hi

Whoosh, we are at the end of yet another busy week! I swear the weeks just keep going faster and faster! Arrrrgggh STOP the world - I want to get off!!!

Scrapapple announced their third challenge the other day. You had to find a household item (that doesn't belong in your scrap room) and scrap it so it become something you can use in your scrap room! Adam was given a cute pine box with white rope handles on each end for Christmas. It had 'beer' stencilled on it and had international beers in it. The beers are now long gone so I pinched the box, scrapped it and it is now in my scrapping area holding all my loose flowers! Here is it!!!

A closer look at the front!

I have joined in with the 'BOOK OF LIFE' challenge over at Shop & Crop. Our first BOL challenge was to create our album cover. This album is a Heidi Swapp 9x9 album. Wow- it was so much fun using a smaller size! Here is my album cover. I'm part way through challenge 2. I will upload that when I have completed it!

WOOOO HOOOO- a little bit of good news to sign off with- I WON Scrapapple's week 2 challenge- YAY for me! It was the ribbon one!!!

Anyway must go- I have a page half finished that is calling me! Have a great Sunday!

Love Janine xxx

Tagged

Wooo hoo- I have been tagged by Kim!

Here's the rules:Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to blog about their seven things and post the rules as well. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog! OK, here are my 7 random facts/habits....

1. When I was 20, I sailed on the tall ship 'The Young Endeavour'. We sailed from Melbourne, down to King Island (Tasmania) and back up to Adelaide. While sailing, we encountered a storm and I was the only female who was willing to climb the 90ft mast and help furl the sail. (5 males helped!!!)

2.As a child I raced 'soapboxes' - they are go-carts which race down hill using rolling speed only (no motors although they do have brakes-LOL) I began racing in box #1 which once belonged to David Bradham (son of Jack Brabham). I then moved to box # 23 which was lime green and nickname "The Mouse" and my last box was #101 - a fibreglass soapbox which was built by my Dad. My highest achievement in soapboxing was coming 13th in an Australian championship.

3. I detest cockroaches- arrggghhh- the only good cockroach is a dead one!

4. I met one of my best friends, Melissa, when we were in kindy together. That was back in 1971. We are still great friends today. She was my chief bridesmaid when I got married and she is Sarah's godmother. I last saw her about 2 weeks ago as we now live in different towns.

5. I have never officially broken a bone in my body! I suspect that I once broke my little finger and on a different occasion my little toe- but the doctors didn't xray them so officially I have never broken a bone in my body!!

6.I have NEVER taken my wedding ring off. Since the day Adam placed it on my finger, it has never been removed. It has been taped for netball games and operations but never taken off- that it 12 years and counting!!

7. I have two university degrees. The first is a Bachelor or Arts (Education) and the second is a Bachelor of Education. I have been a primary school teacher for 16 years now and have taught full time or part time for most of that time.

OK- my turn to tag some others- I tag-
Janine, Kim, Kathie, Julie, Ali, Katie and Peta.

Have a great day!
Janine xxx

Scrapapple's next comp!

OK- over at the apple yard, Scrapapple are now running a competition to win a $400 scrapping unit from Maple Lane Studios. The competition doesn't necessarily run week to week- some challenges you are given longer to complete.

Challenge 1 was to take photos of your scrapping area now (ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!) and then complete a double page LO on what it is now and how you 'dream' you would like it!
Mine is aptly named 'Chaos to Calm'. My scrap space at the moment is a large table backed up against our kitchen bench- not ideal as all my visitors see my very messy desk!!! Hopefully in the near future we will build our new house (we have only had the block of land for SIX years!!!) and in this house I will have my own 'scraproom'. I poured through magazines and pulled out ideas of what I would like my ideal room to look like- lots of storage!!!

Challenge 2 was all about how we store our ribbons. I have all my ribbons sorted by colour in snap lock bags- I admit that they could be a little neater- LOL but I like how I store them. My only difference would be- when I get this amazing new scraproom, I would love one of those Ikea style square shelving unit things (see my first LO for a pic) and I would then move my ribbons from the plastic drawer they are currently in to a groovy square basket- to fit beautifully into the shelving unit!! I looked at all the fancy ribbons holders in the magazines but honestly- they are just NOT me.

Here is my journalling from under the lift up flap.
I just have to wait and see what challenge 3 will be- that hasn't been announced yet.
Have a great Sunday!
Love Janine xxx

Signing back in to sing Ali's praises...

My goodness- three post in one day- gosh, I must be addicted- LOL!!!
I just wanted to sing praises to ALI STAFFORD - Ali is the most amazing photographer -who can take an unphotogenic person and make them look human- yes this is ME- Thanks Ali- you are a genius!!!
Love ya millions Ali!!!!
Janine xxxx

LO share!!!

Here is my LO that I did for Kim Archer's online class! It is about 1985- the year I turned 17!!! Wow, that was yeons ago!!! LOL!!!
I have done about 4, hmm, maybe 5 LOs in the last week that I haven't uploaded (slack, I know!) - I will get to them this weekend - I promise~~~

Hugs.... Janine xxx

Naughty, naughty, naughty, naughty, naughty!!!

After the birthday party we went to today for Emma (which was great by the way, Emma had a blast at the party, Sarah got to have a swim and catch up with Emily and I got to have a coffee and catch up with Kim) - we went shopping!!!
After buying a pair of groovy jeans for Emma- lovely denim ones with cute pink bling on the back pockets, I was about to give up and go home. You see, I have these vouchers to spend at Myers and twice now I have been there and found nothing that I like. (yes, I could have easily spend it on the girls but I'm determined to spend these vouchers on ME!) Anyway- we were walking back to the car- the long way (window shopping on the way!) and we went past the 'Crocs' shop- needless to say the girls now have ANOTHER pair of Crocs and I have my very first pair!! Don't get me wrong, I love Crocs but when the original ones came out, I tried them on and I looked as if my feet belonged to Daisy Duck, so I didn't buy any. Well- I am now the proud owner of some black Mary Jane Crocs, so much nicer than the original ones and my feet don't quite look like Daisy's! Both the girls got some pink Mary Janes and between them they got a heap of those cute little gizmo's that click into the holes in the Crocs to decorate them. The girls and I 'modelled' our new Crocs for Adam and all he could do was shake his head- I think he is slowly growing accustom to being the only male in our house!!!
Anyway- have a GREAT Friday night!!!
Love Janine xxx

I bought a LOTTO ticket today!

Yes, Adam and I feel very lucky today. You know, they say things happen in threes- well today was very nearly number three.
Adam was driving to work this morning. He was in the right hand lane waiting for the lights to change so he could turn right (from Ennis Ave onto Patterson Road- for any locals!). Anyway the light went green and he started to take off, then looking right, he slammed on the brakes, a car coming from his right had gone straight through the red light and missed the front of Adam's car by about 30 cm but slammed into the car to Adam's left. Adam immediately rendered assistance to the lady in the car hit. He said she was elderly and he looked after her until the ambulance arrived. He even took off his jacket and placed it over her to keep her warm- what a sweetie. The driver of the other vehicle (the one that ran the red light) was a 'L' driver who had no other people in the car (what the???) Adam said she was very distressed.(well- yes!) She had just dropped her boyfriend off at work and was heading home. Get this- this young girl with no license, who ran a red light was only wearing lacy knicker and a jumper!!! (another- what the????)
Adam was completely uninjured- hence me buying a LOTTO ticket! He was distressed but very pleased when late in the day the husband of the elderly injured lady came into his work and returned his jacket and also informed Adam that his wife, although still in hospital, was going to be fine- very badly bruised and shaken up but she will make a full recovery. Thank goodness- remember- if you wear lacy knickers- wear SOMETHING over the top- you just never know!!!

Thanks Mel for checking further on Adam's brother Brett- as to whether his foot will need a skin graft- the doctors are going to wait and see. If the swelling subsides enough to close the skin over, they will. If not, then they will have to do a skin graft- it is a wait and see thing.

On the scrapping front- I haven't quiet finished my LO from Kim Archer's class- I will upload it as soon as I do! - promise! I had a blast but! Thanks Kim!!!

Anyway,
Happy scrapping and cross your fingers that my LOTTO ticket wins- LOL!

Janine xxx

By the way- no one has taken up my FIRST, FIRST, LAST challenge yet - come on you slackers- I'll keep the surprise for myself!!!
If you are not sure what I'm talking about- see a few posts down!!! Come on- show us your early work!!!Go on- I dare you!!!!

Update on Brett!

Well fortunately the damage to the bones of Brett's foot are not as bad as first thought however the skin, tendons and ligaments etc have been very badly damaged. The doctors described it like an orange that is squashed- the skin tears and all the insides come out- gross I know, sorry. Anyway during surgery the doctors put everything back into place but the skin couldn't be closed over. Brett will require more surgery later this week to fix that.However he is is very good spirits, Adam got to speak to him yesterday and he is very optimistic of it all being good-good eventually. The chances of loosing his foot now now seem very slim!
Thanks Mel and Lisa for your concern and comments- it is nice to know I'm not just blogging to myself- LOL!!!

On the scrapping front- I'm really looking forward to doing Kim Archer's online class "A Step Back In Time' this morning. I have pick 1985 as my year to remember- I was living in Esperance and it was my final year (year 12) of high school.
I will upload it after I have finished.

Have a great day!
Love Janine xxx

Back again...

OK- my terrible Monday started out just fine!
Fine until I took the girls to an eye appointment in the early afternoon.An annual check up - nothing major...but while the optometrist was finishing up checking Sarah's eyes he noticed that she had a 'foreign body' in her eye. He inserted some dye into her eye and then even I could see the speck that shouldn't have been there. He recommended that I take her to the hospital to have it removed. He wasn't quite sure what it was but felt that it had only been there for a few days at the most. So... off we go the the hospital. Quite fortunately it was a quiet afternoon and we were seen within an hour. The doctor on duty put a local anaesthetic in Sarah's eye and then used this scary looking large pointy needle to remove the 'foreign body' which turned out to be a metal fragment. Sarah has a small scratch on her eye but other than that she is totally fine. She has to have an antibiotic cream in her eye for the next few days but that's all. How lucky were we that she just happen to have an eye appointment because Sarah hadn't complained at all about a sore eye!
But... while I was at the hospital with Sarah, Adam rang me. His eldest brother, Brett, had been involved in an accident at work and has seriously damaged his lower leg and foot. Apparently Brett was kneeling down and a truck tilt tray fell and landed on his ankle and foot from behind. His foot was crushed, most bones broken and the skin tore from his foot- not nice. He was operated on yesterday afternoon and the last report I got is that the doctors are pretty confident that he will keep his foot. Scary stuff hey. To add to the stress, Brett and Daryl (yes, Daryl is a female- my SIL) 17 year old son Tyler is due to flew out to Gallipoli today on a school trip. He is still going to go but Brett was meant to be the bus driver taking the group to Perth to catch the plane. Adam volunteered to drive down and be the bus driver (he has a bus license) but thankfully someone in Collie was able to step in.
Hopefully next time I blog I can give you some good news about Brett's foot.

Till then, happy scrapping
Janine xxx

Quick post

Hi, this is a super quick post so I can upload my 'surprise challenge' that I completed last night for the 'Aussie Scrapjacked' site.
I have to take Aunty Lorraine to the physio now but I will be back later to tell you about our terrible Monday- our hospital visit with Sarah and Adam's brother's accident.

Back soon.
Janine xx

More holiday fun...

I am still loving the holidays!!

