Signs of Spring!

Haven't seen any robins yet, but here's a few pics of some bulbs up in my front garden and some even have buds! I know they started to come up in January when it was so mild so hopefully they'll keep growing!

Ribbon Swap

I recently participated in a ribbon swap with some of the Go Scrapping message board members. We sent in enough ribbon for each person and received a different pattern back from each member. We all got lots of great ribbon and a beautiful card made by Judy. A very fun swap!

Elizabeth I

For some reason I've always been fascinated by the Royal European families. I like to think its beacuse I was a member of one in a prior life( as if!!).
Anyway, as mentioned in a prior post I rented the HBO film of Elizabeth I and I thoroughly enjoyed it!!(I watched it with an intermission of Amazing Race, can you believe Rob and Amber are out!)Its detailed without being too long and starts a few years into her almost 45 year reign. Its interesting to think how she(as other monarchs) had to continuously fight to maintain their position and could never trust anyone.
Here's a link to the film website in case you want to check out:
http://www.hbo.com/films/elizabeth/

Recipe Swap

I recently participated in a recipe swap through the message board at Go Scrapping. Ten of us created a 6 by 6 layout of our favourite appetizer or soup recipe. So we did create 10 of the same layout. We then sent them into the swap coordinator(thanks Karen!) who then made sure to send all of us back one of each recipe. I received mine yesterday and they are amazing layouts and I can hardly wait to try out the recipes. Have a look at the slide show below.I'm sure those of you who know me will be able to pick out mine!

Next is a chicken recipe swap, can't wait to see how they all turn out!

Handmade Cards

A natural extension of scrapbooking is cardmaking. I've recently been making more and more of my cards rather than buying them. The bonus of cards is that they make up so quickly, its a form of immediate gratification! And a hint I read in one of my scrapbook magazines, is to make cards from your scraps as you create your scrapbooking pages. I've tried it and it really helps to use up those scraps you keep meaning to go back to but never do!

Here's a sampling of cards I've made recently. Some from scraps and some from a kit. I've also included three cards that my Mom hand-painted.

Movies!

The girls started March Break this weekend so we decided to rent a bunch of movies!

They both really enjoyed The Illusionist(nominated but no wins)! Marie Antoinette(won for costume design) was a bit of yawn. The Prestige( no awards I think) didn't keep Brittany's attention and did seem to drag. The Departed(won for best picture and director and others) was for Steve and I, the girls didn't watch it. I quite enjoyed The Departed, it had a sense of humour throughout, quite interesting considering how it ends. I would highly recommend The Illusionist and The Departed.

Here's some links in case you want to check them out.
http://thedeparted.warnerbros.com/
http://www.theillusionist.com/
http://touchstone.movies.go.com/index.html?dlink=prestige
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/marieantoinette/index.html

The girls also watched Stranger Than Fiction that Brianne said wasn't very good.

Next I'd like to see The Queen and Dreamgirls to catch up on the Oscar nominated films I haven't seen yet!

I also have Elizabeth I to watch. Its the HBO movie starring Helen Mirren. I'll let you know what I think of it!

Check out Meez

where you can create an online you!

Busy Weekend

Well, it was busy and fun weekend around our house!

Friday started off with the girls having a "snow" day because of the snow and ice on Thursday night/Friday morning. I took a few pics of the ice on Friday morning.

I then left(the roads were fine!)for a scrapbooking retreat at Tom Horton's Camp Onondaga south of Cambridge hosted by Two Scrapbook Friends! I'll post the layouts I finished to my blog later this week but I have added some of the photos I took of us cropping! Of course we did need to take breaks with silly games involving oreo cookies and as well as draws! I won two chipboard books and a design book in the draws! It was a great time with lots of scrapping and laughter(and late nights)!
By the way the camp was great, I can see why kids would love it there! Lots of open space, great two story cabins, nice common area with loft(a few of us scrapped in the loft and became known as the "lofty ladies"), barn with animals and other facilities including a pool!

And while I was scrapping a picture of Brittany just starting to learn to play the piano, she performed a piano piece in Beckettfest and received good feedback from the moderator.


Steve took the girls to see Bridge to Terabithia on Saturday night then today took them both and Brianne's friend Claire tubing at Chicopee Tube Park! They all had a great time! We all hope to go next week with my sister and her family.

And now I'm off to wath Amazing Race! Who will finish last tonight!

Brunch Photos

Here's the brunch photos taken at my sister's this past weekend. We had lots of good food, some wine and the kids tobogganed and played air hockey!The cousins really enjoy getting together.

