Creekside

We have this quaint home decor store not too far from where we live. It has lots of vintage feeling pieces (some antique, some new) and a lot of charm...and it also has it's share of shiny new things. One half of the store if full of windows and is usually set with light and sometimes shiny things, and the other side of the store is more woody and cosy. In the middle there is a beautiful bed that is dressed differently everytime I go in, but always with some sort of quilt set. It's beautiful - and that was the inspiration for this card! You see, that store's name is Creekside and they are celebrating their 1st Anniversary in about a week. We have been getting to know the owners and wanted to celebrate with them, so I had to make a card!

Masculine Notepad

So here's a masculine version of the notepads I posted yesterday. This one I had made for my husband and I guess he likes it because he keeps it on the computer desk to jot things down:)

A Few More Notebooks

Here are some more notebooks I've made last month or so with this tutorial. The first is the the one I have on my desk at work as a reminder of something I'm working on. The other two were gifts I gave. I'll post some masculine versions another day...

Notepads

I made this notepad and post-it note holder for the friend who treated me to the Just Scrap It membership. She's a TA, so she probably loves office/school supplies as much as I do. I don't think I've posted one of these notepads before so here's the tutorial - and I'll try to post another one I made soon. As for the post-it-note holder - here's the link from the last one I made. (The stamps in these projects are Huggybellas and SU Priceless.

Today we went on a road trip to Hague with a friend to visit Prairie Chicks (their webpage is down or else I'd give you a link...) It's this quaint little scrapbooking/quilting store - definitely worth the 40 minute drive! I got some new flowers for a project I'm working on (a mini-album of our recent walk in the Legislative Gardens - I mean, you need flowers for an album like that, right?!). Overall though, I think I showed amazing restraint in my purchases considering what I was surrounded by. I think I'm in a place where I want to use my stuff up rather than just stockpile it, you know... Also, I'm getting pretty excited for the new SU catalog which I've seen peaks of through people at their convention this week...and there are some buttons and ribbons that I simply must have (oh and there are new felt fusion flowers in browns/pinks/blues), so I have to save room in my budget for that!

Ice Cream Cone Card

I made this simple card for my daughter, Amanda... Ice cream is one of her favourite things and she, of course, is one of my favourite things:) The ice cream scoops are made out of scallop punches and the top one is embossed with glitter because Amanda likes all things glittery!

Inside the Paper Bags....

I've had such a hectic week work-wise that I haven't had any time to create much, so today I'm just posting a few more pictures of my paper bag album from last week's happy hour as a few people have asked to see inside...

Hopefully I'm going to get a chance to craft later today. I noticed on several of the blogs I follow that several people are at SU Convention and are posting pictures of what's new - I'm getting eager for the new catalog:)

It Was a Very Happy Hour!

So remember a few days ago when I said that Just Scrap It would be hosting a happy hour on Friday from 3-8pm? Well, needless to say I went (isn't my husband so sweet and patient to bring me by while we were running errands?!)...and here's what I made! I *heart* the creative cafe!! And I loved making this cute little mini album! It's made out of 3 folded paper bags (each a different size). I've got the perfect pictures to put in too, so once I get them printed and attached maybe I'll post a few pictures of the inside for you. I love that I got to really make this my own - sometimes when you go somewhere for a project you have to basically replicate the example - not here, I was able to pick my colours, my phrases, my ribbons, my everything - and so the book turned out to be something I really like!

Gift Bag

For my birthday, my in-laws gave me a pamper card for a pedi at Bev Ashdowns (my favourite!) and so I went in on Saturday morning to use it! I love pedi's!! And since I seem to turn almost everything into a craft supply these days, it's no surprise that I had to take the gift bag that the pamper card came in (isn't Bev Ashdowns so sweet to use rose red gift bags?!) and repurpose it. I had the color inspiration colors still out (from my color inspiration card submission below), so voila... a matching giftbag. Well, not really matching, I used a different style (baroque motif), etc., but it's the same colors. I'm not sure why my dazzling diamonds glitter kind of gooped a bit in places, but oh well.

...as for the pedi - it was wonderful - they floated rose pedals in a milk chocolate bath for me feet... need I say more?!!!




Crafty toes -no?! :) ----->

Color Inspiration

Well, I had a few minutes alone in the house for myself this morning and my head was so swimming with ideas of what to make that I couldn't seem to decide on anything, so I decided to take a leap and do my first "Kwernerdesignblog Color Inspiration". So this card was made taking inspiration from the colors in the dress in Kristina's graphic. The dress had me thinking about fabric and then I got on a quilting tangent which made me think of a couple of different friends - so here's my quilted friend card with ribbon and button embellishments... (I mean really, if you're me, you can't think quilting or fabric without thinking buttons). I know I've seem some much prettier cards for this challenge, but it was cathartic for me to just go with my inspiration and not overanalyze it or try to get it perfect, you know?!

