ONE DAY,,,

this is my BOM (Book of Me) LO for the october EMMies.
we had to scrap somewhere that we would like to travel.
not as adventurous as some people but it's my dream.

i hope that the week so far has been good to you
remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
i had a visit from my dear old dad and my step-mum today.
and despite dad and i having a little tiff over something really trivial, it is so good to have them near to us and able to visit.
i love you daddy....with all my heart xxoo

ISN'T SHE JUST....

...a picture of poise and elegance.

this is a LO i did of kait competing at the Surfers Paradise Interclub for physie early in august this year.
(i used the floral challenge pack from EMM)

this was the last comp that she would compete as a novice because at the zone comp last weekend she finalled (they compete twice and then the top 16 girls are chosen to compete in the final before the top 5 girls are chosen to move onto sydney in november)
and even though she didn't win a place, it was her goal (and my fervent hope) that she would final and she did !!!!!
i was so very very proud of her and cried like a baby when she marched out with the other 15 little girls that finaled as well.

and when you consider the fact that she has spent every day since, with her head in a bucket with this dreaded gastro bug, well i am just so very very proud of her acheivements.

hope that everyone is having a really wonderful weekend so far.
remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
no one in our family currently has their head in a bucket.
a pretty gross thing to be happy about but after almost 2 weeks of this awful gastro bug making us all so ill, i am just grateful for a spew/poo free day
ROTFL !!!!!

STRUGGLING - AGAIN !!!!

again i am struggling with the whole scrapping "thing"
i feel like i am on the verge of really getting comfortable with the way i scrap - a bit like standing on the edge of a really high cliff and i know that if i step off i will be able to soar but it's just taking that first step that is holding me back.
what am i scared of...???
i honestly don't know.

i gave up years ago scrapping to please others - magazines never seemed to want to publish my work and the two times i have been on DT teams have probably been my two flashes of brilliant scrapping.

i have so many LOs of other people bookmarked; ideas of how i would like to scrap stuck in an ideas book; computer book marks of inspirational sites - so why can't i just get in and scrap and get my "groove thang" happening.

but when i think about why i scrap - to tell the story of my family for them and for future generations - i know that i am achieving this goal.
kait LOVES to sit and look through the albums. she laughs and giggles at the pictures and the journalling.
mark, matt and jakey are rather non-plussed about the whole scrapping thing i think.
"nice page" is probably the most encouraging comment any of them have ever given me.

so why do i scrap besides the archiving of our family's history and preserving the memories and the moments...???
well for one, i can't imagine NOT scrapping.
i like the whole process of telling the story behind the photo.
i love the creative process of scrapping.

but still i feel like i am holding back from scrapping in the way i want.
and i don't know how to allow that creativity to flow and develop.

please don't think i am fishing for compliments about my scrapping - i know it's not brilliant.
but if you can give me any suggestions about how to release the scrapping goddess within, feel free to do so.

sorry if this has been a bit rambly. i just needed to get my thoughts down and i hoped they would make some sort of sense once they were out of my head - well THAT didn't happen now did it...????
i am exhausted after a week of the dreaded gastro bug laying me low and now both kait and matt have it and i am averaging only a few hours sleep a night while i empty buckets, mop fevered brows, dole out flat lemonade and sit and worry about them.
i guess mark and jakey will be lining up for their turn in the next few days.
it is a nasty bug.

i also love the concept behind "blogging without obligation" hence i have placed a blinkie (is that what they are called..???) in my sidebar.
thanks to the lovely megan who inadvertantly lead me to this wonderful guilt-free way of blogging.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
there is rain on the way - YAY !!!!!
&
jakey topped the WHOLE of year 10 in his trial school certificate maths paper.
we are SO proud of our beautiful son.

~*~ FOREVER YOUNG ~*~

COREY - PAUL
MITCH - BRYCE
*OUR BOYS*
~ forever young ~

it's been 12 months today since we lost our boys.
12 long months of sorrow and tears and anger and unimaginable grief.
12 long months of questioning "why them?"; "why our community?"; "what went wrong?"
so many questions we will never know the answers to.

my thoughts today have turned to the parents of these four young men - some of them known personally to mark and i.
i think of the siblings of the boys - still struggling to live each day without their brothers.
it has been a difficult day at the school where the boys attended (the school our boys attend(ed) - their mates are sitting their HSC exams today; the staff are still helping some students cope with the first taste of real grief they have known on their short lives - counsellors still attend the school when needed.
i have watched my boys for any signs of "not coping" - boys are a lot more reserved about what they are feeling than girls. they have coped by being with mates and remembering the boys through music.
and today i have thought of the young driver who survived the accident - a friend of our boys - a gentle young man who will carry the burden of that tragic night with him for the rst of his days.
a young man who still has so much more of this journey to travel before being able to make some kind of life for himself, and i pray that he can.

today, more than any other day, is a day to remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

SCRAPPING TO SHARE

i have LOTS of news to share but not a lot of time to write the post so instead i will share some scrapping instead.

this was the last of my EMMie challenges for september.

i LOVE ths pic of my fabbo friend marie - it is so her !!!!! lots and lots and LOTS of cutting up a piece of PP to frame the pic and lots of using up little letter stickers.
i think it looks great though.

rondelle from EMM did me the honour of asking me to be the guest designer for october and she sent me the "Top Up Box" to work with. what a beautifully gorgeous set of papers to work with. she has the top up boxes available in the shoppe.

my challenges revolve around the different ways you can add journalling to a LO.
so far i challenged the girls to use a quote or song lyrics on a LO.

this is my LO for that challenge.

and the second challenge was to interview someone for a LO.

here is my LO using that technique.

i have a few more challenges to set as well as lots of other ideas of how to add journalling to your pages.
and just a little secret too (look at the titles in my two guest DT challenges)
how nice do they look....cut out so nicely.
it's amazing how well a craft robo cuts a title
(mark bought me a craft robo at the PCF...!!!! but more about that in my next "newsy" post)

i am off to visit my friend kirsten today so she can help the blonde in me to put my stampin' up stamps together....just don't feel confident in making that first cut myself.....silly i know !!!!

have a wonderful tuesday and i promise to be back soon with a newsy post and hopefully more scrapping to share.
remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS!!!!
love that lack of routine and rushing and hanging out with the kids, playing games and doing crafts and just taking time to relax and enjoy being a mum.

RJR DT PROJECTS

a quick share of my RJR DT work for this past month.

jenny has an amazing array of products at really great prices so head on over and have a look at what she has to offer. and no.....not just ribbons, although they are gorgeous too.
you should see what goodies she will be sending the DT in time for some christmas scrapping - yummy yum yum.

also check out the gorgeous work that the other DT girls have done too.
i am definitely the rookie of the group.

here are my projects for last month

love this pic of kait warming up before her last physie comp. i used some of the grogeous hand marbled papers made by auntie joanie.
isn't it just GORGEOUS...???

another warm up pic. used some of the kaiser bling that jenny has for sale to create the heart.
probably wouldn't use so many rub ons so late at night again - some of them rub on really well and others of them defy the title of "rub on"

a birthday card for my gorgeous gal-pal tam.
she hasn't received it yet so if you are reading this tam, just pretend you didn't see this part.
used some of the hand marbled paper made by joanie again. she has always been so generous in giving it to me and i love using it.

a quick and simple card using ribbon stiff on the ribbon to allow me to cut out the petals.
and some hand stitching of course.

will post again today or tomorrow with lots more news - both personal and scrapping.

enjoy your sunday and...

GO FORD !!!!!!
(it's bathurst weekend for those of you who don't know)

shazz xo

GRACIOUS IN DEFEAT

the anticipation of victory

the heat of battle
(click on the picture to enlarge it and you will be able to see how heavy the rain was during most of the game)


the agony of defeat
(they lost i nil)

but still able to hold their heads up high and smile.

love you my darling boys and i am so proud of you and your sportsmanship, your loyalty and the love you have for each other

mum
xxoo

(i apologise for the grainy out of focus photos...we were about 10 rows back in the grand stand, using the long lens and no tripod and shivering from the cold)

(the song playing from my side bar "Time of your Life" by Green Day is dedicated to my beautiful boys. this was their first grand final together and this Green Day song was the first sone they ever played together on stage in a concert)

STILL STRUGGLING

with so much scrapping to get done you think my mojo would feel sorry for me and come back and make me a happy girl.......but oh no....!!!!
cheeky little buggar.
i really have so much scrapping to get done and time is running out for me.
hopefully i will have some to share by the end of the weekend.
and i have some exciting news on the scrapping front to share too......
just NOT YET....!!!!

kait participated in the "jump rope for heart" jump off at school yesterday....it was a fantastic display of skipping from EVERY child in the school and lots of "ooohs" and "aaahs" from the parents gathered to watch.
all the kids encouraged each other to do the harder tricks.
here is kait in action.....not great shots as they were so quick and the wind was howling so it was very hard to keep the camera steady without a tripod.

she LOVES to skip this girl of mine.

matt and jake have been preparing all week for their grand final game tomorrow
GO STARS !!!!!
lots of weights and running and ball kicking and pasta meals.
i actually hate the lead up to grand final day....i get sick in the stomach and feel quite nervy and yucky.
just hope it is a fair and just game with the final score being decided on a good game of soccer and not bad reffing decisions or poor sportsmanship.

have a wonderful weekend and remember...
look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
my mojo is coming back
my mojo IS coming back
MY MOJO IS COMING BACK
MY MOJO IS COMING BACK

POINTS OF INTEREST

* kait is home from her excursion and by all accounts (both hers and her teachers) she had a ball. both mark and i swear she has grown an inch or so in the five days she was gone but it is good to have my sweet baby girl home again.
i sure did miss her.

