it's a NEW day

onwards and forwards.
it's OK.
it's about learning and changing.
becoming stronger day by day.
everything is fine.
mum reminded me this morning that this is a learning experience for her too.
yeah...she's 59.
does that mean she won't make mistakes?
nope.
she's appreciative of everything GOOD that happened last night.
i'm gonna take a page from that book of hers.
not staying stuck on what was.
let's move on...

like perhaps to a new DARE DAY!!!
can i just please shout out to the incredible hambly!!???
the product is SO scrumptious.
wanna eat it up.
or at least scrap with it lots.
here, i did just that...couldn't stop:







AND people...i have to mention, since i have not yet (shameshame)...
we are FREESTYLE bloggin baby!!
freestyle has become a part of my heart and soul.
i'm blessed and honoured to be a part of such an amazing group.
i often feel not worthy...
but still appreciate the opportunity...
and the ongoing inspiration and friendships our group has formed.
the fun continues...
with challenges! the first being to scraplift any page from the book.
my only problem with this is...which one????
i flip-flop a lot...
the possibilities are endless.
but man oh man should you EVER check it out and join in.
the talent and eye candy is unbelievable.
i have incorportated the freestyle way of scrapbooking into my core.
it's SO freeing and fun.
helps you realize your inner artist...
seriously...every one of us scrapbookers has one.
no doubt.
i challenge you to find yours, recognize yours, release yours.
the freestyle floor is open folks.

a few more things.
one:
thank you for your kind sweet supportive comments.
two:
the "belongs to" tag on the framed project is from 7gypsies...LOVE!
three:
and it's friday!!!!

sideways

the present was a hit.
and a part of me would like to pretend that it was all great.
but the truth is, it went a bit sideways at the end.
so unfortunate.
shoulda known better.
why did he want to be there?
why did she say yes?
why am i stuck in the middle?
why do i feel so alone?
why does it make me so sad?
because i love them both.
because they're my parents.
because i'm their only child.

s'm'art

tuesay

great title huh?
would help if i spelled (spelt?)(surely not) it right.
but i spelled/spelt it wrong twice.
to tuesay it is.
for 63 more minutes.

i MUST say a humongo thank you to miss missy for telling me about this because now i can be a much more efficient blogger. really. efficiency rocks. i suppose stiiiill being off work has nothing to do with me having more blog time...right.

in LOVE with project catwalk. very similar to project runway but well...BETTER! like a billion times better. in. LOVE. L-O-V-E love. makes me happy.

still appreciating all of the good wishes, phone calls, emails and visits i've received since being laid up. i have a good life, full of good friend and family, and for that i am soso grateful.

renee brought me some NEW 7g paper yumyumdrooldrool amongst other fun and sweet goodies. LOVE goody drops. speaking of...it was a great mail day yesterday. got the may kit from LM. full of cactus pink & HS journalling spots, along with other awesomeness. oh, and !!!cactus pink is our DT sponsor this month so that meant LOTS of extras - yipee.

one good thing about this PC.
PC loves blogger.
or blogger loves PC.
i can link like a fiend...and i think even make things bold and change colours.
you should know, my friends, that these options were just not readily available on the mac. and i never bothered to find out if they actually were available at all.

and two more things.

i love sunshine.
and taking photos outside with the wonderfully long light days.

scrappy stuff to share tomorrow.

ho hum

strange day today.
good
then tired
then good
then sore
then good
then sore
still sore :(
i guess this is recovery.
i won't be going back to work until next monday.
doctor's orders.
tonight, i feel glad for that.
boss's (aka brother-in-law) response to email notifying him?
"yikes"
thanks for the support dude.
over the weekend and today taken a TON of photos.
from a chair on the soccerfield sidelines (saturday)
from a chair in the courtyard saturday afternoon, sunday & today.
GORGEOUS weather.
G O R G E O U S.
like summer.
mum's bday bash on thursday.
we have 45 confirmed guests surprising her @ a restaurant/bar/loungey place.
perhaps more.
she will be thrilled.
59 and thrilled.
can't wait to eat.
tapas tapas & more tapas.
you WILL want to fly here gabby.
did you hear?
there
will
be
tapas
tapas
&
more
tapas.
guaranteed.
i WILL be there.
even if i have to sit in the same spot all night.
and no, my mother doesn't read my blog.
must get that present for her done.
kinda lost a pre-mum-bday week there.
but for now.
the couch.
it's calling my name.
peace out sistas.

my boy

finally, some art to share.

feels like it's been forever!
nothin like a little dare action to put me in the sharing mood.
the one, the only, the amazingly inspirational ae brought this dare to us and extends it to you.
play - it's fun.

may i just say...i'm a last-minute person.
many of you know...surgery was monday night.
did i have my dare done? no.
did i think about it as i was awaiting the trip up to the OR?
yes. i even mentioned something out loud to dren about bringing my scrap stuff to recovery.
he thought i was joking. i did not laugh.
thank goodness i was out of the hospital...the mama probably would not have allowed it.
but i snuck in some scrap time on the couch yesterday.
thankully, i had printed pix on sunday...planning ahead...who knew!?
chopped and rubbed and stuck and inked...for about a good 4 hours.
let's just say i was NOT speed scrapping yesterday.
it was fun though. but man...i never knew scrapping could be so exhausting!


