Dreamweaver - Scrapbooking, Thoughts, Life

My New Blog addy

2010-01-01T18:34:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone. I have a new blog for 2010. I'll keep this one as an archive but the new one is a bit fresher. It will be pretty much the same as this one but looks better ;) Please update your links to the new addy and if you have my blog addy on your page, would you mind putting the new one there as well. This blog is 2006-2009. The new one will be 2010 onwards. http://lynn-mccorry-2.blogspot.com/

The new one is called Dreamweaver - Scrapbooking, Art, Thoughts, Life (I added the word "art" to it ha ha) Big change eh? If you don't have my link on your page, please feel free to add it (yes, I need all the links I can get.)

Happy New Year everyone!

Signing out ...

Being Accountable

2009-12-15T00:37:00.003+08:00

I haven't been feeling very well for the past few days and think I need to take some time and rest up. I probably won't be coming online at all for at least a few days (maybe more if my health worsens) but have been thinking about the following and wanted to get it on my blog before I forget all about it.

**********

"We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily

into the trap of being our own worst enemies."

~Roderick Thorp, Rainbow Drive

I've come to realise that I probably rely on others too much. It's around this time every year that I start to think about my resolutions for the new year. I've done this for so many years and I never seem to achieve any of the goals I set for myself. I've given it a lot of thought and do believe it's because I always ask Brian to help me to achieve my goals.

Let's be honest. What it all boils down to is excuses. However, now that I realise where my problem lies I can set about and do things to try and change the way I deal with things and approach my resolutions.

Yes, I shall once again give myself resolutions for the new year but I will make them myself and I will carry them out myself. No asking for help anymore.

I need to be accountable to only one person ... ME!

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go."
~Dr. Seuss

Random Photos

2009-12-07T04:47:00.001+08:00

Two old photos and a new one :)

Jade and Steph - November 2009 ~ at a party

Jade and Aaron. I think this was taken about 3 years ago (just look at his eyes LOL)

Jade's 18th (2008) ~ Jade

Bored - photos of Jade taken 4 December 2009

2009-12-07T04:14:00.000+08:00

A couple of days ago (4 December) Jade was bored so she took some photos using her webcam. She sent them to me and of course, like all mums, I have to share them. She certainly does look pretty bored LOL

Jade's Engagement Ring

2009-12-07T01:47:00.001+08:00

You're engaged...
For all of your lives,
May you find in each other

The friend of your heart...
The joy of your world...
The love of your life!

Here are a couple of photos of Jade's engagement ring. My photos don't do it justice ... it's even prettier in real life. It's white gold with diamonds along the two sides of the band and a solitaire diamond in the middle. The solitaire is inlaid so if she knocks her hand or the ring, it will be very hard to dislodge the diamond.

It's the perfect ring for her and really suits her hand. She adores it and it means even more to her because Aaron went alone and chose the ring.

Random Ramblings

2009-11-29T04:40:00.004+08:00

BLOG

My blog is really bugging me. There's so much wasted space on the page. I like the layout but I'd like it to fit more across the width of the page and I'd also like the headings in the right hand column to be bigger.

Only problem with changing the template now would be that it would mess up the way I've set out all my other pages and that would bug me even more! There's no pleasing me sometimes LOL

DEATH

Death seems to be on my mind a lot lately. Over the past couple of years I've lost so many family members and friends. One friend died from suicide, one in a freak accident along with a girl he was with, another friend died of cancer and I have family members who have died from illnesses. It makes me so sad. If I go back three years the rate of deaths of people I knew become even more. I hope that their families are managing to cope with their losses.

ART AND SCRAPBOOKING

Alas I am still not scrapbooking or making art of any kind. I sometimes walk into my scraproom, full of good intentions and turn around and walk back out again. It's so weird. The feelling of wanting to do something creative seems to leave me as soon as I'm faced with my room full of supplies. I really don't know what's up with all this. If you had told me I would feel this way, three years ago, I would have laughed and said "never!"

Maybe I should surf a few of the artistic and scrapbooking sites and see what happens?

JADE

Well, this has been a bit of a downer post hasn't it? So how about I leave you with a photo of my lovely Jade. It was taken a couple of days ago. She and Aaron have gone down South to Dunsborough for the weekend. They're staying with one of their friends and when I spoke to Jade she said they were having a great time.

I'm a dorky person who loves logic puzzles

2009-11-25T23:38:00.000+08:00

OK, so there you have it. I absolutely love doing logic puzzles. You know those ones where you have a grid and clues? You fill in the grid with ticks and crosses until you arrive at the right answers? Well yea, I love them. I decided to search for some, online, and found a great site which I'll share with you. What I like about this site is that you can do the puzzles right there online. I've also found that you can open the pages in different tabs and do them offline. It's not quite the same as curling up with a puzzle book but it's free so I'm not going to complain. They also have a heap of logic puzzles that you can print out. It's well worth a look if you like this sort of stuff :)

Puzzlers Paradise

Tonsillitis

2009-11-12T01:56:00.000+08:00

It seems that Jade has Tonsillitis. This is about the fourth time she's had it in the last few years. I'm happy it's nothing worse than that yet, at the same time am feeling sorry that she has to put up with this.

Back when I was a kid (and yes, we are going back many, many years), they would just whip out your tonsils as soon as you complained of a sore throat. They used to take out your adenoids at the same time. My how times have changed.

My cousin told me that nowadays they are very reluctant to remove them and that they actually have some sort of connection to the immune system. Wow, to think that before I heard that I would have told Jade to ask the doctor to take them out. Not now, not unless she gets another bout of it fairly soon after this one.

Yes indeed, times sure have changed....

She has her final exam (a three hour one) this Friday. Right now she's still really sick and has a temperature, headache and of course a very sore throat. She's decided she will defer the exam. Poor girl was feeling really guilty about it but I think she's made the right decision. The uni doesn't mind deferring tests and it's much better to attempt it when you're feeling good rather than rotten.

So, if you're reading this Jade, don't worry. Things will work out. Just concentrate on getting better sweetheart.

Books and Jade

2009-11-10T03:20:00.000+08:00

I've just finished reading Eclipse (Book 3 of the Twilight Series). I found it slow to start but once I got about a fifth of the way into the book I just could not put it down.

Today I started reading the final book, Breaking Dawn and can't wait to see how everything works out :)

I must say that so far I've enjoyed the series so much more than I thought I would. Hopefully the last book will be the best of the lot!

Jade came over today and was so sick. Brian rushed her down to the doctor's and he saw her straight away. He made her have some urgent blood tests and we should get the results in the morning. Hopefully it's nothing more than a virus. She has a very sore throat (and had the flu last week). She also had pretty bad stomach pains and that's what's worrying me the most.

Layouts of Jade

2009-11-08T05:19:00.000+08:00

I think this is the last of the layouts that I did at the start of the year. As with most of my layouts, these are all about Jade :)

Confidence

A quick and simple layout using torn paper, a vellum quote, flowers and lots of rub-ons.

Lovely

A layout about how cute she looks, with no make-up and damp hair.

You Inspire Us

This layout talks about her enjoying the teaching course she was doing at Uni. However, she has now decided that it's not quite for her so next year she'll start a six year course and will be studying to become a Psychologist

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM

2009-11-08T04:50:00.000+08:00

"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers."

Today is my mum's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM

Thank you mum, for all the many things you do for us. Thank you for being there when we need you, for your words, for your unconditional love, for all the little and big ways that you help us, for your strength, your courage and your unfailling belief in us. Mostly mum, thank you for just being you.

We love you so much.

Layouts

2009-11-03T01:55:00.000+08:00

I made these layouts at the start of 2009. The photos are from 2007 and they are for Jade and Aaron's "Love" Album. It seems fitting to post them now seeing as they are engaged. Jade took my camera on holidays with her but it broke so I doubt I'll have many (if any) photos from their trip.

When I made these layouts I was having trouble getting back into scrapbooking so I concentrated more on just having fun playing with the paper and embellishments and putting the layout together, rather than writing much or telling a story. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out and they look nice in their album.

TRUE LOVE

LOVE

I used my sewing machine to stitch the vellum quote

KISS

I used my sewing machine to sew the vellum quote to the photo. Kinda like the way it worked out.

Jade and Arron are ENGAGED!

2009-11-03T01:35:00.000+08:00

JADE AND AARON ARE ENGAGED!

OMG, I can't begin to express my happiness. Jade and Aaron are in Melbourne right now. They left last Wednesday and come back tomorrow night. They are staying with Aarons brother and his family for most of the time but last week they stayed at the Crown Towers Hotel.

The day before they left Aaron had asked us for our blessing and for Jade's hand in marriage. Of course we said YES. They have been together for over 4 years and we've known all along that one day they would marry. They're made for each other and their love affair is so similar to Brian's and mine. I guess it was just a matter of when they would get engaged in our minds. Well to say we were thrilled with Aaron asking for Jade's hand is an understatement. It meant so much to us that he would do that.

