Getting There

Life is slowing getting back to normal????
I wanted to thank everyone for all the phone calls, emails, flowers, food and everything that we were inundated with during this difficult time.
I was so touched and humbled by the outpouring of compassion from everyone.

We are concentrating now on making the remainder of our summer as good as possible for the kids, they haven't been able to have much fun.

Off to make supper for the family now, pudding and ice cream for little Evan who had 2 teeth extracted today (crowns that he got as a toddler that were bothering him).

I'll try to be back in the next day or so with some happy posts.

Blessings to all.

In Loving Memory of my Dad

In loving memory of Murray Boyd Carter January 27, 1935 - July 22, 2009



In loving memory of Murray Boyd Carter, age 74 years, who died in the Dryden Regional Health Center on Wednesday, July 22nd following a brief illness. Born and raised in Fort William, Murray was a man of strong faith.
He met and married Ellen Mills there and became father to her four children. Together they had two more daughters completing a family that was very important to Murray. He loved speding time with his family, especially taking the grandkids fishing at the dock, for donuts at Robin's, and swimming at the Best Western.
An avid sports fan, it was his letters of opinion to the editor that helped seal his first job at the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal as a teenager. Mainly covering sports for many years, he wrote under the name Moe Carter in various locations across the country, including Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, Winnipeg Free Press, Calgary Herald and a period as editor of the Dryden Observer. His work enabled him to meet many people over his life and he kept in touch with a large number of those friends via the internet. He always had a story or joke to share.
He was predeceased by his wife Ellen, his daughter Judy O'keefe Polhill, brothers Jim and Howard Carter and sister Mayme Tangness.
Murray is survived by his children Kathy(Paul)Waller of Dryden, Terry(Steve)Gadd of Dryden, Frank(Linda)O'keefe of Thunder Bay, Cheryl Coulter and Debbie Johnson of Winnipeg, by 13 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Murray Carter were held Saturday, July 24th at 10:00 am in the First United Church with Alice Bloomfield officiating. Interment followed in the Dryden Cemetery. Visitation was held Friday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Stevens funderal Homes "Moffat Chapel".
Should friends so desire donations to the Crohns and Colitis Foundation or the Heart & Stroke Foundation may be made through the Stevens Funeral Homes, P.O. Box 412 Dryden, ON P8N 2Z1

Too Much Going On

Okay it's been awhile but I have an excuse.
My dad took a fall last Tuesday morning, about 1 am, and has been in hospital since. He needs to rebuild some strength in his legs and he was having some other issues as well. He had a CT scan this Tuesday (the 14th) for which we haven't got any results, but he has had a rough few days. He was pretty much okay until Wed morning, he is now sleeping almost constantly and is feeling really crappy, not sure what is going on, waiting to hear from docs about that. His vitals are all good though, so I will take that as a positive sign. Will keep you all posted as I can and as we learn anything. Prayers are most welcomed.

In other news, my MRI for my neck/shoulder has been scheduled for Wed Sept 2 in Thunder Bay. As of now, the plan is for my darling niece Megan and I to do a little road trip together for it, hopefully there will time to visit a few people while we are there, but no promises.

To keep me occupied and my mind on stuff other than hospitals and sickness, I have been enjoying the free class by the amazing Jessica Sprague and finally learning how to use my Photoshop properly (much less cursing going on with her step by step videos than when I was trying to muddle through myself.)

Here are a few of the photos I have played with so far, not going to take the time to list what day the classes were or what exactly was done, but if you want details let me know and I'll do my best to explain

Vintage Look

Brushes

Mask

Multi Textures and Edges

Recolor

Frames and Word Art

Textures

Great day at Sandy Beach Park yesterday!

Finally the sun showed it's face and we decided to head out to Sandy Beach to play away the afternoon. A good time was had by all.
For those unfamiliar with the park, there is a HUGE hill leading down to the water here is a shot I took from about 1/2 of the way down looking up

and here is one that I took from the same spot facing down towards the water.


