School holidays have less than one week to go … which means that I only have one more week before I’m back at work! Have I accomplished everything I had planned for these holidays? Absolutely not. Have I had a great time? You bet your nelly I have! (yeah, I know … I don’t know where that came from either. Nelly? I don’t think I even have one to bet!)

So New Year’s Resolutions? Didn’t make any. I have made some life decisions though, and the big one is to NOT have any expectations of my holidays! lol I’ve also decided to become more of a Pollyanna this year. Last year was our “annus horribilus”, and it really got me down, and this year actually started with some pretty potentially awful news as well, but you know what? This year, I’m not going to let it get me down. This year, when life hands me difficult situations, I’m going to take the opportunities that they present me with, and run with them. This year, I’m going to focus on all the amazing gifts I have in my life and rejoice in them.

So that’s what we did when Dennis lost his job! The company closed his store, and offered him a position at Port Kembla. Are you serious? We see him little enough as it is! So, rather than get depressed over the lack of job, we took this as an awesome oportunity for Dennis to find a much better job, that has better hours, is closer to home, and will provide him with more job satisfaction. He’s been in contact with a few places, and there is a potential job that is sounding totally perfect for us, so if you’re the praying type, pray away!!

I’ve also been focussing on me a lot more … I’ve been saying for ages I wanted my hair cut, and my hair has been really annoying me (it was very very long, very very thick, and very very split!) So, one day while we were at Colo, I drove home to go with my sis to her dr’s appt, and booked in for a hair cut. I’m totally loving myself sick at the moment! It’s just below my shoulders, really layered, and I can’t stop playing with it – two weeks later, I’m still in love with it! I’ve also scrapped myself a lot since we got home, which I NEVER do, and in fact I’ve been scrapping up a bit of a storm. Wanna see? (if you don’t, why are you reading this, hmmm? You know I always share something if I can!! lol)

This one was inspired by the totally awesome Lusi’s new blog … she has this song playing, and it’s kind of her theme, so check it out! This was for a CC challenge at Chooks.

This one was for a CC challenge at LSBS – and I won! Woo hoo! How could I not, though, with such a totally hot-looking picture??
This uses the new MME Out and about paper, and a sketch from Little Book Of Sketches … there are some new sketches up at the moment, so if you need some inspiration, check it out! The more I look at this, the more I think it needs a few more flowers, but I’ll see how I go … I’ll probably add some though!

This one was for a colour challenge at ScrapTherapy, who are having a month-long CC to celebrate their birthday … thanks for having us Relsi!

And this card was for Therapy too … cute, huh? This is using the SU Pretty Princess set, which is too cute for words … and if you are interested, I’m having a special till the end of the month, with 20% off all SU products you purchase through me! Leave me a comment, or email me if you are interested.

OK … I’ve been meaning to do this for a while! Last year sometime, I received a totally gorgeous charm bracelet from Michelle, as part of a Pay-it-forward RAK. SO now it’s my turn! I haven’t decided what my RAK is going to be, but anyone who leaves a comment here between now and the end of the month will go into the draw, and I’ll do a PIF RAK to three lucky people! So just leave a comment to tell me how totally stunning I’m looking right now (or just to say hi, if you must!!) and I’ll pop your name in the draw.

Ok, off to enjoy another blissful day of holidays … take care!!

Basically, I want to remind myself to breathe, and this is a good way! lol

Ok, I think I’ve gotten some oxygen back in my lungs. Here’s a layout I did last night – well, actually I started it a couple of months ago, but finished it last night! And the second one is one I did a couple of weeks ago, in about 15 minutes while waiting for Kieran to get ready for cadets – too cool!

Three weeks and three days of work left to go. Three million and three things left to do before then. Arrrrgggghhhh!!

Ok, here’s a quick update of where I’ve been, where I’m going to be over the next few weeks, and what I’ve been up to … my poor neglected blog!! lol

Kelsey has been healing up really well after the dog bite -she’s a trooper! She had to see an orthodontist recently too, as she has a difficult dodgy out of place tooth … grrr. She’s been doing really well, though, and I’m so proud of her. She’s in the middle of scrapping a mini-album about why she loves ART – she’d probably be finished if Mummy hadn’t cut her Love Elsie fabric paper the wrong way! I’ll share that as soon as it’s finished – it’s looking pretty funky!