On another note, my brother-in-law, Willie, said I could expect a letter from his lawyer if I posted his picture without his permission. Well, I've posted his pic so I'll wait for the lawyer's letter! When I get it I'll post it too! LOL!

The Drive Home

We spent a nice afternoon at my sister's today. We had a wonderful brunch and the kids were able to tobaggan, play air hockey and generally have a good time.

I'll post pics of the kids and brunch in the next day or so. In the meantime, I did take some pictures of our snowy drive home! It only took a few minutes more than usual!It really does look worse that it was.

Most Haunted

Yep, I'm coming out of the closet.......I'm a Most Haunted fan. Most Haunted is a tv show shot in Britain that investigates haunted locations for 24 hours. The locations are actually quite interesting. My family can't stand it! But I think I'm waiting for the show to absolutely convince me there is an afterlife. I'm not convinced yet so I keep watching. On the show so far I have seen light orbs, heard knocks, the occasional sound of something breathing in an ear but no ghostly figures. They also do seances where an upside down glass moves in answer to questions but I'm really not convinced it is the result of a spirit. Interestingly, when I tell people I watch it,I think they'll scoff about it, but they don't.....some people truly believe they have been visited or seen ghostly spirits. I don't know what to think, do you?

Here's a link in case you want to check it out! http://www.livingtv.co.uk/mosthaunted/

By the way, the picture is of a real ghost and was captured in Raynham Hall in Norfolk. King George the IV of England and others had seen a ghost deemed the Brown Lady before this photo was taken. She has not been seen since this 1936 photo.

Harry Potter Countdown

I found a coutdown to the next Harry Potter book and added it to my blog primarily for Brianne. She's a big Harry Potter fan! Check out this site for all the latest HP news: www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

How you know you have a teenager in the house?!

Ok this is a bit of a riff off of Holly's post today but its short and sweet. How do you know you have a teenager in the house??
When you have to pull rank to get some computer time!!! LOL!!!

Amazing Race All Stars

Amazing Race All Stars started last night! It is one of my favourite shows and with the All Star version, we already know the participants. Of course everyone is out to get Rob and Amber! It will be interesting to see how Charla and Mirna do, will Mirna get on my nerves because she is always telling Charla to keep up? The beauty queens and the Kentucky couple(the ruthless version this time) are back from last time. I'm surpised no one has targetted winners Uchenna and Joyce yet but it is early! Hopefully Danny and Oswald will be a funny as they were the first time around. I'd forgotten about Teri and Ian but remembered when Ian began to talk, he amuses me. I didn't watch season one so don't know the male teams and the two other young couples are forgettable too!
And then there's Phil! I just love the way he arches his one eyebrow, how do people do that!

Sunday Skating

As teenager, I used to go skating every Sunday afternoon at the local arena. And now, it is something I wish my family and I would do more often but weekend chores, home improvements, etc always seem to take precedence. But not today! Today we all went skating for a little while. And of course, I took the camera to get some pics for my blog! Squeezed in a couple of snow pictures too!

On Valentine's day, Steve brought home some balloons to decorate the kitchen with, I made a couple of valentine 'purses' and Brianne hand made me a Valentine. So they too all had to be posted on my blog!

Last night we played in a Euchre tournament that our friends John and Dana have made an annual event! It was a lot of fun but no pics for the blog this time!But there is always next year!

Happy Valentines Day!

Macaroni and Cheese

There is something very satisfying about macaroni and cheese. I think maybe its the ultimate comfort food. And tonight, Brianne decided to make mac and cheese from scratch! She used a recipe from my old Betty Crocker cookbook and as the pictures show it turned out great! She set the table, put together a salad in addition to the mac and cheese. So dinner was ready and waiting when I got home from work! How awesome is that!

Sting

Is it only me or does Sting get better with age? Have a look at the video below and let me know what you think.

Venus, The Planet of Choice!

Brittany spent the afternoon today working on her Venus project for school. It is supposed to be an advertisement promoting travel to Venus. To teleport to Venus costs $300. You can stay the Holiday Inn Venus, a premiere resort! Venus is also much more reasonable and interesting than Mars!

Sunday Baking!

Brianne decided to bake today. She made rice crispie squares, then shortbread cookies then peanut butter bites and finally chocolate creme brulee. They all turned out wonderfully!

2007 Edition of Getting to Know You!

I received this a while back from my Mom and realised I hadn't responded. Thought it would be fun to post the answers here. I'm not sure what happened to question 23!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30, that's too early
2. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Casino Royale, loved it
3. What is your favorite TV show? 24 and Amazing Race
4. What did you have for breakfast? Muffin that Brianne made and
coffee
5. What is your middle name? Marie
6. What is your favorite cuisine? Chocolate
7.What is your favorite Potato Chip? Dill pickle
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Il Divo
9.What kind of car do you drive? Honda Accord
10.Favorite sandwich? Egg Salad
11. What Characteristics do you despise? Two faced-ness
12. Favorite item of clothing? flannel nightie
13. If you could go ANYWHERE in the world on vacation,where would you go? Pretty much any where in Europe
14. What color is your bathroom? one is green,one is cork, one is vellum and the last is wallpaper with a lavendar print
15. Favorite brand of clothing? Nygard
16. Where do you want to retire? Carribean
17. Where were you born? London, Ontario
18. Favorite sport to watch? Figure skating
19. Who do you least expect to send this back?
20. Person you expect to send it back first?
21. What laundry detergent do you use? Tide
22. Pepsi or Coke? Diet coke
24. Do you have any pets? No, but the kids would like one
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? just returned from a cruise
26. What did you want to be when you were little? Crown Attorney
27. Favorite candy bar? Belgian milk chocolate
28. What is your best Childhood memory? one is of Christmas at the Cottage with my cousins
29. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Communication Clerk, Abandonned Pit Inspector, Outside maintenance at Conservation Authority, Concession Stand at the Drive In, LTD Claim Adjudicator, Business Analyst, Claim Manager
31. Nicknames? Annie
32. Piercing? Ears
33. Eye Color? Brown
34. Ever been to Africa? No
35. Ever been toilet papering? No
36. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes
37. Been in a car accident? Yes, minor
38. Croutons or bacon bits? Bacon
39. Favorite day of the week? Friday
40. Favorite restaurant? Lily Ruth
41. Favorite flower? Lily or Lily of the valley
42. Disney or Warner brothers? Disney
43. Favorite fast food restaurant? Wendys
44. What color is your bedroom? Late Wheat(green)
45. What color is your bedroom carpet? Cream
46. How many times did you fail your drivers test? None
47. Besides this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? My Mom
48. What store would you choose to max out your credit card? Scrapbooking Store
49. What do you do most often when you get bored? Surf the net, watch tv, read
50. Bedtime? 11:00
51. Who are you most curious about their response to this
questionnaire? Everyone
52. What are you listening to right now? HGTV and Brianne, she's making rice crispie squares
53. What is your favorite color? Green
54. Ocean, River or Lake? Ocean
55. How many tattoos do you have? None
56. Which came first the chicken or the egg? The egg
57. How many people are you sending this e-mail to? None, posting on my blog
58. Time finished? 1:33 pm

I just had to share this photo!

This is a cute self-taken photo of my nephew Brayden that my sister just sent me! Look at him with all the Christmas goodies in the background!

More Cruise Pics

I've added in a separate slide show with the photos we had taken by the professionals on the cruise. They are the first family pictures we've had done by a professional photographer in years.
I added in a few more pics to the other cruise slide show as well!

Cruise Photos Slide Show

Well, I finally created a slide show using some of the 522 cruise photos we took last week!! I'll add more details of the cruise in future posts.

Back from our Cruise!

We're back from our cruise of the Southern Carribean!We had a great time and I will be posting some of the 522 pictures we took as well details of some of the things we saw and did in future posts. In the meantime, I've posted a family picture taken by the photographers on the cruise.

Minus 20?

Well, on this very cold morning I thought I'd share some of my favourite warm drinks! On a day like today nothing can beat hot chocolate topped with whip cream, mulled apple cider, a Starbucks non-fat,decaf,extra hot latte or, of course, a large Tim's coffee with milk!

Soup!

There's nothing like soup on a cold winter day in January! This weekend I made three family favourites,Potato Cheese Chowder( an old favourite from my 4-H days), Hamburger Soup and French Onion Soup( my Mom's recipe). I think was inspired by Kerry. For our Kinette meeting on Thursday she made Chicken Noodle Soup, Potato Bacon Soup and Broccoli Cheddar Soup. They all were yummy!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Brianne wants to scrapbook some of her baby pictures. So last night while I was working in my scrap room, she sat in there with me and looked at pictures from the 90's!
These are pictures of Brianne(1992) and Brittany(1996) both when they were 1 years old. And the last is of both of them in 1997 wearing matching sweaters that Gramma knit them.
Where does the time go? I haven't scrapbooked any of their baby pictures yet but think I'll start now! It was such fun to look at them and remember!

Trying to run errands

Sometimes things just don't go my way. I was late leaving work tonight but wanted to stop and mail a package then drop a couple of things off at the dry cleaner. Well, I arrived at the post office behind a couple with two grocery carts full of large packages to mail(must be sellers on ebay!)! I think it was going to take an hour for them all to be weighed with the postage determined! And since there was only one person working, I decided to leave there and go to the dry cleaner. At the dry cleaner I wanted to use the $5 off coupon but the person there was new, didn't know how to use the till to properly apply the discount and the people she telephoned for help weren't answering. So after about 15 minutes of trying, she just took the discount manually off my receipt. Then I came home to find out that Brianne will need to see a plastic surgeon to make sure there is no tendon damage in the finger she fractured last week while playing goal in her soccer league. But on the bright side, Steve had dinner ready! Hopefully I'll get the package mailed tomorrow!

24 Season 6 is here!

24 is back!! And I loved it! It seems from some of the blogs I've read that a vast majority of us have been waiting for this moment! And here's a link to blog specifically on 24, its pretty amusing.

http://blogs4bauer.blogspot.com/

My New Favourite Restaurant!

Usually two or three times a year we try a new restaurant with our friends Charmian and Hong. Last night we went to a restaurant in Cambridge called Lily Ruth(its named after the owner's Grandmother). The food was amazing, good size portions, beautifully presented and everything tasted yummy! So for dinner I had the house salad which had a light vinagrette, pinenuts and bit of goat cheese. I also had a lemon infused cheese and tomato spread for crisp toasts. It was presented in a hollowed out lemon with balsamic vinagrette. My main course was a stuffed pork tenderloin with a variety of veggies(snap peas, lighly breaded okra, baby carrots) and garlic mashed potatoes. I had to share with Steve because there was way more than I could eat. Steve had carrot ginger soup, thai shrimp and talapi with rice. Then for dessert,we shared our favourite, creme brulee! I also tried this great cocktail, peach and apricot juice with champagne, it was really good. And Steve had a couple of glasses of red wine. They bring in a select few, so he had a glass of merlot, which I tasted and thought was good(no after taste), and cabernet. I will definitely go back! They have wine and tapas pairing nights which sound very interesting. Maybe we'll try one of those.

Some of My Favourite Layouts

Well, I really decided to put our scanner to work and uploaded several of my favourite layouts. I've moved my favourite photos along with my layouts to a second blog, the link is on the left. Let me know what you think of the layouts!

At The Crop!!

I posted on this a little while back but thought I should mention it again in case any of any scrapbooking friends are interested. Spots are filling up!

On April 14, 2007, the Waterloo Grand River Kinettes are hosting their second annual scrapbooking crop at Albert McCormick Arena in Waterloo. It promises to be a great day of scrapping and socializing with an on-site store and other vendors and wonderful door prizes. Click on the link on the left side of this page for more details.

Visit to the Spa........I mean Dentist!

The girls and I visited the spa yesterday....wait a minute, no it was the dentist!

Our dentist has designed his practice into a spa like setting so its no wonder I'm confused! When you walk into the reception area you are greeted by the smell of scented candles. The receptionist takes your coat and offers you complimentary gourmet coffee or flavoured water while you wait in the designer leather(think Neinkamper) chairs. Beside you, enclosed in an aquarium, is a large reef with a little nemo swimming soothingly around.

Then you're taken into state of art examination rooms with state of the art chairs all with satellite tv and the channel of your choice. And before you get started you are offered a complimentary hand wax. So I took off my rings which were put into jewelery cleaner, used my choice of hand lotion(I choose lavender), then dipped each hand into the wonderfully warm parafin wax. Each hand is then put into a plastic bag then terry mitts and left like that while your teeth are cleaned. ( Wait a minute maybe they do that so you don't grab the technician when she gets too close the gum line ........ah no, I'm spoiling the image now).

And the best part of yesterday's appointment is that none of us had cavities.

A Favourite Layout

Here's one of my favourite layouts!

To be able to post it l learned how, after scanning it in two pieces, to stitch it back together!

Resolutions

Well, I've been thinking about what resolutions to make and so far have come up with two(other than the usual become more fit, lose weight, eat more healthfully!).
The first is to file my scrapbook pages in the albums they belong as I complete them. I currently have a large stack of pages waiting to go in their albums. The second is to organize the girls baby pictures and books. Its been awhile since I've done that! There is also some other organizing I want to do too but we'll leave that out of the resolution list for now!

New Year, New Look

Well for the new year, I changed the layout of my blog. I think this one is more me!

Happy New Year!