Too much!

Happy New Year! 

I hope you all had a great holiday season - I know I did!  I think I enjoyed it a bit too much!

I don't know about you but I am starting out this year with an extra 10lbs. 

That added to what I wanted to lose from last year has me joining Weight Watchers online. 

If it's good enough for Jennifer Hudson it's good enough for me!

What I really need right now is wardrobe boost - something that makes me feel good and hides my spare tire.

I really like this top from White House Black Market.

Until Next Time!
Marie

Crocheted Flower Pins

I have been so inspired by all the woolly  handmade stuff I've seen on Pinterest that I had to join in!

Check out these beautiful (if I say so myself) handmade crocheted flower pins that I've been making.

They are so pretty in real life and I've made them in tons of colours and fibres.

I've sold a few at a local craft sale and given a bunch away to friends for gifts. 

If you'd like to purchase one they will be available at Scrap Arts this weekend or you can email me and I can ship one (or two) out to you.  To see more photos click on the page above.
Until Next Time!
Marie

How to tie a scarf?

It's scarf season!

I often get asked how I tie my scarf and I don't know...I just do it!

But I wear it the same way all the time so it got me thinking of other ways to wear a scarf.

I came across this video and thought I'd share here for those of you that are visual learners.

Until Next Time!
Marie

My Guilty Pleasure...

I don't watch much reality TV but I do enjoy the Bachelor/Bachelorette series.

The next season starts tomorrow night - Monday May 23rd - with a new Bacheloreette (a finalist from the last Bachelor season).

I can't wait!!

I watch the show on PVR most times but when I get the chance to watch it live I follow along with the live blog and I like to join the fantasy pool on CTV.

There are some great prizes and if you haven't checked it out yet HERE is the link.

Until Next Time!
Marie

Happy Birthday To ME!

Yesterday was my birthday - Happy Birthday to ME!

I told my hubby that I didn't want anything from him since I've just ordered myself a few new Nestie dies and a Tim Holtz stamp set.  That seemed like enough to me...

But apparently my generous Hubby thought I should have a little something extra.

This is what was waiting for me when I made my morning coffee.

I was very happy to find a new Coach Travel Purse and Makeup Bag!

I won't tell you how old I am but I am very happy to be having another birthday. 

After the year I've had - battling breast cancer - I deserve a little "extra".

Never give up hope!

I like to think that I am a patient, positive and hopeful person and today I was rewarded!

This is my mother's engagement ring and it has been missing for 9 years until today!

My mother died in December 2000 and I was given her ring.  In the beginning I wore it all the time on my right hand but took it off at night and for other reasons.

It was September 2001 when I realized that I hadn't seem my mother's ring for a while and even though I looked all over the house for it I could not find it.  I didn't even have a photo of it.

The last time I remember wearing it was to a business dinner in late June 2001.

But June to September 2001 there was a lot going on.   I was taking golf lessons  (taking the ring off to wear my golf glove) and I even remember leaving it in the glove box of my husband's rented car one time.  At night I'd often put it on the bathroom vanity which I realized after I lost the ring was very close to the edge and an easy drop to the garbage can!

I tried to think of what could have happened to it - did it fall in the garbage or did it fall off my nightstand and get vacuumed up?  Did I lose it outside or did someone take it?  I'd hate to think that but the thought did cross my mind since we'd had a new one-time babysitter and used a new cleaning service during that time.

After a couple of years I considered calling one of those pyschics to see if I could get a clue to it's whereabouts.

After 6 years and for our 15 wedding anniversary my husband had a ring made for me in a similiar style to my mother's ring and it was even a Topaz (which was her birthstone).

Every once and a while we'd talk about Grandma Maria's missing ring and wonder where it could be.

Since we hadn't moved house I figured that one day it might show up again.  To be on the safe side I always checked pockets, purses, and drawers before giving anything away!

Today I was preparing for a garage sale and needed to clean out my golf clubs to sell. 

And I found my mother's ring buried under a bunch of change in one of the pockets!

I know what you're thinking - didn't I look in my golf bag?  Of course I did - it was the first place I looked -  but I never actually EMPTIED it before today.

I know I HATE it too!

I haven't been posting much - I've been soooo busy with the kids' activities lately but I have a few more posts for today.

