gotta love it! I made a deal that last year was going to be a great year and for the most part it was. It had it's speed bumps, but I am choosing to remember the good, the grand and the great. started off 2007 the same way I will start 2008 by doing this. always a fun way to start off the year and to wish fellow runners "happy NEW year". took a drawing class in January and did my first ever still life. still hanging on the fridge! LOL! attended a few MAC classes to learn about my new puter. fun!
in february I completed my first ever half marathon. one of my many goals! such an amazing feeling!
march took me to vancouver for this with her. hosted by christina. such a great event where we were lucky enough to meet ali, donna and claudine. we met so many amazing artists and it was a wonderful break for the both of us.
april brought john here for our viewing pleasure. awesome!
may I was part of the most incredible exhibit. tons of work, but such an amazing experience! we were also fortunate to see jann. another amazing concert! And we did this 10 km with a friend of ours and it was the first 10 km race/run any of us had ever done. I know! I did a 1/2 marathon before doing a 10 km! LOL!
june we ran in this. a few of the girls from my running group joined forces to do this and it was so much fun to form a team and complete it together.
we started July off with 15 km. And we cannot forget the best part of July my bon bon for his first visit of the year.
august brought another birthday and the unforgettable 60 km.
september we attended scrapfest. here we met anam, vicki, kah mei, jenn. We also did the run for the cure.
october was of course my first full marathon. another huge goal of mine completed. then there was St. Louis with donna. crop for kids where we met Lance, josie and sally, kelly, and kristina also where we debuted our bags and had all the artist's sign them.
november we had our super saturday class and the trip to remember on the beach.
finished the year off with a repeat sweet treat and a surprise visit from my uncle.
whew! tomorrow we begin again and let me tell you this past year will be hard to beat! happy new year!
a whole lot of creatin' goin' on.....
I've been a busy little elf! playing in an art journal for this project. I used to have a hard time letting go of originals, but now I enjoy it. I know some people make two of everything or take tons of pictures and do instructions. try this - make something and let it go.......had lots of fun in the last few days pouring it out.....excited about the new year and new possibilities....and new projects!
silent night....
good news! in no particular order:
1. Sparky the wonder dog slept through the night!
2. two...count them...two completed desserts sitting in the fridge (tiramisu and pineapple delight: stick with what you know!)
3. presents are ALL wrapped
4. completed 13 km run
5. found the ultimate gift for ma and pa (digital camera/printer combo)
6. made my fave jello salad for Christmas lunch (I know *jello salad*, but this one is good!)
7. saw my "spicy italian" cousin today!
8. talked to mom and she actually made some sense!
9. bought super duper pillow and am actually looking forward to going to bed to try it!
10. lookie what I saw today!
....little baby Christopher who is now breathing on his own! yay! still in ICN so keep the prayers and positive energy coming!
and (drum roll please) the boy is joining us for Christmas lunch.....triple arm pump and pass the tissue!
1. Sparky the wonder dog slept through the night!
2. two...count them...two completed desserts sitting in the fridge (tiramisu and pineapple delight: stick with what you know!)
3. presents are ALL wrapped
4. completed 13 km run
5. found the ultimate gift for ma and pa (digital camera/printer combo)
6. made my fave jello salad for Christmas lunch (I know *jello salad*, but this one is good!)
7. saw my "spicy italian" cousin today!
8. talked to mom and she actually made some sense!
9. bought super duper pillow and am actually looking forward to going to bed to try it!
10. lookie what I saw today!
....little baby Christopher who is now breathing on his own! yay! still in ICN so keep the prayers and positive energy coming!
and (drum roll please) the boy is joining us for Christmas lunch.....triple arm pump and pass the tissue!
three days?
ten days have passed since my last post. you are probably wondering if I did indeed run off with bon bon. sadly no...I have been here and as you can see I am reduced to drowning my stress in hot chocolate. yup! so whassup? lemme see:
1. I think my mom is losing her mind
2. I don't think dad is taking me seriously
3. Christmas shopping is done but alas a child is born today so more shopping
4. the two squares I made are both basically crap and I volunteered to do dessert?
5. PMS is here and those who get in the way will be hurt
6. it is friggin' cold outside, but hey I'm in training so RUN STUPIDEST RUN!
7. Mom's card was sent without enclosing the ultimate gift - a cheque! agh!
8. my dog keeps wanting to go outside at 4 am! is this an age thing?
9. my garage door opener broke last night
10. my son spends this Christmas with my ex
sorry....back to give, give, give and good things:
1. my mom may be losing her mind, but she laughs it off and says "I dunno" a lot
2. my dad is actually doing better than mom which to me is a huge surprise
3. my cousin had a baby boy today, premature, say a prayer, so far things are good "christopher giovanni"
4. I did eat the crappy squares and washed them down with the hot chocolate (a nice light snack)
5. sorry can't really twist this one
6. it is cold, but I love to run...helps #5
7. I will send mom two cheques for her birthday in a few weeks - done!
8. I love that little shit (diapers?)
9. we switched sides so I can still get in and out with a press of a button
10. hopefully D will have Christmas lunch with us (fingers crossed)
three more days and tons of fun stuff in between! after all there is the 14 km tomorrow morning at 8:30 am! yay! hopefully a visit with mom and baby in the afternoon. christmas eve with dolly and her family! bringing perogies and cabbage rolls which are so not crap! yay! movie? games? afterwards, who knows! I do know that it will be some serious fun with special friends. christmas day with my mom and dad and two uncles and hopefully "D". bringing salad and dessert (wish me luck!) christmas night with the kurjata's. bringing dessert (more luck needed!) looking forward to seeing all the kids! can I mention boxing day? too early? OK! merry ho ho ho to all and to all a good night!
and hopefully he sleeps through it.....
the wind beneath my wings....
aka the slap up side the head....thank goodness I have her! she was there with the smack I needed late last night as I was about to do something crazy. I dunno if it is the detox I am going through or the whole organic chocolate bar I ate last night. (I know! how do detox and chocolate bar end up in the same sentence?) anywho after spending an hour on the telephone with her trying to justify what I was about to do she reminded me that "tis the season for GIVING" and I needed to stop and think about what I was asking. was it not enough that I got to see him in July? was it not enough that I have two band shirts? is it not enough that she has to listen to bon bon all day in the studio? are three pairs of binoculars not enough? and here I go again to yet another show tomorrow night. not to mention all the wonderful dreams I have been having about him. can I not just be thankful for ALL that? yes, yes, yes of course I can and I was being silly and not thinking and so I bowed my head in shame.....thanked her for listening and for setting me straight...told her I love her, cause boy do I and watched ONE more of his videos before I hit the pillow.
please come home for Christmas......
oh yeah baby! two more sleeps and then my bon bon will be here and I will meet him and I will be gentle......
'tis the season
here is the result of two days in the studio. holy turtle art batman! and by that I mean boy was I moving at a snails pace this week. probably why on Wednesday I found myself in bed all day and night sick as a dog. anywho this is my Christmas card for the artsy people in my life. If you know me you know that generally I don't follow rules and just go with my own flow. In this case I used canvas because we have been playing around with it a lot this year so I thought it was appropriate. Also the never ending love for "words" had me finally (never mind Laurie) pick the word "give". After all is it not the season for "giving"? Give what? you might ask (and many did). just give! In recalling last week and the times that I just gave without thinking about what I would receive it felt pretty darn good! So that is my word for this month "GIVE" and just give any way you can. A smile, a hug, a donation, a kind word, a gift to someone you might not otherwise buy for. Here is a very inspiring (no pun intended!) example of giving how kewl is that? I made a comment that I was inspired by her and would figure out a way that I could pay it forward and so the word "give" has come to mean a whole lot more than I thought it did when I picked it. No wonder it took hours!
On that note....how about the Oprah's favorite things list? I love this idea so much I came up with my own favorite thing and a lot of my favorite people are getting it for gifts this year.
Update on my uncle. he arrived and he looks so good. real good.....and healthy. best present ever is having him here for the holidays. tidying up the studio in hopes that I can get creative and make some kewl gifties for the group. ciao for now!
and good things just keep coming.....
I have a running buddy who has a rule that whenever we are running and she (it's always her) finds money she gives it to me. At first I thought it was because half the time she had no pockets and I always have a pocket or two (gum, kleenex, chap stick). A while back she lets me in on her little secret. If she gives away the money she finds then it brings her good luck. Kinda like "see a penny pick it up and through the day you'll bear good luck" and I add "give it to a friend and your luck will never end". I was talking about pennies though and usually she finds dimes, nickels, pennies and the occasional quarter. Recently she won $50.00 on two separate occasions on the lottery. So yesterday as I am off to meet her for our run I find a toonie (that's $2.00 for my US friends). I think about it....I mean it's $2.00! Do I have to give it to her? Yup! That's the rule. So I do and she is totally floored cause it's $2.00! Anyway she agreed it was the rule. Of course she would! I just gave her $2.00! LOL! So I find out yesterday that my zio (uncle) is coming from Italy for a three month visit. OMG! I am SO excited. He is my favorite uncle. He is the one who when I was visiting in Italy and lucky me I was able to do that on several occasions would always do a little something extra to make my birthday special. He would take off on his vespa with a roaster tied to the back. Head to the local eatery and pick up a roast chicken and then off to the bakery for the most scrumptious cake with spumonis on top. Yum! When I was living in Italy and was there for Christmas he went out and bought a traditional sweet bread in the shape of a turkey! He knew that I would miss turkey dinner and that was probably as close as I would get. Little things like that. He never married and lived in Australia for ten years before returning to Italy to look after my grandma after my grandfather passed away. I mean he literally gave up his life for her and after she passed away several years ago he came for a visit and has been coming about every three to four years. I have been very fortunate that I got to know him as well as I do. He speaks fluent english and loves to practice when he comes. Such a wonderful surprise! Tip of the day! If you find money...give it away! You never know what could happen!
freak my freak!
omg! holy surprise packages batman! this morning started out with another brisk run and then a quick shower and off to the hospital to get mamma checked out. dizzy spells have been hampering her for awhile so she started her tests out today with an ENG and a MRI will follow in January. I keep telling her to stop drinking and that would probably help. KIDDING! so back to the freak my freak. I return home and retrieve the mail cause let's face it isn't that the best part of the day, really? unless it is bills and then not so much. okay so this package is bulging (sounds dirty!) and it is addressed to me and I as I open it I try not to disturb the customs tape they put on it when they opened it. hey! checking out my package? And look what was inside:
a lovely note and prezzie from my cyber amiga who is half of the dynamic duo (love batman talk!). she sent me a stamp that says "I AM ART" and insists that if I stamp this on my forehead jon bon jovi will totally notice me! Uh hello! and here is the freak my freak part! this morning I awoke from the bestest dream ever. you see I was at the bon jovi concert and jon DID notice me and I got to sit with him while he signed autographs. YES! and then after I dragged laurie away from the souvenir booth she started taking pictures of us! YES! he fell asleep on my shoulder cause he was so tuckered after his concert. all together now ....awwwwww! YES! I thanked him for letting me hang out with him and he said no problem cause he thought I was amazing and very sweet! YES! I walked with him back to his dressing room at which point we ran into his wife who thanked me for getting him back there. uh ya, whatever! and I said good bye. woke up with my heart absolutely pounding from excitement and the fear that Laurie forgot to put her card in her camera and that we have no pictures. like it was real or something? LOL! so that my friends is freak my freak. the dream of having jon notice me and the prezzie with tools to get him to notice me. I am totally meeting this man! totally!
a lovely note and prezzie from my cyber amiga who is half of the dynamic duo (love batman talk!). she sent me a stamp that says "I AM ART" and insists that if I stamp this on my forehead jon bon jovi will totally notice me! Uh hello! and here is the freak my freak part! this morning I awoke from the bestest dream ever. you see I was at the bon jovi concert and jon DID notice me and I got to sit with him while he signed autographs. YES! and then after I dragged laurie away from the souvenir booth she started taking pictures of us! YES! he fell asleep on my shoulder cause he was so tuckered after his concert. all together now ....awwwwww! YES! I thanked him for letting me hang out with him and he said no problem cause he thought I was amazing and very sweet! YES! I walked with him back to his dressing room at which point we ran into his wife who thanked me for getting him back there. uh ya, whatever! and I said good bye. woke up with my heart absolutely pounding from excitement and the fear that Laurie forgot to put her card in her camera and that we have no pictures. like it was real or something? LOL! so that my friends is freak my freak. the dream of having jon notice me and the prezzie with tools to get him to notice me. I am totally meeting this man! totally!
hump day
-17 today, cold, friggin' cold! here is a recap of today's exciting events:
8:00 am - child is dropped on my doorstep, sick and asking for ginger ale, give him two pills and send him to bed
8:30 am - after spending fifteen minutes getting bundled up like a two year old I join some other maniacs and run 10 km whereby we spend the next hour or so whining about how friggin' cold it is!
11:00 am - return home with ginger ale, hot chocolate (non fat, with just a splash of whip) and check on the child
12:00 am - after soup and a sandwich plant myself on the couch and am joined by this:
and for the next hour - we slept - and we were warm - I love this dog!
8:00 am - child is dropped on my doorstep, sick and asking for ginger ale, give him two pills and send him to bed
8:30 am - after spending fifteen minutes getting bundled up like a two year old I join some other maniacs and run 10 km whereby we spend the next hour or so whining about how friggin' cold it is!
11:00 am - return home with ginger ale, hot chocolate (non fat, with just a splash of whip) and check on the child
12:00 am - after soup and a sandwich plant myself on the couch and am joined by this:
and for the next hour - we slept - and we were warm - I love this dog!
is it Tuesday?
who dat? that's my girl! peeking from behind hundreds of fresh bottles of luscious, but cheap paint. every Tuesday we have "art Tuesday". paint is splattered, papers cut and pasted, sewing machine a buzz, singing as loud as we can, giggles, puppies pacing and all the while purely enjoying OUR time to just play. no rules, no deadlines (okay maybe some) and the occassional chocolate drop. love these days....SO MUCH!
meet me in st. louis, bay bee!
here is the st. louis buzz. short and sweet. totally enjoyable. great views from our hotel of the arch. above shot of how I like to make a hotel room have that at home feeling. okay so there just so happened to be a flower shop in the hotel where we stayed so I purchased a rose and spruced up the room with some sunshine! also showing is my travel journal that I made up for the trip. still need to put some photos in it! later....
I had the absolute thrill of visiting these two lovely sisters at their store. Red Lead has it all under one roof. Paper, paint, glue, scissors, fibres, fine art supplies, vintage emphera, books, rubber stamps (even their own line) and tons of classes. One of the coolest things was their "open studio" concept. You go in and pick a project from the display that you want to make, pay for it and sit down at the art tables in the back of the store. All supplies are provided along with great conversation and help if you need it. I try and visit this store every time I go to St. Louis. Check it out! Hi Chris and Sharon!
as seen on a wall in Starbucks. kewl. another thing that made me smile was how they wrote your name on the side of the cup. yup, well up here in Canada they don't do that, okay! I wanted to pick a different name each time....like Zena, Isabella, Sophie, but of course as M reminded me I would have to remember which name I gave them so as not to miss getting my drink. Like the day I had them put laurie on it and it made me smile when I heard them call her name. kim deal with it! I know you almost lost your cookies last time I was adoring her.
did tons of shopping at the usual haunts (just in time for halloween, get it?) the galleria, macy's victoria's secret, brookstone and jc penny! I know - woo hoo! I did manage to find a dress for the wedding in a couple of weeks and a few shirts, sweaters, and pants. even boots bay bee!
this was the highlight of my trip....donna. I was able to take a class with her at for keeps sake. lucky me! I first met her in March at artistry and loved her so was quite excited to find out that she would be teaching in St. Louis while I was there. I will be seeing her again at her event in April. check it out!
back to reality and in the studio stirring up all kinds of fun.....workshop this weekend! yay!
csc4k, stars and all
SO far behind on the report, but here goes. first class was with iod and the class was called the "ME" journal. Lots of swag from prima.
Sally Griswold and Josie Celio were SO sweet!
holy bicks and klausen batman! the pickle man (aka Lance Anderson sat in on the class with us. fun, fun, and lots of laughs.
next up was "the beauty of life" class with kelly.
she is a hoot and hopefully will still talk to me after all the "Can ida" ribbing. I love accents! can I just say that? I do! I signed up for her class on the spot and was glad I did. laurie and I did this all on the santa maria. yup! classes on a ship! go figure! I warned them about my sea sickness, but no one listened! we were fortunate enough to meet up again at lunch. more chatting and laughing.
the next morning, at the crack of dawn, roosters crowing and all we showed up for "growth" with kristina. first I must say this...whoever photographs this girl does it so well that it makes her appear to be six feet tall! I ran into her on the elevator and my first thought was, of course, she is beautiful and then omg she is short? how can this be. when M takes my picture now I try to get him to do it ala "kristina". I look SO much taller now! you need to keep in mind that I do not tower over many people. okay I didn't tower over her but I also didn't have to look up, way up, to talk to her. she is so real and I lover her style!
high five to trisha for putting this even together and to all her volunteers. not an easy task, but I felt it was a wonderful way to support a great cause and to bring some awesome instructors to Edmonton. up next? st. louis report! whew!
Sally Griswold and Josie Celio were SO sweet!
holy bicks and klausen batman! the pickle man (aka Lance Anderson sat in on the class with us. fun, fun, and lots of laughs.
next up was "the beauty of life" class with kelly.
she is a hoot and hopefully will still talk to me after all the "Can ida" ribbing. I love accents! can I just say that? I do! I signed up for her class on the spot and was glad I did. laurie and I did this all on the santa maria. yup! classes on a ship! go figure! I warned them about my sea sickness, but no one listened! we were fortunate enough to meet up again at lunch. more chatting and laughing.
the next morning, at the crack of dawn, roosters crowing and all we showed up for "growth" with kristina. first I must say this...whoever photographs this girl does it so well that it makes her appear to be six feet tall! I ran into her on the elevator and my first thought was, of course, she is beautiful and then omg she is short? how can this be. when M takes my picture now I try to get him to do it ala "kristina". I look SO much taller now! you need to keep in mind that I do not tower over many people. okay I didn't tower over her but I also didn't have to look up, way up, to talk to her. she is so real and I lover her style!
high five to trisha for putting this even together and to all her volunteers. not an easy task, but I felt it was a wonderful way to support a great cause and to bring some awesome instructors to Edmonton. up next? st. louis report! whew!
exciting stuff X2
today's post is short and sweet, but filled with big stuff! so exhausted and am hoping it is the marathon recovery and not me getting sick. either way I am trying to listen to what my body needs and if it needs a two hour nap after a walk around downtown then I give in. nuff said! LOOK!
exhibit A - saaaay whaaat? no, the amazon man did not follow me to st. louis! yes, I am a crazy woman! before I left I hit chapters because I could not wait one minute longer to start reading this book. happy girl!
exhibit B - I know that sooner than later santa claus is coming to town, but before that happens my baby is coming back to me! five months to the day! I cannot believe that I am seeing him twice in one year! over the span of six months! can this be real? oh yeah baby! got the tickets! now to get the outfit!
hope to download some pictures from csc4k tomorrow and post about the event.
I DID IT!
say "hello to my little friend"
SO far behind in the blogging, but SO in recovery and flying here there and everywhere. back from OIM and now in st. louis.
let's start with the race! I started out really strong and was on track for my 1/2 marathon time (2:40) and then at around 22 km I lost my mind! I mean for real! I started thinking about why I would do this, what was I thinking and where the hell did everyone go? I was out there on that mountain alone for quite awhile. the tears started flowing and the pity party began. all were invited! there was the girl with the participation ribbon from grade 3 track & field, the other one who withdrew from a class because the assignment called for an oral report, and the young mother who felt so inadequate. this combined with my son's song coming on the i-pod started with tears and then full blown ugly cry! then my funeral song came on (you all have one, don't you?) and I started singing at the top my lungs through the tears. then it hit me! what about M? scheduled to do the 1/2 marathon? did he finish? was he okay? did he recover? is he rushing back to see me finish? okay! enough! I blew my nose, tossed back a couple of sports beans, swig of GU and said "get your ass running down that road right now!" "you CAN do this!" "GO!" and there my friends you have it! I started running and just kept on going. a few extra walk breaks here and there and then passing walkers cause I would not have any of that till I finally reached the finish line at 6:00:24. yup! six freakin' hours mis amigos! John called my name as I crossed the finish line, Liz put the medal around my neck and M hugged me held me as I cried. over to the massage tent for a quick rub and then back to the hotel for the food frenzy and frenzy we did! this week was spent recovering so no running. more later about csc4k.
NuMb3rS
anyone else see anything wrong with this picture? look carefully and you will understand my concern. perhaps there is a hidden message? observe the three things that are similar:
#1 - it is the 13th annual OIM
#2 - my runners are the kayano 13
#3 - my bib number is {13}79!
see what I mean? is it true? all they say about unlucky 13? Triskaidekaphobia?. I am a huge fan of the bakers dozen (13) and will be consuming many bakers dozens of something tomorrow after I cross the finish line. we went and picked up our race packages today and as soon as she gave me my number I looked at M and said "is this a sign?" you can't deny that YOU wouldn't be thinking about it. I mean what are the chances? I remember talking to tricia about it being the 13th annual and was that bad luck? she suggested using reverse psychology. in any event it is what it is and IT is happening tomorrow morning at 8:00 am....13th annual OIM, with kayano 13 on my feet and bib 1379 and M waiting at the finish line with 13 doughnuts. no? ciao!
and we're OFF!
as I am posting this I am listening to my boy on i-tunes. MY boy as in "my son" who put together a cd for mother's day. bawl! anyway he has a great voice and is super talented as he plays drums, keyboard, guitar and almost any musical instrument you put in front of him. I wish I knew how to put music on here and then you could have a listen too. patience people! I can't figure this all out that quickly. I'm old! lol! last night we had our ecs meeting and anam came along to check it out. found about her from laurie and am so lucky for that. talented girl. in other news:
how fast can you make a travel album? 55 minutes! yup! too cool! there IS a book in me! my girl gave me some funky pens last night and they came with a little canvas pouch which fits my travel journal and pens perfectly. I am only gone for four days so it is bang on batman! checklist! travel album, runners, imodium, sports beans, GU drink, headband, i-pod avec jon, partner, CHECK! okay so I am off to check this off my life list. yes, people I am one of those crazies who has a life list and completing a marathon is on there. I just finished listening to my marathon music selection and have determined as I had previously suspected that I am in LOVE with Jon Bon Jovi. Change that coffee to going to the chapel and we are gonna get married. I have to move fast because while I was working away at my travel album linda took advantage of those 55 minutes and started dialing Jon for dessert. okay maybe I just wanted to add Linda to this post cause she is such a freakin' sweetheart! ciao Linda! no sight of the amazon delivery man yet! it's coming and hopefully next week. ANYway things are packed, dogs are off to daycare, my shuttle awaits and now I must say ciao.......
it's tuesday and I've been tagged!
kim tagged me! my first tagging! hee hee!
here goes:
"seven random things about myself"
1. I love books, but hardly ever finish reading one
2. name a diet, I've been on it, and if I haven't I probably have the book, currently I am on the "run my ass off diet"
3. I feel like I will never have enough time to do all that I want to do in this lifetime
4. I love "gifts with purchase"
5. I want to have coffee with Jon Bon Jovi or George Clooney or Kiefer Sutherland or Craig MacTavish or James Carrington
6. I want to jump out of a plane before I die, which will probably be right after I jump out of the plane
7. I have never lost anyone close to me and am scared to even think about it
whew! that was hard! I am not one to reveal intimate information about myself. oops that was 8!
now to pay it forward.....
francie fancy pants
vicki
linda
ciao! more 21 day challenge for ya!
here goes:
"seven random things about myself"
1. I love books, but hardly ever finish reading one
2. name a diet, I've been on it, and if I haven't I probably have the book, currently I am on the "run my ass off diet"
3. I feel like I will never have enough time to do all that I want to do in this lifetime
4. I love "gifts with purchase"
5. I want to have coffee with Jon Bon Jovi or George Clooney or Kiefer Sutherland or Craig MacTavish or James Carrington
6. I want to jump out of a plane before I die, which will probably be right after I jump out of the plane
7. I have never lost anyone close to me and am scared to even think about it
whew! that was hard! I am not one to reveal intimate information about myself. oops that was 8!
now to pay it forward.....
francie fancy pants
vicki
linda
ciao! more 21 day challenge for ya!
marvelous monday!
ah yes, the start of a new week, THE week, you know, THE MARATHON! yup! few things happened in the last couple of days and here's the thing, well, not one of the things, but just in general, like, here is the thing! The thing is, you wake up on Saturday morning and head out for what is to be your race pace run. kind of a get the feel of how fast you will be running the race at. so I head out with my running pal and a group leader for 16 km. the group leader is done at around 4 km and we keep running. you see V and I spend the whole time talking while we run. we truly believe that IF we were to run a marathon together that we would talk the whole time! great run, great company with great food after. the run done and I head home for a shower and then I am off again for an afternoon of errands. I get home and am exhausted! relieved that I do not have to wake up early on Sunday to run, but instead participate in THIS. A 5km walk with my team "the spicy italians". there were nine of us this time around. my cousin tammy, my hero, looked awesome! she amazes me everyday with her courage and is the angel on my shoulder when I feel I couldn't run another minute. she keeps me going and she keeps on going. after the walk it was off to T's birthday party. what a hoot! I miss D being that little. I loved watching the little boys playing with toys, blowing out the candles, opening presents and just the neat ways they interact with each other at that age. so there goes saturday and sunday and we arrive at monday morning. "art day" has two days this week as "lost and found studio" have a few deadlines to meet. okay so I created the deadlines to keep us focused. meanwhile L tosses in the occasional curve ball just for shits and giggles and to see if I am still listening. that and carmel popcorn! yum! we spent the day working or I should say playing cause man I had tons of fun! I wish I could share all the stuff we have been creating, but it is for the "secret workshop" so I gotta hush. how about a peek?
cool! so the studio is a buzzing and tomorrow is another "art day". finish off this project and try to start work on the order which I have given a due date of October 31. and here is another pic from the 21 day challenge. ciao!
cool! so the studio is a buzzing and tomorrow is another "art day". finish off this project and try to start work on the order which I have given a due date of October 31. and here is another pic from the 21 day challenge. ciao!
TGIF?
here is day 6 & 7of the 21 DC. laurie commented that I might be a bit behind in my pages. do ya think? lol! I will tell you what I am not behind on! water! woo baby! hyrdate! today was group study with my ecs buddies. a little chit chat, a little book making, a little lettering, a little gilding.....a little homework. I will share more when it is complete.
the weekend begins and that can only mean one thing! no mail! agh! I have been eagerly awaiting this. as a matter of fact all the chatter has caused me to go in between tracking my package to my local store to see if copies are actually in the city. I have the first book "Visual Chronicles" and it is well used. go and check out the sisters. join the art army, rise up and create! really awesome! what would be even more awesome is if I went and checked the mail box and the book was sitting there waiting for me.....gotta go!
Day 5 of the 21 Day Challenge
this was a really fun page to do cause I didn't really DO it. during "art tuesday's" session I pulled out a piece of watercolor paper and had it on the table beside the project I was working on. anytime I needed to stamp off reminants of ink or brush off some extra paint or double stamp a stencil I did it on this paper. I LOVE the way it turned out. no plan in place, just free. a "paper accident" of sorts.
in other news.....the running is now down to tapering and something called "carb loading". hmmm......interesting! I received my list of what to pack, race day prep and post race. honestly I was not the least bit freaked out until they started talking about things like, no pedicure the week before, no bikini wax (darn!), huh? don't clip your toe nails...file them, wha? nu-skin on parts that may blister....are you kidding me? pace bands and film canisters, imodium and motrin? okay, breathe....I am just going to run and I am going to enjoy every single second of it because I can. I CAN run! this may be my one and only marathon so I want it to be the best it can be. alright, good, there, said it......enough for now and for sure more later and probably avec a photo or two of the blubbering idiot crossing the finish line. I have already lectured M about how I do not want any eye contact until at least 38 km. If I see that face before then I may be forced to hurt you in a big way. I will either be hurting so bad that I will be angry or I will be so emotional that I will be sobbing. Nah! I am gonna smile and sing along to Jon Bon Jovi the whole way. If there was anytime that he could come through for me it would be then.......you wanna make a memory? oh yeah baby!
cReAtE aRt?
look what I made! did I mention my weekly habit? I buy myself flowers. yup, I do! every week! fresh flowers! occasionally I whip up some arrangements for fun. I worked on this one last night. square vase, river rocks, oasis, an assortment of flowers, greenery and VOILA! I stood back and said "I think I found my calling". to which my partner replied "oh no you di int, do you know how many hours you would have to work....mother's day, christmas, weddings....etc." ah well, I didn't finish the program so technically I am not a certified floral designer, but I am having fun!
on another note I had a seriously creative day. seriously! I made an amazing.....I can't even tell you. can't show you! it's for M's birthday and I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it is kewl! I started my travel journal for st. louis. I am using supplies from
this kit and am really excited about how it is turning out so far. I will post pics as soon as it is complete. the 21 day challenge stuff is coming too! whew! I just don't want to stop making stuff today! love these kind of days!
Day 4 of the 21 Day Challenge
Well, here it is! Am I loving it? Not really, but I am loving the fact that this whole idea is totally working for me! Awesome! Hard day today....nails done, massage, 20 minute dinner......I'm exhausted! LOL! Great things happening with my partner. Tons of talking, working together, figuring out the plan and making things happen! Yes! Can't give too much away, but head over here tangible for a sneak peak!
Day 3 of 21 Day Challenge
Whew! Where has this week gone to? I blinked and it is Thursday night! New season of Survivor begins tonight!
Here is the page I did for Day 3. The challenge has been going really well. There now I've gone and jinxed myself! Pretty much I have been filling two 32 ounce bottles each morning and I drink 'em up before I hit the sack. Eight glasses DONE! Any other liquids are pretty much extra. Of course it is making a HUGE difference with the running. I know that it does it is just a matter of getting into the habit again. Second thing I was trying to change was to find things that I like about myself. Hard to do! I excel at finding things wrong and point them out to all who will listen. Good stuff happening though with this. Feels good to feel good. Third part was to fuel the body and complete the marathon. Food intake has been excellent. Good proportions of what I need and tummy is happy. All good! Complete Marathon? Yeah....we will be talking more about that later! 10 km tonight and got caught in the rain during the last 5 km. brrr!
Day 2 of the 21 Day Challenge
- page complete (journaling is behind the success side)
- water consumption is right on the eight glasses (I feel like I am at sea!)
-the thing I chose that I like about myself for today is my calves. I know, silly! but with all the running they have become quite defined and no more jiggles! I like that!
-started out for the 32 km run today and had to stop after 10 km. bad things started happening all around and so I gave in. I listened to my body! had my good cry and brushed myself off that and a few cookies. yeah not so good on fueling the body today either. 2 out of 3 ain't bad!
Day 1 of the 21 Day Challenge
I did it! Day 1! Completed my page just under the wire. Here is the pic. Three goals!
#1 - 8 glasses of water - everyday!
#2 - improve self-esteem, write down one thingI like about me - everyday
#3 - fuel my body and complete the marathon
and finally "don't quit, CHANGE your life"
21 Days - 3 Weeks
While surfing the World Wide Web I came across this 21 Day Challenge. As I started checking into it even more it became apparent that the orginator's blog was gone and so although I had tons of photos and entries about how wonderful this was I had no more than that. Then today I find this blog. Got the journal and gonna start tomorrow! What habit do I need to make or break in 21 Days - 3 Weeks? Hmmm.....
something to be proud of
this is a picture of my team the "Spicy Italians" and we just completed the 60 km Weekend to End Breast Cancer! so proud of everyone! We raised over $11,000.00 as a team and thank all of the friends and family who donated! we will be doing the CIBC Run for the Cure in September and if you want to be a part of our team just let me know!
Happy Tuesday!
Busy, busy, busy. I like lists. Correction....I LOVE lists. Lists make me feel like I have completed something and not just simply wasted the day away. Usually Mondays are my day to catch up and run errands and what have you. Not so for this Monday so today became errands/laundry/grocery day. Actually I had planned to sleep in this am. I usually am up between 7 and 8 am. so anything after that would have been bonus. Not so! First DH's alarm clock decides today will be the day of the gong sounding and the cymbals clanging. Seriously, how many reminders do you need to get out of bed! Then DH's cell phone rings its wonderfully loud and annoying ring. By this time I have decided that the world NEEDS me to get to up. It is imperative that I rise and start the day that and I needed to pee. So then the phone starts ringing. Mom calls to tell me that my Aunt's sister has passed away. Sad way to start the day. Add flower order to grocery list. Check library and books are due today. Add to list. Start laundry and retrieve phone message from Laurie. Busy. Did I mention if I don't add an item to the list it is forgotten? Not really forgotten, but it does not even exist! So technically it is not that I forgot "it" because "it" wasn't even "it" in the first place! Well after library drop off, groceries, laundry and returning calls I forgot to pick up bottled water! Yikes! There is always tomorrow! Until then look what I made today!
time to start capturing those colorful moments!
what better day to begin than today? I turned 42 yesterday and I feel excited about what is to come. so many wonderful things are coming up and I will share it all here. I plan on using this blog as a place to show some art, tell some stories about my life and continue on this wonderful adventure I like to call "life".
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