Nothing better...

Than a good pair of jeans! I mean REALLY good pair of jeans. Plum on boxing day had 50% off their jeans. So I picked up a pair of MAVI jeans and a pair of DISH jeans (2 for the price of 1!!). Love them both. They fit. Properly. No saggy butt. No saggy legs. No gap in the back. No muffin top because the waist is too tight/not right. Awesome. And they both have a bit of give in the fabric so they move. I would pay full price for them in a heartbeat. Just lucky that I did not have to! hee hee

Ciao all.

I have been inspired...

To actually make a New Year's resolution this year. Ready - it is a big one...

LEARN TO COOK A TURKEY!!

Yup, that is it. I love turkey. LOVE it. I want to learn how to cook one for myself and not have to wait until Thanksgiving or Christmas to eat one. I am going to start by watching several on line tutorials about turkey basics, and then find several recipes and see what they have to say. When I think I have a grasp on the basics, then I will move on to learning about turkeys - fresh v. frozen; organic; free range; etc. Now, I really don't see myself actually cooking a bird anytime before Easter... BUT look out - when it is time to cook, I will be prepared. And I think my bird will be delicious. he he

Now, I am also making this resolution because pretty soon my mom will not be able to cook the turkey anymore - and that will be a VERY sad day for this family.... It is getting to be too much work for her - and she cooks seriously large birds! At Thanksgiving the turkey was 32 lbs! Ya. This one at Christmas was 23 lbs. I have some large shoes to fill. So I figure if I start small and work my way up, maybe MAYBE by next Christmas I can cook the turkey. We will see.

Ciao all. I am off to make yummy turkey "stoup" with my leftovers.

Some Christmas Fun

Me and my crazy family. I LOVE them all!!!

Ciao.

Ring Christmas Bells...

Merrily ring - tell all the world that Jesus is King.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

A little creating here and there....

Quick one I worked on this past weekend - in between baking batches of sugar cookies.... Gotta keep busy!!

Ciao all.

HOT Friday night pics!

My wardrobe as it now stands. Dozens of pairs of pants and skirts and blouses lighter... What you see is what you get. Sniff. I dropped the ginormous bag of clothes off at Salvation Army bin this morning. Gone. No turning back. No safety net to fall back on. My mini wardrobe will have to last a few months until I am down to my final size, and then I will begin the process of building it up again.

Oh, and a pic of my new babies. Even my feet have shrunk - had to get a new pair of shoes that fit properly! hee hee

Ciao all.

My HOT Friday night!

ohhh, just wait until you hear!! My hubby went out for the night. My kids went out for the night. I stayed home and CLEANED! Oh ya!! Not kidding. And I loved every moment of it! The house was quiet and no one walked on my clean floors or used my squeaky clean toilets the minute they were done. Joy. All week I have been planning my night of cleaning.

And even better - I also reorganized my closet tonight! Bonus. I have had to do some shopping lately for new clothes. Nothing fits me anymore. I am down 25 pounds now and as one of my co-workers so eloquently put it - my "folded" pants ain't gonna cut it anymore... hee hee (they are all pinned and tucked when I wear them...). So I had to purge my closet tonight and put away all my new stuff. I am proud of my weight loss so far, but I have to say, I was not happy to get rid of two huge garbage bags full of clothing... A lot of money going out my door... Sigh. So I just stuck to basics this time around - I bought a new belt, a pair of black pants, grey pants and tan pants, two sweaters and a blouse. My next shopping trip will be new jeans and new yoga gear.

Night all. I am exhausted now.

Now THIS is my kind of winter!

Rain and 9 degrees!! Now we are talking!! Again, if you don't like it, move away. I have said it a thousand times before - I live in Vancouver BECAUSE it does not get too hot or too cold or tons of snow!! It rains. That is what keeps us green and gorgeous. If you want snow, drive into the mountains OR go to our neighbouring province. I am sure they have some for you. Blah.

Ciao

Firm Party

Last night was our firm's Christmas party. We had it at Pacific Country Stables in South Langley. Gorgeous. Elegant. Simple. Right up my alley. I would recommend it to anyone needing a venue for a wedding or special occasion.

Before and After...

