Life....it's what you make it!

Things are looking up!!

2009-04-24T13:33:00.004+09:30

I had some happy email news this week that I can finally share with you.

I have been asked to join the Inspiration Team over at Scrapping Word Pictures blog.

If you haven't checked out their site, do so now - lots of great inspiration and a fun challenge each month. Sami gives us a list of written instructions which we follow to create a layout. Here's my version of April's challenge

Thanks so much for the opportunity Sami, I know I'm going to enjoy myself.

I've also been doing some other scrapping today - the weather is wet and the boys are occupied with friends.

This layout is a sketch challenge over on the Country Papercraft blog - thanks for the inspiration Lone. I flipped the sketch on its side for this one. I've used some Cosmo cricket and Basic Grey papers together with some Collections and Fancy Pants chipboard, the obligatory Bazzill cardstock and Basic Grey letter stickers.

It feels good to be scrapping!

We also met with our architect to make some minor changes to our initial renovation plans this morning - I can't wait to get started now, but on the other hand, I'm scared to bits - we've never tackled anything like this before. I think I've been watching too many renovation shows on the Lifestyle channel!!! hee hee

Take care everyone, cheers, Deb

I think I've walked under a ladder..............

2009-04-20T14:53:00.004+09:30

Lots has been happening around here lately and unfortunately, not all of it good. I'm not sure what we've done to deserve the round of bad luck that's been following us around, but here's an update of the good, bad and the scrapping!! You might want to sit down with a cuppa for this one, it could be a long post.

Firstly the good stuff!

Some of you may know that Remember When Scrapbooking Company has undergone a change recently. Kathy (the owner) decided to sell off the retail arm of the business to focus on the Laser Cut wholesale side. Good luck with it Kathy, I know you'll do great. Anyhow, Lee is the new owner of RWPC and she has asked me to stay on as part of her new Design Team. I'm so excited with what she has planned. She has already got all the latest Bazzill cardstocks back and I just LOOOVE Bazzill. She is also planning on introducing other products. I'm still blogging over there on alternate Tuesdays, but my focus will be on highlighting all the new stuff - how cool is that??

We also found out that Shayne and I are off to China, well Shanghai to be exact at the end of May with the Toshiba crew. Very exciting!!!

We finally got our concept plans back for the house renovations from the architect. They look great and certainly weren't anything that we would have thought of ourselves. It will mean almost totally gutting the interior but at least we won't have to build on. We just need to finalise the plans and then the work can start!
Ryan and Bowen played their first games of football yesterday - wasn't my last post about cricket?? The year is really flying by. While they had mixed results (Bowen's team won and Ryan's didn't LOL) both got in the best players and won Fasta Pasta awards. I hope they keep them coming during the year!!

The not so good stuff now....

I had my handbag stolen from our living area a couple of weeks ago. Apart from the scary fact they were in the house while the boys and I were home, it's been very frustrating firstly living without all my plastic cards and then having to get everything replaced again. They also took Ryan's DS, but he's pretty happy to have a new one. We've certainly become much more security conscious around here!

We took the boys to Adelaide to watch the Port v Melbourne footy match over Easter. The weather was great but unfortunately Shayne got the dreaded gastro bug on the Sunday morning and spent his time at the footy lying down in the car - at least he could hear the crowd cheering. Not surprisingly, Ryan caught it on the Monday night and my only shopping purchase for the weekend, was a bucket for the trip home!! I caught it on Thursday and am only now starting to feel back to normal. Bowen is feeling very proud of the fact he hasn't caught it. Fingers crossed buddy!

On the scrapping front

I completed March's challenge for Scrapping Word Pictures. It was the first time I have attempted their challenge and I LOVED it - they give you written instructions and your job is to interpret them to produce a layout. It's great when the mojo is on holidays or you want to get a layout done quickly. Here's what I came up with

I've also just done an online photo editing course with Jessica Sprague - it's FANTASTIC and I've learnt so much. You can go back to it whenever you want which is a great feature. The class is a mixture of written information (not a lot) and recorded sessions demonstrating how to use Photoshop. It's so easy when you can see exactly which buttons to press.

Well if you've managed to stay with me this far, congratulations you deserve a medal!! Maybe if I posted more often, you wouldn't have to read such long posts........

Well, it's my turn to blog at Remember When tomorrow and I still have a layout to finish.

Talk you soon, Debxx

Proud Mum Moment and a share

2009-03-30T09:03:00.005+10:30

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, but that dreaded jury duty has taken up quite a bit of my time. Hopefully it will be finished in the next couple of days and life will return to normal.

We had the West Gambier Cricket wind up on Saturday night and the boys were both very excited to win some awards.

Ryan was presented with a trophy to celebrate his hat trick earlier in the season. He finished that match with the figures of 4/0. The trophy contained the match ball as well as a plaque that recorded the details.

He also won the batting trophy - the most runs for the year. He finished top 2 in batting, bowling and fielding - a pretty mean effort!

Bowen also starred in his first year of cricket. He won the bowling trophy with 7 wickets, beating his brother by 1 - not bad for an 8 year old! He also finished 4th in the batting award.

They both made lovely speeches as well.

I haven't had heaps of time to scrap lately, but here are a couple that I did for the Remember When Scrapbooking blog last week.

Don't you just love the Laser Cut owl?? I'm trying to use up some older photos as well.

The boys have changed just a little bit haven't they??

That's it for now.

Cheers, Deb

A Flying Visit

2009-03-05T20:14:00.003+10:30

A quick post to let you know that I'm still around. I'm on jury duty for the month of March, so I don't know what I'm doing from one day to the next. It makes managing work and a family, more than a little challenging!! Luckily, I'm not needed for the next few days.

It's a long weekend here this weekend - yay!! We SO need some chill out time. That should mean some scrapping for me!!

Meanwhile, here are a couple of scrapping projects I completed using RW Laser Cuts.

This is a really quick layout, apart from the measuring LOL! I chose a photo of Ryan for each month last year and used my labelling machine to type the months. I really want to do one for Bowen now.

For something completely different, I created this canvas. My manager Dawn gave us all one for Christmas last year with the challenge to be creative. This is what I came up with - it sits in my office at work.

Anyways, better go and get a few jobs done before bed.

Cheers, Deb

My Big Boy is 11!

2009-02-21T20:02:00.004+10:30

Not sure where the time went, but this time eleven years ago, I was lying in a hospital bed while DH Shayne watched the golf!!!

At just after 9.30pm, with a little help from a surgeon, Ryan Anthony arrived in the world.

The last 11 years have flown by and we are so proud of the young man he has become.

He loves his Ripstick - so does his Dad! With his usual determination, he has spent as much time as possible mastering it - and I mean both of them LOL!!

Ryan also got a Port Power football jumper and a Wii game.

After cricket this morning, he is now entertaining his mates Tyson and Dylan who are staying the night. We've been ten pin bowling and had KFC for tea and they are now locked in a serious cricket match with Bowen and Brad from next door.

Cake soon and then sleep - for his tired parents at least!

Happy birthday darling. We love you very much - although I know you would be very embarrassed to hear that out loud!

One Proud Mum!

2009-02-09T20:29:00.003+10:30

Ryan played in the Under 12 Future Champions Cricket Trophy cricket match yesterday. He was one of only 22 boys chosen from across the competition, so to get selected was one major achievement.

His team won the toss and elected to bowl. Ryan was given the job of bowling the second over - he was pretty nervous, but bowled well, only giving away 1 run. His next over claimed the wicket of the opposition's captain and best batsman - I think I screamed with excitement LOL. Luckily Ryan didn't hear me. He went on to take another wicket, finishing with 2 wickets for only 3 runs for his 3 overs.

Although he didn't do well with the bat, his team Gambier Green won which was also really exciting.'

Ryan had a GREAT day and we are all so proud of him!

Beyond Comprehension

2009-02-09T15:51:00.003+10:30

I have been watching in disbelief the news coming out of Victoria over the past day. I can't imagine what those people must be going through, having lost family, friends, neighbours and homes. It's beyond imagination.

Kathy at Remember When doing her bit to help those affected - proceeds from the sale of all laser cuts this week will be donated directly to the bushfire appeal. Stock up on laser cuts and help Kathy donate as much as possible.

I'll be back later to share some happier news.

Look what just came to our house.

2009-01-31T13:23:00.003+10:30

There's nothing wrong with my boys' hearing!! They heard the sound from inside and rushed outside. They waited not so patiently until it came back!

What did they hear??

Mr Whippy driving up our street - that doesn't happen very often.

And this is what happened after that!!

Ice-creams all round! Yummo!!

Scrapping!

2009-01-28T17:17:00.003+10:30

I didn't manage to scrap as many layouts as I'd like during the holidays, but did manage to get these done last week.

I did this one for RW Laser Cuts and it also doubled as a challenge for Country Papercraft's Australia Day cybercrop. I love the RW laser cuts - the title on this layout.

This was another CPC challenge - to use Australian colours (I chose red, white and blue rather than green and yellow).

Another RW Laser Cut layout - using the You are a Star title. Trying hard to use up some old photos and scrapping supplies.

This was a colour challenge set by TD over at CPC - this patterned paper matched perfectly!

