Double-up & Double-over

As anyone that has been in any proximity to me lately would know, ive been taking in the sights and sounds of the Melbourne comedy festival in a huge way.. not only did i meet some brilliant comedians, Pete Sharkey, David Tulk, Scott McAteer (LOVE THIS GUY) and Jono KT at their show, Grab the 86 to 303, i also got to listen to the hilariously funny Nik Coppin. If you can get to see this guy live... do yourself the favour and take yourself along to his show.. He is BRILLIANT!!!
To many, this would sound like a little bit of a comedy overload, seeing that we saw these 5 all in the one night, though it doesnt stop there...

I have just returned from the Athenium (SP?)Theatre in the city where we went earlier tonight to see the Umbilical brothers... oh my goodness, i thought i was going to crack a rib watching these two on stage.. from the second we sat down (we were running a little late due to traffic) til the time we were clapping them good bye we were in stitches.. i dont think i have seen anything more hilarious in all my life. For those that dont know, The umbilical Brothrs are two very talented Australian Comedians that work mime with their own made sound overs. Totally Crazy, Totally hysterical..
If this was not good enough, as we were leaving, we found ourselves being ushered into front row, top level seats (right over the stage) to was Jimoin!
I was slightly dissapointed with his performance.. i thought he would be funnier, though.. i guess, after just coming out from watching the Umbies, anything has to pale a little in comparison, right!? Still... The man in his own right is a funny funny man and im sure at some stage i'll definately watch a show again.. i guess the difference is, he did not seem to work from a script, it was random.. unrehearsed humour.
We still have Akmal to see, hopefully the scared weird little guys and the last show that the umbilical brothers will be doing through the festival. (id sell a kidney to see these guys again.. IM A HUGE FAN!)

This is where i should say a HUGE HUGE thankyou to a very gorgeous lady for making the Comedy Festival, one to truely remember! Your a gem!

phew... im pooooped. Night y'all!!!

Good things come to those who wait

As some of you would know, ive been on a Design Team in the past, which i had to leave because of life commitments and a little to much chaos in my life. Chaos, Bleh... anyway, since leaving there i have entered competitions to two different Stores (at different times) to see weather i would be accepted to be part of a design team again... while the first atempt was not as sucessful as one would hope.. it was not a complete failure either, making it 4 rounds of 6 .. rather impressive effort i thoughts... this time, my last attempt though came up gold!!!

Your now listening to the one half of the new Design team for Froggy Todd Creations... i'm so excited, though more so... so astounded that i was so impressively voted for by the community there,taking out 33% of the votes by myself.. ~insert blush here~ obviously i have done something that they like... lets hope that i can continue to come up with things that they love, huh!?

Anyway... thats my little bit of news for today... like that is not news enough.. huh!? ~L~
Hope that you guys are having a super day as well... we are off to see a few comedians in Northcote now...

~hugs n kisses~

My Enchanting lil Imp..

I thought i (a doting, very bias mother) would share with you one of my most favourite photos taken of Miranda in our butterfly photo shoot on the weekend.. this is what happens when you tell a little girl-imp to smile for mama when she really doesnt want to! ~Laughs~ Though... i think this is better than any photo i could have captured with a smile for i think that i really captured her spirit by capturing this shot of her being 100% herself. I'd give so much to learn of some of the mystery and magic that shimmers unspoken within those gorgeous dark blue eyes of hers. She knows so much more about this universe than she lets on.... she is knowledgable beyond her years.. she is my Bella Mia.. my beautiful Miranda.
May she always have spirit... may she always dare to be herself!

xxx

PS:

<---- that is a pic of the wings she is wearing, though in true colour.. they are more like the colour behind her in this picture ----->

Totally freesyle and girly

Lately ive found that my style is morphing yet again... becoming more free and less organised... im following in the steps of a few of my idols and letting the pages talk to me and tell me what they want... this is the latest Layout that i have done.. it was actually a challenge for Froggy Todd Creations. The challenge was for there to be no adhesive used, hand made patterned paper a stamp, but not a flourish, hand journalling and a photo but not of a person... I had made the photo open up and plan to put two more photos behind... it is themed on Miss Mirandas passion for make believe.. she is so girly... i think this LO expresses that girly-ness so much. I have to say, that i had so much fun creating this Layout... it was great just to let go and just add and play... anyway.. dont know what y'all think of it but im rather proud.
Once i have done the page inside i plan on submitting it to For Keeps for their Dress Up call and to Scrapbooking Memories. Who knows.. i may just get lucky with one of them, huh!? (this inside was completed on the 10th, which happens to be the deadline for the Dress Up Call.. what can i say, i work well under pressure. ~LMAO~ I also submitted this to SM, wonder if i can be so lucky!)

UPDATE: I just found out that i won the challenge.. how cool... it has just made a perfect day even more perfect-er!!!

Note to self: Make sure to always use the same light when two photos of one Layout are required. The first picture, of the closed LO is true to colour.

Butterfly Queen

While at the Markets this morning we found a face painter that was painting faces ..courtesy of the council, since it was the first market for the area... this lady was painting fairies and butterfly themed faces and while we started by getting Mirandas face painted which was perfectly timed since we had plans on doing a photo of her with wings on to go with the LO that ive been working on, the face just topped it off Kiera thought that she would like to get hers done as well... doesnt she look totally gorgoeus!?








Heartfelt thoughts: Be still my heart... The beauty that i see when i look at this photo both makes me delirious with pride as well as so very terrified...It takes my breath away to see that my sweet little girl is quickly growing into a stunning young lady.

Hello April.

Wow.. can you believe how fast this year seems to be zooming along!?
I can't believe that in 22 short days im going to be putting another birthday candle on my babies cake (6) and spending a few days with Cathy (miss Cath). It seems that the count down for her visit has been happening for so long... i dont know how im going to hold out for so much longer.. arrrggh.

The last few months have been a total roller coaster for us... With the move, Jamies finger, the kids all starting a new school.. sadness has touched on us as well with the totally distressing news that my dear friends cousin (mentioned at christmas time) has once again been touched by cancer, this time, inoperable... sadly, her days are slipping away fast.. making me realise how important it is to make the most of those that you have... my thoughts are with the sweet lady who must watch one of her dearst friends slip away.. i love you girl.. you know that!

Thankfully Jamie was given the thumbs up from the rehab staff on thursday and no longer is required to do occupational therapy. He has lost 5% use of his finger.. a lot less than what they expected... totally wonderful if you ask me since there was a stage when we were unsure weather he would lose it.
I can now breath a little... ive been working on an entry for Froggy Todds design team for the last few weeks and since the dead line for that was last night.. now is simply a waiting game to see weather i have been sucessful..
fingers crossed.

Today we have had the most awesome day as a family, getting up super early to bath
Mister Bai, who smelled totally too much like a dog and less like one of us (he is a dog by the way) and went for a sunday walk in the sunshine.. i must add, that whilst Mister Bai loved his walk, socialising with over Cavaliers, like him but in puppy form.. he is now totally zonked under my desk. ~L~ It really is a Dogs life!!

Hey Hi Hello...

I know.. i know... ive been so so slack when it comes to my blog this week... i'm sorry for all those that visit and have found nothing new... :(

Ive uploaded a few posts that i had to finish off etc, so there are a few new things... though.. im my life... nothing much has changed, same ol.. same ol... ooooooh.. other than the fact that yet another perk has come my way which sees me as a VIP in the Pit area at all the motor events that i can drag myself too.. including .... omg.... the V8s. Those who REALLY know me, know that im a closet petrol head and have a very very big soft spot for the V8s. GO HOLDEN!!!!!

