TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE XMAS.....................

Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.........

I just love Christmas eve it's always been a magical night for me no matter how old I get.

Just wanted to quickly pop in to say Merry Xmas to all and to all a goodnight.

cheers and much love

Stay safe over the holidays

Leeanne xxx

GRADUATION SNEAK PEAK

Life has been so so busy this past few weeks, I just haven't had the time to blog. Promise I will be back shortly with a proper catch up, until then though I just had to show you some of my fav photos from our photo shoot last night before we headed off to graduation. More on that later....

Cheers

Leeanne xxx

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

December is here already. Where did that year go??? I love this time of year, it's always hectic and social just the way I like it. Luckily we have had a couple of quiet weekends after our hectic November and then from next weekend it starts again up until Boxing Day.

Last night Madeleine and I put up the xmas tree while watching ELF the movie. That is such a cute movie it always makes me smile. Every year I get a kick out of unwrapping the Christmas ornaments and decorations, seeing which of my fav decorations I unearth first and then deciding on where it should hang on the tree. The tree is like a work of art to me; lots of thought and planning got into each and every placement.
























Madeleine is getting excited about grade 6 graduation, only a couple of weeks to go now before the big night. Yesterday we went over to Wendy's for her to make a few adjustments to the dress so it sits nicely on the night. So with a dart here and and adjustment there a little bit of lace the dress is going to look fantastic.

The visit to Wendy's was twofold, yes the dress was one. However the main reason was to visit Billy the kitten. Harry got his kitten on the Saturday, and what a cutie pie he is. so very very sweet, but I'm sure Wendy will give details and photos of Billy's arrival on her blog.

Last week I also got my RAK from Kim Archer, its a gorgeous little felt envelope hand made by Kim. It is really lovely. I keep forgetting to take a photo, so I'll share that next time.

Not a lot of scrapbooking has been done over the past fortnight. In fact none. I must get onto my cards and I have to get a card off this week for the person I got in Julie Loves Christmas card swap.

Merry Christmas

Cheers

Leeanne x

Video Share

Just a quick share this morning. Just been watching video hits and this clip came on. I saw this for the first time last year and it always makes me smile. Apparently they did it in one take and there are no tricks involved.

Just a bit of fun hope you enjoy it. The band is called Ok Go and the song is Here we go again.







Cheers

Leeanne x

The weekend Part 2.

Saturday: Well after being on top of the ladder all year Madeleine's team won't even be in the Grand Final :( The team tried their best but just couldn't get on top of the other side. So sadly that's it for this year.


Saturday night we headed off to Caesars restaurant in Frankston for dinner with our good friends Judy, Alf, Jenny and Trevor. We all worked at Cheltenham Social Security back in 1979 through to the 80's (all bar Alf). So we have a long history together and have watched each others children grow up. Some of them have had their own children now. (hello to Willisa)

We usually catch up three or four times a year for dinner and the evenings are alot of fun and filled with much frivolity.

Sunday: Madeleine and I went shopping for her grade 6 graduation dress which luckily we found without to much trouble. We brought it in Portmans and it's a lovely girly, pretty, cute dress. Whats good is, it is age appropriate. It's is so hard to find clothes for a 12 year old (that has the body of a women) that are not to slinky and revealing. Then next we found the perfect pair of pink dressy thongs with bling to got with it in wittners. Voila graduation outfit all done, except for a little alteration to the straps which are a bit to long. Which Wendy kindly agreed to take up for me.
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Seague way to Wendy, most of you would already know by now that Wendy has made the decision to close Paper Doll.... well at least the bricks and mortar shop. Tough decision to make but a good one for Wendy and her family. I would just like to take the opportunity to say thank you to Wendy. Thank you for giving me a job when the shop first opened, even though I had never scrapbooked. I was hooked straight away and loved loved going to work there. All those beautiful papers, embellishments, ribbons, I could go on. Neil used to say I enjoyed it to much for it to be REAL work and that I was really only going there, to do what I do best TALK.

In someways he was right, I enjoyed meeting, advising and speaking with all the women who came into the shop with the same enthusiasm , excitement and passion for scrapbooking some who have become friends. I felt so lucky to go to work everyday and do something that i honestly loved. I especially loved Thursdays. Thursday is coffee scrap and chat morning and there is a loyal band of regulars who come most Thursdays. These girls became not just customers but friends and I know how much they are going to miss coming to the shop. Thank you for all the inspiration and new friendships .

At the end of the day Paper Doll is not just a shop it is Wendy and all those people keep coming back, because of her. She has nurtured a place where people feel not only inspired but welcome. It has become a second home for a lot of women. A place to drop in for a coffee and chat with a close friend.

Good news is that Paper Doll will go on in some form or another, and Wendy already has plans a foot for the next stage in Dollys journey. So stay tuned for the next adventure of Dolly and all her friends.

Big hugs to you Wendy and thanks for all your support & encouragement over the last 2 1/2
years. Lastly but by no means least. Your friendship.

