Gina's Diary

December 2006 Archives

Diary Entry #10
23rd December 2006

Merry Christmas everybody!! This is my 10th newsletter and I thank you for reading.

Well Christmas is here and I am ready!!! I don’t know how I did it and to be honest it wasn’t absolutely stress free, but the prezzies are wrapped, food is organised, and the house is clean!! (Very temporarily I know!!) We have one very excited little boy in this house!! Jackson will be 4 in January, so Santa is right up the top of his list of very important people! He is telling anyone who will listen that Santa is bringing him drums!!

We had his photo taken with Santa and our god children, Lexi and Ash, who are really feeling a little too old to sit on Santa’s knee, but God bless their cotton socks, they know he just won’t do it without them!! As a first time parent I’m wondering from boxing day forward what I am going to use to encourage good behaviour, because the old, “Santa’s Helpers are watching” is working a treat!!!  Do you think it will be too soon to mention the Easter Bunny?? Ha Ha!!!

I would like to thank you all for supporting my Leukaemia Foundation charity CD! Lot’s of orders still rolling in!!
Thanks also to those of you who have written in saying you love my new album!!! It really does mean so much to me to hear from you!!  It can be a really anxious time when you finally release an album you’ve worked so hard on over such a long period of time, waiting to hear if people like it or not!! I know the bottom line is that I like it, and I do, but I’m only human with lot’s of little things I worry about just like everyone else!    

This Christmas we are having at our house with the whole family. Traditionally we sing carols together on Christmas Eve. Rod gets his guitar out and everyone sings (well especially me and Rod!) This year, Christmas Eve morning, we are going to travel up to Cessnock to Rod’s Nanna, who is 89, and sing carols for her and her friends. She is a wonderful lady with a real sparkle!! Then it’s back home to prepare for our big day, sing carols and have a few quiet drinks, and maybe even put some things together (if you know what I mean!!)

Last year Santa Claus ran across our back paddock with a bell and sparklers, so you never know, if he’s not too busy he may be back, and Jackson will be yelling at the top of his voice, “Santa, I’ve been good!!!” For as long as I can remember, we have always played Elvis Presley’s Christmas album to go to sleep to. So after everything is done and the little one is tucked in, Elvis will serenade the whole household to sleep.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with the people you love. I try to remember that it’s all about the kids really and above all it’s a day where the big fella upstairs would wish for peace, even if it’s only within our own families.

My main aim is to immerse myself in Jackson’s joy!!

Until next week,
Live well, Laugh often and Love much
Gina x

Diary Entry #9
16th December 2006

Hey there! Well this is my 9th newsletter!! Thanks for reading!!

This week I have been driving myself crazy with Christmas carols! I have had two carol evenings to perform at and lots of carols to learn! Now you have to admit that when it comes to Christmas carols, you don’t really know all the words off by heart. Well that’s me for sure! You see it’s not every year I have to sing at carols, and even if I did, I would almost certainly not be singing the same songs I did the year before!! So some of the carols (even though they are off my own Chrissy album, Christmas Wish,) I haven’t sung for years!! Even some I have never sung live before, only the one time when we recorded my album!!

Anyway, this is a long winded excuse for not always remembering the words!! (I know you forgive me!!)
I travelled down to Wagga on Wednesday for their Christmas Spectacular. And it was spectacular!!
There were 10,000 people there and I got to sing with the Army Band and a huge choir!! It was so beautiful!!! I don’t know if any of you have ever seen what 10,000 candles look like from a stage, but it was absolutely breath taking!!
I was trying my hardest to look like I wasn’t nervous at all about perhaps forgetting some of the words in front of the huge crowd!! I did get a verse around the wrong way in Silver Bells, but I am pretty sure no-one noticed!!!
Wagga sure did turn on some beautiful weather! It was a wonderful balmy night with lots of happy smiling faces with Santa hats on!!!

(By the way, to any of you reading who live in that area, we left a stack of
my new cds (packaged with the Christmas CD) at a local music shop there, Allison Music in the main street, so if you’re not into buying your advance copy on the net, you could pop in and grab one and help out the Leukaemia Foundation at the same time!!)

Well now I am looking forward to this Sunday night’s carols that I will be performing at for our son Jackson’s pre school!! Apparently, according to some of my friends who went last year, it is the most wonderful night where they not only have all of the favourite Chrissy carols, but also a full re- enactment of the real story of Christmas, with actors playing the parts of Jesus and Mary and little baby Jesus. Even live animals will be partaking apparently!!
Should be fantastic!! Hopefully I will remember all the words too!!!! (Come on, you try and remember every word to every Christmas carol you ever knew!!!!) I’ll let you know next week how I go!

This week, we also rehearsed my band, getting ready for my big Tamworth show at the Country Music Festival.
On the 24th of January next year at the TREC Entertainment Centre in Tamworth, we will be launching my new album, “Walks of Life”. I am so excited!!! Ooooh my band is incredible!!!

For the new show, we are really trying to come up with a nice balance of all the old favourites, and showcase lots of the new songs too! I’m also trying to come up with a whole new look for the stage including a glittering backdrop, screens and lots more I can’t say coz then it won’t be a surprise!! I really hope if you’re there you can make it! You know after the show I will come out and say hello, so I would love you to say hi and tell me you’re a reader of my newsletters!

I have lots more news about the Tamworth Country Music Festival too that I will fill you in closer to the date….(Though if you know you are going to be there, try to come down to my fan club morning tea on Tuesday morning….our fan club president (that feels so funny every time I say it!!) Dianne Bean will fill you in on the where and the how on the website soon!! Also I am organising a fundraising event for the Leukaemia Foundation you might love to come to. It’s called “The Walk of Life”. It’s basically a walk with all your favourite country music stars down the main street of Tamworth!!! (Lee Kernaghan, Troy Cassar–Daley, Adam Brand, Beccy Cole, Adam Harvey and all the other big stars too) (Oh and I will be there of course!!!) It’s on Thursday 25th January from 9.00am til 10.00am. So come on down and join in the fun!! There is more about this going up on the website.
So sorry if you live too far away to come!!! I would really love to see you too!!!

Life has been so busy, I haven’t even got all my Xmas shopping done yet!!!! Ohhhhh I’m gonna have to brave the frenzied crowds at Erina Fair sooner or later!!!! I do love it though!! This time of year is absolutely my favourite time!!
And even though when I’m at the shops trying to will a good park (I have this theory that even at the busiest of times there is always someone leaving!!) there is no doubt we’ll all run into some very stressed out people, pushing and shoving in the aisles and carparks, but I always keep in mind, it really is a wonderful world and there are some incredibly generous, lovely people out there doing good deeds and smiling beautiful smiles, you just have to look out for them!!! Better still, try and be one!!!

Until next week….
Live well, Laugh often and Love much,

Love Gina x

Diary Entry #8
9th December 2006

Hello and welcome to my 8th newsletter.

If you tuned in last week, you may be wanting to know how Rod’s birthday went! Well, as I told you, Rod went out and bought himself his present from us. When he woke up, he was so surprised when Jackson lead him by the hand out to the garage where he had hidden his prezzie!!

Jackson was very proud of our purchase! Rod loves his table tennis table and we had a wonderful bbq with our friends!! I have this great game I invented for table tennis. (Probably every kid who grew up with a table knows this already!) It’s called “Round the Table Tennis.” You play with as many people as you want and hit the ball, put down the bat and run!! Whoever causes the ball to be out is out!! Eventually you end up with only 2 players and you have to hit the ball and run as fast as you can and hit it back!!! (Basically hit to yourself!!) Very fun!!!!

Well, the big answer here is, you regular readers knew it was also Rod and my anniversary of our first kiss!!! He didn’t really remember!!!! (he has been very busy….)

Oh well, we celebrated Rod’s birthday on Sunday, but his actual birthday was Monday and we had to be in Sydney all day doing press for my new album and then drive back up to the coast through peak hour Sydney traffic. We were so tired we had leftovers for dinner!!! Very Flash!!!!

I am still secretly expecting that one day any time soon inside the next 10 years, I will get a beautiful new diamond ring just for no reason at all!!! (Adam Harvey did that for his wife one year and ever since I’ve thought how beautiful!!!!) But Rod thinks Adam is just making it hard for the rest of the blokes on the planet!!

I’ve just realised that I had noted to my hairdresser Jessica the other day that all my letters are really girly and I should do something for the fellas. Well, I think I just did! All you blokes out there reading this probably don’t feel quite so bad about your attempts at being romantic with your girl now after you hear about my husband!!

OK he may have been less than romantic on this particular occasion but I love him for a million more reasons than that!

I have to finish up this week with something funny that happened today! Jackson and I went out this afternoon. (At the moment because I have been so busy with all the stuff I have to do with the release of a new album, he is really missing his Mummy and wants to go everywhere he possibly can with me!!)

So he went out to the garage, put his shoes on, and put himself in his car seat and yelled out, “come on Mummy!”.
So we went off to the RTA to get my licence renewed, walked in and I looked down to see that he had two different shoes on!!!

In the past, we have been to the shops with batman pj top on, totally mismatched out fits that he has chosen, or even covered in banana, but never one sandal and one clog. Very funny! I laughed very hard and so did every one else in the RTA !

Oh I’m sighing a huge happy smile just at the thought of that beautiful little boy upstairs in bed who has brought more joy into our life than we ever thought possible!

Until next week!
Live well, Laugh often and Love much!
Gina x