Wednesday tag....

1. Do you send Christmas cards? If so about how many will you send this year? How do you display the cards you receive? Or don't you? (gasp!)    I send a handful of cards - very few.  I mainly send greetings my Email.  I just don't see the point these days as I am in touch with everyone daily almost because of Facebook and Email etc anyway.  I send a few to England and to people who request them.  I have a few close friends that like to have them so I will give one with their gifts.   I don't really display cards that I receive except for special cards.  

2. When do kids become adults?   When they turn 18 although in certain places they consider it to be 21 (like Las Vegas and BC) .  I consider it to be 18.  

3. Does your 'beauty regimen' change with the seasons? Only in that I need more moisturizer in the winter.

4. What's something you like to eat that might cause another person to turn up their nose?  I like Marmite on toast :)  I like drinking Oxo and I like fish.  I also like Indian food - spicy curries etc etc.

5. Gloves or mittens? I like fingerless gloves that have the mitten part attached - best of both worlds!!

6. What's the longest queue you've ever been in? Was it worth it? Queue=line but doesn't queue sound nicer? Maybe at the Empire State Building???  

7. Besides Christmas, what is one thing you are looking forward to in the month of December?   Meeting Christine AT LAST :)  I am soooo looking forward to meeting her after so many years :)  I have known her for years and finally get to go to her beautiful new home and meet her :)  I can't wait!!  

8. Insert your own random thought here.   I was called a 'hot young tart' tonight :)  hahaha!!  Made my day!  hahaha!!  John and Jason are good for my soul :)  

Hope you are all doing well and are not too stressed knowing that today is the last day of November.  From reading status updates on Facebook it seems that most people are almost done their shopping for Christmas - and many have the gifts wrapped already too!  

It isn't too late to join us over at Shimelle.com for Journal Your Christmas - one of my favourite classes ever!!  It is a wonderful way to enjoy the season and capture all the memories and emotions of the next few weeks!  Once you sign up you are a lifetime member and get to take part each and every year after!!

xxx

Flying the flags....

Mmmmmmm....

Second Cups Holiday London Fog is amazingly delicious!!

A little cup of bliss :)

My Beauty...

Swimming like fish :)

Me and my cherubs hit the pool today for a little bit of swimming....the pool was nice and empty as usual and lovely and warm :)  

Abigail is a great swimmer, and Sam is also doing really well - I only put a life jacket on him for when we go in the whirlpool and when the waves are on...the rest of the time he likes to practice his under water swimming and diving skills to pick things up from the bottom of the pool.  He can open his eyes under water as he swims which is something I've never been able to do.  

We did some grocery shopping on the way home, but made sure we were home in time for Susannah in case she wasn't feeling great.  She was in a great deal of pain because of her mouth but said she was glad she had gone to school.  She hadn't taken any pain killers all day though - silly thing - and hadn't been able to eat all day either :(  So glad I sent her to school with a bottle of Pediasure at least!!  

The children are excited for tomorrow and so am I!!  december 1st!!  We get to open our Advent calendars!!!  And Shimelles 'Journal Your Christmas' begins again :)  I have been taking this class for a few years now, but this is Vals first year!!  I gave the class to her as a birthday gift back in January!!  Can't wait to have her join me for the class - only because I know how stressful December has always been for her, and I hope that the class helps to make it less stressful and bring a little more peace to the season for her!  I know it has made me enjoy Christmas soooo much more!  For one, it makes me get ready for Christmas so much earlier....and it makes Christmas seem to last so much longer as the focus is there from the first of december!!

Saw this fabulous quote on FB this morning:

‎"Trust takes years to build, only seconds to break, and forever to repair. Something to think about. The person who accuses you of wrong doing, is generally the person who is doing wrong".

So true!

Tuesday stuff....

Tired....it's been a long day.  Thankful for this cup of tea.  Drinking this and then heading to bed to relax with my magazine before sleep.....blissful sleep.

Susannah had her surgery this evening.  It went ok.  It was difficult to watch her in so much pain and discomfort, but I held her hand for the worst part while she had the injections, and I tried to chat with the Dr for her so she wouldn't feel too uncomfortable...and he kept trying to make her laugh which she wasn't keen on....he put music on though which helped her!!

Susies dad brought her a present which was nice - we kind of know that he only did that out of guilt for reading about the surgery on here last night or this morning....sigh....we're not stupid - and I can see who and when reads my blog from my tracker!! But still, she was pleased..and while he may not be paying to feed his children or give them heating for the winter like a decent Father would, she did like the perfume he gave her...because, you know - that's going to keep a roof over her head come Spring.....what a pratt he is lmao!!!

