Five Minute Card

So I set my timer again yesterday; this time for 5 minutes. I made a simple birthday card for my soon-to-be BIL. I thought it was cute to use the little boy patterns for his 28th birthday... why not? A quick post for an even faster card.

Mac at his Finest

Finally getting back to some crafting. I've actually been desperate to craft but I've had the craziest week at school which included supervision every lunch hour, the swim team starting up (before and after school practices, one of which included one of our students being saved by a lifeguard), staff meetings, tutorials, the list goes on and on. But, I just sat down, set the timer and got to work. I managed to "finish" this page. I'm not actually sure it's done but the timer rang out and I didn't know what else to do. I'm off to complete another timed project instead of doing school work... I just can't bring myself to get to work just yet.

You can tell that I was inspired by the post of Lisa's.

Thoughtful Gift from a Beauty

My darling Lisa, how wonderful are you?

Lisa bought me the most thoughtful (double entendre) belated birthday gift. Not only was it so elegantly wrapped and perfectly suited to my personality/personal tastes, it was also a great tester for my literary knowledge. I will not pretend that I am as well read as my beautiful friend but I did pretty well. (I have not yet brought myself to tote any to school for fear that a student may get their grubby hands on them and they may never return.)

Speaking of reading, I did manage to get a few books read this summer. A very few for me but one stunner stood out from the rest: Room by Emma Donoghue.

Now I definitely only judge books by their covers; books, not people. Promise. I DO NOT read the back/jacket of books. I like to let them unfold as the author intended, not with my own preconceived notions or expectations. Room (based on the cover) was a no brainer. I had heard that it was a dark book. I had also heard that it was a story of hope. I had also heard (from April who lent me the book) that many nouns were capitalized and it annoyed her :) I found the proper names given to everday objects clever and necessary. (We disagree about writing style again Apes :)) It spoke to the human condition and the determination of the human mind to create meaning in the (seemingly) meaningless. I really enjoyed the authors style and there were few artistic liberties that bothered me. April and I both agree that this book was excellent and, I speak for both of us, would highly recommend for an easy but powerful read.

Remember Me?!

You know I was just starting to get the hang of this blogging thing finally and then I had to go and get a job! I'm so grateful to be working in this economy and the state of our school board this year but I really did enjoy my summer. I've set several "goals" for myself going into this new school year. Simple things like laying my clothes out the night before, packing a lunch in the evenings, etc. The next one on the list is obviously to build some time into my schedule to craft. I have so many projects on the brain and I'm really excited for them all. They are all very simple but do-able - hence my excitement.

Oh, yeah, my beautiful sister and her man got engaged!!! NBD. Wahoo!!! We went for a celebratory dinner at the Creperie... om nom nom. I had scallops, perfectly cooked scallops... and Flirt cupcakes for dessert back at Mom's... my blue jeans will thank me later. Anywho, in the car ride between the two epic food adventures I decided to conduct some self-portraits. A unique passion of mine, guests at our home will often find such spectacles on their cameras several days post party. What can I say? It's a gift. Perhaps they should also put a distracted passenger bylaw into effect to prevent such disastrous occurrences... but then you couldn't laugh at this. Remember me?!

A teacher at school once told me that I reminded him of Jenny McCarthy. I asked if that was because I was beautiful. He replied: "No. It's because your face seems to be made out of leather rubber. How do you make all of those faces?"

These are actually not my finest work...some are just too similar. It was hard to give them all a name. Any suggestions for the last, most nostrilly one? (Or I would love some hilarious renames!)

Crazy Baby Stealer On the Loose!

Beware! There is a batty ol' lady obsessed with babies who has reached the point of possibly stealing a stranger's child, convincing them that their parents were just a bad dream and loving them to the point of adulthood, or until someone recognizes them as Edmonton's most recent Amber alert.... okay, okay, it's just ME!!! I can't help it - I've got babies on the brain. Not having my life in order and watching all of my beautiful friends start/continue to grow their families is kinda of like being on Survivor and watching the winning team chow down on burgers while you eat your crummy rice. I don't want to eat anyone's baby - I was just joking in the intro, really!

My bestest friend Kirsten is having her first baby in November. We have been friends since birth (seriously) and we always dreamed of having children together. I couldn't be happier about (if a bit jealous of) her bun cooking in the oven. I'm so excited! I can't stop thinking about it. Seriously, I haven't slept in days because I've been planning her nursery in my head. She asked me to "help out" and I got a bit loopy. Proof? I sent her this image last night after we talked on the phone about what she wanted.... like right after... and then I didn't sleep... NOT NORMAL. But hey, who am I kidding, I never was :)

Images stolen from: http://pinterest.com/pin/39241916/, http://susanweinroth.typepad.com/a_little_bit_of_me/2010/05/a-look-at-the-nursery.html, http://www.domesticadventure.com/2010/12/the-nursery-reveal/, http://www.yourdecoshop.ca/Shop/?typeGroup[]=WallTattoo&category[]=GROUP173ee94f48ff0aea84a7f450d27ebe94&gclid=CJPP2P20tKoCFQvKKgodp3KW4w, http://pancakesandfrenchfries.com/2009/02/a-little-hut-alphabet-cards/, http://gallery.tryhandmade.com/nursery-art-_-custom-birth-print/, http://www.etsy.com/listing/59081896/nursery-art-print-for-girl-or-boy-dream

Hopefully I can come back and site these in a more user friendly way but I've been on the computer organizing my school computer files for several hours now and I just don't have it in me.

Please don't forget to leave a comment for my previous post expressing your innate desire to throw me (and 5 other wonderful people) a bone! Come on!

Pay It Forward!!! (Finally)

Many, many moons ago, I got overly excited at the thought of Ginger making me something that I eagerly commented on her Pay It Forward post. And despite the gleeful, pee-your-pants anticipation I can't get over this nagging feeling... perhaps it's the fact that I, in commenting, also agreed to PAY IT FORWARD. Sheesh! When will school and life stop getting in the way of my crafting?!

Here's the deal in Ginger's words: "I promise I will make something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here specifically stating they want to join in the Pay It Forward fun. The original "rules" state that you must repost this status, offering something handmade by you to 5 other people and it must be sent to your 5 people some time in 2011." I mean, really, a homemade gift is great any time, right? So perhaps, because of my failure to post until the 11th hour, you could cut me some slack and I'll have your beautifully crafted project to you by March, 2012. Common... you know you want to!

As I am only beginning to post regularily I anticipate gathering participants might be a tricky task. Please do not be shy!!! I love strang....ers! Even if we have never met and do not live in the same city, country or continent, I think that this idea should be spread all over!

Baby Boutique

Did you know that Shoppers Drug Mart offers its patrons these beautiful bags? All you have to do is start worrying about aging, spend many sleepless nights picturing yourself with 100% more wrinkles and greys and, as such, spend $150.00 on gourmet anti-wrinkle cream in the Beauty Boutique section of the store!!! Ugh. When did I get this shallow? I thought when my grandmother told me that my dimples would become craters at the end of my wrinkles, my laugh was genuine. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Moving on. Because this bag was so purdy to begin with and because I purchased these most incredible baby Vans in Vegas for Madison, I just had to turn it into a "welcome to the world" number. Here's some before and after shots of my 5 minute make-over and, of course, those shoes!!!!!!!! Awww :)