Ooh January was a big one! We celebrated 20 years of wedded bliss by spending the day at the beach with Bear and getting some yummy ice creams on the way home. We had lunch with my mum and dad for my mum's birthday (GB cooked pancakes .. yum), Bear had his annual vaccinations, I did a lot of socialising with my girlfriends (well I hadn't seen them all year .. bazinga!), Biscuit came to stay, I ignored Australia Day and spent the rest of January at the beach. Oh and I scrapped this ..
published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol 17 No 6
.. and this ..
published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol 16 No 12
February saw us not celebrating Valentine's Day .. LOL after 20+ years we don't need an excuse to tell each other how we feel. Besides isn't that what couple's counselling is for? You know, when you have a referee in the room? :P More socialising with girlfriends. Bear was assessed for, and passed, pet therapy and we had our official ID photos taken (boy did I wish I was behind that camera!!). I spent the rest of the time at the beach with Bear and scrapping, albeit not at the same time!
published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol 17 No 4
Let me see, March. Hmm. OMG March was huge!!!! I went to South Australia in March to do a ten day road trip with my girlfriend from the Clare Valley, including attending the e2c retreat!!! What a sensational time I had. I took over 1,000 photos and am still scrapping them but here's a couple I scrapped whilst at the retreat ..
.. and ..
One other huge highlight in March includes my girlfriend's (heh Sandy) 50th birthday ..
PS: Sandy's tan was sprayed on, mine was real! :P
April, traditionally, the month of chocolate was surprisingly mostly chocolate free this year. Something we might need to address next year! ;) Aside from Sandy coming over for a three day scrapathon and Liz and Brooke dropping in, April was mostly free of highlights. Having said that I did get to watch the incredibly moving ANZAC commemorations direct from the Somme, France, with Sandy. I also got to feel Brooke's baby in her tummy, just two days before he was due to come out by caesarean section. I've never felt a pregnant belly before and knowing that there was like a little dude in there was truly miraculous. Very, very sadly, Bear's friend Biscuit (with whom he had a litter of puppies and also lived with for the first 12 months of his life) died from sudden onset brain seizures. I did a lot of scrapping, including a layout of Biscuit which, incidentally, I did before she died. From memory she was here running around with Bear playing the day I scrapped the page.
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Perhaps because of Biscuit's passing, I scrapped a beautiful page of my niece with her fur baby, Levy.
published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol 17 No 3
The pace picked up in May when we started taking Bear to an aged care facility for pet therapy with the residents. Not at all what I expected and quite depressing really. On a bright note one of my nieces celebrated her 21st birthday. I have 12 nieces and nephews and of them all are closest to the eldest three who incidentally, are all girls. Mia, whom I frequently scrap is in the middle, and I'd scrap the other two if I could but they're a little more, shall we say shy, than Mia! Scrapping wise the pace picked up as I took on some guest design work for Anna's Craft Cupboard.
Here we are, in June, and half way through the year. All things on the home front were fairly quiet which allowed plenty of time for scrapping and introspective thinking .. about who I am and how much I still miss Max. I think that's evident in my scrapping ..
published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol 17 No 4
July .. tax month, if you're organised, which this year I was not. It seems I spent more time than usual having manicures, pedicures and shopping at Pandora. :O It was however a huge, huge month for D-lish Scraps as we celebrated its 5th birthday with a 'bigger than Ben Hur' cyber crop extravaganza. Amanda and the design team all put in a huge effort to make the weekend a success and none of us could have expected the result we had. It was huge! As a result so was my scrapping!!!
inspired by the scrap lift challenge by Tarrah McLean
August sees me focussing more on doing things to our home than scrapping. Approximately 80 downlights changed to LEDs, a pergola built over our back deck (and then shopping for furniture for the back deck .. yay!!!), solar panels installed, another ceiling fan added to our open plan living area. I'm certain there's more but I just can't think of it for now. Besides although exciting at the time, I'd rather focus on the fun stuff like express posting my SBM Masters entry at the very last moment LOL! Oh and having my scrapping form part of an exhibit at the 2014 Paperific at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. Exciting stuff!!! Plus catching up with friends. In amongst all of that I managed to get a little scrapping done ..
