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!!

Good news!

Apart from being understandably stiff and sore, Brutus is doing really well. He had surgery today to fix his dislocated hip and they've said he should be able to come home either tomorrow or Friday.

We have a long road to recovery ahead of us but he will recover and will get back to the way he was before ... hopefully slightly less pyscho! I just have to try to keep him quiet and relatively still for the next 6-8 weeks to allow the pelvic fractures to heal ... no mean feat! At least he won't feel like jumping around all over the place for a while yet .. poor thing!

Thanks for all the good thoughts and wishes sent our way. I know to some people he's only a dog, but he's a member of our family and we're all overjoyed that he's still here with us.

Update on Brutus...

Whatever you guys did, it seems to be working!!

Even though his dislocated hip wouldn't go back in today, everything else is improving.

He will have to have an operation to fix the hip back into place (does anyone have oodles of money to spare?) and will need to have 'cage confinement' treatment for 6 weeks or so to allow his pelvic fractures to heal but the internal bleeding is almost non-existent and the collapsed lung is slowly fixing itself.

Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and/or crossed fingers but please keep them coming .. we still have to get through the operation (either tomorrow or Wednesday).

Please send good thoughts and prayers our way...

Sorry to put a downer on people's festive celebrations, but our dog Brutus was hit by a car last night and it isn't looking too good for him at the moment.

He has multiple fractures of the pelvis, a dislocated hip and internal bleeding so any good thoughts, prayers or crossed fingers sent our way would be mightily appreciated right about now. Some thoughts and prayers for the poor couple that hit him would also be good as they are absolutely devastated.

I'll keep you updated.

Bah humbug!

see more dog and puppy pictures


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

What an interesting day ...

Peter had been hassling asking me nicely to take the boys up to meet him at the block so we could have our first overnight stay in the shed as a family. Once I figured out that it wouldn't be hotter than Hades out there, I agreed to pack Peter's other car, the Pajero 4WD, full of the necessary stuff, the children and the dog and make the 2.5 hour drive, hopefully arriving in time for a late lunch. (I wasn't sure how my new car would go with the car fridge drawing on the battery for the whole trip, so I decided to take the car that had already done the trip numerous times.)

He sent me a text message at dark o'clock (aka 5:30am!) and then rang me at please-leave-me-alone-to-sleep o'clock (aka 7:20am), to say that he had finished work early and would be at the block a lot earlier than originally expected so, once I woke up a bit more, I tried to hurry the packing along.

We managed to leave the house and be on the road to the block a full hour and a half ahead of the original schedule, which I thought was pretty good considering that I didn't even have to go back to the house for any last-minute bits and pieces. I had remembered to check the oil and water in the car, put petrol in it so we wouldn't get stranded on the side of the road with no fuel, pack almost everything asked for (except the camera .. some scrapbooker I am!) and still managed to be nice to the children and the dog.

We were about 1.25 hours into the trip (roughly 100kms from home) and having a lovely drive, singing long to the music on my iPod because the radio station had just started to drop out, when the car started making a funny rattling noise. I thought it was just struggling a bit to get up the hill in cruise control and was reaching to turn the cruise control off when the car decided to save me the trouble and turned itself off.

So there we were trying to use the momentum to keep going as far as we could so I could pull off at a safe point, when Alex asks from the back seat, "Did you check if the battery was connected this morning Mum?" After wrestling the car to the side of the road (no power steering without power!), I turned and yelled smiled sweetly and explained that the blasted piece of crap car wouldn't have gotten us this far without the battery connected.

I popped the bonnet (hood for the Americans/Canadians) and had a quick look around the engine bay to see if anything obvious jumped out and screamed "Here I am!! I'm your problem right here!! Yoohoo!! Over here!!" and when nothing did, I rang Peter and said "Your car's broken. Come and fix it." After talking to him for a few minutes, I tried to start it and it worked so we limped along a bit further before the horrible rattling noise suddenly got drastically worse and the Pajero drove itself to the side of the road, threw up its metaphorical hands in defeat and cried "Rrrrr - rrrr - rrr - rr - r - ..... "(insert silence here), which I believe means, loosely translated of course, "Get out and walk 'cos I give up!"

I rang Peter again and he said he would come and pick us up but it would take approximately 1.5 hours for him to get to us. Biting down on the urge to scream at the world, I once again popped the bonnet and when, once again, nothing jumped out at me, I got the kids out of the car to stretch their legs by taking the dog for a little jaunt into the roadside vegetation for a potty stop. This little jaunt also afforded me the opportunity to curse, quite profusely, whatever gremlin had decided to pick this day and this particular long-range trip to befoul my best laid plans.

It was at this point that my subconscious piped up the reminder that I had recently rejoined the RAC roadside assistance service and also furnished me with the phone number. (All I can say is that as much as I curse our phone provider for so many of the mindless things they do, at least they provide coverage in the areas I need it.)

I managed to get through to a real person the third time I phoned and after explaining that I did indeed have a membership and have the $190 scar on my credit card to prove it, she finally accepted that a) I was a member, b) I was in fact a premium member and c) I was stuck on the side of the highway far from home with three kids and a dog. I then had to explain numerous times that I didn't know exactly where I was, apart from on the side of the main east-west highway across the state somewhere not too far past a turnoff to Irishtown (yes it's a real place). Then we got to the real doozy ... she asked what the problem was.

Being a non-mechanically minded person, my description of the problem was limited to some very poor imitations of the rattly noise along with a very weak follow-up of "it just won't go". Her response was "So it's not a flat tyre or battery then?"

Deep breath ... "No. No it's not."

"We'll have someone out to you as soon as possible. It could be up to a 2 hour wait."

I thanked her as politely as I could, then settled back to play the game of waiting to see who would arrive first .. Peter or the RAC man.

It was during this time that I started to wonder about the state of the world today. So many people drove straight past a car with the bonnet up surrounded by 1 woman, 3 children and a dog. Most of them seemed to purposely look in the other direction to avoid getting involved. i suppose they figured that in this age of mobile phones that I had already called for help and given that I wasn't jumping up and down on the side of the road like a woman possessed, that I didn't need their help. Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt here, people!

Anyway the RAC man turned up first, asked a series of questions then got me to start the car. It would still start but wouldn't stay started unless I kept the revs really high. He made the universal symbol for 'kill it' (dragged his thumb across his throat) and then pointed out that there was hardly any water in the radiator. (At this point I would like to remind you that I remembered to check the oil and water in the car and I topped them both up to the correct levels. I had also been keeping an eye on the temperature gauge and it hadn't moved from the halfway point .. at all!) In the process of trying to explain possible causes for the overheating that had caused the water to boil off, he managed to burn himself on the very hot engine not once, but twice .. not a great confidence booster but he was nice enough and he had come to try and rescue me so I let it go.


He couldn't fix it so he arranged for a tow truck to come and get the car (and us) and take it back to Northam to the workshop. I had mentioned that Peter was on his way from the block so he made arrangements for us to wait at the workshop for as long as it took Peter to get there. Then he got into his van and drove away leaving us, once again, on the side of the road in the middle of almost nowhere waiting for the next knight in shining armour to arrive, which he did in his lovely air-conditioned tilt-tray tow-truck with plenty of room for the kids and the dog.


Once we got to the workshop, we settled in for rather a long wait and I would like to say I'm very proud of the boys for the way they just took everything in their stride. There was hardly any fighting or niggling each other, no complaints of 'I'm bored/hungry/tired' and they listened and did as they were told. Thank heavens for small mercies .. and a handbag full of treats and a cold drink machine at the shop across the road!


Peter turned up a while later and we packed as much from the Pajero into the ute as we could and then headed back home. Again, the boys did really well, especially considering we had gone from an airconditioned car with plenty of room to a non-air-conditioned ute with not much leg room, arm room or any other kind of room. Throw the dog into the mix and they all acquitted themselves quite well.

We arrived home at about 5pm so, when all was said and done, it took 6.5 hours for the boys, the dog and myself to travel roughly 200kms. An interesting day out but not one I want to repeat in a hurry!

A little advice

Having worked in retail over Christmas, I came up with some helpful tips for customers last year to enable them to get the best out of their shopping experience during Christmas in retail.

Now that I am back on the other side of the fence, so to speak, I have formulated some teensy-weensy pieces of advice for the braindead morons couldn't-be-less-interested-in-helping-you-if-they-were-dead teenagers masquerading as shop 'assistants' this Christmas.

