SHARING

it was a CC weekend over at the lounge last weekend and what a weekend of laughter, giggles, chatting, creating, inspiration and some mild bullying and lots of sulking when i failed to draw out the "right" bingo numbers.
ROTFL
all in all a wonderful weekend and the gallery is sparkling with lots of gorgeous LOs.
there are such talented people out there.

my challenge was to scrap a monochromatic LO - the girls could choose any colour they wanted and scrap any topic but they had to incorporate hand and/or machine stitching on their LOs.
you can see the results here
pretty amazing some of them aren't they...???

this is my LO for the challenge.
i am thinking i might use this photo (taken one foggy morning from our side door) for the calendars for christmas gifts this year.
i particularly like the effect of having the muslin as a base for the LO
(and muslin is as cheap as chips too)
the buttons are from my nana's stash that i "inherited" after she passed away....there are some pretty amazing buttons in it i can tell you, including these beauties.

the only other challenge i managed to get done was jo's
here is my LO.

i am really pleased with the way it turned out. LOVE those new prima flowers that i received this week from Scrapsadaisy
very vintage-y.
and as you may have noticed i managed to get one of the fiskars water threading punches or whatever you call them.
great punch - stupid name !!!
thanks to a heads up from kirsten i got one from spotlight of all places (and they still had 8 others hanging up) and paid only $16.00 for it - BARGAIN !!!!

i have been busy putting all my LOs into my new albums after i got three new ones last week.
i noticed that i have fallen into the "trap" of scrapping photos and not events and moments in our lives. so i am aiming to scrap more of the moments in our lives over the coming weeks/months. i love my "adored"; "loved"; "blessing" type LOs but i seem to be lacking LOs that tell the story of the moments in our lives.
and that's the things i want to remember and what the kids and hopefully, one day, the grandkids will want to know about.
who we were and the things we did.

anyways....time to get miss kait off to physie.
hope you have all had a wonderful tuesday.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

SHE REALLY IS A GORGEOUS GIRL

from the tip of her toes to tip of her nose she really is gorgeous.

she has a habit of knowing when i need a cuddle and will just walk up and put her arms around me, kiss my cheek and say "i love you mummy".
each and every day i feel so very blessed that the universe chose me to be a mother and a mentor and a friend to this beautiful soul.

i love you baby girl
xxoo

WHAT A CONTRAST

talk about the two ends of the spectrum....i love the contrast between this scary photo of kait (she was going to a school disco with the theme of "mummies, zombies and all things scary") and the lovely floral fabric (that was part of our CT pack this month) and the flower cluster and the bling.
under all that scary-ness is our beautiful princess.
and what was even more scary was the attempts the next morning to get all those knots out of her teased up and gelled hair.
a fun LO to do and a fun memory for kait to have.

it's been mixed bag this weekend - a bit of girlie shopping for kait and i - buying a few more gifts to add to mark's father's day pressie, paying some money of christmas lay-bys and checking out all the new spring fashions in the shops.

i have drafted a "letter of expression" for a job that i am going for (more on that later) and spent a few hours chatting and catching up with our neighbour, dell who helped me out with the letter.
dell is an amazing woman - my friend and mentor.

unfortunately, matt and jakey's football (soccer) team lost their knock-out semi today. jake is devastated after such an amazing season of coming from a start of minus nine points as punishment from the association for last year's grand final debarcle to coming 5th overall in the point score.
there's always next year but this year, that team, their coaches and our club as a whole can hold their heads up with pride cause we sure showed them all.
they can use bogus trumped up charges and try to break our spirit but those boys took everything that they could throw at them and still came out on top.
i am so proud of each and every one of them.

hope that you are all having a great weekend so far.
for those of you that will see your dads tomorrow, make sure you give them a great big hug and a kiss.
i'll be missing my dad terribly tomorrow but am looking forward to talking to him on the phone and wishing him a happy day.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

