The good, the bad and the ugly

At Carols by Candlelight on Sunday night. The lady across the road wanted to take my boys, but I wanted to go too. As her car was then out of action, I ended up taking her. We had a lovely time. She's a very kind and generous lady and even bought us sausages in bread and iced coffees.....she also bought the kids glow sticks. The music was good and it was a pleasant evening, finishing with a great display of fireworks. The kids loved those....first time they've seen them close up since they were babies and would cry at them lol......

When Peter went downstairs to go to bed on Saturday night, he found this snake on the verandah. She was checking out Charlie. He brought the snake upstairs for me to see, but I wasn't really expecting it when I opened the front door!!! I patted her and thought she was beautiful. He let her go down in the backyard......and no the snake isn't the 'ugly' part of my post lol......

There's been lots of good happening of late and a little bad. No ugliness really, just had to make the title sound good!

The last two and a half weeks have been a little up and down, thankfully the trend in the last two and a half weeks has gradually and steadily gone up. Prior to that, things weren't good.

Every year, at this time of the year, I feel like crap, probably from before then too, but I've really noticed a pattern. I feel so tired and overwhelmed it's horrid. I emailed a close friend and told her of my heart racing and sense of doom. It's like I have a long list of 'to dos' and even though I'm organized I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. She said it sounded like a panic attack and that I should go to the doctor. I read up on panic attacks and I wasn't sure that's what I was having as I didn't feel like I was going to die, just like I had to react quickly. I felt so calm and relaxed and my insides were in turmoil. A girlfriend of mine explained it like the duck swimming on the lake. Above water all you see is a calm duck gliding around the lake, but under the water the little feet were going a hundred miles and hour. That's me..... I was so looking forward to the holidays, I'd not finished buying my gifts, I'd not cooked anything, it was still too early, I was busy, but organized, so I couldn't understand what I was feeling. I say 'no' to things I don't want to do, as I don't want to over extend myself. I protect myself a lot from over commitment, because of my depression and feelings of not coping...... The doctor was just lovely. He told me I was having anxiety attacks and that I could take a half a valium at night time just for a few weeks, just to get me over this time. Obviously my anti depressants just aren't enough in times of stress......even nice stress, which then becomes distress for me....

The half a pill gives me good nights sleeps, because I wasn't sleeping well anymore, and I feel calm and the racing heart has only happened a few times in the two weeks. The doctor said I could take half during the day too, but I haven't felt the need.

In the middle of the concerns for Christmas, I have been working on the website and feeling way in over my head. It's just become increasinly obvious that when the site was created so that we could manage it, it was done hastily and with no real thought to ease of use, or the future. Me trying to take over something created by someone no longer on the scene was creating an awful amount of stress on me....... There were such huge expectations on me and I'm not sure I can come to the party. I'm feeling a bit better now, I think the calm pills are keeping things in perspective for me. I've got the site to a point though, where it will be all new, and easy to use. The front page looks so much better and the shopping cart, will be built from scratch. I feel so much better about this now. I still have a lot of work ahead of me, and a steep learning curve, but it feels attainable now. I'm thankful that this time we're not dealing with an arrogant web designer like last time, but a young woman who is giving of her time and knowledge. A much nicer working relationship......

My Christmas shopping is all but done. When I wrap on Thursday (when the kids are at holiday care) the inequalities will become glaringly obvious, but I want to have a better view of things with everything out and wrapped, rather than just squashed in my cupboard. One of my children's gift tally in $$$ is much lower, so I may balance that out by buying something which will benefit us all. I've still got to get Peter's gift too. He wants a golf practice net, and the kids can use it too, so that's a visit to the pro shop which isn't a hassle. I've begun my baking, so that's a nice feeling. Now to not be tempted to try more than once lol...... Tomorrow I'll do another lot of biscuits and I hope to get my fruit cake done too. Next week I will have time to make some chocolate thing...not sure yet. I might even make a Panforte or Almond Bread. I also still want to get my hair coloured before Christmas although it's not diabolical, because I went a little darker last time and the regrowth isn't noticeable.

Two weeks ago I did my girlfriend's annual Christmas Album Class, I finished it last Friday and it's just gorgeous. I do enjoy playing with scrapbooking goodies. However I've not bought anything else for paper scrapping, I'm just over the clutter.......I've done a digi layout and had fun with the classes I'm doing. I'm still scrapping, taking photos and writing down my stories, so I'm happy with that.

Over the last couple of days my son has been teaching me how to play Spore.... I'm having a ball,but far out it's hard. I want to train my mind, I want to be able to focus better, so this takes speed, accuracy and thought......anyone who thinks kids' computer games are mindless wastes of time, really have no idea what they're talking about. There are so many thought processes involved.....its quite amazing really.

Just playing

I had a weekend of just relaxing. I needed it very much. It had been a long week. Need to update in detail but not sure if I'll post it here. All is good now though.

I signed up to a template class on Renee Pearson's website. I've caught up on six days of classes and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. I've been following the prompts as closely as possible on the Holidays in Hand class from Jessica Sprague's site.

