Finding Julie

Um...yeah...THAT'S what I was supposed to do...

2011-01-06T16:55:00.000-05:00

I have sort of dropped the ball on the 21 day challenge. I know I had promised myself that I WOULD do it. so... I am going to get caught up a bit tonight and organize the linen closet and clean out under the kitchen sink. It needs to be cleaned out...afterall, I HAVE MICE!!!! I think I'll be putting a few mouse traps in that cupboard...

J.

Yikes!

2011-01-06T16:48:00.000-05:00

I have mice in my house. In the kitchen. They MUST GO! That's all I have to say. Oh, and I did my wii step workout for 30 min last night.

That's all. Back to your regularly scheduled program...

J.

Oy vey...

2011-01-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

These are NOT new years resolutions. They are things that I have been wanting to do for a while, but now seems to be an ideal time to start going for it. I have put off a lot of my goals for so long because... well, when you are dealing with grief for a loved one, sometimes you don't always think of what the best things are for you to do for yourself. You kind of get "stuck". And I am very "stuck" right now. Time to push myself out of my comfort zone.

My main goals:

I need to lose at least 60 pounds to be truly healthy. This is astronomical to me! It will get me close to the weight I was when I met Shawn almost 10 years ago. I am thinking that smaller goals would work better, so here is the structure I am hoping to follow:

10 pounds within the first month
20 total pounds by end of month 3
30 total pounds by the end of month 6
40 total pounds by the end of month 8
50 pounds by the end of month 10
60 pounds by the end of the year.

To get back into my wedding dress by the time of our 10th anniversary (I have a year and a half to do this). We'd like to renew our vows and it would be cool to be able to wear my special dress again.
To get back to playing ringette or hockey again. My big goal is to play in the student/teacher hockey game next Winter! It has been a goal of mine since I started teaching at OLL (9 years !) and I haven't worked too hard to get to this goal. THIS is the year!
To wear my wedding RING again. Yes, I have gained so much weight that my wedding ring no longer fits and actually cuts the circulation in my finger! I can still wear my engagement ring since it was a size larger. Yikes. This is embarrassing to admit.
To feel better, reduce my cholesterol and blood pressure, and to get back my energy and stamina so I can keep up with my children. I am also scared of the possibility of getting diabetes if I continue on this path of weight gain!

That being said... TODAY I...

worked out on wii fit - free step for 40 minutes. I am trying to get up to 10,000 steps a day. I managed to walk only 3124 steps from the time I got up until the time I picked Shawn up. That's not much! That means that I really do not do much walking while I am working (mainly sitting while marking, etc. and walking around during teaching). Trying to supplement with step on the wii board until Spring when I feel like getting outside! I managed to get in almost 4000 additional steps with my workout tonight. Yay! My goal is to ramp it up to 10,000 steps a day by next week. We will see how I feel tomorrow!!!! Oh vey!

Watched the first episode of Village on a Diet while I did my wii step workout. It made the time go by so fast! I am totally rooting for all of the people of Taylor, B.C. and I am really hoping to see huge changes in them by the end of the 10 episodes! I will also be working out and trying to lose weight alongside the show for the next 10 weeks...and longer (I know I can keep this up!).

Worked on my exam for my MEL4E class. It is due on Thursday and I still need to finish it! YIKES. I am just having such a hard time concentrating on it tonight and I think the exercising totally wore me out. I ...need...sleep (but am doing this log while I can still remember what I want to write).

I am off to bed, and then off to the schoolboard tomorrow for a day of professional learning. God help the supply teacher that gets my bunch ;) Ha!

Cheers!
J.

The Day 1 Junk Drawer is now organized.

2011-01-01T21:49:00.002-05:00

Here are the before pics:

actually...not too bad, right? until...

you look a little closer and realize just WHAT is in each container...

for example...WHAT are all of these keys for ANYWAY???!!!

um...tape, batteries and a medicine syringe for the kids' antibiotics...right, THOSE should go
together. Right??? And that nit comb??? What the HECK is THAT in there for?
Oh, right. Mom gave that to use even though we've NEVER had to use it. (knock on wood!)

And here are the after pics!

I took everything out of the drawer and reorganized it in the bins.

I like to use the left-over cups from my kids' lunch fruitcups to organize smaller items.
One has camera cards, another small craft items such as buttons and my craft cutter blades,
another is for the little combs and hair elastics, and the last is for small toy parts. N-boy is always losing
little pieces of lego around the house. I pick them up and put them in here.

batteries have their own basket. We have slowly been replacing all of our batteries with rechargeable ones.

Lightbulbs, household fasteners (picture hanging nails, hooks, etc) and another basket for staples, tape and twist-ties.

This is stuff that no longer needs to be in the drawer. Some went downstairs to the craft room, some upstairs to the bathroom (see the eye-drops, syringe, and toothbrush. Yeah, that stuff. WHAT was it doing in the junk drawer???)

As well as cleaning out this drawers, I managed to get a lot of stuff accomplished today even though I woke up close to lunch time. Ha! The dishes are done, supper is made, some clothes are washed, walls and trim are cleaner, a bit more of Katie's mitt is knit, and the drawer is clean. Ahhhh...can I sit down and relax now?

Tomorrow:

Taking Dad to the airport (whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!)
A stop at IKEA on the way home to get a bookshelf or two for Em's room (must...organize...her...books...and...toys...)
A stop at Solutions to pick up 2 more lego boxes for N-boy.
Day 2 of the 21 day challenge
Preping for back to school (more whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!)
Make banana bread. Something I had planned to do today but didn't.

Now...time for bed. Not looking forward to my 5am wakeup call.

J.

P.S. Oh! Almost forgot!!!! I think this wall colour will work so nicely in our livingroom that I am going to Home Depot tomorrow to find a very close match. I found these pics in the 2010 Christmas Ideas magazine from BH&Gardens:

And I love this wreath too! I need to find a wool sweater that I can felt and cut into these petals. Gorgeous!

Day 1

2011-01-01T19:17:00.001-05:00

As scary as it is, this is my craftroom/basement right now. I will spare you the remaining pictures of the scary basement (I have a few under the table piles as well) and the furnace room/laundry area. That's pretty scary too (but getting better as I finish each load of laundry this week!). I really need to sort, purge and reorganize this space! It's something that has been wanting attention for a loooooooooooooooong time. I just never seem to get to it because teaching and regular family life gets in the way. I was hoping to start tackling it over the Christmas holidays, but like the best of intentions, I never quite got the chance.

I DID, however, wash the toothpaste off of the walls upstairs, wash all of the doors/doorjams and trim of the bedrooms and had the kids wash dirty fingerprints off of the walls in Em's room. I also cut and put baseboard in Emily's closet and Shawn put in the flooring and the rest of the baseboards in her room. The FLOORING IN THE BEDROOMS IS NOW DONE! Woohoo!!!! We've been putting it in room-by-room as we could afford it. It has taken us a little over a year I believe.

Now...on to the stairs. The carpet is gone and what remains is staring at us. Well, glaring really. And the walls in the front entrance and hallways need to be repainted, as well as the livingroom. Shawn went around putting drywall filler on all holes and scrapes on the walls yesterday and now I feel as if I am living in a construction zone. All of those little patches on the walls are making me itch to paint - but when? I go back to school/work on Monday and WHEN will be have time to do these things to make our house inviting? What colour do I choose? As much as I love art and colour, I HATE choosing wall colors and usually defer to beige/off-white to delay making a true colour choice. Anyone else like that???!!!

I am close to getting the junk drawer cleaned out, and all of the "stuff" is now all over the counter in little piles and it makes me anxious to see my kitchen counters covered in clutter again. I kind of don't want to organize that stuff, but I know I need to push through. If I can't organize a DRAWER, how can I expect to clean a whole basement? Whoa. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

P.S. @ 7:16pm : I finished cleaning out the drawer! Pictures to come soon!!!! (sorry, making supper). OH! and I found a paint colour for my livingroom! I was looking in a Christmas Ideas magazine and fell in love with one room because of its...COLOUR! Yay! Not as difficult as I thought it would be.

On today's agenda...

2011-01-01T11:26:00.004-05:00

On today's agenda:

1. take down the Christmas tree (I took off the ornaments and lights last night so I just have to take apart and box the tree. Yes, it's a fake.

2. hem pants (something I have been putting off since June!). I could be WEARING my new pants!

3. make banana bread with new mixer. Yay for Kitchenaid! (mine is RED!!!)

4. more baseboards. I was a mitre-saw virgin. Shawn showed me how to use it yesterday. Had fun finishing Em's closet and I did a fine job if I do say so myself! Look: (still needs to be nailed in)

5. finish one of Katie's mitts: (I am using the fiddlehead mittens pattern I purchased off of Ravelry)

6. more laundry

7. Clean up the kitchen, especially the floor.

Before all of this (while I drink my first coffee of the day), I will be cleaning out the junk drawer as per the instructions on A Bowl Full of Lemons! My drawer is already pretty good, but it could definitely use a slight overhaul. Shawn and the kids keep shoving stuff in there and a lot of stuff is NOT where it should be. I hate it when others don't adopt your "system". Grr... And believe me, I am NOT a very organized person. When you are dealing with a family, it's even more difficult because everyone seems to want to do things their own way.

At any rate, HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's been a great 2 weeks of holidays, and I am a bit sad to be heading back to work on Monday. It will definitely be a shock to my system to be back in the classroom again after 2 weeks without chatty teens. I think I can...I think I can....I think I can....

My father leaves on a jetplane tomorrow to go back home and I will be sad to see him go. I don't spend enough time with him, and being so far away makes it harder. I won't see him until the summer now and that is just...too...long.

Well, I am off to clean a drawer and box a tree. Hope that tree brought its boxing gloves ;)

Julie

I'm taking the 21 day challenge.