So please stayed tuned!

I really hate my blog layout right now but don't have the time to change it. Hopefully over the next few days, after I get all my photos uploaded, I can play with it and change the layout again.

Please bear with me...

How many bears???

We are now back from our weekend away at Whistler. It was mix of sun and rain (at times heavy) and very cold up there.

The cabin we stayed in was very lovely and comfortable. We had the furnace turned on and the fireplace going - it even had floor heating in the tiled areas!



We ate out a lot (even tried Fondue one night),



shopped (I got a new bathingsuit),



hiked (got lost in the pouring rain!) below is a photo of us after we took off our rain jackets,

soaked in the backyard hot tub,

and had a really nice home cooked Turkey dinner on the Sunday. Home cooked by my hubby that is!



But I have to say that the highlight of the trip was seeing the BEARS!! We thought there might be some bears around because we kept seeing little piles like this:

Another big clue was all the WARNING SIGNS!

But we did NOT expect to see any up close - But OH YES - we saw 3 bears on 3 separate occasions.



This first bear was eating berries in a tree at the corner of a busy street. Directly below him is a walkway and people were just walking by nonchalantly - that is until they noticed the bear!

The second bear we saw was right in the backyard! My daughter and I were sitting by the glass sliders when I saw the bear meandering by the backyard so I yelled BEAR! My daughter screamed in shock and wouldn't you know the bear turned around and looked at us!

The third bear was just strolling through the backyard again checking out what the last bear left. Yes there were lots of bear droppings - in the backyard!

The amazing thing is that there are paved walkways right beside where these bears were just strolling by. A lot of cars stopped to look at the bears but most of the hikers and especially those with dogs turned around and just avoided the bears.









And for those of who who have been reading my blog for a while I just want to say that I did NOT bring home any baby bears!









All in all it was a very relaxing weekend - No time for stamping but I've got a few classes coming up and I'll be stamping some samples up this week.

Going Away....

I'm working today and then we're off for a long weekend getaway so I won't be posting anything over the next few days.

Have a great weekend and if you're Canadian - Happy Thanksgiving!

You know you're getting OLD when...

...you FORGET things like birthdays!

I know we all forget birthdays but when you forget your own birthday - you know you're in trouble!!!

Yes, I totally forgot that it was my birthday this weekend!

I knew it was coming up but it kind of snuck up on me....I've been busy this week with the kids' activities, finishing up a swap, swapping out and mailing a swap, preparing for classes, and getting ready to go away for our 4 day Thanksgiving weekend up at Whistler. You guessed I've been doing laundry!

To top it off my husband decided that we should get new tires on our 4x4 BEFORE we go away. So I've had to squeeze in a few tire quotes and an installation too. I guess this would be my RUBBER birthday. Reminds me of the WOOD birthday I had a few years ago when we needed a new roof!

Seriously, it's not that bad - he asked me what I wanted and I said more COPICS. So he's giving me a gift certificate to the art store. He really is a great guy!

It's easy to see with all the running around that I've been doing how I could forget that my birthday is THIS Sunday.

However, yesterday I was pleasantly reminded of that fact when I received a couple of great birthday cards in the mail from people I don't even kow. How sweet is that? I must be on some US RAK lilst but not only did these ladies send me beautiful handmade cards, they got them mailed to me on time AND they wrote the sweetest messages inside.

BUT wait! My birthday is this weekend! My driver's licence expires and I'll be up at Whistler for a long weekend - a HOLIDAY weekend!!!

As luck would have it I just so happened to be driving by the Driver's Centre when I realized that I needed to get my drivier's licence renewed. Our BC driver's licences are good for 5 years so it's easy to forget when they need to be renewed but the government tries to make this easier by having them expire your birthday.

Happy Birthday to me!!!! I am soooo excited to be getting a new licence photo. You see my old one is HIDEOUS!!! I know lots of people say that their licence photo is bad but mine really was sooooo bad.

Unlike Posh Spice I did not have my hair and makeup people on hand the last time I had my driver's licence photo taken. I was sick with a cold, my eyes were droopy and watering, my hair (much shorter than it is now) was all curly and stuck to my head in places and to top it off it was raining that day and my makeup was running. Why did I go that day you might ask? Well I tried to wait but I wasn't feeling any better and I was already driving on an expired licence.

It was so bad that I was constantly apologizing to people that asked for it as ID. Can you imagine being stuck with that photo for 5 YEARS??? No one believed it was me - that's how bad it was. I always won the "my driver's licence photo is worse than yours" game. That's how bad it was. You get the picture?

So I popped into the Driver's Centre, took a number and had the whole thing done in 10 minutes. The man even offered to let me look at the photo and have a re-take if I wanted. I told him that even though it wasn't a "glamour shot" it was light years better than the one I had before.

He agreed... I told you it was bad!

Happy Friday!

I hope that you are having a great Friday!

I'm having a great day today....

1. The kids got up when their alarms went off.

2. The kids didn't fight over the bathroom.

3. My son found his socks all by himself (he's 12!).

4. My daughter (14) only changed her outfit once.

5. We left for school on time (actually early) and there weren't any incidents on the way!

6. I'm almost finished my first week of school volunteer duties.

7. I'm ready for the start of the soccer season tomorrow (I'm the age group coordinator for 5 boys' teams and also a team manager).

8. I'm feeling the love of stamping again and have new stamps to play with!

AND the best thing ever about today...

9. Before I even paid for my Starbucks Venti Iced Vanilla Latte it was waiting for me at the cash register. My favourite barrista was on duty today and he made it up for me as soon as he saw me in line!!! I'm LOVING that!!!

How is your day going?

Self-Discovery Exercise

I found this journal exercise on Amy's blog (Heartfeltgreetings). It's meant to be a "self-discovery" exercise I guess.

I thought it might make for some fun scrap titles and pages? If you feel like joining in add a comment with a link to your blog so we can check it out and get to know each other better.

•I'm happiest when...I'm doing something I enjoy.
•Someday I'm going to...finish my scrapbooks!
•When I'm really down, what I want to do is...go back to bed and not get up although I never do this I just keep on trucking until I get over it!
•I feel anxious when...I'm away from my children for too long.
•I'm afraid that...I'll never lose these last 10 pounds!
•I like people who...are real!
•All it takes to make me happy is...new toys!
•What I really want to do is...have a clean house for longer than a day.
•I wish that...I had more time in the day!
•I don't like people who...are phony and pushy!
•A person really should...do something they like to do everyday!
•I just hate it that...there are still wars going on in this world.
•I have everything I need, however...I'd love more time to enjoy it all!
•If I could do whatever I wanted, I would...win the lottery and give half away!

Martha Stewart Halloween Line

Have you seen the new Martha Stewart line for Halloween?

Check it out here and here .

It looks so nice. I just love LOOKING at all this stuff.

But REALLY! Would I use it? I don't know about you but other than a few scrapbook pages I don't stamp or create too much at Halloween.

What would I use all this stuff for? I don't believe that we Canadians "celebrate" Halloween as much as Americans do. Do you?

If all this was available at your Michaels would you buy it? What would you use it for?

I guess because my kids are older (12 & 14) and starting to lose interest in Halloween (other than the candy) I'm starting to feel the same way.

Last year I made one of those ghost sucker pots with the little kiss treat holders (see below) but I don't really have any plans to make anything decorative for Halloween this year nor send any Halloween cards.

Don't get me wrong. I'll still drag out the cemetary and outdoor decorations for our little neighbourhood treat or trickers but decorating the inside of the house and making cards - no I don't think so.

I'd rather spend the time making my Christmas cards! Now that's a holiday I still celebrate with full force!

I can't believe I'm posting about Halloween and Christmas already AND did you see that Walmart already has back to school stuff in!

No wonder I feel like time is speeding by...

Marie needs...

I saw this on Emily's blog. It's so funny I just had to try it.

All you do is type your name and then "needs" into the google search bar. Then write down the top 10 things.

Here's what Marie needs...

1. Marie needs your help

2. Marie needs lots of patience

3. Marie needs red bull

4. Marie needs a boyfriend

5. Marie needs to give the NDP the boot

6. Marie needs to get a better hairstyle

7. Marie: kind of crunchy needs milk

8. Marie still needs a home

That's all I found before it became too dilluted. I thought some of these were hillarious!

I especially like the boyfriend part - more like sugar daddy!

If you try it please add a link so we can all have a good laugh!

Perspective...

After I posted the photo of my newly framed painting I realized that it didn't look that big.

It's amazing how deceptive photos can be.

So from now on, where appropriate, I'm going to include a point of reference like a penny, a ruler or even a body to give my photos a better perspective.



Here is that photo again but this time I asked my 5'6" daughter to stand in front of the fireplace.

I'm ok with the size of it now and have started taking a closer look at some of our other artwork to be reframed.

Hmmmm....



This is a whole new area of where I can spend more money. Not sure I want to go there.

Away on vacation...

Just in case you start to wonder - I thought I should let you all know that I will be away from my computer for the next week or so.

We're going back East for my Dad's 70th Birthday. And NO I haven't made his card yet!!!

You'll know I'm back when I start to post again!

Have a great week!

Letting Nature take it's course...

This morning when we were leaving for school, my son and I saw this young injured bird on our front lawn. I think it's a woodpecker? I say young because the woodpeckers here are very large and this one is not so big.

It was sqawking something fierce and looked like it had been injured somehow - maybe a cat? It couldn't fly.

My son was very distressed by it and kept asking what we could do. I told him that nature needed to take it's course.

When I arrived back home (honestly I'd already forgotten about the bird) I found him on the driveway. I was able to squeeze my car in and avoid running him over.

But now what? He's not sqawking anymore but he's not dead either. I can see that he is badly injured on his face and wing but I don't think he will die of his injuries. He's just a sitting duck out there for all the neighbourhood cats and crows.

Besides moving him off the driveway so I don't run him over - I'm not sure what to do...

Just one more post before I go...

I found this post at Bloghore and thought it might be fun to try.

I'm not going to "tag" anybody with it but you can cut and paste it to your own blog. If you do leave me a comment with a link so we can all check it out and get to know each other better.

1. Are you taller than your mom?Yes - my mom was 5'3" and I'm 5'7" (just got measured for a school project tonight!).
2. What color is your car?Actually my car is Black but since the weather turned nice my husband has taken the convertible and I'm driving a White SUV.
3. What is the closest thing to you that is red?My daughter's Fortune Telling Birthday Book.
4. What is your ringtone?I just got a new phone (Palm Treo) and I have no idea. People are asking me why I don't answer my cell phone but it's because I don't recognize the ring.
5. Are you sick?I'm sick and tired of laundry - does that count?
6. What color is your favorite pillow?I don't have a favourite pillow. I'm yo-yo-ma and I sleep in everyone else's bed throughout the night.
7.What is your favorite video game?LOVE WordPop and now the kids are playing it. I think it's educational and you get points and bonus tiles!
8. Had a nap today?I've had too much coffee to even go to bed now - nevermind a nap.
9. Gold or Silver?I prefer Silver but I'll take what's given to me.
10.Is there an animal that creeps you out?I don't like rodents - squirrels, rats, mice, raccoons, small children with runny noses (oh that doesn't count?)
11.Who was the last person you rode an elevator with?I don't remember the last time I was in an elevator - oh wait I was in one a couple of weeks ago with a drug dealer - I mean a pharmaceutical rep. It was in a Medical Arts building.
12. Did you go iceskating as a kid?Yes. Grew up on Lake Ontario and we used to skate behind my dad's car while he towed us. Don't tell my kids!
13. Ever have stitches?Not from an accident but had them with both of my children's births.
14. Favorite non-alcoholic drink?Iced Venti Vanilla Latte from Starbucks
15. How long ago did you kiss someone?This morning.
16. What's something you want to do before you die?Realistically - Get my kitchen renovated.
17. Have you ever caught something on fire?Yes my oven caught on fire last year and I accidentally caught the garbage under the kitchen sink on fire when I tried to clean up the oven.
18. Have you ever seen a ghost?Never SEEN one, but the woman who lived here before us (died in a car accident right after she moved out) used to haunt the place for a bit. I think she's gone now.
19. Have you ever seen the northern lights?Yes.
20. Do you know how to use chop sticks?Yes but I have the cheater ones or I have them tie them up for me with elastics.
21. Name something good that happened today.Momma got new shoes.
22. What room are you in?In my den.
23. Are you worried about something you can't control?I'm always worried about something - my kids, my dog, my disappearing waistline...
24. Do you take daily medications?No - what are you suggesting?
25. Ever been in a fight?Yes with my sister over a card game.
26. Are you wearing nailpolish?No.
27. Favorite color?Chocolate Brown.
28. Innie or Outie?Innie
29. Ever used a Ouija board?No - I've seen too many movies.
30. Sweet or Sour?Sweet.
31. Sun or Moon?Moon.
32. What shoes did you wear today? I started out with my old Red Crocs and then switched to my new White Mary Jane Crocs.
33. Favorite eye color of the opposite sex?I like blue eyes.
34. Most important quality in any relationship?Trust.
35. Favorite zombie movie?Shawn of the Dead.
36. Time of day you were born?I think I was born in the morning - I don't remember - I was very young at the time.
37. Do you know your blood type?A Neg.
38. What would you spend 5000 dollars on right now if you were handed it?I'd buy something special for all of us - me, my hubby, and my 2 kids.
39. Name something annoying in public transit?I don't ride it enough to know what the fare is and so when I do ride it I'm always afraid I don't have the right change.
40. Did you grow up in the city or country?Small town - suburb.
41. Would you ever consider going on a reality tv show if offered a large sum of money?No - I've seen too many of them and I don't know what these people were thinking when they signed on.
42. Have you flown in your dreams?Yes.
43. Hugs or kisses?Hugs.
44. You have 10 dollars to spend in the dollar store..what do you get?Craft supplies.
45. Slurpee flavor?Orange

