what we've been up to....

Since its been soooo long since a proper update, I thought I should take the "one story at a time" approach. Noesheen and I get up to alot of baking.....mostly choc cakes with a few cookies and cheesecake slices sprinkled in there now and then. Noesheen once thought we should move away from our signature choc cake and make a sponge cake...she found the recipe on her on and I just assisted. When the cake came out she was so disappointed that she proclaimed we stick to our normal choc cakes ONLY. We do have banana cakes occassionally but as little miss is not very fond of banana cakes, we don't make these very often.

Here is Noesheen's idea brought to life

cupcakes

a bday cake for a friend at work

Our fave cookies- Choc Chip oatmeal cookies with  dash of cinnamon

We made this a few months ago.....my family loves whipped cream!

cupcake version of fetish with whipped cream/choc cake and choc chunks

Nadims B-day cake we make early december

our version of black forrest cake

A year in summary

We are now fully settled in New Zealand. Noesheen has had a fun year at school and is growing so fast. We have had many interesting stories and experiences together. She is growing up to be an interesting character for sure.

Her only complaint was that she didn't have a brother or sister to play with..... and so she prayed about it. Its true that Heavenly Father does really answer prayers, esp those of little children. Noesheen will now be a big sister officially in February. As expected she was the most thrilled of us all and has been leading the discussion on what to name her brother.

I have had a busy year at work and am now in a role I more fully enjoy.

More to come....this was just a little update for now :)

the joys of baking

We have been at our home for well over a year, during which time I have not used the oven to bake. I got home from work tonight and discovered much to my delight that the problem had been fixed. Nadim immediately asked to test the oven by baking a cake. Now normally that would be a chocolate cake but since we seemed to have more than we could eat bananas.... A banana cake seemed like a better solution. Big little miss almost seven dislikes banana cake to say the least, it's not that she doesn't like bananas.... She just doesnt like banana cake. So when she discovered banana cake on the menu this evening... She naturally express her displeasure but stuck around to help and chat up a storm.
She watched the mixture go from from creamy liquid to golden brown in the oven. And because she watches way too many cooking competitions on tv, her food critic expressions and comments are never ending. She snorted when I offered her a piece of hot cake, " u know I don't eat banana cake".
No cake is complete without icing or frosting so I started on that under the watchful eye of big little miss almost seven wanna be a food critic. As I added a few drops of lemon to the icing she snorted "yuck lemon what are u doing?"
I dared to ask again if she'd like a piece. A few shrugs and Umms later she identified the exact location and size of the cake she wanted ( don't u know selecting a piece of cake is an exact scientific process?)
As she took a delicate nibble of her selected slice... I asked the feared question " so how is it?".
The response?
Hmm. Umm lemme give u a piece to try
( breaking off a crumb then misdirecting it to her own mouth)
Oh sorry that was for you
Hmmm yumm
( with a mouth stuffed with cake and three thumbs up and a few eyerolls later)
The verdict is given. The much disliked banana cake. Is now a goer!!!! Classic little miss almost seven going all chef on me.

the time had come

I decided this week that I had to start blogging again. I just had to find the time to update my blog, then it dawned on me that with technology these days I could blog from my phone. Which meant I could blog anytime with the help of a handy app on my phone. Another great reason to keep loving my iPhone.
It's been a while. We are still in NZ. Noesheen has started year two this year. It's a bit hard to fathom how fast this child is growing. She is a constant joy in my life. When I decided that it was time to shed some excess, she comment " please don't do that, if u get skinny, I won't know who you are"
I got myself a full time job a year ago come March 1. Vodafone NZ has been good to me thus far.
It's mid summer in NZ and we are loving the warm warm weather. The entire country is still reeling from the most recent Christchurch earthquake though. All these and other event s around the world are testimony and a reminder to get my oil lamp filled and trimmed.
Thats it for now. Lots of catch up to do from my end. Picts and all.

UP DATE time amongst other things

Really quickly....

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN!

We don't celebrate Halloween this side of the world, I know... I can just see all the shocked expressions on your faces. But yes, it's true we DO NOT celebrate the dress-up-and-collect-candy-and-enjoy-pumpkins-day here in the islands.

Noesheen and I are heading back to New Zealand this month, for good...hopefully! Its been rough with our little family scattered across the Pacific like this. Its been a true test of a lot of things for me. While I have missed being in my own home and with my husband, I have enjoyed spending time with my mother and siblings here. I have silently observed so much about my family during the last couple of months, I have learnt so many spiritual lessons and enjoyed the companionship of the sweet spirit that is my child.

So as we prepare to head back to New Zealand I find myself starring up at huge list of things to do. okay maybe not that huge, but it feels like it when you are starring up at it from the bottom of the list...and the items on the list are in large format font...LOL

Speedy and effective hand-overs at work (how I will miss being super busy and in the thick of the advertising industry in Fiji)

Quick Check of my already packed suitcases (I will not miss living out of a suitcase, and even then, I have to re-pack....don't ask how that works)

Noesheen's Concert ( I must say I am more excited for this than my child is....all the costumes are done, thanks to a wonderful grandaunt!)

