Scrappy Work

Summer is always so busy. All of my posts have said as much, but I feel like I may be catching up and slowing down a little. Cross your fingers.

Here's a little something I was playing with a while ago: creating photo boxes.

Sometimes, it's nice to have something nicer than a Costco envelope to bring out when people want to see your pictures before they're scrapped, which makes these little boxes great. I usually take more pictures than I can use, so I like to have something to store the extra photos, ticket stubs, and so forth that I gather.

I made a photo box for two friends who were getting married and one for myself for our Europe travel pictures. I figured these were both occasions where you would have lots of photos and keepsakes.

I got two of these boxes from Micheals for a buck a piece. To be honest, they're kinda cute recipe boxes even before you decorate them, but I wanted to make them a little more fitting for special occasion photos.



The first is the one I made for the newlyweds.



This is the one I made for our travel pictures. I'm really loving the new Bo Bunny stuff. Everything they come out with, from rub-ons to stickers to their newer paper lines are really fun. I used their rub-ons and stickers on this.





Hopefully, I get some more scrappin' time in this week while it's rainy. Hope you all are getting some crafty time for yourselves.

What I've Been Up To....

Wow, catch up time!

Now, I know I've said we've been busy, but man, it's hard to get anything done in the summer!

Here's a few pictures to go with the hurried messages I've been posting:

Brad and I playing ball (photo taken by our youngest cheerleader, Anna).



Kylee and Blair's beautiful wedding in Kelowna:









doves... are you kidding me?
Such a beautiful wedding and a great weekend!

And we've had company and we've got more coming, but I'll try to keep you posted on what's happening out here.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Busy, Busy June!

Wow! Summer is always so busy, but this month has been crazy!

I can't believe June is nearly over all ready... where does the time go? Oh yes, it goes into all of the crazy things we try to pack into our lives.

This month, we've traveled all over BC and Alberta with work, birthdays, family get-togethers, ball games, stagettes, funerals and weddings. We've been to Kelowna, Crossfield, Hanna, Lethbridge three times (and I have to go again Friday), and back and forth between Banff and Lake Louise. Whew!

So, now we're at home (for a few days) and I need to catch up on my sleep and my blogging and scrapbooking and mountain biking and gardening and.... grrr housework.

I'll try to unload all the pictures from my camera later to give you a glimpse into what we've been up to. Hope you're enjoying your summers!

Words of Wisdom from Maya Angelou

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....

a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ......

a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family..

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to fall in love without losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over....

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .

whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming Inn in the woods... when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

What she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month....and a year...

Happy 80th Grampa!

Another busy weekend, following a busy week... sometimes in the summer it seems like you don't have time for anything, because there's so much going on. You just have to get from wedding to shower to reunion and back to work without forgetting anything!

While it's busy, we are having fun. We had a great weekend with my family, celebrating my grampa's 80th birthday! His actual birthday was in January, but we thought we'd celebrate when it was nicer.... Yep, so of course, it's been raining for the last two weeks. It's not perfect, but the farmers in the family were happy. They didn't have to be worrying about what they should be doing, so they could just enjoy.

We had a fun family get together Saturday night, which was so great. We had a big potluck and played pool and visited. Then on Sunday, we had an afternoon tea type party and sooo many people showed up! I would guess about 250 people showed up! Really goes to show how great he is and how lucky we are.

Plus, we had almost the entire family together for a family photo, which was fabulous. It rarely happens now that we're all spread out.



Good looking family, eh?!

Thanks Aimee for the tip on finding Greys, I'll check it out.

Waterslide fun!

Busy. Busy. Busy.

I spent last weekend in Hanna for a shower and stagette for my friend Kylee. Such a great time!

I got to visit with all the girls from high school and play some wild and crazy games, including a seriously funny photo treasure hunt. Too much fun. Plus, we had a great Pampered Chef shower. She got so much good stuff! Seriously, like a $1000 worth of great kitchen stuff. Lucky girl.

I ordered a little decorating icing gun.... should prove to be fun. Better than the cheapo bags I have been using (and easier to clean). Brad's totally getting a race car cake for his birthday :)

Seriously, who needs kids when you have such a crazy, goofy hubby? Want some proof? Here's some fun shots of Brad on the waterslide....









On a different note, I'm reading a great book called 3 Cups of Tea. You should definately check it out. Great story about perseverance and really helping people. So far, I love it. I love the idea, the dedication of Greg Mortenson and the simple approach to changing people's lives one village at a time. Very inspiring.

Here's a review:

“Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.” -Tom Brokaw

Lastly, I missed the season finale of Grey's Anatomy... Don't say anything!!!! Can anyone recommend a good site to download it from?

Trip to Lethbridge and Sunshine in the mountains

So, I promised pictures from the weekend and I've got a few good ones for you.

The group of us eating at Coco Pazzos, where they have really yummy food. Lots of pastas and delicious pizzas cooked in their stone oven.



and Brad and I... can you tell I was sitting by a hot tub before this?



And, since the sunshine has been avoiding Lake Louise, I thought I'd update you with a state of the garden report. I was just outside, and my radishes are poking up out of the ground! Not a huge feat for most, but in Lake Louise, little steps are pretty big in the gardening world.

And now, I just thought I'd share a little glimpse of summer hidden in my flowers....

Home again and cool video

We just got home from a great weekend of visiting, shopping, water slides, good food and good movies.... and no, we did not go camping. Lucky us, because it rained all week long! I don't melt in the rain, but that would not have been fun.

So, instead, the campers (my mom and dad, and brother and his wife, and Brad and I) went to Foremost to visit my sister-in-law's parents and had a great little visit and then we headed into Lethbridge for some shopping and a movie with my in-laws. Quite nice. I have some great action shots on the waterslide at the hotel I'll have to show you all.

Most of our group went and saw the new Indiana Jones, but I went to Made of Honour with a few others..... I know, I know, Indy was supposed to be so great, but honestly, most of the people that went weren't too impressed, so I was okay hangin' out with McDreamy for a few hours. It was pretty good, just a light movie: cute and funny.

I love getting together with family and visiting. We're all so close and get along so well, it's just rare that we're all together. Very nice.

Then, when I got home, I saw a piece of the American Country Music Awards. Wow! I really like Taylor Swift. Great singer, seems really down to earth and fun, plus she writes all her own stuff and she's so young. Then I saw her perform. Probably one of the coolest performances at an awards show, ever. Course, I don't watch many award shows truth be told, but I loved this. It's not real long, but you should watch it all.



Does that not make you want to be a singer? I'm trying to think of a way that I could incorporate that little routine into my work.... somehow, I don't think it's gonna happen :)

Maybe at the next retreat, we can have rain pouring from the ceiling to dance in.... something to think about.

Things to check out...

Just thought I'd give you a heads up that Canadian Scrapbooker has a very cool new website and is launching a new magazine, Canadian Scrapbooker Basics. Lots of exciting things happening over there. Stop in and check it all out (including their cool contests) at www.canadianscrapbooker.com

Also, Luxe Designs is doing a ton of giveaways on their blog at the moment. Check it out and maybe you can take home some of their new product. I love the new jotters, personally. Can't wait to get my hands on them... not that I need more....

So, after a lovely short week of work, I'm heading off for the weekend on an adventure that has yet to be determined. We were supposed to go camping and hiking but the weather is not cooperating, so who knows where we'll end up, or what we'll do. Brad and I both have the weekend off, and so do all our fellow campers, so I'm sure fun will ensue. Whatever the weekend brings, I will take pictures and let you know how it turns out.

Enjoy the weekend!

Fresh Face and some inspiration

I love that my family is so creative. We have quilters, scrapbookers, painters, singers, musicians, actors, writers, wood workers, a little bit of everything. It makes life so interesting to be surrounded by such inspiring creativity.

My cousin Katelyn is a fantastic scrapbooker. I wish I had gotten started as early as she has. She's thirteen and is in scrapbooking 4-H. How cool is that? I raised steers and she gets to scrapbook... hummph....

Have a peak at some of her projects.





Cute paint can, eh? She cut out a bunch of little flowers and glued them to a bunny sketch that she drew and used brads for the eyes and nose.



This was two heart stamps that she inked with a cherry red ink and then added some red glitter.





This was an altoids tin that she covered with red and silver handmade paper and stamped on, with a fun little heart inside.



And lastly, a luggage tag that she stamped with purple ink and then spread silver glitter on top in fast up and down strokes.

Great, right?! Last time we scrapbooked together, she came up with this great little gift bag that could've been a wall hanging, it was so cool. All inky with wire bent into words... very cool.

Thanks Katelyn, for sending me some of your stuff to show.

Now, if that wasn't inspiration enough, here's a link to the Basic Grey May newsletter. I love their stuff, and this newsletter has some neat projects and ideas. Have a look and if you like it, it's pretty easy to sign up for, just visit the Basic Grey website.

Second Annual Girls Getaway

So, everyone knows it's hard to get together with your friends and spend some quality time catching up, right? Well, some girlfriends of mine from high school decided to remedy that last year, when we went on the first girls getaway. We packed up and headed to Kalispell, Montana for the weekend and visited, shopped, perused the town, and relaxed leaving our husbands, kids, jobs, school, and stresses behind.

Well, it was so fun, we've decided to make it an annual excursion. This year, we went to Great Falls. A little bigger, more stores (yikes), more nightlife, and just as much fun!

We piled into Sam's truck (actually, it's Sam's husband's businesses truck... remember that letter of permission from your husband next year, Sam.... crazy American border guy) and headed for the border.

Zandy's, a great little Peters-esque drive through. V. good fries and shakes, and it was like $3 for each of us.



The whole group, in our favourite resaurant in Great Falls, Jaker's.



We got a free dessert from Jaker's so we thought we'd split one between the five of us.... it was enormous! It could've been measured in pounds. It was literally a foot tall! This is what's left, after we all tried our hardest:



Crazy Americans... we thought this sign was too funny, and we just happened to have a pregnant lady along, so we threw her in the photo for good measure. Come on guys, why wouldn't you leave your kids here? Just like a coat check, your kid will be shoved in a closet and if you lose your ticket, you'll have to leave them overnight.



The truck loaded up on the way home. Yep, we resorted to tubs to store everything.



Excellent trip ladies! Can't wait for next year!

Sunday Special

Happy Mother's Day, again, to my fabulous moms!

Me and my ma, Maureen, hiking in Waterton:



And my mother-in-law, Gay, with me, before Brad and my wedding:



And a little shout out to all my nearly-mom, sister-in-law, Brandi, and all you other moms out there.

After a busy Saturday, I got a chance for some me time.... time to do some scrapbooking, look through some magazines, and have a relaxing Sunday.

I spent some time cutting out sayings and layouts and things that I liked from some promotional stuff we got at the Scrapbook Eh! Wholesale event and put them on this handy ring for future reference. This way, I don't have to store a huge stack of catalogues.


Hope all you mothers out there had a great day!!

Are you sick of retreat pics, yet?

In case you're not.... my mom sent some more...

Lucky, lucky Lindyl, who went home with a ton of prizes. This one was the super cute altered paint can full of spa goodies from Mountain Memories Scrapbooking:



Two hams, and absolute dolls, Katharina and Allison:



A shot of one of the lovely, yummy desserts:



Okay, I know, you've had enough. I'll lay off of them for awhile (unless I get some more good ones...)

Hope you all had a great weekend! Back to work tomorrow.

Productive Day at Home

What a day! I got tons of stuff done, which is good, because I've been neglecting some of the day to day stuff around here with all the commotion in our lives lately.

Who would've thought a good Saturday would be a day spent cleaning house, doing laundry, picking up, throwing out, sorting, and who can remember what else? Very productive.

So, here I am at 11 o'clock, signing in as I get ready to curl up with a good book.

Just thought I'd show you a few more picss from the retreat:

A class picture



A few shots of the ladies cropping away





Another partial group shot... I wish we would have gotten a complete shot.... next time!



And a little project I've been working on...









This was a project that I started with Leica Forrest at Scrapbook Eh! and finished up at home. The products are all Luxe and Scenic Route and the pics are some very rare shots of the Malacko cousins together. There are still a few missing, but I really like them, because that side of Brad's family rarely seem to get together.

That's all for now!

Wow, it's been eventful around here!

Hope you're all well and not covered in snow as we are here in the mountains!

We had power outages all night at home and all morning at work because we got tons of heavy, wet snow.

It's amazing how helpless everyone turns without power. No computers, no email, no work, basically.... we're reading and taking notes with a pen and paper? What?!

Oh well, powers back on and things are running smoothly, aside from the thundering 'mini avalanches' sliding off my roof.

So, "where have you been?" you may be wondering...

After the retreat, I switched into a new position at work. I'm now working on a new project writing text on Banff's culture and creating a website for the National Historic Sites in Alberta and BC. A very cool job, but unfortunately, I haven't gotten to dig into it much yet. I've been training my replacement, helping out all the new staff (because for some reason EVERYONE is changing positions) and generally rearranging chairs on the Titanic. Ha! Well, now that that's over, I can relax and enjoy my new job.

And, because my motto is never really work, work, work, I took a trip down to Great Falls with a bunch of girlfriends last weekend. Our second annual girls weekend in the States. We had so much fun! Seriously... cheap shopping? great friends? good food? What could be better?

We had tons of laughs and I literally had to buy a tupperware tub to get my purchases home in.... blush....

A highlight? Getting ID'd when buying a video game for my husband!! I'd even mentioned quite a few times about how I was looking for something for my hubby.... I don't know how old he thought we needed to be to get married up in Canada. Oh well, it was kind of nice to be asked if I was 17!!! If you're interested, I just switched to Loreal face cream and it's apparently working wonders :)

Okay, well, more to come this weekend... I have all kinds of updates and neat things to show you all, so check back in.

For now, I'll leave you with some photos of the beautiful ladies at the retreat compliments of Rose.

The retreat and my weekend away

Here's a group picture which includes most of our scrapbookers for the retreat, taken by the fabulous Allison Orthner.

If you want to see it again, check out the Canadian Scrapbooker fall edition.



I just got back from a great weekend away with the girls, and I'm still exhausted, but it was so much fun. Five girls, 3 days, and the American dollar on par.... Great Falls may never be the same again!

I'll try and get some pics up from the weekend as well as the retreat later tonight.