I am not a pickler... I am a scrapbooker.

I am becoming accutely aware of what is a talent of mine, and what isn't. Pickling isn't a talent. I have had to reseal over half of my jars...twice. I don't have patience. I want them to seal immediately, and whenever one of Tara's would pop, a little bit of me was jealous. Is that weird? So this is the third year that Tara and I have made pickles. It was super hard to find pickling cucumbers though. I only was able to get my hands on 15 pounds of pickles. There was too much hail this year. So to make up for it, I also pickled some carrots from my garden. The dill was mine too! So I guess I can't make the pickles, but I can grow the dill for them. Some compromise.

So if pickling isn't a talent, maybe scrapbooking is? I think I might be better at it than

pickling...which isn't saying much. This layout is done with my new fave... Sassafras Lass. Too pretty to cover up, so I didn't really. But I did use a ton of stickles. I think I love stickles. And I love the MM tiny alphas. So the only new thing about this layout was the paper. Old buttons, flowers, alphabet stickers, and thickers. yay!

OASIS!!! I am going to Oasis tonight! I can't wait. I have loved these guys forever. Since my high school days at least. I never thought I would have the chance to see them, and tonight is the night. I only wish that Grant was able to come with me. He also likes them...he even liked them before I had a chance to improve his taste in music. A redeeming quality because he used to listen almost exclusively to country and heavy metal. How did Oasis fit in there? anyhoo, he has volunteered to stay home with the kids tonight because... being the long weekend and all, there weren't too many sitters available. I am really excited to have a night out, but I really need to try to have one with him soon.

lately...

so it has been a few days, and a few things have happened. The good thing is Grant got his winter wheat off before the rain came, off and already hauled. That is really good news. Now we just need it to dry up so he can swath all the rest of the crops... He wants to go away for a few days so that he doesn't sit and stew until it is ready to swath. I was thinking Fairmont....???!!!
I was my birthday on Sunday. Uneventful considering I have a birthday that happens to be during harvest. It is either that, or Grant is away at work. Seems that I have spent many of the last birthdays alone (or with the kids...) Avery was really disappointed. She couldn't understand why there was no cake, no balloons, no presents... She came to the conclusion that it really wasn't my birthday.

I managed to get both kids out into the field to take some pictures by the bales before Mark hauls them to their place. Cohen was very cooperative. Avery... not so much. All I needed was for her to look at the camera, and just look happy - I wasn't even asking for a smile! Needless to say... this is the best of the worst. The worst being all the rest. If I get out there again, I will probably take pictures of them separately, but if not, this will have to do.

I had an epicure party last night, and boy did we have fun. Who knew that veggie dips and salsa could be so much fun??? Or maybe it was the pomegranate martinis. They were so good. I knew I kept my "practically best friend" around for a reason... it was her recipe! (and a really good one!)

Anyhoo, this layout is one I have had in my project pile. It was Cohen's first trip to the zoo...the trip where he slept for the majority of the day... I struggled with the Maya Road family. I wish they didn't have holes in their heads for the chain to hold them together. Anyway, this is what I was able to accomplish today while the kids slept. Hopefully I will get to do another layout tomorrow. I am feeling the crunch. I was done Avery's first year album when she was 14 months old. Cohen will be that in two weeks, and I am not even close.

My Latest Kit!

I am on the design team for Monday Night Class http://www.mondaynightclass.ca/

This is the latest of my creations. I love the Kaiser paper. The colors are so very boyishy, and the grittiness and worn look of it are appropriate for most of the boys in my life.

I find that I have been using paper as an embellishment more and more. I only used paper, buttons, and chipboard, and I think it looks pretty good. Now that Cohen has started walking, he really is my "wild child" so I know I have pictures for this layout.

good friends, good food, good fun

You know when things just fall into place? That happened last night. We had a great night with our friends Mark and Tami and their two boys.

The weather has finally cooled off here, so that means we can eat something besides BBQ and fruit salad. So I decided to make Grant's new favorite; Shepard's Pie for supper. Mark was here baling, and Grant had promised their son John a ride on the combine, so Tami came out with the boys later in the afternoon. Well, the skies opened up, and the rain fell, and instead of Mark and Tami leaving, they stayed for supper. The kids played, and danced, and picked at each other, and us adults had some really good adult conversation! I miss that some days. We laughed at Grant's "jokes", Riley's dance moves, and Avery's rendition of "Mr. Sun". It was a lot of fun. I wish it happened more often.

