House pics, before and after

I finally tracked down an old pic of the house. It's one we took when we were considering buying it.

And this is what it looks like as of a couple of days ago:

I hope you can read the little notations I've made. Just a few bits of info regarding the grand plan!

World peace!

According to Steve, world peace all hinges on.... wait for it...

BACON!

Yep. Steve has a breakfast fry-up once per week. The other day as he tucked into his eggs, tomatoes,baked beans and bacon on toast he came up with this gem... (It's not 100% politically correct, but if you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that neither am I!)

"If Muslims could just eat Bacon, there'd be no terrorism or war. Bacon is awesome! Everything is made better with bacon".

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Don't think he'll gain a political seat based on that theory, but it sure made me laugh.

Where does the time go?

I swear I updated here only a day or so ago... I got a shock when it said it was back in September. Goodness, the time is just flying. In no time at all it'll be Christmas, and then in only another blink of an eye, my baby will start school (insert Annie doing happy dance here).

Speaking of Xmas, I have officially started shopping. Have purchased a Nintendo DS for Lara. Got a bargain on eBay, it came with 5 games. Lara's friend has one, and they drag it out everytime they are together. Lara wants one too, so they can "connect and play the Dog game" whatever that means! Thank goodness we're not hosting the event again this year. It was nice, but very stressful and busy last year. Felt like all I did was stay chained to the oven, then had to trot off to work night duty on Christmas night. :( This year I have 5 WONDERFUL WEEKS annual leave over Christmas and into January. We plan to go away for a week or two, and the rest of the time will be spent with family and friends. Just lovely.

The house is fully rendered now! It looks so different, and so much more modern. The fence is nearly painted, we just had to agree on a colour to paint the house. I think we have agreed, but I'm not sure if Steve's just "given in" and perhaps he's not truly happy with the colour choice. I'll give him a couple more days before I go ahead and buy paint. He may change his mind, and I aint painting the whole house again if that happens.

I took some pics of the house yesterday. When I get orgainised, I'll upload yesterdays pic side by side with the pic we took when we bought the house. Will give you a better idea of the whole before and after thing.

Okay, I'll be back later with some photos. Ooooh, and I have been scrapping. Stupidly I chose to cover an intricate chipboard flourish with patterned paper for my drought breaking layout, so it's been time consuming. However, as I sanded away at it, I reflected on the merits of a quick layout versus a time consuming one. I have concluded that it matters not (unless you have a deadline). The joy of scrapping, for me, is the relaxation and stress release it affords me.

Have a great day!
Annie
XXXXX

So much happening...

It's only Thursday, but I feel I've lived 2 weeks in the past 4 days...

On Monday I sacrificed sleep (worked Night Duty the night before) to spend a precious few hours with my dear, sweet friends from Uni. Jen and Kaz drove to Bendigo to lunch with Jocelyn and I. And all our kids of course. It was just lovely, and once again I lament the fact that we don't all live in the same street.

Got a couple of hours sleep in then went to my second Night Duty. I only lasted 2 hours. As soon as I arrived there was a message to call Steve at home. Turns out that Dad had just rang him. Mum was in hospital, and had sufferred a "bleed into her brain". I rang the hospital to hear what what happening. Basically, a few days ago Mum had a 3cm bleed into her brain (essentially a stroke). I spoke briefly with Mum, who was crying and feeling very frightened. I was just glad to hear her voice and know that at least she could still talk.

I didn't stay at work. Went home so that I could get a few hours sleep, then set off for Dad's first thing Tuesday morning. Dad was very relieved to see me. He had been holding it together well, but Mum is Dad's rock really, so I thought Dad would be in a worse state than he was. We drove the rest of the way to the hospital together. Mum looked good when we arrived. All her neurological exams checked out, so they discharged her. She needs an MRI of her brain in a couple of weeks, and depending on what that shows, she'll probably need a craniotomy (brain surgery) to clip an aneurysm. I put the fear of God into Mum, trying to ensure that if she has symptoms again, to call an ambulance, not hop in the car.

