Christchurch Earthquake

This week is Stamp Club - had to change it since I was in New Zealand when we were supposed to meet.  Speaking of New Zealand, I just heard that they had a 6.3 earthquake today!!  Guess there's some things you are glad that you missed.  I don't think I would want to live in an area that is so susceptible to earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes.  New Zealand has over 14,000 earthquakes a year!  When we checked into the B&B in Christchurch, one of the ladies there told us they had had a couple of quakes the past few days - just small ones.  I guess they are just common place to them.  That is one of the things I was so surprised about in Christchurch - how much rebuilding was still being done - almost 3 years after the big quake hit them in Feb, 2011.  Most of the damage from that quake was in the downtown area.  We took a cable car ride and the conductor told us that the quake had been very shallow causing so much damage in the city.  The cable tracks were undamaged during the quake and they think that is one of the things that helped keep the streets together instead of crumbling.  There was a beautiful 19th century cathedral in the center of the city.  I wish I could have seen it before the earthquake. The spire and part of the tower was destroyed and the structure of the building was severely damaged.  It had been damaged previously by five previous earthquakes.  In March, 2012 work began on demolishing the building but in mid December, the demolition was halted by the High Court of New Zealand.  However, in early December 2013, the Supreme Court rejected a final bid to preserve the cathedral meaning that the diocese is free to demolish the building and build a replacement.  There is a group pushing for the building to be repaired but that will cost  millions of dollars.   In the meantime, the cathedral community has been worshiping in a temporary building, the Cardboard Cathedral which we visited.   The triangular prism building is fashioned from 98 interlocking cardboard tubes.  They also used timber, steel and a concrete base alongside the tubes.

Outside of the Cardboard Church - see cardboard tubes

Inside Cardboard Church - notice cardboard beams

 

That is not the only temporary structure that the city has.  They also have a pedestrian shopping mall built with brightly colored shipping containers.  It is very unique!

Pictures from Texas

I brought a bad cold home with me.  Luckily it didn't hit me until Friday.  I have not been out of the house since I got home and have not gotten out of my sweats!  Sonny was a sweetheart and went to the store for me yesterday and bought a case of ginger ale (which I have drunk half of it in two days!) and a decongestant.  One of my tricks for fighting a cold is to use Mentholatum ointment on my nose.  I rub it all over and inside my nose and it helps me breathe.  It grosses Sonny out!  I felt a little better today compared to yesterday so hopefully Monday will be a much better day. 

While I was in Texas, we had a visit from my son, Jeff, his wife, Darcie and their son, Jayce.  Oh, it was so wonderful to see them.  We have not seen each other in almost 6 years.  They came to Ashley's house on Dec 26th after their flight from Tucson.  We had a good visit, had Christmas with them, took them over to the Quadrangle at Fort Sam, and then went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  The next day Sonny and I drove to Austin and spent some time with them at Zilker Park and then enjoyed some BBQ at Stubbs. I had such fun with Jayce and it was such a joy to hear him call me Grandma! He is a typical boy and reminds me so much of Jeff at his age - very precocious, stubborn and definitely has a mind of his own!  I kept trying to take pictures and he would run and hide from me.  I finally was able to get a few pictures ... on the sly!  Such a sweetie!  Also, it was wonderful to spend time with Jeff and Darcie and catch up with their lives.  Just wish we'd had more time.

Darcie and Ashley

Darcie, Jeff and Jayce

Darcie took a picture of all of us.

Jayce and me

Jeff and Darcie
 

Jayce, me and Sonny at the Quad

I'm back with pictures from my trip!

I'm home!  I think this is the longest I've been away from home and definitely the longest I've been away from my husband.  But it was a great trip!   We arrived back in Texas Monday night from New Zealand after a full day of traveling.  We left Christchurch Monday afternoon at 4:30 pm; flew to Auckland; headed over to the International Terminal (about an 8 minute walk) and had to go back through Security to catch our flight to San Francisco (13 hour flight!); went through Security and Customs in San Fran. and caught our flight to Houston; and lastly our final flight to San Antonio where we landed at 9:30 pm .... still Monday!  Whew!  We were glad to be home!  I stayed at Ashley's a couple of days to get some rest.  So far, the jet lag hasn't been as bad as I expected.  Of course, I have been going to bed about 11 and getting up around 9. 

