still here….

Posted on October 28, 2006

Yes I am.

Alot happening.

Do it for you has been going well - except that I have been having some horrid pelvic pain - so  have been working in my limits a little.  Has ultrasound - came back clear - great - we know it’s nothing big - but still don’t know what is causing the pain.  Making babies apparently will stop it. Enough said.

Had M1’s orientation to Kinder the other day.  Did I think to take my camera.  NO. No worries though - the amount of artwork we brought home with us after one hour was immense. We need to build a new room just to store it all.

M2 is fine.  She has an ECG/ECHO last week - has an MRI next week - so we are looking forward to the results on both of those.   Right now - she is wondering around the house in a pair of my boots that nearly come up to her armpits!

Wibur - working his backside off as usual.  Small chance he may get to deliver a boat from Airlie Beach to Perth.  great.  If so - we get a holiday - much needed.

Bad stuff. Computer hard drive on the blink.  Everything was taking forever to do, so I rang my ittle computer man, and he suggested rather than upgrading, clear everything off, and reinstall from the beginning.  Did so - and HD crashed,  Did it again - all seems well, but will most likely upgrade to a larger HD in any case.  80GB to 260GB - computer will think it’s having a birthday.  Luckily I had backed up everything I own onto my EHD, EXCEPT for fonts. BUGGER BUGGER BUGGER. Oh well.  Not the end of the world.  I am on my archaic laptop right now - and trying to get some of my assignment done.  Working in Illustraotr - love that program.

Have made a new home - I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY. Great place.  Learning so much.  Taking better photos.  Finally understanding the link between aperture, ISO, shutter speed etc.  Unfortunately the girls are getting sick of me taking their photo!

Working on a cuple of websites when I have down time from my assignment.  Scraptivating Memories (it’s comming Danni), and a photography site for Amanda (she’s a gem by the way! - Knows exactly what she wants!).  Gotta build that portfolio up!

Ok - girls are attacking each other with the bubble-blowing thingy!

Mackenzie’s birthday wrap-up, and other stuff…..

Posted on October 19, 2006

So I am a little late in posting the wrap-up - who cares - it’s my blog!

We had a great BBQ - the rain only just stayed away (how’s that - gorgeous weather on the days before and after her BBQ, and dodgy on the day - always the way!).

Check out some of the photos HERE.  I will be adding more!

Tonight was meant to be the night I start my photography course - it’s been cancelled - bugger!  I am loving getting to know my camera more, and have been taking an insane amount of shots and experimenting.  Pity both the M’s are so OVER having their photo taken!

Here’s a favourite - I have obviously done some processing on this one - a combination of Holly’s purty Pics, and my own actions!

This one may be a little out of focus - but it completely captures the personalities of my little scallywags!

Here’s my little two-year old -

More photos can be found HERE. I love my bedroom for taking photos!  All natural light through the huge window (would be better if all the panes were glass - but one is covered over with board - as there  is no glass - has been on Will’s to-do list for nearly two years…..) and a white backdrop - fantastic!

Okay - other news - Designer Digitals is having the last quarterly sale of the year on Saturday!  Go and fill your cart up right now - there’s heaps of fantastic stuff- and IdeaBooks4u is also having a 25% off sale!  Awesome! I am eyeing off a couple of books too!

AND check out Studio Jessica.  She has some awesome stuff - my most favourite being Cornfed!   The elements are also gorgeous - so unique!

Today is going to be a super busy day.

We are off to have a play in the park, followed by swimming lesson for Madison!  Then it’s up to Melbourne - I am having a pelvic ultrasound to see if we can sort out the horrendous pelvic pain I have been experiencing, and the Will has a diving job in a swimming pool!  He took the day off from his regular work to come with us - coz juggling two children while having an ultrasound was just not going to work, and as luck would have it - he was asked to do a quick ‘dive’ into someone’s pool to tighten some screws!  Need to be back home in time for me to go to my favourite weekly class at the gym by 6:15pm - rush rush rush!!!!!

OK - cheers - I’ve been up since 5am, it’s now 6:30am!  Girls are fed and watered (I make them sound like plants!), now time to make beds and get dressed!