CRAZY GUY

boy do i love this kid - my sensible, well-rounded, bright, devoted, lovable "crazy guy"

he is under so much pressure at the moment with his year 11 exams and making the decisions that will affect the rest of his life - nothing i can do for him but give him reassuring cuddles, shout him a Subway lunch occasionally (his favourite take-away meal) and try to give him self-confidence and belief in himself.
he knows all the work but he has this in-built drive to do well and achieve greatness.

so my darling boy - dream big, study hard, remember your manners, be kind to others and always always always....know how much you are loved and cherished by your family.

love you "peg"
xxoo

NEW COMPS

the first of each month marks the start of the new comps over at "the lounge"
so wander on over, pull up a cushion on the lounge and check them all out.

you can take part in
-> the monthly challenge (i have still to scrap my LO for this challenge using some of the GORGEOUS material that rondelle sent me)
-> the OTP/upcycled challenge (this is a new comp and is spread over two months so you have plenty of time to get your entries in)
-> the monthly sketch - this month i got to design the sketch - my first time ever
and here is my LO based on the sketch

doesn't he look so handsome....???

and the new and exciting new comp starting today.....
THE
SPECTACULAR
SCRAPTEMBER
PROMOTION
if you can chat, say nice things about the others' work and like to introduce friends to a nice place to hang out, this is the comp for you.
so sign up and start earning your SLDs (scrap lounge dollars)
i do believe miss rondelle has a some great things for you to bid for at the end of the month.

off to do the dishes and some scrapping.
loving the fact that my mojo seems to have come home to mumma.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

NOT MUCH TO REPORT

like half of the population i have been fighting this damn flu - i am not ill ("half ill" if that makes any sense) but i am not 100% well either. just keep battling on like you do when you are a mum and have responsibilities.

kait competed in her first inter-club last weekend....she didn't place but i didn't really expect her too. she seems to be so busy this year with soccer and physie and isn't doing the hours of practice that she needs. i think she realises that now and she has started her stretching routine each morning. hopefully soccer will be over for the year soon and she can get back to twice-weekly physie classes which is where i think her downfall has been too.

here she is competing

love the colour of her new leotard this year
i was a little worried it might wash her out a bit but she looked great in it and it really stood out on the floor.

her hair looked great too
(thanks to my friend terri who curled it for me on friday night)

terri, my other friend cheryl and all our kids piled into jim's unit at tweed on friday and saturday night and had a great time. once all the kids were in bed we sat up chatting and laughing - great fun. not sure i would ever go away again with that many kids when i'm not feeling 100% but we coped.

just a few pages to share - one from the scrap lounge CC that was on a few weekends ago that i didn't get finished in time.
love this pic of miss kait taken at the futsal champhionsips in brisbane in april.

and a second one for my CT comittments...using the gorgeous double-sided Bella PPs that rondelle sent to us.
the biggest problem always being which side to use.
cutting out these flowers seemed like a good idea at 11 p.m. last night when i started it but i was pretty much over it by 2 a.m. when i finished.
though it does feel good to be back in the scrapping mood again - welcome home my little mojo
LOL

anyways....mark and i are off to a football (soccer) dinner tonight so i better run and get my glad rags on.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

THE LOUNGE CYBERCROP

we had our monthly cybercrop over at "the lounge" this weekend.
go and check out the challenges - they are a lot of fun.
here is my LO for my challenge...

and this was the criteria that you had to use....
BON'S SCRAPS was the sponsor for this cybercrop.
in honour of this, my challenge is based on Bon's name.

-> create a LO using only brown and/or orange patterned papers and cardstock (your patterned papers should be predominantly orange and/or brown or tonings of these)....but you can use small amounts of white and black for your journalling and/or stamping, stenciling, etc.

->no commercially made embellishments can be used on your LO - you must make them yourself (think handmade flowers, handcut shapes, punched shapes, cutting designs from your patterned papers, doodling, etc)

-> your title must be handcut or stenciled (no die-cuts or machine-cut headings)

-> you must use your own handwriting for your journaling.