Smaller nick-nacks (funny how the smaller things to do on my list take up the most time)

Re-take of past farewells (less then a year ago I had to say goodbye to relatives, friends and co-workers....now I have to do it all over again. I feel like the little boy who cried wolf, in that story....which changes my perspective on that little boy, maybe he really thought the wolf had come the first two times...LOL)

Which means you may not hear from me again, until we are back in New Zealand. I can promise you that you won't have to wait for Thanksgiving for that next update.

Now where did it go....

WOW! a whole month since I have last written....Where does the time go?

hmmm maybe it went into the four twilight books I devoured in two and a half weeks. No I think I spent more time discussing the story with my little sister than I did reading. Gosh darn it, those vampires and shape shifters. And that very human teenage girl.

Maybe it went into diving head first into Wuthering Heights and Sense & Sensibility. I have to make a mental note somewhere to remind myself that I cannot just start reading Wuthering Heights after reading a really "normal" book like Twilight. Noooooo....it requires a whole deal of mental preparedness to be greeted on every page with words like "ejaculated". Hang on, let me finish giggling (deep breathe, regaining composure...okay set). Thank goodness somebody got to live happily ever after, the tragedy!! I shake my fists at the injustice! What's the deal with falling in love and not been able to live happily ever after? Isn't the true test of true love in being able to endure it rather than dying for it? sheesh! (Allow me to remind myself that its just a work of fiction not meant to resemble real life.....)

Sense & Sensibility wasn't that bad....it was hilarious! Such a draft for "pride and prejudice", which may be the reason why I liked it. Because I absolutely adore "pride and prejudice".

Next on the agenda on my list of *(available books) to read is "Jane Eyre"....hmmm Yes it would seem I am on a Jane Austen and Bronte mission.

*There are a lot of other books I would like to read....that are just not available for me to read in this country.

I am a little pleased that my recent choice of literature has begun to rebuild my vocabulary list. Not that I will be using the word "sipidity" any time soon. One day when I have more time I want to reread Sense & Sensibility just to count the number of times that word was used.

Perhaps, time sped away with our Fathers Day weekend. It was total surprise to have Nadim visit Father's day weekend (celebrated that first Sunday in September). There I was in the middle of a TV shoot on location, with the rest of the crew and talent, and my husband walks up!! Silly boy! I had to remind him that he better stop giving those kinds of surprises, my poor heart! It already looks like it (my heart that is) will be prone to having clogged arteries with all the stuff I consume on a daily basis. I diviate....it was nice to have Nadim around and to be a real family for a few days. Noesheen LOVED having daddy around!

aah maybe it went into all the new scripts and campaign proposals I have been doing at work. I hardly seem to be getting one script out without the need to start on a whole new one. Its utter madness I tell you, but I love it! So I am grateful that I have a job that keeps me busy and a little crazy.

Or there is a huge chance time went into dealing with the drastic change in my five year old. I am sure there is a button that got switched on (that was supposed to stay off) when she turned five. The "let me do what I want to do not what mom tells me to do" button. Urggghhhhh! (Patience....is a virtue I will be blessed to acquire... when I acquire it)

So there! That's where all my time went... all that and sleeping, because like normal humans I can't function without sleep. Although I must admit a great deal of the-supposed-to-be-revitalising-sleep has been nightmarish and weird, so of course I have spent a bit of my waking hours wondering "where the heck did that come from".

Maybe next time....I will have a better more longer narrative to share.

PS I have enjoyed your updates though!

"My own personal brand of..."

Its not new, no it isn't by a long shot

I had heard of it....often in passing...on others blogs, Facebook, it was like an epidemic...and I was on the outside..watching, listening.

The craze was...unfathomable..at times

My friends spoke about them as if...as if they knew them, you know Forks was a place they had all visited, it was oh....so accessible....so inviting...so tantalizingly...SAFE.

I was ignorant to what existed in Meyer's mind and spilled over into her books...until...

One boring Saturday, our supply of watchable DVDs were running low. You know what I mean about watchable, there are only so many DVDs you can watch over and over and over and over again and it doesn't get boring....mmm, like a good book, with the binding almost gone, the pages yellowed and bent with use...like her copy of Wuthering Heights.. the only other comparison I can make is...like my copy of the BOM

There it was, that particular DVD I had been avoiding staring up at me. "I luuuuvvvv it", my sisters high pitched voice edged on, implying that I would too. After all we share similar tastes in most kinds of things...like literature for instance. And that one small instance was perhaps where our similarities ended, movies were after all a whole other story. So I picked it up, stared at the words calling out to me "Twilight" the words rolled off my tongue

"what the heck" I thought, I could sit through this, it was time to find out what all the fuss was about. Actually technically, what i was doing went against my own personal form of logic.

what logic you ask...simple logic

If there exists a movie that came from a book...don't...never watch the movie....read the book first!

So there I sat, watching the TV screen, wondering what kind of lunacy had driven me to break my one simple logic....

Once....twice...three times maybe even four....was I really??

I should backtrack a little...just so that you know a little bit more about my "secrets", humm I laugh out loud saying that... Do you know what my major was at college? No? any guesses?

Fine Arts...because I loved the aesthetics, the why, the how, understanding not just the context of the mind that created, but the vision of those who experienced it...I wanted to become a historian, an art historian...maybe even a curator..to work in a museum was...no still would be a dream come true.

And Humanities...Anthropology to be exact, why? It fueled my former desire, the whys? the hows? The myths and legends, old and new that influences us. In my mind there is nothing greater then understanding a situation...not after its over but while you are in it...confused?? imagine the state of my mind...LOL

So what did these two things do to me?? It made me analytical of any literature,movie,story I came across...my college mates and I would compare, contrast, analyze.....just thinking about it makes me all warm and fuzzie...LOL

For instance in an effort to increase my "Hindi speaking skills" one summer I watched over 10 tapes of the dramatized epic poem MAHABHARATA with a close friend, I still needed the subtitles, my Hindi only improved....like a millimetre but that one summer of videos became topics of discussion the entire semester...and the one after that, a paper for a final, actually two papers now that I think of it...

Pride and prejudice was next in tow, almost everything that passed by my hands or eyes became a portal to understanding something else, some faint comparison, some contrast backed up by the logic of the greatest minds.....

Can you then imagine what happened when I watched "Twilight", it was like an eruption, my mind wired by this new tale, drew lines up and down the dialog, making connections, underlining, words popped out, others got circled. It was like after six years of hibernating, the embers of light were ignited in my mind....now as I write...it was like light falling on tiny little diamonds casting rainbows on everything it touched.

I felt like ....like I would self-combust, I needed to ....let it all out

My modem is not so slow you know, its fast, well moderately fast, atleast I never need to grab a snack while starting up the computer...modern age, don't you just LOVE it?

My friends a.k.a the discussion panel, are now only an email away....our discussions would go as fast as we could type and hit that SEND button....I spilled they listened okay read...they shared...I re-analyzed, it was like the old days..almost.

"No No" my friend's words coxed, "you have to read it....you just have to"

She had a copy of the first book, that she would pass along to her sister who taught my sister biology in Highschool. Connections....don't you just LOVE it?

But there was a wait, til the book arrived, I didn't get to see it until my little sister got to devour it...in a way it was her little gift for being the middle man, the messenger.

Then it was my turn, page after page, word after word, onyx to topaz the story unravelled. I have a vivid imagination I tell you, so vivid....I don't watch scary movies...don't snicker its true, one of my many mysteries my husband cannot fathom.

All too soon it ended...can you imagine how wired my mind was...is....it was my own personal brand of intrigue....under whose spell I can never grow old. And I don't mind it a bit. So a warm....VINAKA (thank you) is in order to the author...for dusting off the cobwebs in my mind and ...short fusing the circuits ....LOL...I have to say it "can you see my crooked little smile?" LOL

The Yellow Spotted Pink Dino

Have you ever seen one?

On the Flintstones perhaps?

Where do little girl people (and little boy people for that matter) come up with this kind of stuff?

Dreams....the lingering bedtime stories that Mum makes up twists and turns, swirls and swishes around the days events and the subconscious to come up with....Yellow Spotted Pink Dinosaurs?

What ever it may have been....that Yellow Spotted Pink Dinosaur kept me awake all night Tuesday night. Was it really that, or the hot sticky evening that make sleep go up in smoke? Maybe it was the five year old (sleeping) next to me, tossing and turning, pulling and kicking, mourning and groaning, another good nights sleep goes down the drain.

There goes Jars of Clay and Sixpence None the Richer at 3.30am "with every breathe" its my turn to groan, now who set the alarm for time in the morning? Have I lost my mind as well as sleep?

I look over at Miss Five, looks like she is still at Hogwarts playing Quidditch or wait looks like she is riding a dragon. I wrap my morning glory yellow sulu tighter around my waist, slap an invisible mosquito on my shin, "okay Yellow Spotted Pink Dinosaur, here I come"

The morning dragged on as I cut, adjusted, shaped, prepared frosting and frosted the cake. I have enough cake, but do I really want to put the legs on? I decide against it, attributing that decision to "morning-i-tis", you know that sickness that affects the "I'm not a morning person" people.

To my left the sun rose over the Suva Harbour...mmmm pretty pink. On my right the streets got busy, buses rambling by and in the house, all in quiet slumber. Except for Mom, who waddles into the kitchen in her hot pink long flowing night-dress to check on me. She grunts something about "the kids can take sausage, we buy lunch" , stands at the sink to watch the Suva Harbour for a min then disappears into her room again.

Is it? No? It is? Finally, its done!!! Whoo-hoo!

Noesheen wakes up and peers at the Yellow Spotted Pink Dinosaur resting on the dining table, a slow sleepy smile spreads on her face. You know that smile, each child has it, and only Moms understand it. The one that says, "That's the one", that smile that makes getting up before the birds and the sun worth it, that smile that makes you regret your moment of "morning-i-tis" weakness that made you leave the legs off.

So off she went to school with her Yellow Spotted Pink Dinosaur cake, thank goodness that episode is over.

