hey all, I'm back and still blogging strong! yeah me, lol. Can you believe the month of january is almost over already? I am literally floored at how quickly time has flown over this past 6 months. Really crazy how we can get so busy or absorbed in what we are doing that we don't notice until the times gone. I havent been doing a whole lot on my end, still working on the deal to rid myself of the centres, and keeping busy with that as well as work odds and ends, and my girls of course. I made a new resolution this year. Not for the new year, just because I feel so guilty, that I have a wonderful camera, love everything about photography, photographs, and just the basic concept of it, yet I cant really use it to its full potential. So that is my resolution! To learn my camera inside and out. (it is a rebel xti if you were curious). Now I have a long way to go as I have always allowed myself to rely on photoshop for fabulous photos, lol, so getting the great photo at the get go is a completley different concept. I have been thinking of enrolling in some photography classes and have been scoping around, but I am not really sure if i would have the time to carry it out. So I have also been looking at some online classes, but wary, as I am not sure how beneficial that would be. If anyone has any input on that I would love to hear it! Anyways, I am teaching myself for now, and really trying to come to terms with aperature. Again, I have a long way to go, but I do love this photo I took of Victoria the other nite either way
I think she looks lovely, and so "her" if you know what I mean. It is rare these days for her to let me near her with a camera, and if she does let me she just gives me exasperated expressions, hehe. I am sure all scrapping moms get that same reaction as their children get older. Ilike the next one too, tho I did apply an action I made on it, so it is not just the photo. I am so used to playing with photos in ps after taking them that is going to be a hard habit to break.


This weekend, we tried for some normal behaviour and family time, and Jess is trying to make up for some of his missed time with Victoria, who really needs it from him right now, and he took her ice skating. She loved it as it is not something she really knows how to do well, and so he is teaching her. I dropped in to take a few photos, and then took Brooke down by the river (see new blog header, lol) to spend my quality time with her.
We walked around and looked at the big chunks of ice, and a few geese that she thought were frozen to the lake,(which gave me fits of giggles, as she was so worried for them, lol) and then she played hide and seek behind all the trees at the park. Fun was had by all...tho it was very cold.
Today it was so cold that I was literally a prisoner in my own home. The front door, back door and the garage door were all frozen shut! Victoria had to leave to catch her school bus and we couldnt get out! It was really quite funny as I am using all kinds of props to try to pry the doors open, and finally after 20 minutes, I did it! Of course then, i couldnt get it closed. I pushed, lifted, shoved, slammed, and nothing would work. Finally, the wind was so terrible it flew the door out at me and I reached out and pushed to save myself from getting slammed, and the door slammed closed. Ihave never had that happen before, but one of my centres had the same problem this morning, and then several people I know also complained of such things. At times like that I so wish I lived in sunny california. Winter is truly beautiful, and I love to watch it from my living room window. I just don't like to participate in it, hehe.
Anyways, that is all for now! Be back again soon :)

good day

this has been a very up and down week for me. It is hard to keep things normal and uneventful in life when you are "cleaning out your closet" so to speak. One minute, I'm feeling positive, and excited about turning things around, and the next minute I am bogged down by all the stress and complication of it all. One of the steps I am trying to take is to simplify my life. With that in mind, I am trying to sell my businesses. 5 years ago, when I was pregnant with Brooke, I had an opportunity to purchase the franchise that I worked at. Thinking of job security at that time, and having a second baby on the way, i thought it would give me more time with my girls, my family, and help with finances for sure. A year later, still thinking of financial security I opened my second one. The next year, I purchased four more all with the expectation to work my fingers to the bone for a few years so that I would be able to give my little ones a good start in life, things I never had, and then be able to relax and not work so hard.
Unfortunately, things dont quite work out the way we want. In the last few years, all that has happened is that i work 10-15 hour days, am stressed with work all the time to the point that I cannot enjoy the time I have with my family the way that I should, and I am tired all the time. Yes, financially we are fine, but is it really worth it? My family has always been the most important thing in the world to me. It is why I worked so hard...but do my girls really care? Answer is no they do not. They would rather have a more relaxed mother who is not on edge half the time thinking about all the things she has to do. Unfortunately my husband was not the most helpful, though he thought he was...and when we started having problems....not just due to work, but it certainly didnt help.....I decided I just couldnt do it anymore. I dont know if we are able to fix our problems, as again they do involve more than work hours, but I know that my girls definitely need a bit more time with mom. So I have been in negotiations to sell 4 of the 6 franchises for the past few months. I have met with a gentleman who is considering, and am keeping my fingers crossed that we can arrange a deal. At this point I am ready to give them away, and really need to get back to basics.
I just kinda needed to "say" that out loud, so for those of you that are reading this, thanks for listening, lol. There is nobody around here that is aware of the difficulties that I have been having with family, or work except for those effected by it, and it has become difficult not to scream it from the rafters.
now i feel better, lol. It is days like today that put it all in perspective for me...the need to get back to basics, being normal, and just slowing down to enjoy the good things in life...which for me are my girls, and today was my youngest daughter Brookes 4th birthday.
sigh, 4 already...all mothers can relate to the big sigh i make when i say that with pride. She had a great day, and loved being the centre of attention so much that I was unable to get her to sit for barely a photo, but i snagged at least this one of the bday girl before she flitted off



and it seemed there was a theme this year, tho it was by accident. She received a trunk of princess costumes, a princess tea set, which is her favorite game, a princess puppy, etc. etc. It kind of fits with her personality right now, lol.....so she loved it.
and the cake!....talk about effort, and made for a princess, lol! Now, I am not much of a chef, nor much of a baker no matter how I try, so this was quite a feat! and a family affair! My husband, my oldest daughter Victoria, and myself all co-operated in making Brooke a princess castle cake. It took hours, lol...but I dont think it turned out that bad at all, and she just loved it! Never again will i do it, hehe...so i had to take a pic for darn sure!
We were all very proud of ourselves, and brooke just loved it! and that is what counts!
She changed into about 4 different princess costumes before she decided on the purple one being perfect for cake time.
I definitely needed that day, in so many ways. And now I have a four year old. sigh. :)
Starting school this year, and so sassy. So much more assertive than my oldest ever was at that age. She is the one that is going to give me all my grey hair.
I have started taking more photos again, since I had really fallen off, and already I am feeling so much better. Scrapping them shouldnt be too far behind I am hoping.
Well, I am off for the nite, thanks for listening to me gripe, lol! But hey, 2 posts in one month! I am being such a good blogger! hehe

forever and a day!

Yes i know it has been a very long time for me since my last post. And i know that nobody probably even checks over here anymore, but here i am. I have been, and am going through some very difficult times of late, and honestly have been unable to keep up with most anything going on or of intrest in my life. But after months of being beaten down, i have finally said enough and have started to take control of my life once again. No longer reacting to situations but acting by choice, if that makes any sense to you. Things are still tough, but at least i'm taking a stand. Anyways, have been extremely uncreative, and unmotivated for anything lately, but the last day or so have been trying to push the issue, and this is what i came up with


I wouldnt exactly call it a layout, more of a photoshop experiment. This is brooke, a very bad photo of her actually (my fault not hers :) ), wrong setting lots of noise, blah blah blah. So i was basically seeing what i could do with photoshop to fix her up and then grabbed 4 or 5 stock photos to put her in to make up for the terrible background scenery she was really in.....my downstairs playroom, toys everywhere, moms, you know what i mean im sure. Anyways, i kinda like how it turned out tho i want to give it a different frame/edging.
hopefully this will get my creative juices flowing again!
hope everybody had a great holiday!! tatat for now!!

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

.

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!!

playstation 3

okay!! so everybody has heard of the craze about the playstation?? well, do you know that that dh of mine is right on the top of list of crazies that succumbed to commercialism!
Do you know what he did?? After waiting for hours outside a mall, (which i told him he was a lunatic to do) he got cheated out of a playstation 3 by a couple of police officers. Feeling rightfully annoyed, you think he would come home and just be miserable about it. Nope! he comes home and then goes downstairs to his puter and speends too much money and buys one on ebay.
Now...we have spent sooo much money on our business', and then buying a new house, and all the fix ups that are needed, going into christmas this is probably not such a good idea.
So, i told him we are going to have to get rid of it. A bit much right now for a game system for us i thought if we are going to have a good holiday...and we stil have to get our roof fixed.
So..relatively miserable, he has agreed to the idea that the ps3 is going straight back to the ebay auction, or anybody he knows that will buy it for what he did.
Did it end there???
of course not, lol!
Sooooo, last night, he calls me from standing outside another building. And what is he doing?? Waiting overnite for the Nintendo Wii to come out.
sigh.
Now, I am not a total shrew, so, i said, hon, if you want to wait outside AGAIN for a system you may or may not get, you go right ahead. Im going to snuggle up with my warm pillow and blankets, and watch some tv before i hit the sack.
You see, we have nintendo game cube...and a zillion games that are not going to go to waste with a Wii system, and it is half the price. So, okay...i thought Victoria really would like one of those for xmas, so no prob.
But!
Did we really need TWO! OF THEM???? that's right people!! that plum loco crazy man bought 2 darn game systems. WHY??? i ask you! what comes over men?? Is it the whole competition thing?..of getting there first?
So, in summary, we now have 1 playstation 3, and not 1 but 2 nintendo Wii's. And only becuz somebody somewhere said, that everybody should want them, but nobody should be able to get them.
Well, then. sigh. Does anybody want one???, hehehehehhe. Anybody else have some crazy husband or son that is going crazy trying to get their hands on one?? C'mon!, mine can't be the only lunatic one, lol!
k, that is my rant for the nite! Other than that, i am sooo on top of the ball!! I got my December mega kit done soooo ahead of time! whooo hoooo kimj! did you hear that?? im totally psyched, cuz this next month will be killer. 2 christmas parties, another girl gave her notice at work to move up and work for our corporate office (sigh...do i have any employees left???) and all the stuff that didnt get completed this wkend due to game fever!
but will try to stop in here in a day or so....im sure i will have another game system by then i will need to let off steam over, lol!

quick postin tonite, but i wanted to pop in before headin off to bed! and post some layouts too!! I did a few sponsor layouts for the rakscraps newsletter...which is really awesome this month i thought! (more so than usual ;) And now that it has been released..so pop over and get it!! i can share my pics!! this first one is using the collaborative kit over at Scrapdish.com. My Brooke running along the water the first time she ever went to the beach! i have sooo many great pics from that day!

This one was for a joke on the dh, lol. He hates when i do layouts of him (or used to hate....he is used to it now i think and protests out of habit, hehe)...and he is always worried which photo is going to end up online, lol. And to tell the truth...I am EXTREMELY snap happy right now, and the poor guy is handling it pretty well! I used Rachel Dickensons Dare kit found at Scrapdish.com too!
This next one is using Correen Silke from Silkescraps kit. I really really loved this photo of brooke!! but the photo was sooo blurry and pixely it required an awful lot of work! i still see a few touchups to be made, but im pretty happy with how this one turned out. Im going to change the font and the journal placement too. For some reason i always have a hard time deciding where all the journaling goes. Am i the only one??
So....we lost ANOTHER girl at work this week....but we hired a new one too. does that mean that we are breaking even??? sigh. Can't wait til we pull ahead, and dont have to worry anymore! I have a work christmas party coming up but to tell you the truth im thinking of ditching it. really not looking forward to celebrating a holiday with people that arent very "true" ya kwim?
We are throwing one for our employees in a few weeks...but we want to keep it fun and not mandatory. Too many people go to those work things just cuz they feel they have too. We are going to be casual and just have a real good time! no work talk at all!!! yeahhh!!, lol.
On the childrens front, Brooke has been replaced by her evil twin. We miss Brooke. Her twin screams and yells, and kicks. yup. kicks. She jumps up and down on her bed just like those bratty kids do on the tv shows, which you always think no kid of mine would ever do. I dont know where it came from, but sheesh. That girl has a strong will....and we arent going to tell her, but i think it is stronger than mine and jess' put together, lol! I will pray tonite for missing little brooke to come back for a visit!
Starting xmas shopping tomorrow...i dread it!! but im looking forward to getting some new xmas decor for the new house!!! that part will be fun!
ok, im off for now!! tata!!

finally! a layout!

Well it just seems like forever since i have done a layout just for me. With being busy at work, and sponsor layouts, and then the switch to cs2, which is taking me a little bit to get used to let me tell ya, i have had no time what so ever to just sit back and relax and make a layout just because i was in the mood. So heavy sigh,,,,i finally got a minute, hehehe. These layer modes, and masks i tell ya are something else! The difference between cs2 and dip is amazing! I just wish i knew everything that i NEEDED to know in cs NOW!! I am so impatient, lol!! But here is my first real layout done with this program. Still trying to figure out the different blendy styles.

One of the reasons im totally stoke about cs is actually for the photo touch up capability. I was able to do a whole lot in dip, but cs just totally blows it away!! This next layout was done a few weeks ago, and I started it by picking the most terrible photo of me i could find, lol. Not too hard at all since the only time jess grabs the camera is when im too sleepy to do so and am still in my comfy cozy clothes, hair not brushed etc. cuz it is a lazy day. I wanted to see just what was possible with my limited knowledge in cs to repair. Jess had snapped my photo looking into the bathroom mirror while i was getting ready for work a few weeks earlier, and the mirror was completley covered in spots. (my 2 year old brooke likes to flick her toothbrush, hehehe) We hadnt washed the mirror in about 3 wks, and there were so many spots i couldnt even tell you, lol . (i told u before i am a terrible house cleaner). Anyways, my face was blotchy, and since this photo was actually my reflection in the mirror, the spots were all over my face. I literally had to recreate my eye, and do sooooooo many other touchups i can't even list them all. By the time i was done, after all that work, i just had to do something with the photo, so I made my zoolander layout. Jess had also been making fun of my makeup face while he was snapping my photo, hehehehe. It is just a simple one, but the photo corrections are what i am really proud of. Im driving people crazy talking about everything that i am trying to learn in this program, lol. And since none of them scrap, or have any photo sofware, they just look at me like i have some crazy obsession and shake their heads. hehehehe.

Let's see...what else has been happening??. I hosted my first chat at rakscraps on friday. Way different being a hostess let me tell you. Almost never made it cuz Bell had shut off my internet due to an error on their end, and even tho they promised me that it would be back up in an hour or so, it was an hour before the chat that it came back on. I was ready to run down to one of my centres to borrow their computer for the nite. Bell is not my friend this week, let me tell you.
Why can't they ever get the darn bill right?...and when you call to talk to them..why do they keep passing you along to 5 other people where you have to retell your story each and every time right from the beginning???
Ihad a meeting at work, this wkend where i had to go over everything that had been slacking and where we want to improve etc. uggghh. I really hate those. And i had to take one of the employees aside that i really like, and lay down the law with her. It was really terrible for me!! I felt awful and it has stuck with me all week giving me an ugly feeling. I know it all needed to be said, and i was as nice as possible, but i just hate being that person. All the employees think im such a STRONG boss, and that i dont take anything from anybody. But if they knew how terrible i felt after every not good conversation, or how much i dread confrontations of any kind i think their mouths would hit the floor. I guess that is the way it is supposed to be tho. it is still icky!
I also finished my december prize tonite..way ahead of schedule!! yeahhh me! All my sponsor layouts were done for november!!! and i got all my november kits in on time too! What a Roll i am on, hehehhee!!!! whooo hooo! No whip from KimJ this month, hehehe!!
Been taking care of jess all day today cuz he is not feeling well. :( poor big baby, lol! grown men that get sick are funny. But, there he is yelling for me now, so i have to run.
tata for now, be back soon!

have you ever wondered which celebrity you look like?...saw this in the forum by another lady, and thought i would give it a try cuz i was bored......well...actually i tried it twice, hehehe...using two different photos wanting to see if any of the same people came up more than once...and strange enough...4 of them came up both times! And in truth...none of them look anything like me, lol!!!

I did the dh too...i ran him thru some "any" matches. That means male and female and it comes up with the closest matches. He matched 3 women. I put me through the "all" as well, and this is what i got. whew!! was nervous to see what men i would have "looked" like, lol!

Well that is all for me tonite...just a short post. Spent the wkend either doing ppr work, or doing nothing, lol..well i did play with cs2 a bit....still trying to figure it out! But i dont want to kick it as much as usual, and have done 2 actual layouts with it so far!...cant upload them tho cuz they are to go in the Rakscraps November newsletter i believe, so i have to wait. Other than that, don't forget to pop on over to Rakscraps.com. We are all Rakabrating like crazy fools celebrating our 2nd anniversary!! Lots of challenges, and about 200 prizes from some pretty awesome sponsors! Should be quite the hoot! I am even going to host my first chat on Friday nite! Should be a loud mess, lol!

O...and i have to share......Brooke noticed that her baby bottom has a baby bottom crack this week, lol. Now she is coming up to me every day all day telling me "momma, my bum is broken. Will you fix it?"

hehehehe, kids are awesome!...tata for now!

halloween at my house!

First off, i have to say that i just switched over to the new blogger.....has anybody else?...i was so frustrated at trying to upload my photos that i finally did it....and they all uploaded in less than 10 seconds. So far so good blogger!!!!
Second thing i have to say, is that i am finally going to get serious about learning to use a camera......and not just digital photo touch ups, lol!! And to celebrate I had to go and get myself a new camera!!!! So check it out!

I have been needing to get a new one for work, so this was killing two birds with one stone. I was looking at getting the 30d, but this had a higher pixel, and as we do alot of enlargements for advertising, i thought for now this was a better way to go.....especially cuz im still learning. But i am sooo stoked! and even Jess was getting involved in trying to learn. For a minute, lol, but it was a start!

So last night we carved our pumpkins! This is Victoria, being as serious as she ever is when she is "creating" anything!

And this is little brooke. She took forever to actually stick her hands in the pumpkin, and kept calling it ewwwwwww!!! goooey! And then just like last year she tried to clean her pumpkin back up and put the seeds and goo back inside as we were taking it out. Victoria finally convinced her to "goo" was just like playdough, and then she said "oh it is?" and then jumped in two fisted, lol! Way to go Victoria!!!

Jess and i spent extra time this year carving out the pumpkins and tried to get creative! I made a spider (darn hard to do those spider legs i tell you),, and he made a devil face. I was pretty impressed with the two of us, as normally we botch them. Victoria's is theone in the middle.....she wouldnt say what she was making, and i didnt want to ask in case i was already supposed to know, lol



And then of course, tonite was halloween nite!!! Victoria wanted to be scary, not pretty this year.....and brooke liked that idea too. Which was too bad, cuz i had gotten her the cutest snow white costume...which i made her dress up into anyways at least for pics, lol...and now it is in her "tickle trunk"
But i have to say she was an awesome witch! I got some awesome photos for layouts! and she had fun, cold as it was. She gave hugs to those that gave her candy....ran everywhere....and tried to spook people as she passed them. Waayyyy cute!!



And this is Victoria as a mummy! I wasnt able to get very many great photos of her, as Brooke was done up first and was very impatient and wouldnt give me time to snap her. And by the time we got home, she was already unraveling, lol!.....but before we left, she really did look awesome! her hair was everywhere and she kept up her role all the way through the nite--she loves to throw herself into the part!

So the girls had a fun nite...and the parents got cold. I guess that's the way it is supposed to be, lol! End of the month already, sigh. This one went by fast!!! Here is hopin November is a good one!!

On a side note....we are back to needing another 3-4 employees....no longer 2-3. That bites the big one!!!!

Hope everybody had a nice halloween!!!!!

my blogger hates me

well here i am with photos to share, but my blogger hates me! will not let me upload and if i could i would kick it.
however i can't, so i will just wish really really hard that it will stop this uncalled for dislike of me and be my friend.
soooooooo...lots of new stuff here with me. Busy as usual. We finally hired 2 new girls, and i was really thinking at least one of them were going to be ok. I am still keeping my fingers crossed, but i am not hearing good things from the other employees.
Am i jinxed I ask you?? Am i destined to always never have enought people to work with me??
Im going to start looking under every rock that i can to find me some great people!!!! it WILL HAPPEN!!
So guess what happened? some of you already know but sheesh.
A few months ago, i posted about a crazed rampant deer that came rushing thru a busy city and straight into my store window smashing it to bits.
Yup....a deer. In the middle of a city. And of course it was my window, lol
Now, about a month later we were sitting ever so nicely looking at our nicely repaired window when what happened? some crazed lady drove thru my window smashing it to bits.

soooooooooo....wanna know what happened last week??? A crazed man, jumped thru my window that was repaired none to long ago while trying to see if we had anything that would look better sitting at his place.
sigh.
I just shake my head and laugh. Really. What else are you going to do? The window gods are fated against me. It was suggested that i invest in a brick wall or steel encasing and forget windows altogether. Not lookin like such a bad idea, lol.

Jess made it back from his hunting trip.
figured he would.
He had arranged to send me flowers and a present 3 times while he was gone. All of the girls at work thought he was sooooo sweet.
but i knew the truth.
He was trying to bribe me. He knew that he would be coming back........did he really want to come back to a crazed woman who had been stuck with a crazy schedule and 2 children and everything else he left on my shoulders and deal with her?
nooooooooooooooooooooo!
He wanted to come to a girl that had been bribed with flowers and thougthful presents and sweet cards.
guilt presents is what they were.
But dont you worry girls!!!! I did not fall for it! not one little bit! And now he knows that i can't be bribed. Of course i did make sure he knows that i still like presents. I am not that silly.
Well tomorrow is Friday, so im very happy about that!...lots of pumpkin carving to do this weekend and if we are lucky we will get lots of pumpkin hunting pics!!! yeahhhh for the wkend!!

Happy Thanksgiving All!

okay..so it has been forever and a day since i have blogged...but i have been B-u-S-y!!! Jess went away on his hunting trip and left me with everything in the world to take care of work wise and i have been just swamped!! Not gonna dwell on that, but suffice it to say that i am very disappointed in my man right now, and if he brings home his rifle i just may use it. But i'm not bitter or anything. Just cuz everybody gets to go away on vacation except for me doesnt make me bitter. Just cuz when i plan a vacation, and then something breaks at work that makes me have to cancel it doesnt make me bitter. Just cuz i cancel it and they dont......really...no bitterness at all. Just ask anybody. Not to mention that this is thanksgiving here in Canada and believe it or not that is Victoria's favorite holiday because it involves spending time with family. But just cuz he aint here to share it...really..im ok with that. Im soooo not one of those girls that hold a grudge or anything. really. :)

Anyways....cuz it was thanksgiving here, i made dinner for just me and my girls and we had fun just the 3 of us. I made my first turkey...and it wasnt burnt...and i dont think it was raw...and is it really cheating if it came from Butterball???? The girls ate it and they are still kickin so i think i did all right!, hehehe.

Brooke who is two, had her first dentist appointment. A bit young i know..but she is having problems in her one molar so i thought the dentist could take a peek. Ever since Victoria lost 4 teeth in 2 weeks, Brooke has been going around telling and showing everybody her loose tooth. hehehehehe. sooo cute. So I actually thought it would be no problem at all for her to open up her mouth and say awwwwww.
duh me.
Here she is showing Dr. Machina her loose tooth. Doesnt she look happy?.....lasted for all of 2 minutes, hehe.

And here she is two minutes later. That was the last of that, lol. but the doctor did say that she did have a cavity, and that she will need to ahve it looked at by a childrens dentist.

Now that just gives me the heebie jeebies cuz for the childrens dentist to look at it, they have to give her something to make her go to sleep before hand. I ahve neve been put under myself, and i really dont feel comfortable letting that happen to Brooke either. I know I am probably way being weird about it...lots of kids have to go under, but it just makes me nervous. :( my poor baby.

So I have made a new challenge for myself. A few weeks ago i got photoshop cs2. I have to tell you that me being a dip girl....i opened it...hit a few buttons...looked at it...and then closed it again really quick. Then i happily went back to my dip. :) But then, i was over on my hero :) Denise Docherty's blog and saw a demonstration of a photo done with one of her kits, the altered photo kit, which is about the only kit of hers i have not bought, because it had a tut in photoshop and i dont use that. Sooooo....it was late..and I was shopping on line cuz i was bored and the dh went hunting and left me here by myself so i bought it..as well as her get organized kit which i dont know how i missed that coming out earlier.....and i gave the kit and tut a try.

Now....keep in mind...to say I know NOTHING about photoshop would not be an exaggeration...lol...and i grabbed a photo that looked like it might be wing worthy....considering that i have hundreds of photos on my hard drive...i grabbed the very first one i saw, cuz it was just practice and me checkin it out, but overall I dont think i did all that badly!
Here is the original photo...i had to get rid of victoria and our dog lolly in the background...and if i was really thinking i would have spent the time finding another photo cuz this one didnt really leave me any room for a halo, lol.

And here is the after....see what i mean about the halo? hehehe....ok..so there were some mistakes...but hey...What the heck is a mask??, lol...i had never used one before...and brushes in a non png form???? never never never, lol! I caught a few errors after i was done on inspection, but i have to thank denise for showing me that photoshop aint all bad!...And i think i will catch on quickly...once i figure out all the stuff i DONT know and dont realize exists in this program :)

So other than that, nothing new going on....still working a zillion hours and have got about 12 more interviews lined up this week...so who knows???..maybe this is the week we find some good ones! wish me luck!!!!!!

just poppin on to say a quick how do to everybody. I have been such a bad blogger lately! shame on me!
well...another wkend bites the dust...leaving me begging the weekend gods...please oh please! just one more day!!!!!! but nope! denied again!
My week was pretty busy and I was soooo glad when the wkend came...I spent saturday catching up on work til my dad popped over to see the girls. He had just got back from his trip to Ireland visiting his family and he when i told him that Brooke had been missing him, he of course came right over, lol! And when Brooke saw him she ran to him and gave him huge hugs and said "yeahhh...im not crying anymore! papa's home now i'm happy!"
now if that aint a way to a papa's heart i just dont know what is!!
Tomorrow is Jess' bday! Since we are going to be having another insane week of course, we celebrated it today. Jesse's idea of celebrating his birthday is to have me cook. (which i hardly ever do, lol). And it is always the same bday meal. Breaded porkchops and scalloped potatoes. The only problem with that is that i'm no good at cooking anything in oil.....and never once have i been able to make scalloped potatoes properly. Martha stewart has nothing to fear from me! But he eats them happily anyways, lol. Tomorrow when we get home we will have cake....mainly for brooke, ...she keeps thinking that if there is a bday....then 'where is MY cake??'.

On a totally other topic...has anybody not read or seen the davinci code yet? well...if you like puzzles of anykind, or just want to boggle your mind so you can go to sleep...did you know that there are a zillion clues on that books hardcover that leads you in a chase all around the internet to find clues and drive you crazy???? I spent the last 2 hours with jess on the computer trying to solve those darn riddles. I guess there originally was a prize of a trip to paris for the first winner...but us not knowing that spent forever trying to figure it out...and you really need your thinking cap on too...thinking there would be something kewl at the end.
but nope.
just a congratulations way to go...sorry the contest is over. lol...i had no idea it was a contest...i just thought the end would be something neat. Anyways, it is a time killer, and a bit of fun trying to figure it out if anybody is ever bored. It is kind of interesting the amount of time they must have put into it as the clues lead you through the book...the cover...the web.....but then i am a geek for logic puzzles.
okay...im off now. Lots of ads for me to make tomorrow! :)

another manic monday. this one was soooo dreary, i really had a hard time starting off the week! And it wasn't just me...everybody was like that today. I hate those grey weather days!
So we had the health and wellness expo this wkend. Not a huge turn out but we got a good response and alot of inquiries so it was definitely worth the while. would have prefered nicer saturday weather tho. can't control those darn skies no matter how much i try!
Had a bit of a scary moment on sunday. Jess has been having some difficulty with his ears being plugged lately and we have had to put drops in his ears most nights. Well, sunday morning he woke up and he literally couldn't hear anything. I was standing right in front of his face not an inch a way and he still couldnt hear me. He was pretty freaked out, and brooke was trying to talk to him, and i dont think i have ever seen him look so helpless. He went to the hospital, and the doctor did soemthing to him, which hurt alot, but at least it cleaned him out so he could hear again. We have to continue with these special drops, but hopefully it will clear up soon. He was pretty spooked, and he hates to admit when he is feeling like that. poor baby!!
I worked today and then i had to rush and go to Victorias school for meet the teacher nite. I have to admit, i was not overly impressed with the teacher herself. Kind of stand offish, and mildly rude if you ask me. I'm hoping we just caught her on a bad night, but she wasnt overly talkative except to tell me that my daughter victoria was.....talkative. Well that i already knew, but really. Is that really one of the first things you say to a parent when you first meet them? I live with her for goodness sake. You think i don't know she talks alot??? I got a gabber! I know it. But a hello nice to meet you would have been nice. Or even a smile.
Anyways...here are a few of my sponsor layouts. Nothing too fancy, but i was trying to stay pretty simple, due to time and jess saying i make my layouts too...toooo....something he says, lol.
So this is my darling brooke enjoying the sleep of angels :) I used Doris Castles' Pure Love kit found at Scrapbookgraphics. That doris really is talented! always has such a unique style. I have so many of her kits, but for some reason, i buy them, but never make the time to use them. I think i will make an album with just her kits, as she is pretty versatile!


This is a layout of one of my fave photos i took of Victoria on her 10th bday. Aint she pretty?? So hard to remember her as a little girl. This one i kept simple too, but also because i just really wanted the picture to stand out clear and loud! I have scrapped this photo a few times in a few different styles....and i will again in a few more different styles, lol. Here i used Ms. Tracy Blankenships Daddy's got the blues kit! I love Tracy! and was glad to be able to use her kit!

I would have posted these earlier but i had to wait til the Raks newsletter came out....hoped you nabbed it! if not, you can check it out at raks!
Well, jess brought home some new kind of funky chocolate ice cream bar tonite that i have never seen before...so i must go give it a nibble before i head to bed. Nite all!

IT'S HERRREEEEE!!!!!!

All right everybody!!! It is here and it looks awesome this month!! The Raks mega kit is out and links one and two are up!!!! Each link will only be available for approximately two days so make sure you rush over and grab it!! I'm link one!! and here is my contribution to this months Friendship themed kit


THis is my favorite mini kit that i have done so far. So i hope that you all hop over to rakscraps.com and grab it!!!!!
So today is Saturday and i am sitting at work right now looking outside at this extremely cloudy icky day. After im done here I have to go to a health and wellness expo that we are involved in for work down by the detroit river and take my shift. Sigh. I wasnt supposed to be involved in this expo at all and really liked it that way, lol. But got roped in anyways!
Nothing really new is going on here...worked 12 hour shifts at work all week, went home and crashed after spending the 2 minutes i have when i get home with the girls before their bedtime. :( Brooke has beeen having nightmares lately and is waking up everynite and She won't let anybody but me put her to bed anymore. I am hoping that it is not because of my schedule and it is just a phase that she is going thru. I dread to think that it would be effecting her so much.
I watched the first Survivor this season. I know they were trying something new this time, but it looks like they are dealing with the same stuff as always so it doesnt look like their racial division is really going to effect the swing of things anymore than usual.
And yeahhhhhh!!!!! for lucas on supernova!!!! he won lead singer! He really did rock and totally deserved it! so i was glad!!! (how bout you tania???? you glad to??)
I watched, i dont know if it was the season opening or the season finale last from last year of Ghost Whisperer. I have to tell you i am really beginning to get into that show!! Havent been a big tv show goer much over the last year or so, but this season looks pretty good so i mite have to move my laptop to a desk downstairs in front of my tv, lol!!
K, gotta actually go do workstuff now. Hope everybody has a rockin Saturday!!!

darn! wkends over!

well! that weekend sure went quick! it has been so long since i have blogged i think my fingers forget how to type! Hectic hectic round here lately. short version is...workwise, crazy as ever! but our one new girl dina is just fabulous! so much energy and enthusiasm she really makes my day seem so much better! hopefully she is someone we can rely on. We are still looking for 2 more with very little prospects. :( I'm keepin hope alive tho!!!
Victoria had her first day of school! Grade 5!!!!! She is getting so old i just dont think i can take it!!! She is really loving her new school and already i have noticed the difference in their procedures from her old one, so i am loving this school tooo!! She has made friends she says and so far has no complaints! which is huge for her!
I did a little shopping this wkend thinking that i deserved it, and bought some new mags, some new albums and a couple misc. items i didnt really need. I even bought jess a book...by a comedian who he just loves Ron White. He is definitely pretty funny and jess was downstairs laughing for over an hour. I dont know how he reads, but if you ever get the chance to see this guy on tv or in person you definitely should! He has a great delivery and gives me a giggle.
I hopped over to denise's new store today (Designer Digitals if you didnt know she moved from sbe) and bought her fabulous new kit and quick page!! i was so excited as i do most of my online shopping in the morning and at her new store it was all up and ready to go and i didnt have to wait til nite time to see if she had any new stuff. Yes, i know. Small things make me happy, lol. Anyways, thanks Denise!!! the new kit rocks!!!
I got some of my sponsor layouts done today...the first layouts i have done in 2 months!!! im going crazy!! I can't upload yet cuz they were for the newsletter at raks, but i will upload them in a few days.
hmmmmm......what else?? Jess is still planning on going hunting in a few weeks with his dad. A real bone of contention with us right now, one, cuz i dont want him to be gone over the holidays(thanksgiving here in canada), but i could get over that cuz he doesnt see his dad much. But reason number 2 is that WHAT ABOUT ME????? Am i to be left running our stores that are understaffed and totally needing attention right now 24/7 all by myself? It seems that i have made plans, and then due to work, have had to cancel. But never anybody else. Im feeling mighty upset about it right now, but when i try to tell him that im feeling overwhelmed by all that will have to be done, with work and the kids....i mean there really couldnt be a worse time right now with the way the centres are....all he thinks is that im trying to manipulate him out of going cuz i didnt want him to go in the first place. arrrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh!!!! men
ok...venting done.
on to new topics. Is anybody else as disappointed as me with the turnabout on Big Brother All Stars???? I am a big will and janelle fan, but i got up and yelled hoorahhh!! when she kicked him out...cuz he did deserve it after all. But now that she got the boot and that Erika of all people are in the final 2 i wanna pull my hair out. She is driving me up a wall. I had the live feeds, and i cancelled them when i heard her talking about how she had been responsible for everyones eviction...not chilltown. I mean really! I would have cancelled it anyways cuz i was just trying it out, and who wants to watch her and boogie for 4 days by themselves???? not me. But that just made me make a point of it. I just really dont like her. Sigh. The life and disappointments of a reality tv buff, lol!!
I think that is all that is new....im sure i missed a bunch of stuff. Was going to upload some awesome photos i took , (subject awesome...not awesome photography, lol), but jess is yelling at me to help him carry something heavy. will try to tomorrow!!
tata for now!!!!

jibber jabber

well i havent been blogging a whole lot this past 2 weeks..mainly because I have nothing happy to say and am just tired of hearing myself whine,lol. But i dont want to break my habit so here I am yappin again.
Been training the new girls all week. One is a true super star and is sooo amazingly awesome!! I'm going to put her in the one store where we just lost a manager and promote her in a month if she keeps it up...that is how impressed i am! Of the other 2 I'm not quite sure. I'm pretty sure one of them is not going to work out, but one may be trainable. I sooooooooo have my fingers crossed!!!
We did end up losing another employee in our "family" group but as we were expecting it, and it was one of the really negative ones, it is not really a loss, just incredibly inconvenient. Even a chair filled at this time by someone like her who at least knows her stuff is better than an empty or an untrained one in that store. But, i gotta figure it can't get worse, knock on wood!!
So i got a few emails on my last post surprisingly enough of people not believing that i truly had black hair so i dug up this photo. Forgive the I'm going to bite you expression, lol....i was in my first trimester with Victoria here and had just had a bout of morning sickness....and had another one immediately following his click, hehe. I dont think thephotographer liked me any much,lol.

What a difference eh? Even I forgot how different i looked. Hmmmm....maybe I will wait a bit longer before i revert to the au natural look, hehehe.

We finally made the big step yesterday. We moved Brooke from her crib into her big girl bed. :( I'm sooo sad. She hasn't as of yet realized that she can get up out of it on her own yet.....and I am praying that she doesnt anytime soon. I can just imagine the mess she will get into if we don't get to her in time. I did my first layout in weeks today, but it was kind of depressing, so i decided not to upload it. Really trying to take a positive look on things right now. I know. Kind of stupid to make a depressing layout then huh. hehehe. Never said i was the smartest bunny in the hutch.

k...i promised Jess that i would not stay up into the weee hours tonite and would hit the sack at a reasonable hour. I was working on a new look for our business cards...not quite finished yet. I can't belive how hard i find making a very simple looking business card, when i play with layouts as much as i do. I will try to upload it tomorrow when it is finished and i would just love some input. I do the ads for work, but for some reason this simple task is very difficult for me. Would you listen to that??? Jess' ears must be burning cuz he is now yelling at me to turn off the puter and go to bed, lol. ( but on a side bar-yeahhhhhh Danielle is on the block on big brother!!! yipppeeeee!!!!!! and boooooo to supernova tonite!!! i so can't believe they booted off the dark horse!! i thought he was extremely talented!! so surprised by that, i thought for sure Storm was leaving.....k..im done this time for sure.)

TAG!! I'm it!

I've been tagged by KimJ!!

rules:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Then tag 5 friends and list them. Then those 5 friends need to state their 5 weird things on their blog, listing the rules and then tag 5 more people. Don't forget to let the person know in their blog that you tagged them or we will never find out their weird attributes.

Well....i only just got my dog lolly...and tho im sure she has many weird bizarre attributes..i havent figured them all out yet. I however have many many weird attributes.....but having been asked the question, i found it really hard to think of a single one!! And that is weird in itself, cuz i tell ya, i have sooooo many, hehehe.
So here is what i did come up with:

#1::::::: I always feel so awesome, in control, happy organized and have a general good sense of well being when ever my house is clean and organized....weird thing is even knowing this...i am a terrible housekeeper..hate doing it, and half the time the dh is the one with the vaccuum in his hand.

#2::::::: I am one of the few women who either refuses or just doesnt care about accessorizing or whether or not I match in my wardrobe. Jewellry, earings necklaces, hair doo dads, nail painting...what a bother. Jess (the dh) got so mad at me (he is the accessorizer and very high maintenance in matching coordinates) cuz i bought a pretty nice brown skirt, wore a very nice white blouse that i bought the same day, and then topped it off with a pair of old black high heels that have definitely seen better days. He looked around for half hour for a different pair of my shoes for me to wear, while i played on puter...but me not caring, i have only 2 pairs of high heels, lol! I know.....i give women a bad name!

#3:::::::: I absolutely love photography! I carry my camera everywhere! I bought one that cost a pretty penny...and am ready to buy another one as soon as the dh turns his head....but all i know how to use on it is the auto button. One day I have every intention of learning everything there is to know about it, but for now i thank the lord for digital software, for without it i would have the worst pictures anywhere in the whole wide world. I dont think i have ever taken a photo that hasnt needed at least a zillion touch ups!

#4:::::::: I dont like mint...but my favorite chocolate bar is chocolate mint...and my favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip...go figure.

#5:::::::: I'm kind of whacky...loud (like you couldn't figure that out, lol), always a chatterbox...i laugh out loud and often, and most always am in a pretty darn good mood. But yet people always think im grumpy. I dont get it...but i think that is pretty weird.

Sooooooooooooooooo! those are my 5 weird attributes. That i could think of on the spot. I swear to god i have some wierd doozy's but this is what I came up with!
And now I have to tag 5 more people. hmmmmmmm. who should it be? who would i love to hear 5 weird things about????? How's bout...

Tania, Melissa, vicki, danny, and jennifer??
Sorry you guys!!! If you didnt want to be tagged, you are going to have to blame KimJ. She made me do it!!! lol

So here is what I have been doing lately. No scrapping unfortunately. I hired three new employees...and then another one quit. This is a real disappointment as she is the only one with a good head on her shoulders and with out her manning the one store leaves me really fumbling around with untrained employees tha will not be able to work alone. Jess and I have been scrambling trying to figure out how we are going to move people around just to make sure all the stores are covered. I literally almost had a breakdown. I mean, this last month has been by far one of the most difficult that I have ever had, and work is just killing me. When we bought these stores from our corporate office, I had no idea that the staff had been treated soooo badly. It doesnt even matter that we are good to them and treat them respectfully and give them raises etc etc. They even tell us how much better boss' we are. It has been 6 months and we are still bearing the brunt for everything that the corporate reps did to them and i just dont know how to fix it. What makes it worse, is that half our staff is related. So if one leaves...it will be more than one. So we have to hire 3 more just as a precaution since our one manager is leaving. At this point I just dont know what to do, and poor Jess is trying to help, but since he cant work in any of the centres yet, it all falls on my to be in about 4 places at once . but enough crying. Whenever i feel like this....what do i do to make myself feel better?? Well i shop of course, hehe. I went into the states and when scrap album crazy!!! So much better selection there. I bought some books from autumn leaves, that you can't get here in Canada, and then since Brooke has been growing like such a weed we went looking for a new bed to get her out of her crib. I think I found a nice one, but we are going to check out one more place tomorrow, and then decide. And then if there is time i might get the rest of Victorias school shopping done. After that I should feel much better, and hopefully refreshed and ready to take on what is sure to be the first week of a 2 month trip to he double hockeysticks.
I have to tell you guys tho..when i was shopping in the good old USA I was sooo jealous of you guys! You have all the great scrapbooking stores! With all the awesome everything! including magazines!! I finally was able to get my hands on a Scrapbooking Trends magazine. We so dont get that over here. Sadness.
I've been thinking of doing something pretty drastic to myself lately. Letting myself go natural. And what I mean is I want to go back to my natural color. Im pretty blond right now, but would you believe my natural color is black? The only reason i havent done it yet is that jess has never seen me except in photos with dark hair, and he is sooo against it. But i have to tell you I really hate having to sit in a chair for 2 hours every couple of months to get foils in my hairs to touch up roots. I'm too lazy. One day he is going to come home and see me and my dark locks and have a complete melt down, lol!! Im so going to make sure I have my camera ready, hehehehe!!!
k,...gonna go check out what is going on around the boards, let the dog out, and then off to bed I go! Busy shopping day tomorrow!!