Jade had no idea he was going to propose on the holiday. It took place on Friday 30th October while they were staying at the hotel. Jade said it was so romantic. Their room had huge windows that overlooked Melbourne and they were standing at the window at night, holding each other and looking at the view. Then Aaron got down on his knee and proposed :) She said the tears just poured down her face. She was so happy when she phoned us to let us know.

We couldn't have asked for a better young man to be our son-in-law. They adore each other. The engagement party won't be until next year and I think it will be a while till they get married.

Jade has decided to leave teaching as it turns out it's not everything she expected. She's going to follow a dream that she didn't realise she would be able to follow. She wants to be a Psychologist. The only down side is that it's a 6 year course. It will be some time before they will have a dual income. But as far as Brian and I are concerned, we just want her to do whatever it is that makes her happy. I think she'll make a brilliant Psychologist (after all she's had to deal with Brian and myself and all our problems over the years LOL)

Jade and Aaron, your dad and I wish you the very best of everything for the future. We love you both so much and know you are perfect for each other.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON

2009-11-02T02:00:00.017+08:00

Happy Birthday Aaron

We hope you have a lovely birthday sweetie. Enjoy your day! Hope your party this weekend is awesome. Brian is going to try and pop along for a while :) (I had to give you some cupcakes!)

Miss you Dad

2009-10-24T01:08:00.000+08:00

23 years ago today my dad died. I can still remember it like it happened yesterday.

You're always in my heart and my thoughts dad. I miss you so very much and love you always. xxx

Thanks to my friends - comments

2009-10-18T21:52:00.000+08:00

I just wanted to say thank you to my friends for leaving comments on my blog and letting me know you are still around :) It's such a thrill to hear from you all. I lost most of my contact addys when my computer crashed ages ago so if I haven't written, that's the reason ... I don't have your email. Please feel free to email me at my old lmccorry@space.net.au email addy anytime. I'll do my best to answer you as soon as I can. Love to you all. xxx Lynn

Jade turned 19

2009-10-18T21:46:00.001+08:00

Yesterday (Saturday 17th) Jadie turned 19. Oh wow, so now I'm officially old LOL She came over for the day on Friday and we pigged out on almond fingers and ice cream. We had already given her the wrist tattoo for her birthday present. It was such a lovely, relaxed afternoon.

Yesterday her friend Mitch turned 21 so she and all her friends went to his 21st birthday bash. I'm so happy she got to celebrate her birthday too. There were lots of photos taken but alas my dear daughter managed to dodge them LOL So this year I don't have a birthday photo of her.

HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER

You are everything we could have asked for and so much more. Enjoy this last year of being a teenager :) Your daddy and I love you more than words can say and we are so proud of the incredible young woman that you are.

Handmade Cards

2009-10-15T00:11:00.000+08:00

Here are a few handmade cards I made earlier this year. They're all pretty simple, easy designs and were nice and quick to put together.

Valentine's Day Card

I used the packaging from some Basic Grey Rub-On's for this card. It was way too cool to just throw it out. It's hard to tell from the picture but the top left is pop dotted and the image is 3D. Hand cut the heart and inked it, hand wrote the title and used rub-on words under it. Finished it off with red Ric-rack ribbon.

Happy Everything

Just a fun little card with some paper tearing and flowers

Hello Card

Used copper and gold ink around title, flower nailhead and some pretty ribbon

Thinking of You

I kinda like the softness of this one. It has a bit of a shabby chic look to it. I really love the way that pink and brown works together. It's one of my favourite colour combinations.

Thinking of You

Simple and earthy. I just love that brown, natural-fibre Ric-rack ribbon. The white paper is embosssed with dots.

Thinking of You

Yet another simple card. These actually look a lot better in real life.

In my Thoughts

I used a light weight bronze corner as a "hanger" for the title

Mum's back and thanks to family in Ireland

2009-10-14T23:41:00.000+08:00

Mum came home yesterday and it was so lovely to see her. She came over today and we chatted for hours. I'm not sure if the trip back to Ireland brought her any closure as far as the deaths of her sister, brother and brother-in-law are concerned but I know she's really happy she went back.

I forgot to post condolences to my family in Ireland on the loss of my uncle Geoffrey. We are so sorry and you have all been in our prayers.

I really want to thank everyone who looked after mum while she was in Ireland. A really special thank you to Sandra, Stef and your boys. Thank you for being so wonderful :)

Love to all my Irish family and mum's Irish friends :)

Books, Movies, TV and Vampires

2009-10-09T01:17:00.000+08:00

I read the Twilight book a few months back and really enjoyed it. In fact I could hardly put it down. This was strange because I had seen the movie before reading the book and hadn't thought that much of it. It was an OK movie but not entirely what I was expecting. After reading the Twilight book I went back and re-watched the movie and must say I enjoyed it so much more the second time.

So then I went on and read the second book, New Moon. Another great book. I got about half way through the third book, Eclipse when Dan Brown went and released The Lost Symbol.

What to do? Well actually it was pretty easy for me ... put down Eclipse and read The Lost Symbol. I'm enjoying it thoroughly and delight in each page as it unravels. If there was one disappointing thing about the book it would have to be the typeface, it's too scrunched up. There should be a fraction more space between each line. Or, maybe I just need glasses ;)

This week I watched Angels and Demons and yet again listened to all the hype and was expecting much more than was delivered. I read the book a few years ago and thought it was awesome. The movie couldn't capture what the book gave. I will probably go back and re-watch the movie in a few months. No doubt I will enjoy it more the second time around ... I usually do.

Well this year really seems to be the year of the Vampire. We got the first season of True Blood and pretty much watched each episode back to back. What a fantastic series. I can't wait till season 2 comes out on DVD.

I've both read and watched a lot of vampire books, movies and TV shows over the years but still, as good as many of them are, I can't find anything that has that special something that both Buffy and Angel seemed to possess. I've started watching The Vampire Diaries and am not sure if I will totally get into it. I've also watched a couple of episodes of Moonlight and again, am not sure if it's something I'll keep watching.

Layouts

2009-10-05T00:45:00.000+08:00

At the beginning of this year I did a few layouts and cards. I thought I'd share them and am keeping my fingers crossed that some sort of inspiration hits me soon so I can scrap or make some altered art again.

Message to our daughter (a shabby chic style layout)

The Dress (it was so nice to finally see Jade wearing something other than black!)

Similar Paths (it's uncanny at just how similar Brian and my relationship was when we were Jade's age)

I'll share some more layouts later on.

A couple of small albums

2009-10-05T00:19:00.001+08:00

I made these two small paper bag albums earlier this year. I was really happy with the way they turned out.

Friend Journal

Faith, Trust Journal

Tattoo

2009-10-01T02:21:00.001+08:00

Well, Jade finally got her first tattoo. These are the photos but I've taken the journaling from Jade's blog. Her thoughts about it are way better than anything I could write. If you look closely you will see that the letter "L" is supposed to look like a love heart and the "B" and "J" look a little like the eternity sign.

Jade's words

"On the 17th of August this year I got my first tattoo.
It is a 'Lbj' written in script on my wrist. The letters stand for Lynn, Brian and Jade.
I have always known I would one day want a tattoo with my parents names somewhere. But as each day passes, especially in the last few years, I have realised just how much they both mean to me. My tattoo is a reminder, that no matter what I will always have two people who love me more than anything, who will always be there for me and who will always believe in me... even when I can't believe in myself. It is also a symbol of my never ending love for them, my pride, my trust and my strength." ~ words by Jade

I'm back (again)

2009-09-26T18:30:00.004+08:00

Hi friends, it's been ages since I've ventured back to my blog. Maybe it's because I didn't really have that much to say? I don't know...

Anyway, I guess it's time for an update.

Jade is nearly 19 years old which by my standards makes me "OLD"! She's doing so well at Uni and has made the Dean's Honour List (picture me squealing like a kid when I heard LOL) She and the love of her life (Aaron) have just celebrated their 4th year together (and back in March, Brian and I celebrated our 28th year together!)

Mum lost her brother a few weeks ago and is in Ireland at the moment.

Brian's CFS and Bi-Polar are pretty bad. I see glimpses of the old Brian now and then but most of the time I feel like I'm with a different person. I love that man with all my heart and that will never change. If I have to live my life waiting for the sparse moments when I see my old Brian, then that's what I'll do and I'll thank God for every glimpse.

Me? Ha ha. I really wish I could say that my life has changed but nothing has. I shall battle on though and never give up hope.

