the little things

what to blog about first? how 'bout a bunch of random of course (hee heee)..

Hi all!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the holiday season!  Been gone a while huh?  Last post.. November 24th.  That is just not acceptable it it?  I think I just got too much into the routine of not blogging.. honestly I have just had a hard time focusing on anything lately!  So many directions to go.. so I do nothing. ha ha!

1. I am blonde again!  Ack right!?  And super short.. like Halle Berry pixie short, and I looooooove it.  It is actually a reddish blonde, much like my natural colour.. which was totally what I was going for.  I need to take a picture.. actually I have one on my phone that I sent my mom, lemme see if I can gather the guts to post it (ha ha)..

Excuse the 'mirror shot' ..took it really quick the other day. ha ha  Way too lazy to take another.. so this will have to do.  The bleaching out process was a wee bit frightening.. bright blonde roots and neon orange everywhere else.  Yes, my heart lept out of my chest a few times.  But my awesome stylist fixed me up with pretty much the exact shade I was going for. Yay yay yay.  So strange looking in the mirror and seeing 'me' again!!

2. I want to see Inception really really bad.  LOVE those kinds of movies.  Yep.. might have to get hubby to stop on the way home and rent it.. ;)

3. Laine has been home sick for the past few days.. but her and her brother are starting to argue more and more.. so I would say she is on her way to feeling better! ha ha  Fingers crossed she makes it back tomorrow.. their school does daytime Christmas concerts (which is bizarre if you ask me) and there is one tomorrow as well as the next day, I just hope she makes it to at least one!  

4. I have an insane amount of projects and things to share on the blog, but I am not sure where to start!  I am hating that I let it go this long.

5. So close to being finished up with Christmas shopping.. happy that I got an early start this year.  Online shopping rocks by the way.  Ebay, Amazon, Chapters Indigo, Etsy, Best Buy, Old Navy and Gap (oh and Anthropologie.. but that was for me hee).. yep, online shopping = the best.  Still have to track down a few of those hard to find things though.. might need some luck!  Eeeeek!!

6. Heads up about Anthropologie to my fellow Canadians.. phone the Edmonton store, they will ship it to you and you don't have to pay the ridiculous duties!!  YAY!!  The girls were so great over the phone too, I will definitely be doing that again!  Just find what you are after online.. and then phone with the numbers!  I ordered three tops and the duties from the US were around $80.. so worth it to phone it in, AND.. it was here in two days!  Love!

7. Making an outdoor rink is harder than one would think.. that has been my project these past 3 days.  We started it a few weeks ago.  James put up boards, and we began the flooding process.. now though, I am obsessed with finishing it. ha ha  The kids will skate on it before Christmas.. yes they will!! lol  Can't wait for it to be done!  Skating right off the veranda, ohhhhh it will be fabulous!

8. Living on a hill does not help with the making of a rink.  

9. I can NOT wait for Christmas!!  I think I am more excited than the kids!! hee!

10. I need to become friends with my camera again.. I barely have any new pictures, seriously.. it is bad.  Bad bad bad.  

OK.. gotta run, the rink is due for another flood!

nature themed birthday party.. the details

Well, my little Laine turned nine (NINE?) on Wednesday and then had seven (SEVEN!?) girls over for a sleepover this past Saturday.  I think I needed a few days to recover from that one myself.. maybe that is why it has taken me so long to post these pics! hee!

I think my love for nature inspired 'stuff' has worn off on Laine.. so, when she came up with the idea to use 'nature' as her theme.. I was sooooooo on board!  A reason to go buy pretty butterflies and cute forest figurines!  Of course!!!! 

Here is the cake (inspired by this cake from a Martha Stewart Weddings magazine)..

She chose an angel food cake.. easy peasy!  I iced it with whipped icing (from Michael's.. comes in a box, it is theeeeeee best.. yum), and finished it off with some simple pretty butterflies (which of course we can re use as decor around the house! hee!).. 

I think I could take pictures of cakes and food all day (if only I cooked and baked more ha ha)..

