My new look girl

Well I picked up Tara's new reading glasses today and doesn't she look smart. She's very pleased with herself but I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon enough. Hopefully a couple of years will see her eyes self correct and she won't need them after that. Mind you that's what they told my brother at the same age and he's still wearing them now (33 years later!!!)

Now this is just a quick post (I'm supposed to be in bed!!) but my friend Megan kindly reminded me I need to post in my blog...so here you go Megan (BTW enjoy the rest of your holidays).

Caught up with Alicia for the last time on Tuesday night at Scrapbook City - very sad - but I'm sure we'll still keep in touch through blogs and forums! I'm sure they will have an amazing time in America!

We are off to the Gold Coast after sport on Saturday morning for the weekend. Peter loves the revolving restaurant at the Crowne Plaza down at Surfers Paradise so we're taking him there for Father's Day on Saturday night. My brother is bring Mum & Dad down to join us for the meal too. I'm hoping to get some family snap shots (taking tripod with so I get in some too) as I've been reminded lately (after two dear friends have lost their Dads) that we don't have a recent photo of my brother and folks with my family & I. I have lots of individual photo's but want to try and get a group one.

My quote today -
"The one thing that matters is the effort."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Well I've tried it but...

Don't know if I'll bother with a "poppet" type LO again! Here's my effort = using Karen Foster PP's & gel stickers from my DT kit. Don't know if you can read the journalling - Tara at about 3 1/2 decided she didn't like the nickname (Possum) that we had for her so she decided she wanted to be called "Rich Princess" instead! Not just princess - but rich princess!!! Way to go girl!

My other LO this weekend was for the Craft Attic cyber crop - another Tara LO (better do two on Danah next weekend!!!) - about her current love of jeans! She now has jean shorts ready for summer otherwise I'm sure she'd want to wear her full length jeans all through summer too!!!

Okay another quote to leave you with:

"Love is a serious mental disease" Plato

I don't remember seeing that one in those "Love is..." cartoons! (does anyone else remember those?? You know, "love is ... never having to say you're sorry" - terrible corny and oh so '80's!)

Teary Farewell

Don't know if you know this about me but I cry at the drop of a hat! (what sort of saying is that???)

Anyway...today we had a farewell morning tea for a friend retiring from work (eeekk - I have friend old enough to retire!!!). Rochelle (who's gorgeous granddaughter Sophie I scrapped some weeks ago) is finishing up in two more working days to join her hubby Peter at their farm near Inglewood. I get so emotional at things like this and as soon as she started to talk & get a bit emotional herself - I was off!!! Damn and I wore mascara today too!!!

Made a mini book for her send off "card" as we only had a limited number of photo's of her to use. I left the middle pages blank for everyone to sign. The K&Company Kology kit made it easy and I made it quite simple.

Have tried to get "into" two different cyber crops on tonight - but just not in the mood. Have quite a few projects, mostly little, to finish off this weekend so hope I find my mood soon! Although having said that I have been having fun putting together a mini box for a swap. Doing okay = having covered the outside, painted the inside and painted a HS ghost alpha for the monogram on the top of the box....then realised I'd painted a "M" inside of a "H" - doh!!!

It was book week at school and the girls 'dressed up' on Thursday. Try and guess what Danah was??? Tara was a marine biologist!!! (Hope I haven't told you in a previous thread!!!) Hint - her module ATM is nutrition.

Scrap Fund

In preparation for the LSBS Retreat next August I'm saving my pennies (well 50c pieces actually). My DT Money Box - using Urban Lily goodies + lots of other stuff!

Don't do a lot of OTP - need more practice!

On that note - here's a quote for the day:

"I can live for two months on a good compliment. "
- Mark Twain.

Okay - here we go

According to Blogger - everyone is having trouble with pics ATM. Try renaming your files with shorter names - tried this and it didn't work. Now I've managed to get this one on by clicking on "edit Html" while creating. Hope they fix it soon!

Anyway - here's my #1 Elsie challenge attempt.

This is the Simple Sunday challenge LO - colours look lousy in my scan. It's bright green with purple ribbon.

Rotten #$@#%$ Blogger

Still can't add images - what's going on???

At long last

I'm posting - naughty me - for the first time in a week. Been a bad blogger this week but hope to make up for it this week (we'll see!!)

My work in Cairns at the beginning of the week went well - everyone gave me really positive feedback and hopefully some of the outcomes will have an impact at a national level as well as at a state/territory level. We managed to have some fun, with a couple of social events and as usual when I'm away I could relax and have a few drinkies. So nice not having to rush around in the morning and get everyone ready for school etc etc - just a leisurely start to the day with a cooked breakfast and no mess to clean up!

While away, Peter and the girls went to the Brisbane show - the Ekka! They had a full on day - arriving at opening time (9am) and staying until after the fireworks!! When they called me at 9.45pm they all sounded exhausted! Peter said they were very well behaved but that the $$$ didn't go as far as they would've liked!!

Scrapping wise - I went to Scrapbooks Etc on Friday night for a crop with Sara, Sara, Leish, Liz, Abi & Nadia. Unfortunately Zane couldn't make it :( We did miss her smiling, happy, chatty face! I finished off a DT LO for LSBS using a baby pic of myself & some Karen Foster products.

I've also had a go at the first challenge from Elsie Flannigan's book - as challenge at Scrap Pile - using ki memories PP and chipboard. Bit disappointed with the scan of this one - looks better IRL. Funny, I've used this photo of Danah before (cropped differently) and I've received feedback on it for the second time saying how much she looks like Drew Barrymore! I don't really see it - but of course, Danah loves it (she knows Drew from Charlie's Angels)!!

