Summer Rain............

Just wanted to get one more blog in before Christmas.................

It has been another lovely weekend, and we finally got some well needed rain for our poor gardens. Just the perfect kind of weather to stay indoors and be crafty!!!

I finally finished my last couple of projects that I was doing for gifts for my nephews. I made my two older nephews canvases with some great pictures I took of them earlier in the year.

I then made my youngest nephew a shadow box. The photo's are what made these projects - I just love how they turned out. And, of course, I bought all the supplies from Kaiser Craft. I have to say that I was pleasantly suprised by the prices at Kaiser.

Below are some pictures of the projects I made.

I've had an absolutley wonderful week at work. I got to hang out with some of the older kids that are in Vacation Care. We went to a couple of indoor play centres and tomorrow we are heading to the cinema to watch Planet 51. I have also been spending most of my days with the Toddlers too. Just love it in that room. The kids are so cute. I am nearly all ready for my class next year. I forgot how much planning and prepping is involved in organising a room for the new year. Nearly all done though.

My DH has been cooking up a storm these last few weekends and this weekend was no exception. He cooked a chicken rotisserie today with potatoes and vegies. It was so good that I had to take a picture of it to make you all drool.

There's only going to be more of where that came from this weekend. Christmas lunch in our family is serious business!!! My DH is deep frying a turkey, my sister is cooking chickens, my other sister is cooking lamb and bringing prawns, my mum has bought a ham and then lets not forget the potatoes, pasta and salad. Yes, you read correctly, we actually do bring all this food and it lasts for days later. We all know to dress appropriately to make plenty of room for the food.

In other news, by DH's pet owls have returned. If you remember, last year when we first moved back to Australia, we had these two owls that would visit our backyard nearly every night for a couple of months. My DH would feed them chicken necks and then all of a sudden they would disapper. Well, they are back - I gues it is that time of the year when they return for the Summer. My DH took a great photo of one of them tonight. Check it out............

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy and treasure the family time you get at this time of year. Eat lots, drink lots and be safe.

Till next year...........................

A Christmas Miracle!!

You know how people say 'If you pray you will receive' - well I think that somebody has been listening to me and reading my blog.

If you read my blog you will probably have picked up that I am a scrapbooker and a cardmaker. You probably also picked up that since leaving Canada and moving to Australia I have done nothing but complain about the lack of scrapbooking stores we have here. Finally, I now have just found the best scrapbooking store that I think even my North American friends will be jealous of too.

Literally, 5 minutes away from where I live Kaiser Craft have opened up a store selling EVERYTHING Kaiser!!!! Yes you have read this correctly. They have EVERY patterned paper you can imagine, all their paints, rub on's, chipboard, ribbon, etc. I walked into the store yesterday for the first time, saw the lady running the store and told her 'I love you'!! She probably thought I was mad, but it has been a long time coming to find a truly great scrapbooking store here!!

Their grand opening is in the New Year and they will be having classes too. I am just so excited! Later today I will be heading there, of course, to pick up some things to make my last three Christmas gifts for my nephews. I'm sure my DH is just as excited about this too, NOT!

While I was in the store yesterday I was handed one of their idea books - this thing was like an Ikea catalogue!! It is full of their products, page layout ideas, project ideas and some embellishments too. I think this is going to be my second home!!

In other news................ the UFC is finally coming to Australia and my DH and I are so excited. I have been into the UFC for the past 8 years - I actually enjoy watching it. Why wouldn't you like watching cute, strong guys fighting each other!!! Seriously though, we do both enjoy watching it and back in 2007 we went to see UFC 76 in Anaheim live. It was amazing to be there and see the action live. Well............ we are doing it again and got tickets to UFC 110 in Sydney, in February. We have booked a great place right in the heart of Sydney and spending the weekend there. Can't wait.

Now, on more festive news............ the tree is up, I have nearly finished buying all my Christmas gifts, cards will be posted today - only a few days to go till that fat guy in a red suit comes down the chimney. Although, I have often wondered, how does he get into Australian homes - we don't have chimney's here!!

On Friday, I had to host a morning tea at work and will leave you with a picture of the yummy holly cupcakes I made.

Merry Christmas.

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

Countdown to Christmas...........

Is it just me or has the year truly flown by this time round!!! I do feel more organised than last year though. My Christmas cards are all made and I have started Christmas shopping - I'm doing alot better than I did this time last year.

This time of year is busy for different reasons too. There are alot of events taking place in November and December (and January for that matter too).

In November we celebrated my mum's birthday by going to High Tea with all the girls. My sister's, sister-in-law and neices all got together to help celebrate mum's birthday. We had never experienced a High Tea before so it was special to be doing it all together for the first time. We had a fantastic day of shopping after the High Tea - it was great to go out with the girls. Below is a picture of all of us.

My nephew, Liam, peformed with his band for an End of Year concert last week. He plays the trombone and he does it so well. He looked so cute in his uniform - he looks so grown up too. He is 9 but so mature for his age and such a sweetheart. I was a proud Aunty and had tears in my eyes.

My oldest nephew, Christopher, will be graduating from Primary School this week. I cannot believe he is going into High School already. Time surely flies. He seems to be excited to be heading off into High School - he wants his independence so badly these days. I am sure there will be tears, of joy, at his graduation this week.

I have a few Christmas parties coming up in the next couple of weeks. This week is my new jobs Christmas party which I am excited about. My DH will be coming along with me and it will be at my bosses house. Next week my DH has a Christmas Party at the Dojo who goes to. That should be interesting as I haven't really met anybody from his Dojo yet. And finally, my old work is having a Christmas party the week after. It will be good to catch up with the old gang. I do miss them but am much happier at my new job.

As for my new job.............. it is going really well. I just found out I will be teaching Preschool next year and although I was hoping for a younger age group I am really excited about this new adventure. I have so many ideas and plans in my head right now. I just want to get Christmas out of the way so I can prep my room for next year.

Finally............. I have been a very busy little Elf and have pretty much finished making all my Christmas cards. I have kept with my little tradition and made 3 designs - it's easier to replicate the same card 20 times than to think of 60 different cards. Below are two of the cards I made.

Talking about cards - now I have to write them, so I will be off.

But, before I forget, tis' isn't Christmas until you have watched 'National Lampoons Christmas Vacation' at least 10 times. I started watching it for the first time yesterday. Only 9 more times to go. I love that movie.

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

Time for a change...............

I have recently made a career decision that I should have figured out quite a while ago. I have realised that I tolerate children alot better than I do adults!!! With this realisation comes news that I am going back to childcare and I cannot wait.

Don't get me wrong - I have actually enjoyed working in the customer service industry. It has made me a stronger person and has also made me respect other people in the customer service service industry, but it is just not me.

In the past 9 years I have worked in the U.S on a cruiseship, I then worked in Canada managing a retail store and most recently I worked in Australia in the banking industry. One thing I learned about all three jobs is that there are rude and ignorant people all over the world and they are never going to go away so you can either take it and crumble or become a stronger person from these negative experiences and learn not to behave this way to other people. I of course have chosen to take the latter experience and become a better person from it but not all people do.

Just this past week at my banking job I had one of the worst customer's I've had ever. She asked me to do something that was against company policy and then decided to go on a tirade about how she used to work for the same company, that I don't know my job, that she knows people in the same company who will do it for her - basically she wanted to belittle me in front of the other customer's. This was somebody who has been in my shoes and knows how our hands can be tied but still she decided to humilate me instead of being understanding. All I could think of was how I would never, and have never, done this to anybody in their workplace. It is not in me to be so rude to people - I know I will have alot of people who would vouch for me there. I just don't understand how some people think they can be like this and think that is okay. People ???? I just don't get them sometimes.

On brighter news - I am back to working with little people at the same kindy I left 9 years when I started my overseas venture. I am so excited to be getting back into childcare and possibly getting back to stuyding again.

Yesterday, my neice celebrated her 4th birthday with a Princess Party so below is a picture of me dressed with my fairy wings and with my face painted.

See, I should be working with children............... sometimes I still feel like one.

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

Weekend Away

Don't you just love weekend getaways! My DH and I headed down south to Kingscliff after work on Thursday to stay in a beautiful Hotel for the weekend. We took Friday off from work and stayed there for three nights - it was amazing.

We chose this past weekend as it was my hubby's birthday and our anniversary the following weekend. We stayed in a resort and spa called Pepper's and it was just gorgeous. Our suite was huge. It had a mini kitchen, dining area and lounge area, a huge king sized bed and a spa tub. We also had a room with a private plunge pool - it was too cold to go in the water but we layed out in the sun anyways.

Here is a photo of the view from our balcony to our private pool. Behind the bushes is the larger pool and the spa!

On the Friday we drove down to Byron Bay - it is always fun driving down there. We like to take a stroll through the town and check out what the hippies are up to!! We actually met a really nice lady in a 2nd hand book shop that we got chatting to. Of all things we were talking about the youth of today - needless to say we were there for a while. After a stroll we stopped to have some fish and chips and met another lively character of Byron Bay. The owner of the fish and chip shop was telling us about when he went to the Calgary Stampede back in the 60's!!

Here is a photo of our fish and chips - it was sooooooooooooo yummy!

On the way home from Byron we stopped at the Byron Bay Cookie Co. These are the best cookies in town! They are so good and I had to stock up on our way out of Byron.

On the Saturday we were expecting my sister and her husband to join us at Pepper's. They too were celebrating their wedding anniversary and we invited them to spend the Saturday with us. We had a great day of feasting on cheese and crackers. We spent the afternoon laying by the pool and then we jumped into the spa! I think we were in the spa for nearly 2 hours - we were so relaxed - it was great.

Our weekend ended with the whole family getting together on Sunday for birthday cake for my DH's birthday and my father's birthday. A great end to a great weekend.

We are already planning another weekend away.

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

Everybody's Working For The Weekend!!!

The weeks these day's seem to fly by so fast - which is a good thing as I LOVE my weekends!! As soon as we hit Hump Day (Wednesday for those not in the know), it is all down hill from there.

Had another great weekend with some really hot Summer weather. Took this opportunity to get into the swimming pool for this first time this Summer. The water was still quite chilly but my neice, Olivia, reallly really wanted to go for a swim and I find it really hard to say 'no' to her.

My DH and I actually had Olivia with us all day on Saturday as her parents were painting her new surprise cubby house for her and needed her out of the house. We had a great day with Olivia - first we had to do some shopping and then we stopped for a 'snack'. A Max Brenner style snack. Max Brenner's is chocolate heaven, so you can only imagine that a 3.5 year old could go nuts here!!! We had a chocolate fondue and a chocolate brownie with ice cream and my neice had a babycino with chocolate syrup on top. There was chocolate EVERYWHERE. My neice really got into the 'dipping' aspect of the fondue - at first she was hesitant but she really got into it in no time at all. It was awesome!!!

So,what happens once you give a kid chocolate - they get a really good sugar high and Olivia was no exception. The transformation was amazing - she went from quiet and shy little girl to crazy and loud mouthed sugar baby!! It was hilarious - my DH and I couldn't stop laughing at what we had created with just a little bit of chocolate!! When we got home she kept her energy up by going for a swim and then dancing to Black Eyed Peas.

That night we went out for dinner with my brother and sister's and their families. We went to Aqua restaurant at a place called Labrador. The food was okay but the service was horrible!! My brother turned up first and he said that he had absolutly nobody come to see if he and his family needed a beveridge. Nobody brought out menu's. It was quite ridiculous. Then our main server was acting like he didn't want to be there. I asked for a West Coast Cooler and his response was ' we don't have that'. He didn't even try to offer an alternative so I said I just want water and he couldn't even manage to bring that out.

That's one thing I cannot stand - bad service. Our table spent $500 - there was alot of us - and I don't feel we got the standard of service that came with a bill that size. Not to matter - we had a great night, a few laughs - it's always good to get together, we always have fun.

Finally, today was the NRL Grand Final - Melbourne Storm Vs Parramatta Eels. I don't follow either team so I did't really care who won, I just wanted to see a really good game. I was kinda siding with the Eels as my twin sister goes for them but unfortunatley they lost!! That's another footy season over - can't wait for next year.





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

What is a scrapbooker to do??

Australia has it all............ sun, surf, sand, great weather BUT we do not have any good scrapbooking or stamping stores. What is up with that??

When I first moved back home I made sure I knew where the local scrapbook stores were so that if I needed anything I knew where to go. I then recently found out that there is a stamp store nearby too. You can just imagine how excited I was about that.

This past weekend I got back into making some birthday cards - just for fun. I needed some more supplies so my DH gave me the go-ahead to stock up on what I needed. (I always feel guilty buying scrapbooking supplies so this was a bonus that my husband said to 'go for it').

We decided to go and find the stamp store first as I was using old stamps and just wanted a new batch of stamps - liven my cards up a bit. Couldn't find the store - it had been closed down!! Strike One!!

Headed to one of the scrapbooking stores that I found when I first got here. Sign is up but guess what............ store has been closed down!! Strike Two!!

Continued driving to the last scrapbooking store that I know of in the area. I had covered my eyes as I was scared it may have been closed down too. To my surprise it wasn't - yeh!! Got to buy some supplies to make my nephew a mini album. Only one problem with this store..... there was a For Lease sign up in the front of the store. I asked the lady at the store if they were closing down...... she said VERY hesitantly 'no the owner hasn't said that'. Bull - why would there be a For Lease sign up if you were going to continue running the store and re-signing the lease.

I now have no scrapbooking stores to go to. Can you believe that. I can buy some supplies from some of the department stores but for all my stamps and high quality supplies I am going to have to become familiar with online shopping!!!

Before my crisis took place I did make a few cards with some really cute new paper I bought. I got the card idea from my friend Eleonor who is queen of cardmaking. Hope you like!!

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

Lazy Bones

To my dear friends who have wondered what the heck I have been doing since my last post - I do apologize. I guess time just gets away to the point where you don't realize that there is only 3 months till Christmas and I haven't posted on my blog for a good few months now. A quick run down as to what's been up!

My husband and I headed to Vancouver for a two week vacation back in August. We had a wedding to go to and a 1st birthday to attend and lots of catching up to do with family and friends that we left behind nearly a year ago. It was a great trip and we enjoyed seeing everybody again and getting in some shopping that we have missed since moving to Australia.

I was a little sick when I first arrived and think it was a mixture of jet-lag and catching a cold on the plane. The flight home was just awesome!!! I say that very sarcastically. I was seated next to a young man who decided it was not in his best interest to shower before getting on a 14 hour flight!! I was honestly to the point of tears as I sat in my chair (trying not to inhale) and contemplating how I was going to survive this long flight. My DH did offer to switch seats but either way one of us was going to have to deal with the odor. I was glad I remembered to bring a small bottle of perfume on the plane with me and decided to put some on my upper lip and squirt some in the smelly boys direction - just to see if he would take a hint (he didn't).

On sadder news, it is coming to the end of Footy season and our team, the Titans - who were doing so well all year - just got kicked out of the finals. We went to see one of their final games a week ago and I was yelling so much that I lost my voice!! It was well worth it though, even though we didn't win it was a great game. Can't wait till next year.

Finally, just to rub it in to all my friends who are heading into the colder weather - my DH and I headed down to the beach today. He had made breakfast and we picked up some coffee's and had breaky on the beach and then just laid out and soked up the sun. I couldn't think of a more perfect Sunday.

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

What's New..........

A few weeks since my last blog and there has been alot going on. So here is the rundown:

I became an Aunty again on Friday May 30th. My brother and his wife had a beautiful baby boy which they eventually called Nicholas. He was known as 'the baby' for the first few days as they couldn't decided a name. He is absolutley adorable (and I am not just saying that because I am his Aunt), he has dark hair with blonde at the tips. His big brother and big sister just adore him too.

Last night my netball team won the Final's - yeah!!! It was a really good game and we all played really well. We won by about 7 or 8 points which was great too. We even got a trophy which was totally unexpected. I started playing netball this year just for fun and exercise so to win a final and get a trophy was really cool. I won't be playing this season as I am trying to commit myself to more classes at the gym.

My parents have gone on vacation for the next few weeks so my DH and I have the house to ourselves. My parents have gone to Thailand and will visit Phuket and Chiang Mai. They are having a great time there - even though my mum wasn't really excited about the trip until they got there. I cannot wait till I go on vacation in about two months time. I love the whole aspect of travelling -packing the luggage, flying, sightseeing, etc.

Well, I think that is all my exciting news for now. Apart from the above I have been spending lots of time with my sisters and brother and my neices and nephews.

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

Body Type?................ Peanut??

My DH and I have the body shape of a peanut - and we are so proud!!!!

My three-year-old neice drew a picture of my DH and I while she was at Kindy the other day. We look like two peanuts from a peanut family but I did not care about that. I was absolutley thrilled to know that she thinks of us while she is at Kindy.

Not to brag, but this kid is a spitting image of me when I was her age (absolutely gorgeous of course) and she is the daughter of my twin sister. She isn't the type of kid that will just run up to you and want a hug, she still takes time to warm up to me. Infact, I think she may still be a little freaked out at how much her mum and I look alike.

Anyways, to hear that she had drawn a picture for me and my DH just brought me to tears. I asked my sister if she was prompted to do this and apparently she wasn't. That was why I got all emotional about it - just the thought that she felt like drawing a picture of the two of us was an AWESOME feeling.

I got to spend time with her and my youngest neice yesterday too. It was wonderful to see these two girls playing so nicely together - more like sisters than cousins. My sister's could already see what they would be like in 15 years time - covering for each other to keep from getting in trouble.

It was nice hanging out with all the girls yesterday. I told my sister's we need to do this more often - just sit around, drink tea and chat.

Here is a picture of the peanut people for your enjoyment. I am the one on the right with the big hips!!

It was my oldest step-nephews 19th birthday the other day too. I cannot believe he is 19 already. I, of course, made him a card - he actually appreciates the hand-made cards.

I love being able to create and I put together this cute little card - I also got to buy some new paper too. Since leaving the scrapbooking industry I really haven't kept myself up-to-date as the supplies here are very expensive. I did find some cute new paper from American Crafts. I loved the colours on the paper and new I could mix and match it for either a male or female card.

As for new stamps - I cannot wait to see my friend Eleonor in Vancouver and visit the new stamp store she is working in. I am yet to find a stamp store here on the Gold Coast.

Here is a picture of the card I made.

Well, gotta go. I am cooking a lamb roast for dinner and better not burn it.

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

Labour Day Long Weekend

It felt like we just had a long weekend but it was fine by me to have another. My DH and I decided not to go away for the long weekend, so we just hung around at home. My DH helped my father put together a decking around the pool. They have worked so hard all weekend to get it finished. They are just putting the finishing touches on it now.

As for me - I am pleased to say that I didn't do too much this weekend.

On Saturday we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Crystal. She is due at the end of the month and I cannot wait to meet my new nephew. It was a great afternoon and a great chance to get to know my sister-in-laws family. I haven't really had a chance to get to know my sister-in-laws family as I hadn't been here so I really enjoyed the afternoon at the baby shower. We played games, ate food and just chatted. It was great. My mum, sister's and I bought Crystal a few baby items that new mum's need like, baby powder, wipes, etc. My DH had a great idea and suggested we buy something specifically for Crystal so we got her a facial to have after the baby is born. Below is a picture of the present we bought for her and the card that I had made.

After the baby shower my mum, sister and I went out for coffee and cake and some girly chat. It was great to hang out with just the ladies in the family and chill out and relax. I decided that we will have to do this more often.

Saturday night my DH and I went to go and see the new Hugh Jackman movie 'Wolverine'. What a great movie. I really enjoyed it and thought it would be a boy's movie but ladies, let me tell you, there is plenty of eye candy for the girls to enjoy it just as much.

Sunday was such an easy going day. My twin sister was coming over to work on an assignment for university and I had decided that I was going to make some cards for Mother's Day and some to add to my collection that I am hoping to sell. So, with ABBA blaring in the background I got creative and came up with these very cute cards. I just love the colours I used and the stamps too. I do find supplies in Australia are much more expensive but it is so hard not to buy all the beautiful paper that I see.

Sunday night I cooked dinner for everybody. I used a recipe from my Biggest Loser cookbook. I made a beef and bok choy dish with Oyster Sauce. It was quite tasty.

As for Monday - what a total bludge day!!! I did nothing.......... literally nothing. The most I did was make pancakes for morning tea and play with my neice Olivia. I had such a great day. I enjoy spending days like this just before going back to work. I do fell just a little guilty as my DH worked is butt off today finishing off the decking. It looks great though but I know he and my dad will be tired tomorrow.

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

A Desperate Housewife

Bree Van De Kamp - polite, polished, domestic goddess - she keeps a tidy house, bakes daily and always looks perfect. The ideal housewife?? There are two sides to this woman - she is a member of the NRA (National Rifle Association), she can be a snob and most of all when push comes to shove she can be a right royal B*$#@!! I LOVE this woman!! I don't know her personally but have come to love her character on the t.v show Desperate Houswives.

