Merry Christmas Everyone...

The weather is freakishly cold and snowy in Dublin, and whilst we are looking forward to getting home and soaking up some sun, we are still having a fun time!

There was a visit to Santa's Cottage up in the north - a wonderful experience for us all, but the kids especially loved it!

There has been a few trips into Dublin city to meet up with Zoe's school friend and her family, who is also visiting Ireland. Dave and I also had a couple of nights in town together..and we took the girls to go into the National Leprechaun Museum and to see the Christmas windows and lights.
Of course there was the whole reason we came to Ireland at this time of year. The wedding of my brother in law John to his gorgeous fiance Sinead. A spray tan, central heating and a short one shouldered dress almost lulled me ito a false sense of security that it wasn't actually sub zero temperatures..that was until we went out into the snow for the official family photos....
Of course there have been lots of cups of tea and red wines with friends and family. To keep me sane I have read 5 books, worked on my Pies and Tarts blocks and been going to the gym a few times a week.
I was also delighted to find a Little People Nativity Set, and the girls have had a great time re-enacting Jesus' birth.
I got the best early Christmas present ever - we are the proud owners of a black AGA cooker that is ordered and will be shipped to Sydney. To buy in Sydney it was way out of the budget but with the exchange rate the way it is it was nearly half the price, even paying shipping costs and duties. I can not wait for my new kitchen!!!

Now we have Christmas day to look forward to, and Zoe's 6th birthday on New Years Eve and then a couple of days later we wil fly out to go home.

I'd like to wish you and yours peace and love this Christmas, enjoy your day and may Santa bring all your dreams true. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Spoilt Rotten...

by my lovely husband. We are in Dublin, escaping from the kids and the inlaws for 2 whole nights and nearly 3 whole days. It is so nice to sleep in, have a long lazy breakfast, not to plan out they day and just wander where the wind blows us.

For those who know me, you know how I love to shop. I don't necessarily have to make a purchase, a window shop is just as good for me. Grafton St is a fabulous pedestrian shopping strip. At the moment, there is a great buzz in the air with Christmas just around the corner. There is a wonderful department store called Brown Thomas and I love just wandering the different halls and floors. I came upon a dress that I loved. As I was wearing my knee high boots, the sales assistant handed me in a pair of heels. Whilst the dress was totally awful on me, I fell in love with the shoes. Dave bought them for me, a special treat. I love them. They are totally indulgent and who knows when I will get to wear them but I am glad they will now have a home in my wardrobe! Hmmm, now about the fabulous clutch purse that was next to them, I wonder if that would be pushing it??? Perhaps...

Christmas Traditions

Reading the lovely Kirsty's blog the other day, she has listed all of her wonderful family traditions...as we are away this year there are many of our usual tradtions that we can't partake in but I thought I would list them all anyway!

1. Our Christmas Tree is put up on 1st December. Read about our tree tradition here

2. We read Christmas stories, ALL the time, not just bed time. My girls are huge lovers of books (which delights me) so at all times there are piles of books scattered through the house, this goes for Chistmas too when it is highly likely that any time I am trying to get something done or finished I will be asked (nagged into submission) to sit down and read stories. Not often do I resist them. The Little Golden Book Christmas Story is a huge favourite as well No Room at The Inn and An Aussie Night Before Christmas. But we have loads of christmas books and we try to get through all of them.

3. We have a gorgeous timber advent calendar house I bought a few years ago. This is usually filled with chocolates to have after dinner each evening. Although going forward I think I will fill it with Advent fun things to do, I have seen that on a few blogs this year and it is a much better idea than sweets every night, though the kids may disagree initially!

4. Santa photos at our local Westfield shopping centre.

5. Our local village has a fabulous community spirit. Each year we go with family friends to our local green for Fish and chips (and wine for the big kids) for the Christmas Entertainment and the Christmas Tree lights being turned on.

6. The kids choose a gift, wrap it and place it under the Kmart Giving Tree. We really feel how important it is for them to realise and understand that they lead a blessed life and that there are others who are not nearly as fortunate as they are.

