My first attempt at digital scrapbooking!!!!!

Well....it was quite a task, but after a few trials and errors I FINALLY created a page!!!  It may look very simple compared to most peoples beautifully decorated pages but Photoshop is completely new to me - and Photoshop Elements 8 was TERRIFYING!!!  I still have no clue what I'm doing - I wanted my page to be 8.5 x 11 but somehow couldn't do that (lol) so I have a 12 x 12 which I will have to print out at Costco.....sigh...

The elements and papers were ones I bought from Pickleberry Pop and that site was wonderfully easy to use!!!  I still can't believe how much beautiful paper and how many amazing embellishments you can get for ushc a low price - and of course the beauty of digital is that you can use them again and again!!

I think (once I get the hang of 'Elements 8') I'm going to LOVE digital!!

The last day....and a completed album....

Apart from a few loose ends to tie up....an inside front cover to decorate and a few extra embellishments to add (ribbons to the book rings and a few extra bits here and there), my JYC album is complete.

Today, being January 6th and Twelth Night, is the last day of this years Journal Your Christmas class.  I am so sad that I won't be getting any more daily Emails from Shimelle's each morning when I wake up - no more journal prompts - no more festive news.  The Holiday season really has ended.

Although my album didn't exactly follow Shimelles prompts , I have to say that joining her class is the best money I spent this Holiday Season!!!  It changed my Christmas!  Truly!!!

Firstly, because I was going to be taking part in the class it made me prepare EARLY for Christmas - I was ready in November.  I decorated early, shopped early and was planned and organized for events, teh class and activities as well as food and gifts.

As well as this, Shimelles prompts started on December 1st but discussion about them started in November on the forums.  All the talk about Christmas and everyones friendliness and festiveness just made me feel festive myself from the very beginning!!

Because I was creating my journal I wanted to DO more Christmasy activities and spend more time feeling festive and BEING festive - I attended more festive activities and did far more crafts and activities than normal with the children - our whole December and much of November was so Christmasy.

Shimelle's prompts gave us so much to talk about and think about as a family - and amongst friends - even though my friends may not have know where the conversations came from....

And perhaps most importantly....Shimelle's class has brought new people in to my life - new friends from far and wide who I would never have 'met' if it had not been for this wonderful class!

And now I have this lovely album to remember this Christmas by - it has a letter from Santa in it - hats from our crackers, jokes, receipts from days out.....photographs....lists of movies we watched....memories - precious memories!!!!

I have now taken two of Shimelle's classes and I can't WAIT to take another!!!  :)  Worth every penny!!!  If you have a chance to sign up for any of her classes then DO - really - you won't regret it!!  I can't wait to do JYC again December 2010!!

A puzzling morning....

Darkness....

Our neighbours house was totally dark last night....  so of course now we are wondering if last night was THE night and maybe the baby arrived!!!  Lloyd wants to text them and ask but I know what it's like to be constantly asked if the baby is here yet when you are over due......sigh....and I don't like to pester them....we're just excited to know....and nosy ;)  awww it will be lovely to have  a new little one around!

I hope everything goes well.  I hope we hear soon!

5 years ago tomorrow my little baby boy arrived in the world.  This morning he told me the 5 is now all the way in to his feet but quite to the end of his toes but tomorrow the 5 will be EVERYWHERE!!!  Even to the tip of his nose!!!

Snowflakes and hearts....

Once we took the handmade Christmas stars off of our little Christmas tree, I replaced them with the little hearts I had made a couple of years ago...yesterday Val told me it was FAR too early to start decorating for Valentines Day and that I should have snowflakes instead - so yesterda Abby and I picked up some little snowflake decorations - but we kept the hearts up too ;)  we've also added some red and white candy canes but I have no doubt that they will disappear pretty fast ;)

Sam made the little guy atop the tree last year at Preschool!  I think it was on his Valentine treat bag!!!

Malteser Cake -

MUCH better the next day:)

Mmmmmmm  oh my GOODNESS it's sooooo good!!!! Very very good!!!  Definitely will be making this again kind of good!!!

Make it - chill it - leave it until the next day before trying!!!!

Mmmmmmm - I can feel it settling on my hips as I write!!!  ;)

Winter Light.....

The Winter Light Festival starts tonight!!  Winter Light lasts through until March and includes many city-wide events celebrating winter in our beautiful city!!!  This includes one of my favourite festivals of the year Ice on Whyte which starts next week on January 14th.  We couldn't go last year because it was too cold, and then one year it was too warm and they had to close the ice castle!!