Using actions in PSE 4

Posted on October 13, 2006

There are lots of fantastic photography actions running about at present - Holly McCaig and Michelle Pearson so some groovy ones, and I have some coming out soon too. Actions are made in Photoshop, but with a little bit of ‘tweaking’ they can be used in PSE 4.

Here is a tutorial that explains the whole kit and caboodle!

Hopefully these will be of some help to someone!

happy birthday to M2……

Posted on October 13, 2006

OK - so I guess it’s my own fault that it is 7:43am and I have a cranky birthday girl! Poor child.  I was awake at 5:30am - M2’s latest ‘come and stand by my bed and wake me up time’ - and she never came in to me.  Devastating.  I was more excited thatn she about her birthday! So - I gave her until 6am, and woke her up.  Yes - I broke my ‘never wake a sleeping baby / child’ mantra.  She is now back in bed humming to herself - who knows if she will stay there - she is certainly tired enough!

Photos to come later of her little ‘birthday booty’!  I bought her a “Bird’s the Word ELMO”.  Now - I love a bit of Elmo, and Target was having a huge toy sale - so I finally bought one!

So cute - although - I think he has a ‘crossed wire’ somewhere - coz now he continually flaps his wings, and stamps his feet - but no sound comes out, and he doesn’t stop!  So we have had to tie his feet together back in the box, so we can exchange him later today.  Bugger - Target is 30mins away from here - and I can think of better things to do on a hot day than exchange an dodgy Elmo doll - BUT - she can’t have a dodgy birthday present - it’s just wrong!

She is also the proud owner of a vacuum!

This thing is cool - it talks and makes noise as she pushes - which is pretty much all M2 needs in a toy - noisy, and it moves!  Goodness knows how she knows what to do with it - it’s not like I get out there and vacuum much!  We also gave her a wheelbarrow set with a watering can, spade and rake - so that’ll be fun, and a set of plastic fruit and veges - coz we all know how much she loves her food!

Photos to come - they are still on camera - and video if I can figure it all out!

Right now - I am cooking meringues.  I just had a quick peek in the oven, and they do not look at all meringuey like!  They just look like plastic blobs of ’stuff’.  Hope they taste better than they look.  Still have a couple of things to sort out for the BBQ tomorrow - namely ‘party bags’! Why do we do these - I have no idea!  This year I am getting together a whole heap of brown paper bags, and throwing in a cupcake, freddo frog, sticker sheet, balloon, a party whistle and a lollipop.  Not a big fan of the traditional lolly bags filled with lollies!  I am going to make a ’star’ cake - or maybe butterfly - not sure yet - nothing like leaving it until the very last moment!

Tonight M2’s godparents are coing over for dinner, B & B.  A big pot of spaghetti will be put on the stove shortly - coz it’ll be too hot later to cook!

OK - so let’s rewind the clock…….

This time two years ago I was in hospital.  I went in early - around 6am - coz I was going to be induced.  Yaya - get this baby outta here.  Everything was fine - I was all ready and ‘ripe’ (their words - not mine!) to go!  No drip - just gel (all you mums out there will know what I mean!).  I settles in for a long wait.  Afterall - it took 36 hours to get M1 out!.

Suprisingly it wasn’t too ling until I started to feel some twinges. We played some cards (500 I think, and Snap)  At around 9am, ‘Good Morning Australia (with Bert Newton) was on the TV!  I remember sitting in the chair feeling contractions, and counting my way through them.  Yes - still methodical - even through labour!  I would sit calmly between contractions, and then breathe and count through them - easy peasy!  As they got stronger - I asked for a tens machine!  I am not sure if the tens machine works - but hey - it’s another thing that took my mind off the pain.

I remember sitting through Ian Hewitson’s cooking program “Hewy’s Adventures’, and deciding that it was starting to get really painful - could I have some pethidine please!  I’m not sure that I was that polite!  Suddenly it all started to get super painful, and I never did get to see the end of whatever Hewy was cooking!  I remember somehow getting into the birthing suite, and trying to go to the toilet - but having to need Mum and Wilbur to hold me up.