Logan (age 12) decided he wanted to roll down, being a good Mom,I said "go for it" he began rolling with me running alongside him yelling "keep going, keep going" and he being the dutiful son obeyed.
I was not aware there was a big drop off right near the bottom of the hill that had some rocks etc, and Logan just kept on rolling, right over the edge and into the water..bwahahaha


Amidst my hysterical giggling and scrambling for the camera you could hear quite clearly Logan's voice as he screamed "I hate you!" and "I can't believe my own mother betrayed me" and of course the one said most often "Stop laughing, that wasn't funny" Perhaps the funniest part was when the fishermen in the boat just off shore yelled back "It looked pretty funny from here" LOL

Logan being the good sport he is even said he would attempt it again so I could get the video running and capture it better, but of course by that time I had seen the sharp rocks and the danger involved so I didn't take him up on the offer.

Oy Vey......10 days since last post?

I officially suck as a blogger, but will it help if I dazzle you with my adorable yet trying children?
Here's some pics from last weekend when we went to Sandy Beach park to enjoy some sun
Click on the pics to get a closer view if you can stand all that adorableness in one sitting. They're cute I tell you, damned cute, and I don't say that lightly LOL

My Little Model, isn't she gorgeous? Carly knows how to strike a pose.




The Evster....seeking some solitude in Zen-like fashion no doubt? (okay so I forgot to re-orient the picture, just tilt your head for crying out loud)




Look at the smile on this face, with all the pre-teen angst, it is sure a welcome sight to see Logan looking this happy



"Patience grasshopper" were Evan's exact words as he tried to teach Carly and Logan how to correctly skip stones. That boy is a natural...Logan and Carly weren't quite as successful

Busy as a One-Armed Paper Hanger

phew..things here have been so hectic, working a lot while the Dryden Jewellers Retirement sale is on, been quite busy so atleast the hours go by fast.

My apologies in advance for the less than stellar photos, my beloved camera has passed on and I have resorted to using Logan's 4MP Kodak for the time being, geesh Paul needs to get back to work soon (is it July 6th yet?) for many reasons LOL

Logan performed his first official concert with the Fine Arts program on the 3rd of June, they played 2 songs and while he looked about to vomit before they began, he did well as did the rest of the class.


Carly, despite the bike incident mentioned in a previous post, joined the Bike Rodeo at school and did a great job. She was more excited I think that her Dad could actually attend as well, this layoff is good for that atleast, Paul usually misses out on all these things when he is working.


And Evan...well what can you say about Evan? He as usually cracks me up.
This morning he got up to inform me he had "the best dream of his life". In said dream, he was misbehaving in the playground at school and Mrs Ecker (Caley to all you folks who know her LOL)took him for a ride in her car, a Chevy Malibu to be specific (which is odd since I think she drives a van and I have no idea how he even knows what a Malibu is..but I digress). Some "moron" apparently cut them off during this drive and so Caley had to drive over a few lawns on the way to her house. Once at the house, Evan and Caley played a vigorous game of street hockey with the girls' equipment and then they headed back to school for lunch...hmmmmmm....wonder what a Dream Analysis book would say about this?????

Well, off to get ready to go to Pinewood School. Today is Activity and Family Picnic Day and I have the day off so away I go. Hopefully pictures to follow later.

Wedding of the Year...and You Are Invited!

I've got a personal invitation for all you scrappers out there to the wedding of the year, and you can bring as many guests as you like, our venue has no limits!
Dress is casual, so even jammies are acceptable. Hope to see you all there!
(click on invitation if you need a larger view).

Still Kicking...and Screaming (just a little)

Not bad, it hasn't been a month since my last post so I am improving.

Things progressing, Paul still off work with this latest lay-off but I haven't killed him yet (thankfully many of my Lovebug gals have generously offered their help with bail money if it becomes necessary).

Busy, busy de-junking the house, tons of stuff headed to the dump and a smaller portion being set aside for a garage sale, yes I swear I am actually going to have one this year, not just talk about it.

A few new layouts done last week and hopefully some more this weekend if the crop goes off as planned, not looking promising but maybe I'll scrap anyway LOL

Mother's Day was awesome. Logan made breakfast complete with pancakes and put hair on your chest coffee...too visual for ya? Too bad

Carly wrote a poem and made me some nice little crafts (pictures coming later, I promise)

Evan wrote me this touching letter, not sure if I should be offended by the order of his comments, but he assures me that he only wrote them in the order they occurred to him...

