Still Sick.....

and hating every second of it. I feel worse than yesterday today. I really don't want to go to work today, but I have to. Blech.

We got snow last night. Not a lot, but that stinks too.

On an up note, I was inspired by Colour Combo #115 yesterday and managed to finish this page :

This is my YDD on her baptism day. Not a great pic, but the best one I have in this dress. It was made by my great grandmother out of one of her slips around 1907. My grandfather, father, myself and all of my children have been baptised in it; we just change the colour of the ribbon (pink or blue) with each baby.

Stay healthy & have a great day!

So Glad.....

that it's almost the weekend.

It's been way too busy these last few weeks and it's finally caught up with me; I'm fighting off another cold. I can't remember the last time I was sick so many times in one winter. So, it's vitamin C and echinacea for me again. Thankfully, tomorrow I finally get to sleep in past 6:30 again and man, I really need it, I'm so very tired today.

I have another LO made with the April kit, but it's dull and pouring rain today, so I can't get a good picture yet. Hopefully it will clear up sometime this weekend.

My hubby volunteers on a City committee, and yesterday we got a letter in the mail offering us a "thank-you for your service" gift of tickets to the symphony on May 2! So this year, we're going to go. Hey, wouldn't that be kinda like a date?? Huh. ;)

Have a great weekend, all!!

More.....

from the awesome April kit!!! First, this LO about my daughter's silly hat :

She came home with it after a fun night at one of her church groups. She loved it & thought everyone else should too. Yeah. Not so much.

And then here is a little mini album that I made for my mother. My parents are planning a trip to Holland to visit my mother's family, so I thought she should take a little brag book about her grandchildren along with her! It's small enough (4x4) that she'll be able to keep it in her purse.

Swing by the April gallery to check it out - the Sweet Pea Girls have done it again!!

Today was a super busy on the go day, with 2 bus runs and a charter run in between, a trip to the school, the local minor soccer office, the post office, AND to my LSS for emergency help with the titles for a trio of layouts that I made as a silent auction table item for the Crop for Cancer this Sunday. They are in an old window as well, kind of like the one I did below for the schools auction; but smaller. I'll try to get some nice pics to post when I go finish it tomorrow afternoon.

Whew. I'm glad this day is done. It's time to relax now.

Have a great night!!

So here it is.....

the project reveal!!!! But first, here's the gorgeous April 2009 kit :


And here's the project that I've been working on for the last couple of weeks! Every year my children's school holds a Goods and Services Auction to help raise money for the school. I will be donating this project to the auction this year. My Dad was going to take these old storm windows and make mirrors out of them, but I asked for them instead. Hubby helped me make them into big shadow boxes. The windows when placed together, measure about 4ft x 2.5 ft and each layout is 9 x 11 inches.

And some of the individual layouts in the panes :

I really enjoyed making this project & kinda wish that I could keep it for myself. I think I might do another one like it sometime, just for me. Hopefully, it will go for a good amount. I'd love to see it with pictures in it!

Wendy and I both enjoyed the movie, but we agreed that you should read the books first. Otherwise, you'd end up not understanding some of the stuff that happens - like the whole glittering Edward thing. I can't wait to see New Moon now!

Off to finish up some of the other projects I've got on the go! Have a great day!

Just a quick post.....

to give you a sneek peek of the project that I've been working on this month for Sweet Pea Scraps using the awesome April kit:

Tomorrow I'll be back to post more pics!!

Have a great night!

Edward and I.....

have a date tonight. ;)
Yep that's right, I picked up my copy today and I get to watch a girly movie with my friend Wendy! I'm not answering my phone after 8pm.

YIPEE!!!

March Break.....

is already half over!! It's gone by so fast.

I am now officially First Aid and CPR Level A certified by St. Johns Ambulance! It was a good refreshment of a course I took AGES ago, and I'm glad to have it.

The kids spent all of Monday and Tuesday at my parents (YAY!! It so quiet around here). While they were gone I did a massive 5 hour cleanup of the second floor of the house - a task not for the faint hearted, my friends. Basically, in our house, the entire upstairs is the kid zone.....you get the picture, right? Whew, what a chore! The day was beautiful though, so the windows were open all day long - it always smells so fresh when you start spring cleaning like that. I'm glad it's done and now I can finally breathe up there again.

