It arrived!!!!

My Slice!!!! Its here! And you had better believe I have been cutting up a storm LOL

Thanks so much to Tracey and Jodi from Enchanted, and to all the other girls in the comp!!!

I have a whole shopping list of gorgeous Slice acessories now!!! LOL

Sunday Scrapping!

I have been playing in the Cyber Crop over at Scrap With V this weekend...sheesh, there were SO many CCs this weekend! A girl was spoiled for choice!

This one had to be about socks, have ledger paper, shaped paper, bling, scallops, a handmade embellishment and journalling on the photo...PHEW! I think I covered it all :) I did mine about how clucky baby socks make me feel! I don't know what it is...maybe the teency tiny-ness of them? I made these gorgeous flowers that I saw over on Nicole's blog...so easy, and so gorgeous!

And this challenge needed to be Shabby Chic, have lace or ribbon, have the colour blue, have patterned paper and have a title with the word 'Celebration'....

Mmmmm, loving the shabby chic (well, I got the shabby covered, here's hoping its chic too LOL)

And those bloody pearl flourishes...I didn't have any stick down flourishes, so those were sketched out with a pencil then each pearl individually stuck on...GRRRRR

Thanks to KellyD for the gorgeous main pic (and Bethany Tyson for the hand one :))

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your week...first week of school hols in QLD this week!!!

Friday Faves:)

#1 Grand Designs. Love this show! Its been off air for a while, but on Wednesday night whilst randomly surfing the channels, we discovered a brand new episode! I think i love watching it, cause Mick loves it and sits with me...not often that we agree on what constitutes 'good' television LOL #2 (yeah...another TV show) Silent Witness. So good. And its on a Friday!!!

#3 Pink ugg boots. Mick bought me a pair this week, and I looooove them!

#4 I am a huge fan of buying in bulk. I think its the whole country living thing...you never know when you'll be near large cheap stores again, so you stock up.

And really, is it a bad thing to have 56 rolls of toilet paper sitting in the bathroom????(yes, literally 56 rolls *sigh*)

#5 whilst waiting for my lovely slice machine to arrive, I have been browsing cartridges. And I bought one....

I reeeeally liked the font on this one:)

Argh! I hope it gets here soon!!! I totally can't wait to play!

For the Grandparents

Today was the kids Bookweek parade. They had to dress up as story book characters:)
So this morning I dropped a Little Mermaid and a Pocohontas to school:)
Poor old Pocahontas...we had a bit of a costume panic last night, and I ended up chopping two of Micks work shirts into this tunic for Nat to wear LOL

Sam decided that this was too much fun to miss out on, so he went to Daycare dressed as Super man.

Whoa..not good pics. Not a single one...

I thought it was funny..watching Charlotte walk up to her classroom this morning with her backpack on and her mermaid tail poking out from underneath.

Page from My Sketch Book

I love the sketches on this challenge site...every month:)

This pic is about my hubby. He is amazing, and I love him so! I got this pic printed, and I looked at it, and all I could think was that I looked safe and loved. I mean, naturally I hate the pic of myself LOL but I like that it is 'us'.
Mum was trying to get a pic of us, and Mick kept pulling faces and making jokes...so its a silly relaxed no make up pic:) The title 'home' is inspired by the Missy Higgins song 'Ten Days'...

"Cause its been ten days without you in my reach
and the only time I've touched you is in my sleep
But time has changed, nothing at all
you're still the only one who feels like home"

I remember he gave me the CD for christmas one year after I had been away at mum and dads for a few weeks prior. And we missed each other like crazy. He told me that he had heard this song and it made him think of me....


Anyways...LOL

Thanks for the help with my day care question guys! You all rock :) (thought I had better get it off here in case anyone 'local' found it and took it the wrong way!

Sunday Scrapping!

Soooo I got ONE measly LO done today. I wanted to play along with the Aussie Pub Calls Roadmaps sketch for this month...I had a pic that suited the sketch perfectly:)

Sam found a little bitty caterpillar and wanted me to take a pic. So I did....

And then he promptly (and accidentally) squished it.

My fave part of the whole pic is those grubby little hands. I love how the hands are somehow always dirty and/or sticky, and love that those hands always want to hold mine:)

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday Faves :-)

#1 this week is YOU! Yes, you... I don't have your pic, so here are some flowers that I would like to give you! I was so excited about my win with the Slice over at Enchanted, and was SO excited to wake up the next morning and have so many messages congratulating me! You guys ROCK!!! Thanks for celebrating with me:)

#2I am so so proud of my sis! Now, being a little....ummmm....uneducated and, well kinda dumb, I am not exactly sure what is goin on this week with her. As far as I can tell, this little girl in the blue dress (my little sis Clare)...

