It's been a while.

Yes, it has been months since my last blog. You ask why - well to be honest I can be very lazy but infact, I have been busy, busy, busy, and here's why.

Since my last blog I had been planning my engagement party and we actually celebrated the big event last month. It was a great night, lots of good friends and family and lots of yummy food. We hired a singer to perform on the night and he was awesome. He sang Carribean music and it reminded us of our time working on the ships. It was just perfect. Our good friends made the Engagment cake which was delicious. It was an amazing night.

We have also been househunting for the past three months. Every weekend is spent looking at open homes or setting up appointments with Real Estate agents. In the beginning it was very exciting and fun but now, three months later, I am really just over it and want my own home NOW!!! We have been looking up and down the Gold Coast for a townhouse and there are plenty out there but some in much better condition than others. Through this whole experience I have learned the following:

1. Some people just live like complete pigs and have no shame in showing their sty's the way they leave them. Would it really hurt to clean the bathroom and kitchen and throw away the garbage!!

2. Most people on the Gold Coast don't use their garages for their cars - that is where they store the crap they have no use for anymore. The amount of stuff in some people's garages is amazing.

3. Apparently it's a buyers market out there. Well, somebody needs to tell the people selling their homes at ridiculous prices!!! I am not enjoying the cat and mouse game of making offers and waiting for a response. Who made these idiotic rules for buying a house!!

Hopefully it won't be too long till we find a home. Living with my parents has been great and fun but it would be nice to have something to call our own.

Finally, my DH and I met up with two of the local football players from our local team. Scott Prince and Ashley Harrison play for the Gold Coast Titans. Usually we make an effort to go to a couple of games each season but unfortunately we haven't even had time to do that. We saw these guys at the local shopping centre.

Will try to post more regularly.

Till next time.

Jo

A weekend getaway and a couple of cards

Last weekend my Fiance and I headed down to Sydney to go to see the UFC who had come to Australia for the first time.... and it was AWESOME!!

We headed down on Saturday morning and we were staying in the city at the Radisson which was only a 10 minute walk to the beautiful Darling Harbour. Saturday afternoon we hopped on a train and a bus to Bondi Beach to take a look around. There were so many people on the beach - it was crazy. Here is a picture of what the beach looked like. Bondi was a really nice area but with lots of 'different' kinds of people there!! My fiance and I decided the beaches on the Gold Coast are much better!!

Saturday night we met up with my cousins and their families for dinner at Darling Harbour. We had such a great night and their two little boys were just gorgeous. We don't get to see them very often but the older we get the more we try to catch up when possible. During dinner my cousin Ian started hyperventilating at the table as he saw some of the UFC fighters eating at the table behind us. We were all really excited as we had seen these guys on t.v but not in real life. We finally got the nerve to go over to the table - I usually wouldn't have but they hadn't even ordered food yet and my other cousin really gave us the push to go over. We met Rashad Evans who was sitting at the end of the table and was one of my favourite fighters. Sadly, he wasn't that friendly and didn't really want to talk to us or even take a photo but he actually did take a photo with us. He smiled in the photo which was nice of him but afterwards I had wished I hadn't bothered as he wasn't as friendly as he comes across on the t.v. :(

Later in the evening we went for a walk around the harbour and my Fiance had spotted another fighter from the UFC - Ryan Bader. Now, this guy was just lovely (and very cute too). He was so nice, he took a photo with my Fiance and then when I came back from where I was he took another shot with me in it too. Complete opposite of the first guy we had met. And to top it all off he won his fight the next day - that's Karma for you!! Now I didn't get the best photo of him and I couldn't fix it to be round the right way but I wanted to make sure you all got to see how so cute and big he was!!

Our weekend in Sydney was alot of fun. Sunday was fight day and all the fights were great. It was amazing to be in the crowd and cheer on the Australian fighters. Can't wait till it comes back to Australia. In the meantime, my fiance and I will just have to watch it on t.v.

Now, a quick little post as I promised my very good friend in Canada that I would post pictures of some cards I made at the Kaisercraft store in Robina. Here are two of the cards I made. I loved using the purple paper - I am not a big fan of purple but this paper was beautiful.

Finally, I hope you are all enjoying the Winter Olympic's. Australia has done pretty good if you ask me. It was great to watch the opening ceremony and I can't wait to watch the closing ceremony. I hope all my Vancouver family and friends are having the time of their life. Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.

Till next time....

Happy Birthday to Me and much more

What a busy week I have had.

On January 19th I celebrated my birthday with my twin sister. I had such a great day. My fiance sent me the most beautiful bunch of lilies to work and such a lovely note to go with the flowers. I had told him not to buy me anything as we just spent a lot of money on the engagement ring - but I have to tell you, receiving those flowers truly made my birthday. That night all the family got to together for coffee and birthday cake. It was one of the best birthday's ever. I even got to share the day with one of the kids in my preschool class. Her birthday was the same day and her mum made us a yummy chocolate cake to share with all the other kids.

Below is a picture of the beautiful flowers and my sister and I celebrating our birthday.

I also had to deal with a different side of getting older.................... I got my eyes tested and I am now having to wear glasses!!! I was finding it difficult to see things from afar so I got my eyes tested about 6 months ago and the optometrist said I should be fine for another 12 months. My family have been bugging me to go and see another optometrist to get a 2nd opinion, so I finally went. Straight away the 2nd optometrist said that I should have been prescibed glasses 6 months earlier. So here I am, for the first time in a long time, able to see so much clearer now. I was actually surprised at how bad my sight was. I just didn't realise it. Needless to say, I now look so much more like my twin sister who has been wearing glasses for years. No pictures of me yet.......... I am still trying to get used to how I look with glasses.

Today is Australia Day!!! Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!!

I am celebrating Australia Day by just chilling out at home. I've gone for a couple of swims, done some reading, scrapbooking and just generally taking it easy. For lunch we had prawns - delicious. For dinner we are going to have some yummy Aussie lamb.

That's me for now.

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

Weddings, Parties, Anything.

So, I have had nothing but thoughts of my wedding on my mind for the past two weeks and we aren't even getting married for another two years!! I know - it's crazy, and I never thought I would be like this but I am really excited and overwhelmed all at once about planning this wedding. My biggest desire is that everyone is comfortable and relaxed - I just want to have a really cruisy and stress free day.

I have asked my two sisters and my soon to be sister-in-law to be my bridesmaids. My twin sister will be my matron of honour. They all seem really excited - my sister's have been great giving me advice. Infact my sister-in-law, Crystal, and I had a great conversation last night and gave me some great advice. My head is exploding with information!!

Yesterday was my nephews 10th birthday!! I cannot believe he is 10 already. He is such a great kid. He has a wonderful, down-to-earth personality. Below is a picture of the two of us at dinner last night. He let me borrow his hat to wear. He looks really cool with that hat on.

My twin sister and I will celebrate our birthday on Tuesday. We are turning................... you don't need to know. I just can't believe I am in my mid thirties already - time flies!! Below is a card I made her. I just bought the stamp the other day.

Infact, funny story about the stamp. I went into the only stamp store I have found on the Gold Coast and the shop assistant would not leave me alone. She was asking me randomn questions that had nothing to do about stamping or card making. She was so annoying it was driving me crazy. Eventually I just gave up and bought the one stamp because she was bugging me so much. I think her manager needs to tell her to back off a little or else she will have no sales!!

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

A Happy New Year to Me!!!

It is 11:30pm on a Friday night. Everybody in the house is fast asleep and for the life of me I have a million and one things running in my head and am trying to figure out just how to plan a wedding....................... a wedding you ask. Yes, you read it correctly, after 9 years my DH and I have decided to actually get married. Alot of people have presumed that we are already married but we infact are not - we have just been together for soooooooooooooooooo long that it feels like it. But now we have decided to make it official.

So, yes - back to me being wide awake in the middle of the night. Keep in mind that the wedding is two years away - house first then wedding (that is what we both decided). I have been reading other people's blogs about getting married and planning a wedding and I am getting so confused. We know what we want - small wedding with family and close friends, somewhere where it is hot, not sure of location either Australia or somewhere else hot and tropical. Let's see what else do we know - NOTHING!!! Somebody help!!!

Seriously, I know I am just stressing over nothing.................. I have lots of time and we only just decided in the last week. We are heading to a bridal expo (the first of many I am sure) this Sunday so I am hoping to get some great ideas from there. For now, I will try to chill out and just enjoy the ride.

So, when did it happen, I hear you all asking. New Years Morning - I decided to ask him. Yes, you read correctly, I asked him and he said yes straight away. We then went looking for rings that day and I found the one I wanted on the Saturday. Here is a photo of it - hard to see. I am not a very knowledgable person when it comes to rings but I know what I like. It is white gold with a big diamond in the middle and 4 smaller diamonds on either side of the large stone. (I just realized that that totals 9 stones in total - and we have been together for 9 years. That makes it even more perfect to me). So as you can see I did have a Happy New Year and will enjoy planning this wedding with the man of my dreams.

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

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.............