So many doors and opportunities have opened up to us since we have moved down here... When i moved, i was very unsure of what life would bring, other than scrap days with someone i no longer choose to associate with, and when her and i stopped speaking.. i realised that even though we had not spent that much time together (had got together 2 times) i didnt need her to survive in Melbourne, like it was suggested to methat i would...pphhhft. As a couple, Matt and i have done so much on our own... and so much is still happening.. Which, again, for those who know us, would not surprise you, since we have never been the kind to be dependant on others for anything. Matt is in negotiations at the moment for something rather huge, though until signatures hit the dotted line, i would rather not say anything... and... something very very exciting is happening in my own "lil world" too. Again... cant say anything incase i jinx it... lets just say, things are looking wonderful! (i could not be takin' the risk of bursting with excitement, so ive let slip my secret to a few...they know who they are.. hahah)

So... i guess i will rephrase that opening line to say... ive been busy, flat out almost.. so much is happening that i've not had a minute to post!? ~LMAO~ Hmmm... that may work!

Life is good!

Don't Mess with Grandma

This is too funny.. thought i would give you a laugh for the day if you have not had one by now... or... simply add to the laughs you have already had.
love n Hugs
~s
xx

P.S. I love you...

well... Matt to be exact... but that is the title of my newest Layout.
P.S. I love you [like the song] What can i say.. im am an I am Sam fan... this is something that Matt and i have said to each other, many times over the years...
so finally.. a layout to preserve the wonderful words... forever..

Love n hugs
S
xx

UPDATE: 2nd May. Sorry Guys, this image has been removed for Publication (insert WOOOHOOOS and happy dances here)... i promise to return it as soon as it can be put back here!

Melbourne Comedy Festival

I cant believe how unbelievably lucky i am sometimes to be married to such a clever man. Not only is he a great daddy, wonderful husband.. he is so very talented.. so much so that he has been asked to take the promotional photographs for some of the comedians that will b e working the Melbourne Comedy Festival. If that is not good enough, this job comes with perks... tickets plentiful enough to wall paper a room.. to anything and everything happening here in melbourne at the moment... one of my favourite thoughts at the moment is that i WILL be going to see the umbilical brothers live.. though.. only days before that, we have been invited to a bar where all the comedians wind down after the shows, as special guests of a few of the comedians, to meet others... including the umbilical brothers... im so envious, even of myself at the moment.. if that is even possible! ~L~

i so so so so so so so cant wait!!!

Well... i didnt think it would happen this weekend, since i was so exhausted after getting back from the stitches and craft show yesterday, though it happened...Froggy Todd has a Cyber Crop on this weekend.. so how could i resist... i scrapped! This is totally out side of my usual stuff but you know what? i think i like the freesyle-ness of it...

What a Fabbo Day!!!

The day ive been waiting so for finally arrived today when i met Bec (rih2002) from Scrapbooking Memories and Froggy Todd at the stitches and craft show... my god i didnt think two women could laugh as much as we have through out the day.. so much so that i STILL have sore sides as i write this. I dont think anyone will be able to remove the smile from my face any time soon... and... i know that you will be asking if i dont, so... here are a few pics from the day. Bec, dont kill me for posting both these... they are just too cool not to!
We were so exhausted, though still had enough energy to strike a pose, right in the midst of a case of the sillies!



Its so nice to have a friend, even if meeting them for the first time in real life, and have it feel like you have known them your entire life and today, is just another day catching up and goofing off.

Only neither of us could quite get enough courage up, we would have some very funny photos of us getting our shoes shined... sounds normal enough.. right? Until your wearing sandals or thongs.. then.. it becomes a hilarious thought.. perhaps next time!
Love ya gal!
xx

Pissed off... upset and totally... bewildered

okay.. so you guys heard about the crop that i was part of on the weekend.. right!? Who didnt.. it was the most scrapping ive done in one time frame in ages.. well.. the results are in... i didnt get close to winning.. though, that is not the reason for my pissy-ness... its the fact that it did not appear to go on effort and quality of the work but how many LOs that someone could throw together.. and when i say throw together, im saying that... very loosely.. where i spent hours on Layouts, some literally threw a photo (not even straight) onto cheap paper and used a texta marker to write a title.. (again. not straight). Each challenge created was apparently worth points... most points = winner. Obviously i did not find the thread with those details. Im so angry.. atleast i know that my work is loved by my family so i guess its not a weekend wasted..
Atleast when i get a reject letter from a mag, i understand that there are lots of very talented ladies out there who obviously had something that the mags wanted, but this is a bigger kick in the guts than getting rejects from mags.. simply because there was no effort justifying the winner... winning. grrrrrrr...

do i sound like a spoilt brat!?

Just had to vent.. sorry. :(

Crop 'til you drop

I think that this should be the name of one stores online cyber crop name... i found by chance a site in the United States that was having a cyber crop this weekend so i thought that it would be a little different and a tonne of fun to scrap with the Americans since it seems that they scrap a lot different than we seem to do down under... anyway.. here i was, niave and sheltered from all the aussie cyber crops, thinking that there would be a few games and 3-4 challenges.. this is pretty normal.. right!?! Wrong.. how VERY wrong i was... try games til you cant game any more and cropping til you litterally drop or have your fingers fall off. 15 Challenges!! Yep.. you read right... fifteen! What are these women thinking... are they insane!? I guess if i was a power scrapper






instead of a snail then i would not have a problem at all with 15 challenges but you guessed it... im struggling... i was on track until they threw 5 more up.. and then i thought.. yep.. this is cool.. i will be able to have 9 done by mid morning Monday (since its a public hol in Vic and the CC is due to end around then) WRONG... im sure they senced my sureness and confidence in scrapping way more than i think i've ever scrapped in a 48 hour period so they threw up another 5...

Gawd damn-it... my game plan is mud now.. ~L~...


Im still going to work on the challenges, even though i wont be able to submit them for the crop... here is what i have come up with so far..
Ive discovered that this is what cropping in a pure relaxed atmostphere while listening to blues creates.

Miss Mirandas ABC Puzzle

I made this puzzle and tin set i made Miranda for christmas but forgot to put it up and show y'all... honestly, until today i had not even got around to photographing it, but i read that For Keeps has a call for OTP things at the moment so i thought i would submit it and see how i go.It's not a usual puzzle, it is an alphabet puzzle made of 6 x 6 piece puzzle pieces. It has 24 sides and 10 flowers thrown in to make this a little more Tricky. It was inspired by Mirandas passion for puzzles, and her ability to do them and master them within the shortest amount of time. While she is the master in our house of puzzles she is not very good with her alphabet so i came up with the idea of this puzzle, not only to make her think a little deeper when doing her puzzle (with the fact that the patterned paper i used on the background is not all running the same way)
i have included flowers into the puzzle just to make it a little more tricky so that when she does master her alphabet it will not be a puzzle that she completes in a few minutes. I have also made it so that none of the pieces can be the same colour, beside, diagonally or two across to make the puzzle even that little more complicated. It has stumped a few adults though Miranda is still loving the challenge! ~L~ And.. yep... she has completed it... a few times actually.

BOM - Right Now

Thought i would share with you a page that i did yesterday in my newly started Book Of Me..
Thejournalling that i have allowed the world to see is a harsh blunt reality which Matt says could not be any more truethful if i tried... this is for me... my growth... my benifit... so.. you know what!? Harsh and Blunt is good.. it gives me something to look back on later and see how very far i have actually travelled on my lifes journey.. right!?
There is extra journalling under anything that is held down with photo turns! ;)

Anyway.. that is it for me..
hugs n kisses
xxx

D Day...

Can you believe that it has been six weeks since Jamies drama with his finger!? Some days it seems way longer.. like an eternity or two.. though yay for today, its D Day...

We have both been counting down the days until today would come around and this morning... no more sleeps!! We headed to the hospital about midday and have just not arrived home with the best news!!!

WE HAVE MOVEMENT!!!!

It took a few minutes of trying ... (with mummys heart in her throat) to get the movement.. but yep... it twitched.. then slowly but surely... he bent it.. only the slightest bit... but it MOVED... by the end of rehab he had progressed marginly, though... its happening... like they say, it may not happen overnight, but it will happen..
His finger looks rather putrid (not in the dirty, unclean sence either ~L~) though ive been assured that new skin will grow and the colour will return to normal. Please let it be sooner rather than later! Almost gag-worthy. ~L~

Everything went smoothly except for the doctor slipping with the grip of his pliers as he went to pull the pin out of Jamies finger, tearing the flesh at the tip a little.. before the pin was removed.. i probably should say this is done with no anasthetic.. anyway.. Jamie says the doctors lied when they said it didnt hurt..
my man was so brave, even though i could see the tears, he didnt fully cry.. he has decided that the pin must be scrapbooked along with the rest of the ickies from this journey.. yay for mum since she is the one that has to do it.. bleh bleh..

still weeks of rehab getting the finger to move properly.. months of aching as it strengthens... but we have been told as long as he follows the rehab orders of no basket ball or hard tasking, we should have a full recovery in a few months.. yay!!

Thank god that stage is all over!

81 Candles

Yet another year rolls by, another candle my father has earned, yet never again shall he be able to blow them out...

Today the 2nd of March, as every year, i find myself a little melancholy...though i fight through the day...i no longer find a solace in placing roses upon the marble rimmed plaque that mark where his earthly body remains...but more in the memories that the day provides...

Dad... do you remember the first time i ever made you a birthday cake? Remember how i stood at the oven door so impatiently for the cake to be done and was so upset that it had not risen an inch? I painstakenly made the icing, passionfruit, with the seeds included... and smiled through tears as you being you, laughed and blew out the candles anyway, saying that it was the best cake you had ever seen.
Remember how i promised to make the next birthday cake so much better? It rose, like a dream, though the icing, blue - was almost fluroescent it was so bright? Again you gave me praise like you have always done. It became tradition that i would make your cake, each year and thankfully they got better, though, slowly!. i have now mastered the art of cake making and can even make the icing the colour and shade i want it to be... you would be so proud.. though, im sure... you being you...no matter if it was hollow and sunken in the middle and resembled the colour of the mid day sun... you would love it... and eagerly blow those 81 candles out...

I miss making those cakes for you.. I miss you so much more.

Happy Birthday... i love you!

no other word for it...

than 100% CRAZY... me, this song...whatever... craaaaaaazeee!

What better way to start March than with a little bit.. or a lot... of Crazy!~L~

I thought i would share a little bit with you!

Llama Song

Out with the old.. in with....

Veronica... my very brand new smelling straight from the box computer...

Yesterday i had nothing but trouble with my computer where it was freezing continually and giving me nothing but grief.. after Matt emailing me at work and saying he would like to talk to me when he got home about getting me a new one (my old one was hand me down that has been nothing but naughtiness since i got it) the last thing i expected the minute he walked in the door was to be piled into the car and taken off computer shopping while the house was sprayed for spiders..

I don't know exactly why Matt called the computer Veronica... but.. the name has kind of stuck now.. though knowing him it was for some pervy reason like girls playing with girls or something.. i guess what ever floats his boat.. I'm not complaining... since.. well... veronica is all mine mine mine... (insert wicked laughter).. Not only though did i get Veronica but i got her friend, a brand new not yet nicknamed photo quality scanner and printer (which again, Matt was the first to play with)... aren't i just too spoilt!?

She is now 5 hours old and the very first thing i have done on her is blogged... have to get my priorities right.. right!?

"Why on earth is she 5 hours old and your only just now playing with her!!" i hear you ask!?

well... tonight was Froggy Todds first Cyber Crop, and as much as i was teased by Matt and the neighbour ripping open cardboard boxes and letting that new smell waft my way, i had a cyber crop to run... for all the teasing and time away from veronica though, i have to say... it was a great night..
Now though, i must kiss Veronica good night and tuck her in.. i have to go to bed.
I love my man ... i love my new friends...

good night
~hugs n kisses~

It ain't easy be'in GREEN...

I'm so so so loving my new blog... its randomness and colours i think are just totally me and where i'm at lately... i think it would be what the inside of my head would look like if we were to take a peek at the moment... not green of course.. that would be a little icky, if not totally worrisome... ewww... but simply the scribbly random busy-ness of everything... if nothing else, it looks like my desk at the moment... a total creative mess! ~LOL~

I still have some things that i have to finish, change or create for my work in progress... but... for today, this will do..

It ain't easy be'in green... getting this far has taken me quite some time... i guess i've been out of the graphic~design side of things too long... i'm sure it wont take me too long to remeber all the tricks to making things purdy quickly.. :)
love n hugs
~s

Out of the darkness came light...

GREEN is the new black... you heard it first here! ~LMAO~... nah.. just kidding... but... for me, there is no other colour... i dont know what it is about it... but i seem to have suddenly bonded with a colour that i really did not think i liked that much.. though... looking back on things bought over the years, green is definately a colour that plays a big part in my life... perhaps subconsiously, it is my colour... anyway.. here is my new blog... i love my hubby for helping tweak things after i made the banner.. and i love rhonna farrer for actually having tonnes of freebies online that i could use to make this blog what it is now...

So... tell me... honestly... what do you think!? Have i lost my mind or do you like it!?

14 Years .... and counting...

Well.... today is my Matts and my 14th wedding anniversary... i dont know sometimes how we made it this far though, the thing is... that we have.... we are strong together...and to mark such a milestone, we have three beautiful children and a dog!

though... 14 years!? WOW...

Matt,
Babe... through all of the clouds always came sunshine... through all my tears, you have found a way to dry them... when life has caused me to feel like if fallen behind, you have been there waiting for me to catch up, When i have fallen, you have always pick me up and show me that it will be okay....
We are all told that everyone's life has rough points, sadly for us, most have not been of our own making... thank you for taking the sometimes foggy path with me and still having hold of my hand just as tightly when we have stepped into the light again.

... i love you...

I'm no stamper... nor cardmaker...

I'm a scrapper through and through..

this card that i made last week should say it all... ~L~... its just a mini scrapbook without pages.

Though.....

Earlier on this afternoon i was so over card making and i had barely even tried stamping (save for a few very primative attempts some 4 years ago)
well.. instead of throwing the stamps out the window and the cardstock in the bin (though i will say there were a few errors along the way) i finally created my first real card that i'm 100% happy with.. im sure the card makers will laugh.. and the stampers perhaps even more, at my attempt but for a scrapper, this is huge progress... this card does not resemble a mini scrapbook page! ~LMAO~

i am so so so excited and so chuffed at my own ... well... i could say brilliance, but i will simply settle for perseverance..

i did it i did it.. wooooohoooooo!!!!




im just stoked that this card kinda resembles a stampers attempt at a card since im no stamper, or cardmaker.. im a scrapper through and through!~L~

WINTER.... Come on Down!!!!!

OMG.. how hot as it been... while my dear friends in the states are freezing we here in Australia are slowly melting... i dont know about where you live but the last few days here have been totally intollerable..

