Family Day, How We Love You.

You made it alright that I had to work on Saturday.
You made Sunday into another Saturday (minus the work).
You made it ok to stay up a little late on Sunday.  We didn't, because we were still so tired, but we could have.
You gave us another sleep in day.
You gave us time to experiment with breakfast.  Yummy smoothies.
You gave us a chance to go to the church for Lattes & Bouncy Castles... good visiting.
You gave us a weekday to go out for lunch.
You gave us hours to do work around the house and time to play and time to browse around online...
Family day, you are fabulous and we appreciate you.

M's off to bed now, and Sean will be home soon from golfing (yes, indoor).  That means soon we'll be pressing play and working out, but I think I have a few minutes to share some online finds.

This video caught my eye and imagination - color is a wonderful thing.

I love this scraproom transformation (it belongs to Donna Downey).  The 'before' would be amazing, but I love the brightness and colorfulness of the 'after'.

 

I downloaded a couple of quotes to print off from Becky Higgins' blog.  Wise words.  You can head there for the stories behind them.

 

Oh, and I did a bit of online shopping over the weekend!  I figured if Sean can order stuff online all the time, I shouldn't be shy about it, either.  :)   I like shopping for scrapbooking stuff in person, so I can see the whole thing and the textures and details, but there is nowhere to shop around here, and shipping is less than travelling!  Especially if you're shopping somewhere like Crafty Steals, where stuff is 50% off or more.  Thrifty, that's me.  I'm sure I'll be letting you know when the package at the door has MY name on it for a change!

I think that's all for now.  I'll save the photo of how M did my hair for another day...

Leave a comment - I would love to know what special or fun things you did today.

Can't post now - Working out...

P90X has managed to take over our whole lives.

Our relax, do whatever we need to / feel like time in the evening has been hijacked by 60-90 minutes of sweating, plus the necessary showers after, at which point the clock says bedtime.

Sleep - we got lots before, but we do need it all now more than ever, and we don't push staying up as often as before.

Food - everthing that goes into our mouthes is evaluated (and on my part, recorded, because I like making lists and tracking things, and the program has a place to record it all, along with all your reps and weights in the workouts).

Even shopping, no, especially shopping.  Food shopping has altered to match the altered diet, but most of our other shopping as well seems to center on buying gym equipment and protein powders and bars...

This is not complaining - we are enjoying getting fit and the new shared interest and all the time together.  No, this is just my excuse to you for why I haven't written in over a week (gasp).  Oh, and because I've been too busy reading Clayton and Jen's blog.

And a cruise ship.

Behind me sits a pile of Polly Pockets.  Thirteen dolls, 44 pairs of shoes and 70 outfits, to be exact.  And a cruise ship.  I know the amounts because Madeline catalogued it all before we put it up for sale online.  (As great parents, we make her get rid of two toys every time she gets a new one.  We are beginning to see her room emerge once again due to this wonderful tactic.)  She had a lot of Pollys, and asked if she could sell them instead of giving them away, which we thought was a great idea.  (Surprisingly, there is a lack of buyers of children's toys in January...)

It makes me acknowledge that my little girl is growing up.  And makes me wonder what will catch her interest this year (oh, yeah: silly bands) or in 3 years...

What were my favorite toys growing up?  I might need to call my mom and get some help with this one.  Do you remember any of yours?  Leave a comment - I'd love to hear about them.  And I will head off to bed and lay there imagining little me, and trying to picture what it is I've got in my hands.

Creation Monday

 

I don't always get on a 'create something' kick when Sean goes out golfing, but that was sure the case tonight!

In the bucket is some homemade granola - can't wait to try it tomorrow, and beside that some bran muffins.  (Somewhere deep inside of me feels like it's cheating to use a mix, but it sure is quick!!)

 And while those were baking, I went down to the studio and made a page:

 

It starts... Tomorrow.

P90X.  Extreme Home Fitness.  It's 90 days of intense working out and eating healthy and hopefully seeing great results and setting us up for a better lifestyle after.

We talked about doing it for a while, and looked for a cheap one on Used Regina, but finally just went out and bought one last weekend.  Then we got another mat and a pull up bar and resistance bands, protein supplements, new shoes, and some upgrades to our living room stereo system that we've been putting off, but which were necessary to do this upstairs.  (The basement's too small for us both to work out at once.)  We've got enough invested in this now that there's no backing out!  And that's why I didn't tell you until now - we had to keep that option open. 

Our measurements and 'before' photos have been taken - remember the fat tests we had done in junior high, with the little pinching tool?  Yeah, we bought ourselves one.  Crazy.  There's just one more thing to do before we press play tomorrow, and that's the fit test, to record a few 'before' numbers so we have something to compare end results to.

Wish us well - I'll keep you informed of our progress.  Probably won't post those photos until I have some after ones, though!!

Wind Down...