I've done a few layouts and cards this year (at the beginning of the year) but that's about it. I want to create but just don't seem to be able to find the inspiration. I tried to go back to the scrapbooking sites that I used to practically live at but pretty much popped in and left straight away. I have no idea why. I miss my friends so much but feel displaced. It's got nothing to do with the people, it's me. Once I get back into my artsy ways I shall again return to that wonderful world and hope my friends will forgive me for leaving.

I am going to try and blog regularly again...no promises but I shall try. I'll leave you with the lyrics of a beautiful song by Bryan Adams. In a way, I suppose it's how I have been feeling lately.

It's from the movie "Spirit" and called "Sound the Bugle". The last two verses are particularly lovely...

Sound the bugle now - play it just for me
As the seasons change - remember how I used to be
Now I can't go on - I can't even start
I've got nothing left - just an empty heart

I'm a soldier - wounded so I must give up the fight
There's nothing more for me - lead me away...
Or leave me lying here

Sound the bugle now - tell them I don't care
There's not a road I know - that leads to anywhere
Without a light feat that I will - stumble in the dark
Lay right down - decide not to go on

Then from on high - somewhere in the distance
There's a voice that calls - remember who your are
If you lose yourself - your courage soon will follow

So be strong tonight - remember who you are
Ya you're a soldier now - fighting in a battle
To be free once more -Ya that's worth fighting for

The night before Uni

2009-02-23T00:06:00.001+09:00

It's 11.58pm Sunday night. All that I can think about is the fact that Jade starts University in the morning. Brian and I are so proud of our girl. She is 18 years old and in her relatively short life she has gone through much more than most girls her age. She has such an incredible inner strength and beauty and we adore her.

GOOD LUCK OUR DARLING JADE AND REMEMBER TO "FOLLOW YOUR NOSE. WE LOVE YOU BABY GIRL*"

**This is something we have told her since her very first day of school...just follow your nose and everything will fall into place. :)

What? I'm 45???? My Birthday...

2009-02-17T00:59:00.005+09:00

Jade cooking my birthday dinner

This past Friday was my 45^th birthday. We celebrated on Thursday night and Jade cooked us the most delicious meal. That was her gift to me and it was so special. She made everything from scratch and wrote me the most beautiful letter.

Rather than use the dining table, she got out our card table, covered it in a black table cloth and set the table, complete with a candle and wine glasses.

Mum came over and celebrated with us.

Bruschetta

Our entree was Bruschetta. Believe it or not this was the first time in my life that I've tried it and Oh! It was wonderful. The bread was grilled and topped with roasted capsicum, fresh tomatoes, feta cheese and fresh basil and then drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Delightful!

Moroccan Chicken, stringless beans and couscous

For the main course she made Moroccan chicken kebabs, stringless beans and a delicious couscous. The couscous had chick peas, roasted almonds (which she even roasted herself), raisins and some sort of spice. We made numerous “yummy” noises as we ate LOL

Black Forest Cheesecake

Desert was totally home made Black Forest Cheesecake. The base was made of crushed chocolate biscuits, the filling was softened cheese and dark chocolate and it was accompanied by a cherry sauce which she reduced so it was nice and concentrated. We had a dollop of vanilla ice cream with the cheesecake. Needless to say, we had seconds.

We took breaks between each course and chatted while Jade prepared the next course. She's an amazing cook and finds such delight in feeding us :)

We don't usually do presents so I was stunned and delighted when Brian gave me Silverchair's “Young Modern” album. I love their music. Mum gave me some money.

All in all it was a great birthday and I felt thoroughly spoiled.

Now I just have to get used to the fact that I'm 45 years old...

To Do List

2009-01-26T02:43:00.005+09:00

Just a few random things that I want to do. I've had most of them written down on a piece of paper which I keep losing. I thought I'd put it here to remind me. I'm happy to say I have already done some of them :)

Change the banner on my blog
Go back to Scrapjazz - DONE
Go back to Altered Butterfly - DONE
Clean my scraproom - DONE
Scrap something - I made a few cards... yay! DONE
Scrap a layout
Take some photos
Update my links
Reply to some emails
Start my diet (properly)
Get all my exercise equipment in one place and USE IT
Cut my hair - I could sit on it and now it's just past my shoulders. Did it myself :) DONE
Sort through all my very old scrapbook magazines and tear out the articles that interest me
Sort through some of the junk in my scraproom and donate the stuff I will never use
Order a copy of Twilight from the library

Will add more later.

Happy Australia Day

2009-01-26T02:35:00.004+09:00

Here's a little picture I did to celebrate Australia Day!

I want to wish all my Aussie friends a very happy Australia Day. Enjoy your celebrations and drive carefully :) It's so lovely to see the way Australian's embrace Australia Day now. I remember years ago, it mainly revolved around the big fireworks displays that each State put on. It was also, in many cases, a day off school or work. Now it is a time for real celebration. Families and friends get together for BBQ's, picnics etc. It's a day of fun, culminating in the awesome fireworks displays. The Aussie flag is proudly displayed on cars etc. Yes, we have come a long way...

A week of University, Birthdays and Goodbyes

2009-01-24T02:24:00.005+09:00

Last week Jade received a letter from university offering her a position. It was the first round of offers and OMG were we excited. So next month my baby girl will start uni and be on her way to becoming a teacher. CONGRATULATIONS Jade. You have worked so hard for this and we are so very proud of you :)

This week two of my (third) cousins celebrated their 14th birthday's. Happy Birthday to Courtney and Sarah. I'm so thrilled to be in contact with you both.

I'm still reeling over the death of Janice. I wrote to Jade and told her about it and how sad I was feeling. She wrote a short reply and I am going to paste it here. My reason? I think that Jade is right when she say's it's a wake up call. It's time for me to start my journey back towards "life". Janice will live on forever in my heart and my memories and for me, her untimely death has made me realise just how precious and fleeting life is.

"Oh Mama, I am so sorry to hear about your friend... sometimes the world just doesn't make sense does it? I guess if anything the only good that comes out of a situation like that is that it somewhat makes you appreciate every moment we have on this earth and never take anyone for granted. Actually I guess it's more of a wake up call than good."

RIP Janice

2009-01-23T01:45:00.002+09:00

I just found out that a friend of mine has died. Janice was a special lady...she just shone from within. So many people loved her and she will be missed so much. My sincere condolences to her family, you will all be in my prayers.

Rest in Peace sweet Janice...

Goodbye 2008

2008-12-31T20:23:00.003+09:00

It's about 3 1/2 hours until 2009 arrives so I thought I'd take a few minutes to say goodbye to 2008. All in all I think I can say that 2008 was the worst year of our lives in many ways. However there were definitely good things about it too.

On the bad side, illness played a horrible role yet again. I watched my husband deteriorate so badly. A couple of hours ago we sat and talked. We know we can't control our illnesses but maybe, just maybe we can change the way we react to them. This is something we hope to do next year.

My beautiful daughter had her own highs and lows and came through everything with such grace. She now holds two certificates in childcare and is qualified to run an after school care program. Next year she will start university and be on her way to becoming a school teacher.

Two people affected our lives in very bad ways this year. One, I will never speak of again. The other was a a woman who I had *thought* was a nice person but who in fact turned out to be a paranoid weirdo. She not only attacked me but my daughter as well. It takes a hell of a lot to make me angry but this woman really made me shake my head and just thank God that most people are not like that. Strangely enough I haven't even thought about her until I started writing this recap of 2008 and from this moment I shall never think of her again.

On the good side of things. Well I have met some wonderful, incredible, beautiful people this year. They have touched my life in very profound ways.

Sadly and completely my own fault...I didn't keep in contact with any of my other (older) friends this year. That will change next year and I just hope they will accept me back. I did what I had to do to keep my sanity. I left my normal "online life" and embraced some new things. I had to do it and my real friends know why. Some bad stuff happened in the early parts of this year and I retreated. Next year I will leave it all behind and not let it consume me any more. To my old friends, I am so sorry for stepping away. I may have been out of sight but all of you have remained in my heart. I haven't forgotten a single one of you.

On another good note, I reconnected with some members of my extended family through Facebook and am so delighted with that.

I lost two very dear family members this year. My Aunty Annette died and a couple of months later, her husband, my Uncle Dick died. Their deaths have left such a huge hole in all our lives and some things will never be the same again. All my love goes out to my family in Ireland.

Last week my daughters friend lost her mother. Two years ago her father died. So now my daughter's friend and her young brother are left without both parents. Such sadness. My sincere condolences to Amy and Ashton and their entire family.

In my last post I mentioned all the things I hope to change next year and I'm still hoping to achieve those goals as well as a few others.

I guess that's all I really want to say. So I shall now wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope that 2009 brings you all everything you want. May God bless you all.
Love Lynn
xxxxxx

Life - moving forward

2008-12-15T15:04:00.004+09:00

Life seemed to stop for me this past year. Things happened and I guess I gave up for a while. I found out that nightmares can be real and bad things happen to good people. On top of everything else, Brian was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder and that has thrown our lives into chaos. I retreated from everything that was familiar to me. I stopped scrapbooking and making art and left the life I knew. I found a knew online life and though I have no intention of giving it up I want to find my old self again. However, I don't want to find the old Lynn of a year ago. Instead I want to find the old Lynn of twenty years ago. I know that woman, who still had fire in her eyes does exist...I don't know where she is but I'm on a journey to find myself again. I kind of miss her. It's going to take a while to get her back but I'm not going to give up. I hate my life. Simple as that. I know that deep down, the things that have made me what and who I am have not been my fault but I feel like I'm drowning and it's time to come up for some air.

I used to love to blog and haven't done so in a very long time. I'm thinking about starting a new blog and documenting my journey. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I'm not quite sure how I am going to go about all the things I want to do. Mmmm, need to do some thinking :)

My heart wants to start scrapbooking again but in reality, I walk into my "studio" and feel nothing. I don't know how I'm going to get around that one.

I have a story...such a story. I want to write it all out if for no other reason than for myself. I think I need to look back and realise that what my family and I have come through is amazing and a testament to our intense love. I'm just not sure if I want to write it privately or in the form of a blog. Maybe my experiences will help others? Maybe not? Yes, like I said above, I need to do some thinking.

For now though, I want to wish all my friends a happy and blessed Christmas. I know I haven't kept in touch with so many of you but know this, you have never left my heart. I love you all so very much. We have been through so much together and next year I will be back in contact with you all.

Remember my dad

2008-10-24T21:57:00.002+08:00

Today is the anniversary of the day my dad died. All these years later and it still hits me hard though this year it's hit me even harder than usual. I've spent the day remembering him. It's funny, my memory isn't that good anymore yet I can remember every single detail of the day he died. It's like it was just yesterday. Mum had a cry this morning. All in all it's been a somber day for us all yet life must go on... Oh! How I wish my dad had met his grandchildren. He would have adored them.

I'm so lucky to have so many wonderful friends who have helped to cheer me up. Thank you to all of you :)

I miss you dad and I love you. You live on in our hearts and our memories and not a day goes by when you are not a part of our lives. God bless you...

Happy 18th Birthday Jade

2008-10-17T20:03:00.003+08:00

Today my beautiful daughter turns 18!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL GIRL

We are so proud of the young lady that you are Jade. No two parents could be prouder. You have endured so much in your life and yet you have come through it all with your head held high ... you are amazing and we just adore you.

Love you forever my girl.
xxx Mama and Dad

Jade and Aaron

2008-10-11T01:41:00.005+08:00

I thought I'd share a lovely photo of my beautiful Jade and her boyfriend Aaron. This was taken on 25 September 08. They have been together for over three years now and I have no doubt that they will still be together 50 years from now...

Contact

2008-09-23T03:07:00.002+08:00

Just reminding my friends not to use my old email addy for now at least. I have over 6000 emails that I haven't downloaded yet and know there are viruses in a lot of them.

I now *finally* have a new laptop and just might have to ask my provider to delete all those emails so I can start afresh. I'm still on the old dial up connection and last time I looked (which was about 3 weeks ago I think) it was over 6000 emails. Goodness knows how many it now amounts to. No doubt most of it is spam. However if any of you have written to me in the last four months or so it's more than likely I haven't and won't see your emails. Please feel free to re-send them to the following addy.

lmccorry@gmail.com

Thanks :)

Sketch

2008-09-22T15:44:00.004+08:00

Jade started sketching again and has inspired me to start drawing again too. Her art is amazing. She's now dabbling in watercolours and is doing a darn good job at it. I've got all my pencils, sketchpads etc. next to me constantly, just waiting for the inspiration to hit. Fingers crossed that it won't be long till I'm sketching again :)

I've found a really good art shop. I believe they do online orders too. Their prices are very cheap and they stock a range of products called Mont Marte. I have the three packs of pastel pencils, a tin of 12 different drawing pencils, a male mannekin doll and their watercolour and sketch pads. The quality is very good and like I said, very reasonably priced. Check out their site -

Art Shed - www.artshed.com.au

Jade and Brian went to the shop and Jade loved it. They have two stores in WA, one store in QLD and one in Vic. She said it had a nice, relaxed feel to it and being "an artist" she said she could have spent hours there, looking thorugh all the products.

Moxie

2008-09-22T15:42:00.000+08:00

Moxie - remember my cat? Ha ha, he's more like a mini panther. The boy is huge, not fat but large and sleek and with a personality just as big as he is. We've all got our own special relationships with him. Me, well I can do anything to him and he won't ever scratch me. Moxie and Brian have such a fun relationship. They play fight. Moxie has accidentally scratched him a few times (OK, lots of times) but he's never hurt Brian so to speak.

He's just so funny. Brian and I will hang out on the bed with Moxie. I'll annoy the heck out of him and his retaliation?..... well he goes straight to Brian and swipes Brian across the top of his head. LMAO. It's so funny. He takes all his frustration out on my poor hubby. Must say that Brian teases the poor cat so much that he deserves the head swipes ha ha.

Because Moxie is so big, a normal litter box doesn't do the trick. So we've got him a HUGE black plastic box. Over 2ft in length and about a foot high. Moxie will get into it sometimes but most of the time he uses it like a person would use a toilet. He perches himself on the corner and does his business. Believe it or not, we've also caught Moxie using our toilet...I kid you not. I didn't like that though so he now knows he must use his litter box though I'm just waiting for the little guy to ask for the toilet paper. I swear he thinks he's human.

He still loves to play fetch. He'll bring his ball and drop it in front of us. We throw it, he fetches it...mmmm, I think "dog" would have been a better name for him. I fear he might have a personality crisis...he's not sure if he's a human or a dog. He certainly doesn't think he's a cat!

Time to start blogging again...

2008-09-22T15:40:00.000+08:00

I'm going to make a concerted effort to start blogging regularly again. I find I miss it. So many things have gone on in my life over the last few months and I haven't written them down anywhere, not even in my diary. With my memory, most of it will not be remembered.

The university told Jade she should apply for a scholarship for next year....please God, let there be some hope! A scholarship would help us so much.

Dad's Birthday

2008-09-21T19:40:00.003+08:00

Today would have been my dad's birthday. 22 years after his death it still hits me hard...I guess it always will. When our loved ones leave us they never truly leave. In our hearts, our thoughts, our memories, they live on forever. I guess it would be truly sad if the didn't...

Happy Birthday Dad, I love you

It's a Mad World

2008-09-21T19:21:00.005+08:00

I love this song. It's also the theme song of one of my favourite movies, "Donnie Darko". I love music like this, lyrics and tunes that take me somewhere, whether it be to a special place in my past or just to a feeling. Music... yes, I love it...

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world ... world
Enlarge your world
Mad world

By Gary Jules though
Tears for Fears did a great version

Hello everyone

2008-08-22T17:50:00.000+08:00

It's been ages! I couldn't believe it when I saw the last date that I posted on my blog.

LIFE: What can I say? It certainly offers a lot of ups and downs. Just when you think things are looking up it comes and gives you another swift kick in the backside..why? I don't know. I've given up trying to comprehend or understand why certain things happen.

Jade is doing well...I guess. Well as good as can be expected considering all the things this poor girl has had to cope with. She's working hard at TAFE and will go to Uni next year.

Brian...wish the news was better but he's not doing well at all.

Me...I'm not even going there LOL

I haven't scrapped in months. I never thought that would ever happen. I haven't given up on it though. One day I'll go back to it; hopefully one day soon.

I miss all my scrapbooking friends. I want you all to know that you're never far from my mind.

I needed a break, needed to do something different. I found a place called Fluff Friends. It's a community as well as an application. Very hard to explain as it will sound silly but there's more to it than you might see at first glance. You have a pet (a fluff friend) and you feed and race it to make "munny" (yes, it's called munny). You can also buy gold however I've never had to do that. I won a competition and sold the things I won for a lot of gold. The "gold" can't be converted into real world money (Oh! how I wish it could be ha ha) I use my "gold" and "munny" to buy things and to trade in the forums. Then I help people by gifting them things they need. It's good for my soul and I've made a lot of new friends. It's a place where I can do things and help people in ways I can't in the real world. And, it costs me nothing. You can also do art there by using things you buy. You wouldn't believe the art that some people have made...just amazing.

Well, that's my update. Wish I had more to say but to be honest I've just been keeping my online life pretty low key. My family is going through a lot right now and we are just trying to cope. I'm not online as much as I used to be but that too will change once things start to look up again.

I have a problem with my email programme (MS Outlook) and haven't been able to open it in over a couple of months. If you need to contact me, you can write to me at lmccorry@gmail.com. I'll use this email until I get my computer fixed up.

Take care my friends. I hope this post finds you all well and happy and that life is being good for each and every one of you. :)

Love and hugs
xxx Lynn

An Update and a message to my friends

2008-04-19T19:08:00.006+08:00

Hello to my friends, family and readers of my blog. It's been a while since my last post and I thought I should let everyone know why I've been away. Thank you to everyone who has been worrying about me, I'm so sorry for "dropping out" and not contacting anyone but it was something I really had to do.

I guess that the easiest way to explain things is to say I'm on a short holiday. A lot has happened in my life lately and I just need to step back from my everyday life for a while and do something different. While doing that, I'm so pleased to say that I have found a new "sense of self".

I have found a place where I can do a lot of good and help other people in a way I could never do in the scrapbooking world. Don't worry, I have no intention of leaving the scrapbooking community nor leaving all my wonderful friends. I'll be back shortly, maybe in a week or a few weeks (no longer than that.) I hope that when I start scrapbooking again I can bring a fresh perspective to my layouts. I was stuck in a rut for so long but I think that what I am doing at the moment will help me and make me better in all aspects of my life.

Over the years so many of you have helped me in many, many different ways. I've never been able to repay all the kindness that has been heaped upon me and that has always weighed heavily on me. My close friends will know what I mean by this. Now I have found a way of helping and giving to others in need (and I don't need money to be able to do this.) Oh! what a wonderful feeling this is. It is just what I needed :)

Thankfully, I will be able to continue what I'm now doing as well as get back to my normal life however at this moment I'm still a little consumed with it all so I will stay on my "holiday" for a little while longer.

Thanks for putting up with me guys LOL I haven't been reading my emails nor have I gone to my usual online hangouts. I opened up my email box a little while ago and had a quick scan and I was amazed to find so many people were worried about me. That made me feel a bit guilty but it also made me feel so loved to see how many of you were concerned about me *big smile* Thank you!

I'll be back soon and hopefully will come back with a new outlook on everything.

Jade is going really well *Huge Smile* and even though Brian's CFS is pretty bad right now, he too is coping well and they have both told me that they have noticed a big change in me. So, on the family front everything is good!

Lots of love and hugs to you all.

Thursday already...

2008-03-27T21:24:00.003+09:00

This week seems to have flown by and I really don't have much to show for it at all.

Tonight I hope to get into my scraproom but right now I'm battling a migraine. It's slowly easing down thanks to some migraine medication.

I've got a few cards that I want to scan. My last attempt at photographing my cards was dismal so I guess I'll just stick to scanning my work until I can figure out how to get good results with the camera.

I was looking through some of my labels and realise that I have a lot more layouts etc. to add to my "Published Work" section. I can't decide whether to search for my published stuff and upload them or to just delete the label altogether. Ah, decisions lol.

Thanks Judie for pointing out to me that Moxie is indeed a treasured member of my family ha ha Speaking of Moxie, the little thing is just a bundle of energy. He reminds me of a three year old child and sure is one loved kitty.

That's all for now kids...

Strength

2008-03-26T21:16:00.002+09:00

Jade. Tiny and waif-like on the outside. Solid steel on the inside.

My daughter is one of the strongest and most incredible people I have ever known.

In the words of Maya Angelou, Jade is A Phenomenal Woman...

I have learned more from my daughter than I could ever hope to teach her. She truly is my muse...my inspiration. She and Brian are the loves of my life.

Family

2008-03-25T13:28:00.003+09:00

Today my cousin contacted me. We had lost touch for years and it was such a pleasure to hear from her again. I remember she was an incredible artist back in the day and nothing has change. I've just been looking at her blog and OMG, her altered art is stunning. Oh, to have such talent. The really funny thing is that we seem to like some of the same artists and stores. It sure is a small world.

"Hi Sam, great to be in touch with you again."

Sadness...

2008-03-23T01:44:00.002+09:00

No matter how long the winter, the Spring is sure to follow.
~Guinean proverb~

Experience is not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you.
~Aldous Huxley~

Really bad things can happen to really good people. Life isn't always fair.

I've always known this...everyone knows this. Those words really hit home this weekend.

I'm sad. Angry. Confused. All I can say is thank God for my faith.

A couple of cards

2008-03-19T21:33:00.003+09:00

A couple of cards I made. The picture quality isn't too good as I used my camera instead of my scanner. I must learn how to take good photos of cards and layouts.

Best Wishes Birthday Card

Enjoy Birthday Card

Tuesday night

2008-03-18T23:34:00.003+09:00

It was a pretty boring day really. Brian's health is dropping even as I type. I've spent a bit of time on Facebook, catching up on things. Exciting, eh? My email In-box is overflowing with emails asking me if I want to increase the size of my penis (what the???), letters telling me how I can save heaps by buying pharmaceuticals from dodgy overseas places and other emails that are written in languages that I'll never learn. Needless to say, I hate spam!

Jade read some of her assignments to me and it was a pleasure to hear them. She writes so well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T22:12:00.004+09:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to my family and friends. I hope that those of you who celebrated had a great time.

Mum, Brian and Michael went to the Irish pub for a few hours. I'm so happy that mum decided to go. She loves to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and we were worried that she might not go this year because of her sister's passing. We knew that if she didn't end up going this year she would probably never go again.

Michael and Brian wore the lovely Irish shirts that Sandra and Stef bought them and mum wore a HUGE green hat. I can't believe we forgot to take photos.

The line to get into the pub is usually really long but mum always walks up to the side door, says "How's it going boys?" and they let her straight in lol. She's still got it ;) Gotta love that woman!

Free Magazines - Awesome (craft and scrapbooking)

2008-03-16T15:45:00.004+09:00

My friend just sent me this fantastic link. You can get a free 6 month subscription to the following magazines, which can be read online.
The magazines are

For Keeps Creative Scrapbooking
Beads Etc.
Australian Papercrafts
Creative Expressions
Creative Weddings
Down Under Quilts

I just signed up for For Keeps and must say it's pretty kewl.

Go here and start reading :)

Searching your own blog

2008-03-15T19:57:00.002+09:00

Doh! I just realised that you (or others) can search your blog by using the status bar at the very top of the page. (The search is at the top left.)

It's a fantastic feature for me as I'm always trying to find something I've previously written but can't remember what category I put it under.

Just thought I'd mention this in case some of you hadn't realised this feature was available.

Saturday evening, books, tv and thoughts

2008-03-15T18:17:00.003+09:00

I've started reading Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs. Brian went to the library and got me a couple of her books that I haven't read yet. It's awesome to have a good book to read again and I'm thrilled that he managed to get them both in large print (age seems to have taken its toll on my eyes lol). I've also got her book, Monday Mourning. If you haven't read any of her books, I highly recommend them.

I want to see if I can find some sort of search engine that I can put on my blog so the entire blog can be searched. Hopefully there is something out there that will work.

I managed to scrap a layout and a card last night. I think my scrapping mojo may be coming back :) Thank goodness for that.

I've decided to submit an application for a design team. I'd love to get back into designing layouts again. I must admit I'm pretty nervous about trying out but I'm excited too.

National Treasure is going to be on TV in a few minutes. I saw the movie on DVD when it first came out but don't think I was really in the mood for it back then. I do love Nicolas Cage and the storyline is right up my alley so hopefully I'll enjoy it a lot more this time.

The weather has finally cooled down a fair bit. I'm really looking forward to winter. There's nothing quite like snuggling up in bed with a good book, a cup of hot chocolate and the covers pulled around my neck :)

Sandra, if you're reading this, I'm thinking of you all.

Karen, if you're reading this, I hope you're OK girl...miss you.

That's all for now. More later...

Free Things

2008-03-13T20:41:00.002+09:00

I've added a new label to my blog - Free Things. I always seem to come across sites offering free templates, sketches etc. From now on, when I find a site that I feel offers some really worthwhile things, I'll add it to this section of my blog ... so keep checking it out.

TEMPLATES

ink-stains.com
Ink-Stains - Free Templates. There are background templates and 3D templates. The selection isn't huge but what they have is really nice, especially the 3D templates.

Mirkwood Designs
This site has been around forever and they have some handy and interesting templates.

LAYOUT SKETCHES

Scrap-maps.com
Scrap Maps - It looks like this site hasn't been updated in quite some time but what's there will keep you going for ages. A great resource.

FREE French Ephemera

2008-03-12T11:35:00.003+09:00

Stampington has a page of lovel free French Ephemera. You can download it here.

Layout - Have Fun Always - published in Scrapbook Creations

2008-03-11T21:53:00.004+09:00

This layout is in the newest issue of Scrapbook Creations Magazine. It was for a Top 10 Article and all the layouts were based on a sketch.

