How cool is this!!!

I found this amazing piece of art the other day on the internet!! The Artist is Su Blackwell! I am sooo going to attempt this one day!!! Totally cool!

Home:

I hope to be working full time soon and in March I start my degree again! I will be super busy!

Right now my focus is on home! Cleaning, organising, moving things around, adding things, and creating things! Neil and I have been talking about buying a nice big house in about two years time! That gives us enough time to save money, to keep the repayments low! We intend on renting our current house out as an investment property. In the meantime we are doing gardening, buying stuff, etc, to make this house super comfortable and pretty to live in!

At the moment I am hunting for ideas to create funky little things and furniture for around the house! It's getting a total transformation!

My Struggle!

My relationship with is Neil is like a dream come true! At this moment it is a struggle. Neils ex-wife is bringing so much stress into our lives! It is not fair. There is no parenting order set with Neils son Callum, so Neil's ex is taking him for a ride! Ever since I have come into the picture (6 months ago) she hasn't been letting Neil see his son! 8 days in 6 months, pathetic! Now Callum doesn't even ring Neil and when Neil rings Callum it is difficult because she is standing near! Now she wants to move 4 hours away!!!! We have already gone and seen a lawyer and today we have to go again at 4pm! I am feel so stressed right now! It is my lawyer so it brings back bad memories! (and my case is still not over with). But I have to support Neil as I know alot about the family law (now), but it is so hard! I have never ever had to deal with an ex before!

BOYS!!!!

Just thought I would post these quickly! My boys are little buggers, they fight all of the time!!!! Take the above for example! They can't even sit next to each other without one doing something to the other!

Tree of LIFE!

This is our first ever family photo, since meeting Neil six months ago! Photo was taken at the Adelaide zoo! This layout will be the first LO / title page of our family album! I had so much fun with this one! It was totally Klimt inspired! I Hence the title! I used alot of beads, colouerd studs, buttons, sequins, little flowers and punched out circles! To make it stand out I went around the tree and branches with a black felt tip pen!
Off to collect my boys, Cheers Lisa!

Owen Art!

Owen and Caleb:
Owen drew this cool little picture of Neil, me Callum, Caleb and himself! Cute hey! Owen is 6 and really into x-box and very good at it to! He hates homework (reading and spelling with a passion), he is so slow at getting dressed in the mornings but loves the car rides to school (we all sing). Caleb is 4 and loves the trampoline, hits people without notice (grrrrr) and LOVES his FOOD!

Scrapbooking:
I have almost finished scrapping our first family pic! Will post soon!
Life:
Neil and myself have been a bit stressed out the past two days! His ex-wife is extrememly jealous of me! I don't even know her! (She is just about to get re-married and has 18 month old son). Unfortunately for Neil she isn't allowing him to see his son! He has seen him 8 days in 6 months! How sad is that! (and he is such a wonderful boy). Now we have gone to a lawyer to get a parenting order! Stressful times, I don't really need this in my life again! Anyway we will get thru this! I have had the boys this week which makes these times even harder! Neil and I are not going to let this effect us!
Weekend Plans:
We have a good weekend coming up! On Friday night we are having a games night at my parents house with my brother and his girlfriend! Mum, Emily and I are going to make cocktails (margaritas and Fruit-tingles my two favourites) and the boys will just have beer! Not to sure what we are going to have for tea, who carers, lol! On Saturday I get to see my cousin who lives in Melb and her three kids, 5, 3, and 6 months! On Saturday night Neil and I are going out for tea just the two of us to celebrate being together for 6 months! I think we will just end up walking down to the local pub. I often get a yummy Chicken Kiev and baked potatoe, and pig-out on buttered hot corn! (I love yummy food as u can tell). Chill out day on Sunday!!!

