Days go by

For me, the count-down is always on….. 5 more sleeps until the weekend, 9 more sleeps until I go to Georgia, 80 more sleeps until Meagan comes home for a summer holiday, 87 more sleeps until we go to Las Vegas, 208 more sleeps until Christmas...... Days go by……

It seems the older I get, the faster time flies. Time didn’t seem to fly by this fast when I was growing up, time seemed to stand still especially when I looked forward to something. It seems like just yesterday that I was in England for the summer but that was a year ago…. Where did that year go? Where did the last six months go? I have accomplished a lot in the last 6 months, I’ve made over 50 baby blankets, 3 quilts, dozens of scrapbooking layouts, 3 albums, 20 cards, read 3 books. I don’t want the days passing me by without accomplishing at least one productive thing in each day.

"We talk about forever, but we’ve only got today"… so take some time today and do something that makes you smile.

“I'm changing lanes and talking on the phone
Driving way too fast.
And the interstate’s jammed with gunners like me
Afraid of coming in last.
But somewhere in the race we run,
We're coming undone...

And days go by...
I can feel them flying
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by...
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start living right now
'Cause days go by...

So take them by the hand,
They're yours and mine.
Take them by the hand,
And live your life.
Take them by the hand,
Don't let them all fly by!

We think about tomorrow then it slips away.
Oh, yes, it does.
We talk about forever but we've only got today”...

Keith Urban

Many days have gone by since I lived in this beautiful old house in

Scotland, but I still hold onto all of the wonderful memories it holds.

The Simple Things

“Wake up baby look around,  birds sing, ooooh that sound reminds me of a line from Unchained Melody

Feel like I'm a little girl
Best thing in the whole wide world
Is I can see the makings of a memory
I remember how it used to be
Well I'm still dreaming...
Cuz I dream of simple things
I can believe in
Like the feeling this day brings
True love and the miracle of forgiving

I believe in simple things
Ain't nothing like a sunny day
Chit-chat at a street cafe
Just paint the picture, baby
Where you wanna be

Take a walk, take a ride
So far, you and I
Don't need a plan
But we can share this revelry

I remember how I used to want it all
Funny now the big things seem so small
I dream of simple things I can believe in
Like the feeling this day brings
True love and the miracle of forgiving

I believe in simple things
Through all the days
The blues, the greys
A ray of light keeps shining”...

                                              Amy Grant

The key to a happy and fulfilled life is not so much achieving big and grand goals; it is just as important to be able to enjoy the simple things in life. The smaller and simpler pleasures can bring you just as much joy and feeling of fulfillment as the larger things if you just take the time to pay attention to them.

Some of the simple things that I truly enjoy are; creating the perfect scrapbooking layout, sharing a box of chocolates, Highland dancing, enjoying a Starbucks chai tea, listening to my Ipod, reading a good book, singing in the car, a great concert, taking the perfect photo, listening to the sound of rain on my window, a late night hot tub, shopping, when a movie makes me cry, Broadway musicals, a hot bubble bath, a warm fire on a cold night, a new purse, watching my garden grow, rearranging my scrapbook room, sewing the perfect ¼” seam on a quilt, looking through old photo albums, Friday nights with the girls, eating breakfast for supper, laughing ‘til I cry, a hug, an afternoon nap, watching the sun rise, popcorn & a movie, walking on the beach, a long conversation with a good friend, root beer, a lazy Sunday, fresh baked cookies, a fresh snowfall, a picnic, listening to my kids laugh together!


Live the life you love….. Enjoy the Simple Things

You're Gonna Miss This

“You're gonna miss this
you're gonna want this back
you're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
these are some good times
so take a good look around
you may not know it now
but you're gonna miss this”


As we get older, some of us wish for the past, wish we had a chance to do it over knowing what we know now. Would we do things differently? I don’t think I would, I have no regrets other than I would have liked to have obtained a university degree. The choices I made, for the most part, were good ones. I wish I would have taken the time to enjoy my youth more, we seem to want to rush through the teenage years to get to our adult years only to wish we had taken our time and enjoyed each day more.  There are a lot of things that I miss from the past 51 years but from recent years, the the two things I miss the most are watching Meagan play in the Calgary Round-up and Stetson Show Bands and watching Craig play hockey... but I do have some amazing photos and memories.


I am constantly telling my kids to enjoy this time in their lives, the time you spend at university making new friends and getting that degree. Moving into your first apartment and starting that all important first job in your career. And as the lyrics to this song by Trace Adkins proclaim…..“These are some good times, so take a good look around, you may not know it now, but you’re gonna miss this”. Childhood is a short season, so enjoy it.