Today I tackled the "dining room" and part of the kitchen. I put it in quotes because for the most part, we don't dine in there - until now!! Just for kicks, I'm actually using it for the table!! I'll post some pics when it's finally all cleaned up. I'm really liking it, but we'll see how it really works for us in the next couple of weeks.

Yesterday we went to the Science Centre in Toronto. Remind me, please, that if I ever start talking about doing something like that on March Break week again, that it would be a VERY wrong plan? It was SO DARN BUSY that we really didn't enjoy ourselves fully. Really, I'm surprised that we didn't lose someone! However, we did end up getting a year long Family Membership, so we're going to go again in the summer sometime, and hopefully then we'll get more out of it. While we were there, we saw an IMAX film too. It's been a very long time since I went to one, and I forgot how cool they are! The kids have never been to one & they thought it rocked!!

Tomorrow I'm going to work for a little while, and hopefully I'll be finishing up my big project that I'm making with the April kit. I'm really liking how it's coming out!

Have a great night!

Can't Believe.....

that my baby is turning 4 tomorrow!! Wasn't she just a baby?? Sigh. So, because I have that First Aid course tomorrow all day, we went birthday present shopping this morning. She is now stylin' in a pair of Hannah Montana sunglasses, and has 4 new friends in the form of one WebKinz dragon, and 3 new horses. And, she is the happiest little girl EVER! Which in turn, makes Mom happy too! =D

On Sunday my parents are taking the kids until Tuesday. I don't know what we're going to do with ourselves really, it's going to be so quiet! YAY! I'm for sure going to sleep in!!

My April kit has arrived and I'm working on a rather large project with it, which I'm also making it for TCS's auction that's coming up next month. I don't even get to keep it, which is kinda bumming me out, because I'm really happy with how it's turning out!! I think I'll be finishing it up over the March Break. Plus, my LSS is having a Crop for Cancer, so I'm working on a couple of other smaller projects for that as well!! Why do I insist on doing these things to myself?

One of my long time best friends is up visiting her parents this weekend and I'm trying to fit in a visit with her too, as she just had her little guy three weeks ago. I'm dying to meet him as he's just about the cutest little thing ever!!! Yum, I love to smell a new baby! =D

Have a great weekend, all!!

One Week.....

until March Break!! A whole week of sleeping in and doing whatever - I can't wait!! Hubby has taken the whole week off too, so I'm looking forward to some "quality family time". We have plans to go visit the Ontario Science Centre at least one day. Because it's just a little bit more money than a one time visit, I think we might even get a year long family pass so that we can come back in the summer again sometime.

In spite of the cold and snow that we got overnight again, spring is defiantly coming!! So far we've smelled the skunks twice (Ewww), the birds are starting to sing, and the flies are literally coming out of the woodwork - it's gross really, but true.

So, I pre-ordered my copy of the Twilight movie!! They say there isn't going to be enough copies of it around so I gotta make sure I finally get to see the movie - and I'm so excited! I'm following in Nicole's footsteps and turning my girlfriends into Edward maniacs. We've made plans for a girls movie night on the release date - no hubbies, no kids - just so we can enjoy Edward in all his lovely Edward-ness.....sigh. Sad isn't it?? =D

This coming Saturday I'm taking an all day first - aid course. It's time to get it updated, it's been a very long time (high school I think) since I did it, plus it's a requirement for my bus driving job.

Saturday is also Erica's 4th birthday - how'd that happen so darn fast?? Wasn't she just a baby? Sigh. She starts school in 6 months; so with that in mind, I created this on the weekend for Color Combo #112 :

That's us this past Friday, enjoying a quiet afternoon together. Even she's saying it lately : "it's so quiet now"! I'm going to miss that everyday. I thought that I was ready for her to go, and some days when you ask me I for sure am, but really, it'll be weird when she does start to go. Sigh.

If you get a chance, you should stop by the March gallery because, once again, the Sweet Pea Girls have rocked the kit!! There's always so much inspiration to be found there!

Have a great day!

This week.....

is going by so fast!! Driving a bus really changes how my day goes because I really have to keep an eye on the clock. I can't be late anymore....=) It's been going pretty well I think; I'm on time and the kids on the bus are pleasant. It will take some time to get to know all their names, though, I'm terrible for remembering them. Now if I could just get my own kids motivated in the morning.....

I realized the other day that I never posted a picture of the March kit!! So here's the kit :

And here's the rest of the LO's that I've created with it :

So, I've decided that I'm making the trip to Halifax for my little brother Jon's wedding this summer! So, Monica (my sister), Mike (my other brother), & Krissy (his wife) and my parents are all going to fly out together, but my sister and I are going to stay a day longer than everyone else. We are planning on driving over to PEI so that we can do the tourist thing and see the Anne of Green Gables site. It's only 4 hours to get there - can you believe it?? So excited to do this - I've never travelled to the East Coast, AND I've never travelled without my family. So this little trip will be a double adventure for me & I'm really looking forward to it!!

Have a great night!

Starting.....

a new job on Monday. I'm back to driving a school bus route again; not really what I wanted, but I think it will work out OK. It's only 1 hour a day, so it doesn't interfere with our regular routine too much. It will be good to use my licence again, since it costs so much to renew it! I'm a wee bit nervous though, having not driven a regular route since Erica was born four years ago, plus I've never driven a route that goes to more than one school like this one does. On Monday I'll have another driver with me for both runs - after that I'm sure it'll all be good.

I have a few more LO's to share tonight - this one I did for combo #111 over on the Color Combos Galore site. I've been scrapping some of my family's heritage photos lately; these are of my mother at age one :

And these two using the fab March kit from Sweet Pea Scraps. There's some really cute springy patterns and colours in this months kit! I noticed that the sneak peek for April is already up as well!!

We didn't get the storm on Friday that we were supposed to - thank goodness. It's just really super COLD!! Everyone I talk to is ready for winter to be over, just like me. Today I noticed that it was still pretty light out at 5:30pm, so the days are getting longer. Spring should be right around the corner!!

Otherwise things around here are pretty good - just busy as always!

Have a great night!

Feeling.....

like winter is never going to end and I'm sick of it. The kids are driving me crazy and I'm starting to feel cooped up. I think the February blahs are kicking in. At least there is sunshine today, but we're supposed to get another big storm again on Friday. Yuck sums it up in one word.

On an up note, my March kit finally arrived today & I'll pick it up from the depot later. I'm excited to start playing and printed off a bunch of pictures last night. Ahhhh, the smell of new papers......only another scrapbooker would understand!! =D

I've been a little low in scrapbooking mojo again lately, but managed to finish this LO for the Colour Combos Galore blog :

This LO is me and my siblings with our new SIL at their wedding last May; it's part of the album that I'm making Mike & Krissy as a gift. I'm really hoping that it will be done by their first anniversary!!

Have a great day all!!

Still Here.....

and still busy!!!

The kids and I spent about 2.5 hours in Emerg with Erica last week Thursday evening - it turns out that she has a lovely ear infection. So, now it's penicillin 3x a day for the next little bit - and she hates the taste of it. Sigh.

Friday ended up being another snow day - and it was a good thing - the weather was terrible!! Even hubby didn't make it to work because they closed the highway down. I thought we were finally getting rid of winter......

I'm back on the school's Auction committee this year, doing all the computer work. It's one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for our school, and it's also the funnest!!! I really did enjoy my time on the committee last year, so I'm starting to look forward to it, although when the head of the committee first asked, I was not going to do it; I was going to stay off any committee for the rest of the year. ;D

I'm still waiting for my March Sweet Pea Scraps kit to arrive - I'm expecting it today or tomorrow at the latest. Can't wait to get my hands on those lovely papers!!

My brother Jon called to say that he and his girlfriend are tying the knot this summer in Halifax! So I'm thinking about going just by myself. I've never been out East, so it would be interesting to visit. But, I still haven't made the final decision on that yet.

Have a great day!!

Where Have I Been.....

here there and everywhere really...Whew, I've had another busy streak. I'd like to say that I feel like I accomplished something, but really it's just the same circle over and over.

Last week Monday morning I got a call at 6:30 in the morning to drive a school bus. Getting a call that early in the morning puts me all "in a flap" and just sets a stressed tone for the rest of the day. Thank goodness hubby had the day off work!! I did drive the run & I did like it - mostly. It was REALLY COLD!! Now I remember why I hated driving bus in the winter when I was doing it on a regular basis. Today I drove again, but only to get the kids to their electives and back to the school.

Yesterday was Family Day here in Ontario. The kids suprised us by fixing us breakfast....even the coffee. ;) Yum - nothing like cold toast first thing in the morning! But, as good parents should, we ate it anyways. Turns out that they were just trying to butter us up so they could ask to have pancakes for their own breakfast. Yep they got the pancakes!!

After the breakfast fiasco was finished, we took the kids bowling and then to the local museum. Admission to the museum was free and they had an exhibit from China that I really wanted to see. We had a good time, and got lots of pics, but today my leg and bottom are sore from bowling!!! Can you believe it? I gotta get out and exercise more!!! Who knew that you could hurt yourself while 5-pin BOWLING????!!!! This weekend hubby's coworkers have planned a night out & guess what?? They're going BOWLING!!! Ack - I'm hoping that my leg and bottom are better by then.....

I got the news that my girlfriend Janice had her baby boy this morning!! I'm so excited to see her wee one - I'm hoping sometime in March maybe. I love to smell new babies....=D

My high school is having a reunion this summer - I'm still thinking about whether or not I'm going to go. I want to wait until the itinerary for the weekend is finalized, then I'll make my decision. I'd love to see some of my old high school friends again though - thanks to Facebook I've reconnected with some that I haven't spoken to in years!! My friend Candice might be coming too, so I'm excited about that. She moved out west the summer before Grade 10 and I haven't seen her face to face since then, but we've kept in contact through letters, phone calls and now via email.

Boy - I've got to remember to update more often!!!
Have a great night!

Another.....

snow day today. Or should I say a freezing rain day. This year is actually pretty good for snow days, we usually have about ten, but so far we've only had four. So another day home with the kids, and no work for me tonight. I'm on the fence as to how I feel about it - we'll see how the day goes.

ETA : I changed up the blog tonight just for Valentines Day. What'dya think? Cute or kinda silly?? I thought it looked ok!

The sneek peek for the March kit is up & I'm LOVING it!!! The papers are so pretty (in spite of the pink)! I've already planned a few pages out in my head - sad eh? =D

Have a great day!

Turning into a Combo Queen.....

Recently, Jenn put out a DT call for her Etsy store & she asked if I would be a guest designer for the month of February. So, of course I said yes - 'cause her shop ROCKS (and Jenn's pretty cool, too ;D)!!!! I can't wait to see what the rest of her DT comes up with. Wonder of wonders, I also managed to fit in the Color Combo this week, AND I found a great sketch class over at Two Peas. So, I combined all three challenges into one page!!

This is Erica feeding the geese & ducks at the park last week Sunday. Not colours that I would normally put together, but after using them, I love them! I also love the way that Jenn's journaling tags and calenders look all layered up like that - I think I'll be trying that again!

On Monday I went to City Hall to pay my latest parking ticket. Yep, got another one on Saturday, but this one really hurt!! NEVER EVER park in front of a fire hydrant, it'll cost ya sixty bucks!!! (yep that's right - $60) Oh, I'm so MAD at myself!!! On an up note, I asked the person who took my payment if I could have the actual ticket back. Even though she's not supposed to let me have it, I got it and I think I might make a page about it sometime....is that silly or what?? =D

Have a great night!

Really???.....

can't believe this one!! Julie passed this on to me :



Isn't that sweet?? I guess the rules are that you're supposed to link up 5 blogs, and pass the award on. I'm sure that all of blogs that I'm mentioning here have been nominated before, but I'll bite :

1. Jenn - so I KNOW that she's been nominated before, (so you get off the hook for playing again Jenn) but I love going to Jenn's blog to read her posts. It's guaranteed that she'll use the word "Dude" or "Stellar" somewhere in each one. Plus she has a way cool Etsy shop that has such awesome stuff - it almost makes me want to write on a layout (almost...)!!!

2. Nicole - her pages just rock! I particularly love how she makes her own floral embellishments - they are so pretty!!

3. Abbie - love her work too! She makes layering look super easy - wish I could do that!

4. Jana - I want to be Jana when I grow up...no seriously! Her LOs are always beautiful - she's so super talented!

Hmmm, what to put for #5?? Instead of linking another blog (*gasp*) I'm just going post the links for a few of my favorite challenge sites :

• Color Combos Galore : uses a new combo every week to inspire!
• So Sketchy! : Ally's sketches rock!
• Random Chaos : random challenges of every kind, every week!
• and last, but not least - The Sweet Pea Vine!

Have a great Sunday & why not challenge yourself today!!!!

A few more to post.....

So, I've played some more with the Feb. kit and came up with a few more things :

I'm not really a card maker, but I tried my hand at it just for fun. I might do it again someday!

I'm pretty tired today after not getting enough sleep last night - only three hours between 2:30 and 7am. I'm not sure why that happened, but it stinks. I was supposed to go visit my SIL today, but didn't trust myself to drive 2 hours there and back as tired as I was. She graciously allowed me to stay home. I love you, Krissy & I'll make it up to you soon, I promise!

We took the kids skating for about 1/2 hour today. Most of us had a good time. Erica has greatly improved her skating skills from last year and was super upset when it was time to go - she was having way to much fun!!

Have a great night!

So my kit came.....

& I've been scrapping almost non stop for the last 2 days. I think Erica is starting to get annoyed with me, as I tend to be quite focused on the task at hand. My friends have all given up on trying to have a phone conversation with me this week too - I'm too easily distracted. My apologies to everyone for my not so great company this week.

So, without further ado, here's the February kit & the pages I have done so far :

I might try to get one more done yet as I have so much stuff left over!! It's an awesome kit this month. If you get a chance, you should have a peek at the February gallery to see what the other Sweet Pea girls have done with the kit this month - their work is always awesome!

Last night I took a break from scrapping (gasp, I know) and went out for coffee and dessert with 3 friends of mine. Two hours went by so fast!! I had deep fried cheesecake & an Irish coffee (yum yum) and we chatted, laughed and got to know each other a little better. That doesn't happen near often enough, so I hope we start doing stuff like that more regularly.

I finally have my van back today after being without wheels for 3 days. I never really realized how much I depend on my vehicle until I lost it. It's a good thing the kit showed up when it did - I was totally distracted from losing my mind!!!

Have a great day!

I'm still here.....

it's just that life is mostly uneventful right now. And I'm so glad. It's nice to not have anything new to report & that life is sort of plain. It's been a busy couple of months for us around here.

Today hubby's car died right after we got home from church - we pulled into the driveway and the clutch cable snapped. It's surprising how one small part being broken can cause such havoc in your life. It just got towed away to the shop. Guess I won't have a vehicle tomorrow. Sigh. Not that I had plans to go anywhere, it's just the knowing that I can't!! Now I just have to figure out how to get the kids home from school tomorrow....

I'm still waiting for my Feb kit to come & I'm so annoyed that snail mail can't be faster. I'm hoping that it comes tomorrow morning bright and early so that I have something to do. Otherwise, I might have to start sorting through the craft closet in the basement - EEK!! Not sure that I even want to open up that door!!!

Have a great day!

It feels like it will never end.....

people being sick that is. Now it's hubby. There is nothing worse than a sick husband. They're so mopey!!! Wish I could have just slept the day away when I got sick last week.......but I digress. So, now that means that EVERYONE in the house has been through the wringer. I REALLY hope that's it for this round. I'm so done with cleaning up after sick people now.

This week I'm feeling restless, waiting for my fabulous Feb kit to come. I have everything planned out and ready to go, just need to get that paper in my hands. This month we were given a fun DT challenge too - and I can't wait to get started on it! I think that's the LO I'm most excited about.

Otherwise, we've got nothing going on here - just a regular hum drum week - THANK GOODNESS!!

Have a great night!

I fought the bug.....

but the bug won. Yep I got it too. Renee stayed home another day from school yesterday as well, which was a blessing in disguise because she helped tremendously with keeping Erica entertained while I crashed on the couch. Hubby even cooked (which means it was a pizza night =D) so I didn't have to do anything at all! Thank goodness my co - worker was willing to take on the extra day of work last night, because I don't think I could have managed. Renee's gone back to school today though, and I finally got a decent nights sleep, so I feel a little better. Hubby is home today too, because the weather is miserable, so I have another pair of helping hands for the day. I really hate being sick.

Have a great weekend!

When it rains.....

it pours, it seems. Today I'm home with two - that's right - TWO sick girls. Erica started last night, forcing the RE-wash of sheets that were done just yesterday afternoon, and then Renee started this morning just before school. I'm going to have to have a strong stomach today.