The sad thing is, the rain didn't stop, so that means that Grant will have to wait at least a day, (and probably more) to get back out in the field. (The good thing is, I have a hair appointment today, and don't have to cancel because he won't be here to watch the kids!)

So, like father like son. Riley and Cohen were entertained for a long time with two beer cans. The funny thing is, Cohen took the Kokanne can, and Riley took the Pilsner. Just like their daddies.

Avery and John get along really well. That is until John decides to play trains... then the yelling begins. These two had fun playing hide and seek, and dress up yesterday. I hope that as they get older, they will continue to be really good friends.

Cardstock, cardstock, cardstock

I don't remember the last time that I used more cardstock than patterned paper on a layout. Maybe that is why I am struggling to like this one. You know when you have great pictures and an amazing idea in your head, but then you can't get it out on the layout? That happened with some of my Vegas pics as well. I think the page is going to rock, and then I end up disappointed. With the exception of the cardstock, the whole layout is old stuff. The felt came in a swag bag at a workshop I was at. The chipboard stars are old, the ribbon is old, and the patterned paper that I did use was all scraps from another John Deere layout. I don't know... Maybe it is just so much solid color that I feel that this one is boring.

TFL.

Why didn't I think of that?

I find it truly ironic that Alberta is running short of fuel. I mean, seriously... this is a little ridiculous. Anyhoo, I was in town last night, and the Petro Can was completely out of all gas, and Esso only had a little supreme and diesel left. UFA was closing in 10 minutes. I didn't need gas, thank goodness. But my friend Kathy said that if she had been in town, she would have been at UFA with her card and would sell people her cardlock gas. I am sure it is completely illiegal, but not a bad idea!

We are in the middle of a heat wave. the temp hasn't been below 30 for 5 days. So hot. Today is supposed to be 33 in Calgary, and it is always a little hotter at our place. I am so happy that we have air conditioning. So very happy. I can't remember what we used to do without it! I haven't turned it off for three days. We even had a thunderstorm go through last night, but it did nothing to cool things off. Way too hot to cook supper, not that I have much of an appetite in this heat, so back to town we go to get pizza. I don't know how restaurants manage in this heat. Everyone I know is getting take out.

As for a layout today. I am so close to getting one done, but I don't know how much I like it. We'll see.

Oh yeah. Another little gem from Avery. She came over to me yesterday and asked me if I had any snuggles left to give her because she really needed one. (how cute, and who could run out of snuggles for their daughter when she is sweet like that?) (I know she will be bugging her brother again soon, and the screaming will commence, but until then...)

Does a kit count?

This is my take on the Monday Night Class September calendar page. I somehow got page extenders for the next three months, so I was on my own for the second page. This is one of the more labor intensive calendar layouts I have done. It took me a little over two hours to complete, which isn't too bad for a two page layout. I plan on filling it with pictures of everything we accomplish this fall, with harvest hopefully being the first thing we accomplish. I would love for this year to be quick and speedy, and prosperous. So far we haven't encountered the same hardships that neighbors have so, here's hoping!

I also think I am going to enroll Avery in preschool for one day a week. Ever since her dayhome closed, I have noticed that she is really lacking in the "sharing, and taking turns, and not bossing others around" department. So maybe a little back to school shopping is in order.

TFL. I hope to do something of my own tomorrow. But I also have October and November kits to complete so...

A Layout a Day!

That's the goal anyway. A little lofty? Likely. I just feel that I have spent so much time organizing my layouts into neat little ziploc bags, that I should do something about the 19 projects sitting in that basket. I am not joking. I am that organized. (Now if only I could say something that great about my house...)

I tend to buy a line of paper, and then every embellishment that goes with it. No plan in mind, no "for sure" pictures to go with it, no real forethought. When I get home, I put all the stuff that I already have that coordinates with the new stuff into a large ziploc bag, and then hunt for pictures to go with it. I find that I am using a lot of my old stuff up this way, while still getting the immense joy that new product seems to bring me. (Is that weird?) Needless to say, when I want to do something quick, I don't have to hunt for paper, cardstock, and all the rest. I think that Monday Night Class kits have done this to me. I love that everything I need for a layout is in the bag, and I don't have to think. So I have made up my own kits. If I was super on the ball, I would throw a sketch, or layout from a magazine in with it all to really inspire me. Maybe next time...

Anyhoo, this layout is done with the Sassafras Lass paper that I love so much, and of course, true to my friend Haley, some old stuff including Bazzill Just the Edge strips, buttons, ribbon, and the metal arrow.

TFL, and sorry that the picture is a little crooked. I should eat lunch and not take pictures on an empty stomach!

In the last hour...

(double click to enlarge)
I was able to accomplish this layout. As I did with Avery, I took Cohen every three months for pictures. This was his 12 month photo shoot. It was the hardest one yet. He wouldn't sit still, so I was really happy to get what we got. I was also quite pumped to use the John Deere paper and embellishments that I have gotten my hands on lately.

Simple? Yes. Done? Yes. Old Stuff? Yes (some old John Deere stickers, and old bracket brads.)

TFL.

Maybe I should go back to some complicated layouts.

Three Year Old Wisdom

I was taking the kids to Okotoks today to buy groceries and stuff, and Avery pipes up with this little gem, "When you have a friend, you look at them, and they look at you. That is how you know you are friends." Huh??? I just giggled. She always has these little insights and I know I should really be writing them down a little more faithfully, but for now, I will just remember to look at my friends, and to see if they look at me. ;)




So I have been moderately scrapbook busy. This first layout is so CASEd from one in the August Scrapbook Trends mag, but I had the paper sitting in my room forever without any clue what to do with it... so I copied it all. (And I used old stuff - the precious rub on has been with me for over three years!)


This paper is so cool. WUBE. Huh??? That is what it is called. I bought a ton of it when I went shopping in Drayton Valley. The girl at the store I got it said the company no longer is in business, which sucks because the paper rocks, and it was CHEAP! Anyhoo, I stocked up on it. I think it works perfectly for this layout of Cohen's birthday cake. (old stuff - the title are letters left over from a layout from last summer, old ribbon, scrap cardstock. yay me!)

Finally added a picture...

So I finally added a picture to this MNC kit that has been done forever. I think I didn't want to put a picture on until I had all the milestones met. Whatever. The layout is no longer sitting in my album waiting for something.

Now I just need to go and take some pictures for my August calendar layout! Ooops!

I hope that I can get both kids to sleep at the same time today, because all of a sudden, am I feeling like I might be back in scrapbook mode.....That is if I can tear myself away from all of the books that I have been reading.

I finished Breaking Dawn last week, and am so sad that that saga is over. I needed something completely different from vampires, so I am now reading Under the Banner of Heaven, and then I have The Last Lecture lined up.

That should take me into next week, and then I don't know what. Maybe books will be what I ask for for my birthday...

I don't have an excuse

I don't know why I haven't blogged in over a week. I just haven't been feeling bloggy. (Is that a word?) There hasn't really been too much going on, with the exception of laundry and meal making that I thought was worth writing about.

I did spend the last four days at my parents' house. I love them dearly, but my dad is more work than I have effort for these days. He is the world's biggest worry wart. If he has nothing to worry about, he will worry about that... he called me last night to tell me that I should call my husband at work, to tell him that the Petro Canada refinery in Edmonton is down, and gas stations are running out of gas, and Grant should be sure to get some gas while there still is some. Thanks dad. Grant is on a fire job in the middle of nowhere, nowhere near his truck, and isn't supposed to come home for at least a week... but I will let him know.

Anyhoo, the whole time I am at my parent's house, my dad points out all these dangers that my kids could potentially get into. He does nothing about them, just points them out. So frustrating. Whatever.

I finally got another layout done.

I took a picture of Cohen every month on the 12th with this giraffe to show how much he grew in the first year. I didn't know whether or not to use the giraffy paper and diecuts, but I think it is okay. Yet another simple layout...quick and easy. Not my favorite kind of layout to do, but it is done and that is all that matters to me right now.

Six years ago today...

That was Grant and I. I can't believe that we have been married for six years. It seems like so much longer, and then other times, just like yesterday.

I would love to say that every minute has been wedded bliss, but we have had a few struggles along the way. Coping with him working away continues to be a bone of contention, as does farming. But, there are definitely way more good days, than bad. I am truly lucky to have found someone who loves me enough to tolerate my bad behavior, mood swings, and occasional flip out. As well as someone who makes me laugh daily, brings me a glass of water to bed every night, and takes the kids whenever he can to give me a little break. I love this man more than anything in my life...

What a marathon!

So, we are home from Great Falls. We left yesterday morning at 6am, and pulled into the driveway at 9:15 last night. What an awesome day! I seriously have not laughed that much in such a long time. It seemed like anthing that was said was hilarious. And as the day went on, things just got funnier and funnier. My stomach honestly hurts from laughing. (Is that a sign that I should be doing more crunches?)
I have to admit that I wasn't sure how the day would go. I am really only good friends with one of the girls. The others are ones that we see at the same kid activities...and don't usually hang out more than that... but get four women together for a day without kids, or husbands, and with credit cards... and let the fun begin!

I spent waaaay too much money - especially since there is no exemption for less than 24 hours, and ended up paying $56 in duty...ooops. Whatever. I got the final Twilight book, a couple other books, some cute clothes for subbing this fall, a couple of pairs of shoes. And, of course, Bath and Body Works soap. I do have to say that the scrapbook store was a bit of a disappointment. When we went in November, it rocked. Seriously. I spent close to $200 in about half an hour. Yesterday, my friend Tara bought three pieces of paper. That's it. That's how disappointing it was. And I feel bad, because I dragged them there, ranted about it, and then let them down. At least we were able to go to Wal Mart, and do a little people watching while waiting for a couple girls to finish shopping.
Seriously hilarious. Chris and I were standing at the front doors waiting for Tara and Arren, and you would laugh at the conversations that we overheard. One girl came walking in, with two people behind her. She was obviously in the middle of a conversation, but what we heard was, "Well, my birth mother was a whore, and my dad is a drug dealer..." and the guy she was talking to replies with, "hmmm." and then they parted ways. So bizarre.
Anyhoo, we had a cutie at the border, and couldn't stop giggling at the questions he asked us. Stuff like, "Did you spend too much?" and "Where are you from?" See what I mean? Hilarious. I think it might have had a little to do with the fact that we had been on the road for close to 12 hours at that point, and had some really bad cases of the giggles. Whatever. Won't ever happen again, but I am so glad that it worked this time.

Couldn't have done it if we tried.

So, in November of last year, we took a family trip to Great Falls. The dollar was good, and the scrapbook store was fully stocked..
We also bought tires for my Tahoe. Well, one of those tires is a dud. I have had more flat tires with that one tire, than ever before in my life.
Needless to say, Grant called the place we bought them and they said that we still had warranty on them and to come back. So his mom offered to take the kids, and we could run down there for the day. Grant wasn't too pumped about the idea, so I suggested that Tara come with me. She had suggested earlier in the week that we go for a weekend, so I thought it couldn't hurt.
By the time we had left swimming lessons this morning, there was another girl coming with us, and I just got a phone call, that a fourth will jump in for a mini shopping spree.

Seriously. If we were trying to organize a shopping trip to Calgary for the day, it would never happen, but somehow, in a matter of hours, we are leaving the country instead.

The crappy thing is we can't spend any money without paying duty... but whatever. I'm going to Great Falls!

Midnight Tonight...I wish.

Tonight at midnight the final book from the Twilight series makes its way into book stores.

I am NOT a vampire book fan. Never have been. I bought Twilight a couple of years ago for my classroom library, and then decided that it might be a little too grown up for several of my students, and I didn't want to deal with the wrath of parents, so I brought it home, and put it on my bookshelf to collect dust.

Needless to say, three years later, I was looking for a quick summer read and pulled this off the shelf. I read it in a day and a half. (I had to take breaks to care for the kids...) ;)

The day after I had finished Twilight, I was at Chapters buying the next two books. I read New Moon in the same amount of time, but decided to pace myself with Eclipse. I didn't want to be done it and then have to wait a whole month for the final book. So I limited myself to a chapter or two a night, and I finished it last night.

I would LOVE to be in the line up to get the fourth one at midnight tonight, but I don't think it will happen. I do have to go to the city on Sunday though...