She thinks I'm funny...that's a good thing, right?

On candids vs. posed shots...and how the photographer/mom is never in the photos...

Kelli: I've tried to hand the camera over to my hubby, but I always forget to switch to Auto for him. He's got to be the worst photographer ever. And he's the one that came into this relationship with an extremely old Minolta and all the fixings and an education in graphic design. When I'm long gone the family will remember me as the one that eats with her eyes closed, laughs with her eyes closed, had 2 double chins, and crossed eyes when they are open. It's bad.

Karen: I always look forward to that one, hysterically funny person in class and I think you're it Kelli!

I guess that's something, right?

Fireworks

I will never be a professional firework photographer. But at least I got a couple shots I can live with.

Happy Canada Day!

We're playing it loose today. We haven't made any plans, although Kerry did say he wanted to see the fireworks and I told him I'd show him some! Just kidding, we might venture out to see them tonight, we might not. Maybe we'll have a special Canada Day dinner. And we'll probably use a few of these. Costco had all three, we love them and they go perfectly with our Margaritaville blender.

In other news, the Photographers' Workshop is hard. Karen actually wants us to do work, lots of it. It's Week 1 and our assignment is daunting and I'm sure as the weeks go by it won't be the only one! But I'm going to do it, and try not to get behind. I might have mentioned that I have put all the lessons on my ipod, I have been listening to them at least 3 times each so that they sink in. I'm not sure if it's working. I'm pretty sure I have already learned more in the last week and a half than I learned in the weeks of classes at the Rec. Center.

We took Linus up to my Grandpa's the other night. He hasn't seen Taya in ages, she's my aunt's golden retriever. They are the same kind of dog, but they look so different.

Linus had a stick, maybe 3 inches long and Taya grabbed the end of it. He's not use to having other dogs in his face. Sally would never do this and if he did it to her, he'd lose his nose. So he was pretty still while Taya tried to steal the stick, she did get it in the end but he held on for quite awhile.

It took him a long time, but Linus finally got comfortable enough to play with Taya. He was pretty tired afterwards, it was great. I got eaten by mosquitoes.

You know you're a scrapbooker when...

even your dog is embellished! He's talented, it's perfectly centered!

I was making a Christmas card, yes, Christmas, it's less than 6 months away you know, and Linus was hanging out with me. When we went upstairs he looked at me and I couldn't stop laughing. He kept the snowflake on until I got a couple of pictures, then he licked it off. Later today, it will be decorating some poop in the yard.

Today is Week 1 Lesson 1 of the Photographers' Workshop. I'm a bit worried, there were 20 pages to print out, and I've got a busy day. And Kerry made me an iced coffee late last night and like a sucker, I drank it up, and then wondered why I was awake enough to watch a movie that ended at midnight, why I was awake at 1 am, and 2 am, and then again at 4:30 am. So my busy day might just include a nap.

Brisket hangover

I will be making bbq'd beef brisket again, just not for lunch. That way I don't have to get up before every single person in town to get it on the bbq for smoking. It was delicious, Kerry's co-workers approved. It didn't last long. Recipe from start to finish was from the America's Test Kitchen Family cookbook. Best darn book out there. I took the dogs out back to play with my camera. I needed to get a photo for the Artfreckles Snapshots of Summer challenge. This week was Beauty and the Beast.

Linus, being the lazy dog that he is, could only sit for 4 shots and then had to lay down.

He didn't really want his picture taken, Sally on the other hand was very cooperative although I've discovered that when I have the camer infront of my face, she closes her eyes and looks away so I have to be fast.

And the money shot...Beauty and the Beast. Check out Mr. Tubby's face, he's freaking drooling!

And one last shot...this is the way they both sit on the stairs to survey the yard. Although they NEVER sit together like this. Why don't kids behave this well for photos when promised a little dry dog treat?

Early Morning Brisket Update.

I woke up at 3 am, without an alarm clock and realized that the beef had to sit at room temp. for an hour before hitting the grill and the wood chips had to soak for an hour. So I made my way to the kitchen in the dark. Then I laid awake for about 45 min. before drifting off again only to be woken up by the alarm clock at 4 am. Kerry figured he might as well get up too. The dogs on the other hand didn't think it was such a great idea.
The beef, much to my dismay, was too big for the bbq grill. After telling Kerry that next time we need a bbq we will be getting a much bigger one, I cut the brisket in 2 pieces.
He left for work smellling like a hickory stick. I'm sure the neighbours think someone's house burnt down during the night, it smells so smokey but oh, so yummy both inside and outside.
I will never tell anyone that I am making them brisket for lunch ever again. Unless it's left over from the night before.

Oh yuck!

I have just massaged the beef. The brisket needed a spice rub so I got the honours. My least favourite thing to do in the kitchen ... touching raw meat!

Oy Vey! What have I gotten myself into?

After forgetting that today Emily had to go to school to pick up her report card, I started my Texas Style BBQ sauce for tomorrow's BBQ beef brisket. The sauce was surprisingly easy to make, although it's not at all sweet like the bottled stuff we are used to.
Emily got to school, I drove her and then came back to read my brisket recipe only to realize that if I have to massage the brisket with the rub I made 2 days ago ( I hate touching raw meat), and let it sit for 1 hour afterwards, and then bbq it for 1.5 hours and then bake it for 4.5 hours and let it sit for 1 hours before cutting, I have to get up at 4 am. Who's stupid idea was this?
I woke up at 4:30 am today, because someone was breathing very loudly, Sally, and I actually thought it was someone in another room of the house talking. Freaky! But good to know that the sun comes up around that time so I won't be bbq-ing in the dark tomorrow.
This brisket making better move me up to sainthood.

Hump day already!

The week is going by so fast, already the middle of the week!
I woke up feeling like someone pummeled me in my sleep. I'm so sore, I think I just slept funny.
I think I'm pretty smart, I realized I could save the MP3 files from The Photographers' Workshop to my ipod and listen to them while I do other things, instead of sitting in front of the computer listening. Sometimes, I just can't believe how smart I am.

I made more purses, I will list them on etsy.com and hopefully sell a couple to offset the cost of the crazy fabric collection I am obtaining. If I think it's getting too bad, I'll just go to my mom's and then I'll realize I only have 3 drawers of fabric, she has a room, and that will make me feel better. Although she doesn't have a scrapbooking room and I do.

Tuesday, can't come up with a title to cover everything.

LOOKEE LOOKEE! Catalogues are in the house! Call me if you pre-ordered! Some scenes from the car show, this sign was funny and according to Emily it's wrong, she can float.
There were some awesome bikes! Kerry liked this one!

I made a couple of purses, this one is done the right way.

This one was done the wrong way, due to my watching Jon and Kate make their announcement, but I fixed it and it I liked the way it turned out, although it needs ironing.

The first day of the rest of my life...with my camera

The day I have long been waiting for has finally arrived! Karen Russell's The Photographers' Workshop started today. I have already printed off my Week 0, lesson 1 info, read it and uploaded a picture for Week 0 assignment. Too bad I have to go to work.
So, rainy Monday morning, bring it on! I'm just happy to have started the class I never thought I'd get into!

Not to shabby if I do say so myself.

I woke up early this morning with the sewing bug. I had found this purse pattern on-line, it looked super easy and was, except for the fact I had to actually draw the pattern. I used Pellon iron on interfacing to give it some body. I'm learning things. Like even though the purse looked big in the picture, and big in the pattern, it's actually not as big as I thought. That and the strap could be longer, and maybe a little skinnier. But I made it, in less than 3 hours, and I'm pretty happy with it. I even remember to put the magnetic snaps in before I got it all sewed up. The fabric a bit too autumn-ish, so I might pick up some summery stuff and make another one.

Domo Kun

This is Domo Kun. He's from a Japanese kid's show. Emily and her friends love him, even though we don't get the show. At the convention and in a few store in Metrotown, they had lots of different Domo items. One was a small, like the size of my palm, stuffed Domo, he was $23. We decided we didn't need him.

I went to Fabricland yesterday, there was a one day sale, everything was at least 50% off. Patterns were dirt cheap so I bought this pattern and some fluffy brown fabric and some red felt.And I made this...it's a Domo cell phone holder. Front. Back.

Side. The kids said it looks like he's wearing a back pack and that it was super cute.

It didn't take me 3 hours to make him, but he was a bit trying. Because sewing is not my strong point, I had to do lots of dry runs to wrap my head around how to sew him together. In the end I only had to do some stitch ripping on his mouth.

OMG as Emily would say

I found another culprit in the garden saga. We'll call him "Kerry" for lack of another nice name. I had mentioned that the garden seemed dry all the time, and asked if it was getting enough water, he said he thought so. Ack...my fault for not clarifying what he thinks is enough. Apparently, he thought it was getting 30 min. every other day, which I don't think is enough, and I told him to bump it up to 45 min. every other day. It was 20 min. every other day. No wonder nothing is growing, and the dirt is bone dry.
I could cry. And maybe I should have seeing as how I found this out while I was weeding my evening away when I could have been putting my new stamps together. At least my tears would have watered my plants...

Garden Pests have united in their effort to make sure I never eat a veggie from my own garden.

Yup, it's been decided by the fates, I will never get to eat a fresh grown by me veggie. The birds, neighbourhood cats, bugs and indoor pests are banding together. It's a weird mix of rebels, they may not even be aware of eachother's evil doing, but together they are denying me of enjoying the fruits of my labours.
I have planted my seeds twice. I have weeded, not that well, but still, more than ever before. I water, I fertilize. I wish. And still I have nothing to show for it. If the birds and bugs didn't abscond with my seeds, the cat next door crapped on them and then the quail and bugs ate the little bitty plants that did grow. But I had some hope...I had 2, yes, 2 radishes. And when I got back from Vancouver I was so happy to see them still there, and they were huge. So I picked them. And as any good scrap booker would do, I washed them and set them on the cutting board for their photo shoot. Then I ran downstairs to get my camera. It was set up in the bedroom for my boudoir photo shoot. Not. While downstairs I heard the sound of claws on the floor, running claws, happy claws, claws on the deck. What the ?
I ran upstairs to find only 1 radish on the cutting board and a certain girl dog looking at it longingly. A certain boy dog had taken off with my radish!!! He's tried before to take things off the counter, but never actually has. Usually he will try to lick the item and then he gets yelled at.
This is what I get. This is what I weeded for hours for, what I lovingly watered and fertilized for. So I bit the other radish, it was stinking hot and gave it to Sally.
I'm thinking this gardening thing is better left to Grandpa.

This guy had his 92nd birthday on the 11th but we celebrated last night at Ozeki's. It always cracks me up that we go to a Japanese restaurant. It was good, he ordered green tea ice cream for dessert, so did I, he complained that it was not worth the $2.50 for 1 scoop, it's not. But I explained that green tea ice cream is super expensive by the litre. He accepted that and ate his ice cream. The server brought a piece of paper, which had "Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu" written on it. She didn't quite pronounce it right, Grandpa couldn't understand her. She said her co-worker wrote it down for her and she was just reading it. Grandpa looked at her and said her accent was wrong, she's Chinese. Which was bang on, she said she was and they laughed about it and she got note writer to come and read it for him. She was Japanese, the note said "Happy Birthday!" Grandpa got a kick out of it and kept the note.

BTW, I had a chance to sit and look at my Photographers' Workshop binder. I'm such a loser. It's just a binder, with tab pages, nothing else. The info will be emailed and I will have to print it out. What a let down.

In Colours sneak peek

I've got so much to make up for! Here's a sneak peek of the colours. I scanned them.

These are the new Stampin' Up In Colours Inks and Cardstocks.

The top rows contians the new In Colours. The bottom rows contain similar catalogue colours. There really isn't anything similar to Soft Suede, it's a nice colour, greenish brown would be the best description. With the exception of Crushed Curry, the colours are fairly different from the existing colours.

The stamp is new, Circle Circus.

Weekend Re-Cap, Photo Heavy, Word Heavy, go get a coffee and then come back and read!

Here's my beautiful Binder from Karen Russll's Photographer's Workshop. She sends one of these to everyone in the class, along with matching pen. I haven't even cracked it open yet. I'm waiting for a quiet time, when the stuff is unpacked from the trip, the groceries are bought and put away, and I'm well rested. Maybe in 3 days.

Itook the day off work! So that some of that stuff could get done.

So, we went to the Anime Convention for the second year in a row. The kids consider themselves pros now. We took Emily's friend, Iliana, with us. She'd never been before. Her dad lives in Burnaby so she stayed with him and met us there every morning.

We stayed at my Aunt and Uncle's place and took the Sky Train in every morning. This was a first for us. My Aunt took us Thursday night, gave us the tips, where to stand on the escalator, on the right so faster people can run up the left side, how to buy tickets, where to get off, where to get on, how to stand to avoid ending up in someone's lap when the train stops and starts up again.

I snapped this picture infront of the cruise ship, just outside Canada Place and right next to the swanky new Vancouver Convention center where the event was held.

This is the view from the main floor of the VC center. That is the longest escalator I've ever seen. The convention was held in the 'basement' of the center, and on the 2nd floor. The 'basement' is supposed to look like you are underwater. The tile work is amazing. The wall on the right is glass tiles and there are blue lights behind them that 'glow' giving the underwater feel. To the left of the escalator is street level. People were standing in the window staring in all day. It's very apparent that some attendees spend hours and dollars on their costumes. Some make their own, some order them on-line. Most have one costume for each day of the convention, 3 costumes. We all noticed a 'trend', and I don't have pictures to back it up. But the Asian kids dress nicely, respectfully, with no parts hanging out, they dress appropriate to their body shape. They don't smell of body odor, they aren't heard swearing. Now, the Caucasian kids are different, their costumes are generally too small, too revealing, things are hanging out, and by things, I mean very large muffin tops and boobs, they have a distinct "I didn't have time to put deodorant on" scent to them. They swear, they do it loudly, they complain about other people's costumes. But both enjoy Anime/Manga, and spending money.

Right away, Shaun got asked to pose with this person, all 3 kids were from D Gray Man, I won't even pretend to know what or who they were. I like the cute charaters, the soft and fluffy ones.

My Neighbour Totoro. A movie character, I haven't seen it, but the kids borrowed it from Tara's Shawn and we had to take pictures of Totoro for Shawn.

Another Totoro, even when the kids come in the same costumes, they are so different it's not a big deal. Usually they meet, and get photos taken together. Her friend helped her make the costume.I always appreciate full costumes, I can't remember who this is, but I love the details.

Here you can see the 'Artist's Alley' in the background. Kids rent the tables and sell artwork they have made. Buttons, stickers, posters, stuffies, book marks, bags, key chains, my kids bought it all.

This is me and Sharon.

I lived in Coquitlam about 17 years ago. I had one good friend, Sharon, she lived in the same appartment building. We had kids that were a year apart, she had Nicole a year older than Shaun, and Alex, a year younger than Shaun. We spent a lot of time together. Then I got out of that situation in a hurry, we saw eachother on time after I had met Kerry and then lost touch. I always think of her when I go to Vancouver, and other times too. So when I was in the 'Artist's Alley' and I saw this woman that looked exactly like Sharon, I whispered "Sharon", just in case it wasn't here. And she looked up, I didn't cry but I could have. It was SHARON! She was with Nicole. She looks exactly the same, if not better than she did 17 years ago. This was my favourite thing about the trip!

We took in a bit of Anime Idol, some of those kids have great talent. Some are very brave to get up on stage.

The girls took part in the 'Glomp' game. Glomping is when you run up to someone and hug them, it's best to ask for permission first. Dozens of kids stand in a large circle, this one happened to be outside on the side walk between Canada Place and the convention center, right in front of all the tour buses, so the tourists got an eyeful. A dozen kids stand in the middle, and spin bottles. They run and hug the person the bottle is pointing to, and then swap places with that person. Deodorant is a must.

Then the kids made a huge congo line. Again, the tourists were in shock, many took pictures.

The best cosplayer at the convention. Master Roshi was in character, he walked, hummed and posed like the real Master Roshi would have done. He even crossed the street in character. This guy had to be my age, he was not a teenager, he was also there by himself. That's devotion to Dragonball!

See that wall behind him, it's the ends of 2x4, super neat, probably 40 feet tall.

A guy on a segway is not something we see in Kelowna on a regular basis, but in Van. it was the norm.

Domo, one of Emily's favourites. She was trying to buy all things Domo.

The trip down was fairly uneventful, a bit of thunder and some very large lightening gave us a scare, but it was short lived. But the way home was another story. It started raining and I could see the cars up a head had all pulled over. So I did too and then the downpour of rain and hail hit and it was so loud we couldn't hear ourselves! The water on the right side is probably 4 inches deep. There are at least 20 cars behind me pulled over, and you can see the dozen or so cars on the left side of the road pulled over. We sat there for at least 10 minutes and then a truck with a small boat passed us going about 40 kms. so I decided if he can do that, so can I. I was so brave, didn't help that the navigator, Shaun, said we shouldn't do it. But I did, and we drove slowly and we made it out save and sound.

I made the kids get out of the van and sit for a picture at the look out, you can see Okanagan Lake behind them. Always thinking of scrapbooking! I will make a mini album for the kids, like last year.

The girls both bought these hats, by Punchbrand. I think every person there bought something from the talented woman! The hats are so cute. Shaun bought a couple of her pins.

I made it to a couple of scrapbooking stores. We didn't make it to Krispy Kreme but we felt the trade off was worth it. Instead we found T&T market at Metrotown, the largest Asian market I have ever seen. It had a huge sushi selection, dim sum, bakery, and grocery store. The kids found their favourites in more flavours then they are used to. We found fresh BBQ pork buns that were the best I've had. I hadn't had any good ones since I lived in Vancouver, 18 years ago. And so we bought 4 and then I had to go back and get more to bring back for Kerry. I also had a a green onion pancake, I buy them here at Safeway, but probably won't ever again because I have tasted what they should be like and it is far better than the flat, oily thing at Safeway. I will probably crave these things!

The kids spent way too much money but I figured it was not that big of a deal. Everything they bought was stuff they can't get here. We went to Sakura Media so many times that the guys there knew us. Everytime we went they had just unpacked new books so the kids were thrilled!

Oh JOY!

I am packing, freaking out, and the door bell rings, it's the mailperson. He's got a big box! It's for me! It's my binder from Karen Russell's photography workshop! It's beautiful. I'll post pics soon. Can't take the time to look at it.

ABC's of me

Got this from Lisa. Thought it was cute.
A - Age: 36
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: cleaning toilets
D - Dog's name: Sally and Linus
E - Essential start your day item: Cold coffee
F - Favorite color: Depends, blue, green?
G - Gold or Silver: Either or.
H - Height: 5'4"
I - Instruments you play(ed): organ, clarinet
J - Job title: Mom
K - Kid(s): Shaun, 19, Emily, 13
M - Mom's name: Elaine
N - Nicknames: Mama, Oog,
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Never
P - Pet Peeve: bad breath
Q - Quote from a movie: "Do or do not, there is no try" - Yoda, "Get your own tots!" - Napolean Dynamite.
R - Right or left handed: Left
S - Siblings: Younger brother, Justin
T - Time you wake up: between 6:30 and 7
U- Underwear: Yes
V - Vegetable you dislike: raw mushrooms
W - Ways you drink your coffee: cold, with lots of milk and Starbucks SF vanilla syrup.
X-rays you've had: MRI, to check brain when diagnosed incorrectly for migraines, sinus, chest, teeth,
Y - Yummy food you make: just about everything
Z - Zoo favorite : Elephants, except when the poop. Have you ever seen elephant poop? Gag me!

Ahhhh...It's Here!

I have the new SU catty in my inky little hands. As per SU rules and regulations this year I can not share pictures of it with you. But I can make a whack of things with my new stamp sets and new in-colour paper and post those things on my blog. I'm not going to...at least not until next week. I'm so sorry!
What I will do is give you a little run down on what is in the new catty.

New sets...
-a cute quail set. I could do layouts about why I have nothing in my garden.
-Season of Friendship, that tree set that was in the mini.
-Pony Party, think My Little Pony
-lots of new pattern paper

But I have to go!