A week of affirmations!!

While this week has been completely idiotic and insane, I have had three lovely things happen which have re-affirmed me in different ways.

At work I recieved an email which informed me that I had been selected from my region to attend the Positive Partnership Facilitator Training. Positive Partnerships is a government initiative which focuses on working with children with Autism and helping them to achieve. I attended the teacher training late last term and loved it. My Head of Campus and Principal are very pleased that I have been offered this opportunity and have approved my professional development request! Yay!!

Then I received a phone call from a lovely lady called Robyn from Family Planning Queensland - who I had corresponded with early in the year regarding puberty programs for special education students. She rang to ask me if I would like to be involved in the regional network project she is starting next year. She said that over the course of the year she has visited a lot of SEUs and that my puberty program is the best she has seen and she wants my input (another pat on the back - and no my swollen head did not prevent me from leaving the building at school, we have quite a wide doorway...lol

The third and final exciting thing that happened this week, also happens to be my favourite. I received an award at the gym presentation night! My first award ever!!! So it is no secret that I'm very overweight and have been working hard this year to overcome some of the obstacles which have been stopping me from losing the weight. I have persisted at the gym, although I am not very fit and have felt my fitness levels and strength improve. The break through for me was the book Women Food and God by Geneen Roth, but that isn't the point of this post.

The lovely lady who originally got me going at the gym was Elise Franks. Sadly, Elise passed away 5 months ago and her sister has taken over the running of the gym. When it came time for them to do the awards, her sister decided to name an award after Elise. It is called the 'Elise Franks Inspirational Award' and as she was introducing the award she said that the intention was that the award would go to someone who was not used to going to the gym, was not a gym junkie or fitness fanatic and someone who had persisted and was coming to the gym regularly. Obviously I am very proud to be the first recipient. I was told that all the staff at the gym all nominated me when asked who they thought should get the award, and one of Elise's close friends told me that she was positive Elise herself would have picked me, because she had commented so many times over the year how proud she was of how well I was going.

Well, needless to say half the people there were in tears, and I had tears in my eyes too. I was incredibly touched, excited and just plain awestruck that they would see fit to give an award to me. I am starting to make some ground and I'm really feeling good about going to Zumba rather than doing weights.

My darling hubbie also won an award (a certificate and a voucher for a massage) for consistent cardio workouts. Yay for us!!

If this coming week wasn't the last for the year, it wouldn't have a hope of beating last week. Marko cleared his old cricket trophies off the top of the tv cabinet and put mine there instead. He is so proud of me (and I am too!!)

Emily xoxo

Week 9 - finished

The school year is coming to a close (just finished week 9) and things just keep getting busier!! You'd think they'd be slowing down, but there is just so much to cram into these last couple of weeks. I'm finished my reports (thank goodness - what a nightmare they were) and so I have been able to focus on the other things we have had planned.

On Tuesday we held a Christmas Party for all the teachers, admin staff, cleaners and grounds staff who work with or do things for those us who work in the SEU. My students wrote and made the invitations and we have been busily baking all term (and filling my deep freezer) in preparation. The kids spent the day before wrapping and putting tags on the individual Christmas cakes they were going to give out as gifts and the two hours before the party cutting up fruit, making dips, heating mini quiches, making sandwiches, heating cheerios and putting sweets onto trays. The party itself was a HUGE success. I have had emails almost every day congratulating us on the party.

Then we did it all over again on Wednesday for the parents of our students. That party was a little more relaxed but just as much food had to be prepared,  so Wednesday arvo I was already exhausted. We had a pretty low key days Thursday and Friday trying to recover.

This week coming will be insane too. On Wednesday we have to move all the furniture off the wet area floor so the cleaners can scrub the floor on Thursday - while we are at the Bowls Club for Barefoot Bowls. Then on Friday we move all the furniture and resources from the carpet onto the newly scrubbed wet area floor so that the carpets can be cleaned.

A busy few days still to come..


 Emily xoxo

Getting healthier...slowly

Remember back when I took a photo of myself in my gym gear a few months ago? Well 8 kgs later I decided to take another picture.

Can you spot a difference?

Photo from a few months ago

 Today's photo

Honestly, I can't. Maybe the shirt is a little looser areound the abdomenal area, and maybe there isn't as much lumpy padding on my side under my arm now.... not sure. I do know that I have lost 8kgs and I know my clothes fit better. I did measure myself a month or so ago, but my home computer has died and I can't access the file with the details, at this time. Apparently I can try starting up in safe mode to access photos and data. I'll try on the weekend.

I had my third Zumba class this week, and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. It has certainly proved to me that I'm fitter than I thought and can push myself a little harder when I do my normal workouts.


Today... I JOGGED.

For the first time in years. I jogged 1 minute, walked 1, jogged 1, walked 1 and jogged 1. How great am I!!! So I'm slowly making progress. I keep looking at the gorgeous pants I bought from Entitled online and can't wait to fit into them.

Did I mention I love 'Women Food and God" by Geneen Roth

As I may or may not have mentioned at an earlier point in time, a lovely friend of mine was watching Oprah earlier this year (so jealous - we don't recieve channel 10 out here) and on the book club they had 'Women Food and God' and Geneen Roth was talking about her book. When she mentioned it to us (2 other friends in a facebook group trying to bust the weight monster), we thought it would be great to do our own little book club on it.

I am so totally in love with this book. Corny I know, and seriously I'm not making money off carrying on about this book. Since I read this book and changed the way I think about eating, I've lost 5.1kgs. Impressive isn't it. Yes I've hit some stumbling blocks, and yes it's taken a while, but what is most important is that I'm getting a handle on monitoring my thoughts and only eating till I'm full.

Like right now, there is a magnum ice cream sitting in my fridge, calling out my name. "Emily.... come and eat me.... you know you want to.... you know it will make you happy....".

But, AM I HUNGRY???

NO.

Do I want to eat it?

My mind says yes but my body says, no thanks I'm quite satisfied from the yummy chicken spag bol you fed me for dinner.

My how I have grown. Maintaining the thought patterns is something I have to be constantly aware of. I often find myself having put food in my mouth and I'm already chewing when I think WTF how did that get into my mouth. I didn't actually decide to eat that..but here I am chewing on it. At that point I have to decide, do I swallow it, or spit it out. 9 times out of 10, lets be realistic, 10 times out of 10 I swallow it. I want to say I spit it out, but I have real issues with wasting food.

I love this book so much, I actually bought another 2 copies!! One is for my darling mum for Christmas and the other is to loan out to my friends because I can't be without my copy. I am about to start reading it again, for the third time!!!

Seriously, at least google the book.

One of my favourite sections of the book Reteaching Loveliness - and here is my favourite quote from that section:

'The shape of your body obeys the shape of your beliefs about love, value and possibility. To change your body, you must first understand that which is shaping it. Not fight it. Not force it. Not deprive it. Not shame it. Not do anything but accept and understand it. Because if you force and deprive and shame yourself into being thin, you end up a deprived, shamed, fearful person who will also be thin for ten minutes'.

Ahhh.. the lightbulb moments in this book are amazing!!!

Emily xoxo

The new love in my life...

...is my new iphone!

Although I still don't know how to use it properly, and I'm still figuring out the whole downloading aps business...I love love love it.

I love that it keeps track of an sms conversation.

I love that I can sync it to my laptop calender - I should never forget a meeting again as long as I remember to put it in one of the calenders...

I love that it doubles as an ipod, not that I have any music on it yet.

I love that I can facebook from it...not that I have yet.

I love that the case is pink...

I love that when you have to type something in, the keys are in the querty arrangement.

Like I said, I love it!!!

Emily xoxo

Zumba in Roma

So this week I decided to brave my first class at the gym. I have been going to the gym since March and have been happy to just work at my own program. But this week I talked my new buddy Becc into coming with me.

It was SO much fun. We laughed the whole way through it...while desperately trying to keep up with the Zumba guy. My darling hubbie was up the front, as per the request of the Zumba guy, because he has been a few times. We boogied away, sweated and laughed!

So last night I decided to brave the Friday night class, without Becc. Marko (darling hubbie) was there, but he is so fit and keeps up so well. I just kept thinking of the funny comments Becc had made on Tuesday. Seriously, Zumba is a heap of fun. I find it really hard to keep up with some of the moves - I just can not keep up, but I figure if I keep going I should be right.

I also weighed myself yesterday and was thrilled to discover that I've lost 3kgs this week. Pretty mammoth effort I recon!! Thank goodness for the book that changed my life - Women food and God, but more on that another time.

