Tag Archives: Learning a new skill

Where’s Wally? Where’s Mummy!?! Getting out from behind the camera

Posted on by

10

So here’s what I have realised. I have hardly any photos of myself!

Making more of an effort to get out from behind the camera has been on my mind, on and off over the last couple of years. We even bought a smaller camera with the idea that the kids could take photos of the family…and hopefully with me in it too!

Then a few days ago, I was asked to submit a photo for something. I went searching and I was shocked at how few photos I am in. Absolutely shocked.

If I wanted to change this, I needed to be a wee bit more demanding, “ok, now take a photo of me!”

I also needed to get over myself.

I remember last year, when I really grasped the fact that, how we look every day: no make up, our hair doing all sorts of funny things and daggy clothes etc, is how our kids see us every…single…day. So they are going to love that photo of us even if we are “unpolished”, because that person they are hugging in the photo is their reality.

For my children, I want them to have photos of me with them.

And for me, I want to accept and love the person in the photo….au naturel. ;)

I have been challenging myself, by taking opportunities to snap photos of myself. I just set up the tripod and away I go.

Sometimes, instead of using the tripod I get the kids to take the photos.

I didn’t realise that this exercise would reward me with such fun (and funny) photos. None of these photos were taken by another adult.  The shots inside were on a tripod (I bought a bundle similar to this S1800 model where you will see my mini tripod). The shots outside were taken by me or the kids using our Fujifilm FinePix S1600. (I usually shoot with a Canon 10D)

This is the mantra: It isn’t about perfection, it is about the memories….now breath! And take the photo! ;)

Trash the Dress Photo Shoot

Posted on by

8

Just before I left for Melbourne, I went on my first ever photo shoot with my photography class.

It was soo much fun!

We had 5 brides who were willing to get out in the wind, get their gowns a bit roughed up, and let a bunch of photography students snap away.

I have a whole new respect for wedding photographers, and portrait photographers in general!

These photos were taken at Plimmerton, near the Fire Station.

 

Have you got a Clutter Monster at your house?

Posted on by

4

The Clutter Monster

Watch out for the clutter monster,
Who wants to ruin your life.
He’ll move in uninvited,
And proceed to cause you strife.

He tells you to save,
Each magazine and bill,
If you follow his advice,
Your house will over-fill !

He tells you to keep this,
He tells you to keep that,
Even to keep,
Your grandfather’s hat.

With things in boxes,
All over the place,
You’ll soon find out,
You have no space!

He’s convinced you to keep,
All of your junk.
His advice to you,
Is just plain bunk!

Throw out some paper,
And claim your life back,
The clutter monster,
Will at first give you flack.

If you keep up your efforts,
Your house will look swell.
Clutter monster in your house,
No longer shall dwell.

Mary Ann Matulis

This fun poem was read out by Galit Maxwell at her “Sort Your Clutter” workshop, which was put on by The Yummy Mummy Club this week.

I think a lot of us came away feeling inspired, and motivated to tackle our clutter!

Some learning I will take away:

  • If we keep things “just incase”, we are not showing faith in the universe that it will provide.
  • You should keep things that mean something to you, and is uplifting.
  • Keep quality! Get rid of quantity!
  • Set time limit to items, and then let go of it. (Having a deadline is especially handy if people are asking you to store something.)
  • A child’s room should grow with a child. It should have items in the room that represent their present self. (That goes for adults as well, we should have items around the home that represent our current self – although some mementos are good if they make you feel good)
  • Clutter makes you feel tired, keeps you in the past and distracts from doing things.
  • Everything needs to have a place!
  • Clutter is an extension of what is going on inside.

If you get a bunch of friends together, you can get Galit to do this workshop for you (Minimum of 8 people, the host is free!). In the workshop she goes over all the clutter-prone areas in the home, and shares tips on how to keep the clutter at bay. I like how she goes over the purpose of the areas of the home. For example, our Bedroom is there to give you good rest, it should be calming and it should be a retreat. It is easy to see that my a cluttered nightstand could detract from that. ;)

She is even available to hire to help you formulate a plan and tackle the clutter!

All this goes along with an Anti-Procrastination podcast that I recently was listening to by Flylady. If you are suffering from CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) I suggest you stop by her website and start on her babysteps.

