Friday Fill Ins #109

Looking to play along?

Click on the link below

1. I'd really like to shake this gross mood I'm in right now.

2. Fuck Fudge is the word you'd most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe.

3. Possession is an awesome Sarah McLachlan song.
{My body aches to breathe your breath, your words keep me alive}

4. "Gentlemen, m'lady; you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!"

5. Marshmallows and fire go together like chocolate and graham crackers.

6. Oh, the movie never ends, it goes on and on. ~ Journey {Don't stop believing}

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a girls night out, tomorrow my plans include groceries, craft store and making some funky jewelry with my daughter and Sunday, I want to snuggle up at home and watch the Super Bowl with me honey!

{Wishing you all a perfect weekend}

5 questions asked and answered

The 5 question interview meme has been sweeping the blogsphere. have you played yet?

Last week I was interview by a lovely Canadian gal - Thistle, Of Thistles and Maple Leaves. Her interview questions were great and I tried to answer the best I could - view here.

I also got a chance give an interview to another cool Canadian, Lee over at Lemons 2 Lemonade. Lee asked me to send her 5 questions, I must say it was a little nerve wrecking! We had only just met on the blogsphere a few days prior to the interview and I wasn't sure which direction to go with my questions - should I get personal, or just ask some general question??? I just didn't know...

Well, I asked and she gave some fabulous answers. Go check out Lee's 5 question interview here.

If you haven't joined in on the fun and games it's not too late... just asked to be interviewed by someone who has participated. It's great fun and a good way for people to get to know you a little better. Thank you Thistle for the interview and Lee for allowing me to interview her!

OCD invading my dreams

I know it's suppose to be a Wordless Wednesday, but I needed to get this nightmare I had off my chest.

Last night I dreamed the drawstring around my hood was uneven. I was frantically pulling on them trying to even them up, but no matter what I did I couldn't make them the same length. It really annoyed the shit out of me!

Dream experts say dreams always leave us with an emotional hangover -- true, I woke up this morning feeling frustrated and anxious and those feelings have been with me all day. Some dream experts say about 12 percent of dreams are precognitive - that is, they come true. Gah! just imagine how frustrating this would be in "real life"! {hehe}

Dream Links you might find of interest:
Dream Doctor - Search for clues to your dream
Dream Psychology
Dream Journal - Create and customize an online dream journal
Daily OM - Dream Power

Wordless #27- Rural Decay

Visit Wordless Wednesday
{digging into the archives from last summer for this ww}

-19.°C

Keeping each other warm on this cold January morning.

Monday January 26

Thank goodness!... it's the last Monday of January. The winter blues are slowly starting to creep in and I've been looking for ideas to help shake the "blahs" and "woes".

I found this little framed cork board at Home Sense on Saturday and hung it above my computer at home. It's called a mood board or inspiration board... it will be a place where I can add images, quotes, colour schemes, etc, that will invoke my creative muse.

Some ideas I have for my mood board:

• favorite photographs
• inspiring quotes
• colour palettes
• personal mementos
• artwork
• letters/poetry
• magazine clippings/advertisements

Do you have an inspiration/mood board? Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Here are some links to inspire you to start your own board:
Design for Mankind
iHanna's Creative Space
decor8
Everyday Beauty

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web." - Pablo Picasso

Tag -- I'm it!

I never liked being "it" when I was a child. I was always the kid who had to have control over all the playground...I'm sure you all had a friend or two like that, maybe even you were like that yourself. Usually when "tagged", I would take my ball, yo yo, jump rope, or what ever we were playing with at the time, and I would storm off home.

Now that I'm older and wiser... ok just older... I don't mind being "it", and in fact, I prefer it now. Little did I know way back when I was a youngster, the person who was "it" was the one holding all the power -- hehe, or should I say Mmuahahahahaha! {evil laugh}

OK, so Movie and Thistle, just tagged me in a photo meme... I'm It! Mmuahahahahaha!

