spoilt rotten!!

the title says it all and no i am not talking about the kids...this year was MY YEAR (although the children were not neglected). last year we decided it was time to let the girls get in on buying us a gift from them... so glad we did, look what they chose for me!!! yes an add a charm braclet. can you believe that the first charm they chose would be a babushka dolls face?! oh so perfect. guess what i will be getting for the next birthday, valentines day....

then mister moo bought me this

aarrgg this book is amazing!

which means i have not one,

not two,

but all three of the softies books. i must have been a very, very, very good girl this year.

the next photo shows some other things i found under the tree... click on the photo to enlarge it and read the fine print on our movie gift certificate.

i bought the little wooden pencil for myself from lilly cottage when i went out for some last minute gift buying.isnt she sweet!!

mick also gave me these great solar lanterns that change all different colours, so perfect for 'crazy about lanterns' ol me.

but wait there's more!! while i was at our favourite shop in the world ~lilly cottage~, the lovely, the oh so generous and perfect in every way LINDA gave me the most beautiful wreath i have ever seen and hand made snowflakes (made from teeny tiny doilies) for the girls and little hand made puddings. i will post about their presents another day...i hung the wreath on our fire place, it looks so nice with my tiny white and silver 'bird house' church.

there are the snowflakes all glittery and pretty

click on it to make it bigger, it really is pretty.

last of all (i think) poppy jim gave us a bottle of CHIVAS REGAL scotch... mmmmm and an entry into the $30 million lotto draw and with our share of the money from grandpa boris and my uncle and aunty i bought two sets of sheets and these little cuties

their faces need a bit of a clean, but then again so do most little girls faces. :)

there you have it, proof that i was indeed very spoiled this christmas. i have enjoyed reading other blogs and seeing what fancy and fine things were received on christmas morning, the common thread seems to be that the most treasured gift was spending time with our families and friends and that really is what christmas is all about.

enjoy the last few days of 2008. xxgoldsworthy

where do i start?

i have so much to show and tell that i might have to post everyday for the next week to get through it all!!! i will start with christmas eve... after trimming dads tree we came home and put the girls to bed. we started a tradition with lili (she turns 7 next year) that on christmas eve and christmas night the children get to sleep on mattresses on the floor in our bedroom, we call them nests. once they were safely tucked in their nests and sound asleep, i madly wrapped all the presents while 'santa' assembled three bikes *^_^* we will have to make sure that we are a bit more organised next year because we finally hit the pillows at 1:30am. ( make sure you click on the photos to enlarge them)

here is our fire place with the stockings waiting to be filled.

all the presents wrapped and under the tree.

the last thing we saw before going to bed. three shiny new bikes.

as soon as claudia woke up mick went out to the lounge and started to ring santas bell which then woke the others up. mia started to panic thinking santa was still in the lounge... so after a little coaxing and much screaming of joy from lili she ran to the lounge to find her bike alongside the her sisters. there really is nothing like the joy of a child to make your heart soar, i will be sad the day they find out the truth about santa (lili is starting to notice things like tags that are the same as mine and writing that looks like mine etc..) the girls enjoyed opening all their presents and quietly or rather nosily went about playing with them. once it was all over mick and i realised that i had stooooopidly insisted on making my FIRST EVER pavlova and my FIRST EVER trifle.

now i love love love my husband but he has a habit of taking over when i start something and quite often the end product isnt how i imagine it to be. below are photos of his attempts at the hard peaks of a meringue. even though i was saying that the peaks needed to be more 'peaky' we went with his effort. even though i wanted to oil the baking paper we didnt because he thought it would taste oily. (bad mistake! they stuck to the paper)

the trained eye would be able to spot that these meringues are not peaky enough

this is what we were going for.

keep reading for photos of the actual pavlova and its best friend trifle.

after we could prepare as much as possible in the area of food i moved outside to begin setting the tables. there were to be 12 of us for dinner so i set about making name tags and making the place look festive.

i made us all a place name wrapped around a bon bon

we used our best silver for the first time in 8 years, it was given to us as a wedding present.

two tables was all that was needed, very cozy. the best thing was that we were all sitting down at the same time together at a table for once. and we all cracked bon bons together.

we happily feasted on freshly cooked prawns, a wonderful baked ham made by uncle mikey, the tastiest potato salad ever, roast chicken and tossed salad. after our bellies were full we all decided on our favourite bon bon joke and toy.

this joke cracked us up (pardon the pun)

this little bird balances on your finger, very small and very cute.

time for sweets here comes the pav... ready ta da

nothing like the picture in the book!!! the meringue was rubbery and the frozen fruit DID NOT look like it does on the packaging.

even though this looks like a bowl of vomit, it tasted quite nice.

we ended the night with present opening and family photos with grandpa boris. all in all a great night.

boris with lili, claudia, chelsea and mia

here he is with katie, lindsay and emma

mike, narelle me and mick

the three musketeers in their Hawaiian shirts.

we had a great night and a relaxed boxing day with a visit from micks dad and leona, her sister barb and aunty marg. now we just have to get through new years and it will all be over for another 12 months!!

dying to show you my presents!!! will post again very soon. until then enjoy the remained of this year and dont spend too much at the sales. %*_*% xxrosey

wordless wednesday ~merry christmas 2008~

8 years ago...

on the 23rd of December 2000, i married my dreamboat, mister micky moo! just over 50 of our closest family and friends joined us in a very personal ceremony at micks family home. each and every person that helped celebrate that day still mean so much to us and their support, friendship and love keeps our marriage strong.

the problem with blogging is that once you really get into it every moment in life is blog worthy! so here i am last night making mick take photos of his wrapped present to me and i of his, crazy i know! he certainly thought so, he thinks i should take photos of him cutting his toe nails or washing the dishes... 'blog that!' he says. anyhoo, below are the before and after shots, you will be blown away with his present for me, i was. i really wanted to get him a pancake maker (8 years is the year of electrical appliances) but he was equally happy with my final choice.

this is my present to mick

this is micks present to me

here is micks present, we thoroughly enjoy fawlty towers and often quote his shows in our daily life. you will often hear lili saying 'basil, basil, basil or oh i know' in that great cybil voice! mick randomly says 'eating the nuts if you please', there are so many more, life in the bonser house is always entertaining *_*

check out my present!!!!!!!! can you believe it????? what an absolutely thoughtful and amazing gift, i just adore him for getting me what is really on my wish list. it comes with the promise that i will actually make something from it this holiday. i will have to blog some photos from it another day.

i was scouring around for a photo of mick and i together and realise that we just don't ever get our photo taken together. (note to self, when dressed and looking 'pretty' these next few nights take photo with hubby) the photo below is one and a half years old, so add a few kilos and a few wrinkles and it is accurate enough.

this photo was taken at Claudia's christening July 2007. i love mick so very much, my life really is wonderful.

now i would like to play a little game with you, our wedding waltz song was 'lets stay together' by Al green. i would be very interested to know what your wedding waltz song was or if you aren't married yet what you think you might have as a wedding song.

before i go i want to give a little plug to my niece's blog, she has just started and i am sure she would love some visitors. visit her here at natas little place.

OK kids off to do some more Christmas preparations can you believe that i have not yet wrapped any presents!!!!?????? i cant even remember what we have bought the children #*_*#

big Christmas snogs rosey

absence make the heart grow fonder...

except when you are at the beach and you couldn't care less what was happening to the rest of the world!! only joking :) i missed my little blog and those who read it. (blogging has become a welcomed release for me)

the week away was absolutely wonderful, just what two tired teachers needed. our morning routine consisted of a visit to the waves then on to the beach pool and a wash off at the water fountains. after our midday rest we headed to the park and down to the calm beach and a visit to the rock pools once the tide had gone out. we didn't waste a minute, the only thing i didn't do was take a lot of photos. but you get the idea from the ones below.

this is 'bullcock beach'. it is like a quiet inlet style beach where the waves lull gently to the shore. the current can get quite strong but if you go at the right time it is just great. i am glad we came here early in the week because it helped Claudia get over her fear of the crashing waves.

another shot at 'bullcock beach'. i love candid shots when no one knows you are taking the photo. they sat here for the longest time just letting the waves wash over them.

this shot is of 'kings beach' it is known for its big surf and this is where my eldest, lili loves to be. she would stay in the surf all day if she was allowed. Chelsea (my niece) came for a visit and a play in the surf.

claudia does own clothes but earlier she had done a poo in her knickers (which had to be thrown away, that's how bad the situation was!) and we had to wash her butt off in the salty water. she got lots of attention from passers by... if only they knew what mick and i had just dealt with, they wouldn't be gushing about her cuteness!!! *_*

well it is back to reality and the mad rush to finish Christmas shopping and clean my house ready for the festivities to begin. oh and i have to catch up on all YOUR blogs. my birdies will be flying away tomorrow. Maxine is off to live in Sweden and Selena is off to Canada. i am sure they will be very happy.

i leave you with one last photo to prove that i was indeed on holidays and that i did wear my togs and did put my feet in water (actually i sat in it too!)

i hate photos of me especially self portraits but we had to do it to for memories sake. god, i look every bit of my 37 years!!

take care xxrosey

and the winners are....

yes that's right, both birdies are going to find new homes! we had a chat and decided that they both felt it was time to move on, so instead of one name i chose two names out of my tin. follow the photos below to find out who the winners are. all 13 names waiting to be folded

there they are ... who will it be afiori first then bunny!!

now here comes the tricky part... i am off to the coast for one week so if you get your address and which bird you prefer (afiori will have first preference if you both like the same bird) to me before i leave in the morning (13th dec Australian time) i can send it while on my trip. if i don't get your address in the morning you will have a parcel in the new year! as it is with the timing of this giveaway the post man will be so busy you might get your parcel next year anyway!

thanks to all you gorgeous gals and guy for wanting to be in my giveaway! i will have to have another one very soon. by the way i loved all your answers so all your names were in the tin, however what i was trying to get at was they all needed a trim. and they all have had one but the curls on the girls are still there just a tiny bit shorter. the back hair is another story....

we are off to the beach in the morning for seven glorious days! so it is over and out from me, see you soon. xxrosey

giveaway update

meet little 'miss Selina'

you've met 'Maxine' now meet 'Selina' (Mia's choice of name once again). i don't like the stuffing that i have at the moment, it seems too soft if that makes sense. i cant seem to get it into the small parts of the bird like the beak and tail. to combat this i gave her a few tail feathers, didn't really solve the problem but she looks really sweet with the tail.

here she is showing off her tail feathers.

if you would like the chance to win her or her sister, leave a comment on the previous post (or this one) and i will draw a name out tomorrow night. no, no i don't know how to do one of those number generator thingies, sheesh you're lucky i can even post on the blog!! i will do it the old fashioned way and simply draw a name out of a hat *^_^*

i better fill you in on their personalities:

Maxine is the more serious of the two, she likes her own company and enjoys a mix of old and new music. she is happy with a kind word every now and then but can go days without so much as a nod.

Selina on the other hand needs to be the centre of attention, she will sulk if you don't talk to her everyday so be sure to pop her where you can see her. Selina loves pretty flowers and sweet smells. she is also a great admirer of tom jones and rod stewart, play it loud and proud!

that should be enough for you to make up your mind, they dont really want to be apart but they have to fly away from the nest at some stage :)

goodnight sleep tight xxgoldsworthy

my first giveaway! (wonder if anyone will want it)

inspired by all the gorgeous, generous and friendly bloggals in blogland, i have decided to have my very first giveaway %*_*%

you will have to work hard for your entry into the giveaway... you have to leave a comment telling me what you think all the subjects in the following photos need. you don't have to have a blog to enter, just leave a comment with your answer and i will choose a name at random this Friday, the 12th of December, 9pm (Australian time i think i say EST) ok here come the photos

mia

claudia

mister moo

the footpath in front of our house more grass

the ferns that grow in front of our windows the path leading to the front garden

want to see what i have made for the giveaway? this is what you could win if you leave a comment, hope you like her!

sorry the photo is so bad but i had to take it at night in order to get this post done

i will also make her mirror image (swap the fabrics around) tonight so you will have a choice. i always ask my girls to name my creations and mia called this one 'Maxine'

OK off to stitch her sister so that you have a choice. happy Tuesday to all. xxrosey