-> you can use paint, chalks, ink and stamps (but only brown, orange, black or white) but no brads, sewing, ribbon, brads, stickers, die-cuts, etc.

you can see what the other girls have come up with here
not a lot of entries but those that are there are just gorgeous. the girls have really risen to the challenge i feel.

i hope that you have had a great weekend. been mighty chilly these past few weeks and our fire has more than earned it's keep. we will be looking for another delivery of wood early this coming week i think.

whatever you have done...however you have spent your time and whoever you have chosen to spend your time with, i hope that you have been blessed with lots of smiles, happiness and special moments .

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

SOME SCRAPPING AND SOME NEWS

a couple of LOs to share today.

this one is using some of the GORGEOUS bella products from THE LOUNGE CT pack that rondelle sent out.
simply gorgeous co-ordinated products and so easy to work with.
also used some of the UNLEASHED diecuts that are lots of fun and very topical.
for this challenge we had to scrap a LO with the words "MAD ABOUT...." in the title as "Mad About Scrappin" sponsored the challenge for this month.
we also had to include some handmade flowers - lots of the girls that have uploaded so far have used felt which looks great but i used some scraps of PP to make these funky flowers - easy as and FUN to make.
i "altered" the die-cut to change it from "KAPOW" to "MAD" which i thought was pretty cool.
there is no "scrapping rule" that says you have use embellies and PPs as they come.

this pic is of me and our baby girl, miss kait (although she tells me she isn't our baby girl anymore - sorry sweetie - you will ALWAYS be our baby girl) taken at a physie interclub in brisbane a few years ago - i was so ill that day.

this is our friends' baby boy, jack. isn't he just a cutie-patootie....???
we really enjoyed "meeting" jack a few weeks ago when nathan and beck brought him down and we were all quite taken with having a baby in the house again.
this LO uses the "BABY" die-cut from UNLEASHED and is the first time that i used my "new" typewriter for journaling.
let me just say that starting to do the journaling at 11.30 at night was not the best idea i have ever had - and after 6 attempts i was finally happy with what i had done.
turned out pretty cool though i think.

this weekend is the monthly cybercrop over at "THE LOUNGE"
head over here to grab some clues prior to the night and then join us at 7.30 on friday night for lots of fun challenges and some trivia and the infamous "challenge the challengers" challenge that debuted last month - and what a doozy it was i can tell you.

and an exciting bit of news in my inbox today.
i have won a sewing machine
i can't tell you how shocked/thrilled/stoked i am - i was sure that anna at "Living Creatively" had made a mistake until i emailed her back and then she called me.
she also is sending me some entry tickets into the Sydney Stitches and Craft show which i was going to give to my sister but she can't take them.
so i will offer them to a sydney-sider via THE LOUNGE forum i think.
i NEVER win anything so i am still grinning from ear-to-ear about the whole thing.

a quick family update.
mark is nursing torn ligaments in his shoulder after a heavy fall in soccer a week ago. has made sleeping difficult for him and he spent the first few days doped up on panadiene forte. he saw the physio on friday (i think we should have our own revolving entry door at the physios) and has it heavily strapped which is painful in itself.
he tells me he is playing this friday but i have my doubts.
hopefully common sense will prevail.

matt had his first game back last friday night after getting clearance from all his physios/chiros/doctors. i wish he had decided to sit out the rest of the season but you can't tell them i guess. he fell VERY heavily in the first 10 minutes of the game and i was reduced to tears. i know he has worked hard to get his back to as normal as he can, and i know that he has enough brains to stay down when he is hurt but as i told him after the game, it is my job to worry about him.

jakey is still studying hard at school. he missed out on the job he went for at McDonalds - maybe the girl who interviewed him and said, after seeing his awards that he took with him, "i think you might be TOO smart to work here", wasn't joking.
he has picked up some work out at VA (our new business) a few sundays ago and picked up a nice little pay packet at the end of the day.