Have Fun Always

Supplies

Cardstock - Bazzill
Frame - Heidi Swapp
Flowers - Prima and Heidi Swapp
Rub-Ons - Basic Grey
Letter Stickers - SEI
Journaling Block - Fancy Pants
Black Ink - Brilliance
Small and Large Gold Brads
Black Signo Uniball Pen

Sunday Evening - family

2008-03-09T20:38:00.002+09:00

Mum came over this afternoon and we talked for quite some time. Most of the talk was about Annette and I think it did mum a lot of good talking about her sister. We also spoke about the rest of the family in Ireland. It's all a part of the healing process for mum but I'm not sure that her sister's death is something that she will really be able to come to terms with for a long time, if ever.

I heard that some other family members in Australia are fighting health battles. I don't want to name them on my blog (in case it's something they want to keep private). If any of them are reading this, I want them to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers.

Sunday Afternoon

2008-03-09T12:40:00.002+09:00

Today would have been my mum and dad's 51st Wedding Anniversary. Dad died 22 years ago...it makes me so sad...

I can't get the song "Straight Lines" by Silverchair, out of my mind. God, I love that song. Daniel Johns doesn't just write lyrics and music, he writes poetry. What an amazing talent.

Brian woke up feeling very ill today. His CFS is really bad at the moment, not so much his mental state (thank goodness) but his physical. To be honest I'm not feeling that much better than he is. Bloody illnesses.

I'll leave you with my word for the day - Random juxtaposition

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Random juxtaposition refers to the stimulation of creativity in problem solving, design or other creative pursuit by confronting two unrelated concepts or objects, usually the goal or problem to be solved on the one hand and a randomly selected object or concept on the other.

I watched a couple of movies

2008-03-08T03:29:00.002+09:00

After years of saying I wanted to watch it, I have finally seen "To Kill a Mockingbird". Wow! What a great movie. I haven't read Harper Lee's book but if it's anywhere near as good as the movie it certainly deserved to win the Pulitzer Prize. She's amazing.

And to think that my mum picked up the DVD for just two bucks :)

I thought the acting was great and Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is one great movie hero.

The other movie was "The Notebook". I've had it for ages but only just got around to watching it. One of my favourite movies is "A Walk to Remember" and the author wrote both books on which the movies were based (along with some other awesome books.)

I loved the movie and can't wait to watch it again, this time with Brian. He loves A Walk to Remember and I know he's going to love this one too.

Photos of Jade taken 6 March 2008

2008-03-08T02:56:00.005+09:00

Here are some new photos of my beautiful girl, taken on 6th March, 2008. Oh and that mark on her neck (in the last photo) is her birthmark, not a hickey lol. She told me that everyone who meets her for the first time asks her if it's a hickey. It's been getting a lot lighter over the past few years. We've talked about getting her laser treatments but she's happy to wait a while longer and see if it lightens even more.

Canvas with Quote

2008-03-03T14:13:00.002+09:00

Here's another Canvas I made. I was thinking of hanging it in my bedroom. Acrylic paints on the background and a permanent marker for the quote...easy peasy :)

Layout - Moxie, One of a Kind

2008-03-03T14:01:00.004+09:00

Here's a layout of our kitty. The journaling is from Jade's blog.

I have a confession to make. I am in love. With Moxie my kitten aka my brother. He is absolutely adorable, he is so gentle. I never thought I could love a cat so much, but I guess he proved me wrong. He has such a hilarious personality, quite a character he is. But most of all, I love the fact that my parents love him. I see the small twinkle in each of their eyes when he is around. I don't know what it is but he has done something very special for them.
Taken from Jade’s blog on Monday, 8th October 2007

Photo taken at the same time

Reply for Alita

2008-03-02T21:15:00.002+09:00

Hi Alita, sorry for posting my reply to your lovely comment on my blog but there was no return addy.

The heart and mesh stuff over it on my valentine card is a cut out. I've had it for years and cut it from the sheet it came on years ago so I have no idea of the manufacturer. I just looked at the scan of the valentine card again and the heart and mesh does look real lol. In real life you can tell it's a cut out.

I hope that helps :) Thanks again for your comment.
xxx Lynn

Thoughts

2008-03-01T11:07:00.005+09:00

It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.
~Erma Bombeck~

I find myself thinking about Annette everyday. I don't think I've quite come to grips with it all as yet. I also think about her family and pray that their heartache will ease.

I've been walking on the treadmill, not as much as I had hoped to be able to do but hey, at least I'm doing it :) I've also been watching my food intake. I've lost a few kilos so I'm happy about that.

My sister gave Jade a few new magazines like "In Style" and "Marie Claire" etc. Jade passes them to me once she has finished with them. I was looking through one last night and came across a sample of Mariah Carey's new perfume called "M". Wow, I love it.

Over the last few years I've found that I have become quite allergic to most perfumes or they bring on my migraines. This one really appealed to me though. Maybe I'll put it on my Christmas list lol

More later...

Autumn is here - some quotes

2008-03-01T01:30:00.006+09:00

At last! My favourite season has arrived although judging by the weather we're having it feels like we are still smack bam in the middle of summer. Hopefully it will start to cool down over the next month.

Here are some free photos I found online and some Autumn quotes.

Autumn winds begin to blow;
Colored leaves fall fast and slow.
Twirling, whirling all around.
Till at last, they touch the ground.
...........................

From the book True Colors
A season to be savored.
A magic time of warm, rich hues.
Autumn, like youth, ends all too soon...

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. -George Eliot

The heart of autumn must have lingered here, and spilled its treasure out among the leaves.

Autumn Wind
When autumn wind goes running it does some magic things. It gives the shadows dancing shoes, It gives the bright leaves wings - When autumn wind goes running it curls the bonfire's tail of smoke and shares a little whispered joke with cornstalks who delight to prattle, it turns a seed pod into a rattle - When autumn wind goes running. ~unknown~

Layout - Jade's Favourite Book

2008-02-29T19:13:00.003+09:00

Jade's Favourite Book

Brian read this book first (God is a Bullet) and then Jade read it. They both consider it to be the best book they've ever read and we just found out that they are making it into a movie.

The journaling comes directly from Jade's Blog.

"I have a problem. A very bad, frustrating problem. Since reading the book "God is a Bullet" I cannot find another book that even somewhat measures up. I start reading another book and within twenty pages I pick up the novel I love the most and start reading it again.
I can't stop - I have read it around seven times. I am even happy to open the book to absolutely any page and just start reading from there. Is this the end of reading for me? Will I be a crazy old lady who knows nothing, but can read God is a Bullet back to front - without actually having the book in front of me?
This is a very unhealthy love affair. What am I meant to do now?
Posted on Jade’s Blog Friday, November 02, 2007"

Layout - Jade's 17th Birthday

2008-02-29T07:00:00.003+09:00

This is Jade on her 17th birthday last year.

17th Birthday
Supplies - Bazzill cardstock, Cosmo Cricket paper, Prima flowers, metal rimmed tag, white Uniball Signo pen

Valentine's Day card for Brian

2008-02-29T06:52:00.002+09:00

This is the Valentine's Day card I made for Brian. Papers are Basic Grey and 7 Gypsies (the one with the writing on it.)

Free Ali Edwards Font

2008-02-27T23:04:00.003+09:00

For those of you who like the writing of Ali Edwards you can download a free copy of her handwriting font at the Creating Keepsakes site.

Here is the link to the font (it's a really nice one too.)

Also, don't forget about DaFont. I consider it to be one of the best font sites out there. You'll find a link at the bottom of the first page that will take you to all the newest fonts.

Handmade Journals

2008-02-24T22:03:00.004+09:00

Here are three journals I made over the past few years.

Helen's Journal
I made this for my sister's birthday a few years back. She was going through some hard times and I made it so she could write down her thoughts etc. The part with the fibres attached is a bookmark.

Jade's Journal
Jade loved Helen's journal and asked me to make her one too. I used her favourite colour at the time (purple) and again, the tag is a bookmark. She used it as a diary and filled it up in under a year.

Lynn's Junque Journal
I made this Junque Journal to house my thoughts, rantings, sketches, quotes etc. Basically all the weird crap that goes through my head.

Doh...journals, mini albums, art journals, handmade journals

2008-02-24T21:56:00.002+09:00

Doh! I was just reading through my "labels" in the right hand column of my blog and came across something I hadn't realised I had done. I have way too many labels for journals LOL

It seems that I have

Art Journals
Handmade Journals and
Mini Albums

Knowing me I've probably put some journals under Altered Art too.

So, I guess that if you want to see any of my "journals" you'll have to look under all those headings. Oh well, it's not really a big deal...just something I noticed...

Canvas for Liam

2008-02-24T21:26:00.004+09:00

I made this small block canvas instead of a birthday card for my nephew's 9th birthday. Liam is obsessed with lawnmowers and he loved it. I have used 3D tape to glue on a few of the pieces so it's way more three dimensional than it looks here.