WHY do I do this to myself??

Maya Road website... Just poking around for fun. Found this project. WHY do I do this?? Like I have the time to add this to my list... Yet these trees are calling my name... Looks like I have a busy weekend ahead of me crafting. Just crafting. IF I can spend all Saturday and Sunday afternoon at it, I might be able to get these projects done. Maybe... Of course, the children won't eat, and laundry won't be done, and I won't be cleaning the house or coming up for air... But you do what you have to do! ha haaa

Sigh.

Ciao.

I am exhausted...

I don't think I was home for more than a few hours at any one time all weekend... Boy, time sure flies when you are busy! But it was a good weekend. Some highlights:

1. Church Christmas party Friday night - A trip on the Polar Express.

2. Shopping with my momma all day Saturday and going to lunch and getting ALL the Christmas shopping done AND buying a new outfit for my firm party coming up.

3. Going out Saturday night with my baby sis and my cousin and some friends and seeing New Moon. Ummm, not so much. I am disappointed. You would think with all that money they could have produced a better movie. Not impressed. Not even remotely impressed with Jacob's abs and six pack either. And PUHLEASE - Rpatts - keep your shirt on and pluck those five stray hairs on the upper part of your chest for the love of Pete!!!

4. Baking sugar cookies and letting the kids decorate them - first time EVER. I did not fuss with them - it was very enjoyable - letting go...

5. Firm Children's Christmas Party - complete with crafts, face painting, bouncy castles and a visit from Santa with gifts. Good times.


Ciao all!

Evidence....

See post below... There IS more. But I am going to quit while I am ahead...

I have come to realize...

That ALL the Christmas decorations in my house either are 1. trees; or 2. balls. Yup. That is it. I went around the house last night and took pictures of all the ornaments/balls that I have scattered all around the house. It is out of control. I will post the pictures later on tonight. You will see what I mean... Good to know that I a am consistent. Oh, and I STILL have not finished my new batch of trees... Poor things are sitting on my craft desk looking all lonely... You know, I need to not sleep for the next week or so and then I would have an extra 7 hours per day to do all these other things!!

Ciao all.

A little advertising...

Thank you gals for your photographer suggestions. The sites I visted were amazing. I have posted Rhonda's site (rsteedphotography.blogspot.com) for y'all to take a look at. When you see her work you will understand my desire to head out to Southern Alberta so she can take my picture! Seriously. She is talented. And soooo humble/sweet about it. She has a passion for what she does and it shows in each and every photo that she takes. Love it. And I believe Rhonda can make me look good - like rock star good! I need that... I am looking for that. ha ha

But I am contemplating giving some of the local photographers a call and see what they can come up with... Langley or Abby is MUCH closer to home, after all!

Ciao

On a roll...

I think I am about finished my Christmas shopping. Marc and I made a decision that this year we would be very conservative with the whole "material" aspect of Christmas. Not because we cannot afford it. But because it is getting out of hand. I told the kids that they could only ask for one thing they really REALLY wanted from "Santa" and one thing they really REALLY wanted from mama and papa. And that was all. It is sickening the amount of "stuff" they get at this time of the year - from us, from extended family... I am ashamed at the amount of money that is wasted on toys and frivolous things. Ashamed. No more.

In the same vane, I have also kept the gifts for my nieces and nephew and cousins very simple, and I have instructed them to do the same for my children. So I am done for them, and for Marc. He gave me a little list and I followed it. Not creative. I know. But I do not enjoy creative gifts. Hey, it works for me and my family! I have a few stocking stuffers to get for the kids - tights, undies, socks, colouring books and reading books - good stuff like that. I have made my ornaments to give to the teachers and a few other friends. And that is about it. I have not purchased anything for the parents and in-laws yet though. I am not quite sure what to do for them... I think Marc wants a family portrait taken, but I hate cheesy portrait photos, and I want something more cool/artistic - and Rhonda lives too far away for her to come over and do shoot for us!! HINT. hee hee So the portrait idea may have to wait until the family can take a trip to Alberta! (OH we are SOOOO coming one day!! Just you wait Rhonda!!) Which leaves me back at square one - no ideas...

Also this year we have focused on giving to others who are less fortunate. We have gathered a huge food basket for a local family and we are doing a gift card tree for another family. It is great to get the children involved and for them to see us spending our hard earned money to make someone else happy. I need for them to learn that Christmas is about charity - the pure love of Christ. I want my kids to be grateful always for what they have. And I don't want them "expecting" to receive everything they want at Christmas. Fine line to walk. I hope I will do right by them.

Finally, I have come to realize that the best way for me to keep the spirit of Christmas in my heart is to get all these things done as early as possible so that I don't have to go anywhere near a mall/store in December. Have to say, people sure aren't "merry" when they are fighting over sweaters and cd's and toys... And it all leaves me feeling less than charitable when I am elbowing a crazed shopper for the last cashmere scarf...

Have a good weekend all.

I am off to make more truffles.

And the grand total is...

22.8 pounds lost in 10 weeks! Yipee! Today was our last weigh in. I did not win the challenge at the firm, unfortunately. The jackpot would have been nice, especially before Christmas. Sigh. BUT I have made a big change in my life and I am proud of myself for doing it, and I have vowed to continue on. Now, I don't want to exercise 5 days a week anymore. Seriously. I am exhausted. But 3 days a week will be good and will help my body to continue to be a burning machine as opposed to a fat storing machine. And I won't be going back to consuming any sweets on any kind of regular or semi-regular basis. I really can't tolerate it anymore. As a reward, I am buying myself a new dress for our firm Christmas soiree in two weeks. Oh, and new shoes. Come on! Can't have a new dress without new shoes! Even my feet lost weight. Which, btw, is NOT a good thing. Oh well. I guess I will just have to wear thicker tights under my pants to ensure my shoes don't fall off. And NO, I am not going to give my shoes away! And how dare any of you even think it!! hee hee

Ciao all.

Post Script

You cannot save peanut brittle once you have botched same. Note to self.

Another weekend gone...

WHERE do they go?? It has been a busy one for me, but a really good, productive one also. I like that. As you can probably tell, I am not one for "down time" of any sort. I feel it a waste of valuable time if I am not doing something - all the time. So I spent the week baking treats (shown below) for a bake sale at our firm on Friday (which was a huge success). And I spent Friday night at a RS social and learned a REALLY cool recipe for chocolate truffles, and then at 9:45 pm after the social was over I thought it would be the perfect time to nip over to Superstore to pick up the ingredients to make the truffles that I just learned about an hour before! See - productive, ALL THE TIME! NOTE: I will post a pic of the truffles for y'all. They rock! But I am not sure I should post the recipe - it was given to us in "secret". I feel to divulge same would be a violation!! hee hee But I may change my mind! Stay tuned...



In keeping with the crazy weekend, Bella had a dentist appointment yesterday a.m. and all was well. But I book the appointment for 8:30 a.m. so by 9 a.m. she was done and we could do errands. Do you know that no one is out at 9 a.m. on a Saturday!! It was awesome. We went to Old Navy and did Christmas shopping. We went to Jacobs and I bought a new pair of pants and blouse that fits me!! (I managed to give away another 3 pairs of pants and a skirt this weekend...). And then Marc and I were able to do a bit more Christmas shopping at Costco and then we headed to my sister's house for my niece's 4th birthday party! Whew.

Which brings me to today. Sunday. A day of rest. NOT. Primary and tithing settlement and another meeting to attend tonight... Another day gone. Monday is less hectic than Sunday in our house!

Have a good rest of the day.

Ciao

Need HELP from the Foodies out there...

What do you do with a batch of peanut brittle that has gone awry? I made two batches last night for the bake sale at the firm tomorrow. One batch perfect! The other batch looks to have too much corn syrup in it = not brittley at all. It is more like the consistency of toffee... I am bummed. So now what do I do with this non-brittle peanut brittle? IS there anything to do with it? Can it be remelted and more sugar added and see if it will caramelize and firm up?? Seems such a waste of good ingredients. I guess if the answer is no, then I am off the grocery store tonight to pick up some more roasted peanuts and try another batch. Only this time I will certainly measure all the ingredients to the tee...

Ciao all.

Time to Start...

Gathering my ingredients for holiday baking. Yes. Already. This Friday we are having a bake sale at the firm to raise money for a school we sponsor. So of course I have pulled out my recipe book and I have decided to make the following for the sale:

Reindeer Snack Mix (munchie mix)
Peanut Brittle
Dark Chocolate Bark

Last year I made Spicy Gingerbread Stars. They were a hit. But this year I wanted to make a few things to give variety. There were a lot of cookies and baked goods last year, but nothing really of the candy/snack variety. So I thought this would be fun. Plus these recipes make big batches and are easy to duplicate so I can get more made = more money for the school. That is a good thing. I also made all those felt tree ornaments. I think I will add a few ornaments here and there to the goody packages. Again, maybe that will raise a little more money for our charity. So I have my list, and it is a long one. I did not realize how down I was on my pantry items... To add to this list, I am also making the following for home:

Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Good thing I exercise daily!

Have a good week all.

Ciao

Saturday is a special day...

Because it is the day I am free to go shopping at Bosa Foods and make this for dinner with all the yummy ingredients that I purchased.



Because it is the day that I am free to finish up my craft projects and get them off my table and put away until it is time to give them away.





Ciao all.

Bella

My daughter amuses me.

We were sitting in the doctor's office this morning waiting for our H1N1 shots. Bella has a stuffed cow named "Roast Beef". Love it!! So in order to distract herself while waiting for the shots, she turns to her stuffed cow and says,

"Roast Beef - you and me are gonna have a staring contest. Ready? Go.".

Three seconds pass.

"Okay Roast Beef, you win. You are the master".

ha ha haaaaa

She is funny.

Ciao

FOR ROBIN

The trees have arrived. If you want to send me a post, I will gladly set up a time for you to come and pick them up! I have 6 to part with. The other 6 are mine!

Thanks.

Ciao

Craft Crazy!

That is what I am. Yesterday I managed to finish making 25 mini felt trees and I started on my Christmas ball ornaments that I make every year. I got 6 made and have another 6 to go. They are super cute this year. Very rustic feel to them. I like! hee hee And then my FIL called and said my trees were ready!! Yeah!! So Marc picked them up for me - one dozen of them! They all need to be sanded before anything else can be done with them. After sanding, they will need a coat of paint to cover the sides and the "trunks" and the bases. Then they can be decoupaged. That is the part I am looking forward to. The sanding and base coating, not so much... Oh well. Just call me Craft Crazy Lady.

Ciao all.

PS: I will post pics soon.

Another few pounds bite the dust...

Today was weigh in. I am down another 3.5 pounds. So my count is over 20 pounds lost to date. I have 2 weeks left and the weight loss challenge is officially over at work, but I am far from done. I have managed to lose half of my goal in less than three months. So I figure in another 3 months I will meet my entire goal. Wow. That is really something amazing to think about... My clothes are literally falling off. I have already given away 3 or 4 skirts and 5 pairs of pants. But I don't want to spend any money now because in a few months those brand new clothes won't fit me either. So you can't look too close at me or else you will see that all my skirts and pants are pinned in the back and my belts are pulled as tight as can be. heehee

Ciao all. I have mini trees calling my name.

Attention crafting friends...

And non-crafting friends - I am not going to exclude you just because you don't craft... hee hee I am in love with felt. Yes. Felt. If you have not worked with felt, you must begin. And I am talking Dollar Store sheets of felt for 50 cents a pop! Look what they become!! Y'all know I have a thing for trees. So while I was looking over my scraps from the crowns I made for Bella a few weeks ago, I thought I could turn them into something for Christmas. Voila. New mini trees. These trees have a 4 inch base and then taper up to the point. That is it. They are super simple. Stitch them up together and tack on buttons with floss. Really. Easy peasy. But sorry the pic is crappy. My flash was off...

Try working with felt. You will love it.

Ciao all.

Just Because...

Urban Barn is having a sale and I am in love with these items. May have to take a look this weekend...

Ciao all.

Tree craft update

Well, I finally was able to get around to creating the template for the funky trees I posted last month. I brought it to the FIL yesterday and then a half hour discussion ensued on how to ensure the trees would not end up being "top heavy" and fall down... Hmmm. I have a feeling the original trees were not as large or heavy as mine are going to be. My template ended up being about 10 1/2 inches from tip of tree to bottom. That does not include the dowel used as the trunk or the base... So now my FIL, the great man that he is, is going to play around with my template and see what he can come up with. This is always so much fun. Not. I just want it done. I am not good with these details. I think my final words were, "Whatever you need to do - just do it". We will see what I get!

Ciao all. I have 30 more snowman kits to make for Primary craft this Saturday...

Happy Halloween

P.S.

Update on my Biggest Loser Challenge - I am down another 4.5 pounds! Whoo hoo! I am a bit frustrated with myself as I did not exercise at all last week with the kids being sick and I was sick. So IF I could have exercised last week, I am sure I could have added another 2 pounds to the loss... Oh well. I guess this week I will have to kick up the pressure. I only have 4 weeks left in the challenge. I think so far I have lost around 15 pounds. Not bad. Not bad.

Monday Madness

It was a busy weekend. Not that I mind. Bella had a birthday party on Saturday morning and Friday night she asks me to make her little pal a crown to throw into the present. What could I say?? OF COURSE I will make yet another crown. Okay - now that makes 6 that I have made... And I have enough felt left to make another 2 or 3. hee hee I finished Ethan's vampire cape. It looks awesome! It is black outside and red inside. Very dramatic. And I made it extra long so he can wrap it around himself. Again, it took me close to 2 hours to make it, but heck I did a good job and this cape will last through the wars!

We also bought Ethan a new bed this weekend. I have been thinking about this for a while now. Ethan is big - I mean close to 100 lbs and 5'2". His old mattress was not cutting it for him. And he has been having trouble sleeping these past few months. After determining that there is nothing psychologically wrong, it was suggested that he probably is not comfortable. Duh. He has had his mattress now for 7 years, and it wasn't top of the line when we bought it all those years ago. My bad. We got an awesome deal on the set, but it is coming down from Kelowna, so delivery is not until this upcoming weekend. I am excited for Ethan to finally have a really good bed and maybe get back into a good sleep pattern.

And to add to this the kids were in a Primary presentation at church on Sunday. It was great. Very sweet and very spiritual. I was very proud of all of the kids for doing so well with their talks and speaking parts and memorizing all those songs to sing! And after that I hosted dinner for my parents at our house. I was kind of glad to go back to work this morning actually. It was a "rest" from the weekend! How sad...

I now have a new project to start and finish. We have a Primary craft day coming up in two weeks and I have 60 kits to make so the kids can make snowman ornaments. Ya. I am all sorts of crazy.

Ciao all.

I DID IT!!

 

I said I was going to make a cape and crown for Bella, and I DID IT!!

Okay, so instead of resting and sleeping like a normal person would do being sick at home, I decided to get crafty busy! I sat down yesterday and decided that I would make the cape and see how that went. It rocked! I even made a lined cape -light pink inside and dark pink outside!! Mind you, it did take me close to 2 hours to make a simple cape. BUT in my defence, that is the first thing I have sewn since Home Ec in Grade 9! No joke. Sewing on layouts for scrap booking does not count! So coming off the high of sewing the cape, I decided to tackle the felt crowns. Victory! I am in LOVE with felt. I not only made one crown for Bella, I made 4 crowns! I made 2 for Bella and 2 for my niece Emelia. She is going to go crazy when she sees them. They are super cute and really have a great home-made look/feel to them. Really quite satisfying, I must say! And I have the wondrous Internet to thank. I found the pattern online and followed it and modified as I went along. Voila - cute crowns!!

So now I am going to tackle Ethan's vampire cape. I have black and red material for it. I may even try to attach a hood to his cape! YES - I might try!! Whoa, I think I am getting carried away now... ha ha

Ciao all. I think I may go and make a few more crowns for the dress up box!

SICK

Ethan, Bella and me -that is... We went to the doctor this morning. NOT H1N1, which I knew, but needed to hear anyway for peace of mind. But we do have some weird hybrid virus - half cold/half flu that has attached itself to our bronchials - hence the fever and coughing. So everyone in on meds now and on the mend. See you in a couple of days.

Stay healthy all.

Ciao

WHAT has come over me!!

I have the urge to sew! I have NEVER wanted to sew anything! And now I have it in my head that I am going to sew Ethan a vampire cape and Bella a princess cape and make a crown for her - Halloween costumes... I blame this urge on a few gal pals from church. On Wednesday night I hosted a cooking circle in my house and taught these gorgeous gals how to make REAL Alfredo sauce. As we cooked and talked, the gals told me that they are all learning to knit. I was jealous. Totally jealous. One had this groovy pair of mittens on that she knitted. And they were talking about scarves... I just felt the urge to create. So fast forward to this weekend. I was surfing online and came across this sweet crown above (from Etsy). Did some more surfing and actually found a pattern posted online for free that was basically the same. Now I want to make this crown for Bella for Halloween. I think I can do it... IF I am successful, I think I will make a few of them for Bella's dress up box and my niece Emelia. She would totally get a kick out of wearing this on her head!

Of course I also found a free online pattern for a cape. Seems easy enough. I guess next weekend I will be spending time in the fabric store. Yikes. New territory to me! This should be good for a laugh. I will post my final creations - good, bad, or ugly.

Ciao all.

So tired of hearing about...

H1N1. Bella came home today from school saying her chest "hurt" when she coughed. And now has a fever... Sigh. Is it H1N1?? Is it just a chest cold?? Is it just the regular flu?? Who knows. And so for the weekend I guess we will be home just doing nothing and making sure NOT to spread whatever it is that Bella has. Gee, wish whomever gave this to Bella had had the courtesy to stay home and not share!

Happy weekend all.

Thankful...

 

IT IS NOT JOY THAT MAKES US GRATEFUL, IT IS GRATITUDE THAT MAKES US JOYFUL.

I have much to be grateful, and joyful, for. Some things - serious and not:

1. My family. They are the best. Seriously. My kids are gorgeous and intelligent and funny and loving and kind. My husband is brilliant and compassionate and passionate and patient. My mother and father are so generous and supportive. My sister goes out of her way to be helpful and she is the best shoulder to lean on and always lends an ear and is so funny. My mother and father in law are good, salt of earth people. My brothers in law, all three of them, are always willing to lend a hand. My niece and nephew are just joys - loving and full of spice and life!

2. My home. I love it. We have worked hard to get it to where it is. There is much to do yet, but I am thankful that the home is MINE and the potential is endless.

3. My education. I have a good one. It has served me well. No matter how much I say I hate my "job", I love my education and what it has given me and what it will continue to give me.

4. My health. More to the point, that I am taking my health back and it is good.

5. My style. I like that I have style. Sorry, not to boast. But I know what looks good and what does not. I know what you should wear and what you should stay away from. I know quality and I know my brands. I know what to buy to get the most bang for your buck. And I know what to splurge on. It is a gift. It is not a talent I honed. Although I have worked hard on it for the past 20 years...

6. My OCD. I love it. I would not be able to survive without it. It keeps me going when I want to give up. It keeps my house organized and food in my fridge and my kids' clothes clean and pressed and my husband's stuff organized and my floors clean and my toilets spotless...

7. My faith. I have great faith. It has been tried and tested and has survived.

8. My obedience. I am a good girl. I do what I am told. And when I know what I am being told to do is for my betterment, I listen and I don't question. It saves me hassle and headache.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

Ciao.

So Proud...

 

Of Marc! He is just an inspiration. Education is a good thing - at any and every age!!

Happy Thanksgiving all.

Ciao.

Natural Decorations...

 

Another reason I so enjoy Fall. I get to use natural decorations. Nothing is better than a pumpkin. And now they come in all shapes, sizes and colours! Add a bit of moss, twigs, candles, etc. etc. and you have a first class vignette for your front porch! Or yard. Or balcony. Or whatever space you have!!

Enjoy all.

Ciao.

Sunday Creative

I am thankful for General Conference because it allows me to sit, undisturbed for 2 hours at a time, and concentrate and create. I was able to get these layouts done and finally off my mind. There is too much up there already fighting for air without these "creative" ideas clogging up the system. hee hee

I have to say, though, that I am not enjoying the scrapping process like I used to. I don't quite know how to explain it... I scrap right now out of guilt more than anything. I started these amazing books for the children and I have to keep going. I just HAVE to! I can't stop now!! Ethan already has 10 years of memories captured for him, and Bella has 6! I don't really have that many more years with the children where I can scrap for them... What a shame to let it go. But having said that, I am not enjoying the process. And to make matters worse, yesterday when I headed out to my local scrap store, I found that they had moved!! Really!! I KNOW it has only been a month since I was there last! And they moved!! So now I have to figure out where to. It frightened me to pull up to the store and see the sign gone and notice the huge fluorescent posters in the windows saying MOVED. So that put me off my creative game. We will see where this goes. I still think I need to enroll in a class. I think it is going to take something challenging to get the juices flowing again.

Have a good week all. We are preparing for Marc's Convocation (yeah!!) this Friday and then a big Thanksgiving celebration (x2). It's all good.

Ciao all.

October... WHEN did you get here??

Where did September go?? Didn't we just get the kids back in school like yesterday?? I really need to start paying attention to where my days go. But having said that, I am happy to see September leave and October arrive because that means Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and that is my absolute favourite holiday! I love hanging out with my family. I love my mom's turkey and stuffing. I love my aunt's pies. And since I have been doing the P90 challenge, I have lost a fair bit of weight and so I won't feel guilty for eating this year! I have issues with food. I love food, but food does not love me back. It goes beyond just self esteem issues. I have actual physical issues wherein most foods (or combinations thereof) will make me sick. Gotta love gettin' older... But as I said above, the daily psychotic exercise is really helping and I have not had any food issues in this past month! Promising. So I am extra excited for Thanksgiving 2009! Now I have to find a good veggie dish to make. That is my contribution to dinner for 27...

We are off to Cubs. Ciao all.

Oh ya, almost forgot...

I weighed in at work yesterday. I am down and have lost 1% of my body fat in these past 10 days. Yeah. Still more to lose though... Way more... Oh well, it is a start!

Ciao all.

I love FALL...

The weather is finally cooler and my thoughts have turned to Fall! The colours; the fact that I can wear wool again; my boots; tights... So excited! I bought a gorgeous wrap from the Bay tonight in a graphite grey and I am just itching to wear it. I think tomorrow night I will have the opportunity to do so. I have a RS broadcast to attend, so I think it is the perfect occasion to debut my newest Fall accessory. But I do think I need a pair of grey boots to accompany the wrap. Good thing I have all day tomorrow to find a pair! Oh Fall. You are my favourite season!

Ciao all.

Inspiration has struck!

When I get an idea in my head... I was surfing on the Two Peas site when I came across this cool project. I LOVE trees! I have a thing for them. I just can't explain. I have my forest of white trees and my linen and button trees, and a huge green wooden one that I put outside... And now these trees have caught my fancy. Sooo, now the quest will be to come up with a template that I can bring to the FIL and get him to cut out half a dozen, or so - or more... I already see in my mind making a few to bring to work and decorating my office (with the obligatory ornament that I make every year!!), and giving them to the kids' teachers for gifts, and maybe making a few for some select co-workers... See, when I start, I can't stop!! But these trees are sooo cute!! Love it.

Ciao all.

I wish I could do this...

 

Use the remote and just pause time. Not forever. Just for a day... It is all passing too quickly. We had Ethan's family party this weekend. Each time we get together we are celebrating something important. It just reminds me more that time is marching right on, and I seem to be falling behind... Exactly one year ago Ethan was in Italy celebrating his 9th birthday with my family there. Now we are celebrating his 10th birthday with my family here. It is surreal.

In other news, I am on week 3 of my P90 regime. All is well. The weight is coming off. But I am working hard to ensure that happens. And I don't cheat which I think makes a big difference. Although yesterday I did have a piece of St. Honore cake and BOY was it good!!! SOOOO worth the extra crunches this morning! SOOOOOOO worth it!! hee hee This Friday is weigh in at work - the 10th and 25th of every month!! I am curious, though, to know how much I have lost. I say around 5 pounds. We will see. Whatever it will be, it is progress and that is what matters.

I am feeling the need to be creative. I have not scrapped in months. I have some summer pics to do, and the kids back to school pics to do, and now Ethan's birthday... But alas, no mojo. I am going to have to do something to change that. I am not feeling the inspiration I used to by surfing sites anymore. I think I am going to have to enroll in an actual class and make a project and get me interested again. Something has got to change. Heck, Christmas is only 3 months away (YIKES!!) and I usually begin now to find projects that I want to do for Christmas. But nothing so far... Ya, time to enroll in a class.

Laundry calls. Ciao all.

How long will it take...

To put the Cubs to sleep tonight with my law lecture?? Any wagers? I say 5 minutes and they are done! hee hee Tonight is the first night of Cubs for another season. This is Ethan's last year in Cubs. Next year he will be in 11 Yr Old Scouts. Don't get me started. I think I have JUST gotten used to Cubs, and 3 years have passed already. Man. Anyways, this year they are working on their Blue and Black Stars (really cool stuff!!) and tonight they are studying law. Hence why I have been called to come in and talk. But I kept the lecture really simple - 3 things: what is law? Why do we have laws? Where do laws come from? And then I went to some great websites and downloaded totally obscure laws from aroudn the world. Worth a google. Good for a laugh. Some of my favourites that I uncovered:

1. In Thailand it is illegal to leave your house without wearing underpants!

2. In Switzerland it is illegal to flush the toilet after 10 p.m.

3. In Germany it is illegal to wear a mask.

4. In Isreal, picking one's nose on the Sabbath is prohibited.

5. In the States, boogers must not be flicked in the wind.

And some great ones close to home:

1. In Alberta, if you are released from prison it is required that you are given a handgun and a horse to ride out of town.

2. In BC, it is illegal to kill a sasquatch. (??HUH??)

3. In Quebec, it is illegal to wash your car on the street (Montreal).

4. In Nova Scotia, it is illegal to water your lawn when it is raining. hee hee Okay... Who would do that anyway??

Ciao all.

Before and After...

 

About a week ago I got it in my head that my eyes needed to be tested. It has been a few years - 4 to be exact... I have NO idea where that time went?? Anyways, I have noticed some changes and thought why not? Off I went and actually only my left eye has changed, which is good. But I used it as an opportunity to get new glasses. Voila. The new me with my DKNY glasses. I love them. They are orange inside and black outside. At first I thought I would be a walking reminder of Halloween, but no. They rock. The optometrist said to me that I am the "perfect" candidate for laser eye surgery. Ummm, NO. When Prada and DKNY and Louis Vuitton stop making glasses that are gorgeous, then maybe I will consider the surgery. Maybe. Or maybe I will just be blind. hee hee

Oh, and I also got prescription sunglasses that will be ready tomorrow. I cannot tell you how completely excited I am to be able to put on sunglasses and see!! It will be my first pair of prescription sunglasses ever. Right now I only wear sunglasses when I am at the beach or the lake, or when Marc drives and I am the passenger so I don't have to see where we are going. Oh, and the sunglasses are Prada... See my note above! hee hee

Ciao all.

Body parts that hurt...

5 days down, and the following:

1. I have body parts that hurt that I never knew existed.
2. WHY do my elbows hurt??
3. My knees and feet are cracking each and every time I move.
4. I hate 6 a.m.
5. I think Tony what ever his name is in P90 should hire a writer and actually get some material that is at least tolerable to listen to! His dialogue is moronic at best. Come on. If I have to hear him say one more time "Checkin' on the kids..." or "Don't hurt me..." or "One more for the bonus round..." I am going to lose it. Seriously lose it.

BUT having said that, I also have the following:

1. Working out with my hubby is fun! He is hilarious to watch and he keeps me laughing when I want to walk away.
2. My pants are loose already. Not kidding. I am wearing a pair of pants today that I have not been able to wear for the past few months. LOVE that. Good motivator.
3. I have made a decision to change my life and this is for the best and I have to take all the bad with the good. It will get easier and my various and assorted body parts will stop hurting, eventually.

Night all.

A Decade Old??

 

Happy 10th to our sweet boy! We love you. We admire you. We are proud of you. We are privileged to have you in our lives.