What I mostly love about her are the more likeable characteristics. I would love to be able to keep house like she does, cook like she does, be artsy and creative like her and most of all - host dinner parties like she does.

Today I got the urge to bake and be creative and to host my sister to lunch - I was Bree Van De Kamp for a brief moment in time.

A day in the life of Bree (or more realiastically ME):

Hosting Lunch:

My twin sister came over to the house to study today. She has a little one at home and she is graduating this year and exams are coming up so she came to the house for some peace and quiet. Come lunch time my DH and I decided to surprise her and make her lunch - she had been studying all morning and needed a break. While my DH made roast beef sandwiches I whipped together a salad and then we set up the outside table for lunch. My sister was so grateful and impressed. It was funny - she actually thought we did this every weekend for lunch, I told her she just came on the right day.

Being Creative:

My nephews birthday is coming up next weekend and I had already bought his present but needed to make a card for him. I really had the creative juices flowing today and put together an adorable card for him. I also made some extra cards and am thinking of selling them. I haven't bought suppplies in such a long time and am still using stuff that I have around the house. I have taken a picture of the card I made - I think it's cute - what do you all think?

Baking:

I decided to bake some cookies for the staff at work. I chose Anzac biscuits - as next weekend is Anzac day so I thought it was appropriate. Also, we had lots of passionfruits at home so I made some cookies with passionfruit in them. If I do say so myself, both batches of cookies turned out really well. Here is a picture that you can drool over.

Well, there it is. My day as Bree Van De Kamp. I also managed to do the ironing, sit with my husband and enjoy the UFC and have a boxing session with my DH later that night. Not bad for one day.

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

Health Kick

Since watching this season of the Biggest Loser it has got me motivated to get off my butt and do some exercise and look after myself. I have to say that I am doing well and haven't put on any weight since I left Canada - needless to say I haven't lost any weight either. Although, for the first time in a long time I am happy with my body but would like to lose some of the extra bulge I find from time to time. I know I am not the only one like that in the world............ so I have decided to actively do something about it.

A few weeks ago I joined a woman's gym which is so close to home - it's awesome. Fernwood is located about 5 minutes from where I live and I really enjoy the all female aspect of the gym. They have all the machines you need - bikes, rowing machines, treadmills, etc. They have a weights area but best of all they have amazing classes that aren't overcrowded. This past week I had a trainer go through some of the weight machines with me and tell me which ones I should be doing - basically she gave me my very own programme to follow.

As for the classes, I have only had the opportunity to try two of them out. The Body Balance class is great - it is a mixture of yoga, pilates and balancing. Just love it!!! This morning I tried the Body Pump class - oh my goodness, this one is my favourite right now. You use a bar bell throughout the whole class and do lunges, squats and lots of other exercises while holding onto a bar bell. It was great and was easy enough to follow - next week I am going to use heavier weights to feel more of a burn and workout. One class that I am desperate to try but scared to try as well is the cycle class. I have seen them use these bikes on the Biggest Loser and it freaks me out but I really want to give it a go.

Now, I know it is not all about exercise only........... I have been eating better too. I am trying to follow a meal plan that one of the trainers from the Biggest Loser put together. It is fairly easy to follow and obviously encourages you to eat lots of fruit and vegetables.

Tonight for dinner I cooked a recipe from the Biggest Loser cookbook that I picked up from K Mart a few weeks ago. I made spaghetti and meatballs but the meatballs were made out of pork and veal mince instead of fatty beef. I also made a yummy Greek Salad to go with it. I don't cook very often but do enjoy it when I do. Here are a couple of shots of my yummy dinner.

Well, if anything, I hope I have got some people motivated to get off their butts and do some excercise at least three times a week.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, last weekend my parents bought a Wii and Wii Fit - there's more exercise there to keep anybody entertained for hours.

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

Happy Easter To All

What does Easter mean to me.............

*SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY - I will be spending Good Friday and Easter Sunday with my whole family. Good Friday we will get together and have a late seafood lunch. Easter Sunday we will come together at my parents place for a BBQ. I will be making dessert - apple crumble and apricot upside down cake (hope they turn out)

*CHOCOLATE - as a kid we used to get so much chocolate at Easter time. It would last right into winter time - that's how much chocolate we would receive. Now that I am older I don't need the chocolate anymore - infact I really shouldn't be eating it. Now, I get to buy chocolate for my neices and nephews. I also made some really cute little gift tags to go with the chocolates - I haven't scrapbooked or made any cards in such a while so to put these together really made my day.

*FOUR DAY WEEKEND - my DH and I both work in a bank and have got Good Friday and Easter Monday off - which means a four day weekend......... woo hoo!!! Yesterday at work was like crazy town - people really freak out at the thought of not being able to do their banking for two days so they all come in on the Thursday in a mad panic. Let me tell you...... we did not stop

at all all day so I really couldn't wait for Friday to come around.

I hope you all have a great Easter and enjoy your days off from work too.

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

A Lazy Weekend

When there is nothing planned on a weekend to me that means it is open for anything, everything or nothing at all. This was my weekend in a nutshell

1. two days of sleeping in

2. catching up on watching my taped episodes of Desperate Housewives (and there were alot)

3. Brother, Sister-In-Law and the kids came over for dinner - Burgers and Fries (homemade of course)

4. Watched Love Guru (a really stupid/funny movie) and Sweeney Todd (great movie with Johnny Depp)

5. Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday

6. Went to vote on Saturday to be told I was not on the list................ wait till next time.

7. hang around the house and chilled out with my DH

8. DH made some really good dinners - I am so lucky I have him.

9. Did three load of laundry and some ironing.

10. Enjoyed some wine and coolers :)


You know, sometimes it is nice to have nothing planned on weekends - you just don't know what to expect.

