Why does it always rain on me?

You know, I really love the rain ... it's my favourite weather!! But why is it that whenever I have heaps of stuff in my hands, or have parked miles away from where I need to go, that it starts to rain just as I need to leave the building? And why is it that no matter how long I wait for the rain to settle down a bit, it will continue unabated until I get inside the car, then it will stop?? It's a mystery.

Tayla had her first "big girl" gymnastics lesson at YMCA today - she totally loved it! They didn't stop working the whole time, unlike the kindygum class which consisted of lots of lining up to get on the equipment. The other great thing about it was that there is an advanced class on at the same time, so Tayla has decided that next week she'd like to learn how to walk on her hands. And, she wanted me to teach her ... rofl. I don't think so!

I'm scrapping, scrapping, scrapping my little heart out at the moment! I've got 2 lo's almost done for the HUGE comp at LittleScrapbookShop - if you haven't checked it out yet, make sure you do, it's awesome!

Do you want to get some scrapping done this weekend? How about the opportunity to win some AWESOME prizes? Scraptherapy is having their cybercrop this weekend ... it's going to be great, make sure you check it out. Challenges will be posted on friday night, but there are hints in the forum already, so check it out. Nat has done an awesome job on her site - her logo is just to die for, I love it!

Ok, I'm off to do something - take care, everyone!!

Tell me why I don't like mondays.

I forgot for a while there I was singing to you all with my post headings. So here we go - can't you just imagine how amazing I sound singing along while I'm typing?? lol




So what has everyone been up to this weekend? We had our last game of softball yesterday, and it was lots of fun - right up until the game got cancelled due to rain, lightning and thunder. I was a bit disappointed, as it was a fun game - got our butts royally kicked, but the other team were really great to play, and we did pretty well to restrict the score to what it was, so that was good. We had our night out last night - drove to Emu Plains, through torrential rain and car-shaking thunder, to discover that the Hotel we were planning on eating at was flooded, with no electricity. A quick change of venue, and we ended up at the Henry Lawson Club at Werrington. Great food, awesome service, and a really fun Karaoke set up (I didn't sing, but I was about the only one in our group ... go the Bon Jovi head banging!!) What an awesome night! I never thought I would hear myself say this, but I can't wait until next season starts. Most of our team is staying together - only 2 people are leaving, we think, so it's going to be a great season, and our coach is staying too - I think he's planning on whipping us into shape, and not letting us get away with our slackness at training of this year, so I'm kind of looking forward to that.
The up side of softball finishing is, no more early saturday mornings, as we rush to get the kids down to the fields in time for their games ... woo hoo! I can sleep in - at least till soccer starts.

Tayla has decided that she wants to play soccer this year - and that decision was solidified when she found out that her "boyfriend" Joshie is playing too. So we have been on the hunt for tiny soccer boots. After being told by a number of rude salespeople that I would never find any soccer boots in that small a size, as there was no demand for them (HELLO!! isn't the fact that I'm after a pair of them an indication that there is?? Boooooo Rebel Sports at Penrith for their rude customer service staff by the way!!) we found a pair at KMart - and the kicker is (ROFL) that they are Diadora brand ... cover up the first 3 letters, and they are DORA soccer boots!! She's so excited, it's adorable. So here are her new wardrobe additions - she's in heaven. She sat down watching SBS soccer coverage this afternoon, and was taking note of all the things she wants to learn when training starts - I didn't have the heart to tell her that she probably won't be learning an overhead goal kick in under 5's.


K, that's it for me for today ... I'm off to do a bit more shopping for LSBS's big competition! It's so hard to pick which products to use, Cath has put together an amazing selection of stuff for us to choose from! Make sure you check it out, if you haven't already - so far, there are about 50 people registered to have a go at it, so it's going to be pretty awesome. Tomorrow is back to work - I hope this rain keeps up, because we desperately need it, but at the same time I'm glad that I've got a fairly light teaching load this week - rain tends to send teenagers a little nutty!! lol Take care everyone, hope you all have a great monday!

Staying alive, staying alive!!

What a couple of days! Full on at work, full on at home, and to top it all off I'm starting to feel the effects of the February hay fever strike. Sore throat, itchy eyes - fun fun fun! So a trip to the chemist was in order today while I waited for Kelsey to finish dancing the afternoon away at her school disco. It's amazing what a few years at school will do - for her kindergarten disco, she wanted to know when I'd be picking her up, and what songs they'd play, and what she should do if ... I had to walk her in, and it took a while to prise her arms from my leg. Today, I barely got a kiss as she bolted for the door to find her friends!!

Well, a little bit of news - it's not really new news for some people, but it was pointed out to me that I hadn't mentioned it on my blog (sorry AT!) so here I am! I'm officially a Stampin' Up! demostrator. I'm planning on trying to fit some demo's around my busy life - so if you are interested in booking one, or you want to place an order for some of the amazing SU products, feel free to contact me!! I'm about to add the links to the online catalogues to my links on the side bar - take a look, you'll love them! (Warning ... SU! stuff can be addictive ... LOL)
One more SU! thing - the SellABrations promotion that Stampin' Up! has been running is drawing to an end, so if you are interested in getting a FREE set of stamps, all you need to do is place an order for $100, and you'll get to choose your free set from those in the SellABrations brochure ... You'll have to hurry, though, because it ends on monday night! So if you are interested in placing an order, and getting a set of free limited edition stamps, let me know ... you get a free set for every $100 you spend, it's a great deal!

Ok, that's my sales pitch for the night ... lol. Now on to some exciting news ... I think! Tayla has been going to gymnastics since the middle of last year - kindygym at the YMCA, where they teach them balance, coordination, tumbles, etc. Well, she just LOVES it, and is really good. The problem has been this year that since she can't start school till next year, she is back in the same kindygym class as last year, and is bored out of her brain. Well, yesterday Dennis talked to one of her instructors, and she agreed that Tay needs to be a bit more challenged - so she's going up to a higher grade, where she can learn to do cartwheels and more advanced skills. She's so excited - and so am I, but someone on LSBS mentioned last year that she loved gymnastics, and was informed of the costs, both financial and time, that gymnastics can consume when you have a talented child who gets right into it ... maybe I'm not so excited! Ah well, I'm sure I can take on a second job if it comes to that ... lol.

Ok, that's it from me tonight - I'm off to take some antihistamine, and hope that I can speak tomorrow. I can feel myself losing my voice, but I'd hate to not go in when it's an easy day (well, easy compared to the other days anyway ... I have a couple of free periods where I get to catch up on the mountains of paperwork that always seem to be waiting for me!) Take care everyone, have a great thursday!

My big hairy scary encounter!!

Oh my God - never before has getting a coffee been such a stressful event! I had to leave a little early from work today to get Tayla, as Dennis had a Dr's appointment, but there was a bit of time to kill until we had to pick the kids up from school, so Tay and I went shopping. After a lovely little spending spree at KMart, we headed back to the car, and while heading out of the car park Tay announced that she needed a drink. Thankfully, there is a relatively new Starbucks store, which has drive-thru ... perfect!! So through we go, ordering our drinks and heading to the pick up window. I go to hand the lady my money, and she squeals "aahhhh, a spider!" I look up, and there on the window frame of my door, is a big, huge, hairy hunstman spider - I'm talking massive, and less than 10 cm away from my head. Tayla started freaking out, mummy wasn't far behind her, and the girl serving us went hunting for a broom to sweep it away - hello! What happens if it starts running towards me? I couldn't wind the window up, as it was halfway inside the car, and I didn't want it to be trapped inside with me. A manager came to my rescue with a large plastic cup to trap it in ... if you've ever had a large frappe from Starbucks, you'll know the size of the cup, and this spider totally filled it from top to bottom, with no room to move around at all. It was a good half hour afterwards before I felt calm again ... it was interesting driving away after that, let me tell you.

