Can I tell you a secret?

Shhhh... don't tell him I told you, but Mike just sat through the finale of "Project Runway" with me! te he. I know we're a bit behind America, and I already knew who won just from accidentally happening on an episode of The View one weekend on Austar. But yes, we have just had the finale. And Mike watched every bit of it.

Oh (cough cough) he said because he had nothing better to do, and it was a nice night to sit by the fire (cough cough) but I know better!!! I think he was getting into it. Time will tell as next Monday night the Australian version commences. I wonder if he will book a seat on the couch with me next Monday. Stay tuned.

Sharon has a new paper pack in at twolittlepixels at the moment called Sheer Joy and it just pops! Fabulous for bright summer layouts. Oh I wish we were in summer right now, it's way too cold and windy out there for my liking, I can hear the wind howling from here. But at least I get to play with some very cool colours.

And as I look at my faithful girl laying down by my feet right now, actually she's hogging the little blow heater I have in this room!! I'll share with you a page I did. This is her favourite toy which we call "woofer". I can say to her "go get woofer" and she'll retrieve it from anywhere in the yard it happens to be, she knows it by name. It squeaks a high pitched little squeak (actually that's how I get some of her ear up expressions for photographs!!) and it's her most prized possession, and when she carries it in her mouth more often than not the WOOF is the right way up, such a crack up!

Credits here.

That darn mouse!

I feel like I'm playing a role in "Mousical the Musical", this darn mouse is leading me on a merry chase. With two nights mouse-free I thought right, word had gotten out into the mouse kingdom that this was not a good place to be. No sight nor sound, no tell-tale signs. Then I walk into the laundry in the afternoon yesterday and mouse droppings!!!! In the middle of the floor. During broad daylight this time no less, with a cat in the house. Arrrrrgggghhhh!!!!

THIS IS WAR !

I sound all charged up don't I? But any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. We fear this devious mouse (who is obviously the ringleader of the other poor suckers that met their dire ending) is far too slippery a character for even us to outwit.

Step son number 1 is coming for dinner tonight and possibly a sleepover. Now that he lives over the other side of Melbourne I thought we wouldn't see him as often, but I do believe we're seeing him more, which is a good thing. Gotta love how I've trained these kids. He has bought himself a motorbike to get around on. The other kids don't know that yet, that's a surprise tomorrow when he pulls up in their driveway. But he said to me last week, I'll come down on the motor bike so you can take pictures ... (then he added) to scrapbook !!! ROFLMAO. Is he trained well or what?

It's been a cruisy day today and quite frankly has felt like Sunday being that I had yesterday off. I finished another page for mum's book last night, utilising again some old slides but incorporating a current day picture. Hope you like it. Oh ... and if you read this and happen to know my brother, please don't ask him "where's puffin' billy?" In days gone by he would lift up his shirt, point to his belly button and say "there's puffin' billy" !! haha For overseas readers, Puffing Billy is an old steam train that takes tourists for rides in the Dandenongs.

Credits here.

Oh and as an aside, if you do know Trevor and are reading this blog, don't tell him about this book!

It's war !!!

The score is four for three, sounds like a cricket score doesn't it? Four mice caught in three nights. What is going on? Have they decided we have a nice house to move in to for the winter? And what's with Bo? Has the cat union called a stop work meeting that I haven't heard about? They're scarce during the day, I haven't seen one live one yet, only their demise in the morning in the mouse traps. Sorry if you are a mouse lover or animal liberationist, but ME + MICE = DON'T MIX ! Thank goodness Mike has a duty under his name of "mouse getter ridderer". Ick.

Now delving into my archives and once again finding some layouts I haven't shown. Creashens had an amazing paperpack which stunned us when she showed us, the colours and textures are just gorgeous. Pashmina Solids. Simply beautiful.

And I put one of the papers to good use here. I could see there was going to be a nice sky one evening so whipped up the road with the camera and took this across the paddocks.

Credits here.

I was just about to press 'publish post' but there was a big snore beside me. Molly is laying flat out at my feet and she's dreaming. I wonder what dogs dream about?

Tuesday night bliss

I've had Tuesday night bliss tonight. A lovely hour in the pool at my regular Tuesday night water aerobics, but it was fun and easy tonight as it was the last night before term holidays. One of the ladies is getting married soon so another lady had brought a fun glittery plastic tiara headpiece with netting attached and her bridesmaid wore a plastic shower cap complete with big flower in the front. It was quite fun watching them do their thing in the pool for an hour. One of those "had to be there" moments.