Once on the bed - that was it - all I could do was lie in the foetal position and press my tens machine button - that was my one and only focus.  Mum was stroking my hair (always relaxes me - my favourite thing), and poor Wilbur couldn’t do anything right!  He was trying to be so gentle, but it just wasn’t working for me!  I asked for an epidural, and oncethe anaetheologist came in I vaguely remember everyone ’silently talking’ over my curled up body - saying no - I didn’t need one!  WHAT!  I was in all this pain - and THEY thought I didn’t need one - I had news for them!  Pity I was in too much pain to tell ‘em what I thought!  Anyway - once I realised that I was actually  ‘too far along’ for an epidural, and decided that if this was how bad the pain was going to be - I figured that I could just manage it!  So I did!  It was so intense.  Lots of pushing - and at 2:45pm on October 13th 2004, my beautiful Mackenzie Ella was born.  I was overwhelmed to the point of nearly shock - I had just given birth with just one little shot of pethidine (big difference on M1’s birth), and I was OK!

Little Mackenzie wasn’t doing overly well though - my little blue baby.  She needed oxygen for a bit and some cleaning up, and then she came over for a cuddle and a brestfeed. Much too week to feed at all - so we cuddled and cried together!

And so began my little girls life.  Little did we know that it was about to come crashing down around us.  More on that tomorrow - today - I just want to savour my little girls, without remembering too much of the rough times that were ahead.

WOW - super long post today - kudos to anyone who reads this far. It’s time for me to go and make spaghetti, and have some FUN!

Cheers.

my head hurts……

Posted on October 11, 2006

I haven’t had a headache since I started taking Vitamin B supplements - but this afternoon - whammo - I have a great one!  So - this will be a short post - have a lot on my brain right now - so that’s probably not helping.

Went to the Ob/Gyn yesterday to see if he could shed some light on my pelvic pain.  Nup. OK - so I have a slight prolapse of the uterus - but that shouldn’t be causing the pain I get.  Sooooo - I am having an ultrasound to check for the possibilty of fibroids, endometriosis or anything else.  Unfortunately the scan may not be conclusive, so if it doesn’t show anything - a laparoscopy is on the cards.  Not really what I had in mind.  Dr H did mention that I could let it go, and sometimes a pregnancy will ‘dull’ the pain and minimalise it - but to be honest - I would prefer to know what is wrong.  Unfortunately it seems to have put out ‘let’s get pregnant in Ocotber’ plans on hold.  I am a little disappointed - coz I sort of had mt heart set on it - but I guess if my body isn’t ready - then it’s not ready.

I have installed a gallery (it’s a plogger gallery - very cool)- check it out.  It’s fully integrated with wordpress -  so I can have random images in the sidebar (there they are up the top), and images in my posts!  Lovely!

I am enrolling in photography course at the local TAFE.  It starts next week - yippee!  The I’ll become proficient with all the bells and whistles on my Canon 350D.  Very happy about that.  Speaking of photography - over at My Digital Muse , there is a challenge going on. My World Around Me.    Get on over there an check it out.  Here is my entry for Day One - the first thing I see when I wake up…..

Clicking on the image will escot you to my Digital Muse October gallery!

Hey - I don’t know her very well - but what I do know of CD Muckosky is that she is a kind genuine person, and she just won CK Scrapbooker of the Year.  Congratualtions to her - she is a well-deserving winner.

OK - bedtime for me - cheers to everyone!

{do it for you} - still more days that I haven’t posted………….

Posted on October 10, 2006

Not that anyone cares - coz no-one is following along with me anyway!!!!

I am doing really well - off to the gym or running 6 days out of 7. Not sure if I have lost any weight - but I am feeling fit and healthy - so I must be doing something right!

We have been leading a normal life here at present. The weather is getting warmer (gotta dehair those legs!), and days are slowly getting longer. Yippee!

I have done a bit of scrapping lately - nothing like procrastination is there - and I am number one at that!

Here’s a busy one - a few random images of our day a the Roayl Melbourne Show.

The girls off and running at the Show!

Is she a little spunk or what!!!!!!

More of M2 - this one is using Jess Boltons gorgeous new kit Cornfed - available at Eclectic Scraps.

And lastly - this is my new favourite - M2 and Wilbur having a ’special’ moment!

Unless stated - most of the items used in these layouts is from Designer Digitals, and credits can be found in my gallery!

It’s M2’s birthday on Friday 13th (oohh), and we are having a bit of a BBQ in the park on Saturday for her! Fantastic.

If we rewind the clock back two years - I was absolutely ‘hanging’ to get her out. I’d had enough. My pelvis was hurting (and still - two years later it hurts - finally I am off to the Ob/Gyn to get it checked out this arvo!) to the point where I could only be up and about until around 3pm of each day. Considering I was also the proud owner of a 21month old - that was hard work! I remember going to see Dr H (ob/gyn), and he said that coz I was in so much pain - he would induce me early. Ripper! How happy was I - I nearly jumped across the desk and hugged him - unfortunately I had a big belly in the way - otherwise - watch out Mister!!!! Anyway - we had a discussion about having a baby on the 13th - was I sure I was OK with that! Me - not being at all superstitious breezily said yeah sure - just get her outta there! Little did I know my little munchkin was going to have such a har dtime - but more on that when the day comes round - stay tuned!

We had scheduled an ECG / Echocardiogram for Mackenzie today - but unfortunately I was running super late, and had to REschedule for next week. Bugger. BUT - I did pop into the Warehouse (where everyone gets a bargain….) and picked her up a couple of things! Some fake food (coz she loves the real stuff sooo much!!!), and a wheelbarrow, shovel set! She loves to push things around, and make messes in the sandpit - so let loose kiddo! Would really like to get her something that makes alot of noise - she loves noise, and pushing stuff. She’s a little toughie!

Righto - I have to toddle off and do some work - apparently blogging is not classified as work! Bugger!

{do it for you}… all the days I haven’t posted!

Posted on October 3, 2006

OK OK Ok - so I have been a little absent! There’s a little thing called time - and I don’t seem to have much of it lately. The weather is getting warmer, and the girls are wanting to play so much more outside, and I want to be with them!

As far as my six week challenge is going - it’s doing OK. Smaller portions of everything - lots of gym sessions - around 6 per week - loving the feeling that exercise gives me! Unfortunately the weekends are pretty hard - Will is at work, and I can’t get to the gym, so I cram it all in on the weekdays!

We went to the Royal Melbourne Show last Tuesday. The girls had an awesome time. Lots of eye candy for them- I didn’t hear one sooky noise out of either of them for the entire day - fantastic!! There is a layout full of photos on the way!!!!!

Hmm - considering I haven’t been here for a few days - I don’t really have much to report!

I chatted on skype with Holly yesterday - she’s all the way over in St Louis. How excited was I to speak to a real American!!!!! (as opposed to all the fake ones I talk to!) She sounds lovely, and we yapped away for ages. Check out her new site my digital muse - you too can hear her dulcet tones via her podcast!

I downloaded a fantastic program the other day - ACDSee photo organiser. Not only does it organise photos and images - but you can view all your other files. Makes it very easy to burn and archive old files, and the search function is magnificent (can you believe I amgetting excited over a search function!). I am nearly half-way through catalouging my digi-stuff - I burnt a whole heap to CD - just need to save space on my hard drive - keeps filling up! I was quite ruthless - burn the stuff I don’t use so often. You can still search through items not on your harddrive - ACDSee still shows all the thumbnails, it just prompts you to insert the required disc if you want to use the file! Another little thing I like about it is that you can drag items into the ‘image bin’ - a great way to keep track of what you use in a layout! Unfortunately they do not have a version for MAC - so when I finally get my MAC - I will have to recatalouge once again! Bugger!!!!

Went to school yesterday - no need to go in anymore unless I am having trouble with any part of my site! Great. Now I can get stuck into the design and template using Illustrator ( I love tha program - you can do so much with it, and now that I know exactly how to use the pen tool - I am flying!). I am also part of the way through a WP template - my own design - how happy am I about that! So much to do. I think I would like to have my site ready to launch on the 1st December. I have 7 weeks to finish the site and hand it in - so 1st December seems like a great time frame!

Hmm - I am waffling on here about nothing - so if anyone is reading this - sorry for the long boring pictureless post!

Cheers:)