Wednesday, January 28, 2009

New Store!!!

I had a great morning today! First I had a dentist appointment and was told I have great teeth - I knew they weren't terrible, but didn't know they were so above average. Got a kick out of that. Then I had a great visit with the owner of a little paper shop where I went to get a new journal. Nice meeting super friendly people like that, especially ones who have a passion for paper...

And between those, I met Carla at the new scrapbooking shop that opened today. We were among the first 10 customers and got free memberships! Yay! It's called Scrappin' Your Way, and was full of fun stuff. I spent a little today, but have my eye on some things for later, too.

Here's what I picked up:



And what I made with it tonight:

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

a thank you and some layouts

The thank you is to Jen and Clayton for this Christmas gift that got used for the first time last night with delicious results.




The stoneware is so nice and the stacking cooling racks are brilliant. Love it. Thank you!!


This one is my first 12x12 of the year. I printed out all these pictures thinking to use them on the game board for the Schneider Family Trivia Game, but ended up not using them. So I used them in a layout!


This is another one with the Colorbok Friendly Forest kit I got. So fun.


This one is an 8x8 and will go in Madeline's "Moments" album. I put a little journalling on the tag with the ribbon for her. The picture is from the summer of 2003, and I've had it printed and ready to scrapbook for a long time. Like the way it turned out.

A little excitement! We are getting a NEW SCRAPBOOKING STORE in town - they open tomorrow, so I'll be sure to post and let you know the scoop!

And finally, Happy Birthday to Kadence! She's 2 today. Another niece, Raelene turned one on Sunday, and another one, Laura, turned 4 on Saturday. Lots of little January girls.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

I was playing around with backgrounds from a free site, but messed up the changes I did before, and I can't put it back right!

So I'm going to work on it this week and we'll see what we come up with. Sorry if it looks slightly odd in the meantime...

2009 Word Wordle



Here's another Wordle I did...

My word for 2009 is light, and I'm realizing how much I need to think about that and let it inspire me, remind me, change me.

I don't think I suffer from depression, but then again, I'm not positive I don't. Life is often grey and hard and not as fulfulling as it should be looking at all that I am blessed with. It can't be that I'm a miserable anti-social lazy cry-baby naturally, can it? It must be chemical...

Or I can just think about LIGHT more. (And take a few extra vitamin D's?)

Being a light in my family. Being someone who makes their day brighter. Easier.

Being a light with my faith. Does it show? How can it show more? I just finished the book unchristian (I will write about that more later); am I being the change I want to see?

Being a light at work. What can I change there to make the most impact with my 20 hours? Staying cheerful through some controversy over the class I'm teaching has been a little hard, but I'm happy with the way the light has kept shining there.

Realizing that the light doesn't come from only from what I have to give, but that if I get out of the way, the light of Jesus is the light that shines through me. Isn't it crazy that he gives US that?

There's a few more thoughts on my word for 2009. I made the wordle by using some verses that go along with it. I increased the size to make it bigger, but it's fuzzy. You can also see it in the Wordle gallery.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Wordle Fun

Have you checked out Wordle yet?

I just made one with the text from that last post I just wrote... check it out!


And so much for blogger's block - this makes 3 posts in one day!

Photos...


Three things to notice in this photo:

1 - The Java House coffee beans. From my trip to Kenya last spring. Good memories.

2 - The granola bars. I MADE THESE. THEY ROCK! I finally got around to looking for a granola bar recipe online and found this one at allrecipes.com. It calls for 2 cups of mini chocolate chips or assorted stuff, like nuts, raisins or cranberries. The first batch I made had 1 cup mini chocolate chips, half a cup sunflower seeds, and half a cup of walnut pieces. They are SO good, but I remembered AFTER that M can't take nuts to school, found out Sean's boss is allergic to nuts, and remembered that my workplace is an "allergy aware" place - no nuts. They are still half gone in spite of that, and I only made them 3 days ago. I made a second batch today with the rest of the sunflower seeds, the rest of the mini chocolate chips and the rest regular chocolate chips. They're good too. Hearty and healthy!

3 - The new coffee maker! Go here to read what happened to the old one... Two weeks ago we spent all our airmiles and got this Cuisinart, a docking station for our ipod, and lift tickets for our trip to Fernie. Right now the beans are loaded in the top ready to be ground by the built in grinder and the timer is set for 7 AM. Nice.



I took this a couple of days ago of M sitting at her spot at the table doing homework; reading a book for a book report. She decides she HAS to go upstairs and get something, please??? It's to help me with my homework!! With reading your book? (What does she need for that? And she won't tell me what it is.) Ok, fine. And this is what she comes down with. "It's a mystery book, Mom!" And she's Roxy Holmes. Related to Sherlock somehow. The hat is authentic from one of Uncle Warren's trips to Baker Street, and the blazer is vintage, from Great Grandma Olive's closet.

Bloggers Block

Hi.

Do you ever have weeks where you have piddly to do lists?

Pick up holds and drop off at the library.
Take in a prescription.
Get water.
Drop something off in someone's mailbox.
Wash the van.

Sometimes it tires me out. Especially when I have places to be and no chunk of time to get it all done.

Maybe tomorrow.

And maybe tomorrow I'll come up with something more blog worthy. My brain feels shallow right now.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Our friend Holly

Our friend Holly is going to Australia for a couple of months, and we went to her sending off bash on Sunday. She just put these pics up on fb, and I wanted to share:


M spent all afternoon making her going away cards and an activity book so she wouldn't get bored on the long trip.


I like this one of us!!

burnout??

I just came across a new blog called FlowerDust.net (through Bring The Rain, which is a tearjerker, but worth the visit!). Anne Jackson is an author with a book coming out right away called "Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic". Looks like it may be a really good read, according to the review of it I read on Bring The Rain.

And she is giving away some Bible study software, so if you are a pastor (or just a studier!) check it out and enter!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Monday


Saturday I picked up a fun new kit at Michaels with my Christmas gift cards (Thank you, Carla and Madeline!) I played a bit yesterday and today and have one ready for the journaling (which will be slightly introspective and therefore needs the right mood to write) and then this one. It feels like so long since I've taken the time to have fun scrapbooking! I like working with the girls each week because of the social aspect of it (and I'm hoping there will be a lot of bodies there tomorrow since we're going to talk about doing a retreat!) but I like working at home alone better for the creativity side of things.

You might notice something different about this layout, if you are familiar with my usual style... It's 12x12. Yeah. My binder is full, so I need to pick up a new album, and on a whim, I decided that this year, 2009, I will scrapbook 12x12 instead of 8 1/2 x 11. The albums are prettier. I have downloaded cool templates. In 12x12. So yeah. A big trend I see is to take a photo a day, and scrapbook that way. I just got a new camera, so I'll be taking lots of pictures, but honestly, it's too big to lug around with me for every day shots, and while the little point and shoot will still come along lots of places, I'm just not as excited about pulling it out all the time. It needs a break, and I need to do what motivates me and inspires my creativity. So 12x12, here we go! And this awesome little kit has cool 12x12 pages that you just can't cut up.

Sadness


My mom called half an hour ago to tell me that my Granny died in her sleep early this morning.

She was a strong lady, but at 94, things were just shutting down. I am so glad we got to see her two weeks ago when we were there for Christmas. Madeline loves being in Winnipeg with family, and that was the one thing she wanted to do for sure when we were there. See Great-Granny. Mom sent some neat pictures from that day, but I can't figure out how to copy them from the email because they are in a strange format; I will post them when I can.

For now, here's a quote from an email mom sent last weekend.

"Granny is doing much better. She was pretty bad last weekend but is eating better and quite 'with it' today. You would have laughed at us yesterday. I got new ear phones for my iPod that just hook over my ear. I had it on one of her ears, playing her some old Big Band music. And at the same time I was playing Solitaire on my Palm Pilot and holding it up so she could watch - she used to play a lot of Solitaire. And in the middle of this, Dad called on my cell phone. For a couple of old grannies, we sure are wired."

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Mountain Mom

This is maybe the nicest thing I heard today.

M and I were making poppycock to take to a party / games night tonight. I was at the counter and she was standing at the stove, stirring.

"You know the expression, 'the pits'? Well, this is the mountains - it's the opposite. This is fun, it's food, and I get to do it with you!"

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Bubbles Returns




January 1
We ring in the new year with fireworks at the farm.







January 1
Grandpa and Raelene, the youngest grandchild (until May and June!)







January 3
Family Portrait











January 3
Sundogs on the way home. For those of you not from around here, sundogs mean it's REALLY cold.









January 7
M, being very responsible with her pet fish, asked Auntie Carla to watch him while we were gone so he wouldn't starve. We picked him up yesterday - here they are, reunited.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

great translation

I was just checking my google reader that lets me know when the blogs I follow are updated, and Wilna, a scrapbooker from PA, SK had this thought for today - I thought it was a great fresh translation that I'd like to share with you. (And I'm not busy finishing supper because my crock pot did all the work!)

"A thought for today: Col 2: 6 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving."

PS - Supper tonight is another new one from allrecipes.com - a slow cooker white chili with chicken and white beans... I'll link you to the recipe if it's good!

Monday, January 05, 2009

the word, and salsa fish

It's Monday night, and my assignment did get in on time, although it was short. I'm afraid I did not do my best in this whole class. Shame on me. But it's done and now forgotten. (All except what I learned, of course.)

I'm sad that I didn't get around to printing off pictures - we're back at it with the scrapbooking girls tomorrow. I do have some stuff I'm working on to finish up, and I have a bunch of pictures that I printed off for the game that I want to use...

The Game. The amazing Christmas gift I was telling you about? I think it went over ok - we played it a few times and had some good laughs. I picked up a Trivial Pursuit game at Value Village for $2 and altered the board, painted the box, made 126 of my own trivia cards and (my favorite part) made game pieces for everyone. I had a great time making it... The first time we played, I just asked the questions since I knew all the answers. We were all amazed at all the stuff Jen knew. The second time, they made up questions for me when it was my turn. Mom wrote them all down, so we've got a bunch more to add to the stash. Dave was awesome at coming up with questions. (For those not in the fam, Jen is married to my brother and Dave is married to my sister. They did not grow up with this insider knowledge, but proved they are true Schneiders!!) The third time the 4 older cousins played and I (selectively) asked them questions.





The Word. I've been reading Ali Edwards' blog - check out the list she's compiled of what a lot of people have picked as their words for this year. I've just started reading Jessica Sprague's blog, too (she's got Photoshop tutorials, and I need them!) and she was talking about her word of the month. I'm not one for jumping on a bandwagon usually, but I like the idea of having one word to keep reminding yourself of. If a lot of thought has gone into it, and it means something, it can be very powerful.

So the word I decided on is LIGHT. There are so many verses about light... if it weren't almost midnight I'd go into this a little more, but I think I'll save it for another day. I thought for January at least, I'd add a word for the month, too. I picked SUNNY. Because I wish it always were. And because it can be a choice.

One last thing - I want to share the recipe I made for supper tonight. We're trying to eat healthier for the next little while (getting over the holiday glut of goodies and get ready for the mountains) and thought we'd go with more fish and chicken. So I went to allrecipes.com and did a search for "fish." What would we do without computers... maybe open the fish cookbook I have in my cupboard?? Anyway, I found this Mexican Baked Fish about half a dozen down, and was it ever good. I used Sole instead of the cod it called for, then homemade salsa we got for Christmas from Jess and Dave (thanks, guys!), cheddar cheese and corn chips and baked it for 20 minutes. Topped with sour cream and avacado, it was so good. Pretty quick and easy, too, which is good in my books.

Have a good night!

Saturday, January 03, 2009

home again, home again, jiggidy jig

We are home. Mostly. We had my staff Christmas party tonight, so M is overnight at her Grandma and Grandpa's. Tomorrow night we will all be home in our own beds. It's been a great week and a half of family holiday time in Winnipeg and on the farm - I won't deny that I am looking forward to being in my own bed tonight, though.

My last assignment for this Theological Overview class is due on Monday (yeah, I should have had it done before Christmas) so when that's done, or more likely, when I need a study break, I will come back on here and muse oh so eloquently about this year and what it will bring...