7. We have a selection of Christmas movies and Friday nights in December they get to stay up later and have popcorn and a christmas movie! Always on Christmas Eve we watch Polar Express.

8. Christmas Eve Childrens Mass and then depending on how the kids are coping, dinner at the village with friends/family or sometimes just us!

9. Local Carols by Candlelight - the 3 churchs in our area come together and put it on, always a fun night. When the girls are a little older I would like to start taking them to Carols in the Domain. Perhaps next year.

10. Bus or train into town to see the Christmas windows at David Jones and Myer.

11. I make Rocky Road and attempt Mince Tarts. My granma made exceptional Mince Tarts and every year I try to equal her greatness, so far I have failed in each attempt. I will keep trying, perhaps the Aga will make a difference ;)

12. Christmas Eve - a letter to Santa is written, the carrot, beer and mince tart left out, the front door "key" is left out so Santa can get in as we have no fireplace and the Santa Please Stop Here sign is left at the letter box.

13. New traditions that I am starting - last year the very same lovely Kirsty as above sent me reindeer food to scatter outside...which we did on Christmas Eve last year, this is something I would like to do with the girls as part of our Christmas Eve rituals. When our reno is finished (that is my catch phrase to everything) we are going to buy exterior lights and decorate the outside of the house.

I am sure there are other traditions that we do but that is all I can think of. It is such a magical time of year and we love it. I am not looking forward to the day when the whole Santa thing is exposed but in our house we live by "You have to Believe to Receive". I am often the biggest kid in the house!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, enojy this special time of year and may it be filled with peace, love and laughter. Let me know if put your traditions on your blog so I can stop by and take a look!

Just finished...

Pies and Tarts Progress

The husband is taking off to 25 degrees in Miami today, a conference. I am unable to upload pics from Grandad's laptop so no piccies until next Friday....should have a load of these pies done to report by then though......love the fabrics in this BOM.

Wintery Wonderland

and then it is so lovely to come inside, almost sit on top of the radiator in this big comfy chair of Grandads, have a big mug of green tea and read my book or do some stitching!

No More Whingeing!

The cold isn't going anywhere and we have 5 more weeks of it so...my attitude is changing!!

"Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances."
~Anonymous

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Ciara was in the deepest sleep when we landed in Singapore. We couldn't wake her, and she remained asleep the entire stop over and about an hour into the 2nd leg of the flight. Flying into Dublin. Minus 7 degrees and snow. We had been laughing about how the weather was going to be when we arrived, but the reality was we were in total denial. Pretty to look at as we flew in though.

Zoe had a ball catching up with her second cousins in the back yard on the day we arrived.

I dared to venture outside at 8am yesterday morning, I couldn't believe the darkness. I lived in London for 3 years many years ago but had obviously blocked those dark wintery mornings out of my mind. Now here it is light not long after 8am and dark again at 4.30pm.

I have a fear of cabin fever. After 3 days I am feeling it. Shortly I am going to have a snooze with the kids so we can try and break the jet lag. 3am mornings are not fun. There was a fair amount of snow over night, it looks so lovely. Then I am going down to join the local gym so I can get out of the house for an hour a day. Then we are going to Bewleys Cafe for the girls to have a hot chocolate.

I realise how I have taken for granted the small things like playing in the back yard, going for a stroll in the brisk winterweather. This snow just makes things really different! Even the Irish are over it already!!!

1st December

1st December 2010.

Here we are again in the fun filled Christmas season.

I can not believe we are almost at the end of 2010.

It will be a very different Christmas for me this year.

Away from Australia. No Christmas drinks in lovely summery dresses, no back yard barbies soaking up the sun with friends. No Christmas Eve Childrens Mass and dinner at the village with friends afterwards. No picnic dinners at the beach, just because we can. Visiting the local Christmas lights with kids that are too tired to do it but the big kids want to see them jsut as much as the real kids.

This year, it is cold and snowing, and catching up with family and friends in Ireland. No last minute dash to the shops with thousands of others because I have forgotten something. Lots staying close to the heaters, warming up with cups of teas. Trudging in the snow, sneaky snowballs thrown, trying not to slip when the sun shines and it gets slushy. Bus trips into Dublin to visit The Crib, a trip up to Dundalk to Santa's Grotto, a family wedding.

The same amount of memories, the same amount of laughter, the same amount of love.

Just different.


I am joining the lovely Nic (at http://nicolewood.blogspot.com/) in her blog along.

As we are away from home I can not guarantee that all posts will be craft related but I will be posting along!

For some strange reason, I can not upload photos from the memory cards or do links (hence just the link typed in for Nic's blog). i will save all the pics to the desk top later and see if they upload from there.

"In Dublin's Fair City...

...where the girls are so pretty" we landed to -7 degrees and snow yesterday morning. IT IS COLD!!! The flight was pain free as the girls were just awesome, we were so proud of the way they travelled. We all got a fair amount of sleep along the way!

Yesterday was spent unpacking, lots of cups of tea catching up with family and the girls playing in the back yard in the snow with their second cousins.

Dave headed off for a few pints with his dad in the early afternoon whilst the girls and I hung around home with Granny Mai and other family dropping in and out. One by one we all dropped off into a jet lag induced sleep. Ciara first at 2pm, followed by Zoe at 4.30, then me at 5pm then Dave followed at 8pm when he got home. So by 3am this morning it was party time...it is going to be a long day.

It is the first time that Dublin has seen snow this early in the winter for many years. I have already taken load sof pics, but for some reason I am unable to upload them at the moment, will try again later on in the day!

We are all so excited to be here and looking forward to lots of fun and laughter with the Irish lot!

One Step at a Time....

Finally we feel we are getting closer to our renovations starting. They feel like baby steps but all these things are important steps to a professional and safe build! The Geotech (dirt) engineer was here yesterday, we have our CC now and today the most obvious move that we are doing a renovation - our kitchen was removed!!! This one made us feel a little excited and a little nervous!! It feels like the first tangible step to anything actually happening! Thank goodness for ebay and that it will be recycled and not become landfill! Stay tuned for more updates....

They Say a Dog is a Man's Best Friend...

...but in this house Zeus is Zoe's best friend!!!

They're Back

We have an amazing tree right next to the entrance to the front courtyard of our house. It is a rare Japanese Gingko. It is stunning when it is in full bloom as it is now and also when in autumn and the leaves are changing colour to a beautuful gold. Admittedly it does cause us alot of grief when it sheds it's leaves and it would have been easier if it wasn't there when we were designing our renovation...Anyway, I digress...We have lived in our home for 3 1/2 years. The first year around this time we started to hear this very strange noise of a late afternoon and into the evening. Zoe was convinced it was monsters. Dave was away at the time and I had no idea what it was. After much Monster Away (lavender) spray was used, eventually we spotted this pair....and they have been back to visit every year since. They are a beautiful pair of Tawny Frogmouth Owls and they love our tree just as much as we do.

Show and Tell...

Ciára was very excited when her daycare teacher asked her if she would like to bring Zeus in for her news!

"Good morning everyone! This is my dog Zeus...". She went on totell them all about what he eats, where he sleeps, that Dr Harry paid us visit because he chases his tail...and the added bonus news was "and my mum has really pretty purple toes and I love those shoes because you can see them. Any questions?"

Weather Forecast...

Thanks to here I was able to see the forecast for when we land in Dublin next week...

Monday 29 Nov High: 3° Low: -1°Scattered Flurries

This morning I have been going through my wardrobe trying to work out what will help me cope with 3 degrees and scattered flurries - whatever they might be!!! Snow perhaps??? I own nothing of the thermal nature, and neither does the rest of my family!!! An excuse to go shopping straight off the plane perhaps??? Last year in London, I bought a fabulous winter overcoat - I may as well have left it there as it hasn't been worn once yet...however my guess is that I will be entirely sick of it by the time we get back to sunny Sydney!

Trust me, I am REALLy very excited about this holiday, Christmas, Zoe's 6th birthday and a family wedding, the whole trip is going to be filled with fun, love and laughter - I just don't do cold very well!!!!

I have a cross stitch, the Pies + Tarts BOM to take with me to keep crafty..and
I have ordered a "Learn to Crochet" book which I hope arrives in time. I have also signed up to the local gym for the 5 weeks we are there. Hopefully these things will keep me sane and warm!!!

I am looking forward to it all, really I am!

Finishing Touches

You will be sick of the sight of this cross stitch...but I love it and can't wait to have it framed and hanging in our home. I think it is a reminder of the ways in which we should be living our lives!

Anyway, I really didn't like the look of the charms when they came with the patterns. But they kept tormenting me everytime I looked at them - should I attach them or shouldn't I? I thought I had decided that I shouldn't!

Looking for something quick to do this morning to fulfil my creative urges I decided I should! And I am glad I did. They look really lovely.

What do you think?

850 pages...

...later and this morning I finished reading Ken Follett's latest book "Fall of Giants". I am always so disappointed when I finish one of Mr Follett's stories! I just want them to go on forever to see happens in the lives of the characters! This is the first book of a trilogy with the next one due out in 2012 then the 3rd due out in 2014. Oh No!!!

As a hard cover with 850 pages, it wasn't the most comfy book to curl up on the lounge with, but the fabulous story line made it all worth it.

Sadly I don't think I will achieve "50 books in 2010" now though. But with a 24 hour plane trip coming up plus 5 weeks in Dublin where the weather won't be condusive to spending much time outdoors - you never know what could be achieved!

From Ken Follett's website

Fall of Giants
Published worldwide on 28 September 2010, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times' hardcover fiction bestseller list!

Fall of Giants is a magnificent new historical epic. The first novel in the Century trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families – American, German, Russian, English and Welsh – as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.

Thirteen-year-old Billy Williams enters a man’s world in the Welsh mining pits…Gus Dewar, an American law student rejected in love, finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson’s White House…two orphaned Russian brothers, Grigori and Lev Peshkov, embark on radically different paths half a world apart when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription and revolution…Billy’s sister, Ethel, a housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts, takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London….

These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as, in a saga of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, Fall of Giants moves seamlessly from Washington to St. Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty.

As always with Ken, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. It is destined to be a new classic.

In future volumes of the Century trilogy, subsequent generations of the same families will travel through the great events of the rest of the twentieth century, changing themselves – and the century itself. With passion and the hand of a master, Ken brings us into a world we thought we knew, but now will never seem the same again.

Better Homes and Gardens

Tonight my beautiful boy Zeus was in a segment on BHG. Sometime ago Dr Harry paid us a house call which you can read about here. We had a fabulous night tonight - beer, pizza and great friends to watch our poor boy on tele. Wow, he might have looked a little bit mad with that tail chasing, but what a magnificent looking boy I have!

Click here to see Zeus and I in action...

Where do the days go?

Time seems to be so short at the moment. I struggle to get through my to do list on a daily basis. Maybe my expectations are too high, maybe I am trying to achieve too much? I don't know but I am feeling more and more frustrated on a daily basis!

To ensure my sanity, I have snatched time here and there for reading my enormous 700 and something page book and I am loving it, I baked gingerbread with the big kid (albeit from a box but at this time my mantra seems to be "something is better than nothing") and I have also had some quiet moments to do some hand stitching on Jack's quilt. I was hoping to have it finished by the time we went away but with 24 days to go and knowing all I have to achieve in this time I just don't think it will happen!!!

With everything that is going on and stress being caused from outside my immediate family unit, my husband and my children have offered me the hope that I need at the moment. Their smiles, their cuddles and their love lift me up and they bring me so much joy and sunshine through the clouds. We are all creators of our own destiny, we design our lives through the desicions and the choices that we make. I wish that everyone could have this realisation and that they could see that life is really quite simple, it is ourselves that make it hard if we so choose!

Reno Update

We are ready to rock and roll....but with only 4 weeks until we go away and the builder saying that they they need a month to Demolish, excavate and build the rear yard retaining walls we have made the desicion to make them wait until we go away to do it!! That way, we don't have to worry about noise and dust for us...or the dog! And then when the builders come back in mid January to start the actual structure we will be over jet lag and ready to deal with it! Stay tuned for more updates....

Mason's Life Journey Quilt

Last night, I finally finished my adorable nephew Mason's throw quilt. It was quilted by the amazing Emma of Sampaquita Quilts and she blogged about it here. Now I need to order some new printable labels and make a label and gift it to him next week!



Next job, to handquilt Jack's Quilt!

Spoilt

We love books in this house, adore them, can't get enough of them. So imagine the selfish delight I felt when my sister recently started as the EA to the MD of a rather large and well known publishing house - of course totally delighted for her as she is loving the job but even more excited for me when she brings me home bags of books for my bookcase! Last night, it was these....

Can't Wait to Read My New Purchase...

but I think it will determine that I definitely won't get to 50 books in 2010!

It's a Girls Prerogative...

And what would a trip to Melbourne be without a shoe purchase or few....

A Clucky Good Time.

My brother in law, John, is marrying the lovely Sinead in December. On Friday 20 of us ventured down to Melbourne for her Hens party!

I got an early flight down on Friday morning with my sister and a friend. We left a gorgeous summer day at 9am and Melbourne greeted us with wind, rain and a very chilly day. Brrrr!!! It was cold!

A day of shopping, followed by a day at The Caulfield Cup and an evening of partying, followed by a Sunday morning of a very chilled out brunch to recover and a wander around the lovely lanes of Melbourne city.

We were delighted that, although very brisk, we had mostly fine weather for the races.

We arrived back to another gorgeous afternoon in Sydney and headed to a barbie at my other brother in laws - a lovely time to cap off a fabulous weekend!

A Frustrating Process

When we were finally given approval from council we thought it would be a fairly short and easy process to commence the actual build. Turns out I was wrong! We now wonder will we ever go from this...
to this..
At the moment it just doesn't feel like it!

We were hoping to have the demolition and excavation done this month so that the retaining walls in the back garden could be built when we were away in December.

We have a meeting with the builder on Tuesday so hoping for some positive news!

The Grand Entrance..

well...not really as grand as the photo below... but when I was in Adelaide my girlfriend and I did the "Cooks tour" of homes similiar to what she is about to build. I fell in love with this set of doors on one of those homes and although we haven't been able to find EXACTLY the same doors they are very similiar and we love them. So...this is what we have decided on for our new front entrance doors.

Someday there will be a post that has something to do with fabric and quilting or creativity...I promise!

Thinking LOTS!!

My head is full of what else I need to to get the house ready for the renovation - we are about 95% of the way there..just lots of tying up of loose ends, so to speak.

That is the boring part of it - but the fun part is starting to think of what we are going to use for fittings. I have finally gotten my head out of the magazines and started to actually look in shops and online.

We had always thought we would put a 10 year kitchen to make do until we could afford what we REALLY wanted but after seeing the pictured kitchen at the Harvey Norman Renovation Centre and then talking to the builder, we think we will be able to afford it now! He seems to think his kitchen guy can come up with this and stay within our budget. Very excited!

This is the style but going for white cabinetry, either a dark olivey/khaki (it's called Mangrove) or a chocolate colour (called Mink) Caesar Stone benchtop and HOPEFULLY a black AGA. The floors will be timber, finished in Black Japan.

So tell me, what do you think???

A Fit and Healthy Life

For a few years I have followed the FYM way of life. I love the whole concept of it and it truly works but I found it hard to be consistent working out at home. I know that it is a true lifestyle choice but I fell off the bandwagon and had trouble getting back on for awhile there.

So I decided to get a trainer and for the past 6 or so weeks I have been working out with Amanda of Metamorphis Fitness I join in on the boot camp at 6am a couple of times a week if I am able to (depending on my husbands travel and work commitments)and then do a one on one session with her once a week. I love working out with the other girls and it really pushes me to do better. When we were sick I really missed it, she is such a task master but we have a lot of fun at the same time. I will continue with Amanda until we go away and then return to Holly Rigsby and FYM. This is a whole lot more doable in the long term.