It's wind-down time ( I read somewhere today that one does not need to be productive right up until bedtime...!) and I'm just browsing online.  I followed a link that lead to issuu.  Have you heard of this?  It's got people's publications for the public to check out - I got there from Creative Keepsake's site to check out the 52 More Scrapbooking Challenges mag.  Found all kinds of stuff on there.  Here is a link to a full issue of a Scrapbook Trends mag from last year, if that interests you - it's a great magazine and I wished my library got it, since that's how I get my fill of scrap mags.

Although now I guess I just found one to read online!

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Madeline, Tatianna and Manon on the last day of winter break.

Funny Faces

These are from last June when we were out at the farm auction.  I was taking photos of all the stuff for sale and got to playing in the bins of parts...

Layouts

These were a four part process - they were all started at the retreat last October, all had a little work done on them to get them ready to take to the craft social, they were almost finished at the craft social, then I put the finishing touches on them at home.  As usual, they look better in person - if you want to see them that way, come on over - I'll put the tea on!

Happiness is...

Having great family to spend the day with.  I drove out to the farm yesterday to hang out with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law; talking to a friend at church before I went, I was reminded that not everyone enjoys a great relationship with thieir inlaws, so I was extra blessed by the day.

Arriving home safely after a long drive on a highway covered in ice, after the aforementioned day at the farm!

Getting to go to your daughter's first ever school basketball game!  Life will be a new routine for the next six weeks as now I will be picking M up for piano on Mondays (thank you, Gloria for being flexible!), going to watch a game every Wednesday, and picking her up from practices at 5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please send me all your favorite slow cooker recipes!!  I'm going to need them.

Hearing encouragement.  Yesterday at church a friend told me she reads my blog, and that she printed out my up not down prayer to keep as a reminder.  Thanks, Auntie Jan.  It is good to know that something that came from my heart and my pen was worth something to someone.

A great family.

 

What is happiness to you?  

I want everyone to leave a comment with at least one thing! 

(And don't forget to send me slow cooker recipes!)

Mmmm... Yummy!

I have a recipe for you.  We've been making this one for a few years, and it's a treat.  I have lots of good chicken recipes so my monthly menu plan has a few spots that just say 'chicken' and I alternate through them.

This one's from Company's Coming.  If you have the Chicken, Etc. cookbook, we also like Blue Chicken (had that last week), Chinese Chicken, Special Legs, Romano Chicken, Cantonese Chicken, Sesame Chicken and Chicken Dumplings.

This is a shot of the filling (I made a half recipe) - it's a very tasty mush!

I should give you an update, because I'm proud of myself and my speed reading abilities... I finished Little Women last night and am ready for book club tonight!  Well, except that I have to think up a snack to take...

Confession & Celebration

The confession is this: 

While I had over a month to read Little Women, I did not request it from the library until a week before our book club night, and I did not get it until tonight.  We meet on Thursday and I'm out Tuesday and Wednesday night.  It's a good 562 pages, too.  I'm 76 pages in - I'll let you know if I get it done in time or not.  I may have to indulge in a few late nights!

The cause for celebration is this:

 

Somebody made the basketball team!  They had tryouts last week and had to wait till this morning to find the list posted with the names of the girls who made it.  Only 3 of the 15 are grade 6's - I'm so excited to go watch her in a real uniform playing on a real team!

Another Cousin Collage!

This one's not complete with all the Ward cousins - Kasden and Mataya were not there on Boxing Day when we celebrated at Grandma and Grandpa's new place in Balgonie.  Also, I only had 6 spots in this collage, so I left Madeline out.  Shhh... Don't tell.

 

The two on the left are sisters, the two in the middle on the right are sisters, and the two in front of the trees (top and bottom on the right) are sisters, and belong to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th brothers, respectively.

CORE

Once again as January rolled around I thought about a word for this year.  A word that I could keep in mind and refer back to, that would keep me focused on what I wanted to be / do / remember this year.

I thought about character, because I just read a great book on how to develop character in your family, and about each of the 10 elements the book had listed that were foundation blocks of character: respect, responsibility, empathy, courage, honesty, integrity, optimism, perseverance, initiative, and fairness.  I thought about strength and confidence. Fitness, faith, purpose, trust and enjoy all got some consideration.  I thought about curiosity, imagination, interaction, creativity.

What it came down to for me was understanding what I value.  This year I want to hold fast to what I value, to remain true to myself and who I am.  I chose the word CORE to remind me of all those things above.  What's at my core?  What I do in each situation is dependent on who I am and who I am choosing to be.

Do you choose a word for the year?  I'd love to know what you chose and why.

(Here's what I wrote about last year's word.)

Broccoli Salad

I made this salad for supper tonight (along with our chicken and three cheese tortellini) and thought it's such a great (and easy!) salad that I'd share.  Try it and enjoy it!

Cut up some Broccoli into bite size pieces.

Add some Raisins and Walnut pieces.  (The nuts are optional, but add flavor and texture.)

Toss it all with Coleslaw Salad Dressing, and serve.

I'm going to try a broccoli and green lentil soup recipe that I found - if it works, I'll share that too.  Gotta get more of that green stuff in our diets!

Christmas with the Cousins!

I planned to play around all night in my studio while Sean hosted a poker night upstairs, but the creativity and the energy were both lacking.  I spent time & played Bananagrams with M until she went to bed, then I lost an hour or so in front of the TV...  I did mess around on my new Cricut, and pulled out the layouts that were started but not finished at the scrapbooking retreat in October after not seeing them for 2 1/2 months, but didn't get much done.  Maybe today...  Although tonight feels like a good night for a movie night.

I ordered some photos from Christmas today, so I'll have new stuff to work with, too, but got thinking about how to arrange the little ones and remembered collages, which I haven't worked with much, but have wanted to.  So here for you is a little something I put together...  I find that with my blog, my paper scrapbooking doesn't get very much attention any more.  My pictures are out there to be seen, by more of you than if I scrapbooked them.  That's fine with me - I do enjoy messing around with paper sometimes, but sometimes I want to mess around on the computer, and sometimes I want to sew something and sometimes I want to make something else.  No pigeon hole for me.

No pigeon hole for you either - bring your scrapbooking or whatever else you want to work on to our next Craft Social!  If you live close by and want to join us, we are meeting 7-whenever on Tuesday, January 18, at Westhill Park Baptist Church.  Come to visit!

Up Rather Than Down.

When I sit down to 'do devotions' in the morning, I have 4 books with me usually. 

• My Bible, which is the one constant, whether the others get opened or not.  
• My journal, which is the next most used, and truthfully, I can easily spend more time writing than I do reading.  
• My notebook where I write out prayers for M - I find it helps me think clearly about what it is I want for her.
• My gratitude journal, where I jot down things I am grateful for.  Helpful to focus myself on what is good around me.

I wanted to share what I wrote in M's book today, because I think it applies to me as well as her, and maybe you'll find it helpful for you, too.

I pray for up rather than down.
Optimism rather than pessimism.
Acceptance rather than grumbling.
Willingness rather than laziness.
Good rather than bad.
Cheerful rather than grumpy.
Positivity rather than depression.
Up rather than down.

Highlight of the Ward Family Christmas

 

There`s going to be a wedding!

Sean`s brother Sheldon surprised Lynsey with a ring in the pocket of the jacket he got her for Christmas.  (And I got a fun engagement photo of them, courtesy of the new lens...  Thanks, Sean!)

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 We got to see an itty bitty baby today - our friends had a baby boy on Thursday afternoon & were at church this morning to show him off.  (Well, ok, maybe they were there to worship, but we all sure checked him out!)  Their birth announcement is a little video worth watching - some older sibling celebrating going on there.  Congrats Darren & Christine!!

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M has a blog with school - if you want to check it out, you can do that here.  She`s MW if you`re browsing through the class list.

Merry Christmas!

The best shot of the morning: Madeline`s reaction when she opened the last gift and saw a camera.

(This was taken with my new Canon 50mm 1.8 lens!)

A Counter for Christmas!

Sean brought home the counter top today!  It`s not attached yet, but set in place, and I used it to make Butterscotch Treats and Poppycock.  I imagine it`s a very happy counter top, getting a new family for Christmas, and being welcomed with such yummy love.  It`s a dark grey, so it blends nicely with the black and stainless appliances.

I`ve made the Christmas food list, and tomorrow I`ll be making the potatoes for Christmas day at Carla`s, Christmas afternoon I`ll put together the marshmallow salad for Boxing Day at the Wards, and before church on Sunday I`ll make the apple crisp.  Not too bad.  I already made a batch of poppycock this week to take as gifts for my co-workers - today`s batch is for us.  

After Christmas I`ll post photos of some of the stuff I`ve made as gifts.  Don`t want to spoil any surprises just yet!  One more to make, but it`s to go to Winnipeg, so I`ve got an extra day or two for that. 

I will say, though, that I love vinyl!  A friend saw the parent / child aprons I made last year and asked me to make some for her and her two daughters.  No problem - I whipped those up last weekend for her.  She also has a little boy who needed a holster for his gun... so she brought me some brown vinyl when she came with the apron fabric she had picked out.  I impressed myself with my pattern design skills (must have got that from Mom), and I loved working with the vinyl - it`s smooth like butter.  I`m going to have to get me some of that to play around with.  Watch out - next Christmas just may all be decked out in vinyl.

These three are all the same - reversible with pockets on both sides.  M is my always willing model.

Oh, I do have to tell you that I rocked the serger today.  And by rocked I mean that it had a broken thread which I successfully re-threaded, and then when that bobbin promptly ran out of thread, threaded it again.  And, when another thread broke, I re-threaded that one.  And the end one, when it ran out of thread.  And finally the fourth one, when it wasn`t connecting the way it should.  It didn`t even feel like the machine was my enemy, either - we were strange cohorts, in a joint effort to boost my confidence in my serger rocking abilities.  Hooray for me, and thanks, Singer!

Looks Like Christmas

 

The tree went up tonight!  Sold the microwave stand, moved a few things over, and put up the new tree.  I did all the `fluffing`(funny how no one else likes that job), put up the lights and garland, but the actual decorating has to wait till M is home from school tomorrow.

I put on the music station and heard this song - thought it was worth sharing!

Merry Christmas!