It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

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Today we are leaving for Hervey Bay, where we are going to be spending Christmas. We were planning on having it in our new house, but seeing as I am not working and we are completely broke, we decided to sponge off the in-laws instead......

I still have so much to do before we go, present shopping, 3 loads of laundry, mail out my Christmas cards (which probably aren't going to arrive in time for Christmas...), and I also need to clean my kitchen.

We had friends over for dinner last night and we may have all gotten slightly drunk. The end result was me going to bed without cleaning the kitchen and waking up to this.....


Happy Holidays!

xx Tamsyn

The Christmas Grinch

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A certain little someone left me a present under the tree this morning. Considering the fact that it was a big nasty poop, I wasn't really that thrilled.

Such a blatant disregard for Christmas deserved a very special punishment. So I dressed him up in his Christmas outfit and let him know that the photos would most definitely be posted on the internet. I bet he thinks twice about pooping under my tree next year!

(Please ignore the concrete floors, we still don't have tiles down in our new home........)






Happy Holidays!

xx Tamsyn

The First Time

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Lightening (one of my fav bloggers) answered these questions earlier today and then sent out and open invitation for other bloggers to do the same. Seeing as I love filling out questionnaires I thought that I would give it a go!

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?

It wasn't a prom because I live in Australia, but when I was in year eleven I went to my boyfriends year twelve formal. My mum made me my dress and it was a gorgeous blue Chinese style gown (I still have it in my wardrobe, but I don't think I will ever fit into it again!).

2. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?

Midori. I didn't realise that you were supposed to mix it with soft drink..... needless to say I ended up very drunk and vomited all through my (then) best friend's room. Which caused her Mum to harbor very ill thought towards me for a very long time :(

3. What was your FIRST job?

My first paying job was a paper run when I was 12. On my first day I got up at 4am in the morning and rolled up all of my newspapers and then stacked them all up on my bike, got on my bike and promptly fell off. My Dad tried to help me out with better ways to stack them, but we couldn't get it to work. So we loaded all of the rolled papers into his car and he drove along whilst I threw them out of the window. We continued to do this together every Wednesday and Friday morning for the next two years. God bless my Dad!

4. What was your FIRST car?

An early 1980s Holden Camira, it was a really daggy car. But I bought it for myself and I absolutely loved it! I was so proud to be independent :)

5. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?

My friend Jacqui texted me at 8.05 this morning, but because I had (still have) a hangover I didn't get the message until I turned my phone on at 11.

6. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?

Does The Pooper count as a person? He woke me up with cute puppy kisses around 10.30. I gave him extra breakfast to say thanks for letting me sleep in!

7. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?

I can't for the life of me remember, but I do have happy memories from my first year of school, so she must have been pretty good. Maybe my Mum will remember what her name was......

8. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?

My first ever plane ride was when I was seven years old and my Mum, Dad and little sister all flew to Australia on our way to Papua New Guinea.

9. Who was your FIRST best friend, and are you still friends with him / her?

A girl called Christina Jury. We lived down the street from each other in Hamilton, NZ. We stayed in contact after I left New Zealand, but I lost touch with her sometime in my teens.

10. Who was your FIRST kiss?

My first kiss was with a boy called Troy and it was really gross. Thankfully my husband is a much better kisser!

11. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?

The Big Man.

12. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?

I went and found The Big Man and gave him a big hug.

13. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?

It was a Silverchair concert. They actually came to Hervey Bay, so it was a really big deal. I had a ball :)

14. What was your FIRST tattoo or piercing?

I had my ears pierced when I was eight and three quarters. It was the most painful thing I had ever experienced. When I turned 21 I had my belly button pierced and it was the second most painful thing I have ever felt. NB. I still wear earrings, but have definitely grown out of the belly button stage.

15. What was the FIRST foreign country you went to?

Australia.

16. What was the FIRST movie you saw in the theater?

It was Space Balls and an older girl that was a family friend took me. I felt so grown up to be at the movies without any adults. But I don't think I really understood the movie though.

17. When was your FIRST detention?

I don't actually recall specifically when I had my first detention but it was probably in year nine and ten. It definitely would have been given to me by Mr Wu, that man had some sort of crazy vendetta against me.....

18. What was the FIRST state you lived in?

Queensland. I love the Sunshine State!

19. Who was the FIRST person to really break your heart?

A guy called Darren. He was my first boyfriend after high school and he was 10 years older than me. I don't know what I saw in him, he was an absolute loser and was fresh out of jail when I met him. Our ideas of what love involved were very different and he was the first (and unfortunately not the last) man to hit me.

20. With whom was your FIRST date?

It was with my first true boyfriend. A guy named Robert who was also my first love. He didn't have his licence yet so his Mum drove us to the movies :)

21. What was your FIRST pet?

Mum and Dad had a huge cat called Leppy Puss and he was there from the time I was born until we moved to Papua New Guinea. He was a huge cat, he was bigger than me until I got to about 10 months old.

22. Who was your FIRST roommate?

My first roommate was the a fore mentioned evil boyfriend.

23. Who was your FIRST love?

Robert. We dated for about a year whilst I was in high school and even talked about getting married one day. I'm pretty sure he ended up married to the next girl he went out with after me :)

24. What was your FIRST screen name?

Mixie. I still use it from time to time, it's also one of the Big Man's pet names for me. Awwwwww

25. When did you have your FIRST baby?

Does the Pooper count? No? Ok then, no children and not yet pregnant..... But definitely trying!

That was fun!! Don't forget to check out Lightening's answers and if you fill it out for yourself leave me a comment so that I can see what you wrote :)

xx Tamsyn


Christmas Cards 2008

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Phew..... I've finished them! It's taken me all day, but I'm so glad it's done. I didn't want my Christmas cards to be like my wedding invitations and go out at the very last minute.

This year I put together 8 different designs and I made ten each of them. Ideally I would love to make an individual card for each person on my list, but just don't have that many ideas in my head :)

Anyway, here they are. Please let me know what you think and which one is your favourite.








Happy Holidays!

xx Tamsyn

Christmas is Coming......

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.....and I'm getting excited! It's my favourite time of the year :)

Today I started making some Christmas cookies (I am going to ice and decorate them tomorrow), and I also got started on my Christmas cards.

I will take some photos of the finished products soon. In the meantime here are some shots of the works in progress....


Happy Holidays!

xx Tamsyn

Smiley Saturday - Loving Lazy Saturdays

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Reason to Smile #1
Today I slept in. Then when I did wake up, I made myself a cup of coffee and some raisin toast (yum) and went back to bed with my laptop. Perfection!

Reason to Smile #2
I went shopping with one of my friends yesterday, with strict instructions from the Big Man not to spend any money (seeing as I am unemployed and not contributing to the household wealth etc etc). I did very well considering I am a spendaholic, I managed to limit my spending to very, very cute pair of pale pink Keds - $20, a present for my sister - $65 and lunch and wine at my new favourite Italian restaurant - $30. The amount of things that I didn't buy was what really made me smile, I added up the cost of all the things that I found that I normally would have bought and it turns out I managed to 'save' $360!!! The best thing..... The Big Man was totally ok with the couple of things that I did buy :)

Reason to Smile #3
It's almost Christmas!!

Reason to Smile #4
I started actually applying for jobs this week and I am feeling much more confident about the whole process now. Hopefully I will get some interviews between now and Christmas so that I can start working again in the new year.

Reason to Smile #5
My BFF has started her new job over in Argentina and seems to be having an amazing time. I was reminded when I read her email about what an amazing person she is. She has so much self confidence and such a strong belief that she truly can do anything she sets her mind to. I admire her so much!

I hope you are all having a very Smiley Saturday too :)

xx Tamsyn

* For more Smiley Saturday posts please head over to Lightening Online *

Best Frenemies

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They may not be as well groomed as Blair and Serena, but they sure do have the love/hate thing down pat.


xx Tamsyn

Moving On

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Today is a bit of a sad day for me.... My Dad has broken up with his Fiance. I liked her a lot and they were so perfect for each other.

My Dad has had lots of girlfriends since he and my Mum (who is a truly amazing women, but her and my Dad just weren't meant for each other) broke up 12 years ago and none of them ever really fitted in. But Sally was great, we all liked her, even my Mum!

For the last couple of years whenever I think about my future children I always think about them having 3 Grandmas. It's really strange for me to realise that they will probably never meet Sally now. My niece (Little Miss A) really likes Sally too, and I am wondering how this is going to affect her. She thinks that Sally and my Dad are a package deal. I don't know if she will understand what breaking up is and whether or not she will accept a new girlfriend or keep asking where Sally is?

My Dad is coping in his usual way, by moving on as quickly as possible. It's like he turned off his feelings the minute they broke up. He doesn't seem to be sad or happy about it, just excited about the future and what it holds.......

I wanted to call Sally today and let her know that I am going to miss her, but I didn't. I will, but I think I would have cried if I had done it today...... I will definitely do it tomorrow, but I am wondering what happens after that. Do I still send her a Christmas card? Do I still invite her over for dinner everynow and again? I guess either way I am really going to miss her.

xx Tamsyn

Presents Galore

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I love giving presents, I love giving them about as much as I like receiving them and that is saying something since I really, really like getting presents.

This year I have been really unsure about what to get all of my family..... every year it seems like they have more of the things that they want, leaving less things for me to get for them....

Luckily though one of my favourite blogs - working girl - had a link to a great personality test, gift generator..... It is so much fun and surprisingly accurate.

I did the Big Man first and here is what I got:

Personality Type - The Geek (haha so true, even though he is also a very manly man)
Friday Night Date: Battling for supremacy in an online gaming tournament.
Uniform: Glasses and Blackberry holster attached to his belt.
Ride: Segway - Ok.... maybe this one was a bit wrong
Reading List: PC World, Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, CNET, Gizmodo.
On his TiVo: Increased memory after he hacked into it.
Native Habitat: TED Conference, Silicon Valley, his desk glued to his high-powered PC.
Famous Examples: Bill Gates, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Shawn Fanning.

Those of you who know him will know how spot on this is...... and those of you who don't, you will just have to trust me when I say that have hit the nail on the head. The site also listed some great gift ideas (which is the whole point really).....

I'm off to work out what to get for the rest of my family!

Happy Holidays xxoo