We have seen yet another movie- this time we saw Happily N'Ever After. Another great movie!!

We have also been shopping- scrap shopping for me- YAY. We went to 'Just Scrapbooking' first, then Scrapbooks from the Heart and I've stocked up my stash with lots of new goodies!! Yummo!!
Then the girls and I hit Garden City- YAY- I really love shopping. Both girls were spoilt with new clothes and new shoes and of course we had a delicious lunch. Hmmm- I love girly shopping days!


On Thursday Sarah's friend Grace came over. I allowed them to cook!! They made a chocolate fudge slice and even made their own dinner- Sunken submarines! They weren't too bad- quite delicious actually!
Check them out- they were very proud of themselves and I just stood back and supervised and they did everything!!! (expect the dishes!!!)

This morning Sarah had a dentist appointment. Oh dear- it didn't go very well and we now have a referral for an orthodontist. I can see the dollar signs flashing up in front of me already. I have made an appointment so we will just have to go from there- LOL- I thought of Shazz's son and his million dollar smile!!!

Just after we got home from the dentist my oldest friend dropped in for a cuppa and catch up. Melissa and I met at 4 year old kindergarten and have been through primary school and high school together, we lived together while at uni, she was my chief bridesmaid and she is also Sarah's Godmother- freinds for 35 years!! It was great to catch up with her and her daughter Lucy. I even managed to off load three huge bags of clothes and shoes that Emma has outgrown.

Tonight Sarah has gone to the basketball with Grace and tomorrow morning we are going to Bunbury for the weekend. Our Goddaughter, Jacinta, turned 18 today and we are going to her party tomorrow night- it will be great to catch up with our friends from Bunbury again. I'll take my camera and try and get some good snaps!

I have actually done some scrapping but I haven't yet photographed them (slack I know!)- I will leave that until Monday (too dark now) and will give you all an update of our weekend and share my LOs then.

Don't forget to join in my FIRST, FIRST, LAST challenge (see post below) I think it will be great to see how people's scrapping has evolved over time- I know mine has!!

Anyway-
Have a fantastic weekend.
Love Janine xxx

'FIRST, FIRST, LAST' challenge!

WOW- another beautiful day! Oh I love holidays!!! Yesterday we saw another movie. This time we went to see 'Meet The Robinsons' - great movie! The kids loved it and so did I!!!

This morning the girls and I have been out with Aunty Lorraine- shopping, lunch, generally relaxing and doing girly things- I love it!! While school is on, I feel that our lives move SO fast that I can barely keep up. I feel that I get very little quality time with my girls as we are always rushing from here to there! So during the holidays, we get to kick back and spend so good old fashioned quality time together- I love it and I know my girls are loving it because they are being gorgeous - no fighting, cleaning up, helping out. It is a win-win situation really!!!

Anyway- I have a challenge for you all!!! I was cleaning up my scrapping area last night (well trying to clean it up!!) and I found my very first LO- so my challenge to you is 'FIRST, FIRST, LAST' Put up on your blog your very FIRST layout, your FIRST published layout and your LAST layout.

Here are mine-

My very first LO- can you guess that I went to a Creative Memories party!!! Isn't is so typically CM!! This LO was created in May 2001.
My first published LO. This appeared in Scrapbooking Memories Vol4.No.11. (August or Sept 2003) I had to scan the LO from the magazine as I couldn't locate the original- hmm it must be around somewhere!!!

My latest LO- completed last night! I love this photo of Taylah and Emma- such beautiful friends!!!

So - who is up for the challenge??? If you haven't been published, you can join in by showing us your FIRST and LAST layout! Leave a message and your BLOG link so I (and others) can go and check out your layouts!

I will put the names of all participants in a hat and draw out a winner to receive a surprise from me! I will give you until Friday 20th April!

Have a GREAT day!!!

Love Janine xxx

Chocolate wishes for Easter!!

Happy Easter everyone!