School is Back!!

2009-01-27T17:22:00.003+10:30

Hot weather finally arrives and we're back at school! Typical. 39 today and 42 predicted for the next 2 days - yuck!!

Just a quick post with our traditional back to school photos. Ryan and Bowen look suitably impressed don't you think LOL! They were worried they were going to be late, which we weren't!

Happy Australia Day!

2009-01-26T14:16:00.004+10:30

Happy Australia Day everyone - it's great to see us Aussies getting more patriotic. This is the flag Shayne hung from our antenna yesterday.

We spent the morning at Carol and Dennis' house having a lovely breakfast

and playing fun games like this!

Ryan's on his way!

2009-01-22T10:11:00.004+10:30

Just a quick post to share Ryan's happy news. He received a letter yesterday, informing him that he has been selected to play in the future champions trophy. It's a competition between two teams made up of the best Under 12 cricketers in Mount Gambier.

The first small step towards a cricket career perhaps???

A Great Trip and Computer Issues!

2009-01-21T11:01:00.004+10:30

After a week of no computer after my hard drive crashed, I'm back. I lost a few photos, documents and all my favourites, but otherwise relatively unscathed. A word of advice - back up, back up, back up!!!!!!!!! You never know when something might go wrong!!!!

Anyways, back to our trip. A week or so ago, we took the boys to Melbourne to see the 20/20 cricket match at the MCG - they LOVED it!!! Shayne got us front row seats, so we got up close to all the action. Unfortunately the players were just a little too far away and the game was just too quick for the boys to get any autographs, but their Mum got some good photos LOL!! Shayne also managed to snap this one of me - gotta love champers at the MCG!!

We stayed in St Kilda for a couple of days - warm weather meant time at the the pool which was lovely.

We then headed down to the Mornington Pensinsula for a few days - golf, swimming, mini golf, relaxing............. We had a lovely time. Unfortunately these were the photos that I lost, but that's ok.

This is our last week of school holidays - Ryan and Bowen have both been busy catching up with friends before it's all over - much too soon we all say!!!

Better go and supervise the boys in the pool, I'll talk soon, I promise.

It's another new year!

2009-01-06T13:50:00.006+10:30

Can you believe that a whole year has gone by??? I'm not sure if anyone has been patient enough to wait this long for another post, but I'm back and full of good blogging intentions.........again!!!

Christmas has come and gone in a blaze of presents, wrapping paper and food. I was SO lucky to score a Canon 450 digital SLR camera - gotta love Shayne!!! I've been enjoying playing with it and learning more about how it works.

We had a great New Year's Eve at Bobby and Janet's place with Carol and Dennis, Graham and Janine and Janet's mother Rhonda. The boys managed to stay up until 1.30, but I must admit we were all pretty quiet the next day.

All three boys got new bikes for Christmas, so we rode them to the BMX track to try them out and so I could get some photos - LOL!!

That's it for now - we're off to Adelaide tomorrow for Uncle Ron's funeral - he and his wife took me under their wing when I was at Uni, so it's particularly sad that he didn't recover from heart surgery - RIP.

Pinky promise, I'll talk soon!!

Deb

So much for being a better blogger!!

2008-01-21T11:09:00.000+10:30

I haven't got off to a good start have I?? No excuses, just life I guess.

This is my last week of holidays before I head back to work and the boys go back to school. None of us are particularly looking forward to it. Shayne had last week off which was lovely, but he's back into it again today!

We've had a busy start to the year - lots of eating out with friends and the occasional game of golf. We're heading away on a golf trip in April, so I'm trying to practice. It's also good exercise and something the four of us can do together - it's a pity Ryan and Bowen are already better at it than me!

We also headed over to Geelong for a few days. We shopped, played mini golf, went to the beach and spent the day at the Adventure Park. The 3 boys braved the Aqua Racer and had a great time. Of course I couldn't do it as I was the designated shoe holder and family photographer LOL! Nothing to do with the fact I'm terrified of heights and don't like getting my hair wet! We had a lovely apartment right on the beach front and it was lovely to walk along the foreshore. I'm also really pleased that the boys are starting to become more adventurous when we eat out - it used to be nuggets, chips and maybe pizza or snitzel. We loved eating at the Sailor's Rest in Geelong and Ryan ate spaghetti and meatballs and Bowen loved his macaroni cheese!

I have also enjoyed having more time to scrap. I'm writing a weekly blog post over at Remember When, featuring their monthly Kaisier/Bazzill kits. It's such fun to try out papers and colours that I may not have chosen myself.

Fellow DT member Nicole has started a photo of the week challenge. Each week, we need to take a picture and journal about it, with the idea being we end up with a great keepsake of 2008. I have my photos printed and will get these done this week so I am up to date!

I'm still up to date with Country Papercraft's 52 Pieces of Me challenge - I'm enjoying scrapping 8 x 8 size for a change.

Ryan started cricket again last weekend, filling in for the other West Under 12 side. They were bowling and he was thrilled to take 3 wickets including a pretty impressive caught and bowled. I'm having lots of trouble wiping the smile off his face.

Lastly happy birthday to our niece Casey who turned 18 last week - we had a lovely night with her on Saturday night!

I'm off to scrap now, so I'll catch you all sooner rather than later, I promise!!

Happy New Year!!

2007-12-31T10:11:00.000+10:30

Just dropping by to wish everyone a happy new year.

We've got a few friends coming over for tea, swimming and secret games - Singstar, Buzz and EyeToy. Shayne has set up the projector and big screen out in the pergola. I've ordered chicken platters and salad and the champagne is on ice! Ryan and Bowen are also planning to see in the new year with us.

Thanks everyone who stops by to read and a great big mwah to everyone that leaves comments. They are much appreciated.

I plan on being a better blogger in '08, so stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now Christmas is Over!

2007-12-28T13:00:00.000+10:30

Wow, the day went so fast! Mind you it was a long one! Ryan was up at 1.30am and couldn't get back to sleep. He ended up in our bed and we managed to keep him there until 6 o'clock - not that we got much sleep.

The boys were very spoilt by Santa - a sports net, Playstation and assorted games including Buzz and an Eyetoy. We bought them new cricket bats which have not left their sides, Bowen takes his to bed and covers it with a rug and Ryan would sleep with his if we let him.

I was very lucky as well! I got some lovely jewellery from my brother and his family and Shayne got me some clothes, chocolates, scrapping voucher and Singstar for the closet singer in me!

There were 12 of us at our house for lunch which was yummy. The weather was perfect! We had tea at Shayne's nephew's with the entire Hosking clan. Lots of noise and laughs.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T16:07:00.000+10:30

Just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a fantastic Christmas tomorrow. Cherish the time with your family and friends and I hope all your wishes come true.

Bowen really typifies the All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth carol this Christmas. When I sang it to him the other day, his response was "I'll want MORE than that!!" Gotta love him!

Merry Christmas everyone!

21 Years Ago

2007-12-20T07:50:00.000+10:30

This time, 21 years ago, I was a nervous bride to be. 21 years later I am still married to the wonderful man who I met at the end of the aisle all those years ago.

I'm not at all religious, but I feel so blessed to have Shayne in my life. He is my best friend and my biggest supporter and I love him with all my heart.

Happy Anniversary darling.

Scrapping News

2007-12-19T10:30:00.000+10:30

The last month or two have been busy on the scrapping front, but I've loved every minute of it. Scrapping keeps me sane when work is totally chaotic!

I was December's guest designer for Scrapbooking4Less and Shelley sent me a lovely Christmas kit using Creative Imagination papers. I created a couple of layouts as well as a few cards.

I've also been working hard for Remember When and have been creating layouts using their wonderful Kaiser/Bazzill packs that they release each month. I've started writing a weekly article on the blog as well. Here are the 2 layouts I shared yesterday.

Lastly, I am completing the challenges for Pieces of Me at Country Papercraft. We are completing an album about ourselves and are challenged each week with a new theme. I'm doing my pages in 8 x 8 format and am just loving this size. Here are a few of the completed pages so far.

Now I'm on holidays, I hope to have more time to scrap and share .

Too Funny!!

2007-11-23T07:53:00.000+10:30

I saw this link on Donna Downey's blog the other day.

The boys went absolutely hysterical when they saw it.

Have a look here!

I hope we've made the right decision!

2007-11-21T07:52:00.001+10:30

I haven't talked a lot about Bowen's academic ability, but when we had him tested earlier this year, it seemed he could join MENSA. We always suspected that he was pretty bright but had no idea just how bright he was. He was reading at 3 and can add up numbers faster than me.

After two years of school where everything was so easy for him, Shayne and I have decided that the best course of action is for him to be accelerated. This means he will go from Year 1 this year to Year 3 in 2008. It's been a hard choice, mostly because of the great group of friends he has but I know for his learning, this is the best decision.

He is really excited about it - he can understand that he needs extension. We talked about the fact that he won't be in the same class with his best friends and sports wise, he will be competing against kids a year older than him. In his usual way, he said "Mum, I think my learning is more important than sports and besides, it will be a challenge for me."

Who can argue with that logic!!!

