Better update before next year ....

I can't believe how quickly the time passes ..... i'm always popping in to read everyone elses blog but rarely sit and take the time to update my own ... i really hope to improve this for 2010.

Although .... i did try and update back in Nov and blogger wouldn't co-operate, so in the end i just gave up.

I'll catch up in point form.

* Went to a concert in the vineyards with friends, atmasphere and company was fab but the main act (band) was very ordinary. At least the weather was kind and wasn't too hot.
* Had a wonderful weekend away with the girls at the Scrapbook'n'bits Retreat. Here is a pic of the layouts we created in my workshop.




* We attended a few parties in Dec for a 50th Wedding Anniversary & a 40th .... at both we caught up with old friends we haven't seen for quite a few years. Always great to catch up! 2010 will see lots of 40th birthday parties amongst our friends (but not me .... i have a little longer to go he he ) .... that will mean seeing lots of old friends and reminiscing!

* DH started a new job .... we are really happy with him being fortunate to get this opportunity .... now just to re-adjust to new rosters etc. It's all good!

* Blake finished his first year of high school .... hard to believe [sigh]. We attended his end of year awards ceremony and were very thrilled that he received 4 awards (3 being subject scholastic awards for being in top 5% of his year) ... very proud!

* Lots of Christmas Cheer and parties throughout December .... although i whinge about being so rediculously busy etc .... i really do love Christmas.

.... and then it was CHRISTMAS ....

We were all very spoilt and had a lovely day. Just hard to believe it is all over in the blink of an eye and another year rolls on.

I will share some photos soon (taken with my new Xmas present camera [wink]) ...

Well, here's hoping this post will upload (not like the last one).

Last but not least ..... to my beautiful niece (in the top LO above) .... sending birthday wishes for yesterday (26th Dec) ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! xx

Have a great new year's everyone. I hope 2010 brings you a year of happiness, good health and all your dreams come true :O)

Julie xx

Time for some Summer scrapp'n !!

The weather is heating up and we're in the mood for some

SUMMER SCRAPP'N ...
COME & JOIN US !

Runnin' up that hill ....

We are back into the school routine for the last term ... wow, Blake's first year of high school is almost over .... he'll be borrowing the keys to the car before we know it!! [screech] Now, that's a scary thought !!

The two weeks of school holidays were a lovely break from routine; however, my work schedule was more hectic than ever and my grand plan of having the first week off (DH had a week off also) so we could duck away in the van for a week sadly never came to fruitition [sigh] ... in fact i barely spent time at home and my days stretched out to near 12 hour days.

Not to worry .... i did manage 2 days off in the 2nd week and we spent time up at Nelson Bay. Such a gorgeous place ... only an hour from home but always feels like another world away!

Whilst there we went to the new 'Shark & Stingray Centre' ... what an awesome place. You can feed the sharks & stingrays from the side of the large pool or you can get in with them!! Yep, right in the thick of it all .... which is exactly what my guys did!!

You have a choice of wearing waders or a wet suit .... my guys chose to wear the waders over their clothes .... very attractive LOL!

Then it was into the water ..... (i probably should have mentioned that the stingrays are "de-barbed" so no danger apparently) ...

oh, and the sticks you can see in the photos are to feed them .... not to fend them off !! LOL !!






Then there was this rather large lady ... the photos really don't justify her size .... she was huge ... but harmless apparently ....

and i just had to include this next photo he he cause if you didn't know any better, you'd think Blake was about to be eaten !!!

It truly was a great experience ... my guys just loved it but next time plan to wear a wet suit so they can get a little more "up close & personal" ..... i think i'll volunteer for camera duty again LOL!

The weather has really started to warm up this week and whilst i am not a fan of hot weather i do love long pleasant afternoons.

On Thursday afternoon we headed to the waterfront and enjoyed some fish & chips for tea.

The boys kicked the ball around the park for a while and as the sun went down it was time for home.

We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

and before i go ... just a quick reminisce .... this weekend 12 months ago we arrived home from our holiday in America .... wow, there's that 'time flying by' thing again!!

This weekend is very laid back with no plans & nowhere we need to be ... hope you are enjoying your weekend too!!

Keep smiling :O)

JULIE x

... and 3 months later

WOW .... i can't believe it has been almost 3 months since i updated. Where has the time gone? Why does it feel like it is getting faster? Why do i feel like each week is geting busier? Actually .... crazy busy??!

I've even had to grab my diary so i can recap ...

Rewind to July ...

Just after my last post we jumped on a plane (my sister & I and the kids) and flew up to QLD to meet up with Mum & Dad (who had been away travelling for some months) and we all spent a week together at Bribie Island. What a lovely place. Our units were fab and great position ... at the end of the main street and opposite the pier/waterfront ... Gorgeous!




We had a few days enjoying Bribie and a few days of outings. One outing was to Eumundi Markets and the Ginger Factory at Buderim (which now also incorporates the Super Bee). It was very interesting finding out about all sorts of things to do with ginger, the bee information session and the honey tasting. They also have an attraction called "Overboard" which is a boat ride through an animated 'Gingerbread Man' adventure ... too cute!






Upon returning home we 'hit the ground running' as August flew by with work, school excursions, hosting a trivia night for the local pre-school, and organising for our annual snow trip.

Our week in the snow was once again a fantastic time with 10 other families ... yep 40 of us !

Our first day on the snow was a bit of a shock to the system with almost "white-out" conditions ....





This certainly didn't stop everyone having a great time and the kids were super enthusiastic and energetic as usual. Blake learnt to snowboard this year and joined in on the action with DH!



After the first day the weather turned glorious .... beautiful clear skies, perfect snow weather (minus the snow IYKWIM .... LOL!!).



We came home from the snow and barely had time catch-up on everything, unpacked, washed and re-packed and headed off to Gloucester for a 3 day weekend. DH competed in an adventure race thing whilst i spent a few days relaxing. Although it was hectic going away again in such a short time, it was lovely to get away in our van as we hadn't used it for 18 months .... that's that 'time flying by' thing that i mentioned earlier!! I took my camera away but took not one photo [shock horror] ... i simply couldn't be bothered!

Since then we have had one other night away, i have hosted another Trivia Night, work has been busy busy, and everything else has been the usual hectic routine ..... i am soooo looking forward the the upcoming long weekend. We are not going away ... it will be lovely to have a few consecutive days at home ... !

School holidays start from this weekend too .... yipeeee !!

Oh ... and better not forget to mention that hideous dust storm we had last week ... how bizzaar ...

These pics are straight from the camera .... no tweaking (except for blanking the number plate on DH's car).
I took these pics at about 7.30am .... thank goodness it lifted as the day went on but what a mess was left behind. Then of course, just after we started to make headway with cleaning everything .... a repeat on Saturday (luckily no where near as heavy) .... grrrr .... my thoughts go out to anyone that lives in areas where this is a common occurrence .... it would drive me 'round the twist!!





Well that pretty much brings me back up to date again (a very condensed version anyway ... LOL).

Just before i go ..... a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISH to the lovely Miss Jane !!

Promise i will try and be back before another 3 months passes he he ...

Keep smiling :O)

3 Weeks Worth!

Gosh, i'm sure it gets faster every month .... the days fly, before you know it it is the end or start of another week, then a new month rolls around .... crazy!

It seems like forever since i've updated but feels like i just haven't had the chance to sit for half an hour and think about what i've been doing for the past 3 weeks and put it into words.

Two weekends ago my sister (Karen) and i went on a road trip to Tamworth and joined a fab bunch of ladies for a scrapbooking retreat. Met lots of new scrapbooking friends, had lots of laughs, experienced some good ole' fresh (or should i say freezing) country air, got a bit of scrapbooking done and generally had a great time.

Here are two of the LO's i completed:





This one was using items from my stash ... always good to find goodies that you forgot you even owned.


I love this new Cosmo Cricket Early Bird range ... particularly because it can be utilized for boy or girl LO's.




After a weekend away the "back to reality" swings into effect real fast .... we were all hanging out for the school hols and a break from exams, routines etc. This last term has seemed very long. But it all seemed wothwhile when Blake's school report arrived on Monday great results and pleasing comments. We are very proud of his achievements for his first (half) year at high school.

Next week we (my sister, myself and the kids) are flying up to Brisbane to meet up with Mum & Dad whom have been travelling for a few months .... will be great to see them and they are so looking forward to seeing the kids.

The following weekend is the BIG Scrapbook'n'Bits CYBER RETREAT WEEKEND .... check this out:



all the details are HERE

I will be hosting a workshop to create this little bit of cuteness ...



Have a great weekend ....

Keep smiling ....

JULIE x

Join us for Some Fun!

All the details HERE

Hope you can join us for some fun!

But wait there's more .....

Something else is coming ....



Looks interesting heh ...... stay posted !!

SATURDAY

I love Saturdays .... for me it signifies the end of another busy week and love waking up on Saturday morning knowing it is a day off (well if you disregard sport, washing, house cleaning and some Saturdays that i work), i love that is day one of a two day break and there is still another day to go .... i'm probably sounding a bit random so i'll leave it at that !! LOL!

But, yes i do love weekends and especially this weekend cause on Sunday this is where i'm spending my day ...



If you live in the Newcastle area and are looking for a scrapp'n day out .... come and join us.

On a different note, the lovely Ceci has tagged me to participate in this little bit of fun .... so here goes ...



8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Weekends
2. Holidays
3. Family Time
4. Lunching with friends
5. Scrapbooking
6. Pay Day
7. Spare time to myself
8. Visiting the hairdressers


8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Drove Blake to School
2. Went to Work
3. Drove to Newcastle
4. Gained some new clients
5. Went to a tupperware party
6. Drank lots of coffee
7. Had a blood test
8. Went to bed waaaay to late


8 Things I wish I could Do

1. Stick to a diet
2. Have an endless suppy of money
3. More Holidays
4. Buy a BMW
5. More time for scrapping
6. More Holidays
7. More hours in a day
8. More Holidays


8 Things Or Shows I've Watched Lately

1. Cold Case
2. Underbelly
3. The news
4. Today show
5. RPA
6. A Current Affair
7. Blogs
8. Emails


8 beautiful Blogs I am tagging....

Niq
Jolene
Cherie
Kell F
Kell C
Ness
Nat
Felicity

Have a great weekend everyone!

JULIE x

We Went Bush ...

We're home from a fantastic weekend away with friends.

We travelled up past Eccleston to Tristania Tops and stayed in a farm cottage tucked away beside the Alwyn River ... aaaaah, nothing like good ol' fresh country air!





We all had a great time and especially the kids .... a whole weekend without television, playstations etc. .... just lots of bike riding, mud, boardgames, mud, a cool dip in the river (to wash off all the mud), lots of toasting marshmellows around the campfire, spotlighting, eating .... and .... throw in a bit more mud for good measure!! LOL!






Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend ....

Cheers,
JULIE x

I blinked and ....

before you know it we are at the end of another month! Crazy!!

Other than trying to juggle the laundry in this very wet weather, i have been busy scrapping with lots of the yummy new Collage Press range recently arrived at SnB ... this range is just devine and i have looooved playing with it.

I can't reveal my projects yet, but will share a few sneak peeks with you (just promise you won't tell the boss! LOL!)







Tonight we had some friends pop over for a quick catch up and pizza for tea ... they got a bit of surprise when they were met at the front door by a nasty little critter .... a funnel web spider eeeek! We have popped it in a container and will take into the ambulance station in the morning (i've been tole this is what we should do??). Have never seen one of them around here before (actually i have only ever seen them at reptile parks etc in display cabinets) so i just hope he has lost his way and is just a stray ..... hope the rest of the family aren't hiding anywhere closeby !!

A few months ago i signed up to be part of a Round Robin Layout Swap organised by Kim Archer. The swap has been lots of fun with the layouts 'coming and going' and all of us adding our bits & pieces along the way. This week, my completed layout came home ...



Janelle, Jenny, Kerry & Mardi .... a BIG thankyou for my completed LO (i love it)! and also a BIG thanks to Kim for her organising ... it was great !

Hope you are all having a relaxing weekend ....

Cheers,
JULIE x

a few layouts ...

Just a quick post tonight.

As mentioned, i did actually get a few layouts scrapped whilst away for the weekend and thought i would share .....







Counting down 'til the weekend ... a quite restful weekend!

One weary little scrapper ....

Yes, i am one weary little scrapper !

I've just spent a wonderful 3 days/3nights full of scrapping, chatting and fun, fun, fun at the SnB Retreat with this wonderful bunch of ladies (well this is most of them - there a few missing) ...



Amongst the chatting & eating we did do lots of scrapping ...



did i mention we had a little bit of fun ...



i taught a workshop or two ...



We created this 'Moments in Time' album ...
(these are a few of the pages in the album)





and this quick layout ...



I also created some other layouts but haven't taken photos of them yet .... and .... you guess it ... i'm too weary to do tonight!! Will share tommorrow.

I got home from the Retreat yesterday afternoon and was in bed at 6.45pm (i think this may have been the result of way too many late nights not in bed before 1am and throw a 4.30am in there = 1 tired little scrapper!! LOL!) ....

Hope you all had a great weekend ...

Keep Smiling :O)

JULIE x