NEW BUSINESS VENTURE

Click on any of the images above to be taken to the Homestyle Hampers website - hampers with a difference! (Delivery to all suburbs in the Sydney metro area).

Please pass along to family and friends as well, in particular anyone who owns a business and is looking for quality hampers for Christmas.

I've Been Tagged (for the first time)!
Okay, not quite sure if I have the energy for this but here goes - I've been tagged by Pepperina Press. The rules are as follows:

Share seven random facts about yourself, then tag seven people at the end of your post and list their names – let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

1. I didn't speak English until I started Kindergarden (6 years old). I spoke an Italian dialect up until that age because that is what was spoken at home. I had to do ESL (English as a Second Language) classes at school and whilst today that is no big deal, back then it was a cause for bullying etc. Wish I could tell all those bullies that I ended up speaking and writing English better than they could - I topped the state in English for my HSC (Higher School Certificate). Success really is the best revenge...

2. I used to love dogs as a little girl but when I was about 8 or 10 years old, I got spooked by my grandmother's next door neighbour's dogs (big scary Dobermans). I started to run and of course they chased me. I tripped right in front of my grandmother's front steps and the dogs were hovering over me...Since then I have been afraid of dogs - and I particularly don't like them jumping or licking (a thing I guess most dogs do lol!)

3. Fortunately, I don't have the big hair photos here to share with you... but I too suffered quite badly from this syndrome. I had hair I really, really liked then in the 4th grade my mum decided to chop it all off. I was teased and subsequently scarred for life - to this day I'm very weary of drastic haircuts. But watching my friend deal with breast cancer this week and the inevitable loss of her hair, I realise hair isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. It does tend to define us but it's not the be all and end all.

4. Wow, still only up to 4...let me think... I did well in my HSC and in another lifetime I was a solicitor (lawyer).I studied for 5 years, gaining a combined Arts/Law degree and then went on to do the required 15 weeks at the College of Law (I attended at the same time as the PM's daughter Melanie - who had free security car parking while the rest of us had to catch the crowded train from a million miles away and then hike on foot to the College - but that's another story!) Anyway, I practised Law for 2 years but then gave it away because I couldn't stand the sexism and elitism ingrained in the profession!

5. I'm jumping all over the place here but my honeymoon to Hawaii (gorgeous by the way) was the only time I've travelled overseas. As a teenager I was always full of travel dreams...but then life kind of got busy (studying, working, getting married, working, having kids etc) and the dream got put on the back burner. I was never fond of flying anyway and at the moment I'm not that fussed. Don't get me wrong - I would still love to visit all these far away places but I don't have the same burning desire to do so.

6. The only time I have been in hospital is to have my two children. Although, the removal of glass in my hand might be the 3rd time!

7. I have a piece of lead pencil or at least a mark from it embedded in my hand from where I stabbed myself with a pencil whilst cleaning (I know that sounds strange, but it's a long story) and now I have a 0.6cm piece of glass embedded in the same hand!!

Okay, now I tag ...ummm...oh crap, I can't think of anyone who hasn't already been tagged.... so I'll just invite people to share 7 random facts about themselves and maybe comment here that you have done so! I promise I'll stop by and read your blogs :)

SOME RECENT WORK
More detail can be seen on my site (as soon as I upload these new pics). Below is some more of the letter art I have been indulging in lately, as well as a few guest books...

BREAST CANCER
I found out over the weekend that one of my closest friends has been diagnosed with breast cancer. It seems so unreal because she is only 29 years old and has no family history of breast cancer. She found a lump while breast feeding and immediately went to the doctor.

The lesson my friend wants us all to heed is to check ourselves regularly and if there is something out of the ordinary or if we are not sure about a change in our breasts then see a doctor.

My friend is very strong and we have no doubt she will pull through this, however, as she prepares to be operated on, please say a little prayer for her.

I bought her the angel pictured above from an Etsy store called GlassCat - I just have to wait for it to arrive from the United States.

