Finally.... back into scrapping
It's been a while, but I've finally got back into doing some scrapbooking. I scraplifted the dots idea on the Jessie layout from one I saw in a magazine. Each 'dot' was punched into the foreground cardstock, with the contrasting colour cardstock adhered behind. Needless to say, with all that hole punching, Jason had had quite enough by the end (it's done with hammer and punch).

This one is a layout we did at our Get Scrapped Getaway this year, but I finally got around to adhering the photo. I love this range of Basic Grey papers. This layout was also the first time I used stamping with transparencies; a technique I will definitely use in the future.

This one is the layout I provided for Caitie and my first mini-GSG. Again using Basic Grey papers, but one of the new ranges.
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Mel Home for the Weekend

Mel came home for a visit last weekend. Because of all the family she had to catch up with, we only got to catch up on the Sunday afternoon, and did so, by visiting the Gordons. Originally Mel was going to bring Sam up to meet everyone, but a last minute brother's engagement party, meant he was unable to come. It was great to catch up with Mel though, and she even bought Emma and I some fudge from Margaret River. Of course, Mel fell in love with little Charlie, and I think it has made her even more clucky.
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Toons Road Bridge


Went for a site visit today up to Calen, and in particular the Toons Rd Bridge. This bridge is by far the scariest thing I have ever driven over, hence the reason it is being replaced. Half way across (when the timber was creaking), I started thinking that the 'Cars Only' sign didn't apply to the Toyota dual cab ute that I was driving. The surrounding area is quiet, and beautifully green at the moment.
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A pat on the back...
I received the following email from one of my clients today:

Fiona,
Your presentation drawings of Gordon/Carlyle roundabout are first class. Comments are usually only given to the designer when there is a problem rather then giving a compliment on their work. Well done.
Regards Colin

It feels great to get a bit of acknowledgement for the hard work that goes into these projects. Myles was cc'd in on the email, and it was ultimately forwarded on to the Qld Operations Manager, who also congratulated me. Definitely an ego boost.
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Another Cutie

Linda & Imelda asked me to meet them at town to provide a second opinion on the dress Linda has picked out for her wedding in March. I have been sworn to secrecy, regarding its details. Aunty Kaz came too, but spent the majority of the time trying to wake Reed up, without any success.

Afterwards we went to Subway for lunch (Kaz had to leave), and finally Reed woke up. He is in such a happy phase at the moment, so it was easy to catch some really good shots of him. This one was my favourite.
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Charlie at 12 days old

I went to visit the Gordons' today. Little Charlie has been quite grisly during the day, and the photo above is from a rare moment in time where she was sleeping. Her uncle Craig was down for a visit for the weekend too.
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Roses


Jason has been away for a number of days in the past two weeks. He went off to a Cad Managers course in Melbourne for 3 days last week, and is currently away for 4 days this week, in Perth, for an MX Conference.

Imagine my surprise when Rita bought this delivery around to my desk this morning. Card reads "Miss you. Love Jason". What a sweetie. Working in the same office ever since we started dating has meant that the potential for surprise flower delivery is very very small. This particular bunch was very well received, as I have had a horrible flu-ridden weekend, and even took yesterday off work.

Jason later told me that he and a guy from the conference were out in town, and Jason said that he needed to find a florist so he could send me some flowers. They guy suggested that wasn't such a good idea, as Jason would probably beat the flowers home and/or they would be dead by the time they reached Mackay. Jason then informed him of the magic of 'Interflora'.
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Introducing Charlie

Andrew & Emma are now the proud parents of

Charlie Hermoine Gordon.

Born 23 October 2007 at 4.01pm.
Charlie was 8lb 3oz and 50.5cm long.
She is such a sweetie, and is really good at sucking her thumb/fist, while making little froggie noises.
Congrats Em & Andrew.
You will make such good parents.

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Dilbert Speaks to Me

I especially love today's Dilbert. This one really speaks to me as the owner of dual-screens. On occasion now, I may just have to let out an evil laugh.....
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Grandad's National Defence Medal


Yesterday, Grandad was presented with his National Defence Medal, for his service to the Navy in the late 1940's. There are almost 1 million Australian's able to receive this medal, yet many know nothing about it. Twelve other men, and one woman were also presented with the medal at this ceremony.

The meaning behind the design of the medal : The red represents the rememberance poppy. The three red stripes represent the army, navy and airforce. The black edge stripes are for those who we have lost, and the two white stripes represent peace time, as well as war time deployments.
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When she sleeps....

Jessie has been barking a bit lately, and I think it has something to do with the warmer weather. So anytime she sleeps, she looks like an angel. I came home sick from work on Wednesday, and Jess was sleeping on Sam's chair. Rather than getting up to look at what I was doing in the kitchen, she flipped her head around, and ended up falling down between the cushion and the back of the chair. After a bit of squirming, she must have realised that it was quite comfortable, and proceeded to sleep like that for the next couple of hours.
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A Short Babysitting Service
Last night we had the pleasure (and no sarcastic tone intended), of looking after Toby and Ben for a little over half an hour. If it had of been any more than that, I'm not sure what Jason would have done. I had been at WW, but came early because of this dreaded flu, to find Jason dragging Ben around on the floor mat with Jessie's red rope. Who says you can't play dog games with small children.

Within the half hour they were there, we learnt the following:
  • Always have chippies & poppers on hand (these boys are always hungry or thirsty)
  • A yoga mat can double as a picnic blanket in the middle of the lounge
  • The Simpsons are hypnotic to tiny humans (Jason plans on taping as many eps as possible now just in case)
I was even left with a little bit of Toby's artwork : he used my magnetic message board on the fridge to draw what I believe is a person, but I'm not sure who.......
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50km (almost) Bike Ride
Early yesterday morning, 5 of us left the Botanical Gardens for an almost 50km bike ride through Dumbleton, Pleystowe, Walkerston and back to the Gardens. It was actually 46.7km to be exact, but I figure I can round up. I was expecting it to be hard, and believe me, at some times it was (especially the Dumbleton hills), but I quite enjoyed it. I have learned that a 'Floodway' sign is your friend, and a 'Crest' sign is your enemy, and that there is no way to protect your backside from the pain that ultimately occurs after a long ride like that.

The 5 of us all work at CW, and in the photo, from left to right : Me, Peter, Steve, Denise, and Andrew.

It has spurred us on to try something else next month. Tough decision between an all day hike up Mt Dalrymple, or a ping-pong tournament at Andrew's place. I think after waking up this morning I am leaning toward the latter.
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Grandma's Garden

Went to visit Grandma this afternoon, and she has this amazing array of flowers at the moment.
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My New Baby
I finally took the plunge and purchased my new baby : an Olympus SP-550 ultra zoom (18x) advanced digital camera. I was looking at going for an SLR, but didn't think I could warrant the extra funds required. This one seems to have everything I need and more, and came with a full size tripod. I intend to have more of a play on the weekend, and annoy the dogs (and Jason).
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Kristen & Brendan's Wedding
My cousin Kristen and her fiancee were married on the weekend. The ceremony was held at Dolphin Heads Resort, and it was a fantastic day for a wedding. Kristen was glowing, and the proceedings went off without a hitch. To take a look at some more photos, have a look here.

Jason and I sat at Uncle Ian's table, and I am pretty sure it is the most I have ever seen him drink, which probably led to the most I've ever seen him talk. He is now in love with Jason, as they seem to have one thing in common : an apparent dislike for people in general. It looks like we might even be invited to a Sunday family banquet in the future. Way to go Jason!

Theo also suprised me. Not having heard much from him ever, he stood up and gave a toast to his sister in the form of a poem which he had written that day. It was really good. Even Aunty Wendy's toast was beautiful. She sang a couple of lines from 'A little ray of sunshine', which had a good majority of the guests tearing up. Uncle Ian, and Kristen & Brendan gave really nice speeches too, both had some wonderful words for Grandma which I thought was fantastic.

We stayed the night at Dolphin Heads, and enjoyed a hot buffett breakfast the next morning, before going home to the very excited fur-babies who had been left alone all night. Fortunately they survived.
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Introducing Rogue...
Well this is Rogue, Ben's new puppy, who we got to know over a couple of days. Ben was keen to show us his new bull mastiff cross puppy, and decided to come down and stay with us for a few days. Needless to say, Sam was very put out, and so was Jessie suprisingly. Emotions were high (on the part of our neurotic fur-babies), but everyone seemed to tolerate each other.

I'm definitely not a big-dog person, but Rogue is gorgeous, and at only 11 weeks, is twice as big as Sam. She is so gangly and very uncoordinated. If you want to see more photos, take a look here.

Ben couldn't stay for Kristen's wedding on the weekend, because the army called him back off leave early. I dare say he can't wait to get out of the army, even if it's just so he can enjoy his holidays in peace.
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Dogs Shouldn't Eat Chickos
OK, so last night we found out that it's probably not such a wise idea to treat your dog to a chicko baby. I didn't give Sam a whole one, only a head. Well it got stuck behind his front teeth, and while it was a crackup to see him trying to lick it off, it did end up with Jason holding his mouth open, while I used my finger to pry the left overs out. So that's my piece of advice for today.
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The Bourne Ultimatum
As a final hoorah to Karen finishing up as manager of BCC, Jason and I got to go see the premiere of the Bourne Ultimatum last night. What a fantastic movie. I thought it was definitely better than the second one, but maybe on a par with the first. The fight scenes are pretty cool. There is this one scene where Bourne is trying to protect this journallist in a crowded rail station, and even though I know the whole thing is choreographed, it was amazing. Matt Damon is just such a cool actor.
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Get Scrapped Getaway 2007
Our Get Scrapped Getaway is over again for another year. Caitie, her mum, two of her aunties and I, all had a great time scrapping for a full weekend. We completed 5 layouts and 4 cards. I think this one of our Dunk Island honeymoon is my favourite, closely followed by one I did of Imelda and her sisters. I have to say that this is one of my favourites, purely due to the amount of time it took to hand cut the flower shape. If you want to see my other layouts, check them out here. Or you can check out some of Caities here.
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A Clean Desk.....

With the move to our new office fast approaching, we have all been instructed to clean our desks (and surrounding areas). To aid the removal of all the rubbish, CW have hired a skip. They have hired one before and we filled it in less than a day. This second one is also filling up fast. The main reason for the speed with which it is being filled: Jason has cleaned up his desk! Two wheelie bins, and two rubbish bins worth, in fact. And this photo is the result. Now off to make sure the rubbish under my desk makes it to the skip too....
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Dad's Live Recording

Last night we drove out to Eton with Jason's parents, to participate in Dad's live gig recording. When planning to go, never did I imagine we might take such a big role in the actual recording itself. When we got there, we just so happened to have sat at a table right adjacent to the main crowd microphone. Dad recorded 'Copperhead Road' and 'The Gambler'. Well, my foray into music recording, was with the later. During one section where I knew the crowd was supposed to pipe up, I did, but hardly anyone else did (this was the problem). Needless to say my lack of vocal skills has now been recorded for all eternity. Sad, very sad indeed.
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Barefoot Bowls

This morning we played barefoot lawn bowls with some others from work. We played at Suburban Bowls Club on Wardrop Street, and it was a great morning. For a very small green fee, we were treated to a tutorial, and a fantastic bbq lunch. After Jason had a couple of brilliant practice ends, he fell away miserably. Losing to Duncan (and myself). Jason's nickname is now Crackerjack.
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A Little Hope
From my post earlier this morning regarding the bad news we received about my cousin Gavin, we now have a little (maybe a lot) of hope. Gavin has gone to the specialist today who compared his latest scan with that of 14 months ago. The tumor seems to be on the first scan as well, and it's the same size, which could suggest it is in actual fact, a benign tumor. All our prayers seem to be having an effect. We wait to hear further news, and hope that the first misdiagnosis is in fact a misdiagnosis.
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A Little Ray of Sunshine

Inspired by Ali Edwards' new daily creative idea, I've decided to give the same thing ago. Maybe not every day, but as often as I can. This gladioli was given to me by grandma from her garden today, when I visited her and mum for morning tea. Gladdies are the only flower I can grow, but I haven't tried since we moved into Garraway St. Grandma has kept them up, and each year they seem to be better than the last. I particularly love this yellow colour. And it seems fitting with all the cancer news of late, and daffodil day coming up.
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Even Sadder News
To continue on from my last post, we were told last night that my 17 year old cousin Gavin, has terminal cancer. When Gavin was about 3 years old he survived cancer and lived cancer free until a year or so ago, when they found a tumor in his stomach. After a lengthy operation, in which they removed his stomach and made him a new one from part of his intestines, it seems to have now spread to his liver. Doctors have told him there is nothing they can do, but are going to carry out some further tests, to possibly determine the extent and agression of the cancer. As you can imagine the whole family is distraught. He is so young, and yet to experience a lot of what life can offer. His brother has suggested that they go overseas for a trip together, but Gavin's response was 'what to see a whole heap of mouldy buildings?'. His real wish is to finish school and get a job. What he is craving is some normalcy, and I hope with all hope that he is able to accomplish that.
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Sad News
I received an email from my friend today with photos of her brother's new puppy. She is so darling, and I am pretty sure is a King Charles Spaniel, but I am awaiting confirmation. The sad news that my post title refers to, is regarding my friend's mum, who has been battling cancer. She had to have a kidney removed over a year ago, and all seemed to be going well until a tumor was found near her stomach. This has also been removed, but she had been told that not much more could be done with traditional medicine. After she participated in a fortnight visit to a wholistic getaway especially for cancer sufferers in Victoria, I bumped into her on the planed back to Brisbane. She seemed upbeat and was bouyed by the information she had received at the getaway. Unfortunately, she is now experiencing shoulder pain, which could mean that the cancer has spread to her bones. This is really very sad. I cannot imagine what my friend and her family are feeling. Eventhough I experienced losing my grandfather to cancer when he was 56 and I was 14, it is nothing like my friend potentially losing her mother. My thoughts are with my friend, her mum, and their family. And I pray that this is only a hurdle in her road to a recovery.
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Note to Self - Vacuum Airconditioner Filters
After reading Ali Edwards' blog today I've decided to go home and clean all the airconditioning filters in our house. I know it's winter, and we haven't used the aircons in a while, but I should get it done while I'm thinking of it.
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Get Scrapped Getaway Blog up & running
Caitie has done a fine job in getting a blog for our Get Scrapped Getaway up and running. Caitie and I organised the first Getaway weekend last year, with her mum and aunty attending. This year we have decided to run it again, and will be doing so on 24/25/26th August. The weekend consists of a number of layout projects where all materials to complete the kits are included. A scrap challenge is planned for the Friday night, and a card class will also be included this year. Take a look at the blog and see some examples of the layouts we did last year. We hope to expand even further in the future.
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Liquor Party

Last night I went with Mum and Grandma to a Liquor Party at Kristen & Brendon's. Definitely a lot more exciting than your usual tupperware party, and on arrival I wished that I hadn't volunteered to drive. The party consisted of several tastes of different liquers, ports, creme liquers, and high-alcohol beverages. A lot of them were 'injected' into a small ball of icecream, and then others were served in watermelon, or just straight up. Needless to say the ones with the icecream were my favourite, and in particular the Choc-Orange. I ended up buying a Choc-Orange and a Mocha-Choca for us, and then a couple of bottles for Mum and Dad for christmas presents. Both Mum and Grandma seemed to enjoy themselves. Mum even knocked back a shot of a zambuka-like liquer.

Kristen's dogs Aztec and Inca have grown since I last saw them. Inca in particular, as I have only seen her as a cute little pupply, but she has now grown into something which can only be described as one of the evil gremlins (particularly when the ears prick up and sit more out to the side).

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Jeans for Genes Day


Today is Jeans for Genes Day. I've decided to make a concerted effort, and at least once per month, participate in or organise some community participation. So, for work, I've signed us up for Jeans for Genes Day, ordered some merchandise which has been selling in the last couple of day, and bought a shirt from the charity. Hopefully my colleagues will participate today, and contribute to a very worth cause.
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Tamie's Wedding Photos

Tamie (my sister) finally sent up a copy of the photographer's proofs from her wedding. The photos are stunning. On the day I remember thinking that the photographer (and his assistant) were taking some pretty original-type shots, but I don't think I expected them to turn out this good. This one is my favourite of Tamie. She looked gorgeous the whole day.
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Toby turns 6

Last night I went to Linda's place to help celebrate Toby's 6th birthday. Jason couldn't go as he had Aikido, but Karen & Daniel were able to pick me up. Reed has gotten even bigger since last time I saw him, and was doing this really cute gurgling when being held by MeMa (Imelda). Ben was really cute too, and wanted to give everyone high-fives as they were leaving.

Lee and Linda need to go into business decorating birthday cakes. Over the last couple of years we have seen number 5's covered with spiders, number 4's covered with a race track, and now for Toby's 6th they created a pirate ship. It was awesome, but I forgot my camera, so I will have to try and get a copy off Frank.

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1.7kg Lost!
So I lost 1.7kg at this weeks weigh-in, and boy am I pleased. After a number of weeks with more gains then losses, this was definitely a pleasing result. I tried on a size 10 dress at a local dress shop on the weekend, and was over the moon that it fitted (and really well). Needless to say I bought it, and am now waiting for the warmer weather so I can actually wear it.

Jason and I went and saw the Fantastic Four (Rise of the Silver Surfer) last night. It was pretty good. Not much thinking required, but a good piece of entertainment.
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Over the Weekend
So, it's been more than two days since the last blog. Oh well......

On Friday night, my good friend Caitie and I went the LSS 'Friday Frenzy' and scrapped from 6pm through to midnight. Needless to say I was a little tired on Saturday, but I did manage to get the majority of an OTP I am working on finished. It's a recipe tin, for a wedding shower that my grandma and I are hosting for my cousin in a couple of weeks. I still have some clear medium to apply to protect the tin. So when it's finished I'll post a picture.

On Saturday night, Jason and I went to the Lighthouse restaurant for dinner with members of his Aikido group, including an Australian sensei. This guy is amazing. One of those people you can't help but be mesmerised by. The life stories he tells, in particular how he started in aikido are fascinating (and long). It made me think that he should definitely write an autobiography, or dictate to someone, who could write it for him. It would definitely be a book I'd like to read.
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...Knocked Up
No, I'm not knocked up, but Jason and I went to see the movie on Friday night, and it was really good. So funny, and a bit of feel-good at the same time. Who would have imagined back in the era of Clueless, that Paul Rudd would be such a great comedian. I highly recommend this movie, but be ready for some graphic scenes towards the end (the movie is highly powerful as a contraceptive).

The rest of the weekend was pretty boring. I was able to make some headway in the cleaning out of the wardrobe in the 'scrapbooking' room. Not yet completely finished, but probably 90% there. I just didn't realise exactly how much stuff I have accumulated.

I'm off to weigh in today. I'm feeling quite puffy, so I don't like my chances of reaching the 800g goal.
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Jason now has his Red Belt
Jason had his Aikido grading last night. In typical Jason fashion, the build up was very low key. I might have even gone to watch if I had of known it was on (maybe that's why I wasn't told). Anyway, he was successful in his grading, and now has his 3rd Kyu (aka Red belt), and is only 3 away from the black, although this may take a number of years yet. The Sensei is coming to Mackay next weekend for a two day workshop, where one of the other students will be graded to 2nd Kyu. I was able to meet Sensei last year, and he is a lovely guy, and I look forward to seeing him again next week.
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Back to Blogging....

So, I am making a concerted effort to blog at least once every second day. I have read numerous times now that if I keep an accurate (and consistent) blog, that I will have an easy reference when it comes to my scrapbook journaling. And goodness knows I need help when it comes to that.

So here it goes:

Last night, the talented Caitie and I attended a crop session at our LSS Magical Memories. The theme for the night was 3D stamping, and I managed to finish this layout. I am quite happy with it, eventhough it is a little more bohemian than my usual style. I have used Basic Grey papers, MM alphas and some Bohemia gems.

I am still in the midst of cleaning out the wardrobe in my scrapbook room (aka 'our office' if you speak to my husband). My treat for finishing it will be to set up the new 'Clip It Up' I bought last week.

After a not-so-good weigh in on Monday (a gain of 0.5kg), I am on the straight and narrow when it comes to my food this week. I am also attempting to get back into regular exercise after finally recovering from the flu.

Until next time......
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June Birthdays


Here are some cards I've made for a couple of family birthdays happening in June. The 'celebrate' card is for my mother in law, the more masculine card is for my father in law, and the other card is for my nephew's christening this weekend. On this card I tried some embossing for the handprint, using an old stencil I had.
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Our new nephew

Here is our new nephew, Reed Lee Coleman. Well he's not so brand new now (as he was born on 14th April 07), but this is him taken at 1 day old.
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"Heart & Soul"

Here's my layout for the April Aussie Scrapjacked - Erica Glover. I finally was able to use some Heidi Grace acrylic flowers that I had hidden away for ages. I really love this photo, although you can tell Jason is slightly annoyed at how many photos I was trying to take that day. We were waiting out the front of Adam's apartment in Sydney, waiting for him to come home. Jason plays his Sudoku (on his mobile) when he's bored, and I take photos. Each to their own.

(Products used: Bazzill cardstock, Heidi Grace flowers, handcut title + dimensional magic, TLC chipboard brackets and ampersand)
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