Emily xoxo

Baby shower invitations

A lovely friend of mine is due to have her first baby in January and I nominated myself as the organiser of her baby shower. I have to admit that amongst report cards and end of year paperwork, I'm very late in beginning to organise the happy afternoon tea.

I've decided to make magnet invitations, so that all of the guests can put them on their fridge. I'm thinking that they will look something like this!

Cute aren't they! I'm looking for a template to use for the bottle. I'm going to make them in pale yellow and green as the babies gender is to be a surprise.

I'll take photos as I go so that you can see how I make them.

Emily xoxo



That 70c....

 Question:

What happens to coins that have been stuck inside your washing machine drainage system??

Answer:

They kill your washing machine and come out looking like this!!

So the moral of the story is? Make sure you check the pockets of EVERY item you put in your washing machine!!!

Emily xoxo

What can you possibly do with 70c?

The answer my blogging friends, is screw up your washing machine. Yes you heard correctly....SCREW UP THE WASHING MACHINE.

Several years ago my darling hubbie and I moved into a unit that had a laundry in a cupboard (a novel idea that I just loooove..but more on that another time) and our washing machine wouldn't fit into the small space provided...by like 4mm. So we went to our then local second hand washing machine guy and traded in our old machine for a front loader from a deceased estate. It is a wonderful machine, appart from how long it takes to do a cycle and it keeps our clothes lovely and clean.

Well, on Thursday of last week it decided to die. Well when I say die, it was happily washing away and then wouldn't drain. The clothes were still sitting in water. I did the only thing I could do, gathered up a heap of towels and slowly drained the bitch of a thing. I used vinegar and bicarb to flush out the drain pipe, and again it wouldn't drain. On Friday morning we moved it outside and drained it onto the grass... what a crappy end to a crappy week.

So we have been discussing what to do with it since then. We figure our house insurance should cover it, but it may not cost that much to fix. So this afternoon I took the back off it and had a looky inside...looked ok to me, so I thought I'd wait for the darling man to arrive home. He turned it over on it's side and opened up the pipes attached to the pump....and guess what fell out....

You guessed it!!!

70c

Now I hear you gasp in horror but it gets worse. We laughed about the coins and put it back together (kinda one of those if you didn't laugh you'd cry moments) and I had the bright idea of testing out the machine before we bothered moving it back inside. I got the hose and filled the inside with water and we hooked it up the electricity and what do you know....it worked. It successfully drained itself.

Feeling very chuffed with ourselves we went off to our gym and worked really hard. When we got home we moved the machine back inside and put a load on. Next thing the darling hubbie is yelling from the laundry..... "there is water pouring out the door".... WTF!!!! So evidently while outside something not so great went wrong with the seal, and then the bitch wouldn't drain....again!!!

So plan of attack?

Tomorrow I am going to throw machine down the stairs ring the local machine repairer and get them to pick the damn thing up and give us a quote on how much it will be to fix it. I am also going to ring our insurer and find out what our excess would be on replacing a washing machine....then I'll throw it down the damn stairs.

I do apologise for the angry content of the above post....I am excessively frustrated!!!

Emily xoxo

Hot pink face cloths

Okay, so I'm hoping the photos will load this time....here goes...

Yay!! So this one I've put a lipstick next to them so you can get an idea of their size.

Aren't they so cute!!!

I figure that if I need 3 per day, I'll need to knit between 10 and 20 of them, depending on how often I was them. The ones I use for toner I can just rinse out and reuse, but the make up ones may need a proper wash. I'll have  wait and play around with it to figure out the best way to work it.

Below is the beginning of the first blue one. I was online till 1am this morning looking at patterns and trying to work out the stockinette stitch, which is actually just the stocking stitch, which is the stitch I used in the centre of the yellow and pink cloths, just didn't know that was what it was called. So I'll continue working on it today.

I chose to do a different border on this one as the designer claims that it won't curl like my yellow and pink ones did. This may become my favourite pattern if it doesn't curl. It's looking good so far, but I'll reserve judgment until it is finished.

Emily xoxo

New Projects

The last couple of weeks have seen me take on some exciting new projects. Well I find them exciting!!
My new friend (who scarily is almost like the twin I never had and was separated at birth from - appart from the fact she is nearly 10yrs younger than me - anyhow I digress) found this amazing blog called Frugal and Thriving and she shared the link with me and we are OBSESSED. So much so that her darling husband is sick of hearing her use the word FRUGAL in his presence.

