A Stinky Visitor.....

so yesterday Richard was cleaning up (I know, imagine that!!!) in the mud room, he looked outside, and he saw this :

Yep right on the porch. At 7:30 at night. In the city. Yuck. I felt bad for him though, as he was missing his right front paw. He had a funny limpy kind of gait when sniffing around the garbage pail. Thank goodness he moved on without spraying. Please excuse the construction garbage; it comes with the territory when you're renovating.

And here I am with my beautiful kids - perfect time to get some pics - a rare event as I'm usually behind the camera.

Happy Mothers Day, everyone!

Finally.....

the rest of my May projects!! This one is my favorite :

That's my hubby and my youngest daughter on a hike a few weeks ago.

Another page for my brother's wedding album - don't they look so happy? :


My oldest daughter's new bike :


I loved the card that Cathy Blackstone made on pg 69 of the newest SBE, so I lifted it to make this one :

Last night my new textured ceiling went up, thanks to my hubby and my Dad - I'll post more pictures next week when the work is all done!! Thank goodness that little project is almost finished!

Have a great day all!!

Just a little toot.....

for me....Basic Grey added my "Vision" page to their gallery last week! It's just a little thing, but they are very selective!

Also, the dining room is well on it's way - only one more sand and then we can prime, paint and wallpaper. Here's a little photo of what's going on my wall opposite the window :


What do you think? Too bold? Maybe a bit, since the ceilings are now ten feet high. But, it goes really well with the red colour in the kitchen, and it's only one wall. Plus, I really love it!! I'll take some pictures when it's up.

My Dad is mixing a paint to match the background colour of the wallpaper and we're going to repaint the "fugly" (thanks, Stephanie for my new favorite word) panelling in the living room to freshen it up until we have the funds to reno that room too. I can't wait to just get the house CLEAN again. Sigh. Reno-ing sucks.

Have a great night!

I think it's about time.....

I had a scrappy post, don't you?? With all that's been going on in the house, and that I've been driving a few extra charter runs this week, I haven't had a chance to post any of my May pages!!

First, here's the kit :


Isn't it fab?? Such bright funky colours - I loved it!
And here's my LO's so far :


I have three more to finish up, but I'll save those for another post.

No progress was made on the dining room today and I'm totally ok with that. Yesterday I reached my breaking point, and really just needed to get away from the constant cleaning up of drywall dust. Work will resume on Monday again, but I think I'll be better by then.

This weekend is the symphony date with my hubby & I'm totally looking forward to that!! We've been living in the same house but it seems we hardly ever see each other lately - so we're due for some quality time. I bought a new jewelry set to go with his favorite dress today. Isn't it funny how changing just one small thing can make an outfit seem new again? (Plus it's easier on the wallet, too.)

Also this weekend, my brother and his fiance and their little guy are up, & my other brother and his wife are coming from Barrie for my Dad's 65th birthday! We're all getting together on Sunday to celebrate, and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again.

Have a great night!!

I'm over it.....

and I think renovations stink. I'm ready to get my house back now. The 2nd coat of mud is on the walls (Thanks, Dad) and I just have to live through one more sanding. You'll notice that the room is tarped off - it helped some, but the the dust from the first sanding still got in the other rooms downstairs. I can't even really clean up until this is all done, and it's so frustrating!! Our shop vac sucks - or should I say doesn't suck - so now I'm coated in a fine layer of dust too. So here's some more pics from today. I just gotta keep thinking that "This too shall pass.....".

Have a great night.

Another Update.....

on the progress in the dining room :

looks pretty good eh? Sorry for the bad pictures, it's been rainy and dull for the last couple of days here (as long as it's not snow, I really don't care =D). I am SO thankful that we have such great friends who are willing to help us out. Now we just have to tape and mud the walls, but I think that we could do that on our own at night in the next little bit. I'm not looking forward to the sanding part, though. I'd love to have the whole thing done and painted by the middle of May, but we'll see. It's still a total mess and we don't have a table to eat on, but it looks like a room again.

Have a great day!

A Quick Update.....

on the condition of my dining room.

Currently, it looks like this :

It's not really a whole lot different, but changes have been made. We have discovered that the previous owners dropped the ceiling by 1.5 feet. Hubby says that it's because it was easier to heat. I say if they bothered to put insulation in the walls, it would be way warmer too, but I digress. There is insulation now though, because my father in law and I did that on Wednesday. So, you may be asking yourself, how come hubby's not helping?? He's been at work. Trust me, with me and my FIL doing this, it's gone way faster than if I had to wait for him to get things done. Plus, I have gained a whole new set of skills!! The downside is that the house is a total write off and will remain that way until the drywalling is done. That job starts tomorrow. Oh yay, more dust. Thank goodness I'm not helping with that!! When we tore down the dropped ceiling, we found this awesome little piece of history :

Isn't it lovely?? I'm totally keeping that!! It will not be hanging a light fixture, but I'll find a place for it on my wall for sure!!

Have a great night!

Yeah. So right now.....

my dining room looks like this :

and the back of my father in law's truck looks like this :

Don't you just love that green paint?? You should see the vintage wallpaper that was underneath it!! Maybe I'll post that another day.

Whoever thought that plaster walls was a good thing was VERY VERY wrong. I'll never be rid of the dust because after insulating the outside walls (currently, there isn't any in them) we have to drywall. More dust. I think I'm done with the idea of renovating any more of this house.

Off to treat the blood blister received after pinching my pinkie between the truck and the 10 gallon pail. Have a good day.

All Done.....

for another year. Whew! The auction is over and now we can relax for the rest of the year. It was a good time (as it always is), and we raised a good amount for the school. My windows did not go for as much as I had hoped, but really, it doesn't matter. I found joy in making them, and I know that the people who bought them will find joy in having them. I actually know both of the ladies that bought them (they sold separately), so I'll see them again with pictures in them!

Saturday night hubby and I went on a date (huh, what??) to a buck 'n doe for friends of ours that are getting married next month. It was chilly as it was outside, but I had a good time talking to adults (huh, what??) and just chilling after a busy Friday and 4 hours of cleanup on Saturday. The kids stayed at my in-laws and played Wii. The Wii fit told me that my real age is 55. NOT cool. Guess I'm going to do something about that.

So, for this week I'm going to stay home. It's been too busy and the house and my kids are suffering. They always get the short end of the stick when it gets crazy busy like this, so that's got to stop. Tonight I'm making a really nice roast beef supper, and we're just going to have a relaxing afternoon and evening.

Now I'm off to work on my May SPS projects.
Have a great day!

Ok, so really.....

the busy-ness just has to stop! This Friday is our annual Goods and Services auction, and just like last year at this time, I'm over it. I think everyone on the committee is. While the actual event is really quite a good time, the days leading up to it are kind of crazy. I can't wait for Saturday morning to come.

I picked up my new glasses yesterday. Yep, my eyes are getting old. (hee hee) I don't have to wear them all the time, just for detail work, reading, night driving and computer work. Wait a minute, for me that pretty much IS all the time!! Renee was so confused when she saw me wearing them asking "When did you get glasses??" We told her 2 years ago. We totally had her fooled for about 20 minutes!!

My fab May kit came yesterday too, so now I'm also busy with that, but it's a good kind of busy!! =D

Have a great day!

Another busy weekend.....

is done. My sister came down with her kids, and man, did time just fly by!! We shopped, we scrapped, we cooked really good meals, & we had a really fab time together. The weather was sunny & cool, but that didn't stop the kids from spending much of their time outside biking and in the playhouse. So glad to have the extra day off today, just to relax and rest.

I said we scrapped, so here's what I got finished this weekend. This one is for Colour Combo #117 :


I'm still on my heritage kick, so these pictures are of my Grandmother and my Great - Grandmother on my mother's side in 1926. My Grandmother was about 1 or 2 years old.

And this one is for the Page Maps sketch contest at my LSS this month :


These pictures are of my DS on the first day of school this year.

Have a great day all!!

He is Risen.....

He is risen indeed!


Hallelujah!


Amen & Amen!!!

It's Friday.....

but Sunday's coming.....

Just Bought.....

myself this little present :

And I'm so excited to have it!! I've never owned a circle cutter yet, I just used my plates and pot lids to cut around. In fact, I really don't have that many tools at all - no Cricut or other diecutter (gasp), no Cuttlebug or other embossing system, all I have is a CropaDile. Sad huh?

Have a good day!

Snow, snow.....

and more snow. That's what we're getting today. Can you believe it?? A SNOW DAY at the beginning of April!!! Who knew?? We went from seeing the grass yesterday to at least 10 inches (if not more) of the white stuff in less than a day.

I hate winter.
Have a good night.

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!