The simple life

This weekend it seems life is back to a year ago! We are back to a family of four for a couple of days. Jacob has gone to his dad's. Tracy is house sitting. And our family seems to be having a "typical" weekend.
Tasha has a friend over and at the moment they are having a waterfight. Kyle is about to head over to a friends house for the afternoon. Tony is watching wrestling on TV (Why I ask, why????) and I have been cleaning the kitchen and going through recipes.

Mmmm the simple life!

Goodbye

Tasha and I were having a "Girls Day" today and just after we arrived at the shopping centre at Shellharbour my mobile started to ring.... It was one of those calls that was expected but that doesn't make it any easier.

Anyone who has ever met Harriet will totally understand when I say that she was a woman who was happy with who she was. She had no time for pretences. She was a farm woman and was content to be with her alpacas. She was a loving, caring mother who adored her family and would fight viciously for what she believed would be best for her loved ones.

She taught me what it was like to just be who you are and not to worry about the petty judgements of others. She accepted people for who they are not for what they could do for her. She had a smile that would light up her face and believed the best in everyone. Harriet you will be greatly, greatly missed. The world has lost an amazing treasure.

Easter weekend pt 2

On easter sunday we went to Davina and Stephens to catch up with the Lucas clan. It was a fun relaxed and really nice day. Aunty joan and Lorinda came over from Canberra and it was great to see them. We hadn't seen Aunty Joan since we went over to Canberra to visit her when she was in hospital so it was great to see her up and about and looking so much better than when we saw her last.

As usual when the family gets together the cameras come out - this family is so camera shy - NOT!!!!!

Here is 5 out of 6 siblings (we missed you Neen)

And all the cousins, second cousins etc.

I thought I had successfully dodged the camera but unfortunately then we had to do family group shots so I ended up in a photo after all!

Easter Weekend pt 1

We had a productive long weekend. Being on a tight budget this year and knowing buying something for the extended family was not possible Tasha hit the kitchen! With some easter shaped cookie cutters and some cookie dough she went to work.
Rolling dough, cutting out shapes, placing on the tray, even putting them in the oven! She needed some help from mum getting them out of the oven and they didn't work out quite how we had hoped. A little flatter and fatter than expected but hey we knew what they were supposed to be!

Then she set out to ice them

And this was the finished product ready to take to family lunch.

Well done Tasha - you did a great job and they look fantastic. There were easter egg decorations, rabbits, flowers, smilie faces, even some with crosses to remind us about Jesus and the gift he gave us on easter.

And in the middle of all this I got to spend some time in my craft room making invitations and cards. More scrapping pics to share later.

Work, play and early mornings!

Yep I have another one of THOSE weeks this week. Lets see, started with monday getting this pigsty we live in to a slighter more habitable state - then soccer training with Kyle (I love winter sports NOT! sitting in the middle of fields at night time is not much fun)
Tuesday was work, then race to pick Tasha up for dancing, then back home for 10 minutes quick change to Girls Brigade.
Tomorrow (wednesday) is my YAY day - a shopping trip and girls day out with Jane and Cass. BRING IT ON!
Then we have to be up at 4am thursday morning to get Tasha to school for an excursion to Canberra (how dumb is that!!!!!)
Then Friday it is another early start - 5am - as I head off to a conference for work.
YUCK, Yuck, Yuck

Happy Birthday

Boy does time fly my little man has gone from this...... to this..........

and it seems so quickly - good to see he still has a cheeky grin on his face! And at this point in time I am still taller than him (by the slightest of margins) although he was very proud the day he overtook Tony height-wise ~L~

Happy 14th Birthday Kyle - you are growing up into an amazing young man and I am so proud of you. Love you heaps XXXXX

Photos

Saw this on Teresa Collins blog and just had to share:

A Birth certificate shows that we were born

A death certificate shows that we died

Photos show that we lived

So it got me wondering - what are some of your favorite photos? What do you think shows that you really lived?
My favourite photos are usually of fun times with friends and family - being silly, being together, having fun!

This pic always makes me smile - Kath and Jane dancing in the middle of Hyde Park in Sydney in front of the buskers (see we will seriously dance ANYWHERE!)

This photo is of the SoF girls. I love the encouragement I get from these girls (and the fact that I met Cass through SoF - a major blessing!). This pic was taken at one of our scrap days at Lou's place - you are guaranteed in this group to have Gail and Lou centre of attention (I do think Cass is a little concerned about where Lou's hand is headed! ~L~)

Sandra and I - need I say more. I only wish I lived so much closer to this sweetie. I love that I can be me ~ mad as that person is! we laugh, we chat, we discuss the deep and meaningful aspects of life and the light fluffy bits as well.

Of course any group of fav pics has to include 2 things - my amazing boy and the water!

I love the smiles and the fun these guys have with their cousin Declan. This pic to me just shines happiness.

Girls having fun. Tasha and her good friend Kaysha. They always have so much fun together and Kaysha fits in so well with our family when she is here.

This is just one of many! I love the amount of photos I have of my two kids with their arms wrapped around each other. some days when I feel like the worst parent in the world I look at these and think we are doing okay! They are so supportive and protective of each other and have a great relationship (yeah of course they fight but they are quick to grab each other in a hug too!)

Fun! I love the fact that Tasha and her friends can have fun and get dirty. I remember some of my best times as a kid were the muddiest, loudest and most hilarious. This day was wonderful just to hear the shrieks of laughter coming from the backyard.

Cass and I at yet another scrap day! Love the support I get from this girl. She is always there when I need a pick me up or a laugh

I love this pic purely for the memories it brings! This is Tasha Christmas morning just waiting for the phone to ring to hear from the Allan family.

So these are some of my favourite photos that remind me that not only have I been alive for 36 years but that I have LIVED. What are your LIVE LIFE photos?

Fun!

Wow it is scary how quickly these kids of mine are growing up. Kyle is turning 14 on Friday but with next weekend being taken up with the 30th birthday celebrations at his school we had left yesterday for his party. My kids don't get a party every year - they are allowed to have one every two years..... however having said that the last party Kyle had was for his 10th birthday because when he turned 12 he had been in trouble and was grounded ~ therefore no party!!!!

So he had the choice of what he wanted and his option was to pick a couple of friends and head to Timezone (Funland) at Ulladulla. It turned out only his mate Matt could make it so we took the 2 boys and Tasha down for an afternoon of fun. Wow these kids can stretch their money. They played and played for 4 hours before everyone ran out of credits. Laser skirmish, dancing games, pinball, shooting alleys, car games, jetski simulators - you name it they did it!

We came home with 6 stuffed toys (tasha), a water pistol (kyle) and the boys both came home with a little bow and arrow set. It was a great day.

On his birthday he gets to pick what we have for dinner. Hmmm could be interesting!

Whinge

Warning: whinge alert!

I had to fast this morning for a head CT ...... Guess what - turns out I have a brain after all! ~L~...... So what do you think Tony does this morning? Yep walked in the door from work and decided to cook bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast. MEAN, MEAN, MEAN.

Okay whinge over!

On the creative side - have some more shares I will upload later this afternoon from the scrap weekend. Will be spending some more time in craft room today working on memory/visitors books for NCS 30th birthday reunion/dinner.

Cleaning

Have spent the morning so far cleaning out kitchen cupboards - definately a mixed blessing! Firstly, yuck, yuck, yuck but on the up side....... I found the gravy boat I have been looking for since Tracy and Jacob moved in!

Message to self - when you have 2 short people move in don't empty out the high cupboards for them! I had cleared all the overhead cupboards for them in a hurry when they moved in but neither of them can reach without a chair ~L~ oops. So this morning I emptied out the lower cupboards - have plates/cups etc all over the bench and table waiting for Tracy to move her stuff so I can then move it all back into the overhead cupboards.

Apart from that nothing much happening here. I am feeling slightly more human (although I did share my lurgy with Tony and Kyle). Off for more medical tests tomorrow.... you would think working for 7 doctors I had seen enough of them without seeking out more on my day off.

Another week gone!

Well I guess I should be saying "Woo hoo it's Friday!" but I don't have the energy! ~L~
This week has been shocking with viral gastro bugs and doctor's appointments and organising more tests. Yuck. There really hasn't been much time left for anything else. Only had 3 days of work this week - Mon, Thur and Fri and today I was feeling so crook I actually rang in sick. Now those who know me know that I DON'T DO SICK DAYS! I had been up all night with gastro and just could not face work so I rang Sal at home this morning to let her know she was on her own. Poor Sal, I think in the 2 and a bit years we have worked together this is only the second time I have rung in sick - she gave me lots of "nursey" advice.

So anyway not much else to share - here are some more layouts from the Melross weekend. Nothing too flash but they are done! Was tempted to call this layout - "the calm before the storm" hehe. May have to do another LO with the pic of us at the end of the night!

My scary grown up girl. WAAAYYYY too scary

This pic was taken putting up our christmas tree - and of course I had to fussy cut the trees to go along the bottom.

Congrats

Got to make a big shout out to Miss Tash! After the knockbacks and major kicks in the teeth (not literally) she has suffered lately she hasn't let life get her down but keeps fighting and her chin up. She went to tryouts and has made it onto the school soccer team!

So proud of you gorgeous. Congratulations.

Scrapping

As I previously mentioned the melross weekend was a wonderful time spent with fun ladies (yes okay maybe that term could be debatable ~L~) with lots of fun and laughs. The biggest blessing I got out of this time away was not only the fact I came back in a much better frame of mind but the inspiration these ladies provide is phenomenal. I spent most of my time up one end of the table with Cass and Kim and they are both scrap machines. I love the fact that both are willing to provide suggestions and help and to share their amazing talent. Thank you both so much. Kim blows me away with the way she just looks at what is in front of her and starts adding to her page until it ends up looking amazing.

Here is some of the pages I completed over the weekend Carol gave us all a lesson on making these roses out of cut up strips of old patterns. They look great and we all had heaps of fun making them. Thanks Carol

Here is a close up of my pattern rose. It has been sprayed with glimmer mist and (of course) I found a button to go in the middle.

This was one of my fav layouts from the weekend. Hmmm lets see - Teresa Collins papers which I totally adore, a range called friendship, need I say more? and a pic showing a typical day with Sandra and I! How could you go wrong? Love you sweetie

This layout is done with Kaiser papers and again something rather predictable for me ~ a little bit of fussy cutting! ~L~ I am nothing if not predictable!

more layouts to come.............................................

Quick update

Just a quick post to say Boo Hoo the weekend is over!

Had a wonderful time with some amazing girls and WOW did some scrapping get done! I thought I was doing well getting 15 pages done but some of the girls acheived much more ~ with Cass getting over 50 cards made and some layouts done!~ and Kim even broke her retreat record by going over the 20 layout mark.

Will update tonight with pics - got to head off to work now YUCK

And we're off........

Well not quite........ I am all packed and ready to go.

I am so looking forward to some relaxation, fun and craft time with a great bunch of girls. I hope to come back full of inspiration and ideas and hopefully with some completed work. Scarily I have my tote bag, one tub and my ribbon box. Hmmm wonder what I forgot.

see you on the other side of the weekend

Ch ch ch ch .. changes

Hehe bet you have that song in your head now - I know I do!

As you can see I have done a little tidying and housekeeping around here! Getting there slowly - just need to work on my header. Don't get too comfortable - may move things around again! I am having fun playing - should be doing housework but hey..... this is much better for the mental status!

One done - big one to go!

Spent some time with the wonderful Miss Jane yesterday at the scrap day at the church. There wasn't enough room on the table so we didn't get to catch up with everyone we hoped to - we sat on a different table. Got a little bit done - as usual not as much as I would like. It seems I only tend to scrap on designated scrap days - must make a pact with myself to allow creative sessions each week - it makes such a difference to my mental status.

Anyway back to it - I did new door hangers for the kids with "knock before entering" on one side and ""do not disturb" on the other for when they want to be left alone (This has been a big issue here lately so hopefully this will be sorted out now and they don't have to worry about sulking when they say no). also covered a mini album but didn't get it finished.

Now it's time to re-pack and get ready for a much anticipated girls weekend. 4 days of scrapping, swimming, chatting, laughing, relaxing with a great bunch of girls. Can't wait!

Menopause.....

No not mine!

I went to see Menopause the Musical with my mum last night. Talk about laugh.... I laughed so much it was hilarious (alhough mum wasn't too impressed when I was laughing myself silly through the song about overbearing, critical mothers).

And..... now you will all know how much I hate dancing and how I would NEVER dance in public (hehe) so I know you will find it hard to believe that I got up on stage when they were pullng people out the audience to dance..... nothing fancy just a kick line. Shouldn't have done it - made me want to go out dancing...... JJJJAAAANNNEEEE!

Still Alive!

Hi peoples,

Yes I am still alive - just a quick post. Hmm let's see:

* Book finished and off to printers! (lots of work - long story - lessons learned)
* Working every day this week - yuck
* Scrap day on Saturday - 10 hours of chatting, scrapping and yummy food (and I get to spend most of it with the wonderful Miss Jane)
* Supposed to have the week off after that but now working on the Wednesday
* THEN 4 day long weekend at Melross - scrapping, chatting, swimming, relaxing...... can't wait

Busy, busy

Just a quick warning - I may be fairly quiet for the next few weeks. Talk about insane schedule!

So much for working 2 days a week! This week I was down for 4 days but will probably do 5 as the other lady I work with has to take her daughter to theatre for a k-wire fixation of her finger (her right hand - and yes she is right-handed - and in year 10!). Next week was supposed to be 3 days but depends on how Sally and Bella are going may be more. The week after that is five days!

In the midst of this Tracy and I madly trying to get the commemmorative book organised for the kids schools 30th birthday. Just a little job ~can you hear the hysterical laughter~ I have 40 pages to design, edit, add photos to and generally get up to publishable level. Oh did I mention we have like two weeks to do it?

Then (YAY) the plan is I have the first half of the following week off before I head off back to Melross for a retreat with a wonderful group of girls. We had a blast last year. It is just a small group (10) and we all bunk into this house with a large dining area for scrapping, a pool, kitchen, great lounge area, outdoor eating space. Mmmmmmm can't wait - think I may need it by then ~L~

So I tried to grab some time on the weekend to hide in my craft room. Ipod on - check. Music cranked up loud - check. Photos and paper at the ready - check. Inspiration on tap - drats knew I forgot something! Oh well - I sat and got kits ready and so I know I can be slightly organised but it looks like I am now just about totally sorted (paper and photowise anyway) for my scrapping weekend in 3 1/2 weeks!