lookie what i made

OK, so I've never really been a following patterns kind of a maker. Ive many times started following a pattern, but i get impatient and always think i know better than the instructions and make up my own way. i always seem to be able to make things work out OK in the end but I've been working on doing things properly and love the results. because i will admit that sometimes the professional who wrote the pattern actually has some better techniques than i who has never made said product before. who would have thought hey?


see this bag here? i made it from the pattern levin sent me in my packge. and i read every word of the instructions. and followed every word of instructions. it turned out perfectly and im oh so proud of myself for doing it properly. and it was even fun. and quick (because i didnt spend time messing it up because i didnt know what i was doing and brainstorming how to fix the problem!)

and just randomly, 3 things that make me happy today:

*my pretty yellow sunflowers and big tomatoe bushes, both of which are loving the hot weather way more than me and thriving because of it

*sitting outside last night when the cool change finaly came and soaking in the wonderful coolness. gardening and fussing over plants until it was too dark to see what i was doing because it was just so nice to have cool night time again

*this picture of mum from our sunday feast last week. it was so much fun! and knowing that after being paid on friday i can pay some bills and have fuel in my car to go visiting. just knowing i have fuel in my care and can go to my other home when i want is such a happy thought.

works going great and i have some other kids lined up to start care once the two i have are settled. im so happy to be working again, chatting to parents in the mornings, playing with little ones during the day. its so fun to have a little painting buddy and have cuddles on the couch with little bub. and im happy to have willing photo models too! its just what i need to get me out of my shell and force me to get off the couch and have fun. i still miss the kids from kadina so much but i know that time will make it easier.

happy australia day

I've had such a fantastic long weekend! we've been swimming and fishing and Sunday-feasting (a 'Sunday feast' is a tradition me and aj started when we both still lived at home. we used to go to the supermarket every Sunday and choose lots of yummy foods for a picnic somewhere. it usually doesn't happen on Sundays now, just whenever we get together. so much fun)
Saturday night we had tea with my Kylie and her family in memory of her wonderful dad who sadly passed away 2 years ago. we had two of his favourite things, kfc chicken and black douglas, and then played sing star (lots of fun!) and guitar hero
sunday i went swimming at north beach (my old beach) and that night me and benny did some practice fishing ready to go out in the boat this morning (6am in the morning to be precise!)



here we are looking sleepy and rugged up early

as you can see my practice paid off, caught this flounder (my first 'keepable size' fish ever!) it was enough to feed the two of us for tea tonight and was very nice

benny and his dad dad caught heaps of crabs but i didn't catch any. this is just a small one that got chucked back, i didn't get around to photographing any of the big ones, just this little cutie

the best suprise!!!!

i got a slip in the mailbox today
for a parcel to pic up
so i walked to the post office presuming it would be booring day care paperwork...
i got such a wonderful suprise!
i was so excited to see it was from levin!!! and forced myself to wait to open it until i could sit down at the beach and fully enjoy it

the wonderful things just kept coming out! i honestly cant tell you how much its made my day, i havent stopped smiling since. i am so so incredibly thankful, the thought that went into it, beachy combi magnets, reading material for the walk home, sewing and pretty fabrics to keep me buisy too (and iron on transfer so i can make cool tshirts to wear when the chicks are in the wash!) the kombi magnets are my absolute favourite. and the card. and everything else!

thankyou so so much levin, it was the perfect suprise and even got me out of the house to find a realy cool shortcut walking path to the beach with shady trees, away from the road. i can imagine many more walks down that path

ahh, my fridge and i feel so incredibly happy and loved. i look forward to smiling in memory of 'the great suprise' every time im in the kitchen!

im getting so incredibly broke now that ive been jobless for over a month but luckily my family love me enough to pay me to visit them! lol ( just jokin, ive done the same for aj) yesterday i went up to adelaide and hitched a ride with dad to ajs and the three of us had a realy nice lunch to celebrate her new job. it was in an outdoor area with one of the biggest most beautiful tree ive ever seen

after some ice cream and ice coffees at their favourite cafe we decided to take ajs puppy mia for a play at the beach

we had so much fun! jumping waves, having races with mia (even tho she always wins!)

watchin a surfer

and then this wave came along!!

and we only had 1 towel (for mia) and no spare clothes! so we shivered on the beach until we dried off a bit and headed home. still happy from a day of so much fun.

on monday i have a babysitting job for two children who i will take care of 4 days a week once my house is approved for daycare (hopefully next thurs)

they are gorgeous and i cant wait! a two year old girl and 2month old boy. at first i was a bit worried about how young the boy is because ive never taken care of a baby under 6months but i spent some time with them the other day and pretty much the moment she put him in my arms the fear went away, I'm so excited!

aj, look where we went, to your court! (its a tiny little court that didn't have a name. when dad was doing survey work he was able to name it so he named after his little baby anna. i wasn't born yet so i missed out)

if i could choose any neighbours it would be these guys!

finally me and dad went to see lynsay and kaia and met there little man callum for the first time. we had such a nice day there. it was of those times that you dont get around to going somewhere for a long time and then as soon as you get there you wonder how you could have stayed away so long. too long.
we had a barbeque together and shared stories of our lives since we were last together

sadly i was having a bit of a fuzzy camera focus day:( but i am learning to accept that in my beginner slr camera days this is a fact of life. sigh
i still love this picture of kaia and callum, afterall pictures are about capturing moments and memories and this picture will remind me of their beautiful bond they share, watching them play together and have fun. and that i need way more practice using my camera...:)
i realy enjoyed getting to know kaia better, we have a lot in common, our enviro friendliness, we both love making and just seemed to agree on pretty much everything. weve definately got to have a making day together one day


isnt he just a cutie!

and then we went outside, sat around callums sandpit and soaked up the native bush beauty that surrounds their home and ate yummy salad rolls. i just cant get enough of being outdoors in good company

love the expression and joy in this photo

today is a great day because

*we have fresh fruit and veg from bills fruit stand
*our bellies are full of smoothies
*i have on a twirly skirt that makes me smile

*we had a lovely morning visiting my favourite twin girlies and watched them squeal with delight to be bare bottomed water babes in their swimming pool
*the weather is warm and perfect for going for evening walks to the beach, sitting on the jetty with toes in the water
*our garden has pretty pink flowers galore and a happy little budda statue

the other day we went on a family road trip, and stopped and had lunch while soaking up all these crazy fun colours

some of them came with us to hide some special gifts for a special new person

meet charlie, son of our good friend cathy (who has been a regular at our place since her and aj met in year 2 at school)

hes so beautiful, we love him

my beach

well here is my beach. i havent showed pictures of it before because honestly ive hardly been there. ive been meaning to go for evening wanders down there but ive only made it there the two times anneke has been here with me. ill admit im a bit of a hermit, im quietly content spending time in my house and garden, i figure ill start getting out of the house when i start working. its quite a nice spot realy, even in the heat of summer there are shady trees by the water to sit under and contemplate life

happiness on paper

I AM HAPPY NOW!

HAPPINESS IS IN BEING- NOT HAVING

This is part of a page of dreams that i started early 2005 and add to when i feel inspiration

the fabric tied to the edges is little strips of my old favourite pyjamas which lil gave to me because they spent most of their life being borrowed by me anyway (that i litteraly wore to death!) they made me so happy because every time i wore them i thought of summers at the beach with lil and madi over the years, and the time i dived into cool blue water at the wallaroo beach, opened my eyes under water and felt so happy i never wanted to run out of air and have to surface. thats what salty water does to me! mum sais im a mermaid

my journal writing began when i was about 12. i dont write necissarily regularly, just when i need to and want to. they have been so necisary for me, so good for me because i am a quiet person. i keep a lot in my mind and find it hard to talk about things that matter to me sometimes. over time they have evolved. the first ones started as blue pen on lined paper, now my favourite is blank pages filled with paint and fabric and stamped and stapled.

here are my two current journals, i have all my others also. every time i read through a journal i feel like i get to know myself a little better. when i pic up a journal i think of all the great times inclosed in it. i think of a cool breeze blowing through opp shoped sheet curtains, my old rooms walls (two different rooms i had, got painted with murals of trees, swirls and song lyrics. im lucky to have parents that are laid back and were happy to let me be creative in whatever crazy way i thought up)

my heart feels huge and wide as though it fills a room and can hug the whole world when my thoughts leave my mind. heaviness is lifted from my shoulders. it is the same when i tell someone whats on my mind, have a heart to heart, but this is a way that works for me most. its taught me that people dont always need your 2cents worth as much as they need you to just listen.

its nice when i feel like my world is full of beauty and colours to run and dance through, and even nicer to have it drawn on paper so i can look at it and feel the feeling always

one of the things that i find hard to talk about is wanting to have a baby. possibly because ive been longing to have a baby since i can remember. i dont know why ive always felt wierd admitting this to people, perhaps because ive felt that i might be judged. perhaps its sensitive to me because i dont want to hear people say 'babies are a lot of responsibility', your too younge, etc, etc (you know, those obvious facts that any person would know yet people feel the need to say)

anyway the other day i was asked who i thought would have kids first out of me and my sister and i said vaguely 'oh i dont know, probably me i suppose'.

well actualy were planning to live together for 6 months and then start trying for a baby and weve already been here a month. im very excited.

one day i found a little kombi t-shirt with 'little dude' on it (what my dad has always called me) i took it home and showed it to benny. i left the room and then came back to see it hanging on on the lounge room wall. every day i smile at it, dreaming of days to come and the little family we will one day be

barbie with the renners

what could be better than spending time outdoors with family on a warm summers evening? Levin, David, Jullian and Louie are camping at a great spot right by the beach in pt clinton. We went over and had a barbie together. after tea me and benny went to the beach with the boys to have a wander, splash about and watch them build sand castles. we had a few relaxed drinks and watched the sun set on the way home