My World

Day 16

2011-11-13T07:37:00.000+11:00

Day 16 (29th Sept)..

Destination....HOME :( We packed up our gear, left our hotel and headed for the airport..

USA was just amazing. I can't believe just how much I loved it. I think we better start saving for our next trip...

Thanks for coming along for the ride :)

GOD BLESS AMERICA !!

Day 15

2011-11-13T07:32:00.000+11:00

Day 15 (28th Sept)

Today we jumped on a bus and travelled to Yosemite National Park It took about 3-4 hrs to get there.

Yosemite is out of this world, it really is spectacular...

At Yosemite National park we saw wild deer, and lots of squirrels, there are also black bears there... but we didn't see one the day we were there. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing? !

Another day in California

Day 14

2011-11-04T18:37:00.000+11:00

Day 14 (27th September 2011)

"THE ROCK" (Alcatraz)

The cell house...we had an audio guide as we walked around. We listened to guards and former inmates, it was very interesting and a little creepy at the same time..

This is the shower block... ewww

and this is what the cells look like.. not a lot of room in there..

..this is the view from Alcatraz looking back towards San Fran..

After our tour at Alcatraz we went to Muir Woods...where all the gorgeous red wood trees are..

its such a pretty place.. and the trees are unbelievably high..

..a chipmunk in real life..

That's all for today.. thanks for calling in..

Day 13

2011-11-02T16:40:00.000+11:00

Day 13 (26th Sept) San Francisco

The houses (Alamo square) above are in San Francisco.. they were used in the t.v. series Full House

The famous Golden Gate Bridge... was just awesome, I loved the mist (it added lots of character for my photos).

We got to walk most of the way over the bridge and back (they were doing maintenance at the other end of the bridge).

This is San Fran living up to it's "hilly" reputation..

We walked and walked and walked up lots and lots of hills to take a photo of this...

...the "Mrs Doubtfire house"

This is the worlds most crooked street... cars were queueing up the top just to drive down it..

This (the building to the left) is the Trans America building (the tallest building in San Francisco, standing 853feet tall).

Of course riding the famous cable car's is a must in San Fran.. the kids loved standing on the side and going for a ride.

This is Pier 39, this pier has lots of restaurants, rides, shops and is also famous for the sea lions that live there too.

Our trip has almost come to an end... only a couple more posts to go.. :(

Thanks for stoppin' by x

Day 12

2011-10-19T18:34:00.000+11:00

where was I ?...

Day 12 (25th Sept)

We headed to the airport this morning bound for San Francisco..

Our flight from DC to SF took approx 5 hours.

Our hotel was right on Fisherman's Wharf..

That island in the background is .... ALCATRAZ.

This is clam chowder.. an American dish.. Craig absolutely loved it. I didn't !!

The characters you meet...

Fisherman's Wharf...

The seagulls in SF are on steroids I'm sure.. look at the size of them ..

Thanks for calling in

Day 11

2011-10-13T18:09:00.000+11:00

Day 11 (24th Sept)

More super impressive buildings in DC..

This is not the White House.. some people think of this building when they think of the White house..

This is the US Capitol building... the meeting place for congress.

This is the White House...

and so is this....(this is the south view)

This is the Pentagon.. it is huge and of course you don't get the pentagon shaped view from the grounds perspective.

Here is the US Capitol again..

We had a night tour of all the gorgeous buildings lit up..

Here is the Washington Monument...

Thanks for calling in

Day 10

2011-10-12T20:24:00.001+11:00

Day 10 (23rd Sept)

Today we said Goodbye to New York.. Went to the gorgeous Penn Train Station bound for Washington DC.

The train trip was great, we had awesome seats and great views out the window. It took about 3 hrs to get to DC.

This is Union Train Station in DC.. honestly the train stations in America are aweseome.

This is the Washington monument. This was built in memory of George Washington, the first President of the Unidted States.

Then we walked to the World War II memorial..

This speaks for itself....

Then we walked to the Lincoln Memorial, Here is a large statue of Abraham Lincoln (the 16th President). It is very very impressive.

Then we walked across the Potomac River to Arlinton Cemetery..

This is the grave site of John F. Kennedy (the 35th President) His wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is burried along side him.

It was a very very wet day in DC.. but it didn't stop us one bit.

DC is such a regal place, very clean, very pretty, not a lot of people there and the buildings and monuments are amazing. We found all the American people to be super friendly and very helpful !! A guy even offered us his own umbrella in the pouring rain in DC... awww :)

That's about all for today folks

Day 9

2011-10-11T19:46:00.000+11:00

Day 9 (22nd Sept)

Today we got the subway uptown and had breaky here..

The famous Seinfeld Diner..

Craig is a big fan of the show...

Then we went shopping at the famous Macy's.. here they have a floor dedicated to...

..Christmas..

While walking back to our hotel, we bumped into this guy....

..Samuel L. Jackson. He was coming out of a theatre near Broadway..

NYC almost over... :(

Day 8

2011-10-10T18:28:00.000+11:00

Day 8 (21st Sept)

This is F.A.O. Schwarz..(toy shop in NY) It is the New York equivalent to Hamley's in London.

Anyone recognise the piano from a movie staring Tom Hanks ??

Our next stop was the amazing Central Park.. Along the side of Central Park is the Dakota Building..

.. This is where the murder of John Lennon took place..

The "Imagine" memorial is in Central Park, just across the road from the Dakota building..

We hired bikes for a couple of hours while we were in Central Park... It's soooooo big, this was a more productive way of getting around..

The park is just unbelievable... It is so hard to picture yourself being in the middle of New York while you are in the park - it is really peaceful.. it's just beautiful.

ME x

Super Cute Alert...

2011-10-09T14:40:00.002+11:00

Check out this web site... I have just ordered a couple of yummies from here (I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't help it... they were calling me,.. honest)

Urban Outfitters

www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/index.jsp

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday :)

Day 7

2011-10-09T08:17:00.003+11:00

Day 7 (20th Sept)

Today we jumped on a ferry to Liberty Island to admire this gorgeous lady....

The Statue of Liberty..

This was a gift from France in 1876/86 to commemorate 100 years of Americas Independence. It is 22 stories high (305ft). She has 7 spikes on her crown, each representing a continent of the world.

The statue of Liberty symbolises Freedom, Liberty and Opportunity.

She is made of copper and over the years the oxygen has caused oxidisation, turning her the blue/green colour she is today.

It was bigger than what I thought, she is such a powerful monument..

We loved her..we jumped back on the Ferry and got off at Ellis Island, this was the immigrant inspection station from 1892 - 1954. We had another audio tour on Ellis Island before moving on.

We jumped on a bus tour and toured the sites of Brooklyn (one of the five boroughs of NY). It was a little run down in some parts, but others were gorgeous, it was very interesting. There are almost 3 million people that live in Brooklyn.

Our next stop was the Rockefeller Centre.. or the Top of the Rock.

Here we had a great view of the huge Central Park, from the observation deck.

.. and the Empire State Building.

Of course while in NY, you just have to go and see a show on Broadway..

We went and saw this....

It was FANTASTIC... totally recommend it.

That's another awesome day in the big apple..
x

Day 6

2011-10-08T19:47:00.000+11:00

Day 6 (19th Sept)

yep... the steam really does come up out of streets in NYC.

1 WTC..

9/11 memorial.. These are the foot prints of the twin towers. Gorgeous 30ft waterfalls are now in their place,. It is a very peaceful place, surrounded by young trees. Many people are writing messages and leaving them next to names inscribed around the waterfalls, one man who was sobbing left flowers along side a loved one's name. It was such an emotional place.

I can't imagine what it must of been like on that tragic day, the day that we all remember, the day of the 9/11 attacks. As I was walking around reading the names of people I never even knew, tears were rolling down my face.

This is the flag of honor.. all the names (almost 3000) who lost their lives are listed on here.

We finished the day on a happy note, and went to a 3 story M&M shop (would you believe).. in Times Square..

Check out all the different coloured M&M's you don't normally see..

Another day in NYC over..

x

Day 5

2011-10-07T10:26:00.000+11:00

Day 5..(18th Sept) NYC

We landed at JFK early morning 05:45 (our flight from LA was an overnight flight).

This was the first view we had of the city driving from the airport to Manhattan..WOW I'm in love it already..