On Friday I had a busy day. My iMac was finally repaired and I had the long drive to go and get it. I had to take all the kids with me as they 've now all finished school. I came home, hooked up the iMac to the Time Capsule and in under two hours the computer was running with EVERYTHING exactly the same as it was. I didn't have to reinstal a program, add a single bookmark or personalize anything. Even Billy-Joe's Sims games was exactly as it was the last time he played it. I'm so glad that when the iMac started playing up in May, that I went out and bought the Time Capsule. To have a cloned version of my entire hard drive is invaluable. Not only are all my settings safe, but of course my music, movies and photos too. I'm even happier than ever with my decision to go with Macs.

On Friday we also put up the Christmas tree, and I got to take some photos. I'll edit more as the days go by and upload them. I used Scott Kelby's portrait editing tips on the above photo and considering it was the first shot, taken with the incorrect white balance setting, it turned out lovely. I'm looking forward to editing more pics. It's been ages I've taken photos, and I'm excited again....

Technology

I love Technology with a passion........alas the more gizmos one has, the level of problems go up incrementally too. I had internet issues yesterday, and, instead of just ringing Optus and getting my modem reset, I rang AppleCare and went through the convoluted trouble shooting process to make sure my Time Capsule was okay. I ended up having to ring Optus anyway to get my connection issues sorted......entire process an hour and a half..... Unfortunately my Time Machine wasn't doing the scheduled backups on both my iMac and MacBook......grrrr. I decided to leave the problem till another day.

Today, I was organized early because I had work to do. Unfortunately I'm like a dog with a bone, when I have technical issues, so I rang AppleCare and spend an hour and three quarters on the phone. Two technicians later, and we had it solved. Resetting the Time Capsule just gave it a conniption with my passwords........on both computers!!!!

All fixed now. I have deleted old backups. I'm not sure how the old ones are supposed to 'fall off' when room runs out, but I got an error message saying that my TC is full! I'll just delete them manually. I don't need to go back that far. Love the automatic backups though, because I wouldn't remember.

Ahhh...............I feel better now.

Update

I formulate blog posts in my head nearly every single day. I could write something every day, but rarely get around to it. I wait until my thoughts and emotions are brimming over and I'm worried that I will forget them, so I hurry on over to my blog.

It's a quarter to nine in the morning, thankfully it's not going to be a hot day, just 26°C today which is respite from the heat we've been having. Last week there were many days with the a/c on and I was already worrying about Summer's electricity bill. My winter bill was higher than normal, Summer's will be worse I think.

I've done lots already this morning. Kitchen is tidy, we've breakfasted, dishwasher's finished, a load is on the line, I treadmilled, took the kids to school, showered when I got back and I'm ready to sit down and do some work. From last week, I've been doing some work on Daisy's website. We are going to make our dream come to fruition albeit many years after its inception. I have been collecting images for when we can revamp our site and get the shopping side of things happening again. There are exciting things afoot at Daisy's. Barbi has rented out the adjoining office space, which is a much needed area. The shop will become the largest shop in Queensland, even Australia I think. And where other shops have a spartan approach to decor and merchandising, Barbi's store is brimming with stock. It will be great for the girls to have a separate unpacking and prep area, plus Barbi will have an office, where she will truly not be bothered. At the moment, she works behind a furry wall, and is not left in peace for long. Customers know where to look for her lol.........

The kids have a week and a half left of school. I am very excited to see the end of term. I'm glad they don't have the added week like the state system, we're all ready for a rest.

Christmas is coming up very quickly. I have been doing Holidays in Hand, a free class which was on offer at Jessica Sprague's site. This is now the second year and the third class she's offered a freebie. It's a great introduction for people out there toying with digi scrapping, and even paper scrapbookers, and hybrid ones too. She's a very clever girl. I read posts on the forums of many a newly addicted person. I'm also looking forward to her Brushabilities class which has been offered again. She has a 20% off sale, so a great time to have a look, and even buy one for a friend. I'm always keen to learn how to use PSE better and she's a very good teacher. Her instructions are always so clear, I've never even had to put a 'help' call out yet. The Holidays in Hand class focusses on your memories of Christmas, current ones and those of your childhood. I've done the outline for the journalling of the entire month, so I'm pleased about that. I think I'll do it in an 8x8 digital book. I'm doing Suzy's book next Tuesday. Always a work of art I'm excited and looking forward to this annual event. I think it will be my fourth album, or maybe fifth - I'll have to look. The week has unfolded well for a close friend of mine. Her husband has been out of work for many months and they received the news yesterday that he had some work. It's only temporary at this stage, (I think), but may well roll over into more work. I'm very happy for them. It's not easy when your income has dropped so much, and I take my hat off to her, for keeping it all together. She's savvy with money and has done an awesome job at not only supporting her husband in his endeavour to find work, but in her ability to keep things travelling along comfortably. Christmas, is always a financial strain and would have been a big one for them.......I'm very relieved.

I have soooo much Christmas shopping still to do. I've made one trip with my parents, but that is always mainly to help my parents with me and my family, although they're not done either. I've still got heaps to get. My time is short, kids will be home soon, although, much to their chagrin I have put them into holiday care one day a week before Christmas.

Ok, I'm off to work now....

