Drat

So I was just typing my epic blog post and then it disappeared. How frustrating.

Long blog post short...
Pictures are from our late day hike in the middle of town. Great view of the whole city. The last picture is me, eyes closed, so I can't see the werewolves, and Sally making fun of me. She such a ham. (used my 50mm f1.8 for all shots, didn't even take my long lens, but I should have, even though I love that it was getting dark and I could still take these pics with my fav. lens)
I had posted about my werewolf story but now I'm too tired to retype it. Maybe later.
It was spring yesterday, today it's winter again.


Where do things go when they are lost in cyberspace?

Saturday's new thing

#1 on the list today is that I discovered I don't like it when people text message while they are supposed to be working. I'm of the 'you're paid to be here to do a job and I'm pretty sure it's not to use your phone' group. I'm also too nice to say "Well, do you think that huge mistake you just made is because you were giving your phone more attention than your job?"

#2 is my arms are still sore from baby hogging. I'd like to say they are sore from putting up moldings and trim or even scrapbooking but it's most likely dog handling and baby carrying. Sad but true.

#3 I didn't NEED the Crop-a-dile Big Bite when I thought I did, I haven't even taken it out of it's package and I've had it for over a month. Sad.

#4 No matter how much 'junk' I remove from our house, more seems to appear, I think it's multiplying like rabbits when I close the door or turn off the light.

#5 Another reason we can see all the scratches on the hardwood...the glossy finish. Kerry said that in the morning without the sun shining on it, he hardly notices the scratches, I replied that it's the same at night, with all the lights off!

Friday

I have totally forgotten to blog about the new things that I learn every day...
Today's new things...and maybe some from the rest of the week...
1. I am not good at improv. Hung out with Yo and the girls and we played this kind of charade game and I am terrible at thinking of a spur of the moment thing to act out.
2. My arms are weak. This is not a new thing, but after holding baby Scarlett for hours, I can barely type this.
3. I am totally addicted to Deep's Pakora Palace's samosas and I think I have just gotten Yo hooked too. Yummy!
4. Even contractor guys like Duncan don't mitre all their corners on their moldings! Kerry will be soooo happy to hear this and the moldings and trim might get put up faster.
5. Squirrels can't swim.

Sure it's sunny but it's still freakin' cold out. Where is SPRING?

It's hard coming up with blog titles...

I played a bit with my Silhouette today. I made a layout that I don't love, it has taken so long to finish, I'm just going to call it done and leave it alone.
Then while I was checking different blogs I found a cute Home Sweet Home picture on Shimelle.ca and decided to make one for our new walls. I'm getting lots of use out of the Gretel kit that Tara gave me.
We went to see Kelly-Next-Door's puppies last night. I didn't get any good pictures of them, I'll try on the weekend when they are outside. They are so fluffy and rolly polly. I think 2 of the 3 have homes, I feel sad for the one without a home, but I'm not sad enough to get one.

Baring my soul

I'm not a hugger. That's it, plain and simple. My mom is not, my dad is. Kerry probably would like to be. Shaun isn't, Emily is like Kerry, but has no one to hug, except Dad and Kerry. Anyway...
Dad says it's from mom's side, the Japanese don't show emotion, that kind of thing. If you go to a function with my mom's side, you will rarely see anyone hug. If you do, it's probably really the Heimlich Maneuver It's not that we don't like each other, but we just respect our personal space or we smell bad and don't want to share it.
I will almost never instigate a hug. It's just not in me (okay, I did once, but it was only because the huggee looked like she needed one and even though she was pretty much a stranger at that point, she's become a good friend and I'm crediting it to my totally awsome hug, she's not a hugger either). I don't know why, maybe I was hugged too much as a kid, or not enough, or too hard. It could be my very sensitive nose, all kinds of scents bother me, I can tell if you had onions for lunch, if you follow the Atkin's diet, or pretty much anything else. I couldn't sleep for days because a friend's dog peed in our house, we cleaned it, but I could still smell it. I can tell when the dogs are getting an ear infection before they even know. Smoke pot, I can tell. I can smell a gas leak, when no one else can. It grosses me out. The dr. says I'm hyper-sensitive, he probably just made that up. Anyway...
My long story short...I am working with huggers!!! Big huggers!
I can guarantee I won't tell them I don't hug, they are super sweet girls, I don't want to hurt their feelings. I will practice, I will suck it up, the dogs won't know what hit them. I never know where to put my hands, how much to lean in, and I certainly don't inhale. I know that if it were George Clooney, Harry Connick Jr. or even Kerry, I would find a way, I would know where to put my hands and oh, heck, yeah, I would inhale. Oh, I do hug little kids and babies providing they don't smell like poop, milk or vomit.