Unfortunately the anaesthetic wore off very quickly and the surgery took too long, so we didn't make it to the movies tonight to see Breaking dawn.....maybe tomorrow.  The Doctor suggested she have soft food - something like a Blizzard....so we stopped off with Laurence and had something to eat....

Apart from this evening, today was a busy day with homeschooling.  Abigail and I are taking a Mother-Daughter online class.  Today we had to prepare some interview questions for each other that we have to take with us when we go out for a meal together - we have to ask the questions over the meal and have to remember the answers for later in the course when we have to use them to prepare some art pieces and written journal pieces in the books we are creating for each other.

It's a lovely class and we have several videos to watch each week together and various assignments/ written work/ journaling/ artwork etc etc....

Sam built a log cabin today using a big bag of corks.  He proved me wrong as I didn't think they would glue together and stay stuck!!  He did a great job and even had a wood pile beside it, a fire pit with chairs around it and a door frame....next he is making a car!!!

Abby added Minecraft to my iphone and Sam added a winter zoo and Christmas zoo game to my phone and created new zoo's and he also played Lego Creationary and used the Lego Instructions app on my phone to build a car frame and he made a surfer dude from the Creationary game....

Then this afternoon they made sugar cookies and decorated them using a  snowman cookie decorating kit I bought a few weeks ago!!  They did a great job and they were DELICIOUS!!

I got quite a bit of work done - dealt with a lot of new clients/ students and updated my business books/ papers.   Figured out my banking/ bills and budget for December....planned a great deal of project work and figured out a few new class ideas.  Spoke with several clients and answered questions regarding upcoming schedules.

Oh and I've also volunteered to go in and speak to my friends class in January for an hour or so (hmmm social work students???) about parenting a child with special needs.  Which reminds me that I also owe an Email about PANDAS and it's treatments....wah!!!!  I need more hours in my day!!!!!

Oh and I surfed online for some good links to help Abby with her story writing and came across the idea above which I thought was a good one...so I'm going to try something similar with Abby...

All in all a great day but BUSY.  Now I am tired out and exhausted....I think the children want to go swimming tomorrow.  I was hoping to put them off until Thursday but they just came downstairs and asked if we were still going - so it seems they have remembered...sigh....better get some sleep so I have the energy to hit the pool!!!

Oh and if you are in England, my cousin Lynn is on the Good Morning show tomorrow (Wednesday) as she had an extreme makeover last week!!!

Yay Lynn!!!  xxx  Love you lots xxx  Congratulations xxx

End of the month tag - November

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?    I don't know that I read any books....I read some magazines that my fab friend Sharon passed on to me (thank you Sharon).  I am also reading my gorgeous Artful Blogging magazine.  I have been reading 'The Witches' to the children which took longer than planned because we have been so busy and distracted.

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?  I watched The Family Stone, Footloose, Deck The Halls, and a few other movies with the children.  We don't have tv so no tv.  No plays until December.

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?  Endless fun things!!  November has been another busy month and we have been blessed with a full social calendar again.  Dinners out with friends, the start of the Christmas festivities, fun homeschool clubs and field trips, parties with friends and fun sleepovers for the children....it was a good month :)

What gifts did I give and/ or receive?  I gave a few gifts in November - including gifts of my time and help....but one in particular that made me laugh was the 'Melt Away your Ex Boyfriend' candle.  :)   

What special or unusual purchases did I make?    I bought a Mother-Daughter online class from Brave Girls Club.  Abigail asked specifically if we could do this class together, which just about melted my heart.  We have such a special relationship now and this class is going to create such special keepsakes for us!!  

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?  Stomach flu that a few of us had....Sam brought it back from his Dads house (yet again - he always comes back from there sick) and passed it to Abigail and I.....poor Sam was quite sick with it :(  Abigail and I were not very sick at all with it thankfully....

What were my accomplishments this month?  Business accomplishments, personal development accomplishments, ticking a few things off my to-do list from around the house.  I felt very proud of myself this month and what I was able to accomplish despite others trying to bring me down.

What were my disappointments this month?  I remain disappointed in certain other people - but nothing changes there.....some people are just jerks lol

Anything else noteworthy to include?  The weather was kind of crazy in November...from very VERY cold.....no snow to a lot of snow, to no snow again....RAIN at the end of November....freezing rain, fog.....high winds....fires....I think Alberta has just about had it all this month!!!

Found!! A picture - and a little more of MYSELF :)

I found this old photograph in a junk store on Whyte Ave yesterday 

(The Junque Cellar) and couldn't resist snapping it up!!  I love rooting round the old junk stores and antique stores around that area!!  Another blissful thing about getting rid of my Ex lol - he HATED looking around antique fairs and made me feel so bad for wanting to go to them.  Now I get to go whenever I want to and I LOVE it and I never have to hide the fact that I LOVE it ever again!!!  And I have friends who LOVE it too!!!  :)  Bliss!!!  Woot!  I am never in short supply of someone to go with to have a root round at the Antique Mall or along Whyte :)  I don't have to go with a miserable git who is constantly checking his watch yay :)  

Yesterday I was done and had paid and it was the girls I couldn't get out of the store because they were still busy looking :)  

Anyway I think I am going to use this old photograph in an art journal page OR on a canvas somehow...I still think it is sad that peoples photographs end up in junk stores for sale.... and not treasured by loved ones....

Little piece of bliss.....

Just heavenly peace and tranquility in the pages of a magazine.  

Complete deliciousness on paper!!

For today......

Outside My Window... It is dark and icy....due to the rain yesterday all the snow is now rock hard and crunchy and very nasty to walk on.  It is like Springtime, when we have that awful thaw/ freeze time...thawing during the day and freezing at night...makes for nasty roads and sidewalks....

I am thinking...that I am hopeless at drinking tea before it goes cold!  I need to find one of those heated mug mats...looks like a coaster but it's heated and keeps your mug hot.  travel mugs are no good - I like drinking from a real mug but I'd like a heated coaster to put my mug on to keep it warm - I'm constantly forgetting my tea and it goes cold!

I am also thinking about plans for December...our day tomorrow....the framed piece I've just finished and how I want to photograph it....and how I need to finish getting the pictures off of iphoto as well!!  

I am thankful for...being born with a surprisingly good business brain -  being organized, practical and good at budgeting - being far better at these skills than I ever knew I was.  Being good at marketing, planning, etc etc.  I am thankful to my children for all their amazing support and love.  For letting me experiment on them with my arts and crafts and class ideas.  Having the confidence, personality, and positive nature that has allowed me to NOT give up, but instead to go for it and try for a career within my PASSION....a job that I LOVE :)

From the kitchen...Christmasy foods and treats...baking....yummy home cooked meals now the evenings are dark and we all want to stay home curled up by the fire....

I am wearing...satin slip nighty with spaghetti straps that is a petrol blue colour....

I am creating...project ideas for my art classes that start in the New Year.  Refinished furniture pieces for my home and possibly to sell.  My JYC Journal for this Christmas Season.  The Brave Girls 'Mother and daughter' class course work with Abigail (love), family memories with the people I LOVE MOST :)

I am going...to take my Daughter for her surgery tomorrow.....and her Father has forgotten and didn't even bother to call and wish her luck....no great surprise there.  I am going to take her to see Breaking Dawn afterwards as a treat to cheer her up - unless of course she is in too much pain - but we are hoping she is fine as it is just a little tiny cut and a couple of stitches in her mouth and some local anaesthetic.  
I am reading...Artful Blogging....which is a little piece of Bliss in a crazy world...BUT considering it is a Christmas magazine, it is VERY Summery...which makes me assume it's an Australian magazine.....it's kind of weird BUT the pictures are just sooooooo beautiful and whimsical you just can't complain.   It's like I just want to dive straight in to every image!!!  
I am hoping...that it doesn't get too cold before the weekend.  I am hoping for another lovely walk with Rosie before the week is out.  I am hoping that tomorrow goes well for Susannah.  To make it to the post office tomorrow.  

I am hearing... the heating coming through the vents....Rosie breathing gently as she sleeps.  
Around the house...we are slowly getting things sorted and getting decorated for Christmas...but it's taking me a while this year....as I get distracted with so many things on my mind!  We do have one tree up and finished though and the others are getting there!!  It is starting to look festive and tonight we sat and watched 'Deck the Halls'...and Saturday night while I wrapped gifts I watched my favourite movie 'The Family Stone'....so we are starting to get through the Christmasy movies :)  Yay!!!
One of my favorite things...walking through woodlands on a sunny day like today - a dusting of snow...enough to make it pretty....beautiful pictures....beautiful memories made :)
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...meeting friends tomorrow.  Andy Warhol art class on Thursday to go along with the art gallery visit earlier this year.  Plans with friends on Friday....sleigh ride on Saturday, Festival of Trees, Greenlands Christmas Celebration.....as well as the newspaper project we are working on prior to our field trip.....oh and a visit to see the train in the window :)  

Afternoon at the dog park.....

We had a lovely time at the dog park this afternoon with Rosie.  Sam and Abby had a blast playing with the frozen puddles - trying to break the ice with their boots and big sticks.....even Rosie had a go at ice skating.  Because of last nights rain, much of the trail was an ice rink until we got to the woodland path, which was much nicer - and prettier!!

The sunshine through the trees and the snowy paths made for some lovely pictures!!

It was a gorgeous afternoon and I'm so glad we made the most of it :)

This morning was spent making and writing Christmas cards, working in our journals, chatting about our plans for the next few weeks and making sweet and sour chicken in the rock pot for supper tonight.  

All in all a great day.

Tonight we are curling up to watch Deck The Halls together.  Susannah has been working on her Social project while Sam and Abby played Othello.  Now sam is playing Minecraft while Susannah reads and Abigail crafts away with the pipecleaners I bought on saturday.  I have been prepping for my new sculpture class, which I am soooo excited about. It is already filling up which is wonderful!  It is going to be so much fun!  

xxx

Rainy days....

We have been having some bizarre weather here in Alberta.  It has been very warm for the end of November, and yesterday it RAINED!!!  Susannah snapped this picture of the car lights reflected on the wet road as we drove home!!  The rain washed away what was left of the snow for the most part

The rest of Alberta wasn't quite so lucky and although they had warm temperatures, they also had VERY high winds which caused a LOT of damage which you can read about here:

Strong winds in Calgary click here

clean up in Calgary click here

Fires in Lethbridge click here

Just LOVING this.... (smile)

xxx

Snapshots from my Sunday.....

Relaxing with a cup of tea by the glow of the tree lights.  Bliss:

Rosie missed her people this morning.  She is so happy to have Laurence, Abby and Sam back tonight!! She has her family back with her.  Her life is complete again :)  

No words needed :)  lmao - even has a place for a picture hahaha:

Fun afternoon strolling along Whyte with the girls:

Worlds noisiest gumball machine:

Home again - where they belong:

Our lovely cozy corner for the Winter:

A little something I picked up for a friend today.  I hear she is burning him tonight lol....oh the BEST therapy hahahaha.....Susannah wanted to know what scent it would have as candles often have scents...and my friend said "Sh*theads smell like sh*t when they burn"  Hahahahahaha!!  Oh how true:

I don't think this cock is too happy...A) he has been moved from his usual spot in the window - and no cock likes to be made to feel inferior (lol) and B) he's been dressed up in a stupid friggen' bow lmao!!!  

True!!

lol. Love it. And so true.

Snapshots from the last few days......

Five Question Friday

1. Is there a special dish you prepare that you are famous for?

My roasties.  My beef and Guinness stew.  My potato and bacon soup.  The hash brown casserole recipe that I took from Joanne and changed up....my kids love my version.

2. Are you (did you) go Black Friday shopping ?

Nope.

3. What are your strangest holiday traditions?

I don't think we have any strange traditions.  I love all of our traditions.

4. Pecan or pumpkin pie? (She actually asked "Apple or pumpkin?" I just T-giving'edit!)

PUMPKIN!!!!! Yummy :)

5. When will you put up your Christmas tree?

Probably this week.

craft tag

1. Must have craft supply?    Glossy Accents

2. Why & when did you start journaling?   Its a way to be creative, write, draw, colour, save memories, use notebooks, doodle.....all in one....and it's portable!!!

3. Guilty Pleasures?   Goodwill.  Chocolate.  Facebook.

4. Two things you want very badly at this moment?  To stay home with Rosie instead of having to head out and drive all over the city to classes all afternoon.  Monday to arrive - Abigail has asked for us to sign up for th Brave Girls Mother - Daughter class together (love)!!

5. 3 items in your purse?    Keys, advil, diary.

6. Favorite art technique or style?  mixed media/ collage

7. When do you feel most creative?   evenings.

8. Do you snack while you craft?  sometimes....

9. Do you have a crafting confession?  I am becoming more and more impressed by Sams art skills.  Like SERIOUSLY impressed!!!!

10. Favorite TV shows?  We don't have tv.

11. Jobs you've had?  Art teacher, artist....psychiatric nurse, homeschool mom, sales assistant, newspaper delivery,

12. What are you listening to, right now?   Rosie snoring, Sam chatting to himself while he works, Abby singing and talking to herself as she potters about....

Snapshots from our week.....

Bathroom mirror pic (haha)  and the mirror needed wiping lol!!!

Laurence on Tuesday:

One of this weeks glorious sunsets:

View from my front room:

Rosie keeping me company one night:

Rosie saying hello:

An appointment downtown this week: