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The Beckoning Of Lovely

This is so beautiful and, well, lovely I had to post.  I want to participate in this somehow.

Peace,
J

Long Weekend Goodness

I hope you had a wonderful long weekend, getting the chance to spend Family Day with your loved ones.  I had a really great, relaxing weekend and I'm all ready to go back to work tomorrow, fully charged!

My long weekend Top 10:

1.  Ali's Weekend Creative challenge.  I did the little collage from last weekend's post - it turned out really cute.  Now I just have to decide if it stays at home or goes in my new office?

Excuse the poor photography - I suffer from a lack of natural light in my house...

2.  Sunshine.  We had beautiful, gorgeous sunny days - especially today.  I think i've come down with Spring Fever!

3.  Jamie at Home.  Two new episodes this weekend (because I missed last week).  I LOVE this show.  It makes me happy.  I want him to come to my house and cook for me.  Better yet, I want to visit his house in Bath and have him cook for me.  Anyone know how I can arrange this?  I'll be buying his new book, once it becomes available.   

4.  New scrapbooking goodies, arrived from 2Peas.  More great Making Memories stuff, including the adorable journaling books.  Lots of cute little spring-y things, like Maya Road chipboard and microfelt birds.  Can't wait to play with it!

5.  This post by Pioneer Woman.  She is my favourite blogger in the whole wide world, and I read a lot of blogs.  I've already tried a couple of her recipes (the pot roast is to die for!) and her photography and writing style are out of this world!  Anyway, her latest post had me in tears.  I think we sometimes forget how important the role of fathers are in the family - so much is focused on the mother in the raising of children.  I am so grateful for my amazing father.  He has quietly and in a very unassuming way been the patriarch of our family, treated my mother with love and respect, rarely raised his voice (though his whistle is earsplitting), worked hard to provide for his family, and taught his children by a loving and fun-loving example.  I could go on for hours (and I think this is definitely worth another post), but I was certainly touched by Ree's words and hope you are, too.

6.  This product:

Actually, all of the Bath and Body Works products are wonderful, but I am IN LOVE with this scent.  I have the antibacterial hand lotion, the body cream (SO nice), the body lotion (my favourite), the hand soap, and the shower gel.  You can find it all here. A word of warning... the shower gel is a lot stronger than the lotion, and doesn't smell as sweet - it is definitely more woodsy and musky than the lotions.  I definitely have to be in the mood for it to use it (I usually use the Dove Cool Moisture body wash when I need a morning pick-me-up).

7.  This Movie:

I saw it today with Trish's family.  Finally.  I absolutely LOVED it.  Funny, charming, completely enchanting.  Amy Adams is so completely believable in it - her performance makes the movie.  Makes me glad Disney decided not to do away with 2D animation.  Go see it, or buy it on DVD (I think it will be released in March).  You won't regret it! Your whole family will enjoy it!

8.  I know I've mentioned it before, but the complete Jane Austen series on PBS....  I am such a huge fan of all things Austen... and no one does Austen better than A&E and the BBC.  Right now, my favourite, Pride & Prejudice, is airing - the final part next week.  Of course, I have the DVD's, so I'll probably skip ahead and watch the ending tonight.  And for those of you unfamiliar with P&P, this is the version you want to watch first, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.  It is the best by far. 

Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy... SIGH....

My second recommendation is the newest adaptation of Persuasion.  I love the story of love lost and found, and it is beautifully done.

9. Having an extra day off... did I mention this?  Or how about staying up late and sleeping in?  All very, very good things. 

10.  This song.  Now, hear me out - I am admitting right now that I love Richard Marx.  I don't particularly love his hair, especially in this video (although HOW does he get such volume?).  I was playing around in iTunes late last night and came across this album, and this song.  Makes me feel all nostalgic and warm and fuzzy. 

Thanks, Richard!

Peace,

J.

break's over

My break from blogging, that is.  I got a little lazy over the holidays, and quite honestly haven't had that much to blog about so I took a break.  Now I have quite a list going of things I want to blog about so it's time to stop procrastinating and get going.

First of all, Happy New Year!  Don't you just love a fresh, new year?  I do.  I tend to make resolutions - sometimes I keep them, sometimes I don't.  This year I'm resolving to do two things.  Get healthier (who doesn't resolve to do this?) and also, work on my spiritual health as well.  I hardly know what happened to the last year - I feel like I was just coasting over the surface of my life and not really taking any deep, inward looks.  Scary thing, that.  So that is my twofold resolution.  Physical and spiritual health.  I'll let you know how it's going...

A few random things from the past month:

1.  I have a new niece!  That makes 10 nephews and five nieces... Welcome little Judith Anne (Annie), I can't wait to meet you!

2.  Happy Birthday to Mom and Kristin!

3.  New music.  Natasha Bedingfield's new album is so bright and perky - makes me happy!

4.  Movies: I just saw Juno last night - AMAZING movie.  So great, now one of my all time favorites!  Solid acting from everyone in the cast.  I can't recommend it enough.  Also, a little gem, called Once.  I loved this movie and the music.  I've been listening to the soundtrack over and over.  Definitely worth your time!  I've also been watching (and this is because of the writer's strike) some of my old favorites - right now I'm watching the Star Wars Trilogy (watched The Empire Strikes Back - the best one, IMHO, this morning).  I've been watching TV on DVD, too - Family Ties seasons 1 and 2.  I loved this show as a kid, and I think even more so, now.  Still have a huge crush on Alex P. Keaton.  ;o)  Oh, and I'm enjoying Masterpiece Theatre's month of Jane Austen. 

5.  I also thought I might take the photo a day challenge - I started out okay and did so for a couple of weeks, then decided that there are only so many photos of me and my physical surroundings that I wanted to see, much less someone else.  So if I take a photo a week of something really cool, important, whatever I'll be happy with that.  Here's one of the first few, though:

My messy scrap room... so bad.  Maybe I should have resolved to clean this.  I spend a great deal of time in this room, on the computer, or scrapbooking, etc.  Things that are way more fun to do than clean!  I took photos over Christmas but haven't had a chance to do any editing - I have a new computer monitor and it isn't as compatible with my old computer so everything is a bit stretched.  Guess who will be getting a new computer this year?

6.  Kim.  My dear friend, and cousin, who died 5 years ago this July.  It was her 35th birthday, yesterday.  For the first time since her death, I haven't been completely depressed on this day.  I don't know if I'll ever stop missing her - but I know that I'll see her again - and that she wouldn't want me to be angry or sad any more.  So I'll celebrate her life, instead.  She was such a wonderful, warm, kind, giving person.  And so much fun... we used to laugh so much, over the dumbest things.  She knew me so well, better than most - I believe we were truly kindred spirits.  Love you, Kimmie!

7. Blogs.  I have a new favorite blog.  Go here.  Read it.  Laugh hysterically, as I do.  Make her food.  I'm making the pot roast today.  Enjoy her photos.  She's amazing.  Read up on how she met her "Marlboro Man".  Better than any romance novel out there.  Truly, reading her blog is one of the highlights of my day.

With that, I'm off to get the roast in the oven.  Have a wonderful day!

Peace,

J.

      

This just in...

I happened across a blog, which led me to another blog, which led me to a shop at Etsy, called belleandboo.  This is where Mandy sells her beautiful, whimsical, absolutely charming children's illustrations, which I can't resist.  I just purchased two:

Aren't they adorable?  One is a gift for my niece, the other (tree hugger) will go in my craft space.  If you've never shopped at Etsy, I highly recommend it.  There's something so cool about handmade things.  Someone said that making handmade gifts promotes thoughtfulness (I think it was Kelly McCaleb) and I totally agree.

So if you ever receive a handmade gift from me, it's because I'm thinking of you.  In a good way, of course.  ;0)

See you tomorrow for Meme Friday!

Peace,

J.

It's almost over...

Long gone are the days of green lawns, hot days, and vacation time (boo!).  Welcome to the dog days of summer - to our drought ridden little piece of the world, where green grass is but a memory.  Welcome to back to school and work - the summer has gone too fast!

But look at the fun we had... just a few of the hundreds of photos I took over the past five months (I had better get scrapping!)

1. watertontshighkey, 2. IMG_8515, 3. IMG_8504, 4. IMG_8498, 5. IMG_8489, 6. IMG_8472, 7. IMG_8465, 8. IMG_8455, 9. IMG_8454, 10. IMG_8404, 11. IMG_8350, 12. IMG_8335, 13. IMG_8214, 14. IMG_8210, 15. IMG_8209, 16. IMG_8099, 17. IMG_8097, 18. IMG_8084, 19. IMG_8040, 20. IMG_8032, 21. IMG_8017, 22. IMG_8013, 23. IMG_7985, 24. emeraldbayshoreline, 25. _MG_7633

One more day of vacation left.  One. More. Day.

Hope your summer was AWESOME!

Peace,

J

Cool

Perhaps one of the coolest YouTube videos, EVER.

Smile

This is just what I needed... great song, and the video made me laugh.  Enjoy!

A Good Cause

I had hesitated in posting this, just because Canadians were not able to donate.  But now we can... and there's only one day left!  Ali Edwards, scrapbooker extraordinaire, is raising money for Autism Speaks, in honour of her son.  The concept, powered by sixdegrees.org, is so cool - create a badge, set up a charity, and start getting donations.  The top six badges (in number of donations, not donation amount) will get a matching donation from Kevin Bacon, for up to $10,000.00.  Head on over to the Six Degrees website for more information.  Lots more information over on Ali's blog, too. 

So, if you have an extra 10 bucks (or more!), please consider making a donation to Autism Speaks.    The response to this has been nothing short of miraculous. Truly amazing.  And while you're over at Ali's, make sure you watch the video of her little guy, Simon, singing.  Super cute.

Because really, it's all for the kids, right?

Peace,

J

Family Day

In Canada, specifically Alberta, we have a Family Day holiday - the third Monday in February.   And in honour of this day, I spent it at home, alone, cleaning.

Sounds sad, doesn't it? 

Actually, having an extra day off work, that is NOT a sick day, where no family activities are planned, has been incredibly nice.  The fruits of my labors?  Laundry - done.  Floor - clean and mopped.  Bed - made.  Workspace (including desk) - CLEAN (this is a big one).  I love being in a clean space.  Of course, in the midst of all this I found about ten things that need to be organized and tidied as well, but that's for another day. 

I did connect with family yesterday - my Grandma, aunt, cousin, and her baby came to visit, along with Trish and Chris and their families.  Went to church, and when we got home we sat around the kitchen table and read/listened to/looked at a book my aunt compiled of memories and photos of their childhood home.  It was really awesome.  She's awesome.  I'm totally amazed at her dedication and passion to preserving our family's history.  Of course, I mentioned that what she was doing was scrapbooking - my mom said that no, she was archiving family history.  Um yeah.  Scrapbooking.  Stories and photos.  In page protectors in a binder.  Scrapbooking. :)

I have to share a of picture from yesterday.  (Sarah - if you're reading - I'll email you some photos once I get the post processing done).  Her little boy is ADORABLE.  A seriously gorgeous little guy.  (of course, I think my nieces and nephews are the cutest kids in the world, but I think I'll add my little first-cousin-once-removed to that category, too).

Just to prove it:

Five really great things about this weekend:

1.  Great photo opportunites (cute subjects!) See above. :0)

2.  Layered food - for some reason Lasagna and Death by Chocolate (a chocolate trifle) were on the menu for dinner yesterday.  Both were really good (and even better with leftovers for dinner today).

3.  Getting things clean and tidy and organized.  The goal is to get the scrap/media/computer room organized to the point where I can photograph it.  And work in it.  Currently there are a lot of CDs in stacks on my table and shelves, as I'm trying to put them all on my computer.  A few at a time.  I've only got a couple hundred more to go.  Yikes!

4.  TV - Amazing Race last night.  Heroes tonight.  And only three more days to Grey's Anatomy!

5.  Spending time with loved ones.  There is nothing better.

Hope you had a good holiday weekend, too!

Peace,

J.