2. Your significant other? Where is he?  On business in Palmerston North, New Zealand - all week until Friday :(

3. Your hair? A dark brown jaw length bob with a heavy fringe - surprisingly unmessy today.

4. Your mother?  Too far away...West Coast of Scotland

5. Your father?  Probably downstairs from Mum in his favourite place, bed!

6. Your favorite things? See the previous post, Family and Friends are a given therefore not included.

7. Your dream last night?  About an old friend i haven't seen since leaving the UK.

8. Your favorite drink? Weather dependent - Spring/ Summer, Gin & Tonic - Autumn/ Winter, Wolf Blass Shiraz - Any time of year? Champagne or Kir Royale (usually when someone else is buying!)

9. Your dream/goal?  For my children to become well rounded individuals and follow their dreams.

10. The room you’re in? Our daughter's Toy Room between the hours of 7am and 7pm and our study, 2nd sitting room at all other times.

11. Your hobby?  Knitting and Aspiring to sew

12. Your fear?  Spiders, although this gets better when you have kids as you have to show that you're not afraid!

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Wherever my family is

14. What you’re not? A walkover

15. Muffins? Banana Chocolate Chip

16. One of your wish list items?  To be happy in my life and feel like i've achieved something

17. Where you grew up? Split level house in a small town on the South West coast of Scotland called Irvine.

18. The last thing you did?  Kissed my daughter goodnight

19. What are you wearing? Maternity clothing - almost 29 weeks now :)

20. Favorite gadget? My new garlic peeler

21. Your pets? My husband

22. Your computer? Dell

23. Your mood? Tired, had a toddler on my own since Monday morning

24. Missing someone? My husband who would normally be at home in the evenings helping with aforementioned toddler

25. Your car? Subaru Legacy Station Wagon (or Estate if you live in UK)

26. Something you’re not wearing? Slippers (never remember to put them on in Winter!)

27. Favorite store? New to New Zealand, love Sussan although biding my time until i can buy some summer clothes after baby born in November

28. Like someone? I'm very like my mum, sometimes too alike :)

29. Your favorite color?  Red

30. When is the last time you laughed? Saturday night with friends from AUstralia and Family, too much so it gave me terrible braxton hicks

31. Last time you cried? When i read the comment at Question No. 31 from http:lusks@livejournal.com

AS the rule is to Tag someone else, how about Jan at http://holmesfan.livejournal.com/

Thought i'd share with you a few of my favourite things...

- Hopping into bed with freshly laundered line dried sheets
- When someone/ anyone is willing to give me a foot massage
- The smell of rain on a warm summers day
- Cards with beautiful words carefully chosen by those who love me
- A glass of ice cold water when i'm parched
- The sound of rain on a tin roof
- When my little girl spontaneously hugs or kisses me
- The sound of a gut wrenching belly laugh
- The heat of the sun on my back
- Watching the ever increasing ripples when you drop a rock into calm water

Anyone inspired to share theirs?

I'm a creative blog junkie! I just love browsing through and getting all inspired and hoping that one day i will find the time/ energy to be equally as creative.  Unfortunately the feeling of being inspired generally ends when the window is shut and pc switched off for the day.  It's really nice of others to share their creative talents with us.

I've got dreams of having a colourful fabric stash and miraculously being able to "whip" some gift or so up on the sewing machine, wouldn't that be lovely? Maybe one day, but for now i'll continue to dream :)

I had a flashback the other morning whilst putting my little girls hair into pigtails.  Her hair is similar in colour to mine when i was her age, but could not be more different.  She has fine flyaway hair that is poker straight; mine? thick, kinky, curly in places, straight in others.  Pretty much a battleground.  Whilst battling with the straight/ flyaway fluff that is E's hair, i had the most vivid memory of having my own hair scraped back into pigtails for school.  I'm sure my mum would argue that they were not too tight, but i remember the "facelift" feeling i had once they were in and the relief to get those suckers out when i got home.  Needless to say, many of the early photo's of me i have very neat and tidy hair; until i chopped off one of my pigtails and had to have my hair cut short, but that's another story, isn't it mum? :).  Anyway,  i didn't realise that memory remained until i was doing the same to my little girl.  So once E's pigtails were scraped into place, i very gently loosened the hair ties a little - et voila, the hair stayed in most of the day!  She ususally has them pulled out within the hour and we're back to the mess that we began the day with :)  Isn't it peculiar that it took doing that chore to remind me of how it was when i was little?  Here's a before and after for you - much better up isn't it!

