not a winner... but still I won...

ok so that is confusing... lol I didn't win the scraps ahoy idol contest... but, no sad faces... I got something better, well at least I think so. Last night while the voting was still on, I got an email from the head of their design team inviting me to join the crew!!! That they have liked my layouts over the months and want to know if I would be on their DT!!! ummmm is the pope Catholic??? LOL. I am thrilled beyond words! This actually validates me even more than winning the contest would have... So I again will thank you all so much for your help with all the votes for so many months! And for all the encouragement and support. You are great friends and I thank you.
I can't believe I'm on a DT! eeek!! :)

OH and yesterday I had my first photo shoot... it was incredible. Although the 2 week old baby wasn't much in the mood for sleeping... oh he's so tiny!!! He pooped all over everything, then once we got that cleaned up he peed on what was left!! :) SO precious!! Here are some of my favourite shots. Gorgeous children who loved having their photo taken, can it get any better???
















Now I just need to get my website up and running I'll be ready for business! woohoo!!!

Today only!

Ok ladies, it's Friday!! TGIF!!! And the only & last day for this crazy scraps ahoy contest....
http://www.scrapsahoy.com/content/final_round/final_round.html
here is the link. Please if I could ask you, just this one last time to go and vote for me!! I know she said it was exceptionally close last week so I really need every last vote... this is huge(to me)... I can't believe there is only one day.

But without further rambling...
Thank you friends near and far for your help!! Means so much to me!! Cross your fingers for me! We will find out the winner tomorrow... :)

Tomorrow is the big day!

Ok it's a big day for me for 2 reasons... it's the one and only day to vote for me for th scraps ahoy idol contest... please please please check back tomorrow for the link to my entry. I'm so close and yet so far... ... Hopefully I have a chance!!

Oh and the other news, I get to do my first newborn baby shoot.. well other than my own. And she is going to pay me, so my first paying customer too! yippeee!! I can't wait! you know I"ll be posting some of them. Let's hope for some sun, this overcast stuff isn't any good!

And just because I love sharing photos here is one I got of Bree yesterday. I was practicing something I learned in that workshop, about having the kids running at you... hard to get an in focus photo, but finally a genuine smile!!


Thanks so much for all the hlep with the contest!! I appreciate it so very much!!

so incredibly adorable!

went to this little girl's family's home for dinner yesterday, friends of Heather V's. Her daddy is a web designer and had lots of great tips for me. Although I'm thinking I have a long way to go befor being ready to jump in with both feet! However, I am in love with their home and their daughter! The home is a century home that they have totally updated inside, but with some interesting pieces inside. SO very cool! And she is just a dolly!! Having lots of fun practicing with my new lens!
Did I mention we made it to the next round of scraps ahoy??? No I don't think I did??!! ack what is wrong with me? I have th ememory of a ... ummm something with a poor memory! I cna't believe it. this is the final round! holy smokolinies!! AndI have to have my final amazing layout done for Thursday...and I was counting on my S! kit to arrive today, and it didn't! :( It's all good I work great under pressure! Will definitely post when it's tme to vote again! Thanks for everyone's help!!

a new do!

ok so I was sick and tired of the nasty mess my hair had become, so I got it all chopped off last night... it'sa wee bit short, but hey it's hair, it will grow! :)

oh and do you guys know about Picasa? Or am I the only one that has been living in the dark about this super cool photo managing program? I had been using the antiquated one that had come with my camera and hated it!! someone told me
about Picasa and it was a match made in heaven! Google really is taking over the internet arent' they? (they own picasa), I also think they own blogger as there is a direct link from the photos part of it to upload photos to your blog! Too cool!! just thought I'd share :) happy w/e all!!
And Christy yes, we must get together for beverages!!

totally tagged!!

oh Kimmie :)

Ok here are 5 weird things about me!

1. I strongly dislike red roses and the smell of lavender makes me gag
2. I own at least 10 watches, but don't wear any of them.
3. I met my husband online in February 1996, and in person in July 1997, we were married in June 2000.
4. I have a slight phobia about the phone
5. I'll spend $200 on my hair at a salon in a heartbeat, but won't buy a $50 pair of jeans! LMBO!

tagging... the Heathers, Christy if you're out there, and anyone else who wants to participate, TAG you're it!

one big puppy!

eeegads check her out!
Her name is Athena... a greek goddess in the form of a bull mastiff!! Truly a gentle giant however... never barks, never jumps... is actually very skitish(hates balloons, noisy toys!). Belongs to a very close friend who I don't see often enough considering we both live in the same town! I think it's hilarious how my camera has become like a third arm... I never go anywhere without it! lol


Check out the size of her paw!!

















and here is Ian & Athena, they were nose to nose... I wish I could have gotten that... but she moves even faster than he does!
That's 130 pounds of BIG doggy!

Jiminey Crickets!!!

it's voting time again at scraps ahoy, goodness didn't I just beg and plead with y'all to vote for me last week?? seems like it.

Ok I must preface this first though, that there are stipulations on "what" style we have to do it in. I like one, the other... not so much... I guess it would be that freestyle thing... I am SO not a freestyle gal! The assignments were a) give your camera to someone else and scrap the photos and don't forget to scrap their journaling/thoughts too. b)Show off your inner artist through illustrations and handwriting. My heart sunk to the floor when I heard that... however, it's a done deal. I'm hoping we can over look the nasty layout and PUL-ease still vote for me??

Ok nuff blabbering, here is the linky: scraps ahoy Idol Thank you all so very very much! there are only 2 more rounds... eeek the end is near!!

On to other schtuff... I have been busy busy this week! Bree started back to school and that was moderately chaotic and routine disturbing... Ian's napping is still way messed up because Mr. Magoo has decided once again that 5:30 is a great time to wake up!!!! (I am SO getting him back when he's a teenager!). I have a job helping my friend Julie, who is a photographer, update her website which is cool! She is way behind with sessions from August still not online yet, so I can officially wear the title webmaster! lol She's a great friend and mentor! and I can do it from home, how great is that?!

I signed up for an online photography workshop put on by Barb Uil, who is an incredible photographer! The workshop is called Memories that Rock, was really cool to read about as I WANT TO BE HER! lmbo... ok maybe just shoot like her! ;) There was a challenge on it to do a "mug" shot, here was my attempt. Crumb face and all!

The teething machine continues... he cut his first eye tooth yesterday, no wonder he has been a miserable lad lately. I swear he has been teething non stop since he was 3 months old.

And I think I shall call it a day, my lovely friends out there in blogger land, I hope you have sweet dreams tonight and I thank you eternally for your help with this crazy little contest! I honestly can't believe I have made it this far, shocked I am! And yet eternally hopeful. Get ready to pick up the pieces though, that layout is baaaaad!
nighty night!

woooooohooooo!!!!

onto round 5!!! Oh my gosh I am so totally excited about that !! THANK you all soooo much for yoru votes!! I KNOW that is the reason why I'm still in this contest!! There are only 2 more rounds left to go eeeeek! I have to have 2 more layouts done for this Saturday... no pressure hey?! one is really outside of my comfort zone(hand done stuff!) but hey I'm up for the challenge.

Had a fun day today at Chris' work company picnic. Went to this heritage farm not too far from us... but I never knew it existed! Lots of super cool old buildings and farm equipment etc. Had tons o fun with the lens' Here are some of my fav's from today!

Thank you again soooo much everyone for voting for me!! *hugs hugs hugs*

THank you so much everyone for your votes in teh scraps ahoy contest! I'll find out hopefully some good news on Sunday!! :)

Let me get caught up on the week! We had fun going to the apple orchard on the weekend... it's barely September and it's apple time already. I love going to the farms in the fall... it's fun of course, but more importantly... fall photos are oozing in spectacular colours!! Absolutely my favourite season to photograph... which leads me to my next exciting news... I got some new lens' for my camera!! :)

I grabbed a Sigma 18-55mm 2.8 and wow what a difference it is compared to the lens that came wtiht he camera! Which I was surprised is only worth about $35 trade in value! I also got a 2.8 60mm fixed... but I think I'd rather get the one that Sue got... which I think was a 1.8 50mm ?!?

