Tales From The Castle Zoo

Winding Down

2010-01-17T19:30:00.002+10:00

Well that 7 weeks just flew by....school starts back for me next Wednesday. I am off on a team building retreat on the coast later next week. Its a nice way to ease back on into the school year.

Barney (my brother) has left us for a few weeks...he's traveling north to visit with friends and explore a little more of the sunshine state. We are missing him at the moment. It's been so nice catching up with him and we are looking forward to him coming back.

Crockett has managed to pick up a 16 week contract with a branch of the ICC, hopefully it will turn into something....if not...well the agency he has been with have told him that they will take him back on any time.

Boo is set to start school again...she is so excited to be getting back into it. She'll be in year 6 this year (holy moley!) and in the senior stage of our little school. She is well and truly in the cruel grasp of her hormones at the moment...and her life is all sunny and happy one moment and tears and hurt feelings the next. UGh!

Lolly is all wrapped up in her own little world right now. She has a boyfriend! It's so sweet watching her navigate her way through this new stage of her life. She has some very firm ideas of what is and isn't proper behavior...you go girl!

Well thats all for now, we are just floating along here at the zoo and hoping for the best.

Road Tripping with Barney, Crockett and Boo

2010-01-11T14:10:00.004+10:00

These past few weeks my brother has been staying with us. He is on the start of a round Australia bike trip. We have been having a blast reconnecting and finding the closeness that we shared as kids.

Now...as you know I find it hard to get out of the house. I'd much rather be left alone in my safe little cage here in the zoo. But since Barney (my brother..not his real name) has been here we have taken a few road trips! Somehow every time we've taken a day trip Lolly has been at Sweetie's house. (Sweetie is her boyfriend...also not his real name)

We took a very wet drive to Mt Tambourine a few days after Christmas. I hadn't been up there in years....it's gorgeous!! Even with the leeches!!

Then yesterday we went to Queen Mary Falls....the views are stunning.

It always amazes me that so many people flock to the coasts when there is so much to see in our little corner of Queensland.

Taking a Trip

2010-01-09T19:38:00.002+10:00

Last night in a fit of insomnia I went on a bit of a trip back through the archives of this blog.....wow I can't believe how big my kids have gotten. Some of the video footage brought tears to my eyes. These two girlies of ours are in the throes of puberty (yes even the little one) and some days I look at them and wonder just when the aliens came and abucted the real ones.

Other times though, we get to see the gorgeous young women that they are fast becoming....and oh I am loving it!

Well It Has Happened..

2010-01-06T12:23:00.002+10:00

I've lost my voice!

Feeling Blah...

2010-01-04T17:15:00.003+10:00

Ugh...I feel like I am coming down with the flu! My throat is scratchy, my chest hurts and my ears feel stuffed full of cotton wool.

We've spent most of the day bumming around home and taking it easy. Hopefully a long soak in a warm bath will make me feel a little better.

New Year..New Attitude

2010-01-03T17:40:00.003+10:00

Yes it has been over a year since I last posted...and what a year that was. It saw a lot of changes for the Zoo family here. There are a lot of things I am just wanting to put behind us...and still some changes we want to make. Hopefully 2010 will see us turning a corner here.

The Zoo family spent the first few days of this year at one of our favourite places to camp. I got to spend a lot of time taking photos, reading, messing with a little art and doing a lot of thinking about what my "word" for this year would be.

For the last few years I have take Ali Edwards lead and chosen a word to be my mantra for the year. After much contemplating I have chosen the word ACCEPTANCE.

I suffer depression....and sometimes it spirals and is ugly. For 2010, I am going to face this head on and move right through everything. Given the pain and turmoil I experience at time, I need to accept that I am not the person I used to be. I need to accept that somethings are beyond my control. I need to accept that people don't know how I am feeling unless I tell them. I need to accept that I am doing the best I can with my children and my marriage. I need to accept compliments graciously. I need to accept me for who I am at this point in my life.

I know that acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. But I will do my best to move forward positively and with hope.

Dragonfly Beauty

2008-12-31T07:44:00.003+10:00

How Hard Is It?

2008-11-26T04:00:00.003+10:00

How hard is it to get a decent photo for my Christmas shoot. All I wanted was one good photo of the girls and Bindii....instead I got these.....

It's Raining It's Pouring

2008-11-25T19:31:00.003+10:00

Well...at least it was last week! These are just a few of the photos I took around town the day after the massive downpour!

Yeah Me! *

2008-10-19T18:47:00.003+10:00

Earlier this year I applied for a position on the Feeling Scrappy design team...and for whatever reason I didn't get chosen. I have come to know Jodie well, and she is always very positive about my style of scrapping and the fact that I stand outside the box, and after giving her lots of encouragement she has started playing with paints and glitters. (you go girl!)

Anyways, while I was out at her shop the other day, fossicking through all her yummy goodies she asked if I would still be interested in holding a DT position with her shop. Ummmm...YES! And guess what...I got it..easy as that!

I am sooooooo looking forward to working with Jodie and passing on some of the things I've learnt in my scrapping journey to others.

Here are three layouts I created using one of the Cloud 9 packs available in her store.

*Oh man...I really have been listening to too much Disney Channel

Check this out....

2008-10-06T10:33:00.002+10:00

Click on Mr Wolf above to see what I am venturing into. I am yet to add anything there...but I am working on it.

Is it Scrapbooking or Art?

2008-09-29T19:02:00.001+10:00

This is an interesting question and one I was discussing with a friend a while ago. She is a CM all the way type scrapper and she had the hide to say that my work is not really scrapbooking its art with a photo attached. I don't say much when she gets on this stand...but it got me to thinking.

Yes it is art...LIFE ART! I am taking pieces of our lives (the photos) and turning them into works of art for my children and my future generations. A love of love and emotion goes into that art...a lot of time...a lot of me...and sometimes a little bit of DNA (I always seem to stab myself and bleed on a LO when stitching LOL). I am a big believer in telling my/our story...and while that is not for everyone it's part of who I am and why I scrap.

I am not about telling the general details...like we went here on this date and blah..blah..blah. But more about all the little things I want the girls to remember about themselves and about our lives together. DH was raised by his grandparents...both of whom have now passed on...his mother has passed and his father is only now starting to be a part of our lives. My grandparents have all passed and sadly we have very little of their stories to tell....but I am determined that my children won't have that problem.

So I think it's a bit of both....it is art...but art is what you make it. Art is a piece of you....and is it so wrong to take that and put it to something that you want to remember?

Photos To Appease My Mum

2008-09-09T16:54:00.010+10:00

Letter To Lolly at 13

2008-09-09T16:21:00.003+10:00

Lauren

You and I have been through so much. There was a time when we were first making our way in this world as mother and daughter that the days were tough but I look back on them with pride. You taught me about a real no strings, no boundaries kind of love. You have been special since the moment I found out you existed, and the journey we have taken so far has been the best journey I have ever travelled.

There is only you and your sister and you are both very different people. You are each special and incredible. I know that being the oldest is not always easy. I know that I have made learning mistakes with you, and that does not seem fair. Your dad and I have always done everything in our power to make the right choices for you and for our family. Sometimes I am sure that it seems that Kate gets a lot of extra time and attention, but that in no way means she is more important than you or that we love her more in any way.

You have just turned 13! We are starting to have some ups and downs as you are well into you begin the process of breaking free. There are bound to be times that we will disagree, moments when we will feel that you are so wrapped up in your own life that we no longer matter, moments when we will be sure that you feel we have no clue about your feelings, and still a bit of fear of your growing up from both your side and ours. There will also those awesome moments when we will see you as the adult you are turning into.

This is a milestone birthday. Many new freedoms and responsibilities come with this age. Before you embark into new adventures, there are a few things I want you to remember and hold in your heart. We love and believe in you more than you know. We do remember how it feels to be your age. You are going to discover that you still need our advice, and that does not mean you are weak. You have a few year to go before you graduate high school. You have many dreams and goals for the future. While you are still in our home you have a built in safety net, use it. Learn as much as you can from us now so you will be prepared when that day comes that you leave the nest and fly. I know some days it might feel like we are against you but believe me our intentions are only to give you every possible opportunity to be the strong, independent, smart, beautiful woman that you are becoming.

