New stuff...

Wanna see my new 'stuff' ?

Well...here is my new bedroom suite, isn't it pretty ? It's NOT white, but rather an antique white. I've never had a new bed in my whole life so getting this was really exciting.

And this little baby is my new car ! I pick it up tomorrow (Friday) at 2pm.

It's an automatic and has air conditioning - I've never had either of those before. I've also had the windows tinted, got mud flaps (coz they aren't standard on new cars anymore apparently ??), and had rear parking sensors installed. I know I am going to love my new wheels, but I am certainly going to miss my little Sirion and will probably cry when I have to say goodbye to it :(

All else is well here. My girlfriend Marieka (and her kitty, Clarey) moved in on the weekend and it's great having her around. The kids are both good. Kade had his first bout of head lice the other day...thankfully only the one adult and some eggs, which we soon got rid of ! Toby has been on school holidays and goes back to school next week. Little Charlie is growing quickly and is such a funny little thing - we all just love him to bits !

I hope this finds you all well.

Look at me, I'm cute !

Today we picked up Charlie. He is SO adorable, and such a loved little member of our family already. Kade is so gentle with him and loves it when Charlie chases him around (I'll have to get some video of it this week - very cute).

Here are a few pics :

Look Mum, I fit in your camera bag !

Me and one of my sisters :

Me and my new mum :

I like this new bed my mum got me :

Kade is 3

Yesterday (Saturday) was Kade's third birthday. He spent Friday night at Daddy's house, and on Saturday morning Toby and I headed over there armed with bacon, eggs, bread, and presents. Kade opened his gifts and then I cooked a yummy breakfast for us all. After breakfast we headed to a local pond to feed the ducks, and from there we went to an indoor play centre so Kade could have some fun.

Today we had lots of visitors; Grandma & Jens, Uncle Brendan, Eilleen, Taylah & Gemma, Aunty Kimmy & Richie, and Grandma Judy. Kade received lots of lovely presents and had a great extended birthday.

Grandma and Jens bought Kade a scooter, which he LOVES !

And Kade got to sit on Uncle Brendan's motorbike !

And remember I said that my friend Michelle was coming to visit ? Well here we are...

Kim, Michelle & Me

And circa 1978;
David & Jason (standing), Brendan, Me, Kim, Michelle

We're in

Well, we moved into our new house last weekend and have settled well. Kade has taken it all in his stride and seems none the worse for having a "mummy's house" and a "daddy's house". He has moved into a 'big bed' and is yet to object when he's told it's bed time. Daddy bought Kade a special Thomas The Tank Engine bed, which he loves ! He's also keen to have a bath every night, so that makes things pretty easy for me.

This weekend I will be catching up with my longest friend, Michelle. She and her youngest kids Chloe and Hayden are driving over from South Australia. I am SO excited to see her as it's been about 20 years since we were last together ! Michelle named her first child Cindy Maree after me and my sister Kim (Kim's middle name is Maree). Sadly, Cindy won't be making the trip this time, so I have to wait a little longer to meet her.

No other news from here really... To those of you who have a long weekend for Queen's Birthday, enjoy !

It's been a while...

My apologies for my absence (does anyone still visit here anymore ?). Since re-discovering Facebook and having soooomany friends there, I kind-of forget about my blog, sorry.

So...what's been happening here ?

Well, for anyone who isn't already in the loop, we are in the process of moving house. Our house sold in 2 days, and settlement is set for 27 July, but I spoke to the conveyancor this morning and it looks as though we'll be able to bring it forward by about 3 weeks. We specifically asked for a long settlement (90 days) to give us plenty of time to pack and move.

Elliot has had the keys to his new house for a week or so and has moved most of his stuff, and I get the keys to my new place tomorrow. I haven't packed as much as I'd like to have done, but it doesn't matter...we'll get there eventually.

My new house is just around the corner - literally 500m away. One of my girlfriend's is going to move in with us, so the company and shared bills will be fabulous, and we're really looking forward to it.

Work is going well for me. I have been at Michael Hill for 3 months this coming Tuesday, and the time has flown ! I'm loving it :)

The kids are both well and happy. Kade doesn't really understand the whole moving thing, but he'll be fine. Elliot and I are getting along really well, so there isn't going to be much of a problem for Kade to adjust (I hope).

My landlord is letting me have a dog, so I have recently paid the deposit on a puppy. He is a Maltese X Shih Tzu and was born on May 6, so he wont be coming home for a few weeks yet. The poor little thing had a bit of an identity crisis for a few days as he was mistakenly identified as being a girl, and I had named him Lucy. Since discovering that he is actually a boy, he has been renamed Charlie. He's SUCH a cutie and I am soooo excited to meet him.

I have been saving my pennies since last year's tax return, so I have splashed out and bought myself a new bedroom suite. I've never had a new bed in my life, so I am very excited to have a whole matching suite ~ woo hoo ! It's not currently in stock so I won't get it for at least 4-6 weeks, but that's okay.

Anyway, I hope this finds everyone well...will try to post again soon, or else look me up on Facebook :)

Check it out !

Remember I was telling you I had done a fun Easter project for Fiskars ?

Well...it's been published on the blog, so if you'd like to have a look, CLICK HERE

Busy, busy, busy

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks for me adjusting to my new job. It's nice having a few hours between my day job and my night job to give me time to organise dinner etc.

I spent Sunday with Judy again at the craft market. I didn't sell any cards this time because I sold them all and haven't made any new stock ! Best get onto that before the May market (there isn't one in April due to Anzac Day). Sunday afternoon/evening Kade and I took Judy to Gippsland so we could drop off her cat to Becky as Judy was going away. It was GREAT to see Becky again...we never seem to be able to catch up as often as we'd like.

I have only done a little bit of scrapping lately. I made a card last night, and earlier this week I did an Easter project for the Fiskars blog. I'll upload them once they go live over on that blog. I also received a huge parcel of new products to play with, so I'll be scrapping up a storm with Riek this weekend if I can manage it (I certainly want to !!).

Kimmy's birthday party was great and I really enjoyed myself. I managed to catch up with a few people I haven't seen since high school, and one I haven't seen since I was 11. I had a bit of a dance too, which was fun.

Right...well, that's about all that's been happening here (unless I forgot something). Hope this finds you all well.

Cin
xoxo

Proud Mum Moment

A teacher at Toby's school called me this afternoon. My first thought (bad me) was "uh-oh, what's he done ?", but the teacher was only calling to confirm my email address, so all good.

But then...he said that while Toby isn't one of his students this year, he believes he is doing really well at school. He also said that Toby is a really nice guy.

I was thrilled. It was so nice of him to say, especially so randomly considering he is not one of Toby's teachers.

So Tobe...well done sweetie !

When a girl likes pretty things...

...she gets a job in a jewellery store !

My first day was today (training) at another store, and I will do the same again Wednesday. On Friday I will be at 'my' store. I had a good day and once I get used to everything it'll be easy peasy.

And I've already found the first ring I want to buy... *oops* LOL

Kade spent the day at our neighbour's house as Eileen has offered to have him on Monday's (thanks Chicky !). Wednesday and Friday hell go to creche, which he already loves. He couldn't care less when I dropped him off last week.

I hope all is well with all of you. I have been running around like a madwoman the past couple of weeks organising creche, Centrelink stuff, etc. So to my gorgeous friends who I have been trying to catch up with since I was so sick - I'm sorry I haven't seen you yet, but I have been thinking of you !!

Oh...and lastly... I did 'Clean Up Australia' on Sunday for the first time and I am SO glad that I did ! My friend Kim has been asking me for years to do it with her, and this year I decided I was going to do my bit. I am definately going to try to do it every year from now on.

I GOT THE JOB !!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG, I'm so excited ! I am the newest and proudest employee of Michael Hill Jeweller.

I went for my interview at 11am and was so nervous. Apparently there had been loads of applicants and there were two more days of interviews. I thought it had gone well, and twenty minutes later I was in the car heading home much more relaxed.

TEN MINUTES after I left they called me asking if I could go back because they'd forgotten to ask me a few questions. So...back I went. I figured it was a test to see just how quickly I really could get to work (I told them I live 2 mins drive away).

The girls all smiled at me as I entered the store, and when I saw Nicole she asked whether I was able to start work on the 2nd of March. I said yes (thinking "she already asked me that") and then she said "good, now I can ring everyone else and give them the bad news because we'd love to offer you the job".

OMG, I started shaking and almost cried.

She said that of the applicants they had seen, it was down to me and one other lady. She said they liked that while I was bright and bubbly, the could see that I would put that aside to get the job done properley. I also have the experience they were looking for. She said that she asked all of the other staff who they would choose and the decision to select me was unanimous.

So there you go... may happy news of the week !

Oooh, scary !

I've done it... I applied for a job !

** I have an interview on Friday at 11am **

Judy and I were at the local shopping centre yesterday when she noticed a blackboard advertisement out the front of one of the jewellers saying they had a position available for administration staff. I went in to enquire about it and they said that the position is 3 days per week, 4 hours per day. They asked if I had any experience and seemed surprised when I said I had about 16 years experience.

I had a little think about it and decided to 'bite the bullet' and apply. I've only ever applied for a few office jobs in my life, and only ever HAD two full time jobs ~ both for 8 years or thereabouts.

The fact it's a 2 minute drive away is awesome and means I won't be stuck in traffic or spending hours travelling each day. If I felt so inclined I could also walk...yeah, right ! LOL Being part-time will also let me ease back into the workforce gradually, and will still allow me time to be a mum. Oh, and the fact that it's at a jewellers is kinda nice too ;) With any luck there will be a little flexibility with the hours too which will mean I can still do my Fiskars 'work'.

So anyway...last night I retyped my resume and wrote a cover letter, and today I bound it and dropped it in. The girls remembered me from yesterday, which was nice. I don't know when I'll hear back, but it's usually within about a week, so fingers crossed !

So far there are no plans for Kade while I would be at work, but Mum, Judy, and my neighbour Eileen have all offered to look after him for me. Of course, I will try to get him into childcare (and have already emailed one center), but at least I'm not stuck if I was asked to start Monday or something.

I'll keep you posted.

P.S. I sold EIGHT of my cards at the market on Sunday !! I'm so thrilled. I now need to get busy making more for next month's stall.

Proud to be an Australian !

I've always been proud to be an Australian, but never more so than now. Donations for the bushfire victims have exceeded $50 Million and continues to increase, and the generosity of strangers literally brings tears to my eyes.

On the news footage of the bushfires I've seen truck loads of donated food being delivered; mountains of clothing, bedding and other necessities; volunteer carers entertaining children; and volunteers cooking and serving hundreds of meals.

And then there is the work of our brave and wonderful fire fighters, wildlife carers, vets and medical staff.

True Australian human spirit...absolutely amazing ! Makes me so PROUD, PROUD, PROUD !!

And don't you agree that this picture should be sculpted in bronze as a memorial to all of the victims of the bushfires (human and animal), and as a tribute to our wonderful firefighters ?

It represents true Australian human spirit. It represents kindness and generosity, respect and love. It reminds us to remember our wildlife and those who cannot fend for themselves. It shows that real heros don't just exist in fairytales. It prompts us to remember those we have lost, and those who've fought so hard to save them. It reminds me why I am so proud to be Australian.

Firefighter David Tree gives Sam a drink and saves her life

Beautiful Sam on the road to recovery

Give the gift of memories

Sarah Gladman has started making 'Memory Gifts for the victims of the Victorian bushfires'.

As scrappers, one of the most important things we deal with on a daily basis are memories. Family memories, memories of loved ones, memories of holidays, birthdays, christenings, bbq’s and days at the beach. These families in Victoria have got no tangible evidence of their lives left. No family photos. No happy snaps. You can replace a fridge, but you can’t replace years of momentos.

In order to help out these family begin to put their lives back together I have started a scrapbooking plan - called “MEMORY GIFTS”.

Quite simply, I ask each and every one of you who read this blog to donate a 12 x 12inch almost completed scrapbook LO to the “Memory Gifts” program. Each page will be sent to me. I will collect them and bind them, then hand them over to the head of Pastoral Care for the Victorian Catholic Education Office, Maria Kirkwood in Melbourne. It will not be just Catholic families benefiting, it will be anyone who needs it. The albums will then be distributed to the principals of the 4 schools that burned down, who will know exactly who to give them to.

Each family devastated by fire will be (in time) given album pages to help them begin their memories again. Those families can then approach their own families for copies of photos to put into the albums, or simply start putting in fresh memories.

If you think you can help, please leave me a comment and I will reply with my postal address so that you can send on your page. Any help you can give will be much appreciated.

I plan to have these albums finished by the 20th of March - that gives us a month to get cracking and create as many pages as we can!

Many thanks on the behalf of the Victorian families who have lost everything.
Sares x

For more information please visit Sarah's blog : http://sares1911.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/what-a-week/

You do what you can...

I have just finished sorting through all of Kade's baby things and boxed it up to be taken to a local transport company for delivery to the bushfire victims. I had kept all of Kade's stuff and I am SO glad that I did. It has all been packed away and well cared for, ready to give to someone who really needed it...and now is the time.

I have gathered :

• 7 nappy boxes full of baby clothes
• a nappy box full of baby bottles, a microwave steam steriliser & a packet of sterilising tablets
• a bag of baby blankets and bunny rugs
• a box of toiletries, facewashers & towels (how pleased am I that I bought about a dozen Colgate toothbrushes for $1 each !?)
• a bag of misc baby items; bottle warmer, cot bumper, baby backpack, etc
• a double stroller
• a baby rocker
• a port-a-cot... 14 years old but in excellent condition
• a baby bath

...it's the best I can do; I hope that it helps.

Secret Fiskars business

** WORKSHOP DATES RESCHEDULED **
I will update with more information as it comes to hand

Remember I said recently that I'd done a project for Fiskars that I couldn't tell you about ? Well...this is it (it's acutally the second project I've done for Officeworks, the last being a range of items to be displayed at the Officeworks convention in Sydney late last year). Anyway, this time I was asked to design a Wedding Invitation for the up-coming instore Officeworks workshops. I'm not sure that I'm allowed to share any pics, so I wont, but here are the details for anyone who might happen to be in an Officeworks store on a workshop day.

Throughout 2009......Officeworks shall be running some DIY Workshops in ALL of their stores throughout AUSTRALIA.

FISKARS have been asked to be involved in the designing of projects and workshops using the wonderful FISKARS TOOLS and Paper Chic by Cristina Re
consumables!!

These DIY workshops shall be run in-stores starting at 11am each Saturday:

RESCHEDULED.....Valentine's Day sees the first of these gorgeous FISKARS projects....a lovely Wedding Invitation designed by one of our own Ambassadors - Cindy Hearty (that's me !!)

RESCHEDULED.....a 21st Birthday Invitation designed by Dawn Stan


RESCHEDULED....Kid's Birthday Invitation designed by Lyn Dwyer

So watch out in your local Officeworks Store for further details. We have such a talented team of Fiskars Ambassadors in Australia so we shall be calling on them all throughout the year.....as we finalise these workshops....so now you shall be able to "craft" in an Officeworks store.

Victorian Bushfire Appeal

The death toll from the Victorian bushfires has reached 173 and authorities warn the number of fatalities is likely to rise even further.

The toll from Australia's deadliest natural disaster had reached 108 as at 6am (AEDT) on Monday, authorities said.

At least 750 homes have been destroyed and more than 330,000ha burnt out, while authorities said some fires could take weeks to contain.

Red Cross Online Donations

https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

Freecall 1800 811 700

from anywhere within Australia to make a credit card donation.

Send a cheque or money order to:

GPO Box 2957

Melbourne VIC 8060

International donations should be able to be made through the Red Cross in your country ~ visit your local Red Cross website and click through the donations page/s to 'International Relief Funds'

(for all donations please indicate 'Victorian Bushfire Appeal' as the appeal you would like your donation to go towards).

--ooOoo--

National Australia Bank's appeal for bushfire victims
Call 132 622
Or transfer your donation to

NAB account
BSB 082001
ACC 860046797

--ooOoo--

Bendigo Bank Appeal
1300 366 666
or go to http://www.bendigobank.com.au/

(direct link http://www.bendigobank.com.au/public/specials/bushfire_appeal_feb09.asp )

--ooOoo--

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Appeal

Account name: Commonwealth Bank Bushfire Appeal
BSB number: 062 000
Account number: 1207 5700

I don't have much to spare, but I donated $10. Please do what you can. For anyone not in Australia who wishes to donate, I will endeavour to find out how you can donate online.

There are also calls for blood donations ~ I can't do that at the moment given my recent illness, but maybe you can ?

Another tag

I have been tagged again, this time by my sweet friend and fellow Fiskateer Annette Hannigan.

The rules are: share the 4th photo in the 4th folder whereveryou store your pics, then tag 4 friends to do the same :D

Since I don't have 4 folders in my photo folder (because I saved them all to disc recently) I counted the 3 folders and then returned to the original folder and took my 4th photo from there.

The photo is of me and my girlfriend, Rebecca. For those of you who don't know, Bekka is my highschool sweetie's sister {yes, I am still good friends with Daniel and am still a part of his immediate and extended family, as they are mine}.

For years Bekka and I used to dance together every week, and while we've both gotten older now and travelled different paths with out lives, we're still great buddies. It's such a nice feeling knowing that after 20 years we are still as close as we ever were. On this day (just after Christmas) we had been helping her mum do a big spring clean of the house, hence the reason we both look as though we've been dragged though a hedge backwards LOL.

So there you go...my 4th photo :)

I know that this tag has been doing the rounds a bit, so rather than choose anyone specifically to tag, I'll just encourage anyone who wants to to have a go.

Blog awards

I just wanted to say thankyou to all my lovely friends who have given me blog awards over the past couple of months. Seriously, I've had no fewer than 8 different ones, and many of the same awarded by two or more of my gorgeous friends.

I have been very slack and not uploaded them [just a time factor thing] and decided that I really need to rectify that...so THANKYOU girlies. I appreciate that you thought of me and am touched that you find my blog inspiring/informative/interesting/etc.

So without further ado, here they are...all of my lovely awards (unless I missed a couple).

Personally, I visit many blogs over the course of my week. I check out what all my friends are up to, and find fabulous projects and tutorials and gain inspiration and information from various others. I don't always comment (but I try to regularly so you know I've visited), but rest assured, I am there !

And while I'm on the subject of blogs...can I just say (and I'll say it quietly and sheepishly)...blogs that play music as soon as you open them drive me nuts, so I sometimes avoid them *blush*.

I originally started my blog as a quick way to convey information and share pictures with family and friends interstate and overseas. Over time I have attracted new visitors, some who just look and others who leave a comment to let me know they've been. So thank you to all of you for visiting my blog ! I hope that you'll continue to visit :)

What's been happening ?

Well...I am well again and back to my usual self. I'm still getting a bit tired, but not majorly. The recent 40-45C degree heat really knocked me around, so I pretty-much just lay about for those days.

We had a surprise visit from one of my dearest friends from Queensland, Riccale. She and her darling hubby Phil, and kids Courtney and Josh had driven to Vic and she called me out of the blue and said they were coming over ! I haven't seen her for about 5 years I think, and I was having a sad day the day she called, so receiving that call really made my day. We don't talk or even email much, but when we're together, not a thing has changed. It was strange to think that our eldest kids are now the same age as we were when we first met. The funniest thing is that we're both scrappers, and neither of us thought to take photos !! LOL

Elliot has installed a new front door and side panels, painted the hallway, installed kitchen benchtops (how glad was I to see the cupboard doors that we were using as temporary benchtops gone !?); and put the uprights in for the front fence. It's WONDERFUL to have these improvements finally done and I am so thankful to Elliot for doing them, though it's sad that they've only been done to sell the house and not for us *sigh*. We're getting along better than we have in AGES and I'm still hoping that maybe he'll change his mind about splitting up...though I doubt it.

After about ten years I have caught up with my best friend and flatmate from high school, Marieka. We chat via email every day and I love it. She makes me laugh, and makes me smile, and I have missed her so much. I am SO happy and will be catching up with her on Sunday.

Toby has gone back to school; year 9 this year. He hasn't said much but I think he's glad to be back. It's Toby and Shannen's one-year anniversary this Sunday and he's taking her to the movies and out for dinner. I'm so proud of how he loves her and takes care of her.

My girl, Shae, came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. We finally got to exchange Christmas gifts, which was lovely. She bought Toby a new lip ring, Kade a 'In The Night Garden' book; and me a bath & body gift set. We bought her a gorgeous metal photo frame and combined album. I also gave her the coffin box that I made for her ages ago, and I made her a new shrink plastic necklace because the ink had all rubbed off the original one I made. It was great to have all my kids together again but stupid me forgot to take photos ~ again ! *headslap*

I haven't done any scrapping other than a special project for Fiskars in January. I have a couple of layouts I need to do for our February Inspiration, and I'm really itching to get onto them. I need to clean off my scrap desk, and just the thought of that scares me haha.

That's about it from here I guess...I hope this finds you all well.

xoxo

Tagged

Tag Time

I have been tagged by my friends Ginny and Vesna. This is how it works.



1. Go to the section of your computer where you store all of your photos.
2. Select the 6th folder.
3. Select the 6th photo from that folder.
4. Post and explain about that picture.
5. Tag 6 other people.

This is my picture...I only have 3 sub-folders, so this if the 6th photo from that folder...

I tag...

1. Sharon
2. Sandie
3. Lawanda
4. anyone else who wants to play along