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Sunday night was Chelsea Heights Netball Presentation evening. It was held at the Chelsea town hall with over 400 people in attendance. It was a huge night, raffles , give aways and a disco for the kids as well. When it was Madeleine's teams turn to go up on stage she was thrilled to discover she had won the coaches award and trophy. She grinned like a Cheshire cat she was so pleased.


Below are a few photos of the evening. The teams had to pick a theme or a colour to come in, Madeleine's team chose Disney animated characters. Bad mother that I am we have no costumes so she went as an evil queen. All that entailed was black clothing, a tiara and a wand she made from a stick out of the backyard with a paper star that said Evil. The kids all had a fantastic time laughing and dancing. It was a great way to finish off the year.



























As usual I have waffled on far to much again, so bye until next time

Cheers

Leeanne x

Spiegletent (mark 2), The Honeys and Melbourne

Last Friday night I drove into the city to meet Neil, and to see a band called the Honey's in at the Spiegletent again (click on the link in my sidebar to hear one of their songs). The band was great and this time we had front row seats. We parked the car about a 10minute walk from the Melbourne Arts centre and walked along the Yarra to the Spiegletent. The city was a buzz, it was a beautifully warm balmy night and it seemed like everyone in Melbourne was in the city. You could see and hear the noise from Federation Square and around the Arts centre there were people everywhere.

I just love the city and that feeling it gives of being so alive and vibrant, which in turn makes you feel the same way. Here are a few photos from the night,some inside the tent and others just of the city and the Yarra. They show just how beautiful Melbourne really is.






























































We picked up Madeleine at her friend Laura's house and stayed for an hour or two, catching up with Laura's parents who are friends of ours. It was a perfect night to sit out on their decking, having a drink and eating pizza. Neil and I didn't eat while we were in town, so when we got to Rick and Phil's house we ordered Pizza to be delivered. Very nice it was too and much appreciated at 10pm.

Well that's enough for one post, I'll catch up with more O'Connor family antics from Saturday and Sunday next time.


Cheers

Leeanne x

Last weekend and Finally!!! a layout to share

Back to last weekend..............


Caught up with Wendy last Friday night to buy the lovely Connie (& Mark of course) an engagement pressie. We make a great team when it comes to present buying, it took us all of 5 minutes tops to buy their gift. We were so lucky to find the perfect gift (well we thought so anyway) so quickly. Which luckily enough meant we had time for a coffee and a natter.


Saturday Madeleine had her usual Piano lesson in the morning, she played a lovely piece called Air. When she finished her piano teacher was crying. Not because she played badly, (of course!!) but because she had played the piece such, that it evoked an emotional response. It is a haunting and beautiful piece and she played it superbly. Serena was so proud of her and of course so was I.



After that it was of to Netball for the first Semi Final, which sadly they losed. Good news is they have a second chance this weekend to make amends. It was a nail biter of a game. Both teams are pretty evenly matched and the girls only lost by 3 goals.



Madeleine fortuitously had a sleepover birthday party on Saturday night which meant babysitting wasn't an issue as we headed off to Connie and Mark's engagement party with Wendy and Peter (who kindly drove). What a great night we had catching up with Will & Sean and the girls and having a few laughs. It was a warm night so the new fabulous decking and pergola got put to good use. Connie and Mark's place is lovely, and we also got to check out her Photography studio and best of all, got to to have a sticky beak at her scrap room. Sadly I forgot to take photos so I have nothing to share. :(



Sunday was fairly warm, here in Melbourne and Madeleine had Laura and Alex over. They were desperate to get invited next door to have a swim in their pool. Subtle as sledge hammers they got Jakob (who is also 12) to ask them in. They had a ball, I was going to post a few of the sneaky shots of them I took over the fence and amongst the trees but I haven't resized them yet. I felt like the Paparazzi taking photos hoping no one would notice. I got a few good ones they were having so much fun.



Sunday night Neil and I went into the city to see Lisa Miller and band in the world famous Spiegeltent between the Melbourne Arts Centre and Art Gallery. The tent is there for a limited season until mid December, show casing various artists. Lisa Miller was fantastic she has an amazing voice and her songs are lovely. The spiegeltent holds no more than around 200 and it has wooden ornate pillars with lots of etched mirrors and red and blue velvet hanging from the roof. I felt very cosmopolitan sipping my G&T and watching the band. We're off again this Friday night to see another band, so I'll let you know next time how that went. Madeleine got to spend the night at her friend Laura's house and went to school from there on Monday. Laura just happens to live in the same street as the school. (very handy)



Lastly but by no means least here is a photo of the cards I made for the November No Scraps and also believe it or not an original layout FINALLY.

This layout was inspired by watching Wendy make Connie and Mark's engagement card on Saturday afternoon. She was using a glue pad, stamp and silver leaf. The effect looked stunning and I had this black, white and silver layout on the go. So I borrowed her glue pad and used the autumn leaves flourish stamps to create the background for placing the silver Metallic Heidi Swapp flowers. The words Classy and Fabulous are done with Basic Grey Chipboard alpha and I used silver embossing powder on them. Then I finished it of with lots and lots of BLING, which hasn't photographed that well, but looks far more glitzy IRL. I finished it off with a splash of red (Heidi Swapp book label) and a little doodling in silver pen. Love that quote by Coco Chanel.

