My Flashback Friday lo. Click link for credits.

QOTD: "The greatest thing about being an artist, is that no one can tell you you're not".~Unknown

Christmas Chaos! I love Christmas, I really do. It's my favourite holiday, but I always seem to be so rushed and overwhelmed this time of year, that I begin to hate it! I don't want to hate it! I just have to stop taking on so much, or start earlier. I get a bit done and start to feel complacent and then it creeps up and I start to feel rushed. Breathe......just Breathe.....

It wasn't bad last year b/c we went to FL with the in-laws and I didn't decorate or put up Christmas lights and most of my shopping I did on-line and had it shipped, but the kids hated that we didn't decorate for Christmas, or have a tree and frankly, so did I.

I think b/c Kristi and Wells and Donovan are coming and they will be here early, I am a little more stressed than usual. I am soooo glad they are coming, but more people to buy for (we are doing a gift exchange at mom's) and they are staying here, so R has taken to doing major projects before Christmas!! I love this man with all my heart, but he always seems to decide that he doesn't "like" something in the house and it needs to be changed, 3 weeks before Christmas.

So he has taken to renovating the downstairs bathroom and painting the rec room. He is also putting up shelves in the cold room and above the freezer for storage. I LOVE that this man is handy! and that he starts things and gets them done, I just wish he'd pick another time, other than the Christmas rush!

I also hurt my shoulder a week ago, (I have no idea what I did, but I couldn't MOVE it for 3 days and was at the Dr. for anti-inflammatories and pain killers and then the Chiro for acupuncture. It was the first time I had that and weird sensation, but made me feel better fast! The arm is still sore, but feeling much better!

So I am going to try to keep up with the blog regularly instead of having verbal diarrhea everytime I get on here. There are alot of courses I wanted to take, about journaling your Christmas, just to document the journey during the month of December, but with the amount of stuff going on, I am going to pass, (I don't need more to stress me out) but I thought it would be a good time, b/c Kristi and Wells are coming, so I will try to keep up on my blog, instead of trying to scrapbook it all, just with a few lines and a photo or two. Wish me luck!!

Oh I have also been nominated for the Creative Blogger Award, and I will have to address that some other time, when I have more time! A big thank you to Debi!! but it is one of those things that requires some time and links, (which I have to review) so I'll get to it, but thanks Debi, you're so sweet!

I'm sharing a lo I did for my Flashback Friday group, (we have challenges every Friday to scrap photos from the past, especially about ourselves and our memories) to make sure we are included in those books we so easily do about other people, but rarely about ourselves. It was a Christmas memory and b/c I don't have any Christmas photos scanned, I did one of my artwork. My drawing hasn't gotten any better, but my artistic passion still there!

Started....finally

I started my Christmas shopping. Finally! (and a little shopping for myself too, of course) I went with Wendy and her girlfriend Jana and we had a nice day and very productive! We went to the Walden Galleria mall and Target, (said with a very French accent) =] in Buffalo.

The border guard on the way down wanted to know where we were headed and when we told him, he said "of course you are, 3 women in a car, where else would you be going?" "Either Las Vegas, or the Walden Galleria." We got a chuckle out of him.

We had a nice lunch at TGI Fridays, I love their pecan crusted chicken salad, yummm and Wendy and I split a Thai chicken wrap that was just heavenly. Of course I saw waaay too much that I wanted in the stores, and I found a new (to me) store Lord and Taylor, wow, I was in my glory!! Esp if you need a dress to go anywhere nice! I could have spent thousands in that store, but I restrained knowing I had to cross the border, and I don't really need a new one this year.

Before I left, I asked the boys to give me ideas of what they would like for Christmas. Well all my little bookworm Harrison asked for was books, surprised, no....happy and so very proud, yes.... He is like his mommy in so many ways, I love to read too, (although not as much time to do it, as I would like these days) I spend too much time blogging and scrapping and peaing..... only so many hours in a day....sigh...

