Homemakin' Girl

[talk: Life Without A Gallbladder.]

2012-01-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

I really am such an idiot sometimes. I say that - not as an insult, although I can see why someone would think that. No. I say that as a wake-up call. Anyone who reads this blog knows about my journey with trying to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise. Like most people, women especially, I do well ... then I fall hard and get down on myself ... only to get back to it, and

[talk: Nobody Plans on Dying.]

2012-01-24T12:39:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, after a God-filled church service, a few of us headed to McDonalds to let the kiddies have some fun and so we could chat and maybe have a ... sundae *grin*. As we were chatting, one of my friends mentioned how her hubby lost both his mother and father within a couple of months - and how she couldn't believe the costs of a funeral. Now ... my dad is in the financial industry

[cool products: Things I'm Loving. Now.]

2012-01-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

** this was written on Thursday, January 20 2012 ... and as a little update, after last night's worship practice and the kids tucked into bed, I watched "The Biggest Loser" and circuit trained with the stationary bike, free weights, floor-ab exercises and jumping jacks. Felt MUCH better after some sweat. But, my sugar addiction is calling me ... ** A few things to start off ... I am,

[redhandedphotography: Who Wants to Win?]

2012-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

CONTEST. CONTEST. CONTEST. Ok friends ... I have something VERY cool brewing over at my RedHanded Photography Blog. A contest with a cool prize, no matter WHERE you live *grin*. Interested?? Oh, I hope you are!! It's taken a whack-load of time to get it up and running ... So, here's the link: Redhanded Photography Blog: contest: Who Wants to Win? Follow the directions, and YOU could

[talk: My 2012 "Word".]

2012-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

For the last few years, I've asked the Lord for a "word" for the year. One word ... a word that would keep me focused on His plan for my life. Two years ago, it was "perspective". And I can tell you truthfully that it was a powerful year for me in growth. Last year, it was "intention". I believe many things happened in my marriage, in my friendships, and in my role as a mother because of

[vacations: Sun Peaks 2012.]

2012-01-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

It's an annual thing ... Every year we head up to Sun Peaks, just outside of Kamloops BC, with my folks. It's been a little family tradition for many years - back when my nieces were able to miss a few days of school, and long before we had our own kids. But now, it's our turn to enjoy the slopes with our little family and it truly, truly is one of the highlights of our year. After a

[talk: Drowning.]

2012-01-08T23:19:00.000-08:00

HELLO 2012! Guess what? It's PURGE week *grin*!!! Oh yes, my friends ... I purge the house a lot - but after the Christmas hustle and bustle, I get itchy to get the extra stuff out. We are blessed to have so many in our lives who's "love language" is gift giving. Oh my goodness, the little things - the big things ... Christmas can be overwhelming with two families like ours.

[talk: Boxes of Love 2011]

2011-12-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

One of the things we do every year, is "Boxes of Love". Our church organizes the event - asking families to fill up a box for a little boy or girl in Zambia. Our kids love this ... it's become a tradition. They go shopping for the items, and help put the boxes together. It's actually a great family-bonding thing to do ... we talk about what we have and what others need. We talk about

[style: Growing Up.]

2011-12-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

Style. It's something that I've never possessed ... I dressed like whomever I was dating. Does that make sense? Grunge, preppy, conservative, tree-hugging ... I've tried most fashion faux-pas, just trying to be who I thought "he" wanted me to be. Pathetic, I know. But I'm a happily-married-grown-up now, and I have definite things that I like. True, I don't always dress the way I'd

[digiscrap: Even More.]

2011-12-27T23:13:00.000-08:00

Well, like most of you, I'm up to my eyeballs in new images taken over the Christmas holidays. Between school Christmas events, family Christmas events, birthdays and now - New Years - it's the busiest time of year for my camera. Speaking of which ... Nikon is supposed to be having a MASSIVE announcement the first week of January. I've been waiting, literally, for years to upgrade my

[digiscrap: More pages.]

2011-12-23T23:11:00.000-08:00

First off ... I keep forgetting to tell you about the stuff happening on my RedHanded site ... why don't you all just join the page, and then I won't have to worry about it *grin* ... There are a couple of new posts there, including a shoot from a family from our church. Their little girl is now one ... You can see that post HERE on my RedHanded Photography blog. And like I said

[talk: Trevor Linden & Me.]

2011-12-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

** ok. I'm sick in bed ... wrote this last week ... thought I'd post it today instead of talking about my Dec17 Shalom Day ... honestly. I don't have the strength ... Trevor Linden it is. ** If you're not from Vancouver ... this post will probably mean nothing to you. If you're not a long-time-Canuck fan ... this post will probably mean nothing to you. *grin* BUT. If you ARE either

[talk: I Feel It Coming.]

2011-12-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

Today is December 16 ... my mom's birthday. A day that our family celebrates who she is, what she daily gives for us and what an integral part of our family she is. Last night we all celebrated together ... a wonderful meal and birthday cake, she received gifts and love from us all ... It was an evening full of deep discussion (our family's good for that ...), seemingly solving the world's

[talk: Why Men & Women Can't Be Friends.]

