Gratitude of the Day

Hello & happy Sunday, everyone!

Today I am so very thankful for the amazing spring weather and the fact that I live somewhere that gets to experience four distinct seasons.  Imagine living where it was warm all the time & missing out on all the excitement each year of the weather warming up, grass getting green and trees getting buds. It is such a wonderful time of year :)

Spring = happiness.  Spring = new beginnings.  Spring = excitement. Spring = that unique "fresh air" smell.  Spring = blue, sunny skies.  Spring = no toques, no mittens.  Spring = colourful.  Spring = {love}.....

Spring = muddy doggie footprints all through the house (ok. the one thing that bugs me about spring...but with all the rest, I'll take it)

Get outside, peeps! Enjoy some fresh, spring air :)

Crazy Lady w/ Camera & The Aftermath

It is a really wonderful thing that I am using my camera.  I'm not getting all that much better at using it (I have proof), mind you, but I am definitely using it more. 

The proof...well...3000+ pictures on my computer. I keep clicking & snapping, waiting for the elusive "great one".  Odds are greater if there are more to choose from....right? 

For some reason, I have  a phobia of erasing pictures - I. KEEP. THEM. ALL.  But it is getting ridiculous, unruly, absolutely & totally OUT OF CONTROL! The world is nearly ending...that is how apocalypticlly horrible my situation is.

Let's face it - there are only so many "fuzzy" or "poorly compositioned" pictures that can make their way onto a scrapbook layout or into an album. 

I have so many pictures that sorting through them in search of one particular scene or subject matter may take hours!

The excuses could fly, I could stammer & make up some lame reason why I haven't gotten around to tidying up the files...

...but in truth...

I'm just lazy. {sigh}

And unable to make choices. {sigh}

I have a chemical imbalance (well, at least some days I'm SURE I do).

I. AM. AN. ELECTRONIC. HOARDER.

So - tomorrow starts the traumatic process of select. right click. delete. enter. repeat. Right click, new folder, enter, repeat.  Click and drag.  Click and drag. Click and drag. Click and drag.

You get the picture.

This is my attempt at my "de-clutter" resolution for March...

And I vow to actually ERASE IMMEDIATELY any "unworthy" pictures in the future.

So I do not have to deal with this aftermath ever again.

Wish me luck - it may be needed.

Any comments on your organizational system appreciated :)

Just saying...

Thought I'd boast that I'm blowing that resolution-thingy of one post per week totally out of the water...rocking this blog-posting-venting-rambling kinda thing. Just saying...

Gratitude of the day :)

In tune with my previous post...here is my gratitude of the day:

I am thankful for good health and the ability to enjoy the fresh air. 
...poor baby...blessed with his mother's fine hair...standing straight up after our morning walk & toque   removal...

I am thankful for naps for grumpy babies.  I am thankful that I have a kitchen to keep perpetually messy (seriously??? it seems all I do is clean up/make mess/clean up/make mess...but somehow this genuinely makes me thankful).
...and here it is in all of its messy splendor...

I am thankful for my dog who is a great buddy and immensely entertaining to the baby (now I only need to figure out how to post a small snippet video...you would all be rolling on the ground listening to Baby B bust a gut over the dog & his dinosaur toy).
...the dog, however, is not so grateful for the crazy lady with the camera...who insists on taking pictures of everything. everyday. go away.  crazy lady.  just saying...

I am inspired today by May Flaum (guest poster today on Ali Edwards' Blog) and her message to be the best you can be and be true to yourself...don't worry what the rest of the world is doing (even though her post relates specifically to scrapbooking I extrapolate meaning to life, generally, in its whole entity).

Go forth & be grateful, y'all (had to reminisce as it has been a whole MONTH since we've been home from Texas!)....

True Purpose??!!

Alright...I had one of those days today where you find your thoughts drifting & getting all philosophical...I'm sure they happen to you as well.  I call them "deep" days - time to really reflect on your life and values and what is important.

Let me just say I really, really love my life.  I feel blessed.  I truly do...I have been fortunate to live a lot of life and have many diverse experiences, made a wide variety of friends, have a large, extended loving family, and a career that I love.  I have NO regrets - not really, anyways...every experience that I've had has helped me grow as a person, in one way or another, for better or worse.  But lately I find myself thinking on these "deep" days that I haven't quite found my one true purpose.  I have no idea what that purpose is, but somehow I just know that there is more life in store for me. Call it a "gut instinct" if you will...

So, to make a long story short - I have spent virtually all day (well - the "me" moments of the day) surfing all the blogs I like to follow (I could seriously work that into a profession, I'm sure...I have about 200 "favourites", lol), researching cool products and stories of entrepreneurship, listening to gripping tales of battles with terminal illness and the courage displayed, and on, and on.  I feel inspired to be a better person...to live with more intention!

I think it is so easy to get stuck in the "eveyday"...the routines (that while important) we tend to get caught up in and allow to be somewhat monotonous.  I have these days where I feel so thoughtful and inspired...but it always seems to be so short-lived.  A day.  Two days.  Maybe a week if I'm lucky.  So, how then do I keep it going?  The truth is...it is hard.  Very hard.  It is easier to live mindlessly and do today what we did yesterday and not challenge ourselves.

So...to honour the process of trying to live more intentionally every. single. day...I'm going to start a "gratitude" list and a "creativity" exercises class.  Perhaps this will get me closer to that purpose.

Today: I am grateful for the ability to hear my baby's from-the-belly laughs & giggles - such a precious sound...I am grateful for the fact that I was able to experience the miracle that is pregnancy and birth, a healthy, happy child, and that I get to be a parent and see the world from an entirely different perspective.  I am thankful for technology that allows me to "capture" these moments and the ability to reflect back on them and smile.

Today: I am creatively inspired by Amy Butler fabric...in particular a turquoise, magenta and green damask. (I really, really, really LOVE bright colours {smile}) 

(Thanks for "listening" to my ramblings...)

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On a lighter note...I would like to thank my friend Jocelyn (of Jocelyn Harvey Photography) for the amazing picture of my little boy @ 6 months.  You absolutely captured his essence! I love the way his eyes and expression are telling a story - every time I look at this picture I just spontaneously smile...and that is exactly what I wanted to capture :)

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Life is precious, people! Enjoy. Take the time to live intentionally.  Be a better you, each and every day.

OK. Preaching done.

Over & out.

Welcome, Spring!

Well, holy smokes!! Baby B is HALF. A. YEAR. old. I should be celebrating, dancing in the streets...but instead I feel a little nostalgic (what in the world am I going to be like when he heads to college...I don't think the world will be equipped to handle it, lol) - it is a bittersweet milestone. He is just growing up so DARN fast! While it is exciting to watch him develop and figure out the world, I already forget what it was like to hold him or change him when he was only 9 lbs and didn't WIGGLE so much.  I wish there was some magic technology that could just periodically "freeze" him at the various stages that I could then "unfreeze" and enjoy whenever I felt like (please...I know there are those out there thinking...this technology does exist you darn idiot...it is called a videocamera...but it just isn't the same! - honest...you can't pick up and cuddle and sniff a video).  Ok, ok, blah, blah, blah...I could go on and on.  So I won't. I'll spare you. Just this one time. From any more drivel and snivel.  But I really love my little boy and he is just not that little anymore. ENOUGH.

It turns out that Baby B's "half a year" milestone just happened to fall on the first official day of spring! In order to focus on the happy, positive feelings...I decided to have a "Welcome Spring" Cupcake Party. It was great fun to have a whole gathering of friends over to celebrate "just because".  (I often think of doing this but then don't get around to it - so glad actually got this one organized).

Mmmm...the naked cupcakes out of the oven and cooling...made 6 dozen total: French Vanilla, Cookies & Creme & Chocolate, Chocolate Chip!

Mountain of naked cupcakes (kind of ugly, if truth be told)...

And here are my sweet darlings all dressed up in their Sunday best!

