Shopping Again!

But this time it was at local stores with my Mom, sister and Grandmother. We hit some of my favourite stores in Cambridge, and Waterloo as well as Elmira and Conestogo.
First up was Blair House Gifts. They always have an eclectic mix of stuff. Then Heartstrings. They have beautiful home and gift items as well as gorgeous dried flower arrangements. We spent a fair bit of time browsing and Mom bought a really neat pineapple shaped tealight lantern.

We then headed up to Crossroads in Elmira. Little did I know they have been renovating all winter and have redesigned the restaurant and store. We had a great lunch with yummy pie for dessert. Then we browsed the expansive gift store. Sherry got a couple of early birthday gifts, some gorgeous sounding wind chimes and an unusual iron and wicker planter. Then we went to the Conestogo Mercantile where they have an eclectic mix of items including more funky pieces.

Then into Waterloo to check out Lilies White where I got a cute little cubic vase, and on to Blessings. Blessings always has some interesting gift items and is one of stores where I can always find a gift for someone!

We had a great day of browsing with a bit of buying!

The Race Continues

I was second to complete challenge 13 tonight. After this challenge its down to five of us!

This challenge was to create a layout based on what superpower we'd like to have. I decided that I would like to teleport myself and anyone else I want to all the great beaches in the world!

Shopping and Scrapbooking

Are definitely two of my favourite things to do! And last weekend I was able to do both!


Last Friday, Agnes, Charlene and I shopped in Buffalo for the day. We hit all of our favourite stores and spent a fair bit of time shoe shopping! I was able to buy Brittany's birthday clothes at JC Penney(love their selection and they fit!) Also picked up Brianne a top from Hollister and two pair of sandals for me. We had a great lunch on the patio at Panera Bread and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Unfortunately we did have to pay tax on our purchases on the way back into Canada! But with the lower prices and selection in the US, we decided a bit of extra tax was worth it!

Then on Saturday, after Britt finished piano, I scrapbooked in Cambridge with Go Scrapping. It wasn't an overly productive scrap day for me but fun! Kathryn, Brenda, Pat and I shared a lot of laughs. Kathryn became a Groupie(you getthis status after attending 4 day crops or retreats) and won a $25 gift Certificate. And I was selected to play Go Scrapping's version of Deal or No Deal and won a Fiskars Scrapboss.

Ric Rac Swap

A while back I posted about a ribbon swap I participated in! I received such great ribbon that I decided to participate in a ric rac swap.

And so here's the ric rac I recently received. Isn't it fun? I'll put it all to good use on cards and scrapbook pages!

High Demand

Here I am on the computer at 8:30 on a holiday Monday!?
There is now extremely high demand for the computer by each member of our family with much jockeying for computer time.

Why you might ask?

Steve has been loading songs to his new Ipod and has learned how to burn documents to CD and so is using it much more than usual.

Brittany received SIMS 2 for her birthday along with a Webkinz and also likes to play on Runescape so she is using it more than usual.

Brianne is using it for homework as well as MSN and Habbo Hotel so is using it as much as usual.

But this morning, Steve is golfing, Brianne is at work and Britt is sleeping, so what better thing to do than to enjoy a cup of coffee and update my blog! Oh and do a load of laundry or two!!

Victoria Weekend Birthdays!

We celebrated Steve's birthday and Britt's 12th birthday yesterday. Everyone was able to make it to our place including Mom and Dad, Sherry and family and Grandma and Grandpa.

We had a wonderful day enjoying the lovely weather on our deck( I took some pictures of our deck and yard that actually do show off its best side!). We set up the volleyball and badminton net on the lawn for the kids to enjoy and they did (so did Sherry :) )! We also had lots of great food and drink throughout the afternoon. Grandma made a hot asiago artichoke dip that is to die for! Brittany particularly enjoyed the watermelon. I tried strawberries in balsamic vinegar which were really good. The boys quite enjoyed the red velvet cupcakes that I baked and Brianne iced then decorated with sprinkles or dried edible flowers.

Then for dinner Steve barbequed chicken, mini-ham burgers, sausage and hotdogs on his new BBQ. It works wonderfully and can no longer be called a 'virgin' bbq! Then with the meat we had some great salads, potato, greek, tomato pesto with bocconcini and 7 cup! For dessert Sherry made a butter pecan cake with maple icing that was really good too! We were all definitely well fed! We finished up with a yummy dessert wine from Konzelman, a Riesling Traminer that is sweet and fruity but lighter than ice wine!

