My Very Own Watermark

I am so pleased with the watermark Cindy made for me to display on my photos. Here is it's debut on a photo I took of Ace a few months ago, with his favorite 'doggie'.

If you're interested in a watermark of your own, get in touch with Cindy...for a small fee she'll make you one too. Thanks Cindy, I love it!

Let the Brewing Begin!

This past weekend I began my coffee brewing test in the quest to learn how to brew a good cup of coffee! My friend Jenny lent out her coffee pot to test my husband's theory that our Starbucks Barista coffee maker is the reason our coffee is far from delicious. So I brewed two simultaneous pots of coffee in each machine and came to the conclusion that is isn't the coffee maker...the coffee tasted exactly the same from each! So the good news is I don't have to find another home for my Barista (yeah), but the bad news is that the quest is still on...the next step is to test various coffee beans (grind & freshness). Stay tuned for more on my coffee brewing pursuit. And if anyone out there knows any tricks, please post.

Ceasar Night

We had the Macdonald family over on Friday night for dinner, dessert & drinks. It was great to have a visit and the kids had alot of fun together. Our drink of choice for the night was ceasars, since they have been a favorite drink for Kelly & I for many years.

Kelly & Starr & some yummy ceasars!

Ace & Kyran (aka: Superman/Clark Kent)

Our Relationship Exercise

On Oprah last week, viewers were asked to participate in an exercise where you were to write down 5 words that described your relationship/marriage. Then you were to have your spouse do the same, my DH Cory actually played along.

Here's what I said:
- Trust
- Family
- Love
- Growth
- Compromising

Here's what Cory said:
- Trust
- Cooperative
- Fun
- Comfortable
- Passionate

So, as it seems from this, we have a good relationship. Others on the Oprah show weren't so fortunate, so I consider myself blessed to have such a great marriage! Give it a try, we found it interesting.

Happy Monday!

Just a cute little pic from a happy part of our home...I love that I can buy a bunch of tulips at the grocery store this time of year. Hope you have a very Happy Monday!

Stampin' Up! Open House

The Stampin' Up! Open House I hosted on Sunday was a success! It was great to see new faces as well as old stamping friends. Everyone who attended was able to come and make & take a stamped coaster project (instructions in the post below). Thanks to all the guests who made it to this event!

The ladies making the stamped coaster project.

Finished projects, they all looked great!

Sell-A-Bration

For those of you who haven't heard, for spending $75 in Stampin' Up! merchandise, you can choose a free stamp set out of this catalogue. In addition, you can earn these exclusive free sets for hosting a party and for signing up to demonstrate with Stampin' Up! This promotion is part of our Sell-A-Bration Event going on until February 26th. If you'd like more information, I'd be happy to answer any of your questions.

Open House Make & Take

Here are instructions on how to make the stamped coaster that was the project at my Stampin' Up! Open House I hosted on Sunday.






1. Wipe tile clean of dust
2. Stamp center image on post-it note, be sure to stamp high enough on the post-it so the sticky part is behind image
3. Using StazOn ink, stamp center image on tile; practice first since this ink is permanent
4. Trim image stamped on post-it & stick to tile over top of stamped image
5. Ink background stamp using StazOn ink
6. Reverst the tile & place on top of inked background stamp; ink will dry fast so try to be quick
7. This is what your tile will look like
8. Remove the post-it
9. Add some color if you desire with a Q-tip and Stampin' Pastels
10. Spray with clear matte finish & let dry for 10 minutes

Google Earth

My DH Cory just downloaded Google Earth...it is so cool. It allows you to zoom in on any location on Earth using satellite imagery. You can zoom right in approx. 500 meters above ground; we could even see the backyard patio at our old home. Give it a try, it's free and very addicting!

Horray for my Cleaning Service

Yes, I have a cleaning service and I'm darn proud of it! It's the best thing that has happened to me since I became a Mom of two...literally. Last January when Scarlett was born, my Mom suggested that I should get someone in to help me clean. I was SO against this at first, thinking it would make me not much of a stay-at-home-Mom. But it was one of the best things I've ever done! Having a cleaning service in every two weeks around here frees up so much of my time and helps me keep up with all the other things I'm busy with, business & personal.

I had a few other cleaning services before I found Fussy Budgets. They are a Mother/Daughter team, Lisa Sheen & Keri Miller and I've known these ladies personally for 4 years as stamping customers. They started their own cleaning service about a year & a half ago. They have been great! Their attention to detail is amazing and I love how personable they are. They bring all their own cleaning supplies and are very quick...it takes the two of them 2 hours to clean my entire 2200 sq/ft house. If you have been thinking of how a cleaning service could help you out, you should give them a try and treat yourself. Here's their information if you're interested:

Wall Text

I've had many people ask me about the peel & stick wall text we used for Scarlett's party. I just love them and can see me going overboard with them everywhere over the house if I'm not careful. They are made by Making Memories. You can purchase them at any scrapbooking store such as Scrapbookers Bliss, Sheep River Scrapbook Co., or Scrapbookers Paradise for approx $30.

From Blonde to Brunett...

After being a blonde for many years, Amber became a brunette last week. She looks great with her new haircolor!

The Birthday Girl

Here's our beautiful Birthday Girl in her new little dress from Nana & Papa Snider. She's so lovely.

Scarlett's 1st Birthday Party

Scarlett's 1st Birthday Party was so much fun! Everyone came dressed in their best and looked great. Most of these photos were taken by our friend Dee-Ann, she did an amazing job of capturing the party atmosphere...thanks Dee!

The kids (starting at top left to right):

Jarilyn, Ace, Kaeden, Camryn & Hannah (with their Mom, Melanie)

Hannah, Jarilyn & Ace, Chloe, Daisy & Kaeden

Gemma, Chloe, Gemma, Daisy & Starr & Jarilyn

Jarilyn & Shaylyn, Shaylyn, Jarilyn & Daisy

I had so much fun prepping for this party, especially since I was able to use PINK! The theme was 'sweet stuff' so we had every kind of candy you can imagine. I especially loved decorating the cupcakes.

And some more photos of our guests...so glad you all could make it. Scarlett will feel so special when she looks back on this occasion when she's older.

Happy Birthday Scarlett

Here's Scarlett with her first birthday cup'cake'. She loved us singing her Happy Birthday and Ace got to blow out her candle. We had Cory's Grandparents & Auntie Amber over for supper. It was a nice low-key celebration.

Scarlett is One!

I remember so clearly the night we went to the hospital to have Scarlett...I gave Ace a kiss while he was sleeping before we left and thought to myself that the next time I saw him, I would be a Mom of two instead of one. And now here we are a year later, hard to believe. Scarlett turned one on Friday, January 12th (I'm a little late getting this post out). This past year with Scarlett has been wonderful. She's such a sweet & happy girl...she is getting so big and is a joy to be around. We celebrated her birthday with a mini party on Friday night and a big party on Saturday with all her little friends. The photo you see here is one of my favorites I took of her at one month old...she truly is our little angel!

My Friend Rachelle

My friend Rachelle moved to Ottawa in July as some of you may know. She has already made a few trips back to Calgary since then to visit with family & friends since her husband Scott has been working out of town alot. This is a photo from her last trip to Calgary over Christmas. We were lucky enough to see her a few times while she was here for a month. She headed back last week and announced the news that her and Scott are expeciting their first baby in August. Congratulations guys, we're so happy for you!

Snider Family Photo Shoot

On our last day of Christmas Holidays, Dec 27th, our immediate family went for a photo shoot...with much grumbling from the men. We were so excited to get these photos that Paula Spearing of Oxbow took. It's not often that you get all of us in one location for these photo opts. Here are the 'much talked about' shots ~ Enjoy!

Mom & Amber

Took this one over Christmas Holidays...love it!

Sisters Having Fun!

Kyra took these photos of Christa, Amber & I acting silly.