September 2006

As promised, this is John at our recent Karaoke night, wowing the crowd with his rendition of, well, I really don’t know what he is singing, do you?

Pitch or no pitch? You decide….
and if your ears can take it here is another of John even worse than this :)
John 2

And also one of Quinn singing Love Me Tender

Also Lisa sent me this the other day and I think it has some lovely sentiments…thanks Lis :)
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
Always remember….when life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!!

I just love this clip! Let me know what you think…tune gets kinda catchy too!

Oh, two tags in one day, I’ve been tagged by Chris and Eugenia!!!…..lol.
~~ TAG ONE ~~
If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be?
Exactly where I just built!!! 7 minutes walk to the CBD but across from a reserve where thesunrises everyday over a row of beautiful trees, that run a long a creek….. soooo lucky….
What’s your favorite article of clothing?
Whatever is comfortable, but I have lots of winter scarves and I never leave home without one (except in summer LOL)
Favorite physical feature of the opposite sex?
I’m a sucker for a strong jawline, you know the ones, where the riplle when they clench their teeth *sigh*
What’s the last CD that you bought?
Well that is hard since I can be naughty, but I bought the latest PINK! CD for Quinn for her birthday, it is fantastic and we all love it, while there is swearing her message is great. DON’T BE A DOOR MAT, YOU ARE STRONG AND SMART SO “BE” STRONG AND SMART!!! Makes a nice change from half naked women singing about how sexy their man is!
Where’s your favorite place to be?
At home with my family all snuggled up or camping with our close friends and family.
Where is your least favorite place to be?
In the wind.
What’s your favorite place to be massaged?
Top of my shoulders, I think it’s something to do with the time I spend on my computer ;)
Strong in mind or strong in body?
Definately the mind.
What time do you wake up in the morning?
Usually 15 minutes either side of 7am.
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
That’s easy…. my husband, he is chief cook!
What makes you really angry?
Small thing…… Dubbed TV commercials from overseas, if they can’t spend some money on ads here then they don’t deserve to sell their products here! Big Thing……. Governments and they’re utter stupidity at times and the fact they think they can lie to us, and also the voters that are complacent.
If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
Guitar.
Favorite color?
That changes on a regular bases and depending on what I need a colour for…
Clothes = Black
Decorating = Red (at the moment)
Which do you prefer…sports car or SUV?
SUV
Do you believe in an afterlife?
No. But I’d be happy to be wrong :)
Favorite children’s book?
I have two “Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge” by Mem Fox and the other is called “Miss Amelia Ellicott’s Garden” by Liliana Stafford. I couldn’t read them to my kids because I cried so much, it was too traumatic. They are both beautiful stories and I highly recommend them.
What is your favorite season?
Autumn, love the nice warm days and cool crisp mornings and evenings.
What is your least favorite household chore?
Ironing!!!!!!
If you could have one super power, what would it be?
Shapeshifter…. I’d make myself thin LOL
If you have a tattoo, what is it?
Dolphin
Can you juggle?
Ummm I used to be able too, I have no idea if I can now!
The one person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to?
My Nana, I miss her so much and wish I had recorded all the amazing things that she did in her life. She was so sweet and interesting.
What’s your favorite day?
Friday, it’s me day, my day off, I usually spend it at the movies and lunch with a friend or playing cards with her and my Auntie and then I spend the afternoon with my girls after school and I still have the wekend to look forward too!
What’s in the boot of your car?
Picnic Rug, First Aid Kit, Ball and 6 stacker CD player….
Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger?
Hamburger.
~~ TAG TWO ~~
This is a hard one!
The rules of the tag are: List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. (I’m breaking this rule) Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people.Don’t forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!
So here’s my 5
1. My eyes are nearly always dilated (don’t know why, no drugs though)
2. I can bend my albows backwards (looks freaky)
3. I try never to take the same route home twice in a row.
4. If I wake in the night thinking of my kids I have to go and check them and make sure they are OK.
5. The only jewellery I take off daily is my watch, the rest stays on all the time.
So who to tag next….let me see…..ok these gals Karen, Lis and Angela and I will be kind and say that you only need to choose one of the tags to do :) Or both if you want too.
Have great day :)

~Blog Bliss~

Well I battled blogger today and made a few (slight) changes to my blog template. Changed the font to my all time fave (I use it in my layouts more than any other). I put a bit of colour in my side panel. Both of those were easy enough. Then I wanted to indent my text a little in the side bar, after quite a while I figured that out too, it all moved across a bit, except the profile text, so I think I spent a good 90 minutes on that! LOL Well, I guess it’s a sense of accomplishment, I hate things like that beating me, so I’m glad I persisted!

~Photo Shoot~

Well I must say I was very chuffed with how the pics of Shez’s family turned out on Wednesday so I thought I’d have a go with my girls, using the white backdrop.

They didn’t turn out as good as Shez’s, a bit soft for some reason, even though I used the same lens. I only took about 25 shots and most were in raw because I couldn’t get the WB looking right. Raw is amazing, but I hate the post processing part. That being said, I was glad that I took them in raw and might have to overcome my post processing reluctance!

I just used natural light today, mainly because I couldn’t be bothered setting up the lights, plus the light was perfect, very overcast, and I used the rumpus room, which has three large windows on the East, North and West side, so I couldn’t be luckier!

Now off the technical side, look at my girls, I love that they are so opposite, not just in looks. Although they are actually quite similar their colouring makes it hard for some people to see.

I am sooo loving being at home with them at the moment, I miss it more than I realised. They are both complete angels too, both helping around the house and just being, well, great.

Yesterday morning Quinn was having a shower with me and Bronte came in to say that she had made Quinn’s bed and folded all her clothes that were on the floor!!!!! Will wonders never cease??? Anyway, during my less lucid moments, I dream that things will last like this forever, but I know it won’t, but I am lapping it up as much as I can LOL.

Just had a thought, it might be my relaxed and happy state that is helping with that…. food for thought…..

Have a GREAT night all……

Oh and Mr Supreme Being, I hope you are feeling OK and not in too much pain. And to my other friend…. more hugs…..

:::Photo Shoot:::

Here are a couple of the pics taken yesterday from the photo shoot we did here yesterday of Shez’s kids and her little neice Karla.

As you can see all three are very photogenic and were very good models.

I think Shez was happy with the pics and so was I, a good many turned out great, a lot more than I expected LOL

Anyway it was great fun and then the kids all played together like they’d known each other all their lives! Click on the pics for a larger view.

:::PJ Day:::

Another lovely day today, we had our PJ day and justbummed around, the girls made puppets with some old felt I found and then they sewed beads on too. They aren’t quite finished, but it kept them amused for hours. We also had a game of scrabble and then Quinn and I had a game of 500.

Love these days, so special, I’ve said it before, I’m a lucky girl.

Managed to catch up on all my banking and bill paying, not a job I should put off *groan*. But it’s done now. There have been a lot of bills lately with all the extra bits and peices we have done around here. And while there is still lots more to be done, the rest can wait while our bank account recovers!

:::Get Well Wishes:::

Sending good healing vibes to Mr Supreme Being, otherwise known as Mr Sharon or Mad Mick. He had an op on his hand today and is recovery, so get well soon, Michael and I hope that hand doesn’t keep you out of action for too long, for your sake and Sharon’s :)

Also happy hugs go to my other friend, you know who you are, you are coping really well, and you are always in my thoughts, my friend.

:::Days of Miracle and Wonder:::

The layout at the bottom, has had a few incarnations and this is what I settled on.

Brushes are by Denise Docherty (big surprise) LOL and me.

