New Tree Topper

Jonah has been very inspiring this Christmas season.
Helped his Momma thru her tree meltdown.
Proudly participated in Christmas Shoebox thru our church.
Used his allowance to buy a pig for a family in need.
He has been amazing.

Jonah asked me the other night why we have an angel on our tree (who was really not working well and looking pretty ragged) and not a star. I told him it was what Daddy and I bought when we got married. Jonah told me he thought we should get a new topper. He wanted to go to the store and get a Christmas star. His reason - "Because Jesus is the reason Mommy! He had a Christmas Star and so should we."

Inspiring boy.

Christmas Tree Meltdown

Christmas is my most favourite time of year. Everyone who knows me well knows that. I love everything about it.

Especially the Christmas trees.

We have a beautiful, big, bushy colourful tree. I love it. It was expensive when we bought it, but so worth it.

Sigh.....

Moving into a smaller house means things have to be sacrificed. I knew that moving here. But I never imagined it would be my beloved tree that I would have to sacrifice.

It didn't fit!! No where. Unless I removed furniture, which I seriously considered doing.

I was upset (hence no pictures) but that wasn't the worst of it.

We went out to buy a "slim" style tree - which no offense to anyone who has one, but they just don't make me happy.

I went with Martha Stewart - can't go wrong with her can I??

YES I CAN!

Commence meltdown!

This tree was terrible. I wanted to launch it out the back door! It was worse than a Charlie Brown Tree.

Martha should be ashamed to put her name on that piece of crap.

I cried. Jonah saw me cry and I felt bad.

I went out, had to just leave the decorating because I couldn't deal with any other mishaps. While I was out, Sean and Jonah bought another tree and put it up.

When I came home, my sweet boy said to me "Mommy, it doesn't matter what the tree looks like, as long as we put a lot of love in it, it will be beautiful!"

I cried again. And honestly, the tree isn't that bad.

Meltdown over.

Smoochrellas all around for my men. They certainly know how to make me happy.

New Ink

I love tattoos.

On both guys and gals.

I especially love tattoos that have meaning.

Yesterday, I got another tattoo.

This is tattoo number FIVE.

That may seem like a lot to some....cough, cough, my parents......but they are in places that are not always shown.

Wrist, foot, lower back, right hip and now........

......my left side.

Like all of my tats, this has meaning.

It holds the name of my boy, his birthdate and his birth flower - a violet.

I love my new ink.

I already have number six planned!

Shhhh, don't tell my mom.

Christmas Shoebox

I love my church. I really do.

The messages are always clear and uplifting.

I have never been to a service where I haven't laughed or cried.

Brooklin Village does many wonderful things to help those in need.

One of those wonderful things is Operation Christmas Shoebox.

Everyone is asked to take one, two, ten boxes to fill.

The requested items are things we often take for granted.

Combs, toothbrushes, a small stuffy.

Jonah was proud to stuff four boxes.

Something so simple. A box of needs for those in need.

At the service, the children all carry the boxes to the front so we as a congregation can see the good that is being done.

It was a beautiful sight!

A few pics from service:

Jonah with Pastor Peter and 2 of his boxes.

Jonah being silly with Pastor Dean - or quite possibly, the other way around.

The kids lined up in front of all the boxes.

It's Friday!

1. Three things I must have on my Thanksgiving table: Turkey! Pumpkin pie and homemade applesauce.

2. There are many days where my body feels it would be better off sacked out on the couch.

3. This is my most favourite time of year – Christmas is coming!

4. One of my most favourite things to do is to decorate our Christmas tree with all our special ornaments.

5. Oh, man, thankfully it's Friday! This has been a brutal week.

6. I wish I had the time to perfect the art of scrapbooking or cooking.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the Brooklin tree lighting, tomorrow my plans include taking Jonah to see his fave hockey player Cole and have a long overdue visit with Lee, then the Santa Claus Parade and Sunday, I want to hop into the hot tub at Great Wolf Lodge!

Do you participate in Friday Fill Ins? Leave me a link so I can check it out!

Overwhelmed

This is me........

.....at least this is how I feel.

Stressed
Overwhelmed
At wits end

We have been in the new house two months and we are still trying to get things "settled" in. We are certainly living in "livable" conditions, but we are still figuring out where things are to go.

Now we are adding in Christmas decor!!

Problem is that we moved at our most busiest time of the year.
Fall always brings weekend plans - every weekend. That leaves no time to work on the house.
Working all day, then having committments in the evenings, by 9pm I am ready to crash!

