When Will Winter End?

Can you believe this? This is the view of our backyard this morning, and, oh yes, that's snow! It had all melted and it was raining last night, but then the rain turned into snow this morning. Where is spring?

One Crazy Week!

Wow! I'm such a bad blogger! I've had a busy week (plus I'm now addicted to Facebook! LOL!).
My mom has been visiting since Friday, and we've had such a great time! We celebrated my son's fourth birthday this past weekend, so she came out to party with us. Where on earth does the time go? I feel like it was only yesterday that I brought him home from the hospital. Now he's four already, and he'll be starting pre-school in the fall!

Here he is opening some gifts with Daddy (can you say spoiled?) We had all of his cousins and his uncles and aunts, my mom and my husband's parents, plus some family friends over, so the place was packed! Adam insisted on inviting his Sunday School teacher and her kids as well. He just loves Ms. Corbett! The kids were surprisingly well-behaved and the party went very well. I was pretty impressed that he went and said thank you to everyone after he had opened each gift (we had a big talk before the party about saying thank you to people).


DH and I also celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary on the weekend (yes, my son was born the day after our anniversary! We came home from dinner four years ago and turned around and went right to the hospital! What a great way to celebrate your anniversary - NOT!) Anyway, it was nice that my mom was visiting because she stayed with the boys and let us go out for dinner and a movie. We went and saw Leatherheads. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a hilarious movie! I love George Clooney's comedies. Very witty and intelligent humour!

My mom went back to B.C. this morning amid tears from my boys. They had such a great time with Grandma (as did I!). There's nothing like becoming a mom to make you realize how much you appreciate your own mom!

Also, our car's broken, so DH has been driving my van to work this week and I'm stuck at home, so at least I should be able to get some stamping done tomorrow!

Well, there's a quick recap of my past week! Thanks for listening to my ramblings! I'm hoping to get some cards posted tomorrow if I can stay off of Facebook for awhile! (Come on, I know I'm not the only one! LOL!)

A Healthy 2008

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post lately. I've been so busy! This afternoon I was working on my Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Business Website, which goes live tomorrow! I'm so excited about it! It looks so much nicer than the old site, and there is so much more you can do with it. I've been playing all afternoon! Please check it out tomorrow and let me know what you think (I welcome constructive suggestions for improvement!).

Then this weekend, I was working on a 3 x 3 valentines swap that Candace is hosting. This is my first swap, so I'm very nervous. Of course, I decided to do some dry embossing on the card, which is taking a LOOONG time on 11 cards! Next time I'll have to think things through! I'll post the cards when I'm finished them all so you can take a look.

I was also spending a lot of time this weekend praying and thinking about what I would like to change this year (I'd call them New Year's Resolutions, but then they'd be doomed to fail! LOL!). I really need to get healthy this year, so I made this Health Journal to help me stay motivated and focused (I know, any excuse to play with my stamps)! I read in Good Housekeeping that the biggest determinant of people losing weight is whether or not they journal what they eat. So, I thought I'd give it a try. For this journal, I thought I'd keep it simple since I'll be using it all year (at least that's the plan!). I covered it with Ginger Blossoms paper, then stamped the title with the Best Friends Alphabet in Ruby Red on Very Vanilla. I matted this on some Ruby Red cardstock. The flower is stamped from Embrace Life in Ruby Red on Groovy Guava, then cut out and adhered with a dimensional. For the center of the flower, I cut out a flower from the Ginger Blossoms paper and stuck it in the middle. I finished it off with a strip of Bravo Burgundy wide grosgrain ribbon.

At first, I was going to focus just on losing weight, but then I thought that I should really look at my over-all health. So with a lot of prayer, I've come up with some goals. I need to eat healthier and exercise at least three times a week (I want to lose 30 lbs and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight!).

For my spiritual goals, I also need to spend time in prayer and in the Bible ("...man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." - Deuteronomy 8:3b). I plan to study a book of the Bible each month, starting with Daniel, and spend time in prayer each morning before the kids get up.

I also have some social goals. I've become a bit of a hermit since I had kids! I've decided to phone at least one friend a week just to chat and invite someone over for dinner at least once a month.

