Woah.....

I can't believe that it's been over a week since I posted last!! There really hasn't been too much new news to report actually, it's still just as busy as ever. I thought that things would slow down by now, but nope, not so much. I'm now looking forward to the end of school, when my two jobs will be done for the summer and I can relax and not rush, rush, rush all the time.

In the meantime, I've been working some more with the fab June kit :




& here's my projects :



I love the versatility of this kit - I've been able to scrap spring, summer and heritage pictures!

This weekend Richard and I have plans to go golfing. Now, those who know me will know that we had the first argument of our married life on the golf course during our honeymoon. I'm not a very good golfer, in fact, I really don't see the point behind that particular sport. But, it's a work thing and I'll go if we can find someone to look after the kids for the afternoon. I'll just deal with making a fool out of myself in front of Richard's boss later.

If the weather is good, we might take the bike - it'll be my first ride of the summer! THAT I'm looking forward to! You just can't fit 5 people on a motorbike and Richard refuses to get a sidecar, so I don't ride as much as I used to anymore. I guess I'll just have to get my bike licence and my own bike, then. ;)

Have a great day!

Another.....

quick update on the dining room reno - the paint and wallpaper are done!! Here's a couple of pics (which aren't great, sorry) :

the wallpaper wall.

the textured ceiling.

I'm so blessed to have Dads that are handy and are willing to work for lunch and coffee. Now we just have to finish the trim and baseboards and then we're done!!

Also, I'm going to share my mothers day layout, which will give you a little sneak peek at the awesome June kit :

Believe it or not, I've never done pictures with my kids on Mother's Day before, but I think I'll try to do some every year from now on! It's a good chance to finally be in front of the camera.

Have a great day!

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!!