last post of 2008

it is an important day to write a blog post...the last day of a wonderful year. :) thank you 2008 for all the wonderful memories and the life we have lived.

i think semi-sonic said it best in their song closing time:

"every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

:D

the frost and some layouts....

so i've got all my scrapping stuff set up and out on a table at work. it so helps me to stay creative cuz its right in my face and accessible. so i've created a couple more layouts. :D



we've also had some seriously crazy cold weather here, as in many places this season. the only thing i like about it are the beautiful pictures.
look at this one! its just outside our apartment.
the snow is deep...
the frost is thick...
winter is here indeed.

Create My Keepsakes Design Team Call

as my title suggests, CMK has openings for their design team, and the way to apply is sooooo cool and different! what you need to do is create your own kit using scrapbooking supplies you have, and then make a few projects with it.

here is my kit:

included are:
-3 bazil cardstocks in blue, green, and brown
-another differnt blue scalloped edge cardstock
-4 papers from differnt MyMindsEye lines
-Die Cuts with a view patterned paper
-and one orange dot paper from BoBunny
-Basic Gray cardstock stickers
-brown rick-rack, green and orange fibers
-green and white brads, bling flowers, rub-ons, chipboar flourish, and journaling blocks

it was seriously so much fun to create my own kit. i had some things in mind that i knew i wanted to use, and matching everything else turned out so well.

now onto the pages i created. i did 4 12x12 pages and one card.

here is a close-up of the journaling--taken from a recent blog post.

and the card

so what do you think??
there is some amazing kits and pages so far, so i'm honestly thinking i have no chance, but i had a lot of fun putting the kit together and doing these pages.

wish me luck!! :P

*TALENT*

1. peachskin., 2. Out Take, 3. aftermath, 4. 278/365 take a spin*, 5. jonny & danielle, 6. Think Happy Thoughts, and You'll Fly, 7. Coming To Life, 8. "I'm Fine", 9. ..., 10. i've got a perfect body, 'cause my eyelashes catch my sweat (51/365), 11. Untitled, 12. 15/365 Platinum Egoiste, 13. love, 14. *, 15. Playing God's harp..., 16. Mwah. Week Four.


lately i have found some extreme talent in my searches on Flickr. these ladies have amazing skills and a true eye for art and beauty. enjoy this little snippet and go check out their photostreams.

you'll fall in love!

WHAT??

...its been like a week since i've posted.
and its been a rough week.

i don't wanna talk about it....

so anyway, chris's mom had surgery on her foot last week, so we went for a couple days to spend some time with her and "keep her from vacuuming." (quote from dad!) we had a nice visit. i also got to go to a craft store in wenatchee while we were there and pick up some new scrapbooking supplies. i'm working on a little mini-book from our 'stay'cation a couple months ago. should be fun. its been SO LONG since i was able to buy anything new. made me smile. :D i've also got a fun full day of scrapping planned on the 1st with a couple friends. i'm soooo looking forward to it.

i read this morning that dear Mandi's grandfather passed away. i just wanted her to know i was thinking of her. <3

i wanted to write a little bit about the love of our congregation here. they have been so supportive of chris and i through this rough, financially tough time. just last night a few families got together and went "shopping" in their cupboards to get some groceries together for us, and gave us cash and a gift card to safeway. and last week, a sister gave us the full amount of money we will need for chris to take his school bus driving tests (which isn't cheap!). sometimes the love of jehovah's organization blows me away. they truly CARE and LOVE and SUPPORT. it is humbling to experience such love. that is what it means to be part of a brotherhood. and we thank jehovah every day for that!

well, now i'm gonna eat some lunch and do some scrapping.
have a terrific day everyone!!!
<3

excited for the wedding!!

abi, nate and brenna (abi's sister and MOH) stopped by last night. she had the bridesmaid dresses ordered and picked up already and wanted me to have mine and try it on. I LOVE IT!!! the color is such a soft green color. i'm totally going to do my hair red for the wedding...it would match so good!
the dress will need some altering cuz we had to order a big enough size to fit "the ladies" and so its loose around the waist. but that's ok. i'm gonna add some straps to it too, just to keep it up. it has the coolest shape to it... the neckline is perfect and there is a cool train in the back. we'll have white sashes with bows on the back too.


this is gonna be such a fun wedding!!! :D

the snow....

some fun shots i took yesterday i wanted to share. i need to remind myself that this season can be beautiful...as long as i'm not behind the wheel of a car!
:D

:(

it just started snowing.
can i just curl up and hide till spring??

i've decided im not driving till the season is over. chris is just gonna have to do the driving. it scares me... i'm a wuss.

man... i been kinda MIA

but now it feels like i've got tons to catch up on!

its been a nice week. i got a TON of my classwork done. getting into some pretty in-depth stuff now. gotta buckle down. but i'm still really enjoying it. :D

we had a celebratory dinner on saturday night and had a couple from our hall over for dinner. chris cooked pork ribs and i made rice. turned out soooo good. then we played a round of skip-bo and visited. it was really nice.

on sunday we got invited over to another couple's place for dinner after the meeting. there was a small group of brothers and sisiters together, talking, visiting, and getting to know each other. lovely meal! and then for desert they treated us to something we'd never heard of.... chocolate pasta. pretty tasty!! mixed with ice-cream and berries...made a lovely desert. :)
it was such a nice evening. :)
i even got my new friend marta addicted to flickr and picnik! yay!! :D

chris and i have been getting to know another new couple in our hall a bit more lately. casey and mathea. he's been out of town for a couple weeks training for his new job so we've had mathea over a lot. :D she's so much fun. on monday she came over and brought a few movies and bought pizza! fun night!! then last night we had planned on band practice in wenatchee (which didn't end up working out) and asked her to come along. we hung out with our friends at the raven, and then walked the ave. it wasn't even that cold out. i'm so glad we're becoming good friends.