Journaling Reads :

You know how to enjoy yourself more than anyone else I know. You are always so consistent in your out look and your approach to life. You seem to savour every moment, and you just exude contentment and it’s obvious you know how to relax and also how to entertain yourself. These photos were taken at Seaspray after an impromptu game of soccer with the rest of our group. I can tell you love these times we spend with friends and family, you love the constant company and the bustle that several families create when ‘living’ together. You laugh so hard and run so fast, you put your all into everything you do. You delight in the company of others and revel in the opportunity to try new things, play with lots of different people and just interacting with people. In fact in short you are the life of the party.Mar ‘06

Anyway, that’s all for me, have a great day/night and happy scrapping :)

Another busy day!

Movies today with the girls, we went to see Monster House with some friends. It was great and the kids really enjoyed it and then we went out for lunch afterwards, enjoyed a lovely meal and great conversation. Mandy, her partner Dave and their two girls Odette and Mallory are also part of our camping crew. I ended up bring Mandy’s girls home with me while Mandy went to work for a little while.

Got home just in time to meet Shez who brought her lovely kids over and we had a little photo shoot, which was lots of fun and very productive. Got a few great shots and then Shez and I settled in for a nice chat while all the kids had a play together.

Mandy came to get the kids around four but brought a lovely bottle of wine, so we settled in and we ended up calling Dave and they stayed for a lovely dinner of Tanzanian Chicken, Spiced Wedges and Salad and a few more bottles of wine :) (Have yet to investigate whether this can be made in a Crockpot ;) LOL. Before dinner we took the kids for a walk along the creek (just across the road) and a kick of the footy.

What a lovely day, we had, but are also pretty excited to get a PJ day in tomorrow too.

Oh and here are a couple more layouts done recently, as you can see I’ve gone back to my boring style of old ;)

Top one uses brushes form here http://www.designfruit.com/jasongaylor/blog/ a lovely selection of both free and pay brushes. The quote is “A kiss without a hug is like a flower without a fragrance”. The bottom one, is of course, Seaspray, can’t wait to enjoy it again :)

Have a lovely day, happy scrapping ;)

::: {{{{{BIG BEAR HUGS}}}}} :::
Hugs to my friend who is having a rough time of things at the moment. You’re always in my thoughts, and if good thoughts count, you should feel better soon :)

:::SOMETHING DIFFERENT:::
These two layouts are extremely different from what I usually do, but I had great fun doing them. I made all the grids and gradients myself but used a star brush from Anna Aspens to create the interest around Quinn and Bronte and the words.

Click for a larger view.

Of course the girls love them, I think they think they look like super heroes LOL.

:::KARAOKE:::
I remembered that I had videotaped some of the very bad karaoke the other night, I just need to get them off my phone and uploaded somewhere and then I will put them on here. Trust me, they are NOT easy listening. LOL

:::THANKS AND FYI:::
Thanks to Annette for the heads up on Denise Docherty’s new kit, it’s gorgeous, and I can’t wait to get it, but sadly I can’t get into the site, I’ve had this trouble before, but it’s not consistent, sometimes I can get to that site and other times I can’t, at the moment I can’t! :( Anyway, if you’re interested, check out the lovely Denise’s Blog NOW YOU KNOW. Also you should check out Spaceraven.net for amazing inspiration, tutorials and gorgeous brushes, which use in almost all my grunge style layouts.

Also, in my travels, I found this site here Just AD Inspiration. It has a great array of ads to use as inspiration. Although I sometimes find it hard to do, I can see how looking at these could inspire creativity, a very useful tool for lots of people. Let me know what you think.

:::SCHOOL HOLIDAYS:::
Bronte has gone to play at friends today and Quinn has a friend here at the moment. We ducked out this morning and bought Bronte’s birthday present (ssshhhhh ;) ) and now Quinn and Maggie are making finger puppets with some old felt that I found.

It is hot hot hot here today and very very windy, there has been warnings issued for the wind so I expect it to get worse, I hope it blows itself out so there is no wind next week when we are camping. Don’t mind if it’s cold but wind is blah!

Enjoy your day :)