Ok, that blue one above looks so good I might just have to whip up another batch today (inner angel says: STEP AWAY FROM THE MIXMASTER - it is bad enough you had a cupcake hangover for two days...don't need to bring on another one)

Welcome, Spring!

Table full of cupcakes :)

So...all in all, it was a great day.  Thanks to everyone that popped by to help us celebrate! I will definitely not procrastinate and plan another celebration of something "just because" soon.

What stops you from doing something joyous? This week's challenge - JUST DO IT. Think of it as "mental spring cleaning"!

Welcome, Spring!!!

Creative Productivity....part deux!

Have you ever been in a creative slump? You know...like writer's block for example? That has been me...for a long time now...basically since Baby B made his entrance to our grand world.  Generally, I just didn't feel like making ANYTHING crafty (although I did get a few isolated projects finished). To be honest, it has pretty much fallen off the priority list as I adjust to life as a mom.  However, we have finally found a hint of a schedule around the house - Baby B is actually napping in a pretty regular fashion (even if each nap is only 10 minutes long, it still feels like the heavens open up and angels sing each time he lays down). This has enabled me to get into the swing of other things (like sweeping my floor the 10 gazillion times a day required by muddy little doggie tracks)! Imagine my surprise when I actually ventured down into the craft room and started getting ideas - bliss. I am dramatically behind in cards (sorry to those of you whose birthdays lie within the months of September through March, lol) and thus I pounded a few out during the creative "inflow".

All of the birthday cards were inspired by patterned paper - that almost NEVER happens to me...but my, oh my...if you don't have it already...you need to get your mittens on some Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper by Stampin' Up! It comes in a giant stack and the colours and patterns are all very usable!

Card Recipe: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink & Whisper White cardstock; Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Well Scripted Stamp Set

Card Recipe: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron & Whisper White Cardstock; olive taffeta ribbon; Vintage Vogue Stamp Set; Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set

Card Recipe: Old Olive, Taken With Teal, So Saffron & Whisper White cardstock; olive taffeta ribbon; Circle Circus Stamp Set; On Your Birthday Stamp Set

Card Recipe: Pretty In Pink & Whisper White cardstock; Pretty in Pink 5/8" satin ribbon; Scallop Corner Punch; Vintage Vogue Stamp Set; Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set

Card Recipe: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink & Whisper White cardstock; Pretty in Pink 5/8" satin ribbon; Well Scripted Stamp Set

This is my favourite card of the bunch :)

Card Recipe: Bashful Blue, Whisper White & Close to Cocoa cardstock; Bashful Blue striped ribbon, Bashful Blue 5/8" satin ribbon; Bg Bold Numbers stamp set (retired); Dazzling Diamonds glitter; Big Shot and Top Note Die

This card is the only card without Sweet Pea Designer Paper! Instead it uses the specialty valentine paper from past Occasions Mini Catalogue (love the sparkle)

And the final project....a baby guess book!

I hope this inspires jut one of you to get back into the groove and find your creative mojo! Happy Weekend :)

Already???!!!

I'm sure I will regret this comment at some point in the future...probably when Baby B has arrived @ "teenagerdom"...but he has found his "little boy parts"...and can't keep his hands off! Seriously??? What is it with boys/men and this infatuation???

(disclaimer: sorry to all those males whom I've offended with this post...I just honestly don't get it!!)

Whooooooo-hooooooo!

The creative juices were flowing today...yeehaw (I thought they were next best thing to extinct, lol)!  Baby B even "allowed" me some time in the craft room today :) Thanks, sweetheart - it felt surprisingly gosh-darn-good to create again.

So I leave you with this burst of excitement - and a promise to show you a glimpse of what I managed to create today :)

Later, later, alligators!

More Project 365 & Pictures of the Day

I've said it before...and I'll say it again!! I am absolutely loving the Project 365 I've embarked upon this year.  Only 2 1/2 months into the year, I can already see the progression of time! Some of the things I love about the process & the project, and perhaps some reasons why you might consider a similar project as well:
   - it has really got me remembering to take my camera places (and I was always the person who would forget my camera and end up with no pictures to remember an event by)
   - it has got me PLAYING with my camera and just plain old using it more (when you actually remember to take it places, you actually USE it....imagine that!) thus am getting a little more adept at using it
   - it has forced me to think "out of the box" as to what is important to record in pictures and to have a more unique perspective on the world in general (I often find myself thinking..."ooooh, that would make a great picture"....)
   - it is relatively low pressure...if I don't get a picture taken that day, I'll just take two (or three, or ten, lol) the next day...or take a picture of something generally indicative of life in 2010 (my car, the house, the dog, Baby B, etc).
    - no creativity required (although you can be as creative with the project as you like!)
    - EASY...I'm getting the story TOLD (instead of hemming and hawing about what pictures to use, what layout, what important story to tell, etc) and in the process recording an amazing look at day to day life for our family

Here are a few more "pictures of the day"!
  One of the many "frosty" days around here...

My diggity-dog...love you, buddy! (so rare to actually catch him on camera as he is deathly afraid of it)

Palm trees, sunshine and blue skies...does it get any better?

Mmmmmm...fresh citrus every morning for breakfast!

Fiercely independent Baby B - "I can put my soother in myself"

I urge you to think of all the ways you could "capture life"...if not a Project 365/picture of the day...why not a "picture of the week" or "theme of the month"?

Happy snapping, clicking, smiling!!!!

Spring is almost here!

It is that time of year again...the time when the water runs down the street & in the ditches...the ground is more brown and dirty than pristine, snowy, and white...a fleece jacket keeps you warm enough...and the baby animals start making their appearances.

I made the trek back to MB to help my brother with his bull sale catalogue...and while there I couldn't resist trudging around in the mud (in my shoes...where, oh where, are my rubber boots???) to take a few pictures of the cows & calves.  Calving has always been my favourite time of the year on the farm by far (although calving starts in January at our place, I've always considered it a "spring" event). There is something just so darn irresistable about a calf...

Have a great weekend everyone!!

A Sweet Hallelujah...

...for all of 6 seconds! Yup - you guessed it - the moment my head hit the pillow, the alarm sounded.  Let me explain.

The "Texas Crud" has hit our household...it is a stubborn cold/flu bug that my parents seem to pick up every time they head south.  This year, both mom & dad had a terrible cough while we were visiting.  Baby B developed goopy eyes and a runny nose after we got home...but I...I was the PICTURE of health.  I ESCAPED infection...or so I thought.  No. Such. Luck.  My immune system has apparently not become as strong as I believed. Yesterday it started with the chills, turned into a drippy nose, then a sinus headache, and now add a hacking cough.

Since we have been working at "nap time" in our house...ie: getting Baby B to have a few winks throughout the day (which until this point has not been a strength for him, lol) I decided to rest my pounding head.  Of course, this idea didn't occur to me until I had been standing at the kitchen sink for about 10 minutes hearing no sound from that end of the house.  Murphy's Law: as soon as the idea occurs to me "HOLY COW! I think my child is actually sleeping...perhaps I should lay down, too", I get to the bed, crawl in, pull the covers up...and...Baby B is singing praises for me. So I throw the covers off, get out of bed, go investigate...and sure enough...nap time is over!

I {heart} motherhood!!

Home, Sweet, Home

Baby B & I had the most amazing trip to Texas! It was so great to visit with my mom & dad and understand what the "trailer park life" is all about - and was a relatively inexpensive trip (flew for under $450 round trip...I {heart} expedia!! Have always had great luck finding good flight deals). The time went by soooo fast (this seems to be a common thread in my posts these days, lol)...I can't believe it is already March :)

I've been busy editing pictures to try to get printed for my Project 365...I'm getting WAY behind (guess that's what a holiday will do for a person). I am absolutely LOVING the digital brushes that I purchased from designer digitals and I have FINALLY figured out how to use them :)

Here is a glimpse of my life in pictures: