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!