Firstly we got really excited about the chemical free cleaning ideas. I'm totally not a hippie, but I have always been concerned about the chemicals that are in the products we use each and every single day. So I'm going to start to use these ideas - but I'll use up my old cleaning products first because I really can't afford to just throw out a bunch of stuff and besides it would end up in landfill - not a good plan.

Then, we got even more excited when we learned that the amazing Melissa (creator of Frugal and Thriving) knits her own cleaning cloths. Yes, knits!!! So my lovely friend and I organised to meet at Aces (see previous post) knowing we shouldn't venture in alone (hehehe) and searched for the perfect wool to (yes we are mad) knit our own dish cloths and cleaning cloths. We dug through piles of wool and eventually found two colours we both liked. Oh yeah, we'd decided to colour code our cloths so we didn't forget which cloths were for cleaning the toilet etc and which ones were for the kitchen area. So we got two balls each one blue and one yellow. Yellow for the cleaning and blue for the kitchen. My good friend had never knitted before, and she's a lefty, so I set about trying to teach her to knit....yes I said trying....I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time. I think in the end we both stuffed them up so we started again - not that it would have mattered for cleaning cloths, but we did start again.

And here is the result of my knitting!

Front

Back

I have actually now knitted two of these dish cloths (that's all I could get out of one ball). I'm saving the little scrap of wool that is left over and plan to make a multi-coloured something, sometime.

Then just the other night, I couldn't sleep and I'd started knitting my first blue cloth using a new pattern, and I didn't know how do to the stitch required for the centre (little did I know it was the same as the stitch used in the two yellow cloths) and I was thinking about how far I would go with this frugal living. I thought about all the wasteful practices I have, that I'm willing to change. One that really lept out at me was the disposable cotton pads I used to clean off my make up and tone when I'm doing my usual face routine. I use three of these cotton suckers a day and throw them in the bin. I know they are small but it's the small changes that sometimes make a big difference. So I thought maybe I could knit little cloths to use for removing my make up and toning. The next day I bravely faced Aces alone...yes alone...and made a wonderful discover. In amoungst the overflowing shelves I found some balls of bamboo 'wool' for knitting. Bamboo material is just incredible. It is used in the new modern cloth nappies another friend of my mine is raving about - perhaps another post should be devoted to the cloth nappy. Anyhow, the bamboo is so soft and great for a babies bottom so I thought, maybe it would be a nice soft yarn to use for little face cloths. So I bought two rolls of hot pink bamboo yarn and knitted two lovely soft little cloths.

Grr I'm having trouble loading the photos..... I'll have to post them separately. But I'm really pleased with them. It is so much fun creating stuff. I just love it!!

Emily xoxo

2 weeks later...

Like with any new lifestyle choice, changing your habititual behaviour is pivital to success. In my first week I was definately running high on motivation and had great results. Week 2 saw me so excited I weighed myself too often and was disappointed when I lost 1kg - as earlier in the week it looked like I'd lose another 2kg.

Then,

we went away for the weekend. Changed my routine. Not so great! I didn't think much about it before hand, and I tell you the planning is EVERYTHING. So we went to Biloela to visit my Aunt and Uncle. The had offered us their camper trailer to use over the Christmas break, but we had to drive up and collect it. Mum and Dad decided to also drive up and visit the rellies. It was a great trip and I did well with my food and eating only what my body wanted (I swear it did want the two donuts!!!). Then on Saturday night - all the Bilo rellies decended on my Aunt's house for dinner and to see us. Mainly I think it was about the free food...LOL.

Anyway my old habits kicked into action. The footy was on the tv, everyone was talking and there were so many distractions I didn't even check to see if I was hungry. I LOADED my plate with potato bake, lasagne and salad, and after the second bite the warning sign that I was full rang out. Unfortunately I was immediately distracted by my Dad handing me a rum (probably my third and I seriously don't need many). I then polished off the entire plate!! And then I had dessert. I was pretty good, only had the fruit salad and meringues - but by the time I finished I felt so incredibly sick. I thought I might be able to wait it out, but I felt like I needed to vomit it all up - and I wished later that I had. My stomach was so bloated and I was in agony - maybe this is all too much information... but it is what it is.
I went straight to bed and lay there dozing fitfully trying to get comfy. It was so painful that I have now a new resolve to think before I eat. As a result of either my binging weekend or the fact that I gain 2kg during this particular time of the month, my weight was up - I decided not to record it this week and wait for the coming Friday for things to even out. I guess it has made me realise that like changing any habit it is going to take time before I can eat only what I need without focussing completely on it almost every minute of the day to make sure I'm not piling the food into my mouth. I also need to plan ahead. I have two more weekends away coming up, one for my devine niece's Christening and one out to Charleville to visit my parents and test our skills at setting up the camper trailer.....so I'll have to make a plan of action! Sometime before Friday...