We love you, we am very proud of you and we do accept that you are growing up. Just know that you will always be our baby and that it is a good thing. We apologize for our part for any disagreements we may have in the future. Please just remember who you are and where you come from. Remember that we love you and that no matter what happens in life, your family is always here. Like it or not. Happy Birthday Sweet Girl

Wow...

2008-09-09T16:16:00.000+10:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted here! A lot has happend at the zoo in the past two and a bit months...Crockett has changed jobs, we have had more fur babies arrive at our house, Lolly officially became a fully fledged teen and we had a visit from Grandad!

All too much to write in length about but I will make a few photo posts now so you can see whats been going on.

Yay Me!

2008-06-28T15:09:00.011+10:00

After much encouragement I finally took the step and entered some layouts and photos into the Rosewood Show....and look what happened

First Prize - Single Page 3 photos
Third Prize - Double Layout

First Prize - Single Page one photo
Highly Commended - Single Page one photo
Third Prize - Single Layout 4 or more photos
Second Prize - Single Page 2 photos
Highly Reccomended - Special Occasion

First Prize - Digital - Children

Highly Commended - Still Life

First Prize - Seascape

Highly Commended - Other Subject

Highly Commended - Set of 5 photos

Second Prize - Human Portrait

First Holy Communion

2008-06-15T07:35:00.001+10:00

Last night Boo received Communion for the first time. Please excuse these iffy photos...these haven't been touched.

Boo's Confirmation

2008-06-04T06:13:00.003+10:00

Boo's Confirmation was held last night in a very small ceremony officiated by Bishop Joseph, Father John and Deacon Harry. Please excuse the grainy photos...our church is not the easiest of places to photograph!

Thank God they are Country Girls

2008-04-12T12:45:00.004+10:00

Yesterday we visited the Toowoomba Show. Toowoomba is one of our favourite places and when Crockett suggested we go the girls and I jumped at the chance. It makes me laugh though...we see all these parents shelling out big dollars in side show alley...and where are our girls?

Well....take a look....

Lolly was not impressed with that calf...he licked a good amount of cow slobber all over her new shirt! LOL. They also patted alpacas, sheep and chickens....all who apparently wanted to come home with us.

They were trying to convice Crockett that we needed this John Deere thingy...their main selling point to him was that it had cup holders! CUP HOLDERS DAD!!!!

But the best part of the show was this....

Yes...that is a camel....and yes they wanted to bring it home!

So Sweet your Teeth Will Ache

2008-03-06T17:17:00.002+10:00

Catching Up

2008-02-22T06:58:00.003+10:00

Happy New Year everyone. Sorry I've been MIA for so long but I am starting to make my way back into the land of the living. Lots has happened around here since I started taking those little white pills...and good thing I was taking them because I don't think I would have coped had I not.

Just before Christmas we had to put our old dog Miss Molly down...it was time (she was nearly 19 years old) but it was not an easy decission and it broke our hearts to do it. She could barely walk and wasn't eating and it was cruel to see her go on like this. We sold all of our puppies...they were super cute and so full of energy...but we couldn't keep them.

We spent 10 days with them and my parents over Christmas...Christmas Day saw DH, Lolly and I spend 8 hours at the Royal Melbourne Childrens Hospital. In between opening presents and having breakfast, Lolly had a massive seizure. The doctors at the hospital spent the whole time monitoring her but nothing else was done as we were only there for a few days. We caught up with our doctor as soon as we got home and he sent us off for an EEG.

Lauren went for her EEG and we received a phone call from the doctor that did it requesting that she return for a follow up EEG that requires her to have not only fasted for 12 hours prior but also to be sleep deprived for those 12 hours. After a visit to her doctor and finding out that yes there is definite seizure activity happening in her brain we had a CT scan done and a whole mess of blood taken. The CT and the blood tests were clear...ruling out some potentially scary stuff. Thank God!

So off we go for the second EEG....We hadn't long left the neurologists and hit McDonalds when Lolly started having another seizure. I took her straight back to the neurologists and as we were pulling into their driveway it got really bad...again she stopped breathing on me...but luckily there were 3 doctors there to help. They took her straight back in and gave her another EEG which was beneficial in locating exactly where in the brain they are occouring. She came out of the seizure and straight into a very, very deep sleep....she slept 3 hours and came to with a major headache.

We left there with a referal for an MRI and a script for anti seizure medication. Our doctor refered her to a pediatrician and he really got the ball rolling on getting a diagnosis.

Well after two MRI/MRA's ...a few blood tests and quite a few more doctors visits we finally have a diagnosis. I'm still reeling and we aren't sure if it's good news or bad news....so for now it's just news. Lolly is having epileptic seizures, but they are symptomatic. It seems that sometime during her time in the womb, Lolly has suffered from perinatal hypoxaemia. This is where the blood flow to the brain is blocked or ceased. This has caused a small portion of her brain (the post gyral region of the right parietal lobe to be exact) to atrpohy or die. She has an area of scarring on her brain that is now causing all these problems. The doctors are amazed that she has never had a seizure before...but it does explain her learning difficulties and possibly her history of migraines. What we do know is that it will eventually get worse..the seizures will increase and when this happens she will require surgery to remove the area of her brain causing the problems. So what do we do until then? There isn't much we can do now...other than to continue on with the drugs and to change her lifestyle to reduce the seizure threshold.

In between all this the girls went back to school...Lolly off to the big wide world of high school...and Boo moved up into the middle stages of primary school. They have both settled in wonderfully and have had fun catching up with old friends and making new ones.

I'm back at work...but with the drop in numbers at our school it also meant a cut in hours. I am looking at doing some scrapbook teaching at one of the LSS. My scrapping mojo is back with a vengence and I have scrapped about 40 layouts already so far this year. (I'll update the slide show up the top there)

My baby Boo...well she's no longer really a baby...she turned 9 last week!!! NINE!!! It seems like only yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital!

Ok...so this post is a little long winded, so I'll shut it for now. I'll be back later with more.

Look What Arrived....

2007-11-19T18:06:00.000+10:00

....at our house today!

Mother and babies are all doing well. Until we take a closer look it appears we have six little girls and one boy!

Thank You

2007-11-07T17:11:00.000+10:00

Today while looking through some quotes for scrapbooking I came across this thought written by a writter named Sahar Ashraf. She said "friendship is not just the name of an ordinary feeling.but it is the name of the feelings of understanding,honesty and frankness between two persons.and these feelings keep the two very special persons bounded together and such a frienship lies in two of us."

I am lucky enough to have two very special people in my life who I feel this way about. They are there with me through my ups and downs, they have listened to me cry and rage when I have no sane reason to do so...and cry themselves because they don't know how to help me, they share in my joys, the pride in my children, my loves, they constantly reassure and set my mind at ease. In simple terms...they love me for what I am....for how I am.

Mum...Bec...I know that this battle is hard on you both...but I feel confident that I can win this battle knowing that both of you are walking beside me on this bumpy road.

I love you both...and can never thank you enough.

THANK YOU.

The Black Dog and the Little White Pills

2007-11-06T05:30:00.000+10:00

For the past twelve years I have battled with depression...it's not a constant thing...sometimes it comes along because I get to worrying about things out of my control and then I start getting anxious and teary and it all gets to much. Other times...like now...it comes out of nowhere for no good reason and leaves me feeling devestated.

For the past month I haven't been coping. I have no energy for anything, thinking hurts, I can't make decisions, I get hungry but don't know what to eat or I forget to eat, anger bubbles inside me constantly, I'm short tempered, snappy, with no reason, I feel worthless, unimportant and unwanted. And I can't stop crying.

I have no good reason to feel like this...I am surrounded by people who love me, I have good kids that really aren't any trouble, a husband who is always there, supportive, loving parents, and friends that are closer than any sister could ever be. But feel like this I do...and I just can't see any way out of it.

Usually when I get to feeling like this I start taking my St Johns Wort and things start to even out and I am ok again for a while....this time however it's not helping. The black dog has me and he's not wanting to let go.

On Friday I snapped, I broke down in the counsellors office at school. And I realised I can't go on like this...as my mum said "You aren't living at the moment Jib, you are barely even existing." I want my life back....I want the me back that I barely remember. I hate feeling like this...I hate that Crocket, Boo and Lolly have to live with this me....I hate that I worry my parents and friends when I am like this...I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT!!!!

