happy birthday to me!!

39...thirty nine...3 tens 9 ones...whichever way you look at it, i am 1 year away from the big 40!!! far from fearing that number i am embracing it...and the best way to embrace it is to have one hell of a party ~_~ after talking with mister moo about my visions for what i would like, i have realised that i best start putting away 10% of each pay cheque to be able to hold this shindig. i really haven't ever celebrated my birthday in a big way with the exception of my 18th when my lovely friends mother held a party for me at their house. it will be nice to do something special and invite everyone i have ever called friend.

anyhow back to the here and now...a few weeks ago i was given the most gorgeous belated Christmas present, wrapped in gold tissue and sweet lace ribbon. Linda gifted me this!

she reinvents (sounds like a good term) gorgeous vintage napkins with beautiful sayings. this one is perfect for me and our new room which has been named the family room. each of the crocheted hearts represent Lili Mia Claudia mick and me. (is that bad grammar?)

i have found the perfect spot for it, my tub chair faces it so not only do i see how pretty it is, i can feel Linda's love each time look at it.

now my birthday was a little low key but i still managed to be thoroughly spoiled by those around me. mick and the girls gave me some new shirts, the authority to buy myself something from the doll and bear show and this gorgeous MOOK (magazine/book)

it is a collection put together by the Frankie magazine group and apart from smelling delicious, in that paper book kinda way, the pages are inspirational to say the least.

sorry bout my photography skills...very limited :)

i am having a wonderful time slowly reading through the stories that come with the pictures and dreaming of the day that i do an interior design course...it could happen right??

talk about being spoilt...i just so happened to do a day of relief teaching on my birthday and the secretary had organised a cake just for me!! how special is that? i love my colleagues they make the troubles of teaching disappear :)

after my day of teaching i came home to find these flowers delivered to my doorstep

one of my closest friends from toowoomba had sent me this pretty bouquet. thanks Miranda you are a doll!! (give Paul a big kiss from me)

on this occasion one of my sisters babysat the girls while mick and i headed out for Thai. because we were rushing around getting ready for dinner i forgot to check the mail box so it wasn't until the next afternoon that i discovered that this was in the mail box!

once again the lovely Linda had showered me with her special kind of love. this sweetly wrapped present and hand made card brought squeals of delight not only from me but my 3 girls who also happen to be Linda's biggest fans ~_~

such a special card!

and here is a rare photo of me modelling the gorgeous necklace that was gifted to me.

here is a closer look...yes it is a little bird cage with tiny eggs and a little door that opens and closes.

two special things about this gift...i spotted that necklace a few weeks ago and had mentioned to linda how much i loved it (she obviously stored it in her gift giving part of her memory)...the second and most amazing thing is that Linda has spent the last week in hospital and the days leading up to her admission too sick to work yet she still managed to get my birthday present to me...kind hearted is too little a sentiment to describe her nature. i am dreaming up ways of repaying her don't you worry.

anyhow, this birthday is now over and dreams of THE BIG ONE are growing...

sweet kisses to you all and blessings for a wonderful second half of the week.

xxrosey

belated birthday...bad mummy

here i am basically 2 weeks after my eldest daughter turned 9 to post about her celebrations...i feel like a bad mother but as she doesn't read this blog yet, she wont know the difference ~_~i love this picture!

lili began her birthday like every other birthday in the bonser house by opening her presents on our bed. we each gave her a gift; clothes, littlest pet shop Blythe doll and best of all her very own camera. this camera is better than mine!! the best part is that is has a fish eye function which has kept us entertained taking turns laughing at ourselves.

as an extra gift this year i gave lili a sweet little bird which i had originally bought myself for Christmas. this little bird was made by Laura of billyangel and is so sweet and goes well with lilis growing collection of handmade pretties. we are going to add to her collection when we visit the doll and bear show on the 2oth of Feb which just happens to be just down the road from us.

sweet!

another tradition is that we head out to a restaurant, birthday girl/guy gets to choose of course.

we got all dolled up and headed to a local steak house. playground and ice cream after dinner, what could be better??

then to top off her birthday WEEKEND we gathered family and close friends to share cake....

my sister who has lived in London for many years kindly decorated the cake for me and hand made everything you see....

little bees... oh so sweet!

this little fairy was reaching into the pond, how amazing is that! and yes the pond was edible.

looks wonderful doesn't it?!?

my sister is keen to start her own decorating business so if you live local and need a cake let me know and i can get my sister to help you out. she has decorated dozens of wedding, christening and birthday cakes and never ceases to amaze me with her talents.

and i just love this picture of my dad with one of my best friends girls and my little Claudia. Hannah and Chloe are such great company, my girls just love being around them.

we had a wonderful celebration, and even though we couldn't afford to throw lili a birthday party with her school friends we certainly had a great time and very much a party atmosphere. my family are great, i miss my brother who is still missing from my life but hopefully he will find it in his heart to start to talk to me again and we can celebrate the next birthday as a whole family.

i love watching lili grow, people say it happens so fast but to me it is happening at just the right pace. she is looking more like a tween than a young girl. she stands in front of the mirror a little longer and checks her hair more than once. the clothes we bought were in the young girls section rather than the little girls section which she was very happy about. she still has that innocence, but she matures more each year. she is dependable and sensible and easy to talk to. i love that she still likes a cuddle in the morning. she like to collect things; smelly rubbers, old tins, bears and dolls, handmade pretties and much much more. i am loving this journey as a mum, watching her grow and supporting her every step of the way. i know i am not a perfect mum but what i do know is that i tell her i love her everyday, i hold her everyday and tell her that she is wonderful and special to me. and i know that she is going to be an exceptional young lady in the years to come.

xxrosey

my favourite room

i have been meaning to do this post for a few weeks but once again time seems to slip right through my fingers. anyhow i am snatching a few minutes before i head out to my night fill job, as i realise now i need to squeeze every minute for what it is worth. over a year ago my handy hubby built in our garage and created another room which we have called the family room. i love this room because it is decorated and furnished to our taste. we still have light fittings to change, window treatments to decide on and flooring to finish but i think the photos show the direction we have headed in.

this cream leather lounge faces a gorgeous white flat screen TV

our two tub chairs face the road and this is our favourite spot for our daily cuppas.

the best thing about the furnishings is the price. the lamp was thrifted for $25 and the gorgeous mirror that my hubby got me was $15 from the same thrift shop.

i have a girl friend who is kindly going to make some roman blinds for the windows when we decide on what colour fabric we want and i will pop on some frosted contact on the clear panels on the door. hubby has convinced me to let him polish the concrete floor, i secretly think it will go perfectly with the room but i wont let him know that...

and down the track i can imagine a fancy but small chandelier as the main light instead of the existing fluros.

there are other parts to this room but i will have to show you another time and i have a secret idea for a big bare part of one wall...just need the money to fulfill that dream.

i guess i best go, take out the bins, get the children washed, homework done and fed before i have to go to work :) (squeezing every second i tell ya)

back with some birthday pics as my lili turned 9 on the weekend

xxrosey

after the floods....

since the wall of water hit my home town of toowoomba on the 10th of January, i have been watching the rolling coverage of the floods every spare second and am brought to tears nearly every time... the devastation is phenomenal and hard for me to grasp. my mind feels muddy and i literally have to tell myself to turn the TV off so that i can get some work done. my gorgeous hubby managed to tag along with my brother in law and their band of merry men to go and help out a mate in the suburb of rocklea. mick spent the whole day on the gurney cleaning the heavy, silty mud off the walls and he said to see the devastation first hand in mind numbing. the man they helped has lost every single thing. they literally guttered the whole house so that it is now a shell ready for new plaster, doors, cupboards etc... and he is just one person out of over 20000homes...this will take years to recover from.

anyhow, we took a walk down to our local river that is situated a suburb from our home and took some photos of the carnage left from this torrent of water that flowed through. it was so high that it covered the train tracks and major bridge that takes us over the pine river.

a shelter shed littered with trees and posts, imagine how high the water must have been to leave those posts on top of the roof!a tree uprooted and dragged along.

the debris in the tall reaches of this tree gives us and idea of the height

some of the marks on the column holding the bridge showing us the height of the water, further along the track the water went over.

major damage to this stretch of road...we use this every day when going to our jobs.

this toilet block brings new meaning to the term 'water closet'

amazing photos, would have been great to have photos of the water at its peak but i was one of the law abiding citizens who stayed off the road @_@

as the clean up continues i pray that they find survivors in the Lockyer valley and that people can get back to some sort of normality as soon as possible. my girls have started in earnest to clear out all of the toys, dvds, books and clothes they think some other girls would love and i will put together items for men and women. the director of Claudia's day care will take a bus load over to another day care that lost everything in the suburb of Belbowrie and is asking for any good quality items that can be spared. my girls love the thought of helping someone else their age to get a smile back on their face.

keep praying for those affected.

xrosey

mother nature can be a real bitch!

i have no words to describe how i feel after watching my home town of toowoomba being ripped apart when a 3 metre wall of water rushed through parts of the CBD on the 10th of January. as i watched with tears streaming down my face i began to panic about my friends who work in the centre of town and those who i love that live there. thankfully all of those i love are safe. one friend said that part of her car was wrapped around a post but that she was safe and another friend is stranded in his home town of gatton away from his wife and daughter but they are all well. i am still very worried about friends who live in Murphy's creek which is at the bottom of the range and as yet still have no clue as to there safety. if you believe in the power of prayer please start praying now. xxrosey

a good laugh

please take the time to visit lindas blog, her latest blog had me laughing out loud. plus she is a very good friend of mine and the best little shabby shop owner ever. visit her here xxrosey

bad blogger

please forgive me for my month long absence...i do believe that is the longest time i have been away since starting this blog!! i can only blame life for getting in the way and then Christmas had to come along and ruin everything :)

and to top things off my camera and computer don't want to play together so i cant even load any new photos to share with you!

so instead of up to date relevant photos i am forced to share pre Christmas shots...

the girls love to dress in the Christmas shirts and reindeer accessories each year and i cant wait to put them away...

cute!! this photo is so old mia is still in her school uniform! here they are dressed ready for their school concert

they also love to get crafty or bake something. this year i found a ready made cookie decorating set which they had fun putting their own festive touches to.

thanks to Tupperware for these nifty master chef type outfits Claudia loves anything crafty Mia taking great care to make her cookie look good lili has a real creative streak

during the lead up to Christmas my sister Anita came home from London FOR GOOD!! it was so lovely to have her home for her first Christmas in about 8 years.

my father Boris and my niece Renata waiting at the airport for...

Anita!!! here she is looking as beautiful as ever

and we celebrated my nephews 21st with some cake and dinner.

most of my family gathered here to celebrate.

well i best be off to celebrate some more. we are yet to see micks brother as they were away for Christmas so we are off for more food!!

hope to have some actual christmas photos soon and hope to be back to my normal self by the beginning of next year!!

big christmas kisses and new year hugs to you all.

xxxrosey