Here's a few layouts as I mentioned, and that's it for now. Have a wonderful day everyone.









See...I didn't even complain and whine too much, we are making progress, are we not?

Good Grief...it's been a month?

Okay so I see it's been over a month since my last post, and not due to lack of anything going on, it's been crazy.

Where to begin?

My BIL and my sister were both having some medical issues that were awaiting testing and I don't mind admitting NOW that I was scared out of my mind. Thank God tests have finally been done and confirmed and for all appearances things are well, no major issues, major annoyances to the both of them, but nothing life threatening, so I am going to glory in that.

Oh, and Paul is now officially laid off. Domtar announced in April that there would be a 10 week layoff for most employees (staff and a handful of others are working) so we will be struggling through financially until he gets back to work on July 6th (notice that "until" and not "if"...aren't I a trusting soul!). So far I have not killed him, haven't even really felt the urge yet which surprises me, but it's only been 1 week so far, I'm sure he will annoy the crap out of me any day.

Carly has learned to ride a 2-wheeler..well sort of...she did and then she had a few little accidents. The first she fell down in to our drainage ditch, and came out soaking wet covered in weird little "hitchhiker" kind of things and smelling not so fresh. The second was a tad more serious. She fell on the pavement and as she puts it "did a face plant". She split her lip pretty bad and chipped her 2 front teeth, but only slightly. Dentist was able to file them a bit and smooth them out, might need fillings later but we'll look at that again later he says, no immediate attention required.


Evan had decided his scooter is WAY cooler than his bike so he has been practicing faithfully every evening, of course the price of this is his brand new shoes, only the right foot though, he tells me that real scooter riders have steel-toed sneakers so they can stop..who knew? Not me.

Logan has finished bowling and finished an amazing project for the Historica Fair. he did the 100th Anniversary of 5-Pin bowling in Canada. Unfortunately he didn't get to advance to the next round of competition (my fault of course since it seems that Paul and I are some of the few parents who believe that the students should do their own work and not use) but he received an "A" on it and is rightfully proud of himself for doing it himself.

I'm busy putting together a just for fun crop for Dryden and area scrappers (I don't know that many, but my scrappy friend Sue does LOL), going to be a small gathering, I'm hoping about 12, just a bunch of us getting together without anybody pressuring you to buy anything or do anything "their" way...I won't mention names but locals will know who I am talking about.

I've been a bit under the weather myself but am finally beginning to feel better, I think the stress of family health issues and the uncertainty of Paul's job just finally caught up with me. I am coping better now and have regained my "I can't do a freaking thing about it, so I won't worry about it" status so things are on the upswing for sure.

Will come back later (yes I promise it will be in less than a month) with some new layouts and some info about the next fun event we are planning at Lovebug.
Rachel came up with the MOST brilliant idea and I think it is going to be a hoot!

I've been TAGGED!

My girl Jillian tagged me on her blog so who am I to say no to a game, right?

Here is what the instuctions were:

Go to the photos folder on your computer.
Go to the seventh folder of photos.
Go to the seventh photo.
Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description.
Invite seven friends to join.


And because I am always so good at following directions, here is what I come up with



This photo is of my oldest son Logan at 6 months old. That is my sister Deb feeding the boy his very first piece of corn on the cob. I forgot all about these photos, what a fun way to remember.

Now, that being done, I will tag the following 7 people

Teresa, Kirsten, Pam, Carla, ShannonS, Mara, and Jennifer

Can't wait to check your blogs and see what you come up with!

WTF Wednesday

so my girl Kirsten posted an interesting new game on her blog, called I Wonder Why Wednesday...in responding to her post I felt a need to carry the tradition here to my blog and go with one of her other choices of a title for the game (see I have no compunction to trying to control my temper these days, I just don't care right now LOL)...

So here is the post I made on Kirsten's blog and thought to share it with you all.
Come on give me a reply and tell me your WTF?

Oh let me play, let me play...

I wonder why there are 3..that's right 3 rolls of toilet paper sitting on my vanity in the bathroom and the toilet paper holder remains empty?

I wonder why there are 5 rolls of toothpaste on the go right now in my bathroom and all but one (MINE!) had been squeezed in the middle?

I wonder why there is a pile of laundry sitting on my bathroom floor right beside the laundry hamper?

I'm sensing a theme here, perhaps that my life is filled with crappy things?...maybe I should post this on my own blog LOL **insert that yes indeed I copied and pasted from my reply to Kirsten and am too darned lazy to backspace and remove this line...deal with it LOL

My Life...the Centre of a Crap Storm

It's been awhile since my last confession...okay so it isn't a confession and I'm not Catholic, but I wanted to start on a light note today.
Life has been..what's the word I'm looking for? Suckish? Is that even a word? It is now so deal with it.
So my trusty (NOT) van broke down and my local dealer fixed it...okay so what's $750 at this point, right? Well me, being the genius I am, told them, that was not the whole problem, I understand the braking system needed some work, but that doesn't explain why it wouldn't start, why my wipers have no power etc, there is something else wrong. Oh no they proclaim, it's fine. Okay says me, the moron and takes it off the lot. Fast forward 4 days with me....I am nervous about the van and only driving it when I need to as I know there is still something wrong.
Yep, Saturday the van won't start after I am done at Shoppers' Drug Mart. Logan calls his Dad and he comes to boost it and it starts so we endeavor to get it home without me shaking like a leaf, crying hysterically or vomiting in fear...
Within 2 blocks, I no longer have any readings on my dash, including mileage etc etc..the only light I have on is the freaking ABS light...AGAIN! Within another 2 blocks of that I now have no signals, my windows won't operate...in the last 4 blocks home, we now discover that the power locks won't work and basically nothing is functioning properly.
So, back to the shop it goes with a not very nicely worded note from me for the mechanics which was followed up with a not very nice phone call to them this morning to inform them that the piece of crap is once again parked in their lot and I would actually like to have it fixed this time.......GRRRRRR
On top of that, a woman I know, the mother of one of my Evan's best friends in in hospital gravely ill, don't want to give too many details as all those I have are second hand at best and are somewhat contradictory..the consensus though is that she is not doing well and the prognosis is not good. My heart is breaking, this woman is my age, has 2 children, a boy the same age as Evan (7) and a daughter who I believe is 9 or 10. The fear in me is what and how much to tell my kids, how do you let them know what is going on without scaring the bejesus out of them? The last thing you want is your children fearing that a mom can die when she gets sick..let's face it I get colds and stuff all the time, should my kids have to be in fear that I will just not be there the next day?
If it's a tough decision ,one that we have put on hold for now until more information is available. We are praying for her full recovery and that all will work out for them. Please say an extra little prayer today even if you don't know her, we all know people who good use a little extra boost, right?
Apologies for a long, rambling and completely un-fun post today, but gosh it feels good to get it off my chest...
Blessings to all

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!!!!!!!

Woohoo, it's finally time for the next Lovebug online crop.
Starts tonight at 7 pm CST sharp...okay, probably not sharp because I am the first poster and I tend to get distracted by shiny things like glitter sometimes...but I digress...

You can find more details here on the Lovebug Blog too, it's new and we would love for you all to pop by and leave us some comments

The crop will run all weekend, with challenges, games, hunts, giggles, prizes and RAKS...what's not to like about that?

It is going to be SWEET and there are going to be some guilt-free calories involved...intrigued yet???????

So, are you going to play with us? Post here and let me know and then go to the Lovebug blog and post there too....don't ask why...just do what the heck you are told, okay? Geesh...always with the questions..........bwahahahahahaa

Sweets & Treats Online Crop

I can't believe I forgot to tell you all.

Friday March 13th is the start of the Lovebug Sweets & Treats Online Crop, 7 pm CST.

We are going to have a ton of SWEET challenges for you all and you just know that Denise is going to have some SWEET prizes too!

Check out the suggested supply list HERE and be sure to join us in the forum next Friday evening for a ton of fun!

