HOPE IT'S HAPPY...

i thought i would post a few pics to see out the new year.
(i'll be blowed if i can get these damn pics to post in the body of the blog *sigh*)

the photos of kait and my niece bianca, were taken on christmas eve after we set the little wading pool up for the girls in the garage. it was so hot and they had a great time playing in the pool - bianca was in fits of laughter at kait just pouring water from one container to the next.
don't you just love those big blue eyes of bianca's...???
and how grown up does my baby girl look...???
i can't believe that she will be 10 in just 5 months time.

the calendar is the gift i scrapped for my dad and step-mum
(they loved it by the way)
i scrapped calendars for my dad, my mum and mark's parents - all with different pics but all with the same quote. they all seemed to like them.
the calendars cost $3.00 each from the local book store and when the year is over they will make a nice wall hanging for the oldies to keep.

hoping that you all have a fan-tab-u-lous new years eve and that 2006 shapes up to be all that you desire.
looking forward to seeing all the crazy pics of tonight's antics that you post.
our nye will be fairly sudued this year i think. just a few friends coming around for a few drinks and playing of board games and listening to music...
but you just never know......*wink*

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S TO YOU ALL

~*~ shazz ~*~

A NEW LOOK

i have decided to change the look of my blog.
green is my favourite colour and i love the freshness and feel of this blog template (and i have admired nic howards for ages - hope you don't mind that i am using it too nic) and to be honest the other blog was starting to depress me a bit and my life lately has been depressing enough as it is thanks.
i will add all the "extra bits" on the side when i can remember how to do it
(or i can convince shari to help me out like last time)

i hope that you all had a wonderful christmas, got thoroughly spoilt and had a lot of fun with loved ones.

our christmas was "interesting" and i won't bore you with the details but needless to say mark and i both agree that christmas here on our own - just our own little family of five - is the way we will be going in the future.
too many rellies carrying around their own excess baggage and "issues" and mark and i both agree that christmas is for our kids and their happiness and sense of the season is what is important to us.

the kids got thoroughly spoilt for chrissy. and that's the way it should be too.
* matt
- an electric shaver which i was surprised to see him using AGAIN today.
- clothes of his own chosing (can't get the size, style or colour wrong there)
- dvds, books, games, calendar
- soccer balls

* jake
- metronome to help him keep rhythm on his drums, drumsticks
- clothes of his own chosing (can't get the size, style or colour wrong there)
- dvds, books, games, calendar
- soccer balls

* kait
- a sound system small enough for her room but big enough for matt not to "borrow"
- clothes, books, games, calendar, dvds
- lots of crafty things to make and do

they all were happy with their gifts.
we have had so much fun as a family playing all the games
("cranium" is shaping up as a firm pratten family favourite)
and with the weather being so atrociously hot it has been nice to vege out under the fans and watch dvds.

my sister and her husband and their daughter, bianca were here for christmas as were my dad and step-mum.
it was so cool sharing christmas with bianca as it was her first christmas. kait took great delight in reading bianca a christmas story every chance she got and it was amazing to see the two of them sitting on the lounge together, bianca listening intently as kait read the story using all the appropriate "voices" for the characters in the book she was reading.
and like all 11 month olds bianca was more intrigued by all the paper around the place and the boxes everything came in than the actual presents themselves.

everyone that i scrapped gifts for were pleased with what they received - calendars are the way to go i think as they are the gift that lasts all year.
i was especially pleased with the diaries i scrapped - $1.70 from woolies - some cardstock, patterned paper, ribbons, embellishments and TAH-DAH.
and the only excuse i have for not having any pics to share is that the heat must have addled my brain - dad's calendar is still here so i will snap a pic tomorrow before they head off.

well that is enough of a waffle for tonight.

pics tomorrow of christmas frivolity and hopefully a calendar or two.

until then, stay safe and be happy

~*~ shazz ~*~

TAGGED !!!

i have been tagged by the gorgeous michelle grant - thanks michelle
(i actually like doing these things but never seem to get tagged, so thanks for my chance to waffle on a bit)

here's my spin on things...

Never in my life: do i want to go through the trauma of losing a child or my darling man, mark - i have witnessed first hand the grief that goes with losing a child and it is a very dark place to be and i pray i never have to go there.

When I was Five: i celebrated the last christmas with my dad for over 36 years (dad and mum seperated not long afterwards)
this christmas my dad will be at my house.
how exciting !!!

High School is: where i met mark and, corny as it sounds, the minute i laid eyes on him i knew i would marry him one day.
it is where i also excelled at being "miss goody two shoes" after a few wild years.

I once met: john paul young at a truck stop. we were on our way back to lismore after 4 years in canberra and i was pregnant with jake and as sick as a dog. i smiled at him, told him i loved him when i was younger then promptly ran out of the shop and threw up in a garbage bin. i made mark go back and explain that i was pregnant and he gave me an autographed napkin and a wave through the window
probably wanted to keep his distance

When I turn my head left I see: our new internet phone (we use it with a program called "skype") and i hate it cause i can never get the blasted thing to work

When I turn my head right I see: the "ab swing" with cobwebs on it - says a lot for my exercise regieme hey...???

A better name for me would be: mrs brad pitt - those of you who know me well will know the story - no laughing please girls !!!

I have a hard time understanding: my mother-in-law's intense dislike of me which has filtered down to my children - awful nasty piece of work THAT woman.
i have been with mark for 25 1/2 yrs and i am STILL not good enough for him or the precious family.

You know I like you if: keep in contact with you.
i have been very deeply hurt by certain people of the past few years and i tend to withdraw from their company, very quietly and then POOF !!!! - i'm outta there !!!
never to be seen from or heard of again !!!

Take my advice: read the "Desiderata" every day and try and live by what it says.

If you spent the night at my home: you will be surrounded by mayhem with my family coming and going to soccer practice, band practice, soccer games, physie classes, getting homework done, going to business meetings, call outs for our business clients, etc. etc but you will always find someone to talk to, somewhere comfy to sit, a yummy home cooked meal (by me), a cold drink (or a cuppa if you would prefer), someone willing to give up their bed for you, a dog to sit on your lap and check you out.
when can we expect you...???

I always make a point to: tell the people i love and care about that i love and care about them.

Not a day goes by that: i don't tell mark and the kids i love them and give them a cuddle (although the boys tell me they aren't "cuddle material" anymore - yeah right guys !!!)

I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: spend any time with my in-laws.
we have to go there on boxing day and play happy families
someone pass me a cockroach would you...???

And by the way: not only am i having my dad and step-mum here for christmas but also my sister and her hubby and their baby.
YAY - we get to spend bianca's first christmas with her - how exciting is THAT ???

consider yourselves tagged - shari and ivy

thanks for the opportunity to spill my guts michelle.....LOL

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

a lo celebrating my relationship with mark's simply darling auntie joanie - one of the most amazing, generous, caring and inspirational women i know. her marbled papers are gorgeous and i love having so many of them in my stash

this pic was taken at kait's farewell preschool concert back in 2001. she played the angel and with the look she gave us as she walked past she "almost" looked like an angel.


these are two of the los i submitted for a dt position with bumble bee designs.
in my wildest imagination i KNEW i didn't stand a chance i did kinda think my entries were some of the best los i had done.

the "thanks but no thanks" email was not well received (poor matty and jakey thought someone had died again) and after the day i had it wasn't an email i should have opened today.
oh well...i gave it a go and although i know none of the girls who are on the team i am sure their work is amazing.

just want to thank to the simply gorgeous marie for her constant support, encouragement and friendship
thanks to shari for her support and encouragement too.

hope you all have a great day tomorrow

~*~ shazz ~*~

SORRY

i am sorry i haven't blogged for a few days
(so much happening to and around my family)

i am sorry if i don't blog for a while - i will when i can
(so much happening in the next few days that will need my full attention)

i am sorry i can't share my life with you at the moment
(i am scared of being "scolded" for being too negative)

* i hope that you all survive the lead up to the silly season
* let your hair down a bit & get caught up in the magic that is christmas
* enjoy time with your family & friends
* wave to the shopping centre santa - i guarantee he will wave back
* do something nice for a stranger - i handed over my last $5.00 to a sweet lady yesterday who couldn't decide whether to leave the sweets for her husband or the stockings for her grandchildren - she repaid me with a teary hug & i felt so good inside as i walked away

may you have rainbows and candy canes in your life tomorrow
hugs, cuddles and kisses from those you love