I know it will get better.
I am just overwhelmed and I hate the feeling.

If I take any more deep breaths, I will be hyper-ventilating.

Tell me......how do you handle your stress or feeling of being overwhelmed??


Picture Credit: Google Images - here

True Story About Me

One day, long, long ago, there lived a beautiful woman who did not whine, nag or bitch. (That would be me...)

But that was a long time ago and it was just that one day.

The End

10 Things Thursday

I have often said that I have a lot of useless information floating about in my head. Problem is, it floats with other things in my head and then I am overwhelmed with thoughts. I have about 5 blog posts floating in my head right now as I type this. Until I can gather my thoughts together, here are ten random (and possibly useless) facts about me right now.

1. I am procrastinating on getting the Christmas decor out because we are still not settled with the regluar everyday decor!
2. I voted for Bristol Palin on Dancing with the Stars. The fact that I cannot stand her mother has nothing to do with her daughters dancing. She deserved the vote.
3. I joined a Zumba class to help me get into better shape. Yesterday was the first class and my body is not a fan of me today.
4. I am not doing well with my weight loss challenge class. The fact that I just shoved 2 halloween treats in my mouth is the reason why!
5. I name my favourite appliances. I am holding off on the H2O mop.
6. If I don't get my scrapbook nook set up soon, I may have to hurt someone.
7. I am making beef stew for dinner. Just because.
8. My kitchen looks like it threw up.
9. I am addicted to Dexter.
10. I am overwhelmed with a lot, but I am honestly the happiest I have been in awhile.

What are your 10 things today?

Wizard of Oz Experience

One night while searching the Rogers guide, I came across the Wizard of Oz.

I decided to record it even though I hate taping movies on cable since

they have commercials. Perish the thought, eh?

I am surprised I don't have this movie on DVD or BluRay actually.

Afterall, this was a childhood fave in my family - in particular my sister Dawn.

It is her favourite movie - next to the Vacation series. LOL

I had held off showing the movie to Jonah in the past because he is a sensitive kid.

I was afraid it would cause nightmares.

I know. I'm a suckhole.

We got all settled in with the blankets and snacks and turned on the movie.

It didn't start off too well.

Jonah could not get over the fact that the beginning was in black and white.

It irked him to no end.

To the point that I ended up briefing him on what the dealio was with the running away,

the storm, the farm hands.....and I fast forwarded.

I stopped just before the house lands in Munchkinland.

Once Jonah saw the colour, he was enjoying it a lot more.

Oh how we are conditioned!!

He LOVED the munchkins, hated the witch and thought Glinda was pretty.

He found it amusing when the trees were throwing apples, felt bad that the tin man

had been holding the ax up for so long and he wants to see a horse of different

colours in real life. His favourite character seems to be the Lion.

He was always laughing at him.

Then the ending came.

And the black and white was back.

A big sigh of disappointment.

I asked Jonah what he thought of the movie.

He responded, "It was pretty sick." - which in 7 year old land means "cool".

"EXCEPT the beginning and end."

LOL.

He did tell me that he is putting this on his "Movie Want List" so

that made me happy!

I do love our movie snuggle time.

Wonder which classic I should introduce him to next......hmmmm.

11th Month, 11th Day, 11th Hour

Thanksgiving Photo

My amazing family.

This was taken on Thanksgiving at our new home.

I am so very thankful for everyone in my life.

For Today....

I haven't done this meme in a long time. Ah, who are we kidding, I haven't BLOGGED in a long time!!

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW ... it is sunny and bright! A nice sight to see since I know it is CHILLY outside!

I AM THINKING ... after catching up on my blog reader, I really need to get back to blogging and scrapbooking!!

WE ARE LEARNING … that things happen for a reason. Good and bad. We are learning to take them for what they are and work thru them as a family.

I AM THANKFUL FOR ... this wonderful community we are now living in. It has only been 2 months but we feel like we have been here always.

FROM THE KITCHEN ... the counter is a mess with breakfast items that have yet to be put away.

I AM WEARING ... reindeer jammies. I would say it was because I was getting into the spirit, but that would be a fib. It is simply because they are warm and CLEAN!

I AM GOING ... to get things done in time! At least that is what I keep telling myself! HAHAHA.

I AM READING ... nothing at the moment which is driving me nuts. I have 2 books that people have loaned me. I need to get on that!!

I AM CREATING ... a home for us everyday. Little by little, things are falling into place. It feels great!

I AM HOPING ... to get my scrapbook corner set up very soon! Right now, it is full of boxes and pieces of furniture that don't fit elsewhere! It gets frustrating when you want to do something and can't.

I AM HEARING ... Dancing with the Stars in the background. I missed it last night live. Thank gooodness for PVR!

AROUND THE HOUSE ... things are coming together. Just need to be patient and find the time to buckle down and get stuff done!

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS ... my laundry machines!! Who would have thought?!? I have named them McDreamy and McSteamy. And yes, I admit....I hugged them after my first few loads of laundry. LOL.

A FEW PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK ... other than work, Jonah has choir practice, Sean and I are going to see Rock of Ages on Friday which is also 15 years to the day that he asked me to marry him! Saturday we are celebrating a wonderful friend's 40th birthday and Sunday we are having dinner with our GodBabies!

A PICTURE TO SHARE ... ahhhh, that face.

No time for this!!

I am sick :(

At the worst possible time.

I really have no time for this.

UGH.

I'll be back soon.

Feel free to leave any remedies in the comments.

I will try anything!

First Day of School

Jonah was very excited to be starting a new school this year.

His last school had been a rough ride. One of the great things about buying a new house is moving to a new school!

New house and new school = happy Jonah

We met up with the Sibleys, who will be right across the street when we move!

The kidlets all ready for school!

Joshua Sibley, Emily Sibley and my Jonah.

Even though we don't move in for another 4 days (yay!), we still took a picture of Jonah on the front stoop.

Family shot on the porch of the new house :)

I love that the neighbours all walk the kids to school together.

Jonah met his new teacher, Mrs. Vale, who was more than happy to pose for a picture for the scrapbooking momma!

Jonah hangs out with his buddies until the bell rings.

I still can't believe that Jonah is in grade 2.

I was very emotional when I watched him walk into the school. I just know this is what he needs, he will be much happier as we all will with this move.

I am so happy - unbelievably happy.

How did your kiddies first day go?

Sweet Husband

I have to admit, I have a sweet husband.

He knows flowers make me happy.

Different flowers, not just a basic mix with no thought put into it.

He also knows that Autumn is my fave season.

Especially the orange colours.

My sweet husband gave me these flowers to make me happy.

I AM very happy.

Because of him, not the flowers.

Baby it's COLD outside!!

Every Labour Day weekend, we venture off camping with our friends the Sibleys. It has become a favourite tradition of ours! We were all excited about our upcoming weekend until we saw the weather report - cold and dreary ALL WEEKEND!!

We were determined to not let it sway our spirits. We would be the sunshine if we had to be!

Well......

It was a lot colder than we expected! Luckily we had a site with electricity ( a no-no in camping world). I was very thankful for the heater. It kept us dry and toasty warm!

We decided we would make the most of it. We played in the rain, the kids LOVED it, we hung out and chatted.

On the last day, we braved it and went to the beach. The kids dipped their toes and even did an underwear dip - very quickly. The water was cold! Even for the kids!

Here are some of our shots. All in all, a great weekend!

It's finally happening!!

After 10 years of living in south ajax and creating many memories, we are venturing off to a new town to create even more memories!

We are moving to Brooklin!!

It has been quite the roller coaster ride and we were thrilled to be on it. We are in Brooklin often since our church is up there as well as our friends the Sibleys, who Sean has known since he was a wee gaffer. We have always said we wanted to live in Brooklin. Timing just happened to be perfect when a friend of the Sibleys happened to mention he was selling his house! Across the street! We asked if they would consider selling private and they said yes. Next thing out of my mouth was "We'll buy it!" We hadn't even seen the inside of the house and we offered to buy it. We felt that strongly about - and if you know me well, you know I am damn picky, so to buy without yet seeing it is just not me! Bottom line, we were not buying the house so much as we were buying the neighbourhood/school/church community for Jonah. Within a month we prepped our house to put it on the market (at the worst possible time!) and made our offer official.

We had a few bumps in the road with offers falling thru so we firmed up on the Brooklin purchase taking the risk of having 2 mortgages. Made me sick to my stomach to be honest!
And now our moving day is almost here. As of September 10th, we will be Brooklin-ites!! And to make it even sweeter, last thursday we received another offer on the Ajax house. We are awaiting their waiver of financing and inspection to make it final, but we have faith it will go smoothly.

It certainly has been a whirlwind summer!

We are certainly going to miss many things about Ajax - our neighbours especially - but we are very excited about this move.

I am in awe of how things can come together!

Much love,

Friday Fill ins - August 20th

My answers are in red!

1. Laughter really is the best medicine.

2. "For our meeting" are the three words that started off the last email I sent.

3. What I'm most looking forward to today is signing the papers for our purchase of sale in brooklin! YAY!

4. Jonah puts a smile on my face.

5. Where in the world was I when Dexter premiered?? I can't believe I never watched that show!

6. That hot fudge sundae that I inhaled last night was just what I needed!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing Marcel and Angel to finalize the deal, tomorrow my plans include a whole bunch of driving around and Sunday, I want to enjoy church and a visit to Kitchen Stuff Plus with my momma!

Help by Voting please!

APX Alarm is doing an awesome and generous thing by donating money to favourite charities. I need your help getting the votes!!

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.facebook.com/apxalarm, the charity with the most votes on August 23rd 2010 will receive a $100,000 donation from APX Alarm!

If you are not on facebook, please visit: APX Alarm Gives Backhttp://www.apxgivesback.com/

CHERUBS - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support
Diaphragmatic Hernia sounds simple, but with unborn children and especially when this concerns a hole in the diaphragm, it allows abdominal organs to squeeze through into the chest cavity. It can be operated on in utero or immediately after birth. Most often the harshest side effect is resiratory failure from stressed lung or heart. Even more dangerous is the liver, spleen, or kidneys leaking toxins into the vital organs. This leads to serious life-long diseases, of the 50 percent who survive birth. For more info:http://www.cherubs-cdh.org/

This will not take long at all, a few simple clicks can go a long way. Please help make a difference! Time is running out.
I appreciate everyone voting.

Love to all!

Pool Quest for Jonah

Everytime we go to Aunt Sandra and Uncle Mark's pool, Jonah learns something new.

This time it was diving!

Recipe for a Great Life

This was sent to me from my wonderful friend Steph:

Recipe for a great life:

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock for the door if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'I am thankful for______________'.
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. 5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

A great reminder :)
Have a great day friends!

Friday Fill ins - August 6th

Rock on Dude

My answers are in red! Do you participate in Friday Fill-ins?

Leave me a comment if you do so I can check it out!

1. Life is definitely testing me right now. Just another hurdle I have to overcome and try to smile while conquering it.

2. I keep going, even though there are days (like today) that I want to throw my hands in the air and surrender. But that is just not me.

3. My last text message (or IM) ended in these three words: "my way home" Sean was letting me know he left work

4. Salsa Chicken is what I'm thinking about for dinner sometime soon.

5. On the 1st day of August we enjoyed a wonderful day celebrating Miss Emily’s 6th birthday with her family. So touched to be considered part of the family.

6. I am often amazed at how kids can always be so lively and energetic.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to back to school clothes shopping for Jonah, tomorrow my plans include a manicure and pedicure while we have a house showing and Sunday, I want to be able to say we have an offer on the house!!

Friday Funny

Everytime I get this in my email, I laugh. Had to share!

Just Dance

This has to be one of my all time best purchases for the Wii!!

It is called Just Dance. You have to copy the dancer on the screen. No mat is used, just the remote.

The fabulous dancers in this feature are my mom Sharon, my sister's boyfriend Ian and my 14 year old nephew James.

Oh, the person laughing hysterically.....that would be me.

And this is my Bubbaloo Jonah giving it a go:

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

A Roller Coaster ride......

......is exactly what my life has been the past couple of months. I put my blogging on hold to "deal" with all that has been going on - more like I abandoned it - and then I realized that my blogging is actually good therapy for me! Not to mention, helps keep track of what has been happening when life sweeps me away. I have received a few emails asking where I am and I very much appreciate that!

So many things have happened in the past few months! A few bad apples, but also a lot of good ripeness! I haven't kept you up to date on my weight loss (down 7.5 pounds and 6 inches), my church had a fantastic turn-out for the March of Plenty, my sister bravely ran a 5K to embrace turning 40, I changed jobs, good medical results, SOOOO much to tell!!

The biggest challenge I haven't blogged about is that we are selling our house! At least we are trying. What a frustrating, emotionally draining, pain in the arse task this is! This is the main reason I haven't been blogging, all the preperation, constantly cleaning, people coming thru the house, I just didn't have time to sit and blog about it. I will fill you in on this adventure in another post. There is so much to tell!

