English ... or Philosophy?

As I mentioned before, I am signed up for English Literature 1000. Now, dont ask me why, but I always had the perception that it would be along the lines of talking about literature and learning how to read a story and dissect it, talking about things like why did the author say this or who do these two characters do this? Well, after my sister told me about the webCT site, I went exploring. What did I find? My syllabus! Finally. Now I know what I will be reading. I also learned that my professor is the only first year English prof that uses podcasts ... and there was one waiting that gave an overview of what we will be doing this year: - this section focuses on how well you can put an argument on paper (which, he says, is not as easy as it seems) - gone are the days of the high school, 5 paragraph approach to essay writing. - Lots of tips and ideas given for argumentative essays using coherent sentences. - we will be answering the big questions like Who am I? Where am I? What I am doing here? - we will spend alot of time looking at the meaning of life, how we determine meaning and how to we determine meaning for ourselves. - Is there a god? is there NOT a god? Does really even matter if there is or isnt one? - How powerful can our thoughts really be? - all of the above questions use literature as the framework to explore these. So now I ask you this.... is this something that is common to come across in an English Literature class? I can't say that I am not very intrigued. I am just a little caught off-guard, I think, because I never expected this out of the course. I expected more analysis of story lines, what do you think the author meant, why do you think these characters related to eachother that way, etc. Honestly, I have no clue why I even had this perception ... I just did. Maybe that is just my college mind where things were alot more concrete than abstract. In the meantime, I continue to go from "wow, I am doing this" to "OMG! what am I thinking? Can I really do this?" Time will tell.

How Facebook Can Ruin a Relationship

A lil You-Tube funny. (dont forget to pause my playlist)

Food for Thought

Why is that it that I can go to a store with the intention of getting three specific things and never remember what that third thing was .... but I can go to Algonquin College for the first time since graduation - 11 years ago - and still remember what my student number was??? Just a thought that I had today whilst I walked around the grocery store trying to remember all that I wanted to get.

I am now not only a Carleton student, I actually have a class. After a few phone calls, lots of registration advice from my sister who is a CU student, and applying for some admission overrides to classes of interest, I am now set to take first year English. It was a closed class with no option to apply for an admission override but, thanks to my sister telling me to check courses all the time because people are still playing around with the add/drops on their schedules, something might open up. It was still closed at 10pm but had an opening at midnight so I jumped an it and VOILA! I am *web-registered* and will begin classes in a week and a half. I am anxious to get my syllabi and see what the reading materials are. They are working on their department site so it will hopefully be there by Friday.

Truth be told, I am second guessing myself now. I was excited waiting to register and felt a bit of a lump afterwards. Even though I am going on a part time level, it is still a huge step for me. Especially since the BA isnt my final goal. I was never much of a student to begin with so this could potentially be very interesting. I still maintain my worse case scenario ... I tried and realized it wasnt for me. Whether I stop after a couple of courses or go the distance, education is never, ever a waste of time.

Thanks to everyone for your supportive blog comments. I may be looking for more after a scream or two for help down road. :o)

A quick throw in about todays events ... I went to the drs today regarding my allergies. They are through-the-roof crazy and nothing like they have ever been in the past 3 years since getting them. Over the counter meds haven't really been working so I went to see if there was something stronger and if I could get an Allergist referral. They told me to switch up my meds and mix a few things together so, while she spoke, I thought to myself I would just go to the pharmacy right there. Small building. Once you enter the door, the drs office is to the right and the pharmacy is to the left. As I was leaving, I made a last minute decision to just grab all tha I needed at Independent Grocer and do a one stop shop. I paused to grab my keys just before leaving the main doors, which then had me step aside for a young man in black who was leaving in a quick hurry. I walked out directly behind him only to see pharmacy staff walk quickly into the parking lot moments after me. The person I stepped aside for has just robbed them. Had I not changed my mind, I would have walked into IDA as they were being robbed. I shudder at the thought. In all likelyhood, nothing would have happened but you cant stop those scenarios of people walking in at robberies and being shot from coming into your head. I couldnt help but feel lucky and wonder if some angels were in action because of how abrubptly my mind changed. When I think of all of those news-worthy robbery scenarios, I cant help but feel lucky. Hopefully, I never have a potential moment like that again!

Enjoy the day.

m.

1***1**1*

Do you know what ONES those are??

Those are the three recurring characters in my new

**student number **

I did it!!! In September, just like the rest of the locals, I will be going back to school too. I am officially a university student. After a couple years of off and on debating -and repeatedly being told by 2 teachers & my principal that I am a waste of an Educational Assistant and should go back to school - I went to the Registrar's Office and made it happen. I finally just figured "why not?" The way I see it is that the worse thing that is going to happen is I am going to realize that this university thing is not for me but at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing I tried and still have a job I love. For now, I am proud to say that I am a Special Student with an undeclared major who really doesnt have much to choose from as far as course selection. See what happens when you finalize your decision two weeks after registration begins? I have spend the better part of the past few hours setting up my student account and e-mail as well as perusing the different courses. Unfortunately, thanks to my boondock habitation, webTV isnt an option so it leaves less to chose from. No Rogers for me. (unless someone wants to tape it for me each week? Beuller? Anyone?? teehehe) Discussion courses have 0.00 credits - - why do people take them? (would love some enlightenment there) English is full. French is full. Sociology is full. Outside of discussion courses, that leaves Intro to Psychology. Hmm .. not sure about that one. (Any comments/suggestions/advice from an experienced Psych taker?) Two courses that I would love to take are Intro to Antrhopology and Intro to Human Rights but again .... 55 minute discussion groups with zero credits. So, looks like Psychology it is. My sister told me that you can apply and ask for classes to have exceptions made and more space opened up. I am going to do that for a few courses and hope for the best.

So ... I am going to *fly* out of here and hit the hay after one more quick jaunt through the Carleton website. Hopefully I can find an opening in something that appeals to me a tad more than Psych. Either way ... at least I am going for it.

Nighty-night blog world. Sweetest dreams.