Annette's Funeral

2008-02-24T21:18:00.002+09:00

As I write this, Annette's funeral is on right now in Ireland. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone.

This afternoon my nephew had his 9th birthday party. He had one for friends during the week and this was the family one. Our family in Ireland and Annette were toasted and remembered. It's a very sad day indeed. My mum, brother and sister couldn't stop the tears flowing...

Mini Albums - some of my handmade journals and books

2008-02-22T23:11:00.007+09:00

I thought I'd share some mini albums I've made over the past couple of years.

Album I made for my sister
I love the paper I used for the cover. It's got a plastic type coating so fingerprints are not a problem

Finding Lynn
This is a very small booklet I made to jot down some notes and changes I wanted to make

Words - Books we Love
A little handmade book in which to write about some of our favourite books

Brian - Journal
I made this for Brian a couple of years ago and he writes in it now and then. The Jugger-0 stands for Juggernaut (that was his screen name for a while a few years back.)

Jade's Baby Book

This was my very first handmade album. I remember it taking me ages to make. It was actually a Father's Day gift to Brian and the pages are all about Jade from the time of her birth to the age of five. (I still need to make her a proper baby album.)

Empty...

2008-02-22T15:47:00.003+09:00

Today I feel empty ... shell shocked ... so very sad. I know we will all get past this one day but right now I just feel encompassed by the loss. All I can think about is my mum and Annette's family. The tears come and go but mostly come.

Life confuses me sometimes, right now it confuses me a lot...

Never forgotten - R.I.P. Annette

2008-02-22T01:08:00.005+09:00

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."

It is with the greatest sadness in my heart that I write this. My dearest aunt Annette died yesterday. Auntie Annette was one of the kindest, funniest and most loving people I have known. Life, for so many people, will never be the same again.

Over here in Australia we are all so distraught. My mum is heartbroken as are the rest of us. I can't imagine what her family are going through in Ireland.

To my mum and my aunts, uncles and cousins in Ireland, our sincerest condolences.

To Dick, Sandra, Stef, Ken, Keith and Brian...your wife/mum/grandma was an amazing woman. We are all so sorry. Annette will always remain in our thoughts, hearts and prayers. We will never forget her. Our heartfelt condolences.

Everyone, especially Annette, is in our prayers.

I wish I had the words to end the sadness but I don't. All I can say is that we are here for you all anytime you need us.

Brian and I went over to mums house after she phoned us to tell us the sad news. We cried, I held mum and then we remembered. We remembered the good times, the funny things she did and said. Healing is going to take some time but one day I know we will be able to speak of Annette without the tears...

God bless you all

Jade passed her certificate and blog excerpt

2008-02-20T23:29:00.004+09:00

Jade passed her exam today and got her St. John's certificate. She got the highest marks in her class and was the only one to pass it first time. Congratulations baby.

I was reading her blog and thought I'd post an excerpt (with her permission of course.) Here she talks about her course.

"The only downside is that I live and breathe the course ( I think it's my brain trying to take it all in) but I dream and think about children, toys, play doh, cognitive development, philosophy, quality practice, regulations, sterilising, child development, baby cues...you get my point.

It's frustrating.

Someone can be like " Hey Jade how is your day going?" and my brain wants to respond with "Carefully constructed activities and settings will help stimulate physical and cognitive development."
I didn't even know what the word cognitive meant until two weeks ago!

The course is actually awesome.
haha.
Can't wait for the practical."

Mum and Jade

2008-02-20T10:25:00.002+09:00

Last night I had a long talk with mum. Earlier her brother had spoken to her from Ireland. Well this morning mum seemed to be coping a lot better. Brian said she seemed a lot more like the "old Joan". She had been crying nearly constantly since she returned from Ireland but now she seems to realise that she has done everything she can do. It just breaks our heart to see how much pain she is going through.

To Sandra, Stef and all my family in Ireland, I hope you are coping. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all and of course with Annette and always will be. Sandra, Brian said you sounded like the "sweetest" person when he spoke with you. He's proudly wearing his Irish rugby jumper :) Thanks so much for the presents girl.

Today Jade has her Saint John's Ambulance exam. Hopefully she will pass first time. Fingers crossed...

I'm hoping to get some scrapping done today. I need to make a birthday card for my nephew and want to try another 12x12 layout.

Fiskars Craft Knife

2008-02-19T14:48:00.000+09:00

I wrote about the new Fiskars Craft Knife a couple of months ago. Well I've just found out that it's now available from Spotlight stores for around $10.00. I'd recommend that you phone the store first as they are apparently very popular.

12x12 layout - My Muse

2008-02-19T14:31:00.003+09:00

I did this layout of Jade a few months back. Now that I have a better camera I was able to take a fairly decent photo of it. I guess I could have scanned it in two parts and stitched them together but I'm really not very good at the stitching thing lol

I did this for a magazine competition where you had to use orange and yellow as the main colours. I didn't win but it was fun entering it.

This is actually my first 12"x12" layout. Up until now I've only scrapped 8.5" x 11" ones. For some reason, rectangles appeal to me more than squares do (strange I know.) I have a few empty 12x12 albums so am going to start scrapping some larger layouts from now on.

Jade - My Muse

Mum is home

2008-02-19T14:23:00.004+09:00

Mum arrived home from Ireland at 3.00am Monday morning. Along with her came the saddest news. I can't remember seeing my mum this shattered since my dad died. I don't want to write too much about it right now but to all my family in Ireland our thoughts and prayers are with you. Please let Aunty Annette know how loved she is.

Sometimes I just want to shake my head. I don't understand why things have to be the way they are. Without my faith I don't think I would be able to stand all the bad things that happen.

Mum seems like a lost girl right now...so very lost. All I can do is hold her while she cries...

My birthday and valentine's day

2008-02-19T14:12:00.003+09:00

On 13th February I turned 44. I had a lovely birthday and got some great surprises.

Brian and Jade bought me a new camera. It's not a fancy, expensive one but sure is better than the one I had. It's an Olympus digital and has 3 x optical zoom and is 7.1 mega pixels. My old one had no optical zoom and was 3.2 mega pixels. Obviously this one is way better and I'm looking forward to taking some new photos. I wasn't expecting anything at all as money is tight but they had put it on layby and paid it off slowly. I'm one lucky girl.

Jade wrote me a letter (which has become a tradition) and it had me in tears as usual :)

They made me one of my favourite dinners and then we had a Black Forest birthday cake.

My friend Karen sent me a beautiful handmade card along with some great acrylic art stamps and my friend Paula sent me another beautiful handmade card and some really cute "cat" brads which will be great for layouts of Moxie.

Valentines day was nice too.

Jade and TAFE

2008-02-19T14:05:00.004+09:00

"The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein

It's been a while since my last proper post. Jade is now in her third (or fourth) week of TAFE and is really enjoying it. She said she feels happy to be studying again and is really looking forward to going to University next year. In the first week she was given five assignments and she has already finished one of them.

Her class is small, only seven students. Teacher's are called by their first names and the ages of the girls/ladies in the class vary from about 16 to 30 years of age. It's all very different to school and she's loving it :)

Painted Canvas with Quote

2008-02-17T05:20:00.003+09:00

It's been a while since I posted on my blog. I have a few entries I want to make and will try and get to them tomorrow.

For now I'll post this canvas I made. I painted the background with acrylic paints and used an Artline permanent pen to write the quote. The writing is a bit messy but I wanted it that way. It was fun to just go with the flow and write straight onto the background.

Tagged by Georgina

2008-02-08T22:02:00.000+09:00

It's fun being tagged and my friend Georgina has done it to me this time :)

You must post the rules before you give your answers. You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name.

After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers.

At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details).

My middle name is TERESA

T - Truthful
E - Extremely faithful
R - Really likes eating and doing artistic things
E - Easy going (most of the time lol)
S - Silly at times
A - Always thinking about something

I need to tag six people so here we go...

Dawn
Paula
Leslie
Helen
Karen
Trish

Layout - Ballerina

2008-01-31T22:18:00.000+09:00

Ballerina

To me, my beautiful Jade looks so much like a ballerina in this photo.
She took this photograph herself

I love journals

2008-01-30T13:54:00.000+09:00

Last night I was browsing Ebay, just for fun. I have a "thing" for handmade journals and found some beautiful leather ones filled with handmade papers. OMG they were beautiful. It's definitely something I want to buy myself one day.

I'd like to get a medium sized one in which I can write, sketch etc. I couldn't believe how many different sorts they had. The pages of some were made with Elephant Dung Paper, others had parchment papers and some had an assortment of papers. The leather covers were so varied too. Like I said...one day...

