Our Journey

OTP Project Ideas??

2008-12-28T17:19:00.001+11:00

So while I have time off work Im wanting to do a little scrapping and I thought starting with an OTP project would be good......Ive bought a cheap pine frame and am thinking I will put an ultrasound pic in it for Steve's Mum for Christmas (wont see her till mid January so have a little time lol) To the other grandkids she is Nunu and my basic idea was to decorate the frame like some of the grandmother ones you see in shops....other than that Ive got nothing lol. Any ideas or places I can check out for inspiration guys???

Merry Christmas To All :)

2008-12-26T11:45:00.002+11:00

Ok so im a day late to say Merry Christmas...but hey least I made it here :)
We had a quiet day at home yesterday, BBQ lunch with my Dad & sister, and Steve's Dad & Step-Mum. It was a nice relaxing day, and I didnt have to cook so that was really good :)
I hope everyone else is having a lovely, safe holiday :)

There hasnt really much news to tell or update on lately, plus I havent been online very much. Health wise I am doing well, my blood pressure is behaving better now. Im starting to "pop" out more now, and finding my belly gets in the way more often lol :) The doctor is a little concerned that I havent popped out much yet, so we have to keep an eye on that and maybe have another scan soon just to be sure bub is growing properly....but she did say that could just be because of the way I am carrying.

The nursery is starting to look like it should now. I ordered and received the cot and change table afew weeks ago. I decided on different ones to the photos I previously posted, so when I get the room tidied up abit more I will share some pics of everything set up. I thought putting the furniture together would be a big dose of reality for me......but this whole baby thing really only started to sink in when I started pre-washing teeny tiny baby clothes and nappies! Yikes what have I gotten myself into here!!!!

The bets have already started for boy/girl and early/late arrival. its interesting to see the different opinions people have! Whats even more interesting is in the last few months 4 of Steve's co-workers have had bubs......all girls......all on a Wednesday....how freaky is that!!! Another one is booked in to be induced next week, so it will be real interesting to see if they will break the pattern....or are all these mechanics destined to have little girls! lol Steve is not-so-secretly hoping we wont fit the pattern.......but I know he will be over the moon with his child either way :)

Anyway, thats about all the happenings around here. I finally have some time off work, I dont go back til the 5th January, so Im looking forward to being online a little more and being able to catch up with you all :)

Nothing Much

2008-10-25T19:55:00.003+11:00

Howdy all....nothing much happening this week really, but I just wanted to share thins link I found on Anthea's blog for a bit of fun :)

And here's the link to create your own Word Cloud :) http://wordle.net/
I guess I say "well" and "LOL" alot!!!

Photo Share & Update

2008-10-19T18:42:00.004+11:00

Well once again I have been slack! We went for our first ultrasound nearly two weeks ago and I have only just put the pics on the computer! LOL Oh well Here is two of the best pics we got of bubba at about 17 weeks:

All the results came back really well.....apparently bub is a little large for the dates (hmmm) and my blood pressure is a little low, but other than that everything is fabulous :) Apparently we have a wriggly thumb sucker LOL. At the moment the blood pressure is nothing concerning, just means I spend alot of time being dizzy and off balance. On the plus side tho the worst of the evening sickness has well and truely passed......but gee the days at work are getting long and warm!

So I finally let my sister talk me into some belly pics too.....altho I still feel like these should be labelled as "before" shots....I guess I am nearly half way tho so time to start capturing the moment (thats what sis says anyway). So here is me at 18 weeks:

And not to be left out.....lol.......my dork of a hubby at 18 weeks (he recons he is going out in sympathy for me!!)

So anyway thats me in a nutshell for the time being......not much else to share really....juts happy to be feeling more human again, and looking forward to afew kicks here or there :)

Hope everyone is happy and well :) catch up soon :)

Thanks :)

2008-10-04T11:04:00.004+10:00

I just wanted to pop in quickly and say a big "THANK YOU" for everyone's well wishes and congrats.....I really appreciate it all, so thanks guy :)

Well not really much to report from my corner of the world.....the weather is really starting to warm up here, which is lovely, but I am already dreading what working thru summer is going to be like!! Speaking of work, Im really needing to pull my finger out and decide if and when Im going back...the time is just flying by so quickly!!

So after having a terrible arguement with the receptionist at radiology, I am finally booked in for my first ultrasound Tuesday morning :) To say I am very nervous and excited is a big understatement and we are really looking forward to meeting bub for the first time :) and no we are not going to find out the sex......so there will be no hint dropping done lol :)

I still dont have any bump belly pics to share, to be honest at this stage I just look like my pre-gym belly, which Im not too keen to share lol....waiting and hoping for it to look like a baby belly real soon!

This week my tax return finally came in, so let the baby shopping begin :) We have been receiving quite a bit of hand-me-downs from friends and family, and I am truely touched by their generousity. But the cot and change table is one thing I wanted to pick out and buy ourselves....and I think I have finally found one that fits both what we want and the budget, I havent ordered it yet, but this is the pic from their website.

Steve's requirements were it had to be woodgrain (not white or pastel) and not too "cutesie" just incase he gets a son to sleep in it lol...I think I managed all that in this cot pretty well :)

If any Mums out there have any advice on prams it would be greatly appreciated as that will the next on my shopping list :)

Well thats it for me today. I hope everyone is happy and well and having a wonderful long weekend :) Thanks for stopping by :)

New Look For a New Start!!!

2008-09-13T13:39:00.002+10:00

Hmmm well where have I been.......for once my usually excuse of time flies, been busy etc wont work here :) I have actually been avoiding my blog for awhile now.......for good reason tho :)

Ok down to the news........Steve and I are Pregnant!!!!! Yay!!! After 13 months of trying...it has finally happened.....and I feel.....weird lol The reality of it all just hasnt set in yet....Im sure it will soon as my clothes get tighter and we get to have an ultrasound!
So we are 13 weeks now.....and for the first 3 months only told close family, just in case. But now we are over the 3 month hurdle I can finally tell everyone :) Our estimated due date is 18th March.
So far Ive had pretty consistent morning sickness (every evening just to be different lol), but am starting to feel better as each day passes now. Im already starting to wonder if belts with jeans are optional extras lol and the weight gain is...well...gaining!! LOL Afew months before we fell, my gym closed down so I am really feeling super big and lazy....but my sis is going to drag me out for regular walks now the weather is getting better to stop my whinging lol :)

Other than that we are cruising along pretty well. Steve just had a week off work.....lucky bugger! I didnt join him as I am madly trying to save as many days off as I can right now. I havent been doing much scrapping stuff....but starting to get the urge to tinker again, so thats been really good :) I am back in the land of broadband again too....Telstra finally decided they should make wireless more affordable since we cant get cable broadband here yay!!

Anyway thats me for now....I hope everyone reading is keeping happy and well....feel free to pop in and say hi when you get a chance :)

Still Here...

2008-05-18T15:10:00.002+10:00

Well this will probably be the most boring blog post ever LOL but thanks for stopping in anyway :)
Not much goin on here at all really. Busy with work and normal day to day stuff....watching the countdown get closer to my birthday and wondering where the year went already LOL.
We are going to see David Straussman (sp??) on Wednesday, my sister got us tickets and is coming too, so that should be good :) really looking forward to it.
Other than that, its same old for us here. I keep looking at my scrapping desk, but when I sit down there, nothing happens. Really in two minds about the whole thing lately, but hey, see what happens I guess.
Anyway, I hope everyone is happy and well. Thanks for popping in :)

Oh I forgot.......

2008-04-25T19:19:00.003+10:00

Im not sure how....but I forgot to mention a slight oops (blonde moment) I had recently!!

Let me start this story by saying.....at the end of June I am able to take the test for my green P's licence. For those not familiar with NSW rules.....I had my learners permit, did the 50 hours practice and passed the practical test (after about 10 years lol) and got my red P plates, which I have for 12 months, then I do another test to get my green P plates and I have them for 24 months, then another test and I get my black or full licence.

So anyway, Im not a very confident driver at all!!! But I was starting to get quietly confident that I would reach my green P's test without incident.......hmmm not to be LOL I was picking Steve up from a mates place....and reversing out of the driveway I kinda hear a crunch and kinda come to a stop.....and well here's the after pics:

Didnt even see the bloody telegraph pole at all!!!! When I heard the crunch I thought I'd clipped the bumper on the gutter!! lol drove home with images of the whole bumper hanging off!!! So anyway a new tail light and a bumper re-spray and she should be as good as new again......lol geez i felt silly.....oh well I dont park in that mate's driveway any more :)

Tagged

2008-04-25T16:45:00.002+10:00

Well I figured I should pop in and say HI and yes I am still here LOL......just not much new happening. Tuesday just passed was Steve's birthday......30!! Ouch when did we get old......somehow I still feel like a kid playing house, is that a good or bad thing?? Im not sure....but hey!