Cheers for now

Leeanne x

Time for a Quickie............

Layout share that is.


It's Sunday night and Neil and I have just got back from an evening in the city which was fantastic. I don't have time for a whole week recap right now, so I'll save that for another day.


Following are 4 layouts I have completed this week. I love them all, sadly I can't take credit for any of the designs as they are all compliments of the lovely Wendy and her fabulous No Scraps On Line classes. The first layout is the final layout from the August No Scraps class which I had forgotten I hadn't done.


This layout uses Autumn Leaves paper, paint, Heidi Swapp sticker, Sei alpa stickers and MM small sticker alphabets. This would have to be one of my all time photos of Madeleine when she was a baby. She's about 7 months old in this photo. It was her first time in the wading pool, the weather was stinking hot (40c) so we all appreciated sitting in the pool under the gum tree in the backyard. She had the biggest baby blue eyes in those days, I don't really remember when I noticed they had changed to green. Anyway here it is.

Baby's Got Blue eyes

The next three are this months No Scraps class from last week. All the pp is Pirate Princess range of papers from Rusty Pickle. I've also used the metallic chipboard alpha from Heidi Swapp, bling by Kaiser, hambly overlays, Making Memories glitter jigsaw pieces, ribbon etc...

Cherish Friends

Piano Lessons: Love the cool punched out circles on this one.

M Sept 2007.

There is also a photo of the 3 cute cards that I made with these papers as well, but I can't seem to locate the photo at the moment. So I guess I'll share those as well next update.

Take care and stay Happy.

Cheers

Leeanne x

bout time for an update

Well I don't know where that week went, but it certainly whizzed by.

Lets see what have I been up to??


Wednesday I took Madeleine over to the Cranbourne basketball stadium to participate in the zone girls basketball. Carrum Primary had made it through to the zones and they had to play two matches and win both to get through to Regionals.


The first game they blitzed the opposition by about 34 baskets, but sadly they were beaten in the second game by 5 points. They did so well and should be very proud of themselves, as its the furthest Carrum Primary have gone in the girls basketball. Here's a couple of photos, notice who is shooting the basket in the second photo.
























From there it was off to Pearcedale to catch up with Sue B in her lunch hour, then back home to get organized for Netball training. After that we ended up at the Mahoney's for take away chinese which was very nice I have to say.


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Saturday we had a BBQ for John and his boys and the Kennedy's came over as well. It was a great night, lots of fun and laughter. Our neighbour Noeleen also came in and ended up staying for dinner (she's the one in blue}. All the kids went for a really quick dip in her pool (heating wasn't on) and then they came back for a bit of sing star fun. Madeleine's friend Alex was over for the day as well and I couldn't help but take a couple of shots (or 3 or more) of them with the new camera just hanging around. I'm starting to get the hang of it. In auto mode anyway. Neil is experimenting all the time with different exposures and depth of field etc. I figure when he's mastered that he can teach me. Connie also told me she would let me in on her secret for great black and white shots. So Connie I'm waiting on that email (lol).



























You probably can't see in these photos because I've made them small, but I've had a really sore left eye all week. It's been getting sorer and sorer and has ended up being a sty, Saturday it was quite swollen and had a real reddy, purplish look to it. Attractive I hear you say. Anyway last night before going to bed I tried an old fashioned (old wife's tale) on it. Having been brought up Catholic I remember my mum saying that if you rubbed a blessed wedding ring over the sty it would heal it. So I got my mums wedding ring out and rubbed it over my bottom eye lid before bed last night. You wouldn't credit it but this morning when I woke the swelling had gone down considerably and the soreness had subsided. Tonight it has nearly gone altogether. Oggie Boggie hey!!! You've gotta luv those old wives.















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Sunday it was a beautifully wet and miserable day. It didn't stop raining most of the day today and last night. It was fantastic, its so good to see good soaking rain. Aside from that I caught up with Karen for a hot chocolate at the Blue Chair in Carrum this afternoon, while Neil was back home with Mark and Norm having a jam. Of course I took a few photos of them together, here's one of them.

Then tonight we have been at friends place for a roast dinner. Love roast dinners and especially when you don't have to cook them.

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In sad news, Neil's Aunty Babe passed away today. She was 96, so had lived to a ripe old age. However for at least the last 5 years she has been in a nursing home and not well at all. So in alot of ways it is a blessing for her, and her two daughters who have religiously been visiting her everyday since she was placed in the home. She has merely been existing rather than living, which has been so hard for her, as well as all her loved ones that have been there for her through it all.

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In other brief news I have won an RAK on Kim Archers Blog for being the 1st person to book into her christmas extravaganza workshops. It was a pleasant surprise to get an email from Kim to say I'd won. Looking forward to mail this week.

I also had an email from For Keeps to say they would like to pick up one my layouts. So that was exciting as well.

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Well that's it for me today, Keep on smiling everyone and have a good week.


Cheers


Leeanne x

ANOTHER FULL WEEKEND

FRIDAY:

Well Friday night I was supposed to be going out to two functions. The first one was to Deb Ross's for a stamp it up party. A big apology to Deb because I failed to turn up. Sadly I was asleep on the couch by 7pm and in bed by 8.30pm. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. So a big sorry to Deb and also to Rachel who lives in my street and had organized a girls night in for cancer research. I was supposed to be going there after Deb's. Good news is, they raised over $4000 at the Girls night In. Well done to Rachel for organizing it and for all the girls who went and obviously spent up big and donated generously.

SATURDAY:

First thing in the morning was Physio for Madeleine's ankle, which is a lot better. Now if she would just remember to do the exercises 3 times a day, I'm sure it will better a lot quicker.

Then it was off to Piano and back home again to get organized for Netball.

Saturday was pretty hot in Melbourne around 32c and windy. The girls certainly didn't play how they have been playing and were soundly beaten by the second side on the ladder. They are still on top, but will have to lift in the finals. Mind you it must be pretty hard to run around like that on a hot and windy day.

Later Saturday afternoon we went around to friends for a couple of drinks and to catch up. It was nice to kick back and relax and enjoy a couple cold drinks together.

Then Saturday night it was off to the Greek restaurant in Frankston called Seagulls with another couple of good friends. Every time we go to that place it seems to be a hot night and the owners have never modernized the place, and it still doesn't have air conditioning. Let me tell you its not a place to sit and linger over a hot coffee after a meal. So we headed off to where the cinemas are and had a coffee and a piece of cake outside in the beautiful, fresh and warm night.

SUNDAY:

Was Crop for a Cure organized by Scrappers Warehouse and held at Pin Oaks Reception Centre in Hallam. There was 11 of us from Paper Doll that went and what a great day we ended up having. I have to say it didn't start off that wonderfully at first, but after I got over being a little petulant and disappointed it was fine (lol). The tables only held 8 which was fine, but we were supposed to be all at least sitting near each other. However Lynne and I ended up on another table away from the other girls (no big deal) however then we discovered that all the make and take classes were full and we and quite a few others couldn't participate. Not "Happy Jan"

I must give the organizers due credit though and within about 1/2 hour they had arranged either extra classes or extra seats within the classes. So our first class was with Nicole Finlayson and we made a very cute little felt album incorporating a bit of blanket stitch. Then it was a very sweet felt xmas decoration designed and taught by Ngaire Bartlam and last but not least was a ribbon album by Suz Doyle.

There were silent auctions, raffles and lucky door prizes through out the day. The big big news was that the very lovely Kim C won the major prize which was a trolley bag filled to the brim with products from lots of suppliers. Kim's reaction was priceless she was so thrilled, excited and dumbfounded.

Deb R (not Ross) and Amy B were two of the finalists in the speed scrapping. They had 4.5 mins to create either a pair of knickers, a bra or both. Amy went for the bra and very stylish it was too. Deb made a very tasteful g string that she named "Debbie does Hallam"

Deb was picked as the winner along with another lady who's creation was called "Storm in an E cup". They all did amazingly well in such a short amount of time, there is no way I could have created in such a minimal amount of time.

I'll leave you now with a little collage of the day. The photos include shots of Lynne, Kim, Wendy, Willisa, Connie, Deb, Sharon, Amy, Mel, Joanne and Me of course. I'm sure you may see other incriminating photos on others blogs over the next couple of days. But don't believe everything you see (hehe).

Have a great week

cheers

Leeanne x

Camera's, Dog Sitting, Run Aways and DRAMAS

We are the proud new owners of this.................


Yes it's the new Canon 40d. Neil made the purchase on Monday and it was delivered to his work Tuesday morning. What a beastie it is after our Panasonic Lumix, I'll have to start doing weights to lift it (hehe) or at least have my weeties for breakfast.

So far we have taken at least 300 hundred photos with it, and so far none of them are very good. Just goes to show you can have an expensive camera but if you don't know how to use it, it takes pretty average photos. Lots of practice needed with this one. When you do get it right though the picture is so clear and sharp.

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Guess who came for a sleepover last night???? and tonight as well.

Yes its young Bowie Treseder, I call this shot "Why the long face" he is looking a little nervous in this one.

Wendy, Peter and Chelsea are in Ballarat for the calisthenics comps for a couple of nights so Bowie is bunking in with us. Now Bowie has never been to our house before, so he was a little out of sorts last night and I don't think he settled for longer than a few minutes at a time. Of course it doesn't help that our dog Holly is not particularly fond of dogs she doesn't know, so wasn't exactly welcoming.

He just wanted to play and she "DID NOT". I won't even go into what the cat thought.

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So today I left Bowie and Holly outside when I went to work and as luck would have it I got stuck at work longer than normal. I was in a meeting and I could feel my mobile phone going off in my pocket again and again and again.

I knew it was Madeleine and that something wasn't right as she kept calling and calling. So as quickly as I could I excused myself and called her back.

Poor thing she was beside herself. She had arrived home from school to discover there was only ONE DOG in the backyard, and it wasn't BOWIE. I had to stay calm and talk her down from her near hysteria. I got her to go around the yard to see if she could see where he had dug his way out. No she couldn't see anything. I suggested she go next door to see if he had gone in there. No he wasn't there. I told her to stay calm and as soon as I got home we would go out looking for him.

Well you can imagine how I felt loosing Wendy's dog in less than 24 hours. Anyhoo I rang a friend of mine Sue who lives in Wendy's Street and asked her if she would go and have a look, at Wendy's to see if he'd gone home. She also offered to go and make sure Madeleine was O.K. after I'd told her how upset she was.

So she went to have a look at Wendy's; NO BOWIE..... Sue and Madeleine went down to the river and the beach to have a look around NO BOWIE........The young boy from next door Jakob also got on his bike and went looking still NO BOWIE.

On the way home I rang the local Vet to see if anyone had brought him in no, NO BOWIE. But they did say they would put a notice up for me. When I got home Madeleine and i went over to the footy oval and playground you guessed it NO BOWIE.

Then I suggested we go and have another look at Wendy's before heading further down the river etc... We got to Wendy's and called for him still no answer. I walked up to the garage and noticed there was a gap between the roller door and the side fence. Guess who was standing there looking at me. YES.... BOWIE. What a relief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wendy's neighbour had also sent her boys out looking for him. So most of Carrum was on full alert for him. (lol)

I blame Holly obviously her less than warm welcome had hurt his feelings and he packed his kit bag and headed home. Poor thing, but how clever of him to find his way home. Not that its far between our homes but lets not forget he'd never been to our place before.

Anyway we've brought him home and have given him even more attention,than what he got last night (and that was alot), he has been soundly loved since his return. He certainly is more relaxed tonight and as I type this he is asleep on Holly's bed. He must be exhausted because he hardly slept last night. It's nice to see him relax a little. Here's and example from earlier tonight when he was asleep on the couch.

Tomorrow I'm definitely closing the front gates as well. Still not sure how he escaped, he is obviously related to Harry Houdini. He really is such a sweetie and very cute to boot.

Well that's it for me, just wanted to document a little of the drama that was today.

Cheers

Leeanne x

BIT OF A LONG ONE AHEAD... HAD TO CATCH UP

Ok lets go back aways. Carrum Primary school had their major fund raiser of the year, last Friday night. This year it was a Trivia night held at the Carrum bowling club. The Carrum bowling club is right on the beach with magnificent views of the Port Phillip Bay, and it's also a little bit famous. Alot of the scenes for the film Cracker Jack were filmed there.

It was a fun night, and it was hosted by someone who is also a little bit famous; Peter Treseder. Peter has been on lots of game shows and was a sale of the century champ. He is also famous because he is married to another famous person Wendy T from Paper doll (hehe). I have been to a few Trivia nights MC'd by Peter and I have to say he does an outstanding job, especially trying to keep an unruly crowd entertained and tuned in. Of course as the night wears on Peter's job gets even trickier as the crowd has more and more liquid refreshment

Anyhoo to cut an already long story short. Our table WON!!!! We were very excited. The winning table won a couple of bottles of wine each. It's not about the prizes though....it's the glory (lol).

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Saturday Madeleine and I went to watch her netball team play. She wasn't able to play because of her torn ligament. The team won again and are on top of the ladder by about 3 games. They are doing really well. They only have one more game left before the finals start on the 10th November.

After the game my sister and I went off to do a little retail therapy. I brought my first Christmas present, that's one down and quite a few more to go.

Saturday night we caught up with friends of ours Kate and James and Denise and John for a fantastic Indian meal in Parkdale. We went to Sithara and the food was fantastic. It was the first time this year we've been able to all get together for various reasons, so it was lovely to catch up.

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Sunday was another day of retail therapy for me. I went up to Southland and made quite a few purchases. Working in an office again has lead me to the realization that my clothes choices for work are very limited. So I brought 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of trousers and two tops. That should keep me going for a while I think.

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Fast forward Monday... nothing much to report.


Tuesday......Tonight ....an end of an era in the O'Connor household.
Tonight was the Carrum Primary School end of year concert and for Neil and I our last.
We think tonight's concert was the best one yet. Of course that could have been because as a Grade 6 student Madeleine was in it more. Heres a list of the items she was in:-

1. She busked in the foyer before the concert started. She played a few show stopping tunes on the keyboard and raised money for the school.

2. She was in the Choir

3. The grade 6 students and their Prep buddies sang a song together.

4. As the House Captain for Bass she and her fellow Captain James K. had to give a speech about what the Preps had been studying all year. Their speech was informative, entertaining, witty and funny. Neil and I were both really proud of them both.
I may be a little biased but their speech was clearly the best one. (hehe)

5. She was a mother penguin helping the Preps do their dance routine in the second act.

6. The grade 5/6 item this year was Thriller. They all did a fantastic job and it was really well choreographed and executed . A tremendous performance.

7. The whole school perform at the end of the concert and the grade 6 House Captains lead each of their teams in song.

It was a lovely night and my sister and Neil's sister came along to watch and support Madeleine, I haven't asked anyone to come along the concerts for about 4 years, so I thought as it was her last they might like to come along and be a part of her final primary school concert.

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In other news we the O'Connors made another major purchase yesterday. I haven't taken a photo yet, but once I do I will share the new purchase with you. It's very impressive and I was very excited to see it and have a play. Can you guess what it might be????????????


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Cheers for now

Leeanne x

"DEJA VU"

Have you seen these designs before?????????????????

Yes here is another version of Wendy's October No Srcaps class, these were the papers I had originally chosen (fancy pants aged floral) but I cut one of the patterned papers incorrectly so went with the Scenic Route instead. Hence the card is slightly different to how it should be.

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In the weekend wrap up, Friday I went to a mum from schools house for a crop. I didn't actually get to do anything as one of the girls who was there had never scrapped before, so I ended up showing her what to do, and how to use a trimmer etc... It was a lovely night and not that late I think I was home by 11pm.

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With school back of course its back to all the after school activities, which meant Saturday morning Piano lessons with Serena. We were met at the door by a very excited Serena who had become engaged over the holidays and was keen to show of her beautiful gold diamond ring. Of course she can't stopping looking at it. I remember the feeling distant memory though it is.

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Then in the afternoon Madeleine played netball and unfortunately went down at the start of the 3rd quarter and twisted her ankle. I rang the physio as soon as we got home but couldn't get an appointment until 8am this morning. So she spent the weekend resting, having her foot in a bucket of freezing iced water for 20 minutes every 2-3 hours, then having it strapped up and elevated. Her good friend TJ and Alex came over on Sunday afternoon to keep her company and just sat and watched movies with her.

The diagnosis from the physio is that she has partially torn the ligament in her ankle so there will be no sport for at least a week if not more. Back to the physio on Thursday to see how its going.

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Last night (Sunday) we caught up with our friends the Kennedy's and the Mickles for a casual dinner (fish and chips) to celebrate Georgia's 10th birthday. It was nice to all get together and Georgia seemed to love the goodies from Smiggle that she received.

Cheers

Have a fabulous week

Leeanne x

I *heart* Wednesdays

Yes that's right my new favourite day of the week. Wednesday of course is my day off. This week it was coffee first thing with some of the mums from school. Then it was off to Frankston for a bit of retail therapy. From there it was off to lunch with Wendy, I picked up some sushi for lunch and headed over to the shop. I have to get my fix of the shop when I can, I really miss being there.

Then in the afternoon another girlfriend turned up for a chat and then her, and her family ended up staying for dinner and a few drinks. So that took until about 10pm, so as you can see a very social day. Just the way I like them.

I also have a couple of layouts to share. I have been going to re photograph them but just haven't got around to it. They are the layouts from Wendy's No Scraps online class. I really love these layouts. What amazes me is how Wendy can plan these down to the last scrap of paper, I am so not a planner, so I find it a real spin out that she can plan so thoroughly. Anyway here they are forgive the colour in the double Lo I just couldn't photograph it properly.

Other than that the only other thing I've done is work of course. Looking forward to the weekend and I'm planning on a bit more scrapbooking (hopefully).

Have a great weekend everyone.

Cheers

Leeanne x

CONFRONTING....

is taking self portraits and seeing all those crows feet. I take my hat off to Wendy, Christie and Pip and all the other girls taking the 365 day challenge. Not sure I'm quite ready for what I see. A 47 year old women that is.




I took the photos Sunday morning just before I was heading off to breakfast with Deb, and out of about 15 there is probably 2 I would be willing to share. Anyhoo I had been speaking with Deb earlier in the week and she had suggested we get together for breakfast on Sunday at Fratelli's. They do a good breakie there and it was nice to sit and catch up with Deb.


Rewind just a little to Friday night and believe it or not I actually scrapbooked. It has been way to long. Not that I actually came up with the ideas. I booked into Kim Archers new Rip it and Stitch it instant workshop last week. It is such good value for $10 you get 2 great layouts, and I just love how the layouts turned out. Kim always has some quirky little new technique to share. There is always something new to learn and be inspired by. The photos of the layouts aren't that great, they colour looks much better IRL.















Saturday I headed down to Mornington to catch up with another girlfriend Sue B. Had a coffee in downtown Mornington and I don't think we stopped talking for a good couple hours all up. It never ceases to amaze me how much we can talk. ( I know some who know me, won't be that surprised by that revelation).

Saturday night Madeleine had a hankering for Thai so the 3 of us headed off to Patterson Lakes to Kun Yao for dinner. Even though I'd only been there last Wednesday night I never tire of the food there, and hey if don't have to cook !!!!!!

