Another Marathon trip

Last summer a few friends and I went to Great Falls for the day. We shopped while the tires on my Tahoe were being dealt with on warranty. Today, Grant, the kids, and myself are going again. My MIL had truck problems on her way down to see Bobbe (my SIL) and it is in Great Falls waiting for repairs. Grant decided that it would be better to tow it back home, rather than pay the exchange for parts and labour. So, off we go.... I convinced him to stay over night, which gives the kids a break, and also gives us an exemption to bring back... so, Bath and Body Works... here I come!

10 Randoms..... Why I love to go for walks....

I am deprived of going for walks when Grant is away at work. I don't have anyone to watch the kids, and I am not willing to take them out on the country roads.....so when he comes home, I try to get out every day..... so tonight, I left supper dishes on the counter, and went for a stroll.

1. I love to get a little bit of fresh air. It really is refreshing. Especially after a day of snow flurries, and rain drops....

2. I love my walking poles. They add so much to the walk. My arms are burning after a 2km walk, just by using poles..... that is a good sign.

3. I love that I am slightly out of breath when I get home. That tells me that I have actually done something out there.

4. I love to have a little tiny break from my daily routine.

5. I love that I came back home to supper dishes cleaned up, kids in PJs, and the playroom was tidy... was I really gone that long?

6. I love my Saucony runners. They are so comfy. It is the only kind of athletic shoes I have owned since I started teaching and needed some for my oh-so-enjoyable-PE-classes.

7. I love listening to my satellite radio. Grant bought me one that allows me to save music directly from the radio, and it is also portable. So I pump it up, and try to keep up with the beat. ;)

8. I love how good a glass of water tastes when I get back. And I love how quickly I can drink that glass of water.

9. I love that some gal pals want to start a little walking thingy once a week. I can always use more girl time....

10. I love that Grant looks after the kids while I walk. Him looking after the kids means he is home, and I love when he is home.

Do What You Love (#81)

This is my take on Anam Stubbington's layout on her blog.... I loved her photograph idea, and so immediately took one myself. Her blog (a little of my life) is linked from mine. She is one talented lady...
Old stuff.... every single little thing on this page is something from my stash!!! Everything. That is some responsible scrapping, if I do say so myself.
TFL!

Snow Yeah! MNC Kit

It has been a while since I have accomplished a kit for Monday Night Class, but Grant came home last night, and he occupied the kids this morning while I threw this together.

You need a little bit of coolness when you say the title... think "Ohhhh Yeah..." and then think "Snow Yeah!"

I thought it was an appropriate one to do today because the snow that we got two days ago still hasn't melted... but doesn't the green grass go well with the green in the patterned paper???

I am sooooo gonna scraplift this one...

I was just on Anam Stubbington's blog, and she has this wicked picture like the one I took of myself. She has some amazing journaling about how she is more comfortable behind the camera. I could probably copy it word for word. Anyhoo, I immediately took a picture of myself, and I am going to do something with it this weekend. I need to put a little more of me in my albums. Grant needs to be in there more also. I think that was my New Year's resolution... so I should really follow through on it.

Happy Earth Day...

I wish that we didn't actually need a day to dedicate to the earth. I wish every day was earth day. I wish that people would really understand what we have done to the earth. I am so tired of people telling me that this is just a cycle of life. That the earth is just changing, and it is nothing to do with the way we, as humans, have treated it in the past. I don't understand how people can argue that climate change isn't real. It is snowing at my house as I write this. It was 14 degrees in Lethbridge this afternoon, and by the time I got home from preschool with Avery, it was 2 degrees. It took just over an hour for the temperature to drop that quickly. And... did I mention it is April? I am okay with snow in the winter. I am not loving the snow in spring. I guess it wouldn't be such a big deal if we didn't have snow everyday since October.

So... I found this cute little chunk of digi scrapbook things and thought, how appropriate... I scrapbook, and I love the earth.

So, if you don't already think green, and act green and live green, think about little changes that you can make....

Layout 80

This is another layout that I finished last week when Haley and Tara came over. It has been sitting in my project pile for well over a year. I love the idea of strip teases, but in my haste to get this layout done, I cut one without looking at the back. I really wanted to the use the strip that read "I'm more of a jeans and Tshirt kind of girl." but I cut it for the other side..... I was a little stressed. So, "When in doubt, go on vacation" became the title....

this is a relatively simple layout, and it came together quickly; probably because it was all from the same kit.... but it is done. And 99% of my 2008 album is done. I think I have only one more layout to complete! yay me!

Old stuff: Everything! old Cosmo Cricket paper, old brad. that is it!

TFL!

10 Randoms... Lists

I love to make lists. But rarely lists for grocery shopping. Which is why I came home with $263 worth of groceries yesterday. I went to the store for produce, and I bought all of that. Anyhoo, my randoms this week are a list of lists I want to make.... is that weird?

1. a list of my favorite commercials of all time.
2. a list of places I would like to travel to
3. a list of my favorite books, and why I enjoyed them so much
4. a list of what clothes I really need to buy, so I have something appropriate for work.
5. a budget list of sorts. I don't really want to know how little money we have, but I think it might be beneficial.
6. a list of the flowers I love
7. a list of all of the funny things Avery says
8. a list of my hoodies (obsessive... I know)
9. a list of what i absolutely HAVE to get accomplished this week.
10. a list of what needs to go to Calgary, where it needs to get dropped off, and then actually take the stuff I need to

I won't actually make all of these lists, some I have started, but most are in my head. I don't know where I would keep all of them, or what purpose they would serve, but a list of lists is done.

Funny funny Avery

So our washing machine is on it's last legs. Last night while trying to play catch up on some of the mounting piles, it began making a wonderful squealing/clanking/whining sound. And it was loud enough to wake Cohen up....
Anyhoo, Avery was quite worried about it all, and this is how our conversation went last night.

"Mom, I think our washing machine is broken."
"I think you are right. Maybe we will need to get a new one."
"But how can we? It won't fit in our truck."
"Hmmmmm. What will we do?"
"Maybe we will have to make our own."
"Do you know how to make a washing machine? I don't."
"I don't either. Maybe we will have to use the bath tub, and then let them dry on the carpet."
"Hmmmm. That is an interesting idea."
"Or maybe we should go to the laundry man and get him to fix it."
"The laundry man?"
"Yep, the laundry man. He will fix all of our clothes. And our washing machine."
"Who is the laundry man?"
"It isn't a who. It is a place."
"Do you mean the laundromat?"
"Yeah. The laundry man."

Priceless.

Layout 79

I finished this layout one day last week. I love how it turned out. I used some acrylic swirly stuff to overlay the polka dot paper, and I glittered up the letters, and the snowflakes. I even pulled out some stamps and used them on the right side of the layout! I never ever ever use stamps on my pages. Never. I am more of a bulky, 3D fan, and you just don't get that dimension from stamps. But these ones were perfect for this page.

Old stuff?? Yep. Everything except the Jenni Bowlin die cut paper. Yay me.

And sorry for the crappy photo, I took it, didn't realize how crappy it was once I got it on my computer, but had already put it into sleeves. And I am lazy. I wasn't about to pull it out again....

TFL!

gotta love craft night

My friend Catherine called me yesterday morning to invite me to craft night at her church. Every other Wednesday, a group of ladies get together and do something crafty. It had recently been postponed because their church just got a new pastor, and he wanted to do bible study on Wednesdays.......??????...... weird... I know ;)
So last night was the resurgence of crafting. I had gone once before with the kids, and accomplished nothing. I was scrapbooking that time. This time, I took a plan for cards. I can still be productive with cards and interruptions.... I planned on working on sympathy cards. I have run out, I just bought this set, and it seems that you never have one when you need it. I got three made. They are all similar to this one.
And.... I used old stuff! The paper, the patterned paper (from this Christmas), the ribbon, flower, and the brad I borrowed from Catherine. Yay!
TFL

Mini Album... by the letter.

I got a Zutter! I got a Zutter! I am soooo excited. I am a mini album aholic, and this is just feeding my addiction. So, last week, I made this little 3x4 album.

For a long time I have wanted to make an album about our family, and all of our traits. I took it one step further, and just used adjectives starting with the same letter as each of our first names.

So this mini was born.

It is complete with the exception of a picture of me. I forgot to print one of myself, when the others were printed. I am also looking for adjectives that start with K. It is a hard one. "Kinky" came up on a lot of lists on the web, but I thought that might be a little inappropriate for a family album????

Layout 78

Tara and Haley arrived at my house yesterday, gear in hand. We had planned a day of scrapbooking, and scrapbook we did. I didn't accomplish as much as they did. I think Tara got 12 layouts done, and Haley got 17..... I got two. The three of us have made an effort to get together once a month or so, and let the kids play, and we just hang, and do adult things. The next adventure will be at Haley's. I can't wait to see what she makes for lunch. I am a very picky eater after all.......

I really struggled with this layout. It didn't come together like I had hoped, so I am not convinced yet.

Old stuff??? not much. the chipboard bracket, eyelets, and I borrowed the clock hands and the orange chipboard letters from Haley, and the yellow thickers from Tara.

