A Week Later

and here I am again! One really exciting news that I can share with you is that I am apart of TSE's new DT (Dream Team) along with 8 (Jaimee, Jane, Kristine, Trudi, Vita, Ngaire, Ruth, Marie & Me) other talented girls. So honoured that A! has given me this opportunity! So so excited. To see the other talented girls, just check out their blogs on the side! Well done girls so pumped and looking forward to working with you all and learning more! Its going to be a great year at TSE, I can feel it in my waters!

The past week I have been doing nothing too exciting, believe me! Last Sunday we found that we had a huge problem with our Storm Water pipes in our backyard, so after five huge holes, we found the problem, (and we have a huge yard - 1300m2 block, most of it being backyard). We found that the storm water went right under our garage and finished just at the back of it, where the big aggy pipe at the end had been blocked by a roof tile that was buried in the ground, for whatever reason! So after we found out the problem, we organised an excavator to come Monday to dig a 20 mtr trench, 1.5 metre deep and extend the storm water to the back fence. Just what we needed right after Christmas! Though the kids loved the excavator and Coop kept wanting "BOB", thought it was part of Bob the Builders" crew in our backyard!

The Big Excavator (BOB)

And of course they loved all the dirt! Though we did have one mishap, Coop fell down the 1.5mtr deep trench. Mischief and Trouble is his middle name, he just can't help himself. He wasn't hurt, just frightened him, cleaned him up, settled him down, then he's laughing again and wanting to go back outside to the dirt! Go figure! He is totally all boy! So to say that I have had filthy dirty clothes from the boys all week, would be an understatement. Thank good for automatic washing machines and HOSES! LOL!

The Problem Can we fix it? Yes we can!!!! So come Monday, I decided to have a New Years Clean out, Out with the old, and in with the new! Well I am working on the new!!!! I went through every room of the house, one by one, and cleaned out wardrobes, drawers, linen press, bathroom cupboards & drawers, kitchen cupboards, pantry, fridge, and then the huge task of the backroom (home to the gym set, the bookcase full of books, Grants Bar, toys and my scrapping space). It took me all week, Friday night I finally had finished the whole house! To say I was exhausted would be an understatement.

One tidy Kitchen! (No fingerprints - LOL)

No Scrapping stuff on the Dining Room Table (LMAO)No Toys all over the floor - Bliss!
So to treat my self for my huge efforts, Saturday I scrapped. Though unfortunately I cannot share it with you as it was DT work, but thought seeing that my house was organised, I would stay organised and in front on the DT work too!

Saturday afternoon, Grant had a mate over, where we ended up having a BBQ for tea and playing Euka (how do you spell that?) til 10.30pm! Such a great night! So many laughs!

Sunday we were up bright and early and caught the 8.30am train to Central with Mel, Wil, Trey and Tess! Spent the day at Darling Harbour, went to the Aquarium, which the kids just loved. Especially the Penguins and Seals. They are so cheeky! Cooper did not like the Alligator, kept putting his hands over is eyes and saying NO!!!!!

Did the same with the sharks at first, but then warmed to them, and kept yelling out SHARK!!!! Gotta love kids! Once we finished there, we ventured next door the the Wildlife Centre, which was really great! Kids got to see Spiders, Snakes, Butterfly house, Nocturnal House, Koalas, Kangaroos, Birds, Lizards, and other animals! Pretty good! Though Cooper had lights out half way through! Was just too much for him!

We then spent an hour walking Paddy's markets, but I have to say, I was pretty disappointed, so much shite! The only thing we bought were icecreams. Jumped on the train at 4.15pm and got back into the train station at 7pm. Huge day, we were all buggered, tired, sore legs, and we all slept well last night.

Now I need some lessons in my camera! My new Canon SLR 400D! I took it with me yesterday to Sydney to take pics at the aquarium and Wildlife Centre. Though inside both were so dark, and of course the animals were behind glass. So my camera kept wanting to put the flash on, but with the glass, it just reflected off. I tried Auto, played with the Aperture for a little while, and in the end just gave up and put the bloody thing away, so no photo's worthy of anything from yesterday! So ig anyone nows the secret on how to take pics in the dark, or at night, with out the flash going off! I would so love to know for future reference. I even changed the ISO to 800 and 1600 to see if that worked, but no! Still blurry as! Looked as though I didn't have my glasses on! LOL!

Thats me probably for another week! Though to leave you with a thought, with the New Year now here, everyone is busy making resolutions, though at TSE, this months page challenge is to come up with one word that reflects what you would like to achieve this year! Jane chose the word ORGANISE, so I would have to say my word would be CHILL! I am a worrier, a stresser, so I would like to CHILL more, stress less, and don't sweat the small stuff! What would your word be? I'd love to know!

Love Ya's
Lisxx

TSE Bankstown Buffet & Bourbon lunch

What a day we had! Firstly Sandy, Jaimee and I made the road trip to Sydney, Sandy driving, Jaimee navigating with the Navman, and me in the backseat pretending to see! A few giggles and jokes were passed my way as to my disability (blindness)! Very funny! We were quite over the Navmans mundane womans voice in about 5 minutes, and Sandy decided it should be an Aussie Chicks voice "You dumb bastard, you went the wrong way", "Blow it out your arse" and other wonderful phrases! Think she may be onto something there! Well the laughs were worth it.

Top from left to right

Marcela, me, Skye, Annette Lee & A!Bottom left to right - Sandy, Jaimee & Jane

We arrived at Janes at 10.30am, had a cuppa, gave Jane her Chrissy present and gave Janes mum and big box of Darryl Lea choccy's. Jane gave us a pressie too, cheeky thing! I got a Daily Thoughts book, just beautiful, with my colours too, where I have to take one photo of something that occured in everyday, and write about it in my journal. What a fab idea!!!! Can't wait to start that! We watched Willy playing with his balloon, and finally he decides he likes our attention, and starts whistling, dancing and playing tunes. Awesome. Was so great to see Jane and her gorgeous family again!

Janes pressie from me

Our pressy from Jane

The best day I have had for such a long time. My cheeks and stomach hurt from all the laughing. So so blessed to find such a great bunch of girls! It was like catching up with old school buddies, we all just chatted, and laughed like we had known each other for years!

The day was dedicated to Jane, who has had a rather hard time of it of late, with constant ups and downs with her dad! Hats off to her for doing such an amazing job! Jane is such a selfless person, amazing woman and bloody talented scrapper! so we all pitched in, 18 of us, and got her a gift voucher to spend on herself! We all gave her our own cards with words that moved her to tears one minute and belly laughs the next!

Jane crying from the gift we all gave her!

There was talk of what Jane had been doing with her batteries, seeing that her camera was flat!!!! We chatted about TSE, the laughs we have had on the forum, the jokes that circulate, how much dessert Marcela could eat!!! . It was a great great bloody fantastic day! Can't wait to do it again! Once we left the RSL, Jamiee, Sandy & I went back to Janes for a cuppa before heading home, we giggled at Janes mum for all the chocolate she eats and sneaks, hey, I don't see a problem with that, coming from a self confessed chocoholic myself. Mind you we didn't leave until 6.30pm which meant we didn't get home until 8.30pm that night! A huge day but oh so worth it!

Summary of the day

Can't wait for the next TSE Bankstown Buffet & Bourbon Lunch!!!
Love you all Girls, you are the greatest!
Love Lisxx

Blind I tell You!!!!

My lovely darling two year old Cooper decides the first thing he would do when he woke up on Wednesday 2nd January 2008, would be to sneak into my room, and grab my glasses and then say "Mummy". I open my eyes scream "Cooper NO!!!" and what does he do, with each hand on the glasses arms, rips them apart, totally mangelled! Charming! I was totally devastated!

I then went up to Greenhills to see if they could fix them, they straightened them out to the best of their ability and they were still really lopsided on my face! So i bought a new pair, which they said would be in by Friday! OK, I said, thats not too bad!! As long as I had my glasses for Sydney tomorrow, all would be good!

So what happens Thursday morning while I am trying to get ready, the glasses just fall to pieces. I am beyond devastation at this time! Cursing Cooper for being such a brat!!! So I then ring dad to come and get me and take me up the shop to get some Super Glue as I can't see to drive. The bloody super glue did not work! Sandy arrives, and I fill her in and feel like a bloody disabled old granny who needs help to walk and find things. Where is the guide dog when you need it! anyway all was good. Sandy drove, Jaimee navigated and I just sat in the back, squinting and trying to see where I was going! The girls cracked me up when we stopped off at the twin servos for a toilet stop and me for food, I was looking around trying to find the straws, the girls were sitting down waiting for me, when Sandy jumps up and waves, yelling out, over here Lisa! OMG I just cracked up, they thought I couldn't see them and I was lost! It was hilarious!

Sandy, Me & Jaimee

So I copped the blind lady jokes all day! Which I will fill you in on the day in another post in a sec! Friday comes and I ring OPSM and the glasses never arrived, sorry, they should be hear Monday afternoon, and I am like "What the", Are you serious??? No Way!!!! I completely had a meltdown, I got off the phone and balled my eyes out, such a big baby I know, but I am seriously incapacitated without my glasses! So difficult, huge headaches, felling nauseated all the time, giddy, frustrated because I can't find anything! So pissed off! OPSM didn't care that I couldn't see!

