We've been home for almost a month now - life has gone back to normal and I'm counting down the months til I can go back to California.

Work has been really busy and hectic, however since I came back so relaxed and rested, I'm just going with the flow.  I'm pretty much "whatever" when things go sideways.  That and I've gotten much better at biting my tongue! :)

Immediately upon my return from holidays I ended up purchasing a new computer.  Since my laptop is so old - I bought a reconditioned laptop in 2007.  Some of the my word processing software was really old.  I wasn't using MS Office but it seems that everyone else is so I was having problems with opening documents etc.  Anyway, long story short, the new software I wanted was going to cost me a lot - software, plus upgrades plus installation...plus, plus, plus!  I just finally decide enough already and bought a new computer.  It's a Samsung with lots of memory and it's really fast so I'm a happy camper!

I've been threatening to post some of my journal pages so here goes.  More to follow!  Caio!

All Good things.....

....must come to an end.

We're getting ready to head home in a few days.  I'm always sad when the end of our vacation comes - although I have no business complaining ! 

The weather has been fabulous.  Today at 7:30 in Palm Springs it's 96 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Sure beats the weather we've been having at home - torrential downpours for the last couple of days.

My daughter and I have had a fabulous time together, golfing and just vegging out and relaxing,  The house has been wonderful as usual and the pool to die for !

I'm also sad to be leaving as a neighbourhood cat - we don't believe it to be a stray - has adopted us and has spent most days since we arrived here with us.  She seems to be very well fed - she's also an awesome hunter as one poor rat learned to his dismay !  She such a little doll that I seriously contemplated packing her up and taking her home with us.  The voice of reason finally prevailed - it's my fervent belief (hope ?) that she is a beloved pet and that some family is giving her lots of love !  If I thought for a minute that she was a stray.......well, best not to go there !

We're playing our last round of golf tomorrow - supposed to be in the 90's again tomorrow - and then I'll spend Saturday as my last pool day.  I have over-indulged in the sun for the last month so will probably end up looking like some wizened up old crone.   Whatever !

Gotta run.  Caio !

Only one more week :(

We have only one more week left and then we're back to reality again. 

I shouldn't complain.....we've had a wonderful time.   The weather has  been fabulous - a few windy days but still sunny and bright. The wind coming in off the desert is cold and strong and it's not much fun golfing when it's like that !  So for those few days, we've done other things.
Yesterday we went into Palm Springs and walked around the shopping district.  Very disappointing.  So many stores closed or going out of business.  Only a few clothing stores (expensive and catering to stick people) and a few jewellry stores. I didn't see much else of interest.   Two whole blocks of stores have been closed in preparation for a big hotel being built.  Not a whole lot to see that's for sure.

We did enjoying checking out all the restaurants though.  There are a few interesting ones - some very expensive - and lots of happy hours specials.  We plan to visit one of the local pubs in town sometime next week .

The weather is improving today - supposed to be in mid 70's and then the temperature is increasing daily into next week.  They're calling for 90 by Wednesday.  Woo hoo!   We have golf booked for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Luckily with the clocks going back tonight, we'll have an extra hour of daylight so will be able to tee off a little later in the day when it's not quite so hot.  Not that I'm complaining!

I've scored some excellent deals on stamps and other treasures from Joann's.  Love, love, love Joann's!
I've also ordered some art supplies on line while I'm here so they should arrive shortly after we return home.
As well, I've managed to complete some journal spreads and have discovered zentangles and I'm hooked.  I probably won't be able to post any art while I'm here....I want to enjoy as much of the fabulous weather as I can when I'm here.  I can post anytime!

Well must run.  The pool is calling my name!

Caio!

My Special Place

I don't know what it is about Palm Springs but I love it here.   Absolutely love it here!  I feel safe and it feels like coming home when we return each year.  Granted, it is a bit of a pilgramage - Garry died here and he so loved it - so maybe that's part of it.

I love, love, love the house we rent - the pool is magnificent and we're situated close to everything we need.  I wish I could afford to live here 6 months of the year. I wish I could afford to buy a home here.....that's not going to happen!  So each February I migrate to Palm Springs (can you say lemming? ) and I feel rejuvenated and fulfilled.  Special magic here!

I brought a 5 x 7 journal with me and I've been working in it.  I've managed to complete 6 spreads and hope to complete more in the remaining 2 weeks here.  I really like this size - I use different sizes at home some 6 x 11, some 8 1/2 by 11.  However that's a lot of space to fill up.  I prepared the pages before I came and I'm really loving this smaller journal !  I'll post some of my pages when we get home.

Saturday and Sunday are pool days - its supposed to be 84 for the next couple of days so we'll be enjoying the pool.   It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it !  Saturday is the 5th anniversary of my husband's death.,....I cannot believe it has been so long - it seems like that was another lifetime and yet it feels like yesterday. He loved life and lived it at warp speed - he loved  to eat and to gamble so the plan is to have steak and prawns here at the house and then go the casino and gamble our faces off.  It seems fitting and he'd like that!

Must run.  We just got back from golf - it was wonderful!  The fabulosity of Palm Springs is amazing!  We need to eat and then retire to watch tv.  Life is grand, isn't it?

Caio!

Paradise found

We arrived safely in Palm Springs on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 13th.

Both flights went off without a hitch and we landed to sunny warm weather.  Within a few hours of our arrival we were all settled in and enjoying the spa.  Unfortunately, I took a tumble on our first night and went ass over tea kettle onto the ceramic tile floor.  I had wiped up a couple of wet spots from tracking in and out of the house but I guess I missed one and down I went.  It happened so quick that I didn't have time to catch myself.  I landed on my left side, banging my ear and front of my shoulder into the pony wall between the kitchen and the hallway.  Luckily I didn't bang my head on the tile floor and only scrapped my inner upper arm near my shoulder.  My scrape is now (5 days later) scabbed over and my shoulder and upper arm are covered in a large purple bruise.  Thankfully, other than that, I'm none the worse for wear!

As I mentioned, the weather here has been outstanding.  Days have been hot (around 80 most days) with a slight breeze.  The nights have remained warm so no need for a jacket most nights. So far so good and we're thoroughly enjoying our trip so far.  The accomodations are wonderful, the pool is just the right temperature and the sun is shining.  I think I've died and gone to heaven.

We're off to play some golf Tuesday and we have another tee time booked for Thursday.  Both days are supposed to be a little cooler (high sixties) so we're looking forward to that.  We had discussed golfing today (Monday) but then found out it's a long weekend here in the States so we're glad that we waited.

I brought my journal - most of my backgrounds already prepared - so I'm looking forward to working in it soon.  I definetly want to hit Target, Big Lots and of course, Joannes.  I'm hoping to maybe pick up a gelli plate.  I did create one of my own out of foam core but if I can find one here will probably shell out some coin to purchase.

Well must run - the pool is calling my name.

Caio

Only 3 more sleeps.....

until we head off to Palm Springs.  I don't usually get excited until I'm on the plane, however I must admit that I've been excited for about a week now.  Can hardly wait to get into the pool and just veg out.

The next couple of days at work will be hectic.  Lots of packing to do and I'm sure there will be some crisis or another before we're through.  Just taking one day at a time.

Not too much else new.  I'm trying to get my journal ready so I can take it with me to PS - still have a bit to go on it yet.

Must run - busy day tomorrow and I need to get my beauty sleep.

Caio!

Under the weather

I'm off sick - not sure what I did to my back and I've got touch of the flu.  Hopefully I've nipped the flu in the bud and can get back to normal in a day or so.  This is not a good time for me to be sick - too much going on at work in preparation for the move.   I don't have time to be sick!

The last couple of weeks have been spent working on Valentine stock for the store.  I hope to have it to the stores by the weekend and then I can cross one more thing off my list. Not too much art being done.  I have managed to do some prelimnary stuff in my journals so I hope to have something I can work on in Palm Springs. 

Speaking of PS, it's just around the corner as well.   I sooooo need a holiday and I can't wait to soak up the sun.  I'll be a much happier girl when all the stress is destroyed by the sun. 

Well must run.  I'm hooked up to my vibrating heating pad and I've taken some meds for the pain so hopefully I'll chase the bad stuff in my back and those nasty flu germs away.

Caio!

Half-way

I'm halfway through the month and it has been brutal. Lots of drama at work - the you know what has hit the fan and it's not a very pleasant situation.  I have a small part in it and I'm embarassed that I let my buttons be pushed.  I should have known better!

We're less than 4 weeks away from our move to our new office building. Everyone is stressed to the max and as luck would have it, problems keep rearing their ugly little heads.  I had a plan and I really did try to work to the plan.  And how's that working for me, you ask?  Not so good.

Moving on......I'm in countdown to Palm Springs. Only 27 days until we board our ticket to paradise.  I can hardly wait!  I love my job but lately it has been unbelievable!    I am sooooo looking forward to parking my fat little butt in the pool with a keg full of margaritas.  And they ask me why I drink?

I haven't done a lot of art in the New Year.  I did create a calendar and I'm trying to journal in it everyday.  I thought it might be one small step towards making journaling more of a part of my everyday life.  I've also managed to prepare some pages in advance of our trip to Palm Springs.  I seem to go into withdrawal when I'm down there, so this time I'm at least a little prepared.

Well must run.  Just wanted to pop in for a little update.  I'm so tired that I can hardly think straight and I have to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.   Lottery Gods, please smile on me and let me win a lottery!!!

Caio!

OOOPS - last post of the year !

I had said I had some art to upload and I do.  I still haven't figured out how to get my pix off my ipod however, I do have some Christmas cards I made to share. 

Not sure why this peachy spot is showing up on the scan of the village.  Maybe the scanner window is dirty?  That colouration is definitely not on the card.  Whatever !

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Happy New Year to everyone !   I realize I am a bit premature with these well wishes, but what the heck. I'm going to get out in front of the crowd.

Christmas was wonderful - quiet and low key, just the way we like it.  Christmas Eve we spent at home relaxing in front of the fire.  We did assorted appies for dinner.  Christmas Day we spent the entire day at home in our jammies, just lying around and eating all the goodies.  We did a small turkey for the two of us and had just enough for one round of leftovers and some soup.  Loads of dressing left so I'll be freezing that to use with my roasted chicken over the next few months.  Easy, Peasy.

Tonight my daughter and I are spending the evening quietly at home - in our jammies.  Sound familiar?  Appies for dinner again tonight so what's not to like.  New Years Day I'm hosting my annual dinner here at my place.  Two couples who are very good friends are joining us to start off the new year.  I always look forward to this day.  When my husband was alive this was always a fun day for us and I still try to keep it special.  I have a killer prime rib recipe which turns out fabulous every time.  It's to die for (sorry couldn't help myself :)  We have a friendly festive dinner, share some adult beverages and then pig out on dessert, courtesy of the local bakery. 

Well must run as I have cleaning to do in prep for the dinner tomorrow.  I'm not the best housekeeper - with 3 cats I would not suggest that you eat off my floors!  Anyway, I'll do a little cleaning and then will relax with a cold beverage.  Sounds like a plan.

Happy, Happy !

Caio!

Somehow I've lost 2 months !

OMG ! I was shocked when I logged in and discovered I haven't posted in almost 8 weeks!  I guess it's just been an extremely busy period for me.

In November I took an art journal class at Be Creative in Pitt Meadows.  I had a great time and learned lots of great tips and tricks.  It was a lovely afternoon and the instructor was great !  More about that later and some pix.

I just finished 3 journals from the Travelling Journals group.  I feel guilty that I held on to them for so long - I just couldn't ever seem to get it together enough to get a page together, let alone 3 of them!   However they are finally gone and I'm waiting for the next bunch to arrive.  Sorry, I forgot to take pix of those.

Art Journaling -  I think I may have finally broken through my creative block.  I seem to have had an epiphany of sorts and it's starting to flow a little better.  I'm currently working on page backgrounds and some preliminary collaging so that they're ready for Palm Springs.  That way I can work on the penwork etc and finish a few pages while I'm away.

My Christmas cards are finally finished and gone and not a minute too soon.  The last bunch went out Thursday.  Some may arrive in time, some may not, hence why the sentiment is "happy holidays".

I've had a very challenging week at work.  One of my "children" had a melt down.  Spoilt brat - Created a lot of drama.  So high school!.  Some days I feel like I run an adult daycare ! Tedious, very tedious.

Well gotta run.  Will post again tomorrow.

Caio!

Time is flying by !

I'll keep this short as it's midnight here on the coast and I worked all day and can hardly keep my eyes open. 

It's been a busy couple of weeks.  Stock is in the store for the open houses and now I can work on my personal cards, journals and ATC swaps.  The travelling journal swap is good but for some reason the journals seem to be stranded somewhere for months and then I get three of them all at once.  It can be kind of overwhelming and takes up more time than if they were coming in a couple of weeks apart.  However, I guess that can work out to one's advantage if you can get your creative mojo going.

I'm also working on a couple of journals for a journal partner.  This has turned into a slow old slog!  I'm sure H thinks I've fallen off the face of the earth.  I came up with a design for one of the journal pages for her and I just cannot make it come together.  I've redone it 3 times - no exaggeration - I hate it !  I'd normally tear it out and start over but her work is on the other side so now I have to live with my ugly mess!  Ugh!

Anyway, this is the first weekend in several weeks when I'm not on a very tight deadline to get something work related completed.  I'm getting my hair done tomorrow and then plan to spend the day working on the journals.  I really need to get H's out to her and then work on the other projects I have in the hopper.  Things I need to do but things that I also want to do because they're enjoyable and relaxing.

Not quite ready to start counting the sleeps til Palm Springs but that is coming fast as well, with only about 14 weeks until I hit paradise.  Not counting....just saying!

Gotta run -  caio !

Christmas designs

Already I'm hearing "only 100 days til Christmas".  OMG, let's not start with that already!

I'm working on samples for the store. I should have had these done long ago, however, I only seem to work well under pressure ! What can I say? Anyway, here are a couple of my new designs for Christmas.

On the home front, things are going well here. My office is moving in mid-February and the craziness of preparation for the relocation is starting to ramp up. But before that there are several other things to get through.

On Wednesday I'm off to visit family. My dad will be 88 in March, his wife is 89 and they are still living in their own home. Dad refuses to move into assisted living, which BTW is making my brother crazy! Both parents' health is failing but Dad is sooooo stubborn and crusty that he's just dug his heels in about moving.

Anyway, I digress. DD left last Wednesday to spend some time with him and I'm off on Wednesday to visit for a week. I'll stay with my brother as it's too much for those old people for us to stay with them. Then of course there are some other visits I need to make while there. Lord knows they won't be around forever, so I want to go back because I want to not because I have to for a death or illness.

I haven't done much journalling lately. I have several works in progress, but nothing finished yet. I think my problem is I make it waaaaaayyy too complicated.   It is what it is!

Caio !

End of Summer

While everyone else had a fabulous summer, our summer here on the coast left much to be desired.  It has only been in the last couple of weeks that the weather has turned hot and fabulous.  Finally!  The weather people say the weather will be warm and wonderful right into October so I guess everything evens out over the long run.

I have to keep this post short as I need to finish up this room today so I can get some samples made and do some work in my journal. Here's a journal page I finished recently. I think I'm finally getting over the blank page - trying to use the KISS principle.

I've been lazy and lots of the work I need to get done has been set on the back burner. I must have my stock for the open house into the stores in about a month so I will need to do some hard core production is I want to be ready.

I've embarked on another re-organization of my studio.  It's a long process and I tend to get frustrated with my lack of progress in some areas but I think it's finally coming together.  I've tried to address some of the visual clutter issues and while I haven't thrown a lot out, I have managed to give some stuff away.  Hopefully more will be given away over the next few weeks.   As well, I'm trying to put like things together - now that's a novel concept ! - instead of having the same things stored several places and that seems to be working so I'm feeling good about that.

I have to keep this post short as I need to finish up this room today so I can get some samples made and do some work in my journal. Here's a journal page I finished recently. I think I'm finally getting over the blank page - trying to use the KISS principle.

Caio

Journal page for swap

I'm participating in a "Travelling Journal" swap with approximately 15 other artists.  I joined this swap because I'm really struggling with my journal pages and I thought it would give me some push to stretch my creative muscles.  I think I am stretching aned growing as an artist, however, I also think that there's lots of room for improvement!

Here's one of the pages I created for the swap.

Pictures downloaded ....finally

I finally found my USB cable and downloaded some of the art I've done lately.  Here are a few pix of the cards I created for the store.

Hot time in the city

Man -  it has been soooooo hot here on the coast!  Yesterday the thermometer in my car was reading 37.5 degrees celscius.  Now that's hot, way too hot.  However, having said that, we've all been complaining long and loud about what a lousy summer we've had this year so ....I guess we need to just suck it up and enjoy.

I'm still working on my studio and trying to make it work better for me.  I've arranged, and re-arranged so much that sometimes I can't find a thing.  Go figure.  I have a few more ideas as to how to make a little more space.  First and foremost I have to get rid of some stuff.  I'm smothering to death with all this stuff!

I've been busy making cards for the store.  The process has not been fast and  should have way more to show for it but I don't.  Wedding season will only last a couple of more months and then hopefully I can get my act together and get some stock ahead of me for next year.  The annual  3 day Open House is taking place near the end of October, so I need to get some samples together so my guy can approve stock for the gala.  We've  been working together for 10 years now and his Open House just keeps growing and becoming more sucessful every year.  I think he sends out more than 1500 invitations and  he always gets a really good turnout. 

Nothing much else happening in my little corner of paradise.  My doctor changed my meds so I'm feeling more like myself and have tons more energy.  I've been diagnosed as insulin resistant so I need to clean up my diet which will hopefully result in a weight loss.

Work is good.  I'm fully staffed now and we're getting ready to move into our new HQ building in March of 2013.  There's a ton of work to do to get ready  so there will be no idle hands

I booked my flight back east for the end of September.  I plan to be there for my birthday so my dad, who is 88 next year, is looking forward to it.  I've also booked our flights and the house for our Palm Springs trip in February so everything is coming together nicely.

I've finished a couple of journal pages which I'll post as soon as I find my USB cable for the computer.

Gotta run.  Caio!

Definition of a garage sale - take my junk...please!

I am not a big fan of garage sales.  I've gone to a few and usually end up bringing home a piece of junk that is good for nothing.  Mind you, I know lots of people who swear by garage sales.  Perhaps they're more discerning buyers than I am!

Every year we have a community garage sale in the complex where we live.  I don't go to it and I don't have a table in it either.  My philosophy about garage sales is pretty clear.  I don't participate in garage sales, because, in my humble opinion they are a waste of time and I think - no I actually know - that I can find better ways to waste my time.  Just saying.

You have to sort through your junk to decide what you're going to keep and what can go.  Of course the junk that was going to go has suddenly become very precious so you don't want to sell it to just "anyone".  Then of course you have to price your junk.  That whole pricing process takes awhile because,  after all, your junk is way too valuable to give to just "anyone" at just any price.  Once you decide on a price then you have to put labels or tags or both on your junk because, God forbid, you don't want to charge the wrong price for your junk. And, horrors, what if someone should actually steal your junk?

The morning of the garage sale, you have to get up early, drag a table out to the driveway and load all your junk up so you can put it out on the table for viewing.  And lets face it - it cannot just be thrown in a pile.  It must be displayed in an esthetically pleasing manner; if it isn't, then people won't look at it.

Ok, so fast forward to start time.  Now you have to deal with all the dufuses (is that even a word?) who don't have enough of their own junk so now they want to buy yours....at less than asking price.  Waaaayyyy less!  You're almost giving this crap away and still someone wants to rip you off.   Whatever !

Fast forward to the end of the sale.  You've sold next to nothing and have managed to earn $10 for a full evening of work the previous night AND a full day spent sitting by your table at the end of the driveway.  Most of your stuff didn't go and now you have to drag the remainder back into the house and put it away. Once that's done you can drag your table back in and find a place for it so it's handy for you to drag out the next time there's a garage sale. 

So....that's why I don't do garage sales.  I have more than enough of my own junk.  I don't need to go and buy your junk and bring it home to add to my junk.   When I want to get rid of my junk I post it on Freecycle.  If there are no takers,  I call a local charity, they come and pick it up and take it away.  Every one is happy!  They make my junk their junk and sell it like nobody's business.  They even have a storefront they use to do that.  Go figure!

Just saying.

Famous last wordz!

So - here I am again. Almost a month has gone by since I last posted.  What's up with that?    I'm not going to promise to post more frequently because clearly I'm not able to do that .  So - all I can say is I'll try to be better.  Maybe my life is just so boring that I have nothing to post about.  Whatever!

Summer has finally arrived here on the coast and thank God for that. It's about blessed time.The flowers were looking so bedraggled there for awhile but now they're perking up and starting to fill out. I"m pleased with the new garden I put in. I've purchased some ornaments for the garden and I've received lots of compliments from my neighbours about how nice it looks. Makes all the hard work worth it.

I said that I would post some art and so here are a couple of wedding cards I made for the store

this and that ....again!

I've been remiss in my posting so I'll need to get back on track again.  I haven't been myself lately, well actually for the last several months.  I suffer from SAD and I've been dragging myself around for months with little or no energy or ambition to do anything.  I finally went to see my doc and he changed my meds so I'm finally starting to feel a little better.  I'm  starting to actually be able to get out of bed in the morning and without feeling that I won't make it through the day.  Still room for improvement but I can see that I am getting better so it's all good.

Because of my lack of energy, I've fallen way behind the 8 ball.  My production for the store has been really down so I'm feeling guilty about that.  Ron is such a nice man and I know that I haven't been keeping up my end of the deal.  Thank God he's been patient with me....many would not have been.  Anyway, I will be delivering an order tomorrow morning so hopefully I'll be back in his good books again.  I'll post the cards I've created in another post.

I'm also involved in 2 journals swaps - I must be out of my mind!  I enjoy doing these journal pages, however I really struggle with them so it takes me forever to complete one. It also doesn't help that I got 3 of them all within a week of each other.  Talk about being snowed under! Anyway, I'm finishing up my second journal and will be sending off tomorrow via ExPressPost so she should have them in her hands by Friday morning.

Weather here on the coast has been less than stellar.  We've had a couple of nice days but they are few and far between.  Some days I still need to put the heat on and we're all wearing sweaters.  Typically by now we have a heat wave -  June is usually not great weather til the end of the month.  My plants had such promise when I put them in - roses are doing great - but everything else is small and not very robust.  Enough already - bring on the sun!

Well that's it for my update.  Gotta run.  Caio!

Things that make you go hmmmm

Interesting week, some changes, some challenges and some frustration.

Why is it that some people are only comfortable with chaos and dysfunction?  They just never seem to be happy unless everything is in an uproar.  I'm really tired of it.  It gets really old, really fast.  So inefficient.

All my joints are aching.  Not sure why.  Even my toes are aching and my fingers are sorer than they've been in months.  Too much computer maybe.  I've also been really busy cutting paper and running dies through my Big Shot so that may be some of the problem. 

I took it easy this weekend and made a conscious decision that I would take it easy, as opposed to just lying around without a plan.  Yesterday and today I worked on stock for the store.  I plan to do a delivery on Tuesday morning before I go to the hospital to take my daughter for her day surgery.  Then there will be a few hours of just sitting around.  I'll be glad when the surgery is over and she doesn't have to deal with the lump in her face anymore.

Garden is great....all my plants are settling in and getting nice and plump.  They look happy in their new homes.

Well got go.  I'm really tired and 5 am comes early.

Caio!

I've created a couple of new wedding cards.   I find that coming up with a design that I'm satisfied with takes forever!  However, these are just prototypes. I'll change a few things on the fly to come up with a finished design.

Warm weather at last!

The sunshine and warm weather has finally arrived on the coast.  It was absolutely gorgeous today - it's 3 AM and all my windows are open to the cool night air.  We've had a not so nice spring so far, however the next 7 days are looking pretty good.

I've managed to get a spread done in my art journal.  Nothing too fancy but a spread nonetheless. It came together quickly and I'm happy with the results.  This whole art journal thing has been a real struggle for me.  I was talking with a friend and we decided that I'm making this whole process waaaay too complicated. Too much thought, too much striving for perfection and not nearly enough play.  So....baby steps!

Just when you thought it was safe to get in the water

So.   Here I am halfway through a very challenging week.  Lots going on at work, trying to work through problems and find solutions to issues that should not be issues !  UGH ! Very frustrating.

On a lighter note, I did get some good news this week.  While in Palm Springs I had an altercation with a garage door.  For some reason the sensor malfunctioned and the garage door came down and landed on the roof of the rental vehicle.  The door put a dent in the roof just above the rear cargo door.  Beinge an honest citizen, when I returned the rental vehicle I reported the damage and was promptly charged $500 for the deductible.  I was told that the rental company would get an appraisal for the damage and advise me of the remainder owing.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and I get a letter from them asking for my insurance information or perhaps if I don't have insurance I would like to pay out of pocket - no information about the out of pocket amount balance.  So I sent them an e-mail requesting the additional cost so I could make a decision as to whether I would claim it or not.  Three weeks go by, nothing.  Then last week, I received a refund cheque for approximately $110. Wooohoo!  However it does make me wonder why they asked for my information when they owed me a refund.  Whatever !

Spring - and rain - have  arrived here on the coast.  My roses have all kinds of new leaves on them and the hostas are growing like crazy.  I have a yard and a half of bark mulch to spread and weeding and leveling to do in my new flower bed at the front of the house.  I also have a postage stamp of a lawn that I need to reseed.  Craziest thing -  I can't keep grass on this thing, but the weeds are going crazy.  Go figure.

I'm starting into the busy season at the store.  I'm finishing up an order of Mother's Day cards and then wedding season is upon us.  As usual, I'm behind the 8 ball in my production.  I'm so accustomed to being behind that sometimes I actually think I'm caught up.  Demented thinking I know!

Organizing my studio is an ongoing process that is always challenging.  I've moved things around yet again and I'm getting there.  Slowly, very slowly, but surely.  I need to purge some treasures, not sure how to do that but I'll give it a try.   I saw Peter Walsh on a youtube video and he talked how you start to get your clutter under control.  He said use the 80/ 20 rule - for every 4 things you keep, you must get rid of one thing.  What a radical concept!  It really isn't such a big deal when I think of it that way.  I might actually be able to do that.

I'm working in my art journal, however I'm not making a heck of a lot of progress.  So little time and so much to do.  I'm also a little frustrated with all these talented people who can draw.  They are so inspiring and everything is predicated on actually having some artistic abilities, namely the talent to be able to draw.  Come on people!  What about people like me who can't draw.  Can  you have a little pity on me?  You're making me crazy!

Gotta run.  Caio!

Very tired

I'm very tired this week.  Thank God the week is almost over.  I have Monday off so it will be nice to just relax.  Having said that, I have lots to do this weekend.  I promised Kerry I would do her taxes for her.  That should be simple enough as she has a very simple tax return.  Famous last words!

Gotta run - I'm falling asleep at the computer.  Caio!

I'm enjoying a relaxing Easter weekend.  I did a couple of hours of OT yesterday.  It was such a beautiful day here on the coast that I decided not to spend the whole day there. 

On the way home I stopped at one of the local Thrift Stores where I spied a side table for my printer.  Right now I'm using an end table from my family room (which is quite large) for my printer.  The table I saw was only $12 and smaller and had a couple of storage shelves as well.  It would free up some room in my already overcrowded studio so I will probably go back on Monday and buy it. 

Part of the problem is that I continue to buy -  I never seem to get rid of stuff.  It is impossible
for me to throw out perfectly good "stuff".  I subscribe to the "I might need this stuff someday" mindset ....and therein lies the problem!  I need to stop buying stuff - this from the gal who's waiting for an order from Scrapbuck.com!

I'm off to work on some card designs for the stores.  However, before I do that, I've been saying that I'll post one of my journal pages.  I completed this one in Palm Springs, with limited supplies.  It's for a journal swap I'm in and I'm happy with the end result.  Caio !

Hated Journal Page

It's unbelievable to me that I've been back from holidays for more than three weeks.  Where the heck has the time gone?

Ok, so I said I would post my "hated journal page" so here it is.  Caio!

Home sweet home

We've  been home a week now and we're back in the swing of things.  Work is busy and my to do list seems to grow daily. 

Weather here has been cold - well cold compared to Palm Springs weather.  I planted a bunch of crocuses  and they were all up when we came home.  I wasn't sure how many to plant in each spot so I planted in bunches of  5 & 7.  They are all mixed colours - no rhyme or reason as to which colours went where.  They really look nice and will multiply like crazy so next year I will have a great bunch of flowers.

This is my 3 day weekend and I haven't even left the house.  Just hanging out and putzing around in my workroom.  I've come to the conclusion that I have finally reached the point of "too much stuff"!  My workroom is usually a mess after I make a bunch of stuff and this time was no exception.  So when we returned from our trip my goal was to try to create some kind of order out of the chaos.  For the most part I have succeeded.  I just need to either use up some supplies or throw them out.  Not sure that's going to happen, although I did throw out a partially full containe of ultra thick embossing powder.  I haven't touched it for several years so it got tossed.  Baby steps....

I hate my journal page

I've completed my art journal page and I absolutely hate it !  It looks like a piece of garbage.  I am so frustrated as I've spent a lot of time and effort on this thing and it stinks big time. I refuse to rip it out of my journal. I feel like I'm just wasting my time on something that is never going to get any better.   I just finally said enough already.  I journalled about how much I hate it and I'm calling it a day and moving on to something else.

I'm really frustrated with myself and my lack of inspiration.  I follow Journal Artista religiously and I've seen all the pages she creates with circles and swirls.  She makes it look so easy and her work is so vibrant.  Mine ends up looking like a dog's breakfast.  I don't know if I'm overworking it or overthinking it, or maybe I just don't have a friggin clue what I'm doing.  What the hell is going on?  Suffice it so say I AM FED UP !!

I've spent a lot of time on the computer during this vacation - surfing Youtube and watching journal videos.  I feel like I've really learned a lot and that I have a better understanding of the process.  Having said that, I can't seem to find my style and I can't seem to make what I've done work.  Out of 2 pages, one is ok and the other?  Not so much.

I'm hoping that part of the problem is that I have very limited supplies with me - just a few stamps, a little acrylic paint and some watercolour crayons.  All my colour washes and other paints and tools are at home.  I keep telling myself that the lack of supplies is what's causing the problem.  I really hope that's the case!    That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I just needed to vent!  Enough whining.   I'll post by "hated " page when I get home.  You can judge for yourselves.

Caio

All good things must come to an end

The trip is quickly winding down.  Only 3 more days and then we're on a flight back to Vancouver.  We've had a wonderful trip and have enjoyed ourselves immensly.  We're golfing today and tomorrow and then plan to enjoy our last pool day on Friday.  Friday night we're off to see Willie Nelson at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio.  Then Saturday morning we're on the milk run back to Vancouver.  We have a stopover in Edmonton for about 3 hours and then from there we fly into Vancouver.  Why through Edmonton you ask?  I checked with Airmiles to see if I could change our flight but unfornately there are no airmiles seats remaining on the flights direct  into Vancouver or Abbotsford.  It will be a long day but not much we can do about it.  At least we have a flight so it is what it is.

Now that the trip is almost over we're looking forward to getting home to our own beds.  We've really missed our 3 fur babies - Daisy, Kirby and yes, even nasty old Socks.   Initially Socks will not be happy with us - she'll give us "the tail"  and hiss.  Then she'll be all over us.  We're looking forward to some cat love.

Well gotta run.... I hear the golf course calling my name.

Caio

Coming to the end

We're coming to the end of our time here in paradise.  We leave for home on Saturday March 10th.  At this point in the trip I always start to think about home and everything that waits for me there.  I'm always a little sad to leave and I'm already looking forward to coming back next year.

We've had a wonderful, relaxing time.  The weather has been really great and we've played a ton of golfing and had lots of days around the pool.  Both Kerry and I are tanned and she and I have gotten along famously. 

I managed to complete 2 art journal pages - one for a travelling journal group I'm in and the second for one of my journals.  Based on the limited supplies I have with me they turned out pretty well.  I must admit though that I really had to work at them, they don't seem to come easy to me.  However, I've been watching a ton of journalling technique videos - I love Journal Artista - and I think I've somewhat lost some of my apprehension about journalling.   I think I may tend to 'overthink" the process and the fact that I'm a bit of a perfectionist does not help the situation!

Well gotta run - I can hear the pool calling my name.

Oh, BTW, today it's 85 in Palm Springs.  Just saying......

Caio

Halfway point of our trip

We're at the halfway point in our trip and we're having a fabulous time.  The weather has been outstanding and we've enjoyed 4 days of pool time.  Yesterday it was close to 90 and it's supposed to be the same today.  Tomorrow is also supposed to be warm but we've decided to golf anyway.  Taqhitz has lots of trees so there will be shade for Kerry and since our tee time is around 130 the temperature will be dropping as we get later into the round.

Went to the casino on Thursday night.....bad idea!  Suffice it to say I did not win any money. 

Tuesday I did some craft supply shopping,  I hit Big Lots, Joannes and TJ Maxx and scored some bargoons.  At first I was disappointed with Big Lots.  I watch all the fabulous craft hauls on You Tube and didn't really see a lot on first glance.  Then I realized that you had to dig, dig, dig so I did and came up with some cool stuff.  They didn't have a lot of stamp sets but I did score some individual stamps and lots of other stuff that I don't see at home.

The last time we were at Walmart I bought a pair of sneakers and I've done some walking down here.  Nothing spectacular and certainly not marathon material, but it's a start.  I'm very out of shape so I'm just taking my time and trying not to do too much.  Twice in the last 3 days is pretty good progress for me so I'm pleased with myself.  The goal is to get the habit in place so I can continue it at home.

Oh, I also bought myself an Ipod.  I've been using my daughter's at work because she said she didn't use it unless travelling.  However she's discovered a whole lot of neat apps she can use and so she's really stoked to use it.  I gave her back her ipod and bought myself one - 8G with camera for $198 at Walmart.  I think that's a pretty good price but not really sure.  Anyway, I'm enjoying this little gadget.  I supervise a team of 4 and the 5 of us work in a small office.  I really don't like the radios on because the office is so small. I've always used an MP3 which is OK but not optimum.  Now that I have my IPOD I'm looking forward to being able to use it at work.  I think I have something like 1000 songs to choose from.  I love that I can store so much on this little device. Who knew?

I've managed to finish the journal spread for the Travelling Journals project.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.  It wasn't very spontaneous, however, I did put a lot of work into it and considering the limited supplies I have with me, it turned out not too bad. I took some pictures on my IPOD so I'll upload later, if I can figure out how to do that !

The pool is calling my name so gotta run.  Caio.

Life is good!

The weather here in PS has been a little on the cool side.  The last couple of days it's been windy and cool and last night we had a pretty good storm.  They had snow in Joshua Tree and about 12 inches in the higher elevations over 3000 feet.

Yesterday we had a lazy day and just lay around until around 2 pm.  I decided since it wasn't a particularly nice day that I'd do some errands.  We hit Michaels for a bottle of craft paint and some decorative tape.  I didn't plan to buy a lot, however there were bargoons to be had.  Need I say more? I scored a "Doodle style" smash book (very cool) for $ 12.95, 3 smash pads @ $ 1.99 each, 3 KC company tag stacks @ 1.99 each and some very cute black and white polka dot tape.  Very cute!  I have no idea what these cost back in Vancouver but I suspect  I would have paid considerably more.  I'm in a travelling journal swap and I brought that journal with me to PS.  I also brought one of my own journals with me to work in, hence the "need" for some white acrylic paint, which I also picked up at Michaels.

Next stop was ULTA where I purchased some Bare Minerals foundation and blush.  I had an on-line coupon for 20% off one item, but who knew?  It didn't apply to Prestige cosmetics.  Big surprise there! No big deal not being able to use it - just seems that I can never take advantage of a coupon as I never buy the right product.  Story of my life!

Last stop was dinner at Di Carlos Italian Restaurant  in Rancho Mirage where my daughter treated me (treated...is that even a word?) to dinner.  This restaurant is always on our "must do" list. The food is scrumptious, the staff and owner are really friendly and the service is great.  His business is just a license to print money!  Line-ups most of the time at night so you need to get there early or be prepared to wait.  They have an early bird menu that runs from 3 (I think) until 6pm.  On the special you get your choice of 3 or 4 selections which are a "smaller" size entree - yeah right, I can never eat all of it and I have a good appetite! - salad with homemade garlic dressing (to die for) and garlic bread for $ 9.95.  What a deal!  I highly recommend that you check them out if you're in the Coachella Valley.

We were home by 6:15 and just hung out in front of the fire for the rest of the evening. We watched the Canucks game - GO CANUCKS - and then some of the Property Brothers (love those guys). At around 1 am I gravitated to the computer where I surfed until after 3.  Then off to bed, where you guessed it, I couldn't sleep.  Oh well, guess I'll be in bed early tonight.  That's what holidays are for, right?  Life is good.

Caio !

blogging from Paradise

We're ensconced in our rental house in Palm Springs.  Heaven! 

We were both up early on Friday and thank goodness for that!  We usually fly out of either Bellingham or Abbotsford - last time it was Abbotsford - so we've been spoilt by the lack of lines and how fast we can get through customs.  YVR is a far different story.  Luckily for us, we were awake at 5 am so left for the airport earlier than we had originally planned.  The trip through check in, even though we were already checked in, was slow and disorganized.  Then we had to hike over to the international baggage area to drop off our luggage.  Some little east indian baggage handler was yelling at us.  No help provided, just yelling.  Rude, Rude, Rude....can you say annoying?  I just wanted to reach out and slap him.

We had planned to grab breakfast at the airport since we couldn't get breakfast at the hotel.  Unfortunatly with all the lineups we never did get anything to eat.  We also had to line up to go through the security check - the line had at least a 100 people in it!  Going through security is always such a treat!  From there we lined up to go through US customs.  Thankfully that went very quickly.  We just made it to our gate in time for the start of boarding.  The flight was uneventful.

We arrived on in Palm Springs at around 11:30 on Friday to a fabulous, sunny and warm day - 84 degrees. We vehicle rental check in went well and we were able to get the HHR I requested....woohoo!!  We were 2 hours early, however, the rental company had the house all ready for us so there was no waiting around.  Don't you love it when a plan comes together?   The rental house is lovely and is way up there on the cozy meter.  It's a new rental in the rental pool and so is missing a few of the "it would be nice to have's" but other than that it's great.  Huge yard, good sized pool, nice spa and lots of privacy. 

I spent Saturday in the pool - sheer heaven !  Sunday was cooler and very windy - something like 65 mile per hour winds expected - so no pool time Sunday.  Today we're golfing and then going out to dinner afterwards.  Tomorrow we'll stay home and have a pool day and then barbecue some steaks  We still haven't mastered how to get the spa to heat up properly but the pool guy comes today so hopefully that will be rectified.  Kerry is chomping at the bit to get in the spa. 

Stay tuned.  Caio from paradise.

Retirement card

One of to the guys I work with is retiring tomorrow so we hosted a retirement lunch for him today. I made this card to go with his gift and everyone in the office signed it. 

I'm reasonably pleased with it.  If I were to make it again, I'd probably change the colors but everyone else seemed pleased with it.

BTW, in the scan the image looks crooked.  On the actual card it was fine.  I guess my card was a little crooked on the scanner bed when I scanned it.

Fell off the wagon

So ....

It appears that I fell off the wagon  - I didn't meet my goal of twice a week and have little artwork to show for the past 2 weeks. 

The studio is still a work in progress.  It's about 2/3 finished and then I stopped.  I need to finish this job otherwise I can't work in there.  Having said that, I have been able to get a little work done in there.
Surprising enough, it's actually functioning pretty well.  I'm very pleased with the layout - it feels comfortable and more spacious.  I still have way too much "stuff" but it seems more in control now.

I'm exhausted.  I'm getting ready to go south for a month and work has been crazy busy.  I come home dead to the world and just don't have a lot of energy to do anything.  I have several projects I want to finish up before leaving next week, just not sure how much will get done.  I must do up some stock for the store, no ifs, ands or buts about that, otherwise I will be very unpopular.  I also have some ATCs to finish, a journal page to do for a travelling journal page and I want to prep some journal pages for my own journal so I can take it with me.  Last year I bought a bunch of stuff down there but didn't really do much journalling.  I think this year it will work better if I have the pages prepped and ready to go.  Hopefully, if I do that, then I can bring a bare minimum with me to work with.  Who knows? Still struggling with putting anything to paper, however I'm hoping that I'll be more free, less blocked down there.  Keeping my fingers crossed

Gotta run.  Caio!

My studio, my studio

My experiment with a journal page grid?  Not so good.  I don't like the way it's turning out.  Appears, I need my space!   So I guess I'll be reverting  back to full size pages.  I think I still like the pages unbound, again that is still under review.

I'm in the midst of a massive re-org of my studio.  My daughter took the doors off my two armoires and took down the shelf in the closet.  I emptied my armoires and moved them into the closet.  Looks fabulous.  The rest of the room?  Looks like a bomb exploded!  It's looked bad before but it is truly out of control now!  Anyway they say that when you start to organise, that it gets way worse before it gets better.  Still a work in progress.  My daughter is going out to buy a new router tomorrow and then I'll be moving my desk, computer and printer upstairs. Will take pictures so you can see my progress.

Speaking of pictures, what's up with blogspot?   I can't upload pictures.  When I try it only gives me 3 choices for where I can get my images, and my computer is not one of them.  It's just lately that I can't upload so I'm wondering if I modified one of my settings without realizing it.  Will need to explore that.

Gotta' run as my studio is calling me .....help... save me..... I've fallen and I can't get up!    Well, I think you get the picture.

Caio!

Running behind

Today is Tuesday and I didn't post on the weekend so I guess that  puts me one post behind.  I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  I'll just try to catch up sometime this week.

My week didn't start out all that well.  I believe that I have the makings of an abcessed tooth.  I have to make yet another trip to my dentist tomorrow morning, during rush hour no less, so he can take a look at it.  It's not too painful, although I have had a tooth ache of varying degrees of pain for the last several days.  Nothing that an Ibuprofen wouldn't help!  I have another appointment next week so he can start rebuilding my teeth - long story, very long story - so I hoped he would just give me some antibiotics that would hold me til I see him next week.  No such luck - he has to see me in order to give me the meds.  What's up with that? :)

Not too much new on the art front.  I've been working in my journal and I think I've decided that I prefer the larger, prebound pages.  I'm finding that I tend to forget about the blank borders I need to leave for binding and that might cause some problems down the road.  As well a 5 x 7 journal page is not very big, so I have come to discover.   The page I mentioned dividing up into quadrants (so I wouldn't have to fill a large space with journalling) is really not working all that well.  I've redone one portion of it 3 times.  Good Lord what the heck is going on with that?  Anyway, I'll keep plugging along on the page but I think that I'll probably be switching to a larger format.

Gotta run.....Caio!

Happy New Year !

Good morning and Happy New Year ! 

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, mostly because I never seem to keep them.  However, I am prepared to go out on a limb and share 2 of my resolutions with you.

Resolution #1 is to work in  my art Journal , as in having an entry, for every day of the month of January.  That's a huge commitment for me so I'm excited to see if I can really do it.  I have a real problem with putting words to the page so while I've committed to journalling every day, the content will be short, sweet and not necessarily wordz.  I've gone to a smaller journal for 2012 and I'm not binding the pages until after the work is complete.  I'm liking that so far!  I've also sectioned off my first page so there is very little space to fill in for each day.    I'm hoping because I don't have to fill a full page, that this will help me get past the fear of the blank page.  Definitely a work in progress!

Resolution # 2 is to post to the blog on a more regular basis.  I know, I know, I've said that before.....so now I'm saying it again!  I've pretty much opted out of Live Journal, just not enough hours in the day!  My goal is to post a minimum of twice weekly (for a minimum of 104 posts for 2012).  I think I'll make an appointment with myself  twice a week to do this.  Perhaps Thursday and Sunday?  Or Wednesday and Saturday?  Anyway you get the picture.  I was gifted with a killer daytimer so these appointments will get entered in "the book" which is pretty much what I use to manage my life.

I have some art from 2011 that I'll post next time.   I know, I know - you've heard that before too!

So far this is a baby step on the path to achieving one of my goals for 2012.  1 post down and only 103 to go!   Stay tuned.

Caio!

Very quiet

Not much excitement going on in my little corner of paradise.  Christmas is looming - why am I always so surprised at how quickly it comes around again?  We expect Christmas to be very low key again this year.  No family here, just the two of us, and of course our family of friends.  It's such a busy time of year.

Store stock is pretty much all caught up and delivered.  I have a couple of more designs to deliver this week and then that's done for another year.  Today I need to get caught up on some ATC's that are late and then of course start my own Christmas cards to send out.  I'm also in a swap so need to come up with a fairly simple, but equally stunning :) card design to send out for the swap.

My journalling has been almost non existent for the last several weeks.  However, I did sign up this month at Art Journalling Every Day so I need to get my stuff in gear and journal!  I have a hard time with journalling.  I can't seem to separate the "art" part from the "journalling" part.  I'm hung up on the idea that the art has to match or support the journalling I'm going to do.  I seem to spend a heck of a lot of time surfing the net and checking out all the fabulous journal pages but don't ever seem to be able to actually do a page.  Very frustrating.  I think my new plan is that I'm not even going to think about the journalling part - just focus on trying to do cool art?  Guess we'll have to see.

Gotta run.  I've done lots of cards but forgot to post before I delivered them so don't have anything ready to post right now.  Hope to have some new stuff in the next little while.

Caio!

I follow Art Journal Every Day by Julie Fei Fan Balzer.  Yesterday, I think, she posted an interview that she had done with Tricia from Altered Schoolmarm.  Tricia did a mini tutorial on how she creates a journal page.  The link to her blog is http://www.alteredschoolmarm.blogspot.com/ .  I would encourage you to swing by and check out her blog.  Her journal pages, IMHO, are to die for!

I love floating around and looking at all the blogs belonging to the wonderful artists in our midst.  The styles are so varied and diverse - everything from whimsical to dark.  So much talent and so generous for these people to share their art with us.

Organization ? Chaos!

I'm one of those people who can never keep her studio clean and tidy.  No doubt about it - I'm a messy crafter.  It isn't that I don't try, I have 2 long banquet tables that form a corner workstation in my studio as well as several rows of shelving on the wall above the work table. There should be ample room for storage, however my work table is always covered with stuff!  I just always seem to be working in a space that is only 6 inches square.  I move stuff from one pile to another and then stack the piles, and then rearrange the piles and then shuffle through the piles, and then sort the piles and then add to the piles and then knock the piles over onto the floor....well, you get the picture.

Some of the things I've done over the years have worked and I always seem to come back to them.  Just recently, I thought I had finally found my organizational style.  I spent hours re-arranging, re-packaging and re-labelling all my supplies.  I moved things around and repurposed storage elements that I already had.  At first it seemed to be working, but now?  Not so much!

Part of the problem is that I have way toooo much "stuff".  I have big stuff, little stuff, leftover stuff, coloured stuff, paper stuff, metal stuff.   I really do love my "stuff" but it's taking over my life!   I know I have some really great stuff, but I can't use it because I can't FIND my stuff!

I do have some stuff organized by drawers and that does seem to work well.  I have loads of my rubber stamps organized by category in clear plastic shoeboxes.  I have my punches stored in large plastic tray/baskets, granted not the best because it takes up a lot of flat storage room, but it works.  My paper is held both some in sterilite drawers and in my cabinet. That works but again, paper in more than one place! That causes problems because my paper is then split in different locations and I don't know what I have. 

This organizing and being organized is a quest for peace in a sea of chaos.  I'm not sure I'm going to make it without capsizing!

Caio!

Christmas tag swap

I created this tag for a Christmas tag swap I've played in for the last few years.  This tag was fun to make and I'm pleased with the results.  I used 2 different colours of distress inks.  The ink pads were smooshed - highly technical term "smooshed" -  on a craft sheet.  The smooshed ink was sprayed with water until the ink beaded.  Tags were then moved around in one colour, dried and then smooshed in the second colour of ink and dried.  Then tag was stamped with the various images and coloured.   No two tags are exactly alike.   Simple procedure with pretty nice results!

Countdown

The countdown to Palm Springs has started! House has been rented and flight booked.  All that remains is to rent a car which I'll arrange for much closer to the date.  We've rented a different house this year, mostly because I dragged my feet and our first choice was already rented!  That's not a bad thing though. This house has a bigger pool and a nicer pool area - should get sun most of the day so that's a definite bonus.  Let's hope the house lives up to the pictures.

Can you believe that Christmas is just a little over 2 months away?  The next couple of weeks are busy for me as I get my Christmas stock ready for the Fort Langley store.  Then of course on to making up my personal Christmas cards and getting them ready to send. 

Here's another christmas card.

The last few weeks at work have been crazy making !  However this is my busy season, with all the work getting christmas samples approved and ready for the open house at the store.

Here are a few new samples.

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Just back from a quick trip to Ottawa to visit family.  I was only there for 7 days, however, it was a good visit and very enjoyable.  Returned on Thursday morning and back to work Friday.  That was tough!  I don't know where the time goes but it certainly does fly.

I have a birthday coming up so I treated myself to a facial and a massage on Saturday.  It was heaven - sure wish I could do that more than two or three times a year ! Hmmm, I guess I'm never satisfied.

I was a very bad girl!  I spent a bunch of money on craft supplies and new toys.  That is not supposed to happen but I just could not help myself.  I bought a Cricut Personal cutter.  I've been eyeing the Cricut for months but just could not justify spending the money they wanted for it.  I was in Michael's on Thursday and they had them on sale - regular $199, sale price $89.  The price was so good I just couldn't help myself !  I haven't even taken it out of the box yet, but hope to do some playing this afternoon. I'm hoping that this is worthwhile - it appealed to me to be able to die cut sentiments for my cards and journals.  Hopefully, I'll get lots of use out of it.

I also scored some good craft stuff - mostly regular priced but I'm happy with it regardless.  I am now hooked on Youtube craft haul videos so I went out and bought a new memory card for my camera so that I can post some of my hauls.  Also want to post some other videos - maybe some of the supplies I'm purging?  Stay tuned!

I keep forgetting to post art before I send it off, so will make more of an effort to update the blog with some eye candy.  Maybe some blog candy as well?

Gotta run.  Caio!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks and I've been away from the blog for too long!

Summer has finally arrived on the coast and everyone is enjoying the good weather because we all know it's not going to last much longer.  We've has a lousy summer this year - not cold, not hot, not really all that rainy, just blah!  The flowers have been lackluster with insipid colour and long gangley stems.  Finally now that the summer sun has arrived they've perked up and are looking happy and robust. 

Work, as usual has been crazy busy.  I come home most nights exhausted and totally lacking in any ambition to do anything at all. I'm loving every minute, however it is definitely both emotionally and physically exhausting.

I'm starting into the  2nd busy season of the year for my  business.  I'm working on Christmas samples and the fall season kicks everything into high gear.  Christmas is only 4 months away and time will fly between now and then.  I'm also working on 2 travelling journals and 2 journals for my journal partner swap.  I plan to make a run to Be Creative this afternoon and then will come back and hunker down to work in my journals.  Tomorrow is sample day and then back into the craziness of work next week.  Thank God for weekends!

Gotta run.  Caio!

Ok - so this is going to be one of those rants I warned you about.  You might want to leave now....or not.

What is up with the fascination with Casey Anthony?  I am so sick and tired of listening to the media and seeing her stupid mug on tv every other minute of every single night and day. Enough already!

That creature has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  She is a total waste of skin, air and space and I'm so DONE with her.  I am sick and tired of hearing what she did, where she went, what she ate, where she's going and where she's coming back from, what she's wearing....Enough.  I could care less about her.  With any luck at all she'll get run over by a truck or bitten by a snake - now that would be poetic justice - and die.  Good riddance!   Or maybe she'll just crawl back under whatever rock she crawled out from under and we can call it a day.  Move on already!

I told you it would be a rant.....don't say you weren't warned !

Today is BC Day which means that all government workers get today off so it makes for a nice long weekend.

I've been busy on the home front.  I dug out my garden at the front of my townhouse.  There were a bunch of rhodos and azaleas that were way too big and overgrown.  The roots were a bit of a challenge to remove on a couple of them but we managed, with the help of a friend at the end, to get everything out and the bed cleared.  Turns out there were only 4 rhodoa and 3 azaleas but it was a veritable jungle in there.  Everything was way too big and overgrown to be even remotely estetically pleasing.  Just a big blob of green.  I want colour !!

I sent my plant list into the strata and I'm waiting for thier approval to proceed with the planting.  However, I did go ahead and buy a few things yesterday as the deal was way too good to resist.  The local nursery has a huge sale on as it's getting near the end of the season here.  I scored 3 roses for the price of 2 so that was a big saving of $25.  WoooHooo!  As the roses are in the plan I submitted to the strata and everyone around here has them, I can't see there being any problem with going ahead and planting them.  Famous last words?

I had intended to do some overtime at work this weekend but changed my mind at the last minute.  I have so much to do here at home I just decided that I needed to be here instead.  And clearly I made the right choice!  I made and delivered a bunch of wedding cards for the store - my guy is soooooo patient!  I hope to get another batch finished today so DD can deliver tomorrow or Wednesday.  I did the nursery trip and have some other artsy projects in the hopper so it's all good.

Friends are coming over today to help me ---- well actually, there is no "helping" involved -- he'll do all the work and we'll watch.  They are such good friends - I don't know what I would do without them.  DD and I try to do things but sometimes it's just beyond us.  Sometimes it would be so nice to have a man around!  My friend will replace my thermostat with a programmable one so hopefully we can save some money on heat.  He's also installing a new smoke detector which I replaced after I had my place painted.  We're a little intimidated with the smoke detector because it means turning off the power.  We've been told that this might require the gas pilot lite to be relit afterwards....I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole.  With my luck, I'd do something wrong and we'd all get blown to china!  Best not to go down that road.

Well must run.  I want to water my garden and then grab some breakfast.  I'm hoping to be able to retreat to my studio for a little while and finish up some cards before the day gets away from me.

Caio!

I was finally able to finish the journal spread in my own travelling journal and get it out to the next player.  It was a bit of a struggle, but I was reasonably happy with it so it's all good.  I've just received the next journal in line.  It's a quirky little book with different sizes of pages.  Not sure what I'm going to do but it should be interesting.

I've also managed to create a journal page in one of my journals.  Teesha Moore's art is my inspiration and I tried to follow her style. I'm really pleased with this one and it was fun to do.  I think I may do more of these type pages.  Enjoy!

I'm really frustrated.  I'm participating in a travelling journal swap and I seem to have hit a great big, nasty cement wall  which is blocking my creativity.  I have enough "stuff" to open a good sized store, yet the well seems to have gone dry when it comes to finishing the page. 

I have my background done and have tons of ideas flying around in my head but I can't get anything down on paper.  Theme?  I have no blessed idea.  I'm just totally blank.  I don't know what it is but it's making me crazy ! I don't know where to start, I don't know how to finish and I sure don't know how to cover the distance in between those two points!

I love the idea of art journalling but I can't seem to get out of the box enough to be able to be spontaneous.  This little voice inside me keeps saying "oh, that's stupid" or "what's the point of doing that"?  And I guess deep down inside I really don't know how to put the art and the word together. 

I need to finish these journal pages tonight ...and I will.  I just don't want to send someone a bunch of crap of which I'll be ashamed to admit that I created.  Frustrating, very frustrating !

Last night while watching tv, I decided to try to draw some faces with the plan being, that if I came up with anything decent, I might use it in my art journal.   I'm not a person who can draw, never have been and never will be any good, but I was pleasantly surprised at what I came up with after practicing for awhile.  The first few (start at bottom left) are pretty bad but I can definitely see some progress with the final few. 

Pleasantly surprised to say the least.  I think I might have to spend a little more time working on this!

Hello again


The past couple of weeks have been hectic. Work is good but full of the usual challenges and then some. A challenging employee moved on to a new job only to be replaced by one that's almost as challenging to supervise. Makes it difficult to get any work done.

The surgeon is finally happy with the results of the second jaw surgery. Thursday I had the 2 plates and 4 screws in my jaw removed so I'm off work for a few day. I also went to see my ortho guy who advised that the braces come off at the end of August and then the retainer goes on. Finally after 6 years, progress. Woohoo.

Then I went to my regular dentist to have a cleaning and to discuss the remainder of my treatment plan. Turns out I will probably need 2 crowns and 12 veneers, all adding up to a cost of almost $ 20,000 out of my pocket. Now that was not so good news. Have no idea how I'm going to pay for it - investments, line of credit or installments? Your guess is as good as mine. Very up and down week. Needless to say I've been cranky, cranky, cranky!

On the art front, I've been busy. Father's day, Weddings etc. I've also joined a travelling art journal group, signed up for a couple of online classes and am still in a partner journal and ATC exchange. I find I never have enough time for art, or maybe more to the point, I don't manage my time well enough to get much accomplished on the art front. Whatever....