Rules of the game:
1. Go to the the 4th folder where you keep your pictures on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in the folder.
3. Explain the photo.
4. Tag 4 fellow bloggers to join in the fun!

{4th photo of the 4th folder, 40th Anniversary}
My mom and dad in a car after their wedding ceremony.

This folder is full of photos I scanned for a scrapbook I made up for my parents 40th Anniversary party. I also made a website so family and friends could view all their wedding photos. You can have a look if you would like... Click Here

Thank you Movie and Thistle for tagging me to play. I haven't viewed those photos or the website since their party in 2007.

Madeleine, Amber, Billy, Lee ... Heck, Tag! Your all it!
If your interested in playing, just follow the rules posted above and have fun!

Friday Fill-Ins #108

Want to play? Click on the link below.


1. Oh, I am so lonesome I could cry. The silence of a falling star, lights up a purple sky. And as I wonder where you are, I'm so lonesome I could cry! ~Hank Williams

2. The blog improvement challenge is underway. I am hoping for some exciting changes, big and little.

3. During the night, I was startled awake by a very loud crash.

4. Stock bus strike will force 23,000 students to find their own way to and from school; are you kidding me???

5. Right now I'd like to be on the beach relaxing.
(photo via BigStockPhotos.com)

6. The Tassimo my kids got me for Christmas is my favorite gadget.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to staying home, tomorrow my plans include some shopping, errands, buy some film, and take the brownie apart and Sunday, I want to head out early for some breakfast, then a treasure hunt with hubby!

{Have a beautiful weekend all! xxoo}

Testing New Comment Platform

I have been searching for a comment solution for here that will allow me to reply individually to comments you all leave. I installed Intense Debate on my Tweak blog so I can test it out and see if it will work out.

Intense Debate is a commenting system available for blogs and websites. Intense Debate comments enhances and encourages conversation on a blog or website and gives readers the opportunity to engage a blog's content and each other. One feature is Reply By Email which enables you to reply to and moderate comments via email!

Please come on over and give it a try and tell me if you like it or dislike it? Are there any bugs that you've encountered? Loading time, etc?

Thanks,
Jack
Blog Tweaking Experiments

An Interview from Thistle

I just read an interview meme over at Of Thistles and Maple Leaves. Thistle had some really interesting answers to the questions she was given, which of course encouraged me to give it a go.

Thistle sent me the following 5 questions... I asked for it! Too late to turn back now!

1) Are you a native bluenoser? If not, where else is home to you? If you are native, favourite beach EVER in NS and why?

Yup, born and raised right here in Halifax. What I like about living her in Halifax, NS is it has a nice relaxing flow, close to the ocean, lots of great scenery, but also access to city life. The down side is the weather can be a bit of a drag, especially in winter, but then, most places have their own weather woes that they have to deal with.

It's a toss up. Crystal Crescent is a 10 minute drive from where I live; it's a beautiful stretch of fine white sand, beautiful surf but it's too bloody cold to swim in. Then there is Beach Meadows that is 1 1/2 drive up the shore, long stretch of sand, no surf but the water is just warm enough to take a quick dip.

2) What person (dead or alive) would you most like to have three hours to sit and chat over a Tim Hortons with? What would you ask them?

I would have to say my grandmother (maternal). Just recently I was given some information about my grandmother that suggests she may not have had such an easy life growing up. I would like to have at LEAST three hours to sit and listen to her, learn about where she grew up and what life was like for her. I think my grandmother had a lot of heartache she kept hidden behind her kind smile. I miss her.

3) I love all your pictures...Did you go to art school or are you a self taught natural? Do you work in other mediums also? Do you have a favourite piece of work? ***Insert picture of it here__________***

First of all, thank you ... I really love taking pictures and appreciate the compliments people give! Photography is just a hobby for me, I just love to capture the moment, or scenery, or expression - always have a camera with me wherever I go. I have been thinking about taking some classes at the community college this spring and summer though.

One of my more recent favorites is this shot of my oldest

4) Do you have an ultimate art project that you would like to work on and care to share what it is? If you don't want to reveal info about it, but you haven't started working on it, what's holding you back?

I have an idea for a project but I think I'll wait to tell all the details at a later date. It will be time consuming and I really don't have that kind of time right now, maybe in the spring.

5) What is the craziest thing you did when you were younger that you can confess to?...

Oh wow! I was quite the wild one when in my teen years... Ok, when I was 14 - 15 (ish) I fell in with a bad crowd. I was with them one night when the boys broke into a crown victoria, hot-wired it and we cruised around the city all night and ditched it in a wooded path... (you live, you learn - Right?)

or if you prefer...

5) If there was absolutely nothing standing in your way, what would you like to do, above all other things?...eg time travel back to another year...eliminate some world event happening...become immortal...spend a day as an eagle etc...

I'm going to answer this one as a bonus question because it relates to #5...
I would travel back to September 1982 -- See question #5 (above)

PS. Not all my friends back then were hooligans. I did have some really great friends who I still keep in touch with :)

---

Thank you Thistle... that was fun and they were really great questions!

And now the rules for this little meme…which is a challenging one by the way because you just don’t know what’s coming your way….
If you want to participate:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

(*Note: If you would like an interview, you should leave an email address that I can send the questions to. If you don't, I will have to post the question as a comment in your blog)

Wordless #26 - UN-Self Protrait

Clicking through flickr groups the other day, I stumbled across a group called UN-Self Portrait. The idea is to take some photos that represent my UN-Self or alter-ego and post the UN-real me.

So I will take an UN-Self portrait once a month -- here is my January UN-Self.

Visit Wordless Wednesday

{Thank you Amber from Mommy Mania for the inspiration}

10 things

Larry G over at Yesterday, Today and Forever had this fun little writing prompt over at his blog. I like the idea so I asked Larry if I could play along, so he assigned me a letter, my letter is...

The rules of the game are simple. You are assigned a random letter and you should then post 10 things that you love that begin with that letter. If you read this and want to play, leave me a message saying you want to play in my comment area. I'll assign you a random letter and on and on it goes.

10 things I love that begin with the letter 'K'

10. Kaleidoscope:

Do you remember these?
Every Easter the rabbit would leave me kaleidoscope in my basket. I was truly captivated by all the colourful fractals I could create just by giving end a little twist to the right or left.

9. Kitten:

My husband and I gave our daughter a kitten for her 16th birthday back in November. I never use to be a cat lover but this little guy has won me over. I love his cute little pink nose and those little white paws. He's hilarious, playful and full of delightful high-jinx.

8. Kaffir Lily:

This variety of lilium is one of my favorites but it is not easy to find or easy to grow outdoors in eastern Canada. This lily is native to the moist and shady forest floors of southern Africa. I'm going to give this lily another try in my garden this year... hopefully it will survive our cold spring and summer.

7. Kunzite:

This gem stone is one of the prettiest I have ever seen (link). It is mined in Brazil, Madagascar, Manitoba/Canada and North Carolina/USA. Kunzite is best admired unmined because it looses it's pink hue when exposed to light.

6. Karma:

The word karma itself means "action" or "deed" The real philosophy of karma is, in essence, the law of cause and effect. What goes around comes around - what you say, think and do has an effect on what comes back to you as what was said, what you think comes back at you, and more importantly what you do comes back at you. I'm a believer in Karma.

5. Kindness:

One small gesture of kindness can bring a smile to someones face. Try it today... a word of praise, a gentle touch, a helping hand, a gesture of courtesy, or simply just a warm smile. Giving is it's own reward.

4. Knowledge:

"For also knowledge itself is power" stated originally by Sir Francis Bacon.
Some say that one can only gain true knowledge through life experiences... What do you think?

3. Kodachrome:

I am in love with the Kodak Kodachrome. Paul Simon said it best -

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the worlds a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away

Photos from Vintage Kodachrome on Flickriver

2. Kisses:

Who doesn't love to kiss? Kisses rock!

1. Kids:

Of course this is my #1 favorite "K" word. I love, love, love my kids! Oh, and one of my lil'darlings name begins with the lovely letter "K" - it's Kensey

Would you like to play? Just let leave a message in my comments or drop me an email saying you want to play, and I will assign you a letter.

Monday Melting

Winter has been put on hold for today

The fog has rolled in and is making

quick work melting last nights snowfall

I just love a winter thaw
when all the branches get an icy glaze

6 ^°C, Periods of rain and fog patches (Halifax live feed)

Not tonight dear...

Just in case you were expecting an update to that last post I made for FFI's...

The migraine monster had reared it's ugly head on Friday night and I was in quite a bit of pain for all of Saturday. Sunday morning the pain started to subside but left me with a nasty migraine hangover for the remainder of the day.

Weekend Up-date:

We had another nasty snow storm on Sunday that kept us home for the day and evening. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong - snow means warmer temperatures, which means the cold snap is over for now - yippee!

So there you have it, another weekend down the tubes.
What was your weekend like?

Friday Fill-Ins #107

Click the button to play along


1. Enough with the sex.

2. Sex causes me to be conflicted.

3. I've been craving sex.

4. Sex makes me laugh.

5. I wish I could go to have sex next week.

6. Sex has been on my mind lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sex, tomorrow my plans include sex and Sunday, I want to have sex!

Hubby was standing over me just I started this weeks FFI's and declared....
"Hey! 'sex' would fit in all the blanks."

Hmmm, think he's trying to tell me something??? hehe

Cold enough to freeze the balls off a Brass Monkey

That's exactly how cold it is here today.

Here is a live feed from a beach on the east coast of Bonaire ... I'm imagining myself there right this moment.

Did you know?

Back in the day when war ships were made out of wood, cannon balls were kept stacked on deck ready to be loaded into the cannon. They were stored inside a square base and stacked pyramid style with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. This method could keep a supply of thirty cannon balls confined in a small area right next to the cannon. In order to prevent the balls from sliding/rolling from under the others -- the solution was a metal plate called a, "Monkey," with sixteen round indentations. If this plate was made of iron, the iron balls would rust to it.

The solution to the rusting problem was to make, "Brass Monkeys." And because brass contracts much faster than iron when chilled, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the cannon balls would pop off the monkey.

So there you have it! It was literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!" Hehehe, and what were you thinking?

{ Hope your all keeping nice and warm inside today! }

(photo courtesy of Dave Walsh via Blather)

Wordless #25

Visit Wordless Wednesday

Get To Livin'

I was over at Shadow's blog --1 Door Away From Heaven, reading her post for today titled "would you". It reminded me of a song by Dolly Parton called "Get To Livin’", which prompted this Tuesday's tune.

Go on over to Shadow's place and read her post first, then come on back and have a listen.

The day were born we start to die,

So don’t waste one minute of this life,
Get to livin! (Get to livin’)
Share your dreams and share your Laughter and Make some points.
For the great hereafter. (Get to Livin’)

Better start caring,
Better start sharing
Better start tryin’,
Better start smilin’
And you better get to livin’.

(Thank you Shadow for the inspiration for today's tune)

Filling in the gaps...

of a boring weekend

This weekend was a total bust, well... except for Friday evening. Hubby and I went out for some Greek cuisine at Opa! Greek Taverna.
We had the Kopanisti to start, I had the Salmon Lemonato, hubby had Scallop Souvlaki and had a delicious white wine called Boutari.
Did you know they don't serve Greek wine in a wine glass? Yup, just a regular juice sized glass... I must say, I was a little put off not having my wine in the type of glass I'm accustomed to.

On Saturday hubby had a first aid refresher course he had to take for work so I stayed home and cleaned all day. Saturday evening was spent grocery shopping and picking up some odds and ends at Wal-mart.

