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.