On Friday I did something about it...I called my doctor. I went yesterday afternoon and poured it all out to him. He has set the wheels in motion to help me get over this. I have a box of little white pills that are hopefully going to help me out of this blackness...even though this morning I feel queasy and lethargic. And more importantly I have an appointment with a psychologist.

That scares the crap out of me...I am nervous about the date now circled on my calendar. I keep looking at it and feeling that my tummy is full of butterflies....one date on a calendar full of our busy lives for the next few weeks.

But I will go! My husband and kids deserve me back, my family and friends deserve to have me back....and I guess I deserve to have the real me back....I want the real me back. And if that means taking these white pills and talking to a complete stranger then thats what I'll do.

This Makes Me Smile

2007-10-26T04:41:00.000+10:00

A Viscous Liquid....

2007-10-26T04:23:00.000+10:00

This term N has been starting to move through the journey groups in the junior stages at school in readiness for moving on to mid stage next year. N is extremely bright and the only reason that this move hasn't been attempted before is due to the fact that the autistic side of him is resistant to the challenges that this provides...the change in teachers, classrooms, desks etc. We spent quite a bit of last term preparing for this change and it has paid off. He is now in a literacy class with all year 3 children that he will move on with next year.

Now as I have said N is extremely bright...way off the scale for any normal 8 year old. This is a child who can discuss the effects of microwaves in space, the lunar eclipse and knows more about the solar system that I ever will. He could very easily cope with upper mid stage literacy now but he doesn't have the emotional skills to cope with it.

This week in literacy we have been discussing adjectives, those wonderful words that make reading so much more exciting! The kids were asked to choose their favourite food and to write a list of adjectives to describe that food.

Now most eight year olds will write things like yummy, sweet, sour, delicious, etc. N chose caramel ( you got to like a person whose favourite food is caramel) and he started writing his list. Predictably he started off with sweet, sticky, brown...then he stopped...turns to me and says....how do you spell viscous liquid?

Tell me, how many eight year olds know that caramel is a viscous liquid? Hell how many eight year olds even know what a viscous liquid is?

It's moments like these that make my days at school so much fun.

IS IT A BIRD....IS IT A PLANE....

2007-10-25T06:07:00.000+10:00

NO...IT'S....

MERIT GIRL!

(WHO REALLY WANTS A MOUSE WHEEL)

MERIT Girl! Is the newest member of the .... we are not quite sure where she came from, or how long she is going to be here, but here she is for now. MERIT Girl! has one major goal in her life, and that is to get herself a mouse wheel. Yes, you read that right....MERIT Girl! wants one of these...

Only much larger and without the mouse! Again...who knows why.

The thing I do know is that MERIT Girl! is very loud and loves to run around our yard shouting and striking MERIT Girl! poses. She is also vaguely familiar...I hope she decides to stick around for a while.

I Remember....

2007-10-23T17:49:00.000+10:00

Meet Baxter...he's a very outspoken friend of Boo's. Baxter kept us all entertained in the car on our recent road trip, and he's here today to tell you somethings about himself. Be warned Baxter waffles on a bit and he has been known to be a little bit on the cheeky side...I make no apologies for him.

I've Been A Busy Little Scrapper

2007-10-22T04:56:00.000+10:00

I've really been in the mood to scrap this week and as such I have a lot of layouts to share. The first three here are layouts completed using the Chookscraps mothly challenge pack.

And the next four are layouts I completed for the Chookscraps cybercrop that was on this past weekend.

My Road Trip Album

2007-10-15T17:52:00.000+10:00

I have scrapped an album for these pages....but I haven't taken a photo of it yet. I found an article in this months For Keeps magazine written by scrapper Kim Arnold about an album she'd made for a trip they had recently taken. It inspired me!! Like Kim I knew I had to scrap these photos fast and there were just sooooooooo many of them (over 2300) so using the sketches she provided and taking inspiration from her gorgeous work this is what I have come up with.

A Post to make my Mum shake her head and to make Bluegirl laugh!

2007-10-10T10:28:00.000+10:00

Ok...Ok...so I've been a slack blogger, but hey it's my blog and my decision weather I blog or not, and I haven't really felt like blogging lately. So here to blog for you today is a special guest blogger....

BRETDOLL!!!

For the last two weeks I have been travelling the country with Kandlenut, Boo and Lolly...and Jibii We have been everywhere and have the photos to prove it.
I've had some pretty amazing adventures that I want to share with Bluegirl...so here we go....

Here I am at Parkes. If you look really closely you can see the very large radio telescope behind me...

This photo here was taken at Tocoumwal on the NSW - VIC border...yes that is a large fish that I am sitting on!
The day they took this photo it was very, very cold...and look they still have me running around in nothing more than a t-shirt and broadies.

They took this photo on the same day...very funny girls...

After we left Victoria we travelled towards Canberra. On the way we stopped at this place so that poor Jibii could have a nap and Kandle, Boo and Lolly got to run around. They found this dog along the way and Kandle helped me pose with it.
When we got to Canberra we visited a place called Cockington Green, the girls thought it would be funny to put me in some of the scenery around the gardens, but in the process they lost my beanie...
We also visited the War Memorial and I managed to walk into a few shots....

After driving aimlessly around Canberra and poor Jibii getting frustrated we headed to Sydney. Along the way they stopped and took my photo with this giant sheep...
Sydney was very cool...I got myself photographed in front of the bridge and the opera house...

Before heading back home the girls stopped in Tamworth and they took my photo on this huge golden guitar. I hope Jibii doesn't get any ideas of me becoming a country music star...not happening Jib.

Jibii will be back soon with tales of her travels and news of the goings on at the zoo.

Take care!

Emerging from a Scrapping Funk

2007-08-22T06:16:00.000+10:00

Having been in a scrapping funk for quite a while I am finally starting to get back into the swing of it. Here are a few layouts I've done over the past two weeks.....

IT'S CRAZY!!

2007-08-14T18:54:00.001+10:00

Today at school we had a crazy hair / free dress day to raise money for the little guys in this post . There were all sorts of weird and wonderful hair styles getting around. The girls and I had a lot of fun playing with our "dos"....I originally had a mohawk...but due to the curl in my hair it was waving over on top and my do was starting to look like Donald Ducks ass! There was no way I was walking around like that all day. LOL!

“Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.”

2007-08-12T05:34:00.001+10:00

Some People Are Low Lifes!

2007-08-08T05:58:00.001+10:00

My friend Rach is a single mum to two gorgeous boys. Her eldest son Josh was born with multiple problems such as heart troubles, respiratory issues and sever club feet (just to name a few). Both Rach and Josh's lives revolve around doctors visits, hospital stays and operations. Through all this Rach remains positive and always has a smile and a cheery outlook on life.

A few years ago Josh was granted a wish by the Starlight Foundation. Most of you would know that this foundation grants wishes to sick children....they also volunteer huge amounts of time in the hospitals around Australia cheering up the kids that are stuck in there. Whether it is clowing around, playing games, face painting or just holding an upset toddler while mum and dad grab some much needed time to themselves. Each year more than 600,000 Austrailian children will spend some time in a hospital...the Starlight Foundation relies on the support of it's volunteers and fundraising to be able to bring their services to our children.

Rach has been organising a fundraising dinner as a chance to give back to this wonderful foundation that has been a huge support to her over the past 11 years. This is typical of her...she can bring me to tears with her generosity (and the stories of the children that she believes need it more than Josh). And as some of you may know I have been helping her with this. The dinner is due to be held on Saturday August 18th...we have had a great deal of support given to us by various members of the community, the sporting community and also some wonderful members of the Australian country music community.

Through all this Rach has been nursing her brother through bowel cancer. Sadly her brother passed away on Friday evening. So as well as organising the final details of the dinner, Rach is organising a funeral.

On Monday, in between funeral aragements and running Josh to the hospital for yet another cardiologist appointment....some low lifes broke into her house and ransacked it. These b****s have taken both the boys game boys and games, their playstaion and games, all their dvds, all Rach's jewellery, her youngest sons money tin, and various other items.

This has just made my blood boil!!! If I could get my hands on these people (this is too good a term for them) I would gladly smack them upside the head. *Sorry for the length of this post...but I am angry!

Deck Of Me - Week 31

2007-08-07T18:36:00.000+10:00

No Regrets!

