Friday Faves!

All images in this post are STOLEN!!! Not one of them belong to me or my camera, and I am okay with that, I was (quite frankly) far too lazy to get up and find my stinking camera and then hunt down the things that make me happy. Its been one of THOSE days!
#1 this week is my sleep mask. Its not funky like these. It is pink and had 'Beauty Sleep' embroidered across the eyes.
My allergies have been yucky again this week, and I loooooove putting my sleep mask in the freezer while I am at work and putting it on when my eyes get itchy once I come home again.
I also like that I can wear it while Mick stays up reading in bed, and I can sleep. Even if he is laughing at me, quite loudly... #2 a cold bed.
I love anything cold. I love to sit on a chair thats cold and get into a cold bed. I hate getting a chair thats warm and covered in someone else's germs, and I love cold crisp sheets.
I even turn on my AC about 1/2 an hour before I go to bed, direct the fan onto my pulled down bed, and make sure those sheets are good and cold. Then I also ensure that I go to bed before Mick so I can use up his side of the bed's coldness before using mine.
I think I have a problem.

(I am also a fan of this bedroom...I wonder if this is what mine will look like when it grows up...)

#3 Friday night 'blow out'. Celebrity Slim is doing my head in. And I now LIVE for Friday night when I allow myself to have a burger. ***drooooool**** (Mick is off collecting cooking dinner as I type)

#4 I used to love Enid Blyton books when I was young, and Natalie had just discovered them

We were finding it hard to find something for her to read that was challenging enough for her reading level, but still right for her age level. Most of the books she can read, she probably shouldn't be reading...but these are so good. Not too challenging, and totally innocent (even if Noddy was feeling a little queer and got into bed with Big Ears... - sorry, couldn't resist!!!)

#5 my order of Bazzill Swiss Dotted Card stock arrived this week, and its lovely. Really really lovely.

I got two of each of the available colours

And I am glad.

I only have the smallest amount of buyers remorse...

Soooooo, what are your faves this week????

Fairyland...

So, I was at work today (I work in a bank as a teller) and a big man walks up to the counter (*heh* this totally sounds like a joke..). He asks to change his address.
"sure" says I (I am paid to be helpful at work, unlike home) "what's your new address?"

he tells me.

And his new address was in Faiyland.

"okay" says I. Not smiling, smirking or laughing (see I CAN be a serious type bank person when it is called for!!) "could you spell that for me" (I was thinking I must have misheard...this man was too huge to fit through tiny trapdoors or skip along yellow brick roads or however else one may choose to enter Fairyland)

But no, Fairyland is spelled, well 'FAIRYLAND'.

And apparently Fairyland looks like this.
And if Google can be believed Fairyland has no public toilets and no houses for rent or sale (no toadstools either I believe hahahahaha!!!!)

Fairyland's claim to fame is that it once had a school. And as far as I can tell, thats about it for Fairyland. That, and it is near Chinchilla somewhere in Queensland Australia.

So there you have it. There truly really IS a fairyland...its just much less sparkly and dainty than I had pictured it in my head...

If I Keep Talking...

You might forget that there should be a Weigh In Wednesday post...

Yeah, okay, I didn't weigh in the week. Several reasons, 1. I slept in this morning, and was running late and had scarffed down breakfast before I remembered to weigh myself. And we ALL know that breakfast adds at LEAST 500g...right!?!? 2. I kind of indulged a bit this week...like having pancakes for dinners last night, and a hot cross bun a few times last week. Don't hate....I was missing the carby goodness...

Anywho, no Wednesday Weigh in. At least not one that I am admitting to!

Sammy and I went to the park this morning, and then came home to do some cooking....

What's the first ingredient Sam? Yeah, he didn't care. As long as he got to lick the beaters.

This boy cannot eat a thing without making an enormous crummy mess. And he wonders why I won't let him eat his lunch in front of the television...

We got the recipe from Pioneer Woman here.

They taste YUM! (ARGH! See I can't stop! I have a sniff of carbs and I go insane!)

Okay, you totally have to click on that link and see how gorgeous her cooked biscuits look compared to mine. My chocolate, instead of melting into a smooth lovely icing type thing, just went lumpy and unspreadable... Luckily they taste MUCH more delicious than they look!

Puzzle Sketches

Remember I blogged about the gorgeous Kerryn sending me a lovely kit in the mail? Well, I finally got to use it! I decided to enter the Puzzle Sketch for February:)

I saw that lacy red PP and just HAD to cut out the snowflakey design in the corner...So I cut it out, and then stuck a stamped transparency behind it

And here is my entry:)

Oh man alive I LOVE using kits at the moment...I love being able to grab out a bag of stuff, and know that everything is going to coordinate. It is truly scrapping made easy!

