Evidence of birthday fun….

While waiting for Hubby to come home with the chosen birthday tea, Mr 7 finished off his latest CJ round. It’s a bit late (again! – sorry Beverley ) but I think he did a great job, n’est pas? {Oh, and the “Friends” was spelt correctly…. we just had a wee placement issue with the stamps…}

I had some help in the kitchen from Mr 4 with the cream…..

The Orange cake…. Mr 7′s favourite colour is orange so I went out to the cake decorating place (I know where it is now…yay!) and got some quality gel food colouring. Can I say, bright orange? Yep, ’twas great!

Mr 7 thought it was great – and he loved the rugby guy on it that I found. Apparently this is his “best ever” birthday cake. For Real. Gotta love the enthusiasm

Circle Journal # 3: The SBO One

I’m about to embark on my 3rd Circle Journal. Yes, I’m now involved in two concurrently! This one is for Scrapbook Outlet – another forum that I frequent.

This is my own page for my journal. I decided on the theme of “Happiness”. Who doesn’t need more of that? I have to admit to having real trouble pinning down what I wanted people to contribute to. And once having made my mind up, finding the album. I normally pick up a cheap one from the red shed because it is a good size for postage and allows enough room for everyone to get creative. There were none to be found this particular time.

Uh-oh. Thankfully one of the LSSs (ok, that looks weird… but I’m leaving it like that) has decided to have a sale. I got this neat little tool kit that lets me punch my way through chipboard…. so I made my own album this time. And at $20 (that’s with the 50% off) was WAY cheaper than the “Bind-it-all” I have been coveting. Ok, so I make a little lot of noise. Sure works out some aggression though! LOL.

Having sorted out the album, I now needed to actually create the look and feel. Not to mention my own page. So it is with a huge sigh of relief that I noticed Trina has been putting up some really cool sketches lately. So I used this one. Thanks heaps Trina!

So, having had since the beginning of November I think to get this organised, I am pleased to say it will be leaving on the deadline date. Thank goodness. Look out for it some time next week Beverley!

Right…. on to the boys dinner. I knew there was something else I should be doing this very second!

Idol sneak peek

Oh my goodness! It’s been a while since I last updated. And it’s not as if life has been so interesting …more like stressful and frustrating at times. But hasn’t the weather been great?! Ok – so it’s due to pack up for the rest of the week, but I have my fingers crossed that it’ll be back like this next week.

OK, so amongst the frustrations of a very long and tiring week last week, I had to get a circle journal out. It was meant to have been forwarded on the Monday, but I had made a request to get a photo of a particular person and held out to the last minute. I’m like that – I will hold out till the last second… it’s the procrastinator in me! Not particularly helpful around deadlines and other date driven activities – like…….. ohhhh, Christmas! Well, I got rescued by my lovely friend K who had just the right pic.

So for those of you not privy to my general conversations that probably sounded more than a little stalker-ish, my scrap idol was Cathy Zielske. Actually, truth is I have many: far too many to shake a handful of sticks at. But I picked CZ because … well, Because! I guess too in my mind I had the layout somehow looking CZ-ish and so it made sense. Others on my short list were Ali Edwards (the whole patterned paper thing and the embracing imperfection thing. I am imperfection after all!) plus Stacy Julian who I had the good fortune to enjoy a lecture from the previous weekend.

And I even included a couple of local gals ………. only two – because that was all the room I had left in the journalling block! There are many, many MANY more I could have included too.

Ok – so I need to get on with another couple of crafty deadline items. So, instead I’ll spend a couple of extra moments here with you guys instead. I’m telling ya – I am the Queen of Procrastination!

Hubby played with the brass band in the Santa parade. I hate (as in I will faint… not a good look!) being in a crowd of people on a hot, sunny day. So I get around this by taking the mr’s to the starting point. Normally we see the tail end of the parade leaving, hang around and play for a bit then watch as the whole parade comes back in.

This year my timing was a little off. That was possibly a good thing. The start was delayed for some reason so we got front row spots and saw the entire parade pass by. Hubby was on the back of a truck really close to the head of the parade so at the end we got to meet up quickly and get on out. After getting him to collect parade participant treats like fizzy drink and a hot dog! I noticed too that this year there were a few kids attached to the band members on the back of the truck with the band. Maybe next year the Mr’s can go on the back too - how cool would that be?!

After my assessment at the gym last month I was a little down that the results were not even slightly favourable. So I’ve been working hard on the “rubbish in” side of the equation and ensuring I’m going to the gym at least 3 times a week over the past month. I noticed the “diing” as I checked in today. Not quite ready to be re-assessed just yet so I put it off for another week or so. Then I’m hoping my good work will pay off and I’ll see some of those nasty numbers begin to go downwards. I’ll be happy with even a little bit.

