Early Gifts

I've got some gorgeous gifts from my girlfriends for this Christmas. Barbi gave me a gorgeous diary I can use for web/work stuff, it's got a gorgeous lime green cover with lots of info and recipes inside. Karen, gave me a beautiful glass ornament which is hanging where I often hang the mistletoe. It's beautiful, and very special. She also gave me a set of measuring spoons to match my Matryoscka measuring cups she gave me last year. Just gorgeous. For my birthday she gave me a sweet zippered case, which I could put makeup in, and an apple stamp from Kikki K. I will take a photo of my apple collection which Karen started for me. Does three things, count as a collection lol????

I dropped in to Daisy's today, as Suzy is finishing today and going away to Mackay for Christmas with her family. She gave me a beautiful red diary, which is so classy, the cover looks like embossed red leather, it's stunning. She also gave me a Womens' Weekly Christmas cookbook. It's a hardback book and I can't wait to sit down after dinner and peruse this book. The diary, is beautiful, I've never seen one like it before.

I'm feeling very spoiled and it's not even Christmas yet!!

I will have to take photos.....just wanted to write down my thoughts. I'm a very lucky girl with lovely and thoughtful best friends. It's so cool when you get bought stuff that you know has been chosen for you by people who know you very well.....

I am indeed blessed.

Update

All's good in our home at the moment. Christmas Eve is looming, only 4 more sleeps!!

My health has been good, I've had no more funny heart flutter things, the doctor is pretty sure they're not panic attacks, so, for that I'm grateful, I had an ECG last week and it showed that all is normal.

The weekend was a full and fun one. Friday night was great fun @ Daisy's, with only a handful of us, it was a special evening. I managed, on Friday afternoon to dash into the Plaza and get almost all of what I need, including some new shorts and a top for me. At least now I have two pairs I can wear in public lol..... Friday night was a late one, it poured nearly all night. We'd had about 5 inches of rain for the entire weekend, so so wet. The dryer has been working overtime.

On Saturday I pottered around at home, trying to catch up on washing and chores. In the afternoon we headed off down the road, to have Christmas drinks with some of our neighbours. We had a fun evening, with good conversation and wine. It teemed rain the entire afternoon, but the kids made the most of their fantastic pool. It wasn't cold, just very wet. The kids and I came home around 8pm and Bunny came home around 10pm. We were all fast asleep when he ventured home, the kids exhausted from their huge afternoon in the pool and me because of the very late night before.

Yesterday morning, was a late start.....it was still raining. Bunny and I had a lie in together and enjoyed a very late breakfast. I cleaned up the kitchen and then did the shelving in the kitchen, and the glassware I have on display. By the time I'd finished it was almost time to get dressed to head down to the Church of Christ for carols. It was a very nice afternoon, I loved it. Billy-Joe came with me and Barbi was lead in the group that sang and she did a beautiful presentation of the Christmas story, very heartfelt as only Barbi can worship - Just beautiful. I saw some folk that were still attending from when I went there years ago, it was nice to be remembered. I'm thinking about returning. Just not sure.......

When I arrived home, I changed and Peter and I headed across the road to Hanni's place for more Christmas Cheer. We had drinks and nibblies and then stayed for dinner. The kids came over and joined us, and my parents were there too. She's a very generous lady and I'm so glad she's our neighbour. We have become friends and I enjoy helping her out. She is so kind to my kids too, something you don't often get from people other than relatives. Her family are all grown up and they and her grandkids all live in Melbourne. I think we're her surrogate family, and I'm pleased she's adopted us.

Today was a busy day. I was up early and we headed out to Erbachers, as I wanted to stock up on some of their yummy Turkish bread, and I also bought some cherries. We went into BigW and I bought Mickey some play clothes. He's grown so much of late, his pants are all tight. The other day I realized why.....many are a size 4 lol..... My boys are huge boys and get years out of their shorts, but as he's nine and a half I certainly can't complain!!

We came home, picked up Rusty and took him to the vet's for his second round of vaccinations. The kids were all keen to come with me, as the surgery cat, 'Jasper' is a huge kitty and I knew they'd enjoy seeing him. We asked the vet if Billy-Joe can do his work experience there, and it's all systems go! I'm rapt that we've got all that sorted. Billy-Joe is excited, and I think he will enjoy working there. Sammy and Mickey couldn't even cope seeing Rusty getting a thermometer in his behind, so they left the room!!! Billy-Joe was great and stayed there, and helped out with holding Rusty, I think he'll do fine there, it may be just what he needs to do in order to knuckle down and work hard toward a good OP score.

We came home and I baked our Vanilla Kipferln. I made about 60 of the divine, annual biscuits. The kitchen just smelled heavenly. Sammy said the smell always reminded him of Christmas.......

The kids decorated gingerbread men. I bought the kit, and it came complete with two huge biscuits and the icing. The one on the left is Sammy's and it's fully clothed, and the surreal looking one is Mickey's.

It was extremely hot last week, even Rusty thought so.

Trying to find a cool spot, and yes, it's on my kitchen countertop but no food is prepped there.

Rusty looking pretty.

My current desktop, it's a quick page, I'm so glad this isn't a blog followed for it's scrapbooking, because I always forget whose stuff I use and can't post credit, I didn't design this, just added the photo in Photoshop Elements.

Bah Humbug

I'm feeling a tad flat today. Not really sure why. I'm not feeling stressed although I've still got all my baking to do and my Christmas cards won't go to the Post Office on their own. I will make a start baking tomorrow. The kids are a bit cranky at times, and then they're well behaved and happy for hours at a time. The sad thing is though, that I've got no patience for the times when they are cranky or cheeky. I just blow up. I've had enough of the back chat and the 'Why do I have to?' crap that they go on with. Mind you, on the whole, they never end up disobeying me, the control I have wins out, and they always do as they're asked, it's just tiresome and wears on me.

I'm trying hard to feel Christmassy. Very hard. I've been putting my last needed ingredients in my Coles shopping cart and am thinking about what nibbles I'll make. I still have to go into the Plaza one more time to pick up some more gifts. Thankfully I still have a little money saved up for that.

I worked on the site this morning, and after last night's webinar, I realize how little I know. Even with doing this E Business Course, I've learned so much, but still have loads more to learn. I feel like I'm grappling in the dark, although the area is larger now than before. A Dreamweaver book I ordered from the Book Depository arrived today, so I'll have a play at making Daisy's a new site. I want something 'slick and more scrapbookingish' if that makes any sense.

I waiver with what I want to do workwise. I want to earn money, and spend money, but I don't really know what I want to do. I'm finding that with working on the site, I actually have less free time than I had when I was teaching, and far far less money. And yet I don't want to teach. I do like the idea of working with just myself. I know I'm talking in circles, but putting this down in print helps me put things in perspective.

I'm just truly blessed that my boss is also my best friend. In many ways Daisy's is as much mine as it is Barbi's. Not in the responsibility stakes, nor the financial side of it, but it was our Brainchild. Not hers and not mine, it's something that we share. It's almost like having a child with someone. There's a bond there beyond just a simple friendship. And I feel fortunate to be a part of it still.

Perhaps I'm not really Bah Humbug, perhaps I'm just in a reflective and contemplative mood, and there's nothing wrong with that I guess.

Operation Flea

Thought for the day
"Wonder what the neighbour thinks when he's standing in his garden and sees me venture to the wheelie bin, outfitted in my pink socks (because my feet get cold), my blue birkenstocks, and my shortie pjs with an apron on which is yellow with black dots and pink spots. Bewwidifullll!!!! lol......

