Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish my family and friends a very blessed New Year. Here's to all great things in 2007. Remember to live for today and tomrrow will take care of its self.

Another Christmas Over

Well all the preparation and hoopla has come and gone for another year. We had a great Christmas here. We had some friends over for lunch and I cooked them some typical dishes you would find at a Caribbean Christmas lunch.

Menu
Salad
Potato Salad
Rice and Peas
Peas and Dumplings
Caribbean Macaroni Pie
Baked Whole Chicken with stuffing
Baked fish
Rolls

For dessert they brought us this delicious Amaretto cake from Montilio’s Bakery that had fresh strawberries on top, and that was to die for yummy. Wine was the drink choice to top off the day. I must say a great time was had by all.

Christmas Preparations

I finally have all my Christmas cards written up and addressed and the ones to be mailed will be in the mail box tomorrow. Most of my tins of cookies are out the door and I am almost finished with gifts. I just have two more things to make and then I will be done.

I also made some Punch-a-crème on Saturday and I have some sorrel that I had saved from some Sheryl –Ann sent me in Jan soaking to be strained and sweetened. So I think things are looking very Christmassy here for us. Oh I also put Christmassy center pieces on my dining room and coffee table.

So I think I am ready for Santa to come. Yes I sill believe in him LOL!!!

Cookie Monster

I spent the day yesterday making my Christmas cookies. Only did 19 dozen this year and I was hoping that would be enough. But after putting them in tins this morning I realized that I am about 3 tins short. So I will be making one more batch tomorrow

Oh and now that my mum has received her birthday gift I can post it here. I also did another one of these as a how –to article for Diversity Designs. I think it makes a great gift.

Oh Christmas Tree

My tree is finally all decorated. I started last night but after stringing 600 lights I was all decorated out LOL. So I took a break and finished it up this morning. I also altered our stockings from last year to match the blue in my tree. Here are some pictures of the tree and the 2 styles of ornaments that I made from clear glass ornamets, my favorite store bought raindeer ornament, my candy shop house and kitty figurines under the tree and the stockings that I altered.

Snow!!! And its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We got snow today!!!! Not much but it was coming down this morning. By 11 it had stopped and started to melt. But consider that last week it was in the 60s here, snow and 35 degrees was a shock to the system. Guess the good weather we have been blessed with had to come to an end at some time. Oh well.

At least the snow and cold have put me more into a Christmas mood so I guess it was good for something. I changed my car radio over to my favorite Christmas station today. They only play Christmas music from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas day. I also googled them and found them online so I am listening to them on my puter as I scrap and surf the internet – yay. I put my “candles” in my windows and I think I will get my tree tomorrow and decorate it. It’s time to add some Christmas to this apartment.

Where did the year go?

Reading Francine’s last two entries about Christmas preparations made me realize just how close we are to Christmas. Eeeek – where did the year go? Well at least my Christmas cards are finished. I just need to address them and mail/deliver them. But I still have a list of stuff to do before Christmas.

Finish decorations for tree
Get tree
Decorate tree
Make cookies
Deliver cookies
Finish handmade Christmas gifts
Make Caribbean Christmas cake also know as fruit or black cake
Make punch-a-crème, sorrel, and ginger beer
I am sure there is more but this is all that comes to mind for now.

I think I also want to copy Francine and do a journal about my Christmas preparations. Think I will do the 25 days of Christmas so will start it on Dec 1st. Hopefully I can get both the journal and the above list completed by Christmas Day!!!

Thankful for friends and family

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in the states. We went to our friend’s Jeff and Lan as we do each year to have Thanksgiving Day dinner with them and their kids and another friend Japheth. It is usually just the seven of us but this year we were thankful to have my in-laws who are visiting form Barbados join us.

What’s funny about our Thanksgiving dinner is that neither Sheldon nor Japheth really likes turkey, and I don’t eat meat/poultry so no turkey for me, so every year Jeff does boiled lobsters for us and turkey for him, Lan and the kids. A bit untraditional but oh so yummy!!!!

So our little gathering consisted of:
4 from America
3 from Barbados
1 from Grenada (me)
1 from British Virgin Islands (BVI)

In addition to the lobster and turkey we had, candied sweet potatoes or as they are called here yams, string beans, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, Lan’s wonderful pumpkin bread and this year she did banana bread as well, homemade apple and blue berry pies, brownies, éclairs, ice cream, and cherry pie – yummy in my tummy!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Where did the days go!

Wow it’s been a long time since I posted. Where did the days go. My in-laws are here visiting from Barbados. They came on Wednesday so I was busy preparing for their arrival and I have been hanging out with them over the last few days. Thursday was their anniversary so we went to that awesome Portuguese restaurant in New Bedford that we discovered in Aug - Adega. Discovered that they have an awsome Martini menu - yum!!! I tried one called a Yellow Cab that is Navan, crushed pineapple and lime juice. To die for!!!! The food was awesome too of course.

On the scrapping front I have come out of lurk dome on The Pub at Two Peas and I am trying to do the layout a day challenge. I also tried my first digital layout today. I really like doing digi but it will never replace traditional paper scrapping for me. I love playing with paper and embellishments and ink way too much. Here is the layout I did today. Of course it is of one of the cats – they make the easiest subjects to scrap. The kit is by Rhonna Farrer and it is called “Perfect Pet” and is available on Two Peas as a free download.

Fall is in the air

So Excited!!!!

I am so excited. I was asked to join the Creative Team for the new and improved Diversity Designs. The site is moving towards a more educational focus offering online classes and how-to projects and they asked me to be a part of it. I have known for about a week now but I could not say anything until it all became official.

I think this is the side of the scrapping business that I am most interested in, teaching people how to do create awesome projects and layouts. Must be because I grew up with parents who are teachers that I find I have a knack for being able to explain things.

On another note it is starting to get very cold here. We may even have our first frost tonight in some areas. Oh well I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. I personally was hoping for later LOL!!!

What's new

Well I am so proud of myself. I have all my Christmas cards finished and it is not even November 1 as yet. I am the one who usually starts their cards like 2 weeks before Christmas and then is scrambling to get them mailed and delivered on time. So needless to say I am very very happy and I am also scaring myself (LOL). At this rate I’ll be finished with all my Christmas projects by the end of November – now won’t that be great.

In other news, I have started to apply for Design Teams. I am giving myself six months before I throw my energies into something else. I figure if it’s meant to be it will be. The thing about it is that I love the layouts that I do and that is why I scrap. If my style does not fit in with what others are looking for that’s ok with me because whatever happens I will always keep scrapping. Okay off my soap box.

Laughed till I cried!

Last night I went to an Aids Benefit concert at UMass Dartmouth. One of the Frats puts it together and this is the fifth year that they have done it. I went with my friend Tricia and it was a blast. The MC was this guy Kevin Brown who was on one of the past seasons of Lat Comic Standing and just got cast in that new show on NBC called “30 Rock”. He is also a Frat brother and he comes in to host the show for them every year and also brings an up and coming comedian with him to close the show. This time he brought a comedian from CA (of course now I can’t remember his name) who was the closer on Def Comedy Jam about 2 weeks ago. He was hilarious. Between Kevin Brown and this comedian I was laughing till tears were streaming down my face.

Yesterday was also the BBQ for alumni homecoming weekend at UMD so I stopped by during the day to hang out for a bit. It was fun. They had a really good turn out. Joe the new Alumni Director did an awesome job. In my years working at UMass this was the biggest turn out I have seen. Way to go Joe!!

Cyber cropping

This weekend there is a cyber crop at Crafty Keepsakes from Friday - Sunday. I love doing cyber crops because I don't have to pack anything, I can wear what I want, and snacks and drinks are only a few feet away.

I hope to get some of the challenges completed and join in some of the fun games an maybe even win a prize or two.

Here comes fall!

Wow!! I can’t believe it is the end of September already. Where did the year go? It seems that the older you get the quicker the days go by. So of course you all know what the end of September means – means that fall is quickly approaching and my love hate relationship with these seasons continues. I love the colors of fall but hate that the days start to get shorter and the temperature starts to steadily decline. But I am trying to look at everything in a positive light so I promised myself that I will not whine and complain about the cold and dark this year. We’ll see how long that lasts – lol

Our Deepest Fear

Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne Williamson
from "A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles"

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

This quote was featured in the movie “Akeelah and the Bee” which I finally got around to watching today. This is an awesome movie that everyone should see. It is much more than a movie just about a girl’s journey to the National Spelling Bee; it is a movie about life for all ages. I challenge you to see this movie and judge for yourself.

Reconnecting

Today I went into Boston to have lunch with my childhood friend Laurel who was visiting from Miami. It was awesome to see her because even though we have talked and e-mailed it has been about five years since we have seen each other. I also got to see her mum and one of her sisters before they all left today and talked to her brother on the phone and promised them that I would go to Miami to visit them with in the next 12 months. It’s so great how a true friendship survives the test of time. Laurel and I have been friends since were about 11 an although over the years we sometimes don’t see each other for years when we do see each other we just pick right back up like if no time has passed.

Good friends and good food

Yesterday was a fun day filled with good friends and good food. I met my friend Tricia for lunch at Ixtapa, a Mexican restaurant in Dartmouth. The food there is totally delicious and also authentic. It was fun catching up with her in person rather than on yahoo messenger. Then for dinner Sheldon and I met Jeff, Lan, and the kids at Turks for sushi. Well they had sushi, I was still too full from lunch to have much but I had the most delicious lobster bisque and some lobster tempura – yummy oh and a spicy quahog too!!! Then we went back to their house and hung out on the deck and ole talked. Summer is quickly coming to an end so we have to make the most of the outdoor time we have left because before we know it there will be snow on the ground – aaarrrggghhhh.

Mail from home

I went to the post office today to collect a parcel from my mum (thanks mum). She had bought us these books when she was in Grenada called “Recollections of an Island Man” written by a Grenadian (Anthony W. DeRiggs) who now resides in New York. I love getting mail and it is even better when it’s from home. I don’t know what it is but whenever I see my mum’s handwriting it always brings a smile to my face and all these memories from home come flooding back. Of course this brought an idea for a scrapbook page to mind, so I had to take a picture of the book and the envelope on which my mum had written my address. I can’t wait to start this book. I love reading about the Caribbean and about Grenada in particular. It keeps me in touch with my roots and keeps my childhood memories fresh in my mind.

Now if only I could read and scrap at the same time. hummm lol!!!

Here comes the sun again

Well after 2 days of rain and rather cold-for-August weather the sun finally came decided to reappear yesterday afternoon. Just in time for my lunch and play date with my friend Jen. She is out on sick leave after having surgery on her foot and is on crutches. So I picked her up and we went to out favorite lunch place Thai Taste for lunch – yummy!! I will never get tired of that place. The food is just so scrumptious and the service is awesome.

Today the sun is still out which is good because I have a few scrapbooking projects to do that are all due today (procrastinator as usual LOL) and if it was rainy I would just end up doing nothing but surfing the net and reading a good book.

All worth it.

Well we pulled it off – whew! Jeff’s surprise birthday party was on Saturday and he was totally surprised. It is good to know that all the scheming and plotting and planning behind his back was all worth it. What a fun time we had. You should have seen his face when he walked it and we all yelled surprise. Jenna had blown up pictures of his yearbook picture and put them on sticks so we all had them in front our faces as well. The food was awesome, the conversation entertaining, and of course the drinks were endless LOL. So a fun time was had by all. Of course yesterday I was dragging. I think I am getting old. One late night out and I am no good to myself the next day. Who would have thought that day would come.

It’s rainy today and cold and dark. I just feel like curling up with some books but I also want to do some scrapping and I have to go to the supermarket if we want to eat tonight.

Scrapbooking Celebrities...

Well at least they are for me. I had such an exciting day today. I met Elise Flannigan, Emily Falconbridge, and Donna Downey today at the LSS (Right at Home Scrapbooking). I was so excited. They are all so down to earth and regular and I absolutely love that. I got Elise to sign my copy of her book “52 Scrapbooking Challenges” and a layout that she had in the August issue of Creating Keepsakes. I meant to bring my “Freestyle” book with me for Emily to sign and I forgot it at home. Oh well, at least I have a pictures with her. I also got to hang out with Fatima (from one of my online forums) again for a bit so that was fun as well.

Here are a few pictures from my day.

Elsie and Me














Elsie and Donna














Emily and Me














Donna and Me













Fatima and Me

Arrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhh (LOL)

Man I am so pissed off at the Red Sox right now LOL. They lost all 5 games of the series against the stinking Yankees LOL. They had better get their act together and start wining some games or else they will not make it to the play offs and I so want them to reach the playoffs again. Oh well, will just have to wait and see. Go Sox!!!!