Then came the presents! Britt got lots of awesome pink clothes, a webkinz,a couple of CD's, books and SIMS 2! She was pretty happy with all of her gifts and the clothes fit great! Steve hauled in 3 seasons of Mash, a bottle of Australian red wine, a liquor store gift card and an IPOD nano and accessories(along with the BBQ!). He was pretty happy too!


So with the beautiful weather and good company it was a great day!

It was close

but I'm still in the race! We're down to 7 of us and tonight before I could do my layout I had to take Brianne to soccer. So by the time I got home 4 people were already done and I ended up sixth, a minute behind 5th!
The challenge was to create a layout using our favourite picture and the journalling we previously wrote to go along with it. But we had to embellish the journalling in some manner. I used a cool font and made some words large than others.

Today's Challenge

Was actually two.

The first was to find answers to various questions based on the Go Scrapping Site.

Then we had to post a favourite pic. As I was working from home this afternoon, I was able to use my lunch to complete this challenge and was third to complete it.

Then tonight I just happened to check and another challenge was posted. We're down to seven now and I was fourth to submit. It was to journal about our favourite pic with a minimum of 200 words! Journalling is not my favourite thing but it got easier as I wrote.

Here's the pic and journalling:



This picture of Brianne and Brittany was taken at the Rockton Worlds Fair in October 2006. It is one of my favourite pictures because it is a great shot of both girls! And it was taken at one of our favourite activities, a fall fair. Who can resist the ferris wheel( on which this pic was taken), fun houses, demolition derby, agricultural displays, games and all the yummy food( think elephant ears and candy apples!)! This was our first trip to the Rockton Fair and it happened to be on a beautiful sunny day when the leaves were changing to colours of red, orange, gold and yellow! They looked awesome against the clear blue sky.
When I look at them in this picture its hard to believe how quickly 15 years have passed since Brianne was born! And the last 11 have flew by even more quickly since Brittany arrived! They both are maturing into beautiful, confident young women.
Over the years we usually have gone to at least one fall fair a year. The Paris fair is a favourite as is the Simcoe Fair and the Western fair. You might say it is a fall tradition for our family. I wonder if it will become a fall tradition when the girls have their own families? I sure hope so!

My Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

This was fun! To get your visual DNA click on get your own visual DNA above!

Its not easy being Green

Except when you're scrapbooking a monochromatic layout in green!

Yep challenge 9 was to create a monochromatic layout including ribbon in the title, a quote and a flower.



The challenges have been posted later in the day so I was the fourth of nine to submit my layout!

Storm Watch

Well tonight the girls were scheduled to play soccer. But as predicted we were hit with thunderstorms around the dinner hour and although they do play in the rain, they do not play if there is lightning.
It was raining when it was time to leave but no lightning and there was no call from either coach so we decided to go see if they would be playing.

As we were heading up the expressway into Waterloo just before the Bridgeport exit we drove in to a storm like I don't think I ever driven in before. It was practically dark and the rain was coming down sideways in sheets! Yes sheets of rain! Not drops, sheets!! Then the lightning started. Not just a strike here and there but continual lightning that lit up the whole sky! And yes I was looking for funnel clouds it was that intense. We decided that there would be no soccer tonight! We got off the expressway at King St and I decided to take the city streets home. The streets were covered with up to 4-6 inches of water in some spots. Stoplights were out randomly. And there were lots of tree branches down too! And when we got home there was a message from Brianne's coach, soccer was cancelled!

Challenge 8!

After a weekend break the race has resumed!
The challenge this time was to use scraps of paper, swirls,stamps, journaling with a mix of rub-ons and handwriting as well as ribbon. And just after I was saying that I didn't like painting on my layouts, I used a stencil and paint to create the swirls!

A Mother's Day Tradition

Every year on Mothers day, I get flowers for our planters. So early this morning we headed out and got some great flowers at two of my favourite greenhouses, Belgian Nurseries and Greenway Blooming Centre.I got some of my favourite annuals including fushia, marguerite daisy, million bells and ivy geranium. Also picked up some perenial english daisies and foxglove. And while were outside today Steve and I took a few pictures of our lilacs just coming into bloom, the crabapple tree and Brittany planting some Hollyhocks.

