I did it!

Pretty sure that I won't get into the top 20 but you're never gonna know if you try right? I'm talking about the MM Idol. My 3 projects were due yesterday at noon. I had to enter 2 los and an altered item. I altered some ceramic tiles and turned them into coasters with my Gel-a-tins stamps. This is what I ended up coming up with:





The announcement is on Monday! At least we don't have to wait too long. I have decided that I want to do more of this and try to get published. I have made connections who are willing to help me and if I don't take the chance now, I never will! Tell me what you think about this - give me criticism - tell me whats wrong with it. I'll never get better if I don't know what I am doing wrong.

Pictures of Scrapfest

Had a really good time at Scrapfest last weekend! Met some really great new ladies from out of town that I hope join Scraptivity real soon. At the crop on Saturday night, we participated in a scavenger hunt and our table won!!!We got some cool stuff and got the chance to get to know these fabulous new ladies Laura and Jessie - they are really sweet and I am so glad that they decided to join our Scraptivity family. I also had the chance to meet Heather M, Carla(goonette) Leslie, Rosalie(altabrat) and Altafarmgirl while we were there. It was great to finally put names and faces together since we all know each other online already!
Taking classes from Ali was amazing. She is sooooo funny and sweet and kind. Not to mention uber talented! I didn't get alot done in one of her classes because I just enjoyed chatting with her so much!


I also had the opportunity to meet a few other women that I have admired for a long time. From the left you see Caroline Lau as well as the lovely ladies that design at Fontwerks-Kate Teague and Melissa Diekma. And of course the lovely Kah-Mei, owner of Fontwerks herself. What a lovely bunch of ladies. Caroline is as ute and sweet as she appears online and the Fontwerks ladies were wonderful and helpful and of course uber talented.

After reading Rhonda's blog

All things come from God. We should use our blessings as blessings to others. Ardith Knechtel

I decided to take her advice and celebrate the good things in my life today.

1. Chris! My wonderful husband and his phone calls during the day to tell me that he loves me and he misses me.

2. The enthusiasm that Kiana has for life. She woke up this morning excited about the rain. She has a positive outlook on EVERYTHING!

3. Malachi's kisses and hugs. He crawls into bed with me each morning and wakes me with a kiss on my nose, each cheek and my eyes. He is soooo gentle.

4. Lea and Anam. They are great friends and so much fun to be with! I looooove Anam's english - it makes me laugh and I learn new words every day. Lea is sweet and kind and has such a big heart for her friends

5. Ali Edwards - I get to go to Scrapfest tomorrow!!!! I look forward to learning from her and improving my work.

6. A clean house - its great to have my house in order and ready so that I can go away tomorrow knowing that my home is ready for dh and kids to have a ton of fun in and really mess up while I am gone! In our home a messy house created by dad and the kids means there has been a TON OF FUN going on over here!

7. Family - I am so excited to be spending our Thanksgiving holiday with my family. This is our first thanksgiving with my parents since Chris and I have been married. He actually got it off from work so that we can be with my family.

8. My dad! With his health having been bad lately, I have learned to appreciate him alot more. I love the 3 hours we spend on the phone every weekend while we watch the Blue Bombers play football on television. I love his emotional side and the fact that the little things in life make him cry. I love how much he adores my two kids. I have never met a grandfather who makes his grandkids such a vital part of his life.

9. New clothes - with having put on ALOT of weight lately, I have had to buy new clothes. As unhappy as I am with my size, I think I still look pretty good. And buying new clothes ALWAYS makes you feel better!

10. Winning a draw - I got $100 in free product at the lss. Cool - I was able to pick up some things that I normally wouldn't have. What a great feeling to win something!


I got tagged by Sue!

5 WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME!

1. The plastic cups in my kitchen have to be stacked in a colour coded order: pink, yellow, orange, lt. green, dk. green, blue. No other way!

2. I iron my undies

3. When I windex the mirrors in my house, I have to wipe them 7 times, not 8, 6 or 3. If I do them more or less than 7 times, I have to wash them again.

4. I LOOOOOOOOVE to eat cooked tomatoes in ANYTHING. I also love tomato soup and salsa but I HATE raw tomatoes. I cannot even tolerate the smell.

5. I am physically afraid of corn. You know, corn on the cob, kernal corn. I will not touch or go near any food that contains corn of any kind.

Alright - I am tagging Anam, Rhonda, JennD and Heather M

Getting older

There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age. Sophia Loren

Well, here I am - another year older. My sister Tanya called me the other day and said "Do you realize that you are now closer to 40 than you are to 30?" Thanx for reminding me?! But surprisingly enough I am enjoying getting older. When I turned 30 I was really quite sad about it and it very much depressed me, but today I woke up thinking "Hey, I am a hot chick for 36. it could be much worse" So what do I want this year? What do I want to do? What do I want to accomplish? This year I want to work hard at getting published - I would LOVE to have just one publication under my belt before my 37th birthday. I want to be meaningful - I want what I say and do this year to REALLY mean something. I want to give my kids the strength and the freedom to let me go(just a little) and to exert a little more independance. I want my faith to shine and to really mean something. I want to love God in a newer, deeper way. I want to be an open vessel to change and to be the person He wants me to be! I leave you with this photo - I think it portrays my maturity and outlook on this year quite well.

Never forget

I got an email from Tante Nell today. We NEED to remember - its important that we think and pray for our Canadian Soldiers every day. Whether we agree with the war in Afghanistan and Iraq or not, Canadian and American Soldiers are fighting for our rights each and every day!!! Where were you on 9/11? what was going thru your mind? what were your thots? I remember getting Kiana ready for school and when I saw the news and the first plane hit I remember thinking "What kind of IDIOT pilot didn't see that building? What are you, STUPID?" And then the 2nd plane hit and I remember feeling utter fear and "we are NEVER going to be the same again!!!! WE are at war!!!!!"

Anyway, if you can, please watch this video. Post to me and tell me what you think. We have men and women who are courageous and are worth remembering. We need to support the families of the lost and remember that, no matter what, they are fighting for our freedoms. Whether we agree or not! Support our troops!!!!
Canadian Forces Tribute

I LOVE YOU!

To love is to find pleasure in the happiness of the person loved!

10 years ago today I married the man of my dreams! You doesn't always read my blog, but I wanted to come here and tell you how much I love you and the last 10 years that we have been together. You make me laugh with just a look, you know just what to say when I am sad, you are my strength, you think I am beautiful even when I am at my worst and you make me feel strong even when I am weak. You have given me 2 beautiful children that I adore. You have been my champion, my defender, my lover and my friend. You have been strong even when others felt it was wrong for us to be together. For a long time it was you and me against the world trying to show the world that we should be together and that we WOULD make it. I hope that we have 50 more years together - you make my life complete.

MY DAUGHTER IS AUTISTIC!!!!!

Sensory is a key part of autism and its extremely important to know when working with autistic children. Elizabeth Gregory

Its amazing how autism affects the entire family. Kevin Krueger

Alright, I love my family. They are there when you need them and they will walk through fire if anyone were to do anything to me or my kids, but sometimes they are just the most ignorant people on the planet!!!! Kiana is back to having toileting accidents again. Turns out that my parents didn't give Kiana her meds ALL SUMMER LONG!!!! And now, we are dealing with toileting issues again. We had FINALLY ended those accidents last spring and rather than having accidents every day we had problems once or twice a month. NOW we are back to one or two a day!!!! My mother mentioned that Kiana did "FINE" without her meds and that maybe she doesn't really need them. The way she spoke to me about it made me question my parenting skills but AGAIN!!!! I was starting to think that maybe she was right and that she didn't really need the Ritalin and the Prozac. And now this. The worst part is that she starts school again tomorrow. Last spring we were fighting with the school because every time there was a regression they were telling us that these were not issues in school and that maybe we were doing something wrong at home. They were indirectly accusing me of not being able to handle my child and have the structure she needed at home. By May or June she was virtually accident free. Now after a full summer away from school, she is having daily accidents again. What's the school gonna think now?! They are TOTALLY going to believe that we have no control of our children at home and we are going to begin this fight with the school all over again. I love my parents very much, but they just make our lives with the kids sooo much more difficult. When are they going to accept the fact that my children are AUTISTIC and that they aren't gonna be like everyone else!!!! I KNOW THEY ARE DISABLED - WHEN ARE YOU GONNA GET IT TOO?!?!?!?!?!?!?