Wow .... emotional and inspirational ....

Creative Escape has just wrapped up ... I am overwhelmed by the experiences I have had here. Its been amazing.
Today was another full day of classes. Both days we have had four classes each day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Then last night we had an extra “album” class ... so its been go go go!
We have done some awesome projects, all of them were phenomenal and I love each one. I have photographed each one, and was super happy with myself for finishing EVERY project by the end of each class.
I had heidi’s class today, which totally made me ball out loud, as her project is based around their trip down to Australia for Christmas ... and when the photos of our girls came up on the slide show it was too much and totally I made a scene, crying out loud .... I couldn’t even look at her! So I managed to pull myself together and finish the project ... which of course will hold a special place in my heart. I will photograph them all with the photos once I get home and get them done.
Tonight we had a special dinner, and an auction for Cancer ... Tim and Heidi’s handmade altered lamps were auctioned off – Heidi’s went for $8200 and Tim’s $29000 ... it was overwhelming. I was screaming ... so exciting. I also won, one of many lucky prizes .... I got an amazing trimer, tool kit ... so lucky~!
Then we had a guest speaker talk ... she was sensational. She talked about her journey thru her sister finding out and coping with having cancer ... it was so inspirational, and of course I cried again .. and again ... and again. These girls were awesome ... and we are hoping to keep in touch from here on in.
So now ... its time for me to sleep. I have just skyped with my family and I feel better now I have seen them. They are gorgeous! I have alot of words to get out of my heart ... so I think I will do some journaling tomorrow. So many experiences to remember.
first two photos were my first two classes at Creative Escape, Tim Holtz was first off ... how cute is that little suitcase!

then the chocolate desert which was to die for at dinner last night. They start dinner on Saturday night with desert first! SO PERFECT!

(edited to add ... just adding photos now, have arrived back in Utah ... will start posting photos from the beginning but i will keep it rolling for a few days so you can see as much as possible of the experience! - so keep checking back ... and leave a comment if you drop by, i love to hear from you! :-) ) this photo was taken tonight on the plane after we were upgraded to first class ... yay for us!

Hello from Creative Escape, Arizona .....

(warning .... LONG POST!)

I am happy to report that I successfully arrived in Utah after my flight via Auckland. As I arrived in Auckland my Brother and his family were leaving, and we got to see each other thru the glass for seriously 2 minutes before they left to go home to Melbourne. It was like visiting in jail ... it was hard! Touching thru the glass.
I had a couple of hour stop over before going on to LA. So I planned it out that I would sleep after my dinner. I got a lovely surprise to see one of our best friend’s Dads on the flight, he works as a steward for Air NZ and its been some time since I’ve seen him. He went to so much trouble getting me special drinks, my meals out first ... giving me the first class pack with all the goodies, and even moving me up before we descended so I could get off the plane first – so sweet. I felt like a v.i.p!
Even tho I’m a bad sleeper ... I managed 5 hours sleep. I have decided that my bad sleeping actually works in my favour at the other end of the trip .... I don’t seem to suffer with jetlag, as I’m so dead tired I sleep for ages. So I have not suffered with jetlag ... yay!
I managed LA airport so much better this time, after being there before and being a complete gumby. So it was a smooth transition from intl to domestic ... and I arrived just in time to board my next flight, so perfect.
Utah is such a nice city. It reminds me of Ohakune on steroids ... ha! Ohakune (for those non-kiwis ... is a snow town where we go snowboarding) The mountains in Utah are amazing, just amazing. I can’t wait to come back when there is snow on them. I know Gary would love it.
Has been wonderful seeing my friend and her cute family ... the kids have grown so much since Christmas.
I haven’t many photos from Utah yet. I did have a major shopping spree in the city after we saw a crazy movie with the kids called Shorts. Forever 21 is an amazing shop, and I wish my sisters were with me as they would have been in heaven! So many choices .... lucky we are renovating our wardrobe as I will need more space! Lol!
So we came down to Arizona yesterday to come to Creative Escape. We flew over the Grand Canyon ... oh my gosh, takes your breath away. One day will have to visit for sure.
We had our nails done when we arrived, I have to take a photo as they are all sparkly. Also went to Tia Rosa’s for Mexican ... the best Mexican ever. Met Liz, who is so cute with only 5 weeks to go before having her baby – looks like she has a basketball up her shirt!
So yesterday I went and lay out by the pool ... it was prob 38 degrees, hot! It was so nice tho. Then as I have been sick for a while with this horrible viral infection Labyrinthitis ... I have not exercised in a while, I decided to go do a quick weights workout, well I got over to the gym and they were shutting .... I was so sad, as I was already dressed, so I decided to go for a run .... gasp! I know I sound crazy, but those of you who know me would realise, that I was totally bugged because I had all my gear on and couldn’t do my workout ... so had to get rid of the energy. So with a bottle of water in hand, off I went on this cute track specially made by the resort. I felt a little weary of rattlesnakes, however realised the rustling in the bushes were actually gofers ... little rodents that look like meerkats. They were running off and dashing into their holes ... kinda cute (but apparently a pest here) I will attempt to get a photo. This place is totally like the resort in High School Musical 2 movie ... its funny. Its right on a golf course, with a great pool area. I must tell you that it is ¼ mile walk from the lobby (where I am sitting typing to you) to our room at the other end of the resort. So that converts to 400m ... each way, no wonder I am tired. By the way, although it was kinda hot, I was totally fine running ... it gets super hot in Brisbane in summer and it didn’t feel any worse than that!
This morning started with a chinese tour reunion breakfast. There are 8 of us here that were on the China Tour ... so fun to see everyone again. Cheryl one of the ladies totally spoilt us all and bought us cute gifts, I was so touched. I will take a pic ... she got everything zebra print as that is the them for CE.
From there I went with a new friend Leisley to an AWESOME scrapbooking store called Mystic Papers ... oh my gosh, I loved it so much ... and hurt the budget again! If anyone needed inspiration to be creative that shop definitely does it ... and I am INSPIRED! So cool!
When we came back we registered and got all our bits and pieces ... then it was Technique Botique where you go around and collect bits and pieces for the upcoming classes, get free stuff and do a few creative projects. It was fun ... and I met more great people along the way.
Then it was Trunk Show, which was pretty busy with people, so I must admit I didn’t have a real good look at everyone there, although one of the teachers is an Aussie so I got chatting to her, and even more so because she is from Tassie where my sister lives ... so we are staying in touch, so fun. I did take some pictures of heidi’s stand before the rush as I helped with setting and unsetting. I did love Heather Bailey’s stand too ... only because I am totally drawn to her fabric, and know my friend Fiona would love it so much. I bought some things to make ... so watch out sewing machine (when I get home)
Then was the introduction for Creative Escape ... it was amazing seeing all 700 people in one room ... wow! Made Create 08 look like a little blimp! Lol!
So I have photos to share. To be honest, its been hard getting online ... I am sitting in the lobby to get wireless, so hence the space between blogging. I promise that I will try blog again tomorrow night if possible ... as I kick off tomorrow at 8am with Tim Holtz class – he’s so funny, I am looking forward to it! So check back ....

5 years ago today ....

my baby was born! I can hardly believe its been 5 years ... it doesn't feel like that long ago she was just brand new. I marvel at how much she has grown and learnt in those 5 years. She's the sweetest little girl ... so cute! She has been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited for this day, for months asking and being frustrated it was so long to go ... even ONE week was a painful wait!

Her sisters have been so sweet, making her cards and taking extra special care ... they are just as excited i think. I mean who doesn't love a party ... especially a "Fairies in the Garden" Party.

So as i write this we have not long woken up and opened presents ... i have to go get Em off to dancing and finish the plans for the party today. There is still quite alot to do ... and of course i need to pack for USA too!

I am attempting to travel light ... which is quite a task for me, as i HATE not having choices. But i am going to try ... i mean, i will just have to buy something if i don't have it? RIGHT?

so will post some fairy party photos before i upload .....

SO ......

i can say that i am TIRED!

its been a busy day!

it is lovely to be sitting down!

I love seeing the photos ... such a fun little party. I am so thankful for my big girls ... they were awesome! Emra totally took control of the games, it was wonderful and Katya was in charge of face painting and did such a gorgeous job!

we had stunning weather, it couldn't have been more perfect.

My family travelled down from Bribie ... i really appreciate that effort so much, they are SO fun!

my grandmother made chocolate crackles ... SO YUM! thanks Nana!

so we have a roast pork cooking ... and i am trying to get motivated to pack my bag ...

i cannot do it yet ... maybe later!

i am going to Creative Escape .... yippee!

what can i say????????

i have been the worst blogger in the world~

so my intention now, is to update once a week ... i think this is reasonably in my capabilties! LOL!

So this is a bit of a random post updating some of the things that has happened around here lately!

First exciting news tho, is that i get to see my dear friend in less than two weeks ... that makes me SUPER excited!~ I am excited to see the big production she helps put on at Creative Escape ... its going to be so fun! We even travel down there together, that will be so fun! I have had a real lull in the creative dept lately, just so time poor and feeling a bit in a rut, so this is going to be great to get me all inspired again ... i am already after putting my little book together, its so cute! So in a little over a week i head out ...

a few things have to happen before i get on the plane tho, one being our youngest turning 5! and that is to be celebrated with a "Fairies in the Garden" party ... so busy week next week! :-)

I do just have to add that i have the most wonderful husband ... it was his idea that i go to see Heidi ... he's the BEST~! and the best dad i know too! My sweet sister is going to pop by and help out too ... so lucky to have her around!

So my vege garden is growing nicely, and gary helped me last weekend put a roof over to keep the turkeys out ... they are not my favourite animals believe me. But now i have them out at least everything is getting a chance to grow. We are eating lettuce, spinach and rocket and have beans and snowpeas flowering ... its all good ...

The girls have had their Athletics Sports this week, it was over two days as they are in different parts of the school ... so i managed to survive that (lots of waiting around for the finals etc) lucky our weather is stunning right now

made some frozen yoghurt as we had 28 degrees the other day, i guess summer is on its way ... i am so happy about that! i am a summer girl!

Went and saw P!nk when she was here with my Uncle (he's only 5 years older than me - more like a brother really) we had a blast ... the show was pretty amazing!

Have been out in the boat fishing ... such stunning weather for it! the girls have loved it ... shame we haven't bought a big feed of fish home ... one day maybe!

Found this cute heart for my office ... i love it!

Have the girls back in their rooms, still have finishing off to do in each of the rooms, but here's an update of E's for now ... its a surfy/beachy theme.

and anyone still reading this .... i do ship all over the place with the jewellery, so let me know if you want anything! :-)

p.s.

i did go see My Sister's Keeper ... i thought because i'd read the book i would be ok ... NO! i wasn't - neither was anyone else in the picture theatre, the whole place was crying. Drop me a line if you've seen the movie ... would love to know your thoughts. I just wanted to go home and hug my kids. It gives you a reality check that's for sure!

Its funny, in the book i really didn't like the mother ... i felt she was really cold and hard. But in the movie, i kept thinking the whole time how much she was like me ... which freaked me out a bit, i guess i'm quite a determined person, and the mother just didn't give up! anyways ... tell me what you thought!

sunday night ...


i nearly didn't blog ... i am tired and ready for bed! so this is just a quick one!


I am really excited to share this new necklace i have been working on ... its has my girls names on it! I really love it! I will be sellling them now at Enjoy Jewellery, i have bought the software for the website, however ... don't know how to use it yet (will need lessons lisa!) so will post an entry on the jewellery blog here with all the details!
I am getting closer to being creative again ... i did spend 2 hours organising my scrapbooking area ... and its feeling so nice and ready to be used! maybe tomorrow ...
we did do some more painting in Gianna's room today, and then took the boat out this afternoon for a spot of fishing ... em and i caught little babies ... to be honest, it was just so nice enjoying a beautiful afternoon with my family! I forgot to take the camera tho! duh!
I did get in my vege garden on friday too, have planted corn, beetroot, spinach, tomatoes and zuchinni ... major goal: KEEP TURKEYS OUT!
i will share photos this week!

Winter Sunshine ....

The school holidays officially finish tonight :-(

I love the change of routine the holidays bring. I know its a busier type day with the kids all at home, but i love having the around and it is changing as they are getting older - you get to do different kinds of things.

On friday it was my aunty's birthday ... in the holidays i like to take the girls up to visit my grandmother who now lives here (so nice to see her more often) so on friday we saw her and also celebrated with Maryanne for her birthday. It was so nice to have a day off ... just get out of the house and not do any jobs. I feel like i've been going a hundred miles an hour for so long ... to leave it all was such a relief!

After our yummy lunch, the girls were giving their "famous" massages ... so cute! Gi is famous for her chops! ha!

We were lucky enough to spend the weekend up at Caloundra ... the weather was stunning, i love getting a good dose of sunshine -esp in winter. I am not a fan of winter (unless i am going down a snow mountian on my snowboard!) so it makes me feel alive getting the warmth of the sun!

I also love a car-less holiday ... where you can just walk around to where you want to go. We did LOTS of walking ... it was great, although Gi's little legs often tired and i ended up piggy backing her.
Close by they hire out bikes of all shapes and sizes, and the girls had been busting to hire one all weekend. When we finally got there yesterday the guy had packed up ... (you can imagine the disappointment ... soon to be over-shadowed by going out for dinner tho ... amazing how quickly things can turn around! lol!) so that led to us finding this great little restaurant right on the beach called Salt Water ... i loved the styling and the food was superb. I think its our new favourite place up the coast - so good.

Today we did get on the 4 person bike ... the girls all crammed in the back and Gary and I were on the front ... it was alot harder than it looked. And considering i had already run 10kms in the morning ... my legs were burning up! Seriously we were the talking point .. it was hilarious! so now ... i am absolutely shattered, and really need to go to sleep! (i am mad i didn't get a photo of us all on the bike ... )

I have some cool new jewellery to share too ...

blogger is REALLY slow uploading photos .. so will have to share more tomorrow ... sleeping really is the priority right now! :-)

i am here ...

hello!

i don't really know where to start ... i guess i have not had the motivation for bloggin much lately! i think its been more a lack of time thing - or maybe energy!

so i realise that it is alot easier to stay on top of bloggin ... as now i feel like i have TOO much to say! So i will do a little re-cap of the latest ...

right now ... Katya has 3 friends here for a sleepover (it seemed like a good idea at the time - all i can here is giggling and major issues because they cannot find the lollies they have lost! i am trying to block the noise out ... i am not very good at that!) we have just been to see Hannah Montana movie - which was great - I loved it, and i cried! seriously i am such a baby! lol! So it was me and the 6 girls at the movies ... i love that part of having girls! So funny ... they were all in the bathroom putting on makeup and doing their hair before going! its all down hill from here!

Its been a busy time lately ... the girls have had dancing competitions, which have been very time consuming! they love it ...

We have had end of financial year here in Australia ... which makes me feel sick! lOL! ... so i am trying to knock it over quickly so it doesn't hang over my head forever! sigh!

The jewellery has been pumping ... i have a huge order arriving tomorrow ... i love it when orders arrrive ... there are always new things in there ... yay yay yay!

The girls are on school holidays now ... loving the change of routine ...

We were out on Saturday night for my Aunt's birthday bash ... we went to a Tepenyaki bar in the city .. it was so fun. They thru fresh eggs at us and we had to catch them in cups ... so one landed on the floor, one landed on my cousin ... many missed, i am happy to say i DID catch mine! also he tossed bowls of fried rice ... which everyone did catch ... that could have been very bad!

We are also painting inside our house ... which i guess is killing my creativity! after all the sanding and painting, i just have not been creative! something on my list of things to do tomorrow ...

This is katya's room ... its still not finished yet ... but i thought i'd better show you where we are at ... Emra is back in her room, and we are working on gi's room now ... phew! Its very time consuming and quite draining ... all the stuff! oh man ... so i will do better updating the rooms this week. I really want to get back into my photography. I am planning a photo shoot for the jewellery, have rooms to finish here ... and i am feeling more inspired to blog again! (i promise!) :-)

the winner is ...

melanie brewin .... yay for you.
email me with your address at chanelstuck@hotmail.com

hello again .... (and a giveaway)

i am sure i don't need to tell you that i have been a bad blogger lately! I guess i feel a little "time poor" which is really just a bad excuse! Everyone has the same amount of time each week ...

i think that when i am creative it excites me to share ... and because i haven't had much time for creativity ... i have lost my blogging drive.

So being Sunday night, i am planning on some creativity this week ...

we have had a BIG weekend .. and a slow day today, after getting to bed at 3am this morning after being out at the BMW ball last night. It was a fabulous night, seriously so fun.

My sister did my hair and makeup ... thanks Sheri, you are awesome. I did not take my camera, but will get some photos from the night from my friends ... they had fire dancing, and other entertainment. We danced the night away ... it was a blast.

Friday i went on the Farm Excursion with Gianna, its my third time to the farm ... and its a great day and super fun. It makes me want to scrapbook after seeing these cute photos ... i may even make mini albums for each other them ... i was exhausted at the end of the day, how looking at animals all day can be so tiring i will never know! loL!

we are still renovating Katya's room ... i didn't get much done this weekend ... but this week we are going to finish it off. Gary has some good ideas for the next room ...

I am still going to give a necklace away ... one week from today i will draw a name. This is to celebrate the new Enjoy Jewellery website. Go and check out the new website and let me know your feedback www.enjoyjewellery.com.au if you blog about this competiton and link to this post you will recieve 5 entries. I will be giving away a new crystal pearl coloured necklace ... looking forward to hearing your feedback. Enjoy Jewellery has a facebook page ... so make sure you add us!

First Communion ...

Yesterday Em made her First Communion. They have been doing their classes all year on Wedndesday nights in preparation and learning all about the sacrement. Mary who organises it does a fabulous job ... she really made it a wonderful ceremony the way she prepared the children. It was a lovely service, we were so proud of her. She wore the little veil i wore on my First Communion and the medal my mother wore on her First Communion ... so special!

(I got some gorgeous photos of her ... i am excited to make a little mini album for her. Now i feel inspired again ... after such a busy few weeks, i am ready to get creative again! so tomorrow ... i am into it!)

They had a cake for them afterwards of course they loved ... we would usually have a celebration at home afterwards, however the girl had their school carnival yesterday also, so we had to race off up there. They danced with their classes and also their dance school did a performance. It was a fun day, a busy fun day ... i was exhausted last night!

So much so ... i let the girls stay home today! (gasp .... ) i just really needed to have a cup of tea in bed, read a magazine ... have a relaxing start to the day .. clean the house ... (which they were inlisted to help with ... that was part of the deal! lol) so i am so happy, i love a clean house ... and i loved that i had a day with them ... i feel like we have not had alot of quality time together lately! I have had a REALLY productive day actually ... i even planted some more seedlings in my vege garden! So now i am having to patrol ... due to the scrub turkey situation! We are getting the gate fixed as i think i need Daisy's help around the back there ... as a deterant!!!!!

I had a big chat with one of my dearest friends today ... it just totally made my day, and filled me up! i miss her so much ... it was great to connect. makes me realise how much energy my best friends give me!

We are celebrating Emra's First Communion tomorrow night, so i am looking forward to that (so is she!) Mum and Dad sent a gorgeous photo frame which arrived today, so i will get some photos printed tomorrow to fill it for her!

This is our entry for the cake box decorating competition for the school carnival, we got a runners up prize of lollies ...

So excited about the new ENJOY JEWELLERY website that is up now (we still have a few things to tweek on it) but my s-i-l Lisa has done an amazing job - thanks Lisa! you Rock! I am going to give away another necklace in celebration of the new website, go have a look and leave me a comment to be in to win! I will draw it next Monday!

ok ... i want to get up for a run in the morning ... i was battling sickness last week, so haven't done anything in a while, makes it even harder getting up!

Promise i will post again soon ... i feel like i can breath again! yay!

Phew ....




i am realing ... the past couple of weeks have been super busy! i cannot even know where to start ... i think i will just bullet point a few of the things that has happened! (this is my Uncle with K standing on his new door mat we gave him for his house warming party! - so fun!)




more dancing eisteedfords (thurs, fri and saturday .... the girls did really well, and it was vey exciting - i do love watching them dance - their team won one of their sections, came 3rd in the Jazz and recieved many other places ... so proud of them)

making a new jewellery website (thanks to my very clever sister in law - you rock Lisa)

• extra dance practises




• Uncle's house warming party on saturday night




• jewellery order arrived friday




• major rainfall during the week ... causing major flooding throughout Brisbane




• cleaning spree going strong, finished our bedroom, bathroom, Gianna's room ...




• decided to give K & E's rooms a complete reno ... moved katya into emra's room so we can completely renovate K's room




• took before photo (shown)



• new red jewellery arrived (very exciting)



• planted seedlings in vege garden (battling scrub turkeys now who were so helpful in pulling them out again! AHHHHHHH! )

so on the to-do this week ....

• research for k's room reno - get cool ideas
• catch up with my cousin who is on holidays
• go to ikea (depending on budget)
• deal with turkeys
• deliver jewellery
• work on website
• do jewellery party
• food shopping
• plan meals
• caligraphy for certificates for Emra's First Communion group (before Fri)
• baking
• BEC work
• browse Martha book
• that is just a start .... i really need to be creative ... i just have not had any time!

i'm off to get some beauty sleep ....

Tangalooma ....

I feel like i have so much to say ... but i don't know where to start! Life is full at the moment ... i have accepted the fact that its going to be like this (busy) for some years to come - as its just a busy stage of life as the girls are getting older.

The big girls are in the middle of dance competitions, so they have commitments with that. Emra is making her First Communion soon, so she has classes and practises going on with that. The jewellery is going really well and keeping me on my toes! (its so fun ... i am loving it!) We are powering with the boat park ... on friday the concrete truck arrived and Lisa and I were out there bucketing concrete like any labourers you would find ... (ok so we had a few aches and pains the next day ... but we were going hard! lol) lucky it was such a gorgeous day!

I have my vege garden ready to plant again, i have prepared the soil really well and i have my compost going now .... i have had it going for a few weeks now, i was pretty excited about it (i meant to blog all about it when i started ... we are pretty green here now with our recycling, water tanks, compost .. and we are looking to go solar too!) i am all for saving the planet! So fresh veges are on the horizon too ... i will defnitely take photos as they get going! I find it so rewarding growing my own food! Ok so i am a bit of an earth child! lol!

We had a fabulous day over at Tangalooma yesterday with my extended family. My Aunty and Uncle have a boat too ... so we all went over for the day ... its a gorgeous part of the world, we are so lucky its so close.

They have these enormous sand dunes ... believe me you get some serious leg burn trying to get to the top (of course Em won the race) we were all in bed early last night ... its hard work!

I am still trying to stick to the Spring Clean plan ... i am a few days behind, but thats ok ... the program is here and i am up to day 5 (cleaning the kitchen) so i will get into that tomorrow ... i must say its so refreshing once you finish! Anyone needing motivation this website has fired me up ...

ok ... will catch up again soon - hopefully with some creative stuff to share! :-)

cousins ....

my brother, s-i-law and little nephew are staying from Melbourne. The girls are loving having their little cousin around ... they are so cute! Its amazing how quickly things change in just a few years ... lots of things have been moved out of the way ... the pot plant downstairs seems to be a bit of a magnet!

so cute having a little person around ....

time for dinner ... its a Bill Granger recipe tonight! YUM!

happy mothers day ...

i guess having a birthday so close to Mother's Day is cause for many highlights!

The girls and i spent Sat night at Caloundra as the big girls had dance competitions (again) so Mother's Day wasn't a relaxing start unfortunately! It is one of my favourite places to be tho, look at the gorgeous view from our unit! stunning!

The girls had bought their gifts up and first thing in the morning i was opening their cute gifts. I love hearing why they pick certain things ... gary had helped in the process (which we don't usually do ... we usually don't buy gifts for each other) however ... i was spoilt (yet again) with a waffle maker which i had secretly been wanting since i stayed at my brother's and tasted their yum ones! so i really appreciate having it now, also another mac lipgloss (my fav)

I did buy myself a little present (for myself) a week or so ago i ordered from amazon.com Martha Stewarts new book ... also two of Maria Shrivers books (she's one of my favourites too) they arrived today ... so i was excited about that!

On Friday night as Gary watched the footy, i decided to try one of Jessica Spragues free online classes. This is my take on it ... its was fun to learn how to make things using photoshop ... as its like learning another language. At the beginning of the year one of the things i wanted to do was learn about photoshop and get a bit more computer savvy ... so i guess this is the start of my journey!

I have been following this blog they are doing a spring clean in 10 days, i am a little behind, but i do love being organised ... and agree that when you are then you can concentrate on the things that really matter. So tomorrow i will get the lounge in order ... its not too bad ... although windows etc need doing!

check http://www.enjoyjewellery.blogspot.com/ for new jewellery ... more coming soon too!