Exercise seems to do a lot more for me mentally than it does physically as I am getting older and the difference in my approach to life, in general, is amazing if I am not exercising. I am really working hard on nutrition now that we are back from holidays ..as I know that when we go away at Christmas to the cold of Ireland it is going to be hard to exercise over there!!

Cinderella

This morning we went here to see ...

Cinderella

written by Helen Martin
with music and lyrics by David Cashman

Directed by Will Edwards

A timeless story - with a new twist. In a dusty outback town Cinderella sweeps and sweeps while her silly sisters squabble. Purry Cat and her fairy godmother are her only friends. The guest of honour at the local ball is a royal Prince looking for the woman of his dreams - someone he can have a good conversation with! With a little bit of magic involving mice, pumpkins, members of the audience - and a lost shoe - both Cinderella and the Prince find their hearts' desires.

It was a really enjoyable production, the cast were very talented and the lead had the most incredible singing voice. The kids enjoyed it just as much as the mums!!!

We then had lunch with the friends we went with, a gander around the National Trust Shop where I picked up some great pink gardening gloves for the girls and also a wander into the Crewel Gobelin - a fabulous needlework shop. I picked up a lovely Irish sampler to do for my beloved to give him sometime in the next how ever many years. I mean it did take me 3 years to complete the last one.

Now onto sorting out the girls bedroom - packing up, sorting clothes, tidying. What a fun afternoon (?)

I Wish....for one of these in Black...

...but I really don't think the budget will stretch that far...

Quilting WIP's

These are the 2 quilts that I need to finish ASAP - my goal is for the middle of the month.

Mason's "Life's Journey" Quilt that I actually started sewing the binding down on when we were away, and Jack's Quilt needs to be hand quilted and bound....and both need to be labelled of course. The awesome Emma quilted Mason's quilt for me, take a look at the great photos on her blog here. She is a very clever and talented quilter! I can only dream of having her capabilities!!



OK, that is 5 posts to catch up with the Blogfest! Let's see how the rest of the month goes!

From the Mouth of The 3 Year Old...

...this morning....

"I've decided that I want another sister as well as Zoe, so tomorrow I am going to go to the museum and get one called Asherlee"

Books! Glorious Books!

I finished Major Pettigrews Last Stand whilst way, and really enjoyed it.

I also started and finished "The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho.. An easy read with lots of great life messages, more specifically about following your life dreams.



And I jumped on the Twilight bandwagon, albeit months - possibly years - after everyone else, and finished that too...and suprisingly I really loved it and have just started New Moon.



I even got to read a couple of trashy mags whilst we were away - New Idea, Who and Womens Weekly.

Ah, the joys of holidays!!

My sister has an electronic book, of the Sony kind. We bought one for my dad for Fathers Day. Moving with the times and all that I know I should take an interest in these things. I mean lets face it, by the time my girls are in Uni (should they choose that path), maybe even high school, potentially their study books etc will be all downloadable onto one of these devices. I know I know, it is so much easier for their backs to carry a little tiny thing around rather than a whole load of ridiculously heavy books BUT!!! And to me it is a big BUT!!! I hope that the good old trusty paper back (or hard back if you so please) has it's place forever. Nothing beats the musty old smell of a library book. Nothing beats the flick of pages. Perusing the front and back covers of a back, wondering if it worth reading. Flopping down on the couch (or the pool bed if you are lucky enough to be in Fiji or somewhere lovely) opening the book, pulling out the book mark, flicking the pages and eventually the last turn of the final page... The touch, the texture, the sight, the smell of a real book - this is what will more than likely keep me forever away from all these new fandangle e-books. Sorry to say but they just ain't for me!

Friends...

are the family you choose!

I am blessed to have so many really wonderful friends. Without their love and support, life would be duller and laughs would be fewer.

This is one special mate who I met when I was 11. Like all friendships we have had our ups and downs but we always come out on top and have shared so much over the past 25 years that I think I would truly be lost without her!



There are probably hundreds of these immature and silly photos through the years - we don't get away with them as much as when we were 12...but we try!!



Between us we have 4 special princesses who adore each other as well. It is so special that the friendship lives on in our next generation!



We have just spent a really fun time hanging out in Fiji all together, along with some more of her family and other friends.