ETA: I just perused the Philosphy dept to see what was available and found something I would be interested in (Contemporary Moral, Social and Religious Issues) but it is one of those 55 minute, 0.00 credit courses. I am thinking this means that there is more course to come and that a credit will be awarded only after the final semester?) I will most definitely have to make a phone call in the morning...

Interlocking? What Interlocking?

Guess who doesn't have a beautiful new interlocking walkway and step. Me??? How did you guess?? *rolling eyes* Looks like it is next weekend that this will be getting done. If it not done before the one year anniversay (September 20th) I will be having some sort of gathering when it is done with will be complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Yeash!

Allergy season is upon me/us and oy, no fun. This is my 3rd or 4th year with them and I tell ya - those people who suffer from spring to fall ... I can't even imagine. I am a week into my symptoms and I am already ready to cut off my nose and claw my eyeballs out. I have kleenex in every corner of the house and am going though it like crazy. I am also trying to figure out the allery pill formula. Right now I am taking the Shoppers Drug Mart brand (one a day kind) and they work when I first take them. By the end of the 24 hours, its awful. I am thinking about going to the AM/PM kind where I take them twice a day instead of just the once. Maybe there is a brand that works really, really well. Time for me to start experimenting. Any suggestions??

I had a great weekend. It was full of friends - old and new. On Friday, unfortunately, I woke up plagued with an awful headache so I had to cancel on my Autie Ems friends. Thankfully, that is something that can be easily rescheduled. On Saturday (after buying my new matress set - yay!) I headed over to Sandy's where she, Marlene and Tracy had a good headstart on enjoying the sun and the pool. Drinks on hand (ok - my daquaries were virgins), I joined the ladies for a swim, supper and then the hot tub. Karen arrived shortly after I did and Tanya arrived later that night. It was definitely a great evening.

On Sunday, I headed off to the Americas again. (yes, again!) and met up with a couple of Bad Girls. Jen (Sigmagirl) and Bonnie (Bonnie B) are two of the sweetest ladies. So warm and welcoming, we chatted for a little over 2 hours before leaving Ponderosa. They also had a friend with them and she too was very nice. The conversation flowed, ranging from scrapbooking to education. It made the 2.5 hour trek home worth while (it only took me 45 minutes to get there. Gotta love this new Border set up. Curse the issues between the Natives and Customs.

Off to continue another busy week. There were just too many movies to chose from last week and some pretty good ones released this week that we are headed to another movie marathon tomorrow. Time Traveller's Wife, Julie & Julie and The Perfect Getaway are the ones we are seeing with the potential for a 4th one. My family is in from Hamilton for the week so I will be spending lots of time with them too.

Enjoy your day, bloggers. Weather Network says it is going to go up to 39 degrees today. An awful day to be without air conditioning in my car. Oh goodie! ;o)

Richard Simmons on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

On occassion, when I can't sleep, I will peruse blogs that I haven't been to in a long time. I did this last night/this morning and found this. I used to watch the BBC version of Who's like is it Anyways but faded out when Drew Carey became the host of an Americanized version of the show. Looks like I missed a good one. Enjoy.

Richard Simmons on Whose Line Is It Anyway - watch more funny videos

Busted in the First Degree

So ... my Hubs comes home from work yesterday (Wednesday), greets me, then looks at me from across the kitchen. *uh oh* He looks like he has something to say and doesn't know how to say it. *UH oh* Then he opens with "so I have something to tell you and I don't know if I should be telling you this but I feel guilty about it and need to tell you ... but I am not sure if I am doing the right thing by actually telling you." **UH OH** He confesses .... "I was bored last night and thought I would read your blog and see what you were up to. I know about the quilt." ---> insert look of total devastation here <--- He says he felt horrible that he read it but felt even worse for keeping it from me. He knows he probably should have not told me and left me in the dark ---> continue with look of devastation and add big tears of disappointment here <--- but he just couldn't not tell me but it was eating at him all day. Then it made it all worth while. To see the quiet excitement and complete appreciation that I would do this was enough. I mean, of course I would have rather surprised him for our anniversary but to see how sweet his face was as he consoled me (remember those tears? I felt like such a dolt. I mean ... he read it on my blog. He reads my blog? WHO KNEW???????) He continued to tell me how much it touched him that I would remember the times when he talked about spending time at his grandfather's when he was a child and waking up in the cold farmhouse on a winter morning underneath one of his grandma's quilts ... and to actually make him a quilt (as opposed to buy) so he would have one. It was like he was humbled by what I was doing. It was a sweet and perfect moment given the situation. If you know my rough and tough man, to see him humbled doesn't happen often ... or to anyone. It was a very endearing moment where I looked back at the 10 years of marriage we are getting ready to celebrate and thought "my god, I love this man" (i think that often but moments like this just make it so much better) Of course, he fully expects it to be done by the 27th but at least now I don't have to sneak around and sew in the wee hours of the night. I simply have to tell him not to come in the room.

On that note, I had a great day with Renee today. Thanks to unemployment woes, I got to her house about 30 minutes later than I had wanted to but all was not lost. She took me to a sewing store to buy a guided presser-foot for my maching. Anything to make this quilting process as easy as possible. After we enjoyed lunch at Scores, we headed back to her place where the crafting began. She finished off a sweet ATC album (that I totally want to lift, btw) and I started to put together my squares - - - no thanks to Renee. I brought everything with me. Got it all set up. Went to sew and ... ack ... left my power cord at home. That doesnt make for good sewing, now does it? Renee brought her machine up and I was able to begin my process. Thank you, Renee. I appreciate your saving me. :o) After some crafting, we headed off to Jack Astors to meet Meg for supper. We had girl talk and laughs and a good time. Can't wait to do it again ladies and Meg - an all day crop sounds GREAT!