~*~ shazz ~*~

DISRESPECT~DISBELIEF~DISAPPOINTMENT

i have seen the footage over and over again and i still can't get my head around the images of australians beating up on each other, destroying the property of others and hunting down each other like animals.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON???

and the thing that makes my blood boil the most, is seeing the australian flag being burnt.

so many young australians - not much older than those young people who are burning the flag - sacrificed their lives, fighting under that flag so we could live in harmony and peace and with the level of freedom we have come to know.
and these "animals" show the ultimate disrespect to this sacrifice by burning our flag.
and in reality it is their flag too, so what does that say about what they think of australia - the country they call home.
if nothing else, that flag unites us all as australians.
to see it being burnt makes me so angry and so very very sad.

so many opinions have been put forward as to whose fault it is that these riots have taken place.
is it the media who only reports the sensational aspects of the story to get us to watch their reports and read their papers?
is it the police who have allegedly sat back according to locals, and let the tension simmer for months?
is it the religious leaders who, through their passionate sermons of what is right and wrong according to their religion, incite these people to do the wrong thing?
is it the judicial system, who gives these young people a mere slap on the wrist for major crimes - bcause they have smart lawyers who get them off on a technicality?
where are the parents of these young people - were they not taught them right from wrong, respect for others and tolerance?

i don't know the answers.
i don't know where it will all end.
i fear for our country and our way of life.

i pray for the police officers, ambos and community leaders who put their lives on the line to keep others safe.
how frightening to be in such a situation and how scared their families must be for them.
i also pray for the people who have been affected by the thoughtlessness of others and for those who have a very unbalanced view of what is right and wrong.

take care everyone.
until tomorrow

~*~ shazz ~*~

AS UNPRODUCTIVE AS IT GETS

OH POO
POO
POO
POO

what an unproductive day i had today. from the time kait rolled over me and turned off the alarm instead of hitting snooze i should have known the day would be "interesting".
dashed out of bed at 6.30 and posted the qotw on ASC for shari - mr steve, shari and the boys are having a well earned break this week and i offered to do the qotw for her.
then mark decided he wanted to discuss the racial riots in sydney yesterday and overnight - i hate verbal sparring with mark because he is so logical about things and i am so emotional and passionate (must be my spanish heritage i think)

the phone rings at 7.30 and it is my sister jo wanting to know could she come here for lunch and could i look after my nephew for a few hrs while she went to the ante-natal clinic. jarrod is one full-on, over-the-top little guy who wants to know the "who, what, why and when" of everything he encounters so i knew that scrapping would be out as i had planned for the afternoon.

after i burnt the toast, not once, but three times as mark tried to "discuss" more current affairs with me, i managed to throw down some breakfast myself, have a much-needed cuppa, make 3 lunches for the gang, hang a few loads of washing up, get dressed for the gym and jump in the car to take kait to school.
halfway to school the mobile rings just as i was entering the black technology hole that exists between here and kait's school.
all i heard was mark's voice saying "usb mouse, work, helirescue", so instead of heading to the gym once i dropped miss kait off, i headed out to work to see what was needed.......
GRRRR

we service the computers and maintain the network for the local helirescue service and as you can imagine, they pay well for our services so keeping them happy and more importantly, flying, is an important part of our business.
i collected the mouse, raced it into the base but by then it was too late to go to the gym. so i grabbed some f&v and headed home so matt could have the car for the day.
"great" i thought - i have a few hours before jo and jarrod arrive so i will start to scrap some chrissy gifts but "OH NO"...that just wasn't gonna happen.
matt had left his wallet, hence his license, in the commodore which mark had a work. so i had to drive him out to work (20 minute trip because of course we got stuck behind the slowest driver to ever grace australia's roads), then back home again and then he left.

then just as i was walking down the stairs to my scrapping room, i hear jarrod's little footsteps running up the drive. jo, bless her, decided to come up a bit earlier and leave jarrod with me while she went and got some lay-bys out.
"SIGH"

my afternoon was spent playing games with jarrod and reading to him. i did venture down to my scrapping room, closely followed by jarrod but after he up-ended a tin of buttons, then unravelled some of my fibres because he thought that it would make a good climbing rope for his action figures, i decided that auntie shazzie and jarrod should have some time in the garden pulling up some more weeds.

jo arrived to take jarrod home just before i had to take kait for her last swimming lesson for the year. i did remember to take a scrapping mag with me so at least i got to scrap some los in my head.

hoping to scrap tonight - please god of scrapping grant me some time today.

as miss scarlett said "after all....tomorrow is another day"
(sorry to steal your "end with a line from the movie" trick, shell)

and miss scarlett is right

tomorrow is another day

and

tomorrow i WILL scrap

take care one and all

~*~ shazz ~*~

BUSY TIME OF THE YEAR

So much going on at the moment.

Friday night my friend Nadia, came around and we had a night in watching dvds. A few wines - ok...more than a few - and i was very giggly by the end of the night.
Nadia manages the Curves gym i go to but doesn't drink so that meant more for me. we watched the dvd, chatted and laughed - it was nice to unwind and get to know nadia a bit better. she is still "getting over" a breakup earlier this year and she is feeling very vunerable at the moment. she is so much younger than me but loads of fun. i made sure i drank a few glasses of water before i went to bed so my hangover wasn't so bad.

saturday, mark had to work on a project for one of our clients and was away all day so kait and i made the candy cane mice she is giving her classmates as a gift. they turned out so well, she had so much fun helping me make them and choosing the colours that would go together and she can't wait to give them to her friends. i think it is the first time i have picked my sewing scissors up to cut fabric in over 12 mths. had a good look through my fabrics again - it's been a while - i forgot what lovely fabrics i had in my fabric stash, now packed away.

last night after mark arrived home about 9ish (he was so tired after almost 12 hours straight looking at a computer screen, poor guy) and we threw on a dvd so he could chill out - we watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" with Johnny Depp in it - so funny in parts and the special effects were amazing.
matt had three friends over - with all their computers in tow - and they networked them all together and played "Age of Empires" a stratgey game. mark and i toddled off to bed about 11.30 and the boys were all still merrily playing. they think they went to bed about 3 a.m. !!
oh to be that young and energetic again.
and i fed them all this morning - pancakes galore.

today what started out with mark and i weeding one of the small garden beds out the front ended up with most of the front gardens being weeded, pruned, re-mulched and, despite my protests, mark digging up too of my favourite plants and relocating them because he hates the sight of them.
steve, our "across-the-road" neighbour jumped on the bandwagon and helped mark so for a while they were both in my bad books and i sat on the balcony ignoring them singing to me as a sign they wanted me to forgive them. i felt well and truly ganged up on I can tell you.....lol
i am glad we got most of the front garden spruced up though as we are having our annual street party next weekend and it's in our front yard. so there will be a lot less next week to get done in preparation.

after lunch mark took kait off to the local waterslides, the boys went to band practice and i wrote most of our family christmas newsletter, wrote in some chrissy cards, vacuumed, got the clothes in and folded and ironed and had another flick through the SM Masters mag - still blown away by everything in it.

so it has been a non-productive scrapping weekend but productive in lots of other ways. but i have printed up my pics ready for scrapping some calendars for family and friends.
so look out tomorrow - i will be ready and raring to go.

almost time for bed so i wish you all a wonderful tomorrow filled with love, happy times and rainbows.

~*~ shazz ~*~

GOALS

wanna set myself some goals and writing them down may make them more real than just "airy-fairy" thoughts in my head.
might make me more accountable to myself as well.