At the last assessment, the instructor mentioned that I had started on my journey at the right time. With a few good changes in diet and the exercising I might reach my self-imposed target within 6-8 months. That doesn’t actually seem that long – if I put in the work now. Still, it would be nice to wake up tomorrow and discover that the excess has just disappeared!

Ok – so now I better go down and fold some washing. Yes – see I can do the domestic duties when I want to!

Circle Journal

As usual I was stumped for the largest part of the fortnight in which I need to complete the latest Circle Journal pages. This time it was for Donna who wants us to bring some thoughtful insights into life, growing up and womanhood for her daughters as they embark on their teenage years.

I had all sorts of good ideas – and mostly put them aside as being far too heavy. I’m hoping I got the balance right between good advice and not coming across like the woman in her dotage that I feel like I am these days. (that would be something to do with the lack of sleep because for some reason my brain has decided it’s a good idea to not actually switch off….!) So the upshot is I really don’t know how I feel about these pages but I hope that Donna likes them.

I really haven’t been too inspired to do creative things lately. That’s a bit of a surprise because I was looking forward to getting back into it big time once I had to stop prioritising my time. I do however have to get some cards ready for a christmas card swap this evening so who knows: I might just get the mojo back after being around some other creative types.

Happy colours

Thank goodness for a long weekend! Well timed I say…. I have had my head buried in notes and texts for most of it. There was a last minute invite for Mr6 to attend a birthday lunch for his favourite step-cousin so we decided to let loose and attend. I’m so glad we did: fabuous weather, and not so windy ( … I know!)

I am now at the stage where I have done pretty much all the work I think I can do and now it’s just reassurance to keep glancing at the notes and remind myself of things as the hours tick down. And it’s about now those butterflies feel like gigantic elephants stomping around on teh inside. I’m still breathing so that has to be a good sign!

Something I also made time to work on was Beverley’s circle journal (because it was due out today….). I really loved the theme of this one: “Colour Me Happy”. We get to pick a colour and work in that to show how it makes us happy. Now, I know Bev pops on here from time to time so I didn’t want the sneak peek to reveal tooooo much…hence the really low level detailed photo! However, you can see that my happy colour is Blue!

I really enjoyed putting this page together for Beverley’s album – she’s cleverly put her own album pages together herself in a very funky way. Can you see I’m totally coveting it??! I might just have to join a 3rd CJ at some point just to have my own version of it! Actually that is one of the most fun parts about taking part in the CJ rounds. It’s great to see the themes that people have put together and then to see how others have interpreted that theme.

Actually I like the page so much I’m hoping to find time to adapt it for the current NZ Dares challenge – scrapping a mood. Of course, that will need to be done after 1pm on Friday. I am so looking forward to having a little fun back in my life!

A new journey starts

With the last Scrapbook Essentials circle journal finishing several weeks ago, a few of us realised we would be a little lost without that 2 weekly deadline coming up. So a new CJ was agreed to – and the first post off was yesterday. This time 11 talented ladies (well, ok 10 plus me… ) have signed up. I think as this goes over christmas, we’re due to get our own ones back some time in February.
There is a myriad of different themes this time. I chose “Passions / Obsessions” based on the fact that I seem to have become more than a little obsessed with finding time to do some sort of scrapping or cardmaking.
So here is a hint of my pages. You would have seen both of them, except I seem to be technically challenged. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to put two photos at once on a photoshop canvas so that I can show them to you. It would help if I had more than 2 minutes to try and understand the instructions before I intend to take the action. It is so very frustrating as I know that PSE can do so much that I want it too – but I haven’t the time just at the moment to sit and figure it all out. That will have to wait until after my exams. In the meantime, I see the Free Trial days ticking by and I’m yet to have really made any use of it at all. C’est la vie!!

Actually, I’ve just realised that photo I took for the pages is more apt than I realised – totally obesessed by the computer and scrapping – it’s more me than I thought!!

In other random news:

• I’m up and about round the house today after 2 and a bit days of feeling really yuck, So much so I had to ask Hubby to come come and tend to the Mr’s just before lunch yesterday while I cowered in my bed. What a start to the hols!
• I got stuck into massive organisation mode this morning. Perhaps to make up for the fact the house resembles a tip after three days of boys left to roam freely. I’m not sure anyone else would actually notice my work but filling a wheelie bin with old, hoarded stuff makes me feel very virtuous!
• A tent and a tunnel in the lounge makes for great indoor play
• There is only a little less than 4 weeks left for me to revise before my exams. I need at least 4 months. Oh dear!

Well that’s all from me today – not so newsy afterall! Hope your holidays are going well.

Friendship Returned

I was thrilled to get my circle journal back from the Scrapbook Essentials girls. This was the first circle journal I’ve ever participated in. I really enjoyed taking part so I signed up to the next one beginning some time next month!

I love the fact that everyone has taken the time on their pages to share what friendship means to them – and of course showcased their talent! Some girls are still close to their childhood friends, others (like me!) make friends along the path their lives lead them. All of them have shown how much these friends mean. Just cool!!