More Mini Albums

Love my bloG:
Now that I have finished uni for the year I seem to be posting quite a bit! Feels quite good to write down everything that is going on in this head of mine!
Mini Albums:
I made these two little albums, they are basic, nothing stunning! They will both be heading off to Scotland asap! The little tiny black and white album is a photo of Neil's sister she is 28 and lost her baby (she was in the early months of pregnancy). I didn't know what else to give her! I hope she likes it! My mum brought it for me at spotlight ($7.00, pretty good ) it is very thick and expands out to showcase other pics!
6 Months together!
Yesterday was the 13th of the month, which means that Neil and I have now been together for 6 months! Wow!!! We are going out to dinner Saturday just the two of us!!
My boys!
I have kept my two chickens home from school today! I missed out on having them on the weekend because of Amy's birthday and my ex took them to a family picnic on the Sunday! I am going to take them out for lunch soon, and to the shops so I can get some idea of what they both want for x-mas. Then to the playground lucky boys! Might take some pics of them mucking about! (Seems like ages since I have done that). When we get home Owen wants to write santa a letter! (very cute, must scrapbook that!).
Scrapbooking:
Neil won't be getting home from work until 6pm, so I might get I chance to scrapbook! I feel gulity when he is at home and I do! (So I rush, rush rush to get some scraping time in). I am working on a family layout at the moment. It's coming along ok, kinda of annoying, but that's scrapbooking! Next month is my birthday and my parents and Neil are giving me some money, so I can't wait to stock up on my supplies!

Anger and Tolerance!

Amy's birthday!
I went to Amy's birthday party on Saturday night and had a wonderful time. The food / drink was totally yummy, the company was fantastic but something else hit me Saturday night. Amy's friend Julie, who I have known for years pulled on my 'soul strings' so to speak. I asked Julie if she had been up to anything interesting lately. She told me she just got back from a trip to Borneo to observe the monkeys in there natural habitat. I had to laugh at that one. Far out, how amazing is that! I really want to travel one day!
Today's Vent:
I have to vent my fustration right now! No family members know about my blog expect Neil! I have a family member (cousin) who is 30 years old! She just brought a house, has a nice car, good job and has been going out with the same guy now for 2 years. All good! Her and her sister (31) are the two most selfish people I have ever met! All they care about are themselves and they are rude (in-directly, if u know what I mean). Whenever I have some sort of interaction with either of them, I am left feeling about bad about myelf, hurt and so very angry. I spoke to one of them on Sunday and I still can't get over the phone conversation and it's MONDAY!!!! She has made me so angry! She is one of those 'no it all's' and is soooooo judgemental about everyone and everything! One topic that has left me this way is 'motherhood'. She has NO children. But she knows everything about children! Grrrr mate I can't stand people like this!!!! I have decided for my own good to NOT have anything more to do with her!
Anyway this picture above is my best friend Amy! She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. One of my motto's in life is to surround myself with people who are positive and compassionate! Amy is one of these people! Amazing she is! She totally rocks my world!
If you have a family member and or friend that makes you feel bad about being YOU!!! Then GET THEM OUT OF YOUR LIFE! You don't need them!!!

I love this passage about anger:
"The destructive effects of hatred are very visible, very obvious and immediate. For example, when a strong or forceful thought of hatred arises, at that very instant it overwhelms one totally and destroys one's peace and presence of mind. If we examine how anger or hateful thoughts arise in us, we will find that, generally speaking, they arise when we feel hurt, when we feel that we have been unfairly treated by someone against our expectations. If one reacts to a situation in a negative way instead of in a tolerant way, not only is there no immediate benefit, but also a negative attitude and feeling is created which is the seed of one's future downfall. The only factor that can give refuge or protection from the destructive effects of anger and hatred is the practice of tolerance and patience."

And thus this one about tolerance:
"Patience is like a beautiful ornament. When you become a person with great patience, it brings a certain element of charm to your life. You are loved by others, and you give no problems to your friends. You bring an element of joy, happiness, and calmness to other people's lives - your friends, your family, and the community. You do not have to ask to be accepted; everyone longs for your presence. Everyone looks up to you and respects you, not because you have worked for that or expected it, not because you were competing for their favor, but simply because of the nature of patience. You are respected and trusted, and you acquire dignity with the practice of patience. When you are honored, it is with sincerity, and it is something you can live up to".

