can it be?

I have had some time to get reacquainted with my creative side and boy did it feel good! Like therapy...maybe not cheaper but way more fun!
this layout was for a "think inside the box" challenge

these were some street performers we saw on our 2nd trip to Vegas

a shot of some houses in "the Hills"...pic taken from Universal Studios

one of our fave hot spots on the Vegas strip...more so mine than Brian's as he's not into country music but he sure does enjoy his "Toadsuck Pond" and "deep fried snickers"

this was what I came up with for a "gift card holder" challenge...it's for out librarian at school who is also a great friend



this one is pretty special to me...we were at our family reunion last summer and the family members that organized it, had balloons, pencils/paper strips and helium for us to write a note to those loved ones no longer with us. Those of that wanted to sent our letters off towards heaven...

transitions

So far our 2011 has had a few...
The boys and I are transitioning into a new routine without Brian home on a regular basis. He is sub contracting waaaay up North and we likely will not see him til mid March at the earliest. There's still hope he can come home for a few days over the family day weekend. The boys and I have a day or two extra off from school then so the timing would be great. So far, the boys and I are adjusting well. However, the club volleyball season is just getting started and that will impact the routine we have gotten into!!
Personally, I've been making the transition to a new healthier way of living and it's gone better than I expected it might. Since the 3rd of January, I have only missed one day of exercise and have had one really bad day as far as staying withing my daily caloric intake. How do I know this, cause I joined a site called myfitnesspal.com. (I stumbled across while googling the calorie contents of something I had eaten and wanted to enter into this "lose it" app I had for my phone.) Turns out this website is pretty intensive and full of info...and they have an app too!! I also recently discovered that my friend Vanessa is a member and it has helped her to be very successful. :)
Looking forward to some successes of my own!
Another transition, directly related to the one above, is going from plus size clothes to regular sized clothes? I have no idea how to do this...I've googled size charts and that has given me some info but not enough to feel comfortable. The reason this is important and bugging me all at the same time is, I want to buy a really nice pair of jeans...goal jeans...in a few sizes smaller (as incentive) but don't want to buy them and have them still be too small after I've lost 30-40 pounds...kwim? I would feel sooo bad about myself if they didn't fit. I've heard people say: 10 pounds between sizes but doesn't the size you wear depend on bone structure too? And if you are toning/building muscles? Awe man...I am so confused...lol!
My role at work has changed slightly for the next month and it has not been the easiest transition. It's added some extra stress in my day...good thing I have my workouts I can use as stress release!
My year will have a few more "major" transitions whether I like it or not. I'll worry about those as the time comes!

Looking back

2010 would be comparable to what I would imagine being on a roller coaster would feel like...full of ups and downs, twists and turns... feeling like you are twisting into a knot...
bright spots for us included:
* a second trip to Vegas for Brian and I
* being asked to continue on at my job (after being let go)
* more camping...including a great time at the family reunion
* attending a cousins wedding
* getting some landscaping done
* lots of time just hanging with the boys
* everyone stayed quite healthy
* Zack getting his drivers lisence
* celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary
* watching the Olympics
dull moments included:
* Brian being forced to change jobs
* Reilly having 12 baby teeth pulled at once
* Zack getting his drivers license (LOL)
* being told there was no money in the budget to keep me on staff
* not getting as much done around the house/yard as I would have liked
* the boys being boys...they can be sooo mean to one another
* not enough scrappy/crafty time for me
All in all 2010 was decent...could have been way worse I guess!

I was kinda sorta successful with my 2010 one little word: Organize. Will be a constant work in progress I think! My word for 2011 is Change...I need to change the way I deal with change as this year is going to be full of them. Some totally out of my control so I better figure out how I am going to cope! A few are of my own doing...healthier lifestyle changes being at the top of the list!

I would love to hear what some of your highlights were last year and what you look forward too in 2011!

Blog much?

Obviously not since it's been 2 months since the last post!!
Wish that meant I had lots of exciting things to blog about now though...sadly, most of what's been keeping me busy is...well..life! It's busy but good!! I do complain now and then about it all but the truth of the matter is, I really do love it, so I guess I need to close my mouth and carry on...lol!
So,what is it exactly that we've been busy with? Volleyball mostly...both Zack and Reilly played for their school teams this fall with Zack helping to coach Reilly's team. That kept us busy at least 4 days a week plus tournaments on weekends...sometimes they both played so it meant running back and forth to both...if possible. Thankfully, Brian was home most weekends so we would divide and conquer. Both boys finished in the top two of their school leagues, which meant they went on the Regionals and Zones respectively. Each of them brought home bronze medals...the best thing about that was there was no way one cold bug the other as they finished their seasons on an even keel. Once the school season ended, club tryouts began. Zack wants to play on a club team so bad this year as it's his last year so rather than putting all his eggs in one basket and maybe not making the team he payed for last year, he wanted to try out for 3 different teams!! This was a lot of driving to the 3 different cities and some late nights but that's ok...it's what moms do right. He has a spot on his team from last year and has one last tryout for the team he really wants to play on...fingers crossed!! Reilly is trying out too but the age group is U16. He is really only U14 but since they have no team at the age, he is giving it a shot. He can hold his own on the court but we'll see if he makes it. He's happy just to have gone to the tryout for the experience.
Carsyn is waiting till January to start a weekly volleyball skills program in the hopes of making the junior boys team next year. Gavin would love too also but is a bit too young still.
Halloween was awesome this year...as you may know, it's Brian's favorite holiday. We found a new store called Spirit Halloween...it had the most amazing costumes and decorations! I was actually really surprised how many Halloween stores opened up this year. Here are some pics....





the older 2 stayed home to hand out candy and scare kids...lol

In school news, graduation prep has started for Zack...I am sure I was just at Kindergarten orientation...how is is possible he is graduating? Having a bit of a hard time with that. Last week, he brought home a book full of grad rings...he has designed one that suits him to a tee. He has also changed his thoughts on taking a year off of school to work. He wants to go straight to college and pursue a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in either Bio or Chem. It's very exciting and sad all at the same time...definitely bittersweet!! The other boys are all doing well academically as well. My job is going great...any reservations I had at the start of the year regarding my assignment quickly vanished once we got going. I will be very sad if they don't ask me to continue with him though grade 2, 3 and 4.
Brian had switched jobs this summer to one that had him home more...loved that! However, he was not enjoying the work at all. So, we've gone back into business for ourselves. He is much happier and although it means he's gone again, I would rather have him come home happy on his days off. Besides, we've lived like this for a long time so it's not been that much of an adjustment.

In other exciting news (I think...lol), Zack passed his road test and is now a licensed driver!

Christmas is fast approaching and I am hosting this year...lots to get done between now and then. Thank goodness we have some time off the week before cause I am going to need a few full days!! Might not have been too bad but I started redoing the kitchen cupboards a couple of weeks ago and have had no time to get them finished...they look better than they did but primer white wasn't what I had in mine...lol! Need to get that done on top of all the usual holiday stuff.

No time like the present, so I guess I'll go and tackle something.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, I am celebrating all the wonderful things I am thankful for...
* my 4 healthy sons
* my loving, supportive husband who has the best sense of humor ever
* my family and friends...I truly am grateful for the part each and every one of you plays in my life
* my health and what I've been doing to improve on it
* our home
* my job
* living in Canada
It's days like today that I need to have more often in my life...need to remember these things on the days when things aren't going so well and I feel like having a pity party. I have a lot to be thankful for each and every day...we all do!!

don't knock it till you try it

I'm talking about camping!
Up until the last year, camping was one of those things I did with my parents a few times and it was alright but I was also at an age where I wanted to be at home with friends on weekends and not packed into the back seat of the truck, with my brothers, heading off to who knows where just so I could camp. Once I was able to stay home for the weekend alone instead of going camping...I did!!
It was never really anything Brian and I discussed either as our lives blended together. Until last year that is...
You may or may not remember that I blogged about attending a family reunion last year and how it was a camping thing etc. Overall, it wasn't the greatest outdoor experience as the mosquitoes were really bad, the noise from the Trans Canada highway and those dam "Darth Vader" bugs. However, there was something about it that made me want to do it again (Brian not so much lol).
Fast forward to this summer...Zack was going to go stay with my brother for most of the summer and said brother had just bought a trailer so he suggests we meet part way and camp for the weekend. Sounds good...so we load up and go camping for the weekend. It was great fun...sitting by the fire, poker night in the screen house, just hanging with my family away from all the distractions of doing things around the house/yard and the techno world. I come home and start talking and looking at trailers...lol I enjoyed it so much! Brian decides he'd like camping more if we had a boat...I know the boys would love that so I'm good with the tenting and getting a boat instead.
Recently, the boys and I took a 6 day camping trip with my friend and her 2 kids...it was awesome! We went to this campground a couple hours from home...small, clean and quiet. There is a lake there and the boys spent hours floating in inner tubes, building sand castles and playing beach volleyball. We sat and played full card yahtzee while watching the kids play, had picnic lunches and laughed...A LOT!! It was incredibly relaxing and almost therapeutic for me. My boys had a blast too and now...we are hooked! I came home, started looking at trailers again as it would be nice to have a space always set up...especially the kitchen area. And having a place to go when the weather takes a turn for the worse is an added bonus. Brian's big reason for not liking camping is the poor sleep he gets on the air mattress so having a bed for him might get him to come along. Either way, the boys and I will be camping a whole lot more...with or without a trailer or my husband!