Misunderstanding...

OK. So Rog did actually come home at the time he said - only I wasn't home. He went straight out again. When he got home three hours later and I told him how worried I had been, he gave me a big hug and said sorry. He's a sweetie. Then he went out with the boys and got home at 3am this morning. LOL.

Feeling like staying at home all day and scrapping, but have lunch at the brother and sister-in-law's then church tonight. Then the men's tennis final. Can't work out who I'm going to be behind... Federer is a big spunk, but Baghdatis is the most gorgeous thing! Should be an entertaining one.

K. Off to get organised. Happy Sunday :o)

Thoughts

Things I am thinking about today:

• How nice it is to hear the rain after a stretch of HOT weather
• I am happy that I have done my grocery shopping AND put it all away
• I get to have lots more hugs with Mia tonight when I go round to cook Caity a yummy prawn stirfry
• How yummy the new garlic and parmesan Kettle chips are
• I am slightly worried that Roger said he'd be home two hours ago and there is no sign of him. And he's not answering his mobile.
• I am over scrapbooking forums
• I am NOT over scrapbooking although I don't like the page I did last night
• I need to vacuum
• I love my new Olga Berg bag, but I love even more that I got it for half price:

Have a good weekend :o)

p.s. Rach - sorry no post box shot yet - it's POURING outside!

Introducing...

Mia Joy P.


Caity went in to have her waters broken yesterday morning, but all the rest was natural. No drugs. Awesome.

I was thinking two things the whole time: "wow" and "I don't think I could ever do this". It looked like seriously tough stuff. She was in another zone - couldn't talk, just did the contraction thing and fell asleep in between. No yelling, no screaming or swearing, just focus. Such a special moment when precious Mia was born, with the four of us girls on the double bed, crying and being amazed at the miracle that had just happened. 7 pounds 12 ounces, 54cm long. Beautiful little girl.

Since she was born at the hospital I work at, I went up for three big long hugs today. And will most likely do the same tomorrow. I love her to bits.

I am in awe.

TAGGED again

I admit, I almost forgot this tag. But I think a couple of people got me, so it must be done ;o)

4 jobs you've done:

Cashier at a very dodgy supermarket (Harry Heaths Budget Barn - LOL)

Service desk at Bunnings (I know what a dynabolt is)

One day loaning graduation outfits to RMIT graduates

Physio - at Frankston Hospital, Peter James rehab hospital, and now Angliss Hospital

4 movies you could watch over and over:

Back to the Future

Princess Bride

Love Actually

Moulin Rouge

4 place you have lived:

Mooroolbark

Lilydale

Boronia

The Basin

and yes, they are all within about 10 minutes of each other!!

4 tv shows you LOVE to watch:

Amazing Race

Survivor

Will and Grace

ER

4 places you have been on vacation:

Fiji

Vanuatu

Merimbula

Brampton Island

yup, I LOVE the beach!

4 websites you visit daily:

umm... about one hundred blogs

Scrapboxx

Hotmail

www.bom.gov.au

4 of your favourite foods:

perfectly cooked salmon fillet

lasagne

lindt chocolate balls

sour cream and onion pringles

4 places you would rather be right now:

having a nap with my hubby

on a beach... anywhere

watching my bud Caitlin give birth (yup, still no go)

having a massage

4 bloggers you are tagging:

nope... noone left... but feel free to do it if you're reading and haven't actually been tagged!

Finished work early today, and had lunch at a great little cafe with Caitlin. Had an awesome iced coffee - the first coffee I've had in about 2 weeks, so no wonder I'm feeling a bit perky!! Didn't really want to come home, because I knew I had to do the vacuuming and clean the bathroom before Mel and Caity come around tonight. Well... how much do I love Rog. A LOT at the moment! I walked in, thought the house looked a bit cleaner than when I left - he had done the vacuuming AND cleaned the bathroom. Even wiped the toilet down. It's an understatement to say that I was happy.

I should be paying bills now... but that can maybe wait until tomorrow. I have to clean the dining table off enough so that Mel actually has room to scrap. I've got it extended all the way out, and still have my stuff all over it. Caity always says she will scrap, but we haven't seen it yet, and I don't think we'll see her starting at 41 weeks pregnant!

Anyhow... off to have a shower - it's SO hot here today - and get onto the clearing! Hopefully will be productive tonight, but it will be all DT stuff, so I won't be able to share :o(

Happy Friday - YAY!

No baby, and no raspberry bullets today. Hoping for both tomorrow.