Our Easter weekend so far has been so relaxing- I love it!!!

Good Friday- We went off to the movies to see Mr Bean's Holiday. Great movie- Adam and I got more out of it than the kids- some of the humour went over their heads but Adam and I had a good old laugh!!!! The kids spotted a couple of other movies that they would love to see during these school holidays so I can see myself being back at the cinema a few more times!!!

Friday night - we made the mistake of deciding to be slack and buy fish and chips for dinner! OMGoodness, I met three quarters of Rockingham at the Fish 'n' Chip shop- and our order took ages. Note to self- cook yourself on Good Friday! LOL!!!

Saturday was another relaxing day altought I did go to the shops. I knew that Rockingham City would be BUSY on Easter Saturday so I went early- 8.45am BUT there was still a million people there so consequently I very quickly got what I need and came home. I spent the rest of the day relaxing, watching movies and scrapping. We watched 'The Devil Wears Prada', 'RV' and "You, Me and Dupree'- all good movies!

Easter Sunday- the girls were up early to see if Easter Bunny had visited. Well Easter Bunny didn't disappoint!

Excuse the 'bed hair' LOL! Both the girls got far too much chocolate plus a selection of other goodies- spoilt kids!!!

-Even Teddy, Snowy and Charlotte were not forgotten by the Easter Bunny!!

OK- here is some scrapping to share- This first LO is my Scrapjack entry for the Aussie Scrapjack blog- it is a scraplift of Erica's LO called 'One more time' which appeared in For Keeps (issue 51) The idea is to 'scrapjack' a nominated person's LO- this month it is the talented Erica Glover! You should pop over and check it out!!! There are prizes!!!

I have been challenging myself this weekend to 'use the old'- not something I'm good at!!!!In this LO 'Sarah the Sheep' - I'm finally scrapping some older photos that I've had lying around. Sarah was a sheep in her year two Nativity play- back in 2005.

This LO 'I'm Crazy In Love With You Two' again uses old photos- this photo is from April 2004.

This last LO for now "You...' uses an old piece of pp that I have had in my stash for ages! It actually looks brighter in real life but I've taken the photos of these LOs late this afternoon when the light isn't the best.

Anyway- I hope to get some MORE scrapping done tonight as my wonderful DH is cooking dinner- he organized lunch too!!!

Have a happy night-

Love Janine xxx

Emma the Disciple.

Here she is- Emma the Disciple!! The service this morning was beautiful! One of the teachers played Jesus and he was awesome! All the disciples did an exceptional job! I was so proud of Emma!!! Happy Mummy moment!!!

Love Janine xxx

Doing the happy dance!!!

Yay- it is official- I'm on holidays!!!!
For the next two weeks (17 days actually!) -I'm on holidays!
Yay- yippee- wooo hooo!!!

I have very little planned- we have two birthday parties and one birthday/engagement party to go to, one dentist appt and that is about it!!! I hope to get some cleaning done around the house (well maybe!! LOL!), lots of scrapping done and maybe a movie or two!!

Tonight- I'm having a glass of wine and relaxing!!!

Have a great evening!
love Janine xxx

Four more sleeps...

Until the Easter Bunny comes- or so my girls tell me! LOL!!!!
I have only one more sleep until I'm on two weeks holiday- YAY, yippee!!

I have a LO to share- I'm loving hand sewing at the moment - and felt of course!!!
How cute are these cherubs?- they always seem happy when they are together!

I still haven't quite finished Emma's disciple costume yet. Her class are acting out 'The Last Supper' at Mass in the morning- she is SO excited. I will have to post some pictures of her!!
Anyway have a great evening!
love Janine xxx

Quick photo share.

Happy birthday to Taylah (for the 4th)

I took an impromptu photo shoot of my girls before we went to Taylah's party on the weekend- before they got all messy!! LOL!

Anyway- I'm off the organize a disciple costume for Emma!!!

Have a great night!

love Janine xxx