I appreciate all the emails and encouragement to get back to blogging :) I have missed you.
I promise to be back.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Can you believe it is August already??

Tattletale Thursday - late

I know it is not Thursday, but I had been locked out of my blogger for almost 2 weeks. I promise that this pic was taken on thursday morning.

I am down 1.2 pounds! Pretty good!

Now to tattletale on myself......hmmmm, I was actually really good this week. I joined a weight loss challenge that my wonderful friend Colleen has been encouraging me to go to. They basically show you how to eat better! So I was really watching my foods this week. It will be interesting to see what my loss is when I weigh in at that challenge. They meet every monday night. When I weighed in on the first night - after dinner, with clothes on - I was 201.

Monday will be interesting!!

Play Hard

There are many times that while I am reading my friend Lee's blog, I have a smile on my face when I see pictures of her boys playing in their sports - and yes, sometimes a shudder when I see a photo of one of them playing really hard - like being at the bottom of a rugby pile on! Yikes.

Well, I got to experience a shudder myself.

Daddy had this brilliant idea (note the sarcasm) of building Jonah a ramp for him to do jumps on with his bike. Yes, I know we did things like this, but now that I see Jonah doing it......sigh.....

Jonah went for a bike ride with his friend - the Dad's tagged along. Apparently Jonah decided to try a bigger jump in the greenspace near our house.

Bigger.

On his bike.

Over the handle bars he goes....

And yes, that is dirt in the corner of his mouth!

Why does he look so proud? LOL.

Help me Lee!

My family

Getting to know my camera Daphne will be a fun adventure. The best way to get to know her? Taking pictures of my favourite subjects - my family!

This is a picture of "my boys" - a term I often use. Many think I have more than one child. Jonah is my son, and the other two striking boys are my nephews Ryan and James. My boys :)



This shot only took 4 takes - one tester being a tester. I love how this photo captured us. Even the dog Zeus was looking!

My family. I love them so very much.

Locked Out

Well, I don't know what happened, but I was locked out of my blog. Everything seems to be ok now - at least I think. This is my tester post. :)

Have you signed up??

You have heard me rave about this class before and I will be again very soon because Sketchapalooza 6 is right around the corner!!

Have you signed up yet??

You don't want to miss this amazing class full of fabulous sketches and inspiring talent! Feeling Scrappy's Sketchapalooza 6 begins May 3 and runs through May 31st.

Here are the details:

• 20 Amazing sketches (5 a week!)
• Digital templates if you are a digi-scrapper
• Private class forum filled with support from the design staff and class participants.
• A wonderfully talented design team - Jayne, Lee, Tracy and Becky - all who I consider my friends. They will inspire you like no other.
• All for just $25!!

So what are you waiting for?? Just click HERE to sign up now!

See you in class!!

Owning a Challenge

I have blogged about my weight before. Many times actually.
I even "committed" to losing 35 by 35 one time. Well...I am 36 and that didn't happen.

Clearly.

I have talked about low fat recipes.
I have talked about exercise.
I have talked about a lot of things.

Especially my stance on "owning it".
Whether it be giving an opinion, making a decision in life, whatever the choice - OWN IT

I seem to have faltered on my very own stance.

I may talk about my weight and what I am going to do about it, but since I didn't have to be accountable to anyone other than myself, I never owned it.

Well, today I am.

And every thursday after I will.
I am starting my own challenge that I will own.
I call it TATTLETALE THURSDAY
Every thursday, I am going to tattletale on myself right here on my blog.

I have posted my weight on here before and received many gasps.
Now I am taking it one step further - to really own it.

I will take a picture of my scale every week.
And I will post it here.
For all to see.

GASP!!

And all comments are welcome!
The shame on you’s, the kudos, the tips, the "are you crazy?" - all comments.

So here is my first thursday weigh in.

Am I crazy?

Well, I think we all know that answer.

Want to join me??

Really??

Sean and Jonah had their annual doctor checkups.

As usual, weight is measured.

Sean, my husband who has defined muscles and washboard abs says to me in astonishment, "Wow, I have packed on the pounds! Guess what I weigh now!"

Tip to men: Don't play the weight guess game with your wife!

I gave him my "are you really asking me this" look.

"160 pounds!!"

Really?? Is he really telling me this??

He weighs 160lbs. Tragic.
Right there in the doctors office waiting room, I wanted to THUMP him.

Then again, I have an additional 40 pounds on him. I think I can take him.

The Newest Addition :)

As some of you know, my Canon G9 - affectionately known as Candice - was not feeling well. Of course, it happened when I wanted to take pictures of Jonah at a school trip. Sigh. Murphy's Law I guess.
Candice was a gift from my very good friend Mark. Lucky for me, he also bought a warranty on her!! So I took her in to the camera doctor to get her fixed.
At this time, it was mentioned to me that if they do not fix Candice, then she will be replaced. Since they no longer make the G9, I would get a G11. It was also mentioned that I could just pay the difference for an SLR.

**whhhhrrrrrrrwhhhhhhhrrrrrr*
(that would be the wheels in my head spinning)

I was INTRIGUED! I would never be able to afford an SLR on its own. Paying the difference was an awesome opportunity. I began my research on SLR cameras.

The front runner was the Canon Rebel T1i. For the reason that I figured I would stick with Canon. Some of my scrappy friends told me to check out the Nikon D3000 or D5000. As did my friend Sheri, who researches items like I do :)

After MUCH reading of manuals, reviews, opinions, many trips to various camera stores to fondle the SLRs; I had made my decision.

Then I got the phone call.

"Your camera has been fixed. Please come in and pick it up."

Goodbye SLR fantasy. I was still happy because Candice was all better. I really loved my G9.

I show up at the store to pick up my camera. They took it out of the bubble wrap and I immediatley noticed something was not right. I told them it wasn't my camera. They confirmed the name and serial number, but there was something not right! I asked to see the camera. I was shocked to see that the corner of my camera had been damaged, banged in actually. And the lens front was chipped and scratched! I did not bring it in this way.

A manager was called over, she typed something into the computer and then said, "I'm sorry, it appears that your camera was dropped."

Dropped?? Would they even have said anything to me??

The manager called the camera dept and asked them to bring up the G11.

**happydancehappydancehappydancehappydance**

I requested a gift card for the replacement as I wanted to investigate the SLR option further.

So....without further ado......please meet my new addition:

DAPHNE!!

It is with many thanks to Mark and many thanks to Peter that I was able to get the Nikon D5000. I am so happy with my choice. I am so grateful for generous friends, clumsy repair people and warranties!

Next step......learning how to use her!!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a happy and blessed Easter!

This is a pic of Jonah with all his loot. Easter Bunny was clearly on crack this year when it came to chocolate.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Calling on the SLR pros

I am looking for some input from my blog readers :)

I MAY (fingers crossed) have the opportunity to get an SLR camera.

I currently have a Canon G9 and it went poopoo on me. Luckily the person who bought it for me also bought me the warranty. Warranty says they have to give me the equivilent if they can't fix it. Since they no longer make G9s, I would get the G11.

BUT - heres where it gets interesting......the camera guy said that instead of taking the G11, why not go for an SLR. I said that is not in my budget. Then he said, they will give me the value of the G9 with NO depreciation and I would only pay the difference!! That means, I would only have to pay about $120 to get a Canon Rebel Xi1!!!!

So now my wheels are turning! What a great chance for me to get an SLR without breaking my very poor bank! LOL.

The ones I am looking at is the Canon Rebel Xi1 and the Nikon D5000.

What SLR do you have? Do you LOVE it, DO you hate it? What do you recommend??

I never thought I would say this because I lalalaLOVE my G9, but I am kinda hoping they don't fix it!

I Wish You Enough

Some Randomness

I have been quiet on my blog and I am sorry for that. Not that there was any one specific reason for the quietness, I just was. Needed to handle some things and just didn't have the pep in me to blog.

After having the hysterectomy, I am feeling great. I know this will sound weird, but I was struggling with the "feeling good" part of me. I guess I was so used to feeling like shit in "that department" that I didn't remember what it felt like to have no pain. Weird.

Many people warned me that I would drive myself nuts.....in lots of ways! LOL. I was focusing so much on NOT driving myself nuts that, well, I drove myself nuts! ARGH! I ended up being so bored, I couldn't read anymore, shows were no longer funny, there was only so much of movie watching I could handle. Then there was dealing with the emotions. What a ball of fun that was!

I was annoyed that I couldn't sit at my scrapbook table, I couldn't get things organized for back to work, I couldn't clean - not that I like to, but needed to. I couldn't just get up and go somewhere or do something. It was very restricting.

When I was on the mend, I decided to conquer Jonah's room. The kid turned 7 and still had baby things in his room. We re did his room in Transformer theme and a new loft bed. That meant packing up the baby stuff. What a brilliant thing to do after a hysterectomy.

Sigh.

While I was off, I was also dealing with having my character attacked. Not something that I will get into here, but it was spirit crushing. I was in a vulnerable state and didn't know how to handle it. But I figured it out with the great support of friends and I am moving onward.

I admit, I went into a black hole. I was looking at the sad side of my surgery, instead of the blessing it brought upon me. My tests came back and there was no cancer. I am ecstatic don't get me wrong, I just had a hard time centering on that instead focusing on the fact that I could not have anymore kids. It didn't help that I was being told that I was "selfish" for only having one kid and that I "should have taken care of family planning before my issues came about" WTF?? Don't get me started on that!

Like I said....Onward.

I am back to work now. I had to get back into the routine, get that brain working. It feels good! I had been inquiring about a change in roles at work and that has come to fruition. I am so very happy about that. I have a new challenge ahead of me and I plan to take it on full force. Wish me luck!

So there you have it. Bare with me while I get back into the swing of things.

I missed you all!

Stay Tuned

Lots of things going on, and I have the WORST head cold ever. Not the best thing to have as I am now back to work.

I will be back soon!

Hope you will hang around!

New Bed in the House!

For the past few years, Jonah has been sleeping in a hand me down bed.

Hand-me-down as in handed down from ME!

The bed was a super-single - remember that size?? I dont even think they make mattresses that size anymore! The bed was well over 20 years old, but it was solid wood so we held on to it and made it work.

As Jonah was approaching his 7th birthday, I felt he really needed to have his own bed. Some thing fun, something different. After staying in a bunk bed at Great Wolf Lodge, Jonah was sold on "sleeping near the roof".

We are in the midst of re-doing his room. After all, he still had stuff on his wall from when he was a baby. Which is my fault, because I have a hard time letting go of his stuff. Now we are replacing it with Transformer themed stuff. He is loving it!

My parents and my sisters family pitched in for the bedding and wall hangings which he will get on the 27th. He knows about it and is very excited.

The bed has already been put up and he has one Transformer throw for now. Couldn't have his first night without something Transformer!

We do love the bed. It is a loft bed and has a desk underneath and has a lounge chair that converts to another single bed.

Of course being the mushy Momma that I am, I have already found something I don't like.......I can't climb up and snuggle with him!!! Or smother him with smooches while he is sleeping!!

I will find a way. God help me and the support beams!

Here is my boy and the new bed!!

Family Day 2010

Today is Family Day!

We had made a plan of the things we wanted to do today, some went according to the plan, some didn't. But that is ok, as long as we were here as a family.

I had thought I would take a family picture to scrap, but the first thing on the list was "Jammie Day" and I have to say, I was quite happy Jonah put it on there. But that means no yucky picture of me in my jammies with my hair everywhere. So not pretty.

You are welcome ;o)

Our day started with fresh baked Cinnamon Buns thanks to Mr. Pillsbury. I also threw a roast "beast" (as Jonah calls it) in the crockpot. Potatoes, carrots, gravy and yorkshire pudding followed.

While watching some of the Olympics we played Battleship, word play and Bingo.

We also did some chores. Jonahs room is almost done! We have purged so much!! The sad thing is, we have so much more crap to purge! I also FINALLY cleaned out some of Jonah's baby stuff that I was hanging on to when I really didn't need to. I mean I saved about 15 of his baby blankets. Some things I admit were still hard, but needed to be done. We have about 4 large bags to go to the Salvation Army.

After lunch and some chores, we played hide and seek. OK, I didn't really play because of my condition so I was the "seeker". Living in a small house makes it quite funny since there isn't many options and Jonah giggles the whole time. Classic.

The Roast Beast was ready and it was perfect, better than others I have made. Gotta love easy recipes! The Yorkshires were another story. DIdn't turn out, I got annoyed and threw the pan in the sink. Oh well. Dinner was still yummy and we toasted to all families everywhere.

Next on the list - playing Martian Matters (which Jonah and Sean have already started as I type this. Then it is bath time, storytime and then off to lala-land for Jonah.

I hope you are all enjoying your families today whether you had the day off or not.

Much love!

A Layout by Barb!

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from my uber talented friend Barb who asked if I had any pictures she could scrap for the LOAD challenge she is participating in. I, of course JUMPED at the chance. I had to laugh at her response - "Thanks for trusting me!" - because there was no doubt in my mind on how fabulous this layout would be.

Barb and I became cyber friends because.....well......I was stalking her. LOL. I participated in the last LOAD challenge and I was admiring her work in the gallery. I sent her an email telling her how much I love her work and how inspiring she was for me. From that exchange, we became friends!

The pictures I sent Barb were from Halloween 2009. I always take pumpkin carving photos, but my layouts were always looking the same and I was saying the same thing in the journalling. It is so nice to have a new take on the pictures!

Thanks again Barb! I really do love the layout!

What do you do with the cards??

Jonah's class had a valentine party on thursday and he came home with a bunch of valentines - about 20. Very cute, I have to say.

I am wondering what to do with them!! I don't want to throw them out.

Has anyone scrapped theirs? I would love to see what you have done.

If you have any ideas for me or pics of your layouts, please send them to me ohara.c at rogers.com.

Thanks for the inspirations!

Look who's 7!

I can't believe my baby is seven. I cried when he left for school. Sigh.

Happy Birthday to my Jonah!

Love you!

This is you

My sweet Jonah,

Tonight you had a very special request.

"Mommy, can we have extra cuddle time since this is my last day of being six?"

You know how to make my heart melt.

Of course we can have extra cuddles.

Anytime.

No matter what day.

I can only hope that you will always want Momma cuddles.

This is you.

Your last day of being six, sound asleep.

Until I took this picture and smothered you with smooches of course.

Sorry about that.

Goodnight my six year old.

For Today.....Feb 9

Outside My Window... The sky is grey but still seems bright outside. Expecting some snow tonight.

I am thinking... which could be the cause of the smoke alarms going off. Wow. Being off on sick leave has really left me feeling unstimulated. Crazy.

I am thankful for... stretchy pants. I don't think I need to elaborate.

From the kitchen... Pork is in the crockpot smelling DEE-LISH! Can't wait for pulled pork sandwiches.

I am wearing... my most favourite sweater and jammies from my podmate.

I am creating... a chore list for Jonah. Also creating lists for Sean and I. This house is going to be organized!

I am going... back to work on February 22nd. I am sure I will be ready by then.

I am reading... Pieces of my Sisters Life by Elizabeth Joy Arnold - still. I am finding it hard to get into reading even though I am so friggin bored. Any book, not just this one.

I am hoping... that this new bed works out for Jonah. He deserves to be in his own bed. Not my hand me down.

I am hearing... The Golden Girls. Yes, I love this show.

Around the house... we are noticing the things that need to be changed.

One of my favourite things... When Jonah comes home from school and says "Hello my sweet mommy. I am home!"

Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Jonah turns 7 on thursday! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Here is a picture I am sharing... my hubby and I. We took a picture like this 2 birthdays ago, so I decided to recreate the moment. LOL.

I created!!

It has been very painful for me to be limited to lying on the couch. Now that I am starting to feel better and healing more and more each day, I have been able to sit at my scrap table for short periods of time.

I thought I would try to make an altered project since I could have all the things I needed on the table for me. When doing layouts there is a lot more looking, bending, etc.

Last year, I went to Lee's beach house in Cape Cod and we made a stop at the best scrapbook store I have seen in a long time (Mental note to self - need to ask Lee the name of the shop).
While at Lee's, the gals helped me make my first altered clipboard. I ended up buying some chipboard albums to alter since I liked it so much! Problem is, I bought it and it sat in my drawer.
The timing was perfect for me to get this complete. Here is what I did:

I pulled out the album and the the papers it came with. I looked for some bellies to match and pulled out my folkart paint that I have neglected.
First I painted the album - I used black to match the coordinating papers and bellies.

My first problem kicked in......as with all projects I start, another idea comes to my mind AFTER I have already begun the steps. Instead of making the album for me, I decided to make one of my boy. That means the papers would not be appropriate. So off to find other paper I go......once I found the right paper I happily pulled out my Mod Podge. I love ModPodge. I adhered my papers to the album and then put a coat of MP overtop to give it the seal it needs.

I added my stamped images and bellies.

Here is an inside look at the album after I added the binder rings.

TADA!! All I need to add is the pictures!

It felt so great to be at my table. I have some other projects that have been started and this is a perfect time to get them completed. In small steps of course.

Let me know what you think!

What kind of mini albums do you make? Do you like to alter? What do you like to alter most? I would love more ideas!