2011-12-15T09:17:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, a FB friend of a FB friend posted a link called "Why Men and Women Can't Be Friends". There were some deep-rooted comments, and it peaked my interest ... so I watched it. You can too ... click the movie to watch. So. What do you think?? I was actually a little dumbfounded by it all ... because if I had been asked, I would've responded like most girls (

[digiscrap: Pages.]

2011-12-13T23:04:00.000-08:00

So. There's so much to catch up on ... My church's Christmas Production is over ... and I really want to write about that experience. There's the bump-in with Mr. Trevor Linden (go-canucks-go) ... There's stuff going through my head about a youtube video I recently watched called "why men and women can't be friends" ... *grin*. But first ... It's almost the end of the year and I've been

[redhandedphotography: Contest - 6th Place.]

2011-12-10T11:45:00.001-08:00

Ok ... just a simple post ... but I'm pretty excited about this. I was awarded 6th Place for my entry in the "I Heart Faces: On Your Feet" photo competition. What did I win? Oh, nothing *grin*. But ... out of 599 entries ... I got 6th. Just having my work viewed and critiqued by other photographers is a great thing ... So. This is the second time this fall that my one of my images

[fave things: Grown Up Christmas List. Part 2?]

2011-12-08T14:23:00.001-08:00

Apparently, I didn't give my hubby enough options the first time around ... which, I know couldn't possibly be true with 20 items on my list. It just means he didn't like many of them *grin*. Ah well ... that's how he rolls. SO, this is what he said to me ... no word of a lie: "Just post it up on your blog ... I'll get it there." HA! My hubby has finally learned the benefit of this blog

[talk: The Bike Park.]

2011-12-04T18:33:00.001-08:00

Every Christmas I give my my mom and mom-in-law a photo album from the kids. I got smart last year, and simply uploaded my digiscrap pages into a 12x12 Blurb book and it was PERFECT. But this year, I have somehow fallen behind my own personal scrapbooking (gee - I wonder why?) and am frantically trying to choose pics to digiscrap so I can order these albums and have them here on time. That

[redhandedphotography: Silence Equals Busy.]

2011-12-02T08:59:00.001-08:00

WOW. What's going on here?? No blogposts from me? Can only mean one thing ... busy, busy, busy. I'm almost caught up on my RHP work (phewf!!!) - just before another bunch of shoots are headed my way ... but I'm looking forward to that. The shoots are fun - it's the editing and burning disks and blogging that take up so much evening time ... There are a few shoots on my RHP blog that

[talk: A Very Happy Thirteeth.]

2011-11-28T07:52:00.001-08:00

As many of my readers know, the grey winter days can really drag me down. And I find that I feel poorly about myself, about my role as a wife and mother ... I get more overwhelmed and tend to feel disconnected. My hubby's and my 13th wedding anniversary was on November 21st ... and the week prior, I decided that I really needed to make it a priority to reconnect with him and sort-of "reboot"

[cool products: Oh Boy. Polyvore.]

2011-11-24T11:37:00.001-08:00

So. I've discovered the addiction that is Pinterest ... you can follow me by clicking the "pinterest link" on the right side of this blog ... It's addicting and fabulous ... it lets you basically see the very best of the best, and use "boards" to save and organize images (that are usually linked to the webpages they're from) ... like having a million magazine subscriptions and pulling

[talk: Trader Joes.]

2011-11-23T08:21:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I had my first "official" trip to the States for a grocery shop. Dozens of my friends do this every month - but I do not. I had a miserable experience once at the border, where the border guard made me return my purchases to Costso (with proof of receipt) - with an emphasis on the fact that I had 18 eggs, instead of the 12-egg-limit. Ugh. Needless-to-say, I haven't gone back.

[talk: So Much Talent.]

2011-11-14T12:44:00.001-08:00

Ok. I have a little secret. Well - it's not REALLY a secret - but it's out of my comfort zone and I've only told a couple of people. But since this is my blog, and I create annual "books" of my entries, I figured it's time to spill it on something that I've just kinda started doing ... Well ... let me fast forward here a bit to Sunday night ... If any of you are my FB friend, you'll know

[fave things: Grown Up Christmas List ... ]

2011-11-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ok ... I've gotten a lot of response about doing more "fave things" posts ... so here's the Big One for the year ... my "Grown Up Christmas List". Every year, each family member in our family is asked for a Christmas list that they share with others - just as a guideline. I know that some families really dislike this idea - so please don't hate on us because it's what we choose to do *wink* ..

[redhandedphotography: Brian & Oksana.]

2011-11-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ok ... I have just finished preparing the most MASSIVE post ever, with Christmas gift ideas. But first ... I wanted to show you what's happening at my RedHanded Photography site HERE. Here's a preview. Would love to have you stop by ... leave a comment, would love to know you were there *grin*. And stay tuned - the "Grown Up Christmas List" is a-comin' ... Have a great one!!