Thanks Rue...

After a really shocking day the other day, i came home to check my mail to find an email saying that i had a visitor to my blog... how cool i thought... so i popped by to read the message left from me... and to follow the link.... only to find that it was not just a message... but an award that i had won... It is for inspiration... which, at the time, i laughed about, since i dont think that i can even inspire myself these days, let alone think i could inspire anyone else.. though... someone out there apparently thinks i can...
Thank you Rue.. not only for the award... but for reminding me that inspiration is everywhere.... Anyway... as part of accepting this award, i have to agree to the rules set... so here they are...

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs.
4. Before listing the nominees give a brief reason why you chose them.
5. Put links of those blogs on yours.
6. Leave a message on the blogs you have nominated.

So... the blogs that i think are totally deserving for this award are..

Estivalia... This girl drips talent... the love and dedication that she has for her art is not hard to see in everything she produces... and she can DRAW!!!! oh my.. can she draw... check her out!! :D
Emily F need i say more!? This lady is amazing... while i dont get a lot of time to scrap at the moment, i love to keep up with the happenings of this beautiful family and read about her life... which, she lives... 100% in colour!
Cathy Without her, i would never have known what it was like to "fly"... love you girl.

Okay.. i know i was meant to put up 6 .. though i have run out of time for now.. though i will pop back later and add a few more... until then...

Long overdue plug

I met an extremely gorgeous lady a few months back at the local sunday markets and was astounded by her creativity. When i saw her goodies all displayed in little bowls and beautiful stands i just knew that i had to tell you all about it. I love supporting little local businesses.... and sharing the love around. This was way back when i was travelling interstate... so as you can imagine... life sort of swept me along and the plans i had been making to tell you about Katie went by the wayside.

Well... here i am.... and by the wayside this beautiful girl is no longer going to be.

Her stall is all about girl accessories... bobbles, pins, clips, bands....even purdy lil colourful necklaces... and my oh my... the colours are glorious! There is something for everyone... even my skull loving 15 year old!!!
I have to say though, my favourites would have to be the polka dots and cupcakes! Yep.. you heard me right.... youd think she was a scrapper with the designs and beautiful ribbons she uses.... the cupcake ribbon clips are to die for!!!!
Some of her ribbons look like they are straight from the depths of the sassafrass lass mind... there are cupcakes and skulls and fluffy clouds and rainbows...icecreams.. you name it... she has it!!

Anyway... Katies company is Pink Theordore. She has a website, though its in its infancy stages at the moment, though her contact details are there... do yourself a favour... if you like funky and fun... drop her a note, grab a catalogue and have a look for yourself. You wont be dissapointed.

She has a few ways that you can actually look at her yummy stuff... she supplies a few childrens boutiques in Melbourne, has the said stall at the local Point Cook Community Market on the first sunday of every month and has just started to do parties and kinder fundraisers. I am sitting here looking at a few of the ggeous little flyers that she has on her table, one of them reads...

"Pink Theodore is offering a unique opportunity to raise funds for your kindergarten.
Pink Theodore will donate 40% of all orders placed through your fundraising drive to your kindergarten. A different way to fundraise - great for presents, christmas or just because all girls love to accessorise!"

I have to say, she forgot to mention one thing as well.... they are super in expensive as well!!!!

Have you got girlfriends who have a girl child or two!? Why not get together and pre plan your stocking fillers for christmas?
The benifits from hosting a party are endless! The hostess will recieve 30% of the party takings and in addition, will recieve 50% off any purchases made on the day. Imagine the extra fillers that you could have with those kinds of savings!!!
These kinds of pretties sell themselves, so all the hostess has to do is sit back, enjoy spending time with her friends and plan what she is going to do with her little stash of goodness!!

Check out the link i have added... and drop her a line if you wanna know more!

How Excitement

Well anyone that has been a regular blog reader here would have figured that Cath means the world to me... she is... without a doubt the best friend that i have ever ever had... well... again... the count down is on... its 13 sleeps until we have our next girls weekend... start the count down and bring on the Zoom Zoom Zooming through Tullamarine Airport i say!!!!
Not long now darlin' ... and i know for one that i cant wait....

AND then there was more excitement!!!

i have 7 days left of working where i am at the moment before i move closer to my career goals and start working for another dental practice here in Melbourne... i know, i have not been with the practice that i am at long though honestly... they have really made me question weather this industry is the one that i wish to be part of ... the management has no clue... there is no order or structure... and definitely no discipline for those that just don't pull their weight. There are only about 3 of us that do what is need to.. and then, are constantly picking up after the others and doing their job for them while they sit back and claim their pay check... so... Ive decided not to be a victim and be walked over...
im almost 35 and to be starting a new career at this point in my life is a huge move... i don't have time.. nor really honestly, the patients to sit back and be treated like i have been... and wait for the assistance with training that i was promised when i signed my contract...
sooooooooo... for once in my life, im looking after myself first....

new company... here i come... yet another count down is on... 15 sleeps.... and i cant wait!

They say that everything makes a complete circle... and i believe this whole heartedly... it is the case this time... the place that i will be working for, was the initial company that i applied for and was interviewed for a position at, when i first entered into dentistry... i didnt have the experience... well.. i had NONE, literally... but now... i have what they are after.. and hunted high and low to get in contact with me to offer me the position i only last week applied for.
How is that for a complete circle!?

I was called a disappointment at my current work place the other day when i tended my resignation... though... i think that what would have been more a dissapointment would have been my rejecting a position that offers me everything that im looking for, better money and... everything that i seem to have been looking for all along.

Anyway... happy Saturdays....and lots of love.

Blog Candy

I know.. i know.. two posts from this slack blogger in one day... no.. your not delirious... its for real.. im posting again...

I just stumbled upon this blog candy, via the gorgeous Estivalia's beautiful blog... you should check out the awesome lil pet she has!! A real... live... hedgehog!!! I want one tooo!!!!!!!! :P i do believe that she has just had babies too.. if only i lived closer i may have convinced her that i would be a wonderful foster mama.. ;)

Anyway... everyone loves candy... and if your anything like me... love fonts.. and more so if they are in the form of stamps, rub ons or chipboard... anyway.. these are stamps... check out the blog... link them to your blog and leave a comment... you never know...i could be totally green of you one day very soon.
Good luck!!!

Paradise dreamin'

Man... i cant believe it... last week i was wearing angora wool felted scarves and winter coats to work and nearly running the whole way from the train station, just to keep my blood from freezing in my veins.. and today... what a difference it is... all i need is a beautiful view of an idealic blue green sea, a deck chair in the sand and a daiquiri and i would think i had slipped from this busy crazy world into some Paradise Dream land..

Oh how i wish the beautiful weather would last.. though, alas... the weather man predicts cooler weather again, right through until thursday/friday.... so i guess i should enjoy the thongs (aka flip flops) summer attire and try and get a little sun on these lily white legs before it dissapears.... and make sure that the winter woolies are all prepared for monday again. ~insert pulled face and groan here~

I hope where ever you are... what ever you are doing.. you are smiling and enjoying your day just as much as i have enjoyed mine!!

Lyn... enjoy your campin.... i wanna go campin with the bears too!!!

Lisa... glad to see that you have stopped by...

The gorgeous Cathy... miss you sweety... thank you for making my weeks fly with the lovely, impromptu little messages that you send on my phone.. cant wait til you are down again girl..

and.. to all my other blog lurkers.... ummm... errr..... what can i say but thanks for stopping in... and HI... drop me a note if'n you want to!

Where in the world is she!?

I have no doubt that any that pop by to read my blog have been thinking that for some time, since its been 10 days shy of 3 months since i last posted.
For those that emailed me, worried after me.. thank you for your thoughts and caring.. for those who have simply checked in here and left... well... im here now!

