A Little Bit Of Everything

Dreamharp Final Day

2012-01-29T19:23:00.000+08:00

The day started nice and cool. A far cry from the previous two days. My first job on the dreamharp this morning was sanding. I hand to hand sand out all the machine marks and scratches from when the edges were rounded. This took quite a lot of sanding but I managed to get through it.

It was interesting. As I was sanding I remembered a TV show I used to watch; NCIS (the original) . In this show the boss of the team hides away in his basement sanding away at the ribs of a boat he is making. People always comment on his lack of progress and how he is always sanding. I understand why now. It is very therapeutic. I started closing my eyes, and started to feel the wood for the first time. It was beautiful and smooth, almost soft to the touch. My fingertips would then find a small imperfection that needed sanding out. It may not have been visible then, but it would be when I waxed it.

In this photo you can see the marks I had to remove. One minute they were there ...

... a few minutes later they were gone!

Before oiling we needed to burn in the notes that each string would be. You could also be a little more creative and something that the last 3 days had meant to you. I felt that I had found a little more of myself. It is amazing how much you can learn when you are playing with wood.

Nis said I had to have a photo of myself doing something to prove that I actually did make the thing. By the way ladies, my apologies, Nis is only 61, not 63.

Here I am adding the oil, then using wet and dry sandpaper on certain areas to open up the pores, and then rubbing of the excess with a cloth. We do two layers. This needs a couple of hours to dry fully, so ...

... we hopped in the car and went for a well deserved swim at this beach. OMG it was so beautiful and barely anyone around. Not telling where it is though. When I want to go, I want to keep it nice and quiet.

Back at the studio, this is the oiled product, now we had to wax it. Wax on, wax off.

The pins are in place for me to add the string (they did get more level). Stringing is actually quite hard. Probably the hardest part really.

The final piece: my dreamharp. The sound is beautiful, the vibrations coming from it are soothing to the touch, words can not describe what it feels like to play one of these. I mean really play. We sat out in Nis' garden and played. I closed my eyes, listened to the birds in the trees and the wind in the leaves, and just played what came naturally. It was so peaceful. That is what I wanted from my harp.

Dreamharp Day 2

2012-01-28T21:09:00.000+08:00

Yesterday afternoon, I was seriously wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. My arms aren't strong, I have RSI in both wrists, how did I seriously think I could get away with carving wood!!!!

Trying to sleep was hell. Even two panadiene Forte could not keep the pain in my right arm at bay. I kept dreaming of hammers and chisels, of knots in wood, which was was the grain going, until eventually my harp broke in half because I had chiseled too deep and too fast. Finally around 2am I managed to fall into a dreamless sleep, which was rudely interrupted by the alarm at 6:30am.

None the less I was determined to see this through. It was not only a battle with wood but a battle of my mind. My mind was telling me that I could not do this, the wood was going to beat me. I was determined to work through any pain and beat this hunk of wood.

Luckily for me the pain down my entire arm was gone, my fingers were still tender but workable. Before I started, I had a really good look at what I did yesterday and realised that I had done a good job. I also stopped looking at it as an enemy out to get me and thought of it as more of a friend that needed a little nurturing. Believe it or not, this actually worked.

I continued on where I left off which was using the chisel to shape and smooth. About half an hour into the morning (sweat already pouring off me from the humidity) I finally found the grain. All day yesterday I never quite found the proper direction of the grain. When I found it today, I was really excited, it really was as easy as carving butter. I could even do some areas one handed (IE only using the chisel and no hammer). The knot still proved a battle and even now it is not that neat but there really isn't much I can do about it.

This photo was taken when I found the grain. The main area has ripple marks like sand, which are staying. You will notice rough areas in the bottom left that still need work

When I no longer required the use of the hammer, Nis helped me drill the holes for the metal bits the strings go on (yeah I know they have a name but I have no idea what). After that, he did some work with different sanders to shape the area for the string bits as well as curve the edges.

This is Nis doing the shaping. He himself is not in bad shape either. Doing well for a 63 year old.

This is what it looked like when he finished.

I went back to my work bench and continued to shape the leaves and smooth out the lower level more. Once I finished with the chisels, I then hand sanded the leaves (but not my water ripples, they are staying). In order to shape I would push a chisel along the square edge the design. Sounds simple, but you aren't using a hammer so you use your weight, and on top of that, the grain may change direction and you needed to come at it from a different angle. I was thoroughly enjoying it.

Towards the end of the day, I got to use one of the electric sanders, with fine sand paper, to run over the edges and get rid of any marks from the original grinder. I did a pretty good job, but there is still a lot of hand sanding that needs to be done in order to get rid of the fine lines. I managed to get a lot of it done before I left and will do the rest tomorrow morning. As you can see in the below photo, the edges are a lot smoother.

Now here is something interesting that I noticed when I downloaded my photos tonight. Nis has a wonderful garden full of interesting shapes. I loved the sun flowers so I just had to get a photo. Take a look at the left of the flower where the petals start fanning out from the centre. Can you see the XII there? I thought, "gee that is weird, the flower has the roman numeral for 12 on it." The I realised what it was. If you follow it from the X across to the right, you will see that there is a bright streak that also goes across the seed area. My camera is a Lumix. On the top of the camera, Lumix is stuck on with a reflective sticker. If you look at it with mirror image in mind, you will see that you have the XI and part of the M of LUMIX reflecting onto the flower. I love the photo, but the branding kinda ruins it. :)

Dreamharp Day 1

2012-01-27T20:11:00.001+08:00

Have you ever held onto something for such a long period of time, that when you finally release it, your fingers are aching? That is me right now. I have been holding a chisel in one hand and a mallet in the other for quite a few hours today. My feet are also aching from standing all day, and I can feel my body starting to stiffen. I still have two more days to go, and if you haven't read my previous post, then you will have no idea what I am talking about.

I like relaxing music, I like feeling the vibration of music going through your body, and I like to play music. I found out about a course where you can make dreamharps. The harp is made to sit flush on your body so that you can feel the vibrations, and it is pentatonic, so you can play anything on it.

Here is my photo diary of today. It started at 8:30am and it was already 27 degrees. Not sure what it got to though. The prediction was around 40 degrees, but it definitely wasn't that. It was warm enough though. There are only two of us taking the class, so we get a lot of help from Nis.

First we chose the wood. Mine is red gum. You will see that there is a knot in the wood. I was hoping to make it a feature, it's causing me more grief than anything.

We then drew our image on with chalk. This was just a test run as this image will be removed with (I think) a circular drill. It was a large circular drill bit anyway.

Nis used mine as an example piece so we drilled out only a small section so that he could show us how to chip away the sides with the mallet and the chisel. He only did a small section of mine. When I told him not to stop, he just laughed and handed me the tools. This photo below was taken because my arm was already aching so much with the hammering. I realised though, that it was because I was holding my arm close to my body. Once I held it out, I had no issues.

This is just a closer view of the above stage. Nis said it was like cutting butter. Personally I thought it was more like trying to hammer a wooden stake into a concrete slab. You soon learn that you have to go with the grain and not against it. Due to the fact that this is curved, it is not that simple. Like Nis explained, you end up dancing around a bit in order to find the right direction.

We work on three levels. This next photo is the top level all gone. The next level will be the raised design and the final level will be removing the excess around the design. This photo shows the top level removed. I didn't like my initial design. It didn't feel right and it looked too much like a Picasso chicken. I chose to go with leaves.

This is where we start to work on removing as much as the final layer as possible. The drill ended up with a smaller router circle on it, and we went as close as possible to the design without touching it. After that it was up to me to remove the excess via hammer and chisel. The sides have to be curved to allow for maximum sound and vibration. That was actually quite hard, because you need complete control over the chisel (which I don't have), follow the grain, chisel almost straight down and then curve out at the bottom and keep going to get rid of the drill marks.

What I can't understand is when Nis was demonstrating on my harp, he always chose the easier areas. Or at least, he made it look that way. Below is the small area he work on to show how to get around the design.

By 4pm I was buggered. Don't get me wrong, I am totally enjoying the experience. I am just unfit and sit all day at a desk so standing up all day hammering at wood, can take it's toll.

This is what it looked like when I left. I am sure you can pick out the nice smooth area that Nis did, to demonstrate how to start to finish it off. The knot is between the top two leave and driving me nuts. I think it was because I left it till last, by which time I was tired. Bright and early start tomorrow. Apparently it is going to be 40 degrees and minus the lovely cloud cover we had today.

Heating up

2012-01-25T22:54:00.000+08:00

It is 10:30pm and still 30 degrees outside. Tomorrow is Australia day and promising to be a sticky hot 41. The days that follow, are about the same. At least I have the day off and I will spend it as wet and cool as I possibly can.

Speaking of days off, I also managed to wrangle Friday. It is my birthday so that helps. Three months ago, mum thought that she would be doing something on my birthday, which essentially meant I was going to be left to my own devices and spending yet another birthday doing nothing.

At the same time, I had been searching the web for some relaxation music cds. I really love the tibettan bowl music. It is so calming. I came across a web page that said you could make your own dream harp. There was a three day course starting on my birthday. Within a week I had booked and paid for the course and was really looking forward to it. You start with some wood, carve out a design and on the third day, you put the strings on. I can't remember the word used to describe the notes used in the harp, but it doesn't have all of them. It means that anyone can play it and the tune will sound good. Therefore I don't need to have lessons in how to play it. Also, it is called a dream harp but it is more like a lyre. It is shaped to fit the contours of your body, so that when you play, you will feel the vibration of the music through you.

Last night I got a call from Neis (he is the instructor). Some people had pulled out, probably due to the heat and the fact that we were going to be working in a non airconditioned shed. That left two of us and he was hoping to reschedule us into the February class. This was difficult for me for numerous reasons, the main one being that I already have something on, on that weekend. After that he was going away and was not sure when the next class would be. He was going to try and get more people to come to the class but it didn't sound promising.

Tonight I got another call, as expected, and the way he was talking, it sounded like it was going to be cancelled. I was pleasantly surprised when he said it was going to go ahead with only two of us. He knew that I was doing it as my birthday gift and I don't think he wanted to disappoint. I do believe though he really wishes that it isn't going to be so hot. On the upside, I may sweat off a few kilos. :)

Meowsy Wosy

2012-01-24T18:54:00.003+08:00

As a child, I didn't really have many dolls. I was more the soft toy sort of kid. Can someone please explain to me why I suddenly have a fascination with dolls? Especially Blythe dolls.

I started my collection last year thanks to my friend Janelle and her daughter. The more I look on the internet for Blythe, the more I realise I am not alone in my adult love of these dolls.

Below is my latest addition. She arrived today and her doll name is Meowsy Wowsy. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her on the internet. I am not a cat person but I love red hair, and her eye colour is slightly different to my other dolls. (For those not in the know, Blythes have four eye colours).

I am having difficulty coming up with appropriate names for my other Blythes but I know straight away that this one shall be call Kitty. You see my cousin has red hair and her name is Kitty, and considering the doll is dressed like a cat, then this name fits perfectly for more than one reason.

The photos aren't the best. I took them with my phone and I think there might be a fingerprint on the lense.

Well we are at the start of a heat wave right now and I for one am getting hot just looking at her in this outfit. I also got some beautiful fabrics today so I will have to see what I can make for her.

I am enjoying making the doll clothes. At uni I learnt to make patterns so I may even start making up my own designs. One day. :)

Ouchiewahwah

2012-01-19T12:15:00.001+08:00

It has been a long time since I went swimming, and by that I mean laps. This week I finally convinced my Aunt that it was way too hot to stay inside and exercise on a treadmill and a bike, so yesterday we ventured to the pool.

The pool is not far from where I live, but it has been years since I was there. Not much had changed, other than the increase in the cost and the fact that the lockers came with codes rather than keys. You know, the sort that eats your money and gives nothing in return.

The walkers lane had a hydrolic lift that assisted you in and out of the pool. We tried that when we got out. It was cool fun but I felt like I should have been an old granny. :)

After years of neglect, the swimming muscles complained bitterly so I did have to do some walking. Ok mainlly walking. I did manage to get in about 6 laps of swimming, for which I am proud.

Right now though, as I type this, the backs of my arms and my shoulder muscles are aching. I am aching in areas that I forgot existed and, unfortunately, can not reach on my own to put on a sport heat cream. I feel like I have been given a muscle relaxant that makes your arms heavy and then ache when you try to use them.

The swim seemed to knock me for 6 as well. I got home and went to bed early, slept all night through (unusual for me) and woke just as exhausted.

Not going to give up though. Need to keep up the swimming. It is good for my non used back muscles.

Betty Boop is well cooked

2012-01-16T18:15:00.001+08:00

Just a quick check in regarding the possible incineration of Betty Boop. I made sure that the layers of Femo were reasonably thin so she would not have to spend too much time in the oven. I worked out that 20 - 30 minutes is how long she would need to be in there.

At 15 mins I checked her and she was doing fine. No scorch marks.

At 20 minutes, she was still fine though I believe her tan was getting better.

At 25 minutes I decided to take her out because when I opened the oven, blue smoke wafted out. Nothing is burnt though and the femo is not over done, so not sure what was causing the smoke.

In summary my experiment was a success. If you try it yourself though, make sure that you don't make the femo so thick that it requires 30 minutes or more.

My next job is to paint her face and then she is ready for posting.

Artistic Doll Swap 3

2012-01-15T15:09:00.001+08:00

The theme for this doll swap is famous. It can me famous anything as long as it is a doll. I was tossing up on two options:

make a femo Betty Boop or
a cloth doll with a a plastic head and make it into Arwen from Lord of the Rings.

I attempted Betty Boop, but trying to mould that weird shaped head is no easy task, so I through it in. I then started thinking about what I could do with a blank plastic dolls head that I have.thing is that I need to have special paints to do the face. It was going to take a long time to make.

Slightly off, but still on the topic, at Christmas I was given a gift from a wonderfully creative Sulea. We had gone shopping together for Christmas decorations. She wanted wooden ones, but they were few and far between. She was saying it would be cool to give people at work a christmas decoration, so she made me a little peg doll to hang on my tree.

It is me with my dog. I am kinda hoping it is a toy representation of my dog becuase Tess would hate me if I held her like that. LOL

I loved it so much that I ordered some blank ones for myself to have a play with. I got the same shape as the one she gave me as well as some curvacious ones. I was looking at them yesterday, when it suddenly hit me that I can still make Betty Boop.

I have taken one wooden, curvacious peg doll, and wrapped it in femo. She is in the oven right now so I don't know how that will affect the wood. It's an experiment that I hope will work. If it does work I will be painting over the wood and the white femo and adding the final touches. Please don't look too closely. She is small and this is a closeup. It looks like I have shoddy workmanship. :)

A PS to the previous post

2012-01-12T20:43:00.001+08:00

Two very quite items to update my previous post.

Araminta slept on an air bed in my computer room. The bed is directly behind my chair and the dogs were disgusted that they weren't allowed on it while she was here. Look at them now.

Napoleon

Tess isn't on it but she is keeping watch at the door like she always does.

Looks like I didn't delete the photos after all. Here are two styles of Blythe outfits that I am currently making to sell on my etsy store. Yes I am finally getting myself organised to sell things. Will let you all know as soon as I get something on there. Oh and yes this is the debut of my three lovely Blythes. Still thinking of names for them so any suggestions would be great.

Did pretty good for reading a Chinese Pattern don't you think!? :)

Blog post mourning

2012-01-12T17:42:00.000+08:00

Two days ago I sat down here, and wrote an extraordinary blog post. It was full of humour, wit and drama. It was probably the best I have ever written, but alas, I accidentally clicked the back arrow and consequently lost the lot. My dispair has seen me in mourning for the loss of a truly brilliant piece of literary creativity. As such I chose a suitable amount of time to mourn before I came back online. Two days is sufficient I think.

So, what was the deceased post about?

Wednesday last week the household gained an extra 3 people. My friend Ruth, her husband Jeff and their daughter (my niece) Araminta, were staying with me a few days. They are currently making a big move from one country to another, while stopping over in Australia to catch up with friends and family.

Bearing in mind that I have two dogs, one of which is not used to kids and the other has not been around them for 3 years, plus I am babysitting my Aunts dog, means the house was full. Araminta loved the dogs, but the dogs (all of them 12 yrs plus) were not too keen on a 4 year old girl running after them. This meant I was the safe haven and had 3 dogs around me constantly, unless of course, Araminta had food.

Eventually Araminta realised that Bo was the most patient one:

Of course I could not have my niece here and not get her doing something creative. Over two afternoons we made a mixed media hard canvas that she could take with her. We used everything from spray mists, to Gesso, micr powder, lace, stencils and so on. She did most of the work herself. I just showed her what to do. Her colour scheme was a little 'out there' so I softened it a little. I think it turned out great.

In my rather long break from blogging, I participated in another doll swap. The theme for this one was "the Animal Within." I went hopped on the internet and did some of those quirky "what is your spirit guide" quizes. Pretty much it was 50/50 between a wolf and a deer. Just goes to prove yet again that I have a split personality. :)

I figured the wolf would be the easiest to work with. I had already decided that I was going to alter a barbie. To do her hair, I melted her actual hair with the heat gun. It went into a top knot sort of thing which provided the height for the wool that I threaded through. Yes I beheaded her and shoved a needle through many times.

I did take some photos of the Blythe dolls clothes that I have been making, but seem to have been in the deleting frame of mind and have accidentally deleted them. I will take them again after I have made some more.

Well the house is quiet now and I am back to work. I have nicknamed my Aunt's dog 'Puddle,' because he is one big dog puddle always at your feet. If he were human, he would be a stalker!

The weekend can't get here quick enough.

Lightning

2012-01-04T05:00:00.001+08:00

The weather report last night said that today would be 36 degrees celcius with strong winds. The fire danger is extreme.

So at 3am this morning I was awoken by thunder. Initially my thoughts were yay, I love thunder and lightning, yay I'm on holidays so I can get up and watch. Once outside I thought of the weather report and then thought, oh bugger, the lightning is a mix of sheet and fork lightning. Better not start any fires 'cause there is very little rain coming with all of this.

At 3am I decided to try and take photos. Really wish I knew the proper technique for this but considering I don't know it, I figure I did pretty damn good. :)

This is my first shot, and out of about 600 photos (I can take 40 shots a second) the majority of them turned out like this:

I personally thought I did a brilliant job. The camera I am using is my mothers Lumix FZ100. I find it is quicker and easier to use for some things than my more professional one. Not one for fussing around too much, I tried the camera on it's Intelligent Auto setting. This worked great for the lunar eclipse a few weeks back. Hmmm better put those photos on here as well. That will be a post in itself.

These next two shots are taking using the IA setting

I came inside to check on the quality as I find the bigger computer screen shows more blur than the small camera screen. I decided the IA was showing the full detail so I changed the setting to night scene but kept it on auto. If you look hard enough in some of the photos, you can see the reflection of the lightning on the lense.

Not sure what is with the darker line on this photo. It appeared on a few, so I can only guess that it has something to do with the 40 shots per second. I do think I framed this nicely though. :)

After getting a stiff neck I finally decided to just take photos willy nilly, (is that still said now days) and I got this shot. Nearlly missed it altogether but happy with what I got.

In this one you can see the end flicker of sheet lightning.

Earlier I said there was barely any rain, well it is coming down hard now. It is 5am, and the thunder and lightning have been constant. Love this weather.

Going back to bed now, though I am not sure if I will go back to sleep.

Wedding Box

2012-01-02T17:46:00.000+08:00

As promised, here are some photo's of the box I have made for my cousin. She is getting married this coming weekend. Unfortunately I will not be there for it as it is on the other side of Australia. Normally I would have made something nice out of the photos I would take. I decided on a box for the keepsakes. Letters, speaches, cards, the garter. :) She can use it for whatever she wants.

I used, Gesso, off white paint, lace, micr flakes, glass beads, micr powder, shimmer paint, card, and much more. I hope she likes it.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T01:44:00.001+08:00

There are many different ways people see in the new year. When I was a teenager my group of friends and I used to get together for a party and then have a massive water fight. There would be water pistols, bottles of water, water balloons, buckets would eventually come out, and if it was at someones house, so would the hose. Those were the days. I miss those days. Now I seem to sit at home and treat it like it is a normal every day night ... if there is such a thing as an every day night. LOL

It is currently 1:40am January 1, 2012. I saw in the new year sitting on the floor in my studio (no room on the table) painting my cousins wedding presant. I was hoping to get it finished today (um yesterday) but I am missing a crucial element which will require a journey to the store when they open again. Yes I promise photos soon.

Earlier in the night I also did more sewing on my Blythe Doll outfits. I need to see if they will fit a Barbie as well, that way I can have a larger customer base. It is hard to tell just by looking at them. Even though a Blythe dolls body is the same size as a Barbie, I don't think the Blythe are as top heavy in the chest area (definitley in the head area though).

Best wishes for the new year. May 2012 be one to remember for good reasons and may the Mayans be wrong in their end of the world prophecy. :)

Hot Hot Hot

2011-12-29T14:18:00.000+08:00

Up until a couple of days ago, we were experiencing some lovely weather. Not too cold and not too hot. In the last two days though, it has been like summer has finally realised it should be well and truly awake, so, to make up for it, the temperature has increased 10 degrees. It has gone from a balmy 28 to 31 degrees C to breaking the thermometre at 40.

Yeah 40 is not nice at the best of times but to have it suddenly knock on your door, it's like a wrecking ball hit you in the face when you open it.

I don't have a pool, the aircon spits and drops water after 5 minutes of use, our beaches seem inundated with sharks at the moment, and being school holidays means the local pool will be over run with unrully kids. Therefore yesterday, around 6pm, the temperature gage sitting on 37 degrees, I donned my bathers, turned the hose, and enjoyed and old fashioned hose water fountain. Even sprayed the dogs to keep them cool. For the benefit of the water conscious who are currently gasping for air at the thought that I did such a thing, the hose was on for less than 3 minutes, I was standing on the lawn, and it was a light spray.

A few years ago, some friends who live in the far north of WA sent me this photo. It explains exactly how I am feeling right now.

Oh dear!

2011-12-28T12:55:00.000+08:00

It seems that 6 months of no blogging means you come back to an entirely new way on how to post things. I think I will have to experiment.

Six months is a long time to be offline. I gave up for a while due to issues with loading photos. I couldn't seem to load any at all. Hopefully I will be able to load images with ease now that blogger appears to have changed.

What have I done in 6 months? Not much at all to be honest. My health is not that good. I am not sick, just tired and cranky all the time, and of course there is always that inevitable person(s) who like to make life even more hellish for you when you are down.

A consequence of this is my weight ballooning again. I am almost back to the same weight I was before I got the stomach band. It seems that sometimes in life, the only good thing is chocolate. Unfortunately chocolate is still something that I can eat with ease and therefore keep eating it.

I made a good friend on Facebook this year via another friend. Mel lived in America and was going to come out and visit in November. I was really looking forward to showing her around Western Australia. I hadn't heard from her for a 3 weeks (she was normally on Facebook every day), and had not answered my messages. One day at work I logged on and I had an email from someone close to her. She had passed away. I don't know what happened, just that she had been on life support.

That is the risk we take now days, making friends on Facebook. Their close friends and family have no way to contact you in cases like this. My friends were horrified that I had found out that way and started blaming Facebook. I don't blame Facebook. Facebook has allowed me to be in contact with people I would never otherwise meet. If it wasn't for Facebook I would never have met and made such a wonderful person.

Mel was looking forward to going to an Aussie beach, so it was only fitting that I said my goodbyes at one. My family came with me and we went to watch the sun set at Scarborough Beach.

Enough of my issues though (starting to sound like Oprah Winfrey), a new year is dawning and I am hoping to make it my year. I want to get fit and healthy, both physically and mentally.

In previous posts I may have mentioned that I have (thanks to some friends of mine) developed a love of Blythe dolls. I have 3 now and I am starting to make some clothes that I want to sell on etsy. I purchased some patterns but the instructions were all in Chinese. Luckily for me, I work with a couple of Chinese girls who speak very good English. One of them kindly took the patterns home and translated it for me. Her translation is so cute: 'stitch' was translated into suture; and 'gather' was translated into ruffle. I feel like a surgeon every time I suture. :)

So far I have made a Japanese type outfit. I am hoping to get started on something else soon as well. Hope to have photos soon.

My dear friend Ruth and her family are moving country. Alas they are not moving back to Australia, and if they did it would be over east and not here. Luckily for me, they will be spending a few days in Perth to see family and will spend their last few days with me before they fly out. Can't wait to see my little 'niece' Minty.

I have kept all the Christmas decorations and the lights up so that Minty can have a Christmas (she probably will get Christmas Days). Ruth loves Chicken Treat (its a West Aussie thing) so that is what we will have for our belated Christmas Dinner.

Speaking of Christmas, I did the annual dog photo shoot again. Still need to do Napoleons though. I haven't finished his top hat yet. :)

Hmm starting to like the new blogger. Makes posting photos so much easier. YAY! Will take photo's soon of what I have been up to craft wise.

Have a happy new year.

Observations of a dog owner

2011-07-17T13:39:00.003+08:00

Weekends. My poodle, Tessa, knows I like to sleep in. She, however, likes her food too much. Weekends mean that I do the feeding. I have to admit, she does let me sleep 2 hours longer than a weekday. She doesn't take into account that I stayed up longer the night before and really I have had less sleep than during the week.

It's hard to ignore a 7kg poodle jumping onto the bed, rubbing herself up and down your back or arm, whinging and whining to wake you up. She isn't persistent though and by that I mean, she will annoy for a minute and then run off in the hopes of finding someone else. This gives me at least another 5 minutes of dozing before she comes back for the second, third and sometimes 10th round.

There are a couple of things you need to know about Tessa before I proceed. Firstly she is one of those "see food" eaters. Even when it's not food, if it smells good enough to eat, she will try. Consequently I had a slightly overweight dog on my hands. She went to the vet for another issue and came home on a diet and also on cortisone (which will make her hungry) for her other ailment. Diet and cortisone ... not good bed fellows in a dog that already thinks she is being starved.

During this last week, we found a big bone in the freezer that we had forgotten about. It was decided that Tessa would have it, so yesterday morning I did the honours and presented her with this bone, in recognition of being very good on her diet and the appearance of her waist line.

Tessa was in Heaven but the other dog Bo (half Tessa's size) was jealous. Oh she got a treat, it just wasn't a bone. When Bo wants food she will bark at us. After a while I heard Bo barking and went to see what she was barking at.

There she was, looking at Tessa chewing away happily, and barking at her. I am sorry Bo but Tessa is not like us. She doesn't get sick of your barking and give in. LOL it was like she was telling Tessa she needed to share.

Both dogs saw me at the door, and in anticipation of more food, came running over. A large crow took advantage of the bone alone and sidled up to it. I walked out to scare it off, but the stupid thing just looked at me. It decided to move 2m away and watch.

In the mean time, Tessa is still convinced I have something in my hand for her, so with her attention on me, and my attention on the crow, Bo seizes the moment, grabs the bone (twice the size of her head) and runs to her bed with it.

Through out the morning the bone swapped between Tess and Bo. When Tessa had it, Bo would bark, when Bo had it, Tess would be inside begging for something else. The large crow stayed and whinged and whined like the dogs do when they want food.

Eventually the bone disappeared, so whether or not the crow got it, who knows!

Playing Catch Up

2011-07-13T17:36:00.004+08:00

Writing about my Melbourne trip, took a while. In that time I created a doll for a swap and sent it to Colorado (see previous post). Everyone enjoyed the swap so much that we are now planning our second one, which is themed "the Animal Within." I already have some ideas. I have even purchased a book that gives really good instructions on how to model human faces and figures from polymer clay.

Challenges are also part of the swap group. Each fortnight, Linda chooses a theme and we challenge ourselves to make a doll keeping with the theme. The first was paper. Unfortunately I can't locate my paper doll photos and for some reason can't copy them from Face book. I did have great feedback regarding them so I am thinking of putting a pictorial tutorial on here.

The second challenge was wire but we could also use metal. Oh in case you were wondering, these are not swaps. The swaps are quarterly. If you are interested in joining up then please contact me.

This is my wire and metal doll. She is 100% metal and wire ... except the glue holding her hair on. I actually used my stampin up punch to do the flowers! I knew the Big shot diez cut through aluminium but I didn't realise the standard punches did. Won't be using it that often with metal though. I don't want to make them blunt.

WARNING!!!!

If you are part of the doll swap and suspect I am your angel in disguise then don't read any further until you have your doll in hand.

Unfortunately due to insensitive people signing up and not forthcoming with communication or a doll, and also due to dolls lost in the post (we think they went on holidays somewhere together) there are some who have not received a doll as yet. I signed up to be a doll Angel, which means I have made a doll for someone who has missed out. The person I am making for is in the same state as me so that I don't have to spend a lot on postage. I have included photo's of the doll at the end of this blog. Oh I just realised that I haven't put the doll I received on here. How rude of me. I will save that for another time. It is steam punk style and I love steampunk.

Today I arrived home to find a gorgeous little gift from my friend Ruth, in my mail. She knows how much I adore my dogs and like to keep them warm in winter. She had found a cute little hoodie for a dog that says "Spoilt Rotten." On the cardboard under the hoodie it said "My dog is not spoilt, I am just well trained!" Hahaha I love that. Might make a coat myself with that on it. :)

It is a little on the small side, (the next size up would have been good) but I managed to squeeze Bo into it, and does she ever look so cute. She even posed for me. Actually if we trim her fur it will fit just nice. In the first photo she reminds me of a garden gnome.

Finally, here is the doll I made for my angel gift. Like my first doll, she has been a complete experiment using products I have never used before. She better not fly away in the mail. :)

Artistic Doll Swap #1

2011-07-11T13:04:00.005+08:00

A while back now I posted about a Facebook Artistic Doll Swap that I was in. Altogether there were around 70 plus members. We are almost ready for the second doll swap with close to 100 members.

My original idea was to be a flat paper doll, however it kind of evolved into something entirely different. Its torso and thighs are made from dowel sticks covered with thin corrugated cardboard. His arms and legs are chipboard, cut in strips to male a circular shape and also covered with the cardboard. Face, hands, feet, birds, and mouse were hand crafted from sculpy (no molds used).

I call him Manu Katiaki, which means bird guardian in Maori. He protects all the small creatures of the forest (mainly birds). If I ever develop a range of these characters they will be called the Kitara which is Celtic for Forest.

One thing I learnt from making this is to appreciate the next making skills of birds. I have opposable thumbs and it took me forver to weave something that resembled a nest.

Manu Katiaki is now living it up in Oregan with his new owner, who absolutely adores him.

Creation of the Kitara:
Once upon an

ancient night

The moon was out

and shining bright...

A forest stood

beneath its beam

Its trees stood tall

with leaves of green

Beneath the

canopy so dark

A magical creature

created a spark

You would have seen

a tiny glow

And onto a sapling

it did blow

It bounced around

like a pale ball

Waking new life,

with its call.

The saplings took on

A shape all their own

And on wooded feet

they started to roam.

Thus was the birth

of the spirit trees

Who wander and

protect all living things.

They can only be seen

If you believe

For then they will shine out

From beneath the leaves.

On the right side of my blog you will see a pink button for the Artistic Doll Swap Blog. It will soon show all the dolls from the swap.

Melbourne - Last Days Part 2

2011-06-22T19:12:00.004+08:00

Yay, the last of my Melbourne photos and then I can get on and tell you all about the craft I have been up to.

Obviously this is continued on from yesterday, and the photos of Werribee Mansion are technically from the beginning of the day rather than the end (don't ask, it makes sense to me).

As you walk in the front gates this is the sign you see. At that point, all you can see are trees lining the drive an not much free land that you can sit on without sitting under a tree. Gave me giggle.

This just shows you the view along the drive, hence my point about the trees.

Only a small portion of the mansion

This was my favourite room. It was also the ladies room. The colour was so bright and cheerful compared to the gloomy dark rooms for the men that had stuffed animals they had hunted everywhere.

This beautiful creature is Ruby. her fur is so soft and silky. I would have hugged her all day if she let me, but she's a cat ... need I say more.

This is George and he has the most gorgeous green eyes

And here is little Sammy

Lets just chew on Aunty Kerin's camera strap!

My cousin has her hands full if this is his reaction after I take the strap out of his mouth. And he's only 4 months here!!!!

Melbourne - last few days Part 1

2011-06-21T20:30:00.007+08:00

I have titled this as part 1 only because my internet connection is currently rubbish and is not allowing anymore photos to upload. Technically the photos start at the last day, so tomorow you will get the photo's that actually come before these ones. If that makes sense.

After returning from Warnambool and staring the night at my cousin Tina's (on a blow up mattress that had a small hole - I awoke in the morning to find my back and bum on the floor and my feet, arms and head up in the air), I was picked up by my cousin Alida and taken to her house for the evening. That is where mum had been staying as well. We went shopping as one of the local centres had a VIP day with an extra 15% off on the already end of financial year sales. Got some nice things there. Yep, more luggage to worry about.

That evening I had to share a double bed with mum (yes a double). Between my mask deciding to whistle when air escaped it, and mum snoring like she was a horse going pfffft, not much sleep was had.

The next day we went across Melbourne to my cousin Kitty. We were staying two nights here. She has a 4 month old little boy (well he was in May anyway) who is just gorgeous.

