the little things

today I made 3 cards? ...and a very cartoon looking house.

What is up with that!?  I like never ever barely make cards at all.. and in one day, I make 3!?

I only have a photo of one though.  The other 2 are in envelopes on the kitchen table.. ready to go in the mail!  Even more of a rarity! lol  I made this card for Rhonda's 'use the b side' challenge over on the KI Memories blog.

I love using the b side of patterned paper... usually the patterns are smaller, and more subtle... easy for cutting small strips and shapes out of.. and you still have plenty of pattern showing!  Perfect!

I am liking card making right now.. super quick, and such a creative boost!  I ordered one of each of these sets from 2 Peas and they make card making sooooo easy!  Just grab one and go!  Love it!

What else have I been up to?  You know you have too much time on your hands when (or maybe are trying really hard at procrastinating hee hee!)...

When you take a picture of your house and colour and draw all over it.  We have been in this house about 2 and a half years now.  The first year, we finished the basement.  The second year, we did major landscaping construction to the land surrounding the house... lots of clay work, etc.  This year... focus on the veranda (which is there but not quite finished yet) and the back deck.. you don't know how happy the prospect of having a deck makes me!

So what is up with this sketch huh?  Well, it all started because I wanted to figure out a way to work our colour combo into the outdoor areas as well.  I wanted to paint the front door... but needed to visualize.   We bought the green and white hammock already from Ikea.. so I drew it in to see what it would look like.  I was on a roll, so I had to add some furniture... I am thinking 3 white chairs (whicker maybe?) and some little tables for cold glasses of iced tea (mmmmm).  Of course some flower pots too!  Maybe just buy some normal cheapy ones and spray paint them in cool colours!  Touches of breezy aqua and greens.. a bit of yellow?  Maybe?  Am I dreaming? ha ha!  I just loove that colour combo so much, and I am seeing it everywhere for outdoor stuff right now too!  I dunno.  It was fun.  So there you have it.. our 09 spring/summer project.  

Oh... and ignore the Christmas lights. ha!  

Anybody wanna come make some flower beds with me?  Pretty please!? hee heee! ;)

Later! 

meet my new ride...

On our way back from our mini vacation that we recently took... we broke down on the side of the highway.  Not fun.  We turned it into an adventure while we waited for rescue and a tow truck... I make it sound so dramatic don't I?  ha ha!  In actuality, we were only about 20 minutes from home... and our rescuer was about as close.  It could have been sooo much worse!  

I had my Xterra in for service a few months ago, and they messed up pretty bad.  They didn't put the plug in properly (rear end) and on the way home (without us knowing), it blew oil.. till there was no oil left... then it seized up, and we lurched to a dead stop.  Ugh!  Thankfully... Nissan fixed it on their bill.  So, nooo.. this didn't really mean we were out a vehicle and had to go get a new one.  We have been looking around since last summer.. trying to decide what to get next.  I always had a soft spot for the Murano.  I contemplated a few other choices, the Murano won.  It is smaller compared to what the other choices were, but for normal day to day family hauling and grocery getting.. it is practical... and fun to drive! hee!  Once we have bad luck with a vehicle... it always seems to go down hill for us.. we can't escape it!  Seriously! ..so superstitious us thought now was just as good a time as any! ;)

Meet the batmobile (09 Nissan Murano LE)... yes that is what I like to think of it as.. the batmobile! ha!

No.. it can't launch rockets... or change forms (ha!)... but this gadget loving girl is most definitely impressed!  Seriously, it kind of scares me.  My Xterra had like nooooo features or gadgets (we bought it the same model year that they decided the Xterra didn't need anything.. no matter how 'loaded' you purchased it)... nothing to mess up! lol  I have some pretty heavy manual reading ahead of me!  

We ended up getting the navigation with it.. not that we need it up here, although I am quite impressed that even the grid road that we live on is there, and labeled properly!  Impressive!  I suppose I might get lost out in the boonies and need it to find my way home! ha ha!  Just kidding.  They only had 2 or 3 on the lot... so, navigation it was.  Oh well.. like I said, I like gadgets! :)

Have you noticed that I like talking 'cars' yet?  I am kinda nerdy that way... or obsessive. James said I could name more specs on most cars than any guy he knows could! ha ha!  What can I say.. I researched a LOT before deciding what I wanted to get! lol

I have to link up this site, because it seriously rocks.  I referred to it SO much while hunting around and figuring things out.  If there are any other moms out there that are choosing a vehicle.. you HAVE to go here.  They give such an ideal perspective on what moms want and need out of a vehicle.  Moms talking cars.. it is just so perfect.  Oh what I wouldn't give to be a part of that gig!  They drive vehicles, with their families.. use them like they are meant (or not meant in some cases!) to be used.  Take their kids to school in them etc!  They have them for a while.. live with them, and then do a review... loooove it!  Here is the linky link if you want to check it out!

This post is probably the most mundane post ever huh!?  I don't think anybody comes here to read about cars. hee heee!  If you read this much... you deserve an award I think!  James got sick of me talking cars last August! ha!

Later!! :)

so um... yeah..

The other day, Laine comes out of the playroom... carrying the scooter up at her head level.  Odd I thought. 

That was about as far as the thought process went, so I continued on doing what I was doing.  Well, she keeps standing there, but doesn't really say anything.  So I look up again...

Um Laine... what did you do?  (as I look at the tangled hair mess in front of me)

"Well, I just wanted to see if it would curl my hair.  That is all."

Ha ha ha ha HA!  Oh yes she DID!