Deck Of Me Weeks 15 - 30

2007-08-05T18:30:00.000+10:00

Yes you read that right....weeks 15 - 30! I got just a little behind on these cards. They are all caught up now though and I am eagerly awaiting this weeks challenge!

Week 15 - Your Parents

Week 16 - Get Someone Else To Contribute...My girls did this...
Week 17 - Your Bedroom
Week 18 - Nature
Week 19 - Surprise
Week 20 - Change

Week 21 - Your Redeeming Qualities

Week 22 - What Would You Like To Learn

Week 23 - Right Now

Week 24 - Remember When

Week 25 - A Photo That Means Something To You

Week 26 - Celebrating Daughters

Week 27 - Junk Mail

Week 28 - Goal Of The Week

Week 29 - Define Perfection

Week 30 - Count Your Blessings

The Mind Boggles

2007-08-03T17:50:00.000+10:00

Tell me how two girls that can be this angelic during liturgy at church this morning....

Could have been doing this a mere sixty mintues earlier...

Yes they are "farting". The biggest monkey worked out that if you put one end of a drinking straw in your armpit and blew on the other end....you made this really obscene noise.

Now...as some of you may know...I get the giggles easily. Usually its not at and appropriate time or place, and sometimes I think I have the humor of an eight year old boy....but I found this funny.

Sorry bout these videos being wrong way up...but I can't work out how to fix them.

Random Happiness

2007-08-03T06:53:00.001+10:00

Over at Chookscraps we are organizing a random act of kindness list or RAK, and it got me to thinking.

A RAK doesn't always have to be a gift or something tangible...some of the best RAK's are the ones that leave a lasting impression...a smile or a kind word, words of praise when least expected, hugs for no reason...that sort of thing. Words can also cause Random Happiness...words have the power to heal..the power to move...we as a scrapper I know this well.

I was chatting with my mum on the phone the other night, when out of the blue she said to me, "Sue...I just wanted to tell you how proud your dad and I are of you and David. You are wonderful parents and the girls are a real credit to you both." This just blew me away.

One of my major depression issues is my abilitly as a parent. I am constantly questioning wether I am doing the right thing or not and I feel an incredible amount of guilt over some parenting issues from when Lolly was a baby. These few words from my mum...thirty two words...that came out of now where...have left me feeling better about myself as a parent than I have every felt before.

I would like to hear some of your stories. Your moments when someone said or did something that might not have meant a great deal to them at the time but it meant the world to you.

So all of you...DE-LURK and post in my comments.

A Little Scrappy Goodness

2007-07-26T06:45:00.001+10:00

Ok...Ok....

2007-07-26T06:26:00.000+10:00

This is for my Mum....who worries that something is wrong if I'm not blogging. (Everyone say Hi Mum!)

I apologize for being such a slack blogger of late, it's not that I have been overly busy, just cold! I hate winter and this winter it has been cold here (I can hear you sniggering from here Rebecca) and when it's cold I find it hard to function. I tend to draw back into my little shell and just be!

Since I last blogged, my parents have been for a visit, I've scrapped heaps, taken hundreds of photos and worked. We have a busy few months a head of us here at the zoo. Lolly will turn 12, we are going to the exhibition, attending at Starlight Foundation dinner and are gearing up for a road trip with Aunty Kandle!

So lets get started...I won't bore you with lots of scrapping stuff, you can see some of my latest in the slideshow below.

My mum and dad came for the June / July school holidays. It was soooooo good to see them again. We spent a relaxing two weeks mainly bumming around the house. Usually we cram a lot into their visits but this time we decided that we were happiest just staying close to home.

One day we went into town and took a walk along the new River Link Gardens and then onto Queens Park and the Japanese Gardens. I got so many great photos not only of the girls, but also of my parents. I'll be scrapping these for a while yet. I think this would have to be one of my favorite photos....

I am always so sad to say goodbye to my parents, this time it was a little easier knowing that I will see them again in the September school break.

I've been busy at work with my boys. I spent a day recently at Autism Queensland attending a workshop of working with children with Aspergers and Autism, and I got a lot from it. My boys continue to be a source of amusement and frustrations for me....but I love it! I love the challenges that working with them brings, I love their different takes on the world around us, and I love that I make their days at school a little more comfortable for them.

I'd better get running, else I am going to be late for school! I will write more tomorrow....I promise!

Winter Camping

2007-06-15T04:52:00.000+10:00

Anyone that knows me well knows how much I HATE winter! I do love camping in winter though. This last long weekend saw us back at our favorite camping spot...Flanagans Reserve We have been camping here for the last three years and we love it! The kids love the rocky creek and the huge flat camping grounds are perfect for riding push bikes.

This weekend we went with long time friends of ours the N's. We spent most of the weekend doing this...And dressed like this first thing in the mornings....
But when you wake to mornings like this...At the foot of this...And knowing that later when the sun is all the way up and we can shed a few layers that we can come back to this...And that we will get to do this...Makes it all worthwhile. We don't even mind having to chase these out of our campsite every now and then...

He Said, She Said

2007-06-15T04:41:00.000+10:00

These came to me in an email from a friend over the weekend...I got a real giggle out of them. For some reason Blogger isn't playing friendly and letting me post them a little bigger...just click on them if you are having trouble reading them.

A - Z of Me!

2007-06-13T06:31:00.000+10:00

Natalie posted this over at her blog and tagged anyone who wanted to do this.

A-Z's of Me

A - Age: 37

B - Bed size: Queen

C - Chore you hate: All of them!!!!!!

D - Dessert you love: sticky date pudding and custard

E - Eggs, favorite kind: curried egg on toast

F - Favorite actor(S): Keanu Reeves, Ben Affleck, Adam Sandler, Sandra Bullock

G - Gold or Silver: silver

H - Height: 175cm

I - Instruments you play: none

J - Job title: teacher / library aide

K - Kid(s): Lolly (11) and Boo (8)

L - Living arrangements: Live with above kids and DH, 2 dogs and assorted goldfish and birds

M - Mom's name: Mum

N -Nicknames: Sue, Jib

O - Overnight hospital stay other than giving birth: only when I was pregnant and had pre eclampsia, and with Boo when she broke her arm the first time

P - Phobia: praying mantis' and grasshoppers. flying and heights

Q - Quotes: HOW IT IS IT HOW IT IS MEANT TO BE

R - Right or left handed: Right handed

S - Siblings: younger brother

T - Temper: I have one!

U - Unique habit: hmmmmm....don't know

V - Vegetable you hate: that fancy lettuce

W - Worst habit: I am a procrastinator

X - rays you've had: teeth. a few chest xrays and an ankle

Y - Yummy food you make: no bowl choc chip slice, meat pies

Z - Zodiac Sign: Taurus

I tag anyone that wants to do this....if you take up the challenge leave me a comment here so I know to come read it.

Look Who Cooked Dinner Last Night....

2007-06-07T06:35:00.001+10:00

She asked yesterday afternoon if she could cook dinner...so I let her. She peeled and chopped the potatoes and put them and the veges on to steam. Placed the pies on a tray in the oven and set the timer for it all. She then served it all up for us all.

I'm telling you....pie and veges never tasted so good. LOL

I Scrap There For I Am

2007-06-07T06:00:00.000+10:00

Just a few layouts that I have completed recently....and some that I have done for my DT commitments at Chookscraps.

These first three were done for the Celebrating You in 2007 challenges at Chookscraps.
These last lot are the DT layouts I have completed for the last two months...

Welcome....

2007-05-31T19:35:00.000+10:00

Welcome to the world

NOAH HARLEY

Noah is the fourth son of my friend K. He was born yesterday afternoon weighing in at 7lb 13oz. Boo and I went to visit him this afternoon...and oh man...after cuddling him for an hour I could have easily packed him up and brought him home.

It's All Over Bar The Shouting

2007-05-27T16:54:00.000+10:00

The tiler just has to come back tomorrow to silicone around the edges. The plumbers will come a fit the taps, and I will get in contact with the glass people to come measure up for the shower door and half wall. Oh and I need to do some painting.

Scrappy Goodness To Share

2007-05-24T03:37:00.001+10:00

I did a lot of double up scrapping this weekend....shhhhh....don't tell anyone. LOL
All these layouts were done for the Chooksraps CC as well as for other competitions.

