Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year

So a New Year is upon us....and I'm planning on making some changes....no single thing will be drastic, but in the end I hope for more peace and calm in our lives.

Life has been so busy and crazy that I can't seem to find the time for anything anymore, so my goal for the year is to help declutter our lives. Scrapbooking has been moved to the back burner, it just doesn't seem to fit in my life right now. I am not retiring or selling all my goodies...it's just not what I am in to right now. I'm not finding the peace and relaxation from it that I use to love, however I have found it in Knitting. I'm totally loving knitting and have been busy creating some pieces for my family to enjoy.

I will continue to Scrapbook, it's just not my passion right now and I can't give it 100%

That being said, I've decided to take a break from My Treasured Memories blog and start up a new one for this next faze in my life. New Year, New Blog, New Craft....and hopefully New Peace.

Feel free to join me in 2011 at


Hope you all had a wonderful 2010, a very Merry Christmas and all the best to you and yours in 2011

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

where have I been

well I am still alive....and about to jump full swing into getting ready for Christmas....such a busy time of year.
Scrapbooking for me has kind of "paused", I just can't find the time, energy or pictures to scrap! It will come back to me!!! It always finds me again.
But for now....I am knitting. All day long I think of knitting and at night....well I dream of it. Having so much fun learning new things and the satisfaction to create something to keep us warm and cozy!
My first projects were dishclothes....but they got boring so I moved on to mittens and scarves....and socks! It's a lot of fun and I am eager to learn how to knit a sweater or add some cables.....But I'm going to save that for after Christmas.
Hope you are all excited for Christmas....hard to believe it is December already!!!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

who's coming????

I'm all signed up and ready to go! Now I just have to wait for what seems like a life time!

Donna Downey is in the HOUSE!!!!

Who's going to join me????


Monday, October 18, 2010

last layout on the desktop

this is the last layout on my desktop waiting to be blogged about....and the scary thing is....I don't have any layouts patiently waiting for a photoshop...or layouts waiting for some finishes touches or journalling.

I literally have nothing on the go....and no time in the near future....
well that is gonna have to change! Time to make some time for scrapbooking....Maybe a little shopping would help.....lol (always worked in the past)

we were stepping off the subway and this sign caught Rob's attention....he looked at me and said he wanted his picture taken. He never asks to have his picture taken.....so I got this shot. Then I had to come home and scrap it....which he found odd....

But when he sees that I blogged about it....he'll probably be mortified.
bwahahahahaha

Sorry hun! kiss kiss

I used a page left over from the altered book I did a few months ago.....



which I never blogged about....DUH
and, since then I have added pics and embellies to it....
all I have left is to print the journalling (I ran out of ink)
and it will be done....

guess I'll have to get my butt in gear to get it done so I can share! Can you guess the theme.....NYC....go figure!!!

Hope you have a great week....Monday's are always the worst, so the rest should be a breeze!!!!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Brooklyn Bridge

There is nothing like standing next to the Brooklyn bridge....what a beautiful landmark....and what a beautiful city. Those of you who know me....know that I love NYC. Really if I could do it all over again...I would live there! Only one thing that makes NYC not so nice....and that is RAIN. NY is not very nice in the rain. And on this day we had taken a double decker tour bus ride over to Brooklyn, and it was literally a downpour the whole the whole time. Once we got on the bus and started to make our way, it started and didn't stop until the tour ended. We were soaked and freezing...and pretty much missed the whole tour of Brooklyn hidden under the rain poncho that we had to pretty much beg for from the tour guide.
But that being said...I still love NYC

Hope you are having a great weekend. We had plans to go and get pumpkins today, but Rob's middle daughter has been up all night very sick.....poor kid....it's special to watch her twin sister and my son taking care of her.

Off to do laundry for the day!
Have a great week

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

one more for the books

it's no secret that I love the scrappy style of Melissa Mann, so here is a layout that was inspired by one of hers. The only problem is....it looks nothing like it. I love all the colors and layout, don't get me wrong.....just wouldn't pass as one of hers....lol

thanks melissa for all the inspiration!

This layout is of my son the first day he learned to ride without training wheels. I was so proud, the training wheels came off and he just started zipping around like he had been doing it forever.

Only 2 layouts left on the desktop....hopefully I'll get some scrapping done this weekend. (in between eating turkey and cleaning out the storage closet.....oh and I should get some halloween decorations up too)

Have a great week, we're half way to the weekend

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

free glimmer mist

so my bottle of pumpkin glimmer mist is almost empty....the sprayer is CLOGGED beyond repair. So I was going to pitch it and go buy ANOTHER.....but then

I look over at my water bottle and think to myself
"Gee I wonder if it would work????"

So I add the water, give it a swirl....and a spray
The sprayer is UNCLOGGED and the glimmer mist is FULL!
And the color is just as vibrant as before.