At the end of the night, my friends and I decided to look in our handbags to see who had the weirdest item. I think I may have won when I pulled out a stone (?!?!)

Does anyone else have something “odd” lurking around their handbag?

Discovery Date: Channeling Beyoncé

Posted on by

2

Guess what I did tonight? I learnt a hip hop routine!

Mums in the City put on a Hip Hop Class through Pump Dance Studios.

I rocked on up by myself, not knowing anyone…and I was pleasantly surprised at how many brave, adventurous souls decided to try something completely out of their comfort zone as well!

We all learnt a really fun dance routine to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”.

Everyone did soooo well, and we managed to pick up the steps and had a blast!

There were some awards given out at the end of the night.

We felt pretty special when a couple of us won the “baddest” dancers prize! Yay! (That’s us in the top right photo with our yummy chocolate prize)

Mums in the City included time at the end for some chit chat and supper. I was able to meet some great people and enjoyed this delicious spread:

Tried something new: Check!

Met new people: Check!

Had a great time out: Check!

Thanks Mums in the City and Pump Dance Studios for putting on a fabulous event!

Upcoming Mums in the City events (for more information go to their website or facebook page)

A Pamper Evening at Sarak Hair & Beauty Salon on Thursday, 19 July 2010 at 7pm. Free consultation, goody bags and nibbles.

Secondhand Clothing Sale on Saturday, 28 August at Johnsonville Community Hall. Sell your unwanted, nearly-new clothes, shoes and accessories. Shop for bargains. $10 if you want a table.

Adult Classes at Pump Dance Studios (for more information go to their website)

Thursdays at 7-8pm at Pump Dance Studios, Level One, 302 Taranaki Street, Wellington

Discovery Date: Doing a project on my new sewing machine!

Posted on by

5

I finally have my very OWN sewing machine! The money that I had earmarked for it finally came through yesterday. Very exciting!

In hindsight, my first sewing project should have been something simple. Instead I decided to just try out a concept I had in my head. Basically it is a mini-tote for my daughter’s lunchbox & drink bottle, which has draw strings at the top so everything stays in the bag.

Thankfully it turned out the way I wanted. I learned a lot (thanks youtube & blog tutorials!) I just have a greater appreciation for patterns, because it probably means a lot less unpicking! ;)

PS Everyone is back at school/Playcentre, and I am feeling much better thanks!

Rediscovering the lost arts

Posted on by

7

There is something really Jane Austen-ish about doing needle work don’t you think?

That’s what I caught myself thinking as I looked up from my cross stitch at my 9 year old daughter who was sitting next to me concentrating on her cross stitch project.

Times have certainly changed.

Like the fact that often, sewing is done more as a hobby than out of necessity. My mother used to sew our clothing because of lack of funds. She ran a sewing class out of our home while she was pregnant, in order to earn money for a new (old) car. But now, we can easily pick up an apron or a skirt and it will cost next to nothing!

I’m coming to realise that getting started with sewing isn’t cheap! I emptied out all of my pocket money today at Spotlight in order to establish a sewing kit. The next step is saving and purchasing a sewing machine…but for now I will be borrowing my mother’s. Thanks mum!

Another difference that we face today is that we are time starved. Back in Jane Austen’s day, the richer folk had plenty of time to pass, so they would take up needle work, paint, learn the piano forte, languages and travel. Now we have so many things that fight for our attention!

I’m not sure why these arts are lost to some and so alive with others. Is it because they always loved it while others had different interests? Or perhaps you needed a mentors who always had their hands busy with some craft projects, and you couldn’t help but to learn from them?

Maybe you can enlighten me, but for now, I am enjoying re-teaching myself how to do some of the crafts that were taught to me a loooong time ago. What’s interesting is that my daughters are really enthusiastic about learning as well!

I almost feel like I am turning back the clock and returning to the 60s as I work away on the sewing machine making a new headband for my girls, or the 70s as I crochet a beanie or the 80s as I knit myself a scarf or the 1800s, as we work away on our cross stitch projects like today.

Lessons Learned:

  • Since I haven’t done any of these “lost arts” regularly enough to remember how to do a lot of it, youtube and online tutorials have been FANTASTIC. If you don’t know the next step, you are bound to find out how to do it online!
  • By late 8 or 9 years old, my oldest daughter could work independently on most things, but just needed me there when she got stuck.
  • By late 6 or 7 years old, my second daughter needed careful instruction, close support and encouragement when things went wrong.
  • Baby steps with knitting: For both my 7 & 9 year olds, I would knit one row, and then the kids would knit one row. That way I could check for any mistakes.
  • Baby steps with cross stitch: For my 7 year old, she would do a row of diagonal stitches, and I would do the crosses. My 9 year old could do both. My 3 year old wanted to have a go, so I would put the needle in, and she would pull the needle and thread through to the other side.
  • Sometimes I worry that I am not teaching them the “correct techniques”, since I am teaching them from memory, or from what I have interpreted from reading online instructions. When that thought pops into my head, I have to remind myself to enjoy the learning journey, just as my daughters are. (Gosh, can you imagine the odd things that are going to be passed down from generation to generation from now on?!?!?)

Discovery Date: Teaching myself how to crochet a beanie!

Posted on by

7

My grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was in Standard 4….so I was about 10 or 11 years old. She taught me how to make a square blanket. I would just go around and around and around, and would pick it up over the years and add whatever wool I could find.

So, I could crochet some stitches, but I had no idea they were called a special name, and how to start it off!

Now that we have wonderful technology like youtube and online tutorials, I thought I would attempt to teach myself how to crochet, and make a beanie!

1st problem: I didn’t know how to read a crochet pattern!

Solution: Google “how to read a crochet pattern” and came up with this site:

http://www.anniesattic.com/crochet/learntoread.html

2nd problem: I had no clue what a slip stitch, or double stitch was.

Solution: On the same site as above, they had the abbreviations for the terminology used in the patterns, and a link to how to do the stitches.

3rd problem: I didn’t have a pattern.

Solution: I googled for a crochet beanie pattern.

This video was very good. I liked how I didn’t have to follow a written pattern and all the jargen, I just needed to copy what she did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoCRUObS0Tc

But then I encountered another problem…

4th problem: I only had one roll of yarn/wool…and it was running out fast with the pattern I was following…it also was looking kind of wonky. I think it was because the wool I was using was thicker.

Solution: Take it apart and find another pattern.

5th problem: I didn’t have a pattern.

Solution: I had a crochet book that I picked up for 50 cents at Spotlight. It had a beanie pattern in it. Even thought I would have to follow a pattern, I thought I would give it a go.

6th problem: The beanie didn’t look like the one in the picture! doh’! I re-did it, and then it was too big.

Solution: Take it apart and start over.

7th problem: I didn’t have a pattern.

Solution: I googled for a beginner’s beanie crochet pattern.

I came up with this:

http://www.get-hooked.net/free-patterns/peek-a-boo-flower-hat/

8th problem: As I was muddling through yet another pattern, I found that the beanie was getting a bit too big again.

Solution: But this time, I had a “weee” bit of experience up my sleeve, so I adjusted the pattern, and it worked!

OH HAPPY DAY!

And I finally got to use the crochet flowers I had done a while a go.

This is the video tutorial I followed for the crochet flowers:

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-crochet-flower-video-tutorial.html

Reality check: When did I find the time? This was all done while my youngest was at Playcentre for a couple of hours. When hubby came home from work I had a bit of time to myself, and then I worked on it some more in the evening. Phewwww!

Things I Love: Picasa Collages

Posted on by

7

A lot of my friends (and I’m sure a lot of you out there) are Picasa literate, but I have been a slow convert to Picasa (“Picasa is a software download from Google that helps you organize, edit, and share your photos. It’s free, and easy to use.”) Unfortunately, my personality is such that I can be a bit slow at converting to things. I didn’t take the plunge to buy some rockin’ boots until a whole year after the fad started!

After you download the software, Picasa searches out all the photos you have on your computer. The new version has face-matching technology. Picasa scans all the photos in your collection, identifies the ones with faces, and groups photos with similar faces together. Then you get to say who is in the photo. Pretty  cool! Picasa has made folders for all the members of my family!

I haven’t really used the photo manipulation functions yet, but Centsational Girl swears by it. What I have done this week is made picture collages.