I did this one for the WW1 challenge (the colour was black) but a bit of green accidentally fell on my page .. oops!
I always find September a difficult time of year as it marks the passing of time since we lost Hayley and Max. Although furry, four-legged family members they were exactly that, family. I can scarce believe it has been nine years since Hayley passed over, and three since Max. On a slightly more positive note, September is a significant month for GB and I .. this year it was 24 years since the day we met. They say time flies when you're having fun. I think it flies as each year passes because we're getting older!! In Melbourne September is pretty big on the sporting calendar as Melbourne hosts the AFL Grand Final. Unless my team's playing though (and they weren't and I'm not saying who it is because some of you may no longer like me LOL) I'm mostly disinterested. It seems I had a particularly nice pampering day with the usual manicure and pedicure, some waxing and a massage. Note to self .. schedule more of those days in 2015. Oh and of course I scrapped!
PS: On a really high note, I was notified on 1st September that I was a SBM Master!!!!!!!!!! :O
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October, October, October. What happened in October? Oh dear now I remember. October was the month of my stupid, stupid, stupid decision to have my hair coloured. I went in for an ombre effect and a style cut as well. The hairdresser got the colours completely wrong and hacked at my hair, or so it appeared. Overwhelmingly unhappy with the job that was done I went back to the salon to talk to the manager who was incredibly helpful and booked an entire morning to devote completely to fixing my hair. She did a fabulous job with the colour and did her best with the cut which, incidentally two months later I'm still growing out and suspect I will be for some time yet. Come the end of October my overly processed hair had the consistency of straw. I would cry except it won't change anything. I rocked it in the scrapping department though, joining the Scrap FX design team and being 'promoted' to the DT Co-ordinator at D-lish Scraps
It's November, and I'm studiously avoiding being caught up in the silly season craziness that is this time of year. I'm bitterly disappointed in Melbourne and its shoddy weather. I ought to be spending most of my time at the beach already. So up north I headed, to the Sunshine Coast and some hot weather, a swimming pool and a beach on our back doorstep. An out of town weekend with the girls. What more could I ask for? Well not the fall I took within five minutes of arriving at the pub for lunch and the gazillion stitches they finally decided to do with a local anaesthetic as opposed to under a general. Kinda put a dint in the whole swimming pool and beach plans LOL! Nonetheless, it was fabulous to catch up with my girlfriends from Qld and to meet Amanda at long, long last! Before long it was back home to reality and regular dressing changes and more scrapping.
Finally its December. Where did the year go? I can't believe that I'm getting ready to transfer everything over to a 2015 diary. Didn't I only do that with our 2014 diary yesterday? Despite the silly season its been a quiet time. Definite highlights would be finally being able to share with the world (LOL, so to speak) that I was a SBM Master, to see the magazine in print and to finally believe that it was all real.
Two things have been constants in my life throughout 2014 .. the love and support of my husband GB which can never be underestimated or undervalued; and the love and support of my friends, both in the scrapping world and the 'other' world. The quality of my life is enhanced by knowing them, and loving them, and having them here.
What am I hoping for in 2015? That's a tough one. I'm going to think personally because to think globally, well, I can't produce a miracle cure for cancer, resolve global poverty or feed these starving in third world countries, nor can I bring about world peace.
What I can hope for is peace in my own life, to continue to cherish GB and our marriage, growth in my scrapping, to reach Class 5 or higher in dog obedience and hopefully watch GB and Bear take on agility. Its a reach LOL but for our finances to improve .. that one's kinda tricky as it would be dependent on me pulling the belt in several notches on the scrapping expenditure. For, relative, continued good health for myself and GB and, of course, our families and friends. For friendships to deepen. To see more of my interstate friends. To study and do well and eventually (when I finish studying towards the end of 2015) find gainful, satisfying employment in the community sector. I know all of that is a lot to hope for but I'll do my bit (well maybe not re the scrapping expenditure) if you'll do yours!
With love and peace, happy 'end of 2014'. May 2015 be all that you want it to be, and then just a little bit more.
PS: To those of you reading this, thank you for your continued support, and the love and encouragement I receive from you in your comments. You cannot begin to imagine the difference your feedback makes ..
What a wonderful year for you Alz, and I hope next year is even better for you both personally and scrappingly! Happy New Year!
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