I can't think of an intelligent subject line. :(
Now, what was it I was going to blog about? Bah - this cold has attacked my one and only brain cell!
I was so sick this morning that I was going to stay home from Bible study. Decided that I'd rather go sick to Bible study and have someone else look after the kids than stay home and look after them myself. I didn't get much out of the day, but at least the boys were entertained and busied today.
Sigh. Can't remember what I was going to write about. I might as well play for a few minutes before retiring for the night. I'm exhausted.
G'night!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Nope, not yet...
Wow - the picture thing is SURE intermittent, finicky, fussy, whatever. It's been a couple of hours since I uploaded the last picture, and I had trouble uploading pictures ever since. I wish there was another free blogger system out there; I'd switch in a heartbeat. I've done all the checks and stuff that I needed to do to find the problem, but so far none of their fixes have worked. So frustrating!
Anyway, perhaps some ramblings?
Today we let Joshua watch some TV. It's Saturday, and since both Graeme and I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons, we thought we'd let Joshua join in on the tradition. I'm sad that Smurfs no longer exist, though. Cartoons just aren't what they used to be. Cutting J off of TV for the most part has made a world of difference in his overall attitude and obedience level. He's still 2, though, and some outbursts are expected as he tests his boundaries and independence. But, the frequency of those occurrences have gone WAY down. It's nice.
Now, it's not that we used to let him watch tons of TV! But yes, he would watch a bit every day, and if I was busy, I'd put in Veggietales for him or let him watch Treehouse. It was easy, convenient, gave me some sanity time, and kept him out of my hair for that half hour or so. But boy, to get him to listen any other time...it was getting worse as the weeks progressed.
So the trade-off is to have to 'encourage' him to be more involved as I'm puttering around cleaning, doing dishes, baking, or whatever - he's more underfoot, but he is happier, is sleeping better, and listens quicker and is much more obedient and understanding. He still has his trouble, but shapes up in any given situation about 10 times faster now.
The other trade-off is that I'm getting a little more insane every single day...muaaaaaah ha ha ha ha!!
*kidding*
Happier child, happier mama.
Time for a shower. Both kids are napping, and I know my mom will get after me for not sleeping while the kids are down (since she reads my blog, knows I'm sick and is *concerned* about me), but really....sleep vs. shower? Today, the shower's gotta win. Then sleep afterwards if time permits. Usually it's the other way around, but desperation is kicking in. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic. :)
Tomorrow is church - choir! Yay! Question is, will my head and throat hold out long enough to enjoy it, or will I be a drippy sloppy nose-blowing mess on stage?
Anyway, perhaps some ramblings?
Today we let Joshua watch some TV. It's Saturday, and since both Graeme and I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons, we thought we'd let Joshua join in on the tradition. I'm sad that Smurfs no longer exist, though. Cartoons just aren't what they used to be. Cutting J off of TV for the most part has made a world of difference in his overall attitude and obedience level. He's still 2, though, and some outbursts are expected as he tests his boundaries and independence. But, the frequency of those occurrences have gone WAY down. It's nice.
Now, it's not that we used to let him watch tons of TV! But yes, he would watch a bit every day, and if I was busy, I'd put in Veggietales for him or let him watch Treehouse. It was easy, convenient, gave me some sanity time, and kept him out of my hair for that half hour or so. But boy, to get him to listen any other time...it was getting worse as the weeks progressed.
So the trade-off is to have to 'encourage' him to be more involved as I'm puttering around cleaning, doing dishes, baking, or whatever - he's more underfoot, but he is happier, is sleeping better, and listens quicker and is much more obedient and understanding. He still has his trouble, but shapes up in any given situation about 10 times faster now.
The other trade-off is that I'm getting a little more insane every single day...muaaaaaah ha ha ha ha!!
*kidding*
Happier child, happier mama.
Time for a shower. Both kids are napping, and I know my mom will get after me for not sleeping while the kids are down (since she reads my blog, knows I'm sick and is *concerned* about me), but really....sleep vs. shower? Today, the shower's gotta win. Then sleep afterwards if time permits. Usually it's the other way around, but desperation is kicking in. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic. :)
Tomorrow is church - choir! Yay! Question is, will my head and throat hold out long enough to enjoy it, or will I be a drippy sloppy nose-blowing mess on stage?
Tag - I'm it!
It's apparently a new thing out there - Tagging different bloggers with this survey.
There. Now that THAT is out of the way, I can get on with regular blogging!
The card I'm doing for our family gathering is WAY cooler, I think - I discovered a new technique the other day that I'm working on perfecting. I can't post the card, though, until a) it's finished, b) I give Sharon her birthday card, 'cuz it uses the same technique. I'd hate to spoil it for her, since she's always checking out my blog!
That's all for now - I'm going to try and post some more pictures since the operation seems to be up and running again. Wish me luck!
A - Available or Taken: Totally Taken
B - Best Friend: Graeme, of course!
C - Cake or Pie: Pie....mmmm....pie.....*drool*
D - Drink of Choice: water
E - Essential item you use everyday: Computer & stamps
F - Favorite Color: Blue - or brown (like creamy caramel)
G - Gummy Bears or worms: Gummy bears, but either if they're sour!
H - Hometown: Vilna, AB
I - Indulgence: Buying myself new stamps
J - January or February: February - my birthday, Valentine's day, and my anniversary!
K - Kids & Names: Joshua (2 1/2) & Dustin (9 months)
L - Life is incomplete without?: My family and my stampaholism. And singing/music.
M - Marriage Date: February 27/99
N - Number of Siblings: One brother. Two brothers in law. One sister in law. One soon to be sister in law.
O - Oranges or Apples: Apples
P - Phobias or Fears: Mice, spiders...
Q - Fave Quote: "Give very little of yourself to others, and soon very little of yourself will be worth having." I used this as my high school grad quote.
R - Reason to Smile: They're upstairs sleeping right now. Joshua and Dustin.
S - Season: Fall...no wait, winter...no, umm, spring...I like 'em all!
T - Tag 3 or 4 People: Oh dear, I'm afraid I can't do this one...
U - Unknown fact about me: I'm a really insecure person.
V - Vegetable you don't like: Umm....I don't know - can't think of any!!
W - Worst Habit: Comfort-eating.
X - X-rays: Lungs, foot, teeth...I think that's it.
Y – Your FAVE food: Chocolate, peanut butter, or any combination of the two.
Z - Zodiac Sign: Pisces. 
There. Now that THAT is out of the way, I can get on with regular blogging!
This is a card I did for Graeme's Dad for his birthday, for the "staff" party at the pharmacy. It's pretty simple, but it looked really cool in person. At least I think it did. I love the Weathered background stamp most of all, and I just can't seem to get away from the "direct to paper" technique. "Celebrate" is embossed.
The card I'm doing for our family gathering is WAY cooler, I think - I discovered a new technique the other day that I'm working on perfecting. I can't post the card, though, until a) it's finished, b) I give Sharon her birthday card, 'cuz it uses the same technique. I'd hate to spoil it for her, since she's always checking out my blog!
That's all for now - I'm going to try and post some more pictures since the operation seems to be up and running again. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
ARGH!
I'm SO miffed! The picture-uploading problem has returned!
I'm feeling kinda crummy today. It's icky. I've had a headache and neckache for days now, and I can't seem to kick it. Stress, fatigue, carrying babies around, and poor sleep (hence fatigue) are all contributors. I have an appointment for both a massage and an adjustment on Friday morning - I'm sure that will help. Too bad I couldn't get in sooner.
I gotta get back to Joshua. Dustin is napping, thankfully, and Joshua has been attempting to play on his own. He's been very whiny today, unfortunately. I'm very done with the whining.
'Later!
.
I'm feeling kinda crummy today. It's icky. I've had a headache and neckache for days now, and I can't seem to kick it. Stress, fatigue, carrying babies around, and poor sleep (hence fatigue) are all contributors. I have an appointment for both a massage and an adjustment on Friday morning - I'm sure that will help. Too bad I couldn't get in sooner.
I gotta get back to Joshua. Dustin is napping, thankfully, and Joshua has been attempting to play on his own. He's been very whiny today, unfortunately. I'm very done with the whining.
'Later!
.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Bean-bag boy!
HALLELUJAH!! I CAN POST A PICTURE!!You have no idea how many days in a row I've been trying to upload, searching the 'help' forums for other people having the same problem (and there were quite a few)...and not finding a solution...
Anyway, this is the picture I've been trying to upload since the end of December!
Hopefully this problem is over and not still an intermittent thing. I hope I can keep posting pictures without returning to the same problems as before!
I gotta go tend to a crying baby, yup, that would be the same one as is in this picture, looking so happy...
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
More Change...
This is a portion of the letter I sent to my Stampin' Up customers tonight:
Greetings, fellow stamp-and-scrapaholics!
Another year has nearly transpired in my endeavors to be a Stampin’ Up demonstrator, and what a year it has been! I enjoyed the company of 5 great ladies on a delightfully creative excursion in the Stamp’n’Cramp Club that we started last March and completed in December. We met on a monthly basis and created some really nifty projects – from basic stamping and embossing to more advanced techniques such as soot stamping, shaker cards, waterfall cards, velvet stamping, and faux metal. It has been just as fun for me to learn new techniques as it has been to teach them!
As much fun as it has been, it’s time for me to move on. My own scrapbooking projects have been sadly neglected in my efforts to pursue and meet business goals (as minimal as my goals have been). I’m still stuck on Joshua’s 9th month of life in his scrapbook (I haven’t touched his book in well over a year), and now Dustin is 9 months old and I’ve got to get back into the mode of preserving the memories of my children while they’re still fresh in my mind! I can use the 3-5 nights a month that I previously used on “business” activities and dedicate those to scrapbooking and creativity for my own purposes, which is the part of the reason I got into Stampin’ Up in the first place!
I also want to use those 3-5 nights a month to pursue other personal goals of mine, including musical endeavors, exercise goals (now I’m accountable, aren’t I? J), and spending more time with my family and friends in a non-business environment. The irony of it all is that home-based businesses are supposed to give you more time with your family, but I found that in my case, it was actually taking away from family time!
(some inapplicable content deleted here - basically about my plan to "make it" until the new catalogue comes out, and some current specials and promotions...then to have my demonstratorship terminated.)
I’ve appreciated every single one of you, not only on a business level, but also on a personal level. Please know that my “door” is always open for stamping questions and hints, even after my demonstratorship is terminated. I still love stamping, and my passion for creativity will likely not fade anytime soon!
If you have any further questions, want to schedule a “play date”, or want to get in on my “final hours” as a demonstrator, please don’t hesitate to call me ... or e-mail me ...
Blessings to each of you on your creative journeys!
Greetings, fellow stamp-and-scrapaholics!
Another year has nearly transpired in my endeavors to be a Stampin’ Up demonstrator, and what a year it has been! I enjoyed the company of 5 great ladies on a delightfully creative excursion in the Stamp’n’Cramp Club that we started last March and completed in December. We met on a monthly basis and created some really nifty projects – from basic stamping and embossing to more advanced techniques such as soot stamping, shaker cards, waterfall cards, velvet stamping, and faux metal. It has been just as fun for me to learn new techniques as it has been to teach them!
As much fun as it has been, it’s time for me to move on. My own scrapbooking projects have been sadly neglected in my efforts to pursue and meet business goals (as minimal as my goals have been). I’m still stuck on Joshua’s 9th month of life in his scrapbook (I haven’t touched his book in well over a year), and now Dustin is 9 months old and I’ve got to get back into the mode of preserving the memories of my children while they’re still fresh in my mind! I can use the 3-5 nights a month that I previously used on “business” activities and dedicate those to scrapbooking and creativity for my own purposes, which is the part of the reason I got into Stampin’ Up in the first place!
I also want to use those 3-5 nights a month to pursue other personal goals of mine, including musical endeavors, exercise goals (now I’m accountable, aren’t I? J), and spending more time with my family and friends in a non-business environment. The irony of it all is that home-based businesses are supposed to give you more time with your family, but I found that in my case, it was actually taking away from family time!
(some inapplicable content deleted here - basically about my plan to "make it" until the new catalogue comes out, and some current specials and promotions...then to have my demonstratorship terminated.)
I’ve appreciated every single one of you, not only on a business level, but also on a personal level. Please know that my “door” is always open for stamping questions and hints, even after my demonstratorship is terminated. I still love stamping, and my passion for creativity will likely not fade anytime soon!
If you have any further questions, want to schedule a “play date”, or want to get in on my “final hours” as a demonstrator, please don’t hesitate to call me ... or e-mail me ...
Blessings to each of you on your creative journeys!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Change is good...
In choir news, I've let Festival Singers go. This will be news to some (all?) of you - I really really enjoyed the winter session (pre-Christmas) with all the worshipful and spiritual music. However, with the new session starting last week and upon receiving our music, I found that there were some songs of questionable content that as a worshipper, I didn't feel comfortable singing. So I traded in my choir music tonight for taking on the choir at The Park on Thursday nights. I'm very excited - Graeme and I came to this decision last night and I feel very much at peace and I'm extremely excited about it. I've been "talking" with the worship administrator via e-mail today, and I'm sure it will be a fabulous experience, with no worries on my part about what I'm going to be singing, 'cuz it'll all be geared towards worshipping our great and awesome God!! Woo hooooo!
Enough of my own ramblings...
Enough of my own ramblings...
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
FOOD - finally!
So, it's 4:05 as I start this post.
As of 21 minutes ago, I hadn't had anything to eat today. Sorry, let me correct that. As I made muffins with Joshua this morning, I licked the spatula. And I had a bite of his sandwich for lunch. And...umm....a couple glasses of water.
And I'm still in my jammies.
Today has been one of "those" days. Dustin is sick with a cold, and is proving to not be the same "happy sick" kid that Joshua is. Dustin was up a LOT last night, and cried for an hour and a half straight this morning. Then both kids were up before 7:00 this morning. I pathetically laid on the couch this morning while Joshua watched Treehouse, I was so tired. I paid for it later, too - little Mr. Disobedient emerged in the form of tantrums and such. He's better now, but yeah, I've definitely found that his disobedience directly corresponds to the amount of TV I let him watch!
So I spent the rest of the morning trying to keep the kids happy - J and I made chocolate-chocolate-chip cupcakes for Daddy. I made pears for Dustin. I made "granana" bars (J's word for granola" for the family. I made paper airplanes with Joshua. I played Candyland with Joshua. I bounced Dustin. And bounced him more. And bounced him some more. And nursed him. And nursed him again and again in efforts to unstuff his stuffy messy little nose.
Graeme called me mid-morning and informed me that he'd be closing the store (as well as opening), because the other pharmacist lives out in the country and the roads are bad. No problem - I totally am all for letting someone drive home safely while it's still daylight! He came home around 2:15 and stayed till around 3:45, just to break up his day a bit. Graeme also has a meeting tonight, so he'll be out until around 9:30 or so.
I suspect this is how the rest of my evening will play out: The kids will go to bed around 7:30 or so. I will get dressed and go out and shovel the several inches of wind-packed snow we've received (and are still receiving) off of our driveway and sidewalk. Oh, if I'm really lucky I'll get to change when I put Dustin down for his next nap. Yeah, I like that idea. I will then get to shower after snow-shovelling before changing into a fresh set of jammies.
It's been a long time since I've been so busy I haven't even been able to eat or change out of my jammies! Yikes!!
My "breakfast" consisted of a bowl of rice krispies, one of the granana bars I made, and a sampling of the cupcakes J and I made this morning.
What a day!!!!
(And I still can't post pictures - ARGH!!!! I have SUCH a cute one of Dustin to post, too!)
As of 21 minutes ago, I hadn't had anything to eat today. Sorry, let me correct that. As I made muffins with Joshua this morning, I licked the spatula. And I had a bite of his sandwich for lunch. And...umm....a couple glasses of water.
And I'm still in my jammies.
Today has been one of "those" days. Dustin is sick with a cold, and is proving to not be the same "happy sick" kid that Joshua is. Dustin was up a LOT last night, and cried for an hour and a half straight this morning. Then both kids were up before 7:00 this morning. I pathetically laid on the couch this morning while Joshua watched Treehouse, I was so tired. I paid for it later, too - little Mr. Disobedient emerged in the form of tantrums and such. He's better now, but yeah, I've definitely found that his disobedience directly corresponds to the amount of TV I let him watch!
So I spent the rest of the morning trying to keep the kids happy - J and I made chocolate-chocolate-chip cupcakes for Daddy. I made pears for Dustin. I made "granana" bars (J's word for granola" for the family. I made paper airplanes with Joshua. I played Candyland with Joshua. I bounced Dustin. And bounced him more. And bounced him some more. And nursed him. And nursed him again and again in efforts to unstuff his stuffy messy little nose.
Graeme called me mid-morning and informed me that he'd be closing the store (as well as opening), because the other pharmacist lives out in the country and the roads are bad. No problem - I totally am all for letting someone drive home safely while it's still daylight! He came home around 2:15 and stayed till around 3:45, just to break up his day a bit. Graeme also has a meeting tonight, so he'll be out until around 9:30 or so.
I suspect this is how the rest of my evening will play out: The kids will go to bed around 7:30 or so. I will get dressed and go out and shovel the several inches of wind-packed snow we've received (and are still receiving) off of our driveway and sidewalk. Oh, if I'm really lucky I'll get to change when I put Dustin down for his next nap. Yeah, I like that idea. I will then get to shower after snow-shovelling before changing into a fresh set of jammies.
It's been a long time since I've been so busy I haven't even been able to eat or change out of my jammies! Yikes!!
My "breakfast" consisted of a bowl of rice krispies, one of the granana bars I made, and a sampling of the cupcakes J and I made this morning.
What a day!!!!
(And I still can't post pictures - ARGH!!!! I have SUCH a cute one of Dustin to post, too!)
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Happy New Year (belated)!!
Good evening, world! It's a new year, new goals, new aspirations....old goals and dreams unfulfilled will assuredly become realized in 2007.
What did I learn in 2006?
What do I hope to accomplish in 2007?
What did I learn in 2006?
- that love can be unconditional (I learned this from my children).
- that you can pray and pray for something, and God still might say "no", and that He really has our best interests at heart.
- that I am powerless on my own.
- that I need people in my life - strong people, people who aren't afraid to be vulnerable, people who will support me and also receive support from me.
- that relationships are super important!
- that my flesh is very very weak (and I'm not talking muscle here!)
- that sometimes you can't fix broken bridges and that not everybody wants to work on mending fences
What do I hope to accomplish in 2007?
- I want to read through the entire Bible in a year. I've never done this, and it's about time!
- I want to lose weight (I'll keep the numbers to myself, thank you very much!)
- I want to build friendships that will stand the test of time and distance.
- I want to become closer to God.
- I want to become ever-closer to my children and husband.
- I want to be known as a woman who has a head on her shoulders, not a "Pell-Mell"
- I don't want to be sick anymore. Or tired. I want to be healthy again!
- I want to learn how to love unconditionally, even more than I already know.
- I want to learn more patience.
- I want to become a woman of influence!
I'm sure I could go on and on, but those are the things that come to mind.
We had a great Christmas, albeit a little on the busy side! I put too much on my plate - trying to rebuild our office, completing way too many Christmas cards for the pharmacy - so I went into Christmas Eve and beyond a little frazzled. Not upset or gloomy, just a bit frazzled. But it was a good time - it was simpler because I had no time to fuss over the details that just didn't matter! We spent New Year's Eve with Don & Shari, Jon & Jess, Darryl & Tanya, and four munchkins (Zack, Josh, Dustin, and Rory). We put the kiddies to bed. We put Joshua and Dustin in the same room. We knew we were in for an adventure. Joshua had a bit of trouble falling asleep. At one point he came out of the room where he and Dustin were sleeping, and Don, who is about 6'4" and a high-school teacher, said something to the effect of, "Shouldn't you be in bed?" And Tanya said that Joshua got these big saucer-eyes and went back into his room. Don wasn't exactly what Joshua was expecting when he tried to escape! Fun fun fun! Good times.
ARGH! I can't post pictures tonight!! Maybe next time....
G'night!
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