Yeah, yeah, yeah.... I'm alive!!!

but I'm a bit over blogging at the moment! Hopefully I'll eventually get over this and return!!

Meanwhile you can catch up with me on facebook!!!

Janine xxx

I'm back....

Sorry but I have been avoiding my blog because the thought of sorting through and uploading a heap of Singapore photos was way too overwhelming!
I have instead decided to just upload a few at a time so at the end of this post are some photos and when I next update I'll add a few more!!!

OK- I'm still on a high about my awesome girl winning the academic scholarship for Iona!!! We received the paperwork last week and the scholarship is for SIX years!!!! How good is that!!!!

In other news- I have a new favourite TV show. Is anyone else loving Masterchef? I love it!!! Hmmm I haven't decided which contestant I'd like to win yet although Tom, Trevor, Geni and Julie are a few of my favourites!!!! I even took a photo of the TV the other night while the show was on as my 'photo of the day' for my Project 365. I'm still plodding along with my 365 pages however due to going to Singapore I'm a little behind. I have still been taking my photos and have been slowly catching up with my pages- I think I'm still about two weeks or so behind!!
Hopefully next post, I'll show you my latest pages!

This weekend I have my Mum, my Aunty and my MIL coming up to stay. We are all off to the Craft and Quilt Fair on Sunday. I'm hoping there will be lots of scrapping stands to visit. Kim and Maursie will be there each day, on the Fiskars stand so if you go- stop in and say hello to them!!

One more thing- woo hoo, I've booked my place already for the Scrapboxx October retreat!!! I love, love, love Scrapboxx retreats and can't wait to go again. LOL- only about 149 more sleeps to wait!!!

OK- here are some photos from Singapore Zoo. We went and had breakfast with the orangutans. It was awesome!!!

This is Emma, eating her breakfast. You can see in the background the large flat branch. This is where the orangutans came and sat. We weren't allowed to touch them but we were so close- it was amazing!!!

Here are the girls with some of the gorgeous orangutans.

I took heaps of photos- it was really hard to pick a favourite but I do particularly like this one. The baby was soooo cute!!!!

More soon,
Love Janine xxx

AWESOME NEWS!!!

Hi all,
We are back from Singapore- we had a fantastic time however I haven't yet had time to sort all the squillions of photos I took!! Soon I promise!!!

I just have to share our AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME news!!!
About six weeks ago Sarah sat a scholarship exam at Iona Presentation College.
Well.........................

SHE WON IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The principal left a message on our answering machine on Thursday night asking me to ring her. I did ring on Friday morning however had to leave a message. The Principal's assistant rang back and left me a message (my phone was turned off as we were at our school's ANZAC assembly) saying CONGRATULATIONS that Sarah had won the academic scholarship and I'll receive a letter next week with all the details!

I am so proud, proud, proud of my gorgeous girl!!!! I could nearly burst with pride!!!

Back soon with a SINGAPORE update!!!!

Love one PROUD Mumma!!!! xxxx

Nearly packed....

I said I'd be back before we left to share my latest Project 365 pages.... so here they are-

April 11-


April 12-


April 13-


April 14-


I'm all up-to-date, except for today!!

We are nearly all packed. We have just over four hours until we are picked up. The girls are getting super excited...so am I!!!! I still have a few little things left to do but nothing major! I just can't wait to be sitting on the plane!!!

We are not taking a lap top with us. DH is buying a brand spanking new one so hope to be able to drop in here and say 'hi'....if we are not too busy!! We have a huge list of things we want to do and places we wish to visit. I think visiting Sentosa Island and having breakfast with the orangutans are top of the girls' wish list!! Both girls have a list of friends that they wish to buy a little something special for so I'm sure we will hit the shops too!!

Oh my- this time tomorrow I'll be in Singapore!! Woo hoo!!!

Talk soon.
Love Janine xxx

Woo hoo- I'm one happy chickadee!!!!

We had a wonderful day yesterday (Easter Sunday). The girls were up nice and early to see what the Easter Bunny had left for them! As usual, he had left them winter jammies, in fact this year they got two pair each (mumma found one pair each- and then another pair each that she just couldn't leave in the shop-LOL)!!! Both received another pressie- Sarah, a book and Emma, a gorgeous beanie, and of course some chocolate goodies!!!!

We then got ourselves organized and were on the 9pm ferry to Penguin Island. It was a beautiful day- the weather was glorious, the company was fantastic, the food - absolutely delicious and for the first time (for us anyway) we saw wild penguins - previously we have only seen the ones in captivity. Here are some snaps from the day-

We were on the very last ferry home and were totally exhausted by the time we actually made it home!! We could see (from Penguin Island) that there was a fire on the main land. It looked as if it were down Port Kennedy way however once we got home we found out that it wasn't that far from our house. Our house was never in any danger- the wind was blowing the other way however it was a HUGE fire and houses were threatened!!!

This is the fire- as we saw if from Penguin Island.

And this is from our house.

This afternoon the girls and I went to the shops and Ennis Ave (the main road from Rockingham to Mandurah) was still closed. It is now opened now- opened about 4pm.

Tonight was my sketch class over at Scrapboxx!

Here is my sketch-

and my layout-

I also gave the instructions on how to make the flowers- you can see them here. I have given them once before on my blog so they are not new!!!

I was pleased with the people that came to chat- I'm always up for a good chat- LOL!!!

Okay- now that Easter and my sketch class are over, I can concentrate on packing for our holiday. I cleaned the house like a mad woman this morning and did a heap of washing although I haven't even thought about packing.

We leave in two more sleeps - woo hoo!!

We have been watching the news with interest and concern- while we are away, Adam will fly on to Bangkok (for business) and if you have been watching the news there is a lot of rioting and political unrest there at the moment. The girls and I aren't going to Bangkok (just Adam)- we are staying in Singapore for the whole time. He will only be there for three days and has a training course to attend for all three of those days so I'm not really that worried- I just hope that they don't close down the airport or anything!!!!

Tomorrow Emma is off to the movies and HJ's for her friend Kira's birthday. The girls have netball training Wednesday morning and we have hair cuts booked for Wednesday afternoon. We then, woo hoo, fly off Wednesday night- LOL- I m very excited!!!

I am a huge believer that travel is an essential part of life. I didn't fly on an aeroplane until I was 16 and I didn't leave this country until I was 26....so for me, it is really important that we give our kids the opportunity to travel. When they were little we travelled locally- you know- Bunbury, Busselton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Albany, Geraldton, Leeman etc. As they got older we travelled further- Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Broome. Now that they are that much older still- we are venturing overseas with them. I can't wait!!! I intend to take squillions of photos so stay tuned for photo overload when we return!!!

Anyway- I must go!!! It is getting late and I haven't spent much time tonight with my girls!!

I'll be back to update my Project 365 before we leave!!!

Love Janine xxx

Happy Easter Saturday!!!

Woo hoo- only one more sleep until the Easter Bunny arrives!!! LOL- 'chocolate overload'!!!!
He he he- I can't wait!!! :0)

We have now started the school holidays- yeee haaaaa!!
Actually we are two days in.......and YES- I'm loving them!!!

Good Friday was pretty low key in our house. We slept in and then slothed around in our jammies until lunch time- well I did anyway!!! Emma always gets dressed and Sarah quickly got dressed when Grace rang and invited her to the beach!!! So....Sarah spend the day at the beach with her friends Grace and Beth- in fact I didn't see her until she was dropped home about 9-45pm!!!
Emma and I had some 'us' time. Emma loves cooking so we make salmon patties together(yummo) and then she made Tinkerbell cupcakes. I also SCRAPPED!!! Woo hoo!!!