Another One?

It must be Tara's month! She just called to say her Harley layout will be published in Scrapbook Trends!!! Very exciting! She's booking her summer autograph sessions now.
Yay TARA B.

A kid makes dinner.

Tonight we had garlicky mashed potatoes with Asiago and Parmesan cheese, pork chops with roasted red pepper cream sauce and lemon pepper broccoli. I think the whole meal with all the cream was my whole day's worth of points but I'm over it. Shaun made every thing except the broccoli and Jenn peeled the potatoes. We even at at the table.
I was still channelling my inner Martha and re-covered my antique sewing chair. Boy was I ever sorry to start that project. I think the dirt and dust from hundred year old bums came out of the padding from the seat. At least that's what I think it was. It looks better than it did before, but not great. Everyone did agree it looked better and that's what I strive for, better, not the best!(my mantra for puppy school)
We are slowly moving furniture back into the living room and dining room. We still have some molding to do in the dining room and the trim around the doors is waiting for a nice day so I can paint them. We have regressed to winter weather, I'm not happy about this.

I got a card reader for my camera today. I'm sucking up the battery power uploading all my pictures and figured this was a good investment. I looked at flashes today too, and then looked away. Yikes, I can't justify the cost of a flash yet. It's not my birthday, Mother's Day, or a Thursday, so I just couldn't buy it.

We, me and Kerry, have decided to not ever promote hardwood flooring to anyone with kids and dogs. It might be the fact that 'Golden Kempis' is a softer wood, we don't know, we can't find much info on it. I think 'Kempis' is Latin for easily scratched by all organic and non-organic materials, specifically air. Do not breath on it.
Overall, we love the look, the fact that it's 'clean' as opposed to the dirt and hair trap that carpet is. I have a new obsession too, I vacuum at least 3 times a day. I don't even put the vacuum away anymore. I know when a new scratch has been installed, like the one on the reducer, I went downstairs, left kids and dogs upstairs, came back up and WHAMMO, a scratch on the reducer. Those things don't grow on trees and I made Kerry take the first one back because it had a joint in a spot I didn't approve of. We have also become obsessed with the length of the dogs claws. We trim them, we buff them, we put Rose Petal Pink polish on them. I brush the dogs about twice a day now, I have more hair on me then they do. We spend way too much time thinking, looking at, cleaning, and talking about the floor. But it's still better than the carpet, I think. I might take up drinking, then I'll be blurry eyed and won't be able to see the scratches, but with my luck, I'll pass out and come to on the floor with my eye pressed up against a scratch or when I pass out, I'll fall teeth first and take a out a tooth and a good sized chunk of wood.



Here's one for one for you...Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.

And...Know what I hate most?



Rhetorical questions. (I fall for this one frequently when Emily asks it)

Happy Egg Day

We did the egg hunt thing, and are wondering how old is too old for the egg hunt? Shaun was at work so Emily had to do all the hunting. I can't figure out why the Easter bunny never counts his eggs first.


Then we did typical Easter stuff, like put up moldings, vacuumed, did dishes, and some shopping. Home Depot is open on Easter Sunday, as are a few other stores. Which made for a delicious brunch of Eggs Benedict. I have to brag and say my Hollandaise sauce is much tastier than the packages stuff but we were in a hurry and it worked in a pinch. And it didn't make me sick like the real deal does.