MEDICAL DISASTERS
How bad have I been with my blog?! Time to catch up... lots has been happening both on the workfront and personal front, but for now I'll give you a rundown of the medical disasters!

Disaster 1
I went to the local doctor after having the ultrasound on my finger, so that she could remove the piece of glass (see previous posts for how this all started)! I got to two injections to numb my finger and they absolutely killed - rosanna, if you're reading this, i thought of you as I lay on that bed, and thought there's no way sana would stay! lol

Then she sliced my finger open and proceeded to dig around in it... at one stage she even left to go and have a look at the ultrasound notes which were in her room. Eventually, she declared that she couldn't get it and would have to send me to a specialist...so I achieved nothing!

Disaster 2
I went to see the specialist and paid a substantial amount of money for a 5 minute visit! And again I felt like nothing was achieved. He told me to think about how much it was bothering me and to consider whether I just want to leave it in my finger! Great! Apparently, it will not travel or get infected, however if it has to be removed, I'll have to go to hospital and be put under full anaesthetic and there will still be no guarantee that they can find the 0.6cm piece of glass (because it is clear). There's also the risk of them touching a nerve which would mean loss of feeling in the side of that finger.

I'm really torn about what to do! My finger does hurt - sometimes I get a stabbing pain - well it is glass after all! But the operation sounds like too much of a major deal - so do I just leave it? Anyone have an opinion on this?

Moral of the story - don't go breaking glass with your bare hands - unless it's coloured so it can be spotted by surgeons when they need to remove it!

Disaster 3
In this one I'm not the patient but it's quite funny so I just had to share! My son was ill with what we thought was constipation after he screamed for a whole day and night straight. I walked to the local Dr becuase my husband had taken the car with my other son. That was the first mistake. It was only a 15 minute walk but I'm so unfit that by the time I got there I felt like I had run a marathon! Not good!
The receptionist told me to come back in an hour or so because the surgery was full but there was no way I was walking back and then back again!! Are you crazy?! So I settled in for what I knew would be a long wait - feels like quadruple the wait time when you are trying to entertain and keep a 2 year old still!

Whilst sitting there my son decides to have his much anticipated bowel movement... I had a peek and his nappy was FULL...and it STUNK! The receptionist said I could use the back room to change him (where they sliced my finger open) so off I trotted with the pram, my son and bags in tow. I lay him on the table (hoping hoping hoping that in his usual wriggly, screaming nappy change time demeanour he would not get poo on the table!)

I undid the nappy and was met with a mess... I reached over to dig into the bag for the baby wipes and then to my utter horror I realised they were not in the bag! AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought about screaming out to the receptionist but she was all the way down the hallway and the surgery was packed...and I thought no, that's stupid. She'll think I'm an idiot! I quickly glanced around the room looking for even a box of tissues, at the same time thinking "are there cameras in here? am I going to be caught 'stealing'?" So I rummaged through my handbag and located a few crumpled up tissues (thankfully unused lol) and proceeded to try and wipe his bum... has anyone ever tried to clean up poo with a dry tissue? It doesn't work! Again, I started frantically looking around the room, all the while holding my squirming son down with one hand... I noticed a packet of wipes... I turned them around to read the label and it said something like "sterilised wipes" - I wasn't sure what they were sterilised with and whether they would be safe to use so I abandoned that idea too. In the end I just had to leave him half cleaned and quickly do up his nappy.

Next problem - I had no bag to put the extremely dirty nappy in! Solution - stuff it in the front of his back pack! Needless to say, I had to air it and sterilise it when I got home! I sat in that waiting room hoping nobody could smell it!

There was more drama to follow when my son threw a massive tantrum, driving one patient out of the surgery - my son has an ear piercing scream that could shatter glass (maybe I should have used him instead of my hand to escape the study?!)... and then a quick stop in the supermarket turned into further panic when the cashier asked to look in the backpack...luckily she didn't ask me to open the front zip where the stinky, dirty nappy was!! Phew!

Okay I'll stop now - if you got through all the above medical disasters you have far more patience than I do :)

P.S. Will post pics of the stuff I've been working on in the next few days.

THERE IS GLASS IN MY FINGER!!
I'm typing this quickly from my sister's becuase my phone line and internet have been down since Wednesday afternoon and the phone company can't fix it until Monday! I have been so angry because it is a business line and will definitely be lodging an official complaint - stay tuned for the fireworks!!

In other news, there is glass in my finger. I had to go have an ultrasound to locate it - it is .6cm long! They are going to remove it this afternoon - I'm a bit concerned because the doctor kept talking about a lot of blood and not knowing how long it would take to see the actual glass! Great!!!

In yet another update, I took my son to his first full day at daycare and he absolutely loved it! I didn't have a problem at all, although I'm bracing myself for tantrums in the future! lol

I have lots of scrapping work to do this weekend so better be off!

MY LITTLE MAN TURNS 2

Can't believe that last Friday my little man turned 2 years old! Feels like just yesterday we were at the hospital having him! How time flies!

We had a small ricotta baked cheesecake for him that night (he's already got a taste for the good stuff!) Then on the Sunday we had a joint birthday/Father's Day celebration with family where he got his much loved Wiggles cake. He couldn't take his eyes off it...loved all his Wiggles gifts and cards as well! My sister-in-law Barbara (heavily pregnant) made the Wiggles cake - isn't she talented?

And this is the cake she made for him for his 1st birthday last year when we had a farmyard theme! I could NEVER create something like this...not even close!

Okay, and now some more letter art that I finished - a "P" for Preston and a "D" for Dad. More pics of both letters on my site :)

September Feature Artist

Begurple

Artist: Lauren

Age: 25 years old (DOB 13th September)
Star Sign: Virgo
Location: Canberra, Australia
Interests: Designing & creating new and colourful things, singing in the kitchen and car, collecting material/fabrics, cooking (in the musical kitchen), music, viewing other people's amazing creations on Etsy and elsewhere, movies (all sorts), TV (too much), sleeping (not enough!)

Website: http://begurple.etsy.com/

This month we are pleased to feature up and coming designer Lauren from Begurple who describes herself as a boring public servant by day and a "mad crafter" by night, with "feather and fabric scraps flying everywhere". Her Etsy store features fabric flower creations, hair clips, brooches and more recently hand-bag gift cards like the one featured above. There are also plans for a line of butterfly mobiles, but Lauren's greatest passion lies in the making of her fascinators - described as "fun and fancy hair accessories for special occasions". They are suitable for everything from weddings to a day at the races to cocktail parties and even fancy dress galas.

Lauren cites colour and texture as the two most important elements in her designs saying she "puts a lot of thought into each piece to produce one-of-a-kind items that I can be proud of...I create unique, colourful pieces that are glamorous, sexy and fun to wear". The listings in Lauren's store are a testament to this.

Lauren has always been

"hopelessly creative" and says she "can never find enough time to make all the things that pop into my head".

Lauren has been making fascinators for about 3 years. Prior to opening her Etsy store in March 2007, Lauren was selling her unique designs on Ebay and by word-of-mouth.

Besides finding inspiration in everyday colour and textures, Lauren also loves to create custom pieces to suit a special outfit that someone might want to accessorise. She has previously made special orders for spring racing carnivals like the Melbourne Cup and is currently honoured to be making hair accessories for her closest friend's wedding this month - creating pieces for everyone from the bridal party to the mother-of-the-bride.

Editor's Note:
Snap up one of Lauren's creations by clicking on the featured pictures or contact her through her Etsy store for custom orders. The rich and famous could one day be wearing Begurple, so get in on the ground floor and grab yourself a unique fashion accessory.

P.S. I just love the headline featured piece - the colours and textures are just gorgeous :)