So, I think I’ll just ramble on a bit and maybe it will all come flooding back… (come on brain, that was a subliminal hint)…

OK, first, we finally got our hands on a Wii Fit! And it was worth the wait! It is so much fun and best of all it doesn’t feel like you are exercising. Perfect for this cold, cold winter and it is a great work out… I am not a huge fan of kids sitting on console games, but the Wii certainly has changed my thinking, if the kids have to be inside then I don’t mind them playing on the Wii Sport and the Wii Fit, it keeps the moving and having fun at the same time… I have spent nearly two hours on it today, and I am no where near sick of it yet… mind you my co-ordination is not the best on some of the aerobic exercises, but it is amusing LOL

Also, I had a complete change yesterday, I let my hairdresser attack me, I now have dark brown hair and a new blunt hair cut… I must say I don’t mind it at all, but after one wash it is already fading . Julie my lovely hairdresser did warn me this would happen as it is dyed over blonde and will take a couple of times before it really ‘sticks’. I wonder if I’ll have less fun now that I am no longer blonde!
This is just taken by my webcam…sorry it’s pretty scary, no editing, double chin and all…

I was over at the lovely Karen’s Blog today (check it out she is an amazing photography and a beautiful person to boot) and she had this link on her blog, Days With My Father is a beautiful account of a sons love for his elderly father and the challenges that he faces. If you have ever wondered why you you scrap, go to this site. Our memories are precious things, both our memories and the memories we create of the people we scrap about. My favourite photos are the ones of the notes the father writes for himself, some beautifully poignant and wise, some tragically sad as he realises that his 98 year old mind is letting him down. While I cried all through this, the sense of love and hope is strong…. do yourself a favour… thanks Karen. I also love how the site is set out, move to the bottom of each picture to enter the next section… I’d love to know what you think.

This is turning into a bit of a ‘linkfest’ post… I am currently in awe of the art found here and here. Irene Suchocki has an amazing knack for beautiful photo manipulation, I wish I knew exactly how she acheives these effects. It looks like she uses a lensbaby on her camera, but the textures she choses finishes off her art beautifully… she even inspired me to have a go myself… here is my feeble attempt…

Obviously it doesn’t compare!

Since I am on a link binge, head on over to PickleBerryPop, they have had a site revamp and I must say it is looking very fresh, mind you I have always thought it looks great, but a change is as good as a holiday. It’s PBP’s 2nd birthday this month, there are lots of freebies and challenges going on at the moment, so head on over and have some fun!

What now? You guessed it, more links LOL…. Are you a digiscrapper? Do you like freebies? Well duh! Don’t we all! Check out both of these great sites. Digifree is run by an Australian, Maria from Sydney, but the free kits listed on the blog are from all over the world, there are some really great freebies there so check it out. Gingerscraps is run by Ginger and is another blog soley dedictaed to finding freebies and posting them all in one easy spot just for you! And me, and them… LOL Check them out and leave some love, they are both great resources…

More… these I found on Aussie Scrapbooking, which is a great link in itself, but they also have great links…man this is getting convoluted, are you confused yet?… I digress…. Aussiedares is a scrapping blog to get you motivated, a new scrapping dare is posted every month, a challenge for you to try something new and different… If you are looking for something to motivate you this might be it… Another blog to inspire scrapping, that was also mentioned at ASB is I Inspire Me, fabulous ideas on how to take inspiration from the every day things around you, plates, cushions, clothes, art, magazines, you name it… there are some great examples of how to use the things you see every day to make you pages…

This link is for the blossoming photographers amongst you, 3 videos on photography, I particularly like the first and last one.

For my last link(s), check out my sidebar, under Blog Food For The Soul, these are the blogs I visit regularly, there is so much talent and inspiration there, but most importantly they are just great people! Enjoy

Here are the winners of the give-away from the last entry….

Kate F (7)

Nic (11)

Holly (3)

Karen (16)

Sheila (15)

Unfortunately Kate is on dial-up and can’t download from home, so she has opted out of the give-away, so I did another draw and

Ness (17) was the lucky girl! I have just found Ness’s blog, head over and check it out, it’s a blog after my own heart LOL I will be following it with intense interest. Thanks for dropping by Ness

Below are screen shots of the draw I just did, just so everyone knows it’s above board!

