Getting it done

I decided not to go back to sleep after getting Emily up for school. It's become a nasty, bad-mom habit. Wake her up, make her lunch, curl up on the couch and have a nap. Really, I need to go to bed earlier. Why do all the 'good' shows have to be on at 10 pm?
So this morning, I decided not to sit on the couch, because that leads to reclining on the couch and that leads to therapy for Emily. Instead, I did laundry, made a lunch, and started prepping for tonight's class. It's only 8:32 am and I have also done my MK Satin Hands routine, 2 loads of laundry, tossed the ball for Linus to wear him out, showered, done my hair(only takes 2.6 minutes), talked to my mom, got a kid off to school, checked my email, and started to blog. I will crash in about 1 hour, which is great, because today is my first day at the At Work WW meeting at Cottonwoods. I have a feeling it might be the blind leading the blind, no offence to anyone whom might be blind. The only reason I think that is because the woman I am working with called yesterday and said "Did you get your package of info?" to which I replied "What PACKAGE?" because of course, I didn't have a clue what she meant. So I'm flying packageless.

In other news, and this is long, long news...
-Every Aug/Sept. my mom asks Emily what she wants to be for Halloween because Grandma makes her costumes, it's usually a project for work, so it has to hang in the store for a month. And every year I hope she picks something that doesn't require a huge explanation when the person with the candy says "Oh and who are you?" I really want it to be simple, something someone can look at and say "What a cute baby chick!" which is what she was going to be but changed her mind at the last minute. Now she's a character from a Japanese animation called Rozen Maiden. But Kerry says "You kind of looks like a pilgrim so if anyone one says that don't get mad because chances are our neighbours don't read the same books you do".
Emily drew a very detailed picture of the character in her dress, along with a very detailed pattern. She then took it to Fabricland and handed it to Grandma, which then started the panicked look in my mom's eyes. Man, she's one talented seamstress(I choose seamstress because, well, sewer reminds me of rats and poop), she started Saturday morning and pretty much finished it Saturday night. I could hear her saying "I was in my sewing room all day" as if she didn't enjoy it. Anyway, we found a similar pattern, Emily was quick to point out all the non-similarities, but with that,Emily's detailed instructions and mom's skills, mom made a beautiful fully lined, very detailed dress (pictures to come). Emily has asked to sleep in it, she comes home from school, announces "I'm getting changed and doing my homework", and then stays in the dress until pj time. Here's a picture of a doll wearing the dress. I think her name is Suiseiki.


-Emily got her gr. 6 vaccinations last Monday and has had another reaction. The health nurse thinks it's an infection because it didn't happen right away. The poor kid, you can't touch her arm because it hurts so bad. Other than ibuprofen, there's not much they can do right now. Just wait and see and if her arm falls off, she won't have to get immunized again. This is the 3rd time she's had a reaction. So she shouldn't be immunized and Shaun can't be immunized because of his phobia. Don't come around here if you have whooping cough, tb, or hep! Seriously.

Must go now, my rolling stone is slowing.

But first...I read this in a scrapbooking magazine, I think it's the equivalent of "You're bursting my bubble" or "Raining on my parade" but it's funny so now I tell Kerry and the kids they are doing it all the time...
"You're harshing my mellow!" which sometimes comes out as "You're marshing my hello!"

I took this picture right from www.pickofthepatch.com, I hope that's okay. This is the November kit that I get to use because I was picked to be November's Guest Designer. It is mostly Making Memories {note}worthy stuff and is very pretty. I have to make 3 layouts and 1 card or altered item.
Right now I'm working on the little Maya Road coaster album. The theme is BOM, which I had forgotten the meaning of and had to ask Tara. Book of Me. I know what SOM means, Save On More, but for some reason BOM slipped my mind. BOM reminds me of BUM. I'm not crazy about making stuff about ME. I know all about me and personally, it's not what I want to scrapbook about. But my children and their long off in the future children might want to know something about me other than the not-true stories my kids tell about me.

Never too much glitter

These are the cards for my Stamper's Groups this month. Lots of Heat and Stick and lots of Glitter.


