It's time to sing!!!

Happy birthday to you.....

Happy birthday to you.....

Happy birthday dear Tasha

Happy birthday to you......

Happy birthday sweetie. Hope you have a great day.
You are growing up so fast - 9 years old today!!! (Although sometimes you act 19!)
Don't forget that life is to be enjoyed - don't wish it past too quickly gorgeous girl BIG birthday grins
Getting birthday wishes
The birthday girl with her daddy (Who's Daddy's Girl?!? - She loves her daddy)
Cuddles for hopalong - oops I mean dear big bro

Busy weekend ahead!

I am having a nice peaceful day today before the madness! Just pottering around doing some housework before meeting mum for lunch. I need the quiet time to try and recharge - been feeling a bit "wrung out" lately. I took time of work for me time to try and sort out what I want and who I am etc but havent had much quiet time at all. Don't know how I fitted work in before ~L~

This weekend will be busy but I am really looking forward to it.

Starting tomorrow - Tasha's birthday. So we will have all the excitement in the morning then it's driving the kids to school. The bus was such a wonderful thing now its a 30 minute trip morning and afternoon until Kyle gets confident enough on the crutches to catch the bus. I am working tomorrow then pick the kids up and we are going out for dinner (Tasha's choice).

Then the fun starts! The girls from up north (the ones we meet in Sydney for our girls weekends) are coming down here for the weekend!. So Friday night we are going to Husky Pub for dancing and laughs. Then we will be doing some sort of touristy thing Saturday before dinner out Saturday night. I can't wait to see the girls again. It is always so much fun when we get together.

Then father's day on sunday (and it would also have been my dad's birthday).

Whew - feeling tired already. But can't wait to see Kath, Tina and Sheridan - and spend time with Jane as well.

Yep It's Broken!

well..... took Kyle to school this morning and had a word to Mrs Wade about his ankle then raced in to work. Rang the GP and got him in this afternoon so Tony picked him up from school and I met them there. And......apparently there is a fracture at the lower end of the right tibia. Which if there is going to be a break is better than it being the ankle.

Kyle is really disappointed - he was hoping to get the all clear and be off the crutches by now.

So anyway the doctor couldn't tell us what to do next or what needed to be done and the hospital x-rays weren't clear so I ended up telling her to just give me a referral for new x-rays and then I rang Dave (Gee it helps knowing an orthopaedic surgeon!) and he is going to see us tomorrow between cases in theatre. By this time tomorrow we will know if he can survive with just the backslab (plaster cast 1/2 way round his leg held on by bandages) or if he needs a full cast. I am hoping the backslab will be fine!

Oh what a night.

I was looking forward to an early night last night but it just wasn't going to happen!

Kyle had an early game of basketball so we all went along to watch. He went after the ball and fell and when he was lying on the ground with the ball under his foot so his foot was up in the air another player fell onto his leg. Poor kid was in agony. So we dropped Tony and Tasha home and I took him up to casualty.

So theres me sitting in the waiting room of cas all flu-ey and coughing and sneezing while Kyle sits beside me playing his gameboy!

They took Kyle off to x-ray fairly quickly and then sent us back to the waiting room. After 5 1/2 hours we finally see the doctor to be told "We think it's broken but we don't know for sure because the x-ray machine isn't working and even though we took his x-rays we can't read them"

So they put him in a backslab, sent him home and we have to go back again this morning!

Our day at the Zoo

Phew what a day!

I didn't get much sleep Wednesday night - one because I had the worst throat and cough and two because I kept thinking I'd sleep through the alarm so I was checking the clock every half hour! Doh!

I got up at 5.30 and had my shower etc then woke Kyle up at 6.00. We had our brekkie and then headed off at 6.30 to school. The bus left Nowra at 7am. 60 hyperactive kids YAY. WE headed off watching the Wild Thornberrys Movie - very mind numbing then we got to Kiama and turned around and started home because they forot to pick someone up in Berry! Anyway - back in the right direction again! We got to the Zoo about 10.30. (After also watching Spongebob Squarepants!)

Sat down for morning tea all together and were then sorted into our small groups. About 11.30 we were finally allowed to go off looking at animals but not for long as we had an education session at 11.45. My group did a quick (and I mean quick - like there it is - seen it - lets go) trip past the Lions and Tigers and Bears (OH MY) before racing to our education program

This was cool - we were talking about rainforest animals and got to pat a bandicoot - see a stick insect - pat a frog - pat a snake (Yes I did! Very proud of myself! - Couldn't look like a wuz in front of all those kids!) - and pat a sugar glider.

Then we had another 45 minutes where we went to the gibbons, gorillas, bird enclosure, giant crocodile and Fishing Cat - Yes thats right a cat with webbed feet that likes swimming to catch its food! Then we raced back to meet up for lunch.

We had planned to go to the seal show after lunch but we ended up going on a the chairlft as a big group so we had to wait around for an hour for everyone to finish lunch before doing the "Sky safari" chairlift.

After that we had just enough time to race down to the meerkats and red pandas before seeing the Bird of Prey live show. Unbeknownst to us we positioned ourselves just near the eagle perch so when they flew over down to the keeper and back they swooped right over us - one even came so low it knocked Kyle's hat!

