21.05.07

7 more sleeps until we move into our own home! I am so excited! Although I am not so excited about the packing! I packed up all my scrap stuff yesterday. That was slightly therapeudic actually. I am glad I am taking a break from scrapping. I got to the part where I had to pack my albums, from the last 2 years, the others are in my wardrobe yet to be packed, and Steve came out and he is like 'are you packing them or looking at them?'. Quite obviously I was looking at them. I realised how much I loved those pages. They weren't daggy. They didnt have 'old' stuff on them. They told a story. That was the most important thing. The pages I barely looked at were the ones with no journalling. For a long time I have believed that journalling was the most important thing on a layout and yesterday reinforced the fact. I have finally realised that scrapping isnt about how many layouts I can get into a magazine or how many prizes I can win in challenges, its about my memories, my childrens memories, my families memories. That alone is priceless.

So I am 17 weeks pregnant now. Yesterday morning I felt the baby move. It was more like it had hiccups because the movement was very rythmic and consistant. It was precious. I had been a little worried in the last couple of weeks as I have not popped out at all and had not been able to feel the movements. I think it is because I have lost weight (somehow I have lost another kilo aswell in the last week?!) so it is just filling up the space that used to be tubby! That being said, my clothes are too tight to wear now. So today I am off to the shop to buy some tracksuit pants or something like that. We are lucky we can wear them to work! Yeah, we all look like dags, but at least we are comfortable dags! ;)

Mother's Day was really nice. I got a little sleep in, although I apparently yelled at the kids to go away and let me sleep when they tried to bring me breakfast in bed. Steve said it looked like I had stabbed them in the heart, the poor sweethearts! The problem is, he does not understand how totalled I get working nights - its ok for him to go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 7am, but going to bed at 3am and getting up at 7.30am is a little bit harder! Anyway, Kate bought me a sweet necklace from the Mother's Day stall, and made me a gorgeous card at school. Kate has worn the necklace far more than I have! LOL! We went for lunch out at Hungry Jacks at McGraths Hill, with an alterior motive of Steve's to drag us to 2 boat shops. (Dont worry, he is going to a scrapbooking shop on father's day!) Then we went over to the river at Windsor to let the kids have a bit of a fish. Of course that didnt last long with my two. Oh no. They preferred to splash about in the water instead.

Yes, Steve has bought a new boat. I was not entirely happy when he sprung this on me, but it is bigger and alot more stable than the one he has now, so I guess for safety reasons, it is better we get it.

Luke sits on Steve's lap while Steve plays his computer games. They play Battlefield or something or other. Anyway, it is Allied troops vs German troops. We were driving the other day when Luke says, in his 3 year old slendour, "Why Germans have guns?" Ummmm just what exactly do you say to that?! I told him that they dont actually have guns, but they did a long time ago in the war. Do you think he understood? I dont. LOL!

Lukes new favourite word at the moment is "why". Everything is "why mummy?" Gotta love it or it will just send you mental, although I have gotten to the point at times where I say "it just is!"

I got my camera back from Fuji - the repairs cost $130 - $10 part, $110 labour and $10 GST. Its all good though. My baby is back! And I tried to use the forced flash yesterday, and do you think for the life of me I could work out how to turn it on?! Nup. So after we move and I find the maunal - I am sure it is in a box here somewhere - I will read it and actually learn how to use my camera! LOL!

Kate had a whole week off school last week. The poor darling was not well at all - she had this cough and she sounded like she was going to cough up a lung. Took her to the doctor and of course it is just a virus. Luke is unwell also. He has more of a congested headcold though. Once again, just a virus. I have been craving orange juice so I think it is helping me fight off the sickness! I have also been craving hot dogs (go figure! LOL!)

Anyway, thats about it from me, I better get going as I have heaps of packing to do, although we are getting there slowly. I have organised the gas and electricity already so thats good. We can move our phone number as it is in the same exchange so that is great! I have to pick up a redirection notice from the post office and get that filled out so it is up and running on time. I have booked the carpet cleaners and I have booked my ultrasound. I think I have done everything I was supposed to do! LOL! I should book in for a quote to have a builtin robe installed in the master bedroom. I will do that today I think.

Take care and thanks for stopping by!!! :D

07.05.07

So. Firstly, I have been tagged by Moira, Jolene, Debbie and Sue. Thanks guys!

The rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. I hate coffee. I eat everything, except anything with coffee in it or coffee flavoured.

2. I was a racewalker when I was growing up, I was good at it, held regional records and got medals at nationals and all, but never really tried my hardest and I was always slack at training. (I hope mum and dad dont read this!)

3. I have travelled to every state except NT and TAS for athletics, even to NZ (not that it is an Australian state! LOL!)

4. I am studying Civil Engineering at uni by correspondence. When I finish I want to become a maths teacher.

5. I love mail, even if it is bills and I get dissapointed if we get no mail. I think junk mail is the best thing ever invented! I love it!

6. My children were born at the same hospital that I was.

7. I read newspapers backwards.

Now I am going to tag, ummm, well, I think everybody has been tagged by now! Oh, except Lusi, Steph Lim, Mel Moor, Kylie, Sandi, Lauren and Cass.

So I am now 15w and 1d pregnant. Considering I found out really early, it seems to be flying! Only 24w and 6d to go! EEK! So the baby is about 10cm long and weighs about 70 grams. I am supposed to be able to feel it move and stuff, but not yet, everytime I lie down I tend to fall asleep so I havent been able to stay nice and still and awake long enough. LOL! I still have a little bit of sickness, like this morning I went to do my hair and teeth and I had to sit on the loo as I got really dizzy and lightheaded and felt like I was going to be sick. Ugh.

Luke has decided that he no longer needs the pram to walk Kate to school in the morning. Oh no. He uses his tiny skateboard instead! It takes about twice as long but he is so cute so it is hard to say no. *Note to self - get photos of him riding his skateboard.*

Speaking of photos, my camera has been sent to Fuji for some repairs. Nothing was wrong with it so dont let me scare you off Fuji's, but when it has fallen to the tiles from the kitchen table, assisted by the cat, things break. Like the flap that holds the batteries in. Lucky I have my old camera, even if it does have the worst shutter lag ever. I forgot how much I DIDNT miss that! It's all good. Insurance will cover it if it costs too much.

So I made a cushion last week. It is a country cushion for my couch. I was very pleased with my efforts! I have decided to make my house a little countrified because of the timber floors etc. I bought some magazines and was saying to Steve, oh I want to do this and oh I like this etc. He just says 'you aren't going to do too many of these are you?'. HMPH! It's my house and I want to make it look pretty!!!! So now I am making Kate a cushion which says 'Strictly girls only' then she wants a blanket. She doesnt want much, hey? I wanted to do a table runner first before I embarked on anything big like a blanket!

Other than that, I am supposed to be making some bookmarks for the Mother's Day stall at Kate's school. Just something simple, but nice enough. I will get onto that today. I also got some facewashers and some bars of soap and wrapped them in tissue paper for the stalls also.

Speaking of Kate's school, I have decided to move her to the school close to our new house, not until the beginning of next year though. It is as close as this one is to us now, so a 5 minute walk, which is good. Plus I have heard some really good stuff about it, so I am feeling quite positive about the move.

KiwiScraps last weekend was THE BEST!!! I dont normally do classes as I am never happy walking away with a layout just like every one else. This was totally different. I learnt stuff. I think I finished 1 layout out of my 7 classes. The tutors were awesome! Rhonna Farrer is like that sister out of that US sitcom that used to be on channel 7 at about 11am, Faith and Hope, well she is exactly like the younger sister! She was so cool! Tia Bennett was so cute and her accent was just even cuter! For days I was talking in my head with her accent! Emily was very cool and laid back and so friendly! Nic Howard was very cool, and gave me some spare New Zealand chocolate to take home to Steve. New Zealander's think they have the best chocolate in the world! LOL! Oh and my ring tone on my mobile is a sheep baaing - you can imagine my embarrassment when it rang in Nic's class!!! OMG! LOL! So I learnt sooo much and I am so eager to scrap!!! I just havent found the time yet (and Steve wants me to pack it all up for the move!) The best part of the weekend was being roommates with Lusi and Mel. I was really comfortable with these two. Like an old pair of socks! LOL! You guys rock! Oh and so did that kebab! Mmmmmmm!!! Yep, one of the best weekends to date!

Well, thats about it from me. I have bookmarks to make and packing to do. Only 3 more weeks till settlement! How exciting!!!

Take care and thanks for stopping by! :)

18.04.07

Grab yourself a cuppa, this is a long update! LOL! No photos either as my mouse on my computer needs new batteries.

Ok, so March 31st saw us take our trip down to Jamberoo. All the hotels were booked out so we drove down there and back in the one day. All the way down Kate kept singing (and got Luke in on it too) 'Jamberoo where you can troll the action'. So cute! ROFL!

How much fun was Jamberoo?!?!? We all had a ball! It was great as we didnt have to wait any longer than about 5 minutes for any one ride. Now, I always knew Luke was a little bit of a daredevil, but I guess I just didnt realise how much.

GGGRRRR The photo wont upload! <-----He went on this ride all by himself. Twice. He beat Steve and Justin the first time, but second time things went a bit strange and he was facing the wrong way at one stage! ROFL! He still loved it though!

Both the kids LOVED the luge!!! It was fun, except when you get stuck behind slowpokes who are scared! The pools were a little cold, but do you think that stopped my two? No siree! They were in the thick of things all day long! We really did have a wonderful family day out and lets just say we slept well that night!

Just before Easter we tried for a home loan. The amounts of money they are willing to give you is rediculous! There was no way we could repay what they were willing to offer us and because we didnt want to have the bank foreclose on the loan we went for a sensible amount! We got it! We found out the day before Good Friday so it made it one awesome friday!

Easter was kind of fun. ROFL! It started with the bunny leaving some eggs (Hello Kitty for Kate and Cars for Luke) and some powder footprints in the loungeroom, followed by an egg hunt in the front yard! The kids were sugar hyped for days! It was not fun looking at houses with hypo children, let me tell you! I used the video camera as I really want to capture the voices and the fun and excitement and sometimes photos lack this. Lucky DH grabbed the camera though so I will have something to scrap! ;)

Then Kate went to my grandparents house for a couple of days. I was devastated when I returned. You see, about a month or so ago I bought a canary. I always wanted one growing up. So I bought myself one. When I got home, Meggs (our cat) had knocked the cage over and eaten the bird. The feathers in the house speak for themselves. The cat was close to extinction, but I forgave its 'natural instinct'. He is sporting a spiffy new collar with a bell now though, he hates it and is always trying to get it off! Serves him right!

Then on the weekend, after being mucked around a little over an offer we put in for a house, we were scouring the internet again looking at the same old houses. A couple of weeks ago when we first started searching we saw a house that was nice but it was listed at $380k, so we didnt bother persuing it as it was a little our of our range at $350k. Well, on saturday we saw it listed as $365k so we thought, why not lets have a look, you never know what they will take as an offer. So we went and had a look. We really liked it. We decided to put an offer in. The agent said $355k so thats was our offer. We got a phone call later that day. The house was ours!!!!! We couldnt believe it!!!

It has 4 bedrooms (for the growing family ;)) plus a double garage (obviously LOL) and it has a family room, a lovely wooden kitchen with black granite benchtops, plus a ensuite, it has a study/computer area that is my new scrap area (YAY!) and it has parquetry floors even in the bedrooms, it has these wonderful french door which open onto the backyard, and 3 aircons (lucky DH like it cold! LOL!) The best part is, NOTHING, not a thing needs to be done to it! Sweet! Although it is one of the 'blander' houses on the street so it needs the gardens done I think.

Now. I know it has a square window. It annoys me to no end. DH has decided to grow a big jacaranda tree in the front yard to hide it! Now my biggest decision is whether to move Kate's school? It is only the next suburb away. Not sure. Still deciding.

I am 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant today. I had an ultrasound last week, the nuchal translucency one. All is well and it was so cute to see the little peanut! I am keeping well. I am still sick, not as much and not all day (which is a blessing)! I even did a 8 1/2 hour shift standing up on friday and didnt complain once (although I felt like it! LOL! ;)) The tiredness still remains, but working nights will do that to you anyway I guess.