As for right now, I have been awake for almost an hour (it's 3:42 on Friday morning) after having one of those horrible dreams that wakes you up breathing heavy and in a sweat. I was bothered by it to say the least. As soon as I finish updated, I will curl up with my House of Night book (Untamed, book 4) and hopefully be able to grab a few more hours before I have to get up and head off to Cornwall where I am meeting up with the Auntie Ems ladies - Laura and Emma - for the day. The day may be tiring but at least the company will be good.

OH OH OH .. and I almost forgot. After one year of having a hole in my front yard where the interlock walkway will be going ... ITS BEING DONE ON SATURDAY. I am so excited. The gravel trench is not exactly up to par with the esthetics of home ownership and, if the wonderful hubs mentioned above would have just listened to me, it wouldnt have been there since Sept. 20th, 2008 in the first place. Not sure about the story ... puh-leeze don't get me started! ;o) Just know that it is almost coming to an end and that the ribbon cutting ceremony will be shortly after. So, that's what is up for the weekend. While I am basking by the pool and hot tubbing with friends, he will be sweating his keaster off. Love you, baby! teehee.

Enjoy your weekend, blog world. It's supposed to be a nice one.

m.

Let's Go To The Movies

.... let's go see the staaa-AAA-aaars. (do you know to which song I am referring to?)
I love going to the movies, once a month, with my (work) girls. I love it even more in the summer when we get to go to movie marathons. Tomorrow we will spend 12 glorious hours, at Silvercity Gloucester, watching 4 movies. Ideally, it would have been 5 movies but sometimes their showtimes do not let it work in our favour. Nor do their release dates but really, I am not complaining. Why not? Because we are doing another movie marathing next week too! This week we will see GI Joe, 500 Days of Summer, Funny People and The Ugly Truth. Next week we will see The Orphan, Julie & Julia and The Time Traveller's Wife .... which is an excellent book, by the way. Summer is coming to an end and, even though I would much rather have NOT been able to do this, I am happy that I at least have things to look forward to since things didnt turn out the way they were supposed to. I am getting together with Renee on Thursday, Cornwall on Friday, a pool and spa party of Saturday and now it looks like I am going to meet up with a couple of Bad Girls on Sunday for Breakfast. Turns out they are in Massena for a crop so why not make the trip over to say "hi" in real life.
Ya know, I am feeling better and more like myself. After all these struggles and even though I still have an increased urge to sit and cry for all that I have lost, it does feel good to be me again. In order to 'celebrate' that I think I am going to challenge you to guess the song above. "Let's go to the movies. Let's go see the staaa-AAA-aaars" If you can correctly guess which movie that is from, I will send you a lil some-some in the mail. I will give all 7 of my blog readers until the end of the week to guess. If more than one person guesses, I will randomly draw a name. Good luck to those who wish to take that chance.
Enjoy this crazy heat and whatever your week brings. m.

Finally Inspired

I spent the day hanging out with Laura at Auntie Ems yesterday. It was great to have some girl time with her and not having to worry about time constraints. Usually, when I see the ladies, I am just passing through and not there simply with the purpose of visiting. Unfortunately, Emma was away so I missed her. Next Friday though. I am going back for another date with the gals.

I started my quilt yesterday and managed to get alot of the cutting done. I laid out a few squares and second guessed myself but Laura assured me that, once it was together, it would come together and I would be happy. As I prepared to start, I became very overwhelmed with the project I was undertaking. Thankfully Laura, who has a bit of experience in quilting, got me started and helped me feel more at ease with what I was doing. My goal is to start sewing while Kevin is in bed. Hopefully I will have a bunch of it done before Friday when I will work on larger pieces while I am at the store. I have until the 27th to get this done ... wish me luck!

On a creative note, I am actually feeling inspired. Not necessarily towards scrapbooking but just projects in general. Because of the events of this summer, I have lost an entire months worth of summer projects and now I am hoping to catch up. I have sketched out ideas and taken measurements for the living furniture I want to make. Hopefully I can get that accomplished tomorrow when the Hubs goes to his workshop. I even you-tubed some wood finishing ideas so, hopefully, the finished project looks like what I am seeing in my head. I am very excited to do this and get things done in the house. As soon as I finish my blog update, I am going to tackle the spare room and start emptying it out. I need to get it patched, painted and new floors in. Once again, thanks to you-tube, I found a great distressed door project. Only, I am not going to use it as a door. I am going to unhinge it, flip it around and hang it on the wall as a headboard. Another projecgt I cant to more forward than this. I have to say, it feels great feeling more like my old self again. I am not a hundred percent there but I am closer than I have been in many, many weeks.

Until I blog again, I continue my journey to healing, creating and being inspired. I have a date with Renee coming up as well as a movie marathon set with my work girls on Tuesday (4 movies in one day. 12 hours of theatre fun). Friday finds me in Cornwall again with a Saturday girl get-together, spending time with some truly fabulous women. Lots to look forward to ...

Enjoy your weekend, bloggers.

taking a *SLICE* out of life

Hopefully this new little treat will give me some motivation and inspiration to create, create, create. I had always been intrigued by this little gadget but wasnt willing to pay the money ... until today. And the only reason I was willing to pay the money was because I got a fabulous deal. Last Friday, en route to the States, Tanya and I made an impromtu stop at a store called Scrap City, which is located on the Akwesasne Reservation, just off the Cornwall bridge to the USA. I was looking for Glimmer Mist and had no luck. After a quick look around, the lady told us that, starting today, they would be having a Customer Appreciation sale in order to try and get back some of the business they lost when the bridge was closed. 30% off all merchandise. No need to twist my arm so .. I went back today and, for $189.00 (they don't charge tax on the reservation), I got everything you see below plus 5 pieces of Cosmo Cricket.

They didnt have the cartridge that I really wanted but I think I may slip back tomorrow (I am going to hang out with Laura at Auntie Ems so I am just a hop, skip and a jump away) and grab another cartridge. While I won't be making it a habit to stop there and shop (its over the bridge and past the toll booth. Plus with the altered customs situation, returning to Canada isn't fun), I think I may need to take advange of the 30% off and no tax and grab one more. Of the choices I had, it was the one that was up there with the Fa La La.