I do miss this….

Strike a Pose

"The camera, the former figure of scrapbooking. The camera, the object you use to capture moments. The camera, the one thing that we all depend on in scrapbooking!"

When I think of the word “Family”, I think of my Husband, my Kids, my Mother, My Brother, my In-laws, Aunts, Uncles… the list goes on and on and not necessarily in that order.
I think of my friends, especially my long time friends who are like family to me and my new friends, who I love getting to know. My family members are the people most often scrapped about. When I think about all the albums I have made, almost all of the pages are about family.

My recent layout classes with Lynn Thune; the most amazing photographer and scrap booker I know, who continues to inspire me on a weekly basis, help me reflect on past memories and create layouts to hand down to generations. Lynn is taking a break at the end of May to spend time with new grandbabies on the way and I don’t know how I’m going to get through the summer without her. (I’m expecting blog updates on a regular basis to keep me inspired Lynn!) Lynn’s classes have led me to spend hours, both in my Mom’s storage closet and my basement, digging through boxes and albums of old photographs, picking out the perfect photo for the next layout. Hours go by as I sit and reflect on the time and place the photo was taken, who took the photo, was it a happy time, and was I even born then…. And all the lasting memories it holds. I now have boxes of photos and hundreds of design ideas in my head to put them all into special albums, to preserve the memories, to hand them down to my children and hopefully to future grandchildren.

While digging through my old photos I came across this photo strip of Craig and me taken in one of those $1 photo booths in the mall. I carried this photo strip around in my wallet for years and then returning it to the old photo box. I just had to include it on a layout. Isn’t this what scrapbooking is all about? Gotta love it!

Sometimes photos are our only connection to the past, so carry your camera with you wherever you go, you never know when you are capturing a memory.

To all my scrap booking friends; today I challenge you to find that perfect photo and take the time to enjoy the memories it brings to you and then create the perfect layout!

Vintage Variety

I have an addiction for the eclectic. A collection of old and new displayed throughout my house. I love old things and I love a good bargain; vintage photos, sewing machines, bobbins, cameras, kitchen utensils, furniture, books, toys, vintage quilts, (although I have yet to purchase one)…. The list goes on and on.

I miss all the things that we used to have growing up, the things my grandmother, my mother and even I had, only to dispose of at one time or another. I’m now suggesting to those of you who love the memory that a vintage item brings, to hold onto it. I’m not suggesting that you become a hoarder, unless of course you want to be featured on the next episode of TLC’s “Hoarders”. But keep the things that have special meaning, things that might bring a smile to your face when you look at them, things that remind you of a loved one. I now regret giving away some of my old things and am now on a mission to find them again…. Not necessarily to purchase them, but to just know that they are still out there.
Lately I have been on the look-out for vintage ephemera; old postcards, photos, programs, labels, ticket stubs, coupons, stamps, film strips, claim checks, patterns, cards. I have been using these items on my most recent scrapbooking layouts in a book titled “Remember When”. I have also been saving ephemera from my daily life that I would normally throw out without thinking about it and try to include it on each of my layouts; recently train tickets and tour ticket stubs from our trip to London & Paris and on this layout a ticket stub, claim check and old book paper.

This weekend, I spent some time going to an antique show and sale as well as a few antique stores in our area. The most enjoyable part of going to the sale is taking the time to look through each vendor’s stash, to reminisce and feel excitement when I come across something that I had in my childhood, the old fashioned things I grew up with in my home. This past weekend I came across a set of mixing bowls that my Mother had, the white ones with an orange and red pattern around the outside of the bowls, I was tempted to buy them but only until I saw a beautiful pink mixing bowl (pink, of course being my favorite color). I saw an old doll house that I used to have, a few Barbie dolls, a couple of quilts that were in bad need of repair, books I had as a child, my Mother’s china pattern, those lovely avocado kitchen canisters that everyone had because they matched the appliances!

But I went with a purpose; to try and find an old camera to display on a shelf in my scrapbooking room and an old typewriter to sit in the corner of the same room. I hit pay dirt. An old camera from the late 1930’s in mint condition and not too costly and then an old Remington Model 5 typewriter in beautiful condition, very clean and in working order… bonus! I bargained him down to a price I was willing to pay and when I took it home and started typing on it I was amazed at the clarity of each letter and the smoothness of each key stroke. I was ecstatic with my finds. Now maybe to try and get rid of a few old things in my house (no, not Dale!)… to make room for the new “old” things.