Sunday afternoon I spent scrapbooking again, this time on Wendy's October No Scraps class. I think the two layouts this month would have to be my favourites. I love Wendy's designs she is so innovative and clever, and what value for money - $10 get you a double page LO, a single LO and a card. Gotta love that and of course No Scraps. I'll share those LO's next time after I've finished the single (just needs the photos stuck down) and I haven't done the card yet.

Ok that's it for me for now, must go and see who will be getting the boot from Australian Idol.
I'm with Dicko I'm hoping Marty goes this week. Not because I don't like him ,he just needs to go.

Cheers

Leeanne x

Flying Solo.........sort of

at work that is. Yes the poor unsuspecting customers now have me to deal with. Still such a long way to go knowledge wise, but I suppose I have to do it sometime. The other staff are really helpful and don't seem to mind me constantly asking questions. The other news is touch wood I believe I'm going to get a full week of work in. Gotta love that. Tomorrow is casual dress day at work, so I suppose that means you can wear jeans etc.. no trackies though. It's a gold coin donation to a charity, just not sure which one.


This is also the second week of school holidays in Melbourne, so Neil has had this week off to look after Madeleine. Monday they went over to Knox shopping Centre to check it out and do a bit of retail therapy, and Neil whipped up a batch of his famous spaghetti sauce. Madeleine had her girlfriend Laura over to hang out with.



Tuesday they headed off to Point Nepean. One side of Point Nepean is Port Phillip bay and the other is Bass Strait. It has some pretty amazing scenery and rugged coast line. It was also once a military fortress so you can explore a maze of tunnels, lookouts and fortifications as well as enjoy coastal scenery and panoramic views of the Bass Strait, the Rip and Port Phillip Bay.



There is also warning signs like this down there.... Yikes!!!













That night Neil headed off with his mate Allan to see the Waifs perform at the Forum theatre in the city, and Madeleine had her friend Laura's little sister Emma over for the night.

Wednesday was my day off, so I got to make a quick visit to see Wendy, and Angela was there so it was nice to sit down with a cuppa and catch up. Then Wendy's sister Margie turned up as she hadn't seen Wendy for a while. It was nice to see her it must be 12 months since I've seen her an had a chat.

When I got home an old and trusted friend was just leaving. Our old corolla was leaving for the scrap heap. Sad really, Neil brought that car brand new in Dec 1986 after we got back from Europe. We have travelled around the country in that non air conditioned, manual transmission car, and it never let us down. From Melbourne to Cairns and back, Melbourne to WA and back and lots of places all over. It has been pretty much a garden ornament for the last few years so it was definitely time for the old girl to take her leave. Lots and Lots of good memories and adventures were had in that car.


Then we all headed off to Karingal to see the movie Stardust. I really enjoyed it and so did the girls, Neil however thought it was a crock and total waste of money. Ahhh well i suppose not everyone was going to like it.

I also got to go out to my favourite Thai restaurant in Patterson Lakes that night with Andi and Karen. The food was sensational as usual and the conversation never stopped. It was nice to see them with everyone working now it's hard to find time to see each other.

I was supposed to have done Wendy's no scraps class last night, but got home to late so I've printed out all the photos and picked the paper, I just have to find the time to sit down and complete the projects.

Today my crazy husband got up at 5am so he could drive down to Phillip Island (1 1/2 Hours) and do the 1hour each way walk around Cape Woolamai, which runs along' the tops of the cliffs. Here's one of the shots he took. Rugged isn't it? You can almost feel the sea spray on your face.

Tonight I got to do one of my all time fav things to do. Go to the hairdresser that is. I've said it before and I'll say it again I love love having my hair done. Thursday night seems to be the night to go as well. Aside from the usual neck and shoulder massage before they start, there was also chesse and biscuits along with a rather large glass of sav blanc. NICE

Ok that's it for now

Cheers

Leeanne x

Slack Blogger

(edited to add: Not Happy Jan!!!!!!! Mark Da Costa has just been voted out of idol. Lots of pouting going on here and sad faces :o( as he was my Fav. )



Hi everyone, sorry I have been neglecting my BLOG for the past week, things have been hectic around here, with school holidays, work etc....

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Tuesday Madeleine went to the Melbourne Zoo with Neil's sister Annette they didn't take many photos but here's the only one they took of Madeleine with a butterfly sitting on her hat.

Because she was out with Annette it gave me the chance to catch up with Wendy after I finished at work. It was nice to catch up and see the shop back to how it used to look. I really like the atmosphere with it being that little bit smaller. I also went to pick up the few things Lynne had kindly put away for me the week before when the new stock had arrived. Great new papers from American craft and some for of my current fav alpha's Thickers along with their vinyl lettering and felt alpha's. Very cute and great colours as well.

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Wednesday Madeleine and I had a great day in the city.

We caught the train to Flinders Street and headed over to

Federation Square to get a glimpse of the final 12 from this

years Australian Idol. We positioned ourselves in a front

row position along the fence were they would all be walking

down before going on stage.