Then I thought I should have some marital goals to keep my marriage strong. I know a few people who recently decided to separate or divorce after many years of what seemed to be happy marriages. It's probably best to keep things strong and communicate! So we're going to start having a regular date night, "couch time" every day when he gets home from work (this is where we sit down on the couch and talk about the day for a few minutes) and do a weekly couple's devotional to keep us connected with God as a couple.

Well, that's a lot of things to work on this year! It's only the first day, so hopefully I can stay focused! I typically do well for a few weeks, then fizzle out, so I'm really hoping that doesn't happen again!

So has anyone else made any goals/resolutions? I'd love to hear them! Please leave a comment and let me know what you're planning for this year.

Wow, this is a long post! Thanks for "listening" to my rambling. I wish you all a Happy and Healthy 2008!

Let's Remember

We had a wonderful service at church today. It is so nice that Remembrance Day falls on a Sunday this year. I love the image of Jesus giving His life for our spiritual freedom paralleling the sacrifice our soldiers gave and continue to give for our physical freedom.

One of the members of our church is in the RCMP, and he helped lead our service today. It was very moving as he spoke of all the people in the military and police force who serve everyday to help people who can't help themselves and to help us keep our freedom, often giving their lives for us. I am always moved to tears when I sing "O Canada", especially when we get to the part where it says, "God keep our land glorious and free, O Canada we stand on guard for thee." We do need to stand on guard to protect our freedom and to make sure those who are not free can become so. I am so thankful to our military and police forces who stand up for freedom everyday. Let us not forget them.

I have always loved this poem. Please take a moment to consider its words again:

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Check out Barb's Funny Story!

Barb has this HILARIOUS story posted on her blog. Check it out for a good laugh!

Moms Must See This!

I've seen this video on a few blogs now, including Tejal's and Debbie's, and I had to share (by the way, check out their fabulous blogs!). This clip is absolutely hilarious. For all the moms out there, check out this lady's lyrics to the William Tell Overture which encapsulate everything a mom says in a day! Click here to view.

What Scrapbooking Item Are You?

Jules at Stamping Stuff had this cute quiz posted on her site. Let me know what you are!

What scrapbooking item are you?

You are GLUE!You are the adhesive that keeps things together. You go through life helping others. You stick to people and try to keep people together. You like it best when you are surrounded by people and able to help them. But Glue Beware - in your efforts to keep everyone together and with you, you sometimes overlook yourself and find it hard to keep yourself together. Don't neglect personal time in your overwhelming need to socialize and help others. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Tagged Again!

Have you noticed that there certainly are a lot of different tags going on right now in blogland?! I've been tagged by Alex with this one that I've seen on a lot of blogs. (Check out her fantastic blog and her hilarious answers!) This one's super funny! Here goes:

1. ROCK STAR NAME (first pet & current car): Marmalade Uplander (oh, that's bad!)
   
2. GANGSTA NAME (favourite ice cream flavour & favourite cookie): Pralines & Cream White Chocolate Macadamia Nut (now there's a mouthful)
   
3. "FLY" GIRL/GUY NAME (first initial of first name & first three letters of last name): S-MCG (??)
   
4. DETECTIVE NAME (favourite colour & favourite animal): Green Cat
   
5. SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name & city where you were born):
   
6. STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name & first two letters of your first): Mcgsh (wow, no vowels!)
   
7. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favourite colour & favourite drink, put "the"): The Blue Diet Pepsi
   
8. NASCAR NAME (first names of your grandfathers):
   
9. STRIPPER NAME (name of your favourite perfume/cologne & favourite candy): Happy Toffifee
   
10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother & father's middle names):
    

So much fun! Now to tag five more people:
How about Donna, Rose Ann, Julie, Lori, and Amanda. Feel free to join in as well. Let me know what names you come up with!

Edited to add: I just got a comment from Maria warning that this tag uses information that banks often ask for for security purposes. I hadn't even thought of that, so I've removed some of my responses, and advise people to be careful. Too many people out there that could take advantage of the information, unfortunately.

Four Tidbits

I've been tagged by Corie! This looks like a fun one. I'm supposed to share four things about myself for each category, then choose four more people to tag. Here goes:

Four Places I Have Worked:

1. High Park School
2. Telus (back when it was AGT - Alberta Government Telephones)
3. Superstore bakery (most boring job ever!)
   
4. Cinnamon City Bakery Cafe (yummiest place ever!)
   

Four Places I Have Lived:

1. Spruce Grove, Alberta
2. Drayton Valley, Alberta
3. Edmonton, Alberta
4. Victoria, British Columbia

(I basically grew up in Alberta and stayed in the same town I grew up in with the exception of my university years and my first year teaching in Drayton Valley.)

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:

1. Aruba
2. Kauai
3. Jamaica
4. Jasper
   

Four Favourite Foods:

1. Pizza
2. Lasagna
3. Chocolate
4. Nachos

(Yes, I'm a gooey-cheesey girl!)

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

1. Aruba
2. Hawaii (would love to go back to Kauai)
   
3. At a spa being pampered
   
4. Stamping in my basement (sad, but true!)

Four Friends Most Likely to Respond:

1. Alexandra
2. Tex
3. Barb
4. My Paper World
   

One Last Quick Comment!

I got my stamp area cleaned up and even managed to make a few Christmas cards! I can't post them yet because I don't have the camera right now.

So, I've been playing around with my blog layout, colours, etc. If you've visited during this process, I apologize for some of the experimental looks you may have seen! I had a big jumble of colours and pictures at one point! I think I like this header I found on a free site. I'd like to learn how to design my own, but I don't have time right now! I don't think I have the software either.

If anyone can tell me an easy way to make my own, I'd appreciate it!

Also, please let me know what you think of the new look! Okay, I think I'd better get to bed now. Good night!

Check This Out!

You have to go visit Judy's blog and watch this video (click on the "Heroes" link). I'm sitting here bawling - it's so moving! Her town welcomed home soldiers who just returned from Iraq. Need I say more?

Stamping Deprived!

Just a quick note tonight. I haven't had a chance to stamp in two days! I'm so distraught! LOL! I actually have some time right now, as my husband took Adam camping (real camping this time - at a campsite in Wabamun) and Noah is in bed. But my craft area is such a mess (yes, again!) that I have to clean that up before I can start on anything new. Besides, Ian took the camera camping with him so he could document the whole camping experience, so I wouldn't be able to photograph anything I make tonight anyway (that's assuming I can get everything cleaned up and still have time to stamp before I go to bed!).

I just got a huge order in of Christmas stuff so I want to plan my fall classes soon. I've been mounting stamp sets all afternoon whenever I had a few minutes! I'm itching to dive into the big SU! box of goodies!

So, I'm off to clean up. I'll check in tomorrow, hopefully with something to show for my free evening! Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend to End Breast Cancer Kudos!

I want to congratulate my sisters-in-law, my mother-in-law and my friend for completing the 60 km Weekend to End Breast Cancer walk in Edmonton this weekend! Wendy, Twyla, Margo and Kate walked all day Saturday and Sunday after fund-raising all year for this event. In total, the walk raised over 4 million dollars towards breast cancer research with over 1300 people participating!

Congratulations Wendy, Twyla, Margo and Kate for a job well done! You are an inspiration!

Holiday Photos

I feel a lot better today. We're back into the swing of things, and I actually got some stamping done! But for now, I'll post some photos of our holiday.

My mom and step-dad live in Winfield, British Columbia (just outside of Kelowna). They have a beautiful view of Okanagan Lake from their balcony. Isn't this gorgeous!?

They also have a great yard. It was perfect for the kids to run around and play in. They had so much fun! We had a great time having water fights to beat the heat. You can kind of see Adam behind Daddy in the pool. He had just splashed Daddy and Noah with a bucket of water!


















Grandpa took us all out in the boat on Saturday afternoon. Noah wasn't too sure what to think. He enjoyed the first part of the ride, but he cried the whole way back! What fun. I think he just didn't like being confined, plus he was tired. Adam had a great time. He got to help Grandpa drive the boat!













I love this picture of Ian and Noah. We went to the beach down the road from my mom's house and went swimming in the lake. Noah was a little nervous! That's my mom in the background.

We're Back!

Hello all! Just a quick note tonight. I've been running around all day trying to get re-organized since we returned from holidays last night.

Of course, before we left, I had enrolled the kids in swimming lessons which started this morning, so after getting very little sleep last night, we brought a one- and a three-year-old to the pool. Noah was fine, as he went to lessons with Daddy. Adam, however, was another story! This was his first time in lessons by himself (he's in Guppies!), and he cried the entire time. I felt so sorry for the instructor! He had six three-year-olds, and two of them kept splashing him and trying to get away, three were pretty timid, and then my kid was screaming for the whole half-hour! I hope they pay the teacher well!

After swimming lessons, we went home so I could start tackling laundry. When the kids went down for naps, I had to go into the city and exchange a swimsuit I bought before we left that started fraying while we were on vacation. (By the way, how many of you HATE shopping for a swimsuit?! I am afraid that they don't make swimsuit tops for well-endowed women who want to be a little bit modest! Not to mention that I have a baby who is constantly pulling on my top no matter what I'm wearing, so I don't need my chest hanging out in the pool! I did finally find one that was half-decent after shopping for six hours. Usually I would be in heaven getting to spend that much time shopping, but not when I'm confronted with all my bodily flaws all day. That's my little rant for today!)

Anyway, we spent a lot of the day trying to undo the spoiling of our children that Grandma and Grandpa and a week of being out of routine have done! They were so cranky today! They seemed better after naps, though, so that's hopeful.

Then, after supper I went grocery shopping since we had no food left in the house. It's now 10:30, and I just finished putting groceries away.

How come we return from holidays feeling less rested than when we left? LOL!

I know, I know... enough whining already!

So hopefully I'll get to do some stamping tomorrow. I've been itching to try scratch-and-sniff embossing (using sugar-free drink powder!). I'll be doing that first chance I get. I'll also get some pictures of our holidays up on my blog tomorrow.

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading! I'm going to bed now!

Holiday Baroque!

Hello All! We're on holidays right now - visiting my mom in Winfield, B.C. (outside of Kelowna). It's beautiful here! The weather is hot, hot, hot, and we're right on Lake Okanagan. Luckily, they have a boat, so we'll be taking the boys out on the lake this weekend. They're having a blast getting spoiled by Grandma & Grandpa!

So, I don't have a lot of time to do blogging for this week, but I'll show you some photos of our trip when I get back on Monday.


For now, here's a card I made before I left. It's a joy fold card a la Beate! I went monochromatic again (my usual thing!). I just think cards look so elegant when you stick with the same colour throughout! I used the Soft Sky Prints designer series paper with Blue Bayou as the card base. I used the Baroque Motifs stamp set with Soft Sky and Blue Bayou ink. I put Dazzling Diamonds glitter in the centers of the flowers using my two-way glue pen. For the circular card closure, I punched out the flower with the 1 1/4 inch circle punch, matted it on Blue Bayou, then punched that out with the 1 3/8 inch punch.

Well, I hope you enjoy this card. I'm going back to play in the beautiful backyard with my boys! (I'll put up pictures of the yard next week - it's gorgeous!).

See you next week!

I've Been Tagged!

I'm so excited! I've been tagged for the first time! Lori at Stamp Scents tagged me - check out her blog; it's really good!

So here's what I have to do:
1. I have to post seven random things about myself.
2. Tag seven other bloggers.
3. Post the tagging rules.
4. Leave the tagged bloggers a comment so they know they've been tagged.

Okay, what would people be interested in knowing about me? This is really hard!

1. I have been married for ten years to a guy I met in high school, but didn't date until way later.
2. I have owned the same cat for 14 years. She just won't die! (not that I want her to - she's just really old and still kicking, even though my boys try to "play" with her - poor cat!)
3. I have always wanted a tattoo, but I can't tolerate pain, so I'm too scared to get one. I thought it would be cool to have a small one on my shoulder blade or on my ankle. Oh well.
   
4. I've never been drunk, never smoked, never tried drugs.
   
5. I planted my first garden this year with peas, carrots, lettuce and cucumbers. Everything is growing well except the cucumbers!
   
