the midnight scrapper

remembering the circle journal...

A few years back it seemed that you couldn't turn around in the scrapbooking world without being part of a circle journal group!

My first experiences were through a group organised at 2peas and that left me with a great album and a wonderful international friend.

My next go round was with an Australian group of women and again, great album, good fun. 

I had good experiences but you certainly heard about the ones that went pear shaped!

I still have my copy of "Full Circle" (a beautiful book by Lil Davis Designs) full of wonderful CJ's.

As I was transferring files to my new mac I came across a few old (very old) entries that I had remembered to scan before sending off. Here is a little sampling (and be kind, I was a newish scrapper!)

I smiled at the first one...another take on Oscar and school, but here he was on the first day of his last year of primary school.

 

 

 

I really, really used that head shot over and over didn't I!! Lots of family and kids topics. 

Happy memories :)   

this is it, it's nearly the end...

Oscar & Byron went back to school this week, and I will not bore you with the details of just how "thrilled" they were to be leaving the school holidays behind and heading back to the classroom!

For me, there was a different feeling as I realised that this is it, Oscar's last year of school. Sigh.

I  dragged, bribed, cajoled, asked Oscar to come out the front for his very last set of 1st day of school photos. He wasn't happy but Byron and I got him there for the annual shot.

Oscar - Year 12

 

Byron - Year 8

 

But this morning I was on another mission...to recreate the set of photos we took on the same day  way back in 1998. Again I had to use all my motherly "persuasion" techniques, but I now have proof that time is just flying by.

January 29, 1998:

 

January 29, 2010:

 

Some more nostalgia:

  
  
   
Do you see what I mean? It's enough to put a little tear in a mama's eye.   
  
I feel a layout coming on people!!!!!

happy australia day...

the flags are up

the bunting has been strung

the bbq is fired up

family and friends are about to arrive

the kids are sporting flag t shirts and temporary tatoos

the eski's are full

the camera is ready

the lamingtons are waiting

and our "great aussie songs" CD is playing...

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

it's time to get back into the real [blogging] world...

Yes I know, where have I been? Well you know how these things go; super busy at Christmas then crash and burn in January! When I say I did nothing for the first week of my holidays, I'm not lying (just ask Gary, he will verify that fact).

And then the realisation that I had to go back to work in another week snapped me out of my fog and I became an organisational / cleaning / purging madwoman.

Let me demonstrate...

If you have boys then you will know that anything to do with clothes (buying, washing, hanging up on a coat hanger) has no business in their lives and as their mama, I get  get to that point (yes, the tipping point) when I just can't live with looking in their wardrobe another minute. And that's when we have to have a clean up (can you hear them screaming and moaning??) So this is how it went down, and just so we are all on the same page here - only I feel good about the results. Ha!

During (too much moaning to get a before LOL):

 

Yes, I made them try on every single item they own - if it fits it stays, if not it's out of here!

After:

 
 

Can you hear the angels weeping with joy? OK, maybe it's me! Now how long it will last, well that's anyones guess. My money is on sooner rather than later LOL

Other reasons for my absence include going back to work, trying and often failing to make the transition from PC to mac - it's the same and yet it's different, making even simple tasks frustrating, and the fact that I have been in a scrapping frenzy preparing for a little project that I have coming up real soon over at Write Click Scrapbook.

So yes, officially, I'm back :)  

here's to late nights, an endless supply of DVD's and the early completion of my december daily album...

When I say early, I mean before Christmas 2010 is about to start (see December Daily 2009). Being on holidays has also helped.

I shared the first 5 days earlier, so if you are interested, here is the rest of the album...

Ali is right...photos and words (and a little somethin somthin to make it look pretty) is all you need to tell the story :) 

mission accomplished...

I hate to admit it, but I think I am taking more pleasure in sticking with Project 365 than the actual finished product. Ha!

No, I kid. I am beyond happy that I stuck this project out for the year, the photos are all in the album and the journaling is all done. Even looking back over it this week I have been suprised by some of the memories that seeing a photo (even one less than a year old) can trigger.

I even considered, briefly, doing it again this year...but then I came to my senses. It is a big undertaking and I have had to explain to more than a few bemused strangers why I was taking a photo at that point, not to mention that I have used up every last ounce of goodwill with the kids LOL (mum, it is so not cool to take a photo in the supermarket; people will think you are a freak!).

And then 1 January rolled around and I did not take a photo. And the 2 January and I was getting twitchy. It was like I had to "break" the habit. I will probably choose to do one of the other challenges that are out there in blog land - 10 on the 10th, 10 on Tuesday, etc but I have a little longer to decide.

The beginning and the end...

And it's that time again to head on over to write click scrapbook for the new January gallery...

yes, the gallery is all about favourites! 
  

a quick 2009 catchup before we move on to 2010...

I figured it was finally time to stop doing nothing and get back into the swing of things (not that doing nothing hasn't been a wonderful thing to do!).

So to finish up December...

The boys opened their matching pj's on Christmas Eve and Oscar wants it to be known that he will no longer participate in this "fun" Christmas activity no matter how large the threat bribe. (you can spot him in back trying to crawl through the wall with his fake smile!!) These were Peter Alexander boxers, so not to shabby, but unbelievably wrong when you are 17.

Christmas morning we were up early and into the presents. Yes, Byron was very happy to recieve his macbook (Oscar was happy about his macbook pro - his was a combo birthday & Christmas present - he just kept the excitement on the inside LOL).

Having made the decision to go mac, well Santa couldn't leave me out...

Now this all seems like a very extravagant Christmas, the boys do not get cash like this spent on them at  Christmas, but Oscar is doing his HSC this year and his poor old laptop is 6 years old and dying. Byron, well he has had to share my PC so we figured we just had to bite the bullet and pony up.

Yes, I realise that I have not really made a valid argument for why I needed to upgrade, but I will confess to having mac lust for a very long time (that's true isn't it Mel?) and it seemed a much better idea to convert as a whole family. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Ha!

Christmas lunch was the usual orgy of food and it was good, very very good...

After all that we had a very quite Boxing Day and before you know it my birthday was upon us. Mum suprised me with a lovely dinner set out on the front lawn...

   

 
Yes, I know Oscar is giving me "rabbit ears" even after he was told not to. 

And I was very excited to recieve this Pandora ring from the boys. It's from their new liquid silver range and I coveted it from the day I saw it. Please excuse my crypt keeper hands...I have been so busy trying to tone up all the other horror areas on my body that I quite forgot my hands needed to be worked on as well!!!!

New Years Eve was quite and then, in the blink of an eye it was 2010.

Happy New Year!

December Daily and Project 365 coming up...