The big adventure to Geelong

Well it certainly was a big adventure.

Left Pakenham at 7.11am and headed to Flinders Street Station where I met up with Lyn.
We caught the train to Werribee which got there at about 9.30 where Marion kindly picked us up.
Arrived in Geelong about 10.30 and drove to Shabs. Wirg had arrived only minutes before us arriving. It was so great to all catch up. Big squeezes all round.

Sat around cackling and carrying on for a little while and then headed to The Pier down on the esplanade. Fantastic restaurant at the end of the pier where we ate, drank and chatted as we watched the ocean, yachts, sea planes etc. Great meal, great company.

We then had to force ourselves to visit a new scrapbook store in Geelong West. We all did some damage there - wont tell you who did the most though!!!!!!! It wasn't me though.

Then back to Shabs for a drink and some nibblies and we all had a play with some little shot glasses that Marion kindly brought along for us to decorate. Wirg demonstrated how to use staz on and lumiere paints. We had fun. When finished we added "TSS 2007" as a memento of our little special day. Nice idea. Good on ya Marion.

Marion drove Lyn and I back to Werribee station where a train had just pulled in - timing is everything. So about 45 mins journey back to Fliners. Lyn had to wait only minutes for her train............I had to wait about 25 mins - didn't worry me too much - just glad of the rest and reflection about our great day. Got talking to a fabulously interesting English girl who is out here for a holiday. Ended up sitting next to each other on the way home and talked up a storm. Wished I had thought to get her address. We had a great old chat and found out lots about each other in such a short time.

What a fantastic day. One I will treasure for a long time.

You know it doesn't get much better spending some quality time with friends - especailly online friends that you normally just chat away via the net. Much nicer in the flesh.

Today is an absolute shocker - its damn hot!!!!!!! That's all you can call it.

Not doing anything for New Year's - its just too hot to do anything. Even contemplating going to bed early - if we can get to sleep that is.........only supposed to get down to 27degrees - gee that will help - NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year to all - have a fantastic time and rememeber to take care and stay safe.


Luv Sandie

All done and dusted

Well Christmas is all done and dusted. We ended up having 6 less for lunch as Sean's nephew came down with gastro..........now we're a friendly bunch but not that friendly that we wanted to share that around. So unfortunately they had to stay away. What a shocker to be sick on christmas day.........pooh cack!!!!! The rest of the family came down with it yesterday so they packed up and went home (they were staying with another family who had gastro previous to them arriving.........oh boy!!!!!)

Yesterday was catch up with some more of Sean's family at Lakeside at the kids park.........that was great. Good old bangers on the barbie. Unfortunately we all got a bit burnt. Looking like a beacon at the moment...............yowsa!!!!!

Today took off shopping to Fountain Gate for a few hours - got a few bargains and then headed home to cook some dinner for the mob - Goulash is on the menu tonight.

Tomorrow I am heading off to Geelong for the day to catch up with my dear online friends - Wirg, Shabs, Marion and possibly Lyn. I can't wait.........not too keen on the drive through Melbourne but it is getting a lot easier now with the roads now...........just not too keen on going through the tunnel. She'll be right mate.

Our visitors leave on Saturday so I'm not sure what's planned after that. Maybe a garage sale or two and then on Sunday possibly a market.

Sean stared 3 weeks holidays as of Christmas Eve so that is great - we are going to get some jobs done around the place hopefully. Its great for Sean to spend time with his mum and dad while they are here visiting. They usually stay for a month in their bus. They are great fun.

Well that's all to report so far.

I shall give you a report of tomorrow's events...........lots of laughing and carrying on I'm tipping!!!!!! LOL.

Luv Sandie

What a week!!!!!

Well its been one of those weeks again - as I'm sure its been in your house.

We have Sean's family staying with us - 6 extra's for 5 nights so that is pretty full on but lots of fun.........plenty of hands on deck. We will have 19 people for Christmas - wowza........dont know how that's going to happen but it will work out in the end...........fingers crossed.


I had better take this time - as precious as it is, to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope it is a good one and that if you are travelling, I hope that you stay safe on the roads.


All my love.

Talk again soon............when I can sneak out here again.


Luv Sandie

Such a big day.

Today the good times just kept on rolling. It was Em's last day with all her Grade 6 students - she was pretty sad to let them go.

There was a great assembly at school this morning. Em was awarded a special certificate for Christian Living Award - she is such a caring and compassionate little thing.

Josh scored a certificate for Visual Arts - he is always making something from paper or scrap material and absolutely loves Science. I was one proud mumma - I shed a little tear - of course!!!!

Then I raced home to do a few last minute things before picking them up.

When we arrived home we found Nana and Pa (Sean's parents) had arrived.

They are so lucky - they bought a tour bus and pulled all the chairs etc from the bus and then decked it out as a beautiful motor home. I think they have been on the road for about 7 years now. They travel around Australia each year, spend a few months getting work in Queensland and then head down to Victoria to visit all their kids around Christmas time. We all love it when they come to stay - we have vacant land beside us so they pull up the bus there.

We are looking forward to spending Christmas with them this year.

Sean's brother and sister-in-law and 4 kids will be coming to stay with us on Sunday through to Friday - its going to be one busy house - that's for sure!!!!!!!

So if you don't hear from me much - you'll know that I am flat out doing something.

Luv Sandie

Monday Blog at Remember When

Well it's Monday morning again.................gee that comes around quickly.

Here is the card I made for Remember When's Blog. It's similar to the Noel card I made over the weekend (look under Christmas Cards Slide on the right).

Its very simple to make and looks quite classy I reckon!!!!!

New Page Element

If you are looking for inspiration for Christmas..............then click on My Slide at the right hand side "CHRISTMAS CARDS AND ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS" there are plenty of things to look at.

Thanks for looking.


Luv Sandie

...............and some more.

Its been raining christmas cards in our house...........here's some more.

Little Plum Pud Card

Here is a card I completed for a sketch challenge.

I have used BG pp and the plum pud stamp is by FernGully Stamps. I have also added some ribbon and beads and the little holly stamp is by StampIt.

Altered Pencil Holder

Here is an altered pencil holder I made for a challenge at Little Scrapbook Shop in the December Cybercrop Challenge.

The kids had a Brother Bear container which a little stuffed toy of Brother Bear came in. It was just sitting around, calling out to me "alter me!!!" Of course I had to answer the call so this is what I did to it. I used Doodlebug PP and bits and pieces.

Remember When...............

Ok here are a couple of cards I made a while ago now for Remember When.

I loved the little laser cut train with the presents on it and immediately thought of Santa's Express.

The other card is a gorgeous reindeer laser cut - I added some bling to make "Rudy Shine"

One sheet of PP and 8 cards

Here i have used the one sheet of pp (name unknown) and created 8 different cards.

I love to do this as it gives you a nice stash of cards.

Christmas Birdies

Here is a card I made using 3 little stamps by HeroArts.

If you look closely on the second image you can see that I didn't exactly stay in the lines...............oh well.............it was at 3.30am this morning - couldn't sleep..............LOL.

I nearly forgot

I took this photo in McDonalds last week while we were waiting for our breakfast.

We were sitting directly below mirror tiles on the ceiling (kinky for some but not in McDonalds.............LOL). I thought it came out ok.........something a little different.

Black is Back (Was it Ever In????) for Christmas

I made this card today using Creative Imaginations Christmas patterned paper and I added black for a change as I noticed quite a bit of black about for christmas this year.

Its a very simple card but it works I think.

"D" Day for me

Well I've just come back from the doctors to be told that I have Diabetes. I kinda knew it was going to happen one day as I had Gestational Diabetes with all 3 pregnancies so it was on the cards.
What a Pooh Cack!!!!! I reckon this is God's way of pulling me up with my chocolate addiction.

So I need to go hunting for a blood monitor and go back to the doctor next Friday to see what's next. Now ALL I have to do is lose weight.................hmmm..........now that's not gunna be easy, however, if I stop eating all this chocolate maybe it will just come off.

So a new journey begins.

Luv Sandie

Tuesday

Tuesday I headed off to Warragul for a gastroscopy. I haven't been feeling very well lately and had the feeling that something was stuck in my throat. I would wake up each morning with that feeling as well as feeling a little squirmy. So I had the gastroscopy and it found I had a hiatus hernia. I have some medication and have to go back to the doctors. Feel a bit better already.
Tuesday night was the School Board breakup dinner which was prepared by the Principal and his wife. They used to run a hotel in Canada and they are the absolute bestest cooks. Very yummy!!!!!