This was my first attempt at using the photo collage function in Picasa. Me likey! Beats making a photo montage by lining up photos in Publisher any day (Yes I did do that! On more than one occasion! But with Picasa you just choose the photos you want in it, and it does all the rest!)

This is one I did the other day. We had a fun day out with the cousins a few days ago, and I wanted to put a photo collage in each of my children’s journal (Reality Check: Just incase you suddenly had visions of beautiful journals filled with photos and daily journal entries…..Our children’s journals are not up to date, and they have hardly any photos in them *wink* Hopefully my addiction to making collages will help this cause!)

 This is the collage I did for my youngest.

Tonight I have followed Clover Lane’s tutorial to make a banner. After some  fiddling, I came up with the one below. Unfortunately, the blog template that I’m using, doesn’t allow me to “hide” the automatically generated title for my blog that you see at the top of the screen. So I will just have to sigh, and admire the banner in this post instead.

How do you make your headers for your blogs?

Hmmmm…what else can I make into a collage???

Keeping Fit: Getting out of your comfort zone

Posted on by

2

It isn’t until you decide to go to the gym that you realise how ill equiped you are!

I have a free 12 day pass to City Fitness, so I decided to go to their Group Groove class.

This is how it went:

My Running Shoes – check

My Running Socks – check

Only Sporty Looking Pants I have – check

The only top long enough to cover my sporty (tight!) pants with a bit of paint from Playcentre on it – check

Drink bottle – check (I borrowed my kid’s madagascar tupperware bottle, thinking I could put my bits and pieces in the screw cup at the bottom of the bottle….unfortunately I found out my car keys didn’t fit….doh!)

Feeling a bit nervous because the last time I went to aerobics class…was…well…I can’t even remember! Before kids?? Not sure?

Assured myself that I am some-what coordinated, so I wouldn’t make a total fool of myself. If you can do aerobics in your own living room, surely doing it in public would be no different! *gulp*!

After being pointed in the direction of the room, my plans to go to the back of the room were thrawted because there was already a group that had made it their home. I shuffled to the middle of the room.

I shyly put my hand up when they asked for “first timers”…and then we were off.

We boogied along to all sorts of music which I didn’t recognise, except for Britney Spears. I did a grapevine here, and mambo step there, cha cha cha here, I even did a body roll (basically a really sexy move!) and moved my hips like no ones business.

I marvelled at the instructors memory! How she can remember all those routines is beyond me!

It was heaps of fun! Glad I had my kid’s water bottle with me, shaking your booty takes a lot out of ya!

Looking forward to going again!

Dusting off the cobwebs

Posted on by

3

After reading a post about finishing things, I decided I would finish my scarf that just needed casting off. (I am such a novice at this stuff, that I needed to go to “youtube” to re-learn how to cast off!)

Now I am caught by the knitting/crocheting bug. Even my girls have caught it!

After post: Now I have a beanie to go with my scarf, and I used some of the crochet flowers that I made.

If you want to make your own flowers, go to Little Birdie Secret for the video tutorial! http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-crochet-flower-video-tutorial.html

Valuing what we have: Day 1

Posted on by

1

CELEBRATIONS:

  • We shared the goal with our family about “valuing what we have” during Family Home Evening tonight. We showed a video that hubby and I took earlier. Hubby had the video camera and pretended to be a friend that had not been to the house before, and I was showing him around our house – he saw the messy shoes by the door, baskets of random stuff in the hallway – you name it, he saw it. We talked about all sorts with the kids. We also emphasied that we want our house to be nice, because it feels good to live in a tidy, well cared for house.
  • Taking pride in your home, is part of valuing what you have. And a way to take pride in your home, is to keep it tidy. So I will put some stuff under the heading, ”taking pride in our home” whenever I do some tidying.
  • Another way we can value what we have is by separating what is valuable from what is not. I will be posting things I have “decluttered”, “thrown away”, and stuff I will be “giving away” under headings too.
  • Once we decide what we value and want to keep, we need to find it an appropriate home. A home where it is easy to put away, looks uncluttered and where it won’t get wrecked. I will be posting stuff under “found a home”. When something doesn’t have an obvious home, it makes cleaning up harder because it isn’t just a two step process – found an item, put away an item (feel good). It becomes – found an item, think about where to put it, walk to a place, too full, walk to another place, doesn’t really go there, give up, put it with a bunch of other random stuff (feel defeated and guilty)
  • Taking pride in our home: Wiped down the cabinet doors in the kitchen while I was making dinner.
  • De-cluttered & Found a home: I decluttered two of my kitchen cabinets. I found suitable homes for my appliances that were cluttering up my bench space which I needed for my cooking. Also I found a good home for my vases thanks to new space in my cabinets.
  • Throw away: Old pan, old breastpump. Lots of random bits that were collected when were speed cleaning and “hid” the items in the cabinet.
  • Give away: A random glass plate and a random plastic cup.
  • Taking pride in our home: Wiped down the kitchen benches, that were now clear of my breadmaker and rice cooker. Gave some TLC to my gas cooker and made it sparkle.
  • Taking pride in our home: After putting DD2 bed, I put away some of her clothes on my way out.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:

