Christmas Family Traditions

It is truly hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone so soon. Such big build up and preparation for just one day that seems to come and go so fast these days.

Here is a picture of my sister's and I on Christmas Day. I think my older sister told me at least 5 times that day that she was glad I was home!!!

Christmas has always been about family for me. Even though with just our immediate family there are about 20 of us and it can get quite noisy - I just wouldn't want it any other way. Christmas always starts on December 24th - Christmas Eve - for us. We all went over to my older sister's place for drinks and nibblies. This Christmas Eve it was pouring with rain so getting the gifts and food in the car was an 'event' in itself. We finally managed to get over there and have a good time. At about 11pm 'Santa' arrives to hand out all the presents under the tree. This year 'Santa' was played by my sister's Father-In-Law. It was great to see a really skinny Santa with an Irish accent handing out gifts to the kids and they not having a clue who it was!!!

This is my nephew Liam, and I celebrating Christmas Day!! He is such a cool dude!!

Every year one of the men in the family have to dress up as Santa to hand out the gifts. When I was younger it was usually my dad who would dress up as Santa for us kids. My most fond memory is when we were just a bit older and clearly realised that Santa was not real. My dad and mum had planned this whole scenario that dad was called in to work on Christmas Eve. We didn't say anything at the time - but we all knew that they were telling us stories so that dad could go to the neighbours house and put on his Santa suit. The things you do for your kids - I just love mum and dad for trying to keep the fun in Christmas when we were kids.

Here is Dad and I on Christmas Eve - I do not know why I am pulling this face......... perhaps too much punch!

The next day, Christmas Day, was spent at my parents house. Christmas Day is another full on day in itself.

5 years ago on Christmas Day my dad's mother passed away. Every Christmas Day we start the day by visiting her gravesite and leaving her some flowers. I have to say, I like starting the day like this as it feels like we are including her in one of her most favourite family holidays. She always loved having family together at Christmas.

This year my mum's mother was put into a care facility - we didn't want her spending Christmas alone so we took her to our place for the day. Well, actually, we took her to our place for as long as she would stay - we didn't know how well she would do. She surprised us all and had a wonderful time with us. She did some dancing, and enjoyed her dinner and even had a little glass of wine. It was great to have her spend the day with us.

Now, Christmas is all about food for our family too. We had: turkey, ham, lamb, prawns, pasta, potatoes AND dessert!!!! We were totally stuffed by the end of the day. The kids had fun playing in the pool and also playing with the Wii they got for Christmas.

As for me - I loved being home with my family, I loved watching my nieces and nephews open up their Christmas presents, I loved having my Nana at home with us and I loved having my DH experience his first hot Christmas.

My two older nephews received there very own golf clubs for Christmas. For the first time ever the two of them were speechless!!!! They really loved these gifts.

Madison got this cute bear for Christmas - she just loved it!

My DH and I giving me a 'Christmas Kiss'. I was so glad to have him with my family for his first Australian Christmas!

Christmas SHOULD always be about family - spending time with them and loving them for who they are. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year and a Happy and Healthy New Year!!!

Till Next time..........

A brush with fame....... and a haircut!

The one sport that I grew up watching was Rugby League. Unfortunately, (for my DH anyways) Ice Hockey is not a big sport here in Australia. Infact, ice hockey in Australia is near to non-existant - we have grass hockey but apparently that is definetly not the same if you speak to my DH.

I grew up watching Rugby League as my dad used to play it when he was younger. Now on the Gold Coast we have our very own team. To make it even better, the stadium is literally 5 minutes away from our house.

The Gold Coast team are called the Titans!! I am yet to see them play as it is off season right now. My DH and I got to meet two of the Titans as they were at our local Mall - Robina Town Centre.

My parents have season tickets to the Titan's games - I am hoping that they let us use them throughout the new year.

As for who the players are in the photo's - I have absolutely no idea - although I did find out the guy with the dark hair is Mark and he is a cutie patootie. (See, I managed to put my hand on his shoulder).

Other news in the homefront - I got a haircut!!! In these photo's I have long blonde hair - now I have short dark hair!!! It was getting so hot here and having long hair I just kept putting it up anyways. I needed a change and I love it. I am sure I will get some photo's at Christmas and will post my new look then.

A big shout out to my friend Eleonor - saw your photo's of your Christmas Light bus tour!!! You guys were freezing your butts off!!!! We celebrated Christmas by attending Carols by Candlelight at a park by the beach. What a difference a world away makes!!!

Till next time...............

Summer Fun - part 2

Here are my three gorgeous nieces from my Summer Fun blog. My dad is holding Madison (the eldest of the neices) and Chloe (the youngest).

The second photo is my middle niece Olivia.

My three cute little angels. Each of them is so adorable. I told my brother and sister's that they really made some cute kids.

Till next time..........

Summertime Fun

A few weeks ago we celebrated my mum's birthday and my parent's wedding anniversary. We had a BBQ lunch at my parents place, as you do in Australia, and then the kids and the men had an afternoon of fun in the pool.

I absolutely LOVE having my family all together for events like birthdays, anniversaries and especially Christmas. One thing that I especially love about my family is that all the kids get along so well with each other. I think it is wonderful to have cousins that live so close to each other and that you can see often enough and get along with so well.

On this particular day for some reason only the men went into the pool after lunch and ALL the kids followed in as well. All the kids just love the water - in Australia one of the first things you teach children is how to swim. Also, it is not uncommon for backyards in Australia to have a swimming pool.

The weather on this day was amazing - the sun was out, it wasn't too humid and there was a slight breeze. The last few weeks we have been having some pretty crazy weather - torrential rain, high humidty, floods, lightning, thunder - we have seen it all in such a short period of time.

Below are a few photo's: (I did download photos of my three cute neices but they disappeared - will try to post another time)

My three nephews Christopher, Liam and Andre' all love the water. Aren't they the cutest.

Till next time.............

A Touch of Nature

We have lots of beautiful creatures living in our neighbourhood.

My DH has made friends with all the lizards that live in our backyard. He has actually started naming them like they are his pets.

I have yet to see the Kookaburra's but I have heard them. You can hear them 'laughing' a mile away.

Canetoads - they are gross and disgusting but we do get alot of those at night time.

If you can believe me we also get bats here. I don't ever remember bats being part of the wildlife here on the Gold Coast but they are everywhere each night. Infact one early evening my mum and I went for a swim in the pool and there were bats flying overhead the whole time we were in the pool.

A few weeks ago I got some great shots of the lorikeets that fly around our area. I was going for a walk with my nephew and we hadn't even left the street that we live on when we found these birds eating from one of the trees in our up our street. They are beautiful birds but can be very noisy first thing in the morning.

Last night we heard an owl in the backyard - I tried to take a picture of it but wasn't succesful.

You just never know what creatures are hiding in the neighbourhood - I wonder what we will find tomorrow!!!

Till next time...............

Love You Nana..........

Apart from missing my family tremendously, another reason why I had wanted to come home was my Nana, the person I was named after. Over the past year she has been a little more forgetful and my parents made the decision that she needed to move to a care facility that will give her the freedom to still do as she liked but that also allowed for her to have somebody watching her all the time.

They found an amazing place called Hill View House - it is an aged care residence. When my parents first told me about my Nana moving there I was really concerned as I think back to dirty old nursing homes that smell. When I got to visit Nana, after arriving home, I was amazed. This place is beautiful. Nana has some of her old furniture in her room with pictures of her family all over the room. There are activities that she can participate in if she feels like - for eg. bingo, dances, movies, etc. She seems really happy there.

Infact, she seems extremely happy there. She is one of the more alert residents - alot of the people living there are quite elderly and just sit and chant all day or just keep to themselves. I have to say that I am lucky that Nana isn't quite that ill. She is just a little forgetful - I am not even sure if she truly recognizes me - I just take each visit a day at a time. My mum said that she thinks she does know who I am as she was asking about me coming home, 'When is she coming home?' she would say to my mum. I try to visit once a week - I have to go when my mum goes as my Nana will start talking in her native language, Maltese, and I don't understand what she says when she does this. Also, I don't think I am strong enough to get my Nana out of the sad moments that she does have. On my last visit to see her I went with Mum and Dad and it was amazing how both my parents pepped Nana up and made her laugh and smile. I don't think I could do that.

Seeing my Nana like this really makes me think how fast people can deteriorate - the last time I saw my nana was back in 2005 and she was fine. Infact she was getting my DH and I to write down a family recipe - something that she used to make us a long time ago. I think back now and realise maybe she knew she was slowly forgetting things and that was why she was so adament that we write this recipe down.

Something I have learned, and probably always known, make time for your family. Never take them for granted. Especially Grandparents, we have alot to learn from the elderly.

Till next time...............

Garage Sale

What do you do when you have a whole lot of crap and you need to get rid of it………. You have a garage sale. Well, at least that’s what we did a few weeks ago.

When I moved back home I did A LOT of spring cleaning and getting rid of things that I no longer used or needed. My theory was, if I didn’t need it for the last four years while I was in Canada I probably didn’t need it at all. I don’t know about you, but I tend to hold on to everything that is given to me or I have bought over the years, even if I am not using it. When I started working for Disney Cruise Line I soon learnt how to live with the bare minimum as I just didn’t have the room for it. I also learned not to get too attached to material things as I usually wasn’t able to keep them with me for too long.

The last 8 years of my life I have really learnt how to down size – and in a big way. I think the only items that I haven’t been able to let go of are photo’s. Even if I don’t look at them every day, I like to know they are there for me whenever I need to reminisce.

So,we had our garage sale. My parents (check them out in the photos – aren’t they cute), woke up extra early and were kind enough to let me and my DH sleep in. The garage sale was scheduled to start at 6am – there were ‘keener’s’ at our house by 5am!! Now, on one hand I think that it is awesome that we had people willing to buy stuff so early. But, on the other hand, ‘Get a life’!!! Did you know that there are people who go to garage sales EVERY weekend!!!! I cannot imagine getting up every single Saturday morning at 4am to go to garage sales!!!

I loved watching the different people that came in to buy stuff. Garage Sales really welcome all types of people. We had some really friendly people and some not so friendly people. My favourite were the people who walked into the garage did a quick look around and then leave. I wanted to remind them that it was a garage sale – all they are going to find is somebody elses crap! We weren’t selling antiques, we weren’t giving away gold – just crap! Not to say we had total crap there………… we had CD’s, Kids books, novels, photo frames, etc

At the end of the day we made just over $100 – I know that doesn’t sound like much but really, it was stuff we were just going to get rid of anyways. When we were done for the day we gave all the stuff as a donation to the RSPCA store. It was actually a good feeling that we could do this – they were extremely happy with the donations.

In other news, November 8th was Steve Irwin Day in Australia. A day where we celebrate the memory of Steve Irwin and all that he did for the wildlife. For this day people were encouraged to wear his traditional Khaki. My dad got into the spirit of the day and went hunting in his Khaki in our garden at home. Check out the picture!!

For all my friends in Canada…………. I can only imagine how cold you all are at the moment. Me, well lets just say today was really, really, really hot and we went for a swim in the pool after the garage sale.

Till next time…………..

I'm Back!!

Yeah!! Finally we have the internet hooked up at home............ so I am back in action with my blog. I have a lot of past blogs that I didn't get the chance to publish so I will keep you all updated on what's been going on over the next week.

As for me........... things here are great. I love my new job. I am obviously still learning alot of stuff and have alot of questions but I am enjoying it. Most of the customer's have been very understanding with the fact that I am still learning stuff - so I have appreciated that.

Last night we had a girls night - my sisters, sister-in-law, mum, aunt and my sister's mother-in-law all went to see Menopause-the Musical. It was a funny show - obviously about menopause. There were alot of 'white-haired' people in the audience - I think we were some of the younger people there!! We now know what our mum is going through - God help us (and her) and we now know what we have to look forward to as well. Really it was good for a laugh and a fun girl's night out.




Well, as I said earlier I will catch up with what I have been doing the last month. Again, sorry about not blogging more often but now I have connection with the rest of the world so you will be hearing alot from me from now on.

Till next time..........

I Have A Job!!!

Well my DH and I have been in Australia for less than 2 weeks and got the phone call we have been waiting for – we are now employed!!!! It didn’t take us long at all – infact out of over 100 resumes that came in and after about 7 possible candidates going in for an interview, my DH and I were the two chosen and we couldn’t be happier. We will be working for a bank here on the Gold Coast – in two different branches though. I am really looking forward to learning something completely new and moving ahead with a new career goal. We start our jobs next Wednesday in our branches and then we have to commute to Brisbane the following week for 5 days for training in their head office. For those who don’t know, Brisbane is about 1 hour away from where I live. It is the capital of Queensland, which is the State I live in.

That’s enough Geography for one blog……..

This morning my twin sister, Netty and my niece, Olivia came to pick us up and we headed down to a suburb called Nobby’s Beach where I went to surprise one of my very good High School friends, at work. My friend Melissa and her husband own a bakery and we thought it would be a good idea to just walk into the bakery and surprise her. Well, she wasn’t working today but as we arrived her husband was on the phone to her and he called me over to talk to her. She dropped what she was doing at home and came to meet us at the bakery. It was so good to see her………. She is one of the sweetest people I know, a good friend, kind-hearted and such a darling. We chatted for a bit before our busy day continued.

While on the way home my niece had a MAJOR explosion in her diaper ………. I mean MAJOR!! I forgot how stinky diapers can get. So when we got home we put her in the bathtub for a bit and then I got to dress her and do her hair. I know it sounds silly but I love playing hairdressers so I took advantage of doing her hair and she loved it. She looks just like I did when I was her age.

This Saturday we are celebrating Olivia’s 3rd birthday. I am excited that I get to be here for it. Tomorrow we are going to head over to Netty’s place to get the yummy treats ready. Chocolate Crackles, cupcakes, etc…………. all the things that I shouldn’t be eating and probably won’t be eating. I am so worried about putting all the weight I lost back on again so I am being extra careful. Will let you know how the party goes.

We met up with my brother and sister-in-law for lunch at Hooters!! I know, I know………. Hooters!! But they have pretty good food there and I know that my DH can get the hot wings that he likes so much there too. I was surprised to hear that there was a Hooters on the Gold Coast but it isn’t as bad as it sounds – really.

Till next time…………….

Greeting from the Gold Coast

Well my DH and I have kinda settled into our new life in Australia. Still no job, so it feels like we are on vacation right now. We did go for an interview yesterday - fingers crossed!!! I felt it went well but I may not be what they are after. Will keep you posted.

Today it is stinkin' hot - don't know what the actual temperature is but all I can say it is 'bloody hot'. And it's not like the heat starts in the middle of the day - oh no - it is boiling hot first thing in the morning at 6am. That is where you can find me oiled up and tanning in the back yard!!! Check me out this morning!!!!

It has been great visiting with my family and seeing all my neices and nephews. Olivia's 3rd birthday party will be this Saturday. She is into Dora the Explorer these days so I bought a gift accordingly. She is slowly warming up to me......... she is my twin sister's daughter and I am sure it is freaking her out that we look the same. Infact Olivia looks just like we did at her age!!

My DH and I still haven't found a new Dojo to join but we did find a really good gym and will start working out today. It is so easy to get out of routine and I have been fairly lazy since we moved here so I decided today, despite the heat, we have to do some form of exercise today.

That's it for now........... haven't been able to scrapbook or make my cards yet as we are still waiting for most of our boxes to come.

Till next time..................

A Quick Post

I haven't posted in a while ................. sorry but I have been just a little bit busy.

My DH and I arrived in Australia a couple of days ago and I don't have internet access.

So a quick post to say - 'Yeh I'm home'. It is good to see my family, especially my nieces and nephews.

Will post again soon.

Till next time.............

Just when things were going smoothly.....

Only two days till we go now!! I have nearly finished packing my luggage. I have been struggling with what I should take and what I should leave behind. We are planning on leaving alot of our winter stuff behind - we don't think we really need it right now. For some reason I have been stressing over what I should be taking. My older sister called me this afternoon and laid it out clearly - I can always buy things in Australia, it's not the end of the world. True............ it made me feel better about leaving things behind. Also, I have to remember that we will be back next Summer so I can bring more stuff home then.

The end of the world came at about 3pm this afternoon though............. I was on my way to Coquitlam to pick up my final pay check and the car broke down. I was so mad. First the radio just totally went off and I couldn't get it back on. Then the light came up for the ABS breaks and the air bags and finally, I got the biggest hint when a sign lit up that said Check Battery!! At that point I was questioning whether I should continue out to Coquitlam and then the car encouraged me to stop driving by just not working!!!

I think the thing that upset me the most was that people were honking at me - like I could go anywhere. Then I would have cars come right behind me and just sit there waiting for me to go - my hazard lights were on, I don't know what more I could have done to prove that this car was going nowhere. The final straw was a creepy old man on a bicycle came by and stopped by the car. He looked at me all weird and I thought 'great, now what'. I said to him 'is there something I can help you with' and he said something in a foreign language and then pointed to the green light and said 'go'. I informed him that I would go if I could but unfortunetly I couldn't. People are so STOOPID!!!

Before all this took place I actually had a lunch date with my good friend Heather. It was nice to sit down and chat over lunch before I left. We went to Cactus Club and the service and food was really good. The last few times I had been there the service was really bad and food mediocre - it seems to have improved. After a tearful 'goodbye' with Heather I then headed to Coquitlam when the 'incident' happened. We only waited for the tow truck for about an hour. Hopefully the car will be fixed early tomorow morning - we have lots to do.

Day ended on a high - got my final pay and all I can say is 'cha-ching' - this final pay check has really come in handy.

Till next time.............

Thanksgiving #2

Last night we went to our friends place for Thanksgiving dinner #2 and it was sooooo good.

This time the turkey was deep-fried............. now I know that sounds really unhealthy and grose and for the longest time I turned my nose up to a deep-fried turkey. I have now converted...... bring on the deep-fried turkey!!! It was so juicy and not oily or fatty at all. The best part was the crunchy skin - mmmmmm. Sorry for any people reading this blog who are vegetarians - you guys are missing out!! Check out the picture below, it is mouth watering.

In other news, my DH and I are down to our last few days here in Canada. We did a little bit of running around today. All the boxes are basically packed, we are going to send them off on Thursday. Just all last minute stuff.

We have been looking EVERYWHERE for travel scrabble, and can you believe that we cannot find it anywhere. We have looked at Chapters, other book stores, Toys R Us and even Walmart - no lucky finding it anywhere. Yet, about three months ago we saw them everywhere - figures.

We will have other stuff to do on the plane anyways - Ange bought me the new Nicholas Sparks book, I have a Vogue magazine to read, I still have to buy a crossword and I can just bug my DH from here to Auckland anyways. Oh, yeh, don't know if I mentioned but we have a direct flight to Auckland and will hopefully be able to leave the airport there and do a little sightseeing. We are there for quite a few hours and the plan is to meet up with some friends from our Cruiseship days and check out New Zealand.

Finally, I had to say goodbye to Sebastian today. Sebastian is my fish that I have to leave behind. He is now in the loving hands of my dear friend Eleonor and her family. Thanks Eleonor, for taking Sebastian in.

Till next time

Happy Thanksgiving

What does Thanksgiving mean to me..................

1. It means I get my favourite food - HAM!!!

2. It means we get lots of other food too - turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pototoes, carrots, peas, etc.

3. It means all the family get together to enjoy this meal

4. It means our extended family - friends from the cruiseship - also come over for dinner

5. It means good times had by all

Check out the pictures below of dinner - so good!!!!!

We had a lovely day of getting together and chatting before my DH and I head off on Friday. To end the night we lounged on the couch and watched Ironman!!!

I know I ate way too much........... trouble is there is no time for exercising as we had brunch this morning with our good friends Erin and Todd and now we are heading out for another farewell Thanksgiving meal - this time, a deep-fried turkey. I know I will have to go for an extra long run tomorrow.

Till next time.

Day of Tears

As expected today was a hard day......... it was my last day at Clipper Street and I had alot of 'Goodbyes' to give out.

It was lovely to get to say bye to those special customer's who I got to know real well. Some came in to the store just to say bye which was really sweet. Thanks Sharon, for the gift and the magazine to keep me out of trouble on the plane.

My boss Diane took me out for lunch today. We had a great time and nice long chat about lots of different things. She is such a sweet lady and after the first time I met her, back in 2005, I knew I wanted to work for her. It was really hard saying 'Goodbye' to Diane, there were lots of tears (not just from me).

As for my staff and friends at Clipper Street - the hardest people to say 'bye' to.

Heather and Cathy - thanks for calling and saying 'Goodbye' - you girls ROCK!!

Ange - thanks for the Nicholas Sparks book - I am truly going to miss our early morning chats. You are such a strong and wonderful person. I know I am going to see you Down Under soon enough.

Veronica - one of the most hardworking people I know. I'll miss your little visits throughout the day.

Steph - you are going to do an amazing job - Congratulations again on the promotion.

Allison, Danielle, Frances - you girls are AWESOME!!! Thank you for being a great addition to our team.

Maureen - thanks for dropping in and saying 'bye' today. It was great to see you and the kids one last time.

S.A - we were an great team in the good old days - I have missed working with you. Keep in touch my friend.

Allan - my 'little brother' - thanks for ALWAYS making work fun. And making me cry again when I checked my email.

And finally Little Sam................. oh my goodness. Did we let open the flood gates or what!!! That was a crying session that was 1 month in the waiting. Keep in touch little Sammy - I'm going to miss you and your gorgeous voice.

Clipper Street has given me LOTS of great memories that I will always have forever. What a great group of women that I got to work with each and every day. How lucky I was.

Till Next Time..............

Coquitlam Clipper Chick Party

Last night Stephanie, the new Manager of Clipper Street in Coquitlam, hosted a going away party for me at her house. It was so good to get together with 'my girls' away from work.

It was really hard to tell my staff that I was leaving but they have all been very supportive and I am thankful for that. I am leaving them in fantastic hands!!

Here are just some photo's of our fun night.....

Here is the whole Coquitlam Clipper Street gang, we are just missing Sarah Anne :(

Thanks Steph, Sam, Ange, Allan, Mona, Allison, Danielle, Frances and Maureen for coming. It was great times.

A picture of some of the girls just chilling out and chatting.

My yummy cake that Frances made - so good!!

I'll miss you all girls. Keep in touch.

Till next time.............

Being Creative

I have made a few more cards this week for upcoming events.

The first one is a 'Thank You' card that I have made for one of my boxing/Jiu Jitsu instructors. The card actually worked out really well and I love the colours that I have chosen too. The paper I used is from Kaiser Crafts - the same paper I have used in a previous post. I also used a stamp from Inkadinkadoo but realized after I had stamped the image that I needed to cut it out in an oval shape - a regular rectangular shape just wouldn't do. I bought one of the Marvy oval punches for this. I really like the look of this card - a little ribbon and a flower, done!!