Yesterday we went tp Plumpton Park to feed the ducks. We had a ball and the kids ran about and laughed and yelled and had fun. The ducks did not want out bread. The fish did though so at least it wasnt wasted! ;) I was going to take the video camera and I wish I did as Luke was saying the funniest things! There was this duck there and he points at it and calls out "mum, its a chicken duck" and sure enough it looked like a chicken! ROFL! But I did take my camera so hopefully I have some good shots of them.

So, we have been very busy these last couple of weeks. I still have not scrapped and am happy about that (you see I am building my mojo up till I self combust! LMAO!)

I received the new SM today, it has the Masters 2007 details in it. Guess what? NO BTP! Yes I am spewing but I am still going to do my project as I love the idea of what I am going to do. I guess I can share that now huh? I bought an old wooden ladder off ebay. I cut it so I had 5 rungs (it was like 8ft long and wouldnt fit in my car anyway! ROFL!) and I bought 4 canvases. I am going to make a frame with it so that I have a canvas between each rung. It is going to look wonderful once it is all stained and the canvases are done. I am going to wait until my belly pops a bit more for the photos so all 5 of us will be in it. ;) So it will be a long time coming but essentially, that is it.

Well, thats about it from me today. I know, one heck of a long post, but if I dont get it down I will forget it all!!! I better go as I have to have a shower and get ready for work and eat dinner all in about 35 minutes. Easy peasy, but getting the kids in from the front yard may prove a little harder! LOL! They love playing in the front yard but we get a few cars up and down the street and I am constantly looking out the window and door at them to make sure they are ok.

Ok, enough! LOL! Thanks for stopping by and take care! :)

09.04.07

So, Kylie, you want an update huh?
You will just have to wait until I drag my lazy arse big belly out to the other computer!
:P
x

30.03.07

Soooo friday already?! This week has flown!

Yesterday I went to KMart to buy Luke Toy Story 2, you see I bought number 1 but for the life of us, we cannot find the disc?! I think Luke has taken it and hidden it as it is his favourite movie at the moment. So while I was there I picked up Ice Age 1 & 2 and Over the Hedge. They were having a sale so I got all of them for $55. Sweet.

And then Luke did the unimaginable, unthinkable...

He fell asleep as we were going through the checkout.
He hasn't done that EVER in his 3 short years!
He must have been so tired as he hasn't been sleeping well lately.
He didnt even stir when I out him in the car or when I put him into bed.
So we had a 2 1/2 hour nap.
Sweet.

Today I went to the school to watch the assembly as Kate's class was presenting it.
She has been practising her line all week.
"Thankyou for a beautiful item 3H."
She was superb! She didn't waver or anything!

Then on the way home I walked past the high school and they were having their cross country carnival.

Random Memory #173
I was Red House Captain when I was in primary school.
The other captain was a boy I previously played soccer with when I was younger, Alex.
I was good at Cross Country and remember one year our school won a big shield at the District Carnival and I and other person, Todd, had to collect it as we had won our races.
As we were walking back I thought he had a hold of the shield so I let go of it and we almost dropped it. LOL.

I know. Interesting.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

26.03.07

I don't really know why we make plans as they never turn out! I bought tickets for Jamberoo months and months ago and we kept saying 'we have to go, we have to go' and well we havent as yet. We decided last week that we would go yesterday, sunday, but of course it was cold and windy so we didnt end up going. We plan to go this sunday though.

We plan to go down to Kiama on saturday and stay in a motel and play at the beach etc. Then get up early on sunday and go to Jamberoo. Lets hope it stays fine this coming weekend.

So instead we did stuff around the house on saturday. Just tidying etc. Then up I went to vote. You see Steve is a Kiwi and is not a citizen so he loves voting day, as he doesn't have to vote. Then I went to get some takeaway for lunch - Red Rooster - yummmm. I also went to the real estate as I have found a house that has everything we want - I just hope it doesn't get sold before we get our loan. Fingers crossed. Then we went for a drive and we ended up at Cronulla. I was sick, Red Rooster isnt so good coming back up and getting stuck in your nasal cavity... Then we just played on the beach and in the rock pools. Luke, in typical Luke fashion, got wet from head to toe, yes, fully clothed too. And Kate had fun collecting shells. I didn't take my camera or anything and I am kind of glad I didn't. I just loved playing with the kids instead of watching them through a lens! Then to home where I fell asleep in the car to keep myself from being sick.

ARGH! How long does this sickness last?!?!?!

Not to mention the sleepiness!!! Saturday night I slept for 9 hours. Then went back to bed at 8.30am till 10am. Then I had another hour nap in the afternoon and still went to bed at 10.30pm. All I do is sleep and it is driving me crazy!!! Nothing is getting done! I am over it too. I am over everything right now.

I just feel like being a big ol whinging sook.

Right now. Right now I am sitting here still in my PJ's even though it is 12.20. I have been going for a shower for the last 2 hours, I just havent made it there yet, I decided to strip and remake the beds instead and clean Luke's room. Also the postie dropped off the latest For Keeps and I thought I would have a quick flick and lo and behold one of my layouts was in it, one of ET entries. They also have the details for the new ET comp in there. Due August 31st so 5 months to get 5 layouts done. Should be doable. Right now Kate is at school. Luke is here playing on his magnetic drawing thing. Oh wait, he has just dissapeared. He was getting food. That boy had eaten all his packed lunch by 10am. You see he was supposed to go to family day care today but the carer is having family issues so I kept him home. Right now the iron is on as I was waiting for it to heat up to iron my clothes to go to the shop. I want to buy Luke one of those rails for his bed so he doesn't keep falling out. I also might get out the kids winter clothes layby. Yeah I might do that too. I have to think about what to cook for dinner without making myself feel sick. Not so doable. I might get a sandwich - cream cheese spread. Mmmm. Bit of a favourite at the moment. And a glass of milk with chocolate nesquick. Yep. Sounds good right now. Also thinking of going to the library and picking up a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. We shall see how Luke performs first I think. Right now I am ignoring the washing up that needs to be done and wishing I had a dishwasher. Have to wait till we move first.

Right now I am going to stop babbling random thoughts and go and get that sandwich.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

22.03.07

I just want to say a massive big huge THANKYOU to everyone for all your comments! You have no idea how my heart smiled when I checked my inbox and I had more well wishes than advertisements for viagra! Blissful! Thankyou all so much!

So since I am not scrapping, I have no layouts to share.

So I thought there are more things to scrapping than just photos.

A while ago I purchased The Journaler's Handbook by Tracey White (although I am sure journalers should have 2 L's but anyway...) and I just love it. It has heaps of journalling prompts. So I thought I could post a couple and answer them aswell. If I dont get these things written down I will never remember them in a few years to come! So PLEASE join in too!!!

You know what, lets start at the Teen section. Because I need to remember these things and my memory is fading fast... LOL!

1. What was your first job? McDonalds Woodcroft.

2. Tell the story about how you got your first job. All my friends at school had Maccas jobs so I thought I would go to my local and apply. I didn't expect to get the job. When I got the phone call I said 'are you sure?' and he said I can ring someone else and give them the job if you like? LOL! No of course not!

3. How much money did you make at your first job? As a 14 year old I earnt $4.81 an hour (I think).

4. Tell the story of your first day. Did you come home exhausted or excited? I remember leaning the 7 (I think) steps of customer service. Greet the customer. Take the order. Suggestive sell or sell up. Take the order. Take payment. Thank the customer. Yes I know its only 6 but I cant remember all that well! LOL! I learnt that while walking around the carpark picking up cigarette butts. Such a lovely job.

5. List your job responsibilities. Take orders and get the stuff pretty much. Whatever a frontline maccas chick does really.

6. What is your favourite/least favourite thing about your first job? I loved working in the drive thru (yes *I* know it is through but apparently McDonalds Australia doesn't!) where you took the orders and the money. That was fun. Least favourite would have to be 8 hour dining room shifts. Mopping floors for 8 hours. What could be better than that?! NOT!

7. How did you spend your pay? On food. I got fat. I was 48 kgs. I went to ohhhh about 80 kgs in a year. I really should have saved some of that money. I remember getting $50 out so I could buy a towel from CHS State Athletics but it was stolen out of my bag. I was devastated so my parents replaced it. Other than that, food.

8. Did the job interfere with your schoolwork/sport or social life? I gave up athletics about 9 months after starting at work. I didn't have time and if I couldn't work certain days I wouldn't get rostered on much. The only thing I ever regret is giving up athletics. It didn't interfere with schoolwork though thank goodness.

9. How many hours a week did you work? Depended but I am sure I used to get a 3 or 4 hour shift during the week and a 5 hour and maybe an 8 hour shift on weekends.

Well, thats about it from me tonight - yes - it is nighttime! No I am not at work, Steve had to go away for work so I had the night off. Right now I am watching Saving Babies and trying not to cry! So heartbreaking! Then I am watching SVU and then I am off to bed. I will murder someone if I wake up at 4 in the morning and cannot get back to sleep! Thats the problem with nightshift! But I do love spending the day with Luke and dropping off and picking up Kate!

Although Luke is not always an angel. Like yesterday I was dragging my sorry butt out of bed only to have him tell me the TV wasn't working. I wonder why when you spray water into it?!?! Steve pulled it apart and had a fan going on it to dry it out and it seems to have done the trick! It is back to normal. For the moment anyway, and thats all that matters!

Well, thats probably about it from me tonight. Have a good one and thanks for stopping by!!! :D

19.03.07

You know the old wives tale, if you give your baby stuff away sure enough you will fall pregnant. I knew I shouldn't have given away my pram and portacot! Yep, 8 weeks and 1 day today. We are due on our Wedding Anniversary!

I haven't been well. I have even lost a kilo. Just the very thought of food makes me feel sick! Bring on the next 4 weeks! I can't wait to be over this sickness.

I am hanging up my scissors and glue for a while. I am a little over scrapbooking at the moment. I am not finding joy in it. I find it quite boring and time consuming at the moment.

Kate turned 6 a week ago. We had a McDonalds party on the weekend. It was great! Cheap too, and I didnt have to clean up. I went to buy her a new dress to wear and I couldnt find one anywhere! I went to Pumpkin Patch to look at the maternity clothes and saw a beautiful dress down from $46 to $20. I ended up spending $57 but saved $83! Talk about some great bargains!

Kate received a bike for her birthday off us. She loves riding it. Luke on the other hand has still not managed to work out how to ride his bike. He will not use those pedals for the life of him! For a kid that can stand 5 meters away and scon you in the head with a ball, I thought for sure would pick up how to ride a bike really easy. Apparently not.

I guess thats it from me. Not much has been happening around here, especially no housework. If I am not sitting around feeling ill, I am so tired I can barely move. Lets hope the next couple of weeks goes really fast!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

03.03.07

SO you see I was trying to go a whole month without posting. No, just kidding. We received some news the other week which really rocked our socks and well we have come to terms with it and are moving forward. Details to follow.

So while I have been mostly offline, I can say that I got all that cleaning done. My house was spotless. Perfect. Two weeks later, you cant really tell. I am dissapointed. Anyone got some good tips for helping kids help? Thanks for everyones comments. I like to know that I am normal. I dont want to be extraordinary. I just want to be ordinary, normal.

I have scrapped a bit, but thats only because I am in two comps at the moment. I am competing in Reality Scraps over at Scrapbook City. The layouts for that comp are Joy and Friday Favourite.

I am also competing in The Big Challenge over at Bon's Scraps. The layouts I have done for that comp so far are Nambucca and Rain, rain dont go away.

The first layout - Joy - you could only use the MM patterned paper, no cardstock, and you had to use the 8inch MM chipboard shape and you had to put your journalling on it.

The second layout - Friday Favourite - you could only use cardstock, no patterned paper at all. You also had to have a handmade embellishment, use either a pice of bling or fancy edged bazzill, and a handcut title.

The third layout - Nambucca - had to use the colour combo aqua and peach. When I first read the challenge, I was like, What The?! but I love it now!

The fourth layout - Rain, rain dont go away - had to use the colour combo blue and red.

I tell you, the challenges arent easy but I am enjoying doing them.

I know I am sad, but I have already started on my BTP for this years Scrabooking Memories Masters comp! I just want to not leave it to the 11th hour like I did last year.

I was lookingo ver at Lusi's blog and I am so in love with her playing cards she is doing for Emily Falconbridge's challenge. Very inspiring stuff. I might just need to buy a pack and see what I come up with... Hmmm.... dont know exactly when I will have time to do it though....

Not much else has been happening. Home stuff and work. I worked 42 hours this week! Cant wait for pay day! LOL! ;)

I have been thinking about challenging myself (I am doing nothing but challenges lately! LOL!) to take a photo a day. Maybe every two days. LOL. I will start today and see how I go I think.

Signing off for now! Thanks for stopping by and I am slowly getting around to people's blogs... slowly.... Take care! :)

14.02.06

I look around and me and my house is a mess and yet I am sitting here on this computer looking at nothing in particular and putting off the inevitable.

I have to clean.

But not only that, I have to declutter and just basically get organised.

Now that I am getting used to the lack of sleep, I am getting around 4 1/2 hours a night, I think it's time I started to reorganise!

Day 1
Fold mountain of washing
Change linen on the beds
Go through linen closet (since I bought new sheets last week at a fantastic price!)

That should be enough for today. Luckily we are having leftovers for dinner tonight - I made to yummiest barbecue chicken in the slow cooker yesterday. I got the recipe from my mothers group friend Rachel. So we are having it with some rice and vegies.

Anyway, since I have sat here, Luke has decided to make some more mess, not that you can really tell. So I better hightail it and go and start on my to do list.

I am SO not a domestic goddess.............

11.02.07

Another week gone and another promise to update more regularly broken. Sorry about that.

<----Here is Lusi and myself. Aren't we just too cool? Totally. I went and visited Lusi the other week and had a total ball! Can't wait to do it again!

So I decided to enrol in KiwiScraps Freestlye Convention thingy in April. No, I am not a classes kinda girl, but I decided to go anyway as I think it will help me to let go more in my scrapbooking. That is my goal this year.

Well, on the homefront, not much has been happening. Kate, being the big year 1 girl now has homework. All it is is a list of about 20 words that they have to copy once. Easy. She loves doing it. I got a letter home from school the other day and it seems Kate may have to move classes due to her class becoming a K/1 composite. We shall see tomorrow I guess.

Luke was supposed to start his first day tomorrow at Family Day Care to allow me time to do some uni study since I work at night now. The poor little mite woke up with a runny nose! There goes my plans to get a haircut ad my eyebrows waxed. Maybe I might just take him along anyway. Surely a 3 year old boy can sit still for half an hour!?!?

I have done my layout for this weeks competition over at Scrapbook City. The theme was Passion. All I could hink of was this somg out of Flashdance! LOL! I worked it into my layout of course! The results will be up tomorrow morning and I have my fingers crossed that I go through to Round 2. There were some mighty good layouts submitted.

Well, I am sitting here supposed to be scrapbooking a layout for a CC at Scrapbooks Paper and Things - where Lusi teaches - but I didnt read the details properly and now my layout doesn't meet the criteria. Grrrrr. I really should read everything 3 times before I just jump in and start scrapping!

I also have to finish my DT layout and finish another challenge layout. Man I am on the go! It's all good fun though.

I have enrolled in some Yoga classes - just once a week for the next 8 weeks. I cant wait to start! It starts on tuesday. Hopefully it wont make me too sore! I have also been walking around the block again. After me and Luke drop Kate off at school we go - him in the pram - and me unfortunately pushing him up and down our hilly suburb. It takes just under 30 minutes. Not too long and not too short. Just right.

I just want to note that I am grateful to my husband who indulges my creative side.

Well thats about all we have time for folks.

Thanks so much to everyone who comes by and reads my blog!

I have been slack of late but hopefully I will be checking on you all soon!

Take care! :)

04.02.07

Wow! Another week gone! This year is already going far too fast for my liking! Well in the last week I have had a birthday. I am now officially 27 even though I have been telling people that for the last 6 months as I kept forgetting - hopefully not a sign of things to come! LOL! I know - I look absolutely divine in my pyjama pants! I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone for their birthday wishes! You guys are the best! :D

Now, I think I did something on the monday, but you know, I cant for the life of me remember what it was. Man I have to start blogging more frequently... or keeping a diary, but I suppose that is what this is.

So Kate started Year 1 on tuesday. Only 2 other kids from her old class went into the new class. I was a little worried about that but I know she is in good hands as her teacher is awesome! I had a brief chat with her teacher as I thought maybe the class may have been graded, which was why she wasn't with her friends, but it isnt. So thats all good.

Wednesday was just a boring home day. I had to go to the Family Day Care office to enrol Luke though as I am putting him in care one day a week (to start with) so I can get some uni work done.

Thursday, well well well. I had a marvelous day! I went to my grandparents as Kate left something behind when she stayed there in the holidays, and then I drove a bit further up the mountains to go and visit Lusi for the day! I love this girl! We get on so well and I feel really comfortable with her. The kids got on famously too, which was awesome! Luke and Elijah were collecting snails and playing lego and playing with Buzz. I think Luke had just a good a day as me! Had so much fun talking about scrapping, and family and just well, stuff! Can't wait to do it again! Lusi is such a scrapping inspiration to me! She even gave me a notebook for my birthday which is gorgeous!

Afterwards I picked Kate up from school and then went to a lady's house to check it out for Luke to go there for care. It turns out that she has a daughter in year one aswell, and yep, even in Kate's class! LOL! It's such a small world! I will reserve my judgements until he starts there, but for now, I feel a little obliged to send him there. We shall see I guess.

Friday. Hmm it wasnt that long ago, so what did I do? Thats right, I had a nice sleep with Luke for an hour and a half. Thursday nights are the worst for me, I just hit the wall and then it takes me all day friday to recover. Luke was a great kid and even had a nap with me! :)

Saturday I got to sleep in - yay! We went out to Forty Winks and bought a new matress for Luke but its not in stock until wednesday. Then we had KFC for lunch. Yum. Then we just bummed around and got a DVD out to watch - the Jack Black one where he is a wrestler, man I am having the biggest brain fart in the world! Anyway we watched that and had an early night.

Sunday we cleaned all day. Not only that we put up DD's old bed that she didn't like at the time. It is one of those raised beds with the bookshelf and cupboard underneath. She wanted it so we moved her bed into Luke's room as he climbed out of the cot and well he is 3 now so its about time. So the whole house is spic and span and we shall see how long that lasts.........

I started a Photo A Day challenge over at Blue Bazaar and well, I only took my forst photo yesterday. A self portrait. It turned out ok enough. I did it in the bathroom mirror. I am so thankful for the moveable LCD screen on the camera. LOL!


I am also participating in Reality Scraps over at Scrapbook City and I have made it through the qualifying round and now I am in the challenge with 20 other very talented ladies. It is very exciting to say the least! Our qualifying challenge was to do a layout about what we wanted to get out of Reality Scraps. And here was my entry. A layout inspired by a talk me and Lusi had about just 'letting go' and having fun!

I just love the challenge to be honest. I work better with a challenge or a deadline. The week 1 challenge is 'My Passion'. I have a couple, not many really. But I have a few thoughts in my head.

So I sit here now contemplating driving over to Spotlight, I heard they had a good deal on Urban Lily stuff, and thinking I would also like to get some fish for dinner. I think I just may pull my finger out of my behind and go and do just that.

The other night I saw a snippet on TV about the book 'The Secret' and it is all about The Law of Attraction and it had a bit about being grateful. So I am going to post one thing I am grateful or thankful for in every post.

I am thankful that I have a sweet husband who likes to give me backrubs when I am falling asleep.

Ok, take care and thanks for stopping by!!! :D

27.01.07

Finally an update. I thought that I had nothing interesting to tell you all, but thats not why I have this blog. It is to help me keep track of the thing we do so I can look back on it when I scrap. I have done before. I scrapped Luke's birthday last year and I went back and took the journalling from what I wrote here. So from now on, no matter how boring and mundane it is, it is my life and I need help in remembering it! LOL!

So.... umm... what exactly did I do last week.....

Well first things first, I got myself a new camera! I had a Fuji s3500 and well, I was sick of the shutter lag and having to take a millions photos just for one good one, and then that was annoying because it was so slow. So Steve told me to go and get it. So I did. A Fuji s9500. He thought I should have spent the extra money and got a SLR but I dont want one. I dont have a passion for photography so I feel it would be wasted. Not only that, I fiddle too much. Steve is forever saying 'just take the darn photo... see now you lost it' and I figure with different lenses and stuff I would be missing far too many photos. So I got me this one and it has a manual zoom and it is one sweet machine. Even Steve has had a play aound with it. I have to admit, it is nice to be in FRONT of the camera. ;)

Also to that I have started collecting supplies for this year Master's competition. My BTP is going to be a big job so I figure there is no harm in starting it early.

I got my uni stuff in the mail too. I have decided to put Luke into preschool 1 day per week and that will be my study day. I was looking at the work I have to do and it doesnt look easy but as my sister said to me, it is a proper mathematics degree. True. It's not meant to be easy.

I had organised to go to the pool on wednesday. It rained. Of course. But the pool was indoors so we still went. Hardly anyone else did so it was great! Kate is getting very confidednt in the water. She kept asking if I could take one of the sections off her floatie. Not until she has lessons I tell her. She gets so excited by her accomplishments. Her teacher wrote that on her report card last year and yeah, it is very true. I like the fact that she takes pride in what she achieves. Luke on the other hand was not so confident, unless of course, he was stuck to me like a koala to a tree. I found out that the back floaties are potentially very dangerous. Luke fell forward onto his fron a couple of times and because of the floatie, he could not roll over. Scared me to think that I trusted the little sucker stuck on his back. Lucky I was only an arms reach away. So we had fun and were there for hours and the kids did not want to go home! And I even wore my tankini with NO shorts on. Getting pretty confident there. LOL.

Which brings me to thursday. January 25th. Luke's 3rd Birthday. Wow. I can't believe a year has already passed and yet I feel like it has just been a week. My little dude is so cute! I just want to bottle up his sweetness! He runs to me and plants a big kiss on my mouth and tells me he loves me - "I wub you mummy". But you can read that child like a book and fair dinkum he is so michevious! You can tell he is going to do something naughty waaay before he does it! It is written on his face! He is cheeky and yes I do call him evil, and some days I feel like he is, but I could make a mint if I could bottle the sweet side of him. But alas, he is 3 already. For his birthday we got him a bike. He can't ride it. In fact, he puts the brakes on when you try to push him along. I figure that he will 'get it' sooner or later.

Steve took his boat out on Australia Day. This was the first time he properly went out with the intention to fish. Now, I dont mind him going fishing... just as long as he brings nothing home. And he didn't so all is well and he can go again! LOL! Between Steve and BIL they caught a bundle of fish - most of them were barely legal but becasue they throw them all back its all good. And Steve enjoyed himself. He really did. And thats enough to make me happy. (Even he does come home stinking of fish and petrol!) My sister kept me company. It was nice to hang out and just gasbag. And she is expecting! How exciting! In another 6 months there is going to be the tiny patter of sweet baby feet!

Which brings me to today. We have an addition to the family. A kitten. Meggs (unless we think of a better name LOL). I was looking on the Trading Post site - for reasons seriously unknown - and I came across and ad that was selling rescued kittens. We had already discussed getting a kitten the other week and the one we were going to get wasnt ready for a few more weeks. So I showed Steve the ad - for $120 you got a desexed kitten, that was microchipped, vaccinated, wormed AND litter trained. So I rang the lady this morning and we went and had a look. And we got one. He is just so precious! And he has even showed Webster who is boss by hissing at him and scaring the crap out of Webby. LOL. He is all over everything though! At one point we were looking for him and he was sitting on top of Steve's computer table! The kids love him and wont leave the poor little guy alone! I am sure once he is settled in he will enjoy the attention. I took him to use the litter tonight and when he jumped out he stopped walking and looked up at me so of course I picked him up. I am glad he is warming to us so quickly.

Tommorrow. Is. My. 27th. Birthday. That just freaks me out a little. The downhill run to 30 sure does go quick! I feel like I should have accomplished more in my life. I feel like I just havent done enough to justify my age. But what is there to accomplish I suppose? I just dont want to get to 70 and look back and think that I have not done anything. I will keep pondering this for a while I think.

