I'm feeling tired.

Not physically tired, but mentally and I guess a bit emotionally tired too.  Maybe it's the winter blues or maybe the year that has been has finally caught up.  What ever the reason I think I need a holiday - somewhere warm, sunny and tropical would fit the bill I think.  Somewhere to laze away the day without a care in the world and recharge my battery - dreams are free I guess!!

Time to get back to reality.

Speaking of dreams - I am sleeping well but boy do I dream a lot lately.  Actually maybe that's why I'm tired!!  A couple of weekends ago I had Noah come to stay for 5 nights.  Now Noah is really into Bob the Builder so being a good Oma I catered to his likes with some dvd's to watch and a CD with Bob the Builder songs.  Guess who turned up in my dreams those five nights??!!  Yip you guessed it - Bob did.  I don't always remember what I've dreamed about, but sometimes I do and when  I wake up feeling tired  I know I must have had a busy night.

A while ago someone asked me if I'd ever dreamt about Roy and I vividly  remember only 1 dream - probably because it was more of a nightmare and I woke up during it.  It happened probably a month after Roy had died.  I dreamt that we were in bed together and suddenly Roy complained that he was so very, very cold.  When I turned over he was lying there white and stone cold - I remember getting a huge fright and waking in tears.  As far as I know I have not dreamt about him since that time.  I have never ever told anyone about that dream but it has always stayed with me.

The last few weeks have been busy (nothing new there) and have flown by (nothing new there either).  I spent some time with dear friends for Aussie.  It was so good to see them and spend time together.  Thanks John and Trudy you are both a blessing.  Your porridge pot is safely back in the cupboard till you come again.

Noah has also been to stay as I mentioned earlier.  We had a great time although he was a bit under the weather as he was off his food - this definitely means he's sick as he is a fantastic eater.  Thankfully he did sleep well.  I worked out if I put him to bed a bit later than his normal bedtime he would sleep a bit later in the morning and I could get up before he woke and have a shower.  At times like this you sure miss the extra pair of hands and eyes.  We managed well but I was pretty tired by the time he went home.  That saying that says it's nice when grandchildren come and it's nice when they go is definitely true.  I love my grandchildren to bits and love having them come and stay, and although I miss them when they're go again it is also nice to be able to put your house back in order and 'relax' and get back to your own routine.  Oh how quickly we become set in our ways - lol!!!!!

While Noah was with me Aimee and Richard were up in Auckland winning awards and trophies for Melody's New World Bakery at the BIANZ Bakery of the year competition.  Melody's is the third best bakery in New Zealand and they are the supreme winners of the creative cake category.  Below are 2 pics of the cake and the gingerbread house (kombi van) that they made for the competition.  They are both amazing.

GOLD AWARD - Gingerbread house - Christmas Theme - a kiwi Christmas at the beach

GOLD AWARD - Celebration Cake - Gatsby Theme

They also won awards for their bread display and for a variety of specialty breads they now make.  If you want a cake made they're the people to see - some free advertising for Richard and Aimee and Melody's New World ;0)

WINZ has also been in touch as I had to go and see them to be reassessed for my job seekers allowance. I filled all the info in online and then went in to see a very nice gentleman who told me I was an easy customer to deal with - I guess that's a good thing!!  While I was there I talked to the job broker about a job I was interested in and I had to send her my CV.  So that's another job applied for.

The job at Kindy has come to an end - a) because I resigned and b) because the parent has decided to keep his daughter home because of the cold weather.  I have been at Kindy 5 weeks and seen the child 2 morning!!  I've come to realise during these last 5 weeks that I have outgrown Kindy (now that is really saying something for me), it just isn't what I want to do work wise anymore - I'd rather do photocopying.  Actually this has become the joke at my job at ELP (English Language Partners). We always have plenty of photocopying to do and it isn't the most exciting task.  Recently my boss asked me to ring around all the schools in the Kapiti area to ask if  we could place a small ad in their newsletters to advertise our services.  Now I hate making phone calls (probably why I'm not a telemarketer)  I told my boss that he was making me step outside my comfort zone and he knew it was bad when I said I'd much rather do photocopying.  It has now become our gauge on how good or bad a job is - lol!!  Thankfully there are not many jobs that are worse than photocopying!!  I am blessed to have some extra hours become available at ELP which is great and will make up for not working at Kindy.

The Rawleigh business has also 'come alive' again with a few more email/phone orders.  I have also (today actually) dropped off all my knitted items at a store here in Palmerston North.  They will be sold on consignment with the shop taking a 20% cut.  I am very excited about this and the lady loved the items I brought in so it'll be interesting to see how they go.  They will also take custom orders if people want a certain style but in a different colour - in fact one of the ladies who works in the shop loved that knitted hat that Noah was wearing so much that she has already put in an order for her 3 year old.  Mum you could well be busy ;0)

I got my tax forms filled out with some help from my brother and sadly I made a loss of neg $17 this year.  Not a great way to run a business so I def have to fine tune a few things I think. All a learning experience that's for sure. A profit is definitely something to strive for this coming financial year I'd say.

Well I think that's it from me for now.  I had hoped to tell you that baby Nugteren had arrived, but he hasn't - he is taking after his father who was 10 days late.  As soon as I know I'll let you all know.  In the meantime prayers for a safe and smooth delivery are welcome.

Wishing you all a wonderful week whatever you're doing and where ever you are.  Stay safe.

Until next time.

Love and blessings

Jolanda