It's been a long week

This past week or so has been such an emotional and physical roller coaster. I barely dragged myself into Friday night and have probably never been so ready for a weekend in a long time.

It of course started with the long wait after Shane's biopsy for the results which thankfully were good results, but it made me ever so aware of how you mentally and physically prepare yourself for the worst even though it's not such a conscious thing. Since receiving those "it's not cancer" words, my body has released itself from the fine knot it had tied itself in and left me feeling like I just spent a week moving house or training for an Olympic marathon. You just don't realise how tense you get.

That said, there are still a number of things we need to do to ensure he stays as healthy as possible and so they are now such a priority!! The thought of not having this man in my life is more than I could bare and I would move heaven and earth to make sure his health and well being stay on a positive keel.

And if that wasn't enough excitement for the week, then there were the employment games - you have a job - you don't have a job...... I think of all the things I could say I actually HATE (and there aren't many things I could really say I hate) liars would probably be my number one pick. And to have someone you once respected both professionally and personally sit there opposite you at a table and look you in the eye and lie - well I have to say, the emotions and disgust that rolled through my head at that moment made me feel physically sick to my stomach. And all just to cover his own ass because he knew he had overstepped the mark and made a decision that wasn't his to make.

I know that Shane constantly reminds me that the world isn't all good and people don't automatically recognise your contribution or your worth, and that you have to stand up and be counted if that's what you really want. I'm glad this time I made the decision that was best for me. I hope it's not one I regret from the stupidity and thoughtlessness of others. We'll see I guess.

In the world of scrapbooking there was some exciting news for me. The layout I did for the Scrap Therapy Cyber Crop won the Sketch Challenge! It was wonderful but I was also pleased because I really do love that layout. It appeals to me a great deal and possibly also because I also love the photo. I did do some scrapping this weekend, although not as much as I had hoped. I got 5 cards (all the same design) finished for a card swap with an Easter theme. Really pleased with these cards and I managed to use up some old paper that I truly thought would never find a project. It was one of the very first patterned papers I ever bought - yes THAT old... But it was perfect for this project.

After a reasonably relaxing weekend that we surely needed, we did take a bit of time out in the sunshine today to fly kites with Lakeisha and Justin who came down for the weekend. Kite flying is such an underrated pastime. I love it - albeit sometimes frustrating when the wind dies (which seems to invariably happen by the time you get yourself and your kite out to the open spaces). But we all had a great time and forgot about the rest of the world for a little while. And of course - there are photos!

Back to the real world tomorrow, although I do think "this" life is the real world and it's that other time spent elsewhere which is the place of surreal existence.

Scrap Therapy Challenges

Wish there were more hours in a weekend for me but unfortunately I only have time for one of the great challenges at Scrap Therapy.

This was a sketch challenge by Becci and I really enjoyed it. I have had this photo sitting on my desk now for a few weeks just waiting for the inspiration to do something special with it. I LOVE this image of Shane. For a start he has his eyes open!!!!! LOL but that aside it's natural and relaxed looking. It's so difficult to get photos of him with his intense dislike of being in front of the camera. So this one was a rare gem for me and I wanted to do something special with it. I am so pleased with this layout and the hand stitching that took ages to do was well worth the effort in the end.

The journaling around the edge says : "After 4 days of festivities and saying goodbye to your parents, we took down the tinsel on the front gate and fare-welled Christmas 2009. Only 361 days until we do it again!"

And so here is "361 Days".....

A pretty full week ahead and the anticipation of many things. I suspect there will be many sleepless nights leading up to Friday when we get the results back of Shane's biopsy last Tuesday. Wish us luck.....

My Mini Album

I'm thrilled to have my mini album finished. This was the week 4 & 5 entry for the Lazy Days of Summer competition over at Scrap Pile which runs for another week.

I had so many photos to pick from after Lakeisha & Justin spent a week in Queensland that the theme for the album was easy - narrowing down which photos to use was somewhat more difficult. I wanted it to be bright and cheery and so much of the album is using BasicGrey's Lime Rickey with a few other scraps and bits in addition. Love how this turned out.....

The cover...

The "Hotel" pages.....

The "Movie World" pages....

The "Ripleys" pages....

The "Dream World" pages....

The "Sea World" pages....

And finally - the back cover....

Cybercrop!!!!!

Blog Candy

http://prettyposiesandpapertrails.blogspot.com/2010/02/hello-and-welcome-to-my-blog.html

Check out Lou's brand new blog and the gorgeous Prima bits and pieces she is giving away to one lucky visitor!!!!

More contributions

It's been an interesting week or two with so many things happening. But I've managed to get a little scrapbooking done which always seems to help me chill out!

This was my week 3 contribution to Scrap Pile's comp. I had a vision in my head about how this layout would look but with a different photo in mind, but when I finally made the window - the photo just didn't work for me so I substituted with this one. I had lots of fun with this playing around with the Tim Holtz Crackle Paint and getting a little creative with some acetate and Stickles. I think Stickles glitter glue has become my new favourite product of choice. So much you can do with it and even just a small amount can make such a difference. Actually since I took these photos I have replaced the foam feathered bird for one I created in my graphics program and printed on photo paper as I wasn't happy with the bulk and couldn't cut him down any further without destroying him.

Anyway - here is "Wonder"

As well as another layout I had sitting on my desk for almost a week waiting for the inspiration to finish it.... The photos were taken back in November when the four of us went to a David Strassman gig in Melbourne. We were walking back to the car park when we came across the Gucci Store. Now Lakeisha does like her name brands... and so having to pass by Gucci without even popping in was painful. Given it was late at night you would expect the store to be closed though!

This one is Gucci Girl....

And another one featuring some negative space for another challenge. These photos were taken last September of Lakeisha & Justin in the back of the car devouring a bucket (yes you read it right - not a bag - a bucket) of fairy floss on the way home from the Royal Melbourne Show. I made the butterfly by creating and colouring it in my graphics program, printing off on photo paper and adding some Stickles for a bit of extra zing. I love the colour of this layout and perfect I thought for the subject.

This one is Fairy Floss....

How am I doing Mel???? Keeping up the posts OK? LOL