kait is enjoying her soccer. she played in the school team last week and they won both games and even though she isn't winning a lot of games at club level, she is having a great time.
we are off to surfers in a few weeks for a physie interclub and will be staying at mark's dad's unit with some friends which will be a wonderful weekend.

and me....well, i'm still plodding along. trying to find some balance and peace in my life after so many years of being lost and wandering and broken.
it's happening - it's a slow process - well it did take 44 years to get to be the person i am - but i think i am finally on track to find that peace and balance that i crave.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

A TOUGH WEEK

it's been a tough week for our family, our school community and our community as a whole.
last week, as a direct result of bullying that was occurring at school and out of school, a young man from jake's school took his own life.

i just knew as i saw jake walking up the drive last friday afternoon that something terrible was wrong. his shoulders were hunched over and he had such a look of despair on his face.
when he reached the bottom of the stairs he just lifted his head and looked into my eyes and shook his head.

we sat and talked about what had happened - at that point he didn't know many of the details. he was confused and sad and lost and just wanted to know why.
jake didn't know the young man personally as a friend but they had crossed paths at school, as they both had a love of soccer and music.

so again our school community has been plunged into the terrible abyss of grief and anger and counsellors being on hand for the staff and students.
again we are forced to think of the parents and family of this young man, who felt so alone and so desperate that he saw taking his own life, as the only answer to his problems.

as parents, mark and i are again on the lookout for "the signs" that we are all too familiar with, in our own children that they are not coping with some aspect of their lives and can only see one way out of a situation they find themselves in.
is the fact they prefer to be in their room alone, just typical teenage behaviour or is there something more sinister to their behaviour...???
should they be listening to the music that they do...???
are they hanging around with the "right" people...???

this week we have held our children a little tighter when we have hugged them goodbye; taken the time to sit with them and talk about what they did at school/work; listened to what they have had to say, even when we were pushed for time ourselves; told them we loved them probably an embarrassing number of times; sat beside their beds and watched them sleep, praying that they know how much we love them and are always there for them.

please spare a thought for the family and friends of this young man.
he was laid to rest today.
they now have to move forward through the rest of their Life's journey without their son/brother/grandson/friend.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

LAYOUTS TO SHARE

just a quick post to upload some LOs.
the first is from the Stick and Giggle retreat run by the gorgeous jody up at Mt Tamborine a few weeks back. i was unable to go for the whole weekend but managed a surprise visit up there on the saturday -it was so nice to catch up with old friends and to meet so many lovely new ladies.
this LO is from a class that the gorgeous and VERY PATIENT jolene pienaar ran.
i just love jolene's style and i am thrilled with the way it turned out, even after linda and i sent jolene into a bit of a spin by telling her that we only scrapped in the smaller 8.5 x 11 size.

this photo of kait was taken at louise and chris's wedding back in 2003.
she had been such a good girl all day but by the time the photographer snapped this little gem i think kait was just about over being the cute little flower girl.

the second LO today is one for the scrap lounge CC last friday.
the challenge was set by my gorgeous pal, jodi
a.k.a. "the lounge hog"
LOL
the criteria was as follows.......
-> our patterned paper must be scraps - no NEW sheets
-> a border made from non-scrapping supplies or something recycled
-> a mixed FONT title, I want to see at LEAST 3 different types of alpha's in your titles girls - use up those letters.............
AND - because we are celebrating our FIRST CC as your Creative Team;
the topic of your LO should be about a "first" of some description

and here is my LO for the challenge

this was jakey on his very first day of preschool.
he was so chuffed to be heading off to preschool with all his "new" things including his ninja turtle sleeping bag and sheets.
he was such a little cutie-pie, don't you think...???
i used glad wrap in the bottom RH corner as my "recycled" object.
it was a fun LO to do but i am still unsure as to whether i like it or not.

my CT pack for august arrived today - FINALLY !!!!
rondelle and i were just about thinking that it had disappeared into an Aussie Post black hole.
the goodies within are lovely and i should be creating with them in the next few days.