We actually just got in the Nestabilities from Spellbinder on Friday at Clipper Street. Why did I bring these up - let me explain. Nestabilities work with the Cuttlebug machine (I just got one of these at work too). They are dies of different shapes the fit into each other and I have decided that I am going to buy the square scallop set and the rectangle scallop set - if there are any left at Clipper Street tomorrow. The great thing about these is that instead of buying one sized punch you can buy a whole set of dies - great for if you have a die cut machine.

Back to my cards. I made this card for my Dad's birthday which is on October 12th. I used this really cute stamp from Stampendous - I love this monkey, there are quite a few stamps with this monkey on it. I just water coloured the sky and grass with my watercolour brush - I don't usually like this look because I can never get it right - but I am quite pleased with how this turned out.

That's it for tonight........

Only 12 more sleeps to the move Down Under....

Till next time..........

Oprah - An Overwhelmed Mom's Mistake

I am not a huge fan of Oprah but occaisonally I do like to watch the show - it always depends on what the topic is about.

Last night I was intrigued with the episode entitled, 'An Overwhelmed Mom's Mistake'. My first thought was - okay, something bad happened because this lady is a bad mother. After listening to her story I got a greater understanding of exactly what Mom's have to go through each and every day and how easily something bad can happen.

Now, I am not a Mother - and I like to think that if I do ever become a Mom I would be the best Mom ever. I would be able to hold down a job, raise a family, continue a loving relationship with my husband, etc. After listening to this ladies story it isn't so easy being 'Super Mom'.

Infact, the scary thing is that what happened to this Mom can happen to just about anybody - here is her story:

The Mom in this situation was an Assistant Principal at a school. It was the first day of school so she was busy preparing for that. She had two children to get ready for the day. Usually her husband takes her children to daycare but on this particular busy morning he had to go to the dentist so couldn't drop off the youngest child.

The Mom got the youngest child in her car and went to drop her off at daycare but arrived too early. She realized she had time to run an errand first before dropping her daughter off to daycare. She went to pick up some donuts from a bakery, for the staff at school ,and then headed off to school. During her day at school there were some new teachers so she talked about her two wonderful children to them and had a normal day. At the end of the school day one of the fellow teachers was walking past the Mom's car and to her horror saw the child sitting in the car - not moving. The child had been sitting in the car, in the heat for 9 hours. I don't think I need to go on here.

The scary thought is it can happen so easily. And it is not due to lack of caring for your child or being a bad parent - I think we often try to fit so much into day that is already busy that we overwhelm ourselves and something as tragic as the above story can happen.

I know we have all been in similar situations - for example it is not uncommon for me to drive home from work and totally not remember my drive home. I could be thinking of things that need to get done, or get into such a trance from the same drive that I do every single day that the car kind of leads me home. Another example is that just a couple of weeks ago I was going out to dinner with friends. The restaurant was on the same route that I take to work and I totally forgot to exit at my turn off because again, it was instinct to just continue driving on the road I was on.

Back to the Oprah story - I felt so bad for this lady. I am sure she and her husband will always have guilt over what happened to their child. I am sure it is something that they will both learn from - it is just a shame that a child had to lose their life to learn this lesson.

To read more about this story go here: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20080902_tows_moms

A lesson that we can all learn from this story...................... don't overwhelm yourself, life is too precious to always be in a rush, stressed and not taking care of yourself. Look after yourself - your life is precious too.

Till next time.............

A Good Citizen

This past weekend my DH and I witnessed a car accident. We were literally right behind the two cars that got hit in the middle of an intersection. My first thought was, 'We had the green light, how could this happen'. My second thought was, 'That could have been us if we were in front of those cars'.

I have been in only one car accident, and that was in Australia. I had a drunk driver decide to ram right into the back of my car while I was stopped at a red light - to make it that much better the guy that hit me didn't even have a valid license.

I have never seen a car accident before, though. It was actually really frightening to witness. Basically what had happened was that a young guy going North thought that he could make it through the intersection before the cars going West. Even though the cars going West had a green light, for some reason the young driver thought he was invincible and could make it through the intersection. This young driver obviously went through a red light!!

My DH and I did the right thing and gave our information to the people in the accident and told them that we witnessed everything. We then had to go to the police station and write a statement. You are probably wondering why do this? It is such a hassle, isn't it??

This is why we decided to give a statement: Put yourself in the situation of being involved in a car accident. Wouldn't you want somebody to come forward if they saw everything. In this day and age you can never just think your honest word would help you in situations like this. We were actually eager to give a statement as we did see EVERYTHING that took place and it was so clear that a red light was driven through that caused this accident.

Next time you witness an accident think about coming forward and giving a statement. Remember Karma - what goes around comes around. You may need a witness one day too.

Until next time.............

A couple of cards.........

This morning I had some time to make a few cards. I have decided that I will make an effort to make two of each card that I design so that I always have a copy. I tried doing this a while ago but for some reason never actually followed through with it. Today I actually made doubles of the two cards I made - it is always good to have spares at home - you just never know when you will need them.

The first card is a thank you card I made using a stamp set from Inkadinkadoo. The stamp set is called Expressions and Frames and is one of their clear stamp sets. I love this set as you can change the greeting in the centre with a variety of frames. I coloured the stamp in with my new copic markers. These markers are awesome - one of my new favourite things. They don't leave any lines when you colour an image and they come in ALOT of colours and variations of colours. Again, I used my Fiskars threading water border punch - love this tool. The most exciting part of this card though, is the paper. We just got in a brand new paper line from Australia - Kaiser Craft!! The paper I chose was from Sublime - it is a mixture of black, white and a really cool shade of green. I also just checked out their website and found two stores in Australia that sells this paper - the stores are about 20 minutes from where I will be living in Australia so I am very excited about that.




The second card is also a thank you card. I got this really, really cute stamp set - again from Inkadinkadoo. How cute is this Chiahuahua - I used the copic markers to colour in the stamp image, except the red, I used a gelly pen. The paper I used was from Scenic Route Paper Company and it was from their Sonoma line. Another really cute card that didn't take too long to make. As you can see I had a fun morning card making.............. more to come.
Till next time...........

If you love LOVE STORIES................

I am totally in love with the way Nicholas Spark's writes his novels. I have read quite a few of his books in the last few years and I never want them to end. Infact, I purposely make them last quite a while so that I can imagine my own ending and pro-long the love story I am reading.

Currently I am reading his book, 'Dear John'. I am down to the last 80 pages and the story is getting to the really good 'lovey dovey' part. The basis of this story is that John falls in love with a girl he meets while on leave from the Armed Forces. He has to leave her to go back to work but they remain a couple - as best they can - for another couple of years. They eventually break up, his father passes away, he comes back to town and they see each other again. I won't tell you what happens next. I can't tell you what happens next as that is the part I am up to in the book too.......... I can't wait to see if they fall in love again. Oh God I sound like a teenager - but I realy love these kinds of books.

I have also read, and totally recommend, the following books by Nicholas Sparks:

The Notebook (fantastic movie too)
Message In A Bottle
A Walk To Remember
Nights In Rodanthe
The Wedding (this has been my favourite so far)

They have just made Nights in Rodanthe into a movie too that came out this week. It stars Diane Lane (who I think is an amazing actress) and Richard Gere. I can't wait to see this movie.



So, girls, if you are up for a good love story, pick up a Nicholas Spark's novel.

Till next time........

Farewell Dinner with Clipper friends

On Tuesday night I went out for dinner with some good friends from Clipper Street. We went to the Starlight Casino in Queensborough and went to Shang Restaurant. The food was really good. It is an Asian noodlehouse that has Ramen and Udon noodles for mains and lots of yummy appertizers.

Again, it was another fun night of eating good food and chatting away about anything and everything.

Below are a couple of photo's of the night.

The first is of me and my very good freind Sarah Anne. We worked together for quite a while and then she left me :( Work was never the same again. We worked really well together and I am going to miss her heaps but I know we will keep in touch once I have moved.

The next two pictures are of me and another great friend from work, Eleonor. We have so much fun at work - even though we work in two different locations. If ever you are having a bad day give this girl a call and she will have you in stitches!!

I now only have about two weeks of work left and three works of living in Canada............. I am sad but so excited at the same time.

Till next time.......

Nap Time......

I don't know what happened to me this afternoon but I was exhausted by the time I got home from work today.

I was fine at work and then just before I left I started getting the sniffles - hate that as it is a sure sign that a cold is on the way.

Once I got home I got right into bed with a splitting headache and after eating some dinner slept from about 6pm - 8:30pm. I was so done................ achy, tired and just totally out of it.

My plan for tonight was to make a couple of cards (still a few more to make before I leave) with some new stamps and paper I just bought from Clipper Street. I just didn't have the energy to do anything tonight.

I'll post pictures of my night out yesterday with my Clipper Street friends another time - when I am not so tired.

Till then.............

A Big Fat Greek Wedding...........

...............well kinda.

My DH and I headed over the border this weekend to Bellingham, Washington to attend a friends wedding. The wedding was on the Saturday but we decided to make a whole weekend of it and headed over on Friday and stayed till Sunday. It was a great little getaway for just the two of us to be together. We don't anticipate being able to do this for quite a while when we move to Australia.

The wedding took place in a Greek Orthodox Church and it was gorgeous. This was my first time attending a Greek wedding and there were so many traditions as part of the Ceremony. The great thing was that the bride and groom actually took the time to make hand outs to give to all the guests to explain the different parts of the service. Here is a brief explanation:

Part 1: Service of Betrothal

This is where they exchange rings and the Priest blesses the rings. Their 'sponsor' (Koumbaro) exchanges the rings between the couple three times.

Part 2: Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage

The Priest leads several prayers (yes, there were infact several prayers); He then joins the right hands of the bride and groom and they remain hand on hand throughout the remainder of the ceremony.

Part 3: The Crowning

The Bride and Groom are crowned with a flowered crown (Stefana), the crowns are joined with white ribbon. The crown symbolizes the glory and honour bestowed on them by God. The crown is then exchanged three times between their heads.

Part 4: The Common Cup

The priest give wine to the couple and they each drink from the cup three times.

Part 5: The Ceremonial Walk

The Priest then leads the couple around the alter three times - as a sign of their first steps together.

Part 6: The Removal of the Crowns

The Priest blesses the couple and removes the crowns and separates their previously joined hands. They then get to kiss.

This is quite a long ceremony but I just love all the tradition and the Church was just beautiful. I took a couple of photo's. See below.

The reception took place at the hotel we were staying in. The Hampton Inn was the name of the hotel and they have a Hall behind the hotel for receptions. My DH and I only knew the bride at this wedding so this was an opportunity for us to meet some new people too. We really lucked out as the people sitting at our table were all really nice. We had a great night, great food, great drinks and then called it a night. The best part was that neither of us had to drive home - just a quick walk to our hotel room.

Goodluck to your wonderful future together Cecelia and Philip.

Till next time.....

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last night I went to Brown's for dinner with my friends from the Richmond Clipper Street store.

With only four weeks till we leave for Australia I am trying to get together with those people that I have become friends with before I leave. It seems silly to have to use leaving the country as an excuse to get together. I really wish that I had gone out with my 'girl' friends alot more while I was living here but for some reason I always seemed 'busy'.

There is something for everybody to ponder.......... always make time for yourself and for your friends. Life should never be too busy that you can't fit in quality time with those you love.

Anyways, we had an awesome night.

Thank You Eleonor for organising it - I am truly going to miss you. Eleonor and I had a great bonding moment when our wonderful boss sent us to Vegas for a scrapbooking convention. We have been good friends ever since. Check out her blog - she is an amazing stamper and has been my inspiration for getting into stamping.

Thanks also to Fleur, Noreen and Lyndsay for coming too. It was great to sit down with good friends, have good (giggly girl) conversation and great food too.

I have always had a soft spot for the Richmond store as this was my first store that I worked in and managed. It is a tiny store with alot of heart - although since working in the larger location I find Richmond to be a little claustrophobic for me now.

Below are some pictures from our night out.

Thanks girls for the great night....................

Till next time............

No Pain No Gain

If you ever want to know what real physical pain feels like do 3 hours of crazy exercise and then you will know. I thought that after a while of doing boxing classes and jiu jitsu the pain would eventually go away and my body would get used to the constant torture. I now know that it isn't so.

Tonight I did my Boxing class - 1 1/2 hour class of non-stop body conditioning. Get a load of this:

1. Skipping for about 15 minutes (I don't mean Primary School 'skip for fun' kind of skipping either)
2. Circuit training - 3 cycles of different activities such as push ups, hand stands, speed bag, shadow boxing with weights, etc (we aren't having a friendly little picnic here)
3. Squats - try 150 of them
4. Lunges - again try 75 on each leg
5. Sit-ups with medicine ball - not for the faint hearted, another 100 here.

This is just part of what we did tonight. My body was aching so much during and after and then we still stayed for our Jiu Jitsu class too. I don't know how I lasted 3 hours of exercise but I did and I am so proud of myself for it.

The boxing gym I have been attending is Next Generation in Richmond. Mark, Jeff and Louis all help out at these boxing sessions and they are amazing. They are so patient with you but what I like best is that they are encouraging too. I know if it wasn't for them I would probably give up. Actually, I think the old Jo would have given up - I think there encouraging just makes me want to try harder.

Time to rest now.

Till next time...........

Jo Can Cook

As some of you may know I am not a huge fan of the kitchen or cooking. It's not that I don't know how to cook - give me a recipe and I'll cook you a meal - it's just that I don't like to cook. I would much rather be scrapbooking, cardmaking, watching t.v, working out, etc - I could really go on here but I will stop.

For some reason, this morning when I got out of bed I felt the need to make my DH breakfast in bed. He cooks for us ALL the time and I felt it was about time that I returned the favour. Even though I wasn't eating it, I cooked him bacon, eggs and toast. Now, aren't I a good wifey!! I didn't even leave the kitchen in a mess!!

After breakfast I was feeling a bit daring and offered to cook dinner. I know, twice in one day, what is wrong with me!!!

My MIL and I had found a recipe about a month ago. While waiting for my DH at the dentist we were reading some magazines and I came across a recipe for Carraway Pork Piccata. While my MIL pretended to have a coughing attack, I carefully tore the recipe out of the dentist's magazine.

Basically the recipe is like a Pork Snitzel but it uses different ingredients like panko (a Japanese style bread crumb) and different herbs. Each piece of Pork is about 300 calories so we just had salad and corn with it to keep it a light meal.

Below is the recipe - try it home some time:

2 Eggs
1 1/4 cup Panko
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
6 centre-cut boneless pork loin chips - pounded to 1/4" thickness
2 tbsp canola oil

1. Whisk eggs together in a wide, shallow bowl
2. Stir together panko, caraway seeds and parsley in another wide, shallow bowl
3. Dip pork in egg then let excess drip off. Dredge in panko and set aside on a plate until ready to fry. Continue with rest of chops
4. In a non-stick pan heat 1tsp of oil over medium high heat. Pan fry 3-4 minutes on each side. continue to cook in batches until all pork is used. Keep cooked pork warm in a low oven.

They suggest to serve with a wedge of lemon. Kids may like ketchup with it.

Happy eating.......

Till next time................

Packing away craft supplies :(

I got to play with my craft supplies one last time before the move to Australia. I know it seems silly - but I really didn't enjoy putting my stuff in boxes and knowing that I won't get to play with them in over a month.

I am taking most of my supplies with me - I wasn't about to leave everything behind. I have given some things away to friends. I managed to get most of my supplies, tools, etc in two boxes - which I think is very good.

I am not sure what the Scrapbooking stores will be like in Australia - another reason why I wanted to bring all my goodies with me. I still have a list of things I want to buy from

Clipper Street before I leave - I guess I will have to hide those in my luggage.

So my plan today was to make all the birthday cards, Congrat cards, etc that I needed over the next month so that they were ready ---- I just don't think I could bring myself to buying a greeting card. I haven't bought one in the last 4 years and I am not about to start now.

Today I am posting two of the cards I made. My DH and I are going to a wedding and an engagement party before we leave so I made a couple of cards for these occaisons.

We have been getting a lot of new paper at Clipper Street this week and one them was from S.EI. It is the new Windsor Collection and I used the matching flower embellishments too. I loved how these cards turned out. They were simple to put together but still look very elegant for a Wedding card and Engagement card.

I surprised myself and didn't use any stamps for these cards at all. The greeting is done by a rub-on. At Clipper Street we have a variey of rub ons greetings from Pebbles Inc. They come in three colours - white, black and brown. They also come in many different greetings - Happy Birthday , Congratulations, You're Invited, etc. If you don't live nearby you can also get these greetings at our online store - Clipperstreetonline.com. I love these rub-ons as they are an easy way to put a greeting on a card.

Hope you like the cards.

Till next time..............

Australia Bound

Some very exciting news..... my DH and I have decided to move to Australia. I am originally from the Gold Coast and that is where we will be heading in October. I have loved living in Vancouver but I miss my family very much and am looking forward to seeing them.

We plan on buying our very first house together in Australia and look forward to the warmer weather and a new start. We are really lucky as we get two Summer's this year - although Summer in Australia will be very different to Summer in Canada.

Now the countdown down is on........ we leave October 17th and actually arrive in Australia on October 19th - Our 8 Year Anniversay. Good timing, eh.

Till next time...........

Birthday Wishes

A big shout out to my niece Chloe who turned two today!!!

Can't wait to see you real soon!!

Also, Happy Birthday to my sister Michelle for tomorrow - she turned.............. don't worry I won't tell people how old you are.

Best Wishes to both of you on your special days.

September 11

7 years ........... that is how long it has been since 9/11. Where were you on September 11th, 2001? What does this date mean to you?

The eerie thing is that I remember quite clearly were I was and what I was doing on this day - as if it were just yesterday.

In September 2001 I was working for Disney Cruise Line. We were just pulling in to Norfolk, Virginia for Drydock. I know my DH and I were really excited about Drydock as we were planning on driving to Washington to see the sights - it would be a totally new experience for both of us.

On the morning we arrived in Virginia we were all called in for an emergency meeting in the Kids play area. There were no guests on the ship, just crew. As I stepped into the Kids play area I saw my Manager's there watching one of the t.v's. They had the station on CNN which I found odd as we were not usually allowed to watch regular t.v in the Kids area. It was then that our Manager's explained what was going on and as they explained about the first plane going through the twin towers - we all watched in horror as the 2nd plane went through the twin towers too. It still brings tears to my eyes watching that and thinking that it was a blockbuster movie being filmed. Sadly it wasn't, it was actually happening and it was happening not that far away from where we were.

Drydock did not start of as much fun at all. The ship was in total lock down - nobody was allowed to leave and nobody was allowed to come on. Our drydock area was a known Navy base and could have been targeted. Infact, it felt like total anarchy as there was rumour going around that just being on the Disney ship was a target in itself - being that it is an 'All American' company. My DH called his family in Canada to make sure they knew we were okay. I know his friends were eager to get us home quickly but we couldn't leave the ship. I remember calling Mum and Dad in Australia to tell them not to worry - I ended up scaring them myself as the news hadn't even hit Australia at that point.

I think we were in lockdown on the ship for a few days before they started letting us off the ship and living a somewhat more normal existance. Needless to say, my DH and I decided not to venture out to Washington. We took in the sights of Norfolk which was more than enough. After about a week it was business as usual................

After 9/11 everything changed though. Leaving Orlando airport to head home there were armed police everywhere. Extra security was obvious and understandable but it was from that point on that I knew things would never be the same again.

For all those people who lost loved ones due to 9/11 - I am so very sorry. Such a horrible thing to have taken place - lives taken away because of what??

A Busy Weekend

This weekend just flew by. We had lots planned over the weekend so I think that is why it went by so fast.

I was lucky enough to have Saturday, Sunday and Monday off - which was awesome.

On Saturday I went shopping with my MIL. We got a 40% off one item coupon for Old Navy (one of my favourite stores) so we went out to use it. I have been meaning to purchase new pants for a while now as I have lost a bit of weight and nothing is fitting right anymore. I found a great pair of pants that I thought I could wear for work - but the icing on the cake was that I think I confused the clerk and she gave me 40% off all my items. I ended up getting three pairs of pants for $50. I thought that was a steal of a deal - literally.

Saturday night was UFC 88!! One of my favourite fighters, Chuck Liddell was fighting that night and I was really looking forward to him knocking his opponent out. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. Please watch the video to see the shocking KNOCKOUT.



On Sunday, my DH and I went to training at the gym. We were grappling and sparring for about 2 hours and I was pooped at the end of it. It was an awesome workout though and I do feel like I am getting more and more stronger each day.

Finally Sunday night we went over to our friends, Juan and Mariyln for dinner. We used to work with Juan and Marilyn on Disney Cruise Line and they now live about 45 minutes away. It is nice to have good friends from our ship life living so close.

That was our weekend - as you can see I was tired and couldn't wait to crawl into bed Sunday night.

As for Monday - I am goodness - let's just say I was aching all day Tuesday. We did a boxing class and then went right into a Jiu Jitsu class on Monday night. I was totally done then.

Till next time......

Some cards to share.........

Not the best photo's, but here are a couple of cards that I have made recently. I am always eager to play with my stamps and cardmaking but it is so hard to find the time sometimes. Here they are:




The first card, 'Congratulations', was made for a couple of friends who just opened a restaurant. One of my friends from work, Sam, suggested the new Basic Grey line, Offbeat. The actual paperI used is called Atypical and it has vegetables all over it in a kind of hip way. I just love this paper and the colours in it too and I paired it up with matching cardstock, brads and ribbon. Simple card that can be put together in record time - I should know, my DH gave me about 15 minutes to make it.

You are probably wondering, where does she get her ideas from. Well, I often go through magazines to get initial ideas but often I will look at something and then go in a totally different direction. The ideas truly are endless when it comes to card making.

The second card is for my dad for Father's Day. No, I am not late for Father's Day. In Australia we like to be different and actually celebrate Father's Day in September. I used some really cute paper that I had lying around the house. I can't remember which company made it, maybe Scenic Route??

Anyways, as you will probably notice I have been using a threading scallop punch alot in my cards. It is my new favourite tool - I think I may be using it too much!!! It is a punch from Fiskars and we sell it at Clipper Street and at Clipper Street Online. I bought the 'Father's Day' stamp from Clipper Street a little while ago. Comes in handy at least once a year.

Well, that was my creative moment from for this week. Wish I had more time to be creative though.

Till next time..............