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.

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Noel

I am hosting an ATC swap over at Bad Girls. Truth me told, I had never actually made an ATC before but I was definitely intrigued. I also thought that a swap was a great way to kick start my collection and help others expand on theirs. I made enough for another swap, over at The Scrapbox, at the same time. The last Friday evening of each month, it is an ATC swap where ladies come with ATC's to trade. I have to say, I enjoyed ATCing. My cards for January's swap are almost done. A big head start but I have alterior motives for getting them done so early. Now we just need to see if the other party if going to follow through on his actions. Dare I dream?

Out With the Old

And in with the new!

A new blog look for 2009. A new banner, hopefully a new background as soon as I can figure out how to configure a non-template blog. Clutter-free and crisp - just like I am trying to do in my life. Stepping away from the past and letting go. Focusing on the here and now with plans for the future. It's my new survival tactic. A fresh start!