anyways....that's it for today.
remember to always to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

FIRST CYBERCROP AT "THE LOUNGE"

this weekend was the first cybercrop for the new CT at "the lounge"
jody, jodi, jo and i had lots of fun (and lots of nerves) setting the challenges and making a few changes to try and drum up a bit of interest over at "the lounge" and for our sponsor for this month "scrapbook savvy"
go and check out their new range of rose moka papers - SERIOUS drool material.

my challenge for the CC was to create a LO using only the three colours on the Scrapbook Savvy online store banner (pink, green and white) + you had to use double letters in your title because the "double V" in the word "savvy" tickled my funny bone
(hey.....i know i'm weird)
here is my LO......

isn't she just the most beautiful little person....???
i have scrapped this photo of kait a few times and probably will again.

and you can find the other GORGEOUS LOs that the girls have uploaded here in "the lounge" gallery.

we also introduced a new CC challenge "challenge the CT" - and boy.....did those girls ever challenge us.....!!!
we had to scrap a LO using the following criteria:
-> Non - person LO, NO people allowed in photos
-> LO must REVEAL something about YOURSELF
-> Only use cream, brown and white
-> LO must include CIRCLES

here is what i came up with.......

these are my most favourite pair of boots in the whole world. i have had them just over 17 years and it will be a very sad day indeed when they finally wear out. they are SO comfortable. i guess this LO reveals that i like things to be comfortable and that i am not a trend-setter - i don't need the latest fashions - just give me comfy any day.

you will be able to see what the other girls have done if you take a peek here
(although they may need a bit more time to upload their LOs)

other weekend news includes soccer wins for jake and kait
YAY GUYS !!!!!
jake's win puts stars up into 4th position on the table which is amazing when you think they started the season on minus 9 points as punishment for the indiscretions at the grand final last year.
those young men, and our club overall can hold their heads up with total pride in the way they have conducted themselves this season.
the whole soccer community wrote us off as a club saying what a pack of losers we were but those boys have played the season with utter class and dignity despite officials and other clubs and their players and fans totally rubbishing us and our club throughout the season.
i am so proud of all the boys and their coaches, trainers and the club officialdom that has developed such a great code of conduct that we can all live with.
other clubs in this area would do well to look at our club and the way that our club has conducted itself throughout this season.

and miss kait's team of little under 12 girls won their second game this morning and kaity scored the winning goal
YAY KAIT !!!!!
pity i just looked the other way as she scored it - isn't that always the way.....LOL

anyways....a few more challenges to get done for the CC and dinner to get started.
i hope you have had a wonderful weekend - the weather here has been just GORGEOUS this past weekend (good for drying the clothes)
hoping that the week ahead is a great one for you.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

THIS DAY...

comes around every year.

it's not that a thought of you doesn't cross my mind almost every day but on THIS DAY, every year, i can only remember the horror of that late night phone call; the anguish in your dad's voice; the utter devastation that your mum felt; the utter helplessness that we felt; the anger at the injustice of it all; the tears; the sorrow; and the heart-wrenching realisation that we would never see your beautiful smiling face here on this earth again.

so many vivid memories of those dark days - so many more that i am sure my mind won't allow me to remember.

but more and more the memories of the horror of that night are being replaced by gentler memories of your smiles and laughter that we shared; of the times our families spent together and of the precious gift that you were to us all.

i will see your mum and dad today - there will be tears and lots of them, hugs, memories shared and the renewing of that part of our friendship that we share, that i would never wish on anyone.

this is my favourite photo of you....

it shows me the steely determination that was so much a part of you, whether you were out on the track or just living your life;
it shows me those beautiful eyes - focused and ready to race - ready to beat the boys (and you usually did);
i know under that helmet there would have been carefully applied make-up - not too much but just enough to enhance your beautiful features;
i don't know what colour your hair would have been - it was always a surprise and a bit of a guess what colour you would have dyed it each time we saw you.
yep......i love this photo of you.

this day i will cry an ocean of tears and my heart will break.
i will hold my children a little closer and a little longer and i will try to see the good and the beautiful things around me.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

today i dedicate this sign off to you sweet girl...
for making us smile;
for the love that you shared;
and for reminding us all to "LIVE OUT LOUD"

rest in peace Kristy Lee.
we love you precious girl.

shazz xo

DO YOU.....

...remember your first love...???

my first love's name was alan and he rode a dragster and i fell in love with him when i was 11, when he cooked marshmallows for me at a school camp.
i never kissed him or went out on a date with him but i can remember that he let me go ahead of him in "lines" at school and bought me a toffee and chocolate crackle at the school fete.

ahhhhhh....the innocence of your "first love".

tell me about your "first love"

have a most amazing day and remember...
always to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

GREAT EXCITEMENT

it started with this request.
and ended up with this response.

thanks to my fellow CTer and all round gorgeous friend, jodi i am now the proud owner of this little beauty - something i have wanted for ages and haven't been able to find at the poorly stocked op shops around here or at any garage sales
(i'll probably see heaps of them around now)
and i haven't wanted to go down the whole ebay track.

so this weekend my new "baby" will be winging his way up here with jodi when she attends the stick and giggle scrapping retreat at mt tambourine
(don't start me again on why i'm not gonna be there too - BOO HOO HOO)
and the equally lovely linda will be baby-sitting for me until i can get up to her place to pick it up.

it's cold, wet and drizzly weather here today so i guess we won't be getting our firewood as planned but might be a good day to start to get this house tidied up - i am sick of living in clutter and i am sure that if the house was tidy and in some kind of order my creativity would flow a bit better.

hoping to have some more scrapping to share later today.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

p.s let me just say how stoked i am to see my lovely friend sharon scrapping again and sharing her work with us.
do yourself a favour and check out her blog - i promise you won't be disappointed.

TA TA !!!!!

SCRAPPING SHARING

firstly, a very happy 20th birthday to our first born son, matty for last thursday. how can mark and i POSSIBLY be the parents of a 20 year old....??? he had the week off work and as a gift to him we bought tickets for jakey and kait so they could go with matt to dreamworld - he has wanted to take them in his "big brother" role for ages and mark and i finally agreed. he took another friend, hayley too and by all accounts they had a great day.
i just hope and pray that matt finds his feet soon and some direction in his life. he struggles so hard at times, with just day-to-day living and finding his way through this world.
but we love you darling boy....you were my first born and will always hold a very special place in my heart.

well the CT over at the scrap lounge are well and truly into the first month of our assignments. it has been SO exciting bouncing ideas off each other and seeing some of those ideas come into fruition. of course we are all on a pretty steep learning curve but it is fun being part of such a great team of gorgeous and supportive girls.

our pack sponsors for the month are MiJeMoo and CraftQueen and you can find our creations using their products here
i'll post my creations on my blog in case you couldn't be bothered to chase the links.....LOL

our good friends doing their "famous couple" impression.....love this pic.

my baby girl seconds from disaster. makes me ill thinking about what happened seconds after this photo was taken. thank goodness the damage doesn't appear to have been permanent. doesn't make the guilt any less though.

love making these organza ribbon flowers....and of course some french knots.

we have all come up with a great selection of challenges for our first month so head on over to the lounge and have a look and maybe take up a challenge or two.
Monthly Challenge Comp
Monthly Sketch Challenge - sketch by the gorgeous jody
Monthly OTP Comp
some great prizes on offer - you have to be in it to win it.

we have madly been planning our first CC, happening on the weekend of july 18 so make sure you come on over and see what we have come up with.

the gorgeous jodi has come up with a great concept.
come over and spend 5 minutes on the lounge with scrappers from australia and overseas....there are some BIG names coming over to have a sit on the lounge in coming weeks - stay tuned *WINK*
this week's lounge guest is the very talented jolene pienaar.
jolene is teaching a class at the Stick and Giggle retreat up on Mt Tambourine this coming weekend and i am SO upset that i won't be there to take the class or to catch up with all my gorgeous friends
*SIGH*

i am planning to re-vamp my blog in the next few weeks.....i have had this same template for ever and i feel it is time for a re-vamp.
so stay tuned.

hope that those of you on holidays are having a great time hanging out with your kids. i LOVE school holidays - sleep-ins, no rushing about to get kids to school on time and a much more relaxed way of life for a few weeks.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

UPDATE ON MATT

i have lots to share news about the kids so i decided to do a post on each one of them.

matt is struggling with a recurring back injury. he originally hurt his back at a state soccer training camp back in 2003 and the officials at the camp, failed to get him any help at the time of the injury. i can still see that poor kid hobbling out to the car when i picked him up from the camp almost 15 hours after the injury happened and when i confronted the officials they said it hadn't seemed too serious at the time.

by the time we got him home (a three hour trip home in the car), the doctors at A&E had to sedate him before they could get him out of the car, because he was in so much pain. and when we went to claim some help through the soccer associations insurance fund, with the HUGE medical bills (sports physios, chiropractors, rehab, etc) our claim was denied because the coaches didn't get him medical attention with 12 hours of the injury occurring. and when we approached the association with a lawyer to get to the bottom of why he hadn't been given any help, the coaches all stuck together and said matt had told them he didn't need any medical help.

if you could have seen the extreme pain he was in when i picked him up, i think this would have been highly unlikely.

so this poor kid has seen his soccer career suffer because of the negligence of these men who totally neglected their duty of care towards him. he has been hospitalised on several occasions when his back has gone into a spasm. after the last incident mark and i decided to go back to the beginning with a GP and get him the help and the answers that he needed.

he had a CT scan done which showed the possibility of a benign tumor of one of the vertebrate in his lower back and this morning had an MRI as the sports physio we had him see last week believes he may very well have a stress fracture in one of the vertebrate too. all these results will have to be seen by a specialist but all we want is answers for matt.

at the moment he has been told he cannot run, kick a ball, jog, or play soccer and the frustration of sitting on the sideline week after week is driving him mad. it wasn't until the physio told him last week that if he doesn't stop all but the most basic of movements and stretching that he may well end up with major back surgery and the possibility of never living without some level of back pain for the rest of his life.

it is scary stuff and we are all over the whole thing. my heart goes out to matt as he struggles to get out of bed most mornings and get moving and even his work is suffering as he can't do any heavy lifting.

that was a little heavy going but i have wanted to record matt's struggle for a while now.

aside from all of that he is going well. he still hasn't found true love
(she is out there somewhere he keeps telling us)

along with jake and their mate mitch, he is still training the women's 2nds for Stars - they are called the "Starlets".
the team is playing really well and those women all adore the three boys and are very protective of them. it's quite funny actually.

matt will celebrate his 20th birthday next week.
how can mark and i be the parents of a 20 year old....????
where have those years gone....???
he was, and still is, such a gorgeous boy or should i say a man.

anyways.....i will be back to do an update on jake and kait in the next day or so.
don't forget that if you comment on this post or any other post i make before wednesday midnight, you will be in the draw for one of two calendars
(see the previous post)

hope you are all having a happy tuesday.
remember to always to look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

GIVEAWAYS

i am in the throes of clearing up my scrapping area and have found two calendars i scrapped last last year to give as gifts.

i never ended up giving them so i will be giving them away to two lucky people who leave a comment here on my blog or over at the scrap lounge.
they are 2008 calendars so you will only get to enjoy them for half of the year.
the photography was done by the amazingly talented miss emily clark, the gorgeous ruthy's daughter.
thanks for allowing me to use the pic em.

so to have a chance of winning one for your wall, you have until wednesday to leave a comment - either on this post or any other posts i make up until wednesday, midnight.