Our hotel was a block away from this....

Times Square..

Our next stop was here....

..the Empire State Building..

This is the awesome view from the top, here we are looking downtown towards the financial district and towards where the twin towers once stood, do you see the highest building there in the background - that's the new freedom tower or as they are calling it now 1 WTC (1 world trade centre), it still isn't complete and has quite a bit of height to gain yet. When completed it will stand 1776 feet (Declaration of Independence year).. Such a powerful statement to the world I think in choosing that height !!!

..moving on..

After spending quite a bit of time up the Empire State Building we walked on exploring the city. We came across Bryant Park, here people play chess, table tennis, read books, picnic, have coffee at the cafe or simply relax and enjoy the park..

This is the Chrysler building, quite a pretty building don't you think? This was once the tallest building in NY, until the Empire State Building was erected and completed in 1931.

This is Grand Central Station..the monumental railway station.. it is indescribable, we all looked up inside the building and said OMG.. it is super impressive.

So that was our first day in NYC... I'm totally in love with this city :)

Day 4

2011-10-06T08:59:00.000+11:00

Day 4 (17th Sept)

This morning we had a tour inside the Chinese Theatre and checked out more hand/foot prints outside the building.

Then we jumped on a bus to Santa Monica. We walked along the world famous Santa Monica pier, here there are lots of shops, entertainment, restaurants and an amusement park.

Lots and lots of guys exercising and showing off their bodies.....

wow... how cool is this ?...

The end of route 66........

There is an actual Bubba Gump Shrimp Co on the pier too..

...run Forrest run...

it was a beautiful place...

After visiting Santa Monica we headed back to our hotel, picked up our luggage... our destination LAX airport, bound for NYC..

later x

Day 3

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000+11:00

Day 3 (16th Sept) was spent here.... DISNEYLAND

We were all excited about Disneyland. Once we got there we had the choice between two parks, which were side by side, we chose the original Disneyland.

We saw guys like this roaming the streets...

This was part of the parade.... (from the movie Tangled)

Mary Poppins.... who looked practically perfect !!..

One of the streets in the park...

The famous Disney Castle...

Because Halloween is just around the corner, Disneyland was decorated with pumpkins (Jack-o-lanterns), skeletons, webs etc etc....

We went on lots of rides and met lots of cool characters.... while we were there we were all saying "I can't believe we are at Disneyland"....we all had a ball.

We had all day there... and it still wasn't enough.

Hope you have a great day..

Day 2

2011-10-04T09:55:00.001+11:00

O.K... here we go DAY 2. (15th Sept) Today was huge, we had such an awesome day.

First we checked out all the hand and foot prints of celebrities outside the Chinese Theatre. This is the most famous movie theatre in the world. Huge movie premieres are held at the Chinese Theatre on a regular basis.

Here are the footprints/hand prints of the Harry Potter clan..

Again, I took loads and loads of photos, but I have just selected a couple to show you.. Here is John Travolta's prints.

Next we jumped on a bus and toured around the stars homes, up in the Beverly Hills.

This is Lady Gaga's house...

This is where Oprah lives...

..and this is Tom Cruise's house.. again I took soooo many photos of celebrities houses, but I just chose a couple to show you.

Our next stop was UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. It's a huge theme park, with lots of rides and characters etc. We went on a studio tour, which took us around the sets of movies and t.v. shows.

This is where Bruce Almighty was filmed... you know the part where he (Jim Carrey) tries to get his dog to pee outside his apartment.... I love that movie.

This is where they film Desperate Housewives.. not a fan of the show really. The set was a closed set, because they were filming at the time..

I probably don't need to explain this movie set....

..and this one is where War of the worlds staring Tom Cruise was filmed.. they actually bought a real 747 plane and trashed it for the movie...

and last but not least... my total favourite and one of the highlights of my entire holiday (yes I know I'm a little sad)... is BACK TO THE FUTURE. The famous clock tower.

After our awesome day seeing where celebrities live and loving Universal Studios, we headed back to our hotel.. We remembered our tour guide saying to us earlier that morning that the premiere of Taylor Lautner's movie Abduction was on tonight.. I'm not a huge fan of the guy myself, but I know a couple of my friends are big fans, so we thought wouldn't it be good to get a photo of the guy and take it back to OZ and show them... yeah like right, what chance do we have of seeing the guy with thousands and thousands of people lining the streets also trying to get a glimpse of the guy...

So here we are across the road from all the action and all the stars of the movie on the red carpet.

Here he is getting interviewed on the red carpet..

..the next thing you know he is walking across the road... heading right for US.. Craig grabbed Lucy's Hollywood hat off her head and asked Taylor to sign it.

He even posed for a photo.... YAY us !!!

YES IT'S REAL !!! horrible photo of me though - after a day trippin' round... couldn't take the cap off, cause then I would of had "hat hair"... not good... anyway a photo is a photo right?!

He was a lot smaller than what I thought.. not that tall and not as built either..

..he was such a nice guy, he said to James and Lucy... hey pal, hey sweetie.. how are you doing?..would you guys like a photo?

phew....That completes Day 2 in HOLLYWOOD.

:)

Day 1

2011-10-03T16:05:00.000+11:00

Well hey there..

We are back from our USA holiday. We had a super super awesome time. We seriously loved every bit of it. America rocks !! I must admit I was a little apprehensive before we left, but we would go back tomorrow if we could - we truly truly loved it.

I have taken a total of 2929 photos... obviously I am not going to share them all with you, however I would like to share some.

So come along for the ride and check out the amazing sites we saw. I kept a journal while we were away, so I'm going try and post daily for the next 15 days and share our US holiday with you. Here we go.

DAY 1 (14th Sep)

We got up at 3:15am, did some last minute packing, showered and drove to Tamworth (with mums and dads) for our early morning flight to Sydney. We boarded the plane 777-200 bound for Los Angeles, as we were boarding, the Captain greeted us and invited us to have a tour of the cockpit. He let James and Lucy sit in the pilots seats and placed their hats on the kids heads... WOW, I just happened to have my camera ready..

We landed in LA early morning US time (7:25).. We got on the shuttle bus to our hotel. Our hotel was on Hollywood Boulevard. This is where the walk of fame is. The walk of fame is made up of stars along the sidewalk, they are public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry.

We hopped on a bus tour that took us around the sites of Hollywood. Here are some of the things we saw along the way.

The famous Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California, known for the top designer (and highly priced) shops.

The famous Beverly Hills sign... oooooo such a nice place !!

The world famous Hollywood sign...

The Kodak Theatre was right across the road from our hotel. This is the home of the annual Academy awards (The Oscars) Each year they lay out the red carpet for the stars. Inside are columns displaying the names of winners of the Academy awards for best picture.

our hotel, the Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, California

Across the road from our hotel is where the action is, characters come out each day/night. They work for tips, they are more than happy to pose for photos for a small fee of $1-$2. This guy actually looks a bit like Johnny Depp don't you think?

This is the walk of fame again, the view from the bus.

So there you have it.... Day 1 complete.... phew what a day !

Like I said I will try and post every day for the next 15 days.. please bear with me, as you all know life is busy, so sometimes I may be a day or so late.

Thanks for coming along for the ride x

Signing in...

2011-09-23T23:12:00.001+10:00

How y'all doin? (with an American accent)

Just a bit of a sign-in while I have access to the Internet.

We are currently on vacation in the States. I have a BIG birthday coming up and instead of a birthday bash, I wanted to do something as a family, a holiday of some sort, somewhere we have never been before, somewhere BIG. So I chose the USA. I did want to do it on my actual birthday, but work commitments didn't allow that so we brought our holiday forward.

I will upload lots of photos and more details when we get home.

As I type, we are currently on a train heading from New York to Washington DC (very shortly we will be approaching Philadelphia). I have free wifi access all the way (hence the post). I am looking out the window, it is overcast. Everything here is sooo big. We have just passed the most gorgeous houses - you know the ones I mean, the typical American homes, double story, pitched roofs, picket fences.... ohhh wow !

We are sitting near a guy who is from NY, he is a lawyer, and he is travelling to DC for business. The people here are super super friendly. It's great talking to different people andgetting a little glimpse of their lives. At Penn Station (NY) we met a lovely girl called Amanda, she has just recorded a song, she gave us details of her web site etc, so I will be checking that out when we get home for sure.

