Overheard this morning ...

Andrew: "Let's call it the duh syndrome. Main symptom is stating the blindingly obvious. Sufferers shall be known as Captain Obvious."

Bradley: (to his friend Matt who was trying to play the drums in guitar hero) "Orange, orange, orange, orange, orange .. jeez, the drummer must get bored playing this in real life!"

Andrew: "Quick .. kill the enemy."
Chris: "That's boring. I'll annihilate them instead."

Ella sketch #2

Seeing as the roll I was on on Friday came to a screaming halt yesterday, I decided to leave well enough alone and try again today instead. It worked! Here's two more layouts of mine and one of Andrew's. Remember that Andrew is a 12-year-old boy so of course the pictures have something machinery related in them!

(I'm going to apologise in advance for the terrible picture quality. I have problems photographing layouts under good conditions, so late at night under artificial light doesn't translate into great photos!)

Both of these are based on Ella's sketch #2.

Andrew's layout:

and my interpretation of the sketch:

and here's the one that I gave up on yesterday.

(Again, apologies for the photo.

I have taken about 15 different shots and this, believe it or not, was the best.)

"Would Sir care to see the menu?"

I asked Bradley to bring me a glass of water this morning and once he had brought it down to me, he turned to Brutus, who was laying on the floor next to my chair, and said "Would Sir care for food or a beverage?"

I replied with "Sir needs to see the menu first" and this is what happened next ...

He made a menu, got a red teatowel to drape over his arm

(because a red one matched the rest of his outfit and the menu)

and presented it to Brutus.

"Would Sir care to see the menu?"

"Ah yes, the chicken and pollock treat. Very fine choice Sir. It will be here momentarily."

I really love having a child with a good imagination and a sense of humour!

Woohoo!

Lookee here ... I got picked as a winner on the first Ella sketch competition! My first time being 'published' or picked for anything scrapping related.

I couldn't believe it until I got the email telling me I was indeed a winner. Just the boost to my severely dented scrapping self-esteem that I needed, especially after trying to continue the roll of Friday and hitting a rather large brick wall for all of yesterday.

Note to self: Take a better picture next time. You never know when the whole world is going to see it!

Now please excuse me while I go drive the children insane with my dancing around the house full of the joys of life!

On a roll ...

Here's another yellow page with flowers and two different patterned papers:


Sorry for the photo quality .. the background paper is actually yellow, not beige/tan and the page is straight .. it's the photo that's not!

Ella sketch

After looking at this sketch on the Ella Publishing site, I finally found a little bit of creativity amongst the chaos that is my life and came up with this:

And look Ma .. I used flowers and flowery paper and yellow and typed journalling .. woohoo .. go me! Way to go with stepping outside my comfort zone!

(The journalling reads: "Bradley absolutely loves these ugg boots. They were a hand-me-down from Rheanna Good, who only wore them twice before deciding they weren’t comfortable enough. Luckily, Brad disagrees completely and wears them everywhere, including the trampoline. He says they make him bounce higher and has dubbed them his …")

Random things from today ...

• The towels that I hung on the line yesterday morning (and forgot to bring in until this afternoon) were so dry from being out in the 43 degree heat that they could literally stand up on their own. I wasn't game to fold them in case they broke in half! So what did I do with them? I spritzed them with water and hung them over the clothes horse to dry again .. inside where it's cooler.
• Brutus had his stitches out this morning and he's now officially known as a 'biter'. I did warn the vet nurse that ever since his car accident, he's been 'just a touch' defensive and snappy but she didn't listen until he nearly took her glasses off. Then he had to wear a muzzle so they could finish the job and check on the status of his double ear infection. Never rains but it pours!
• I have managed to organise some of my scrapping stash so that I can actually see what I have. Hopefully this will motivate me to actually scrap something by the end of the week.
• Alex came back from his sleepover at Chris's house and peace reigned for approximately 7 minutes. For once, it wasn't Alex who started the needling; it was Bradley!
• It is now 10:19pm and it is still 30 degrees Celsius outside. I think it is about 28 inside as someone *cough cough me cough cough* forgot to close the back door after hanging the washing out and let all the hot air into the house. You'd think I'd know better by now.
• There is an extra little person in my bed tonight as it is so hot and we have only two rooms with airconditioning (don't know how we survived without it as kids!) Alex and Drew are sleeping in the games room and Brad has crawled into my bed. Here's hoping he stays on his side of the bed this time!
• Need to drink more water fluid Cosmopolitan slushies .. yum!! Seriously though, for all of you who are suffering through this heat with me, please remember to drink lots of fluid, not just water because in this heat, drinking excessively large amounts of water can upset your electrolyte balance (or so my doctor says). I have a headache from not drinking quite enough today, so I'm off to have another glass full and then off to bed.

one little word

This is where 'one little word' all started.

Ali Edwards had the idea to pick one word that summed up what she wanted for herself in the next year. It is an idea that a lot of people have embraced and I have decided to become one of them.

For 2010, I have chosen the word ..

participate

Definition:
participate; verb; to take part, be or become actively involved, or share (in)

Some of the reasons I chose this word:

• I want to participate more in my children's day-to-day lives; be more present and available to them instead of being off in my own little world.
• I want to participate in new activities that take me outside my comfort zone ... like cleaning the house more regularly .. lol!
• I want to participate in the activities that bring me pleasure and fulfilment without feeling guilty or that I'm not good enough.
• I want to participate in a healthier lifestyle and all that entails.
• I want to participate more in activities that interest the important people in my life .. even if they don't particularly interest me.
• I want to make myself participate more in my own life instead of just watching it fly by.

So what do you think your word is?

Explaining reality ...

Apparently the first step in beating an addiction is admitting you have one in the first place. So here goes ...

"My name is Donna and I am addicted to my computer and more specifically, to stupid virtual games on Facebook."

There .. now it's out in the open, I can hopefully start to implement some strategies to get it under control. I know that 'getting it under control' is nowhere near 'beating the crap out of the addiction with the biggest stick you can find' but it's a start.

I came to the conclusion that I really needed to curb the excessive amount of time I was spending on the time-sucking vortex that is Facebook when my children (who are also addicts and will be undergoing the same withdrawals as me!) started answering requests for their presence at the dinner table, the shower or anywhere that didn't have a computer, with "in a minute. I have to finish harvesting/plowing/planting,/feeding animals or re-arranging my farm/cafe/jungle/island."

After trying over the last week, unsuccessfully, to cut down on the time we were spending on these games, I awoke this morning with a renewed determination to beat this. I called all the boys into my room (where there is no computer competing for their attention) and explained that I would no longer be their 'neighbour' on any of these games and I wouldn't be playing them at all. They could still play but, as it is only 2 weeks until they go back to school, that we would be putting our routines and 'screen time' limits back into place. After their initial panic response that I was taking them off the internet forever was over, they started in with the questions.

"But what happens if I have crops to harvest and I've already used my internet time?"

"They aren't real plants. Does it matter if they die?"

"But I paid money for them!"

"Was it real money .. your own real money .. that you paid for them?"

"Nnnooooo, but they're mine and I want to keep them."

"So you are incredibly worried about some pictures of plants, animals and coins on a computer screen but you aren't very interested in your real bedroom with its copious amounts of toys, books and clothes and the rest of your real life with real people to talk to, real food to eat and real interactions to be had?"

"Yes .. um .. no .. um .. Muuuummm! You're so unfair!"

"Why yes .. yes I am. Welcome to reality! Now go do your chores."

Random stuff ...

• I have five posts sitting in my draft folder at the moment but none of them 'feel' right so I've buried them for now and will revisit them another time.
• There's only 2 weeks and 2 days until the boys are back at school.
• School and the requisite pieces of equipment are expensive!!
• The dog has managed to leave the second lot of stitches in (so the vet can remove them this time!) and seems to be healing very well. Will know more on Monday when we have his follow-up visit.
• I have been having the urge to be creative but every time I sit at my desk, the urge disappears faster than a child asked to pick up the dog poop.
• Cherries are my (current) favourite food. Just in case anyone wants to buy me some before they go out of season again .. hint, hint!
• Children grow up way too fast!
• We have managed to spend our first night as a family at the block! Pros: the beautiful breeze all night, millions of stars, 'camping' in style with a working toilet! Cons: no curtains (good morning sunshine!!), freight trains, no breeze during the day and did I mention the trains?
• Had another fill put into my gastric band today. According to their (obviously defective) scales, I have lost a grand total of 16.2 kilos. According to my (much nicer) scales, I have lost 18.8 kilos. Admittedly, I weigh myself first thing in the morning, after my morning ablutions, before getting dressed whereas they weigh me after lunch, fully clothed and usually busting for the toilet. (I suffer from timing issues!)
• As much as the boys drive me nuts at times, it has been nice to be able to interact with them more on their level over the holidays. I have made a concerted effort to not have 'No' be my immediate response to any request and as a result have been instructed in the finer points of a few Wii games; played the Monopoly Deal card game, UNO and Connect 4X4; made biscuits with them and taken them out more than I would have done in the past.
• Why do desired plants need water and care to grow but weeds will grow anywhere? To quote my Nanna "A weed is just a flower growing out of place" but seriously, is there a right place for bindiis and double-gees?
• I'm really backing off on a very long-lived relationship with a friend who I thought helped me get through some tough times, but it turned out that they were the cause of quite a few tough times. So, as much as it pains me, I have to say that sugar (as well as his cousins, lollies and chocolate) and I are no longer as close as we once were and will never be again. Some relationships just aren't worth the pain!
• I should probably seek psychiatric help in dealing with the previous comment. As if sugar is going to care that I'm cooling our relationship .. he's got plenty of others on the line!
• On a more serious note, as Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the same island and presumably the same earthquake, why are we only hearing about the devastation in Haiti? Did the earthquake know to stop at the border?
• Facebook is evil, I tell you ... EVIL!!

Brutus

Here's some photos of Brutus on the way to a hopefully full recovery.

In the ICU at Murdoch Veterinary Hospital.

Resting at home. Love the different coloured feet and the funky haircut!

In his new home, for the next 6 weeks at least!

First time Peter had seen him since the accident.

Brutus got quite comfortable, even though it doesn't look like it!

Out with the old and in with the new ..

...year, that is!

I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.

May we all take this opportunity to remind those near and dear to us how much we love them, even if they drive us insane on a regular basis.

May we all feel truly loved in return.

May we all try to find the good in the people and situations around us, especially when it is the last thing we feel like doing.

May we all find the things we are looking for in this life, whether it be peace, comfort, love, happiness or just five minutes of time to ourselves to savour the sights and sounds of life.

Last, but certainly not least, may we all have an inspiring year full of love, joy, hope, laughter and whatever else 'floats your boat'.

Happy New Year everyone!!