COME & JOIN US !

i will be hosting this workshop at the
SCRAPBOOK'n'BITS "MEGA SCRAP DAY for BREAST CANCER" fundraiser ... details HERE



This will be a fun-filled day of scrapbooking & activities to raise money for breast cancer research ...


Saturday, 27th October 2007 : 10am to 9pm
Wangi Wangi RSL Club (Watkins Rd, Wangi)

Hope to see you there!

JULIE :O)

WE'RE HOME!

THE SNOW BUNNIES HAVE RETURNED!


We had a fab holiday at the snow ... lots of fun, great friends and lots of snow ... just fantastic!

26 of us set out last Friday for our annual pilgrimage to the snowfields!

A few of the kids were beginners but took to snow skiing very quickly; and the others achieved higher levels and skiied many new slopes for the first time including skiing across from one resort to the other.

Blake had a wow of a time and here are a few pics (from the many hundred i took) of him ...




this is one of my favourite photos of Blake ...




DH was like a kid in a lolly shop with his new snowboard ...






The weather was very kind to us and a couple of days were spent in continuous soft falling snow ... this was a real treat!






I am so blessed to have such a wonderful bunch of friends (not all of whom are present in this photo); but to be able holiday with our families for a week and have such a wonderful time, we are very lucky!



Some positive notes from our holiday:

* We sighted 2 famous people on our snow adventures ... Franky J. Holden & Keiren Perkins!
* We didn't lose anyone!
* No broken bones!


One negative note:

* When 26 people live together in a lodge for a week and one person (which happened to be my Blake) gets sick with a 24hr vomiting & diorrhea bug, nearly everyone gets to have a turn ... sigh :(

Anyway, won't keep you any longer and will be back to post soon with some other 'bits & pieces' ... hope you have all had a good week & great weekend.

Talk soon,
JULIE x

Quick Post 'til Next Week ...

Well here i am again ....

It is 12.45am and we are due to leave in about 4 hours for the snow ... looks like i'll have to sleep on the way!

Just a quick post to say "hi" and "bye" til next week 'cause we are off to the snow for a whole week ... 26 of us! WooHoo, lots of fun! and look forward to sharing some pics with you when we get back.

Now, a quick catch-up for the last week ...

Thank you to Julie Love for my 'cutie patootie' little cupcake i received as a RAK ... it is amazing how 'life like' it is! and ... receiving a little cake in the mail inspired me to do some baking.

Blake and i had a lovely time on Sunday afternoon making 'Caramel Baby Cakes'!




These are one of the varieties in the new 'White Wings Baby Cakes' range ... they come in a full kit (cake mix, icing, patty cases & garnish).

They are only tiny but very Yuuuummmmy!

Last night we made another batch (Cookies & Cream Baby Cakes) for Blake to take to school today for his cake stall ... not to mention the few that we saved for after breakfast dessert ... naughty !

Other than baking, i have been working, working, working to have everything super organised so i can have the week off ... phew!

Have managed to do a scrapping project but can't share with you just yet 'cause it will be a little Christmas workshop at the upcoming SCRAPBOOKnBITS Breast Cancer Mega Scrap Day Fundraiser.

Click HERE for details about joining us for a mega day of scrapbooking for a wonderful cause ~or~ if you can't come along to the mega scrap day, join in for the cybercrop ... you might even like to do both ... mmm ... decisions, decisions !! LOL!

Well, so much for the quick post!! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by ... have a great weekend, an even better week ... and as they say ... "break a leg"!

Cheers,
JULIE

A LITTLE BIT OF SCRAPBOOKING

Finally got a chance to do a little bit of scrapbooking ... just a simple LO ... but i absolutely love this photo of Blake & my mum!




Nothing much else happening ... but counting down 'til we go to the snow next Friday ... yipeeeeee!

Really loving Australian Idol but a little surprised at some of the contestants that got through ... but then again, who am i to judge, i can't sing to save myself!! LOL!

Enjoy the rest of your week.