Well that's just a super quick update. I will try and check in again at some stage.

Hope all is well in your world.

Mwah xx

Score !!!

2011-09-08T18:46:00.000+10:00

I scored this little beauty at a garage sale, the best part was.. it cost me nothing...yay ! (It was my in-law's garage sale) It just needed a new back piece putting on, so my Dad did that for me. I gave it a bit of a sand and a clean up, I thought about staining it or painting it, I put it in place to see what it looks like..

and I love it just the way it is...it goes perfectly with my new lounge and my old "tip" lamp (yes I said tip)

Thanks for stopping by x :)

A quick reno..and a Happy Fathers Day

2011-09-04T12:58:00.000+10:00

I picked this cute little bedside up at a second hand furniture shop for $12. I decided to do it up for Lucy's room like ages ago... thought I would blog it seen as how I have been a super slack blogger lately.

Lucy's bedroom furniture is white and purple so of course that's what I painted it in... and she loves it.

I even lined the draw with pretty polka dot paper...soooooo pretty :)

Last but certainly not least ... a Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad's out there, especially to my special Daddy... love you more than the world Dad... you are my hero xx

Bridgey's Blog Whisper..(18th Century)

2011-08-22T18:49:00.001+10:00

Sooooo Bridgey organised a blog whisper like a 100 years ago or something.. Apparently Peta passed it onto me. I had to come up with a layout taking inspiration from Peta and I also had to use a recycled item. This is my layout that I came up with ..... WOW I'd forgotten which layout I used for this whisper...(Bridgey to the rescue), she found it for me... YAY Bridge..

I apparently passed this layout onto Julie

I know I haven't blogged for a long time. Life is busy. I'm studying at TAFE this year (Children's Services III), so that is taking up an awful lot of my time, I have lots and lots of assignments, so that's one of my excuses, and then of course I work casual in between.

James & Lucy keep me very busy with all their sports and homework etc. Any Mum will know all about this, don't get me wrong - I love it and wouldn't change a thing, however it is all time consuming.

So that's about it for now..

Happy blog whispering.....

Me :)

Netball

2011-06-19T18:57:00.000+10:00

Today we spent the day at the Netball gala day. Lucy had a ball, although her team didnt win a game. She has only just started playing this year and loves it. I used to play netball too - think i have the bug again now after watching so many games, maybe I should get a team together for next year!! hmmm

Hope all is well in your world..

Sorry its been such a long time between posts... you know what its like, busy busy.

Take care :)

England & Paris

2011-05-15T06:58:00.001+10:00

Here are some pictures I took while touring around England.

This is a gorgeous little spot called Dunsop Bridge, it is considered the centre of Britain.

It was soooo nice here the whole family decided to stop and have a picnic.

This is Morecambe on the coast of England.

And this was on of my favourite places.... BATH

These are the Roman Baths.. these were built by the Romans in the 1st Century AD.

More beautiful scenery around Bath

This is Stonehenge in Wiltshire. The ancient stone circle of Stonehenge is very famous and of course unique. The monument evolved between 3000BC and 1600 BC. It is designed with the mid Summer sunrise and mid Winter sunset, but its exact purpose remains a mystery.

This is a gorgeous little place called Stratford Upon Avon and the building below is where William Shakespeare was born.

This is the very beautiful Warwick Castle.

and this is the view from the top of the castle ..

and this of course is the Eiffel Tower in Paris..Craig & I have been before but this was the first time for James & Lucy... they were both amazed at the size of it and Lucy, well she just fell in love with it - I don't think she will ever ever forget it.

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris..

I took almost 1800 photos all together on our trip.. so obviously I could go mad uploading photos.. but I won't.

for some reason I couldn't turn this photo around... sorry.

This is near where I used to live in England...(the hill to the right is behind our old house, where I spent many many happy hours playing)

and of course we were in England for the Royal wedding.. we had a lovely day celebrating with our family - this will be something Lucy (in particular) & I will always remember.

Congrats Will & Kate

Sorry I took so long in posting...

Thanks for stopping by xx

Cyprus

2011-05-03T05:08:00.000+10:00

Soooooo I haven't posted for quite sometime... well that's because we are on holidays at the moment. We are having just over 4 weeks in England/Cyprus/Paris. Our holiday is almost over but I thought I better upload a few photos. So here goes..

This is Cyprus.. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey. It is an absolutely gorgeous part of the world.. the sea is soooo turquoise, I have never seen anything like it in my life. We spent a week there.

This is the view from the plane flying into Cyprus (Larnaca)

This is a gorgeous hidden part of the Med that we stumbled across.. so secluded.. so peaceful.. so beautiful.

no this isn't a postcard... although I think it probably could be..

This was a gorgeous little village we found called Lania... it was one of my favourite places in Cyprus.

how gorgeous is that sea..

There are lots and lots of monastery's in Cyprus.. this was one of them.

Sea caves that we also stumbled upon..

and this is the gorgeous Fig Tree Bay..

..and this is my cousins gorgeous villa we stayed in ...

Look at the super nice view from the villas pool...you can see the Mediterranean in the background

We had a fantastic time in Cyprus... lots of history there, lots to see and do.
We drove our hire car from one end of the island to the other and back again so we really did get to explore this beautiful country..
The BEST part was being with our family (my cousin Jen and her family and my Auntie & Uncle) lots of family memories I will never forget.

Oops...

2011-03-08T17:27:00.000+11:00

...Its been a month since I last posted on my blog.. CRIKEY..

WOW.. I have been busy (that's my excuse anyway)

No, I have been busy honest...This year I have enrolled in Children's Services Cert III, so that is taking up a bit of my time, along with working (on a casual basis). Then of course there's the 3 children to take care of (this includes my hubby) and the kids activities to run to and from... also there is the house, which has been sadly neglected this last few weeks (shock, horror).. hoping to catch up on that in the morning...

Don't get me wrong I'm sooooooo not complaining. I love love love to be busy, so its a good thing. Just thought I'd fill you in on why I haven't posted in a while.

So since my last post.. obviously the kids are well and truly back into the swing of things at school and with their sports/activities.. They both had a ball at the school swimming carnival last month and they both seem to be settling in with their new teachers etc.

Our days have been quite warm to hot here, so sometimes our kids and the other kids in the street spend their time cooling off and slipping and sliding and of course watering the lawn at the same time.

Lucy in action...

Yep, its a bit of a "short n' sweet" post... but that's all I have time for today....

Thanks for calling in.... take care x

Back into routine...

2011-02-07T14:14:00.000+11:00

So this is the second week back of Term 1.. Its hard to believe really isn't it ?? Anyway we are just about back into our set routine, which is nice after a break. I think we all have a busy year ahead, which is great - I love to be busy.. Both James & Lucy are working out what sports and other after school activities they would like to do this year...I think they are just about there with their decision making.. :)

Today I had coffee with a few friends..(yay, gotta love that), survived a circuit gym class, vacuumed and mopped my floors, did some washing, had a shower and then lunch, paid some bills... I still have lots more to do before the day ends... so I best get to it..

Later x

It's that time of year again...

2011-01-23T17:51:00.000+11:00

...where our family runs the annual Australia Day Chess Tournament.. We had 26 players in total who came from Armidale, Dubbo, Wellington, Narrabri, Manilla and Gunnedah.

Next year will be our 25th year of running this annual event... wow !!!

This year James came 3rd in his section.... YAY JAMES !!!!

How tired does he look after a big day of chess.. You may not think that playing chess is tiring but I can assure you it drains you big style...

Another successful tournament !!

That's all from me today.. one more week of school holidays ...(where the heck did all those weeks go???)

2 layouts to share....

2011-01-12T17:32:00.001+11:00

These 2 layouts are all done using the latest kit from

THE POLKA DOT PLACE..

I have only used a couple of extra things from my stash so it worked out well. I still have stacks of stuff left over from the kit too so I think I would easily get another 2 layouts out of it - 5 layouts in total, that's awesome..

And finally but certainly not least...our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the devastating QLD floods xx

December Journal 2010...

2011-01-06T19:37:00.000+11:00

Last year I did the whole December Journal in an album... I absolutely love it so I wanted to do it again this year....but this time I decided to do it on a smaller scale. So I used this accordion fold tin album that I have had in my cupboard for I don't know how long..