Here are some of my favourite photos... the first is going to be blown up somewhere and in a nice frame. I used my fav PS action on it and brought back some of the colour. My two favourite guys! I can't wait for the new Scraptivity kit, I think it's going to be a great pic for it!!! :)



















And one last thing, a friend & I went to the lss last night and I finally got to see some of the new CHA stuff... yummy!!! I grabbed a quote card for a new line from MME "signature suite... I think this should be my new mantra on life lol "Be who you are and say what you want, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. Dr. Seuss

Who knew Dr. Seuss could be so profound?!

well it's that time again....

it's voting time at Scraps Ahoy Idol. I honestly can't believe I'm still in it! There are some Crazy talented ladies in this competition!! Somehow I have managed to stay in, thanks to my beautiful friends voting! If I could ask you to do it again pretty pretty please!!
This time we had to do a layout on our changing hairstyles. Lol too funny... I unfortunately couldn't find the photo that I really wanted to use from my passport when I was 16... I looked like a poodle!! seriously! But I am actually happy with the layout I did none the less. I also had to do an essay on the "culture" of scrapbooking which I got downright silly about. I actually couldn't help but think about some of my favourite times at crops with scraptivity girls and think of how we all have our own way of participating in a crop. I hope if you have time you may stop by, check out my stuff and vote for me please! :) Here is the linkey again http://www.scrapsahoy.com/content/round_4/round_4.html

I have figured out what is the problem for some to get into the site(it doesn't have the most user friendly entry), you need to somehow click on something on that page to get past it, then you should be able to register on the right side, and the voting section is there as well. Clear as mud??? :) Thanks so much my friends!! You are irreplacable!

Thursday night antics

I love Thursday's, for many reasons... one of which it's one day closer to Friday! :) The other being that it's lady's night over at my friend Julie's house. Something to look forward to each week! Great food and drink and lots of laughs!! Last night we grabbed our goodies and walked over to one of Julie's neighbours who has little ones and couldn't come to J's house. So we came to her, sat on her deck and man was it chilly... her dh came home and interupted "hag night" lmbo ummm ladies night!!! Got out his guitar and short of Kumbayah we had ourselves a singalong! Everything from extreme(remember that song??) to the tragically hip!! SOooo fun. I'm sure all the rest of the neighbours hated us... we were not quiet!! On the way back to J's house, three of us were walking along... and out of the corner of my eye I see something white land on the ground just behind J's sister... I ask her if something dropped out of her pocket... and we go back to look... it's an egg! We were egged!!!! LMBO! So we start laughing and laughing... she lives in a pretty ritzy part of town too... wouldn't have thought of being egged... and another car slowly starts to drive by us, and so we automatically think they are linked to the first one with the eggs... and so we stop walking and stare at them... the stop, roll down the window... and Julie goes up to the car asking if they have eggs and are they planning on throwing them.(still laughing very hard at this point), and the guys start flirting!! They're just young young YOUNG guys!!! probably just barely have their liscense to drive without mom and dad in the car! They ask if we're going to rib fest tomorrow(big big shindig here in town on Labour day weekend), and we say "oh ya, we'll be there!", again not stopping laughing the whole time, realizing that they think they are trying to pick us up! I think one asked for J's phone number, and J's sister says... ummm no... do you know we have babie's at home? The guy says, oh honey, it's ok we can take care of you and your babies! LMBO! I pipe up "my husband kind of frowns on me dating" and we walk past J's house so they don't know where she lives, and all pile into her sisters car!

Ok after typing all that out, I realize how boring and pathetic my life really msut be for this to have been a memorable event!!
Watch out for eggers folks!!