I tried to get some fall pictures of the dogs, but they really weren't cooperating. Well, Sally was, but Linus doesn't understand the importance of getting a good shot for scrapbooking purposes. I love the snarly face Sally is making in the first picture, and I kind of like the back of Linus's head. If I see the back, that means he's not biting me.

Ooooeeeeeiiiii!!!

I'm excited now.
Can you tell?
I just got the notification that my Pick of the Patch kit and other goodies were sent out yesterday!!!
I can't wait to get my hands on the new Making Memories Noteworthy stuff. Some of which is found at this link, I have no idea which stuff is coming, but it's all good. This is not the Pick of the Patch site, that's www.pickofthepatch.com. Check it out too.
http://www.rememberthemoments.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3365&sid=7b41048197e6c759e71d7ec8754fef6a
And I ordered a couple of things too. Sandra has some great stuff at decent prices and she's in PoCo, so it's faster shipping.

Now if only I could find 4 more hours in the day so that I can get the projects made. The theme is BOM, which I had to ask Tara what that meant, Book of Me. Yuck. But at least I got my haircut and coloured yesterday so that I can take a decent picture of myself, too bad the camera batteries were dead, I even put mascara on.

I have decided that until I have a handle on my crazily scheduled week I will be limiting my time on the computer. I really wish my assistant was better at preparing classes and meals. Oh, that's right, I am my assistant. Maybe I should hire one, it's going to get crazier in the next few weeks before the craft sale, which by the way, if you are reading this, I fully expect you to be at the BENVOULIN HERITAGE CHURCH CRAFT SALE on NOV. 18TH. It's a Sunday, from 9-5. It's crazy busy in the am, but worth it, because you get a better selection. If you have young kids, make this dad's day to hang with them, it's not fun for them or you, then you can take your time and take all the sites in.

HILLLLLARIOUS!!!!!!

I found this on Tara Whitney's site. I love the way the guy talks.

Silly Kerry

A conversation while I was posting my last post...

Kerry: Looks like Caffeine Induced changed their site.
Me: Yes, I changed it awhile ago, Pie for Fall.
Kerry: Huh?
Me: I did it.
Kerry: Caffeine Induced is your site?
Me: Yes, it's where I blog about all the happenings of the Williams' family.
Kerry: Did I give you my permission to use my stories?
Me: You signed a marriage certificate.
Kerry: Oh.

Question of the Day

Why does time fly when you are having fun? And why does it drag by when you are waiting for something?
Like when you are sitting around talking of certain kinds of toys, stripper glitter, and how crazy our animals make us, that goes fast, but when you have to drive home at almost 2 in the morning, that takes forever. And when you are hopped up on Diet Coke, (only one can but because I haven't had any in about a week, it's like crack) at 2 in the morning and you come home and want to scrapbook, but it's 2 in the morning and no one would appreciate it if you were up all night so you have to go to bed, why can't you bottle that enthusiasm to use the next day?
And a big thank you to Tara, for hosting said get-together, Yolanda for actually coming out of her little house and Kerry for not saying "I told you so" this morning because I am sicker than yesterday. Thank you, thank you very much!

Thursday Blahs

The weather is BLAH.
I am BLAH.(but I feel much better than yesterday, and hopefully I will feel even better tomorrow.)
I have so much I want to do but I lack the energy to do it, although I am trying to eat better in hopes that might be the key. So far, pita chips, humus and chocolate aren't the key.

Although, yesterday some nice person dropped off all her punches in hopes that I, or someone I know, might buy them. Right now, I am leaning towards buying them. Because I need a dozen or so more punches.

I'm itching to get my Disney pictures printed but I am facing some serious dilemmas(that doesn't look like I can spell, but Spellcheck says that's the way)...do I print them as is? Do I touch them up using PS? Do I print them all or just my favourites? Do I print them at home? Too many decisions. And then ...do I make a mini album, a big abum, or just a bunch of layouts?

No school tomorrow.

Can't call in sick.

It took awhile, but I got the cards done for my Stamp-A-Stack today, with 3 hours to spare. It's hard to tell, but most of the cards have glitter or some kind of twinkle to them. Now I have to clean up, have a nap, eat lunch and maybe start preparing for my other classes this week.

Scenes from Disneyland

I have over 400 pictures from the week long trip, but I'll save you the pain of seeing all of them and I will only post the 'important' ones.

Emily sat with her face plastered to the window most of the way to Anaheim, I'm glad she doesn't share my fear of falling out of the sky. We were all drugged up, except Kerry but I don't think anyone slept on the way there, I think we all slept on the way home. Disney at Halloween! Every single thing was decorated for Halloween. The picture is kind of dark but you get the idea, this is the main gate.

This is us after the first ride, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Emily cried on the first 3 things we went on, this ride, Tarzan's Treehouse, and the Nightmare Before Christmas's Haunted Mansion, which became one of her favourite rides. That's me with my first Diet Coke. And I did hand off the camera to Kerry so that I would be in some of the pictures. Too bad he stinks at taking pictures.
I couldn't believe we had travelled many miles, spent almost as many dollars to go to DL and Kerry and the kids found video games in one of the attractions. It was very erie, the place was full of males with square eyes in front of glowing screens. We spent more than 20 minutes here. Boring.
No trip is complete with out the ears. Or a ride or 2 on Dumbo.

The teacups were another of Emily's favourite rides, good thing the line up went fast. Whenever we were in the area and had a spare minute, we were in those cups.Big Thunder Mountain was more the pace Shaun wanted to go. I got quite a few good pictures of the 2 of them.While travelling, one should always try to eat healthy and get their fruits and veggies in. Real men ride the carousel and smile while doing it.This is the "Stacy and Clinton would like this" outfit. Emily has become a fan of What Not to Wear and has been using her new found skills when purchasing clothing, which she did a lot of in California.

California Adventure was done up for Halloween also, with a Candy Corn theme. I want to see these places at Christmas now, if they go all out for Halloween, I can only imagine what they do for Christmas.This is Shaun's My Name is Earl pose. In the TV show, Earl can't get his picture taken without closing his eyes. The moustaches were a hit, found at the Art Supply Warehouse, but seen first on Cathy Z.'s blog.

Rides I didn't like: Jumpin' Jellyfish, even though some toddlers were sitting in the swing next to us, I had to slam my eyes shut for most of the time.

Soarin' Over California: Some people say this ride alone is worth the admission, I would be lying if I said that. It's great if you like heights. I could be heard saying throughout the ride "it's fake, I'm not really flying over California in a sky lift, it's all fake!"

And Star Tours, it's been decided that I don't like simulator rides, or rides that leave the ground and make you go up and down unexpectedly. Shaun almost had me in tears on Dumbo when he was in control of the up and down lever.

I love this picture.

We missed the fireworks due to wind and poor planning on our part, but we are very glad to have seen the parade. Emily started bawling part way through, and when I asked her why she didn't know, I asked if she was tired and overwhelmed and she said "Ya, that must be it". She was howling!Still smiling after a morning of shopping in Downtown Disney, still had money left too.The Blue Ribbon Bakery is a must to try. Kerry's pumpkin muffin, with 'edible' Mickey head. He bit it, started chewing and then said "is this edible? because I think it's plastic". "Edible" was stamped on the bottom, but it probably could have been saved and would have lasted for years.

So there you have it, just a handful of our pictures. I will be making a whole scrapbook devoted to our trip, of course. I just have to get some rest, I have a cold now. I will have to start writing things down so I don't forget what we did, I'm very glad I made Emily a book to journal in, in which she kept track of all the rides and the number of times we went on them. And Shaun was seen writing in his notebook, whether it was letters to Jenn or notes on the trip, we have yet to find out.

Did I mention that Disneyland is known to be the Happiest Place on Earth, but it may very well be the cleanest place on earth too? No bugs, no bird poop, no garbage, no scuzzy people, no peeling paint, no spider webs, things sparkled, smelled good, and the attention to detail blew me away. ( I overheard a lady say she would eat off the bathroom floors because they are cleaned so thoroughly, I wouldn't but she would and probably was right.) And on the way to the park one morning, we saw a man with a cart and bottles of spray cleaning the power boxes and lamp posts on the way to the park, not even in the park, I can honestly say I have never seen that in Kelowna. The "crew" (employees) were amazing, they are really actors in my mind, from the hilarious 'tour guide guy' on the Jungle Boat ride, to the people running past Shaun and wishing him a happy birthday, to the characters, they were all smiles and playing their parts so well. Details, man, it's all in the DETAILS.

HOME!

We made it home, almost in one piece. I think if I had counted how many steps we took at Disneyland and compared it to how many we have taken in our entire life before DL, Disneyland would win. I have never walked so much in my entire life. Ever. I also know that I complained about it the most. I got a huge blister on my baby toe the first day which caused me to limp for the next 5 days, which caused my old sprained ankle injury to flare up.
But other than that and the very sore throat I now have, we had "THE BEST TIME EVER". After the 3rd day, the kids were talking about the next time we go to Disneyland and what they wanted to do.
We booked through Sears, stayed at a very inexpensive Super 8, small, but very clean, very quiet, with a cold pool and a hot tub, and sad donut and muffin continental breakfast. We had a 10-15 min. walk from the park, 10 the first 2 days because we were so excited, 15 the last few days because we were so tired.
Spent most of the first day at the park, then rented a car and went to Target that night, and I bought stamps, Autumn Leaves packs of paper, stickers, and food. Saturday we drove around Orange County, looking for scrapbooking stores and bike stores. We found, and only because I did hours of research before hand,...
~the Art Supply Warehouse, where Emily bought her Copic markers and Shaun got his moustaches
~Joann's, where I found most of the stuff I wanted at 30% off
~Walmart, where the kids and Kerry bought clothes and we got more food because we had a fridge and microwave at the hotel.
~2 bike stores, but alas, Southern California is flat so mountain biking isn't that big there.
~Borders books and Barnes and Noble, where the kids bought most their weight in books.
~a store very similar to MEC where Kerry bought his bike tire and riding gloves,
~the Block at Orange, it's a freakin' out door mall, we went to Victoria's Secret, Borders, Old Navy, and Virgin Records, where the kids found DVD's not found here.
~Red Lobster, where we were full before our meals even made it to the table.
After all this, I think we went back to the park for fireworks but it was too windy so we missed them and ended up seeing a small portion from the hotel the next night. We are disappointed in that. But we did see the parade which kind of made up for it.

The kids did the Build-A-Bear thing, I think every kid needs to do this. Shaun did one for Jenn, but he was so embarrassed to be there his face was a shade of red I have never seen. But he did it and picked a name and an outfit for his Boxer, Emily got a Cheetah.

I have hundreds of pictures but for some reason Blogger isn't letting me upload them.

We borrowed a book from Emily's friends parents, Foder's Disneyland. I highly recommend it. It lists every ride and details about them, from line times to scare factor, and food, from cost to kid-friendliness. We had the Dole Pineapple whip float from the Tiki Room, absolutely delicious, very refreshing, and the Blue Ribbon Bakery stuff was very yummy, and inexpensive, and Wetzels Pretzels were to die for. I had a very hot Jalapeno Cheese pretzel because the author of the Foder book's kid said they were the best. Well, it was, except that it was also the hottest think I have ever eaten, so I picked all the seeds out of my jalapenos and then it was edible.

I have so much more to blog about, but Emily wants on the computer.

Do not go to La Boulangerie on Lakeshore.
Do not get hooked on French pastries.
Do not listen to me.

Avoiding the PANIC

Little does Tara know, she helped me not have an anxiety attack today. If I hadn't stopped in at her place after dropping Sally off at the groomer's, I probably would have come home and had a fit. One of those I-don't-have-enough-underwear-my-bathing-suit-doesn't-fit-should-I-pack-2-pairs-of-shoes-or-3-do-we-have-enough-money-will-the-dogs-survive-the-week kinds of fits. But instead I found out she has yet another purse, not a new one but a different one, and I'm not mocking, just observing from a 1 purse person point of view.

I had a good dog day too, Sally got groomed, and now smells Divine! Linus got a Halti last week and now isn't the biggest jerk in the class. We went from the bottom of the barrel to probably half way up this week. We'll miss next week and probably be back at the bottom the week after that. I did find out that he loves me, really loves me today. We had to go to the other end of the building and call our dog to come to us. I figured seeing as how I'm not food, and there are a dozen other dogs and people in the place, Linus might not think I'm so hot. But he totally proved me wrong and he ran to get to me. He loves me! I could have cried I was so happy. This is the dog who when called to come in from outside will look to see if you have food, if he even looks at all and then will keep doing whatever it was that he was doing, like watching the neighbour's grass grow.

So now I am 1/2 an hour from Kerry getting home and can honestly say all I really did around here was vacuum under the fridge and stove and chauffeur dogs around town.

Observations of an 11 year old

Emily: Linus's face is like Memory Foam.
Me: Why?
Emily: Well, when Sally is sleeping with her face on something and she wakes up, her face is usually smooshed up, Linus's face bounces back to it's original shape.

And someone else told me I was evil today. Nice, real nice. I know she was just kidding, and I know it's because I have been known to say things most people wouldn't say, but I'm going to get a complex. It's bad enough I have to comb my hair over my horns.

10 or 20 New Things...

Thanks to my friend, Della, whom I have known since I was about 5 years old, I have more new things to share. She went to a few Targets and found me a bunch of acrylic stamps, cheap. What a great friend!!! They are Autumn Leaves stamps, by Rhonna Farrer, Katie Pertiet, and Tia Bennett. I just got them and now I want to play but I have running around to do for this darn trip.

1 new thing

THEY say it's good to learn something new everyday. THEY being those people everyone talks about but no one can put a name to them. THEY are really wise, smart, and THEY must be friendly because everyone seems to know of them. I have decided THEY aren't those things in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village.

THEY are are those little inklings that tell you at 7:30 am to read your camera manual before you go on the family trip of a lifetime. THEY tell you to check your camera, read the page about image stabilization, it's a darn Canon S2 IS (IS meaning Image Stabilizer). THEY tell you to check your IS setting, oh look, it's supposed to be on CONTINUOUS and it's NOT. How long has it been like that? Since the book says it's the default setting to be on, I have no idea, but it would explain a lot of bad pictures.

THEY are also the ones that tell you not to eat at Disneyland, because it's expensive. THEY also say to wear a fanny pack even if they are dorky. Do THEY know if lots of kids or grown-ups get lost at Disneyland? Do THEY know if we can take a city bus to, oh, anywhere from Disneyland? Do THEY know if the Victoria's Secret in Orange County sells body lotion or if it's just a lingerie store? I wish THEY were coming with us, and maybe bringing some Valium.

I'm getting ready, it's only 3 sleeps. Okay, it's 2 but I'm taking extra strength Gravol at the airport. We've done the basic 'Do this, Pack that' but we have also done the 'Don't say BOMB, as in Disneyland is going to be the BOMB' at the airport. And we've told them to pack lots of undies and socks, but only 1 pair of pants, because I plan on shopping and we can buy more pants.

And who knew every person in Kelowna would need US funds the last 2 weeks? Well, if you haven't got yours, forget it. I think the US funds should be reserved for people actually travelling to the US. I say produce your passport, tickets and proof of travel and you can have the money!

I have been writing down everything, things to get, to do, to see, people to send postcards to, people to buy souvinirs for and it's all been going in my cute little book. I better remember to toss it in my purse before we go or we are all doomed.

Oh and the best thing is that Shaun is sick. He's got a freakin' cold. Who gets a cold the week they go to Disneyland? MY KID. The one that stayed up late, and hasn't been eating properly, the one that I am pumping full of drugs and vitamins. Not a good start to the week or to his course.

These are my babies, sharing a love seat nap in the basement. Check out how their bums are touching! I love how Sally gets the pillow and 1/2 the loveseat even though Linus is twice her size. I will miss them so much or at least until I get on the Dumbo ride.