This one was for the sketch challenge at Chookscraps, but it also fit this months sketch challenge at EMM and for the first round of the Scrap Therapy Masters.

This layout was done for the first challenge at Chookscraps and for the second round of Scrap Therapy Masters....
And this last layout was challenge 2 at Chookscraps and this rounds entry to Scrap Idol at my LSS.

More Bathroom Photos

2007-05-24T03:33:00.000+10:00

I Wonder If This Shirt Will Cut It?

2007-05-22T07:56:00.001+10:00

On Friday I got my new work shirts. We can order whatever shirts we like in any colours...and if I have to wear a uniform...I at least want it to be fun. So I ordered a rainbow of my favourites colours this time round.

Yesterday I wore that lovely green one there. An as I was helping L...he looked at me and said "Why are you wearing that shirt?" My answer was that it was new and my favourite colour. He shot back with "I only like it when you wear your red shirts"

Now I am not a huge fan of my red shirts, but he obviously is. I wonder how he's going to react to the lovely orange one I have on today? LOL

Quick Question

2007-05-22T07:53:00.000+10:00

Is it just me or does anyone else find this pic a little disturbing?

What the hell is Roboraptor doing wearing a crucifix and flipping the peace sign?

**I found this little scene in Boos room last night!

Today I Entered The Twlight Zone....

2007-05-21T19:04:00.000+10:00

and I am not sure if I should be running scared or dancing with joy. Today for the first time this year, both my boys were incredibly focused and on task. They completed their work with the minimum of fuss and guidance. They were compliant and willing to talk through their ideas.

This rarely happens....maybe sometimes one will be like this and the other will be prickly....but never at the same time.

All day I kept thinking "Who the hell are these boys and where are the ones I am usually tearing my hair out over???"

Not holding my breath that they will keep this up though. LOL

There Are No Words For This....

2007-05-20T17:59:00.000+10:00

WE HAVE A FLOOR!!

2007-05-20T10:07:00.000+10:00

The tiler will be back tomorrow afternoon to start on the walls! So much for it only taking a week huh?

Happy Birthday Dad!

2007-05-17T18:00:00.000+10:00

Dear Dad,

To father a child does not automatically make you a dad. A dad is someone that is always there for you, even when you are wrong. Someone who continues to love and support you, even when you fail. Someone who guides and protects you through all of your days. If you never do another thing, I want to thank you for all that you have done, all that you have taught me and all that you are.

You taught me to love by loving me, you taught me to care by caring for me and you taught me strenght by sticking by me when I needed your support. And although I have long left home, you continue to show me these things.

I love you Dad and I wish you all the best for this birthday.

Love xx

Work In Progress...

2007-05-17T03:19:00.000+10:00

This is what our bathroom currently looks. The plumbers have finished for now and the tiler will start this afternoon. I can't wait to see the tiles on...

The Best Night Ever....by guest blogger Cowgirl Lolly

2007-05-15T18:14:00.000+10:00

On Sunday afternoon, Mum told me that we were going to a shoe and jewellery party. Instead we went to the Gatton Leagues Club to see Daisy May, Tom Curtain, Col Finley and the Sunny Cowgirls in the New Stars Of Country Tour.

We got there early and got the best seats in the house right in front of the stage! This is me standing in front of the stage....

First up was Daisy May. She played the guitar and sang some songs of her brand new album.

Then came Tom Curtain. He sang a funny song called Go Goanna Go it was about a dude who jumped off his horse to catch a goanna to eat.

After Tom, Col Finley came on stage. He was singing a song called "The Gambler" when he stopped and asked for five people to come and sing with him. Col's manager chose me even though I didn't know the song. I was very nervous but Col told me that he would help me. Everyone in the audience helped me too. We all won a prize of a poster and a can holder.
Next up was the Sunny Cowgirls. They saved the best for last! Before they went on stage I got to meet them. Sophie signed my hat and I chatted with Celeste for a while. I was so excited that they knew my name. I had my picture taken with them too.

After everyone had sung and it was time to go home I yelled out "Bye Sophie and Celeste" and they said "Bye Lauren."

This was the best night ever!

Coming Soon....

2007-05-14T06:41:00.000+10:00

The Zoo is going to have a guest blogger. The one....the only....

Check tomorrow for a blog from Cowgirl Lolly about what she got up to yesterday!

Going....Going....Gone

2007-05-14T06:37:00.000+10:00

This is what we spent all day Saturday doing....ripping out our old bathroom. The plumber starts today putting a new one back in. Stay tuned for updates over the next week!

What The Hell Is This Wet Stuff?

2007-05-14T06:28:00.000+10:00

Yesterday it tried very hard to rain here....we had lots of misty stuff but nothing to seriously wet the ground. It did make for some great photos though.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

2007-05-13T08:58:00.000+10:00

Mum,

For all the times you gently picked me up when I fell down, for all the times you traded me a warm smile for a frown, for all the times you tied my shoe and tucked me into bed, or needed something for yourself but put me first instead...For everything we've shared -the dreams, the laughter and the tears...I love you with a special love that deepens through the years.

It's The Little Things....Little Things....

2007-05-12T06:36:00.000+10:00

That make life such a big deal. Be it a tiny little snail...

A small purple flower.....

Eyes as blue as the heavens themselves.....

Or a hundred tiny sun kisses on a beautiful face....It's the little things that make life such a big deal.

*My apologies to Timbuk 3 for messing with their lyrics.

Future Stars of Wimbeldon....

2007-05-09T02:26:00.000+10:00

and one past master? I think not!! Late Monday afternoon Crockett took the girls down to the schools tennis courts for a hit. Given that none of them can really play but that they all think they can....I got a few laughs...and a ton of photos.

These are some of my favourites....

Sometimes it's through the lens of the camera that I realise just how my girls are changing...growing more and more beautiful each day....

Especially this girl....she's just had another growth spurt and grown about 1/2 an inch in the past month! She has left Boo behind now and Boo actually has to look up at her!

This Made Me Giggle

2007-05-08T07:06:00.000+10:00

Some Scrappy Goodness

2007-05-07T06:23:00.000+10:00

Just a few of the layouts I have done over the past few days.....

Out of My Babes Mouths....

2007-05-06T17:02:00.000+10:00

Boo had her math teacher in a fit of giggles the other week...they are learing to write not only their numbers but the names of the numbers. The teacher was explaining how when you write, say fourty-five you must use a dash like this "-" inbetween the two words. Boo put up her hand and said "I know what that "-" is called".....when the teacher asked...Boo answered very confidently that " that sign is called a python!"

Then last night the girls and I were discussing the meanings of names and our heritages. We found out last night that Crocketts name means "beloved" and is Welsh. Crocketts ancestors are Welsh and we talked about how appropriate his name is. While we are discussing this Crockett was watching a show on the History Channel and something was mentioned about the King of Wales. Lolly piped up and said "I thought the King of Wales name was Jonah".

Oh boy....LOL

A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words

2007-05-05T06:41:00.000+10:00

Especially when we are talking about where we placed in the Trivia Night at our school last night!

My Widget

2007-05-04T16:09:00.000+10:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I HAVE AN ASSISTANT?

2007-05-04T03:49:00.000+10:00

This was news flash to me yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon I got to sit in on a meeting with N's mum about his progress in class and our current frustrations. This was the first time I had met her as N's aide rather than just a fellow parent at the school. She asked me what it was exactly that I did with him as he told her that he is my helper!

And all this time I thought it was the other way around. LOL!

IT'S JUST ONE MORE CANDLE AND A TRIP AROUND THE SUN...

2007-05-02T12:58:00.000+10:00

For the 37th time....I wonder what I'll see on this trip?

Hippo Sandwich

2007-05-01T17:05:00.000+10:00

Today Boo had to stand up in front of her literacy class and recite a poem. Her poem of choice was Hippo Sandwich by Kenn Nesbit. She did a fantastic job of it and was just so damn cute that I grabbed my camera this afternoon and got her to recite it one more time for me.

Here it is for you all to enjoy....but take note...I am not responsible for you overdosing on Boo-cuteness....

100 POSTS!!

2007-04-26T05:26:00.000+10:00

Just updating with some more layouts. These first three were done for the Chook Scraps cyber crop last weekend.