Kieran has been on a bivouac for Army Cadets to Somersby – he came home with feet covered with blisters, and has a throat infection, so we had to squeeze in a trip to the dr’s this afternoon, on top of everything else we have to do. Bliss!

Tayla had orientation day for kindergarten last thursday, and has her second session this week – she’s so excited, and coped so well! Apparently the kindy teachers are fighting over who gets to have her next year … lol.

Dennis and I went out to dinner on saturday night … it was my sister’s work christmas party, and we had a great night. We even got a really nice picture of both of us, so that’s a bonus!

So what’s on for the next couple of weeks? My goodness, I’m exhausted just thinking about it!
Wednesday – Kieran’s GAT presentation afternoon at school, and Kelsey’s final ballet class before her concert
Thursday – Tay’s gymnastics class, and Kelsey’s first concert; orthodontist appt for Kelsey, and orientation session for Tayla
Friday – Second concert – we’re all going to watch this one!
Saturday – Physi competition, and Kieran’s cadets passing out parade – both at 11am
I’m taking the girls to see the Nutcracker ballet at the Opera House on sat. night, and Kieran has his graduation dinner as well (he’s taking a GIRL … ewwww! Tayla is most disgusted at the thought that they might kiss. lol)
Sunday – my sister’s baby shower
Monday – Work, work, and more work – hopefully I’ll have a chance to get some stuff organised for the upcoming thursday, which is the yr7 orientation session at work (which I’m running!!) Last cadets meeting for the year.
Tuesday – Physi disco and presentation night
Wednesday – hmmm … actually I think it’s just the usual work routine that day!
Thursday – Orientation day. I’ve got some “sitting and breathing” time scheduled for some point that afternoon too, hopefully.
Over the next 2 weeks leading up to christmas, we then have gymnastics presentation nights, daycare graduations and christmas parties, and lots and lots of other stuff to do, both for work and home. I’m thinking that ad where people are bidding on some time isn’t looking too bad right about now!

Somehow amongst all this, though, I’ve been finding some time to scrap for the Scrap Therapy Scrapping with the Stars competition, and I’m totally loving the layouts I’ve done so far!

This one was for the latest round – the star was Charm (Charmaine Koch), and we had to use 2 pp from different manufacturers, felt or fabric, and the date and some journalling.

This one was from the Rhonna Farrer challenge – to scrap our dreams. I really like this one!

And finally, the really emotional one. This was the layout I did for the challenge set by the gorgeous Lusi Austin. I don’t even really remember what the criteria was, but I know that I’ve never been so proud of a layout as I am of this one. There are two “flaps” to this – opening on either side of the layout to reveal a heap of journalling about my feelings and thoughts on Kelsey’s time in hospital after being bitten by a dog. I really love this – every time I look at it I just get a really awesome feeling – a real sense of pride in something I’ve done. It’s nice!

Ok, so that’s as much procrastination time as I can justify tonight – off to do some work. If you haven’t checked out Scrap Therapy’s scrapping with the stars yet, take a look – and you can vote for me if you feel so inclined! lol
Also, if you aren’t as mentally busy as me on the weekend, Little Scrapbook Shop has a cybercrop on this weekend, and it’s going to be great … check it out!
Ok, off to do some work … take care of yourselves as this silly season kicks into gear!

Well, it’s been a while … but I’ve just not had a lot of great stuff to blog about, and frankly I’m getting a little tired of all my news being miserable and depressing! But in the interests of not having the most un-updated blog on the web (yep, I’m an English teacher, can you tell???) I thought I’d pop in here and give my sadly neglected ponderings a dust off.

So what’s been happening? A lot of little things, I guess, that have just compounded over the past few months into this insurmountable mess that has become my life! Man, that sounds worse than it really is – can you tell I’m in a melancholic mood?
My totally gorgeous, and totally brave, daughter Kelsey was bitten by a dog at a birthday party. She was bitten on the top lip, and had to be taken to Westmead Children’s Hospital by ambulance, for an overnight stay and surgery. The poor little munchkin was so totally brave, I’m so proud of her. It was totally heartbreaking! It was the day before school went back after holidays, too, which just made it worse for her, as she was so looking forward to getting back to see her friends and her teacher. She’s recovering well, and thanks to the totally awesome team at Westmead Children’s, is likely to have a very minimal scar on her face, which will hopefully diminish as she gets older.
Hmmm … a car crash with some whiplash for Dennis, a stressed out Tayla from witnessing so much drama with her siblings, a sprained wrist for me, and not enough sleep for, I don’t know, it feels like a year! Total crapola, is all I have to say.

Ok, maybe not TOTAL … there have been some bright moments. Tayla got through to the semi-finals at the Physi champion girl comp, which was even more impressive considering that they don’t have her age group so she had to compete up an age! Kelsey’s physi team came third, and she did so well, I’m so proud of her effort. Tay started Levels gymnastics – she had her first class yesterday, and itw as a bit scary – for me, more than her I think! She’s with much older girls, and it’s a two hour long class, so we are letting her try it out this term, and we’ll see how she goes for next year. She was a little overwhelmed, I think, as it’s a huge step up from what she was doing last term, but she really loved it once she got settled. I sat there with my heart in my throat for most of the time.

K, I think it’s bed time for me … we have a huge weekend, with a lot of stuff to get done, and I’m really just about ready to crash, so it’s probably a good time to head off huh? Next time I update (which will hopefully be soon!) I’ll add some pictures of some stuff I’ve been working on lately … lots of cards, and lots of OTP stuff. I really need to get some new photos printed, I’m running out of stuff to scrap! lol Oh, if you’re in the mood for a cool scrapping comp, check out ScrapTherapy – SCRAPPING WITH THE STARS has started, and it’s very cool! I’m hoping that things settle down enough soon that I’ll be able to scrap some stuff for this!
Yep, going to bed now – LOL. Bye all!

Gee, it’s nice to have some good news! (Some sad news scattered somewhere, but it’s ok, I’ll get over it … LOL) My grandfather and MIL are both out of hospital, and doing pretty well, considering. I’ve been scrapping, catching up with some friends, and starting to feel like I’m in a bit more control of my life, which is a nice change to being battered along by the storms of circumstance!

Sunday was the best day I’ve had in ages … I got to spend the whole day at home, by myself, no kids around, Dennis at work … it was just divine. I scrapped, I watched Season 6 of the West Wing, I stayed in my pj’s all day. I also got a couple of gorgeous visitors – Cath and Ali, who were hooning around on their new motorbikes. Totally sexy!

The slightly sad news … I’ve been in a DT comp at Scrap Therapy, and didn’t make it past the second round. I don’t know why things like this upset me so much, but they just do … so I think I just need to not apply for DT’s any more! I think it’s because I only apply for them when I really want to be a part of the site, and it’s disappointing to miss out on that opportunity. Ah well … congrats to the talented chickies who are in to the next round, I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Ok, I’m going to go and do some more scrapping – I’m on a roll since sunday! So here are some of the layouts I’ve done over the past week.
This one was done using a single photo layout sketch from Little Book of Sketches – I’ve used a mirror image of the single page sketch to do the second page of the layout. Love these pics!

This one was from the LSBS retreat … and it took me almost no time. Some Fancy pants rubons, a couple of strips of paper, and a cute pic – done!

This was the layout I did for the Scrap Therapy DT comp … didn’t get through, but I love the layout anyway.

Wow, time has passed since my last update, huh? It’s been a pretty horrific few weeks in the Rodgers household … please don’t feel obligated to read this, it’s pretty sad and depressing. I’m really just posting it as a bit of an emotional purge for myself!!

A few weeks ago, Dennis got a phone call from Kieran’s school … he’d been hit in the head, was sitting up and talking ok, but they’d called an ambulance just as a precaution. At least, that’s what we were told. He rang me at work, said “I’m on my way there, but it’s no big deal”. I just had a really sick feeling in my stomach, so went and spoke to the Deputy Principal, who let me go home early. I was on my way along the highway, heading towards his school, when Dennis rang me again – it was NOT quite as inane as it was first described to him. Dennis and Tayla had walked in to the quad, to find the paramedics putting a neck collar on Kieran, who was lying in a pool of his own blood. Another kid had gone nuts, king hit him from behind, and then kicked him in the head and back a number of times until he was unconscious, and only stopped kicking when a teacher got there. I beat the ambulance to the hospital, and saw my baby looking scared, immobilised and bloody, lying on the stretcher in the emergency room. Amazingly, he’s fine physically – he ended up with some deep tissue bruising, but it’s a miracle that there were no broken bones, no lasting head trauma … thank God for that!! He’s been back at school for a couple of weeks now – it’s been really stressful for him, and he’s getting a hard time off some total w&nkers at school, but he’s coping a whole lot better than I would be! Thank goodness for the school counsellor, is all I can say – and petition your local member for more funding for counselling staff in schools!! There aren’t enough of them. It’s really been up and down though – some good days, some bad … he keeps reliving the moment before he blacked out, when he thought he was going to die, and it’s one of those times when I just wish I could bundle him up, run away from everything, and protect him. It sucks when life doesn’t end up being what you planned, isn’t it? Who expects this kind of thing when you spend so much time choosing a school for your kids??

Anyway … yes, the school has suspended the attacker, and there are ongoing investigations … he’s been charged, and Kieran decided to apply for an AVO against him. I tell you, my boy was a total trooper at the Police Station filing his report – I thought I was going to lose it! We are still going through a lot of follow up stuff in regards to the school, and where we go from here.

The light in all of this? Kieran has wanted to go to Army Cadets for ages … he would have prefered Air Force cadets, but it’s a bit too far to travel to. So my mum offered to pay his fees for his birthday present. I took him along to check it out the monday after the attack – and it was EXACTLY what he needed. He started on Monday night this week, and he’s totally in his element. It was so good to see him smile, and hear him talk about something with excitement in his voice … I breathed a little easier that night. As much as the protective mother in me would like to see him take up a career that’s a little safer (dentistry maybe??) the overwhelming joy he shows when talking about all things military is really exciting to see … how spunky does he look in his greens??

If only that was the only tragedy in our lives … my grandfather is in ICU as I type this. His lungs have collapsed a few times now, and he’s not a good candidate for surgery, so we are basically playing a waiting game. I’m really not ready to say goodbye to him, you know? He’s my rock … when I had no father figure around, he’s always been the stable man in my life. I can’t envisage a world in which I won’t be hearing one of Pa’s infamously bad jokes any more. Yes, he’s a fighter, and yes, he’s beaten the odds many times before, but there can only be so many times that your body can fight through something like this before it just can’t do it anymore, can’t there? So, if you are the praying type, prayers for Reg would be much appreciated right now – I’d like him and Tayla, best mates that they are, to have some more time together.

What else? My mother in law is in hospital – thankfully, not as serious, and she should be home, touch wood, on Sunday. But she gave us all a scare! My sister has gone through some tests – she’s pregnant, and her ultrasound and blood tests put her in a high risk group, so we are praying that they come back on Monday showing no problems. I really feel like I’m just holding it together … and not very well, really!! Thank goodness for the LSBS weekend retreat last weekend – it helped me hold on to the last vestiges of my sanity!

On to the retreat – my shining beacon, my saving grace. I tell you, I didn’t realise how totally awesome my best friends are – even those I hadn’t met in person before!! These girls are the sweetest, funniest, craziest, most genuine people I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet, and I thank God for them. Cath, Nic, Tracey, , Michelle, Lisa, Helen, Sharon… love you all to bits! I’m waiting for some pics from everyone (I didn’t take my camera, as Dennis needed it for a soccer gala day) so I’ll share them later, but you can see some on Relsi’s blog. I also got to meet up with some new friends – Amanda, Bon, Celeste, and the totally divine Narelle, who I just adore. I can’t wait to catch up with her again – hopefully in a couple of months, if I get to Paperific in Melbourne to see her and Bon again! I can’t wait.

Classes? TOTALLY worth it! The totally awesome, her royal marvellousness, Alison Shearer, taught along side the Divine Miss Lisa – 2 classes, 2 groups, 1 timeslot! They handled it so well, and had some great OTP projects for us to do!! Sunday was a cool class with Rebekka Erickson. As soon as I get any of the projects finished (they are in various states at the moment) I’ll share them with you.

The highlight was definitely the PJ fashion parade – Relsi has a group shot on her blog (OMG check out my cleavage!!! lol) It was too funny – I don’t remember the last time I laughed so much, which was EXACTLY what I needed. That was just after the most relaxing massage from Tracy, who’d joined us for the day to give us all some much needed stress relief – thanks Trace! I got about 3 hours sleep each night – I wasn’t one of the brave few who managed to stay up all hours, but it was definitely the best sleep I’ve had in weeks and weeks. So BIG thanks to Cath for the best weekend I’ve had in a long time … can’t wait till next year!

Well, this weekend is either going to be great, or awful … we are going to see how Pa is going tomorrow night, before I make a decision as to whether we take the kids for a drive down on Sunday to see him. I’d hate for them to miss out on the opportunity to get to see him again, just in case … so again, big prayers for Reg!! We don’t have soccer any more, so we all get a sleep in tomorrow morning – woo hoo! Oh, I forgot to mention – Dennis got a new job! He’s assistant manager at a sporting goods and shoe store … which is where his car broke down last week, and ended up costing us $500 to get fixed. Hmmmm. See? Told you it’d been a crappy month!!

Ok, I’m going to go and chase these kids off to bed, then get stuck into some scrapping. If you are still reading this, go and get yourself a drink and some chocolate – you deserve it!!

Hmmm … pics aren’t uploading – I’ll come back later and add them. Trust me, they are worth waiting for!!

What a busy couple of weeks! Just a quick update of what’s been going on … I’m too tired to write much at the moment.

Kieran turned 13 – I’m SOOO not in the head-space to have a teenage son, so I don’t know who let that happen, but they’d better turn the clock back quickly! We decided to get him an electric guitar, and Target had an awesome one in their toy sale catalogue. I rang around the stores near us, the day before the sale started, and only Penrith had any in stock – and they only had 12. So, silly mum decided to head over to Penrith at midnight for the opening … man, having faced that, Pamplona would be a piece of cake! I got knocked over by some psycho chick, who then ran over me with her trolley … I kid you not, this is not some bizarre urban legend, this was my reality at 12.01am. Can you believe it?? What some people will do for the prospect of a slightly cheaper trolley full of toys that their kids will break in a day or so! I ended up getting the guitar, and headed back to the car, where I sat for about 10 minutes – I think if I had driven off, and seen the psycho walking across the street, I would have been seriously tempted to show her exactly how it felt to be run over!
Yes, Kieran loved the guitar – totally blown away, he was. So it was worth it. He got some great presents, and had a wonderful day.
The next weekend was the big one – dinner on friday night with some relatives from my side of the family, who were here from all over the country. Saturday morning soccer, which was our biggest game – Tay’s team scored 2 goals!! WOO HOO!! Saturday afternoon and well into the night was an engagement party for Dennis’ neice, and it was great to catch up with everyone, as exhausting as it was. It was at Tahmoor, which is just a lovely place!
Sunday morning brought the birthday party – and a trek into Milsons Point to Luna Park. We met a few of Kieran’s mates at the railway station, only to discover that there was weekend trackwork, and we had to catch buses part of the way. Tayla was very excited, but also a bit nervous – it was her first train trip.
We arrived at Milsons Point, and OMG the wind was bitterly cold as we walked down the hill. It was fine for the rest of the day, but it was a scary start! Lots of rides, lots of laughter, and lots of fun was had. Kelsey, our shy quiet little girl, went mental – going on all the rides she could by herself, including the Wild Mouse and the Spider! Tayla, on the other hand, was a bit more reserved – it took her ages to build up the courage to go on the Ferris Wheel, but when she did she loved it! She also went on the Spider – screaming all the time “This bit is scary, and this bit is scary, and this bit is scary – the whole thing is scary mummy!” while she had the biggest smile on her face. I don’t know how the girls were able to walk on the way back to the train – up the stairs for the slides at Coney Island about a million times. Man, you should all be very VERY scared when these girls get their licence too -you should have seen them on the dodgems! Kelsey was a little speed demon, darting in and out of traffic, chucking laps around everyone!

The special guest appearance for the day was Mr Chucky. Kieran has a love/hate relationship with fast big rides … loves to go on them, hates what they do to his stomach!! lol The notable absence?? The digital camera, which was safely locked up in the car back at the railway station. Thanks to the lovely people at the gift shop, we now have 27 photos on a disposable camera to commemorate the day – I hope some of them turn out.

Then to the trip home. I don’t know if you heard about his accident …

This is just around the corner from us. The train/bus we were supposed to be on would have meant that we were getting home (or just here) at the time of the accident. We didn’t know it at the time we were cursing the overcrowded all-stations bus we got pushed onto, but it saved us from either being here when this happened, or coming more directly upon the wreckage. As it was, we drove down the highway to a massive amount of flashing lights, and had to be redirected. It made me feel sick to the pit of my stomach. Someone was looking out for us!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows … how good was it? I’ll leave my rant and rave post for another day (I had a totally crappy shopping experience when I headed off bright and early to get my copy of the book too!!) but I totally loved the end of the series, and had a number of gasp out loud, teary moments. Thanks for the wonderful moments, Harry and Co!

Ok, I need to go to bed – totally exhausted here, I have a bit of hay fever I think. Night all, take care, I’ll try to update again soon with some pics!

Hmmm … blogger isn’t letting me put in a title for some reason, but if I was to be able to, it would be …..

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS ROCK!!

Yep, I’m having a great thing -staying up late, scrapping, spending time with the kids, catching up with some friends. Totally loving it! So, I thought I’d pop in to share some layouts that I’ve done over the past week or so – very bright for me, but I’m really loving them.

Love Elsie stuff … wasn’t in love with it when I first saw it, but it’s easy to do this kind of funky, whimsical layout with the products. Tayla loves them!Reminisce range – too cute! I couldn’t resist scrapping this pic of Kieran in his Mickey jumper with these papers.

Yes, I know, this isn’t a new one – but I love it! So I thought I’d share it again. My princess, and my favourite paper range. Love it!

So some of you have been hassling me about my big secret from a few weeks ago, and today I can reveal that … I’m going to be an Aunty! My little sis has been trying through IVF to fall pregnant, and she fell … woo hoo! She had her scan today, and there’s only one little bun in the oven (my kids were hoping for multiples so that they could share), and all is going well. I’m so happy for them both, it’s too exciting for words!

K, I’m going to go and think about heading off to bed now – I’d love to stay up and scrap, but Kelsey fell off her bunk bed as she was trying to come down the ladder forwards, and grazed her whole side, so she’s sleeping in the lounge room …grrr. What am I going to do?? Take care everyone, I’ll catch you later!

Not much news this week – busy busy busy, counting down till school holidays. Plus I’ve been scrapping up a storm this week – and it’s only Tuesday! I did a layout last night that I’m LOVING, but it still needs a little something, so I’ll upload that when I decide that it’s finished. So, I thought I’d share a few more of my layouts from the LBOBM comp. Are you ready??

This is my FAVOURITE layout at the moment – I keep looking at it, and just smiling so much. I love the picture, I love the overall look, I’m super-proud of the journalling – love it, love it, love it! Daisy Bucket papers, and American Crafts embellishments, in case you were wondering. Tayla was so excited to give Kelsey her flowers after the ballet concert last year … why do I think it’s a good idea to cut out patterns from pp? I don’t know, but every time I do I say that’s it – the last time! Hmmm. This one is all American Crafts.

I totally hated these papers when I first saw them, but I’m really happy with the layout, so that’s good! The garden feel is just perfect for these pics. Cactus Pink papers and ribbon, and American Crafts chipboard and rubons (again – can you tell I like them?)
Hmmm … this one I’m still not sure about, but Tay loves it, so that’s ok … Doodlebug papers, frills, flowers and buttons. I stamped onto the chipboard letters with a Stamping Up! stamp, and outlined random flowers with a darker pen. Flourishes with the Crafters Workshop templates – LOVE those.

Ok, big apologies for all those non-scrappers out there who have had to sit through another layout share … how cute are my kids though?? lol K, take care of yourselves. THREE MORE SLEEPS!!