• Rolling your eyes at a customer who has just asked you to get something down from the top shelf, because you have a ladder and she doesn't carry one in her handbag, will get you filthy looks in return. If said customer is in a bad mood, it may even earn you a telling off, both from the customer and your boss!
• Answering the phone, telling the customer you will have a look out the back, putting them on hold for 10 minutes while you finish your conversation with your co-'worker' (used in the loosest sense of the word!) about who is 'hooking up' with who, then going back to your phone customer to tell them you don't have any and won't get any more before Christmas, all in full view of an entire counter full of customers, is probably going to get you in trouble with the management. Try not to act surprised when you are caught out!
• Comparing your customer's well-behaved child, who is restrained in a trolley with entertainment to keep them quiet, to 'devil spawn' and then asking, at full volume, 'why do people bring their bloody kids shopping at Christmas time?' will probably also get you into trouble with aforementioned management. Once again, try not to act surprised when you are caught out!
• On the same topic, muttering disparaging comments about said child's parentage loudly as you walk away is also going to get you reprimanded by the big guy (be that the manager, Santa or God, who knows!) Whilst I can understand the stress involved in dealing with the incessant screaming of some children (been there; done that!!), do not take your frustrations out on one of the few children who is actually behaving and being quiet.
• Telling a customer to have a proper look and they might find it all on their own, may earn you a slap upside the head! You are a customer service assistant; act like it!
• Jumping the queue at the checkout because you are on your break and must have that bag of M&M's now, is likely to incite a mob mentality and you may find yourself being bodily removed from said checkout line by a big bikie type who just happened to shopping with his grandma. Don't mess with a bikie's grandma .. ever!

Now that I have exhausted my current public service abilities, I am off to find some more blog material presents for the rest of my family and friends.

Seven people down ... fourteen to go!

Facebook is ...

many, many things; some positive and some negative. Lately I have found myself there more and more often and have been formulating a list of pros and cons in my head that I have decided to share with you all in the hopes of weaning myself away it.

Pro: It is a useful social networking tool
Con: What exactly is a social networking tool and why do we all suddenly need one?

Pro: Somewhere to play games
Con: Games that quickly become addictive and require an intervention to stop playing

Pro: A place to find people from your past
Con: Isn't there a reason why they're in your past?

Pro: You can keep up with friends on the other side of the country or even the world
Con: Because it is just so important that you know that they have been food shopping this morning or have gone to work with a hangover to rival the seventh circle of Hell.

Pro: You can stay in touch with family that you wouldn't otherwise get to see due to you all having such busy lives
Con: You have to monitor what you say and who you say it to for fear of family being offended or "disgusted at the young people of today"

Right at this very moment, however, I feel that Facebook was designed by people who have no life, to try and entice other suckers to sink to their level and lose whatever semblance of a normal life they did possess. And they have succeeded, in this house at least.

So as of now this afternoon tonight sometime this week month, I resolve to spend less time on Facebook and more time on my blog. That sounds fair doesn't it?


Oh wait ...


Swapping one addiction for another .. probably not such a good idea huh?


So now what? I know..


I'll read instead. That's got to be more of a mind-improving thing to do.


So whose blog should I start reading first?

It's official!

Presenting Mr and Mrs Brazendale ...

(Sorry for the picture quality. The sun came out from behind a cloud and shone straight into their faces just as the celebrant announced them to be husband and wife.)

I got a tear in my eye listening to them promise their lives to each other and watching the way they looked at each other made me feel all 'gooey' inside. To quote a fellow guest: "She looked at him like he was her favourite chocolate bar and she was just dying to eat him all up!"

The whole bridal party. There were four bridesmaids and two groomsmen .. each groomsman had two bridesmaids to escort everywhere .. shame for them that none of the bridesmaids are single!

The cake and the penguins (Clare's favourite creature) that Mum dressed up for her.

Cutting the cake.

It was a beautiful event, despite the 37 degree heat, and everything went off without a hitch on the day. The night before is a whole other story involving broken zippers on bridesmaids dresses at 10:30pm and then discovering stains on the same dress the next morning, but thanks to some good old-fashioned running-around-like-a-blue-arsed-fly by several people, all was fixed in time.

So even though I'm now feeling really old and decrepit due to my baby sister being married, I wish them nothing but the best for their future life together.

Oh, and here's hoping they hurry up and have some kids .. it's time for another baby around here and I'm certainly not having any!!

Overheard this morning ...

Peter was outside tormenting playing with and chasing the dog.

Andrew: Dad, stop being mean to the dog.

Brad: Dad's not mean Drew. He's just not very good at being nice!

Very quick with the witty replies this morning, aren't you Brad? Cheeky boy!