This first layout was done for challenge 1...you had to use a frame with something either round or square on it...I used buttons to make my frame. Plus one or more paper clips and two or more photos. I also took inspiration from one of the sketches at Sketches Oz

For the second challenge you had to use a combination of two of the three primary colours. I had this fantastic pack from Scrap Therapy that I hadn't used yet...I love how this layout turned out. Usually I steer away from bright layouts but this one was a lot of fun.

For this layout we had to feature the number two...we also had to scraplift another Chook Scraps member. I chose to scraplift a LO of Frans that I have always loved Child. Fran...thanks for the inspiration!

This last LO is the next entry in Scrap Idol at my local scrapbook store. I am not overly happy with it as I feel it's missing something...but it's due in today so it will have to do.
So there you have it....my 100th post...I really should have done something more exciting for it...eh...maybe tomorrow.

More to Share

2007-04-17T05:14:00.000+10:00

Just a few of my recent layouts......

More Scrap Jacking

2007-04-16T18:40:00.000+10:00

I have had another go an Eric's LO this time trying an exact jack of it. I was surprised at how fast this all came together, and although it's not my usual style I am really happy with how it turned out.

Be sure to get on over to Aussie Scrapjacked and check out some of the gorgeous LO's that have been entered.

Movie Quiz

2007-04-16T06:18:00.000+10:00

Mark with an X those you have seen
(x)Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
() Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
Total: 6

(x) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x)50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 13

() Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
(x) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 15

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 21

(x) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
(x) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots
Total so far: 26

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong
Total so far: 32

(x ) A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
(x) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
(x) Surviving X-mas
(x) Flubber
Total so far: 37

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
()Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 40

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
() Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 47

(x) Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
() Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 54

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 61

( ) Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
() Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz–Original
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far: 69

(x) X-Men
() X2
() X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 77

( ) Swimfan
() Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 79

() Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
() Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 82

( ) BASEketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 84

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
() Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 86

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
() Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 90

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
( )Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 100

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 106

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
(x) Animatrix
() Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
() Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
TOTAL: 111

Supposedly if you score more than 89 you have no life...

Deck Of Me Weeks 6 - 14

2007-04-13T10:36:00.000+10:00

I got a little behind on the challenges that Emily throws down to us every week. Yesterday though I got inspired and I finally got myself caught up (as well as covered in paint, glitter, embossing powder, glue and microbeads).

Here they are in order....

Week 6 - Love

For this card I used a photo of Crockett and I on our wedding day and one of my favorite quotes "For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."

Week 7 - Shoes - Theres Always a Story

I have used a photo of Lollys feet that I altered the colours of in photoshop. I then made an overlay with the "NO SHOES" out of a sheet of OHT. The journalling on the back reads.."I am not a big fan of shoes..in fact I only own 6 pairs of shoes. Two pairs of crocs..a pair of thongs..a pair of sneakers and two pairs of boots. Give me the freedom of bare feet any day!!"

Week 8 - Who (or What) You Miss

Who I miss....easy....I miss my mum and dad. The journalling reads " Even though we haven't lived near each other for well over 10 years..not a day passes where I don't miss you both. You are both always in our thoughts and dreams...and each day we count down until we see you again!

Week 9 - Inspired By...

The journalling reads "I recently had the oppourtunity to attend a workshop run by Lance Anderson from Rusty Pickle. I came away with my head full of ideas and new techniques I wanted to try. So Lance Anderson I was inspired by...U." I have used some of the leftovers from the workshop on the card.

Week 10 - Note To Self

I had a lot of fun with this card...playing with paint and embossing powder to get the grungy look I was after. The journalling is pretty easy to read on this card.

Week 11 - Your Initial

Again I tried different ways to use paint on the card. I stuck a lot of letter "s" stickers on the card and painted over it...I let the whole thing partially dry...peeled off the stickers and wiped a dry sponge over the card. The journalling on the back gives the origin of my name.

Week 12 - I Believe

The journalling reads "I believe that these two goofy girls hold the keys to my heart and to our future. I believe that I am lucky to have the chance to be their mum.

Week 13 - Whats On My Mind-

I covered the back of this card with some Michael Miller fabric before I stamped it. The journalling reads. "I know that in a few short months we will be back on the same soil again. I can't wait!"

Week 14 - Birds

For this card I stitched the flourishes on the bird, and on the back I have used a picture from an old childrens book and painted over the whole thing with a thined out brown paint. The jouranlling reads " I'm not sure why but lately I find myself drawn to bird images. Maybe it has something to do with wanting to fly...fly out of this deep, dark place I am in at the moment. Who knows, but these birds sure are cute!

Aussie Scrapjack

2007-04-12T07:52:00.000+10:00

I finally got around to doing my layout for the Aussie Scrapjack challenge. This months jackee is Erica Glover and her gorgeous Heart & Soul layout. I altered it a little to suit this photo of Lolly that I had taken with another layout in mind. I managed to get the look I was going for by incorporating both. LOL. I altered the photo in photoshop to give it that textured paper look before printing it.

I also got my layout finished for the latest round of Scrapbook Idol at Scraps To Share. This round we had to use a Becky Higgins double page layout sketch and 4 to 6 photos.....I do not find double page layouts easy and this layout took me all day to complete.

Today I plan on starting the challenges I have already set over at Chook Scraps this month. I tend to get a little slack with these...I set them and then go off scrapping other stuff instead. Eeek! I also want to catch up on my Deck Of Me cards that Emily Falconbridge is challenging us to.

The Zoo Goes Wild

2007-04-09T16:05:00.000+10:00

Saturday saw the Castle Zoo visiting the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. Crockett, the girls and I got up early and set off, making a few stops along the way. It has been a long, long time since we visited the Gardens...Boo was just a baby and Lolly barely remembers. They had a blast...looking for lizards (and snakes) in the gardens, and eels in the lake. We saw lots of birds and plenty of interesting plants. They had a hard time leaving all the seeds and leaves they found...these girls take after Crockett and are serious scavengers while we are out and about. I got a chance to play a bit more with my new camera...so I apologize for all the pics that are to follow.

The Bliss of Chocolate Bunnies

2007-04-09T12:42:00.000+10:00

HAPPY EASTER

2007-04-08T02:59:00.000+10:00

TAKE NOTE!

2007-04-05T18:28:00.000+10:00

Why Women Rule The World

2007-04-04T02:55:00.000+10:00

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Scrappy Show and Tell

2007-04-01T17:02:00.000+10:00

Just a few layouts to share.....

I love this one of Crockett and Lolly. The photo was take at the recent wedding of a friends. Lolly asked Crockett to dance with her and for once he obliged. The papers are from the Rusty Pickle Princess Bride collection.

Another letter for Lolly....

A quick fun layout of Boo trying to get a drink from a water fountain...
These next three layouts were my first contribution for the Chook Scraps design team....

Testing...Testing...1..2...3

2007-03-30T03:57:00.000+10:00

I spent yesterday afternoon in the park with Boo testing out some of the settings on my new camera...here's some of the results....

I am so lucky to have one willing little model...I just wish she'd stop still a moment longer sometimes!

Feeling Like S**T!

2007-03-27T06:28:00.000+10:00

Yesterday Lollys class (Senior O) had a folio / open morning for the parents to come in and take a look at what they are up to in the classroom. Mondays are busy, busy days at work for me...and even though I work at the school the girls attend there was no way possible that I could get the morning off to attend. I had already spoken to her teachers about coming in sometime this week and looking at her folio...but yesterday....this girl....this gorgeous, loving girl pulled some major attitude and made me feel like the worst mother in the world.

She saw me running messages while her class was sharing morning tea with the parents that did attend...she came up with tears in her eyes and asked why I didn't come up to her classroom. When I tried explaining to her that I had to work and I couldn't get away....she hit me with "You could have made an effort!" right before turning on her heel and flouncing off!

I stood there with my jaw hanging and feeling like I could just burst into tears. This is the third year I have worked at their school...and until now both of them were ok with me not being able to attend when I had to work. I felt terrible...I still feel terrible.

Rusty Pickles and Pirates

2007-03-21T11:25:00.000+10:00

Last night I joined some other Chooks and headed of to Scrap of Difference at Brassall to take part in a Rusty Pickle workshop. The workshop was run by Lance Anderson one of the owners of the company.

We had a blast....Lance is a fantastic teacher and the products are great to work with. We all got to make this a little mini album using the new Captain Jack range of papers...

