{do}

poor jax was sick again last night. this bug is really staying with him. so i went to bed really early snuggling w/ him last night. didn't get a chance to do my day 4 entry...but i DID get a bunch of stuff ready for the mail, which i will be taking today. this is one of my goals - get to the post office more often. i'm taking it to work today and will get out during a break today. yay!

i don't want to fall too far behind on this challenge...not for the sake of keeping up with the challenge, but for the fact that i am LOVING it. keeping the creative juices flowing. being conscious and aware each and every day to push myself towards my goals. i do truly believe that pushing my self (ie: the CHALLENGE) will keep me motivated to make choices that make my life better. so i woke up early this morning and worked on day 4.

i love the message of yesterday's quote. i had been thinking of journalling something like "do it today. not tomorrow. do it today." but after i got the quote down, the following came to me...and i love the result. simple, to the point...exactly what i needed.

i hope everyone has a wonderful friday. get a kiss...get a hug...tell someone you love them. make it a good day. i know i'm going to. DO it.



ink and pens...yum yum. oh, and my new addiction is stamping. i think i've spent about a million dollars on stamps in the past couple weeks...my friends at fontwerks are mostly to blame. here, i used their new george alphas (totally obsessed with these) and also the technique tuesdays functuation (i would have bought them just for the name - love it). oh - and the 7Gypsies fabric reinforcers stickers. YUM. (thanks TOM!!!)

days {2} & {3}

dealing with my little sicko yesterday, but i had a lot of fun playing with 2 entries last night. i didn't put them off - yay!

unfortunately the scan of the front of day 3 is pretty poor...tried to accommodate for the light text part.

it is certain that there will be next to no consistency throughout this journal aesthetic-wise. i will play, have fun, and let it come completely naturally.




page 2 of day {3} entry:


in other news...

i just choked on my coffee and managed to make it to the kitchen with my mouthful and almost to the sink before spraying it pretty much everywhere. joy. i'm still coughing.

jaxon's staying home again today - complaining of a sore tummy. probably because he has only had a couple of crackers in the last 24 hours, but whatever. kids are weird :) luckily, dren happens to have the day off today unexpectedly and so i'll be able to go to work this morning and get caught up from being off yesterday.

it's pouring rain...glad i have the car today so my feet don't get wet.

i'm wearing my sweats to work today. sometimes there's nothing better than comfies for a day in front of the computer.

{21} will it work?

joined the challenge on rhonna's blog. this came at a good time for me, and i'm excited to see what the next 20 days have in store.

here is my {day 1}, based on yesterday's quote.
the black background is for viewing pleasure only ;)
i figure if i share pieces of my journal as i go, i'm more likely to stick with it...
hee hee...we shall see.
the never-ending quest to stop being such a procrastinator.

i decided to go w/ lil 6x6 pages and i'll figure out how to bind them...
...later
ha ha ha!!!



cardstock: bazzill, paper: autumn leaves, transparency is hambly. stamps: butterflies & square: are by tia for fontwerks, alphas: george by fontwerks, grid/pattern thingy: i forget (sorry! let me know if you want to know and i'll check when i'm home). chipboard numbers: heidi swapp. little alpha stickers: making memories. red tab sticker: 7Gypsies. paint: making memories. ink: colorbox (black and brown) and...? (red). fonts: another something i'll have to check if you want to know. pen: AC slickwriter. also white artist's tape.

holy crap there's a lotta stuff on that little piece of page!!!

so the weekend is over

but it was such a good one, that i will celebrate the fun rather than mourn its end.
i just pray the mojo keeps on flowin...cuz man did it flow the past few days.

scrapped like a maniac.
cleaned.
did laundry.
cooked.
slept.
time with the boys.
time with friends.
phone calls.
time with mum.
conversations with dad.
played outside.
took photos.
did co-op stuff.
printed photos.
scrapped some more.


To be honest, I was not thrilled with the papers that came in this month's kit at LM. No offense Kathy!!!! Seriously...they're just not ME. I have a hard time working with crazy amounts of bright colours as it is...and they weren't speaking to me. However, the kits that this girl puts together are just awesome. They MAKE me creative. Rather than be discouraged, I chose to take this on as a challenge - printed out some borrowed photos and photos of friends' kids and flowers. GIRLY stuff for this girly kit. I finished my first page, and while it was difficult, and took a long time, I was really happy with it. Then I just kept going. And every page that I finished, I loved. I experimented, played, and had so much fun! I mean...snaps!? Wow...way cool. Love how those ended up looking on a page. Although at first I wasn't feeling enthused, I ended up making 6 pages this weekend...and that's a LOT for me...1 a day at the most is more my speed. Awesome stuff.