Its 10.30am here this morning and its already 31 degrees celsc. inside... there is a hot breeze blowing and im still struggling to recover from yesterday.. would you believe that it was still 34 inside at 7pm!? Crazy godforsaken summer weather..
Bring on Winter i say!

We are packing the kids up and taking a drive somewhere... maybe we will get somewhere cooler.. who knows.. but atleast the car has airconditioning!~LMAO~

Im such a winter person... im soooooo not dealing with this weather at the moment... bleh!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

I hope that those of you whom do the gift exchanging get some wonderful presents.. For Matt and i, we share this day with the children, normally huddling us all around a beautifully set candle lit table, linen and crystal and divine food... tonight shall be no different... I shall be able to share the occassion with the 4 people that will always be my loves.. what better gift could i get!?

May your day be shared with all those people that you love and make you smile... Happy valentines day.

Priceless little Treasures

I recieved a circle journal in the post today... its totally stunning... its one of those little books that you have to touch.. you know... velvet ribbon that deserves a caress... a silk flower thats petal deserves a stroke.. little brads and snaps that attract finger to them so that you can feel every dimension of such a beautiful work of art..What i didnt consider though was the thoughts that it would cause to churn in my head.. the emotion that it would rise..
The theme of the book is "priceless little treasures" and in the introduction the artist says "Our lives consist of many little things that may not be of any value to the average person, but are priceless and precious to you"
I had the perfect thing to place in this book.. it was a plate that was given to me by my father when i was only tiny.. the only thing out of what was a childrens dinner set that has survived 33 years. It was the saucer from a tea cup and saucer.. though with our last move, the removalists dropped it. While it would have been priceless to the rest of the world.. it was everything to me.. It is now with a repairer.. hoping that he may be able to repair it.. though, since it has been away from me... as silly as it sounds.. i have missed it every day and made my dad seem that little bit more away from me.. i cant wait to get it back. Perhaps i will just journal about it.
I have something else that i will definately be taking a pic of and adding to this little book of treasures.. its a golden 3 tier jewel box of my grandmothers.. something that was filled with all her own little treasures, mostly broken jewelry that she just never got rid of for what ever reason. When she died, no one wanted it except for my mum... when i was a child i used to be alowed to lay on mums bed and just open it up and rummage through its bits and pieces, now.. it has found its way into my hands as part of my mothers living will.. it is something that has a dear place in my heart.

:)
Thanks for listening to my rambles yet again.

Finding my feet

I've had the most marvelous time lately... i have found a new online community in which i found by being nosey oneday and clicking on someones signature... that someone happened to be none other than the owner, a wonderful lady none the less. This community has quickly become home to me and the place that while online, i spend about 99% of my time, the other 1% is chared amongst checking for messages from people on two other forums and reading email... i can't say enough about this place... i can see nothing but wonderful things happening in the near future and have no doubt in my mind that it will become one of the best known online stores in australia. The owner just has the mentaility that she CAN do anything that she sets out to do.. its wonderful. It cant get better than that, right!? Wrong!! Her prices are pretty fantastic as well and she even stocks the famous, ever wanted, always talked about Autumn Leaves stamps!!
She has kindly invited me to assist her some at froggy Todd Creations.. it has been wonderful... i have found my feet, my niche and am loving it... to top things off i will be assisting further by running their very own cyber crop on the 23rd of February... cross out anything in your diary and make sure that you come along, support a new community, a great woman and have tonnes of fun while doing so... i assure you, it will be worth your while.. i have been given some great prizes to share and have some terrific challenges for you all! If you really CANT make it to the cyber crop, be sure to stop in and visit us... we would be more than happy to welcome you to our home..I believe that she has a very special prize for someone and it has not been won yet, will that person be you!? Don't forget to check out the shop as well... its getting some fabulous stuff added all the time!

{Sweet} like sugar

Thought i would share with you my latest Layout.. its of Miranda, again.. surprise surprise.. i dont know what it is about her, other than that she is so sweet.. so gorgeously photgenic not to mention MY daughter.. but she just always gives me inspiration to scrap... I love all my children.. dont get me wrong... perhaps its the cute-ness that still has not left her that makes scrapping pages of her just so damn easy..
Unfortunately the flower did not come out as true to colour as i would have hoped... nor did the arrow head or center of the flower.. The blossom is the dark pink heidi swapp and the center, arrow head and title are done in Basic Greys Gypsy Paper - dragonfly.



Anyway.. thanks for looking!

A Case of the Sillies

All i wanted to do is get a pic of the kids in front of the dressing pavillions yesterday.. but do you think i could get them to be serious!?
This photo doesnt show them all being co-operative and smiling but it does show them being them... gorgeous and just a little silly!

Brighton... on a cloudy day

Matt and i finally got to take the children out to Brighton.. We have been wanting to get there since we have arrived.. finally, today we left home with a rather blue sky and the sun shining.. camera in hand and BIG plans for finding the famous beach dressing rooms that we have seen so many times in magazines and on Tellie.. well.. after a few Zigs instead of Zags, we finally found them... WOW... what colour... What variety... What scrapping pages i could do with these.... What!? Rain clouds!? Just out luck! Within about 15 mins of walking along the beach, picking up shells & looking at the bright beautiful dressing sheds while Matt took some photos (before i was allowed to get my hands on the Canon) it started to rain... but i was there for photos god-damn it and i was NOT leaving no matter how dripping i become without the photos... and photos we got!!!!

Though.. as it got heavier, we decided that it was not in the best interest of the Canon to stay out in such inclement weather.. or us for that matter.. since the wind was now blowing the dry-ish sand onto the wet bodies and slowly turning us into sand yeti's... wouldnt you know it though.. after getting back to the car and getting the kids in, the clouds parted and the sky turned blue again.. it was as if the photo gods were not on our side... well.. to those photo gods... you didnt act fast enough... we got these!!!! ~LMAO~

One of those MUST HAVES

You know when you see something that you just can't live without!!? well that is me... i have seen the new clock faces that heidi swapp released at CHA this year though my goodness... look at this clock set of stamps!? Isnt that better than all the pre-fabricated clockfaces in the world? I have added this to almost the top of my ever growing wish list! ~L~

Just a Mum

I read this today and had to share it with those of you who i know will really appreciate it... not mentioning anynames today Lyn... OOPSs... did i say that out loud!? ~blinks~


JUST A MUM?


A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office
was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.


"What I mean is," explained the recorder,
"do you have a job or are you just a......?"

"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.
"I'm a Mom."
"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it,"
said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the
same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,
efficient and possessed of a high sounding title like,
"Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."

"What is your occupation?" she probed.
What made me say it?
I do not know.
The words simply popped out.
"I'm a Research Associate in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations."

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and
looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written,
in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest,
"just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,
I heard myself reply,
"I have a continuing program of research,
[what mother doesn't)
in the laboratory and in the field,
(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family)
and already have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities,
(any mother care to disagree?)
and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are
more of a satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program,
testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than
"just another Mom."
Motherhood!
What a glorious career!
Especially when there's a title on the door.

Does this make grandmothers
"Senior Research associates in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations"
and great grandmothers
"Executive Senior Research Associates"?
I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts
"Associate Research Assistants".

We Survived the first school week!

