JUNE 2010:  this month i shared more of my love of sunflairs, wrote all about my puppy spencer and the things that make him special, went on a road trip with the love of my life, had a visit with my special girls, kelly and kt, got my new glass as an anniversary present, enjoyed seeing special old friends in canada, worked on my pages for the design team over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, got a free tire for one of our cars, had a horrible allergic reaction to all the mosquito bites i got up north, celebrated my 3 year anniversary with my hubs, fell on my face at the convention and still have a bruise from it, took pictures of my dear friend rebecca, got my hair done again, dealt with frustrations and depression, fell in love with eat, pray, love, answered 8 questions about myself, went to the convention in Prince George, watched 'so you think you can dance', dealt with a family emergency, won a gift certificate, loved it when spencer got the hiccups, weeded my yard with my mum, drank a lot of orange juice, spent a bunch of time with my friend taya, had some crazy nightmares, got new living room furniture from my parents, felt a drain of creativity, had some good heart-to-hearts with some special friends, got a new clock for my collection and was glad when the month was over.

guess what i won!!

its been a rough few days.  really sick and feeling pretty yucky all around.  but then i got online and was reading through my favorite blogs and discovered that i had won a $60 gift certificate to csnstores.com from jen of createoften.  so i've been searching over there and found the perfect laptop bag.

now, im just waiting for the e-mail letting me know its back in stock.  im so excited about it!! 
and you really should check out jen's blog.  she has so many inspiring posts and interviews with amazing designers.  and her blog layout is too cute!!
thanks again jen! 

eight questions

my blogger friend jamie posted this on  her blog and i thought i would be fun to play along... im just gonna answer her 8 questions...

1. What is your favorite day of the year?
my wedding anniversary.  it was just a few days ago, and i love to celebrate the love chris and i share. 
2. If you could have dinner with 3 people, who would they be?
elizabeth gilbert, nancy doren and my mum.  now that would be an inspiring dinner party! 
3. What's your favorite song right now?
i keep listening to kelly clarkson's  "all i ever wanted" album.  loving the whole thing right now.
4. Name the last 5 things you purchased.
coffee, gray tights, dear lizzy scrapbook paper, new pens and sunglasses for my hubs. 
5. What do you order at McDonalds?
usually a mushroom swiss angus burger, but lately i've been craving nuggets! 
6. Are you a hugger?
oh yeah...  
7. Would you rather get a shot from a doctor or a filling from a dentist?
i've never had a filling, and shots don't bother me at all.
8. What is your favorite type of exercise?
i love to swim...  after my car accident, that was the best therapy for me and i've loved it ever since then. 

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  im going to be scrapbooking and eating steak with friends.  :D

eat, pray, love

during our road trip i read this book. well, i more like devoured, savored, indulged in and cherished this book. i am going to start it again... probably this afternoon. it was moving, heartfelt and inspiring. i cannot wait for the movie this summer. i know that there is no way for it to be "as good" as the book, but i have tingles just from the trailer. enjoy. and please, read the book!! 
"Eat, pray, love" by Elizabeth Gilbert 

we are home

we arrived home last night at almost exaclty mid-night.  the remnants of a long trip are now scattered across the living room floor... and all over my arms, in the form of mosquito bites.
i wish that i could say "this vacation was exactly what we needed.  the most refreshing trip we've ever taken and now we feel all rested and stress-free and ready to attack life with a renewed vigor"

but i can't say that.
because it is far from the truth.

i return home with a heavy heart and a deep pain in my gut.  i have a hard time letting go of things that i know are beyond my control, but i feel like i caused.  i am more stressed out now then when we left.  wondering the proper way to proceed, or whether or not i should take any action at all. i have learned that people aren't always who they seem, that people who say they are christians don't always act christian, and that a lot can change in 2 years. 
i cried a lot this week.

but honestly, not for all bad reasons.
the convention was a complete blessing that made me cry too.  i am planning on sharing some of my favorite points from it in a future blog post.  and it was so nice to see old friends and people that i knew growing up.  i got to introduce my husband to friends for the first time.  and i learned that there are many out there reading my blog that i didn't know about (this is your shout-out Ida!!  thanks for reading and for saying hello).
we did enjoy the driving part of our trip.  which was about 14 hours both ways.  :P  spencer came with us and he did sooo good in the car.  slept a lot and entertained himself in the back seat.  im proud of him.  our little family loves road trips.

and we celebrated our anniversary on our trip.  we told each other "happy anniversary" more times than humanly possible, and told each other again and again of our love for the other.  we talked about how we felt 3 years ago and how we feel now.  and how in love we still are.

i try to focus on the good things... even though, honestly, i need another vacation to recover emotionally from our vacation!!  chris and i have decided next time we need a getaway... we're really going to GET AWAY!  go somewhere no one knows us and relax.  a cruise maybe??

so now its back to our lives here.  and i am so happy to be home.  in my own bed, in my own house, in my own little town.

and just because i can't post without at least one picture... here is one of spencer that chris took.  he is getting to be such a great photographer!!