TFL

10 Randoms.... Easter

My randoms this week are about Easter, and what I love and don't love about it. We had a little bit of a smaller celebration this year. Just my family, and the kids. Not even the hubby and BIL were there.... it was just us. The weather was gorgeous, and the Easter Bunny made it safely to our place.

1. In our house, Easter means (among other things..... like the resurection of Jesus), new socks, and bubbles. Those two things are guaranteed to be in every Easter basket... I took the kids out this morning after church to chase bubbles. They had a blast.

2. Turkey. I know most people will cook a ham for Easter. But, I HATE ham. I really do. I don't know why. I love salt. You would think the two go hand in hand..... so turkey, and gravy, and potatoes.....

3. Chocolate. Duh. I used to buy myself a one pound chocolate bunny, and eat it all myself. In less than two days. Gross... but oh so yummy at the same time. mmmmmm chocolate.

4. Egg hunts. We never did these as kids, but for the last two years, my kids have done them. They are way too fun. It is such a treat to see my kids out running around in our yard, looking for eggs. I love that something so simple can bring them such joy.

5. Family. This is the first time that we have ever had a big family meal at my place. We usually alternate between Grant's mom, and my parent's, but this year Grant was away working, my MIL was en route to my SIL's, and I didn't have anyone to take care of my dog so that I could leave for a few days... so, everyone came here. What a lot of work. But, so worth it.

6. Pastel colors. I am a sucker for pastels. I have no idea why. I don't scrapbook in pastels, I don't wear pastels, I don't decorate in pastels. But I love the softness of pastel colors. I guess they remind me of spring.

7. Spring. 'Cuz after spring, comes summer!

8. Candy. I am also a sucker for candy. But it can't be gratuitous, over-indulgent candy... you know, the sour gummy candies. I don't like those. I also don't like candy that tries to trick you, like candy that tastes like mints. I like good old fashioned candy made out of nothing but sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

(these last two are the things I like least about Easter.... please, don't judge.)

9. The amount of obligatory church during Easter. I know it is important, and symbolic, and a small sacrifice, all things considered. But, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday..... it is just too much. So, this year, I was relieved when we only had Easter Sunday service in Champion.

10. The last thing I don't like about Easter, is how much time I had to dedicate to finding peanut free candy. Halloween candy was so easy to find. This was a nightmare. I ended up getting some Wonka candy, and a few gummy treats. That's it. However, in the grand scheme of things... not being able to find peanut free candy is so insignificant.

So, there you have it. Easter. Done.

Happy Easter!

Today is the day that we are celebrating Easter. We are having our turkey today, and I invited some friends to come over for an Easter egg hunt. We had eight kids here in addition to mine, and we decorated cupcakes, painted eggs, and went on an egg hunt. It was an awesome time. The kids loved running around and looking for eggs. I loved filling them with peanut free candy. Avery was still running around looking for eggs when the rest of the kids had given up and were busy playing on the swings. That is why her basket is so full......
Cohen, on the other hand, would throw eggs out of his basket whenever I put one in it. That is why his is so empty.....

Flying Bob rocked...

This isn't my photo from today. For the second time in a row I didn't bring my camera to an event that I should have. (Doodlebops was the other.) This is from the Flying Bob website.
We just got home from a performance at the school, and it was amazing. I wasn't sure I had the energy to get up and get both kids ready to be out the door by 8:30 to get to the school in time for the show, but I am so glad I did. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. He was hilarious. And talented. He can juggle ping pong balls with his mouth....and balance a peacock feather on his nose, then toss it to his tongue, and flick it back to his nose.
He also does a highwire act, which had Avery quite concerned. She was sitting on the floor, with her hands over her eyes, peeking through her fingers. It was so cute. (Yet another photo op I missed...) When we left the school, Avery was walking along the parking curbs in the parking lot, saying, "Look, I am Flying Avery!" He mentioned that he is from Sylvan Lake and Avery went up to him afterwards, and asked if he knew where Rimbey was, because that is where Gramma and Poppa live. Cute.

So, if you have the chance to have Flying Bob visit your school or town, do it. So very worth it.

10 Randoms.....

I wanted to copy Haley for once. i mean, she copies me all the time after all........ oh wait. No she doesn't. Whatever.

I am doing my 10 randoms on things that I apparently collect as well..... It is funny what she and I have in common.

1. Bath towels. I don't want to have as many towels as I do. I don't know why we have so many, and so many different colors. I have 8 white, 4 tan, 4 brown, 3 (why 3??) light blue, 6 navy blue, 2 black, 4 dark green, and 2 olive green. Why???

2. Water bottles. I too collect water bottles. I used to have a lot more when I taught, because I would always leave one at school, it would "mysteriously" disappear, and then I would go and buy another.... Now, I just buy them because they are cool.

3. Patterned Paper. duh. Isn't the mess of paper in my room obvious? I don't want as much paper as I have. I wish I would use it up, but I just don't want to cover it up....

4. Post-It Notes. I love, love, love post-its. Love them. I have flags, tags, stacks, letters, large, small, I have them all. And, I have tried to buy the cheap ones. I tried. They suck. Why bother?

5. Cookbooks. I too, like Haley, collect cookbooks. however, unlike Haley... I don't pour over them. I have them, I use two or three of them, and the rest I flip through occasionally. Then i decide that I am too picky, and won't make anything from that particular book. Then i put it back on the shelf.

6. Hoodies. How many hoodies does one SAHM need? 17 apparently. Yes. I have that many. I love a good hoodie. I love that you can wear one, and not have to worry about sucking in your gut. That is why I love hoodies.

7. Baskets. I have tons and tons of baskets. I mean tons. And most are empty. How dumb is that.

8. Underwear. This probably falls under the category of too much information. But I have enough underwear that I could go over three weeks without needing to launder. (Just be thankful I didn't post a picture of that!)

9. Picture Frames. When I used to work at the potrait studio in Rimbey, I would get photo frames at a wicked deal. I bought so many of them. I still have tons that are empty. And who can resist those RACKET frames from IKEA? I can't I have at least eight three packs of them.....

10. Scissors. Not including the five pairs of scissors I have for scrapbooking, I have six other pairs of scissors in the house. (And one in my Tahoe...)

Layout 77

This is the last layout that I was able to complete while at the Crop 4 Kids. I have had this photo of my Grammie since she passed away in 2002. She died 10 days before our wedding. I was devastated. And lately, she is coming into my thoughts daily. I don't know why this sudden surge of memories has presented itself, but I have had a memory, or thought, or flash of her every day in the last couple of months. This gave me the inspiration for this layout. I had been putting it off until I found the right paper, and lo and behold, Scrapbook Pantry had this beautiful paper at the crop.

I was happy with the way this turned out. I wanted to keep my journaling private, so it is tucked behind the photo, and I cut out a flower and popped it up on the right side of the photo for a little somethin' somethin'.

And... I also used old stuff. The laser die cut was old, as were the brown alphabet stickers, and the floss for the chipboard buttons.

TFL

Weekend layout

Grant is leaving for work in a few days, and that means that my scrapbook time will be cut dramatically. And even though he is still here, I don't feel right making him feed the kids lunch and have him put them down for naps while I hide in my room and scrapbook, so, instead of doing that, i will post another layout from the crop 4 kids weekend.

This is the layout that I won first prize for. The category was "getting messy" and did I ever. I was covered in ink and paint, and paper fluff. The page is a little full for my liking, but overall, I am quite happy with it. I sort of stepped outside the box. Sort of.

Old stuff? paper, chipboard, paint, floss, thickers... yay me.

I am blessed. Truly blessed.

I have heard more bad and sad things today, than I did the whole month of March. It makes me think that even though things don't always go the way I want, that I don't have the house of my dreams, that we aren't rolling in dough, I am still a very blessed and lucky woman.

I have a friend who survived and left a very abusive relationship. I am blessed to have a husband who loves me dearly, despite most of my failings.

I have a friend who is no longer able to afford her truck and holiday trailer, her family is living off of their credit cards and line of credit, and she said that they are already in the red for the month, and it is only the second. I am blessed to have a house over my head, a somewhat consistent subbing job, a husband who is employed and is making enough to support us right now, and minimal debt compared to several others out there.

I have a friend who had her first baby on Tuesday. The baby was born with the cord wrapped around her neck, and then swallowed meconium. Their baby had to be air-lifted to Edmonton on Tuesday afternoon. Things seem to be better today, but she is still in NICU. I am blessed that I have two healthy and happy and exuberant children. When they are driving me nuts yelling and screaming and running around, I need to remember that they have voices with which they will one day be able to use to defend themselves. They have two legs that will take them anywhere they want to go. I am blessed.

I have a friend who just ended her marriage after five years. She is now a single mom, and isn't sure how she will be able to afford to continue the way she has in the past. She is already listing her house, looking for something smaller, and is worried about her bills. Her ex is acting like he is finally free, and is not offering any support, or childcare at the moment. I wish I lived closer to her so that I could help. I am blessed to have a great marriage. Grant and I fight, and we struggle, but we love each other, are committed to raising our children together, and know that we just have to persevere through the rough times, because there are always better times ahead. I am so very blessed.