Well... its Monday and after a little rushing to get out the door the children are back at school this morning and im slowly making my way through the few chores that i have to do and making a brilliant little ... err... or not so little, depends on who you are i guess, of scrapping things that i need/want/desire. We got boradband installed on friday and i can no browse all those store that took forever to look through before... there are so many glorious things though i have found the most fabulous price on some Autumn Leaves Stamps that i want to get... you know when you see something and dont know which one you want to chose? Well.. that is what im like... i've decided.. and my Sweet Man has obligued me to get them all... im one lucky ducky... hopefully next week or the week later at the most i will be putting in my order to the States and anxiously awaiting the courier whom no doubtedly i will almost kiss when he finally arrives with my goodies. :D

The kids seem to be settling into this school remarkably well... after all the issues in the past that we have had with Kiera and Jamie wanting to go "home" to their old schools they have surprise me... pleasently with their acceptance and liking of this school.. i have to admit though... they want for nothing there.. its more like a private school than a public system school... its brand new.. state of the art and simply brilliant in my eyes.
We had their first all school assembly this morning and what can i say... im busting with pride, Kiera was awarded the first of the class awards this year for great work ethics... i think she knows just how proud both her daddy and i are of her efforts so early in the year!

Okay... washing machine is beeping at me... must be off... who ever is reading this.. hope that y'all have a wonderful day.

_________________________________________________
Afterthought: its meant to be 38 celcius today... bleh... bring on winter!

My baby girl's first BIG day

Well Miss Miranda started Kindy today, or as its called in Victoria.. Prep.
She looked totally adorable.. though have not yet got the pictures off the camera yet.. from behind she looked like a backpack with legs in a hat! My baby is not so much a baby anymore now that uniform has officially gone on...
She loved it!
Matt spoke to the teacher this afternoon when he picked up Miranda, apparently she was great all day though near the end of the day wanted to come home because everyone wanted to play with her and she wanted to play by herself! The same thing happened at preschool for the first week... i guess playing by herself at home all the time is "normal" for her... having everyone wanting to play with you would have to be a little overwhelming.. im sure she will adjust quickly.

She is my last one to send to school now... my neighbour cant imagine the extent of quietness that is in my house now and says that if it was her home alone she would be dancing around the house naked hollerin' "WHOOOHOOO"...
me... well.. im fully dressed and just trying to adjust. Hopefully today i will not crumble to the silence like i did yesterday and start talking to myself to break the total quiet!~L~
Ajdustment i dont think will take long... i keep telling myself, after i've acomplished all those little jobs that ive been desperately waiting to do, think of all the scrapping i can do!


______________________________________________

Jamie and i headed off to the hospital again today, this time to have a plastics consult and check up. What a number he did on the finger... i sware, though... thankfully there was not a lot of swelling and no bruising at all which surprised the pants off me. He has about 7 stitches which will come out next week and today, started rehab... not that they did a lot, just had the cast cut off and a finger cast put on instead so now atleast he can have movement of the other fingers... he hurt so much simply because his hand and fingers were all so stiff.. poor man.
They are not sure of how much movement he is going to have of his finger as the damage done to the tendon was apparently a little more than they first suspected (or was told to me after surgery)... so i guess.... like it has been thus far, it will continue to be a waiting game. I will remain optomistic and say that i'm sure he will make a full recovery! :)

Back to school

Ohhhhhhh
Back To School
Back To School
To Prove To
Dad That I'm Not A Fool
I've Got My,
Luch Packed Up
My Boots Tied Tight
I Hope I Don't Get
In A Fight
Ohhhh
Back To School
Back To School
Back To School ~Adam Sandler~

Got to love Adam Sandler, though more so, that it's the first day back to school for B1 & B2 today. (Kiera and Jamie).. and for the last few days, this is the song that has been sounding through our house... the kids have only had each other and the little 5year old next door to play with so im certain that they are so over their own company and needing to get out into the world of school again and make some new friends...

Tomorrow is the biggest day though... i wonder who will cry first, mummy or Miranda when Miranda starts her first BIG day at BIG school...

Quote of the Day

THE HERO IS COMMONLY THE SIMPLEST AND OBSCUREST OF MEN
~Henry David Thoreau~

My week in review..

You ever had one of those weeksn when you sit there and say... wow... what a shocker... i'm glad every week is not like this!?

Well.. that was this week for me.. and i was thinking it on monday night!

My gorgeous little boy (not so little anymore) decided that he wanted to help with dinner like he always likes to try and do.. (i think he will be a chef).. anyway, Matt, Kiera and i were having thai green curry chicken and neither Jamie or Miranda wanted that so they opted for Baked beans on toast... an easy dinner.. right!?
Well... poor Jamie still has not had them.. I remembered that i had forgotten to find their baby books with all their vaccination records which i needed for them to start their new school so i told him to wait and i would be back in a tick... anyway, since he had opened a million cans before monday he decided to continue in the preperation of his dinner, only for shrills and screams to follow quickly after.
He called out saying that he had cut his finger, i said something that i will NEVER say again. "is it hanging off? if not.. give me a second and i will be in!" Words said that i now wish i could retract... for the shrills got louder when he discovered that infact, it was rather... hanging!

While he was opening the can with one of those stupid pull rings the lid would not come away from the can so he pulled harder, his finger slipped from the ring and slid down the entire side of the cans lid, severing his first finger at the first joint on the tin. Well... all i can say is im so glad that blood is not an issue with me (vomit, well that is what daddies are for!)... cause there was lots of it! Thank god for cloth nappies is all i can say... we grabbed a handful of those from thethe linen cupboard and made a tornequet around his hand with one before binding him up in them and rushing off to the hospital.

He was seen by a nurse almost instantly, i think moreso because he was slowly starting to bleed onto their floor... she put a pressure bandage on... told us to wait and we would be seen by a doctor soon... 4 hours past and we finally got in to see a doctor... (it was the same for the poor man sitting not too far away with his finger on ice in a bowl)... there was no sence of urgency at the hospital, that is for sure.. anyway... he checked it (at midnight) and said he has cut through tendons... (duh, now that could possibly be the reason his finger is hanging, idiot!)... he will need to see a plastic surgeon... (i swear, this guy is a rocket scientist)... though, unfortunately, we dont have a childrens ward, or plastic surgeons here at this hospital... you will need to go to Western in the morning since there will be no one that can treat him now.. i'll call now and let the hospital know to expect you first thing in the morning.

Well..thats last time i take a doctors advice... when we appeared at Western on tuesday morning no one knew anything about Jamie... and to top things off, we were sent to the wrong "western"... while their were plastics there, they did not deal with children.. that was the other western hopsital.. though, when called, they didnt know anything either.. so the nursing staff in ER called plastics down, who we saw in about 5 mins of being in the hopsital, had something better put on his finger to help save it and had xrays done. Geremy, the plastic surgeon that we met told us that it was noncensce that we had to wait til the morning to come across.. he said that plastics are on call 24 hours and that Jamie would have been operated on almost immediately.. We were then told that the childrens ward were waiting at Sunshine (the other western hospital) for us and that we would now be transfered over there... We could not have asked for better service or people to be looking after Jamie than what we got at these last two hospitals.

He was taken into surgery late afternoon on Monday and underwent microsurgery to repair the damage done to his tendons and bloodvessels that were all severed to the bone. There was some concern that he had also damaged the joint as well so ortho was on stand by, though thankfully that was found not to be the case... Because of how and where the tendons were cut he has a wire down through the tip of his finger and running down into his hand along the tendon to aid in its healing.
Its a long recovery and not free of lots of risks..and atleast one more surgery is scheduled. .. though we are hoping for the best and taking it easy... we just have to pray now for no infection or rejection over the next 6 weeks...

While... all i can say through out this ordeal is what a brave little man i have... he didnt make a fuss, didn't complain about the severe pain that he was in nor act upon the fear that i could see in his eyes when the operation was discussed with us.. a true little champion... who i've always been proud of, though now see in entirely a different light.

what a week... and now its thursday, im well and truely thankful that its almost over!

(i'll pull the pic off my phone and add it at a later date... i swear, when he was getting hooked up to a drip and such, he didn't look like a little boy with a finger hanging off, thats for sure!)

Quote of the day

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent persperation
~Thomas Alva Eclison~

I found god on a blog

Yup... you heard it... i found him... the divine creator of everything... the MAN himself! I didn't come across him at my darkest hour of need or even in a church... i stumbled upon him on a blog believe it or not!

I have been trying to figure out how to make a custom banner appear on my blog forever.. (well... perhaps i exagerate.. but ... its been a hell of a long time.. lets just say that) and when i least expected it... he came to my aid via a blog site!

I discovered that god is not a female... nor is coloured... he is simply a man from Tuscon Arizona with a sexy lil smile!

Matt Dinniman - Divine Intervention

Just a little something i whipped up earlier :P

This LO is my first ever attempt at a CJ entry.. the CJ's theme was "Scrap Buddies Info" The swap was over though the owner approached me and asked if i would like to add something to it..
so i've obligued and done a page giving the owner of the CJ all the info on me that she would need to know me a little better and know what i liked and did not like scrapping wise...
I have made the orange flower, the J, the right } and the arrow sliders, each of them is attached to a tag that is hidden within the underside of the page with extra information on them... i really am impressed with how it turned out.. though i must admit it took a while to get used to all that white! ~L~

now... i must dash.. have yet another CJ to create... t'ta for now! (hahaha)

I thought that i would share what i have been up to over the last few days..
I've finally fallen into the world of CJs (circle journals)... feet first i may add!
This picture is my first CJ ... While i have made this album, i will not be using it for the circle journal swap that it was intended.. though im sure it will come in use in a swap in the future... im stoked at the way it all came together and totally love my new found discovery of "bling"... do you like my green flower!? can you see all the little crystals on the petals!? Prima Crown Jewels eat yer heart out!!
I've used watermarking ink on plain cardstock to give the Alphas a delicate print.. i think it worked a treat... (first time ive used the watermark ink and i must say.. im in luuuuurve)

Quote of the day

"just living is not enough" said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower"
~Hans Christian Anderson~

Karma makes a complete circle

"Sometimes in life there is an instant when one stops breathing, not due to death, but circumstance. When their world becomes cloudy, the air so tainted that a breath can no longer be caught. Life doesn't have to be bad but it’s not perfect either. Ever had a feeling, that there was a something missing, which had to be found... i have always known that a soul had two parts....and for a life time i have wondered... Though now, i think i'll stop & take my first steps... walking in destinys Shoes"

the world is not so cloudy any more.... Heres to the rest of my journey...


I dont know about you but i am a true believer in karma... that karma has a way of reering its pretty lil' head and biting those on the arse that most deserve it.. well.. today, i'm a bigger believer than i ever was... though... more so...

i know that from today... i can walk forward... head held high and not be scared.

13 years ago my father was brutally stolen from me at the hands of another... namely, a step brother (not my fathers child)& had my life, that of my husband and my eldest child also threatened on numerous occasions... easily put, my life as i knew it had been turned up side down.

today... (13 years and 5 months and 1 day to be exact) on, i no longer have to check in the window of every car coming towards me as i cross the street, look over my shoulder or scour the crowds that i have been so terrified of, but most of all... i can really breath again.

at 6.33am this morning i got a phone call that changed everything... that finally... "my fear".. was no longer warrented.. that the thing that had taught me to fear... to not live like i should was dead. He was found alone... drowned. Karma has a way of completing its circle... this circle is now complete.

He cant hurt me or my family any more...i know that my life will never be the same, although... with him gone.. it will be a hell of a lot easier.

For the first time in all these years... the weight that has pushed upon my shoulders is gone and i can say with all of my heart that right at this moment i feel at peace.. complete peace.. something that i had forgotten how to feel.
____________________________________________________
Afterthought: Even though i've been told its over... i still need to see the paper that confirms it... that is easy enough to understand.. right!?

Quote of the day

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~Leo J. Burke

fables farse's fairytales...

(hahah... i bet you cant say that 10 times quickly!! :P)

Do you ever wish that you could just flick a switch and with the lights, the rest of the world closes off completely? That just for the few hours you need to recharge your internal batteries that those around you would just pause? When i was a child... that is what imagined the night like.. that everywhere... someone if not EVERYONE was sleeping just like i was doing or was about too...

You know what!? Total fable... farse...fairytale.... fabrication even of what the world is like...i have since discovered that when a mummy closes the blinds & turns out the light... its normally right at that minute that the child who's "tummy hurt most" at the precise moment they were all told it was bed time, is preparing to throw up! Yup... even with the lights off... someone... somewhere... and i can almost guarentee that its aaaaaalllll the way down the hall from you... someone is awake... hopefully for you though, that person is not being sick :(

My gorgeous lil girl loves pasta... pasta is her favourite meal... i mean... she could eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner if i was to give it to her, and thankfully after tonight... im not that daft!

My gorgeous lil girl was hungry... well... that is what her brain was telling that tiny lil' tummy of hers... not just normal hungry... but really... has not been fed in a week starving hungry...
After she had been supervised and i presumed she was done and commenced to do other things away from her she decided to be a little gobble-doc and ate most of her brothers left overs too... normally there would not be any left overs from a growing boy...right? WRONG! Tonight, of all the nights that i was really tired and REALLY needed sleep...and was watching the clock, counting down the time before i could go to bed, there were tonnes.. ofcourse!!(and no, it's got nothing to do with my culinary skills i'll have you know!! its got more to do with the fact they had the same meal last night...)

so at 3.37am on a perfectly cool... totally quiet (Matt is not even snoring) night... here i am... welcome to my world
________________________________________________
Afterthought:
If i have learned anything tonight... it's don't do the same meal twice in a row no matter how much your children say they want it again...

&

Someone... somewhere... is always awake! Sadly tonight.. that someone is me! :(

150 Things to do in your life

I saw this in an email and decided to share it with you... let you see what i have so far accomplished and yet have to do... its inspired me to write a list of things i WANT to do as well...but... that will have to wait for another day... i've got dinner to do now... the joys of being a grown up i guess come at a price!~L~

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a ferarri for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends (even if most are just online! :) )
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents I miss you dad!
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111.Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Where have i been you may ask!?!

Well... it's 10 days into the new year already and time is zooming along... i can't believe that i've been so disorderly and lazy and not stopped in to tell y'all the latest...

Though...its very forgivable.. i'm sure y'all will agree... besides hanging out with new friends and savouring the last of the time my man has left on holidays i've been playing with my newest spoil.. Oooh.. before i tell you what it is.. have i told y'all lately how much i love this man of mine!!??

Often? okay then... we are set for details...

last weekend he got up and came out to me trying my hardest to organize things in my scrap area... (miserably i may add as i had not a lot of storage.. there were things EVERYWHERE... on the floor, on chairs i had dragged from the dining area and ALL over my desk.. nothing was safe... thats for sure) and matter of factly said "You need some shelves babe.. let's start out by going to check out ikea and see what they have"... ofcourse... he didn't have to invite me along twice.. though, i was under the impression that this project was going to be an ongoing thing.. getting a bit here and there until i had the perfect room... but oh no... while we did just buy one shelf and 1/2 a dozen baskets...(as a start) the very next day i was taken back and got a larger shelf, jars, mini drawers, magazine folder/holder thingies, waste basket and pen holder..

im now the very proud owner of a super organised, very sexy.. never want to leave here to sleep... SCRAP ROOM!