I TOTALLY blame this on Nic, as we spent a bit of time talking about spiders at her place on Saturday night ... all the time I was cm's away from this thing, I was remembering what she told me, and was wishing I had some hairspray - I tell you, this thing had lots of hair! I'm still a little jittery thinking about it actually.

So that was my excitement for the day - I think I'm still coasting a bit on the adrenaline of it all, as our backroom has gone from looking like a total trash heap to looking like ... well, like a back room! I was just contemplating when I got home how many spiders there might be living in amongst all that mess - luckily for them, there were none, as I had my extra strength gel spray ready to go, just in case!!

Oh, some happy exciting news ... I won a prize for a lo I did for a surprise comp at Scrap Therapy! Happy happy joy joy ... LOL. Thanks Nat!! Ok, I'm off to bed - hopefully to dream of things with 2 legs, not 8. And definitely not with little pincers that open and close while you sit there staring horrified at them. Or beady little black eyes. :Shudder:
Thanks for dropping by - if you've got a scary encounter story, please leave a comment! Or even if you don't, you can leave one too - just to say hi, so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself. Luv ya!!

Blogging along, blogging along ...

Yes I know, it's not a real song, but it's close enough ... LOL. This isn't a real post - it's a figment of your imagination! I've just taken the plunge and changed my template over - the drop and drag editing thing is pretty cool, but now for some reason my elements in my sidebar are WAY too far apart, and the flashy blinky thing at the top, advertising the LSBS Competition, isn't flashing or blinking the way I wanted it to. And I still can't figure out how to do a cool pretty looking header for my blog - Cath has given my blog envy!! So really, this is a test post, to make sure that I haven't completely stuffed this up. Have a great friday tomorrow, everyone!

I love a rainy night ...

I'm thinking about doing posts with song lyrics as titles, what do you think?? lol Yep, it's late, I'm bored, and I've been coming up with lots of bizarre ideas, so just humour me.

So an update, I hear you exclaim! What's been happening in my life? Lots, thanks for asking!! Some not so great, and I don't really want to go into that right now ... but I do want to say this. I freaked out a little last week at how long my MSN contact list was getting with scrapping people I'd met online, particularly when you compared it with "real" people (those ones who I had seen in person before I knew what an avatar was). But when the chips are down (what a stupid saying!!) and times are tough, my online friends are the ones who have been flooding me with support, and for that I am truly grateful. It's made me realise how lucky I am to have met so many of you through forums, and scrapping sites, and I value each and every one of you. Big hugs!!! (I need some emoticons on here, Cath!) Just as an aside ... before I edited that last sentence, it said big jugs ... I'm just going to leave that out there, for you to ponder on.

HOW AWESOME has the rain been? I was totally loving it, and am a bit disappointed that it didn't pour any more today. We had our swimming carnival at work today, and could have almost held it in the quad, the puddles were so big after the past couple of days. Fingers crossed that it does some good - God knows we need even more!

Some good news - I have a classroom! YAY ME! It's amazing what a bit of diplomatic discussions will achieve, so tomorrow is D-Day - decorating! I'm taking all my accumulated posters and resources in to get my room organised. Very exciting (well, for me anyway ... smile and nod, all you non-teacher people who don't get the thrill of a permanent classroom, and move on to the next paragraph, ok?)

I think I've got a couple of new lo's to share - do you want to see? If not, you probably should have stopped at the last paragraph - which totally sucks for those of you who aren't teachers, now, doesn't it? The question is, then, if you aren't a teacher or a scrapper, what on earth are you reading this for? There isn't much else in my life ... lol.

These are just a few random lo's from the past couple of weeks - some done for a cybercrop at Scrap Therapy (LOVE the site, Nat, you are doing an awesome job girl!!) and some more just for fun.

Ok, off to bed for me - have a great rest of the week, everyone, and give your kids a HUGE hug. Life is too short to let stress about stupid little things get in the way of what's special, and those moments where you can hug them and make them hug you back, even though they may be rolling their eyes as they do it, are all too fleeting. Take care, and Happy Valentine's Day for tomorrow!!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work I go.

Well, how did everyone enjoy the first day back to school, hmm? For me, it wasn't such a happy occassion - it marked the end of my blissful scrapping holiday, and the return to the every day activity of planning lessons, programming, dealing with all the politics that comes with working in a school, and of course teaching. There's a huge dilemma about my classroom ... or rather lack of one! But I'm not going to get into that here - too depressing!!

Over the last week of the school holidays, I scrapped up a storm, baby! Lots and lots of lo's, including some monthly and DT challenges from Little Scrapbook Shop, and lots of lo's just for fun. I might just save some time - almost EVERYTHING I scrapped on the weekend used My Mind's Eye Bohemia papers and embellishments ... I'm so in love with them, I can't even tell you!

Here are as many of the lo's that blogger will let me upload today ... please be good little blogger!






Ok, so it's letting me show you 5 - I'll upload some more later on.

So, the really exciting news ... Kieran started highschool, and after the initial misgivings (he was almost sick with nerves the day before) he LOVES it! He is really in his element - he's totally loving maths, and his History teacher is a little blown away by his level of knowledge I think. So all is good on that front ... I think I'm over the "I'm not ready for my son to be going to high school" phase. It's kind of good teaching a year 7 class actually, as I can live vicariously through them, and have some kind of an insight into what my son is experiencing.

Ok, I'm off to get some work done - take care, everyone, and give your kids a big HUGE hug ... they grow up way too quickly!!

The long-awaited update!

I know, it's been ages, and I know that you've been stalking my blog just WAITING for the next update in the delightful insanity of my life. So, without further ado, here it is! Our school holidays in a nut shell.

We had a great christmas - the kids got some wonderful presents, and we're totally over the moon, so that's a good thing. Stayed home in the morning, and let the kids play with their presents, before heading to mum's for round two of unwrapping, and the big feast. I didn't stuff myself silly, which is highly unusual, and I really enjoyed it - with no bloated sick feelings that night, it was a definite improvement over past christmases! I got mainly gift vouchers and books, so I was one happy chappy.

We had our usual New Year's trip to Colo River, only this time we were there for almost 2 weeks, and what a big 2 weeks it was! Kelsey learnt to ride her bike with no training wheels, and almost no effort. Learning to STEER the said bike was another matter entirely, and I won't tell you how many times she came back to our van bragging about her latest stack -the most impressive was when she slowly and gracefully rode the entire length of the park, smack bang into the brick wall of the toilet block. Oh how I wish I had a video camera on it, it was SOOO cool!

Tayla went from being cautious and a little scared in the pool, to being a total superfish - or "mermaid", as she prefers to be called. She can now swim underwater, no floaties, no assistance at all, and is even diving - it's too cool for words!

Kieran went boating - we hired the tinny for a couple of hours, and he was in his element, captaining the ship up and down the river. Good practice for a military career, I guess. LOL


Home again, home again - and lots of relaxation and scrapping, a bit of housework, and many many incredulous cries about how fast the holidays have gone, and that there is no WAY that it's really only a week until my son is heading off to high school. Here are a couple of the lo's I've done in the past couple of weeks - I'm having lots of fun with it, especially when I get to scrap with total legends! Cath, Shelee, Tracey and Nicole graced me with their presence on the weekend, and our house survived the onslaught of "scrappers" (I'm counting you as a scrapper now AT - LOL)



So a funny story to leave you with - I'm totally loving this conversation, and I've just finished scrapping it, but the light is too bad to photograph it, so I'll upload the pic tomorrow.