Thank you SO much Kerryn! I still have SO much of this kit left to fiddle with...I am going to scrap an entry for the local show tonight with some of it I think!

Just FYI

I am officially on a 12 month leave of absence from my uni studies! I am SOOOO happy about this! Today was meant to be the first day back, but my confirmation letter arrived today, so all is well!
Just had to share:)

I am NOT a stalker!

This is what Mick calls me when I start taking photos of the kids when they are asleep.

I have been better lately, but last night when I went to tuck Charlotte in for the night, I saw her sound asleep, and all snuggled up to her three favourite things... I just couldn't resist. Its about the only time during a day when she is still and quiet. LOL

She is cuddled up to her Poppy Bear (named because Poppy gave it to her - My dad -aka Poppy- bought each of his own children and now each of his grandchildren a teddy bear on the day they were born. Not just ANY old bear, a lot of thought goes into each one. Lots of teddy stores, and lots of bears rejected as 'not quite right'. I don't know what makes them 'right', but once he sees the bear, he knows that its the right one. I still have my bear.)

She also is clutching 'Pooh Binky', you can just see his little yellow nose poking out above Poppy Bear. She has loved this blanket with a Winnie-the -Pooh bear head attatched since it arrived in the post when she was only tiny. She used to rub his head with the palm of her hand whilst sucking her dummy(pacifier), and you knew you were special when she offered you a pat of his 'ear-wahs' (I used to love the way she said ears when her dummy was in her mouth...still makes me smile thinking about it now) When Sam was born, she used to sit beside me on the coush and breastfeed Pooh Binky while I fed Sam.

And her mermaid pillow. A newer addition to her faves, but no less special in her eyes. She really has a 'thing' for mermaids:)

So, you see, I am NOT stalking at all...I just look at these sleeping babies of mine and I am overcome with memories and feelings and love. I see them sleep and my feelings almost overwhelm me. I try to catch it with my camera, but even my mighty Nikon (LOL) can't capture how I feel when I see them sleeping.

Yeah, I am a sap, deep deep down inside:)

Oh man!!!

I just KNEW they were up to something!



Darn it if only I had some previous mauling experience, I know I would stand a better chance!



If I wore a prosthetic leg, or dentures or something it may take even longer...darn my genes that gave me good teeth!



(I kind of hope I am well and truly dead whilst being digested though...)

Mud Pies

With all the lovely rain we have had over the past few weeks, the ground is quite soggy...especially in the kids little 'secret' corner of the yard. This little spot is hidden behind the shed right up against the back shed. The kids love it, because grown ups very rarely venture too close down there.
They make cubby's and climb the tank and (famously round here) paint the wall of the brand new shed in mud.
Why 'famously'

Well, settle in and I'll tell you LOL

Our yard backs onto a church. We had noticed people looking into our yard and smiling. We figured it was because the kids were leaving toys about, and well, it was church...people were feeling all God-like and smiley!?!?

No.

The kids had used mud, and their hands to create 'art' on our brand new shed. They had packed mud on in places to hold flowers and sticks. The faces they had painted were HUGE and SO funny....

And Mick was FURIOUS!

Anyways...the kids have been spending a fair few hours lately down in 'their' spot. Filling trucks,

Making soup,

And having SO much good clean fun.

Perfume for mother's day anyone????

A Page From My Sketchbook

I checked out this month's sketch over at A Page From My Sketchbook, and decided to play along, because the sketch was just gorgeous!

I have since seen other entries, and am a little embarassed by mine...it seems to be lacking something...any ideas???

Anyhoo, here are some little details, am still loving pins all decorated with beads and bling:)
Some more bling, and some lace - I found this cotton lace locally, and bought the rest of the roll. I am almost out!!!!Yikes! Time to find a new favourite lace LOL

I think the problem with this LO is that by the time I sewed all the lace around the border I was already sick of it!!! *heh*

I felt better when I added the photo of my little niece and her Daddy. I love how she is taking the opportunity to snuggle her dollies while daddy is taking the time to snuggle his baby. So sweet...I am a SUCKER for daddy/daughter photos!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lookie Here...

Wicked Princesses put some sneaks up for next month's kits....

I get to play with this.... OMG, I am in LOVE with this one....

And how sweet is this?? Girly without being too girly, perfect for my Princess Tomboy's LOL

Friday Faves!

Okay...I have NO idea what is going on with the pics in this post....just play along 'kay??? LOL

#1 is October afternoon. I love their new lines, I love their old lines. I just love their products...gorgeous!

I love visiting their blog for the little peeks they show!

#2 is my husband, and his funny habit of calling me 'mate'. At first it bothered me. But 10 years later, I kind of find it sweet and endearing...I mean most wives get called 'honey' or 'sweetie' or something equally as bland. Not everyone gets called 'mate' in every 2nd sentence LOL

And every time he says "love ya mate" it really does make me smile.

#3 is kids and their sticky hands. WHY are they always sticky??? Who knows..I just love that I have two sets of sticky hands that would cheerfully hold onto mine everywhere we go (one set of hands is getting less sticky, and less likely to want to hold my hand...Nat will hold my hand to cross the road, but now rips it away as soon as we are safely across)

#4 Ahhhhh Claratyne. My BFF this week, and last week. My allergies have been horrid this week, and this stuff is magic! I actually ran out one night, and had to skull half a bottle (well not quite) of the kids Claratyne syrup....EW!!!

#5 is Demotivators....

"Minds are like parachutes, just because you have lost yours doesn't mean you can borrow mine"

"Tradition: Just because you have always done it that way doesn't mean its not incredibly stupid"

"Quality: The race for quality has no finish line, so technically its more like a death march"

I think Iwant a calendar full of these!

Have a great weekend! Hook me up with your faves!

So tired!

Feeling pulled in a million different directions... (heh admittedly there hasn't been much baby carrying going on, but my hair definitely looks like this!)

Why is it that I can cruise for weeks, taking everything in my stride, and then suddenly just want to crawl into a hole and hide? Today - actually this week - is a crawl in my hole day. Do you get them? Is chocolate the only answer??? I hope not, cause chocolate is banned here until Clare's wedding.

But these made me laugh...

I think I need a calendar of these pictures!

Why is it that when I feel cranky and overwhelmed black humour like this makes me laugh!?!

Scrap The Boys

Here is my entry for this month's Scrap The Boys.

LO had to have an outdoors theme, and have stamping. I used my stamping here on top of the chipboard star,a nd the writing 'the best of times' (one of my all time favourite stamps EVER!!!)

And also stamping using those good old MM foam stamps. I used the stamps and some paint on some white CS and then cut the letters out to make the title.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday Weigh In

Yes folks...how quickly this day seems to roll around... I lost a grand (!!??!!) total of 0.5kg (1.1lb) not great, but its a loss, and I'll take any loss ;-)

So, all up, thats 8.3kg or 18.3lbs (WOW, sounds impressive in lbs!!!)

Still no sign of my order of shakes Mum and Del, so you guys really saved my skin last week! I have kind of been trying to spread out my shakes...some days only having one. I hope my order arrives soon, but its coming from Vic, so it might be a while...

25 things...

I have been tagged by Francesca...I had done this one on Facebook, but decided to drag it over here...I really am quite boring, so feel free to pass this by;-)

I'd love it if you played along....I love finding out random facts about people!


1. I am one of 5 children (and love it)
2. I am the oldest of those 5 children(and quite possibly the coolest...you can't deny it guys..)LOL
3. I Am studying my 4th year of teaching at uni, and NOT enjoying it. Too much to do I think...family, work, house, study ARGH! I have actually just applied for a leave of absence, I really want to enjoy what is probably my last year of being a stay at home mummy.
4. I like blogging, and try and write on my blog most days. I am sadly addicted to my computer.
5. I love custard, and have been known to drink it out of the bottle. Gross I know
6. I love doing these sorts of things! Love finding things out about other people
7. Since stopping work (teaching) in 2001 to have my children I have had 6 different jobs- none teaching/child related. LOL not really stopping work?!?!
8. I love scrap booking and scrap most days
9. I would love another baby. I am good at pregnancy and childbirth...my last labour only lasted just over an hour, and the longest was 6 hours (I almost walked out, cause it was twice as long as #1, and I figured that it should have been well and truly over LOL) And babies who doesn't love snuggling a baby??? I really also enjoy my kids. They make me laugh:)
10. I am terrified of mice. Terrified.
11. Snakes, spiders and other creepy crawlies don't bother me. Although I am NOT a fan of grasshoppers...
12. I had night terrors when I was little.
13. I want to move this year. I don't really like where we live.
14. My house is a MESS and I could apologize for it, but really, I am sitting here on the computer, so chances are, its not changing any time soon. LOL
15. I dated my first boyfriend for 5 years, starting when I was 15. I was devastated when we broke up, but it was really the best thing to ever happen to me. It started a chain of events that caused me to make some big changes and led me to my husband:)
16. I love being a mum, most days LOL
17. Despite being a qualified teacher with teaching experience I can't register to teach until I finish my 4th year of teaching...so i am currently working in the bank.
18. I am scared of horses, they are big and scary and they bite!
19. I much prefer line dried washing to tumble dried. It feels cleaner. I hang 98% of my washing on the line, and only use my tumble drier when absolutely necessary (not often in sunny QLD)
20. I have been married for 10 years, and I am more in love with my husband than when I first met him. He still makes my heart go pitter patter when he walks into a room. I do wish however that he was better at romantic type stuff...
21. I am NOT a dog person or a morning person.
22. I love scary movies, but not when I am home alone. I need Mick there to hold my hand even though he hates scary movies LOL (I don't mind if he isn't in the same room, as long as he is in the house to fight the monsters! LOL)
23. I hate talking on the phone. hate it. Also not good in social situations...I always do and say some STUPID things,and then obsess about who i have upset etc etc.This means that I usually just stay at home...less people to offend that way.
24. I am addicted to Diet Coke. Or Coke Zero, or Pepsi max. I don't even care that they are probably eating away my stomach lining! LOL Well, maybe a little bit;-)I try to quit, and each time those horrible caffeine withdrawl headaches knock me for six.
25. I don't enjoy listening to music. It really annoys me. I can't concentrate on anything else if I hear music in the background. My eldest daughter appears to be the same, but my husband and 2nd daughter LOVE music and would listen to it all day long and loudly if it didn't drive me crackers!!!!


Let me know if you do this or have already done it, cause I would love to find out more about you!

Are you a Princess?

Then dust off those tiaras ladies, and pull out your scrapping gear!
(ooooh lookie at the size of that diamond!) Wicked Princesses are looking at putting on some new DT members!

Sadly the current DT will be finishing very soon, but with this means that we are now looking for new members to be a part of our team. As we say goodbye to the very talented team of Marni Telford, Nicole Aspinall, Melissa Corbett, Lu Benson and Sara Noendeng, the opportunity has now presented itself for our next team of “wicked” scrapbookers to join us. With fresh faces, brings fresh ideas and as Wicked Princesses head in a new direction, with new kits and ideas, we want YOU to be apart of the action.

Are you wicked?
Do you love Scrapbooking?
Are you motivated?

If you answered YES to these questions, then we want you – so keep reading !!!!

Design Team Submission Requirements

Submit (2) LO’s (12 x 12 or 8.5 x 11) Double pages will be considered as one project
Submit (1) Sketch (can be hand drawn or computer generated)
Submit (1) OTP item
A headshot and short biography about you

Please answer the following questions

What can you contribute to the WP Design Team and site?
What makes you wicked?

Applications must be submitted to wickedprincesses@y7mail.com using the following format – scanned, jpegs, 200kb or smaller files. Digital photos will be accepted provided the images are sharp and smaller than 200kb. Links to online galleries will not be accepted.

Entries cannot be submitted for publication until after the new Design Team has been announced. Personal blogs are OK and must have a link back to the Wicked Princesses blog.

Deadline for submissions

Submissions MUST be received by midnight 15th March, 2009. No late entries will be accepted.

Successful applicants will be notified no later than 22nd March, with the new team revealed on our blog shortly after. Start date is May 1st, with the May kit being the first kit sent.

Design Team Requirements

Designers are required to submit 3 LO’s each month using WP kits. LO’s are to be revealed in the gallery by a date determined by us.

Designers are required to submit OTP items on a rotational basis determined by us

Other requirements include sketch challenge, DT mini projects, classes. Successful applicants will be notified of further requirements

Designers acknowledge that the time period for this position is for 6 months, with a probation period of 2 months. Contracts can be terminated by management at any given time, and for any reason

Use of products not found in the kits is permitted, as long as the focus remains on Wicked kits

LO’s must be submitted to the gallery by the deadline

All designs must contain original artwork

You acknowledge and agree that designing for other monthly scrapbook kit clubs is a conflict of interest. Other DT roles are OK, but NO kit club DT’s
You agree to promote Wicked Princesses kits and site whenever and wherever possible. And you agree to post about WP on your personal blog, provided you have one

In Return

Successful applicants will receive the following

A DT kit valued up to $30 each month
30% off any further kits purchased
Links to your personal blog on the WP blog


Good luck and let your inner princess shine !!!

Karen & Tam