Happy birthday

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....

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!!!

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.

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.

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

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!

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