I ♥ these women

I have been blessed with such wonderful women in my life, both in the area of friends and in sisters-in-law.

Having grown up with no sisters, and until I turned 16, very few good friends, this is indeed a huge blessing in my life.

I have three official sisters-in-law and a fourth unofffcial one who I met for the first time this summer. She, Tatiana, is great, as is my twin brother's wife, Cheryl, who I unfortunately don't get to see very often as they live on the other side of the country.

And I also have two sisters-in-law through Cameron's side-- his sisters. They are wonderful! So caring, loving, generous and fun! We got to spend some time together this summer when Josie & her family came for a visit. Cameron took a picture of the three of us and here's the layout I made with it:



The journaling says: "I love Cameron’s sisters, Josie & Sally, and couldn’t ask for better sisters-in-law. They are both loving & caring and they make me feel like a special member of the family. If I could change one thing though, it would be this: I would love to spend more time with them, either together or one on one. With our geographical differences & busy lives, this just isn’t possible right now, so I just try to make the most of it when I do get to see these two fabulous women. (Picture taken by Cameron at Stanley Park, July 28, 2009)"

Which family members are you thankful for today?

Weekend update

LOL!

I've noticed that for the past couple of weeks, I've only been posting on the weekends, which makes sense, because I've been working quite a bit during the week and then been busy in the evenings (or just too tired to move!) I worked every day this week, except Wednesday (Remembrance Day), where I helped Cameron fence at the farm all day long (& I have the sore shoulder to prove it!)

So, I have a few things to share today, both scrappy & non-scrappy.

Non-scrappy first...

Austin & I tested for our blue stripes in tae kwon do yesterday. This colour belt test took place in Manitou, with about forty to fifty people testing. I was actually one of the eighth highest ranking people testing (the black belts are testing today in Winnipeg), which seemed strange, as last year, at my first test, there were lots of people in higher ranks above me.

So, the test went well, except I felt quite winded during it and my mouth was so dry! I didn't think I'd tested as well as I had at the last two tests, but surprise, surprise, they awarded me the Most Improved Award, saying that I had the best tae kwon do manner at the test! I was quite shocked (normally the awards go to children) & pleased! I should get my promotion at Wednesday night's class.

On to scrappy stuff...

1. Here are two of the layouts I made at the MSS online crop last weekend:





2. I have a post at The Inspired Scrapper this week. You can check it out here. And remember, if you leave a commment there, you'll get your name entered into a draw to win a RAK from our monthly sponsor.

3. And speaking of RAKs, it's give-away week on the MSS blog. And I posted yesterday with a layout where I used chipboard in a different way. I'll be drawing from the list of people who leave a comment on my post next week. If you'd like to see my post and leave a comment, here's a link: A different use for chipboard.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great weekend!

It's finally Friday!

What a week!

I worked Monday, yesterday & today.

On Tuesday, I took advantage of my day off to clean my kitchen. It looked so good, I should have taken a picture, because it definitely hasn't stayed that way. Sigh.

On Wednesday, Sage, Val & I went to Winnipeg for a doctor's appointment for Sage. And, a little shopping & lunch out. When I told Sage of our plans, her eyes lit up and she said: "Really? Thank you, Mom!" So sweet!

And add on skating lessons twice a week, a MCSLA meeting and tae kwon do three times this week, yeah, I'm a little pooped.

So, what better way to relax after a busy week, than to spend it scrapbooking? ;)

My Scrap Shoppe is having their monthly online crop this weekend. You can check out the challenges posted for it here. I'm hoping to get some scrapbooking done, amidst the lawn work that is calling my name and post some new layouts.

Oh, and if you're looking for some inspiration for Christmas projects, the MSS DT has been posting Christmas ideas on the MSS blog this month. Here's a link to today post (by me): It's getting to be that time of year.

Have a great weekend!

Well, Halloween is over....

I took this picture of the kids yesterday afternoon, before supper. Austin was a blue M&M, Jonah was Batman (1970s Batman, as my mom had made the costume for my brother when we were little) and Sage was a pink princess kitty.

I took the kids trick or treating after supper. They had a great time. We usually do the houses on our street and then drive around to people we know and stop in there.

I also wanted to share the layouts that I made with the MSS November kits. I loved the papers and embellishments in this kit and used up almost all of the patterned paper.













Thanks for looking!

Catching up

Lots to catch up on the past week. Here are few highlights, if they can be called that. ;)

1. Last weekend, Austin & I competed in the Prairie Fire Tae kwon do Challenge in Yorkton. I was so proud of how Austin did: he won a bronze medal in patterns and really held his own in the sparring-- even his coach commented on his improvement since the June tournament.

















I won a silver medal in patterns & a bronze in the sparring. It was a good weekend. The kids loved spending the night at a hotel and swimming both there, and at the aquatic centre after we were done competing. We got home late (after midnight, and a few wrong turns *rolleyes*) but it was definitely worth it.

2. I've been averaging working 3 days a week, mostly subbing at our high school. I'm liking it, which is good. It feels harder to get my stuff done at home, and I'm not scrapping as much as I'd like, but it's okay.

3. Here are a few sneak peeks from the MSS November kits, which will go on sale tomorrow.





Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great weekend!

It's Friday

And that means that there's a new challenge posted on The Inspired Scrapper today. Here's a sneak of the layout I made for today's challenge:



You can see the layout in full here, as well as the sketch that inspired it. And remember that if you leave a comment there, you'll be entered into a draw to win a scrappy prize from this month's sponsor.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Reminiscing about my weekend getaway

The women from my church planned a Westside Women's Retreat for this past weekend at Pinewood Lodge in the Whiteshell, just over 3 hours away by vehicle. This is something new for us. In the past, we've gone to a Bible Camp near Arnes, but let me tell you, never again. We have been truly spoiled by the Pinewood Lodge and will not be returning to a Bible Camp for our next retreat, of this I am sure.

We took the bus there, probably the only disappointment of the trip. It smelled pretty bad and the bus driver got lost (took a wrong turn? thought she knew a better way? I'm not sure) and it took us over 4.5 hours to arrive, and people started to feel car sick, with all the twisty, winding roads. But once we arrived, it was all good.





The Friday evening, we enjoyed a session together and then watched a movie before bed.

The next morning, after a wonderful hot breakfast and another great session together, I had the opportunity to lead a group on a photo walk. I showed some of the women how to change the settings on their cameras and shared some tips for taking good photos (the rule of thirds, try to take a portrait from slightly above your subject, some lighting tips, etc.) It's funny. What I thought as basic stuff, the women really seemed to appreciate learning. Which was good.



Some photos on our walk down the Trans Canada Trail.



Val, taking a photo of me, taking a photo of her.



For lunch, we played a game called Heaven's Kitchen, where we were assigned a group, an appetizer, entree or dessert and could only retrieve one item at a time. It involved a bit of stress and a lot of running and revamping our meal. But it turned out great (we made bar-b-q salmon, and a potato medley on the bar-b-q and a coleslaw.) It was a super idea and lots of fun!

After lunch, we enjoyed a DIY spa and some of us took an art class (which I totally enjoyed and spent a lot of time on).



On Saturday, we also went for a swim, sat in the hot tub, enjoyed some karaoke entertainment, played Cranium & watched another movie.

Even though we went to bed at 2am, I woke up before 7am and decided to take the yoga class that was being offered. I'd never done yoga before, so that was a very cool experience. I'd been questioning God on something in my life for the past little while and one of the verses that our instructor shared towards the end of our session was totally an answer to my question. I'd hoped I'd hear God speak to me this weekend, and here He did so during yoga, of all places!

After breakfast, another session, worship and packing up, Val, Kathy (my roomies for the weekend) and I went for another walk on the trail. Kathy took this picture with my camera:



And we set my camera on a little bench and got this one of the three of us:



After lunch, we had a wrap up time (where we all got a free amazing purse!)



Then, most of the women left on the bus home. But, Val & I were able to get two spaces in a van going home, so we were able to avoid that experience (hooray!) and enjoy the ride home with some friends.

However, the bus home didn't leave me completely unscathed.

