snickering licorice

Xmas Countdown

2011-12-11T13:22:00.001-08:00

Lisa Vollrath has done it again. If you are interested in counting down to Xmas with some great freebies...click here.

first post of 2011...

2011-06-09T21:07:00.002-07:00

...wow, really? Well, it has been quite an eventful 2011 so far but now is not the time to get into it.

At present we are cheering on our Canucks as they battle for the Stanley Cup!

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

something fun and creative to start the year...

2010-12-31T15:33:00.005-08:00

After enjoying Mary Ann Moss's "Remains of the Day" online class between Christmas and New Year's last year, I went on line looking for something to do this year. I came across this class through Teesha's blog post.

So, I thought I would give Carla Sonheim's "Art of Silliness" a try. Looks like fun and a good way to play every day for a month. If you are interested, you can find the info for the class here.

a disneyland christmas

2010-12-30T22:03:00.011-08:00

goodbye, nana (1919-2010)

2010-12-30T21:54:00.006-08:00

March 2009 - Nana's 90th birthday

On the evening of December 21, my wonderful Nana peacefully passed away. Stephen, Wesley and I had just had a visit with her the previous weekend while on Vancouver Island.

Nana, your fabulous "Nana-hugs" will live on!

journalfest 2010

2010-11-09T21:18:00.025-08:00

what a great way to spend a few days (especially when one's birthday falls right in the middle)...

so was journalfest 2010...another wonderful teesha and tracy moore art retreat held at fort worden in port townsend, wa.

along with us regulars - janice, ty and marcia, and me...andrew joined in on the fun and became the newest member of house 9E.

all three classes were terrific! first there was roxanne padgett with her painted pocket journals. we painted and stencilled fabric with gay abandon. then we turned our fabric into two fun little journals.

next up was liesel lund and her fabulous travelling pocket journal. there was only six of us in the class plus liesel. it was a really fun, fun day. the energy was playful and light. thanks for setting the tone, liesel...and loved the end result!

last but by no means least, was ingrid dijkers and another one of her fabulous creations...a tunnel book - "through the rabbit hole"...with ty and marcia. I continue to enjoy working on this project since getting home. love the tenniel images and the whole structure and feel of the book. i have only begun to start doodling and there is still more collage and journalling to follow.

the masquerade party was also fun...the band surrealized was in the house.

steampunk corpse - winner of best overall costume

who is that masked individual...?

ty...on the side

bridget lookin' sassy

the weather was great and the trip was a blast. looking forward to artfest 2011!

sunrise on saturday morning

...been a while...

2010-05-30T21:12:00.013-07:00

...okay,more than a while since my last post.

I'll have to try and do better...mind you, it is pretty much just for me anywoo, as I only know of a few people who might pop by now and again...or not anymore, seeing as I am so infrequent in my posts.

Since the last post, we have had Wesley's first trip to Las Vegas;

got him settled in his place in Palo Alto, CA for his four-month internship with imo.im

(Wes is listed under Interns); and Stephen and I got to spend a couple days in San Francisco before heading home.

Since we've been home, our Eagles concert on May 14 got postponed (rescheduled for this coming Tuesday); we've seen Eddie Izzard on his Stripped tour with the majority of the Stocker clan;

and Stephen and I went to the Arts Club Theatre presentation of "Buddy - the Buddy Holly Story", which was AWESOME!

Zachary Stevenson does an amazing job in the lead role.

Zachary and the lead guitar player from the play, Jeff Bryant have a band called "The Human Statues"...After the show they were signing copies of their CD so we picked one up.

Sort of a mix of styles...a hint of Beatles, some Crowded House. It's light and fun.

Yesterday, we lost Dennis Hopper. Sad day. At least we will always have his movies.

Today we got out to the Coquitlam Farmer's Market for the first time this season. Spent some time at Starbucks enjoying a beverage, reading the Sunday paper and got in a bit of journaling in my Vegas journal. Then we were off to see Robin Hood.

Movie was pretty good. Covers how Robin Hood becomes the outlaw he was known to be. Can anyone say sequel?

Wish the weather would warm (and dry) up...we actually had to turn the fire place back on the last couple of days because it has been so chilly.

Wes is having a great time in PA and we chat each evening via Skype. I am so thankful we live in a day and age where we have access to the kind of technology that allows us to see and talk to our boy like he's right in the same room.

Back to work tomorrow...argh. Weekends are way too short. C'est la vie.

Well, how's that for a catch-all post?

iSwitched

2010-03-07T21:56:00.006-08:00

Well, actually it's 'we' switched, but that wouldn't work as well.

When we continued to have issues with our PC, that have been going on for a few months and progressively been getting worse, we decided it was time for a new computer, so off to market we went with our savy tech-spert.

The intention was to simply replace the CPU, but by the end of the day we were setting up our new iMac.

I think it will take a bit of time to get used to, but so far so good. Between Devon and Bapi, additions to the tech-spert team, we should be fine.

I've got all our pictures loaded into iPhoto and am liking the features so far...and the 27" screen, wireless keyboard and magic mouse are pretty awesome.

Here's hoping everything is as easy as they say...I guess time will tell.

CANADA WINS HOCKEY GOLD!! ...what a ride this has been!!

2010-02-28T15:57:00.007-08:00

deb, stephen and rob celebrate with
(licorice) cigars after the big win

WOO HOO!! Couldn't be prouder to be Canadian than I am right now! This win is the "Happily Ever After" to these Olympic games!! WHAT A RIDE!!

The last 17 days have been AMAZING!! So glad we could be part of it all.

After losing to the USA in the round robin, I thought, "This is going to be Roberto Luongo's time to shine." He got to play the rest of the way and took us to the gold medal game where Sid the Kid scores in OT to bring it all home!

Canada has (14) gold medals...more gold medals than any other winter olympics host country...EVER! More gold than any other country in the winter games...EVER!!

WOO HOO!!! GO CANADA GO!!!

2010 opening ceremonies dress rehearsal

2010-02-11T22:07:00.004-08:00

Thanks to Sandra, one of our Properties employees that was seconded to the Olympics, I, along with Stephen and our friends, Cindy, Zoe, Ann, Warren and Marianna (apologies if I misspelled your name) were amongst a group privileged to attend the dress rehearsal of the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Olympic Games last night.

While swore to "not unwrapping the present" by talking about what took place last night, I can safely say that it is going to be one heck of a show and you won't want to miss it!!

I, for one, can't wait to see the entire performance with the real athletes instead of the volunteers who eagerly marched into BC Place Stadium.

So, tomorrow evening, we will all gather to celebrate the opening of the 21st Winter Olympic Games.

The buzz and energy in the downtown core has been growing steadily by the day and as tomorrow will be my last day working downtown until after the games, I am looking forward to heading home in the opposite direction of all those lucky individuals who will be taking part in the opening ceremonies. I plan to take my camera and hopefully capture some of that excitment on my way home from work.

Here's to what I hope will be a wonderfully successful games and that Vancouver gets to showcase itself to the world in a very postive light.

We live on the gorgeous west coast of, in my humble opinion, the best country in the world.

Welcome to everyone who is here to take part as an athlete or a spectator. I hope you enjoy your stay!!

Let the games begin!

play

2010-02-01T21:37:00.007-08:00

apparition

...just got back from 'Play' journaling retreat at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, WA, hosted by Tracy and Teesha Moore.

Five fun filled days with amazing friends, art and wine.

Tracy taught us how to make polymer clay journal covers. I completed two journals during the retreat, as well as loaded up a bunch of pages in my new ROD journal. (I'll post some pics of this soon). Didn't expect to spend as much time with the clay as I did, but found it very relaxing and the best part of what I accomplished was adding the eyes to the face on 'apparition'. Ty explained how I to add the eye lids, which really brought the piece to life.

Here are a couple shots of Marcia and Ty's work...too cool.

ready, set...CREATE!

2010-01-03T00:04:00.012-08:00

Happy new year to one and all...I hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday break.

I was recently reading Teesha Moore's blog and saw that she had signed up for Mary Ann Moss's "Remains of the Day - a shabby journal of scraps" on-line class. I clicked on the link and after thinking about it for a bit, I thought...what the heck. I have joined the yahoo group that MAM set up for the class and I was pleasantly surprised that a few people I know, besides Teesha, are also taking the class.

The only reason I hesitated was that I recently signed up for DJ Petitt's on-line class "Memories and Manipulations" which starts on January 4. I'm really looking forward to this one! If you are interested, check it out soon as registration closes on Monday!!

Here are a few pics of my journal cover and the start of my signatures for the journal. I used some painted fabrics I made in a Traci Bautista class some time ago as the base of my cover.

So, I am off to a strong start on the art front for 2010. Wishing everyone a creative new year. Cheers!

sherlock...not

2010-01-02T23:59:00.003-08:00

...so, it turns out I never made it to the sneak preview after all. A killer headache that came on around 3pm that afternoon prevented me from attending so when I got home from work, I went right to bed. As it turns out, when Wes returned from the movie he had an interesting story to share. The theatre stopped the film before it finished and an usher announced to the audience that not only had they misplaced the last reel of the film, they had mixed up the order of the reels they had played. Wes said that explained some of the continuity issues that came up.

They did get a free pass and discount on concession for a future date. How bizarre.

...still haven't managed to see the movie since it came out...maybe tomorrow.

We did see Avatar with some friends last night. AWESOME movie! I highly recommend it.

sneak preview

2009-12-20T15:58:00.002-08:00

Tomorrow night I will be attending a sneak preview of Sherlock Holmes!

My son, Wesley and his buddy, Bapi won the tickets by taking part in a scavenger hunt that had them running around Vancouver taking pictures of various Sherlock Holmes displays. In total, they won (3) double passes and Wes was kind enough to invite me to go with him.

Should be fun.

impulse collage

2009-12-13T19:11:00.005-08:00

...was the name of the Anahata Katkin class I took at Journalfest back in October. I have long admired her fabulous artwork and finally had the opportunity to take a class with her. It was everything I had hoped for and more. She is a wonderful teacher with a lovely spirit.

Here are a few pictures of what I did in the class. I was really pleased with what I produced...I am especially fond of the page where we had to start with a white background.

lisa vollrath - christmas countdown

2009-12-13T18:23:00.002-08:00

Lisa has done it again...check out her countdown to Christmas for some fabulous free goodies!

another zentangle

2009-12-06T10:48:00.006-08:00

Here is another zentangle I have been playing with...again, the image just kind of worked its way out.

circle craft goodies

2009-11-20T22:11:00.007-08:00

I recently attended the annual Circle Craft Christmas Market. I really enjoy wandering through the booths. There are several booths that I always visit. Kama Soap (fabulous!) and becki rose, and her wonderful primitive patties, among others. This year I was thrilled to come home with this Laura Gibson piece.

"Tea in the Afternoon"

Her art always makes me smile. I love her tongue-in-cheek style. If you go to her website, do check out "Tippi's Making Some Friends"...and you should have seen "Well Hello, Benjamin", a tribute to Mrs. Robinson. It's a great piece. Unfortunately, it isn't on her site...must be a newer piece.

I also acquired another Mud Puppy Clayworks piece. Michelle Wilson creates, what I call, wonderfully Seussian type pottery houses, amongst other things. I still haven't gone all the way and purchased one of her high rises, but my little house is a good start...maybe next year.

teesha inspiration

2009-11-20T21:37:00.005-08:00

Teesha Moore has recently produced some great YouTube videos on her journaling techniques, with her fabulous hubby Tracy working the camera.

Having had the opportunity to learn from her first-hand last year at Play [can't wait for next January...it's and awesome way to spend four days...I highly recommend it], it was great to be able to watch each step in her process again. I have watched each one at least twice already and can't wait for more.

So, after watching the videos last weekend, I pulled out my journal and painted a few pages. Then I added some collage borders.

This is one of the pages I have a bit further along. I have also incorporated a bit of what I learned from Anahata.

Thanks for the continued inspiration, Teesha!

seredipity of doodles

2009-11-12T09:40:00.007-08:00

I have always doodled...for as long as I can remember.

When we received our registration confirmation for Journalfest (which I attending in late October - more to come on that in the future, if I can get my act together) we were given a small journal and a bunch of images from the teachers, as well as Teesha and Tracy. One one of the journal pages I airbrushed a grey background with Copic marker and attached one of Tracy's images to the middle of the page. The intention was that if I couldn't think of anything else to work on, during our evenings around the dining room table, I would continue his doodles. Part of our goodie bag, when we arrived at the Fort, was a (0.1) Copic black multi liner marker. I knew how to put that to use. I ended up working exclusively on this page for the first two evenings at Journalfest and the first picture is the end result.

Then in Ingrid Dijker's class (Octopus's Garden), she had some doodled images in her journal and called them "Zentangles". I hadn't heard that term before. I have recently been googling them to get some additional inspiration for my doodles. These ARE really relaxing to do. Guess that is the "zen" part of the title. Who knew? I just thought it was doodling. :)

I started a new page with some random shapes and began doodling around and in them. Last evening, as I was working on it, I looked down at the page and saw an distinct image that had evolved inside the doodles, totally on its own. I decided to stop and take a picture (the second one attached).

The last picture was the additional work I did to enhance the image. I loved the serendipity of the whole thing. I call the piece "balancing act".

Give it a try sometime.

mushrooms, anyone?

2009-10-05T18:29:00.003-07:00

Well, first of all I guess it is a good thing that I "blog without obligation" otherwise the guilt for not posting for seven months (to the day, I might add) would be immense!

Last week we made our weekly trek to a local farmer's market that we have been going to all summer. I was talking to Cyrus, our 'Mushroom Guy' and asked where I could get my mushrooms after the market closed for the season. He told me about the winter market, which is a great start, and then told me as we were regular customers, he gave me one of the mounds of dirt (?) he had under his table. He said, "Take this home and find a spot that gets indirect light and is between 18-20 degrees celsius. The shitake mushrooms will start to grow and when they do, remove the plastic and put a large plastic bag over the mound like a tent.

We thought, how well can this work...

Well, it appears we found the perfect spot. One week later, this is what we have! It's crazy...the mushrooms seem to double in size every day.

We took our pictures back to the market yesterday to show Cyrus and he said we had indeed found the right spot with the right temperature and most importantly, the right amount of light, which is why they are growing so big.

He told us what a mature mushroom should look like and that we could harvest them at any time. We are curious as to how big they will get, so we are going to give them a bit more time before we harvest, but it's pretty cool...don't you think?

happy 90th birthday, nana!

2009-03-05T19:24:00.003-08:00

Today is my Nana Anne's 90th birthday and I was fortunate enough to be able to take the day off and travel to Vancouver Island to share in her celebration.

The sun was shining and best of all, it was one of her good days.

She recognized just about everyone who attended, and those she didn't immediately recognize, mentioned their name and then you could see the twinkle in her eye as that was all the prompt that was required.

I saw relatives and old family friends...some whom I hadn't seen in many, many years.

By the time the party was over, Nana was pretty pooped, so we gathered all the wonderful flowers and cards she had received and took her back to her room for a well deserved nap.

My mom and Auntie Fern, along with our friend Missy, put together a terrific gathering.

Happy Birthday, Nana!! I love you very much. Your first born grandchild, Deb.

journal pages

2009-02-16T19:27:00.015-08:00

I scanned most of the pages from my first journal (much better than trying to take pictures of the pages). There is still work to be done, but some of them are pretty much finished...for now.

play

2009-02-15T20:54:00.006-08:00

I have been longing for an opportunity to learn howTeesha Moore creates her fabulous journal pages for a few years now.

At the end of January, I finally got my chance by attending Teesha and Tracey's journaling retreat 'Play' at Fort Worden in Port Townsend , WA. I was one of 45 artists who gathered for three and a half days of solid journaling . It was absolute heaven.

We spent the days in a large common room and were provided opportunities to watch several demos on a variety of journaling techniques. Being able to put out all of our supplies and not have to pack up each day was wonderful. At night, the Canadian gang from 6E (Janice, Mo, Ty, Marcia and myself) would gather a few supplies and head back to the house for dinner and evenings of wine, laughter and continued journaling into the early hours of the next morning.

The first night/early morning, I was awoke by an earthquake. It didn't last more than a couple of seconds, but was strong enough to make my heart race. I ran to my bedroom door to see if anyone else had felt it, but nothing but crickets...no one else stirred. I called my hubby back home, apologizing for waking him up at 5:30am to ask if he felt anything. He hadn't, but did call me back at 7:30 to tell me I wasn't crazy and there had been a 4.6(ish) earthquake approx. 35 km north of Seattle (pretty much right where we were located).

So I can honestly say that this retreat rocked my world!

I did have an art epiphany on the last full day. I was looking at what I had created and was so proud of what I had accomplished on my pages that I got a bit weepy (in a good way). I found myself an artistic outlet that allows me to create art on a daily basis...I think I may actually use some of the wonderful journals I have been making for all these years; although I do like the (16) page journals we made at the retreat (using one sheet of fabriano artistico watercolour paper).

I can't wait for next year! But up next, ArtFest at the beginning of April and the first reunion of the 2007 6W gang.

Here are a couple of the pages I created at the retreat. Stay tuned for more to come!

lisa vollrath - valentine's countdown

2009-02-03T22:49:00.001-08:00

Another fab collection of goodies from Lisa. Get them (here) while you can!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2008-12-24T10:22:00.001-08:00

after the first big snowfall

For the first time since 1971, all of Canada will be having a white Christmas.

We have had three big dumps of snow so far this year. The first was last Wednesday, then a really big one this past Sunday and now today.

We managed to get out between snow falls and get all our groceries and last minute shopping done so we can sit back, relax and enjoy the next few days without having to worry about going anywhere.

We have been invited to our friends (and close neighbours) for Christmas dinner, so all we have to do is pop on our boots and coats and walk three doors down our driveway to their place. All our family who were travelling have made it safely to their destinations. I have a girlfriend who is supposed to fly to the interior of BC this afternoon, so I hope she makes it to the airport and her flight doesn't get cancelled (fingers crossed).

Here are some pictures of our area over the past week.

Happy holidays to all!

view from our front window this morning

our friend luna enjoying the snow

a spotted towhee grabbing a snack and a rest

lisa vollrath's - original printables holiday countdown

2008-12-01T20:38:00.003-08:00

Lisa has another one of her fab countdowns for Christmas. Check it out here.

a contest...

2008-08-28T19:14:00.002-07:00

...is being held over at my fabulous friend, Shari Beaubien's blog. Pop on over and take a peek.

mama needs a new pair of shoes...

2008-08-23T21:06:00.003-07:00

...and Lady Luck just happened to agree!

Let me explain.

When I started my new job in May, I knew I needed to upgrade my wardrobe and that included new shoes. I took the plunge and forked out some serious cash for a pair of Finn Comfort - Standford slip-on shoes (in black of course), as I knew I would be on my feet a lot and wanted proper support. Ka-ching $$$ the most expensive shoes I have ever purchased by a long shot, at close to $300. One of the smartest moves I ever made though. They have been wonderful...oh so comfy. Some may call them "sensible shoes", but I don't do heels and I think they are pretty cute.

About a month ago, I went back to Foot Solutions to take another look at shoes (something to go with browns this time) and the lovely folks who run the shop in Port Coquitlam told me that the same shoes were coming in, in bronze! Super...they would go with browns, but look cooler than standard brown shoes (they also have them in red, which was tempting, but I rarely wear red). I said please put me down for a pair. I got to pick them up this morning. Again, it was hard to shell out that kind of dough, but the support they provide is soooo worth it.

On the way home, the three of us decided to pop into the casino for a bit. We toodled up to the empty craps table and with my $40 limit, I said, "Mama needs to pay for a new pair of shoes," and I started to roll.

Long story short, I did well. As my chips increased, Wes would slip a few chips into his pocket. Shortly after I started he said, "You can play with everything," meaning he had my starting $$ in his pocket and I was now playing with the house's money. I continued to play, continued to win, and Wes continued to put chips in his pocket. I really didn't know how I was doing, except to say that I always had enough in front of me to place all the bets I wanted.

After about an hour, we decided to call it quits. I tipped the table and we walked away. That's when the fun really began. Wes started to empty his pockets into my hands and when all was said and done, I had won EXACTLY the cost of my shoes (after taking out my initial outlay of $40, plus the tip)! Woo hoo!!

Coincidence, or Lady Luck? Doesn't much matter, cuz Mama's got her new pair of shoes!!

artfest 2009

2008-08-23T20:36:00.005-07:00

It's time to get excited again! After missing out last year, I am thrilled to say that I am planning on attending Artfest again this year! All the gals of 6W, from my first year at Artfest (2007) are reuniting next April!

As we Canadians get to send in our registrations a week prior to our US neighbours, Nadine has gratitiously agreed to gather all of our registrations (sans San Diego Deb) to mail in on the first allowable day!

Here's keeping my fingers crossed that I get at least a couple of my first choices (Laurie Mika, Pam Sussman and Ty and Marcia Schultz).

In the meantime, I guess I can start thinking about trades. I love the logo for this year and hope I can come up with some fun ideas around sea creatures. Speaking of which, our Deb recently posted a link to the cutest YouTube video "oktapodi". You can find it here.

26 years ago today...

2008-08-07T19:25:00.003-07:00

...I married my best friend.
Stephen, I love you with all my heart.

the dark knight

2008-07-19T09:49:00.003-07:00

After many months of anticipation, we finally got our chance to see the follow up to one of my favorite movies, 'Batman Begins'. It did not disappoint. Christian Bale is the consumate Batman. Heath Ledger was AMAZING as the joker! His mannerisms, his voice, everything was perfectly disturbing. We'll see what happens come oscar time...I definitely think his performance is worthy of a supporting actor nomination.

great big sea - secret concert

2008-07-06T21:49:00.012-07:00

Stephen recently used up most of the JACK points we had both accumulated to get over 300 entries for a contest to win a pair of tickets to the secret Great Big Sea concert held in Vancouver on July 27th!

It paid off! And thanks to our friend Robin, who heard Stephen's name on the radio, we found out we had won! [There was also a message on our answering machine when we got home.]

The concert was held at Doolin's Irish Pub.

There were just over 200 people invited to attend. We got in line early enough so that when we got in, we could get a good spot close to the stage. They had taken all the tables out of the way so there was room for us to crowd around the tiny stage which was in one corner of the pub. We ended up practically at the front and the band had to walk through us all to get on stage. It was a very intimate setting.

Best part of it was that cameras and other recording equipment were welcome! Most excellent! We took a bunch of pictures and videos using our Nikon Cool Pix and Flip video camera.

The boys played for around 90 minutes. Along with several songs from their latest album, 'Fortune's Favour', they played some of their big hits and a few covers, including Led Zepplin's 'Gallows Pole' and The Police's 'So Lonely'. Wicked!

I was hoping to post some of the videos on YouTube, but they are bigger than it allows, so I am trying to figure out a way to compress them.

Here are a few pics from the show.

We did find a couple videos that others posted. You can find one of them here.

What a fun way to start off a four day weekend!

Thanks again, JACKFM!!

father's day goodies

2008-06-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

I'm calling it goodies, as countdown seems a bit strange considering Father's Day was yesterday. Lisa has another collection of freebies...they are available here. Get them before they are gone!

a fabulous weekend

2008-06-04T20:29:00.004-07:00

This weekend the three of us spent a wonderful weekend in the capital city of this amazing province of ours...Victoria. We had the pleasure of being hosted by our lovely friends, Mary and Don.

We shared great conversation, lots of m-m-m nummy food, a little geocaching (their first time) and to top it off, a performance of Cirque du Soleil's Saltimanco.

I find myself captivated by each Cirque experience and this one did not disappoint. The athleticism, the artistry and the humour all woven together by a signature cirque soundtrack. In this performance, the live band was situated at the back of the stage on risers and played a prominent part in the entire show.

There was a particularly amusing clown that made the show. He vocalized all these terrific sound effects during several acts. The best one was when he pulled a fellow from the audience who really got into his role. He was such a good sport; going along with everything that was asked of him...I should say mime'ed of him. Just hillarious. The two of them had the audience in stitches. I couldn't stop laughing.

A very relaxing and throughly enjoyable way to spend the weekend.

Thank you, Mary and Don for everything!!

horrible news...

2008-05-29T18:32:00.005-07:00

...I learned that one of our promising young Vancouver Canucks defencemen, Luc Bourdon was killed in a motorcycle accident in New Brunswick today. I was shocked to hear the news and my heart goes out to his family. I can only imagine what could have been.

Luc won a gold medal in 2006 with the Canadian Junior team and played 27 games in the NHL with the Canucks this past season...I hope he got to realize a few of his dreams in his short 21 years.

superstar hair challenge - episode 4...and no more

2008-05-27T19:05:00.004-07:00

Sigh...I must report that Bryan was eliminated from the competition tonight. I don't think he deserved to go, but it appears the judges have their favorites...and I guess our small city boy just wasn't one of them.

Bryan, I think you represented very well! Kudos to you, my friend! You will always be my Superstar!

superstar hair challenge - episode 3

2008-05-26T18:47:00.003-07:00

From bottom three last week, to top three this week! Bryan did a great job on his bride and is safe for another week.

We were just over on the island for hair cuts this past weekend and I was saying to Bryan that I thought he seemed to be more relaxed at this stage of the competition. He said it was actually exhaustion, as they didn't get much sleep during the process. Bryan...you are AWESOME and we love ya!

Episode 4 tomorrow...Avante garde...should be good.

superstar hair challenge - episode 2

2008-05-17T10:29:00.004-07:00

This week was the man make overs. After a brief consultation with each stylist, the men got to choose their stylist and Bryan was picked first. That doesn't surprise us as he is a guy's guy.

He rocked the cut, but somehow (don't know what the judges were thinking) ended up in the bottom three.

In the redemption challenge, they had to transform these little kids into their idols, in 30 mins, and Bryan picked the little boy who wanted to look like Zac Efron.

Again he was fabulous and safe from ellimination. Next week brides! Go Bryan.

superstar hair challenge - episode 1

2008-05-07T16:51:00.006-07:00

Phew...Bryan made it through the first show. My heart ached for him when he broke down in front of the judges when they asked him why he was there and he said, "My girls." He trys to be so tough, but I know deep down he is just a big ol' marshmallow!

I thought his first cut was really good and stood up to the rest of the competition. We got really nervous for him when the second competition was hair extensions and he said he had no experience with them. We never lost faith as we know how talented he is and he squeaked through to next week...but not before "throwing his model under the bus" (his words) by revealing her age on television. Oops...but hey, it's Bryan and I wasn't that surprised.

Can't wait to see what he does in the next episode!

Go Bryan Go!!

If you don't get the show in your area, you can click here to access the contestant blogs and clips from previous episodes.

lisa vollrath - mother's day countdown

2008-05-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

Click here for some lovely freebies from Lisa.

superstar hair challenge

2008-04-17T18:55:00.004-07:00

I am SOOO excited!! Our good friend and hair stylist, Bryan is a contestant on Season 2 of Superstar Hair Challenge. He is the handsome one in the black tee on the far right. For a close up look, check out this post from '06.

The first show is May 6th on Slice (in Canada...don't know if this channel is available in the States). At the moment, they only have the synopsis on their website, but as the date gets closer, they will be putting up bios. After each episode airs, the contestants will post to their blogs! This is going to be AWESOME! I can't wait! Good luck, Bryan!

puerto vallarta...part iv - sea safari...paradise and perspective

2008-04-15T17:26:00.032-07:00

Here is the last post relating to our trip to PV. This was one of the highlights for sure!

The Sea Safari was a day travelling around magnificant Banderas Bay (triva fact - third largest bay in the world).

After a short bus ride to the marina, we boarded a 30-person zodiac and headed down to PV, where we picked up our guide and some additional passengers.

There was only about 20 of us in total, so we had lots of room on the boat. Once we were out in the bay, our fabulous guide Carlos says, "Welcome to my office!" I think we were all thinking the same thing..."I wish I had his job."

(One of the things we noticed during our stay, is how passionate the various guides were about their country.)

The water was calm, the sun was shining and the vistas were fantástico!

We travelled along the waterfront of PV and then headed out for some whale watching. It didn't take long before we were watching in awe as a momma humpback whale floated along and her new calf frolicked all around her. Amazing!

Next, we travelled south and came back towards the coast and passed several boats loaded with scuba divers, snorklers and partiers.

We passed large rock islands that were home to hundreds of pelicans, friggits and blue-footed boobies.

We were taken to a private beach at the south end of the bay. This area is only accessable be sea, and the locals have to bring in all of their supplies by boat.

Some of the gang went snorkeling while the rest of us lounged on the beautiful white sand.

We were treated to a delicious lunch and beverages from the open bar. Coco-locos were served fresh. Stephen was brave and decided to try one. Stephen liked it but I had one sip and thought, "Uck...cough syrup." Take a coconut, hack off the top, add grenadine, rum and water to the coconut milk and viola (I still say 'uck').

After lunch we played volleyball. There were four gals from Red Deer, Alberta who obviously had played before (in college as a matter of fact). It was so much fun!

Before heading back, Carlos took us into one of the local homes where we were shown how tortillas are made, from grinding the corn on a stone that had been passed down through four generations, to cooking them on the limestone/mud stove.

The people in this area don't have much, but in other ways they have everything. This is where the perspective comes in. Carlos told us the last person they buried from this little village was 102 years old and when he died, he still had all his own teeth and walked without a cane. I guess living with less also means living with a lot less stress. And living in this tropical paradise can't hurt either.

We zipped across the bay on the return trip. At one point, we had a pod of dolphins swimming along beside us. What a sight to behold!

Other than a sunburnt ear, lip and legs (even with our hats and sunscreen) fue un día IMPRESIONANTE!

happy birthday!

2008-04-14T12:29:00.003-07:00

19 years ago today, our precious son was born.

Happy birthday, Wesley!

puerto vallarta...part iii - juan helluva night

2008-04-01T20:49:00.007-07:00

After having learned my lesson from Sunday night, I was better prepared to handle the "juan helluva night pub crawl" on Tuesday night. Along with fellow JACK members, Robin & Darren, Tammy & Sean, Sharon & Chris; as well as, Megan & Nathan and about ten others, we had a tequila toast with our Signature rep, Pete before heading into PV for our outing. We stopped at two resorts along the way to gather a few others, including Winnipeg-Chris (more about him in a bit).

We had been warned about the 'tequila-girls' (TG) in the bars before we left our resort and also advised that they were not included with our all-drinks wrist bands. We learned why rather quickly at our first stop, Carlos O'Brien's. There, a clown made us all balloon hats. Flowers for the girls and well, check out the pic for yourself to see what the boys got.

On one of our stops, we picked up a couple from Iowa. They, obviously, had not been warned, so when the TG came by blowing her whistle, they decided to go for it. Three quick shots of tequila later, his head was being rubbed in TG's boobs. Next up was the Mrs. She also received the head-in-boobs treatment, but she got something extra. TG then took her hands and gave Mrs. a good ol' boob rub...first outside her top and then underneath! OMG! It was funny, yet disturbing at the same time.

Next stop, Senor Frogs...that is where Winnipeg-Chris thought it would be fun to get a henna tatoo. The one on this back looked pretty basic...then, with the help of his buddy, he ended up getting another on his stomach. As I saw his buddy draw the outline for the henna guy, I thought to myself, "No...he isn't really going to do that. OMG, yes he is!" Hey, to each his own. Made me laugh out loud, and I can honestly say, I wasn't the only one. In order not to offend anyone, I have censored the pic. If you can't figure out what the tat was, let's just say, his new nickname was 'dick-boy'.

Now, as you can imagine, this tatoo garnered its fair share of attention. Next thing you know, Chris is up on stage with two other contestants for a banan-eating contest. The rub was, after they blindfolded all the contestants, they took the blindfolds off the other two leaving Chris sitting in the middle of the stage with a banana in hand. He's thinking he's in a competition and pounds back the banana. The MC announces there is a tie between Canada (Chris) and the US fellow. So they hand him another banana. At this point, I start recording this little event, which I shared with Chris at the conclusion of the contest! Thanks for the great laughs, Chris!

If you are interested, you can find it here.

Our final stop was Mandala, a new disco that had opened about a month earlier. There we danced, sang and partied until it was time to hop back on the bus.

It really was Juan Helluva Night!!

Next up...our Sea Safari.

puerto vallarta...part ii - downtown

2008-04-01T20:25:00.014-07:00

Due to, what I refer to as, being 'bitch-slapped' by tequila the previous evening (we did have a REALLY fun time in the pool with Megan & Nathan from Medicine Hat and Dave & John from Calgary), I was unable to join Stephen on the tour of PV. I tried, but there was no way I was able to make the 8:00am start time.

He enjoyed the day and took lots of pics for me. After visiting a marina and downtown, they also went to a silver factory and Mr. Tequila tequila factory. Here are a few of his best shots.

Next up...Juan Helluva Night!

puerto vallarta...part i - meeting the other JACK winners

2008-03-22T12:19:00.013-07:00

I can't believe that only a week ago we were flying home from our fabulous trip to Mexico, courtesy of JACKFM!

It was incredible. The Palladium Vallarta resort, the scenery, the sun AND most of all, the wonderful people we met during our stay.

As we waited to board the plane, Stephen and I were looking around trying to figure out who else won their trip. Could it be the fellow with the mosaic cut/coloured hair cut? What about the couple packing a big plastic penguin? Penguin? Yes, penguin...more on that later.

The flight down on Skyservice was terrific. We were a little leary, considering it was a charter flight. Although there wasn't a ton of room, it was fine. We even got food! We decided to get things started with a mimosa...m-m-m! Nothing like a little alcohol at eight in the morning...after two and a half hours sleep the night before (we were at the Bare Naked Ladies concert -- great show, as always).

Next we were treated to a full breakfast including a breakfast sandwich, juice, yogurt, cheese and crackers. Later in the flight we were given champagne and tropical juice. Oh, and would be remiss if I didn't mention that before our meal we were given a moist towelette (from a tray, not a package) to freshen up. Nice little touch, I thought.

Before we landed, we were warned about the gauntlet of time share reps that would be waiting for us. We were told that our actual travel rep would be waiting beyond the doors and DON'T stop to talk to anyone else! Great advise! They were merciless! "Oh, you're with Skyservice. This way." or "Signature Vacation? Have you received your welcome package? This way."

We made it through and while we were sitting on the bus (for the 45 min drive north to the resort) we thought maybe we should just shout out, "Who's with JACK?" ...but I couldn't muster up the nerve. Not like me, really. As we would find out later, others were thinking the same thing.

As it turns out, an orientation was scheduled for the next morning and that is where we all met up. It was very exciting for those of us that won. And remember the penguin I mentioned earlier? It was there too! Bernie, Brian (and 'The Traveling Penguin') were one of the winning couples. Pop over to their website to check on some of the cool places it's been and people it's met.

After the orientation, eight of the nine winning couples got together for a Penguin picture.

Before we went down, we decided to upgrade to the Royal Suites. Glad we did. We were on the adults only side of the resort, which had its own pool, bars and restaurant. We also had free high-speed internet access on two computers in the lobby bar, which made staying in touch with home easier, as cell reception was limited to a couple spots on the resort.

We met more great folks hanging around the pool. Chris and Mary from Wisconsin, Dave and John from Calgary and our pub crawl pals, Megan and Nathan from Medicine Hat. I should also mention Robb (who we just seemed to run into every time we turned around...fun guy!).

Here are a few pics of the resort...

lobby bar (main resort)

gazebo (main resort)

main pool (main resort)

royal suites pool

royal suites pool - late afternoon

The sky couldn't have been bluer. Next up...a day in Puerto Vallarta.

happy saint paddy's day! (a wee bit early)

2008-03-16T12:26:00.004-07:00

Just back from our trip to Puerto Vallarta (more on that to follow soon) and I am spending a little time catching up on some emails. I see Lisa Vollrath has created another one of her wonderful countdowns at ten two studios...this one covers St Patrick's Day to Easter. You can download some great freebies for personal use by clicking here. Remember, all Lisa asks is that you provide a link to her site on your blog or website before downloading.

St. Patrick's Day

Oh, my mother isn't Irish
And my father isn't too,
But today I feel as Irish
As the really Irish do.
For today I wear a shamrock
That is green in every way
And though I am Canadian,
I am Irish -- for today!

- Aileen Fisher

scavenger hunt!

2008-03-01T14:21:00.008-08:00

The gals of the studioWERX street team are having a wee scavenger hunt for some cool freebies using the fabulous offerings available through digiWERX.

I used quite an assortment of goodies including Pharmacie papers, Polaroid Image Transfer Brushes, Sketchy Evidence; Shabby Chic: Textured Cardstock, and digiWERX embellishments - Polaroid Slide Holders.

My contribution can be found here.

NOTE: The lime green that appears in the picture on 4shared is actually transparent. Not sure where the green came from, but I have tested it and once downloaded, it appears as transparent.

If you want to continue on the hunt, head over to Becky's blog next.

Enjoy!

happy birthday, soyun!

2008-02-28T22:21:00.004-08:00

This is a little necklace I made for a sweet friend of Wesley's. Happy birthday, Sweetie!

happy valentine's day!

2008-02-14T21:54:00.002-08:00

valentines goodies

2008-02-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

...courtesy of Lisa Vollrath...thanks, Lisa!

Another countdown of free goodies. You can find them right here.

art book and new digiWERX papers

2008-02-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for some nummy eye candy, Christina has published a book of her mixed media collages.

As Christina describes it, "It's an 80 page, full colour book, measures 7x7 and is crammed with full colour versions of all my mixed media collages." I got my autographed copy today, get your's here.

She has also created some new fabio digital papers that you can find here.

Take a look and see for yourself. I think you will agree.

snow day!

2008-01-29T17:09:00.001-08:00

A few of pictures from today's snow fall.

much too young

2008-01-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

Heath Ledger 1979 - 2008

It was such a shock to hear of Heath's passing last Tuesday.

A fabulous actor, and one of my favorites, I can only imagine what else he could have offered us in the way of his talents. Seeing him in the upcoming 'The Dark Knight' will be bittersweet indeed.

My thoughts are with his family.

art du jour

2008-01-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

This is a little book I whipped up for my work friend, Kim. She is a big fan of paper art and I have been meaning to make something for her for quite some time.

Even though the grungeboard 'k' sticks up beyond the top of the book, it is so flexible that it can be folded over without damaging it. It really is fun to work with. I punched holes in it and sewed it to the cover, adding beads along the way.

another blast of winter

2008-01-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

They were calling for 4-10 cm (or 1-4 inches for you non-metric types) of snow starting Saturday afternoon. The snow started late Saturday, but stopped after a light dusting. We woke up this morning and the snow had started up again. The the big flakes came...and they kept coming for the next three or four hours. By the time the clouds started to clear and the sun came out this afternoon, this is what we actually ended up with. More in the neighbourhood of 20 cm.

Doesn't really matter that we shoveled our portion of the driveway when we have to drive through the rest of this. Looks like public transit will be the mode of transport for the three of us tomorrow morning. (I know those of you who actually experience the true force of winter, for longer than a couple of days two or three times over the season, probably think we are wimps and this is nothing more than a drop in the bucket, and you would be correct...we are, I'm not ashamed to admit it.)

I have to admit, it sure is pretty. :u)

2008-01-24T21:58:00.000-08:00

Was visiting Angel's blog and I saw this...had to give it a try. Here's the result...

the recipe for deb

3 parts Craftiness
2 parts Devilry
1 part Fun
Splash of Charisma
Serve over ice

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

silver lining...

2008-01-22T21:19:00.000-08:00

...got word last Thursday that, just a couple weeks after celebrating my 10th anniversary with my company, I was going to be one of 115 people effected by the latest restructuring. Not the best day for sure. But, on Friday morning, I got a phone call...

We are going to Mexico!! Margaritas here we come!

too cool...

2008-01-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a very happy new year. I can't believe we are half way through January already...crazy!

I went out to visit Haroldine at 'Be Creative' (you locals know who I mean). It was demo day and the products were Tim Holtz's grundgeboard and distress paints. Now those who know me, know what a fan of Tim's I am. OMG! Grundgeboard rocks!! If you don't know what I'm talking about, check this out on YouTube. I just love this stuff!

After the demo, I came home with my new treasures and sat down and played. The following are the results of my playtime.

Yup...inspired by Tim on this one...loved the look.

happy holidays!

2007-12-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas evening. Gifts have been exchanged. Toys and games have been played. Phone calls to wish family well have been made. Turkey has been prepared and eaten. And to top it off, snow has fallen.

What a wonderful treat it was to see snow flakes fall on Christmas day. I can't remember the last time it snowed on Christmas.

What a lovely, quiet day the three of us have spent together. Memories have been made.

early Christmas presents

2007-12-23T22:11:00.000-08:00

Today we three Mays delivered nine early Christmas presents in the form of blood donations. It was Wesley's first time and he came through the experience unscathed. While we were having our juice and cookies post-donation, one of the volunteers told us we were giving presents to three people each. It felt good to know that we could be making a difference to someone's life...especially at this time of year.

If you give blood on a regular basis, way to go. If you have given before but haven't in a while, please consider getting out to a clinic over the holiday season to help out. And if you have never given, please think seriously about checking out the Canadian Blood Services website and seeing if there is a clinic coming up in your area.

If you don't live in Canada, please consider making a donation through the blood services programs in your country.

Wishing you and yours a very wonderful holiday season.

Happy Holidays everyone!

sale!

2007-12-06T18:26:00.001-08:00

Shari Beaubien is selling several lots of art supplies and goodies via ebay. For more details, click here.

oh, the weather outside is frightful...

2007-12-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

This is what our weekend looked like during the first snowfall of the season. Glad it decided to do it over the weekend so we could just hunker down and appreciate the beauty.

check out the size of the snowflakes

It's raining now, so don't know what things will look like in the AM. I am just hoping it doesn't freeze overnight.

studioWERX blog

2007-11-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

Check out my latest contribution to the street team blog.

lisa's christmas countdown

2007-11-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Lisa Vollrath is offering another one of her fabio countdowns with load of free goodies starting Dec 1. Can't wait!!

Click here and check it out for yourselves.

suminagashi marbling

2007-11-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

Suminagashi (sue-me-NAH-gah-she) means literally "ink floating".

This is the style of marbling I learned last weekend in a workshop taught by Candac Thayer-Coe. It was the first class at Nancy and April's new home. It was a great class.

The process is done by floating ink onto a surface of water by coating oriental brushes with the ink and then dipping the tips onto the surface of the water.

laying the paper onto the inks

lifting the paper off the water

...and onto the board for rinsing

The best thing about the class was sharing it with some of my special art friends...you know who you are!

This was a very zen-like experience, even in a group setting. I am looking forward to trying it again.

art & soul...finally...

2007-10-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

It's taken me a while to get back in the swing of things since returning from Portland. I think it's a combination of wanting to spend time with the family after being away, the post-art retreat funk and now a bunch of other life stuff that just muddles things up.

I had a wonderful time at A&S...classes were great. Took classes with Lesley Riley, Beryl Taylor and Traci Bautista.

Janice is the perfect travelling companion...and the best part was no hassle crossing the border this time! Woo hoo!

Janice and I took the MAX into downtown Portland. We went to Powell's Books. That place rocks!! I thought it was very strange that downtown Portland should be so quiet on a Saturday morning, so much different than Vancouver (BC). We puttered around. Looked in shops, grabbed a Starbucks and took the train back out to the hotel. We also got the shuttle to visit Alberta Street. Wasn't as exciting as I thought it might be but there were a few cool shops and great murals. Reminded me of Commercial Street (for you local folks). Here are a couple pics.

Got to catch up with friends. Especially grateful for being able to spend some catch-up time with Shari! Met some new friends from Minny...great to hang with you Laura and Jacque! April and Nanc...always a treat!

Drive back home was very smooth. We made it back to Bellingham in four hours, did a bit of last minute shopping and then headed back over the border.

Fun time.

october 3 - happy birthday, pygmy!!

2007-10-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

To my little sister...happy 40th!! Love ya!

dance

2007-09-22T16:29:00.001-07:00

I was commissioned to make a journal for a special young dancer I know. This year Devon has entered into a combined school and dance program.

The hope is, is that she will use this book to journal about her experiences along the way.

This is one of my favorite dance photos of Devon, which I included in her book.

anniversary - vegas edition

2007-09-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

Stephen and I recently returned from five fun filled nights in one of our favorite places...Vegas! This year we treated ourselves to a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. It was our first time in Arizona...even if it was only for half an hour. The flight was 45 mins in each direction and we flew over the Hoover Dam and Lake Meade. The scenery was incredible! Sure glad we flew first thing in the morning because even with air conditioning in the 'copter it was still hot.

After the so-so summer we have had here in BC, it was a real treat to bask in some of that 100+ degree heat. And nothing says Nevada like wandering around at 10 o'clock at night when the temp is still in the 90's!

This year we saw Monty Python's Spamalot (what a riot) and Cirque's O (one of our favorites).

What a way to finish off celebrating this special anniversary with my sweetie. Love you, Stephen!!

Here are some pics.

'being deliberate in a modern world'

2007-08-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

Mwaa ha ha...she is mine!! I was at Christina's this evening for a little get together with the local gals of the studioWERX [street team], Brig and Gen. While there I had a chance to check out Christina's collages up close and personal. If you think they look good via the computer, you should see them in person!! OMG! As soon as I saw 'being deliberate..." I knew she had to come home with me. My Lazar-Schuler collection has just doubled in size and I couldn't be happier.

Photo used with permission.

collages by christina

2007-08-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Photo used with permission.

Nummy! Nummy! Nummy! Christina Lazar-Schuler has created the most incredible eye candy! Check out her etsy shop for the latest in a series of fabio collages!! I have already purchased one and am seriously considering starting a collection. The only problem is trying to decide which one! They are truly scrumptious!

paper bag book

2007-08-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wait until this gift was received by my fabio sis-in-law (we are both additions to the family) before posting about this little project idea write up I did for the studioWERX [street team] blog. I love how easy it is to put together something quite special from simple paper lunch bags and a few basic scrapbook supplies, embellishments and pictures.

studioWERX assignment - poppets

2007-08-16T22:17:00.001-07:00

Our DT assignment for this month was to create a summer themed mini album using LazarWERX Poppet papers and rubber stamps, Maya Road chipboard album and embellishments, along with PaperWERX Scribble & Scratch rub ons. A few of my faces are from a 1958 Ladies Home Journal and others are from family pictures of a wonderful former boss who graciously shared them. Thanks Robin! (BTW...the little boy in the tent...that's Robin).

To see what the rest of the gang did with the products, wander over to the studioWERX [street team] blog over the next few days.

happy 25th, lovie!!

2007-08-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

7 August 1982
Stephen and I get married on one of the hottest days of the summer.

7 August 2007
We celebrated this special anniversary in Port Townsend, WA. We stayed at The James House (in the bridal suite). Its beautiful Victorian features, panoramic view from the balcony, and a very special bottle of champagne added the perfect touches to a lovely couple of days.

"Stephen, thank you for choosing to share your life with me. You are my very best friend and I love you with all of my heart [faad-kk]." ~ Deb

vancouver pride parade

2007-08-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

What a great way to spend the day! The parade was so much fun. The colours were so vibrant and some of the costumes were unbelievable. My favorite was the glitter queen. Check out her hair [last pic]!

Happy Pride, everyone!

summer vacation - part 1 - nelson, bc

2007-08-04T18:42:00.001-07:00

We recently returned from our trip to Nelson, BC (southwest corner of BC in an area called the 'Kootaneys'. It a beautiful little city situated in a valley along the banks of the Kootaney River. We came up here to visit with my hubby's brother and family. The weather was hot...STINKIN' HOT! [not a complaint, just an observation]

I had been reading the last HP book and still had about a quarter to go when we left for the trip. I managed to read two chapters while in the car (which I thought was pretty good, cuz I can't usually read in the car). I stopped at two one-chapter goes, as I thought it best not to push my luck. Over the next couple of days, I was able to find time to sit and finish up the book. Good thing because Wes and his cousins, Aaron and Chris, had all finished and were dying to discuss it with me. WOW!! JK Rowling is brilliant! LOVED IT! I won't say more in case there are some folks still reading.

While in Nelson, we wandered around the city centre; floated in the Slocan River and took a wonderful trip on the Osprey 2000 ferry over to Kootenay Bay and Crawford Bay.

Crawford Bay is home to a wonderful group of artisans. We visited several shops including: North Woven Broom Company (commissioned by Raincoast Books to make 200 brooms for the launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; they also made the brooms for the movie version of Bewitched and several other movies/tv shows); Barefoot Handweaving; Breathless Glass; Kootenay Forge; and Dog Patch Pottery.

Brian (my bro-in-law) and Sylvia prepared the most amazing meals for us! We ate well and drank several bottles of wine over the course of our visit.

In the evening, we played a game called "Things..." What a hoot! I'll never forget "your secretary"...man, did we get mileage out of that one. At one point, I was taking a gulp of water and Aaron made me laugh just at the wrong time and there I was choking and coughing water all over myself. There were times we were laughing so hard we were crying. I love laughing that hard! It's the best.

When we got to Nelson, there was one forest fire burning to the north of the city. By the time we left four days later, there were four burning in the surrounding area. Our final night, we started to smell the smoke and the skies were quite hazy as we left for home.

Next up, the Vancouver Pride Parade tomorrow and then Stephen and I are off to Port Townsend, WA for a couple days to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

wes and harry

2007-07-21T15:56:00.001-07:00

The plan has been set for months. Saturday, July 21, 2007 - Wes would arrive at Costco for store opening. Mission accomplished. Let the marathon reading begin! With no work shifts this weekend, he has plans to finish the book before Monday. He's a fast reader, so I have no doubt he will get it done.

Bonus for me, because as soon as he is done, it's MY TURN! [maybe I can sneak in a chapter or two after he's gone to bed]

It does seem strange to see the basement dark and his computer silent.

the book is finally finished!

2007-07-20T23:57:00.000-07:00

Yay! The scrapbook commission I have been working on is complete! Kev seemed very pleased with the end result and I couldn't be happier that this long and challenging project is behind me. Kevin wanted to thank me for the hard work involved and showed his appreciation by giving me a lovely gift...a framed autographed Elton John - Greatest Hits LP! How cool is that? What a terrific client - thanks, Kev!

I will try and post a few more pics from the book this weekend.

Next up, my August DT assignment for the studioWERX street team. Stay tuned.

better than a typical monday

2007-07-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

What an enjoyable and productive weekend. It included a wonderful pancake and bacon breakfast prepared lovingly by my amazing hubby; making some major headway on my scrapbook commission; seeing 'Live Free or Die Hard' (good movie, by the way); watching some of the Live Earth concert; watching some kick a** tennis in the form of the Wimbledon men's final; and one heck of a fun margarita party with some neighbour friends! Yep...I'd say it was one heck of a fine summer weekend.

I met up with Janice and Pat (two of my bestest art friends) for a trip to N Jefferson Ltd. (a local wholesale quilting/notions supply store) over lunch. A bit of retail therapy to help take away those Monday blahs...ahhhh. Then, I get back to work to find an email saying that I had won a prize from the radio station that I listen to - JACKFM. I had entered some of my JACK points in one of the little on-line contests and what do you know...it paid off!

I won a "TUMS Time Out" prize package, which included a TUMS luggage tage, BC Lions t-shirt and a Heys International x-case! It's carry-on size and looks quite cool. How perfect! We have been talking about getting new luggage and this is a really nice start. The radio station is only a few minutes from where I work, so I popped out this afternoon to pick up my prize. I got to choose between army green and turquoise. Turquoise it is! Not bad for a Monday.

woo hoo! a long weekend...happy birthday, Canada!!

2007-07-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a great weekend camping up at Alice Lake. Alice is located about 1.5 hours from our place, just north of Squamish on the Sea to Sky Highway heading up to Whistler.

The boys headed up on Thursday and I joined them on a very rainy Friday evening. It poured all night long, but when we got up the rain had stopped and it never came back, even though the weather reports stated it would.

We drove up to Whistler on Saturday and enjoyed some shopping and a lovely lunch. We also got to listen to some great live music, including a team of drummers.

Saturday evening was terrific. While Wes stayed back and watched the fire, Stephen and I walked down to the lake. We heard a strange bird sound (kind of like a saw being sharpened) and found out it was a pair of owls. We watched as they flew silently from tree to tree. It was only once they landed that they would let out their call. Ah, the great outdoors. And nothing compares to sitting around the campfire late into the evening. The stars were shining...it was a perfect night to be camping. I wished on the first star for the rain to stay away...thanks, twinkle!

On Sunday we toasted Canada's birthday; she turned 140 years old on July 1st. We played The Beatles' "Birthday" in celebration.

Hope all my fellow Canadians enjoyed a great long weekend and I wish the best to all my American peeps as you prepare to celebrate your nation's b-day! Hope it rocks!

let them eat cake...

2007-06-26T21:40:00.001-07:00

I have been asked to do a commission scrapbook for a friend. When we initially talked about doing this project, it was going to be for his parents 45th wedding anniversary. Well, the timing wasn't right and other things like life stalled us a tad. Needless to say, their 46th anniversary just past and I am now smack in the middle of the project, having recently gathered all the pictures and well wishes from other family members. Guess it will either be a late 46th or an early 47th gift.

It has been challenging working on a scrapbook for people I have never met. Luckily, one of the family members obviously scrapbooks. Her package of pictures were numbered and she had supplied captions to go along with them. That has provided me with some additional insight into this wonderfully loving family.

I had particular fun putting together this page. After learning about and playing with molding paste in my last acrylic alchemy class, I thought... hmmm, icing! Perfect for this page.

"acrylic alchemy "

2007-06-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Is that a great title for a class or what? ...and I am fortunate enough to be one of the lucky students in Christina Lazar's first every classes on acrylic paint. Even though, on her blog, she admitted she was nervous to be teaching this particular class, she is doing her usual fabio job as an instructor! I have taken several of Christina's classes and have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. We have had two sessions and the last one is tomorrow evening. We have been learning about colour theory, working with acrylic mediums, etc. The time that has been put into the handouts really shows! Tomorrow we get to put it all together and play. Can't wait!!

I made my most recent trips down to Kroma, on Christina's recommendation. I was delighted to hear such high praise for their products...as good as, if not better than other major brands, made locally in Vancouver and their prices are lower than other major brands because they sell directly to their customers. I had already tried and loved their mediums. I use their fluid medium for most of my transfers onto fabric (works great!). Now, I was going to get to play with their paint. LOVE IT!

If you are from the lower mainland and haven't been yet, GO! If you aren't, check out their website!

abreast of the situation...

2007-06-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday I had an appointment I really wasn’t looking forward to. Nope, it wasn’t THAT yearly appointment to see the doc…been there, done that. But this one was going to be just about as much fun. As I was going to a new location, I gave myself plenty of time to get there.

I arrive at 11:00am. That’s okay, I’m only twenty minutes early…and I brought a magazine. I check in. The attendant seems to be having trouble locating my appointment. Ah, she finds it. It’s for 11:40am. Crap…I’m forty minutes early. Oh well. I plant myself in the empty waiting room and start in on my Entertainment Weekly. Within a few minutes I am called to go to another room. Bonus, I’m getting in early. Next I am escorted into a little change room where I am to wait for a technician. The tech comes within a few minutes and before you know it I am face to face with the Mammomat 3000!

Yes, ladies…those of you over 40 are probably familiar with it and its kind. This was only my second mammogram, but I don’t recall ever seeing the name of the machine last time. It just about cracked me up. My mind was racing with other names the inventors possibly tossed around…”What are we gonna call it?” “I know…how about the Boob-O-Matic?” “The Juggernaut?”

Humour always helps those awkward situations. Thank you to the lovely tech who made the whole experience very comfortable. Nice when you have things in common (both our sons had just graduated). Makes for easy conversation and relieves the awkwardness.

Nothing says "I am woman" more than having your breast squeezed between two plates of glass. Say cheese. Or should I say, Got milk?

At least that’s over for another year or two…I hope.

As everyone has somehow been touched by breast cancer in some way…myself, most recently through an art friend who is currently undergoing treatment, I would recommend that if you are of age and haven’t done so, make your appointment with the Mammomat 3000. A few minutes of discomfort in exchange for early detection of this horrible disease are more than worth it. And don’t forget those regular breast self-examinations.

I’ll get off my soap box now.

lesson learned...the hard way...

2007-06-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

Don’t forget to back up your computer…

Trust me. I know of what I speak. This past week and a bit have been very frustrating and disappointing. The hard drive in my laptop decided to die. This was no slow death either…it was sudden and completely unexpected. Sure, I had a blue screen or two prior, but nothing that would indicate it was in the final throws…

Wes has done everything in his power to try and recover the data. We even went so far as to try the "put your hard drive in the freezer" trick. We would get glimmers of hope and then nothing. The fellows in the IT department of the company I work for are giving it the hail mary and if I am VERY lucky, there will be good news tomorrow when I get to work. It's a very long shot so I don't want to get my hopes back up.

So, it’s dead…what do we do now. First thing is think about the last time I backed up my data. Hmmm? Not really sure. Couldn’t have been that long ago, could it?

I pull out my external hard drive and we plug it in to Wesley’s computer. December 2006. Okay, it could be worse. Now I have to think about everything that I have done on my computer since then. All my pictures from 2007!! That was the worst part. Okay, what did I take pictures of so far this year? Two trips to the Sunshine Coast. Crap! Oh man…Wesley’s 18th birthday. Double crap! Kyle’s tattoo pictures…Bummer! My Nick Bantock weekend in Victoria…Sucks! Then, I think…NO, not my Artfest pictures! Then a quick wave of relief passes over me as I remember that Wesley had accidentally copied my entire Artfest folder, including my trades and other projects and all my pictures of the event itself onto a CD. He was only supposed to copy the pics so I could send them to a friend who had also attended. Thanks so much for that, Wes!! Happy accident!

I will have to wait until next spring to capture those beautiful cherry blossom shots I lost. Sigh…

What about Wesley’s grad you may ask? Luckily all the grad dinner/dry grad pics had been put on Wesley’s computer as well, so we still have those. Phew! What about his actual grad ceremony? All the pics with the relatives we took? Hey, didn’t I burn those onto a CD and give it to my mother? Yes, I did! Phew plus!!

Needless to say I have learned my lesson the hard way. So, to all of you out there that maybe haven’t been backing up your computers on a regular basis, stop what you are doing right now and back up your most precious data! I am going to be extra careful with my pictures from now on and will be backing up my computer on a weekly basis!

At least I have my blog, which holds the only copies of some of my lost shots. Thank goodness for blogger!

The silver lining in all of this is at least when I purchased the laptop two and a bit years ago, I decided to get the extended warranty. The replacement hard drive has already arrived.

Gotta run. I have a database for our strata council that needs to be recreated.

while we are on the subject...

2007-06-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Our nephew Aaron is celebrating his graduation this weekend. This is the card I made for him. It is actually a little book. Inside are pages I created using digiWERX Vintage Ledger Journally Spots. I just LOVE them!

After adding '2007' to one of the circle spots, I used glossy accents to affix it to the optical lens. I also used one of the journally tags on the front (under the word 'grad') and I sized another to use as the pages inside the book.

Inside contains Dr. Seuss's 'Oh The Places You'll Go'. If you have never read it, I highly recommend it. Very fitting for a graduate.

congratulations, graduate!

2007-06-07T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's official. All of the formal ceremonies are complete. The dinner/dance, the dry-grad and the school leaving ceremony. With one final exam to go, our boy is almost finished with high school. Congratulations Wesley. We couldn't be prouder.

lisa vollrath - father's day countdown

2007-06-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

More goodies courtesy of Lisa starting on June 8. Find them here: Father's Day Countdown.

streetWERX street team - our first challenge

2007-06-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here are pics of my attempt at the first of our design team challenges...a hybrid manila folder using the digiWERX collection of high-resolution, downloadable, digitally rendered elements. After looking at the fabulous creations of the other members (which you can view here on the streetWERX street team blog) I realized just how "inside the box" I was on this one. Guess I took it a little too literally...but hey, I'm new at this stuff. I am hoping there will be an upcoming challenge where I can really shine. At least this piece has a little sparkle...thanks to the microfine glitter :u)

fiction plane

2007-05-30T20:32:00.001-07:00

We went to The Police concert on Monday night. Vancouver is the first stop on their reunion tour. It was a great show. As an added bonus, Sting's son Joe Sumner and his band 'Fiction Plane' opened the show. There is something to be said about genetics. At times you would swear it was Sting singing. After their set, we went back out to the concourse and picked up their newest CD...'Left Side of the Brain'. I am really enjoying it. If you are interested in having a listen, you can hear the track 'Two Sisters' from this CD here. Have a listen and tell me if that doesn't sound like Sting...talk about good genes!

goodbye, ken

2007-05-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

I received very sad news today. My ol' island friend Reenie called to tell me that her dad had recently passed away. Ken, a US military man, moved to Nanaimo way back in the late seventies to work at the US naval base in Nanoose Bay. I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know him and his wonderful wife, Jo through Reenie, who I met during grade 10. Even after her parents moved back to the states, we stayed in touch via Christmas cards and such.

We were lucky enough to have a chance to visit with them during a trip they made to Nanaimo last summer. Sure glad we took the time to go over and see them.

Goodbye to the wonderful man who always reminded me of Santa.

You will be truly missed.

tagged...

2007-05-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Rachelle, one of the DT gang...

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. I sang backup vocals in a band called "Unrealistic Expectations", a band we formed to perform at our company's Christmas party a few years back. We recorded the performance and actually produced a CD of the show.

2. I have three piercing in my left ear lobe and two on my right (I went through an asymetrical phase back in the 80's; hair was short on one side not the other, etc. This is my everlasting reminder, which I don't mind cuz it's a little different).

3. My favorite vacation spots are Las Vegas and Disneyland.

4. I, unfortunately, chew my nails.

5. I was engaged at 17 years of age and married exactly a year and a day after becoming engaged (we didn't plan that, it just worked out that way). Stephen and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this August.

6. I HATE the taste of coffee...always have (but, I love the smell of fresh ground coffee...go figure). Even so, I stop at Starbucks every weekday to pick up my venti, non-fat, no foam, two pump mocha syrup, steamed milk.

7. I give really good hugs; I learned from the best...my Nana G!

I am tagging the following wonderful folks...hope you don't mind...
Shari, Tracie Lyn, Marilyn, Sammy, Heather, Ty and Marcia

'bantock' piece continues...

2007-05-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

As promised earlier, here is another look at my 16"x16" piece as it is presently. Time to do some more work on it, but thought I would give you a peek at the work-in-progress. Wonder what it will look like when it is done...and how will I know when that is? Hmmm.

This is a close up of a section that I particularly like.

ah, springtime...

2007-05-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

I love our springtime. Sure, we get our fair share of rain, like today, but that helps everything grow and bloom. And really, what smells better than the fresh air outside after a good rain?

I took this yesterday while we were waiting in the border line-up.

Here are a couple shots from last week's trip to Burnaby Lake. It was a much nicer day.

i'm on a design team!!

2007-05-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

How psyched was I to learn today that I had been selected to be a member of Lazar StudioWERX design team? I was over-the-moon excited! Lazar StudioWERX has some of the most fantastic rubber stamps I have ever purchased; not to mention the rich coloured papers.

Thanks go to my wonderful friend Janice who pointed me in the right direction and encouraged me to put in a submission! You're the best, BC!

Emails were flying back and forth today as those of us chosen for the team introduced ourselves. This is going to be so great!

I am adding a special listing for the blogs of my new DT gang. Mosey on over and have a peek.

Special thanks to Christina and Becky for giving me this fabio opportunity!

published!!

2007-05-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh! I am soooo excited! Our quiltlets from the Artfest 2006 swap, hosted by Shari Beaubien have been published in the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors! The best part is that they featured four quiltlets and one of them was MINE!! Woo hoo! Yup...I consider this a very significant moment in my art journey!

Many thanks to Shari for all of the hard work that was put into the swap itself and everything involved in getting them published. Thank you, dear friend!!

weekend with nick bantock

2007-05-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

What can I say... Nick is incredible!

I was fortunate to spend this past weekend with Nick in his 'Urgent 2nd Class' Collage workshop. My lovely art friend Nadine and I headed over to Victoria where we stayed with another of our fabulous art friends, Mary and her hubby, Don. The three of us were in the class together, which was terrific. Thank you again, to our wonderful hosts.

Nick's teaching was centred around process rather than technique and I learned a ton.

We started with 2"x2" illustration board doing several exercises within set amounts of time to force us to not think too much about what we were doing.

This is Mary's 2"x2". After we worked on our squares for about 30 mins, Nick had us pass them to the person on the right, so I had a chance to work on this piece as well. It was a great exercise.

We eventually worked our way up to 16"x16". I thought I would be intimidated by that size, but as Nick says "getting rid of the white" right away with pastel chalks, makes it much easier to jump in.

Here is the start of my 16"x16" with a quick coating of chalk pastels.

Nick would give us prompts every 30 mins or so...(i.e. "two figures", "gold") which we could then choose to incorporate into our collages.

This is about two hours in.

Here it is after about four hours. Nadine and I decided to continue working on them during the ferry ride home. Doesn't look like much yet, but you can really see the different textures.

Nick said that we needed to be prepared to put in 10 times as much time as we had (approx. four hours), so there is much more work to do before the piece is completed. I will post it as it progresses.

The class size was perfect with just eight of us...the three of us as well as Pat, Patti, Jill, Rose and Olga. After the first day of class we had a pot luck dinner with Nick, Joyce and our hosts Lori and Allen. We played a really fun game which allowed us to get to know a bit more about each other [I would tell you about it, but our friends Janice and Mo are taking the same workshop this weekend]. At the end of the second day, Nick said we produced some of the best work he has seen in a workshop and acknowledged that there was no competition and the group was very supportive. Wow!

Thank you to Lori for hosting the workshops at her amazing home.

If you are interested, Nick has a series of upcoming workshops in his studio on Salt Spring Island. Here is a link to his website. You can find out more about the workshops by contacting his partner and web curator, Joyce.

Another wonderful art experience!

mother's day countdown

2007-05-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Lisa Vollrath is offering up more goodies in her countdown to Mother's Day. Check it out here.

puzzle swap

2007-04-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the end result of the Ruby Dog's puzzle swap I participated in back in February. Fun project.