for a laugh ....

i posted a photo this morning (see post below) and as I'm putting on my mudpack I'm thinking ... ok, this will give everyone is blog world a laugh ... so this is me RIGHT NOW! looking after my skin ...

















I had trouble uploading some of the photos earlier today ... this is some of this weeks creations :

this one above is a page I did of Gary back in Jan

Katya's 8th birthday is the story here ........

this one is from one of my good friend's recent birthdays! We celebrated with a breakfast at their house.

ok ... time to take my mudpack off .... did get out for a run, didn't feel so great today, still good for my body to go. We took the dog for a walk too, and the older girls rode their bikes, we used to do it alot when they were little, so good for your brain to have some outdoor time.

pedicure anyone?

its been an unusal week so far .... life changes when one of your kids gets sick. The littest girl has been sick - she gets really bad croupe - poor thing! So life has been very "homebound" this week. I have done a bit of scrapbooking and have the creative juices flowing, so that is cool .. but excercise and general other stuff is suffering a bit. And I've been consuming a large amount of chocolate .... which does taste sensational, shame about the side effects! Why does everything that tastes so good go to your hips?????? I will try and get out for a run this afternoon, hopefully Gary will be home in time!!!! I did Goggle about PMS .... you know, i figure if its happening to me I need to find out more! Not so happy about some of the things I found out, but hey ... that is life! This photo here - self portrait is for Chris who visited my blog and has challenged us all in blog world to photograph ourselves in the raw, natural state in which we are!!!!! so here am I! funny!


Yesterday we had pedicures! I had this HUGE list going this week of things to do ... and I have been powering through it - "pedicure" was on there as I haven't had time to go to my cheap nail shop down the road, so needed to do my own nail work!




Both Emra and Gianna benefitted from this, and loved it - who wouldn't? We did the whole footspa thing and everything!







Am going to share some scrapbooking I've done, finally finished this LO I started in like Jan of Gary at this stage in his life. I needed to interview him for his favourite things, and its taken this long ... LOL! how sad! I don't do very many double pages, so chalk this up!!!!
also have a stack of photos on my desk to scrap, so did this one from the other week at the beach. Next time Gary will have to take some photos of me windsurfing - HELLO! Do love orange and also green at the moment .. they are my favs! So the orange sail made this an easy page for me to enjoy! OK .. I am really supposed to be working .... not in the mood! Can you tell? Might have to go scrapbook quickly with some of the new products that just arrived - don't you love internet shopping!!!! Dangerous!
i am having trouble uploading my last couple of pics, will try again later! :-(

Grey's tonight .... yay!

This year is seriously going fast .... i mean even the weekends just fly by. I am glad to see the end of Monday ... its just not my favourite day of the week. I have been feeling a bit flat too ... that time of the month I think (sadly) I never used to be hormonal ... but i think that has changed - LOL!
It was one of my good friend's birthdays yesterday and we had breaky with them to celebrate. It was so nice to start the day that way .... I am going to scrap the occassion so will post that this week (hopefully)
Did do this LO today, its sketch #4 for pencil lines .... I really love green at the moment, and I love the way this turned out. These photos I took of my nana when we were in NZ ... such a good time.
OK .. its Grey's final tonight, of course I am hanging out for it. I can't believe its finishing already (boo hoo)

special gifts ....
you know how much I love fridays ... i really do, they are my days for trying to enjoy the moment and cruize a bit for the week. Having another great friday.
I realise this week i have had some wonderful special gifts come my way, one today was really a surprise and totally unexpected but so totally very cool and I love it. It really did make my day.
My sister offered to babysit the kids tonight so we can have a "date night" - cool! such a special gift ...
Gary wrote me a cute note I found on my bike before I went riding on thurs morning .... so thoughtful!
Emra made me at least 10 letters, just for me ... cute! There are more, I just can't remember all of them, but you know what ... i just feel so blessed to have wonderful people in my life, people who make my life better when I'm with them and that is awesome.
OK have to get dressed for my date ... going to this cool restaurant. So nice when someone else cooks! Did this LO last night it is Sketch #3 for the pencil lines challenges i felt totally inspired after reading Allie Edwards latest newsletter about being creative .... she is such a talent.