Oh wait...my nephew turns two on the 24th of this month, guess what his mom wants to do for his birthday? Well you are half right, A BIG BLUE Dinosaur!!!!!! hmm I hear its a distant cousin of the yellow Spotted Pink Dinosaur.

Here are glimpses of the Yellow Spotted Pink Dinosaur, Noesheen tells me it rested in peace much to the joy of the Twinkle Stars Preschoolers.

Hopefully, I get a good nights sleep before I meet the BIG BLUE DINOSAUR....wouldn't want to leave his legs off now would I? Atleast it doesn't have any spots yet...well with about 10 days left...it may grow stripes..

Fevers, birthdays and butterflies

On the 9th of August, Noesheen turned five, but that isn't where my story begins. It begins earlier, in-fact a few months earlier, where sitting on my lap as I combed her shoulder length hair Noesheen chatted about everything under the sun in her usual manner, then came the "Muuuummm?"

My well-trained mother ears are knows that tone, the way my title gets dragged out longer than is needed, a request was sure to follow. So I answered, "Yes Sheen".

Just incase I missed the subtle message the first time, she checked again, "Muuuummmmm?" Patience has its virtues you know.

"Yes Sheeeenn".

" I want two cakes for my birthday, a butterfly cake at home and a dinosaur cake for school and the dinosaur has to be a pink dinosaur. Muuummmmm, you can make it?"

"Of course", why not right, after-all after one Sponge-bob Squarepants episode last year, I am a pro at these kind of theme cakes, NOT!

So almost every other day after that day, Noesheen never forgot about the two cakes she was going to have for her birthday.

But this was going to be a damper of all birthdays so far I suppose, since it was going to be the second birthday daddy would miss and her first birthday where she would be sick (hopefully the last as well)

Friday night, we have been counting down the days to the 9th. The icing sugar in bags brought home from the store, the food colours checked and checked again, the eggs bought in trays, the design of the butterfly and the dinosaur cakes carefully etched and re-etched in my minds eye....SHOWTIME?

Apparently not, because that's when things got heated up, literally. Noesheen goes down with a fever, that won't break. There is nothing more tormenting then when my child is ill. There goes the sweet tickle of medicine down her throat, still nothing, not a sign of a sweat bead forming on her body.....this means sleepless nights for both of us.

Saturday....I could see how she fought to be "I am better mum", but her eyes gave it away...there goes more medicine...still nothing...Saturday night comes. Noesheen spends her evening curled up on the sofa under blankets watching George swing through the trees..."watch out for that..." while I bake. Still no sign of the fever breaking....instead we get a lot of throwing up and more medicine.

9th of August...the birthday girl is fast asleep, the fever has subsided for a while. Church?? well only if we could go in our pre-school tee-shirt, I don't think the Lord would mind. So off we go to church and sit through sacrament meeting once again covered in blankets listening to the speaker talk about a kind and loving heavenly father who gives us more than we can imagine. I look at my daughter curled in my arms and say a little prayer. And slowly her eyes pick up its former spark, I smile knowingly..."there comes the sunshine" There is an old Indian saying, "Bhagwan ke ghar mein derr hoti hai undherr nahi" rough translation "In God's house there may be delay but never darkness"

Her grand-aunt has a gift for her after church, a brand new pink umbrella! Prefect gift for an umbrella fetish just turned five-year-old little girl, and so she finds the strength to walk along the streets of Berry Road holding her precious umbrella shielding her self from the beautiful Suva sunshine.

At home she manages a morsel of fried chicken and grandma mashed potatoes and sausages..."my cake???"

Well I have told the story so far, let the link tell you the rest

here you will find pictures of her special turn five day

Oh and that fever....it broke...finally. Is all well? I have hope, we will see. The Dinosaur cake you ask? well I will finish that story tomorrow....or the next day..

Time for an update

In the short time since I have written, it seems that a lot of little things have happened in a ridiculously big way.

Noesheen and I were lucky enough to spend 12 cold glorious days in New Zealand with Nadim. It was a trip that was a bit too short for our liking but was long enough for us to long for the warm temps in Fiji. It was wonderful to be able to be a family living under one roof again and be able to do things together, just the three of us. If anything, the trip has left me pining to be done with this affliction of separation. The frosty mornings of Auckland are looking much more appealing then flip-flop days in Fiji. Alas, I must bear for a little while longer. Its been such an assurance to know that we really are in the hollow of the Lord's hands.

Now that we are back in Fiji, I am working away as usual and Noesheen is at school (preschool) which I think she has a love-hate relationship with. Hats off to this child for being able to spend a very long day at school...8.30am to 5.15pm...if that doesn't prep her for college now, i don't know what will.

Although her ability to get the ball rolling in the morning leaves a lot to be desired for. I can now safely say that she is definitely not a morning person. Well unless of course, it takes a morning person ten Min's to get out of bed after saying morning prayer, or half an hour to brush her teeth after the toothpaste is applied to the toothbrush. Don't mistake the duration of the task with dedication for the role, NOOOOO...We seem to be awake with our eyes wide open, but our minds are far away still in transit from dreamland.

What she lacks in being slightly in-active in the morning, she more than makes up for in the evenings, with non-stop dancing and talking! So much so, that while exiting a store on Saturday "Your little highness" froze at the doorway. What was that she could hear blaring from another store across the street? Music? And music calls for dancing on the spot. So while I ventured on, my child stood there in the middle of the street dancing to her hearts content much to her 17 year-old aunty's embarrassment.

On a more irritating note, the flu season is here, and my darling daughter has welcomed it with open arms. This included two visits to the kind doctor with our teddy-bear in tow. Syringes, cough syrups, anti-biotic, tissue paper have all very politely rendered their services. Thank goodness that phase is almost over, all we have to deal with now is a nagging cough that refuses to leave.

Jodhaa Akbar

For those of you wondering about the strange foreign music I have posted! Its from this Bollywood movie

Its based on real people in India's rich historic past, combined with fantastic costumes and cinematography and even better music. I have my own opinions about the movie which I will share when we meet sometime....hehehe. The main actor in my opinion did a fabulous job but really hats off to all the people behind the scenes who worked on this movie.

still interested? well check out the movie's website here

Oh and if you want to see it...well you can buy the DVD off the net and of course it had subtitles! HOORAY for SUBTITLES!!

These days...I have been thinking

My warmest appreciation for your kind words, I did not realise I was "that" missed! While Noesheen and I spend yet another few months away from Nadim, I cannot help but be grateful for all the small things yet big things I have in my life.

My bosses at PASiFiKA who were more than willing to take me back to work. While most people all over the world are without work to provide for their families, I am grateful to have work. Not just any kind of work, but work that I like...enjoy and am somewhat good at.

I am grateful for my mom and her hospitality! I live with mom and my sisters now, and while its a bit cozy sometimes, the past few weeks has made be grateful for my mom and for all that she continues to do for us. Although her flat is tiny, it really is as big as her heart and there is always space to spare. I am also grateful to have a home in NZ, in the back of my mind I am grateful that we have a roof over our heads and a place to rest our weary heads at night.

On the same note I am glad for my mother's cooking! While I have had a break from cooking I have been privileged to get back on my mum's lunch list. All this work and this woman still goes out to work to earn a living in the morning. I feel glad that I have been given another chance to help influence my younger sisters lives...aka boss them around!! It has made me realise that even within our family I was raised differently than my brothers and sisters. I think that society has a lot to do with this as well.

I am grateful for my daughter who doesn't seem to be phased by her changing environments. I thought that moving to New Zealand would be a big adjustment for my very LOCAL child, but she proved me wrong and enjoyed every bit of NZ. This child taught me a thing or two about murmuring...that is never to murmur. She had never lived in conditions colder than 26 degrees Celsius. There were 5 degree nights in NZ and 14 degree days and my little girl took it head on, enjoying the new experience of piling on clothing. Then when I brought her back to Fiji...she quickly adapted right back into it...no tears...no fusses...just making the most of her time where ever she goes. What a blessing! 

I am grateful for a husband who fusses when I don't txt in the morning and email in the evenings. Who continues to remind me of his love for Noesheen and I.

I am grateful for all the extended family I have here in Fiji that make weekends fly by like magic.

Then there is technology, that has the ability to keep people who are far away in different countries still very much in the same place on my computer and in my life!

Most of all I am humbled to be a member of the church and to be taught the saving principles of the gospel. So much so that I am not worried by living away from my husband for months on end because I understand that families can be eternal. I never have to worry about food in the cupboards or clothing because I understand the law of tithing. I am not phased by what is happening around me because I understand the scriptures. In fact, I don't mean to boast but its true, I know that my family will be watched over, protected and shielded as long as I keep the faith and honour my temple covenants. My heart runs over with gratitude for the unfathomable endless mercy the Lord has showered on me. It is truly a privilege to be able to go to the temple, it has always been a place of peace, refuge and pondering for me. 

I suppose this is one of the lessons I have had to learn during this time  between two countries.

The grand update

Its been five months and ten days since I left Fiji to join my husband in our new home in New Zealand. Five months and a few days since I have job searched in  Auckland in vain (thank you fathers of the recession). And it has been 13 days and a few hours since we arrived back in Fiji, nine days since I started work at PASIFIKA COMMUNICATIONS again, nine days since Noesheen started at a new preschool in Fiji and a long 10 days since I have seen my husband....feels like two months already! In a nutshell that is the latest and greatest in my life right now. 

For now I am dusting off the cobwebs .....five months geez and there is so much cobwebs everywhere hehehehe. 

School Time

so did yah miss me?? Our Internet speed at home is really slow (don't ask), which is one of the reasons I have not been updating at often as you or I would have liked. You would think that being a full time stay at home mom, I would have more time on my hands. I wish it were true.

Noesheen started her first day of Preschool today at Tiny Town

It will be for only half a day, while I am at home. Then once I get a job, she will be going full day and then transitions into first grade in August when she turns 5.

I was more nervous then she was I must say!

Getting out of bed - Not a morning person at all, when I finally went to wake her up at 7am, this was her reply, " Mum, I did not sleep well, just give me five more mins then I will get up". So I gave in and retreated to the living room, to wait out the "five more mins" after which i marched into her room, she had a little smurk on her face, her eyes shut tight....."okay okay, I am getting up". Then it was prayer time, she told me, " I will say it in my mind" as knelt on her bed and buried her face in her covers. About ten mins later we were ready to brush our teeth and get ready for breakfast.

Breakfast - For a person who usually loves to take her time having breakfast, this morning, Noesheen did not want any! After a lot of coxing, a few threats ("If you don't eat brekky, we will be late and your teacher will be upset), she managed a few gulps of warm cereal.

The Walk to school - The fastest thing she did this morning was get dressed!!! Then she was ready for a few pictures, before we headed out into the chilly morning to walk to preschool. Tiny Town is just walking distance from our home, which is really nice, it takes us less then five mins to walk to the establisment. As a result we were like the first ones there, talk about eager-beavers.

When we finally got in at 8am, Noesheen as super excited. She hung up her bag on the little silver hooks that lined the classroom, took off her hat and put it into her bag, removed her jumper and handed it to me with the look, "yah i dont think i will need this for the rest of the time here" and made herself at home exploring the classroom.

For a min I just stood there, feeling really quite out of place, like a weed in a flower garden until my child sensing my discomfort turned to me and said, "its okay, you can go now Mum, don't forget to pick me up". With that I turned away and walked out of the classroom and slowly made my way home.

Now I sit here, watching the hands of clock tick..tick...tick, all of a sudden the house is so empty and quiet. It would be perfect painting or sketching time, which I will get to in about a min or so.

Just a little more time will go by and then I will pick myself of this couch, lock the house up again and walk just a little bit down the road to pick Noesheen up. What stories will she tell me today about how her first day was....hmmm, I will let you know soon enough.

Okay as you can see, I only managed to get one pict up.....slack I know. I will try to get more up later, which means I have to resize all the picts before posting.

take care ladies! til the next post

Moving to a new nest in a new tree..

Hello! or as I now should say KIORA!

Nadim suprised us and arrived in Fiji on the 6th, after a wedding, selling our belongings, a few dramas, a reunion and sad good byes we left the islands 10 days later for our new home in Auckland.

The last few days settling into the new nest in our new tree has been....an experience. Luckily Nadim did a wonderful job setting up the nest (will post pictures later), the only things missing was shampoo and a hairbrush (his latest hair do...is the "no hair at all" look, so he did not need shampoo or a hairbrush)

Noesheen is settling in well, she loves the mall! She has asked to go home a few times, but as soon as Nadim mentions the mall....she automatically loves NZ.

The weather is totally different to Fiji, and its a nice different. So now I find my self sleeping -in in the mornings, taking my time with breakfast, cleaning the house on a daily basis (umm sometimes two or three times before I give up trying to clean Noesheens crumb trail) and job hunting. It sure is a lot different from what I have been used to doing in the past, but I know once I get a job ....the leisure life will dissappear.

Time to go, the laundry calls. Here is wishing all of you a WONDERFUL Christmas and a JOLLY New Year!

It's Time.....

I have a very very very good excuse...I hope, for being silent for so long! Its time, yes my friends its time.....

1. Its time for the Mad Rush before Christmas

Its this time every year, we experience a huge influx of ads, campaigns and other advertising material that need to go out, like yesterday! The TV station will tell us..."sorry that program is booked out" and our clients will tell us, "there's one more thing we would like to do". Needless to say, my work keeps me up during my dreams at night.

2. Its time for weird weather

Fiji has now entered its CYCLONE season, which means for the most part that it will be blistering hot in the morning. Then at lunch, the sun will go on vacation and the rain will pour in buckets, as the skies darken.

3. Its time for the cold & flu & fever

Due to the sun/rain weather we have in Suva, the number of cold & flu & fever cases increase. It doesn't help that dengue is around as well. Noesheen was down with the fever for a few days, then with a heart wrenching cough for a few more. She is fine now, and is of course making up for lost time by redoubling her efforts to watch every cartoon, destroy every sign of tidiness and fill up all the silence in between with questions, stories and other fun banter.

4. Its time for my favorite time of year

Growing up I loved Christmas. My parents had several traditions and it was always fun to be a part of that, and watching the joy these selfless acts would bring to the faces of others. Although I sound like a frog drowning, I love Christmas carols!!!

Since BYU Hawaii and Georgia, I fell in love with THANKSGIVING....What a coincidence! So HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL!!! Although we do not celebrate it here in Fiji, around this time of year, I take extra special time to be thankful for all the blessings I have received all year round.

5. Its time for Weddings!

Nadim's Family have two weddings over the next few weeks, so we are going to be all weddinged-out by mid Dec. Nov - Dec is wedding season in Fiji, so there is always a mad rush to .....get married before Christmas.

6. Its time to move!

That's right, sadly enough....well it's a twist of emotions. Noesheen and I join Nadim in New Zealand in the next three weeks. What this means right now, is that I have even more to do at home as well as at work. House items to sell, clothes to sort, car to sell, finances to put in order, clearances to gain, new person to train etc etc  So I am taking one day at a time, and finding that I am running out of days! heehee

I also am trying to spend as much time in the temple (only up the road from my home) as in New Zealand it will be several hours away. Its all these little things about Fiji that I love. 