To top it all off, that's now 3 nights in a row of broken sleep - last night I was woken up 4 times.

Sigh. I think I'll have an extra cup of coffee today.....

So, he really is sick.....

Yep - got the call from the school at noon to come get Ethan. The poor guy threw up in front of his teachers desk today and has been feeling rotten and mostly sleeping ever since. So, it looks like he might be at home tomorrow too. I hear from one of the other moms that the kids in his class kinda expect him to throw up at least once every year.....couldn't help but giggle about that one!! Hmmmm is there a LO in that statement??

Guess it wasn't the overeating at the hockey game Saturday night after all.....

It was a guys night out.....

last night. Richard took Ethan to an Attack game - our local junior hockey team. It's rare that they get time alone together, so we made it a surprise for Ethan too - he still had no idea where they were going until they got there. After they got to their seats, the prize manager asked Ethan if he wanted a better seat. Of course he said YES, so they were moved to the VIP section and got to sit in the nice HUGE leather chairs right by our home teams entrance. Here they are and a few more pictures from the game :

The last pic is of Ethan and the prize manager. Ethan came home with a sore belly for all the food that he was given, plus gift certificates to the Brick!! It was a late night, but they had such a good time!

I finally finished Breaking Dawn - the last book in the Twilight series. I loved the way that it ended, but now I can't help but want more!! There's so many more stories that could be told. I really hope Stephenie considers writing another book in this series. In the meantime, I'm re - reading the last 3rd of the book; it was my favorite part. I can't wait to get the movie - nobody call me on March 21st, I have a date with Edward and Bella!!

The sneek peek of Sweet Pea Scraps Febuary's kit is up - and it's awesome!! I can't wait to get this one in the mail! You should go have a look!

Have a great Sunday!

A Milestone Was.....

reached in our household:

ERICA zipped up her own coat today!! She definitely earned a high five for that one! It's hard to believe that she's almost 4 now. She's growing up so fast, sometimes I miss the baby days. But with each new thing that she learns to do by herself, it gets easier.

I'm now halfway through Breaking Dawn & am still enthralled with the series. It just may become my new favorite...and that's saying a lot since I've been in love with Diana G's Outlander series for so long. Stephenie Meyer is such an amazing author.

Today I finished a colour challenge in the week that it was posted!! It's been awhile since that happened! Loved the colours and I thought of these silly pics of Ethan as soon as I saw these papers :

Guess that's all for now - Have a great night!

Taking a Quick Break.....

from Edward and Bella to post a couple of pages I did on the weekend. Guess what?? They're not kit related!!! I love being part of the SPS Design Team, but it's my first one ever. I had no idea that being part of a DT could be so creatively draining sometimes. I also think that the busy-ness of Christmas had something to do with the lack of creative energy. But, my mojo is back & now I'm trying to get caught up on some of my regular challenges. These two LO's are for Color Combos #101 & #102.

Only one more to go and then I think I'm all caught up. If you've never tried out a colour challenge, you should give it a try!!

Now that school is back in, I'm back to work again too. Since I've been off for over 2 weeks, I'm for sure going to be sore tomorrow after working this afternoon.

Don't forget to have a peek at the January Gallery - the DT is rockin' the kit this month again! Awesome work ladies!

Have a great night!

I can't wait.....

to start on Eclipse!! Dad finally finished and brought both book #3 and #4 in the Twilight series for me today, so I'll be spending most of today reading the continuing story of Edward and Bella. Who knew that vampires could be so romantic?? =D

Have a great day!!

Caffeine.....

gave me my mojo back!!!!! We went out for dinner last night with my in-laws and I made the mistake of having coffee with my meal - usually a HUGE no-no for me. But anyways, due to the late night wakefulness, I managed to get another 2 LO's done with the January kit! Here they are :

The reason for the dinner?? My BIL is leaving today to go live in Alberta. He and my FIL are driving out so that he has his truck and then Dad is flying back later. It should take about 2 - 2.5 days to get there. So, we had a small family gathering to say goodbye. We'll miss him, but we're glad that he's stepping out of the box and trying something new!

Today I got my swap package in the mail! So fun to open up that envelope and check out all the awesome goodies! Everyone that participated is just so talented; so I'm for sure going to participate again!

Have a great day!