Life ... man, i didnt know that it could move so fast. I cant believe that it has been a little under 3 months since my life altered dramatically and i start working again. It is everything that i expected it to be... and so so so so so so so much more. I cant start to tell you how much i have enjoyed it so far. Though, i do have to admit, it was not all roses... for a little while there i was so asking myself what had i sniffed to make me make such a life altering descision. Though... almost three months on, here i am... Only 9 months and abit left until i have the first of my qualifications under my wing. It has seemed like months more though, that i have been training.. the days have merged to some degree and left me totally oblivious to pretty much everything but work, my family who patiently wait in the wings of my home of a night for my return.. and ... my new found love for sleep..

There is little to no time for anything else... though, i am sure that at some point in the future, that will change.

Other than starting work, i have seen my Boy turn into a teenager... my man add another candle to his cake, my eldest baby turn 15, my pooch turn 5 and passed through another anniversary since i lost my father. I cant beleieve that 15 years has passed... id like to say that it doesnt hurt anymore, though i would be lying. It doesnt hurt in the say way, admittedly, though, its still a pain i would never wish on anyone. I dont go a day without thinking of him.. and missing him like mad. I know, though, he is watching over me.. and that i am making me so proud taking this new path in my life.

Happy birthday to 4 of the 5 that make my days brighter... I love you!!!

I have turned on msn today for the first time in months, fearful that i would be flooded with a truck load of messages, i only found one. I guess i am rather forgettable, huh!? ~L~
Though, the messenger was no surprise to me, since almost without fail she greets my new week with a monday morning SMS message on the way to work.. i know she has not forgotten me. Love ya babe and cant wait for next month!!!

I have found myself sitting at my desk today, cleaned and welcoming me to scrap, thanks to my darling man... whom... i have jokingly called my house bitch since i started work... (um mah.. though, he knows i say it with jest. He is the best house hubby i know... even when he works almost as long hours as i have been, He is my saviour... )...anyway... i have nothing at all to do on my day off and my inspiration and mojo are no where to be found. Im sure that i last saw it sitting on my desk. I wonder if it has been filed!?

I have done something scrap related today though... i made an exciting purchase... a scrap related one at that... i put a Making Memories Slice on layby (with some accessories)! Im hoping to be able to pay for it fully within the next two weeks or so, before it arrives in store.

So... a little about work... i think i have finally found what i was meant to do with my life, besides be a mother and wife.. I love nursing so much. While, some days are totally challenging and i am left asking myself "Why am i there".. the rest of the time, i am totally content. yes, its early days yet, though from all reports, im blowing everyone away with my knack and ability.. I have even had one practitioner who does not work there often, that i had never worked with, or met until the day i worked with her, ask where i had nursed before and how long i had been nursing. When i told her i was 3 months into my training she laughed and didnt believe me. I have had so many fabulous reports from the other practitioners.. on days when i really think i am not cut out for it (generally when i make a boo boo)... it makes life seem so much eaiser again.

I have had reception and steri duties, to both, i have to say, i count down the hours.. and secretly hope that someone calls in sick so i can nurse in their place. ~L~

Anyway... im rambling.. and really should be organising something for dinner since the entire house is due to arrive home in any tick of the clock.

I promise to make every attempt to be a little more regular with my posts here... Im at Uni all next week, so dont expect too much, too soon! ~L~

Thanks for stopping by.

Leppards and Red Coats....

Phew.. what a day... I've been out and done all the grocery shopping for everyone so there is not a worry about what they are going to eat next week while I'm away.. I've written a list + instructions + recipes = Organization so that Matt can just come home from work and just check the list, chuck the stuff for dinner together and not have to stress... The cupboards are nice and stocked... and i even bought the kids sox today so there is not morning stressing about who has what sox or worse still.. NONE.

Perhaps you may think that is a little extreme... though you dont know the sox monsters in our house... they are needing to be put onto a strict diet, i swear... When pairs come out to the wash, they are returned in pairs, though its those socks that get swooped up and gobbled before they get to me that is the concern. At the moment, I could equip atleast one prep/1 school class with sox for making sock puppets.. if not one for each hand...
Besides... a super duper bargain found in Target. I swear the people that mark the items in target are just either stupid or lazy... $5.50 a twin pack of sox = 86c, $7.95 twin packs = 86c, $7.99 three packs = 2.86. If you do the math... that is rediculously cheap for cushioned sole sport crop sox.. Who could resist a bargain... I just wish i could find one again like my 5c a 40 pack of 6x4 photo paper that i found there last year... Like i said... Lazy or just plain stupid! (fyi - i will never have to buy photo paper AGAIN!!) ... I {HEART} Bargains!! :D

Anyway.. once i finished there, i went and treated myself to a haircut before heading to another shopping center where i found my next bargain of the day.. $169 red woolen jacket slashed to $39. Nothing wrong with it.. just one of the many bargains i have ben lucky to pick up at this years end of finacial year sales.
Bargains = savings = One happy mama.

Sooooo... just when i thought my day had been fantastic since i had found a red jacket that i liked... and at an awesome price, when i went to pick Matt up this afternoon he asks me what i think of def leppard. Well.... for me... its a part of my teen years that im not willing to let go of.... and if he truely knows me, he knows that! :D Anyway... the reason he asked was because on the 3rd sept (i think he said) we are going to the Rod Laver Arena to see them in CONCERT!!!!! They have just released an new album... which we have... which is awesome... If you love them.. check out "Songs from the sparkle Lounge"!
I didnt even know they were coming to Melbourne...
but... guess what!? I do now and we are getting the tickets as soon as they go on sale tomorrow...
can you say DEF LEPARD!?

_______________________________________________________________________________

The dream begins in 4 Sleeps!!!!

A little overdue Share..

Remember the class that I was talking about a few weeks ago that I was teaching? With the plans of that and totally flaking into sleep mode afterwards I forgot to upload a photo of it to share... better late than never.. right?
Arent the colours just divine!? I {HEART} Teresa Collins Papers at the moment. I'm planning a play with her other ranges, very very soon!

I filled the album with all sorts of photos.. from fathers day to mothers day, the childrens first photos through to our wedding anniversary photos... and one very special page has photos of my dad. The first photos i have actually scrapped of him.. Everything in this album brings a special smile to my face with the memories that the photo invokes... The rings are big enough that i can add more pages later if i want to add "memories"...
Ive seen one of the albums that was completed in my class and it looks wonderful.. i get to see a few more next week when i catch up with a few of the girls that were in my class in person while im in Newcastle training. I look forward to it..

________________________________________________________________________
The dream is about to begin.... in Only 5 sleeps!!

A little Apple-Candy

It looks like my desk has been the single victim in a very huge hurricane right at the moment.. there is crap everywhere... and not an inch of my desk is recognisable as a work space... so... what is new right!? ~L~

Well... this is...& the reason for my cyclonic desk state .. (amongst the fact that im trying frantically to organise some stuff to go away with me and tie up the last bits of some things im working on for Scrap Apple... its a layout that I have created for the girls at Scrap Apple although, I am just so excited to have scrapped something that I could not help but share it with y'all.. especially Cathy, the gorgeous girl next to me in this photo.. Im thrilled with how it turned out.. its simple.. though.. i dont think that matters.. hope Cath likes it too.







This is a previous layout that i did a little while ago for the girls...(this pic is a little crappy, though i will endevour to take another picture and re-upload it soon.. Anyway.. It has been showcased this week on the home page of the site... Needless to say, my princess was so thrilled to see herself on the computer screen in someones "SHOP!" Isn't she beautiful? I cant believe that she is 7 now.. and growing up so so quick...





I made this album for her birthday memories from last year and has become one of her most treausred items. While it stays safe in Mammas scrap room on a shelf, she can be found often, tucked up in my plump creme chair looking over the pages and touching all the "touchy feely" i added just for her since she loves to touch stuff to her skin to feel the different textures.

Freaky for some...

Friday the 13th seems to be surrounded by superstitions... you know the kind... dont walk under ladders, avoid black cats crossing your path... etc etc... though ive been a long time believer that friday the 13th is a lucky day.
Miranda was due on Friday the 13th and while the nursing staff were a little concerned that i would be upset with the news, i was thrilled with the prospect of having a little "good luck" baby. Miranda though, had entirely a different view on when her birthday should be and made her way into the world ten days after.

While today, friday the 13th found me sick in bed for the day with an aweful tummy flu that ive had for a few days, spending most of my day asleep, i got woken up at 3pm today to the most wonderful surprise.

I had been waiting on the posty as he was meant to be delivering a "card" for me... though when i snuck out to the mail box in my jammas at noon when he arrived and saw that there was no card i settled to the fact that it must not be arriving today..

So, you cam imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang and the courier guy was at the door with a pink and purple package for me!!!!

Happy mail!!! The best kind too as it came from my Bestie!!!

"just a card...." pfffft... Cathy, you dont do anything in halves and there is never a "just" when your involved. I know you didnt say just, though what else would i think when you said "oh, there is a card in the mail for you!"..
You spoil me.. you made my misserable, sickly day wonderful...
thank you!!

Soo.... for all those of you that are superstitious, hope that you are avoiding the ladders and cats... while, those of you that are like me and see the day as a lucky day.... HAPPY FRIDAY 13th!!!!

:D

News of the century

I come to you today, high up on cloud number nine. The air is fresh up here and there is not sign of bleakness or storms anywhere in sight. While all of you are nicely grounded, I dance on my cloud, hoarse in the throat from screaming and sore in the face from the permanent smile that has affixed itself.

I think a few posts back i mentioned that I had some stuff going on that i could not talk about.. well.. it was not that i couldn't, it was that i wouldn't, in case i jinxed myself..

well.. today, its official.... i cant jinx myself... and I'm just so deliriously happy...

As some would know, Ive had a dream for a very long time now to become a nurse in either the medical field or an associated field. I have looked into veterinary science, medical and dental.. and all three have their ups and downs... my recent realisation that I'm allergic to cats has made it difficult to follow the veterinary side of things and my inability to function around vomit has always been a concern for working with the ailing... SO... that leaves Dental.
I have just been offered a wonderful full time position and opportunity which i would be stupid to refuse, working for one of the leading companies in Australia, & training as one of their dental nurses... I will be leaving my family behind while i head off to start my training in a few weeks time... and then, returning to Melbourne where i will be working full time while studying at RMIT to become fully qualified.

The world is my oyster... and... this is proof that if you dream big enough and dream long enough, anything can be yours!

:)

PS: I will update y'all on my weekends class and give you some blog candy to look at soon... today though.. im celebrating as you can imagine...

Quote of the Day

Our dreams today
are the hope
for tomorrow
~Adele Basheer~

This is a quote that was sent to me yesterday as a RAK.. Although i dont know who the RAKer is, the could not have been more intuitive.
I was having a conversation only the other night with a lady who has become a very dear friend of mine in a very short amount of time. We were talking about our dreams, hopes and hang-ups. Anyway, i recieved a little offline note from her in MSN the other day telling me thank-you for giving her the kick that she needed to follow her own dreams.

The Note that came with the book yesterday reads:
"Thank you for your inspiration."

How uncanny is it that i have touched someone else.. and they picked something so unique though coincidental to things pertaining to such deep conversations.

Im rambling a bit.. i know.. though, you are probably thinking.. "Duh you stupid cow, do you think perhaps it was HER!?"... hahaha.. no.. its not.. i thanked her for it and she had not sent it..

To who ever you are... and you are the only one who knows who you are...
Thank you so very much for touching me so deeply.

xxx

yes I'm breathing...

I have recieved a few emails in the last few days asking weather I am okay and one to the extent of actually asking me if i still had a pulse.
I really didnt realise that it had been so long since i checked in here. Man... time does fly, huh!?

Well... i finished the albums (by Kaiser) for The Brisbane Papercrafts Festival and they are probably now packed up safe and sound and waiting to be unpacked again at the convention.


I had so much fun doing these albums and the feed back from those who have seen them in real life has been amazing. Thank you for your confidence in me and the credit that you have given. :)

Anyway... I will give you a peek of them... Lou... you get to see them VERY SOON.. i know you have been hanging for the chance.

These albums will be on display all weekend at the Scrap Apple stand and I believe that the girls are very prepared with lots of these in their raw state for purchase on the day. :)
As I may have mentioned here (im not too sure), I have been working on a few projects in the time that I have been absent from this poor neglected blog. One of those is the class that i will be teaching this weekend at Allcrafts 4 you. This class is sold out. If further places are opened up, I will post about it here. Keep an eye out if your interested.

The other thing I have been doing is some extensive planning to get classes, run from my home up and running. I am hoping to have these available also for people that would love to do one of my classes though because of time restraints, commitments of distance, are unable to attend a live class.
If you are interested in knowing more about these classes, please drop me a note here and I will get some extra info out to you.
The above albums will be available as classes hopefully in the not to distant future. :)

There are a few other things that I have been working towards, though right at this moment, they are top secret so Im just gonna let you wonder as to what they are. ;)

One down..

I don't know about you but i find the most time consuming bit about mini albums is the adding of photos and embellishments. The cover and the pages for me seem to always come together relatively easy though its the insides... they seem to take for ever. Though, iguess im talking from a production point of view. With work commitments I learnt very quickly that if i was going to get a project finished quickly that i was going to do the cover and the album pages first and then stick the photos and embellishments. Most of the time, as long as there was enough done to enable photographs, it was okay.. then as the pace slowed, i could go back and finish off..
It is a habit that i have fallen into now and desperately have to get out of. I miss the enjoyment of creating each page as i go, giving them each their own individual look and feel..
Anyway.. because if the way i have been doing these albums for Brisbane, I have left all the photo sticking in and embellishing until last.. and boy oh boy has it take some time!!
While i sit here rabbit on about nothing really, the final touches of glitz is drying off..
I know i promised some sneakies guys... though.. im sorry.. Greys Anatomy came on and i got distracted and plum forgot about glitzing.. I had hoped to get atleast one of the albums finished and snapped tonight.. though.. ~dramatic sigh~ im just going to have to wait until tomorrow now.
:(

While i think of it.. i will take a sneaky pic of the DT layout i have done too and some of the other things that i have completed over the last little while. Hopefully tomorrow there will be a bit of eye candy to make up for my huge delay.
For now though.. here is something that is heading over to America to CHA.


I've been working some on mt classes blog though have nothing to show for it.. in working, i mean.. thinking... and lots of it. Now, just to be able to channel all my thoughts into making something pretty and presentable so that i can start this little venture.

I cant believe the weekend is again over... why is it when you have so much to do and so many plans the time goes so quickly, though when you have nothing to do you find youself checking the clock to amke sure the batteries have not gone flat!?

Its been cold here all weekend and i have found that just the right opportunity to just potter away at my desk, hang with the kids and watch some movies and just get things organised here at my desk. Though.. even though i have accomplished everything i wanted to do this weekend (except for two of these books) there was still i wanted to do with the kids.. like play ps2 with Jamie. Play with Playdoh with Miranda and paint toenails with Kiera.
I wanna make some super duper cool critters like the girls made today!!!
(i will add some piccies in the morning)

I am not going to let the weekend pass next weekend without doing every one of the things that i missed out on today..
By then, those books will be in queensland! :)

Quote of the Day

To be all
that is
possible
we must
attempt the
impossible.
to be all
that we
can be
we must
dream of
being more.

Where does the time go!?

Man... time seems to be slipping from my grip before i even have time to make the most of every second. I hate wanting to hit the rewind button just so i can hold onto a little more time. Arrgh. Though, with the time that is slipping, im doing lots.. anyway. Does that make sence? Though, still with that said, i just wish sometimes for a few hours extra in one day. ~L~
Mothers day has been and gone... (I will back blog about that AFTER i upload the pictures from the day from my camera. I know..i know... totally a slack bum! ~L~
Ive been meaning to blog for so long now.. though it seems that the days are gone before i get a chance... someone slow time so i can catch up... please!?

I've been doing lots and lots of exciting stuff for scrap apple.. Over the weekend i will do some sneaky peek tease shots... though, until then, you are just going to have to be patient..

I have also been working on getting my arse into gear and get my classes up and running. I am toying with a few ideas... 1. Doing some from home on a regular basis. 2. Having a website built to be able to sell and teach my classes online.
3. Do both!

I'd love some feedback from anyone on your thoughts...If you were to do an online class, or any class for that matter, what you would like to see available... Feedback peeps.. that is what im looking for at the moment! I have my ideas.. though i'd love to hear what others think too.. ;)

I am also going to be teaching a class online on the 7th of June for Allcraftz for you for their National Scrapbooking day.
All i can say at the moment is Teresa Collins, 7 gyspies and YUM!
In the next week i hope to have more details available and a sneaky of the class to show.
Everyone is welcome... I would totally love to have a jam packed class so if your interested, please pop by the forum and leave your expression of interest!
Anyway... I hope that everyone is having a day and now that the week is over, have wonderful plans for the weekend.

The pure of heart..

I have not only had the pleasure of talking to this wonderfully talented lady but also was lucky enough to be at the Trade show that her gorgeous line of stamps & chipboard range was relased at through buzz & Bloom last year. She is a scrapper that inspires me to believe in my own ability & talent & not be afraid to scrap outside of the ordinary and a blog that i stalk on a regular basis..Anyway, Lusi is offering up a chance for one lucky person to own their very own set of her beautiful stamps. How amazing is that!? All you have to do is go visit her blog and follow her easy prompts! Who knows.. you could own a lil bit of Lusi too.. Good luck! ;)

Thank you.

I'd just like to say thank you to four marvelous people who have become very much a part of my daily life who i may not tell enough how much they really mean to me...

Cathy, what can i say... you are like the other side of me... the part i cant see... the extra limbs i dont have... the smile when i have nothing to give and the laughter in my days when i have lost mine. You are my best friend whether you know it or not.. There is nothing left to say but i love ya honey.. Thank you for being you.

Hannah, when all the time in the world was available to us.. we let it pass to easily... we did not make the most of it... and now... states away, a friendship blooms more and more each day. You make me smile just by being you... You are a friend with no limits... you are the ears when i need to say something.. you are just you... a beautiful human being... and one of my dearest, most treasured friends..

Marilyn, in no uncertain terms.. i love ya babe. Generations mean nothing when friends are concerned... you are a sassy imp just full of mischief... a girl just ready to cause havok on the unsuspecting and take the innocents like me along for the ride. You are one of a kind... a true diamond in all its glory. We will meet one day.. and i cant wait.

and... then.. there was...(last but by no means least)

Richard, YOU ARE are my brother. There is no other way to say it.. We share a bond even stronger than blood. One that i would not give up for the world. What ever has happened in my life for the past 9 or so years, you have been there... What seems like a eternity can pass without a single word spoken between us, though with every breath.. you are right beside me.... It is a bond that i dont think could ever be broken. xxx I love you darlin'.

Between my two besties, Cathy and Hannah & these two beautiful yankies i am totally blessed. For the lack of friends i have had in my lifetime.. these 4 have made up for it ten fold. I truely feel like the most luckiest girl alive. They have all been there for me when ever i have needed a friend... and have opened their arms wide and allowed me to be part of their lives and their families. I could not imagine life without any of them in mine. They say that friends are like the seasons.. they come and go... these 4 are like a perpetual summer... bringing warmth and sun into my life every day. The love they show me, always, is humbling.

That is all...

Feeling the Love...

Marn,

what have you done girl!? (Besides make me cry!) When you said something was arriving on my door, i just figured it was some lovely little token RAK or something as lovely... though... OMG... i would never have in my wildest dreams thought that you would do this.. and have them delivered by a Hunky honey of a guy no less...
~hugs the stuffing out of you~ I have just had the most glorious gorgeous... beautiful hot pink gerbras delivered to my door..
you silly girl... thank you!!! What did i do right to find a friend like you!?
love ya tonnes..
Sandra

PS: I really dont know how i could thank you for making me feel so needed and loved as you have right now.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Impromptu Proposal - The update!

Well... i think there was a little more to this than my lil innocent girl wants to admit.. Miranda invited Bradley to her party and he sat opposite her at the little tables at macdonalds all morning.
I got to talking to his mother, who filled me in a little more. Isnt it interesting what evolves and is discovered when mothers talk!? I heard that apparently Miranda is going to buy the house and groceries and Bradley is going to buy the cars and furniture when they get Married. You know what it is in Miranda that Bradley sees as marrying material? She taught him all he knows about budgie-boys. Aka Slaters!! Yep.. you know the ones... those lil black bug things that when touched roll into a ball and make great marbles!

There is one worry... he has already been married three times!!! ~LMAO~ Aint lil love grand?

What does ANZAC day mean to me?

I got asked today what Anzac day means to me... I know that for many, it is just another day... a public holiday and a day to drink...

for me.. it is so much more...

Anzac day has always been VERY significant in my life. My father was serving in the army through the second world war and only his appendix played up as he was boarding a ship (and they burst a short while after) he would have been taken a POW on the burmese boarder. His cousin was one of his unit and was one of the very few who ever made it home again, very malnourished and mistreated.. and totally unreckonizable.

It really brings home the cold truth of war when i realise how very lucky my dad was not to be there.. and how lucky (depending on how you look) that my dads cousin came home. If things had been different, i would not be here..

My father was taken from me 15 years ago and up til that point i ventured out to many dawn services with him.. Took part in the parades with him, marching along side him and all his mates and hung out with some of his old mates before they headed off to the RSL for their lunch. It was very much HIS DAY. The day that he looked forward to all year. For years, men from his unit, both that went OS and those who stayed behind got together.. for that one day... Marched together... remembered together. Sadly, last time i was home and spoke to one of the guys, there were very few of them remaining.

Because my father was deeply appart of the RSL and all they did, and i have so many wonderful memories, hearing the bugles now on ANZAC morning.. really rips at my heart. I dont go to the dawn services any more if Matt does not have a duty .. simply because it is "easier"...

The dawn service in 1994, 7 months after he died, I was lucky enough that we lived at the base where dad had been based throughout the war. His name was read from the Honour Roll and guns fired in his honour.

When i can, i love to go to one of the big city parades to watch the parade.. and see the men who still carry the flags of their unit, weather they are able to do it on their own, or be driven.. it makes me so very proud.. to see that proud, undefeated glint in such old eyes.
One day, i plan to walk along side them in honour of my father.

For those men and women who somewhere, today, fight for the freedom that we are accustom... you are in my thoughts..

For those who did not survive the battle they faced bravely.. You are a true hero and will NEVER be forgotten. Thank you.


LEST WE FORGET.

My baby is growing so fast..

I dear friend of mine that i have known for over 9 years, who shared every step of my pregnancy with me and i were only just wondering where the time has gone.
Miranda is our reminder of how fast time moves and and how long we have been friends...Rich, again i will say darlin' ... we ARE getting old!

To the lil girl who makes us feel so old when we realise how fast she is growing,
My divine miss M... my baby girl... I love you so much and just want to wish you the happiest 7th birthday ever!

Blow all those candles out and make the biggest wish ever!

Love
Mummy
xxxx

Another little shares-ey..

I have just been having a sticky beak at a few blogs and saw the most incredible layout on Lynettes blog and figured that since the SIA (Scrapbooking in Australia) Trade event and their designer awards have past there was no harm in giving you a looksy at my entry for it. I entered along with Melissa, Alison and Danielle, the other three girls in the Kaiser Design Team.. I have to say though im in awe of what Lynette did.. She says she is really happy with how hers turned out.. and i cant blame her.. its G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S...
While Kaiser did not get anywhere with our entries, i could not be happier with how mine turned out either..

I dont think we could have done a better job of capturing the real character that Jamie is and always has been.. Isnt he truely something to be proud of!? ~LMAO~

Happy Birthday Mama

I wanna take a moment to send the biggest and best wishes out to the most beautiful soul i know.. my mama...
74 years young this year... Happy birthday.

I love you!
xxxx

Quote of the Day

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to persue them.

~Walt Disney~

The cat is outta the bag!!!

Wooohoooooo..... finally i can spill the secret of all secrets.... though i will admit, i confided in a friend who was sworn to utmost secrecy.. I know.. im sad.. though.. hey.. you try keeping a secret this big!!

I have been put to tears.. in the best way possible.. had a sore throat from screaming ... not to mention totally blown away with an invitation to join a group of ladies that i find so much inspiration from... the likes of Kirsten Butts, Lusi Austin, Jen Hall, Rachelle Minett, Sarah van Wijck, Melissa Duffy, Lynette Van Barello to name a few NOT to forget Louise Nelson!!! (yes.. i forgot her.. shame on me.. :S ) All celebrities in their own right and very well published.. A design team like none that i could have ever imagined myself being a part of. The one design team that above all otehrs that i have always dreampt of being on... Can you guess who im designing for?

The beautiful Dawn and Kelly from Scrap Apple want me!!!!

I cant tell you how very excited i am to be not only working with these two women but the girls on the team.

Scrap Apple

They have already set me to work... and i cant wait to be able to really get my teeth stuck into things...

In lurve...

I was visiting Elsie Flannagans blog just to see what she has been up to lately and discovered this beautiful picture that she has created which in no uncertain terms i must have. She has it for sale in her etsy store though only in a 6x4 print size. I have sent her a little bit
of mail in hope that she will have other sizes available in the near future. It would be so at home on one of my walls. I did initially think i would put it in my scrap room, though honestly.. how much work do i think i would get done!? I would be forever getting distracted by looking at it. The colours are just so yummy. Anyway.. I just had to share...
wish me luck.. I may be the very proud owner of this Elsie work of art, very very soon! Yippppeee!

Don't adjust your screens!

You are not lost.. I have just given the place a bit of a face lift...
A change is as good as a holiday, dont they say? And since i'm not going anywhere, i guess a change is the next best thing.

After my last hair disaster i have decided that i am not going to play with colour there for a while.. so... instead, ive figured that its time for my beloved blog to go through a bit of a renovation...

sooooo... what do you think!?

Hope that you all had a wonderful sunny shiny sunday... We had a gorgeous day. Even though the sun was trapped behind some clouds for some of the day we went over to St Kilda and had a walk along the esplanade. bailey loved being able to run on the grass, although he was not too sure of the seagulls and wanted to come hide behind us every time more than one landed near him. He is such a hero in the backyard when a bird lands, quickly chasing it off with his "oh so (not at all) scarey" bark though goodness help him when they gang up on him and all decide to land! (Ofcourse, if you ask him, he would tell you they were after him. It had nothing at all to do with the fact that someone was throwing chips to them!) ~LMAO~

I got some great pictures as well.. though, i will have to leave them until another day.. this blog stuff has gobbled up all my time tonight.. and now.. im frazzled.
Have a lovely night.. and dont let the bed bugs bite!


PS: This sudden change is not the Something HUGE that is about to change either... hopefully i will be able to shed some more on that "news" very soon. xx

Something HUGE is about to happen...

OMG OMG OMG... I think I'm going to die of excitement (is that even possible?) or... atleast... hyperventalate with excitement!
Something HUGE has just happened... Something HUGE ... totally... 100% Gi-normous is about to take place... and... I can't tell.. Well... Not yet... I am sure by the end of tomorrow you will know ALL about it!

Have i told you that its HUGE!?

The latest from a very messy studio..

I believe that in order to create one must have a mess. A clean work environment means that you have not spent enough time creating... ~L~ Well.. that is my theory and i am sticking to it, much im sure to Matts distaste.. Its funny to look at our studio..
my side is untidy... there are snips of paper and backing off tape littering the floor much like we have had a ticket tape parade march on through when we were not looking, my desk, while it is better than it generally is after days of scrapping, is still unorganised... while my pencil case is near by the strewn pens of a rainbow of colours, not one is actually in the case.. much the same could be said for my tools... my bin, overflowing has become an impromptu stand for one of my boxes of chipboard and i have offcuts of paper scattered in some kind of a half way orderly pile at one end of my desk..
the swamp as it has often been refered to.

..........

while, on the other side of the room, squared away all neat and tidy and in the utmost military fashion is Matts desk. His laptop. Documents that require urgent attention in an extremely neat pile to one side. His mouse sitting centred on his mouse pad. His pens gathered all together in a pen holder. Nothing at all is out of place.

I guess... this is a perfect display of ying and yang.. huh!? ~L~


So... anyway.. this is what i have been doing in my swamp..

I love this photo of Miranda... look at that gorgeous gummy smile would you... Easter eggs aaaaaannnnnd a visit from the tooth fairy all at the same time... lucky girl!

The journalling for this layout is tucked behind the photo of Jamie.. it reads: "Jamie, after an unfortunate run-in with a can of baked beans where you came of totally second best & required emergency surgery to repair severed tendons, you got the nick name Beenz from your year 6 class mates. While your recovery was long and your passion for basketball was put on hold (much to your disgust)your finger did heal with a lot of rehab and patience. The name beenz has stayed long after those scars started to fade. I wonder weather the name, like your scars will be life long "
The paper has been tucked away for a while in my racks.. i found it at one of the paper shows though did not know exactly what i would do with it, was drawn to the freeness of the doodling on it. It suits jamie so well,.... even while this photo was taken and he was still suffering a lot of pain and still undergoing rehab.. he remained the carefree.. happy go lucky dude that he has always been.. :)

Hows this for spooky

If you have been reading for a while you would know that i was totally bummed when i realised that changing my gmail account would also take away all of my photos that i had posted on my blog up until that time.. wellllllll... i was more than bummed.. more like devostated when i discovered that a photo that i adore of Miranda, taken and uploaded onto our comp and not SAVED to disk before our computer crashed... was gone as well.. Today ... i decided to seive back through my posts and what do you think i found? THAT Photo. Everything else is show as red X's though she is there! Yep.. Ive saved it to my hard drive.. just incase and plan to get it printed TOMORROW!

How spooky???

The only other time this has happened was after my father died. I went to the photographic store to get pics of Kiera developed. On this roll were the last photos of my father. The only photos that came out were the ones of my dad. Photos of kiera were lost.. though others had pics of Kiera, i was not too upset over that, though i had these irriplacable pictures of my dad! Again, something was looking over me today when this pic of Miranda was miraculously saved!!

Boredness prevails!

I found this little typing test thing on the net and thought i would give it ago... It pretty well gives you a string of words any you have to type until the timer stops.. it will then calculate hhow many words a minute you can type..
This is what i got..

45 words

A little share-sy...

I have had the best weekend this weekend... i know... its Monday, though since i didn't go to work today, its still officially weekend for me! ~L~... Anyway... i woke the other morning with a million thoughts in my head... Class ideas.. layout ideas... and they all insisted on coming out right there and then... so while the rest of the house slept, i sat out here in the studio quietly and sketched ideas.

It has been talked about for some time now for me to teach the way i want, from where i want.. when i want.. and... im excited to say that its only a second away from becoming reality... In the next few weeks i will not only be teaching from the back end of our home, i will also be teaching classes using products that have been made specially for me, designed by me and exclusive to my classes..
talk about excitement-plus!!!...

Anyway... as far as the layouts... here is a sneeky of some our newest papers... i love them so muchthey remind me so much of Canberra, and autumn and the country... and .... totally makes me homesick for all those things... Isnt it just gorgeously scrumptious?
Anyway... this is the first that i have completed... It would have been uploaded earlier only the dull day = dimensional magic taking longer to dry... No matter... its here now... and i think im really happy with it.. I have more layouts screaming to get out... and one just having the last details completed.. and that too will be on show...

How embarrassment!

WOW... the concert was AWESOME... Harry was OMG... so HOT.. and man.. what an Arse... and he knows just how to shake it... ~fans~

Anyway.... the embarrassment... I was waiting in the foyer patiently, as though i was waiting for my ride (because security were to tell that the band and Harry had gone, though i knew otherwise)... when i was informed that Harry had to rush off, that his flight had been changed, though Lucien Barbarin ~again, fans~ was still around and would i like to meet him...
LIKE HELLO.... ------> YES YES YES!!!!!

He is only one of the best blues Trombone players alive in my opinion!

Anyway... I walked over... (drawing deep breaths and reminding myself not to squeel, pass out or trip along the way)... He reached out and smiled while taking the concert book that i had off me and flipped to a page that he was on and signed it before laughing and chatting with me candidly about his trombone breaking on stage. (His trombone was brought out to him to check out after it had been quickly repaired by someone in the stage crew).. Serious.. it broke.. His slide bar went back and the end fell off ... right in the middle of a song, in his solo cue to play! ~L~

I was asked if i would like to have my photo take with him. If i had the capacity on my phone.. Are they kidding me???

LIKE HELLO.... ------->>>>> YES YES YES YES YES!!!

So... i sent my phone up to take the picture...

"CLICK"... "Ooooops... that was a photo of my foot... errrrmmm... hold on a sec..."

can you believe it!? I had Lucien Waiting for ME and i take a photo of my foot!

He smiled and you could see that he had to go.. though waited... i set the camera up again and passed it over... stood with Lucian only to be told..

"errrr... it says your memry is full. Do you want to delete images and try again!?"...

OMG... ~insert turning beet red here~ HOW EMBARRASSMENT!!!!

Lucien appologised prefusely that his car was waiting and he really had to go...
:(

My photo opportunity was lost...

Waiting on the corner for my ride though, who do you think stopped in their black car with tinted windows to talk to me?
The window rolls down and there is Lucian... He says "It was a pleasure to meet you.. sorry about the photo.. perhaps we can do it next time!".. and then they drove off.

OMG.. he drove around the block to tell me that!

I cant believe it!

I have just been woken up from the best lil nana nap by the phone ringing... You will never guess where i am going tonight!!!

Harry Connick Jr... and i have a date... Well... not technically, though i am going to see him perform at the Palais Theatre at St Kilda... very upclose.. about 9 rows from the front!

The tickets are $179 each and i have been given the ticket... i am so thrilled... so excited... OMG... This is Awesome!!! The best bit to this is i know one of the security guards there and he thinks ther eis a big chance that i will get to meet him... ~insert almost non breathing at the thought~ I just hope i dont faint!

Impromptu Proposal

I would never have guessed that my youngest would be the first to recieve a marriage proposal... though today.. well exactly that happened.
We all know about her little friend Joel from last year and his declaration to his mother that he would marry miranda one day.. well... funny enough.. it was not Joel who proposed today.
This afternoon Jamie was reading to the prep one children in the Library at school while they were waiting for the bell to ring for hometime when a friend of Mirandas, Bradley came up to Miranda who was sitting on the mat and propsed.

"Miranda. Will you marry me?"

"NO!!!!"

Bradley walks away and rejoins his friends.

"Me and Miranda are going to get married real soon."

Hahah... obviously something got lost in translation.

She has just stood beside mem with the most worried look on her face. Perhaps its the fear of catching boy germs or coodies... but says "Mummy... It was not my idea. Bradley wanted to do that to ME. I didnt want to do it to Him.."
After a little kiss and a soothing hug i convinced her that it was okay.. that she was not on trial nor in trouble...

I think she is as thankful as i am that you have to be "OLD" to get Married!!

Happy Mail.

It has been sooooooo hot today that i thought i would very well melt into a big blog of goo right along the eggs that i had selected to send to Cathys two adorable children for easter so you could just imagine my excitement when i saw happy mail poking out of the junk mail slot in the mail box when i drove in the drive way this afternoon.. right!? What to my wondering eyes was this delectable surprise in my mail box??? The most gorgeous Kit from the lovely Tammy from quiriokits. I stumbled upon her blog quite by chance one day and saw that she was asking questions about how to make a music function available on her blog... so i thought i would try and be helpful and gave her the link to it, not realising that at the time she had a RAK on her blog to be claimed by one unsuspecting, lucky visitor... need i say more? I was the unsuspecting.. totally, lucky girl to be picked at random for her RAK.
I thought i would show you what the postman left for me... while giving her site a little plug at the same time.. I cant believe how totally gorgeous the kit is and how well everything goes. I see two layouts being created over this easter weekend.. one with the top fabrics and one with the bottom ones.. Thats right... Fabric!!! I have yet to really let loose with fabric in my scrapping.. though.. woooohoooo.. now i have everything i need to do just that! I cant wait.
Tammy, i would like to say again.. thank you so much for your generosity!
xxx.

ohhhh... and i nearly forgot .... I created a page the other weekend.. though until now it has been under raps since the paper was yet to be released and for the fact that i was waiting to submit it to the mags (Of which i was unsucessful with SM due to them already selecting the layouts for their current themes)... Anyway.. my screen is not calibrated so it shows a little brighter (yellow) than it really is... though im sure you get the idea.. this is my favourite paper this month from Kaisercraft... it is the sublime collection, its actually a light lime colour... very delish...

What a day!!!

Man... talk about getting off to a bad start to the day. Mel and i left in what we thought would be plenty of time to get up to Melbourne, only to realise at the second set of lights that we had forgotten our schedule. Thankfully Tom was following us up and after a conversation between cars with windows rolled down, he headed back to get it.
Just before we got towards Point Cook road we hit a complete wall of traffic.. and continued to crawl at snail pace right into the city... it was crazy. What should have taken us about an hour and a half took well over 2 hours. A car broke down on the westgate freeway and stopped traffic dead. What a night mare..
Ofcourse, being the first day of the show, we didnt know really where we were going when we got to the show.. and had to set up our display before the show started at 10am. We didnt drive into the car park until 10.10!!!!!!
Anyway.. he day got dramatically better after that.. we had ladies sitting waiting to do make and takes with us while we were still unpacking... ~L~.... It was such a busy but fun day...

i have just LITTERALLY walked in the door from the first day at the stitches and craft show.. maaaaaaaaan... i dont think my meet know what happened! ~L~... what a busy day.. but what a great day.

Was wonderful to meet some of our customers... meet people who we had won over with our products at the end of our demo/make and take and needed to scoot to the nearest scrap store at the show to stock up... and hear all the wonderful things they had to say about us. I even had one lady squeeling and totally beside herself when she asked me (while i was visiting with one of our customers stands) where a paper was.
The paper she was asking about was a new paper inwhich a photo of me and Miranda together has been scrapped. She looked at the kaiser workshop magazine she was pointing to, to me, to the magazine and then to me again and slowly said "Oh....... my........ god!! Oh my god oh my god oh my god!!!! its her... oh my god.. its you.. " (she at this point scoots off and comes back with her friend) "its the lady here in the photo... look look.. .".then we had more squeeling. .

Hahah.. my two seconds of fame!!!

Anyway.. i found her the papers that she needed to complete the layout, the embellies (as well as some extras) and sold her some of our fozz felt to her as well since i gave her a tip on how to use it after she declared that the queen and co one was crap because it stuck together.

I had another lady come back and stand for about 20 minutes waiting to do ANOTHER make and take at my end of the table.. i fink she wyked me!!! :P

Okay.. i think my head is going to roll right off my shoulders.. im swetty, i and sticky and just feel plain ol' grotty.. so im going to say hello and good night... and hopefully catch up with you all in a few days.

Living Creativly + KaiserCarft together ...

= a very busy day.

Tomorrow is the day. I know that Mel tonight is probably feeling so sick with nerves that tomorrow she will have to stand up infront of the crowd that im sure will be at the first day of the Caufield stitches and craft show. Mel, on behalf of Kaiser will be giving some awesome goodies away to some very lucky visitors as well as giving everyone some wonderful ideas and demonstrating the ease involved in making something totally wonderful out of a range of our products. There is even word that she will be captured on TV Camera!!
While she is doing her demo's, i will be holding down the fort at the Kaiser Make and take area...