Happy Anniversary Bunny

It’s my wedding anniversary today. Peter and I have always celebrated two anniversaries, the one where we got together 19 years ago, and when we got married 13 years ago.

The last 19 years have gone by in the blink of an eye. So so quickly. In some ways I feel like not much has been packed in, and then I glance at my three boys and know that’s not so. Thirteen years ago, we married and our vows begun with ‘Today I marry my friend’. Were we to renew our vows, that same verse would be repeated. Through all our trials, frustrations and disappointments, there’s a strong and deep love and respect for one another, that seems to always float to the top. Sometimes it takes a lot longer to float to the top, and that’s an unsettling time - thankfully it always does.

While our relationship is not perfect, I know that I’m always trying to work toward that goal. Our strongest quality has always been that we are able to talk to one another, with honesty and without fear of reprisal. This doesn’t happen of course during the heat of an argument or in the midst of cross words, sadly.......but when things are quiet, there are no distractions and we take time out for us as a couple, we can always reconnect.

Today I downloaded ‘The Five Love Languages’, a book by Gary Chapman. It’s a book I’ve had a brief understanding of the concepts but have been meaning to read for the last ten years. The book is based on the premise that we all give and receive love different ways. Some need ‘Words of affirmation’, or ‘Acts of service’ or ‘Physical touch’, I can’t remember the other two, but these are the main ones I remember as they are strong players in our relationship. It also works on the idea that if your ‘Love tank’ is empty, there’s nothing left to give.......and I can so relate to this one. I’m looking forward to delving more deeply into these concepts and to applying them to my marriage.

In the voice of Dr Phil ‘Your love for each other is the greatest gift you can give to your children’. I believe that so strongly.

Happy Anniversary Bunny! Looking forward to a yummy roast pork dinner.

Love you. Forever and Always.

Chef Laurent launches his books

Remember the French Chef that my darling organized to cook a gourmet dinner for myself and five of my girlfriends? Well, he launched his cookbooks tonight with his wife at a book launch in Maroochydore, that I was very excited to get invited to.

Many of the foods which he has in his new books, include a few he cooked for me, were on fully laden tables. Suzy and I had a ball tasting camembert brioche, decadent chocolate cake, home made sorbets, white chocolate mousse, lemon tart, caesar salad, chicken and avocado wraps, just all good wholesome healthy food. Added in the demo of the Thermomix, and it was a great evening.

It was so cool to see Laurent, to buy a book and have him sign it, and see him enjoying the fruits of his labours. I love food, I love to cook, I love natural flavours, strong flavours......and seeing someone else taking that passion and interest to a whole new level was intoxicating.....

What a weekend

It's Monday morning and I'm very happy to just be moseying along at home. My chores are done. House is vacuumed, copious washing is almost all done and put away. I'm happy to be having a cup of tea and a piece of toast for morning tea, while I wonder where on earth my energy has gone....

We left Saturday morning, on schedule and dropped the kids off at Nanny's place. We drove onto Brisbane with Barbi's directions firmly clutched in my hand. They were my lifeline lol..... Pity I got the street name wrong though. We drove along a road, I still don't understand why we were on..... Actually that whole area of Brisbane confuses me. With one way streets and complexes taking up entire blocks, it's hard to get a grip of, for me anyway....

Finally with the help of a lady at a 7Eleven store, we found our way and checked into the Mantra Hotel. I loved this hotel. We will definitely stay here again. With a $250 per night price tag, it wasn't cheap, but worth every cent. Having paid for it months ago, always softens that blow too. The valet service, meant we didn't even have to park our car. A buffet breakfast was included for Sunday morning. We checked in, left our luggage and car in their capable hands and we headed to the Food and Wine Show, both really looking forward to a drink even though it was 10.30am!! We made our customary stop at Grinders, for the best coffee I've ever tasted. I went back three more times, and had a short black each time, just delicious, and I haven't drunk black coffee in years!

We walked around and started tasting wines, and I was surprised by a couple. I found a delicious Rose from Monahans Estate. It was a chardonnay/shiraz blend and had a lot more body and flavour than they normally do. We watched Matt Moran's show, which was fun as always, but some of his stories were a bit tired, as we'd hear them before. Might see someone else next year. Peter had to go and say hello to the people from Saddler's Creek Winery. He ended up signing up for a members' deal because he's been so impressed with the quality of their wines. We also ended up going to a dinner and tasting that evening with them as hosts. It was an expensive dinner at $140 a head. The function was at Era Bistro. The food was exceptional, actually if you peruse the menu, the foods we had are on the menu. I was happy to see that we didn't just get the mass produced stuff. I was sad that we'd eaten a late lunch, and I could only eat a small portion of the food. I was not at all hungry. In hindsight, we should have eaten lunch at the show much much earlier. The wines we tasted (comprised of 9 wines, which were glasses not tastings!!) were very very good. Having been drinking all day long, I was very very careful with the evening's offerings. I drank lots of water, and simply sipped at my wines. Had I even not been at the show all day, I wouldn't have been able to drink nine glasses lol.....I would have had fun trying though. Needless to say dear Bunny had to eat all my food too, and drink most of my wine as well......you can imagine how he felt yesterday morning, while I felt very smug.

The hotel bed was very comfortable and large. Not large enough that I didn't hear the snoring though, thankfully by 1.30am Peter quietened down a bit, and I dozed on and off all night. In the morning we were thankful for a late check out. We had a breakfast which was just divine. I was hungry and looking forward to it. The pastries were delicious and the muesli was the best I'd ever eaten. I wish I could have tried the waffles, specialty breads and cooked hash browns as well... There was so much variety. It was nice sitting watching the world go by. Many of these venues along Grey St open directly onto the street, so the warm air comes in and you can really enjoy the outside while sitting inside. Even the Era Bistro was the same, very clever and combining the indoors with the outdoors - signature stuff of the area we live in.

I also bought a new fry pan, seeing as I killed my Scanpan one...... I hope we don't kill this one.... I also bought a Christmas pudding . I bought the rum and raisin one, absolutely delicious.

Sunday, after breakfast, we walked down along Southbank, and enjoyed the markets. I didn't buy anything, I wasn't really interested in anything, just happy to be out in the fresh air sans kids..... We spent some time in the museum, as we knew it would be cool. We left Brisbane, after lunch, and came home to pick up our kids, who were happy to see us.

I was in bed very early last night, just after 8.30pm!! Next year we'd like to go on the Friday. It's far too busy on the Saturday. We enjoy talking to the wine makers and they have more time to spend with you on the Friday. I think the food would be much better too. The meals we had from the Wild Oats Restaurant, was a little mass produced this year. I wanted to eat at 11am, and Peter said it was a bit early. We couldn't get near the place though until later in the afternoon, and this impacted on our evening meal...... The show is definitely becoming more popular each year though, as the number of people was huge.....

Testing Flock

I'm a sucker for new software. I can't help myself. This browser has lots of functions I've never seen in another browser. I'm updating my blog with a function built in the browser....... Check out Flock if you're interested. Google Flock.......hang on I'll post a link.

Being on a Mac, it automatically takes me to the download page for Mac OS X. Not sure if Flock is Windows compatible.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Digi Stuff

I've made two gift card fronts. I'm going to print them out and mount them onto white square cards about 3 in x 3 in. The elements are from Pickleberry Pop. The designer is Lindsay Jane.

I'm excited

Can't believe it's that time of the year again. This is our third time to the show. They've just released the Celebrity Kitchen's Menu. The food sounds just divine. Can't wait. I wanted to post a copy of the menu here, but I can't figure it out.....so here's a link.

Feeling Creative

My scrapbooking has taken a back seat. And that's okay. I am going to concentrate on my photos, videos and stories. My blog has far more info than my scrapping ever does. I just pray Blogger never goes under.......

I actually made cards at home today. I spent a lovely five hours creating. It felt soooo goood. I had two cards that I found on the 'net which I liked the look of. So off I went adding just enough of a twist to make it my own. I played with my Cuttlebug embossing folders and some new Nestabilities which I've not long owned. I'm so glad I bought the Cuttlebug. I love using it. I love how effortless it is to make something beautiful.

Here are my cards, I made 11 today. I made a series of these, each one a little different.

I made six of these, they were all pretty much the same.

Oh for a craft room. Look at the room I take up simply making cards lol......

I've used one entire bench, and the end of my dining table. I stood most of the time, and my back and feet are killing me, but I feel content.

To post or not to post, that is the question......

I sometimes wonder whether I should try to post daily. Many days are fairly humdrum, full of sameness, but they pass by in a blur, and often the intervening time between posts is quite long.

I look back on days at a time, and wonder what on earth I’ve been doing. What have I been doing, that my reading list doesn’t shorten and my digital scrapbooking classes remain undone. What do I do with my days.

6.30am: Make bed, gather clothes and stumble to shower, noticing that everyone’s up as I go down the hall.

7.00am Head into the kitchen, a load of washing has been put on, I ensure kids are dressed and rooms are tidied. My hair is done.

7.30am All of us have had breakfast. Dishwasher is stacked and on, kitchen benches wiped down. Kitchen is left spotless. Rubbish is thrown to the front door. Facebook has been checked and Zoo has been monitored. If I’ve got time I’ll check my Aquarium and Garden too.....I know, get a life lol..... Hey this is my life and I like it!!

I leave with the kids anywhere between 7.50am to 8.00am. I can hang out washing, I can do a quick dust, or if I’m going out I put on my makeup and maybe get dressed into something else depending on what my day holds. I tend to dress daggy, but my plans can change in an instant if I get a call to work, or if I decide to go out. This morning I had time to watch some footage from the video I took of Mickey’s choir performance from Wednesday night.

8.20 This morning I returned home, put on a second load of washing, hung out first load. I dusted and cleaned out the bookshelf in the lounge. Got rid of crap I didn’t want. Dusted the entire house. Hung out second load. Ironed clothes, vacuumed house. Cleaned toilet. This took me two hours. I’m feeling very smug because everything is nice and clean.

10.30 Bunny comes home from morning job (he’s still on hols from his real work, but is still doing his moonlighting work. We have a cuppa together and I try to show him some of the holiday footage. I’m disheartened as iMac freezes. I spend the next 55 minutes on the phone to Apple Care. Thank goodness for them. Did some trouble shooting and i’m glad they haven’t asked if I’ve got third party RAM, because I have!!