So, I loaded up the car and headed home Tuesday afternoon. I rang home to tell them I would be home in about an hour. Oscar must have left the phone off the hook after he spoke to me. This would be important in about an hour's time... Got halfway home and the freakin' car overheated. It's done this before, despite numerous mechanic visits, and despite Dad and I BOTH checking the oil and water before I left their place. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. I had 2 litres of water in the car with me, but it wasn't enough. I sat on the side of the road for about an hour, waiting for the car to cool off. I tried to ring home to tell them what was happening, but the phone was off the hook. I sent a text to my neighbour to ask her to go tell Steve to hang up the phone, but it turns out she was out of town too. Then my phone died. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I limped 500m up the road before the needle shot to HOT again. So, I decided to be grown up about it, and walked a kilometer or so, to find a farmhouse a bit off the main road. No one answered when I knocked, so I helped myself to some water from an outdoor tap. As I was walking back to the car, and old man finally heard me and came out of the house to help. Turns out the extra water was all I needed, and I was on my way.

Phew. I cursed the car the whole way home. Had a little cry as well, once all the drama was over. LOL

Poor Steve. When I walked in the door, I unleashed my fury. Called the car all the names I could possibly think of, then went on a rant about how surely two adults with jobs should be able to have a reliable car, capable of surviving a ONE HOUR drive when my mother is sick. So, scrap that previous post about the Territory being stalled. It's full steam ahead baby. Not a question of having Steve 100% on board now. I mean, he always was, but he kept cringing about the $$$$ factor. I care not now. Mum and Dad aren't getting any younger, and there will be more times when I need to just drop everything and go to them. The last thing I need to think about is whether the car will let me down.

Rant over.

So, the past few days have been... interesting. Watch this space for the sparkling new car. hehehe Actually, I have decided that perhaps NEW is not necessary. A used Territory will do the job I reckon.

Things to share!

As promised, I have taken pics of all the cards I made today. I also did something else... I sorted my ribbons out. They had become a little disorganised, so I tipped them all out of their jars and re-sorted them. Before you view this pic, please know that I admit I have a problem when it comes to ribbons. I have far more than I will use in many lifetimes. I know this, I admit this. However, having said that, I make no promises about not adding to my stash any time soon...

The ribbons are now all back in their jars, and look fab.

Here are the cards I've been working on today. I hope to do some "scrapping" tonight, now that the cards are out of my system!

Influenza A... a for awful

We've been struck down by the flu. First time in my life I've actually had the "flu". It has always irritated me when people describe the common cold as the "flu" and now it will annoy me even more. There's no confusing the two. You might feel lousy with the cold, but you feel like begging for a lethal injection when you have the flu! As it stands today, Jacob is the only one to have avoided it. Steve had it the worst, and I reckon mine was the mildest out of us all. Mothers are not allowed to get sick anyway... Oscar took out the prize for most miserable-looking. He insisted he wasn't overly sick, but his poor little face just looked miserable. Ossie and I were sick at the same time, so we spent a good deal of it cuddled up on the couch together. Awwwwwwww.

I have been mega busy making cards. I haven't photographed them yet, but aim to do it sometime today. I also sent off a heap of cards to Remember When to be photographed, so keep a look out for my stuff on their site.

I went a little crazy and ordered up big from Yankee Candle Company. I just love their candles, they have a mega long burn time, and the smell is divine. I get frustrated with candles that have next to no scent. These candles make me happy, and seem to inspire creativity for me.

The new car is stalled. Got the go ahead from everyone: Steve, the bank etc, but now I'm re-thinking it. The repayments are quite large, so I'm just having another look around to see if I can fall in love with a cheaper car, to the extent that I am in love with the Ford Territory! Probably aint gonna happen, but for one the voice of reason has prevailed. I'm turning into Steve!!! hehe

Okay, off to clean my scrapping space, take some pics and then back to share with you later.

Have a great day!
XXX

Just for fun...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Candy Cressida

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Vanilla Raspberry Shortcake (hmmmm, doesn't sound too tough!)

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)Akof (Dude..................)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Yellow Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Gaye Melbourne.

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Kofan

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The") The Blue Chardonnay (OMG, I'm cracking myself up!)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Bernard Patrick

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Allure Starburst.

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ) Jean Patrick.