It's Friday night....

......it's very cold and the wind is howling outside...and here I am in front of the computer. John left today to work in Armidale for a few days, so it's just me and the kids for the weekend...he should be back Monday night.

It's been a pretty quiet week, just the usual routine. Has anyone else noticed how quickly the weeks are passing by???...It's August already, soon we'll be in Christmas countdown mode!!! LOL!!!

Next weekend is our trip to Selwyn for skiing...woohoo!!!...just looking forward to getting away, no cooking, no cleaning up for five days and hopefully some great weather for skiing!!..yayyyyy!!!

I've just heard a crash on the deck outside!!!!..better go check.........just a palm frond that has fallen down thank goodness!!!...the wind is blowing something fierce tonight, hope it eases off tomorrow!

Well just one layout share tonight...need to get to bed, got an early start tomorrow...Ethan plays footy at 8am, need to be there 7am and it's a half-hour drive away!!!...thank goodness only 3 games left for the year then we can sleep in on Saturdays!!!! LOL!!!

This layout is the current Stuck?! sketch for this week..............

I'm off to bed....have a great weekend!!!!!

Julie xx

I've been given......

an award!!!!!!!!....it was given to me by the very lovely Jaimie and boy, was I shocked to see my name on her list of awardees when I visited her blog this morning!!!!....thanks Jaimie!! :)






Who gets the “Brilliante Weblog Award“?


Websites and blogs of your choice for their designs that are especially noteworthy.

Here are the Award Rules:




1. The winner can take the logo

2. Place a link to the person that send you the award

3. Give the Award to at least 7 other Scrapbooking-Blogs, which by its currency,the issues of choice and for their designs are especially noteworthy

4. Put a link to these sites on your Blog.

5. Write a comment on their Blogs that they’ve won an Award.



So, without further ado, I present the award to.............



Deb Godley

Janine Kaye

Janine King

Kathie Link

Jen Hall

Julie Dudley



Love all these girls' work...they are just so creative and are happy to share with and inspire others with their wonderful creations!!!



While I'm here I'll post my layout for this week's Stuck?! sketch which is now up on the site....


These are some old pics of Kiara...too cute!!!

Well the school holidays are over...Jordan has gone back today and Ethan & Kiara head back tomorrow....I love my kids but I'll be glad to have a peaceful house again tomorrow!!! LOL!!!

John is away working this week so I guess it's back to the usual routine of the morning rush, school, housework, errands/shopping and after-school activities!!

Our ski trip to Selwyn is now only a couple of weeks away and they've had some good falls of snow down there, so we're all looking forward to some snow fun!!!

Time for some lunch....thanks for dropping in!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Julie xx

I've been tagged!......

OK, I've been tagged by the lovely Kylie!!

This is how it works.....

You answer questions about yourself, then at the end of your post, tag 4 other people, leaving a message on their blog to say they've been tagged. And also let the person who tagged you know that you've answered their questions.

So here's the questions:

Q1: Ten years ago...........was married 6 years and mum of one to Jordan aged 3 yrs.

Q2: Five things on today's to-do list....

*tidy the house

*do some washing

*pick up DS Jordan from a sleepover

*scrap

*scrap some more LOL

Q3: Snacks I enjoy............Choc peanuts, pate & crackers

Q4: Things I would do if I was a millionaire......take the family to Europe for a holiday, pay off any outstanding debts, set up a nest-egg bank account for each of my kids, buy a bigger house so I can have my own scrap room plus a pool for the kids.

Q5: Places I have lived..........Newcastle, Sydney and Central Coast NSW.

Now I tag Deb, Shelley, Kim...and anyone else who wants to join in!!

Oh and before I go, here is my layout for the latest Stuck?! sketch......

A couple of older photos of Jordan and Kiara...love them!

And a layout celebrating Ethan's 10th birthday a couple of months ago.......

Ok, that's it for now...

C'ya

Julie xx

sorry, it's been a while.....

...since I last blogged...just haven't felt like it as we've been dealing with some bad news we received recently.

For those of you who may not be aware, we have had a court case pending for several years as a result of John's fall back in 1999. The initial judgement was given in our favour back in early 2007 but our opposition filed an appeal against the ruling and unfortunately they won.

The decision was handed down a couple of weeks ago and needless to say we were disappointed, shocked, angry and upset...we have now been left with a very large legal bill after 9 years on a rollercoaster of worry and hope....we have decided to apply to have our case heard in the High Court in Canberra and are now waiting to hear if our application has been successful...apparently only 1 in 10 cases are accepted to be heard by the High Court...so fingers crossed!

Ok, enough doom and gloom....life goes on right?!?!

School hols have started and at the moment the kids and I are just enjoying some down time at home...no rushing around in the mornings and no after school activities, yayyyy!!!...well at least for this first week LOL!!

We've got a long weekend skiing down at Selwyn snowfields booked for early August which we're all looking forward to...especially as some decent snow has fallen down there in the last week or so...hope it lasts til we get there!!LOL

Nothing much else is happening so I'll share a couple of layouts.........

These first two are for Stuck?! sketches...

I love this shot of Kiara in this next one....

Ok, time for some lunch and then some scrapping!

Bye for now

Julie xx

Today is Tuesday....

...which means there's a new Stuck?! sketch up today!

Here's my layout for sketch #42.....

and this was a double layout for sketch #41...

and this one I did for me, using a photo I took on Mother's Day...Kiara and my mum...really love this photo of the two of them....

I've done a couple of other layouts but I haven't scanned them yet, so they'll have to wait for another post.

Nothing much happening on the home front...we're just doing the usual stuff!!!...we lead a very exciting life don't we?? LOL!!