One of my mates at work turns 18 the day after my birthday....so we have a big countdown board going for him being as 18 is a pretty big deal......but that darn board is killing me!! LOL Constant reminder of the countdown to my 29th....Im not so much worried about getting old, cant stop that really......its just that I thought I would in a much different place by the time 29 rolled around but thats not to be! I mean 10 years ago I was in the same job doing the same things and at 19 it was ok because 10 years was sooooo far away and everything would be soooo different by then.......but it wasnt that far away and things arent different (other than some extra grey hair lol) ugh thats life though huh.......enough rambling......

Tomorrow I get my hair re-done....really looking forward to that, not just for the gossip and hanging out with my friend/hairdresser.....but geez this regrowth should be illegal lol!!! not sure what colour to go this time....but Im feeling some blonde might be in order :)

Ok lastly my incentive to blog......a tag from the lovely Fiona ..........
1. This is what you do, link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 random people at the bottom of your post, linking to their blog. Let each person know by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are my 7 random facts
1. I have developed an addiction to Facebook
2. Another new addiction is Smirnoff Double Black.....mmmmm yummy :)
3. I support the Roosters in the NRL
4. I have 3584 songs on my Ipod
5. I am still too scared to park my car properly
6. I backed the car into a telegraph pole and had no idea what I hit
7. I love Quentin Tarantino movies :)

Well thats my seven....and I tag anyone that hasn't played this one yet....... :)

Not Much....

2008-03-29T16:25:00.002+11:00

Just as the title says....not much going on this week really.

I finally got my MSN messenger sorted out (only been trying for afew months LOL) so if anyone is interested in adding me it's: shepos1@bigpond.com.au looking forward to chatting :)

Enjoyed a short week at work this week...only 3 days!! Ahhhh gotta love RDO's :) A full 5 days days next week will suck tho!

My rant for the week.....Telstra!!! Is it just me or are they going out of their way to p**s me off lately???? All these different passwords and logins and they wonder why I forget them! Then I ring to see if broadband is available in my area yet.....I'm told no and there is no plan of getting it, when I say that's annoying and not good service I am told I should have thought of that before I moved here!!!! Ummmm yeah that makes sense.....especially since before we moved telstra told me I could get broadband here!!! Ugh anyway.....

So this week I started my new program at the gym.....little achy today but nothing drastic yet. they did warn me it might take till Sunday to really feel sore.....yippee something to look forward to!! LOL Oh well as they say no pain no gain right??!! I am very happy with the weight I have lost so far so this is good :)

Lastly I just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou to Cindy for running all over town trying to find some stupid miniature boxing gloves for me!! LOL (background info here: some mates have b'days coming up, one being an 18th, and I wanted to get them all those miniature Lonsdale boxing gloves to hang over the rear view mirrors in colours to match their cars but do you think I can find the things anywhere???? No ofcourse not!! These boys are brand snobs but at this rate they will just have to deal with whatever I find on ebay or nothing at all!! LOL)

Well thats me for now........thanks for stopping by :)

Where Have I Been......

2008-03-23T21:21:00.002+11:00

.....hmmm I have absolutely no idea!!! Life's been hectic and I have nothing to show for it!! LOL

Originally I went to ground because we were buying a house and that kind of consumed every moment. Well the house ended up falling thru.....we got a building inspection done and lets just say if the deal didn't fall thru the floor would have!! LOL Structurally sound it was not!! But oh wow was it cute......such a gorgeous little house.*sigh* it just wasnt to be I guess but thats the way these things go sometimes. I would still love to own a house (or atleast a mortgage) one day, but for now we are casually looking but trying to sort out afew other things.

Scrapping....I have afew pages in various states, but none finished yet......none of them seem to be working out right for me and Im just not happy with them....so frustrating!!

Work......it's yeah the usual.....ups and downs.....as always with me!

Well anyway just thought i better pop in and say yes Im alive and yes Im doing ok......and unfortunately no we still dont have any news to share *sigh* maybe one day it will be our turn....seems lately everyone around me is having a turn whether they meant to or not....its gotta be my turn soon right??!! Sorry if I got cripitic but I think you know what I mean ;)

Anyway, hope everyone is having a lovely, safe and happy Easter :)

hugs to you all :)

Stupid Computer!!

2008-01-29T13:44:00.000+11:00

Well I got the stupid blog fixed!! Tried to edit my stuff at work and got it first time! Ahhhh feel better now :)
Thanks for our help anyway Cindy :)

How did I break my blog???

2008-01-28T18:20:00.000+11:00

Well i hope someone techie reads my blog cos I have no idea what Ive done this time!!! LOL
All I wanted to do was change some of the links on the the right hand lists and delete the weather thingy..... so i go into the edit screen and click edit for the thing I want but when the new screen comes up it doesnt have the edit/delete button next to the persons name. And when I try to the delete the weather thing i hit delete and it just sits there doing nothing!! Ugh stupid thing......Ive had enough Im going to scrap instead. If anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated :)

Yay Me!!

2008-01-10T22:58:00.000+11:00

Well first for the boring stuff....back at work this week, not as bad as I thought it would be but not totally fantastic either......I was just getting used to being at home LOL oh well thats life.

So anyway this week I shocked the s**t out of myself and I scrapped!! Woohoo!! Its great to be back LOL. Im really suprised with this, it all just fell together and I didnt spend hours agonising over each little part of it....stress-free scrapping I love it!! So this was a challenge on Scrapbook Dreamer do a scraplift of a chosen member (maybe thats why it fell together so well??)

These pics are the first of my wedding photos I have scrapped taken by the professional photographer.......had to take a very deep breath when I cropped them! LOL Steve was very pleased when it was finished so that makes me feel better about doing more of them in the future.

Thought I might include another share here........now that my scrap desk is all cleaned, organised and functional again, here's where I spend alot of time now :)

My scrap room/office is a smallish alcove between the lounge room and kitchen. It was a real selling point on this house because I never liked scrapping in a spare bedroom. This way I don't feel like I am hiding away at the other end of the house. And I don't really have to stop scrapping to cook dinner!! :)

Well thats all for today. I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend :)

Random

2008-01-04T11:20:00.000+11:00

Handy hint for anyone with fish tanks...........don't do the vacuuming, dusting, mopping etc then decide that night to do a full water change on all three tanks!!!! Bugger!!! My poor house was soooooo nice and clean, well for afew hours anyway LOL Atleast the tanks look pretty now and all my little babies seem to be happy :)

So it's the last day of my Christmas break....back to work on Monday. Really not looking forward to that at all. I'm about to hit 10 years of being at the same place doing the same thing and Im over it! I just don't know that there is much I can do about it though. I don't really have any skills in any other area and Im pretty sure anyone interviewing me would suspect Im going to start a family soon so I guess I would be seen as a liability. The only thing I can think of is hope I get pregnant soon, but even then I will not be able to be a SAHM unless we win lotto.

Hmm thats about it today. Happy Friday to all :)

PS. Scrapbooking girls.......since Ive been out of the loop awhile, what's good in the way of forum/communities these days?? Thank s :)

2008-01-01T15:01:00.000+11:00

Here is our new obsession.......our fish :)

Since the labels didn't show very well.........we have baby tank at the top, then Lounge Tank and Dining Tank.

The merged pic left side: Convict, Electric Blue, Bristle Nose Catfish, Burnese Catfish, Venestus, Baby Chilumba.

The merged pic right side: Clown Loach, Kadanga, Green Severum, Pictus Catfish, Mummy Chilumba with mouthful, Daddy Chilumba.

Who Stole 2007???

2007-12-31T14:52:00.000+11:00

I blinked......it's gone (well nearly!)
I can't beleive it's been almost a year since I posted here! Makes me wonder if anyone will find I'm here again! LOL
Anyway, reading back thru my life that was I need a quick catch up....points style me thinks:

That house afew posts down....still livin in it & lovin it.......except no broadband story of my life nice house sucky internet.
Since the net bites I'm trying to streamline this blog abit.....if it loads faster I might be more inclined to use it.
Second attempt I got my driver's licence....so thats been fun to say the least! Im definately not a good driver but I do ok and have not hit anything major yet (gutters are not major right??) And good to my promise to Steve once I was driving afew months we traded my lovely Astra on a Commodore.....very big and very red lol!
Steve is still at Holden....he is workshop foreman now (not sure if I mentioned that earlier) and has his sights set on service manager....very proud of him :)
I'm still at Car Cosmetics doing the signwriting thing.......very much over it tho. March 2008 will be 10 years there ouch!!
So my work life leads me to another little update......no Im not pregnant....but we are trying....don't tell anyone ok lol. I officially went off the pill at the end of June...so yeah we will see what happens. Keeping it fairly low key right now....don't want everyone asking "did it happen yet??" every time they see me. Fingers crossed 2008 will be our year :)
Absolutely nothing to report for scrapbooking....don't ask what ive been doing cos honestly I have no idea what so ever lol I was busy tho :) I spent the morning digging my desk out from a pile of crap so we will see how that goes.
Christmas this year i decided to be brave and host it here......not a big one tho just six of us and that was plenty!! We had a lovely quiet and relaxed day so that was good.
Steve & I have discovered a new obsession......fish! (No not for dinner!) We started with one tank and its all gone pear shaped from there.......we now have 2 four foot tanks and a two foot grow out tank for the babies. I will share some pics in my next post.

Well that's about all I can think of for now......I'm sure there was more but hey that will have to do.

To anyone who does stop by.......thanks for thinking of us.....and I won't leave it another year for the next update :)

Bugger :(

2007-02-01T16:47:00.000+11:00

Well I tried to prepare for the worst.......but Im disappointed with myself. I failed the driving test :( Oh well as Steve says....call it experience and just keep practising. The real bugger is now my learners have expired and I have to wait til next Saturday to sit the computer test again...so no driving til then :( Fingers crossed I can pass the stupid computer one again! LOL One good thing, since I tried to get my P's I dont have to do the whole 50 hours in the log book again!!! Yippee!!!! Thats one big plus anyway :)

Anyway, its Thursday arvo, Im at work waiting for a job to finish printing so I can head home and finish packing.....honestly why do I own soooo much crap!! LOL Im so excited about moving I cant wait til this time tomorrow when we should be signing the lease!!! Only trouble.......the clouds are looming out there and rain and storms are forecast all weekend!! :( My Dad always said the best way to break the drought was for me to move!!! LOL Sick humour!! So again its fingers crossed and Im off to buy some tarps just in case!

Hope everyone has had a good week. Enjoy your weekend and I will be back sometime next week hopefully with pics of my new scrapping/computer room!!! Woohoo!!!!

Bye for now :)

2007-01-27T15:38:00.000+11:00

Justing popping in real quick while Im meant to be paying the bills. My computer is getting packed up tonight.....so I wont be online for about a week depending how smoothly the move goes :)

If I get a chance at work I will stop in and let you all know how my test goes on Tuesday.

Until next week, I hope you all are having a fabulous long weekend....and if anyone wants to finish my packing and cleaning for me.....please get your butts over here!! LOL

Sometimes things go right :)

2007-01-21T17:51:00.000+11:00

Wow what a week!!

My driving is going REALLY well....Im even reversing into the garage without Steve telling my what to do.....never thought I would see the day that I would actually have confidence driving and enjoy it :) Still a little nervous about the test, but hopefully my professional lessons this week will help with that.

We found a house!! Only been seriously looking for about a week!! Did a walkthru on Tuesday.....applied wednesday....got accepted Friday!!! Yippee!!!!

So this will be our little home as of 2nd February!!! Woohoo!!!! I hate this wating part.....its ours but we cant get in it yet...it will be soooo worth the wait tho :) Its got 3 bedrooms, 3-way bathroom, seperate lounge/dining, plus what the lady showing us thru called an "i-dont-know" room between the kitchen and lounge.....I took one look and said "omg its a scrapping/computer room"!!! So now we dont even have to scarifice a bedroom to scrap and I can be right in the main part of the house!! Only down side is no patio in the backyard but we are planning to ask the landlord to split the cost of putting one in for us :)

So just when I thought the week couldnt get much better, I logged into Embellished and OMG OMG OMG I won the monthly sketch challenge for my "Funny Faces" layout!!! I won a $20 voucher at Embellished!! How unreal is that!! I cant beleive a page I made actually won something!! Hehehehe

Well thats my week.......thanks for sharing it with me :)

PS Cindy I havent forgotten the application tape for you.....just havent had a chance to get to the post office yet.

Busy, and little nervous :(

2007-01-14T12:06:00.000+11:00

As always work is totally flat out right now.....and it has been soooo hot in the shed.....I wonder if Ive been sweating off some excess kilos though LOL

No scrapping this week....just been too damn hot to want to sit in the office :(

Some good news....the house hunting has officially started!!! Turns out our tax debt was only half what I was expecting, so Ive been speding ages searching the real estate websites. Not a huge amount around at the moment....we probably just got beaten by the Uni crowd. But we do have two appointments this week for look-thrus. Both are three bedroom homes a little way out of town.....I cant wait!! Fingers crossed atleast one of them will be just what we are looking for :)

Now the nervous news.....as some of you know I cant drive. Well hopefully that is to be a thing of the past!! Im making Steve give me lessons every day now for atleast an hour, plus I have my first ever professional lesson on 23rd january!! Eeeek!! And just to top it all off my learners license expires on the 31st january.....so I actually got up the nerve to book myself in for my driving test on 30th january!! OMG!! Lucky I have the house hunting to distract me from the license count down!! (insert nervous laugh here) Ive been doing pretty good tho and I think Steve is pretty impressed with my progress too :)

Quick update on my sis....she's back at work and feeling fine :)

Im sure there was more I was going to ramble on about, but I think that will do for now.

Thanks for stopping by....feel free to say hi :)

back to work :(

2007-01-06T14:45:00.000+11:00

Can someone please explain to me why I missed the place???? Ive been back 4 days and already it feels like I never had a break :( I guess its always the way though..... So Friday I had to put stripes right over a Lotus Elise.....all the boys drooled at the bloody thing and all I wanted to do was kick it very hard!! LOL I cant unerstand the appeal of these little "sports" cars.

This is basically what I had to do except my stripes were black.

The thing sat so bloody low to the ground I felt like my back and knees will never be the same again......still aching today too :( Not only did I have a sucky car to work on, I was having one of those days where nothing I touched would work properly....so frustrating!!! Thank god for the weekend!! LOL

So I have another page to share, following my scrapping resolution......this is another one done for a sketch challenge. This one was held by the lovely ladies at Embellished. More pics of my crazy hubby of course :) Im really enjoying these sketch challenges, and Im hopng to get involved in some different challenge and dare type things too this year. I find it soooo much easier to sit down and scrap if I have some sort of direction to start with.

Ive also discovered yahoo radio...even easier to get lost in a world of scrapping when I have my own personalised radio station going LOL Much to Steve's disgust when The Doors starts blarring!! LOL

Thursday I got a call from my sister's partner. Early that morning they had made a quick dash to casualty (not usual for them). Finally the hospital decided Elaine needed more than just pain killers and being sent home. So later in the day she was minus her appendix and very very groggy!! LOL The operation went well and she should be going home today. Hopefully this will be the end of her mysterious stomach pains and lose of appetite.

Well thats it from me for another day. Hope veryone had a fabulous new years :) Thanks for stopping by.

I love holidays :)

2006-12-29T08:08:00.000+11:00

Finally I have another page to share with you all :) My New Years scrapping resolution is to try to scrap more "everyday" pics, rather than wait for special occassions. So I did this page yesterday, with the help of a sketch challenge on EMM

Im having problems with my log in there tho so I couldnt enter the competition, but hey I never win those things anyway! LOL

Im actually pretty happy with how it turned out....and Im really loving these Crate Papers at the moment :)

Well its my last official day off...least I have the long weekend before I have to ease myself into work again. Towards the end of the year I was getting very overprotective and too involved with my work. In my eight years there I have never seen the control freak side of myself like that towards my job and it started to scare me! I was actually worried I wouldnt be able to let go of the place this week (the shop is still open) but Ive done really well. I havent called in to check on anything even once! :) So Im going to try my hardest to go back to the old saying of "work for a living, not living for work". The boss was freaking out about the amount of overtime he had to pay me......so goodbye overtime!! The world will not stop turning if I dont get everything done in one day....thats what Im trying to tell myself anyway! But geez the money was good! LOL Its just a shed - its just a job - its not my life - its not what should be important to me!!! Ahhhh yeah pep talk to self over now! LOL

So you already know I am busting something bad to move out of this flat......well looks like that will have to wait awhile now :( Turns out the tax man wants his bloody money by the end of March.....for some reason I was sure we had till September....oh well wishful thinking I guess!! Its a real bummer cos I found a handful of nice houses online available to rent now...I think I better stay away from real estate sites for awhile!! LOL

Steve has really been enjoying me having holidays. He gets home to a clean house, doesnt have to wait til 7 or 8pm for me to get home, and I dont mind cooking dinner every night! I told him hurry up and get a pay rise so I can quit my job!! LOL yeah right!!

So as usual we have no plans for new years eve.......might go to the pub for a couple of quiet drinks but thats about it. Found out yesterday these new workplace laws do effect me.......I dont get leave loading paid unless I have 5 consecutive days off!! Cos of the public holidays I only took 3 days off......and ofcourse no bloody overtime either!! LOL Base wage sucks!! LOL What was I saying before about no more overtime???? Hmmmm......

Anyway I think Ive rambled on enough for one day :)

Thanks for reading, have a wonderful new years eve, dont get too drunk :) and all the best for 2007

Holidays

2006-12-24T14:00:00.000+11:00

Phew finally the working year is over for me :) I only have till 2nd January off work, and already it feels like the time is just flying by :( Maybe it will feel more like a holiday when Steve has to go off to work on Wednesday and I dont hehehehe

So we finally have plans for Xmas.....nothing like leaving it till the last minute huh! My MIL is in town (staying at Steve's sisters place) so atleast we dont have to travel back up to her place. Tonight we are off to SIL's place for a cards night.....should be interesting! I have a feeling my neice will be winning all my money! LOL I never was very good at cards. Then its back up to SIL's place for Xmas lunch...apparently she has a total pig-out planned....oh well there goes the diet again! Tuesday will be a day of recovering in front of the cricket.

Well I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas and Santa is good to you all :)

New Look

2006-12-16T15:43:00.000+11:00

I felt like something a little brighter...plus I wanted to play with the slider photo thingy!!
Im feeling a little limited by the templates blogger has, but hey this will work for now...till I get sick of it again!! LOL

Home Again

2006-12-15T17:39:00.000+11:00

Well my step-FIL held on til Sunday night. He passed away quietly with my MIL at his bedside telling him how much she loved him.

Steve and I were able to get Wed, Thurs and Friday off work. So we drove to MILs place Wednesday morning. The service was held on Thursday at the most beautiful memorial gardens I have ever seen (Palmdale if anyone knows the area). Very emotional day, but the service itself was very well done and very much a celebration of his life.......really nicely done.
On a more casual note, last night we were all invited to the Christmas Party at the village my MIL lives in. My SIL, her hubby and her 3 gorgeous girls came along too......what a hoot!!! Imagine three blonde haired, blue eyed, under 5yrs girls treating their Uncle Steve like a personal jungle gym!! LOL I will post the pics when my SIL emails them. DH and I dont have a lot to do with young kids most of the time, but these three were just fascinated with him!! So adorable to watch them follow him round......really made me think what it would be like ot have some of our own.........

On our way home this morning we stopped at Tuggerah (sp?) Westfeild for lunch....hehehe I found a book sale!! 5 books for $80!! I was very pleased with that! LOL

Our desire to move has stepped up a few notches after the weekend. First I woke very early Sunday morning to breaking glass (not ours thankfully), someone moaning in pain, and a face peering in my bedroom window! That was freaky enough...but later in the day the owner of the broken window got home and he was one pissed off guy!! Turns out his mate got home early from the pub and let himself in...thru the window. So anyway our neighbour is not a small guy, and neither are his mates. The yelling starts, then the punching, then the throwing furniture off the balcony, then trying the throw other guys off the balcony! At that point I rang the cops (I have them on speed dial now thanks to my neighbours, how sad is that!!) I was impressed with how quick they showed up. After more yelling and general carrying on, all the guys were taken to either the police station or the hospital (depending on blood loss). After all that was over, new neighbours in the flats behind ours decide its their turn!! Honestly I just dont belong in this neighbourhood at all!! I mean Steve and I have not had any screaming domestics, the cops have never been called on us once, and none of our mates have jumped thru our windows!!! I am totally over this place!! Maybe this weekend will be quieter.......

Life is a precious thing

2006-12-08T21:21:00.000+11:00

Well I dont really have much to blog about this week. Im just sitting here home alone (Steve is at the pub letting off steam with his workmates) and I just got a call from my SIL......

My MIL's partner has been fighting a very long battle with cancer....and looks like there is not much fight left in him. Last weekend he had to go from home care into full time hospital care. Tonight my SIL rang to say he had taken a very bad turn and the doctors dont expect him to last till morning. We have all known "that" phone call could come at any time, probably sooner than later.....and honestly I thought I was ready for it. But i guess thats not something anyone can be ready for as such. I just feel so shaken and helpless right now. My MIL lives about 4 hours away on her own and I just feel terrible sitting here right now. I dont quite know how to explain it and I know Im rambling on but I just needed to vent a little. Well thanks for listening.

New MSN

2006-12-01T22:52:00.000+11:00

Ahhh aint computers grand!! Ive just discovered somehow I managed to loose my old MSN account and my whole contact list!! Agggh Bugger :( So anyway Ive started up a new one (the username is in my profile) but I cant chat to any of you till you add me :( please save me from talking to myself!! LOL

Time Flies.....

2006-12-01T21:06:00.000+11:00

Wow honestly I didnt realise it had been that long since I blogged!! LOL oopsy

Things have been pretty normal here......still working long hours and still enjoying the overtime pay! Ive finally got a "helper"....he is a first year apprentice and has only been with us four days so far and yet he seems to think he can do everything already.......and yet I have never seen such a crooked line cut with a ruler!! On his first day (tuesday) during his first hour he crashed a car too....what a way to impress the boss when you are still on a one month trial huh!! Its hard to get good help sometimes! LOL

Everything is going great with me and Steve. Im off my meds and feeling really good about everything :) now if only I could get rid of the night prowls I will be very happy!!

Ive started the fun of house-hunting. We are hoping to move in March...thats the soonest we can both get time off....but I figure no harm in browsing now :)

Im finally on broadband!! Geez I had no idea what I was missing its great!! Ive been offline for about a month tho cos the home pc decided to be a pain and get close to death! Luckily we have a mate who works in IT and he got it running good as new again for us.

I was also wanting to pick the brains of anyone who still visits my blog.......Ive just gotten Photoshop 7 and its quite different to what Im used to, do any of you have some pointers or sites that would teach me abit about it??? Also Im trying to be really good with my money and work out (and hopefully stick to) a weekly budget. I have Excel but Im not real familar with it...any ideas on that one at all??

Hope everyone out there is happy and well......Cindy Ive got a nice collection of vinyl set aside for you...will add afew more colours and get that mailed away for you soon :)

Hugs
Helen

Tagged - Weird Me :)

2006-09-16T13:06:00.000+10:00

Tagged by Cindy :)

List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Dont forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

First I will Tag: Mel, Kellie, Fiona, Lee and Karen

Now weird things about myself:

1. I can't sit straight at a computer......i have to have my legs up on another chair or curled up under me......even at work (which gets funny looks from customers)

2. I have to put my jewellery on in the same order every morning and take it off int he reverse order every night. If I dont I feel funny all day.

3. I cant finish eating with my drink not finished.....I always finish my drink first even if Im not thirsty.

4. Whenever I go up or down stairs I have to count them in my head.

5. When I cut my thumb at work I was disappointed it didnt leave a bigger scar.

Been Awhile

2006-09-10T15:37:00.000+10:00

Well its still absolutely flat out at work....and the boss still doesnt see the need to hire a helper for me any time soon....but hey cant complain with the overtime pay I guess.

Everything at home is still cruising along nicely. Our plans to move have been put off for awhile....Steve and I both ended up with a tax debt this year thanks to the joys of HECS. Oh well it will be nice to get that debt out of the way atleast.

On the up side Ive started scrapping again!! Yippee!!! Ive pretty much taken over the dinning table again, cos I just hate the spare room here.

Went to my Grandfathers 90th birthday the other weekend....man for 90 he is looking better than I thought he would. We dont see that side of the family much so it was real nice to catch up.

Since Im full of exciting news this week I will just leave you with a pic of me at work (since thats all I seem to do at the moment!! LOL) In front of me is the printer/cutter I use to make signs and the shelves behind me are full of the vinyls. Exciting huh!

Its always something

2006-08-06T16:37:00.000+10:00

Hmmm work this week......well it actually went better than I thought it would!! Ive had a few "creative differences" with one of the bosses. I just dont like being told how to do my job by someone who cant do my job!! LOL I know Im a stubborn little s**t sometimes! hehehehe Ive been so totally busy all week....and I foresee alot of overtime in my future....least its good money I guess. Im sure it will all work out ok if I can just convince them that things take time and I cant meet my deadlines while running around answering phones all day....seems pretty simple to me!!

My SMIL has been able to leave the rehab centre for short day trips....we went to see her today but she slept right thru our visit! LOL My FIL says she is doing alot better and most importantly is in much better spirits now she is closer to home! :)

This flat just seems to want to bug me more and more everyday. Once again I cant do laundry....apparently the leaking problem was fixed after three plumbers came round thru the week.....but last night the downstairs neighbour is on my doorstep again saying the flooding is worse than ever!!! AGH!!!!! So I left a less-than-nice message on the real estate message bank and spent the morning at Steves Dads place doing washing...such a pain in the butt! Ive decided not to pay my rent this week.....that might hurry them up abit...plus it makes me feel better! LOL And then last night we ended up calling the cops to get our neighbours to be quiet! I mean honestly why turn the music right up then sit in the bedroom (which shares a wall with my bedroom) and yell over the music!! I must say it was rather funny tho...we could hear everything they were saying, things like "omg like you look so hot in that" "omg like did you see how hot he looked yesterday" "omg I wish my boobs looked like your boobs" "omg Im so like drunk" All I could think was omg like I wish I could move!!! LOL

Quick question for any scrapbookers who read this.......where on earth can I get that archival spray stuff for preserving newspaper????

Well thats my week.....happiness and health to you all :)

Phew what a week!!

2006-07-30T17:15:00.000+10:00

OK I will start with the good news and go from there!

My Step-MIL finally got a bed in the rehab centre here at Bathurst.....she came back from Sydney on Wednesday. No one is sure how much longer the rehab will take but atleast she is closer to home and is slowly recovering.......fingers crossed she will have no more relapses and will be back home with FIL very soon!

Im trying yet another cream for my eyes and so far so good......I dont look quite so flakey now!! LOL

As a farwell gift from my old boss, she is buying me a voucher at my local scrapbook shop....Im not sure how much she is going to spend.....but 8 years service has got to be worth something decent right??? So a guilt free shopping spree will hopefully be enough to kick me out of this funk! I have started reading my scrap mags again and have been sitting at my desk just playing with all my pretty stuff.....so I think Im nearly ready to get back into it!!

Well the business I work for changed hands on Thursday (Friday being the first day of the new boss) and I think it would be an understatment at this point to say I am not coping well. I work at a very small company (only about 3 employees and 2 bosses) and after having a few "altercations" with co-workers over the years I never realised that the husband and wife (old bosses) were really the only ones on my side....so Im already left feeling very alone :(

Without rambling and boring you too much I need a little more of a rant about work......
I guess in a way its bound to have an adjustment period for all of us......and I suppose its a bit of a blow to the ego to go from being near the top of the food chain to totally out of the loop. The new boss is actually one of my co-workers and his BIL, with his sister coming in part time....its already been made no secret that his family have a strong dislike to me and already I am feeling like I am being shoved out the door. I love my job but at the end of the day I dont need to put up with anyones crap and I dont need to let people make me feel inferior. Ive spent all weekend trying so hard to not worry about it and boost myself up to whatever might be waiting for me next week......I have some long service owning so it is comforting to know I wont be totally broke if walking out is the only option I can find.

Ok thats enough from me...I need to go do laundry in the bathroom sink!! LOL Apparently my washer has been flooding the flat downstairs so I cant use it till the plumber comes next week! LOL Poor people downstairs but I just couldnt help but laugh!! LOL

Randomising......

2006-07-23T17:24:00.000+10:00

Nothing much to report lately...other than I havent been near the pc in what feels like ages....obviously! LOL So Im going to adopt the ever popular point form here so I dont rabbit on too much LOL yeah right.....

ATM my life consists of work, spend time with hubby, housework, sleep, back to work....geez I dont know how I handle all that excitement!!
On the ultimate plus side things are totally fabulous between me and DH and I really dont see that ever changing (wow it feels good to be able to say that)
got an invite to DH's 10 year high school reunion......holy crap when did we get old!!! LOL
so i havent scrapped in I dont know how long.....just havent had the itch to for awhile....but I think I am coming out of that funk now.....
We are hoping to move next month.....to a house instead of a shoebox...and hopefully we will get a second computer so DH can play games etc and I can scrap and keep up with everyone online :) yippee!!
The new bosses take over at the end of this week.....Im really worried, scared, freaking out...I dont really think it will be that bad but I am really really not good with change!!
Anyone out there got a good remedy for excema (sp??). I used to only get it around my neck and I fould a great dermacream for it......but now it all over my eyes....seriously people I look like a freak HELP ME!!! so far no creams are working...if anyhting they have made it worse and I really cant afford any treatments right now....
So my dad rings this week and I havent heard from him since May (yes we live in the same town!!) and he's smashed his car AGAIN!! Same thing......he parked it facing down the hill of his driveway...its an automatic and he left it in drive...and so it drove off on its own!!! OMG how does he do that twice in like 6 months!!! honestly with genes like that its not suprising I have so many blonde moments.
Anyway, my Dad is ringing not to see how I am or how things are with us now or anything like that....he wants Steves advice on some cars he found online (since DH works for Holden) anyway Steve says what he thinks and which would be the best car.....and all Dad can say is no his mate says this that and the other and wont listen....why even ask for advice! AGH!
My Dr wants to take me off my meds when they run out next (anti-depressants) and Im just not sure about it....I mean how do I know its the right time??? The Dr says since I feel fine but am sleping too much its time to off them......but what if its because of them that I am feeling happier now??? I would love to not feel so lethargic allt he time though
for any praying types out there......could you keep my step-MIL in your prayers....she has been stuck in hospital for about 5 weeks now and the docs still dont know whats wrong.....she lost feeling in the lower half of her body and has suspected spinal cord damage but we dont know how. Latest news from my FIL was her physio is going well and she can sit up and take afew steps but is still not out of the woods.
well i think thats it......i managed alot more points than I thought.....hmm maybe I have been busy!! LOL

I hope you are all happy and well :)

Still here....just

2006-06-13T14:36:00.000+10:00

Ok so its been forever again since I posted....sorry folks.....but honestly nothing much is happening.

Afew congrats to send out.....
* gorgeous Miss Cindy and her DH Elliot have just announced the birth of a healthy and happy little boy..Kade.....congrats guys!
* my dear friend Chantel (who Ive known all my life) contacted me out of the blue last month....I hadnt heard from her in ages.......she and Simon are engaged!! Cant wait to see you get hitched girl!!

Well our holiday to Merimbula was bloody fantastic......it rained most of the time....but we made the most of it anyway. For my birthday on Monday Steve arranged an hour long senic flight in a little Cessna (I think it was more for him than me tho!!) OMG I spent the whole time totally s**t-scared but I toally loved it too! The ocean and cliffs were sooooo gorgeous from up there, but the wind kept jolting the plane around and I am so not good with heights LOL. I even went for a game of golf with Steve (yes in the rain!!) Geez Im a good wife!! LOL Anyway I have heaps of pics but they are still on the camera....will share some asap.

So back at work a week and a day now.....and it feels like I never left.....I dont think thats a good thing!! Looks like the business I work for is going to be taken over at the end of the month.....so I have been kept flat out trying to get my department sorted out for that. Im still undecided if this will be a good or bad thing....will just have to wait and see.

On the home front.....everything is still going really well with Steve and I. The holiday was just what we needed. Just to able to get away from the daily stuff and really focus on us and where we each see our future heading.

Anyway my lunch break is well and truely over so I better get back to it.
Hope everyone is happy and well! :)

Holiday Time!!

2006-05-26T21:24:00.000+10:00

Woohoo its finally here.........this last week went sooooo sloooow! But its finally Friday and tomorrow we are off to Merimbula for a week. I cant even remember the last time we had a proper holiday like this! LOL Anyway Im just taking a quick break from packing so I will post more when we get home.......until then....I shall be thinking of you all while Im enjoying a relaxing spa and glass of bubbly!! Heheheheh

Home Alone

2006-05-02T12:03:00.000+10:00

Well I got to work on Monday and my "to do" list was still empty, so by lunchtime the bos sent me home! Woohoo! I spent the arvo cleaning the house (very overdue!). Rang work just before closing and still nothing for me to do, so here I am again today with no housework left to do, double woohoo!!

So many things I could be spending my day doing.......but instead I decided to fool around with getting a banner on here. Finally got something that didnt fill a whole screen LOL. It still looks a little tacky but Im sick of playing with it so this will do for now!

Ugh its so freaking cold here today. Im currently snuggled up at the puter with my ugg boots and blankie LOL Im such a bogan sometimes :) Im really starting to regret removing the wall heater in our flat just so I would have room for another bookshelf!! Damn bookshelf cant keep me warm!! Oh well just another excuse to move again I guess.

Ah what an exciting life I lead! LOL Hmm feels like lunch time...catch you all later :)

I am still here

2006-04-30T16:30:00.000+10:00

Wow it feels like forever since Ive been on the computer......I guess I went and got a life! LOL Hmmm what to catch up on......
* Went out last weekend for Steves birthday......had a great night just the two of us playing pool and the pokies.....even won $100 so a free night out! Bargain!

* Hit the club Friday night with one of Steve's mechanics and his wife......won another $125!! Bought a lotto ticket on Saturday! LOL

* Work has been soooo busy lately then all of a sudden I have no outstanding jobs left. So the boss said show up Monday and if nothing happens maybe I can have some time off......woohoo!! So much I want to catch up on around the house.....and scraping ofcourse.

* Finally got the Robbie Williams CD........wasnt much of a fan of his earlier stuff, but wow this one is great!!

* Bumped into some friends in town yesterday that we have not seen in years....turns out they have moved back to town so it was fabulous to catch up with them again.

* Any Stephen King fans......we saw the new "Dreamcatcher" movie last night......OMG! It is fabulous!!! And pretty close to the book too....well worth watching I recon.

* Finally booked our accomodation for our week in Merimbula. Two bedroom apartment with a balcony overlooking the water, spa bath and pay TV.....ooooh yeah I cant wait!!!

Well thats it for me this week......thanks to anyone who bothered to read this far!! LOL
Feel free to pop in and say hi........keep safe and well.

(PS To my anonymous "guess who" commenter.......is that you Diane or maybe Jen??? If so own up and say hi properly girl!!)

???

2006-04-15T17:19:00.000+10:00

Honestly, why must I think up a title for every post??? Im doing well just to remember to leave a post!! LOL Obviously Im not feeling too creative today.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments about my poor thumb. Finally I have it all unbandaged and I can still bend it!! Yippee! Plus I still have feeling in the tip of it so thats good. Its still numb around where the cut was but hopefully that will pass......but really Im not that worried, it could have been alot worse! LOL Silly me!!

Steve seems to be settling in to his new job pretty well, although he wasnt off to a great start when he had to take a day off sick this week. Poor thing brought a horrid cold back from Sydney with him on the weekend.......and being the lovely hubby that he is he kindly shared his germs with me. I struggled thru the week at work cos I was real busy, but in the end had to go home at lunch on Thursday. So I guess Im in for another busy week next week with catching up and only 4 days......sometimes I really wish it would just slow down for abit....atleast we are having a week away at the end of May (thank god!!)
Since I never seem to have any pics to show off I thought I would share these two of the kitty we adopted for a night. We found her out on our balcony one evening so we took her in and fed her. Since we dont have permission for pets, we put her out at bedtime and unfortunately have not seen her since :( Ive rung the real estate and we are now just waiting to here if we are allowed a kitten of our own. If not, I am trying to convince Steve we need to move again! LOL

Thanks for all your encouragement on my Sydney Swans project. I am still finding it very daunting. Ive started reading up on different websites to learn more about them, so hopefully that will help. I have also printed up some grid pages to sketches on....way too organised for me but Im worried about ruining things so I want everything planned before I start!!

I finally rented out the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory........very funny and well done....but nothing will beat the original :) I also saw Madagascar......omg sooooo funny!! Dare I say even better than Shrek!!

Got my current issue of SC today. I have only had a quick flick thru so far....but congrats to Kelley on another gorgeous page of Alicia published!!

Well thats us for another week. Nothing much planned for the long weekend. Steve bought V8 Supercars 3 for Xbox today, so I might take some quiet time to start my page sketches.

Until next time......have a wonderful Easter and stay happy and healthy everyone :)

Ouch!

2006-04-02T17:16:00.000+10:00

Yup its been awhile again........but I have a good excuse....honest!!
Apart from being busy with all the usual day to day stuff......Ive been doing a heap of overtime at work lately.
Last Friday night I was working back and got a little careless with my knife :( I was cutting a sign and slipped straight off the ruler and cut thru my thumb!! It hurt soooo bad and I got blood everywhere, including on my boss while he tried to bandage me up. I started to feel sick and dizzy so Steve took me out to the doctors......no stitches or nerve damage thank god but I did have to have a tetnus needle (gross I HATE needles) and I got three of those sterie strip thingies. I go back on Manday arvo and have the bandaging removed (atleast I hope it will come off) Ive been so damn uncoordinated this past week (yes more than normal!! LOL). Thankfully its my left hand but I never realised how much I actually used my left thumb!! LOL hopefully I will be left with a pretty cool scar to show off :)
With my thumb all bandaged up, I havent been able to do any scrapping, but I do have the Swans stuff for the pages Im doing for my mother-in-law and her partner. Im not real sure what Ive gotten myself in for here! I kinda thought afew double pages and maybe an altered canvas.......well I was very wrong!! She showed up with a 12 x 12 album and I think I will need some re-fills too! Not only do I have a stack of photos, but they have bought just about every Melbourne and Sydney newspaper in the week leading up to the final and the week or so after!! So they spent an hour or so going thru it all telling me which were the important articles and pics to use (pretty much all of them!) and while explaining the history of the team and how important winning the final was my MIL's partner got a little teary eyed........so now Im really worried that I wont be able to do his precious memories justice!! YIKES!! Any advice would be much appreciated guys! :)
On to some fabulous wonderful news.........tomorrow Steve starts a new job!!!!! He has accepted a promotion to foreman of his work shop. He is pretty excited and nervous about it at the moment and I am just so darn proud of him :)
Anyway thats my life for now.
Hope you all are happy and well....thanks for stopping by :)

Tagged :)

2006-03-15T18:30:00.000+11:00

Thanks for the tag Mel.....this was a fun one!

What scrapbook lines/products, etc. do you dislike?
Im not a big fan of cute stickers.

What is the hardest thing you have ever had to scrap?
So far it would have to be a double page I did using my wedding photo and one of my Mum and Dads. I wanted to say so much in the journalling but I ended up not journalling at all......I still plan to use the text about how much I missed my Mum that day etc, but I just couldnt bring myself to do it for that page.

What technique do you use more than anything else?
Painting and inking

What is the smallest scrap of paper you save?
Im shocking I will save the smallest little scrap "just in case". I draw the line at anything an inch square or smaller.

Have you ever had any scrapbook related injuries?
Hammering my thumb instead of an eyelet! LOL I have an impact setter now :)

Finish this sentence, "If I wasn't a scrapbooker/stamper, I would spend my money on..." Jeans and Lingerie

Give us your best storage or organizational idea.
Storing foam stamps in those dollar shop A4 plastic folders and then using the MM stamp packaging for rubons, blossoms etc.

You just won a week long scrapbooking cruise for 5. Who is going with you?
Cindy and Tam for sure.....then whoever bribes me the most!! Hehehehe

When you received your first publication notification, who did you tell? And if you are not yet pubbed, who will be the first person you share the news with?
Im still waiting for my first acceptance....but the first person I tell will be Steve then my MIL then everyone online :)

Now I tag Cindy, Tam and Vicki

Life Is Good :)

2006-03-10T21:09:00.000+11:00

Well its been like forever since Ive been online......and I dont really have any exciting things to tell LOL story of my life but anyway....... Ive really just been enjoying life!! :)

We are three weeks into our Marriage Course and still absolutely loving it! There are about 5 or 6 classes to go and already Im thinking I will miss getting out with different people. So Im thinking about doing soemthing crazy and signing Steve and I up to one of those mixed sports groups....I hate sport but I really need more exercise and the idea of getting out as a couple and meeting people actually sounds really good right now :)

Some totally exciting news for me.......Steve and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary tomorrow!!! Towards the end of last year I never thought we would be sharing this day together...but now to be looking at spending tomorrow not only together but totally happy again is such a gift that I struggle to put into words. We dont have any big plans for tomorrow other than afew movies and a big Indian dinner. Instead we are planning a week in May to the Batemans Bay area as a second honeymoon and already I just cant wait!

Work has been the same old stuff....but talks have started about the idea of me becoming the manager.....which is pretty exciting but totally scary at the same time.....but I wont argue with the pay! LOL

Anyway I have a whole lot of internet stuff to catch up on while Steve is happily distracted by the football. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I will try not to go missing so much! LOL

Thanks, Hostel and new Mags

2006-02-25T17:51:00.000+11:00

OMG I must have gone and gotten a life this week.....I actually have things to blog about! LOL

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to the girls who took the time to comment on my LO of Chopper.......since I am a lone scrapper your feedback really means alot :)

Well today Steve and I treated ourselves to a movie.....the new Quentin Tarentino one "Hostel". I absolutely loved it...its a Tarentino whats not to love!! LOL Seriously though its not one for the squeemish....but if you liked Saw one and two then Hostel is worth checking out for sure!!
So now we just have a nice relaxing evening planned with a little bit of housework to do too.
Dare I say it.....I hoep to get some scrapping done this week????LOL

On monday night Steve and I went to our fist "marriage course". Its run by the local churches, but its not solely a religious thing (which is good cos Steve and I arent real strick on the whole religion thing) Well anyway I really didnt know what to expect but I promised myself I would try to keep an open mind and stay for atleast one full evening. I think we were about 15 minutes in and we decided we would sign up for the full 8 weeks. Not only is the course fabulous and interesting, it was really nice to mingle with a different group of people. There was about 14 couples there all ranging in different stages of life (including Steves Dad who invited us). Although this year has started off fabulously for us, we figured there would be no harm in trying something like this and I can really see the benefit in it.

My two fav mags came out this week so I will leave you with a quick run down on each.....

For Keeps.....I have to send out a big congrats to Kelley (pg 108) on getting her first page published (who couldnt resist Alicia and her gorgeous eyes!) i also love "Chocolate Eyes" (pg 106) by Fiona Leehane....great colours and the page has a wonderful balance.

Scrapbooking Memories.....Totally love "I wanna be famous" (pg 141) by Erica Glover......those pinks and browns really work for me and I love the Marilyn pic! Another one that caught my eye was "Official Teen" (pg26) by julie Love......great to see teenage boys as the subject on a beautiful page!

Well thats my rant for today....exciting huh?? lol
hope everyone has a wonderful weekend :)

Yiippeee for me!

2006-02-21T14:30:00.000+11:00

LOL Ok so Im a little excited here.......I finally finished the page Ive been working on!!

I promised Steve I would do a page on his little Chopper after we got settled into the flat...and this was the result. I plan to do more pages of the two of them together too. Those two had one awesome bond for a boy and his bird! LOL Late last year Steve made the very difficult decision to give Chopper away. I know it absolutely broke his heart at the time, but we both know it was for the greater good.

This is probably the closest a page has turned out like my original sketch....and yet it still dosnt look how I imagined it would! LOL Im pretty pleased with though and hopefully I have found my scrapping groove again!!Woohoo!!

Oops Again!

2006-02-17T20:10:00.000+11:00

Ok lets face it......Im only cut out to be a weekly blogger! LOL So from here on in I will make a weekly post.....and if I post thru the week...well bonus!!

Even tho I still havent done any actual scrapbooking this week, I wanted to take some time in my blog to talk about it a little. I saw the following on a blog at scrapbook.com and thought it was very fitting......"Scrapbooking is a celebration, not a race. It is about becoming more of who you are, discovering and revealing yourself and your love, not about who is a better or hotter artist than whom, or who has the best and newest stuff. " I think thats a pretty cool idea really. Everytime I sit down to do a page I put so much pressure on myself that I get stuck. It dosnt matter who likes or dislikes my pages or if magazines and Design Teams want them.....I do this craft for me and I am the only person I have to please in doing this!!

So anyway I saw this on antoher blog and thought it was a neat idea.......sharing afew things I got out of my latest scrap mag..... I just bought Scrapbook Creations No27. I dont usually buy this mag but on the front cover it advertises a Chipboard Letter article which I thought would be interesting! Definately a cool idea there!
My 2 fav layouts in this mag were "My Love" by Carol-Lea Morgan (great masculine page, I love the colours and simplicity of the design, plus the goofy pics) and "These Feet" by Tracy Wyldman (bright fun colours and an original photo perspective)

Back to my "normal" life......still have not found my assistant yet...would you beleive there has not been one application yet!! Oh well. This week wasnt as busy anyway so I was able to catch up a fair bit.

Hmmm well thats been about it in this little corner of the world.......wish my pizza would hurry up, Im gettin real hungry!! LOL :)

Bad Blogger

2006-02-12T15:46:00.000+11:00

Wow have I been a bad blogger this week or what!!! Dont worry the novelty of blogging has not worn off.....I just havent been near the computer all week :(

My week in a nutshell has been..........very normal LOL Some of my favourite TV shows have started back (eg. The OC, House, Lost, Desperate Housewives). But this year I have decided that if I hope to have a life.....or get any scrapping done.....Im just gonna have to give up some TV. Steve is really disappointed by this cos it means instead of watching my "chick" shows he can play PS2 or watch "real" TV LOL.

Work has been the same....VERY busy! My boss put an ad in the paper to hire me an assistant, so that should be interesting!! Ive had 3 assistants in the last few years....and....well......lets just say it didnt work out so well. One girl actually asked me if she should use a ruler or just free hand the sign I asked her to do....condsidering the sign had to be square I wouldve thought rulers would be common sense!! LOL Oh well maybe 4th time lucky! The highlight of my working week would have to have been signwriting a garbage truck (NOT!) Ewwww it smelt so bad!! LOL On the plus side tho I booked my car in at work and its now tinted and polished!!! Nice!!

So have I been scrapping this week, I hear you ask........well Im going to ignore you there :) Motivation and free time have been seriously lacking so no I have not scrapped and I dont want to talk about it...its too depressing!! LOL Im gonna have to start doing something soon or else Steve is bound to start asking question about why I keep buying supplies!! Doh!

Hopefully I will be getting a big kick of motivation soon though, cos my MIL has asked me to scrap her photos of the AFL final. Now Im just not into AFL at all but Faye and her partner are mad keen Sydney Swans supporters.....so I just hope I can do their precious memories justice! At this stage I am thinking of doing a mini album, maybe a paper bag one cos Ive been dying to try one of them (plus that would work well with tickets and other memorabilia) and then picking one great pic and doing an altered canvas for them to hang in their "Swans Hallway" (yes did I mention MAD keen fans!! LOL)

Anyway its Sunday arvo already and I have a whole week of Scrap Needs to catch up on....have I ever mentioned how much those girls can talk!!!! Seriously though its a great forum with a wonderful (and slightly crazy) bunch......so check it out if you havent already!!

Happy blogging folks :)

Finally the weekend

2006-02-04T11:59:00.000+11:00

Ah I love the weekends.......no big plans here, just relaxing and hanging out, maybe a little housework and definately some scrapping.

Thursday night Steve and I went to see Scared Weird Little Guys.......OMG soooooooo funny! I loved every minute of it. We even got a copy of their DVD signed so that was pretty cool......but the headache the next day was not so cool!! Oops :)

Work has been pretty uneventful. The boss is staying out of my way...not sure why but Im not complaining!! Thought I might share a pic of what I actually do for a living....

Now just keep in mind the Suzuki dealer picked the main design and colours LOL Took me about 3 days straight to do this one.....I had to put each layer of colour on seperately! But I now have a huge printer for jobs like this. I dont get much of a chance to do jobs like this......but they are great fun and a big challenge when I do.

Not much else going on this week really. Ive been driving the new car and totally loving it! I just cant get over how good I am finding this car.....and yes I will gush about it to anyone who will listen (and even those who are sick of listening LOL)

This morning we got coffees and I drove up to the top of Mount Panorama for abit of a photo shoot with the new car.........here it is :)

Now excuse the daggy clothes.....remember I have a bludgy day planned!! LOL

Tagged again

2006-02-01T18:54:00.000+11:00

This time the gorgeous miss Anthea has tagged me so here we go..... On her blog it says that the rules are that you remove the top name from this list and add yours on the bottom, so it has 5 names on it at all times.

Charleigh
Samantha
Chris
Anthea
Helen

Here are the questions:
What were you doing 10 years ago?I was starting year 12.....my HSC year!
What were you doing 1 year ago?Sad but true....pretty much the same as I am doing now!Five snacks that you enjoy:Kit Kats, peanut M&Ms, chilli chips, yoghurt, sultanas
Five songs to which you KNOW all the lyrics :Pretty Vegas (INXS), Photograph (Nickelback), Dontcha (Pussy cat dolls), most eminem stuff, alot of Doors stuff.
Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:Buy a house, pay off my car, invest, buy rental property, pay Dads bank debt.
Five bad habits: Im a procrastinator, I bite my nails, I smoke, Im submissive, Im an emotional over eater
Five things you like doing: Scrapbooking, playing ont he net, spending time with Steve, reading, playing computer games
Five things you would never wear, buy, or get again: Never wear makeup again, never wear my hair in pigtails, never wear uncomfortable clothes just cos they look good, never buy cheap underwear they just dont last, never wear very girly clothes.
3 People I am tagging:
Cindy Hearty
Melanie Clarkson
Fiona Leehane

Tagged

2006-01-31T20:03:00.000+11:00

Wow two posts in one day!! Dont get used to it girls!! LOL
The lovely Miss Cindy has tagged me.....my first ever tag!! So I had to rush straight over and post it! LOL (What do they say about small things)

1. First time you got kissed: In kindergarten.....I had the same "boyfriend" for 3 years. We were so cute! LOL
2. First time you drove a car: I drove cars, trucks, forklifts and tractors most of my life on Dad's property....but first time on the road I would have been about 17.
3. First time you scrapbooked: A couple of years ago now.
4. First time you went on a date: Honestly I cant really remember.
5. First time you fell in love: First real love (not silly girl crushes) was to my gorgeous husband when I met him in 1997 (i was 18)
6. First time you cooked for someone: I did most of the cooking for my Dad from when I was about 9.
7. First time you got on a plane: I would hsve been about 16 and I only went to Sydney.
8.First time you shaved your legs: Hmmm probably about 14.
9. First time you put on make up: Early teens I guess.
10. First time you moved out of your home: I left Dad's and rented a place in town when I was 17 (halfway thru my HSC....dumb kid)

Alrighty I tag........Tam, Kelley and Vicki.

Yippee Its here!

2006-01-31T19:07:00.000+11:00

Yesterday we went in and picked up the new car....and its more gorgeous than I thought it would be :)
So loving having air con in the car again.....I never want to get out of it!! Once I get work to tint the windows for me I will get some pics. I was very brave yesterday and even had a go at driving it myself hehehehe. It was so awesome! I actually WANT to keep driving LOL That might sound silly to some of you, but yes I am 26 and only have my learners permit. I have had a lot of confidence and co-ordination issues over the years with driving......quite frankly it scared the crap out of me! But I actually LOVE driving this car and I feel so comfortable behind the wheel (the fact that it is so much smaller than the Commodore probably helps that!) So look out Bathurst im on the road again! LOL
An update on Steve and the spider bite......hes still taking his meds, but the swelling and redness is all but gone and he was back at work on Monday.
My scrapping desk already looks nothing like those pics! LOL Straight after posting them I had supplies spread everywhere for my next page.....maybe my scrap "mojo" is coming back!! I blame Scrap Needs entirely for that!! Gotta love that place :)
Its been sooo hot at work these past two days.....wish it would rain soon. The shed I work in is so gross this time of year. I actually carry a spray bottle of cold water around with me so I can cool off abit. Tomorrow will be worse I am sure.....I have to fit signs to a bus and it wont fit in the shed so I am stuck outside in the glare and heat :( Oh well thats life I guess.
Anyway I better go start dinner before the return of The OC...love that show!

Our Office/Scrap room

2006-01-29T12:25:00.000+11:00

Well since Im feeling a bit lazy and uninspired again today I decided to clean up my scrap desk.....and share some pics while I was at it.

So here is my scrap desk....there are shelves on the left side next to the chair, and above the drawers on the right is a pull out table top bit...very handy :)

To the right of this desk is the PC........

In this room there is also a built in robe.......with hanging space only (stupid idea). Since I didnt want to buy shelves for the cupboard (some call it cheap I call it resoursful LOL) I stacjed up moving boxes on their side in there for all our magazines!

Have I mentioned I love my hubby???

2006-01-28T13:18:00.000+11:00

After spending all last night listening to me curse and swear at my old eyelet punch/setter, Steve decided to take me to the LSS today......and bought me the MM impact punch/setter AND the Bazzill colourwheel!!!! Is that boy getting huge brownie points or what!! Dont worry he did pretty well out of today too.....he finally bought the AC/DC dvd he's been eyeing off for ages :) Heaven help our neighbours!! LOL

So yesterday I finished that page I have been procrastinating over......here is the final result...

As usual it didnt turn out anything like the desig in my head........but thats ok. This is another of my BOM pages from the class I did with Erica. Ive been pretty slack with it lately but hope to get some more done real soon.

Yesterday went from a lazy day at home to a trip to the doctors! Steve came home from work just before lunch with a huge red rash on his leg with what looked like a bite mark in the middle. We went to the doctor that afternoon and were told he had cellulitis probably caused from a bite from a white tail. So he has been given antibiotics and already the redness and swelling has gone down thank goodness!!

Now my plan for the arvo is to veg out, get laundry done before the storm hits, then hopefully scrap tonight when it gets cooler........well it better get cooler anyway!!

Australia Day

2006-01-27T09:02:00.000+11:00

Yup Im a day late to post.......Oops. I ended up spending most of yesterday either online or playing PS2 with Steve. Then spent the evening playing Civilisation.......Hmmm and I wonder why I never have time to scrap. Perhaps its time I stopped procrastinating and got my self a little more organised LOL Yeah right like that will ever happen!

Well today I have the flat to myself......yeah I miss Steve while he is at work sweating away in that tin shed and black overalls.....but its nice to be able to have some "me time" too :)

So what have I got planned today......well I have a half finished layout sitting on my desk crying out to me so hopefully I will be able to figure out whats missing on it. Im sure somewhere out in the rest of the house there is housework needing to be done.....but if I stay hidden in the office I cant see it right??

Well that me in a nutshell for today.....pretty exciting huh! Now I just have to hope the boss doesnt call needing me to come in to work....ahh I love caller ID hehehehe

Astra La Vista Baby!

2006-01-25T21:44:00.000+11:00

Finally its official!! Yippee!!! I got the call today that our finance has been approved on our new car. Im so excited, we should have it Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

The pic is the CDXi, but we are getting the CDX (not as flashy but it will do us nicely). The two best things about this car is a) Its a small auto....so Im not going to be too scared to drive it, in fact I cant wait to get behind the wheel! and b) Steve let me pick the colour.....so I went for the brightest one I could find. Its called Breeze Blue and its totally gorgeous.......and yes Im already thinking of what papers I can use to scrap it with LOL. After only having my FIL's VL as a loaner for the last few months its going to be soooooo nice to have a car of our own again....and one with air con!!

Anyway enough about my spiffy new car......... :)

After working my butt off for the last three days, I managed to get a full week of work done so the boss is letting me have a four day weekend!! Sweet!! Steve has tomorrow off with me, then I am home alone Friday for plenty of scrapping and playing on here! I just got heaps of new paper from Scrap Needs and Im totally dying to play with them all! Fingers crossed this will break my scrappers block.

Well thats all my exciting news for today. Hope everyone has a fabulous and safe Australia Day.

Mwah

Helen

Woohoo I made it

2006-01-24T21:00:00.000+11:00

Well i always swore I would never get addicted to this blogging thing........but here I am!! LOL
It wasnt really my fault you know......after all all the cool girls are doing it (yes I did try that line on Dad when he caught me smoking......and no it didnt work on him either)

Hopefully folks out there will actually read my daily (probably not so daily actually) ramblings and not be too bored by my life.......and if not Im just gonna ramble on anyway!! LOL So for what its worth.....enjoy :)