I wonder how many times I can fill it?
And really, if the color fades....no big deal! It's still orange....and basically FREE!

Dig out your almost empty bottles and give it a try....

4 left on the desktop

here is one of the 4 layouts left on my desktop to share....I've got to get some more scrapping done so I can share some more. Didn't realize how much I miss blogging.

One night in NYC I was tired, and my feet were sore....when we stopped at the little cart outside our hotel so Rob could grab a steak and cheese for the room....I looked at him and "I falafal".....he didn't get it at first, he just thought I said "I feel awful"....then I pointed to the sign for falafals....and he got what I meant.

Then the next day, we were both tired and had sore feet and when we walked by another cart....he turned to me and said "I falafal".....he so gets my humour!!!!

Don't you just love the pinwheels? Was cropping with the girls a few weekends ago and Tina was showing off her BEAUTIFUL layout which had these on them....so what was a scraplifter to do???? well scraplift of course. Thanks Tina

Now I only have 3 left....but I have a couple C-mas projects in the works....a Banner "go figure"....and another little scraplifting project from Tracey.....only mine is going to be for Christmas.

Thanks for the inspiration ladies!!!!

Hope you enjoyed....blog soon!

Monday, October 4, 2010

30 days of September update

so we set out in the month of September to remove 30 bags of junk from this house....
it started of good....got great....and then faded off.

But....we got a lot out of here....
8 bags to charity and 6 to garbage
sold 2 bags of clothes
and still have a few larger items that need to be gotten rid of.

Even though I am a little disappointed we didn't reach our goal, but the progress is great! This month when I dig out the Halloween decorations, I plan to tackle the storage closet
(we don't have a basement...so it is FULL!)

Our grand total
16 bags (plus 5 larger items gone)....
Add the 5 bags of stuff that was removed from the kitchen this summer....
that's 21 bags...and I don't miss a single thing that we got rid of.
My goal...to live a simpler life!

Let's see what October brings.


1 photo 2 looks

ok, so I scrapped this picture....and then...scrapped it again.
WHY?
well, it's simple....totally forgot I had already scrapped it. LOL DUH
but I do love both takes

the above was done in my new favorite color....Gray....but the gray must be accompanied by another color in order for me to love it....pink, yellow, various shades of purple will all do. And a banner....how can you go wrong with a banner???? This "Lost and Found" line is just dreamy, I bought every piece they had. I love the glitter too! And the die cut! And the colors!!!

My advice...FIND IT! BUY IT!

this one was done as an 8 1/2 x 11....this is new to me. I have always worked square (12", 8", 6".....you get the picture)....but recently adding 8.5 x 11 to the mix is wonderful. I have even added them into my 12 x 12 albums....saw this on Ali Edwards blog and really it is what inspired me to give it a try. AND I LOVE IT!!!! You start with your picture, and a few embellies and all of a sudden you have a completed page.

Another reason to love 8 1/2 x 11....when you trim down a 12x12 double sided page (especially the beautiful double sided scribble scrabble papers!)...you get to use the backside on the page too. It was always hard to hide away the back side....especially when the two sides were a tough choice....but with this size....PROBLEM SOLVED.

Last night I made (can you guess???).....a banner! It is a paper banner of halloween papers to hang in my cubicle. yes I work in a cubicle now....I have never worked in a cubicle...but those drab gray colors needed a little pick me up....and a banner was the answer.

Since I forgot to take a pic of the banner, I'll have to take a pic of my cubicle to share the finished product. Guess that means I am going to have to get busy and make one for Christmas....Valentines Day...St. Patty's Day....Easter....
YOU GET THE PICTURE.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great night

Sunday, October 3, 2010

where did the neutrals go?

In keeping with the theme of Fancy Pants and their Rusted Sun line, here is another layout with this line. But my question is....where did the neutrals go???
I have long been a neutral scrapper....attached to cardstock backgrounds and simple titles. But lately I have been stepping outside the box....look, I even used two different colors for the title...WOW. Rough on my A type personality let me tell ya, but since I had no "s" or "a" left in the orange...I dipped into the turquois.
I think I like it!
Maybe I have started something here????
OR it's a phase and I will quickly revert back to my old ways....

Thanks for stopping by, hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

blog neglect

my blog has been so neglected, it's a shame really.
But last week my scrappy mojo was flowing when I spent the day scrapping with some friends....and scrapping with these girls causes the mojo to explode.

here is the first LO I did....I used Rusted Sun by "Fancy Pants" and initially I thought of these warm colors are "fallish" but once I put it up against the turquois it screamed summer.

this was out trip to Boston and we took the Duck Boat Tour, and the kids got to drive the boat....which they really got a kick out of.


I cut my embellies from the patterned paper (with the exception of the whimsy buttons), used a border punch on some scrap paper....and then glued the left overs down....which was very tedious, but worth it in the end.