5am ....

this is a photo of me at 5am today, before I went for a ride. I have just come across it sending a pic thru for work ....
the things we do! LOL!

making time for the best in life ....

I have read a few inspiring blogs lately, one in particular about the visions we have for our kids and their lives ... has made me think alot about making time to jot down some thoughts on this matter. You know life gets so busy with just "living" and i don't want to miss enjoying the journey. Both Gary and I have been trying to "enjoy the journey" its our little mantra at the moment, and I do feel like life is heaps more fun. Especially now, this busy stage of life with 3 little girls, as they get bigger life just gets busier and I want to enjoy each day for what it is!
So today, I am going to have fun with them when they get home from school .... and make sure I give them some of my time - cause I think as human beings that is what we all need, someone to give us some of their time and make us feel special.
Hope to do some scrapbooking tonight .... I have my album to finish - have a few unfinished projects on the go.
OK ... time for a cup of tea I think!
p.s. forgot to comment on how great Grey's Anatomy was this week ... that show is fabulous!

melbourne cup dresses & cake n coffee ......

had morning tea with some of my friends this morning, there is the cutest little coffee shop just down the road from my house (its my fav spot to go now) they do real homemade food ... yum!
Its also a gift shop too, and I found a dress for my Melbourne Cup lunch. So happy about that, its totally cute and wasn't expensive either - oh I love it when that happens!
So now I have to get some work done ....
Finished covering my circle journal which is going to start soon ... I have all these unfinished projects on my desk and this was one of them! So good when you get stuff done.
ok ... over and out!

enjoy the journey ....

have had another fun fun fun weekend. When we were away, Gary and I had time to talk (on our travels around NZ) and decided that this life isn't long and you have to be loving life and enjoying the journey. Since getting back I think we are both doing so much more of that. We made the plan of Saturdays being our "jobs, clean up around the house" sort of day. Try and get some things crossed off the list each week.

Then Sundays are our "family" day - but get out and live in this great world we are blessed with. Last weekend we were surfing at Kings Beach, this weekend we were windsurfing at Golden Beach. We used to be competitive windsurfers before kids, and both spent so so so much time windsurfing. It is such a blast to get out there again and blow the cobwebs out. I took some great photos today, i have posted a couple. I am loving my new camera, its awesome! I feel totally spent now, and am going to go to bed ... as seriously I am struggling to keep my eyes open. I feel so energised (not physically right now) but mentally for having such a fun day. It was really windy today, so those conditions challenge my ability to windsurf so much more, makes me want to do it again tho, so good to fuel the fire! We had a productive day yesterday, Gary cleaned out the garage ... man, we have some gear! There was stuff everywhere. I tackled the hall cupboard .... it was a major, and I am sorry to say that I have a bit of finishing off to do yet, but the bulk of it is done. We got two DVD's out to watch last night, and have lost the remote and can't operate it ....hmmm! Not good.

So I ended up doing a bit of tidying at my desk and throwing together this page, didn't take long, but the photo was just sitting there, and I do love it.

ok, seriously have to go to bed ... good night!

flower child ....

I took these photos of Gianna when we were in NZ at Gary's dad's house. He has a flower garden and the girls had a great time picking all his flowers. Ems was calling her the flower alien baby ... so funny (with the flowers on both sides) I love the bright colours, they look so happy!
I finished this last night ... am just making a few cards now (as I've run out of time) we had our colour consultant back again today to advise us inside the house this time. Really interesting getting an outsiders oppinion. Caught up with my friends this morning which is always good, after running around doing errands ... the day has seriously gone nowhere.
We have friends over for a bbq tonight, and I decided to get a jump start and am semi organised (for a change) the girls want to go swimming after school so at least I can sit out by the pool and relax.... gotta love Fridays!

life is good ....
its been a busy couple of weeks, just seem to have heaps on my plate at the moment. Haven't even had much time to get my camera out, so took some photos of the girls playing this afternoon. Kids have so much fun, its such a great lesson for us adults ... we should have fun everyday too! I find myself getting tied up in my commitments and work, jobs etc ... i am going to make sure I play more! (especially during the week - i like to play on the weekends) I have just finished a LO finally ... i haven't had much time for scrapbooking this week, so good to get a page done. I will post the photo tomorrow.

I signed up for Heidi's new online classes that are going to start next year ... i am really excited, its going to be fun.
I got a tonne of work done today ... feels so good to have it behind me. I am looking forward to tomorrow .... love fridays!

Gianna has discovered a love for the trampoline, its just so damn cute. Check out this pic ... its just makes me smile! don't you love her little crocs ... too cute!

fashion parade ....
what a busy day .... i don't really like mondays, actually its my least favourite day of the week ... only because its so busy, and its stuff that is "jobs" like grocery shopping, cleaning, organising etc etc ... anyway, there has been an upside of today (i mean don't get me wrong I'm not moping about the place or anything - i am still happy me) I did go swimming - that was good, enjoyed the coffee afterwards too! I went to a Fashion Parade tonight, I love fashion. The food was spectacular ... i mean really tasty! And I LOVE food! so that was impressive. So I haven't been home long, am pretty tired now - but happy as it was so fun to go out to a great evening.
Had a great weekend ... it was totally fun too! Went to the beach yesterday and went for a surf, i am happy to say that I am improving - yay, and I love it! Called in on my aunty on the way home (some of my family are over from NZ) so was cool to see them. Had friends for dinner both friday and sat nights, it was a really fun, social weekend ... just the type of weekend I love! OK .... so now I'm totally spent, and need some beauty sleep!

Pencil Lines Sketch .....

this is a new concept from my friends on the other side of the world ... they are such fun, and so clever ... i love seeing what they are doing over there. Check out the site here for challenges its cool. Here is the first one, I finally got around to scrapping last night .... this week has been so busy there has been no time or energy for being creative. Even tho I was dead tired last night (after riding yesterday morning ... not fit after my holiday) I really really wanted to do this sketch. Once I got going I just HAD to finish it.
OK ... its before breaky and I have to go get ready for the day. I am having a day off swimming today, and am going to my fav. shop to probably purchase something funky!
I love fridays, they rock!

getting there ....

you know I've had one of those days where I feel like I haven't achieved too much, even tho I actually have gotten a few things done - I still have a heap of work to do! There seems so much going on at the moment!
Wanted to share a few photos from yesterday. Had such fun with the girls, creating their door handles. They were really very creative and loved doing it.

I was pretty exhausted by the end of it tho - it was a busy day! Katya was out on her roller blades before school this morning, I love it when they get a present they really want and they get in and use it straight away - so cool! Well, I am going to see if I can get a little more done .... worth a try!

Am hoping to scrap tonight (if I have an ounce of energy left)

8 years ago ....

I had a one hour old baby, my first one ... I remember how amazing it was staring at this little one, who was staring back at me with those big eyes - she was angelic (still is) I can't believe it was 8 years ago tho ... man, life is flying by - i must be having fun as its going very fast!
Here she is with her new roller blades (from mum and dad) she has wanted some for a long time (since my brother bought her two left feet ones about 3 years ago ... ha! we joke about Blair's gift giving!) so she was very excited and was outside giving them a try before breakfast. I iced the 8 cake last night - cute hey! She is having 4 friends over after school, they are painting and decorating "door hangers" to then take home. She chose who was coming, each year it seems to change depending on who's in her class! She's pretty excited, like most kids are about their birthdays. I did an example for them for Gianna's room ... so I will post later their creations.
I have had a busy couple of days. School going back is just FULL ON! I have been back into swimming, running and riding too - so have been a bit tired. Am going for a nana nap shortly as I am so buggered after swimming today!

Went to my favourite clothing shop's Fashion Night on Monday night, so fun, and won a lucky door prize (thanks to a friends help) $50 voucher and cute purse .... lucky me!

Last night went to the movies with my sister and a friend to see The Devil wears Prada - so so so good. Really loved it, actually I think I'll see it again! So haven't had much time to spare lately. Did make Katya a quick card last night, but will have to show you later. OK ... I'm off for a nap, get my energy before these little girls arrive!!!!

as promised ....
here is my new hair cut. Gary finally photographed me tonight as I know a few people are waiting to see. I am not completely used to it yet, another week or so I guess.
Had a nice Sunday, went for a picnic to New Farm park with some friends, really nice and relaxing and so good to see them. The girls loved getting out and about. I did clean the office out, so sick of the mess ... I am on a bit of a "spring clean" frenzy at the moment! Seems to take so much time to do tho ... I'll get there eventually! Happy to be chilling out on this sunday night!

i love weekends ....

so nice to relax after the week, especially as Gary had such a busy one. I went for a ride this morning, back on the bike in at least 4 weeks, so the legs were not too happy, but hey that is life. Good to catch up with my riding friends, cycling is so great as its so social, lots of chatting - such fun. I will admit I have been a bit tired tho, just unfit I guess. Emra had a princess party to go to this afternoon, and after seeing the 12 dancing princesses, went as one of those ... too cute. Girls are so lovely!
I did scrap a LO too, printed off a few pics from the NZ trip. Do like how this turned out ... i did have a few new products to use, which is always fun. There are "ghost" snowflakes on there too, you can't see them very well! I have only just photographed it, so hasn't come out very clearly just cause its at night.
Gary has just put up another shelf in the office, we are in a bit of a "spring clean" mood and trying to organise our house ... man, its time consuming. So I am going to try and organise this office now .... its a bit sad on Sat night, but I have the organising "bug" at the moment .... who knows what that is all about!!!!
I promise Tirz that I'll post a pic tomorrow, I haven't had anyone here to photograph me, and I am way too tired now to do it (don't want to show you the bags under my eyes - LOL)

summer is here ....
this photo I took this morning of my sis and my lil girls going for a dip in the pool. Such a gorgeous day ... and I was inside working - boo hoo! I was quiet motivated actually, and happy to get back on top of things after being away for a couple of weeks. Maybe that's what it is, i am refreshed after my holiday - i feel like i can conquer the world! LOOKOUT!



Did finish this board book, that I started when I was in NZ. It is inspired by Ali Edwards and Heidi Swapp's ideas .. I sort of gelled them together. It was an old children's board book that I got Gary to cut in half and then I scrapped it. I finished putting the photos in it last night. The idea is if someone was to pick it up they would get an insight into who I am and what I stand for ... i thought that was a cool concept.

OK ... have just got in from the hairdresser, my sis has just coloured my hair ... don't you love the hairdresser - its so relaxing, both my sisters are hairdressers - not me, i got no hairdressing skills at all! promise I'll post a photo of the new doo tomorrow!

tagged ....
have been tagged by Cath ... here goes ....
The rules are: 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.I am tagging Kathy, Annie, Anna, Kay

1. I'm a bit obsessive about exercise ... i know alot of people hate to do it, not me I love it!

2. I love sambucca

3. I love to cook because I love to eat good food ... that is sad isn't it, i totally think about my stomach ALL the time!

4. I have to sleep with ear plugs - i have super sensitive hearing - also don't like the light .... so that is pretty wierd! I am a bad sleeper!

5. I have to have a cup of earl grey tea as soon as i wake in the morning (unless I exercise first - then I have one when I get back) I'm sure that is not really weird but rather more civilised!!!

That was tough, as the things that are weird I think are just normal everyday life stuff ... there is probably more I just can't think of it! Thanks Cath!

I have NEWS .... I cut my hair! This is the photo that made me decide ... I will post a pic of my new doo ... I have had my hair long for years and years ... and thought I would be sad to cut it, but its so much easier and I feel like a new woman! Its cool!

My friend went home this arvo, I am a bit sad and feel flat. We have had fun, and the house has been so busy with 6 lil girls ....
that is what life is all about, sharing with the people you love! so lucky to have wonderful friends in my life, I feel so blessed!
Have more exciting news too, I have been asked to be on a Design Team ... can't say anything more yet, but I am really looking forward to it - it will give me motivation and keep the creative juices flowing ... too cool! picked up the latest challenge pack from my local scrap shop, so that will get me back into it too ... too tired tonight, and don't have the omf! will chill instead!

M.I.A

back from NZ ... have been missing in action (MIA) .... had a fab time. The snow was primo and such fun. Here is the team on the last day .... cool fun!
Got to see all the family and catch up, stayed with my nana at Whangamata ... such a cool place, we love it there. this photo is at Paeroa in front of the L&P bottle .... on the way down to Gary's dads house. The girls had lots of fun at mum and dad with all the animals out there. How green is it ... so beautiful the NZ countryside.
It is nice to be back to the sunshine again tho .... even tho the weather was great in NZ, our summer has started and I just love love love the sun and summer. Suz and the girls were staying here while we were away and its been fun having them here to come back to. We went to the beach for the day yesterday and I went for a surf .... i am loving surfing and want to go again later this week (if I can organise it)
Today is there last day and we are about to take the kids to see the Garfield movie. OK better get organised ... I have been tagged by Cath so will do that this arvo when these guys have left. here are the girls hanging out together having ice blocks ... they have been swimming in our pool ... too cold for me!!!

snowboarding rocks .....

what a fun week, 4 days out of 5 on the mountain going hard! It is such a dynamic sport, so much of a rush ... we just totally love it. Am sporting a few decent bruises from a few crash and burns here and there. We were doing jumps on the last two days, so much fun - can't wait for next year to get into the freestyle park and go for the bigger jumps, i didn't think i'd be into jumping but it is seriously cool, and when you have control of your board, not as hard to do as i thought it was going to be. We were going to take the good camera up the mountain one morning and do a photo shoot, but we were all so amping to just get up there and ride, that it didn't happen ... ops! So we are feeling a bit tired still, it was a hard 4 days ... my body is still a bit sore - its a good feeling tho.
back at mum and dads now, have a roast chicken cooking .. smells fantastic. Had a quiet day today, i did some reading, and veging - so nice to hang out. We are heading into Auckland tomorrow and will stay with some friends tomorrow night.
The girls had fun with mum and dad, i hate leaving them, but seriously nice to have a break from normal life. Mum and dad had a ball with them. They have been feeding the cows and doing all sorts of fun things.
the computer here is really slow, so i intended on uploading a heap of pics, but its just taking too long. ok have to go the girls are hungry .... better get dinner on the table.. ...

hi from NZ ....
after a day in transit ... we finally made it down to Mum and Dad's new home, out in the country. It is so green and lush ... so so different from our brown landscape home in Australia. I was pretty knackered by the time we got here, a long day with all the travelling.
Today has been nice and cruizy, and great to just vege out and chill. I made buttermilk pancakes for the family this morning ... yum yum! We saw a baby calve this afternoon, the wildlife is so cool, the girls love it. They went for this huge walk with dad this morning and saw the baby lambs etc ....
Blair and Lisa have arrived and we are about to have dinner, so better go help out. We are off to the snow at the crack of dawn tomorrow ... we always do these early morning departs to the snow .... am getting excited. Will be great to be snowboarding tomorrow ..... yay!

ready, set ... go

oh what a busy couple of days, in an hour we head for the airport ... off to NZ to go snowboarding and see family. There is seriously SO much to do before you go away ... its insane! All that is left now is the shower, dress, eat and go ... yay! Yesterday was seriously busy and had so much crammed into it - so glad its over actually!
My friend is staying here and house-sitting while we are away which is cool, and she's been so helpful - just having that extra pair of hands around is great.
We are having a week at the snow (just Gary and I ... and some others) mum and dad are having the girls ... i can imagine what sort of fun is going to be had. So looking forward to it, snowboarding really is such a cool cool, exilerating sport. Hope to do a wee photoshoot one morning .... so lets hope there are heaps of cool pics to show. Will try and update when I'm away - especially at the snow with some cool pics I hope. OK better fly ....

fun

having a fun time with our friends, I took a heap of photos this morning at the park ... so much fun, and the girls were full on posing .. funny! This one I printed off and scrapped for Suz .... i am trying to convert her to scrapbooking. Thought if I used her beautiful girls she would love it ... ha! We have just watched Oprah ... so good, as I never get a chance to watch it anymore.

ok, time to do the school run .... then a cup of tea of course!!!!

sunday

its a rainy, vege out kinda day! The girls really wanted to try scrapbooking, so we had a little "scrapbooking clinic" this morning. They were so into it ... really cute. I had fun getting it all organised, and trying to give them a bit of direction ... seeing the end results tho I think they just went for their own creative style ... fantastic!
I got a new camera ... I'm so excited. Its charging up at the moment, so can't wait to have a play .... yay!
better go get the gang some afternoon tea!


check out the master peices ....

tired day today .....

