new photos from goob

miss goob has a photography assignment for school.

so last night before and after the outing to the footy - we stopped at various spots to let her play with the new camera and the great evening that it was in canberra.

love autumn in canberra!!

ummmm....yeah......that's a closeup of me.......I hate closeups.......(in fact I hate getting my photo taken in general!)......but the reflection in my glasses is pretty cool.

then it was time for some movement shots (playing with shutter speed)  - and her sisters are always happy to help when they can.....

then after the game (sadly the brumbies lost by 3 points - however it was a gallant effort all round - especially the family time and loads of laughs!!).........

sadly we forgot the tri-pod - so goob used my shoulder!!
apparently I breathe too much - and ended up spoiling the shots - just a little!!!!

but it was good to find a great night location beside the lake - and I'm sure we'll be back for more photo fun soon.

then some shots from the car......of a passing bus........

and the inside of the only tunnel in canberra......

fun times!!

so that was our saturday evening - after spending all day at the netball courts and having fun at the footy - we managed to pack some photo shoots somewhere in between!!

some nefotlak-household trivia for you - we worked out that currently both goob and eky have at least 12.5 hours of sport every week - each. (includes training, games and umpiring)
and most of that is at different times to each other - mostly 1/2 hour from home each way.
oi - that's a hell of a heap of driving that mr w. and I are currently doing most days - every week.

so between that - and work - and homework help - and keeping them all fed - and general goings on - not much craftiness or room makeovers are occurring over here - but when we do get the chance - you can bet that there will be proof of stuff reported on here!!!! I promise.
I hope you can bare with the periods of silence while life takes a front seat for awhile?!?!?

and I hope that wherever you are in the world - that your weekend was filled with smiles.

hugz from here,
cheryl xox.

16th b'day party - photo booth fun

I'm finally back to post about the photo booth we had at goob's 16th b'day bonanza!!

if you missed the yumminess of the candy bar/dessert table/complete overload of sugar - you can see more in the previous party post - here.

so, as it was previously booked as a 'pool party' - and the weather did not wish to cooperate on the day (nor the week beforehand - nor the whole of summer really.......I digress.......) we decided to set up a photo booth to keep the teenagers busy for a few hours of indoor fun!!

there were lots and lots of photos - and I promise not to post them all on here.
however I will share some of the fun - as it really was a hoot - and something I'd recommend for anyone.

here's the lovely birthday girl - miss goob - just before the guests started to arrive.....

....and my three girls.....

yeah - I'm pretty fond of them!!!! :)

.....here's how the photo booth looked in our lounge room.....

we pulled out the trusty box of dress-ups; hung some streamers from some string; added in a couple of tissue paper pom-poms; placed in a couple of lights; had various stools on standby for height variations when needed; used some little white-boards for messaging fun; re-purposed a lovely gold frame from a picture that was never going to hang on my walls (the pic was my mums - and it was always stashed away in the cupboard - so it was time for it to have a new life as a photo booth prop!!); and we stuck the new camera on a tri-pod.

for those that don't have loads of dress-ups like we do in this family - check out any cheap dollar-discount store and you're sure to find some props for the occasion. I also have more ideas pinned onto my pinterest board - party ideas here.

I thought of a few different ideas for the backdrop - however the great thing about the streamers (as opposed to a sheet/fabric) - it was able to be attached to the underside of the cornice with a couple of pins - and removed without barely a mark.

the girls actually stuck all the streamers together - they just taped them over the string - taping at the back. they decided that a couple of streamers in each colour made a better colour block than just alternating every streamer.

clever my girls are!!!!

edited to add: as for the logistics of actually shooting the photos - the girls kept putting the camera on self timer - and snapped away when they were ready. 

anyhoo - I decided all along that I wanted to photo edit the shots (post party) into photo strips - just like out of an old photo booth - so I played around a little in picnik - and these are some of the shots I came up with.....

to give you an idea of the difference from the original photos - here's a direct comparison.....

 the photos on the right were given a black outline (as opposed to white on the left) - then under picnik 'effects' I hit on 'gritty' - changing the darkness to only about 20-25%. (it usually defaults to around 40%)

here is some more fun from my eky and triple j.....

and as I said - I won't share all the photos here - but here's just a small taste of the fun had by the party girls.....

I've made up lots of photo strips (with 3 pics) of all the photos for goob to share with her friends - as well as another two mega collages like the one above. she can share the digital photo files - and they can print them off themselves if they choose.

everyone had a great time - no one is ever too old to dress up and have photo fun!!!

one hint that I must share - have another charged up battery on hand - as ours ran down and we didn't have another. (eeekkk!!) we'll definitely have two batteries next time.......because you know we have to now have photo booths at everyone's parties here in house-o-nefotlak.......I have been told!!!!!

oh - and for those that don't know - the wonderful photo editing site picnik is closing down on april 19 - however there is a new photo editing site just starting up that I was introduced to via the blog - the real housewives of bucks country - the site is called picmonkey - put together by some of the makers of picnik - and the lovelies from the fore mentioned blog have a great intro post to picmonkey - do go and have a read here.

picmonkey has not yet got the collage photo making abilities just yet - but they hint that it will be coming soon.

anyhoo - hope you enjoyed our photo booth fun.
we did!!

hope your week has started off well.

loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.

linking to these lovely blogs this week.....please do go and check them out......

sunny days, family, rugby & bike rides

happy weekend lovely peoples!

we actually had sun shining on both saturday and sunday!!
oh happy days!!!
it's been a very long time between sunbeams around canberra of late.

on saturday we headed to an afternoon of family fun at a rugby match - watching our favourite team - brumbies - versus a south african team - cheetahs. it's also the only place that we get to regularly catch up with my brother - so we love our season tickets to spend some great times with him.

it was a nail biter finish - with our team scoring the final points just as the hooter blew for the end of the game.

a win. (that's two from two so far). final score 24-23. very nice way to finish off a lovely afternoon.

that's me and my brother (plus two monsters eating icecreams!!)

 .....and once again the team members were more than happy to come past after the game and sign hats and flags for their fans.....

then sunday saw us loading up all the bikes and heading to lake burley griffin for a family ride in the sunshine.....

we managed 12.2 kms (with a few drink breaks here and there) - then it was time to stack up the car again and head home.....

good times.
we're super lucky here in canberra - tomorrow's a public holiday - so another day at home.

woo hoo hoo!!

hope all is well where ever you are spending this lovely weekend.

loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.

16th party preview

we survived!!
the party went off without a hitch - apart from the 17 degrees c and heavy rain!!! (eeek - we've plunged straight into winter from a non-existent summer!)
previously billed as a 'pool' party - plans were changed - and we all stayed indoors for the festivities.

also - party participants ended up being only a half of the original 40 that were invited - as there were many last minute messages from unwell girls. with fewer bodies having to fit within our house  - it all worked out much better in the end.

all in all - a great night was had by all.

here's a sneak peak of the table laden with sugar......

....and the lounge-room photo booth all ready for photogenic superstars.....

I'll post more about all the fun when I manage to upload more photos.

hope you are dry wherever you are this weekend. Canberra is wet and dismal - I'd advise not to come here for the next few days!!!

loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.

some party preparations...

as mentioned in my last post - yes - we will be holding a 16th b'day party for our miss goob next weekend - and - yes - there have been just over 40 guests invited.
I know. insane.
one thing though - as goob attends an all girl school - and she has lots of friends - she has decided to only invite girls - and I pray that many can't come!!!!!!!
there have been 3 definite 'no's' - my praying thus far has been working!!

here's a peak of the colour scheme we've chosen for party day.....

and there are plans for a lolly table of grand proportions.....

some call them dessert tables.....or candy buffets.....for now let's call it the lolly table!!
and yes - I'm a brilliant drawer - thank you for noticing!!!

a heap of inspiration has come from the lovely Leanne over at Mrs A in the Cove (and I ordered just a few little things from her lovely online shop Sweet Style). I'll update you on those next week when they arrive.

Leanne also shared her recipe for Cookie Pops on her blog - seen in her wonderful image below - and I'll be trying to make some this weekend so I don't have a disaster trying to make them for the first time on the actual party day!!!

photo from here

don't they look amazing - can't wait to try making and eating these goodies. (ingredients include tim tam biscuits and cream cheese and white chocolate - oooooo yum!!!!)

anyhoo back to me!!
I have been gathering supplies and here's some messy pics of the acquired stash so far.....(mostly from discount stores to keep the costs down).....

 

jars above were great bargain buys from a discount store (similar to '$1 store' or 'crazy clints') - large $13.99/medium $11.99/small $6.50 each. they are the start of my jar collection for the lollies!
(very grotty - and ready for a wash!)

and the below trays were not so bargain - however they are actually made out of melamine - but they look so much like crockery. they are wheel & barrow brand.

the narrow plates were $19.95 each - and the square was $39.95.
(hope you like the artful placement of the crepe paper!!!) ha!!

having a pool and loads of pavers (outside) and tiles (inside) - the option of having platters that won't smash into a million pieces if dropped is a very good thing!! I think these are really lovely. good weight too.


I have started to make some labels - the below will be added onto the lolly bags.....

I downloaded some great free labels (found here) - played around with them a little - printed them out on white cardboard - cut them up - then stuck them onto disks of red cardboard.

a little wonky in places - but I'm pretty happy with them.
I'll be sure to take loads of photos and give you all the details as things move along.

yes - this is all a huge outlay for a party - however all three girls will be having parties this year - and many in the future - so I'm positive all the major items will be used many many times through the coming years.
and besides -there is that mother's guilt thing in play here - they didn't get parties last year - I wasn't working - and we just couldn't afford it.
we're making up for it big time now.

as for activities to keep the teenagers happy - we're hoping the weather plays nice and is warm so the pool can be used. we are also putting together a back-drop and props for a photo-booth of sorts.
other than that - this mob all love to hang out and chill - so I'm sure it will all go well. they're a great bunch of kids.

so that's where we're at with the party plans.

tonight we're off to the first brumbie's game of the 2012 season. (rugby union - our local team - we're members - and the weather is looking great for a lovely evening!)
tomorrow is netball grading for eky early - goob and I are going along to help out.
Sat night - a lovely friend and her baby girl are coming to tea. (her husband has been posted away for 6 weeks)
Sunday - loads of volleyball training for the girls - and loads of homework to fit around in between.

oh - and some huge news - that job I spoke of at the end of the year (here) - well the full-time permanent position (education section) I applied for went on hold - and now it's going ahead again - and I have an interview next Tuesday.  (I'm currently working there now - different section - part-time contracted until the end of April. permanency would be great - and the money is pretty good too!).
fingers crossed for me if you can please!!!


have a wonderful weekend ahead where ever you find yourself!!

loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.

crazy busy weekend

greetings from our mad house to yours!!

it's been a super busy weekend - and I think I need another to get over this one.
alas - it's back to work tomorrow. boo!!

saturday saw mr w. and the girls head north to pick up new bikes for eky and goob. no photos sadly - however we will be taking some family rides soon - and I'll be sure to take some snaps along the way and post soon.
early b'day presents for the girls - and they love them. great news.

I stayed home and dabbled with housework and study - procrastinating whenever possible.
I'm good at that!

sunday morning goob and I went for a short bike ride - then both eky and goob had 2 hours of volleyball training each.
hard work - however they are learning so much and getting better with every practice. they are really enjoying this new level of volleyball as they have some fantastic coaches at state level. (fingers crossed the girls both make it onto their age teams)

sunday afternoon - miss eky had 8 peeps over for a pool party.

glasses added by me!

a beginning of the year thing - she had one last year.
they squealed a lot - as girls sometimes do - however they had a great afternoon.
we were super lucky with the weather - it was warm and sunny - phew!!
lately the weather has been mad!
huge storm came through friday night; another on saturday that filled the pool to the brim; then another storm threatened just before everyone was about to go home today.
luckily it blew around us and headed out to the coast.
it's been a terribly non-existant summer down here. green - yes - but not very warm or sunny!

triple j also had a friend over for the fun.

best friends since preschool (age 4) - and still going strong (both turning 10 this year)!!!
it kept triple j busy and out of the big girls hair!

this evening - somehow I got hoodwinked into helping goob make 40 party invitations for her upcoming 16th birthday. (in 2 weeks)

yes - you read that right - 40 invites.
I think I have officially gone mad to allow this to happen.
I'll let you know if we survive this one.
for the invites - goob typed them up online (at invys.com) - we then printed them out on card - did a little hole punching - then added some ribbon for pretties!

oh dear what have I done?!?!?!

the week ahead - we have work, uni, school happenings, more volleyball training for the girls - and the start of netball grading for the year.
oh we're in for another busy week.

hope your weekend and week ahead were/are calmer.

hugz from here.
cheryl xox.

trying to get back into the swing of things...

me = slack blogger.

yep - I know - but life gets busy - and if the blog has to go into a holding pattern - so be it!

however - I am starting to get back into the swing of the new year - and hopefully this wee blog will get some more loving!!

huge thanks to anyone still following out there. I check in on many other blogs often - just haven't had the blogging mojo to actually write a post myself!!

a wrap up of the biggest news items around house-o-nefotlak - just to get you up to speed!......

1. the girls are now all back at school.....

triple j is now in year 4, eky heads into year 8 and goob is now a senior in year 11 (and over 6 feet tall!!).
eeek - how does time fly by so quickly?!?!

2. I'm back at uni - and this is my final year - yayayayayayay!!! it's going to be a big one - especially with all the other goings-on this year - but I am so so so so determined to finish this thing. (primary teaching). feeling good about reaching this point.

3. have bought a bike...

love it!!
(it's a 'hybrid bike' - a cross between a road bike and a mountain bike - brand = trek - super large wheels - I really really love it!!)
we have also ordered new bikes for the girls - and we are embarking on  a new exercising adventure.
so far it's been loads of fun. 

4. I've lost 8 kilos since xmas!! super happy about this achievement!!!
it's a combination of diet, discipline and exercise. (not too much exercise just yet - but I'm getting there!!)
I have started on the dukan diet - recommended by a friend - and so far it's been working really well.  (have probably dropped 1-2 dress sizes - feeling great!)
will keep you posted as I go.

5. my contract (work) has been extended until the end of april - but now I'm down to 3 days per week so that I can still attend uni lectures and tutorials and study. super happy about this - as the need for extra money has been something that we really struggled with last year. for now it's working well - I love the people and the work - and the money is great. we'll see what develops over the coming months.

6. sport is going to be yet another huge chunk of our lives this year. both eky and goob trialled for the u15's and u17's state volleyball teams on the weekend. both went really well - and now have 3-4 weeks of training (twice a week) until the final teams are picked. they will also have club and association rep netball commitments - so we're in for a busy sporting time. triple j will again play netball at club level this year as she increases her skills. I envisage loads of car trips around to games and training ahead of us!!

7. goob turn's 16 in march - and is very excited about getting her L's for driving. eeeeekkkk!!

image from here

I can't believe we've reached this point in this parenting adventure!!
pray for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8. we have bought a new camera - finally!!

photo from here.

 now I just have to work out how to use the bugger!!!

hope this day finds you well.
oh - and happy valentine's day to you as well. 
see you again soon - well - that's the plan....
loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.