Thought I would share it with you..

Front..

pages that open accordion style..

Photos hidden under photos..

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and already James & Lucy are loving looking through it..

I found it a little difficult taking photos of it though.. but anyway I hope you get the idea..

Speaking of Scrapbooking.. The Polka Dot place is calling out for a talented someone for their DT.. for more information go HERE...

Thanks for stopping by xx

Festive Season..

2011-01-02T13:50:00.000+11:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the Festive Season..

We are having a lovely time - isn't it nice to have the kids home from school.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE having them home, I'm soooo not one of these Mums who cant wait for them to go back !!! and how good is it getting out of routine.. I LOVE staying in our PJ's in the morning and not having to rush to get out the door !!!

We were up quite early Christmas morning.. about 6.30am.. James & Lucy got bikes this year - the were a bit overdue as they were growing out of their old ones.. They got lots of other bits and pieces including the Michael Jackson wii game - we totally love it. They also got Just Dance 2, these games are sooo much fun..and we all join in.

Christmas lunch ...

Christmas morning... yay he's been !!!

Mum and Dad spent the day with us and joined us for Christmas lunch which was lovely. Craig's family joined us in the afternoon and for dinner, there were 11 of us in total for dinner.. We had all the trimmings.. turkey, pork, chicken and BRUSSELL SPROUTS etc.. (which you just have to have on Christmas day whether you like them or not !!)

It has also been Mums birthday and its Dad's birthday tomoz... so lots of celebrations and get togethers..

And of course.... its not the Christmas holidays without a game of cricket... Well done to the pommes on winning the ashes by the way....lol

We are babysitting at the moment... A little kitten called Shadow.. Friends of ours have gone away on holidays and didn't have anyone to look after him.. so we volunteered.. He is such a good boy and so far has behaved himself.. We have taken him on lots of outings.. Both James and Lucy are loving looking after him and it is quite a novelty for them as the only pets they have experienced are goldfish, hermit crabs and tadpoles !!!!

It is now of course 2011 (WOW)... We had a lovely NYE. Craig decided to cook for a few friends that he hasn't cooked for before..Di, Andy, Bridge & Dan.. Craig cooked Jamie Oliver style lamb shanks.. They were sooooo good.. but also soooo filling.. The kids got to order eagle boys pizza !! Food, Bevies, Wii and lots of laughs..We all had a fantastic night together..

Today we are actually chilling out, which is nice.. We have been playing the MJ wii game and Just Dance 2 games this morning...Its really hot here today so its an indoor day for us !!

Hope you are all enjoying the holidays as much as we are..

Thanks for calling in xx

Wishing everyone a.....

2010-12-24T11:09:00.000+11:00

I hope your Christmas is full of love, happy family times and laughter

xxxx

Weekend stuff & a layout share...

2010-12-12T17:06:00.000+11:00

We have had quite a busy weekend...it is that time of year though, lots of Christmas parties & get-togethers. I know a lot of people don't like the lead up to Christmas but I LOVE it, I love everything about Chrissy !!

Friday night we had my work party, it was soooo much fun. We had a lovely night drinking, eating and of course LAUGHING.. These girls aren't just work-mates they are also great friends.

Saturday was Craig's work party, this included the kids.. they look forward to this party every year because Father Christmas pays us all a visit and leaves pressies for each child.. We all had a great time there too.

And today we were also invited to another party but to be honest the kids were just too tired, so we have had a recovery day today instead.

And finally I finished this layout.. this is layout number 3 from the latest Polka Dot Place kit.. I'm totally loving this one !! Check out Craig's HAT !!!

That's about all from me today.

I hope you have had a lovely weekend.

Have taken a few photos of the flood water today.. will try and upload them later.

Toodles xx

Layout shares..

2010-12-09T21:24:00.000+11:00

This is my 2nd layout using the latest kit from The Polka Dot Place..

And this is the layout I created for the November 123 Challenge... and guess what ?? YAY I won a voucher..

That's all from me today... xxo

Polka Dot Place layout....

2010-12-06T07:51:00.000+11:00

Here is my first layout from the NEW Polka Dot Place Kit

How gorgeous are the products and the colours in this layout.. I just LuV it !!

To get your kit head over here, you better be quick !!

Thanks for calling in xo

Jolly Jolly Jolly...

2010-12-05T14:45:00.000+11:00

Had a bit of a get together last night for a few Chrissy drinks, Jodi thought she would do some "selfies" of us all (Jodi takes the photo as well as being in the photo...she is soooo good at it).... See....

72 photos later.....

Had a lovely time girls...... MWAH

Tis the season to be Jolly...

2010-12-01T22:01:00.000+11:00

fa la la la la.. la la la la..

wooo hooo.. 1st December !! Our tradition is that we put up our tree on the 1st...

So this afternoon that's what we did...

YAY.. .gotta love December..

Huge congrats to my special friend Bridgey.. on becoming a SCRAPBOOKING MEMORIES MASTER... huge news.. congrats sweet xx great work... looking forward to reading the next 12 months of the magazine with Bridgey in it.... YAY..

Layout share...

2010-11-25T14:13:00.000+11:00

This is layout number 4 from my November Polka Dot Place kit.... this layout is quite busy for me... but I had lots to say and lots of little photos I wanted to put on there too..

And check these out... Our school Christmas fun fair is on tomoz and all families have to make cakes for the cake stall. This is what I come up with for this year... Cup cakes in these cylinder containers... dressed up in pretty colours... cute hey ??

Thanks for reading xx

Birthday Celebrations !!!

2010-11-23T20:54:00.001+11:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!!! (AND BRIDGEY ON SATURDAY xx)

Had a lovely morning with these gorgeous girls...Thanks for the beautiful gifts and Birthday wishes...........love ya loads girls xxx MWAH !!!

Had a lovely Birthday dinner with family... love you lots & lots xxx
I'm a lucky girl to have such wonderful family and friends..

Think I might have another Birthday tomoz...!!!

Nightie Nightie World !!

3 Polka Dot Place layouts....

2010-11-22T17:02:00.000+11:00

I have completed 3 layouts from the new Polka Dot Scrapbook Kit so far...and I still have lots of goodies left in the kit...

I wanted to upload them on the weekend but I didn't get chance....

So here they are... all of James this time....

I'm really happy with all of them... these kits are great..!!!

Happy Monday everyone xx

123 November Challenge..

2010-11-19T11:32:00.000+11:00

The word "Live"
The colour "blue"
And doodling

This is my layout..... for more go here....

I have also completed two layouts from "The Polka Dot Place".... just have to take photos and upload them - hopefully that will be this weekend...

Happy Friday xx

No way can I go through today without posting about this.....

2010-11-17T14:04:00.003+11:00

So... you can take the girl out of England but you can't take England out of the girl..(that's me)

All of you who don't know me that well... I'm a huge (British) Royal fan (especially Diana and her boys), I have followed them for as long as I can remember, so today is a big exciting day for me.

A friend rang me this morning and said "Are you watching the news and crying"... and of course the answer was yes...and what about the ring !!!! ...the fact that Wills gave Kate Diana's engagement ring was the BEST... It's as if Diana still gets to play a part in all of this...

So today is..

The official Engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton

I think Diana would be extremely proud of her boys and would be over the moon with today's happy news.

I remember watching Charles & Di's wedding (as did the rest of the world), I remember writing a letter of congratulations to Charles & Di when Prince William was born (I think I was about 10ish). And when Diana died in the car crash in 1997 I was horrified and I think I cried for about a month !! We later visited Althorp in England which is where Diana is now buried. We also met Charles Spencer (Diana's brother) while we were there. I think Althorp is one of the most beautiful places on Earth !!

So we have a Royal wedding to look forward to next year and..... of course posh hats to buy !!!

woooo hoooo... congrats Wills & Kate

xoxo

Check this out....

2010-11-16T11:19:00.002+11:00

The first kit from......THE POLKA DOT PLACE....

I received mine this morning.... this is how it came - beautifully wrapped..

and this is whats inside....

noice......

really noice.....

Looking forward to playing with all these gorgeous products...

If you would like a kit too, then you better hurry and go visit here

Thanks for visiting xxo

The latest and greatest....