(pictures to be inserted soon)

I love you baby... Not that its often that he gets time to read this, it doesnt hurt to tell him... again.. and again... and again!


Im just finishing off the finer decorating touches by adding tags to the baskets so that i know whats in them, painting the little sets of drawers that fit ever so perfectly on my desk and scrapping the spines of the magazine holders and giving a lick of colour to a corkboard that will hang on the wall near me and remind me of all those things that my old(er) mind seems to want to forget..

this year... its SUPER ORGANISED for me...

If my words did not do my excitement justice, eat a bag of red candy frogs, drink coke really fast so you get "that" rush and read it again.. im sure by the end of it you will be hearing every drop of excitement! hahaha..

well... til next time... Live to the point of tears...

____________________________________________________
afterthought: Lyn.. i discovered the reason we could not see your comments... its set so that i have to acknowledge them first... sooooooo... in the future.... comment away darlin girl! xxx

Quote of the day

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. ~A.A.Milne~

Quote of the Day

Old age is not so bad when you consider the alternatives.
~Maurice Chevalier~

Happy Happy Happy...

Happy Happy Happy Birthday to me and New Year to Y'all...

Can you believe that its already a new year? 2007 no less.... i think as we get older, time just seems to plummet along at a rate of knots... i can't ever remember days going quickly, months zooming by when i was younger... it makes one sit back on a day like to day... and think... where did it all go... why didn't i do this or that... Makes me feel so very wasteful of my life, the opportunities set before me and the time that i have friverously let slip through my fingers..

Don't get me wrong.. i try and do as much as i can with every single day though sometimes.. i just wonder if i could have some how done more.. but that again, may just be the perfectionist in me... the part of me that always whispers in my ear "is that really enough...? I guess friverlous is too strong a word for my justification of things.. but... i can't think of a better word for it...

Though.. if someone was to ask me if i were to be able to turn back the clock would i... so that i could do things different would i say yes? NO! Not at all... i seriously don't think i'd change too much..

Anyway... onto the brighter thoughts of today...

ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!! YAY!

Downside... i feel so old today... even though in merely 33 i had the roughest night last night... honest to god i though by 4am this morning i was having a heart attack... i was in a lot of pain... was sleep deprived... all in the cruel humour of air caught under my diaphragm.. can you say OUCH!?

Though... ofcourse, i refused to go to the hospital... (don't frown Lyn, i know you ARE frowning)... who wants to be in hospital on their birthday!?! The kids had planned an outing for me... and i was NOT going to spoil it for them... even though it was my day.. (true mummy words.. huh!?!)

So... even though id had 1.5 hours sleep all night, we all piled into the car with sunscreen, towels and swimmers and headed down the coast ... i've always wanted to get onto the great ocean drive and just go... and today.. we did!
While we didnt get too far along the road today, we went far enough... we got to torquay and Bells beach, two other places that i've always wanted to go... even though i didnt get to touch the sand at Bells i saw the waves... which was plenty...
The rain which had held off started before we were half way along the path to the sand so we decided to turn back since we were having a birthday dinner with friends...

I thoroughly enjoyed my day and got totally spoilt...

Happy birthday Me... and heres to a year of firsts... definately no lasts... and lots and lots of fun!!

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afterthought:
Birthday spoils...

a gold watch with pink gem bling around the face and butterflies on the face from Kiera)
a gold watch with mother of pearl flower inlays and little cubic crystals that has a matching bangle from Matt
an 18 ct gold bracelet from my mummy
A bag full of divinely smelling girly stuff from Miranda
a new leather "billabong" wallet from Jamie
A set of pewter flower pot/flower tablecloth weights from my friends/neighbours

To share a little of me....

I have in the past been on a scrap design team, competed to gain a place on another and while i did not get that place, i lived so far outside of the square while i was learning so much about myself... i saw my style change so much throughout that time and grew more than i could have ever imagined. (even if my friend Gillian says she could pick my work anywhere) Someone told me to refrain from sharing my work with others on the Scrapbooking Memories forum incase my work was scraplifted...personally, i think it is the greatest form of flattery to see that someone else loves your work as much as you do and wishes to recreate it for their own memories...

thinking back on it now, i wonder if it was simply so i was not sharing them with anyone else but her.. !?!? Who knows... anyway...here i am... finally taking the plunge... so.... here are a few that... well... i prepared a little eariler.. :)

My love, my life, my world... MY FAMILY!

Thanks for looking...

Quote of the day

"Scrapping is really the closest that you can get to being immortal. To ensuring that future generations will know about you, about what was important to you and that you meant something to others.
Do i want to live forever?? Absolutely!!"

~Ali Stafford

Howzat!?!

Well... I'm wishing after all the years that i was subjected to the cricket being the ONLY thing on Television over the christmas break, that i had actually taken some notice and perhaps took mum and dad up on their offer for teaching me the rules so i could understand what all these guys in whites were doing running around in the sun on a perfectly good beach weather kinda day.

We were given tickets to todays cricket match at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground ~for the Yankees reading this ;) ) for today... 5 of them so Matt and i took the kids along and between us all had our first real cricket experience.

While i enjoyed ever bit of the game, i really didnt understand the finer pointers of the game... but... really.. i dont think it mattered all that much, save for the few times i stood up with the English supporters to cheer when they got our guys out! To my defence, this was just after we got there and i didnt realise it was our guys in batting! Doh!!! How on earth could i have known... i had not been watching the highlights and didnt check the scoreboard... and in the sun dark blue hats look very similar to dark green! ~L~

Im sure if the Aussie cricketers knew this was my very first game they would have forgiven me..

regardless.... i soon figured most of it out... stood up with the right supporters and showed the aussie spirit of hollaring in cheers REALLY loudly.. and guess what... im looking forward to going back to watch another cricket match soon...i even have the tickets... courtesy of Jamie.. who was in the right place at the right time and won some for a local game in February... yay!

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afterthought: i even got to be part of a mexican wave... figuring that we are now south of the boarder and all... i thought it was very appropriate!

PS: Lyn... see that dead bit of grass looking thing where the guys are standing!?! Thats a cricket pitch!! :)

4 sleeps 'til my birthday!

(picture taken by Matt)

364 days til we do it again..

Why is it that the wait for christmas seems to take forever while the day it self is over in a blink of the eye!?!

I love christmas... always have and i think i always will... what is there not to love... seeing the childrens faces on christmas morning when they see the tree stacked, weather they are young and total believers or older and know the "secret" it doesnt matter... that look is what all that penny pinching and crazy waiting in cues at the big sales is all for... makes it all worth while... the smell of cooking pudding, the kitchen wafting of all manner of cullinary delights... the laughter and love that seems to be more prominant on this day than any other day of the year...
there is not one part that i dont love...

I cant believe though how fast the day goes.. from about 3am i laid awake hoping to hear foot steps to creep out to the tree and the squeels that normally race through our house.. (even though this year after the party i didnt find myself in bed til 2am anyway~L~)... it took a call from mum at 7.30 am to wake the kids, importantly Miranda who would make sure that noone else was sleeping...

.... present opening... breakfast.... present opening... lunch....

it all seems to pass in a blur.... before you know it... its 9pm and the day is all but over... and its time to start the count down all over again!

Anyway... i had a fantastic day and hope that all those i love and hold dear enjoyed theirs just as much...

To Richard, Tannie, Lee, Lyn, Dave, Rita, Paul and Laura... i hope that you all have had a fantastic day seeing as how in the states... you too shall now be starting that same count down again too...

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afterthought: well... believe it or not... i dont have one!
6 sleeps til my birthday!

Quote of the day

There is nothing sadder in this world than to wake on christmas morning and not be a child.
~Erma Bombeck~

Merry Christmas to All....

and to all a good night....

Well... last night was a wonderful night... our new home filled with new friends, our children...happiness and lots and lots of laughter... what a better way to spend christmas eve!!

Today... what is left to say but Merry Christmas.... and hope that you were good!

Santa came to our house.. and slipped back a little later in the morning with another shipment of presents... needless to say... they were ones that were "forgoten" to be wrap in the aftermarth of the move... a quick distraction... some hastey wrapping and the tree replenished!

Though... im not to sure if i will have a job with santa next year seeings how the presents that were given up as "wrapped" were barely that... what can i say... it was a rush order!~LMAO~

anyway... there is wine to be drunk, toys to play with and still many hours of day light in which to enjoy....

Merry Christmas!!


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afterthought: We are thinking of all those of you that we love where christmas will soon be starting! We love each and everyone of you and hope that one year soon we shall be able to do it together... XXX

Quote of the day

~The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough~

Tis the season ....

Tis the season for some to be jolly while others just figure christmas is too much to deal with, cancel it and think that because they dont want to be festive and make the most of what they have, like to spoil the season for others with their selfish ways..

I have a friend that is sick... can't get better... is no cure and all that...i understand this.. but there is not one thing i can do about it... you know... im not a doctor... i don't have some miraculous healing powers.... and while she has not been doing the best recently... i do what i can by sending her my thoughts... telling her i hope she is feeling better and that she is okay... isnt that what your meant to do!? Being supportive!?!.. i thought that was a friends role... well... obviously i had that arse about face and upside down even because, for sending her wishes hoping she was okay got my arse chewed out and spoken to like a stupid 10 year old, it was all spelled out to me "what life is like" it almost seemed i was expected to go on the same ride of pity that she seems to have boarded and because i had otped to go with "hope" that i was some how a traitor..
Well.. thats not me... if i cant fix something i try to be positive... and hope... that is the one thing we all have... right!?

I have another friend... her sister in law for most of the time i have known this friend has been struggling with cancer... yes, cancer has a cure... sometimes... but regardless... this lady has been really sick... but the difference with her is that she didnt give up on the world and will it to open up and swallow her whole... she held onto hope... looked to the parts of her life that she could fix... do something about... and fought on.... and you know what... she lived life to its fullest and didn't dwell and let her self be pulled into that ugly place where depression dwells...

I really don't know what to do in my situation... do you sit back and be someones sounding board every time they have a bad day... be treated like crap for doing what you do and "hope" or do you do what i did and tell them that it hurt... open them up to the fact that you see them as selfish for the way they are acting about something that you just damn well cant fix.
I love this woman like she were my own flesh and blood sister though do i deserve to be abused every time she has a bad day!?
I guess none of this really matters since she has decided instead of facing the truth of how she has made me feel she has decided to be REALLY adult about this and ignore me like Miranda does when she doesnt get her own way.

I know that no one but me can answer what my head is asking but i guess.. it helps just to get it out..

Thanks for listening...


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afterthought: Now... back to my previous program of CHRISTMAS CHEER!
Merry Christmas Y'all!!!

Quote of the Day

There is nothing sadder in this world than to wake on Christmas morning and not be a child ~Erma bombeck~

Im baaack!

Its beginning to look a lot like christmas for sure... and with only 4 days left, finally im ready!

Its been over a month since i last wrote here i think and so much has happened... firstly.... there are no more counts left.... we are here.... in windy smokey Melbourne...

A date that i thought would never get here came and snuck up on us very quickly and before we could blink the truck was there and the removalists were going through my cupboards packing everything up. It was a strange feeling to say the least.... excitement and anticipation was quickly flooded with panic and dread... it took until the house was half empty to realise the enormousness of what we were really doing...
We were moving hundreds upon hundreds of miles from everyone we loved... everyone that we could count on and everyone that we often visited of a weekend and heading off to a City that none of us were familiar with with people that we didnt know...

What sort of crazy is that!?!

Well.. it was the crazy that we faced just over a week ago and one that i have to admit came with tears from almost all us us and a plea to Matt from me to take me home...
I'm not sure exactly what i think of Melbourne yet... while there are tonnes of shops to explore and things to see and do, its not home.. ya know!?!
I made the biggest leap so far and went out and bought both side neighbours a box of chocolates and had the kids play knock and run, leaving the treats wrapped in festive paper for them to discover once the door was answered...
while i did this, just for something to do and to feel like i was getting into the spirit of christmas in a place i just dont feel i belong quiet yet, it turned out to be a wonderful thing to do... within about 30 minutes i had the neighbours at the door, intorducing themselves and thanking me for the wonderful thought... while it was not a thought i expected to be returned, the next afternoon we were again answering the door to the neighbours, this time with gift in hand...
One thing about the people here in our street, they like to make you feel welcome which i think is lovely... not only was the gift one in responce to our own christmas gesture, though more so a welcome, formally to the street!

We were again greeted with another gift, this time on our door step yesterday... truely, its beginning to look a lot like christmas... our tree is up and now we have gifts besides our own to place under it.. totally unexpected which makes them so much more wonderful.

Getting back to the tears though... the day we arrived, we were greeted just on the outskirts of Melbourne by Alison and Geoff, whom had thought it may be a little less daunting if we followed them to their house where we were staying instead of watching us fumble our way through the city, regardless of the whopping big UBD that had been glued to my lap. Although, having said that, im not totally convinced that it was for none other reason than that Al just could not contain the excitement any longer and needed to be that 30 mins closer to meeting time in an instant!

After talking to this woman that had become part of my life after months and months of million hour long calls we met... after i have to confess, SMS messages flying back and forth between us from about Wodonga...we met.... was truely a day that neither of us thought would come soon enough and our Men prayed would come to save on the huge phone bills!

On the sunday, the tears flowed... it was hot... we finally got to the hotel and were alone... we couldnt swim in the pool because some idiot being chased by the police thought it would be smart to toss his heroine stash into the motels swimming pool so he was not caught with it... so on the hotter than hell day we were having we could not swim and didnt know where we were well enough, so could not find the beach we could smell... we got inside the hotel to find one crummy OLD air conditioner whirring away... not barely cooling the living room much less the rooms that ajoined.. totally AC free... gah.
We had litterally stepped into hell... it was hot, smelled, was tiny and nothing worked..
I swear, two days could not pass soon enough until we were out of there and waiting for the truck out the front of ou new house... which.. i have to say.... is FABULOUS!

This house is bigger than anything that we have ever lived in before, has a cricket pitch as a hall way (swear its true) and keeps cool without the need of air conditioners... im sure it will be happily called home for a number of years to come.. and.. better than anything else, its BRAND SPANKIN' NEW!!!
It only took us 24 hours to have the entire house unpacked and set up after some minor damage done to the walls by the removalists(dont ask) and a few breakages...(we wont go there either... grrr)

so.... there is nothing left for us now to do but put up our feet, relax and wait for the fat man to arrive...

oh... and explore this huge place!

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afterthought: after having some photos taken with Santa at Sanctury Lakes shopping Centre by daddy, we have decided they were not good enough to his standards and will be going back tomorrow... hopefully i will have something up here to share with you all.


4 sleeps til Christmas!