Tayla: "Mummy, I'm not allowed to say the F word, am I?"
Mummy: "No sweety, you're not. It's not nice to say words like that."
T: Cause it's a swear word, a naughty word.
M: What's the F word? How do you know that?
T: I just know. Can I whisper it though? Softly?
M: What do you think it is?
T: It's FIB, cause lying is really naughty.
M: (PHEW!!!!) Lying's bad, isn't it sweety?
T: Yeah, when you lie you break the truth.

How cute is that? I totally love that a lie is "breaking the truth"... what a legend she is.
K, that's it for me- I promise that my next update will not be as delayed as this one was.
Cya later, everyone, and enjoy the remnants of the school holidays - I know I'll be making the most of mine!

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas ...

and I'm LOVING it, baby! I'm finally out of my pre-christmas funk that has been lurking lately and making me miserable (although I'm still bummed about the missing deco's!!) and I can't wait till Santa gets here. It's been super full on around here lately - time for some dot points, I think!

• Kelsey's dancing concert was awesome, despite mummy having to SEW things ... heaven forbid! She was graceful and elegant in ballet, but the Jazz - Oh MY GOD! She was groovy, and funky, and so awesome, I couldn't stop smiling and crying simultaneously all the way through it.


• Tayla's gymnastics concert was too cute - it was a Peter Pan theme, and despite her initial missgivings (our little angel wanted to be a pirate!!) she was a gorgeous fairy, swinging and floating and tumbling around. No self esteem issues, this girl - they gave all the kids a medal, and she strutted over to us saying "I'm the YMCA champion, mummy!!" So here are some pics of our champion in fairy land ... it was set up so well, and was an awesome show, with some of the older gymnasts taking on the roles of Hook, Peter and Wendy. Tayla was so impressed, she wants to learn to bounce and tumble like them - and given her backflip attempt last night, it won't be long before she can!

• Kieran's Yr 6 graduation/farewell/last day of school ... I thought I'd be fine, really. And I was - right up until my big brave boy lost it, and stood there hugging his best mates, tears pouring down their cheeks. I lost it right along with him. Then Kelsey started - she's going to miss her yr 1 teacher big time. And Tayla started crying because we all were. It was a big Rodger's Family crying session, really. But he looked so handsome all dressed up for his farewell, and when I arrived to pick him up, I found him holding hands with a girl .. not too sure how impressed I was with that, but I played it cool, so that's something, I guess!! This pic is the result of letting him take the camera to the farewell ... not many usable pics among the bunch!!

There was lots lots more, but really, I'm too tired to go through it all. I will share some exciting scrapping news though ... I won a cc with a lo I totally love at the Chookscraps CC, and I've been invited back to compete for a spot in the Chookscraps survivor comp ... I'm in awesome company, as the wonderful Jini was also invited back! Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. This is the lo from the CC - lots of handcutting, and a totally gorgeous picture of Tayla - I love this! I took this photo as part of a camera challenge at LittleScrapbookShop - the lovely DT member and allround legend Lisa challenged us to explore the settings on our digital cameras and take a black and white pic, and this was the result - thanks Lisa!

Have a great christmas everyone ... I can't wait till Santa gets here, and we see what the kids get - they've been refining their lists for a while now! lol. I hope your day tomorrow is blessed, and you have someone wonderful to share it with. Don't forget to check out Santa's website - Claus.com, to see if you are on santa's naughty or nice list - so far, everyone here is on the nice list (although I don't know how after the past couple of days!) Take care!!

Bah humbug

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, and all that.

So it's officially December, and try as I might, I'm having real trouble getting into the christmas spirit. Why is that? I don't know, but when you figure it out, please let me know! Our lights are up, and working, except for the one set that Tayla dropped the transformer to, and it's now kaput. The tree is up, but not fully decorated, as there are some decorations missing - don't know where they are, but there are quite a few MIA, including the christmas countdown sign that I made last year. Everything else is replacable, but the sign has got me a bit upset, and I just can't seem to shake it. The only place we can think of that they might concievably be is in the ceiling of our old house - which now sits empty, having been sold by our previous landlords, so we don't know how we'd go about checking if they are still there or not.

On the plus side, there are only 3 weeks of school left - which means, dear readers, only 3 weeks until I'm on holidays, and can try and catch up on some of the massive amounts of housework that sit here waiting for me every day. I can't wait to spend some time scrapping and getting myself organised - I'm planning at least one day of nothing but scrapping every week of the hols, I feel like I'm going into withdrawals! I have done a couple of lo's lately that I really like though -
This one was from a challenge by a couple of friends. Lorraine challenged me on ScrapbookingTop50 to do a lo containing lots of ribbon, black and white, and an oversized monogram. Not long before that, Nicole had sent me a pic of a lo from the Maya Road newsletter (I think!) challenging me to scraplift it. This is the result! Lots of lovely ribbon from the LittleScrapbookShop stand at Papercrafts in Penrith. It's too noice!



This next one is the one that blogger hasn't been liking for ages - it's my last Chookscraps survivor one (yep, the lo that got me sent to Exile Island!) I still love it though - it's such a cute pic of Kieran, one of my "let's try and stop him growing up a bit by scrapping every single picture of him as a little boy" efforts.

Oh, I forgot the truly exciting news for the day - the girls had their end of year physi competition, and did SO well! I'm so proud of them both - they looked gorgeous. Tayla came second in her age group, and was unlucky (says the totally unbiased mother) to not get the dancing award. Kelsey came 7th, and was just lovely - you can really see the impact of ballet in some of her routines, it's so nice to watch.

So that's it from me today - off to feel a bit more sorry for myself, and try and get this house looking like someone other than a family of careless squatters inhabit it.
Take care, everyone.

Tag, you're it!

I've been tagged by Jini! So here is a bit about me ... cause you know, after all, this is my blog, and if you want to read something really interesting you're going to have to go somewhere else, all you'll get here is ME!! ROFL

1. NAME: Tamara
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? A character in a Russian novel
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? It's actually been a while - at least a week or so.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I never used to, but it's really growing on me!
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey
6. KIDS? 2 stepkids, 3 others, and my husband!
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? It would depend on which one of my personalities I met ... but really, I think I'm pretty loyal and giving to those who are lucky enough to get close to me!
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yep - I have a couple!
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Well derr! (does that answer the question? lol)
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I'd always said no, but as I get older a bit of a daredevil streak is appearing ... so maybe!
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cereal is something you eat at breakfast isn't it? Nah, don't do breakfast ... too early in the morning!
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Ummm ... no, not even when I wear shoes with laces!
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY? I think both ... I'm becoming stronger physically, and I can be super strong mentally when I need to - even though I'm a big sook!
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Cookies and cream. Honeycomb. Do we have to pick just one?
16. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their smile
17.RED OR PINK? Pink all the way - I'm buying my boxing gloves tomorrow, can you guess what colour?? lol
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My need to please people ... why can't I just please myself?
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Cherisse, my best friend from high school.
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yep!
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? Hmmm ... I just got out of the shower, so maybe I shouldn't tell you what I'm wearing! lol
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I'd be the white one that had rubbed against all the other crayons, picking up bits of all the other colours.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Vanilla ... totally love it!
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My husband
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Sure do ... she's a deadset scrapping legend, and an allround nice person!
26.FAVORITE DRINK? Coffee
27. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Tennis
28. HAIR COLOR? Brown
29. EYE COLOR? brown
30. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope
31. FAVORITE FOOD? Seafood of almost any description!
32. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? happy ending!
33. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Baz Lurhmann's Romeo and Juliet ... teaching it at school at the moment.
34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? I'll refer you back to question 21.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter!
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Fruit and cheese platter
38. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No idea
39. MOST LIKELY NOT TO RESPOND? Me normally!
40. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Mort by Terry Pratchett
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Marvin the Martian
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST ON TV LAST NIGHT? Dancing with the stars
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? My kids laughing!
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles, hands down
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Melbourne
46. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Hmmm ... don't know!
47. WHEN WERE YOU BORN? December
48.WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Lithgow
49. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? Feel like I've done a good job with my kids, look back on our journey big or small, and smile.

Ok, so I tag Amanda, Tracy, or Lavs, whoever reads it and wants to share!

I've tried the image thing again, but blogger is just not playing nice ... maybe next time! Take care all.

I'm back - did you miss me?

I survived my weekend away on the houseboat - but not, unfortunately, the chookscraps survivor challenge. But the weekend first - it was AWESOME! People, I totally recommend that if you ever get the chance to do this, don't think twice - go for it! It was the best weekend I've had in ages and ages. Even with no scrapping, and no internet access - that's saying something, isn't it?? lol.

I fished, I talked, I drank, I swam, I ate way too much, I read lots, and I fished some more ... I even caught one! I do have photographic evidence (like I'd come home without photos!) but they are on a friends' camera, so I'll share those when she emails them to me. And this is the bit I know you're all waiting for - the injury toll! Yes, dear readers, I can home with an injury - a fishing hook went underneath my finger nail, then back out again ... ouch! I got it out eventually, but I'm heading off to the doctors tomorrow for a tetanus shot, just in case. I'd hate for one of my essential typing fingers to fall off now!

And while I was off having fun, I was being villified back home ... plots abounded on LittleScrapbookShop to have me kidnapped and starved, all so they can get ahead of me in the post count! The things people will do to be like me - am I really that special? LOL So Gill, Lav, and AT, I'm on to you, and if you try anything, be warned - I'm a blue belt in Karate, and watched lots of McGyver, so I'll be a whole lot harder to imprison than you think! (really, everyone, people at LSBS are MOSTLY harmless, and generally very nice- there are just a few trouble makers you need to be careful of ... rofl)

So Survivor -well, my journey is no more. I've been asked to leave the island, LO in hand, never to return. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted - and I didn't think I'd get this far! Here is the second lo I did for this challenge - you can see the first in my last post. I really love it - Urban Lily paper, some hessian underneath the journalling, and the cutest boy you ever did see! Before you point it out - yes, I know there is nothing in the label holder in the top corner, I need to find out the date the pics were taken and add it. I just can't remember when it was!
Ok, blogger's being difficult ... I'll try to upload the pic later. I'm off to do some housework - see you later, people!

Sailing away ...

It's here! The big weekend away (otherwise known as the big lesbian weekend ... no, not me, but I'm the token straight person for the weekend, I think! lol) Some friends and I have chipped in and hired a houseboat for the weekend, to celebrate the 40th birthday of someone special (again, not me - I may feel that old, but I'm not there yet!) So I'm heading off tomorrow to learn how to drive the thing ... scary, huh? If you are anywhere near the Hawkesbury this weekend, watch out!! I can't wait, but at the same time I'm feeling a little bad. Dennis has had a couple of moles removed, and he's in a bit of pain atm, as his back is playing up, so I feel a little guilty about leaving him to deal with the kids all by himself, and getting Kelsey off to dancing, etc etc. But it's only for 2 days ... and did I mention, I can't wait? lol

So bon voyage to me! A little parting gift - you may recall, I'm through to round three of the Chookscraps Survivor comp?
Well, after spending 4 days on my challenge lo, and not being happy with it, last night I whipped up not one, but TWO lo's I totally love for this one! It took a while (and a bit of help - thanks, AT and Nic!) to decide which lo to submit, but it's done now, so I can share the other one with you. It's Urban Lily - one of my fave's at the moment - and some totally gorgeous pics of my gorgeous girl Tayla. Gotta love her! Oh my goodness, I haven't packed - why am I still here talking to you??? lol. I'll upload the other lo when I get home - the decision will have been made whether I'm through to the next round or not by then, and you can see why it was such a hard choice!

Penrith Papercrafts Festival - AWESOME!!

Well, it's all over for another year - and I'm exhausted. It all started on Friday with the trade show, and how awesome did the Acacia PaperCrafts stand look? Well, pretty damned awesome, let me tell you. Here are a couple of pics -
the Acacia Sign is one of my efforts, using some Bella chipboard letters (including some I had to create from other letters, as they don't make a whole alphabet) and the Reminisce stripestock ... each letter is made from the one sheet, as they have a coordinating stripe and pattern on either side. Noice, huh?


The lovely Sharon, aka sparkles, fellow DT member extraordinaire, and I ... don't we look hard at work? lol We had a great time, and were busy all day, but neither of us want to look at the stock we were demonstrating for a little while. I am the quotestick queen, apparently, but I'm willing to give up the crown! lol We were very grateful for the big - no, make that HUGE glass of lollies parked right in front of us (as were all the people who made it to our end of the room! lol) Sherberts - my FAVE! Thanks Therese and Nicole!


And this bunch of lunatics? Well, this was the first time I got to catch up with the awesome people from LSBS this weekend. From L to R: Cath, Lisa (in front), Sharon, Nic, me, and Helen. Too noice, this lot!

So we are at saturday - a quick trip to the retail show to catch up with everyone, which was great, but it really was quick - I only had a1 and a half hours while Kelsey was at dancing to check everything out, but Cath did an awesome job! I played softball yesterday, despite the rain, and we kicked butt ... after last weeks terrifying game at 3rd base, our coach put me there again (he reckons I did an awesome job - I don't know what game he was watching!) but I really enjoyed it - now I know all the rules out there! lol. So that was great, I'm really enjoying being a sporty person - and no, AT, no major injuries (althought my thumb is really bruised, and I don't know how that happened - it's not sore at all though, so that's a little wierd!)

Dinner at King Henry's Court on saturday night with Helen, Cath, Shelee, Lisa, Gill and Missty, was TOO awesome - I have 2 more kindred spirits. LOVE you, Lisa and Helen, if you are reading this! (Have you linked me yet, Lisa? Her blog is over in my list, everyone, if you want to check out whether she's put me there yet! lol) LOTS of photos taken, but not many on my camera, so I'll upload them when I get them (email me, people!!)

I went back to the show today - originally to just buy some more pens, because Uniball Signo pens ROCK!! - but Cath put me to work, and I spent 4 hours working the cash register and eftpos machine. Man, I'm versatile! lol. I also got to meet up with new LSBS DT member Deanne, and Anne (glad you got a new cutter, babe!) After the manic pack up, I've come home and just hit the wall - but what a great weekend. It was awesome to catch up with everyone. (and just in case anyone from Chooks is reading this - yes, I brought more than just the pens, and I know I'm not supposed to be buying anything, but it was just for my Survivor lo - do you forgive me??)

So that was my weekend ... too busy, too much fun, and too many beautiful people! I'm off to de-stress - see you later, everyone!

The princess and the cockroach.

Welcome, dear readers, to another installment in the wondrous tale of the beautiful Princess, and her adventures in the dark and mysterious world that surrounds her. In our last chapter, you may recall, the Princess did battle with the forces of evil who threatened to expel her from the field of diamonds (ie tried to get her out at softball) and suffered a debilitating injury to her precious leg. Undeterred, she battled on, and eventually recovered to resume her rule over Casa Del Rodgers.

Time passed in the peaceful kingdom, and our lovely and generous princess reigned over her subjects with wisdom and bravery. Until one day, a terrifying creature threatened the peace and tranquility of the land.

A piercing shriek split the silence ... "Arrrrrgggghhhh!!!! Mummy, a cockroach!!" wailed the Princess in Training, the lovely (and occasionally psychotic) Princess Tayla, as the giant beast scurried across the room. The ever brave PT leapt to her feet (PMSL at the image of me leaping!!) to rush to her defence. Glass slipper in hand, she pounded the giant beast. Once, twice, thrice she struck it, till finally it's gruesome legs flailed no more, and lay defeated. The Princess was victorious, but not unscathed. For in her haste to protect her kingdom, the force from the pounding of the slipper ricocheted back through her finger, causing lasting damage. But nonetheless, PT continued to share her thoughts with her loyal subjects (ie write inane stuff on her blog) even though the effort caused great discomfort.

Yep, a sore finger from hitting a cockroach with a shoe. Can't get more lame than that, can it? I wish I had a cool karate injury story, but it's really unexciting.
I also wanted to share my latest lo - I finished this one last night, and I really love it - very bright for me, isn't it? Loving these papers - they are from the Lime Tart kit I won in the ScrapbookingTop50 treasure hunt.
Ok, off to rest the battle wound - it has taken SOOOO long to type this up, you wouldn't believe it!

I'm a survivor ...

Yay! I made it to round 3! That's round 3 of the Chookscraps Survivor competition, if you haven't been following the saga.

The challenge was to do a monochromatic lo, and it was a bit tough to start with, but came together pretty well. So here's my lo - I really love this one! More Basic Grey - I'm a bit in love with it lately, can you tell? The rest of the stuff is Heidi Swapp (but those of you who care probably knew that already anyway! lol)
Anyway, that's it for today -short and sweet. Just wanted to share how excited I was. The next round is to scrap a lo inspired from a coffee ad, and I love it so much I think I might even go and do it now. Cya later alligators!

Happy World Teacher's Day!

I mentioned that I won a prize in the treasure hunt on ScrapbookingTop50? Well, my prize arrived ... OMG! I'm still not over the shock - so much stuff, I don't know how Jude got the box taped shut! TOO noice! I got everything you see in the picture, plus a $50 gift voucher to KSK, so I'm pretty happy. How nice is all that Urban Lily? Totally loving it! Plus a Lime Tart kit - I already had this one (all the bright papers in the top right hand corner) but couldn't decide what side of them to use, as they are all double sided, so I'm more than happy to have them again! Plus, I didn't know that Heidi Swapp had a smaller set of alpha masks - so now I have both sizes! Some awesome stamps from Scrappin' Bug Stamps rounded out my faves, although everything is so nice, I just don't know where to start!

In other news, I've finished my lo for round 2 of Chookscraps Survivor ... and I'm loving it! I'll upload it as soon as the judging for this round is finished, along with the verdict ... lol. And most importantly - it's World Teacher's Day! You'd think that a teacher would be on top of stuff like this, wouldn't you? Well, guess who's kids went to school today with nothing for their teachers'? That's right, campers, I forgot about it. So a big "spoil the teacher" session coming up on monday, to make up for it! Ok, I've got to go and get some scrapping done - I'm on a roll!

Pics of a Pro!

Just wanted to share some awesome pics of my work! How much difference does it make having someone take pics of them who know what they are doing with their camera??? These are all DT lo's and projects for Acacia PaperCraft....

Another lo of my Beautiful Tayla - using Wild Asparagus "Beautiful" range of papers and embellishments, and Basic Grey Wholly Cow rubons. How totally GORGEOUS is that grin? I just adore this little munchkin - she's too cute for words!




Wild Asparagus again ... can you tell I love this stuff? Dennis and I when we first started dating ... how young do we look? lol. The Everlasting Keepsakes framedangoe at the top is my TOTAL favourite - I use it so much, it's not funny. I should be named it's ambassador or something!




And a detail pic - omg, I just love this, and it has me totally wishing for a new camera.









Ok, that's it for now - I was going to share some pics from the Matisse open day, and Chooks cybercrop, but they look a little sad next to these ones, so I'll wait till next time, and try and get some better pictures!

Scrapping, painting, scrapping!!

Wow, I'm tired already, and the weekend hasn't started yet! I'm cybercropping tonight at Chookscraps - pop over and check it out!Tomorrow, if you aren't busy, and you are in the Sydney area, Matisse is having their factory open day - I'm demonstrating there, so you can come and watch an artistic genius at work ... oh yes, you can see me too! (Rofl ... man I'm funny!!)

The lo below - the adorable one from the LittleScrapbookShop cybercrop? Well, it one the challenge ... yay me! I get a lovely new stash of May Arts and Maya Road ribbons - too cool! I also won a wonderful prize from ScrapbookingTop50 - the lovely Jude got together a wonderful group of Australian stores and manufacturers to sponsor a treasure hunt, and I won one of the prizes! Other winners included the Tara, and AuntyTracy ... congrats girls! Can't wait to receive my parcel - Jude had to go to the post office for bigger boxes, as our stash didn't fit in a pizza box - how awesome is that!!

Ok, I'm off to get ready for tomorrow ... wish me luck! I'll share some pics tomorrow when I get home - hopefully of lots of wonderful painted creations! Cya later bloggers!

A Scrappy Weekend!

I've had a really productive weekend, so I'm going to share it with you - I'm so happy with myself! lol
I'm in a Survivors competition at Chookscraps and got through to the second round! The first round was a sketch challenge - this is the lo that got me through!

I also Cybercropped at LittleScrapbookShop this weekend ... and with the lovely Cath and Shelee to scrap with, who wouldn't be inspired? This is one of my lo's from that.

And last, but not least, I finally finished this lo for the EDM comp, again at Chookscraps - been working on it for ages, and couldn't quite get it finished!

Ok, that's it - a quick pic share, and no whinging AT ALL about the fact that I started back at work today, and am already beginning the countdown to the christmas holidays. Aren't you proud of me? Bye bloggers!

Here are those pics you've been waiting for!

I've been trying to add pics to a previous post, and it wasn't working, so I'm just testing if I can add them in a new one! It seems that I can ... so here are the pics from 2 posts ago!
This is my Maya Road chipboard album ... wild asparagus papers, Heidi Swapp chipboard letters and rubons (YUCK! Love the font,hate using them.)

This is Kelseys' lo, where she very bravely kicked mummy off the computer to do some journalling strips, and raided my stash - she's a new fan of chatterbox, as she wanted to use every sheet she pulled out!

And this is the lo she was copying her journalling style from!
I'll upload some more pics later today - I just got some lo's back from a shop that was using them as display, and I'd forgotten how nice they were, so I'll take some pics of them.
I'm also scrapping later on today - I'm demonstrating for Matisse on the 21st of October, at their factory open day, so want to get some more cards and things made as samples. If you are in the area, come over and say hi - the first 200 people through the door get a goodie bag, and their products are awesome! Check it out here .... Matisse Open Day

POFPMSL ... it's new, it's innovative, and you'll have to check out here if you want to know what it means! Ok, I'm outta here ... cya later, have a great day, everyone!

PS

I just thought I would mention - Dennis commented on the fruit thing, because he was reading over my shoulder. Normally, I HATE that, but he was giving me a neck rub ... I love my husband! (That's just to make him feel bad ... he just called me a strange cookie, and that's not a very nice thing to say to someone who has just broadcast her eternal love for you over the internet, now is it? Well, to the 6 of you who read this, anyway!)

And now for something completely different ...

