Cry baby

Okay, you can call me a cry baby if you like, but I've done a bit of it lately. The last few days of the week, over my lunch breaks I've sat in the mess room at work and read. Now, these days I seem to listen to more talking books on my drive in and out to work than actually read a book. I used to read a lot years ago, but not so much now (apart from trashy magazines, but they don't count do they?).

So when Jen a friend here in town thrust a book in my hand and said "read it" who was I to argue. Considering also I hadn't seen the movie. Baaaaad move reading this book at work.

"Marley and Me"

Oh dear. I had thoroughly enjoyed the book but was nearing the end. I sat quietly at the other end of the table in the mess room whilst the bosses and others were scattered around eating. All of a sudden I could feel my eyes brimming and the words were going blurry. OMG, I reach for my pocket, but no hankie. I lower my head a bit and put my hand up as if to rest my head on it, to hide my eyes but that was a bad move, the minute I moved my head the tears just flowed down my cheeks. I looked up and the bosses were staring at me horrified. And I just spluttered "this is the saddest damn book I've ever read" and ran out, much to their amusement.

Now I have a rule of thumb. I *NEVER* cry at work. In my 25 years in the job I haven't once cried in front of anyone. Yes maybe shed a tear or two in the ladies if things have gotten too much, but absolutely no one has ever seen me cry at work. That's a part of my life that is entirely separate. Not now.

Seems I'm the butt of a few jokes now. I came back from down the street and headed to the mess room on Friday to put some things in the fridge and our big boss saw me, ducked into his office to grab something and came racing into the mess with a grin on his face and a box of tissues.

Hmmmmph.

So I finished it on Saturday night. No sooner had I picked it up again from where I left off and the tears started again. I don't know if it's just the writing or the fact that I'm so 100 percent a dog person. And then I blubbered even more as Molly saw my distress and she came up beside me at the dining room table and just sat and put her head in my lap.

Flip. I was a gonna!

Buy it, read it. And then hug your furbabies just that little bit tighter.

Enough said.

Decided to do a page with Miss T in it a little bit ago but haven't shown it. She had a fluoro party for her 18th. Don't you love her dress? Apparently it was black and white stripes and she got highlighter textas and coloured in the stripes. Got to love her ingenuity.

Credits here.

When did I grow up?

I am 40-something (cough cough) and I wondered today when I actually grew up. Unbelievable but I got ultra-excited about a new vaccuum cleaner that I bought today. When did that happen? That I would be excited about a vaccuum cleaner? This just does not compute. Not only that, but tonight, dog tired, I actually got home and vaccuumed, I couldn't wait to use it. What's with that?

I have promised myself for ages to buy a Dyson and finally I have. And they're not wrong (whoever "they" are). They are sensational. Although as Miss Sonia has pointed out tonight on the phone, a girl just must have a rotating head. Well mine doesn't, so I don't know what I'm missing out on! ha.

Had a fun kit from Cheryl which had Ivy in it and saw me reaching for an old picture of my grandma, who happened to be called Ivy. Perfect. How sensationally trendy she was, check out the hat, I love it !!

Credits here.


And with that I'm off to bed, it's raining up a storm outside so it's nice listening to the rain on our roof all tucked up warm in bed. So I will dream of vaccuum cleaners and pristine carpets and life will be good! ha.

Cruisy Saturday

Brunch out with Mike this morning, a bit of housework (not too much mind you!!) and scrapping. What a great Saturday. Fireplace is alight keeping the house nice and cosy, there is sun, but it's cold and a wee bit windy outdoors. Dogs are asleep, Molly laying down by my feet, Lucky in his big cushion. Mike is tinkering with his pipes and every now and then I hear a bit of a tune. All is right with the world.

I was lucky to play with a new kit from one of the new designers at twolittlepixels, Deca Designs and her kit Life is Good. As soon as I saw the kit and the gorgeous colours, I thought of this photograph, the name of the kit totally fits as well. This is a regular sight we see when the little fella is tuckered out from playing. Just snuggled up on the couch.

So I don't know about you, but the year is completely flying by, so fast that it's scary. I'm actually well underway with my Christmas shopping at the moment. te he. I like to get a handle on it early and well the last few years have been all over the place, so I'm back in fine form. Etsy is getting a bit of a battering this year. Do you etsy? What a goldmine of gorgeous goodies that place has, everyone is so talented.

Well I think a cup of tea is in my very near future so with that short posting I'm off.

Some pics from Dunkeld

Because I was there doing "work" I didn't get a chance to go for a good roam to take pics, mores the pity. But I did get a small offering. Such a wonderful place on earth.

The view from the conference room. So hard to keep concentrating when you have this beautiful vista.

Although when I did go walking before breakfast, there was barely a mountain to be seen. It was there, truly.


On the walk I found this lovely mosaic laid into the grass.


And a carving of a bird, it wasn't a kookaburra, I can't remember the name of it.

One of the gorgeous flowers in the native garden at the Royal Mail.

And there was wattle EVERYWHERE! It's just so pretty.

A week and a half

I've had such a busy week, but very fun too. Now I'm exhausted! ha. A by-product of getting older huh? We don't bounce back the same as we did years ago.

Had a two day holiday ... err ... work training/bonding/best practices workshop thingy at the beautiful picturesque Dunkeld staying at the Royal Mail. Well I must admit we did work very hard, but at the same time were looked after very well by the establishment. I can highly highly recommend going there for a fabulous stay. And the view from the conference room workshop window was straight up at one of the mounts of the Grampians, my favourite place on earth.

I'm on Mike's laptop at the moment, but will be sure to load up some pics when I get back on my computer so I can share.

So that took two days out of the work week last week, plus I had Friday off too. Headed to Geelong for some shopping, some time with mum where I stayed overnight, and attended a party of Ms. K my very dear friend who refuses to have a 50th next year so celebrated her 49th in style. It was a sock party, shoes off, socks on, the crazier the better, girls only! How much fun we all did have. It was great catching up with a lot of my old workmates.

Haven't yet showed this page with my bestie's gorgeous little boy who was being indoctrinated into barracking for Essendon. Well I suppose they need to get as many supporters as they can, hahaha. Poor child didn't have a chance did he? But how cute does he look. Gorgeous.

Credits here.

So that's it from me, over and out.

Bone tired

It's been quite the few days for us, we have had Mike's young cousin from Scotland visiting for a few days, Mike has been showing Miss E around, took her to the Grampians, saw real kangaroos not from a wildlife park, ha! She was most impressed when one went hopping down the main street of Halls Gap. There's been a lot of kilometres driven showing her around the local area. And culminating on Friday where I had the day off, in a very long drive back to his sister's along the Great Ocean Road.

It was a horrendous night raining, I woke up about 2am thinking oh no! The only day we've got left and she dearly wanted to see the 12 Apostles, and it's raining. It rained all the way to Port Campbell. But wonder of wonders it stopped and although it threatened, it never started again. We only had to put up with the wind. So marks yet another visit to the 12 Apostles with hair standing up on end. The wind was howling.

So we got home late Friday night after leaving Miss E in the good hands of Mike's sister, and we were tired. So bone shakingly tired. Not even match sticks could keep our eyes open long enough to have a cuppa before we dropped into bed. And well they do say it takes longer to get over things as we get older. I'm still tired here on Sunday night. And I have a big week ahead of me, more about that later.

Now I must tell you about this absolutely amazing kit called "About" that creashens did as a collab with K Studio and Something Blue Studios. The colours are absolutely incredible, and the pages that are hitting the galleries are mind blowing. I've completely enjoyed creating this page and know there'll be a few more up my sleeves with this gorgeous kit.

Now ... off ... to ... bed. Before I drop.

Fly by posting

I've been screaming around like a mad woman tonight. Mike's cousin from Scotland is staying for a couple of days from tomorrow and of course one wants the house to be spic and span, bedding all freshly laundered, all the little touches to the room to make her feel at home. She's been having a wow of a time for the last month meeting all her Scottish aunts and uncles and cousins who have immigrated to Australia.

So now all is done and I can relax. Whew. Except now it's time for bed, ha!

Before I go, creashens was part of a collaborative effort at the Daily Digi for a wonderful kit called Snappin & Scrappin. How perfect. I did love playing with this.

So much fun and oh so true. I have said it many times here to Mike, I've never done a craft before that I've felt so completely fulfilled as in scrapbooking. Telling our stories. Leaving our legacy. It's become such a huge passion of mine. There will be no doubt when future generations look at my albums (hmmm, hope they actually get handed down and not ending up in some op shop!!) but they'll have no doubt about us, what we were like, what was important to us, how we lived every day.

So many scrap page ideas floating about in my head -- so little time.

Masterchef lives on !!!!!!!!!!!

I decided tonight to trawl through the Masterchef site and pick something to make for dinner. Nothing ultra hard mind you. I made Chicken & Cashew Singapore Noodles and it was absolutely delicious and will definitely be part of our family meals for the future.

And the food critique here decided it was two thumbs up.

A new fabulous kit called Grey Skies from [ksharonkdesigns] had me instantly reaching for the photographs of when I met Esther at Ballarat recently. Memories of the rain, cold and grey skies, this kit could not be more perfect.

So whilst Mike is curled up on the couch with Lucky watching a movie, I'm here at the kitchen table with Molly sitting beside me with her head on my lap, and Bo is stretched out asleep in front of the fire, I must say, this is contentment.

This is a quick post, knitting awaits.