  • Make sure the kids and I pick up our stuff as we leave the room or car.
  • No longer close my eyes to things that need to be done because the job is too big. Instead, break the job down into managable steps, and just do 1 thing, or 5 minutes worth. Challenge myself to do something.
  • Hubby is a minamlist by nature, where I am one in training. His tip was to always make time to tidy up before moving on to another activity. I’m sure that a lot of you do that already ;)
  • If something doesn’t have a home, find one.

Related posts:

How do we let go of what we don’t need, and value what we have?

Valuing what we have: Day 2

Valuing what we have: Day 3

Valuing what we have: Day 4

Valuing what we have: Day 5

Valuing what we have: Day 6

Valuing what we have: Day 7

Spending detox: Day 3

Posted on by

0

Ummmm….I’m sounding like a broken record….but I slept in again! Hmmmm…I am starting to see what goal I need to be working on very soon!

How we spend day three:

  • Kids all played dolls etc together

050

030

019

043

  • We made a huge mess, and had loads of fun with junk construction
  • I went met up with 3 of my friends for a “girls night in” at my friend’s place,where I taught them how to make sushi TEMPTATON: go out and buy some yummy drink for the night

MONEY SPENT TODAY: $0.00

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED:

  • Just because I am on holiday, doesn’t mean my laundry is! I have so much laundry to catch up on! What was I thinking? That the laundry would collect and wash itself?
  • Stress and anxiety = Stressed and anxious Mother. I have no idea how mother’s working from home fit everything in? I took the opportunity while the kids watched the DVD to try and work on the Playcentre training schedule for next term. I need to get it sorted by the end of this week, and the added stress does not help me be a happy mother!
  • Let go, regroup and rejoin the kids. Sometimes you just need to let the stress go. Park it, and address it later. It takes effort to unwind and let go of the stress, but it is so worth it. It is so much more fun to be “present” and enjoy the kids, rather than having your mind plagued with things you can not sort out while the kids are still awake. I was glad that I did this, so I was able to be “present”with the kids. We ended up making kebabs  (I was being a funny mummy in the kitchen and started dancing around while DD2 and DS4 yelled out “stop” and “go”…..did I mention that there was no music…hmmmm unless you call the tunes coming out of my mouth music!), and then I went out and got the junk mail, which gave me the idea of doing junk construction with the boxes etc in our recycling bin and old catalogues etc.
  • Having fun the with kids is great, but you need to keep the routines up, otherwise you pay for it later. Case and point: the laundry.
  • If you do not project ahead and plan according, you will end up making more trouble for yourself. Dinner was late, which had the roll on effect of the clean up being late, and by the time I was due to walk out the door for a meeting, my hubby was left with all the tidy up and bedtime was just around the corner….oooops!
  • Good conversation with Good friends + Good food = A Good night. We all staggered out of my friend’s house past midnight. We had no idea it was that late because we were having such a good natter!

You may also be interested in:

Is it possible to not spend any money during the school holidays?

Spending detox: Day 1

Spending detox: Day 2

Spending detox: Day 4

Spending detox: Day 5

Spending detox: Day 6

Lessons Learned & Spending detox: Day 7

Spending detox: Day 1

Posted on by

1

Our sleeping is all out of wack because of Day Light Savings. We all woke up so late today for the first day of the holidays and Day One of the Spending Detox!

