Creating the Perfect Storm

It's been a loooong time since my last post and I have lots of good reasons.  The best is because of my amazing new venture.  I am starting an all-star cheerleading gym in Edmonton.  Along with cheer we will have tumbling, dance and fitness.  Check out our website at www.perfectstormathletics.com!
Our Name
The Perfect Storm is the simultaneous occurrence of specific events which, if taken individually, would be far less powerful than the storm which results from their combination. Rare by their very nature, it is only through the union of all the ideal elements that we create….  The Perfect Storm.

UPS Woes

So, my latest shipment of stamping stuff was delivered on Thursday. Unfortunately it is nowhere to be found. Boo! I am still waiting to hear from SU/UPS as to what they are going to do about it. UPS says it was delivered to the front door (which is odd b/c they always leave it by my garage door) and we have searched everywhere for it. I don't believe that anyone would have taken it as we live on an acreage and I was home about 15 minutes after they say it was delivered. So now I have to play the waiting game which makes me very unhappy. Not only do I have customers waiting on their orders I had some fun new toys in that box! Sigh...

Here is a picture of my new puppy eating. I guess he was really pooped out so laying down was the way to go. He is such a good boy and we love having him in our home. And on a really positive note I have lost about 3 pounds since we got him just over a week ago. Taking him for 2 walks a day is a great way to get exercise! I just can't say no to those big brown puppy dog eyes!

Xedo!

We finally got a dog! We promised the kids once we moved to the acreage that we would get a dog...but then we needed grass. We have some grass now so it was time to get a dog. I decided I felt better about adopting a rescued dog rather than buying one from a breeder. We looked into one rescue place last week and have been waiting for 5 days to hear back from them. We got tired of waiting so the kids and I took a trip to the humane society in hopes of finding a puppy. When we got there we were told they had no puppies left. Bummer. We decided to look around anyway. The kids wanted every dog we saw but I was far more selective and didn't really see one that caught my eye. I had pretty much given up hope when a staff member walked by with a cute black dog. We followed her and checked him out. Soooo cute and playful! He is about 2 years old and is a lab retriever cross of some kind. He was a stray but clearly had a family at some point. They named him Johnnie at the humane society but we changed his name to Xedo (like Tuxedo...he's all black with some white on his chest). So far he is a great dog. Very exciting day for him and us so everyone is pretty tired.

Weather Woes

Phew! He have had some crazy weather here. On Saturday evening we had a crazy thunderstorm with hail that ripped into hundreds of houses here. Thankfully our new home is fine but our home in town that we are renting out to a friend was damaged. :( Lots of hail holes all over the back of the house as well as to window frames. And our gazebo is no more. It was sad to drive down the streets and see house after house ripped to pieces. Ours isn't bad compared to some. Our neighbor on one side has much more damage than us and on the other side they have no damage at all. It's been really warm the past couple of weeks but has now cooled down and is supposed to stay that way for a few days.

My Family

Just had to share these pics of our family that we had taken on Thursday night at the Karting for Cancer fundraiser my husband held. :)

So Proud

No time to stamp these days. We had hyrdoseeding done on Monday and I have been spending the better part of my days watering. It has been hot here all week (between 28 and 32 degrees Celcius which is about 82-90 for my American friends) and we have had no rain. But there is some in the forecast for tonight so my fingers are crossed!

Anyway, the 2nd picture was taken yesterday at the Rexall Edmonton Indy. My husband and son shaved their heads as part of a cancer fundraiser. My son's friend was diagnosed with cancer this spring; that's them in the top pic. My husband's company is sponsoring Alex Tagliani's car this weekend so we had Alex out to the event. Yesterday we spent some time at the track and were even able to tour his trailer and hang out there. Very cool! He is a super guy and we sure hope he does well on Sunday. The kids and I may head out again tomorrow to watch.

Settling In

We are settling in to our new home and loving the acreage life. Had to share a couple pics of the house all finished and one of the beautiful sunsets we had the other night. I will upload some of the studio as soon as I getting looking somewhat acceptable! I am going to be working on some teacher gifts over the next few days and will be sure to share them. I have just had so much to do with the house and the weather has been so beautiful that I just have not used my new studio much. But, that is going to change right away! I also have some awesome news about our other house. While we have not found a buyer we do have a renter! She is a friend (and fellow stamper!) and we are so excited to have her and her kids living in our home. Phew! What a relief!

Packing Up

Wow, it has been forever since I stamped and even longer since I posted! We move in 2 weeks and I am slowly packing everything up. This week it has been my stamping supplies. I was going to leave them out for a bit and then wondered why. Not like I have time to stamp! Packing up has has made me realize how much freakin' stamping stuff I have! :) Anyway, the house is looking amazing and I can hardly wait to move on in! I posted a few pics so you can see how it's looking. The stone went up a week or so ago and looks fabulous. The flooring is going to be done tomorrow. Only 16 sleeps til moving day! I will (try to) post some pics of my new stamping studio once we get the counters and lights in next week.

Champs!

I have been so busy organizing our annual cheer competition at West Edmonton Mall, coaching, dealing with the new house, etc. that I have not had a chance to stamp in ages. Hopefully soon! I just wanted to share this picture of Jenna with our first place trophy from the competition! The girls nailed their routine! Way to go Parkland Spirit All-Stars!

I'm Back!

Well, I am back from a relaxing vacation in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Nothing like spending a week on the beach! The weather was amazing and I loved reading in the sun every day. Missed my kids a lot, though! Just before we left my cheer team had their first competition and I am thrilled to say that they placed 2nd. They did a great job and looked so cute. They were so excited to get a trophy! (That is my daughter holding it!) For most it was their first competition experience in any sport so it was very special. While we were gone they did a lot of work on our new house. The siding is all done and the inside is drywalled!

No Time!

Uggh! I have no time to stamp! This is my super busy time of year for work so I have not had any time to stamp. On top of that I am trying to get our house ready to officially list it before we leave for Puerto Rico on Feb. 1st. I really hope to get some stamping in soon. Maybe Wednesday but no sooner...tomorrow night I am going to see STOMP. Can't wait - I love it! Hope everyone likes the new SU catty! So many things I want for my Big Shot!

Not Again!

So for those who visit my blog on a regular basis, you may recall that I was in a car accident this summer (a guy turned in front of me as I was going thru an intersection). My van was a write off and I got a beautiful new Volvo S80 that I love. Well, today I was in another accident. Again, totally not my fault. A guy had stopped at a stop sign and I was driving past on a secondary highway and I guess he decided to go without looking and drove right into the driver's side of my beautiful new car. I don't think he expected to hear the words that came out of my mouth when I finally managed to climb out the passenger side door! I am still so angry right now. We are not sure, but the car is likely a write off. What are the chances that I would go through life with no car accidents and then have 2 in just over 4 months? And pretty major ones, too. Sheesh. The blessing is that I was alone, my injuries are minor and I was able to walk away. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't stopped in the first place, especially since he was driving a large delivery truck. I can guarantee I would not be posting right now! And the really scary thing is that my brother was in an accident at that exact corner 3 years ago and was nearly killed It was his big beautiful dog riding in the passenger side seat that saved his life. Unfortunately Okeet did not survive. Anyway, this is not the post I had planned for today but that's life. I just hope everyone reading this will take a little more caution the next time they head out on the road...
Hopefully I will feel like stamping tomorrow.

I *heart* Canada!

To my fellow Canadians:

While I am not one to get too involved in politics, I cannot stand by and watch our country fall apart at the hands of these anti-democratic and anti-Canada opposition parties. Please take the time to visit these websites and let your opinion be heard. Please contact your MP and let them know that the coalition is violating our democratic rights.

http://www.petitiononline.com/CANADIAN/petition.html

http://www.canadians4democracy.ca/index.php?lang=e - You can easily find your MP on this site and contact him or her!

Greatest Night EVER!

I have not stamped in days so I have nothing to show except these pics I took at the NKOTB concert on Tuesday night. It was the greatest night ever! Aside from my wedding and giving birth to my 2 kids this was definitely the BEST night of my life! It may sound childish but I lived out my teenage dream. I met the New Kids, gave them hugs (Joe was wearing the softest cashmere sweater...and I said to him "Ooooo, you're so soft!" Very mature! LOL!) and then to top it all off we ended up with tickets in the FRONT ROW! But wait...it gets better. During one of the songs (Games) Joe held my hand and sang to me. OMG. Boy was it fun to feel like a teenager again!

Tonight!

OK, I have resisted putting this on my blog long enough. It has been all over my FaceBook page but I have resisted posting here until now. I am so excited for tonight. I am going to see New Kids on the Block and I actually get to meet them. OMG. I feel 14 again. I will not go on at length about it (although I am certain that I could). Just know that I will not be stamping tonight and that is just fine with me! LOL! Hope you are having a great day.

Sick!

Ughh! What a fall this has been. I still have the last little tickle in my throat from my cold/flu (3 1/2 weeks now) and my kids have both been sick over the past week. Poor little Jenna has been sick for a week! A terrible stomach flu...not fun. I am hoping she is finally over it but we will see what tonight brings. We have yet to sleep through a night since last Tuesday. With all the illness in the house and a zillion other things going on I haven't had much time to stamp. I am almost done a baby board album for a friend, though, so I hope to post that tomorrow. I actually did have some time last night to stamp but I chose instead to clean out my pantry. It was such a disaster. But now it is so clean and tidy. I smile every time I open the door! I am slowly trying to clean out all the closets and "hiding" spaces so that when it's time to list the house I don't have as much work to do. The new house is coming along really well. The framing is done and they are working on the roof. Our roof is kind of crazy and very complicated so it is taking some time. There are places that are so steep one of the roofers is too scared to go up on it! I will post some pics soon. I am now off to bed as I have been up since 5am.

My New Car

Since I mentioned that I picked up my new car I thought I should share at least one picture. It's a 2008 Volvo S80. I love it. So different from my mini van but I am getting used to the change. It has leather seats that are heated and airconditioned (who knew they even made those?!). The sunroof is awesome and it will soon have an entertainment system in the back for the kids (their own TV/DVD in the headrests!) which will be great for then AND me. I will actually be able to listed to MY music without complaints!

Crunch!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a few days. I was in a car accident on Tuesday afternoon so I have been a little preoccupied. (A truck going the opposite direction pulled out to turn left just as I was going through the intersection.) The kids and I are ok. I have a sore seck, chest and back and will take some time to recover but thankfully the kids are all good. Jenna has a pretty good seatbelt mark but other than that there are no signs of injury. My van is a write-off so I will be getting a new vehicle. Anyway, it's hard to look down so I don't know that I will be doing much stamping or scrapbooking in the next while which is a major bummer cuz I was on a roll there for a while. I may just dig out some old pics to post.