On the Saturday, Kitty and her husband Lucas took us to Werribee Mansion. My God are those grounds huge, not to mention the Mansion itself. Being a Saturday, you could dress up in costume for free and take your own photos. There was a lady there, dressed as a maid to help you choose your costume. Unfortunately I was a little too well endowed in the chest area so I took up the position of photographer. Mum and Kitty found clothes that fitted ... well sort of. Kitty's top was huge on her.

Love this photo of mum. Both in colour and in sepia

This is the Mansion

Their first family photo

Mum

Proof I was there too.

I bought Sammy a jolly jumper - he loves it. (So did the cat while it was being set up and swinging around).Mum and Sammy

Our final days were spent with Tina and Rowan. We all came together for a family breakfast due to there being 3 birthdays amongst us in May and because we were there. :)

Little Mycah ate all of that huge breakfast

His older sister couldn't manage it.

Another family shot but not very good

My only photo with Sammy and he was grumpy.

Mark and Alida with the two kids

Graffiti in Melbourne is gorgeous. If only people in Perth could do this. Saw this on the way back from the "Handmade Markets" (Yeah bought some more - hey I was on holidays).

This little girl is throwing cards. Literally there are cards glued to the wall and footpath. Not sure how long they will last in the rain.

Old Melbourne homes and yes I confess, I played with photoshop to bring out more autumn colours in the trees. The original photo is yellow and green leaves still.

Mum helping Tina and Rowan lower the airmatress. Can't believe it is the only photo I have of the two of them and it's blurred. Note to self ... never give Rowan too much chocolate unless I am prepared to put up with the consequences of a sugar high. He is funny!

Melbourne/Warrnambool Days 6-8

2011-06-20T18:07:00.008+08:00

This post is mainly about photo's. Nicole was a great tour guide for the 3 days I was there and I had a blast. Though at times she must have thought I was a real strange one with some of the things I photographed. One of which is a circle of rocks at Port Pirie. The photo's don't do it justice.

DAY 6 - Port Pirie
This is a lovely place with a beautiful inlet that is protected from the ocean. We didn't get all the way around the inlet but what we saw was lovely. The water was crystal clear. For lunch, we found a lovely cafe where I had the yummiest irish lamb stew, and not far down the road there was a real old fashioned lollie shop. Cursing myself I didn't get photo's now. Eveything was in jars and stacked around the shop. It was great.

This ship is docked at the warf. It looks a bit stubby.

My circle of rocks with it's clear water. Not sure if it is a natural or a manmade structure but it was pretty non the less.

Saw this in the water. I played with photo shop to get it this clear. Compared to the original photo you wouldn't thinkg it was the same one.

We had to get back early to watch one of her daughters run in their first cross country race. We reminiced about ours and how much we hated them. I did take photos but have chosen not to put them on here as I am not sure if Nicole would like her children to be shown on the web for all to see.

That evening I sat down with the two girls and we made a robot out of toilet rolls. This is the robot. Each girl had a go at colouring in different areas. I think it's just perfect.
DAY 7 - Ocean Reef Road
If there is one thing we learnt about country Victoria in the off season, not all the shops are open on certain days. Today was one of those days. It was a good thing really considering all the natural beauty we took in. I had to warn Nicole that if we had to get home by a certain time then I needed time limits at each spot, otherwise I would just photograph the same place all day.

Not sure what this place was called, but it was my favourite

Bay of Islands

Port Campbell - OMG do I love watching the waves. I could have stayed here all day.

The 12 Apostles (though I think there are only 6-7 left)

Me and Nicole

DAY 8 - Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museaum

This was my last day so we stayed around Warrnambool. Nicole took me the Flagstaff Hill. It is a replica old time town.

This is Pat. She makes a lot of the costumes that the volunteers wear. Yes that is an old treddle singer sewing machine. Pat also lets you dress up and takes photos. We did that but I scanned the image to big and it won't load onto blogger.

That was my stay in Warrnambool with my dear friend Nicole. I am sure we will be friends forever. :) Time to hop on the train and head back to Melbourne.

Melbourne Days 3-5

2011-06-18T22:16:00.007+08:00

DAY 3
It was Friday the 13th. The day went smoothly with no hiccups or disasters. The classes were informative and enjoyable. I went shopping at lunch time for an outfit for the banquet on Saturday night (forgot to bring something) and made it back in time for the afternoon events. I even won a prize at the general session. Sorry can't share because it is from the new catalogue not due out for a couple of months.

That evening we all went our separate ways for dinner. I was a little worried when one of the girls said she was going to the footy, in Melbourne, wearing her Eagles scarf, and the Eagles weren't even playing. I half expected to see her on the late news being loaded into a ambulance with a caption "Eagle gets lost!"

A small group of us had prearranged a lovely evening with a wonderful gentleman by the name of Count Dracula. He quite often had dinner parties so we arranged for VIP tickets. In order to get there, we had to take 4 taxis. Each taxi had a foreign driver. Ours could barely speak english and did not know Melbourne at all. He kept asking us where Dracula's place was and we could only give him the street name.

Ours was the last taxi to leave and we thought we would never get there. The first taxi left 5 minutes before us but arrived last. They had the same problem with their taxi driver. I am sure the Taxi company deliberately employs foreigners who do not know where they are or how to speak the language so that they can get more money out of us. I am never again complaining about the taxis in Perth!

Upon entering Dracula's via the red carpet, we were greeted with by a bald headed creepy looking little man who thought he was a comedian. We were specifically informed that cameras were not to be used. Something to do with melting the staff I believe.

We caught a train into the dining area. Really need to talk to the count about where is train goes. There were skeletons and cobwebs everywhere. I swear that is a broken air-conditioning pipe as well because we were blasted by a burst of air just before the train came to a stop. Scared the bejeezers out of me.

Dinner was lovely, our waitress, Absynth, refused to tell me where she bought her lovely sparkly green lipstick, and the stage show was hilarious. I would recommend to anyone going to Melbourne that they go visit Dracula's. The only disappointment was that the Count himself was not there.

This was my entree. The finger was so delicious.

My Devilish dessert

The darling Absynth showing of her gorgeous lipstick

This is our group shot. Some people thing that Bindi (in the middle in black and white) was part of the staff ... no.

DAY 4
Alas this was the final day of convention. No one wanted to leave. Here are a couple of photos of Bindi and myself with some of the SU staff. Oops just accidentally deleted. Sorry been having so many issues downloading photos to blogger tonight that I am not going to try. Will put it on tomorrow.

The yummy menu for our banquet

DAY 5
My cousin Tina came and picked me up at the short stay apartment in the morning and back to where she lives. I suppose for Melbourne it really was just around the corner. Luckily for me, it was a day when we could go to a VIP wharehouse sale. Nothing was over $6. I bought 16 items of clothing for around $50. The jeans alone, that I got, had a price tag of $60. There was so much there I would have bought if I was slimmer, but it was probably a good thing that I wasn't. My suitcase was already bulging and I still had a week to go.

That afternoon I was planning on some "me" time while Tina and Rowen went off to a birthday party. The next day was going to be a shopping day where we caught up with mum before I headed down south to see an old Primary School friend, Nicole. Luckily for me, Nicole messaged me for Tina and Rowan left, to confirm I would be arriving that evening. I quickly double checked my ticket and realised that, yes, I had to catch the train that night, and not the next. My "me" time ended up madly doing my washing time and packing a small bag for the next couple of days down south.

I really felt bad because I thought I had planned enough time with Tina and did not realise that I accidentally booked the train a day earlier than expected.

I caught the train to Warrnambool and met Nicole and her husband. They live out in the bush and I could not wait to see it in the daylight. I miss the bush. Especially the sort you get in the Eastern States. West Australian bush is scraggly and suited to desert. It is rare to see a rich green pasture with rich green trees.

CURRENTLY
Obviously Melbourne was a while ago now, and I am madly trying to catch up with my blog posts. I have had a week without the computer while it was getting a service. It could have been just one day, but I actually enjoyed not having it as it forced me to do other things than sit on facebook. :) Well it is back now. I will put further updates on tomorrow.

Melbourne Day 2

2011-06-03T23:19:00.004+08:00

Registration! What can I say. There were 4-5 lines based on the first letter of your last name. Queues were kind of there, sometimes. Between the hustle and bustle of 500 people (mainly women) lining up, greeting old friends, making new ones, swapping creations, waving at the video cameras, posing for photos, and the occasional cheer from the SU staff at the registration desks when someone had a reward pin, I actually got to breath. In fact it was a lot of fun.

I must admit that I did feel out of my depth there though. I was still tired and really didn't know that many people. In fact the few people I knew were three lines away and moving a lot faster than mine. LOL

I had in fact dressed warmly ... too warmly, as the convention centre had the heating cranked up. I ended up not only carrying my jacket, bag and swap box, but my scarf and vest as well and I was still hot. Once through registration I ended up with a lovely free hand bag full of our convention goodies.

With my arms full, I headed straight for Memento Hall. This is where you can buy SU stuff that will never be available in the catalogue, a convention perk. Again, you were never just sure what was the line for buying and what was the line for moving around the room. After standing in the same spot for 5 minutes I realised I was in the purchase line and yet I hadn't seen anything. You kinda had to push your way through.

I was amongst the first into the Memento Hall so the staff were still getting things kinda sorted. Eventually someone stood at the door stopping people from coming in until some left (it was a small room) and a proper payment line was organised so you could tell where you were exactly in the room. Of course you had your odd computer decide to not work but things started to work very smoothly.

Now lets see, I was already loaded up with things but walked out with additional bags: a gorgeous Tote and matching laptop bag (great for paper cartage), a T-shirt and a denim shirt, collapsible rubbish bin (this is great, went back for more later when the limit of one was lifted), a couple of stamps and a lovely shopping bag. Think I needed more arms. Can't believe I managed. Though I did end up with a massive headache thanks to my neck being pulled in all directions from straps. This is in no way meant to sound negative. I was having a ball.

When convention was over for the day, a small group of us went out for dinner at the Blue Room. It was a nice little restaurant with great food. We had all pretty much finished our meals when we realised there was a celebrity at the next table to us. It was Emelia Rusciano, or those of you from WA who used to listen to 92.5 would know her as Em. To my international friends, Em was on the second season of Australian Idol, she is now in Melbourne with her own stage show, but still doing radio and the odd TV appearance.

Linda was too scared to go as for a photo, so Pat went over and did the asking:
P: Hi are you Em?
E: Yes I am
P: We are all from Perth and we miss you greatly ...
From their it was easy to ask for group photo.

Photo of the stage for the General Session

Me looking better than a photo further down. I was back in my apartment and you kinda get the view behind.

Melbourne Trams.

Here we are with Em. I felt so under dressed, but I was cool (as in, not stinking hot for once).

Jen came back to the flames with me so that I could try my other camera. We had to wait a while so we sat down and ate desert. I had a scrumptious mint ice cream. It was so refreshing.Finally, this is the view from my apartment at night. I am so proud of this photo. The convention centre is to the left and out of the photo.

Can't believe it is midnight already. Where did the time go? Catch you tomorrow with Day 3.

Melbourne Day 1

2011-06-01T18:32:00.003+08:00

First day in Melbourne I pretty much spent in bed. I had worked all the day before, rushed home to pack and then caught the midnight horror flight over. It was stinking hot on the plane so I was glad to get to chilly Melbourne with a balmy 5 degrees C at 5:30 in the morning.

The address I had for our short stay was the wrong address. It was a Short stay but one of the older ones. The staff were just arriving by the time we got there so they directed us to where we were meant to be. "It's only 10 minutes walk," he said. My mother was with me and there was no way we were walking after a sleepless night and with all our luggage. We caught a cab, who went the opposite direction, only to loop back, do an illeagal u-turn and drop us off. Luckily someone in my apartment was awake and they came down and let us in.

The others had got there the night before and managed to get a good sleep so why they were off in Marysville for the day, enjoying the first snowfall of the year; their first time in the snow; snow angels and snow fights, I slept and mum just rested.

The view from my apartment (15 floors up and across from the convention centre) was spectacular. I will have a photo in day twos blog.

After mum left with my cousin Alida and the others had all returned from their snow adventure, we got dressed up and hopped on the Resteraunt Tram. It is very old worldly and seriously cramped. This photo is of me sitting as far back from the table as I could. This is the roomiest seat. I had to swap with someone, other wise my chest would have been wearing my food and not reaching my mouth. For $70 though the meal is not really worth it, and they don't tell you where in Melbourne you are so that you could go back to the interesting looking shop you saw on the corner of whatever street.

After the tram ride we all went over to the Crown Casino Complex. Being Melbourne, the shops were still open this late at night. The Casino also has a great hourly fire display outside along the river and a massive fibre optic display in the complex itself.

The flame tours were huge and you could really feel the heat. Great place to be on the hour of a cold night. They go on and off for 5 minutes. I could even see them from my apartment even though we were on the other side.

This is just a tiny portion of the fibre optic light display. The are is gi normous and the lights are timed with music, lasers on the wall and water fountains on the floor.

Technical Issues

2011-06-01T11:09:00.002+08:00

I had managed to write one of the most interesting blog posts the other day. In fact I would go as far as to say it was the best one ever written in the history of blogging and would have been the talk of the internet world for months. Alas though, you will never know. Damn blogger chose the minute I hit publish, to crash. All my hard work to thrill and educate you, went up in one split second of techno fire and fizzled out leaving not even a draft behind.

"What now," you ask? Well you get the mediocre, quick, let me tell you what has been happening version.

I have been back in Perth for a week now, after spending 2 lovely weeks in Melbourne. Can't believe it has taken me this long to get there. The shopping is great! I went over mainly for the Stampin Up Convention, which was just great. I had a ball and made so many new friends.

I also caught up with family (and went SHOPPING) and a friend from my Primary School days. It was great to catch up with her. I have many photos that I will post at a later date.

Mum came with me, so the dogs were left in the capable hands of a friend who house sat for us. When we got home, Bo was the most excited of the 2. She only gets excited when it involves food, but this particular evening she would not leave either of us alone. It was so funny. Now she is back to her usual self though, and makes us come to her to say hello when we get home from work.

Speaking of work, it is still the same ol' same ol'. Nothing much happening there. Better get back to it though.

Swaps

2011-05-09T20:47:00.003+08:00

One more day at work (YES) and then tomorrow night I am flying out to cold, chilly Melbourne, leaving the heat behind. Yes Perth is still kinda warm. In fact last night I literally ... actually no that would give you horrible visual images.

In Melbourne I plan to be at the Stampin Up convention for the first few days, then literally flittering all over the city and countryside, catching up with friends and family. I can't wait.

This however has meant lots of preparation. I have made 60 butterfly pins for the swap at convention. I have about 5 different colours but the below are my favourite ones.

Speaking of swaps, the doll for the Artistic doll swap that I am in, has changed rather dramatically since I first made the head. You see, it was initially going to be a flat doll with 3D embellishments, but then I saw what others were making and thought I would give a go with a 3D one, hence the head doesn't quite go any more.

Here is the original head. I have it sitting on an ATC I started Ages ago, but wasn't quite sure how to finish ... I think the head is a great finishing touch. :) One problem solved.

I wanted my doll to represent a tree fairy/nymph, so why not start making a 3D body with dowel, chipboard, string and paper like corrugated cardboard. This is the torso and one leg. Ok so what to do about the hands and feet? Bring out the sculpy. Luckily I had some porcelain coloured one left. I wanted the feet and hands to look stick like, though they look kinda spooky on their own.
Here it is with legs, arms, torso, feet and hands all joined together. All I need now is a head. Back to the drawing board on that one. I have an idea but not sure how good my sculpting skills are. If only I had the time and know how to dry an apple. LOL
When I finally have a head on the poor thing I will start adding colour etc to it. Hmmm I may not want to give it away. It's my first one, and probably my last cause you can never replica the same kind of achievement.

Well I best be off to bed. Have to work tomorrow before flying out at later and I still have to pack and register the seats and God knows what else. Lucky I don't stress about these things hey!

Playing Catchup

2011-05-03T11:44:00.004+08:00

I have been so busy lately that getting on here has been rather difficult. I have been up to so much that it is hard to put it all into one blog. Here goes:

Diet wise - still the same. Why is it that people insist on giving a chocoholic, chocolate, just because it is Easter. Seriously people, chocolate and will power do not exist together where I am concerned. If it is there, it must be eaten. Luckily for me I was walking 4km every 2nd day so my weight stayed the same. I think I lost some inches though.

Work is doing a corporate health challenge. We have a team of about 10 people, and call ourselves the Wii Not Fit. Currently myself and my co-worker Mal are walking up 66 stairs numerous times a day. Mal sits next to me so we encourage each other. I have also been known to join in telling other members off for eating crisps, which eventuated in the packet and it's contents going in the trash (yes I checked a couple of hours later to ensure the packet was still full). :)

My walking to and from the train station to home has stopped due to how dark it is now at 6am in the morning. The streets aren't well lit and I don't like the idea of being on my own.

