Fame Again

My LO is in Scrapbooking Memories (V12N11; p83) which I received today. I was thrilled to see it in print and they even did a bit of a write up to go with it because of the way I had incorporated the journalling.
I had a good few days in Sydney. No time for shopping but attended an excellent echocardiography conference. I stayed in luxury at the Shangri-La at The Rocks and woke up to a view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I must admit it has taken me a couple of days to recover from my "brain" fatigue.
Nick had a pupil free day today and had a friend over to play. They had a great time pottering in his cubby house and scootering around.
Have a good week.
Rach xxx

Happy Birthday Miss Alex

My sweet niece, Alex is turning 11 on Thursday. She had major surgery last week which she has begun to recover from very well. So much so that she will be able to leave hospital tomorrow after 5.5wks. Home just in time for her birthday. Have a lovely day Alex - you deserve it. Thank you to all of my friends who have sent well wishes for Alex. She has needed every little prayer to get better and we feel so relieved that she is improving.
I am off to Sydney tomorrow, hence my early birthday wishes to Alex. I am attending a conference there for a few days in the lap of luxury. I'm very excited and love the motivation that conferences promote. Craig is returning from Cairns tomorrow and will be holding the fort.
 We are slowly organising our lives and gearing up for our big move. Amongst all of this, I took time out to attend my second last Simply Crafty Sunday scrap. I will really miss this group of ladies, some of whom I met over 6yrs ago. I didn't achieve much but really enjoyed their company. Here are 2 LO's I created.

Have a good week.

Rach xxx

Good News

Someone has made us an excellent offer on our house! Woo hoo! Craig keeps telling me not to get too ahead of ourselves and the contract could all fall through but it's hard not to. These people don't want to move in until mid December when we were planning on moving out. Is something too perfect about all of this? Should I feel as though something is going to go wrong? Well I've decided no and am just going to feel positive about this new adventure in our lives.
OK after that bit of waffle, I remembered I had some LO's that I did a month or two ago that I haven't shared.

Happy Tuesday.
Rach xx

Holidays Over

That was quick. We all had a good break though. Our mad cleaning frenzy has not been in vain. We had people through the house this week. I like my tidy, clean house. I had mentioned to a friend about 12mths ago that I needed to move to have a good clean up and out. I looked through the cupboards again today and I don't think that there is too much more that I can get rid of. I have a few things that missed the garage sale which I will drop off at the charity shop tomorrow.
Nick and I spent 2 days last week sorting out his jumbled up Lego. He had multiple sets joined together and wouldn't re-build them as it was too hard to find the pieces. Now each set is packed and labeled in a snap lock bag. The left overs are colour coded in snap lock bags.
On Wednesday night we were picked up by limousine and driven to a lovely restaurant (Restaurant 55) to celebrate my good friend, Joanne's birthday. It was my first trip in a limo and would be very easy to get used to with champagne served whilst we were travelling. The food at the restaurant was superb as was the company. We had a great night out.

Saturday was filled with birthday parties and a get together for the re-run of the AFL grand final. Sunday was spent relaxing. Penny and I made her party invitations. She has many plans for her party and has been making lists since January!

Today Nick and I went to see "Despicable Me" which was a fun movie with a great message. Back to school tomorrow for Nick and his last term.

My niece Alex is entering her 5th week in hospital. We have everything crossed that she will keep improving. It is baby steps and getting really tough for her. Keep your chin up sweet girl.

Have a good week.

Rach xx

Holidays At Yamba

We have recently returned from 7 days at Yamba on the northern NSW coast. We discovered this lovely seaside town last year and decided to return for a longer visit this time. We stayed in a townhouse at The Sands which is right on Pippi's Beach. It was beautiful and the complex included 2 pools and 2 tennis courts all for a very reasonable price. The weather wasn't fantastic and included a few days of showers but we still managed to go walking. Craig took Nick to the movies twice and Penny once so that I could get in some good shopping time. The shops are lovely and very boutiquey (if that's a word). Not that I could afford many of the clothes but it was lovely to browse. The scrapbooking shop - Simply Crafts, is great and well stocked with new products and they have an on-line shop. It was lovely to get away. BTW, the tooth fairy found us in Yamba. Nick lost a top front tooth.

On our arrival home we had a message on our answering machine from our real estate agent indicating that he had some people interested in buying our house. The house isn't even on the market yet!! We had planned to prepare the house over the next week to put on the market the following week. So speed cleaning with emphasis on speed is what is happening here in amongst golf days and a lovely ball which we attended last night put on by the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. The night was great fun although at Craig's work events I often end up on the stage as part of the amusement. In the past I have been a magician's assistant. Last night I was an 'air' drummer for the comedian along with 2 other men who were an 'air' guitarist and 'air' keyboard player. It was all good fun and thank goodness for the few glasses of champagne for courage. At last I was able to wear this dress which I fell in love with earlier in the year and just had to buy. It is navy and white and very soft and easy to wear.

My darling little niece Alex is still very sick in hospital so we are hoping and praying that the little bit of improvement in the last couple of days goes ahead in leaps and bounds. Keep going brave Alex you are a true champion.

Love Rach xx

Sending Special Get Well Wishes

to my niece, Alex who is battling illness and has been in hospital for 10days with more to come. She is being very brave and is coping with all that is dished up to her. Keep fighting little one. I went to scrapping on Sunday afternoon and decided to complete a LO with baby Penny and little Alex.

Nicholas lost another tooth on Saturday night. He lost the upper tooth to the right of his front right tooth. His speech is quite affected and he tends to lisp a little. He assures me that the front right tooth is also very wobbly.

On Sunday we all attended Nicholas' friend's 8th birthday party. It was at the go cart track so the Dad's had to come and take their son's around the track. The boys looked hilarious in their huge helmets. It was a lovely morning and we had a sausage sizzle and cake to finish off. I made a pedal go cart card for Angus.

Soccer is over for the year which is a relief in one sense as the season is so long but it was also a little sad to say goodbye to Nick's team mates and their families.

Spring has certainly sprung in Queensland. We have been enjoying some beautiful warm days. Unfortunately allergies and hay fever seem to be much worse this year which I have been battling.

Have a happy week.

Rach xx

Tooth Fairy Visiting

Well the dentist was so right. He indicated 2 wks ago that Nicholas would lose a tooth very soon and hence the photo shoot just over a week ago. Tonight Nicholas lost one of his bottom front teeth. He has had sore, wobbly teeth for the last few days and whilst cleaning his teeth tonight, one popped out into the basin and he assures me that he only just stopped it from going down the drain. The tooth fairy, whom Nicholas informed me was a man (???) better remember to visit tonight.

We had a quiet weekend as Nick and I had colds and Penny had conjunctivitis which decided to flare last night resulting in us having a day at home today. Craig was away for Father's Day so the children gave him their presents when he was home last Thursday night. We did attend Angus' 5th birthday party on Saturday morning at a local playground/park which the children and I enjoyed.

Just trying to get the house ready to put on the market next month. Still working on the mountain of cards (one below).

Holidays soon. Can't wait to visit Yamba. Hope all the rain has disappeared.

Lots of Happy Birthday wishes to my SIL, Trudie, my godson, Lee, my great friend and photographer, Petrina and my Dad.

Have a good week.

Rach xxx