Forgive me Father it's been almost 3 months since my last post........ :-)

I mentioned previously that my husband has an interest in brass instruments and plays in the Kaiapoi Brass Band.  There are currently 3 instruments in our family, and i do not say that lightly, they are very much part of our family from my hubby's perspective!  First there's dear old Selena, A's original trumpet that he started playing when he was 14 (much to his dismay, he'll be 40 on his next birthday).  She's a lovely old soul, and has been "resting" in her case for some years now.  When we first met, he called me the "other " woman, which i actually found quite amusing.  After working in London for a couple of years, he had saved enough money to go and buy a new handmade Taylor trumpet, which would make his dreams come true.  NOW, you really have to be a brass instrument enthusiast to 1. understand the importance of an instrument being lovingly handmade and 2. the money that you part with to pay for one.  Some would be able to buy a very nice 2nd car! 

After a year or so of enjoying playing his new trumpet and safely delivering Selena back to NZ to enjoy her retirement, A decides that he'd now like a Canstul Flugel Horn....not only does this instrument have to come from the USA, but again, it cost an exorbitant amount of money.  But, as A works and saves hard, who am i to shatter his dreams.  The horn is duly purchased and delivered, and the Taylor Trumpet is now 2nd best.

Well, i can appreciate that the instruments look good, and i can often appreciate listening to him play music (Jazz, traditional brass, happy birthday!), but really, must i endure the repetitive hour of scales/ practice that he insists on doing every evening?  Yes, i do - i remember my vows, for better or....worse!  Hmmm, you do get used to it after a while, certainly when he plays with the mute in.  BUT, for the past 5 months we've been living in a detached house, where he insists that he really doesn't need to play with a mute.  Now, that is really annoying!  

On a better note (pardon the pun!), our 21 month old daughter has recently managed to blow more than 1 note on the Flugel horn, much to A's delight.  I must say i was also proud.  Our daughter E also really enjoys playing piano at the 3 houses we visit that are fortunate enough to have one.  A is seriously contemplating buying a piano for our house!  Now, come on!  We have 3 brass instruments, then a piano, what next? Enough instruments to start the Van Meer Philarmonic Orchestra???  Now there's a thought..... :-)

We had our first proper dinner party in our new home last night.  It was a great opportunity to get out some of our weeding gifts from almost 4 years ago that we have just unpacked.  Out came the expensive crystal glasses (which are so heavy that i'm sure they could be used with intent to really harm someone!), the linen napkins and table runner and the good cutlery.  Antz questioned why i had gone to so much trouble when he came home from work, maybe only women understand the importance of making a good impression with guests (or maybe it's just the Van Meer's that don't care what people think!).  

Our guests were one of the girls i do coffee with and her partner.  They live just around the corner from us, so no taxi required!  Nick (Sally's partner) is the chef in their house and offered to cook a main course, which was delicious.  A couple of fresh salmon fillets sandwiched with herbs picked from their garden and topped with slices of lemon, absolutely delightful!  I hadn't gone to too much trouble for starters, just some pate from the supermarket, but i did make my own salad with cucumber and lettuce picked from my garden and made my own melba toast.  My "piece de resistance", was a baked cheesecake with cherry compote which was just delicious, even if i do say so myself.

We indulged in a very nice bottle of white chardonnay; Mud Brick Reserve from Waiheke Island.  Now i'm not a fan of Chardonnay, but i would highly recommend this.  Followed by a bottle of Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay which was nice also.  Antz advised that we should enjoy the more expensive wine first, as our pallete would be untarnished! I'm not sure where his theory comes from, but it certainly worked for us.

All in all we had a lovely grown up evening....well, my husbands rude jokes aside...and the evening finished at midnight - no pumpkins or glass slippers in sight.

I've decided that i like entertaining, maybe there will be many more dinner parties in the Van Meer household in the future - and that the wedding crystal will probably be used more frequently, hopefully for drinking and not to hit anyone over the head!