Living in a sub tropical climate is awesome. Much cheaper than living where I grew up. Heating costs and clothing costs are much lower, although we do have a/c costs, but they're not as high as heating for 9 months of the year would be. Having said that, the heat does have its disadvantages, and one of those are creepy crawlies!!! In all my life in Geelong, I'd never seen a cockroach or a flea.....I did have bites sometimes from my cat, but never SAW a flea, and this was always fixed by putting a flea collar on kitty.......

Of course such a thing as a flea collar doesn't do anything up here!! With two cats, and Izzy who's allowed outside, we've had the two cats with fleas. Sammy is so vigilant and regularly checks both cats, several times a day and kills many a flea. So it was only a matter of time before the house became infested too!!! Izzy is treated systemically but Rusty is too young for us to do so yet, but because Izzy is allowed outside she brings live ones inside which promptly hop onto Rusty. We have treated Rusty topically but Izzy licks it off!!!!

So, today, I flea bombed the house, bathed both kitties in flea shampoo. This is a major task as we can't stay home whilst the house is being bombed.

I took the kids to Maccy D's and we availed ourselves of the free wi fi and had far too much junk food, but we had a lovely time. Thank God we rarely go there, as I spent over $40 on food and ice creams (and frappe for me), but it was an easy way to spend a couple of hours. Between us we had two Nintendo DSs an iPhone and an iPad, so we were rockin' with technology.

We came home, I vacuumed the house and opened up all the windows, and brought the kitties back from downstairs where we'd housed them whilst the war against fleas was raging. They are now exhausted, and still sleeping, bathing them makes them so tired lol......

I will wait and see, but I pray we have conquered these dreadful insects. The kids and I had a relaxing day though, which was lovely. They've been so good and as we spend so much time at home on the holidays it was nice to go out with them.

Reverb 10 Day 3

Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

The moment I'm choosing to write about, wasn't during some wonderful event. Instead, it was during the early hours of the morning, many mornings in a row, around 3 or 4 am. I'd been on my new anti depressants for a few months and had started my arthritis meds and not sleeping well during the initial period. Normally this level of wakefulness would have driven me to high levels of frustration and anger at myself. Instead, I'd sit up for an hour each early morning and just enjoyed the peace, quiet and the fact that this time would soon pass. This moment was important, because of my new lease of life, and the fact I was so much happier within myself. Being an insomniac meant I could do a digi layout, surf the web, and enjoy the utter stillness of the night, without an ounce of bad feeling.

This time lasted for a few weeks. And while I often needed to have a nap in the afternoon to catch up, I coped quite well during this time. It showed me that my lighter mood, wasn't shortlived. Even now if I awake unexpectedly and can't get back to sleep, rather than tossing and turning, I listen to my audiobook, or I get my iPad and surf the web. It never takes long for the fatigue to overtake me again, and I can get back to sleep.

I can't even write about this in such a way to convey how great I feel.

Day 2 Reverb

What stops you from writing and can you eliminate it?

There's nothing that stops me from writing, as such. I just don't think of it every day. My days are so full, that I can't remember everything that I want to do, let alone physically get to it. Then, on other days I just want to do nothing, and, at other times, I just don't have the energy. Basically all those things come down to one thing ME!! Can I eliminate it? Well hardly lol,

How can this reflection manifest itself into action for 2011? I'm aware I'm the one stopping myself, consciously or unconsciously. I just have to keep this in the forefront of my mind, so that I keep at it regularly.

Reverb 10

I know how dreadful I am with projects of this nature. Project 365, was Project 2 when I did it, and I can't remember the last time I finished an entire digi scrapping class.........Anyway, seeing as this was only for a month, and I didn't need to do anything other than write, I thought I might just be able to manage this.

This project is based on the ideas from here.

Day 1. (I know I'm behind already, give me a break and I will attempt to catch up)
I need One Word that encapsulates 2010, and I have to explain why I've chosen it.

My word which encapsulates 2010 is NEW. Now I can't even remember what word I chose last year to be my word for this year, but on reflection that word captures everything for me. NEW.
NEW me
NEW body
NEW optimism
NEW me

When I look at the word, I wish, very much that I could have written, "NEW but really just the old come back"........but I can't write that.

I have felt new in so many different ways this year. Earlier this year I finally went to a new GP and poured my heart out, on the advice of my physiotherapist. I went for the holistic approach, rather than just going to the GP and addressing the worst ailment as is my general MO, I told her everything that was wrong with me........Lord only knows why I hadn't done that earlier.

The upshot was, that I went to the specialist too which has addressed my pain issues, and the new meds my GP put me on, has turned me into a new woman. A much happier woman. A woman who is now good to live with, and who has more tolerance. I like being with myself much more nowadays.

My only regret is that I hadn't been put on these meds earlier..........hence saying that I can't even say the 'new me is like the old me was' because I've never been that good before.

Busy Busy Busy

This time of the year is always so very busy. I'm not buying huge amounts of gifts this year, but still there's lots to do. One thing I'm really pleased with though, is that I've not had a panic attack yet. Thank the Lord. I was actually supposed to go and see the counsellor prior to this season beginning, but I just didn't get there. The last few years, it's started by the time Suzy's Christmas Album is on. This year, was a test as I had to be in two places at once on that same morning, so if it was going to start, that was a perfectly stressful morning to start. Instead, I had a lovely day. I thoroughly enjoyed the class. It's lovely to be playing with all those beautiful products and me not having to think too much about it. Suzy puts in so much prep time, so even though they're quite complex pages, the instructions and planning she puts into it, makes it a joy to work through. Plus I worked with Karen, who took me under her wing, seeing as I had to step out for an hour, and she helped me so that at the end of the session we were basically up to the same page.....anyway, again I digress, but no panic attacks.

Today, however, has been a little full on and I can feel I'm borderline, but still okay. I have had a huge week, actually a few big weeks and today has been incredibly busy with a few curve balls thrown in. Dear Bunny was booked in for his three yearly colonoscopy today, an appointment I'd scheduled over a month ago for 11 am. When they rang yesterday to confirm the booking they said it was for 4pm. Peter had already started the fasting and drinking the solution, and he'd stayed home from work all afternoon to do this. Neither of us were very happy about this as they wouldn't put us back to the original time and Peter rightfully so, didn't want to postpone it to another day.He's already spent the last few days on a restrictive diet and just wants to get it over and done with. It means, however, that I'm not free to go out when I want to tonight, as I will have to go and pick him up. He would have been home well and truly by the time the procedure is now going to happen, and there's no way we would have accepted such a late time slot. To add insult to injury the procedure has a $440 out of pocket expense, which is an added inconvenience.

Anyway, because Peter is home, I've put him to work to help me today. He did a fastidious vacuum of the house today, as both Rusty and Izzy have fleas. They are both being treated, Rusty topically and Izzy with Proban, (systemically). Thankfully there were no fleas in any of the filters, after the house was done, so I'm still unsure where it's coming from. Then, Rusty has the runniest poos!! I think because he's a guts and has been eating Izzy's food. Change of diet isn't good for their little tummies, so I went out today and spent a king's ransom on good quality kitten food and more topical flea treatment. Hopefully we can eradicate them.

I also cannot find clear cellophane in this town anywhere!!!! I want to wrap some small gifts and really wanted clear cellophane. I had to buy coloured stuff in the end. Ah well, it's only going to end up in the bin anyway. I made some gift cards, just simply for what I want to use tonight and I'll make some more with a little extra on them that I can use later. Again it's going to end up in the bin, so no point stressing there.

Seeing as Peter's home today and our toilet has been leaking I asked him to fix it. So, he went out and bought new washers, which were too tight. Then when he tried to flush it the first time, the pressure was too great, and the water exploded out EVERYWHERE!!!! All over the walls and the ceiling!! So glad I wasn't in there when that happened! Now, however, because of the black stuff in the tank, it's stained the outside of the tank, so, no, my toilet looks even more revolting than it did before! I want one of those completely ceramic toilets. One that I can keep scrupulously clean and that will never discolour with age. I said to Peter, to buy me one for Christmas.......I really wouldn't mind.

Because today was the last day of school, I left it up to the kids whether or not they wanted to go for the half day. They were playing games and there was a liturgy for the Year 7s that were leaving. Mickey said he wanted to go, so I said they can both go. However, I'd not put my alarm on, and, had another crappy night's sleep so was fast asleep when Mickey came in to tell me it was 7am!! I got up about 40 minutes later and just pottered around, happy that I didn't have to rush anywhere. Then, Mickey tells me about 20 mins before school starts that his desk is still full of his stuff!!! Why oh why couldn't he have told me that last night, or earlier in the morning. I was rather peeved.

I took him out later to pick up his stuff.

So now we're all home, we've still got this appointment to get through this afternoon. Hope it all goes well for my dear Bunny. They quite often take off polyps which is good, and of course the reason he has this done regularly.

I'm looking forward to tonight, as Alaine and Sheree are coming from Brisbane to spend the evening with us @ Daisy's. It was Barbi's birthday yesterday, so another reason for tonight being a good night.

I need a wine though!!

I'm teaching tomorrow, which I'm not real impressed about, and next Saturday. I'll be happy when they're both out of the way.

A good day

I'm weary, so happy to be sitting down. I went shopping today with my Mum and Dad. We did much of our Christmas shopping. It was an easy shop, as this year's Christmas is very small. Seeing as we bought a gorgeous pedigree Burmese kitten, we have sacrificed a lot of our Christmas savings. I'm okay with that, as the joy and love we'll get from Rusty, will be so much more than a heap of toys which for the most part aren't played with enough. Although with screen time being delayed, I'm so happy to see the Legos being played with again. Today I bought Mickey some books, and Billy-Joe a watch, I think I'll add a Lego set for Sammy and Mickey and that's it. I bought my Dad a book and my parents in laws a novel each too. I bought Peter a nice shirt for golf and a cool pair of shorts, black and white check, just perfect for golf.

Mum and Dad took me to Sizzler for lunch, and it was very nice. I tend to have the same things though, the Taco beef on corn chips with the guacamole and jalapenos. And the dessert too of course. The apple pie, custard, and the trifle were delicious. We were gone all day. I came home long enough to say hello to the kitties and decide what I'm cooking for dinner and then I had to head out and pick up the tiddlywinks from school.

Once home, I've done my jobs. The dinner is very simple as dear Bunny is having a colonoscopy on Friday and therefore can't eat anything with fibre in it. So sausages and mashed potatoes (in the thermo) for the kids and the mash with a pork chop for Bunny. I'll have fruit I think. I'm not hungry and need nothing with any substance after a lunch out.

Now I'm sitting down, my feet are weary, but I'm content.........

Another lovely weekend, too short though.

My gorgeous new kitten Rusty having a kip.

It's been a fun weekend. With a new kitten in the house, there's been lots to do and watch and enjoy. We kept Rusty confined to Billy-Joe's room, but today we've let the two cats come together. The growling and hissing has stopped, now they are playfighting, although I do split them up because it gets a bit rough at times. But on the whole, I'm very very happy with how well they're getting along. They are going to be best buddies.

Snuggling with Sammy.

Today I cooked some fudge in my Thermomix. Absolutely delicious and so simple, it barely qualifies as cooking.

I had plans of doing digital layouts today as I want to complete last year's Christmas album. I worked all day. I did washing, I dusted the house, Billy-Joe organized the pussycats' areas, I tidied in the littlie's rooms and cleaned the toilet. I took Sammy and Billy-Joe to Crazy Clarks and was rapt to get a leather Office Chair for Billy-Joe's room. It was $80, down to $49 and I had a 20% off voucher, so the chair was only $40. Bargain!!

I finally got to sit down, checked Facebook, and put the photos on the computer, which I edited for this blog. I became so snoozy I had a lie down, it was just bliss. The best part was that Rusty came and laid one me and went to sleep too.

Fast becoming friends.

I'm excited

A few people I know are going to Melbourne to see the Tutankahmen Exhibition. It set me thinking. Sammy has had a thing about Egypt for a few years now. Seeing how passionate he is about something so fascinated, has always pleased me. The best I've ever been able to do, is to buy him books on the subject. He reads about this topic 90% of the time. The other 10% he reads about Roman or Greek Civilizations.

As many of you know, I grew up in Geelong, and loved it there. I left because there was nothing left for me when my second marriage dissolved. I was 27, twice married, and dispirited. Like I've said before I'd never go back to live there, but I love it, and always will. It's my home town. Where I went to school.

Anyway, once again I digress...... I'm going to take Sammy to the Exhibition with me. I'm going to spend time with my girlfriend and my relatives in Geelong. I can't wait. I'm taking one of my darling boys to something which will be akin to paradise for him. Can't wait to see his face on the 29th December when he opens his card with this message.

I started that post quite a few days ago, as usual life has gotten in the way of me whiling away my time writing.....

Today is Saturday, it's now evening. I've had an awesome day. The weeks have been so incredibly busy. I left home this morning and spent the time shopping with Suzy, wishing I had loads of money. The sales were awesome, the clothes selection even better. And thank the Lord I wasn't let loose in the crockery department, as all the Christmas dining ware was out and just looked stunning. Suzy and I went to a Thermomix demo today, it was the Christmas one. Once again the food was fabulous and I bought two cookbooks. The Meat one and the Festive Season one. I made the Garlic and Herb butter pull apart to eat with dinner tonight and it was my first success with making a dough in the Thermomix. It made a huge loaf, and everyone loved it. I'm looking forward to making some Christmas fare from this book.

We picked up Rusty yesterday. He's just gorgeous. I've got no photos to post as yet, I'm hoping to get some tomorrow. So far he and Izzy aren't getting along too badly, so I think they will actually become friends.......

I promise more photos soon.

Update

Julia is third from the left, my eldest niece's graduation.

I have so many things to write about, I so wish I wrote just after things happened, rather than waiting a week.......I'll dot point my entries, to make it easier for me and for you the reader.
* Life has been extremely busy of late. But it's all good. I am looking forward to a couple of quieter weeks, although with Christmas looming, this may not be the case. We're all looking forward to the Christmas break so very much. The kids finish school next week. I'm looking forward to a quieter holiday break too as I won't be working on setting up the site like I was this time 12 months ago. We've made some decisions regarding the store, and making the store smaller will be much easier to manage. I'm excited about changing it. I've also got my name down to do a short course next year in Dreamweaver. I'd like to build another site for Daisy's as my job lot for the course I'll be doing. Using a CMS is great, but very limiting as I've been advised by a good friend of mine. I want the flexibility which I don't have using Joomla. Mind you it's been great, but sometimes you don't know what you need until you start with something, then your goals become clearer.