The banner was super easy to make as well.. I printed the letters in super light grey on the back side of the paper (cut down to 5x7 and fed into the printer).. printed in reverse of course, so when the letters where cut out, the right side was showing.  Then, I just stapled the letters to white ribbon.

I also could have used the silhouette machine I am sure.. but I haven't used it in ages (bad bad bad) and I wasn't up for figuring something new out that late at night! ha  Of course it was like midnight when I was making it.  It had to be up for her when she woke up on her birthday after all! ;)

The forest friends..

They are still on the dining room table by the way.. I grew kind of fond of them.  So have the kids.. they get up there and play with them.  Bought these at Michael's.. as well as the trees, Christmas stuff is out.. perfect timing!! ..and there sits the birthday party budget. ha ha ha!  Worth it though right? ;)  ..of course I had to get the pine cones too. heee!

Mr. Moose is my favourite. :)

We came up with the idea to decorate flower pots and plant mini plants in them as a craft/activity.. then the girls took them home in brown paper lunch bags as party favours.

They had so much fun with this!  Faux fur.. feathers, pom poms and sequins.. oh, and glitter glue!  The pots turned out adorable (missed getting a shot of them all lined up).. but my gosh.. it looked like a few furry/feathery critters exploded all over the table by the time they were finished! ha!  It was quite a sight!  Here is Laine's..

I found the cuuuutest little yellow rose plants for them.. saved over $40 on them too, they were priced to sell (I actually jumped up and down a little when I found them).. wish I had more pictures of these!

We also spent a few hours searching for woodland type colouring pictures on the internet last week.. printed off a bunch for the girls...

THE perfect activity to allow for some quiet time!! hee!  I think I may have enjoyed this one more than the girls.  Ahhhhh quiet.. bliss! 

There it is!  All my other pics have Laine's friends in them.. so, not going there. It was a fun day, I just hope the parents aren't too mad at me.. the girls may or may not have stayed up until 2am (rumour has it a few woke up to play barbies at 3am.. ooooooops!).. ahh well, that is what slumber parties are for right!?  

Yay for fun nature themed and forest themed birthday parties!  Inspiration from here.. finally found the link for the table I posted last week. :)  How long do you think the critters will stay lined up on the table!? ;)

and just like that..

She is nine years old.  She could not wait for yesterday to come.. and I could have held on to eight for much much much longer. 

Taken as she was heading out the door to meet the bus yesterday morning.. every birthday girl needs to be followed around with the camera, right?  

Must must must savour every second.. before I know it, she will be ten... and that is double digits.. and that is scary.

Nine things this precious nine year old is loving..

1. Reading.. anything we put in front of her.  She loves these Warriors books.  
2. Skating, can't get enough.. and she is such a joy to watch.  She loves it when she gets to help out with the pre school group.. and she does so well!
3. Crafting.. will make anything out of paper and tape.  Her latest.. Littlest Pet Shop furniture.  Construction paper and tape make her one happy girl.. she could create for hours.
4. Talking.. she will talk and talk and talk... and giggle.  She is at the age where she says 'like' a lot.
5. Taylor Swift.  
6. Littlest Pet Shops.. the addition of the mini Blythe dolls sparked that back up again. So, this is her current toy of choice.  
7. Fashion.  Drawing it.. cutting out paper clothes, shopping.. you name it, she loves it.  Going clothes shopping with her can be a lot of fun.. or interesting (depending on my mood) hee heee!
8. School.  
9. The Sims.  She love loves loves making houses and decorating them.. she is so totally my daughter. hee heee! 

She is smart, strong willed, has a sense of humour like no other.. is beautiful inside and out... and I just can not image what life would be like had she not have entered our lives nine years ago.

Happy Birthday my sweet Laine.. I love love love you! xoxo

happy halloween?? ! ???

ha ha ha.