12.00 I have lunch, just a banana sandwich, not really hungry. What to do with the next two hours that stretch ahead of me. What to do??

12.50pm I’m back on the phone to Apple Care, because problem is not solved. Spend another 50 minutes on the phone. Thank goodness I’m slightly computer savvy so I actually know what I’m doing.

2.00pm Download and read manual for camcorder, because I’m still a little unsure of how to use it. Learnt a couple of new things.

2.15pm Lie down on the couch listening to audiobook until 2.50pm when I leave to pick up three kids from two venues.

3.10 Have afternoon tea, tidy kitchen, lunchboxes in dishwasher. Remove last load from the line. Put towels back in bathroom. Fold all washing and put away. Make sure kids’ golf clothes are out for tomorrow morning.



3.55pm Sit down to write in blog

4.10pm Shower, put makeup on, and get dressed. Check Facebook, iChat girlfriend.

5.00pm Put stuff near the door, gather up MacBook and leads. Head to Daisy’s.

1.15am Return home, take off makeup, put MacBook back on AC power. Go to bed with Audiobook.


Something comforting about writing all that down. Might be as boring as all shit to read though.....

That was my day.

A meme just for fun

I found this meme on a private blog I read and enjoy. I loved reading her responses to the questions, very interesting when you only 'know' someone through blogland...

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
Depends. If I'm washing my hair, then my hair. If not, my arms and work my way down.

2. What colour is your favourite hoodie?
I have a pink Reebok jacket that has a hood.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
My youngest son, my three boys (4 including dear Bunny) all love to be kissed.

4. Do you plan outfits every day?
If I know I'm definitely working in the morning, I decide what I'm wearing before I go to sleep, I don't get it ready though, don't have the room to put it out.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
Relaxed and happy.

6. What's the closest thing to you that's red?
My recliner I'm sitting on.

7. The last dream you remember having?
I rarely remember my dreams when I wake up.....

8. Did you meet anybody new today?
Does the checkout chick at the supermarket count??

9. What are you craving right now?
Nothing

10. Do you floss?
No.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
The smell of pickled cabbage that my first MIL used to make......

12. Are you emotional?
Yes

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
No

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
Yes, I like the feel of biting into a yummy rich ice cream, especially when it's coated in caramel and chocolate like a Magnum.

15. Do you like your hair?
Yes, it's healthy and I can wear it in any style I like.

16. Do you like yourself?
Most times.

17. Would you go out to eat with George Bush?
Errrr, probably not.

18. What are you listening to right now?
New Moon Soundtrack

19. Are your parents strict?
Yes

20. Would you go sky diving?
My first answer is no, but I've paraglided in tandem and would consider tandem parachuting if the opportunity arose........mmmmm, maybe not, my stomach just went into knots while I was writing this, you go a bit further up in the air when you parachute lol.....

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
I don't mind it occasionally.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
I met 'The Reels' and spent time before they went on stage, and watched as they did various drug things and was just mortified and sat there and chain smoked as I watched lol......

23. Do you rent movies often?
Rarely

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
A crystal hanging in the window which a girlfriend gave to me.

25. How many countries have you visited?
I've visited and spent time in 15 different countries.

26. Have you made a prank phone call?
Yes, as a young teenager.....

27. Ever been on a train?
Yes, but not many times, and only about twice in the last 25 years.

28. Brown or white eggs?
I don't care. As long as they're hen's eggs.

29. Do you have a cell-phone?
Love my iPhone.....

30. Do you use chap stick?
Yes, 30+ but prefer to wear lipstick, or a lip conditioner with lip liner.

31. Do you own a gun?
No.

32. Can you use chop sticks?
Yes, quite well.

33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
My family

34. Are you too forgiving?
No, not too forgiving.

35. Ever been in love?
Many times.

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow?
Shopping, coffee, lunch, scrapbooking.

37. Ever have cream puffs?
Profiteroles? Yes.

38. Last time you cried?
Monday night, talking about my depression and how hard life was when the kids were small.

39. What was the last question you asked?
Would you like a glass of water?

40. Favorite time of the year?
Autumn and spring, when it's beautiful and warm without being revoltingly hot.

41. Do you have any tattoos?
No.

42. Are you sarcastic?
MMm, too much at times. It's the lowest form of wit, I remind myself constantly.

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
Don't think so.

44. Ever walked into a wall?
A corner of a wall, not an entire wall lol.....

45. Favorite color?
mmmm, red, blue......

46. Have you ever slapped someone?
An adult - once.

47. Is your hair curly?
Couldn't be straighter.

48. What was the last CD you bought?
CD's what are they, I love itunes.

49. Do looks matter?
Yes, it shows you respect yourself.

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
Yes.

51. Is your phone bill sky high?
Never.

52. Do you like your life right now?
Yes.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
Have never had a TV in my bedroom.

54. Can you handle the truth?
Always prefer the truth.

55. Do you have good vision?
Considering I had eye surgery at 4 years old, and I'm well over 40 my eyes are pretty good. I wear glasses though nowadays more than not.

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
I don't hate anyone, and that includes two ex husbands.

57. How often do you talk on the phone?
More nowadays.

58. The last person you held hands with?
My two boys yesterday afternoon when we went to the shops.

59. What are you wearing?
House clothes, a pink singlet and a pair of madrid shorts...very daggy, but very comfy.

60.What is your favorite animal?
I love meerkats and ferrets. Domestic animals I like cats.

61. Where was your default picture taken at?
At a scrapping retreat.

62. Can you hula hoop?
I could do it as a child....does one forget??

63. Do you have a job?
Substitute on call teaching at a special school, and at home.

64. What was the most recent thing you bought?
Two fitted single bed sheets, diary for 2010, makeup case, two red shirts for Day for Daniel next week.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window?
No.

Holidays at Rainbow Beach

My reflections on our holiday in a holiday house in Rainbow Beach.

*        I can holiday without the internet, has never worried me before, but I’ve loved having it ‘with’ me the entire time. My iPhone was also great company for me too, as far as the iPod component goes and the fact I can still check my Facebook and Tweets.

*        I loved the fact that the house had a cement floor, it was so quiet and I couldn’t hear every single footfall in the place.

*        I can put something down in a room and still have room to walk!! My house’s size has always been an issue with me, but since coming home and having spent 10 days in a larger house, it only gets to me more. My bedroom at the house was my haven, loads of room, loads of cupboard space which were largely empty of course and a lovely ensuite. My room here, I can barely put a bag down on the ground, and if I do, I have to step over it to get further into the room......

*        Having a lot of space meant I was happy to stay home when the boys went fishing, I could sit on the lounge (choice of two lounge rooms, sit on my bed or lay on the lounge chair by the pool. I was never bored, with my MacBook and a good stash of books and audiobooks I was very very happy to wile away the hours.

*        Allowing the kids some extra freedom and treats. I’m strict with bedtimes and it was lovely letting the kids stay up late, they watched movies or played on their handheld devices. It was fantastic to let take them out to eat, and for ice creams, rare treats in our lives, and very much appreciated. So nice to not be rushing around and constantly organizing them. The break did them a world of good too.

*        An opportunity to explore a new area. I’d never been there, perhaps as a child, but I can’t remember. We had a newspaper article which we’d saved from earlier this year, or eateries and we managed to visit some of them. Next time we’ll try some more eateries.

*        The house’s kitchen was a good size although the appliances weren’t nearly as good as mine, but they were new and clean. The BBQ was used for the meals we cooked at home.

*        I missed my friends and am grateful for the means I had to be able to stay in touch with them.

We’ve booked again for next year. I handed the keys in this morning and left a deposit for next year.

More pics to upload later.......

Days I once only dreamed of

I can remember when Billy-Joe was in pre-school and I had a toddler and a baby at home, mothers telling me how wonderful school holidays were...... I almost cringed when they told me....I hated school holidays coming up. It left me with the same feeling I have nowadays when someone tells me they're moving house, or having a baby..... I have a deep thankfulness within that says 'Thank God it's not me'.

How do you get to that point? It's never going to happen that I'll feel calm and relaxed with kids around....not until they leave home lol....

Holidays now are so different. They're fun, for the most part calm and so much more relaxed, even moreso that I could ever have hoped for.

I've spent this morning lying by the pool, finishing my book. My tan is developing nicely and I'm feeling healthy and happy. Dear Bunny took the kids fishing and brought home some fresh bread and ham for a late lunch. The kids played in the pool for a bit and then we sat outside with them too.

At 4pm we headed out to walk along the beach. It was just the most beautiful day. Actually these kinds of days are rare here. It was hot, but not too hot. It was breezy but not too windy. The air was balmy and felt good on my sunkissed skin. The kids played along in the water while we walked along. We walked for about an hour and a half. We visited one of the pizza shops to pick out our pizza for dinner later.

Once home, we sipped wine by the pool and watched as the kids played. I even jumped in quickly too cool off and then Sammy and I headed for a nice warm shower.

Dinner was delicious and now we're sitting down watching 'The Goonies', well I'm pretending to watch it.... My MacBook beckons....

Just as an aside, I have a new love affair..... Thanks to my dear friend SuzyQ I've found a new brand of thongs. Can you believe it? I've not worn thongs in years and years. I hate them. I think they look cheap for one thing, and another they're so damn uncomfortable. These however are awesome. They are so soft and feel great on my feet. I'm very impressed. I bought one pair during the last Myer Sale (a sandal pair) and today I bought a pair of thongs at the local surf shop..... Do yourself a favour and buy a pair, not only are they gorgeous but they feel great......Take the time to peruse this site, it takes a while to load but is worth visiting.

Lazy Blogger Catches Up

Once again time goes by and my poor blog is neglected. I've had time, just not the inclination. I write them in my mind, but never post them. I could even do them on my phone, just jot down notes and then elaborate when I'm near my MacBook, but I don't.

The school holidays went by quickly, and were so relaxing. The first week was an odd one for me. I lacked motivation to do much and actually missed my kids while they were at golf clinic. The dust storm really played havoc with my eyes so I'm glad that week is over. In the second week, we just chilled out at home for much of it. We watched some movies together, and went to the pool a couple of times. Peter's niece Ashlea helped the kids with some swimming pointers, as I especially want Mickey to feel more confident swimming in the pool at the holiday house in Rainbow. I can teach swimming, but somehow I knew the kids would take instruction more kindly from Ash than from me. It was good, because I took them out again the next day to continue the lessons. I don't think my kids quite reconcile "Mum, with teacher".....

The card making retreat was last weekend. It was an away one staying at the Mapleton Holiday Centre, ooops a feeling of de ja vu, I know I've already blogged this stuff lol.... My mind is a sieve!!

On Wednesday I went to Maroochydore and picked up my cousin. She's from Germany and has been in Australia for 18 months and we've only just met. I was so excited and nervous. I have never spent any time with any of my cousins. I met one once in 1984 when I went to Europe, but it was a family dinner, where we only spoke a few polite words. In all my life, I've never even said the word 'cousin' in relation to myself. I took her up to Montville for the morning. It was nice we browsed through a few shops, had a coffee and a light lunch and then came home. It was lovely to speak German to her too. I was surprised at how much I still know, and it was lovely to be understood. I know that if I spoke it frequently, it would improve very quickly. It still feels quite familiar on my tongue. Sara was a lovely houseguest, considerate of us all, and helpful too. The kids just fell in love with her, and as she's a Nanny and au pair, she related to them very well. We had an easy evening watching TV and then a fairly early night as we had to get up early so she was at the bus station at 4am!!! I'm so glad she came to visit, and even happier that we made it happen. It's not easy meeting someone and then having to feel close immediately just because you are related, but we got along well. For her sad upbringing, she's got a good head on her shoulders and has learned some hard lessons in life through her Mother who tragically committed suicide fifteen years ago. I never met my Aunty, and knew next to nothing about her. She was 8 years younger than my Mum, and when they moved to Australia, Toni was the annoying little sister that shadowed my Mum. When my parents married, Toni went back to Germany with her parents. Sara said she always spoke of Australia and would have loved to come back. It's a shame that she never got her life in order, her drinking undercontrol and her manic episodes managed enough that she could have made something of her life.......very very sad. Sara has a close bond to her other sisters, who when I think about it one of whom is also a cousin, the other not......ah, so confusing, my family is so small but not simple. I had a good day of feeling connected with family, an insight into how other people feel when they are surrounded by a large family....... I have two parents and my brother and my closest relatives are my Aunt and Uncle in Geelong, who aren't even my aunt and uncle.....technically speaking. My Uncle is my Dad's cousin, so actually my second cousin.... Very nice to spend time with a cousin. I wish she lived closer. She left on Thursday morning to spend five days in Cairns and then she flies out to Germany to return to her sister who's very very ill and will die from Endometriosis!! The sadness in Sara's life is not ending yet.

We arrived in our rented holiday house in Rainbow Beach yesterday. It's an awesome house, and the best part I can access my wireless internet....I'm very very happy about that. I thought it might be a little too remote for wireless. There's nothing around here, we're miles from Gympie....... The house is spacious, newly renovated inside, (the outside is tired, but the pool is nice). There's a living room AND a family room and the bedrooms are spacious and there's an ensuite. This so much nicer than the unit in Caloundra. The kids can have one area and we another. The beds are so comfy, with eggshell mattresses, I had a lovely night's sleep. (Thank you Alaine)

We went exploring this morning. It's a bit blowy and Peter wanted to find a fishing spot that was sheltered, we had a late lunch and now the boys have headed out. I was going to lie by the pool, but it's a bit cool, so I'm updating my blog instead. My bed beckons and my Diana Gabaldon book is too....

A few photos.

A girl needs to Facebook, even in the bush!!

At Rainbow this Morning. (ISO set wrong, blown out but still a nice pic)

Sara and I

One of the cards I made on the card making weekend, and the reason my ISO was set wrong on the little camera. Love this card.

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Daisy Chain Scrapbooks Cardmaking Retreat 2009

I've been away for the weekend to my first card making retreat. The Food and Wine Show, is on the same weekend as the next Scrapbooking retreat, and the girls have been trying to get me to the card one all year, but I declined, thinking two was overkill..... but when it fell on the same weekend as the F&W show, it was a lay down miser e (sp?).

I wasn't even really thinking of this retreat, it was so close to the last one, so I didn't feel like I 'needed' a retreat. When I spoke to Barbi and Suzy on Thursday morning, I felt the first stirrings of excitement, and from then on I looked forward to the weekend with a keen anticipation.

On Friday I created my 'to dos' and set about making sure the weekend was a success, for myself and for my boys left at home. The house was left tidy, everything up to date, and I was packed, rested and organized for a great weekend of creating.

I'll start with the negatives as I update my thoughts from the weekend, get them out of the way and pay them the negligible due that they deserve. Sleep, as always when away for a short time, was pretty crappy. Late nights, combined with crappy mattresses, early mornings and unfamiliar surroundings resulted in a night of light dozing at best and full wakefulness at worst.

That's out of the way lol, and I can discuss the myriad of positives.....

* I got to see Barbi doll sitting across the table from me - just like the old days. She didn't need to cook and the demands from the other cardmakers were minimal, so she actually got to play and create and converse....... We stayed up till last, with Dawnie, just like the old days, like our first retreats, it was lovely to revisit those moments.

* Spending time with Nellie and Linda. I enjoy their company, and their antics, but it's so often snippets thereof as I see them when they're working, or on their way home, so I rarely get a chance to spend any length of time with them.

* An opportunity to focus on cardmaking rather than scrapbooking, effectively taking away the need for me to feel guilty about not scrapbooking. This meant that I could focus on playing with items I'd only read about previously. I got to colour in with water mixed with Tim Holz distress inks, and I used Tombow markers.

* At long last I mastered the Cuttlebug and am even proficient enough to help others..... I'm sure Suzy and Barbi have breathed a huge sigh of relief lol..........

* Got to spend an entire weekend with Suzy. We spend a nice easy, relaxed time together, in sync with each other's thoughts and needs - pretty special actually. There's a calm and soothing aura of understanding when we're togeth, er, doesn't matter if we're shopping, having a D&M or creating together......

* Spending time not worrying about a single chore! No washing, dusting, cooking, cleaning, or tending to anyone's needs other than my own. Soooooo self indulgent!!

* Catching up with friends I don't see nearly enough, Carrin, Sue, Susan, Alaine and Kristie-Anne. I wish I'd had more time to catch up even more. The time flies by so quickly and I wish I could have chatted more.......

* Even with sleeping much worse than with recent retreats (and coming home to sleep) my hours spent in bed were cut drastically and thanks to the new eye gel I have, and lots of pain killers for the hangover without a drink syndrome, I feel remarkably wonderful this evening.....

I'm so looking forward to spending the night in my own delicious bed. I hate sleeping in a single bed, it's far too small.....and those plastic covered matresses aren't the most comfortable things to sleep on.

I've come home to a happy family. Mickey and Billy-Joe had funny tummy cramps, not sure from what though. DB was cooking my steak burger for dinner and cut his finger as well as the roll!!! Of course he won't go and get it stitched...... He'd changed the sheets on his bed, so I've gone down and remade his bed and cleaned up, we're just having ice cream and enjoying Idol.

Kids are back at school tomorrow, and I'm a little sad. Who would have thought school holidays could become such a wonderfully relaxing experience.......just an awesome break. And the best thing, is four days back at school and we had to our rented house at Rainbow Beach for ten days.....

I created lots of lovely cards...... I will photograph and upload them tomorrow.

*

Best laid plans

Thank goodness the classes on Jessica Sprague's site are available forever, and don't expire like some of the others do. This is the first lesson in Digi in Deep, the most advanced digital scrapbooking class. I've enjoyed doing it. Now that I've upped the RAM in my MacBook, I'll do more. She has added another class which I may sign up for. It focuses on working with text. I'm so much more comfortable with the text tool now, thanks to her classes. I should do more though, it's one thing to follow a video, another to do it all myself.

This week hasn't panned out quite like I wanted it to. The kids at the golf clinic has been a big plus for the week. They've just been so excited. I picked up Billy-Joe at lunch time today, because he had a bad headache. I left the other two there. When I went to pick them up, the Pro, Mark told me that the kids had played 18 holes, then 9 holes and had gone out AGAIN!!! He said the kids are so keen, he can't stop them. They were disappointed that I'd picked them up earlier than normal.

I'd done some groceries in the morning and was on the phone to Apple for an hour still trying to resolve my dropout issues. It could be a modem issue, so we've changed some settings. I've had no further problems today, but time will tell. I had a pedicure in the morning so am sporting nice pink toe nails. I laid down for a bit in the late afternoon, I'd had a headache all day.

Dinner was simple, a Woolies chook and I made a delicious greek salad. I splurged today and bought Greek Feta instead of Australian Feta and now I understand the more than double price tag. The Greek Feta is so creamy and crumbles beautifully through the salad. Love the salty combination of fetta, olives and the freshness of salad topped with a good quality olive oil.

My dear Bunny is finishing work early tomorrow and taking me out to lunch. We are going to Eumundi to eat at a pub there. I'm shop sitting tomorrow night. Am looking forward to seeing Karen. The weeks go by so quickly, but I miss her when I haven't seen her all week. Thank goodness for iChat. Barbi is away having a well deserved holiday. I pray that the weather has improved. The dust storm would have spoiled her last couple of days too. Today was clear and the air was fresh.

A dusty day

I was going to the beach today. To catch a few rays, and Vitamin D, and to listen to the waves roll in. It's a windy and revolting day with the air thick with dust. Apparently there have been dust storms south of here and they even hit Brisbane, and we've had more than our fair share. I have so much trouble with my eyes normally and I got a new paraffin gel for them on Friday which has helped enormously, but the dust in the air is too much today.... I've had to put the a/c on in the bid to clear the air. The light is a funny yellow, chillingly reminiscent of the dust storms I lived through in Geelong during the Ash Wednesday Bush Fires all those years ago. The kids are out playing golf. I've not had a call so they must be doing fine. The wind has died down now, which means that the dust is just sitting there, thick, heavy and intrusive.