Busy Month!!

Hmmmm looks like another month and a bit has gone past since I blogged.  What's been going on in my life?  Well, biggest thing is, I quit my job at the bank.  I was ready for a change, and another opportunity arose with the same hours/week, same pay, but a completely different environment.  So I applied, and got the position, and am now working for the Employment Assistance Centre.  It's a great place to work, love my co-workers, and have found the transition pretty smooth so far.  Plus I am home every single day until the kids go back after lunch which they and I have both loved.

I've been scrapping a bit more again as well.  Feels good to sit down and actually have some passion about it again, and ideas to go with that passion. :)

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Sooooo over at Canadian Scrapbooker, they have something called the 'Sketchy Challenge'.  Every month they post an awesome sketch and you use your craftiness to come up with your own layout based on that sketch.

This month, this is the sketch...

And this month I decided to take part, and came up with this!

I used Doodlebug Designs 'Take Note' 6x6 paper pack, the colors are amazing and I love the pop the black edges gave them.....

FANTASTIC WEEK!!!!

So originally, back in April I think it was.... I purchased 2 tickets for the P!nk concert in Winnipeg for the end of October.  This was meant to be mine and Dari's 'F*ck off Cancer' weekend when she was all done treatment, etc.  We were so excited to go, she got almost as excited as she was for a Disney trip.  We were going to do dinners, and movies, and maybe some massages and hot tubbing.....  Unfortunately fate wasn't aligning the stars the proper way, and our exciting getaway weekend together never happened.  So, when the time came for the concert in October, and I didn't have my sidekick to go with me, I decided to take my oldest daughter, Tayla. The concert ended up being postponed until this past week, January 14th..... and it was sooooo worth the wait. Here are a few of the pictures I got.... they WILL end up on a few scrappy pages ;)

One of the best nights of my life, and more than likely the best concert that I'll ever go to.  She puts on a breathtaking show, it's unbelievable!!!  LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!!

Bring it on, 2014

I won't pretend that I'm excited for a new year, because I am not really excited. LOL!  But, I am ready to face whatever it brings!  Resolutions in this house fall by the wayside very quickly so I didn't make any.... However, I did decide that it was time to scrapbook again.  It's been a year since I did any actual intensive scrapping, full of interest and heart..... I lost my mojo, my desire... you name it, I lost it.  There was just too much else going on that needed my attention.  

I felt the push to scrap a few weeks ago so I started cleaning up the space.  Then I came across all of Dari's Disney photopass pictures that she paid an arm and a leg for, and was so very proud of.  Just sitting in envelopes, not being enjoyed....  I decided that those are what was going to get me back in the game and I dove in.

Here is what I've done so far in the last week!!  I can honestly say that I haven't felt like this about scrapping for a very long time, my heart feels happy and it's back to being a kind of therapy for me, although it's hard looking at her beautiful smiling face on each page that I'm doing.....but I smile too :)

I am so happy to be doing this again, and I can't wait to have much more to share with you!!!

If you are reading this, thanks for sticking it out with me! :)

 In Memory of the Strongest Person I Have Ever Known

For anyone that may still be checking in on my pitiful little blog in hopes of scrappy goodness, I wanted to post an update that I never wanted to do.....

Peacefully, on September 25th, my sister lost her battle with cancer.

She was 39 years old, and leaves behind 2 beautiful children,

Isabelle who is 11 and Addison who is 7.

She loved her children, she loved her 'secondary children' at the daycare that she ran,

she loved her family, she loved her friends, she loved Disney.

I saw my sister go through things that broke my heart, shattered my spirit, and tore apart my faith that good things happen to good people.  She was confined to her bed, she was not able to make some last memories with her children.... everything moved way too fast and all of a sudden we were sitting bedside with her 24/7 for 3 long weeks before her body had just had enough.

I spent up to 12 hours/day with her in those last few weeks, and they still don't feel like enough.  I left the hospital that night kissing her about a dozen times on the forehead and telling her I loved her probably just as many.  I hope she heard me.... as she took her last breath shortly after I left.

She will be my inspiration for the rest of my life.  Everything I do, I will ask myself, would Dari smile?  Would she be proud?  Would she slap me?  Would she roll her eyes?  Or would she laugh?

She will be with me every step that I take.

There are no words that will ever explain how my heart aches, how my gut just seizes up when I realize I will never get to hug her again or talk to her, or just SEE her face to face.  It's a pain that I never expected.

Cherish your family, take the moments you get whether they be small or big, and treat them as precious as they truly are.  Life is too short not to.

Remember me?

Well, over 5 months later... and having had to actually find the link to my own blog... here I am again. LOL!

How have the last 5 months been?  Well, difficult.  But, we are trudging through. :)

My scrapping has still been at a stand still, although I DID just complete 3 layouts in the last week or so that although aren't the best ever, they are still completed layouts.  So I am proud of that.

My family, is good.  We are all battling our second round of colds this summer, nothing is worse than a cold in the summertime, especially when ours are so short!!  The kids are enjoying the summer and aren't exactly counting down the days until school like I am. ;)

My sister, is a fighter.  First chemo didn't work, second chemo didn't work, and she is now on her 3rd kind (a 2 parter) that has to have her in the city for one full week, then back home, then to Flin Flon for a day, then back home, then back to Wpg, etc.  She is one busy lady and I can't say that I have seen anyone remain so positive through all that she has had to deal with.  She has been fighting with everything that she has, and I am so insanely proud of her. It's been a roller coaster of emotions for the entire family, and at one point her doctors just gave up and we were trying to come to terms with that when a new doctor stepped in and said she didn't want to give up and wanted to try the 3rd chemo.  Bless her....  While the outlook remains uncertain, my sister feels better pain wise than she has for a long time, she can finally walk up and down the stairs again, cook in her own home, and be with her kids without laying in a bed for close to 24 hours/day.

I get terrified, sad, angry, and there are days that it STILL doesn't seem real.  Please continue to keep her in your prayers..... she needs them all.

Because every day of cloudiness deserves some sunshine, I will add on my layouts to put a positive note to this post. :)  I just wanted to give an update for anyone that may have been wondering......

Again, thank you for anyone that has been saying prayers, throwing positive thoughts my sisters way.... keep it up......

A little too quiet around here!

In reality, there has been just TOO much going on....  

One of the huge changes that I have decided to make in 2013 so far, was to sadly step down from the LIITD Creative Team.  It was a decision that had me on the verge of tears (ok ok, some actually fell) because this has been my home away from home for many years now.....  I believe it was 7 years I was on the team, and something so dear to me was something that was very hard to let go.  But, life goes on....  I just have found it so very hard to focus on work, and home, and fitting so many hours in the day.  My scrapping was always a way for me to work through emotions and let my creative juices flow.  However, I found it harder and harder to find the time..... things pop up in life that make you take a step back and reassess your time.

I will still call LIITD home, and won't be going anywhere really.... and I hope that in time, I can get back to scrapping more regularly.  Little monkey makes it difficult that's for sure... but I wouldn't have it any other way. :)  Huge thanks to Lori, Lisa, and Norine.... for being a wonderful team of not only scrappers, but friends too.

Something else that really made me stop in my tracks and think about my time and what I wanted to do with it, was the stunning news our family received regarding my sister.  She had been sick for a long time, longer than she should have been, but we didn't know why....  I would say 9 months went by before we finally got the news that no, it wasn't a messed up sciatica, but instead, cancer.  That dreaded word, that I never thought would EVER hit so close to home, that I would never ever wish upon anyone, had decided to be a stow away in my sisters body.  That news shook me so hard I couldn't breathe, couldn't sleep, and was in a zombie state for a few days while we processed it.  I can't even imagine how she was feeling.... 

But, my sister is strong, she is stubborn (we come by it honestly, believe me), and she is persistent and remaining positive...  The future looks wonderful, her treatment has already begun and she is already starting to feel better than she has for a long time.  I can't wait to have her back in town so I can make her suppers and go and bug her on a daily basis.....  She's been in the city for almost a month now, but should be home soon.  Please help me pray for her healing, and for the next 6 months go by without incident and that she gets an awesome report when all is said and done.... 

So basically, life is short.  If you aren't happy, then change something.  If you are angry at someone, let it go. Life is too short and we are reminded of this time and time again.  Every time I start to take things for granted, God decides to slam something in my face to say WAKE UP and be grateful for what you have, and work to make everyone else realize the same thing.  I'm doing my best.