JULIE x

A BUSY WEEKEND

Wow ... it has been a very busy weekend and i'd like to say "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY" to all you wonderful Dad's out there!!

Our day got of to a slow start and we had a BIG sleep in (which was soooo overdue); so no fancy breakfast this morning but we headed out for a drive and had a lovely lunch (along with my mum & dad). One of those lovely lazy days!!





Friday night was a 'girls night out' in Sydney to see Priscilla ...



OMG, it was absolutley fantastic!
The costumes and 'the bus stageset' were just awseome ... so clever! I love stageshows/musicals ... and ... nothing better that a night out with the girls! After the show we had a bit of a wonder around the Casino (that place is like another world in it's own), and finished the night off with some scrummy midnight coffee & cake!

Last night i hosted a trivia night for our local pre-school. It is the most gorgeous little community pre-school ... this is the pre-school Blake went to when he was little and i love 'doing my bit' to help them raise money each year.

Only 12 more sleeps 'til we go to the snow ... woohoo!!!

Have a great week everyone,

Keep Smiling :)

JULIE x

FRIDAY ALREADY ...

Another week gone .....

Well, my boys will be home from camp today and i am sad to say that i was hardly home whilst they were away and didn't even get a scrap of scrapbooking done {sigh}! Never mind ...

All my time seems to be taken up with work at the moment ... busy, busy, busy!

But, speaking of work, i had the loveliest surprise yesterday ...

I have a fairly involved job and unfortunately it is not always friendly; and, like a lot of things, people are very quick to complain or get irrate if they are not happy with something or things don't go their way ... but, every now and then, someone shows their appreciation for your assistance, service of whatever.

Yesterday morning, a courier arrived at the office with a big box addressed to me ... i was really puzzled and trying to rack my brain within a few short seconds whilst signing the receipt slip as to what it could be. Have I ordered anything lately? Scrapbooking supplies don't come in a box this big? It is not my birthday?????

This is what it was .....



A big basket filled to the brim with wine, cookies, chocolate, cashews, coffee, mints, merangues, chutney etc. etc. ... WOW!
This was sent to me by a someone i have assisted through work as a
'thank you' ... I was very humbled and flattered at the same time.

Busy weekend ahead .... off to Sydney tonight to see 'Priscilla', doing a Trivia Night tomorrow night for the local pre-school, Father's Day on Sunday ...

Have a great weekend everyone!!

JULIE x

Looks Like Spring, Feels Like Spring .....

How gorgeous has the weather been over the past few days ... I wish it was like this all year ... it makes you feel lively and puts a "spring" in your step !!





To add some more cheer to the day, click HERE and join in on some guessing competition fun at SCRAPBOOKnBITS!

My boys (DH & DS)left for school camp this morning ...




Yes ... that is my son cheering through the bus window ... a tad excited you might say! LOL!!

No husband or child ... 3 days of silent bliss in my house = lots of scrapbooking & out with the girls tonight to see Chuck & Larry !!!

Keep smiling :O)

JULIE x

LAZY SATURDAY

All this week i have sooo wanted to have a 'lay in' ... finally, Saturday came ... no sport, no work, pretend there's no housework ... we had a BIG sleep in!!

Spent the morning pottering around the house still in our pj's, did a little washing, had a shower and got dressed with just enough time to get to the butchers before close. Other than that, it has been a very lazy Saturday!

I did also do a teensy weensy bit of scrapping to finish off the LO i done with Jen Hall at the SnB retreat last weekend.

Here it is ...




Lots of dimension and loved using the watercolours ... always great to try something different ... thanks Jen!


Off to exert myself and cook something yummy for dinner ... and ... i think i can feel some more scrapping coming on !!!

Have a great weekend everyone.

JULIE x

THURSDAY ALREADY ...

Gosh the week's go fast ...