i encourage you to think in an observational way.
it's very interesting and eye-opening.
then translate it artistically.
can't wait to see the creativity that comes out of this one.
thanks ali!

when people love you

it makes bad things seem ok.
your life is easier.
you smile just thinking about them.
they make your day with a single phone call.
they tell you it's ok if you can't talk.
you get flowers when you're sick.
your email inbox is never empty.
you can relax.
i love you.
thank you.

guess what i got for easter?

appendicitis.
and the matching laparoscpic appendectomy to go along with it.
happy freakin easter huh???
went from a wicked spread @ rhi's to emergency @ UBC...
ended up in surgery @ VGH a little over 12 hours later.
and, due to our wonderful government cutbacks, and no available beds...
here i am at home, discharged about 12 hours after surgery.
i'm actually happy to be at home...
on my couch, laptop on lap,
checkin a little buzz lightyear action with the j-man,
stoned on oxycodone, and pretty much being waited on hand and foot by d.
love this man.
i have a movie, the first season of v-mars, flowers,
all sorts of mags (trashy & fashion), a new book, getting better.
lotsa water, lotsa rest and hopefully a shiny happy me in the next few days...

the woe files pt. deuce

email to bossman tonight:
"could you please email me all my safari bookmarks? [currently stored in the apple baby you stole back from me...yeah i know you just bought me a laptop but i'm suffering remorse] thanks much. g."
yeah.
so.
blog much?
no.

seriously...i suppose i *could* go through all previous posters and pea files and all that...but you know...uhm....just lazy i guess.
oh. and it's 1:08am. tired and lazy.
and constantly pressing the wrong button.
like the red "x" instead of "queue" on an email.
not good.
are you SICK of hearing me complain yet?
it will get better. i swear. it HAS to!!! :D
at least i'm getting lots of scrapping done!
at some point, you might see it.

sweet dreams my loves.

really...uhm...yup...

missing it.
my mac.
boo hiss. (hmmm...sound familiar missy? hope you get better SOON!!)
doesn't help that for at least 8 hours per day i'm on one.
so what does that mean?
that means i close emails on the pc instead of "queing" them (or however you spell that...why those two completely opposite functions need to be on the same top right hand corner of my email message is beyond me...i know i know...bill gates and steve jobs (or whatever his name is) don't care and certainly weren't in cahoots back when they figured that out...or their peons did)
that means apparently i can't figure out how to make my scanner work.
that means my computer just isn't as friendly.
and yes, i like a friendly computer.
because please people...these machines we rely on so heavily are not REALLY our friends...
but the more we can pretend the better right?
i mean...since we spend so much time with them and everything.
SO> (HAHAHA. apparently my PERIOD key didn't want to work there for a minute..NOPE i'm not bitter...NOT ONE BIT)
SO. (PERIOD!!!) damn thing...
holy crap i'm ranting.
and i can't even remember what was supposed to come after SO.

but i do know this.
it's mara's birthday. yep. i haven't slept yet, so even though the whole time thing means it's officially over...well...in my world it's not yet. so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARA! an if it weren't 1:21 am i might link your blog or something. but it is so i'm not. (member...i'm lazy :)

exciting news on the DARE front (another non-linkage thing...but check out the link of the side if you're not already familiar)...supa dupa.

kristina made me flipping HOWL on the phone today. love you and your uhm.......totally stable self ;)

gabby rocks. she loves her friends so much. kind soul.
phone date must be had. soon.

miss lots of people...good friends that i've been not so connected to lately...stupid computer...stupid job (sort of not really, but you know)

spent the evening scrapping with my awesome girl-pal coco j. love her bunches.
got a page done for LM....DT inspiration piece. fun. and it involves another wicked g-friend...RENEE...again, no linkage...sorry! :P

oh.
received freestyle in the not mail...the fedex...on monday.
it is amazing.
more amazing every day.
i love flipping through it.
putting it down
flipping a little more.
examining all the little close-up shots of little bits and pieces.
reading titles.
absorbing greatness.
eventually, i will sit down with it and absord more from it.
for now, still...for a while to come, probably...MAJOR eye candy & inspiration.
wicked, wicked stuff.
i HIGhLY recommend it....heehee.

ok
so gotta go to bed.
i certainly hope i can figure this damn commputer out so i can share some fun pix etc soon.

xoxog

bye-bye mac

big changes in gen's computer land this weekend.
gotta take the imac back to work.
i'm hiring someone to help me out w/ gfx stuff...so i needed it there.
however, it turns out that we need another computer there too...
and i still need a computer at home!
solution?
laptop!
bummer part?
mac laptop of any kind = mucho $$$ cha-ching!
i will save my pretty pennies and buy myself one...one day.
but for now, we have the boss-sponsored hp pavilion whatever whatever...
it's super fast dude.
like faster than my mac.
so although i'm so sad to say goodbye to my cute and beautiful and friendly and lovely and awesome little mac....
well...this baby flies! and has 160 GIGs for me to load up with graphics & photots.
oh, and it has a 17 inch screen. yeppers.
gorgeous.

and i have the "fun" IM now too ;)

i spent the better part of this weekend backing up my files and photos onto dvd, and moving stuff to the new machine. what a chore!! but i'm done and well...that's a good thing...a major relief. i forgot to get my bookmarks off my old computer. damn.

desperate housewives & grey's anatomy are both reruns tonight.
dren has aliens on.
right. uhm. might be bedtime for me.

hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.

i love having a computer w/ a wireless card.

life is good :)

woman power

dare #23 is up!

check it out. seriously.
makes ya think.
makes ya feel stronger.



***ETA: i totally forgot to mention previously (at 6:whatever a.m. when this post was original done)
that this dare is brought to you by the letter F
F is for FONTWERKS!!!!
i *heart* fontwerks.
i have a special thing for them because they're not only cool, but local to me :)
but also cool. like cool stuff to use.
fun.
they are responsible for me wanting to stamp again after swearing off stamps forever.
do you hear that kah-mei!!!???
now it's becoming a problem.
but a fun problem.
oh, also a cool creative team.
a couple cool garden girls, a cool hof winner, a couple other cool kids too! ;)
always doing drool-worthy stuff.
REALLY cool stuff for this dare - check it out on their site.
yum. fun.
so yay for fontwerks and yay for stamping and NEAT paper!!!
on this layout, i used kate teague simply neat paper, typesetter & stitch stamparoos.
love em.



i got a new shelf from ikea yesterday.
dren got it made in like 1/2 an hour.
i think that's a record.
then i organized.
cleaned.
purged (just a little).
will share pix later.
LOVE my new space.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

last night i sat on the couch

i actually don't sit down on the couch and relax very often.
it was really nice. i'm too high strung and busy...
my hands always have to be doing something, and normally it's making art or cleaning.
even on the rare occasion i do sit and relax, i have a book or magazine for commercials. i totally tune out during commercials. they irritate me. well, except for a few select good commercials, of course. those are few and far between.
i did do some creative stuff, but realized how tired i was.
so, i sat on the couch with a glass of shiraz and watched boston legal.
relaxed. totally.
HEAVEN.
such an awesome show, that BL.
james spader is a genius.
so is david e. kelly...but that's sort of a given.

OH! and other TV news...
i finally got to see the project runway finale...finally!!!!
the show was AWESOME. i love love love that show.
i reallyreallyreally wanted santino to bring it and win...
honestly, i think half the reason he didn't win is because all the judges know he's going to be a raging success no matter what - that boy's got talent. his collection was totally BLAH for him...chloe's stuff was fun and well made and she does the whole marketing thing and well...whatever. i guess she totally deserved it. the edited the show well - i thought she was going to show a whole collection of satin prom dresses. yikes! you all probably saw this a month ago. i'm happy to finally be able to KNOW the results and talk about it and eagerly anticipate the next season. but i'm sad it's over. it's like finishing a really awesome book - kinda anti-climactic and depressing when it's over.

and i do have some circle journal fun to share.
i'm in this group dubbed "scrappin divas" by sweet mara
such awesome talent and fun. we will each end up with a wicked book in the end, i'm sure.
my theme is "dreams"...open to any and all interpretation.
here are some shots of my book.
gotta get this puppy in the mail.
oh - and i better get a move on to work. sigh.

sunshine, tulips & little books

gorgeous day here today.
i love spring!
there are tulips and cherry blossoms and daffodils everywhere.

so. more to the art journal. loving this SO much.
i thought it might mean i'd get less done on other creative projects.
not so. more creative juice flowin.





**eta: is it wrong that i stole a fridge magnet from my child who never plays with them? it was on the kitchen floor, i stepped on it, swore, and then looked down and it was the number 8. on day 8. imagine that. so i stole it.


i am grateful for my amazingly talented friend kla. she inspires me incredibly, and yesterday when i checked her blog and saw her AWESOME art journal i was so inspired to give my pages a home. to make this a permanent process. i'm often afraid of the permanent. i don't label things with permanent marker...i like labels to be removeable. screw it. i want to change. i made a book. and i love it.






took some pix of my new circle journal today too.
will edit and share later.
i've fallen in love with little books.

i am not a fan of the time change

and do you think i could also blame it for making me feel car-sick on my bus ride to work today?
hmmmm.

i had such a fun and creative weekend.
i wanted it to go on forever.
i am counting the days til our 4 day weekend coming up...

alrighty then.
let's post a few art journal/challenge entries, shall we?
i must admit, while i am enjoying the creative process immensely, i'm not noticing a huge change in my behaviour....yet. however, i am definitely more conscious and aware of the problems, and i AM making a serious effort. gotta start somewhere, right?

thanks to all the wonderful players of this challenge for keepin' on, and thanks also to my fellow bloggin females who stop by to say hello. contrary to how that just sounded, i am not accepting an award of any kind.

{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.