....i'd rather be travelling

2009-11-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

here are some recent items i made...i am absolutely hooked on making atc's lately!

frosty the snowman theme atc

any ticket atc

decorate a journal cover swap

decorated journal - canada only swap

handmade christmas gift tag swap

asian themed mini ATC's

red and brown themed color atc

my favourite flower atc

...rest in peace James Khor...

2009-11-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

i never met james in real life but we were friends for over a year on facebook... we met while playing on fluff friends and had a lot of fun on the message boards...sadly, james passed away november 1st ~ he was out with his friends swimming when they were swept away by water - three young people died that day. it really makes you stop and appreciate the people you have with you in your life...you just never know when they might be taken away from you...

james, i will make sure to feed wayne lots of lollipops for you...rest in peace my friend (hugs) ♥

my favourite photo of james - i told him i thought he would break out doing the melbourne shuffle at any time in this photo :)

are you kidding me? it's already November!

2009-11-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

where does the time go to?! only two months left in 2009 -- insane! this year has flown by! well, i almost didn't dress up for Halloween this year -- almost. as the photos show, i pulled it off at the last minute and headed out to a co-workers daughter's shag!

Below are a few items i created lately ~ i am definitely addicted to making ATC's!!! have a great november!

Fall ATC

Alice in Wonderland ATC's

Cupcake Toppers ♥

...new moon countdown

2009-10-27T19:52:00.001-07:00

...of course my daughter is super excited for new moon to come out november 20th ♥ she had me sign up for a new moon movie watching kit swap ~ hope my partner likes it!

back to life...back to reality!

2009-10-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

Dan at Bay Creek Golf Course at Cape Charles - beautiful course

We are home from vacation - it was a wonderful getaway, Virginia is a beautiful place. This time of year, the trees were just starting to change colours. Unfortunately, my leg was still not fully extending so I was hobbling around the best I can! The weather was amazing, we were in shorts and a tshirt -- much different than the weather here back home in Canada! We definitely plan to go back to Virginia ~ hoping to go back in 2011.

at the golf course...it was like "hobble hobble - hit ball - hobble hobble"

waiting to take the ferry from Portsmouth to Norfolk Virginia

making kissy faces in the sand ♥

beautiful fall foilage

wreck this journal...

2009-10-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Gotta love three day weekends! I have a ham cooking and getting ready for another Thanksgiving dinner with my family later!

My swapping friend Tina and I are going to take turns wrecking each others journals...we will send our journals back and forth to each other adding in four entries at a time - it is gonna be an awesome masterpiece when we are each done! lol

Here is my intro page to the journal and also two more ATC cards I whipped up last night using an old greeting card!

gobble gooble...!

2009-10-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians! We had dinner tonight at Dan's moms house and tomorrow we are having Thanksgiving dinner #2 at my parents house....yum! Other than dinner, it has been a pretty lazy day for me - I love lazy Sunday's! I created a few swap items this afternoon and I am excited to start a new "Wreck This Journal" project with Tina. We are going to take turns wrecking each others journals! You can read more about wrecking your journal here http://www.wreckthisjournal.com/

Here are the items I made this afternoon....a "colour choice" ATC swap - of course I chose pink!! lol...and I made some nice and neat friendship books for another swap and lastly, I made this cute little altered small memo book ♥

10/10

2009-10-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

First things first! Happy 14th Birthday to my baby Trent!! I really have a hard time accepting the fact both my children are teenagers in high school....inside, I am still a rockin' 21 year old lol ♥ Next year we are planning a big party for Trent because his birthday will be 10/10/10 -- that's gonna be a very cool day!

Speaking of "cool" in another sense....this is what we woke up to today - ugh....way too early for snow!! GO AWAY SNOW

So lately I have been on this kick of making ATC's - which are Artist Trading Cards. Basically, you are given a theme and you create a 2.5 x 3.5 card to send to your partner and receive one in return. I really enjoy making ATC's...I made some years ago (like 2004) when my friends and I were in a MSN Scrapbook group called "Scrappin' Savvy" but hadn't made any until just last month again. At first, it was a bit of a challenge wondering how to get things on such a small space but after a few tries, I am getting better. I really admire the people who make the collage effect on their cards. My style is far from that. I love linear and layering....here are a few I have recently made and swapped on Swap-Bot. And for the record, I am now totally addicted to swap-bot lol.....

*purple owl atc*time atc*skeleton atc*haunted house atc*

Random Sunday Facts ♥

2009-10-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Not much exciting has been happening lately, I for the life of me, cannot find the cord for my camera to upload photos! And I am still nursing my leg better - vacation in 13 days...it better be healed by then!!! I did make some super yummy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal & Cranberry Muffins today...they were deeeeeeeeeeeeelicious!! Have a great week ahead, I am finally going back to work on Tuesday...

Random A-Z facts!

A - Age
I truly believe you are only as old as you feel and I usually feel about 21!

B - Best Friend
I am blessed to have many best friends - my husband Dan, my sister Karen and my close friends Kerri, Katie, Susan and Michelle ♥

C - Crush
Since I am married I only have "movie star" crushes lol...and I just totally love Vince Vaughn!

D - Dad's Name
My dad's name is Kenneth Foster Boyd Smith. There's a mouthful :)

E - Easiest Person To Talk To
Hmmm I would have to say the easiest person to talk to would be my hubby. He's a wonderful reasonable human being and always convenient for me to talk to lol

F - Favorite Band
I have so many, but to narrow it down a few of my favourites are Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crue, Linkin Park, Guns N Roses, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and I seriously can't get enough of Lady Gaga - hee hee..

G - Gummy Bears Or Worms
While I will never turn down free sugar when it is offered to me lol...I kinda like the worms

H - Hometown
I am from Thunder Bay, Ontario which is located on the north shore of Lake Superior. We are surrounded by nature everywhere - lakes, forest, trees...its beautiful here especially this time of year - fall. We are located about 20 minutes north of the Minnesota US Border so I travel to the States several times a year.

I - Instrument
Sadly, I am very tone deaf! Luckily, my children didn't inherit my tone deafness and play the drums and flute and piano quite well :)

J - Job
I work full time as a "Job Developer" -- essentially it is my job to help other people find jobs. I go out and speak to potential employers on their behalf and market government programs that help offset the cost of their training in a new job. I absolutely love my job :) It is very rewarding.

K - Kids
I have two wonderful children, my daughter Mariah is 15 years old ( a half a year from getting her drivers license - scary! hee hee) and my son Trent will be 14 years old in six days. Wow, time flies, they grow so fast *sniff* They are both in high school and will both be graduated highschool before I turn 40 years old!

L - Longest Car Ride
This one is easy...last summer our family took the ultimate road trip! We drove from here all the way to San Francisco, California - back up the Pacific Coast to Vancouver and across Canada back home to Thunder Bay. We drove well over 5000 miles in three and a half weeks and seen so many wonderful places. It was a memorable vacation!

M - Milk Flavor
I am lactose intolerant so no milk for me!

N - Number Of Siblings
I have a wonderful sister named Karen who is 15 months younger than me, we are very close and talk every single day. She provides me with entertainment in the form of my two cute little neices who are 4 and 1 :)

O - One Wish
I wish for my children to grow up happy and successful in whatever they choose to do in life ♥

P - Phobias
I am a bit scardy cat! I am afraid of many things but as far as phobias go, I cannot stand cucumbers and pickles - yes, I am serious! If one shows up on my plate at a restaurant I make them take it off lol..

Q - Favorite Quote
"Enjoy the little things in life for one day you might look back and notice they were the big things" ♥

R - Reason To Smile
Family, friends, crisp fall days, payday (hee hee), seeing new places and learning new things

S - Song You Last Heard
Pokerface by Lady Gaga on Saturday Night Live last night

T - Time You Woke Up
Today I slept in and woke up at 11:30am - haha...

U - Unknown Fact About Me
Unknown? This is a tough one...I would have to say that no one knows just how much money I have spent playing the facebook application "(fluff) Friends" for the past two years ha ha ha...

V - Vegetable
I like my vegetables raw -- carrots and broccoli are my favourites.

W - Worst Habits
My worst habit would be the fact I am a bit of a packrat, I have so much clutter in my home as I find it hard to throw things out "just in case" I find a use for it someday!

X - X-Rays You've Had
I have had a lot, most recently was three weeks ago when I tore my hamstring.

Y - Your Favorite Food
Ooooh food, how I love food! I love chinese food, nachos and cheese, chicken wings, strawberry and mandarin salad....okay, I am hungry now...lol

Z - Zodiac Sign
Gemini ♥

...circle of life ♥

2009-09-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

...yesterday was a sad day, my grandma passed away. She had been diagnoised with lung cancer just a few short months ago. She had never smoked a day in her life yet this horrible disease latched on to her and progressed rapidly. It is hard to lose any member of your family and my grandma was the last grandparent I had left. My dads parents both passed away many years ago. My grandpa on my dad's side passed away when my dad was only 14 years old. His mother, we were fortunate to meet when we were very young before her passing. My grandpa on my mom's side passed away last March. Alzheimers.

...it's sad to know that I no longer have any grandparents with me on earth but a blessing to know I have four angels who look over our family everyday. ♥

Rest in peace Clara Jacob....Gogo, Kitchi Gogo....you were very loved and will be missed by many ♥

rain, rain...go away

2009-09-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well it has been an uneventful weekend as expected. Still on couch rest healing up my hamstring. It's a very dark rainy Sunday afternoon. Dan, Trent and I are watching cheesy Sunday afternoon movies and while I would love for Dan to go out and get some groceries, I have to wait until the rain slows down. I have this incredible urge to make cheesy biscuits and I won't be able to get rid of the urge until I actually make them! Stay tuned for photos of the biscuits....! ♥

(above photo of jelly fish taken at the Chicago aquarium by me this summer)

The scent of fall....

2009-09-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

You can always tell when fall is coming, the air has this wonderful crisp clean scent. I love when you can feel the slight coolness to the air. It's not quite cold and you are able to wear a sweater - not a jacket - just a sweater, that to me, is the perfect season.
We had a very late summer here and it was only until yesterday that I experienced that autumn air smell. Unfortunately, the past few weeks I have been laid up on my couch due to a torn hamstring and although it is a little sad I missed the best two weeks of summer I am excited that fall is here. I am excited because once my leg gets better, my sister and I will take our kids to the pumpkin patch. The best photos in my opinion to take, are the ones in a pumpkin patch. The bright oranges, the rustic reds, greens and browns together along with the rosy cheeks from the crisp air definitely make for the ultimate "kodak moment" You don't even have to be a kid to feel joy of going to the pumpkin patch.
Stay tuned for photos when I actually get to the pumpkin patch! In the meantime, I go back to resting my leg. I am heading on a golf vacation in 21 days and my leg better be healed by then!!
Oh and I guess I should say, welcome to my blog! I used to have a blog years ago but I can't remember the email and password so I am just starting fresh ♥