2010-12-29T01:09:00.000-05:00

Check it out: http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/

I have decided to try her 21 day challenge for organization (something I OBVIOUSLY need to do around my house and in my professional teaching life). I figure that this is a good time to start getting rid of certain things around here (can you say TOO MUCH scrapbooking and craft stuff! Yikes!).

It's time for a new update on what the basement looks like. It's scary how much craft stuff I own. The even scarier thing is that I don't really know what I should or shouldn't get rid of! I like too much stuff, yet I probably won't use all of it in my lifetime. I am putting some of it aside in order to sell it either in a local scrapbook second hand sale, or at a yardsale this summer.

I am also putting other household items aside to sell. I have a cuisinart coffee maker and coffee grinder that is in excellent condition, but I got Shawn a Keurig machine for Christmas and he likes it much better. The old system will be going up for sale as well as numerous other items.

Question for you: Do you keep your child's valentine cards from school? I have some of my children's cards in ziploc bags but I am thinking perhaps I should toss them. I can't keep everything, right? Your thoughts?

J.

The middle finger and raising our children well...

2010-11-15T21:08:00.000-05:00

I confess that I once, as a teenager, gave "the finger" to a man after he cut off my father in traffic.

You see, my father, a careful driver, had to put on the brakes so we didn't hit this person who had suddenly cut into our lane. When we caught up to the man at a light, and knowing that my father was upset (and apparently so was I), I gave the man a dirty look out the window and out came my one-finger salute. I think I was 16.

The man followed my father to the gas station where he confronted me and my father. He told my father how he should teach me better manners than that. Of course, my father was appalled because he had always tried to keep me from doing the wrong thing (I admit that I was slightly scared of my father while growing up). I was slightly embarrased (but still felt justified in my actions as teenagers often do) and admitted to my infraction, but felt I had to tell him WHY I had done what I did. I remember this story because it is probably one of the few times in my teen-dom that I ever swore or used any other way of expressing foul language.

So why am I telling this story?

As parents, we hope to teach our children well, and having two small children, I want to shelter them from the rampant swearing that I feel surrounded by. Being a high school teacher, I hear the F-bomb and other offensive language around the halls of my employment ... daily. Probably more like hourly or by the minute if it's lunch time or just before classes start. It almost seems to be accepted as a general form of daily conversation with some people. It's on TV, the radio, in magazines, spray painted on stop signs and sides of buildings. It's on the bus, in the supermarket, Walmart... it just seems like it is EVERYWHERE. It's been in my classroom, and it's driving me crazy!

Last year, near the end of grade one, my daughter point-blank asked me what F_ _ K meant.

MY. SEVEN .YEAR .OLD!!!!!

Where had she heard THAT! I demanded to know. She saw I was upset, and being a super good and moral kid, she got upset at my reaction and was nearly in tears.

"From a kid in my class, Mommy. He wrote it on his paper."

This kid has an older brother. That older brother is one of my students. *biting hand now* YIKES.
My husband and I didn't explain what the word meant (goodness gracious! We haven't approached the birds and bees with her yet!) and simply told her that it was one of the worst of the "bad words" out there and that under NO circumstances should she use THAT word!

Fast forward to yesterday morning after swimming lessons:

"Mommy, one of the gems came off of my nails" (I had put nailpolish and gems on her nails the night before). I turn my head to look at her and I was greeted by that ONE FINGER SALUTE!

ACK!!!!

My mind drifted back to that time in the car with my father so long ago...

Of course we had to explain to her that certain hand gestures are not appropriate in our society, but it also sparked a great discussion with my husband about naughty hand gestures in other cultures. (Interesting how a hand signal such as the hitchhiking thumbs-up can mean ...*ahem* ..."up yours" in Iran and other countries.)

So...I am trying.
Trying to teach my children well.
Trying to keep my children from hearing those words until they are older.
Trying to teach my children to express their distaste, frustration, etc. using less offensive language.
Trying to teach my children a moral code even when it sometimes feels like the world's moral code is breaking down.

It's getting harder and harder to shelter and keep them from the world's evils.

But I try.

Because my parents tried with me and I think they did a rockin' great job ;)

Because I don't want MY KID to be the one I have to listen to outside my classroom every morning while they tell a story to their BFF that half-consists of the F-bomb.

Because I owe it to my Dad.

Dad, you were right when you said this would come back to haunt me ;)

xoxo,

J.

In hindsight...

2010-11-14T22:57:00.000-05:00

...if I had today to do over again, I would have:

1. Gone to bed earlier. Trying to find long-lost relatives on Facebook and the internet at 1am is really not that productive (although I did find two people that I now KNOW I am related to through my Grampa McClean's side).

2. I would have brushed my teeth long before 8pm! YUCK. I have to remember that being super busy should not mean lack of teeth cleaning. Oh, and that people really don't want to smell my coffee breath. THAT's why I carry gum in my purse. Perhaps I should remember that it's there. Duh.

3. I would have worn socks (if I could find any in this house!). I have really bad foot odor and it probably isn't something that other's want me to share with them. Ugg.

Today I was slightly "hygienically challenged". Yeah, today I was "that woman".

Other than those 3 things, today was wonderful and busy (although more relaxed than the past 2 weeks). The morning started out with swimming lessons for the kids up in Sutton, then back home to put on some laundry and to work on this:

I KNOW you want to know what these cubes are for, don't you? LOL!!!!
It's for my math classes at school. I am working on a geometry unit with them.
I will post the final product and an explanation tomorrow when they are done...

THEN...

A trip down to Toronto for the Beach Design Studio Sketches class with Lisa Kisch (more on that later! It was WONDERFUL!!!) and a much welcomed and deserved Swiss Chalet dinner with my family.

Shawn watched the kids at work for the afternoon while I headed down to Toronto...

Up on the new mezzanine...

looking down from mezzanine...

checking out Dad's new office space upstairs...

Flightdeck Solutions added another level to their shop this weekend. It's a much needed change as they are growing by leaps and bounds and everyone was trying to work around one another but always seemed to be running into one another. The guys were in today to move stuff around and get things in order for work tomorrow. It's a little chaotic at the moment. I LOVE the new look and Shawn will have a view of the upstairs and also be able to see what is happening on the production floor...from above! (so sorry for the horrible pics. Didn't edit them 'cause I am too lazy and tired to tonight. Ha!)

I also finished working on a free printout in preparation for December Daily! It is a series of date tags that you can print and cut out. I will be posting them tomorrow with a little video showing how to cut them once they are printed.

Lots and lots of stuff going on and I must get my butt to bed. Tomorrow is a new and exciting day :)

It's been a while...again.

2010-10-31T22:32:00.001-04:00

What have I been up to lately? Hmmm...teaching, teaching and more teaching. I am enjoying it and yet it also exhausts me. I put all of me into it. By the evening I am jello. My brain is jello. But I like jello. And I want to do things that help me to relax, unwind (lol) and manage any anxiety that I may have from the day.

So, I have also been doing a bit of this:

Yes, it's a sock. But not JUST a sock. It's a sock that I knit MYSELF! Yes, I am officially a sock knitter. Emily chose the yarn, I bought it and some teeny tiny knitting needles and I am now so very close to finishing the second sock! I have also knit a cabled scarf, started a second pair of socks (for me), started a scarf for my sister, completed half of a circular shrug for me, started a cardigan for Em, and purchased yarn for a vest for Noah. CRAZY! I am totally addicted to knitting and I stalk ravelry for new ideas daily. There are so many things that I want to make, but I think I have so many projects and hobbies on the go, that I need to prioritize the projects that I already have on the go! YIKES. I am my mother's daughter after all... Still need to finish the pinwheel quilt and the granny square quilt too. BWAHAHAAAAAAAA! Totally laughing at myself if you aren't yet.

The local yarn shop I love to frequent is called Unwind and is located in Newmarket, Ontario. Wendy, the owner, is super helpful and friendly and her store is just brimming with color and soft, gorgeous yarns. So much to choose from! Here are some pics from the day she opened the new location:

yummy silk/mulberry yarns

my girl looking at a book

what I bought...

Wendy!

Can't wait to go back again!

Anyone else out there addicted to knitting? Just learning? Crochet? Fave products?

Emily is also learning to knit. I have taught her the knit stitch (no easy feat for me since I knit left-handed and she is right) and I think I will send her to Wendy's store for a class to learn the rest. LOVE this pic of my girl and I :

Have a good one!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:49:00.002-04:00

Hope you all had a happy halloween! I know we did.

I don't get it...

2010-09-07T20:56:00.000-04:00

Sometimes life throws curveballs. Extreme curveballs that hit you, blindside you. And I just don't get it. Why? Sometimes it shocks me how the unexpected is just thrown right into our face.

Tonight one of my coworkers passed away. She was an very interesting woman - one whom you might find a bit harsh at first meeting, but she definitely had a lot of heart and grew to be one of the people that I enjoyed seeing in my daily travels around the halls at work. She liked to chat about her doggie, how her brother was doing, how life was in general. We talked about our families and how tough it was going through illness alongside them and seeing them suffer. We commiserated together and supported one another over the past year. She had a rough past few years with her father and brother being very ill and both passing away, and I had the same experiences with my Mom being ill...
At the end of the school year, we exchanged phone numbers and she asked if I would take pictures of her and her doggie, and if I would bring the kids up to her place to go swimming once I got back from NB. I told her I would call her when I returned. Last week we were told she was critically ill. Tonight I got the call that she passed away. It's still sinking in, and I can't help but remember our last meeting, our last conversation, and our last hug and wave goodbye for the summer. And now she is gone and I am left wondering...how? why? is this real? And of course it is real, but ... another curveball that has just hit me in the gut.

I will miss you, D.

Creative energy...

2010-09-01T19:34:00.003-04:00

My creative energy ebbs and flows these days. Sort of like my spiritual energy. Some days I go all out on projects, and other days I just want to sit around willing things to finish themselves. This has been a good, high-energy week.