after having a minor drama at 1am this morning (when an extra large spider was found sitting on the wall) i struggled to get a good nights sleep ... therefore, i feel like I've had a hard night out - hate it when that happens and that didn't happen! Not good!
Anyway, i worked in the office here today .... even tho it sort of makes thurs a
"nothing" sort of day - i do feel a sense of accomplishment getting it done. Have just made this cute card for a friend's baby's christening this weekend, am trying to get myself organised before our friends arrived tomorrow with their 3 girls ... a full house with 6 girls, its going to be fun! Ok ... am tired ... brain not thinking straight... .nighty night!

challenge #7

have finished challenge #7 for Annies challenge - using 7 patterned papers as background ... i liked this one - it was fun (didn't really like the last one that much)
can't believe the week is half done ... went swimming this morning - always wakes me up. Its gorgeous weather now, so always nice for swimming. Had morning tea at a friends house, nice to have a chat .... I've had lots of morning teas this week .... nice!
I feel like the time has just vanished ... nearly time for school pickup. Better do a for more things before that happens.







Gary has painted waterfall at end of pool ... looks cool! I am loving seeing this new colour around our house, after having grey render for like 3 years! I know he feels like a tradesman! HA!
The question for me is ..... which job to do next .....

dinner out ....

have just walked in from a dinner with the pre-school mums ... a great group of ladies, good food, good company - i had fun!
I should be tired, i went for a run this arvo ... but alas i would love to go get creative, i am going to be sensible tho and go to bed, so i don't regret it tomorrow. Had a home day today, was a good day - i am still in shock about the sad loss of Steve Irwin. He was such a fantastic guy, and touched so many lives. I heard one woman talking about him today saying how the best thing to remember him for was his love of life .... and I thought that is so true and something to try and strive for, enjoying every day, every week ... embracing life and living for the now. That is my challenge! my prayers and thoughts are with his family.
nighty night.

don't like mondays ....

yes, its true - its my worst day of the week! after having a cruizy Sunday (an doing as little housework or anything that resembles anything domestic) i am faced with the big clean up, and also the grocery shopping - and the cleaning .... it is just a HUGE day actually! Anyway, i sort of feel a bit better cause its almost over and although I'm buggered ... i feel like I have achieved quiet a bit (even if they are menial jobs)
did manage to do challenge #6 ... FINALLY! I must say its much busier than my normal scrapping! but hey, its a challenge and I'm up for it. ok .. i'm off to my friends house to watch Grey's Anatomy and eat waffles - bliss!

happy father's day .....
the girls are so sweet, and were so excited about Father's Day ... they were of course awake early waiting impatiently to give their wonderful father the presents they purchased at the school father's day stall ... so sweet - their gifts are really very well thought out. Katya picked out a golf ball pack with heaps of tees in there - as she knows Gary loves golf. Emra chose the car cleaning products, knowing how well her dad loves his car (and is actually a bit of a hoon) I just thinks its devine how much thought went into it. I decorated this box and each of them had a page to decorate (Gianna just stamped her hand - cute)
We've had a fun day, we took him out for breaky to Banjo's up at Suttons Beach, gorgeous setting and a stunning day. They had a festival on up there so the kids loved it and even had a jump on the jumping castle - cool! We were out all morning, so it does seem like a long day.
We finished the day with dinner at the Everton Park Hotel - i love that place, so great for the kids. I lost some photos I took during the day that I intended on uploading - bugger!



I will show you this little book i made this afternoon .... cute hey!

river fire ....
we went to River Fire tonight, was fantastic. I was in two minds weather to go as Gary was playing golf and it would have been easier to get the kids organised and blob at home, but I am so glad we went. It was just so cool, and the kids loved it. The traffic was completely fine, actually easy - not a problem at all. Gary came in too, so it was even better.
Enjoying the weekend, didn't get out for a ride ..... had a cruizy start to the day for a change - made hotcakes - yum! Scrapbooked Gianna's birthday with my new Making Memories products ... the cheeky range which is very cool and fun! will post photos tomorrow as I'm too lazy to get the camera now.
We went to a talk at our church last night about The Bible, it was quite fascinating and gave some ideas on how it all came together. Our priest is amazing and very knowledgeable, we both enjoy hearing his opinions on things.
Gearing up for Father's Day tomorrow ... we are going to take Gary for breaky at this great cafe on the water, will make sure I take the camera - nighty night!