Cyber Crop

I've been doing a cyber crop on the Scrapbooking Memories chat forum. It is still running atm, but I don't have time to do anymore now that Adrian is home from Israel. I completed 3 layouts, which I made sure I finished on Friday night, knowing I wouldn't be able to get to them for the rest of the weekend. I went to bed at 2.30am. Here are photos of the layouts I completed. They were done fairly quickly and are quite basic. My favourite one is "Jump when I say Jump".


This is the first challenge. It was a sketch challenge, which means we do the layout according to the sketch that's been drawn up for us.


This was challenge no. 2. It was a product challenge, which means we had to make sure our layout included ric rac, flowers and photo corners.



This was challenge number 3. For this layout we were only allowed to use the colours blue and green, with only a tiny hint of black, white or brown if we wanted but it had to be a girly layout.

Restored Faith in Berwick Mazda

My car wouldn't start today. I thought OMG! Why can't I just enjoy this new car hassle free. Lucky I didn't have to go anywhere. I was just driving the car out of the garage onto the driveway for the new tint to get some sun to help dry up the film. This must look really weird to the neighbours, I got a new car and I drive it out the garage and back in again and don't actually drive anywhere.

I rang the GM at Berwick Mazda to ask for help. It turned out to be a flat battery. On Tuesday night when I picked up the car from having the tint done, Micayla had played with the switches on the interior light and left it on. Berwick Mazda were sending someone out to get me started and then I was to take the car in there to have the battery tested. When the guy got here, he told me he was actually replacing the old battery with a brand new one to save me the hassle of going back in there again, to have the battery tested. How nice of them, they really didn't have to do that. I really appreciate them helping me get started but to actually replace the battery, I was stoked.

Tint - Finally!!!!

3rd time lucky. I have finally got all new tint, all over my car. They even stripped the new tint off that they'd put on the back window and put new tint all around. The tint they were putting on the door windows was a different colour to the back so they changed the lot. To apologise for all the inconvenience they cleaned my car for me inside and out (so glad I didn't do it before I sent it in - I was going to) and they filled it with another tank of fuel. So far I haven't had to fill it with any fuel yet.

This has nothing to do with tinting but.....

I have just finished a layout for the 3rd week of the Beyond the Blue competition. It will be uploaded to their website tomorrow. Woops; just looked at the time (12.08am), well later today, probably somewhere around 10am. My layout is called "My Slice of Heaven". Don't forget to vote for me. Voting will be open over the weekend.

Off to bed now, I think it's late enough.

9 Years Ago Today

On this day, 9 years ago, we were doing this:



But the weather was quite different. Back then it reached 36 degrees. Today we've had rain fairly constantly all day and I've actually been feeling cold.

We can't be together today, on this our 9th Wedding Anniversary, but if you get to read this while you're in Israel, I just want to wish you a happy anniversary and to tell you that I love you. I will celebrate with a glass of wine over dinner with the kids, so know that I am thinking of you. You have a drink in Israel on behalf of us. Love You Darling.

A message from Micayla:

Happy Anniversary
I hope you are having fun in Israel
I Love You Daddy!

A message from Bailey:
Love you Daddy!
Fix my bike!!!

Yvonne and Damien's Wedding 17th March 2007

It was a perfect day for a wedding. The sun was shining, the breeze blowing lightly, the temperature warm enough not to be too cold but cool enough not to melt. The bridesmaids looked beautiful, the groomsmen brushed up nicely, the groom looked handsome, swarve and sophisticated and carrying a cane and the bride could not be outshone, looking stunning and wearing a glowing smile.

Unfortunately Adrian couldn't be at the wedding of his cousin Yvonne, because he had a plane to catch to Israel. He was very disappointed. Yvonne and Damien had asked Adrian if they could use his car as a wedding car and Adrian was looking forward to driving it for them. He rang from the airport while they were having photos taken to offer them his congratulations and to see how it was all going.

Nevertheless, his car was still used as a wedding car, only I drove it. Greg's (Yvonne's brother) car was also used so they had matching red SS's. Greg's SS (the one with the side on view in the twin shot) actually used to belong to Adrian until about 2 weeks ago when he sold it to Greg and bought the VE SSV. I had so much fun driving for them. Thank you to Yvonne and Damien in giving us the honour to be your chauffeur.

I just couldn't resist taking a photo or two of the car with the wedding ribbon attached. And of course with the Bride and Groom and the Bride and Bridesmaids.

While they were having family photos taken outside the church, Kaytie was roaming around everywhere with her walker, but she only wanted to go one way, the way she wasn't meant to go. Look at her, isn't she a picture in her beautiful yellow dress, tights and little white shoes and jacket. What a little cutie.


Starting from the left, this is a picture of Uncle Gerry, Aunty Margaret, Aunty Mary, Uncle Steve and Mum and Dad Klaster taken outside the church.


From there Greg and I took them to the Main Street of Berwick to have some photos taken. Here I met some lovely people from Damien's side that came along to feed everyone nibblies, beer and champagne. They chose some awesome places. The photos are going to look so good. Yvonne and Damien looked so happy and it shows in the photos. Here are some of the photos I snapped away on.

This is how the boys travelled.

They even went into the Berwick Pub and had photos taken in the bar.


These are just a couple of shots of the happy couple, having some fun with the positions they were put in for some of the photo shots.


From there it was back to their place in Beaconsfield to party on. I was told that you could hear when the wedding cars had brought the bridal party back to the house because they could hear the roar of the V8's rumbling through the room downstairs as the cars drove down the driveway. What an awesome sound that would be.

Damien and Yvonne had worked tirelessly leading up to their wedding to have their downstairs area built into a room to use for the party. Adrian had helped with this by pouring their slab. The whole lot came up fantastic. It looked great. Damien really entertained us with a speech that had the whole room in laughter. Damien and Yve, if you're reading this, I have passed on your thanks to Adrian that you gave him in your speech when he called from Israel tonight.

What a great wedding and party. No stuffiness and formalities of a traditional wedding reception. It was a party to be enjoyed and it reflected the personality of the couple. I left around 8.30pm to go to my children, but I know the party was going on to the wee hours of the morning.

Congratulations Yvonne and Damien and thank you for giving us the opportunity to share your special day. I speak on behalf of Adrian as well, even though he couldn't be there. I know he wanted to be.

Another New Car!!!!

Yes that's right. We've done it again. Bought another new car. This time it's for me. We've finally got rid of the station wagon and now I have my new little gem. This fabulous Blue Mazda 3. I just love it and I just want to drive everywhere. I was lucky to be able to pick one up in exactly the colour I wanted. It just needs alloys, but they will come soon.



We are having a bit of trouble getting the window tint that we want though. When I picked it up last Friday, 28th Feb, it was supposed to have the old tint stripped and a new darker one put on. The back window had no tint so this also needed doing. Well I picked it up and it wasn't done. So we kicked up a bit of a fuss, but there was no problem in arranging to take the car back to have it done. I did this yesterday (Wednesday). Left if there all day. They put in a new windscreen and tint on the back window. The sales guy delivered it to my house in the dark last night. When we looked at it in the daylight this morning, we'd discovered all the door windows had not been done. There were still the old chip and scratch marks that were in the old tint. What is worse, they tried to tell us it's been done by sticking a sticker over the window buttons telling us not to wind down the windows for 48 hours. This infuriated us; not only have they not replaced the tint, but they have lied about it. (when I say they I mean the car tinting company the car dealer uses). Now I have to be inconvenienced again - don't know when yet - to take the car back for take 3. NOT HAPPY JAN!!!!

Beyond the Blue Week 2

It's time to vote again. We are in the second week of the Beyond the Blue Journey. My layout is done and uploaded. Click on the Beyond the Blue link to checkout my layout and vote.

Remember!

Vote 1 Vote Me
Cropinmad

Steam Rally Labour Day Weekend

Adrian took the kids to spend the day with him and their Opa at the Steam Rally in Scoresby. I decided to stay home and let Adrian have a day with the kids. I can't say much as I was not there but all I know is they all had a ball and the photos say it all. They got to ride on the engines and tractors and had a fantastic day getting dirty and learning all about the steam engines. Opa was in his element showing his grandkids his passion and favourite hobby. Bailey is definately really keen and so into the engines. Opa can't wait until he's old enough to work on the engines with him.

ARTPETERS

We have a good friend ' Marty Peters' who writes and records his own music. I have become a fan of their music and I wanted to share their story with you. I have been lucky enough to be given a copy of their album called 'Addiction'. I am listening to it now as I type this. This album is still in the process of being completed. On the right hand side of this page under the title 'links worth viewing' is a link to Marty's website. Here you can check out their story. How they went from being a duo to becoming 3 with a new singer with awesome vocals. You can click on their 'albums' to listen to some of their music. My favourite songs are 'I surrender' and 'Addicted to You'. Check it out, it's really worth it.

Published

I have been trying to have my work published in Australia's No. 1 selling scrapbooking magazine for ages and now I've finally done it. My canvases were accepted and now after a 4 month wait I can see them in print. But they are not just featured as a picture, they are actually a 2 page spread with a step by step on how I put them together. I am very excited. Here are the pages from the magazine featuring my canvases. I think Scrapbooking Memories have done a fantastic job in displaying them. I am really happy with how the article turned out.


This is how they look up on the wall.

Beyond the Blue

Embellished Scrapbook Shoppe has a competition running for 12 weeks, which I am entering. It's all about doing a book of me and each week they set different challenges for us to scrap about ourselves. This weeks challenge is to scrap a lo "looking beyond the horizon", where do we see ourselves in 10 years. We have 5 days to complete and upload these layouts to their gallery. Then each week people can vote on their favourite layout, but we don't see any of the voting results until the end. So why don't you pop on over to their website and check out the layouts for yourself and vote for your favourite.

Oh Yeah, don't forget to vote for me!!! LOL. You will see my layouts uploaded under the name 'Cropinmad'.

Scroll down to the 'links worth viewing' section on the right hand side of this page and click on the link to "Embellished Beyond the Blue Layout Gallery" to view the layouts.

Remember:

Vote 1
Cropinmad

How many have you done????

The ones that are highlighted are what I've done. What about you?

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 8 states/Territories
41. Taken care of someone who was **** faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie ---- for school
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo -----this summer
81. Rafted the Snake River (any river will do)
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Guess What I did!!!!

I just got my belly button pierced. Yesterday actually.

It didn't really hurt that much. I expected worse, but I'd worked myself up to a bundle of nerves. Which is ridiculous really cause I've given birth to 2 kids with no drugs.

I got a bar with 2 purple gems in it. See!!!!

But now I've been told I can't do the xtrainer for a whole week so that sweat doesn't get into it. Bugger that, I'm getting on it anyway. I'll just tape some cotton balls around it to soak up the sweat before it reaches the piercing.

On second thought, I think I'll do what I'm told. I've heard they are really susceptible to infection, don't want to have to take it out now. I've wanted one for so long.

Thanks to Tammy, Emma and Sharell for coming to Purple Haze Tattooing with me to get it done. Tammy also got her nose pierced and Sharell was first going to get her nose pierced, then it was going to be a tattoo, but now she's decided to wait until after her wedding. She's going to Las Vegas, where they will be married by Spok! Emma had her nose pierced last week.

Micayla is K6

Micayla was assessed last night in her swimming class. She is now a K6 swimmer and learning to dive in and freestyle for 15 meters and starting to learn butterfly. She can already freestyle and backstroke for 10 metres.

She was so excited to go up to the next level. Her friend Ashlea is also moving to K6 with her and they will be swimming together again in the deep end of the pool.

Well done Micayla, we are very proud of you.