I have at the present time:

3 scrapbook pages in various stages of incompleteness,
a pinwheel quilt in progress,
3 different pillow tops in progress:

nine patch
strips of fabric
cathedral window

a set of 6 placemats to be bound with bias tape,
and a house FULL of stuff that needs to be organized.

*sigh*

Here are a few pics:

WOODEN thread spools that came in the bag of stuff from freecycle...

Vintage trims that came in the bag with the wooden spools!!!!

The Singer sewing machine that I got for FREE on freecycle. I will be using this with the school sewing club!
It is older, yet works like a dream! I am so excited!!!!

I made this before Christmas but haven't gotten up the motivation to change it yet. Ha! Perhaps I will just leave it up until Christmas rolls around again??? (is that akin to people who leave their Christmas lights up year round???)

I finished this layout the last time I got together with Lisa and Sonya (in the Spring). Didn't get around to posting it, so I thought I would post it now.

Watching quilting videos on Missouri Star Quilt Company website while pinning pieces for my pinwheel quilt. I am using Wee Play by Moda fabric for the blocks along with a beige cotton. I only purchased 2 charm packs way-back-when so now I have to find some other fabrics to match. Otherwise, the quilt will not be large enough for a twin size!

All pinned together and ready to sew...

Pressing the pieces open. Seams toward the dark, seams toward the dark, seams toward the dark...

I got hooked on the cathedral window pillow tutorial that I saw on A-la-Mode blog and had to start one! This is how far I got after about and hour! Yay me!

I ran out of white quilting cotton fabric for this project (I had purchased it for another project) and had to stop here for the night. I started to play around with possible fabrics for the windows. What do you think of this combo??? Since this pic, I have purchased a few different turquoise, yellow and cherry-red fabrics. I am not thinking that I need to make a matching quilt/throw to go with this pillow. Ha! Not a cathedral window quilt, but perhaps a nine-patch using the same fabrics???

So this is what I am up to. The pics aren't the greatest because they are just SOOC. I have to find my photoshop elements program disk to set up on my new laptop. I hate having to set up all of my "go-to" programs all over again, but this is a smaller and more portable laptop than my old 17'' so I really shouldn't complain too much now should I? :) Hopefully I will have better and more up-to-date project photos tomorrow.
*********************************************************

I am back to work as of today (Faith day for us in the YCDSB) and need to be at work early tomorrow for setting up my classroom, go to meetings, etc. I am excited about the start of the new school year. I've started a homework blog for my students and their parents, I have numerous ideas swimming around in my head for the sewing club, and group projects for my grade 8 math class...I have yet to really start setting up projects for my grade 12 workplace math class. I want to see what their interests are, and how that might fit into the curriculum.

This weekend, I will show you what my "teaching cart" looks like! You see, I do not have a set classroom that I work in. I share classrooms with other teachers in my department and usually have to haul my teaching materials from room-to-room. I have a red tool cart (Canadian Tire brand???) that I got a few years back and I no longer have need for it at my house and I have "pimped my cart" this summer with a powerbar, an old printer, my old hornet-yellow laptop and have plans to add numerous other gadgets to it. It will be the most stylin' teaching cart evah! LOL. Will show you pics of my new "ride" sometime on Saturday or Sunday.

G'night,

Last free (relatively) weekend...

2010-08-28T23:02:00.000-04:00

So this is my last free weekend before I have to go back to work/teaching. I am spending part of it at the soccer field watching my daughter play her last few soccer games. She's been a trooper this summer considering it's not really "her thing" (according to her). We've signed her up for Hip Hop dance classes, swimming lessons and Craft Attack for the Fall. Debating about gymnastics since she doesn't seem to be all that interested in it anymore. I think learn-to-skate or Brownies might be more her "thing".

So far N is signed up for swimming (which is ironic. Read on...). It would be nice to get him into Beavers and into gymnastics again - but he is resisting. Having a bit of problems with anger issues and attitude from him. Tonight he kicked about half of the water out of the bathtub because he was adamant that he wasn't going to have a bath. By the end of it, Shawn and I had tag-teamed and took turns dealing with N. He was clean, but we were both soaked. At least the bathroom floor is clean. Oy! I do hope he does better at swimming lessons.

I took a little trip down to Toronto last night for scrapbooking with my friends Lisa and Sonya. Had a great time and hope I didn't overstay my welcome! We were scrapping until 1am!!! Yikes. Where did the time go? I did manage to get my quilt squares pieces cut for my pinwheel quilt, and ironed them this afternoon. A card and a simple layout were also put together. I feel good that I got out of the house for a bit, socialized and got some crafty goodness accomplished. The goal is to keep up with the creativity once school starts up again. Thanks Lisa for a great night of crafting! Hope to see you and Sonya again soon.

Speaking of goals, have you read Ali Edward's post about 4 simple goals. If not, check it out here. She referencese Elsie Flannigan for the idea, but it's a nice simple one.

My 4 goals for this semester are:

Stay connected to the creative me: whether I am creating a poster for my classroom, sewing a quilt, or knitting a scarf, I want to continue what I have started this summer - BE creative!
Become healthier: drink less pop/coffee and drink more water, move more, eat less, get my eyes checked, my teeth worked on and visit my doctor. I have really neglected little ol' me over the past few years. I've been focussed so much on the crap that has been going on in my family life, that I forgot that I matter too.
Be truly present with my family: you know how sometimes families get into the rut of sitting together to watch a movie but never really talk or "do" things together? Sitting in front of the TV/computer to eat, etc. Yeah, well that is how my little family has been functioning. We are often found sitting in the livingroom or in different areas of the house on our computers/laptops. We may be in the same room, but we are each doing our own thing and not really being connected or present for each other. We need to set a game night, go out and geocache more, read books to the kids, take walks together, set a "no computer" day/time...and do stuff that we should be doing as a family. I want to create more meaningful relationships with my husband and kids.
Marking: this is the BIG goal for me, actually. I am truly bad at staying current with my marking. I need to force myself to stay at the school in the afternoons, not get distracted by more interesting tasks, and just get.the.job.done! I don't want to have to bring a lot of marking home with me and there is no real reason that I should need to if I keep on track with this plan.

And WHOOP! There it is!
Got to get to bed. Another soccer game tomorrow... G'night!

J.

Back...with a vengeance.

2010-08-26T12:43:00.000-04:00

I got back from NB a few weeks ago. Infact, the kids and I stayed there a week longer than I had planned. It was just a really good visit with my Dad despite the circumstances of our trip. I wanted to help him by clearing out a room just for him. You see, my Mom had stuff in EVERY room. When one of us would move out and leave the nest, she would swoop in and fill up our empty "nests" - and leave no space for my Dad. He's been shifted around that house from room to room, especially when they had visitors, and has even slept for a considerable amount of time on the couch. I know it's been tough on him, not understanding/comprehending my Mom's illness - both ALS and (I believe) a shopping and slight hoarding addiction. After all, she didn't buy one or two of something, she bought things in 6's and 12's. Better by the dozen??? Anyway, I stayed and cleaned out one bedroom - her room - and organized quilting projects, Christmas decorations, etc. And it felt good, and therapeutic to go through it all, since it's something that I've been wanting to do for years. I so wanted to help her organize her stuff, pare down what she had, etc. but she resisted, OH did she resist! She was such a creative person, loved color and just loved to pick up fun, neat little nick-knacks for the house...but she really had too much of it. AND so do I! I could so easily become my mother. Become trapped in a house full of "stuff". I don't want my father to live that way anymore. So...he has a room. It's a start.

My kids were also a big reason why we stayed for an extra week. They LOVED being there at Grampie's place and told me that they weren't ready to leave just yet. So we stayed. And they had fun, and got to go to a few places and play with the little girl next door and just relax and unwind - something that we all needed.

Since going through Mom's fabrics, projects and other stuff, I have come home full of creative ideas. I have never really been a quilter, but I brought home at least 2, maybe three quilt projects that she had started. I left a lot still at my father's place, but will request those things after completing the projects that I do have. I've got an an advent calendar quilt to sew up for the kids that has 24 sewn ornaments to attach. Some other fabric/moda precut charm squares that she had are going into a pillow and little girl quilt set for my daughter.

In order to jump into this world of quilting (btw, my mother started MANY quilt projects but never finished ANY!) I have been overloading on video tutorials, blogs, manufacturers sites, etc. I have even discovered that my machine has different feet! (who knew! LOL). I have since purchased a gathering/pleating foot, a 1/4 inch foot, a hemming foot (which i still can't figure out!) and a darning foot for freemotion stuff! I am having fun with my sewing machine again! Last night I put together a pillow cover but have to go out and purchase some quilt batting before putting the back on. I also put together my first pinwheel square!

The rotary cutter is my newest love. I had one years ago, but for some reason I HATED it - could never get the pieces to cut straight, or even to cut through the fabric. I decided to give it another go (probably about 15 years since the first cutter) and I LOVE it! I got a Fiskars cutter this time. Last night I was a cutting genius! I actually took a half metre of fabric and cut it into 2.5 inch strips and 5x5 inch squares. I just couldn't stop! Had to cut the whole thing. Ha! Now I have a bunch of squares and strips to use whenever I want.

Anyway, I am trying to finish a few projects before going back to work because I know I will not have as much time to devote to them once I get into the depths of teaching. I know my Mom would be proud that I am continuing her projects and getting them DONE. And I know that my Dad is happy to have a lot of them out of the house.

Will post photos later. Off to have a shower and them heading to the quilt shop. I have a pillow to finish.

J.

