A quick layout for Erin's recent camp.

There was a lot of pics to choose from, I wish all my albums were so up to date.

Partied out...

The party animal

all partied out.

She crashed after the last girlfriend left at about 430pm. She admitted to me that she hadn't slept at all.

My baby...

This is Erin 13 years ago...my last baby.

And now 13 years later...

 a teenager!

Starts to make you feel older, when all these milestones are marked off one by one. You don't think about them starting high school or becoming teenagers or moving out when you are holding your newborn but time will catch up with you.

And by the way...very little sleep was had.

Party in progress...

Take 4 giggly girls, add 2 large pizzas, some fizzy drink, mudcake, some popcorn, fairy floss and m&ms then you have an instant party. Put on some DVD's & roll out a mattress on the floor and it becomes a sleepover party. I'll let you know tomorrow if any sleep is involved in this impromptu celebration of Erin's 13th birthday.

The other side...

Hayley, Erin & I ventured to the 'other side' today.

The other side being Brunswick St, Fitzroy. Erin was like a country bumpkin with wide eyes & no street smarts. The array of different personalities was vast, & sitting in a cafe & watching the passing parade was interesting.

Hayley was after a new dress to wear to a party on the weekend & she knows the shops there well. Her favourites include such labels as Kinki Gerlinki, Day Dream Lily & the retro vintage stores.

She found a very cute layered tulle skirt amongst things like these;

She will look cute as a 'hip' button.

Whilst it is fun to be in the big city it is also good to be back in the country again.

Lazy...

That's how I feel...lazy. No work to get up for, everyone enjoying a sleep in, just chillin' & doing what we feel like, which is not much.

I do feel a bit thrown out of my routine with the housework, cooking & shopping but that will fall in to place next week when my weeks leave is over.

Today Erin & I experimented with waffle making & then she made up a chocolate fondue just for fun. It's only days til her birthday & she is looking forward to turning 13.

Musical Sunday...

A musical day today with the Mid Year Spectacular.

Erin performed with her drama group & then Hayley and Erin performed musical highlights from Oliver!. The band played very well and it was obvious that the band and the chorus had not rehearsed together until yesterday afternoon, but it still was good to hear some of the songs coming out nice & strong. Today was drizzly & miserable but the winery setting at St Ann's was pleasant.

No rehearsal for the next few weeks of school holidays then an intense rehearsal period leading up to the shows.

I'm on holidays for the next week also & have itchy feet, I want to go somewhere but where???

She's back!...

Back from camp that is.




Erin seems to have grown an inch or two in the 4 days she was away, she doesn't seem to tuck under my arms like she did on Monday. And now she has some home food in her belly and had a nice hot shower she can appreciate our comfy couch & a bit of down time watching telly.

Stories of commando crawling through muddy ropes courses, leeches, bad food, 12 girls to a cabin & one student breaking an ankle are filtering through. Some highlights will be revealed over the next few days I'm sure.

She did well with her photos & snapped this one of the remaining 12 Apostles near Port Campbell on the Great Ocean Road.



Its good to have you back sweet girl.

Close call...

This morning on the way to work I had a close call on a road that is notorious for accidents, so much so it is being upgraded in a multi million dollar project. I was very nearly another statistic in 'the cutting'.


Anthony's cutting is on the Western Highway between Melbourne & Adelaide & happens to be between home & my workplace. Originally it was carved out of the volcanic rock in the 1850's so travellers could get to the goldfields to find their fortune. At one stage Bacchus Marsh was a Cobb & Co coach stop being a midway point.

Each day I travel on this stretch of road negotiating the steep grade, the bends & the trucks & speedsters. Usually I manage without problem & today seemed no different except today was pretty chilly. As I hit the lowest point the temperature gauge showed 0 degrees & my windscreen instantly fogged over. Not the gradual fogging that sometimes happens but completely blinding & frightening. By the time I flicked on the wipers to see the something I saw was a slow moving truck going up the hill that I was bearing down on at 90 kph.

I had to quickly change lanes & was lucky there was no other cars near me. I amped up the aircon & watched the outside temp rise to 6 degrees by the time I reached Melton. It was quite a freaky phenomenon & had never happened to me before & I hope it never does again.

Mornings...

Mornings are not a high point in our household.

I can get out the door in half an hour if all I have to do is get myself ready. If I have to hassle Erin every 10 minutes to get ready it takes longer. I aim to leave the house at 8:10 in the mornings, dropping Erin & her friend at school & getting to work by 8:30. If we leave at 8:11 or 8:12 I end up being about 5 minutes late. I hate being late. It makes me anxious & unsettled & I think it looks really bad to turn up late to work or appointments.