Here are my efforts-

This LO is for Lisa's sketch challenge over on the BOXX!! Lisa is the guest DT member for this month!!!


I still had all the 'Girl Friday' range on my desk so I did this layout...just because!!


I also complete my sketch LO for my Monday Scrappers class on Monday night(13th). Here is a sneak peek. Anyone is welcome to come and join the class- Monday night 6pm (W.A time) on the BOXX.

Not only will I share my sketch but I have some yummy flowers to show and give instructions for too!!

I've been keeping up-to-date with my Project 365 too-

April 3-


April 4-


April 5-

April 6-

April 7-

April 8-

Boy oh boy- this movie has been watched a zillion times already!!!! We love it!!

April 9-

April 10-

I have taken today's photo and am about to scrap it shortly. It is about a first for Sarah- stayed tuned!!

We are off to Penguin Island tomorrow for a family picnic. My Mum, Dad and brother are coming as well as Adam's folks, Aunty Lorraine, Roz, Keith, Kylara, Byron, Sarah & Georgia.

I'm sure I'll take a squillion photos!!!!! I'm really looking forward to it!

I hope your Easter Sunday is wonderful.

Woo hoo- only four more sleeps until we fly off to SINGAPORE!!!!

Love Janine xxx

Back again...with my news!

Do you remember this page??



It says that we were getting our passports sorted with the intention of an overseas holiday very soon.....

well........


we are off to SINGAPORE!!!!!

Woo hoo- I'm sooooo excited!!! I love holidays and I love travelling!! I am so thrilled to be taking my girls to experience a different culture!! I can't wait to take a squillion photos!!!

and we are going next week!!!

We fly out next Wednesday night (16th) and we are staying at the Holiday Inn Parkview which is right near Orchard Road!!!

I'm just a tad excited- can you tell???
I have already checked out a heap of places to visit and things to do however would love to hear any suggestions. We are there for 10 days so I hope to pack a heap of touristy things in!!!

Well that is my super exciting news- hope things are wonderful in your world.
Love Janine xxx

Happy Sunday!

Hello all!
Yet another busy week has zoomed by!! Term one is all but over...three more days at work for me, four more days at school for the girls- then HOLIDAYS!!!!!! YAY!!

We have had yet another busy weekend. The girls and I went down to watch the basketball grand final on Friday night- Grace's team won!!! I then dropped Emma off at a party she was going to and Sarah and I went to the Grace's house for dinner. Macca cooked the most delicious fish and prawns on the BBQ- yummo!!! We stayed there until it was time to pick up Emma.

Saturday morning was fantastic. The yacht club had a 'fun day' and Haydn invited Sarah to sail with him!! Sarah loved it and now is nagging me to start sailing next season. Emma didn't get to sail on any of the boats as she didn't have a life jacket. Kim's wonderful hubby eventually found her one and as all the boats had already left- Tom took Emma with him in the rescue boat - Emma had an absolute ball!! She loved every minute of it!! I actually think she had the best time out of all the kids!!! Thanks Tom!!!!

My girls still had acrobatics however after acro we went to Taylah's birthday party. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLAH!!!! It was at AquaJetty and Kim had hired the large inflatable obstacle course! It was awesome- I actually would love to have a go on it myself- all the kids loved it. We then had some afternoon tea and of course delicious birthday cakes before we headed home- very tired but very happy!

Today we spent the day at Adventure World. We went there with all the other families from Emma's basketball team as an end of season wind up. It was great. I took over 250 photos!!!! I also went on a heap of rides, water slides etc!!!! I love Adventure World!!
Here are just two photos from today- awwww, how cute is this beautiful koala!!!


My P365 is still going strong. Here are my latest pages-
March 29-


March 30-


March 31-


April 1-


April 2-


I'm off to bed now- I'm totally exhausted after all today's fun!

I'll be back in a few days with some super exciting news!!! I can't share yet as it isn't quite organized!!! Woo hoo!!!!!