Hello hello!  Taking a break from my 'break' to come and share some Halloween pics!  Good grief.  I realized today just how long I have been gone, and it is getting out of hand I say!  Still not feeling the hugest desire to commit to more regular blogging.. but this is a step! hee

Little miss scary witch.. or not, because she doesn't really look all that scary to me. The grin kind of gives her away, don't you think?

Harley.. the scary dinosaur... again, not very scary! hee!  He had fun trying though, roaring as loud as he could while trick or treating.. totally got into the part, I had to get him up off the ground at one point, as he tried to crawl around on all four 'legs' ha ha ha!

I won't go crazy on the photo sharing.. since Halloween was like 2 weeks ago, and I am sure you have all had your fill of Halloween pictures! hee!  I figured I should at least share a few though.. so here they are. :)

Hope everyone is doing well! xoxo

completely random

Yep.  Scatterbrained.  That is me.

But yay.. 2 blog posts in 2 days!  Go me, go me, go me! lol  Today, I am downstairs in my craft space scrappin' away.  First time spending any real amount of time in here in over a week.  Feels good.  Real good.

First bit of random.. I have an easy going approach to potty training (see, totally random right?), and while some people may think it is crazy that Harley isn't potty (scratch that.. wasn't) trained yet.. he decided himself a week ago that he wanted to start using the potty.  And it has been smooth sailing ever since.  We have tried a few times in the past and it has been a battle, he was just completely not interested.  But since we left it until he was ready.. which I know is different for every child and every family (and I sooooo don't want to get into potty training politics here on the blog ha ha ha).. I am just so beyond proud of him!  He led the way and he did it!  Such a typical male though.. had to be his idea to be a good idea! ha ha ha!! ;)

The point of this.. we have no bathroom downstairs. ha ha!

But today, we braved the big boy undies.. and the wall to wall carpet (lol) and we ventured downstairs.  I am in my space, he in his.. and we couldn't be happier!  Hello blog.. oh how I have missed you!

OK.. onward (to more random).  

I had my first eye exam the other day.  I have been having headaches.. and thought my eyes were 'being funny' ..maybe I was over thinking it though, since he told me I have perfect vision!?  Hmm.. I was kinda looking forward to glasses. ha ha!  Call me crazy.  Maybe I should get more sleep (???).. might help with the headaches and the lazy focusing eyes.

This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada.. turkey day.  Yum yum!  Well, wouldn't turkey day be a fabulous day for a power outage!?  Um yeah.  Turkey had been in the oven for about an hour when it went out.  So.. BBQ it was.. until the power came back on and then we finished it in the oven.  So bizarre.  It worked out perfectly, and surprisingly turned out yummy!  ..and none of us got sick from nasty food ickies! ha ha  Oh.. and I think I could officially live off of pumpkin pie.  Just had to get that out there.  Ohhhh.. or pumpkin cheesecake! I looooooove this time of year!  

Getting excited to get my Etsy shop up and running again sometime soon!  Haven't actually worked on anything new yet but I have the urge to.. and that is big you guys.  Real big! So many ideas.. can't wait to set aside some time!!

OK.. better run for now.  Quick layout share though.. been so long since I blogged regularly, I have a few to share!  In honour of the KI Memories blog hop that is happening right now.. it is another KI 'Over The Rainbow' layout..

You can read about the blog hop here on this previous post.. this post IS NOT a blog hop post.. so comments left on this post won't be entered into the drawing for fabulous KI goodies.. so if you want to enter the drawing, go comment on THIS POST.. and the KI blog as well, AND the rest of the KI DT's blogs too (links included here)!!  So many chances to enter.. but remember, this post isn't one of them. hee heee!  Don't get me wrong, you can comment here (I do love me some comments).. but they just won't count in the drawing for the prizes. :)

Gosh, I thought there would be more random stuff to blog about today.  I guess I am more scatter brained than I thought! ..or I just live a really dull life! ha!  Later friends! :)

cutest little skating boy ever!