On a more positive note, I am so happy for my sister, Francine. She has been applying for scrapbook design teams all year and she finally got asked to be on one. It’s for Self Addressed, a kit club that I have been drooling over for a while now. Someday I will be able to join it – sigh. She totally deserves it because her work is just so awesome. She is my inspiration to keep improving and trying different things with my own scrapbooking. Congrats sis!

Good mail and more

Yesterday(Thursday) was a good mail day. I had done a cyber crop on Classy Coordinates last Sat and I won some prizes for some games and a layout challenge that I did. One of my prizes came yesterday and it was so good to see something other than bills and junk in my mail box. It was a prize for a trivia game where I got 24 out of 25 correct. Yep, I know I am a nerd – lol!!!

Today(Friday) was our friend Jeff’s birthday so I met him and Sheldon and a couple other friends for lunch at this new Portuguese restaurant in New Bedford. It was absolutely wonderful - great décor, great service and totally awesome food. It was so funny because this restaurant is in the south end of New Bedford, not exactly the most desirable neighbor hood to live in but once you enter this restaurant you would think that you were in some fancy place in Vegas or South Beach, talk about contradictions. But getting back to the food – OMG, it was so yummy. The only thing is that they give you way too much. Of course not everyone would see this as a bad thing. I have half of mine in the fridge for lunch tomorrow.

So plans for the weekend. There is a cyber crop on Serendipity Scrapbooks that started today and goes till 12 midnight on Sunday. So I will be checking in with that through out the weekend and will try to get as many of the challenges finished as I can. Want to see if I can win some free stuff LOL. We also have a few movies to watch but not sure if that will happen as there is baseball all weekend on TV. Red Sox (go Sox) vs. Yankees (bleh). I have become a true Sox fan, I can’t stand the Yankees. Can you believe that?

Fun Day

What a fun day I had today. I went to Attleboro to meet up with my friend Neith, her son and twin daughters. Neith is off to the Club Scrap retreat and I had some stuff to give and return to her before she left for her fun weekend of scrapping and classes. We had lunch at the Emerald Square Mall and then made a quick trip to Michaels (craft store) – don’t worry I was very good used a coupon to get some clear UTEE which I needed and some findings to make some necklaces for a friend of my mums. It was great to see her and the kids and hang out for a bit.

I also stopped at the LSS (Local Scrap Store) in Attleboro. Believe it or not it is the closest one to me, close being relevant since it is about a 30 min. drive. I had recently found out that one of the ladies on one of my forums works there so I stopped to see if she was in so that I could meet her. Yay – she was there. It as great to put a face to someone who you chat with online. Of course I had to browse around the store but as hard as it was I was very very good. Only treated myself to a few sheets of Bazzill cardstock, couple alpha stickers and some rub-ons, and a chipboard alphabet. Trust me I could have bought one of everything that I saw – LOL. I also realized that they sell a bunch of idea books but they did not have the one I was looking for “52 Scrapbooking Challenges” by Elise Flanningan in stock but they are on order so one will be held for me. The exciting news is that Elise will be at the store next week to do a couple classes and to sign her book. So I hope that it comes in before next Wednesday so I can get my copy signed. Yes I am becoming a scrapbooking celebrity groupie and I am proud of it – LOL.

Oh and on a not so fun note I did not make it into the top 25 of the contest boo hoo. Oh well, I still love my layout and I will just keep trying other contests if the mood hits me. After all I scrapbook for me, the contests, challenges etc. are just all added bonus.

Wow its been a long time since I updated. Have just been too lazy to sit and write I guess. So let’s see what’s new and exciting. Well I had an awesome visit with my mum when she was here. We laughed a lot and lazed around and watched TV and did a wee bit of shopping (smile). The time was short but totally enjoyable.

In other news I have been getting a good amount of scrapping done. I think I have finally realized that the more pages I do that the easier the ideas come to me for new pages. I find that when I have long periods between doing pages that it takes me a bit of time to get back into the groove and to find ideas for what I want to do with my page. But after doing a couple of pages back to back, ideas for the next ones come easier. I really love the pages that I have been creating recently. So much so that I was confident enough to enter a contest on Treasured Scrapbooking. I’ll know tomorrow if I made it into the top 25. So wish me luck. But if I don’t, I love the page I made so much that I am still happy that I tried.

Doing the happy dance

My mum is here for a visit – yay! She lives in Barbados and although we talk on the phone quite often it is great to have her here in person. I am looking forward spending time with her and catching up in person.

On anther note, here is my latest layout that I am so proud of. I did it for a challenge on the Classy Coordinates forum where we had to do a Now and Then theme, use a name plate and use notions (as in sewing notions). Since I had heard the latest song by India Arie – “I Am Not My Hair”, I had the idea of doing a page featuring some of the hair styles I have sported over the years. I only managed to fit seven on this page (trust me there are a few more) ranging from 1991 to present day. From long straighten (chemically relaxed) hair to my natural dreadlocks of today. You name it I think I have tried it with my hair (well maybe not the jerri curl thing hee hee hee) Over the years I have straightened it, cut it into various styles, worn different styles of braids, cut it all off, worn it natural in twists, afro puffs, and finally in locks. I think this may be my final “style” but you never know with me. One day I may just wake up and cut it all off again.

Hey you know what they say – variety is the spice of life.

Making Strides

I don’t think I have said before that I am a moderator on a yahoo group for Ranger products. My friend Neith had told me that they were looking for new moderators for the group and that she thought I would be a great addition I was totally flattered and made my interest known to Donna who is the list owner and also Ranger U certified (Neith also put in a good word for me).

The group has been around for a while now but they were looking to put a more formal aspect to it in terms of having a more structured schedule for posting techniques – know as Inklings. So I am now a Ranger Inkling Moderator. So once a month (there are 4 Inkling Moderators) I have to post a how-to (including pictures of finished products) using Ranger products of course.

So Wednesday was my first post and it was a great success. I was a bit nervous as I was the first to post but it all turned out awesome in the end. The other moderators gave me high praise so I am happy, happy, happy. You can check out the group here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rangerinklink/ but I think you have to join the group to be able to read posts etc.

The great thing about this is that some of the moderators had a weekend retreat in June and they got to play with a lot of the Ranger products. I was not able to go but Neith attended and she brought me back a bunch of stuff that was donated by Ranger and Ranger Signature Artist as well as by some of the other moderators. So I now have some awesome stuff to play with that I had not used before. Not a bad trade for doing a monthly technique and answering questions on the forum.

So I am slowly building my artistic resume.

I am Still Here

Guess it s been a long time since I have written. Not much going on. Just been getting my scrapping on and adding to my layouts and cards. I am in a contest on Crafty Keepsakes and so far I have survived the first three rounds. Yay!! Basically we get a challenge to create a page using certain items and/or techniques and then each week the contest host eliminate anyone who did not stick to the list. Doubt I will win it in the end but it is getting me scrap using stuff that I probably would not have used together.

Oh I made my first Mojitos last week. They were so yummy. The perfect summer drink for those hot summer nights. That is if we ever really see a summer here. The weather has been so strange here – hot and humid one day, rain and thunder storms the next day. Hopefully it will settle down into a more predictable pattern for July and August.

Oh yeah, I got the cold yesterday…bummer. I thought it was just allergies but the antihistamine never kicked in and by last night I knew it was the cold. At least it’s not too bad. I spent pretty much the whole day in bed (yes I actually survived without being on the internet all day hee hee) and I think by tomorrow I will be feeling much better. I hope so because I have some scrapbook ideas in my head that I really want to put on paper.

Happy Friday

Today was a great day. My tutorial on how to make my Corset Card is up on the main page of Diversity Designs and I am so excited. Roselyn was also looking for formal and wedding layouts and cards to feature on the site this month and I sent her a couple things I had and my layout is one of the featured ones in the "Formal Occasions Pages" and my card is in the "Cards for Weddings and Sweet 16" (mine is the middle one on the last row). It feels great too see my stuff up on this totally awesome site. Francine also has stuff up. Her new article on non-traditional weddings is so well written and so informative and some of her layouts are also featured in the formal pages.

In addition Classy Scrappers (the forum for Classy Coordinates) that I also frequent (smile) are looking to add more moderators to their sub forums and the owner sent me a message asking if I would be interested in co-moderating the stamping section. Of course I said yes. I love sharing the stuff that I know about scrapbooking and stamping and card making. Maybe it’s the result of having teachers as parents that I love sharing my knowledge with others.

So stay tuned because there is a lot more where this came from!

Football Fever

Yep I have football (or should I say soccer) fever. The world cup has started and although I am not that into football I am very excited that Trinidad & Tobago are playing in their very first World Cup. They had their first match yesterday against Sweden and they completed proved everyone wrong and did a great job ending the game in a 0-0draw (and with only 10 players for the majority of the second half). All the commentators were surprised but the Trinidadians in the stands were ecstatic and I am sure all West Indians were proud. So no matter what happens from here I know that they Trinidadian team can return home after the World Cup with their heads held high for doing such a great job. And who knows – they could go on to win the whole thing. Hey a girl can have dreams and hopes.

Awesome Days

I have been having an awesome couple of days. First my books that I got on amazon.com for that great price came in the mail yesterday (see my entry from May 29). I love to scrapbook and I love reading so what an awesome combination – reading about scrapbooking. Then one of my layouts - Fun in the Sun – won the monthly layout challenge on Classy Coordinates. I was so happy. I think my pages are finally at the point that I have been striving for them to be. My winning layout will also be in the next Classy Coordinates e-newsletter and I get scrapbooking goodies too.

Then today one of the owners of Diversity Designs, a forum that I am a moderator on, asked me to do a How-to article for my corset card (shown here) for the home page of the site. – yay me!! I am on a roll this week. I hope I can keep the momentum going. I think I have finely found my scrapbooking rhythm and I don’t want to ever lose it again.

For the love of the game

I would have never imagined in a million years that I would come to love the game of baseball as much as I do. Growing up I always thought it was such a boring game and I would not be caught dead watching it. However, over the years of living here in Massachusetts not only have I developed a love f or the game but I am now a die hard Red Sox fan down to the ultimate “hatred” of our archenemies the Yankees (laugh out loud) and the love hate relationship that I think most Red Sox fans have. I yell at them on the TV when they are messing up and losing and I cheer them on with much gusto when they are winning. I curse at the umpires when they make calls that are not in our favor and boo the other teams when they make hits or score runs. Who would have thought that I would turn into not only baseball fan but a Red Sox fanatic?

Go Sox!!!!

My Surprise

I had the best surprise today. I was looking some stuff up on amazon.com and realized that I had a $30 credit. I was so excited! So my browsing trip turned into a shopping trip and I was able to get two books for scrapbooking that I have wanted for a while now. I got Love Your Handwriting by Heidi Swapp and The Big Picture…Scrapbooking Your Life and More by Stacy Julian and it only cost me $1.84 with the free shipping option that amazom.com offers. There’s nothing like a little shopping to cheer you up and get that motivation going again. I can’t wait to get them and devour them both.

Now I need to get off the internet and get this page idea that I have in my head onto paper.

My First Altered Canvas

Today I decided to share the canvas frame that I altered as a gift for a friend who is graduating this Sunday. This was the very first time that I have altered a canvas frame (actually that I have altered anyting canvas) so I was quite happy with the results. I was going to paint it but did not feel like dealing with paint and brushes at the time so I used my distressing inks to do both the back ground and to stamp the images. I think I need to get my hands on some more canvas stuff. I love working with it.

Happy Birthday Francine and Sheryl-Ann!

Today is my sister Francine’s birthday and my best friend (who is like a sister) Sheryl-Ann’s birthday as well. Happy Birthday to both of you.

I met Sheryl-Ann went I went to university in Canada and later she and Francine became friends as well. The neat part is that it turns out that Sheryl-Ann and Francine were born on the same day and same year so I call them a “twin” – hee hee hee.

I hope you both have an awesome day on your birthday. Love you both.

Oh and on other news, I got a new modem yesterday. I was trying to hold out for as long as I could with this one but on Friday it finally gave up and died completely. We were able to find one that we could squeeze into our budget yesterday so I am a happy camper. The way I look at it, it was either buying the modem or paying the medical bill that the shrink would have sent – hee hee hee.

Laughter the best medicine

Sunday night Sheldon and I watched “Fun with Dick and Jane”, that comedy with Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni. I have not laughed like that at a comedy in a very long time. We were both in stitches. I mean I laughed until my stomach hurt. I had tears running down my face and we had to stop the movie a couple times to compose ourselves. I am sure the neighbors thought we had gone completely crazy. I remember seeing the original of this movie at the Drive-In in Grenada when I was a child but I did not remember it being this funny. But then again I am sure that I can now appreciate the humor in the remake much more, plus Jim Carrey is a very funny man and Tea Leoni is an awesome actress. It felt so good to laugh like that, especially being able to share it my dear husband.

I really needed a good laugh to lift my spirits. It has been really blah with all the rain we have been getting. It has been raining or overcast since last Tuesday and we don’t expect to see sun until maybe tomorrow. So watching this movie on Sunday put me in a really good mood and I have been able to ignore the lack of sun. I guess what they say about laughter is true…it really is the best medicine.
So if you get a chance to see this movie I hope you enjoy it as much as we did

Catching Up!

Oh where oh where did the week go. I can’t believe that it is Thursday already and I feel like it was just weekend. I have been busy this week though so maybe that is why the days have seemed to fly by.

I have been busy making mothers day cards and gifts and mailing them out. Yes I procrastinated left everything to this week of course. Why would I have started like a month ago when leaving it to the last minute is so much more exciting?! Also I have been having some internet connection problems. We think it may be that we need a new modem as Comcast came out and there is nothing wrong with the connection on their end. So I have been losing connection off and on all week.

Oh I also just checked Splitcoast Stampers to see if they had announced the winners of the Virtual Stamp Night and guess what…I won for one of my cards. I will post it later as it is one of the Mother’s Day cards that I mailed out. I am so excited. This is the second time that I have won. The last one in March I won for my black and white card. I must be doing something right.

So now that I have gotten through National Scrapbook Day, VSN and got my Mother’s Day stuff all finished and mailed out I can go back to concentrating on doing stuff for me.

National Scrapbook Day

Yesterday was National Scrapbook Day and I had great plans to get so much done. But as they say the best-laid plans....

I was only able to get 6 cards finished for the Virtual Stamp Night at Splitcoast Stampers but I am quite happy about that. Here are a few of them. I also was able to get a layout finished for a sketch challenge on Classy Coordinates and everyone who finished it got their names entered into a hat and guess what...I was one of the three names pulled. Yay me!!! I never win anything. So I am all excited. I had planned to also do some of the challenges on Creating Pages but I never got back to check them out.

Of course after yesterday, today I had to take a break but surprisingly the break has done me good because I think I am motivated to get going again tomrrow. So all in all I guess National Scrapbook Day was a success for me.

This and That

I know that I seem to be obsessed with the weather but hey I live in New England. Anyway today was an absolutely gorgeous day. The high was actually 81 F. Can you imagine? Of course I was inside with my windows opened because 81F is just too hot for me to be outside LOL. I have turned into such a New Englander.

The funny thing is that I went to open one of the windows a bit wider and there on the lawn on the side of my apartment complex was this guy lying on the grass with head phones on sleeping. It was so funny. I hope he did not get heat stroke because he looked pretty red to me.

On another note tomorrow is National Scrapbook Day and like many scrapbookers out there I will be spending the day doing some online crops and challenges and hoping to win some prizes. I told Sheldon this week that Sat is National Scrapbook Day and gifts are welcomed, his response was that he would leave alone for the day. Hey can’t ask for a better gift than that.

And my last random thought for the night – Happy Cinco de Mayo to anyone who celebrates (celebrated) it.

1 tequila, 2 tequila, 3 tequila, floor. hee hee hee!!!

Writers Block

I seem to be having writers block. When I started this blog I thought I would have tons to write about everyday but now that I have actually started it I seem to be having writers block. I look at other blogs and I am like why can’t I just write like that. Maybe I am over thinking this whole blogging thing.

I am hoping that as the days go along I will get better at this because I really have a lot to say and a lot to share. I just need to get out of this funk and get my mojo back. Maybe I need to spend less time on the internet bouncing from forum to forum LOL!!

So keep checking in to see if I can unclog my block hee hee hee.

You have to live...

...each day to its fullest. Francine told me some bad news today. One of her friends that she went to university with, her 15 year old son passed away. He had a rare form of cancer that got diagnosed last year. :-( That is so sad.

It just got to me to thinking that you really have to make the most of each day that you are blessed with facing because you never know when it will be your last. You need to stop putting off for tomorrow what you know you can do today. I know we all have our bad days and we bitch and complain about stuff and that's just part of life. But I really think that we need to take some time each day to count our blessings and find at least one good thing that happened that day.

This news, as sad as it is, actually comes at a good time. I had made a promise to myself after my Dad passed away in 2004 and I heard his eulogy and realized that he had lived a full and enjoyable life, that I would take the time to make each day count. As time has gone on I had lost touch with this promise to myself. This news from my sister just made me think about that again and made me realize that I need to re-commit to that promise. So if you see me complaining too much on here just give me a friendly reminder of what I wrote here today.

Now go out there and LIVE LIFE.

Its All Relative

It is so funny how we all react differently to temperatures. I was taking to my friend Sheryl-Ann on ym today and told her that it was actually hot here in MA today. She lives in TX and we are always trading weather stories. Of course my hot is not TX hot LOL. It was actually in the 60s today (15-17 Celsius) and I was out in jeans, slippers, and a t-shirt and I was sweltering in the car.

I remember when I still lived in the Caribbean that I use to think that anything under 80 degrees (about 26 Celsius) was cool. Now when I go home I absolutely dread the heat and spend as much time as I can in air conditioned places. I laugh when my mum calls and says that the nights are cool at home - Caribbean cool maybe.

So you see it really is all relative. Your body and mind adjust to where you live without you even really realizing it.

Here's to more "hot"days in MA.

Rain, Rain Go Away

I knew it was too good to be true…the weather that is. Last week it was sunny and warm and I was loving it. I am definitely a sun girl and I am always in a better mood and have more motivation and energy when the sun is shining. Well the weather has done a complete 360 and it is cold (well relative to last week) and dark and cloudy and wet. I just feel like curling up in bed with a good book, some hot chocolate and warm toast slathered in butter (yummy).

I guess I should have headed out last week to take those photos of spring that I wanted. But I was sure the weather would be nice again this week. I mean its spring after all no way is it going to be cold and damp again. Of course I should have remembered that age old saying, “If you don't like the weather in New England, wait five minutes”, or in this case a few days. Well I hope this saying stays true and the weather decides to corporate with me as the week goes on.

So to quote a popular children’s song:

"Rain, rain go away. Come again another day"

Love Hate Relationship With Spring

Every winter when the days are dark, short, and cold I look forward to Spring. I can't wait for it to start getting warmer so I can open my windows and enjoy some fresh air. After all I am from the Caribbean and we only close our windows when it rains and then only the ones that the rain will come in through.

And then Spring hits and my allergies swing into full gear and my love hate relationship with Spring starts. I love that the days are longer and that the birds are singing and that the trees are budding and that the flowers are blooming and then my noise starts to run, my eyes start to itch and I start cursing all the flowers and trees - LOL!

I guess as human beings we are always wishing for something else. In Winter I beg for Spring. Spring comes and I want it to be gone and Summer to be here. Summer comes and its too hot and on and on it goes.

Maybe I need to just stop and count my blessings that I get to expereince all of this.

Now if I can just get my nose to stop running an my eyes to stop watering I may actually be able to enjoy all the wonders of Spring :-)

I finally did it

I have been planning to start a blog for the longest time and just kept putting it off. My sister Francine has her blog here and she has been behind me to start one since I saw hers and loved it. Then one of my best friends Sheryl-Ann started hers and kept asking me when I would start mine.

But starting a blog is a lot harder than it looks. First I could not think of what I wanted to blog about. Then they kept asking me what I would call it. Call it?? Oh I am supposed to put a title LOL. Ok, ok - I know I had to. So finally last night Sheryl and I started to kick some titles around and the idea of starting this actually seemed real to me. Then morning hit and I sitll had not finalized my title. Francine tried to help me come up with one and then it just came to me - Ole-Talk. So I looked it up in my Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage to see the definition. Ole-Talk (Old-Talk): Idle chatter; gossip; social chit-chat, mere rhetoric. And then it hit me - that's the perfect title for my blog.

So here I am finally - my very own blog. I hope Francine and Sheryl-Ann are happy.