I’m going to the Olympics!!

I leave in two days to go to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics!

I am a huge Olympic fan and I still can’t really believe that I get to be a part of this Olympics in my home country.

My uncle played in two summer Olympics for Canada and I have always wished I was old enough to see him play (I was two years and four years old at the time he played).

I became a Kinesiologist because I had a dream of being on the Olympic training team, assisting and treating Olympic athletes. (Ok, so I went the other way on the career path and help people go back to work).

I have my Canadian Hockey Jersey all ready for the two hockey games we’ll be going to.

 

 

 

I have two giant Canadian flags, many little Canadian pins to trade, two Canadian toques, and a suitcase full of red and white clothes!

I will be tweeting from the Olympics, so follow APaperBuffet on Twitter to get updates from the Games!

If you’re Canadian, you know the theme of these games are “I Believe”.

I believe.

I believe in Canada.

I believe in Canada’s athletes.

And most of all, I believe dreams really can come true.

Ciao for now!

Technorati Tags: Vancouver 2010,Olympics,Team Canada,I believe,A Paper Buffet,Twitter

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In Pictures: Custom Bridal Shower Invitations

Today, is my birthday and I'm reminded how lucky I am to have the my friends and family in my life and the means to do what makes me happy.

Sometimes I'm very amazed that I can take a piece of patterned paper, some cardstock, a stamp and some ink and make something beautiful. This is what makes me happy.

Happy Thursday

Ciao for now,

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Yay for ScrappinGreatDeals Garage sale!

If you’ve been blog hopping to any London-area blogs, you may have heard about the ScrappinGreatDeals garage sale.  It was the first of it’s kind and I’ve heard it was a total success!  Everyone who wanted to participate purchased a box, priced their scrappy stuff how they wanted and the wonderful ladies at SGDs sold it for us!

It was a chance to clean out what I don’t use and offer it up to a better home.  I stayed far away because I knew that there was a possibility that I would accumulate as much stuff as I was trying to get rid of!

Whatever you sold was transferred into a SGD gift certificate; what’s left over, or wasn’t sold and not picked up, is being donated to local schools, clever eh?

I went today to see how well I did, with my gift certificate purchase already lined up.  I was really happy with the results, and donated just under $7 worth of stuff that didn’t sell, mostly some stamps.

So what did I bring home?

Yay for Scor-Pal!! I have wanted one of these for soooooooo long, but they were hard to find here in Canada, shipping it from the US was mucho costly, and then when I found SGD, there was just always something else on my list I needed more.  I had enough from my garage sale proceeds to buy the Scor-Pal and I threw in the Mat for myself for a job well done ;).  I’m very excited to use this tool and I have a million ideas swimming around in my head right now.

I won’t be using it tonight, however…I’m wiped out from my concert last night (Dave Matthews Band totally brought down the house…the first outdoor concert of the summer, what could be better?)

Tomorrow and Friday I’m on the road all day for work, so I’m not sure if I’ll get to use this before Saturday…but I’m hoping to coincide it with a new product and a big launch for my Esty store :)

I also want to take a minute to thank everyone who’s left me comments, overall and in the past few days on my custom order cards and envelopes.  It’s very surreal for me to think that I have my own business and that someone out there wants to buy my work and appreciates it.  I never never thought this would happen.

Thank you all so much for your kind words and encouragement. I am truly blessed.

Happy Wednesday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: scrappingreatdeals,Score-Pal,A Paper Buffet,Etsy

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I’M GOING TO THE OLYMPICS!

This weekend was supposed to be to catch up on making cards, but I can’t sit still because I just got tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics!!!!

My friend Hillary and I have been talking about this since it was announced Vancouver will be hosting the Winter Olympics.  We missed the first round of ticket purchases in November, it was just after my surgery and we both forgot.  They announced they would have another round in early 2009…which turned into today, June 6th, 2009.

I thought it was a long shot, but I opened 3 browsers and was in the Virtual Waiting rooms for about 30 minutes when all of a sudden it brought me to a registration page!  Ok, breathe, fill out the info. 

Onto the ticket page.  Ok, I bet only Luge and curling are left…so what did we get tickets for?

That’s right Canadian Women’s Hockey!!

We’ll see them play Sweden in the preliminary rounds on Wed February 17th, 2010.

 

But that’s not all!  I thought, ok, lets see what else is out there…

 

 

 

That’s right! we’re also seeing the Canadian Men’s Hockey team play Switzerland on Thursday Feb 18th in the preliminary rounds!!

This is honestly one of my biggest dreams come true! I’m so excited, I haven’t stopped smiling all day and I can’t possibly sit still!!