I'm going to try and share a few pictures with you for the next few weeks from some of our stops in New Zealand.

The Auckland Airport
 

We visited the Auckland Zoo and saw these giant tortoises!

We took the ferry to Waihike Island on Sunday from Auckland and visited several wineries.  These are some grapes hanging from the vine.

Having lunch and a glass of wine at one of the wineries.

Ashley and Courtney relaxing in our little apartment in Auckland.

Auckland Memorial - beautiful view of the city from here.

Baboons at the Auckland Zoo - one in tree and one on ground.  The one of the ground had covered himself up with a piece of cardboard.  We watched him climb up with the other one - carrying his cardboard and covering himself up again!

Love Birds at the Zoo

Our first gas fill up!  Wow!

 

STAMPIN' UP NEWS

Dates: January 11-February 10, 2014

The Details:  NEW Paper Pumpkin subscribers who sign up at My Paper Pumpkin between January 11 and February 10, 2014, will receive a FREE set of  2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers -a $14.95  value.  The Paper Pumpkin kits have been revamped to be better quality and better value!

• This special offer is only valid for new subscribers.
• Customers must sign up at My Paper Pumpkin
• The markers will be sent with the subscriber's Welcome Kit.  No coupon code is required. Anyone who signs up for a Paper Pumpkin membership during the promotion dates will get a set of 2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers.

SU has some exciting new products coming soon! New personalized stamps that you are going to love! And REALLY exciting new markers coming called Blendabilities. If you like Copic markers but don’t like the price, you will love these. Alcohol markers that blend beautifully and even a marker that removes color if you make a mistake. The chart shows the 12 color groups that will come in sets of 3 for 11.95 (US) So each dot you see below represents the 3 gradient colors that blend together. There is a set of 6 skin tones, and the color remover pen also. They are not refillable at this time so they can be a lower price point than other alcohol markers. They will not replace our regular markers – the alcohol markers dry too fast to use on your stamps or to use aqua painters with. Think of these as another color tool to add to your tool box. They are square and won’t roll off your table, bullet tip on one end, brush tip on the other. They recommend using the Memento Tuxedo Black pad (which we will carry also) and NOT using StazOn, which is an alcohol based pad.  When are they available? Not sure. They said this quarter, so maybe March? I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

 Also - 2 new Photopolymer sets are coming out and some news about SU manufacturing them in our Kanab facility. They can be stinky to make and even opening my package at home requires some airing out but they stamp so nicely!  Photopolymer stamps will be included in the annual catalog as well as be available in our clear mount cases!


Dates: January 11-February 10, 2014

The Details:  NEW Paper Pumpkin subscribers who sign up at My Paper Pumpkin between January 11 and February 10, 2014, will receive a FREE set of 2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers -a $14.95  value.  SU has redesigned the Paper Pumpkin kits making them better quality and better value!

• This special offer is only valid for new subscribers.
• Customers must sign up at My Paper Pumpkin
• The markers will be sent with the subscriber's Welcome Kit.  No coupon code is required. Anyone who signs up for a Paper Pumpkin membership during the promotion dates will get a set of 2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers.

Leaving on a Jet Plane!!

I am in New Zealand on a wonderful vacation.  I will not return until Jan. 13 so no blog posts for a while! 

Come back and visit me when I return!!

Pictures from New Zealand

Happy 2014

I have tried to download this for several days... not gooo Internet.  

We spent New Years Eve at the Auckland Sky Tower a revolving restaurant with awesome view s. 

