Scrapbooking my life...one page at a time

This is me ... "We got Snow"

We Got Snow! Yes -€“ it snowed throughout most of Saturday & we ended up with about 3" on the ground.  So Wonderful but by Sunday afternoon it had turned into a rainy day.  Rats!

I took the dogs out for a walk in it and Sneakers loved it.  She was running around like a puppy - playing in it but Buster hated it (short legs - wet tummy) and just stood there staring at me with a "this isn't fun" look.  So Funny!

Mike was as about as excited as Buster with the snow.  He didn't want it to stay and stick to the roads (don't blame him) but I loved it.  It was fleeting but beautiful.

Here is a picture of some of the wildlife that came into my backyard during the "snowstorm" (ha ha).  I love this deer but Mike & Katy both HATE it and make me put it up in the backyard where nobody can see it. 

Mike doesn't usually say anything about what or how much Christmas Glitz  I put up around the house but he sure hates this deer.  Humm... does anyone else have one? Are they that bad?  What do you think - is it trash or treasure!

On Saturday I went to the Craft Fair that my friend Dana was organizing for her son's elementary school.  Of course it was the day that it snowed and so that affected the number of folks who showed up to shop but overall it was great!  Dana did an excellent job organizing it.  It was quite the undertaking and aside from the snow it went off without a hitch.

I did not sell any MaryKay stuff (you gotta "Live & Learn" - risk the "Crash & Burn" if you ever want to "Advance & Grow" ... right) but I did sell some of the other crafts that I had made for the show and it was a GREAT learning experience.

I learned a lot about "What not to do, What not to bring & What to expect" and so it was well worth the $30.00 it cost me for the table.  Mike was my assistant and we had a fun day together - I can see now that selling Mary Kay at "Craft Fairs" would be difficult - for example, most people wanted to see all or other lipstick colors and I ended up just giving them a catalog to take home.
Now it's on to the "Open House" at my house next Saturday.

I am going on Friday to "Dream Dinners" to make some meals.  I am making lots of great dishes like Pesto Cheese Ravioli with Chicken & Walnuts - Yummy!  I am making 6 different dishes altogether and I am excited because we will be able to have great food during the holidays without having to do all the cutting, chopping & putting together.

RAVE: I just bought a new album and i LOVE it.  It is called "Coco" by Colbie Caillat.  If you haven't heard her yet I recommend that you give her a listen.  It is just fun, upbeat - happy music.  It is kinda pop & kinda folk music that makes me smile and feel good.  She sort of looks like Jennifer Aniston doesn't she.

I love the song  "older" which is a bonus track you can get when you buy the album on Itunes.  I also bought "Mistletoe" - her one Christmas song.   I love it!   

RAVE:  Last week we went and saw the movie, "No Country for Old Men". WOW - everything that is being said about this movie is right-on-money!

This is definitely one of the best movies I have seen this year.  A slow-moving but character rich movie - a bleak & disturbing look at the darker, grittier side of humanity. 

Javier Bardem is the undisputed star of the movie giving a "tour de force" performance and I guarantee that you have never met or seen anyone quite like him.

He is hypnotic in the most disturbing way and I think it is weird how much his funny haircut adds to his creepiness. 
 

Josh Brolin & Tommy Lee Jones also give note-worthy performances --- in fact everyone in this movie is outstanding.  It is extremely well written, well acted, and filmed - but be prepared - it is a very violent movie.  I would give this movie 5 stars.  Mike & I are still talking about it and will probably go and see it again.  OUTSTAnDING!!

Rant:  Last night Mike & I went and saw "The Mist" - Yuck & double Yuck!  It was a terrible movie.  I usually like most of Stephen King's movies (The Shining, Carrie, Salem's Lot, It, The Stand, etc - but this one was just plain awful.

Thomas Jane (The Punisher) is such a terrible actor but ,trust me, he alone did not sink this movie.  Every character in the movie was bad (with the possible exception of Marcia Gay Harden who had several good "moments") because everyone of them did not behave as you would expect them to in real life.  Each was just a compilation of the typical "horror movie stereotypes" and behaved as such - they had no personality or depth - very predicable and boring.

There was one scene in the movie where the audience actually clapped and if you go see the movie you will understand why - not because it was a great movie moment but rather because we were all just glad someone finally shut her up!

Thomas Jane's performance at the end of the movie (won't give anything away except to say ...) was sooooooo bad - Mike & I laughed and in my opinion - it is possibly the only reason to go see the movie.

Have a great day - 
- N -

This is me...Wandering Around

Mike & I went to see Casino Royale last night.  I should begin by saying that I dislike James Bond movies but Mike has really wanted to see it since it came out and so off we went.  In the end, we both disliked the movie! There was nothing interesting, outstanding or worth the ticket price in this movie.  I think the "Bond Girl" was totally miscast and her performance was flat.  The new James Bond was Okay. I know a lot of people LOVE James so has anyone else seen it.  Loved it? Hated it? Let me know what you thought? 

I also finished reading the our bookclub selection of, "Bold Spirit" by Linda Hunt.  It tells the true story of Helga Estby's walk across America in in 1896. 

" Desperate. Determined. Unwaveringly confident. In 1896, a Norwegian immigrant named Helga Estby dares to cross 3500 miles of the American continent to win a $10,000 wager. On Foot. BOLD SPIRIT: Helga Estby’s Forgotten Walk across Victorian America introduces readers to this fascinating journey of an audacious act of courage and love of a mother trying to save a family farm."

I think this book provides an insightful look at the cultural/social norms that drove the early Norwegian immigrant woman in America and demonstrates how woman were pressured to "save face" regardless of the personal cost. Helga Estby was a determined but naive woman who greatest accomplishment became her family's biggest shameful secret.

Unfortunately I would not recommend this book because I felt that much of the story was based on conjecture and anecdotal evidence. 

I am in LOVE with making mini-books and that seems to be what I have spent most of my time on lately. {I know it's a bad picture}

I need a lot of books to track my "comings & goings" due to my rather diminished memory.  I made the "Movie Book" because I can rarely remember the movies I have seen from one week to the next.  Sad but true!   So, I track what I have seen, when and if I like it.

I also made a book to keep my notes about the books that I read for my bookclub. Our bookclub has been meeting for about a year and half now and we have so much visiting and discussing books.   We all went to university when we took a literature class together and enjoyed our book discussions so much that we decided to continue meeting after the class ended. We have read some very good books.

I also made an "altered Binder" to keep my 2007 journal pages in.  I love it because it is very bright, cheerful and playful.  2007 - will be a great year!!

I went walking with DD on Tuesday during her lunch.  It was great - she is doing so WELL on WW and walking.  Way to go DD!!!!  She is such a great friend!

This is me...Sharing my Playlist

I know that it is kind of late - but hey - better late than never.  I am recommending Sarah McLachlan's Christmas Album, "Wintersong".  It is so wonderful - I am listening to it all day long.

This is the best Album I have heard in a long time.  I only regret that it is so seasonal.

My favorite song on the album is, "A Song for a Winter's Night [written by Gordon Lightfoot, a fellow Canadian]".

Head over to ITunes for a listen - you won't be disappointed.