I suppose I should mention... that those yellow things in front that resemble a fan.. well, that is because they act just like a fan, and spin around quite quickly!  You may be asking, "why would she even dream to try such a thing!?"  I really really wish I had an answer for that... and I asked myself that very question many many times during the process of untangling my sweet sweet girl from the crazy fan twirling scooter.

Please please ignore the fact that I made my daughter continue to hold the scooter up off the floor as I ran for my camera... this did after all neeeeeed to be documented.  

Later!! :)

Happy Easter... a few days late! :)

And I was getting so much better at keeping up with blogging! ha ha!  It is spring/Easter break for Miss Laine right now... so we have been taking it pretty easy.  Jammies every day for like the past ohhhh, 3 days? hee heee!  See, there really is no excuse for not blogging now is there?  Ohh, but ya know what?  I have read almost three books in just as many days... amazing!  I do have time to read after all.. if I stay away from the internet that is! lol  

Here are some Easter morning pictures.  Johner residence style.  I swear, the kids thought it was Christmas.  It was barely daylight and Laine was wanting to start the hunt.  I begged and begged for her to wait, so there was enough light to take some decent pictures.  She didn't think that was a very valid reason.. so hunting they went!  In fact, I think I got a major eye roll for suggesting such a thing!

The Easter Bunny leaves a trail of clues, and sends the kids on a scavenger hunt around the house.  Ohh how I wish we could dress up in cute spring outfits and go out and search the grass and flowers for goodies left behind.. but nope, not here... unless you want to dig through snow and mud.  Definitely not the story book version of an egg hunt! hee!  Oh well, the kids think this is pretty darn good, so that is fine by me!

It was pretty cute, Harley was old enough to get into it this year.  Although, at first I think he thought we were nuts. :)

Here they are checking out the loot.  Good grief.  Chocolate for breakfast?  Notice the clock?  All said and done and it wasn't even 8am yet!  

Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend! :)  We are off for a mini vacation starting tomorrow.. I would say I might blog while on the road, but I can't even seem to blog from my own house ha!  We'll see... ya never know! hee heee! 

Later! :)

Harley is 2!

We had a party for him on Sunday!  We had his favourite meal... chicken and fries (seriously the only thing the little fart will eat a complete meal of! lol).  We had a car cake.  We had balloons (this boy looooves balloons!)... and we had a lot fun!

 

Notice the collection of tractors in front of him?  He would not get up in the chair without them.. all of them.  He had to gather each and every single one and bring them to the table.  He made his daddy sooo very proud! ha ha!

This is the Lightning McQueen cake that I made.  The one that took waaaaay too long.  I am not going to tell you how long it took me. hee heee!  OK, I will... can you believe that thing took 7 hours start to finish!?  Can you say sore wrists? lol  It was worth it though... the look on his face says enough for me! :)

Opening presents.  Each one very cool... each one got gasps and shouts of 'oh yeah' and all sorts of smiles!

 

 

Any guesses what that one is?  I had a little too much time on may hands maybe?  Really though, how else are you supposed to wrap a scooter?  It was a LOT smaller looking in the box, that's for sure! ha ha!  This was Laine's gift to him... now she wants a girlie one for herself! ;)

I really don't know why I positioned myself so the window was backlighting every single picture I took?  Why oh why would I do that?  Good grief!

He was definitely one happy happy birthday boy! :)

banners and pom poms...

Just what every playroom needs, don't ya think?  Although, I am sure Harley will highly disagree with the pom poms in a year or two! hee heee!  For now though, they are kinda cool.  I bought another tissue paper pom pom kit for my scraproom (we already have a pink set hanging in Laine's room, they are both from Martha Stewart Crafts)... I wanted the aqua/turquoise ones in here.. yes, really feeling the need to make things feel more like 'spring' around here.. and it worked!!  There were 3 leftover light blue ones... so I hung them in the playroom, along with the fabric banner that I finally made.

Sorry about the lighting in that second one.. it was waaaay too late in the day to try to take pictures in there!  Recognize the artwork on the left?  All of the art in there is by Miss Laine. :)

I would have taken a 'wider' shot... but um.. the playroom was an absolute disaster... like seriously, I was tripping over toys as I took these! ha!  We cleaned it last night.  It was time. hee heee!  I keep making the rule 'clean it every night' ...but that never seems to happen!  I really got to enforce that one I think!  Yeah right.. ;)

Have you guys heard about this yet?  OMG!  Digi KI! How cool hey!?  It is seriously like a whole new world of KI goodness!  I was playing last night, and it was seriously cool.  All of my fave KI stuff... to use over and over and over and over... soooooo many ideas!  FABULOUS!  Ohhhh... and the 'Pieces of Me' collection.. tell me you haven't missed that!?  One of my all time faves!!  Now in digi!  Heaven!  Just how many exclamation points do you think I can put in one paragraph anyway!?? hee heee  Here is the page I did last night...

Check out these awesome digi layouts that are part of today's 'Focus On' on the KI Blog!  Yum!!  The next one is another KI layout.. I did this one for Jennifer Pebbles 'scrap a noise or conversation' challenge...

I was trying to get Harley to say 'ready' the other day.  I would say 'ready' ..but instead of repeating me, he would jump right to 'GO!' ..it was sooooo funny!  This photo above cracks me up... took it the other day when I was laying on the floor taking pictures of them playing in the playroom.. the one focused on the ball.. well, this is how that ended! ha HA! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Any fun plans?  Tomorrow I think I will probably be stressing over Harley's car cake that I somehow figured I could bake and decorate for his birthday party... any bets on me running to town Sunday morning for a store made cake!? hee heee!  Then, Sunday will be Lightning McQueen land in this household.. Harley will be turning 2!?  Thanks for all the gift recommendations by the way!  Loved reading all of them... and I wanted to get each and every one! heee!  

Later!