Mel.. if your reading this... just breath!

Anyway... if your going to Caufiled Racecourse tomorrow for the first day of the stitches and craft show be sure to stop by and say hello to us... have a lil fun at our make and take table and check out what Mel is doing..

:)

BWARK BWARK BWARK

Yep.. that is the sound this big chicken has heard a lot today... I couldnt do it! While i think i liked the colour red, i just could not go through with staying that colour..
Thank you to all the wonderful people that offered their opinion and said how much they loved it...
I am now almost black. My colour is actually a dark dark brown with a glimmer of red... a long way from the red that i was this morning.
it is now too late and the light gone for the day so i will have to get my hair shot taken later so you all can peek.

Sorry Marilyn :( ~L~ I know how much you loved it..

okay... i think that is all i have to say about that.
xxx

How did i do It!?

Okay.. just thought i would write a little message here in hope to answer Estivalia's question on how i made the word Family Profile in my CJ page go shiny like i did. The family Profile was actually printed onto the paper. It is a piece of 7 gypsies paper. I have then used Dimensional Magic and a stylus (to get into the corners of the letter) to make it look glossy. It actually feels so funky to touch. I know that when i finish doing things like this, sometimes they spend a while inder my fingers as i play them over it to touch and feel. I have also used it on the seal & the five from memory.
I dont know if they hve dimesnional magic in Chile honey.. let me know. Its like a glaze/adhesive/sealer stuff made by royalcoat.
:)

too NOT sure about THIS....

I did something which i think is totally outrageous today.. I went to the hairdresser.. Well.. DUH.. everyone goes to the hairdresser i hear you all say.. well.. DUH... i know that myself! ~L~... though.. by outrageous... i mean.. 100000000000000 light years out of my comfortzone outrageous.. I actually think im going to glow in the dark tonight!

Ive gone conpletely stark raving mad and totally... raggedy Anne RED!

A friend of mine this morning said "Sandra, Live Dangerously!!!" when she found that i was going to the hair dressers. I think i have sucessfully done that.. dont you!?

So... what do you all think!? I have until Monday to fully chicken out and declare that i need it toned down.. Id love to hear your honest opinions!

Oh well.. time will tell weather i stay Red or not..

What can i say... its the month for it with shave for a cause... and since i was not gonna be as Brave as Chez and shave it all off.. it got coloured instead!!!

<<<<<- This is what it looks like "apparently" inside.. i know for a fact that it doesnt... THE CAMERA DOES LIE!!! If it was this colour, i would not be so worried.. its not even as pretty a colour as the photo above... i swear.. i feel like a muppet out of fraggle rock. :(

Jamie says that i look like Lola Lovenickel out of Hannah montanna.. though, i just got freaked out even more because i was sure he said Lola Lovenipple!!!!!

I am part of a circle journal at the moment at a forum that i belong to ... i still have a few layouts left to do though this is the one that i have finished so far. We are keeping the cost down by creating our Layouts to the measurements we specified for our books instead of posting books around for everyone to work in.. which ends up costing a small fortune. The down side of this is though that we dont get to see, touch and admire the work that everyone has put into pages.. though, im hoping that many of them, if not all end up uploading the images to somewhere so that everyone involved can see them anyway..

Marnie.. this is for you.. i hope you like it!

Here is a peek at one of the flaps...

The title was : its all about me. We had to write all about ourselves..

I have had this piece of 7gypsies ledger kind of paper for about 2 years... i never really thought of a way to use it. It was won in a competition i entered at Scrapbooking Memories where i won the major prize pack of a stack of fabbo new 7gypsies products. When i was flipping through papers in search of inspiration for this themed album it jumped out and the rest is history.. or so they say! ~L~

Im sitting here, cracking up at my goof off of a hubby, who is happily entertaining himself with photoshop, a camera and a photo of a model that he has previously shot. (the model that is now on our business banner). He is marketing himself.. and his business... in.. well.. the most odd ball way possible.. i will have to snatch a copy of what he is doing when he is done.. im sure Marilyn, you will get a real hoot out of it! ~L~

_____________________________________________________

Update: the party pooper has decided not to do what he was going to do! :(

Blog photos lost

OH NO POOH BEAR!!!!

It seems that i have lost all my blog photos... i have looked and looked and every photo that i have uploaded seems to have vanished. (insert totally confuzzled look)
The only thing that i can think of that has caused this, is the fact that i have changed my email address and that means that i have had to create a new admin and deleted the old one. Stupid stupid blog should have still recorded the photos.. right!?
I wonder.. is there another reason for this? Is anyone able to shed further light on why this has happened?
It doesnt worry me too much, other than the fact that now, what i have used as my virtual portfolio for quick reference of layouts and work done has dissapeared.. though.. ONE photo.. my beloved photo of miranda that i had lost when our hard drive crashed, is now gone too... i think it is the ONLY copy of it online anymore. :(

I will have to investigate this further i think!!!

Pay it forward

Well girls... the slowest ever Pay it forward has finally been sent out. I appologise emmensly for the HUGE delay in having this go out to you ladies.. i hope that you see the wait worth it.

XXXX

82 Candles...

Yet another year has rolled in and another candle is placed asside, never to be blown out by the man who should have been able to blow every one of the last 15 out.

This year i have had a cold, though while i had been getting better, today, i let my guard down and it has won and made me feel more misserable than the day normally makes me.
A day that should be set asside for celebration, now sees me remembering... missing my dad so much... with each year, the memories of celebrations past never fade... which i am so gratful for... though that cake that we used to laugh about so much gets further and further away.. sinking deeper into my memories.
These memories are all i have now.. all that i can find solace in.. we are too far from where he is buried so spending time, laying roses in his memory is not an option for me any longer... i just have to find a way through the day...

After all these years Dad... do you remember the first time i ever made you a birthday cake? I do, i remember how i stood at the oven door so impatiently for the cake to be done.. do you remember my dissapointment when the cake had not even risen an inch!? I was so upset that i had not made you the perfect cake that you deserved. I painstakenly made the icing with fresh passionfruit from your beauitful garden, with the seeds included...

I remember that i smiled through tears as you being the man you were, laughed, trying to cheer me up and blew out the candles anyway. You told me in all honesty that it was the best cake you had ever seen. Remember how i promised to make the next birthday cake so much better?
I laugh at the thought, even through the tears that fall right now, That cake was all that i promised.. it rose like a dream. It didnt crumble and came out of the tin perfectly.. though the food colouring brand i used sent the icing which i had wanted to be a pretty blue, was almost fluroescent it was so bright.. do you remember!?
Again you praised me like you have always done.

Afterwards, it became tradition that i would make your cake each year and thankfully they got better, though, slowly!

Dad, 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, no doubt, you being youit would not matter one little bit if it was hollow and sunken in the middle and resembled the colour of the brightest mid day sun, you would love it and eagerly blow those 82 candles out.

I miss making those cakes for you..

I miss the laughter that went along with them at the memory of the cakes before..

I miss you so much...

That never gets easier..

I love you.. Happy 82nd Birthday Daddy. xxx

CONGRATULATIONS

Okay.. so no one said that i was not allowed to say anything.. or... tell the world... sooooo.. im blabbing... ofcourse... sssssssh.... you cant tell B1... sheis not meant to know until its announced at school...

my baby girl... just got selected for HOUSE CAPTAIN!!!!!


This was her speech:

Hi, my name is Kiera. I am in year 9 and this is my second year at this school.

Although i love sport, i am not very good at most, but will always give it a go. I partake in an outerschool sport which i love and also participate in every aspect of PE and always sign up for interschool sports.

If i were house captain I would do everything to make us number 1. I am a good role model and follow all school expectations so we wont have a bad reputation.

If you vote for me, i will cheer for you!

I will be the one on the side lines chanting our songs and standing proud.

So when you vote remember me aond dont forget vote 1 Kiera.

Where would i be without you!?

To my lover, my life, my soul mate... i just want to stop before both of our days get so uncontrollably busy that they are over before we can actually think and tell you that i love you beyond words.. more than every star in the sky and deeper than any ocean. I am so blessed to have you in my life, but moreso that you chose me to be a part of your world.
Your strength, passion and devotion as both a father and husband never ceases to astound me.

I Love You...
Happy 15th Anniversary.

Always..
Your doll.
xxx

My new domain.

Well... the saga continues with me and my scrapping domain.. studio.. room... what ever you want to call it.
I have been out in the search for more storage today to complete it 100%... and you know what!? by golly.. by gosh.. i think i am all but done.
My desk looks a little like a shit fight at the moment as everything seemed to end up on it at one point or another.. though... i now have the best little hanging station right next to my desk which easily accesses everything that i may need in a general scrap day. Ive also been to IKEA (insert bowing to the ikea gods) and bought some more little jars , some bigger ones for my flowers and some of the cutest, funkiest little enamel tins that hang... Now, just to find a CREATE rub on to complete what i saw in my head when i found the tins.

My room is what i have always wanted it to look like now..
All that is left to do once i tidy my desk is to paint the legs of my desk, buy a new desk chair and paint one book shelf.. then... oh man oh man.. i will be DONE!!!!

Photos will come shortly!

While the man works...

the girl will shop! :D

Isnt that the way it should be?

Matt had a photo gig to do this morning with a totally rocking aussie band VELVETEEN SKY so instead of staying home with the kidlets and bumming, i decided that it would be the perfect reason to go shopping at the direct factory outlets and ikea.
Besides.. Jamie needed new shoes after coming home early this week and telling me that the deputy pricipal told him that his BLACK LEATHER skate shoes were not appropriate because they had white stitching. Grrrr... The uniform requirements stated black leather.. did not state any in-appropriate things..

Soooo.. we bought a pair of black shoes.. runner style.. though, not a bit of black anywhere... I was litterally asking the store clerks as they shoed me pair after pair with patterened liners or white or grey stitching.. or logos.... "Got any Blacker!?"
We also dropped into my favourite store of all time there at DFO, Provincial and stocked up on some glossy cardboard (but super sturdy) hinged boxes with lids for my scrap space. They were totally a steal... Smiggle boxes at 50% off... admittedly, i best say sorry to any melbournite that may read this and wants some... there are only the dodgy (marked, scratched) white ones left. I left with 26 in all different sizes! ~L~

We went and visited Ikea after we picked Matt up... admittedly, more storage was bought... tins, racks, clips to hold ribbon too short to wrap onto reels...
Im so going back next week!!! I CANT WAIT!

A scrapper in the making

I dont know about the rest of australia, though here in Melbourne there was a teachers strike today... well.. atleast for some of the classes in government schools. B1 & B2 were very dissapointed that it was only Miss M's class that was affected and that they could not accompany me to work. Normally Matt would happily take a day off to offer care when i have to work, though today saw him needing to requalify for his weapons... so i did what i had to do and took a 6 year old into a scrappers dreamland. WORK.

She was brilliant and made me so proud. Her baby, teddy and an over packed lunch box accompanied her and while mama worked, she "scrapped*" her own things as well as making her little boyfriend a valentines card since she was not going to be able to see him at school. Im sure he will love it tomorrow when he gets it. :)

B1 was totally dissapointed after all the hard work that she went to to get her boyfriend some wonderful gifts that his class had been affected by the school strike as well.. though, apparently, they caught up over the school fence at lunch time and she was able to exchange a little of what she had got for him, visiting at his house in the afternoon with the rest... including a huge teddy bear.
She is growing up so fast... a red rose and the sweetest card was given to her today ... she was over the moon..
He thinks she is "The ONE!"


* = to cut little pieces of paper and patterns and adhere them randomly over any flat scrappable surface. EG. computer paper, card or other paper.

(she knows how to scrap a page properly, though without a photo.. she just went into t cut and paste mode~L~)

Happy Valentines day

Just wanted to stop by before snuggling down with my very own valentine and wish you all the very best... even though for the Aussies, the day is all but a memory almost.. (LOL)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY...

And the front page of the newspapers should read

KaiserCraft takes the show by storm!!!

To say we went off was an understatement... from all accounts.. it was a hell of a wonderful ride... i think it will take the guys a few weeks to come back down to earth.. Mel had all but about 20 of our make and takes... people were waiting patiently to do them and even came back on again to do another one. We were a hit..
orders were taken non stop to the point that Mel had to stop make and takes and put on her sales hat too... It sounded totally unreal to hear how much people loved us over there and how our product and designs were recieved...
The boys apparently were a hit... the americans just could not get enough of the accents!!! ~L~
While our orders are not all tallied... its easy to see that we have finally made our imprint visible on the OS market in the hugest way...

Well done guys...
I look forward to the ride!!!

Day 2... CHA

We have heard all sorts of wonderful news from the guys... we are going off!!

Doubling sales from last year... having people que'd to do our make and takes, which have been said to be the best at the show.. (ofcourse... we created them!!)
and having people from all number of companies lining up for ages just to place an order with us...

We all cant wait for you guys to get back and show the pictures and hear the stories again and again...

so wish i was there living it all first hand too! :D

CHA is Gonna ROCK!!

Well... today is the day... the guys from Kaiser have been spending the last few days setting up our stand at CHA and today... the event is starting..
We have been working os hard over the last few months at work getting things done and organising for this.. and finally... its here!!!
While i dont think any of us are game to breath out just yet... i think we are all glad to see todays date!

Guys... if your reading this.. i know... WE ARE GOING TO ROCK!!!!!

Back to School

Man, i can't believe how quickly these school holidays went... it only seems like yesterday the school year broke up and the kids were looking forward to christmas.. though... christmas seems like a blur from a million miles away with the speed that this year seems to be travelling at...
At this rate, it will be time to start all over again. Bleh..

Miss M could not wait to rejoin her friends whom she had not seen all holidays, talk about christmas and just play on the school gym equiptment. Children at that age are so easily pleased when it comes to school. She has a new teacher this year and all bar 3 of her class mates are no longer with her this year. While she was a little unsure weather she wanted to be there once we got to the classroom, she quickly settled and ive already been told she LOVES her new teacher.

B1... wow... can you believe that he is now in highschool!? I sure cant. I can still remember to vividly the first day of preschool and holding his hand as long as i could before letting it go and heading back home for the first time ever to a totally quiet house.
That soon changed when Miss M was born a while later though entirely a different story.
He looked so grown up in his middle years uniform... i cant wait til his blazer is delivered so that he can look totally the part.
B2 is graduating this year... i still cant believe that.. 15 in a few months and becoming more of a lady every day. While she is graduating, it is simply this campus... next year will see her heading to the senior campus to start the last 3 years of her higher school education.
She is going for house captian this year... good lucky with writing that speech baby.

xxxx

The latest from the scrap desk

Thought i would share with you, before i head off to bed.. my latest little creation..
This again is something i have created with Kaiser Paper.. this range is Sorbet and would have to be one of my all time favourite papers.. Its just so mmm.. yummy.. it reminds me of icecream..i think the rub -ons are pretty damn yummy too.. whatcha think!? I used kindy glitz on this album too.. wanted to give it that purdy.. really sugary girl look... i think it worked well... sadly i dont think the photos do the glitzy blossoms justice..
Anyway.. this one IS staying on my desk.. i love it to bits!

Have also subbed this one.. crossing everything that i hear something positive back soon.
:)

Purple happy mail

Wooohooooo! Man.. is she good to her word or what!... I got my purple postcard today... right from the cadbury factory in NZ!
I sniffed, i licked.. though im buggered if i can find traces of chocolate! ~L~

Shes leaving.. on a Jet plane

Dont know when i'll see her again.. though.... im soooooo wishing i was going where she is going...
New Zealand.. Hold onto your hats and look out!!!! The Lucas Family are ON THEIR WAY!!!


Up in the air they fly.. zoom zoom a zoom zoom zoom!!!