I forgot...

How much I love fall!

I realized this last night as I was looking out the kitchen window while I was making dinner. The last of the day's sun was shining down on and through the trees that line our street. It was stunning to look at because the leaves that have been starting to change to that trademark fall shade of yellowish orange picked up that glow from the sun. It made (my already delicious) dinner taste slightly better, and the sight of those leaves shining in the sun was comforting and beautiful and reminded me to slow down and look out the window sometimes.


A

its been how long?? Time management reminders..

I cannot believe that I haven't posted anything since May.. It feels like I just started this blog mere weeks ago and already I've managed to let go of posting for several months. Realizing how quickly this time has passed unnoticed prompts me to stop and reflect on this summer that's just passed and what has held my attention so raptly to the exclusion of the commitment I made to this sad little blog.

In answer, I can talk about work, or holidays or CFI stuff,  appointments or whatever other things make up the colored blocks on my Google calendar but really it all can be refined quite nicely down to one main point: it would seem that I still struggle to balance all the roles that I play in this new fast paced life. When any one of those roles requires more attention, I tend to lose my grip on the others and play a precarious game of   real life jenga while I struggle to regain my balance while not completely dropping any of the other pieces and breaking them beyond recognition.

And Inevitably it would seem it is work that is taking a bigger piece of the pie.
I know that I pour too much of myself always into my role as manager and team leader at the store and the result tends to be that this leaves only leftovers to be picked at once I leave there. And, of course, there is housework, cleaning and cooking, planning, organizing, more cleaning and errands to do and since Mack moved back home this summer (can I get a "Ramen"?) I am spreading myself even thinner (ha ha.. I wish!)

A friend asked me recently how I manage to find the energy to do what I do, how I don't come home from work and just pass out, leaving all the work for another time. The only answer I could come up with came out sounding sanctimonious and condescending and a little like this:
"When I moved to Calgary, I made a choice about the kind of lifestyle I want to live... blah blah.. this is the price I pay (exhaustion) and so there are many days that I just come home tired and push through because this is what I choose to do because of how I choose to live." okay, so while this is truly how I felt, I know that its not for everyone. And as I walked away from that conversation, I wondered to myself:  At what cost? I get so wrapped up in this vision that I have for what my life should look like that I forget that I must also be a sister, and a daughter, an aunt, a friend. and I pay a high price for this imbalance.

So the question is this:  Time Management. How do I simplify and get back to basics? And how can one withdraw from the rat race and still share the same cage with the other rats? Maybe I have to accept that its okay for the floors to stay dirty for a bit longer or that we can eat macaroni and cheese one night if the trade off can be that there will be time to play a board game. Go for a bike ride. Call my mom.

I don't want to end up consumed by this job. And I must remember that if my goal is to one day have a decent blog, then I bloody well better post on it, hmmm?

ooops...almost forgot to share!

I almost forgot! I was planning to blog some of my scrapbook pages from the weekend, and then I got so caught up in this week (which seriously is one of the worse I've ever experienced...from laundry mishaps to major work issues, this week is just seriously flawed) that I forgot to even upload the photos until just now!

Anyhow, I raise my glass and offer a toast:  here's to catching up, and to a weekend jam packed with x-tra spicy Caesars (heartburn be damned!) oh wait... this week isn't actually over until after we finish counting inventory on Saturday night, oh wait.. year end on Tuesday, oh...big stock day on Wednesday...oh no wait...make and take on Thursday...ok forget it, I'll get time off Friday next, but rest assured, I'll find time for a drink in there somewhere!

On to the scrappin'!

I did several layouts last weekend. It was actually pretty cool... because the store was closed on the holiday Monday, I decided to invite a few of the girls in to have a crop and mostly hang out. I dragged all my scrap stuff into the workroom early Sunday morning and settled in for the long haul. We set up the projector and the big screen and when the store opened at noon there were already several of us cropping away, chit chat and snacks and drinks and jokes and of course, paper and glue! The girls came and went throughout the course of the next two days... I was the only steady eddie in the group. But at the end, I'd created about 10 layouts, watched four movies and several reruns of "So You Think You Can Dance" (which priemiers tonight, btw, how excited am I?). After all was said and done, it was very nearly a perfect long weekend!

So I finally bought a piece of that GCD paper from the Melody Ross Line, mostly because I am in love with these journaling prompt embellishments. I took this photo the other day with my phone because I wanted a current picture to use with this page. I am glad that the photo caught a couple of those lines around my eyes...I think it adds honesty to the story that I'm telling...I am working on the journaling, which will be hidden in the envelope due to its highly personal nature.

 Thanks Melody for making me really think about what I am doing, what I want and what I still have left to accomplish.

This sweet little darlin`is my girlfriend, Mel's daughter Emily. What a sweet baby she is, always so happy and smiley. This photo was taken the first time Em got to play near the grass, I have a whole camera card filled with funny faces that she made while she sorted out whether she liked the texture or not. I used the Prima Picks and Pallette as an inspiration for my layout and was pleasantly surprised by the results. These are obviously not colors I normally work with a lot but I think I put them together in a tolerable way and really any colors surrounding Emily will be more than pleasant! As always, there is plenty of Prima on this layout, the paper is new My Mind's Eye and a few Kaiser flowers and butterfly for good measure. here's a little shot of the clusters from close up (all taken with my phone..)

 This layout is made with some old Sassafrass paper that I've had laying around forever. I added pretty much a whole pack of Prima E-line pink flowers, a little bit of bling and a punched cardstock border. From there, the story tells itself....(please hold, while I tell the story)  This is my amazing brother in law with my niece and I have to say he's such an amazing Dad to all his kids...Olivia is crazy about him.. we all are really. Its so cool to see him in his work overalls sitting in this super Pink bedroom snuggling with his little girl.

While we're drooling over my sister's wonderful family, here's a layout that I finished with that new photo of her taken right before she performed in her first Burlesque show. I love this photo beyond words, this is only the first time I'm scrappin' it... not the last!! I used Bo Bunny's Gabrielle line (inspired by my hero, Gabrielle Pollacco) to showcase this photo because it captures that dreamy, whimsical feeling that Kathy was channeling in this photo. What a fun layout to do... I love all the layers! 

This layout was thrown together in about five minutes using the new Little Yellow Bicycle line. All the embellishments come pre-made and the only thing I had to do was trim the pink patterned paper down to match the size of the die cut paper, which I had cut in half. I inked them a bit and then stuck them both down on cardstock, added the pre stickied embellies and matted and mounted the photo. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! 

This one took a bit more time. I took a piece of Cosmo Cricket patterned paper and fussy cut it to death. then I recreated it on a background cardstock and put the remainder of the page together. This sweet photo is of my nephew, many years ago when he had some habits that were less than pleasing to his mom (this one wasn't as bad as the "W" sit that he insisted on doing that was so bad for his little joints). Didn't seem to matter what those boys were doing though, they were always stinkin' cute while they were doing it!

This is the last layout that I'll put up in this post today. This was a really tough one to do because it was so far outside my comfort zone. I was trying to do a layout that focused less on embellishments and I'll tell you, I had a tough time leaving all that space. I did fussy cut several layers of the clock paper and made a full sheet of 12 x 12 pattern paper out of the scraps (you can't see the seams behind the pair of photos on the right page, but they are there). These photos were taken as Mack was preparing to leave home after a visit that felt too short. They highlighted to me how fast he has grown up and what kind of beautiful human he has become. So so proud of this boy! 

 I'll finish this epic post with a quick shot that I took of a card I made for the store (it actually turned out to be the make and take, which went very well and was very popular) but I had a blast making it. I love this new sticky backed cork that we've just got in from Quickcutz... its runs through the Cuttlebug on a Sizzix die like nobody's business and sticks brilliantly to the canvas, even after its saturated with the Chalkboard glimmer mist! I added a quick Tim Holtz map stamp to the background paper, a coat of crackle paint on the sentiment and some distressing around the edges and its finished!

Thanks for looking! I'll try and make time soon to post the stuff I did last week! 

    

just past humpday, turn slightly left at the weekend...Stop.

I realized today how ridiculously excited I am for the weekend. I know that its only a three day weekend, and I know that we have several commitments this weekend (not the least of which is getting our video cameras out to record the rapture) but still I see several hours free, for scrapbooking!!

So I've got it all planned out in my head. Today after work, I have to go home and clean the whole house, do all the laundry and make a big pot of soup. That will reduce any guilt I might be tempted to feel due to my Jewish heritage. Then after work tomorrow, I'll work on the schedule for June and get that out of the way and off my back. Saturday, after a quick appointment with my fitness coach, we'll attend the "Last supper" on in the evening and partake in some fun Rapture related festivities (please note: we never miss an opportunity to mock fairy tales)

Then... I'm free as a bird. I still have all my scrap booking stuff in the back of my car from the two past weekend's crops (see....a minivan was a great investment for me!) so I think I'll drag it all into the workroom at the store and play play play! That way I can really spread out, and I don't have to worry if I don't have the perfect cardstock color. Maybe a couple of the girls from work will join me too, and that'll make it all that much sweeter (HINT)

So...what am I going to work on? First, my sister posted this photo on Facebook yesterday that I absolutely must scrapbook immediately:

can you imagine all the possibilities with this photo?? I am absolutely teaming with ideas...so much so in fact, I may have to scrap it more than once! (side note: Kathy, I am so proud of you for what you're doing. Its a rare human that sees what they want and just makes it happen. You make it look so easy, but I know how hard you work....you are a treasure for your courage and determination!) 

Also, I see that Prima has posted a challenge and chance to win using colors that will definitely push me out of my usual elements, so I may have to give that a go. I have also been collecting some stamps this past few weeks... a couple from Stamping Bella and a few new La Blanche that I am dying to get inky! Is it too soon to start counting down the hours??

On the road

So although I haven't been Blogging lately as much as I would like, I am determined to get caught up and back in the groove over this extra long weekend that I am fortunate enough to have. I think so much of my problem lately has been in trying to decide how much to share and how much to keep private as things in my life got craYzy over the past few weeks.
Anyhow, after a hectic morning of packing, sorting, cleaning and getting ready, we are finally on the road. This weekend will be busy: visiting with my sister, her family, my folks and a couple of good friends, in amongst cleaning up the house, and showing it to potential tenants. Oh and getting my Prima application completed and submitted, video taping my sisters first live burlesque show, hunting down some killer Cab Sav and working on the dreaded schedule for the store. Did I mention this is my first five days off in a row in a year? Well, by off, I mean physically away from the store.
Ahhh well a day in BC is a holiday indeed!

Beautiful British Columbia...
Here
We
Come!















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:6 Ave SW,Calgary,Canada

Passing on a great opportunity to win...

I can't remember how I even found it, but I have recently started following a scrapbooking retreat company called "Pages Scrapped" on Facebook. I kept thinking that perhaps I'll have time to actually participate in one of the crops, maybe meet some new scrappers and get away from work for a few hours. Anyhow, through that page I found out that they are just starting to carry my absolutely favorite (well second favorite, preceded only by Prima) product ever: Dusty Attic. So first, I had to order a ton of it. And now there is a great chance to win some of this amazing stuff Here!. Check it out, leave a comment and if you win, I would like just a tiny cut of the swag!

Good luck!
A

New meal planning strategy

So it always seems that Nate and I are fumbling around on the weekend, thinking that we're about out of planned meals and it's time to plan again and what do we want, and where did we put that recipe again, all the while cobbling some meal out of triscuits and canned ham?
I do have a half assed binder filled to overflowing with Recipes that I've printed off the web but I can rarely find what I'm looking for in there anyhow, so it typically just gathers dust on the shelf ...when I see it out of the corner of my eye, I guiltily remind myself that "one day I'll fix that up" and it will be a great resource. Well, frankly, I may as well write my own cookbook in pencil for as much work as it will be to fix up that binder.
So .. this week we are at the point where we need to plan again and it occurred to me that there must be an easier way. I've tried several apps on my Iphone designed for meal planning and shopping but first, I like a keyboard and second, most of the apps want you to enter all your recipes one at a time...manually, if you can believe it!!

Then I remembered this Lifesaving Website  that I had stumbled across the other day. I'm not sure how I found it, I think it might have been off a link on another blog but I can't remember and... really it doesn't matter. I opened the link and thought at first glance that it looked like a phenomenal idea. I didn't have time to really look it over so I bookmarked it and promised myself that I'd come back to it when I had time.
This was the perfect time to go back and check it out...Five minutes into the "tour" and I was hooked. I've signed up for a free month's trial and I can assure you I will be subscribing I'm already uploading recipes and building my next month's menu!
Maybe my favorite part of the site was the fact that I can simply paste in the link of the recipes from all my favorite recipe sites like Food.com and All Recipes and it will import the recipe, sort the ingredients and build my shopping list! If it puts items on my list that I already have on hand, I simply click beside them and it puts those items into my virtual "pantry".  I can easily drag and drop the recipes into each day's meal plan and change them around if I notice that I've planned chicken four days in a row. I can see that this will seriously simplify this chore, especially after I input all my recipes (a task made easier by the bulk uploader feature as well!)
Can you tell that I am unreasonably excited about it and just had to share! Let me know if you check it out, and if you do, tell me what you think!

A

Scrap Stuff...

So I never did finish uploading the pages that I made last weekend at the Glendale crop and I fear that if I let myself get too far behind, I'll forever be dropping layouts and projects from my upload queue to make it move forward faster...I've already nearly completed a mini album for upload so I'd better get last week's stuff up so I can move on!

So ... here are some more of last week's creations:

This is a layout that I did with some older Bo Bunny paper that I've been hoarding and finally decided to break down and use. These pictures of me were taken last year out at an area way up Gray Creek in Cranbrook. It was very isolated and quiet and I remember spending much of my time that day looking out over the water and really reflecting on the past years and how far things had come and how much change was occurring in my life. There is some hidden journaling on this page... but I'm not telling where..

 I used mostly Bo Bunny embellies as well, just because if I'm going to use up the paper, no sense having co-ordinating stickers etc hanging around! Of course, I had to use some of the gorgeous new Prima flower ribbon... I can't tell you how much I love this stuff!!

This next layout is one that I created using the new Graphic 45 "Le Cirque" line. I love the bright and bold colors and theme of this paper, but I have to admit that I stared at it for quite a while trying to decide how to use it before I stumbled across this photo and it all came together...This is a photo of Mack and his friend Zack being their usual crazy selves. I love the way Mack just lives so "out there" really just being his loud, rowdy, curious and carefree self. Poor Zack doesn't even know what to do with him and its all captured in the photo!


Anyhow, I fussy cut the embellishments straight from the paper, added some pop dots, stickles, Thickers and glossy accents to call it done.

here are a couple of close ups of the layout to really see the depth and photo more clearly...

This next layout is a double page that I did last weekend as well. The photos were taken by sweet Paeton when the kids were at school. I believe (hope) they were on lunch when the boys went to Giant Tiger and bought pie plates and whip cream aerosols. I love the action shot at the bottom of the first page, but the look on Mack's face in both the other photos is priceless. I used the Bo Bunny Cambridge papers (again!) bringing out the blue of the paper in this layout. The big white splat is a Stampin' Up! stamp, embossed with white powder and then a couple layers of UTEE. The paper was distressed, wet, wrinkled and inked and then I added tons of eyelets in the corners. Oh, and the brick background is white chalk ink over the Crafter's Workshop Template. All the embellies are Bo Bunny as well...

There, I think I'm about caught up. Just to share, the following are a few pics I took of my craft room, which got rearranged after last week's window installation necessitated removing everything anyhow! I figured since most of my stuff was packed up and in my car from Glendale, and all the furniture was moved it was a good time to purge, clean and re set the room. 

I found this long white table in the garage when we moved in this place, so I cleaned it up, dragged it upstairs and it became an immediate favorite of mine. If you've ever crafted with me, you know that I love all my bins of stuff right at hand. Please note that my Prima flowers have now had to be separated into two larger bins... they have outgrown their space again!

so... its neat and fairly tidy and kind of organized. And we'll see how long that lasts. 

another week bites the dust

Its Sunday night and I haven't had time to do any blogging since this week passed in such a blur. However, this week was far more fun and emotional and exhausting and wonderful than most routine weeks that typically pass us by in this neighborhood. Let me fill you in!

First I want to mention that I have changed the font on the blog...are you happy? You know who you are....

Second, I miss my family. I mean.. I know I'm a big girl and I'm supposed to be a grown up, but I miss my sister, my nephews and my niece and probably most of all, I miss my child.

Third, I lost another 2.4 pounds this week, which makes me very happy. It's really great to see real results from all our hard work.. and a total loss of over 17 pounds for me and 28 pounds for Nate is just the motivation we need to stay on track! We have been really trying to learn new ways to look at food, new ways to cook, new ways to treat ourselves and new ways of thinking. Of course, we still treat ourselves.. I don't want to feel deprived.. but we just don't let it derail and undo all that we have done!

Anyhow, moving on! Mack arrived last Monday evening, along with my sister Kathy, her husband Steve and one half of the twins, Blair. They had a quick dinner, a rushed visit and then Kath and her family headed over to the hotel they were staying at while Mack and I got on with the business at hand: Hugging like Lunatics.

It was so great to catch up with him, he's been struggling a bit lately, trying to find his path in the world and I worry about him. He puts a lot of pressure on himself to achieve so much so fast and I think he almost sabotages himself with his ridiculously high expectations. I often feel like I can't help him as much as I want to because I live so far away, but catching up and talking to him, I realized that no matter how hard a time he's having right now, he's going to be okay. I know he'll figure this all out and he's going to be such a success in whatever he decides to do. I feel constantly so lucky to be the mother to this remarkable human. What on earth did I do so right?

In spite of all his stress and worry, Mack's personality is still just as prominent as it always has been. You can see he's lost a lot of weight since he moved out. Apparently the common denominator here is my cooking.. its good, but rich! 

He's also been growing his hair out again since he shaved it for cancer last May. Looks like its nearly time for another Relay for Life!!

First morning here, I made Mack breakfast and we headed out for the day. I had to go by the store for a bit each day that he was here, but mostly I tried to get all the work I needed to done either at home, early in the morning when he was sleeping or before he arrived! While he was here we tried several times to go to a movie... once I got lost and we were late. Once we sat out in the car near the theater for ever because we were 2 hours early. Eventually we gave up and went home and did some VOD. Of course, I pushed a wrong button and we ended up watching a movie that we had not chosen but somehow I managed to rent. I would advise you not to let me work the remote if I'm ever watching tv at your house. On the plus side, 127 hours was a great movie, intense but good...

The second morning we lounged around a bit in our jammies and then headed out to meet Kathy and the fam at the mall to shop, have lunch and just hang out. We couldn't decide on a place for lunch so we all split up and went through the food court on our own. Mack and I decided that we could try twice as much stuff if we split everything so we went with Extreme Pita's mandarin orange and chicken pita and then hit up the Crepe place. We hemmed and hawed over all the choices and finally decided on a chicken ceasar crepe and a banana cream pie crepe for dessert! YUM! It was almost as much fun to watch them make the crepes as it was to eat them...

Then after a shopping trip for a new pair of jeans for Mack (by the way, he was down SIX waist sizes since the last jeans I bought him) we decided to head downtown to find some Schwarma for dinner as recommended by my friend Dianne. She knew a guy who had a place so after she gave us directions, we set sail for the downtown core....at about 4:30 pm. Smart, spelled S.M.R.T. We did finally make it to the restaurant...the name of which I can't remember. Of course, there was NO parking so I drove around the block while Mack ran in and ordered....He's even got to make an entrance when getting in the car! 

Not ready to eat, or go home yet, we pulled over and checked my Flickster app on my Iphone to see what time the movie we wanted to see was playing next and it was over a half hour away. No problem.. lots of time. This is the part where I get us hopelessly lost in the downtown core, took us on a lovely detour through Inglewood and ended up on the far end of 17th avenue. I will never make my living by navigating this city....Needless to see we missed the start of our movie, and by this time I was just so happy to see Crowchild trail signs that we headed straight for home, dug out our schawarma and tucked into a VOD movie. This was our last night together...we giggled, talked and snuggled all night. I know it seems silly but this kid is just my favorite person in the world, I literally cannot get enough time with him it seems. We can just be silly together and he's not afraid to show that he loves his mom. I can't ask for much more, can I? 

The next morning, I had to be back at work and after missing the better part of a couple of days, I was behind! I was also bummed out cause I knew Mack was leaving within a few hours. I wasn't at work long before I discovered that an order that was supposed to have arrived on Wednesday didn't come and I about had a panic attack. This order was an enormous quantity of Copic Markers, due in because we had a class using them this night!  I had to go pick them up, so it was time for Kathy and Blair and Mack and I to pile in the van and head off to the NE of the city, to Scrapbook Eh? Wholesale. Fortunately for all involved, I know how to get there! On the way back from the warehouse we decided we were starving and close proximity to work and delicious food made Brewster's a quick and easy choice. Because I knew mack was leaving, I was taking pictures left right and center. Well, that and because he's so damn good looking!!

 I don't want to talk about the part where he left. So I'll leave it at this: the Copic class was a success..

A

This weekend's art `lots of pics`

So I've been blogging about my crop this weekend but not really putting up any pictures of my projects. I thought I'd throw together a quick post with some shots off my phone so that anyone that's interested can see what I've been up to!

In the order they were created:

1) Sweet love
This is my sister and her husband Steve and I just love the connection these two have with one another. The DP is Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante, the flowers and vine are Prima (duh), the letters are the Tattered Angels postage stamp letters

(painted with Gesso, acrylic paint, color wash and glimmer mist). The ribbons are from Webster's Pages and My Mind's Eye.

2) Bump and Grind

This photo was "right clicked" from the Cranbrook Newspaper, tinted sepia and printed on thin paper. They did a story on my sister and her amazing new fitness studio: Studio Karma. She has recently started teaching pole dance and cardio dance among other things and then started up this Burlesque troupe. The layout was made with new Prima paper, Moulin Rouge line and the Graphic 45 line by Coredinations. The letters are AC Thickers, the bling and ribbon all Prima and Maya Road. I hand made the curtain out of the coredinations paper and added the bling for fun! 

3) Sweet 16

This was just a quick layout that I did with an old photo of myself when I was competing in the "Miss Lady of the Lake" competition, sponsored by Kelowna Cabs. I remember how hopeful I was then and wanted to try and capture that feeling of hopefulness that I got when seeing the world ahead of me. I used the new Webster's Pages Spring Market DP and Vellum sheet as well as some of their gorgeous bloomers, vintage netting and letter stickers. It was fun and quick, but still cries out for journalling, which I'll catch up with later!

4) Tough
Ironically, this layout was tough to do. This photo was actually taken from footage of an interview done back in April...We were moving, both of us changing careers, giving up the house we'd worked so hard for and being followed nearly 24/7 by a camera crew.  This was at a time when our lives were changing drastically at a pace we could barely keep up with.We were stressed, tired and overwhelmed and I remember looking at this picture, seeing the sadness in my face and wanting to just burn the photo. Of course, I try and keep honestly in my scrapbooking so I decided to just go ahead and scrap it, then put it behind me as best I can. There will be journaling in the Maya Road envelope, tucked away from prying eyes...but not till after the layout makes it home into an album.

 I used the Bo Bunny Timepiece line since I thought it was appropriate, both in theme and color. The trinkets are Advantus, by Tim Holtz, Prima and Maya Road. Embossing folder was clockworks by Provo, flower is Prima. The gears were cut from the Sizzix Bigz dies and embossed with distress embossing powder in aged mahogany. The flourishes cut the same way but using a Sookwang tape were coated with earth elements. This stuff was cool.. it was the first time I used it and it didn't stick as well as I had hoped but it smelled exactly like nutmeg but had glitter in it!

Also, the big flower was made with Tim's Tattered Florals die, stamped with script stamp, rolled, inked, stickled and distressed. then I used a hinge clip to adhere the jump ring with the clock face and game spinner. So much fun!












5) I live my life like a duck

This layout has been rolling around in my head for several months now. I remember reading that quote somewhere once and really feeling connected to that sense of being calm where people could see you, but having a complete panic attack on the underneath. That's sort of how I felt for the first six months of this job, and still now I have moments, even whole days where I feel like I'm paddling for all I'm worth and no one can see a thing. I actually hunted down this photo online and wish I could remember where I found it to give the owner credit. If it is your photo, it is lovely, thank you! The DP is Prima, and the flowers are all Prima. Most of those flowers started out different colors as well.

As you can see... I used a gallon of glimmer mist on this layout! It actually took me about fifteen minutes just to heat set all the glimmer mist. I also spent a great deal of time ripping the papers to be just right! You can see the many layers of paper, each layer revealing something different, but you never see the whole pattern on the bottom layer. That's definitely a metaphor.
Anyhow, I am glad I finally got this page done. It makes me feel a bit better to have it out on paper. Although, I feel like some of my secrets are out too... we'll see how safe that is!



That's it for tonight. I have more layouts that I did and I'll post them tomorrow, but I need to get some sleep! Thanks for looking!
Angela

Live blog from "Ashley and That Guy's" place

it's been kind of an weird day for us... Usually my Sundays are filled with getting ready for the week ahead: things like laundry and ironing, paperwork that I've been putting off, cooking soup for the upcoming week's lunches and so on. But not today. After a super late night last night, it was up early to shower and dress, lock the cat in the basement, load up the car and and get out of the house since today was the day that the crew came around to finally replace all our windows. Although it will be nice to have shiny new clean windows, I was not looking forward to having all those workmen hammering, sawing and swearing as I worked around the house. 

So I invited us over to "Dan and Ashely's" for the day! Of course, I had to make it sound like fun, to prevent it feeling like an imposition, so I promised scrapbooking, food and movies. They were both into that so we all met for breakfast at the crack of damn dawn and after a round caffeinated beverages we headed back to their house to hang out.Poor Selena wasn't feeling well today and spent much of the day napping on the couch in her studio while I scrapped and watched movies and Maddie beaded the coolest necklaces ever. I think she's going to send me a photo of her cat wearing a necklace, it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen! Selena's scraproom is a super cool set up in that we can all watch tv, scrap, hang out and never be in each other's way. So while Selena suffered from dizziness and nausea, Maddie and I got down to the business of creating... 

Of course, no fun day is complete without food....Snacks consisted of shrimp cocktail (ooooh pardon me: Prawn Platter), fruit, rice crisps and pinwheel sandwiches...Yum! that held us until Dean had cooked our dinner... how do you like that...we invite ourselves and he cooks us a meal. That's some good service right there folks!  I have to be honest, I was concerned: Dean was preparing a meal from Mario Batali's cookbook called "Devils Chicken" and I was skeptical that I could handle it. There was a little discussion about how hot this "fire oil" was and how much it reeked of peppers the night before. I was nervous but decided that they were gracious enough to offer us a meal, I'd better put on my big girl panties and eat it. Besides, how bad could it be? Even if I breathed flames (like my favorite commercial ever: the one for the Flamethrower burger at burger king) I could drink cold beverages and eventually the pain would pass and I would survive. However, that was not necessary at all!! 

Dean's meal was brilliant. The chicken was just hot enough to light a little fire in my mouth but it never quite moved into "painful" and stayed just at tingling and delicious. The chicken was tender and the salad was great and he even served my all time favorite veg...the revered broccoli! Dessert was a splurge of Tiramisu cake .. but was worth every decadent bite. The icing on the proverbial cake was getting to watch dean shove that chicken carcass down the garbarator at the end. Made my day! 

So although Selena felt sick all day, I still had a great time. I think the guys watched TV. I'm not sure. I came up once and there was "Trout TV" on, so I assume they must have put it there. I know I sure wouldn't! 

oh by the way, there is definitely a story about why I called Dean "That guy". but its too long to put here. I just like that when I look back on this post one day, I will remember the story about Dean being "That guy" and have a little giggle. 

Thanks for a great night you three! Now, to go get ready for my week!
A

Glendale Crop, crazy weekend and its not over yet...

What a weekend! I almost can't believe its not Monday. I need to go back to work to take a breather! 

Friday morning, like everyone else, I was glued to the news online about the earthquake, Tsunami and subsequent nuclear power issues in Japan. Devastated, I found myself in a mix of emotions feeling guilty for being safe, and shallow for being so consumed with my life and my tiny problems (in comparison at least) and just horrified when I tried to put myself in the shoes of those who were watching their lives wash away. After some wise words from my sister, I was able to regain a bit of perspective and move forward with my day. She told me that "no matter how powerful your grief, your heartbreak, your devastation, the world does not stop for you!". 

 After shedding a few tears, I was able to put aside my grief and move forward with the plans that I had for my day, my weekend, my life since I still have one to live and had damn well better make the most of it! What better way to do that than to do what I love most....but first, must get through work day! 

This consisted of a jumble of running around and errands that I didn't finish on Thursday.  It was all about getting the store ready for the weekend so I could take a couple days off. This means making sure that the girls have lots of change, and tasks to keep them busy and that all the coupons and forms were printed...the ordering was done, copies were picked up etc etc! I had planned to leave the store by three, but didn't of course and barely managed to get out by 4:30. A quick stop at home for an extension cord and I was off and running. 

Oh wait.... I don't know where the heck I'm going. Frantic texting to Selena (aka Ashely)... begging for help. She gave me directions to get me to where she was and then was sweet enough to pull over and wait for me to get there so I could follow her to Glendale. This is pretty much the view I had for the next half hour.

Turns out... she didn't exactly know the way either! Not only is it a little confusing to begin with, every darn road is under construction it would seem. Its a good thing that she printed some Google Maps! 

After a few U-turns and an impromptu Zumba dance on the side of the road ... we finally arrived and got immediately to unpacking and getting ourselves settled in for the duration. I am really quite tickled with how much scrapbooking supply I can stuff in the backseat of my car. I mean... I know its a mini van, but seriously this is still impressive..six trips to get it all in there, but I shouldn't need anything that I don't have! oh, and  have I mentioned that I hate the fact that our house is on six stinkin' levels. who ever thought that many stairs was a good idea was clearly not a scrapbooker! 

Anyhow, we were unpacking and I had a big giggle as we pulled out our boxes and bins to discover that we were not the first ones here...how could we tell? 

how else would a community center land up with googly eyes on the path?? I'm just saying, its not a coincidence! 

So we're all settled in, unpacked and ready to roll.... I'll do another post tomorrow with the photos of what I accomplished. It is just too late tonight and we have another early morning tomorrow. 

Quickly before I sign off, I'll add couple other fun shots from the weekend:

Selena sneaking cupcakes! 

I also followed her home on Friday night, only two U-turns on the way home... we're getting it figured out! Well until its time to go back this morning. I got lost this morning....again. But it was kind of cool since it put me right in a place I recognized well... a skeezy neighborhood near the Shaganappi Golf Course. Memory lane right there.

Oh, and I mustn't  forget to check in about my Weight watchers meeting this morning: I'm down another 1.2 pounds which makes me smile all over my face (saying stolen from a stamp set..)  I really needed that loss today since it meant that I could really stay strong in the face of the above mentioned cupcakes, cookies, homemade cinnamon buns and all the other delicious goodies that Sue kept putting out for us scrappers. I ate a lot of fruit, drank a ton of water and kept focused on why I was there: Laughter and Art, not carbs! 

So I just got home not too long ago and realized that tonight is the night we had to remove all our curtains, blinds, and fixtures as well as clearing a four foot area in front of the inside and outside of ALL our windows because Lux is coming tomorrow to replace them. This sucks! it means that there will be a bunch of workmen in my house, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, except that 

a) they'll be there by 8 am (and we lose an hour for daylight savings) and 

b) they are removing our windows. I'm not sure if you've noticed but it is still winter! I'm not spending the day listening to hammering and sawing and swearing while I freeze, so we're going to hang out with Dan and Ashley for the day. Which means more scrapping for me. And war movies for Nate. Not such a bad plan? 

So that's it.. off to sleep for me. I'll post photos tomorrow of the work I did this weekend. Thanks for checking in!