Wednesday - but wait there's more!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had blood tests for Diabetes. It was a disaster of a morning as the nurse treated me terribly. I wont go into it again. It was upsetting.

Thursday - had a beautiful morning with 2 friends in Canterbury - Mailing Rd. All exclusive type shops this side of the city. I bought a poster size sheet of vintage chrismtas paper - I shall take a photo soon. We stopped for a cuppa and cake and then finished up in time so we could pop into a scrapbook shop on the way home before picking up the kids.
Thursday night was the kids concert which is held on the oval at their school. That was really nice and run well as it all flowed fairly quickly.
Josh was singing with his class, Tammy's class did a sign language to a different christmas song - it was very moving. Em's class did a different version of Jingle Bells.

Friday - out for lunch with all the school mum's - our last outing before the kids finish for the year which is next Wednesday. Oh the great news is that we picked up our new (second hand) car last night and took it for a bit of a burn - its great and looks near new. We are very lucky.

While all of this has been happening I have been organising the Grade 6 Graduation Dinner which is to be held next Tuesday night. I don't know where I'm finding the time - but it all seems to be working out.

Tonight there is a birthday celebration after mass for Sister Christina. She is a lovely nun - very selfless person and a real trooper. Everyone is asked to bring along a plate of food to share so that will be nice to catch up with people.

Tomorrow is catch up day - I have a list a mile long which needs some attention so I hope to tick a few off the list.

Monday's Blog at The Barn

On Monday I posted a new card on the Remember When Blog.

Here it is here.

Thanks for looking.

Luv Sandie

Hmmmmm............let's see..........

Well a lot has been happening around here lately - so much I haven't really had time to touch base with my blog.

Last weekend we had mass on Saturday night and then dropped in to see George and Medina and of course little - well getting bigger by the minute, Stephen. They were all really well and it was so great to see them. I said to Sean that we should just pop in quickly as our social calendar is booked up right up til Christmas, so our visit was nice.

Sunday was a HUGE day.

First we got up early and drove into Melbourne. Had brekkie at McDonalds Bourke Street - hot cakes..............yum!!!!!!!!!!! Then we lined up to check out the Myer Windows. They were fantastic - the colours were great. Some of the photos are above. (Fuzzle Wuzzle - I was trying to sort the photos out and they kept going all over the place. You get the picture anyway!!!!!

Then we headed over to Mornington to our friends place for lunch. They have a new outdoor pizza oven, so we all got to make our own pizza and watch it cook. It was scrummy.

Left there about 4ish and headed home to have a quick scrub up and then head off to the Carols by Candlelight. That was really good but very drawn out - I think they were running an hour behind. When it was finished we sat and watched the fireworks. Oh boy I think that was all we crammed into the day. It was all fun though.

Luv Sandie

Today's tutorial for Remember When

If you get a chance pop over to Remember When's Blog for my tutorial on using laser cuts and the Basic Grey Precision File Set.

Kathy has just got some of the Precison File Sets in so I thought I'd give a tutorial on how to use them a go.

Thanks for looking.

Here is the card I made.

200 POSTS FOR ME..............YAY!!!!!!!

Well there you go...........200 posts..........how time flies when you're havin fun!!!!!

And what better way to celebrate 200 posts - today was young Stephen's Baptism.

He was baptised in our parish - St Patrick's Church in Pakenham. Guess who the Godparents are..........none other than Sean and myself. We were so honored to be asked - very proud.

The ceremony was so nice. It started when the Sudanese people started to sing - it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. It was sort of like birds cooing............I started to cry - it was very, very moving. Medina explained to be later that it was about how they had travelled afar from the war in Sudan to a lucky land - Australia.
Little Stephen was great during the ceremony - he slept through it all - even when Fr Bernie poured the water over him to baptize him - he just flinched a little and almost looked relaxed as the water poured over his head - it was so hot here today - I reckon I could have gone some of that water being poured over me too.......LOL.

