Regarding Henry

I have to say that after last night's episode of the Tudors, Jonathon Rhys Myers is definately at the top of my Christmas wish list. Although there's still room for Denzel Washington, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom. Just in case you're reading, Santa!!!

A little Black Magic....

Ok peeps, this is my new Fave Rave...Core-dinations black magic cardstock!!! For fans of the "run over by a truck" look, this stuff is for you!! The meaner you treat it, the better it works. The basic idea is to let the underneath colour show through the black by mistreating it in a variety of ways...VERY theraputic.
In this layout I've simply torn it into strips, but you can also sand it, antique it, scrunch it and a whole bunch of other things too!! Check it out at
http://www.mysticalscrapbooks.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=65_288_310
It's totally MAGIC!!

TV time

OMG I am SO hooked on The Tudors....it's a new show on foxtel about the early years of Henry VIII, and it's BRILLIANT !! Not only do you get to see Henry as a complete box of man candy (ie, sans beard and 76 inch waistline) but it gives you a really novel view of court life in Tudor England. And Anne Boleyn comes across as a complete scheming trollop, which is a little differently than she's played in other dramatisiations, like Anne of the thousand days. You just know that she's gonna get her hooks into Henry, and he deserves SO much better, if only for the fact that he looks SO good in Ye Olde Medieval keks. I'd like to say I told you so, Henry, but I get the distinct impression I'm about 400 years too late.

Fat Computer / Monday again

Time to put my computer on a COOKIE FREE diet....apparantly it's full of the little buggers, and they're slowing it down. Sounds like me after half a packet of tim tams. Had an interview at Kit's school this morning...he's getting some static about using his laptop in class, so I had to drag out his OT file and explain in very small words why he needs to use a computer instead of hand writing his work. Makes me wonder...if he was deaf, would they object to a hearing aid?? Aspergers really is an invisible disability... whenever anyone finds out about Kit or Sebi, the first words out of their mouths are always "but they look so NORMAL" GRRRRRR!!!!
Would they prefer two heads???.... or maybe something more stereotypically autistic like spinning or rocking. In my son's own words "I'm autistic. And I LOVE Greenday".
And that says it all, folks. For Kit, who doesn't need normal cos he's truly exceptional. Love Mum xox

Tagged!!

Ok Sara tagged me , so here's the scoop....
Now, here are THE RULES...
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.


1. I'm the only Kjirsten I've ever come across.
2. I live in the house where I was born
3. I eat chilli without the chilli powder
4. My birthdate is 6/8/68
5. I have a fixation about the number 19
6. I once wrote an obsessed fan letter to Neil Finn from Crowded House.
7. When I come back in my next life I want to be a giraffe.


OK, I tag....

Nay
Kerryn
Jolene
Alice
Kayla-Renee
Caroline
Tam

luck hugs xoxo

UNCLEAN....

I am SO over germs!!! Kit tripped over and grazed his knee in the first week of school, and because his immunity is so low, he's managed to grow a really nasty infection which has spread down his leg. He's now on high doses of oral antibiotics and antibiotic ointment, plus a bunch of other stuff to try and boost his immunity. I'm so sick of the smell of antibacterial soap!!! I'd love something that smells like flowers instead of disinfectant for a change. In fact I'm seriously thinking about inventing a range of cholcolate scented bath products....can't you just see yourself lathering up with cherry ripe flavoured soap....or using m&m scented shampoo??? MMMMmmmmm....Chocolate.......

WDU challenge...Bling

Hmmm...probably the area I'm least comfortable with, not having any girls to practice on. But, I'm very happy with the end result, I used BG papers from Phresh and Phunky and Lilykate, plus Kaiser pearl bling. Isn't Elly just edible????

White with 1 February Challenge

My mojo is definately back!! Have so far finished colour challenge and white with one, and have found my ATC's which went MIA last week, so will get them finished and postal tomorrow!!! Yay for me!!!

NATIONAL ASPERGERS DAY

OMG, we have a day !!! National Aspie Day....for everyone one who has never felt like they belong anywhere, you are personally invited to join the tribe and say what you are thinking without worrying that your membership in the human race will be cancelled. Long live free speech and literal interpretation !! And blue things and donuts and warhammer. Hey, my kids are entitled to a say...it's their day too!! xoxox

Mystical Colour Challenge

This fortnight's colour challenge is Red, Black and Cream, posted (slightly late, whoops) by yours truly....and here's my take on it. The wings were originally a very pinky pink, but I inked them with brilliance "rocket red" then painted them and punked them up with black staz on and kaiser bling.

Apologies for the slightly squiffy photo... I think my scrap room's on a slant!!
I'm getting pretty much back into the swing of things after a rough fortnight, and my mojo is starting to kick in again. Stress and scrapping SO don't mix!!
Next on my list is the White with 1 challenge...this is Susan's new challenge blog, which is going great guns ATM....see it here...
and then I have the WDY challenge which is due tomorrow (yikes) nothing last minute here folks. This time it's BLING which is NOT my strongest point, so methinks I'll be searching for some inspiration this afternoon. Then there's just the 123 challenge and Aussie scrapjack, and I'll be up to date!!!!

Thank you for the music....

Hee hee...Planet Hartwell is now wired for sound thanks to my dearly beloved who managed to find my all time fave song AND upload it to my blog. Love you hon xox

Plans for the Weekend??

Mystical Scrapbooks rock your blog prompt 2....
I plan to immerse myself in scrapping this weekend, I've got some new shots to develop, plus some older pix that are just BEGGING to be scrapped. The only down side is that in order to scrap, I have to be able to find my workspace which is currently buried under a mountain of stamps, papers, ribbons and other associated scrapping paraphernalia. I admit, I'm a shocking scrapper....I work best in a state of total chaos, with drawers open and things stacked everywhere, music blasting and incense burning. My mother refers to my scrapping room as "that heaving brothel" which I'm assuming is a quaint English term for a messy workspace. I can fully understand how she feels....when the creative urge is over, and I head upstairs, full of scrapbooking endorphins or whatever you get when you complete a perfect layout, I never think about the disaster area I left behind me until the bug bites me again, and I head downstairs full of creative impulses, to be greeted by the wreckage of my last encounter. So, tonite I plan to spend an hour or three re assembling my domain before I lock myself in and crank up the music. Where's my incense burner???

Invisible

I'm not here. You can't see me, you can't hear me and most of all you can't ask me for anything. I've got nothing left. The tank is empty. I am not available, physically, emotionally or otherwise. Anybody truly interested in me rather than what I can do for them already knows how to find me. And for those people my door is always open. xox

Happy Valensteins Day

Ahh Romance!!! To all of you die hard Mills and Boon fans out there, I wish you roses and romance, diamonds and desire, teddy bears and true love.
For the rest of us who live in the real world, I hope you have enough petrol in the car to get you where you have to be, and enough cheese for the school lunches.
LONG LIVE LOVE!!

Got MoJo??

MYSTICAL ROCK YOUR BLOG
How do you motivate yourself to scrap and still enjoy the process??
I turn the music up. Because I don't live on a Tibetan mountain top, I have to fit my scrapping around the rest of my life. And my mojo doesn't respond well to changes, hee hee even my muse has Aspergers. So I create the mood I want by blocking out everyone else. And the best way for me is with music. But it has to be LOUD. Wall shakingly, earthmovingly LOUD. And no headphones. I want people to know that I'm blocking them out....it motivates me more. When my music goes on, I get into my own little bubble of creativity and I work. And i love it.
Best Music for Creative Expression...
GREEN DAY
JACK JOHNSON
BERNARD FANNING
BACH
MAMAS AND PAPAS
EURYTHMICS
THE POLICE

Buds

A big thanks to Nay and Kerryn for backup and support during a really crappy few days. Love you both xoxox

Pink and Girly

This is definately the girliest thing I've EVER scrapped...it's the Gwen Handbag from Scrapware, and I had a total ball putting it together and doing all the pink and girly bits. The papers are Sassafrass Lass, which are just SO cute, and kinds remind me of those "hello kitty" shirts. I used kaiserscaft pearl bling and fuschia felt stars to emphasize the circles and the ribbons on the handle are by finishing touch ideas....cute, no?? Shame I have no girls....it'll just have to live on my dressing table,lol.

a league of our own

I'm feeling particularly aspie tonite.....after days like today it's easy to see where my boys get their more memorable personality hiccups from. I don't often stop and think about Aspergers much in regards to myself...I concentrate on the boys and their ups and downs, until suddenly I hit a situation that points a big flashing arrow at my head "BEWARE>>>PERSONALITY DISORDER!!!!!" And today was one of them. Boy howdy. I presume that eventually I'll get to an age where I can say what I'm thinking and people will just say "oh, she's a senile little old lady, don't let it bother you" but let's just say that I'm SOOOO not there yet. I feel kinda like the cuckoo in the nest. I don't think like the rest of them. Them being everyone who isn't me apparantly. I've managed to upset people without realising it, and then it's pointed out that I have a completely flawed personality and I do everything ass backwards, and seem to have spent my entire life to date rubbing people up the wrong way. So I'm stepping back. To spend time with my own kind. My tribe. My boys....all three of them. Who are completely cool with me the way I am, and don't try to reinvent me in a socially acceptable mold. I like lots of things about the world. The colours, the sounds, the feel of things. But the world as a whole doesn't seem to cope too well with me. I think I'm what's commonly referred to as socially indigestible. So I'm leaving the banquet to spend my time at the table for four in the back corner. Where aspergers syndrome and the rest of my life don't have to be mutually exclusive. Where I'm happiest. With love and thanks to Bruce Kit and Sebi.

Friday again

and already the year seems to be speeding up!! Kit has taken to high school like a duck to water, he spends a couple of periods a week at the SEU, and is already well into the school routines...next week he starts music lessons, band practice and golf.
Sebi is coming off his meds, and seems to be the better for it. He is very independant this year, organising his reading, homework and music with very little help from me. He was promoted from Joeys to Cubs on Wednesday, and is looking forward to earning his first badges in a few weeks time.
The tickets are booked and the season passes ordered....The Hartwells are going to Canberra for the National Folk Festival!! More details as we get closer.
Today is also B-day as in Baby day....Ingrid, Dean and Jessica should be here some time this afternoon, and the boys are already fighting over who gets to hold the baby first!! Will post pix later. Luck hugs xox

Two steps back....

Unfortunately we are back on the roundabout again....Sebi has developed some nasty side effects to his medication, so we are having to wean him off over the course of a few days. We were hoping that these new meds would really help him with his organisation and skills in other areas, but it was not to be. His night terrors are increasing and he's lost weight. He has no appetite and emotionally he's on a hair trigger. So we step back and regroup.....I hate medicating the boys, it's such a hit and miss situation, and when you miss the results can be absolutely horrible. My kids deserve better. Way, way better. And unfortunately, all the wishing and hoping and loving in the universe can't make it better. So we step back. Again. I only wish I had a fraction of the patience and endurance that the boys have. Aspergers may leave them lacking in some areas, but in others we are richly rewarded each and every day that they are in our lives. And I am thankful from the depths of my soul that I was chosen for them, and they for me. For Kit who is my pride and joy and Sebi who is my special precious, with love from mum xox.

Of scraps and other things....

Well my weekend of MCing the Mystical cybercrop has gone well....lots of people into the challenges, although I will HAVE to make them harder next time, or introduce a one handed scrapping policy. These are my CC layouts...
My take on the leap year challenge....

This was for the Patron Saint challenge...Saint Anthony rules at our house!!

Baby Jessica starring in the Use Your Stash Challenge

The OTP challenge, which was make and decorate a noodle box....quite enjoyed this one, and pretty happy with the result!!

My take on the "Mystical Scrapjack", the original layout is Wendy's.

Have also started on my OTP kit which I recieved last week...it's a scrapworks MDF handbag, which is really stretching my creativity, I've painted and covered it, it's pink and girly and I LOVE it!! Now all I have to do is sew it together...hmmmm.
When it's finished it'll have a mini album in it, probably featuring one of my neices, since there's a distinct lack of girls at Casa Hartwell!!



As far as the rest of my life goes, things are running pretty smoothly ATM.
Kit has really enjoyed his introduction to High School, and is getting used to using his laptop for most classes. He rings me as he leaves school to walk home, and then rings me again when he gets to the bottom of the street, so I can come out to meet him :) The homework has started at full strength, so he's going to be a busy boy!!
Sebi has settled straight into grade 3, and is enjoying being one of the "bigger boys" in his composite class. We have booked our tickets for Canberra and the Folk Festival, it'll be a real adventure for the boys. Ok have to cut it short now, as this post is practically in another time zone!!! Thought I'd finish with a pic of Sebi flying high on the jumping castle at Fusion yesterday.

Luck hugs xox