A Shining Star

What a pleasant surprise!! I received my first package since being here and I totally didn’t expect what was inside.

As you can see I was super excited (easy for me these days) when the package arrived. The other photo is what I got...CRAFT STUFF!
Some beautiful acrylic stamps and gorgeous kiwiana inspired die-cuts.

Alice, you must have read my mind! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so thoughtful and cheering me up. 1.--Because I love getting new craft stuff and 2.--Because I feel inspired to use them all and I’m happiest being creative. Love ya and Malo aupito XO

Crafty stuff

Note: This post is for a few of my friends who love crafty stuff just as much as I do...

I’m slowly feeling my crafting MOJO returning...Maybe it was the 2 days with no power that kickstarted it. It’s been so long since I scrapbooked that I actually found an ANT nest in my stampin’ Up! Marker caddy!! Ewe...that just adds to my existing hatred towards the little critters. Anyway, back to crafts...

I have a ‘Bind-it-all’ machine which is a binder so I’ve been having fun making little books and albums for the kids.

Here are a few pictures...hopefully they give you a little inspiration

I made this for our friend TJ who turned 10 years old. It’s a birthday card plus I also made a special book called ‘This is me – right now’. It’s a book full of prompts for TJ to fill in that captures what he is like at the age of 10 e.g. Likes, dislikes, goals, interests & hobbies etc.

I used a Stampin’ Up! paper that isn't for sale anymore. It’s one of my most favourite boy themed papers and I wish I bought more before they discontinued it!! Nevermind, they have some cool new stuff too.

This next one I’m only showing the cover ‘cos I haven’t completed the inside. Every quarter year I do a progress report on the kids: photos, highlights & events that have happened, hand prints, height etc. I used Basic Grey paper called Mellow.

xo

We survived!

Yes, we survived our first cyclone. We came through almost unscathed...we lost power and water for 2 days and internet has finally returned at home. Otherwise our house stood nice and firm.

The actual cyclone started early Monday morning (15th) with really strong gale force wind and rain. By the afternoon the wind and rain picked up to intense force (this is when I thought the BAD bit was)...but by 7pm the intensity tripled! It was the most fierce storm I'd every seen. The eye of the storm passed so everything went calm, then about an hour later the storm started again but the wind was in the other direction.

Everyone here in Tonga (Tongatapu) were very organised and prepared so no lives were lost as a result of the cyclone and there wasn't too much damage on structures (only really old homes and buildings). There was ALOT of debris around the streets most of it trees and branches.

All in all we found it a little exciting but don't want these things coming on a regular basis!

Here's a photo of Charles and the kids buzzing out :-)

Chop Suey & Old Friends

I was on facebook the other day and my friend Natalie mentioned that she loved Tongan chop Suey.

When we first arrived here in Tonga, my friend Lini bought over some dinner...It was Tongan chop suey and we all TOTALLY fell in love with it. It’s a family winner. It’s simple and I’m sure the recipe varies ALOT, but this is my version:
Ingredients:1 Tin of Corned Beef (approx 326g can)
Lots of finely chopped fresh Garlic (5-6 cloves...more the better!)
Lots of finely chopped fresh Ginger (about 3-4 tablespoons)
2 Carrots finely diced
1 Large Capsicum (Bell Pepper) finely diced
1 pkt Vermicelli rice noodles
Boiled water
Approx ½ Cup dark Soy Sauce
1 heaped teaspoon of Brown Sugar (optional but does make a difference)
Streamed Rice to serve

*Note – These are approximate measurements and by taste only. You might want to add more or less. This amount feeds about 4 Adults and a few kids :-)

Heat some oil in a pan

Sort through corned beef and remove any fat etc. Fry for a minute then add garlic and ginger

Once garlic and ginger are cooked add diced carrots


Then add diced capsicum


Mix well and slowly cook while you prepare the noodles


Pour some boiling water into a large bowl

Add vermicelli noodles


Stir, then start cutting the noodles into smaller strips


Drain noodles

Add noodles to corned beef mixture


Mix brown sugar in soy sauce

Add soy sauce mixture to noodles and corned beef


Mix well and cook for 5 mins on low heat
Serve on top of steamed rice.
(sorry I have no finished photo...we were too hungry and ate it straight away)

We were able to share this yummy meal with one of my old friends from school Pania and her brother Ben. They are here in Tonga on holiday... so it was fun to hang out with them and reminisce about old days as well as catch up on the last 10 years.

Gotta love SUMMER!

We were too preoccupied with our summer holidays in NZ to think about blogging!

A lot happened in the short space of time we were there...as they say “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” definitely rung in my head a few times while touring our beautiful country.

Most importantly family was definitely top priority while we’re there. Our family is what made our vacation special. It was great seeing and catching up with everyone (even if some were for a few minutes!!).

First my Nana’s unveiling on Flat Island, Great Barrier Island. The spirit felt and unity among my extended family was very present and strong.

Our Christchurch trip with Dad and Frances was a delight and surprised me with the beautiful scenery there...good food, good company!

Charles’ Tipene family held a Noho gathering at the Cambridge Marae where we felt the same strength of unity and love. It was awesome catching up with everyone, the late night games and marae style sleeping!

We also visited my baby sister Raihi and her husband in Hamilton which was so great because I hadn’t seen her since we moved to Tonga...we had ALOT of catching up to do.

We then returned back to the Barrier after all those trips where we simply relaxed and reflected on the whirlwind of different whanau activities. It made me smile knowing that we have these wonderful people in our lives.

Charles headed back to Tonga for work, so the kids and I stayed at the Barrier where I caught up on a years worth of reading, and the kids embraced their inner ‘bushman’ and ran riot ...fun times.

We all returned to Auckland (Charles as well) where we had Eli’s baptism. It was exactly how we wanted it...small, simple and memorable. Topped off with dinner at Gengy’s (can’t go wrong) the day was a winner.

We couldn’t leave NZ without meeting our newest niece...so we made a quick trip to Hamilton to meet Kalem and Livee’s new baby girl Indiana. She’s gorgeous. Our kids had so much fun playing with their cousins too.

Now that we’re back in Tonga we really do miss everyone and STILL extend a welcome to anyone wanting to come here for a holiday...All I ask is for some NZ chocolate and you’ve got free accommodation and a tour guide.

The weather here is stinkin HOT, but the mangoes are in full abundance, so there’s a positive :-)

Here are some photos...enjoy

Great Barrier Island:

Christchurch:
Tipene Noho:

Baptism:

Seasons Greetings!

For those who's email we do not have....




Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming year.

Love from the Nepia Family xo

Birthday Boy

My darling Eli is a BIG BOY now! We celebrated his 8th birthday which is a huge milestone age in our family. We invited his friends over for some cake and fireworks. They had lots of fun and went crazy doing haka challenges with each other (Tongans V NZ'ers) SO FUNNY!


(Digital Scrapbooking courtesy of Summertime Designs website)