My Mom

2010-07-17T21:07:00.001-04:00

My Mom, Roma Hickey, passed away on June 15th. I have been on an emotional rollercoaster being both sad and angry that this happened to her and our family, and relieved that it is over at the same time. Her battle with ALS (Lou Gherig's disease) was hard-fought, but it is now the time for my mom to rest. She deserves a rest. She was the most vibrant and generous person and did everything for us. She loved her kids, and she loved my kids too. We miss her dearly and can't help but to have tears well up when I think of her. A memorial service is set for next Friday, July 23rd in Fredericton. This was the time that her sisters and brother would be able to travel, and we also wanted to make sure my sister got through her final semester at university. My mother didn't want a funeral and was not overly religious. She made sure my brother and I went to Sunday school in the Catholic Church, and my sister went for a short while too but was never confirmed Catholic. So...no Church service. Prayers will definitely be said, but we want the service to be a gathering of friends and family. I have been trying to find an appropriate way for me and my kids to say goodbye. Not sure what that is yet. I guess I am open to suggestions.

Sundae's on Sunday, May 2

2010-05-02T19:57:00.007-04:00

It has been humid for the past few days and today was no exception. We are resisting the urge to turn on the air conditioning, but we will see if sleeping is unbearable tonight. The ceiling fans have been going all day and hubby twisted my arm to go to McDonalds' for sundaes (on a Sunday).

and....

We cleaned the car today! It was probably the most disgusting car that you have ever seen - bags and bags of takeout wrappers, coffee cups, kids papers and other crap that they throw on the floor in the backseat. There definitely was a complete ICK-factor going on. Now...it doesn't even feel like the same car.

After that, we headed to Home Depot to pick up some base-boards for our master bedroom closet. We also purchased a new closet organizer. Hubby finished the flooring in the closet yesterday and it looks wonderful! We have been wanting to purchase something for organizing our clothes better since our old dresser just isn't cutting it anymore. Hoping this works well for us.

I also worked on a project for this blog swap: craftastic swappers My old roomie, Cyndi, runs a craft swap group and this time I decided to play along. The idea was to take something old and re purpose it by turning it into art.

I found an old silver-plated tray at one of the local thrift stores for about $4. I decided to paint the tray with metal primer/filler at my hubby's work (they have this AWESOME paint booth that sucks away the fumes), then paint it a nice satin white. I attached ribbons to the back for hanging it. They also use a lot of acrylic where he works. The laser cutting process produces quite a few waste pieces that normally go into the garbage. For the past year or so, my kids and I have been saving many of the circular pieces thinking that we might make some "art" with them. This was my chance to use some of those pieces. Out came the scrapbooking supplies: staz on, modpodge, paper, etc. Once these little pieces of art are finished, I will be attaching the acrylic circles to some magnets and voila! A completed magnet board and magnet set!

I have pictures stuck on my camera at the moment and will be downloading them and posting tomorrow. I am so pleased with how this project came out and will definitely be making more of these for my own house. I hope my swap partner likes it as much as I do!

Julie

May 1st...

2010-05-01T18:10:00.002-04:00

Today...
1. We took E to the hospital because we thought she had a head injury after falling backwards off of the swing yesterday. Turns out her fever and headache is really due to a case of strep throat (yet AGAIN).
2. is rainy outside
3. Shawn finished the flooring in our bedroom closet.
4. My sister is anxious, sad and I am worried about her. I pray that she makes it through the next 3 months of university.
5. I am being incredibly lazy and searching though the NSD digital scrapbooking sales online. So far, I like Zoe Pearn's new stuff at the Sweet Shoppe Designs.THIS and scrapkitchen's blue/grey/green combo.

6. N is playing more Lego Star Wars than any one child should ever play in a single day. Ugg. I've managed to keep him off of the Wii all week until today.
7. Shawn is back to playing Just Cause 2 on his laptop.
8. I had leftover chinese food for lunch.
9. I have had way more coffee than I should have had.
10. I am craving cookies but am being too lazy to make any or go to the store to buy any. Ha!
11. contemplating doing laundry and clearing away a spot to scrapbook in downstairs.

Not too exciting, but this is my Saturday.

Trying to think of what colors I want in my bedroom. So far, I am thinking either grey walls with brightly hued accents and comforter OR soft green/turquoise/brown combo. Two extremes, I know! Probably the Gemini in me :) Suggestions?

J.

Today...

2010-04-11T23:30:00.002-04:00

Today I...

- slept in.
- Fell asleep on the couch last night. Woke up around 5am and ended up going to sleep in N's room since he had snuggled into my side of the bed next to his dad last night.
- arranged play dates with Maia and Liam for the kids.
- took a trip to IKEA with the hubby for baskets to organize our books/DVD's. Found out that there were only 5 of the required baskets in stock so we went around the store looking for three more baskets that were display models. Found them. Left the store with 8 total. Happy :)
- stopped at McD's to get a caramel sundae for the hubby and coffee for me. Note to self: McD's coffee SUCKS.
- Had a nice drive back with hubby. GORGEOUS day!
- Chatted with Lisa and Mark after picking up the kids. So nice to spend some time with friends :)
- E cried when we had to leave. Kept crying for over an hour. Ugg. Way to milk it, kid. A bit much though...
- Got to go out and get groceries by MYSELF! Yay! Even bought a pumpkin pie. YUM
- Got home and hubby was still playing same video game as when I left. Chicken still sitting frozen on the counter. Ugg. I made a comment about him still playing said video game and his response was "I was waiting for you to get back with the cheese" (for chicken parmesan/cheddar version). For God's sake, man! The least you could do was defrost the chicken! So he did, while I put away the groceries and he then continued with said video game. Ugg.
- I finished making dinner but we ate late (8:30pm)- chicken and pasta with tomato sauce. Forgot to put water in the steamer to cook the broccoli so steamer was heating WITHOUT water. And I was wondering WHY the broccoli wasn't cooking???!!! GEESH!
- Signed kids up for summer soccer - finally!
- Found out Mom is in the hospital again. Must remember to call Dad tomorrow...
- N's birthday is tomorrow. He's 5. I feel soooooo old! My babies are growing up too fast. He'll be so excited though. We got him Star Wars Lego. He LOVES lego.
- Cleaned the fridge out tonight before dinner. It's amazing that 1 year old icing can stay so well-preserved, but the pineapple in the can at the back of the fridge was BLACK. Ewwww.... Guess it's been a while since I've done a real thorough fridge cleaning. It's looking (and smelling) so much better now.
- Laundry is washed but lying on the big easy-chair in the livingroom. Why did someone think that putting a laundry room in the basement of a two story house was a good idea? Especially since the bedrooms are on the second story??!!!Hmm...
- Hubby thinking of doing renovations around here. Wish we could just finish the flooring and redo the stairs FIRST.
- Must remember to put the droopy/dead tulips in the recycle bin before going to bed.
- Coffee with Annelise tomorrow afternoon after work.
- Sewing club after that.
- Need to clean papers in the kitchen.
- need to clean papers in the basement.
- need to clean desk at work more thoroughly.
- need to... (insert undone/unfinished item here)

Welcome to the procrastinators' reform school! LOL.

P.S. I finally got rid of the old car last week!
Hubby also got 1-800-got-junk to take away the old
refrigerator and piles of junk from the garage!
Hallelujah! We have our garage back.

Wow...Long time no post.

2010-01-16T20:54:00.005-05:00

Yeah, it has been a while. Life happens and you deal. Sometimes you just don't think that "Hey, I have a blog that MAYBE I should try to update once in a while." I have probably missed out on recording funny events and funny things that the kids have said or done. Lots of stuff going on this past Fall at school.

So...what's has been going on in my life?

* Work. It is going well, but I have way too much marking still to do. Exams start next week and then we have a new semester starting in February. I am going to miss teaching my present group of students, but also looking forward to the change. Hopefully it will be a good change for all.
* Family stuff. Kids are giving us a bit of a tough time right now. N just wants to play Lego Starwars on the Wii and pesters us about it ALL THE TIME. He pitches a fit when we won't let him play. E...well, she pitched a fit this morning before gymnastics because she didn't want to get out of bed and we hauled her out and got her dressed. She was NOT a happy camper and screamed in the car all the way to gymnastics. A 20 minute drive. How someone does that and does not lose their voice is beyond me. We are so frustrated. Any tips on how to deal with that behaviour?
I
can't
wait
until
the
teen
years...
OY!
* Cleaning the house out (I LOVE Freecycle these days!) I have gotten rid of a fishtank, a Barbie bookshelf/house, kids clothes, books, potty seats, baby toys, toiletries, etc. Stuff that I will never use and wouldn't get very much for if I went through the effort of having a yardsale, or selling through www.kijiji.ca
It's nice to be able to give this stuff to other people who really need it these days.
* Getting ready to put a lot of scrapbook stuff into the SBD scrapbook yardsale in February (if you need stamps, paper or embellies, you need to check this sale out in Toronto!)
* Travelling to Fredericton, NB for Christmas to spend time with my parents. It was such a GREAT Christmas despite the kids getting sick. They are better now but my poor Mom isn't doing so well. She caught the cold/illness that my kids had over Christmas and due to her ALS, it hit her really hard. She has been in the hospital and moved from ICU to CCU to ICU then to the regular hospital adult floor... I think my Dad and sister must be exhausted! They have been taking shifts staying with Mom and helping her to clear her airway and lungs. Hoping that she will be able to go home next week. She has been a real trooper considering what ALS has done to her body. LOVE YOU MOM!!! My three aunties flew in to Fredericton to see Mom and to help Dad out a bit. I know it was hard for them to see mom like that, but they thought that they should come from Calgary now rather than later. I am so appreciative that they have been there for mom through this...despite the distance.

HEY! Did you know this ---> BORDERLESS PRINTING
I didn't! And it was driving me crazy for the longest time. I figured out how to get true borderless printing tonight and have the elements I was printing come out THE ACTUAL SIZE THAT I WANTED!!!! So exciting. My printer had been expanding my pictures or other print material when I chose the "no border" option and then some of my photos were being cut off! So glad I happened upon this article in my nightly websurfing.