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

Byron Bay

Road trip............................ this morning we decided to get in the car and head South into New South Wales. My parents, DH and I were on our way to Byron Bay for a day trip. From where we live it is only about 1 hour away but once there you feel like you are further away then that.

Byron Bay is a beach town and a hippie town. Alot of very cool stores there and lots of great restaurants and bars too. It reminded me alot of Key West in Florida.

On our way to Byron Bay we stopped in at The Humble Pie Co. for some meat pies. My DH loves meat pies and the last time we went there they were really good . Whenever we head South we usually try to stop in there so my DH can get one. The pies were still good but not as good as the last time we went. Isn't that always the way............ the same thing happened the last time we went back to Disneyland. My DH was looking forward to a Disneyland hotdog but when he got one it just wasn't the same. I see a food theme going on here too.................. we love our food (if I haven't already mentioned that). The highlight of visiting the Humble Pie Co. was a huge lizard I saw in the garden. This thing was massive but when I went to get close to it to take a good photo (as you do) it moved away.

After our little pit stop we continued on to Byron and the first stop was going to be at the lighthouse. The lighthouse at Byron is at the most Eastern point of Australia and the views are amazing of the ocean. I took a few shots while we were there. We could see turtles swimming in the ocean and usually you can see dolphins too but not today.

The lighthouse was quite busy with tourists and just people in general. We decided to walk all the way down the path to lead to the most Easterly point - I thought it wouldn't be that much of a walk, was I wrong. Walking back up to the top of the lighthouse was a workout in itself - it was all uphill with so many stairs and we didn't have any water with us. Keep in mind it is stinking hot at about 30 degrees too. We all made it back up again and were glad to get back into the air conditioned car.

We drove back to the town of Byron and went for a walk through the stores and finally stopped for some lunch too. There were so many little cafes and gorgeous restaurants but we decided to stop at a hole in the wall place that sold Turkish foods (I think that is what it was anyways). I decided on a Falafel Pita and it was delicious. We all left the cafe satisfied with the food we ate and definetly wanting to return some time soon.

The road trip home was much quietier - my parents fell asleep in the back seat (dad snoring of course). A great day had by all..................... I love weekends.

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

Rolling Down A Hill In A Ball.......... who knew it would be so much fun!!!

My brother just turned the big 3-0 last weekend and my DH had asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate. Apart from having a big party to celebrate he also wanted to go on the Zorb!!

Picture this - a hamster inside a hamster ball..................... now picture a much bigger ball with a human being inside it. Funny image, right? Okay now picture that oversized ball at the top of the hill, filled with some water and pushed down the hill................... HILARIOUS!!!!

My brother, DH and my oldest nephew all went down in the ball together and we were all there to see them and laugh our butts off. I took a few photo's so you can get the idea of what it looked like.

Firstly, the guys had to walk up the hill to get to the Zorb. Once up there they were hosed down to lube them up so that it was easy for them to leap into the ball - yes leap into the ball.

The guy at the top of the hill then pushed them down and they went rolling down the hill. While in the ball the water was splashing all over them and they were flying around all over the place.

Alot of fun had by all.

My DH also got a really great photo of a Kookaburra that was just hanging out in our backyard. If you aren't familiar with Kookaburra's they come from Australia (obviously) and they make a sound like they are laughing. We usually get them in our backyard first thing in the morning - instead of a Rooster waking us up we have Kookaburra's.

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

The Biggest Loser Australia

Well, it is that Season again.................. Biggest Loser Australia is now rolling into it's third week on t.v and I haven't missed an episode.

I am so addicted to watching this series and seeing these people transform from overweight, week souls to fit, healthy and positive individuals. It is a great way to stay motivated and want to do something about your own health.

This year, for the first time, they are doing it in couples. This is a first for the t.v series, just for the Australian series. The last season I watched in Canada was a couples and it was great as you had somebody there with you to keep you going.

I think the thrilling thing for me is that these people are Australian's and some of them live quite close by to me here on the Gold Coast. Infact, just the other day at work the husband of one of the contestants came in and was so excited as he was going to see his wife for the first time in a while. That was when it really hit close to home that these are 'real' people with a 'real' struggle and they do have loved ones anxiously wanting to see them.

The trainers in the Australian series are amazing too - Shannan and Michelle. I do miss the trainer's from the North American series but these guys are just as inspiring.

While watching the show I learned that Australia has now overtaken the U.S.A as the fattest country in the world. THE FATTEST!!! The suprising thing is, I really wasn't shocked. When I moved back home I have to say that that was one of the first things I noticed, how much bigger everybody looked. The silly thing is - we have such great weather here all year round, there is no excuse for not being outdoors and exercising!!! It is scary.............. really scary to see how big some people are getting and to top it off, it is not the guys out there - most of the larger people I see are girls!!

So, how has The Biggest Loser inspired me............... since losing weight with Weight Watchers a few years ago I have always been watching what I put into my mouth. It is so easy to get carried away with candies, fast food, etc. I have started waking up extra early before work to do weights and go for either a jog or a walk. I have committed myself to a Netball team and will be playing once a week (the season starts this Tuesday), and I am going to continue to watch what I eat - I don't want to put on all the weight I have lost.

My theory is, if these people on t.v who weigh over 200kg can do this...................... so can I.

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

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish.......... any fish?

Last Sunday my brother, sister and I (and all our respected family) decided to head down to The Spit to go fishing. Yes, there is a place known as The Spit on the Gold Coast. Click on the link to learn more about it's name.

Sunday was another amazingly hot day - perfect weather to be by the water. Our adventure first started in the car park. The parking was on soft sand and unlike my brother and sister, we do not have a 4WD. Right now we are still borrowing my other sister's spare car (more on the car front in a later blog). Anywho, our car got stuck in the sand. My first thought, 'What a great way to start the day'. No matter what we did we couldn't move it forward and we couldn't move it backward. This reminded me so much of driving in the snow in Vancouver!! My DH suggested that we use one of the 4WD's to bump us out of the sand. I thought this was a bad idea but didn't want to say anything - I'm only a girl of course, what do I know!! Thank goodness a local could see what we were just about to do and came over to let us know that was a bad idea (told you) and that we should dig the sand from under the back tyres. My brother was absolutley no help - he had injured his finger the night before and didn't want to get sand on it. So here I am underneath the car digging the sand out from under the tyres - me and this very helpful stranger. We eventually got the car out of the sand and could start fishing.............. the story continues.

Fishing................. yeh right. As soon as we arrived at the watering hole I knew the boys were not going to be catching any fish. There were boats docked in the water, people swimming in the water and noise from the shore. Again, I didn't want to say anything, but how the heck did they think the fish would be biting - unless the fish were deaf of course. From what I understand it is best to fish in quiet surroundings. Of course I was right - there were no fish biting that day but the boys had alot of fun 'pretending' to catch fish.

The highlight for the kids was finding everything BUT fish that day. My nephews had found balls, a fork, bottles, sunglasses, etc in the water - everything but fish!!! That was the joke of the day.

After our attempt at fishing we decided to head to the nearby beach to get thrown around by the waves. We went to Main Beach were there were dogs allowed on the beach. I thought this was really cool. It was so cute to watch the dogs jumping waves too.

Another great weekend had by all in the sunshine............... I LOVE IT!

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

Rainbow Beach

...... doesn't the title just say it all. This past weekend we went up to the Sunshine Coast and stayed at Rainbow Beach. It is a four hour drive from where we live but it felt like a million miles away.

When my DH and I first moved to Australia my family had decided that they wanted to do a trip away all together and we were defintely up for that. I am always up for relaxing days by the ocean and just relaxing in general.

After work on Friday afternoon my DH and I hit the road with my two brother-in-laws and nephew for the long drive up north. It was quite interesting sitting in a car with four boys - I didn't know what to expect but we had a good drive up. We were listening to some really good road tripping music and had fun singing along to ACDC, Nickleback and Bon Jovi. Anywho........ we got to Rainbow Beach at about 10pm and sat around and chatted for a while (the rest of the family had driven up earlier in the day) and then we called it a night.

We stayed at Rainbow Beach Holiday Village - people could either rent a cabin, camp or caravan there. We stayed in a cute little cabin - apparently these cabins were used in the 2000 Sydney Olympics as part of the Olympic Village. Our cabin was perfect for what we needed. It had a mini kitchen, bathroom, bed and most importantly - air conditioning!!! It was really really hot while we were there.

On the Saturday morning we all met up at the BBQ area for bacon and eggs. Too bad if anybody else in the Village wanted to use the BBQ, just my family alone filled up the area. There were people staying in a tent just nearby the BBQ area - I am sure they were glad to see us leave after our few days there. It has hard to be quiet with 8 kids and 10 adults!!

After breakfast we headed out to the sand dunes that were nearby. My mum had been telling us about this area for quite some time and she wanted us all to see what it looked like. After a quick drive and a short walk through bushes we found the sand dunes. They were just magnificient - it was so amazing to see. I did take some photo's but it is truly something you have to see to believe. All around is just sand until you look over to each side and there is a cliff with the beautiful blue ocean all around. It was absolutely breathtaking.

After our morning at the sand dunes we headed down to the beach and went for a swim. The water was beautiful.......... a little rough but the kids loved jumping the waves. We had heard that there were jelly fish around and those things really hurt when they sting you. We kept a watch out for the jelly fish but we were all good - no stings on us. Unfortunatley, as we decided to leave the beach a little girl that was there with her family got stung. The lifeguards are well prepared for this and had an icepack on hand.

After the beach we headed back to our resort and had some lunch and then a swim in the pool. You would think that we would have had enough of water by then but it was so hot and it seemed like the best way to cool down. For some reason the men/boys decided to act out the final dance scene in Dirty Dancing while in the water. My DH and my brother were attempting to lift each other up in the air - it was actually quite funny and I got some great shots. None will be posted on my blog though - I don't think my DH would appreciate that.

For dinner that night we again took over the BBQ and had some sausages and steaks then the girls adjourned to one of the rooms and played poker whilst they boys drank beer and talked. It was a great way to end a great day. Us girls had lots of fun giggling, drinking and playing our version of poker.

We only wished that we could have stayed longer. My DH and I have decided we will try to do the trip again - this time staying longer than a couple of nights.