Much to Madeleine's delight her Favourite Matt Corby held her hand as he went past her. She jokingly of course told me she was never going to wash that hand again.

After they all went past we manoeuvred into a pretty good viewing position for the concert. First up were the Young Divas with Jessica Malboy performing with them for the first time. I was a little surprised they weren't singing live. It was definitely a recording.

Anyway after them was Madeleine's favourite from last year

Dean Geyer. He performed 3 songs from his new album and was really good. After him was Damian Leith and then the final 12 performed. I tell you some girls have the most ear piercing screams, and most of the screaming was all directed at young Matt.

Madeleine's face said it all really. She had a huge smile on her face the whole time we were there and really got into it. The atmosphere with all those young girls and there were a few guys there as well was quite exciting. Although I must say the most vocal of the guys in the audience were screaming madly for Dean Geyer (lol).

After that we headed off to lunch and took some of the lane ways and side streets of Melbourne to go through the Block Arcade and then ended up at a cafe in Block Court. I just love the arcades and lane ways of Melbourne you really get a feel for the city. All the funky little boutiques and curio shops are just fabulous.

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Back to work on Thursday and Madeleine spent the day with her friend Victoria, they ended up doing a bit of scrapbooking together. Then we went around to see John who I haven't seen since Jackie's funeral. He is doing OK and keeping himself busy doing all these odd jobs around the house that Jackie had wanted done for over 12 months. He is on a big learning curve at the moment and finding it a bit of a struggle. Understandably I think he is finding it hard not to let the sadness overwhelm him at the moment.

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Friday believe it or not I had to have another day off work. This time with Gastro, the pain woke me up at around 1.30am so I spent sometime in the bathroom close to toilet, that kept happening through out the night and didn't let up until lunch time Friday.

Now hopefully that is it for me and illness for quite sometime, I think I've had enough now.

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Yesterday (saturday) we headed off to the Melboure Show.

Grand Final day is certainly the day to go the crowds aren't

that big, and the girls didn't have to queue for rides.

This year we took Tijana and luckily the weather held out. It

was overcast all day but it didn't rain. They had a ball on the

rides from the giant slide, the taipan roller coaster, the claw,

they must have had around 20 rides.

Lots of healthy food consumed of course.. Fairy Floss to

Dip n Dots. I know they have Dip n dots in Sydney but it was

the first time I'd seen them in Melbourne. They are tiny little balls of icecream & quite yummy. They had Fairy Floss and Bubble gum in their containers.

This year we even managed to talk the girls into going to have a look at the dogs. There was certainly some interesting sites in the dog pavilion. Here's a few as a sample. The poodle had the most bizarre hairdo. Although the schnauzer has a nice looking comb over. The little fellow in the hat was just cute and the guy and his dog asleep in their pen says it all.

Speaking of the Grand Final how's those Cats 119 point win. Great game for all those Geelong supporters they just anhilated Port Adelaide. I'm not a Geelong supporter but I certainly was yesterday and for some strange reason found myself getting all sentimental at the end of the game. They certainly deserved to win as they have been the best team in the competition all year, and after 44years it was defintely their time.

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I found it a bit hard after our long day at the show to muster any enthusiasm to get ready to go out to Lena's 40th Birthday party last night. Once there though we had a lovely time and she also had the most sensational birthday cake it was a hugh slab of Vanilla slice very very nice indeed. It wasn't a late night by any stretch and we were home just after midnight.

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Ok once again if you stayed with me for this long well done and I'll try to be more regular in my updating but no promises.

Hi to all the girls at Thursday coffee mornings I miss you all and of course to all the other regular customers who i don't get to see anymore a big wave to you all. :(

Cheers

Leeanne x

Getting better all the time

I am pleased to say I am feeling much better today, thank goodness. Still feel tight in the chest and have a nasty cough but by and by I feeling so much better. To celebrate I took Madeleine off for a little retail therapy and then to see Hairspray. Lots of colour and movement, and songs from start to finish, a really fun movie. John Travolta makes one ugly women.

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Well tomorrow is it for me. I am officially off training and out in the real world. I'm looking forward to getting started and also to being on my part time hours. I suppose I'm a little bit nervous, as three of the days I have had off were the days I should have been doing the on the job training. Although I'm sure they won't let me loose on any unsuspecting customers on my own tomorrow........hopefully.

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Anyone else out there watching Idol this year, I'm actually enjoying it more this year, there are some really talented people on it this year. Madeleine's fav Matt Corby got the first touchdown for the year tonight. A pretty boy with talent, I'll be very surprised if he doesn't win. My fav is the oldest contestant Mark who really knows how to rock it out and perform. Anybody with me, if your watching who's your favourite. Madeleine wants to got into Fed Sq on Wednesday to see them perform live. I'm sure there will be nobody else there (lol)

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Well it's going to be a short and sweet post tonight because of the dreaded lurgy I haven't done much to talk about this past week. Looking forward to having more time to be creative again, I haven't done any scrapbooking for the past 3 weeks.

cheers


Leeanne x