1. go to bed earlier - no more lounge lizard or computer "creature-of-the-night". i love reading and i should go to bed earlier and read.
2. spend more time doing things with mark and the kids - i get so worked up in having dinner cooked and on the table, the washing hung up and the house tidy (well as tidy as the Pratten house gets), etc, etc that i miss all the games they play and the fun they have.
3. take more photos with me in it (a wide-angle lens may be called needed for this little goal) - mark commented last night that i am in hardly any of the photos we have taken over the past few years
   
4. get more organised - the frantic pace at which i do things is because i don't get myself organised enough - the family feels frantic too and tempers get frayed and hurtful things are said
5. get my scrap space organised and get scrapping - i spend so much time looking at what others have done (and that can be both inspiring and frustrating) and i am sure that i can scrap the way i want if i just give myself some time
6. stop buying scrapping stuff until my stash gets to a more manageable level (might even be able to afford a Canon Rebel if i stop spending money on scrapping stuff)
   
7. start to get serious about losing weight - go to the gym on a regular basis, start back walking, eat the "right" foods and start feeling good about who i am
8. not to let the thoughtless actions and words of others upset me so much - i can't make people like me and i refuse to be someone i'm not, just to get people to like me - here I am....warts/hairy armpits/sad times and all....like it or lump it people - i may not be as trendy or talented or "with it" as some people but all in all i think i am a good and caring person - what a boring old world we would live in if we were all like the same
9. be more tolerant of people - only to a point though - the days of people taking advantage of my good nature and kindness are over - "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice - shame on me"
10. be thankful each and every day for the things i have in my life - the love of my beautiful family, a roof over my head, food on the table, nice and reliable cars to drive, good health and the love of a few close friends
11. and finally as a dear friend told me not so long ago - remember to breathe
    

these are my goals
*message to self*
come back and read these on a regular basis and strive to acheive them

happy times for one and all tomorrow

~*~ shazz ~*~

INCHES LOST !!!

It was another hot stinking humid BLAH day today and tonight is not much better.
mark and i have decided to bite the bullet and raid the bank account (such that it is) and buy the ceiling fans we decided on a few weeks back and have them installed. the kids all have floor fans but they have such a big footprint and in jakey's room especially with the entire drum kit in there, room is very minimal.

i went off to the gym today and decided to bite the bullet and get weighed and measured. i have avoided it for the past few mths because i just knew that it wouldn't be pretty. i have put on 1.9 kgs which was a bit depressing but the pleasent surprise came when i was measured. against all odds i have lost inches and since starting the program i have lost 30 inches!!!
to say i was shocked was an understatement but i am pleased.
without even trying too hard i have managed to drop those inches....
imagine how many i would lose if i really gave it a good shot !!!!
then tonight, del our darling neighbour popped over to "borrow" some tomatoes and as i turned around to get them out of the fridge she asked me if i had lost weight !!!
i was very chuffed to say the least.
nicole kidman i am not - and never will be - but i was so pleased to get that compliment from del. very pleased indeed.

no scrapping today as i got stuck in and started writing in my chrissy cards. no handmade ones this year as with every good intention i had, they just never got made.
oh well.
i have promised myself that one of my new year's resolutions will be to make a few cards every week or so and have all these gorgeous handmade cards to amaze people with christmas 2006.
joanie always keeps me supplied with her gorgeous papers so i will have plenty of paper to create my creations.
the latest pieces she has passed onto me are just amazing....almost too beautiful to cut up and use.

i am planning on scrapping up a storm tomorrow so hopefully the scrapping gods will be kind and make all my other chores disappear so i can scrap.

i like peeking in on the lives of other bloggers and always find a good chuckle on ngaire bartlam's blog - go and have a look and a good old chuckle (click on the links)
man....that woman must do a lot of net surfing to find all the cool things she does.
and she always has such "get-down-and-boogie" music playing in the background too.

well my gorgeous fella is finally home and we are gonna have some "us" time

wishing you a tomorrow filled with smiles, rainbows, flowers, laughter and love
til next time

~*~shazz~*~

p.s. marie - donna, my other "vertically challenged" friend is all of 4'11 and 1/2" tall.

*wink*

BIT OF A WHINGE

I really do hate summer.
I hate the humid, sticky sweaty days when you seem to stick to any surface you touch..
I hate getting in and out of air conditioned cars or going in and out of air conditioned stores.
I hate it being so hot it zaps all your energy and you feel like doing nothing - which i have done most of tonight.
I hate the violent storms that roar down on us with high winds, hail and torrential rain.
I hate it being so hot that you can't sleep.
yep........
I HATE SUMMER.

now that little whinge is out of the way i feel so much better.

the weekend was just so busy - see my previous post for saturday's mayhem.

saturday night was such a hoot.
what a gorgeous bunch of girls to party with. and i didn't even have to be tiddly to have a good time. just two glasses of red with di, kait's teacher, cause i had to drive.
we ended up at the new cocktail bar, singing loudly and badly along with the kareoke thing they had happening and just laughing so hard we were literally falling about the place.
got home about 1.30-ish and was fast asleep when mark arived home from brissy at 2.

sunday i put my "responsible mother" hat on and cleaned like a demon.
only thing i didn't do was the oven - avoiding that little quagmire like the plague i can tell you.
we put the chrissy lights up on the house and i finished off kait's good work with decorating and threw a few bits of chrissy cheer here and there throughout the house - looks quite festive i think and kait is just so wrapped up in the whole christmas thing. i hate to think that maybe next year will be her "find out that santa's not real" year. she has asked a few questions this year and mark is insisting that we tell her but i just want her to believe a little longer - i don't think 9 is too old to believe that some magic still exists in the world - hell i'm almost 42 and i still like to believe that magic exists out there.....somewhere.
my awful cousins told me when i was about 6 and i remember crying so hard for so long.
no wonder i don't talk to them anymore....lol

anyways, kait and i have a busy week this week making chrissy gifts for her classmates - a cute little felt mouse with a candy cane tail that I found on The Scrap Heap site.

sunday afternoon, nadia, who manages the gym i go to, rang and was feeling a little low so i invited her around for a chin wag and a coffee on the balcony.
it was such a lovely aftrenoon. we nattered away about anything and everything, laughed and just had a great time.

today i did a canteen roster at the school then came home with grand plans of scrapping, doing chrissy cards.....anything but veged out on the lounge til it was time to go back and get miss kait from school. i really hate it being so damned hot and sticky.

donna, my oldest, dearest and shortest (lol....sorry mate) friend called me tonight. after almost 2 mths of not hearing from her except for the occasional email, it was such a comforting feeling falling back into that friendship - a friendship based on almost 30 yrs of laughter, tears, happiness, love and respect. we finish each others sentences, we laugh at the same things.
i know i can say anything to her and not fear ridicule.
we accept each other warts and all and i do love her dearly.
she does my heart and soul much good.
i am so blessed to be able to call her my friend.

now it seems that dad and erica will be back up for a few weeks dealing with a family crisis -
dare i mention what it is......lol
2005 has certainly been a year of it for our family.
but we have been so much luckier and better off than many families in the world.

wishing you all a wonderful tomorrow.
may it be filled with happiness and love

~shazz~

SCATTERED TO THE FOUR WINDS

Our family has been scattered to the four winds today.

Mark and I didn't arrive home from our work Christmas Party unti about 1 this morning. We ran into Kait's school principal at the local watering hole where the party was held, and the three of us sat talking and laughing until long after all our staff had left. It was a VERY funny night - well the last part of it was.

Kait and I hit the stores this morning for candy canes for the gifts we are making the children in her class, new shoes for me (a new pair of Colorado sandles - black, practical and comfy for work) and Kait and I both got a sparkly pair of shoes for no other reason other than we both loved them. Kait's are blue and mine are gold - very sparkly and very festive.

Mark got an Optus callout to Mt Nardi at 10 this morning and after 5 hours of stuffing around because of wrong keys and codes sms'd up from Sydney he arrived home long enough to gobble down a sandwich and then get dressed and head off to Brisbane with some clients, for a business meeting tonight.

While Mark was at Mt Nardi, Kait and I headed down to Ballina to watch Eden, Mark's brother's daughter in her Christmas dance recital. Matt's girlfriend, Shannon and her sister dance with the same studio so it was good to catch up with Shannon's Mum for a chat.

Tonight Jake has gone to watch the local Under 21's football team play for a place in the final with Alex.

Matt has headed to Ballina to watch Shannon dance tonight.

Kait is heading off to Kerrie and Graeme's for a sleepover because I am heading out for the Curves Christmas party. There will be minimal alcohol for me tonight though because I have to now drive because Mark has gone to Brisbane.

I scrapped for a whole 15 minutes this morning - actually all i did was pull out stuff for a LO and make more mess on my mess.

The Christmas tree is sort of up thanks to my baby girl's wonderful decorating efforts last night.
Lights, tinsel, door decos, etc will come tomorrow after I clean up the mess around the Chrissy tree.

NOW.
TIME TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH.
IGNORE THE MESS.
GO OUT TONIGHT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.
PRAY THAT MY SCATTERED FAMILY ENDS UP BACK HERE TONIGHT IN ONE PIECE.

Hope you all have a great Sunday.

~*~ shazz ~*~

PROMISES AND THANKS

I promise I will be back blogging soon.