Then home and a nice hot shower and dinner ready for me, mmmm chicken stirfry, and then watching my favourite Tuesday night program on Nat Geo "Long Way Down" with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman. Love love love this series.

And now a quick play on the 'puter before bed. Can an evening be any more perfect. Probably the best part was dinner being made for me!! te he

Operation Mouse is well underway, ick, one caught the first night so we thought we'd try again last night and ick, yet another. See I thought it wasn't a solo act, I figured there was an accomplice. Lets see what tonight will bring. One thing we have ascertained is that mice obviously like Kraft smoothy peanut butter!

I've been a bit slack in showing some recent layouts so I'll put a little gallery showing up now.

Using the lovely Faded Summer Kit by creashens.
Credits here.

Using the very inspired Rebecca's Art 2 paper pack by [ksharonkdesigns]. I thought I was going to struggle using these arty paper packs but they've been surprisingly fun to use. A real break out of the comfort zone.
Credits here.

And lastly using one of the Quick Albums, this one is the *shelley* quick album by [ksharonkdesigns]. Dress them up, dress them down, make them your own, they're a fabulous tool to use if you're stumped, if the creative mojo is not stopping at your fingertips, or if you just want to create a quick page.
Credits here.

All these pages are additions for my sister-in-law's album, but I can only take credit for the pictures in the drawing layout, the rest I sneakily have belong to my sister-in-law.

Now I think a cup of tea is in order and then bed. G'night.

Ick!

This weekend has had a few ick factors thrown this way.

First of all we have a mouse. I hate creepy crawlies of any persuasion, mice are definitely included. Although I haven't seen said mouse. I've just seen evidence of his or her comings and goings in the laundry room. All I'm wondering is how big and ferocious this mouse is seeings Bo has decided it is not worth her bother. Either that or it is very sneaky. Tonight "Operation Mouse" begins.

And my second ick moment was 6.30 this morning Molly decided to be sick. In the bedroom. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww! Up and cleaning and disinfecting at 6.30 in the morning on a Sunday no less is not my idea of a weekend. Poor poppet though, she looked thoroughly embarrassed, if it is at all possible for a dog to look that way.

Hey, I wonder if *SHE* ate the mouse in the middle of the night and it didn't agree with her? That's something I've only just thought of this minute. See and now that's moved me onto a third ick factor even thinking of that.

So fun and games for us this weekend. Ha! I say "us" very loosely, because it was me that cleaned up after both the mouse and Molly.

I went back to the slides and picked another couple for yet another page for mum's secret family history book. I really love how this has turned out, colourful and yet still with a vintage air about it, sympathetic to the era of the picture.

Credits here.

I actually shed a few tears when I finished up this page last night. When I looked at the pictures I could see how young mum and dad were and how much time has passed to bring us to 2008 and even though it's irrational to think I hadn't thought it before, because I had, but seeing these pictures really brought home to me how much of a void mum has in her life. See, completely irrational. I know they were together for 40-something years. I know that. But visualising it, looking at their young hopeful faces and now thinking of mum now, there's an awful lot of history between. And it made me really tearful thinking about all those years which are mere memories now.

So it's given me even more drive to get as many of these beautiful photos of our lives put together with stories forever, so both the pictures and the stories of our lives are never lost.

And with that I'll bid you goodnight.

Waiting...

Just waiting for Mike to get home, so we can have dinner. Quick, easy and delicious tonight, we're having breakfast for dinner! te he I love these types of nights, bacon, eggs, toast, grilled tomato and mushies. Doesn't it sound oh so yummy.

I've had a play with Sharon's new kit. One of my friends had puppies. Well ... *SHE* didn't have puppies, her dog had puppies, from memory there was about ten of them. Can you just imagine it, ten smoochy warm bundles of goodness like this. I was in puppy heaven when I went to visit and snapped this pic. Now this little bundle of joy is going to grow into a huge Hungarian Viszla when he grows up. But I love how his head looks abnormally big, it's just too cute.

When I see little puppies like this it makes me sad that I never got to see Molly as a pup. Mike got her when she was about a year old. I wonder if she had that grey streak on her nose and on her belly? I wonder what her parent dogs were, she's a black lab mixed with something, we know not what. I can't even imagine just how cute she would have been at the same age as this pupkins.

Now here is the best type of diet you could ever be on. Get your sugar fix with this sugared fruits kit by [ksharonkdesigns] which is what I used to create 'Puppy Love'. Click on the pic to take you to the store. And while you're at is visit Artistic Musings for a great freebie which matches this kit. For a limited time only.