Don't get me wrong after almost nine months of separation, we are happy that we will be together in a few weeks time!

Time to resurface!

Hello! I'm back....I found a little window of time in my schedule, so I thought I should write a bit. Lots has been happening! Life is very very tight.

I managed a trip to the West two weeks ago (other side of the island), and the night before when i was explaining to my dearest child that I would be leaving very very very early in the morning, she asked where "Lautoka" was, as i explained, she realized that she lived on an island! what a wonderful discovery that was, her eyes widened with amazement, "an Island? we live on an Island?"

Although i have been teaching Sunday school twice a month for a lot of months now, I don't officially have a calling in church (ahem...rephrase "didn't). Well, now i got one, my grandmother is the Relief Society President, so......yah! You are reading the new RS teacher's BLOG! YAY! I love RS! oh and I still teach Sunday School as well.

There has been a super lot going on at work, as the year rounds off, we get busier and busier....once we have launched a few things, i will put a few pictures up. There is something really big on the horizon for one of my clients, Vodafone! So it will be super and bit nerve wrecking to get stuff done.

As for my child, she has learnt that baking choc chips taste just as good if not better than actual confectionary chocolate..... I have learnt that umbrellas are for all seasons; you should show them off as often as you can, especially if its clear with pink polka dots and is too big for you. 

I have also learnt that my child is the bestest missionary ever, she has directly asked her great-grandpa, " Do you love Jesus?", "Next time you go to church with me!"....10 children, 44 grandchildren later, my grandfather exclaimed, "This kid will have me converted".

Prayers are indeed answered!

ONCE again....thank you Janan!

So I open my blog, after what seems like yoncks! and what a surprise, I have been tagged, I think Janan is getting very good at helping me update my Blog, thanks gal!

Okay so, wait give me a min...let's just read what i have to do....okay set, i will shortcut this a little bit okay, just cuz i can!

Seven random facts huh....

1. I think like you watch an animation/cartoon....a bit funny at times, and sometimes it just does not make any sense...to anyone else, but me of course! Bits and pieces glued together like a collage, no that does not make me very creative, it makes me...random!!! See this first fact did not make any sense at all!

2. FOOD- I love food, I have never met a food that I did not like...I have had this addiction since I was born...ME LIKE FOOD! and if you saw me, you could tell, since you know i'm like a size 6, hahah, yah just add 1 in-front of that, or maybe put a 1 in front of it and add a 2 to it...but yah food, from chinese to pacific to Indian to mexican to Italian to stuff you can just throw together coz you so hungry you could eat a .......In fact over the years, i have just totally stopped listing my favorite food, because, it's just so hard to decide!!

3. DESSERT- Unfortunately for my teeth, and my body...i love cakes and cookies and ice-cream and cheese cakes (that needed a mention on its own) and brownies and pies and all the other mouthwatering yumyums there is out there, but i prefer homemade to store bought, only exception is ice-cream of course. And if i do buy cakes, it has to be from the really expensive place (my wallet suffers for my addiction). I also have a fetish for Indian sweets, but as i get older, i realize that my body cant handle all the sugar like it used to....ah the frailty of age!!! So since Nadim has been away, guess what i have been doing? Making cupcakes and cookies almost every weekend i can! My excuse, well Sheen needs Sunday snacks!

4. ORder -  i live like i think, unorganized and all over the place. I am not the neatest most well organized person in the world, if any of you have lived with me (ex roommates, mission companions) you will say "amen" to this! This really bugs my husband, who is like the opposite of me

5. writing - you would not be able to tell from the way i keep this blog, but i started writing a journal when i was like 12 ( I think i started before then but kept loosing my notebook) and by the time I was 17 I had already filled like 13 or so journals. The habit forgot to kick in when i got married, but now almost 5 years later, i got my groove back! and so i am writing my journal again, its not like it was back in highschool, when i just rambled (something that has not changed), now i ramble about more important things...of course there are less dramas in my life! Because i have so many books filled, i had to started going back and putting everything into separate categories ....like school, religion, friends...so once that massive task is done, then i can compile according to categories and hand those out to my ....daughter! That way i sound so much more sensible!

6. Stories - i love to read and then making up stories, in fact this became a small fun group thing we used to do in Uni when my kiwi friend Winnie was there. i have started writing a book....and am yet to finish it.

7. umm lets see......my wedding, yes, i let my mom plan my entire wedding and did everything she wanted done...because at that time, I thought it was really important as the oldest child that I let her do that....and you know what, no regrets! I mean when Nadim and I celebrate an anniversary (which one i haven't decided yet, i think i am waiting for the light-bulb effect), i want to re-new vows and do things....well my way...then again, i have gone through too many bride magazines, maybe that's not a good idea. Oh ya and I had a hobby of collecting bride magazines when i was at Uni.