Handmade Leather Journal closed (doesn't it look like something that Indianna Jones would carry lol)

Handmade Leather Journal open

Short post

2008-01-27T23:30:00.001+09:00

Just a journal post more than anything else. Today was hot. This weather is driving me up the wall. Brian and I had a nice Sunday together, we didn't do much but we did relax.

Moxie is doing laps around the house like a mad cat. He makes me laugh so many times during the day.

I managed to get a few things done online and have also spent time backing up some of my computer data.

Tonight I hope to scrap for a while.

Brian's health is on a bit of a downward slide right now and mine isn't far behind him. Hopefully things in that area will look up soon.

I'm watching the entire Charmed series and enjoying it. I never did see the first few seasons of the show so they're all new to me. It's nice to have it on while I scrap.

I'm getting to know Jade's friends a lot more through Facebook. She really does have the loveliest friends who really care about her and I know she feels the same way about them.

Mum, if you're reading this, we miss you and love you.

Altered Butterfly

2008-01-27T14:34:00.000+09:00

I've finally finished making this altered butterfly. It was for a challenge on the Altered Butterfly site. I decided to go with a torso and added some flowers (for wings). Yep, it doesn't look like a butterfly at all LOL but isn't that what "altered" stuff is all about..."interpretation".

It's a bit hard to tell from the scan but I added some white rub-ons from Basic Grey to the front. I wrote the following quote around the edges. My friend Lynita used this quote on an altered torso she made last year and it just stuck in my mind. I knew I had to use it on something.

"The object of art is to give life a shape - Shakespeare".

Altered Butterfly

Weekend things and Australia Day

2008-01-26T21:56:00.000+09:00

Today is Australia Day and most of the country is celebrating. Each State has huge fireworks displays and barbecues are usually running hot all day long. Brian and I had a nice, relaxing day. It was very hot outside but quite comfortable indoors. I hope all my Aussie friends enjoyed the day.

Last night I spoke with my mum in Ireland. It was so good to hear her voice and I was thrilled when she told me that she and my cousin had been reading through my blog :) Hi Mum, Sandra and Stef :)

I can't believe that she'll be back in about three weeks. My aunt is home for three weeks and then will need some treatment. I'm praying for all my family in Ireland. There's been a lot of illness in our family over there and I just hope that both my aunts get better soon.

There's a tribute to Heath Ledger on TV tonight. At the moment, A Knight's Tale is on and then they'll be showing The Patriot. From what I've gathered so far, his family are bringing his body home to Perth where I believe it will be buried. So very sad...

I'd like to find a fairly cheap 12"x12" three ring binder for my layouts. I want to put different sized layouts together in the one folder...everything from 12x12 to 6x6 layouts. I saw an article about doing this on Two Peas and love the idea.

Altered Tin

2008-01-26T21:45:00.001+09:00

I put this together last night. I'm using it to hold postage stamps. I cut the patterned paper a bit larger than the tin and then glued it on. Once it was dry I used some sandpaper to sand off the extra bits of paper from the edges. I find this better than trying to cut the paper to size.

Altered Tin Patterned papers are by Basic Grey
Rub-Ons by Basic Grey
Old button
Heidi Swapp large flower
Thin red strip is Heidi Swapp tape

More Layouts

2008-01-26T01:49:00.001+09:00

Here are some more layouts I've scrapped during the last two months or so.

Rainbow
Jade and Aaron. They have been together for about two and a half years now.
The journaling is straight from her blog.
Supplies - Bazzill Cardstock
Polka Dot Ribbon
Large Flower - source unknown
Small Flower - Prima
Rub-Ons - Basic Grey
White and Black Uniball Signo pens

My Rock
Our beautiful Jade. She really is our rock.

Patterned paper - Basic Grey Monogram - Basic Grey Flowers - Heidi Swapp and Prima Green diecut - SEI Black and White diecut - KI Memories Rub-ons - Basic Grey Pen - Uniball Signo white

You Drive me Crazy
Brian and how he drives me crazy sometimes :) NOTE: - on the 9th line the second word is "jaw". I made a mistake when writing it and it's a big hard to read.
Supplies - All supplies are from the Basic Grey range

Fiskars Blog

2008-01-26T00:57:00.000+09:00

I've just put the brand new Fiskars blinkie in my list of links on the right hand side of my blog. It's a wonderful site with lots of info about products and some great projects by the Fiskars girls. They have lots of competitions so why not click on the banner and have a look :) Go on...I know you want to ;)

I posted about their new craft knife a while back and now there is a really good review of it on the site - Fiskars Craft Knife

I can't wait to get one so I can go back to cutting out my lettering by hand. I used to love doing that but could never find a knife that did the job really well.

I scrapped - and they're real paper ones too!

2008-01-25T00:26:00.000+09:00

I thought I start sharing some of the paper layouts I've done over the last couple of months. There's only seven of them in total lol I'll start with the one I scrapped last night. I so hope my mojo is coming back.

Dream
I wasn't sure about the colours at first but think I like them now
Supplies - Cosmo Cricket and The Crafter's Workshop patterned papers
Material flowers
Uniball Signo pens (black and white)

Cupcakes
Thought I'd do a layout about the cupcakes Jade has been making.
Very simple layout using some Prima flowers (to match the colours of the cakes)
and trying to use up some of my old KI Memories patterned papers

That's it for now. I'll come back later and share some more. I'm off to see if I can get some more scrapping done :)

Photos of Jade

2008-01-24T23:59:00.000+09:00

Jade took some photos of herself today and I thought I'd share them. If you're reading this mum, I hope you like them :) (After resizing them in Photoshop the second one turned out a bit mottled...her face is actually flawless...sorry Jade lol)

Goodbye Heath

2008-01-23T17:30:00.001+09:00

One of Perth's favourite sons, Heath Ledger has died at the young age of 28. I was so shocked when I heard it on the news. He's always been one of my favourite actors. Condolences to his daughter, ex partner and his whole family. He will certainly be missed.

Tuesday evening - stuff and Happy Birthday Billie

2008-01-22T21:35:00.000+09:00

I want to wish my sweet friend Billie a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I hope you get thoroughly spoilt girl. I'm having a bit of a problem logging into a couple of sites at the moment and didn't want to miss your special day.
*******************

We haven't had takeaway food for ages so tonight we treated ourselves to some Chinese. We got honey fillet chicken, fried rice and plain rice. Talk about yummy :)

Another of my aunts in Ireland is very sick. We are all worrying about her and praying that both she and my other aunt will get better soon. Mum is still in Ireland and should be back home around the middle of February.

I find myself feeling a bit lost. Not really sure why...just a strange feeling I have. Brian picked me up a weekly DVD package from the video store. He got me the second season of Charmed. I haven't been scrapping anywhere near as much as I used to and when I do scrap I like to have a TV show on in the background...something I've seen before and can listen to without having to look at the TV constantly. I'm hoping I can put on a DVD and some creative mojo will come to me lol

Jade is getting more and more excited about studying again. She's really looking forward to getting back into it (something I never thought I'd say about her lol)

Later...

Chasing Sleep - a movie review

2008-01-22T02:38:00.000+09:00

At around midnight I watched a movie called "Chasing Sleep" with Jeff Daniels. It's one of those strange movies like Memento and Donny Darko...you know the type, you really have to think about them.

At first I wasn't sure what I thought of it. Jeff Daniels was brilliant and the movie was very atmospheric. After it finished I sat down and thought about it and then it struck me just what a great movie it was. While watching it I think I was trying to find things that weren't even supposed to be there. That's a big problem with me and movies. I always try and stay one step ahead of what's going on. I'm always trying to figure things out and I over analyse every thing.

If you like strange movies that don't spell every thing out at the end and doesn't finish with all the questions answered and placed in neat little boxes, then you might like this movie. If however you like plots that go from "a" to "b" to "c" then I'd give it a miss.

Products I love

2008-01-21T22:13:00.000+09:00

I came across these two products and wanted to share them. They're both so cute and would not only look great in any scrap room but would be useful too.

Making Memories Desktop Carousel
What a great way to keep all your supplies in one place. I love the carousel part. You could stand it on the back corner of your desk and still be able to access your supplies by rotating it.

7Gypsies Artist Trading Card Holder

This one is cute with or without the trading cards lol Seriously though I love the way it holds your trading cards so they can be constantly on show. Much better than tucking them away in a book. Really cool concept.

Photos of Jade

2008-01-20T20:27:00.000+09:00

A couple more photos of Jade that were taken last week. She's wearing the new dress she bought that day. I can't tell you how awesome it is to see her wearing colours lol

The black, black, black goth look is well and truly gone :) I'm not complaining though. It was fun while it lasted and I learned a lot of interesting stuff. It was a stage Jade needed to go through and I'm happy that we went along with it and didn't try to stop her. Everyone needs to express themselves...in whatever way that may be.

I must do a photo shoot with her one day. She has such pretty clothes now and a great style.