The World's Most Beautiful Bride
Originally uploaded by Kerri McCrorey
My first baby, my darling niece, was married on the weekend in Bali.
When I first saw this photo I was reduced to tears, she is just so beautiful.
Congratulations baby girl, I love you very much.
With love from your favourite, most attractive and completely awesome aunt 
P.S. I just love that you wore thongs! It's SO you!
Originally uploaded by Kerri McCrorey
I have been dreading this number for years, but now that it's here, I'm really quite liking it.
I'm comfortable with the fact, for now, that today I am 50.
Brad, of course, will be running his tail off spoiling me rotten, as usual. In fact at midnight he took me to Krispy Kreme for my first birthday coffee, he has downloaded a girlie movie, that no self respecting male would admit to watching and he is currently baking me birthday oatmeal cookies.
....and it's only 2:15am. Heh
So, it will be a Maccas birthday breakfast, followed by an Italian birthday dinner, with lots of birthday fun and snacks in between.
OOOOOO, maybe we can do a birthday Dark Knight screening?
The possibilities are endless!
Originally uploaded by Kerri McCrorey
I'm late for Mother's Day and getting in by the skin of my teeth for Father's Day.
Thank you for being such wonderful in-laws. It makes not having my own parents around a lot less depressing at these times.
I love you!
I keep hearing about this phenomenon, but find it hard to grasp.
Do other people's kids leave home?
Mine have been hanging around for 20 years and more and I'm still waiting for them to break the *choke* dreadful news that they are going to move out.
Don't get me wrong, I adore my kids. It's just that they're messy little bastards and it doesn't get better with age.
For those following along, you know that we are trying to sell our house. It is on the market now. The photographer came last Monday so we have great photos for the advertising campaign.
I have paid my $40.00 to our local council to get the "149 Planning Certificate", which sounds terribly official, but all it does is give us permission to sell our house. Great little income rort there Rockdale Council!
The Solicitor is revved up and ready to go.
The Hawaiian and I have the house looking like a dream home.......
Then the kids come home.
Why is it that children/teenagers/young adults always explode all over the house when they get home? Is this only a problem at my place, or is it some sort of epidemic that I can blame some other bastard for? Who did this to my kids? It certainly isn't MY fault, my kids have been brung up proper like! *smirk*
Ok, so Im a slob too, their father was a slob, and The Hawaiian is one too. It's a little unfair of me to demand perfection from the kids when I can't lead by example.
There are so many more important things to do than housework. Like playing on the internet, blogging, chatting, having a mani and a pedi, shoe and bag shopping.... the list goes on and on.
So if you want to buy my house, don't try and come over to look at it without at least a half day's notice, preferrably a full day. Best option for us is for you to just buy it from the photos.
Then we can get outta here and leave the damned kids in the empty nest! *evil grin*
....and it's name is 'Guitar Hero 3'
My son, bless his cotton socks, went out and bought a Playstation 3 and Guitar Hero 3 on Thursday. He set it up in the family room, good little sharer that he is, and it has been running hot ever since.
I knew this would happen if that game came into this house! My husband is gone forever!
I found my old blog, finally! I only made two posts on it, but I found them interesting, as I originally thought it would take us a matter of weeks to get the house finished. It turns out it took us almost exactly a year.
Written 17 April, 2007:
The adventure starts here. Right here, right now.
I have avoided starting this blog because, I think, it becomes real once you put it down in text.
I am abandoning my kids and moving to a country on the other side of the world. There. I said it.
My "kids" are all old enough and big enough to look after themselves these days. I rarely see them, though they live at home. However, being so far away from them is going to be extremely hard, if they need me to do the 'Mummy' thing. Let's face it, they don't need me anymore, it's me that needs them! All I need to do for them these days is find the tomato sauce thats hiding behind something in the pantry or provide a free taxi service. They wipe their own butts, blow their own noses and can open cans, toast bread and boil eggs. My job is done. They are so good at feeding the pets that they often ALL feed them without consulting the others, which is a pretty happy situation for the four legged fuzzy people who share our home.
I currently live in Sydney Australia with my husband Brad and the abovementioned 'kids' who are, as of this date, 19, 20 and 22. Brad and I are moving to San Francisco with friends for what may be our big break.
It will be nothing less than a fabulous opportunity to experience an incredible city. There's very little to lose, really.... apart from my mind!
So, I'm leaving one spectacular bridge, for another spectacular bridge. It could be a lot worse!
Written 27 April, 2007:
Put simply, our house is currently a dump!
For our move to San Francisco, we have decided to sell this house, which is old, large and requires a lot of maintenance, and buy a smaller, newer one which will be more manageable for the kids while we are away. To do this, we have to make a few improvements to the current house in the hope of achieving a higher price.
Every room needs some attention, though some more than others and we have decided to tackle the task one room at a time. The office is one of the worst, as it has been our hoarding ground for the last ten years. Don't know where to put the portable airconditioner? Bung it in the Office! Where's the sock basket? Probably in the Office. (Yes, we have a sock basket, let it go!). This is where we have decided to start.
The last week has been spent emptying out the room, sorting things to go to freecycle, the salvos and the tip and taking said items to their respective new homes.
Tomorrow we finish the desk and shelf dismantling and we start painting! DEAR GOD! I can't wait to get one room finished and looking fabulous to spur us on to the next, because from where I sit right now, this is one damned awful task and so incredibly daunting. Why am I sitting here instead of getting on with it? Excellent question! I wish I had an excellent answer!
On with it, then!
Unfortunately, I have no photo of my Dad in his uniform, so I have posted a photo of my uncle (Mum's brother) as a second best option, though it has to be noted that Ally was second best to no-one. He was a champ and my Dad's best mate.
Ally and Dad would get up to no end of mischief together, and when they were too old for the physical mischief, they would reminisce instead, over a few glasses of ridiculously expensive Scotch Whiskey and laugh until they cried.
It was always a complete crack-up watching them together.
I note here that I would write about my Dad's achievements in the army, however, in his own words, he "spent more time in the brig than in action", and I can only regale you with tales of him stealing his commanding officers great coat and similar larrikin activities..... ANZAC Day deserves a more sombre tone. I know there are stories that Dad could have told us, but he never did. I can only imagine the horror that he saw but would laugh off with his stories of childish pranks.
Dad was in the Australian Army and was in Papua New Guinea on The Kokoda Trail.
Ally was a Pathfinder based in England in the Australian Airforce in WWII.
They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning
We will remember them.
Lest We Forget
In 40 minutes I leave to take my 20yr old baby girl for her driving test. She is the last of the gaggle to have to attempt this and I should be used to it by now, but my guts are in knots.
Yes, this is her on holidays with us in Hawaii, Christmas 2001. She always has been, and always will be, a great big dag!
She also has her medical for her potential new job this afternoon. The job of her dreams is riding on this medical, so it's a pretty big deal . Lets hope all the party drugs are out of her system by now! *rolling eyes*
It's ridiculous how your childrens' lives can physically affect your well being.
I'm seriously a heap right now!
Xbox4nappyrash and ET, are you SURE you want to put yourselves through this? It sucks.... BIG time! 
Since I was teensy (and teensy is something I can never remember being) I have always had animals around me and I will be a little lost without a pet once we get to San Francisco.
Like it or not I am going to share my puppy and kitty love with you all
So, go hither and see what a really dysfunctional family has as pets.