When we arrived back at the church, I was told that they had taken my suitcase out of the bus (there hadn't been room for it in the van I was in) and the bus drived BACKED OVER IT. Seriously. Anther woman was way worse off than me-- it completely crushed her suitcase. On mine, the corner was crushed and some of my toiletries were destroyed. But otherwise, my stuff was fine.

But, still, kind of crazy, doncha think?

SSD layouts

I wanted to share the layouts that I made at Super Scrap Day at My Scrap Shoppe a couple of weeks ago. Although, I don't really scrap in chronological order anymore, I decided when I was packing up for the 12 hour crop, that I should just pack my Denver trip photos and work on those. I sorted them at the crop and then made one layout after another, in the chronological order that they were taken. Sometimes this system doesn't work for me, but this time, it totally did!

Here's what I made:











Thanks for looking!

Ten things that I'm thankful for

1. Jesus

2. My beautiful, healthy family

3. My new job

4. That my new job allowed me to purchase this!

Here's one of the first pictures I took with it (no editing):



5. For my wonderful friend, Valerie, who picked some apples for me this week. I made these this afternoon.



6. For my SIL, Sally, and my friend, Barb, who gave me some pumpkins and gourds to decorate with.





7. For extended family to celebrate Thanksgiving with. We got together with Cameron's side last night for supper and picked our names for Christmas. The rules: the gift has to be hand-made. We did this for the first time last year and it was great! I'm already thinking of a great gift to make....

8. For a wonderfully warm house. We seem to have skipped fall. We went from 28C two weeks ago to windy & freezing & snow this weekend. Brrr!

9. For a great church family to worship with. It's also a great place to serve. And I love that our kids love our Sunday school program. And they love Jesus. That means more to me than anything.

10. For little models that cooperate with me, even on cold days.







Happy Thanksgiving!

Repurposing

My sister-in-law, Josie, in her infinite wisdom, made a comment this summer and it has stuck with me. We were discussing thrift store shopping and she commented on how much extra stuff there is in the world and how if we'd repurpose some of it, there wouldn't be a large of need to manufacture so much stuff.

I thought that this was very true and it inspired me greatly when I was considering making some decorative changes to our bedroom.

First of all, I was in a purging mood and was sorting through boxes of stuff and wanted to get rid of things. In a rubbermaid container where I store fabric, I found some red curtains that my friend, Susan, had given me a couple of years ago. I thought that I could maybe switch the white curtains in my room and use the red ones instead. But then, I would need to change my pillows and blanket to match.

A trip to the local quilting store inspired me to make a quilt, but looking at their prices, I decided it would have to wait.

Back to the box of fabric. In it, I also found a tablecloth that I had bought several years ago and loved, but accidentally wrecked with bleach, and some leftover material from my living room curtains. Seeing as these two items matched the colour scheme I wanted for my quilt, I decided to see if I could make them work.

I ended up using the tablecloth for the larger blocks on my quilt and the blue curtain scraps for smaller blocks. I had an extra blue topsheet from our bed that worked for the back of the quilt (& it's so nice and soft!) and an old mattress pad cover that worked as the filling. I purchased the rest of the fabric I needed at the quilting store.










I was inspired by this piece of patterned paper to make some matching pillows.



If you'd like to see the step by step instructions for making the pillows, you can check out my post on the My Scrap Shoppe blog.

Thanks for looking!

And to all my canadian friends, happy Thanksgiving!

It's Friday!!

And I have three scrappy things to share.....

#1: There's a new challenge up at The Inspired Scrapper and I have a layout posted today for the challenge. Check it out and remember to leave a comment to be entered into a draw for a prize.

#2: The October kits are up at My Scrap Shoppe and they are fabulous! Here are three layouts that I made with them:



There was a file folder included in the kit, so I used it to store some pictures that Jonah had drawn of Austin and I at tae kwon do.







#3: This weekend is one of my favourite weekends in fall.... because it's Super Scrap Day at My Scrap Shoppe. That's right, I get to scrapbook with friends tomorrow for twelve hours, Baby! (Can you tell I'm a little excited? )

I'd thought that with going back to work, I'd feel guilty about being away from my kids all day Saturday. But guess what?? I don't! Ha!

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!