Rejoice....

A little birdie told me about a neat challenge blog that has faith based challenges. I really like scrapbooking and sometimes you don't have anything to make...until someone presents you with an idea. Since I tried my first card challenge last week, I thought I would try this one for fun. I used my favourite sheet of Basic Grey paper from the Perhaps line, and a scrap of MME, Tres Jolie, as well as some of that fun flocked paper from Heidi Grace. CS is from CTMH. Chipboard alphas are from Pressed Petals, Basic Grey and Provocraft. The diecut is MME and I made the chipboard heart myself. (I'm addicted to chipboard but the cost can be prohibitive so I innovate and make my own.) The journalling reads....."Just do it...why?? Because the God of the universe is still on His throne, no matter what kind of day I'm having!

The computer is kinda slow today....

Today is my day off. I have switched my church work to Wednesday and Thursdays, and take fridays off during the summer. I like it already!!!

Tomorrow Craig comes home again! I can't wait to hear all about his trip!

I Should Post Something...

I've been sitting here long enough!

It has been a productive day. Two loads of laundry done. The weeding done. I should expand on that actually. I do "Extreme Weeding". This is when you do it by the garbage bag instead of as it sprouts. SO I took off two bags over the past two days. To me it doesn't look that different, just less green. But some might notice the difference. I guess it will give THOSE people something to talk about. (That happens when you have a sidewalk! I know...it's sad.) I don't know if anyone else suffers from this affliction....I really don't like removing green things from the earth. Maybe it's because I have a deep rooted (how punny!) love for wildflowers and I know the weeds/wildflowers by name.

On the other hand...weeds and bad habits/attitudes have a lot in common. There are some weeds that grow that would be easiest to remove before they get a good deep root system. Attitudes and habits are best removed from one's life before they get a foot hold. Some weeds grow in cracks that make it next to impossible to remove the root so you just tear off the green part, but that doesn't really eradicate the weed. It just comes back after a while. Same with habits....hmmmm....if you leave the root of the problem and just take away the symptom for a while, it WILL come back if you don't deal with the root. You could go on and on with that.

Maybe I had too much time to contemplate...but this is what came to my mind when I was near the earth these past two days. Some of these wildflowers are intricately and delicately beautiful. Don't you just love those little yellow shamrocks? Does everyone see their beauty? Will you ever be able to use RoundUp again?

PS I also do Extreme Dusting....

Off He Went...

Just a note to let you know that around 9 this morning Craig left on his SERVE trip with two other lads from church and a leader. Final exams were during the week and they kept his mind nicely occupied. He dealt with his struggles so well and I know that this has really strengthened his faith. It has done the same for me. It is amazing what redirecting your thoughts to things that are noble can do.

School is out and that is such a nice and welcome change. There are many plans being made.

Eddy has returned to his home, so we have gone from 3 boys underfoot down to one.

Last night Craig played soccer in London and it was so relaxing to just sit outside in the sunshine for a couple of hours. Not needing a book or a crossword or anything. Just sit and stare straight out in front of you. It was a good thing. On the way home we saw the most beautiful sunset. This is contentment....

2 Sketches - Laura's Challenge #2

Here is a card I made for this week's sketch. It's for a friend's birthday. The stamp is from Inkadinkado, papers are: upsy daisy Designs, Basic Grey, Wild Asparagus, fabric is from my stash. Alphas are Basic Grey.

Got To Make Some Stuff....

I decided to make some little board book mini albums. I made one last week while I was feeling blah. It is amazing how much I get out of finding just the right words to share. Maybe I have to make these little books for myself as much I make them for someone else. Both boys have some struggles right now so I found some verses in the Bible to encourage them...and lyrics of songs that hit the spot. It lifts me just as much.

SO now our Korean son is leaving and it is time to say goodbye and how special he has become to us. So....you make a little board book about it. If you wonder how I made the board books....I used 3 inch squares of cereal box cardboard. I used the corner rounder on the corners. Then I used precut squares of dp, also with the corners rounded and adhered them to the cardboard. I distressed them all with Sahara Sand from SU. Then wrote and wrote and wrote in them.

Since I worked so hard yesterday I had lots of time to be creative today. I had to be downstairs to switch the laundry anyway, so technically I was "working".

All the kids at baseball signed Eddy's shirt which he can take back with him to Korea, and they took some pictures of him to send home again too! Even a team picture!! It was so neat. The coach bought everyone a treat bag and Eddy gave everyone a keychain or a pen. I think they liked it. It turns out that one other family on our team has an experience with an international student. That was cool!

I Don't Have to Cook Tonight!!!

If ever there was a blogworthy topic, that would be it!

Tonight we don't have to be at baseball until 8pm so we have lots of time. I asked Eddy if he would like me to cook something special or if he would like to choose to go to a restaurant. He picked McDonalds, which is fun because McDonalds has restaurants in Korea too, and now Eddy can compare....

All the Korean students bring a little something to give to the kids in the class and because Joe's class is so big, the Korean boys gave something to the boys in the class and the Korean girls to the girls in the class. SO Eddy had a few things left over and there are enough for the baseball team!! That will be neat. They all made Eddy feel really welcome and have been extremely encouraging! Everybody loves Eddy. Really! That's his personality.... We are really going to miss that little guy. He wants to buy a Yahtzee game to take back to Korea with him. And, Mary, you'll be so pleased, he is bringing 2 bags of Coffee Crisps back to Korea with him. I wonder if he'll be able to part with them....he said he bought them for his family...but he sure has a sweet tooth!

I decided to take the bull by the horns and not have the blahs today. Got dressed and had breakfast with the lads, and started cleaning the kitchen when they left for school. I cleaned the pantry cupboard and washed the floors too. I washed Blixie's bedding and then all the bath mats. Then I had a sandwich and went to church to open for the Parkinson's group, but they didn't come, so I put everything away again. I did get the sanctuary cleaned and that was the main thing, get two things done in one trip. Got home...worked on a scrapbooking project and now I am blogging. Now it feels like I have accomplished many things. That feels nice.....

You should also check out the new links. WOOOOOOOOWIE!!I love Iralamija. Really exquisite!!! And one of these days I am actually going to make some of those really cool things and maybe even try a challenge. I have been thinking about making cards for the bazaar. It would be a good way to use up scraps and using scraps would be like making cards for free. At least that's how it feels when you make a quilt with scraps.....

A New Link

Check out the new link....2 Sketches 4 You....This is a new blog and I thought it would be neat to see how it progresses! We all LOVE sketch sites....I think they just published their second sketch. I think it would be fun to try and make cards for challenges but these days there is just no time.


For those of you who haven't checked out Stamps, Paper, Scissors....what are you waiting for?!!? It's funny every time you read it and you will see yourself in the humour. Check today and find out if your a SPAZ like me!


SO I have a bit of the blahs. Dunno why.... Maybe because it's transition time. Eddy is leaving next week...school is out next week (and I can't wait!)..best not to dwell on it.

I did have a great morning!! I got my hands dirty and weeded around the church. The smell of the earth was so good and there's nothing like dirt to give you a glimpse of the Creator. The smell made me think of home and working in the field. I was pulling weeds, and weeds are really just flowers growing in a place where they're not wanted. I personally like all green things and I guess that's why it's difficult to motivate myself to pull them out. Nevertheless, they're gone. I left all the little baby Rudbeckia so that I can transplant them at a later date. Someone will think I did a very poor job and I almost made a little sign but .....I didn't...

I also did three loads of laundry and while I was waiting for the machine to finish so I could switch loads (a very tough job) I made a couple of cards. When I have the blahs I can't create. So encountering the Creator this morning was an unexpected infusion. I'm so thankful I weeded today....

I'm So Excited!!

Those who know me, know the title statement is an expression of my most common emotion. I get excited over just about anything. Some would say that indicates my dire need to have a life, but I think it indicates just the opposite....I think I live my life to the fullest extent and experience it with sumptuous splashes of feeling. I think it is a rich way to FEEL life!

So by now you wonder what has me all astir this afternoon....I know I posted already this morning.... I made my favourite marinade (recipe at the end of the post) for the roast while I was contemplating what I should have for lunch....and THEN I found left over chicken fingers and fries in the fridge!!! BONUS!! That sure beats a sandwich and satisfies my craving for deep fried comfort food.

And I have to tell you about the greatest invention EVER. I LOVE those jars of chopped garlic you can buy in the produce section! Here comes the recipe....it works well in the crockpot (put roast on low first thing in the morning before you go to work....marinade it the night before in a bowl inside a ziploc bag!). But it works well in the oven too. Today I'm trying to slow roast it (since I decided to have roast today and not last night....)but you can use your regular magic method too.

1/4 C vegetable oil
4 cloves (or 2 big teaspoons) of garlic finely chopped
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp soy sauce (I use a lot more, 1/4 C & sometimes ketjap manis)
1/4 C red or white wine vinegar
1/4 C dry sherry or apple juice (I use any wine or any juice, and have a swig first)

Yes...You're in the Right Place....

The header on my other template wouldn't cooperate and kept showing up twice....not the look I was going for.

It was time for a little shake up.

I finished my work at church until Saturday and will clean it after the events of Super Saturday. (Our new VBS format which takes place over 4 Saturdays instead of one week during the summer.)

It is a home day today...I am going to scrapbook today and am doing laundry, which is really work but not really since it's also my hobby. So I'm not "doing nothing!".

We're also planning a surprise birthday celebration for Ray tonight. The boys are away tomorrow night and Ray is playing hockey so he thinks we don't have time...so he will not be expecting anything tonight!!! The roast is thawing on the counter as we speak... way fun!!!

District Field Day was a lot of fun. Joe tied for 4th place in High Jump and ended up clearing 135cm. It is a personal best for him. He was the same size as some of the 7th graders he was competing against. He was disappointed but dealt with it fairly well. He got a ribbon! He loves that tangible little memento of the day. Eddy just hung out with me, and our friend Teresa, who was watching her son Josh compete. Teresa gave us a ride there and back, thanks so much!!!!

I have to tell you about the greatest idea that Teresa shared with me!!! She found a challenge on a site where you make 10 Christmas cards per month and then when Christmas rolls around you're all done!!! I think I'm going to try that!

So I better go and make a birthday card.

PMS...

I have to share with you that for three days or so per month I am not myself. I am writing this on my blog and hope it helps somebody, or their spouse. (Title was not meant to scare the guys away...just a warning...). Some months it doesn't happen at all and some months it lasts for two weeks. When that happens I start to become anxious that it is going to stay again. Let's just say it's been a looooong week.

While I was in my funk yesterday, I was stripping the floor in the guy's bathroom at church, and I was having a moment. I decided that it was time to redirect my thoughts in a more positive direction and put on my MP3 player. I keep my player on shuffle mode so it plays songs randomly....and Micheal W. Smith came on:

"Mourner, wherever you are, wherever you are at the cross there is room. Tell your burdened heart, your burdened heart at the cross there is room. Tell it in the Saviour's ear, cast away your every fear, only speak, and He will hear..."

Just the reminder I needed to hear! Sometimes we forget that we can go there and just leave our junk at the foot of the cross. We aren't designed to carry stuff around and there have been a lot of negative things going on around me, and I can get bogged down by it. It's so discouraging!!! But the Bible says that we should tell others what God has done for us. So I am sharing this little insight into how much God cares for us, that can He use just about anything to speak to us when we are in a place to listen.

So.....the floor got a good pounding! The unfortunate recipient for expelling some frustrations. I had to strip off the old floor polish by hand with a pole scrubber and a hand scrubber. It's not fun for your knees. The last time I did that job, there were about 8 layers to scrub off and I ended up stripping it twice. (I was sore for a week!) This time I only stripped 2 layers off, since that is all I applied last time. (Not as sore, I'd like to say it's 'cuz I'm in such great physical shape, but that would be fudging the truth....) After the stripping comes the rinsing, at least four times so there is no stripping residue, I applied a sealer to the floor and that will make the top coats more durable as well. (It's not rocket science but it is very labour intensive and you really should be thorough for best results....and that includes a nicely written, nasty note on the door to request that people don't come in, even when the floor looks dry...) Who would have guessed 10 years ago that I would be able to carry on a knowledgeable conversation with the janitorial supply store about commercial floor applications. (OOOH, that does make it sound like rocket science...) Go figure!!! It's so cool to learn new things and then find out you like them, and then even more fun when you are really good at it!

The boys are upstairs reading some books. We've had some homework frustrations with our laid back Korean son. Once he begins the work he is usually finished quite quickly, especially when properly motivated, but it was very trying for the last two weeks. He can spend a looooooot of time and energy on ways to NOT start the homework, which inevitably leads to having no time to play. BUT yesterday was really great and almost everything was finished by supper time. Their baseball game was rained out and the boys were both sorely disappointed. Their coach bought them all a little treat bag at the canteen for showing up! She's great and very clever! Get to your player's heart through their stomach. Monday night's game was fun, the weather was beautiful, warm, dry and windy. The dust was really blowing around us in the bleacher when the kids were heading onto the field and back into the dugout....just as dusty as "Holes" if you remember that movie. The rain was very welcome.

Anyway. I should orchestrate some lunch and a snack pack for this afternoon. It is Woodstock district field day today. All the Christian schools in our region, the ones that feed the Christian HighSchool in London, send their top athletes to participate and Joey was first in high jump in his age group (the Gr 6 & 7's!! and he's only in Gr 6!!) He is very excited. His event is at 1:30 so we'll head in around noon when a friend offered to give us a ride.... I'm so excited too.

That's about it for now....
PS later in the day someone came to church and we had such a great chat and a hug, and renewed our strength.....it's a God thing!