Going scrapbooking with LISA tomorrow. It has been a while since I've worked on a scrapbook page. I have about 6 in progress, but not completed. Why? Because my craft room and tables (yes, I have TWO full tables) are covered with paper, photos, etc. Really. I have been trying to organize my supplies and purge the things I do not need or want (thus the reason I am participating in the SBD yardsale). The floor around one table is covered with stuff I will be selling. It is all in piles. My room is a MESS. I am not lying. Will totally post a pic later tonight because I know it is bound to get worse...much worse...before I am done.

Some things I am thinking about in relation to selling at the yardsale:

1. Have any of you ever taken larger scraps of papers and used them to build kits to sell? I know of one friend who mentioned she had done this and it was quite successful. What should be included in these "kits"?

2. Do you sell any sticker sheets that might have a few letters or stickers missing? I mean, would anyone buy the rest for say...50 cents? Is it worth my while?

3. Do people buy foam stamps anymore? I have a bunch of foam stamps (letters and shapes) that I am willing to part with. Again, is it worth the while including them or should I just donate to the local schools or art therapist?

Guess that's all I am thinking tonight. I will post more with pictures later on.

Must...go...sort...through...paper...

J.

New Bloghop coming up!!!!

2009-11-04T20:09:00.005-05:00

Georgana from Adornit Carolee's Creations sent out an email today to invite scrapbookers and crafters to take part in the latest bloghop coming up mid-November. It is of course a holiday theme and since Thanksgiving has passed for us in Canada, I think I will be posting a winter/Christmas project. Here are the deets:

I have a ton of ideas and projects that I would like to get done. How do you all schedule holiday activities, crafting time, etc. into your family and day-to-day schedule? I am looking for organization ideas (since I am probably one of the more organizationally challenged people EVER!).

Oh! Want to see our pumpkin from this Halloween? Hubby did such a great job! Here it is:

November 4, 2009 conversation with Noah

2009-11-04T20:06:00.003-05:00

I was looking at Danielle Thompson’s blog tonight and she had a Halloween photo of her Blythe dolls in one of her posts. Noah sat down next to me and the following conversation ensued:

Noah: What are those?(pointing to the Blythes)
Me: Dolls
Noah: Dolls? I don’t have any dolls. (said with a pout) Not like those ones.

Whoa! My little dude wants dolls? Really? Have I been getting him boy toys and all along he would really like a doll? I know he plays with Emily and her toys, but...

Me: Do you like dolls? (Incredulously said)
Noah: No (said with a little giggle)

Exactly what I thought, little dude. Exactly what I thought.

Today...

2009-11-03T22:52:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to focus on the good things that happened today:

1. The part for the dishwasher arrived and we were able to get all of the dishes cleaned up this evening.

2. I got to spend time with my children

3. I managed to get some rest today.

4. Ali Edwards has been posting her pages for her December Daily album. I haven't done one before but I will be doing it this year! I have a TON of supplies now and my main problem will be deciding what to use from the pile. Ha! My main goal is to keep it simple, but get down all of the details that are important to me each day.

5. I sorted through paper scraps and purged some to donate. I still have a lot to go through, but something is much better than nothing :) I will be donating the scraps, along with the ones that I got at Stamping bella the other day, to the special education art classes at my school.

I was actually thinking of starting a Christmas countdown/December daily scrapbooking club at school. Perhaps using up a whole bunch of scraps with the kids to make album projects focusing on family/friends and tradition? I think it might appeal to the younger grades for sure, and perhaps some of the staff members. We will see how much time I can devote to a project like this.

Anyway, time to get myself in to bed.
Tomorrow is a new day with new possibilities.
I'll leave you with this photo of my nephew. Isn't he adorable?

All Souls Day - I will miss you Grammie Helen.

2009-11-03T08:43:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was All Souls day. It is an important day that we observe in the Catholic faith where we remember those who have passed away. Well, yesterday was also the day that my Grandmother, Helen McClean, passed away. She was 88 years old.

I hadn't seen my Grandmother is some time. She lived in Calgary and I on the East of Canada, but I have so many great and endearing memories of her from my childhood. She was my first crafty mentor. She was always sewing, creating puppets or stuffed animals in particular, for her grandchildren. She worked downtown at Creghan's (sp?)in their fabric and sewing department, altered wedding and fancy dresses for them, and I LOVED going to the store to visit her. I used to go around touching the fabrics and buttons, watch her cut out fabric and deal with her customers with a happy disposition. She taught me how to use a sewing machine and helped me with many projects as a child. I used to stay overnight at her place and sew with her. She would make me toast and orange juice, and tomato and mayo sandwiches. She loved her coffee (and so do I!). This is how I want to remember my grandmother.

When I think back, there are certain places in Fredericton that will always remind me of Grammie.

1. The Goody Shop at the end of Graham Avenue where my grandmother lived. They make the best filled molasses cookies! She would send me down there to get her milk and newspaper.
2. The old house on Graham. It is now used to house students near UNB.
3. The grocery store she used to frequent - which is now an ice cream parlor and series of smaller stores. That store was small, but she knew where everything was.
4. Keyes Lunch on York street. She used to take her lunch and Keyes Lunch counter downtown Fredericton, and my mom often took us to say hello if we happened to be downtown.

I remember numerous family holiday dinners spent at her house on Graham Avenue, her loving care when she took me in during my university days and was having trouble with my parents, the night that I was VERY drunk during second year university when she took care of me after my "friends" abandoned me. She did not judge, but figured that I had been through enough Hell. And she was right. It was then that I heard the story of how she and my Grandfather met. She told me a few stories of her and her friends during war times, about working in factories and going on canoe trips and campfires. And I drank more responsibly after that. (BTW, I don't drink now. It's never been something I particularly liked. Darned peer pressure.).

She loved her children, raised 5 of them and did her best to raise them right after her husband, my grandfather, died leaving her with a mortgage, debts and young children at home (my Mom also moved home for a while after nursing school and helped out). She worked HARD. Very hard. And I have so much respect for her. She raised a group of children that I am proud to call my Mom, my Aunts, and my Uncle. They are all very responsible and caring parents themselves, who have in turn raised wonderful children (my brother, sister and I as well as our cousins). My Grammie Helen left a legacy of family and love, and with me, a legacy of craftiness.

I will miss you, Grammie. Till we meet again. May God hold you safely and firmly in the palm of his hand.

xoxo
Julie

I spoke too soon...

2009-11-02T12:23:00.004-05:00

Yep, I am home from work today. After spending 4 and a half hours at the local medical clinic yesterday, we now believe that H1N1 has hit our family. E had a sudden fever of 103 yesterday, a cough, sore tummy, dizziness... The doctor swabbed her to test for strep as well, but he said that more likely it is the flu since she has a bit of a cough. So....

We loaded up on:

1. children's advil
2. tamiflu
3. juice
4. Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure DVD
5. a new chapter book for E (Gabriella the Snow Kingdom Fairy)

E read the book last night all in one sitting, then reread it this morning. She and N have watched the new movie about 3 times already and it's just past noon! N is bouncing around the house as he has had WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too much halloween candy. Yikes. I thought I had hidden that candy well. I guess not.

I am in desperate need of a shower. Honestly haven't had one since Saturday. Yuck.

Shawn actually washed up the dishes for me yesterday while E and I were at the clinic. So nice to come home to that!

I have an assignment to finish for my course. Due tonight. Best be getting off of here and get that done. It's about the challenges that I have faced teaching religion. Well...I haven't had to teach religion classes per-se, but teaching in a Catholic school, I do face opposition from students during morning prayer and announcements. Why do they not want to reflect on the day or welcome the day with a prayer? It seems to take such effort for them to be quiet during those times and I am not quite sure why. Do they not find it relevant in their lives?

I have also been looking for resources to add to my classes to combine the math with Bible quotes/knowledge. So far, I have found nothing in my search for Catholic resources that combine the two. Anyone out there have suggestions? I think I might try to put my own resources together similar to the Algebra with Pizzazz series. They combine math concept BLM's with jokes/riddle puzzles that my students really seem to like. Could that work? Would anyone be interested if I were to put something like that together? I am sure that I am NOT the only teacher out there interested in that type of resource...

Enjoy your day, have a cup of tea. That's what I am going to do right now :)

Joules

Post much??? Geesh!

2009-11-01T01:17:00.005-04:00

I probably have absolutely nobody reading this by now since I have completely neglected this blog for so long! YIKES!!! I guess the big question is...WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO?!!!

a.) enjoying the Fall colors

b.) playing way too much Wii's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs game,

c.) family geocaching (need to pass on the travel bug we found!)

d.) mainly... TEACHING.

Yes, I have been teaching, and organizing all of my assignments, notes, etc. And it feels great to actually have that part of my life it semi-wonderful order. I say "semi" because

a.) it's not organized the way I would love to have it (yet)
b.) despite (a) , it's more organized than I have been probably since I had my first child!Again...YIKES!
c.) I haven't had to take a sick day yet (knock on many pieces of wood!)

So the teaching part of my life it good...no, it's great. I am enjoying my classes, my students are great kids (even if they constantly tell me that they dislike math) and in-particular I AM SO PROUD OF MY GRADE 9 APPLIED MATH CLASS! Most of these kids are doing really great, and are for -the-most-part the most enthusiastic group I have taught in a while. I love seeing those kids every.single.day. I love seeing them when they "get it".

Enough about teaching.

The rest of my life is going by really well too. The kids are happy, hubby and I are stressed out because we work way to much and spend way too little time just as a couple. We desperately need a date night. Other than that (and the house being a total mess), life it really good :)

***************************************************************
A list of things from today :

1. Halloween was a blast with the kids this year. They were the most excited that I have ever seen them. N was a transformer and E was a pretty princess. I dropped the ball this year on the homemade costumes and resorted to picking some up last-minute from Zellers. At least the kids were happy and that is the main thing, right? I even dressed up as a witch at school this year. Yay me!