I love being able to do little getaways like this - it give you time to chill out and pretend you are far far away!!!

till next time.............

Australia Day

On Monday, January 26th was Australia Day. This is the day, back in 1788, that Captain Arthur Phillip landed in Australia. Click on the link if you are interested in learning more.

Basically as Australian's, we celebrate Australia Day in numerous ways - going to the beach, having a BBQ, at a park with friends, playing beach cricket, etc.

What did I do for Australia Day............ My DH, my parents and myself headed to our local council grounds to particpate in the Australia Day Celebrations. There was so much to see and do there, where do I begin.............

There were cute little piggies that did pig races - why is this an Australian thing to do?? Not too sure....... but it was fun to watch.

There was a rodeo with Australian Cowboys - it reminded me of the Rodeo at Cloverdale in B.C. We watched bull riding and and horse riding - it was actually really cool. There was also a wood chopping contest going on throughout the day too. I had never seen this done before and it was pretty cool to see them at work.

There was a poet who was reciting works done by Banjo Patterson. Banjo Patterson was a famous ballad writer back in the 'olden days' and he wrote our very famous song 'Waltzing Matilda' which alot of Australian's like to think is our 2nd National Anthem. While we were listening to the poet on Australian Day he was reciting the poem, 'The Man From Ironbark'. I remember learning this poem at school.

For lunch I had a yummy meat pie.......... Australia is known for there meat pies and even though it was a hot day I had to have one - it was Australia Day after all. There was also a group of people cooking damper the old fasioned way (see picture below). Damper is basically bread that was cooked in the outback on an open fire. It is so yummy to eat warm with golden syrup.

There was also a dog show with the cutest Border Collies. We spoke to one of the breaders there and her dogs were a mum and son, Trixie and Bronson. Sooooooooo cute and so friendly. During the dog show we watched as a trainer was 'dancing' with her dog and they also explained how to train dogs to catch frisbee's. This has made me want to get a dog ASAP!! Below is a picture of Trixie catching a frisbee.

We stayed at the Celebrations for a few hours but it was really hot out and decided to call it a day at about 1pm. We headed home to go for a swim in the pool and just chill out. It was nice to have the day off from work and relax.

For dinner that night we of course had a BBQ............ a great way to end the day.

It was so good to be home for Australia Day and my DH enjoyed his first Australia Day too.

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

Who Turned The Heat Up??

Last night had to be the hottest night we have had here on the Gold Coast this Summer so far. We had our window open with no breeze at all coming in. We also had our ceiling fan on full blast and I could not get cool. I finally woke up from the extreme heat at 3:30am - yes, A.M!!!! I never wake up this morning - only if my alarm is set to go off at that ridiculous time!!

I was so hot that I got up and laid infront of the t.v with a fan on me to cool down. I could not go back to sleep for the life of me and ended up watching so much crap t.v - Maury Povich, Oprah, The Fabulous Life of Kimora (boy that woman is so demanding and gets everything she wants), I also ended up watching quite a cute movie, Unaccompanied Minors. It had Wilmer Valderamma in it and the kid from Bad Santa (another great movie if you haven't seen it already). Unaccompanied Minors is about a bunch of kids who get stuck in an airport because of bad weather and get up to mischief while there. Just a fun movie to watch at 5am!!!! Seriously though, try and watch it if you get a chance.

By 6am the sun was already coming up and I realiased there was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep now. At 7am I was in the pool doing laps - it was still stinking hot and the pool felt more like a bath then a pool - the water was warm already so early in the morning.

Plans for the day............ to be honest I thought I would be half asleep by 9am but I wasn't. My DH and I decided to head to the beach for the day and we met up with my sister and her family. By the time we got to the beach the sun was mostly gone with alot of cloud in the sky but looks can be deceiving as it was still pretty warm out. We took an esky of fruit, lots of water to drink and headed to Miami Beach for the day.

Here is my neice Chloe enjoying the beach. She loved the water and jumping the waves but preferred to be playing in the sand.

As expected the beach was fairly busy today. The waves weren't too rough either which was good. My nephews just loved going out and jumping the waves. My older nephew had fun with my DH, they went out quite fair and were swimming in the waves and diving into them as well. After a swim the kids loved playing in the sand. I cannot stand the sand all over me - I know as I kid I would sit there and let my brother and sister's bury me in the sand, I just couldn't imagine doing that now.

We were at the beach for about three hours when we saw the dramatic change in the weather. The weather here reminds me of what we had to deal with when we lived in Florida. It can be hot and sunny one minute and then a total downpour the next. That's what happened today......

We noticed the dark clouds in the distance - while at the beach you can basically see from one end of the Gold Coast to the other and we could clearly see that there was rain in the northern part of the Gold Coast.

We decided to call it a day and thought we had plenty of time to pack up our stuff but we were mistaken. The rain came from no where and was hitting so hard. We had to pack up in the rain and walk all the back to our cars while getting soaking wet........... oh well, all the more fun I thought!! We had a great day at the beach but it was nice to go home and have a shower and a cup of tea.

The good thing about not getting much sleep last night is that I have tomorrow off from work as it is Australia Day, so I can sleep in a little. We are celebrating Australia Day by going to a type of fair, I guess you could call it. This will be my husband's first Australia Day celebrated in Australia. We are looking forward to a great day.......... hope the weather co-operates. Time to go, Dad's cooking a barbie for dinner (not the doll, a BBQ).

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