Want to win a $20 Gift Certificate?

Thought that might get your attention!

Be sure to go and check out the new Lovebug Blog, it's as easy as posting a comment.
Send all your friends too, if they win, they might be inclined to share the wealth with you!

WHY???

Okay so most of you know that I am working part-time casual right now, generally only 2 shifts/week from 9:30 am - 1 pm.
So tell me why it is that those 2 days/week seem to be the only days of the week that my kids get sick and need to stay home from school?
Thankfully the boss is a Mom and knows too well what's it like with sick kids and the deal when I hired on was that if the buses got cancelled, it was a PD day or the kids got sick I didn't come in to work, but geesh....I have had to bow out of 3 of my last 6 shifts between ice storms and flus....
Okay, vent over...
I am scheduled to work tomorrow morning, so let's all keep our fingers crossed that there is no storm and no vomiting in my future.........


And on an unrelated note (or two)..

Some big stuff coming up on Lovebug, so stay tuned

And, I miss Courtney LOL She is away with the family in Florida (where I am sure it is MUCH MUCH warmer than it is here) and I can't wait for her to get home so we can chat and play.

Two...Count 'Em Two...Posts in One Day? VIDEO FIXED NOW

But this is just too wonderful not to share.

Finally a theme song I can get behind LOL

**SORRY FOLKS, THE LINK GOT PULLED, HERE IS A WORKING ONE

It's a Sighhhhhhhhhhhhh day

Not sure why, it's bright and sunny for a change, but having one of those heavy sigh kind of days.
Kids are home from school for a PD day, but they are getting along great and behaving quite nicely today and still


SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


Every have those days?
Come on people, talk to me here, I need to know I'm not the only one

And now for your listening pleasure...

Enough said........

Good Times, Good Friends

What an amazing week.
My dear friend Nicky is moving from Hellifax (no, that isn't a typo, believe me Halifax as NOT for her) to Vancouver and graced us with a visit on her travels. She arrived Monday early evening and I finally allowed her to leave on Friday morning.
So sorry to see her leave, but I know she is on to bigger and better things for sure.
Of course a visit with Nicky is always filled with much laughter and fun, and so I invited my friend Courtney over "to play" as well.
We scrapped the day away and of course much silliness ensued.
I love this photo of the three of us together.


Of course I also love these 3 pics, with all of us being goofy beyond words...scrap supplies are obviously not just for scrapping anymore LOL

Courtney...A Flapper at Heart, we drew the line at hanging Queen & Co felt from her shirt


Of course, I am so coquetish (it's a word...look it up!) aren't I? And would you look at the size of "my girls"...amazing what packing materials can do!


Nicky apparently has some "issues" and so has signed herself up for a 12 step program (otherwise known as Chipboard Letters for Everything Anonymous)



See, now you are all sad you couldn't come and play too, aren't you? Come on over, the door is always open my friends...

12 Years Ago Today

My life changed in so many ways.
The birth of my first child, my darling son Logan. He is such and AMAZING kid, he is smart, funny, and sweet. Of course he is also sarcastic, bossy, lazy at times and downright frustrating some days, but I love him to death and can't imagine our lives without him.
I can hardly believe it! Where did the time go?
Wasn't he just adorable?

And in his honor, how about some of my fav layouts about him?

From a Dear Friend, to all of my friends

A most dear friend (you know who you are!) sent me this in an email last night after she had seen my blog post yesterday. It touched me greatly.
Then this morning during my blog run, I went to Cathy Zielske's blog and saw the exact same thing on there.
It must be fate...it must be meant for me to share this with all of you, my dear and loyal friends.
This is such a touching video, and so affirming. I intend to watch this over and over again. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Judy!

This photo was taken October 1999 at the Garth Brooks Concert in Minneapolis, one of my funnest memories of Judy. We had such a blast!

Today is the birthday of my sister Judy who passed away June 29, 2003.
This post is in her honor.

Today

Today you would be 59
Today I shall not cry because you are gone
Today I shall rejoice that you were here
Today shall be a happy day of remembrance.

I love you Judy. I miss you.