So if you want to take a peek for yourselves – click here and hopefully the slideshow will pop up.

I’m so excited…!

I’ve not let on here because I didn’t want to appear to be gloating in any way…. Buuuut….. I’m going to get an injection of sunshine this weekend! wooohooo! I’m off to Queensland to spend the weekend with one of my closest girlfriends – and I’m really REALLY looking forward to it. Can you tell??!

Out of hubby’s lovely bonus at the beginning of the year, I snaffled funds to book me a ticket. It’s only the weekend but that will be enough …just! I’ll take what I can get!!

So mad rush around here getting all the bits organised to make life run smoother. IE if it runs smooth for hubby then I get to go away to play another time! Biggest thing I needed to do was ensure there was food in the house. Could you imagine if I had said now you need to get groceries while I’m away…. yeah right! Not in my lifetime! hahaha!

And apart from all this nonsense, my friendship CJ arrived back home to me this morning. It’s a week or so early so that is a really neat surprise. I’m looking forward to reading through it when I get the chance to sit down this evenimg. The quick glance I’ve had so far it is just plain gorgeous. And there looks to be a lot of heartfelt journalling in there too so I want to give it all the attention it deserves. Hmmm. there’s one choccy chip and a heart biscuit from yesterday left (yes, they were DEMOLISHED between the three boys yesterday…. dad included!! – thanks again Christi – and believe me: I got my fair share too!!) so I think that is required foodstuffs while reading the CJ.

So anyways, behave yourselves over the weekend, get lots of crafting or other fun stuff in – and I’ll do my best to bring back some sunshine!

SBO Heritage

Gosh, did it seemed like I disappeared?? It has sure felt like it!

Reality and all those things that you just have to catch up on finally won out on the priority list and have meant my time on-line lately has been somewhat limited. It’s all good though as it means I’ve been busy studying, creating, and mending.

Mending me as my finger looks ok and I’m almost over a heavy cold that came my way last week. Still taking care of Mr 3′s snotty nose though. Parenthood is full of rewards…..

I’ve managed to create some layouts that I will share if I get the chance – a couple of them have been a long time coming so the fact I got to a crop a week or so ago means they finally got done. I was feeling pretty darn good with myself as I did a count of how many layouts I’ve managed to get done this year…. 46…. and then I read someone’s comment about how it doesn’t matter how many you do as long as you are happy. Hmmm…. I’m pretty darn happy with the fact I have actually gotten the ones I have done…. and therefore making a dent in the pile I have kinda planned. Oh well, it isn’t a race as I keep reminding Mr 6…. but I reckon I’m on track with one ill-defined goal of mine for the year. So, I am happy…..

I have one more CJ round to do until I get my Friendship book back. I’m really looking foward to it…. Getting to look through everyone’s work – but more importantly, their stories. Actually, I tell a lie…. I have TWO more to do…. I’m late with the one that is meant to go out today (sorry Karen!!)
But the little ATCs above are going out on time. I struggled with the theme of “heritage” for the July ATC swap at Scrapbook Outlet. Finally, although they are simple, I think they take a swipe at my heritage: 1: Born under a Southern Cross, 2: One-eyed Crusader and 3: Kiwiana.

Sneaky Peek Tuesday

So it’s Tuesday and this morning I said good bye to the next in the circle journal cycle. This round I had a “Blue Day Book” – what sort of things make you happy when you’re down.

Talk about good timing just now hey! Just let me say a very quick, very sincere thank you for all the messages of support that have been sent. It is truly appreciated. Grandad is so far doing OK – and I’m still working out the whens and hows of getting down there.

In the meantime, I realised Sunday night that this CJ round was meant to be ready for send off the next morning….. and I wasn’t quite there yet. So I kept it for an extra day and managed to get it finished. I think I liked the result! I ended up using papers out of my stash that I liked at the time but never knew what to do with it. So I’ve ended up cutting out the cute little butterfly, and some of the pink flowers…. and a little bit of doodling here and there. Plus some bling. In the end a happy result.

I also got good news in the form of a returned assignment with 86%. Woooohoooo!! I was late getting it in – and had struggled a bit with whether I had found the correct informtion. By and large, I would say I did!

So while I’m checking out what I need to catch up on, I see I have a couple of envelopes that I need to get in the post. ATC swaps, a pin swap (yikes! I thought I’d posted them ) and I need to get to work on the June FLAB page due this Friday. A BOM page to complete (based on Ngaire’s *Beautiful* theme…. yikes! I haven’t missed one yet so want to get this done…..) Plus, I have a mission to scrap a photo of some good friends – taken just a couple of weeks ago. I have the papers, I have the sketch in my mind’s eye….  Oh yes, another study assignment to complete too.

It’s good to have things to occupy *down* time.