Back on track.....

again! We called in the re-inforcements and the reno has moved along. So, in the last 2 days my father in law and I have finished taking the boards off the walls, strapped the studs out for 2 more inches of depth & therefore 2 more inches of insulation, moved some plumbing out of the way, put in the header and removed the south interior wall, and started insulating. It's nice to have it starting up again. Plus, I used a compound mitre saw for the first time!! And, it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be! It's all coming together and I can't wait to see it FINALLY finished. The lack of living space is starting to wear thin, as it's been super hot this week and we've spent most of our time inside the house. I'll keep you updated on our progress.

Have a great day!

We've hit.....

a snag in the demo department. My Dad, who has been helping us out with this renovation, is sick. Nothing too serious, but enough to completely stop work, as I'm not physically strong enough to make any more progress on the walls. There are some BIG boards that need to come down and I know my limitations!! I also know nothing about working with plumbing, so we're at a standstill until he's better, or hubby calls in reinforcements.

Sigh. So much for my 4 week timeline.

Have a good day.

A quick update.....

on the mess in the living room. Thankfully, the worst of it is almost over in that the lath and plaster is almost all off the walls. The dropped ceiling is down and the walls are opened up. I can see in my head how it will look when it's done and I'm excited about it!

Today I'm celebrating the 11th anniversary of the day I gave birth to my oldest daughter. I have a surprise girly day planned for just the two of us. Can't wait to get started!

Have a great day!

So glad that.....

this school year is over now. I wish that the kids on my bus had of behaved better to really make it a good last run, but alas, not so much. Maybe next year will be better.

Otherwise, I did some demo - ing today - the rest of the trim, most of the panelling and the dropped ceiling are all down now. And, now that school is out, I will be able to spend more time getting it done! I plan on a 4 week transformation. Hmmm, maybe I should take bets on whether or not that works.....

Have a good night!

I'm Baaaaack.....

after a week away. And, I only cheated a little bit in that I decided that I would keep up with emails while I was "gone", but only so that I wouldn't have to go through 150 of them upon "returning".

As an update, we are not very far along in the demo because neither my husband nor I remembered to call to get a bin to dump the garbage in during said demo, so we have to wait until tomorrow for that. However, we've totally cleared out the room now, and we've taken out the wall unit in the living room. As a plus, hidden under my stairs there is some VERY vintage wallpaper that just happens to match the colours of the rest of the downstairs of my house! I think I'll be saving some pieces of each pattern and framing them - they really are very pretty!

There's only 2 more days of school to go and then I'm done for the summer!! I can't wait to sleep in and enjoy my coffee in my pj's on Wednesday morning.

Have a great night!

Leaving my internet life.....

for my real one. This is just a temporary break, which will be starting this Monday. We are now getting really close to starting the demo of the living room. Our lives are about to be turned upside down for about 4 weeks. But, in the end, our living room will be much warmer and a little prettier, too.

I, however, think that my internet break will only last about 1 week or so. That'll be about all that I could stand! =D I'll leave you with a page that I made for Colour Combo #145 over at Color Combos Galore & the June sketch challenge over at Paper Poppy. A few posts ago, I mentioned that my hubby thinks of me whenever he hears Just Breathe by Pearl Jam. So, I made a LO that celebrated that! I used a photo from our 12.5 anniversary shoot, which was taken by the fabulous Stacy.


Have a great week!!!

My {real} Reality.....

Recently, Stephanie blogged about this on her blog. At the end of her post, she challenged us to do the same. So I am, and in turn, I am challenging you to try it as well. I really believe it will be freeing to admit that everything might not be perfect in your life. I have done something like this before via a challenge on Facebook, so I think I'll just repost that note, with some additions here :


25 Random Things About Me

1. I am terrified of the dark so there's always a light on somewhere at night.
2. I sleep with earplugs because I'm a really light sleeper, and any little noise will wake me up. This does not help with item #19.
3. I love cooking, but hate cleaning up.
4. I love to wear heels, but only do so once a week.
5. I quit smoking almost 11 years ago & I am very glad that I did. I have three children who need me more than I need to smoke. That was my good reason and remains so today. I never want to start that bad habit again.
6. I hate it when people chew with their mouths open. This includes gum. That's rude and gross to watch and/or listen to.
7. I hate it when people sniff their snot instead of using a Kleenex. That's rude and gross to listen to.
8. I am slightly obsessed with scrapbooking. I think about it a lot, but less now that I'm on a bit of a hiatus. I hope one day to be on another design team or published in a magazine. Or, maybe someday both will happen. That would be nice.
9. Sometimes I still miss high school, even though it was a weird and confusing time of my life.
10. Sometimes I wish I was single and childless. This sounds extremely selfish, but this is how I feel somedays.
11. I went to college to be a computer programmer, but I could care less about it now.
12. I hate that I have to work to provide the kind of education I want for my children. I wish that our government supported every school, regardless of which worldview they teach from.
13. I love to sing, but in church, the van and at home only.
14. I want to visit Scotland someday. Currently my sister and I have plans to visit when I turn 40. That's 5 years from now - I'm really looking forward to this!
15. Until very recently, I had 10 warts on my hands and 5 on my feet. The ones on my hands are gone now, but not the feet ones. They don't bother me much.
16. I really wanted to have another baby, and am secretly (although not anymore I guess) very angry that my husband said no. This is getting easier to deal with as time goes on.
17. I cannot stand to have doors open. I am always closing my closet and cupboard doors. I will get out of bed to close a door or drawer in my room. This also does not help with item #19.
18. I wear my jeans at least 3 times each before throwing them in the laundry. I think this habit is leftover from when I was growing up.
19. It takes me anywhere from 20 - 45 minutes to fall asleep. I hardly ever sleep well. I average about 6 hours of sleep a night and therefore I am tired all the time.
20. I love fresh flowers in my kitchen, but I only buy them when they are on sale.
21. I have 2 huge mugs of coffee every morning, but not when I'm traveling. I have the world's smallest bladder.
22. I brush my teeth EVERY time I leave the house. If I don't or forget, I feel dirty for the rest of the day. I think this is leftover from when I was smoking.
23. Most days I am bored out of my skull.
24. I love history. In particular, I love antiques (even more particularly, chairs)and always wonder what the story is behind the furniture.
25. Someday, I'd love to be a professional decorator. It's a bit of a pipe dream, but a dream nonetheless.

Does any of this list surprise you? It surprised me a bit too! But it's real and that's me. Hope you have a great day!

Booked a room.....

in this little inn. Our cousin is getting married later this month, and we're going to the wedding kid-free!! I'm really looking foward to another quick getaway with my hubby.

Have a great day!

A Hard Lesson.....

for my little one to learn. We watched a nature show on Discovery during supper last night and she learned that not all zebras are nice to babies that are not their own. She cried so hard, ran from the TV, and felt so sad for the little baby zebra. I had to try very hard not to laugh at her. Being five is hard! I think that she thought every real animal would be like they are in every Disney movie.....

But the truth, my little one, is that I didn't like watching it either.

Have a good one!

My husband.....

tells me that he thinks about me every time he hears this song on the radio :



Isn't that romantic? I think I might have to make a LO using these lyrics.

Have a great day!

"Reveal Day".....

is today! A few posts ago I mentioned that I was working on a project for Paper Poppy. And here it is! You can go here for more details and photos. I LOVED this kit & enjoyed making a project with the purpose of sharing with others. I didn't realize how much I missed being on a DT until I was asked by Aphra to be the guest blogger, and I really enjoyed making this little mini.

Thanks again, Stacy, for such beautiful, inspirational photos, and Ahpra for asking me to blog!

Have a great day!

Packin' it up.....

for a few months. We're insulating the room where my scrap space is, so no scrapping for me. I think I'm already starting going through withdrawals. On the up side, I'll have the time to take lots of pictures for scrapping when everything gets back to normal again. And, I'm thinking about painting the cupboard that I store my supplies in, so this gives me the time for that too! In the end it will all be worth it when I'm warmer this winter while cutting and gluing away. =D

My youngest started soccer yesterday. So cute to see all those little ones running around in a big purple clump. Her soccer socks are huge. I swear, they could go all the way up to her armpits. Wouldn't THAT make a funny shot! I think she's really going to like it.

Have a good day.

I'm still here.....

I've just been busy working hard on a project for Paper Poppy. Aphra emailed and asked me to be the guest blogger this month - I was SO excited about that!! Here's a quick sneak of what's to come :


Have a great day!

Happy NSD.....

to you all! Boy I wish that I could spend the day doing nothing but scrapbooking, but alas, it is not to be. Sigh. I will however, leave you with some scrappy goodness as I get ready to fly along to the next thing on the list of things to do.

This is a kit that I bought a couple of years ago from Ninabrook Designs. The CD with the pictures from Stacy came this week, so I've FINALLY been able to finish it!


This one is of my YDD and her beloved Bear, who recently needed surgery to correct an obvious problem :


And this one is for my brothers wedding album (which is still not done and they have been married for almost 2 years now. Sorry guys, I'll try to get it done soon...) I made it with my April kit from Paper Poppy - loved this kit! Go here and scroll down to find a great deal on past kits!

That's it for now - Have a great NSD!!!!!!

Just a quick post today.....

to share with you some of the shots that our FAB photographer, Stacy took this past week while we were in Niagara - on - the - Lake.

We love them all!! Thanks again Stacy for such a fun morning!

Have a great weekend!

Back.....

from the most beautiful vacation ever.

The most amazing food, beautiful accommodations, fantastic staff, and time to reconnect with my hubby.

Plus, an absolutely fabulous session with the most amazing photographer.

Well worth the money and time. I'm still there in my heart. Have a good one.

Home for the day.....

with a sick little man.

I'm ok with that. No watching the clock, no running out the door for co-op drving or a bus run later. A chance to be creative today. A blessing in disguise.

5 more days and then we're off on our vacation and photo shoot. I can't wait - we're REALLY ready for a trip away together.

I found a new kit club & so far I'm quite pleased with it! You can check it out here. So I made this LO with the March Main Kit - LOVED this picture of my ODD when I saw it.


And this one of my son with his new bike - I used the SCT July sketch for it :

Have a great day!

Back at it again.....

and still not slowing down. In fact, I think I'm even busier than normal!!

Next Sunday hubby and I are celebrating our actual 12.5 anniversary, but we're not going away until the week after. Why 12.5 you ask? Well,it's half of 25 of course!! (It's a Dutch thing). With the way things are going around here lately, I think I'll be really ready for a vacation then.

I'm hoping that the month of May will be better.

I'll leave you with a couple of projects that I made for the silent auction at my LSS's Crop for Cancer today :


Have a great week!

Officially on.....

vacation for the next 9 days!!!! Yep it's now March Break - no school, no work & sleeping in past 6am. Ahhhh, heavenly!! So glad since I've been coughing up a storm for the last 3 days. This is just what I need - a little R&R.

Have a good week all!

Spring Fever.....

has arrived in our household. I'm slowly (because my new work schedule is kinda wierd) but surely trying to get through the kids rooms and give them a good cleaning. The hardest part?? Getting them over thier packrat tendancies. With the little one it's easy. Toss it when she's not looking, and it's overwith. But the oldest two? It's like I've asked them to chop off thier foot.

This is when I wish that I had a maid. Sigh.
Have a great weekend!