The Social Sister

Heaven is a wonderful place!

2011-12-12T23:33:00.001-06:00

I miss the chick who made faces like this!

And this. :)

And I miss the kid who went for coffee with me.

And who wore awesome John Deere hats and got awesome sunburns.

And who took dumb webcam pictures with me.

And who took dumb webcam pictures with gangsta signs with me.

And who took more dumb webcam pictures with me. (and these are just a few from the arsenal!)

And I miss the girl who did NOT like being hugged or tickled. Just notice the look of "you are so not doing this right now, Carmen!"

Happy heaven anniversary!

I will remember you forever Nod Pod!

Oh I miss that face.

And the kid who wore these shoes on her feet. Her really big feet. I miss those too.


And this face.

BUT, especially this face. True joy!

This week marks two years! Maybe the rest of us will join her in heaven one of these days. :) Miss you girl!

Photo Art

2011-11-02T20:49:00.003-06:00

Lately I've had this obsession with black and white decor. I think because so much of my furniture is brightly colored, that I am drawn to the black and white decor to calm it down a little. Here are a few of my photographs I'm thinking of framing. I just thought I would share!

-1- Photo's 1, 2, and 3 are what I was thinking to put in my kitchen. I just really love the artichokes, and I needed to put something with it. Unless I just go big or go home... hmm... that's a thought. I just don't have a lot of wall space in my kitchen anymore!

-2-

-3-

-4- Photo's 4, 5, and 6 are just some fun ones I thought I could print small and put in the bathroom. I really like the giant hamburger, but I'm not sure if it's bathroom appropriate... haha I'm not normal though. I think my bathroom can pull it off.

-5-

-6-

-7- Photo's 7-18 are some of my favorites. I need to decide which ones I like the best and should hang in my living area! It's really difficult. This is me and my oldest sister in the loft of our barn. I love this one!

-8- The old tow truck from the edge of the valley.

-9- Me, in a bridesmaid outfit that my mom wore to her sister's wedding in the 90's.

-10- A prairie lily.


-11- My dad with a handful of hard work.	.

-12- Seattle.

-13- This is not my footprint. I wish I had such a lovely arch!

-14- I just love this baby mushroom among the moss! Some things just draw me in...

-15- The wild, but loveable Petra!

-16- Some beauty of Spring on the prairies.

-17- A baby Canada goose. I love his wet feathers!


-18- A special photo of sister's that I will never forget!

I look at all these photo's and I can't decide if I want any of them on my wall! I haven't been able to break out of my box and display my own pictures on a large scale in my home yet. Maybe one day.

Love and Marriage

2011-10-29T16:07:00.001-06:00

Go together like a horse and carriage... la dee da...

Good old Frank Sinatra! Last weekend Jared and Tasha were married! The wedding was beautiful, as was the bride. Of course! Anyone who knows Tasha, knows she is beautiful inside and out. I will miss her so much, since Jared whisked her away to Denver.

There's my cute kiddos! Jack was a fill in for a little girl who couldn't make it up from Denver last minute. But I think he looks pretty handsome, seeing as it wasn't planned!

The wedding party. And the groom waiting for his bride!

Tasha with both her parents giving her away.

During the vows...

The cake was in honor of Nadia. Breakfast was her thing, so Tasha made a crepe cake and had a brunch wedding.

My handsome brother and my oldest nephew!


My handsome brother-in-law and my second oldest nephew!

Gotta love weddings! So romantic... At one point there was an open mic so I went up to give Jared a few tips on living with Natasha. I may or may not have embarrassed her. The wedding was beautiful!

2011-10-27T22:02:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pictures I found in my summer album. I think since I haven't been using my camera a lot lately, I just dumped all the pictures I had on my SD card into a folder called "July 2011". I should probably get on some better pictures than this...

So these pretty little cupcakes are from back in May. But I just thought I would do a little catch-up post! I took them to work. They always love when I bring them baking...

For my birthday (in June) we when to a DIY pottery studio, this is what I made! It's one of those scent burners that you put a candle in and melt the scented wax on top.

And this is a lovely little baker's rack that I found at a garage sale and up-cycled! I love the way it turned out! Susan and Holly and their kids and I went to some small town that was apparently having a street market. We found out when we got there that 2 tables=street market. Thankfully there were a ton of garage sales to redeem the day!

Unveiling...

2011-10-10T21:15:00.006-06:00

The be-you-tiful condo of the free/cheap/thrifted/gifted stuff! If you ask me, it's coming together quite nicely. And a lot of my stuff has a story.

See the couch? My friend's g-ma passed away, and it was headed to the dumpster so I saved it. See the weird brown ottoman/storage thingy? I found it beside the dumpster at my last apartment.
See the orange chairs? They are from the original home lottery home here in my home town. I bought them used and previously loved. Obviously.
This is the view you get when you walk in my front door.
Also, please note the bird cage. I have two pet birds! I've had them for about two weeks and I've finally named them. Moose: the he-bird, and Midge: the she-bird. I don't know if anybody else read Archie comics. But we were sort of hooked on them when we were younger!

And this is the view if you were standing directly to the right of the front door. I still haven't figured out what to do with the big white wallspace above the couch. Those little pictures just don't do it justice.

And this is the view from the kitchen/eating area into the living area.
And this is the same view. It just shows you how it's all laid out.
Here is one side of my kitchen.
And this is the side directly opposite the previous picture.
This is the eating area. (I don't know why this is underlined and I can't figure out how to un-underline it. Crazy blogger...)

And this is the view from the eating area.

And this was the view in my living room ALL WEEKEND. Yes, folks. I braved a long weekend sleepover. Three nights, three days. And now the fun is over!

Bedroom and bathroom are for another day. I didn't have the energy to clean EVERYTHING. Come on guys!

What's goin on?!

2011-10-08T16:34:00.004-06:00

Well, summer is over. That's what's going on! This will be sort of a random catch up post! So, I bought a condo. And now I have to decorate the condo! It's tricky. I'm too scared to hang up any of my decorations because I don't want to put holes in the walls! Here is one of my very cute nephews. This picture was from earlier this summer when I took a couple cute kids for ice cream. I just love that face!

And recently, I realized looking at the clock across the room was a little blurry. And legally I don't need glasses to drive or anything, but since it drives me nuts to look at anything past 6 feet away because one eye is in focus and the other isn't, I'm going to get glasses. Are these too trendy? Or what do you think? Picking out glasses is so hard after trying on about 3 pairs!

Perks to buying a condo- having AWESOME parents. Dad has been over here fixing up everything that needs fixing. And mom randomly leaves food in my fridge. LOVE IT! LOVE THEM!

And lastly, I leave you with a picture of the crazy she-child. She is currently, and surprisingly, sleeping on my bed right now. Gotta love naps! She is also the only niece I have. Two new nephews this year! That makes it a total of 4 boys and 1 girl. I think the next one better be a girl. By the way, this is her "I'm soooo pretty" look. She does it often.

Craft Mania!

2011-08-07T17:23:00.004-06:00

I realize it's been a while since I posted anything on here, but I'm procrastinating at the moment and came up with the energy to do anything but what I should be doing. Isn't that the way it always is?! Terrible.

Lately I've been in the crafty mood. This is a birthday gift I made for my lovely sister. Her birthday hasn't happened yet but I gave it to her early because we're going camping. Which is what I'm supposed to be getting ready for.

I kind of came up with this idea on my own. But I also kind of got it from here on Etsy. Although my version is not 3 inches, it's 12x24 inches. And I stretched upholstery fabric over a wooden frame that I got from a local wholesale craft warehouse we have here. The flowers are made from silk or polyester (I really have no idea what it's made of) ribbon that I bought at the same wholesale place. You cut the ribbon, and then you hold it over a candle for a very short moment, and melt the edges so they turn up and look like curved flower petals. The melting also keeps the ribbon from fraying, so you can cut the ribbon to any shape you want! And then I stitched them down with embroidery knots.

And now we'll see if I start blogging again. I have a lot of pictures and things to blog about! I'm also working on a picnic quilt, so we'll see which takes precedence. Crafting vs blogging... hmmm Not sure!

Auction Sale!

2011-04-19T17:50:00.008-06:00

First off: warning, this post is heavy on the pictures! I'm working on getting the rest up on facebook, so stay tuned!

This past Saturday was a HUGE day for our family! Dad decided to retire early from farming, and on Saturday we had the auction sale to sell off all the equipment, bins, trucks, etc.

Uncle Murray came early to help dad get ready. In other words cleaning and doing oil changes. I hear he's not the best at cleaning windows! haha

Here are the man and lady of the hour. They got special company name tags just in case anyone needed to ask important questions about the equipment. Mom answered all those questions will skill and expertise of course!

This is part of the crowd that came out. Thanks Jon, Mark and Uncle Charlie for directing the traffic. Look at those straight rows!

It was kind of chilly outside, and I'm sure all the farmers were thankful for the heated outhouses. Apparently they still didn't smell better than normal. I wouldn't know, I ran to the house.

Amy got her dad to bid on this cream can for her. She's reading "J.H. Bateman" on the other side. Kinda cool to keep it in the family!

Here is Auntie Ginny, stocking up on pie perhaps?

Here is some of the crowd...

Grandpa for sale! (just kidding, you can't have him)

Here is Dad's final descent from his own combine!

A bird's eye view from the top of a fertilizer bin. Let me tell you, it's kinda freaky climbing on metal rungs with wet rubber boots!

I think this is most of the Kramer crew. They did an awesome job! Always trying to make people bid higher and spend all their money...

I was on top of the rail car when I looked down and there was the family! Please click on the picture and check out my Mom's face. It's priceless.

Franklin and Bethany came over from friendly Manitoba. All he ended up buying was a little box of miscellanious tools. Oh, and 4 pallets of barbed wire... haha Bethany said she wanted a fence!

Three out of the five siblings made it. We missed you Jody and Rob!

Tristan was trying to convince Annika to say cheese for the camera! And can you see the little blue head between them? That's Josh. He wasn't saying cheese for the camera at all.

And here is Luke with his momma! He's such a cutie. And not shy at all!

It was just a little muddy out there. Good thing we all invested in some rubber boots!

And here are some of us, winding down after a long day. Notice Diane, she's trying to get out of the picture. And I thought I had her convinced she liked pictures!

