Oh me too, me too!

Yup, I too want the chance to win that lovely pile of crafty goodness that Rach was talking about, so go here and check it out!  Go on, what have you got to lose?  That's right, NUTHIN!

More to post laters, for now, it's off to the spare room to get some study done.... assignment due on 30th, yikes!  

Toodles, B x

Want a gift from me?

Want a gift from me?

Rachel is being crafty and is going to share her talents and she's inviting her readers to do the same. The deal is that I am supposed to follow these rules... This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It'll be done this next month.

4. You have no clue what it's going to be. I may scrap or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog.

The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

Ya gotta be in to win! So, who's in?

Ooohhh - someone else's blog candy!

Ok ladies, if you haven't checked this out already, you so need to....  I want to win it, yessirree!!!!!

Well, today is Saturday, hooray.  Just had my usual Sat morning sleep-in, and have lazily eaten brekkie and read the paper.  All good.  I have to whip up a 5 year old's birthday card now, then at 11am J and I are off to said 5 year old's party at McDonalds for a couple of hours.  Well there goes my peace!  I might be pre-emptive and take nurofen BEFORE I go to the party!!! Ha ha ha.

Later today we have some friends coming in to watch the V8s and have takeout for tea (just don't tell the weigh-in girls, ok?!).  And speaking of the V8s....  GO THE BLUE OVAL!!!!!!

Right, on that note, I'd best haul arse and get this card made - we still have to stop off at the red shed to get a present on the way there!  Toodles, B x

Grrrr - here's what bloody gardening will do for you....

Long story short, we had a trailer load of rocks to unload at the in-laws. D can't lift them because of his back injury, so I said I'd do it. When I say rocks, I MEAN rocks. These were those large hunks of bluestone that people landscape their garden with. Well, as I was rolling one out of the trailer, because it was too heavy for me to lift, it twisted on it's side and just lept onto my toes. And it bloody well hurt! I have split the skin on the top of my big toe, bruised the top, sides and bottom of my big toe and second toe, and have a wee bit of trouble walking at the moment - I have to sort of 'hobble'!

Split toe, and bruising on side of it...

Left foot vs Right foot.

I have UGLY feet, and usually have large gaps between each of my toes (see left foot), but they are gone for the moment on my right foot! I also have funny toes that are fat at the end and get narrow in the middle (see left foot), but at the moment, my big toe and the two toes next to it are a bit 'rotund'. Oh and they are currently throbbing.... a lot. So that's what I get for helping tidy up the garden. I just KNEW gardening could be hazardous to your health! Ha ha ha ha ha. Beware of leaping rocks. Seriously.

Toodles, B x

Paper Quilling, The Good Jacob, and Wine!

I had a lovely day yesterday. J had been naughty the day before so he was not allowed to see any TV all day. Quite a punishment for a 5 year old on holiday. It was amazing. Evil Jacob left the building, and was replaced by happy, helpful, courteous Jacob! Fabulous!

I had to go into work for a bit, and my intended half hour visit turned into a two-and-a-half hour slog. Grrrr. Luckily J was reasonably happy to stay in my office and play with his toys. I say reasonably. After that we visited Grandad Jim at work, called past The Lolly Jar to get some icing flower decorations for future cupcakes, then headed home for lunch.

After lunch I decided it was as good a day as any to call on my friend Heather armed with a bottle of wine. We'd talked about doing it often enough, so why not I thought?! Before we could go to her place, J wanted to make her a card first. I had only just shown him what a quilling tool was ("What's vis fing for Mum?"), and he decided to make a quilled flower card for Heath all on his own. Honest, all I did was glue them onto the card for him... he did all the quilling himself. Check it out:

I think he did a pretty fab job, esp for a first attempt. Anyhoo, armed with a bottle of bubbles, I headed round to Heath's, and we had a lovely afternoon! Not a bad idea, this drinking thing! Ha ha ha. God, I must sound like an alcoholic, but I'm not, I promise! Honest.

Toodles, B x

Friends

Yup, this post is about one of the most important things you can have in your life.  Friends.  

We all have 'acquaintances' and those people at work you chatter to while waiting for the photocopier, but we all NEED friends.  Sometimes life isn't easy, and you get dealt the odd blow that comes out of left field.  At times like that, you need your friends.  

A friend is a person who can tell what's wrong by what you don't say.  A friend is someone who knows where you keep the coffee, and is happy to jump up and make coffee for you in your own home.  A friend doesn't judge.  A friend is someone who you can sit with in silence, and it isn't awkward.  A friend knows all your failings, and still loves you anyway.  A friend knows when to show up armed with chocolate/wine/tissues/all of the above.  A friend, as the MasterCard ads always say, is PRICELESS.

I am lucky that my best friend is my husband, Darryl.  And another of my closest friends is my Mum.  To my other lovely, beautiful, supportive, truly fab-u-lous friends and confidantes.... you know who you are, and hopefully, you know what you mean to me.  A person only has so much inner strength to draw on, the rest she gains from the love and support of her friends.

Without friends, without support, without love, what is there?  Not a heck of a lot, to be honest.

To those of you who have been there for me, please accept this as a personal thank-you from me.   You ARE appreciated.

Oh, and to the little people out there in the universe who take delight in shitting on others.... be careful, karma's a bitch.  It'll always get you in the end.  

Right, enough ranting from me.  I'm getting off my soapbox, and going to bed.  Night! B x

We have a winner(s)...

Final official count on the candy...  35 jersey caramels and 17 chocolate fish.  My gym trainer Dominique got closest with the chocolate fish (she guessed 18), and she and Mandy B tied with their guess of 33 for the jersey caramels.  I'll deliver Dom's choccy fish later today.  Mandy, flick me your addy and I'll post you up the jc's tomorrow :)  Congratulations!  I might have another comp later in the week... they're fun!  

Toodles, B x

Mmm - someone else's CANDY!

Go check this out... Inked Inspirations are giving away fab blog candy.  Go on, enter, I DID!

How is everyone today?  Today is officially my first day of holiday for the week.  Nice feeling.  Although, knowing in advance that I was going to be having some time off, I have a zillion things planned for this week.  Typical!  Also have an 'issue' to deal with personally which is making it hard to chill out at the moment.  Nuf said about that.

I will check the entries for my blog candy shortly, and let you know later today who won the goodies.  For now, I have lunch to think about making for D who is at work today, and something to keep J amused without destroying the place!

Righto, I'm off.  Toodles, B x

PS - SOME OF YOU need to update your blogs!  (Nic, Rach....!!!)

I know, I know....

I drag this ol' chestnut out every Easter.... but I LOVE IT! It cracks me up, time and time again.



My favourite ads on telly at the moment are those creme eggs ones 'the end of the goo' and 'here today, goo tomorrow'. Crack. Me. Up. Did I tell you I have a warped sense of humour?! Ha ha ha ha

Oh, and speaking of ads on the telly.... Has anyone else seen that strange ad for U tampons? The woman walks around all day with a beaver, and the catch line at the end is 'you only have one, so you'd best look after it'. Isn't that slightly off colour?! I couldn't believe it when I saw it! Whatever wil they come up with next? My god I'm starting to sound old! Oh dear!

Righto..... I'm orf. Happy Easter peeps. Toodles, B x

My little helper

I had a little helper last night - he kept trying to play with the bits of paper as they flew out of the paper punch. He was a GREAT help.... NOT!!! Lucky he's so good looking....

Nearly time for the Easter Bunny to visit!!!

I have been making Easter cards this week... playing around with masking stamps so that I could make the bunny sit on his carrot (they are two separate stamps, so it's a bit tricky!). Today is my last day at work for a bit - the school hols start tomorrow, so I have all next week off work... lovely! I have a HEAP of stuff to get done at work today, so not looking forward to getting there this morning, but man am I looking forward to 5pm tonight, ha ha ha!

Also had a go at an eggstremely easy Easter craft that I am going to do with the kids at the weekend - Jacob and his cousins can have a play, it's just too easy for words.... and very cute! See?

Mmm.... after dinner mints, yuuummmmmm!!!!!! Right, I have dishes to tidy up, lunches to make, and showering to do. Have a nice weekend everyone...

Toodles, B x

Ok, time for a bit of blog candy goodness!

Yup, here you go.... blog candy of the best kind - actual CANDY!

OK, below I have posted pictures of two plastic containers - one filled with jersey caramels, the other with baby chocolate fish. Have a guess at how many are in each container. Go on, I know you think you have the answer already, right?!

So, leave me a comment containing your guess, and the closest guess for each will win the loot! I'll leave it open until the end of the Easter break (ie comments close Monday 13th, midnight).

Good luck!

Sorry about the crap photos - these were taken on my phone (what happened to my camera is a whole other story).

So go on.... hazard a guess... what have you got to lose? That's right, NOTHING!

Toodles, B x

I just found out that a lady I knew (briefly) through scrapbooking, died tonight. 

She had been fighting a losing battle with cancer for quite a while, and I knew that she wasn't very well. 

I never really got to know her properly - I never got the chance before she started to get really sick, but she had a lot of lovely people who were close friends with her, and I think that says a lot about the kind of person she was.  

And even though I wasn't anything more than another one of the ladies she scrapped with once a month, or who might have said hello in passing on the street, I'll admit to shedding a tear or two tonight....  for the children she has left behind who have lost a mother, and the husband who has lost his partner, and the grandchildren she will never get to know.  

She was only in her early fifties.  Younger than my own mother, who I still think of as young.  Way too young to die.

Sometimes, life just isn't fair.  It's just not.

So tonight, my thoughts go out to her family and friends.  May they treasure their memories, and admire her scrapbooking for years to come.  Today, heaven got itself another angel.

Brrrrrrrrrr!!!

Ok, so where have the lovely mild mornings gone to, huh? This morning when I got up at 6.15am it was only 5 degrees outside, so like I said, brrrrrrrrrr! And yes, the photo below (view from my kitchen window) shows a bit of FROST on the neighbours roof. Double brrrrrrrrrr. And Nic though we rolled our r's before! Ha ha ha!!!!

Right. Back to work. Toodles, B x