Twinkling Christmas Lights

Yesterday was a slower day for us.  Ashley headed off to work and I helped out by doing her laundry.  I even had time to work on a Christmas project (hope I get it finished in time!).  We met her for lunch, stopped at WalMart which wasn't too crazy and got back home for Sonny to finish some projects he had started on (like fixing her gutters).  Last night, we used Ashley's gift certificate and had a yummy steak dinner at my favorite San Antonio restaurant, Josephine's.  I've been going to Josephine's since Ashley was in college here and it has never disappointed.  After dinner, we went over to the old Pearl Brewery which has recently been made into an historic area with lots of bars, restaurants and shops right on the San Antonio River.  We walked along this newly opened riverwalk enjoying the Christmas lights and displays.  It is soooo much quieter than the main "touristy" riverwalk.  We walked along the riverwalk to the oldest post in Texas - the VFW.  It is in a beautiful Victorian style home that was completed in 1904.  We were warmly welcomed by a commander of the post and given a personal tour of the place.  In fact, the welcome was a little too welcoming - we couldn't get away from the man!!  We finally finished our beers and made our excuses and left!!  After that, we drove through the University of the Incarnate Word which is full of beautiful trees all lit for the holidays.  It is hard to describe how beautiful it is but maybe you can get an idea from these pictures.

A friend just sent us this and I thought it was really appropriate.

When I was a little boy, about seventy five years ago, I heard the older boys at school saying that there was no Santa Claus.  That was frightening.  There must be, because Santa had left me presents every Christmas.  So I went to my Dad to learn the truth of the matter.

 

Dad wasn’t a lettered man, but he was wise in his own way.  So I asked him the question, afraid of what he might say.  He thought for a while, then he told me this story.

 

“Son, when my Dad was a little boy, there was a Santa Claus.  When I was a little boy, there was a Santa Claus.  I guess that as long as there are Dads and little boys, there will always be a Santa Claus.”

 

When my son asked me if there was really a Santa Claus, I told him this story.

 

When his son asked him if there was really a Santa Claus, he told him this story.

 

I hope my grandson will tell his little boy this same story.

 

And at this Christmas time, three quarters of a century later, I hope Santa Clause visits you.

 

Merry Christmas

More Stamp Club Shares

We arrived in San Antonio Friday - timing it right as we arrived at Ashley's house just as she was getting home from work.  We didn't try to push the drive, stopping just south of Montgomery Wednesday after about 8 hours driving.  Thursday we drove to Coushatta Casino (about an hour or less from the Texas state line but in Louisiana).  We tried our hand at a couple of Blackjack table without much luck.  But the hotel was very nice and very inexpensive to my surprise.  We paid $69 (no tax since it is an Indian reservation) for a really nice big room and that also included $20 for breakfast the next morning.

We have been on the go since we got here as usual.  Friday night we headed straight to a Mexican restaurant for much missed Tex Mex, our favorite.  Saturday Ashley and I headed out to do a little shopping and Sonny went on his own to pick up some things to do a few handy man chores around Ashley's house.  Saturday night Ashley's friends, Lisa and Danny, had us over for dinner.  They have a 7 yr. old and 2 year old twins so it was a fun evening.  Plus Danny had been smoking a brisket since 8 a.m. and it was delicious!  On Sunday, after church, my nephew, his wife and little boy came over for lunch and we watched the Cowboys together.  As soon as the game was over and they left, we headed to a bar to watch our Steelers pull off another nail biter of a game against Green Bay.  From there, we met Ashley's friend Courtney and her parents for a birthday dinner since today was Ashley's birthday.  Courtney and her mom will be going on the New Zealand trip with us so it was nice to meet her mom in advance. 

I have a few more goodies to share from Stamp Club. 

Joy made me this great Steeler scarf!!

I wore my scarf today to watch the Steelers BEAT Green Bay!!

Back of Snowman Treat

Isn't this adorable?  Joy made this cute Snowman candy bar holder using the Envelope Punch Board.

Stress Buster Ideas

This is such a stressful time of year.  I thought you would enjoy these stress busting ideas.


Laughter ~ When you laugh, even forced laughter, it lowers your cortisol and blood pressure instantly, according to a study from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. "Researchers found that artery diameter increases 22 percent during laughter - even when you're faking it," says Dr. Hall. "The physical act itself creates the de-stressing effect." So keep that comedy DVD/CD handy. Call a friend who always keeps you laughing. Force yourself to chuckle if necessary!

Count all your blessings ~ According to studies done at UCLA it is physiologically impossible to be grateful and stressed out at the same time. You are definitely more alert and more enthusiastic when you are counting your blessings.

