LOOK LOOK LOOK!

I am so happy and pleased, and every so thankful to my dear *D* for coming over on a sunny day and help me put together these Ikea Expedit shelves that have been in my basement for a good 2, maybe 3 months. It went surprisingly well and fast and I even got to help a little. Thank you again honey! So now I have to dust it and start unpacking my boxes. I don't know how I will set it up. By type of supply or by colour? hmmm It really looks sharp with the green paint.

*D* also mounted my table top on to my father's desk. So now I can wipe it down and put the shelves into it. He helped me find the cords for the printer so I just need to get some paper and do some test printing; let's hope it still works! It's an expensive Canon photo printer. Lastly, my upstairs Expedit got mounted so it's nice and secure.

I had a lovely pedicure this afternoon. Really enjoy the young lady who does my feet. "Skinny Jeans" by Sephora OPI. Heels feel great! What colour should I have my reunion, and then Vegas?

Tomorrow the plan is to clean, do chores and get ready for the arrival of my mom. I have a shoe rack to put together too. And move the tv from the guestbedroom to my room; am tired of the little screen and not having channels and being able to watch DVDs. I think my other two pieces of furniture may be arrived.

The girls are having a sleepover tonight and so far it's been lots of cuddles on the bed. I don't like them running on the laminate chasing toys because i'm araid they will slid and do something to their legs. Lots of quick trips on the leash to go to the BR. Raja, is, how do I say it?, a bit put out!

Did I mention I'm going blonde on Monday.....

Friday Pretties

Ok, this will probably be lame. I started looking for pretty purple things online that made me feel happy and was going to do a really lovely Friday Pretty Post like my besties Rocketgirl and MsCupcake are doing, but well, things changed overnight and so here are just a few pictures and no lovely words to go along. Have a great Friday and weekend.

Homemade brownies

We had a potluck on nightshift last night, the two units. Great time, great food. And yes, I made brownies. They smelt so gooooood coming out of the oven! I love my brownie pan that makes it look like a chocolate bar. They went over well.

wait, here is another pretty!

oooooooooooooooooohhhh I NEED one of these!!!!!!!!! I loved my Polaroid instant camera when I was a kid; it was called The Handle! How cute is this?

Wednesday Lovely List

the lovely MsCupcake has encouraged us to do a "lovely list" on our blogs...here is my first attempt, in the middle of the night

1. Am absolutely giddy with glee; signed up as an independent Stampin Up demonstrator yesterday. Soon I will be having workshops in my studio and doing home parties, sharing my love of the products that create beautiful stamped cards, scrapbook pages and papercraft projects. Spent a few hours last night setting up my site and there is so much information, tips, videos and more to teach me. SO excited! SO MANY lovely stamps.....

2. Less than two months and off we'll be going to one of my happy places. Love Vegas. How can I not include it on a lovely list.

3. Got this acrylic tray and bowl at Michaels, discounted. Haven't decided on whether they will be used for food/entertaining or for down in my studio for product display!

Bazzill and SU cardstock, Cuttlebug folder, Bazzil flowers and pearl, Dew drops, SU ink and I think a Michaels stamp

Bazzill and SU cardstock, SU stamps and punch, Bazzill flower, Nestabilities, unknown buttons

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. I'm not a sit in the sun and soak up the heat and rays kind of girl. I can only do that if directly in front of me is a tropical beach or pool. Or, when I was younger, lakes and rivers.

I went out and did a little shopping. Got a cutie pink deck table to go with my pink chairs, an acrylic "tree" to hang necklaces off and a mirrored dish that will hold some pretties on my new vanity. Got a couple red display units (aka BBQ tableware) that I will be using for my new business once I get it started. It looks great against the green of the studio. And I found a dress for my 25 year high school reunion. It was lovely to be outside, have my sunglasses on, listening to "Soul Sister" on repeat driving to store to store with the sunroof open and sipping on a Starbucks javachip frap.

Best part of the day? A lovely visit on the deck with Ms Cupcake. I really felt "alive" and part of life last night. An impromptu visit..she lives seconds down the road and zip she was here. I tried my best to trick Rocketgirl over but she was strong and resisted my powers. I must be failing. She had some excuse like work or something like that. Meh.

my backyard

some patio table stuff..... or maybe for the studio....

the very rough life of Raja....

One of Pappa's favorites.... Obla di, Obla da, life goes onnnn...... come on everyone, let's do the polka!

A little childhood "vignette"

My Babuska Russian Nesting dolls. The biggest one has teeth marks. No, not from Skagi. Me. Late teether?

Childhood Memories

Some of my childhood books... English and Norweigan

Some of my childhood albums...

Yes, The Partridge Family. if you look closely in the right upper quardran, you'll see I've labelled it as a "good" album

eat your spinach boys and girls!

"I'm not afraid to take a stand
Everybody come take my hand
We'll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just let you know that, you're not alone
Holla if you feel that you've been down the same road

And I just can't keep living this way
So starting today, I'm breaking out of this cage
I'm standing up, Imma face my demons
I'm manning up, Imma hold my ground
I've had enough, now I'm so fed up
Time to put my life back together right now"

eminem

chocolate or strawberry?

We had a short Trifecta this month. Hard to get together with opposite schedules, other commitments, etc blah blah blah. Important thing is we do gather for a couple hours and visited and that was good for my sad little heart.

My asthma has been acting up as a result of me getting a cold and boy has it been hard to breath. Feel like my lungs are made out of steel and I have cement blocks on my chest. New meds on board.

Went home for an overnight visit; had a good visit with my mom. She gave me some of my childhood records (yes, vinyls) and books. Going to put them up on display on the bookcase with my little Russian Nesting dolls. She'd had a small garage sale selling off some of my old belongings from the past, so it was a nice treat to get a little extra cash from that.

Thinking seriously about becoming a SU demonstrator. Am a big fan of the products and it would be nice to do something social every month and maybe earn a little bit of money or at least some free sets! Will keep you posted!

Work isn't great. Meh. The end.

"There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.
- the character Morpheus in the movie The Matrix

You get what you settle for.
- the character Louise in the movie Thelma and Louise

Every man dies, but not every man really lives.
- the character Braveheart in the movie Braveheart"

I haven't made a card and posted in awhile. With the studio unpacked, find it hard to find my creative mojo, as well as all my supplies! Bazzill Cardstock, MM chipboard letter, unknown stamp, Bazzill flowers, Bazzill bling, cuddlebug folder, Marvy punch and Stickles.

"“Self-acceptance comes from meeting life's challenges vigorously. Don't numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.”
Swami Sivananda
(1887-1963); spiritual leader, author, physician

It apparently National Best Friends' Day. Who can keep up with this stuff. On Tv they said it was National Ocean day. Anyways, the ad worked, it made me think of my best friend. We've been friends since Grade one. Through thick and thin. Literally. Chasing boys in Grade 2. Her getting to be "girlfriend" to this kid who stole candy...yes, so we could get that stuff. Teaching me about fashion. Two years walking the halls of middle school, being so cool. First couple years high school were bumpy... sadly, over a boy. Having the most amazing grad year. Parties. Oh so many parties. Stood by me when I got married. Both times. Lived with us for a short while learning a new job. Loved my baby girl, the only one who was allowed to give her a nickname. Own lives have taken over but every time we pick up the phone, we are 110% connected and there for each other. Flashforward to her 40th birthday... Vegas. Elton John. Tattoos. Best time of my life. I love you *S*. Peaches and Brandy forever!

"“To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility -- these are marks of maturity and graciousness.”
William Arthur Ward

"My definition of success is to live your life in a way that causes you to feel a ton of pleasure and very little pain - and because of your lifestyle, have the people around you feel a lot more pleasure than they do pain. "
Tony Robbins

"Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself. "
Robert Foster Bennett

"“Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again.”
Alex Tan

In less than three months we will be in Vegas for our holidays... and one of my favorite things to do while there is to buy purses! I have a purse addiction! Often find really really good sales at Dilliards. Which one is your favorite?

the little angels I was taking care of

quite comfortable on my bed.

waiting for me to throw the balls

it took me two years to get her comfortable around me and now she's my best buddy

where in the world?

I really like this butterfly, "All a flutter", by Stampin Up. Will be in my next order for sure!

Where have I been? I've been at a friends', dog and house sitting for the past 8 days. I've done it several times but this time it was tough. I really felt homesick, guilty for leaving the cat behind...and MISSING him! So I was driving back and forth, which was exhausting. For some reason, it was hard on the girls this time, so we had lots of "accidents" to deal with. But at night we had lots of cuddles in bed while I tried to watch tv with over 400 channels. I am really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

While I vacation, I ended up having an emergency root canal, which was painful and then, after having to be on ABX, I had to deal with the nasty GI side effect. Lastly I've been fighting fevers, aches and cold symptoms. I've now lost my voice! So much for R&R! lol. Thank goodness for 4 weeks in the summer and Las Vegas......................

I think tomorrow or the day after, D&D are coming over to install and mount up my Expedit shelves. I am so excited, I can't wait. FINALLY....I'll be able to start setting up my studio. I want to scrapbook and make cards. It's going to be my happy place.

Last week I met up with a girlfriend I met 19 years ago when we moved into the townhouse complex she was living at with her twin girls. My daughter was 5 months and her twins were 14 months older. We spent a lot of time together the first two years but then we both moved away and our friendship then was mostly emails and once a year visits when she came back to see her parents. Haven't seen her in a few years so it was really nice to catch up again. Sadly she has had some of the same experiences I've gone through the past few years but on a positive note, we have promised each other to stay reconnected and be each other' supports. I told her, she looks exactly the same as she did when I first met her; stunning gorgeous, hasn't aged at all. Heart of gold. Loves her five children more than anything. I remember one time we had gone across the border to find "baby" collapsible strollers for all three girls and how we'd sit out on the steps and the three of them would wildly run, pushing their babies in these strollers, up and down the sidewalks! My daughter learned to walk at an early age and I"m sure part of it was inspired to wanting to keep up with the twins!

What are some of your favorite tv shows you're watching right now? I LOVE "Two and a Half Men", "Nurse Jackie", "General Hospital", "Sue Thomas, FB Eye" and as always "ER" reruns. I've been waiting for Shaw to get my digital box for the rest of the rooms. Need a DVD for the bedroom. Don't know much about PVR. I've gotten so out of habit with taping things. I'd like to get a nice sized screen tv for the studio with a comfortable large sofa. So I can have friends over to watch a movie. Or watch while I'm creating! *wink*

One of the days that I wasn't feeling too badly my daughter came down and we went across the border to a small city with a decent mall. I think the mall was built for Canadians and in the 1980's it certainly lured people down to do some US shopping. So we spent a few hours there; my daughter got some amazing deals on swimsuits. Lane Bryant had 40% off of EVERYTHING but in the process of trying on things, I experienced one of the worst hot flashes I have had, in the past year. So I didn't try everything I that I wanted; very embarrassing. We ended up coming back, ordering in pizza and watched "27 Dresses" I cherish any time that my daughter will spend with me.