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You can't go past NGIP.

Kids and Creativity
A mum of one of my students recently sent me a link to a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson.



So true.
I think it is hard, as a teacher, to get the balance right.
So often what we teach, and test for, is what the world (and in most cases, parents) perceive is what the child needs.

I would love my own children to be able to go to a school like this.
I love their educational approach.

Happy Birthday Maddy Today my eldest reached 'double digits'. A milestone she has been excited about for a while now.
Yesterday she celebrated by going indoor rock climbing with some school friends.

One of the activities the kids tried was a horrendously high rope course. Lauren is beginning the ascent here.

Unfortunately, all but three, could not get any further than half way up the rope ladder.

Oliver was the only boy in a gaggle of girls, but he coped magnificently.

Blood Bath

No... he looks too happy for anything sinister to be happening here.

My nephew Joshua managed to get his hands on a bottle of red food dye. What a clever little munchkin to be able to unscrew the lid!!

Operation Aborted
Recently I have been running into this quite a bit on the sites I usually visit:
Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site... Operation aborted


And then it began to happen to mine when I was forced to change my address.
After looking through the 'help' section in Blogger, I learnt that it has been happening a bit recently. The easy solution is to remove the followers gadget from the sidebar, then all returns to normal.

It is a shame though, as it means I miss out on reading some of my favourite blogs.

Bouquet

I wanted to show one of the most appealing bunches of flowers I have ever been given. (Thank you Ann)

The Ornamental Cabbage adds an unusual and attractive touch; and the lilies, roses and gerberas are so pretty.

I'm not sure what the tiny white flowers are, but they smell good. They could be an Australian native.

Put together, the greens, white and oranges are a perfect combination.

Vanessa...
you look so beautiful with red hair!

Thanks for celebrating with me...

Totally Spoilt
It's my birthday, and I was TOTALLY spoilt today.
I was given a Kings Of Leon CD. An 80cm (32 inch) television - needless to say the rest of the household was happy with this one too!!

And a ticket to see French and Saunders later this month. Whoo hoo!

Am Sore
Today I had an implant inserted into my lower jaw bone.
The effects of the anesthetics is now wearing off and I am feeling it.

During the implant placement surgery, an incision is made in the gum to expose
the bone in the area where the implant will be placed. The bone site is prepared
to a size that accommodates the placement of the chosen implant. The implant is
screwed into the bone resulting in intimate contact between the implant threads
and the bone. The gum is sutured to cover and protect the implant during its
healing period. Bone will attach to the implant over the next 4 to 6 months.

The worst part of the procedure (excluding the injections beforehand - they always hurt) ... the dentist saying something along the lines of, "I've managed to get a good flap of gum up."... as he hovered over my mouth with a scalpel. And the tasting of what I assumed was large quantities of blood at first, but turned out to be saline.
Now I need to wait for it to heal. The stitches will come out next week. Eventually a new tooth will be attached to the implant.

And don't be horrified. I haven't been walking around with a obvious gap in my mouth. It is one of my back teeth being replaced.

Where am I? Some of you, who have actively gone looking for me, will have discovered that my old web address is no longer mine!!
You will have arrived at a page that looks like this...

How did this happen?

Well, after a bit of investigation (which did keep me awake at night), I discovered my error, and the evilness of unscrupulous scammers out there on the www.

I was paying Google for my address.

Yes I was.

$10 per year.

However, I had changed email addresses and credit cards over the past 12 months. I thought I had updated this information with all the groups/mailing lists/organisations. But NO. Not Google Apps.

The very minute my subscription ran out, BINGO! Someone stole my address.

The cheek! The nerve!

Oh well. I guess if you were desperate to find me, you have.

Such a Cutie!

My sister dropped by this weekend with my niece and nephew - on the pretence that there was going to be a crime committed if they didn't get out of the house for a little break. Lauren with Holly

It was so lovely to have a cuddle with Holly.

She is such a button!!

She arrived in an outfit that I had bought Madeleine almost 10 years ago. It has certainly lasted well.

Richard's Birthday
Last weekend it was Richard's birthday.
I am only posting photos now due to some technical difficulties in the blogging department (more on that later). There was lots of singing and laughter.

One of the very funny things about the evening was dressing up Richard as Wolverine. Vanessa and Sean made the blades, and Brent provided the white singlet.

We have been teasing Richard over the growth of his facial hair... he really does have an uncanny likeness to that lupine character!