Thankyou so much to all the people I now "know" are friends who have encouraged me and supported me to keep on posting.

A special thanks to my FAB-U-LOUS friend Marie who has been such a doll and such a support through what's been a difficult week for our family.

a happy tomorrow to you all

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

QUIET DAY

A quiet day at home reflecting on the past few days and I guess life in general.

We held Nanna's funeral yesterday - a celebration of her remarkable life and her amazing spirit and zest for life. Both Mark and I were just blown away by the depth of our emotions yesterday. It was just the most beautiful service and Nanna would have loved it.
Lots of singing - hymns Nanna loved; songs sung by Susie in a voice so angelic it brought many of us to tears; Lynny's beautiful piano playing; Jen's hilarious, memorable eulogy that had us doubled over with laughter until the tears again ran down our cheeks and the final gesture by the minister of Nanna's entire family holding hands while he prayed for us all - it was a beautiful uplifting moment of fellowship, friendship and love.
Just so beautiful - just so Nanna.
I will miss your presence on this Earth darling Nanna but the love you showed me and the lessons you taught me about love and family will be with me always.
Rest in peace dear one.

Thank you to everyone who has sent emails, SMS's, replied to posts on various online sites and to the girls from The Craft Attic who blew me away with a gorgeous bunch of flowers delivered today. Your thoughts and prayers at this sad but somehow joyous time for us will not be forgotten.

So today I had a quiet day at home. Locked myself away in my scrapping room, turned off my mobile, took the phone off the hook and scrapped a LO that has been sitting on my bench for a few weeks now. I am pleased to say it is done, I am happy with the outcome.

I have also been trying to decide if I will apply for the Bumblebee Crafts DT. I have some LOs that I have done in the past few days that I really love and a card that I think is ok and I will probably submit the canvases I did for Mark, if I decide to apply.
*SIGH*
It's just a decision I don't want to deal with right at this moment
(despite the deadline being only 2 days away)

Until my mood picks up a bit, I may give blogging a miss for a while.
Despite a few "choice words" via email by someone who thinks I am constantly the bearer of bad news, I believe this is my blog and you don't have to read it.
And to tell me that you feel so depressed after reading my blog and under the guise of friendship tell me that I am a very negative person well I am kinda at a loss for words.
You don't have to read it - it's your choice.

I do hope that you all have a happy tomorrow.
Till next time

~*~ shazz ~*~

GREAT SADNESS

It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Mark's darling Nanna passed away tonight at 9.25, just 2 days short of her 100th birthday.

She went quickly and peacefully and the sisters at the nursing home said that maybe she felt that now we had all gathered in preperation for her birthday on Sunday that it was time she left us to join Grandpa Sid.

I am just home from the nursing home after spending a few hours up there with Mark's darling aunt Ruthie, Aunt Helen and 2 of Mark's cousins and Ruthie's husband. It was a few hours filled with many tears and much laughter, reminising, and final goodbyes.

Mark was out at a business dinner and had more than a few drinks when his father rang him with the news so he came home but didn't think it appropriate to go up to the nursing home to say goodbye.

We will still have our celebration of Sunday as almost all of Nanna's family is now here but it will be a celebration of her life and thanksgiving for the beautiful and amazing lady that she was.

Rest in peace darling Nanna - free now from pain.
Safe at last in the loving arms of God and her darling Sid.

~*~ shazz ~*~

SOOOO TIRED

After a lonnnnnnnnnng day at work (and next to no sleep last nite) the last thing I needed when i got home was hassles.
Makes me wonder if my feeling totally and utterly BLAH and drained of any "positivity" this afternoon, attracts negative things into my life.

The soccer federation rang this afternoon to say that Jake had missed his clothing fitting for next year's rep team.
*SIGH*
I DID call last week and told them that he had decided not to play next year - and it was HIS decision - but apparently the message didn't get through to those who needed to know.
So after a 2 minute tirade from the silly woman who thinks she runs the show over there, and her repeatedly asking me why he wasn't playing I told her that she could expect a call from Mark tomorrow with a list of our grievances with their organisation.
If I had started telling her the reasons Jake had decided not to play next year I may have STILL been on the phone to them.

Then the phonecall from Mum, after her few afternoon drinkies, bemoaning her situation and somehow the conversation turned to that if I had been a better daughter to her she wouldn't be in her situation.
She zaps my energy and she is an emotional black hole that seems to swallow me up.
Why do I put up with it - with the abuse and the emotional, heartwrenching accusations of HER life situation somehow being MY fault...???
I'm not sure.
All I can say is, she is my Mum and I guess no matter how much I like to think the heartstrings and emotional ties have been severed
(geez, we haven't set foot in her house since Boxing Day last year)
she is, and always will be, my Mum.
I ended up hanging up on her and haven't answered the several attempts she has made to call back
(gotta LOVE caller ID)

I am sure if I wasn't so tired and weighed down by things I HAVE to get done, like, YESTERDAY, things might not seem so bad.

Sorry about the downer post.
Think I might go cuddle my baby girl until she begs me to stop. Gotta love the cuddles you get from your kids - so full on, so healing and without any holding back.
Yep....look out Kait....Mummy's coming for a cuddle.....LOL
Life seems so much better when I look at all the good things around me and push the bad aside.

May your day be filled with happiness, smiles, rainbows and a million little joys to brighten and lighten your heart.
Gonna make sure mine is.

~*~ shazz ~*~

TAGGED !!!

I have been tagged by the wonderful Miss Trish - thanks Trish.
I mean it - THANKS !!!!
Another bout of insomnia has seen me up at 3 a.m. AGAIN and now i have something to do.

~*~ shazz ~*~


2 NAMES I GO BY
Shazz
Mum

2 PARTS OF MY HERITAGE
Irish/Scottish mix
Spanish

2 THINGS THAT SCARE ME
Frogs jumping on me
Late night phone calls

2 OF MY EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS
As many "I love yous", kisses and cuddles from Mark and the kids as I can get
My anti-inflammatory tablet


2 THINGS I AM WEARING RIGHT NOW
a blue floral nightie (VERY ATTRACTIVE)
and my blue fluffy slippers

2 OF MY FAVE BANDS/MUSICAL ARTISTS
Il Divo
Tommy Emmanuelle

2 FAVE SONGS AT THE MOMENT
Don't Wanna Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
It's My Life - Bon Jovi
(just LOVE singing that one loud and proud in the car with the windows up)


2 THINGS I WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP (other than real love)
friendship
faith/Trust

2 TRUTHS
i have a rare bone disease (Kienbocks disease) in my right wrist that will eventually see me lose all mobility in that hand - i am currently at stage 4
i am currently under the care of a therapist

2 PHYSICAL THINGS THAT APPEAL TO ME (in the opposite sex)
eyes
a good sense of humour

2 OF MY FAVE HOBBIES
scrapping
reading

2 THINGS I WANT REALLY BADLY
matt (ds1) to get a job and be happy
Canon EOS 350D digital SLR (Santa are you listening??)


2 PLACES I WANT TO GO TO ON VACATION
gallipoli
canada

2 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
scrap ALL my photos
see my children happy and hopefully have some grandbabies

2 WAYS THAT I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK
i moisturise everyday without exception
i can NEVER find anything in my handbag, despite cleaning it out every few days

2 THINGS I AM THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW
mark's Nanna's 100th birthday celebrations (this sunday)
mark driving carefully to the conference in brisbane today

2 STORES I SHOP AT
stamp crazy (my LSS)
the temple door (local store with the scrummiest casual clothes)


2 PEOPLE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE TAKE THIS QUIZ
shari
zina wright (do you even have a blog miss zina??)

Have a great day folks

BUSY BUSY BUSY

I have had such a busy few days.

Dad and Nanny arrived yesterday and we went and had a VERY yummy lunch in town. I had chicken caesar salad (no anchovies - BLAH) but was soooooooooo delicious. Dad's shout too which I was pleasantly surprised at - Dad's not known for his "off-the-cuff" generosity but I appreciated his gesture. For a man who never told me he loved me until I was 29, I take every ounce of affection I can get from Dad.

Kait had today off school for some "Nanny-time" so they have had a great day of playing board games, doing jigsaws and just hanging out. I think Nanny loves it as much as Kait does.

After I toddled off to the gym, we went down to Ballina this morning for some shopping. I took Nanny to the gorgeous little craft store that I re-discovered a few weeks ago and we looked for some heritage laces and embellishments so I can scrap Nanna Pratten's canvas. I found some simply gorgeous hand tea-dyed beaded laces (and mighty expensive too) which I bought 30 cms of. Just couldn't resist. I am a sucker for things like this.

I also took a copy of the memory book cover that Ruthie (Mark's aunt) designed and had it enlarged and will have it matted so people can sign it at the celebration get-together on Sunday. It has the most stunning pics of Nanna on it in her wedding gown, her 21st birthday portrait and a photo of her taken when she was about 2. It is the most stunning design and I get quite emotional when I look at it. I can't wait for everything Joanie, Helen, Ruthie and I have done to be all together in the one place. It should be a very memorable day. My only regret is that Nanna will not have a level of awareness of all that is going on around her. She really loved a good "shin-dig".

I have also committed to providing an "inspiration" each week for The Craft Attic which I need to think up something inspiring and scrap something relating to that inspiration.
Just another chore to add to the list.

And the Christmas cards.

And Kait's classes Christmas gifts.

And scrapping calendars as Christmas gifts for rellies.

And making Christmas paper and tags.

And wrapping Christmas gifts.

**SIGH**
If anyone can tell me how to survive without sleep I would appreciate it.
Or maybe cloning could be an option.
HMMMMmmmmmm

A happy tomorrow to you all

~*~ shazz ~*~

SAFE AND SOUND

Matt and Jakey arrived home safe and sound about 1 a.m.

Another heartstring severed.

Have a great day

~*~ shazz ~*~

KEEP THEM SAFE

My boys are out at a concert tonight.
Matt drove himself, Jakey, Shannon and a friend to the concert and he will be driving home afterwards.

Please higher power who controls such things, keep my boys safe.

Letting go of my babies is proving to be much more difficult for me than it is for Mark and my fears of losing them is irrational and makes me cry and shake.

I held them in my arms just a little bit longer as they said goodbye tonight.
I know it makes them uncomfortable but it is something i need to do;
to somehow make them safe by holding them to my heart.

Mark just smiles at me knowingly and says I have to trust them and trust in what we have taught them -and I do.

It's just a fear every mother holds in her heart as she lets her babies go out into the big wide world;
as each heart string is severed with each new life experience they try.

When they pull into the driveway tonight, safe and home at last, part of me will forget this irrational overwhelming fear I have.

But there will be more concerts; and outings; and life experiences.
And again I will become irrational, and cry and shake.
I can't help it - i am their mum.

Please higher power who controls such things, keep my boys safe.

~*~ shazz ~*~

GOTTA LOVE WEEKENDS

What a beautiful day it was today.
Sun was shining - not too hot - the winds of the past week have all but died down and i seemed to have energy to burn.

I spent the first few hours of the morning, after cooking up a pan full of scrambled eggs for Mark and I (can't believe my kids don't like scrambled eggs), searching online galleries for some ideas for LOs. Came across some amazing LOs and some great ideas. I can feel a scrap-lift or two coming on
(don't you think the word "scrap-lift" sounds naughty???)
Sketched them all into my ideas book and just gotta find the time to do some scrapping now.

Jake, Matt, Kait and I then switched the huge computer desk from Jakey's room and the smaller desk from Kait's room. Took some doing as we had to pull the huge desk apart - what a team effort and lots of giggles that involved. But the rooms are sort of back together again. The kids threw out a heap of old colouring in books, school workbooks, etc. At least Kait's room is tidy for Grandad and Nanny to move into for a few days on Monday.
Mark had to work most of the day on a program but it was nice that he was home by 3ish.

I did several loads of washing. Well about 6 to be exact. I have a theory that if you leave the washing in my laundry chute
(yes.....I feel very lucky to have a laundry chute)
for more than 24 hours it starts breeding. Just so much of the stuff.
Mark also FINALLY replaced the line on my extenda-line. A job that he has been "getting to" the past few years. How empty is my life - I am actually looking forward to hanging out the clothes tomorrow and trying out the new line.

The three kids + 2 of Matt's mates spent the afternoon rebuilding and modifying the billy cart that has been in various stages of construction for the past few years. And what a hoot they had too. The finished product took several test runs down the street
(we live in a cul-de-sac and all the drivers are very mindful of the possibility of kids on the street)
and was videoed by Matt to be made into one of his film collations.
It wasn't until Mark and i felt it was getting too dark that we called them in.

Dinner was a very easy throw together of snags on bread and salad and we were all washed up and on the lounge by 8.30 which was nice.
Mark, Matt, Jake and I watched "War of the Worlds" on DVD with Tom Cruise.
I spent most of it with my head under a pillow or behind Mark's shoulder. It was a REALLY SCARY movie. But then again the original scared me too when I saw it many many moons ago.

I also started writing in my Christmas cards for this year. I figure if I do about 10 each night I should get most of them knocked over by the beginning of December. I am only making a few "special" cards this year and for people I know will appreciate them and the effort that goes into making them.
I can't believe how close Christmas is and I am getting a little panicky as I do this time every year.
Just gotta make that list and check it twice.
HMMMM....I reckon there might be a song in that !!!

I hope that your tomorrow is a bright, happy and blessed day for you.

~*~ shazz ~*~

SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT YOU SEE

I found this quote on the wonderful Tara Whitney's blog
(yes....even I manage to access such scrapping icons)

With all that is going on in "certain" areas of my life at the moment I hope that it is duly noted by the appropriate people.
And while they are at it, they might do well to look up the meaning of "friendship" too.

"i am aware that i am less than some people prefer me to be,
but most people are unaware that i am so much more than what they see"
~ douglas pagels ~

A happy tomorrow to you all

~*~ shazz ~*~

INSOMNIA AGAIN

GRRRRRRRRRR

It's 3.45 and I am wide awake.
Mating koalas in the tree on the reserve woke me about an hour ago and I have tossed and turned ever since.
It's too cold to go down to my scrapping room and do some of the scrapping I HAVE to get done, so I am net surfing.
Mark woke up too so he is working on a program for work.

Hopefully a nana nap today will be possible.
Have a happy day everyone and i hope you are all tucked up in your beds

~*~ shazz ~*~

SO MUCH TO DO !!!!

Such a busy, frustrating day. Until I realised that my expectations that things would go wrong were actually causing things to go wrong, it was an awful day.
A 5 minute walk at lunchtime around the estate where I work soon cleared my head and attitude, and things seemed a whole lot better this afternoon.

I was most impressed with the Socceroos win last night even though the headache from hell saw me tucked up in bed by 8.30. I saw the highlights on the news this morning and by the recollections of each shot on goal around the Prattens' breakfast bench this morning, I think it was a great win by the lads.
Fingers crossed for a good result in the World Cup next year.
All my boys feel the team will do well and Jake even dared to say they may even have a good chance of a finals berth.

I have been in contact with Mark's Aunt Joanie tonight to help her organise Nanna Pratten's 100th birthday celebrations next weekend. Poor Joanie, who is normally a well-organised lady, is in such a flap over things so I spoke to her on the phone for nearly an hour and helped her make a list that we then allocated jobs to people from.
I am so angry at Mark's father for not playing more of a pivotal role in helping Joanie out and I will be blowed if I will allow him to take any of the credit when the thanks are handed out next weekend.
Aunt Ruthie, Aunt Helen, Aunt Fay (who isn't even one of Nanna's daughters) and I have done all of the organising and planning and it frustrates me no end that despite requests for help, it has not been forthcoming from more family members.
Nanna was so good to me when I started seeing Mark and her blessing to us on our wedding day meant everything to Mark and I.
Let's face it, it's not everyday a family member turns 100.
I am pleased that I spoke to Joanie tonight and she did seem a lot more reassured that Nanna's day would be a special occasion by the time I got off the phone.

Joanie has also told me she has wedding pics of Nanna and Grandpa Sid (I was SO excited when she told me as Mark has never seen them) so after the celebrations die down I will be getting a copy of them and scrapping them for Mark.

Winter seems to have returned up here today. I have had jeans and a jumper on at work and I noticed even the high school kids were in jumpers when I drove past this morning. The winds have been amazing and VERY chilly.
I can't believe we were sweating this time last week.
CRAZY WEATHER !!!

Well I have so much to get done scrapping wise and the reshuffle of the scrapping room was put on hold today while I worked so I must get my finger out, my backside into gear and get a move on.

I hope you all have an amazing day tomorrow.

