Days 26 to 28 - Catching Up

Well, I'm here trying to catch up on my blog posts! It's a long weekend this weekend here in SK and I'm trying to enjoy it!! Actually, I'm trying to get things done - I spent all yesterday on the other side of my computer trying to get my finances all straightened out and I'm almost done, which is very exciting for me! Otherwise, I'm not up to much - oh except ruining supper and fun things like that!

So, Friday night, I went to make beef stroganoff. The meat was browning in the oven and the sauce was starting on the stove. I was a bit behind (as is often the case with making supper!). I had the sour cream, mushroom soup and mushrooms in the pot and was trying to get the beef bouillon powder out of the spice cupboard above the stove. I heard a big crash (right as Jason walked in the door) and saw something fall out of the cupboard. It feel right into my pot on the stove. The burner wasn't on yet, so I finished what I was doing and went to fish it out, thinking I would just take it out and go on. Well, my vanilla (brand new just a month ago - the bigger bottle) had fallen into my pot. The glass jar didn't break (whew!) but the little plastic lid broke into two pieces and my stroganoff was now filled with vanilla (and vice versa). I'm not a really adventurous eater and I know some may like vanilla in savoury dishes but I think it was too much. Needless to say, we ordered in that night! The worst part was the waste of the vanilla - that sucked!

So, now on to the three days I need to catch up on:

Day 26 - A Picture of Your Family

Since families have different levels, I thought I'd post a few pictures for you to get a better view of who these people all are.

This is my immediate family - these are our photos from last summer (taken by Lilyfield Photography!) They turned out so cute!

This is from a year ago (Christmas 2009). This is my side of the family. I have six siblings and there are numerous spouses and grandkids in there. Since this photo was taken we have added one to our family and two of my sisters are soon to add another one each.
This photo is from this past Christmas of Jason's family. He has two sisters and their family members.
So, those are our families in photo form!

Day 27 - Pets

Nope. We have none. To be honest, I used to have a cat (named Ned) but I've decided that pets are way more work than I want to put in. I don't really want to clean up after them and the kids haven't decided that they really want one so I have no reason to get one. Jason likes dogs but he doesn't really want to clean up after them, either. Growing up we lived in the country and we always had tons of cats around but they were lower maintenance because they were farm cats and stayed outside. We had a few dogs over time but they seemed to disappear quickly. We also managed to kill off several goldfish but I don't think that's too big an accomplishment!

Day 28 - Something that Stresses You Out

Hmmm. I'm not sure what to put here. I don't stress out really easily but I'm sure there must be something that stresses me out. I just can't think of it at the moment. Well, I guess the only thing that comes to mind is winter driving. Not the regular stuff but when there's been a couple inches of snow and the roads are icy, then it kinda stresses me out. I try not to do it any more than I have to! :) Being late stresses me out a bit, too. I hate it but it rarely happens so it doesn't cause me too much stress!

There we go, I guess I'm caught up now!

Until next time...

Day 25 - Put Your iPod on Shuffle, First 10 Songs

Well, this was a bit difficult, since I don't actually have an iPod. Jason did put my music on his old iPod nano for when I was in the hospital with Jonathan but it hasn't been used since and I'm sure it needs to be charged!! However, apparently, I can open iTunes and put it on shuffle and since Jason had to rip my CDs to that to put them on the nano...here is my list of 10 songs:

1. Man Like Me - Steve Larsen

2. What I Really Want to Say - Steven Curtis Chapman

3. Wave Over Wave - Great Big Sea

4. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Josh Groban

5. Little Drummer Boy - Audio Adrenaline

6. Barque in the Harbour - Great Big Sea

7. For Future Generations - 4Him

8. I Want to Be the One - Lonestar

9. Must Be Love - Lonestar

10. The Sycamore Tree - Paul Brandt

Really, I listen to very little music...this list isn't quite representative (since I only have one Lonestar CD but about 5 Paul Brandt CDs) but you can see I listen to some local artists, Great Big Sea, Paul Brandt, Contemporary Christian and Christmas music! That's about it. I'm kinda picky about my music (I think I'm just picky about a lot of things :D) so there aren't very many artists on my playlist!