Had the time to have a bit of a play on my blog tonight and changed the music clip (seems to take a while to setup. DH and i sat and watched a DVD last night (bit of a rare occasion lately)and it was just one of those 'easy to watch' lovely stories - 'Broken Bridges' featuring Toby Keith (country music singer), Kelly Preston (married to John Travolta) and Lindsey Haun (an unknown who sings this beautiful song i have uploaded on my blog).

Next week Blake goes on school camp for 3 days & 2 nights ... and ... Mark is going too (as a parent helper)! That means, i will be a bachelorette for 3 days which is sort of exciting but sort of a bit weird too. Our little family doesn't really split-up to do things very often, we are usually all together!
However, i am sure i will find something to occupy myself ... mmmm ... scrapbooking, movie with a girlfriend, out for coffee .... oh the list goes on !!!! LOL!

We are also counting down the days (3 weeks to go) 'til we leave for our annual snow holiday. There are 26 of us going down for the week ... should be lots of fun. We have been keeping updated with the snow report each night on TV ... it's looking great! Can't wait!!

Glad tommorrow is Friday and sooooo looking forward to a quiet weekend (maybe with a little scrapbooking thrown in!!!) LOL!

Be Good. Keep Smiling.

JULIE x

HUGE weekend !!!!!

Home from 'SnB' Scrap Retreat .... Congrats & thanks to Karen for a great weekend filled with lots of goodies, games, giveaways, scrapbooking, classes, chatting, new friends etc. etc. etc.....

Mine was also a very busy weekend ...

I sacrificed Saturday morning at Scrap camp to be at Broadmeadow for soccer with Blake. His team had reached the semi-final and DH is the coach ... so, priorities prevailed and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

What a heart stopper ... their team was down 1 nil for nearly all the game and 15 seconds before full time (yes, exactly 15 seconds)we scored!!!
OMG !!!
Then they played and extra 10 mins each way ... still a draw!

Then .... the one thing i have always dreaded ... a PENALTY SHOOT OUT!

Both teams went through the five selected players to attempt at goal ... the result was 1 goal each ... still a draw .......

Then the deal is that they go 'kick for kick' until someone misses ....

we lost :(

Never mind ... someone has to be the winnner & someone the loser ... it just wasn't meant to be.

But i must say, our team are a wonder bunch of kids and their sportsmanship was supreme! and ... congrats to Cooks Hill for an equally deserved win!!
Furthermore, the parents from the opposing team were great people too ... when it came to the penalty shoot out, parents from both teams ended up being mingled together and the general consensis (sp?) was that we wished each other well and just felt sorry for the kids having to be put through such "nail biting" stuff!!

Good luck to Cooks Hill in next week's Final!!

I got back to the retreat at about 2.30pm and time for some serious scrapbooking!!

Unfortunately i missed 2 of my classes (1 with Jen & 1 with Kim), but not to worry 'cause i have my kits and can put the projects together in my own time.

Just have a few finishing touches to be completed on the LO i done with Jen Hall this morning and will share soon ... she's such a clever chicken and i lots of fun experimenting with the watercolours and doodling!

I did get a few LO's finished and have to say that i am pretty chuffed with the new Cherry Arte papers i used ... such lovely papers for boy LO's!




To all you wonderful new scrapbooking friends (and my awesome regular buddies) ... thanks for a fab weekend!

Will share more soon ... can hardly keep my eyes open!!!

JULIE x

AS PROMISED !!

Here are pics of the Maya Road chipboard album i done for our cruise pics ...

a lot of different styles in one album ...
and just adore those 'Love Elsie' papers !!









Now ... onto other blogger business i haven't tended to ...

Thank you to Cherie for tagging me to be a



and ...

PAY IT FORWARD CHALLENGE

I was lucky enough to be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on Kellie's blog for the PAY IT FORWARD CHALLENGE!
I will receive a hand made gift from this very talented chicky......... how cool!

- it must keep going forward so ....
the first three people to comment here (who would like to be invovled in the Pay It Forward Challenge) will receive a handmade gift from me. All you have to do is keep the fun challenge going by agreeing to create three handmade gifts for three more people (with in the next 12 months)

What fun!

Keep smiling :O)
JULIE x

MEGA CATCH-UP

The past few weeks has been like a whirlwind ... between trivia night's, sickness, organising a new office ... add the normal daily & weekly routines of work, school, housework, sport etc ... phew!

This will be a mega catch-up post ... so here goes:




I have finally got my butt into gear and re-charged the camera batteries so i could download the photos i took whilst we were at Numbucca a few weeks ago.

Such a beautiful place ... I love the Nth Coast ... perhaps our grass roots stay with us; as we orginally came from Urunga (near Coffs Harbour).

I got up early to use the bathroom and peeked out the front door of our cabin to check on the weather outlook for the day ... and what was right out my front door ... this beautiful sunrise over the waterfront!

Must have looked a real sight in my PJ's out with the camera at the 'crack of dawn' but didn't want to miss a photo opportunity ... perhaps we need a sign "scrapbooker" to pop on our foreheads at times like these so people understand our bizarre behaviour when armed with a camera! LOL!

Later we had morning tea and i took these pics of my mum, dad & my boy (Blake).




On a different note ... our family has been sick, sick, sick with that rotten flu like virus that is spreading around at the moment. I was home sick a few days last week (felt like i could have easily stayed in bed for a week but too much happening at work to be away for a length of time). I think i slept more in three days than i had in the past three weeks. Feeling quite fine now but just have an annoying cough that won't seem to budge :(
Unfortunately my dad and my little man are now suffering the same fate . Blake has been home from school this week! Lots of love, attention & tissues and hopefully they'll be back on track in no time. I was talking to Blake's teacher yesterday and apparantly there are lots of children away from school at the moment ... every 2nd person i talk to is sick or has already had a turn.
To all those out there feeling under the weather ... Get Well Soon!

In amongst all the chaos over the last week or two i have found time to do a little scrapbooking ... have to find time for scrapbooking as it keeps me sane!!
I have almost finished an album (Maya Road chipboard album)for our cruise photos/memories and hope to share in the next day or so.

On an even better note ... just 10 more sleeps 'til the SCRAPBOOKnBITS weekend retreat. Really looking forward to a weekend away and lots of scrapbooking, doing some projects with Jen Hall & Kim Archer, and meeting some people IRL that chat on the forum.

I am also counting down the weeks 'til we go to the Snow! It should be a great year with the fantastic snow fall they have had to date. A few weeks ago i picked up my new ski boots ... yep, my very own custom moulded ski boots ... no more sore feet or ill-fitting hire boots!
There are 26 of us going this year ... fun, fun, fun!

Well, i've run out of steam ... this might do for now but i promise i will try really hard to come back and post in the next day or so!

Keep smiling,
JULIE x

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB

A BIG 3 YEAR OLD!

This cute little man (my nephew) 'Jacob' is 3 today!

Gosh how time flies ... and he is very excited about starting Pre-School in a few weeks!

Well the last week and a bit has been a bit of a blur .... very very busy leading up to last weekend getting everything organised for our school's Wild West Trivia Night. It was a great night, lots of fun, loads of laughter, some amazing costumes and a great result with nearly $4000 raised for our school!

Busy this week getting ready to do it all again this weekend ... off to the Hunter Valley to host a soccer club trivia night to help out a friend!

When i'm not busy doing Trivia Nights, i've been busy at work keeping up with the normal routine as well as trying to get my new office set up ... can't wait 'til it's finished ... mmm, will have to take some progress pics and share!

Anyway, that's about it for this post ...

Have a great week everyone,

Be good, Keep smiling :)

JULIE x

DRUM ROLL .....................

Conversation between Blake and I ...

Me: "Blake can you pick one of these pieces of paper out of the basket for me"
Blake: "Why"
Me: "Cause i am going to send someone a little prize"
Blake: "Why"
Me: "For my blog"
Blake: "Why do you want me to do it"
Me: "Cause that's what blog children do"

Why do children make a simple task so difficult ... or is it just a male thing !!!???


And the winner is ...





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CHERIE WALSH ... {and the crowd goes wild} Yeeeaaaah!!!!!

mmm ... i think i'll make it a pink theme RAK so Cherie can do some scrapping for their new precious pink bundle "Velvet"!

[Cherie, can you please email me your address so i can send your little package]

Thank you everyone that left a comment for my blog's 1st birthday!! and it was great to meet some new blogger friends too!

Sorry that i was delayed in posting the result but didn't get to do it until last night 'cause did a last minute trip up to Nambucca on the weekend to see my mum and dad. They left about a week and a half ago for a holiday and mum got really sick the day they arrived and ended up in hospital ... turns out it was septacemia (sp?). We gave her a really big suprise and cheer up when we walked into her ward 'cause i didn't tell her or dad that we were coming. She has had some serious medication etc over the last week and is really 'wrung out' but is on the mend. Mum says the doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital up there have been absolutely amazing and she can't thank them enough for their care and kindness ... you can't beat a little country hospital!!

The 'Wild West' Trivia Night for our school (which i am organising & hosting) is on this Saturday night so i am flat-out getting approx. 180 people and everything in place ... it's gonna be a huge fun night!! Probably won't get a chance to blog for the next few days.

Have a great week everyone.

Cheers, JULIE x

Time to Celebrate !!

This Friday (the 13th July) will be 1 year for my blog ... and ... my counter is not far off reaching 2000 ... such small milestones in the big blogging world but lots of fun all the same!!

So ... to celebrate, i have a RAK to share - all you have to do is leave a comment before midnight, Fri 13th July.



Look forward to hearing from you.

JULIE x

3 POSTS IN 1 WEEK ...

Wow, talk about Blogger overkill!!! LOL!

Just thought i'd pop in and do a quick post and share the 2 LO's i did this afternoon ... yep, found some scrapbooking time (at the expense of washing and housework ... oh well!).


This LO is to join in on the July challenge for SCRAPBOOK'n'BiTS ... Had to be mainly teal/green & pink theme, and using at least 3 flowers ... mmm ... the pink and flowers thing for me is a challenge in itself 'cause i mainly always do boy scrapbooking and don't tend to use pink for this and definately can't get my head around using flowers on a boys LO ... anyway ... not a bad effort for a non pink, non flower scrapbooker! (PS - my main flower quota is the rub-on surround on the koala photo!).




This LO is photos from a short getaway in Canberra back in 05'.

This is the start of my grand scrapbooking plan ... scrapbooking all my old photos and using up a large quantity of the MAJOR stash of pp etc that i have ... I think this is every scrapbooker's mission at some stage ... I'm sure i have promised myself this many times before !! LOL!



Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cheers,
JULIE C x

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

Tonight i had a night out with the girls - we went to the movies and seen 'Knocked Up' followed by cake & coffee and hours of girl talk! I love these nights out ... just don't get to do them quite as often as we'd like to!

Great movie and very funny but definately for those with a broad sense of humour & thick skin. Lots of swearing (i emphasise lots), other factors which people may find offensive and a bit of shock value in the labour scene ... definately not a movie for the kids !!!

Out for lunch tommorrow with family visiting from Sydney and hopefully a house day on Sunday to catch up the usual routines (washing etc) and perhaps a little spare time for some scrapbooking.

Have a great weekend everyone ...

JULIE x

A BUSY WEEK ...

Another week had flown by ... busy, busy, busy !

Soooo good to reach the school holidays - I looooove school holidays : no routine, no lunches, no uniforms ... time to chill out - Yeah!

I have been very very busy organising our school Trivia Night for 21st July. For the past 5 years this has been a major school fundraiser which i organise and host. It is lots of work but certainly worth all the effort for such a huge fun night. This year is a "Wild West Trivia Night" Yee Hah !!
What started out to be a "give it go" idea for our school 5 years ago has turned into a bit of a sidekick !! After the school Trivia Night i am hosting one for a soccer club, one for our wonderful local pre-school (where Blake used to go) ... and ... i feel very honoured to have been asked to host one in Sydney in August which is in aid of raising funds to help a boy get to the special Olympics !!

