Angel En-''counter'' - EDITED!

I've been busy. Seriously busy. By the day's end I have nothing left. But there is so much to blog about. It's been pointed out to me that it's been ten days. That might be a record for me. What a blog slacker!

I'd like to start out with today. Work has been insane. I have been helping set up for a big three-day workshop. Tomorrow is the last day. I came home from work today with the kids and once Chris got home I started to notice a couple things out of place in my kitchen. Out of place, but tidy. Like a t-shirt that I had haphazardly thrown on the counter in my haste to leave this morning...was folded neatly on the counter. There was a stack of clean bowls on the dishwasher. I had to ask Chris if he put them there. Nope. Then I saw the sink. I mean, I saw it! This morning it was full of icky dishes because I hadn't finished emptying the dishwasher last night. Both basins were empty and SHINING. By this time I figured out what had happened, particularly when I recalled spotting my Mom's car here this morning when I was on my way over to bring the coffee break snacks to the conference. I thought it would just be Dad stopping by to fill up some water jugs. But what a nice surprise! My dear sweet Angel Mommy did a little Fly-Lady action in my kitchen. And it was so appreciated.

The other day I picked up some tenderloin steaks on sale at the grocery store so we had them for supper today. Chris did a fabulous job of barbecuing them while I made baked potatoes. The boys ate a little bit and I thoroughly enjoyed mine.

This evening I continued with a monstrous project for work that I cast upon myself. We're having an all-staff conference next week and I volunteered myself to make nametags for everyone. No, not just our office, but all the offices. I'm a masochist. Including our board, there will be about 160 nametags. And of course, so far I've almost finished half of them and they are all different. I'm sure I'm going to crash and burn and start reusing the designs, but I really have enjoyed making each one unique. I also will be doing a presentation at the conference that grew into something way bigger than I thought it was going to be. So I'm a tad anxious about that too.

So let's see. What else is going on? Carter went to a birthday party on Saturday, and Kelly had a garage sale that morning. I was hoping to be of help to her at the sale, but having the kids with me made it a bit limiting. So I tried to make myself useful by going to get some change and feeding her and Sharon some breakfast. Carter had a great time at the birthday party. We had a fairly quiet weekend. One of the highlights was Cindy's call to tell me not to go camping on a specific weekend next August. Because she is getting married that day. Woohoo! Sweet news.

Edited to add: My sweet mother reminded me (see in the chatbox in the sidebar!) that while I took Carter to the birthday party, I brought Cooper to her house. That was what made everything else feasible! Oh, and on my way back to the birthday party from bringing Kelly and Sharon some breakfast, I was following this 'dick' down the street.

Yup, that's what you think it is...and when I told Cindy about it, she said she saw it too!

I took the boys to church again. This time the boys were a little antsy but generally well-behaved. I'll have to bring a couple more things to amuse or bribe them with, and maybe some little non-messy snacks too. Ever since the first time I took them in this new attempt at going weekly, both boys want to go to church every time we drive past it. Which is cool.

After church I had a little rest once we got home from breakfast. Chris joined us for breakfast with the aunts and uncles. In the afternoon I participated in the AIDS Walk for Life. I didn't collect pledges this year since I had already canvassed everyone I know when I rode the Big Bike for Heart and Stroke, but I made a pledge to someone else and participated in the walk. I brought Carter with me and pushed him in the stroller. The weather was perfect for it. Nice and cool but thankfully not raining.

Since I last blogged I've had a couple successful trips to Bingo. Last week I won a hundred fifty that I split with Kelly. This week I won a two hundred fifty dollar game but there were two other winners then Kelly and I split. I won again; this next time it was a hundred bucks but again there were two other winners. But it's always nice to get some back at least! I'm not sure when we'll get to go again with the conference being next week.

So that's about it for my catch-up. Carter is enjoying school and Cooper wants to go too. Work is insanely busy for both Chris and me but all is well. And I close with a request for prayers for my ill friend Nancy whose condition is now terminal. Chris and I took the boys out for a visit to her house last week and she was bright and cheerful as she always has been. We had a wonderful visit and I'm glad for it. She had to be taken to hospital as she now needs more care than home care could provide. So please say a little prayer for my friend. Peace out y'all.

Okay I realized that because it's been a forever since I blogged I actually had done a couple more scrap pages so I'll share those before I go and CRASH!




The first two are from the new NDISB collab kit called ''Naturally Eco''

These next two are from Christy Sturm's new ''Harvest Moon'' kit coming soon to NDISB!

Putting My Best Shirt Forward

I managed to get myself dressed properly today!

I'm not sure if I mentioned it but we watched The Love Guru over the weekend. The usual Mike Myers schtick that never ceases to give me a few laughs. Corny, ridiculousness...love it.

Also I neglected to mention that I've made it to church two weeks in a row. With the kids. And as of Friday this past weekend, Cooper was already asking to go again. Whoa! I guess they're just at the right age for it, so I'm definitely going to foster their interest in it! Their eagerness to go really helps me get my lazy butt out of bed on a Sunday morning. And the more often I go, the more often I want to go. Niiiiiiiice! We also have a new priest...and since we've been in church the two weeks that he's been here, he likely thinks we go all the time so I'm going to have to keep up the good image! LOL.

After church last week we went out for breakfast, and this week the same, but this time Chris joined us for the breakfast portion of the morning. We had a pretty quiet weekend all in all.

Tonight we had barbecued hamburgers and coleslaw for supper. After supper we went to visit Mom and Dad. We were going to go visit Cindy and the gang, but some of the gang are under the weather so we'll reschedule for another day. The (full) moon was rising over the lake when we arrived, and it looked so beautiful reflecting on the bay. We had a visit then the kids started to get restless (tired) so we came home. They were both asleep when we arrived home. Cooper woke up briefly but zonked again and I put him to bed. I'm just about toast so I'm not too far behind him.

Carter is ROFLHAO

I have more to post than this, but as I sit in the dim light of my room, I can hear Carter giggling nearly non-stop. I picked up the movie Dumb and Dumber today and promised him he could watch it, with the understanding that it has grown-up stuff in it and even though it's funny he can't talk like they do in the movie.

Anyway, cut to the part of the movie where Jim Carrey is imagining hanging out with Mary (Lauren Holly) and he ignites his butt as he passes gas. I don't think I've ever heard Carter laugh that much for that long. I'm waiting for him to watch the bathroom scene...'cause I'm expecting some more uproarious laughter from him. I plan on recording it...

Feelin' Kinda Scrappy!

My Very Own Wardrobe Malfunction

I'm pretty sure it was a lack of sleep. I got up and ready for work. I got the boys up, out the door, and to the sitter. I made it to Tim Horton's for my fix and arrived at the office. It was the day of our CPR refresher course and there was a morning session going on. Someone came in for his appointment and said, "Hey there are a bunch of dummies out here." And I said, "Yeah, and some of them work here!" bwaaa haaaa haaaa. Had me a good little laugh there. I used that joke a few times throughout the day.

But the laughter turned to my expense only a short moment later. I was sitting at my desk and I reached down to straighten my shirt and pull it down a bit at the front. I felt something in the fabric and looked down at the seam. I followed the seam with my eyes all the way to the top of the shirt. Hey, I thought, this shirt doesn't have a seam on it. I peered inside the neckline only to find the tag. In the front. Yep, I had my shirt on backwards. When I got dressed I thought it was fitting a little differently. But I've uh...filled out this year and figured that the fabric was stretched out more than it used to be and the part that was supposed to be gathered no longer was. I turned to Donna and laughingly said, ''Uh, Donna...I'm having a wardrobe malfunction. My shirt is on backwards!" I went to get one of the nurses for the next client and darted into an empty office to switch my shirt around. I had two things to laugh at the rest of the day.

I was planning to go for lunch with Mom and the Aunts but had forgotten my CPR course was in the afternoon at the same time as the lunch date. So I asked Chris to take Carter to school and Kelly and I went out for lunch. We had theeeee besssssssst chicken Caesar salads EVER, with breadsticks and sauce. Deeeeeeeelish. And oh so filling.

We went back to work and everyone said they didn't want Resusci-Annie after I was done with her on account of all the garlic in my lunch. The course went well, and each time I go I feel a little more confident that perhaps I could help someone if I had to. Hopefully I'll never have to find out.

Today Chris worked until noon. It turned into a crappy, rainy day. It's also getting colder and windier all the time. Ick. We had a quiet day (with a deep sleep that was drool-inducing.) Then we had breakfast for supper again. Just the other day I made pancakes and sausages for supper. This time it was cheesey scrambled eggs and hash browns. Mmmm. I managed to get a few little scoops into the kids.

I actually somehow managed to get some scrapping done! I downloaded some great new kits from NDISB and my next post shows the layouts. I actually started at least four more but ended up closing them before trying to finish them.

It's past twelve-thirty now (on Saturday night) and Carter is still up. Just a few minutes ago Cooper came crawling in and is already zonked again right beside me on the bed. Both of the boys want to go to church again so they've been telling me, so I'd better get some sleep too!

Slooooooooooow Weeeeeeeeeeeeeek

Oh man I'm tired. I can't help it. Work has been maniacal. I blink and it's lunchtime. I come back and blink and it's time to go. Which is good but exhausting. And it's only Wednesday!

I actually scrapped something on the weekend. Chris went fishing/camping this weekend. I had a great weekend with the boys.

Uncle Bob came over to fix our dryer the other day. Which is sooooo awesome. Now it shuts itself off and doesn't take a forever to dry stuff. So I finally decided this evening I was going to catch up in the laundry department. I threw in a bunch of towels and a bag of kids' clothes I had aside from camping. Little did I know THERE WAS A PULL-UP IN THERE. Icky. Sorta like those little beads of silica gel you get in a little pouch when you buy shoes. But gooey because it went through the wash, and more like 243659872394867 of those little pouches. Gross. I set it to wash again, so I'm hoping the disaster is over. I have yet to go check it again.

Carter seems to be enjoying school. I bring him to school and his classroom this year is at the complete opposite point of the school he was at last year. So I'm adjusting to the lack of parking situation at the entrance we need to use. And each day I have forgotten something in the Jeep which makes for even more walking while I'm in a hyuuuge hurry. Oh well, I'll get into the routine one of these days.

Not much else is new. I'm just going to switch to the other computer where I have my latest scrapbook layout so I can post it before I go check out the washing machine then fall into bed and pray aside from my regular prayers that everyone sleeps through the night.

Happy First Day of School, Carter!

Today was Carter's first day of Senior Kindergarten. Chris and I both took him to school to meet his new teacher and check out his new digs. Carter's mother? Yeah, that's me. I'm the one who FORGOT THE CAMERA. The thought never entered my mind.

Until, that is, after I picked up the kids from the sitter. Carter was wearing a different shirt to school, but at least I got pictures of him on his first day of school AT his school. Just slightly AFTER school!

Happy 39th Birthday Marnie!

...and you can hold it as long as you wish!

Mom, You Are SO Going To Love This One...

Latest Addiction Alert...Hair Mixer!

While Kelly and I were looking at pictures on her Facebook yesterday, we found some pictures of her niece that she mixed with various hairstyles using hairmixer.com. It. Is. Hilarious. And? Useful if you have a certain hairstyle in mind. You really need to get the face just right for a specific picture but once you get it in the right spot it works great. It took me quite a few tries to get it right then I switched pictures and liked it better.

In the meantime, Kelly and I were chatting and laughing our heads off because we kept adding the pictures to our sharing folder on MSN. I laughed so hard I snorted, because I was trying to laugh quietly since Chris and Cooper were both sleeping near me. Occasionally it spits out a male face/body with your face on it and we ended up with some doozies. I saved tons of the pictures and feel compelled to share them for, if nothing else, the pure hilarity of some of them.

Oh...and my personal favourite? THIS ONE!

Gordon and Little Gordon

Oh Crap I have plenty of catching up to do. Hopefully I can say much of it with pictures.

The kids did fairly well with the new pinch-sitter (the substitute babysitter). In fact, they were far better behaved for her than they are for me. Ever. ::sigh::

We went camping at Gordon Lake on the weekend. Auntie Lurdes and Uncle Cliff and Auntie Josie and Uncle Bob (and Frasier!) were there. The weather? AMAZING for Labour Day weekend. It was dang hot out. We had originally planned to just spend one night but Auntie Lurdes put the brakes on that plan. (Thanks again Auntie Lurdes!)

On Saturday for supper we had fresh trout. Yum! All I was 'allowed' to bring was coleslaw. Considering I only brought food for one supper, it was all I could come up with anyway! Next morning? Homemade BLUEBERRY PANCAKES!!! Seriously, not camping food at all. I mean, we were making bacon and eggs and Auntie Lurdes goes and spoils us with blueberry pancakes. It's madness, I tell you! Delicious madness.

Of course my children eat anything that comes out of her kitchen (much like I did when I was growing up too...i.e. cooked peas and carrots.)

So we had some fun down at the beach. Gordon Lake is a deep, clear (and very cold) lake. The beach is beautiful and it was packed. The whole place was packed. Mom and Dad even came out to visit on Sunday. They came out in the afternoon and stayed for supper. After supper we all headed down to Little Gordon which was FAR warmer than Gordon. Everyone kind of had a bath and it was hard to get the kids out of the lake. Even harder of course than it was to get them out of the cold one! We trekked back to our campsite and pajama'd the boys and Mom and Dad went home. We had a beautiful campfire and enjoyed gazing up at the stars. We took turns pointing out satellites and even Carter spotted a few. There was no moon out so it was plenty dark and easy to see the gazillions of stars. There were no northern lights to enjoy (though I actually saw some this evening).

Here are a few pictures from our weekend:

We came home on Monday morning. It was another beautiful day, but we spent much of it cleaning out the camper. I took anything perishable out of it, presuming we won't be doing any more camping this year. We had hamburgers for supper.

Let's see...what else have we done? Oh, (Amy) I finished watching Wanted. And I loved it. Great action flick. Don't go into this one expecting it to be believable...just enjoy the gritty violence and the fantastic visual effects! And it was the same actor from that Penelope movie we watched last week...just a totally different role!

Yesterday I had the day off with the kids since our sitter was still away. Oh My God they seem to be doing everything they can to outdo each other in the 'hurting each other and their Mom' department. I took then with me to my eyebrow wax appointment, then took them to Tim Horton's and to their fluoride varnish appointment. I helped out with a few things at the office while I was there. It's impossible to go to the office and not do something to help!

I took the kids to the grocery store to pick up some goldfish soup and goldfish crackers for lunch. By the time we got home Cooper was asleep. Carter went and filled himself up with the crackers. I made the soup anyway, and managed to get about one and a half spoonsful (or spoonfuls, whichever you prefer) into Carter and one little goldfish pasta into Cooper once he got up.

For supper I made a macaroni pasta casserole thingy...basically I just made some spaghetti sauce and stirred it in with some cooked macaroni. I did a Wal-Mart run for milk and a baby shower gift for Chris's cousin.

This morning Cooper didn't arrive in our room until five o'clock. I contained my annoyance, telling myself to just get him some milk and I'd buy myself at least another hour of sleep. It worked, and I almost overslept. I got up and ready and took the boys to the sitter for the first time in a week. She had a birthday over the weekend so I made her a card from the boys and put a clothing store gift card inside for her.

I came home after a quick Tim Horton's run and started working on a print project for a coworker. I had the eighties music cranked and I printed out a sample. I went to change my clothes to go deliver it and I heard a knock at the door. While I was NAKED. I hollered the ''just a minute'' phrase and threw on the first clothing I could find. It was the hydro guy, here to install our new 'smart meter'.

I finished printing before he cut off the power and got dressed and headed out. I met up with a few coworkers for coffee. I headed home again and put the music up again, and completely missed a call from Kelly. We decided to get together in the afternoon since I had some flower seeds to share with her.

I met up for lunch with Diane and Silvia. (Thanks again, Diane!) She was covering my desk today since I was off again, and treated me to a great lunch. I brought the leftovers to Chris and headed home. Kelly stopped by with a blueberry pie, which I didn't wait until later to try. We hung out and shared pictures and chatted until almost the time I needed to go get the boys. We did a quick Wal-Mart run so I could go get a gift bag and stuff for the baby shower tonight.

I picked up the kids from the sitter and came home. For supper I made homemade chicken fingers, sugar-snap peas, Caesar salad and baked potatoes. Delish! Chris's Dad and his lady friend stopped by for a visit then I had to go bounding out the door to make it to the shower on time. The shower...was lovely. The baby...is ADORABLE. (The pictures are on the other computer but just take my word for it!)

After the shower I came home and the boys were still up. I got my printer up and running again and went to cuddle Cooper to sleep. As usual, I got him all settled in and went back out to the living room, only to have him follow me about ten minutes later. Then he fell asleep on the floor by my feet. My sweet little puppy-boy.

Well, I'm sure I've missed or glossed-over a few details of the past number of days, but this wasn't bad for having so much to remember. Now I need to sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. It's Carter's first day of school tomorrow!