Emily xoxo

Results...

Well my new way of [trying to] thinking about food has paid off. This week I lost a massive 2.2kgs!!! It wasn't an easy week in some ways, yet in others it was a breeze. I didn't feel like I was on a diet, rather I felt like I could eat whatever I wanted - the difference was that I didn't eat just because I could. The hard part was finding food in my mouth or hand on my way to my mouth, without having made the concious choice to eat. I found it very interesting questioning myself when I thought I was hungry only to find I was feeling bored or tired.

I think I probably have cut back the quantity of food I consume buy up to 3/4, and I'm not hungry. I feel satisfied and happy - ewww you all say - yes I was way over eating ALL the time.

This week I'm focusing on expecting a little more from myself at the gym and continuing my good work from last week.

On a very very very exciting note, my tax return will be enough to cover the operation Marko has to have for us to have kids!! He has an appointment in November with the specialist then the op will be in January!!! Yay!!

Emily xoxo

My mission!

Back in July I posted on my health and fitness - made several goals and stuck to only one of them. I started my discussion group on facebook and have tried to regularly post there with my buds who are also trying to get healthier. A few weeks into our discussion groups existence, Tam heard about a book on Oprah called 'Women, Food and God' by Geneen Roth. We decided that we should do an online book club around the book and all purchased a copy. Initially I got about halfway through and then got distracted by school. So last week after talking at length with my gorgeous cousing Isla, I picked it up again and started reading from the beginning.

This book is going to CHANGE MY LIFE.

I am thinking about food differently, I am thinking about why I want to eat when I reach for food when I'm not hungry, and I'm trying to live in the here and now. Now some of you may think 'So What?' but for me this is a BIG BIG deal. I eat when I am sad, bored, happy, lonely, excited, tired, frustrated, worried - basically anytime I'll eat - but usually I'm really not hungry. I'm what Geneen refers to as a Permitter - I constantly allow myself to just eat what I want when I want with no thought about whether A: I'm hungry or B:if I'm hungry then what food does my body need and want. I just eat whatever I can get my hands on and usually a lot of it.

I think the other part of this book that appeals to me is the fact that she is trying to teach her readers to trust their innate judgement. I have always believed my judgement was flawed. I find it insanely hard to make decisions and often let others decide for me. What I am learning through reading this book and trying to get in touch with my body is that if I listen to what my body wants, not what my mind is telling me I want, I will eat appropriately and eventually I will reach my healthy weight. I know it's kinda radical. Geneen descibes diets as simply a means to punish ourselves for being overweight and that because we aren't really in touch with or listening to our body it can't be sustained. Makes sense to me!

Therefore I have decided to use this book as my guide. I have spent the last two days focussing on my body and what it needs for fuel. I have been suprised by how little I have needed and amazed at the difference between what my body appears to need and the quantity I have been eating. No wonder I'm overweight!

I have also been reading Cathy Zielske's blog (she's lost about 20kg this year) and one of the things I love is that she has been taking photos in her bathroom mirror to document the change in her body. So here's mine for now:

I'm also doing a 12 week challenge with my friend Sonia - my challenge is to go to the gym 3 times per week and to eat only when I'm hungry.... Week one just finished and I lost 200gms...better than nothing I say.

Here's to getting healthy!!

Emily xoxo

Random Notes on a Friendship album - by Moira Coates

This beautiful album was made specially for me by the very talented and beautiful Moira Coates. She made it as a gift for me when we moved from Warwick to Roma in 2008. I miss this woman so much, her friendship is so important to me.

So enjoy looking at this amazing album which celebrates our years of friendship.

Emily xoxo

Dicky Beach holiday album - in progress

Here it is so far! I still have quite a few pages to add and some to put on the rear of the patterned pages already created. I am happy with the overall look so far and can't wait to start taking the pictures for it when we go on holidays.