Well, now that you know what i do in my spare time ... mmm ... what else have i been doing ....

Currently organising my business and office extensions, fit outs, new furniture etc. etc. Was aiming for this to be complete for 1st July to start the new financial year ... but ... that has come and gone and ...... don't stress Julie, it'll happen!

Saturday we were up bright and early and off to Nelson Bay for soccer. The kids played their little hearts out with no subs (cause some kids away with school hols ... which brings me to the thought that i think it is really wrong that kids sport continues in the school holidays ... but anyway) and we were up against the team coming first in the comp ....

Our kids WON !!!

I thought us parents were going to have a hear attack on the sideline it was such an exciting / close game - both teams played fantastic - well done boys !! {clapping}!!

Saturday night, was a family night at the movies to see 'Pirates of the Caribbean 3' ... not having seen no.2 yet i was a little lost but it was still really good ... and after all - Orlando Bloom makes it pretty easy to sit through a 2.5 hour movie ... mmm!

Now believe it or not ... even with all this going on ... i found some "ME TIME" and scrapped.

I know it is not Christmas ... and Christmas LO's have never really been my thing; but, i done two!



Jessica, Jacob & Blake on Christmas Day ... i love this photo!





This LO is about Blake and "that present" for Christmas last year (as per my post on 17th Dec - sorry, don't know how to do a link).






The deal was ... "Mum, i don't want anything from you and dad; and i don't want anything else from Santa" ....
When he is older i'll be able to do a LO about the "whole" story and how that infamous present came to be!! LOL!

This LO is just a random that i'd had on the go from the last time I sat and scrapped (which is probable a couple of months ago now !??) ...



Well, this is turning into a super long post ... are you still awake !??

Just one more thing ...

I was driving home from work the other day (which takes me about 4 minutes - up the road and round the corner sorta kinda ...) and there is a section of the waterfront that i pass every day, many times a day, including on my way home and i always admire how pretty it is ...

This always make me think of how we take things for granted ... sometimes such simple things (like our local surroundings) ... and this is often 'cause we are in such a hurry to go somewhere, do something etc etc ....

Well ... the other day on my way home as i was passing this specific section of the lake there was a beautiful rainbow, so i took the time to stop and take some photos.

Sorry if this sounds lame or boring but i just thought i would share this pic with you ...

I consider myself lucky that this is part of my everyday ...



Enjoy the rest of your week and take care,

JULIE x

MOVING THE PASHA BULKA ...

We tried ...



LOL ... a bit of photo fun !!!!

We've had a lovely weekend. Great to see the sun shining so i could finally get the unpacking & loads of washing done from our holiday.

Last night we went to the drive-in and seen 2 movies including SHREK 3 ( mmm ... it was pretty good, but not as good as 1 & 2)! It was very cold but we were well organised with sleeping bags in the back of the 4wd for Blake and his 2 friends; and us adults were well decked out with beanies, jackets, blankets etc. We even took along the camp stove & billy for hot chocolate to keep us warm ... yum!

Today, with other friends we headed over to Newcastle to view the infamous 'Pasha Bulka' which run-aground on Nobby's Beach in those terrible storms 2 weeks ago. Approximately 1000 other people had the same idea ... wow, there were people everwhere!






It really was incredible to see ... very surreal ... this massive ship "smack bang" in the middle of a picturesq public beach!



Whilst we were there helicopters were flying back & forward airlifting items onto the ships ... they looked like massive rolls of cable; so we figured that maybe they have something to do with preparing the vessel for the plan to try and float it back out at some stage this week ??!



We also had a bit of fun taking photos that looked like we were holding up the boat and trying to push it back out to sea ... hence, the top photo of Mark!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend too!

Have a great week!

JULIE x