~*~ shazz ~*~

p.s. a big thank you to the FABULOUS Miss Marie who always reads my blog posts and sends me a comment.
Gotta love ya darls xxoo

KARMA

What a beautiful thing is karma...???
I believe what you send out into the world, you get back tenfold and in the past 24 hours I have seen the effects of both good and bad karma.
Justly deserved in both cases.

Matt's new mattress arrived this morning and his bed surrounds will arrive in about a week so FINALLY I can say his room will look half decent instead of like a commune's bedroom. He has resisted getting a bed since his waterbed split and we couldn't justify spending the money to repair it again.

Jakey is still drumming away. Both he and Matt have donned their Australian Football (soccer) strips in response to the call to all supporters to don the green and gold for tonight's game. Jake told me this afternoon he is so nervous for the team - he feels sick in the stomach with nerves when he thinks of the game. Mark is under strict instructions to be home by kick-off. A perfect opportunity for me to escape to my scrapping room I think.
GO AUSSIES GO - KICK SOME SOUTH AMERICAN BUTT.

I am still doing the scrap room reshuffle but did manage to get a tiny bit of scrapping done this afternoon. I put the "pile" on the bench behind where I sit and scrapped away happily in the space I had already tidied.
I got a package of goodies from The Craft Attic today - 20% off til the end of the month - but have promised myself I will not open it until my scrapping room is reorganised and tidy. I did order some new scrapping books and can't wait to read them but I have to keep the promise I made to myself.

Molly and Tilly were groomed today and despite everyone hating the new look puppies, I am sure they appreciate having their winter coats clippered off. They have such cute little faces when they are clipped and it certainly has to be a lot cooler for them.

Well thats' today in a nutshell.
Hope you all have had a wonderful day and that tomorrow is even better for you.

~*~ shazz ~*~

p.s. I was sorry to hear that the house shari and steve had their hearts set on, has been sold.
I can only imagine how sad you guys are but here's hoping there is another house out there to capture your hearts.

WHAT A DAY.

It has certainly been a day of it today.

From the minute Mark walked (or should I say STORMED) in the door at lunchtime after having a falling out with our business partner and his wife I should have known today would bring many surprises and challenges. For the first time since we invested in this company we are seriously questioning if we have done the right thing.
Mark was so angry he actually had tears in his eyes.
So we sat down and talked about our options. Do we need to get lawyers involved in the whole process of walking away from a business Mark has poured his heart and soul and talents into for the past two years? How did it all go wrong?
It will be an interesting few days in our household while the dust settles and we assess our options and what is the best course of action to take.

Mark and I then headed into town to buy Matt a much-needed new bed and also to look at and choose ceiling fans for the bedrooms and the family room. I am SO glad Mark and I have similar tastes in most things because the lady at the lighting shop handed us a HUGE catalogue of fan choices. We have chosen the fans suitable for the kids' room and two very nice ones for our room and the family room.

As we were about to leave the lighting store a young man in his 20's slammed into the store window and the lady asked Mark to stay in the store with her because she was frightened. The young fellow then proceeded to stumble and weave his way across the middle of the road, obviously out of it from either alcohol and/or drugs. Cars were screeching to a halt (it was 5 o'clock and the traffic was VERY heavy), tooting their horns at him, screaming abuse out the window and I guess he panicked, tried to run away from the confusion and run slap bang into the side of a car and ended up face down in the gutter. It was awful to see and I will admit to bursting into tears. The car that he ran into just drove off which I was a bit surprised at.
Mark took off across the road and with the help of another gentleman they rolled him onto his side and made sure he was breathing. The lady in the store by this stage had rung the police and I then rang an ambulance.
So with Mark standing over him and the other man trying to get the cars to go around him, we waited a good half hour for the ambulance and police to arrive. I was appalled at the people who screeched to a halt in their cars, almost hitting Mark and the other man and then screaming abuse out the window.
I ended up going into the pub near where he fell and asking the bar tender could I get some staff to come and form a guard around the poor guy - more so to keep Mark safe than anything else.
After giving our statement to the police and giving the ambos all the info we could we left - a little bit shaken but just glad we could help out another human being in trouble.
Mark said the guy hadn't been drinking because he didn't smell of alcohol and the ambos did find some prescription drugs in his pockets.
I just hope he is ok and that the rotten sods who thought it was amusing to scream abuse out the window at Mark and those trying to help, never need help for themselves or their loved ones.
I am so pleased there are people like my Mark in the world who try to help people.
He is one of the good ones my man.

No scrapping today after the events of this afternoon but I hope to do some tonight. I have started a massive reshuffle of my scrapping room to make it more condusive to scrapping and a more pleasent place to spend time doing what I love.
My Tarisota subscription arrived today and I opened it with great gusto.
Everything looks gorgeous and I can't wait to use it all.

My other exciting news is that last night I booked a flight for Kait and I to fly down and see Lousie and Chris and my darling niece, Bianca in January. I got a great deal - only $344.00 return for the tickets with Virgin Blue which was over $200 cheaper than Jetstar and $150.00 cheaper than Rex. When I rang Louise to tell her, Chris thought she had won something she was screaming so much. It will be wonderful though and I am so looking forward to it as is Kait.

Sorry about the long post and thanks for reading if you haven't dropped off to sleep.

Happy tomorrow to you all
~*~ shazz ~*~

A LOT OF NOTHING

That sums up the weekend.....lots of "nothing" chores and activities - nothing too earth-shattering.

Matt enjoyed his weekend with Shannon and her family. Even went fishing - the kid likes to fish..????? Ah.......what we do for love hey.....LOL
It is so good to have him home though - bag dumped at the bottom of the stairs, not unpacked; dirty dishes left on the coffee tables; juice spilt on the bench.
Yep....gotta love him (and I do)

Jake and I spent an "interesting" few hours cleaning out his room yesterday. He has been saying for months that his cupboards don't need cleaning out because everything in there still fits him. Well guess what........I got a whole HUGE garbage bag of clothes that DON'T fit him out of his cupboard. He whinged and belly-ached the whole time but was impressed with the end results

• he could actually find where things were in his cupboard
• he will need to buy new "cooler" clothes to replace those he had to give away

Kait was just so tired last night. I think the school excursion FINALLY caught up with her. She was complaining of feeling sick and went to sleep quite early on the lounge. Today she has pulled out the boys' old Duplo sets and had a ball making a city for her Bratz dolls. You have to love those ageless toys that kids keep going back too.

Mark bought the family (read *HIMSELF* here) a new digi video cam and last night pulled out all the old tapes getting them ready to burn to DVD. Some of the tapes were over 3 years old and to look back at the kids and how gorgeous they were was priceless. I spent half the time crying because I miss those little cherubs and the other half crying with laughter at their antics.
So many memories, so many laughs - so much ammo for their 21sts......LOL

I had another bout of insomnia last night.
I woke up about 2 a.m. and after tossing and turning for a few hours and giving Harry Potter a bit of read, I hopped up at 4ish and went down and scrapped two LOs that I think I will use for my BBC DT entry - and I scrapped the card part of the entry yesterday.
I am not sure if I should share them on here or not. What is the protocol for applying for a DT like this...???
If anyone is interested, let me know and I will email them to you.

So I am very very tired at the moment and despite catching a few minutes sleep this afternoon, I think once the work/school clothes are ironed I will be crawling into my bed.
And praying that I sleep all night.

I have suffered insomnia since Kristy had her accident and that phonecall woke us in the middle of the night with the devastating news. I hardly slept at all that week after the accident and I wonder whether my body clock went haywire and just hasn't kicked back into normal.
The insomnia comes and goes and I guess I should be so thankful that it isn't a permanent situation I have to deal with.

So on that note, I will bid you all a fond farewell.
Have a great tomorrow and may your day be filled with joy and the smiles of those you love.
And don't forget to look in the mirror and give yourself a smile.
GO ON - YOU KNOW YOU ARE GORGEOUS

~*~ shazz ~*~

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE

YAY
My baby girl is home.
Kait arrived back at the school about 6.00 p.m. - very tired but having had a really great time. It was wonderful to see their little faces gleaming as they got off the bus. All happy to see their Mums and Dads and itching to get home.
I feel that Mark and I made the right decision in sending her to a smaller country school. The teaching staff is exceptional - Kait's teacher Di Golding is one of the most amazing educators I have had the privilege of meeting - the atmosphere of the school is so friendly and welcoming, and despite being a school of only 87 kids every opportunity is given to the kids that is offered in bigger city schools.
Kait fell asleep pretty much straight after dinner, much to Mark's disgust. He kept prodding her to wake up and talk to him. He wanted her to tell him all about Seaworld but it might have to wait until tomorrow.
He is now snoring on the lounge beside her.

Jakey's year spent the day at Wet and Wild today. He had a ball and we had the privilege of meeting a couple of his friends this morning when they knocked on the door to walk off to catch the bus with him. It is so nice that his friends are such wonderful kids.
I THINK I was flattered that TJ called me "mam".......LOL
Jake told him he was just being a suck......ROTFL

Matt has headed off for a weekend of camping and hand-holding with Shannon. Her family is camping at Evans Head. It is an odd feeling to have my "homebody" son wanting and preferring to spend the weekend with someone else. We have spent almost every weekend together as a family, his whole life and it feels weird that he prefers the company of someone else to us.
Oh I know, I know......he is 17 and growing up but still......an odd feeling I must say.
Just hope he has a ball - remembers his manners - and his sunscreen.
Hey....give me a break.....you can take the kid away from the mother but you can't stop her from worrying.

Hopefully a weekend of scrapping for me. I mailed off two CJs today which is always a great feeling and have one here to scrap over the weekend.

Whatever you do, wherever your life's journey takes you this weekend, may it be filled with happy times, friendship, family and love.

~*~ shazz ~*~

ON TOP OF THE WORLD !!

These are pics taken of Mark and the kids on top of Mt Warning after their intrepid climb today. How gorgeous are my kids...???

I look at them and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. They look happy, healthy and just gorgeous.
And what a "great-hunk-of-spunk"
(thanks Kath Day-Knight for THAT little pearla)
is my darling husband.
Yep......I am one VERY lucky lady.

Forgotten is the hurt I suffered this morning from my so-called "friend" - when I look at these pics I just know that I am lucky and blessed to have these gorgeous people in my life.

Only a tiny bit of scrapping today after work to get a CJ finished before sending it off tomorrow. But the boys are heading off to twilight soccer soon so I might wander back down there and start on another CJ that is way overdue to be sent on - it was very late being sent to me.

I am hoping - well I am demanding of myself - that I get started on my Christmas gifts this weekend. Dad and Erica will be up in a few weeks
(YAY !!!! love my Daddy coming for a visit)
and I have to have their gifts ready for them to take as well as Louise, Chris's and my darling Bianca's.

Hoping your day was wonderful and tomorrow is even better.
Thanks for reading and for the few that do, thanks also for the comments

~*~ shazz ~*~

P.S. Goodnight and God Bless to my sweet baby girl who is staying over with her class at Tweed tonight before heading off to Seaworld tomorrow.
Mummy loves you baby xxoo

HURT

After sitting here in tears for the past hour after being hurt by a friend's thoughtlessness I wondered how many people I have hurt by my deeds or actions through the years and not even known it.
If I have hurt any of you by anything I have said or done over the years, my most profound apologies.
I would never set out to deliberately hurt anyone by the things I say or do but sometimes we all say and do things without thinking.
The sad thing about this morning's "episode" is that she knew full well that what she did and said would hurt me.
Maybe I have used the word "friend" too hastily in this relationship.

Sorry about the vent post.
I promise you and myself that I shall return tonight with a happier post.

Have a happy day
~*~ shazz ~*~

EYE CATCHING

So many things caught my eye today and made me smile.
Please indulge me while I share.

• Kait's face this morning when I woke her for school - that sweet angelic face smiling up at me makes the whole world seem so much brighter.
• the huge grin on Matt's face when he arrived home with his P plates proudly displayed on the car
• that same huge grin that escaped his lips when he backed down the drive for his first solo drive - he literally couldn't wipe the smile off his face
• the look of pride in Jake's eyes when he learnt that Matt had passed his driving test - so glad my boys love each other so much
• the carpet of purple in the school carpark under the jacaranda trees - i just wanted to go and lie on it and watch the clouds float by
• the faces of my two little "shadows" Molly and Tilly peering out the window at me when I pulled up this morning - they seemed to be so happy they had the run of the house and weren't locked in the garage
• the blossoms covering the murrayas outside our bedroom window - tonight I will lie in bed and let their perfume waft through the open window
• the smile on Mark's face as he walked in the door tonight and I knew how happy he was to be at home with us (God I love that man)
• the smile on the face of my friends Nadia and Kylie when I walked into the gym - it's nice to see they were still smiling at my red, sweaty face after I finished my workout
• caller ID on my mobile telling me a good friend had called, for no other reason than to see how I was
  

Thank you for indulging my visual trip through today.
I hope your day is as visually pleasing for you tomorrow.

~*~ shazz ~*~

GOOD NEWS!!!!!

Just a quick post to thank everyone who has offered us support over the past few days either via this blog, emails, phone calls and SMS messages.

Mark was given the all clear last night by his specialist although he has a few cancers that will be monitored closely by our GP until he sees the specialist again in the New Year. His appointments have been brought back into every 6 months again for a while.
He does have cancers on his face but apparently you can remove them "too early" and they have a high incidence of recurring so that is why they are being left there for the time being.
There was much relief and lots of tears last night when he got home. It was like the bubble of stress and worry that had been hanging over our heads these past few weeks had finally burst.

So the Prattens move onward with life and the joy of living.

Matt is off to play "Skirmish" with friends this morning.
Jakey is playing his guitar and just hanging out with friends.
Kait is busy in her room doing "little girl things".
Mark is off somewhere working on a program for one of our clients.
I am off to the scrapping shop to help a friend buy supplies as she starts out scrapping for the first time today.
The sun is shining.
There are koalas snoozing in the trees across the road.
The birds are singing.

AND LIFE IS GOOD.

ENJOY YOUR DAY

~*~ shazz ~*~

KEEPING BUSY

This blog is to help fill in time while the hours tick away.
Sorry if it bores anyone but hey.....stop reading now and you won't be bored.

Mark's appointment is at 5.45 (NSW time). Thankfully Matt has agreed to go up with him which I am so glad of. It will help keep Mark's mind on other things (Matt will be driving up on his Ls). I am not so sure about on the way home though. Mark always likes solitude when he has to think about things so maybe he might want the time to himself and his thoughts. It's so hard to know what is the right thing.

I have been either on the verge of tears or in tears since I woke up at 5.30 this morning to find Mark propped up on his elbow just looking at me. He told me he wanted to memorise my face.
Yup....I burst into tears.

Then when he kissed me goodbye, instead of his normal peck on the cheek, he kissed me - and I mean he REALLY kissed me and held me so tight that it took my breath away.
Yup - more tears.

I called in to change cars with him at work and he looked at me and he said, "I don't think it will be good news babe. But we will cope - we have each other and we have our kids."
Yup - needed the tissues again.

And when I arrived home I find an email from him telling me how wonderful our life has been together and that we should have no regrets but just enjoy each day that we have.
Will these tears EVER end.....????

For those of you who know Mark, you will know how out of character all this is for him and that is what scares me the most. He is the strong one in our relationship - the sensible, level-headed, logical one and to see him displaying such deep emotions like this is a bit of a shock to me.

But I WILL think positive.
Just pray for him if you are that way inclined or just some positive vibes sent his way would be great too.
Thanks to dear Shari and Ali for your kind thoughts and to my dear friend Marie who I know has had her own "stuff" to deal with in the past 24 hours.

I bought some more embellishments, etc this morning from a darling little craft store in Ballina.
I have decided I just LOVE embellishments, be it ribbons or fibres, metals or sewing thread, charms or buttons.
Might explain my subscription to the Tarisota Inspiration Collection, instead of any of the other scrummy collections in the range.
This morning I bought the most gorgeous "braid" I guess you could call it. I am sure it is machine made but it has the look and touch of a handmade product.
I got some gorgeous little heart charms and some huge wooden heart buttons that are just so cool.
I also got some varigated silk embroidery thread that is supposedly hand-dyed that I can't wait to use on a LO.
I forgot what amazing treasures this little craft store has and I will definitely be going back there soon. I didn't even venture near the Christmas stock or the materials.

On that note, enough of my waffling.
Enjoy what remains of this day and I will post again later when I have some news.

Thanks if you are still reading.
~*~ shazz ~*~

HOW EXCITING !!!

I spent time last night visiting with our friends Kerrie and Graeme. Kerrie kindly helped me scan in some pics of Nanna Pratten taken in 1911 !!!
Nanna turns 100 in a few weeks and Mark's Aunt Ruthie is compiling a book of memories that we have all contributed to.
My one regret - that Alzheimers has taken Nanna's beautiful and sharp-as-a-tack mind away and she will not be able to take part in the celebrations of her amazing and inspirational life.
I feel so privileged to have access to these pics taken of Nanna when she was 6 years old. I have plans to scrap them sooner rather than later.
Hope you don't mind that I have shared them with you.
The bottom picture features Nanna and some of brothers and sisters.
Don't you just LOVE that gorgeous rocking horse...???

I completed two LOs yesterday. One of Kaitlyn which took me ever so long to "get right" and I am not sure I am happy with it and another of Matt which I just love. It is another black and red LO which seems to be the colours I use most often, when scrapping pictures of him.
I will share them tomorrow - I promise.

I am thinking of applying for the Bumble Bee DT and I am thinking I may use these LOs as part of my "application". I have "discovered" a scrappable item in my bathroom of all places and I have lots of little ideas buzzing around in my head to create a BTP item
(an omen perhaps - ideas buzzing and the Bumble Bee DT.....LOL)
I have some thank you cards to make also for the girls I did the Relay For Life with, so that can be my card part of the application.
Don't know that my scrapping is "good enough" for what they are after nor my organisation on the ball enough to meet deadlines and such by hey....what does one have to lose...???

On a final note, if you are so inclined, could you all send a prayer skyward tonight for my darling Mark.
He is back seeing the skin cancer specialist tomorrow afternoon in Brisbane and for the first time in our little journey with these cancers, I have a very frightened and not-so-confident husband. He has always been so positive about how bad these cancers are but for the first time he is very scared and it is very frightening and a bit of a shock for me to see him like this.
On the same hand he is also very philisophical about the whole thing and we both know the reality of him having done the damage alreadyand it just be a case of waiting to see how they manifest themselves.
(his specialist told him that all the damage we do to our skin is done before we turn 16!!)

Am I scared...???
DAMN STRAIGHT I AM.
And I have sobbed my heart out most days in the shower or driving in the car on my own.
It has been so hard to be positive (and I HAVE tried so very hard) when I look into the eyes of the man I have loved for over half my life and see tears and a glimmer of fear.
But I will be positive and I will support and love him.
He will be fine and whatever the universe has deemed is his fate to be, we shall face together.

Take care dear friends.
A happy tomorrow

~*~ shazz ~*~

JUST NOT HAPPENING

I had so much planned today - catching up on housework, going to the gym, scrapping, calling my sister and nothing seemed to happen for me.

Matt saw Bruce Purkiss today - I call Bruce the voodoo doctor because nothing he does to cure anything makes any sense at all but by jingo it works - and Matt saw him for this on-going chest problem he has. He has put Matt onto more drops again and claims that it has taken 17 years for Matt's chest to get so bad and we can't expect a miracle cure overnight - and WHY NOT !!! Matt seems happy enough to take them though.
He will also see Rod Hammond on Friday to see if Rod can shed any light on why his chest is just so bad. I swear by Rod after he "cured" me of thrush when I was 20. And he is a lovely, genuine man and I always come away from consults with him feeling great.
I guess Mark and I should have been more insistent that Matt see someone before this but I don't know how many appointments I made with them only to have Matt refuse to go. He wants to be treated like an adult and that means taking responsibility for his own health care.

It was an amazing Melbourne Cup this year. It was one of those moments in time when I will be able to say,
"I remember where I was when Makybe Diva won her third Melbourne Cup"
What a phenomenal horse she is and it was a privilege to see her run. It is the first time I haven't had a bet on the Cup in many many years but I would have done my money had I had a bet. Matt and I watched the Cup together and it was great to see him getting excited about the race. I can clearly remember Pa holding a form guide up to Matt's little hand and asking him to
"help Pa pick a winner".
It made me chuckle because Pa would try just about anything to back that elusive winner.

I have spent lots of time the past few nights looking at other people's Blogs. There are so many talented people out there and I feel privileged that they choose to share their amazing LOs on the net.
I'm not sure if I am frustrated or inspired by looking at them. I can see the LOs I want to create in my head. I can see the colours, the embellishments and everything. Just getting it onto the cardstock is where I run into trouble.

I was so excited when Mark told me I could subscribe to the Tarisota Inspiration Collection. It is just an amazing site and I and hoping to settle down tonight with a cuppa and have a look through the gallery armed with my notebook and pencil to jot down lots of ideas.
I can't wait til the 15th now when the first collection will arrive.

Whatever you do tomorrow I hope your day is filled with laughter, sunshine and love
~*~shazz~*~

YAY FOR ME !!!

Just a quick update to let anyone who actually reads my blog (please leave a comment so I know you do - and thanks Marie and Trish for all your comments) know that yesterday morning I completed the RELAY FOR LIFE.
I had every intention of posting on my blog last night but I was just too tired.

It was the most amazing experience and I can't explain my sense of pride in myself and Lynn, Nadia and Kylie (the three ladies who stuck it out with me through the whole 24 hours)
Pride in myself is one emotion I was not expecting I would have but there it is.......glowing in the corner of my heart. And to have Mark and the three kids hug me and tell me how proud they were of me was such a special feeling.

Due to a monumental stuff-up by the team leader who took the project on with every good intention and then deserted us, it was really only the four of us who stuck it out the whole 24 hours.

So the four of us laughed and sang and joked and cried and chatted and walked/shuffled/danced/jogged our way through the 24 hours and it was so much fun. The organisers wanted to give us the award for the funniest and most inspirational tent but they didn't have one organised.

So my sincerest thanks to

• those who sponsored me with money
• those who encouraged me with good wishes and SMS messages throughout the 24 hours
  
• to my wonderful Mark, Matt, Jake and Kaitlyn who came and walked with me for some laps and encouraged me to keep going
• to the gorgeous Nadia, Kylie and Lynn who listened to and laughed at my sick jokes and who encouraged me to keep walking when all I really wanted to do was lie down and sleep.
  
• and to my darling Pa whose spirit and love of life helped me through the tough "I just wanna go home" laps.

Have a happy and inspirational day.
More blogging tonight

~*~ shazz ~*~

life's journey

Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at, once and for all. The true joy of life is the journey.
~Robert J. Hastings~

What a great quote...I hope you all enjoy your journey...that it is memorable and you are accompanied by those you love and those who love you.

We have had some very sad news tonight. The nursing home where Mark's darling Nanna lives called tonight to say that Nanna was having problems breathing. Auntie Joannie is at the home with Nanna as I type this and we are expecting her here anytime soon to stay with us the night so she is close by should Nanna's condition worsen through the night.
Nanna will be 100 on November 27 and although she has had Alzheimer's for the past 8 years we often visit her and talk with her and stroke her hand and it is heartening to see a small spark of recognition occasionally pass her eyes.
Nanna was so good to me and so welcoming when I first started dating Mark. I know that she went in to bat for me against Mark's mother on more than one occasion and Mark and I often had dinner with her or took her out driving back in the days when we were dating. Nanna's soul is soft and loving and gentle and she was one of the most beautiful ladies that I ever knew.
I will be saddened at her passing (and I don't mean to put the poor woman in her grave just yet) but I just know she would have loathed this twilight existence she has lived these past 8 years,
Rest easy tonight darling Nanna and may God grant you the peace I know you crave.

Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. I will begin my quest in the Relay For Life. Along with 22 ladies from the Curves gym, and a whole stack of other teams, we will be walking around a local oval for 24 hours to raise money for The Cancer Council. It should be a great hoot as a few of the ladies are such fun. I am hoping my legs will carry me most of the 24 hours.
I am dedicating my walk to my darling step-Dad, Don who passed away after such a courageous fight against cancer in 1993 and to Vera Hankinson - Shane's mum - who passed away last year.
Every step I take Pa is for you.......for the man you were, to the wonderful Dad you were to me and the much loved Pa you were to Matt and Jake, for the friend you were to Mark and for just being you and loving us so much.
I miss you Pa and I know that things didn't quite turn out the way you wanted them to and I know I couldn't keep my promise I made to you to care for Mum.
But the next 24 hours are for you. It's all I have left to give you and make you proud.
Love you Pa.

Whatever your weekend holds for you, I hope it is happy, fulfilling and you find joy in your Life's journey.

~Shazz~