Sing and sing some more ~ I love this stress-reducer anyone that might be in earshot of my singing will not feel the same way since I cannot carry a tune. A recent study at the University of California at Irving, found that singing your favorite tunes is more beneficial than simply listening to them. Choir members got a 240 percent increase in immunoglobulin A (a disease-fighting protein) during performances.

Snack on chips and salsa ~ Eating spicy foods, especially chili peppers, releases mood-boosting endorphins, according to recent research. Keep a jar of salsa on hand for some anti-stress snacking.

Meet with some friends ~ In a 2005 study from UCLA, it was found that making eye contact while having conversation with someone you care about causes the same kinds of positive physiological changes that a massage does. According to Dr. Hall, "Your body will produce oxytocin (a happiness hormone) literally on the spot."

Write simple notes of thanks ~ to people who have made your life better. What a great de-stressor, writing a thank you to all who enhance your life. They will love and appreciate your note of thanks; you never know, maybe they need to hear it at this particular time in their lives.

Walk your stress off ~ Scientists have found that walking daily elevates the mood of even severely depressed patients. Walking is great for stressed-out people. Walking reduces muscle tension and stimulates the release of endorphins, the natural pleasure chemicals produced by our bodies.
Take a 15 minute power nap ~ Taking a short power nap(s) during the day can be more refreshing than long ones. Works for me!

Practice relaxation techniques ~ doing relaxation techniques or mindful breathing will help with your stress level and keep you from mindless munching.  I'm learning this through yoga.

Take pictures. Spend some of your time taking pictures of your gathering of loved ones and friends.

Make sure you get enough sunlight ~ Our bodies produce endorphins (hormones that create a feeling of calm) when we are in the sunshine. Your mood and energy level are boosted with just 10 minutes of sunshine so the next time you see the sun shining, get out there and enjoy it.

Write down everything you like about yourself ~ Believe it or not you are more likely to let stress take over your life when your self-esteem is low.

Organize something ~ You will be amazed at how much better you feel by organizing just one thing in your house: maybe a junk drawer or your craft room!!

Spend some time with your pet ~ It's a known fact, pets relieve stress. Isn't unconditional love great?  Sammi always makes me feel better when she's vying for my attention.

Cut out the caffeine ~ Caffeine can increase alertness but in the long run caffeine leaves you feeling jittery and irritable which adds stress.

Cut down on your sugar ~ Too much sugar takes away vital nutrients from your body, causing nervous tension and anxiety. High sugar foods cause your blood sugar levels to drop, which can make you feel irritable, tired and unhappy. When you are under stress this is the last thing you need.

Resources
** November 2006 issue of Ladies' Home Journal
** Walk it Off! by Suzanne Levine, D.P.M.
** The Everything Stress Management Book by Eve Adamson
** Women's Edge ~ Fight Fat, Secrets to Successful Weight Loss by Alisa Bauman
                and the editors of Prevention Health Books

More Stamp Club Goodies

It was just like Christmas at my house on Tuesday .... oh wait, they were Christmas gifts!!

My good friend, Judy has been doing some sewing - something different from stamping for a little bit of a change.  She made me this great Kleenex holder.  I just love the colors!  It will be going with me to New Zealand!



This is another one she made (for Marianne)

Close up on the flower that is on my mug rug

Judy also made me this mug rug - isn't it great?

Judy is not only a talented sewer but look at this card she made me.  She should be teaching Stamp Club!!

close up of the ornament ... really pretty!

We are on the road to Texas.  We made it to Greenville, Alabama last night.  Left home about 10 a.m. and got to Greenville about 7 p.m. (actually, it was 6 p.m. Central Time).  Sonny went out and got us a pizza and we watched the hockey game.  I won't be surprised if Sonny tries to make it all the way to San Antonio today.  When you get so close, it's just as easy to stretch it and rest when you get there.  We'll see.  I actually got to do a little Christmas shopping yesterday on the way.  Sonny stopped for gas one time and I saw a Goody's store in the shopping center.  So he dropped me off there while he pumped the gas.  I was looking for a pair of shoes but they were not on sale so I didn't buy them - too close for Christmas.  Then later when we stopped for lunch, there was a Kohl's close by.  Sonny needed to use the rest room and I told him Kohl's had real clean rest rooms, so we went there and I bought a few Christmas presents this time.  I was like a whirlwind going through that store!