New obsession

Today I had this big craving for chocolate bullets (you know, the ones with licorice inside), so I stopped off at the dodgy supermarket near work while I was dropping a parcel at the post office. And there were NO chocolate bullets in sight. Anywhere. So... just as I'm about to give up, I spot a packet of raspberry bullets. And my tastebuds get all excited so I have to buy them. And they were so yummy! So yummy, in fact, that I had to eat the whole packet. I might have to buy another pack tomorrow.

Still no baby, and I'm due to go away for the weekend, so I'm hoping for some action in the next two days. Please send labour vibes Caitlin's way ;o)

Bump update

Caity just rang to tell me she's heading to the shops to get some castor oil. She really wants that baby out - NOW!

But more excitingly - she wants me to be present at the birth! What a huge honour! I've never seen a birth close up, and to share it with her (and her mum and cousin!) is going to be amazing. Hoping now that she gives birth at a sane hour of the day ;o)

Friday night

So, Roger is currently telling our cat that 'mummy doesn't love you' because I've just come home from a girlfriend's place and jumped straight on the computer (just in case anyone updated their blog since 4pm this afternoon - which they did - yay!).

I popped over to Caity's place to take some pics of her very preggy tummy. She's a day overdue, and is officially over it. We ate McDonalds for dinner and then went on a walk to try to induce some movement. No luck.

Bit disappointed with the pics - got there too late and the light was a bit funny. Here's my faves:



She's so gorgeous - still so slim, no stretch marks, wearing normal clothes not maternity. She's amazing. And just about to bring a second baby into the world as a single mum (long story). Champion.

Was planning to scrap tonight, but Rog went to bed early because he's working tomorrow, and I hate being up by myself. So I'll probably jump into bed, and try to get up at a decent time tomorrow to get things done. Or sleep until midday. Either way I'm happy.

Apologies

Just wanted to make a quick apology for my lack of commenting on other people's blogs lately. I've been making an effort to stay off the computer once I get home, so have been doing most of my blog reading at work. BUT, work has blocked the commenting part on a lot of the blogs. So SORRY! I am still reading, and I'll comment when I can!

Pretty much over the cold, but still pretty tired. Not sleeping well (but that's not a surprise - I'm a bit of an insomniac). Had a lovely nap this afternoon. And now feeling like getting into my scrapping again. Had a bit of a break for a few days, and my inspiration is coming back. Got my photos back from Beauphotos - and they did a great job! Looking forward to sending some more off. So much easier than playing with the silly touch screens at kmart.

And now, because there is a huge risk of me babbling on and becoming boring, I'm going. Happy scrapping - particularly to those lucky enough to be in Kim's online class tonight! Have fun!

Wow

Monday, Monday (la la, la la la la).

Didn't get much sleep last night. Rogie has my cold, and snored. A lot. So my usual *happy* Monday self was a whole lot worse.

And on my daily blog rounds I got all caught up in the Kraft fiasco. LOL. Which I'm feeling completely out of because I can't get my hands on any damn Kraft cardstock! I'm amazed that there are people who obviously feel so strongly about the 'wrong' and 'right' way to scrap. I often copy ideas, product use, techniques from work I admire, and know that plenty of people do the same. Isn't that what it's about. If I had to think up an original idea every time I sat down to scrap, I know this darned hobby/lifestyle would be very short-lived. And dammit, when I finally track down some Kraft, I'm gonna USE it. Hmmmm... I wasn't really going to comment on all that, but I guess i did. Just my humble opinion.

Also, noticed on Nic's blog that her store in Moe is now ONLINE and looking for a design team. Someone please stop me. I DO NOT have time for another DT. But I am addicted to the whole application process! And I would LOVE to work with Nic. Check out her pages in the gallery on the Scrap to the Max site - amazing! What have I got to lose, anyway. Just my sanity.

Had a quiet weekend. Very quiet. And it was GREAT. I'm so antisocial these days, but I'm so loving sleeping in, lazing around the house, scrapping bits and pieces.

Also waiting for one of my best friends to go into labour. She's due any minute with her second bub, and it's so exciting. She's hoping for a *little* girl, after having a *big* boy. I think two boys under two is a bit much for her to think of, specially as a single mum. She's a brave one!

Oh, and before I go, a shameless plug for Beauphotos. I uploaded some photos to them yesterday afternoon (including a heap of 8x10 enlargements for $1.25 each - bargain!) and got an email at 10am this morning saying they had printed them and popped them in the post. If the quality is as good as what their reputation suggests, I'll be a very happy girl.

Yay!

Thanks to Helen's pointers on her blog I finally fixed my banner (and thanks to Roz for the inspiration to change it!) I had a little play with brushes - not too impressed with the effort, but it'll do for now.

Back to work now.

Teaching

Hmmm... being a bit blog obsessed lately. Seem to have all this stuff to talk about, and this blog is always here to listen. Must remind myself that blog is not a person (although, thank goodness, the people who read it are - thanks!!)

Anyway... been thinking a lot about teaching lately - just scrapbooking, nothing more. It almost seems like a natural progression. I've got to a point where I think my skills are good enough to consider passing them on, I have a knack of making things easy for other people to understand, and teaching has always been a love of mine.

The reason I have begun to think about this lately, is that next month I am dropping some hours at work. This has been planned for a long time - part of my job is a maternity leave position, and that woman is coming back to work and taking some of my hours. I will still be working 30 hours a week, but that means a significant pay cut, and I'd like to keep the funds up while I can.

So, I have a couple of questions for anyone who has experience with scrapbook teaching. Is it actually financially viable - is it worth the effort? How do you decide what to teach? Does teaching scrapbooking make you love it less??!!

I'm sure I'll have lots more questions later on, especially if I go ahead with this. A big craft store is opening in Melbourne next month, and they're looking for teachers. I could be completely crazy - I really don't need anything more on my plate, but it would be nice to use my few more hours a week doing something I love.

Off to scrap - another darned layout with handsewing... will I ever learn??

Intentions

So, I've had a little bit of a think about these, and I'm finding it hard. I think because I know I don't keep resolutions (or intentions, or whatever you want to call them). And I'm finding it hard to write 'intentions' over 'resolutions'. They end up coming out the same to me. Grrrr.

Above all though, in life and in scrapping (funny how I still keep the two apart), the word I'm longing to bring to reality is simplicity. Blame Ali Edwards if you want (she's the one who started this intentions thing after all!) I just got to feeling so overwhelmed towards the end of last year, and it was a horrible feeling. I do manage to complicate things so much, so I need to consciously make an effort to simplify my life, one step at a time. The temptation is to do it all at once, which kinda defeats the purpose. Bit by bit, this year I'll get there. I hope!

Anyways... back to intentions. Let me try.

• I intend to declutter my house and get rid of stuff I just don't need.
• I intend to continue to cut down commitments to a point where I can happily fulfil the ones I have.
• I intend to learn as much about parenting as I can from books and from mothers I admire so I can be the best mother I can when the time comes.
• I intend to make scrapbooking part of my life rather than the separate entity I try to make it.
• I intend to get of this computer and live in the real world more!

There. Sigh of relief. I'm tired and snotty (from my cold, not my mood). Had a good day for reasons which I will share with you in the near future. Enjoying reading your blogs - the new year brings out all sorts of stuff which makes for interesting reading - thanks! Looking forward to a quiet weekend. Declined two offers to go away. Need to be at home. Get well. Sleep. Just be. Good night, girls.

Intending to write intentions...

Yup... so it's the 2nd of Jan and my intentions are still unwritten. LOL. I have an excuse though - I'm bloomin' sick. Blah. Had a sore throat on New Years Eve, a rotten sleep that night because of the heat (and Rog didn't come to bed until 4.30) and woke up with a horrible virusy sore throat, achy body, fatigue combo. Spent the whole day lying down, either in bed or on the couch. The sniffles started last night. Feeling a bit better today, but I do hate having a cold in summer!

Felt well enough today to get onto a bit of scrapping. One more layout to do for FK this month, then onto next months. And I am keen to scribble down some 'intentions', whether I scrap them or not. Lots to look forward to this year - but also lots of changes which I really want to stay motivated and positive about.

I was reading Nat's blog, and she had done a rundown of 2005 which got me thinking about it. It was such a strange year. I'm very glad it's over, but I think I learnt so much and grew so much last year. I'm starting 2006 at a very different place than last year.

In 2005
... we realised how much we hate renovating - LOL!
... we lost a precious angel which made us realise how much we want to be parents
... we went on three holidays - OMG, no wonder we're broke!!!
... we cut down on commitments to make more time for us
... we went to lots of weddings!
... we became uncle and aunty for the first time

And that's got me thinking about those intentions again. Off to brainstorm. Back later.

Happy New Year

Morning all... welcome to 2006. It's 2.30 am, I'm still up, and I'm so tired that I don't really know what I'm doing any more.

May this year hold fulfilled intentions, realised dreams and blessing beyond belief for you all.

Did I mention it's still 35 degrees in Melbourne and there's no way I'm getting to sleep tonight?

xxx