Tag Archive | Bible

Sorry it’s been a while

Here’s a quick update on my art! It’s going amazing! I am so happy with how well it’s going.

Lesson 8 was”Lady of Shallot”Teacher was Deanna Strachan- Wilson. Subject- John Williams Waterhouse loved it!!

I love how sad the Lady of Shallot looks my favourite poem, song and painting.

Next lesson number 9- Teacher Juna, Subject- Rembrandt and we used Charcoal.

I was a little disappointed with how she turned out until l looked at her again the next day. That chin! Beautiful!

Lesson 10- Teacher was Sharon Harkness-Dobler. Subject- Henry Ossawa Tanner, and l copied Henry’s original painting and l had a ball! I love this one!

Henry’s original painting on my computer screen, Sharon’s on the wall in yellow and mine next to it! First time doing a still life!

Lesson 11- Impressionists are here!

Teacher- Kara Bullock, Subject- Mary Cassatt, loves this lesson too and lm going to frame her!

Mary Cassatt l used her face to recreate her painting, happy with how she turned out. I almost gave up!

And then there was lesson 12- Teacher- Lucy Chen, Subject- Matisse we had to do a Fauvism style painting a selfie! Not my favourite!!

I don’t love this but l did it. I’m finding when l push past “I don’t like it” l feel prouder of myself for having done it!

So that brings us up to date on my “Let’s Face it” course!

I am currently away camping in Brim Victoria, we are doing the Art Silo Tour, it’s over a 200 kilometres stretch and the unused unloved wheat silos are being transformed as giant canvases! Here is the Brim one!

I’ll come back tomorrow and post some more of them.

Happy Easter everyone and spare a thought for the reason behind the season. Jesus died for our sins.

Spiritual Sunday

 

On Monday.. Go figure… I could have done it yesterday but I really wanted to share my Bullet Point Journal with you and also to whine about the demise of my A5 binder folder.. I wont keep going on about it except to say, I’ve been out today again looking and I still cant find anything similar! Moving right along….

So last week I told you about the latest Bible studies I’ve been doing, refresher Here  and in there I said that if I wasnt careful I’d burn out. Well I didnt burn out but I did get an email from “Cooking up Faith” that she was burning out and would not be continuing the “Love in 2016” the one year study of 1  Corinthians. That was disappointing but kind of also gave me a little bit of breathing space..

So this is whats new this week.

Good Morning Girls– We studied the Book of Job chapters 6 – 10. Job has been through a hard time when God allowed Satan to tempt Job but was ordered not to Kill Job. I was happy that Job never once accused the Lord of allowing these bad things to happen, but then Job started complaining and whining, you know “woe is me, I wish I’d never been born” ( Ugh that sounds like me before I started this journey!)  quite frankly I want to smack Job and tell him to stop being a sooky lah lah, and be patient and see what God has in store, I read some of the later chapters for another study, so I know its all good.

God Chickes Awakend– it’s a daily devotional and so we are working through the Book of Genesis, last week we got up to Genesis 30- part of this was when Rebekah tricked Jacob (who was her favourite)  to get Isaac’s blessing over his twin brother Esau, who was the elder. This caused a big rift and  Jacob left the family. We also learnt how he went and found his cousin Laban and fell instantly in love with Rachel, he worked 7 yrs for Laban so he could marry Rachel who as the youngest daughter should not have been married first, so Laban made him marry the older daughter Leah whom he didnt love, and he had to work Another 7 yrs to get Rachel who he did love. BUT God saw that he loved Rachel more than Leah so he made Rachel barren and Leah had all the children, all sons… I’ve been enojoying following this family!

The next Bible study I am doing is called “Journey in the word” and its a private group on Facebook and each week day, so Monday to Friday we are given a scripture to read and to S.O.A.P and the a daily question, last week we studied about praying. So we read verses

  • Acts2:41-47
  • Hebrews 4:15-16
  • Jeremiah 10:6-7
  • Psalm 145:1-7
  • Romans 15:30 & Colossians 1:9

Our weekly verse for memorising was Hebrews 4:16

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time if need”  We are also required to post in the group daily with our thoughts and comments and talk with other members, I have to confess I’m struggling with that because I’m naturally not as advanced as other women in the group, but I will say I am learning alot, and that was the point of joining.

This week I posted off three of my exams to Emmuas College as part of my Biblical studies, so I’m offically on the way! It’s been a busy week and I’ve really enjoyed it all.

 

 

Happy New Year!!

Here we are at the start of another year.

I have been taking a break from blogging and journaling since I got back from our Big Lap.

So many things have been happening, I just didn’t have time or energy to blog and even my poor journal has fallen by the way side.

So here is a quick update….

We got back in November and hit the ground running…

November 21st Sweetpea turned two and we had an afternoon tea, in the meantime we started cleaning the back deck which needed cleaning and finished the garden boxes which have been nick named “garden coffins” they are that shape.. we planted them with Daphne, a tomato plant, a gardenia and an Australian native I am still to get a rose for the other Grand daughter.

We had Wedding rehearsal on the Wednesday which was the 25th and had a final look at the space where we would be setting up the reception etc. I also got my eye brows waxed and tinted and my nails done, a little bit of spoiling after roughing it in tents for two months.

Sunday 29th November 2015.

Still cant quiet believe I haven’t written about this yet, I am guessing after my Grand babies births this was so far the greatest highlight of my life. My first born got married. We still don’t have the wedding photos back yet but I’ll share a few of the ones I do have.

bridal party

The Bridal party,

Left to right… Stewie, Bride-Jasmin, Groom- Brett and Ella.

bride and groom

My new Son-in-law Brett and my beautiful girl.

 

flower girl

“Aunty Jazzy” and flower girl “Sweetpea”

funny Jasmin

I’m not sure what she was doing here but I love that face!!

 

mother and son dance

Mother and Son dance.

 

paige boy

Page Boy, and Son of the happy couple
“Squishy”

 photo bomb

This is my cousin and her family and my first ever photo bomb, taken by the photographer!!

walking down the aisle 

Escorting my girl down the aisle.

wall shot

This is going to be a wall shot!! taken by our photographer Gabbie Hine.

I escorted her down the aisle and I don’t know how many people I had telling me what a blubbering mess I would be.. I shocked them all and even myself when I didn’t cry, not even during my speech which actually made a few people laugh! I made it through, my goal for the night was to do my speech without A- crying and B- inserting umm or errr in too many places In fact I didn’t stumble at all! I was so proud of myself and then my Brother Bill made me cry before the night was out but that wasn’t about the wedding so it’s not counting!!

After the Wedding we had Squishy’s 2nd birthday party and then fast came upon us Christmas.

Christmas…. hmm, if you were reading my posts in 2014 you might have read that I do not like Chrtistmas, I don’t like the commercialism of it all.. you stress and worry and within minutes it’s all over and the day goes on. But this year I decided to embrace the festive season and even suggested we have lunch at home… *sigh* sometimes I’m such a fool and this highlights it all.. Next year (or this one anyways!) I’m not having Christmas in fact plans are being made to go away for a month to Tasmania camping.

We decided to have lunch at our house, so the Bloke cooked a turkey our first ever and roast pork. My cousin and her family came and brought chickens and potato salads. We also had hot vegetables and roasted potatoes and pumpkin and gravy, and then the weather heated up to 39C and we all baked along with the food!! There was a wild fire about 1.5 kilometres away and e sat on the back deck, fighting away flies and fanning away the smoke.

The turkey and roast Pork were a huge success and we were happy with how they turned out, but the rest of it I didn’t enjoy! I find that you rush around waiting on everyone and making sure the house is clean and the presents are wrapped and then the whole day is over and you rush around doing the dishes and the floors and getting rid of a mountain of wrapping paper. I “tried” to embrace it and failed I don’t enjoy it, I’m not doing it again!!

As soon as all that was over we took off to Bel Far Niente for a few days to unwind from all that madness… which lead us to New Year EVE!

This year we went camping with some good friends to Ballarat. We have been to Ballarat a gazillion times and so I wasn’t terribly excited to go camping there, but it just goes to show be careful of judging, because we had a great time. The caravan park we stayed in “Goldmine” had a great solar heated pool which we gladly spent a lot of time in and out of. The bathrooms were clean and well cared for, there was a camp kitchen and  plenty for the kids to do, so My Bestie and I were able to sit and crochet and chatter or read our books or just lounge around, it was HOT!! We stayed there until Sunday 3rd January.

So that brings us up to now and New Years Resolutions.. I make them each year I kind of look at them as “goals” and I check back on them often. So this year I made three.. easy ones…

  1. Gain my diploma in Biblical studies. (I need to do 144 units, so far I’ve finished 3)
  2. Become a vegetarian ( we had raw roast lamb on 1st Jan 2016- normally I don’t mind it a little bit rare but this was too much blood and it made me feel quite ill, and then I got this thought it my head a snippet of some bible verse about God being the lamb and the blood of the lamb.. and that was enough for me.. I quit meat on the spot!)
  3. Read 50 books for the year.

In 2015- I did a challenge with Reannon and Pip Lincoln  to “Read Australian Authors” and I did and I loved it I only read three non Aussie books all year, but I found I have a huge pile left still of Australian authors so I am continuing that on again this year. So I’ve made a Good reads Goal to read 50 books… here is what last year looked like.. 2015 in books

Anyways so that brings us up to date and hopefully I’ll be back into regular blogging to keep you up to date with whats new for 2016…

 

Big Lap WA 2015- Day 22- Albany WA

So there have been a few places in this trip that I have loved and wished to spend more time at..

  • Leeuwin National Park (it was quiet and basic and there was NOTHING to do but relax)
  • Coalmine Beach (same reason and close to the water)

But today as soon as we drove down to this caravan park at Middleton Beach, it was love at first sight! I think this is about as close as I get to feeling the same love I felt at Mission Beach in QLD except there is no tropical lushness here.. but the beach, oh the beach!!

walpole and Albany 024

My Star Son is a little sick of all my Panorama shots, I guess he shouldn’t have showed me how to take them then!

walpole and Albany 025

One small taste tester photo of Middleton Beach foreshore.

We are staying at Middleton Beach Holiday Park the people in the campo next to us at Coalmine Beach are from Albany and the Mother suggested this place and we know Big 4 are the best there is and Star Son can always find children to hang around with in a Big 4. We got here fairly early, we left camp Coalmine Beach at 9.00am, and had planned to stop at Dinosaur world on the way through and spend maybe an hour or so, as it turned out, we drove there at 9.15am and it didn’t open till 10 am and there was no way I could ask the Blokes to sit around and wait for 45 minutes so we bypassed Dinosaur world sadly! I was REALLY looking forward to going there.

On the way through to Albany we saw a sign to “Williams Bay” so on impulse we took a detour, we had extra time since Dinosaur world had been bypassed. It was a National park and the views were beautiful.

walpole and Albany 019

Here is Star Son observing “his” National Park and Williams Bay

walpole and Albany 020

Wild and Angry sea, but so beautiful.

walpole and Albany 021

I wish we could have gone snorkelling there.

walpole and Albany 022

The Girls enjoyed the brief stop at William’s Bay

walpole and Albany 023

Will and his Sign!

