Time is March-ing On...

Wow - it's the 31st already! Can't believe how quickly these days are flying by. Today "Grandpa" comes home from Mexico - I sure hope he had a great time and that he comes home full of enthusiasm and great memories of a nice vacation. I think Annika and I will drive to the airport to surprise him with a pick-up (he is supposed to get a ride home from the family he went to Mexico with).

I've been working on some cards using my Pretties Kit. I've never really used it before...and I am loving how much fun it is to colour the flowers and dress up the cards with pretties!

Here is one of the cards I've finished. Not the best picture...I need to find a good card picture taking spot! I'm definitely enjoying this kit.


I'm absolutely itching to start a quilting project (just a little wall hanging) and to do some sewing for Annika. Which means I really have to apply myself and get my sewing machine set up. In order to that I need to find another work surface to put my sewing gear. And where will I put my scrapbooking area?? Le sigh. I dunno...I'll have to come up with something! Let's see if I can get stuff going by the end of next week - that's my goal.

Penny

Partied Out!

Well, the parties are all over! The "Big Girl" Shower for Jenna and Sam went really well and I think everyone who attended had a good time. We played a couple games and watched Sam open some really nice gifts, then ate some snack food and enjoyed visiting! I had great intentions of posting a whole bunch of fabulous pictures, but of course I forgot my camera at home on the couch. Sigh. Silly forgetful me! If someone sends me pics of the afternoon I'll be sure to post them up later!

It's nice to kind of relax now and take it easy with the parties all done. Now we can get ready for Easter - which is just around the corner!! Hard to believe how quickly it's coming up - just one more week.

We're dogsitting for my dad while he's in Mexico for a week (lucky him)! Poor Pepper is getting old and I think she's missing Dad. Plus we moved her over to our place for the week (it's a bit easier for us) and I think she's a bit out of her element. She also has bad hips and her little legs give out on her when going up stairs that aren't carpeted. But she's doing well for a 15 year old dog...that's for sure. Peps will sure be happy to see Dad when he gets back on Wednesday.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. We went to the Home & Garden show yesterday and checked things out. It was nice to just wander around and check things out.

Have a great week!
Penny

Movie Club

Well, I'm pretty sure I've signed me up for some trouble. Anybody remember the Columbia House movie clubs? My mom and grandma each joined a movie club and I can remember the excitement when we got to choose new movies and wait for our package to arrive! So, I decided to join the Disney Movie Club and buy a bunch of Disney DVD's.
I know, I know, I'm a sucker! But...they're so flippin' expensive at HMV/Blockbuster/anywhere that I couldn't resist the little stickers that let me purchase 5 DVDs for only 40 cents each!! WOW!!

So what's the catch? Well, they're going to send me a note with a "feature film" every 3-4 weeks and I have to remember to send back the card saying "thanks, but no thanks" otherwise they'll ship a brand, spankin' new (full price) DVD out to me. Every month!! For those of you that know me...you'll know memory is not a strong point for me. I've got a good memory, but it's really short. So I will have the best of intentions when I receive the name of the feature movie for the month, but then I'll put it down (remember, I'm a piler!) open the next piece of mail and promptly forget about declining the new movie. In the end it will probably cost me $40/movie when you add in the extra 12 movies per year I'll get! LOL!

Ah well, in the end we'll have a very nice collection of Disney movies...and who doesn't love a good Disney flick?

Have a great day...
Penny

Another Card

Here's a card I made for my friend's shower today! Similar to the other one I made...just with a bit of a brighter background. I made an oops with the glitter, but ah well...still looks alright! :)


So today I'm off to get ready for the "Big Girl" Shower we're having for Jenna & Samantha. Should be a great afternoon! Hope everyone is having a good Saturday.
Penny

Garage Sale for Life

Well, as part of my initiative to become organized (see prior blog post entitled "Organizing 101"), I am planning a big garage sale. I figure this is a great way to accomplish two things at once. First off, I will be attempting to sell other folks the stuff that I have simply run out of room/no longer have any use for. I have a number of boxes filled with items just waiting to be sold! Remember - one person's "junk" is another one's "treasure"! It's a good time to have a garage sale because it's the spring clean season...in fact, I have a few friends who will also be bringing items to sell at our sale.