Back soon,
Love Janine xxxx

Scrapboxx March Retreat!!

OK- as promised...finally a retreat review!
The retreat was AWESOME!!! This was the 5th Scrapboxx retreat I have been on and it was, without a doubt, the best...but then again, each retreat just gets better and better. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends and equally as wonderful to make new ones!

We left Friday morning. Kim and I travelled in convoy with Evana, Kelly, Kathleen, Kayla and Kylie. We arrived at about 1 o'clock and quickly settled into our rooms and claimed our 'scrap spots'. We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with 'old' friends and meeting new friends!!!

At 4pm I had my first class- a LO class with Karen Day. He he he- lots of other people have said this, so I will as well- Karen is SO much taller than I expected!! LOL! Anyway Karen's class was awesome.
Here is my LO-

I love Karen's style and I am thrilled to bits with my LO- Thanks Karen!!!

After Karen's class, we got dressed into our 'Black Friday' outfits. What a blast!!! Check out some of these costumes!!!

Fuddy having a chop of Donna!


Tammy!!!


Kim and I...or is it Me & Kim!!


Mardi & Nikala!


Fuddy!


Kareena!


Karen!


Gorgeous bunch aren't we????

Later in the evening we had our very chaotic and noisy tag swap! I love meeting everyone and seeing their tags but boy is it full-on!!!

Sheree and Kel instructed us in a 'make and take' -making a gorgeous fabric tag booklet to keep all our tags in! (ops -forgot to photograph that!!)

The rest of the night was filled with chatting, laughing, drinking, eating and maybe a little tiny bit of scrapping!!LOL!!

After breakfast on Saturday morning, I began a marathon of classes. Four classes back to back!!!
Mardi started us off with an awesome class 'Not just for the girls'. It was wonderful. I love Mardi's style and I love, love, love my completed LOs-


Thanks Mardi!!!!

Straight after Mardi's class, I did Nikala's 'Grow & Bloom' class. It was fantastic!! I love the LOs and the gorgoeus colours- YUMMO!!
Here are my LOs-



Beautiful aren't they??

We did have a break for lunch and then Sheree had us working very hard making the most gorgoeus inspirational file. The file is fabulous despite the fact that I punched my holes in the wrong cover-ops!

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous- Thanks Sheree!!!

Kim and I then did Karen's second class- we hadn't originally booked this class however when we saw the sensational LO- we squeezed our way into the class!!! My LO doesn't have photos yet but I do know which ones I am going to put on it!!!


Far out- classes keep us busy all day but it was worth it- I love all my LOs and all the classes were awesome!!!!

The rest of the night was filled with more chatting, eating, drinking, laughing and a tiny bit of scrapping!!!

I had no classes booked on the Sunday so I scrapped!
Over the weekend I completed five LOs for Sarah Gladman's bush fire appeal and two of the DT challenges.
Here are my challenge LOs-




You can see that I was sitting next to the talented Kathleen- I used some of her ink spray stuff. It was fun to use and I am really pleased with the results- Thanks Kathleen!

Here is the 'group' photo

and a couple more....

Kim and I and the gorgeous Boss Lady- Maria!


A self-portrait of Kim & I!!! Look at the beautiful view behind us!!!


Nikala, Mardi, Karen & Maria- see I told you Karen was TALL!!

Boo hoo- the whole retreat was over waaaay too quick but it was so much fun. I can't wait until the next one- roll on October!!

Fortunately Kim and I stayed over an extra night. We went out to a yummy dinner with Denise, Tess and Donna. It was great because I caught up big time with heaps of Esperance gossip from Tess and Donna. (I'm originally and Esperance girl- born and breed!)

Monday morning came around far too quickly however Kim and I met up with Denise in Margaret River for a delicious breakfast before our drive home!


So there you have it- my Scrapboxx retreat review!!

Phew- what a looong post!
Stay safe,
Love Janine xxx