another exciting thing that happened yesterday is that my boss have us our bonuses!!! so with the money (and the credit i had with verizon) i got the new phone i've been wanting soooo bad!!! the LG Dare. and i got a pink cover!!
totally IN LOVE.

isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?? :D

so this week is our CO's visit. chris and i got to go in service together yesterday morning. it was so nice. and so tonight we have out bookstudy and service talk. it should be good. i love our CO. he is the same one i had for the last 3 years before we moved here, so i know them both really well. i was so excited when i heard they were going to be here now. awesome!
so i'm looking forward to the meeting tonight.

and just a quick question: did anyone else cry at the house episode this week?? i mean seriously....

alright all!
<3 ya.

oh, PS. my cousing whitney is starting her own photography company. i've got the link to her blog in my sidebar. today she had me do a re-design for her blog. hop on over and check it out!! :D

on second thought...

its a WONDERFUL DAY!!!!

chris got a job!!!

he starts training on monday morning with the school district as a bus driver!! yay!! wahoo!!! i'm so proud of my man! its something he's done before, so he's already has the licence and endorsments needed, so he's all ready to go.

i'm sooooo happy!
<3

its a beautiful day...

this picture was last night...at about 4:30 pm. crazy eh? it was so beautiful, i ran out of the office to take a picture.
<3

i have something exciting to share!!! i got some awesome HAPPY MAIL today!!!


as "payment" for re-designing her blog jamie mailed me a bunch of yummy scrappy goodness! it feels so good to have new scrapbooking stuff. its been so long...
along with that, she included one the elsie felt dolls that everyone has been making from the class. i've loved them from afar, but now i have one of my very own!!! and she's my two favorite colors!
thank you sooo much jamie! i love everything. :D




yesterday i got a couple of my ATC sets finished for swaps i'm in. so i thought i'd share! :D

this one is for the "love quote" swap on SIS. the quote is from one of those dove chocolates. i got it just after chris and i started dating. i'm glad i listened... <3>

this one is for the SIS nov/dec swap. the theme is thankful. chris is the one thing i am most thankful for in life.

these are the complete set of THe CrEative TyPe design team swap. i'm so honored to be a part of this amazingly talented group of ladies. we have so much fun!!

well, i guess that's all for today.
love*love

yesterday was a sunny day...

it felt good to be outside for awhile.

but today is a different story...
i feel like i've hit a brick wall of frustration.
so many things are spiraling out of my control, and i'm not dealing very well with it. i have things to say, but i don't know how or when or if i even should say them.
i'm wasting days.
i hate that...

i can't believe that its already december. in a week, chris will have been unemployed for 2 months. the time goes by so quickly.

okay shaina....need to focus on the POSITIVE!!!!

i got 2 of my recent test back from my course i'm taking. A's on both!! im really enjoying what i've been learning.

last night i had a talk in the TMS. it went really well. i enjoy doing that. :)

my mom bought me some fabric to make curtains for our house. its the perfect green color with flecks of brown. i'm so excited to make them.

got 2 huge loads of laundry done this week. i wait till i can't wait any more to do it, cuz i have to go to a laundrymat. :( but, while the clothes were drying i just loved the colors blended together and just needed to take a picture. <3
tonight we've having a friend over for dinner. her husband is out of town for the week, so i thought it would be nice to invite her over so she's not so alone. chris is cooking again! yay!! so

now i will leave you with a smile for today. have a wonderful week one and all!

a quick update....
no job yet. his interview went really good, but the problem is that its a new manager who is wanting to get rid of the current staff.... which he has to do before he can really hire. so again its a waiting game.
chris is going by the school district bus garage today, cuz we heard that they were looking for someone. he's driven bus before, so that will help him. we'll see how it goes.
:D

finally!!!

chris moved the AC out of my scrapbooking room last night, and i got 3 whole pages done. :D :D it felt so good to create something after so long. its been about a month and a half already. that's HORRIBLE!!! i'm hoping i can keep my mojo going now that i've got my room back. happy shaina!
so here's what i created:

this one is for the Work-Your-Soul challenge this go-round. the challenge was to take a dishes pattern and use it on a layout. i love how it turned out. this picture was taken when i was about 11 up in smithers, BC canada, where my dad used to live. some of my greatest memories were made there...

this is a picture of my cousn hannah's little baby Aiden. he is the sweetest baby, with an ever-ready smile. such a good baby. :)

this one i did for prompt #8 over at THe CrEative TyPe. the challenge starting today is to focus on one word. i chose the word "beauty" and a picture of my best friend kelly.

***************************************

on friday night chris and i drove to moses and i went by Maurices again. i had a gift card with some money on it to use. and i bought this new purse. :D isn't it fabulous?? i *heart* it. its huge and perfect and leather and it makes me happy!

on saturday night we had our friends cassy and matae over for dinner and a movie. chris made pork ribbs and i made rice and vegetables. everything turned out so good, and we had a really nice time. we had invited another couple, alan and tonya, over too, but tonya got sick. which is too bad because they are moving back to whidbey island next weekend. i'm really going to miss them.

chris has a job interview today. keep your fingers crossed!!! :D