I’ll get an email out to you all by the end of the week… I have, once again, gone over my monthly download limit so I am now on dial up speed (BLAH!), once I am back on REAL SPEED I will upload to my server and email the link to all the special girls above!

I really hope you enjoyed the links above, let me know if you did. There is so much good stuff out there on the web. If you have anything good to share let me know… because I don’t spend near enough time blog and site hopping! Hear the sarcasm? LOL

Just wanted to wish my good friend Lisa and her husband Richard, good luck on the impending birth of her 4th beautiful child, she is due in less than a week so it could happen any day now… I am thinking of you

And to my friend Megan, who won’t be able to read this as she has just entered the Queensland Police Academy for her training… Good luck Meegs, I hope it’s not too painful!

No Photoshop Tip today, but check back soon, the next entry will have one, or two, or three….

I am off to write my next article for Aussie Scrapbooking, be sure and check it out when you can. Have a great day and leave me some love!

Can you guess why? Jen A already has! I had a lot of fun doing this but it was a lot more work involved than I had anticipated, lots of toing and froing and emails, but now I see it, it was all worth it, and given the chance I’d be in again in a flash!

EDITED TO ADD: A huge thank you to Kristarella, after reading her instructions PROPERLY, I solved the header problem… thanks so much Kristarella, you’re a gem, and I won’t bother you any more LOL

Next one is my bigger baby Quinn, this is the pic I posted last time, which I just love. The frame is by C Borgfield, but I am not sure where it is from, sorry, also the brushes are just free downloads from somewhere, but I can’t remember where. I wish people would name their brushes so I can give due credit. The background and word art are by me.

~ BREAK ~
Hope you all had a great Australia Day and long weekend. We came back a day early as the weather wasn’t great and was going to get worse. But it was nice while it lasted! Got to finish my audible book and got lots of relaxing in, and a lovely walk along the beach and we also got to sit on the beach, all snuggled up with the girls and watch the comet which was pretty spesh, so we did fit a lot in for the short time we were there!

Also met these lovely people that were camping behind our friends, I was in the van and heard Brian chatting to them, and came out and had a short chat, I thought they mentioned something about lambs and that they were from Thorpdale, so I assumed they were Sheep Farmers, then they went off to cook dinner and we ate ours. During dinner Brian mentioned that they were actually potato farmers, I said that Shez’s parents were from Thorpdale and they probably knew Shez’s family, later on we started chatting again.
I said “I have a friend whose parents are potato farmers in Thorpdale, you might know her family. I can’t remember her maiden name but her married name is Sherryll Ray, do you know them?”
The lady (Joan), said “Sherryll Ray…hmmmm….OH!!!! Sherryll Ray, that’s our daughter!!!!!!!”
ROFL!!!
Then they asked my name, which I said, and before I had a chance to explain how I knew Shez, they both exclaimed “You’re Lee!!! You’re to blame for our daughters’ obsession!”
“That’s me”, I say sheepishly! LOL. What a small, small world we live in! They are just the loveliest people, not that I am surprised, their daughter is very special and a great, true and loyal friend to boot!

We are busy today doing more stuff around the house, painting old pots and clearing a few more boxes from the garage, we are also clearing a spot for one of those slimline sheds in the backyard, mainly to house the lawn mower and maybe the bikes, if they fit. I would dearly love to be able to move in our garage, but it is chock full of CRAP! LOL Then we are going to do a bit of plant shopping tomorrow, severely restrained by our budget, we are also in desperate need of a doorbell, all our friends have taken to ignoring the front door and coming straight round the back as we never hear it!! LOL

~ CAMERA CLUB ~
Shez, Tenille (a friend from Brian’s work), and I all went off to the Coal Country Camera Club meeting on Tuesday night. It was a great night and I look forward to more meetings. They have field trips and weekends away and best of all, families are welcome on the trips! The level of skill there is amazing and more than a little intimidating, but I just know I will learn heaps and best of all the people were lovely!

~ INTERESTING STUFF ~
Well, at least I was interested LOL. First this blog had me in hysterics http://www.thingsmyboyfriendsays.com/ it could be my sense of humour but I hope you get a giggle too, I should mention that there is some ‘colourful’ language going on here, so beware.
Also thought this was pretty groovy too, some interesting effects…http://www.typorganism.com/asciiomatic/ . This is a blog I stumbled across, I have no idea how, but I did http://dooce.com/, the interesting thing I liked on this blog was this series of pics here http://www.3situations.com/BillSullivanWorks/MT4.html loved the candid looks on all the faces, wish I had the courage to set up and take pics of random people like this. I found myself wondering about each persons life and where they are going and where they are now…like I said, interesting, at least to me…

Have a great day and go spread some happiness

At the lovely Lis’s urging I thought it best to post this… (You can check out results at Angela and MiYon’s blogs too).

 

And just a little layout dedicated to all the champagne lovers out there!

Oh and as you can see I have had yet another blog makeover and whilst I loved my previous banner, I didn’t make it so I was never happy, so I re did it again, using a banner I did myself as well as all the other graphics and titles. I think it was an avoidance thing…still haven’t done those calendars!

Have a great night

Oh and the bottom one is a new one

Been busy around the house this week while we are both off work together. While I have missed camping it has been lovely being able to spend some time at home. We have managed to do a bit, and spend some time with the girls playing their new favourite game, Chess. Quinn has already beaten me, so I will have to work on my strategy I think!

Went and saw Happy Feet with the girls on Thursday, which was good (not fantastic IMHO), managed to pick out all the light fittings for the house, now we have a 4-6 week wait for an electrician, which I hate! Can’t stand waiting for stuff when I am all set to go LOL.

Which brings me to my next thing. I read a great article by Ali Edwards about a tradition she started for herself, where she chooses a word for herself at the beginning of the year and tries to incorporate it into her every day life. I thought this was a great idea. Her word for 2006 was Play and this year it is Peace. I have decided on the word RELAX for me for 2007.

I can be quite regimented in regards to time (I hate being late) and definitely like things done a certain way. If we are running late for school or other social events I am a RAVING nut, yelling and carrying on etc etc LOL. If I make a mistake at home or at work I am very very hard on myself and tend to get very angry, even though any one else would and does think my error is minor I can’t help but get very disappointed. I intend to try and RELAX more and try and accept situations for what they are. If there is no real importance in what’s happened, I will TRY not to let it bother me so much!
I also have a tendency to be very very strict with my girls, whilst they are shown an immeasurable amount of love, I can be quite hard on them and expect a lot. I think I need to acknowledge that they are great kids now and I can RELAX a little on the every day stuff. I am constantly told by family, friends, teachers etc how well behaved they are and well mannered etc etc, so I guess O need to start giving them a little more leway. I WILL RELAX. So I guess that is my New Years resolution in part. We’ll see how it goes….

I have resolved to try not to web surf anymore, I keep finding things I really really want and can’t have LOL! This is the latest! Oh well…hope the increase in my hours comes soon! LOL Also lusting after Foto Fusion and several books too! Including all the quote books the lovely Angela has. The list is never ending! I will resolve to be happy with all the wonderful things I actually have, including and most importantly my family and friends.

Have a great day!

Oh you should be able to click on the layouts for a larger view.

LAYOUT CREDITS
All papers and backgrounds made by me. Also used brushes from Anna Aspnes and Denise Docherty.

The pic is one I took of Quinn a few months back at a home photo shoot.

The background is by me, the decorative font is called Silhouette, the script font is Porcelain. The gorgeous frame brush is from Scrap Artist – Flourish Frames (below) by Michelle Coleman.

~ DECK NEWS ~

Less than 2 weeks now! Can’t wait! Nuff said

I always come back feeling so refreshed, happy and feeling lucky that we get to spend this special time with our families and close friends. We were pretty lucky with the weather although we did have one particularly windy day, other than that it was great. We had extra friends come over on the Saturday to spend GF day with us and we had our traditional hotdogs for lunch and then “The Big Roast” for dinner. “The Big Roast” is big, usually 3-4 peices of meat and copious amounts of yummy vegies. Suzy even managed to bake a cake for Bronte and Mandy who have birthdays today and tomorrow, it was very yummy, especially since it was baked at the last minute! And finally ended with marshmellows around the fire. Of course, as tradition dictates, we had perfect weather on Sunday we packed up LOL. oh well, better than rain. We unpacked in record time and were completely sorted by 6pm, we are getting good at the end bit! I didn’t take many pics but did get one or two good ones, which I’ll post soon.