After the ceremony we had a celebration in the Parish Centre. It was great - George and Medina and their friends once again started to sing - I requested they sing a happy song so that I didn't start crying again - but it didn't make any difference - it was just so great to see them gathering together and with us to - to celebrate in such a way. Later on they started to dance - it was fantastic and the look on Medina's face as she danced with her friends was priceless. She looked at peace. She is such a beautiful young woman and mum.

This little duck is very tired so I will upload some photos tomorrow to share with you.

We are truly blessed to have been introduced to George and Medina - they have enriched our lives. Sounds pretty deep - that's just the way we feel. We call them our family now.

Luv Sandie

A definition of a grandmother written by a boy of 8

This is such a gorgeous little story - I just had to share.

"A grandmother is a woman who has no children of her own and therefore loves boys and girls of other people. Grandmothers have nothing to do; they only have to be there. If they take us for a walk they go slowly past beautiful leaves and caterpillars. They never say "come along quickly" or "hurry up for goodness sake". They are usually fat, but not too fat to tie up your shoelaces. They wear spectacles and sometimes take out their teeth. They can answer every question such as why dogs hate cats and why God is not married. When they read to us they dont leave anything out and the dont mind if it is the same story.
Everyone should try to have a grandmother. They are the only adults who always have plenty of time."


Wow this is post no. 199...................1 to go til the big 200.


Luv Sandie

Little Christmas Plum Puds

Ok.........loosen your belts..........cause you're gunna need to. These little devils are so yummy you can't stop at just one.............LOL.

They are made by using Chocolate Royals some melted white choc melts, jaffas and some green jubes cut into shapes of leaves. They are the quickest things to make and an ideal plate to take to any Christmas function.

Go on try some.................everyone loves them.

(I made these for the Little Beaded Christmas Tree Workshop at my place the other night.......everyone loved them!!!!!)

Luv Sandie

Australian Paper Crafts Issue No. 71

My cards are in the latest issue of APC girlies.

I made these cards using a new stamp set by Paper Forest Designs and a torso manequin.

Here is the photo I took of the cards before I sent them off for publication.

Thanks for looking.

Luv Sandie

Remember When - My First Tutorial

If you get a chance pop over to Remember When. I put my first tutorial up in the Blog of how to use Acrylic Stamps. I have heard a lot of people - mainly Scrapbookers, often say that they wouldn't know what to do. It doesnt get much easier than working with acrylic stamps.

Here is the card I made in under 10 mins - very simple.

Luv Sandie

Proud as punch

Well yesterday there was an assembly at school first thing.

It was the announcement of the School Captains male/female and the House Capatains.
Our Em was elected as the head of the Green House - "Hunt" house. She was so proud of herself as were we - I was shaking so much...........and I just happened to have my handy dandy camera on hand. Actually it was funny - the school gave me a ring on friday and said to keep things under my hat - but it would be a great idea if we could make it to assembly on Monday..............so I was prepared - there were no guarantees that Em or Tam were going to be elected but we went along anyway.

Good on ya Em.


Luv Sandie

What a great night!!!!!

Last night was my little workshop for the Little Beaded Christmas Trees.

It was a hit. I had Cindy and her mum(it was great to finally meet them), Judy, Fleur and later on Cathy popped in. Unfortunately Lorrie couldn't make it - but there will be other crafty workshops thats for sure!!!!!

Everyone made 10 little trees oh and even the kids - Em, Tam and Josh made a tree each too (this was a bonus as I had said no in the first place - but they are such little cute things)

Today I am off to Warragul to pick up another order of trees - boy these things are in demand.
Once some of the school teachers saw them they wanted some for their students to make for christmas projects which is an excellent idea as they are so, so easy.
I am going to be catching up with mum and dad at the same time so that will be great.

Luv Sandie

If the shoe fits.........

Here are some shots of some shoes that I have purchased lately and also polka dots that belong to Tammy..........luv, luv these shoes.

Oh how cute..........

Look at this little fella I found yesterday - only $6.50 its a RUSS brand too.........couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it - on the MUST HAVE list!!!! Too cute

I also found this small set of drawers from Vinnies for $1.00 and another bargain was these owl earrings from Target. I have had my eye on these for a long time the original prize was $12.99 and I got two pair for $1.87 each...........too cool.