Decorating...

From this...

















to this!



And it only took about 2 hours!
Last year I had put the lights into snap lock bags so they were easy to do, the decorations are on & the wreath is on the door & other favourite items are placed around the house.

It looks decidedly christmassy around here!



Chris even got out the ladder & put up some outdoor lights (some didn't work so I had to return them which was disappointing & annoying)



I can't wait til dark now to try them out. It will never compete with the Griswalds but it will nice for us this year.

Getting ready...

I'm taking down the 'countdown to Christmas' as it's close enough now that I'm actively doing stuff & don't need the reminder (& it was freaking some friends out!!)
I've cleared a space in the lounge room for the tree & tomorrow Erin & I will dust off the deco's & have some fun.

Note to self - it IS fun untangling metres of lights

Chris & I got some more presents sorted today & after yesterday I feel like it will all come together, I just have to find a new hiding spot as the previous ones are blown!

I'm trying a new white Christmas recipe I saw on The Cook & the Chef, I had the craisins,figs,white chocolate, glucose syrup & pistachios but no rice bubbles! so I'll finish it tomorrow.
Step 1 today, see the finished product tomorrow

Friday..

Met with big sis & little sis at the Olive Grove in Ballarat for lunch (Yum!) & a catch up. We were able to nut out the KK & get some ideas for the kids. On the drive home I had some brainwaves & tried to keep them in my head until I could write them down!

The Olive Grove is a small but popular deli style cafe with nice food & lots of gourmet treats to tempt you, I wanted the star shaped Christmas cake & the very cute mini puddings but settled for some choc coated coffee beans to take home. (One year a friend had some of those under her tree & their little dog thought they would be good to eat & then ran around in circles manic for the whole day!)

I have a few 'wants' this Christmas - perfume, jewellery, a jacket for motorbike riding,maybe the Big Shot thing I saw in Lincraft, I've been good, I deserve all these things don't I? What I would really like is .....a surprise (attention Chris - no dustbusters thanks!)

Thought I'd leave you with the view from our front door the other night, very pretty.

cards...

the pinks

the red & greens

and the blues...

Some of the christmas cards I have made this year, the first year I'll be sending hand made cards. I've done about 40 and hope to write in them this weekend ready to post.

(When I put all the new cards out on the buffet to photograph a couple of weeks ago Chris asked me why people had sent cards already!!!)

I plan to put up the tree this weekend too but I'll have to rearrange some furniture first (& probably vac as well!) it will be fun to get the decorations out & I'll have a super keen helper.

The art of folding...

Sweet Erin has been learning origami at school & made this Christmas box for me from some older papers I had in my stash, will make a nice teachers gift don't you think?

I had a really hectic Tuesday & I wanted to finish a presentation I am giving tomorrow afternoon to the ward staff. I barely had time to have a drink all day & ate lunch on the run! So I hope I can pull it together in the morning or it might be a very short inservice!

Date with Hayley...

Hayley & I zoomed over to Hoppers Crossing to do a bit of Christmas shopping today, we had a lovely day but I did not achieve much. I need to sit down & make a real list & sort out what I need. I was very distracted by all of the lovely decorations & homewares in the shops.

We had a coffee before we headed home, well I had a coffee (& a delish Florentine)but as dear Hayley is on a 'health kick' she had a soy hot chocolate - because as you know that makes it much healthier! LOL (& marshmallows are low fat!!!)

This LO is one I put together last night. I've been thinking about Mum & all the clothes she made in her lifetime & how as a child I did not appreciate it at the time. Mum made all of ours & her own clothes & knitted up a storm & she was a stickler for matched patterns & straight hems. Hayley has started making some clothes for herself, starting with simple skirts with a zip. I am no use to her as I never had the patience to learn how to sew much more than a straight line!

This little gold number is her latest creation, don't look closely at the seams but she has worked it all out by herself & done a great job.

Me...

I've done a LO on myself, without an event to base it on, no special memories attached, just me as I am today.

It's been a very ordinary weekend, just the usual housework, shopping, cooking etc etc. Not all days can be filled with excitement can they?

Cold...

It's been really cold today, an artic blast has swept over us & prompted me to put the heater on & rev up the electric blanket. Was it only 2 weeks ago I was looking for the aircon??
The bonus was it was perfect weather to stay indoors & finish off a couple of layouts I started at Louises yesterday.


This photo is only 11 years old!! but I like this shot of Mum with the kids taken at Erin's christening.



These photos of Chris are even older, taken just before I met him. He was only 19 when he 'passed out' of the army & he is holding his neice, Jenna.

End of days...

Sweet Erin confided in me tonight that she knew a 'secret'.

"S____a C___s is not real, it's just your imagination"

I was not falling for this one, when Hayley told me this (at age 10) I thought the right thing to do was to confirm her suspicions but no! there was a lot of weeping & wailing when the truth was revealed. She wanted me to keep the dream but we are on 'L' plates with our first borns.

So this third time mum is keeping mum. I believe that the magic of Christmas stays alive as long as we keep it alive, so long live St Nick, I'll be really disappointed if you don't visit anymore.

Creative...

If you want to see a little bit of scrappin' heaven head over to Jennifer McGuires blog. She has posted her scrap space & it is magnificent. She has everything a scrapper/stamper could desire & it's organised beautifully. On one wall she has a large sign that says "do something creative every day".

It would be nice if I could manage that every day, do tuna patties count???

In lieu of my own creations Erin is sharing what she made in art today, well done sweetheart!

Seminar...

My head is full of words like 'haemovigilance', 'benchmarking', 'core root analysis' and 'clinical governance' after being at a Transfusion safety seminar at Melb Uni today.It was really informative & has lots of implications for my own practice but it was pretty full on. Now I need something light & frothy before I go into overload!
I think I'll watch Project Runway & go to bed early.

PS Louise, if you don't leave me a message I'm not coming on Fri!!!LOL

Mummy...

Erin says to me tonight...

"you're like a best friend except even closer"

I ask "what's closer than a best friend?"

Answer - " A mummy!"

You are so sweet Erin, I wish you could stay 11 forever!

Spark of life...

Spirit - the driving force that lies at the core of our being. It is the inner light that gives passion, meaning & purpose to our lives.

A new program is being implemented in the Nursing Home of our local hospital where I work, I don't work in aged care but I feel that parts of this program have benefits for us all.

The underlying message from the 'Spark of Life' program is about igniting or reigniting the human spirit by encouraging everyones potential with deep insight into emotional needs & skills to achieve excellence.
I liked that line "igniting the human spirit", it seems to be an inspired way to treat the elderly. If nursing homes can adopt this philosophy then maybe these places need not be 'god's waiting rooms'.

I feel that this is a powerful message & wonder how I could incorporate this into my life (and my scrapbook pages), my work & my family.

Nursing is about caring for people but you don't have to work in a hospital to do so. Its nice to have a reminder now & then that everyone benefits from feeling valued, included & loved.

On a sightly less reflective & serious note, I love these pics of Chris with each of our newborns, who came into our lives in 1988, 1991 & 1997. Each baby has added something different to our lives & now that they are longer babes they continue to challenge (and enrich) us as parents.

Boy I did waffle on didn't I?! Thanks for looking, Jo

Yum...

I made these mini rosewater pavlovas today to use up some eggs that Jenny had passed on from her chooks. Don't they look delicious!

I have almost finished another LO using 3 photos of Chris with our newborns, it will be very sweet when its done. I often find I will 3/4 finish the page & if I leave it for a little while it will come to me if it needs something else.

I also bought the latest Family Circle magazine & have been poring over it. It is packed with Christmas recipes, most of which appeal to me to try. I have a dedicated Christmas recipe book which has my true favourites added to it. A good recipe will make it to the book for future use, and now the book is over flowing! Its one of the things I love about Christmas - yummy treats just for Christmas (most often made with a child helper) .I will probably buy 2 or 3 more mags to check out their Christmas recipes as well, I can't help myself!

Old & new...

Layouts old & new! This older LO of Hayley & Erin I did a while back, a slightly different style to the LO I finished today. I love my cheeky girls!

This LO is from last weekends' ride. I scraplifted Claire Daly, thanks for the inspiration Claire! I have done a few pages with lots of little photos recently, I think I will have to do some with fewer pics again.

Busy day...

This is the front page of our local paper showing the dust storm from last Friday. It's not a clear picture but it shows cars trying to avoid a trampoline flying along the Avenue of Honour!

I've had a busy day! Zoomed over to Sunbury to get Cal to his work experience at Sunbury VU. Then back to the Marsh to give blood, have a hair cut, a little bit of shopping and then back to Sunbury to pick him up (I'm glad I don't have to do that regularly. If he gets into a course over there hopefully he will have his licence) Now to get ready to go out to Kellie's Chef Tool Box party.

I didn't have a chance to finish the LO that's 3/4 finished or much of the housework I planned either. Oh well...

Clouds...

I liked the look of the clouds this morning so I had to snap this shot.

That's what I love about my digital camera, you can take random photos, anything that takes your fancy, you can take 100 shots of the same thing & delete the ones that didn't turn out, you just have to remember where you've stored them on the computer & hope you have a computer whiz handy to help you find them when you 'lose' them! (luckily I have a couple on hand)

Hayley is devastated that Polaroid film is no longer being made, her Polaroid camera was a bargain find at an op shop & she has had fun playing with this format & done some very arty shots with it.

Still no rain out of that promising cloud.

Spring...

I've been watching this flower bud & bloom over the past few days, beautiful isn't it?

I think it is a Clivea but don't quote me. Mum was the one with the green thumbs who tried hard to instill garden appreciation in me.

Even after 4 years of her being gone I want to ring her & ask (amongst a thousand other things) 'what is that flower called again??'

Sh...

This is the layout I finished on Friday, the photos are quite old taken about 6 or 7 years ago when Callum & Erin would fall asleep together on the couch! Oh those were the days, nowadays they can barely sit on the couch near each other & God forbid if you actually touch the other!

Busy...

This is what my week looks like.

This Nursing Mothers planner has been organising our life for the past 15 years, if its not on the planner it doesn't happen.

Roll on the weekend, that's still blank (for now).

Remembrance...

Chris & I rode over to Mt Macedon Memorial Cross today to join about 250 Ulyssians in a Remembrance Ride. This was our first 'big' ride with the club, and quite an experience. Once we got up to the cross they had a short service to honour the members who had 'ridden on' in the past 12 months, ie died. There were quite a few names from around the country, most of them had succumbed to cancer, heart disease or old age ( you have to be over 40 to join as a 'junior member')
Riding in a large group like that is quite slow, the 200+ bikes of all makes & models would have been quite a sight as we roared up the mountain & took over the carpark.

Festival...

Today is the Djerriwarrh Festival, a local event that celebrates community in Melton. Our Health Service tries to promote local services for local people & this year cancer services was our focus.
Erica & I 'volunteered' to hand out lollipops, information packs & act as character minders in the big parade with ugly green T-shirts & hats. There were hundreds(?maybe thousands? it seemed like a lot) of people lining the route to see local schools, CFA, hot rod cars, marching girls, pipers a piping etc, in the parade. I think there were about 45 participants with around 30 of those on 'floats'. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.
Our unit manager Mandy was dressed as Sid the Seagull & was a good sport about the whole thing & our CEO dressed up as monkey & really played the part!
I just wonder what the onlookers who got our goody bag will think, hopefully some people who need our service will get the message.

Dust...

I spent a lovely day in Lara scrapping & listening to the rain fall on Louise's corrugated iron roof, I finished a couple of Chrissie cards & a LO ( haven't been able to photograph them yet as it is too overcast). I even drove home in constant rain until I hit the outskirts of Bacchus Marsh, then it dried up completely.
I came home to the ravages of a dust storm that had hit big time.

I rounded up the outdoor setting chairs & cushions that were migrating down the road, salvaged a snapped pear tree, collected other peoples rubbish that had landed & cleaned up an inch of dust that had crept in under the doors & windows YUK! Everything is gritty... Grrrr. And we hadn't even had any rain (I'm beginning to take this personally!)
Nessa rang & invited me to a Postie party so I popped out with her for a nice catch up & giggle with the girls. Sometimes when things happen impromptu it's nicer than a planned event. Anyway it finally rained while we were out (I just checked the gauge) - 6mls!!! That should wash away some of the dust.
( I think I'll have to get a side career at the weather bureau to justify this tragic relationship I'm having with my rain gauge).

Thank you...

Someone very sweet said Thankyou with flowers today and I was very touched to receive them. Its hard not to say 'you shouldn't have' and just say 'thankyou very much, I appreciate your gesture'.

I don't work for the thanks but it is gratifying to be recognised for the effort you put in.

On a sadder note, I just saw that ad with the little boy who has lost his Mum & starts to cry, how could they do that to a child??? I want to cry right along with him.

Cup day...

I had a nice day at work today, there were very few people around & just 3 patients to treat. We gathered around a TV at 3pm to watch the Cup & embarrassingly I leaned on the emergency buzzer right in the middle of the race!!
Back to the regular world tomorrow.

At last...

This layout is a day in the life of Erin, an ordinary day, a typical day, on a lazy sunday.

I've been trying to finish this layout for ages & finally its done. I've done 2 layouts today after my lovely sleep in. It feels like another lazy sunday so I was surprised when the postie zoomed past. Erin & I baked today (cheesecake & chocolate spiders) & she painted a masterpiece.

Dwarf

Chris got new plates for his bike, his beloved Triumph. Do you get it? It is dwarf on a red plate....you know - red dwarf. If you don't get it don't worry, it's from the British comedy 'Red Dwarf'. Red dwarf is the spaceship & this bike is red.

So if you see us hurtling around on the red dwarf, give us a toot & a wave!

The long weekend...

Because it is Melbourne Cup Day tomorrow some people will have a long weekend, some will have a long long weekend. Our 2 schoolies have 4 days off school, so Monday we can all sleep in. Aah I love a sleep in, I hate hearing the alarm go off.

Being caught between Melb & Ballarat we are all a bit confused here in Bacchus Marsh, some will have to go to work or school. I will be able to slip out to work ( the sick are still sick on public holidays) & leave sleeping kids to lie, without having to do the morning hassle with uniforms, lunches & reluctant bus travellers. Chris will still have to work as well but we have all had our 'long weekend'.

Wow!

I have been playing with Picasa web albums this morning and found this fun collage tool, so I just had to share this album in a snapshot. Our gorgeous Hayley did her debut at school in 2005.

Clever...

My clever husband is fixing our laptop. He had to order a small part from the US & fiddle with soldering tiny bits today so we can charge up the battery. He has been out in his shed working away at his workbench pulling the whole thing apart to get to the circuit board. He is amazing.
He has fixed cars, washing machines, dishwashers, the central heating unit, airconditioner, an amplifier and saved us hundreds of dollars in repair bills. He has built pergolas, fences, dollhouses & furniture. He hasn't had any formal training in any of these things he just picks things up easily & (mostly) enjoys doing it. At least if he fixes lots of different things it justifies all the tools he has, that's his story any way.




He just looks goofy when he's doing it!






Loveyou