I'm Stylin'

I was wonderfully blessed to receive this award from Carrie this week.  Check out her blog, The Artistic Avenger!  You'll be blown away as she does some amazing work and is often one of Nancy Riley's iPicks.  In addition, my wonderful blogging buddy and fellow Punchkateer, Colleen, over at Dietrich Designs,  just gave me this award yesterday!   A huge thanks to both of you :)  Since I got it twice, I'll share 16 things instead of eight.

First the details of the award.  Upon receipt of the award you need to :

1.  Thank and link back to the person/people who gave you the award (done and thanks again, Carrie and
     Colleen)
2.  Share 8 things about yourself (I'll do sixteen as I got the award twice)
3.  Pass it on to 8 bloggers
4.  Contact the 8 bloggers and let them know you have given them the award.


So here we go.  Sixteen things about myself which I hopefully haven't mentioned before.

1.   I am not a trendy girl.  Don't jump into fashion trends and am slow to pick up on stamping trends too.

2.   I qualified for the British Columbia Track and Field championships in the discuss and javelin in 12th
      grade and placed fourth in discuss and eight in javelin.

3.   It will be my 15th wedding anniversary on Canada Day (July 1st)  Great way for hubby to never forget
      the date (ended up being July 1st because I couldn't book both the church and reception location on June
      29th).

4.   I teach the Grade 5/6 Sunday School class at our church.

5.   Since I don't have an opportunity to compete in sports any more, I have taken to competing against
      paper and love it when I master a colour combo or a sketch!  

6.   I love working out, always have.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to ensure my work out time
      doesn't get bumped by family, life or anything else.

7.   I hate mingling events as I'm not into small chit chat (cocktail parties just about kill me LOL!).  Would
      much rather sit and talk with a few people and get to know them at a deeper level. 

8.   I love to learn new things - be it information, how to do something, how something works etc. 

9.   Don't like people who play games.

10. One of my favorite memories of my ball playing days was hitting home runs over male center fielders
      heads - oh yes (insert evil grin)

11. I love to make puzzles but only indulge in it over Christmas (we made three 1000 piece puzzles and two
      500 piece puzzles over Christmas)

12. I hate to cook and am not good at it either (thankfully my hubby is!)

13. Love to eat vegetables.

14. I am an extremely practical person.

15. I am a straight shooter and wish I could be more diplomatic at times.   

16. I have been told more than once I should have been a boy.  These comments have come at times when I
      have been excessively competitive in sports or very direct in my communication style -- especially when I
      am defending or standing up for something or someone I care deeply about, when someone is playing
      games and I call them out on the table, or when I'm cheering (aka yelling) on the sidelines of my son's
      soccer games.

      The flip side of my personality is that I am a very helpful and encouraging person.  Love to build people
      up and help them succeed and/or accomplish things they never thought they could do or be.  In addition,
      once I'm your friend I will go to the ends of the earth for you (you just have to endure the odd "shoot-
      from-the-hip" comment now and then LOL!). 


The eight people I'm passing this award on to are as follows:

1.  Maureen - Buttons and Bling 
2.  Christine - Christine Creations
3.  Brenda - Benzi Stamps
4.  Emily - My Little Slice of Bliss
5.  Dawn - My Stamping Thyme
6.  Christina - Sea Glass and Sentiments
7.  Stacy - Twinshappy
8.  Andrea - Ewen Style

Have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow with a post.

Lovely Blog Award

I received this wonderful ward from Sally Atkins the other day.  Thank you Sally!!

You can check out Sally's fabulous work on her blog Cards For All Reasons.  She sells her cards and donates the funds from her sales to the Voluntary Care Center Charity. 

As part of the award I am to pass it on to seven lovely blogs, so I would like to forward it to the following ladies:
  
Andrea - her comments make me laugh and her work is amazing!
Colleen - who posted a picture of Tigger on her blog for me --he's my favorite -- when I jokingly asked her to give him a hug for me when her family vacationed in Disneyland
Vicki B - just love her style, and she graces me with such nice comments
Kristina - (such a lovely person and her creations are delicious)
Shelley  - a fellow blogger, become friend, through our Curtain Call DT work
Iwona (Chupa) - who never ceases to amaze me with the number of cards she can crank out in a day!
Christina - who makes lovely cards and is the sweetest thing

Enjoy ladies, and thanks for your inspiration and friendship (((hugs))).

Off to my stamp room to get a few challenges done.  Have a great day!

Cherry On Top Award

I was every so pleasantly surprised when Katina (love that name) sent me this wonderful blog award - thank you Katina (((hugs))).  You can check out her wonderful work on her blog, Katina's Cards and Chat.

As part of the award I have do the following:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award - done, but thank you again for the wonderful surprise,
     Katina,  it made my day :)

2.  Post my award with pride - check.

3.  Think of three things you like about myself:

• I love to encourage and help people
• I find great joy in the little things
• I'm not high maintenance LOL!. 

 4.  Four - post a pic you love.  I just love this picture. It was taken last year when we were on vacation and I can't believe how much my littlle guy has grown since then!  I treasure the moments with my kids while they are at such tender ages and this picture speaks a thousand words to me.  He was so proud and happy to be walking with daddy...oh sigh....the treasures a mother's heart can hold :)

5.  Pass this award to 5 other bloggers - love doing this :)  The wonderful ladies are as follows:

• Michelle Werner at Stop and Stamp the Roses - she has just gone through some major house renos this summer and I want to celebrate their near completion with her :)
• Maureen Plut at Buttons and Bling - she was a Guest Verve Diva for the August release and did an absolutely amazing job creating many fabulous cards with the sets for all of us to enjoy
• Tannis Palmer at All That Rubbish - she is such a sweetheart and is always involved helping others
• Laurel-Lee Bonato at Laurel's Passion 4 Paper - to celebrate her new job, sale of their house and purchase of a new house :)
• Andrea Ewen at Ewen Style - I recently started following her blog and her creations are simply amazing

Sorry there is no card today....life has been crazy busy with finishing up swimming lessons, buying school supplies and clothes for school (got some great deals at Old Navy on gift certificates off our Amex points - score!!), and I had an unplanned visit to LensCrafters because my glasses got stepped on by someone at the pool.  I thought they were safe from danger where I put them, but alas they were not....ugh!  However, the good news is I was loooong overdue for some new glasses and I am giddy with glee over the pair I got :D  They are my all time favorite glasses ever!


I'm soooo looking forward to more stamping time in a few weeks.   Horror of horrors, I have actually had to pass on participating in the Verve Forum sketches this month!!  I'm four sketches behind and time has run out.  It's just about killing me to do so, but at this point in time I can't afford the late nights...darn aging thing!!  I'll definitely be here on Sunday with my Curtain Call card though :)

Thanks for listening to my rambles today :)  Don't forget to enter my blogaversary draw here!

Verve Release Rewind Sketch from January

This Friday there is a Verve Release Party over on the SCS Verve Forum.  As per tradition, Julee has some challenges leading up to the release that allow you an opportunity to win some Verve!  Don't have to ask me twice if I want to participate LOL!  The fun spin on these challenges is we get to pick a sketch from each month of this year's Verve Inspiration Challenges, starting in January.  You don't have to use the inspiration pieces, just pick one of the sketches from that month and have fun!

I loved this sketch the first time I used it so decided to use it again.  I made the card for one of my daughter's teachers this year.  She is an amazing lady and I have so enjoyed getting to know her and watch her interact with the class.  She eats lunch with any student that wants to join her, she actually got in the pool to swim and play with them at their year end pool party, she is loads of fun, totally approachable and is a teacher that has had a great impact on my daughter this year.  So to all you teachers out there, thank you for investing in our kids (((hugs)))!!

The embossed image on the navy panel came from an embossing folder my dear blogging friend Kathy (aka Wattle on SCS) gave me.  It's not even available in Canada, so I have an exclusive, Australian embossing folder :D  Thank you again, Kathy, I LOVE it!!  I also dug into my stash of Michael's wedding flowers which I have had forever and need to get using again.  A few pops of pink and voila, one challenge down. 

I have been floating around in the clouds all day today after discovering this card made Nancy Riley's iPicks this week!!  I always look forward to seeing her picks each week and am humbled and honoured to be included this week.  I was also crowned Colour Queen for ColourQ #37 with this same card. Needless to say, it's been a happy day today :)  

It's going to be a busy week with all the Verve challenges I need to get done by Friday, so there will be lots of posting LOL!   Thanks for visiting, and see you soon :)




What's In It?
Stamps:  Verve
Paper:  Night of Navy, Brocade Blue
Accessories:  Nat Embossing Folder, Oval and Scalloped Oval Nesties, Scor-Pal, 5/8" Pink Satin Ribbon, Pink Half Pearls, Flowers from Michael's Wedding Department, Dimensionals

I'm Still Here.....Sort Of....

Sorry to be so quiet this week.  My son was sick for five days starting this past weekend and into this week...fever, chills, pounding headache and he even puked a few times.  I spent three nights in a row in and out of his bed, poor little guy.  It's a nasty bug that is going around, and once he was all better and back at school, my hubby got it - ugh!  So, my week has been thrown all out of sorts by having people home to look after, but thankfully, one is now healthy and the other one is on the way.  Just hoping the rest of us don't get it!!

In addition, the high humidity we've been having this week is reeking havoc on my curly hair!!  I'm looking like a bush woman these days LOL!  No, I'm not going to post a picture - just take my word for it because even gel isn't helping!  Up into a pony tail it went and has stayed that way all week!   I was talking to Mark Madryga, one of our local TV weathermen (my son and his daughter have been in the same class for a few years so I know him quite well), and told him:  "Who needs the Humidex Index, you can just look at my hair" LOL!   

In the midst of all the above, I got two fabulous pick me ups this week!  I discovered my card for last week's Curtain Call Colour Challenge (you can see it here) was selected as the OCC Sketch card of the week!!  In addition, I won a subscription to the premier issue of Embellish Magazine.  Added bonus is my blogging buddy Maureen, at Buttons and Bling, has a card featured in it (yeah, Maureen!). Check out the Embellish Blog, it's full of all sorts of inspiration.

So, I guess I can't complain too much LOL!  I'll be back on Sunday with this week's Curtain Call Colour Challenge.  Hopefully, next week I'll be able to stamp and blog a bit more because I dearly miss it as well as all of you! 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy 101 Award

Nicole over at Canadian Nickel Scrapin' gave me this lovely award.  She has been blowing me away with all the little critters she has been creating with her Cricut lately.  Check out her blog - you won't be disappointed!

Part of the award is to mentioned ten things that make you happy so here goes.

1.  The fact this insanely crazy, busy week is finally over LOL!

2.  The "smell" of Spring and all the flowers that bring colour back into the world after Winter. 

3.  Being a mom and having two kids I love to bits as well as an amazing hubby :D

4.  Going to a good brunch.  Breakfast is my favorite meal and I could eat it three times a day :D

5.  Seeing my kids and friends succeed at whatever they are trying to accomplish.

6.  Being able to challenge myself - be it in sports, using a sketch / colour / inspiration challenge or anything else :D

7.  Reading in bed.

8.   Sleeping in - a true rarity since becoming a mom LOL!

9.  Simply enjoying the beauty of nature all around me.

10. When our cat sits in my lap, purrs for a while, and then falls asleep.


I'm passing this award on to some fellow Canadian bloggers who make my day with their support and encouraging comments:

1.  Laurel-Lee - to celebrate her first Verve win!
2.  Maureen - her delightful comments make me smile daily :D
3. Tannis - in celebration of her birthday - Happy Birthday Tannis!! 
4.  Trish - for taking the time to regularly comment on my blog.

Enjoy ladies :D  You guys are great!

Sunshine Award

Vicki Dutcher over at All I Do Is Stamp gave me this wonderful Sunshine Award.  Just love the colour combo in this picture.  Thank you so much, Vicki!!

I have to in turn pass it on to six  other people.  Here is my list:

Stacey at Stacey's Stamping Stage (for bringing me sunshine via a DT position on the Curtain Call Crew)
Julie at Stamps and Taxes (to bring her some sunshine during a busy accounting season)
Julee at Poetic Artistry (for creating such wonderful Verve stamps that I enjoy so much!)
Amber Hight at ScrappingScrapbooker (for providing weekly sketches on the Verve Forum)
Karen Giron at the sweetest thing (for providing wonderful weekly sketches)
Mercy Kerin at Lord Have Mercy! (for providing wonderful weekly sketches)

Spring Break has been very busy, but hopefully I can get some time to stamp tomorrow or Friday!

Hope to be back soon!!

Curtain Call Show Stopper Award

 I was so excited today when I was scrolling through my blog roll and found that Stacey over at Stacey's Stamping Stage selected my card here to be one of her Act16 Curtain Call Colour Challenge Card winners from last week!!  No way!!  What a wonderful honour - thank you Stacey!!!  Can't wait to play in this week's colour challenge :D

Hope to be back later today with Karen Giron's sketch challenge card, but  I'm having such a hard time doing anything other than watch the Olympics!!!  Hi, my name is Marisa, and I'm and Olympic-aholic......LOL!  I have competed in so sports for years and have skied for over 30 so I just get a buzz when I watch the athletes pushing themselves to the limits and putting all their training to the ultimate test.  Many things are going to be severely neglected over the next two weeks - maybe even card making GASP!! I'll try my best to squeeze everything in this week, but just giving you a heads up just in case LOL!

Canada won their first medal yesterday!!  Go Canada Go!!!  Jenn Heil won the Silver in the women's mogul competition. We were really hoping for a Gold medal as Canada has never won gold in any year we have hosted the Winter Olympics.  However, Hannah Keamey had the run of her life and definitely deserved to win the Gold.   You couldn't have asked for a better competition between the two and the close final score proved it.

It is beyond fun watching these Olympic games because of our hosting the games.  I know where they are skiing, bobsledding etc. because I have actually skied those runs or been where the venues are.  The city is totally energized and they can't bring in enough of the Olympic mittens!  They thought they would sell about 1 million of them, but they have now sold over 2 million and are well on their way to 3 million!  Think it is because they are only $10 so very affordable also very useful.  Kids are wearing them all over the place :D

Can't wait to take the family down town to see the actual Olympic Flame and join in some of the excitement in the city.

Here are a few pictures from the Opening  Ceremonies (not taken by me - I wish!!). The first one is the Olympic Cauldron they lit inside BC Place where one of the arms didn't come up - ugh!  The next one is the Spirit Bear in the Opening Ceremonies, and the last one is the Olympic Cauldron in its permanent outdoor location in downtown Vancouver.

Thanks for letting me ramble. Have a great day and may your country do well in whatever events they are in! 

Blessings,

Happy 101 Award

Trish ever so graciously gave me this award.  You can visit her wonderfully named blog, Encourage Joy and leave her a little love.   The timing of receiving this award was perfect, as I didn't get a chance to get to Mercy's sketch yesterday - thanks, Trish :D

As a recipient of this award you are to list ten things that make you happy and pass it on to five other bloggers.  I am a cup half full type of person so keeping to ten things that make me happy could be hard LOL!  Let's see how I do...

1.  My wonderful family - immediate and extended.

2.  Where we live - great neighbourhood, school, and area.

3.  The beautiful nature that surrounds us here in British Columbia.

• being able to see snow capped mountains and the ocean in the same view
• the lovely green that remains all year round -- there is a positive side to all the rain we get LOL!
• the cherry trees when they bloom in the Spring (just don't park under one of them or you'll have cherry blossom petals blowing out of your vents for weeks -- don't ask me how I know!)
• the amazing landscaping and beauty of Butchart Gardens (Victoria, BC)
  
• a cobweb dotted with dew
• flowers as they bud and bloom in my garden
  
• the changing leaves in the Fall 
• A freshly fallen blanket of snow that glistens like millions of diamonds in the sunshine and outlines the branches of deciduous trees and the quiet the snow brings.
• told you this would be hard for me....had to sneak a few extras under this answer ;o)  
  

4.  A purring cat in my lap.

5.  Seeing my kids grow up and succeed in their endeavors yet be young enough that they still love to snuggle with me.

6.  Spring, when everything starts to bud and bloom after a long winter, because it reminds me of how each and every day I have is a gift and an opportunity for new growth and new beginnings in my life.

7.  The unsolicited hugs and "I love you, Mommy" statements from my kids and being able to treasure these and other special moments in my heart.

8.  Playing sports and working out - though they have been neglected more than they should be! 

9.   Helping and encouraging others.

10. Making cards :D

I think I'm closer to twenty, and could probably keep going to fifty, but I still have to pass this award on to five others LOL!  The five ladies I have chosen to forward this award to are:

Maureen - who was my very first comment and continues to be a wonderful encouragement
Vicki - who's work inspires me
Kathy - who I've enjoyed getting to know a bit more recently
Kristina - who is the sweetest thing and whose work is amazing
Christine - who blesses me by sharing her life on her blog

Back next with Mercy's sketch card.  Have a great day :D

Over The Top Award

My fellow British Columbian blogging friend, Maureen, passed this award on to me.  I met Maureen at one of the Verve release parties and she is the sweetest thing ever. Stop in and check out her blog, Buttons and Bling, you'll thoroughly enjoy her wonderful creations!! 

The timing for this award couldn't be better.  I'm pretty sure my son has H1N1 (it's all over the school and he has all the symptoms).  He hasn't been swabbed to confirm it because the clinics aren't even swabbing any more due to so much of it in the area and the labs being so backed up.   Consequently, I haven't had a lot of stamping time this week.  Thankfully, he is on the back end of it and should be back at school tomorrow or the next day.  That means I should get some stamping time again :D  In the meantime, I get to enjoy some one on one time with my son as well as being able to share this award with you :D

Here are the rules: 

Answer the following questions using single word answers (as you can see I failed miserably!  Heck, I could have easily written a few sentences on each question LOL!)  

Pass the award to 5 other people and let them  know.

Your cell phone? Purse 

Your hair? Curly!!

 Your mother? Amazing
Your father? Remembered
Your favorite food? Sushi
Your dream last night? None
Your favorite drink? Green tea/decaf nonfat latte
Your dream/goal? NO stamping budget

What room are you in? Guest room/stamp room
Your hobby? Stamping
Your fear? Premature death of my kids
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Not working
Where were you last night? Home
Something that you aren't? Impulsive
Muffins? Cranberry orange
Wish list item? Family Vacation
Where did you grow up? Costa Rica/BC, Canada
Last thing you did? Unload the dishwasher
What are you wearing? Jeans/sweatshirt
Your TV? On (son is playing Wii) 

Your Pets? Cat
Friends? Cherished

Your life? Blessed
Your mood? Relaxed
Missing someone? My dad
Vehicle? Honda Odyssey
Something you're not wearing? Shoes

Your favorite store? Michaels

Your favorite color? Green

When was the last time you laughed? Today
Last time you cried? Sunday (Extreme Home Makeover)
Your best friend? Hubby

One place that you go to over and over? Costco/Michaels
Facebook? Sort of
Favorite place to eat? Home (hubby is a fabulous cook!!)

The 5 bloggers I would like to pass this award to are:

Dawn (flowergal36)

Stacy (Twinshappy)

Hollly (Toy)

Angela (My SU Demo)

Viv
 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to be back soon with a post  :D
 

Kreativ Award

Maureen over at Buttons and Bling gave me the Kreativ Blogger award. That means I have something to post this week as I have had no time to stamp!! I'm counting sleeps until school starts (just 10 to go until their first full day) as I am very low on "mommy time" and stamping time after a wonderful summer with my kids! Sorry to any teachers out there (Maureen) as your job begins even before my ten sleeps are over with classrooms that need to be set up, then you get a brand new batch of kids you need to "train" as to how you run your classroom, a fresh batch of parents to deal with etc., etc.

As part of this award I need to state 7 things that people may find interesting about me. They are as follows:

1. I have lived in 4 countries - Costa Rica, USA, Canada, The Netherlands.

2. I worked with Billy Graham for a summer during the Vancouver, BC Crusade and for a year in Amsterdam where we prepared for and then hosted a two week conference for itinerant evangelists from all over the world to attend. There were approx. 10,000 participants who attended and we had to set up everything from booking accommodations, transportation, meals, flights, and a whole lot more! It was an amazing year to say the least!

3. I have never permed, coloured or highlighted my hair (it's naturally curly).

4. I was born in Costa Rica.

5. I was not naturally blessed with many creative genes so my "one creative gene" had to go into major training when I started making cards LOL! I love SCS and various blogs I follow as they have stretched my one creative gene to the limits and helped me improve my card making abilities over the past few years.

6. I am extremely competitive! Had to give up most of the sports I did when after my kids were born so I now compete against DP and layouts :)

7. On my 21st birthday while at university, I had 21 different guys throughout the course of the day each give me a rose and sing me happy birthday. It started at 7:00 a.m. and ended at 10:30 p.m. with a bedtime story. One guy showed up in a scuba outfit, another in a tux and played happy birthday on his violin, two arrived at the dining hall and the WHOLE dining hall on campus sang me Happy Birthday once they caught on to what was happening (over 500 people!), three guys with roses delivered them to me in the middle of my Sociology class in a lecture hall of about 450 students -- the Prof. even incorporated the interruption into his lecture as an example of what he was talking about

I don't know 7 other bloggers I can tag so I'll stop at this point for now. Thanks for tagging me, Maureen.

I hope to have some stamping time tomorrow so I should be able to post some things this week for you. Thanks for stopping buy!