40 and Fabulous...

Well my fourtieth birthday came and went in a wave of excitement and high energy. Lots of love from my favourite people, near and far...friends and family...it was fab-u-lous, Darling!!!

I'm hoping for a great year ahead...a year of happiness and good health not just for me, but for everyone I love so much in this world.

To end, here's a quote from one of the lovely women who grace the message boards at The Paper Passion

"Laugh when you can. Apologize when you should. And let go of what you can’t change."---unknown

...5 months later

well that took a while, didn't it?

We really had a great Summer and Fall this year. We have been living in Edmonton for just over a year, and I think we've all finally adjusted to city living. We spent most of our summer exploring the ravine that runs behind our home...long walking and biking trails, and a bit of wildlife.

We're fortunate to have this greenery so close to us, and we've been taking full advantage of it. Lately I've taken up "running", and I say it like that..."running" just because what I'm actually doing may be debatable. I like to think it's running, but it's more a combination of walking, a slight jog, heavy panting, trying to find my pulse ('cause that's what I see real runners do at times), and then more of the same all over again.
I swear the other day, a couple of French Bulldogs stopped on the side of the trail and started laughing at me!

Speaking of dogs, we've been thinking of getting one. Negotiations over a family per have been ongoing for the past 3-5 years. I've been very resistant because...well...four kids, you do the math, okay?

Now that I've got three kids in school full-time and Eilam (the youngest) in Playschool 2 hours a day, 4 days a week, I'm starting to see the end of the tunnel. So we've recently re-visited the family dog talk.
We've met with an awsome breeder, and we're presently negotiating the important stuff (like who's gonna pick up the poop).

I'll keep you updated on that...

I'll stop now, 'cause I know you, dear reader, may need time to recover from the shock of reading a new post on here. But I'll be back...soon...ish...sorta...

Have a wonderful week.

P.S I'll be prepping for my upcoming 40th birthday (and by prepping I mean reminding everyone I know)

So you're going to want to mark that down in your calender, 30 November ;)

Time Flies

When you're busy, and having fun :) The past 7 weeks have been crazy busy and awsome, all rolled up together.

The Paper Passion has grown wings, and business has been steady. I've had the opportunity to meet many online friends in person, and make new friends via the store. I've been lucky and blessed to have so many warm and positive new people come into my life...thank you to all of you who are reading this.

The kiddos have been busy with the usual school stuff as the academic year draws to an end, and Ara and Cai recently had their first Karate grading, and came through with flying colours:



Taken at home before the grading exam

 Both Rea and Ara coded for Gifted and Talented again, and will be going on to the Challenge programs at their schools. I'm so proud of my girlies :)

The snow is G-O-N-E.

Finally! And there's been a lot of this going on:

Yes, he's wearing Ara's old helmet...he's mad for "My Little Pony" right this minute

A few weeks ago, I also went to Las Vegas for the first time. I was apprehensive since I'm neither a big drinker or gambler, but Vegas was awsome! I loved it, and my one big regret was that Hubby wasn't there to share in it. He was actually home with the kids while I had some girl-time away (my first trip without him or the kids!)
The shopping...well...I'll need a whole entire post just to address that ;)

even Mario agrees

And on that note, I have to scoot :)
Hope ya'll are all great, and enjoying some sunshine.

"The Paper Passion"

It's been a long time coming, but The Paper Passion is finally open for business. If you have followed my blog, then you will know that I purchased the store last summer, moved house, experienced a number of issues related to moving, new schools for the children, had Hubby set up his own practice, dealt with family health issues and travels out of the country as a result...and so on.

I also switched Web Management a few times, until I got lucky the third time and found someone who understood my vision, and set out with great gusto to make it a reality (thank you, Michelle :))

And at the end of  it all I can say with complete and utter conviction, the site is now exactly what I wanted. I love the ease of use of the shopping cart (I tested 4 different types of carts before settling on the one I have), I love the prettyness of the logo and colours, I love how well everyone has responded it it...Thank You!!!

My biggest problem now though, is staying away from my creation station (fancy word for desk..hee), so that I can upload product and do the business stuff...oh, but to be surrounded by all this gorgeous stuff! (like being a kid in a candy store)...total shiny-ball syndrome ("...and you remember that time we...hey! look shiny ball...shiny ball!")

Back to the grindstone..have a good day, ya'll :)
Don't forget to  Check out the Store  today.

May the luck of the Irish be with you...

St.Patricks Day is here (almost over actually). All four kids wore green today, and Ara and Cai were thrilled to find the leprechaun's footprints all over their classroom.

Rea was more subdued, but she's a good sport and played along :) It's amazing to watch how she changes as she grows. These pre-teen years are quite something...everybody tried to prepare me for them, but there's nothing like living it.All-in-all she really is a good girl (except when the hormones drive her crazy).

Cai is very into a mathematics and early computer programming  website. We're lucky to have them all in great schools where the resources allow them to do stuff like this. He spends as much time as I will allow him (usually about 30 minutes at a time) attempting mazes and puzzles on the computer. (Note how he couldn't look away once for the pic...and he does look a lot like Bruno Mars here, no?)

Little Ms. Ara, ladylike from the top of her little green bowler to the tips of her stockinged feet. This year was a learning year for her. She encountered some of life's harsh realities for the first time, and came through with flying colours...she is confident in who she is, and in what she is capable of doing. She has gotten comfortable with the specific aspects of being in a program for gifted and talented kids at school, and she is running with it...good stuff!

And then there's Eilam. Three years old...with a vocabulary to rival mine on a good day...and not even remotely interested in being potty trained!
I'm almost giving up here. We've tried everything...everything...threats, bribes, cajoling..."mummy's gonna run away from home if you don't potty"...everything.
And he won't budge.
Any tips???

So that's our St. Paddy's day in pics, with a commentary on where each of my lovelies is right now. I was hoping to get a pic of myself being green in here, but there wasn't a photog in sight when I stepped off the treadmill (and I really was green in the face...hee).

Okay...have a great weekend ya'll~!

Photoshoot

...and you'll be happy to know I was behind  the lens ;)

So, Oshean's uncle has the most amazing South African restaurant, here in Edmonton. He's recently thought about getting the restaurant on the internet, and needed some photographs taken.

Enter moi!

With the four munchkins in tow, I headed off yesterday to grab a few shots before the supper rush began. It was a different experience having to photograph inanimate objects, interesting though...and taste-bud-crazy-driving!

Yums, right?

(Thank you to my online, Facebook, scrapper, photog buddy Kelli for the food-shooting tips :))

Finding my way...

in the concrete jungle has been a trial through fire (of sorts).

After enjoying the graciousness of small town living for the past 9.5 years, the last few months in the big City have certainly been a jolt to my system.

But slowly I am finding my feet and getting to grip with how things are done here. I'm learning that to live here one has to be prepared to spend many many hours on the road; driving to and from schools, grocery shopping, entertainment for the littles, entertainment for the bigs and so forth.

I am finding that making friends is easier than I thought, but finding the time to grab a coffee with a new friend takes some kind of Herculian effort. Things are busy here.
But I'm coming around.

For the past two weeks, I've been burning the midnight oil in trying to get my online business, "The Paper Passion", up and running. I'm close to the end now, and things are shaping up exactly the way I hoped they would :)
So, check back in the next couple weeks for an opening announcement, or join our Facebook group for updates.
I have to thank everyone, the old customers, the potential new customers, friends...everyone, who's been so patient while I dealt with moving house, switching schools, family health matters, website issues and the such over the past few months. It's been a long time coming but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

And now for something scrappy :)

created by request for Ms Becky Fleck's March 2011 Cardmaps