Ch-ch-changes..

Alright ladies... I am once again changing the store hours as it is starting to look pretty empty. We will be open

Tues - Sat 12 - 4pm

Closed Sundays & Mondays

There is still lots of paper & rubber stamps left. And there are some embellishments & notions still hanging around... stop by & do some "bargain hunting".

Rant.

My friend Kim has a rant about wearing yoga pants in public on her blog right now. I love it. Everyone has something that 'irks' them & sometimes it's so superficial or minor that it can be comical. For example, my husband has a SEVERE disstain for Beyonce. It came out of nowhere, but it cracks me up. If we are at the mall & a Beyonce song comes on, he will leave the store we are in. He also dislikes the word 'dejavue' simply because of her song. If Beyonce donated her eyes to a blind child he would still hate her. It's absurd. But I get it. Because I, like everyone else has things (or people) that get under my skin.

10 Mini Rants

1. Saturn. I get it. They went out of business. But I paid $3000 extra for warranties on my car. And now no one can help me out without charging me a bundle, on days like today, when my keys are stuck in my ignition & I can't get my car to turn off (looong story).

2. Ty Pennington. I've mentioned this before I am sure... I want to puke when I see him. Why does he have to scream all the time? He's obnoxious. And his sleeveless plaid shirts piss me off (it worked in the 90's for Foo Fighters, but you are NO David Grohl & it's 2010!), combine that with his repeated DUI's and I just want him to take a long walk off a short plank.

3. Boy pee. This is gross so I won't go into detail, but how hard can it be to get your pee in the potty? Makes me dislike Unisex bathrooms.

4. People who don't watch SNL or The Office. Because that instantly makes 55% of what I say mean nothing to these people. The same goes for Star Wars. Go ahead, call me a geek, but if you don't notice my 'hilarious' Jedi mind trick as I am talking to you, I understand, but I feel frustrated.

5. The 'ingenuine* guy' at Starbucks. He hates his job, and I can tell. Dude: Your fake smile & guyliner aren't fooling anyone.

6. Guyliner.

7. The grocery flyer's in Okotoks. WHY do they wrap the elastics to tightly around them? I have to cut them open. You'd think they had something special inside, but no, just the latest deals on Kellogg's Rice Krispies. For that much work, there should at least be a free temporary tattoo.

8. Mail-in rebates.

9. Sweatpants with writing on the bum. I own 2 pairs. But really, does the word ABERCROMBIE make my bum look any smaller? Unlikely.

10. Barbie. I was in a toy store the other day looking at girls stuff (because there is a 50/50 chance this is a girl...) and I noticed that Barbie has taken to looking rather 'loose' lately. In fact, some of them look like a working girl. I was excited when those Puta-esque Brats dolls were no longer being sold but it seems Barbie swooped right in to fill the void of 'slutty dolls' available for purchase.

Gotta Mini Rant? I want to hear it. I love this stuff!

Post it in the comment section.

* Technically "ingenuine" isn't a word. But it is on Urbandictionary.com, so I can use it, right?

Starting Tuesday!

Starting Tuesday the 19th* our entire store will be marked down an additional 30% (35% for members!).

Also note new store hours:
(effective until closure)

Closed Mondays
Tues-Sat 10am-4pm
Closed Sundays

*Not Monday the 18th as originally stated.

My High School Yearbooks (Todays Version)

Scrapbooking has made me some great friends. I often wonder "If I hadn't opened the store, would God have still arranged for me to find these fabulous women?". I like to think so. He must know how much I need them.
Anyway, while scrapbooking we began talking about High School. About how much effort we all put into our frienships back then. And about how that just wouldn't work today... Today we need our friendships to be "effortless". We need them to be easy. And free of Drama.
I am lucky to have found at least half a dozen women with whom I have a completely non-high school friendship. Yeah, I'm blessed. Jealous?

My High School Yearbook

(For The Year 2010)

Most Likely to Succeed: Brian. Or at least I hope he is. I want so badly for him to succeed. (I would also vote for him for 'Best Looking' just so you know...)

Most Athletic: Kim. She watches hockey.

Most Popular: Me. I have over 260 friends on Facebook. (Yeah, so what if I don't talk to 99% of them... what's your point?)

Biggest Flirt: Me. But only with Brian.

Best Dressed: Me. My maternity clothes are H.O.T.N.E.S.S.

Most Talkative: Me. And Kim. And Jesse. (We have been told that listening to us is like watching Gilmore Girls. Painful to most men :)

Best Hair: Kacey. As if you didn't see that one coming. Then Tara, who wins the honor because she is the only one who ever does hers on a scrapbook retreat.

Nicest Eyes: Me. If by nicest you mean "most prone to infection & most often swollen".

Most Creative: Kim. She is so creative that someone even ripped off her CSI layout & submitted it to Canadian Scrapbooker. I know, right???

Most School Spirit: Me. I will gladly accept the position as the knocked-up cheerleader.

Most likely to Marry for Money: Kim. She snagged herself a farmer and brags about it daily.

Most likely to take over the world: Tasha. The most organized and "got-it-together" person I can think of. I aspire to be like that someday. In the meantime, I'll just read her blog (which is always updated on time...)

Most likely to live in their parents basement: Not me. I hate basements.

Class Clown? Jules.

Most likely to get arrested: Tara. Because I got her into a fight. Sorry Tara.

Well...

(double-click to enlarge)

I've spent the past three weeks crying & laughing. And trying to really evaluate what I want in my life. Here's what I decided:

I want to watch Miles & Bean grow up.

I love Michelle (our Day Home Mom) but I am seething with jealousy when I pick up Miles and he is so happy because he just went tobogganing or to the spray park. I want to take him. Or at least have the option.

I want to be mentally & physically healthy.

And I haven't been. But I will be.

I want to have enough energy to support my husband.

The store has been draining me. And it's taking it's tolls. Brian has goals that he would like to reach. I want him to see those materialize. I want that more than I want to work on my balancing act ;)

I want to have "friendships".

I've realised how important these are to me. And I need time to create & savour them.

I want to take control of my home.

Finish reno's we started 4 years ago. Clean my pantry. Paint my bathroom. And then be around long enough to enjoy the "peace".

This needs to be addressed...

I fell off the blogging wagon. I fell off & must have landed on my hips (because they hurt).

So, I can't avoid it any longer, I need to address the Scrapbooking goal that I set for myself in 2009.

I didn't meet it.

I did not post 150 layouts. I just didn't. There are a million excuses (insert one here). I did however complete 150 layouts. I have them finished, sitting on my desk, waiting. Waiting to be photographed & posted. But I didn't post them. And so... I didn't meet my goal.

Normally I would be disappointed in myself. (Like most women, I am pretty hard on myself). But not this time. Nope. I am happy because instead of blogging, I was spending time with my family. And using that time to make big decisions. One's that are going to make me so much happier in the long run.

My son Miles on our recent ski trip. He just wanted to be like the big guys so badly. I soaked up every moment I had with him. Instead of posting layouts...