I'm hoping this year that the weather is just right - at least for a few days, so we can go along and the children get to slide down the ice slides!!

I'd like to go to the Silver Skate Festival this year too, to see the snow scultpures...again depending on the weather....

Are you planning to take in any of the Winter Festival activities???

Nail salon.....

On Monday my craft room became a nail salon, and Abigail gave us pedicures...she even painted our nails....unfortunately she ran out of customers but Daddy was kind enough to play along......I bet no one at work knows that underneath those black socks lie some very dashing glittery toes with flowery embellishments!!!  ;)

Eeeewwww feet......I admire people who work with feet all day because I couldn't do it!!!  Eeewwww!

Martha would be proud ;)

I bought myself a new pinny ;)  Yep - I finally got fed up with getting little bleach marks on my clothes and tiny pinholes in the front of all of my tops (why do I get those?????) so I bought myself an apron!!  Lloyds put up a hook especially for it on the back of the pantry door....

And to 'christen' the apron, I made a batch of the no-bake malteser cakes from Mels Blog  which have been a huge hit here DESPITE the fact they were made with North American cooking chocolate which is sadly NOTHING like good old British cheap and cheery cooking chocolate.  (Kind of how the golden syrup here is NOTHING like golden syrup back home....)

That said - they ARE yummy and anything chocolatey with Maltesers in it is bound to be a winner!!!  YUM!!!  I got Lloyd to snap these pictures of me trying to impress you all in my fab Ikea apron anyway - and yes it IS too long but everything is too long when you're only 4' 11" tall ;)

Snapshots from my morning....

Sam headed back to Pre-K this morning, and so Abigail and I took advantage of the peace and quiet, and met Val for breakfast!!  It was wonderful as usual!!  Grace still isn't back from Hong Kong, but her replacement is very friendly and knows us so well - she poured us coffee and told us to holler when we were ready to order ;)  She didn't even seem too surprised when we showed her pictures of me kissing a large zucchini passionately!!  I guess she's just used to us ;)

About an hour later (when Abigail was bored with my iphone games and complaining that she was starving and wasting away....) we finally managed to stop chatting enough to order!!!

I think I left the Esso just feeling that life at my house - even if it isn't completely 'normal' is at least the same as at someone elses house!!  It's good to know that all the backs of remote controls go missing in someone elses house!  That my children aren't the only ones who make whole packs of batteries from Costco vanish almost over night...and my husband isn't the only one who hoards odd things!!!

Breakfast with Val = good for the soul :)

Thank you!!!

Val with her precious peanut butter that she can't eat at home due to family allergies!!

Hhhmmm can you tell who ISN'T a morning person?????  ;)  I think I still needed more coffee at this point ;)

Photoshop Elements 8......and a whole new world....

Hhmmm Thats it!!  I have spent the last month drooling at the most stunning digital scrapbooking layouts and I've decided that the time has come to give it  a go!!!  Enough sulking and telling myself I can't do it!!  I CAN!  I WILL!!!  I think maybe tonight I'll have to get Photoshop Elements 8...how hard can it be???   (gulp).....

I've always admired my blog world friend Mighty Morphin Mama's amazing pages and now I just see more and more pages done with the digital touch instead of paper - and while I will always love paper pages too, I think I'd like to be able to create both!!

If any of you have any tips for a beginner - or any links to fabby digital scrapbooking stores for 'supplies' then please do let me know!!!  Now I think I'd better head off to Jessica Spragues site - I've never paid attention to anything 'digital' before but I've always loved her other classes....

......still waiting for Lloyd to get home - Chris had a late class sadly so Lloyd had to stay late and wait for him :(  I'm tired - this waking up early thing is catching up with me!!!

First day of school and work.....a return to routine...

Lloyd went back to work today - after much sulking and skulking for the last couple of days lol - I swear all he did for the last couple of days was hang his head and mumble "I don't wanna go back to work"....I think he enjoyed his time off just sooo much he really relaxed so much this time and he really needed that.

Lloyd had coffee with me before he headed in to downtown - and he made sure everyone else was up and about and ready for the bus.  I  sat up all bleary eyed in the dark and then apologised and told him there was no way I could wake up so early and I needed to go back to sleep for a couple of hours - he just laughed and kept talking to me until I was more awake!  Finally the coffee woke me up!

After I waved Lloyd and Chris off and then waved Susie and Laurie off as they walked down to the bus, I sat in bed and checked my Emails - I had some LOVELY Emails to start my day this morning :)  Such a nice way to start the week :)

Sam was still fast asleep beside me and as the house was still silent, I knew Abby was still fast asleep too.  I really should have woken them both up but I was enjoying the quiet all to myself!!!  that doesn't happen too often!!  Tomorrow will be different!!

And so, as the new school/ work year starts I am looking forward to getting back in to our new routine.  We've changed a few things - changed the days Abigail goes to her classes.  We won't be having such a crazy rush day on Thursdays.  Sam goes back to his PreK class this week and is so excited to see his teachers and friends again.  We have some plans with some homeschool friends for some group activities and some other get togethers....and of course our regular breakfasts with Val!!!

There are also 4 birthdays to celebrate this month AND the Winter Olympics torch is coming through our town :)  Ice on Whyte  to enjoy too!!

I've missed Lloyd today and will be happy to see his car come up the driveway in a little while...but it's been a lovely calm day here with everybody out and about at school and work - and I feel all organized having gotten caught up with all the chores around here!

And now, I'm caught up on prompts too :)

Books, magazines and reading plans for the new year....

I'm a day behind ALREADY in my 'year of prompts'....I did sit in bed last night to respond, but got distracted by reading up on the new yoga studio opening up soon and trying to decide whether that one would be better than Bikram yoga....are all hot yoga's equal????  Hmmm

Anyway, Val was discussing books on her blog too and had been saying she was reading several autobiographies.  A friend of hers had mentioned the 'Kindle' or electronic book that she had received for Christmas and that holds thousands of books  in one small gadget and we were discussing the pro's and cons of this.

Yesterdays prompt asked what I had been reading lately.  To be honest, I haven't read much since 'The Book Thief'.  I really have been too busy with Christmas and creating my JYC album.  I've been writing a lot too.  For Christmas I received Oprahs wonderful book, and I also got the book that I mentioned previously, about the pressed fairies.

I have book 3 in The Immortals series to read - I think it's called 'Shadowlands' and it's by Alyson Neil I think.....they're actually teen novels, similar to Twilight and the first two I borrowed from Vals daughter. I loved them and was thrilled when book 3 was released 3 months early!!!  :)

Kelly Rae Roberts recommended the latest issue of Oprah Magazine, saying it was the best issue she had ever read.....and as I hadn't read an issue for a long while (I just buy the books as then you get the best articles without all those adverts) I thought I'd give it a try - I actually love New Years issues of magazines as I find them quite inspiring and motivating - and THIS issue of O Mag is wonderful!!!

Apart from that I'm reading up on the Winter Olympics because that is what we're studying for next month.....and we'll be continuing our China project with the Chinese New Year Festivities in the not too distant future....I'm not actually in the mood to read much right now...I want to write and DO and so if I do read I think it will have to be mgazines for a while or something I can flick through or not have to focus too much on...

How about you?  What are you reading?

Music Monday....

Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Explore more music videos.

Don't worry be happy :)

New Year Tag Time!!!

What would you like to be your biggest success in 2010?

Making this our happiest year yet!!

What advice would you like to give yourself this year?

to just BREATHE and not sweat the small stuff!!

What would you be most happy about completing in 2010?

I would like to complete 52-10 as well as my monthly mini albums.  I'm also working on some yoga that I'd like to stick with through the year.....all part of the 'just breathe' philosophy and not letting stuff get to me as much.

What major indulgence would you like  to experience in 2010?

I want to try caviar this year!!  I have never tried it!!!  

What would you most like to change about yourself in 2010?

Being bothered by other peoples stupid choices that don't effect me - and learning to switch off more when they do effect me.

What are you looking forward to learning in 2010?

More yoga, digital scrapbooking 

What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2010?

driving, starting our new business

What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2010?

relaxing a lot more and leaning more towards unschooling - removing stress.

What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2010?

I am open to whatever the year brings....

What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2010?

Relaxing, having fun, traveling, going out and about with Lloyd and the family

Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?

Lloyd and my children - and my home.  I also plan to continue to support Malle and Margori - our little girls we 'foster' through World Vision.  I will continue to write to them regularly and send them parcels.  I love receiving letters and updates from them.  

What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2010?

Breathe - whether that be in a way to calm myself in stressful times, when practicing relaxation exercises and yoga, when outside walking in the fresh air, or when taking time for myself doing my crafts and hobbies or on date nights with Lloyd.....I will take time to breathe!!