What a Wednesday

Today's Affirmation!

Consider how much more you often suffer from your anger and grief, 

than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved.  

~Marcus Antonius


If I had to offer up one of the most difficult things for me to do... it's be positive. I find it very difficult to be positive. I'm more prone to being realistic, or whatever. Maybe not necessarily negative. Just not positive. I always thought.. if I'm not positive.. I'm negative. The people in my life say no, I'm not really negative either. But not positive. Ugh. I really am trying to convert my nature to a positive one.. and it's HARD. 

Another Layout

I laugh when I remember this. We are a family that sings a lot. We sing out whatever is happening, good and bad... like a cheesy musical. Gary would often pick up Dana.. carry him around, and bouncing him, singing at the top of his lungs... "Carry me... home to Birmingham, it's where I wanna be... it's where I wanna land... da da nanana... la la la la la.. deee da da da da... etc.  Cuz we never know the second line to any song.. especially Gary. So... he sings a lot of made up stuff... and da da la la nee nees. What can I say. Cheesy, yes?

Another Week Upon Us! A week of OPPORTUNITY!

Today's Affirmation


Fall seven times, stand up eight.  ~Japanese Proverb

A Layout

"A Grad at Last"

Our little boy is growing up! When did this happen? My son came down, looked at this, and actually liked it!!! lol  Ok... I should explain. He seems to like them all! Or... most of them. He prefers busier pages, though. And he really likes the mini books most. It's not like he doesn't like my pages, it's just that he rarely offers an unsolicited opinbion. I think it's just Dana at 18. (almost 19). But this page, he actually came in and said... "Hey Mom, I really like this page." hmmm. Wish I'd thought to ask him what he liked about it.

Which begs the question... 


Who do we design our pages for? Do we do what WE like? 
What our children would like? 


I guess that's easier when they are little. They like anything. But if you have older children, do you ask them what they like? IF they like it?

Daily Affirmation!


The one thing I've been paying close attention in my personal growth lately, is to embrace positivity. I want to be able to see the world with icing on it... and not with depressed eyes.  I find that if your life has a lot of trials in it, you can sometimes begin to see things with burdened heart and eyes. Certainly that's been the case with me. I'd like  to change that. With that in mind, I think today's affirmation is just perfect!!!

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.

In light of how things are going lately, and with how I am trying to change to a more positive person... I thought I'd post a layout I made awhile ago, called In Transition!

Layouts.

I finally went into my scraproom. I am so excited. Now I can get back to doing things again. Time to toss out the cobwebs. 

My biggest weakness is multi photo layouts and two page layouts. So here a multi photo, two page layout that I just finished last night.  I find it so much easier to do a one photo layout... with the pic being around 5" x 7". And clearly most others do as well... since the mags are filled with those layouts, and very few double page layouts with several photos.  They always say that's what they want, yet the magazine design teams mostly do single page, one pic layouts. Have you noticed that?  lol

hmmmm

This is a layout of my Bean. The picture of the children on page two, has my son in the blue cap... when he was in grade 2. The little girl with the red backpack on, is his girlfriend of the past two years. (they are both 18 now)  Isn't that funny? They've gone to school together since JK, and my son Dana was 4 years old.  Funny

Today's Affirmation

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, 

show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. 

Interesting Week

For all of you who can scrapbook! There is a fun party this week!  Check it out!  Websters is having a party. It's looking like it's going to be such a good time. There's new product, prizes, chats, and good fun. What more could you ask for!!!  Click on the picture underneath.. or in the sidebar. Check it out!!!!

From My Garden

I have these huge flowers in my garden, that I just love. They smell divine, and are all over my front and back and side gardens. Yay. So I decided to cut some for my kitchen and family room. They are smelling that area of my house up quite nicely!

From the Garden of Some Friends!

My son came home from his girlfriend's house, with these lovely flowers! They were from her parent's garden, and they sent them home with my son Dana, for me. I love that. People are so nice. I love thoughtful gestures like that. They make my day. So thank you Diana, for the lovely, sweet-smelling flowers.

Speaking of Thoughtful, my hubby sat on the front verandah this evening, with a cup of tea..  and did something he never ever does. He wrote me a poem. A poem! My husband has always been free with his words of love, but he's not a writer. And yet, here he was... writing a lovely piece of prose for me! He emailed it to me, and I was so shocked. And touched. My hubby!

     

On the stoop I sit

Birds Chirp Cars Zoom
The sun sets and the clock ticks
The leaves rustle and flowers continue to grow
I ponder I ponder I ponder
The thought is there
My heart goes beat beat beat
And I know
I love you

And I ponder

How sweet is this??? What a sweetheart. My guy. :)

Leaving off with a couple of my other guys... (and gal)...

Doing what they do best....  Beauregard is eating (a treat, commonly known as deer penis, I kid you not), And Mischa.... upside down, feet up... sleeping!

Life's Happenings

It's Bieber Fever!

My hubby was golfing last week, with his buddy Kevin, when Kevin's wife emailed this picture of Kevin's daughter. They were visiting her parents (Kevin's in-laws), who live a couple doors down from Justin Bieber's grandparents. They're friends. So looky who came out to take his picture with a happy little girl!!!  Justin and his girlfriend were in Brampton visiting Grandma and Grandpa for a few days. Justin put his sunglasses on her.

A Hot Summer (Spring) Ale

Gary was cutting the lawn yesterday, and afterwards, flopped down on the grass, and decided to have a beer to cool off. Mischa likes anything anyone else has. If Beauregard is playing with a stuffed animal, she likes that, if I'm working with a bottle of glue, she likes that. If Gary has a beer... she likes that. Keep in mind, that no animals were harmed in the taking of this picture. Though her drooling self LOOKS like she helped herself to some beer... she did NOT. lol It just LOOKS that way. It really does. Gary snapped this picture because when he set his beer down, she sat there fixated on it, literally drooling. He laughed and laughed.

This is how it really looked with the whole picture in it.