A happy post! I know, bloggers, I've been a bit down lately, but I'm making a concious effort to focus on the fun, the positive, the great things in my life. So no more injury stories, as amusing as they may be for you (sorry AT!!!) ... we have a bye at softball this week, so maybe in a couple of weeks I can continue the amusing saga that is my fitness regime. So what have I been up to? Scrapping, cleaning (yes I said cleaning -don't collapse in shock!) and generally making the most of the week I have left before I am once again slave to the government (AKA school holidays finish).

So what's happening in the scrapping world? I'm taking part in a Survivor challenge at ChookScraps ... the first challenge is a sketch one, and it's an awesome sketch, thanks Lorraine! I haven't finished it yet, but it's due on Friday, so I'll share when I get it finished. There are 55 talented scrappers taking part (well, 54 and me ... rofl) and 20 are being eliminated after this challenge, so it might be a short and sweet participation, but at least it's another lo finished!
The DT announcements have been made at LittleScrapbookShop. and the Design Team now has 3 amazing new members - HelenJ who is a part of the furniture there already (a very beautiful and talented piece of furniture though helen) and Deanne are our new stamping gurus, and Celeste is our new resident scrapping legend ... the funny thing is, I was looking through some mags on the weekend, and saw a lo that I fell in love with. I went back to it today to take another look at the colours in it, and it was one of Celeste's ... pretty cool, huh? (Ok, I'm easily amused, but at least I'm not bitching about something, so humour me, ok?)

Some pics, I hear you ask? Are you that sick of reading my drivel already? I'm just getting started! Ok, I'll humour you ... not many people appreciate the talents of a true literary genius, so I'll keep some visuals in here for you lot. (Again, talking to you, AT!!)
This is a Maya Road chipboard binder I did on the weekend - loving it, if I do say so myself. (What a stupid thing to say ... of course I said it myself! Did I expect you to think that an alien came along, abducted me, and typed complimentary things about my scrapping?)
Kelsey cybercropped on the weekend ... she's totally adicted, poor thing. Her future husband is going to HATE us - adictions to scrapbooking and swarovski crystal, he's got no chance! lol So here's her lo. She even kicked me off the computer so she could type up her journalling, and that's a pretty mammoth effort. She wanted to do her journalling like I had done in this one .... and she's done a pretty good job I think!

Ok, there were supposed to be pics, but blogger isn't playing nicely tonight. Am I going to let that get me down, though, bloggers? No I am not. I'll leave the wonderful stuff I've typed there, and you will just have to come back later to see the gorgeous pics that are supposed to be there. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait. Did you know that some of the greatest authors used to write things in serial form? Kept their audience in suspense. I'm really channelling Dickens here ... rofl. Ok, off to do something constructive, like eat a fundraising size Freddo and veg in front of the TV. Dennis says that I should have said I was going to eat a peach ... sounds more artistic, or something, but you know me, a freddo is much more likely. Cya later, alligator!

The ugly continues ...

Warning ...this is going to be a bitch session, so if you are pro-government legislation, pro-sticking it to the little guy by completely undervaluing workers compensation injuries, then please read no further.

Friday. Well, what a crap day. Went to the lawyers, to discover how little DH's pain and suffering from his back injury are worth. It totally sucks big time - I see how he struggles every day, and the pain on his face when he grits his teeth to pick up the girls, because he's sick of telling his 4 year old princess that "daddy can't pick you up darling, my back hurts too much", and how he pays for that for days afterwards ... both physically and emotionally. How he struggles because he spend 10 minutes throwing a ball around with his son, then pays for it for days afterwards. How is this fair? It tell you, the person who worked out the %TPI and corresponding payouts obviously didn't have to live with it.

That was originally a whole lot longer and more vitriolic, but I'm moving on ... we will deal with it, I guess, and deal with things the best that we can. We could certainly be a whole lot worse off - we are pretty blessed. So here's something a bit more lighthearted .... TAG, you're it! I don't know who visits here, so if you read this, and you want to do it, just add it to your blog, and let me know so I can check your answers out! Just BOLD anything on the list you have done.

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

Wow ... that's pretty cool, actually! I've done more than I thought I would ... none of the overseas ones, though. I haven't even been on a plane. Ok, I'm going to go and do something constructive, to try and get me out of this "wallowing in self-pity" funk ... take care everyone!

The good, the bad and the ugly.

This is going to be a quick one, but I got gently reminded by Tara the other night that it's been a little while since I blogged, so here I am!
It's been a mixed bag the past couple of weeks ....2 weeks on, and Tayla still isn't much better, the poor little munchkin. She woke up with a puffy swollen eye on Monday, and is back on antibiotics to try and get rid of this infection that's taken hold of her and doesn't seem to want to let go. She seems to be a bit better now, thanks to the antibiotics, but it's getting a bit old, her being sick all the time, I feel so sorry for the little sweety. She's such a trooper - I wish I was that resilience!
One of Kelsey's friends' from Lithgow had surgery this week - the Doctor's quite by accident found a tumour on her kidneys. Test results came back today, and it was benign, thank goodness, but we were pretty worried all week about her, and it really made me realise how totally blessed we are with our kids, but also how fleeting that can seem sometimes ... I've been really making the most of even the most insignificant moments with the kids the past couple of days as a result. It's a scary thing, when you hear the "T" word mentioned, so I can't even imagine how her mother must have been coping. Thinking of you, Bek!
We had some other bad news this week too - my grandfather isn't well, and things are looking progressively worse. "Not life threatening" were my Nan's words, but she didn't sound too convincing. I'm trying not to dwell too much on "what if's", but it's making me realise that I probably don't have too much time to waste if I want to get his stories down - he's a fair-dinkum Aussie yarn spinner, my Pa, and I could listen to him tell his tall tales for hours. So what I really need to do next time I indulge in that is to press record on the tape player, and get some of it captured.

I bet you're all waiting for the good? Well, here it is ... it's school holidays! I have been hanging out for these for a few weeks now, and I can't wait to get some serious relaxing happening. We are going to Colo River for some R&R tomorrow, so I'm planning on doing nothing but reading, resting, recuperating,... and anything else restfull that starts with R!! I'm scrapping tonight, so fingers crossed I can get out of this slump I've been in lately. That's it from me for now - hopefully next time I blog won't be too far away, and I'll have some slightly more happy news to share ... or at least some scrapping that I'm happy with!! Take care, everyone, and give your kids a special hug, if you have them!!

What a day!!

Tayla did not get better - in fact, she got substantially worse, and that resulted in an early morning dash to the Emergency Department as it became increasingly difficult for her to breath. She got a bit better as we arrived at the hospital - as they do!! - and some strong antibiotics today have helped her get a bit more lively, but still not anywhere near as lively as her usual bubbly self. Fingers crossed that tomorrow she is a whole lot better, as she is still planning on going to gymnastics tomorrow!

I just want to point out, for those of you who don't read the comments to my last post, that while Nic didn't keep us company, and inspire us with her brilliance, on Saturday night, she had a very good reason to pike - not just slackness! lol. So I hope you are getting better Russ, and you know I still love you nic!

On a much more exciting note, we went to karate tonight, and Kelsey graded! This is exciting on a number of levels - she has been hanging to get a different coloured belt, and while purple (her favourite colour) is still a while away, yellow is a good start. She is also really shy, and the fact that she trained at a different venue to where we normally go, and stood in front of strangers to do her kata, is pretty impressive. So congrats, my little yellow belted karate superstar!!

Happy birthday Tayla!

Just a quick share of some exciting news - Tayla is officially a big girl (well, in her eyes anyway.) She woke up this morning as a 4 year old, and a quite sick one at that. She felt like she was burning up, and had a horrid cough. She's a bit better now, but little trooper that she is, has had a great day so far. Dora is everywhere! Here is a pic of her favourite presents - a Dora bike from Mummy and Daddy, Dora scooter from her big sis Kattie and nephew and nieces, Boots and Swipter toys and Dora art set from Kieran and Kelsey, and her new Dora clothes. She also got some assorted toys (skipping rope, jacks, and pat and ball ... all Dora!) and some more Dora clothes and PJ's. Can you guess what her favourite show is at the moment?

It's pouring rain here today, so she has had to content herself with chucking laps of the house on her new bike ... she keeps trying to convince us that as she is a big girl, she doesn't need the training wheels on. Maybe next year! She had a Maccas party to go to for a friend from childcare, and had a great time - another friend's party next weekend, then Tayla's is the week after that. That'll teach me to get invitations out earlier, won't it? lol

I spent a great night scrapping last night with Cath, Shelee, and Sharon from LSBS ... Nic piked on us, but we managed to survive without her. I didn't get much in the way of scrapping done, just finished the journalling on one, and started another, but I did get 2 cards made, so that wasn't too bad. This is the lo I managed to finish - it's not quite how I wanted it to look, but how awesome is that face? She looks a bit happier than that today!

Ok, that's it from me today - I need to go and organise a cake for the birthday girl, and also for my sister-in-law, whose birthday is tomorrow. Take care, everyone!

Electrical Shock ...

as in, there are electrical appliances everywhere in shock after the events of the weekend!

(As a precursor to all this, so you don't think I'm completely nuts, I should let those of you who don't know me very well in on some inside info ... I don't DO housework. Or cooking. That's not to say that I can't, of course, but I work fulltime, and my husband is at home, so he does almost all of it. Of course, he did so too, when we were both working - so basically, I just don't do it, regardless of the circumstances. All set? Ok, here we go!!)

So father's day has come and gone for another year, and the biggest surprise in our household was the amount of electrical appliances that were used ... by me. We're talking cooking stuff here people! The frypan made an appearance, and was wondering who this strange person was pulling it from the cupboard. The sandwich toaster was wondering who she was too, and why she was sitting it on top of a hotplate that was actually hot - didn't she know that she needed to plug the cord in to use me? (In my defense, I forgot that the hotplate had been turned on, and wasn't really trying to heat up the Breville like that, honest. And it's only a little bit melted, not much!!) On the upside, breakfast was great, and DH seemed to enjoy eating a meal he hadn't prepared, which usually only happens when it's served with fries and a coke.

So then I did some vacuuming, and wonder of wonders, the house stayed standing. No walls collapsed, no buildings caving in from shock, no effects at all - except, of course, for the substantially cleaner floor. Perhaps this cleaning caper isn't so hazardous to my health after all! I did kick my toe though, and we don't want a repeat of that too often. Hmmm.

We took the dog for a walk, and went to see my stepdad and give him his presents. Came home to get dinner organised, and Dennis said he really wanted to cook, so who am I to stand in the way of a father on fathers' day? I did help, though, by staying well out of his way, and having a nap on the lounge while watching a movie with the kids. It was the least I could do.

We put the kids to bed, and settled down for a nice relaxing night. I decided to pull out the scrapping stuff, and Dennis started helping out ... surprisingly (or not, I guess, if you know my husband) he was a great help. I now have the perfect title for a pic I've been wanting to scrap, and he picked out some great papers to go with it. Then comes the next shock - I used the iron. (Insert ominous sounding music here) I've had some Heidi Swapp iron on letters for a while, after being inspired by a lo I saw at Scrapabout Australia, but hadn't used them. So, motivated by all my appliance adventures of the day, I pulled it out and got ironing. And they look really awesome! The only problem was the slightly melted section on the craft mat (note to self: maybe ironing on the ironing board next time would be a good ideaa). I just need to get one more pic printed before I can finish the lo properly, so I'll share that when it's done.

In other news, LittleScrapbookShop are looking for some new DT members - a scrapper, and a stamper. If that's something you might be interested in, check out the forums for info ... it's a great site to be a part of! They also have lots of great challenges going on at the moment, so if you are in the mood for some scrapping, head on over and be inspired.

Ok, I'd better go and do some work - today is my easy day, so I'm taking advantage of a bit of free time. Cya later, bloggers!

Who said they were soft?

I had my first softball training session today (still haven't gotten my head around the fact that I agreed to play - what's that all about?!?!) and I'm curious as to what form of drugs the person who named the game must have been on. I can personally attest to the fact that the balls are anything but soft, and I have the broken nose to prove it! Note to self: the glove needs to go between the ball and my face at all times. That's it. Just wanted to share my injuries with you all. Scrapping tonight, so I'll share some pics tomorrow. Bye all!

Stamping Up!!

So it's sunday afternoon, and I'm feeling much better! I went to bed early on Friday night after handing in all my programs (not quite finished, but as close as I was going to get in such a short period of time), and slept solidly for about 11 hours - the first time in ages that I've had a chance to do that, and actually been able to! I took Kelsey to dancing on Saturday morning, which she loved - I think the couple of weeks off was really good for her. I did a little bit of shopping (got some aDORAble swimmers for Tay for her birthday, she's a little Dora mad at the moment!) and some shirts that are really nice, reduced to $10 each - bargain! Did some scrapping last night, but nothing really finished, so I'll upload some pics when I get them done, and went to Gill's today for a SU demo with the lovely Jayne Mercer (what a stamping legend she is!) Ordered another set of SU stamps ... too cute!

In other news, my Aunty, who is getting married soon, has set a date - on my birthday! So I'm thinking pretty seriously of going over there (she's in Perth) ... probably flying over on Thursday night, and coming home on Sunday. It'll be my first time on a plane - how did I make it to almost 32 without going on a plane, you ask? I don't know. So I'm looking forward to that.

Ok, off to get some housework done, and get organised for work tomorrow - take care, everyone!

I can sleep next week!

Ok, people, this is going to be a long bitch session about work ... just skip it if you like, it's just a vent, and I really do love what I do ... just not right at this minute!!

Far out, people who think that teaching is a cushy job with wonderful holidays are just flat out daft. Here's my week in a nutshell. Extra lesson on monday, which would normally be fine (well not really, but anyway ...) except that it was with a particularly horrid class. The problem with this? I also had them for the lesson before. So that's 2 hours of hell, and just to make it better (notice the sarcasm) not ONE of them was away that day. Of course! 2 hours of stress and tension with a full class of behaviourally challenged students. Great! So to top that off, I've got an entire years worth of programs to write, for classes I don't even teach, due on friday. Complete with outcomes, work samples, etc etc ... yeah, sure, no problem! I can sleep next week maybe. So that's ok, it should all be ok shouldn't it? Well it would be, except for something I am rapidly discovering about myself ... I CAN'T SAY NO!! So today, after rushing from one class to another, then making a coffee that I think is still sitting on my desk, a colleague asks me if I would mind doing a presentation at a staff meeting tomorrow, as she won't be able to do it - sure, no problem, I say! This is in spite of the fact that I was kind of hoping to skip out on the staff meeting and get another program written, so I could maybe sleep tonight ... that's ok, I can sleep next week!
And to top it off, for the last couple of weeks I've been trying to get the unit folders to go with the units organised, only to find out today, after not one, not 2, but FOUR of them are finished, that my Dept. Head has decided that they don't need to be handed in, so no-one else is doing them - that would have been nice to know! So bring on holidays, when the biggest perk is that I get to stay home and do programming and planning without trying to fit it around going to classes. Today was officially hump day - the halfway point of the term, so five weeks and 2 days to go, woo hoo.

Ok, off to program ... hopefully a nicer post, maybe with some scrapping, next time!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to high school we go ...