There are 7 more layouts on my desktop to share....the past two weeks have been very productive for me! Hope this keeps up

Thanks for stopping by

Friday, September 17, 2010

The B52's - Love Shack

Officially one of my all time FAV's......ENJOY

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Time sure flies

Hard to believe the fall is here....and school is back in. I have to admit....totally excited to have a routine down again. DS was so cute to watch in the school yard and be reunited with his little friends....and the not so friendly ones....But he was glad to go and I'm sure he will be excited to tell me all about his day. Had to laugh, the teacher told them they could sit down and read a book while everyone was getting settled. So my little cutie pie, grabs a book and sits and reads it. (why can't he be like this at home?)
Rob and I have a new project we are working on, call the 30 days of September.
Since there are 30 days in September, I have deicded (with the help of Rob) to get 30 bags of "stuff" out of our house. We started this weekend, and there are 12 bags gone already....and still so much more that can go. We are purging everything we can to charity, and what can't be used....garbage.
My DS is very attached to his things, so I usually clean his stuff out and hide it so he can't go through it....cause in his mind that broken toy that he has been saving....is very special LOL
But who knew Rob was the same way. I had a box of toys that was going to charity, and he started going through it....and actually pulled something out to keep. Almost fell over when I found that out....I had no idea.
What is amazing is how much "stuff" you have, that you don't need. What woman needs 4 house coats??? Especially when she doesn't even wear them? And really 30 bags....is not a lot. We are almost half way there and there is still oogles amounts of clutter to work on.
So hats off to a clean sweep....12 down...18 to go!!!! wish us luck.
My scrappy life has been on hold this summer. I have a layout on my desk that was started a few days ago....and just didn't go in the direction that I had hoped for....obviously I am a little rusty after such a long break this summer.
Time to get back to our ROUTINE!!!!
Thanks for stopping by

Monday, August 23, 2010

how many screwdrivers does one woman need?

75


yes folks, yesterday Rob and I took a little adventure to Canadian tire. He had seen a battery charger on sale, and just had to have it. So after him talking about how great of a deal this battery charger was, and how good it would be to have, we decided to go buy it.

Well, they had a sale on their screwdriver sets....a set of 75 for only 20 bucks. So here is how the conversation went

Michelle: "I think I am going to buy it"
Rob: "what for"
Michelle: "well I only have 4 screwdrivers, and it might come in handy"

(a little side note, I have 2 square screwdrivers both the same size, one star screwdriver, and when I am in need of a flat head screwdriver....a butter knife is always my choice....lol. And yes I know they all have names, but that is just too much work to remember what they are all called, really my names do the trick....and besides I know what I mean)

So back to our conversation
Rob: "well you can always use mine, I have that same set already"
Michelle: gives a one eyebrow raised looked
Rob: "you just have to put them back where you found them and don't loose them"

Enough said....I bought the set!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

halloween????

Since I started the week with making a Christmas banner, I thought I would finish with a halloween one. I just love how this one turned out using canvas.
each flag is double thickness canvas stitched together with black fabric, and then I glimmer misted the canvas for the halloween feel. Each letter was done is some halloween patterned paper, the Prima and Basic Grey worked really well together. Then I dug out my trusty large scalloped circle punch and used black cardstock to mat the pp.All the embellies were making memories that I already had in my stash. The trim was the only thing I had to buy to finish this. Haven't really decided how I am going to hand this just yet, but I think maybe some grommets and twine????
Once I get it up for Halloween I'll share what I finally decide.

I just love the canvas flags....I'm off to make some more!!!!!

Monday, August 9, 2010

banner crazy

I am officially crazy over banners....and tonight I made 5 in total?
Why???
Because I can....lol
Seriously, I have no reason for them all and no place to put them, but I just love them so much I couldn't stop myself. This one below is from papers from My Minds Eye....I love the colors so so much. And because I had so much left over (I got carried away punching out the scalloped circles), that I made 2 more the same. One is really long, and the other a bit shorter.

I put it up in our room with the one done a few months ago

this one was started last night...and after a desperate search for a second letter A....it finally dawned on me....MAKE ONE! So I cut up a W....and voila....a letter A was born. This one was made for C-mas using Eskimo Kisses scraps. I really adored this line, so it will be a holiday favourite for me this year.


The other two are pink and girly with butterflies, daisies, and hearts. I'll hopefully share tomorrow once the sun is out again for some better pics.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, my DS is officially all ready for school. (minus a lunch kit, zip lock bags, and kleenex)....guess he's not really ready....but he is officially dressed. It was a busy day and he was really good considering we were shopping all day....not his favourite thing to do let me tell ya! But it was a fun day and he loved picking out his clothes.

