Where Did April Go?

I can't believe that this is almost the beginning of May! Also, hard to believe that we still have snow and mud and more mud! On this weekend last year, I was on my way to a crop in Medicine Hat and the weather was beautiful - as a matter of fact, I had already been digging in the flower beds, to move a few perennials around before they got away on me. This year, not so much! The mountains are white, right down to the bottoms and the koi pond still has ice on it every morning. As much as I would like to get out there and start cleaning up the winter rubble, it is not going to happen for quite a while. I took a really cool photo of our fish swimming around under the ice. I think that Mother Nature is going to throw us a few more curve balls before spring is over! My basil plants are starting to get a bit spindly, but I dare not put them outside for some fresh air! It is still a little too fresh out there. They are going to have to get trimmed up and that has me thinking of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese. I think that possibly the seeds could have waited another two- three weeks, had we known that we were still going to be digging our cars out of snow drifts! Typical spring weather for Southern Alberta. I have been feeling sorry for all the baby calves that are across the fence from our farm, in our neighbour's field - they have had to endure some pretty shitty weather lately. I had a beautiful beef roast planned for supper the other night - until I looked out of the window, at the snowstorm that was brewing and the ice and snow falling down the windows to the deck. The BBQ looks a little forlorn sitting outside - passed over yet again, in favour of the warmth of the indoor oven. Maybe this week!

This is a visual of the sad reality of turning 50. At that point, your body just starts decaying and breaking - I was shocked to see that there were four appointment cards from different doctors waiting to be written on the calendar when I flip it over on Monday. Yikes!! But not as shocked as I was when I found out that I had been walking around on a broken foot for a couple of months. I don't even have a good story about how I fractured my foot. There is no horrific snowboard story, of how I deified death and only walked away with a broken foot and not a broken neck. I didn't fall down the stairs and live to tell about it. No. I just went to Zumba. Not training for a marathon. Didn't fall in Zumba. Nothing cool like that. Just the fact that after I turned 50 (a couple of years ago) it has been a fast downhill slide, ending in three stress fractures from DANCING? Mike says that I was trying too hard to keep up with the young'ns! But the worst part? In my house, I don't get ANY sympathy for a foot cast. When I tried to complain, he politely told me that he wore one of those casts for two and half years after his 30 foot fall. When I persisted to get a little compassion, I was told that AFTER he wore the cast for two and half years, they cut his leg off - THREE TIMES!!! I gave up and limped out to the kitchen for my own coffee. This is going to be a lonnnng month!

It is starting to look a little like Easter around here - at the beginning of the year, just like a lot of people, I made some New Year's Resolutions and then I double made them again, when I started Ali Edwards' "One Little Word" and chose the word "commit" as my word for 2013. In a way, I sealed the deal. My resolutions are unbreakable, if I have to account for them every day! I may live to regret this! LOL. One of the things that I "committed" to for 2013 was to get back in the habit of doing some of the crafts that I gave up when I became an addicted scrapbooker. Over time, my paints have dried up, I basically gave away all of my pattern books and goodness only knows where all my brushes went to - I have not made a wreath, or painted a wooden cut out for many, many years! Every month of 2013, I have to dig out old supplies and complete a craft project from a category that IS NOT scrapbooking! March was assigned to woodcraft of some kind. My wonderful husband cut out the bunnies for me and they turned out pretty good - I still have to sand the edges on the two table bunnies, but that will not take a fraction of the time that it took to find the dremel! I also have crossed off the fresh floral table piece that I wanted to complete, as I made it for my Mom for a special meal that she was planning on hosting. The next project that I plan on tackling is the quilting fabric that I bought for a baby quilt for Peyton. I had not bothered to sew it when she was born, as she received many beautiful baby quilts, but now that she is a little lady, I thought I might make her a twin bed sized quilt. Maybe over Easter holidays? I totally forgot some of the perfectly lovely crafts that I gave up for the art of scrapbooking, I feel like I am experiencing them for the first time and it feels good to give my head a break from the constant scrapbook thoughts that run through my mind. On to quilting!!

I have made my husband's day!!! That is quite something - by 10:00am, I had him totally wrapped around my little finger and now I have an entire day when he feels that he owes me!!! And I am not above using that in my favour!! (sometimes I am a little evil at heart, and hey, I am the first one to admit that!)LOL. He has been up in the farm shop since about 7:00am, trying to make two of these little felt/cardboard seals for his 26 Oldsmobile that has become the love of his life and his #1 priority. Apparently, he kept wrecking the seals that he was trying to make because he didn't have the right tools on hand. That is when he came down to the house and asked me to help. It didn't take long - less than 15 minutes and with the aide of my Cropadile, a sharp pair of fine scrapbooking scissors and a craft knife, I had two perfect copies of something that he could not buy or make. He was in awe when I brought out the Cropadile - I know that he has seen it laying around on my design table, but I guess he had never watched me use it or had connected the fact that it might come in handy for some of his projects. He was totally taken with that little pink gadget and I got an extra kiss and a hug to boot!!! He thanked me profusely and went back to the shop, holding the little seals in his hand like they were baby birds. Now, I have to figure out how this translates into not having to make supper tonight! LOL

Well, I found out this weekend that I officially have no "art talent"! My project for the weekend was to make a vision board for my Ali Edwards "One Little Word" class - sounds rather easy. Not really any special materials needed, except for a vat of Mod Podge and some magazine clippings, yet the scrapbooker in me could not resist pulling a few "embellishments" out of my room and adding a 3-D effect to the canvas. Didn't sound that scary or complicated, however, I did not realize that some Mod Podge experience might be an asset. I didn't factor in that the trial run (when everything seemed to fit) was not a fool proof thing. By wetting the magazine clippings, which were thin to begin with, I turned them into wet tissue paper and they did NOT want to be on that canvas and be part of my project. They kept trying to hitchhike on my hands and elbows, they tore, they turned transparent. They did not COMMIT! OMG!! What a soggy mess!! It resembles something that a kindergartener would make and the worst part is that I have to look at it every day and reflect on my word. Every day. I am going to be reminded, on a daily basis, that I am NOT an artist! I think that I am going to "commit" to sanding it down at the end of the month and paint over it!! I am pretty proud of myself this month - I only have one thing left to cross off my scrapbooking to-do list - just one little photo shoot and I have completed all of the self imposed projects for February. One item I had to reschedule, seeing as I could not find the "ingredients" to make it. I should easily be able to complete the photo shoot this week and then I can start on my March list. I have to say that by putting the projects, in list form, on a monthly chart, I have accomplished sooooo much more than I normally would have. I enjoy lists so much that about a week ago, when I found out that you could belong to a monthly group that receives daily "list" prompts, that you have to complete - I WAS SO EXCITED!!!!! I was so excited in fact, that I went to work and told Andrea that we both were going to do it!! This weekend when we created "junk journals" I already knew what my journal was going to be used for. I am going to turn it into my "list" journal!! I even love the fact that the people, who are part of this daily list group, are called "Listers". I am now a "lister" too. How cool is that? So, although my vision board was a flop, I have a really cool junk journal that is just waiting to be filled with my daily list assignments. Bring on March, I am ready for you!!

Megan sent me these photos the other day, when she had turned her back on Peyton "colouring" in her high chair - what a little monkey!!! She keeps saying "pretty girl, pretty girl" and she applies her own makeup with abandon. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the outcome, thank goodness that someone invented markers that wash off in the bathtub! The other night, the bath water was positively green from all of the marker that I scrubbed off that little girl! I also had to wsh out her mouth, because for some strange reason, she had decided to bite the tips off about three markers. This colouring pastime is getting a little expensive when we have to keep replacing the markers and wax crayons. Guess what Miss Peyton is getting for Valentine's Day - more markers!

Friday was our day in Lethbridge, I had an MRI appointment and Mike had some "things" that he wanted to pick up. His "things" filled the back of our truck! Both boys have moved out of Mike's farm shop and have rented their own "big man cave". I believe part of the problem was, when they came to work on sleds, ATVs or trucks, our farm shop was filled with objects that prevented them from getting any work done without driving several pieces of equipment out of the way and moving things around to create space. They finally gave up and went and got their own digs. Problem is, they took with them all of their tools, welder and toolboxes, creating a bit of a problem for Mike, who also used those items. I was about to protest about the cost of the big boxes in the back of the truck, and then I remembered my custom scrapbook room and wisely decided to keep my mouth closed about such things! It was a pretty boring day for me - Western Welding Products, General Fasteners, Costco tool isle and horror of all horrors - Princess Auto!! For two hours!!!! It is the only place on earth where you will see men pushing shopping carts with smiles on their faces!! It was so boring that I actually fell asleep in the truck for a while. Then I decided that there HAD to be something that could be used on a scrapbook page in there, so I wandered on in for a little look/see for unusual embellishments. Couldn't find a single thing. Just about when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel - what happens? My son and his friend walk in, which of course then led to another 40 minutes of the guys visiting and shopping. Talk about watching paint dry! For the best part of the weekend, I didn't see Mike at all - he was busy setting things up and putting away his new tools. Now that I have some leverage, I have asked him to built me a diffusion screen for photography and a greenhouse. I figure that after spending that money, he might want to prove to me that it was all needed and well worth it. I threw in the greenhouse request to make sure that I absolutely get the photography screen. I am a thinker!! When that is built, I am going to ask for a greenhouse and a large storage shed/chicken house. then he will build me the greenhouse! This is a woman who has learned to work the system. Those tools are going to work for me - one way or another!

Don't you just love the Saturday morning feeling - a whole weekend, ripe with possibilities? And, don't you just hate the Sunday evening feeling - devoid of possibilities? You just know that Monday morning, all of the responsibilities of the world come crowding around, robbing you of peace and quiet, time and peace of mind. That is how I feel today. Christmas holidays are over. Entertaining in the evening is out of the question, I'm way past tired. There isn't a half decent holiday coming up for months! All you have is work, work and more work. Over the Christmas season, you baked, you cleaned, you had guests over - life was easy. But, by mid January, the dust bunnies are back, the laundry is behind, bills need to be paid, errands ran and the ease and grace of "gentler" times has evaporated. Time is speeding up. There is more to do. Oh, how I long for Christmas again! Maybe I am just plain tired tonight, we got a lot accomplished today! The piles of boxes waiting for Canada Post correlated with the grouchy looks that Kayla got at the Post Office when the line was backed up because of "said boxes". Now, all of our square little friends are winging their way to happy scrapbookers tonight. We hope that they are going to good homes! Homes where they will be proudly displayed, with beaming children's faces and happy family photos adorning them. That is all they want - to be loved and cherished. So, please, if you get one of our babies, please design it and love it!

2013 is going to be the year of technology for me. I am tired of being made fun of, by my daughter and friends for the "slide phone" that I still operate, the fact that I have not mastered my MacBook, etc. etc. I have decided to enter this century and learn a few things, so over the weekend, I got together with some savvy friends and solved a few of my problems. My extreme gratitude to Myra, Jackie,Donna and Corinne for helping me out with my ITUNES issues, showing me how to take a screen shot, helping me to download a collage program, teaching me a few tricks about my MacBook (like you have to update them once in a while, not every three years) and a million other little details that will make my life run smoother (including that sweeeeet chocolate vodka and soda drink). I am gearing up for the arrival of my Project 365 binder and supplies, I should get them in the mail tomorrow. Because it is already a couple of weeks into January, I am feeling slight butterflies of panic starting to set in, as I am a "little" behind. I don't want to start off the whole project being behind, but the colour combination that I picked - Seafoam - was not available until mid January, and I loved it so much that I waited until I could get it. The technology that I spoke of is necessary to the design and completion of my Project 365. I need to be able to shoot, manipulate, size and print my daily photos with ease. Someone told me that I should just get an IPHONE and then I would be able to take pictures where ever I am at whatever time, but they don't understand my total lack of interest about carrying a cell phone. I think I will just take my photos the traditional way and hope for the best. After seeing the photos that Myra has been taking since January 1st, I am thinking that I am going to have to step it up a bit! So, armed with the fact that I have to take a photo a day, I went and purchased Photoshop Elements 11, new printer inks, photo paper and a speaker system for my Mac, so that I can take the online tutorials from Photoshop. I signed up for two online scrapbooking classes and downloaded the "collage" app from Turbo Collage. Now I wait! Tomorrow the big box should arrive and I am a Project Lifer! It feels like Christmas Eve, waiting for that postal delivery! The screen shot above testifies to the fact that it has shipped and should arrive today or tomorrow. I am so excited!!!!!

Last night after Zumba and yoga, I had the chance to do a "Random Act of Kindness" and help Megan clean the gym. In all actuality, I believe that that little monkey planned to be limping around on her bad foot at the precise moment that I came downstairs from my yoga class! She was limping and looking pretty forlorn at the reality of cleaning that whole gym, while barely able to hobble around. What could I do? About the last thing that I felt like was working out more. One Zumba class and one yoga class, back to back, is in of itself enough exercise for any one day. Cleaning that gym is not an easy feat!! It doesn't look that big - until you look at all the equipment that has to be wiped down, the massive floors that have to be vacuumed and washed and the mirrors...oh, how Megan hates cleaning those mirrors! After checking out her toe (it has been over a week since the weight landed on it) and marvelling at just how many colours the human body can turn, I just knew that I had to help. I actually enjoy working with my daughter (when she isn't bossing me around). Megan comes to my rescue on a pretty regular basis when my shoulder acts up - the last go round this fall, Megan really had to have my back. I missed a lot of work, with the constant routine of doctor, massage, acupuncture, hospital, massage, chiropractor ...repeat, repeat, repeat. I think that is why health commitments is #2 this year on my resolution list. I have to make exercise class non-negotiable. It has to become as necessary as breathing, if I am going to keep on top of this inflammation. Simone gave me a quote yesterday that sort of went like this: "90% is a bitch. 100% is the only answer". I have to commit to work out at those classes 100% and the first time that I falter and reason that I am too tired, too sore, too anything, then I open the door for failure. It will just be too easy to back out at the last minute, the next time. I always feel so good afterwords, I don't know why it is so hard to get into a vehicle and drive to the gym - actually, I probably do know why, if I think about it. I hate winter!! I hate cold!!! I just want to be a bear and hibernate all winter long. But yoga calls. So, for now, and hopefully all winter, I will be stretching, twisting and creaking. I am waging war on that inflammation and I intend to win!

One of my New Year's resolutions is to record three "observations"each day - it might be things that I am thankful for, things that I noticed during the course of the day... things that I would otherwise pass by and not give a second thought. Next week, when we are back to prepping kits and shipping, ordering supplies and cleaning (aka. inventory) I might not get a chance to write them down every day, but I have committed to post them eventually, so that they will not be forgotten. So this is what my observations are so far: January 1st - I am thankful for all of the wonderful moose meat in my freezer. I appreciate my husband and our plumber friend, who gave up New Year's Eve Day to put in my new bathroom sink and taps and persevered through a series of unfortunate events! (I am sure that they wanted to give up many times!) I loved the feeling of a clean scrapbook room to start the year off. January 2nd - the smell of drywall mud and fresh paint to start the day (not to mention the coffee that Laressa made when she showed up to work). - the feeling of satisfaction as mouldings and trim started to go back up on the walls in the afternoon. - the contentment of spending the afternoon readings "Duck and Goose" to Peyton and soothing her when she started to get feverish from the shot she got at the health unit this morning. I have to add a fourth observation to the list for today - Peyton said her first swear word and we were all howling with laughter, the kind of laughter that makes tears squeeze out the sides of your eyes and your stomach hurt afterwords. I am sure that someday, this mirth will come back to haunt us, when Peyton says something bad at an inopportune time, but for right now, her innocent little voice saying "holy shit!" at lunch will make me chuckle for a month. Good times! Seriously good times!

Happy New Year! Noon is close approaching and that ends my time of scrapbooking and Food Network TV. I set a time deadline, as I am about 2/3rds the way through a bathroom renovation and if I don't draw a line in the sand, I will still be scrapbooking tonight and the touch up painting won't get done. I didn't quite get in the amount of time at my table that I wanted, but after a quick count as I was putting on page protectors, I completed 12 - 2 page layouts for Peyton's album, created 5 - 2 page layouts for my own album and basically cleaned my scrapbook room. I am happy with that. This week's scrappin' showed me that I lead a very boring life! If it was not for all the layouts of my granddaughter, I would hardly have any photos at all!!! It feels good to get all of the munchkin's photos in her albums, as Megan has not had any time this year to work on them. Maybe, she can add some pages in for herself, as yesterday at the gym, Megan dropped a great big disc weight on her big toe and she is now handicapped and sitting at home, hopefully with a bag of frozen peas on her foot (and calling me to complain). That would mean scrapbooking time to me!!! Mike and I went to town last night and had coffee with our friends, came home at 11:30, watched a National Geographic show on TV and went to bed. How boring is that? When did I get so old? So boring? Because of my lack of "family" photos, I have decided to participate in "Project Life" this year, in addition to the regular amount of scrapbooking that I usually do. With a twist. I am going to use Project Life to document the fulfillment (or lack thereof) my New Year's resolutions. Ha!! That ought to be a good one! Here is the treadmill (without me on it), here is the veggies that rotted in the fridge, here are the projects that I didn't complete... you get the picture. Speaking of projects - I had better get to painting. I need to take a picture of what I accomplished today. How is that for motivation?