school balls...

i'm sorry... but i feel obliged to go off on a bit of a

rant for a little while.
upon watching the girls at church all blissed out the past few weeks over their school balls and all the wonderful things that go with them - i was completely and utterly gobsmacked to find out the price of some of the things that are these days

considered a "necessity"

one of the girls mum's told me that they had already forked out near on a thousand dollars for the ball and it was still 2 days away... (i could not believe it - her ball dress cost more than my wedding dress!!!) so i'm going to walk you through my ball and exactly what it cost me and my parents

year 11

"models": jade goodlet and hayley burnett :)

take my year 11 ball for example....

costs were as follows:

*ball ticket $50 odd

*superhot blue ball gown with matching scarf and shoes

(and very-much required padded bra haha) $nil

(- borrowed from my dear friend lisa)

*acrylic nails $50

*earrings and jewellery - mine and mums $nil

*hair - mum $nil

*makeup - me $nil

*corsage - gift from dad

bringing us to a grand total of $100

plus as an afterthought any photos taken at ball by photographers

could be purchased at a later date at a cost of

approx $10-$15each

year 12

"models": jade goodlet and hayley burnett :)

And year 12 - i hear you ask…?
costs were as follows:
*ball ticket $50 odd
*a-maz-ing purple new season ball gown discovered in 2nd time around mt hawthorn $120
(sold one year later for $60 to the next fashion-on-a-budget girl)
*strapless bra from myer $40
*black gloves borrowed from brothers gf (now wife!!) $nil
*earrings and jewellery - mine and mums $nil
*shoes from spendless shoes $40
*hair - mum $nil
*makeup - me $nil
*corsage - gift from dad

grand total: $250

again - photos could be purchased later...

so there you have it folks... spending a fortune on a ball is completely unnecessary...

myth.... busted

and that's all i have to say on the matter!

oh baby baby!

upon reading pip's blog today - i discovered that she and chels are due on the same freaking day! so not only are two of my besties having babies very close together - but i might even be an aunty twice in one day!!

just thought i'd share...

how very exciting!!!

:)

anzac day...

both sides of my family - mums and dads -
were part of the armed forces...
so anzac day is pretty important to me-


grandad joe went to war in the south pacific during world war two
grandma phyl was a cook in the army
and
grandad roy was part of the peace keeping corps in
germany after world war two

so i couldn't go past a lesson on anzac day for the girls yesterday

"they shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
age shall no weary them, nor the years condemn
at the going down of the sun - and in the morning
we will remember them"

lest we forget

saturdays child is full of bargains!

saturdays child spent the afternoon combing through other people's pre-loved clothes at the gsi in stirling and dianella :)

bliss!

purple fitted t with ruffled neck $2.50

t for my laura - $3

bonds "babushka" wife beater - $1


funky orange target cardi $5

uber-cool purple crinkled scarf $2
amazing fitted stitched dress from flower - old school cool -$5
aqua green wrap around knit $2
incredi-cool black heels $7
map satchel (for chels' bday) $4

man scarf for doug $3.50
and a tie for the pink $2.50

days just don't get any better than this...

flake icecream....

back to the high school days...

flake icecreams were new and all the rage. (very similar to a drumstick/ trumpet - only they have a flake down the middle) i had bought one from the school canteen and had enjoyed exactly two bites when my bestie hayley asked me for one.

i obliged by handing her the icecream... let her have a few bites and then asked for it back. haha - was not going to happen. so eventually i lunged for her and the cone - only to watch her freak out and throw it towards the nearest object - which just so happened to be the bin.

why today?? i hear you ask.
why am i remembering this today?
well... i spoke to hayley on facebook today and we're going to catch up soon - for icecream...

i'm pretty sure she still owes me one.
:)

broken bones!

i broke my elbow in high school - year 10 in fact.

so that's actually 12 years ago now.

didn't hurt at the time, i was too busy worrying about the fact that half my face was missing, from the gravel burn... face planting off a bike into gravel at a pretty good speed is never fun...

but... it hurts now.

what the heck??

i'm broken - and need replacing!

it's raining... it's pouring!

it's raining again!

hopefully - it won't end up as bad as the last storm we had - but i just heard a "severe weather warning" for the perth area, and i must confess, i did visualise my computer being soaked again and my carpet in my house going back to it's wet dog smell. what an overreactor! I'm sure it'll be fine... eep. fingers crossed.

the rain always reminds me of a quote by

elaine cannon (the yw's general president at the time,) from a talk “agency and accountability,” in the ensign, nov. 1983, p.88 -

"we are like children walking a path in the rain. we can walk straight down the path... or play in the mud as we desire, but with our choices come the consequences, with time the stains become harder to remove, and we are rapidly becoming what we are choosing to be for all eternity.
maturity is understanding that we cannot blame anybody else for our actions. being accountable for how we use our agency means being answerable for our own behaviour..."

something to think about - isn't it...?

superbowl sunday!

yesterday was "superbowl sunday" at the kendalls
after years of hearing about how wonderful the superbowl parties are in the states, we decided we'd have our own...
clearly an afl grand final is the equivalent and "luckily" doug has just a few of the lions past (including the mighty 3-peat)
on dvd... so - on it went!

doug a little over-excited to see the lions were
"co-incidentally" playing!

lisa and brandon were informed that they weren't even allowed in the house until they had donned the correct team guernsey!!!

lisa having her first piece of fairy bread - ever!
this is clearly what she moved to australia for

as the game went on - it became clear to all in attendance that her only fascination was actually with the goal umpire. haha

sexy beasts in our lions guernseys-
at least we are barracking for the right team!

suprisingly they won the game
wow... imagine that.

hahahahahahaha. don't ever fall asleep
when there's a camera around.
but i must confess - this is generally what i feel the
need to do when the football is on!

i can't wait for a real superbowl party...
bring on those damn chicken wings!!

liz ♥'s larry!!

mr and mrs. anelli

yesterday i had the priveledge of watching my dear friend lizzie (who used to work with us girlies at chippers!) marry the love of her life in st. johns church in fremantle. it was truly a perfect day - not a cloud in the sky - yet not too hot... and lizzie looked like a princess in her dress! and so blissfully happy! i am so excited for her and all the the future holds for her and her larry.st. johns church - stunning!

they had the reception at the esplanade river suites in como,
and the food was yummo! and the service...? perfect me and my mr.

all the best to you two - and may your "happily ever after"
be everything that you ever dreamed of and much, much more!

x

-->♥x
jadee and lizabelle

the chippers crew
jade, carmel, liz, tracy and beverley

csi: jerusalem

i am well aware of the fact that easter is not about chocolate (although it is always appreciated!) and it was nice to have to plan a lesson for the youth (12-18 year old girls and boys) at church that was centered around the death of christ and his ressurection on the third day. it's a fabulous time of the year and it was a blessing to see the youth go about their "crime scene investigation" on the empty tomb.

how blessed we are to know what we know!
no questions are unanswered - no stones are unturned
- and nothing is left undone for us

i know that my redeemer lives!
not that he lived, that he lives!

happy easter!
... all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed,
all the parliaments that ever sat,
all the kings that ever reigned, put together -
have not affected the life of man on this earth
as much as that one solitary life...

jesus christ

the youth of today...

sometimes i feel like i am turning into my parents -

upon talking to my niece last night for her birthday, her seventh birthday mind you, i was told excitedly that she had received a nintendo ds. awesome.

followed by...

"...all i need now is a camera, an ipod and a phone."

are you kidding me?

now... when i was a kid....