After such a relaxing time, work was a big shock today, very very busy and just non stop, I didn’t get half as much done as I wanted too, but enjoyed it anyway. Especially when I got told we are getting a big reward soon! Yippeee, the dates are yet to be announced but I am hoping like mad I can make it! Fingers crossed.

Also it was Bronte’s birthday today, my baby turned 7! Oh even when she is 57 she will always be my baby! She got a little mini stereo for her birthday which she loved and then after school all her cousins came over for cake and a play, while all the adults chatted. Just lovely! I did take some pics of the blowing out the candles, but they are still on the camera and I’m too tired to get them off, so I’ll do it in the next day or two.

Lastly, I came back to the news that another two of our MAC girls met! Judy was in New Zealand visiting family and caught up with our resident Photography Guru, Karen. They had a lovely time and Judy commented that “it was like meeting a family member rather than just a friend!” How lovely. It’s not long until our get together and I can hardly wait to meet these great ladies. Sadly not all of us will be there this time, but we will all be together in spirit, and those not there won’t be forgotten.

Lastly I thought I would do my first “Imagination Prompt”

The question that came up was “What did we do before the internet”

My answer is “I have no idea!” LOL

Have a great night everyone!

In my frenzy I have also helped renovate, Angela, Shez and Sharon’s blogs (Sharon’s is still a work in progress, under review and discussion.) Go check them out, I must say, I think they look better than mine LOL, oh well!

~ IMAGINATION PROMPTS ~
I have also added a section for “Sites I Love to Visit”, the top one is a site I found yesterday, called “Imagination Prompts”, I thought it was a great site to use when I can’t think of anything to write here, but, in saying that, I really am enjoying this blogging journey. I have found that it helps me focus on all the good things in my life, and when I sit down in front of my computer ready to make an entry, I can clear my mind and really think about what I have achieved, enjoyed, laughed at, and for the most part it’s all good! Anyway, I am rambling, check the site, if you need to be inspired, either for writing on your blog, or even in your layouts, I think it’s a great way to get started…. so get writing, I love reading about my cyber friends, it’s like a special glimpse into everyones inner self, don’t worry about your spelling, or editing your feelings, the important thing is to get it down….*stepping down off soapbox now*.

~CAMPING~
Our camping holiday was delayed slightly, due to inclement weather, (otherwise known as bloody strong winds!). We are now heading over tomorrow, it’s been nice to get those few extra days in at home. Also, I am going to try and take a leaf out of (MAC) Judy’s book and not overpack, I loved your theory Judy, but I am not sure I’m strong enough to do it! LOL

~REALITY~
Well I spoke too soon about how great my darling daughters have been lately, it all came crashing down today LOL. They argued over everything and it drove me insane! Hopefully, getting away tomorrow, will interupt their cycle, and they will revert back to loving sisters. Even worse, is when they are arguing one minute, and start giggling insanely the next! Oh soooo frustrating, but I love them more than the world either way.

~SLOW COOKER~
Finally bought a slowcooker today, threw in some Chicken, Carrots, Brocolli, Cauliflower, tinned Tomatoes, and a sachet of Apricot Curry Chicken, (didn’t have any apricots LOL). Anyway it was quite tasty and the meat was lovely, but I forgot to put an onion in and I think that was a missed. But I am looking forward to experimenting more! We might even take it camping!

~LASTLY~
*Judy, I hope you are enjoying your holiday, I’m sorry I mixed up your departure day, and don’t forget to have a drink for me when you meet up with (MAC) Karen
*Mick, glad to hear you are healing well, although my morbid side is dying to see your scar! LOL
*Lis, so glad your back

Oh I was gonna upload some camping pics, so you could all see how beautiful it is, but bloggers not playing fair tonight

Happy days….