I've got nothing else to report so I'll be off for now.

See ya!!

Julie xx

Stuck?! sketch & a couple of layouts....

Stuck?! sketch #40 goes up on the site today...go check it out!!

Here's my layout for it....

This one was based on Stuck?! sketch #38...

And this next one I did several weeks ago...

the Shotover Jetboat in NZ...


And a Mother's day LO....

On to family news.....last Friday was Ethan's birthday and he turned TEN!!!!...I just can't believe he's now into double figures!!

It wasn't his turn for a party this year but he was allowed to have one friend come over for a sleepover....we also took them to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, then out for dinner and chocolate birthday cake on Sunday.

My baby boy is growing up way too fast!!!

That's all I've got for now...

C'ya

Julie xx

It's Tuesday!!!.....

...and I thought it was time for an update.

Well Mother's Day has been and gone for 2008!!...I was woken nice and early by Ethan and Kiara who wanted to give me the presents they'd bought at the mother's day stall at school, together with their handmade cards that they'd made for me...beautiful!!

We then headed up to Newcastle to have a yummy, leisurely lunch with my mum and dad at the Brewery, on the Newcastle foreshore...here are a few pics we took.....

Mum and I....

the kids and I...

A few weeks ago I went to Janine Kaye's photography and photoshop workshop at Shop & Crop where Janine was kind enough to share her secrets in photography and how she gets her photos to look so good. I've been practising on Kiara and here are a couple of the results which I love....

We've just booked a 4 day weekend in August down at Providence Lodge, near Adaminaby to go skiing at Selwyn Snowfields...we're all looking forward to that...Selwyn is great for families, we have been there twice before, in 2005 and 2006 and had a ball...and the lodge is great for mums, a hot cooked breakfast and 3 course dinner are provided each day and a gorgeous log fire to relax in front of...no cooking or cleaning up required, ahhhh heaven LOL!!...here's hoping they get lots of snow this year!!

Ok before I go, a couple of layouts to share....

Oh and while you're blog surfing, go and check out Stuck?! sketches...a new sketch just went up yesterday!!

Ok that's it for tonight.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the rest of your week!!!

Julie xx

Some scrapping news!!!!

Just a quick post to announce the news I've been holding on to.......

I'm now a member of the new Creative Team for Stuck?! Sketches!!!!...how cool is that??? My term starts on 6 May and each week the CT will be given a sketch to do a layout, which will then be uploaded to the blog as inspiration for other scrappers...the sketches and layouts are great for anyone who is suffering from scrapper's block LOL or just looking for some new ideas...I'm really looking forward to being a part of it!! Go check out the blog to see who are the other CT members!

This layout uses the current sketch at Stuck?!....

and these next two are the layouts I submitted to Stuck?! sketches as part of my application for the Creative Team....

and this one I did during free time on the Saturday night at the Shop & Crop Escape...

That's it for now...got stuff to do!

Stay safe,

Julie xx

OK time for an update......

Since I got a gentle nudge from the lovely Jaimie and because it's a few weeks since my last post, thought I'd better do an update today!!

Well, first things first, I've just had the most fantastic weekend away at the Shop & Crop Creative Escape up at beautiful Salamander Bay!!!! Great classes, great food, great shopping, great company and all round great fun!!!...what more could a scrapper want?!?!? LOL...and it was all beautifully organised by Sasha and Suzette! Finally getting to meet the online girls and most of the Design Team was a major highlight for me and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these gorgeous girls, we had lots of fun!!!...bring on CE 2009!!!!!

Here are a couple of my layouts from the weekend...still need to finish a few others.

this one is from Jen Hall's class:

this one is from Jaimie Emmerton's class:

And a photo of the online girls....

This next layout uses one of our NZ photos and the other one celebrates Jordan's 13th birthday...

Oh and I've got some exciting news, scrapping-wise, but can't share til next week!!! LOL

On the home front nothing much is happening...we're just plodding along with the usual stuff. Still haven't heard anymore about our court case...hope it's soon 'cause the waiting is very difficult.

The boys are about to start their footy season this Saturday which they're looking forward to...this will be Ethan's first year of competition, he will be playing half-back and can't wait to get started....we're hoping they both have a good season.

Ok that's it til next time...stay safe.

Julie xx

My first tag ever LOL!!!.....

Ok I've been tagged by the lovely Kylie, my very first one ever!! lol! Here's the link to her blog:

http://kylie-kyliesplace.blogspot.com/

Here are the rules:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the RULES on your blog.

3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.

4. Tag 7 people and link to them.

5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

OK, here goes.....
1. I love Yellowtail chardonnay...it's my fave wine

2. I'm definitely a chocoholic..especially chocolate peanuts

3. I'm not an exercise lover....have to force myself to do it and that's not very often lol!

4. Didn't get my driver's licence until I was 32 and got it first attempt!

5. I'm not a very good cook

6. I'm a huuuge footy fan...rugby league that is

7. Would looove to live right next to the beach

and I tag:

Janine...http://www.janinekaye.typepad.com/

Julie D... http://jacsplace2.blogspot.com/

Jaimie...http://jaimie.typepad.com/

Fiona....http://www.fionaleehane.typepad.com/

Shelley...http://foozel.blogspot.com/

Janine King...http://janineking.blogspot.com/

I've only tagged six...can't think of any more LOL!

While I'm here, I'll post a couple more layouts.....

This one was for a recent sketch challenge over at Shop & Crop:

This one I did using the January 08 crop kit at Shop & Crop:

Bye for now!

Stay safe!

Julie

xx