Here are the fabulous five! Erwin, Murray, Ginny, Charlie, and Mary. Just missing Margaret, who is in Heaven having the time of her life!

I think I got pictures of all the Cousins who came around, but there are too many for a blog post! I'll link the rest of the pictures from the day at a later date. But THANK YOU everybody who came! It was a blast!

And to Daddy dearest, HAPPY RETIREMENT! I can tell you're already less stressed!! Now I have a list for you...Just a few projects for next winter. :) Just kidding! You can start right away.

Kidlets

2011-04-07T23:09:00.002-06:00

Oh spring is so nice! It's such a great feeling to get outside and enjoy some fresh air! I watched the kids for a bit this evening and we took a little walk to the park!

This is Jack's first time on a swing and he LOVED it! He giggled the entire time he was up in the air. I have a video on my iphone that I'll have to post later because it was taking a long time to upload.

Since Mommy and Daddy went out for supper with some friends we made them dessert for later! Hot fudge sunday cake... yum! My favorite dessert from our childhood! These kiddos liked it too by the looks of it!

Cardi Love

2011-04-06T22:53:00.004-06:00

This is just somebody trying to be funny. It really made me laugh at the time so I snapped this photo on the way to work last October. It was probably our hippy neighbours who, as you can see, have a lovely fence made out of doors that are very artfully decorated.

But now the real reason I'm here is to tell you about my cardi-love. I. Love. Cardigans. End of story.

Ok, maybe it's not the end of story. I was putting away my laundry tonight and made a poor decision to count my cardigans/little cardi-type sweaters. I never should have done it because now I feel slightly guilty for owning so many things unnecessarily. Have any guesses?

You're wrong. I have 25. None of you would guess that many I'm sure. Give or take a few that still might be in the laundry, TWENTY FIVE. That is ridiculous! What is wrong with me?! So usually when I need to make space in my closet I go through and pick out the items I haven't worn in the past year and donate them. So out of pure curiosity I went through my cardigans. All of these sweaters, I've worn in the past six months. I think I'm addicted. Or maybe I'm just an office girl with cold shoulders. That could be it.

Oh Baby!

2011-04-02T12:58:00.006-06:00

A week long visit to Birch Bay, WA included many things! Rubbin' my big sis's baby belly, pedicures, downtown Seattle shopping, regular shopping, TARGET shopping(I have a thing for Target), a visit to Edaleen Dairy for ice cream, a birthday party, just a couple (or more) Starbucks stops, and a few visit's with friends I only see a couple times a year! Oh, and lots of bonding with Petra the very excitable dog.

It's become tradition to visit Edaleen Dairy for ice cream on the way to the airport before I go home. I just love their ice cream! And it's so cheap! It was under $3 for two of these.

And below are some pictures of the lovely baby belly!

And this is Petra. I was with them when they drove to Seattle to pick her up 3 years ago. She is super excited to see me. Even if I've only left the room for five seconds. It always makes it entertaining to be in the same room as her!

And this is a cute little mushroom I found on a stump when we were out taking pictures. It's kind of random, I know.

That's a quick break down of my trip! I had an amazing time! Now I'm going to go eat my other sister's home made pizza for lunch. YUM!

Cupcake Cuteness

2011-03-19T19:30:00.000-06:00

My awesome sister sent me a link to these little cuties. It was here: on Martha Stewart's site. I just love how adorable they look when they're not dipped in chocolate. The white meringue frosting gives the illusion of perfectly piped buttercream. I wish I could do that with buttercream. I just haven't quite figured that out yet. I also like them without the chocolate because I just couldn't make the chocolate work.

I'm a failure. See below photo.
I'm not sure what happened.

Perhaps holding up a very heavy hand mixer in a bowl of meringue sitting on a simmering pot for 15 minutes wasn't long enough.
When I went to dip them after they'd been chilling in the freezer, the meringue just sort of...melted. And the chocolate was dipping too thick.

So I gave up and drizzled with a piping bag. If you ask me they still look pretty cute. (I forgot to take a picture before I wrapped and refrigerated them)

On a side note: I made a salad for supper. A tomato, cuke, and feta w/ dill salad. Which is normally fabulous. But since I'm on a shed 10lbs quick kick, I bought the low-fat feta.

It's just not as satisfying.

Yes, I know hi-hat cupcakes don't fit into a shed 10lbs quick kick. But in my defense, they're mini cupcakes. If they weren't that would be a lot of icing. Even for me, and if I've never told you, I LOVE ICING.

Babies on Board!

2011-02-16T22:56:00.005-06:00

I just can't resist posting a few pictures of my sweeties. They're growing up so fast! (the baby in the picture isn't one of my sweeties, but he's a cousin on the other side of the family) And now I can say I have two more on the way! Chatty is expecting, and I found out recently that my sister-in-law is preggo too! Actually, Preggo is what I call her when she's pregnant. So that will be her nickname for now. I'm so excited!

On a side note, I went to the gym this evening for the first time in my life. Ok, that's not true. I used to go a few times a week. But there's been a really long break from that. And I forgot why I like going so much. Whenever I sit down on the toilet, I look up and read "Hiney Hiders" on the door latch. It's the brand name. And it never fails to give me a little giggle. It get's me every time. Oh how I love the little joys in life!

Sugar Love

2011-02-12T20:22:00.005-06:00

Please forgive the mobile photo!

Love in the form of sugar.

The Best Sugar Cookies Ever

1 1/2 C softened butter
2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together dry ingredients and then mix with the liquids. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or even overnight.

Preheat oven to 400. Roll dough out on floured surface to 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutter of your choice, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

Icing: (this is what I like, but you can use whatever kind you want) Milk, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, butter. Put as much of each as you think you need in a bowl and beat with a mixer until well blended. And don't forget the gel food colouring to add a little fun colour to your lovely cookies!

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies. Enough to go around!

Love Month

2011-02-09T23:28:00.003-06:00

Today I came home for lunch and checked up on my blog reader. I read a guest post by my cousin.( Deliajude ) She talked about the verse in Song of Solomon that says "His banner over me is love", and it was just perfect for my day. It was just what I needed.
A little reminder telling me that no matter how I am feeling, what
I am doing, wherever I am; He loves me. He also loves you. He loves us unconditionally.

So I sat down and had some milk and cookies with a love mug, thinking about the love my Lord and Saviour had laid upon my heart today.

Frost-bitten

2011-01-31T22:44:00.003-06:00

So I joined a choir. I've been sort of looking for a choir for a couple years. Two years ago I auditioned for a choir, and the lady said I was in. But I was so embarrassed at my audition, that I never went back. I was very sick, and couldn't even sing the national anthem. That, and I realized I was the only one under 95 years old. But so far, this choir (Vivace), is a lot of fun! Challenging, and very challenging, and even more challenging. We've had two rehearsals so far and at the end of both rehearsals my voice started giving out.

More to the point of my story, I practically got frost-bitten dashing from my car to the church where we practice, and dashing from the church to my car after practice. It's -34C without the wind chill. With the wind, it's a balmy -47C. Aren't we prairie folks just the luckiest around? And to rub it in even more, I'm house sitting for my sister and brother-in-law who are in Mexico. They sure picked the right week to vacation somewhere warm.

As for house sitting, I've been enjoying the opportunity to use another closet. I'm finding my sister is very partial to cardigan's. Which, weather permitting, I have been wearing. And of course, she didn't take them with her. Also, the food options are just not the same as at my place. Just tonight I finished off the big bag of sweet potato fries. We don't buy those at our house. Also, I've been having Fruit Loops for breakfast. We definitely don't have those around home. So they might come back from Mexico, and have nothing but boring Cheerio's and spaghetti left to eat. I actually feel a little bad. Maybe I'll have to go grocery shopping to replace the good stuff...

p.s. It's definitely weather for drinking tea/coffee/latte's/hot chocolate!

Airport Chronicles: 1st Edition

2010-12-30T21:29:00.004-06:00

First we'll start with a new roomie rule.... Janeen and I came home to this on the fridge. Notice "effective JAN 9/2011". That is because in less than 48 hours I will be the one roomie left alone for a week. They're going to Mexico! How fun is that! Maybe I'll actually get some laundry and cleaning done.

And here is the start of the Airport Chronicles. I will be typing up what I wrote in the notepad, with any extra additions I can remember. It all started with blank paper, and a purple pen. I love purple!

Airport Chronicles: 1st Edition

I started thinking about this all on the way from the Gooding's to the airport. I mentioned how I didn't like talking to random strangers in the airport or on the airplane. Apparently I was wrong. I guess I just hadn't noticed before that I do it almost constantly. Talk to strangers that is. I was paying special attention to who I was talking to since I had mentioned that. Lo and behold, one of the first places I go to in the airport, I find myself talking to a lady in the military who is on her way to Hawaii.

It was in the line-up to go through security. She has no family. She's not married, no kids. Doesn't keep in contact with her parents except for at Christmas and birthdays. She says that she isn't tied down to anyone, and it was either Hawaii or Arizona and she lucked out. I instantly thought she must lead a very lonely life. It makes me think about all the people that I am close to, and realize I would not be able to join the army. I was wishing I had one of my little pocket calendar's with a bible verse on it to give to her. I had packed them all away in my suitcase. Ever since handing out calendars and tracts in Mexico, and seeing people that were encouraged to see other believers and how much ground we covered, I keep catching myself wanting to talk to people about their relationship with God. Or if they even have one.

That was just my first experience when I got to LAX. When I went wandering after I made it through security with no alarms sounding, I started remembering the funny conversations I had with fellow airline passengers on the way to LAX. The lady on the little puddle jumper from Regina to Minneapolis was entertaining. She offered me a piece of gum about three times during the entire flight. I said no all three times as I was already chewing some. Cinnamon, the only kind to chew. She wasn't offering me cinnamon. She instantly reminded me of a fancy lady. I recently read a christian romance novel set in Alaska where the "fancy ladies" came from the big cities to find men on the Alaskan tours. (mindless reading that I'm most ashamed of: please make fun of me now) Ridiculous, I know. She was wearing a vest with a furry collar, high heel boots, lots of make-up, long fake nails, dyed blond hair, and so on. But she was very nice. I found out she has a fear of flying. She never used to be able to fly at all without getting sick. That is the exact moment I was beginning to feel very thankful that she got that ear surgery she was telling me about. Something that made pressure in her ear canal and made her throw-up? I'm not really sure what she was talking about. But she was telling me. And she used to be very thankful for the baggies they put in the pockets on the seat in front of you. DISGUSTING. She can't stand the take-off. That is how our conversation started. I don't think there is anything bad about the take-off. It's the landing for me. Where the plane feels like it's trying with all it's might to slow down before the end of the runway, and it JUST CAN'T MAKE IT. That's the feeling I get. Every time. The same sensation of the repeating dream I used to have as a kid. Where the kidnapper is chasing me and no matter how hard I try, I CAN'T RUN. It's all in slow motion. Until next time...the Social Flyer.