The second mission of this garage sale will be to support our Relay for Life team. I've decided that all of our family's proceeds will be going towards our fundraising campaign for this year's relay! It'll be a fun way to hopefully get some money without going door-to-door. I'm hoping we can beat last year's funds...even if it's just by a tiny margin! Last year we made $6,081 as a team. Wouldn't it be nice if this year we could do even better?!

So, I will keep you all posted on the details of our huge, multi-family Garage Sale for LIFE!! Maybe you can drop by and do some shopping! :)

Note: If you're one of my friends who wants in on our garage sale, don't worry...we're only donating the money from our items! ;)

Penny

Life...it's a Gift

Every so often I feel compelled to stop and take note of the blessings in my life. Unfortunately, it seems that these introspective moments occur when I become painfully aware of the brevity of life. This week my heart goes out to a former coworker whose life has taken a completely heartrending turn. On Tuesday, he and his wife lost their little boy in a tragic accident. I cannot imagine the depths of sorrow and anguish they must be feeling; all I can do is pray for them, that they find comfort in each other and in the loved ones who are undoubtedly rallying around them for support.

It's tragedies such as this that give us the opportunity to stop and be thankful for what we have. Let's hug our husbands/wives extra hard and maybe cut them a little slack even if the dishes are still piled up on the counter. Let's snuggle our precious children and tell them how much we love them and how much they mean to us every day. We should do these things frequently, but sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the small stuff. So I'm going to forego complaints and instead be thankful for my life and the blessings. I hope you do too.

And if you're a prayerful person - please send up your prayers for a family who needs a tremendous touch right now.

Here is to life and to the treasured moments we have with our loved ones.

Penny

Last Class

Today is our last Salsa Babies class! It was a lot of fun and good exercise but I have to say I'm glad it's over. I'm ready to try something else. Maybe some drop-in classes at the library or something like that. Alternatively, I haven't done any shopping for a while - maybe I'll go to the mall for that hour instead! ;) My wonderful in-laws are treating us to a few days in Banff with them for Easter. I think I need a new bathing suit so that Scott and I can go for a dip at Radium Hot Springs while (hopefully) Annika spends some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa! :)

This is a cute little Easter dress that my friend Carol bought for Annika - it's so cute and springy!

Hard to believe Easter is just around the corner...wow. I'm already getting sad...my time at home with Annika is quickly coming to an end. *Sob*
Soon I will have to head back to the old grind. Unless I win a million dollars. Then I'm staying home. I better buy a lottery ticket...that will improve my odds of winning by .000001%.

Have a good one!

Penny

Surprise!!!

Well, we managed to pull it off...we threw a successful surprise Birthday party for my aunt! On Saturday afternoon friends and family gathered to celebrate Audrey's big five-oh...and it went very well. I didn't think we'd be able to surprise her, but we managed!

Here she is coming in to the room and finding it full of people she definitely hadn't expected!




And of course we had some yummy snacks and a delicious tuxedo cake (Mmmm...anybody else love the tuxedo cake?)




It was a great opportunity to visit with wonderful people - some of whom I hadn't seen for quite some time (like my cousin Layne and his girlfriend Tanya - who came despite having just broken her tib & fib just a few days before - what a trooper!)







Now I've got another party on Saturday for my friend Jenna and her lovely daughter, Sam and that should be it for parties this month! :)

I had the chance to make a card for a friend's shower gift yesterday...I love the butterfly embosslit from Stampin' Up - so gorgeous!


Hope your week is off to a fantastic start!
Penny

PS...I've started a new crochet project (Mary Jane style slippers)...can't wait to show them off (even if they are not quite perfect!)

Relay for Life

Last year I captained a team for the first time in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Quite a number of years ago I had the opportunity to participate on a friend's team and remembered it fondly. Last year I was moved by my family's personal experiences with cancer to start up my own team to collectively raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. I was so glad I did - it was a really great night. Although I was knackered by the end of the night (I was around 7 months preggo at the time) it was so worth it.


It's amazing...the sense of community that was there. We didn't know anyone outside of our own little group, yet we had much in common with the numerous participants. All of us, in some way or another, had been touched by cancer. There were many cancer survivors present who completed the first lap around the field while the rest of us watched. Tears came to my eyes when I saw the little children who marched around, proud and strong, already having made it through life and death battles they shouldn't have had to fight at such tender ages. But cancer isn't discriminatory - it attacks all races and colours, ages, and genders. And unfortunately, not all cancer patients make it through the fight. At dusk out on the field, luminaries were lit and glowed bright and strong - some honouring precious loved ones who have gone on before us.



That's why the Relay for Life is an important event. It's not just because it raises funds in support of the vital fight against cancer. It's because no matter who you are and how you've been affected by cancer, it's nice to know that people care - and so many do! To me, the Relay is also about spending an evening with a huge extended family connected by the invisible ties of similar experiences with loss and survival.

So, this year I have set up a team again. My family will be out there (Annika included) marching around. We will be there to hear stories of survival. We will also remember, with so much love, a wonderful woman who will never be forgotten.


I'll probably be posting about the relay from time to time. If you feel you are able to contribute to this year's Relay and pledge me in this year's walk, I would greatly appreciate it! If you're interested in coming out and participating in the walk, please let me know. There are all sorts of activities that go on all night (including little massage sessions, movies, free coffee/hot chocolate) and it's really a great night.


Here's the link to my Relay page if you're interested.
Relay For Life | Alberta/NWT | Canadian Cancer Society:
Have a great weekend all - Happy Friday!!
Penny

New Look

Well, I was sick of the look of my first background, so I've decided to switch it up a bit! Thought this looked kind of cool, but I'm still trying to sort out what goes where and make sure I can still access my dashboard with this layout. Hopefully it works!! I think I'll use this one until I get sick of it and find something else. I think ultimately I may go for something slightly simpler, but for now...this is it.

Hope everyone's having a happy Thursday. My computer is acting up...so slow and it won't load pages for me. Grrr! Time to get a Mac maybe? :) I also would really really enjoy having an iPhone. I think it's on my list of nice to haves.

Have a good one...I'm off to do some cupcake cake searches! Did that make sense?

Penny

This is L.A.!

I always think about that song by Sheryl Crow when I talk about L.A. Anyone else recall that song? We, like Sheryl, just wanted to have a good time in L.A. - and that we did! Our stay was at the Hilton in Universal City (that's where Scott's business conference was being held). We were across the street from Universal Studios, which was pretty convenient for visiting the theme park and CityWalk, but not that convenient if you wanted to do anything else (only because lugging baby, stroller, and gear up and down the crazy hill to the metro would've been too much for this out-of-shape momma)! It worked for us though, and I spent a couple days wandering around the grounds and checking out different stores, and generally just people watching, while Scott and his co-worker attended the conference.

Scott's cousin Larry lives in L.A. and was able to come and spend some time with us during our visit. Here he is visiting us in our hotel room and meeting Annika for the first time!



Universal CityWalk was pretty neat - lots of restaurants/pubs and stores.





This is the view of our hotel from Universal Studios and some views of Universal from our room.




And here's Universal!



Woody Woodpecker's girlfriend stopped to say hello to Annika...who was less than impressed!


Scott went on a bunch of rides...here was one of them!



Larry took us to Griffith Park one evening and we visited the Observatory - very cool! There were some spectacular views from the park.




We also visited some beautiful old neighbourhoods with gorgeous houses just loaded with character! Why can't we have lots of neighbourhoods like this in Edmonton?




One evening we toured around Hollywood area (not too close since everything was shut down for Oscars week) and saw a cool art gallery with this neat-o lamp outside.


And of course, the inevitable long lines of traffic...crazy drivers!


We also were able to have a delicious meal with Larry and some friends on Saturday afternoon...it was a great way to wrap up our trip.


And here's the little trooper who was such a good baby despite her rotten cold!



And that's the trip in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed!
Penny

My New Toys

So...like I said before, I had WAAAY too much fun at the card workshop and went a little bit crazy ordering a bunch of cool stuff. Just thought I'd share a glimpse of my pile of loot! How awesome is that?!

I have already put together all of my equipment (bought a colour caddy for storing all my stamp pads) and have tested out my new Big Shot (boy, I'm going to have fun with that thing!) I mounted all the stamp sets I purchased and I'm now ready to make some more cards. It's crazy but just after buying all this stuff I realized how much more I still need (perhaps that should read "want").

It's been so beautiful out lately...we have tried to get out for some good family walks to enjoy the sunshine. Here is a pic of our little munchkin with Daddy - we're all set to head out for our big walk!

Hope you're all having a great week. I finally got my L.A. pics sorted out, so hopefully next post will be of our little trip. :)

Penny