Yes, I am going to go and get it and, maybe tomorrow, I will make something with my Slice. I have been wanting to do this project for a long time but never found the right punches for it. Now I dont need to - yay. (think butterflies and Ali Edwards. It's not an original, but it is so pretty) Hmmm. I feel inspired!

Enjoy your day.

m.

Hello

It has been so long since I have updated. Not even sure why I am doing so now but hey, why not? Many months have passed and there has been no creativity in any way, shape or form. Lost my mojo as I tried to work through some trying times and come to terms with the realities of life. Had some fabulously exciting news a few months ago only to be left disappointed and heartbroken, yet again. At least some hope has been restored although not fully. I have started visiting blogs again, although not nearly as frequently as I used to. Comments here and there but nothing consistent. I will try to fix that. To those of you whom I have neglected as I fell off the face of the earth, I am truly sorry. Thank you for letting me know that you understood and that you were there if and when I needed you. It was the silent support that I needed and, if I didnt have such a supportive husband and family, I would have been banging down your doorsteps. Please, never under estimate my appreciation.

August finds me trying to get back into the the things I had to give up and also gave up without realizing - crafting, creating, sewing, painting, photo taking and celebrating each day as I live it. Most of all, I am looking forward to receiving the go ahead to work out again. Oh how I miss it. August also finds me very busy with my 10th wedding anniversary, my step fathers 60th bday, a wedding and a gathering of friends to attend. Not to mention a ton of painting and house reno`s that I wanted to do earlier but couldn`t.

So, here is to a new month, a fresh start and the hope to have a creative and productive month. Here is to more blog updates so my few readers actually have something to read and the hope of the future that I dream of.

Drill Team for Retired Guys

Very funny. I think so, at least. :-)

Dick In A Box .... 5 Months Later

In January, I posted Dick in a Box ... a SNL short featuring Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake (whom I still *heart*). Unbeknownst to me, JT hosted another episode of SNL on Saturday and I missed it. Whilst perusing Perez Hilton, I found out that these two joined forces again ... just in time for Mother's Day. Not as funny, but still worth a good chuckle. (if you watch, don't forget to pause my playlist).

In the meantime, I had a very productively yet unproductive weekend filled with a Mother's Day brunch, my nephew's birthday party, sadness and cramps. Unless it works properly, having a uterus is not fun! Needless to say, this cramping thing is new to me. Bloating, backache, nausea and heating pads ... what fun. I stayed curled up in bed all day today, with the exception of a quick trip to Orleans to work out. I returned home and snoozed for a few hours. It is 3am and I am now awake and posting while I surf the newly joined Twitter - which I joined out of boredom. I have a hunch that it will be updated significantly less than my blog ....

For all those who celebrated, Happy Mother's Day. For all those who are remembering, hoping, wishing and dreaming - my thoughts are with you.

Do not adjust your blog settings ...

... I am actually updating after a month of absence.

Many things have been going on. Nothing of great significance for most but alot for me, none the less. I continue on my journey to a healthier me - mentally, emotionally and physically. Mentally I have taken on a new attitude towards most things/people/situations/experiences. (not sure what to call it ... 'life' would sum it up, I suppose). Emotionally I continue to struggle with certain aspects of my life - the same aspects that I have now been dealing with for 9 years. The optimism is fading and is now being replaced with realizations that things will likely never be. Physically, I feel *great.* I have lost 50 lbs. I work out, doing deep water aquafit classes, 3 to 5 times/week and my body craves it when I can't make a class. What an amazing feeling that is. My newest venture will be trying something called "Zumba" which looks like alot of fun and to be a great workout. It's a Latin-American inspired fitness based on dances like the Meringue and the Samba. Look out Baby ... Johnny may be taking me out of the corner soon!! First, a much more supportive bra is a necessity. Can't scare the other class goers. Fortunately I have a wonderful husband, great family and the sweetest friend who have been there with me on this journey. They have hugged, laughed, supported and encouraged me the whole way through and I couldnt be more grateful.

On a scrapping level ... HA! Funny!! I really haven't done much. Scrapping has gone to the way side for the past few months, taking a backseat to my life. I have been busy and, when I am home, haven't felt like scrapping to be honest. In a nutshell, I spent two days with the most talented Donna Downey. As I am sure you read on Stephanie's blog, she was FABULOUS! Her creativity oozes out of her pores. I left there feeling inspired and refreshed and excited about creating again. The following weekend was spent at NavCan. I really didn't do much, to be honest. Not sure where the time went. I spent Friday night making an apron out of canvas. Saturday, I put the finishing touches on the embroidery hoop class from the week before. Because I went completely out of my box and used my own handwriting, that took some time. I also used india ink and a calligraphy pen ... that was an experience unto itself but I did enjoy it. All I need to do is put some pictures on one of the hoops and it will be all done. Right now Tanya's most wonderful husband had committed a great deal of time, energy and thought into trying to save my seriously infected computer and has all the important stuff saved. I don't know how he was able to do it since it was in incredibly bad shape but I am very, very thankful. (Thank you, my Jedi Master). Once those are complete, I will post photos of them here. Tanya and I also did some beading while at NavCan. We made the pendant portion of necklaces using all of the same stones. All that is left is to make the actual necklace in which to hold our pendants. Because we used copper, it is something that Marlene doesn't have as readily available as the gold or silver so we shall peruse her catalogue and pick what is best for our necklaces, finishing them when the order arrives.

Today I spent the day on a photography outing with Marlene. (if you have a moment and haven't already, browse her flickr streams. Her work is stunning) Our intentions were to go to the Tulip Festival however, when parking the parking lot was full, Marlene took me to the Arboretum to see the Magnolia trees. Beautiful and fragrant. She graciously let me attach her macro lense to my XTi and wow - was that fun. It took a few minutes to adjust myself to using it but I am happy with some of the photos I took. After the Arboretum, we crossed over to the Experimental Farm. We took some photos but the onset of rain had us heading back to her car. Fortunately, it passed quickly and we found parking for the Tulip Festival. 286 flower photos later, we called it a day and headed back to Orleans where we enjoyed some Booster Juice eats and drink before heading back to her place where Kevin picked me up All in all, it was a great day and I am happy with the results. I absolutely love going on these outings with Marlene and am itching to head out on another one. In the meantime, I will leave you with some photos that I took today. All are untouched and as I took them, straight from the card to the laptop to you.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day.

Bella's Lullabye

I am absolutely in love with this piece of music. From the movie Twilight, it reaches the depths of my soul like no other music has. It brings such raw emotion to the surface of my being that I am unable to hold back the tears. Happiness, anger, contentment, frustration, joy, resentment, love ... these are but few words that I know to describe the sheer scale of feelings that I have when I hear this. At the very least, should you listen to it, I hope you enjoy this serene melody.

Bella's Lullabye by Carter Burwell.

This, that & the other

*** A quick "pre blog post note" since this has actually been sitting in my draft file for 5 days now. I just came in from letting the dog in from the beautiful out of doors. There, fluttering about, was a colourful butterfly .... in March. I hope the pretty creature has a safe place to hide should the freezing rain they are calling for, on Saturday, arrive. A butterfly in March .... hmm!

Also, a new 'develeopment' since my post about walking in the weekend to end cancer. After doing the training research as well as putting in persective the amount of money that must be raised in order to walk, I have come to the conslusion that this may not be the year for me. I am very sad about that. On the training part, I really do think I could walk the 30kms without a problem. It's the fundraising part ... which I hear is a tough one. Especially considering that, if you don't raise the minimum amount, you can't walk. ($1250/1 day $2000/2 days) So ... I have promised myself that, next year, I will do the TWO DAY walk, giving myself lots of time to train and raise money. That being said, I have officially volunteered to be an event volunteer. I am just awaiting my assignment. If I can't give one way, I can give another. ***

Back to your already delayed blog post ... from Monday. :o)

Things have finally quieted down after a month of craziness. Some of it by choice, alot of it by obligation. Either way, not a moment to myself - but for 3 days - in an entire month. Between nieces sleeping over and doing outings with them, family visiting from both Hamilton & Alberta, more gatherings with other family members getting together with friends and a bunch of home improvement stuff, I haven't touched a creative outlet in just as long. Hopefully that will change as I soon begin an attempt at digi-scrapbooking for our schools flyer that will go out in the mail. No pressure. In the meantime ... Tanya, Renee and I went to Rideau Antiques this past Friday. This time around, I made sure that my camera battery was charged so I would be able to capture the craziness on film. Afterwards, we drove into Merrickville for some lunch and local shopping on the main drag. What great little stores they have there. I fell in love with ... well, alot! Here are some pictures of Rideau Antiques. Very overwhelming and daunting but fun to dig and come across that perfect find. Going to Rideau Antiques? Just remember one thing - - when someone yells "Marco" you must reply "Polo" or risk the chance of never being seen again....

Weekend To End Breast Cancer

On the weekend of June 5th and 6th, hundreds of men and women, both supporters and survivors, will band together to participate in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. For many, a two day walk, totalling 60 kms will be achieved. For myself, I will be participating in the 30 km, 1 day walk, to be held on the 5th. Together we will hold our heads high and band together to raise money for this great cause. If you would like to join me in this journey, I would love to form a team. Together we can make a difference! (registration is $75.00. In order to participate in the 1 day walk, you must raise $1250.00. For the two day walk, the amount is $2000.00. Click here for event details.)

To help with the training process, I have jumped on the Donna Downey/Tanya bandwagon (she read about it on Donna's site, I read about it on hers). While the two of them belong to Map My Run, I have become a member at Map My Walk. Hopefully this tool will provide me with some great assistance as I train for this grand event. Wish me luck.

*** W A R N I N G ***

DO NOT

use your

HEIDI SWAPP IRON

with beeswax.

I used this last night when I pulled out my melting pot to play with some yummy beeswax, fabric and canvas. Today, when I went to plug in what I thought was the printer's cord, my iron (which I obviously and accidentally plugged in) threw a spark that near caught my hair and blew the breaker. oops.

I woke of on Friday morning and made the mistake of blinking. Next thing I know, it is Sunday night and I haven't stopped. Not that it was a painfuly hectic weekend, just busy and full. Rewarding even. I got alot accomplished.

• Thursday was all about me. Hair done, nails done, waxing the eyebrows and a stop at De Serres. After leaving work to head right to the city, I finally made it home around 9:30
• Friday, I ran home and packed my bags for my evening out and to tidy up the spare rooms for my 3 nieces who were here for the weekend. (ages "almost 12", 13 and 16.) before heading over to Tanya's. She made a delicious supper of steak nachos (hers are very good with the refreshing taste of cilantro to compliment them) with chicken wings. Once we were done eating, the baking commenced. Together we made 6 dozen muffins (2 dozen banana-chocolate chip and 4 dozen chocolate chip), 3 double batches of confetti squares (1 butterscotch and 2 chocolate), 3 dozen tarts (2 dozen buttertarts, 1 dozen lemon tarts ... and I made the tart shells from scratch) and pan of rice krispie squares. We had also wanted to make some brownies and cookies but called it a night around 10:30. After visiting for a bit, I was home by 11:20 and in bed by 1.
• Saturday found the girls and I leaving K behind as we got up early and headed State-side. We did some shopping, stopped at the library so I could look up some genealogy stuff for a distant cousin then went to Trombino's for their famous chicken wings. On the way home, we stopped at Scrap City (on the reserve) and yes, I did break my 'use my stash' rule but only this once! She had some Heidi Swapp Silhouettes on sale for $2.50 in ones that I didn't have as well as a couple of stickles ($1.99) in colours that I had wished I had a couple of weeks ago. After getting home around 5, we got in our comfy clothes, the 16 year old went out with her boyfriend, and the creating began with all three of us doing canvas projects.
• Today I drove the girls home - but not after I made another stop at De Serres to exchange a couple of canvases for a slightly bigger size. I picked up a few more paint paraphenalia and home they went. A quick visit with my sister-in-law then off to Michaels to get a quilting iron (which I wound up not getting). No SBing supplies, just some wooden letters. It was after 6 when I got home and I didn't stop there. Last weekend, I sewed curtains and a chiffon/organza overlay for one of my spare rooms. K and I finally hung the 3 curtain rods tonight for it (there is a bamboo blind on the inside and a muslin drape in the middle with the overlay on top - all of different rods) and I am good with the way it looks. I also hung a canvas that I painted last weekend the bathroom.

That brings me to now. It is currently 8:34 and I am just too tired to go and take pictures of last weekend and last night's creations. I am also too tired to go and finish the second canvas that I started last night even though I am itching to do it. I am actually stepping out of my abstract box and attempting an actual picture. Should be interesting. This week will also see me quite busy - right through to Sunday but, hopefully, it will still have that same feeling of accomplishment. Here's to a great week with picture updates in the next day or two.

Destination: Friendship

I forgot to add this yesterday. It is the layout that Stéph made me from last years Superbowl win. I am just waiting on her pictures and SHE gets a layout this time - yay! (psst - either way, I was making you one. Either because you won or as a thank you. If it had been three years in a row, you deserved at least that. lol) Merci, ma belle. It's a great addition to my collection.

Sew Much To Share

I had a great long weekend last week despite being hit first with a cold of Friday then stomach woes on Sunday which lasted almost all week. My niece, Brianna came over last Thursday since Friday was her PA Day. She came to school with me on Friday and volunteered in the JK/SK room. She loved 'working' at the school with me even though we barely saw eachother throughout the day. On Friday night we hung out and scrapped and enjoyed eachothers company. It is the first time she has ever been out without either of her sisters with her. By bedtime, I was stuffed up and worn out. I knew the season's cold was here. Thankfully, Saturday's plans consisted of more scrapping, chatting and pj's all day. I introduced her to youtube and we watched alot of different art sites with techniques and ideas. Sunday, on an impromptu trip to De Serres, we grabbed some canvas, watercolour crayons and a few other things so we could create all night. Unfortunately, that is when all the stomach woes hit and I came home and went to bed for two hours. We finally cracked open our first paint bottles around 8:30 and didn't go to bed until we were done our projects .... 1:30am-ish. She painted her first ever canvas - a sunset over the ocean - and I did a painting for my bathroom using 3-8x16 canvases. Since I can't paint anything of substance, it is a blend of colours, this time using a brush rather than a palatte knife. One day, I will attempt something less abstract. I will post a photo of it after I hang it tomorrow. (The bottom layout is based on a sketch, created by Jeni, over at Bad Girls)

** ** ** On Saturday, I joined Meg & Renée on a field trip to Smiths Falls. Can you say "WOW!" This antique place was beyond loaded with stuff. To try and describe the hoards of things they had is almost impossible. I can only say that it is truly and wonderfully obscene. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that my camera battery was on it's last legs so these two pictures were the only two taken. I managed to find a pile of spindles that I am going to use for basement table legs. Meg found giant spindles ... I cant wait to see what she is going to do with them. Renee found a great jar of buttons, a vintage postcard and two marmalade jars that her mom had when she was a youngin. Throughout our time there, as we walked sideways and maneuvrered in and out of teeny-tiny places, I listened to the two of them chatter back and forth about the wonderful treasures they have in their own homes. This and that from when they were kids. Their grandmothers ________ or their moms _________. You could hear it in their voices how much they cherish and appreciate these items. Truth be told - it was one of the highlight of the day.

Unfortunately, after leaving them, my travels got a little, shall we say, 'interesting'? Someone was certainly watching over me (again - 2nd close call in 3 weeks). As I was slowing down to take a right turn, I pressed the brake gently only to feel a *pop* sensation and have my brakes go. Because I was going at a slow speed, I was able to finally come to a stop not too far ahead. After a call to K, he concluded that my break line must have broken. I walked over to the gas station, bought some brake fluid and filled up the resevoir. One press of the brake and I had a puddle under the car ... then I had to drive home with only back breaks. Eeks! Thankfully, Ogilvie wasn't busy at all and I made the slow crawl Aviation to hit the 417. Another thankfully, I take the 417 home so there was no reason to have to hit the brakes (or so I had hoped). I put my hazards on, reduced my speed to 75 and made a slow and safe journey home. It wasnt nearly as bad as I thought it would have been. Good time to live in the country and have alternative routes to go home. I didnt need to make but 4 stops the entire trip.

** ** ** Today was a productive day in front of the sewing machine. Before Christmas, I bought a patterned quilt cover, for my spare room, from Ikea. I really liked the muslin look of the fabric so I picked up a plain muslin quilt cover as well. Today, I cut it in half, sewed new seams and added rod pockets at the top so I will have coordinating fabric colours. I also picked up some organza, in the same shade of green as the pattern, to act as an overlay. If you haven't sewn with organza before ... don't! Not a fun fabric to work with. I have a new found respect for all the wedding ladies who do it for a living. oy-vay. Fortunately, the overlay leaves alot of room for

** ** **

As for this week, nothing major planned outside of a couple of appointments on Thursday. (then again, with a brakeless car, my options are limited to where people want to drive me. haha) My niece Brianna may be coming over again so I imagine more creating will take place. My goal for the week and weekend is to tackly my fabric journal project. After hijacking Tanya's "a touch of whimsy" concept, I am a tad out of my element and am overwhelmed. Should be an interesting experience. Stay tuned.

hmmmm...???

What's wrong with the layout below?? What a dummy, am I. fUu days of summer - wth????? lol I have NO clue how I did that .... any clue how I can get it off without ruining the crystal effects on top??? lol Geesh.

(just thought I would point out my error. now I need to try and fix it.)