Then we put up more moldings, filled holes and decided the rain was coming fast so we took the dogs up to the orchard for a good romp before our Easter dinner. We thought Linus would play with Taya but it turned out that Taya was quite taken with Sally. Sally wasn't too impressed with another puppy so she had to have a chat with Taya about who was the boss.



Shaun made dessert for tonight, well, actually he just put it together. I told him what to do and left. It's a vanilla version of Death By Chocolate. Super easy, always a big hit. Use a large glass bowl so you can see how pretty it is all layered and fat filled. You need 1/2 a cake, like a Duncan Hines, Choc. or Vanilla, I bake the whole thing and freeze half for another time. Vanilla or Choc. pudding, whipped cream, and Skor bits, either broken chocolate bars or the little choc. free Skor bits. Layer 1/2 the 1/2 of cake, pudding, bits, and cream, then do it again ending with whipped cream sprinkled with Skor bits. It's best if you make it earlier in the day, although the recipe says the night before, I don't like how mushy it gets when done that way. Refrigerate.

Back in the olden days when a person had to live off the land, Kerry's pretty sure they used sticks as dog leashes. You would not believe how much this made us laugh. Linus tried to catch a ride to but was put off by the fact Taya was attached to the stick.

Late yesterday afternoon, I channelled Martha and made the prettiest cupcakes I have ever made. Little Easter egg nests complete with hand dyed coconut.

Samosa Lovin'

Last night, we had my parents over for butter chicken and rice(homemade), naan, samosas and pakoras(Pakora Palace made). The best parts of a good dinner are the delicious leftovers the next day. I love how my new camera can make even a greasy, potato filled Indian pastry look like a piece of art! I could eat these things every day of my life. (it would be a short life, I'm sure, all that potato, grease, and other 'good' stuff!)

Kerry's putting up the molding in the living room and I'm laying low for a few minutes. I'm very excited about this, we have not had fully painted walls and moldings since we moved in almost 10 years ago.
About 2 months ago, a certain boy dog pushed a large chair into an end table and broke the table and knocked a lamp over, breaking the shade. It was salvageable, until today, when Kerry knocked it over putting in the molding. A little bit ago, I asked "What kind of shades are in right now?" to which Kerry replied "I don't know but I bet you can use the Sport Chek GC to get some!" "Lamp shades, Kerry, not sunglasses!"

And last night while having our yummy meal, my parents and Emily were discussing prenuptial agreements. The best way for my dad to explain it to Emily was to use Kevin F. and Brittany S. To which Emily replied "Oh, that's the real meaning of prenuptial? I thought it was the term used to describe your belly button when it turns from an inny to an outy. That's what I heard on TV."

Kerry's mom brought over some Purdy's chocolates for Easter. I love the ribbon, the dots are velvety! The chocolates were delicious, they didn't make it to Easter.

Good Friday

Yay! A long weekend!
It's not even 11 am and Kerry's gone and come back from his bike ride, I've done dishes, pulled shoes and mittens out of a dog's mouth, not once but 4 times, and I've finished 2 lessons of an on-line photography class. I've taken the pictures, labeled them and printed them already. I've got a binder full of lessons and am taking pictures at the end of each lesson and putting them in the binder with the ISO, shutter speed and f-stop printed right on the picture. I figured if I'm not using PS7 to alter my pictures, I can at least use it to label them( an expensive label maker).
We will be starting the molding and trim painting any minute now. We are just waiting for it to warm up a few degrees. So I might get lesson 3 done before the yard foreman finds me.
Emily and I used our almost non-existant sewing skills to make a stuffed blob. She printed a tutorial off the internet and I'm using the excuse that it was not written in English first, but translated from some language that can't be translated to English without losing all meaning. We made a square, not a ball. She needed fibre fill for the inside and called Grandma at work to see if she could bring some home, Grandma said "go to my house and get some from Grandpa". So Emily decided to ride her scooter by herself there. I asked if she knew how to get there, she said "hmmm...I think you go that way, then that way...ya, I think I can get there". And as any responsible parent would do when faced with a vague answer like that, I grabbed the dog, and my camera and off we went. She had her backpack and when we got to Grandpa's she pulls out a thank you letter and some money and puts it in the mail box before ringing the door bell. On the way home she said it wasn't to pay for the fluff, it was a thank you offering, an even amount ($1.50) so that they can split it and buy candy. I said she was very thoughtful and tried not to laugh out loud. Dad says he'll put his half towards his Timmy's coffee. He probably didn't give mom her half.