I love that he LOVES to read, so doesn't bother me a bit that he wants books, but I'll have to come up with something else as well for Christmas..... Carson on the other hand, wants everything he sees and asked for more Lego. He does play with it, but we have sooo much....I'm sure mommy will cave....gotta get them what they want.

So on the way home, we were so sure that we were going to get pulled over and have to pay duty, but we got another humorous guard on the way home, boy did we luck out today, (so many times they are just stuffy with no sense of humour and on a power trip), but this guy wanted to know where we lived, what we did for a living and what we bought and how much we spent on toys for the kids! He sat and chatted us up for quite some time, and I'm sure the people behind us thought we were going to be pulled over, but he was just friendly and it must be a boring job if you don't make it fun. We were all over the limit, but he didn't bother us at all, just wanted to know if we had alcohol or cigarettes and just told us to have a good night.

Ironically, don't I run into Shilpa (Owen's mom) and the family at Walden Galleria, and she said she had run into Joanne (Georgia's mom) earlier that day! Too funny.

/>Since I am having issues downloading some photos of the Santa Claus Parade on Sun., I thought I'd share a digi page I did a couple of weeks ago. A family bike ride along the Niagara Parkway trail. (Click on page for credits)

Full Plate

Can you say too much on your plate..... yeah that's me, but I do work better under pressure. Although sometimes it keeps me up at night (and I don't sleep well as it is), never have, never will. R always says that I don't sleep, I just close my eyes, so it's a good thing I work for a dentist, because between the teeth grinding and clenching, I soon may not have any left.

I have joined a class to help me with sprucing up my blog...OK, you can say it, I haven't had much time to look at the classes, but I will get to it! Hey I just learned how to put a link on here, gimme a break. BTW thanks Nancy for your help!

I also joined another class on another one of my favourite websites, Jessica Sprague's website Grow your skills about documenting the holidays. It is supposed to be fun and stress free, but that is still to be determined. On top of that I also threw my name into the hat for a CT spot on my absolute favourite place on the web, 2peasinabucket, but a lot of very talented girls applied for that, so I'm not really expecting then to be knocking down my door, but a girl can always hope.

Anyway these classes are supposed to be stress free, but I guess that will depend on what else I throw onto my plate.....

QOTD: I read somewhere that the typical symptoms of stress are overeating, impulse buying and driving too fast,...are they kidding? That's my idea of the perfect day! =]

Full Plate

Can you say, too much on your plate?.... yeah well that's just me! I do it all the time, but I work better under pressure, although sometimes it keeps me up at night too. It's a good thing I work for a dentist, because I clench and grind my teeth and if I keep this up, I won't have any left.

I have joined a class to spruce up my blog, as you can see I haven't had much time to go through the classes yet.... and then I joined another class on another one of my favourite sites

Here Comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane....

I remember as a little girl going into Toronto on the GO train with my great aunt Marg to see the window displays at Eatons and Simpson Sears, along Yonge St., at Christmas time, it was just so magical! I didn't care that we didn't buy anything, I could have just stood there for hours watching the elaborate holiday displays, with the bright colours and animated moving figures, in window after window. I never did see the Santa Claus Parade IRL as a child, but we would always watch it on T.V. from home, as a family, but it was something I really wanted my kids to be a part of, the 105 year old tradition.

So we took the kids to the Santa Claus parade in Toronto today, and it was certainly a great day to go. The weather co-operated, and although it was overcast, it was supposed to be about 13 degrees, (not sure what it made it up to, but it was probably pretty close to that) which made for a pleasant day. A few weeks after I first met R, he was taking his boys down and asked me to join them, and it was freezing cold that day and not enjoyable at all!

Of course Carson whined and said he didn't want to go (as he does with everything?) sometimes I wonder why we bother? Are our kids just too spoiled because we take them everywhere, maybe its just not special anymore?, anyway we made him go and he had a good time despite himself. The boys liked traveling on the GO train and are always in awe of the size of the buildings in the city.

Mom met us at Union Station and we didn't have to walk too far to get a good seat, (we found a place around Yonge and Adelaide, although we waited about an hour and a half before the parade finally started. Carson's DS kept him busy for the wait, while mom and I and Harrison, all walked up as far as Queen St. to see if any of the stores had their windows decorated. We were really disappointed to see that none of the stores did and I'm not even sure if they do that anymore now that Eaton's is no longer. It is such a shame and I am really sad that my children will never get to experience that!

Well we all enjoyed the parade and everyone agreed that they were glad we went, but mom and I thought the floats weren't as good as we remembered......was it that, or is it the truth, that you just can't go back?......

QOTD: Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again. ~WILLA CATHER

QOTD: (Quote of the Day) Thought I'd share the quote on my lo. I am a quote junkie! So maybe I'll make it a regular thing.

You rose into my life like a promised sunrise, brightening my days with the light in your eyes~ Maya Angelou

Harrison~ Myrtle Beach at sunrise this summer

RHB

It stands for "Real Human Beings". I went to a seminar last night with Dave Howlett, founder of RHB, and came away with lots to think about. The premise was to be aware of who you are and to try to be a better person. It was primarily a work seminar, how to build a better business, by being a better person, but it was also about being a better person in all aspects of your life. I really enjoyed the seminar and it really gave you something to think about. It was great to network with some dentists and their staff, in the area, esp being in the market for a job. I am definitely going to recommend this seminar to hubby and other business professionals for their staff.

Anyway, it's been a crazy week, so I am looking forward to a quiet weekend. Thought I'd share a digi lo that I did last week. I have been dabbling in digi and having so much fun.

Carpe diem

All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl!! All work and no play makes Jane..... yeah, well you get the point. I have been working waaay too many hours this week, filling in for a girl who's on holidays and haven't had time for anything else like scrapping, keeping up with my blogging course, or even peaing! (my favourite website 2 peas in a bucket.com and it's killing me! (and so are the 4:30am mornings!) Anyway I have an interview tomorrow, and I need to get to bed, wish me luck!! I really, really want this! Putting some karma out there....

Photo was taken in Virginia on our way home from Myrtle Beach in August. Just a reminder they are growing up!

It was a gorgeous warm day for November, and because we were all indoors all day yesterday and it was a beautiful day too, I wanted to get outside and enjoy this one day of the week we have together and do something with the family. I thought we could go rollerblading on the lake trail and the kids could ride their bikes, (b/c even though they wanted rollerblades sooo bad, it's too much work! and can't keep up with us, so they'd rather ride their bikes). R said he wanted to paint the cabinet doors first then we would do something. Well he went out and puttered with the hot tub, then with something else and then something else again.By the time R had finished everything, it was mid afternoon and the boys were interested in a computer game.

So R suggested geocaching, (that usually can get them out, by saying we are going treasure hunting), but then he couldn't get the GPS to work, and by this time it was almost 3:00! Well I was just pissed, we had wasted another beautiful day inside, and we are definitely not going to get any more of those again before the snow flies! So I got angry and kicked the boys outside, to get some fresh air. I asked Harrison if he wanted to go for a bike ride with me, (as Carson didn't want to go) and he said no, couldn't he and Carson go for a bike ride by themselves. :( .... and so it begins! I decided instead of sulking in the house, I would go for a walk by myself and burn off some energy and anger.

It always does me good to get out and exercise, even though I procrastinate alot of the time, I really enjoy it and love the benefits. Well while I was walking I got to thinking that the reason I got so angry is b/c the boys are getting older now and it won't be long before they don't want to be around us anymore, that their friends are going to be more important and that makes me very sad! It is such a small window of opportunity with children before they spread their wings and fly and don't need us anymore.

Now don't get me wrong, b/c I really do enjoy my "me" time, but I know that very soon my boys are going to be off and running and I am going to have more free time than I want, it just reminds me of the Harry Chapin song "Cats in the Cradle". and I want to spend as much time with them when they are young as I can. So we didn't have the family day I had envisioned, but at least my hubby got that pile of dirt out of my driveway that has been a thorn in my side since the Spring, so I guess all was not lost!

So it's been forever since I posted on my blog, but I am going to rectify this. I am taking a course in how to revamp a blog and hopefully I can get through all the techno gargon and end up with something I like and will hopefully be somewhat diligent about keeping up to date. But the main reason is to do some documenting, sharing, remembering, so that I can look back in the future and remember the day to day stuff, the big and the mundane stuff, (since I haven't been journaling in the traditional way in forever).

This is also a way to share with family and friends, the happenings of our somewhat boring life, but hey, that's us and I'm somewhat OK with that....... OK, folks let's be honest, this is really so I can look back and remember what the hey I did last week, because my mind is seriously like a sieve and I think early Alzheimer's is setting in! :P SERIOUSLY!!

It's also a way to combine my passions, photography, scrapbooking, and writing, yeah I said it out loud, writing. I used to love to write when I was a kid, stories, and make believe and even a diary (that was short lived because of all the prying eyes in our household) but when I started scrapbooking that was the one thing I found the hardest for me to do!??...... But after a few years I realized that was one of the key elements that drew me into a great SBing page, was the journaling and stories, and I came to the conclusion that; that is what I want my to leave my family with, is the stories. I am not the best or funniest writer, but I do have lots to say, (R will atest to that), yeah my hubby finds it really hard to believe that I was once painfully shy and talked very little....ha ha....honestly!!!....anyway if nothing else I hope to take a few of my ramblings and just add them to my scrapbook pages, and the boys will have little peeks into our/their everyday childhoods/lives. Maybe they will appreciate it, maybe not, but what I wouldn't give to have a little piece of history like this from one of my parents or grandparents!

I'll start with yesterday, since I have done diddley squat today, and I had a great day yesterday.

It started early with being at the kids school for 7:30, the Parent Council, (PTA) of which I am the secretary, put on a Marketplace, (craftshow) as a fundraiser and even though the traffic through the school wasn't the greatest, (not sure if it was the scare of the H1N1 that has everyone paranoid) or just the economy, but despite that, the council made a respectable amount and we were happy. It was a productive day and the boys got to hang around the house and play on the computer or watch T.V., pretty much do what they wanted, as R was working, so they were happy.

Jason (Jay as he likes to be referred to as now) looked after the boys for us and we went to a dinner party at some University buddies of R's. It was a great night! Some wonderful food, (we cooked our own dinner) some great conversation and laughs, and even though I was the only one of out the 12 that didn't go to University with this crowd, I certainly didn't feel out of place! Yes, I said we cooked our own dinner! it was so much fun. They had the cutest little gadets set up in the middle of the table that looked like little grills with burners underneath (the kind like the ones on our fondue set) and we each had a little frying pan and spatula and dozens of sauces. Heather (and Joe, not sure how much he helped, but if he's anything like my hubby, he does half the work, at least when we are entertaining!) had cut up veggies and meat and seafood and we cooked our own meal and put it over rice. They had 3 tables in a row, running down the middle of the family room, so we just passed things from table to table and it was such a nice way to spend an evening, while the hostess didn't have to spend the whole night in the kitchen! R & I sat with Irene and Mo, and her and I had a great conversation and realized we have alot in common. We talked about the book club she started with a girlfriend 12 years ago and said she would let me know when they were getting together next when I expressed an interest in being in a book club. It was funny listening to them call R "tard" his old high school nickname. Supposedly, that came from Richard..."Reeshard"...."chard"....."tard".... OK I don't really get it either, it's obviously a guy thing. All in all it was a wonderful night and we talked on the way home about how it's our turn soon to host something....

Anyway catch ya later,