Speaking of walking, my family and I walked 6km around the Swan River on Sunday for the "Walk to D-Feet MND," in honour our my Aunt who passed away last year from the disease. It was a good walk and a great day to do it. We then went and had waffles and icecream. Well I had some icecream and picked at mum's waffle.

Lots has been on the go for my craft. I will be in Melbourne next week for the Stampin Up Convention and have made 60 swaps. Instead of making cards, I have made broaches. They have come up quite nicely. Photo will come after the convention.

Once in Melbourne I will also be visiting my cousins, one of whom, whose wedding photo's I took in 2009 and promised to make her wedding album. My Easter break (5 lovely days) was spent trying to get it finished. Working on the covers now. Again, you will see photo's when I get back, because I want the album to be a surprise.

I am currently involved in an Artistic doll swap on Facebook. It doesn't matter how you make your doll, you can be a first timer, an experienced maker, they can be made from paper or clay or cloth or whatever. Not sure what I am doing yet. I know the theme. I am not sure if I will do it with paper or alter a cheap barbie. I have made faces out of sculpy in case I do a paper one. At this stage the paper may be the way to go as I will be quicker at it than at the other one.

Speaking of the Scuply, a friend of mine showed me a link to a store where you can buy cute little dragons made out of sculpy. I told her I could probably make them. She didn't think I could so I took that as a challenge. The sculpy colour I used was left over from my doll faces. I would like to do one a lot brighter next time.

I started with this little dog design, (my friend claimed him). He needs a collar though.

Here is my first dragon attempt. I copied one of the designs from the store. Took forever to get his head and muzzle right. He is also quite big (about 3 inches in length).

This is my second one. He is a lot smaller and he is laying on his back kicking his legs in the air.

93 Kg

2011-04-11T12:38:00.002+08:00

Happy with my weight loss this week - 1.2kg. I was sick with a head cold from last Wednesday so exercise did not happen. Bit hard to puff and breath when your nose is blocked. Mind you, on Thursday I was do a lot of heavy lifting of archival boxes, so I am sure that counts. Feeling much better now. Walked again this morning. Hope to walk again tomorrow. Craft wise, I have been working on my swaps for the Stampin' Up convention in Melbourne. I am trying to make something small and useable, other than the normal stock standard card. I am thinking of a broach at the moment. Will take photo's when they are ready. Other than being sick most of the week, nothing else has really happened, oh except Perth had an earthquake on Thursday, that wasn't an earthquake! LOL in all seriousness apparently east of Perth had a 2.2 at the same time a jet, in battle games, hit the sound barrier. It was the sonic boom from the jet that caused people's windows to rattle etc. Even though the jet was 100km out to sea, the sonic boom travelled to the suburbs due to the cloud cover, air pressure etc. If the airforce hadn't owned up to it then we would all still be thinking it was from the minor earthquake. Well that is the excitement for one week. Catch you all later.

94.2kg

2011-04-04T19:03:00.003+08:00

Yes, I know, the silence is deafening. The more silent I am about my weight loss, the less likely the loss is happening. Apparently there is food that I can still eat even though I have a gastric band. I have been so bad since Christmas. No exercise, not watching my calorie intake (ie eating all the wrong food). Aaarrggghhh! Here we go again. I will be visiting friends and family in Melbourne next month and I am hoping to get down to 85kg by then. That way I can do some serious clothes shopping. Not only that, but in a week or two we start a corporate fitness challenge at work that I have signed up for. There are quite a few of us in a team on my floor. We call ourselves the "Wii Not Fit" team. Yes there are incentives if you win. I didn't really look too much into but I heard $20K rolling around somewhere. I think that is for the winning team though. Anyway considering Melbourne is gaining on me like I gain weight by just looking at, and breathing in chocolate, I decided there was no better time than to start today. I decided to walk to the train station this morning (and back home again at the end of the day). It is a good half hour walk either way. When I got home tonight I did 15 minutes of yoga just to stretch out those sore muscles. I am only doing 3 days this week. Next week I will try for every day. Every Monday I will weigh in. I will do a blog post and put my weight in the Title. That way you can see how well (or not) I am doing. If I do fall silent on the subject again, please ask me why. You might just kick start my senses again. :)

New Stamps

2011-04-01T10:12:00.005+08:00

Yes I am back, yes I have managed to create enough room in my studio to do some creative things, no it is not completely tidy but it is sufficient for now. Last Sunday Linda Baldock came back to Perth for her 40th b'day as well as to take us in a wonderful class, in which I actually learnt a new technique, and rehashed some old ones. The main body of the class was making this book. I asked my Aunt to come with me for some company, and she jumped at the chance. We told everyone that she hadn't done anything like this before (not even cards or scrapbooking). Well no one believed her, because she did such a good job. I don't have photo's of her book but will endeavour to get some. This is mine. We did dry embossing using the cuttlebug and we used rub and buff, along with micr sprays and what ever we could get our hands on. This is the back page. I just love the texture, and the colour worked out beautifully to. This is the new technique I used. I spread glue over the paper and then used the stick end of a paintbrush to draw "wood grain" type lines in it. You can use a spritzer under it for a subtle colour, or over top for a more prominent colour. Then use your heat gun to dry it fast ... NO HAIRDRYER HANDS right Linda! Anyway thick areas of the glue will bubble and the result is below. I just love it. What I have done in error many times can actually be a technique. The new Stampin' Up mini is out today. Below is for an SU swap I am involved in. I have used the new Nature Walk and Strength and Hope stamp sets. I just love them. They are so versatile. The leaves were cut using Little Leaves sizzlet die. The lace is hand died in one of the new colours and the frame is an el cheapo from Crazy Clarks.

I will be posting the link to the new mini very soon.

Its Arrived

2011-03-11T09:11:00.003+08:00

I wasn't sure if my Stampin' Up order would arrive yesterday or today. I was so happy to see it arrived yesterday. Yes you can see a sneak peak of 2 1/2 of the new stamp sets. I can not wait to start playing ... BUT ... I will not play until I have tidied. These will remain in the box until I have tidied my studio. Not only does this give me incentive but also a deadline. I have a friends birthday in a week or so and need to use the big shot dies that I have purchased, to make her gift. I am also involved in a swap which needs to be done and posted by the end of this month. It is a Stampin Up only swap and I want to use the new stamps and papers I got.
It will also mean that get the lounge room floor back again. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have taken over the lounge room because the studio is too messy. Can you see where I sit, on the floor, in amongst the mess there. Believe it or not, I pretty much know where everything is as well. Chaotic organisation I call it.

This mess takes up 2/3rds the available space in the lounge, which means I have not been able to exercise to my favourite DVDs lately. I really need to get back into that. My weight has become stagnant (at least I am not putting on). Even with the help of the gastric band, I realise that my body must exercise in order to shed the rest of my weight. Today is Friday, I have a weekend to tidy ... question is, will I do it.

Keychain

2011-03-10T10:47:00.002+08:00

Thanks to my friend at work, I now have a new addiction ... keychains. They are small and quick and I have a great time, finally using some of the many charms that I have. Here are another two I have completed recently.

Besides my friends request, I had already started on the below creation. It gave me the basis for the "theme" so to speak I suppose. My camera phone is great but not when it comes to really close, macro shots. I tried to get the "This I Hope" up close because I have wrapped clock wire around it. The wire is very fine and glints in the light. It show up more in the larger picture and the close up. You will see a bronze sheen to the left of the words.

I have also been having fun lately with moulds. The face on here is one of them and I have also used the wire on the square the face is sitting on. I just love it. Not sure what I am going to do with this. I haven't finished off the back yet as I am not sure if I want it as a stand alone, or a feature in a bigger picture.

Last week I ordered from the latest Stampin Up Mini Catalogue (great being a demonstrator - you get to buy a month earlier than the release date). Hopefully it will be waiting for me when I get home today. So excited to have a little play. There is so much new stuff. I already know one of the first things I will make but I can't tell because it is for a friends birthday.

Inspiration

2011-03-09T08:29:00.002+08:00

The other day, a friend of mine went onto Ebay for the first time. She was looking for a specific charm to go on a bracelet, when she happened across all the craft charms. She found some little spanners and thought they were gorgeous. I mentioned I had some at home that I have had for years but never used. Long, boring story short, I found myself making a key chain for her man.

I have used Tim Holtz items the most. The coloured square is actually a scrabble tile (C I think) all decorated. I have actually been inspired by this now and having fun creating other things similar to it.

Would you also believe that the photo's below were taken on my phone!!! I can't believe how good the quality is, and how close the phone can get to take the photo. It is a Sony Ericson Xperia. The only downfall in the camera is that it doesn't zoom.

Oh and this is Napoleon, back for a one day visit. It was a couple of weeks ago. He was watching me as I was packing up some of my craft. I can't say that he was fully "resting" his head on the box, because he would have slipped off. He stayed like this for quite a while though. Funny little fella.

Time Flies

2011-03-08T08:11:00.002+08:00

The last few weeks I have been busy in lethargic sort of way. If that makes sense. I have had inspiration to do things but then never do them. Of course my studio is in dire need of a tidy (I sound like a broken record), and the floor in lounge room is covered in craft stuff because there is no work space in the studio. Due to the floor being covered, I am unable to try out my new yoga DVD. I need a personal maid, but then I would hate to have someone come in and organise my craft because then I would not find anything. So the end result is mess and a blind eye. Hopefully I can muster up some energy this coming weekend.

Last Wednesday was a very interesting day. Within the first 30 minutes of waking, I realised that the universe was doing everything in it's power to keep me at home. Let me tell you in point form:

Woke up after a bad nights sleep with a bad back ache. Contemplated having the day off because the thought of sitting all day did not appeal. Have no leave left and can't afford a day without pay, so took some pain killers and got ready for work.
Mum had already left to go baby sit, which meant putting the dogs out and locking the house up. Bo decided she was going to hide in the smallest, furthest place, in the hopes I would not reach her. If she could melt into the floor, I am sure she would have. After laying on the floor I finally managed to get her and put her out.
Went to the fridge for my water bottle. It wasn't there. Where is my bottle. Two minutes of searching and I remember it is already with my bag.
Pick up my bag, my book, my bottle and sunglasses. Where is my book, I wonder. Five minutes looking all over the house for my book and I remember it is under my arm!
Bo starts barking at nothing outside.
I go out the front door, yelling at Bo to be quiet, when I suddenly realise I left my keys inside ... the door is now locked.
Remembered I had accidentally left the keys in my scooter the night before (spare house keys on them - yeah, real safe).
Had to get into the garage though. It is a double door garage and the bolt was stuck fast. At 6:30am I was pushing and pulling on door, dragging the bolt across the concrete in order to get a small space to squeeze through.
Got the keys, but the garage door would not budge it was going no where, which gave the dogs full access to the street.
Got back inside, brought the dogs in. Phoned mum, she would be home in 2 hours. Messaged work to tell them I would be late.
By the time mum got home my back was worse (thanks to the garage) and I had a migraine. You guessed it, I didn't go anywhere.

Consequently I worked yesterday (a public holiday) to make up for the time I lost last week.

On Sunday I went to the beach with the family. It is the first time I have swum at the beach in years. Can't remember the last time. It was like coming home to your favourite comfy chair.

I love being under water, hate the fact that I can't breath under water. There were some good waves (not for surfing though) that had you standing on the sand one minute and then bobbing the next. Some felt like a roller coaster ride as you came over the peak and suddenly dropped.

There were lots of kids around, and with that comes lots of noise. It was so peaceful to hold my breath, float face down on the surface of the water, let the waves rock me, and escape to the quietness of the sea. Got lots of water in my ears, and had to kick my legs every now and then so that life guards didn't think I had drowned, but thoroughly loved it. Eyes closed, bobbing up and down, head under water, peaceful contentment. I should have been a mermaid.

The beach was also hosting a Sculpture display. Huge sculptures were all over the place. I will show you some photo's later. I actually would like to go back at sundown and get them in a better light with not so many crowds.

I have also been doing some creating. I do have photo's with me that I can put up but they are in my phone and it is not connecting to the computer at the moment, so I guess this means you need to wait.

Oh I am also hooked on the Twilight Series. I have been putting off reading them, but then the first movie showed on TV and I was hooked. I have since borrowed a friends books and am reading them now. I am so inlove with the idea of Edward Cullen. He is perfect for me, despite that he is a vampire. Get rid of the vampire side of him and I would take him in a heart beat, even if it does mean cradle snatching! LOL Can't wait to see how it all ends.

Ideas

2011-02-13T12:09:00.003+08:00

The last time I was in my favourite scrap book supply store I saw a creation that someone had made. They had taken a canvas and used the back side of it to create a shadow box. From this she decorated it with 2D images to create a little room.

It has been months since I saw it, so when I went shopping for supplies I couldn't quite remember what she had used. For a while I held the 2D chairs in my hand, and then thought, "no it was 3D," so I purchased 3D table and chairs. Therefore this is similar, but ultimately a lot different to the original that I had seen.

The frame, chairs and table are made using Twiddleybitz (I made the cushions myself); the lamp and leaves I used Collections; the body of the clock I created from Collections left overs I had; the window and paper lace around the room are German Scrap. The photo depicting the outside was just an image I took off the internet, whereas the photo in the frame is one I took at my cousins wedding. Now all I have to figure out is do I hang it, or place it on a small easel?

Commuting

2011-02-10T07:49:00.004+08:00

Have you ever noticed how interesting people can be? Have you ever just stood back and watched everyone around you? I find traveling to work is rather interesting. I take the train. The trains here have only one row of seats on each side of the train that face each other. This leaves more room for people who have to stand. It also means that those people who don't read or play computer games, tend to invest in dark glasses so that no-one knows where you are looking.

The fuller the train gets, a dilemma sets in. Should I sit between those people over there who are almost sharing 3 seats between them, or should I just stand for the next half hour and nearly fall on people when the driver gets over excited with the brakes and accelerator.

I am lucky in that I tend to get a seat. Well some may think that lucky. There are many days where someone has whacked me in the face with their bag and stood so close they may as well be on my lap.

Today was a very interesting journey into work. I was late (another story) and then the train left late which meant that I just missed my connecting train. The first part of my journey wasn't that bad until someone decided to sing at the top of their lungs and totally off key. Note to self, remember to take headphones.

While waiting for my second train I stood in a large area of the platform that was relatively empty. Many times I have found it fascinating for the need of people come and stand so far into your personal space that you can tell what toothpaste they used that morning. This when there is huge amounts of standing space around and I happened to be leaning up against the wall with people surrounding me. You know, if I stand closer to the track and make like I am watching for the train, there is bound to be someone who comes and stands close and block my field of vision when, if they took a step back, we could both see. Guaranteed though, they just look at their feet.

My stop is the first stop after I get on the second train. I patiently wait for everyone to get on and yet there are those who insist on being the first on, to ensure they get the prime spot at the door to get out. They don't care that they are blocking it for those who don't want to get off for some time and would like to move down the carriage.

Again, this morning, this is what I did. By the time I got on there was room for people to go to my right but not to my left. There were a few late comers and they just barged in and filled the space between me and the door (yes I was standing back from the door). One woman got on, looked to my left only, and gave up even trying (didn't bother going right). She spun around in front of my and her solid bag whacked me so hard in the boob that it almost winded me. She did apologise but I could tell she didn't really care. To top it off, even though she could easily have moved to the right, she stayed where she was, right in front of the door. I thought she must be getting off at my stop, but no. She just stood there and made it difficult for everyone else. Sometimes I really would like to know what the logic is that is going on in the heads of people like this.

Once off the train I have to dodge cyclists. There is a cycle path with signs up to show that pedestrians are crossing. Most cyclists don't bother and get annoyed with the pedestrians and almost run them over. In fact I guy who works on my floor nearly did that to me. He wasn't even looking and I got no apology. I really wonder about how they obey such rules on a road when in a car.

What I do find interesting, is that when I am late, and don't catch my normal train, I recognise faces that are normally on my usual train. It happens so often. One of these days I'm going to lean over to one particular lady (who always seems to be on the train with me late or otherwise) and say "so, late again I see!"

In all honesty though I thank God that the frustration I get while traveling to work don't effect my attitude. I like to start work in a positive note. Something in the day has to be positive. :)

Speaking of work, I suppose I better get started. LOL

Collections and Girls day out.

2011-02-06T19:45:00.004+08:00

I have had a lot of good feedback regarding my spool earrings, that I have spent the last week making more so that I finally will have some stock for my Etsy shop. Hopefully they will sell. I made some spool ones and then more common type of ones.

After My little play with the spools at Sulea's I wondered what I could do with the large ones. There are two large ones in the pack. The end result is below. I used collections papers, butterflies, and spools, lace and vintage brads from Stampin up; a leaf ribbon I bought years ago and never found anything to use it on (until now) and hand beaded ribbon.

Today was a girls day out. Unfortunately not everyone could make it due to illness and family commitments but the small group of us that went, had a great time. We went and saw Gulliver's Travels in 3D. Must admit the 3D was better than Avatar. It's a strange movie this one, but it is quite funny in places.

As we walked into the movies I saw these coke "bottles" for sale. I thought they were great. I think they take about a litre of fluid. I got diet coke and barely drank it. I am going to take it to work and have my water in it. Must drink at least one of these at work a day.
After the movie (because this was my birthday outing) we went to the waffle shop near the Cinema. I haven't really had waffles before. The only time I did have them, I didn't like them, so I just got 2 small scoops of ice cream while every one else went mad. Sulea ended up with a huge waffle so she gave me some to try. It was so light and fluffy, and yum, so she gave me a quarter of it.

Oh I have sponsered another child. This time she is in Cambodia. Would you believe that her surname is exactly the same as mine but without the 'e'. She looks like a real little cutie. I am hoping to get to Cambodia at the end of the year with some friends. Hopefully I will get to meet my little sponsor girl.

Have a great week everyone.

Cyclone Yasi

2011-02-02T12:59:00.002+08:00

As I look at a map to see the path of cyclone Yasi, I am grateful that my Queensland Family are a bunch of movers not stayers, as a few of the towns in it's path have been where my family has lived over the years.

I do have friends in the effected areas though. One family in particular are in it's path but not in an area that is required to be evacuated.

I was reading today that some areas in Cairns and Townsville have 9500 crowded into evacuation centres. Pets are not allowed which would be something that I would be very distraught over. My pups are my children. If they were turned away, I would probably go with them and try to find somewhere else that was safe. You would think that with the period of warning there has been, that someone would have thought of a shelter for the animals. Hopefully this is so.

I suppose that it is lucky that Australia managed to keep out of hot water when the Global Financial Crisis hit, we certainly need as much help as possible after this hits.

The Federal Government is wanting to increase our tax so that the funds can be put forward to rebuilding Queensland. Most people are against it. People have already given as much as they can towards this cause, while struggling to pay the mortgage as it is. Apparently the tax will only apply to those above a certain pay threshold. Stupidly though it will also apply to those who were effected by the flood, but who do not qualify for assistance. This could mean that someone who has lost everything and has to start from scratch, will therefore have to pay the levy to probably help someone who earns less but still has a roof over their head.

On a better, happier note, I have booked my tickets to Melbourne for the Stampin Up Convention. I will be staying on for close to 2 weeks so that I can catch up with some friends and family that I have not seen in a while. One friend in particular I have not seen since 1988 when I just happened to stumble across her in the middle of a pedestrian crosswalk.

Spool Madness

2011-01-31T17:36:00.006+08:00

For some time now, the Collections Spool Kit has been sitting in a box in my studio waiting for me to play with it. Thanks to Sulea's gorgeous gift containing some spools, I got inspired. On Saturday I went over to her house and she taught me how to make them. Yes we are both addicted now. I am currently making a large one however at her house I took up the challenge to make tiny ones. In fact they are smaller than the ones in the kit.

What started this madness of tiny spools was that I had some cut offs that I didn't want to waste. Sulea gave me the circular centres of some chipboard flowers and they became the top and bottom. So here is the second and third spool I ever made and the diameter happens to be 7mm. I decided to make them into charms but then thought they would look cute as earrings.

So the blue pair inspired me to try again. This time I made them slight bigger. I used the Stampin' Up small hole punch for the top and bottom; collections papers; clear crackle; and wrapped lose woven linen fabric around the centre.

Talented Friends

2011-01-28T18:38:00.006+08:00

There are a few talented people in the world, and I must admit that I am proud to call some of them my close friends.

First of all my friend Ruth, knitted me a beautiful shawl for my Christmas presant. I will have photo's of it very soon, however considering it will require me being in it then you have to wait till I have a good day looks wise ... mm ... maybe in 2 years time. Joking Ruth! LOL

This morning my very talented friend Sulea (who I swear can do just about anything), gave me this for my birthday. She knows I have been sewing lately so it has a sewing theme. I am thrilled to bits with it. Seriously the amount of hours spent designing and putting this together. There are so many little details that I have many photographs to point them out. By the way Ruth, I feel exactly the same way about my shawl.

It is so wonderful to have two friends like this who will go to the time, the effort, the frustration etc and so, that comes with creating a masterpiece.

Further to this gift today, I learnt something new, and that something new taught me how truly valuable my friendship to someone can be. Yep it is worth 10 cents. LOL Sulea requested that I give her 5 cents (I only had 10) to offset the pin that she had placed through the ball of string. Apparently it is a Chinese Superstition that if you give someone something sharp as a gift, the friendship will be severed. To offset this the giftee will pay the gifter a small sum of money so that the friendship is not lost. I think it is wonderful and made me realise that my friendship is treasured by others.

I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed receiving the gift.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-01-27T11:58:00.002+08:00

I woke up this morning (early thanks to the dog), got ready for work, as I usually do on a week day. I was reminding myself that it is only 2 more days and then the weekend (this, after having the day off yesterday for Australia Day). It suddenly struck me as I walked out the door that I am a year older today.

I don't know what it is about birthdays, but I have always thought that it is your special day. The one day of the year where you can get a little bit of attention, where people do something special for you. Not sure how I grew up thinking that way, considering my mum tended to think I was too old for birthday's once I got into double digits. I just always like to make it special for the person whose birthday it is, so just once I would really like someone to do something special for me. I like surprises people!! A bunch of flowers delivered to work, a surprise party, anything as long as I don't have to plan it.

Alas though, I am the one always organising my birthday. I organised my sweet 16th, nothing happened on my 18th because I was preparing for Uni; nothing happened on my 21st because I was in South Korea (and to them I was turning 22); my 30th was organised by me and though I had fun, I was too busy making sure things ran smoothly to fully enjoy it.

Here I am turning 38, once again trying to organise something. I don't know why I just don't give up. I have friends with too many different interests, so it doesn't matter what I decide to do, there will always be someone who complains. On top of that my birthday is at that difficult time of year ... a public holiday, as well as the fact that a good percentage of people seem to be born late January as well. This means I have to compete with peoples siblings etc, in order to have my friends around for my birthday, so consequently my birthday celebrations end up in February (which probably explains why I forgot it myself this morning).

Life has taught me never to expect anything, or get excited about anything, that way I won't be disappointed. When I travel, I have no expectations and therefore nothing disappoints me. People can't understand why I am not excited about things. Oprah, is a good example. I was excited when I found out that I had won the seats, but leading up to the show and the trip, I wasn't excited. Corinne was dumbfounded as she could barely sit still. I don't know why I am like this, I just am. However when it comes to my birthday I keep thinking ... maybe this year something special will happen ... and then the day comes and goes and nothing happens. Did I mention I am planning my 40th now. Yes, yet again, I am planning it. If there are any volunteers out there who would like to plan this for me, be my guest, I want to go away for a weekend with my friends somewhere. I'm thinking Bali or Margaret River.

So this is just a normal week day in which I am at work. I will probably get home tonight and my mother forget until halfway through the evening. I am now going online to look for some birthday flowers to send to myself. Am I sulking in self pity, damn right I am! It's my birthday and I am entitled to it! LOL. Ok sulk over now, better get back to work.

Week 14

2011-01-24T09:00:00.002+08:00

Gotta pull my finger out and get back into eating the right things. Just because I have a stomach band doesn't mean I still can't indulge in some nice naughty things. I have unfortunately found that biscuits soaked in coffee go down nicely for me, and chocolate, and in some cases, even chips.

I am finding it difficult to swallow some things though, however despite that my specialist has recommended another fill. I decided against it last week when I saw him but have decided that next time I see him I will get another fill.

I currently weigh 94kg. Exercise is a little difficult right now. I have done something to my right ankle. Have no idea what, but it hurts when I walk so running is out of the question. Will need to stick to the ab circle pro I think, look ma, no feet! LOL

The 4 part Oprah down under show has aired both here and in America. I went to the one with the finale. I didn't realise that Oprah had no idea about the flag going over the top. I was also surprised to see that the cameras quite often focused on the general area that I was sitting. Especially finding out that there was one behind me so I saw a shot from the back right at the very end of the show that I knew for sure was me! :) I can now say that I have been on International Television. No close ups though! LOL.

Oh and as for my home state kicking up a huge fuss when the Oprah trip was announced, because we had not been included in any of the plans; and after they gave away a trip to Perth for one of the American Audience and all the drama behind their visit here ... not one mention of Perth at all. Not one. We think it's because the stupid guy got sunstroke and was taken to hospital and that threw out the rest of the itinerary. On top of that, Margaret River, the wine region, was high on the agenda, and the woman wasn't interested because she didn't drink. Hells bells I don't drink but Margaret River has a lot more to offer than just wine tasting!

Well better get back to work I suppose! The main system is down so there is only so much we can do.

Flood Party

2011-01-23T14:06:00.004+08:00

I have been quiet the last couple of weeks. The floods in Queensland that are now effecting Victoria, has impacted all of us in some way. It is strange that while I sit here and type, half of Western Australia is still in drought while the rest of Australia is swamped. I have family in Toowoomba and near Grantham, and I thank God that they are all ok and the floods did not reach their homes.

Last week Stampin' Up announced that they would donate money to the flood relief for every $30 worth of stamps sold. I decided to host an impromptu party where the money provided for my class would go to the floods. That party was today and I had a wonderful group of ladies who came along. Doreen really surprised herself, I think, as to what she could accomplish. She seemed very proud of her creations.

Fun was certainly had by all and we ended up raising $105 towards the flood appeal. I may even have my first party booking!!! :)

Small group of 6

Doreen

Card 1 - Elements of style stamp set

Card 2 Artistic Etchings Stamp set

Card 3 Sense of Time and Weathered stamp sets

Card 4 Baroque Motifs Stamp set

Week 12

2011-01-10T14:49:00.003+08:00

Seriously not sure how the numbers on the diet weeks are listed but starting fresh this year with what is on my tracker and not on my blog. That essentially makes this week 12. :) Lost a couple of weeks there somewhere. LOL Pitty it didn't take the weight with it.

Ok on Dec 6 I weighed in at 92.8kg. During Oprah week I didn't weigh in but the next week I had gained 800g (93.6kg) on Dec 6. The Monday after Christmas I also refused to weigh in but did so on the 3rd of Jan to find out that my weight had stayed at 93.6kg. I am happy with that. Today I weighed in and I am back to the weight I was on December 6. Again I am happy with that (considering what I ate) but it also means I am around 5kg off track of my goal. I should have been weighing in around 87kg this week. Oh well, just gotta work harder to try and catch up.

My previous post was regarding the joys of sewing without a pattern. I am happy to say that the bag has been saved. The store I bought the Jelly roll from, still had some in the same colour so now I can add that extra height to it. Unpicking that small amount did not take long. I am also a 3rd of a way through my first quilt. It goes with the Oopsie I made for my cousins little "Tiger" who is due in 4 days.

Unfortunately no paper craft has been done because, despite the rest of Australia experiencing torrential downpour and flooding, we here in Perth have been having hot hot hot humid days and still experiencing a drought. What has this got to do with my paper craft? EVERYTHING! Pre Christmas and the rellies staying with us I had to take everything out to the studio. It is in a huge mess and needs re-organising. The air-con in there (2 years old) decided that it didn't want to make the air cool for me anymore and now I have to wait until the end of the month for a new converter.

I find this rather amusing in non hot flustered sort of way. You see the one in my bedroom is as old as the house (brown thing that sticks out of the wall). It is still going even though I am sure the coolant should have all be used up, and the filter has fallen to pieces (which reminds me, I need to get the vacuume into it tonight). It is so old we cannot get replacement parts etc.

On another note, Napoleon has taken over the house hold. The dog, that didn't think it was a dog when it first arrived, is definitely now a dog, and the dog in charge. Poor Tess doesn't know what has happened, but she certainlly isn't the numero uno in charge anymore.

Lessons learnt

2011-01-06T19:56:00.002+08:00

With my recent sewing frenzy I decided to make a bag (no photos yet as the person who will be the recipient reads this blog from time to time). I have never made a bag before, but I had purchased a small jelly role from the local market and decided to go ahead. Trust me when I say I have learnt a few things from this bag:

have a clear idea in my head prior to starting because making it up as you go can cause frustration.
triple stitch is hell to unpick
Murphy's law states that no matter how well you measure something, the lining will ultimately end up bigger than the outside.
the stiffening would have been better on the main fabric rather than the lining.
when it looks like the item stitched is not quite big enough, then it probably isn't (note to self - on next bag add more fabric to the top - so the drawstring will actually close and leave a nice puffy top section
don't get too cocky about creating your own design because you will walk passed an open book in the fabric store and see that there is a pattern for sale exactly how you wanted the bag to turn out (but didn't).

The bag has now been put to the side until I decide what to do with it (I really do not want to unpick all that stitching but have an idea it is what I am going to do). Still in my sewing mood I have decided it is time to make the cot quilt I have been promising to make (baby due in 7 days). The lounge room floor is covered in fabric squares. It is driving me nuts trying to place 152 squares so that they look nice. Never making a quilt again (yeah right).

First day back at work today. At least there is work for me to do. Thank God tomorrow is Friday though.

Week ???

2011-01-04T23:15:00.003+08:00

Not sure what week this is in my weight loss goal. I could be intelligent and look at the last post about my weight loss journey but it is 11:15pm and intelligence comes with a price at this time of night. Oh, the reason I am still up is because I am waiting for photos to download to Snapfish for printing.

Over the christmas period (starting with Oprah and finishing on Sunday) I have not been good on the diet. I have eaten chocolate and stone fruit (all the sugars that aren't allowed) and not done any exercise. Mind you I walked around Sydney a lot and I have been more active this holidays rather than sitting on my bum, so that has probably helped. How much have I put on you ask? Well I was expecting maybe 2-3 kgs so you can imagine my elation when it was 200gr. That is of course on top of the small amount I had put on at last weigh in so over all it is probably around 1.5kg.

The exercise started again on Monday. I pulled out my Shaun T Hip Hop Abs DVD and decided to do the 40 minute session. I would have been fine if there hadn't been 3 minutes of squats and I didn't get on my new exercise toy for 3 minutes straight after the DVD. My thigh muscles ached and my back muscles ached.

Hip Hop Abs uses your abs. You pretty much do the pelvic thrust all the way through it but add you arms and movement. The new toy I got is the ab circle. Who in their right mind does a 40 minute ab workout and then jumps on an intense ab machine. Yes do I mean intense. One minute on that thing and you are already puffing. You can feel it work your muscles and it does cardio as well. Three minutes a day is all you need.

I am lucky in that I have a reasonable amount of strength in my abs so I can just hop onto the ab circle and go for it. It never occurred to me that some people wouldn't be able to do it, like my Aunt. Even with someone giving her a push she couldn't do it. A friend of mine also struggled but she got it after being pushed and from then on managed to do it on her own. I think the problem is that they were trying to move it with their legs and you have to use your arms and waist. Any way I love it and I can certainly feel it working.

Today I just did a normal workout, treadmill, bike, etc. My thighs are still sore but my waist and back muscles are fine.

My friend, Ruth, who is currently living in South Africa, had her mother go visit. Her mother is back now and she turned up today with some Xmas gifts from Ruth. I knew she was making me a shawl. It turned out smaller than she thought but it still covers my shoulders nicely for those chilly days in the office. It is gorgeous. I will post a pic when I have taken one. She also gave me some lovely soaps that I can't wait to use. Oh and some fibres. My favourite is Tofu fibre. Who would of thought that Tofu could be made into a Fibre. Apparently it is an end product once the food Tofu has been made. Not sure what I will use it for yet but, again, I can't wait.

Well my photos are still loading and will probably still be loading at midnight. Tomorrow is my last day of holidays. I was going to get up at my usual work time so I won't be so tired at work on Thursday. Hmm not sure about the 6am start now. Oh well that is life.

Oh before I sign off. I started playing with inchie paper yesterday. Love it. Having a ball with it. It was supposed to be done in the oven but our oven decided to die (oven shopping on the agenda tomorrow), so the grill worked nicely. Normally white goods die in 3s in our house so we are crossing fingers nothing else will die.

Have a great week everyone.

Oopsie and the New Year

2011-01-02T17:35:00.003+08:00

The new year is finally here, and with it are a lot of hopes and dreams. The year 2010 was not a happy year for many people. There seemed to be too much loss of life and tragedies. Hopefully 2011 will be better. For me I have a feeling it will be. I can honestly say that I am happy. It is not often in the past that I have said that but I am saying it now. I AM HAPPY!!!

I can tell you that 2011 will hold a lot more sewing for me and hopefully I can get my Stampin' Up business going better. I am looking forward to going to Melbourne in May and seeing friends and family I have not seen in years. I am looking forward to meeting my goal weight; holding my baby cousin for the first time; being creative; and most of all remaining positive. Life is too short to hold grudges and stew over things. Forgive and forget and get on with being happy.

Speaking of my new cousin (2nd). He is due in the next couple of weeks so I have made a soft toy for my Aunt to take with her when she goes over. His name is Oopsie and you can get the free pattern here. I would recommend that you add a seam allowance to the legs though. They turned out a tad small and I had to do a lot of manipulation for them to look good.

Have a great new year, live as if today was your last, and be happy.

Kerin

A Dogs Christmas Tail (oops) TALE

2011-01-01T23:28:00.009+08:00

Dear readers

Dis blog post has been taken over by Bo, Tess, and Napoleon. We have hijacked the compooter.

Each year we hears about how Santa Paws brings us yummy noms for Christmas. With the help of Napoleon this year, we decided we would wait up for Santa Paws to arrive and see if we could use our cute doggie eyes on him to gain more noms.

Bo's Story

I was the first to take watch. Look at me with my gorgeous fluffy collar on.

I am super excited about the noms ... um... I mean meeting Santa Paws of course

I didn't realise I would be waiting so long though...

... and ate the choccy bickies we left for Santa Paws (shh I told the others a mouse stole them when I wasn't looking). They were doggy choccy bickies in case you was worried.

Santa Paws didn't show on my watch. He better not show on Tessa's or we will never here de end of it.

Tessa's Story

I took over after Bo's watch. She told me that a mouse stole the bickies. I didn't ask about the crumbs in her fur though.

Here I sit by the Christmas tree, all gung ho and ready for Santa Paws. How could anyone sleep on a night like this. There are noms to be had soon.

I didn't doze off! I was resting my eyes. Who put the tinsel on my head? Bo was that you!?!?!?

Napoleon's Story

I is a little confused. The other doggies told me someone called Santa Paws was going to sneak in here tonight and take our noms.

I may be 13 but I will stand up to anyone who breaks into any house I am in.

It's ok. I scared him off. Big fat man in red suit. I got his hat though.

Hat makes comfy pillow. Danger ova. Me going to sleeps now.

We is unsure as to how or why but it appears that Santa Paws forgave Napoleon and left us some big juicy bones. Napoleon didn't want his though. It smelled too much like a big fat hoomin wearing red he said, so we shared his ... kinda.

By the way, we hope you comment on this blog post. Do you know how hard it is to type with paws. We may be small, but the keys are way smaller than our feet. Dat man at microsoft should do something about it. Hasn't he heard of dog blogs?!

Signed

Bo, Tess, and Napoleon

"Ok, is published now. We can unties Kerin!"

Catch up photos

2010-12-29T10:41:00.004+08:00

I have no idea what is up with blogger this morning but it just took 20 minutes to load the below photos and move them around. I was going to put the christmas dogs on here as well but that will have to wait until blogger is working faster. It could also be my computer or the internet link I have.

On the 23rd of December we had our main office party (my floor had, had one the week before considering we were told that was the last day to work). For the first time I actually had fun at this Christmas party. Not sure if it was because only half the staff were there or if it was because there was more to do. We had Karaoke (yes I sang), fake tattoos (I got 3), and a photo booth that came with props if you wanted them.

Dxx at the office showing how cold it can get inside when it is 37 degrees outside.
Mal and Mark showing off their new tatts.

Dxx with her sticker boob tatt, Simon as a viking (apparently becoming peoples desk top at work) and me and Dxx in one of the the photo booth shots.

The photo booth took 3 photos. This one was a heap of fun. It is the Agreements team (Dxx, Me and Mal) with a Support ring in, in the form of Noelle (also an Oprah buddy).

Love these photos of Mel and me. I am going to have her figure next year. She tied first in the Karaoke, even with the dance off to claim the winner. I have video footage of the dance off but will keep that limited to facebook.

Xmas Special

2010-12-28T18:12:00.007+08:00

I hope that every one has had a safe and a happy Christmas. Mine was certainly a lot better than last year.

My Aunt and Uncle have moved to WA and are currently living with us until their stuff arrives. This meant we had a Christmas day and then another Christmas day with the rest of the family on boxing day (Dec 26 for the non Aussies).

My Uncle is a bit of cheek so I devised a special gift for him. On Christmas morning I knew something was up because he was dying for me to open my presant from them. A whole newspaper later I found it. I also found out it was my Aunt's idea so I began to think I did the gift thing to the wrong person. Anyway it came his turn and he got a box, full of paper and then a tiny little note that went like this:

If you want your gift, you will have to hunt for it - next clue was taped in the lid of the box
I live high amongst the fir, though this year it is rather short - in the top of the Xmas tree. We only used to top of the larger tree this year.
You will need to use this after Chrismas this year - next clue on the treadmill
Think I will catch 40 winks first - taped to the bed under his pillow
Time to freshen up - Taped to the shower
I wonder where you will find me? I am one of three - Tucked under a dogs collar
Make sure you tell me how good I have been, before you look under the real Christmas tree - he was to tell the dog it had been good and the real Christmas tree was outside.
It's in a dark and purple place in which I am caged - A purple box in the lounge room with purple written on it.
I live in cold conditions until I am needed - the fridge
I am a stirrer - Under stirfry vegies in the freezer is where he finally found his chocolate.

I also took photos of all the dogs looking christmassy but you will have to wait for another post on that one.

My Uncle at the second Xmas day with the fake moustache he got in his bon bon

Uncle and Aunt

See how many men it takes to get a remote control car working. In the end it was Kathy who figured it out. The men then went and crashed it into a building. Luckily spare parts are readily available. Oh there excuse is that it went out of range and out of control even though the manual stated that going out of range it will switch off! Who do you believe?! LOL

2 sisters

You may remember this photo from a sneak peak a couple of weeks ago. It was part of a bag I made for my niece who is currently living in Africa. Well Christmas has come and gone, and she now has it and apparently loves it.

This is the satin inside which I stole from a shirt my cousin had started making me back in 1986 when she lived with us. It never got finished and has been sitting in the material bag all this time. Memory lane for you Maree, though I know you won't remember! ;0)

The handle is plaited. Don't like how I stitched it to the bag though (hence no photo) as it is a bit messy. Considering I made the pattern up myself though I am rather chaffed at how it turned out.

Of course no bag is complete without a dangly.

And here it is

Now considering my niece has barely been on this planet long enough, she seems to have developed a liking for bags. Unfortunately I found this one in the shops 3 days before Xmas so it is still with me and not with her. I also know that one of her favourite toys is a hand knit zebra, so considering this is a backpack made by Zebra Crossing, and includes a Zebra, I think I hit the jackpot. I fell in love with it at first glance and bought it on the spot. It wasn't until I was back at the office (yes I was working) that I realised a few secrets about it.

The backpack

has a zebra dangly to one side

The straps over the Zebras shoulders are attached to the nappy like seat by velcro. This allows you to pull the zebra out with ease.

he is sooo cuddly

and he is a bag himself!

I wanna keep him he's so cute, but he must return to Africa.

Well I just realised I haven't blogged about my work Christmas party (we had 2), or about my weight this week (that was intentional as I did not get on the scales), so my next blog may be a little catch up one. Right now I have a brandy snap with cream waiting with my name on it.

Turning a dog into a dog

2010-12-21T17:58:00.002+08:00

My Aunt and Uncle arrived safely yesterday with their dog Napoleon. Hmm did I say dog? He looks like a dog but won't do dog things like: eat food from your hand; eat dry dog food; walk through dog doors.

Well that was just over 24 hours ago. He is a changed doggy. Even at 13 you can teach new tricks. I was eating turkey last night and went to give him some. My Aunt said he wouldn't take it ... but he did and asked for more (my dogs are teaching him).

This morning I fed my dogs and tried to had feed him some dry dog food. He turned his nose up until my Uncle started playing a "throw the food" game with Bo. Jealousy took over and he decided to try it.

My Aunt and Uncle have been out all day looking at houses so there has been no "mum" really to let him out to the toilet. I had barely been home when a I heard the dog door go. It sounded like a dog had jumped through it. Sure enough Napoleon was desperate enough to put his head on the door and jump, so I recorded him coming back in. Here you are you sceptics!!! LOL

Week 6 & 7

2010-12-20T13:34:00.002+08:00

Week 6 was obviously Oprah week so I didn't get to weigh myself. I have not been going too well in the food category. Got back into some old habits. Christmas is here, which means chocolate and shortbread (yum) and parties and all my favourite foods. The band has helped me to keep consumption in check though so that is good.

Last week in Sydney was a little difficult to find something I could eat. For example, lunch is mainly protein for me and dinner is protein and veg/salad. I was lucky to get lunch that didn't involve bread (it was left by the side most of the time) and dinner was even harder. The issue with dinner is that I was paying $25 + for a huge plate that I could only eat a quarter of. I did take a doggy bag home one night, or attempted to, but it was a pain to carry so it ended up in a bin with a prayer that a homeless person would find it while it was still ok.

Darling Harbour also introduced us to the Lindt shop so I have had more than my fair share of 60g of chocolate. However I did walk alot around Sydney.

At the end of last week was the christmas party for my floor and the end of this week is my christmas party for the whole of work (long boring story as to why we have 2 this year). If previous work ones are anything to go by then a fondue fountain will be the main feature. Hmm I need to occupy myself elsewhere: Karaoke ... maybe; photo booth ... only so many photos you can have of yourself on the same day; fake tattoos ... gonna cover me body instead of eating! Wahoo. Yes Ruth I will get photos. :)

So in summary I have put on around a kilo. I have also lost more around my butt so I am hoping that kilo gained is more muscle than fat. I am however still on track to lose 50kg in 50 weeks as I was ahead. At least I still think I am. Gotta get back into doing some exercise.

My Aunt and Uncle are moving to Perth today. In fact they should already be at the airport trying to find their dog. They will be staying with us until they can find a place to rent. That means we will have 3 little 3 legged ankle biters running around the place. Not sure how that is going to go as Tess is so territorial. Luckily Napoleon is a boy so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Oprah Fest Day 3 - O Day

2010-12-18T16:31:00.004+08:00

Here is the post you have been waiting for. I am thinking point form might just be the easiest to get through the day.

watched the morning shows and the hype around the first taping. Our other colleague from work, Noelle, had been in line since 4:30am and messaged us to tell us we need to line up early.
Took Noelle's advice and even though our instructions from Harpo were to line up from 2:30pm we got there at 11am. There were already 100 people in front of us.

Corinne in queue at 11am. The morning show is still being taped in the background. You can see people sitting on the steps.

A photo I nicked from the internet cause I am in it. Can you see me? Let me help. Look where the first tree is in the centre of the photo; just to the right of where it comes out of someones head, you will see a white hat ... that is me. I stood there for 4 hours.

Bon Jovi sang at the end of the morning taping and our queue joined in with the audience to sing with him.
When Oprah left, she drove straight passed us and unwound her window to wave. Didn't have my camera ready for that. :(
Eventually the American Audience left and walked passed us. They love our Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Oi Oi Oi and you could hear them calling out the Ozzie part while our queue answered with the Oi. This moved in waves down the line.
At 3pm the shove was on to get in. I really mean shove. Seriously know what animals feel like when being herded. Its kinda hard to tell 6000 people behind you to stop pushing.
My gate was on the other side of the Opera House and we had to walk under the stairs to get there. We patiently waited for the gate to open when 3 guys came out from behind some side fencing. No one had cameras ready and if they did we were all in a little shock to actually take the photo considering Russel Crowe walked through the line. Yep, he was within 2m of me. An older lady ran up and gave him a hug and a kiss before running back in line. He smiled and walked off and she jumped up and down with excitement.
Managed to get really good seats on the steps once we got in. Still had to wait till 5pm for Oprah. Got to know everyone around us. Kinda makes you understand how people become such good friends in a short time on a reality show.

Practice for the finale when the flag had to be pulled by the audience in the forecourt. Got the real finale on video as well but haven't decided if I can really show that or not yet.

First guest was Bono
Second guest was Hugh Jackman who did his flying entry, forgot to break while looking for his parents, and came to a jolting stop cutting his bottom eyelid (he needed 2 stitches). He taught Oprah how to eat Vegemite. Oprah asked if we eat it like they do peanut butter, to which the 6000 strong audience shouted out in unison "NO!" Hugh put a tiny amount on a cracker before asking if she liked salty things. She said yes and took a bite. She loved it. Grabbed the knife and plastered more on. Hugh commented on how brave she was. She decided less was best.
Third guests were Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Nicole can't half talk. At one stage she told herself to shut up and let Keith speak. You could really see the love these two have for each other. It was lovely.
Fourth guest was Olivia Newton-John and she brought her Sandi Pants in from the final scene in the movie Grease. OMG they are tiny.
Finale scene was all the celebs plus Russel Crowe and the Qantas Youth Choir singing "I Still Call Australia Home."
Oprah was great between takes. She is so down to earth and has the best Aussie sense of humour I have heard in an American. To be honest I wasn't a fan before this. I liked her but wasn't mad on her. After seeing her interact with everyone between takes and working with her staff I can see why she is much loved.
Oh yes I was there for the giveaway of the Argyle pink Diamond necklace ... no I do not have it yet. Won't be until next year.

In this picture: Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Hugh Jackman, Olivia Newton-John, Russel Crowe.

To prove I was there. Just above the guy in the blue shirt you can see Orpah walking off stage. :)

If anyone asks, you never saw these photos, they do not exist, it is just your imagination. Photos were forbidden. :)

At 3:30am the next morning we woke up and headed to the airport. Had to put this in of Corinne. She switched off so I switched onto facebook, only to see a comment under my status 5 minutes later of "get off FB, Sydney airport is boring." I told her the coffee shop was open then and she raced off!

Oprah Fest Day 2 Take 2

2010-12-17T18:30:00.008+08:00

Lets try and get this blog post out again. Must apologise, but I took mum's little camera with me which is good until you have to zoom. OMG it is a shocker. You will see what I mean when you see the photos.

Day 2 was Toronga Zoo (Australia Zoo is better). Oh it was open!!! You had to catch a Ferry to get there.

Me on the Ferry waiting to go

Corinne with Sydney and the Opera House in the background

The Koalas were quite active. Two in particular were jumping from tree to tree to get to the freshest leaves. The bigger one kept bullying the little one to stay away!

"I want some!'

Got chased up the branch

They bully

Old man watching from above couldn't care less

This one just wanted to sleep

Oh look they are buddies now and sharing.

I made Corinne pose for this because she doesn't like lizards. She will kill me when she sees this on here ...

...so to balance out the embarrassment here is mine.

With a view like that I am moving in with the Giraffes

There are three baby elephants, this one is the littlest and he loves water.

So much so that he fell in feet first and couldn't get out.

The only way out was in. I assumed that is mum with her legs in trying to help out. The other adults came running and were trumpeting away trying to help.

Eventually he got his front feet out and was pushed the rest of the way but trunks. Poor little thing probably has grazed knees now 'cause he is on his knees being pushed here.

And like all children he is right back up to where it all started in the first place.

Until Dad (gotta be dad, it was the only adult male) pulled him back down with his trunk and forced him away from the pool.

This poor, malting Kodiak bear looked so bored.

Love my Mere Cats

The seal show was great and this is my one good photo (damn camera).

This is a little package dropped by an ungrateful seagull after I gave it a chip. It flew up and plonked it one right on my spare tomato sauce. Luckily it didn't go into my lunch. And its only lucky if it lands on you.

Corinne in the Skyrail. She hates heights so posed for this photo for her kids.

On the way back to our hotel to freshen up I could see a sparkly white thing inside a the Queen Victoria building. It was the base of this tree. Isn't it gorgeous.

We freshened up and took the monorail to Darling Harbour for Dinner. This was the view from my table. Corinne did take a photo of me hugging the lamp but it was too blurred. It took 5 minutes of hugging to get it to thanks to the numerous people walking by, stopping in the way, and saying "oh look, she's hugging the post, must be getting her photo taken." Move out of the way people!!!!

And so ends Day 2. Tomorrow you shall get "O" Day!!! LOL

Grrr

2010-12-16T20:17:00.002+08:00

I just spent ages download photos and telling a lovely story only to have blogger chuck a spaz on me and lose the whole lot! It's late and I am going to bed. You will have to wait until tomorrow for Day 2 of Oprah Fest, Sorry.

In the meantime our air con at the hotel had a soft purr to it that Corinne thought was a loud roar determined to keep her awake. I have recorded my air con from home as proof to her that it was indeed a nice little purr and not the diesel engine that I have at home. Yes I do managed to sleep quite well with it.

Oprah Fest Day 1

2010-12-15T16:47:00.005+08:00

I will be blogging this over the next couple of days so please have patience until I get to day 3. After all I spent most of my time in queues so you can just have a little bit of patience. LOL

Landed in Sydney around lunch time on Sunday. The weather was just beautiful. We checked into our hotel - the Park Regis and went straight to the Opera house to get out tickets. Yes we walked down. We stood in line for a good hour until we finally got our hands on that golden ticket; well actually it was standard white and black writing but it was worth gold.

My work colleague Corinne. If it wasn't for her sending an email with a link to register then neither of us would have been here. We had so much fun. It was her first time in Sydney. If you look carefully you can see that the queue spans the length of the Opera House. We ended up halfway round the top end of it. Apparently pretty much all 12,000 people turned up Sunday to get their tickets. Hardly anyone was there on Monday when we went passed on the Ferry.

The stage area.
In the queue. Pretty much half way there. The sun was so hot and burning yet pale, little ol' me didn't get burnt!

With tickets in hand we decided to go walking (suckers for punishment). From Circular Quey we walked to the Rocks. We had heard there were markets there and headed towards where someone had pointed them out. Nope wrong area of the Rocks. Corinne had wanted to do a walk along the bridge so we ended up at one of the pylons of the bridge realising that we would probably have to walk about a Km away to get to where pedestrians could get onto it. Instead we sat and looked out over the Harbour, watched the Ferris Wheel at Luna Park go round and round on the other side; and marvelled about how ugly the bridge is up so close.

Eventually we decided to head back the way we came. We were pretty much back at Circular Quey when we saw a sign that said the markets at the Rocks were also moonlight Markets from Friday to Sunday. We about faced and went back (we had found out where they were but thought they would be closed), only to see them packing up all the tables - so much for moonlight!

We then decided to go with our original plan and head to Luna Park. It was open at night according to the web site. We paid $10.60 each for the round trip Ferry ticket. Got to Luna Park full of excitement, walked in ... and it was closed. Apparently it's only open late on Friday and Saturday, so we walked back to the Ferry and waited 30 minutes for the next one and decided to go to Darling Harbour. Thankfully it was open!

Self taken photo of Corinne and I with the Opera house behind us. We decided after standing in the sun for so long that we desperately needed hats.

At least we have a photo at the mouth to Luna Park. Corinne has me on her camera so I am waiting to get that one.

View from Luna Park Ferry

We had eaten dinner at Circular Quey so we ate desert at Darling Harbour. We went to the Lindt Cafe ... mmm certainly had more than my 60g of chocolate for the month. I shared 3 scoops of the most delicious ice cream with Corinne. Near the Cafe was this water fountain. I loved it.

On the other side of Darling Harbour near the shopping centre is this huge Xmas tree. If you look close enough you will see the Kangaroos that spiral it to the top like tinsel. You can see them better at the bottom.

This became a typical scene with both of us. Here we are looking for the Monorail to get back to the hotel. Instead we ended up inside the Darling Harbour shopping mall, getting lost in there while we perused the shops. LOL

Yes we did finally make it safely to the Monorail and hopped on. When we got back we looked at the map on the street to find out which direction to go to get back to our hotel. My excuse is that the map was upside down. Seriously! Doesn't it make sense that if the map is positioned so that the top of the map faces one end of the road and that the bottom faces another, that therefore if your hotel is situated on the bottom of the map then you would go the way of the street that the map position indicates. Obviously there is no logic in that and we ended up a block out of our way.

Anyway we had a great day and we learnt:

Sydney has no trash bins
maps are upside down
Never believe times written on the Internet or on signs posted around the place
Corinne learnt the true meaning of "spot the Aussie" and also how to jaywalk :)

Silly Season has hit

2010-12-10T08:49:00.003+08:00

Literally. The silly season has taken residence in the office. The damit doll is getting a real workout, others are climbing under desks to tickle feet, and some are climbing on the desks to deface the Christmas decorations, or should I say, add a face. Yes Spidey has two eyes and a red nose. The reason why he has more than 8 legs has something to do with a shredder!?!?!?!

I fly out to Oprah on Sunday. Corinne can't believe I am not excited about it. What she doesn't realise is that in my own way, I am. I just don't show the excitement. I showed it when I won the tickets. I just take one day at a time. I will be excited once I have the tickets in hand, the luggage at the hotel and I can relax and have fun.

Week 5 - DAMIT

2010-12-08T10:54:00.003+08:00

I am a little behind in updating this week. In an earlier post I said that I was dreading my weigh in on Monday. Well thankfully I lost 600 grams. Something tells me the scales will not be so gracious next week (especially after the teams Christmas morning tea this morning).

Yesterday I was making a DAMIT Doll for my Manager. This is the one I made. She took the photo for me. When you are having a rough day you are supposed to take it by the legs and bash it against something yelling DAMIT.
When she walked in this morning I told her I had something for her.
HER: Is it good? Will I like it?
ME: That depends on your mood
HER: Not in a good mood this morning
ME: Then you will definitely enjoy it.

She loves it. It is within arms reach and she thinks they are going to become best friends. :) Says a lot for where I work hey!! LOL

Dogs and Unveilings

2010-12-07T17:48:00.004+08:00

First things first:
1. One week till Oprah
2. 13 Days till my Aunt and Uncle move over here (13 is my lucky number).
3. If you want to know how I did the flower on the bag in my previous sneak peek, you can find it here. This is a good web site.

I am currently in the middle of making a Damit Doll for my Manager (photos when finished). In walks my white poodle Tessa, as I am waiting for the iron to heat up. Did I mention she was white? Right now she is currently confined to outside. The photos below should be sufficient evidence as to why. Her mother was jet black so maybe she is aspiring to be the same colour.

I can finally show you the full image of a sneak peak that I showed in my last blog post. It is my first attempt at sewing creatively without a pattern, but at the same time including my mixed media skills. I am very happy with how it turned out. The photos are printed onto fabric as well. I love technology (well sometimes).

Enjoy

Sneak Peeks and Promises

2010-12-05T19:08:00.004+08:00

I am so not looking forward to weighing in tomorrow morning. I have had cravings all week that I have unfortunately given in to. If I weigh the same as last week I will be really happy, if I way more then I only have myself to blame.

Finally took those photos I have been promising, but not of everything as some are gifts to be given yet as well as not quite finished.

This first picture is of my friends son. They have a large Husky at home but he loves coming here because we have a dog his size. I think Bo was wishing she was small enough to hide under something. Poor thing nearly took a head dive at one stage.

Went to the markets today to look for some embroidery ribbon and came home with everything but. I love this little dog necklace that I got. He moves his head and ears and cost only $6. He stands about an inch tall.

Here is sneak peek number one. This is being made for my precious niece for Christmas. Her nan is going over to Africa to see her so I am putting together a nice little package.

This next sneak peek is a gift for a friend at work. Sometimes she looks on here so I don't want to give the full thing away before she gets to see it herself.

Recently I joined in a 3D swap. This became literal as 3D soon stood for 3 disasters. First I decided to do the vase card. Only problem is that it takes too long and when you have 15 to do ... Second was a gift box in the shape of a Christmas bauble. You guessed right when I say, too time consuming. Third was a fabric butterfly mobile, so after days of cutting and ironing it all flopped.

3D vase

Finally I decided on making a Tic Tac Toe game. The Amour Tab is held down with Velcro and hides a little pocket for the playing pieces. This is the one that I ended up sending. I am not impressed with the photographs of these ones. The light outside was dying by the time I remembered to take them and the flash leached the colour.

I promised a photo of my Stampin Up mixed with fabric album cover but it is one of the things that is not complete. I don't really want to show it until it is fully completed, mainly because it looks as though it is missing something. That is what I went to the markets for today. Hmm gotta hunt elsewhere.

Can't believe that this time next week I will be in Sydney. Fun fun fun!!!

I'm a Sponsor Mummy

2010-12-02T19:46:00.006+08:00

Arrrgh I am sorry, I have a photo but it's not the ones I promised. You see I got home and my sponsor child had arrived in the mail, (to which my cousin has commented is awfully cruel and he hopes there were air holes)! It is also my night for doing my finances and since I haven't had a budget in a while, it took a while. It wasn't until it was too late that I realised I hadn't taken the other photographs!

Here is my gorgeous 5 year old, who happens to be in grade 2. My goodness they start school early in India. Part of her file that was sent to me is her school report. She loves reading, sport, her best subject is maths, and she is very quiet ... so not like me at all. LOL I wonder what she would think of her loud Aussie Sponsor.

She wants to be a teacher. Bless her. I wonder how often that is going to change between now and her final year of highschool.

I went through Asian Aid because I know that 100% of the money I give, goes to her. Also they don't suddenly pull out of the area, like some others, so I will continue sponsoring her for many years to come. Mum also had a girl in India through them that she sponsored all through Primary and Highschool.

Photos

2010-12-02T12:20:00.003+08:00

Yes yes I know. I have been promising photos for a while now. Hopefully tonight I will take some and post them here. I have been busy working on many different projects so not really many have been completed as yet.

Oh my goodness I am sooo tired. I just want to got to bed but I still have 4 1/2 hours here at work. I think work needs to invest in those sleep rooms like they have in Japan. That would be nice. :)

The purpose of this post is to try and keep me awake but it is doing the opposite so I will sign off and try to remember to take photos tonight.

Week 5

2010-11-29T20:09:00.005+08:00

Oh my goodness, it is hot lately, and yet, would you believe, I am wearing a winter jumper at work for the better part of the morning. I seem to be the only one who is freezing and yet I am the fattest one there!

Right now I am at home, it is nearly 8:30pm and I am melting. I do have the fan on. In my bedroom is an old air-conditioner probably 20-30 years old. Think of the noise a diesel generator makes and that is my air con. Luckily it is continuous so I do manage to fall asleep and stay asleep. It is my own white noise machine. Certainly blocks out everything else. :)

Week 5 and I now weigh 93.4kg, which is a loss of 1.6kg this las week. I fitted nicely into size 18 jeans on Friday (down from 22) and my tops are also down 2 sizes. I have seen people on the weekend who have not seen me since I started losing, and their faces became exclamation marks of "wow look at you." Why then can't I see it. I feel good. My clothes are smaller and yet I look in the mirror and realise that I am thinking thinner than what I am. Seriously I look at the 2 photo's below and I really can't see what everyone else seems to see. Except for the chin, I look the same (though that could just be the makeup minimising it). In the first photo I am 16 kg heavier than the second. Both were taken this year. Hmm maybe I should put the pink top on again and take a photo. See if there is any difference then.

Life is plodding along as per usual. Quite boring really. I am still tidying up around the house and can't wait to get the Christmas tree up. I am soooo in the Christmas Spirit this year, especially after a non existent one last year.

I am off to visit Oprah in 2 weeks!!!!

Week 4

2010-11-24T07:41:00.003+08:00

Monday was weigh in day. I am happy, I am sitting on 95kg which actually puts me 1kg in front of my goal. Saw the gastric specialist again and he is very pleased with how things are progressing. I had another fill of the band and I don't go back to see him for 8 weeks.

Noticed that I could almost fit into clothes in "normal" stores. For the last 4-5 years I have been stuck with the rare store that does larger sizes so this is starting to feel good. I went into Be Me last night and found a lovely red top to wear to Oprah and for Christmas and a lovely purple top as well. The best news is that I have lost two dress sizes! Yay. Mum kept holding clothes up to me to measure and the verdict with the first few was that they were too big. Normally what I like is too small, now it is too big. :)

I am wearing the purple top today and went to put on some black pants and they nearly fell off so I had to go hunting. I am loving this, though soon I may end up wearing exercise clothes to work out of desperation for something that fits. It is hard to justify spending $50 on a top that you may only get to wear a handful of times before it is too big.

In other news I finally cleaned up my office. This is a room where everything gets dumped and I have been putting it off for (dare I say it) 3 years if not more, to go through and tidy. There was enough room on my computer desk for the mouse, keyboard and a drink. I got the tidy bug on Saturday night. Two huge garbage bags of torn up pieces of paper/cardboard boxes later and I can see the carpet. I also found all three screws that had fallen out of the chair. Yes the seat is held on by one screw so don't lean to the right or you will keep going and take the seat with you! It was decided that the carpet was probably in shock at seeing the light of day so the vacuuming will happen this weekend. :) Yes I am messy but I claim the cry of an artist!! LOL

I recently purchased some fabric mixed media art books on Amazon and I am having fun coming up with ideas to mixed with my Stampin' Up products. I have already done one thing but it is not complete yet so I won't be posting pics until it is. I am happy with how it turned out.

The photo's of the 3D swap are still coming as well.

One final thing. One of the nicest, most gorgeous, fun loving people is moving over to Perth from Queensland. I am proud to also call her my Aunt! Mum is ecstatic in the knowledge she will have a sister close again. She and her hubby will be here for Christmas as well. Christmas this year is going to be great. Last year's was horrid, but things are finally looking up for this family.

Will try and get my act together and photograph my latest creations. It's halfway through the week, have a great one!

Week 3

2010-11-17T09:36:00.003+08:00

Oh my goodness, what an upside down, topsy turvey week. After my last weigh in I broke my number one rule and weighed in again. In one day I gained 400grams. For the rest of the week I also felt off. Couldn't put my finger on why. I wanted to eat but couldn't find something I wanted to eat, and then felt worse having eaten something I didn't really want.

Friday was bad. I desperately felt the need for a chocolate, so I went to the vending machine and got a toblerone. Then I won some lovely truffle chocolates in the Staff Meeting, which got woofed down Friday night. My craving was sooooo strong, it was like I was out of control. Come Saturday I found out why (something arrived 2 weeks early).

To add to the chocolate feast I had not been able to exercise for a days because of a 3D swap I was involved in. I had to make 15 for the swap. 3D can take a while so I made one thing and realised it would take too long. I then made something else and that was going to take too long. I then decided to make a butterfly mobile using fabric and the Big Shot Butterfly die. I had all 165 pieces cut out, ironed together and placed in their colour schemes by Thursday night only to realise how boring it actually looked. Friday was a mad internet search to find something. I found a Tic Tac Toe game so I modfified it and made 15 of them over the weekend. They were finished late on Sunday night. No exercise other than my hand stamping and punching paper. I need to finish my own yet so there is no photograph at this stage.

Monday morning I weighed in and I had lost the 400 grams I had put on, plus another 200 grams which put me at 96.2kg. I was happy there was a loss. However Monday I left work early because of a migrane and stayed home Tuesday for the same thing. Again no exercise. I decided to hop on the scales again this morning and YAY I weighed in at 94.8kg. 80kg here I come!!!! :) Better not put any on for next Monday now.

Week 2 and good news

2010-11-08T18:11:00.004+08:00

Today has been a day of pleasant surprises. First I have lost 800 grams which now makes me 96.2kg. I was this weight 4 years ago. Oh and the biggy:

Guess who won tickets to see Oprah at the Opera house. ME!!!! :)

I wouldn't have put my name down until a friend at work told me to do it and put her as the guest, so I did it for fun. On top of that I have also asked for a makeover and gave them my story (2000 characters or less), so who knows, I may even get a makeover. Should I dare to be so lucky!?!?!? My friends at work think I should try and get to 90 kg. Man, that would be great.

By the way, someone else at work also won tickets, but they are going to the other recording of the show. Oh and my friend, who is my guest, is sooooo excited because her application got rejected. She felt so blue until I told her that I had one and so she was still going.

Our Manager has given us leave provided we give her the freebies. I said it will probably be just an 'O' Magazine in a plastic bag. Anyways the Manager then decided that she was not talking to any of us three who got tickets because she really wanted to go. :)

WOW I am actually getting excited now.

Lost

2010-11-02T17:34:00.003+08:00

Alas, I did not win the hat competition. Would you believe that my ex boss (when I was the trainer) actually won it. He swears he made the whole thing himself. Anyway I personally think it was a popularity contest. LOL

Bad loser aren't I. I really needed that $100 voucher. I went through my wardrobe and draws last night and have two huge bags of clothes that don't fit me anymore. Yes I have lost enough weight to be at that in between stage where clothes are either too big or too small.

This is the winning hat. Umm ya horses have no legs! I thing they are drowning in the Melbourne rain!

And this is mine. You can't see that it actually has the track on top of the hat. Australia is famous for it's flies so instead of corks around the outside I put a dangly Melbourne Cup sign. Not sure why, but it loved to fall to the right of my head. Oh the entire hat itself was made by me as well. It is thin cardboard. Geez I am starting to look old here.
The cup with the oval curve and the Fly Emirates signs are actually something the horses run passed on the actual track.

I even had the cup made out of thin metal and hammered in what is engraved on the real cup.

Sorry Mark, you did a good job, but I still think I shoulda won! :) I have big plans for next years hat so watch out!

Week 1

2010-11-01T08:59:00.002+08:00

Last week in my post Diet Dilema's I said that I would track my weight loss. I am working on losing 50kg over 50 weeks. Last week I weighed in at 99.2kg and today I am 97kg. YAY!!!! :)

Oh in case you are thinking that 50kg is a lot for me to lose (ie I would be down to 49kg), I am quite short and my optimal weight is 48-54 KG. I will be happy though with anything between 50 and 55kg.

Bo's Coat

2010-10-31T17:18:00.004+08:00

I am not going to say anything about bloggers placement of photos and by not saying it my my point is still made. :)

Tess has a new outfit and now so does Bo. I still have to stitch the butterflies on properly but I couldn't wait to get a photograph, or 2 or 3. LOL By the way, the butterflies are a Stampin Up Big Shot die that is called Beautiful Butterflies. It punches out a few layers at a time which is a great time saver.

Each week I look at my friend, Janelle's blog and have been so envious with everything she creates that I finally bit the bullet and got inspired by her work. Thanks Janelle.

If the coat looks a little loose on Bo it is because I needed to make allowance for her fur.

On Tuesday it is Melbourne Cup day. This is the race that stopped the Nation but unfortunately only Melbourne gets the public holiday.

Work is having a hat competition and home made ones get more of a look in for the $100 gift voucher. I sure hope I win it cause I am needing some new clothes. My closet is full of clothes that are too big and still too small. There is nothing in between.

The hat is finished but you will not see photos until after Tuesday. I don't want anyone from work seeing it and getting ideas. That $100 is mine, I tell you, MINE! Mwahahahaha!

Moment of insanity is gone now and reality is telling me to do some exercise. Have a great week.

The Swagger

2010-10-27T08:35:00.002+08:00

Train stations have all sorts of people. It is very interesting to sit back and just observe sometimes. Today I had to smile if not even stifle a laugh.

While exiting a train at Central Station, a young man, in his 20's, ensured that he pushed passed everyone to be the first out. I watched this young man from behind. He was tall, wore fashionable clothes, had a fashionable hairstyle, stood tall, and most of all he had that swagger that said "I am young, I am gorgeous, I know what I am about, treat me like a star." This swagger abruptly ended when he stepped onto the escalator and somehow managed to have his feet half on one step and half on the other. As the stairs moved up and parted, he fell backwards. The impression of cool confidence he was giving off in that swagger diminished as he stumbled backwards. Luckily people behind him could see what he had done because they actually look down to see where to step, and therefore prepared themselves for the fall. Upon reaching the top he shook himself (kinda like a dog does to rearrange it's fur) and continued swaggering confidently through the crowd.

Ok so it doesn't sound as funny as what it was to look at but I had a good chuckle.

Diet Dillemas

2010-10-26T12:47:00.004+08:00

Went back to get my band filled yesterday. Had a great discussion with the Doc doing the refilling. He is the one who normally runs the seminars on how to maintain your gastric band (ie sticking to the bandwagon!!). I can't make it to them so he went through it very quickly with me.

Now I want you to think how long gastric banding has been around. How successful it is and how many people maintain their weight after reaching their goal. The surgeon I had and the Dr that does the fill up have both been dealing with the bands for 10-11 years.

Before I go into what I have been told I have to do I will tell you a little bit more background on me:

I didn't eat a lot as a baby. One third the amount I was supposed to. Dr's then didn't worry I was happy and growing.
I ended up being force fed because my parents were afraid I wasn't getting enough.
In highschool I was full of energy and was eating 1 meal a day ... dinner and maintained a size 14.
By my 30's I was getting to a size 16-18 and not liking it. Many Dr's tried me on different things and forced me to eat 3 square meals. Had no luck in losing
Gloria Marshals Diet - lost weight only because they gave up and dropped my calorie intake back to 800 per day. I maintain at 1000. I refused to eat breakfast.
Herbalife - fluids and tablets - need I say more.
Weight Watchers - put me on such a high point system that I gained weight. I dropped it back myself and started losing but not much.
Jenny Craig - Again way too many calories but they refused to cut back because it was not medically sound. I gained weight.
A chemist one - was on 600-800 calories but their shakes made me bloated and uncomfortable. I lost weight but couldn't keep up the program.
One that delivers food - again too many calories and snacks
Biggest Loser club - need to eat at least 1700 calories per day - I gain weight on 1200!!!!
Public opinion says that breakfast will increase your metabolism - I started eating breakfast - light yoghurt, raw oats and a couple of nuts. - I still put on
Drs did tests to find out why and came up with "obviously there is something wrong with your metabolism, it's just that science hasn't figured it out yet!"

So here I was trying to do the right thing but gaining weight by the minute. I am sure I even breathed in a few calories. I used to be a gym junkie but the heavier I got the less I could exercise. In the back of my mind I thought my body does not need as much as anyone else.

So in comes the gastric banding. The diet resembles what my mind and body have been trying to tell me for ages. What you need to understand is that the band is tightest in the morning and therefore you are not hungry. Why eat when you are not hungry. I had that figured out as a baby! The only times I have lost weight is when I don't eat breakfast - ooooh did I just say a bad thing - some would think so.

The band is supposed to slowly make you feel hungry, so at mid day I should be moderately hungry at at night I should be more hungry. The docs don't care about calories it is about hunger. Eat like a 3 year old does - when you are hungry. Your body knows when it needs food.

Now the healthy lifestyle that people tell you about to diet on is more for maintenance and for those growing. Therefore it is of no use to me at this stage while I am trying to lose. (Was that another bad thing to say)? Please remember this is my understanding of what my Docs have told me in comparison to the way I know my body works. It may not be for you and you probably shouldn't do it without the gastric band and have a specialist at hand.

So my diet right now (until my goal weight is reached) is this:

No yoghurt, fruit, nuts, grains, legumes, cheese (Generally foods that are not satisfying)
If I get peckish in the morning then I can have a small milky coffee or tea (these take away the hunger).
If need be, because I am a woman, I can have 60g of plain chocolate a month at that time when the sugar craving really hits (don't think I will do this).
Lunch should be high protein
Eat meats such as Fish (mackerel, tuna, salmon), chicken and turkey, and there was a red meat but can't remember what it was.
cook veggies or salad.
Absolutely no snacking.

I have noticed that when I did eat breakfast I was constantly hungry in the morning and needed something else to eat. Then I needed something mid afternoon and maybe in the evening after dinner as well.

Today is my first day with no breakfast and you know what, I wasn't hungry. I had a tiny pang and had a tiny coffee but I could have halved the coffee cause it worked that fast in getting rid of the pang. My lunch is sitting here half eaten because I am not hungry. The same lunch last week would have been all eaten and I may have been looking for something else as well.

The Doc thinks if I stick to the above I will lose around a kg a week. I need to lose 50Kg so I am going to do up a chart to track my progress and weigh myself every Monday. I will let you all know how I am going.

What I have done and what I want to do

2010-10-25T13:06:00.002+08:00

Found this on my friends blog. Some of the things have been changed to be more Aussie.

Rules: Things you’ve already done in bold. Things you want to do in italics. Things you haven’t done and don’t want to, leave in plain font.

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band (brass band and Church band and highschool orchestra)
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower (only if Hayleys commet and a couple of shooting stars count)
6. given more than you can afford to charity - If I did this then I would need the charity wouldn't I??
7. been to Disneyland/World - Movie World and Seaworld in Aust.
8. climbed a mountain – Does Bluff Knowl count (don't even know how to spell it.)
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped - would bungee swing
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea - 2x saw it from a plane and from the beach
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child - only if furbies count
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. grown your own vegetables-attempted to at least
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked - NEVER
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill - yes and I felt so guilty. I was sure I would be recognised where I was going.
24. built a snow fort - snow man but not a fort
25. held a lamb - Lion cub, goat kids but can't remember a lamb.
26. gone skinny dipping - nah don't have the body for it.
27. run a marathon - in my dreams
28. ridden a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse - partial only - very eerie.
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise - river cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors - How far back are we talking. Been to the country.
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught yourself a new language - Learnt enough Korean to get around and enough American to be understood.
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied - for a short time the stress wasn't worth it though
38. seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person - The one in Albany or Italy?
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person - seen the Madonna and child though
41. sung karaoke -
42. seen Old Faithful Geyser erupt - Watched the sun rise on the great Australian Bite
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance (sirens weren’t flashing though)
47. had your portrait painted (Cartoon)
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistene Chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie - TV commercial
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold Girl Guide cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70 visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in Times Square
74. toured the Everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the Changing of the Guard in London - saw the small one
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle - probably but I wouldn't have been driving
79. seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. published a book - yes and know. It is an online Novela available for sale.
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem - I was only 60 Km away in Jordan
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the White House (well stood outside the fence)/ Australian Parliment in Canberra
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person /seen a platypus in the wild
96. swum in the Great Salt Lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

Unveiling

2010-10-24T17:24:00.006+08:00

For the life of me, I can't fathom how blogger can put some photo's the wrong way round and others the correct way round.

Before I go into what many of my Facebook friends have been waiting for I would like to tell you how the gastric band is going. I have finally reached the 100kg mark and passed it. Last weigh in was yesterday and I weighed 98.6kg. I am thrilled. In fact some of the clothes in my wardrobe that I have been wearing for the last couple of years are now a little too loose on me. I am finally being able to wear clothes that I wore 3 years ago (yeah still in fashion too) and it looks like a whole new wardrobe. By the time I get to Melbourne next year I hope to be fitting into clothes sizes that I can buy from any store rather than large clothing stores. Heck I will be sewing my own clothes again soon.

Speaking of sewing that is what my FB friends know I have been up to this last 2 weeks, but you will have to wait just that little bit longer. :)

Just before I started sewing I got some new stamps in the mail from Stampin up. These can be found on page 95 of the catalogue: Artistic Etchings, Notably Ornate, and Music notes mini wheel.

I had some fun utilising them as background stamps and emphasising other areas as well. I haven't really done anything like this before but love how it worked out. I also had two owls I had previously punched out that didn't really go with any of the others but went perfectly here. I am going to make it a book cover, but what sort of book is anyones guess right now.

I tried a new technique that I saw on U-Tube with the shimmer paint. First you put the colour you want on your stamp and then dab on the shimmer paint (campaign mist). I did this with the Eiffel Tower but most of the black stazon ink disappeared. I then restamped over top again with only stazon black but didn't measure it up properly and it moved. I actually really like the effect because it is almost 3D.

Now to some sewing. I decided that I loved the owl so much I punched out a cardboard template and then traced around the cardboard on some visaflex (spelling is wrong I know). I then ironed this on to some fabric scraps and then onto a larger piece of fabric before hand stitching around it. The actual item that has been made is a fabric luggage tag. Seriously when you travel, everyone seems to have the same suitcase so if your name tag is different it will stand out. All I need to do is use a fabric pen and write my name and address on the back of it.

Ok so here is the item FB friends have been waiting for. I have explained to a couple that I have made up the pattern myself here. The model was most unhelpful and constantly moved. Luckily measurements ended up being too large and could be taken in. I will not tell you how many times I had to unpick, resize, and restitch. The photos are also not displaying the best of the stitching as well. After two weeks trying to get it right I couldn't be bothered in the end.

And here is the model.

Isn't she just gorgeous. This type of outfit can cost $70 to buy.

This is the attitude shot.

I have also made two little stuffed birds that are waiting for their tails to be stitched up. I have just been informed that our other dog, Bo, has taken a fancy to one of them. She managed to get it off the table and was throwing it around the room and rubbing her face all over it. Hmmmm outfit for her next. I am thinking a clown suit.

Out of Touch

2010-10-22T10:37:00.003+08:00

Isn't it terrible when you get caught up in your own world that you don't notice what is going on with the friends around you! I am not just talking about the physical friends around me but also the ones I have made online and our only way of communication is online.

I have been so caught up in my art and sewing, and other things that I did not realise that someone I hold dear to my hear is now engaged. I missed that announcement on her Facebook and haven't been to her blog for quote a while now to see what she is up to. What kind of friend does that make me? I know it makes me feel like a part timer that is for sure. I could promise that this will not happen again but I don't like making promises I may not keep.

Can I blame it on getting old that my mind wanders too much and when it should be thinking about certain things at a certain opportune time it decides to think of something else. I have no control of my mind ... it thinks for itself and the body just follows along. The personality is too quiet to stand up to the mind so things that are important tend to get forgotten.

So, without promising anything, I will endeavour to do my best to keep in touch with my online friends.

And the winner is ...

2010-10-20T19:19:00.002+08:00

Ok it is time to draw the giveaway. The lucky winner is:

Yvonne Russell

Congratulations Yvonne. Please email me your address and I will post them out to you.

Seems so mundane now to tell you what I have been up to sew (that is a hint) you will just have to wait until it is finished and I can get some photographs. I am sooo out of practice.

Have a great week everyone. It's almost Friday.

Sewing

2010-10-15T10:26:00.002+08:00

I have no idea why but I have had a craving to do some sewing all week. I wish this day was over already so I can get home and have some fun. I have found a couple of great web sites that have given me some ideas; I want to use my Stampin' up supplies (so I ordered some more - eyes rolling). I have ordered some books: one on felt toys (in Japanese - nope can't read Japanese); a book on techniques and a book on utilising both fabric and paper in mixed media.

If I close my eyes and open them again do you think it will suddenly be 4pm and I can leave? Need some sparkly red shoes to tap the heals and repeat "I want to go home!"

If you know of any good applique/quilt blogs with tutorials I would love to know about them.

On another note I got home yesterday knowing full well Bo had been for a hair cut. She wasn't at the door to greet me (which is normal) but then I got informed she was in hiding. I went looking for her and found her sulking on mum's chair. She is no longer black, she is grey. This is because she has been shaved so close to the skin that you can see the skin. Mum said she thinks Bo is ashamed so I have been forbidden to post any photo's of her shame. She perked up when we gave her a jacket to wear.

Finally despite my excitement about getting home and having some fun with fabric, I am feeling a little down. Weight loss does this to you. You have your moments when you are high and loving life and then after a while things seem to stop and sometimes go backwards, no matter what you do. This has been me since I had my gastric band filled a couple of weeks ago. I have been exercising more, so up until today I thought my weight no budging was because of muscle creation. What happened to day you ask? My worst nightmare. Put on my jeans which have been loose for a month now and they are back to being firm fitting like they were the day I went into surgery.

I keep asking myself what I am doing wrong. Am I eating too much? Not much to do at work hasn't helped because I am a boredom eater. There is nothing here for me to eat though so I really haven't touched anything. I don't like the taste of water so I had a diet cordial that I was putting in it. I tried to go straight water this week but have craved a flavour. Any flavour so have been having weak Milo's each day. Maybe that is the issue. So frustrating.

Hopefully my thirst for sewing will satiate my desire for food.

5000 - Giveaway Images

2010-10-11T18:55:00.006+08:00

Not my best photography as far as the photo's are concerned. Give me credit though, it was low light, no tripod and at least I have finally worked out the WB setting. Just need to get rid of the handshake. Oh and I forgot to re-arrange the first photo. :)

This is part of the items I will be giving away on the 20th. Remember if you have commented on a post with 5000 in the Title then you will be in the running. Please let your friends know and link this to your FB, blog whatever you have.

Ok so what is it you ask. It is whatever you want to use it for. Technically it is a note book but considering it is made from all acid free items then you could use it as a scrapbook. You can remove the pages if you want to put your own in there.

Again I have used retired DSP (gotta use it up) and the wonderful two step bird punch. Love that punch almost as much as the Owl one. The stamp set used on the bird is the Punch Potpurri which is a level one hostess gift that has stamps to match 4 of our punches. Love that stamp set. You may notice I have used it a lot.

Enjoy and good luck with the draw.

Once Again

2010-10-11T11:48:00.002+08:00

Here I am once again, sitting on my computer at work with no work to do. I rely on the State Offices to send work through but they were in training here last Thursday/Friday so I am hoping the work will start coming in tomorrow. Facebook can be boring at the best of times but 8 hours of it is draining.

Today I decided to bring a healthy snack to work in case I get the munchies. I brought raw cauliflower and carrot. I chewed it well but after the first couple of bites it felt as if it was stuck between my stomach and my throat. Not a nice feeling at all. First time I have felt that uncomfortable eating since the surgery. Oh well note to self is do not eat raw carrot. I am sure it was the carrot because I have had raw cauliflower before with no effect.

I am nearly finished making the rest of the give-a-way. Photos will be up tonight.

Hope your day is going faster than mine. Do you think they would mind if I fell asleep! LOL

5000 - Giveaway peak

2010-10-08T17:39:00.004+08:00

Here are three photos of one of the giveaways. Hope you like it. Sorry the full view picture is a little blurred. It was low light and at the end of the day I get a little hand shake.

5000 - Giveaway Oct 20 Part 2

2010-10-08T09:43:00.002+08:00

I am super excited. Last night I finished part of the giveaway. Hmmm just might enter myself and see if I win! LOL only kidding. I hope you all like owls because that is a hint as to what it may contain. When I get some decent light (ie home in daylight hours) I will take a photo of it. Now I need to work on something else for it. I love giving away things. It is so much fun.

Don't forget to tell your friends and even ad a link to your blog.

Have a rippa day. After all