Well, I definitely have to say that his first skating lesson was a hit!  He was ready to go about 20 minutes ahead of schedule (oh my gosh).. I could not get his skates on fast enough for him, he wanted to get out to the rink.. NOW!  That extra time out by the ice may have ended up being a blessing though.. gave us some time to sit and chit chat before hand.. he is a worrier (like his mama), he needs time to process things sometimes! hee!  As excited as he was.. I could tell that he was a little bit scared too. I was so so so worried that he would see the big ice surface and say no way.. but he went on the ice, like a trooper.. and stayed on for the entire lesson!  Whew!! hee!

See.. cutest ever right!?  I may be a bit biased though.. ha ha!  But look how cute he is in that helmet!! ;)

 

Yes.. we had a lot of time to kill before he could actually go on the ice! ha ha!

Ummm.. too bad they don't include a 'how to pick your nose with mittens and a face mask/helmet on' lesson... uh yeah.  Thumb??  Go for it bud.

I didn't get many 'on ice' pictures.. and the ones I did get are so far away since I only had my 50mm lens.  I did get video though! ;)

LOL.. uh yeah, not much actual 'skating' happening yet!  This last one was at the end of the lesson, the coach lined them all up like this.. for them to get off the ice, sitting them in a row is much easier.. and safer than making these little ones try to stand for more than ohhhhhh 10 seconds! heee! 

He did really well though!  Got up all on his own.. and took 'baby steps' really well!  The best best best part.. he is already talking about next week!!  Success!! :D

gettin' back in the groove

I finally scrapped yesterday, I did a layout for today's KI Memories Focus On.. yeah, last minute.. I know I know.  I told myself that I was going to go against all of my instincts and not do what I would normally do.  For the most part, it worked.  I started ..and sat there for a good 30 minutes before I did anything.  Thinking to myself.. "I do not want this page to look like all the rest" lol ..but of course I want to stay true to me... but what is that?  

My first instinct was to use the 12" lengths across the top and the bottom of the page.. just like I always do.  Nothing wrong with it really.. just need to shake things up.. ya know?  So, instead.. I cut them into itty bitty 1 inch lengths and filled the squares on the calendar page background..

Name of the game.. messy! ha ha!  Balled up, messy stitching.. scrunched, flipped, taped... texture!  I loved every second of making this layout, felt refreshed the whole entire time.. exactly what I needed.

Seriously, it was beginning to feel like I did/do the exact same thing on every single page.  Same old same old.. potential to get stuck in a rut.  Or maybe I am/was... all I know is.. I feel like experimenting again.  Getting messy.  Pushing myself.  Looking around for inspiration everywhere.. internet, TV and movies, magazines, fashion.. nature even!  I am excited.. and I know this sounds horrible, but I haven't been in a while!  I want to sit down and enjoy the process.. without the 'to do list' looming, but I like all of my responsibilities, so I don't really want to cut back as a way to a solution.. I don't think that would do it for me anyway... I just need to keep on the path I am on... because all day today, I have felt like scrappin'!  I haven't got to, but I feel like it.. and that is a fantastic feeling!

By the way.. this is about where I would probably go back and delete my post (you know.. who would want to read this nonsense anyway right?).. but I am not going to do that... need to be true to me!  Love this new outlook on everything.. seriously been a long time comin'!  Delete or not delete?? ha ha!  

Not delete.

Today..

I have pretty much not done a thing. lol  I have painstakingly began the task of narrowing down my cart at 2 Peas.  Such a painful thing.. whhhhhhhy caaaaaaaan't I juuuuuuust get it alllllllllll?? ha ha!  The worst part.. as I narrow down, I find new things to add.  How???  Oh my gosh.. I have a problem I think.

My Papa (grandpa) is here for a visit right now, so I am enjoying listening in on conversations between him and the kids.. they read books, snack.. and Harley talks alllllll day long.  I should record it.. really.  Priceless.  For the next few days, our routine is out of whack.. but I love love love it.  And there are toys everywhere.. all over the house, top to bottom.  And a newspaper spread out on the floor.. Harley found the car section, so it is his... and according to him, it can't be cleaned up either.  Laine gets out her craft stuff, and her talking globe and they talk about different places around the world.. yes, the kids definitely have their own routine when Papa is here.  They love it when Papa comes.. everyday is play play play, and 'look Papa loooooook!' ..and they soak up every bit of attention!

The lululemon leggings (all black) I ordered came in the mail today... love happy mail days.  Long cardigans, leggings and my Uggs... I think that will be my fashion choice for the next while.  Love fall!  Still need to find some courage to go try on some skinny jeans! ha ha!  Or the ambition to loose 10 pounds ha!

Can't figure out what to cook for supper.  If we weren't 30 minutes into the country.. I would soooooo be ordering a pizza.. or chinese.. mmmmmmm mmmmmmmm!  But I have to cook, and I have no clue what. 

I decided today that I need to get another tattoo.. I knew I wanted another all along.. but now I know I neeeeeeed it!  I just love my tattoo so so so much, more and more every day. I feel more like 'me' with it.. how is that even possible?  Hard to explain or even wrap my head around.. but there it is.  Love it.

James is working out in the garage/shop.. getting it ready for cement (yes, it still needs a cement floor).. yesterday it was a trench digger (for power and gas supply) and today it is a bobcat.. he is definitely in go mode, and on a mission!  So good to see! ..he loves when he can get things done!! Finished garage/shop = happy husband.. so I say go go go!! ;)

Looking forward to watching some more new TV tonight.. yay for Friday (late nights.. sleep in a wee bit in the morning) ..yay for new TV!  PVR is already filling up!  Oh yes, I think I have issues.

OK, better run.. really have to figure out supper!  And like I said, haven't really done anything today, so I am running out of random tidbits! ha ha!  Later friends!! 

our tattoos!

I meant to come back on here and get this up yesterday.. but last season of One Tree Hill was all it took to keep my butt firmly planted on the couch for most of the day! ha ha!  It was Sunday.. what can I say? lol

Anyhoo.. here they are!

I got the birds going up my chest/shoulder up by the collar bone.  Yes, completely inspired by a picture I posted yesterday.. a combination of all of them actually!

I loved the larger 'flock' of birds, on the one girls hip.. and the chest placement of the one... so I found the real photograph of the flock of birds flying and ended up tracing/drawing them myself.. and then Hilary at Bushido in Calgary translated it into a tattoo!  

I am so very very much in love with how they turned out! Please excuse the huge 'state of shock' silly grin on my face below..

I seriously was grinning ear to ear though.. loooooove them!!

I will need to get a better picture soon.. once they are all healed up.  Coming along nicely though!

James went after me (I had to go first, because I feared I might chicken out if I sat there and watched while James got his! lol)..

James got a tree.  See how they go together so awesomely perfect!?  For me, the birds represent 'being free to just be me, letting go of things.. just be free of it all and be ME' ..and the trees for James represent 'family, roots.. strong' (he would have to tell you it in his own words.. such personal things are hard to articulate into blog land ..even mine means so much more, I just can't put it into words! ack!)

..and the tree is the perfect home for my birds... as much as I need to just be free, he will always be my home. :)  

OK.. getting pretty close to mushy here! ha ha!

Yep.. he is pretty much the best.  I told him he didn't have to get the 'J+J' carved into the tree.. didn't want him to feel like he had to or anything, but he insisted.. got her to draw it in!  The tree and the birds alone were pretty symbolic to me.. now, yeah... pretty much the coolest tattoo ever!  

*Swoooon* ..fell in love with him all over again... so like him to do something like that! <3

It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would.. it did hurt, but like Hilary said.. kind of like a constant cat scratch.  Totally.  Some parts hurt more than others.. when se was doing the ones up by my shoulder, I had to sit on my arm.. the vibrating I was feeling down to the bone had me fearing my arm would jerk up and whack her out of reflex! ha!  The ones close to my boob hurt too ;) ha ha! I would definitely say the boney ones were the worst though.  But I made it through, no tears.. yay me! hee!  

Soooooo can't wait for the next ones!  Addicted already! hee heee!