2010-11-15T20:18:00.001+11:00

WOOOO HOOOO this new happenin' Scrappin' place is up and running !!!

GO GET YOUR NEW GORGEOUS SCRAPBOOK KITS HERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I DID !!!!!

Every Sunday....

2010-11-14T11:16:00.000+11:00

Part of James' homework this week was to state 3 things that we do every Sunday...

this is what he put

.... we

Have morning tea with both sets of Grandparents.
Usually have a nice family roast lunch...just the 4 of us.
Relax at some point and maybe even watch a movie.

So true.... what do you do every Sunday ??

Thanks for stopping by xoxo

New toy....

2010-11-11T13:17:00.000+11:00

This is my new sewing machine... actually my very first sewing machine. (gasp) I'm not really big into sewing I just like to do a couple of little things mainly scrapbooking if I'm being honest.. Mum and Dad bought me this today (an early b-day pressie)... YaY !!

Think I might go and have a play with it now... Its a beautiful rainy day here today !!

Hope all is well in your world xox

How cute....

2010-11-07T12:24:00.000+11:00

are these little girly mice !! These are my latest purchase for my ever growing Christmas collection... Love the whole Chrimbo thing.. (in case you didn't know). I try and buy a few new decorations each year...these are almost cute enough to have out all year round !! These are from a gorgeous little gift shop in Gunny... "The old bank gallery"

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday... Take care xox

This is my hero !!

2010-11-05T20:31:00.002+11:00

honestly.... I love Rik Mayall and I have done forever... This is one of the scenes from "bottom". Of course I love Ade too...but Rik is the BEST... They are brill too in "The Young Ones"....

....British comedy - best in the world..!!!!

That's all mateys xx

So pleased I went....

2010-11-04T09:19:00.000+11:00

...to my first Zumba class last night. One of the girls at work told me about it yesterday, so I decided to take a friend along to hold my hand (its so much easier with a friend isn't it)... I haven't done anything like this for ages - at one stage I used to go to aerobics and step classes regularly, but these days I just do my own thing like walk or jog. This Zumba class was soooo much fun !! I admit I had trouble with my co-ordination a few times but I wasn't the only one. I think after a few classes I will get the moves down a little better. (I hope anyway) There were loads of people there joining in the fun. I have signed up for another two classes and I can't wait to go..

Have a happy day xxo

It's Melbourne cup day...

2010-11-02T12:02:00.000+11:00

.... which means breaky and coffee with the girls.. Well no it doesn't really - any excuse to do coffee with your friends !!

It's not very often I put a close up photo of just me on here... but I wanted to show off my fascinator.... It sort of blends in with the tree in the above photo doesn't it. How gorgeous is the tree by the way... I would love to buy it and use it for my Chrissy tree this year... I think the price tag was $695, maybe I could just admire it every time I visit this shop.... Just gorgeous !!

Had a lovely time girls...xx

Good luck to everyone who has a flutter on the horses.. I even put a bid on today....totally had to ask how to do it though !!

Later xox

Trick or Treat....??

2010-10-31T19:55:00.000+11:00

Yes these are my children !!!! Happy Halloween !!!!

My latest project...

2010-10-29T15:19:00.000+11:00

So here is my latest creation.

A 2011 journal. Next year I will put favourite photos from each month along with journalling too.

I have done the month by month double layout for a year before and last year I made the December journal, but this time I wanted something for the whole year but smaller..

.. this small album is perfect !!

What did I make it from ???.... an address book that I bought brand new and modified. Take a closer look.

This is the front cover.

This is the inside front cover... Once upon a time...

And this is what it looks like from the side. I have added embellishments to each page, so it is ready to go..

I will share each month at some stage when I have a bit more time..

But there it is... What do you think??

Blogtoberfest Day 29.. Thanks for calling in xox

Maggie Hamilton...

2010-10-28T18:25:00.001+11:00

Have you heard of the author Maggie Hamilton....??

Well she lives in Sydney and has published many books for both adults and children.. Maybe you have heard of the books "Whats happening to our boys" and "Whats happening to our girls", these books examine the things that our girls and boys have to go through today..she wrote these books along with many others.

Anyway she is also my cousin.... My third cousin to be precise..

If you want to check out more about Maggie Hamilton... then visit here.. or just google her..

http://www.maggiehamilton.org/index.htm

Blogtoberfest day 28
Thanks for calling in xxo

Blogtoberfest Day 27..

2010-10-27T17:08:00.001+11:00

Here is a little look at what I'm working on at the moment... I can't show you all of it yet, because I haven't finished it...I just couldn't resist showing you this little guy..

Another short n' sweet post... I hope all is well in "your world"..

Bye for now from "My World"...xxo

Not much to report...

2010-10-26T19:51:00.000+11:00

...today, I worked, so I had to be up and organised. Both James and Lucy were super dooper this morning, they had made their beds, brushed their teeth, got dressed into their uniforms and done their own hair all before I was ready !! I was very impressed - what gorgeous kids I have !!

Blogtoberfest Day 26... only 5 days to go..

My World....

2010-10-25T18:55:00.001+11:00

Originally this layout started as a mini layout for my blog title... afterwards I just added a few more photos taken the same day and a few more bits and pieces and made a double layout from it.... I totally love these photos..

Day 25 Blogtoberfest..

A short n' sweet post from me today.. thanks for calling in xxo

Blogtoberfest Day 24..

2010-10-24T17:16:00.000+11:00

Lucy & I had a bit of a photo shoot yesterday... How cute is her t-shirt (watch this space for a scrap page using this owl..lol)

James & Dad went to Narrabri yesterday for a chess tournament.. James came home with a trophy for second place in the school section.. Well done mate, we are all very proud of you xx So is Grandad...can you tell ??

That's about all from me today...Thanks for dropping in..

Spooky...

2010-10-23T20:33:00.000+11:00

How gorgeous was the moon tonight and spooky at the same time.. The quick pic I took doesn't do it justice. No wonder I couldn't sleep last night - full moon !!

I have been preparing a scrap project today that I have been thinking about doing for a while... will share soon.. oh and how inspiring were all those whisper layouts ?? Just awesome, thanks again Bridgey , what a star you are for organising that, it must have been a huge effort linking all those blogs !!

Thanks for stoppin by... yay 12 followers for me.. LOL

Bridgette's Chinese Blog Whisper....

2010-10-22T19:07:00.001+11:00

I was one of the lucky ones to be a part of Bridgey's Chinese Blog Whisper...This is where a scrap layout gets passed from person to person and each person takes there own interpretation and scraps it and then passes it on again....and so on..

Well the blog whisper has come to an end.... I was the lucky last person in group 2 so I didn't get to pass it onto anyone else.... but I can't wait to check out all the other layouts..

Hope you like my layout..

Leanne passed her lovely layout onto me..

Thanks Bridgey.... this was fun xx

This is my Blogtoberfest Day 22...

Day 21...

2010-10-21T18:22:00.003+11:00

... and what to share ??

perhaps a couple of gorgeous rooms to admire.. (not mine though...damm !)

Not a bad master bedroom and cute little studio ??

That's all folks xx

Taddies...

2010-10-20T17:02:00.003+11:00

For years now I have tried to find some tadpoles to bring home and show the kids... let them watch them as they grow...grow front legs, back legs and then release them..lol.. Today a friend gave me some out of her pond... I'm soooo excited. This was one of my childhood things to do.. go collecting taddies with my Daddy xxx

That's about all I have to share today..

I'm next on Bridgeys blog whisper scrap thingy... I'm working on it now Bridgey !! Hopefully will have it finished within the next couple of days (been working all week so far)..

Thanks for stoppin' by xx

Blogtoberfest day 20

Day 19...

2010-10-19T20:27:00.002+11:00

an over-exposed photo of one of our roses ...... WHY ??? because I'm in a hurry and that's all I have time to post....

Later xx

Day 18...

2010-10-18T18:42:00.004+11:00

Blogtoberfest...

..3 weeks since my op and today I was back at work ...yippee (only for 3 hours), but never the less..I'm back into it again..

James scored his first try ever today in a comp.. he is very very happy with himself (as are we)..Congrats mate xx

Thanks for stoppin' by x

{No words today... Blogtoberfest day 17}

2010-10-17T17:09:00.002+11:00

Blogtoberfest Day 16..