As I mentioned, my girls were not too enthusiastic about my “brilliant” idea! We later had a talk about whether they have ever done something that seemed hard or challenging, but then succeed, and how they felt when they achieved it. I tried to explain that, this week was going to be similar to that. It is something that may seem difficult, but we will feel so good when we achieve our goal. (not too sure what the drama is about, it’s not like I am a spending queen…hehehe)

The kids have been playing so nicely today. The 3 older children have been playing barbies (well, my girls were playing barbies and my boy was using his mobilo and playing with the girls and their barbies) My two year old just pottered around playing with the others, and following me around. She also enjoyed some water play in the sink towards the end of the day.

I started to make a list of things that we could do during the holidays that was free. I even found some free local events that we could attend if we wanted.

We had an early lunch and missed morning tea since we had a late breakfast. As I was cleaning up, I made a note to myself that if we were going to do various activities at home, it would be really important to make sure that we have as much space available. In other words, we all needed to pitch in to keep the benches clean (so that we could bake or do messy play in the kitchen if we wanted to) and keep the family room manageable (I’m sure the clean space that was available to the kids this morning fostered their lengthy play there.) So keeping on top of the house is going to be an important challenge this week.

Oh! Another important challenge: to get plenty of sleep. I know when I am tired, I don’t have as much patience and the fun ideas don’t seem to flow.Wasn’t so tired today, so I’m sure that helped me have a good day.

After I cleared the bench etc, I made a batch of playdough. I thought it could come in handy if the kids got bored and came to look for something to do.

The two younger ones played with this, while the older girls continued to play dolls. Later on the older girls came and made all sorts of fun things. DD8 made an apple that opened up to reveal a smiling worm inside…cute!

008

009

After hubby came home, I went out with DD6 (darling daughter 6 year old) to go get her free DVD. (I asked my DD6 to write down the order of when people go out and choose their DVD for the day – the perk for her was that she put herself first!)

We didn’t end up watching any TV today. My DS4 asked to watch TV whenever he was bored, I managed to distract him by getting him involved in what I was doing or making some origami or printing him out some cut and paste worksheets that he started getting interested in yesterday.

How do you fill your time during the school holidays? Is it something that you love or dread?

You may also be interested in:

Is it possible to not spend any money during the school holidays?

Spending detox: Day 2

Spending detox: Day 3

Spending detox: Day 4

Spending detox: Day 5

Spending detox: Day 6

Lessons Learned & Spending detox: Day 7

Dawn photography

Posted on by

2

Dawn at the docks

Sunrise at Chaffers

Today I have learned that “dawn + camera = great photos”.

Who would have thought that waking up before the sun comes up and picking up your camera could get you such amazing shots!

When I went out it was raining, and cloudy, and I was resigned myself to do reflection shots through puddles etc, because the sky looked so dull.

Then I saw it, the sun started peeking through the clouds, and I was so excited that I pulled the car over at the docks and started snapping away. It was still raining, so I was careful not to get the lenses wet. I was able to catch the sun breaking through the clouds, creating amazing colour contrasts.

By the time I got to the beach, the sun was higher and the rain had stopped. The sun was dancing along the clouds and the water, so needless to say, I was a bit trigger happy trying to capture my first sunrise.

I am looking forward to my next morning adventure into dawn photography!

Night Photography

Posted on by

1

Night photography

Car lights

Today I have learned that you can take amazing night shots  from a bridge overlooking a motorway by adjusting the aperture and using a tripod.

I have been attending a photography course during the evening. Today we went on a “field trip” to do night photography.

I was able to produce  professional looking photos of the car light making a trail in the darkness by doing the following:

1. Pick a spot overlooking a motorway

2. Choose a time of day and area where the traffic will be moving steadily (this won’t work if cars are congested by traffic lights)

3. Make sure it is dark enough that the car lights will show up in the photo

4. Place your camera on an tripod (this is essential)

5. Play around with your setting so that you have a long exposure. I put my SLR digital camera on the aperture number which was 22

6. Set your camera to self timer (to avoid camera shake when you push down the shutter)

7. Focus by pushing your camera half down, and then all the way to activate self timer.

8. Your camera should take a picture but it will seem like it isn’t doing anything for awhile, then a photo will appear on the LCD of streaky car lights!