Front Cover

Pages 1 & 2

Pages 3 & 4 (page 4 opens up and becomes a double layout)

Insert between pages 3 & 4

Pages 5 & 6

Insert 1 between pages 5 & 6

Insert 2 between pages 5 & 6

Pages 7 & 8

Pages 9 & 10

Back Cover

You can check out some photos of us Chooks at the event here in the Chookscraps Photo Album.

Tag You're It

2007-03-19T05:35:00.000+10:00

1. What time did you get up this morning? 3am
2. Diamonds or Pearls ? Diamonds
3.What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Devil Wears Prada
4. What is your favourite TV show? Miami Ink, American Chopper, Mythbusters and Big Brother when its on
5. What did you have for breakfast? So far only coffee...but I am thinking peanut butter toast is looking pretty good
6. What is your middle name? Tracy
7. What is your favourite cuisine? Italian
8. What foods do you dislike? sausages....oh and pumpkin pie
9. Your favourite potato chip? cheezels or cheetos
10. What is your favourite CD at the moment? Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch
11. What kind of car do you drive? 2000 Honda CRV Silver
12. Favourite sandwich? Corned meat and relish on fresh bread
13. What characteristics do you despise? Racism, bigitory, meanness
14. Favourite item of clothing? my pj's
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Tuscan, Italy
16. What colour is your bathroom? Blue..but not for long...my new one will be green and cream
17. Favourite brand of clothing? No favourite brand
18. Where would you want to retire to? No idea
19. Favourite time of day? 7pm when the girls and I climb into bed for story time
20. Where were you born? Rockhampton
21. Favourite Sports to watch? Huh? Watch sport...who does that?
22. Who do you least expect to do this back? Kandlenut
23. Person who will respond first? Not sure
24. What laundry detergent do you use? Spree Lavendar
25. Coke or Pepsi? Coke...Diet Coke
26. Are you a morning person or night owl? early bird for sure
27. What size shoe do you wear? 8 and a half
28. Favourite animal? Frogs
29. Any news you'd like to share with everyone? I am going to a scrapbook workshop run by Lance Anderson (Rusty Pickle)
30. What did you want to be when you were little? A pre-school teacher
31. Favourite candy bar? Reeces peanut butter cups or Nestle Milo bars
32. What are your favourite childhood memories? My brother and I getting on our bikes and riding for miles
33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Despatch Clerk, Telstra telephone exchange, teacher - library aide, mum!
34. What colour underwear are you wearing? Light pink....why?
35. Nicknames: Jibii but only by the people I know online
36. Piercing? One at the very top of my right ear
37 Eye colour? Blue
38. Ever been to Africa ? No
39. Ever been toilet papering? Nope
40. Ever loved someone so much it made you cry? Yes my kids every day
41. Ever been in a car accident? yes
.42. Favourite restaurant? Weiss Resturant Toowoomba
45. Favourite ice cream? not a big ice cream fan
46. Favourite flower? Gerbras and daffodils
47. Disney or Warner Brothers? Warner Bros (only cause they are Keanu fans ;) )
48. Favourite fast food restaurant? Our local fish and chip shop
49. What colour is your bedroom carpet? beige
50. How many times did you take your drivers test? Once
51. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? Martha
52. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? My local scrap store
53. What do you do most often when you are bored? watch movies
54. Bedtime? Around 8ish
55. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? Everyone
56. Last person you went to dinner with? Crockett and the girls
57. What are you listening to right now? Kandlenut sneezing in my ear
59. What is your favourite colour? navy blue
60. Lake, Ocean or River? ocean
61. How many tattoos do you have? none
62. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Who knows!
63. How many people are you sending this Email to? none cause I am blogging it
64. Who sent this to you and what is something you didn't know about him/her? Natalie....I know that she is one hell of a determined woman!
65. What materialistic thing would you ask for if you had one wish to make? My trip to Tuscany!
66. Time you finished this email? 6.29am

I tag you all...if you don't have a blog email it to me...if you are blogging it leave a note in my comments to let me know you've done it.

Wedding Photos

2007-03-18T06:09:00.000+10:00

Yesterday we went to a beautiful wedding of a gorgeous young couple that we know. I thought I'd share some photos here.....

Crockett and ILolly and BooThe groom and his men
The beautiful brideMeet and greetThe grooms brother and sisterBoo and M. (who had both been flowergirls at the grooms sisters wedding two years ago)Lolly and H. (best friends since birth)The grooms parentsAwwww....she asked Crockett to dance for the bridal waltz.
The cakes
Crockett and I (again)J and C we wish you a long, happy, healthy marriage!

Somedays I know just how the cow feels...

2007-03-14T07:01:00.000+10:00

Castle Zoo Book Club

2007-03-13T15:48:00.000+10:00

Each inhabitant of this zoo is an avid reader. The zoo is littered with books, papers, magazines, and printouts that we have read, are reading or are waiting to read.

Crockett reads books and journals on aviation, navies, trains, birds and Australia. Boo is really starting to get into reading by herself and loves short stories about animals, as well as books about snakes, sharks and pigs. Lolly loves to read novels about animals and dragons. As for me, I read anything....novels, non-fiction, magazines, how to books, and at the moment books about autism.

Our school is big on reading with your children. This not only includes listening to them read, but reading to them and reading with them. For both Boo and Lolly this is a major part of their homework. This has brought about a new nightly routine in the zoo.

Come 7pm feeding time is over in the zoo and the remote control for the TV is handed over to Crockett. The girls and I go snuggle into mum and dads bed and the fun starts.

Boo brings home enough library books so that we get a new story each night. Sometimes she reads her book to Lolly and I...sometimes I read it to both of them...but more often than not we read Boos books as a team. Boo will read some parts, I'll read others...and Lolly (as we have recently discovered) does amazing "voices" for all the characters in the stories. We discuss the books, we laugh, and we all feel a lot better for it.

Lolly brings home readers that she usually reads by herself in the last 30 minutes before her "lights out" time. She has started bringing home one library book a week for me to read to her. I love this time...she was starting to think that she was to big to be read to...but her teachers this year are pushing the fact that you are never too old to be read to. We have just finished reading a Tim Winton book called "Blueback" which has opened up discussions about pollution, whaling, illegal fishing activities, urban development, global warming and the effects these activities have on our oceans.

I love this time with the girls. Its a time to just relax and be, its a time to bond and share, a time to grow closer through a shared love. This is one nightly routine that I won't be in a hurry to let go of!

You Were A Little Girl in the 70's if......

2007-03-12T05:44:00.000+10:00

Kandles mum sent me this in an email and I got a real chuckle out of all the things I do remember....how many of them triggered memories for you?

You Were A Little Girl in the 70's if...

You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.
You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.

You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!) ! You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie", not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill". People sometimes thought you were a boy. You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days. You owned a "Slip-n-Slide", on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once.
You owned "Klick-Klacks" and smacked yourself in the face more than once !?
Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
You wore a poncho. You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits, or the sunshine family.
You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once.
You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle).
You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Oleson! ? ?

PONG! ("video tennis" ) was the most remarkable futuristic game you've ever heard of !

Your hairstyle wa s described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket. When you walked, the "wings" flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna "take off"

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.

You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. With the thermos inside some were glass inside and broke the first time you dropped them.

You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend.

YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!

It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy?"

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album.

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.

You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.

You had subscriptions to Smash Hits.

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books. (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.)

You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics. (?? its not??)

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.

You wanted to be a member of the Young Talent Team.

You glopped your lips in Strawberry Roll-on lip-gloss till it almost dripped off.

Is there any more you can add?

Feeling Tired

2007-03-08T04:33:00.000+10:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post I have two little ASD boys that I work with at school. L and N. They are great kids....bright, funny, very interesting little boys. They are on different parts of the spectrum...N is highly intellegent but has virtually no social skills, L is a struggler but hand him some money or machinery and watch him go.

This said, they are very tiring. Each day is a struggle to get these kids to conform to what we believe to be a "normal" school system. Neither of them like to write, but they can tell you exactly what the answers are. We expect them to sit and concentrate on one person in a noisy classroom environment when their brains are running a million miles an hour thinking in leaps and bounds that we can never understand.

I love the challenge and at the moment L is a real challenge, but I am coming home from work exhausted. It's all I can do to keep myself from crashing at 4pm.

I am hoping things settle soon...I am missing my normal routine. LOL

Scrapping Stuff

2007-03-07T07:05:00.000+10:00

This weekend just past I had the pleasure of hosting the mini cybercrop over at Chookscraps. I got to set the challenges this weekend and it was great to see what the ladies came up with.

The first challenge was an Oscars theme challenge. You had to create a layout about a person in your life that you felt deserved an Oscar . A person that needs that special recognition - they neeed to know how you felt. You also needed to include on your layout something that you have recently purchased, a flower (or two or three) and some bling of some sort.

This was an easy choice for me...I chose to do a layout on Lolly and her new found enthusiasm for school this year. (more on this later)
I was doubling dipping a lot of layouts this weekend as I was also doing the challenges over at Scrap Therapy ....this layout also took in the sketch challenge over there...this sketch is one of the fantastic sketches by the very talented Just Jini. *smoochies to you girl*

The second challenge was to scrapbook a photo or memory from your childhood. You also had to use paint and doodling on your page.
I chose to scrap my favorite childhood movie (man do you believe this was released in 1978) This layout also took in another challenge at Scrap Therapy which was to use a movie as inspiration for a layout.

The third challenge at Chookscraps was a sketch challenge...I used my layout for the the Scrap Idol comp I am involved in at my LSS. We had to scrap a double layout on scrapping....

I chose to scrap my obession with scrapping supplies. LOL

The last layout for this weekend was the third challenge at Scrap Therapy. You had to use green and four photos.

This layou is a bit of a tongue in cheek note to Boo about how fast she is growing up and how she can just STOP IT for a while.

**On a different note...I know I have been a slack blogger lately. I will tell you why later. I am setting myself a challenge now though...I am going to blog every day for thirty days...it might not be a scrapping blog...and it might not be about me and mine...but I will blog!!

Stumbling Around the Net

2007-02-28T06:38:00.000+10:00

Thanks to Ginger from The Small Moments I have a new addiction! Stumble Upon! You download this niffty little toolbar for free, you choose the topics you are interested in and start hitting the stumble button. It will find all sorts of neat sites for you.

I have found all sorts of interesting things...some very funny things....and some new sites that will come in handy for school.

I found this video this morning....
Xpock.com
How cute is that?

And then there are things like this... Ant City and this... Rally Trophy, this Storms and this Fat Fingers.

Be warned though...this whole stumbling thing is totally addictive.

Running on Empty

2007-02-26T06:02:00.000+10:00

I know...I know...I've been a slack blogger again.

Work has been crazy lately...I am still trying to adjust to working a near full week..and the fact that I have two little boys that are constantly pushing the boundaries while I am there. I am coming home most afternoons and dragging myself through the motions of homework, dinners and bedtime routines before crashing myself not long after the kids. And yet still I am tired....go figure.

I spent some time scrapping this weekend. I decided to join in the cybercrop at Forever Always. Man their challenges were tough! I managed to get them all done though which was a miracle considering how damn tired I am.

The first challenge was to find a magazine....• Find an advert that inspires you and then scrap a page using that inspiration. You may like the layout, the colour scheme, or the wordage. • Use 3 different forms of type – this means your title & journaling needs to use 3 different forms of application as in chipboard, Rubons, computer, stickers, stamps or your handwriting.

This was the ad I used for inspiration:

And the layout I created from it:

The second challenge was a back to school type challenge. We had to remember our three R's and do the following...• Read – use your book title as either your title or in your journaling. • Writing - You must include some journaling on your page • Arithmetic – Include 1 Ring + 2 Ribbons + 3 Rub-ons = a completed challenge entry.

I'm not sure you can read the quote on this but it says..."She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilites. She is your witness who sees you at your worst and best and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press assistant, even your shrink. Some days, she is the reason you wish you were an only child. ~ Barbara Alpert. "

And lastly the third challenge....WOW...it was a sketch....a sketch for a round layout...I've never done one of these before but I really do like how it turned out. Not sure how I am going to display it yet...
Hopefully this week will be a little more organized and I can get some serious scrapping done.

Deck of Me Weeks 5 & 6

2007-02-19T06:19:00.000+10:00

I got a little behind with my cards and week 5 totally slipped by without being scrapped. I am caught up now though.

Week 5's prompt was to use some use some ephemera from your week. I chose to use my printout from the library.

Week 6's prompt was love. I had just finished scrapping a LO using the same photo as I had on the card. And I so love the quote that I wanted to add it to my Deck of Me.

I hit a glitch with the little tin I brought to hold them...while it can hold a deck of unaltered cards these six cards can barely fit in now. So back to the drawing board. Maybe I could bribe someone into making me a funky little bag to hold them. (MUM????)

All Jumped Up on Love!

2007-02-16T07:51:00.000+10:00

I seem to be doing lots of love LO's lately. LOL. Mostly for comps and such but it's certainly got me wishing that I had better snaps of our wedding that weren't in a fancy album.

This first LO is for the Scrap Idol comp at my LSS.

I have always loved this photo of Crocket. It was taken when we were still dating (a lot of years ago now!). I took inspiration for this layout from a layout by Ngaire.

This next LO was done for Forever Always's Valentines Day challenge. You had to scraplift a LO from their gallery, and do it using red,black and white. Oh...it also had to be based on love.

I really enjoyed using these older photos...but as I said it makes me wish I could go back and get better shots.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

2007-02-16T04:42:00.000+10:00

Boo,

Eight years ago you came into our lives and changed it so that we cannot image a day without you. You fill our days with so much emotion...from pleasure and pride to anger and impatience. But most of all you fill our days with your presence.

It is hard to watching you grow up, knowing that as each stage passes this is the last time your dad and I will have to deal with it. Each year we watch you change and you are showing all the characteristics and character of being a fine young woman. People always tell us how charming and funny you are, how beautiful you are and how compassionate you are...we are glad to hear these compliments...but we see them for ourselves every day. There are many minutes, hours, days, when you are a very difficult to live with...and at the moment your constant whine is driving us to distraction. I guess this is to be expected when you are always fighting for the same rights as your older sister. Your emotions are always "up front", both the good and the bad. They always will be. That is who you are.

You have a wonderful quality of independence that we value and respect. You recently took your first flight with Lolly to Melbourne to visit with Grandma and Grandad...you were totally fearless. I cannot imagine your sister doing the same thing at that age. We see you gaining more and more independence each day and while this makes us proud it saddens us a little.

You have some wonderful qualities that those of us who love you have seen since you were a baby. Last year you befriende a new little boy in your class who was having a hard time settling in. His name is Harley and he had just move interstate and didn't know anyone. You were his friend in class; you stopped to help him and to talk to him and made first few weeks at a new school happier because he could count on you to seek him out and play. Your teacher, Mrs. Reardon, told me about this and said that she could always count on you to help out the kids that were feeling left out. Eventually we all learn to read and write and drive and cook and hold a job, but we cannot "learn" a good heart....and Boo you have a seriously good heart.

So today is special, and you are special. Not just because you are our daughter, but because you are a unique individual and one that we respect and enjoy being with. You have unusual taste, but you have lots of it. And you are tenacious when you want something and you usually end up getting exactly whatever it is you were wanting. Lately we have seen your love of art grow. And you are more often than not seen with a sketch pad and pencil in hand. You draw the most amazing pictures and we hope that you continue to foster this love of drawing and painting. As a young person you have figured out how to talk to people...you are instinctive in your "people skills".

All these qualities are sometimes covered over by anger and shouting and frustration and impulse, but as you grow you will get more control and you will learn to channel those emotions more productively.

So today as we reflect on where the past eight years have gone we want you to go forward... to make this world a better place for yourself..and t0 remember those who love you will be following right behind you. And we always will.

Love, Mum and Dad

P.S. It was the wonderchilds birthday yesterday...I got caught up in birthday cake baking yesterday morning and didn't get a chance to post it!

Working Like a Grown Up

2007-02-11T19:25:00.000+10:00

Well I finaly got all my hours through, and I guess that now I have to work like a "grown up" and go more than 3 days a week. The timetable is pretty full on too...no down time in the library this year. I will spend all day Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and Wednesday afternoons with my two little buddies. And all day Friday doing library lessons for the junior stage classes....imagine it....4 classes doing the same activity over and over and over and over.

This will be the first time in 12 years that I have worked these sorts of hours. Talk about a shock to the system. LOL