Well I guess I should go. I have to edit some photos to get them printed tomorrow. Not much scrapping has been happening here but that will change soon since I am in a competition over at Scrapbook City. We have to do a layout about what we want to get out of the competition. For the last week I have had a layout firmly in my head. I made Steve take the photo and now I just have to scrap it and hope it turns out the same as whats in my head because it looks pretty cool up in there. But anyway, here is my layout for my latest Memory Bugs DT assignment. I really like the way it turned out, and yes, I am a year late with the whole curly brackets thing, but I just have never 'got' them ok?! LOL!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and take care! :)

15.01.07

Last week was so busy! I really should have blogged throughout the week as this is going to be a long post!

Last wednesday I rang my grandarents to see how Kate was going and they suggested I meet them at the shops. So I spent the better part of my day walking around the shops not looking at anything in particular. We had to cut the trip short as Luke had an accident. So we came home and I cooked dinner and then went off to work.

Thursday I met up with the gorgeous Lusi and her 3 munchkins! Lusi is just wonderful and her kids are just darling! I can't wait till the next time we meet up! The kids played really well together and I had the nicest chat and the best frozen coke! LOL! ;) Then I went and collected Kate from my grandparents house. Home to cook dinner then go to work.

Friday was just super hot! We went to the shops to buy some stuff for school and Luke needed a new pair of shoes. He even picked his own shoes out - Spiderman ones! He loves them and wants me to keep taking photos of them! LOL! Then back home again and the kids played around in the wading pool to cool down. They had heaps of fun and were in there for 2 hours while I sat and read a magazine (supervising LOL). Then dinner and work.

Saturday I got to scrap with Kylie and Moira at a class taught by Kylie. My layout turned out nothing like the class one, but I used it as inspiration. ;) I have decided just to let go with my scrapping and do whatever and you know, I had fun! I also had fun at the 50% off storewide sale. Lets just say ALOT of fun. I bought The Journaler's Handbook and lets just say I almost cried after reading the first 4 pages! I know I am a sooky lala - but I have so many journaling ideas floating around my head, I just wish I had some time to scrap them!

Then on sunday we went to Taronga Zoo! We went with Fliss and Jus and had a great time! The kids loved it! Although I think it may have been just a bit much for Luke. The seal show was great but after that it got quite hot and it was just after lunch time so alot of the animals were dozing at the back of their pens after that. Not to worry! We got to see the new elephants too. When we got home we had a nap and then Steve went out to dinner with some mates for a farewell and me and the kids watched Barnyard. Well I laughed and I cried. It was a good movie, but a little dark for kids I think.

Which brings me to today. Don't you hate it when you do the shopping and think 'nah I dont need that I have some at home' only to go home and find you have run out!? Argh! So back to the shop we go... while I was there this time I bought a new washing basket and yep I hung washing on my clothesline. I havent used my clothesline for the last 18 months I reckon. Since getting that dryer I use that and only that. It didnt help that we would always wash in the evenings. So my pegs are getting a workout. LOL!

Lusi and I were having an Ali E talk the other day about a Word. I have chosen my word for he year. ENJOY. I need to enjoy the small things. The big things. The obscure things. I need to enjoy my hobbies. I need to enjoy my family time. I need to enjoy my me time (not that there is much of that left nowadays!). I just need to enjoy.

Well, I better go as Luke decided to play with a bee and in Luke style, got stung on the finger. A lesson learnt I hope. So now the kids are watching Playschool. Quiet times.

Thanks for stopping by and take care!

09.01.07

<---This is Webster. He got groomed today, and by that I mean he got shaved. He is a long haired border collie and well, not anymore. The grooming people said he can have his hair short all year round as he has sufficient 'padding'. LOL! So this is how he is going to stay! He looks so handsome now too! I mean he always did, but now even more so!

I signed up to a competition over at www.scrapbookcity.com.au - Reality Scrap. I think it is like a Survivor type thing, but whatever it is - I am really looking forward to competing in it! You all should head over there for a peek, the girls are so nice and friendly and the work in the gallery is amazing!

We hired some movies the other day, Cars and Pirates of the Carribean. Can I just say that I am totally in love with Cars and Mater is the funniest guy going around! I am thinking that this is one movie I will definately buy and Luke loves to watch the 'racing cars'.

I finished that layout for www.memorybugs.com.au and I will upload it as soon as the newsletter is out! Thats another great site that you should all head over to, and not because I am on the DT either (how was that for pimping! LOL! :P). The shop is great as well as the prices and the people on the forums are very friendly! And well, the forums need spicing up a little so if you have a spare couple of minutes, head over and make yourself at home!

Kate has gone to my grandparents (or her great-grandparents) house for a couple of days. She loves it up there as grandma and pop have beautiful gardens that she likes to roam around in. They live in the Blue Mountains and although they can't take her bushwalking like they used to take me and my sisters, I am sure she enjoys it just the same! :)

Well, thats it from me, I have to head up to the chemist. Get this. I went to the chemist yesterday to see if they had Head and Shoulders in Menthol because Franklins doesn't stock this type anymore. They didn't have it but they offered to order it in for me. I am like, umm isn't that a lot of trouble. No, not at all apparently because about 3 hours later I got a call to say that they had some in stock. Ok then. Sure. I will come and get it then.

So, thats my life in a nutshell right now, well, some of the more interesting points anyway! LOL!

Oh, and if you dont have Blogarithms - GET IT! It helps keep track of all your blogging buddies with one concise email per day that lets you know which ones have been updated. So go to www.blogarithm.com and sign up today. And thats an order! LOL! And thankyou to Kylie for telling me about it! :)

Alright dudes, catch you all later! :)

06.01.07

*drumroll please*

The answers to my quiz are:
1. My favourite TV show is HOUSE
2. My favourite band is NICKELBACK
3. I have a dog which is a BORDER COLLIE
4. My siblings are 2 SISTERS
5. My favourite food is CHOCOLATE
6. My favourite movire is FORREST GUMP
7. When I was gowing up I wanted to be an ARCHITECT
8. When I finish Uni I will be a TEACHER
9. My hobbies include SCRAPBOOKING
10. My favourite day of the week is WEDNESDAY

So today we took the kids to Lollipop playground at Penrith. This was the first time we went there as we normally go to KidAbout at St Marys. Well, my jaw, and DH's almost hit the floor when they charged us $4.40 per adult to get in! You see no where else we have been does, so it was a bit of a shock. But I have to admit, it was clean and well kept and we all enjoyed ourselves. Yes, me and Steve are those dumbarse parents you see that go on the thing aswell! So I guess $4.40 is better than the $11 you pay for the kids! LOL! Anyway, so we were there for a couple of hours and had fun.