and as for my other big news....well i have been selected on the creative team for the scrap lounge for the next 6 months.
i was shocked when rondelle emailed me with the news but i am so honoured and so excited as well. the other amazing girls on the team are jodi, jody and jo.
yeah.....we know....try saying THAT really quickly after a few glasses of the old bubbly stuff.
we will be known as the JJJs.
we are all having a ball tossing ideas around and i have received my first challenge pack - and what a challenge some of the papers are too.
i am so excited to be sharing this creative inspiring journey with rondelle and the other gorgeous girls on the CT.
thanks for the great opportunity rondelle. i hope i am an inspiration to others and that i get to learn heaps along the way.
i will be in charge of wishing the forum members a happy birthday and organising RAKs and issuing regular challenges. i have started up the Scrap Lounge Birthday Club so if you would like to get a letterbox full of lovin' on your special day, pop on over to the forum and join up. and it will be a great way to get a beautifully scrapped card too.

well that's it for today but i have some family news to blog (helps me remember the details down the track) so i will be back with some pics and family news in the next day or so.

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

YEP...I'M STILL ALIVE

we have been super busy but have news from all quarters of our lives so will be updating next week with lots of news and photos.
kait's school has it's annual Bonfire Night this weekend so have been busy getting ready for that - a B-I-G weekend for all involved but a huge success for our little school of just 85 kids.

some sad news to report with the closure of RJR but jenny is having a great sale so pop on over and grab yourself a bargain while stocks still last.

i also have some exciting scrapping news in the wind but it's still "secret squirrel" for now.
*WINK*

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

~*~ LIVE OUT LOUD ~*~

shazz xo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL

my baby is 12.
kait turned 12 yesterday....where have the years gone...???

she has been SO excited this week and counting down sleeps and generally just being excited about turning 12.

as far as 12 year old birthdays go, i think she had a great time. she got lots of clothes and some games for her DS; a CD; some money (very important when you are 12) and some vouchers.
she had the birthday dinner she requested (maccas of course which is a BIG treat for us in these cash-strapped times)
she played soccer last night - they lost but she had a great time.
and tonight she is having a sleepover with 7 of her friends - pizza for dinner; ice cream cake; DVDs; munchies; sleeping on the family room floor.
yup....she will be in 12-year-old heaven.

i can't tell you utterly lucky and blessed i feel to have this amazing little person in my life.
kait...you are such a sweet, kind and caring little girl. you hate seeing anyone sad or upset and do your best to make them feel happy again.
you have an amazing love of life and despite some pretty awful hiccups in the past you have managed to overcome these and are growing into a beautiful young lady.
you make me smile and laugh and cry tears of joy.
you make me glad that i am you mum.
you are such a blessing in our lives.

love you baby girl.
my you be blessed with just as much love and happiness and sunshine as you have brought to our lives, as you travel your life journey.

here is kait and i on her birthday yesterday morning
(excuse the "bed hair" and the bleary eyes)
xo

SAYING GOODBYE

tonight i had to say goodbye to my dad and step-mum.

after almost two and a half years of them being here to care for uncle bob, they are now heading home to begin the next chapter of their lives.

i hugged my dad so tightly and cried an ocean of tears when it came time to say goodbye.
and i wasn't much better when i said goodbye to erica ("nanny") either.

i feel selfish because i want them to stay here and be near to me and the kids.
i will miss them both so much; i will miss dad's relentless teasing of the kids and his practical jokes; i will miss my talks with nanny; i will miss seeing them being grandparents to my kids; i will miss dad's constant search for chocolates in the fridge whenever he visited and his requests for a coffee in "the big mug"; i will miss our trips to the wood yard to get firewood; i will miss watching mark share a beer with dad and debate the pros and cons of the world.

despite the terrible reason for them being so near for for so long, i have loved getting to know dad better and finding a new level of love and respect for him and i think i may have even surprised him along the way too.

so travel home safely grandad and nanny.
remember always how much you are loved by us all.
and we will see you again very soon

xo