Hey all!!...no i have not fallen into a ditch somewhere, I have just been soooo busy!! I couldnt possibly catch up on everything all in one post....so i will start simple :)
Gettin the work stuff out of the way...I am down to needing only 3 more girls!! yeahhhhh!, and most of the girls i've been training are turning out wonderfully! (knock on wood). I had to make a few changes with them at the centres, which caused major upheavel, but it is so far all turning out for the best!thank goodness, lol! I had a work conference in Banff Alberta last month...it is soooo beautiful out there! I took sooo many photos...some of which iwill upload in a different post. Even tho it was a work event, jess and i managed to sneak away when ever we could and get some quality time in. We get so little of it, it was nice to even have a day or two.
Annnnnddddd.......my really big news, which i have as of yet only told a very few people is that jess popped the question! Down on bended knee and everything!



This is the beautiful ring he gave me. He told me that he dreamt that we got married and this is what the ring looked like. He then went and had a jeweller create it for him. Pink is my favorite color and so he added two pink saphires on either side to represent both our girls Victoria and Brooke.
Aint he sweet? It was a total surprise!! And it took him alot of courage too, cuz since i met him i have told him steadily that getting married wasnt something i felt i really needed to do. Truth is im terrified to actually walk down the aisle, but even tho we have had our problems together, I really dont think i will ever find another person who will ever blend together with me more than him. So..of course i said yes, lol! He wants to have a wedding as soon as possible, but I think we should wait til next year. We will see who wins, hehe.
More good news for me, though not nearly as life changing is that I got published!!!
Twice!! I was really excited! and in two of my fave magazines!...well Simple Scrapbooks is my fave magazine, but the digital scrapbook magazine is new..so that cant really be my fave yet now can it?, lol



and then again in an australian magazine called For Keeps. I really love this one cuz it is one of my favorite photos of Victoria

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Well, it's getting late, and i have more interviews again tomorrow so now that i have shared my good news, Im off to bed. I only just got my computer back yesterday, after it was left in jess' car and taken off to the mechanics from the car accident he got himself into. Wont even go into details on that, but he is fine and it is good that he has a hard head. So below are two layouts i made in the last few days trying to grab back some creativity. I didnt have any kits on hand to use, so i just played around to see what i could come up with myself.
This one is of Victoria. Some of my fave pics taken on her 10th bday last year. Her 11th bday is on monday. This year just flew by!! And now she is double ones!! eekk!!


This is my Brooke of course. Was tryin to use alot of whitespace here....largely in part to not having any kits, lol!!


Well tata for now! ill be back soon!!

post op

well, brookes surgery went smoothly. sorry kim...i thought that i had posted about it earlier....forgot what a bad blogger i have been and i have talked about it so much i thought everybody knew by now, lol!..It was nothing serious, it was dental surgery. Serious to me of course, but not in any other way. It turns out that she has a special type of enamel that erodes very easily. Her teeth are a MESS! We almost had to pull two of her teeth out, but really fought to keep them so that her adult teeth wouldnt grow in badly. The doctor told us that the surgery would take 1 hour, but they were in such bad shape, that it ended up taking three. I was going crazy! She woke up at 5 in the morning, and was in great spirits tho. She got to play in the huge toy room they have for child patients, and didnt start to get too worked up until it was time to hop up onto the bed to be rolled into the pre-op area. At that time we gave her some medication, (not sure how i feel that we gave it to her, but it was highly recommended) called versitat?..and what that does is calm her down, keeping her aware of everything, but makes it so she doesnt end up screaming and being upset prior to going in. It even causes mild forgetfullness, so some children that may otherwise be traumatized, wouldnt be. I dont know if it was the right choice to give it or not, but it worked wonderfully, and honestly i dont know what i would have done if they had rolled her away crying and screaming and scared. As it was, she was smiling and going "weeeeeeeee", as the gurney carted her off.
When she came out of it i was the only person allowed to see her.....one parent at a time they said. Jess was outside, pacing, and when i saw her i thought i was going to cry. She still had blood smeared all over her, and her face was soooo swollen and puffy. She was crying and trying to get her bandage off her arm where the iv was connected. I dont think i have ever felt so helpless in my life. The nurses had to let me pick her up to calm her down, and when it was time to bring her to her room, i carried her up. Can i just say i was utterly heartbroken?? But she is such a trouper!! About an hour later she had woken up and i was able to put her in her bed, and then about 15 minutes later she was giving her first puffy swollen smile.


We told her that she now had "treasure" in her mouth (the 2 silver caps that were put in), and since she is showing everybody her teeth and her special treasures. After popsicles etc. etc. we were able to take her home, where i spent the next 5 hours cuddling with her on the couch. After that she was up pretending to be a ballerina and dancing and jumping, and you would never have known what a mess she had been just a little while before that.
Victoria had never been sick before, not even a little so this was my very first jaunt into any scary parenting health issues. I hate it!
Other than that, i have become an auntie! Jess's sister had a little girl named Ruby, he is pretty excited, but disappointed i think that he wont' be able to see her for a bit.
We hired a new girl last week, and the verdict is still out on whether she is going to work out or not. Please please please let her work out!!! We still need 3-4 more to be properly staffed.
sigh.....i dont think it is ever going to end!
I also did a little upgrading to my blog. Not quite done with it yet, still playing so we will have to see how long before i actually get it done, lol! Does anybody know a good photo hosting site besides photobucket?..It seems they only let you goup to 800 px wide, and i was looking for something a litte larger.
Okay, i have to run off to bed now!, i have a looonnggggg day tomorrow, and the rest of my week doesnt look to pretty. But maybe i can swing something last minute to let me have some fun!!!

well ok!, i certainly havent been back blogging as often as i have meant to now have i? what a bad bad blogger i am! Just popping in to say a quick how ya doin and play quick catch up.
We have Brookes pre-op appointment today and i have to admit, that with it getting so close to the date (Friday, eeekkk) I am getting slightly wiggy. Yesterday, we went to the hospital for a pre-pre-op so that Brooke could see the hospital, and play with puppets and see what she was going to be in for. She had a great time, and i can see how that would be helpful for older children,--but for a just turned 3 year old, i dont think she put it together, that everything the puppets were having done to them would be happening to her in just a few days. But hopefully it brought her some familiarity with the hospital and that is what they were trying to do. She had a good time playing "doctor", and will be able to recognize a few of the instruments that will be used on her so maybe that will be helpful. I of course brought my camera :)
Here she is learning how they will clean her wrist before putting her "straw" in her hand.


Here she is learning how the medicine will be injected in to her arm....tho she did keep trying to use it as a thermometer, lol!

I have to admit, i was pretty impressed with their set up here! They call it a childrens medical safari, and i think that it is a great idea! i have never heard of it before, but i hope that other hospitals do it too, cuz it has to be beneficial.
So today we have two appointments with her doctor, and find out a bit more info, and then we are to wait patiently for friday. I know it is so routine, but my stomach isjust churning at the thought of it! Im trying not to think about it, and the dh is such a baby about these things, that that means that I of course can't be worried at all cuz i have to reassure him. Men are such babies, lol!
Besides that, I have hired 2 more girls, and they are turning out wonderful! Still 4 or understaffed, but we seem to have all the negative workers gone and the group i have right now are really fabulous! so positive, and enthusiastic, that for the first time I too am feeling positive about work! I now truly believe that some time soon all will be normal!! We had some corporate bigwigs come down and help me do some re-training and refresher courses and that helped get everybody motivated again, and the new girls learned alot! And I actually hit it off really well with one of the trainers. She is busy like me, and finds it hard to stay in touch with people on a regular basis, so most of her friends get tired of waiting around for her to find a spare moment to "play" with them.
hmmmmm.....sounds familiar, lol! And since we both understand our schedules we seem to match well. It has been quite awhile that I have met someone and really hit it off with that hasnt been in the scrapping community and living days of travel away from me, hehe. She lives only and hour and a half, lol! But really, i forgot how great it was to meet someone with a "like" mind......as scary as that may sound to some of you who know my mind, hehe!
Well i have to go and get Brooke ready for her appointment!! Have a great day!!!

HERE I AM!

okay everybody!! no i have not disappeared off the face of the planet!! tho it certainly feels like i have. Everyday i keep meaning to find time to get my blog up and post, but there just are not enough hours in a day! Work is worse than ever, and my days are about 14 hours long in that department, and it has been soooo crazy i really want to just break down and cry i tell ya! But, chin up! (that is what i keep telling myself!, lol) cuz there is no possible way for things to stay like this forever! Statistically impossible!!
So, besides work, what has been going on with me?.....well, the holidays sure kept me busy, and for the first time in years, it was actually a really good one! All family got along (surprisingly, hehe), and everyone seemed in genuine good spirits! I had 2 whole days off!! whooo hooo!! And watching Brooke help put up the christmas tree was wonderful! She fell in love with it and had to give each ornament a hug, and at bedtime had to come over to the fully decorated tree, and hug it goodnite. Soooo sweet! Victoria, had a fantastic holiday, loved everything she got, not that she really cared. She is a bizarre child that genuinely loves the holidays, becuz it involves love and family and would gladly give up the presents if it came to a choice. Where she came from i dont know, but what a treasure!!
My father recently had an operation, but he is doing fine, but that kept us busy over here too. He was out of commission for a few weeks, so there was alot to keep us busy. He has had sooo many operations you can play tic tac toe on his stomach. I keep telling him to start taking better care of himself, but he just refuses to listen. I just have to shake my head, and keep tellin him i guess. Maybe one day he will hear what i have to say....but i doubt it....he is stubborn and irish, lol!
I was in a car accident, not long ago as well...car damaged, but otherwise all is good. i was a bit stiff for a few days, but nothing serious....and noooooooooooo!! it was not my fault, hehehe. Everyone always teases me about my driving, but never once have i ever been in an accident that was my fault!
And this month, my sweet little baby girl brooke turns 3. Three whole years old!! I just cant believe it!! This is a layout i did about a month ago...(the last time i had time to scrap....and yes im whining, lol). I really love this photo!! She just looks so happy, and always makes me happy to see it!


I was soooo happy the other day! i found the most perfect little camera store...RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER FROM ME!! and i never knew it was there!! It carries all my ink cartridges, and all of my favorite paper, and everything that normally i would have to order away for...but he keeps it right in the store!!!! at all times!!! I did such a happy dance, and told the owner that he was now my new best friend, lol!!
Well im at work, so i have to run, i just wanted to touch base, and wish everyone a very belated merry xmas and the best of possibilities for the New year!!!!!! I WILL be posting again!!!
tata!!