Then we just bummed around at home. Steve was playing around with his boat as he bought the remaining things it needed. I was going through all my old mags. I have mags dating back to 2002. That is sad. So I am chucking them all out! Well, most of them anyway. I decided to go through them and pull out anything I like. So far, lets just say, very Creative Memories..... so I havent pulled out much!

Ok, so I am sitting here procrastinating about a DT layout I have to do for Memory Bugs. I am also thinking that I have so many blogs to catch up on and just not enough time. Ok, nothing much else is happening around here. I better go and try and scrap..........

Take care and thanks for stopping by and dont be shy and leave a message!!!!!

01.01.07

Today was fun! We went out on the boat! Well, I didnt, but DH and the kids did. Now I know I didn't say it was anything spectacular, because it isn't. It's just a 12' tinny. Nothing special but makes DH happy just the same. And that makes me happy. Luke just loved it! He was so excited that he did not want to get out! We were only out for a short time as it started pelting down rain. The kids just look so adorable in their life jackets! LOL!

So it is 2007. I hope everyones New Year went off with a bang! My sister and BIL came over for a BBQ but we stuffed ourselves silly on all the nibblies that we didn't end up cooking the BBQ. But thats ok as they came over today so we had it for lunch. So I had a couple of drinks last night and we played Buzz. That is a cool game. Even if Fliss always wins!

I was a little dissapointed by the fireworks, dont get me wrong, they were spectacular, but the bridge ones were lacking. When I want to watch fireworks off the bridge, I want to see fireworks off the bridge! I think we are just so used to seeing it, thats all.

Well Christmas was fun here. The kids as usual got spoilt, and so did I this year! I got a slow cooker, a guillotine cutter thing (which I was going to test tonight but instead spent all night chatting to Kylie and Moi!) and a new cordless keyboard and mouse which I am using this instant! I was very spoilt indeedy!

So I am going to go soon as I want to read a bit more of my book before I go to bed. I am reading the DaVinci Code which is quite interesting as I didn't even know who Mary Magdaline was! LOL! I have done a bit of internet researching, like looking up the image of the Last Supper and so forth because religion is not something that we were brought up with. But I am finding it very interesting indeed.

But before I go... I have a quiz for you all to take!

Create your own friendquiz here

GOODLUCK EVERYONE FOR A GREAT 2007!!!!!

29.12.06

Sorry, no photos. Thats right. How bad is it when a scrapbooker does not even take one photo on Christmas Day? I will redeem myself by saying that I did videotape Christmas morning. So there is still some keepsake of the day. And thats what it is all about I guess. Preserving the memory.

Which brings me to a scrapbooking gripe. I was over at 2peas and I was cruising the gallery. I came across a layout and the poster had put a whole big paragraph in the details section explaining all about the photo. One the layout there was one sentence about the photo. One sentence that didnt explain the photo quite like the comments section. Will they remember these additional details in 10 or 20 years time?

Now to me journalling is pretty important. I never used to journal much, just the 4W's. Who why where and when. It was Erica G's open heart journalling that made me rethink my layouts about 2 years ago. I realised that in 10 years time I wont remember the background info regarding photos so I figure its better, especially for future generations to just be able to read it in the layout.

But thats just me I guess.

So, not much to show on the scrapbooking front as I havent scrapbooked in a couple of months. Purchase goods, yes. Use them, no.

So work has been tiresome. Last night I started at 6pm and then finished at 5.30 this morning. Hard stuff but I am enjoying it. My managers have told me I am doing a good job, which I am pleased about. And super happy I have now finished up with Westpac! YAY!

Well I must run as I have to get ready for work. Fun times. LOL.

Before I go, I just want to mention a special lady. Moira. She is such a beautiful person. For my birthday she sends me a card and a little surprise and she sent me a card for Christmas with another special surprise. I was so touched. You see I am a bad friend. I know it and I acknowledge it. I barely call anyone to say hi, I never send cards, nothing. I think about it, but then time gets away and I forget. So I apologise to everyone in advance for being a horrible friend! Seriously.

Well thats it from me for today!
I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and I wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Take care and thanks for stopping by!!!!! :)

15.12.06

THANKYOU!!!!!! Thankyou to everyone for their comments about SM Masters!!! It has sincerely brightened my day to come her and see all the comments. You girls are the best!!!! I am so thankful that I found scrapbooking and have made such wonderful friends!

I have learned that sleep is overrated... until it catches up with you that is! I am home today and I am a wreck! My head hurts! One night I had 2 3/4 hours sleep. Oh well. Only 8 more working days to go. EEK! Surprisingly though, when I am over-tired I get all happy and talk lots and really fast. LOL! I have been in such a good mood all week! The job is good. Gosh it is great to not have to deal with customers!! Sorry, but it is!!

It is sad that I only see the kids for an hour in the morning while we are getting ready and apparently they are missing me. Kate had a birthday party yesterday and she sat there all sad because she wanted me to be there. I feel so bad right now and am contemplating not working at the bank but am worried about losing my entitlements and it is only for another week. Ugh. I just dont know what I should do.

So Steve bought a boat the other day. We are picking it up tomorrow. He is so excited. You see, he had a boat before we had Kate, but he sold it when Kate came along and has regretted it ever since, so yeah. At least this will stop him from annoying me - you see, everytime we are in the car and a boat goes past, he says, nice boat. EVen the kids say it now. Drives me crazy! LOL!

So Christmas is only a week away and we have put our lights up and after Steve's blessing (so he thinks! LOL!) I bought another 3 sets of lights. Unfortunately I can not find any gutter clips ANYWHERE so I cant put 2 of them up! Argh! Oh well, it still looks nice enough.

Well thats about it in my life this week. Pretty boring I know. Ok. I am off to have a nap before I go and collect the kids. Hmmmm what should I ccok for dinner..... decisions, decisions....

Take care and thanks for stopping by!!!!! :)