*Our Weekend Escape* *Fun Days of Summer*

I created these two layouts last night trying to use up more of my stash. I have alot of the MM Passport line so I just did them in that. These photos were taken on our girls weekend in Montreal this past August. As a momento, we all had our charicatures done with "Montreal" written on them. All journalling is on the back of the layouts and both are from Beckyy Fleck's February Pagemaps. Unforunately, my new printer/fax/scanner sucks - but it gets the job done for now. Even slightly blurry, you get the just of the concept.

In the meantime, he is a You-tube remake that will likely get a chuckle. Someone from school showed it to me last week then Stephanie and I had a good chuckle over it on Superbowl Sunday.

If you need some sweetness, check out this cute 3 year old. I found it when I was looking for the Punjabi Thriller link.

Ma Petite Soeur

Once again, another layout using Becky Fleck's sketch. Slight variations but easy to see the intrepretation. The "It's A Girl" flower center was given to me almost 22 years ago when my sister was born. I figured, rather than having it kicking around, I would give it a permanent home in a scrapbook. Journalling reads: So tine & cute. Grown into a beautiful woman. I love and treasure all of our moments together. ...xox...

In the meantime, I'm not sure what is up with this new scanner. The colours are uneven and some of the elements are blurred. My camera is at school so I figured this was a good choice. Especially for those of you who are still in utter shock at the amount of blog posts I have in just 35 short days. Let's hope it keeps up. I am really enjoying this contant creating process and I owe it all to DVDs. Makes being in here a little less lonely. :o)

4/50 layouts. 0/5 mini albums and/or projects. 4/13 ABC's of Me - Life Art Journal. 35 ATC's.

*Action* ~ *Because* ~ *Clearly*

I fell behind on my ABC's Of Me Art Journal but got all caught up in a day. Whew! It looks so easy when they do it on you tube. I wish I could fast forward myself like they do! I am still very out of my element and comfort zone. Mixing and blending. Layering and techniquing. I have one picture in my mind but what turns out on the paper is no where near close to what I see in my head. If only I could translate it the way I wanted, I would be much happier with the results. Luckily, "C" was just released yesterday, so I have two weeks to come up with a concept for "D" before I have to create it.

In the meantime, I am still trying to follow my goal towards using my stash. Because the supplies I used were minimal, I am not going to be counting my art journal pages in the total. I have to confess though, I did buy some goodies BUT (and I will stand by my but!), they were purchased as an exchange for something I had already bought so ... no money changed hands. A perfect validation, if you ask me. I spent part of Sunday looking at CHA '09 stuff with Stéphanie and, well ... I need to create, create, create. There are some yum-a-liscious things being released so, hopefully, I won't be too far under my goal and can still get them not too long after they start arriving. My saving grace will be Becky Fleck's Pagemaps ... you can count on that!

Action Because

Clearly

Pittsburgh Steelers - BOOOOOO!!!!

It was bound to happen eventually. After two straight wins, my luck of the draw wasnt so lucky and, with that, I eat my humble pie as I say to Stephanie ...

"Please e-mail me your photos at your earliest convenience."

Go Cardinals, Go!!

I sit here today, with my sweet friend, Stéphanie, as we wait patiently for the Superbowl to begin. It's our annual Superbowl together. The boys in one room and the gals in the other - scrapping and running out for commercials. Each year we have a bet to see who's team is going to win. I have won two years in a row (poooooooor Stéph - muuuahahaha.) The loser owes the winner a layout. I wonder what next years prize is going to look like. Can't wait to see it, ma belle. (teeheeheee)

GO CARDINALS GO!!!!!!!!

Stéphanie highjacking Mell's blog post.... GOOOOOOOOO STEELERS GO!!!!!

Ok.... back to your regularly scheduled blog.

Well then .. now that life makes sense and the Cardinals are about to WIN ... I want to thank Tanya for fixing up my blog for me. Lots of work, I know, but I do appreciate it. For my non-musical bloggers ... you will see that I have (well - Tanya has) put my playlist front and center. Easy for you to pause or change at your discretion. I will be back to gloat later about my third victory. (or eat humble pie ... but I am staying optimistic!)

Ohhhhh Reneeeeee....

Lookey what I got. Your purchase intrigued me and you-tube wow'd me. Cant wait to use it.

More 'Bittersweet'

Bittersweet

SNL Short

I happened across this whilst I was looking for this, that and the other on You Tube. I thought it was hilarious when I saw it the night it aired and still think its a hoot now so - - - I thought I would share. (don`t forget to pause my playlist) It certainly doesn't hurt that I *heart* Justin Timberlake, either.

(for my blog readers that can't stand the playlist ... just wanted to point out that i moved it to the top of my blog so you would quickly be able to pause it upon your arrival.

Wii Dance Revolution

I am the proud - and sore - new owner of a Wii. I have been wanting the Wii Fit for many months but, if you are up on the Wii, you will know hard it is to come by. My sister and her boyfriend got me Dance Revolution for my birthday so it put the push on getting that Wii console. A little backwards, I know. But luck was on my side last night. We called around to a few different places but they were all sold out. Best Buy on Merivale had received a shipment that morning and still had a few left so off we went, from Ikea to Merivale. I got home, hooked it up, made my Mii, and played Sport for about an hour. My fitness age...so embarrasing. Oy! Something to improve on. This morning, I played about 20 minutes of Tennis before moving on to Dance Revolution. 2.5 hours later, I decided to stop. My legs are a tad sore but fun, it definitely was. Now all I need to do is keep my eyes open for the Wii Fit and it will all make sense!

5 Faves Friday - 01/23

This is my first 5 Faves Friday entry inspired from Bad Girls. In a nutshell, every Friday you take a moment to reflect at the week past and list your 5 favourite things of the week. It could be a moment, a thought, a sighting, a memory. After perusing the blogs of other fave friday gals, I see lots of photos and visuals to go along with their top 5. Next week I will try to be better prepared. Until then, here is my first 5 Faves Friday entry:

1. Spending Monday with my Mommabrother, sister and husband as well as my Momma's husband. We celebrated my birthday. My Momma made delicious chicken breast, veggies and a very tastey garden salad. It was a simple meal - just what I wanted. The best part was the conversation afterwards. My brother, who turned 23 in Nov, was speaking on levels that I had never heard him speak before. I felt like I was really getting to know the man that he has/is becoming. With an 11 year age gap, that was a really special moment for me.
2. My Bloody Valentine. Can you say "el-stupido?" I didn't have high expectations going in but the laughter got me through the week. Hmmm. Serial killer. Blood. Guts. Laughter. Which one of these things aren't like the others?
3. Spending Thursday at home. I was out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It felt good.
4. Finishing a layout that I started on the weekend. It followed a Becky Fleck/Basic Grey sketch. It took a bit but it has grown on me.
5. Wii. I finally got one. Just so happens that Best Buy had a delivery that morning and there were some left. I just finished playing each game once as well as doing the fitness test. Lets just say that I should be collecting my old age pension with the results. Oy!

Bittersweet

This layout was created following the above sketch on the Pagemaps blog. Most of the materials used are Basic Grey with the exception of the ribbon, diamond glaze, gems and alpha stickers which are Making Memories. ("Life @" and "so very"). Journalling is handwritten.

3/50 layouts. 0/5 mini albums and/or projects.

Creatively Mine Playlist

Sorry folks. An addition to blogs that I originally hated, it seems I have come to love. Mine, at least. I welcome you to my updated playlist - more songs added from yesterday and today.

Enjoy!

In Training

Another quickie layout featuring my nephew, Jordan. This photo was taken on New Years Day '09 which is also his first birthday. I traced a piece of Jenni Bowlin paper to get the shape and, once again, used my Heidi Swapp disc to distress all the edges. Excuse the white stuff oozing out of the buttons - wet glue.

2 down .... 48 to go.

Just the Two of Us

A quick layout of my niece Morgan and I. This picture was taken on Christmas Eve. Somewhere between November and December her personality blossomed. Typically not one to swoon when K and/or I came in, she was all over us every moment she had this holiday season. I can't say I didn't soak it all in and take every opportunity that I could with my fruit salad. Thank goodness for them. They keep me going.

As you can see, it's the standard 5x7 trap that I always fall in to. Photo off to the side with the title on the bottom, embellishments to the left. Hopefully that will change with my scrapping goals. A long time ago, I remember distressing the edges but only did it once and forgot all about it. Tanya started to do it in the fall and Stéphanie followed suit. To have done it sooner would have implied I scrapped more than minis, cards and ATCs. I decided to jump on their bandwagon and add it to the edges of this layout.
As for my goals, can you say "spending freeze" The amount of stuff I have is nothing less than obscene. I need to create more. I want to create more. I need to focus more on layouts rather than the mini's I seem to do when I actually do something. I need to keep my space neat and tidy (how does one stop being such a messy scrapper?) so it isn't overwhelming or annoying to start a new project. My goal before I can shop again is 50 layouts (don't rub your eyes too hard. You read right) and 5 mini albums and/or projects. My only exception outside of adhesive and the occassional tool is paper - and only if I am going to use it ASAP. Not paper to just hold on too. I don't have alot so sometimes the perfect paper isn't at my disposal. I also reserve the right to purchase some yummy new Tim Holtz goodies that I know are coming in to my lss. Other than that ... 1 down, 49 to go. Anyone want to start a pool as to the date that I will be done creating these? Are you that brave? So, in a nutshell, here is are my goals:

• create more and spend more evenings in my scrap studio.
• finish the projects that just need that last bit if tweaking to be done.
• finish my 6x12 album that I started at the spring NavCan and haven't gone back to.
• Create 50 layouts and 5 mini albums and/or projects.
• Use my stash! So important.

ATC Mania

I finished up my ATCs for the January Scrapbox swap. They were a lot more time consuming that I had anticipated but c'est la vie. At least they are done. I am doing and trying different things in order to create different looks. My goal is to create ATC cards that are unique and not always so obviously me. Some months I will succeed. Some months it will be scrapbookey and very Mellisa-esque.

These two ATCs were made quickly, randomly and for no real purpose. Just to have and to be available to trade if I need extras. They are simple and lacking detail but I can always add to them later.

Life Re-evaluated

Destination: Baby

As I mentioned on January 1st, I am on a journey. A journey to find peace within and to let go of things I can not understand regardless of how hard I try. A journey to free myself of the fear and anxiety of getting pregnant again, to let go of my guilt for past miscarriages and my guilt for K not having the children he (we) so desperately want. A journey to let go of my guilt and forgive myself for losing Hannah. So much I know in my head but my heart beats to it's own thoughts and emotions. They need to be one with eachother. It is a time to realize and reflect. I have come to understand that what my head thinks and what is going on in my subconscience is entirely different. It is time to move forward from all things negative. To remove the hurt from my life and focus on me. It is time to truly move past my demons and find a healthier me - both physically and mentally. It is time to give it my all. My real all ... not just the all I say I am giving. It is time to change for me. Only then do I think it will be possible to reach our final destination - a day when we will walk through our front door with a sweet bundle of miraculous love.

Last week, I started journalling in a notebook with intentions of moving it into a scrapbook later. With some twisting of my arm, some inspiration and some you-tube techniques, I have decided to follow Tanya on her art journal quest. I have also decided to follow the ABC's of Me 2009 prompts as well. While most will have random creations to go with their words, I am going to try my best to gear it towards my Ali Edwards annual word challenge. Last year was wellness. It didn't go over so well. This year is Baby. Lets hope that it's results are much better than last years.

Completely and totally out of my box, I created my cover tonight. It was time consuming but definitely fun. Tanya and I created for hours talking and laughing and inspiring eachother. The shell of my album is actually a corrigated cardboard "binder" shape from a sheet set I bought. I will use envelopes on the inside in order to document the words and the journalling I have written. By December, I will have one completed art journal recording all my thoughts and feelings as I venture down my path towards my ultimate goal. I will work on the first word (Action) next weekend because I don't have any gesso to prime my pages with. The wheels in my head are definitely turning.

.