Emily xoxo

Holiday album

Inspiration struck in a major way over the weekend and I pulled out a Kaiser album that I've had for at least 12 months and I decided to turn it into a holiday mini album. I was inspired by my dear friend Moira who created all the the pages of her road trip album (seen here) prior to going on her holiday. She then took the album and a small stash that all co-ordinated with her papers and she added photos and postit notes of what they did as they travelled. When she got home there wasn't too much more to do with it other than to print out journalling and add titles and extra embellishments. Inspiring isn't she!

So I have set about creating a 'Dicky Beach' mini album. This Christmas will be our third year going to Dicky Beach caravan park camping. My entire family goes, and this year we have tried to book four joining sites (well I still haven't booked so we'll see where we end up). I am planning to have the whole mini album covered and additional pages added before leaving for the holiday. Over the two weeks I will take lots of pics and get them printed down there and add them in while it's all fresh. I haven't photographed what I've done so far, but I'll do that for you all tomorrow. In the meantime, check out Moira's road trip album. I LOVE it and she's had it published in a magazine - I forget which one.

Emily xoxo

A return to the land of Blogging..

OH how slack I have been!! I can't believe it has been so long since I posted. Just so you are aware - the last few weeks of a school term you are unlikely to hear from me. I also promised my hubbie I would try to keep the computer off during our two weeks holiday - and amazingly I did!

So what have I been up to? Not a lot scrapping or smocking wise. Last night I went to a stitch, scrap and socialise cancer council fundraiser and had a lovely time. I got seriously paid out because I took my whole scrap stash (I hadn't organised what I was going to work on so I just took everything) and met some lovely people. I am planning on going each Tuesday night. It is technically a patchwork night each Tuesday but Becc tells me that she goes and scraps. So perhaps I will start getting a little more accomplished. I got one 30 x 30 layout nearly completed last night - will post a photo when it is finished. I laughed a lot and really enjoyed getting out and scrapping. Yay!!

Emily xoxo

Scrapbooking Weekend

What a weekend!

6 or 7 friends, 2 motel rooms, 3 days, 2 nights, a conference room, lots of snacks, great food and a room full of scrapbooking supplies.

I loaded up the car (below) and drove to Toowoomba. 4 hours of listening to the audio unabridged reading of Eclipse and I arrived. Moira had booked two rooms at the Grammer View Motel. I was sharing with Moira and Michaela. We started scrapping on the Friday and kept going until Sunday.






Our tables...



Moira had organised a range of challenges for us to complete,



Then because we all finished those challenges, she set us some more!!



It was such a great weekend. The others finished amazing amounts of layouts, however I took the slow and steady approach and am thoroughly delighted with all of my layouts.

This one is not finished yet, I'll post the finished product...needs stitching and flowers!!

I am planning to journal in brown around the very edge of this layout, but won't do so until I'm am happy with what I've written!

Ahhh my other hobby. The art of smocking, this layout shows the process of pleating a full yoke.

My very late creation for one of the circle journals that are well overdue to be finished. Unfortunately some have been lost...not happy about that. I guess if we ever embark upon another of these we will keep it within a smaller group and meet to exchange the journals.

I'm really really pleased with this one. There is a pocket with a journalling tag behind the photo. It reads : "When your birthday party started you were dressed as a beautiful fairy. After three hours of fun with your friends, you had lost your wings, your fairy outfit, your shoes and your hair was no longer perfectly arranged. Sitting on the lounge, singing loudly with your dad, you were a perfectly contented fallen fairy."

I'm not happy with how I did the journalling on this one. I plan on typing it and printing it out and laying it over what I hand wrote. It is the chorus of the Brandan Walmsley song titled "Bottle Tree Lane" - Remember the good things the good Lord has given, Remember that love will remain, Here's to the wonderful life that we're living, We owe it to Bottle Tree Lane, Don't forget Bottle Tree Lane.

This song never fails to bring tears to my eyes, it is just beautiful and was written about Heroes Avenue here in Roma. Each of the bottle trees represents a soldier who died serving in WW1. The Roma district lost 136 sons which was a huge number for such a small community.

My beautiful Mum and her two grandchildren, my niece and nephew, Ele and Jonah. I took this picture on our beach holiday at Caloundra Christmas '09. I actually completed this layout when I got home, while I was still inspired!

Emily xoxo