Then we raced back up the hill (and that hill is a shocker!) to meet the bus at 3.30 to head home. Coming through Sydney at peak hour isn't fun and then we ran into roadworks so we finally got back to Nowra at 7.30.

Totally shattered I went to bed early. It was a long day but it was great too. Kyle wants to go back up in the school holidays and see all the things we missed!

Oh did I mention that it poured rain most of the day! SO my little cold has just catapulted into something much worse!

Its a bit scary!!!

Wow what an exciting but extremely scary time ahead for my family.

Heard from my brother yesterday and they have definately to move! Looks like things are moving full steam ahead and they should be gone by the end of October.

He has accepted a job in Dubai!! .......Dubai is located in a fairly risky part of the world. It is located across an expanse of water known as "The Gulf" (yes that Gulf) from Iraq. I know it is a great opportunity for him - he will be in charge of offices in Dubai, Egypt and Saudi Arabia but it is still a bit scary for me to think of him, his wife and son living in such a risky place. I looked it up on the government travelling website and they list it as "rethink your travel plans" or 4 out of 5 on the risk scale!

I know I will be praying for their safety a lot over the next 3 years!

His family will be coming back home (he is over there at the moment) to catch up with us all before they leave.

We are trying to teach mum to use the puter now to keep in contact - she actually sent an email the other day and received one back! Sounds pretty simple but it was a great cause of celebration for us - she was very proud!

BBQ at Davina's

On the weekend we were invited to Davinas for a BBQ lunch to say thankyou to all the people who helped them with their house renovations and moving. It was a lovely meal and a relaxing time.

I just had to share these pics of my little Nephew Dominic who arrived with his Mum Simone. Don't you just love the cheeky look on his face - I love it!

Dominic with his Aunty Cathy!

Playing with Aunty Gail - Hmm not sure who's having the most fun here!!!

Yum yum

I love these! Aren't they divine! The new BG mellow range. I sooooooooooooo want some. Have seen them online and just fell in love. Yum yum. This is just a few of the range - check them out if you can - There are a few new ranges but this is by far my fav.

What a day!

Wow what a mad day!

We headed off about 9.30 to go to Milton as we had been told about all the great gift shops down there and we planned to do some serious shopping! (Apparently the shops are very much like the Berry ones!)

ANYWAY I don't know where they hid the shops but we only found a couple (and this is a small country town so I don't know where they put them!). We stopped for a cuppa and had a beautiful cappucino at a cafe on the main (hehe - just about only) street then went shopping! Now the theory to shopping away from home is that the time spent in shops should at least be equal to the time spent driving there!! We fell short today!

We went into Ulladulla for our lovely lunch on the harbour and the lunch was lovely but I'm not sure about the harbour as it was raining so hard we had to sit inside and we could barely see the boats at the dock! I'm sure it was a beautiful view just wish I could have seen it!

Then we did a quick look through the shops and came home EMPTY HANDED
Yeah I know - very scary don't think I have done that before!

We were going through the shopping high withdrawals so to help the cravings we made a detour on the way home to Sanctuary Point to the scrapbooking shop and (YAY) finally spent some money! Got home about 4pm and raced into work for a lesson on the new software program at work - which is so simple and even though I had never used it before I ended up figuring it out and teaching the girl who was supposed to be showing me how to do it!

Tonight the kids and I did some more cooking (made coconut rum balls and brownies!) and yeah Tasha ended with chocolate smeared on her! She did say it was better than the flour fight we had cooking in the weekend so that was okay! Have a Stampin Up party on Friday so have been cooking nibblies for that.

I am going on an excursion with Kyle next week to Taronga Zoo (3 hours by bus up then all day at the zoo and 3 hours back with 60 11 and 12 year olds. Not sure how sane a decision that one was!

Looking Forward!

Well today was a bit of a shocker at work. Came home feeling very frazzled and flat but then I sat down and thought about all the things I have to look forward to and the smile just leapt onto my face!

Firstly I have a day out with the lovely Miss Jane on Wednesday. We are having a girls day out in Milton for shopping and then heading into Ulladulla for lunch on the harbour. It will be great to catch up!

Tony and I have a weekend away planned in Sept JUST THE TWO OF US!!!!!! Will be great! Although Tony is organising it so that could be a bit of a worry - we could end up anywhere!

Then (drumroll please) I'm back in Melbourne for 4 days to go to Paperific and spend time with the Allan's! I always have so much fun in their house and SJ and I just seem to "get" each other. Isn't it cool when you find a friend like that!

And in the middle of all this I'm waiting to hear from my brother about his job. Looks like we wont have to go to Brisbane this year they will probably be moving again! SOOOOOOOO exciting

So whenever things start to get on top of me I just think forward!!!

Another Congrats

Went out and bought my Handmade magazine this morning to have a look-see at Gail's tins (Although I had had a preview!)

Congrats Gail on your first publication!!!

CONGRATS

Just have to say congrats to one of the most amazing scrappers I know.

Well done SJ for being published! (Pg 32 of the latest SM mag)

You know I love all your work (your minibooks and tag books etc are just amazing) and it's great to see your work out there for others to see as well.

I am sure this will be the first of many

Pics from Scrapping with Soul Weekend

Gennie gettting her gift from the scrap of faith girls
ALl the scrapoffaith girls at the SWS weekend

Rowena, Gennie and Tracey

My "Date"

Had a special day out yesterday.

Simone and I went and saw a movie called Amazing Grace which was a really interesting movie. It was about the abolition of the slave trade and about the guy who wrote the song Amazing Grace. Very confronting but very thought provoking as well. (and it did bring a tear to my eye)

Then we went to lunch at Postmans Tavern for a beautiful meal (and we splurged and had dessert too - yum yum).

All in all a great day.

SWS Weekend

Well what a weekend. I had a great time at the Scrapping with Soul weekend.

I was really concerned going into it but it was just amazing.

Gail and I met two of her friends from scrapoffaith.com at Maccas at Bomaderry. Tracey and Jeanette were just the nicest people. I immediately felt at ease with them and we chatted there for a while. Then we headed off to Waterslea.

We met up with Cass there. She is an absolutely beautiful soul. I just felt like we had known her for ages. We also met Gayle from Scrapbooking Memories who is just great. I sat at one end of the table with Gayle so we got to chat a bit over the weekend.

Also got to catch up with Lin from the scrapping camp we went to in Canberra.

It was a great weekend. Got a special project finished that I wanted done and 4 pages. AND I came second in the card making competition. That one blew me away. I really didn't expect to get a prize so it surprised me but I was soooo excited.

The Scrapping with Soul team are always so friendly and helpful and welcoming and organised things beautifully.

Anyway am very tired now so I think I'll sort these kids out and have an early night.

Will post some pics later.

Thankyou

I would just to say thankyou to you all for leaving messages on my blog . It meant a lot to me to see that people not only read my blog but that you cared enough to leave a message so thank you very much.

Miss you Dad

Well today is four years since Dad lost his fight with cancer and I still miss him heaps.

I will see something or be doing something and think "Oh Dad you would love this". He was such a proud Pop to Kyle and Tasha and would be bursting with pride with Kyle's school accomplishments. I feel so sad that my kids wont know the special man he was. They never got to meet Tony's Dad and then they lost Tony's Mum and my Dad in a very short period of time. I know he spoilt the kids rotten but he also loved them dearly and would brag about them all the time.

I just hope Dad knew how much I loved him and just how special he was. He put up such a good fight lasting 2 1/2 years after his diagnosis (when the doctors gave him 6 weeks) but when he died he was a shadow of the man he had been.

Love you Dad and miss you more than I can say. I wish I could speak to you just one more time to let you know how much I love you and miss you.

XXXXX Love your little girl

Oooops we did it again.... ~LOL~

Well after doing the whole running into Kay and Brian thing a few weeks ago. Tony and I were strolling through the supermarket doing our grocery shopping and who is right in front of us but Margie Knight! So we stood there for ages in the middle of the aisle having a chat. She was down seeing her dad who is in hospital again.

It was so funny because we had only mentioned contacting her and Greg a week or so before and there she is!

HHHMMMMM lets see who can I run into next !?!

Our holiday - warning long post!!!!!

Well after getting a little nudge I thought I'd better update my blog with the holiday details!

We drove down via the coast road stopping at Bega and Lakes Entrance. Lakes Entrance wasn't too bad - not too much water but still lots of sandbags everywhere! Apparently the place we were staying had the back rooms flooded earlier in the week but the water had all receeded.
This is taken on the footbridge at Lakes Entrance.
Driving through Barinsdale and Sale there was still lots of puddles in all the paddocks but all the roads were clear.

We then stayed at the Hambrecht's in Keilor (out near Tullamarine airport in Melbourne) and got to catch up with Debby and Dayna and Dayna's boyfriend Garry. Dayna is now Tasha's new best friend because she is a great musician and is currently practising High School Musical for her school performance. So she played the piano and sang all the songs with Tasha!!! Friend for life!!!!!! It was great to have some time with Debby too (Ken was away again - we seem to time our visits for when he's away - Is that a subtle hint? lol )

Tasha, Dayna and Kyle

Melbounre was great. We went to the Zoo, Kyle saw Cook's Cottage and caught a tram! Tasha was tour guide for us at Old Melbourne Gaol but the definite highlight of the trip was catching up with the wonderful SJ and family. I was heartbroken when we had to leave after such a short time but whilst I was there we made our plans to meet up again in October and received a wonderful invite for our family and the Allan's to do christmas together so will have to see what happens there. The kids all got on really well together so that was great.

The Mob!!!!

Then we went onto Ballarat. Talk about cold! Very, very cold. We went to Sovereign Hill which was one of the most expensive places and somewhere I don't think I would go to again. The kids had a ball with all the snow and the winter theme but they weren't really interested in the old town and there wasn't a great deal to see. It cost us $90 to get the family in and then you have to pay extra for each of the activities when you get in - very little is included in the entrance price. Pay extra to try the candle dipping, extra to try the old presses, extra to ride the Cobb and Co coach etc etc etc. But having said that the kids had a ball. Tasha loved the hourly snow fall in main street, they got ride down a snow hill on a ski tube and (of course) had a snowball fight or two.

The kids with Mr Joe King at Sovereign Hill.

Feeling a bit flat now we are home. Can't wait to go back to Melbourne to see SJ. Had a bit of a bad weekend emotion wise.

Just thought I'd make a quick post to say we made it to Melbourne - Tony made me drive through Melbourne up to Ken and Debby's place at Keiler (near Tullamarine Airport). Melbourne drivers have to be the maddest bunch of people ever! Mind you his navigating skills have a lot to be desired too!

Anyway we are having fun - went to the Zoo today - having a day in the city tomorrow to do the markets etc and then out to point cook for lunch with the Allan's on Wednesday before heading out to Ballarat.

Catch up with when we get home

MWAH

Cath

Here's my stash!

Here is a pic of Kay and I - I had to take a pic just to prove it was actually her!!!!! (note the braids - they were just on their way home from Bali when she got the call to come to the craft show)

Just thought I'd share pics of my stash from the craft show! Got almost everything on my list so it was a fairly successful shop!

What a weekend!

Well this weekend has been just amazing!

Jane and I got up nice and early Sat morning to go to the Crafy show at Darling Harbour. We wandered around picking stuff up, putting some back down, buying some etc etc. There was a lot of wool/knitting stalls and quilt and patchwork but there was only about 3 stamp stalls and about the same papercraft/scrapping stalls but Art Stamps were there so I still bought quite a bit!

The big surprise was when wondering around I looked up at one of the stall owners and thought "Gee that person reminds me of Kay". I thought about it a minute and was just about to say something when she looked up and saw me and shouted " Is that really you???" It was a good friend of ours Kay Cooper from Perth!!! She had been called in to do the show at the last minute. So we had a good chat and catch-up and then her daughter Tegan and husband Brian arrived. We haven't seen them for about 6 years so it was great to catch up. I sent Tony a message - he would have been so disappointed not to be there! Tony has been wanting to catch up with them for years.

Anyway with all the chatting and shopping we run out of time to look at the quilts.

We raced over to our hotel, had a quick shower and change and headed of to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. A musical with Marina Prior, Lisa McCune and Magda Szubanski that was just hilarious. It was excellent. It was only a small cast of about 10 and they had a couple of roles but one of the best shows I have ever seen. Poor Magda - about 2/3 of the way through she missed her cue to come back on stage and then they stopped the show because apparently she was very ill and there was someone standing in the wings with a sign saying "Magda is unwell!" But in true professional fashion after about 15 minute she came back on and finished the show - what a trouper.

We did Paddy's Markets today and I got the hats I wanted for the kids so all-in-all a very successful weekend. Seeing Brian and Kay was a wonderful unexpected surprise to cap it off.

Here are my LO's for the cyber crop on the weekend

Life is busy!

It's been a while since I updated my blog so I thought I'd better do it now before I forget!

This weekend is a busy one - Froggy Todd have a cyber crop this weekend so will have some new stuff to post in a day or two. They have extended the deadline until Monday night which is do much better than trying to cram it all in on the weekend.

The next few weeks are pretty mad too. Worked 3 days this week! Not bad for someone who quit work to take it slowly!!!!! Next weekend is our girls weekend in Sydney. Can't wait. A day at the craft show, dinner out and then we are going to see the 23rd Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (I think thats the name of it) at the Sydney Theatre Company at Woollloomooloo. Should be heaps of fun. Then Paddy's Markets Sunday and home again!

A week after that we are off to Melbourne for a weeks hols. Tony had a week off and there are some friends we wanted to catch up with do we thought we'd take the kids down and do the Zoo etc.

Home for a week and then I'm off to Cedarvale for my 3 night package I got for christmas from work. Not sure how I'll cope being away for 4 days and not being able to even ring home but am looking forward to relaxing and being pampered!

Then home for a nother week and am off to the Scrapping With Soul weekend. Feeling really quite anxious about this. Hopefully it will be a good time.

Anyway I'm off to get some scrapping done for the CC. Will posts pics in a couple of days

Farewell Natalie

Tomorrow is Natalie's last day at Dr Ryan's. Her DH has a transfer up north to Mackay (lucky her!) We had a night out last Saturday with lots of fun and frivolity. Started off at North Nowra Tavern - food was lovely, they have done the bistro up and it looks cool! Then we went to Bomaderry Bowling Club for the variety club rock and roll night which was a bit of a fizzer so we caught the courtesy bus into town and went to the ex-servos. Another shock there! The place was half empty! But we had fun - gave the DJ a list of songs we wanted played and Natalie and I went home with hoarse voices from singing along!

Anyway tomorrow is her last day so I have spent this last week madly scrapping the pics from our night out last weekend. It is all I have done for the last few days but I finally finished. Here is a couple of the pages. I actually completed an 8 x 8 album. What a big job but I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to give it to her tomorrow.

Hope she likes it!

Natalie's Book

Some more layouts for Natalie's book

Some More QUOTES

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

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I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it. ~Jack Handey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May you find serenity and tranquility in a world you may not always understand. May the pain you have known and the conflict you have experienced give you the strength to walk through life facing each new situation with courage and optimism. Always know that there are those whose love and understanding will always be there, even when you feel most alone. May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace. May a kind word, a reassuring touch, and a warm smile be yours every day of your life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them. Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending.-- Unknown.

Some more layouts

This page is about my dream for kyle as he grows up. The journalling inside is about how he can be whatever he wants to be

Wasn't he a cutie! The tag says "Let your heart guide you....it whispers so listen carefully" It is a quote from Land Before time

Some of my latest

This one was for the cyber crop on Froggy Todd

Kyle and his Nana Luc when he was one day old
Will upload some more tomorrow. Heading off to bed now!

Another weekend gone!

Had a nice peaceful weekend this weekend. It was lovely

Firstly Tasha had a sleepover at her cousins Friday night so I got to spend a nice evening with no arguing between Kyle and Tasha. wonderful!

Then Saturday I got to spend about 5 hours with my gorgeous little great-nephew _(Gosh that makes me sound old lets rephrase that) I mean Tony's nieces little 4 month old fella. He really is a sweetie and it was lovely to spend some time with him. Saturday night Tasha decided she wanted to stay away again so it was another peaceful night and we splurged and bought pizza for dinner so no cooking either!

Sunday was a nice peaceful day. Went to church and got to catch up with some people I haven't seen in ages then picked Tasha up and went down and did the grocery shopping (okay so the whole wekeend wasn't THAT good) and then had some time at home with the kids. Had planned to spend some time scrapping but Tasha and I ended up having a silly afternoon - Lots of giggling, lots of fun, maybe a little bit of hysteria at times, and all in all a thouroughly enjoyable time

Had a very busy day at work today. Am now going through organising pages for this weekend scrap day. Looking forward to spending some time tomorrow with Jhorjie and Dominic.

Working week!

Wow so much for having time off to rest/relax/scrap etc.

This week is MAD!!! Mad, I tell you, Mad!!!! ~L~

Worked at Dr Ryan's mon, spent Tuesday scrubbing the horrid spot above all the cupboards in the kitchen (you know where all the grease and dust and dirt goes! ~ yuck!), got called in to work at Dr Ryan's all day today, have a day at school tomorrow with the kids for education week (don't you just love sitting on those low chairs with your knees up near your ears!) and then Fri I am now working at Dr Jones.

Phew - so glad I quit work to rest don't know how I would have fitted it all in!

I am sooo looking forward to scrap day in a week and a half. 10 hours of scrapping time will be wonderful (well probably 8 hours by the time you allow for setting up, going through the shop, afternoon tea, dinner etc etc)

Mothers Day

Had a great day yesterday for Mothers Day

First I was joined in bed for cuddles and snuggles and then Tasha disappeared and came back with brekkie in bed for me. How spoilt was I! Then more cuddles (of course) and then Kyle came struggling in with a big box that had....................................................................... an 8 drawer shelving unit thing on wheels with large clear boxes in it to store my paper and cardstock for scrapping!

We then met Mum and John at Seven Mile Beach for a picnic lunch. The day was slightly overcast but it was a lovely day - not too hot! There were heaps of people there too - we went there last year and we were about the only people there but there were hundred's there this year but it was still a lovely time.

Hope all you mothers out there had a lovely mothers day

He's home!

Well Kyle is back from camp and he had a ball! He ended up in the water at canoeing but still seems to have had a great time.

I had one of those days today - went into 2 scrapbooking shops and spotlight and didn't spend a cent! Came home without buying a single thing. SHOCK HORROR. Nothing jumped out at me. Was looking for something in particular, couldnt find it and wasn't interested in anything else.

We have a 10 hour scrap day in a couple of weeks so I guess I better start planning projects etc. Think I will just take some pics along and concentrate on doing pages not OTP's this time. It is the same weekend as Froggy Todd cyber crop so I will have time to get the challenges done!

Kyles off to camp!

Well I dropped Kyle off to school this monring ready to go to school camp for three days. I can't believe how hard I found it. It was really difficult to watch him get on the bus with his classmates knowing we wont see him for three days (Yeah I know I'm a big sook). Tasha in particular is finding it hard. She is worried that something will happen and we won't know (he is only going 25k away to Berry Sport and Rec Centre not the moon!) and in response Kyle is worried Tasha will not be able to cope on the bus to and from school without him! Don't know who is the bigger mother hen!

Havent had much scrapping mojo lately - well thats not really true - more a case of I have a long list of things I want to do and just can't find the time to do any of them. I tohught when you left work you had more time - it just doesn't seem to work that way!

Have a great idea in my head for some pics I took in Melbourne (yes using THOSE pics SJ - sorry!) and it looks great in my head I am really excited about trying it but just can't find the time. Normally I have a struggle coming up with ideas and tend to use sketches etc a lot but this has just jumped into my head and looks great. If I could just get it out of head onto paper that would be great - (not such an easy feat where I am concerned)

I am doing a class this weekend through Froggy Todd with the absolutely amazing and talented SJ so that is something to look forward to.

QUOTE FOR TODAY

"The only real limitation on your abilities is the level of your desires. If you want it badly enough, there are no limits on what you can achieve." `Brian Tracy

pics from Melbourne

Well here's some pics from Melbourne. (Approved pics only! ~L~)





This is the fog I hit - from the top of Cambewarra Mountain to the other side of Lake George! I was driving along the whole way thinking "If they dare tell me Canberra airport is fogged in there is going to be BIG trouble" but it cleared just as I was coming into Canberra PHEW!








SJ in the wonderful town of Mornington - the best fish and chips, gorgeous water views, cute beach huts AND an amazing scrapbooking shop! What a great place to visit!

Excuse the colour of the pink clouds in the background GRRRRRR to my camera!







Just a couple of mad people!













































TODAYS QUOTE:
You can't deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favourite chair and stays as long as it wants
~ Stephen King

A great time was had by all!

Well I'm back home (how did that happen so quickly!). Had an amazing time in Melbourne with SJ, Matt, Keira, Jamie and Miranda.

I arrived in Melbourne all ready to do the zoom zoom song, arms ready to go, and no SJ! Turns out I was in terminal 3 baggage area 1 - she was in terminal 1 baggage area 3! ~L~ But we found each other after a couple of SMS messages and I was welcomed to beautiful sunny Melbourne (NOT!!). We went back to SJ and Matt's to find that not only did I have my own bedroom but also my own scrapping desk! How cool was that!

They made me feel so welcome and so at home. It was great spending time with them. We spent Sunday scrapping and actually got quite a fair bit achieved (yeah okay and maybe a little bit of talking!) Oh - and I was allowed to touch and play with Sandra's stash - not just look. How priviledged was I!

Monday we went for a short (hehe) drive to Mornington for some of the best fish and chips I have ever had and then on to an amazing scrapbooking shop. (Thanks Matt for giving up your day off to drive us, and for putting up with us too!) and I saw some of the huts on the beach at mornington - they looked so cute!

Tuesday was just mad! And it was all Matt's fault ~ long story just never ask this man to pack your lunch for you!~ well not really his fault, he actually made the silly mistake of leaving the two of us at home together, so we went shopping! The toy shop we went to was mind-blowing. Pressed as many buttons as I could and played with lots of toys! Bought home goodies for the kids which they just loved. Then we went to the LSS and I think we touched just about every item in the store. Got home in just enough time to wolf down some sandwiches before picking the kids up from school. These sandwiches happened to be: chicken, cheese, mustard and.........sour cream! Sounds weird but tasted great, Then after picking up the kids we came home and found left over strawberry icing in the fridge so we sat down with a packet of cinnamon crunch biscuits and ate them with the icing! Talk about sugar high! But then Keira took it one step further and added icing to her banana! After that everything sort of went a bit mad! I don't think I have laughed so much in ages. The really scary thing is that we have the same warped sense of humour! VERY SCARY. Poor Matt came home and thought he'd walked into the loony bin! Even scarier all this happened before we had a glass of wine!

All in all it was a great time. SJ and Matt were just wonderful and I loved the time I had with them. Got heaps of scrapbooking done we got through about 4L of wine, laughed till we couldn't laugh any more, shopped, chatted. What more could you ask for!

Will post some piccies later when I get a chance to go through them. I actually forgot to even get my camera out until about Monday, having too much fun!

What a great few days!

Well the last few days have been good ones. It started on Monday when I found out I had won 2 of the challenges at the FTC cybercrop on the weekend. I couldn't believe it I really didn't think I had a chance in any of the categories so I was blown away but the biggest news was that Tasha won in the kids section! She was sooooo excited, she was literally standing beside me bouncing up and down!

Also on Moday we went to the library to hear Bruce whatley talk about his latest book Danny DaVinci and the Great horse of Milan. It was fascinating to hear about how the book was written and the different things you need to do to get a book finished. He also read his book to us and then had the chance to ask questions about this book and some of his other books. He really was a great speaker and had the kids enthralled. Tasha even came home and wrote a story of her own!

Then yesterday the kids went to adventure day camp at Waterslea (Koloona) and had a ball. I was a bit worried about how they would go but they loved it! Tasha went canoeing (and didn't tip her canoe over) and Kyle went billy carting and abseiling! I thought he might balk but he didn't! He said ti was okay but he slipped at the end and has a great big graze on his elbow and wrist so thought maybe he wouldn't do it again!

They had so much fun they can't wait to go again. On Thursday Tasha is doing billy carting and rafting and Kyle gets to try archery!

Have been trying to sort out stuff to take to Melbourne - Been printing photos and working out pages etc. Only three days to go!

TODAYS QUOTE:
The quote today comes from one of my favourite authors Douglas Adams:

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be

What a day!

Tony, the kids and I went out to Vincentia today cause the kids wanted to go to the pool for a swim but the Bay and Basin Leisure Centre wasn't open! So we went to Moona Moona creek for a while and then we decided to go around the Blenheim Beach. It was lovely, the water was so calm and peaceful. It was a bit hazy but a nice day nonetheless.

There were quite a few families there and Tony popped into Vincentia to get drinks for us and just after he left I heard Tasha yell out (in her not so subtle voice) "Mum what's that - is it a shark?" Well you have never seen so many people move so quickly - I think everyone on the beach heard her and there were parents jumping up everywhere.

I looked out and just past the kids there was a fin moving through the water but before I could say anything another fin appeared and they suddenly started jumping and frolicing. It was a couple of dolphins. Then as they disappeared a pod of about 10 of them came past the beach and jumped and played for about 10 minutes. It was just beautiful.

I grabbed my camera to take some pics but didnt get many good ones. I kept missing them!

And I was too far away - you can just see the specks in the water

Kyle and Tasha are the two at the left of the group of people there

As I said the pics are'nt the best but then neither is my little camera that I just throw in my bag

Cyber Crop

Don't forget the Froggy Todd cybercrop is on this weekend!

I am loving the challenges this weekend. I have completed my B & W and two of the other challenges I have the photos ready to go as I had planned on scrapping these anyway!

This time in a week I will be on my way to Melbourne - boy that has come up quickly!


QUOTE OF THE DAY


"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Mary Anne Radmacher

Easter came late this year!

We went up to mum's yesterday for our easter lunch. We had decided not to join them for their party Easter Friday as we had spent Christmas with my family so we left it clear for tony's family but ended up just spending the time at home anyway- everyone was too busy! Oh well.

Had a ball yesterday - lots of prawns ,oysters and smoked salmon for lunch and a fun easter egg hunt afterwards!

Here is Tasha blowing the horn for the hunt!

And the kids all happy and full of chocolate

Out with a bang!

The kids got a great shock over the weekend. They were sitting down together playing the organ when there was a bang and smoke started pouring out of it! BUT instead of calling out or moving they both sat there frozen watching the smoke! Good thing I was nearby - called for Tony and ran and grabbed the fire extinguisher. Kids okay but the organ is no good! We burnt out the power box thingy (yes that is the proper term ~L~) so it is now goodbye to the old organ.

Only 10 days till I go to Melbourne - how do you pack clothes for 5 days and scrapping stuff for five days as well!?! I normally take three bags to go scrapping for a day AND because I'm flying there is a weight limit. Have to work on small projects! - If truth be told there will probably be more chatting, giggling and imbibing of wine done than scrapping.


TODAYS QUOTE
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair. - chinese proverb

ooooops

Forgot to add my quote for today so lets see..............

life is uncertain...eat dessert first! ~L~

no let's try this one -


"happiness isn't doing what you like, it's liking what you do."



ps - 15 days!!

pics that I promised

Firstly here is pics of a tin I made for Michelle at work - (Yeah I know when I am leaving I'm not supposed to give the gifts) just to say thanks for her support.

I loved how this turned out and it wasnt easy to give away! I covered an old corinthians tin using BG papers (Yeah I know been hanging around Gail too long!) and then cut the M and the used chipboard flowers and tag covered in paper and DM'ed for embellishments.

The stamp on the tag is a Stampin up one the says "simply said from the heart - Thank you"

And here is the pics of kyles war wounds

I'm Free, I'm Free

Well what a couple of days of highs and lows!

Today is my first day of freedom (or my last day of working!) and it is a great feeling.

Was a bit flat today - no cake no flowers - no nothing! Got a "Hope you enjoy whatever it is you do now" on the way out by our manager. Felt real good. But my boss took me out for a drink at the pub on the way home so that was nice! Said lots of nice things - made me sad but I am also sooo very relieved to be going. feels like a weight is lifted!

Yesterday was a bit of a shocker - bit of advice if a guy ever tells you "I'm just going to stick this needle into your breast but it won't hurt!" don't believe him!!!!!! Also yesterday got a phone call from the school to say that Kyle was in time out for fighting - TWICE!!! Got some great pics of his black eye and a bite he has on his inner thigh. Will post them later


MY QUOTE FOR TODAY:
What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable. Joseph Addison

What makes us happy?

What do we need to be truly happy?

We think that life will be better once we get married or have a baby. But then we can't wait for the kids to grow up and maybe we'll be happy when they do. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. Will we be happy when they are out of that stage?. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.If not now ... when?
Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza ..."For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin.But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time ... and remember that time waits for no one ...So stop waiting until you finish school ... until you go back to school ... until you lose ten pounds ... until you gain ten pounds ... until you have kids ... until your kids leave the house ... until you start work ... until you retire ... until you get married ... until you get divorced ... until Friday night ... until Sunday morning ... until you get a new car or home ... until your car or home is paid off ... until spring, until summer ... until fall ... until winter ... until you are off welfare ... until the first or fifteenth ... until your song comes on ... until you've had a drink ... until you've sobered up ... until you die ... until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy ...

I found this when I was surfing the web tonight and it is all so true. We need to stop looking at the litte things and be glad for the good things in our life.

Sometimes I tend to focus on the details and forget to step back and look at the big picture.

I once read that you can be as happy as you make up your mind to be and that is so true.

So stop and look at the good things in your life - make a list (even if it's just in your head) of the special things - I know sometimes the hubby or kids can drive you mad but they can also provide you with some of the happiest times as well - don't forget those special friends who are there for you even when you just need someone to be silly with!


My happy thought for today -
Only 20 days till I go to Melbourne!



QUOTE FOR TODAY:

Happiness is a journey ... not a destination!!

What a weekend

Well I had an absolute ball of a weekend. It was soooo exactly what I needed.

After making the decision to cut the things and the people from my life that stress me and drag me down and fill me with self-doubt and actually finding the courage to face these people (some positively and I will be glad to keep these in my life - some I walked away from with the resolution that these people were not good people to have in my life) it has been a hard couple of weeks but I'm getting there now.

Went to Canberra with Gail to meet Hannah and Jo for a weekend of scrapping and it was a blast - (although Hannah's best scrapping mojo seems to appear between the hours of 2 and 5 AM!!!!) Heaps of laughs and fun and a little bit of scrapping got done!

Here is the four of us at the end of our 2 night scrapping weekend

And one to prove that scrappers can be lady's!

COUNTDOWNS

4 working days left before I become a part-timer!

24 days until Melbourne

QUOTE FOR TODAY

Learning by experience often is painful- and the more it hurts, the more you learn. Ralph Banks

Life begins now!

Well after much soul searching and lots and lots of discussion with my friends and family (thanks for listening!) I finally resigned from my main job today. So I am no longer the secretary to one of the greatest orthopaedic surgeons in the country. I will miss my job terribly it was a great place and we worked so well together but there were other influences at work that made it impossible for me to stay.

I am still a part-time receptionist/typist for a cardiologist 1 day per week so I guess I'm not unemployed!

I feel so much better now. I have smiled and laughed more today than I have in a long time. I have one more week of work, finishing up on the 30th of March. Will be a happy day to be saying goodbye to some but also absolutely heartbreaking to say goodbye to others!

Anyway I am off for a wonderful weekend in Canberra with the amazing Hannah and Jo (and yes you too Gail!) for a weekend of scrapping and chatting. Just what I need!!!!

I am planning on having a few months off to be at home with Tony and the kids and then will look for part-time work later in the year - hopefully it won't be too hard have had two job offers already since people found out I was leaving but I'm not ready to jump straight back in yet.


QUOTE FOR TODAY: Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why


OOOHHH and don't forget - Jane's b'day in just 4 days and ................................................................................................................................................................... 30 days until Melbourne!

Its Happened!

Well tell you what - turn your back and all of a sudden your little boy has grown up!

Kyle turned 11 today and he is definately 11 going on 30. I am very proud of the gentleman he is turning into. He doesn't always make good choices and is as bad as his mother at coping with comflict (which doesn't bode well for peer pressure in the future!) but all in all he seems to have his head screwed on well.

He is growing up so much and so quickly ~ although luckily he still loves giving his mum big hugs.

Love you mate, hope you have a great birthday

When will I learn?

When will I learn to stand up for myself?

After much soul searching and discussion between Tony and myself I had finally decided it was time to stand up for myself and had made a decision about my future.

However once I had started to tell people about this and hearing them say how disappointed they were etc I felt myself starting to doubt my decision.

Why am I always so worried about pleasing others and put myself and my own happiness so far down the list?

I am sure that this is the right way to go and the best thing for my family and for me I just need to dig down deep and find the strength to not cave into what other people want and this irrational need I have to keep the peace and not upset anyone! I know where my insecurities come from but that doesn't make them any easier to deal with!


Countdown status
0 Days till frog hop cybercrop ~ it's on now!!!!!!
3 days till Kyles bday
7 days to Canberra camp
10 days to Janes bday
36 Days to Melbourne


TODAYS QUOTE

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.-- Diane Ackerman

SHOPPING!

Went to Miranda Fair on Saturday and I drove all the way there! I am terrible at driving in Sydney I hate it but I drove all the way with no trouble (it really wasn't that difficult)

Tony Tasha and I went shopping for Kyles b'day present ~ he was at a friends place for the weekend ~ and after kicking my toe in the morning before we left and hobbling round the shops for half the day Tony told me to go and buy some sandles so I could take my joggers off and we went into Big W and got summer shoes on sale for $5!!!!! couldnt buy just one pair at that price!
Anyway - took my shoes off and there is one very black little toe - no wonder it hurt!

Am thinking of trying out for the design team for Frog Hop. I know I have no chance but thought I might give it a try anyway - could be an interesting experience!


Countdown status

3 Days till frog hop cybercrop
6 days till Kyles bday
10 days to Canberra camp
13 days to Janes bday
39 Days to Melbourne



QUOTE FOR TODAY:

Choices are like connecting highways. They all take you to the same place. Some just take longer to get there. (Dream for an insomniac)

COUNTDOWNS!

Well my poor calendar is getting a beating at the moment! Countdowns for sooo many exciting things!

Only 11 days until Kyle's birthday (my little boy is turning 11 years old ~ how did that happen?) and he is making sure we don't forget!


Only 14 days until the scrapbooking camp in Canberra - Can't wait to meet up with Bubbles and Jo! Don't know that much sleep will be had but I am sure lots of laughs and fun will be!


Only 17 days until my wonderful friend Jane's birthday. Still trying to think of something special to do for her birthday. She deserves to be spoilt rotten ~ any ideas?

and........

the most exciting one of all.............................

only 44 days to go until I go to Melbourne! YAY I may not have mentioned this before (hehe) but I am soooooooooooo looking forward to catching up with flutters and family.


So as you can see lots to look forward to! Certainly need it at the moment or I would seriously go insane (or maybe just hide away in bed and never surface again!)

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Here is another quote for you from my favourite movie of all time ~

Why is everyone always telling me to be nice? - Dream for an insomniac