The girls also surprised me with a mug I had admired as well as the Joy of Cooking cookbook. Can't wait to try out some recipes. Britt made me a cute card that says Mom on the front and opens to say Moms Make Children Blossom. Brianne got me a cute card with a vacuum cleaner on the front and on the inside says don't even think about it. I was very spoiled!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Challenge 7

Well, after a great day shopping in Buffalo with a couple of friends, I got home to find that challenge number 7 had been posted and that 8 of 11 people had completed it! With my family's encouragement, I raced around getting this challenge done. It was to create a layout or card that has someone else's writing on it!

This layout features my husband Steve's writing(he's the one feeling up the other woman LOL!). I was 9th to complete the challenge!

I'm still in it!

The last leg of the race was a non-elimination round!

Today's challenge(number 6) was to create a card that doesn't use patterned paper. So I got home from work, and made my card! Steve had taken the girls to soccer so supper was already done. In today's leg I was 9th out of 12!

Chicken Swap!

I participated in another scrapbooking swap. This one was a 6 by 6 layout featuring a chicken recipe. I put in my favourite, 'Yummy Chicken' and got 9 awesome layouts and recipes back! Have a look below!

I could be out!

Yes, I may be out of the race. I went straight from work to a dinner out with some ladies I used to work with. So by the time I got home(9:51), I was the last person to participate in the 5th challenge(posted my pic at 10:04). It was a scavenger hunt and we had to take a picture including:
A plant
A Stapler
An Ink Pad
An album
A Shoe
A Picture of You (can have others in the pic as well)
Your favourite tool (scrapping or otherwise), I chose a corner rounder
Scissors
A Fork
A Scrappy Mag or Idea Book


But maybe its a non-elimination round!I could still be in it!

Challenge 4

Today's challenge was to complete a layout using another competitor's sketch from yesterday.

Here's the sketch I chose




And here's my layout




I came in seventh this time. I wonder if I( along with some others) are at a disadvantage beacuse we work outside the home during the day? I guess it will depend on when the challenges are posted. So I'm not sure how I'll place overall but I am being challenged to put those scrapbooking skills to the test!

Roadblock and Challenge 3

Well today we had our first roadblock! Before we could get our third challenge we had to complete a roadblock! We had to design and sketch our own layout and then we would each receive the next challenge at different times.




Then our challenge was to create layout based on our sketch but no adhesive could be used to complete it! I used staples and brads! And I get hungry just looking at the layout. I love soup! These are pictures of two of our favourites, Hamburger Soup and Potato Cheese Chowder!



I was the seventh to complete the sketch(had to wait till I got home from work)then fourth to complete the layout!

Amazing Race All Star Finale

Ok, so is it only me, or was this finale a bit of a let down? I really didn't feel anything when Eric and Danielle won. Of the last three teams, I don't think I was really hoping for one team over the other. I liked Danny and Oswald so once they were out the race was done for me. Hopefully the next race will have some good and interesting teams I can root for! I've included a pic of Phil cause I do find him interesting!

Amazing Race Challenge 2

I completed my second race leg today!A Mother's Day card using scrapbooking in the sentiment. I'm just posting the inside of the card as the cover will give away who I'm sending it to. I'm off to watch the finale of Amazing Race All Stars!

German Name

to honour Steve's heritage!

Your German Name is:

Stella Isabella

What's Your German Name?

Go Scrapping's Amazing Race

I decided to participate in a scrapping'Amazing Race'! There are 20 of us in it and it started today with a challenge to create a layout showing 'why I scrapbook'. I was the 9th submission which isn't too bad considering the challenge came out at noon, I worked until 5, had dinner, watched a bit of news, went to Curves then made my layout. Of course once the layout was done I had to kick my husband off the computer so I could post my layout, its a race after all! So far there are 11 entries in. Once all are in the last person to submit is out of the race and the next 'leg' or challenge will begin. We may even face detours! I think the race may go on for about a month with the prize being a guest designer for Go Scrapping for a month! That would be cool! Anyway, I'll post my 'leg results' here as I run the race!

Boots

I'm not sure if I'm being nostalgic lately or whether everything old is new again. Maybe nostalgic as I joined a born in the 60's group on Facebook and the things I've been reminded about there! Remember, Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific Shampoo? But I digress.

I recently heard that Shoppers Drug Mart as well as a couple of US pharmacies(CVS and Target) were bringing in Boots products from the UK, I remembered that Boots used to be here in Canada with its own chain of pharmacies. I'm not sure when they were sold but I believe they were bought out by PharmaPlus.

Here's some history I found on where else, Wikipedia, about Boots:

Boots was founded in Nottingham, England by John Boot in 1849 and transformed into a national chain by his son Jesse. Its current logo is based on a design made by one of Jesse's signwriters in the 1870s. The chain was established during that time, and for the first time they became official dispensing chemist, stocking prescription medicines. By the onset of the First World War there were over five hundred Boots shops. In 1920, Jesse Boot sold the company to an American called Louis Liggett who owned a company called Dug Incorporated. However, deteriorating economic circumstances in North America saw Boots sold back into British hands in 1933 with the son of the founder, John Boot who inherited the title Lord Trent from his father, at the head of the company ('Interwar retail internationalization: Boots under American ownership', International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 7(2), 1997). In 1968 it acquired the 622- strong Timothy Whites and Taylors Ltd chain. Boots now has almost one thousand five hundred stores including some stores overseas

They will be supplying Shoppers with their Botanics skin and hair care products as well as No.7 make up products. I'll have to try a couple out!

Busy Weekend!

Another busy weekend! What did I do when I only had two day weekends instead of three!

Anyway, scrapbooked all day Saturday in Stratford with Joan. Got a few layouts done that I will post later this week! This crop was organized through Go Scrapping and as usual was excellent. Took a few pics that are attached below.

Then me and my family had our own clean sweep episode today and cleaned out a lot of stuff from the basement! It will be sold at next week's Heidelberg town garage sale! We have friends who live there and said that like last year we can bring some of our stuff up to sell. Whatever doesn't sell is then going straight to Goodwill! We even got everything priced today too! And I've thought of a couple of more things to clean out before next weekend! And you know, I should have taken pictures while we were in the middle of the clean out but didn't think about that till just now. I'll get some pics of next weekend's garage sale though!

Its a Good Thing......almost!

I was in Michaels tonight and they have the Martha Stewart paper craft line! It is gorgeous! Stickers, paper, embellishments, wrap, ribbon,stamps,punches, scissors, adhesive and storage(and more). The colours are typical Martha with one of my favourites being the ribbon storage boxes in a light blue and brown, the perfect colour for my scrap room! But they won't let you use the 40% off coupon on any Martha products! How sad is that! I'm going to hold out for a sale!

Solid Gold

While watching Dancing With The Stars, I got thinking about a dancing show I used to watch in the early 80's called Solid Gold featuring the Solid Gold Dancers. It was a weekly top 10 hit countdown show and while it was hosted by a few different people, I remember Dionne Warwick and Marilyn McCoo. Come on fess up, I know that many others of you remember Solid Gold too. Drop me a comment to let me know.

Click here for more Solid Gold trivia.

The 'Loo'!

The other day at lunch we had a discussion of the different names used for a washroom. Names like bathroom, restroom, the loo, the john, lavatory, latrine,water closet etc. We debated a bit on why there were so many names and since inquiring minds want to know, I found the following explanation on wikipedia(who knew that wikipedia would have such information!).

Usually the term "washroom" is used to denote a public, commercial, or industrial personal hygiene facility designed for high throughput, whereas a similar term "bathroom" is used to denote a smaller, often residential facility for lesser throughput (i.e., often for only one person at a time to use). The word originated in the United States and is currently the preferred term in Canada; in American English, "bathroom" or "restroom" are now more common. In Britain, Australia, Hong Kong (as toilets) and New Zealand, the terms in use are "public toilets" and (more informally) "public loos". In the rest of the world (usually Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia) the term "Comfort room" is used. Furthermore many European washroom doors are simply marked "WC", for water closet, which may be confusing for non-Europeans. One reason some Americans prefer "restroom" over "bathroom" is that restrooms do not have bathtubs. By contrast, speakers of British English commonly have trouble with the word restroom, on the basis that only the hygienically confused would actually take a rest in such a place. Therefore, the term "washroom" is the most preferable, because, although the room may not always have a bath (full-body wash), only the hygienically confused could imagine a personal hygiene room that did not contain at least one handwash station.

I tend to agree with the speakers of British English.

Winery Tour

This weekend we went on a Winery Tour for Kathryn's birthday. It was a surprise for her and a limo was rented to take us down to Niagara to see the Wineries then to the Falls for dinner and home. The stretch limo was the perfect size for the eight of us and the wine was liberally poured! We managed to hit four wineries and taste some wonderful wine! It was a great day and the weather cooperated beautifully. It would be fun to go back and get some pictures when the grapes on the vines!

Pinup!

You are Betty Grable

The ulitmate girl next door You're the perfect girl for most guys Pretty yet approachable. Beautiful yet real.

What Famous Pinup Are You?

Warmth and Sunshine!

Happy Sunny weekend!! Two days in a row of sun and over 20 degree weather! I think spring may be here to stay!

I've always wanted to be mysterious!

Your Eyes Should Be Violet

Your eyes reflect: Mystery and allure What's hidden behind your eyes: A quiet passion

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

Things I've done

1/Smoked a cigarette. Yep, it tasted terrible.
2/Drank so much you threw up. Yep, that tasted terrible too!
3/Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back. Yep
4/Gone on a blind date. Yep
5/Skipped school. Yep, with the whole french class!
6/Seen someone die. No!
7/Been to Canada. Yep a few times!
8/Been to Florida. Yep a few times!
9/Been to Mexico. Yep a few times!
10/Been on a plane. Yep a few times!
11/Been on the opposite side of the country. (east and west coasts) Yes(got tired of yep!)
12/Gone to Washington. No but I want to.
13/Swam in the ocean. Yep a few times!
14/Felt like dying. Yes, when I had pneumonia
15/Cried yourself to sleep.Yep a few times!
16/Played cops and robbers. Yes.
17/Recently colored with crayons. Yes
18/Sang karaoke. Yes and then I was begged to stop!
19/Paid for a meal with only coins. Oh yea!
20/Done something you told yourself you wouldn't. Yep a few times!
21/Made prank phone calls. Who me?
22/Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose. Who me?
23/Caught a snowflake on your tongue. Yes
24/Danced in the rain. Yes
25/Written a letter to Santa Claus. Yes
26/Been kissed under the mistletoe. Yep a few times!
27/Watched the sun rise with someone you care about.Yep a few times!
28/Blown bubbles. Yep a few times!
29/Made a bonfire on the beach. Yes
30/Crashed a party. No
31/Gone roller-skating. Yep a few times!
32/Gone Ice-skating. Yep a few times!(not that living in Canada has anything to do with that!)

A Couple of New Favourite Products!

I recently went to HeartStrings in Cambridge. Its a great gift/home decor shop in Cambridge and I picked up two products that I really love.

The first is Lull Dry. You just put it in the dryer with your clothes and the scent of lavender infuses the clothes as they dry. One sachet(filled with dried lavender) lasts for about 20 loads!

The second is Almond Silk Soap. Its made by a local supplier and smells wonderful! I have sensitive skin but have had no reaction to this soap. Its suds up wonderfully and, because of the almond, is a natural exfoliant.

I'm planning a shopping day in May with my Mom, Grandma and Sister and this store will definitely be one of the stops.

Follow this link for more details on the store.

Cheesecake!

You Are a Chocolate Mocha and Orange Cheesecake

Enthusiastic and intense, there's so much you love in the world... it's hard to do it all. You are good at getting things to mix - friends, flavors, hobbies. You're the master of fusion!

What Kind of Cheesecake Are You?

Still Waiting

A lone easter egg still waiting to be found!

Stars on Ice

Kathryn and I went to Stars on Ice this past Tuesday and had seats on the floor. Talk about an excellent view!

The Stars on Ice cast is made up of lots of Canadian Skating Stars including my favourite Kurt Browning who skated an awesome routine to If I Only Had a Brain from the Wizard of Oz. Patrice Lauzon and Marie France Dubreuil also skated beautifully to several songs and of course Jamie Sale and David Pelletier did not disappoint. And neither did Brian Orser who in this, his farewell tour, skated to Neil Diamond.

And there were a couple of surprise skaters, 2007 World Pairs Champions Xue Shen Hongbo Zhao of China and 2007 World Ladies Champion Miki Ando of Japan. They skated with speed and strength.

Surprisingly the Aud was not sold out. Has there been a decline in interst in skating? There sure aren't the number of professional competitions that there used to be.

The Beatles Abbey Road

Steve, I and the girls went to see The Jeans and Classics Band present the Beatles Abbey Road last night. It was an awesome show that showed not only the diversity of Beatles music but also that of our talented Canadian singers and musicians.
They received a great write up in today's Record, here's the link.