Sunday the snow started falling early in the morning and continued to fall for most of the day. The roads were pretty slippery so we decided to just stay put and ordered in for dinner. I did get to do some experimental work on my little blog here... note the menu and the 'Project' page.

Sunday surfing turned up some inspiration links:

• Misprinted Type - I'm so in love with the collage looking header and they offer some great Photoshop brushes for download.
• Kareem Rizk - An outstanding photographer and collage artist.
• 1000 Journals Project - An experiment that follows 1000 journals throughout their travels.
• Inspiration Resource - Pretty much self explanatory.
• Free Design - A freebie resource blog where you can find tons of inspiration.
• Nubbytwiglet - A whimsical graphic design artist. Check our her Q&A sections.
  

Friday Fill-Ins #106

Want to play along?


1. It's January; January is named after Janus, the two-faced Roman god of gates and doors, the god of new beginnings, the god with one face that looked back over the past, while the other looked resolutely to the future.

2. Sunshine and warmth is what I crave most right now.

3. Cork and wine go together like bread and brie.

4. A healthy breakfast is so nourishing.

5. Let us dare to believe, hope, smile, love, live.

6. "So I'm happy that I'm going to my husband, to my country, to my home..."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner at Opa, tomorrow my plans include grocery shopping and running some errands and Sunday, I want to stay home and tidy up a bit!

New Project

...as Promised

I have been pretty bored with my blog the last few months. Other than the two memes I participate in (Wordless Wednesday and Friday Fill-Ins), there really isn't much going on here. I have had thoughts of scrapping the whole blog and starting from scratch, maybe making a photo blog or even a graphic design/tutorial type blog but that is just so much work and I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge of starting over. So... surfing the net on Sunday, I stumbled upon Kim's blog - Sophisticated Dorkiness - and at the top of her page I followed a link to her Blog Improvement Project. Ah-ha! This could be just what my little spot here needs, so I just signed up and am ready and rearing to go!

Assignment #1 is Setting Goals — What Is Your Blog For?
Looks like I need to dust off the old thinking cap and get going on this one... I'm so excited!

You can read all about the project here.

Wordless #24

Weather forecast is calling for 10-15 cm of snow today followed by freezing rain and ice pellets.
But this is were my head is...

Crystal Crescent Beach, Nova Scotia
Visit Wordless Wednesday

In the mood for a tune

... how about you?

I've been listening to a wonderful Canadian musical talent today, her name is Emm Gryner. I would love to share a song called "Black Winged Bird" from her album The Summer Of High Hopes.

So sit back, relax and let the haunting essence of this beautiful song take you away...

Lyrics here

My Weekend Wraped-up

and tied with a bow

Friday night hubby wasn't feeling well so we decided to stay in. Hubby slept while I went out and took some photos and did some internet surfing. I got some great ideas for a new project, I will share the details with you all later in the week.

Saturday, we took down all the Holiday decorations, got the tree down and cleaned up. Saturday night we went out to my brother and sister-in-laws for a family get-together - fun times!

Sunday we had another family gathering at hubby's mom and dads for brunch - good food, great company!

And that pretty much covers my weekend...
hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Friday Fill-Ins #105

My condolences go out to Janet and her family.

Play along here


1. The world is not your oyster -- Prying it open ruins your chances of putting it back. ~ Matthew Good

2. "Bye... love you" was the last thing I said.

3. I wonder if anything's absolute anymore. Is There Still right and wrong? Good and bad? Truth and lies? Or is everything negotiable,left to interpretation, grey. Sometimes we're forced to bend the truth, transform it, cause we're faced with things that are not of our own making. And sometimes things simply catch up to us. ~ Lucas Scott (One Tree Hill)

4. Here at the end of all things.

5. There's something to be said for simplicity.

6. Right here is where I want to be.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a movie with hubby, tomorrow my plans include a family gathering at my brothers house and Sunday, I want to stay home and un-decorate my house!

♥♥♥Happy weekend♥♥♥