Must get to bed, crazy busy at work today and tomorrow is going to be just as bad....if not worse. Thanks to my wonderful man for coming to help me out today. I appreciate it so much, and will be forever grateful for your help today. Love you Rob!!!!

Have a great week, and I'll be back soon with some more pics of my latest obsession
Thanks for stopping by

Monday, August 2, 2010

NB Day

So how was everyones weekend?
And for those of you in NB.....
How was your LOOOOOOOONG weekend?

Well mine was FAB! We got home on Friday night at 6:30 and we didn't leave again until Sunday night at 6:00 when we went to the store up the road for a movie. hahahaha

We stayed home and did pretty much nothing for almost 48 hours. LOL It was AWESOME!!!!!

It was so great, my DS and I just chilled all day Saturday (while Rob was working) in our jammies and Sunday night we had a movie night (again Rob was working). other than that, we just played and chilled out. I was surprised he didn't want to go anywhere. I kept asking him, but he said no thank you. Asked him to get dressed, he said no thank you. Offered up the park, going to the movies.....NOTHING! He was just happy to stay home in his jammies with mom! **sigh** (and it was beautiful out and he didn't even want to go biking or swimming WOW)

Today we ventured a visit to my Grampy's new house and then my Nan's grave. My DS has never been, so it was a little emotional for me. Luckily it was sunny and I was wearing sunglasses....so he was none the wiser.

I did get a little scrapping done during my weekend of seclusion, but as I sit here with it being dark outside....I realized that I forgot to take pictures. So here are some Dear Lizzy layouts that I did....and just had to add that beautiful websters trim! DARROOOOLLLL

Don't banners just make you happy? I love adding them to a layout, they make it so much fun...don't you agree???? And those crotchet flowers....aaaahhhhhh, heaven
Well here's to a short week at work. Tomorrow night we are going to celebrate Rob's birthday as he was working on the 1st so we postponed his celebration until his days off.

I'll share my "making his cake" story with you later....let's just say I'm probably going to hit the superstore just in case for a back up.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

don't be offended mom

mom got me this for Christmas, which I totally LOVE....well except for the pics that were in the glass. Sorry mom, it's just not my style
she is so going to kick my butt

So I decided to give it a little Michelle style.....and what better way than with my favourite paper line by American Crafts "Dear Lizzy" I used the adhesive backed fabric for the glass, made a banner and garland out of the patterned paper....and then some "Dear Lizzy" embellies to finish it off.



Thanks for stopping by, and give the new adhesive backed fabric a try and see what you come up with....would love to see!....(if you do, please leave me a link in comments!!!!)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

start me up reveal July 24th, 2010

today is my final reveal over at the Start Me UP blog....
and we have some really fun layouts to share with an
AWESOME challenge!!!!
this LO was a stretch for me, but my dear scrappy friends kept cheering me on...thanks ladies because.....I LOVE HOW IT TURNED OUT. Can't wait for our next gathering to work outside of my comfort zone again.

This is dedicated to you ladies

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
And don't forget to stop by the Start Me Up blog.

Friday, July 23, 2010

a totally different direction

ever have an idea for a LO, and by the time you were done it went in a completely different direction? Well I did this week. Believe it or not....this was to be my LO for the Start Me Up challenge blog.....which is a blog all about the men in our lives. Well I was going to do this about the man that is in my belly. LOL.....but by the time it was finished, it was a little too girlie.....BUT I LOVE IT
this is my new all time favorite layout....which will change.....
but for now
IT'S MY FAVORITE!!!!

well the weekend is finally here, and the sun is shining....we just got back from the beach and now time to get supper....a little late, but I'm sure there are some left overs in the fridge. (hopefully some without the blue fuzzy stuff, bwaaahahahaha)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and be sure to check out the reveal tomorrow for the start me up blog....I'll be sharing my take with you hopefully tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a WONDERFUL weekend!!!!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

big week at our house

well it was a busy week, but a fun one at that! My baby boy is turning into a little man right in front of my eyes.

this week he learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. He just hopped on, and off he went.....so I just had to try out panning to get the effect. Ok, that needs some work....cause out of 50 pics this is the only one that worked half decent. His training wheels have been bent up for a while and they would only make contact when his balance was off. But now he is just zooming around without them...

then later that night when he was up in bed, he screamed down for me that "his tooth broke", but it was still hanging on by a thread....until about 10 minutes later he yelled that it fell out. He immediately had to call his nanny and grampy! Then I told him to put it under his pillow, but he wanted to show it to his dad first. too cute! So the tooth fairy will come when he gets home from his dads.

and finally the beetle. This thing has been in our garage for a year....untouched. But we have made the decision to restore it. We found a place online that has all the parts, and it's Canadian....and reasonable prices....so we are going to strip the whole thing and get it painted. This is going to be a big job....but we had so much fun stripping his motorcycle and putting it back together....it should be a piece of cake. lol


to finish off the week, Rob and I had the whole weekend to ourselves! It was wonderful, we got some stuff done around the house and just hung out. We even hit Indigo and just browsed around. It was so much fun!!!

