Christmas Lights

Wow, how hard is it to successfully photograph Christmas lights? Thank goodness for digital cameras - I spent about an hour last night taking photos on all different settings - these are the best of the bunch! LOL. Doesn't truly indicate how great the lights look, but gives you the idea. We've had lots of fun putting these up this year - first time we have really made an effort with them - actually spent money on them this year, not just using hand-me-downs from my parents. I think all the accessories cost just as much as the lights - timers, leads, solar spotlights etc. This had better all be packed away PROPERLY and SAFELY after New Year or I am gonna be very p'd off!! LOL.
We don't have any decorations inside the house - just the tree, cos we have put all our energies into the outside - and cos we are on a corner, gave us lots of area to "Light Up".

Anyway, we are really really happy with our end result.

Front of house from across the road - lots of trees in front, so is a bit obscured, but you get the idea.

Side of house.

Front of house from corner of street, looking across the driveway.

In the front yard, looking at carport.

Part of front of house, taken in front yard.

Carport Roof.

And the Blow-Ups during the daytime - when it's not TOO WINDY to have them up, anyway.
So, these are our lights! What do you think? Gotta see them in real life to really get the effect, so this is the best I could manage.
And to top it off, we found out last night, we won a prize for "Best Decorated House"! Not sure what the prize is yet, but considering we didn't even know there was a competition, gotta be happy with that!!LOL!

Our Pool

Thought I would post a few pics of how hard Peter has worked to get our pool up and running!

In total he shovelled 6 Tandem Trailer loads of sand - by hand - into the trailer, out of the trailer and levelled BY HAND! And now he has gone and got a 7th load, "Cos it's nice dirt"...................ROFL!! I think he enjoyed the physicality of it. He dug all the holes for the supporting wall by hand - bloody mad I say!! And I did help (Well, a little bit anyway)!

These pics give you an idea of what our backyard is like too. Lots of open space in this area - probably won't be used very much. Just need to get some shade sails to go over the pool - it is very protected from the wind so that is good.

We still need to organise a fence immediately around the built-up area - in the meantime the backyard is fenced and seperate from the rest of the yard. Pool is 15' and 3' deep. Plenty big enough for us. Found a really helpful business in Adelaide for advice regarding the chemicals for the pool and the spa - if you want his details, let me know.

And for those wondering, we filled the pool with rain water - we have 5 tanks on this block, not all connected to the house. And since we filled the pool, it has rained enough to refill the tanks anyway, so that was good timing (For us anyways............)! I contacted SA Water just to check the legalities and as the tanks aren't connected to the house, we are free to use it. Now that the pool is full, we can top it up from the mains without permission. So, very happy with this. Was warm enough yesterday for us all to go in it, altho Halle wasn't too impressed with the cool water - kept saying "Ba..ba...........ba.........." and pointing to the spa! LOL!

So, if you pass by this way, drop in for a swim.............or a spa if you prefer! We feel very spoilt and luxurious with our new toys and our fab house - we just love it here..................very relaxing and has a great feel to the place. All things happen for a reason, and all the stress about the other place being on the market, was all worth it!

Anyways, thanks for dropping by, say G'Day - I like to read your comments and it's good to know who's stopping by for a looksee.

Am going to do some scrapping tonight, so will actually have something crafty to show soon!

A Laugh!

Hehe, just had this emailed to me.................thought I would share it!


W e all know those cute little computer symbols called 'emoticons,'

where:

:) means a smile and

:( is a frown.

Sometimes these are represented by

:-)

:-(

Well, how about some 'ARSE-ICONS?'

Here goes:

(_!_) a regular arse

(__!__) a fat arse

(!) a tight arse

(_*_) a sore arse

{_!_} a swishy arse

(_o_) an arse that's been around
(_x_) kiss my arse

(_X_) leave my arse alone

(_zzz_) a tired arse

(_E=mc 2_) a smart arse

(_$_) Money coming out of his arse
(_?_) Dumb arse

Bad Blogger!!!

OMG, I have been a very BAD BLOGGER!! So sorry everybody, and thanks to all who have been dropping by and leaving me messages - we are all fine, just still getting organised from the move and being distracted by things like Christmas............LOL!

We are all moved but still tidying up the pieces - getting the yard sorted and still putting bits and pieces away - my desk still looks like a bomb site cos everything is just getting dumped on here at the moment. Very happy with this house - loads of room and the yard is fabulous - lots of entertaining areas and plenty of room for the girls to play - and for the dog. Haven't taken any photos yet cos I am waiting until everything is tidy!! Mmmm, might have to take the photos in stages! LOL! I will get it done, but as I said - we are a bit distracted atm.

Mostly been distracted by this..............LOL!

This is our Christmas Present to each other - thought about it and thought about it and then it was $200 off normal price, so then decided, bugga it, we are gonna get one!!! So this is to Peter and I from Peter and I!!LOL Money well spent, would definately recommend it to anyone thinking about a spa. Cheap and portable. I ordered it from an online store on Sunday 16th November, was here by the Thursday, we were using it Friday afternoon. Pretty good for living out in the sticks and I couldn't get the chemicals locally either. We have used it everyday so far - and just loving it! Mind you, it's not very relaxing having 2 girls in it with you all the time - Halle is a bit over it now, but Tyla is still really liking it.

And this is sitting in the box waiting for us to get the yard ready to put it up...........A wet Christmas for us this year.

And this is Peter, working his butt off to get the yard ready for it. Hopefully will be up this weekend.We have also been putting up lots of Christmas lights. Will get a photo soon, when my new Tripod (hooray) arrives.

And here are the results from my Christmas Photo 2008 shoot yesterday. My our girls are so different!! LOL As you would expect. Ever since Tyla has been very little, she would pose for the Camera - and still does, she is very photogenic. But, not Halle - oh no - as soon as the camera is pointed her way, she has gotta try to touch it or tries to take off. Very funny - she is so cute! And still very photogenic. So, got a couple of good ones and quite a few funny ones too. Here they are......................

And some more........................just cos I can!

I haven't done any scrapping at all since we moved - just not organised yet and too busy too. So not looking good for Mum's birthday album. Am not stressing about it - it's not gonna be done in time, so will make it for Mother's Day next year instead. I'm still waiting on photo's from just about everyone anyway.

So, once again, thanks everyone for dropping by - I will have some house pics soon. Love to all.

Moved.

Well, the move is done, just tidying up the pieces now.
We are well, but exhausted!
Will be back soon with a full update and some pics!
Hope you are all well.

Cleaning and Packing

My Demonstration at the GNI on Wednesday went really well . Took about 20 minutes, so only a bit over time. Everybody took notice of what I was talking about and there was lots of ooohing and aaahing over my LO's, so all-in-all, I'm pretty happy with it. Has given me a bit of confidence, that Yes, I do have the ability to teach scrapping. Now to follow up with the other teaching lead.
We got the keys to the new house yesterday - did some cleaning there today and took up a big heap of boxes.
Haven't been scrapping much - even tho I haven't packed my scrap stuff, the whole house is in chaos (worse than usual)! So, has been a bit difficult to scrap - I received the Brown Pen I was waiting for, so now I can complete my most recent page. And I think then I will just pack everything and wait until we are settled in.
More cleaning and packing tomorrow.
Will post some pics of our new house when we get all our stuff in there. Loads of space, it's going to be fabulous.

Wish Me Luck!

I'm doing a quick Scrapbooking demonstration tomorrow night at the local Library for the GNI Fundraiser! Only have 15 minutes (yeah, right)!! I have tried to keep it very simple and short, focussing on Matting Techniques. Not nervous yet, but ask me that question tomorrow...............I'm not worried about speaking in public, I'm a pro at that, but I haven't "taught" scrapbooking before. Would really like to start teaching some classes here in the New Year, so this will be a good way to see how much interest there is. Hopefully we will get a good crowd there.
I have completed 2 LO's this week - for a friend from SM Forum, so will get her OK before I post them here.
Hope everyone's had a great week so far. Thanks for dropping by.

Inside.

Managed to get a look inside the house today. The current tenant was there when I went past, so pulled in and asked to have a look. It is HUGE!! Just so much space, with built-ins all over the place! The laundry is almost as big as Tyla's bedroom here................can't wait!! LOL!

Did some scrapping last night - page is not quite finished but I need a Brown pen to do the journalling - have one on order so hope to get it finished next week sometime.

Thanks everyone for your comments on my last post!

Rollercoaster!

Wow - is life a bloody Rollercoaster sometimes or what?? Things have just been crazy here lately - hence the lack of real blogging, apart from the occassional pic! The house we are renting is on the market. Has been for about 3 or 4 weeks now. We don't have a lease. The landlords didn't want to renew it when our initial lease expired. Now we know why. They have told us if the house sells, we can have 60 days before we have to leave. Which was good............sortof. Problem is, we live in a small country town - population around 900 (I think) and rental properties aren't easy to find. Specially what we are looking for. So I have been totally stressed out about what we are going to do. We had plans for the girls for Xmas that we couldn't do. Didn't know if we should just wait and see what happens or look for something else - and move unnecessarily (sp)? or stay here and find we have nowhere to go if the place sells. I have been really stressed. Specially cos we are buying our house where we lived before - that was meant to stop all the worry about where we live. Anyway - on Thursday last week, found out about a house that will be empty end of October. Went and had a look - it's just what we want..........phoned the owners straight away, and was asked to call back Sunday. Now, I was trying really hard not to get my hopes up - really hard! I figured that she wouldn't have asked us to call back if the place was already rented. Called her sunday, and yep - the place had already been rented :-(( They just needed to confirm with the person if they still wanted it or not. I got really upset............my whole day was a misery. By the end of Sunday I was ready to pack up and move back to where we came from - kick our tenants out and go back to our house - even tho I don't really wanna go back. It would relieve a lot of stress - somewhere permanent to live and I have a good job waiting for me there - I'm on maternity leave from ANZ and there is no ANZ here. Monday night the owners of the house phoned us - the person who was moving in only wanted a 3month lease - that wasn't suitable for the owners, so the place is ours!!! Talk about rollercoaster! We will have a 2 year lease - rent is only a bit more than what we pay now and the house is fabulous!! Lots of space - a playroom for the girls and also a room for me..........and a fantastic outdoor area. Very happy! And OMG how good it feels to have the stress gone.........................can you hear that??? That's me laughing for the first time in I don't know how long!

Now to add to that, Peter got a Payrise today - I know it is across the board, but Peter is on above award wages so his bosses don't have to pass on the payrise - but they have, so that is fabulous. AND - today he has been offered 2 other jobs - one to go for an interview, the other is there if he wants it. He's not going to take either just now - timing isn't right, but I think he is very sad about saying no to one of them - with an Abalone Company - what he wants to do in the long run, but it would mean moving town again - starting all over again, once again! We only did that 9 months ago!! It's just amazing how things can change in less than a week. If this offer had come up a week ago, we would have said yes, no hesitation.

So, anyway!! I am now packing - how much easier to just be moving 4 blocks instead of a couple of hundred k's! Am very excited and feeling good! The best I've felt for a long time. And after Xmas, I'm going to look for a decent job here.

And now................

.............a picture of a Rollercoaster!! ROFL! Peter and my brother are right at the front.

A Poem From Pete

Peter wrote this about 2 weeks ago and asked me to put it on the blog - ooops, forgot to do it earlier, sorry babe!!!

"My husband has abandoned me,
The kids have all left home.
Now that scrapping is my company,
Will you please just leave me alone"

Do you think he's trying to tell me something............ROFL!!!!

Just Quickly.....

A couple of completed LO's.
This was done for the Sketch Challenge on the Scrapchat site - link over there>>> Didn't vary much from the sketch which is not like me at all.............quite happy with this, altho my sewing machine is giving me a hard time lately.Me as a baby - a bit difficult to see all the detail - there is a piece of Tulle under the photo, stitching around the edge of the page to "hold" everything together and pearls scattered throughout the flowers. Am waiting on some hatpins, will probably add one somewhere when they arrive. Have tried to embrace the "white space" theory, but just can't seem to get it!! LOL, I guess I'm a "more is more" kinda scrapper.

Anyway, that is 2 more completed for Mum's Album - slowly getting there. Still waiting on photos from just about everyone. If they don't get to me soon, sadly those pages won't make the album for the due date. I s'pose can be added later, but that's not the idea of this.

TFL please let me know what you think of these.

For those asking.............

The Marina photo from the previous post was taken in Port Lincoln - looks awesome doesn't it? We were staying in some apartments and that was the view first thing in the morning, sitting out the front having breakfast.............Was glorious, would love to live there!! LOL! Some HUGE houses there.
Camera Club was a bit disappointing - the photos from last month didn't get back from the judges in time for our meeting today, so we won't know the results until next month. I did get a first place for the locally voted category - my Muffins won first place.............Hehe, well the photo of my muffins did anyway! I thought the Big Chop photo was pretty good, and a lateral interpretation of "Food"............it's all in the interpretation isn't it? I suggested we get together for an excursion somewhere and go photo taking as a group, see what we all come up with, but no-one seemed too enthusiastic about that idea. A pretty staid group of people really, I seem to be the only person trying to make conversation and talking. ROFL, maybe that's the problem, perhaps next meeting I'll just try and shut-up!!
Had a really late night last night. Tyla is still having nightmares (for want of a better description). Last night she woke up screaming and yelling, almost hyper-ventilating. Took me about 10 minutes to calm her down - she was shivering like she'd been dropped in an ice bath. And she has no memory of it this morning. It's like she was still asleep, but she was talking (well - yelling) to me and doing things I asked her - like clapping her hands type things. Very scary, really getting worried about this, so think it is time for a trip to the Doctors. He probably won't be able to do much about it, but hopefully can point me in the right direction to work out what is going on. We've tried to eliminate anything we can think of that might be triggering it - scary kids tv shows, too many lollies, scary bedtime stories, no hypo behaviour after tea (yes, dad)!! that kind of thing, but doesn't seem to have made any difference.
Am planning to scrap now, so please don't disturb me.....................ROFL!! But leave me a message anyway, even if it's just to tell me to shut-up!LOL

Photos

I didn't get any scrapping done tonight, even tho that was the plan. We have the Camera Club meeting tomorrow and I totally forgot about it til tonight, so have spent the last few hours going thru photos and fiddling with them a bit...........

First Category: Close Up

(None of these have been cropped.)

Second Category: Food

Third Category: Open

So hard to decide which photos to use! And I know I have better food photos, but went thru all my discs and can't find them. Took them for a recipe swap, but am thinking I may have deleted them when I finished the LO's. Very unlike me if I did.

Thanks for dropping by..................