2010 - My year in review (Part 2)

So... I am back to share more of my year and fave LO's with you.

JULY

We signed the contract to sell our house this month so most of it was spent packing, packing and packing! Other than packing, we continued with our usual routine and training for city to surf. Mason is now 6 months old and growing so fast... I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a guest CT for Stuck?! Sketches bonus sketch for August and the LO I did for this was my fave for the month. "Bathtime is Giggle time":

AUGUST

August was moving month. Unsure of how long we would be homeless and having no alternate arrangements, we reluctantly moved in with my inlaws. Anthony and I also ran the city to surf for the Illawarra Coal team. I was very happy with my time of 73 minutes. Anthony's mines rescue team won the local competition - well done, boys! I also attended the Savvy-Delights Retreat this month and had the best time scrapbooking with all my scrappy friends :) Here is a fave LO I completed at the retreat, "2 peas in a pod". It was the Savvy sketch challenge for the month and won a prize in a competition at the retreat!

SEPTEMBER

After running the city to surf, I felt I needed a new challenge. So.... I decided to run a half marathon. Thanks to the generosity of many of my friends, I was able to raise over $1300 for the McGrath Foundation. I completed the run in 1 hour 50 minutes. I'm no Kerryn McCann, but I thought it wasn't too bad, being only 8 months since having a baby. I also did a little casual work and got a trip to Melbourne that month! On the scrapping side of things, I completed very few LO's, but here's one I was pretty happy with, "Bad Santa" (Savvy ABC challenge). The journalling tells a funny story:

OCTOBER

October was crazy... we bought a house, Anthony was away a lot training for and competing in the Australian mines rescue competition in Queensland - his team came 3rd. My Nanna took a turn for the worse and sadly passed away. It was tough. Her funeral brought the family together which was a positive thing to come out of such a sad time. At the end of the month I was lucky enough to go to the SFS retreat. Here are two of my fave LO's from the retreat. The first I did for the quote challenge, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away":

.... and this one for the Savvy ABC challenge, "If only...":

NOVEMBER

Another crazy month - two big and very fun days out were Melbourne cup and Sar's 30th. We moved into our new place and Anthony's team competed in the International Mines Rescue comp and won... we were so proud! We managed to escape Wollongong for a while for a family holiday to Queensland at the end of the month. Mason began crawling... On the scrapbooking front, I only managed 4 LO's. Here is my fave "That cheeky look":

DECEMBER

Still on holidays this month, we met up with our good friends, Ben & Alicia and their munchkins for a couple of days and a photo shoot with Red Door Photography. Then back to reality and more unpacking and sorting through boxes... lots of Christmas parties too. Jared finally went up a level in swimming and got to ring the bell! Mason is now climbing up on the furniture and is very close to taking his first step! Still a few days of 2010 to go so I doubt I will get much more scrapping done! Again, I couldn't decide which LO was my fave so this one is "Me and my boys" for a Savvy CC challenge:

... and this one is "Love my mum":

Such a hectic year... I wonder what 2011 will bring?

2010 - My year in review (Part 1)

What a year! 2010 seemed to have a bit of everything for me and my family, from the joys of welcoming a new baby into the world to saying a very sad goodbye to our beloved "Nanna", Anthony's team winning the local and international mines rescue competitions, selling our house, living with the inlaws and moving to a new house! I thought that since I only started my blog recently, I would share some highlights of my year along with a favourite layout for each month.

JANUARY

On January 6th, we welcomed our baby boy, "Mason Anthony" into the world! OMG, I can't believe it has almost been a whole year since his birth! He is now such a treasured member of our family and has such a little personality! We love him to bits. We also celebrated Jared's 3rd birthday with a party with his little friends and a family get together.... needless to say that I was a busy Mummy that month and had no time to scrapbook! So.... here is a photo of my boy, Mason with proud Dad and big brother.

FEBRUARY

In February, I had a little more time and energy to get back into scrapbooking and running. Started off slow and steady with a total of 8 LO's for the month and about 2 to 3 short runs a week. Here is one of my fave LO's for the month. It was a Scrapbook Savvy 5-4-3-2-1 challenge. My husband and soul mate, Anthony.

MARCH

We enjoyed a short family holiday in Darling Harbour this month which included trips to the zoo, Powerhouse museum and Luna Park. But the best part had to the the ride on the monorail... or was it the ferry ride?! It was great to just get away and enjoy time together. My fave LO for the month is of Jared "laughing at the waves". This one won the Savvy Guest DT spot for April! Yay me!

APRIL

April was routine month with pre-school, swimming lessons, playgroup and gymnastics. I was also lucky enough to finally meet up with my best friend from highschool after 17 years! The LO I like best from April was a double of the kids at Belmore Basin for "Playgroup at the beach":

MAY

More effort was put into getting back into shape this month. I took up PT sessions with a good friend of mine and started training for the city to surf. I just love this photo of Jared and Mason, so the LO "You crack me up" has to be my fave for May!

JUNE

June was a big month for us.... we bought a block of land and began making arrangements to sell our house! I still managed to do a bit of scrapbooking in between.... but I couldn't choose a fave from these two:

"Becoming Mrs. Zanotto"

and "The romance of Italy":

Well, that's half the year done... I will be back soon to share more LO's very soon! Thanks for looking :)

A few pages to share...

I was lucky enough to spend half a day at Scrapbook Savvy Crop on Tuesday so I got busy and came up with these two layouts:


"Muay Thai Fighter" for the Savvy December Sketch Challenge.... is of my good friend Janet fighting her 2nd Muay Thai fight. She worked so hard for this and deserved the win. Congrats, Janet, I am so proud of you xx





The second one is the December 15th Stuck?! Sketch. I called it "Dinner for the better halves".... couldn't help myself!! Sorry boys :) It is me and Sar at a dinner to celebrate our husbands mines rescue team's win at the local competition and their 3rd place at the Australian titles!





That makes a total of 4 LO's for the month of December. Hmmmm.... can't say I am happy with that but it is the "silly season"!

Purple Challenge for Savvy

I decided to have a go at Anthea's purple challenge over at Scrapbook Savvy. Apparently there are a lot of scrappers who either have trouble scrapping in purple or just don't like it. Not me! Purple has always been my favourite colour so I really enjoyed this challenge.... and I had the perfect photo for it. Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to catch up with my best friend from school who I had not seen in 17 years. It was funny as it felt just like old times. This one is for you, Lisa!

Here is my take: Reminiscing about the good old times....

Bye for now :)

Remembering Nan

Earlier in the year, my beloved Nan passed away. She was a much loved member of our family. I just wanted to share a LO I did of her on her wedding day using the December Stuck?! Sketch.... She made such a beautiful bride:





That's the only scrapping I have managed to do this month :o(

Until next time....

Big Day at Swimming

On Monday, Jared finally got to ring the bell at swimming after a year of trying... after spending a few weeks in QLD in the pool everyday with his older cousins, something clicked and he gained so much confidence. Here he is proudly ringing that bell:

...happily showing off his certificate....

And here is his proud little brother, Mason watching on:

Just thought I'd share that as we have been waiting a long time to see him become a "stingray".

Back to reality....

You know you've had a fantastic holiday when you've put on a few kilos and couldn't care less.... but it's back to reality for me and my boys after returning from a 3 week holiday to Queensland. We have had such a hectic year with so many changes that we sooooo needed to just get away and enjoy ourselves!

Shopping at the factory outlets, swimming, visiting Dreamworld, swimming, catching up with old friends, swimming, sight-seeing and of course swimming were just a few of the things we enjoyed. Here is one of my favourite photos from our trip..... Anthony, me and our 2 water babies!

Needless to say I have 1001 things to do now that we are back and Christmas is fast approaching. OMG, just a wee bit overwhelmed! Still unpacking from the move to our new house and all that christmas shopping and get-togethers to plan. But it's all good. I LOVE this time of year!

Don't think much scrapbooking will be happening in the coming weeks and I am just a little disappointed I missed out on the Savvy xmas cybercrop and class.... so, here is a LO I did for my 52 week (52 Things About Me) album that is xmas related. Just because it is my most favourite time of the year!

Bye for now :)

I have my 'L' plates on!

Hello!!!!!!!!!!! OMG.... I finally have a blog!!! For anyone who knows me, I have been avoiding this for a while now but I finally gave in. Anyway.... I am currently enjoying a few weeks away with my awesome boys in Queensland so plenty of spare time between sight-seeing to set up this blog.

We spent a fun-filled 7 nights at the Gold Coast with my sister and her family, visiting Dreamworld, factory outlets and just hanging out with the kids at the pool. Now we are in Noosa and will be heading to Brisbane tomorrow to stay with some of our good friends Mel & Dan. Can't wait!!! I have to say that I am kicking myself for not packing my scrapping stuff...argh!!! But, hopefully I can figure out how to share my latest scrap pages with you, even though I can't remember the last time I scrapped!

I did this one of my baby Mason for the Scrapbook Savvy November random kit challenge:

Here is one I did of my boys for the "quote challenge" at the SFS retreat with a little help from my good friend, Alicia!

Another two I did for Peta and Kate because they were kind enough to sponsor me to run a half marathon in September this year:

For Peta:

For Kate:

Thanks for looking :)