* matt has decided to stay in australia for the time being. it was very hard to look like the supportive mum while i was secretly cheering inside. he has decided to move into a house with some mates and i can live with that (although they have all hit their parents up for a meal one night of the week - a good way to budget your food $$$s i guess....LOL)
thursday he was offered a traineeship at profile pools which is his "dream job" (unless he can get a gig playing for one of the top soccer teams, which is highly unlikely) so all in all we are all happy campers at the moment.

* spent thursday night in A&E with jake and a suspected broken arm. thankfully it was only severely bruised and needed rest and ice applied. he hurt it playing a game of tackle football at soccer training - what was the coach thinking....???
these boys are a mere 7 days out from a grand final game and he has them playing tackle football for training - GEEEEEZ!!!

* spent wednesday in another town on my own having some much needed "me" time.
it was a day that was a long time coming and much needed.
i came home wednesday night most refreshed and relaxed and a new outlook on things.
thanks to my friend who i called on that day for some much needed advice.
you will never know what your friendship means to me.

* still suffering from these blinding headaches that seem to zap my strength and make me feel tired and just plain BLAH !!!!
mark thinks it might be coffee, well too much of it actually, so i am off coffee (this is day 2) for a few days to see if that makes a difference. the doctor doesn't seem to have any answers for me which makes me angry and frustrated. if i hear one more time..."oh you probably need to rest and not stress so much" i will throttle the medical person who says it.

* my scrapping mojo has gone AWOL.
dunno where it is or why it went but i need it back.
i have RJR DT committments and my EMMies to get done.
so if it's hiding at your place or you pass it on the street, smack it's bum and send it home.

have a wonderful weekend and remember...
look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
it's the weekend and i love having everyone at home so we can have some quality time together

HOW CUTE ARE THESE....????

my step-mum and sister are attempting to get a business started.
my step-mum is a fantastic sewer and she has been making these cute little aprons for kids with the cutest little figures on them.
they are selling them for $15.00 which includes postage within australia.
the one she gave me to photograph
(and for matt to model...LOL)
has a cow on it but she has patterns designed with pigs and dogs.

close up of the cow design on the front

the aprons are double thickness and the design on the front is hand appliqued on.
the clasp on the side is velcro for easy removal.
just too cute and VERY well made too i might add.

if you are interested in buying one, just contact me via email
shazz64@westnet.com.au
and we will go from there.

have a great tuesday
and remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
the sun is shining, the washing line is full, my housework is almost completed and it's time to SCRAP !!!!!!!!!

"WINNERS ARE GRINNERS"

and we have the biggest grins on our faces today.

all my boys (mark, matt and jake) just LOVE their soccer.
in fact they eat, breathe and sleep it.
every game they play or see on TV is meticulously pulled apart and analyzed and strategies worked out on how plays can be executed better, how goals that were missed could have been landed in the net and well.....you get my drift.
our house has bags of soccer balls, kitbags filled with socks and "skins" and "shinnies" and boots; water bottles litter the floor of the car; we buy dencorub by the barrel full and we have sports physios on speed dial.
yup.....my boys do love their soccer.

mark played soccer as a young tacker and a teenager and has recently moved from the supportive sideline dad to playing again in a men's team.
matt and jake have both played rep soccer and matt has represented the state in soccer.
matt played in the premier division for palm beach a few years ago which meant travelling to the gold coast three times a week for training and once a week for a game.
both boys have played at a club level since they were 5.

all three of my "boys" have represented their schools in teams.

and now both our sons play in the premier division side in the local comp.
not a bad feat considering that jake is only 16 and matt has struggled with a serious back injury all season.
yup....my boys are committed and determined to be the very best they can be, playing the game that they love.

yesterday was the game that would see the winner between italo stars (our club) and their arch rivals, rovers go straight into the grand final in 2 weeks time.
and this is the sequence of events leading up to the fulltime whistle.

warm up before the game - light kicking to settle their nerves. matt is number 13 and jake is on the far right in the dark blue jacket.
both matt and jake started from the bench and matt took the field with just 20 minutes left in the game and the scores tied at 2 - all.
(jake didn't get to play but was still considered part of the team)

a pep talk at after 20 minutes of extra time and the teams both still locked at 2 - all, from "esso" one of the club stalwarts while both teams prepared for the penalty shootout.
each side was given 5 attempts on goal - the score after the penalty shoot out....
4 goals a piece.
jake is in the blue jacket and matt is sitting on the ground behind the water bottle box.

team jubilation after stars went one up in the "one-for-one" penalty shootout.
stars straight into the grand final in two weeks.

like i said....winners are grinners.

and thanks to everyone who left comments and emailled me about the decision that matt is yet to make about his future.
he wants to sit and talk to mark and i tonight about what he has decided.
i'll let you know what the outcome is.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
my pride in my boys and their amazing committment to the sport they love.

I AM A BAD MOTHER

this is my eldest born child. my beautiful matty who, when he was born, i would have died for.
he is the child who bore the brunt of all my clusmy attempts at being a mum because he was the first born. my clumsy attempts at breast feeding, nappy changing, introducing solids, discipline, preparing him for life's challenges, like starting school, finding a job, looking after himself, being a productive and responsible member of society.
and i will be the first to admit that i haven't been so crash hot in many of those areas.

but people who have contact with him outside our family home tell me that he is a gorgeous boy. he is caring and considerate and polite and diligent in the tasks he is set.

so what that he didn't finish year 12 - maybe that was more about my expectations of him than what he wanted for his own life. but i still feel that i have failed him. maybe i could have given him more support and guidance. maybe i should have fought more for him when the school seemed to give up on him.

despite my misgivings about some of the choices he has made along the way, he has been happy with those choices.

but now it is crunch time.
after months and months of research and preparations on his part, he is now ready to make a decision about the direction his life will take.

today he will decide whether he

• stays here at home and takes up an apprenticeship with a local company
• finds work on the gold coast and moves up there
• or travels to england on his own and lives over there for 12 months

i can live with the first two options but the third option scares the living hell out of me and i have been stressed and sad and fearful about him choosing that option since he first told mark and i about it a few months ago.

i know i bitch and whinge and whine about matt's slovenly, lazy ways.
he and i butt heads constantly over a pair of discarded smelly soccer socks left at the front door for days on end or a glass of milk left to fester and ferment beside his bed or his apparent selfishness when it comes to helping out around the house or keeping his room somewhat tidy.

but the thought of him being over in england, on the other side of the world, alone and on his own feels me with fear and dread and sorrow.
to be honest i find the thought of it heartbreaking.
i think it's the fact he will be on his own and he doesn't know anyone in england at the moment.

mark is all for it and hasn't that caused some fights and tears (on my my part) over the past few months.
"let him go and spread his wings and learn about the real world"
we are smothering him by wanting him to stay"
"he can't live at home forever and have you look after him"

and i know all these things are true but i don't think men understand a mother's heart.
when i look at this fully grown man that is my son, all i see is my little boy....crying to be picked up when he scrapped his knee; clinging to my legs when he wasn't sure of a new situation; snuggling in beside me when he had a nightmare; lying his head on my tummy when i was pregnant with his brother and sister; bringing me flowers he had picked from a prize winning garden on the way home from school because the lady let him when he said they were "for my mummy because she is so beautiful"
so many amazing memories of my little man who is now grown and man in every sense of the word.

how will i ever let him get on a plane and travel to the other side of the world...???
in my heart of hearts i know he has to grow and find his own way in the world but it is a big world and a scary world and it is part of who i am to want to protect my boy and keep him safe.
but i know pressuring him to stay will make him want to go even more so for now i have held my tongue and let mark deal with it and cried myself to sleep more times than i care to count.

i'll let you know his decision.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
my beautiful boy will do well wherever he is.
i just hope "wherever" isn't too far from home.

ANOTHER THURSDAY COME AND GONE

have been doing lots of scrapping but it is all DT work for RJR so i can't share it just yet.
let me just say that my brain has been stretched to it's limits with the products in the pack this month - i just want my work to be original and inspiring.

i'm thankful i have taken the time to make an "ideas" book filled with sketches and ideas of how to scrap different products and ideas for different LOs. and it's nice to have the EMM gallery too where there is never a shortage of talented ladies sharing their inspirational LOs.

it was a L-O-N-G day at work today. for the second week in a row i had no paperwork sent through for the tech i look after (he installs and repairs EFTPOS machines in local businesses) so i had to find things to do. it didn't help that mark was in the office all day so tracey, my co-worker, and i didn't get to play up and laugh and chat like we usually do.

and to top off my day i had a phonecall from a "friend" (and i use that term loosely when it comes to my relationship with her). in the past few years she has become more and more relient on alcohol and has developed a nasty streak where she seems to thinks she can offer advice and comment on what she thinks is wrong with me and my family and my life but won't for one minute take any critisism of her or her family. and not for one minute do i think i am in a position to offer anyone critisism on how they live their life or how they choose to raise their family or live their lives.
i was raised and abused by an alcoholic who spat poison at me and belittled me every chance she got and as a child i was not in a position to do anything about it. but as an adult i am not prepared to accept it now from someone who professes to be my friend and care about me.
was it not for the friendship mark and i have with this person's partner we would have been long gone by now.
so i will now reduce my contact with this person.
she drains my soul and tires me out with her silly little mind games.
sorry to vent but hey.....this is my blog and vent i shall !!!!!

hopefully i will be back with some happier news and some scrapping to share in the next few days

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
i have a loving husband, three beautiful children and a life that is far from perfect.
but is the life mark and i have chosen to make for ourselves and our family.

TUESDAY

EMM had a cybercrop on the weekend but i only managed to get one of the challenges done.
well that's not entirely true. only one of the four challenges posted really appealed to me and i wasn't in the mood to scrap just for the sake of scrapping.
challenge 4 was to choose a LO from the DT's gallery and scraplift it.
this is the LO i chose to scraplift. the lovely miss karen did this LO and she certainly has a style that is unique and inspirational.
if you are ever stuck for an idea, she also has a sketch blog where there are always lots of fun sketches and ideas to try.
this is my scraplift of karen's LO

it is a pic taken out at pete's in january when we took the bikes out for the day. i love matt's hair at this length and i always get a chuckle out of the fact that we have called him "matty" his whole life ("matty-moo" when he was a real little fella) and now that he is a grown man, so many of his friends, team mates and even a few of his teachers when he was at school, call him "matty" too - usually with a "P" on the end because matt is such a popular name in his age group.

and how could today go by without remembering the amazing and sadly missed steve irwin.

the moment i found out he had died (and i must admit it took a good hour after i first heard the news for me to believe it) is one of those moments in your life that you never forget where you were and how you heard.
my thoughts turn to his family and the people at his beloved australia zoo.
it must still be so surreal for them.
crikey mate - RIP.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
my baby girl is feeling much better and back at school and is SO excited that she will be well enough to go on her excursion next week.

BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW......

the lovely jenny over at RJR tagged me ages ago and i am finally getting on top of things so here is my 8 random things
(you have probably heard them all before so feel free to ignore this post....LOL)

1. Post these rules.

2. Each person tagged must post 8 random (... hopefully interesting) facts about themselves.

3. Taggees should write a blogpost of these facts.

4. At the end of the post 8 more bloggers are tagged and named and released back into the wild.
(i won't be doing this part....if you want to take part in this, just do it)

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 1
i met mark when i was 16 (27 years ago) and we were both at school together.
our eyes met across the english room and the rest, as they say, is history.
his parents have never liked me and i don't expect things will change in the future.

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 2
i was school captain and dux of the school in year 6; president of the student council, school captain and female student of the year in year 12.

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 3
i was age champion (16 years) for the 800 metres in year 10
(hard to believe when you see the size and shape of me now...!!!)

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 4
i have a degenerative disease in my right wrist that went undiagnosed until i was 31.
it is called kienbock's disease and is rare
(i was only the second case my orthopaedic surgeon had seen in 20 years)
i am at stage 5
(which means i have had my lunate removed and a scaphoid/capitate fusion and minimum rotation of my wrist)
i will eventually need a total fusion of the wrist but have so far avoided that and hopefully will for a few more years to come.
i take anti-inflammatories every day to help with the swelling and the pain.
a real b*tch of a thing to have in your right wrist when you are right handed.

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 5
i am a regular plasma and blood donor and i am on the registry as a bone marrow donor.
i started giving plasma over 12 months ago and so far have given it over 25 times in the past 12 months.
i started giving blood when i was 16.

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 6
i once met john paul young at a truck stop on the way home from canberra.
i was pregnant with jake (DS2), suffering shockingly from morning sickness and after i said "you're john paul young. i've loved you since i was a teenager", i had to run to the toilet and be violently ill.
bet i made a great impression on my teenage crush

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 7
i have a real "thing" for "men-in-uniform" (MIUs)
all my friends make fun of me and this "thing" i have because i have it SO BAD.
not real fussy on the type of uniform - army, navy, RAAF, police, ambos, security gurads, firies, men in race suits (loved the years mark raced karts and wore his race suit - Mmmmmm)
but i have a real preference for RAAF blues.

INTERESTING FACT NUMBER 8
i suffer terribly from "cyclical insomnia".
i might goes months and months of having a good night's sleep and then i will have weeks of waking up through the night, and despite being exhausted, i seem to be able to exist on a few hours sleep a night.
the GP tells me it is related to stress.

so now you know 8 totally random things about me - don't know that they are so interesting.

i hope that the men in your life have had a great father's day.
mark is so anti father's day that it makes me sad. i think it has a lot to do with the way his father was when they were growing up.
so the kids all spent some time with him this morning, i cooked him breakfast and he said that was more than enough for him.
i called my dad who is in town but unfortunately i can't see him. he is helping care for my uncle bob who has cancer and is having chemo so because we have all been ill, it is best we keep our distnace. i had a great chat to dad though and hopefully will be able to see him in the next few days.

off to do some scrapping and some ironing (YUCK!!!)
the pile is starting to resemble a small mountain.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
seeing my children spend quality time with their dad

WELCOME SPRING

had a HUGE post typed up and saved, ready to post but thought i would just share some quick point form details of the goings-on around here and then share some scrapping.

* i am still battling the flu (trip to the GP last week only to be told a i had the flu; i need to rest; everyone has been battling it - and that will be $56.00 thanks)

* have had miss kait home ill since wednesday with the flu and we ended up in A&E last night to be told she has a massive middle ear infection. just want her well as her excursion is only 8 days away. i would hate her to miss out again this year because of illness

* didn't get half the scrapping done i wanted to this week but managed to reduce my stash somewhat by passing on some of my older supplies to a friend who is a teacher.
reckon i could do it again 10 times over and still have plenty of supplies left.
hoping to get the challenges finished for the EMM cybercrop that is happening as we speak.
the DT, as always, has managed to set some great challenges.

* my DT pack arrived last week from jen at RJR.
lots of yummy ribbons, flowers and bling.
can't wait to get stuck into using it all.
jen has so much gorgeous bling over at RJR at the moment - go and check it out. the prices are amazing...!!!

* joanie sent me the most amazing roll of marbled papers and the most gorgeous hand written letter that reduced me to tears.
love you joanie. you inspire me so much.

* had a great day with some of the EMM girls at linda's last sunday for a stampin' up party. so good to catch up with everyone again....specially my fellow rockstar, tam
"WE SO ROCK GIRLFRIEND"
but on a sadder note...i was so sorry to hear of the passing of your much loved "marnie" this week sweetie.

* both matt and jake are playing in their semis this weekend in football (soccer)
matt will start from the bench for prems
jakey will start on the paddock for reserves.
good luck to both my talented boys.

here is some scrapping i have managed to get done in a week that has been so topsy-turvey

this is my august BOM for the EMMies we had to scrap a saying/sayings unique to our family. the hidden journalling under the top pic reads.....
“THUMPER BISCUITS” are something I grew up with.
Better known as “milk arrowroot” biscuits, they got the name “Thumper Biscuits” after the kangaroo that my Gran and Poppy raised from a joey by feeding him “Thumper Biscuits” soaked in warm milk and brandy.
Thumper was orphaned after his mum was hit by a car and Poppy found him and brought him home for Gran to raise. As a child I can remember taking the Thumper biscuit, milk and brandy mix out into the Thumper’s pen and feeding him. Of course, that was before he got too big and cranky for us to feed. We used to drive the local shop keepers crazy when we were sent to the shop for “Thumper biscuits”. One shop keeper even phoned Arnotts asking if they actually made them.
Our kids call them Thumper biscuits too.

the hidden journalling under the bottom pic reads...
“SHEEP SHIT AND GOOLEYGUM” or macaroni and cheese is a dish that was one of Mark’s favourites when he was growing up. I learnt to cook it not long after Mark and I were married and we have always added cut up chicken to our version of it. It got the name of “SHEEP SHIT AND GOOLEYGUM” when Matt and Jake were little. One day they were pestering me about what we were having for dinner. In sheer frustration I blurted out that we would be having “SHEEP SHIT AND GOOLEYGUM” and that they had to eat every last drop of it. When I served them up a plate of macaroni and cheese that night for dinner, they cried because they thought for years they had been eating macaroni and cheese when they were really eating “SHEEP SHIT AND GOOLEYGUM”.
It is a name that has stuck with this family favourite.

this is for the guest DT challenge for the EMMies last month.
the beautiful julie challenged us to use paper tearing on a LO. i have torn the flower from some of the hand made paper that joanie has given me in the past. added some spider mesh for the leaves and some beads set in DM.
this was a tough LO to do. it is my favourite photo of our dear kristy-lee. doesn't show her beautiful face or her ever changing hairstyle/colour but everything about it screams her name to me.
it is how i remember her.

this LO is for the august EMMies sketch.
of course i had to alter it to the smaller size and the aspect of the photos meant i had to mirror the sketch but i am pleased with the way it turned out.
and what a handsome dude is this soccer dad...???
LOL

this is a canvas i made for rondelle (the gorgeous owner of EMM) celebrating the birth of her daughter. it doubles as my OTP for the july/august EMMies.
it certainly was a pleasure to scrap it for rondelle and her family and i am pleased to say that she loves it.
and thanks to ruthy's DD em for allowing me to use this photo.
em certainly is a very talented photographer.

well that's my lot...turned into a rather long post didn't it...???
thanks for taking time to stop by and if you do, please remember to say hi.

i hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and that you get to spend lots of quality time with your dads/hubbies/partners tomorrow.
wishing my darling mark a wonderful father's day...i couldn't have asked for a better dad for my children.
also want to wish my dad a happy father's day....love you dad and even though i won't get to see you, know that i love you.
and finally, a happy day to my darling pa. even though your physical presence is no longer here, your spirit and the love you gave me is with me everyday.
sending an after dinner mint to heaven just for you pa.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
spring is here and with the recent rain we have had, everything is starting to green up and bloom

TOO SAD

it has been a sad day today.
for so many reasons and on so many levels.
i feel sadness at the loss of four beautiful young men; i feel sadness when i speak to their families and i am lost as to what i can say to them; i feel sorrow for the immense burden and guilt carried on such young shoulders and i feel shame that i am thankful that it wasn't one of my boys in the car on that fateful night.

feel free to print up the following letter written by inspector owen king, a local police officer who was first on the scene of the fatal accident that took four of our boys in october last year.

stick it on your fridge, give it to your kids.
if it makes them think twice about the way they choose to drive a car, it will not have been a waste of time giving it to them.

Car smashes are democratic. They do not discriminate. Good kids die as easily as ratbags.

One moment's lapse can kill you. That moment when you reach over to change the CD from The Herd to Cat Empire, that flicker of time with your eyes off the road is all it takes. And then there will be no more Big Day Out, no more Splendour in the Grass. If you want to hear music again that ain't harps, keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel.

Wake your parents if you need a safe lift. They'll be tired and cranky but that's their job. Wake them up to come and get you. They'll crack up a little but that's nothing compared to a lifetime of grief.

Chill out. Every day on the roads, some dropkick may cut you off, try to drag you off, give you the finger, dare you to do something stupid. They are everywhere. They have big egos and little brains. Let them go. Chill out.

How much are you willing to trade for that one moment? It takes just one mad moment to be killed on the roads — speed, distraction, drink — and you lose so much. You won't get to take that overseas trip, you won't get to have that huge 21st party, you won't get to go to that grand final with you rmates, and you won't get to do that surfing safari around Australia. All that — gone.

Cars take two hands to drive. Not one hand for driving and one for texting on the mobile phone or putting on lipstick. Not one for driving and one on your girlfriend's leg. Not using knees to drive while writing down a phone number. It takes two hands to drive a car.

Seatbelts are made to stop your body exiting the car headfirst. Heads are not designed for this and split like melons. Wear your seatbelt.

The boot of a car is for the spare wheel. No matter what's happening — you urgently need a lift, it's not far, the car is full — don't climb into a boot. It's like willingly climbing into a coffin. You are made of soft flesh and bone. In a rollover or bad smash, it is like food in a blender.

You love speed? Go surf the face of a big wave down at Burleigh. Go bungee jump. Get your kicks that way. Because if you love speed on the road, sooner or later you will take a corner too fast and some big gum tree will get in the way and end the love affair.

The road toll only shows the dead. Modern car technology means more people are surviving bad car smashes but with horrific injuries. Brain-injury wards are filled with young women trying to learn how to feed themselves and young blokes who believed they were unbreakable trying to master wheelchairs. You may survive but the life you once knew has effectively ended.

If you drive a car full of passengers and cause a bad smash, grief and guilt will wrap you up like a skin. Minimise the chances. Lighten up. You probably learnt to drive with only one passenger. When all your mates pack into the car, that's an extra 320kg and the car will brake, corner and handle completely differently because of it. So slow down, for their sake. Better still, carry just one mate.

Anyone can drive fast. It just takes a heavy foot. No great driving finesse needed. It takes no great brains. Not everyone has restraint and control and maturity to drive to the limit. That takes more guts, especially when others are speeding.

The police, firies and ambos are tired of dragging broken young bodies from wrecks. They are tired of the smell of blood and despair and hot engines at car crash scenes. They are tired of knocking on front doors at 2am to parents dressed in pyjamas and bone-pale faces. They are tired and it is not even the start of the mad Christmas season. They are tired of the waste. Give them a break.

Living is the best revenge. You want to rebel against the system, against your parents, against authority. Great. Survive. Outlive them all and enjoy life.

You're precious to so many. Act it. You're someone's son or daughter, much-loved grandchild, best mate. Act it. You're potentially someone's great love. Act it.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

shazz xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
it's still raining !!!

SCRAPPING TO SHARE

still fighting whatever illness it is that i have.
have had a headache for over a week now and panadol isn't doing anything to help with the pain so i am thinking that maybe a trip to the GP may be in order. i have to have my celebrex script renewed so maybe i should have my head checked too.
it's not fun being me at the moment, nor being my family i suspect.

this is playing out in the courts at the moment and if the news reports are anything to go on it will not end in a good way for the young driver who is a friend of our boys.
it was a silly, stupid lapse in judgement that changed so many lives on that dark wet night and i fear that the young man who survived will spend time in jail.
i really can't see it playing out any other way.
i am just so sad for everyone involved...for the families of those four beautiful boys who are gone forever; for their friends (including my boys); for the driver and for our community.
visiting the boys graves last week - all together, side by side, was just gut wrenching.
almost too much to bear for me so i cannot even fathom what the mothers of those four precious boys must feel and go through each time they have to visit those graves and walk away leaving their babies behind.
just too sad to even think about.

the DT projects are up on the RJR site but thought i would share my LOs here.
after seeing what the other girls did i am feeling rather inadequate and amatuerish about my attempts.
maybe i could blame being ill...or maybe my scrapping is inadequate and amatuerish.




all the LOs were created using the amazing ribbon stiff that jenny has for sale on the RJR site.
LOVE the stuff and some of the other DT members have done some amazing things with it.

hope that you are getting some of this beautiful rain we are experiencing up here on the far north coast.....beautiful, amazing, much-needed soaking rain.

remember to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~
and just as an after-thought today...go hug your kids....hug them tight and for a long time.

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
rain
rain
beautiful rain

BL**DY FLU

well here i go again....aches and pains and that delightful feeling that i have possibly been hit by a mack truck. and let's add a runny, snotty nose, watery eyes and a dose of sinus into the mix to make the picture complete.

managed to start my EMMies entries for this month today
(between bouts of lying on the bed and shivering under a doona)

this was using one of the gorgeous challenge packs that rondelle put together for this month.
she certainly has an eye for design and putting elements together that work.
the PP was gorgeous but i just couldn't get my mojo working to use it to it's maximum effect.
i'm happy with this though.

my DT work should be up on the RJR website this weekend.
click on the link for "jenny" in the sidebar under the RJR DT area
(couldn't be bothered putting a link in this post...LOL)
jen owns RJR and has recently added some bling and flowers to the site
(great value too)

hope everyone has a great weekend and that mine gets better.

look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
jakey got 100% in his maths test this week.
what a smart kid he is....we are just so proud of him.

STILL KICKIN'

just so you know i haven't dropped off the face of the earth, here is some scrapping i have managed to finish in the past few weeks.
there will be a longer more interesting and informative post soon....i promise !!!

this LO was done in the class i did with zina at the scrapyard about a month ago
love these photos of kait. i think i was the only 8.5 x 11 inch scrapper in the class.
it was great catching up with zina again

another LO from the class with zina. love the combination of theB&W photo with the colour photos and the tilt of the 2 side photos.
the journalling stamp is one designed by zina. such a clever chookie she is.
love using those thickers too - give a great 3D effect to the LO.

a fun LO talking about mark and "the other woman" in his life, his Honda CBR 600.
the journalling is from a blog post i did ages ago.
not sure that i like seeing so much of my crappy handwriting in one spot but it's done now.
this is the third LO from the class i did with zina @ the scrapyard.
she is actually doing another class there on friday using my favourite medium of felt.
but seeing i am heading up the coast next weekend to linda's for a stamping up party i didn't think i would push my luck with mark nor the budget.

and finally another LO i did "just because" based on the class that zina taught using the frames. i love the way the frames give the illusion of movement and it is such a GORGEOUS photo of my sweet baby girl.

and speaking of felt, "i was wasn't i...???", it is great to see miss k back blogging and sharing all her amazing work with us.

and it is also amazing and long overdue to see my amazing and truly beautiful friend ruthy shortlisted for this year's masters for Scapbooking Memories. if you want true inspiration and artistic ability you need to look no further than ruthy's work.
just beautiful....just like her.

time to get dinner organised.
so until next time....when i will have more news of the happenings of our little tribe.

look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
i'm still breathing
LOL