Anyway Saturday comes and dad is like "Lisa you can't go on like this, not having to look after the two boys" and I am like "No kidding". So he takes me for another drive to Maitland this time, and OPSM had a go at soldering them, took them 2 hours mind you! Anyway, to my delight they are just holding together. Still can't go out in public as the bloody glasses are still really lopsided and out of proportion, and I look like someone who escaped from the Funny Farm! But hey, I can see lopsidedly anyway! Still giving me a headache but its better than not seeing at all! Bring on Monday I say!

Anna Bay

Off we go, for four beautiful days to Anna Bay! Grant and his family have been going to the same place, hiring the same unit, for the past 20 years, and each year we go up and join Grants mum for a few days out of her fortnight, and we always spend New Years there!

It is great as we can enjoy the beach (Biruibi) which is about 200 metres from the unit, or we can cross the road and let the kids play on the rocks, or swim in the rock pools, away from the sharks and huge waves. And believe me, these rocks pools are shallow one end and so deep the other end that they come up to Grants Chest and he is 6foot 3! Deep enough even for Grant to do bombs, such a big kid I Know!

Also there is the Skate Park, where Brock likes to frequent, so we had a few goes there too. Brock showing us his manoeuvres.

Grant going back to his youth and even he was shaking off the rust and pulling a few airs, so he says!!! LOL!
Travis had fun sliding down the 1/4 pipes on his bum like a slippery dip and then we couldn't get him off his bike once he got over the intitial fear of going down the ramps. Little skate punk!

Cooper, well he is the little dare devil, not frightened at all, had a go on Trav's bike and he wouldn't get off either, just wanted to keep going down the ramps. Little Monkey!

So we spent each day at the beach, playing, frolicking, and having a great time. New Years we just stayed at home with the kids, had a BBQ for tea, a few drinks, played cards & Monopoly, I won, much to Grants disgrace! Then we all went to bed by 10.30pm. Nice night!

Gosh these Hallett Boys are so Good Looking! Travis was so happy to spend time with his big Cousin "Brock"! Another good looking Hallett! Anyway we had a ball, Grant was like a big kid, and when you are in the water and hear "White Whale" you know you have to swing the camera around and take a pic! What did I get, Grants white arse in the air, with his shorts around his ankles. Such a joker!

So I'll leave you with another disturbing pic! "The White Whale" Hope you never have to come across one! LOL!!!!

Love Lisxx

28th December 2007

Well all the rush is finally over, two days of eating, partying, having a good time but a hectic time, so it was time to sit back, relax and have fun with the kids. So when we asked Coop what he wanted to do he replied "Ning Ning" (Motorbike). So Grant and Coop did endless laps around the back yard on the Peewee 50, with Cooper not letting Grant hold onto the handle bars, he had to do it all by himself, scary I know at only 2years old! But they had a great time, while I swang on my Swing seat, eating prawns and drinking a Cruiser! Now this is the life!

Though we did have a visitor, an unwelcomed visitor at that. The past few weeks have brought in the spiders, little buggers. Grant has killed 2 Funnell Webs, a few more Wolf spiders, and then this little or should I say Big Bugger, decides to join us on the Trampoline. What the hell is it?? A spider!! Yep, that much I know, but what kind. I have googled, and I cannot for the life of me determine what type, you would think it would be easy with a white line down its back, so if you find out, please let me know, I am assuming this one is the male, as a brown one with the white stripe showed up a little later. Mind you they had a little trip to heaven, as I was not taking the risk with the kids playing in the back yard in case they were dangerous. Ewww, they give me the creeps.

Well I'll leave you with that creepy vision, until next time, don't have nightmares!

Love Lisxx

Happy 2nd Birthday Cooper

Well its boxing day and we are doing it all over again for Coops birthday today!

We had a great day! Sensational day! We had a sausage sizzle for lunch, with salads galore, dips, chips, cheese platter and biscuits, chocolate spiders, lollies, fairy bread, you name it, it was there! A few bottles of wine to go with it! Was a great day! We just had immediate family, and a few of our closest friends and their kids! Went off like a bomb!

Cooper was like, what the!!! More presents, excellent, let me at them, once he got through all them, he is picking up the wrappings looking under them saying "More"! Priceless!

The kids played, we all ate too much, we then done the cake! Cooper had a blast blowing out the candles and yellingout Hooray!! Too funny!

Gotcha blowing out the candles!!!Then some people dwindled off, and the rest of us ended up playing slip and slide for the afternoon. We had the best fun! Let me tell you. We were soaked, covered in bubbles, even us adults joined in on the fun! What a blast!

Granto

Even Coop joined in!

Look mum - No Hands (Trav)

Mele

Mele and I did a tandem run together!

Granto again - the biggest kid there I think!

Stacks on Mele!!!

Just love this photo of Trav!

Fabulous day!

Though let me tell you the next day us poor unfit adults payed for it! We hurt in places we never knew existed. It hurt to sneeze, to laugh, out stomach muscles cained for days, not to mention our legs, arms and well my pubic bone felt like it had had a rightful pounding! Oh to be so lucky! The only thing that pounded it was the ground as I landed! Too funny, but an awesome day!

Happy Brithday again Coop! Can't believe you are two already! Time certainly does fly! So here we go, better hold on to my hats, cause we have just entered the terrible twos! Are you scared??????

I've Been told!

to get my act together and update my Blog! So here I am! The kids are sleeping and I am updating! Proud!!!! I hope so!

Firstly I did mention that I got my hair cut off more shorter again, so here are two pics for you all, a front on and a side on! More me!

I did manage to do a bit of scrapping before Christmas, I made one of my friends a calendar, but forgot to take a pic! Sorry, and I made a Christmas Photo Frame for my boys Christmas photo, which I can replace with a new Photo each Christmas! Just love these new Kaiser Christmas Papers!
I also completed my page for Jaimee's Tribute Challenge, this month being a special occasion in your tributes life! So i decided to scrap one of my Mum and Dads' wedding photo's. Gotta love mums tiny waist and huge tits! And dad was so tall! Shame he's shrunk over age! Though what was mum thinking wearing Green! What the!!!! She still looked stunning anyway!
Well the week before Christmas flew, all the organising, shopping, blah blah blah, then next thing I know it is Christmas eve and off to mums for a Baked Dinner! Yumo!!! So here are a few pics from Chrissy Eve! We didn't do anything exciting, just relaxed, had a great dinner and an even better dessert (Sherry Trifle), then sat bac, chatted and enoyed each others company! Perfect Christmas Eve. Once we got home, we left biccy's & beer out for Santa, and some apples, magic dust and a bucket of water out for the reindeers, put the kids to bed, then brought out all the presents! Finally passing out a bit before midnight!

Mums Chrissy Table

Most of the pressies under the tree!

We were woken at 5.30am to Travis saying Santa's been! I looked at Grant and said "Seriously, didn't we just get to bed!!!" After a moan, we are up, ringing Nanny & Poppy to tell them Santa had been. We then check to see if Santa had ate his goodies, which of course he did, just left the empty stubby and a few crumbs, no manners Travis reckons, and then we went outside to check to see if the Reindeers had eaten their apples, and had some water! Well Travis was mighty disgusted, not only had they tipped over the bucket they had pooed on the front lawn!!! (Horse poo) He kept saying "Oh man, thats disgusting, silly reindeers, Grant and I couldn't stop laughing.

The kids and all the pressies! (Where did my loungeroom go????)

Just love this pic of Dad! Holy Christmas Batman!! His hat says Ho Bloody Ho!! So him!

So a few minutes later Nanny & Poppy arrive with a car loaded and popping out the sides full of pressies, and the morning starts, there are pressies everywhere! And I mean my loungeroom is full of pressies, papers, everything, you cannot even see a spare spot! Too funny! I must have been a good girl this year, as Grant had bought me three sets of bra's and undies, a bottle of Perfume and matching moisturiser and what I have been wanting for ages, a Swing Seat! Loving it!!!! Mum & Dad bought us a beautiful, no gorgeous, black iron table and two chairs, with a black and white mosaic top, for our front verandah, was in total paradise! All these gorgeous gifts!

At 8am we are off to Grants brothers for a Champagne Breakfast but someone forgot the champagne! Bummer, was needing that! All systems go here, very hectic, then Travis starts to spew from all the excitement!

We then head to my Aunty's for Lunch arriving at 11am, and we lay Trav down on the lounge for the arvo! Another quiet gathering, a lovely baked dinner followed by my Great Great Great Grandmothers Boiled Christmas Pudding recipe and her Brandy Custard Recipe! Now thats the bomb!!! So so yummy! I was so full! We finally leave around 4pm, to do it all again at our place for dinner! Why do we do this to ourselves on Christmas for! Luckily for me, I decided on Prawns, Cold Smoked Ham and salad, and Kate brought her famous Summer Berry Pudding and her new signature dish Creme Caramel. My Christmases came all at once with these two desserts! I was in heaven! We finished the evening off by us all sitting around the dining room table playing cards! It was really nice! A great day but oh so long!

My Christmas TableSo a Merry Christmas to you all and I hope that all your wishes came true.

Love Lisxx