lounge, on facebook, looking at the picktures they were updating of their evening, with tears in my eyes, that these people (yes we are related) but they have only ever met me once nearly 20yrs ago!!  and I was older and they were LITTLE KIDS then!!  But they are all grown up now with their own lil families and they went out of their way, over and beyond anything I expected...amazing.

My 'baby' is now nearly 15 months old!  Gorgeous, happy - still super clingy *sigh* Healthy and keeping me busy :)

I have been missing my mum like crazy (both my parents live in Samoa).  My brother and I went halves on our dads fare here for a holiday in Sept.  And even though we are recovering from the financial hit we took (lol) to get our daughter to the US, I decided to do something nice for me (THANK YOU TO MY HONEY) and booked flights for me, baby and my 14yr old son to go to Samoa and SURPRISE MUM and dad lol.

I've never managed to 'surprise' her before, cos I get too excited and end up telling her a week or so before going over, but this time I will make sure to keep my mouth shut :)  Main reason being that my mum goes to so much trouble to get 'things' ready for us before we go over... from the smallest things like changing her curtains to getting Dad to finish building whatever it was she got him to start building...but it puts so much stress on my dad...see mum is a 'strong' Samoan woman...Dad is a quiet, 'do as he's told or put up with mum being pissed off at him for the next two weeks' Palagi man LMFAO.  So yeah...our lil trip is gonna be a SURPRISE :)

I'm so excited I can't stand it!!  I don't even care if I don't see a beach or a night club!! while I'm there...if all I do is sit at home and stare at my mum all day and night, I will be the HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD :)

The one thing I am NOT looking forward to however is the never ending "Oka...ua e koe lapo'a"  Oh really?  STUFF YOU.  A simple "Hello, how are you?" would be nice....but ok...thanks NOT.

On that note though, I am looking forward to the food :)  It will be early Mango season right?  The fresh niu.  Pawpaw.  Oka...LOVE it.  Fresh sashimi.  Mmmm.

So I have been thinking, what can I do while I'm there?  Something useful.  My 14yr old hasn't been there since he was 8/9yrs old?   Decided that we are def gonna be spending one morning at the plant nursery 'Nafanua? or do I have my names wrong lol...and we're gonna buy fruiting plants...avocado, orange, low growing Niu (any other suggestions please?)...and we're gonna plant them stragicaly on our land at Vaitele.  It will be good to show my son where the land is and explain to him that this son, is one of the reasons why we can't buy that flat screen tv, or that big 4x4 truck that your friends have  cos your mum and dad are putting money into things that will last forever!! and one day when we win Lotto hahaha we will come back and build a beautiful home here where he will be able to bring his friends for a winter escape etc... 

So yep.  Can't wait to go to Samoa. 


  

Refreshed and ready to roll...again...

I've been absent from blog world...have been battling some 'issues'.  As a mother it's so hard to juggle everything sometimes...and for me the demands I placed on myself were unrealistic...I realise that now - and I have realised that I'm not REALLY doing the kids a favour (in the long term) by doing EVERYTHING for them.  YES I'm a stay at home mum - I take that very seriously - but to the point where I do everything??  NO MORE...those days are over...well...I'm working on it...baby steps.  Anyway,  I'm back for now so nuff said bout that *sigh*

On a positive note, am feeling refreshed and ready to get the ball rolling again with my sewing.  have had a major shuffle around with the bedrooms so that I could be in the room nearest the sewing room, and create a safe space in there for lil miss 11mths to hang out in if I'm going to be in there working :)

Slowly but surely, I WILL GET TO WHERE I want to be.  No pressure to be Mrs Perfect - no pressure to prove anything to anyone...I'll do things my way, when it suits me :)

Am motivated by some awesome PI women I read about, hear about, rarely see on TV...even the awesome PI women in Blogville (godess...lilydonna...Lani to name a few!!)  And of course, I only need to remember/think of my mum, the most awesome PI woman in my life...her struggles and achievements...even now as a blind woman, still, she blows me away with the things she still does!!

xOx to you all...