Well hope you had as wonderful of a weekend as I did.
Thanks for stopping by

Thursday, July 15, 2010

my little helper

a few days ago, I dug out my canvas and decided to play with my watercolor crayons....then my little man came in....and he just had to join in on the fun. I was making mine with red and pink, totally not boy colors, so I got him to make a similar background but with 2 colors of his choice. Well he picked well, cause he chose blue and purple.
so after he colored, we sprayed and began the drippage process.....unfortunately we have no pictures of this as we were both COVERED in watercolors and he had to go directly to the bath. So tonight I felt inspired and we began to finish this project up.....and it is going to be BEAUTIFUL....WAY nicer than mine.

Stay tuned I'll be sharing the finished product hopefully by the weekend.

thanks for stopping by, the weekend is almost here

PS....when is this humidity going to end? We are all tired of being sticky all the time. yuck!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

start me up reveal July 10th, 2010

It's that time once again, and hard to believe that my term is almost up with Start Me UP! Have you applied? If not....YOU MUST....these challenges are so great, and a lot of inspiration floating around with these ladies.
Karla Dudley was the guest DT this week and had a great challenge for us....
3 groups of 3

I chose to have:
3 banners
3 Pictures
and 3 groups of trees.

Don't you just love banners? They just make each layout so happy....I have to stop myself from adding them to every layout.

Last night some ladies came over to scrapbook....we didn't get a lot done scrappy wise, but we had some great laughs and chatted it up. Tracey even has me working outside of my comfort zone. After they left, I even went back at it and scrapped for another hour. I'll share the layout with you soon....it's not a great day for taking pictures. So I have opted to get groceries (check) and work on laundry and try to get the floors done. UGH

Hope you have a great weekend, and don't forget to play along with this great challenge over at the Start Me Up blog. Just click on the link on the right!

Thanks for stopping by

Sunday, July 4, 2010

imagine

I can't imagine a single moment of my life without you in it.

Ok, I officially love using canvas as a background for my layout. Paired with Paint and glimmer mist, I truly love how this layout turned out.
and taking pictures in the sunlight.....so much easier.
Why can't we have this sun all year round?

So we went and saw Eclipse today....not my favourite, but it was still good. Looking forward to the final one....but have yet to hear when it will be due out....actually I don't even know if they have started production on it....must google that when I'm done here.

Back to work tomorrow after a 4 day weekend, and I'm not really looking forward to it. We accomplished a few things this weekend, but still so much more to work on around here. We are on a mission to declutter.....UGH

Hope you had a great weekend
Thanks for stopping by

Thursday, July 1, 2010

the happy song

My little man likes to call this the happy song, and requested to hear it on our way to the Canada Day Celebrations here in town. We live about 20 minutes away from the events and when the song was over, he asked for it again....and again....and again. 6 times we listened to it on the way in (we had to make a stop) and 5 times on the way home. I had to laugh as he was singing along in the back seat. And when it would finish....he would say "mommy can you play the happy song again?"

I have to admit, it was getting a little annoying....but so cute.

Hope you had a happy Canada Day.....and enjoy the happy song!!!!!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

eclipse

I am totally pumped about Eclipse starting....so totally can't wait to see it!
Hoping to see it this weekend, but might not pan out....
I'm saddened by this
I'M TEAM EDWARD
What team are you on?
Enjoy the show!!!!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

two layouts to share

here's a layout I did for the Let's Capture our Memories DT last month.
I loved using the loose leaf paper from BG, and that tape measure ribbon from Tim Holtz.....well that is just so awesome. I love how the red in the ribbon really pops against the black and white.
This layout was using the Pink Paisley line, I had some left over from my Guest DT spot on Srapbooking Gone Wild.....just added some words, and the most adorable Hambly rub ons and VOILA.....I really love this LO....it is on the top of my list for sure.
Wasn't this weekend just beautiful. We got the trailer finished, lawn done, and about 8 loads of laundry...plus the house WAS clean, but the kids have dogs have been hard at work to making it messy again.

Back to work tomorrow, but luckily it's going to be a short week.
In case I am not back by then, have a happy Canada Day
Thanks for stopping by

Saturday, June 26, 2010

start me up June 26th reveal

It's that time again over at the
Start Me Up
Challenge Blog
Just click the link on the right and stop over and join in on the challenge.

Here is my take.....
I love adding flowers to boy layouts!
Not that I like doing it all the time, but it sure is a nice change....
Plus think Pink Paisley paper is just so yummy!!!!!
and what's a layout without PRIMA....aaaahhhhhh
Also, they are having another call for the DT.
This is a great DT to be a part of!!! Come on over and join the fun!!!!

Hope you are having a great weekend. Our day was filled with working on the never ending "to do" list. The floors are done, bathroom cleaned, working on my 4th load of laundry, and the trailer is back together after a leak. UGH

1 st of summer vacation and already the kids are saying they are bored. geeze, I don't remember being bored as a kid....well at least not on the first day.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the day

Thursday, June 24, 2010

camera equipment

Going to the states is so exciting, why???? because it means I get new camera equipment
CHEAP
So this last trip, I got
1.collapsable lense hood $20.00
2. extra battery for my xsi and a wide angle lense....
$125.00 for the both
I haven't figured out the ins and ours of my lense yet, it is not a stand along lense it is an adaptor....and when I was trying to ask questions, there was a language barrier....but hopefully I will get to play with it this weekend.
So all in all, I saved about 30-40 on the lense hood (plus it's collapsable!!!!)
and the battery and lense for 125....well that was a huge saving. The battery alone up here is about 100.....so it's like I got the lense for FREE
Now to learn what it is capable of......
Is it Friday yet?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

happy post for a sad day


Today is finally the burial of my Nan who passed away in January. Don't ask me why it took so long, I had nothing to do with it. But really I would have liked to have had her burried months ago when the ground thawed. It's like reliving it all again.

So I decided to blog about something that really made us all happy and we had lots of laughs about it. A little Chipmunk who decided to stop by for a visit.

Well this little guy certainly caused a stir other nights. He was chomping on a strawberry that one of the girls dropped on the ground after a trip to the store for a treat with my mom....he was blocking our driveway so my mother couldn't get out after she dropped the kids off.

So first I had to take a picture.....
No matter how close we got to him, he wouldn't budge,
Rob gave him a little pat....but still he wasn't moving.
Rob's oldest dared to get close and he kind of attacked her.....poor kid, I think she is going to be traumatized for life.
So out came the gloves in an attempt to move him.

But the little stinker kept jumping off out of Rob's hands
You would think he would have taken off....but oh no!
He would just heard back looking for more berries.

Finally we got him to the grass, and my mother carefully backed out of the driveway.
We checked on him a little while later and he had moved on to haunt some other neighbours.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

cupcakes make me happy

Remember the episode of Sex in the City where Carrie had the yummy cupcake with pink icing and the daisy on it?

Well they are from a little shop in Greenwich Village called
Magnolia Bakery.
Since their debute on Sex in the City they now have 4 bakeries in NYC
People are lining up for these things!
And for good reason
Not only are they pretty, but super yummy.
I made Rob wait in line to try these....he was initial response was
"I'm not waiting in line for a $10.00 cupcake".....
YEAH RIGHT
First they were not $10, we got 2 cupcakes a coffee, and a shopping bag (just had to buy one), plus the box (yeah you had to buy them too), for $10.00

Money well spent while we sat on the edge of a fountain enjoying these. I had the "carrie" (right), and he had the red velvet(left).

I've been trying to learn the technique to decorate like they do on youtube.....
so when I made cupcakes for my sons class on Sunday I gave it a whirl.....
or should I say SWHIRL....LOL

Well one failed attempted....better luck next time.
None the less, if you go to NYC you have to have a cupcake from Magnolia. Really the wait wasn't that bad....certainly worth it.

thanks for stopping by,
and yes I saved the box so I could scrap this. lol

Thursday, June 17, 2010

ok, I'm better now

Well I did it!
I am leaving my current job and moving to another within my organization. So not a big scary move, but a move none the less. I hate change, it freaks me out a little. But I just keep telling myself....change is good
In the words of a little blue fish
"just keep swimming" LOL, that was for you Dorrie hahaha
The relief I felt when I sent my letter was just unreal. I'm actually excited
So I feel much better, this has been on my mind for a while and had decided that it was going to happen, but just didn't know when. Then Wednesday happened, and poof.....I put my letter in to leave my current job. Which means....I won't be working Monday to Friday anymore....I'm going back to shift work....SCARY! But hey, I did it for 9 years.....I can do it again. The nights are going to be hard, but the 4 days off are going to make up for it.
So here's to change!
Cheers

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

feelings

I am sad
I am mad
Angry and frustrated
things need to change
I am not happy
this has nothing to do with my personal life....
it's work....changes are going to have to happen
big changes....
the only problem is that I am scared at how it is going to impact on my personal life.
today is the day the decision has been made....
now to just implement it and make it all work out in the end
with as little hiccups as possible.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

start me up June 12th Reveal

It's reveal day over at
Start Me UP

and our guest designer this month is.......
Jessi Lute. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her work....and stalk her blog often. Her work is delish!!!!

She challenged us to scrap what makes him "HIM"
so here is my take
for this I used the challenge as my title and then a bunch of words on journalling strips to describe my nut ball son. I used a Hambly over lay and attacked it with my heart gun to get some texture and ripples....I really like how it turned out....much better IRL

Make sure you check out the other ladies takes....they are great. Thanks for playing Jessi, make sure you link your layout for the challenge....

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend
wish for some sun....my son is trying to reach 100 freckles (yes he makes me count each one when he comes out of the sun.....too cute.) Oh, and he now has 2 loose teeth....but none fell out YET

overwhelmed....

What a whirl wind this week has been.
Just got back from vaca with my man....AND it was wonderful (every time we go away it's like we fall in love all over again!). Got oodles of blog feeds to catch up on....and Laundry...UGH Luckily my dog sitter was a sweetie and cleaned the house for us! It was amazing to walk into the house and it smell like Mr. Clean....it sure looks better than I left it. LOL

Lots to share, but gotta get busy around here.
Just thought I would let you all know I am still living.....

And a huge congrats to my scrappy pal Amanda for getting the Prima DT gig....WOW! This girl can sure rock it.....Prima and Pink Paisley...just a little envious over here. Congrats Amanda, well deserved!!!

Friday, June 4, 2010

scrapbooking gone wild

This month I was asked to be the Guest Designer at
Scrapbooking Gone Wild.
Chantal gave me such wonderful Pink Paisley papers to work with, it was such an honor to work with her this month!!!!! Can't wait to go and have a little visit with her tomorrow.....and maybe buy myself a few scrappy supplies in the process. She has such wonderful products, and is such a sweetie. If you're in the area you MUST check out her store.

And this weekend she is having a sale on her PP and CS.....the prices are awesome!
I'm going to stalk up!!!!!

Check out her blog for all the details.....

Here is what I created for her.
I just love pics of people walking away, I snagged this one of all the kids together....One you can hardly see, but it was literally the only pic I could get where one wasn't looking back yelling
"come on....hurry up"

This page I didn't have the right colour beigh for the background, so I grabbed a pale yellow and glimmer misted it with Marshmellow....it turned out awesome....the perfect shade of beigh!!!! Plus the yellow undertone goes really well with the yellow in the PP!!!

This layout is actually quilted....however all the modern technologies that we have would not show it....but IRL it is pretty cool. Note the butterflies....my obsession for sure!
This is one of Rob's daughters, we were at a restaurant and I caught her off guard and snagged this picture while she was concentrating on playing with a pack of ketchup. LOL

I have to say that this is one of my favourite layouts right now, I love the cleanness of it....the simplicity just makes me happy! Plus how can you go wrong with polka dots????

Hope you have a great weekend, I am busy cleaning tonight and have the get this pathetic excuse for a lawn cut.....

Thanks for stopping buy, and I'll try to share some more really soon

Thursday, June 3, 2010

so behind

Dear Blog,

I have not forgotten about you, and think of you often. There are so many posts that I have planned in my head for you....however, I just can't seem to find the time. But they will come, and all of this neglect will hopefully be forgotten.

{{HUGS}}

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Start Me Up May 29th reveal

There's another reveal over at the
START ME UP
Challenge Blog.

This time we had the very talented
LEICA FORREST
Challenge us to use black and white......
a FAV of mine for sure

Here is my layout.....
make sure you come over and join the fun and get some inspiration for that special holiday just for men coming up next month!!!! The next reveal is going to be a lot of fun, you won't want to miss that either.

Today was a very beautiful day here in my neck of the woods. I hit the zoo with my DS and his Beaver Troop....I think the heat was a little too much for him, so we didn't stay for all the events but we did get to have a guided tour through the zoo.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I'm off to scrap and get caught up.....AGAIN
Thanks for stopping by, see you soon

Thursday, May 20, 2010

sad day for momma

As most of you know, I have been whinning about turning 35....and getting my first dash of grey hair. It was hard for me....after all I went 35 years without any, and now they are popping up everywhere.
Well 2 nights ago at supper my DS told me that his tooth was loose. I felt it....nothing....so I assumed he was being dramatic and that maybe he saw it on a tv show, or a book. He got really upset about this saying that he didn't want his teeth to fall out, and I coudn't console him or convince him that this is what is suppose to happen.
He mentioned it a bit yesterday, but not too much.
THEN
this morning he was brushing his teeth and told me he couldn't brush the front cause his tooth was loose and he didn't want it to fall out. So I felt the tooth.....
and it is loose. His 1st loose tooth.
Imagine the drama he is going to shed when it falls out! for both of us!!! lol

Now now here I am 35, and going gray, and my baby is loosing his teeth! What next??? lol Ok, I know it's not the end of the world, but really time is flying....he is growing up so quick and it's making me a little sad. (Not sad enough to have another baby mind you....but sad that he isn't a baby anymore)
Hugs to my little man....
Have a great day

Saturday, May 15, 2010

working out of your comfort zone

It's reveal time over at Start Me UP!!!!
Check out the guest designer and the teams wonderful creations.
this is the place to go for some great boy inspiration
for my layout I used my own handwriting (ugh) and did journalling.
journalling is not my greatest strength.

be sure to check it out and play along
thanks for stopping by, and hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Friday, May 14, 2010

scrappy night

tonight is the night!!!!
gonna be scrappin from 5:30 on....and the mojo better be there....I have a lot to get done in such a short period of time. Looking forward to 3:30 so my weekend can begin. Although it is going to be busy, and go way to quick....it is still needed.
Have a great weekend all, and hopefully I'll have some goodies to share next week.
Thanks for stopping by

Thursday, May 13, 2010

start me up May 1st reveal

Hope you all have checked out the 1st reveal for Start me UP! The all boy challenge blog. This first challenge was to use chipboard....and the first guest designer was the lovely
Melody Ross. Make sure you stop over and check it out....and get ready for the next challenge and next guest designer....hmmmm wonder who it could be??????

Well this is my LO
I used a chipboard font for my title and some maya road chipboard gears!
Who knew perfect pearls would be so perfect (lol) for chipboard.

Come on over and join in the fun....
And get ready for the next challenge!!!!

Thanks for stopping by....
6 minutes until Grey's!!!!

dealines

6 major deadlines due between now and the end of the month. the pressure is on for sure! One of which is due...this Saturday! And one due last Sunday aaaahhhhh (oops)
AND
to make things better.....my mojo is missing. seriously, someone broke into my house and stole my mojo right up from underneath me. I could cry, seriously cry right now.
BUT
the good thing is that I work well under pressure. SO! All I need to do is find some inspiration and get my butt in gear. Tonight I am going to devote to cleaning my house, and then Friday night I am going to scrap until I get a bit more caught up.
Thanks for stopping by, have a great Thursday.....
Yeah!!!! tomorrow is Friday

Monday, May 10, 2010

huge weekend

WOW, what a weekend
Mother's Day
My b-day
AND
a crop!!!!
it was a great weekend, but super busy. My b-day and mother's day were both wonderful....I cannot lie....I love getting presents! I was spoiled with love too, and some beautiful homemade gifts that my DS did at school. I love the coupons. he made me collect them all at once as he read them to me. (but I will collect them again hehe)
a wink (and we had to do it together)
2 hugs
3 kisses
4 hugs
5 kisses
the first 3 were printed out at school and the final two he made up himself!!!
Rob spoiled me as always....he is so good at gift giving. He always knows exactly what to get (plus I give obvious hints!!! lol, but now I know that he was listening)
Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day
thanks for stopping by

Prima blog

don't you just love the purples shown below?
check out the prima blog for your chance to win some beautiful goodies

May's Prima blog pick is:


Celebrate a month filled with gorgeous blooms with May's beautiful picks! You will find a huge assortment of Prima's top-notch flowers-all in lovely shades of lavender, as well as a few sparkly centers and gorgeous leaves to finish off any project with style.
Selections shown above include:
Symphony Flowers-gorgeous flowers which include 6 different sparkly flowers in the same package
Melange Flowers-check out the detail on these lovely blooms.
Calcutta Blooms in Pink-so much texture, so many uses!
Pearl Panache-sheer fabrics and glitter add so much to these tiny blossoms.
Winter Roses in Purple-fully-formed roses with glitter and crustal shavings on the curled edges.
Temple Leaves in Lavender- amazing bendable leaves that will add a stunning effect to your projects.
Love Story polka-dotted rose-sigh! Just so romantic.
Pearl Panache Purple flowers-each flower comes complete with a sweet pearl center.
Madrigal Blooms in purple-amazing fabric flowers that will be stunning on your layouts!
Fairytale Roses in Purple-sweet, tender small roses that come on our creative clear packaging.
Mini-Bouquet-lily in pink-a whole mini-bouquet that is perfect for altered projects or cards.
Dynasty Centers-these babies are fabulous! So rich and detailed. Use on the center of a flower or as an accent on your page.
Zazi flowers-soft, feminine flowers in fabric with sequins and sparkles that put a smile on your face.
Exotic Gardenia-tropical flowers that are perfect for vacation layouts!
Petite- Mums-multi-layered flowers with complete pearl centers. So amazing on a project!
Want to win some of these fun products? Here's what would we like you to do:
1. Post this Prima Pick photo or whole entry on your blog, Facebook or other online gallery/site. (Please follow each site's TOU.)
2. AND then post your link right here in the comment section.
(You are welcome to make a project with our PICKS too! We would love to see the link to your project.)
We will randomly pick a winner about a month later from the links posted and send you a prize pack! Be sure to scroll down to see who won the last PPP!