I do feel the need for a bit of knitting coming on, and I think tonight will be the perfect night for it. Bacon, eggs, a comfy seat by the fireplace and knitting at hand. What could be a better way to spend the evening?

So so tired

My favourite time of the week has rocked around yet again, Friday night ... ahhhhh! I love my Friday nights.

I'm so tired I do believe it may just flash right past me though. I had a long long day yesterday. I had to take an early train to Melbourne which left at 6.15am which meant I had to leave about 5.45 to get to the train station. And I didn't walk back in the door here at home until 10pm. That was a huge day and I'm still feeling the effects of it now to the point of feeling dizzy sick.

So as I left work tonight my drive home lead me to my favourite butchers in town and I got some yummy looking chicken kievs for dinner and they are baking with all their garlicky goodness in the oven right now. I can't wait.

So again with the family album and I have this photo of my brother meeting the amazing Kostya Tszyu some years ago. Trevor absolutely loves this photo but the fact it was at a book signing the background was just rows and rows of books which he didn't like. Enter photoshop! I'm not going to show him this layout because it is going in the family book, I think he'll be really pleased with the outcome.

Credits here.

Love the weathered look I've put on the picture. Funny isn't it. When scrapbooking we take lovely new photographs and papers (well pixels of them anyway) and tear them, crumple them, bend them, to make them look old and worn for our bright and shiny albums of memories. The irony of that never fails to give me the giggles.

Now the smell of garlic is beckoning. Mmmmmm. G'night.

Whiz!

Tell me it's not only me? Are the weeks going by so incredibly fast for everyone? Is it just that we keep getting busier and busier? I'm sure winter only just started yesterday and here we are already over halfway through June. This is craziness.

I'm busy downloading a grab bag at the moment so can blog while I'm doing that. I just bought a Collab grab bag from Faith True and Creative Confusion from Live Out Loud. To be honest I don't know the "names" of designers in the digi scrap world. Only the ones I love and use all the time. I don't tend to go out of my box and get other stuff to play with. But I saw the previews on the grab bag reveal blog ... yes yes and I do read the last page of a book first too. I know the idea of grab bags is to get a surprise, but I'm not big into surprises when they cost money. And I'm thrilled with what the $4 bag contained.

Now onto my favourite designers and one of those is creashens. How lucky I am to play with her fun things. She created this amazingly beautiful kit called BelievHer. And I have the song completely stuck in my head too. ha. The kit really is something special, click on the pic to take you to the shoppe for a better view.

So I have this pic that my sister-in-law had taken of my niece which I think is just the most magic of pictures ever. So I can't take credit for this at all. But I put together a page which I love and which of course will be going into my sister-in-law's book next year ... shhhh it's for her 40th birthday. I can say that because she doesn't read this blog. te he.

I have mixed my song lyrics here ... "I'm a believer" and "Dream a little dream" but hey they both fit and there's no rules in scrapping right?

Credits here.

Sunday night

Not my favourite time of the week. The weekend is nearly over and back to work tomorrow. But I do have one thing yet to look forward to, that yummy smelling roast pork which is cooking in the oven right now. It smells divine.

So the trivia night. Do you really want to know? I should just learn to keep my mouth shut.

They split us onto different tables, a good way to meet others and not stack tables with brainiacs. So I had this great idea that whichever table lost out of Mike's table and my table, then out of the two of us the loser would have to make the winner breakfast in bed all weekend.

Do I slink away now when I tell you we lost by 10 points to Mike's table????

So not only do I have a flat as a pancake sultana cake, having to buy supermarket made lamingtons to replace it, but I've had to make bacon and eggs and toast both mornings. Enough! I will never open my big mouth again. Remind me next year won't you? ha

So I thought I'd delve into the lost (but now found) slides once again and do another page for mum's family history book for christmas. Here is me before I even had a little brother, playing in the backyard with my toys. The year was 1965.

Credits here.

I'm so pleased with the soft look I've created here, thanks to both Megan's and Sharon's papers, perfect for "little people pages". Click on the pics below to take you

Oh the shame ...

We are going to a trivia night in town tomorrow night and it's "bring a plate". Yikes. You know living in the country one of the biggest lessons I've learnt is "bring a plate" doesn't mean going to the supermarket and picking up a packet of Tim Tams and scattering them on a plate. No siree Bob!