So it's official - well, more official than it was before, really. We got the letter on Wednesday telling us that Kieran was accepted to the high school we were hoping for. It's public, but out-of-area for us, so we had to fill out heaps of forms to get approval to enrol him there, and they approved it ... yay! Except that with the letter came the enrollment forms, and the uniform price list, and the dates for the orientation sessions, and all of a sudden the whole "high school" thing is not so much of a distant thought anymore, but a sudden looming reality, and I don't know that I'm really ready to deal with my little man going to high school just yet! It's not as much to do with the fact that I'm getting older (thanks Kel!) as it has to do with the fact that he's getting older ... so the high school thing, combined with the other tell-tale signs of maturity (secretive phone calls to girls, (well one really!!) all of a sudden caring about the hair cut, being fussy about what the label on the clothes is when he never has before, and oh, did I mention the time spent on the phone?!?) are making me realise all of a sudden that he's not a little kid any more, and I'm kind of unsure how I feel about that. Off to scrap some more baby pics of him, I think ... lol.

A quick Monday night share ...

My aunty and her Significant Other are getting married! About time, Aunty Ruth! lol They are looking at getting hitched sometime over the christmas hols,which is when we were thinking about going over for a visit (they live in WA) so that's sounding all exciting!!

Here's a lo I did for the LittleScrapbookShop cybercrop on the weekend - I'm SOOO loving this one! Tayla is such a poser, and you just have to get the camera out and she's off. This was her "superhero" afternoon - gotta love the versatility of a teatowel, it was a baby blanket a few minutes later, then a bullfighters cape. She LOVED being a superhero though -and I love these pics! Fabric totally inspired by Jen Hall ... who else?

Ok, bedtime for me - off on a Geography field trip tomorrow, doesn't that sound like fun??? lol Night all!

Lip-gloss, anyone?

I spent yesterday scrapping with friends (more about that later) and called in on the way to get a few things, including a new lip-gloss. I get really dry lips, especially when I have playground duty at school in the wind, so it's kind of an essential. I got home after my big day out, and put it up- not in the loungeroom in plain sight, but in the hidey-hole in my bedhead. So this afternoon, I heard Dennis asking Tayla what she was doing ... I smelt a very strong strawberry scent. Sure enough, Tayla had not only found my lip balm, but eaten almost all of it. Yes, I said EATEN. How bizarre is that? I'm going to hide the rest of my makeup, I think ...

I spent all day yesterday scrapping at the lovely Cath's house, with the equally lovely Nicole and Shelee. What a great day - good snacks, good scrapping supplies, and great fun. I finished 3 lo's, and got another one almost finished. Definitely planning another one of these soon!! I'll upload some pics later.

I have a pretty busy week coming up - Geography excursion on Tuesday, full days at work every other day, physi competition for the girls on Saturday plus a stamping workshop to go to with the lovely Aunty Tracey if I get home in time, then we are booked in for a photo session on Sunday. Tayla's childcare centre runs a fundraiser where you get some awesome sepia photos (there are some in my slideshow above from the last session) so I need to find some clothes for the kids to wear before then. So what am I doing to night? Preparing for the excursion, marking assignments, getting clothes ready? No, I'm scrapping - finishing the challenges for LittleScrapbookShop's cybercrop, and doing the Friday and Sunday challenges too if I get time. I've gotten some beautiful pics printed, thanks to Rachel Richter, who provided a photo imaging pack (which I won) to the Breast Cancer Foundation raffle that Ngaire Bartlam was running, so thanks Ngaire and Rachel!

That's it from me tonight- I'll try and post some pics in the next couple of days, and update with some more news from everyone else. Take care!!

It's fun to stay at the YMCA!!

Tayla had her first Gymnastics class of many today - and boy, does she love it! She hasn't stopped talking about it all afternoon, and Dennis said her face just glowed the moment they stepped in the room and she saw all the equipment. She said that swinging on the rope into the foam block pit was her favourite - she's a natural, really, the little monkey. That's one of the sad things about me working full-time and Daddy staying home - he gets to experience all those fun special moments. And does he think to take the camera? NO!! I tell you, how can I scrap something without pictures? I'll pack it in her gym bag next week, I think. lol

Nothing much else to report - those of you waiting patiently (or not-so-patiently, as the case may be) for my ATC's, all but the rainbow ones are on their way, so keep an eye on your mailboxes, ladies! I was on a roll last night. Work sucked today, hopefully it won't suck so badly tomorrow and I won't walk out thinking of quitting. Well, not really, but it was getting close.
Oh, here's a lo I did on the weekend - don't you love old daggy pics of yourself? lol. This is Dennis and I not long after we first met ... I LOVE this Wild Asparagus paper, I'm going to get myself some more. I could almost frame it just the way it is! I'm on a mission to get through some older pics, but thankfully there aren't many more of them like this - mostly the kids. Phew!

Sunday, busy sunday!!

Wow, how on earth do we manange to cram so much into a weekend? Kieran has his birthday party yesterday, so after rushing around taking Kelsey to ballet and jazz in the morning, and dropping her back to Nanna's for the afternoon, it was off to the movies, with 8 12 year olds - what were we thinking? My god, Kieran has friends who talk as much as he does - I didn't know it was possible. His friend Remi (whose party he went to last weekend) came along too - what a sweetheart she is. They sat together in the movies, and talked and giggled, and then spent an hour on the phone today - the end result of all this is, my little boy now has a girlfriend. And a very nice one too!!
The movie was great, by the way - Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest. Quite funny, definitely setting up for the 3rd movie which I'm assuming will follow.

In other news, I've been scrapping up a storm - challenges for LSBS, DT work, and basically lots of pics that I've been wanting to scrap for ages. I've done about 6 lo's this weekend I think - some of them need a few finishing touches, which is what I'm planning on doing tonight, as well as some overdue ATC's (I'm getting to them, I promise, Judy!! Don't yell at me!!) Speaking of which, I'd better get working on them - right after I chase these girls off to bed, little toads! Cya later, everyone, I'll share some pics next time!

Some random musings on being a mother of a Man in the making ...

Some of you will remember that my son turned twelve a couple of weeks ago, and I've noticed all of a sudden how grown up he is. Maybe it's the sudden realisation that he's not a little boy anymore, and that in less than 6 months time he'll be in high school - one of those students that I teach, how's that possible!! He still drives me mental at home, but what kid doesn't every so often?
The thing I'm most proud of, I guess, is that he is growing up into such a great guy. He went to a birthday party last weekend, and it was all girls and him, the little chick magnet. But the thing that struck me was how well the girls all spoke of him, and how well he treated them, especially when he thought that I wasn't around. He's funny, and smart, and respectful, and generous, and I'm really proud that he's so well adjusted. I'm just a little sad that he's getting so grown up all of a sudden, as it means that he's a little less reliant on mummy ... but that's what parenting is about, I guess, isn't it? Thanks to Vita for my latest favourite quote, on that note -
"The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children". Elaine Heffner
I'm glad that my work of art is turning into such a masterpiece!

My main focus when I've been scrapping in the past week or so has been my not-so-little boy, and reflecting back on his life thus far. Here are a couple of lo's I've done in that vein... This lo is using Reminisce papers, from the LittleScrapbook Shop's monthly kit (GREAT job on the kits, cath!)

This is the hidden journalling from the above lo ... just some reflections on how alike my little boy still is to this pic, with his cheeky grin and smiling eyes.

This one is for a Wacky Wednesday challenge - using white, and no pp. I love it - can't stop looking at it, really! Gotta love primas.

Ok, that's it from me for now - off to scrap. Cya later all, don't forget to hug your kids, and cherish each moment. (Gee, that was a bit soppy, wasn't it?? lol)