I can't believe the time is whipping by so fast ...

Isn't life just a constant busy pace?! I am looking forward to a few awesome and fun events at the mid to end of the month, and yet I wish I could slow the days down just a touch. Enjoying the milder weather we have had this week, compared to the deep freeze of last week, one of the guys in the office was even commenting on how pretty the blowing snow was today coming off the roof ~ all sparkly in the sun! Quite a change from the grumbles of last week hee hee.

So what is coming in the few weeks ~ I have a very close friend's (Kelly-Ann) bday coming up, so I am hoping to share some time with her ~ she is a special woman and though has moved away on me, we have managed to stay in very close contact and still see each other on a pretty regular basis.

I have a retreat in Cold Lake (Scraptacular 2) that I am really really looking forward to ~ will be cropping with my friends ~ Dawn, Andrea, Angela, Kelly, Marguerite and Trisha and maybe more ~ it's always a treat to see some of the creations these talented women come up with, and hey let's face it a weekend away with the gals scrapbooking away can be nothing but good right?! haha. Plus it will be a different location and group, so I am looking forward to meeting some more scrapbooking friends, and checking out the event.

And then the very end of the month, actually the beginning of March (so that is nice starts off March well) my friend Kelly-Ann is coming for a visit from Calgary ~ so again I hope to have some great quality time with her.

Of course in between I hope to spend some lovely coffee date time with my friend Dawn, it certainly breaks up a long long week when we can sneak out for a couple hours and just chill ~ the time we spend has become very special to me. And of course any time I can get in there cropping with my friends also is just a bonus upon a bonus. :-)

A good bunch of us were all out at the Kinette Club Spruce Grove crop on Saturday, it was a great time and the hours flew by so fast. Thanks to Dawn, Andrea, Angela, Nicole, Mona, Tammy, Kelsey, Marguerite, Donna, and Tanya for being a part of the day ~ as well as a big big Thank you to my friend Kelly for inviting us all out there in the first place. It was a very affordable day ~ only $10 ~ and included supper and 12 hours scrapping time, and the location was great. We hope that the Kinette Club found the event to be a success and not too much trouble and does it again sometime, we certainly would love to join them again!

I wish everyone a wonderful Wednesday ~ and hope your week is going smoothly.

Cheers

Well what's up next?

So I am home from my retreat from this last weekend, figures it was on the coldest weekend of this year haha, and for the most part it wasn't too bad. Unfortunately ran into some heating problems which put a big kink in our creative processes, and our bones, muscles etc. haha ~ and gave the owners of The Barn Loft some idea that they need to make some upgrades, which they were already busy brainstorming about. I did get some layouts done, which when I have time I will get all scanned up so I can post some in here, I really think it's time I start thinking about investing in a digital camera, how simple it would be if I could just take pictures of my layouts ~ so I could post right away. I am hoping the facilities at the Scraptacular 2 event in Cold Lake are comfortable and warm ~ and hopefully I can sometime schedule in a retreat weekend in warm weather too, see what the difference is haha.

So today I am still chilled through and a bit tired, but as I have another cropping day long event this weekend in Spruce Grove I am hoping to get re-energized soon. The really nice thing about going to this first retreat is that I did put together a number of packages and only got through about 1/4 of them, so I should have lots to do for the upcoming event and the one at the end of February so packing should be a breeze. :-)

Looking forward to Saturday ~ and spending out in Spruce Grove with a bunch of my scrapbooking cronies, and being able to support my friend Kelly in one of the events she has organized. Going to have some great chat and inspire time with: Dawn, Mona, Andrea, Marguerite, Tammy, Kelsey and more I hope ~ and we can scrapbook to our hearts content for the day, and support a good cause, The Kinette Club out there. :-)

Going to be busy this week clearing all the space around my windows, so hopefully I will still be getting those replaced at the end of this week, but who knows what the fridgid tempertures will do to their schedule, have to wait and see. Tonight I am going to tackle my craft room haha, as it is the most work ~ once it is done I can breathe easier and then look forward to the new windows!

Wishing you all a great week!

It's getting closer !!!!

... Meaning the retreat I am attending with my friend Donna at the end of the week ~ at one time it seemed like it was such a long way off, and now here it is just 5 more days to go until I am away for the weekend ~ creating and chatting and visiting and relaxing. I am so looking forward to this first retreat / weekend event of the year ~ and so excited to say I know there are more coming haha.

The biggest thing is drawing inspiration from all my wonderful scrapbooking friends, as I won't have access to a computer (hhhmmm a weekend without a computer ~ probably my biggest challenge haha) and all the beautiful layouts that make me oooohhhh and aaaaahhhhhh ~ but I have put together a couple dozen packages (pics included) so that I have lots to do ~ I really would be happy if I even managed to create half as many wonderful pages, I really am so ready to go!

Not much else to say, I hope I have some lovely layouts to post next week and thanks to my amazingly talented friends for continuing to post layouts and ideas and links to more ideas ~ you are amazing my friends!

hugs

I am trying hard ..............

To keep my blog updated on a regular basis, I think in alot of ways it will be an awesome tool to make sure I continue to regularly journal and track life in general. I know I constantly find so much inspiration from those who update their blogs on a regular basis ~ and especially the scrapbooker in me loves to see the updated work of the wonderful talented ladies I know ~ so thank you Mona, Janine, Trisha, Lynn, Kristine, Tracey and Corri to name a few who post their creations and update their blogs on a regular basis ~ simply you inspire me.

I have a scrapbook retreat coming up at the end of the month ~ and I wish I could bring a computer haha, so that I would have all this lovely inspiration at my finger tips for when I could use it most, while I have the time to scrapbook for hours at a time. :-) So at the moment as I don't have this option, I am trying to soak up daily all the inspiration I can find, so that once I get to the retreat I am raring and ready to get creating ~ I am quite excited about this retreat, as I have been to this location once before (my first and only retreat so far) and know so much better what to expect, and how to prepare. It's with a group of people that I never see at any other time, so it will be nice to visit and catch up with them all also ~ I see a couple late night ~ early morning scrap and chat times coming up, and this time I am going to bring movies, books and magazines and have some relaxing rejuventation time as well. :-)

My condo association is redo-ing all the windows in the next couple weeks as well, and that is going to be a huge packing and moving session with my craft/computer room ~ don't know what kind of notice we are going to get before they actually schedule my condo in, making me a bit nervous ~ life has been busy the last little while, as well as I have been ill with a stomach flu ~ so of course nothing has been done to this point, and as all the windows are to be done, not sure where we are suppose to put it all when we have to move it haha. And at the same time I am trying to organize and get ready for a retreat ~ I am in a bit of a tizzy, and time is just flowing by.

I am excited to say I have another crop weekend coming up in February as well !!! Going to attend the Scraptacular 2 event in Cold Lake ~ very excited about this one as well ~ totally new experience, and a whole different group of awesome ladies to spend the weekend creating away with :-) Have to say starting out 2008 on a strong high, going to have to keep it up, with spending more time with friends and some quality time with family ~ and already I do believe 2008 is going to be a very good year!

Some of my recent fave layouts!

New Year is here ~

2008 here we come ~ I was saying to my son the other day how much I like the number 2008 - it looks so round and curvy and calm ~ yep just like how it looks haha, and I am more than ready to be going into this new year. The last year in review was a bit of a rocky one at times, but also a great one for renewing the importance of family and friend time, especially getting together with my new scrapping galfriends ~ their love and support, and the sharing of their own lives with me has really touched my heart in a deep and wonderful way this year, and I hope to continue this trend over the coming year. I have to get some pictures developed so I can post a few things myself ~ some special moments and fun times, and hopefully I have a better working computer coming to me from my sister in BC soon, so I can do alot more at home than I can right now.

I have been reading about people making new year's resolutions ~ in magazines and on blogs ~ and it has inspired a project idea that I can't wait to get started on. I am going to make some resolutions / goals for this year ~ attainable ones ~ and then I am going to kinda track and journal how I am doing throughout the year. At the end of the year I should have an inspirational album for myself, to help with the blessed feeling I have trully come to feel in the past while.

Went out with my friend Dawn for coffee last night, I have to say that these little escapes from the daily routine have been so wonderful to me. I like specialty coffees in the first place, but to be able to share them with a friend and sit and just chat back and forth about life and what is in it, have been inspirational to me, and part of my wanting to document more of life. I suck at journaling pages, so I am looking forward to the challenge of overcoming this particular obsticle and having a great year.

Have a couple crop/retreat weekends coming up in the first couple months of this year ~ I am so excited to be getting ready for these, figure I have learned alot more about organizing and packing up supplies in the last months of cropping haha, so I hope to get alot more accomplished and so so so looking forward to the companionship of my friends for those weekends.

I hope to keep in touch more with some of my far away friends and family this year, as well as maybe meet a few this year ~ I have to say how much I am thankful to this art that we share that brings us all together.

Alrightly then ready to bust into this new year!
hugs

My sweet Baba ...

My sweet Baba passed away yesterday evening ~ and I so hope that she finds the peace she has been deserving ~ She had such a rough go of it the last few years, this was a picture taken of us during a good time of this period ~ when she still could remember who I was with some prodding. I am so full of so many feelings today ~ I am so very thankful she is finally at rest and away from the pain and suffering, yet so very sad that growing up does mean that those who we love are getting older and that this is the way it is. I am fighting with myself today, but I know that deep inside all will be okay ~ Love you Baba so much ~ and rest now.

Wishing you all .....

A Very Merry Christmas full of friends and family, and all the good things you wish for it ..............

And a Very Happy New Years ~ safe and fun ~

Here we come 2008 - May it be the best year yet!

hugs to all