It is "bring a plate Olympics". The lighter, the bigger, the more cream, the fluffier, it's all looked at by everyone and horror of horrors if your plate doesn't get finished, or heaven forbid doesn't even get touched, well you may as well hang your head in shame as you leave carrying your still fully laden plate home with you.

That's where a husband and his mates come in and I MAKE them go eat my stuff, haha!

So tonight I set about making my *easy-peasy-never-fail-can-make-it-with-my-eyes-closed-Sultana-cake* in readiness for tomorrow night. Yes true, it does have a name that long! Except as the cake was happily baking and I was washing the cooking dishes and then I put the containers of flour, sugar, etc. away ... what did I spy on my kitchen bench. The baking powder. Which I had forgotten to put in the cake.

Flip. The cake (using plain flour of course) has come out as flat as a pancake.

Looks like I'll be ducking down to a bakery out of town, cutting up a few bits and pieces and pretending tomorrow night. Expect an Academy Award performance, ROFLMAO!


The peeps I want to know more about meme

A little bit ago Bells tagged me and I'm still yet to reply, so here tis.

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing ten years ago?
Hmmm 1998 and I was (cough cough) 33 years old. To be honest I wasn't doing anything that exciting. I was living in a house on my own. Oh hang on, that's the year my life changed I do believe. I got my very first computer in 1998 and hooked up to the internet. And a huge beautiful world came right to me in my living room. I have made some amazing friends through this medium and you know who you are because I don't give this blog address out to just anyone.

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
Well considering the day is just about over I can tell you what non-work to do things I did today-
1. Visited Spotlight at lunchtime to check out the Cleckheaton Vintage Hues yarn on sale.
2. Short walk with Molly when I got home, it's getting dark way too soon.
3. Cooked dinner.
4. Scrapbooked.
5. Made a cake, if you deign to call it that. Hmmmph.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Chocolate
Sourdough bread toasted with butter and honey
Chicken potato chips

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Quit work.
Travel.
Spoil our families.
Build the house of our dreams.
And then open up my own shop, something I would dearly love to do.

5) Places I have lived:
Born bred and lived the majority of my life in Geelong until I married and moved to a little town in country Victoria, population around about 1000.

6) Jobs I have had:
Legal Secretary
Executive Support
Human Resource

7) Peeps I want to know more about:
I will just say anyone who may read my blog and who might like to do this, feel free, but let me know so I can read more about you.


And last but not least ...

I really have been slack in showing off my pages so here's one a did a short while back. This will go in my shhhhh sister-in-law's birthday album for next year. Isn't my nephew cute, and yes, this is the real deal colour of the icecream.

Credits here.

They say "JUMP" ...

... and a dog says "HOW HIGH" ??

Shall get to that in a minute. What a great great long weekend I had ... oh and happy birthday Queen Lizzie!! Love that we get a day to celebrate a birthday, hey any reason for cake right?

The best part was mum coming down. I picked her up from the railway station on Friday after work. The train pulled in and I could see her in the carriage with a grin from ear to ear. A big fear conquered. See, mum hasn't taken a train on her own in 44 years. She always had dad by her side. And the fact that she doesn't drive either, the only way she ever could get up to visit me previously was if she got a ride with someone, and once dad got sick she stopped coming because she wouldn't leave him at home alone and he couldn't travel.

Well I think she felt like Rocky when she arrived. She had done it, her confidence was brimming and she could take on anything. I'm so proud of her.

We had a great weekend and on Saturday went to the Casterton Kelpie Festival. I was in dog heaven. Dogs as far as the eye could see. And what an amazing dog a kelpie is too, eyes like a hawk, they would do anything for their owner, and such power.

The street parade was so fun. One of the parade participants were three ducks wandering down the road with a kelpie rounding them up. It was hysterical. If they only slightly came one way the kelpie would have them scuttling back the other. His eyes didn't leave them for a minute. And I can honestly say that I've never been to a parade like this. The flower group gave mum a lovely posy of flowers as they came down the road. Oh and the CWA were handing out scones and jam and cream to the parade goers. Only in the country right.

But the best, the very best, was the high jump. It ended up being equal first, they couldn't split the dogs. They jumped ... are you ready for this ... 2.62 meters!!! That's 8 feet 6 inches to my American friends. Is that insane?!?!?!!? A little dog like that jumping that high. We were in awe watching them.

Here's a picture of one of the dogs on the day, bear in mind it went up another two planks to get to the final jump. It still blows my mind.