2. Shawn got right into carving the pumpkin this year. We found a cool idea off of the internet and he was so proud of his replica. He kept telling me about all of the trick-or-treaters who commented on it. LOL. That's my man :)

3. Discovered a new (for me anyway) scrapbooking store that I can get to in under an hour. WOOHOO to that! It's http://www.stampingbella.com/ and they have a TON of stamps and paper and OH MY! The eyecandy was overwhelming. Even my KIDS loved going there today! (Thank you Helen for the scraps from the recycling bin. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! The kids are having fun with the scraps and I will be passing the rest on to Janice at school to use with her class. )Oh, and I spent a LOT of money there too. Can't wait to scrapbook now. New stuff. Mmmmmmmmmm...

4. We are a family who has internet, but not cable. That means that we do not get TV. Nothing. Nadda. Not.a.single.channel.in.this.house. We made the decision over 3 years ago and haven't missed it. Or did we???

Is it bad that I just finished watching way too many online streamed TV shows already this weekend? In no particular order: Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, The Vampire Diaries, Ghost Whisperer, NCIS, Greek and Being Erica. To be an enabler, I provide you with...http://www.latest-episode.net/ I am rediculously addicted. Might need a 12-step program...just might...

5. I've been taking a course. Religion Level I through the board office. Really liking the seminar group discussions, and some of the assignments have really challenged my thinking. It's been 10 years since I was the student other than the inservice sessions we take each year. Weird being in the student chair again.

6. I am so tired. Must go to bed. I leave you with...

Oh! I almost forgot:

7. Our dishwasher broke - or rather an important part broke. We have been without it for three days and I am slowly going crazy without it. Shawn ordered the new part today, but it won't be here until Tuesday. In the meantime, guess who is the new dishwasher ? (hint: it isn't him).

cheerio!
Joules.

Oh wow!

2009-08-13T13:08:00.001-04:00

Take a look at the scraproom in this link: http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1521685

There are a number of things about it that I love:

1. The walls are a serene, soft aqua/turquoise.
2. It is so CLEAN and NEAT (two things that my room are NOT right now)
3. She remade this basement room to look like it is a bedroom! So cozy. You'd never know you were in the basement. My basement room is so dark and dull and uninviting right now.
4. The FURNITURE! She remade the furniture and it looks so freakin' AWESOME!
5. The quote on the wall.

Stunning room.

I think I will go clean my area now. I'm feelin' a little self-c0nscious. LOL!

J.

He got me flowers!

2009-08-12T14:31:00.005-04:00

Aren't they BEAUTIFUL?!!!! I can't remember the last time he bought me flowers, but this totally makes up for it. We had a nice evening together - friends looked after the kids for a few hours - and we got to see a movie that didn't involve digital cartoon characters or talking animals! Yes, we went to see...

Really cute and FUNNY movie. Shawn really enjoyed it and we both highly recommend it if you can get past the dirty jokes and references.

Thank you Mark and Lisa for watching our munchkins! Not only that, but Lisa gave my daughter two bags full of clothes that her daughter has outgrown! Thank you! E is thrilled to have new clothes and my wallet is also pretty happy :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dropping S off at work this morning I took the kids to a park nearby where they have a water play area. Water fountains out of ground faucets and water fills buckets that spill over -dropping water on unsuspecting passersby. I had forgotten about the water park area until we got there so neither kid had a bathing suit on. It was sort of a spontaneous decision to go there today. No problem. They went in fully clothed and had a BLAST! I might take them back there tonight before I pick up S. This time I will take towels and bathing suits. And my camera.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Picked up some new Stampin' Up paper and cardstock today. I got the new incolor cardstock and a whole bunch of kraft too. Also picked up the Flamingo papers. Good thing too since we now have a new "family" member. This is Flaminga. E won it at the local fair playing the fishing for frogs game.

Not much else is new. Just taking it easy in the last few weeks before school starts again (and I head back to work). On my to-do list?

1. Clean my craft room (AKA the basement)

2. Pester S about finishing the flooring in our room upstairs

3. Vacuum and dust the whole house

4. Sew curtains for the kids' rooms.

5. But a new hose and sprinkler. The kids had too much fun using Debbie's next door.

There are many more items but I think I will stop there. That's a good list for now. Looking at the whole list will just depress you or give you an anxiety attack. Ha! S has already said that he'd like to do something with our mangy backyard this weekend, but I think the comment is only getting my hopes up and I know that it will take more than one weekend to tame it. We've needed to do something with it for a loooong time, but something else always takes precedence. Right now, I'd be happy if I could park my car in the garage this fall/winter :)

J.

Playing with photoshop and a FREE download?

2009-08-09T21:35:00.006-04:00

Hi! I've been taking a few days (ok, maybe more than a few) to visit with some old friends who were in town, take the kids and myself to the dentist, get my son's hair cut, go to the local fair with the family and get back into being a soccer mom again (after my kids have been absent from soccer for 5 weeks!). WHEW! I have also been playing on my computer (a little too much) and editing photos from our little vacation to NB. I have lots and lots of layouts swimming around in my head now. Time to get them on paper!!!

During my editing process, I was also surfin' blogland and came across Cathy's tutorial for adding frames/overlays to your pictures. It's a really great video tutorial and despite having used CS2 for a few years now, and mainly being self-taught (that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!) I actually learned stuff that I didn't know (like how to change the spacing of the grid lines. DUH!). So, for the occasion, I put together a frame for two of my photos:

I resized two photos in photoshop and put them both into one 4x6 sized format. This way, I can print one 4x6 and get two photos. BAM! You could also have used one portrait-style 4x6 photo, or one photo at the bottom and some digi paper or a solid color at the top like....

THIS:

The rounded-corner outline and text was also created in photoshop and I merged those layers together into one single layer. Now, I'd like to share it with you. I am trying a file sharing service that I have seen many bloggers use. It's free (always a bonus!) and I put my outline/text file into a zipped png. All you have to do is CLICK HERE to download :)

In other news, my hubby and I are going to be celebrating our seventh (LUCKY 7) wedding anniversary tomorrow. Not sure how he's put up with me this long, but I sure am glad that he has. He is the butter to my bread, the apple of my eye, the salt to my pepper...

Love you honey!

I'll be back tomorrow to post some recent layouts.

Adornit Blog Hop

2009-07-31T02:59:00.000-04:00

Hello! I see you have been making it through the rounds on the Adornit blog hop. If you are interested in following the blog hop and have happened upon my blog, you can start HERE.

If you've already been working your way through the blogs, tell me - What are your favorite projects? Do you feel inspired? I can't wait to visit everyone's blogs and get my creative juices flowing.

I will start by telling a little bit about myself:

My name is Julie. I'm in my 30's, married to my BFF, Shawn, and right now I am on summer vacation. Yay!!!! Usually you can find me chasing after my two young ones (which I guess I still do on my summer vay kay), but during the majority of the year I am a high school math teacher.

When Georgana posted the topic "Summer Favorites" it really got me thinking - what are my summer faves? I don't think I've really sat down to think about it before.

So here are my top 10:

1. Freezies. Yup. I need to have the freezer stocked with freezies.

2. cotton skirts and t-shirts. Light and airy, colorful...ah, yes. It feels like summer.

3. SUMMER OFF with my own children! No school. No marking. No lesson prep.

4. A chance to read anything other than a textbook. Last summer it was the Twilight series. Not sure what to read this summer. Suggestions???

5. Local fresh fruit. LOVE strawberries! Discovered this month that my kids like cherries too. Oh, and we love watermelon!

6. Summer storms over the lake. We live close to Lake Simcoe in Ontario and in the summer there are the most wonderful afternoon/evening thunder and lightning storms. The heat and humidity just builds up over the day and when that cooling rain comes down it is the BEST feeling. It is so nice to go walking in the rain under an umbrella (not during the lightning of course!!!!).

7. Matinee movies with the kids at the local theatre. We have a locally owned and operated theatre and it is $4 to see a matinee movie. Summer blockbusters here we come!

8. A chance to sit outside to eat, and to sit on the front porch to get some crochet time while watching the kids ride their scooters.

9. Longer visits to New Brunswick to see my parents and friends. No need for me to rush back to classes! I just wish the drive there didn't take 16 hours.

10. A reason to eat ice cream more often. I confess that I am an ice cream addict. I found the BEST ice cream place ever in NB. And I didn't even think to take pictures. They have a little animal farm there for you to look at while you eat your ice cream. They have the biggest rabbit I have ever seen!

Overall, Summer is a time for me to rekindle family connections and friendships, take a renewal break to get ready for the next school year, and to indulge a little bit in my creative pursuits.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I chose to go with FAVE #6 - Summer Rain - for my blog hop scrapbook layout:

Note: The blue gingham is a fabric-covered bulletin board that I used to photograph the layout.

Thanks for coming !

Your next stop is Tere's blog. Happy blog travels :)

J.

Where in the world is Julie???

2009-07-30T12:59:00.001-04:00

So I am back home from our trip to NB and I have to admit I am having a hard time readjusting to being back in this house. ie: I am being way too lazy. I have laundry piling up, kids toys all over the place and frankly, the floor needs vacuuming. I confess my time has been spent playing video games (yes, I said video games) with the kids. I am totally addicted to the Wii game deBlob. Almost at the story end of the game,but there are a whole bunch of unlocked games to play. I think it is time to take a step back from the controller and get this place cleaned up.

What did I do while in NB? It rained a lot so I took the kids to the pool once. Yep, once. Hmmm....what else did I do? I helped my Mother clean out about 3 car loads of "stuff". Yep, stuff. Mainly fabric and Christmas stuff. Geez, my mom has an unhealthy amount of Christmas "stuff". Apparently it appears to be her favorite holiday :) She did great sorting through the boxes that my sister and I brought up from the basement and down from the loft for her. I really am proud of my Mom and the way that she is handling this. It's been something that we've wanted her to do for years, but now that she and our family is coming to terms with her ALS diagnosis, these things are no longer being put off. My little sis seems to be a force to recon with in the sort-and-purge department. Of all of us, Heather seems to have the least sentimental attachment to items and views this with a more discriminating eye. Bless her! She called me yesterday all excited to tell me that she and Mom had taken another load of items to Value Village. Hurrah!!! Way to go Mom and little sis!

Before I left, my sister and I also cleaned out 3 of 4 large drawers that my mother uses as her main kitchen cupboards (my mother still doesn't have a kitchen with cupboards like she should!). The drawers are 25x17x14 inches deep and held stuff from YEARS ago. We found like 10 bags of chocolate chips, multiples of many spices(does a person really need 4 bottles of onion powder?), old candles, etc. I think we ended up tossing at least 1/3 of what was there and consolidated and organized the rest. NOW my mother has spices with spices in one drawer, baking supplies in another drawer .... OH! IT LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER!!! I think my Dad was really pleased with what we did and my Mother was smiling so large! Felt great to do that for her. I think the more we got rid of, the larger her smile appeared to get. Now to do the same thing with my scrapbook supplies! OY!!!

The kids enjoyed their time in NB with Grammie and Grumpy. They had the opportunity to be out in nature, to watch TV every morning (we don't have cable or any TV channels in our own home. We prefer to watch movies and monitor what the kids watch), and eat TONS of good food. I think the old toys and squirt gun fights on the back deck were their favorite parts.

While it is good to be home, I miss the east coast. It was great to see my friends, Leanne and Dawn. I FINALLY got to see an old friend of mine (hello Christine!) from my university days whom I had not seen in 11 years! I miss the Goody Shop and Greco Pizza, the farmer's market, the fresh air, the small and friendly scrapbook store, the birds in my parent's backyard, sitting on the deck with my Aunt and Uncle drinking coffee and gabbing, and mostly my sister and parents. It was good to be with family and see some friends. Wish I could see them more often.

It was also good to see my hubby again after two and a half weeks! He drove down with us, and then flew back to TO for work, then flew back to Fredericton in order to drive BACK to Toronto with us! Crazy, but he is such a trooper. I loved that he did that to give me a little bit of sanity in dealing with the kids for the drive. He is good to me.

Speaking of driving...my windshield got dinged! Yep, as we were travelling through Quebec, a gravel truck, going the opposite direction, was going too fast and did not have his gravel tarped in. Gravel came spitting out of the top of his truck and struck our windshield. It caused me to actually jump back from the wheel a bit and exclaim, and when we initially took a quick look at the windshield there did not appear to be any damage. Not 5 minutes later I saw a line creeping below the visor. CRAP! The rock had not struck where I thought it had. It had hit about 2 inches down from the top of the glass and two cracks radiated from the star chip. Partway through the trip we were joking about it and I was saying to hubby "Stop looking at my crack!" Totally cracked us up. Better than crying about it I guess. I got the windshield replaced on Tuesday, thanks to a lower deductable through insurance that I first thought.

I went to a Stampin' Up party night last night at Catherine Black's place and had a great time playing with the new in-colors inks, cardstock and some punchs and stamps. So fun! Met some very nice ladies as well. Now I can't decide what I would like to purchase! I want too much stuff. Probably good to get it in little bits as I can afford it, right? Afterall, I just got a new windshield and we also have t0 purchase a new patio sliding door. This is the year of the breaking glass. Instead of the sliding door, I am thinking about putting in french doors instead. Might be more practical....

And last but not least....TOMORROW IS BLOG HOP day!!!!!!! You will be starting with Georgana Hall's blog at Adornit and somewhere along the bloghop line, you will be directed here :) The blog link after mine will be Tere !

There are so many VERY talented ladies participating and I have heard that there will be upwards of 70 participants!!!! WOW! Can't wait to see what everyone has created and discover some new bloggers. Isn't the internet incredible? And to think that in 1994 I was wondering what would happen if I clicked on that netscape icon...

J

Adornit Layouts

2009-07-29T14:03:00.000-04:00

I forgot to post my layout and card creations that I put together for Adornit! Here are the layouts that I created for the Guest DT spot for July's Busy Women Scrapbooking kits

Enjoy!

Retro Toy Day

2009-07-15T19:34:00.000-04:00

I have been going through stuff with my mom in order to clean out the clutter/junk. Amongst the Christmas decorations and other knickknacks in the basement, I found some toys that my brother and I played with in the late 70's - early 80's.

1. The original Lightbright.

My kids are playing with it and having a blast as I type this. Wow. Can't believe my mom kept it!

2. Playskool Richard Scarry's Alfalfa Puzzletown Farm:

I didn't know any other kid who had this and it was difficult finding a reference to it on the internet. I guess there were a whole bunch of different Puzzletown sets that went with this one.

3. Fisher Price Garage and Dollhouse:

I think just about every kid in north america in the late 70's and early 80's had at least one of these two toys!

4. School Desk from Fisher Price:

I think my mom bought this at a yard sale for my kids to play with. I never had one that I can remember.

I am sure that I will unearth more treasures from the past over the next week while I am here. It's an incredible ride down memory lane. Do any of you still have some favorite childhood toys? Do tell!

Julie

Guest Designer

2009-07-14T21:23:00.000-04:00

I was asked a few weeks ago if I would like to be the guest designer for the month of July at Adornit (Carolee's Creations) and I was thrilled! It's been a few years since I have been part of any design team and it was nice to be asked to participate in that aspect of the "scrapbooking world" again.

When Georgana contacted me about it, I was a little hesitant. As I have mentioned previously, my creativity (or "mojo" as most of us call it), had been absent for well over a year. My family has gone through some rough times, especially with my Mom's diagnosis with ALS and it took me a while to get back to that place of wanting to cut and paste paper or do almost anything crafty again. I was in a real rut of a place and I am finally starting to emerge with a better and more positive attitude about life. I am having fun with my hobbies again! For a serious person like myself, and especially someone who was dealing with grief, that was easier said than done!

Part of what got me through that period was

finding someone to talk to about my grief ,
reading the book Tuesdays With Morrie (I HIGHLY recommend that everyone read it at least once!)
and the support of my husband and coworkers. What would I do without them?!!

This post is to say that I did it. I accepted the gig. I cut and pasted and embellished. I created three layouts and three cards that I am so proud of AND I want to do more! The kit that Georgana sent me was full of stuff! Two sheets of each patterned paper, a journalling stamp as well as a sentiment/circular motif patterned stamp set, twill ribbon, rubons, chipboard flowers, letter stickers, etc... WOW. I haven't even used half of it yet! (Confession: This is the first time that I have used a scrapbooking "kit".)

My faves from the kit:

1. The pink, yellow and turquoise blue papers. YUM!

2. The stamps! Oh man, I love how the ink goes onto these stamps. I've had so many stamp sets where I have to rub an eraser across the top of the image to get the manufacturing residue off so that the ink would stick. Not so on these babies! LOVES!

3. The little photo boxes! (I haven't had a chance to use them yet, but I have ideas :)

The kit can be found here. I will take some closer pics of the kit items tomorrow with pics of some of my fave color combinations for you to check out. Sometimes it is hard to know what to put with what. You would be surprised with the unexpected combinations that can be used.

I am so giddy. I get to share my creations with you tomorrow!

G'night!

Julie

On Vay-kay

2009-07-12T20:00:00.000-04:00

I have been on a blogging hiatus for a little while. Since my last post, I have driven 16 hours north east to New Brunswick where my two kids and I are visiting my parents and sister. Our first few days here were quite rainy and the cabin fever was starting to set in but we are now enjoying a bit of sun and getting outside.

I am blogging out on the deck in the shade of the patio umbrella while the kids squirt each other with water from the huge plastic syringes that my Mom uses to clean her feeding tube and deliver her meds. No, there are no needles attached! These things can suck up an amazing amount of liquid and shoot it for meters! Better than the expensive squirt guns from the store. They are having a blast soaking each other. I had better move myself inside before the laptop gets soaked!

I have a car full of scrapbooking/crafting materials and I'm not afraid to use them! Look out!

Julie

Lazy but creative Sunday

2009-06-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

We were up early this morning to get breakfast for our houseguests and then (sadly) see them off on their way. I did a bit of crocheting this morning after they left and then found that I was too tired to keep my eyes open anymore. I think I lay down on the couch to close my eyes around 10am and slept right through until 1pm! WOW! Shawn had actually taken the kids upstairs to keep them quiet while I rested. That was awesome!

After my little nap, I headed over to my friend Lisa's house to scrapbook. I really didn't know what to work on, but I created a card for a friend who just had a new baby girl (Hi Sarah!) and then tried to finish up two layouts that I started work on last weekend. I just need to finish up the journalling and add it :) Yay!

I finished up the crocheted granny square that I started this morning. I have officially finished 27 small 6x6inch (approximately) granny squares. I'd like to finish one each day, but if I get at least 4 done each week, then I should be able to join them all this Fall and start threading in all the stray ends - a job I am NOT looking forward to. I should be threading the little ends in as I finish each one, but usually I am just so anxious to get on to creating the next square and a new color combination. I am using 11 different yarn colors with white as the final two rounds on each square. The yarns are a bamboo/wool mix and the white yarn is a bamboo/cotton mix. I looked everywhere for a white bamboo/wool yarn but could not find any. I would like to find a nice all cotton yarn to make another afghan in the future. I haven't been able to find any locally in BRIGHT cotton colors. Usually is it white or beige or pastel/baby colors. Not what I am looking for. I want BRIGHT and cotton just feels so nice...

Shawn and the kids test-drove the new Spore Galactic Adventures game this afternoon. Emily is hooked on creating her own little Spore adventures now.

Speaking of being hooked on something...

