A Busy Week

and so I am glad it is the weekend! There's been a lot going on here for me this week but it's all good.

First things first I made the announcement that I have decided to no longer design. I love it a lot but it's very time consuming and with the twins off to Kindy late next year I decided I would rather spend that extra time with them rather than pulling my hair out when designs don't come out right. I think I have managed to come to a good compromise which will allow me to scrap more, still dabble in designing when the mood takes me and still get a little more family time.
I will still be over at Pickleberrypop however I will be switching to the Creative Team which will allow me to continue working with the amazing designers we have there and helping to promote both them and the site. I will also continue to help by providing freebies for any upcoming challenges etc so I am pleased I can still contribute in some way. I love the girls there so much and feel far too attached to PBP to go anywhere else.

So following on from that news..I am having a HUGE Sale! Click on the image below to be taken straight to my store!

Wednesday night G and I went and saw Kasey Chambers at the Festival Theatre. It's our 5th time seeing her play live and I have to say it was the best show yet. She looked so happy, relaxed, confident and her voice seemed stronger than ever. She was very chatty which was great and we felt very privileged as not only did she perform a duet with her husband Shane Nicholson (another very talented Aussie!) but also with her adorable and somewhat lively little boy, Talon. I must also make mention of her support act, Angus and Julia Stone who though very shy at first, won over the crowd with their intriguing and somewhat distinctive sound. I shall be keeping an eye on them in the future.

Thursday night G and I drove down to Marion, about an hour away to pick up some toys we had ordered there a couple of weeks ago. All I can say is the kids had really better appreciate how far Santa will go to keep them happy! :)

Friday night Abs had a school disco so I had to race to get her ready after she got home from school. I managed to get her showered, hair dried, clothed and fed just in time for her friend's mum to arrive to pick her up, unfortunately no photos as she whizzed out the door so fast it made me spin. I'll have to be quicker next time.

Not much planned for the weekend, have a heap of cards to make so should get that done ASAP. It's pretty hot here though and it's sapping our energy (what little we have of it!)

I was going to share a couple of layouts I had done for Carole Neale's CT which I just *love* but seems Blogger is playing silly buggers and won't let me so will post them next time!

A Conversation I Overheard

There was a loud scream from our lounge room, someone had been wronged. G went out to investigate as Joe's cries filled the air.

G: Scarlett did you hit Joe?
Scar: Yes
G: Why did you hit Joe?
Scar: Because I don't like him anymore
G: What did you hit him with?
Scar: With Love-A-Lot

At this point G and I had dissolved into a fit of giggles and once again Scar's insane cuteness prevents her from being told off any further. Seriously what other two year old could think of using a Care Bear as a weapon!?!

Poor Joe, he has been in the wars big time today. It started off when we were leaving to take Abs to school this morning, I locked the front door and was a couple of steps in front of him when I heard a massive thud and the verandah above my head shuddered on the impact, I quickly turned around to see Joe falling backwards after having walked into the verandah post! Ouch!! His cries were so loud that the girl across the street told us she could hear him while she brushed her hair in her bathroom!
Later on in the day he again wasn't looking where he was going and crashed head first into one of the kitchen chairs, he looked at it in pure disgust and then said to me "Not Again!"
They say bad luck comes in threes, so I wasn't all that surprised when later in the afternoon he managed to trap his fingers in the bi-fold door hinge. *sigh*

Fingers crossed he doesn't fall out of bed tonight!

A Few Odds And Ends

It's pretty hot here today, and I had a fairly busy day for the most part but not feeling too bad considering.

We started off with a trip to the Dr, who officially confirmed that Abs is starting to "develop" I am gobsmacked in so many ways, sad in so many ways and scared to death! I mean this is the same kid who turned 8 just a few short weeks ago. She's just a baby and I am absolutely not ready for her body to start changing, let's hope it's a long and very very slow process! Daddy is still in denial.

After that I went Xmas shopping with my mother while the kids stayed at home with G. It was nice enough, I mean I told Mum what to buy and she bought it, it's not like she had to really think of anything as such. Thinking and decision-making is really not her strong point. Enough said.
Tomorrow she and I are going to a craft fair. I am only really going as a couple of years back I got some lovely hand made Barbie dolls clothes from this market, great quality, very cheap and fairly fashionable compared to some handmade dolls clothes you see around. I am hoping at worst they might do some Cabbage Patch doll clothes too for the twins dolls.

Cool news of the day....I am now officially a CT member for Carole Neale's amazing designs. I *love* her style and am very excited. You can see her designs in the DigiScrapShak Store
I think it's great to see another talented Aussie girl out there doing such amazing work!

Finally after the kids were in bed G and I ended up watching a movie, Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants. Quite a nice, easy to watch Chick Flick, no major amounts of brain power required. Think it was all a bit much for G though, he got all teary in the sad part! Bless!

SURPRISE!!!.......Or Maybe Not

Help me out now blog readers. Is there one person who you can just *never* surprise in life with anything or is it just a me thing?
Since I have known G I have managed to surprise him a grand total of ONE time, yep once in our almost 11.5 years as a couple, even when he proposed he knew I was going to say yes! The one time I surprised him was his birthday and I managed to get hold of a copy of Mindy Smith's album which he was not expecting at all..but which he loved.
It's pretty irritating when (oh just for example let's use today) I decide to spoil him for no reason with his favourite for dinner, a home-cooked lasagne. I figure he will walk in the door and get a whiff of some home cooking and just feel the love of the Universe on his shoulders. Wrong, he emails me and tells me he fancies curry for tea tonight, so I reply that I don't...so he emails me back and says "you've cooked lasagne haven't you" Hmm...I won't write here what I sent back to him. It's not just the little things either, he knows what I want to buy him all the time for birthdays and Xmas too....I give up! Does anyone else have this problem?

Okay so on to other things, this blog has been quite neglected as we were away for a few days last week. To read about our trip and see some of our pics head to G's blog as he covered it so well I don't think he left much more for me to say..you can see it here and here, in a nut shell we had a great time! It was great to get away, and quite an experience to say the least. Ab had her first attempt at sleeping in a bunk bed and did great..now I am thinking I should get her a loft bed for her room, she could certainly use the extra space.

Lastly before I head towards bed..my fave word of the day comes from Joey, who while studying the Rice Bubbles box this morning at breakfast proudly pointed out the "bike-all" (rhymes with Michael) I thought it was very good as he usually calls bicycles motorbikes!

Why I Love My Husband

Me: Honey, do you know what is so special about today?
G: *pause* It's one month today until your birthday.
Me: You always know the the right answer

Seriously how lucky am I that I have a husband who never forgets my birthday!? I know he doesn't have a clue what to get me, nor does the fact that he knows it's coming actually make him go buy a card any earlier (have you seen the choice of birthday cards available in mid-December?? I am telling you now..it's slim pickings!) but he *does* always know when it is.

We won't mention Mothers Day 2005.

Top 5 Albums I Am Listening To Lately

In no particular order.......

1. Taking The Long Way - The Dixie Chicks
2. Stand Still, Look Pretty - The Wreckers
3. Carnival - Kasey Chambers
4. Kerosene - Miranda Lambert
5 . Love, Pain and the whole crazy thing - Keith Urban
(which technically I only bought today but I *know* it will barely leave the CD player for the next few weeks!)

I'm offline for a couple of days but will be back soon hopefully with some new pics soon!

The Season Of Goodwill

is almost upon us and whilst many of us will be celebrating with our loved ones (and maybe not quite so loved ones!) I always think it's important to think of those who for whatever reason, don't have much reason to celebrate at this time of year.



I am very proud to announce the release of Pickleberrypop's very first charity kit, supporting the Chibobo Orphans in Zambia. The Pickleheads have pulled together an amazing kit absolutely stuffed FULL of goodies including 31 papers and 200+ elements, at only $8 Australian it is a bargain and furthermore, and most importantly, every single cent raised from the sale of this kit will go directly to the Chibobo Orphans for food, water, education and better facilities.

Check it out below and click on the image to be taken straight to the store for what could be the most important purchase you will make this holiday season!



To read more on the wonderful work being done for the Chibobo Orphans click here