2010-10-16T15:49:00.005+11:00

OMG.. how cold is it today and how WINDY was it last night. Next door to us has a gazebo thingy up in their back yard and I couldn't sleep last night thinking "any minute now that thing is going to come flying through our bedroom window".. but it didn't thank goodness.. It is now up the back of their yard in pieces...oops

Did the grocery shopping this morning but other than that we haven't ventured outside much at all,,, we had a flick through Austar and stopped on this...

How good is this movie... totally loved it when it first came out... I have a bit of a soft spot for Michael J Fox, he is just sooooo lovable isn't he?? Back to the future 1,2 and 3 are up there on my favourite movies of all time list.. I can watch them over and over again and never get sick of them... and how good was "Greedy", "For love or money", the tv series "family ties" and the tv series "Spin City"... Yep all good..

That's me... I'm off to snuggle up with my hot water bottle....xxo

Blogtoberfest Day 15

2010-10-15T09:30:00.012+11:00

I was blog surfing today and came across this gorgeous blog which has a huge collection of free vintage clip arts....(including the gorgeous pear above) These would come in handy for all sorts of crafts including scrapbooking.. If you would like to check it out go here...

My morning tea today...... coffee and a brunch bar...

.. and last but certainly not least.. My friend Di celebrates her birthday tomoz, so today I took her out for lunch.. Happy Birthday Di-D x

Thanks for dropping in...xo

Layout share..

2010-10-14T09:29:00.003+11:00

ohhhh poor Lucy, this is the day Lucy had her tonsils out. I finished this one a while ago and seen as how its Blogtoberfest I thought I would share it..... I'm running out of things to share and we are only half way through the month !!

Thanks for stoppin' by xxo

Self Portrait Challenge....

2010-10-13T17:11:00.006+11:00

...not a very exciting one of me I'm afraid...just a quick one (photo) in the back yard...(maybe I should of brushed my hair and put a bit of blush on).. If you would like to join in click here....

Day 13 Blogtoberfest...(again)

The first four of 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months in northern Chile have now been rescued..... how awesome is that !!!

Fresh new look....

2010-10-13T12:59:00.003+11:00

YES... so some of you girls have gorgeous fresh new blogs !!!! WELL I WANT ONE TOO....!!

I have spent all day on this layout and blog.... so hope it was worth while. What do you think??

I'm sooooo off to hang the washing out.... later xox

oops.. Blogtoberfest day 13.. bye

Day 12..

2010-10-12T18:53:00.006+11:00

Blogtoberfest...

This is what I did today...

This is an old kit from Cut n Paste... I find kits are great for craft get-togethers, they take the stress out of things and you don't have to take as much "stuff" with you. Can't wait to get kits from here....

A group of us girls enjoyed a lovely craft day at Jodi's today...(hence the layout).. It was sooooo nice to get out and feel half normal again after my op. I had a super fun day thanks girls.. isn't it great to get together with friends and have a laugh and a chat !! I'm sooo lucky to have great mates !!

Mango's

2010-10-11T15:59:00.002+11:00

are sooo yummy... but I always feel like a need a bath after eating one !!!

I bought two today and already there is only one left... not mentioning any name..."Lucy" ..

Blogtoberfest Day 11.. (Happy Birthday Auntie Chrissy xx)

Blogtoberfest....Day...

2010-10-10T08:35:00.002+11:00

The 10th Day of the 10th Month of 2010.... 10/10/10.. and we are off to sit in front of the t.v. from 10am to watch Bathurst !!

This only happens every 100 years....

Bye x

New Shoes....

2010-10-09T19:37:00.002+11:00

Do you like ??

of course they are in my signature colour.....

Day 9 Blogtoberfest

Nightie Nightie xx

OMG...

2010-10-08T17:15:00.004+11:00

....yep so most of us can translate OMG by now right ??? For you peeps (people) that can't.. OMG is short for Oh My God !!

Well now there is a new one (new to me, anyway).... its, wait for it... OMGYG2BK.... translated this means.. Oh My God You Got to Be Kidding !!! How about that !!

So I just happened to wonder if anyone had come up with some sort of translation list and HOLY CRAP.....I came across this whopper of a list.... if you wanna check it out go here..

..... IG2R (I got to run)

xx

Day 8

two things I have done today...

2010-10-07T18:08:00.004+11:00

Had one of these.... (unfortunately not a real one... just an instant one at home)

and the painful job of continuing on with our tax returns....
oh what fun !!!

later x

Classics.....

2010-10-06T10:37:00.007+11:00

What to post today ???? Blogtoberfest 2010 Day 6

I know what about a few movies that I grew up with. I can remember watching these as a child (they used to come on t.v. every year around Christmas time..don't really know why?) and I remember acting them out with my cousin Jen (xx) I would watch them over and over again and sing along to all the songs..

..and yep I even admit to singing "favourite things" to my two kids in bed, when they aren't feeling the best... rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string.... these are a few of my favourite things. !!!

These are movies that I have always loved,,

Absolute Classics......

Thanks for stoppin' by x

Blogtoberfest Day 5

2010-10-05T13:56:00.005+11:00

Do you remember this.....????

Well if not or if you are reading my blog for the first time let me bring you up to date.. I bought this little chair at a local garage sale a while ago and I paid $2 for it. Yes a whole $2 (WHAT A BARGAIN) I had visions of painting it purple and white and placing it in my daughters room to match the rest of Lucy's bedroom furniture.

Well this is what it looks like now. I still have to give it another coat of purple and I will do that when I'm feeling 100% but this is how it will stay for the time being. Cute hey ???

Blogtoberfest hosted by Tinniegirl.

Later x

Blogtoberfest Day 4

2010-10-04T14:50:00.005+11:00

I thought I would share a layout today, this is one I finished a while ago - just haven't shared yet. It's of Craig's birthday back in July....It's a lovely photo of the three of them..

Well its a week today since the operation on my nose. I think I am breathing better - slightly, I still have some discomfort though and I'm super tired... I guess its only been a week.

I hope everyone is enjoying the school holidays. The kids are having a ball - there are a pile of kids in our street and they all play together, which is nice.

Have you every checked out your own blog archive to see what you were doing this time last year ????? I did today and this time last year, we were going for the Eels in the footy, had a trip out to our neighbours farm and the kids were mad on making those "beados" ..... what were you up to this time last year ??

Thanks for stoppin' by xx

Blogtoberfest Day 3

2010-10-03T12:09:00.003+11:00

Mum and Dad and the in-laws came around for morning tea this morning to see how I'm doing after my op and my gorgeous in-laws bought me a pressie - gotta love pressies..

A Princess Diana and Prince Charles plate to commemorate their wedding day...how special is that... YES I'm a Diana fan.

Off to rest..... GO THE DRAGONS !!!

Blogtoberfest 2010

2010-10-02T10:17:00.004+10:00

The idea is to post on your blog everyday for the month of October....

sounds like fun..... even though I missed yesterdays post...OOPS..

I totally have an excuse, on Monday I had an op on my nose (to repair my deviated septum) and yesterday I had to go and have the stents removed from my nostrils....

.....hmmm to much information perhaps.....well anyway that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it...

Looking forward to the challenge... thanks for calling in..

To check it out or join in, visit here.....

Collecting...

2010-09-23T17:12:00.002+10:00

Look out if you live in my neighborhood.... I'm collecting money on behalf of the Heart Foundation today..... It's a great cause, please give generously.

Thanks for stoppin' by.

Holy Snappin' Turtles.... I WON !!!

2010-09-10T11:33:00.004+10:00

The A 2 Z Scraplets August Scketch Challenge......

YAY !!!!! Woooooooo Hoooooooooo !!!!!!!

Here is my layout..... the WINNING layout....

How cool is that.... I'm totally impressed, can you tell... !!??

ALRIGHT !!!!! YAY !!!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOO !!!!! GO ME !!!!!!

Later xx

When was the last time you....

2010-09-02T10:14:00.003+10:00

.....went for a walk in the rain... ???

For me - it was TODAY...

Gotta say I loved every minute of it.. and what better way to try out my new waterproof coat !! ...but do I care what I look like in it - OBVIOUSLY NOT !! Did the waterproof coat work ?? - Yes it did, I can't say the same for my tracksuit pants though !!

