Merry Christmas

Not sure when I'll be able to post over the next week or so but I'll be back for sure in the new year,hopefully with some pages and maybe kitchen photo's and probably snow photo's !!

Until then........

Bad Blogger !

Nearly a week since I last posted.I haven't much to report either.The boys are finished from school so that means 2 weeks with no homework and no lunches to make !

I've done everything Christmas related apart from a few last minute fresh fruits and veggies and I can't believe Christmas is in 3 days,I'm not feeling very festive this year for some reason.

Yesterday was officially the first day of winter,really thought that started at the end of November with all the snow we've had so far ! Anyway another good dumping yesterday but luckily it was Sunday and no need to leave the house.I had time yesterday to make the 3 memorabilia frames for my wall in the kitchen,so hopefully if it's sunny tomorrow I will take photo's of the kitchen.

Still no scrapping for me,I did tidy up my space and put all the things back in their right places from all the cards and mini albums I made,so maybe now I will be able to create something.



I'm up to date here with my photo a day and above is a mosaic of the first 16 days,since I don't like to post without a photo.

I'm done !

At last....
72 pieces of cardstock,
24 strips of striped paper,
18 8x10 photo layouts,
2 tape runners and
half a booklet of AC letter stickers
later and I've finished my 2 mini albums I was making for my Mum and In-laws.They turned out quite well and considering they were very simple and basically the same design for each page they still took a long time.I'll post pictures after Christmas.Which I can't believe is only 9 days away !!

Not much happening here,just a few cards left to post and presents to wrap and I'll be done and hopefully it will be time to relax.I say it every year but this year I think my New Years resolution will be to write my Christmas cards the first week of January,that way I'll remember who sent them us and they'll be done.....of course I'll probably forget where I put them because I'll put them in a safe place !

Here's card I made and mailed today for my Mum's birthday,it's at the beginning of January and I forgot to put it in the parcel with her Christmas present so I hope she gets it in time.I've had very little scrap time for the last month or so so I thought I'd use some of my recent purchases on some cards.



I can post it here as she doesn't have a computer and unless she's taken up popping into Internet cafes,which I highly doubt,I'm quite safe in the fact she won't see it.

DT news and more photo's

After 2 years of being on the Scrapbook Centrale Design Team I've decided to leave.It wasn't an easy decision but it's something that I have been thinking about for a while.Lots of reasons that make it the best decision for me right now.

I am also hoping to actually get some scrapping done this weekend...it's been so long and I'm dying to use the October Afternnoon paper I bought a while back.

I just couldn't resist and went out twice more to take more photo's !!


The neighbours pine tree just captivated me !

My photo a day is up to date here as of now !

More snow !

We had more snow last night and overnight there was some freezing rain and yet more snow this morning but it made for pretty pictures !



They should all click bigger !



I love the ice on the branches.



and lastly.....



Off out now to take more as my son's just told me I have to go check out the neighbours pine tree !

I'm up to date on my photo a day too,check it out here.

Another year older.

Yes,today's my birthday and do you want to see what I got.....................



A lovely snowstorm !!(If you click on the picture you can see the snow falling) there was only supposed to be about 3cm but there must be 5 to 6 inches now on the driveway.Anyway,it didn't stop me meeting my friends for lunch,glad they all decided to brave the weather for me !

Sunday we went to get our tree.It was disappointing this year and the first time in 4 years we haven't cut our own tree.I think this is the last year for that particular field because the trees were all either very small or too big,even for us.So we ended up getting one of their pre cut trees and we went with pine again.It snowed like crazy while we were there so it made it festive ! I love the long needles of the pine but it makes hard work decorating it.Anyway this is what it looked like last night.



It's not touching the ceiling this year so it's about 10 foot tall.

OK I'm re posting this post using Html and it seems to be making a difference,thanks Susan :)

Another year older

OK this post is now residing in the post above,it's exactly the same but I got the photo's to work.

That Friday feeling

I can say for the first time in nearly 2 months I will not be working on anything kitchen related this weekend.............Woo Hoo !!

I plan on decorating the outside of the house,getting the tree and finishing off my in-laws Christmas gift.......that's it.

In scrapbooking news I won the Scenic Route monthly challenge this month with this page and the weekly SS blog challenge with this one .Good stuff :)

That's it off to enjoy the weekend and keep up with my photo a day.

Shhhhhhh

I'm supposed to be painting but if I don't write this now I'll never do it today !

I'm up to date with my photo a day here.

We are going to get our Christmas tree this weekend,ever since we moved out here we've been going here for our tree.It's fun,the boys love it but we always come home with a tree much bigger than we thought it would be,good job we have a high ceiling.This was last years tree.....

After years of having a silver and gold tree and 3 years ago making it silver,gold and purple.I'm out for a change and will make my kids happy by having a green and red tree,with silver this year.................................I will not make them ecstatic by having multicoloured lights.......sorry kids never going to happen in my home !!

It's Wednesday !

Middle of the week and I'm here to post. I am being good this week !

I grouted the tiles yesterday........it was hard.They have a beveled edge and scraping the grout off was not as easy as things I'd done before and it took longer than I thought but it's done and really finishes it off. A little bit of painting to do today and it done except for the picture frames.I really want to get to work on these frames but I have other stuff to do first. When we moved in I created a large clip frame with all bits and pieces of our lives before and after we met,concert tickets, restaurant receipts,plane tickets but I took it down for some reason and it never got put back up. So I'm re doing it in 3 separate frames to put along an empty unless wall we have..........I have an idea on how I want it to look but I know how those idea's normally turn out ! so fingers crossed.

Here are 3 more cards I made at the weekend.....I make them with intentions of sending them but then I realise I like them so much I don't want to part with them !!

I have loaded my first 2 photo's here for my photo a day challenge.

Oh and Ash "awarded" me this ! Thank you Ash,so I'm passing it on to my friend Susan who's blog I love when she updates it ;)

December DT

Let's see if I can post everyday this week !

This month for Scrapbook Centrale I got to use the Christmas line from Doodlebug.It was fun,bright and glittery..........

1997 seems a very long time ago.........the holly stickers are glittery and I liked them as we had a huge holly bush in our garden in England,something that makes me think of Christmas.

I also made these 5 cards using the Doodlebug stuff and it all co-ordinated so well with some coloured Christmas American Crafts rub-ons from last year.

I was on a card roll and made 3 others from Scenic Route stuff,I'll post those tomorrow.

Good intentions.....

....I had them I really did !

I fully intended to update before now but life got busy.

Friday I was not in the best of moods I was mad,upset and could totally understand why my son is so discouraged but after a glass of wine,lots of extremely loud music and a moan to a friend I'll leave it at some rules and regulations are just bloody stupid and some people are obviously set in there ways and there's nothing you can do about it.

The kitchen is almost there,really it is...................we tiled this weekend here's proof....




Well I tiled he cut tiles and took photo's,now I just need to grout and touch up the woodwork and voila.....done!

Since today is December the 1st it means I'm starting my photo a day again over here . I'm so mad with myself because the shot I wanted to take today I couldn't as I forgot to take my camera because I was not fully awake when we left the house at 6.20 this morning.......................Oh well,I'll find something else !

Oh and hopefully fingers crossed we passed our citizenship test today.It will be 8 to 10 weeks before we find out but I am 99.9% sure i answered everything right and the interview was good so just waiting for that piece of paper.

Bad blogger.......

Yep that's me.

I just have not had the time or the enthusiasm to post unfortunately,too many things on my mind does not make me a happy person :(

The kitchen................still not done but it's getting closer,all the little bits were finished off today.

Citizenship..............I wonder how many born and bred Canadians know all these facts ? and why don't the over 55's need to take it ? !

Scrapbooking....................hardly anytime for this and that makes me sad,I like my hobby how dare life get in the way! I did get a page picked up yesterday for the April CK which was great.

The weather............... I did not like waking up to this yesterday............

We had about 6 inches and it's still out there,oh I am so not looking forward to winter.

I'll be back soon in a much better mood !

I can see it.......

The light at the end of the kitchen tunnel ! Yesterday should have seen the fitters back to finish all the little bits but someone either Home Depot or the cabinet company didn't order the panel so it's next Wednesday now BUT we got the stove top and the sink in this weekend so I no longer have to cook on the BBQ and I have running water in the kitchen,life's little luxuries !

So now I just have the tiling to do and I do believe it could be finished by the end of November,just in time to start all that Christmas baking.Although I thought ahead and cooked my Christmas cake at the beginning of September and have been generously lacing it with rum ever since !

Not much else except this............ we got our notice to appear to write our citizenship test (better start reading the booklet because I only have 2 weeks to prepare!) It's probably not very exciting to anyone else but us. I'd put this to the back of my mind,we applied this time last year,we've been eligible for a while but whenever we had the money something else like snow tires or a leaking pipe took care of it,unfortunately.The notification which we received in February said 12 to 15 months so it was such a surprise to find that in the mail yesterday.Happy mail,got to like that so fingers crossed that soon we will be 4 Canadians in our house and not just one.

My Father in law turned 80 the other week so I'll leave you with the card I made for him.

November DT

I got to work with the MME,Nightlight collection this month for Scrapbook Centrale.There was some really great stuff made you can check it our here. These are my 2 pages,all with last years pictures and 3 cards.

Above is my favourite page this month,just love that journaling tag and below my favourite colours scheme :)

I made these 2 cards,with the leftover pieces of paper and then remembered the little flocked ghost.........

...............so quickly made this one too,there are stickles on the word boo but it hasn't shown up well.

100 Questions

Thought I'd answer this from Nathalies blog...............

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis...................I actually saw one for the 1st time this summer.
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped ............ I will never do this one !
12. Visited Paris................does 2 hours in the airport count !!
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill..........it was a summer job !
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon........................I'm still trying to run my first 5km !!!!!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud ........we ran cross country through a pig farm,does that count !!
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving............Never for this one too !
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

26 out of 100....pretty sad eh !!
Lots on there I would like to do though and obviously some I wouldn't such as 75,97 and 99 !!
Give it a go..........

So,what's new?

Did I mention I have a new dishwasher and I love it ! It just gets better and better,it really,I mean really cleans stuff ....I have mugs that are very stained from all the tea/coffee we drink and they never came clean in the old one and even by hand I couldn't shift it.Well I take them out of the dishwasher and I did a double take........absolutely spotless,I'm telling you it's the little things !


What else ? Oh the kitchen,yep still working on that,this kitchen is nothing special but you'd think it would be all the bloody hard work it's taken! This past weekend we put on the baseboards and tomorrow my counter top is being fitted...........so that means this weekend we can get the sink plumbed in...............a big hooray to that one and get the hob top in,an even bigger hooray for that because it will mean no more BBQ until the spring.Then I can tile the back splash area and it will be DONE !!


Sunday we went to the open house at the high school Ad will be going to,luckily my friend came with us as interpreter !!I swear if one more person looks at me as if I'm sending my child to Hell when I tell them where he's going I'm going to lose it.It has good programmes and he seemed very excited about being able to pick drama as an option.I would like him to sit the exam for the enriched programme they offer......he has to be recommended for it by his teacher,is that the normal way ? I have no idea how it works here.He passes all the requirements they suggest but we are having teacher issues this year,of all the years to have them and I have a gut feeling I might have to fight for this one.Since my son isn't French enough it seems.......erm no,go figure,of course he's not but he performs better than a lot of the Francophone kids,grrrrrrrrrr things like this make a permenant trip on the 401 very appealing.


Scrapbooking......I actually did a page yesterday and I am going to start one today when I've finished cleaning out all the crap that's accumulated in the garage,so I can get my car in and made cookies.I can't wait to get this kitchen done so I can go back to proper cooking and baking.Anyway scrapbooking,I miss it, it's my stress relief,especially since I'm no longer running,working on a page I just forget everything else for that hour or two and that's good,it may be a little sad but it's good for me :)


Things like this are good too,I went out with the kids for the bus this morning and saw this on my car.....
I think it's cute and it made me laugh but you're welcome to feel otherwise !!

It's the little things.

In life that give you pleasure,right?
Last night I was very happy because I finally have a dishwasher again...woo hoo,no more washing up in the bath...no more washing up full stop,it's been a long 8 months,well 8 months of washing up only 3 weeks in the bath.
The old one packed up way back in March and "it's OK we're getting the kitchen done,we'll wait."Well I never thought I'd wait this long (it's been in the garage 3 months,well it was a great price on sale !!) but it's in and working and it's clean and has big baskets that actually hold wine glasses,very important that ! and it's so,so quiet and I am very happy !
It's sad I know but top of my list house hunting 5 years ago,after 3 beds and a garage was a dishwasher !! I'd never had one before and thought I was due this little luxury especially since I have a husband that loves to cook and use everything item possible to do so. I got my wish,didn't matter that I probably had the oldest dishwasher still in working order,that was missing half the plastic spokes to hold plates,didn't matter that it was so noisy you couldn't possibly watch TV....it washed dishes and it washed them well,with it's half or full capacity and twist to start button,it did it's job until it decided it was no longer going to drain and emptied its self all over the floor with bloody hot water.
Wow, this is possibly the longest post I've written on complete nonsense........

Monday,Monday,Monday......

....I don't even work and I hate Mondays !!

Nothing new here,worked on the kitchen again,all weekend and that is enough said on the matter!

So it's November and I managed a photo a day all for October,didn't skip a day or have to cheat.Some days I was definitely more inspired than others and even though these are tiny images,it's fun to see them all grouped together.

So I think I'm going to try it for December too.....we'll see!

Nooooooooooo!!!

Urgghhhhhhh it snowed.This is the earliest I have seen snow settled on the ground in the 9 years I've been here and I really hope it's not a sign of things to come this winter. Of course I was outside taken photo's at 7.30 this morning while the boys waited for the bus !

Yes,already downloaded,that's because I've been awake since 3 this morning with the howling winds ! another ones here,as really I can't image I will get anything else that sums up today !