Mini Album

Mini-albums...(sigh...) - I love them! So I was thrilled when I saw that the next happy hour project at my local Creative Cafe is going to be Bag & Tag Brag Book. I'm definitely going to check that out.... It's a bit of a consolation too because last night I went to a SU retirement party and saw another cute mini album that's going to be a summer camp project - only the camp is when I'm on vacation - ce la vive!

This is one of the last mini-albums I made... I used one of the Wednesday tutorials on Splitcoast. I almost always love their Wednesday tutorials!

Coaster Frame

This project looks better in person than in the picture I think, but I'm not sure if I'm done with it yet either. I have it on my computer desk and I'm still thinking about it... What I am sure about is the couple in the picture in it - that's Les and me:) I'd love to learn how to take better pictures - particularly of the two us when we go on our adventures together. We have so many wonderful experiences together that I end up with no photo evidence of. I will take any and all advise on that matter...

This project was made with 2 4x4 coasters which I covered with Berry Bliss paper. I *loved* that paper when it came out. I even thought that I'd have to 'stock up' on it before it retired, but now that it is retiring I find that I don't need to have an extra stash...I'm just looking forward to whatever is next (have you seen the new Bella Rose paper?!). I find I'm becoming less sentimental with paper. I used to save and save it...and now I want to use it all, you know?!

Box in a Bag

Everyone seems to be making these, so I had to try my hand at it...(I used this tutorial.) Also, check out the one Shawna made here! Shawna has been my Stampin' Up demo this past year, and I really enjoyed being part of her monthly club! It was really great to look forward to one night a month to get together with the girls and craft! And we made some great projects!

What a great day!!

Yesterday was one of my favourite days ever! Les and I got to sleep in a bit, then I made french toast cups with berries for breakfast...then I got to go to a scrapbooking class...then Les took me out for dinner...then we lingered at the bookstore...then a trip to Starbucks...and then we went to the observatory. (Romantic, no?!!) Well, we did decide that the moon, stars and planets are all a little more romantic with the naked eye than through a telescope, so then we went for a drive and enjoyed them that way! (...sigh!)

I have the best husband! (Have I told you that lately?) He builds me up and encourages me to do things that nurture my soul, and he was the driving force behind me signing up for the class I did yesterday. It was a glimmer mist class - and I *loved* it. I made this vintage album and box. I don't think the pictures do it justice, but what fun to sit and create for 5 hours straight. That's right, straight - I didn't even get up for breaks I was so into it! Anyone want to hire me to craft all day? What a dream job that would be!! Blogger wouldn't let me post all the pictures, so I might post a few more another day, but I did post the page the the quote on creativity on purpose. It goes...

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

Don't you just love that?! If you know me, then you know that I'm really hard on myself about mistakes, so this quote hit me so fresh...to allow myself to make mistakes is part of the creative process maybe...maybe that's why God didn't just make us all perfect?! Anyway, it's got me thinking...

Oh and one more great thing happened yesterday - at the end of my class I was given a membership to Just Scrap It! - a friend had snuck in and bought it for me while I was 'creating' as a late bday gift!! Does it get any better than that?!! It was a great day!

Spiral Notepad

I made this little notepad for my hubby's first day at his new job this week so he'd have something handy for notes. I think I succeeded at making it look masculine for him. Here's a link to the tutorial I used.

I'm so proud of my man for how hard he works and what an awesome husband and father he is! I love this man so much!

Post-It Notepad with Pen

Amanda's really on a kick for notepads/post-it-notes, so here another one I made for her using this tutorial. The image I used for this one is called teach-a-bella because Amanda wants to be a teacher... I wanted to be a teacher too when I was growing up, so I'd like to see her dream come true for her! Perhaps it's the teacher in me that likes everything about school/office supplies - so much so that my hubby sometimes teases me. Maybe that's why I've been on my own kick of making things with them - or maybe it's just that I don't have any July birthdays to make cards for?!

More Post-It Notes using Coasters

So in keeping with tradition, I had to make one of these post-it-note pads for my daughter, Amanda. Every time I make something for someone else that I haven't made for her yet, I get the look. So here's the one I made for my book-worm-a-manda!

We just got back from a spur of the moment trip to the Queen-city... We all had a couple of days off, and so on Friday morning I said we should do something special with it...so off we went!

Post-It Notes using Coasters

So remember the post-it-note holder I posted yesterday? Well, a friend at work saw it on my desk and loved it! She said this would be just the perfect thing and could I make one for each of her girlfriends so she could give it to them on their 'girls' weekend away'. I said 'sure' and asked about colours and images. She just said 'anything but pink' that pink was her, but definitely not her friends, so here is the product... The blue bayou ones are for her friends and the pink one is hers:)

Recipe-wise: the tutorial is the same as in my last post; the DP in the blue ones is SU-DSP and in the pink one is SU-Berry Bliss; the stamped image is Cosmobella (don't you just love Stamping Bella?!)...

I love having a creative outlet like this. For years I didn't take any time to create. I liked to scrapbook, but each page would take me hours. I like stuff like this that I can do in a half an hour or so - I can fit it in with life and at the end of the day I feel like I made something and so my creative side gets fed! What do you do to feed your creativity?

I Love My Bike!

She's pink with white flowers, has a basket with flowers, and her name is Lorelei. I enjoy going for a ride whenever I can - especially on a morning like this... The sun is shining and the sky is so blue and beautiful. I listen to a lot of worship music while I'm riding...lately I've been inspired on my ipod by Brian Doerksen and the song You Surround Me in particular has really been incredible!

So in keeping with how much I'm loving riding my bike, I made this post-it-note holder for my desk at work a week or so ago with the stamp set...Always Time for You. I bought this set because it had my bike in it and because the sentiment is something God's trying to teach me - to take more time for me (and for me and Him:)). Here's a link to the tutorial for making these note holders.

Tiny Mini Album

I made this tiny mini album this week using this tutorial from Splitcoast. The pictures are of Les and his Taylor - perhaps I should have titled it 'friends'!

Oh-so-pretty Post-it Note Pad

Lastest Creation!

I made this post-it note holder in a few spare moments using this tutorial from Julie (Star blogger, who I met - see previous post!) The stamp I used is called 'oh-so-pretty-bella' - and the best part about it is that my hubby says it looks like me! (I wish! - but isn't he a sweetheart for seeing me that way?!!)

I Met Someone Famous!

Yesterday on the way to my SU club I got to swing by the home of Julie of Paper Pleasing Ideas. I read her blog everyday and I get lots of craftin' ideas from her tutorials. How cool is that?! I met a stampin', scrappin' star right here in Saskatchewan? She was awesome, very warm and all. Her voice is just like in her tutorials... And I'm thrilled to get using the kit I bought from her. What fun!

Birthday

So tomorrow is my birthday - and, well, I'm not counting numbers ok - I feel like I'm 27, but I'm not -- and what does that matter anymore anyway?!

Today Les and I both had the day off and rather than doing all the dutiful things that we usually do, we got some Starbucks and headed on a little roadtrip! Not too far, just some small towns around Saskatoon. It was sunny and the sky was beautiful....the fields were green and we were holding hands - I don't need anything more than that!

And we found the most adorable quilt/scrapbook shop in Hague - reminded me of the ones we found in Canmore on our anniversary trip last fall. And we found a little ice cream shop too on the way back home - mmmm sweet indulgence!

I love today! No thoughts of work, no worries - just his hand holding mine as we drove along under the warmth of God's sky:)

Scripture Box

I have so much to update you on, but that will have to wait.. I'm making a new page for my scripture box. I *love* this project...

Incredible

Watch it for yourself (click to 'view the preview' and watch the whole thing!)

Merry Christmas!

Les left for work around 6:30 this morning . I enjoyed some quiet time with God by candle light and then did the shoveling. Made a treat for Amanda for breakfast (new recipe! mmmm), then got the turkey in the oven and made the cranberries. Everything is pretty much in order, so I made a last minute card. Soon both sides of the family will be here and Les will be home from work. Merry Christmas everybody!

Happy 5th Anniversary to Us!!

November 7, 2007 was our 5th anniversary - we celebrated 3 ways:

- first with an anniversary trip to Edmonton, Canmore & Banff since we never did get that honeymoon; stayed in a lovely inn in Canmore overlooking the mountains...we'll definitely do that again...this picture taken one evening around sunset in one of our trail walks around Canmore:)
- second with a date last Friday - dinner at The Granary; movie (Dan in Real Life); followed by a trip to McNally...
- third, last night with Miss Amanda - went for dinner to The Broadway Cafe and then went to The Mendal to see the painting of Les by Kathleen Robertson.

Can you tell where we've been?

Apparently this is me...


...and this is what that means.

Robin Mark & Paul Baloche

...an evening you won't want to miss

Hockey Night in the Brophy House!


Well, it's the first Canuck game of the season on HNIC, so we invited a few friends over and made the traditional parfaits for the 3rd period. What do you think of the new team colours?

The Name Game

Well I was tagged to play this name game! If you dont have a blog- try it in the comments section! And if you do have a blog - leave a link so I can read yours! It was pretty fun! I love reading them so leave a comment:)

Here goes!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) -Fancy Cavalier (yes, my first pet was a toy poodle named 'Fancy Pants')

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Rolo, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
(a close second would be - Chocolate Ginger...now THAT sounds more gansta like!)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) S-Bro

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Pink Spaniel (OK - I'm not positive what my favourite animal is...I like dogs and cats, flutter-by's and even elephants, so I picked the type of pet I've often wanted but never had - a cocker spaniel).

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)- Marie Saskatoon

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Brosh

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) The Purple Macchiato

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)- Joseph Bernard

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Fruits and Passions, Cherry Blaster (mmm cherry blasters...do you know how many years it has been since I had a cherry blaster?)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Elaine Bernard

That was fun!

Now I must tag 5 people-Hmmmmmm, well I won't tag you, but I'd love to see what you come up with, so leave a comment...

We've adopted a new member into our family...



...Bella!

Allow me to introduce you to Lorelei...





..she's an Electra Hawaii with flower imprints on the tires and flowers on the body and seat. Could riding be any more fun?!

When does a hobby become an obsession?

...how about when the most relaxing thing you can think of to help you fall asleep at night is what project you're going to make next?!

I'm into stamping. There, I said it. Now before you all start worrying and reaching for your rolodex(es) to find me the number of stampers-anonymous, let me just say that it's not an activity I find a lot of time to do, but when I do have moments to be creative, that's my outlet right now...and when I don't...well, sometimes I just daydream about what I might make next...

...and, you see, I have this GREAT husband who encourages me to make more time for things I enjoy, so I've signed up for a monthly stamping club this fall...and I recently got back from a stamp camp at the lake even. Here's a peak at a couple of my favourite projects in the last month or so...

Les' Pivot Questionnaire

These 10 questions originally came from a French series, "Bouillon de Culture" hosted by Bernard Pivot.

They're better known as the questions that James Lipton asks every guest at the end of "Inside the Actor's Studio" show.

1. What is your favorite word? civilized
   
2. What is your least favorite word? war
   
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? a challenge
   
4. What turns you off? solicitation for money
   
5. What is your favorite curse word? "I spit on your haircut!"
   
6. What sound or noise do you love? a les paul through a cranked amplifier
   
7. What sound or noise do you hate? rap music
   
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? professional musician
   
9. What profession would you not like to do? labourer
   
10. If Heaven exists, (it does!) what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? hey, I know you.
    

Your turn.

Sherri's Pivot Questionnaire

These 10 questions originally came from a French series, "Bouillon de Culture" hosted by Bernard Pivot.

They're better known as the questions that James Lipton asks every guest at the end of "Inside the Actor's Studio" show.

1. What is your favorite word? sweet
   
2. What is your least favorite word? networking
   
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? music, discussion, my husband
   
4. What turns you off? self-righteousness
   
5. What is your favorite curse word? good grief
   
6. What sound or noise do you love? the sound of the garage door opener from inside the house
   
7. What sound or noise do you hate? alarm clocks before 8 a.m.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? teacher or pastor
   
9. What profession would you not like to do? politician
   
10. If Heaven exists, (it does!) what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? do hugs have sounds? ...I'd like to hear him say my name.
    

Your turn.

Inspi-READ

Last night Les took me out on a date. We had dinner at Kelsey's where I had some delicious balsamic chicken and then we saw 'Becoming Jane' (I *love* Jane Austin.) Afterward we did two of my favourite things...Starbucks and then book browsing.

Concerning the latter, if you ever find yourself at McNally Robinson and wonder why those big chairs are sitting side by side instead of back to back in a particular section of the store, you will know that Les and I likely sat there book browsing... Every so often we go to McNally and load up all sorts of books and magazines to look at, and then we turn the chairs so we can sit next to each other as we peruse:) Sometimes the chairs will even still be sitting side by side the next time we go...kind of sitting there holding hands, waiting for us:)

Amazing SIX-Year-Old Singer - The most amazing bloopers are here

Tim Hughes - Everything

Happy Mother's Day!

Allow me to indulge myself just a bit;) Amanda presented me with a book of poetry this weekend that she had written. I'll share just one. The style is such that whatever the 3rd thought of the 4th line is, it changes the rest of the poem to that subject...

FAMILY
Busy, small
Caring, helping, working
Grandpa, grandma, mom, dad
Cooking, cleaning, loving
Smart, pretty
Mom

Apparently it brought tears to the teacher's eyes when she read it. Can you just imagine what it did to mine (let alone my heart)?!

Out of the mouth of babes...

Oy, what a week I've had...and here I had all these great things to post about, but I'm so busy I can't. But I've popped in briefly to share what my brilliant daughter said tonight...

She said, "It's our imperfections that make us interesting - at least that's what I've always thought."

What a perspective! ...our imperfections make us interesting.

What do you think?

Do It Anyway Lyrics

The lyrics to this song are powerful and really capture what I'm feeling...

You can spend your whole life buildin'
Something from nothin
One storm could come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You could chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great but sometimes life aint good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like i think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy
And it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all you heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
love em anyway

God is great but sometimes life aint good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like i think it should
But I do it anyway
Yeah, I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singin'
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yeah sing it anyway

I sing
I dream
I love anyway

You Are a Auditory Learner

You tend to remember what you hear, and you have a knack for speaking well. You excel at debating, foreign languages, and music. You would be an excellent diplomat - or rock star!

What's Your Learning Style?

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Living with a GRANDE Passion

I think this book sounds interesting! This is what the back cover says...

You don't stand in line at Starbucks just to buy a cup of coffee. You stop for the experience surrounding the cup of coffee.

Too many of us line up for God out of duty or guilt. We completely miss the warmth and richness of the experience of living with God. If we'd learn to see what God is doing on earth, we could participate fully in the irresistible life that he offers.

You can learn to pay attention like never before, to identify where God is already in business right in your neighborhood. The doors are open and the coffee is brewing. God is serving the refreshing antidote to the unsatisfying, arms-length spiritual life---and he won't even make you stand in line. Let Leonard Sweet show you how the passion that Starbucks has for creating an irresistible experience can connect you with God's stirring introduction to the experience of faith.

You can read more of an excerpt from the book here.

Les & Sherri's Tasty Travels

Yes, you are right, I've been missing in action...part of that is just busy life things and part of that is the recent trip that my hubby and I took to Edmonton. For the third year running, Les and I headed to Edmonton at the end of January for the Breakforth Conference. The conference was awesome again this year, and I hope to post more about that in the future, but I thought I'm mention first a few of the tastier parts of trip. You see Les I spent a couple of extra days in Edmonton to shop and relax after the conference, and we had a great time at some of our favourite spots, so here are a few of our tips that had us eating at way less than $40-a-day!

- What's a trip to Edmonton without visiting IKEA?! And did you know that they serve some of the best coffee that Les has ever tasted? Also they run a breakfast feature until 11 a.m. each day...breakfast for a buck! So one morning for $1 each we had scrambled eggs, sausage and a croissant. It was very good and totally fueled us for the next few hours as we shopped. We actually made it back to IKEA at the end of our trip too as we were snowed in in Edmonton for an extra day and Les had missed having his Swedish meatball lunch. They have a deal for somewhere around $5 that includes salad, a meatball entre (with lingonberry sauce) and coffee/tea. Did I mention that their tea is pretty awesome too?! Gotta love IKEA!

- The Old Spagetti Factory was where we had supper on the night the conference ended. This was a favourite of Les' family growing up and he still orders the veal everytime he goes there. So knowing that we might head there I checked to see if there were any deals to be had online before we left. And sure enough, visaperks was offering a promotion where if you paid with your visa you would get a free entree for every one you purchased..so basically, my hunter's chicken that night was on the house:) (And yes, I cheated and had the wee dish of spumoni ice cream that comes with your meal that night too:)

- White Spot - this is our favourite place to eat at from back in B.C., and thankfully there is one in Edmonton now. Many people here in Saskatchewan don't even know about White Spot, but trust me, you would love it. It's kind of like a Kelsey's or a Moxie's, but WAY better. The first time I ate there when Les & I were dating I had the cheddar grilled chicken and to this day I have not had anything else there. It's SO good, and I get there so infrequently that I always order the same thing...yum! Les's favourite is the double double (double the beef, double the cheese). And thanks to letting our server know where we were staying (just down the road), we got 15% off our total check!

- Starbucks! When Les and I travel (which isn't much), we try to go to as many different Starbucks as we can. One of our favourites is on Whyte Street in Edmonton...a perfect break for an afternoon of walking up and down Whyte Street and exploring the ecclectic shops there (including Avenue Guitars...the BEST guitar store ever!) It's upstairs in an old brick building that is now a Chapters...the view and the windows are completely charming. Another Starbucks highlight was at the downtown Starbucks one of the nights during the conference...we had a short period between our afternoon and evening sessions and both weren't too hungry so we indulged in the Starbucks-fair... I had a sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte with no fat (so basically skim milk and expresso, but it tastes so good) and a low fat scone. In Edmonton the Starbucks have French Toast Scones. Doesn't that sound good with my doce latte?!! Mmmm.

- Red Robin is another favourite of ours whenever we are in Alberta. We both are in love with the teriyaki chicken sandwiches. They grill pineapple and put it on the grilled teriyaki chicken breast. It's delightful! Since I was sure we would try to get to Red Robin at least once, I did some searching online for deals before we left and found that if you sign up for their newsletter, you get $3 off your meal the next time you are there. So, yet another deal!

- O'Byrne's Irish Pub - this is an Irish Pub on Whyte Street. We ate there on Tuesday night because on Tuesday nights they have a real Irish session. The atmosphere was so authentic...music was awesome (even though we couldn't stay later to see the dancers), and Tuesdays are all-you-can-eat fish and chip nights for $7.95. And let me just say, that neither of us could eat more than the initial portion they brought, but oh, the fish was so good (not all batter)...and what a treat to have chips!

My Favourite Monty Python Skit...

Presenting...THE LION TAMER!

The 2007 Blizzard

Well, by now it would not be 'news' for me to tell you that we had the worst blizzard I have ever experienced in my life this past Wednesday. Though I am a little late in writing about it on here, I still want to preserve the memory of that day...for it was the first time I've ever come home from work on snow-mobile!

Actually, the day started normal enough. When the alarm went off Wednesday morning, Les told me there was only a 'skiff' of snow, and later when I ate my breakfast, I looked out and thought, 'maybe the storm has passed us by', it was lightly snowing with just a bit of wind. Sure visibility was reduced a bit when I drove to work, but I had definitely driven through worse before. Once I was at work I was pretty much oblivious to what was happening outside...it's like that most days once I get inside our downtown offices. But after lunch I heard a couple of administrative staff talking about their bus routes being shut down, and then a little after 1:30, I got the message from the OMP, we could go home as the city was closing down streets, but we should make sure to take work with us. I called home and told Les that I would pick up Amanda on my way. A few minutes later Les called me back to say that the school had also called saying that they were closing too and that we could pick her up. Les told me to drive safe, and I said 'of course, you know me, I'll go slow...'

I have driven through a lot of things, but I have never experienced anything like the drive home on Wednesday. One of the worst parts being driving north on Circle Drive between 22nd Street and 33rd. I could see nothing. The only way I stayed on the road was to look for the green street light poles that were every so often in the ditch. Somehow I got through and made my way to Amanda's school to pick up my girlie. Somehow, that is, with a few tears and lots of prayers a long the way...

Now, Amanda's school is only a few blocks from our house and so you would think that once I got there I was home-free. Well, I only wish that was true. The residential street I had to pull onto to get her from school was aweful and I had to pull on facing north, so we could barely see anything. We navigated around cars, got stuck and unstuck...only to find ourselves 2 car-links form where we could turn west to head home. But there was no getting further. These cars were ultimately abandoned in the centre of the road (the front one of which I couldn't even see). We tried to go around them and got horribly stuck ourselves. I kept going in and out of the vehicle trying to dig us out the best I could...all the while facing the gusting wind and snow from the north (I've never been colder...eyebrows and eyelashes frozen with ice-crystals). Everytime I'd pop back into the vehicle to warm up, I tried to keep it together and tell Amanda that everything would be ok. Nobody helped us..we tried to help a couple of others...and then, at one point I thought this man who walked up to our car was going to help us, but he just shouted foul language our way while puffing on his cigarette. Once I accepted that we wouldn't get through there, I tried to get us back to behind the two abandoned cars (once a car that was blocking us moved). In the process, I managed to turn the car around to try going up the road the other way...only to end up getting stuck again because I had to stop behind a van that seemed to get stuck and unstuck every few feet. The van had numerous people with shovels helping them, but no one even made a motion to help us. Eventually though a man walked up to the vehicle and told me I might as well give up, that even if I got unstuck, that there were so many vehicles stuck ahead of that van that we weren't going anywhere tonight. He said to just abandon the car. I said that I scared to do so because I had my daughter with me and I didn't think she could make the walk home in this. He said we could wait it out at his home around the corner with his wife, and he helped to push me so I could get unstuck and then I pulled the car as far over to the corner as I could.

Amanda and I then tried to walk to this gentleman's house, but eventually Amanda couldn't walk into the wind anymore, and we ducked into a nearby driveway and knocked on the door of a stranger (so much for all my efforts at teaching my daughter not to talk to strangers). These were kind strangers though, and they let us in and let me use the phone to call Les. Les wanted to come and get us right away, but it was no use, he would just get caught in this all too. We'd have to wait it out a bit and try to walk a little further later. Our hosts made us some hot chocolate and then looking out their front window said it was getting worse, so we should just come upstairs and watch some TV with them, that we wouldn't be going anywhere for quite a while. Once upstairs the man of the house commented that he remembered a bad snow storm in the 80's when the police let them use their snowmobiles on the streets. He wondered if that would happen again, so he called the city police and got their approval to take his sleds out. The next thing I knew, he and his wife were getting their snowmobiles out and bundled us up and took Amanda and I home. I've never been so thankful for the kindness of strangers in my life! And thankful to God too, because He did answer those prayers and kept us safe...even taking us to the one house that could actually get us home before dark that night:)

How Ironic...

Today we took back a DVD that Les received for Christmas to one of the local Christian bookstores here. When we tried to watch the DVD last night, it skipped in several places and so we didn't get very far. So today we took the DVD back hoping to be able to exchange it for another copy.

Since Christmas we have been to a few different stores to do returns and exchanges. Most seem to have fairly generous policies and were only too happy to help us out. I suppose that is why I'm still thinking about our experience at this "Christian" store today. It was quite the opposite. You see, when we approach the counter and explained the problem, the clerk didn't immediately try to remedy our problem and obtain a new DVD for us or provide us with a refund or a gift card for that matter. Rather, the clerk's response was to ask exactly where the skips were on the DVD as she would have to view the DVD herself before doing anything else. I explained where the skips were on the parts of the DVD we were able to watch (after a certain point, the skipping was so bad, the DVD was unwatchable). She then took the DVD to the back of the store to the children's area where they had TV and DVD player that was currently playing a Veggie Tales video. She then said that she would have to view these skips for herself. After I helped her with her own technical issues in operating the DVD player, I then showed her some of the skips on the DVD. Satisfied that there were indeed skips on the DVD, she did not proceed back to the cash register as I had hoped to help remedy the problem for us. Instead she said she would need to review this with her manager and could not promise that they would take the DVD back. In the end, they determined that they would replace the DVD for us, but, of course, they didn't have any in stock, so they would order one for us and call us when one came in. In the meantime, we got no refund, no gift card or in-store credit on the DVD return, just their word that they would call us when our new DVD came in...

We took their word, but the irony of it stuck with me. They certainly didn't take our word that the DVD skipped, and I guess that rubbed me a bit the wrong way. We've never had a problem returning anything this season at the secular stores we went to, but today, at this "Christian" store, we were treated suspiciously when we were simply returning a defective product, simply wanting a working version of the exact same thing. And all this in a place where there are books and cds galore on topics like grace and love, it felt more than just a little bit ironic to me.

Making an Elf of Ourselves...

Sherri

and

Les

A Very Brophy Christmas!!



Every year we have both sides of our families over for Christmas, and every year Les works on Christmas day, so we have never had a 'normal' Christmas morning as just our immediate family...that is, until this year. Our Church held a candle-light Christmas Eve service on the eve of Christmas Eve, and so last night we did our normal Christmas Eve traditions with family over after the service...and then we carved out today for a 'very Brophy Christmas' which meant just the 3 of us - Les, Amanda and me. We had oatmeal cookie pancakes for breakfast, then leisurely shared gifts (instead of the usual rushing on Christmas day after Les gets home from work and before we have both sides of the family over and share turkey). Then we visited, played games, snacked and enjoyed our first Christmas alone together. Tomorrow Les will head off to work and when he comes home both sides of the family will be over and the turkey feast will begin, but I have to say that I like this new tradition...a little bit of peace that I'm treasuring in my heart tonight:)

Merry Christmas!

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Each year, you really get into the spirit of Christmas. Which is much more important to you than nifty presents.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Where Have I Been?

I haven't found time to check blogs much less post on mine lately (and look, it's nearly Christmas and this blog is still decorated for fall?!) On November 27th I started my new job...and the first week was, well, it WAS! Without going into many details, let's just say my partner felt the need to send me flowers at home by the end of the week which was a nice end to a...I-don't-know-how-to-describe-it...week! I'm working 3 days a week which doesn't sound like it should be so hectic as it is, but it is a very fast paced environment, and I dare say I haven't even had so much as a lunch hour to myself with out a meeting or a lunch and learn. Also I'm working much longer days than I used to (and remember Les does shiftwork). I used to be able to work my job around Amanda's school hours, but now my Dolly has to be a bit more independent (and that's a bit hard on me...she's doing fine with it though:) But overall, I have to say that things have been going pretty well. I'm now at the end of week three and find myself much happier at work now that I have some clients and some people stuff to manage. I love the people stuff about work...always have...anywhere I go, it's the people...the clients, the staff, the people who "make" my day...

On a related, but unrelated note, my Christmas party for work was last weekend, and it was very nice...and very well organized, just as you would expect for a bunch of accountants. Les commented afterward that you could sure tell it was a room full of accountants when the punchline to the big joke at our table was "QAR"... (QAR stands for quality review). Anyway, it was a lovely evening from the start (being greeted by the OMP with a glass of champagne) to the finish (learning about other countries and how they celebrate Christmas and then actually being able to participate in a meaningful tradition from Poland).

One more thing that I meant to post last week, and is related to the above in that it has to do with Christmas, is that Les, Amanda and I attended a "Cheer Party" at Starbucks last Tuesday. It was a blast! Free peppermint mocha's and eggnog latte's...live music...treats... Christmas at Starbucks is so good! I say, "On with the tradition!"

The Big Gummy-Bear Is NOT the Poster-boy for Gluttony

Warning: Rant ahead...

I've held my tongue on this one about as long as I can, but the big gummy-bear being used to symbolize the sin of gluttony this week in the announcements at church took me over the top. First off, let me say, that I KNOW it was meant to be funny, ...still, I'm not laughing...

Our Church is doing a sermon series on the 7 deadly sins. A couple of weeks ago it was gluttony's turn. The speaker was someone that I respect and that I have learned much from in the past (and I'm sure I will learn much from in the future), so I was looking forward to hearing what he would say on this one. He started his message with a statistic on how many Americans are overweight or obese...linking this as an example of gluttony. He did also mention in his message how things like shopping, excessive tv watching etc. could also be an examples of gluttony as well. But I couldn't get past his link right off the bat of overweight or size to this particular sin. Sure, it is true that there are people who are overweight who overeat, but this isn't necessarily true of all overweight people, and I am so tired of discriminatory comments like that. It wouldn't be acceptable on the following weekend when sloth was discussed to single out a particular racial group and use negative statistics about their presence in the workforce to illustrate sloth. And likewise, it wasn't acceptable, to me anyway, for overweight statistics to be used to illustrate gluttony either.

I would have been fine if we would have talked about overindulgence or overeating to illustrate his point, but to use size statistics as his hook to convince us that more than half the population has a problem with gluttony, well, it just wasn't credible to me. Probably most of the people in the congregation could have identified with gluttony in their lives without someone using their size against them. Food-wise, there were probably plenty of people listening who weren't overweight but had personal experience with over-indulgence. The size of a person does not tell the tale of how present or absent this sin is from their life. In fact, it is my own excessive focus on eating less food, counting and balancing carbs and proteins and exercise that is probably a more glutton-ous behaviour on my own part. When it all comes down to it, it is not what you see on the outside that tells you about the sin a person struggles with because really it is a matter of the heart, and so often it cannot be detected with the eye.

Perhaps I've taken the sermon illustration more personally than I should have, but it is a personal matter to me. I am someone who has dealt with size my whole life and who works ever so hard everyday to make sure that I eat healthy and exercise, and size-ist comments that have been thrown my direction over the years have made self-acceptance a very hard thing for me...and I have just fought the stereotypes too hard in my own life to let this illustration go... Besides, what do the pastor's statistics mean in any case? He was saying that some number over 50% of Americans are overweight or obese. Do you know what that tells me? Not much since reading that by BMI standards Brad Pitt is overweight and George Clooney and Russell Crowe are obese (obese?!!). You know, just the other night I caught a feature on CNN about the designer's creating a new size...a 00 (that's right, a size zero is no longer small enough, they've created a double zero). In the news story, a reporter wanted to get a sense of what is might be like to be a larger woman living in a world where there is now a size smaller than zero, so the reporter put on a fat suit and uglied themselves up to go out and see how it felt in the real world. First of all, I thought it was 'rich' that they couldn't just go out in the fat suit...they had to ugly themselves up too (bad hair, skin, teeth, etc)...after all, there ARE still people out there who think 'fat and ugly' are one word?! (Rich!, I know!) Secondly, I had to do a double take when they mentioned the size of the reporter after donning her fat-suit. It was a 12?!! Do you know that I have never in my adult nor teenage life been a size 12...NEVER! All the diet pills consumed, all the meals skipped, all the calories counted and fats eliminated, carbs watched and balanced, exercise...all of it and I have never made it down to the size of that reporter's fat-suit.... (ughhhhhhhh!!!!)

Anyway, later that night I was hungry (real stomach hunger) for a snack, and I gave in after watching that news story. The next day I felt bad and told my husband that I was a glutton for having that snack. He looked at me in disbelief. "Good grief," he said, "You had a bit of oatmeal. Most people watching tv on a Saturday night are ordering pizza in and you are feeling bad about a small bowl of oatmeal?!" What nonsense indeed! That being said, rant over... I'm just going to let this all go now... (breathe in, breathe out:)

A little over 4 years ago, I used to sing this song (see below) ...meaning many of it's words. And then God turned my waiting into dancing, and the "brown-eyed boy" in my future (from the song) appeared...and every day since his love have given me a bigger taste of heaven and taught me more about God's love.

Born To Fly

I've been telling my dreams to the scarecrow
About the places that I'd like to see
I say, "friend do you think I'll ever get there?"
Oh, but he just stands there smilin' back at me

So I confessed my sins to the preacher
About the love I've been prayin' to find
Is there a brown-eyed boy in my future, yeah
And he says, "girl, you've got nothin' but time."

But how do you wait for heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know that you were born,
You were born to fly

My daddy he is grounded like the oak tree
My momma she is steady as the sun
Oh, you know I love my folks
But I keep starin' down the road
Just lookin' for my one chance to run

Hey, cause I will soar away like a blackbird
I will blow in the wind like a seed
I will plant my heart in the garden of my dreams
And I will grow up where I wander wild and free

Oh, How do you wait for heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know, that you were born?
You were born, yeah, you were born to fly


Today is the 4th anniversary of the day I married that "brown-eyed boy"! And I love him even more today than on the day I said "I do". He and his love are teaching me to 'fly'!

Do I Really Look Like ANY of these People?