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy walking, it really clears my head, but at the same time I think about anything and everything.

Today my thoughts were all about making the most of everyday !! Why don't you go and do just that !!

Spring is in the air....

2010-08-29T15:26:00.003+10:00

Yes-Indeedy-do... There is a feel of Spring in the air today... B E A UTIFUL...

I totally love Winter and the cooler weather, but today has been just gorgeous.. The warmer weather has sent me on a bit of a mission today.. I have done the washing, the housework, the grocery shopping, visited our lovely neighbours and now I have just put a roast on for tea.... what a productive day !!! Maybe I'm priming myself for the whole "Spring Clean" thing.. (I can soooo hear a certain couple of you readers laughing at me......YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE !!)..

It has been nice being a tad warmer today, it makes me think about getting outside and doing the weeding, mowing and basically freshening the place up a bit.. heck I could even start exercising a bit more after hibernating for what seems like the longest Winter...

Two things I don't like about Spring however are the flies and the hay fever... hmmm can't do much about those... I think Autumn would have to be my absolute favourite season, not too hot, not too cold, no flies (or very few) and no hay fever.... and all those gorgeous colours on the trees..

Hmmmm have I had a coffee today ???? ... I seem to be rambling...

Anyway...I even bought myself these from the supermarket today - very "SPRINGY" don't you think?

awwww - aren't' they preeeeety...

Well that's me for today.... catch ya laters xx

Are you sick of these yet ??

2010-08-17T17:29:00.005+10:00

yep another layout, for all those millions and millions of people out there in the World Wide Web who actually read MY BLOG....(okay okay... the two of you anyway, there is two of you isn't there ?)...

I really do love this layout - the colours and especially the PHOTO...

This one is for the 123 August Challenge...

In the challenge you must use yellow, the word Sunshine and misting..

Where is the misting I hear you ask - check out the white card stock flowers, they are actually misted with pink paint.. I promise !!

Movie review.....

2010-08-15T16:16:00.004+10:00

Last night Craig & I watched this.......

It was very different from the normal Adam Sandler movie.. Very sad - I quite enjoyed it though, a story of friendship basically... I thought Adam Sandler did a great job - I quite like him.

Anyway.. I got to thinking about the best movies of all time....I did a bit of googling and found list after list after list.... here's one of the lists..

The Godfather
Casablanca
The Shawshank Redemption
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Star Wars
Titanic
Forrest Gump
Schindler's List
Gone with the Wind
Citizen Kane
The Godfather Part II
The Dark Knight
Fight Club
Pulp Fiction
Gladiator
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Goodfellas
Saving Private Ryan
The Sound of Music
Braveheart
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Departed
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Psycho
It's A Wonderful Life
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Raiders of the Lost Ark
American Beauty
A Clockwork Orange
Apocalypse Now
Lawrence of Arabia
The Wizard of Oz
The Seven Samurai
Scarface
A Beautiful Mind
Taxi Driver
Rocky
8 1/2
Ben Hur
The Empire Strikes Back
On the Waterfront
Annie Hall
Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window
The Matrix
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Silence of the Lambs
Blade Runner
Pride and Prejudice
Dr. Strangelove
Back to the Future
American History X
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Life is Beautiful
Singin' in the Rain
The Sting
Crash
Memento
No Country for Old Men
The Notebook
My Fair Lady
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Amalie
The Big Lebowski
Vertigo
12 Angry Men
Dances with Wolves
Rain Man
Rebecca
Cool Hand Luke
The Shining
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
West Side Story
The Usual Suspects
Jaws
Million Dollar Baby
Amadeus
E.T.
Grease
The Sixth Sense
Return of the Jedi
Reservoir Dogs
Slumdog Millionaire
Troy
There Will Be Blood
A River Runs Throught It
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Some Like it Hot
Unforgiven
The Graduate
Chicago
The Third Man
The Seventh Seal
The Searchers
Doctor Zhivago
The Princess Bride
City of God
Se7en
The Deer Hunter
Sunset Blvd
It Happened One Night

Think I have only seen about 30 of these !! What about you ??? Maybe I should make my own "best of the best" list..

Its a windy windy day here (great movie weather).... hope you are all enjoying your weekend whatever it is you're up to..

A2Z Scraplets August Sketch....

2010-08-13T13:33:00.008+10:00

Cold here again today...not as cold as yesterday though. Yesterday it reached a top of 11 degrees - the coldest day so far this Winter...

Great weather to be inside doing this....

This is my interpretation of this months Sketch Challenge over at A2Z Scraplets...

sorry about the next blurry photo - too cold to go outside and take it again !!

For more details on the sketch see A2Z Scraplets..

Hope you all have a great weekend....xox

Layout share...

2010-08-09T17:45:00.005+10:00

Lots of coughs and colds at my place at the moment - apparently there are lots of bugs going around !!...

This is a layout I finished a week or so ago, I just haven't had chance to blog it...

I really love the colours in this one...

and hey "Bridgey"....what do you think of my flower ????

Hope all is well in your world xox

A 2 Z Scraplets July Challenge

2010-07-31T09:48:00.006+10:00

Last night I scrapped a sketch from A 2 Z Scraplets....

Doesn't this make things a little easier, especially when you just don't have any ideas at the time.
Here is my layout...

Go and check out the sketch and other July entries here at A 2 Z Scraplets...

Thanks for stoppin' by.. it's still raining here.... yay !! have a great weekend. xo

Layout share...

2010-07-29T16:40:00.005+10:00

How gorgeous is James' smile here.... I totally love it.. (actually its almost a laugh isn't it ?) - I just snapped it at the right time !! (for a change)

I'm pretty happy with the way the layout turned out.. I have some hidden journalling under the photo to the right where the word smile is - I don't know about you but journalling is my weakness, I never know just what to say....

I don't think James is overly impressed with me either because when I took this photo he was baking and I MADE him wear my "pretty pink apron" so he wouldn't spill anything on his "Liverpool strip".. sorry pal !!

Here is the layout a little closer....

and again...

Its been a lovely rainy day here today - did I mention that I LOVE THE RAIN !!!!.. well I do..

Catch ya later xo

First layout in a while.....

2010-07-21T12:38:00.007+10:00

Here is a layout I have had on my desk for quite a while now and today I managed to finish it..

Check out the way Lucy is standing.... hence the title "Strike a pose". Do you like my flowers that I made from denim and material ??

Been doing a bit of dreaming again lately...... and found these gorgeous pics....

I have always wanted a lofty bedroom... aren't these just B.E.A.Utiful !!! Love it Love it Love it .. One of these days...lol

Thanks for stopping by xx

Bits & Bobs.....

2010-07-20T17:47:00.003+10:00

awwww look what my mate Bridgey (lol) awarded me with today..... a bonny blog award...ain't that "totally tweet"

So here's what ya have to do guys n' gals...
1. Put the Swap Sisters Bonny Blog Award on your blog.
2. Share 5 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award onto 5 other Bonny Blogs.
4. Add links to your 5 chosen Bonny Blog Winners.
5. Let them know they have been chosen to win the Swap Sisters Bonny Blog Award by leaving a comment on their blog.

kokey dokey .....

5 things about me..
1..I can switch accents from Aussie to English...and I do.. depending on who I'm with.
2..I moved to Australia (from England) when I was 10 - that's why I can switch accents !!
3..I'm double jointed in my fingers and can do a few great party tricks with them.
4..I can be a bit of a control freak, neat freak and organised freak....OH DEAR !!
5..People who say Punkin instead of Pumpkin, Wimbleton instead of Wimbledon and capsicun instead of capsicum annoy the living daylights out of me......get it right peoples !!! lol

That's about it.. okay now who to choose.... diddly doo, diddly doo...

1.. Marianne
2.. Tracey
3.. Moose & Bird
4.. Collage of Life
5.. You are my fave

Back into the swing of things now the school hols are over (again) they seem to go soooo quick don't they...?? Not to worry - the countdown's on for the next ones...

Thanks for stoppin' by....xx

He did it !!!.......

2010-07-13T18:50:00.004+10:00

Yep... Craig has just completed his first MARATHON.... That's a whopping 42.2km run. The Annual Gold Coast marathon. We all went along for the ride to support Craig - the kids and I even competed in the 5km race... YAY !!

Here is Craig before the race.......

and here he is after....

WOW what an achievement, we are all soooo proud of him. He wanted to complete the run in 3 hours and 30 mins and did it in just under - his time was 3hr 25mins, so he was very happy with that. He said it was the hardest thing (physically) he has done in his life and the last 10kms hurt big style !!!!

We stayed at Surfers Paradise for a few nights, checked out Movie World while we were there, stopped at Iluka on the way home for a few nights too - so... so far we have been loving the school holidays...

Just been chillin' today... I actually did a bit of scrappin' and finished my Christmas December Journal from last year (OMG-WOW) and I have also been making the most of the cooler weather by reading a couple of books (which I don't get to do often) Reading this one at the moment - wow this one really makes you want to belt the crap out of the bloke big style !!

Hope everyone is enjoying the school holidays !!

Looking forward to....

2010-06-27T14:40:00.008+10:00

...the return of Packed to the Rafters this week..... It's a great show - love it..

Ohhhh yes and seen as how the entire world has gone MAD on the whole VAMPIRE thing. (not mentioning any names at all) Craig & I decided to watch this last night..

it wasn't too bad.

We also watched this...

..which was better.. Really keeps you thinking - bit of a thriller type one. It was quite good.

Finished up well with our weekly grocery budget this week - did spend another $18.00 over the weekend however.. We won't need anything now though till our weekly shop next week....

So the GRAND TOTAL for the week was (drum roll) $155.16 Woooo Hooooo (Gotta be happy with that ! )

Thanks for droppin' in

Update on my weekly spending at Woolworths..

2010-06-23T18:23:00.003+10:00

OK so this afternoon I needed to grab a couple of extra things from the shops... (I knew I would have to)

I bought a 3 Lt milk, a couple of tomato's, a radish bunch, cos lettuce (that was reduced) and a green capsicum.... I spent a total of $11.61

So... this week so far I have spent a grand total of $137.16 at Woollies.. still very happy with that...what do you think. ?

Thanks for the comments by the way, its great to hear what other people spend on groceries and its great to hear lots of other peoples tips too.. thanks again.

.. And - if I happen to make another trip to the supermarket this week then I will let you know all about it..

So far, so good !!

Thanks for stoppin, by xox

P.S Hands up who heard JODI on the Today show this morning !! YAY !! ME!!
Way to go JODE !

How much do you spend on groceries a week ???

2010-06-22T15:46:00.005+10:00

I was just googling and I found that the average Aussie family of four spends around the $280 mark a week on groceries.

OK so once upon a time we (a family of four) spent around the $250 a week mark on groceries, so not far of the so called average, but yes that's what we spent almost every week...

These days we as a family shop much smarter and much more frugal - I guess that's the word...

Today we did our weekly shop and we spent $125.55.. Now the big question is "Will I need to go back to Woollies several times through the week ??" The answer is going to be almost certainly YES, but I'm certainly not going to spend an extra $125 on all the "little extras" that we always seem to need. So we must be doing something right !! ?? RIGHT ??

What are we doing right...I hear you say. Well I gotta say, firstly I am NOW a great believer in home brand stuff, obviously there are some home brand products out there that SUCK, but the majority of stuff is as good or almost as good as the "brand name" stuff.

Secondly we used to shop on the weekends, now we wait to shop through the week, because that's when the specials are on. Check out your catalogue before you go shopping.

Thirdly I'm now also a sucker for "reduced items" hey if you are going to use it fairly quick-smart then there is definitely no harm in grabbing a bargain.

Fourth.. Shop like you own a restaurant... If its on special and you use loads.. then stock your pantry (obviously don't go overboard). e.g Baked beans are a classic for us, whenever they are on sale, I grab at least 6 cans.

Another thing I think is a good thing is (whether you have to or not) - have a grocery BUDGET and really really try and stick to it.

I think another big tip is to check out the per 100g price or per kilo price or whatever it is your buying and compare brands and sizes - home brand isn't always the cheapest, sometimes "brand name" stuff is on special too !!

Lastly I think planning meals for the week is often a good thing - saves you going over your budget in a big way.

So there you go, an everyday thing that we all do (and we all have to do).. Take note next time you shop.. you never know you just might find a bargain. !!

P.S......Will I stoop to home brand toilet paper....?? hmmmmmm, I don't think so - you gotta have some luxuries right??

Catch ya later xxoo

Weekend Stuff...

2010-06-21T13:51:00.013+10:00

Spent the weekend here.....

Craig had an appointment so we decided to make a weekend of it..

Found the Martin place tv studio's and saw this guy reading the news.... (check out the coffee and water hidden under his desk)

The Fifa Soccer World Cup thingy was on at Darling Harbour so we saw Cassie Davis perform.. for all you "out-of-it" guys out there - she is a singer !! and sings "Do it again"..lol ... I have her on my ipod cause I'm just soooo HIP..

Also performing was Wes Carr... you know ... "Feels like woah"

Took the kids to the Wildlife park in Darling Harbour (cause we had free tickets)... and saw freaky stuff like this....

and this...... arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!!

Bumped into some rather cool characters on the streets of Sydney...

And ran into these guys at the Supanova 2010 Pop culture expo at Olympic Park....

So jammed packed weekend, had a lot of fun.... Got lots to do now - you know, washing etc and WHAT? ?!! I've just spent the best part of an hour doing this ..... oops catcha ya later xox

Flea Market Finds...

2010-06-06T18:11:00.007+10:00

Well this week at the local garage sales, I found a little box of games....chess, draughts, dominoes, a star wars ship (not pictured - its being played with as I type).. and Bingo etc..

It was the box inside the box that really appealed to me though..

This is an original Huntley & Palmers biscuit tin.. and the picture on the front is designed by British artist "Mabel Lucie Attwell".... SCORE !!!

Mabel Lucie Attwell’s was one of the most prolific and well-known female designers of the 20th Century. Her drawings of cheeky chubby children have won the hearts of people across the globe as they adorn everything from consumer products and books to postcards and dolls. Her talent for observing a child’s world and adapting it to adult humour has secured her a place as one of the most celebrated designers of our time and her work is just as highly regarded and sought after now, as it was in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Oh yes... I paid $2 for the lot - BARGAIN !

Head on over to Sophie's for more Flea Market Finds...

Thanks for stoppin' by...

Find of the week..

2010-05-20T14:09:00.006+10:00

Today I didn't work, instead I went to the Eisteddfod. Both James & Lucy were participating today. Lucy sang in the school choir and James' class performed "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins. They both performed really well I thought - I'm soooo very proud of them.

Afterwards I called into a second hand shop just on the off-chance I would walk in and something would jump out at me and say "BUY ME"...

I couldn't resist buying this cute little chair.. It needs a little bit of work doing to it, it needs a bit of glue here and there and probably needs a new paint job. If you look carefully you will notice the two front legs are different, but this is one of the things I just love about it.

I think I have visions of it being transformed into a shabby white piece, but for the moment this is what I'm using it for.....

..somewhere to store all my Winter scarves..... PERFECT !!

Thanks for stoppin' by xx

Welcome home Jessica Watson...

2010-05-15T19:20:00.007+10:00

Well how about Jessica Watson... she finally made it home...

Having sailed ALONE around the world in her little "pink lady" sailing boat at just 16 years of age.... What sort of accomplishment is that !!!

She really is an inspiration to us all. We watched her home-coming live on t.v. today. She handled everything remarkably well I thought. I loved her speech at the end.. I particularly loved the part where she said it felt really weird getting off her boat after spending a long 7 months trying to stay ON her boat !!! Absolutely remarkable. I can not begin to imagine what she has seen or been through during her time at sea, she is certainly braver than me.. and it's hard to believe she is only 16..

This is where she sailed......WOW..

Good on ya Jess....

You can visit Jessica's blog here..

Remember this ?????

2010-05-13T19:19:00.007+10:00

... I found this little treasure a while back.

Dad repaired it for me, as the door was falling off and it just needed a bit of tweeking here and there. I sanded it back and stained it... and what do you know - it came back to life...

BEFORE.....
and AFTER....

Looks great doesn't it?? I'm very very happy with how it turned out. Sorry it took so long for me to share..

That's all from me tonight... xox