Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  Wishing you a wonderful, exciting and safe 2012!

Just a quick post to share some photos from our afternoon/evening down by Sydney Harbour watching the fireworks.

Link With Love

While reading The Daily Digi today, the post had real impact on me. Here's what Link With Love is all about.

Make A Difference.

It is our goal to inspire positive change in the way art, photography, design, words, music, film and ideas are shared on the internet. We believe that intellectual property needs to be handled with love and respect. We believe in the goodness of people. We believe in the power of the internet. We believe that Maya Angelou was absolutely right when she said "when you know better you do better."

We need your help. We need your support. Learn more. Spread the word. Post our badge on your sites to show that you LINK with love.

There is more information here. We are just starting to build a site and add content. Visit linkwithlove.org to get a badge that you can post on your own blog or site that shows the internet YOU RESPECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. That you LINK WITH LOVE.”

I've grabbed my badge. Have you?

Way too Cute!

I found this funky band called OK Go on You Tube a couple of years ago.

They have just released a new video, and it is so cute...I just had to share. They are also raising funds for animal rescue through the video release.



It just makes me smile!

30 Days of Blogging - Day 12

Hmmmm....what I Believe. Very philosophical!

I believe things happen for a reason.
I believe you have the ability to create your own destiny.
I believe the decisions you make affect your life and the life of those around you.
I believe there is a GOD, and he/she means different things to different people.
I believe in life after death.
I believe that we have been on this earth before.
I believe that I am a good person.

..........and so much more. But that will do for now!


And here's a little layout I've done this week, using the gorgeous Where Poppies Bloom by Amy Stoffel at Scrap Matters and SHCO.

30 Days of Blogging - Day 9, 10 & 11

I'm playing catchup, so I've got 3 days of posts today.

Day 9 is to share a picture of your friends. I really don't know if I have a picture of all my friends together. My friends are from all different circles, and while they have all met each other, they don't all socialise together.

And to be quite honest, I don't have a huge number of friends. I have lots of acquaintances who I see regularly......but I can probably count my true 'friends' on one hand.



I found this photo of my best friend and I, and by the look of the photo I'd say we were around 14 or 15 when it was taken. (I'm the one on the right...with the dark hair). We met at Sunday School, and have been friends for around 40 years! How awesome is that! We don't see each other very regularly these days, but we when we do, it's just like we saw each other yesterday. We just pick up where we left off last time. I guess that's the definition of a true friend.

My Day 10 post is to talk about something I'm afraid of. Well, I'm not really sure what I'm afraid of. I don't like bugs and snakes and cockraches, but I wouldn't say I'm afraid of them. I guess one thing that comes to mind is not being around for my daughter. As an older mum, it does cross my mind from time to time, that when Em is 20, I'll be 60! I'm not afraid of dying, but we do have a family history of dying young. I do hope that I'm around long enough to see Em settled with her own family to care for, and to care for her!

Day 11 is all about my favourite TV shows. That's easy. I am a reality TV junkie.

• Amazing Race
• Masterchef
• My Kitchen Rules
• The Mole
• Survivor
• The Bachelor
• Idol
• Australia's Got Talent
  

Oh! And I do love Glee!

30 Days of Blogging - Day 8

Today's post is about my travels.

I feel so lucky that I have been able to travel to the most amazing places in the world. That's one of the perks of working for an airline, I guess! I have travelled to every continent, and have seen some incredible sights, and met some absolutely fantastic people. It's hard to pick just one place that is special to me.

But if I had to narrow it down, then I think the UK would probably one of the most memorable places I have travelled to. I actually lived in the UK for nearly 5 years, and it's where I met my husband....so it has a special place in my heart.

Wherever you've travelled, be it near of far....I hope you've been able to soak up the magic of the place.

30 Days of Blogging - Day 7

Happy Valentines Day! I was surprised in such a nice way this morning with my daughter bringing me breakfast in bed. I thought it was really sweet! We are heading off to dinner tonight as a family, so that will be special.

I'm up to Day 7 in my 30 days of blogging challenge, and today I get to tell you about my favourite movies.

I'm a sucker for romantic comedies....the cheesier, the better! And if it's an 'old' romantic comedy, all the better. Some of my favourites are:

• Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn (my all time fave)
• Love Actually
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• 27 Dresses
• The Wedding Singer
• Bridget Jones Diary
• Pretty Woman
• Sleepless in Seattle
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• My Best Friends Wedding

I think you get the picture....LOL!

Some Scrapping Shares

Some awesome kits being released today!

Just love this wedding/engagement themed kit by Lyndsay Riches, available at Scrap Orchard.



And here's a layout I created with it.



And how gorgeous is this release Sweet Serenity from Amy Stoffel at Gotta Pixel. I love this kit, and the layout I created is very special to me.






And lastly, I created a layout from my Day 3 of blogging post about my first love. I think it's turned out great. I used Up In The Air, and Sweet Starts Photoless by Nikki Epperson at The Digi Chick.

30 Days of Blogging - Day 6

So I'm up to day 6, and today I have to share a picture of something that makes me happy. WOW...hard to pick just one.

I totally adore this series of pictures of my daughter, taken in October 2005. She was 4-1/2, and I just love how the photographer has captured all of the different emotions she showed at that age. Needless to say, she loved having her photo taken and was quite a poser back then.


The picture takes pride of place on our lounge room wall, and it just make me smile everytime I walk past it. I wish I had the negatives, so that I could scrap some of the individual photos.

30 Days of Blogging - Day 4

Boy...I totally lost all of last week. Em went back to school, and with the busy-ness of that, all the scrapping deadlines I had and getting back into some semblance of a routine, the week just got away from me.

But I'm back with Day 4 which is about my parents.

What can I say. I love them dearly! They have always there for me, have supported me through every decision I've ever had to make. They are a true example of giving their undying love and devotion to another human being!


Love you mum and dad!

30 Days of Blogging - Day 2 & 3

For Day 2 I have to explain the meaning behind my blog name. It's pretty self explanatory really, I blog about my life, my loves and my scrapping. I added the catch line - just the way I see it, as sometimes my look on these is rather quirky!

And for Day 3 I'm blogging about my first love. WOW...that takes me back a number of years! I was still at school actually. I fell in love with the guy of my dreams - tall, dark, and very handsome. He was one of the guys in my youth group at church. We had an awesome relationship for around 8 years, and I thought he was going to be the one I spent the rest of my life with. My family loved him, we were constantly together, had so much in common and it was just expected that we would get engaged and be married. We'd already bought some land together, and were planning for our future. But sadly that wasn't to be. He fell in love with someone else, and our relationship fell apart. It took many, many, many years for me to get over it. We don't have contact today, and I often wonder what he's done with his life, and whether he married the 'other' girl. I don't think you ever forget your first love!

But life moves on, and once I could reflect impartially, I realise how wrong my life would have turned out! I wouldn't have had all the wonderful opportunities that have come my way. I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and the course that my life has taken is exactly the way it should be. I can't imagine my life any other way. While my husband wasn't my first love, he is definitely my real love!


I'll be back tomorrow with a couple more days and then I'll nearly be caught up with the rest of the girls.

I've Discovered Pinterest!

What's Pinterest you may ask? Well....it's like a social catalogue service, a virtual pinboard of all the things you love, and a way to follow the items that other people love.

I was a bit sceptical at first. Not another website to keep abreast of. But so far I love it. There is so much inspiration, and it's a wonderful way to pin items you have seen around the internet world, that you want to keep track of.



This is the link to visit my Pinterest page.

Happy Australia Day!

WOW...Nothing like a warm, hot day to be celebrating our Australia Day. It's meant to reach 39 degrees celsius at our place today. We plan on spending most of the day in the pool!

Happy Australia Day to all my Aussie friends and family!

Here's a little bit of Aussie patriotism for you to enjoy....

Back to Normal Broadcasting!

We're back from holiday. Don't think I mentioned it before we headed off. We had planned to drive to the Gold Coast in Queensland, but with all the bad weather, there have been multiple road closures, so it just wasn't worth taking the risk.

We flew to Brisbane instead, and had a great day with my brother Matt before driving down to Hope Island.

It was a great week! Lots of sun, lots of fun and lots of action packed days. We got to meet family we hadn't yet had the pleasure of meeting, Emma got to play with a seal, and we watched a movie while swimming at Wet N Wild.

I'm feeling like I need a holiday now! Isn't that the way! And I think it will take a day or two to the washing and ironing done!

Oh well....off to dream about the next holiday. I'll be back with pictures laters.

I hope you didn't blink!

In a post a couple of days ago, I said our names were going to be up in lights, as part of the John Baldessari project at the Sydney Festival.

We were all crouched around the laptop, waiting very patiently! Well sure enough, at 9:40:20PM tonight, our names were flashed across the wall of the Australian Museum. Lucky I was able to grab a screen shot!

Here they are:





So there is it...our 15 glittering seconds of fame! Lucky we didn't blink, or we would have missed it...LOL!

Abbaworld!

Aidan has been volunteering at AbbaWorld at the Powerhouse Museum, so we took the chance to go in and have a look around.



Em's cousin Olivia was staying and they both had a blast getting up on the stage performing with the hologram puppets.



We also had our pictures added to one of the album covers, got to sing karaoke with the group, re-mix some of their albums, and do some quizzes. It was very interactive, and the girls had heaps of fun!

It's hot in Sydney!

WOW...the New Year has started with some incredibly hot weather. We hit 40 degrees celsius yesterday, and today was 34. But I guess that's what you should expect for the middle of summer! So can you guess what we've been doing?



Yep...swimming. Even the dog likes a dip to cool off. And he's quite used to doing a bit of boogy-boarding.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

It's a New Year!

Hello, welcome 2011~! I have a great feeling that 2011 is going to be a good one. It surely can't be any worse than 2010. We had a struggling year through 2010...in many ways. But I have positive feelings about this year. It's going to be a good one. Let's hope so anyway.

And with the New Year comes a new look blog. Much simpler and cleaner. It's still a work in progress, but it's getting there.

I've decided to try a Project 52 project this year. My Project 365 last year was a complete disaster. I didn't even get past January...LOL! I think the thought of having to keep up to date with a daily picture just got away from me. A weekly project is much more manageable.

I've signed up for 52 Inspirations at OScraps, and I'm also following the Project Love, Me at Scrap Orchard. Both are different, and I'm hoping to find the combination of the two works for me.

I've learnt long ago that setting a NY resolution is not for me, as I never manage to stick with them. So as the new year begins, I thought I'd document some of my goals and aspirations for the year ahead.

• Complete my 52 week projects to the end of the year
  
• Make a concerted effort to blog more. I can't say it will be everyday, but at least weekly
  
• Learn to use Photoshop Cs5 and Illustrator (which I've had on my laptop for nearly a year now)
  
• Dabble in Digital Designing. I don't plan on selling, but would like to offer some freebies on my blog
• Buy less scrapping supplies, and use more of what I've got
• Make a healthier me - make better food choices and get up and move more
• De-clutter at home. I often feel like the 'stuff' is taking over our lives. I live with two hoarders! I used to be one myself...but three in the family is at least two too many...LOL!
• Write more!
• Not be so concerned with what others think! I often feel like I am trying to please others above myself
• Spend less time on the computer, and more quality time with the family
  
• Visit more of our beautiful city. I think they call it a stay-cation!
  

I've been reading Ali Edward's blog, and she has a wonderful post about focussing on a word to live this year by.



My significant word for 2011 is SIMPLIFY!
It's all encompassing....from the things I do, to the way I live, to how I think and feel! I can't wait to see how this word has an impact on my life this year.

I'll leave you with a photo of the fireworks on our gorgeous Sydney Harbour on New Years' Eve.

Here's to a Happy New Year.

ah...the new year can start...

Boy...what a way to start the New Year.

As I posted below, we headed off to the south coast to my mum and dad's house for New Year. We had a fun New Year's Eve, and a great New Years Day....then on 02 January, dad decided to have a heart attack on us!

So since then we've been travelling between 2 hospitals, he's had an angiogram, had a stent and balloon inserted into two arteries, and is now out of hospital and recouperating at my house in Sydney.

And to top it all off, Emma was so panicked by it all, that she had a stress induced major Asthma attack and ended up in the hospital on Sunday night (just as dad was being transported to Sydney to be operated on).

I'm shattered! But I'm pleased to say that dad is doing remarkably well, and will be heading back home to his house on the weekend. Em is OK as well, and is having a sleepover and her friends house.

So now my Year can start! LOL!

I hope you all have had a great New Year and start to twenty ten!

Till next time,
Di xx

goodbye 2009 ...

It's been a busy couple of weeks. We had planned a holiday to the UK to spend Christmas with Aidan's family. We haven't been back in over 4 years. But the plans all fell apart with the threatened BA cabin crew strike. We had to make a call at the last minute to postpone our trip until 2010. But as nothing was planned for Christmas here, we made the decision to travel to Hong Kong for Christmas. We had a blast, although it wasn't the peaceful Christmas we had planned. Some photos will follow.

Today we are off to my parents place by the beach on the South Coast of NSW. The relaxing break will do us all the world of good. The chance to unwind, and spend some more family time together is always good.

I've decided to do the Project 365 in 2010. It's all about taking a photo-a-day, to capture the 'details' of your life...rather than just the BIG moments. So I'm getting myself prepared. Wish me luck on the journey. I have a separate blog where I am going to document the year ahead.

So as I reflect back on 2009, we have had a fantastic year. Em has had a great year at school, culminating with being awarded the principal's Award for Continuous Outstanding Achievement on the last day of school. One child is chosen from each year, and our girl was the winner for Year 3. We were so proud of her. Aidan follwed his thespian dreams, and had 2 parts in the play Arsenic and Old Lace, performing for 3 months at the Cronulla Arts Theatre. And I have had my dream of being published come to life, with 2 layouts published in Scrapbooking Memories this year, with more to come in 2010. And above all, we are all healthy and happy! What more can you ask for!

To all our family and friends, we wish you joy and happiness throughout 2010. Here's to a wonderful year ahead.

Till next time,
Di xx