Sport's Day

2007-11-21T07:41:00.000+10:30

According to Ryan, Sport's Day is the BEST day of the year. Can you tell he's a bit sports mad???? Given most of my posts seem to be about my boys' sporting exploits, you probably already know this LOL!

Anyway last Friday was Sport's Day at school. The boys both made the sprint final for their year level. The fastest runner in each team at each year level qualifies. Last year Ryan won and Bowen was not impressed coming 3rd. Of course we thought he did a great job!

I was devastated to find that I had to be in Adelaide that day, but managed to organise a later flight so I could catch their races first. Of course, the day was running behind schedule and I made it to the airport just as they called my flight. Thank goodness I checked in online beforehand. But I digress!!

Ryan again won his event - yayy Ryan!!!! Bowen was so determined to win this year, that he gave it his all - the fist pump as he crossed the line in first place was indication of how much he wanted it. The smile on his face was priceless - it was so worth getting to my meeting late.

Congratulations boys - what athletes you are!!!

Two Champions

2007-11-15T21:19:00.000+10:30

Although tomorrow is Sport's Day, Mulga Street school always run the marathon the day before. So this morning it was on - fresh fruit for breakfast because apparantly you run faster.

Well it must have worked, as both boys won their respective events - they were pretty pleased with themselves and so were Shayne and I!

My Big Boy is 7!!

2007-10-29T07:49:00.000+10:30

Bowen is 7!!! His birthday was on Saturday and we were awoken at 6am by a bouncing 7 year old looking for presents!!

He was pleased with his Bindeez, Deal or No Deal game, Nintendo game and Beanie Kids. We had a yummy tea at Fasta Pasta (his choice) and then chocolate sponge for dessert.

He had a small party yesterday - homemade pizzas and a play at home and then off to Ten Pin Bowling. They all had a great time and Shayne and I were exhausted!!! Ryan was a big help, even organising a game of pass the parcel for the party goers.

What's Up??

2007-10-22T08:56:00.000+09:30

It's been a busy couple of weeks - what's new?

We survived the school holidays - in fact I did a lot of nothing! The boys and I seemed to need to just chill out for awhile and that's exactly what we did. I got a few layouts done using the great laser cuts from Remember When and a few for Memories and More that I can't share just yet.

The Mount Gambier Show was on this weekend - we went for awhile on Saturday afternoon. The boys spent their money on showbags and the football game - they do this every year! They didn't go on a single ride! We went back at tea time armed with our fish and chips to watch the fireworks display. Ryan as usual watched from inside the car as he doesn't like loud noises.

Ryan also completed his first game of cricket on Saturday morning. They fielded last week and Ryan was very excited to take the first wicket of the match - bowled middle stump! They batted this week and he retired at 5 not out which is not bad for his first ever match. They won as well, so all in all a good start!

Yesterday was quite warm for Mount Gambier - 30! Here's what the boys got up to!

Inspiration

2007-10-08T12:10:00.000+09:30

This month on the Remember When blog fellow Barn Girl Nicole Southworth is sharing her scrapping journey with us. Just reading about her philosophies and smart ideas has got me inspired. So here's a quick layout I did yesterday. Nicole has talked about hand journalling (I know we all hate it) and also scrapping the everyday things. So here's Bowen cooking muffins on the weekend and I wrote the journalling myself - helped make this layout a really quick one. I've got similar photos of Ryan making choc chip biscuits to do next! I've also printed off her questionnaire for the kids to fill in for me. Stay tuned for more layouts.

Catching Up

2007-10-02T17:09:00.000+09:30

I went to a scrapping class at Scrapbooking Anonymous on Sunday and caught up with my good friend Kathryn who reminded me that it had been awhile since I had blogged.

So, for Kathryn (and anyone else out there who reads this) here's an update on what's been happening.

I had a great day demonstrating Fiskars at Spotlight in Mount Gambier - Nicky (the craft manager) was great and had everything all set up for me. I enjoyed working with their staff and customers and the new Fiskars punches and Shapecutter are great.

We're on school holidays here - starting today. I've managed to get both weeks off for a much needed rest and chance to spend some time with the family. Got off to a good start today - hardly saw the boys as they played with Brad from next door. Had to laugh as they decided that a picnic lunch was the way to go. Here's a picture - as they tucked into sandwiches, sausage rolls and other yummy bits.

Football season has officially finished. We went to Adelaide twice to see Port Power play Fremantle and then the Kangaroos in the finals. I'm secretly glad that we decided not to try and get Grand Final tickets. They had a great season even though their last match was pretty bad!

Footy has finished for Ryan too! It's now cricket season. He's playing for the West Under 12's and after a couple of practices is showing promise as a fast bowler. His first match is in a fortnight.

Bowen is playing basketball and Milo cricket this season - both start in the next couple of weeks.

Ryan also decided to try out for SAPSASSA Athletics. He represented the school in 100m, 200m, 800m and high jump, competing against other 9 year olds in the district. He won the 800m and came 2nd in the 100m - how exciting! We were disappointed to find out that 9 year olds aren't allowed to compete in Adelaide, maybe next year.

Let's see - on the scrapping front, I can now let you know that I am a Barn Girl for Remember When Scrapbooking. I've already designed a number of layouts and you can see them here. Kathy has the biggest range of Bazzill anywhere and is now designing chipboard and bazzill laser shapes - both retail and now wholesale. I've been enjoying using them. Here's a couple of the layouts I have done.

I've been tagged!!!

2007-09-12T16:47:00.000+09:30

I've been tagged by the lovely Lisa. I got to this eventually!!

Rules are: copy and paste this into your blog and tag 3 bloggers to put it on their blog.You've been TAGGED, now you have to go to scrap the stuff leave a comment AND submit a page or OTP.Tag 3 friends and leave comment on their blog to let them know they've been taggedI tag...
Linda, Steph and Sharon.

GO FORTH and advertise.

Exciting Scrapping News!!

2007-08-04T18:54:00.001+09:30

The past month or so has been very exciting in the scrapping arena for me - lots of new opportunities that I can finally share with you, so here goes!

I've been appointed an ambassador for Fiskars. This means that I get to demonstrate their great range of products in places like Spotlight. My first make and take is on September 8th - a bit scary but definitely something I'm looking forward to!!
I have won a guest design team position with Scrapbooking 4 Less in October. I can't wait to see what wonderful goodies Shelley will want me to work with.
I've also been asked to join the Design Team for Sonya at Memories and More. She has some exciting things planned in the next few months and I feel really proud to be part of it all!
At Country Papercraft, I was really excited to win 2 challenges at their latest cybercrop - thanks for voting for me girls. We are also playing a new game - Country Papercraft's Amazing Scrapbooking Journey. I'm teamed up with my good friend Robyn and we are awarded points based on meeting the weekly challenge and by the number of identical items/techniques we both use. It runs for another 6 weeks, so Robyn and I are busy chatting, planning and scrapping. You can check out our layouts here.
I can't share my last piece of news with you just yet, but stay tuned!!!

I'm so excited about all the opportunities scrapping has opened up for me - it's such a great hobby or is that a lifestyle?

Cheers for now, Deb

It's been awhile........................

2007-07-22T19:59:00.000+09:30

since I posted a message and so much has happened.

We've just got home after nearly 2 weeks away in lovely Queensland. We spent 5 days on the Gold Coast with my brother Tony, his wife Megan and now 8 year old Jackson! We stayed in a lovely house at Mermaid Beach - 5 bedrooms, plasma screen TV's, pool, playstation for the boys, table tennis table, etc. It was the perfect place to base ourselves.

Of course we did the theme park thing - 3 parks in 3 days!! The boys tell me they liked Wet 'n' Wild the best. I was very brave and went down a water slide with Shayne - what fun, but couldn't convince Bowen to give it a go. Ryan went on another one with Shayne and Tony though!

My brother was a revelation! For someone who doesn't like water, he got remarkably wet and also surprised us all by going on the Superman rollercoaster at Movieworld with Shayne who went on it twice! They are still talking about how awesome it was. Much too scary for me - I was happy to stay on the ground and take photos!

I was also really lucky to meet the wonderful Robyn - she is such a sweetie and I was sorry I couldn't stay and chat all day. She even made us some of her wonderful bikkies - the boys did leave a few for me!

We said goodbye to Tony, Megan and Jackson and then headed off to the Sunshine Coast for some rest and relaxation. Didn't do too much but enjoyed the most wonderful massage, truly relaxing!

I think I took over 1000 photos - I have included a few here for you - love how the water shots turned out!! I think I'll have plenty to scrap for the next 10 years!!

Happy birthday

2007-06-13T16:52:00.000+09:30

Just a really quick post to say happy birthday to my darling husband Shayne for yesterday. Didn't get a chance to post, but I love you heaps.

An almost sunny day....

2007-06-10T12:09:00.000+09:30

The weather hasn't been too wonderful lately, although the rain is definitely needed. We decided to take advantage of a nice day yesterday and took the boys (including Bowen's friend Jesse) to the playground. Ryan has decided that at 9, he is MUCH too old for the playground and wanted to kick the footy. So we went to Vansittart Park which has a playground and football ground right next to each other. I made use of the time to try out some new settings on the camera and was quite pleased with some of the photos.

I hate germs!!!

2007-06-08T14:42:00.000+09:30

It's been a couple of weeks of illness in the Hosking household. Both Shayne and I have had some flu like virus that took a lot of convincing to leave. I had a couple of days of work but good old Shayne kept on going. It was Bowen's turn on Sunday - he spent 3 days on the couch. He went back to school on Thursday but was back home again today. Even Ryan had Wednesday off. I'm hoping that with a lovely long weekend here that we will all be back to 100% health on Tuesday.

I've got some photos from the boys soccer and football and couple of weeks ago that I haven't shared with you yet. We missed Bowen's very first game of Roo Ball but made up for it at the second game by taking lots of photos. He was very excited to have kicked 7 goals and can't wait for the next match. Ryan continues to play both Under 12 A's and B's not a bad achievement for someone in their first season.

2007-05-28T18:26:00.001+09:30

I've been home for a week, but it feels much longer. In fact our trip is a dim, dark memory. We had a lovely time, great to catch up with Dean, Wendy, Rob and Julie and the other Toshiba-ites. Not sure that Noumea is a place I'd go back to though - VERY expensive, not a lot of shopping and there's not much else to do other than sit by the pool or beach (which is not a bad thing)!! However, we did have a nice break. Here are a few photos.

The motel was lovely and we certainly didn't starve - the mai tai's were also a hit - but at $20 each, I certainly made sure I enjoyed every last drop.

It was great to get home and catch up on all the news - not working TV, winning sports teams and an enormous pile of washing.

Leaving on a jet plane.

2007-05-14T21:46:00.000+09:30

Well, after a week of stress getting organised, Shayne and I head off in the morning on our trip to Noumea. I'm sure once I get on the plane I'll start getting excited, but making sure that Nan and the boys have everything they need while we're away is hard work. Ryan and Bowen seem fine about us going away, but we'll have to wait to the morning to see how they manage it. The thought of having Nan look after them and the expected presents will help ease any worry about us going.

Anyway, better go and finish packing, will fill you in on all the details when I get back.

Cheers, Deb

A Good Scrapping Week

2007-05-10T16:02:00.000+09:30

I've had fun scrapping in the last week or so. Since selling the business I have truly enjoyed just scrapping for myself and taking on challenges from other places. Too much fun. I don't get to scrap at Janet's as often as I'd like but it's good to be scrapping again.

The Biggest User competion at Country Papercraft is underway and I was stoked to have got through the first round given I tend to be a minimalist kind of scrapper. I've added lots of older things to my layout for this week but will have to wait until Saturday to see if I get through. Here are my first 2 layouts of the challenge for you to see.

I also won TD's Design Team challenge - thanks TD for the awesome challenge and everyone that voted for me. It was a real thrill. You must check out Country Papercraft if you get a chance, Marg has lovely things in her shop and the forum rocks - really friendly and fun!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-04-27T15:23:00.001+09:30

Well, this was so easy to do!! Here are some of my recent layouts - what a great way to share them!

I'm Back

2007-04-27T13:46:00.000+09:30

Well, I thought it's about time that I got back to my blog before I get a "bad blogger" rating. I'm determined to get better at keeping things up to date.

Today is one of those wet wintery days that we haven't had for SOOO long - it's great, although the boys are going a little stir crazy and can't understand why they can't go outside to play cricket and football. Mind you, Ryan has football training tonight, so will be out in the rain anyway!

So much has happened since I last wrote. The boys are back at school and enjoy it, although they wouldn't admit it. Bowen has started back in basketball on Friday nights and loves catching up with his friends - Brodie, Todd and Shaun. He's also playing Joey Roos for West on Saturdays.

Ryan has played T-Ball and has now started playing football for West - under 12's on Sunday mornings. They train 2 nights a week and he loves it all, although his first match a couple of weeks ago was a bit daunting as the kids are bigger, faster and able to tackle.

We took the boys to Melbourne last weekend and surprised them with tickets to Port and Collingwood at the MCG. Although we got thoroughly wet (who's idea was it to get tickets near the front??) it was a great game and Port won which made it even better.

I've been scrapping up a storm this week - thanks to the cybercrop challenges at Country Papercraft. Their Biggest Loser competition starts on Monday which should be lots of fun.

Hello 2007

2007-01-09T09:49:00.000+10:30

It's been a long time since I posted, so thought it was about time I updated things a little. So much has happened.......

Christmas and New Year have been and gone for another year. Both were very busy for us, lots of school shows, the Green Triangle Electronics Christmas show as well as catching up with friends. The boys finished school - they have their new classes for 2007 set and are reasonably happy even though neither of them have their best friends with them.

Christmas was great. It started VERY early, as Ryan woke at 2 am and was too scared to go back to sleep. He hopped into bed with me but after 30 minutes of sniffing and wriggling, Shayne and I swapped places - at least I got some sleep. Ryan was awake again at 5am but Shayne managed to keep him in bed until 5.45am. He then woke Bowen up (with some difficulty) and Christmas began. The boys were very spoilt getting Nintendo DS's, games and accessory kit from Santa, as well as art and craft kits, Star Wars Monopoly (Ryan) and Deal or No Deal (Bowen), the obligatory stockings and Star Wars masks. From us they got new cricket bats, Star Wars figures and Star Wars novels (do you see the trend here??). I got lucky too with a great watch, pasta maker and scrapbooking trolley. Shayne scored aftershave and new clothes. The boys requested pancakes for breakfast and by 8am Shayne and I were back in bed for a nap!!!!

Lunch was a hectic affair at Tim and Linda's with the Hoskinging and we had a much quieter tea with Carol and Dennis.

Boxing Day started with brunch at Joy's (yum) and then a quick shopping expedition to get the wrapping paper and cards for next Christmas (something I always do). I have to admit we were very lazy the rest of the day watching the cricket and playing with our new toys.

We also had a busy time over new year. On the 29th we took Graham and Janine out to golf to play in the ambrose at Port MacDonnell. It was a fun time even though we struggled to stay upright in the wind. Surprisingly we came second!!! Janine's first golf trophy!

The 30th was SIL's (the other, older Debbie Hosking) 50th birthday party on the Nelson Endeavour. We had a great time although I wasn't too sure about the new party drink we had to skull - half a glass of red bull with a shot glass of some German liqueur dropped into it - real headache material I think..............

Ryan and Bowen spent the night with our good friends Bobby and Janet. They took them to the movies to see Happy Feet and then back to their house to have a sleepover in their tent. The boys loved it and I think Bobby and Janet are still recovering!!! Another brunch at Carol's the next morning was also fun.

We had New Year's at our house. It was a hot day so we could eat outside and some played tennis and swam. Yummy food and wine and good company made it a good night. Even Ryan managed to see in the New Year and managed to actually sleep in the next morning.

Sport's Day

2006-12-05T10:46:00.000+10:30

Oops, it's taken me awhile to update with the Sport's Day results. Both boys had a great day. Ryan came first in the Championship sprints and Bowen came third in his age group. A fantastic achievement as only the fastest boy runner in their age group and house get to run. They both also loved all the other events. Ryan competed in the Primary section for the first time which kept Nan and I busy trying to watch all events across two ovals. Who says Sport's Day is just for the kids???? Their team Keegan came second overall. I've included some pictures to show you what they got up to.

Proud Mum (and Dad) Moment

2006-11-17T07:59:00.000+10:30

Well yesterday my 2 boys both won their year level marathons for Sport's Day. They did a great job running so far and were pretty impressed with themselves when they crossed the line first. I'll add some photos on the weekend.

It's the official Sport's Day today and both are competing in the sprints for their team. I will let you know how they go!

My Baby is Engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-11-15T17:03:00.000+10:30

For the last couple of months, Bowen has been quite concerned that he doesn't know who to marry - a big problem for a just 6 year old apparently.

Well the problem was solved yesterday as he came home from school and announced that he had played with Emilie S today and she was the one he was going to marry. He is quite lucky as it seems that she likes him too. So the future is now planned. I'm too scared to ask when this is all supposed to take place. I don't think I'm ready to be a mother-in-law just yet!

My First Post

2006-11-14T16:21:00.000+10:30

Welcome to the world of the Hoskings. It's about time I got serious about blogging so now's the time. Be prepared to hear about all the happenings around here, that mostly seem to relate to the boy's sport!

Ryan is currently playing school basketball on Friday nights. He plays in an Year 3 competition against other Year 3 boys. Bowen has also decided to take up basketball - mainly because Ryan is but also a couple of his friends also play so now he does too. He also does quite well and was very excited to shoot 3 goals in the mini game they had at the end of their training. Although he wasn't happy that he was only allowed to guard the other number 10 and not all the other players as well. I'm finding getting basketball photos a challenge as my boys don't stand still and most of the photos are blurry. But I have managed to include a couple for you.

Ryan is also into school cricket on Saturday mornings. I LOVE cricket because they stand still and I can get some excellent scrappable moments. The bad news is that it takes a LONG time to play. The kids are getting better but it's hysterical when they are fielding that after a ball in bowled they insist on passing the ball to each team member before bowling again. Ryan hit 14 off one over on Saturday which he was very proud of. Unfortunately the only photo I got of that over was the one where he was bowled. I was not popular.