thursday

I started to clean up my scrap space and got sidetracked fast. I might make it back in there soon.
I've done 1 billion loads of laundry in the last two days. Where does it come from?
I'm begining to think Spring will keep teasing us right up until next Winter.
Everyone has the day off tomorrow, at least everyone in our house. I'm not ready for Easter.
I want to scrapbook but have to get my scrap space cleaned up.

Not quite the best day ever...

but still pretty good.
We had gorgeous weather, good traffic, decent lunch, scrapbooking goodies, but does that make everyone happy, no, we didn't get any Marble Slab Creamery ice cream and that is what I had to listen to for a few miles on the way home. It's pretty sad when the 11 yr. old has to tell the 30-something year old that we can always get the ice cream in town. But I guess if you just got the news that you are being published, then you can complain about something, but only for a short while.

We took our cameras and stopped at Polson Park and got some great pictures. Poor Emily had to be the subject in most of them. The people at the park probably thought she was either very famous or we were crazy child stalkers.

Hump Day!

I had never heard Wednesday being called Hump Day until I met Kerry. The conversation went something like this...
Kerry: Ah, Hump Day, the weeks half over.
Me: What? That's a stupid name. Everyone knows this? And they announce the fact that they have sex on Wednesday?
Kerry: No, it's hump as in it's the middle of the week, it's all down hill to the weekend.
Me: Oh, so I guess I'm not getting any.


After rudely being awakened this morning by a still very excited Tara, we decided to make it another 'Best Day Ever'. You can't have too many. And so we are making a day trip to Vernon, after I get my hair cut and coloured. Taking our cameras, having lunch, doing some shopping and all in the name of celebration!
Yay Tara for getting published! She'll be in the Aug. Cards magazine!

Things we long for...

Peace - a beautiful, clear sky, in the evening, still bright enough for a photo.

Simplicity as in easy to maintain flooring.

New Growth, I'm anxious to get rid of the grey and bring in the green of Spring.

Happiness - this dog is just so happy to get her picture taken.

Praise - this dog did a great job at puppy school today. All we are aiming for is to not be the worst pair there.

Cooperation - oh, that's funny. No one in my family wants to get their pictures taken any more.

Sew Crafty!

Yup, that's me! I must tell you, I don't sew. I never had to, my mom is a wonderful seamstress and has done all our mending and sewing since before time began. She did give me her old sewing machine, a Janome something or other, it can stich the alphabet, airplanes and aligators if I wanted it to, but it doesn't do a very good straight line. Maybe it's me.
Any who, I decided I needed to make myself a bag for my long lens and today, that's exactly what I did. It took me less than 3 hours from start to finish. I think I did pretty well, considering I made it from scratch, no pattern or picture. All of it, including the little owl is my work. Even the nasty-a-dog-could-do-better stitching!
Did I mention it's lined too? Felt on the outside, cotton on the inside. Is this good for my lens? I don't know, it's too cute for me to care right now.

It's a Theme!

It might be a themed blog if this keeps up. People suck! Not you people but people in general.
While my dad was here on the weekend someone broke into my parent's house, mid-morning, while it was daytime! Again. They took some pretty specific stuff...one of his bikes, the others were chained together, his helmet, mom's jewellery box, wicker basket, leather hat box, leather jacket, beer, and a few other things...but they left the things like cameras, tv, computer, money, etc. It's quite possible they pulled right in to the carport and maybe had a lookout because dad wasn't gone that long and it wasn't like he was at work or out of town, he was just running errands and visiting.
It brings it home, when people say it doesn't matter if you have dead bolts and many locks on your doors, if they want in, they will get in.
So if you see this very unique, made just for him necklace, please contact me.

Tagged again...

1. If your doctor told you today that you were pregnant, what would you say? SHUT UP! and then punch her.

2. When was the last time you flew in a plane? Oct. 10 2008 on my way home from my most fav. place.

3. What did the last text message you sent say? Never sent one.

4. What features do you find most attractive in the opposite sex? Short hair, clean, smells good, funny.

5. What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future? Eat better.

6. Shoe size? 6-7

7. Been to Mexico? No

8. When is the last time you had a massage? Years ago.

9. What was the last TV show you watched? What Not To Wear.

10. What are your plans for the weekend? Well, since it's almost over, I plan on resting the rest of it, but we did accomplish what we planned and finished laying the hardwood.

11. If your significant other asked you to marry them today what would you say? Yes

12. What is in the back seat of your car right now? Dog blanket, chewed up pinecones.

13. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Watching the original Mr. Deed's Goes to Town.

14. If you could marry any celebrity today who would it be? Well, I really like Ellen Degeneres, but I wouldn't marry her. Maybe Luke Wilson, or Steve Martin, or Denny from Grey's Anatomy.

15. Have you ever been to a strip club? No.

16. What is the best ice cream flavor? Green Tea.

17. What is the last sporting event you watched? Sports car racing.

18. Ever go camping? Yep.

19. Last phone call? Tara B.!

20. Are you allergic to anything? Pollen, work, eggs, alcohol, work, ...

21. What is one thing you have learned about life recently? People can be rude.

22. What do you do at work? Order things.

23. What is your mom's name? Elaine

24. Ever cried for no reason? Yes

25. Can you do the Crank Dat dance? If that's the one with the Superman move, I've seen it, can't say I can do it.

26. What is your favorite color to wear? Don't have one.

27. What is the longest plane ride you have ever been on? Seattle to my most fav. place, Disneyland, okay, technically it was to Orange County

28. What is the longest road trip you have ever taken? Kelowna to the Grand Coulee Dam

29. What are your turn-offs? bad breath, BO, bad manners, scraggly hair.

30. What was your last alcoholic beverage? Creamsicle

31. What are you craving right now? Attention!


It's a long one. I'm tagging Rae, Kimberly, Yolanda, Jenn Y. and anyone else that is lurking around.



I can hardly walk, that's the price I pay for being a squatter and not a kneeler. I can squat for hours, but I can't kneel to save my life. Anyway, the hardwood, not laminate, is fully installed. (I'm clarifying because we have had numerous people say "oh, you mean laminate" when we say we are installing hardwood) It's wood, real honest to goodness, scratches easily, is hard to cut, harder to install WOOD.
I can not say it's my favourite flooring. I know dogs scratch it, dirt scratches it, people scratch it but I didn't know breathing on it would scratch it. Seriously, if you have the money to get good hardwood, you probably have the money to get really, really good laminate or tile, and that's what I would do.
I know it's better than the carpet and that it's continuous throught the house, and that's what makes me happy it. It only helps a little to forget the 40 hours it took to install it. We had a formula, for every 2 boards we put in, 1 would have to come out. Yesterday, it took us 1 hour to get 2 rows finished, that's about 8 inches of about 14 feet of flooring. It was so depressing. Today, we were faster, slow, but faster than yesterday.

If you're still reading this...
Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

EXCUSE ME!!!

Today, Emily, Tara and I went to Costco. Sure it was payday for just about every single person in town and sure it was the last day of school before Spring Break but we were feeling good about going. That is until every one of those persons walked infront of us, budded in line, cut us off and were just generally rude to us. The last straw was when we were in line at the 'hot dog place' getting our iced mochas and a couple walk right past us to the front of the line and try to order. At least the cashier was on the ball and told them that we were in line ahead of them. But then the people are grumbling something about how unorganized the line is, it's just me and Tara in line at this point, waiting for the guy to take our order. And so when the woman says something about not knowing we were in line I said in my not so quite voice something to the effect of "Yes, we just like to stand here". She grumbled more and I could actually feel my hackles raising! And I think she was just one of THOSE people because she and her husband stomped off. The cashier even commented on the rudeness and how they just didn't get the whole idea of lining up.

So I'm off to scrub the word PUSH OVER off my forehead before Kerry gets home!

3 year old energy

I had forgotten how much energy 3 year olds have. I met Terrell and Zoe for our first day together since they moved here and that girl never walks anywhere and talks up a storm. She was looking pretty tired by the end of our day, I know I need a nap.
She also takes better pictures than most grown ups. I let her take a few with my new camera and they were pretty good. All 3 are hers.

Dance Dance Revolution

Emily's school has a good music program, mainly because they have a very dedicated music teacher. She managed to teach every class a different ethnic dance. And for the most part, she found them costumes too. Emily's class did the Bhangra. We found an outfit at Value Village, as did most of the kids in her class.
Mom went with me and was my camera caddy. So not only do I have still shots, but live action Bhangra for Kerry to watch later. Not that I bought my camera so that I would be the envy of all the parents, but the guy next to me kept saying to his wife "I know, it's really big", I'm only hoping he meant my lens. And not that I'm a photo guru but I heard 2 moms behind me deciding to use their digital zoom and I wanted to shout "Don't do it".
Even though we thought we were 'early-birds', so were 1/2 the parents. So we ended up smack dab in the middle aisle, left side which as the Williams' Law dictates means that Emily will be on the right side! And she was. I'm glad I decided on the big lens in the end. I'm still trying to figure out the settings and speeds, so the photos are grainy, which I knew they would be. And they are yellow, which is due to the crappy gymnasium lighting. If I could get all the other parents to coordinate their picture taking, I could have used their flashes! I'm satisfied with my shots, they are better than I would have gotten with my old camera, not the best, but at least I got them.
Here's a video. Of course, my kids are never in the front row, they just aren't short enough.
The instructions in case you want to follow along.

Awwww....

It's long but it's worth it.

Right as Rain

I woke up this morning! And decided to walk, yes, walk to the chiropractor before 9 am. This was made less a chore because of my ipod.
He straightened me out so well that I came home, grabbed both dogs and took them for a walk. I know! You are thinking "CRAZY". Good thing I had my ipod in, Emily's Hairspray soundtrack blocked out the sound of the neighbours and other early morning walkers telling me how insane I am to walk two dogs at one time. And it blocked out the sound of the dogs crying because one had the halti on and the other was tied to my waist.
We survived, it wasn't any worse than Kerry and I taking them out together. I won't be heading for coffee or to the dog park with both of them, but at least I didn't get dragged around the block and thank goodness we didn't see a C-A-T!

So this makes up for yesterday's floor grumpiness. Although during my class last night I could hear someone 'scratching' my new flooring and it took all my self control to not run up the stairs to see what was going on. It was Linus...with his bone and he didn't scratch anything.
We held both dogs down and trimmed their nails, what an ordeal. Linus does the bucking bronco until he realizes that Kerry is not going to give up and then he plays dead. When he's done, he lays on the floor and only moves his eyes. It's quite sad. Sally yelps, which makes me cry. Equally sad. And then she runs away in a weird you've-cut-all-my-toes-off run.

Kerry said we aren't getting any more dogs when these two are done. I agreed but then I won't have any thing exciting to ramble on about. I'm getting shafted...no more babies to take pictures of, no more dogs to scrapbook, next he'll tell me no more toys until I master the ones I have.
Got this at DL and love it. I wear it a lot. It's showing slight wear on the sleeve. I told Kerry this was a good reason to go back, that and the fact I want another Wetzel's Pretzel, Dole Pineapple Whip and ride on Indiana Jone's Temple of Doom. Emily said if we went back she would ride all the scary rides that she wouldn't go on before.

Change of plans( updated with photos)

To all who said that laying hardwood was easy, you are a bunch of liars. It's harder than laminate, it's harder than tile. Maybe we are being too nit-picky, maybe we are hardwood challenged, what-ever the reason, it has taken 2 days of work to do just the living room. It's crazy! It looks wonderful, but the fact that we didn't get the whole upstairs finished has put a huge damper on our moods.
We have decided we hate doing it so much that we won't be doing the kitchen, we will tile it and the laundry room, possibly the stairs too.

We know that Linus is a laid back dog, but this weekend reminded us of how laid back he is. When the compressor is running, he doesn't bat an eye, whereas Sally isn't even on the same floor. Linus is right in the middle of the floor laying, checking everything out. He needs a little hard hat and badge that says "Supervisor". I'm sure he will get stepped on quite a bit with the new flooring, he blends in quite well.
I'm pretty sure if he could talk, he'd be saying what a bunch of killjoys we are. No box chewing, no eating scraps of flooring, no laying in the saw dust, no biting Grandpa's ears while he nails flooring, and no digging on the new flooring.


Linus went to the dog park with MR's dog, Eli and they wrestle like a couple of maniacs, but only after Linus takes a dip in the 'swamp'. He has to clear it of birds and ducks. He actually 'hopped' across to the other side to grap the fluffy cat tails and he tried to bring it back but about 1/2 way back he realized he had a mouth full of cotten and spit it out. He gets absolutely filthy when he's with Eli because he spends most of his time rolling on the ground under Eli.

This is him runny/jumping across the pond-like body of water. (I didn't take my big lens, my arms are too weak from flooring installation(

I'd post pics but again, blogger is angry with me.

I can't handle the stress of the flooring. Seriously, E. has dumped about 1/2 a liter of water on it already, and Sally has scratched it a couple times 'secretly' jumping on and off the couch. I know it will get scratched but, come on, we aren't even finished installing it!!!

today

I made plans to see Yolanda and the girls today and of course, the mailperson brings my Silhouette this morning. I'm happy it's here, but now I can't play with it until later.



It's now later.
I got to hold a baby and help move stuff around Scarlett's room. Duncan did an amazing job on the house, it's beautiful.

It took me maybe 20 minutes to get the Silhouette out of the box and installed and operating! Impressed!!!

I have already cut something most beautiful. And can't wait to cut more stuff.

Good bye sore fingers and xacto knife!!! I hardly knew ya!

Emily's new do, still wet after being washed. It has auto-flip.

Glutton for Punishment

I could be scrapbooking, taking pictures, or anything I wanted to do. But instead I decided to organize my receipts for tax purposes. Yes, we leave it to the very last minute. And because our FA is coming tomorrow night, I am panicking...I can't remember if she's coming for RRSP reasons, Tax reasons, or Bonus reasons. I try to be a people pleaser, it's hard, so with that in mind, I have a few things that need to be done before she gets here, 1 being get my receipts out of the drawer (not shoebox) where I have been stuffing them for a year.
This is always a sad chore. Sad because I realize that I have spent enough money on printer ink and photo paper to buy a small country. Sad because I look at the detailed receipts and see supplies I forgot I had bought, not many, but there are a few. Sad because I have bought so many things that I have yet to use because I am a hoarder.
It was also a little happy time too, I got to take a picture of my piles of receipts and they really aren't that large this year.

I'm a bit excited about later today, Emily is getting her hair cut and has decided to go shorter. She has such a pretty face but it's hiding under her hair. I hope she doesn't change her mind at the last minute.
This is what she said she wanted as she left this morning...a haircut like Caitlyn's...<
This might be a challenge as E has real hair and it's brown, and C has cartoon animated hair that is blond.

I'm going to try not to take pictures of dog noses today. Kerry said I could make a coffee table book of dog noses, so I think that maybe I might have a problem.


Updated:
I went outside! It's absolutely beautiful out today. And of course, I took my camera and let the dogs out. I'm playing with my aperture and the lighting, as much as I can without an additional flash. (don't tell Kerry, but even though I said there wasn't a single thing I would ever need again after getting the camera, I found out I will NEED a flash)

I learned a few new things...I'm falling behind on that...
1. Spring really is coming or else my tulips are in trouble.
2. I can do "left camera, right camera" from Wayne's world using the dogs as subjects.


3. Sally missed her calling as a pin-up girl. She is the biggest camera ham I have seen.


And incase I haven't mentioned it today, I love my Canon Rebel!!! LOVE IT!

I printed some pictures that I had taken with the above mentioned camera and my i9900 and holy mackeral, they are by far the best pictures ever! Or at least the best pictures today!