I also had the pleasure of receiving some AWESOME digi stuff from the righteous tia . Check out the frames that I played with today! I printed them out on transparencies and used them on my paper layouts. SO much fun. The girl is so talented. She's got her goods on designer digitals and is churning the wicked fun out like it's goin outta style (which, by the way, it's NOT).

and just one more thing.
i love scrapbooking.
or, in the words of the fabulous ae,
i love being a life artist.

hopeful friday

today's dare is brought to you by the wonderful ranjini @ scrapologie. i've had the pleasure of knowing ranjini for my whole scrapping life - just over one year now. she has an amazing heart and beautiful personality. she is building a business on her own in an effort to be able to stay home and not return to the 9-5 work force. you go girl! thank you so much for sponsoring us this month, r. you put together a pretty awesome product :)

as for this week's dare theme...hope.
the four of us decided over a week ago to dedicate this dare to two amazing people many of us know. they suffered a great loss...two great losses, in fact, in a very short period of time. despite adversity, these two women persevere, giving and sharing and continuing on. able to see the silver lining. i especially appreciate having a friend when i was having a hard time...even when she was suffering so much.

we love you. thank you for your strength of spirit and infectious goodness.



oh and also some shopping because i promised missy i would have a photo for her in the morning...

patterened paper (lots of dots!)
heidi swapp (did i mention 50% off???)
paper salon monogram builder stamps
technique tuesdays functuation and lil alphas
puffy paint stuff
a new pen
glue lines
sei iron-ons
super cute making memories itty bitty alpha stickers.
fun!
new product inspires me so.
i go through stages...
sometimes it's photos...
sometimes a quote.
but lately, the new goodies are making me feel like creating.

fursday

i love that even with all the new words j has obtained, and how much progress his little language world has made, he still says "fursday" amongst other f-words that aren't really meant to be f-words.

i went shopping again last night. yeppers.
i'm addicted to stamps i think.
eek!
i will take a photo later of my latest so everyone (including me) can drool.
then i'm gonna play.

reading The Big Picture by Stacy Julian.
it's not often i actually *read* idea books.
for me they're mostly a good source for eye candy and visual inspiration.
this one i'm reading...cuz that's the good part about it.
i totally agree with her philosophy...
enjoying the creative process.
using scrapping as a medium for enjoying your life.
she says:
"i think scrapbooking is a way to LIVE WITH PASSION.
it's about being present in your life. it's about recognizing
a fleeting moment as MEMORABLE before it passes
and it's about the ability you have to say, 'I WAS HERE,
i lived and breathed and played in the sand. i learned
and i loved. i laughed and i cried and i danced to disco
in my kitchen.' "

i don't need anyone to tell me that it's ok to not scrap chronologically...
or to remember the little moments...
what to use or how to think...
but the introspection that can come from listening to and absorbing others' opinions, habits, and perspectives is pretty damn cool.

hump day - yay!

the week is almost half over. yeah buddy.

so on saturday when i was @ TOM cropping (ahem...shopping) the night away, i left my three new AWESOME compendium books. tia and elsie had been looking at them, and i just simply forgot them there. i was soooo sad when i realized on the way home. i quickly called the store, to find that elizabeth (the owner, sweet sweet chick who has a twin...an embarassing story to go along with that for another time!) had found someone from burnaby (a suburb of vancouver) to take them home with her and pass them on to me. so much kindness and generosity and plain old good will happening in this whole scrappy world. i love it.

so yesterday, dren went out of his way and pick them up from me after work. it got me thinking about him...and how everyday he does something so simple that i appreciate. simple things that make me happy and make my life easier. so i made this...


the shakespeare quote is out of the book "be" from compendium.

this company's motto is "live inspired". the site, the books...just amazing. totally inspiring. i think i first learned about them on ali's blog, and, coincidentally, was reading stacy julian's "big picture" book on the way to work and she also mentions them. you can just window shop and come up with ideas! lots of good-looking stuff to sift through and dream away... i think these beautiful books are my new addiction (uh oh). amazing stuff. seriously. check it out. you will love it too.

oh happy day

things making me happy today...

it's sunny!!!!!!! (AND the first day of spring - woo hoo!)

memories of yesterday:

holding the book and seeing it in person for the very first time:

(thanks for the photo renee!)

meeting elsie who is in fact uber cool down to earth funny fun chick:


shopping:

(yep, i spoiled mysel)

including these:


and some labels not on their site, but from the same company, cavallini (GORGEOUS stuff!!!)

listening to this old gem:


and drinking:


and thinking about (well what else!!??)...
SCRAPPING!

LOVE!

ok so maybe there was a teeny bit of paint involved...

took an elsie class yesterday at the AWESOME treasury of memories.
my first ever class. never really had the desire before.
i went with renee...who is just fun to do anything with (i guess...we just shop and talk and scrapbook!)
and hung with lots of cool crazy fun girls.
the class was called "button love"
theoretically it included 2 pages and a card.
i...uhm...sort of finished one page.


and i got to touch and feel the one and only copy of the FREESTYLE book that tracy brought for us to touch and feel...
woooo hoooo!!!!
it's really really really happening!
[i have a photo of me holding the book to insert here...
blogger has decided to go on photo-loading strike]
promise to share more asap!

so WEIRD!!!!

why does it always always seem to happen like this?
life can go on in its stable, quiet kinda way...
nothing super exciting happening, but nothing horrible happening either.

then...
GOOD, BAD, GOOD, BAD, BAD, BAD, THEN SUPER FREAKING AWESOME...

it's confusing me and hurting my poor brain!!!!

but hey, at least i can share the super freaking awesome news...

i got one of those honourable mention calls today....

pretty cool, huh?

alone

do you ever have days where you feel alone?
not lonely, but alone.
alone in your situation...

had therapy with the dad today.
what an eye-opener.

i believe in the bettering of self and all that awareness.
but damn is it hard.
emotionally draining.
i've just got no energy left.

anyways...that's what's going on with me today.
well, of course much more in my head.
but that's about all i can muster to share right now.

a strange mixture of sadness and love in my heart today.
i hope that everyone who reads this has someone they love in their life.
anyone.
anyone they can look at or talk to on the phone and say "i love you."
and that's it.

we don't talk to strangers,

right buddy?

right. or monsters either.

aLTeReD sTaTe

dare day yall!

neglectful blogger

with no time to spare.
but you know what...i've had a lot of time to think.
maybe i need to take my digital voice recorder with me on my new bus journey to work every morning.
MAN...in the silence of WALKING BY MYSELF, my mind races.
ideas, thoughts, philosophy...it all just runs rampant.
my quiet place used to be the bathroom...
thinking is good for my brain...i can feel it.

tomorrow is new dare day.
FUN!
supa dupa inspirational cool e.falconbridge is the miss march chica
SUCH good stuff this girl churns out. love it.

adjusting to dren working nights.
he comes to bed around 5:30am and i get up.
i come home and he's gone. crappy huh?
but i get time to myself...i get to miss him...
i think for the short term it might actually be a good thing.
love the man like no one else.

hope you all have a wonderful sleep, sweet sweet dreams...

he's hot AND employed...

yeah baby!
dren starts driving tomorrow night at his new job!
one kinda crappy thing is that he will be working nights to start.
6pm-6am
uhm ya. you read that right.
life is gonna get weird.
but i am looking at it in the most positive light i can.
i mean...the financial stress lately has been about killing me.
no more of that...SUCH a good thing.
hopefully in 3 months he'll get to switch to days,
AND get paid double what he's making to start.
that, my friends, is something to look forward to.

going to an oscar party at aley's tonight
our other sister, rhi, won 3 pedicures at a silent auction...
pedicures that come to US...soooo...
foot love at the oscar party!
and mum's getting a manicure
and other friends will get other stuff...too cool!

mum is pretty settled in the basement suite of the quebec st. house
she got in from saturna last week.
i helped her unload the car and get some stuff unpacked.
she is doing SO well.
at some point we will go back to saturna and pick up the last of her stuff.
once the tenant upstairs moves out and she can have her place back.
she is "reclaiming" the house...strong woman.
appointment march 14 w/my parent's therapist for me & him.
should be interesting.

1:45??? better go have a shower and get ready for party!

fish lips and being too busy

first, the lips (cuz, why not?)



we be silly. i like that.

this week has continued to be insane work-wise.
this is a brief glimpse into a day in the life of me lately:
6:00 alarm goes off
6:07 alarm goes off again (i do hit the snooze button, yes i do)
6:14 alarm goes off again (this time i seriously consider getting up. decide against it)
6:21 alarm goes off (immediately hit snooze)
6:28 alarm goes off (turn alarm OFF...gasp!)
6:29 turn on little light and squint at the pile of clothes on the floor and into the closet, trying to decide what to wear
6:30 get out of bed, stumble to bathroom
6:31 - oh heck i can't seriously go through my whole day minute by minute...
7:30/7:45 arrive @ work
1:00(ish) pause for a bite and a teeny break
4:00 hmmmm time to go home (don't go home, keep working)
4:01 phones are off, blast music and try to focus on some work
6:00(ish) finally pack up and leave
6:30 arrive home
6:35 cram some food in the mouth, madly play and visit w/ boys
7:00 start getting j ready for bed, or d does
7:30 spend some time on computer, answering emails or working more, scrap if i'm lucky
8:00 yawn so much i decide to just veg on the couch instead
(i have no real clue what happens in this time slot...twilight zone)
10:30(ish) decide i'm probably too tired to do anything i should just go to bed

exciting life, huh!!??