Phew!! sorry, random i know! and again, sorry for not updating in a while, i have to sit down and talk and talk about all the things that have been happening around me....for now i think this much reading is reading enough!

you thought i forgot to tag.....hahaha okay i tag

Kamaile

Whitney

Marie

Sue

Victoria

Jessica Bills

sorry, guys, no links, i have to get back to work! 

ramblings

 First of all "thank you Janan!". I have been wondering what to write about, then I read Janan's message to update this blog, and thought to myself, "just ramble woman....something interesting ought to come out of that" so here goes....

I turned 30!

For those of you who did not know, I turned 30 on the date of my last post. It was a nice day. For those of you wondering how the day went....the sun was out, but there was this nice cool

 breeze....the gang at work got me a cake and sang "happy birthday".....so i got cake! All my friends from almost all over sent me nice little messages....thank you facebook! I went home and made roast for dinner....which was nice....so it was nice, of course it would have been 

nicer if my husband were around, but that's okay, many more birthdays to come....

Zedekiah's Birthday Party

Sharon's son's birthday party was held on the 30th.....the busiest weekend of ....i think...the year! Because I love my sister so much...and it was her first kiddy birthday party...i helped. Thi

 means I ended up doing the pinata (from scratch), pin-the-pants-on-spongebob poster, cupcakes, cookies, packed the party bags, as well as decorate the two birthday cakes. If I did not mention it before, i'll tell ya now, the two cakes were Spongebob and Patrick...it turned out alright, I was more happy with how Patrick turned out this time. Sorry, I don't know where the pictures are, when i find it I will post it. 

So we were up til four on Saturday morning baking, then went to bed only to get up a few 

hours later at 7am, helped Sharon with a bit of last minute shopping before I dedicated myself entirely to decorating the cakes. 

Noesheen had super fun at the party, and was a bit upset to leave at 5.30pm for a quick shower and change before we headed off to another function,which ended at 11.30pm. Needless to say, Sunday we were super super tired as we sat in church (our meeting starts at 8am). 

No and I am not superwoman, because we arrived at church an hour and a half late!

I learnt a lesson though....DO NOT OVERBOOK YOUR WEEKENDS!!!! Having said that, i know I am bound to do something like that again!

I am looking forward to a much much quieter weekend this weekend, heavens know my house needs it!

THE ROAD-TRIP!

On Tuesday, I was supposed to take a road trip to the other side of the island 

to see a building we are to brand for a mobile company. I was excited! Super excited, what an adventure! 

Getting up at 2am in the morning for a road-trip to a place I hadn't seen in over 15 years! Then the more and more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to let my other ME (media executive who also happens to be my brother) do it. 

Why?? Several work related reasons, I am in the process of off-loading a lot of my work in preparation of my departure (no its not like I am leaving next week, or next month for that matter...have to ramble about this later)

As a result I gave up a good trip. For those of you that are not familiar with Fiji, the country is made up of a group of over 300 islands. The main island, which is Viti Levu is where I live. The island is also home to the capital and has the main ports of entry into the country. The main island has two major highways that go around the island....Queens highway and Kings highway. The Queen's goes from Suva passed Sigatoka to Nadi and Lautoka and I think up to Ba. The Kings highway goes from Suva in the opposite direction to Nausori passed Rakiraki and Tavua and I think meets the Queens in Ba. The Queens is the road most often travelled, its faster to get to the airport on this road. The Kings is mostly inaccessible.....under-construction...and requires an off road vehicle. Its getting better though as the pictures will tell.

 Although after a rainstorm most of our roads require an off-road vehicle...but thats another rambling for another day...bless the hearts of all the men who work tirelessly in the hot sun to repair all the pot-holes only to have their hard work go down the drain after a storm! Sorry, i have to take a moment to laugh at that statement!

So where, was I... oh yah...the Kings road...yes that's the road the boys took in their road trip. I couldn't go but I have some pictures...that Simon took of the trip and the

 natives...enjoy!

the natives ...well the chick belongs to the chicken who belongs to the natives that live on this side of the island!

AHHHH...I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Whit,
DA Rules: Answer da questions using only ONE WORD. Then tag four others.
I'm going to tag Kamaile, Janan, Marie and Sarah.

1.Where is your cell phone? TABLE
2. Your significant other? NADIM
3. Your hair? Shoulders
4. Your mother? working
5. Your father? Away
6. Your favorite thing? SPIRIT
7. Your dream last night? CONFUSING
8 Your favorite drink? WATER
9. Your dream/goal? EXALTATION
10. The room you’re in? OFFICE
11. Your hobby? TALKING
12. Your fear? DROWNING
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? NEW ZEALAND
14. What you’re not? Organized
15. Muffins? BLUEBERRY
16. One of your wish list items? VISA
17. Where you grew up? SUVA
18. The last thing you did? SNACK
19. What are you wearing? COOL WATER
20. Favorite gadget? BLACKBERRY
21. Your pets?NONE
22. Your computer? DESKTOP.....UMM SOON TO BE A MAC (i know i cheated!!!)
23.Your mood? GRATEFUL
24. Missing someone? EVERYONE!
25.Your car? NISSAN
26. Something you’re not wearing? EARRINGS
27. Favorite store? HUH????
28. Like someone? YESSIRREE
29. Your favorite color? UNDECIDED
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? SUNDAY....