~SpEcIaL yOu~

Finally got a layout done!! Finished this off yesterday!!! Neils birthday! Page lifts up to 7 pics that I have posted below! Used bits and pieces of papers, star template, circle punch, paint to do the dots, paper frills, lots of ribbon, etc. Had fun with this one!

Funky Little ArTiSt!

It's my best friends birhday and she is having a birthday dinner a Cha Chi's, a yummy Mexican restaurant Saturday night! Neil and I will be going so it should be a relaxing night!
Amy is a funky little artist! So I brought her an artist box (put her name etc, on it), some oil paints, 2 art cavas, a palette and some cool brushes. She paints all sorts of wicked stuff! She is like me, a lover of abstract art! She is very retro and hippy and her room is the coolest thing ever! (Should take some pics). She has a massive and I mean massive canvas of yellow and oranges swirl circles above her bed! She paints funky fairies that look "Totally cool"! She has beads hanging all over the place in her house, ohhh I could go on and on! So cool to have an interesting, unqiue and amazing friend like Amy in my life! A layout will be coming soon!

THE SUPRISE!

In about two hours my boys will come home to this! I put the tree up!!! My tree is like over six foot and has some 300 coloured lights! It looks stunning at night! They will love it!! Kids just love christmas! I haven't decorated the rest of the house just yet, will do that bit by bit! Luv me!

BIG SMILE! I have finished uni for the year!

I have finished uni for the year!!! Yes yes yes!!! I had a 3 hour exam today!!!!! That's it!!!! Yer baby, freedom man and it feels soooooooo good!!!!!! But I am so tired let me tell you!!!

I have the weekend all sorted out!! Andrew (my ex) has my boys this weekend and Neil has Callum (his son) here!!! So I have hired myself LOTS of DVD's and I intended on scrapbooking all weekend "Yes!!" Lucky me!!!! I just got home from spotlight (local craft store) with heaps of cool little things to get me inspired! I have spent soooo much money on scrapbooking things lately! But I have to get so much done! I have to finish an 8x8 mini album for a wedding present to send to Scotland! (Have started that atleast). I have to stamp the middle of 50 christmas cards and write in them!!! I still need to find some nice red or green envelopes. (I can't seem to find any). And I still need to buy some x-mas stamps and decorate the envelope covers! My next project is decorating a tiny little expandable 5x5 mini album for Neils sister who just told us yesterday that she lost her baby (she was 2 months pregnant). I also picked up some pics I got developed today of Neils birthday so I would really like to have a nice layout completed for his album! Ohh and I forgot I want to finish my Elsie challenge #13 on two peas (it is to scrap a favourite saying).

I am off to have a nice relaxing bath and to look pretty before Neil gets home from work!!! After that I WILL be having me a couple of crusier's to chill out!!!! Then Neil and I are heading off to Port Wakefield to collect Callum! I love the nice country drive in the car and we both sing along to the music. (lucky for me he is into all the top 40 music).

Cheers Lisa!

Photo's from Neil's Birthday!!!

Photo's from Neils 42nd Birthday (just my family, as all of Neils family are all in Scottland). We are having a big BBQ in 2-3 weeks! (we have just been so super busy plus we want to make the backyard nice and hang pixie lights on the trees and those rope lights on the pergola. Yesterday was fun!!!! I brought Neil this silly hat to wear, it had candles on the top, lol! He loved it and wore it, nothing seems to bother him!!! (even looking a wee bit funny). When he walked in the door after work I had this cute bunch of animal balloons sitting in the passage way!!! he, he!! After he grabbed a beer (like he always does after work) I gave him his first present a charm that snaps in half for us to both to wear. He loved it!!
My parents brought take away, chicken, chips which made it so easy! I just brought the dessert and donuts (for the boys). Anyway this is my family! My parents, my brother (who is pulling a stupid face and has done that in photos as a kid, little bugger) and Em my brothers girlfriend of nearly eight years! OMG!!!! I am sooooo waiting for them to get married so I can be an aunty!!!
When everyone left and my boys went to bed I gave Neil his other presents! A Holden top, a four pack of soccer DVD's (the best highlights) and a cordless phone (with 4 handsets). One for the lounge, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom :D So cool to be lazy!!!