Remembering to take more photos

In April, supposedly for my husband's birthday, I bought a new Canon Power Shot SD600 Digital Elph camera. I know it was a bit much on top of everything else I got him, but really it was a "sharing" gift for both of us. I told him it was for me too - for Mother's Day- from the kids.

I have an old bulky digital camera that cost the earth and doesn't take great photos (that's when they first came out) and he has a fairly new SLR digital with all kinds of lens and attachments.

I love this little Canon because it fits in my front jeans pocket or other places without taking up too much room.

Right after I gave it to him, my husband used it for a weekend in Orgeon when he went golfing with his buddies. It's the perfect size for fitting in his golf bag and it takes GREAT photos. I really like how portable it is and the battery is rechargeable.

I often carry it in my purse and actually remember to pull it out on occasion. I'm trying to take more photos.

So if you don't mind I'll share with you some photos I took with "my" new little Elph camera and my new Palm Treo camera.

Yesterday I ran some errands and popped into the Michaels in the village at the shopping mall.

They have the coolest window displays in this little add-on to the mall called Park Royal Village. The windows are done up in all one colour (pink, light blue, green and yellow) and everything - I mean EVERYTHING - is spray painted that colour.

Last night we went out to my husband's golf club and had dinner with some friends. The main room was set up for a wedding reception that was happening today.

Computers!!! Woe is me...

I wish I knew more about what I can do on my computer.

I get around alright but I know there is so much more I could be doing to make my life "prettier" and "easier".

On the "prettier" note - I see these beautiful blog banners and the way some of the other bloggers post their photos and text and I wish I could do that.

Here's few of my favourite banners:

http://tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/

http://imagine-dream-create.blogspot.com/

http://prairiepaperandink.typepad.com/amyr/

and I especially like this one that Anna Wight painted herself!

http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/sassy_sweet_notes/

I guess I'm doing ok with my standard blogspot banner and layout. The black background helps to make the photos stand out more.

BUT to have my own design as a banner would be precious....

On to the "easier" part - I finally figured out that I can add a faux "watermark" to my photos with the Redcastle Resizing software - using the text feature. Not only does it do the watermark for me but it also resizes my photos so that I can upload more than 1 at a time!

I'm sure if I applied myself I could figure out the banner thing but right now I've got too many other things to do. Maybe I'll play around with it over the summer...

My kids are super smart on the computer - especially my 14 year old girl. I'd ask her but she's grounded from the computer until school's over!

What did she do? Nothing really and that's the problem. She's supposed to be studying for her final exams but she's always on MSN and FACEBOOK.

How do I block MSN and FACEBOOK? I'm sure there's a way to do that without taking down the modem.

I'm going to pop into the local computer store later today and see if they have any suggestions or pointers...