Every morning I say to Erin 'I must leave on time today' & most mornings she is putting on shoes or tie in the car, or brushing her hair in the car. This is after I have run through the list of "keys, diary, lunch, blazer, keys, shoes, homework 'are you sure you have your keys???' lets go"

This week while our Manager is away I am in charge & fortunately this week Erin is away on camp. I can turn up to work on time & look like the responsible professional I am when I don't have morning hassles.

But I will miss her like crazy for the next 3 days.

Weekends...

I love a long weekend, I enjoyed another lovely sleep-in & a lazy day. Thank you to the Queen for giving us a day off to celebrate her birthday.

This layout is Callum in a rare moment of activity. I should have called it 'I say jump, you say How high?'

I wish.

This time last year...

In a blink of an eye a year passes.

This time last year I did a layout for Erin.

This year I did a layout for Erin.

She is a big secondary school girl now

But that is about all that has changed.

Reading...

Just finished reading this book.

Hayley bought it & read it first, then I got my hands on it & really enjoyed it. Hayley had underlined bits & it was interesting to see what was thought provoking for her. Based on a true story the author goes on a year long trip to ...you guessed it - eat in Italy, pray in India & fall in love in Bali.

The book will now go on to Vanessa (sorry Hayley) who wants to read it before the movie comes out in October.

Create...

“Wisdom begins in wonder. Be as you wish to seem.” ~Socrates

I've had a productive day around the house & with creating which has been very satisfying.

I put together this layout of me as a baby sitting on the beach with my mother. I was born in Queensland & we lived in Brisbane for the first 5 years of my life. Our family often visited the beach but also travelled around on holidays regularly.

I'm not exactly sure of the date but I was born in October & look about 6 months old...that makes it around April. It makes me laugh to see me & my mother both in knitted cardigans! Oh well, maybe it was winter in Qld. We can't check anymore, sometimes we make up the times, places & faces when we aren't sure...who's going to argue?

I also made up some thankyou cards for an upcoming event I am planning, these were pretty simple.

While I was creating I had lamb shanks cooking away in the slow cooker. It is very nice to come home after a hard day at work & know the crock pot will yield something delicious but it is also nice to know the effort you put in in the morning will reward you in the evening, even if you have been home all day. The recipes I am trying have turned out nicely, the roast chicken on Saturday was beautiful, so moist & tasty.

I also whipped up a caramel walnut slice in between going to the hospital for a meeting. All in all a very good day. If I didn't have to pack up all the scrapping stuff now I'd be a very happy girl.

Oliver!...

Erin got her T shirt for the production. She will be able to wear it to rehearsals, publicity performances & it will be a nice keepsake when it is all over.





Performances are coming soon.

Ooooops...

In preparation for our trip to the movies tonight I popped into the lolly shop to buy a bag of something special to nibble on.

Choosing was a bit difficult because there are so many nice things to choose from. In the end I chose chocolate covered raspberries. Have you ever tried them? They are really delicious & the jelly centre is not real fruit but the traditional raspberry lolly. The small bag wasn't cheap but it was a special treat after all.

Hayley & I settled in at the cinema & waited for Sex & the City 2 to come on. I went to open the bag & struggled to get it open. I carefully tried to pull it apart when suddenly it gave way & the chocolates went flying in all directions! Only 2 landed in my lap & half a dozen fell at my feet. I wasn't going to miss out so much to Hayley's embarrassment I scooped up the ones I could reach & dusted them off with a hanky. During the movie the hanky-bag came undone & they were rolling around in my handbag. I wasn't supposed to eat them all was I?

We really enjoyed the movie & I would like to see it again to soak up all the detail. If I wait to watch it from my comfy couch I can toss whatever I like on the floor.

Trivia...

We like a Trivia night, a game of Trivial pursuit, even 'Who wants to be a millionaire' although the format & hosting sometimes does my head in. So we thought we would be right up there for a good showing at a Trivia night to fund raise for the Oliver! show.
But we were sadly wrong, not only did we come wooden spooners we were a long way from the front. In our defence, we only had 4 adults on our table & we had to share the one pair of glasses as we had all forgotten ours (thanks Cath for remembering yours, we would have had to go home with our faces covered in shame otherwise)
It was all in fun but next time we will have to study a bit more to retain our pride & dignity.
Trust nurses to know what Candida is better known as!