And because I'm just so proud of my mum, I had to do a page for the family album I'm making her for Christmas.

Credits here

Using the new kit Linen Fields by creashens. Isn't it pretty? Click on the pic to take you to twolittlepixels.

Sometimes things don't turn out as planned

But they can be even better.

This weekend there's a girl's weekend planned in Brisbane. Yes, a long way to go for a weekend, but these are dear dear friends and in the initial stages I was going to go. But then a planned BBQ with overseas relatives of Mike's got in the way and I decided to stay home for the opportunity of meeting them. Then the BBQ got changed so I thought I might end up getting away to Brisbane again.

Then mum said, of her own accord, without any pressure from me, 'how about I come up the Queen's Birthday weekend'. YAY YAY YAY, jumping up and down I was. And she's doing it under her own steam and is taking the train here.

So whilst there was an up, then a down, there was definitely another up again.

This is a big thing for mum, her first train ride on her pat malone in 44 years. She's nervous as anything. But my brother will be putting her on the train at one end and I'll be waiting on the platform at the other. Funny how little things we take for granted can send other people into a cold sweat. I know once she's done the journey on her own once, she'll be right. She just needs to take this first step.

Onto digi scrapping. Did you download twolittlepixels' last newsletter, you still can if you as yet haven't, it's still available here. As well as some fabulous freebies inside, there was also a tutorial to make your own blinkie. To date all other instructions I've read on the web had my head spinning and I just couldn't work it out. Until now. I feel really quite clever. So here it is, of course using 2LP products ...

Now back to the lost slides. I had previously created this page, but I had done it in a hurry and had never been quite happy with it. Plus I have since found out that I had the original story wrong. The photos were from 1967 but the story I had told was from 1963. So I ended up rejigging the lot and made it look a lot more vintage, more in sync with the era of the photos.

I tell you, looking at these old lost slides, it's been a journey and a half. Seeing pictures of us that I've never seen before, almost like discovering a past you knew existed but seeing little bits of it for the first time.

Credits here.

Still sniffing and sneezing

You just wanted to know that didn't you? It's just stayed in my head, it hasn't gone to my throat, just that now I look like a red nosed reindeer with my poor raw nose from blowing it. And I just totally want to scratch my eyes out. So it was a no brainer tonight, I ditched my Tuesday night at the pool.

The first episode of Long Way Down was on Austar tonight and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved watching Long Way Round, what an adventure by two mates. So this will be regular Tuesday night viewing from here on in. Thank heavens I'll be home from the pool in time. Oooh found some footage if you want to have a squiz if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Check it out here.

Now scroll back a little bit and remember I mentioned about the slides that had been found in the back of the cupboard in pristine condition, never before seen. Well I've done another page which will go in the ... shhhh ... album I'm making for mum for Christmas about our family over the years and the different stories that made us what we are. I really love the feel of this page and how it turned out which was quite something else to how it started.

Credits here.

Off to bed for me now. Nighty night.

Sunday - a day of sneezing!

Who ever said Sunday was a day of rest? All I've done already this morning is sneeze and blow today, ha! So I'm taking it easy today, NO HOUSEWORK I've decided. I don't need any dust to make me sneeze any further.

Although I did need to report back on the pillow. I've had a great sleep right through the last two nights. I'm amazed. I usually wake during the night, well that might have something to do with the tablets I'm taking why I'm sleeping through, but I'm definitely not waking with a crink in my neck like I usually do.

I did wonder if I'd be able to sleep using only one pillow because I'm a two pillow girl, but surprisingly I have. I'm really impressed. So I don't know whether it's because of the shape cushioning the neck more, or the latex, or the fact I got 30% off at Target which is always good! LOL But it's good.

Must share a layout that I made with Anna's goodies at Studio Anna and a few others thrown in. Lo and behold it ended up being 'page of the week' at Scrapbookgraphics. I was absolutely stunned (and thrilled at the same time).

Credits here.


How lucky our dog and cat are, never being left alone while we're off working, being that my husband works from home. They don't know how good they've got it!

Plans for the rest of the day are to sit quietly and sew. Along with the scrapbooking and knitting socks (which has come to a bit of a standstill mid-sock now that Southern Summer of Socks knitalong as come to an end) I am sewing up a storm of Christmas stockings ready for the end of the year. I've got lots of bottoms done but now need to put cuffs on, my least favourite part. But not much good unfinished.

Might just do a spot of browsing in the latest Ezibuy catalogue first. Yes, you may call me Miss Procrastinator!