On a mission

My youngest is away at camp this week, my furniture arrived last week ( gorgeous!) but I wasn't ready.. and after spending/wasting time on Pinterest, I'm going to put those ideas to work getting my dining room set up done. It's incredible how much more time I feel I have since the littlest is gone, not that I don't miss him terribly. I'm sure he's having the time of his young life.
I've decided to paint the one wall  (where the credenza is) a nice taupey dark grey. Shouldn't take me more than a few hours, and if I hate it, I can always paint over it. So I'm off to Home Depot in search of that perfect colour, and hoping it will all be done by tomorrow if I can get it in gear. It's a hot, beautiful day, so I may just blow it off and head to the pool with the big one!

Here's a layout I did this weekend of him.... simple, simple, simple. But I love it. :)

Read more...

Summer.

Read more...

Yes, I'm forgetful.

Just realized I never posted that page in it's entirety, so here it is...

I love these tags. And the buttons too. And I love that I'm not a chronological scrapper. Finding these little
gems in amongst my photos is always a happy surprise.

Have a nice lazy Sunday... off to work for me!

Read more...

summer vacation is looming...

Only 1/2 a day left... there is one pretty excited kid in this household right now. Tomorrow is the last day of school, and then it's official... summer vacation starts! Bobby has been off since the 2nd week of June, and it's been nice to have some one-on-one time with him, but after tomorrow, there will be 3 of us, ( well, 4, but not counting the hubby who is not officially on vacay until July 1st) and our days will be filled with going to the pool, swim lessons, baseball, and other fun stuff. :) Camping in the Adirondacks and Maine will be on the agenda as well, woot!
I'm certainly looking forward to sleeping in a little, and above all, not having to make any more dreaded lunches... seriously tired of that chore, ugh. I'm so happy that summer is upon us, and I plan to enjoy every sweet fleeting second of it this year. :) Today was a very stressful day for me... for reasons I can't & don't want get into here, but it is over now, and I'm moving forward with a positive outlook. Life is good!

I'll leave you with a sneak peek of my 1st layout for the Ormolu team... the entire page should be up tomorrow, but please go have a look at the work of some of my colleagues here on the blog... I was completely floored by their gorgeous work. SO thrilled & honoured to be in their company.

Happy Wednesday!

Read more...

This is June?

I woke up this morning to a temperature of 12 C, and rain.... it's hard to believe that last week it was 32C and we were sweltering in the heat.! I'm not sure which is the lesser of 2 evils, but I think I actually prefer the heat and sun to this. This is kind of depressing for mid-June.
My leg is slowly getting better. I went to Physio a few times last week, and the girl I saw was amazing. She diagnosed me with a bad hamstring AND calf muscle pull. I am pretty sure just one of those would be painful, but the combination is pretty agonizing. I've been working on some exercises, and combined with the torture massages she's given me, it seems to be working. She did warn me it will take weeks for it to get back to normal, but right now, I'm just happy that I can actually walk again. I had an MRI done on my knee last week, just to make sure there's nothing wrong there, but I won't have those results until Wednesday.
And my son's leg was a minor thing- seeing as he's not old and decrepit like his Mom, he has healed up fast and is back to normal. ;p

I got an email yesterday that completely made my day. A few of my Aussie  friends have gotten together to form this group, and it makes me very happy to go over there and see some beautiful clean pages. No frou-frou, no misting, no excess of product... just simple, well designed layouts that highlight photos and a story, which to me is really the basis of it all. In honour of their little group, I will leave you with a layout I did last week about my Father. It's not rosy, and there is not a lot of product on it, but I think it's one of my most favourite layouts in a long time, because it's a really honest account of how things are.

Please head on over to their blog and check out their beautiful work!

Read more...

Make that two bum legs please

As I was trying to compose a new post just now, I got a call from the school telling me that Bobby hurt his leg in gym class. He apparently heard that lovely popping sound, and hubby has just left to pick him up. I don't know how badly he's hurt it, but this is NOT good. Maybe I can just take him along with me tomorrow and get a 2 for 1 on the MRI I'm having. If anyone knows any voodoo to get rid of this black cloud that's been hanging over our house, please come on over and do your thing.
I'll be back later with a layout...

Read more...

Feeling sorry for myself.

I've been trying to get back into shape after being fairly sedentary for most of the winter. Apart from walking the dog and being on my feet at work, I haven't done much in the way of exercise, and have put on some unwanted pounds, mostly in the gut area, which is mucho non attractive. And with warmer weather comes bathing suits, we all know how that is. I've been working on getting rid of the spare tire by giving up soft drinks and snacking at night... it seems to be working, little by little.
 At the urging of a friend, I decided to try Zumba, which at first I didn't like much, but it grew on me.  Before last night,I hadn't been for a few weeks b/c of other commitments, and was anxious to get back to it.  So last night, in the midst of sweating, lunging and spinning, I felt and heard something POP, somewhere in the back of my leg. I don't even remember what I was doing, but the shooting pain was excruciating. I immediately sat out the rest of the class and iced where it hurt, although I can't really pinpoint where exactly it hurts- kind of weird. Anyway, I was able to drive myself home, ( I drive a standard) and could walk on my tiptoe, but I can't put any pressure on my leg at all. Today, it is much worse, probably b/c the muscle has cramped up. I just got off the phone with the Orthopaedist, and I feel very lucky that I will be able to get in to see him tomorrow... the secretary says it sounds like I've just pulled/strained something really badly, and I doesn't think I need xrays. I am hoping and praying that I don't have a torn ligament or worse.
Right now, hubby is out getting me crutches b/c it is killer to put any pressure on my leg, and let me tell you, I feel like an invalid, not being able to get around or go up and down the stairs in my house. I'm angry with myself, because I knew my leg wasn't stable after hurting it last week doing The Shred. I overdid it one day with lunges and weights, and could barely walk the next day, but I figured it was normal, seeing as I was so out of shape. So there's a good lesson for anyone who takes on a new exercise routine... contrary to what they tell you, DO NOT push yourself so hard that you incapacitate yourself!!!
Wish me luck for tomorrow...

Read more...