The Olympics have a special place in my heart- I stay up day and night watching them and cheering our National teams on.  My uncle is a 2-time Olympian (Canadian National Basketball team), my friends are Paralympians (swimming) and many of my professors in University were on Olympic training teams.  In fact, one of the reasons why I went to UWO was because it’s the only Olympic affiliated University in Canada.

I can not believe how blessed I am to  be able to have the opportunity to  cheer for our Canadian men and women, on home soil and while playing one of our National games.

Now I have to wait until February 2010.

 

HAPPY SATURDAY!!

Ciao for now,

 

Technorati Tags: Vancouver 2010,Canada,Hockey,Olympics

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Candy and Lemonade

Two weeks ago I was blessed by my bloggy friends Dani and Margie with my first blog award!

Here’s what it means:

The rules of the award (To pick up the Lemonade Stand Award) Comment on this blog. Save the award logo to your own computer and use it in your own blog.- Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.- Link to your nominees within your blog post. Comment on their blogs to let them know they’ve
received the award.- Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

I first want to apologize to both of them for taking so long to put this up, but with the office renovation done taking over my life, now I have the time to fully say:

“THANK YOU DANI AND MARGIE!”

Now for my nominees…

1. Maureen of My Purhple Purse: Maureen shares her wonderful photographs of her friends and family, has introduced me to new music and tells me when to record great theatre on PBS.  Check out her blog now so you can sing along to a song I KNOW you all remember.

2. Natasha at Thursday Sweet Treat: Natasha has created a place to inspire the artist in everyone.  Each Friday she provides a theme and we have 1 week to do anything we want, without fear of judgement and she showcases every entry.  Although I’ve missed the past 5 weeks, I can’t wait to get back into this again.  I’m amazed and inspired by the talent every week and in awe of the wonderful work and effort Natasha puts into this compilation and celebration of art.

3.  Sara at Arts Afire: Sara is a very! talented artist with two! Etsy stores! Her blog is wonderful to read, and I love seeing all her new creations!

4. Joyce at Happy Cloud Moments: Joyce takes THE most incredible photographs, both of her gorgeous jewelry and of events in her life.

5. I’m going to go out on a limb for my next nominee:  TwilightTuesday.  I’m grateful for this site and forum because I have met so many wonderful people here, including Dani and Margie, among others.  I think this entire site practices great attitude and has used a pop culture book to launch discussions, laughter, prayers, tears, and created many friendships.

Thank you to Dani and Margie of course, but also to Maureen, Natasha, Sara, Joyce and all the creators of TwilightTuesday.com.  Please go check out there blogs and see what I’m raving about!

Also, don’t forget to enter my blog candy contest, found HERE.

Thank you to all that have entered, I’m dying to leave comments, but I don’t want to screw up the numbers, so I will comment after the contest is closed :)

Happy Monday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: blog award,lemonade stand,My Purhple Purse,Thursday Sweet Treat,Arts Afire,Happy Cloud Moments,twilighttuesday.com,blog candy

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Ethan’s Christening card and a sneak peek at a special project…sort of

Yesterday was Ethan’s Christening (my Godson), and what a day it was!

He officially turned 3 months old, was  Christened AND cut his first tooth in the middle of the ceremony!  All that and he was very good throughout the whole thing, getting a little fussy towards the end, but he did  cut a tooth.  Once I get some pictures, I’ll share them, but for now I’ll share with you the card I made for him.

I thought the “Little lamb” from the MFT Baby First set was perfect, since Ethan is now officially part of our ‘flock’.  I wanted the card to compliment his announcement cards that I made, but not be exactly the same.

Here’s his announcement card, made using a set from Inkadinkadoo:

And here’s his card for his Christening:

I just love the Little Lamb, and of course I used some more Fun Flock :)  The inside says “Blessings” and is from the Unity Easter set (I forgot to take a photo before I sealed the envelope).

I also created something else for him…but I can’t share it completely just yet. 

See, over at the TwilightTuesday.com forum, we’ve started a RAK mailing list, and this will be something that I will send out to my TwilightTuesday.com friends…so add your name to the list people!!

So here is a sneak peek, this was made to compliment Ethan’s gift  and card, so the Twilight version will be different.  It’s an envelope of sorts, and there’s some goodies inside (hint* they’re flat and sticky on one side)…can you guess what it is??? hehe, I know, so sneaky!

 

Happy Monday!

Ciao for now,

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RAK- Pink Elephant

For the past few weeks, I’ve been participating in the challenges Natasha hosts on her blog Thursdaysweettreats.  Two weeks ago, I missed participating in the theme “Artists Safari”; but had to go check out the works of everyone else.  That is when I spotted this pink elephant :

It was created by Lorrie Veasey, of Our Our Name is Mud.  Let me tell you why it caught my eye.

When my sister and I were little, and we were sick, hurt, sad or upset, our Dad told us to think of Pink Elephants in the room to make us giggle.  It’s something that I, admittedly, have used in my babysitting days.  It works.

I emailed Lorrie telling her my story and asked if she was going to list it, because I couldn’t find it in her shop.  She said it was mine and she was putting it in the mail for me straight away, no arguments.  

I received my Pink Elephant on Friday, which I’ve named Ellie; 

I don’t know where Ellie will live right now, I tried to put her in the jungle that are my house plants, but she seems a little dwarfed. 

When I have kids, Ellie will live in their room, and my Dad’s Pink Elephant will make them giggle too.

You must go check out Lorrie’s store , she is a very talented artist, with a wonderful spirit and soul.  Please also check out her blog, you won’t regret it!  

Thank you Lorrie!

Happy Monday,

Ciao for now,

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Foto Friday #8- Alberta Rocky Mountains

The forecast is calling for spring like weather (16 degrees Celsius) and the inevitable London rain. I thought I would share some sunny summer pictures I took last year when I went out to Alberta. I was in Calgary for work and was able to spend the weekend in Banff on my own time (and dime, don't worry ;). I've been to the West Coast many times as I have family there, but it was my first time in Alberta.

I took a "Mountain and Lake Tour"; it was supposed to be an all day 8 hour tour through Banff National park, and into the British Columbia interior. It turned into a 12 hour tour through Banff National Park and the British Columbia interior.

At our first stop, a very unfortunate woman who did not listen to which trail our driver told us to take to hike up to the waterfall, fell and broke her leg.

A few hours later at Morraine Lake, our bus' transmission decided to fail and we coasted down the mountain 14 kms to Lake Louise to await our new bus.

I also experienced my first 'switchback'in a Greyhound bus, on the edge of a mountain, a good 200ft above a gorge, with some teeny tiny guardrails. Nice.

All in all, it was a fantastic tour and I loved every minute of it (well, maybe not when the bus was breaking down). I highly recommend every Canadian to experience the beauty of our country in Alberta and British Columbia, and encourage everyone around the world to come a take a peek at our landscape.

Here are some of my favourites, which are blown up and framed in my office, to remind me that I have a fantastic job for which I am able to travel and visit places I may not have been able to visit on my own.

Lake Louise, Alberta


Morraine Lake, Alberta

Emerald Lake, British Columbia

Banff, Alberta (from the gondola)

The camera cannot capture what it is like to see this with your very own eyes, I hope you all have a chance to visit these places one day; I'm determined to get back there myself.

Happy Friday!

Ciao for now,

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Foto Friday # 7- My Godson Ethan

I'm taking this Foto Friday to gush about my Godson Ethan, so bear with me :) I've never been a Godparent before, so it's all new and exciting!

I met Ethan this past Wednesday for the first time, I was in the area on business, so when work was done, I went to visit Ethan and his mom K, (his dad was at work). Ethan is just over 5 weeks old and absolutely beautiful!!

K is a childhood best friend, I've known her since I was 4 years old, and met when my parents moved to the neighborhood they still live in. K is a few years older than I am, but we bonded quickly, and hung out all the time. K moved away after college and we lost touch for a little while...you know, that thing 'life' getting in the way...but reconnected one Christmas at a local bar when she had come home and announced she was engaged! We spoke the next day on the phone and it was like we had never been apart. I attended her wedding to C 5 years ago and we've been close again since then. I was so happy for C and K when they announced they were expecting and was thrilled when they asked if I would be Ethan's Godmum. How lucky I am to have a friend for almost 23 years now, it's absolutely incredible.

Ethan was sleeping when I arrived, woke up for a bit to say hello, and then cuddled into my shoulder for another little nap.

There are no words...other than I love him.

Happy Friday,

Ciao for now,

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Blessed

My Godson Ethan was born this morning, 8lbs, 13 oz and Mom and baby are doing well:) They live just over an hour away, so it'll be a little while before I get to see him; he's also the first born and first grandchild on both sides, so it'll be a busy house. It's the perfect end to a great weekend. My friend had people over to her house for her birthday Saturday night, and we had a good time laughing and chatting before going out for a night on the town. Yesterday I had 3 Etsy sales! (insert happy dance) although it made me giggle that none of the orders was for the featured Valentine's day card.

A great weekend makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'd also like to thank everyone who has been so kind in the comments they've left here, both for my work and to share a laugh, or movie opinion or whatever you like. This blog is not even a month old, and I just feel lucky there are people are taking the time to stop and take a look. Thank you :)

I hope you all were blessed with a great weekend,

Ciao for now,
S.

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