Change Of Plans

Today my mom and I were supposed to get together and go shopping for something to wear to my daughter's wedding in May and then go for lunch. Well it isn't going to happen. Clayton is sick with a cough and cold and I am keeping him home from school. I told him there is no computer or video games and I want him to sleep as much as possible.

The hunt for a dress is not an easy one. I am in plus sizes and it is very difficult to find something in a nice pastel, spring color that is a plus size. Black seems to be the most popular color and I definitely don't want to wear black to my daughter's wedding! So the search continues. I ordered a dress in the Spring Sears Catalogue, but I have no idea if it will look okay on me until I can try it on.

Easter is coming up so fast and I am planning on having my parents for Easter dinner on Sunday. I plan to make a turkey with all the fixings. I still have to decorate eggs and the house in easter decor.

Have a good day!

Scrapbooking Frenzy

It's been so great to get back to the scrapbooking once again. So much I want to do, but not enough hours in a day. These are inspired by Creative Scrappers Sketches 2, 3 and 4. Thanks for looking. I'm on a roll now!

A Baby Boy!

Some friends of mine from our church just had their eighth child. A baby boy! They are a wonderful family and they are the type of people that continue to amaze and fascinate me.

I love them. They are always so kind and Spencer picks up Clayton every Monday for Conquest, which is a church group for boys aged 5-11. Rick goes when he is home.

I can't help but want to help this family. They are so sweet and soft spoken. At church they are all so well behaved and scrubbed looking.

I recently went through Clayton's clothes and decided to give them all his recently outgrown clothes, jackets and shoes. I'm sure they could use all the help they can get!

I better get busy and bake some casseroles for them.

Hands On Photography

I love doing photography challenges. It has just been in the last 3 months since I have put my camera on the creative zone settings and I am having a blast!

Photography is practice, practice, practice. I entered the challenge back in January and they drew my name for the prize. It was a paper pack for travel, which was fitting as I was going to the Dominican Republic for vacation.

This month it is front lighting and side lighting.

These photos were taken from my kitchen eating area at about 10:00 a.m. The first one is front lighting with the sun shining in. It was taken on AV, White Balance Sunny, ISO 100 F4.5 at 1/40 second.

The second photo the light was coming in from the side. It was taken on AV, White Balance Sunny, ISO 100 F4.5 at 1/100 second.

Now to get outside and take some shots...

A Nice Sunday

I always try to make Sunday a day of rest. I don't know if I can totally rest because meals still have to be made! I usually make a big breakfast on Sundays as we usually sleep in and then go to church on Sunday evenings.

Today my oldest son phoned and it was so nice to talk to him for over an hour. I often thought that when children grow up they don't really need their parents, but I was wrong. They need someone to listen to them, they need encouragement, and they need moral support. I love to watch how my son, who is 25 and my daughter, who is 22 are dealing with adulthood. I am happy to say that they are doing quite well. It is so cool to watch them buy a house and cook meals and be responsible citizens. It makes me feel that parenthood is rewarding!

Clay's Fedora

I just completed a layout on my son's fedora hat that he bought in the Dominican Republic. He has had so much fun wearing his hat. They had a hat day at school recently and he was proud to wear it. It looks so good on him.

A website named Creative Scrappers has inspired me with all their sketches and this one is my take on Sketch #1.

Another Day

Well it is Saturday and it really feels like spring is in the air today. I have some windows open and am thinking about all the tasks I want to accomplish this spring. There is purging and organizing and cleaning and raking and getting ready for a garage sale.

Rick has just left to go back to work and I am sad but I will try and keep busy. He most likely won't be home for a few weeks as there is a shutdown in the mine and he will have to work a lot of days. I am sad, but thankful at the same time that he has plenty of work.

Clayton, Rick and I have been going for some good, long, bike rides and I look forward to many more with Clayton. Thanks to Rick for putting gel seat on both of our bikes. It is so hard on the butt to have the original seats! Yikes!

Easter is next week and I plan on having my folks over for dinner so the turkey is bought and I plan on coloring some easter eggs and trying some new embellishing on them. I have some fun ideas that I would like to try and I'll keep you posted.

Not much else is new. Have an awesome Saturday!

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Lisa is a friend of mine. She is the sweetest girl and it is her 32nd birthday today. Yes, she is a busy lady with 5 kids, but she is selfless and finds the time to always be thinking about and helping others. She is going on a well deserved trip to have some "me time". I hope she has a very restful, awesome time because she truly deserves it. Happy birthday Lisa!

Going For A Drive

When Rick is home, one of our favorite things to do is go for a drive out to the foothills or mountains and take photos.


I was on a mission to take photos of hints that spring has arrived. I just love all new beginnings that spring has in store. We captured these calves and thought how cute they were.




We then went for lunch to Marv's Cafe in Black Diamond. It is full of nostalgia. The owner comes around to tables with his guitar and sings an Elvis tune. They have the best milkshakes! We looked at all the candy jars and remembered the old jawbreakers and mojos. It was fun.











When we got home, I noticed the tulips starting to peek through the soil.


I have been waiting for my new camera strap and lens cozies to come in the mail. There is this online store named My Camera Couture. They make handmade camera straps and lens cozies that are too cute. My original strap from Canon was worn out.

On A Happier Note

I was inspired by a sketch I saw today on Creative Scrappers and dropped all my housework and sat down to make this layout. I wanted to make it "tropical" looking. It is out of my creative "comfort zone" and that's what I need. I get in such a rut with my linear style of scrapbooking. Clayton and Rick always take good photos and they were so happy in this photo.

Malaria Medicine

This malaria medicine is for the birds. Rick, Clayton and I have to take it for one more week and then we are done! It has been a six week stint of taking it every Sunday. Two weeks before we went to the Dominican Republic and four weeks after. Clayton has to take a liquid form of Chloroquine and Rick and I take a tablet form. It is terrible tasting and Clayton just hates it. It upsets his stomach and he has had a lot of vomiting with it. My stomach is always upset, but no vomiting. I am thinking the alternative of getting malaria is not so good. We have secretly wanted to discontinue taking the medicine, but know it isn't a good idea. Dr. Coetzee urges us to stick with it one more week. I'm hoping I don't have to take it again when I go on the cruise in November. I think that is the downside of travelling abroad.

The good side of travelling is that it has made me become aware of how each country is so different and how lucky I am to live in a country such as Canada. Once a person leaves the beautiful resorts, it is sad to see how poor and unsanitary some countries are. The Dominican Republic was my first adventure to somewhere tropical and although I loved it, I couldn't help but think how thankful I am to live in a nice neighborhood with clean water and good living conditions.

Some Pages

Today is the first full day of spring and I feel happy to be able to create some layouts. Here is what I have done this week.

I have a lot of photos to scrap of our recent trip to Punta Cana and I love this one of Clay and I as we really don't have a lot of photos of the two of us. I'm usually the one taking the photos!

Last weekend Rick, Clay and I went to a car show and enjoyed taking photos of all the colorful pieces of art. This 2010 Camaro was Rick's pick.

Well spring is in the air and I saw two robins on my neighbor's rooftop this week. A sure sign that spring has sprung. Now I have to get outside and get motivated to do some walking....

On A New Journey

Life is so exciting isn't it? I am loving life lately.

I recently got back from an all-inclusive vacation for one week to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It was my first real tropical vacation and now I'm hooked. I have the travel bug now. I have booked a cruise with Allison Orthner and friends. It's Crop and Cruise 2010 and it's this November. It's a one week cruise from Galveston, Texas to Montego Bay Jamaica, Grand Caymans Cayman Islands and Cozumel Mexico. It's going to be so much fun! It is motivating me to save some money by having a garage sale, which I am really needing to do as I was going to do it last year.

Scrapbooking has been my hobby for the last 8 years or so and now that I have completed my Anatomy and Physiology Course, I am ready to get back at it. I have missed it and have missed the creative outlet. It is such good therapy.

Recently, photography has been my passion. It has been so great while I was studying. There is so much beautiful scenery near where I live that it was so nice to take a drive to get out of the house and take some photos. My 10-22mm lens has been so much fun.

Life is good and life is fun right now. I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family and life.