Until next time...

Day 23 - Favourite Vacation and Day 24 - Something You've Learned

Well, did I tell you that Jason found my receipts for me...sitting on a table in the basement. I had checked the basket next to that spot but not on the table. Seriously...some days!! Anyway, my year end is delivered to the accountant and now I can relax a bit! I will even be caught up with my blogging after today! Yay! So, here we go.

Day 23 - Favourite Vacation

I'd have to say that my favourite vacation was the one Jason and I took for our first anniversary. We went to France for three weeks. We had such a great time riding the train, exploring the country and eating the food!! I didn't get to practise my French as much as I'd like but I did use it a few times. There are tons of stories I could tell but that might get kind of long (though if you want to hear them, feel free to ask!) We really enjoyed the north of France. It was quiet and quaint and so full of history (especially since Jason's a bit of a WWII buff). We spent time at the D-Day beaches and Vimy Ridge:
This was the least touristy area that we visited and I think we really like that! Also, we got to stay in a castle (13th century, I believe) and that was awesome!

We did spend some time in Paris, though 5 days was a bit more than we would have liked (but good, otherwise we would have had to go to Switzerland to get to Paris to catch or flight home!). Due to striking, the Metro was not a practical choice so it was a good thing that our hotel was just around the corner from the Eiffel Tower.
We also walked over to Notre Dame (but it was a VERY long walk and by the end of three weeks we were used to walking everywhere so that may give you an indication!) Isn't the stained glass gorgeous?
I also got to see Monet's famous garden in Givernay! This was a quaint little town, as well and the irises were in full bloom when we were there!

Those are all the photos that I have scanned from that vacation but we also saw some of the castles in the Loire Valley and spent time on the Mediterranean coast/in Monaco (we even went to the F1 race there)! It was a fantastic vacation and we loved every minute of it!

Day 24 - Something You've Learned

Wow - that's wide open and could be anything. There are many things I've learned in life and many things I have yet to learn. Here are a few things (big and small) that I have learned:

1. God's plans are better than mine. Period.

2. The first day in a foreign country, we always mess something up!!

3. Problems are really just adventures.

4. It's OK if things aren't perfect or done my way (OK, I'm still working on learning this!)

5. Socks don't go missing in the wash if you put them together when you take them off

6. My kids' behaviour often improves at the same time as my attitude.

7. Things are rarely as bad as they seem.

8. Pens migrate. Even after the drawer has been loaded with several...they all seem to disappear.

9. It's not so bad to do the dishes everyday before going to my "fun" things.

10. Kids make you laugh.

There you go, some things I've learned!

Until next time...

Falling Further Behind...

Well, Jason tells me I'm supposed to post since I'm getting further and further behind! Real life has been taking up time lately! I've been trying to get a year end together and then it's teacher and staff appreciation week this week so I was at a work day today (not that they're any fun :D) and I really had a good time! It is so awesome, getting to know some of the other parents and some of the teachers a bit, too!

Also, I love this layout so much that I'm going to share it here. For credits you can go here to my scrap blog! I love this page so much and isn't Jonathan just adorable?!

Oh yeah...Xander passed his swimming lessons!! I was so excited for him! Now, we just have to keep him practising so that he doesn't lose it all before the next set of lessons in the summer!

So, Day 21 is a picture of yourself. Well, there are very few of these! I am behind the camera 99% of the time, unless I tell someone to take a picture of me and then they usually look like I told someone to take a picture of me! Anyway, I like the ones from Christmas but I've shared several of those already and they always have someone else in them so this time, I will do a picture of just me! This was taken after I had a makeover from my MaryKay lady! I've edited it a bit but that's what photo software is for! :)

It's not my favourite photo of me but it's not too bad! This leads well to day 22...

Day 22 - What's in Your Makeup Bag?

Makeup bag? What's that? If you see me very often, you'll know that I wear little to no makeup. I just don't bother for the most part but I also often can't get it to look how I want it to! I actually wore eyeshadow to Jason's Christmas party and that's the first time in ages!! I have managed to purchase mostly MaryKay makeup now...it's very high quality so I really like it. I have a blush, a couple of eyeshadows, brown eyeliner, eyesicles (glittery white highlighter), foundation and some mascara. I use MaryKay's hydrating gel on a semi-regular basis and that has definitely improved some of those lines I'm getting!! Oh, and this is not actually kept in a bag...it's in my medicine cabinet!

That's enough catch up for today. I'm excited for the next post...my favourite vacation...I'd better find some photos to go along with it!

Until next time...

Playing Catch-Up: Days 19 & 20 - Something You Miss & Nicknames

OK - I've not been that busy but I have a few days to catch up on! Technically, today (Sunday) is day 21 but I'll just post a couple a day until I'm caught up! It's not so much that I've been busy but I've been trying to do all my accounting up in order to plan...for that I have to be on the other side of my computer! By that, I mean I have to boot into Windows instead of using the Mac operating system...I can use the internet and stuff there but the settings are all wonky so I don't! (It's easier than setting them up...I don't spend that much time over there.) Though, get this, I'm trying to finish up my year and I've got all the receipts entered except July...any guesses why? Well, it seems I have lost an ENTIRE MONTH of receipts. Seriously. They're probably all lost in the same place, at least :)! Maybe it's like the receipts I lost for the organization I'm treasurer for...gee, I found them under a stack of envelopes right under my nose! Anyway, all that to say I am doing two days today!

First, some chatter...not much has been going on lately but Xander is doing really well with his private swimming lessons. It's great to see how fast he's progressed with the individual attention! Now, he can go with his cousin this summer. That was the goal! Wow, that's the only exciting thing going on here. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day but we don't do anything because we're not big Hallmark supporters ;)! Xander will have a swimming lesson, instead! I do love the candy, though, so I picked up a couple of things. Now, on to the 30 days...

Day 19 - Something You Miss

I've tried to think of this and figure out what to write. I'm having troubles, though. Of course I miss my family because we don't live in the same place and I'd love to see them more but there are phone conversations and enough visits that I don't have this real feeling of missing them. I do miss the carefree days of childhood, on occasion. You know, the days when someone else had to figure out where the water in the ceiling is coming from and how to pay for the new furnace...those days! But, I love my life so I can't really say that I constantly long for those days. I miss having a big stove...it's been 15 years and since I lived at home but 24" is just NOT 30". I also miss being able to buy gobstoppers in bulk. I haven't been able to find them again and that used to be my "thing". When I was (basically an intern) I used to keep a container on my desk. A box doesn't go very far so I always bought in bulk. Now I can't find them (if you know where to get them...let me know!!) There you go, a few things I miss!

Day 20 - Nicknames

This is easy...I give them to everybody and I have none myself. No one has ever called me anything other than Sandra. I once had a teacher call me Sandy and my entire class freaked out on him so that never went very far! I never cared one way or another. However, I give nicknames to everyone I know, almost! I even shortened my brother Rene's name to Ren. So there's the skinny on me and nicknames!

Well, lookee there - two days done! I'm starting to talk-type goofily so I'd better go now!!

Until next time...

Day 18 - Something You Regret

Well, today is all about regrets! Or, rather yesterday since that first line is all I got typed and then the baby started crying. He did not have a good night and I'm not sure why but we all survived. Today the kids all went to Aunties and I got to have a bit of a break. It was actually somewhat productive and I'm very happy about that. Hopefully tomorrow will be productive, too! I should be doing a double post here but it's late so I'll do the double post tomorrow!

Anyway, I don't really have regrets. Sure, there are the little things, like I regret losing my temper with the children or I regret that we couldn't go to a certain event but I don't think I have any really big regrets. There is one "dating" situation that I kinda regret as it stifled a lovely friendship but time passed and things were all good again (and since I was, like, 13 or 14 at the time, I'm not sure it really counts :) ). I don't believe in dwelling on things, but rather, holding them loosely. I think that there are things I wish I wouldn't have done or said but that needs to become a learning experience. Forgiveness needs to be sought and then the regrets are to be gone. (PS if this isn't too coherent, I think I'm tired!) I guess I just don't see the point of wasting my time regretting the past when I need to live the present and plan for the future. Maybe someday I'll regret something but not right now :)!

And with that, I'd better go to bed!

Until next time...

Day 17 - Something You're Looking Forward To

Well, this is kind of a general topic...there are so many things. I realized that I look forward to much! I enjoy the things that go on around here and I am excited for many big and little things that will come up. Here are a few things that I am looking forward to...

1. Mom's group tomorrow morning (and a new study on worry & anxiety!)

2. Spring

3. Finishing some projects (cross-stitch, renos, organizing)

4. Going to Calaway Park this summer

5. A possible major train trip in a few years

6. Renovating the rest of the house

7. Hanging out with my family for a long weekend in February!!

8. Seeing friends

9. Getting my accounting done

10. Buying new socks and a crib mattress

There you go...a few of the things I'm looking forward to! Some of them are closer than others but they are all special in their own way!

Until next time...

Day 16 - Dream House

Well, today was a quiet day at home (though I was babysitting but that's no big deal when the kids just play and watch shows!) Though it was quite funny. After lunch I made the kids turn the TV off. Of course there was the why? What should we do? kinda questions. So I told them they could do puzzles or play toys...then I thought some more and said...or someone could clean my kitchen and my bathrooms need to be done too! What do my children do? Do they play toys or maybe a game? Nope! Evan decides he wants to clean the bathroom and Xander gets all excited about doing the dishes! Crazy kids. Now, I did have to sneak in to the bathroom to see what Evan thought cleaning it was and he had the toilet brush out happily swishing away at the toilet! It was pretty cute!

So, today's post is about my dream house...I can't afford my dream house (reference point#14 on day 1's list of interesting facts). I love huge old homes and big wrap around porches and staircases that branch off in either direction...I love in floor heating and jet tubs and body sprays in the shower. I love river rock tile and granite countertops. I love kitchens big enough to feed an army out of! My perfect house would be something with all the charm and character and hand work of an old house but brand new so there was little to no maintenance! I don't have my dream house but I do live in my reality house (good thing it's not a dream or we'd be pretty cold right now!). I love the house we have (with a few caveats). Maybe I should say that I love the house it could be and hopefully will be over time. The location is perfect...it's a nice size so that we don't have to worry about space. I do hate the current kitchen but it will be fabulous once it's renovated. The bathrooms needs to be redone and so does the basement but they are gorgeous and perfect in my head (if only my bank account would agree!!) However, those quirks are part of what allowed us to even afford this house in the first place so I'm OK with them!

Until next time...

Day 14 - A Picture You Love and Day 15 - Bible Verse

OK. I have to catch up here! I've got two days to post now. I was doing something else last night but can't really remember what!! Though, in case you're interested, I just posted some layouts on my scrappy blog! So, today my big excitement was that I got my brand new, one-piece driver's license in the mail. It's got all these strange security features and the photo is in black & white...that threw me at first! I couldn't figure out why I was so pale as I pulled it out of the envelope! The great thing is that I don't have to renew it until 2013 or something like that. On another driver's license note (funny story), this past weekend Jason realized that he had forgotten to renew his driver's license...in 2009! Ooops! Got that all rectified now, though. We even had to go through our records just to make sure we hadn't paid it and lost it, instead!

Anyway, here are my two days that I need to post. Day 14 is a picture I love. Well, I have a lot of pictures I love. There are many vacation photos that I love and cute photos of my kids but I didn't really want to search and the first one that popped into my mind was this one:

This is my sister with Jonathan when he was about a month old. I just love her expression and the angle on the photos. It's been one of my favourites since I took it. Guess I should scrap it now, too, eh?

Day 15 - Bible Verse

I actually did a post awhile ago about my favourite Bible verse. If you want to read the explanation and whatnot, you can go here. Otherwise, suffice it to say, that it is the following:

Daniel 3:17, 18

¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Now I have caught up and I cut and pasted into this post so it's doing weird things and I'm about out of patience with it so I will go and talk to you all tomorrow! Maybe I'll even edit some photos one of these days!

Until next time...

Day 13 - Goals

Well, we're off to a Christmas party tonight (ha ha...yes Jason's work has their Christmas party in the new year. It's kinda nice because it's not one more thing to add to December's calendar!) so I thought I'd post day 13 early (shocking, I know!) Day 13 is goals. I have lots of goals and dreams and aspirations. Here are a few I'll share with you - in no particular order:

1. Make this stay at home Mom thing work! I don't forsee this one being too tough, but it will be an adjustment. We've always been used to 1 1/2 to 2 salaries (not that we needed them but the extras were fun!) so it'll just be some adjusting the way we think. Right now I'm still getting mat leave pay so we haven't had to entirely adjust yet. That's coming up in a couple of months.

2. Renovate my kitchen. I don't like it now...it's lack of storage, tiny fridge and dishwasher, lack of light...I have great plans to open up the space and make it beautiful, it just takes money! It will come eventually and I can't wait to cook on a full size stove!

3. Travel with my kids. I got to see so much as a youngster travelling with my parents and I want the same thing for my kids. I want them to see the mountains and the ocean and the plains and everything in between (or as much as we can!) We've started this and have plans for a couple of big trips in the next few years so we're on our way! I'd also love to take them on a missions trip when they're a bit older, just so they can experience what other people who are not so fortunate, live like!

4. Finish my nephew's afghan. I'm so close but I tend to end up scrapping rather than cross-stitching and I really need to rectify that!

I can't think of anything else major off the top of my head. Those are some of my big goals and dreams for the next several years and we'll see how they all work out.

Until next time...

Day 12 - What You Believe

It seems strange to go from something so light and trivial as TV shows to something as deeply personal as what you believe! But I guess that is the point of this exercise...to get to know more about the whole person!

I've thought about this some and there are many things that I believe but they all stem out of one core belief in God and His Son Jesus Christ (and the Holy Spirit). I believe that the Bible is the only true Word of God and that it lays out everything we need to know. I believe that there is a God and He is part of a triune being composed of Him, his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I believe that God created everything and He created us to have fellowship with Him. However, we have all sinned (every one of us...me included!!) and that has placed a barrier between us and God. The only way to break through that barrier is through the work that Jesus did on the cross when He died and rose again. I also believe that there is a heaven and a hell and that those who do not believe on the name of Jesus Christ will suffer for eternity. I think I've covered the basic core of my belief system. This truly does shape what I believe in life about how to act and treat others and spend my time. I also know that I am not perfect and fail my God too often but He is merciful when I repent and turn to Him.

I hope this gives you a bit of insight into who I am at the core. I know there are some of you out there who agree with me and some of you who don't and that's OK. However, if you want to ask me any questions or have any conversations about this, I'd love to!

Until next time...

Day 11 - Favourite TV Shows

There hasn't been much going on lately, though did I tell you we're reading our first chapter book with Xander? Jason is reading The Wizard of Oz to him (on his iPod Touch, no less) and he is really enjoying it. We read about 2 chapters each night and he really looks forward to it. Now, we'll just have to figure out what to read when this one is done! We started doing this because there's a fitness/literacy challenge at school and one challenge is to read or exercise 15 minutes per day as a family. Since it's the middle of winter, we decided reading would be easier! Evan even listened today!

Now, on to Day 11! Well, I should have lots of these as the TV was always on in my house...I guess it's kinda been replaced by my computer now. A lot of the shows I love are no longer running like:

West Wing

Scrubs

My Name is Earl

Pushing Daisies

There are a few shows we still watch now (I mean PVR and watch later!)

Amazing Race (the only reality show I like!)

Top Chef

Hell's Kitchen

Canada's Worst Driver

I do like to watch most stuff on HGTV and FoodNetwork but just on a whenever I catch it basis. Good Eats and Food Network Challenge are two favourites and I have really started to enjoy Sarah Richardson's shows on HGTV. I do like to watch 'Til Debt Do Us Part on Slice but that may just be the accountant in me!

There are some really fun old sitcom reruns out there, too, like Home Improvement and The Cosby Show (though I'm not sure if The Cosby Show is still on) that I like to watch.

So, I guess that about sums it up! There are my TV shows.

Now, I really need to get some more photos edited and up on this blog but not tonight...it's much too late!!

Until next time...

Day 10 - Something You're Afraid Of

OK, Jason told me to post earlier in the day because my last post was so rambling. I guess you should never write when you have two different ideas and can't decide which one to follow (right, Andrea? - if you're reading). Anyway, it's a bit earlier so I hope I won't be too incoherent. Though, I apparently can't type tonight!

So, something I'm afraid of. I don't really know what to put here...I can't say I'm not afraid of anything because then I would never worry or stress, but I do. I usually worry more at the thought of something than the actual doing so I really just need someone to push me to do it! (Ex. The thought of driving on icy roads is usually much worse than actually doing it!) I believe that God is in control and that should drive out all fear - unfortunately, I am less than perfect (shhh, don't tell anyone) and I am working on this! I can't say that I'm particularly afraid of snakes or bugs, though I have no desire to be in close proximity to poisonous ones and I do not enjoy picking up a container and finding a pile of those little bugs we have in the basement. When I was younger, I was terrified of bears but I even saw one of those in the bush when we were walking one day and I survived so that's OK, too. One of my biggest fears growing up was of going blind (not unreasonable given my eye condition) but now that my problem has been diagnosed and I know what I'm dealing with, that's not such a big deal. I guess I could sum this up with I do have a bit of a fear of the unknown and, as I said above, I'm working on that! Actually, my Thursday morning Mom's group is going to be doing a study on anxiety and worry so that should actually be very helpful (and probably convicting!!) That's it for today!

Until next time...

Second Post Today! Day 9 - A Picture of Your Friends

Friends is such an interesting topic. I've had trouble deciding where to go with this. I don't feel that I really have a lot of friends. Some people call me outgoing ;) and I will admit I have a lot of acquaintances...but I wouldn't necessarily call them friends. Especially in this day and age, I think we're a little loose with the term "friends" - just because you're on my facebook, doesn't necessarily mean we're actually friends. Would I call you in a pinch? Would I cry on your shoulder? These people are actually friends. Now that I think about it, I have had groups of friends throughout my life, so maybe I'll talk about them...and no I don't have pictures - what I do have is mostly on film and I'm not scanning it tonight!

There was my best friend in grade school - Hannah. We were the smart girls and the outcasts but we had each other and we could talk up a storm!! She moved a town over for high school but we kept in touch and then we went to the same university. Life has taken us in different directions but we occasionally email and that kind of thing, still.

There was a group of us in university that I would consider friends. We went through the same program and then went through professional training together, too. There were four of us and some of us still live in the city but life has gotten so busy that we have kinda lost touch. I've been meaning to get ahold of the girls to go out for supper again! The one I keep in best touch with actually lives in New Zealand and I wish I could see her more often!

Often, I consider my family my best friends :). In high school, I was one of the few Christians in the school and a good chunk of the others were related to me! So, we hung out (and fought - as in my brothers). My brother and I moved in together when we went to university and had a group of friends through our college and career group. We used to hang out and play games and just have a ton of fun...again, I am now related to a good chunk of those people. A subgroup of this were "the guys"...my two brothers (once the younger one came to town and moved in, too), my boyfriend at the time (now my husband), and three other guys. I loved these guys like brothers and still do. Every Sunday night was X-Files, Simpsons and Golden Eye at our place! Now, some are married and some have moved off. I count it a privilege to have connected immediately with one of the now wives and though they live several hours away, we still try to keep in touch and can visit for hours on end! Another of them lives in town with his wife and I also count her among my friends. I have really enjoyed getting to know her over the years (though we really need to see more of them :D ).

There are other friends but I don't want to bore you - though our care group at church deserves a special mention, too! We meet weekly and have for several years to care for each other and grow in God's word - I consider these people fabulous friends!

I hope that's not too rambling. I kept having a couple trains of thought go through my mind and I think they may have met each other in this post, making it a bit confusing! Sorry!

Anyway, I'm done now in case you actually made it this far! Also, it's late so maybe I'll be more coherent tomorrow!

Until next time...

Slacker alert - Day 8 - Place You've Traveled

Well, I guess I'm doing two days today!! I didn't get around to posting yesterday...I was scrapping instead. Also, I was sitting on the couch under a blanket because it got COLD here yesterday!! It was -35C (-31F) with a wind chill making it feel like -44C (-50F) - while this isn't unusual for these parts, we have had a snowy, warm winter this year so we haven't had much of this, yet! So, I will post day 8 now and day 9 later tonight!

Day 8 - A Place You've Traveled

How do I pick a place? Especially since a later post is about favourite vacation and the two would probably overlap so I will just talk about some of the places I've been! I love to travel. We did a lot of it growing up - when your Dad's a teacher, there's plenty of time in the summer! We never did exotic trips as kids but we saw a lot of Canada and the United States. I've been to all 10 provinces (PEI has to be my favourite!) and many states...though some of them were just passing through. When you drive from Regina, SK to Orlando, FL in 40 hours you go through a lot of states but don't really remember many! I married a man who hadn't been very many places but I convinced him that trips were good things - he still dislikes the actual travelling part (ie being on the airplane etc) but enjoys experiencing the places as much as I do! So, as the adult planning the travels, I have been to Hawaii (spring break with a friend), Vancouver Island, Quebec, the Maritimes, the Redwoods & Oregon coast, Midwestern US (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska etc), Mexico, France, Monaco and England. There are so many more places I would love to go...I've always said I would love to see every country in the world but the top of my list are Galapogas Islands, Egypt and the Antarctic! I would also love to see New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Africa (not sure exactly which parts, yet) and a multitude of other places! Closer to home, I'd love to visit New York City and Washington, DC. Hopefully they will fit into our plans in the next 4 to 5 years. The biggest problem is that we also have a house and life and this all takes money!! Now, I will leave you with some pages I've scrapped of some of the places we've been (a lot of the photos are still on film so I haven't done many yet!) Also, please be kind...some of these were scrapped when I first started and need to be redone!!

From our trip to the Redwoods & Oregon Coast:

Kit - Coastal Getaway by the ScrapMatters Design Team

Alpha - Vintage Summer Bonus Alpha by WM[Squared] Designs

Template by Happy Scrap Girl

Kit - Floating on a Breeze by Scraps of Ellay, JennCK Designs and Dream Big Designs

From our trip to London (tour to Westminster Abbey, Stonehenge and Bath):

Kit - Modish by geniaBeana Scraps

Flower buds (recoloured) - Easter Morning by Stolen Moments and Man in the Moon Designs

Leaf - Sweet 'n Blue by Elo Desings

Stones - Ohe Matelot by Cjournet13

Template - Fine Waves template by a'nyi

Waves at Peggy's Cove in the Maritimes

Background paper - Meliage by Petit Moineaux

Stitched circle - Hello Easter by Scrappy Cocoa

Greenery, flower stamp - Stop the Time by Melancolie

Seashells - Sea Life by Cajoline Scraps

Pearls - Remember Me by Sarah Bennett

Bow (recoloured) - Like No Other by Eva Marina Scraps

From our trip to Mexico (the trip that got me digi-scrapping - this page has obviously been redone!)

Kit - Tropical Sunshine by LDrag Designs and Siamese Studio

Template - Fabulously Negative v8 by WM[Squared] Designs

From our trip to Indianapolis to celebrate Jason completing his degree!

Kit - Fatherhood by Scrappergirl Designs

From our trip to France.

Kit - Chloe by Digi-Designs by Nicole

Ribbons (recoloured), Green & Brown Paper - Fresh Collab by Digi-Designs by Nicole

Buttons - Rustic Grass by Digi-Designs by Nicole

KIt - Mon Amie Collab by Stacey Towers and A Work in Progress by Vicki

Template - MandaKFreebie12x12Template#1 by Nibbles Skribbles

From my trip to Hawaii.

Kit - Another Day in Paradise by GingerScraps Designers

Kit - Vintage Summer (and bonus alpha) by WM[Squared] Designs

Template by Canadian Mommy

Date Blots by Stolen Moments

There is a taste of "a place" I have travelled! Can you tell this is one of my favourite topics?! This is also making me really want to scan in and scrap all these vacations!!!

Until next time...