Is being admitted as a solicitor. Actually wrong tense. She was admitted today in the Supreme Court in the ACT. yep, our Nations Capital (sorry, went all Forrest Gump there for a minute)

Isn't she amazing?

And now, if I am ever in trouble...she can bail me out;)

#3 Now this may gain me automatic entrance into the mean mummy club, but it truly is my fave. I love when my kids are bored.

In fact I deliberately allow them to be often unscheduled and without play dates. I think that this is when they start to learn to amuse themselves and to get along. The games that they invent when they are bored are incredible!

Their imaginations start to run wild, and they play so well!

So yeah, mean mummy;)

#4 I have read 3 Lisa Jackson novels this week.

So good. Unfortunately though every person I meet is immediately suspected of being a serial killer...

Its the quiet ones you have to watch;)

#5 Is pretty much a family fave!

We are ALL loving HOODIES!!!!

Yay! they keep us warm....

And they even block out the world a little and make things just a smidge quieter!

So that's mine...Dan and Del, your weekend has officially begun LOL

I won!

A slice! I did!!!
I couldn't sleep last night cause I was so excited, and I will probably scare all my customers today with the foolish grin on my face lol

I entered a 6 week comp over at Enchanted, and I actually won!

I am so so shocked, cause the other entrants did some amazing LOs...

And I am SO excited!!!

Can't wait to get my hands on this baby and start cutting stuff!

I'll probably have to read the instruction manual first, as I have no clue how to use one of these...bet I'll be an expert in no time though LOL

Any tips...

Cause I don't know if I mentioned it...but I won one of these....

LOL

Happy Mail!

How good is it to receive parcels in the post? Today I got TWO!!!!! Oh happy days!

I participated in the 'bird' swap over at Scrap the Girls, and they arrived today! This was my first swap for Scrap the Girls, and my first non D2U swap, so I was fairly nervous....

This is what I received! What an awesome little haul! I will be able to use all sorts of handmade bird embies, and not even have to lift a finger! There are some terribly clever ladies out there! This was my contribution...

And my other parcel contained my published LO and the mag in which it appeared! I love getting the mag! Such a thrill to see my name in 'lights' LOL

Such a treat for me atm as Mick and I are now 'budgeting' *sigh* This means no more scrappy treats. Including mags...lucky for me there is SO much inspiration online...and I think we would have to be living under the bridge before I give up my interwebs! LOL

Have a terrific week all!

A fun Tag :)

This is a fun tag from Carey over at Life in The Carpool Lane

1.Where are you blogging right now?
2.How many unpublished posts do you have
in your 'draft' box?
3.Whose blog inspired you to start your own?
4.When do you usually publish your posts?
5.In your guesstimation, how many blogs do you read?
6.How long have you been blogging for?
7.Why did you start blogging?
8.Why do you keep blogging?
9.If you could only recommend one blog to a friend, which one would it be?
10.If the internet was "turned off" for one month, what you you do with all the time you used to spend blogging?

1.Where are you blogging right now? I am at my desk top. Which is conveniently right next to my cage kitchen, where I spend my entire life many wonderful hours each and every day.

2.How many unpublished posts do you have in your 'draft' box? 0, and there is a reason for that. I have no idea how to save as a draft and publish it out of order. I am a knob.

3.Whose blog inspired you to start your own? I was actually completing an IT unit for uni (studying my 4th year of teaching) and one of the tasks gave the option of something horribly complicated or starting your own blog being incredibly lazy very wise in my time management skills, I chose to start a blog.

4.When do you usually publish your posts? Usually first thing in the morning. or just after lunch whilst my youngest watched a movie :)

5.In your guesstimation, how many blogs do you read? Now, when I read that Carey read 65 I was surprised, but in thinking..I probably visit that many over the course of a week! I am clearly a voyeur LOL

6.How long have you been blogging for? Just over a year!

7.Why did you start blogging? ummm cause of uni...

8.Why do you keep blogging? I kept blogging because it seemed a good way to keep mum and dad up to date with what was happening with the kids lives. I also love that there is a kind of record here of what have been doing for the past year! So much happens that you forget, and this way I am actually prompted to write about the little funny stories and exciting day to day things that happen.

I also got addicted to receiving comments *sigh*

9.If you could only recommend one blog to a friend, which one would it be? My fave blog (if it can be called that, more like a phenomenon is Pioneer Woman. I also have just started reading My sisters Farmhouse. Both reeeeally funny and very clever ;)

10.If the internet was "turned off" for one month, what you you do with all the time you used to spend blogging? OMG...no internet?!?!?!?! I can't even begin to contemplate!!!!!

I would love to know if you complete this tag! (yes, you reading....YOU have been tagged) Please let me know so I can go read about what makes your blog tick!

Saturday/Sunday Scrapping :)

I was lucky enough to be able to attend a class yesterday at my nearby scrapping store! I love going to real live classes :) So much fun, and Stacey (owner/teacher) of the store is so clever. Puts so much thought and preparation into her classes, and SUCH a great bargain! The following was a $25 class..which includes all basic materials, use of the store 'stuff' and the class!

So here 'tis... I decided to create my trinket box for my sister and her wedding pics....(pretty sure she doesn't read my blog, so I think I am safe sharing LOL) So lots and lots of 'pretties'. I think the lid is still missing 'something', but not sure what. I am thinking of adding the date in the big old blank space. Love how the box is antiqued using paint, ink and crakle. So yummy!

And inside a little mini album :)

I thought that I would also type up copies of mine and the best man's speech for her to keep. I also have her and Shane's place cards (her first official time having her name written as a 'Mrs') and thought that this little box would be perfect for little bits like these!

Love this pic of my dad and Clarey!

This sis is also the same sis who this week will be admitted as a solicitor in Canberra! So proud of her...how amazing is she??? She is stunningly gorgeous, a beautiful person and apparently intelligent as well! Shane certainly got the whole package there ;)

So my lovelies...have a fantastic week....and try, somehow to stay warm!

My Kitchen Smells Incredible...

We just popped some pop corn for morning tea, and I whipped up a batch of the most divine pumpkin muffins!

Seriously.

Pumpkin muffins.

Don't be a hater....I despise pumpkin as a general rule. It still makes me gag when I eat it. But these muffins are amazing...and I figure it truly is the only way I will ever eat pumpkin. LOL (I choose to ignore the butter and sugar and focus on the vegie part of the recipe heh)

Here's the recipe...truly, try them! Perfect with a cuppa on a cold winter night!

3 cups of flour

4 beaten eggs

1 1/2 cups of sugar (its okay, the pumpkin cancels out the calories)

2 cups mashed pumpkin

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup butter (again I am pretty certain the pumpkin cancels out the butter)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp each of ginger, nutmeg and all spice (I didn't have nutmeg and mine are still delish)

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs in a large bowl, stir in pumpkin and melted butter. Slowly add the dry ingredients.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 350 for 25 - 30 mins.

ENJOY!!

The Princesses may have gone a little crazy...

I mean seriously... They have kits like these for under $10 Yep. Under $10!

There are also alphas and paper packs in the 'clearance sale' section for like $4.50!

Go check it out!

Friday Faves!

The Dan and Del edition ;)

(I was contemplating not doing the fives this week...too cold, too cranky etc etc...then I got a phone call from my bro asking where they were...so here I am!)

#1 Winter. I love it. Love love love it! I love the bitterly cold winds, I love the snuggling into bed, and my fave thing so far this winter is seeing the ecclectic outfits my kids assemble in an effort to keep warm LOL
Wish I had of taken a pic of this mornign when I stumbled out of bed to see the three kids eating porridge wearing mick's beanies on their heads...

#2 Aunty Adventures!!! I love that the kids get to spend this uber cool time with their aunt :)

Even if they have no clue whats happening 1/2 the time :)

#3 Our mini holiday to Ballina. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO relaxing. Felt like we were there for about a week. Bliss :)

#4 My mum introduced me to White Costello Cheese...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

#5 They way my hubby takes over on a Friday afternoon. I arrive home at 6 o'clock on a Friday night (all things going well at the bank) and he has the kids bathed, the washing off the line and dinner organised. He is truly a gem

I also love that he realises how stressful dealing with our customers can be during fruit season, and he lets me have about 15 mins after I walk in the door to just be quiet...to sit and stare at the wall or harvest my FarmTown crops....He is a keeperfor sure!

He is a pussy cat...really!!! LOL

Have a great weekend!