After our little detour we kept driving and before we knew it we were entering Denmark, we had decided to stop there and get something to eat but as usual we drove through it and then decided “lets just keep going” The plan was to get to Albury and get camp set up early enough so that the Boys could go and watch the Grand Final on the Big Screen, so it was I think the fastest camp set up ever!

I couldn’t care less about the football my team, is Will’s team “Rupertswood” and so when they finish for the year football looses it’s interest for me. The AFL team I follow is the Tigers or Richmond and they made it to the first week of finals and lost so again, who cares? Football holds no interest to me… but I had to have a little giggle to myself when MY boys are off in the theatrette watching the Football on the large screen and mostly everyone else has locked themselves into their caravans to watch the game and all I can hear are people screaming, cussing, swearing at their TV’s.. I wanted to yell
Hello… we are far away from our homes, why are you sitting inside your caravans watching a football game and worse yet swearing at the decisions being made.. as though your swearing will change anything, they can’t hear you” and to my Bloke I said “5,000 kilometres from home and you want to sit and watch a football game on a TV screen” I made a life changing decision right there…. when we ever get a caravan and the day is drawing closer.. there will NOT be a screen in it. The Football today was between a Western Australian team (we are in the state of Western Australia) and a Victorian team, I don’t like either of the teams but I am loyal to my state so if I had to chose any it would have been the Hawks.. Hawthorn. All game I could hear various people cheering or booing or cussing and getting heated and I just sat and read my book, and when the Victorian team won… the whole caravan park suddenly went deathly quiet, literally you could hear a pin drop! Thank Goodness that’s over for another year! Maybe now we can get back to the fact that we are in another state 5,000 kilometres from home, new places to see, new things to explore.

Our camp site is right next to the playground and the Ablutions block, that makes me happy. There is also a path down to the beach not far away, we had a quick walk on the beach today but I look forward to exploring that a bit more.

This afternoon we hit the supermarket and had take aways for dinner the Bloke has been craving fish ‘n’ chips like I have been craving vegetables.. he won, we had fish ‘n’ chips at the look out.

Today back in country Victoria my Niece Danielle is getting married, I was sad that we would be missing her special day, but my daughter Jasmin and (in 56 days my son-in-law) Brett went to the wedding and Jasmin has been texting me photos this afternoon of her and my brother Bill and Jasmin and my sister in law Leanne and the beautiful bride Danielle. So even though I am far away from the action I was able to see what was happening.

56 more days and then I will be Mother of the Bride.. eeekk… I’d really best get on the hunt for that special dress…

As we were coming into Albany.. actually to be exact we were 12 kilometres out of Albany, we marked our 5,000th kilometre travelled on this trip. I’m pretty impressed with that in 22 days. We haven’t even yet begun the long trek back home. We still have Wave Rock, Esperance and Fraser Range Station to go before we turn and head for home. We have planned the return to route to stay at different places than we did on the way over and we have booked in Melbourne Cup weekend (October 30 till Nov 3rd) to go to Halls Gap in Victoria and meet up with my Bestie Deanne and her family for a camping trip.. that will leave us about 6 days before we are due home and that means we can explore some more of the world out that way!

I have found my rhythm with my reading again, and in the past few days I’ve finished two books and started a third, so book reviews coming up maybe tomorrow. Needless to say my “Read Aussie Authors” challenge is coming along nicely. I think I roughly counted that I’ve read 22 Australian Author books so far this year!

Plus I am also reading “God Chicks” by Holly Wagner, it’s a 90 day devotional about creating a more deeper relationship with God. So lots of things happening around here.

Proverbs 31 woman..

It’s my goal.. have I mentioned that before? maybe I just “thought” I had told you, I know I’ve told my husband and gazillion times.. she is my role model!

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Ever since I began this walk with the Lord 12 months ago, and have been reading passages of the bible I’ve wanted to be this woman. I first met her with Jolene Engle and her “Wives of the Bible series” I loved that series it was the first “Christian Class” I took, the first of many. We were introduced to the Proverbs 31 woman and so I had her highlighted in my Bible and I book marked that page and I read it often.. so when Courtney Joseph said we were studying the Books of the Proverbs yay! I’ve been loving it. And then she announced THIS!!!

New Series Begins Proverbs 31 Woman

So this week we have been investigating the Proverbs 31 woman.. and  when you read the above verses you wonder “How will I ever be that good?” well I know I did and then this morning I was reading Misty Leask‘s email and I realized I’m not the only one who feels “nervous” about being a “Proverbs 31 woman” she’s set a high standard for us to follow.

This first verse attracts me..

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

Well D’uh, what woman wouldn’t want to be worth more than rubies to their husband? and then this line…

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 

Of course, I might be old-fashioned, but I want my husband to have full confidence in me.. and so I asked him.. after I read the whole lot out to him.. “Do you have confidence in me?” he said “OSheila you know I do” and yeah he might have but until I did the study with Courtney, did I really understand what that meant? My husband is NOT a believer and so I’m sure he struggles with me asking his “Seemingly” stupid questions.. but I wanted the confirmation.. am I worth more than rubies to him? I want that so much!!

Courtney provided a copy of her Book “The Proverbs 31 woman- “One virtue at a time” which if you click on that “book” highlighted in Blue you too can have a copy! Thanks to Courtney.. and a reading schedule and then some questions for us to think about… boy did she get me thinking!!

Oh what a weight lifted off my shoulders… we don’t have to do ALL THAT in one day.. phew..because I’m pretty busy with a 20 month old terror as well as keeping up with the normal chores without having to spin my own thread and sew sashes for the family..and let’s not forget about the buying of a field and planting a vineyard.. seriously? I can’t keep plastic plants alive!! but still part of me says “One day when I grow up I’ll be the Proverbs 31 woman.” forget about the crown and the glass slippers I don’t want a prince I have one.. I want to be HER!!

Yesterday’s question was..

Ohh I so guilty of this..I pray on this every day, I want to use my words for good not bad and I want to be able to lift up my flock in encouragement and not use my words to hold them down or cause pain. I REALLY need to work on this one..

And then today’s final question is…

For me it’s the floors.. the sweeping, the mopping and the vacuuming, I HATE them, but I KNOW they need to be done and sometimes I barter with family members and say things like… “you sweep,I’ll mop” or vise versa. But that’s not being a good Proverbs 31 Wife and so from now on I will “attempt” I can’t say “I will do it” because I’m already setting myself up for failure, so I will “Attempt” to sweep, mop and vacuum the floors with my mouth firmly shut and with a happy heart, knowing I am one step closer to being a “Proverbs 31 wife” but out of this whole proverb which is long.. there is one line that I wish for most of all…

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also

Courtney taught us that “Arise” is another word for “Grown up” because let’s face it.. it takes us becoming an adult before we appreciate the things our parents tried to teach us. but that one line to me is the true meaning of Motherhood… that you have done such a good job that your children think you are blessed.. I am working on becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman and when/if that day ever comes when my children call me “Blessed” i will know I have arrived..

Courtney is doing this “reading through the Bible in a year” it’s free.. you don’t have to sign up for anything and you can start anytime.. it’s amazing how much I am learning..

This is our next adventure.. if you want to join us there is also a Facebook page and you can go to Courtney’s site and sign up for the emails which will remind you where you’re at..http://womenlivingwell.org/

Wanna join us?

Wednesday already? wow!

This week seems to be flying by or maybe I have just been super busy..

So on Monday I told you about how I am starting detox and getting back into my Daniel Plan, well, when I am focused I become determined and so I am going along well, yes I have a “detox headache” but I am trying to ignore it and remind myself it’s just the crap escaping from my system.

Monday I spent the day in solitude which I LOVE and I got some art done.. oh boy did I ever..

So Monday was a busy day because I got the house work and all the laundry up to date also.

Tuesday- NO COFFEE!! and breakfast is always an issue for me, I’m always starving but I’m basically lazy, but I forced myself and so I had a Green Smoothie and Quinoa with a drizzle of maple syrup. For morning snack I had a banana and for lunch I had a salad and a small can of Tuna.. afternoon snack I had an orange and a few pieces of popcorn and I smashed my water requirement out of the park and because Squish and I had gone down town for a trip to the Post Office (We mailed a letter to Trisha Faye!!) to buy more stamps. So I also got my 10,000 steps done for that day too.

Last Night I had Bible study and normally I would make a plate of something to take but since I couldn’t eat anything anyways I brought a packet of chocolate biscuits to share.. I didn’t eat any I am proud of me, and only drank water! YAY! We are studying the Book of Proverbs, so as usual some great conversations.

Today I had Squish for the half day, Jasmin only works Wednesday mornings so Squishy and I had breakfast I made a fruit salad and sprinkled it with LSA (Linseed, Sunflower and Almond)  and more water.. I’m slowly getting the hang of the water thing. And then we went for a walk, I planned to do a LONG walk but my head was pounding so we did a “blocky” which was almost 2 kilometers so at least we did something.

Today I’ve drunk 2 liters of water and I’m almost up to my 10,000 steps I will have done that by bed time.

I’m tired today but I know it’s all part of the detox so I am not letting it worry me.. I need to go make my smoothies for today and tomorrow morning and take my vitamins, and this morning the scales tell me I’m down 2 kilos. I will recheck on Monday and confirm that, but it’s possible because when you eat bread and then drink water the bread absorbs the water… since I’ve had no bread but plenty of water, the water is actually flushing the crap out of my system! The vegetables help!!

Today I worked on this…

IMG_2382

I am re-doing it on a board, since I love the one in my journal so much.

But there are many layers so it’s slower going than a journal page because it needs to dry properly.. This will be the first of 50. I am also working on one a “Secret” for my son’s 21st. That leaves one more board free.. I am trying to slow down a little I have too many ideas of things I want to do.. so I’ll finish these two and then get more done!

This afternoon when Jasmin picked up Squish we went for a drive to a shopping center called “Water gardens” Jasmin’s engagement ring was there being adjusted she has skinny fingers like me. So we went to collect that and had a quick look in some shops and spoke about preliminary “engagement” party stuff. There was also an invite to Jasmin’s and Brett’s next Wednesday night to meet the “in-laws to be” we met them briefly the day she got engaged but she wants us to get to know each other so, we are having dinner.. I fear that my healthy eating plan might go astray that day, but I offered to take some food and that way I can take something I can eat.. I’m going to make Mini Meatloaves and Zucchini chocolate chip muffins, both will be “Daniel Plan” approved.. Zucchini muffin recipe is there.

So that’s me up to date I hope everyone is having a great week..

More ICADS to share..

I’ve been off sick last week with a cold that went to my chest, so I just spent the sick time quietly doing art, no need to talk or use my sore throat, it was lovely.. and as a result (the only GOOD thing to come from being sick) was that I got some lovely art done… sadly no blogging, sorry I’ll try to be better this week..