6. I had to repeat kindergarten. (I was too shy so they thought I needed better social skills before starting grade one!)
   
7. I was the valedictorian for my high school graduating class (despite having failed kindergarten!).
   

It's really difficult finding seven other bloggers to tag! I'm pretty new to blogging, so I don't know a lot of other bloggers. I'm going to do some surfing and find some gems that may not be very well-known.

Okay, I've been surfing around and there are so many people who have already been tagged - I want to find some people who haven't been tagged in awhile. I'll keep trying!

Here they are:

1. Stacy's Stamping Blog
2. Joy in a Jar
3. Pretty Paper and Ink
4. Ink, Stamp & Scrap...
5. Stampadoodledoo
6. The Card Cafe
7. Just an Inkling
   

Alright, I'm done! Check out these blogs - there are some great cards on them!

What a Mess!

Praise the Lord! My husband arrived home last night! And the sweet man that he is, he let me sleep in this morning. What a great husband!

So this afternoon, I was able to get downstairs to my craft area so I could do some stamping. Imagine my concern when I saw what my craft area looked like! I guess I was in denial! I've been stamping here and there when I get a chance, and I hadn't realized what a mess my craft room was!

So this afternoon, instead of stamping, I spent a few hours cleaning and organizing everything. It's just as well - I needed to figure out what I have that's been retired so I can sell it at my New Catalogue Open House on Tuesday, and I found lots of stuff that I had forgotten I even had! (That's probably a sign that I've got way too much stuff!) So now I'm all organized and ready to stamp. My husband even went out and bought me a new lamp for my craft table. (Did I mention he's amazing?) My craft area is in the basement, so there's not a lot of good light down there. He bought me some natural light bulbs for it, so it's much easier to see with.

I never did get around to stamping because by the time I was finished cleaning, my kids were up from their naps and ready to play! I hated coming up from the basement (besides being my craft area, it's nice and cool down there - it's 33 degrees Celsius here today, and stifling hot outside!). Anyway, here's the finished product. I can actually use the table! (Do you like my new lamp? LOL) Hopefully I'll get down there tonight and make some cards!

Nothing's New!

I just thought I'd better check in since I haven't blogged in a couple of days. My husband went out of town Friday after work, and he won't be back until Wednesday. He is a teacher, and is now on summer vacation, but he is working in the mountains for a few days as a mountain guide. When we were in university (back in the day), this was his summer job! He takes tour groups rock climbing, caving, hiking, etc. in the beautiful Rocky Mountains outside of Jasper. His former boss needed some extra help, so he agreed to go out there. I must admit, I am a little jealous! But he loves it so much, so I'm happy for him.

I am exhausted, though, taking care of my two boys by myself. God bless all you single moms out there! I just pray He will give you strength and energy! I haven't had any time for stamping or anything else! I've been running around with a one- and a three-year old. Isn't it funny how they decide to test all the rules when Daddy is out of town (or is that just my kids!)? My three-year-old was up until 11:30 last night (he went to bed at 8:00). He decided it would be fun to run out of his room, turn lights on and off and slam the doors so that his brother woke up crying (several times!). When he finally started settling down, the Canada Day fireworks down the street got him all excited (he could hear all the explosions!). So after he was finally settled, it took me awhile to relax enough so I could sleep too!

Today was better at least. We had a long talk about obeying Mommy and he got treats when he listened (some would call that bribery, I call it necessary measures!). Oh well. My husband will be home in a few days; then they can wrestle and play. I'm always amazed how much boys like to wrestle and rough-house with each other!

In the meantime, here's one of my first attempts at an altered notebook (this one's from several months ago!). I thought I'd better post something! I love this Measure of a Life hostess set (which is now retired). I will miss it. Altered notebooks are really easy. I cut the designer paper to fit the notebook, then sprayed the back of the paper and the notebook with spray adhesive. After it set (about an hour), I put the paper on, then added ribbon and stamped accents.

Forgive my complaining! I just needed to vent! I'm okay now. Hopefully I'll have some time to stamp in the next few days... if not, I'll be back after Wednesday!

Happy stamping!