School's Out!!!

It's official. I am on Vacation! Yesterday was the last day of school and now I am free. Free to do what ever I want. And what I want is to do all the projects I have been busy collecting stuff for. All the junkin' I have been doing. All the VV trips I have been taking. I need to get this stuff done and painted and put on display. So many ideas rush around my head of what I can and need to do. I need to buy paint and start painting. I need to stay busy this summer. I desperately want to kick-ass on my weight loss this summer. I've been having a rough time since I hit the 40 pound mark. I lose a few and then gain a few. This has been going on for probably a month now. I have 2 weeks to get to 50 and I don't think it will happen. I am so close, but things just aren't going the way I had hoped. I am going to start walking and try a bit of running in the mornings to start my day off. Then, I will be fitting in some tennis and hopefully swimming and more walking and hiking. Gotta get there. Once I have hit this 50, then I have at least another 50 to go. I am hoping to have 20 pounds gone by the time I go back to school. I will do it, I can do it!!!

Last weekend we went to Tumbler Ridge to celebrate Father's Day and see my parents. We had such a great time hiking to various waterfalls and sights. The first waterfall we hit was Kinuseo Falls. AMAZING!! There were 3 different viewpoints we went to. The first was a simple little stroll to where the water actually goes over the edge. The second was DOWN the edge of the mountain. I mean down. Way down. Straight down. No, I am not exaggerating. We climbed down the mountain to the base of the waterfall. SO worth it. I was lost for words while we were at the bottom. I just sat there watching the water fall and feeling the mist on my face. Then, we CLIMBED back up the mountain. The next viewpoint was up the mountain from the first one. Once there you can see the whole thing. The water falling over the edge and then crashing to the river below. Breathtaking! We had such a great time and I had a serious case of Jelly-legs after all that hiking. More to come in my next post.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as I plan on enjoying mine!

Adrienne

Check out my gallery!

Still trying to figure out how to attach my gallery from Scrap In Style to my blog, so this is the best thing I have come up with so far. Hope you enjoy checking out some more of my stuff!

Thanks for looking,
Adrienne

New(ish) layouts & a chance to be on a design team!!

As I was perusing some of my favourite blogs today, I came across a very exciting thing. Crate Paper has a call-out for new members for their Design Team!! Wow! Just think! I have always wanted to get on the DT of a manufacturer that I love!

I have loved Crate Paper for probably 4 0r 5 years now! I am a bit of a paper hoarder and I hoard Crate Paper! In going back through my layouts, I have found a few pages that I have been able to use it. Some papers I love so much, it pains me to actually use them. I don't really like to use the same papers on more than one layout so, I have a hard time parting with them sometimes. Even though I'm not parting with them, they are staying with me in MY albums. {Now would be the time for any of you to tell me of a good therapist you know. I know I have a problem. I'm OK with it!}

So, this post has 2 purposes:

1. To share some of my recent & Not-so-recent layouts.

2. To essentially submit my creative resume to Crate Paper for their approval.

I love the layout of Chris & I at Maligne Canyon. It is one of my all-time favourite pages and I was excited to finally use one of those blingy and pearly flourishes. I love how it turned out! I used some of the Brook collection on that one. The LO of the 'Squirrel' uses Little Sprout papers. The LO of Adam in the creek uses paper from 2 lines...Orbit and Prudence. One really old LO I found that I used Crate Paper on was the page of Adam at the park with shades on. I used a little piece of Roper from the Cowboy line.

So, wish me luck on my Design Team application and I hope you enjoyed my layouts today!!

Have a great day. By the way, only 4 more days of school and I am on VACATION!!!

Adrienne

Where did the time go?

Yes, I know. I have been a very bad blogger. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. No real excuses, not good ones anyways. I have been reading my fav's, but just not finding the time to post anything of my own. I don't know why, but I think most of the reason I haven't is that I don't have any exciting pics to share....until now! I started my 'Jasper' album and finished my first5 pages! I am very excited about this one. I am trying to do something a little different. I am really inspired by Stephanie Wheeler over at The Livingroom Floor. I love her graphic nature and bold, straight lines. I also LOVE that she splatters and mists practically everything! So, here are a few of my Jasper pages, hope you like 'em.

I just finished cleaning out my closet. I haven't been able to close it since I don't know. I continued getting all my TOO big clothes out of there and now I am up to 4 garbage bags full of clothes that are too big. On this whole too big clothes front, I am up to 42 pounds lost now. I am only 8 pounds away from my summer goal of losing 50 pounds by the middle of July and I still have 5 weeks to go! Yay for me!

Speaking of summer, I am kind of in shock (and completely relieved) that we are in our last week of school for the year. Where did it go? It went so fast. Seems like just yesterday it was December. Can't wait to have my days to myself to do whatever I want! Lots of hiking, tennis, and swimming. Gotta look good to go back to school in September!!

I have some more things to post about now so I should be filling you in soon, with pics too!

Have a great week!

Adrienne

Is this May Long Weekend or Christmas..you decide

Just a quick post today. It's been a while. Nothin' much happening in my life these days. Pluggin' along with my weight loss. I'm at 38 now and can't wait to break 40! Feels like just yesterday I was antsy about breaking 20. I can't believe I only have 12 more pounds until I make my summer goal of 50 pounds. I would love to hit it before I see my parents in June in Tumbler Ridge for Father's Day weekend. Cross my fingers.

The last week has been so beautiful- weather wise. I have been for a few big walks around town with one of my co-workers at school. It was so hot the other day that all I wore was capris and a tank top. HOT. Now................. this is what we have.

It feels like Christmas out there. We had a very wet, heavy snow today. Unusual for here. We mostly get light, fluffy, dry snow. Not this heavy, wet, sloppy snow. Thought I would include a few pics for your viewing pleasure.

Hope you are having a better long weekend than me.

Adrienne

anniversary continued.....

Not quite sure what happened there. Maybe too many pictures in one post. Well, here are a couple more for your viewing pleasure!

Enjoy!

Adrienne

12 years ~ what a weekend!

It all started in Jasper. Chris and I got married 12 years ago, May 2, 1998 in BC. We had decided after our wedding we would move to Northern Alberta (yikes). So, a couple of days after the wedding, we headed up NORTH. The closest thing to a honeymoon was spending the night and a day in Jasper. We did a little bit of sight-seeing, but we had things to do and an apartment to find in Grande Prairie. So, our time in Jasper was short, but fun.

Fast forward 12 years to this past weekend. We had our friends watch Adam, and off we were on our own for the first time since he was born. Yup, NINE years!! Ok, so, we had an AMAZING time. I can truthfully say I was blown away and absolutely humbled and have never seen such beauty. My eyes are welling up just thinking about it. I am quite surprised that I didn't shed a few tears while we were there. What could be so remarkable you might ask. Well, for any of you who have been to the Rocky Mountains, you know what I'm talking about. If you have not had the amazing opportunity to see the Rockies, you MUST go. They have this power over you that you can't take your eyes off of them. Every corner you turn, a new vision of wonder is waiting to be seen. This all from the seat of your car. Now, venture off the highway a bit.



We have been to Maligne Canyon both times and this last was even more breath-taking than I remember. We hiked down farther than before, and even though it meant the more we had to go back up, it was worth it. Sheer beauty!

This trip we splurged and went on the Jasper Tramway. Heaven. This is the closest I will get to heaven while I am alive. I felt like I was on the top of the world. What a feeling of the realization that we are a mere speck on the earth. We ascended the mountain to almost 7500 feet above sea level at roughly 4-6 km/hour. There really aren't words to describe it. Breath-taking, spritual, and again, humbling. In the summer you can hike from the Upper Station to the summit of the mountain. There was still a lot of snow up there, and the wind was bone chilling.

One last sight we got to was the Athabasca Falls. Again, no words. Awe-inspiring. I could have stayed there all day just listening to the sound of the waterfall. The force of the water over thousands of years has carved away at the earth and left in it's wake is a raveen or canyon. So, if you have not had the chance to see Jasper and all that it has to offer, put it on your travel plans...SOON!! We can't wait to go back this summer with Adam and share all this beauty with him. (pictures to follow)

Oh ya, 2 more pounds!! I'm at 32 now. I'll just keep pluggin' away and before no time, my first goal of 50 pounds will be upon me.

Have a great week.

Adrienne