BEST. DAY. EVER.

Remember my vow to make real changes to my lifestyle this year?  Well it has been going pretty well, but today I got the best news and an incredible opportunity!  I entered a fitness makeover contest at the Body Dynamics Headquarters Training Studio, and I WON!!!

I won a year of personal training, support, studio and bootcamp classes with the most amazing trainers ever!!!  I am still in shock!  This is exactly what I need to kick my butt and get my fitness on!!! 

I will be followed all year - and yes- that includes telling the world my weight and measurements - the size of a very short football player - and sharing my journey of change!  It means a committment of epic proportions, and I am ready!!

The trainers there are amazing and I am looking forward to working hard, learning about myseelf and challenging myself to get healthy and stay that way!  WOW!  I still can't believe it, and I sure there will be days when I regret it, but for now I am savouring the moment!  I cannot wait to see what this wild ride will bring!

Happy Day everyone!

One Little Word

I finally succumbed to the trend. . . so many scrappers are choosing "one little word" for the year - and then taking time to intentionally focus on that word and what it meand for them in their life at this point in time.  I love the idea - hate being too trendy, but I felt that I wanted to pick a word this year, or maybe it chose me!

So, my word is CHANGE.  Trying to make changes in my life, working on processing all the changes that have happened for me in the past while, and really taking charge of what I want to be different in my life.  I've discovered that being intentional is pretty darn cool, and that I should do it more often!

If you could choose one little word for this year, what would yours be?

Happy day, everyone!

Goodbye 2011. . .

Saying goodbye to a busy, crazy, chaotic, wild, and unique 2011!  Cannot wait to welcome a bright and shiny New Year - full of hope, goodness and fresh perspectives!!!  Happy 2012 to you all - and may it bring many blog posts from me to you!!

Happy Last Day of 2011, everybody!

The Definition of Persevere

per·severe (pʉr′sə vir′)
intransitive verb persevered -·vered′, persevering -·ver′·ing
to continue in some effort, course of action, etc. in spite of difficulty, opposition, etc.; be steadfast in purpose; persist

This little guy amazes me. I have always know Josh is persistent ( the tantrums, the "my way or the highway" attitude, the inability to leave a task unfinished), but it always seemed to be a not so fabulous quality, at least in a little person. But he really taught me something (again) about sticking with something even when it is really, really challenging.

Three mornings a week for the past 6 weeks we have gotten up early - in time for an 8am practice for the cross country team at his school. This alone is a triumph - getting to school on time for 8:40am is a challenge most mornings, so the commitment to make the practices was a big one. He did it, though, most mornings easier than I.

And then came the Cross Country meets after school. The big races. Hundreds of kids, lots of schools, and many, many distractions. And the course seemed too far for those little legs. Would he really be able to do this - on his own, without an assistant, without getting lost, or distracted, or following a puppy off the course?

The answer is YES. He did it not once or twice, but three times. Three races in which he came 115 out of 115, 117 out of 121, and finally 118 out of 123. He didn't notice where he placed, and I didn't care. I cried - he laughed.

It wasn't easy - for a kid with an Autism Spectrum Disorder this is a huge challenge, and he was amazing. When he wanted to quit, we called him to the finish lines with cheers and whistles. Mark ran part of the way with him so he could keep going in one race, Emily cheered and ran alongside him in another. I stood amazed and proud and tearful as he crossed the finish line, with a red face and an ear to ear grin.

Perseverance - Joshua has it in spades - and he makes me want to try a little harder each day, too. Way to go, Josh - you are my champion - each and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Taken at Bass Pro in Calgary - that store is CRAZY!!!!)

Crazy for Upsy Daisy!!!

Well, I got the shock of my life today! I went on Facebook this afternoon ( when I should have been working - ssshhh - don't tell!) and found out this:




I cannot believe I will be part of the Upsy Daisy Design Team! I am so excited, and and so honoured! Anyone who follows this blog knows I am a little obsessed with this amazing company - and I am so thrilled I get to work with such a talented group of women!

Martinis, anyone???

Happy day!!!

Happy Birthday Josh!

I can't believe that little face is now eight years old!!!!

Josh is growing up so quickly - he is tall and slim and full of stories about his world and the many imaginary worlds he loves to create!

I love how he always has a mischievous smile at the ready, and never fails to share his opinion- good or bad. When he looks at me over his glasses, my heart melts.

Happy Birthday little man - I love you to the next dimension!

I {heart} Seattle!

I have been MIA for a week because my sis and I took a mini trip to Seattle for four days last week! Despite the fact that I only live 85 miles away ( by water!!!) I have never been to anywhere in Seattle but the airport! My sister flew to Vancouver from Calgary, I picked her up and we were off on our road trip!!

It was also the longest I have been away from my kids ever - 3 whole nights!!! Which some may call pathetic, but I still missed them a lot and saw so much that I want to share with them!! That being said - it was a great trip despite the requisite cool and cloudy weather! (And I got my hug fix from this "cool" guy at the waterfront!! ;)

We saw the Space Needle ( no one told me that elevator was on the OUTSIDE of the building!),

Experience Music Project ( despite my love for Rockband, a music career is NOT in my future!),

the Science Fiction Museum ( a highlight for me - yes, I am a Star Wars geek!),

and of course Pike Place Market and all of its colours, sounds and smells!!

I, of course, had to make the pilgrimage to the original Starbucks - so small and oh so crowded - I must to admit to taking photos and then going up the street for my actual coffee!!!

Friday night was the big highlight for me - a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco field. It was so much fun, despite their not so fabulous performance ( we lost 6 - 2 to the Twins). Who knew garlic fries could be so delicious????? :)

The only crisis of the week was that I (gasp!) forgot my battery charger for my camera, so I have very few photos!!!! I had only a mild panic attack when I realized this, and I managed to get a few good shots the first couple of days!! Then I borrowed my sister's, well, less than up to the standards of my beloved Canon Rebel camera, and took a few shots on it. The unfixable date stamp thing droves me crazy, but hey, it was a camera!

I will be using my friend Anna's trick of using postcards to scrap this trip!!! It was a great adventure and I am pretty sure their is a return trip in my future - we only saw a fraction of the sights and sounds of this fabulous city!!!

Ocean Friends!

We had a fabulous morning (Ben, Em, Josh and I) up at Bamberton Provincial Park - just north of Victoria. It is one of our favourite beaches for exploring and beachcombing, so we got up early enough to be there for low tide at 8:50am!

We found a moon snail - the coolest creature ever! They start out enormous:

Then as you gently squeeze the water out:

You can see how they fit into their shell!

Emily's eagle eyes spotted this amazing little sunstar - how she saw it in knee deep water is mind boggling for my old eyes!!!

The boys also had a great time collecting and identifying at least 5 different kinds of clam shells, plus oyster and mussel shells as well!And of course they always love the sand dollars!

The beach was completely empty except for us - our own private paradise!!!

Waterslide Action (and one little CHA sneak!)

We went to Atlantis Waterslides yesterday, and I couldn't resist sharing some of the fun photos I took while we were there!! It was "totally awesome" and "sick" according to my children - I loved it, too - even though I am not really a waterslide kinda gal!!! ;)

Of course, I still have a TON of cool things to show for CHA, and so I wanted to at least have one small peek for today!!!

Studio Calico is a great company that has fabulous retro inspired papers and ultra cool embellishments! I am a HUGE fan, and I am hoping to use some of this in on of the Fall Kits I am designing for Scrapbook Parade! Elementary, my dears - it is fabulous!!!

Happy Day everyone - check back tomorrow for more scrappy goodness!!!

Lake News. . .

AAAAAHHHH - summertime and the livin' is easy! Kicking back at the cabin on Lake Okanagan. . . it is not ours - it belongs to Mark's brother and his family, but they graciously share it with us and it is a break we look forward to all year.

The weather has been hot and we have been having fun in the water:

and Emily found a new friend:

We are having lots of fun and enjoying good family time!!! Hurray for summer vacation!!!

On another note, tomorrow I will start posting some Summer CHA sneak peeks from some of my favourite manufacturers!! Stay tuned!!!

Happy Day, everyone!!!

End of School madness. . .

I think the end of the school year is designed to make parents insane. Why is it we have to schedule in a year's worth of field trips into the last two weeks of school??? I would rather have the kids out of school and then get to choose what I drive my kids to!!!! And with four kids - yikes - beach days, park days, ziplines, museums, movies. . . . holy cow!!! Not to mention a Grade 5 School Leaving Lunch ( aka - pretend grad) and Middle School graduation on the same day -mmmmmm 2 potlucks, 2 slide shows and 2 kids that are getting way bigger than I want them to!!! Ben can't possibly be old enough to be done elementary school and Hannah looks like such a teenager in her grad dress - so beautiful. . . Next year we will have one in ( gulp) high school, one in middle school and two in elementary! No one can tell me that time does not move impossibly fast!!!

Somewhere in there I want to get some scrapping done - I have lots of fun new stuff to play with and I have barely touched it!!! Tonight I am teaching a class at Scrapbook Parade - here is a peek at the layout:

I used the Quite Contrary line from My Mind's Eye , and had a lot of fun making the paper flowers!

Now that summer is here, I am hoping to have a bit more time to scrap, and I have some fun new classes cooked up for this summer at the store! And I might even be able to blog a little more often!!!

Happy 2nd day of Summer everyone!!!

Panthers, Projects and just plain Life. . .(a longer post to catch up!)

Does anyone else find this time of year overwhelming??????? Despite my best attempts to keep things in the realm of somewhat reasonable, between ball, end of year activities like concerts, field trips, special events and the general busy-ness of life, I am feeling- well, busy - as in too darned busy to get anything done!!!

I am back coaching my fastball girls again this year, and as always, it is a huge highlight!!! It takes a lot of time, but the Panthers are the best group of girls and so are their parents!! We recently took a road trip to Port Alberni for a tournament and came home with a silver medal - despite major rain and the cancellation of the final!!!

Nice field hey???

This is past weekend we hosted a tournament in our park and after one glorious day of sun, it poured rain again to cancel the playoffs, so we ended up with a bronze medal!!! But really - the best part is watching the girls have fun together:

And while at this weekend's tournament, I had Dave from http://www.icanplay.ca/ take some photos of Hannah - I never get a chance when I am coaching and the results were really fabulous!!!

Thanks Dave!!!! I LOVE these photos!! If you are in Victoria - please check him out!!!!

And just in case you think I have been a complete Slackbooker ( a scrapbooker who is currently slacking from scrapping!! - I just made that up!!) I have done a few layouts lately. . .

Hope your June is as fun and full as mine!!! Happy Day, everyone!!!

10,000 Hits!!!!

WooHoo!!! I made 10,000 hits today and I am pretty darn excited!!! Thanks to all my followers and visitors!!! If you like my blog - share it with a friend!!! And don't forget to enter my 10 000 Hit challenge, for a chance to win some fun blog candy!!!!!!

Now here are some photos of what I have been up to on this lovely holiday weekend Saturday!!! Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to live on Vancouver Island - today was the perfect day for counting my blessings! Mark, Ben, Emily, Josh and I headed out to Macaulay Point for a picnic and some exploration!

Hope you are out enjoying this fabulous long weekend!!