* I had an arthrogram and an MRI last week. It was a huge day, I was at the hospital from 10.30 in the morning and didn't return home until 3.30pm. I was exhausted. I had an ultrasound as well, and then a couple of hours to kill while I waited for the next step. Thankfully Barbi came and we had coffee together in the cafe across the road. It was a lovely way to spend a few hours. I had taken my book and my iPad, but chatting with her was much better of course. We've not been able to catch up for our weekly coffees, so this was much needed for both of us.
* I came home from the hospital, weary and a bit sore and off feeling. The arthrogram needed about 5 needles before the fluid for the contrast was injected. I got home, and had to shower and get dressed up as I was taking photos of my niece's graduation, of her and her friends. I was also going to the pre formal evening. By the time I sat down at 8.30pm, I was well and truly weary. I had enjoyed doing the portrait shoot, but was very pleased that the day was over.
It was also our wedding anniversary, but we celebrated it on Saturday.
* The portrait shoot went well, but the time was too short. Actually the shoot didn't go as well as I would have liked, but with my editing I was actually able to achieve the look I'd set out for. Initially we'd decided, well Julia, decided to have a beach shoot, but with time limitations and the high probability of a windy afternoon, we changed the venue. I set Julia on a mission to find a grungy wall covered with graffiti. I told her of my idea to have something a bit different, and she liked the idea. Unfortunately these photos were the ones that turned out a bit overexposed, but I was able to create the look I wanted without too much post processing. My focus was out though, but that's probably more noticed by me, (and people who know what they're looking at) than Julia and her friends. That night I didn't sleep well, I fell asleep quickly, but then awoke and couldn't go back to sleep as I was worried about the pictures. I got up at 2am and edited a few, saw that I could fix them and went back to bed. Needless to say I was quite weary the next day, but relieved. I had a sleep during the day, as Ricky was coming for dinner that night and I didn't want to be tired for that.



* I enjoyed a bottle of champagne with Barbi on Friday night. It was a great reward after a big week. It was a good night of chatting and just being together. Barbi's daughter graduated that week too with Julia, and was heading off to Japan on the Sunday. A huge step for a young woman, who only a few years ago, still wanted her Mum to walk her into the school grounds every morning. In the last few months, even, she's matured and grown up so much. What an experience for her to be in Japan for 8 weeks. There she'll experience Japanese life and culture first hand, and is also lucky to be going to a school while she's there.
* Saturday I decided to finish editing Julia's photos. I'd done most of them, but was stuck on the few I wanted to make 'special'. Billy-Joe had organized to go and spend time at a friend's house so I had to drop him off there. I asked for Suzy's help and we spent a lovely afternoon together chatting, and running out of time as usual. But the main thing was she'd refreshed my memory on a few processes, so that I could finish the photos. Julia left for schoolies on Sunday morning, so I've still got a few photos to finish.
* Saturday night was lots of fun. Peter and I finally got around to celebrating our wedding anniversary.I was spoilt as he bought me a gorgeous gold ring with a peridot and amethyst in it. He also bought me some silver ear rings. They were from my brother who owns MiBling.
* Sunday we decided to go down the coast and have a look at a few things for Billy-Joe's room. We ordered his bed and will go back in the New Year to get some cupboard organizers and a desk. It was great just spending time together. We'd considered buying a new PC for the kids as theirs had pooped itself!! We didn't buy one as a gaming computer of course isn't a cheap entity. Now I'm even thinking that I might update my iMac and let the kids have my iMac. We'll wait though, and I think when enough time has elapsed the kids will be so used to using my iMac they won't need a PC anymore. That's my theory anyway.....I've also spoken to them about the fact that they don't play enough and I've changed 'ScreenTime', they now can't go onto a screen of any form until 5pm. Needless to say they're not real thrilled with that idea, but guess what??? They're playing more, so I won't change it any time soon. Billy-Joe was the one most disappointed actually, as he says he doesn't play with toys, but he's on the computer for many more hours as he stays up longer, so I've enforced it with him too. There has to be a balance.
* We get Rusty on Friday. I can't wait. I'll get him in the morning, so I can have him to myself for the WHOLE DAY as I won't get a look in once the kids come home from school.
* The kids had Crazy Hair Day as a fundraiser for Diabetes.

• Sammy with Rusty and his sister Holly

Rusty

Crazy Hair Day

Focus is focussing

I can't believe there are only 40 days until Christmas Eve. The time is just racing by. November has been busy so far, and intends to stay so. Last week I had an evening about Billy-Joe's year 10 work experience program. He is interested in working with animals, so I'll go and see Kim Evans about the possibility. While in my heart I don't believe Billy-Joe has what it takes to do Veterinary Science, as far as academics go, but we'd like him to experience working with animals. I'm thinking this will either make him realize, working with animals isn't for him, or, that he loves it so much, he'll pull his finger out and really apply himself to his school work, and aim high for an OP 1 which he needs for Vet Science. While I don't think he has what it takes to achieve this, it's not because I don't think he's bright enough, it's because he's so much like me........he gets by with doing the minimum and doing well. He's never extended himself to strive to do well. He does such a small amount of homework and still does well. Far out, I know someone else like that. Once I was in High School, I realized that I could still do well without trying too hard. The downside to this, was, that even when I wanted to work harder on subjects I finally found difficult, I honestly didn't know how. I'd never had to work hard, and doing physics and Chemistry was too much for me. I was good at school, and learned easily, but I'd never been overtly taught how to study. I think this overt teaching of such an important skill, is still sadly lacking in our schools today. Once rote learning, and merely reading information isn't enough, strategies need to be employed and this isn't taught. I didn't become a good 'studier' until I did my university degree as a mature aged student, when I taught myself how to study. Anyway, once again I digress......

Billy-Joe is now aware that Year 10 will bring with it new challenges and that he has to amp up the workload if he wants to do well. I've also explained to him, that getting into a degree as a mature aged student is also an avenue. I'd not been interested in Sixth Form (Year 12), and was more than happy to work when I left school at the end of Fifth Form (Year 11). I still got my degree, and I didn't even need my HSC. It gets to a point where life experience and work experience counts for a lot. I think it's a huge ask, expecting kids to know what they want to do when they 'grow up'. Heck, I'm still growing up and exploring options.

The weekend was just lovely. No obligations and no plans. Just perfect after a busy week. As usual I went scrapping on Friday night, and had a lovely night. I did sweet FA though.....need to pull my finger out and make some Christmas cards. Thankfully I never have to make many, as I don't post many, as I only make cards for those friends, I don't see.

I sewed in all my spare time this weekend. I went to Brians Fabrics the other day and had a ball fossicking through all he had to offer. I'll attach photos, my bag isn't perfect, but not a bad first attempt. I've decided that woven interfacing will make the difference. It's a pain, because it's so expensive. I'm trying to source it cheaper, $30/metre seems rather prohibitive for something you don't even see. Actually my fabrics were only $7.50/metre, so I'm not paying $30 per/metre for interfacing!!!! I can't wait to go back and buy some more fabrics. I'd bought enough fabric for about three bags, but I'd mis read the back of the pattern, and hadn't bought enough fabric. Shucks, now I need to go back and get some more.

On Wednesday, my niece Julia graduates! I can still feel the weight of her as I held her as a newborn. She's asked me to take photos of her and her friends at the beach beforehand.That will be fun. I've got some ideas. Ricky is picking me up, as I am not supposed to drive, as I'm having an MRI earlier that day. My Mum and Dad, and I are invited to the pre formal drinks, so I'll go to that after I've taken some photos. I can't wait to see her. She'll just look beautiful. I'm looking forward to see my baby brother too. He's coming for dinner on Thursday night, so that will be fun too.

My handbag I made on the weekend

The dinner I cooked last night. Pork loin chops with a sweet and sour cherry star anise sauce, served on bok choy.

Foci!!

All year I have struggled with something. While my health has definitely improved, my mood is great and my energy levels aren't too bad, I've had real issues with trying to focus on any one thing. I find myself floundering from one point of interest to another, not really sure where I want to expend my energies.

I still feel guilty about not scrapbooking. It doesn't worry me when my friends try to get me back to it, I understand how they must feel like in a small way I've abandoned them and not just the craft. My main reasons for scrapbooking apart from the pleasure of playing with papers and embellishments, I wanted to document my life with photos and journalling. I wanted something that my kids can look back on when they're all grown up. I want them to know how loved they are, and I didn't want to forget things myself.

My personal income has dropped dramatically. Not teaching means I'm kept in basic pocket money with Peter having to pick up lots of expenses that I used to meet, like kids' clothes and hair cuts. I'm currently cutting the kids' hair and being extra grateful for hand me downs. I have a low credit card debt which I maintain, but no personal loans as such at the moment which is great. I've been paying cash for things lately which is the way it has to be when my weekly income is so low. I have no money at all left in the bank on a fortnightly basis, and the little I earn, is my pocket money, which means I often buy fruit/veges, fuel, or give the kids money and of course my Thai meal on a Friday night. It's my 'purse money', it's also what I use when I buy new markers or some other card making item. It suits me well enough, but I'm very discerning, and there's certainly no money left over for scrapping paraphernalia.

I'm pleased, therefore that I maintain this blog. I can document happenings on here as I enjoy writing and I find I write down much more than when I was scrapping anyway. I will go down the road of digital scrapbooking, but have had no time for it lately, although I need to finish last years Christmas Album, which I will do digitally (with no guilt). I have lots of digital elements which will be perfect for it.

The year is quickly drawing to an end and I want to write down what my focal points of interest will be, hence the title of my post today. I am still working on the website for Barbi and we are considering taking another direction with this. The newer version of Joomla will be released soon and is not going to be a simple upgrade. We think it's time to move onto something more dynamic and something that will grow with us. I have signed up for a trial of Business Catalyst and have also downloaded a trial version of Dreamweaver. As both are Adobe products, there's a compatibility there for the two to work in together.

I'm feeling better that clarity has finally come to me. I've been in a mixed up state of mind for a while, not knowing where to head. I'm still not 100% sure how I'll proceed as I need to buy Dreamweaver, and a course would be great too. TAFE has a course which runs for 18 hours and costs over $300. I could get the program for about $130 as a student's price. Both of these costs I could claim back on our tax which would be good. I will do more research on this before I make a final commitment. It all seems a bit overwhelming at the moment, but I think it will be useful for me. There are also online classes available, which I can investigate. I'm disciplined enough to do this, so that's an option too.

Before the end of 2010 I'm going to
* Teach a Copic A&B class on a Saturday
* Teach a photography class on a Saturday
* Make my Christmas Cards
* Colour my new stamps
* Decide on our Christmas menu
* Do all the Christmas shopping
* Complete Suzy's Christmas Album Class (my darling is paying for this for me <3)
* Complete photos for 2009 album, I always finish this before making the new one.
* Research Business Catalyst and Dreamweaver classes
* Complete trial for Business Catalyst
* Look into handbag making. A gift idea I'm looking into, I can sew and have been neglecting this craft for a long time.

Many of these things will carry over into 2011, but I want to make a start now, and some of course will need to be done by the end of the year. I'm feeling positive and excited about the possibilities.

While scrapbooking isn't taking centre stage anymore, my love of photography is no different, my involvement and love of Daisy's is as strong as ever, so I know I'm not neglecting the industry or my interests.

Just as a totally unrelated aside......I've just caught a glimpse of my desktop on the iMac, and I am so excited to be getting another cat. Rusty is just gorgeous and I can't believe I love him so much already. Karen saw me holding him in a photo, and she asked me was I holding a cat or a baby.........well he's a baby kitty, and pretty special, and it's lovely to have those emotions awakened.

Another aside, am sipping on a Stefani Estate Pinot Gris.

An Exceptional Weekend

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm feeling very relaxed and content. It's been a great few days in our family, and on the heels of a lovely week too.

Peter and I dropped the kids off in Caloundra around 8am on Friday morning. The weather was foul, teeming rain, and not nice to be driving in. I don't know what it is about us going away, and rain lol.... Seems to happen with regular monotony. Thankfully by the time we got to Brisbane, the rain had gone away, actually it hadn't rained in Brisbane at all.

Of course we got lost. Well not lost as such, but dear Bunny stuffed up and we took a wrong turn. 'Oh no Barbi, Peter says he's fine once we get onto the bridge!!'. Thank God we had directions up until that point, but next year I'll make sure we have directions right to the hotel door!!! Of course he gets so peeved and cranky lol..... I don't even get cranky at him, he does it all to himself - hilarious. Gosh I wish I knew my way around the city, so it's not such a huge drama every single time we go there. I'm sure we'd go there more often if we felt more confident.

We checked into our hotel, and breathed a sigh of relief as we headed to the convention centre. I can't believe I was so naive though to think we would be amongst the first 100 so we could get a pack!!! There were 100s of people waiting, possibly thousands, the line was very long and wide...... Apparently there were some people at the doors already at 7am!!! Unbelievable. I was also astounded that they were all Mums. Mostly just groups of girlfriends. I wondered to myself how they would go picking up their children after school. It's not something I would do that's for sure. The atmosphere was fantastic and the wine exhibitors were happy to chat about their wine, and we're rapt we decided to go on the Friday. We definitely made the right decision there. Saturdays is for the yobboes and those intending to get drunk. Needless to say the wine stall holders are tired and have had enough by Saturday afternoon, and the tasters like us who are serious about finding new wine tastes feel a little overwhelmed by the ruckus.

We met some lovely people. The lady from Stefani's winery was just the sweetest person, even saying that if we're ever in the area we should pop in and visit. We tasted some really nice Pino Gris, which has never been something I've ever liked before. I even drank a mango sparkling wine, which I was reluctant to try as my taste buds have grown way past those kinds of lolly wines....but I was pleasantly surprised. It was delicious, fruity, fresh and not sickly sweet at all
At the Oxford Landing Restaurant, I had an entree of Tofu and buckwheat, a very interesting lunch, and very different from what I'd normally eat. Dessert was a walnut tart with a salty caramel sauce.

We had so much fun together. It's really special being able to walk around, hand in hand without a care in the world. We visited the Grinders stall three times, to drink their coffee. We had two short blacks during the afternoon to keep us going.

Six o'clock on the dot, we were kicked out. They're very strict about when it finishes. We walked back to our hotel with our bounty, of around 8 bottles of wine. We'd actually forgotten to go back to buy a Mango sparkling, nor did we go back and buy these really cool wine glasses. They're $10 more to buy from the website and when you include freight, so that was a shame to forget them. They'll be ideal for going where only plastic is allowed. I can't stand drinking wine out of a plastic cup, but these have been designed by a person who knows about wine. They're stemless and completely shatterproof.

Peter was hungry and eager to go out to dinner. I could have easily had room service and sat in my jammies. But, I showered, washed my hair, and donned a dress and heels and we walked over to Southbank and sat down in a Turkish restaurant. The food was awesome, but I had no hunger what so ever, so my entree platter of dips and turkish bread was largely untouched by me, and Peter ate all the bread and about half of the dips. The serving was huge, would have easily served 4 people for an entree.

I couldn't wait to go back to the hotel and go to bed. I was exhausted. We both had a pretty cruddy night's sleep, although I slept okay for about 3 hours!! Peter's snoring kept us both awake. Even a double dose of sleeping pills didn't help me. The buffet breakfast in the morning was awesome. I was actually hungry for that. The cereals, juices and breads were just delicious. We checked out at 11am and headed for home.

The kids had stayed with Peter's parents so we picked them up on the way home. They'd all had a lovely time too.

By 1pm I'd put on my jammies and was in my bed. I dozed for a couple of hours and then we headed out to pick up Izzy and to visit Rusty. My little kitten fell asleep on me yet again. Think I'll get my schmoozy cat yet!!

When we got home, I showered and got dressed and headed out to join Karen and Barbi at the retreat. I'm glad I went even though I was almost zombie like from fatigue. The food Barbi prepared was scrumptious, good simple fare, but I was ravenously hungry, making up for Friday I think. I was home and tucked back into bed at midnight. I'd decided I wasn't going back for the Sunday. I really needed and wanted a day at home.

Today I slept in, had a late breakfast and then did chores for most of the day. I cleaned some windows, did a heap of washing, and tidied. I feel good knowing I'm all organized for the week ahead.

I need to book an appointment with my counsellor. I don't want to end up with panic attacks again this year, and Christmas with all it's 'busyness' is starting to create havoc in my head. I've got a year 10 meeting to go to on Tuesday night, next week I'm taking photos for Julia's formal and also attending the pre formal 'do'. School is finished in only four weeks!! Can't believe the year is almost over again.

My Christmas list isn't done, and my budget is incredibly low. I'm going to contact my brother and suggest we do no gifts for each other. My presents to my girlfriends will be much less this year too, which is a shame, as I'd love to spend more on them, they are easy and fun to buy for. The Christmas album class is coming up and I was really tossing up whether or not to do it. I know Peter would have given me the money if I'd asked, as I don't have the money put aside for it this year. Alas fate has jumped in and taken that decision away from me as Sammy's IEP is on the same morning. I will think about it a bit more, but I don't think I'll get the kit either. Sad really, but I have to be practical and realistic. I have a little work coming up, so I'll hold off making the final decision and see how I'm travelling. Either way, I can't be at the class, and it's an annual tradition, something that Karen and I normally do together, although the last few years, she's left early to attend a school function, so perhaps it's just not meant to be.

I'm looking forward to Christmas. To hopefully having the family together, laughing, eating delicious food and drinking great wines. The only thing that would make it better, is if we could stay home on Christmas Day..... I know I shouldn't be like that. I always enjoy the day, but I'm so so weary, and quite frankly have had enough of the festivities for a few days anyway, so much so that I don't even want to do anything for my birthday, but a couple of days after Christmas Eve and I'm already thinking of what I can do. Tiredness is a pain in the butt, and takes away all motivation.

It's late afternoon, and I'm tired again. Looking forward to a nice night's sleep again tonight. I want to feel energized for the week ahead.

Life is good

I've had a good week. I love being at home just doing Mum things and getting the house in order. I find a strange kind of calm when all is good at home.

I asked Billy-Joe on the weekend if he was getting an award this year, because his grades have been quite good. He said no!!! I was stunned!! I thought either he did miserably this term, or the others just did so much better. Two days later, he came home and said there was an amended list up saying that he was the recipient of an academic award. I was thrilled and so was he of course. We both acknowledge that last years award was ours!! I'd helped him so much in all his assignments that it would have been unfair to accredit his award to just him. This year I gave him little or no help, only when he asked actually. So, for him to receive this award, is just wonderful

Last night was the awards night, we went of course. He received his award and we 'escaped' to McDonalds where I shouted him a frappe just like last year. We were home by 8.15, feeling very smug and content..... Not only does he have a beautiful nature, but he has a great work ethic too. I love that about him. He's an awesome child. There's nothing quite like the relationship that you can have with your first born. Don't get me wrong, I adore and cherish all my boys, but I guess because he's my first and is very much like me in many ways, we get along well, and have a very special relationship. He knows that first and foremost I'm his Mum and his parent, but we're also close and enjoy being together. I wish I could have been like him when I was young. He has a beautiful soul!

Today I got up bright eyed and bushy tailed,knowing I had a huge day ahead of me. I took the kids to school, and then came home and started to get things organized for tonight. I was glad that my groceries were fairly early. I crumbed 1.5kg of chicken schnitzel, made a sticky date pudding, cooked the potatoes for the salad and tidied the house.

I had to go and see Barbi as Peter and I are so directionally challenged and don't trust ourselves to find our hotel, and wonderful friend as she is, she helped me jot down 'girl directions' so that we can find our way. I also took in some stuff I'd been working on. I came home, got Izzy into the carry basket, picked up the kidlets and drove out to the cattery. We dropped of Izzy and then went and saw Rusty. I'm just so in love with him. He feel asleep on me once again. I know he's going to be 'my' cat!! I wont tell the kids though lol...... He's so cuddly and his fur is like silk, he even smells good. Am I the only one who loves how cats smell. Actually I like how budgies smell too....... Billy-Joe told me one day that Izzy smells like me, and that's why she smells so good. What a lovely compliment.

We got home, Sammy headed into the shower and Mum and Dad arrived. Seven weeks is a long time. It was so good to see them. I wanted to keep hugging them, and squeezing them. The kids were rapt that they were here, and Peter was so happy to see them too. Dinner was divine. I love how we have so much fun with my parents. They are Peter's and my best friends. We entertain them the most and always have so much fun together. It's a wonderful relationship and I treasure it so much.

It's late now, Peter is downstairs bottling beer, I've showered and have clothes in the dryer. The kids are fast asleep. I'm weary and missing Izzy. The house is so quiet without her.

Tomorrow we are off to the Food and Wine Show. Another fabulous day.

Life is good.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Some days are so busy, but there's just not much to show for it at the end of the day. A mother's lot I guess.

I decided I needed to take Sammy to the doctor ASAP as he needed another script for antihistamine drops for his Allergic Conjunctivitis and he also has a mole which I was concerned about, which I'd like removed pronto!!

I took Billy-Joe and Mickey to school and then went up to the medical centre to see if they could see Sammy. We couldn't get in until 12.20pm, so I took him to school and then came home. I did heaps of washing, the line was full. I made several phone calls, appointments for Bunny and some calls about my Teacher Registration. The rules have changed for registration, so I need to check where I stand. I don't want to teach but nor do I want to go through the whole palaver to re register if I DO decide to go back. I did Bunny's leave application, and then baked a divine Chocolate cake. I used my hatchet to get rid of all the daggy bits on the chicken wings, to do some prep for dinner and tidied up every single thing. Nothing is left out, my room is immaculate. I also dusted all the venetian blinds, and the furniture.

Just before noon Bunny came home and as I was flying around getting ready to get Sammy, I did some more clerical stuff for him, and then I picked up Sammy. The GP will excise the mole and we got the script for his drops.

We had to wait quite a while, so by the time he had lunch and I had a cup of tea and ate some fruit, it was after 1.30pm. I sat on my MacBook and did some Daisy website stuff, and then laid down for 25 minutes with my audiobook before I had to pick up the other two kids. I picked them both up and then took Sammy to keyboard lesson, and took the other two home. We had afternoon tea after I iced the cake, they did their homework, and I prepped the sauce for my chicken wings.

Then I picked up Sammy, got home, gave him afternoon tea, cooked the spuds for the smashed potatoes, brought in all the washing, and put it away. I was happy to have a shower and sit down at 4.40pm and I enjoyed a cold Pepsi Max.

I made a coleslaw in the Thermomix which turned out really well. I just made my normal dressing, with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, but chopped the carrot, cabbage and onion in the Thermo. It was perfect and took me less than a minute to make!!

It's now almost 7 o'clock and I'm happy to be sitting down. The kitchen is spotless, and the kids are almost reading quietly. Bliss!!

I've sent man of the house downstairs as the entire night will be taken up with phone calls to do with tomorrow's race, and I can't bear the noise lol.... I tell him all the time we don't really need a phone, as he has a voice like a megaphone, and I've been listening to this analysis of horses for 20 years, and it's always the same shit. Same shit, different races lol........

This week will continue to be busy, although not as crazy as today I hope, Billy-Joe has his award night on Wednesday, as a proud Mama, I will of course go, but I really hate that kind of stuff......you know where people stand up and say the same obligatory stuff, and we have to sit there patiently listening...... I'd much prefer to stay home and do my course webinar, but of course I want to be there to show my boy how proud I am of him. Last year he received an award, and I reminded him WE received the award as I helped him with all his assignments. This year, he has taken on all I taught him onboard, and he's earned his Bronze Award all on his own, and I'm just stoked. Sometimes I think it's sad that I don't want to work as a teacher, but the knowledge it's given me, as far as delivery of help has been invaluable, and I'm so rapt that my children are benefitting from that.

On Thursday my parents are returning from a 7 week holiday in Phuket. The time has gone quickly, but some days I have missed them dreadfully. I'm excited to know they're home soon, and are coming for dinner on Thursday night. I will take Izzy to the Cattery on Thurs night and we'll visit Rusty. On Friday Peter and I are off to the Food and Wine Show. It's the one night a year, we're on our own, and we're very excited about it. It's a fun weekend for us, a weekend where we do something we both love and can solely focus on each other - pretty special.

I've just had a lovely weekend. I'm still so content and so happy where I am at the moment with my life. On Saturday I cleaned like a madwoman, and am very happy to report that while my shoulder was sore, I didn't have to stop because of it. I used the green Enjo mitt and cleaned walls, in Billy-Joe's room, the toilet, laundry and hallway. I got Peter to do the laundry ceiling, it now looks so much better. I do enjoy cleaning, but hate hurting of course, so many things have been a bit neglected of late. We started the morning very relaxed, the kids didn't have golf and Peter didn't work, so we had a snuggle in and enjoyed a breakfast together with a big plunger full of coffee.

Whilst sitting I perused my Indian Thermo cookbook and chose a Prawn Masala dish for dinner that night. I also decided to make Onion Bhajee, (onion fritters made on delicious besan flour)

In the afternoon I ducked into the shops with Billy-Joe. We dropped into the new Dick Smith store and had a look at all gadgetry which of course we both love. I needed to buy Sammy some new undies, we dropped in and saw Julia and had an Iced Moccha before heading home. I enjoyed an hour or so on my MacBook and then I headed into the bath with my iPad and a couple of glasses of wine. I put some essential oils in the water, and just laid in there for well over an hour. It was so nice.

The meal on Saturday night was absolutely scrumptious. I was very pleased with how easy it was to prepare, and the flavours were so authentic. I had enough batter left over to make the Bhajees for dinner on Sunday night. I'd also bought some naan bread from coles, and it was very nice, much nicer than I thought it would be as I'm often dubious of a packet food.

Yesterday we looked after a friend of Sammy's. Archie's Mum was working at the Pet Expo and she is on her own, so we had her son. We all went to the beach and enjoyed fish and chips for lunch. After I got organized when we got home, Billy-Joe and I headed out to the Pet Expo. I was hoping to see lots of kittens and puppies, but it was a rather poor effort I thought. We did enjoy it though. I talked to someone about having pet meat home delivered and I got some samples too, which Izzy is just devouring with such gusto. I patted a malamute, which was the most beautiful dog I've ever seen in real life. I've only ever seen them in photos and on TV, never in real. I've always loved German Shepherds and this is a paler version, with the most amazing eyes. I also patted a greyhound, a much maligned dog, with a lovely shiny soft fur and a gentle nature. They had pet snakes which were just beautiful, and also the most brilliantly coloured budgies I've ever seen. I could have easily bought a budgie and a fish......but they don't go too well with two pussy cats!! We only spent just over an hour there, but we got in for cheap as the man on the gate knows me, and it was later in the afternoon already.

I can't believe there are only 53 days left till Christmas!!!

Reality Hits

I have to start this post with a sigh...not a huge one mind you, but a sigh nonetheless. Reality has indeed struck home, and it waited until about four days after we got back from Rainbow Beach. I didn't miss being super busy, I didn't miss getting the kids organized from school and I certainly didn't miss the afternoons where homework is the key focus. Even as a teacher, I find homework with my kids incredibly onerous. Actually at the moment, thank the Lord, it's not all three kids who make it difficult for me, but Sammy is very tiresome to work with. I take my hat off to his teachers, and their never ending patience and understanding of his quirks and foibles because I find them incredibly frustrating and also sad at times. Frustrating because I can't seem to make any headway with him, and sad because his lack of enthusiasm and motivation makes me sad. I fear for him in later life. When the idleness of childhood is something of the past. All our children see that their parents are always busy, working, ensuring the household is in order and running smoothly, so I don't know where this laziness comes from. I know that all kids and teens aren't motivated to do the more mundane things in life, but even with Billy-Joe he knows that if he just gets in and does it, it will soon be over and the fun stuff can be done instead. Even Mickey, has a work ethic. I sometimes need to pull him up to do stuff more neatly or do a bit more, but there's never an issue about him sitting down and doing the tasks........ It's all part of the difficult job of child rearing, I know.......I wish I knew how to make things easier for him. I talk and he understands, or so I think. I just can't give up.

The days since Rainbow have been full and a little overwhelming, and the weekend brought with it a wonderful sense of relief as things could slow down a bit.

We came home from Rainbow with a wonderful sense of well being. That satisfaction that comes from spending time with your family, and enjoying a relaxed time and a few extra treats. Eating out was great fun, not worrying about cooking was even better lol....... I slept well most nights and even had a few afternoon kips.

I will have to post photos up of our trip, my favourite ones. Here's a few I took over the weekend, and also of our new 'fur baby'. We're very lucky to be getting Rusty our new kitten into our family. The kids and I are beside ourselves with excitement. Rusty is a red burmese. The cattery where Izzy stayed is owned by a lady who breeds Burmese. I'd had no interest in these cats until the day we were shown through the cattery and these beautiful cats came toward us and promptly made us feel very welcome. I'd never seen a cat before quite so friendly. I asked the lady what sort they were, as they're regal bearing already showed they were of a pedigree breed. These cats were burmese, and as they say, the rest is history. We looked at the kittens and promptly fell in love with Rusty. It took a little convincing to get Peter to agree, and we had resigned ourselves to the fact that Rusty wouldn't be ours, when Peter changed his mind. There were tears of joy all round, we're rapt. He's our Christmas present.

The following photos are from a weekend visit to the markets and of Rusty.

A frog who was walking around the markets, promoting a nicer environment for frogs in forests. He was beautiful and played music.

It was a glorious day and there were lots of people enjoying the markets and strolling around. There's so much to see it's awesome.

Mickey enjoying a soft drink.

Sweet little Rusty.

Sansonia, but I've spelled it incorrectly and cannot find the correct spelling.

Suzy took this photo of Mickey and I, I love it

Copic Information

This may or may not be identical to my the class note info I hand out as I don't have it here. But I liked this and thought it may be helpful for other beginners. (credit given to the site where I found the info)

Hair Colours

Dark Brunette—E25, E49, E53, E59

Auburn/Red—E13, E17, E18, E19

Dark Blonde—YR23, E35, Y23

Light Blonde—Y11, Y21, E97, E99

Light Brunette—E25, E29, E31

Black—C3, C5, C7, C9

Golden-Red Brunette—E39, E99, E18, YR23 

Denim Jeans

 B91, B95, B97 

Skin Tones 

 E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

http://www.scrapbookboutique.com.au/s/80/COPIC-MARKERS-INFO--COLOURS---STAMPING-TIPS.html

It's nice to be home

Home, Sweet Home

'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home; 

~John Howard Payne~

Even though I didn't want to leave Rainbow Beach, I am happy to be home. The above portion from an old poem just says it all. As little and humble my house is, I do love it. Actually today is nine years since we moved in here. We've been lucky home owners for 9 years. Where has the time gone. From a young school aged child and two babies, I now have three gorgeous boys, the eldest of whom will shortly enter his third year of high school. The years travel by so quickly. 

I had a busy day today, with a specialist appointment this morning, making sure I was organized for my class and then teaching this afternoon. It was a good day. The weather is glorious as perfect as any spring day in Qld can be. 

The rhuematologist has sent me for an MRI on my shoulder. It's been nearly two years since I've had problems with it, it's time to do some further investigations. It's good that she is listening to me. 

My Copic class went well this afternoon. It was  small class with only 4, but it's a lovely number. As luck would have it, the Copic order arrived during my class, so the ladies were able to add to their Copic and paper stash. With the sale this week, it's a good week to buy.

Izzy is delighted with having us home. She even sat on my lap today, I couldn't believe it. I was sorry that I had to get up and do some chores.

We're (the kids and I) are trying to convince Daddy that we should get another pussy cat!! When we picked up Izzy yesterday I asked if we could see the burmese kittens which the owner breeds. I've been doing some reading and they sound like an awesome breed. They're very loving and friendly. We saw the kittens and all fell in love......

Bunny's initial response was an emphatic no!! Wonder if I can convince him to change his mind........

Testing

On Holidays

Wednesday 14 October, 2010
We’ve only got three days left of our holiday, tomorrow we’ve been here a week. I always find the first few days go slowly, and then, as the routine of the days becomes established, the time goes more quickly. Actually almost as quick as our money.

Actually, I wonder how much money families spend on holidays. The families with good incomes, who do lots of paid things with their kids. The ones who attend the movies and theme parks and eat out all the time. It would run into the thousands. We’ve found we are having to be very careful with our funds, and what we are spending is all being spent on food, and most of it with food that we’re buying from the supermarket and eating at homes.

It’s been lovely to enjoy days that are quiet and relaxing. Days where my husband and I can just be together, where neither of us has to be anywhere else. Where the lack of routine means that we’re not rushing off to work, or having to take the kids anywhere. We’re all enjoying the rest. The kids are having fun spending so much time with us and have not tired of fishing everyday. My boys don’t fish to catch and eat the fish, but merely for the sport aspect of it. Billy-Joe caught a fabulous flathead the other day, it’s my favourite fish, and would have made a great meal, but there was no way that he could have killed it and brought it home. Suits me fine though, I like the fact that my boys are soft and enjoy letting the fish go back into the water.

We’ve all been sleeping in, with the exception of Mickey, who always falls asleep first and then is up early. Even Sammy and Billy-Joe slept until 10am today. It’s obvious our beds are comfy.

As the holiday nears its end, I’m thinking and planning already for the next holiday and also for the year ahead. I have a bit of catching up to do with my coursework and I also have a class booked for next week. So the day after we return, I“m right back into the routine, but with the knowledge that there are only 8 weeks left of the school year. I can’t believe that another school year is almost over, and that summer is quickly approaching. Next year Billy-Joe will be in year 10 and Sammy heads into his second last year of primary school. It didn’t seem all that long ago that they were all tiny children.

Thursday 15 October, 2010
I got up early and went fishing with my boys this morning. Bunny was most impressed that I was out of bed first!! Me the one who loves to snooze and snooze. I enjoyed it for the fact that I took lots of photos, and it's always nice just to watch the kids. I am loving just being with them. I sat down on the beach for an hour and a half and then had enough of the wind as my ears were beginning to ache, so I headed up to the car. I made a shopping list for Woolies and when the boys came up to the car we went home. We left Billy-Joe at home and headed out to Cooloola Cove and did some shopping, and I had to put a script in. 

After we took the food home, we went and had lunch at the sportman's club. The food was great. I had a chicken, and avocado pizza, which was just divine. It was even better than from the Italian Restaurant, and that dinner was really good. We hired some videos for the kids and had an ice cream. It was blustering and windy, but we still walked down and checked out the surf and I took a photo of the kids in front of the Cherry Venture’s propellor. I want to do a digi layout where I add the same photo from last year.

We got home, I showered and then laid down as I had a mild headache. Unfortunately I feel asleep lol....and woke up over an hour later.

The boys are now home from fishing, love how happy and excited they are when they come home.

At Rain(bow) Beach

We're away on our long awaited annual holiday. It almost seems unfair, that we save so hard for our break and then it rains....but you know what? We are still making the most of it. For one thing, we've already decided that next year, we'll go away a little later in the year. Sept/Oct is too unstable weatherwise here in Qld. Last week the weather was just glorious. Hot everyday, cool nights and I was in summer clothes, with short shorts and a singlet top and this week, it's raining.... Thankfully though it's not cold.

We booked the same house that we had last year. We're a little sad though to see that nothing's been done to the place. The weeds have been let run rampant and the broken towel rails, and door knobs haven't been fixed. Even the hissing/whisting toilet that Bunny fixed last year, hasn't been fixed properly. We'll go somewhere else next year, and this house is on the market too, it's obvious the owner doesn't want to spend any money. Sadly too, most people who rent holiday homes treat them badly. We treat this house like our own.....why can't more people be like us.

On the flipside though, the beds are still comfy, the house roomy, and I love having an ensuite. I can't believe that I think having my own shower and toilet is luxurious, but it is. Home has had bucketloads of rain, it's made the papers, they've had 10 inches of rain in a few hours....we're lucky to not have had as much here.

Probably the only thing we've done different so far, is that we can't sit on the beach, and I've not sat by the pool. We have still eaten out, enjoyed the relaxed feeling and enjoyed each others' company. We've even all been in the pool, crazy as it sounds, because it's not hot, but we're not going to miss out on having our own pool.

Even from last year, my kids have grown up so much. We let them in the water on their own now. All three are competent in the water, and it's a liberating feeling.

We stopped in at Aldi on the way up here and bought some nice food. There's a woolies about a half hour away from here, and an IGA and Foodworks handy for everyday things. The bakery sells yummy bread and there's the obligatory fish and chip shops, cafes and pizza places. Last night we out out Thai. It was very nice, but rather expensive. It's a shame that it costs $145 to take a family of five out for dinner!!!! We won't be doing that again. The same menu in Nambour would have cost us about $85, and the food would have been just as good. No wonder we don't eat out much as a family, the cost is prohibitive. The kids love eating out though, and we love taking them out, so it's a real treat for all of us.

The boys have been fishing twice already, and I've been happy staying home, on my MacBook, reading and snoozing. Tomorrow they want me to go too though.....and they want me to get dirty yikes, they want me to have the mud coming up through my toes.....not sure about that lol........ I don't mind to fish though, so we'll see what transpires. I'm not going if this weather continues though.

Sammy playing with the wrestling figurines in the lounge room.

Billy-Joe on his 'Apple Dell' in the family room.

Kidlets enjoying an ice cream at the yummy ice cream shop.

Kids swimming , with Mickey saving on washing.