Little Moments

2010-12-30T18:04:00.003-06:00

I recently got home (at 3 am this morning) from a trip to California. I'll try to update you on most of the important points.

The bible conference was amazing. The meetings were enjoyable and food for the soul.
The socializing was needed. It made me wish Nadia was around, but I dealt with that.

The beach party was perfect. If you don't believe in perfect, then it was ALMOST perfect.

Tijuana was an experience. I didn't take my camera, which I regret. I received a proposal for marriage from a man selling goods. He said we should get married and open a church together. I told him it might be an issue because I don't speak Spanish, he then said he could translate. I informed him our relationship just wasn't going to work out and tried to walk a little faster. He then pointed at one of the guys in the group and asked me if the Lord told me to marry the guy, would I? I told him that we would have to wait and see what the Lord tells me, and so far I haven't heard that. We successfully handed out a lot of Spanish calendars and tracts, ate about 300 tacos, bought some cheap junk, and had a fun time. I must say though, that Tijuana didn't seem very sanitary.

This here, is Papa Gooding. Before I left he loaded "Daddy Long Legs" by Jean Webster and a few other books onto my ereader, which I am thoroughly enjoying! Him and his family also opened his home to about a million young people after conference, took us to Tijuana AND treated us at In-n-out. I am very thankful for this, It was a blast!

These are some nice footprints. They're not mine. I don't have those lovely arches, my feet are un-beautifully flat.

I met so many beautiful people; inside and out. This is just one of them who happens to be very photogenic: Alejandra.

I thought I'd better throw a photo of myself on here. This was the most perfect beach day!

And this is Abi. Drinking coke at the taco place in Tijuana. Funny moment with Abi: Her and I sitting on her curb, in the middle of the night, chatting. Up walks a skunk. Oh dear. Imagine the memories we would have made if we had been sprayed!!??

On the way home my flight was delayed, and out of boredom I bought a notepad and started writing about all the people I met in my airport experiences. I'll have to compress it, but I will share next time!

Looking Back

2010-12-09T22:07:00.003-06:00

A lovely day back in August I got to spend a
day with an amazing lady.
A hot day at the fair with good food,
laughs, and conquering our

fear of going upside down.
(although I'm not so sure I would enjoy it again)

Many favourite things in one day: swings, BIG T, lime slushy, perogies, sunshine.

Babycakes! Cutiepies! Schnookums!

2010-12-09T00:14:00.005-06:00

It's been quite a while, but I've been busy! Blogging tends to slip my mind. Especially when I have so many things to catch up on. I go back and look in my picture folders and just get overwhelmed. And that is when I usually go do something else. But I just can't resist the urge to share with you my babies! They're getting so big! I have two nephews, a niece, and a mystery baby on the way! So many cheeks to kiss and squish!

I tried to do a photoshoot with Jolly's family. We got a few cute ones. I like this one in particular.

He wasn't sure if he was allowed to be in the dirt...of course Auntie says yes. But technically, no. Look at that little face! I just want to squish it!

And this here is little miss 'tude. Three year olds sure have a mind of their own! But those big brown eye's have a way to melt me....

I introduce to you: Prince Charming. Girls, WATCH OUT! (I would trade him eyelashes any day!)

Oh My! That lopsided grin! I'm having withdrawls! I need to kiss those cheeks!

Missing Miss Frankie

2010-10-27T22:30:00.002-06:00

In September I moved into the city to an apartment with a couple friends. And since then, I haven't see my Frankie! I guess you could say she isn't my Frankie anymore. It just wasn't going to work out having her here in the apartment. And she was causing a few issues with some allergies in the family. I ended up giving her to a co-worker, and they are showering her with love. But I still miss her!

Fly By

2010-09-08T22:31:00.003-06:00

The month of August seemed to fly by, and now we're already into September! Here are a few pictures from the beginning of August. I'm going to try to get caught up with just a few random pictures here and there.

This is an old tow truck parked on the edge of our valley. I love the view!

Here is Cupcake, exploring the wildflowers.

Most likely pointing at a bird or some sort of wildlife! I can't remember what it was.

And here is Cupcakes little brother! I can't believe he's already 8 months old, and crawling like he'll be walking next week. Such a fun kid!

September brings: Harvest, photography class, moving, DIY projects, fall weather....etc

Blue Satin Shoes

2010-08-11T20:34:00.003-06:00

These two pictures are a flashback to anyone who attended my Aunt Gwen's wedding back in the early 1990's. For a little fun, the outfit was pulled out of the back of the closet!

Blue dyed satin shoes.

A hat made to match, and very large shoulder pads.

On a side note, this is the look my niece gives you when she doesn't want you to look, talk, touch, smile, frown or do anything to her.

Pouty, but cute.

A Taste of the Prairies

2010-08-09T21:30:00.003-06:00

A week and a half ago we hosted a bible conference in Regina. There were lots of first time visitors to the prairies, and it was a beautiful weekend! Here are a few (or more) of my favourite photo's I captured through the weekend!

A beautiful weed.

Green wheat.

Singing on the patio.

Playing in the sunshine.

Being mischievous.

Staring at a stranger.

The morning routine.

Laughs with old friends.

Getting eaten alive.

Hymn sing on the porch.

Crazy fog.

The rest are on facebook! Thanks everyone for making the weekend amazing!

Sew with the Flow!

2010-07-17T01:41:00.004-06:00

First, as a side note, does anyone know what this picture below is? It is my sandal. And on my sandal are wood shavings. Imported all the way from Northern California! Those shavings at Lassen are quite annoying. With this particular pair of sandals the shavings stuck in the fabric and I still can't get them out! Oh well...it now reminds me of good times!

Friday nights us ladies have a little get together while a men's only bible study goes on. Tonight we decided to have a sewing party. You could bring whatever you wanted! Although it was mentioned that aprons and men's neckties would be on the agenda. I don't have any photo's of the ties, but they are kind of funky. Here is Lansy modeling my apron for me! I sewed with the flow, you could say. I completely made it up. And it is darling! I love it! There is also a flower under her hair that you can't quite see.

Jolly made Avah an apron with these cute contrasting colours. It is double sided, and just so darn cute!

Two ladies, hard at work! (this is before the real mess came out)

Lansy also made a child sized apron that turned out spectacular! I forgot to get finished product pictures, so these will have to do.

And to top off an evening filled with fun, here are some goofy shots of me and my neice! We like to ham it up for the camera!

Click the Link!

2010-07-15T12:01:00.002-06:00

Click this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/socialsister

And there you will find my photos! Check out the 2 latest albums. They are labeled "Lassen 2010" and "Leavenworth". And feel free to leave comments! (I love comments)

On a side note, I'm just catching up on sleep. It never fails, I get sick after a holiday. I did get a cold, but I managed to fight it off with EmergenC and sleep! HOORAH!

I am slowly getting my energy back up and now I am preparing for our bible conference! In which there will be a great lack of sleep as well. Seeing as how I am hosting 6 girls in my basement for a weekend, I plan on baking some brownies.

Are y'all excited?! I know you are!

I'm Home!

2010-07-13T09:51:00.004-06:00

I just took a two week vacation! And now I am back at work. This vacation was exactly what I needed. I needed to get away and realize that I am ok.

Sometimes we can't understand why things have happened. When I lost my best friend I thought that I had left it with the Lord. I trusted that He has the perfect reason for leaving me here without her. But now I realize that I really hadn't. I was angry. Sad, lonely, depressed. . But now I realize it really is ok. I've learned to talk to the Lord like a best friend instead of depend on a human being. It's such a valuable lesson. Are you talking to the Lord like he is your best friend? Do it! It's amazing!

At Lassen it was so peaceful to get up every morning and go read my bible and pray by the lake as the sun rises up over the trees. All snuggled up in a blanket. The first day I went out there I was reading in Proverbs, and the verse that stood out to me was 5:21. " For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD". At conferences and camps like Lassen it is so easy to watch what other people are doing instead of judging your own actions. The verse doesn't say that the ways of man are before the eyes of MAN. It's the Lord's job to watch over his children. That really reminded me to keep my focus! I enjoyed my time there so much!

I have a lot of pictures, so bear with me while I sort through them. I handed my camera over to a 9 year old at camp and it's interesting to see her photography perspective. Which also means that I can't take credit for all of them. Check back soon!

Happiness.

2010-06-10T09:28:00.003-06:00

I discovered some cute little books when i was just lounging around a book store for fun. There is one about love, and one about happiness, and one about chocolate, and one called "Shoes, Chocs, bags and Frocks" which has a little bit of everything in it. They are written and illustrated by Edward Monkton. So very creative and cute!

I hope these made you smile. They made me smile!

Sharin' Some Love

2010-06-08T22:13:00.003-06:00

So I'll have to start with a few catch-up pictures I suppose. Here is a picture from Christmas 2009. I love my mom. We're pretty much besties. She makes my lunch for me when I'm running late for work.

Oh, and she does my laundry. But only when I leave it wet in the washer to rot. She's such a good mom.

Stay-cation

2010-06-08T18:46:00.002-06:00

So as you all may have noticed, a certain blogger has had a stay-cation from blogging. What is that you ask? Let me give you a definition: when a blogger reads blogs, but no longer is blogging. They are still on the web, but not blogging. They are active in the comment world, but NOT BLOGGING. I think you understand what that is now.

Said blogger just needed some time.

THE TIME HAS COME.

Although it may be sporatic blogging as said blogger may still need to take a few days off here and there.

Announcing...

2009-12-28T23:43:00.002-06:00

Nephew #2

Jack Thomas
December 28th @ 4:45 a.m.
8lbs 130z 20.5 inches long

We'll See You Soon Nadia!

2009-12-14T13:35:00.002-06:00

The Lord took Nadia to be with Him last night. Pray for comfort for all of us family and friends that loved her so much! We know she is happier in the Lord's presence then she ever could have been here on earth. Now let's wait for the Lord to call us up to heaven to be with her and live for eternity with our Lord and Saviour!

The 12 Days of Christmas

2009-12-13T11:38:00.002-06:00

Technically the 12 days of Christmas are Christmas day (Dec. 25) and the 11 days after it. But just for fun I am going to do the "12 Days Before Christmas" posting about holiday or christmasey things. I'll do the countdown beginning with today.

The 12th day before Christmas:

Christmas cookies! They are so much fun. These are gingerbread cookies that I decorated with icing and coloured sprinkles. Super easy, really cute, and wonderfully delicious!

And here are some pictures of my niece and I making sugar cookies. I don't have a picture of the finished product, but if you read my sister's blog, she posted about it.

Baby, it's Cold Outside!

2009-12-03T18:18:00.003-06:00

It's cold outside, and time to dig out the hats, mitts, and scarves. And speaking of hats, here is a link to my sister's blog

She is doing a giveaway. Take a guess at when her baby is born, and maybe you'll win one of these cute little touques!

Prayers Please!

2009-11-26T01:17:00.006-06:00

"And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise them up" James 5:15

My good friend Nadia is in need of prayers right now. Nadia is only 21 and is suffering from a very serious blood infection. The infection has spread to 3 out of her 4 heart valves, so pray that her heart stays strong!! It's a race between the antibiotics and the infection. We just have to wait and see if the antibiotics can fight the infection fast enough. I won't go into any more details, because things are changing all the time, but any prayers you send up are needed and much appreciated! Nadia has a lot of things going for her since she is a young, strong and healthy girl. Our God is good, and he is a healing God. He can help her get well! Please pray for healing, and strength for Nadia and friends and family.

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed ; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
Isaiah 43:10

Beautiful, Beautiful Food

2009-11-19T21:58:00.002-06:00

When I was in Montreal we went for breakfast, and one of the options was to get crepes and fruit with your regular eggs and such. I didn't get it, but when I got home, I was craving crepes!

Here is my version! They are surprisingly easy to make. This is my homemade applesauce, inside a homemade crepe with whipped cream on top! YUM!

EAST COAST!

2009-11-17T18:19:00.002-06:00

I took a trip out to Montreal for the bible conference a couple weeks ago. It was my first time ever being out in Eastern Canada! I loved it!

This is my friend G who picked me up, and carted me around....THANKS GIRLIE! I love you!

She took me shopping, and I was a TERRIBLE influence on her....as you can see from the picture below. 4 of those pairs are hers... and only 3 mine! But we bought them all within the first hour of our shopping day!

Then in the only evening I took my camera with me, we went to the Baton Rouge restaurant for dinner. It was DELICIOUS! I had some sort of chicken with goat cheese on it....mmmmm!

Afterwards they took me out to old Montreal to show me the lights. It was beautiful!

G's bro's and friend. We were being goofy. (notice my wonderful new red coat that i got a super good deal on in Montreal )

Some more lights!

Some writing we found on the wall. Sooo cute! We had a little fun with the shadows.

G and me!

Au revior Montreal! I had a wonderful time!

The lost have been found!

2009-11-03T20:34:00.005-06:00

So I found the pictures I lost! They were just in the wrong place. I was wondering if that's what had happened to them! These are from a week or so ago...

I thought for sure that Frankie would scratch her! But "shwankie" was a complete angel!

Cupcake carried shwankie around all day! And she didn't get scratched once.

And then she was holding shwankie in the chair, and just sitting there in the other room talking to her. HAHA oh my, it was cute!

They just sat there for a while...

And I made some apple sauce for the first time ever! It's really easy. You simply mix up a little sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and apples in a big old pot, and let it boil. I put a little water in the bottom so the apples wouldn't burn.

People: this is what you call CHEESE!

We mashed up the cooked apples and voila! You have apple sauce. I decided to freeze it because of #1 I'm too lazy/too sloppy and unorganized to can it, and #2 I tried to buy canning jars but I was too late in the season. Which was probably for the better.

Here are the pumpkins we carved.

Nadia, hard at work!

She just had to get right in there! She was so curious about the "punkins"

Every year I try to roast the seeds and eat them. About every year I burn them. OOPS! You'd think I would learn. I guess I'm just too scatterbrained and I keep forgetting about them until I smell them.

We actually carved/painted the pumpkins. I like this little guy the best!

She turned out pretty creepy looking...

And this guy is very...um...artistic? haha

Mindblank...

2009-10-31T17:44:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure exactly what happened last night. I know that it was nearing 2 am, and I was watching Project Runway, and falling asleep. I was also multi-tasking by transferring pictures from my camera to my computer. Somewhere in the mix the pictures got lost. They aren't on my card, and they aren't in my computer. How did this happen!? I have no idea. I have a folder labelled where the pictures should be, but it's empty.

Oh well, I'll survive.

The pictures were of some applesauce I made, and some pumpkins that I had painted/carved that were inspired by Martha Stewart. I'm kind of in love with her lately. There were also pictures of my sweet niece and my kitty. *sigh* until next time, farewell!

Weekend in the Boonies

2009-10-29T21:45:00.006-06:00

Tasha and I decided to drive 8 hours East for the weekend to hang out with some gals in the middle of nowhere. It felt like the middle of nowhere to me. There really could have been stuff around, and I just didn't know it. It didn't seem like there was a whole lot goin on!

Here we are. We started out after I was off work at 5. Notice the fountain drink=caffeine...

After a really long drive, and before we came to a stop because a semi went off the road, we found Ontario! It was my very first time ever going to Ontario. Weird eh? Notice how Tasha is standing OUTSIDE the ditch because she was scared of bears.

It was a weekend to chill out and relax. Do nothing but sit, eat and play games and then eat and eat some more. And then we went for a walk. Tasha and I couldn't keep up so we eventually turned around. Them two sisters there are speedy walkers! (or shall I just admit the fact that I am way out of shape!?)

Here we are again.

And here we are once more. I love train tracks!

Tasha found us some dinner. YUMMY!

The little lane leading up to the cabin was so pretty! It felt like it was from a movie.

And here is the cabin. Tasha and I were under the impression that it had no electricity or running water. But when we got there, we found out it had power. Just no running water. OOO and it had an outhouse. That was different.

She is beautiful!

Sherwood Lake is gorgeous! So clear that you can see right to the bottom with the leaves sitting on the bottom that have fallen off the trees.

This is Beth and her adorable baby!

And this is a not so good picture of the whole group. Minus me. I am taking the picture.

Here are some lovely ladies playing taboo.

And another lovely lady eating cookie dough: her food of choice.

And we saw cousin Heather and baby Lolo!! It had been awhile! Lolo is getting so big!

And here we are, for the final time on the way home. What a fun, but very quick trip!! (we left friday evening, drove 8 hours, and then left sunday afternoon to come home. call us crazy)

Thanksgiving at the Grandparents

2009-10-26T22:22:00.006-06:00

So I'm a little late in posting these, but I am going to try to catch up with my pictures! We spent thanksgiving day at g-ma and g-pa's new condo. It was a lot of fun!

Here is me sitting on my "favourite, special guy's" knee. Just like when I was a wee little kid. Apparently I used to call him that, and I talked with an english accent.

And here is a typical Grandma look. Laughing and giggling.... :)

And here is my Momma. Who is currently visiting out on the West coast with Dad and they've picked up the Swine flu! Pray for them to get better and not bring it home with them!

A very close-up of my Dad.

Auntie Yvonne, making something delicious as usual!

The one you can always find studying!

Me! Playing golf. No, I don't play real golf. Only in cards... (notice the iphone, which i am addicted to)

This is the kid table. Jesse and I haven't graduated yet. But hey, who needs the adult table when we get to sit on the comfy couch!?

And the grown-ups.

This little munchkin is get such a personality! Terrible two's I believe it is called. But I just love her facial expressions.

Someday, many boys will be swooning over those eyes!

And here is mommy-to-be in 2 months!!

The men. Just chillin'

These pictures got slightly out of order. Well here is Dad, carving the turkey. He has a nickname that rhymes with "turkey" but I have a feeling he won't appreciate if I broadcast it here.... haha

Now i'm off to bed! Goodnight all!

What a Ham!

2009-10-14T17:57:00.000-06:00

She’s taking after her Auntie Kim, as you can see.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

2009-10-10T17:32:00.001-06:00

The crazy view out our back door the other night. Anyone jealous? I know you are!

Fabric Fun

2009-10-08T20:16:00.002-06:00

When I say lets go fabric shopping I really mean, lets go check out the discount room at Fabricland. It's my favourite place. I don't buy full-price fabric. It's a rip off. All the fabric below I have purchased at half price or less. Usually less! I have no idea what i'm going to do with any of it yet, but i love it all!

I thought this was just adorable. I don't know if i'll ever use it, but I couldn't pass it up.

And this, is so creepy. But I love it. I first laid eyes on it, and I had to have it! I love the one lady with the red lips. It's so beautiful!

And these are sheets I bought at Value Village. I plan to make a two sided duvet cover with them. I love yellow, and I love white in my room. So these will be perfect for a reversable bed spread.

And these are my darling nieces feet. She always has to be walking around the house in some shoes. And they usually end up being more than a few sizes too big for her! It was adorable. She was just walking around, playing, as if nothing was weird about her wearing heels.

Kitty Love!

2009-10-06T22:33:00.003-06:00

This is my new baby, Frankie! It's a girl. I was TRYING to find a boy tabby kitten, and I had no luck, and I just couldn't say no to this sweet face!! And Frankie is what I was planning to call this boy kitten that I didn't find. But it really suits her, so I stuck with it!

She's quite the character!!

Weekend Getaway

2009-09-10T22:21:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned, I went to Denver for the weekend! It was fun. A lot of catching up with friends and having fun times.

Here are some gals gossiping about boys. Ok, maybe not. But that's ok.

Here are a lot of people hanging around. There were a lot of girls. Which means that yes, I am still single and lovin' it! Just a little FYI in case you are interested. ;)

Me and my girls! You may also know them from The Cary Crew.

We ate lots and lots of good food! As you can see, not good FOR YOU food. But that is ok. And it wasn't all stuffed crust pizza as you see below. The meals were fantastic! Oh man, the pizza picture is making me hungry...

There was also a lot of volleyball played. They were pretty competitive games, so I stayed clear. I don't know if any of you know me well enough to know that I am not athletic. Not at all. You can probably ask anyone who has known me for over a month. Ok, let's change that to over a day.

It was a marvelous weekend, and thanks to all those who put in so much hard work!

Sweet Boredom.

2009-09-10T16:11:00.002-06:00

I am home on Dr's orders. I have a sinus infection, and he mentioned something about it turning into bronchitis or swine flu. How these things are related, I have no idea. I'm mostly just dizzy from the sinus pressure or the medications or something. But he gave me a sick note with 3 days complete bedrest. And now I am engulfed in BOREDOM.

Ok, to change the subject, I have received a wonderful gift! This vase pictured below has been on my wanted list for quite some time. It's been sitting on top of my Grandparents kitchen cupboards for years, and I've always loved it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for bright colours!

Well, they are moving into a condo, and this vase was gifted to me! I love it! But it is a little large for my small living quarters, and I have too many pieces I love. So It might just sit in the corner for awhile.

Around the Farm

2009-09-03T20:02:00.004-06:00

We planted some grape vines and this is the second year we've had grapes! They are really tiny, and sour, and not good for much of anything. But it's still exciting.

I planted pepper seeds, WAYYYY too late in the season. So I didn't think I would have any peppers. I just thought it would be a learning lesson on "How to plant peppers too late". But look! I have baby bell peppers! I also planted decorative pepper seeds, but those aren't doing very well. I have little 6 inch plants, with some tiny little flowers. But they look nothing like the pictures on the seed packets.

When I went for a little photo-walk I decided to do a self timed picture. It's not the greatest, but it's the only one I took. My camera was sitting on lovely and delicously aged piece of cow turd and it was proving difficult to balance it.

It's harvest time!

Yellow peas. The only thing these are good for is making pea soup. Gross pea soup that I've only eaten once when I was around 13 and it made me gag. But don't get me wrong, the entire dinner table of guests we had at the time seemed to love it!

For now, I need to go pack! I am going to the Denver bible conference. I fly out on saturday morning at 6:30. But I work tomorrow, so I need to pack tonight! And I honestly have nothing to wear. I do not know what I'm going to pack. I mean, I have lots to wear. I just don't feel like wearing any of it. And how this is possible when I have more clothes than I need, I do not know! Wish me luck!

Forgotten Pictures

2009-09-03T19:13:00.004-06:00

I found these pictures on my camera today! I had totally forgotten about them. Here is my big brother and his darling little family!

Awww, he is just too cute!

And this is my neice, whom my oldest sister had all wound up! As you can tell by the "WAHOOOO" party arm and wide open mouth.

"Party like a rockstar baby!"

"Raise the roof!"

"He he hee"

"YEAHH BABY!"

"I am soooo funny!"

"WAHOOOO"

And baby Lyr just says "What is goin on over there cuz??"

Practicing for when baby brother comes along in December!

I love you, JT.

2009-09-02T23:15:00.002-06:00

In case you are wondering who JT is, I will tell you. His name is John Tesh, a radio announcer. I don't actually love him. I say "I love you, JT" with sarcasm. I was listening to his show this evening because he so often does have "intelligence for your life" as he states in his motto. But then he goes on to tell me how many calories were in that chocolate chip muffin I had for breakfast. I'm not kidding. How did he know I had a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast?! I thought it was rather odd. He actually said "chocolate chip muffin". And I had an early work meeting this morning at which we had chocolate chip muffins. How ironic. I also had a french vanilla cappuccino to go with that muffin, thank you very much. John Tesh, are you going to tell me that had over 600 calories in it as well? NO? I didn't think so!

Besides John Tesh telling me I ate way too many calories for breakfast, I had a wonderful experience this evening. As you probably haven't noticed in my right sidebar, I am reading "Julie & Julia". Well I went to see the movie tonight and it was thouroughly enjoyable! I love cooking, and I blog. I can totally relate. And I think one day I will cook my way through a cookbook. Hopefully I won't get as obsessed as Julie did. It didn't seem very healthy. Needless to say, I found the movie inspiring. It touched me. I'm not exactly sure why. I just love how whimsical Julia was. And how retro and so unique Julie was. Some day I want to be like her, and marry someone like her Eric. Sigh.....my time will come!

Well, I've finally caught up on my rewound blogging, and am now back to the here and the now.

Lovingly until tomorrow, (or the next day I get around to writing or posting pictures)

Social Sister

REWIND Aug 6th-ish

2009-09-02T22:19:00.007-06:00

Camping: Madge Lake, SK

(yes, there were bears)

The morning we packed up to go. Dad so graciously offered us a hand in packing up our 1971 tent trailer to pull behind the truck Dad also very lovingly let me borrow.

Don't you just love the curtains? I think I want to hang them in my room. NOT. They are ugly. But I'm sure were very in style in 1971. The gals on the trip there! Who you can't see is Nadia in the back corner sleeping against the window. We let her sleep because she had to work the night shift, come home at 7 am, pack, and then leave at 8.

This is the age-old axe we brought with us. Apparently electrical tape doesn't fix everything. We should have used duct tape, I knew it!

Here is N showing all the men how it's really done with the new axe my bro-in-law spent an hour finding.

We went for a 1 mile hike down a boardwalk on the edge of the lake. It was pretty! Here are the girls, thanks to Dan for taking the picture for me.

And here are the guys. This is the best picture. The certain cousin of mine in the top right corner thinks he's pretty funny.

I took this picture one morning. Glorious. If that doesn't make you want to go boating, i don't know what will!

We discovered Pic-a-Pop. It's this delicious pop in a glass bottle that is manufactured in Winnipeg, MB. It used to be right here in Regina, but things changed I guess!

We brought along window markers and had everyone sign the back of the truck.

Juice. What kid doesn't love juice?

We set out to cook breakfast one morning. Let me rephrase that: "We set out to burn the bacon one morning." It was crazy. I've never seen an entire pan light up in flames before. At least we weren't in the kitchen.

The rest of the breakfast cooking went rather well!

Such a pretty butterfly! I can't admit to have taken this picture. My sister did.

Fruitloops in a box! I love it. These brought back a flood of childhood camping memories.

We went fishing to where Uncle B was sure was "the spot". We didn't have a bite, which also means we didn't catch anything. Needless to say, Uncle B is not a fisherman. Far from it indeed. The next day we found out we were on the totally wrong side of the lake for fishing. It was fun though.

And then... DUH DUH DUH... It rained.

And a certain second-hand tent I acquired for $50 gave out on us. I'm not kidding. We did everything we could to save it. The thing just collapsed. And I decided that I was never going to camp with that tent again. Let's just say it isn't very user friendly. We found the garbage cans right away.

Playing games under the shelter of a tarp in the rainy evening.

The morning we packed up and left, Nadia and I decided we wanted to go Kayaking. So we sent everyone off in their respective cars, and rented a kayak. It was very beautiful and still out on the lake at 9 am.

Oh I love laughing with her!

But the laughing stopped when we got a flat tire on the 1971 retro tent trailer when we were 5 minutes from the edge of Regina. Or shall I say, the tire EXPLODED. Never mind about that, a kind old farmer stopped to help us out. We were very thankful!

REWIND Aug 4th-ish

2009-09-02T21:52:00.003-06:00

Regina Bible Conference.

We had fun. These are my friends, and they are stuffing their faces with hot dogs.

This is my crazy sister. We are so very much alike, that when we get together we often argue. I still love her.

This is me and my ladies! G-ma Brown and Renee.

This, oh THIS is my belt buckle. I like it. I stole it from my father's dresser drawer a few years back.

And by now you should know who this is. Pretty little thing eh?

I got to spend some quality time with Lansy! Although now that she is no longer a single woman I have a feeling said quality time will probably be lacking when I see her this weekend in Denver. HINT HINT girlfriend! You better at least say hi to me!

And these are two brother's that I love dearly. One is actually my brother. Well, my brother-in-law. The other one is a brother in Christ.

Check out the lasagna slice on the plate to the left. MASSIVE. Patience, the caterer says "Would you like a small or a large?" Bro-in-law says large, and she proceeds to put the whole pan on his plate. I say i'll take a quarter of a small piece please. And she looks at me and says something that gave me the impression she was thinking "Do you eat woman?!".

Conference was a weekend of encouragement and love. It is such a happy thing to invite other Christians into your home and your city for fun and fellowship. Thank you everyone for coming!! These pictures are just a few very random snapshots that do not depict all of the goings-on. Do not be alarmed. We did not only eat massive amounts of lasagna and make human pyramids at one in the morning. We did many other things too.

REWIND July 16th ish

2009-09-01T19:03:00.005-06:00

I took a quick long weekend trip to Vancouver, WA/Gresham, OR area. It was very fun!! These pictures are lower resolution because I downsized them to upload faster. Sorry about that.

We went to the coast for a day. It was SPLENDID! We even got matching t-shirts. We are awesome.
D and myself went for a polar-dip in the ocean. I couldn't stay out of the water when I only see the ocean once a year! In the background is Haystack rock.

We at VERY delicious elephant ears. I found out that i'd never eaten a real, honest to goodness, elephant ear. I LOVED IT.

We're besties. For life baby.
The only problem is that she gets annoyed when I take too many pictures. Which is depicted in the photo below.

I have never seen her in a pair of shoes with a heel higher than flip-flops or tennis shoes. I can't believe she's even standing!

Mini-golfing! WAHOO! Look at that ball. Beth must have some MUSCLES on those arms of hers!

Self-timed.

I made the acquaintance of a few little brothers. I call this one "Gangsta".

And this is Camera Shy. The 3rd one I don't have a picture of.

We went hiking way up in the cliffs to find some water falls. I can't believe she has cell phone service! She's addicted I think. But I can't say anything. I am too.

Lovely sisters!

Wow, first the heels, and now she's smelling flowers!? WHAT IN THE WORLD.

REWIND July 8th -again-

2009-09-01T18:47:00.005-06:00

There was a baby shower for little baby David. Instead of shower games, we decorated bibs. They turned out pretty cute!

The guests of honour!

Learning how to use one of the gifts.

Jackie's littlest, J. She's so adorable!

Both Great grandmas!

The delicious pina colada punch. And such a cute idea, nicely done Vicky!

All the helpers, and the food. Of course. Gotta love the food!

Mmmmm. We have a new cupcake/cake place in town.

Don't they just look delicious? And let me tell you, they don't only look delicious, they ARE delicious. I hope you are all hungry right now.... I just want to rub it in.

REWIND July 8th

2009-09-01T18:23:00.002-06:00

This is my dear friend Nat who came for a visit.

It's next to impossible to get a decent picture of her.

WATCH OUT!

2009-08-31T18:22:00.003-06:00

I'm baAaAaAck!

I took a month off from blogging. I'll be doing posts in order to catch up on everything I've been doing all summer.

But for now, I must go procrastinate just a little bit more.

Bad Memory

2009-07-23T18:50:00.003-06:00

So summer is busy, and I have a bad memory. Put the two together, and you get no blogging about anything! Here are a few random shots from my summer so far.

This is my nephew Lyrik in his mommy's safe arms. He has such skinny little legs!

And such a wrinkly forehead!

My Grandpa handed his violin down to me. I don't know how to play, but he taught me "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and a few other easy tunes.

My Grandma has very pretty flowers in her yard!

Avah was having a grand time on a rock. Such things amuse small children you know!

Jeff and Glenna were here for a visit. And we went fishing, where we didn't catch anything.

She didn't actually fish, she just just sat pretty.

Avah went swimming in her whale pool.

We had a frost on June 2nd. CRAZY. And we had just put in a bunch of flowers, so we had to cover them. And it is almost August, and apparently there was a frost last thursday too! What a crazy summer!

And we had a ton of lightning storms! I tried to get a good picture, but this is pretty much as good as it gets. It's a little blurry, but still turned out pretty good!

I just got back from a trip to the Oregon Coast as well. That was a blast! I don't have time to upload pictures right now, but I WILL blog about it. You all better hold me accountable! And then our conference is next weekend, and then I have a week off for camping! I love camping, and I CANNOT WAIT! Fun and friends are to come!!

More Baby News!

2009-06-29T22:10:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the world, my little nephew!!

Lyrik Michael Bateman
June 29th, 2009
6lbs 3 oz, 20 1/2 inches long

Look at those little lips!

Proud daddy!

Cute little family.

What a BEEEE-you-TIFUL Baby!

2009-06-26T22:15:00.004-06:00

David Clark
6 lbs 6 oz
20 1/2 inches
June 25,2009

Here is David and mommy!

She was loving the baby! Smothering it with kisses.

That poor little hand with the IV in it! He was in the NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) until around 6:00 tonight. So at noon today we visited with Susan, and then came back this evening to see the little bundle himself!

Spreadin' the love!

So handsome!

BABY NEWS!!

2009-06-26T08:13:00.003-06:00

CONGRATS to Ben and Susan! They had a baby boy yesterday around 4:30. His name is David (middle name TBA) Clark, weighing in at 6 lbs 6 oz.

David is both Ben's dad, and Susan's dad's name. So it makes sense.

My sister and I are going to see them at the hospital today and bring Susan some lunch so she doesn't have to eat hospital food! I will come back with pictures, don't you worry!!

Her due date was June 28th, so this baby came 3 days early... He just wanted to meet the world!

Quack....Quack-Honk....Quack

2009-06-19T23:56:00.004-06:00

So I had a birthday on June 3rd, and I got some very generous gifts from my wonderful friends and family! I won't tell you about all of them. Maybe eventually. But I'm too tired and lazy now. I did get these AWESOME book ends though! Now I'll just have to find a way to get my bookshelf in my room instead of the spare room so I can admire these hands! My co-workers Aunt was selling their tent, and I am planning a camping trip after our conference. So I needed a tent. $50 for this puppy! It can sleep up to ten people, and it has a divider in the middle. It seemed like an awesome deal to me!

On my day off this week we went to feed the geese. Or as Kitten says, "DUCKY!!"

She wasn't so sure about them! I did have a few pictures of her immersed in the geese, but I had technical difficulties and lost a bunch of pictures!

This little guy just came back from a dip in the lake! Ahhhh... REFRESHING :)

And then they all decided they'd like to cross the road. Right in front of a car. Smart move duckies....

We saw the google car, which is apparently invading the public's privacy. There was an article in the news about how you can see into apartment windows and such in busy areas. I suppose that would probably be true, and who wants that posted for the public?! That would be a little bit creepy!

Gigglin' up a storm!

Unathleticism

2009-06-16T21:53:00.005-06:00

So on saturday I played tennis. But you wouldn't know it. I have no action shots of myself. And not only because I was behind the camera. Because there were others taking pictures of me. They were just terrible looking, because I am not athletic. AT ALL. So here are some pictures of the people I played with!

This is just Kyle posing. Not just bad technique.

Jesse, looking handsome!

Here is Jesse running after a ball. Nadia is a bit of a "loose canon" style tennis star.

OH! A picture of me. NOT playing. Just being geeky as usual!

Who thinks she hit it?! Well I can't remember. So I'll just say you're all right.

WOAH! Crazy moves J. I don't think he got this one... since the ball is behind him.

And since I haven't done a self-portrait in a while, here I am! I realized my hair has grown enough to curl it. OH! And I'm wearing a super-duper garage sale find. Check out my sweet necklace. $2.

Garden Ornament

2009-06-15T00:16:00.002-06:00

What you need: Silicone based glue that says it will bond glass. I used household goop. Very stinky, very sticky, and very hard to work with.

Random glass pieces. Vases, cake plates, bowls, cups...etc.

Now you want to pick the ones that stack together nicely. You'll probably have to try a few times and hope it doesn't come crashing down on you. I almost created a scene in the middle of value village when I was picking out glassware... haha

Next thing you do is glue them together! Star with the bottom piece and slowly and gently make your way up. You can either used a bigger vase on the bottom to rest in the dirt, or you can use a cup or a toothpick holder, and rest it on a post. I used a vase for a base and just put it straight in the dirt. Make sure there are no gaps anywhere. You want to seal everything in.

And voila! You have a garden ornament. Let it sit indoors to cure for 24-72 ish hours. A few days at least without hitting the outdoor elements.

And here it is amongst the flowers. I was trying to take a really good picture with the sun shining on it, but I couldn't get one. It actually sparkles really prettily in the sun! It's one of those *looks better in person* things.

As a side note, some of you may find this entirely tacky. That is up to you! It took a few days to grow on my mom. She isn't normally up for lawn ornaments or anything like that. But once the perennials bush up and the annuals start blooming it will look really good. I think anyways... ;)

Plant 'til you drop!

2009-05-27T21:34:00.003-06:00

So I've been gifted with a green thumb. I inherited it from my mother. I wanted to plant flowers and flowers and flowers, of course when my mom wasn't in the mood a couple of weeks ago. And then on Monday, my g-ma went shopping with my mother and spent loads of money on flowers.

So yesterday me and mom planted hundreds of flowers. I'm positive it was literally hundreds. And today I'm feeling it. It hurts to sit, stand, move and bend. I bent over too much yesterday.

These are some bean plants that I am gifting to a friend for her birthday. She loves green beans. Don't worry, it's not a surprise anymore.

And here are some flowers that I planted from seed. I realize they are really, really, really late but I thought I'd try planting them anyways. I'm just excited to see them growing!

The yard is finally nice and green! A little boring looking, but green.

Making the yard pretty!

2009-05-27T21:34:00.000-06:00

Spring Love!

2009-05-25T12:28:00.004-06:00

I love spring! I love new buds, and I love new growth! It's so neat to see God's beautiful creation turn green and grow strong and healthy in the spring.

This is a water droplet on a saskatoon leaf.

And this.... THIS is exciting!!! We have had an apricot tree for years. YEEEAARSSS. I don't know how many. But lots and lots. It's a big old ugly tree that has just sat there and done nothing. We figured it was a graft that went wrong and wasn't an apricot tree anymore. But look at these blossoms! This is the first year it has ever blossomed. And I googled apricot tree, and it looks like we have an apricot tree after all! I doubt we'll get any fruit, but at least there are flowers!! I'm excited.

This was a strange picture. There were two Canadian geese sitting on the roof of our barn. Rather strange. I walked up slowly, and the closer I got the more they "honked". And then they started honking like crazy, and they flew off in the other direction.

Nadia and I decided to go fishing. We love to fish. We don't catch anything, nor do we actually fish often. But when we do, we have a grand old time. Here is me, and my Wal-Mart fishing rod soaking up the atmosphere and letting the wood ticks crawl all over me. About 5 minutes after we arrived me and Nadia decided we needed bug spray. There was a tick crawling on my leg. This was just not going to happen. We asked the guy next to us if he had any spray, and he did. What a nice fisherman-dude. He even told us what kind of hooks to use. Because we're not experts or anything like that.

We love posing with our Wal-Mart fishing rods. You can even see the pretty hook that Nadia lost. (Sorry Dad!) I'm apologizing because we make use of dad's tackle box. That's what dad's are for right? I didn't ask... oops! I don't think he minds. And don't we look like the outdoorsy fisherman type? Sitting pretty on a rock and all? HAHA

There are a lot of things I haven't posted about. So you're all missing out on some pictures. But oh well. I'll get around to it. It's spring! I have flowers to plant, and carrots to grow! What do you expect? I don't have TIIIIME for blogging!

Itsy Bitsy

2009-05-21T00:06:00.002-06:00

Teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bik.... wait a second. DRESS.

Some of you have probably been waiting for these pictures! Here is the beauty herself! Windblown and all.

OH. MY. WORD.

2009-05-18T00:26:00.003-06:00

Notice my last post. It consisted of a "t". This laptop gets the best of me some time. I had an entire post ready to go pretty much. Pictures and all. It featured Big Bro and Preggo Pants. I hit some weird random short cut on my annoying lap top (which I love of course) and it cut out the entire body of my post and replaced it with a "t" and then proceeded to post itself. AGGRAVATION! I am going to bed.

Food and a Dress

2009-05-07T15:06:00.002-06:00

This picture is for a friend over at Just Camping. She did a post about the english muffin with the egg on it. It made me crave english muffins, and so I tried making some of my own, which I posted about here. So I had to do this just for her!

One of my cousins started a blog with recipes from our grandma's recipe box. She is no longer with us so the box got passed on to the grandchildren. http://grandmabatemansrecipes.blogspot.com I thought I'd try out a muffin recipe. These are called "Sunshine Muffins". Although I altered it a wee bit because of lack of ingredients. I didn't have any poppy seeds. Well, I did. They were bad. And I didn't have sunflower seeds so i replaced them with chopped walnuts. They're actully not bad. Dad would prefer them without the coconut i'm sure... :)

This is leftover fabric from a dress my mom made for B (you probably know who you are). My sisters and her were made matching dresses. Yellow, red, and blue. Wait, maybe there were only two. Jolly did you have one? Anyways, some remnant fabric has been in our fabric trunk for YEARS. And I mean lotsa years! And I've been itching to get at it and make something for kitten. It turned out pretty good!

This is the retro pattern I found in our huge box of patterns. It says "Rose" on it, so I'm assuming it came from my G-ma's sister, my great Auntie Rose. I was looking everywhere on it trying to find a year. I failed. Oh well. The internet couldn't even help me! I searched and searched for a butterick 2830 pattern until I realized it really didn't matter anyways! HAHA.

Quick Trip!

2009-05-06T00:49:00.007-06:00

I had the weekend off from work, so I decided to pick up and drive 5 hours to visit my cousin His Cowgirl and her new baby Lolo. (nickname) I had a very fun weekend and I ate WAY too much! Here is a pastry from a little town called Carman where we went for lunch. J from The Monkey's Doings was feeling the need to get out of the house and invited us to go for lunch.

Here is Chirpee!

He was very happy for a little boy with the flu! He just wasn't eating much besides brownies and crackers. HAHA.

This is Cowgirl's adorable Lolo!

Look at those sweet little rolly polly cheeks!

"It's so hard mom! I can't do it anymore! Help meeeee."

"AHHH you scared me!"

"Oh just kiddin, i'm a big girl! You can't scare me!"

Here is grandma loving her grandbaby!

Mother-daughter love.

I saw some cows. Some adorable very cute cows!

AWWW! Too precious. I want one.

We went riding... this is Lolo's auntie J.

There's cowgirl!

And me, on the prettiest horse of the bunch! (according to me anyways. I want a horse just like Apache! DADDY PLEEEEASE?)

We went to a quilt show. It was actually pretty interesting! This was my favourite. I probably would have done bright colours inside the black frame though.

After the quilt show we went to a mennonite buffet for supper. I forget the name. Prairie Oasis? I'm not sure. It was delicious! Homeade cottage cheese perogies and all that yumminess. And then after supper we went to Franklin and Bethany's place for a sing. I didn't take any pictures there. I'm not sure why!

We went for a walk/hike around the property before I left. What a beautiful little farmyard! I can't wait to see it when it's green!

Here's the two of us.

I was making good time on the drive home, getting a little bored. I was a couple hours into the drive and I kept convincing myself "ok Kim, there is only one hour left!" when there was really more than 2 hours left. It's a pretty boring drive actually. An hour on little old highways, and then 4 (if you're fast) or 4 and a half/3 quarter hours on the Trans Canada highway. Straight and boring right to Regina. Well, when I had about 1.5-2 hours left I caught up to a cop car. So I had to slow down. Which made the drive EVEN WORSE. I stretched, and felt something on the back of my neck. I instantly had a little freak out! I felt it flap up but stay there. Oh dear, this feels familiar. WOOD TICK. AND IT'S ATTACHED. SICK!!! So I ripped it off and tried to crunch the little blood-sucker between my fingernails. To no avail. I then ripped off his legs and threw him out the window. Onto the highway with rushing semi's. SUCKER.
Needless to say, I had a crawly, slow remainder of the drive home.

p.s. I'm now feeling really crawly too. Sorry about that.

Can't Get Enough!

2009-05-05T23:59:00.004-06:00

This is just a random smattering of photos from Monday evening. Kitten and her parents and her great-grandparents were out for the day watching the house while we got new flooring put in the kitchen/laundry room/office. This was after I got home, and it was pretty nice out for once!

I just love her expression in this one! She is TOO CUTE!

I was trying to snap pictures of her, and instead she decides she wants to be like me and sit beside me. Kids are funny.

She was needing some help with the big ball, she looks up at me and says "Pease-a-pease-a-pease-a-pease??" Her way of saying "Please?"

More pictures from my weekend in Manitoba are coming later....

Trial and Error

2009-04-29T22:36:00.003-06:00

English Muffins
Click on the words above for a link to a recipe I just made for english muffins. With a few minor adjustments they would have been perfect!! Start with 4 1/2-5 cups of flour instead of 6 cups to make them lighter. And I cooked them in a frypan over LOW LOW LOW heat. The lowest it would go. Mine turned out a little heavy because I used 6 cups of flour, and a little dark because I was using medium heat as the recipe called for. Trial and error!

Here is a picture of the raw muffins during their second rising. Next time I will roll them out flatter, cut them bigger, and be more gentle so they actually rise.

Here is a picture of them being cooked in too high of heat. I don't think you can avoid the darkness even on low heat. I'm not sure how to remedy that problem.

Surprisingly they taste just like the ones at the store! I couldn't believe it!

And I had to throw a cutie picture in! Look at those big eyes!

From Gophers to Shoes

2009-04-26T00:45:00.006-06:00

So yesterday my dad needed some help poisoning gophers. Which meant hours of walking back and forth in a field with a bucket and a scoop pouring poisened grain down gopher holes. So I recruited a good friend of mine to help out. Dad found us some great outfits so we couldn't resist taking pictures. Gotta love figuring out the self-timer!

After that was done we decided we needed some retail therapy! So I bought some shoes. I was looking for white, but I couldn't find any I liked! So I bought these 3 pairs instead.

I love the flowers on these ones.

And I LOVE YELLOW!!! These ones will get worn lots this summer, I can tell.

And this is a skirt I found at Superstore. I love that place!! You can't really see the bow on the top. But it's one of those skirts you have to wear a little higher and tuck your shirt into... a first for me! I wore it today, and it was fun. And you can't really tell in the picture, but it has pleats and poofs out a little. And there are pockets in it. Crazy!

This dress I found at Winners. I love it! I hope I can keep it clean this summer!

And this one is from Winners too. It's actually American Eagle, but just sold at Winners. Apparently I'm into blue and purple right now.

After supper we went bowling. I am a terrible bowler. And Jesse is actually the best. He scored a lot of points. More than double what I did. This is my bro-in-law Josh.

And this is me and my cousin Nate with a fly trap.

And you should all know who this is. She's my cutie niece.

She does this funny thing when you use your finger and say come here. She does the action backwards and gives you a flirty little look and puts her head down with her hand right up by her face. The cutest thing ever!!!

Wal-Mart

2009-04-20T21:58:00.002-06:00

I love Wal-Mart. I really do. Tonight, I wasn't feelin it. I went in and was hoping to be out in 5 minutes. This is unusual for me. Normally I have to wander every section. The shoes, clothes, make-up, scrapbooking, kitchen stuff, picture frames, lamps, baby clothes, electronics... and so on. I just like to wander Wal-Mart. Tonight I went in, found what I wanted, and waited 20 minutes in line. UGH. How annoying. And all I wanted to do was come home and use the humidifier I bought with the hope of it making me feel better. Btw I'm still sick. It just refuses to go away.

On a happy note, I totally forgot I bought Jolly tickets for Christmas. To Cirque Sublime. And the show is tomorrow night! So we are going to have a girls night out. The only thing is, about half-way through the day I started feeling pretty sick at work. So I am going to do one of two things tomorrow: 1. Nap at jolly's after work or 2. Nap at Jolly's after work. And I hope it makes me have enough energy to enjoy the show!! I can't wait!

p.s. too bad they won't have mini donuts like at a real circus. I love those mini donuts... mmm fresh donuts with sugar and cinnamon. Tasty!

P.P.S JOLLY HAS A BLOG!! Be sure to check it out! "My Everyday Life"

Back to the Grind!

2009-04-15T16:18:00.004-06:00

So before I left for BC I made some more of these little cupcake bites to take with me. I believe they were thoroughly enjoyed! I found some brightly coloured melting wafers at a new store we have that carries anything bulk you could ever want to buy.

This is the process. I made white cake this time instead of chocolate. These are actually the ones I made for a fundraiser bake sale at work. I made 3 batches before I left. One for the Anstey's, and 2 for the Easter Seals bake sale at work. Apparently they sold out before 9 am. We don't even open until 9:30.

I found these cute little window boxes at Michaels. They work just perfectly for little gifts!

This is Kitten with my old doll. It's pretty much the same size as her!

She must have the same love as Auntie Kimmy! She walks over into the living room with my shoes on. I don'teven know where she found them.

These are pretty much the only 3 pictures I took on my trip to BC. This was all the girls that were staying at the Ansteys. Actually on this night I counted and there were 17 girls including the 3 anstey girls. Thats a lot of girls!! Thanks for all your hard work Anstey's!!!

So now I'm back home. The whole time I was there I was fighting a sore throat with vitamins and EmergenC and Advil cold and sinus. On Sunday night I pretty much completely lost my voice, and then I went to work on Monday. I ended up leaving early to go to the doctor, who told me I either have Strep throat or Mono. Those are both pretty nasty! He treated me for Strep. I just hope none of the poeple i was in contact with catch it! A good way to spread it is shaking hands, and I shook a lot of hands!!! So thankfully I have today and tomorrow off work because we're a little over-staffed right now. So All day today I layed on the couch sleeping, and if I don't feel better tomorrow, the same thing is going to happen! Which is really a bummer because I have stuff to do. Like un-pack my suitcase, do laundry, get a baby gift together... and so on.

Take care everyone!!

Be Pretty?

2009-03-29T00:24:00.003-06:00

"Enhance your feminine side at this time"

That is what my fortune cookie read. I didn't even eat the chinese food, I just ate the leftover fortune cookie. I thought that was a little funny. I'm totally fine with it though. It just encourages me to keep shopping to buy new shoes, purses and frilly cute clothing!

On a side note, there is exactly 1.5 weeks left until I fly away to B.C. for the weekend. I'm itching to get away!!

ROAD TRIP!

2009-03-25T20:18:00.006-06:00

Ok, it's actually a plane trip. But whatever! SAME DIFFERENCE. And we all know that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
So today I booked a flight to go to the bible conference in Richmond on easter weekend! I was really down and sad because I wasn't going to be able to go because i couldn't get the time off. But a sweetie pie at work let me have her saturday off!! YIPEE!!! Here are some pictures of the interesting times i've had over there..... he he he

We like to take pictures of our feet. 2008

We must really like it. 2008

hmm... obsession? 2007

Wow.... i'm going to add a third really in there. We must really really really like it. 2005

Pink and black must have really been in style! 2005

Very immature me and friend were taking pictures of boys....in hearts.... 2005

It's called hairspray, late nights, and lots of girls. 2006

Starbucks x 10 million

Me being forced to eat Sushi. 2007

person #1 who forced me to eat sushi

person #2 who forced me to eat sushi

And the grand old wedding in Value Village. Fabulous eh?! She is still happily married to the clown. In case you were wondering.

I'm hoping this year will be just as fun!!!

Wishful Thinking

2009-03-21T17:21:00.004-06:00

Ok, so I'm just bored and I thought this picture was adorable.

And this picture, is what I wish I was doing today. I have a craving for summer and it's activities. I cannot wait!

And by the way, this picture is 2 years old. And it just looks like I have a big old fish on the line. But really my hook is stuck under a log. The same log I've lost about 20 hooks under. Ok, maybe not 20. But that stupid log is always there.

Today is miserably windy outside. I was hoping for sunny and 7 degrees like some old man told me at work. But apparently it's only 0 degrees, and obviously it's not sunny. But it's windy. So windy that my car shakes when I stop at a red light.

SO I went shopping. Ahhh.... therapy. I didn't find what I was looking for though. I sort of did. I purchased some summer wear. Just wishing that if I buy it, the weather will miraculously turn summer-like.

And I'll leave you with a flashback to 1991 or something around there. You'll never be able to guess which little charmer is me.... HAHAHA

And, for the record, they filled my father's bald spot in with an airbrush.... So this is the un-edited version. Also for the record, he has substantially less hair even now.

Can you imagine that the entire extended family even had this colour? This was an entire Chute family photo day, and EVERYONE, I stress, EVERYONE was wearing white, pastel green, and grey. Who knew pastel green was so in? It must have been, or we wouldn't have been wearing it. Interesting.

Sorry for the random post. I'm just bored. But now it's time for prayer meeting. Good evening!

Lotsa Chocolate!

2009-03-16T21:34:00.003-06:00

***WARNING***
I was informed if I posted a post like this, I need to put a warning up here. So here it is. Preggo, this is for you. Beware of the goodness you are about to see! Chatty, this is for you too. Don't scroll down if you cannot bear to see gluten-ous treats!

I decided in honour of St.Patty's day I'd make some more chocolates. Not that I personally celebrate the day or anything. I'm going to take them to work. Once again it all started with a cake. It looks like a regular cake. BUT...

It's a green cake!! I can just here you saying, "WOHHH KIMM!! HOW'D YOU DO THAT??" Like it was one of the most amazing things you've seen so far this year. Yes, it is terribly spectacular. It's something called putting food colouring in the batter. Try it sometime. It's pretty fun.

And I just skipped a lot of steps. But thats ok. Check out my last post to find a link to the directions to make these things. I think next time I use coloured cake, I'll peel the brown outer edge off so It doesn't look like regurgitated bird food.

And here is a pile of St. Patty's day chocolates! YUM.

Cupcake Bites

2009-03-16T00:52:00.006-06:00

It all started when I saw a deliciously fun and yummy looking recipe at the pioneer woman's blog. Check out her cooking section! So delicious!

Nadia and I decided to get together and make Cupcake Bites. I actually convinced Nadia to help me do this. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time. We started at around 10:30 ish pm. Call us crazy!

I had pre-made a chocolate cake mix, so it would have time to cool. First you crumble the cake into a bowl.

And then you mix in one tub of icing. I used cream cheese icing, but i'm sure it doesn't matter what kind you use.

Before you mix it into the cake, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly, then take a big finger full of icing and eat it. And then wash your hands really thoroughly again and then mix up the icing with the cake.

I used a cookie scooper to make amounts of cake/icing that would be uniform, and Nadia rolled them into balls.

And here I am stirring some melted chocolate. I think I missed photographing a few steps. Check out Bakerella's step by step instructions here. This is Nadia dipping a cupcake bite.

This is Nadia decorating a cupcake bite. I think this was getting close to 1 am and we were getting a little tired. Actually VERY tired! Notice our poor decorating job. We just wanted to clean up and crawl into bed and have a long, good night's sleep. I love the blobbing technique she is using. SO DECORATIVE!

And here are some of the finished products.

And here are all of the finished products.

And here is Nadia again. This time it is early in the morning and she is nice a refreshed after a night's sleep. HAHA She is going to hate me for a while. She didn't know she was going to be the star of my blog for one post.

And here we are together.

And now I must go to bed! Because I have to work , and it is very early!!

Flabbergasted

2009-03-12T19:41:00.003-06:00

flabbergasted

adjective

appalled, amazed, or stunned.

(source: some online dictionary. It's called GOOGLE folks... )

Dad and Mom, if you are seeing this, then picture me saying "WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE ME WITH YOU???????????" And when I said picture me saying that, I really meant picture me whining that.

IT IS COLD.

I mean it. You know it's cold when Fahrenheit and Celsius almost meet.

This was actually a day or two ago. So it WAS cold. But today was actually nice. -10 c

All Alone...

2009-03-08T23:56:00.002-06:00

"Lonely im so lonely,

I have nobody,
To call my owwnnn
Im so lonely, im mr. Lonely
I have nobody,
To call my owwnnn
Im so lonely"

A snippit of Mr. Lonely by Akon

Mom and Dad are gone for a week and a half. As of yesterday. And the house seems reeeeaaaallllyyyy empty. It reminded me of the above song.
I suggest that if you look it up, only listen to the first 27 seconds. It gets a little un-christian after that. But the first bit is pretty funny.

Currently I'm sitting on the counter (mom I hope your jaw just dropped, that was my point), and waiting for something in the oven to finish cooking. I took a 3 hour nap this afternoon and now I'm not sleepy. At all. So I decided to cook something for me to eat for the next few days. Since I have to do that. Because mom and dad are gone.

Wow. It's already Monday. If you're confused, it was actually Sunday afternoon that I slept for 3 hours. And mom and dad left on Saturday.

Well, maybe since it IS monday, and I DO work today, and I HAVEN'T slept yet, I SHOULD go to bed anyways. Maybe I'll try sleeping pills. No, i'm kidding. Don't be alarmed. I don't do that junk. I'm all about the tea or the warm milk.

Ok, food is done cooking. Stuffed chicken and roasted veggies if you were wondering. The chicken is from a box. I'm not going to lie. It's delicous. From the "blue" menu at The Real Canadian Superstore, so apparently its healthy. It's mushroom and provolone stuffed. MMM yummy. And the veggies kind of speak for themselves. They're just veggies with garlic. YUM.

GOOD NIGHT ALL!! Sweet dreams!

I am apparently a Lion Tamer.

2009-03-03T10:39:00.002-06:00

My car sounds like an angry lion.

An angry lion that doesn't like jumping snowbanks.

I think there is a lot of snow in my angry lions lungs.

p.s. This lion tamer still doesn't REALLY like her hair.

Houston: WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

2009-03-02T23:36:00.003-06:00

My room was SO not this messy when I left for work this morning.
Apparently the drain in the tub backed up, and the pipes are in the roof of my closet. That was smart planning eh? Dad had to empty my closet!
I took it as a good opportunity to go through my mounds and mounds of clothing and figure out which ones I could donate. Apparently I have a lot more clothes than I could ever wear.

And a lot more shoes too.

WOW. That felt good to get rid of all that.

Now I have space, so I can go SHOPPING! :D

I feel like...

2009-03-01T18:43:00.003-06:00

A PRINCESS!!

I put this pretty chandelier on my wall, and now I feel like a princess...

I apologize for the flash. I was too lazy to make it work. If I turned the flash off there was a glare on the other side from my actual light fixture. :P

The Social Sister

Heaven is a wonderful place!

Photo Art

Love and Marriage

Unveiling...

What's goin on?!

Craft Mania!

Auction Sale!

Kidlets

Cardi Love

Oh Baby!

Cupcake Cuteness

Babies on Board!

Sugar Love

Love Month

Frost-bitten

Airport Chronicles: 1st Edition

Little Moments

Looking Back

Babycakes! Cutiepies! Schnookums!

Missing Miss Frankie

Fly By

Blue Satin Shoes

A Taste of the Prairies

Sew with the Flow!

Click the Link!

I'm Home!

Happiness.

Sharin' Some Love

Stay-cation

Announcing...

We'll See You Soon Nadia!

The 12 Days of Christmas

Baby, it's Cold Outside!

Prayers Please!

Beautiful, Beautiful Food

EAST COAST!

The lost have been found!

Mindblank...

Weekend in the Boonies

Thanksgiving at the Grandparents

What a Ham!

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Fabric Fun

Kitty Love!

Weekend Getaway

Sweet Boredom.

Around the Farm

Forgotten Pictures

I love you, JT.

**REWIND** Aug 6th-ish

**REWIND** Aug 4th-ish

**REWIND** July 16th ish

**REWIND** July 8th -again-

**REWIND** July 8th

WATCH OUT!

Bad Memory

More Baby News!

What a BEEEE-you-TIFUL Baby!

BABY NEWS!!

Quack....Quack-Honk....Quack

Unathleticism

Garden Ornament

Plant 'til you drop!

Making the yard pretty!

Spring Love!

Itsy Bitsy

OH. MY. WORD.

Food and a Dress

Quick Trip!

Can't Get Enough!

Trial and Error

From Gophers to Shoes

Wal-Mart

Back to the Grind!

Be Pretty?

ROAD TRIP!

Wishful Thinking

Lotsa Chocolate!

Cupcake Bites

REWIND Aug 6th-ish

REWIND Aug 4th-ish

REWIND July 16th ish

REWIND July 8th -again-

REWIND July 8th