Em has been skipping up a storm lately. I loved skipping as a kid. It's so good to see that she loves it too. It's driving me crazy that she tries skipping in the livingroom though. I have to keep reminding her to stop and then follow her outside to supervise her on the front sidewalk. We live on a fairly busy and high-traffic street. I've been sitting on the front verandah in my lawnchair crocheting each time. At this rate, I should be able to finish at least 7 squares a week! (one each day of skipping time).

So all-in-all it was a restful and creative day. Drinking lots of coffee (mmmm....french vanilla beans this time) to stay awake this evening and finish off those two layouts. It's not fair to them to leave them for another week... I'll post them when I finish.

J.

So excited!

2009-06-27T12:34:00.000-04:00

It's a good weekend. NO! A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!

I am excited because:

1.) My cousin, Jason is here with his family!!! They are travelling from the maritimes back to Manitoba and I feel so honored and lucky to have them here. Both Marion and Jason are in the Canadian Forces and are raising two WONDERFUL children. Casey and Alyssa are such well-mannered and nice kids. My daughter, Emily is now pretty much attached to Alyssa even though there is a 4 year age gap between them. They both love girly-girl stuff like online pets, littlest pet shop, barbies... They were up really late last night chit-chatting. So cute. (they are so tired today though!). Shawn got Casey addicted to Plants versus Zombies on the computer. He was up playing it right after breakfast this morning! Their family is headed to Canada's Wonderland today. As much as we would have liked to go with them, my kids had soccer all morning. Which brings me to ...

2.) THE WEATHER IS GORGEOUS TODAY!!!! It's hot, but there is a nice breeze. We took a drive home along the lake after soccer. So nice to look at all of the homes and cottages along the lake. Lots of boats out today.

3.) I got asked to be a guest designer for a manufacurer's monthly kit club for July! So excited about it. Can't wait to see what I get to work with and create! (hint: It starts with "A" and ends in "it". LOL!)

4.) Going to cook on the BBQ tonight. Love BBQ. (edited to add: we ended up having meatballs with rice. They must be having fun. They are still at Wonderland!)

5.) Going to scrapbook with my friend, Lisa Snow tomorrow :) It will be nice to have some adult "girl time". SO looking forward to that.

6.) We saw one of Emily's former classmates at the soccer field! It was so nice to see Paige and her family again. She transferred schools this year and Em was so dissappointed when she returned to school and Paige had *poof!* - disappeared. It will be fun to get them together for a playdate later this summer.

7.) The house is clean! (nothing like having house guests to give my butt a good kicking into gear! LOL!)

How is your day going?

J.

Hair there and everywhere....

2009-06-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

So...I have this horrible habit of putting off haircuts and color jobs. And I have a lot of grey coming in! We are talking skunk stripe where the un-dyed hair (roots) were growing in! Yep, it was 4 months between appointments this time. I know (hanging my head in shame). So I finally made an appointment earlier this week to go to a new salon in my town that is owned by my former hairdresser.

Elise is the sweetest and funniest person. She makes me feel like a million bucks every time she cuts my hair, but one day over a year ago she wasn't at the salon I went to anymore. She had gone on an education/mission trip to Africa for a while. So...I tried a new hairdresser and liked what she did to my hair. I kept going. And once Elise came back I felt that I couldn't just leave my new hairdresser to go back to her as they worked at the same salon. Well, Elise has now opened up her own place in Keswick!!!! I went tonight and got a GREAT color and cut, her Mom made me an espresso, and I relaxed. Ahhhh!!!! So good to get my hair done and relax - in my own town! I highly recommend that you go onto her facebook page and check out some of the before and afters that she has documented recently. I will post my own before and after there soon I think (If I get brave enough!).

So, THANK YOU ELISE! For making my day. For making me look and feel at least 10 years younger, and for opening a fabulous salon in Keswick. Keswick has been needing you!!!!

Touch of elegance by Elise

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I also have a few scrapbooking/cards shares tonight. I created these yesterday for a DT application, but unfortunately I wasn't chosen. I guess I have to ask myself whether I truly put in the best creative effort that I could have. I probably could have done better. I KNOW I could have done better. I guess that's what this hobby is about though - having fun while trying new things and getting better as we go :)

I had fun creating the layout. It was the second time I have tried the glimmer mists, and I liked the effect even though it really isn't totally "me". The layout came out more shabbier than my usual simple-line-it-all-up graphic style. It really was me out-of-the-box a bit. I need to do that more. What do you think?

KW color challenge #55

2009-06-22T15:33:00.001-04:00

Here is the card that I created for the Kristina Werner color challenge :

I die-cut the flowery lace shapes using the cuttlebug flowers (2 die set) and glued them to the white cardstock card base to give a white-on-white embossed look. I added the gems on top. I added a piece of grey cardstock, rusty red strip of scrap paper that I trimmed with my scallop sheers, and then tied on the yellow ribbon. The last step was to emboss the "thank you" sentiment using versamark and white embossing powder.

I had fun putting this together and learned that I do not have much rust or grey in my craft stash. I think I will add more grey to my supplies, but I am still not a fan of rust.

TFL!

Julie

Challenges

2009-06-21T15:37:00.000-04:00

So Kristina Werner posts a color challenge each week and I have been watching other crafters create and post their wonderful creations for the past few challenges. I've been a little too chicken or honestly just a little too lazy to participate until now. I have decided to try this round. Here is the color combo choice for this week:

Now, normally, this color combination would do nothing for me. I love BRIGHT and jewel colors, really am not a fan of rust or mustard, but I need to get myself out-of-the-box and try new things so this will be a start. I am not usually good with change, but I think I can accept a bit of change in this respect ;) I am thinking heavy on the grey and white with a bit of yellow and a tiny touch of the rust color...

I have also been following these videos and samples from Jennifer McGuire of Twopeasinabucket.com using Tim Holtz distress inks. They are pretty cool. I've never been one for a lot of inking, but do own a lot of stamps (they are so darned cute and cool!) that have never or barely been used. One of my goals is to learn new techniques with ink and dig those stamps out and use them more. If you haven't checked out these FREE classes from Jennifer, I highly recommend that you do! When I watched the first video,I only owned one of the distress ink pads and had never used it! It had been given to me a few years back during a class that I had taken (got LOTS of free stuff at that class too). It is the vintage paper ink pad. Not too colorful. So...I went to Michaels this past week and picked up the broken china, lipstick pink, and the weathered wood ink pads. I don't own a grey colored ink, so the weathered wood should be a good addition to my stash. Silly to say, but I am a little nervous about using these ink pads. Not sure why. I guess I don't want to be disappointed when I use them. Jennifer makes using them look so simple - almost one of those "too good to be true" kind of things. LOL. I am just psyching myself up to try them this evening. I will post my results when I do.

Shawn is upstairs working on the flooring in our room, the kids are playing Mia's spelling game on the PC and I need to get my butt off of this couch and try some of these challenges! Who's with me????

Lazy Daisy Days...

2009-06-21T15:14:00.000-04:00

So it was my good intention to start this blog and keep up with it, but when I go to post most times I usually come up with some good excuse (or so I think) for not posting. Usually it is just because I am so darn tired, but other times it is because I really don't think I have must of interest to say. Anyone else in that boat? But there have been moments where I know that I should have posted just to document things so I don't forget. For example:

A few weeks ago my son and I went to the scrapbook store in the morning while my daughter was in school and on the way home we passed a bunch of daisies in the ditch at the side of the road. Now, normally I would have kept on driving, but something made me stop. Noah was SO EXCITED to get out of the car and pick flowers with me and because I didn't have a container to put them in, I ended up using my empty Country Style coffee cup. While picking, he asked me "Mom, where did these flowers come from?"and I told him that the seeds probably blew there in the wind from some other area nearby. Then he asked me who watered the flowers. "God watered them", I said ,"from the clouds". He looked at me point blank and said " Wow, mom! God is a really cool guy!" Now it struck me as the cutest thing. This little 4 year old voice calling God a cool guy. Yes, my boy, He is a VERY cool guy :) What a great afternoon with my boy.

Enjoy your Father's day everyone. Don't forget to thank the original Father for your gifts and blessing too.

Welcome!

2009-06-01T16:19:00.000-04:00

You found me! Welcome to my craft blog - Finding Julie. I started scrapbooking in early 2004 just before my daughter turned 1. Before that friends had mentioned scrapbooking to me and I had always said "No! I will NOT be one of those crazy moms who document every moment of their kid's lives. NO!" Well....

So, to make a long story short...I'm into scrapbooking BIG. I have a whole basement filled with old and new stuff that NEEDS to be used. And therein lies the problem --> M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N. Anybody else with me??? For the past few years, for multiple reasons, my creativity has been low. Really low. To the point where just walking into my craft area would cause me to break into a sweat and send me running for the stairs. Yep, I had such high expectations and high sense of such perfectionism that I wouldnt' even TOUCH the stuff. Although every once in a while, I would buy some new stuff in the hopes that I would rush into this hobby full force again.

It didn't happen.

At least not until NOW!!!!!!

I have been working over the past few months to get my creative self back - and I think I have found her. At least partially. I started with knitting - a dishcloth. Then more dishcloths.

Then I moved on to crochet - granny squares anyone? Crocheting flowers for my daughter's birthday treatbags (and not taking ANY photos of them before they found new owners )

I have TWO crochet projects on the go and I am fully accepting that they are going to each take me longer than a weekend or even a week to complete. The goal right now is to get them done by year end. And I'm ok with that. "Unfinished project" is my middle name (not really, it is actually Marie).

So...on to scrapbooking! I have completed a few projects over the past few weeks and all of them are very different in style from my past scrapbook stuff. While they still are very clean-lined, they are also a lot more simple and include more journalling than I used to include (which used to be practically nil). I am not a chronological scrapbooker. I don't *always* use acid-free stuff (but mostly I do because I would like my stuff to last at least through my lifetime) and I like black and white photos for their classic appearance. Also easier for me to use almost any color with them. So, without further ado, here are my latest projects that I am so excited to share: