Today was all about getting the schoolroom ready. Madi has been keen to open her new papers – but i wanted to change the schoolroom around & clear the decks first so we can make a fresh start. A few pics from our day:

the current schoolroom setup

don’t panic card – the 1^st item in bear’s yr1 school pack! lol!

but my favourite POTD happened when a tank overflowed & naturally my two water/mud monsters couldn’t resist!

sometimes the vast array of scrapbook goodies out there makes me giddy & i end up buying things that sit in my stash for ever cause i’m not sure what to do with them … sound familiar?? so today, i reached for my stack of bazzil betz (they’re about the same size as an atc with the places we love texture) & just played … & you know what – it was fun! (i’m seriously tempted to try emily’s art challenge now!) i really enjoyed going with the flow & now i’ve got a tangible reminder of my word for 2008 – FOCUS.

materials: distress inks (shabby shutters & peeled paint) applied with sponge applicator, greener pastures stamp & lil davis lettering

an extra pic for POTD – michael returning home after repairing flood damage on our road.

spied these top-knots out the window today & had to grab the bigma! michael says he remembers when these spinifex pigeons (aka top-knot pigeons) were only seen in the nearby hills, but over the past 15 years they’ve become frequent visitors at tucson.

canon 20D & sigma 50-500mm lens (aka bigma) @ 500mm; ISO: 400; f8; 1/1000

happy new year!!

i’ve spent the past couple of days tackling a few unfinished projects – like painting the dining room & tidying my scrapping area … plus pondering 2007 & the possibilities of 2008 …

ali’s life artist book has become one of my favourite books & her one word idea struck a chord with me.

last year i chose the word "transformation"

this year i considered: balance, journey, connect, abundance, intention

& decided on FOCUS: To concentrate attention or energy (synonyms: engage, adjust, attract, balance & connect) love its literal connection with my photography goals!

one of those goals is to capture at least one photo everyday & blog about it. yes another goal is to be a better blogger – i hope you’ll keep me honest *wink* after all it seems rather silly to have a blog & not use it. thus far, one of the things that’s held me back is the writing. journalling has never been my strong point – especially public journalling anyone can read. as the great ansel adams said:

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.  When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. 

quite a few people are undertaking project365 – this site is posting daily prompts with a selfportrait focus (i’ll do a self portrait each month – 12 is enough for me lol!) my focus will be on capturing everyday life. while the countryside is looking lush & green, i thought it would be good to start with the view. it will be interesting to see how it changes during project365.

canon 20D & sigma 50-500mm lens (aka bigma) @ 64mm; ISO: 400; f11; 1/500

the view from the office window at 6pm. 3 of 5 chooks at the waterhole & LOTS of green grass – gotta love that!

IE shut down the last time i tried to compose this post … 2^nd time lucky i hope!

the couch & windmill photo was always going to be a tough act to follow, but one of the things i love about our photo shoot tradition, is the challenge of finding a new location – another unique part of this special place we call home.

when recent rainfall filled the dams, it also put a good run through the channels & michael can’t remember the last time they were wet for xmas! So this sandy waterhole seemed the perfect location for our annual family photo!

feeling so grateful this am. we woke to rain. the awesome sustained dam-filling variety. house dam (pictured) went dry in july & we’ve had to pump water from big dam ever since. up until this week, things had been looking pretty grim. so, to get good rain before xmas is such a blessing! we’ve recorded almost 5 inches for the week & its still raining. this is what we’d been hoping for – its the BEST xmas gift ever!

is the theme at blue bazaar this week. it was the perfect opportunity to experiment with texture paste (my 1st time). & on wednesday, as i watched bear making tracks in the playdough with thomas, i knew just what to do with the paste & he could even help me!

the texture shot

supplies: DCWV cardstock, heidi swap plastic lettering & journalling spot, texture paste, making memories paint (red wagon & cranberry)

i’ve been doing carol wingert‘s colour your world class at BPS. carol taught my 1st ever scrapbook class & she’s brilliant! if you ever have an opportunity to take one of her classes – do it! as we explored each colour, she provided wonderfully detailed notes, gave us a great insight into her creative process & shared lots of cool techniques. whilst carol created individual layouts for the class, we were free to do our own thing, so i decided to use a creative imaginations bare library. my cover design was inspired by the fabulous banner on ngaire’s beautiful blog

i kept the design of each colour book nice & simple – with patterned paper & journalling on the LHS & a photo on the RHS. here’s a peek at the yellow book

there are 11 other albums in the set – here’s a sample of their covers:

i’ll post some interior shots when they’re finished.

i’d love to hear about any online classes you’ve done & your thoughts about them.

on my recent trip to sydney, my SIL took me to her favourite shoe shop & they had a fabulous sale on … so i couldn’t help but indulge in some shoe-therapy … a lovely pair of josef seibel boots & these slides for summer (how could i resisit what was clearly a perfect match!) 

is it just me?? or do other women get pleasure from something as simple as a new pair of shoes??

totally loving this shade of green atm!

this fabulous funky farm mug was just $3 in a QVB basement sale. gotta love that!

that’s become his new favourite! it’s a minature version of michael’s & i swear he’d wear it every day – if it didn’t end up so dirty & need washing.

i found it & a great pair of matching jeans in the DFO thomas cook outlet. gotta love that place!