I also got to set the Simple Sunday Challenge at LSBS today so thought I'd better do a LO for it too. The challenge was 1 = cardstock, 2 = photo's & 3 = ribbons. Decided to use pics of me (again!!) and Danah helped me change them in Photoshop so that only the margarita was in colour. That was fine except I printed them the first time using just black ink (not the colour cartridge) - doh!! Danah thought that was hilarious. The green highlighter colouring in the margarita just didn't work so we had to reprint them.

I've got tomorrow off work (in lieu of the public holiday I missed last week while in Cairns) and as well as having coffee with Mum and Dad - I'm hoping to whip together a mini book for a retirement function at work this week. I'm using the K&Company Kology mini book kit so I'm hoping it won't take too long. Also hoping to drop in to see Debra at the Craft Attic (had another win with the last cyber crop there). A hair cut is also on the books before picking the girls up from school. Hmmm....me thinks there is more in that list than hours in the day!!! Oh well - what's new!

Trying to organise a night away for us down the coast to celebrate Father's Day. Peter enjoys the revolving restaurant down there and we'll go there for dinner on the Saturday night (sorry scrap club girls - think that was the next night to meet @ Leone's). Hoping the points on my credit card will pay for either the accommodation or dinner.

Okay - blogger not playing nice with the uploads AGAIN. More posts to follow!

Button Workshop

Today I finally got to do my first online workshop with the lovely Karen Ridgeway. I was just as interested to see how an online workshop works as I was to do the workshop!!!

It was fun to let loose with my white pen (was worried at one stage that it would run out before I finished the LO!!). Quite like the borders and of course the buttons. I might even try handwriting more titles now!!!

Here's my "Shining Star" button layout I completed as part of this workshop. The journalling is about all Tara's strong/beautiful qualities. This is part of our work in building her self-esteem after her recent bullying episode.


Also completed a LO for the LSBS cyber crop. The challenge was to scrap a pic from your front/back door using a sketch. I'd taken pics of the jade plants at our front and back door ages ago and it was just right for this challenge.

Danah's basketball went well yesterday - lost by one shot!! After getting beaten 44-6 the previous week = this week was a good result! She's quite into it and we even purchased a hoop today so she can practice shooting hoops! Peter and I quite enjoy it too!! While the start times have been early and on the other side of town - the game's over in an hour and we can get on with our Saturday. Next week's game's at home as it's open day at Ormiston College - so full on with activities at school for the day.

Peter and the girls are keyed up to go to the Ekka (Brisbane show) tomorrow. Tara had her backpack packed and ready to go by 2pm today!!! I'm off to Cairns for work for two nights so I'm packing and psyching up for a big two days up there. Will have my laptop with me so will still be online each night at some stage or other.

Quick Post

Just a very quick post (I really should be in bed!!) but wanted to upload my first DT LO. Having a chat to Zane during the week and she commented that she'd never seen me scrap myself so I have done this LO using a pic of me!! Doesn't happen often. So here 'tis.

If you're after some interesting challenges this weekend, it's the Little Scrapbook Shop cyber crop - check it out.

Early start tomorrow - we have to be at Forest Lake by 7.30am for Danah's basketball -- stop blogging Amanda!!!

Ready to play

Received my very first DT pack today!! Yippee!! Now I so want some time to scrap...uninterupted...for a day or two!! Not going to happen this week unfortunately as I'm flat out at work getting ready for this national forum I've put together and hosting next week in Cairns. Oh well, it looks like I won't get much sleep this week. Who needs it?? Sleep is overrated in my book!

Here's the LO I couldn't upload last night of Tara taken on her 7th birthday this year. I so wanted to doodle more on this but not feeling confident enough to "go for it". Hoping my workshop with Karen Ridgeway will help me to overcome that 'fear'.

Did a Digi!

It's been ages since I"ve done a digital layout but whipped one up today for the Photo Phrenzy Friday challenge on Little Scrapbook Shop! The journalling says: Everyday it is the same! That decision, that is always left up to me to make and the question - always the question - "what's for dinner?". I've used Jen Reed's "I've Gotta Be Me" papers, Shabby Princess Urban Kiwi stitching, white stamp and stapled ribbon, K Clark's lilpinky alphabet and stapled white tag.

While I'm talking LSBS - check out our cyber crop this Friday (11 August 2006)!

Went to Jenny U's place last night for our Scrap Club crop. It was a smaller group this time but we still had a lovely time. Peta, Leisa, Shazz, Jenny, Leone & I enjoyed catching up, being entertained by Jenny's birds!!! and well looked after by her partner who did the pizza run for us! Thanks for a great night! I worked on a CJ entry which I'll share later in the week when I put the finishing touches on it. I mentioned at the crop about a colour schemer website (Tara DT member on LSBS shared online) - so here it is ladies - hope you find it useful.

During the week I also did a LO on our gorgeous daughter, Tara. She's been having a rough trot at school with a certain little boy bullying her. Tara's teacher has been great in dealing with the situation. Tara has such a beautiful nature and I truly don't want to see her affected by what has been happening. She received a Merit Certificate on assembly on Friday for "being a kind and considerate student, who is well liked and respected in the class. Tara is an excellent role model to her peers, she always makes time to help others before herself. She is truly a star student, not just academically but also in her nature too". We are very proud of her!

We went to Chandler Markets this morning for a look around as we haven't been there for some time. I was hoping to find a lace/ribbon/button seller - but no luck :( We did pick up some yummy stuffed olives and fresh yoghurt. We also did the "basketball" thing again this afternoon. Thought we were going to need an ambulance at one stage....I really am incredibly unfit!!!

I'm going to have to pick another night for my main blog update night as once again I'm having trouble uploading photos tonight!

It's official

My spot on the Design Team @ the Little Scrapbook Shop has been announced tonight - so I'm finally official! Awaiting my first pack of goodies and then the fun begins!