This is the background collage for a piece I’ll share soon, why I’m showing this is because one of my penfriends does lovely envelope art and I promised her I would use her envelopes in something of mine.. so in this piece I used two.. the right pink in the middle saying “G’day Mate” and the green square and the right yellow and orange pieces are all snippets from Terri’s envelopes… which went on to become this…

our “Mantra and Spirit Animal” class with guest teacher Martice Smith 3, on Sunday Mornings 2 The koala had significance to me at that moment and I’m glad she chose me even though my painting of her didn’t really do HER justice.. Koala stands for according to this site.. http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-meaning-of-koala-bears.html

The symbolic meaning of koala bears speaks of connection, protection and memory because of their original affinity to ground dwelling life. As burrowers, koala’s shared a special connection with the earth. Aboriginal wisdom recognizes this relationship. Certain Australian myths claim koalas were first earthy clumps of grey clay and slowly crawled from their clay-bound lives in order to bring sacred wisdom to humans. They were also said to teach humans how to climb trees in order to gain a broader view of the grand world in which they live. This is also symbolic of memory.

If you’ve been reading my log for any time you’ll understand my journaling and photo taking etc, I am the “Memory keeper’ for our family unit.

it also says…

Those who resonate with the koala, and share a totemic bond with this fascinating creature will share many common attributes. Koala people are naturally likeable. Friendly, amicable, and content to ‘go with the flow.’ People with koala totems are also protectors and nurturers. They look after their tribe, showing keen interest in their society, and willing to help others in need. They do this casually, with aplomb. Koala people don’t force change, they have scads of patience. Where most people try to shove reform down the throats of society, koala people introduce gentle adjustments into society and take a “wait and see” approach.

Those who share the koala as their totem have calm, contended demeanor. In fact, I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with some friends who share close connection with their koala totems, and just being in their presence has had a calming effect on me. If your totem is the koala, you likely put people at ease just by your mere presence. Observe this in your surroundings. Have you ever entered a room charged with high-energy (stress, anxiety, etc) only to experience the room settling after your arrival? That’s the effect you have on others. The down-side to this, is that others may have a tendency to suck you dry. They see you as a stabilizer, somebody who is “all together” and often people will rely too heavily on your amiable nature

My Bloke always says to me “Sheila you have the patience of a Saint” I don’t know about that but yes I do have patience, all things in their own time… and I have patience with our babies too because they need to learn to grow and learn from repetition so when I sing the wheels on the bus 47,000 times a day and then see a hand movement or catch the odd word coming out of their mouths I know I’m winning… slow as it might be! Yes I have patience for “MOST” things… there are of course other things I have less patience with people who talk Sh*t are a classic example!

I have also been told many times about my “calming” influence. I just wish I got to sleep for 20 hours a day like a koala!

Back to art….

ICAD day 12- Parsnip and Kiwi.. loved this one.

ICAD day 13- Plum and Blueberry.

Day 15- New Week, this week we are using “Collage” anything found… the Prompt was “Route 66”

Day 16- Greeting Card- I wasn’t in the mood, so I just threw something together to “get it done”

Day 17- Wabi Sabi- I had no idea what that even meant, thank goodness for “google” LOL

Also new for this week is Bible study is back and e are doing the Book of Proverbs, which I really like, today is day 4, it took me a few days to get back into the routine, so I have decided next time the “group” have a break I am not going to because I lose my momentum and then it takes me a week to get back into the flow of my morning pages.

In my art class “Sunday Mornings 2” I did..

Our final class was this one called…

“Wonderfully made” by guest teacher  Jeanette Montero, I used Psalm 139:17
“How precious to me are your thoughts God! How vast the sum of them!”

So that brings us up to today.. I am now officially finished the “Sunday Mornings 2” class with Mindy, and I will get started on my classes with Tam’s Lifebook, that were gifted to me by good friend Carrol.

Also today, in fact right as I speak, 9;12am, my daughter Amber is out doing her driving test, she left at 7;30am to do one more driving lesson pre test.. fingers crossed that she passes because my Bloke has found her a car, through one of his work colleagues. I know I have told you all before but I am SO very proud of my daughters, they are so much more than I ever was at their ages, so much more outgoing, lively, adventurous and open to new things, by the time I was Amber’s age I’d only just gotten my license but I never and still don’t drive, where as she is excited by the thought of having a car and being able to go! Also by the time I was Amber’s age I had been married 4 years and had two small daughters, and a house mortgage, so I think I like HER way better. The one thing I promised myself when I had my girls was “they will never turn out like me” and they surely have NOT!! So that is one parenting goal I have met and succeeded on.

I hope your Thursday is full of adventures..

June… I’m back!

So after having the last week off wallowing.. and really not achieving much…. maybe I was over tired and needed that break, whatever I am back and since yesterday was the start of WINTER (in Capitals because it’s my least favourite season) I decided that I needed to do something to turn this “funk” around.. so I’ve decided ( I usually decide this at least once a year and fail miserably) to “embrace winter” No I will never like the cold, I don’t particularly like walking in the rain, occasionally I’ll jump in the really deep puddles but only if I am close to home so I can get home and changed into warm dry clothes quickly… there is nothing about winter I like! There’s not even any colour in winter…it’s all white, grey, or shades there of…and don’t even start me on the subject of snow.. I’ve been three times in my life and hated it each time… and yet on my Bucket List I have this “spend a weekend at the snow” I figure I’ll go with my Bestie and her husband who LOVE snow and skiing and snow boarding, none of which appeals to me, BUT maybe if I go with them, their enjoyment will be contagious and I might “enjoy” myself… probably I’ll stay at the bar with the fireplace and fire gaze the weekend away!

Anyways… this year in my “attempt” to “embrace winter” I’ve got some challenges lined up…

First of all, I heard about a book and website called “1,000 Gifts” here’s the link.. http://onethousandgifts.com/ “A dare to live fully right where you are” I heard about it last month, but I like to start things at the start of the month, so I started yesterday… the idea is each day we list 3 things and she even gives us prompts… and if you’ve been visiting my blog for any amount of time you’ll know that I LOVE prompts!! Sometimes they start off my writing and it might go it a totally different direction but it started me.. that’s all I need sometimes a kick-start!

So here is this months prompt list!

Yesterday which was the 1st of June.. was 3 gifts orange

My reply was.. Mandarin, (Squishy loves his baby oranges!) Sweep Potato which I cooked for dinner and Sunrise.

So basically each day you list three things that make you thankful..”I can do” that, yes even I can do that!!

Then I discovered another thing that I “can do” it’s called ICAD which stands for “Index Card a day” and this lady uses one Index card a day and does a small piece of art! You can find out more here: http://daisyyellowart.com/vividlife/icad-2015-index so I decided that I want to do that and maybe just maybe I can combine the two.. multi tasker is me!

So I “plan” because I am late starting this one.. to start doing them today and “day one ICAD” will be orange and I’ll make a list or use found collage pieces to decorate the card, the beauty of this challenge is it’s small.. Maximum size = 4″ x 6″ So I went and brought a packet of plain white cards, I did this last year but sadly I got side tracked in my “winter wallowing” and never did the challenge, so I have been using them for those little bits of left over paint, or the odd stencil I wanted to test or different background things,,, have a look at some I prepared earlier..

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See the green background with white Ivy… that was left over paint and  gesso to make the ivy 3D.. and the grey with circles was me testing a theory.. never mind, they are starters for this years ICAD! I had 28.. and the goal is to do 61, so I am on the way! The website provides prompts.. like for example day one was “Chevron” so I have a chevron stamp I could incorporate that some how or I don’t have to use it at all.. she also gives prompts for techniques and mediums to use.. lots of ideas in this site!


The challenge is about the DOING and not the
KEEPING or PRESERVING or ARCHIVING. 
It is the process of creating each day that matters.

An annual creative challenge
Facilitated by Daisy Yellow
Buy a pack of index cards
♥ draw ♥ doodle ♥ write ♥ collage ♥
♥ paint ♥ haiku ♥ stamp ♥ stitch ♥
61 DAYS : 61 CARDS


Taken from the website: http://daisyyellowart.com/icad/icad-faq.html

What’s the secret?

Each individual index card creation represents your conscious choice to do one creative thing over the course of one typical day. And to repeat that choice daily for two months. And when you choose to make time for creative play, you create a habit. You choose to infuse life with art and creativity. But let’s step back. Just take it one step at a time, one card at a time. The challenge is a creative kick that can spark your imagination. There are 1000’s of cards completed each year. The creative energy just might change your life. But you won’t know unless you try.


So my friends be prepared to see things happening on this blog, surely even I…. “Worlds greatest procrastinator” can do THESE challenges!! anyone want to join me? it could be fun you know! we could encourage each other.. actually somewhere I read she said to put the amount of cards (61) in a small pencil-case with basic supplies so you can take it with you and work when you are waiting at sports training or  games or at appointments or something where you have down time.. I kinda laughed at that “what is down time? I wish I had some of that” even as I write this I have one child trying to climb up my back because he wants me chair!!

Wish me luck… just out of interest… what are your THREE things for June 1st??

“3 gifts Orange”

Tell me below I am interested to see how everyone else saw Orange!

I’m back!

Sorry I have been absent, It’s been a week, I started off last week well, I was hopeful about Art Bible study group, I was hopeful about lots of things I was “planning” to get done..

Monday -started off well, it’s a baby free day for me so that’s always good, and so I got the house work done, the washing caught up and felt like “yay” even planned to go and start de-cluttering the art studio, I had plans and started doing my “morning pages” for the new Book Club I am working in….

Tuesday-  I had Squishy as usual and I was starting Bible study group, my first night, the Pastor’s wife Arranged to collect me and take me along. Star Son had football training so The Bloke was going to be home early, so I had dinner planned and after having a very clingy boy all day I couldn’t really be bothered, but two things forced me to go to Bible study group.. 1- I didn’t have the Pastor’s number to call and cancel and 2- I really feel like God wants me to have “community” and not stay at home so much. So I shook it off and went, I am so glad I did go the women were so lovely and made me feel so welcome and were happy to stop and explain what was happening and who was who and what was coming up. I felt instantly at ease and like I fitted in. During the prayer session, I asked the Lord to please help me fit into this group if it was his will that I stay here. And also for guidance about where to go next in terms of what I am doing with my art. Little did I know what I was asking for..got the start of a headache, thought I was tired ignored it.

Wednesday- Had a great nights sleep maybe a little too good, woke up with the headache and the tightness in my shoulders which is never a good sign. when I was online my cousin contacted me and asked have I been checking my emails? d’uh of course I have.. she said “well check again because I think YOU won” and I’m like “huh? won what?” She had this plan and it was long and convoluted and a complete fabrication.. about how she had entered my email address into a competition to win art classes for free. So immediately I checked emails, nothing, then I get an instant message on Facebook from a good friend I met through art, I call her my “Soul sister” we have so many things in common, She said to me “Kim I have a confession” and I immediately thought “oh no what’s happened?” and I instead said “that sounds serious” and she said “well yes it is…” I thought she was going to tell me that her trip to Australia was cancelled or something, instead she tells me “You didn’t win the competition” I sighed a sigh of relief  I said “Oh well it’s no big deal, I didn’t get any emails, it was nice of Lee to try”  and she wrote back “Yes your cousin is the most amazing person, but you didn’t win the competition I brought you those classes!” So long story shorter.. Carrol and Lee had been plotting and Carrol had gone to Tam’s “Sales page” and brought these lasses for me as a gift… I told her off because that’s  A LOT of money and too much to spend on someone else… she promised me they were on sale, which I knew because I had been looking at them and had picked out two of the cheapest classes to try, but still “on sale” was too expensive for me to consider. there was some kind of mix up and so after a lot of checking and emailing back and forth. So it turns out that God had answered that question of “Where to go next with my art?” because suddenly I have 104 art lessons to do!! Thankfully they are “life time” and so I am not on any kind of schedule. Carrol is the most amazing lady!!

I had both babies while Amber had her driving lesson, and then when she got home my head was thumping so hard I went for a nap while Squishy napped. Amber and Scarlett went out for the afternoon. Bloke cooked dinner and I had another early night.

Thursday– Panadol is not working, it’s not even touching this headache, my shoulders are bunching up and I can hardly move.. maybe I am getting the flu… Amber came home yesterday and said “the Instructor has decided that she is ready for her driving test, so today she had to go do the “Hazards” test, in the olden days we called that the written part, and it was done on the same day.. these days, it’s done on a computer  and she a year to do the actual driving test after she passes the hazards, so I had to look after two babies while she did her test. So I went downtown with her, thinking the fresh air, change of scenery would get rid of my headache, plus it was a lovely sunny day. It didn’t work! So I went to see my Physio, and make an appointment, and I almost cried when they tell me the first available appointment was Friday next week! The Bloke was home early again to take Star son to football training, so he took Squishy with him for a drive so I had those little few minutes of quiet. I was in bed by 7.30 pm.

Friday- Squishy stayed home with Brett, so I had another free day and since I woke up with the headache – again! I got Star Son off to school and then went back to bed.I spent the day watching my TV shows on my ipad and reading my book.. and it worked! because by the time The Bloke got home from work, I was up cooking dinner and moving almost normally. I stayed in my PJ’s all day Friday and then The Bloke took Star Son to youth group and  when it was time to collect him, I decided to go for a drive, but since it was dark and I wasn’t getting out of the car I stayed in my PJ’s… BIG MISTAKE!!

A car pulled into the car parking space next to us and I am mentally thinking “out of all the car park spots you have to stop here” I looked up to see a smiling lady waving at me.. and it was Paula, the lady whose house we had been at for Bible study group.. I am so embarrassed I wished I could just melt away. She said “Oh I thought to myself that looks like Kim!” and I was thinking, “wow how do you do that? meet me once and recognize me sitting in a blacked car!” I explained that I was hiding because I was in my PJ’s and I didn’t even have enough energy for blogging or art, and she said “Oh are you an artist? Oh good, you must come to church on Sunday and join our art group!” I’ll text you she says, and we exchanged mobile numbers. An hour later I had three texts and an email and I was thinking,… “This is the sign right?” Thank you Lord!

Saturday– We had made plans to meet some friends at the camping and 4 wheel drive show on at the Melbourne Showgrounds, so we had to leave early, I’m not sure what was going on, because I woke up and didn’t have the headache or the tightness in my shoulders. I had a great day with my Bestie and her husband Steve and son Jordan, although Will and Jordan were off doing their own thing most of the day. We had lunch together and finally departed about 2.00 pm, I love spending time with my bestie, we don’t have to talk or we can talk up a storm and it’s just comfortable and we are so lucky our blokes get on so well as well. I than God all the time for giving me Deanne you can read more about my bestie here: https://kimlhine.wordpress.com/?s=X+is+for  once back home I had a quick cat nap and woke up feeling good, yay maybe the headache is gone..

Sunday- Football day! Star Son had club photos so they had to be there at 9.00 am for the photos and then the game started at 11.50 am so that gave me time to sit in the car and catch up with my journal writing. It was cold but not too bad. Rupertswood won convincingly 85 to 7. One of the parents didn’t show up so The Bloke ended up doing the Goal umpire job, but that’s ok he likes helping. I like to sit and watch and be quiet, I am on a “gag” order from Star Son, he says he hates it when those Mums are yelling out and telling the kids what to do and the coaches are yelling out what to do it’s too confusing, and then he adds, “I am so glad YOU don’t do that Mum!” so that’s my Gag order… I only cheer for him when he gets a goal or something. I am sure the other parents think I am less interested or don’t care or whatever they think, but my Son knows whats what and that’s all I care about. The previous week he got stretchered off the ground, after being knocked down by a bigger kid, as I ran out to him on the field the first thing I hear him say is “I can’t feel my legs” my heart dropped to my muddy boots! I didn’t say a word, I think I was holding my breath! It turned out he was winded, and he hurt his ankle.. but he was all good, he had a quiet afternoon and recovered quickly. Then he told me off because I didn’t take photos or video of him being stretchered off the ground, now he has nothing to put on Facebook.. Laughing!! I can’t win!

After Football I was supposed to go to the Church Art class, but I had a headache after sitting in the cold, so I skipped Art Class..I hope Paula will invite me back to the next one!

So that brings us up today, 1st June, First day of winter, and boy, has it ever hit with a vengeance.Its a bitingly cold wind!

Oh a positive note, I did spend some time organizing places for our upcoming trip, in September till Nov across the Nullabor Plains to Western Australia. So far I have 17 places marked for stops whether they be over night or for a few days, these are the places that at some stage we will be laying our heads down!

Yesterday afternoon we went to see my Mother-in-law Tanny in her “Retirement home” read more about Tanny here: https://kimlhine.wordpress.com/?s=F+is+for

Tanny has just noticed (Dementia will do that for ya!) that she has a nose, and we ALL have noses and she is laughing when she says “noses are so ugly.. why do they have to be so big?” Rob and I were laughing because his sister Leigh has asked us not 15 minutes earlier  “Has Mum commented on your huge nose yet?” we said NO… ha ha! Tanny looks at me and says “Oh Kim, YOUR nose is HUGE!” and I laughed and said “Not as Big as Rob’s” she looked at her son and says “Where did YOU get such a huge nose?” he said Probably from you Mum” and she said “Well yes I just saw that I have a nose and It’s big but it’s OK, I am getting used to it” we all laughed and then Rob says “Good thing that Mum, you’ve only had that nose for 80 odd years!” now I share this little story with you, not to be mean, I am certainly not laughing at her, but I just love that she is happy, that she can laugh at us, that we can all laugh with tears rolling down our faces, at something as harmless as a “NOSE” something we all have and take very little notice of.

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The Bloke and his Mum with their “big Noses”

I have had a busy day..

and I have loved every minute of it.. somewhere around 7.00 am Monday I decided that I was going to paint.. it was my “child free day” and so I did a layer of my “Girl with a pearl earring” oil takes a while to dry so I decided to work on a few of my other courses and each day this week I’ve done a little bit here and there, today is day four!

I was awake super early and got an early start on my Bible Study, Leviticus umm.. somehow I’ve jumped ahead and I’m actually already on 21… hmmm, SHHH! Then I had “Squishy” today so I was up for breakfast and dressing. We did a quick trip down town to get some pasta sauce for tonights Lasagna so I’m pretty close to my 10,000 steps for the day.

Back home, babies had a nap and Grandma got busy… (Then My daughter Jasmin came home from work sick, so she took Squishy home, Amber and Sweetpea went out and suddenly, I had the whole big empty house ALL to myself)

I finished Shonna’s “His Kingdom Come” course which I started over 12 months ago (I really need to learn to date my work)

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I SOOO LOVE this piece.

I took step by step pics I’ll add those in a gallery later. I added bits of a letter from my Mother-in-law and all kinds of “Stuff” to build up the layers including bible pages… there was a big uproar about using “bible” pages in art and then it was decided that we are painting “God’s word” what’s the harm in using some of his printed words? I had an old bible one of the children had from youth group, so I’ve been using that. in respect and not for harm! Don’t even get some of the people started on the “Bible Journaling” class… Oh that one caused an even bigger Uproar.. and honestly, I felt kinda weird drawing in my bible, even though I brought a totally separate bible to use.. I’ve done only one page.. I’m too nervous!

I am so happy to be finally finished this course, but of course now Shonna’s started a whole community of Christian Art, so there’s always something new to do and learn. This little A5 art journal is just big enough to get a piece done in a few hours.

Then a few weeks ago I was looking for a course on “Astronomy” and I googled that (as I do!) and found a free (magic word!) course on a site called “Udemy” So I joined that and then realized they had art classes… Oh hold me back!! Some are free and some you pay for some are one lesson and some are a series of lessons. I signed up for a “Freebie” to see if I like the style of teaching. and let me tell you.. I DO!!!

Here’s what I made tonight.. a watercolour.. I’m calling it “Night time Mountains”

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I never sign my art but I actually signed AND dated this one!

I’m mostly happy with it.. I need more practice so I’ll see what else I can find.. but the instructor, this was her first class and she has a website and it’s a “wordpress site”.. bonus.. visit Patrizia at: https://jelearte.wordpress.com/

In between that.. I am cooing a new recipe… ok it’s a spin on an old favorite.. its Lasagna in the Slow cooker…You’ve probably read about my Star Son’s hatred of the Slow Cooker.. so when he suggested it I jumped at it…

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I have just added the final layer of cheese and it cooks for another 30 minutes..

I am excited, the whole house smells super yummy! So I’ll let you know how the “Star Son” liked it and share the recipe/technique tomorrow. Also a few weeks ago I brought a packet bread mix, I’ve never made bread before, so I thought I’d cheat and start with a packet.

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It’s this one from Aldi supermarket and it smells delish..

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In the oven

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Cooling on the stove.

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Inside and first slice, and the word from “Star Son” YUUUUUUUUUUUM!!

I really didn’t think he’d like it but I thought it would be a nice change from the usual garlic bread we serve with lasagna.

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Also today, we tried the new Cadbury chocolate with Pretzels and peanuts, I’m excited about new chocolate because they’ve been doing a thing on Facebook asking what you “smash” your chocolate with, some said this one and others said “Vegemite” personally and I LOVE Vegemite, I kind of think that’s weird, but it’s coming out 1st of June so I will taste test it and report to you.. some also sad Avocado. I HATE Avocado, but my Bloke loves it.. so if they make that I will be forced to try that, and let’s face it.. it’s Chocolate really how bad can it be??

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It’s good!! the salty and the chocolate work!

So here’s a gallery of step by step of today’s Art piece which did I mention.. I love?!!

Wanna join us? it’s free.. my favourite word!! http://www.his-kingdom-come.com/ come and register, it’s free, join some classes, some are free and meet new friends and do some fun Christian based art. If you come along and join us, look me up!