January 31, 2014

Jamie

Yesterday was a really tough day in so many ways. I worked my heart out on the dreamboard workshop and then because of web insecurities couldn't launch it. The web stuff is so worrisome and like navigating sharky waters but I made great progress. I'm also definitely coming down with what's knocked Justin out for a couple of weeks. And, it was Mom's birthday and I was missing her so very much. The hilARious thing was that I had held onto one of those Christmas lottery tickets and decided that yesterday was the perfect day to play. Look what the very first thing I uncovered!!! It was definitely Mom's way of saying hi.

Shannon
I cataloged my yarn the other day, and in doing so realized I had LOTS of yarn - including lots of sock yarn. I love making socks! Why wasn't I making socks? Because I didn't have a sock pattern on me! After a fair amount of searching and head scratching I cobbled one together from a few patterns online. I'm testing it out. The left picture is the cast-on, which felt WAY too small, but by the first row it was looking larger and more promising. Hopefully it will all work out!

Suzie

Yesterday was a horrible day. Not just because it was Mom's birthday. Stress was over-the-top and we should have stayed home blah blah blah. Then, on the way home from Staples I saw it. A phenomenon called "a pillar of light". Reg had told me about it recently. It's when the sun sets and the ice crystals above it brighten into a pillar of light. It's quite rare and so beautiful, my photos from the car did not do it justice. I just felt that if Mom was going to send us a sign, this would be it. It was magnificently beautiful. So that helped me a lot.

January 30, 2014

Jamie

It has been a helluva day, a total nose-to-the-grindstone and then, "omg, really?" day. I poured my heart and soul into getting my Full Snow Moon Dreamboard workshop ready for today - despite losing internet for quite a while - and then, I had an internet issue that made me worried my site had been attacked again and I had to halt everything! I'm up early dealing with support and hoping to get the all clear so I can get back to work and share this little piece of my heart.

Shannon

So, when I took this I was all like I am so happy I worked on cleaning up, yadda yadda.  Then I realized without seeing the mess of the 'before', it doesn't feel as impressive.  It's still in process though and it's more about functionality over how it looks but it feels anticlimactic.  Ah well, I'll keep working on it!

Suzie

We are running out of groceries thanks to constant blizzards so last night I made a hot dog quiche! With natural chicken hot dogs and wow, it was delicious. We were shocked and amazed. I just threw in all the stuff I had and it came out great.

January 29, 2014

Jamie

Yesterday as I was working on my dreamboard workshop (which launches tomorrow!), I went looking to see if I had any pictures of my earliest dreamboards - and I did! Imagine my surprise when I saw that big ol' bear there!!! This dreamboard could literally be one that I made now, hehe.

Shannon

More flags!  I'm having a blast working on these, although I really have to limit how many I can do at a time because it's detailed (aka hunched-over) work.  I'm really enjoying working on these.

Suzie

I did it! I used my Instant Pot and cooked black beans in under an hour. I had a few "freak out" seconds because I was so nervous but it's all good. Yay!

January 28, 2014

Jamie

I'm having fun kind of letting my bulletin board be a living journal, shifting this, changing that. Yesterday as I was placing the possible web structure, the sun all of a sudden came out and shone on it! That's got be a good sign! On top of that my guardian is shining a light on it too! (Btw, I noticed my guardian kind of reminds me of Kate Bush!)

  Shannon

I'm happy to say that now that I'm a few episodes in I'm enjoying the TV series Bitten.  It does strongly remind me of Mom, as she really loved the books, and I think she'd really have liked the series too.  It's also great to see a Canadian series that's so well done.

Suzie

I still have not figured out how to make printable recipe blog pages but yesterday I did figure out how to share a recipe PDF via Google Docs and had people making these brownies yesterday as a result. Which was great. Then when Auntie Laima and I got together to do a big embroidery project, the machine had an error we could not figure out and the machine has to go to the shop. Cue headache morphing into a migraine. I was going to also work with my pressure cooker but knew better and walked away and lay down for most of the day. Big yay and huge BOO!!!

January 27, 2014

Jamie

I spent all day yesterday (just about all weekend, actually) working on the Dreamboard Workshop that I'm launching on Thursday. For a break I decided to finally test the Kitchen Aid food mixer that we invested in and make some bread. At first it did not look promising. The machine's motor seemed to be working awfully hard for one little love of bread. And the dough, omg, it felt like hard glue. I'm so glad we didn't give up because in the end, the house smelled like fresh-baked bread and it was rather tasty! We had it for dinner with this awesome delicious soup. Oh, and here's the bread recipe.

Shannon

Although I have no idea what a "gnashers" is, I am very happy with how this origami turned out. Totally feels like a beak or mouth for a muppet.  In paper form.

Suzie

That is so weird! My part of the post totally disappeared. OK, well, Reg took me to all my favourite shopping places on Saturday (no blizzard, yay!) and I got lots of stuff to try embroidering on. We also went to Michaels and Reg bought me a wireless mouse at Best Buy for my birthday and I'm already in less pain. :)

January 25, 2014

Jamie

So exciting! This is my highest Just Dance 2014 World Stage Ranking: 2! Geesh, I can't even remember what the song was. Do you, Shannon? It was a thrill to see the avatar come up that high!

Suzie

I tried. I tried to do the blending and it was going quite well. I was learning a lot. Then the oil truck came. I just hung my head and was overwhelmed by the timing. And scared. I just could not follow the instructor anymore. My guardian angel had dark hair and her skin was completely white. I feel like I let her down. Making her all soft when she was a warrior. If I had not done the meditation, I probably could have done this class OK but because of it, it rubbed me all kinds of wrong ways. So I am moving on to the next class but at least now I have closure. 

January 24, 2014

Jamie

So... I'm embarking on a major refresh of the site and yesterday it was great to share my early thoughts on structure on Behind the Scenes and get some great feedback from viewers. It was really helpful for me to know, for example, that people do actively explore the "Are You New Here" sections of sites to get oriented. I think that would be a great thing at the studio!

Shannon

Yes, I watched the Lifetime Original Movie of Flowers in the Attic.  Oh my. 

Suzie

Yesterday to celebrate my birthday (I know, a day late) I made 2 lobster tails for lunch. I used a cooking method Auntie Laima and Mom used for making shrimp. They were wonderful.

January 23, 2014

Jamie

I'm launching a new workshop next week so I am really tucked in, focused and working. Yesterday, as I spent hours at my desk, I had to laugh at the collection of jewellery that's accumulated on my desk! Today the pile is even bigger, hehe. It makes me feel a little bit like I leave a bit of shine behind, wherever I go!

Shannon

I have to take more pictures on the everyday!  Good thing I caught this cute one of the cat, so I would have something to share!  Was a pretty full day, although I bet it was full-er for the Birthday Suzie :)

Suzie

Here is Auntie Laima singing Happy Birthday to me! It was awesome hanging out with her as I did my owl test project. I did most of it on my own (it took forever) but it was the perfect project to get my mind off the worst blizzard of my lifetime raging outside on my birthday. That and all the fabulous birthday wishes and OMG, Jamie singing to me live on YouTube! I still can't get over that Jamie. Awesome. Shannon, due to the weather there was no postal service but I am sure your package will arrive to cheer me up soon. :)

January 22, 2014

Jamie

Yesterday was the big Glitter Bomb reveal! It was awesome to share all of our creations on stART. I love filming that show and am so excited about all that we can create and share together there! Of course the big message of the day though is Happy Birthday Suzie!! I think I'll name one of my glitter animals (you can guess which one) Strawberry Moose in honour of you :)

Shannon

New project: learning country flags!  Totally inspired by Just Dance, but also hopefully will serve well for the upcoming Olympics!  I had a lot of fun making these after stART.  I totally heart index cards and markers.

Suzie

There really is no such thing as eating well during a potential snowpocalypse, especially when there are two predicted for the week. I did decide though that if I ended up sitting in the cold and dark there must be Nutella.

January 21, 2014

Jamie

I managed to move forward with the glitter bombing yesterday. I'll be showing you my sparkly animals when we film stART today! I have to say that truly the most fun that I had was doing all of the photo shoots along the way. It's amazing what joy dollar store animals and a camera can bring!

Shannon

Wow.  This is the 3rd pic in a week that decides to be sideway!  Meh!  That aside, I'm excited I can now use custom thumbnails for YouTube vids, and I added this one for my UnPlan for Books that I posted yesterday.  I wonder how that unplan will go!  And I wonder if I cheated, because it kind of is a plan... sigh.

Suzie

Yesterday was all about getting my sponsored post up on my blog with a complimentary sneak peek of the app via a video I also recorded for them. I worked so hard on that post that after it was up I just rested for most of the day. But it is done and Reg said it was one of the best videos I have done to date which feels good.

January 20, 2014

Jamie

I'm really enjoying having Art Days on Sunday afternoons. Shannon and I were able to wrap up the first Life Book exercise. I had a lot of fun doing it. I've decided to focus on learning skills and having the experience. To do that, I've just decided (at least for now) to follow instructor's instructions and see what happens. I'm already learning a lot about technique and also about myself! Art has a way of doing that.

Shannon

This is an in-the-middle-of-the-process shot of one of the LifeBook exercises, and it's wild to look at a stage that was only what it was for a few minutes before it became something else.  It was wild to work on as I've now really realized I haven't done mixed media that much, and sometimes it's hard to trust and keep working on and changing this after a stage where you already like it, but that's how it works!

Suzie

I got out with a friend of mine and had a hot chocolate at the Second Cup before going shopping and picking up some crafting supplies. It was a lot of fun except for the fabric store, where I got overwhelmed and just didn't know where to find anything. I can't believe they don't have heavy cotton! Oh well, I got everything else done.

January 19, 2014: Rewind

Jamie

I just love this picture of Shannon and Jason. What beamers!!!

January 18, 2014

Jamie

Firday night means a dance party at our house! Just Dance has been a very good addition to our roster of fun. We just can't get enough of it!

Suzie

I didn't really take photos yesterday but did videos. I have been sponsored to do a post on Next Issue Canada and here I am showing people my subscriptions. It's like Netflix for magazines, only $9.99 a month and I'm already in love, reading like crazy.

January 17, 2014

Jamie

Justin and I went out for dinner last night and had an awesome time. On the way, I had to stop in at Indigo to get a few things and with what was left of a birthday gift certificate I bought myself this little treasure. It just spoke to me, so I brought it home. I've been really enjoying "girl things" recently and also getting back to gently working at having things that are both useful and beautiful. Hopefully this will be one of those things!

Shannon

I was so happy to serendipitously find that I was going out yesterday, realized I'd be by a Best Buy and wanted a wireless mouse, and that they had them on sale!  I really wanted one for being able to watch stuff streaming to the TV and it will make such a difference not to have to get up any time I need to pause, change the volume, troubleshoot, etc.  Yippee!  Although less yippee for continued sideways pictures.  Blargh.

Suzie

It was wet yesterday but I just couldn't help it. First, I went to the library to get Burn Notice Season 4. Then I thought, well, the bank is really close and I have this cheque… And at the bank I thought, the thrift store is so close!!! I can't believe I got to the thrift store on a day in January! I am loving this warm spell and I feel like it was an early birthday present for me. I even went out to lunch at McDonald's with coupons and treated myself to a cookie for 68 cents. I got soaked on the way home but I was happy.

January 16, 2014

Jamie

Doing a photo shoot with these plastic wild animals I bought for glitter bombing is the most fun I've had for $1.25 in quite some time! Now, there's a sentence you don't utter every day. Apparently plastic animals inspire that kind of thing. Wednesday in my Behind the Scenes I found myself saying, "Some days you just need to glitter bomb a moose." Clearly, that day is coming.

Shannon

After a long two weeks of not feeling like I had decided what I wanted 2014 to be like, I bit the bullet and just decided to jump into the year without a plan.  Okay, to be honest with *less* of a plan (I can't be totally plan-less).  But I decided to implement "The Un-Plan", and that pretty much goes like this: If I'm enjoying it, I'll keep at it without questioning or judging.  I hope it works!

Suzie

Auntie Laima in front of her latest stunning quilt!!! We had a successful day actually finishing a project, I can't wait to share. I can't believe how exciting I find doing this. You need time and patience though. As we worked I had Boston Baked Beans slowly cooking in the oven right next to my new sewing (former dining room). After she left me on my own to finish the project I also worked on Life Book.

Amazing, the sun came out and I felt almost human again. It was nice to have a day with some energy, it has been a long time.

January 15, 2014

Jamie

Yesterday was a wildly busy day - and super productive too! I got my newsletter out, a post about the Full Wolf Moon, a meeting with interns, an appointment out and about, plus I just had to get this video ready that Shannon and I made about making arm warmers. I'm excited to say that it is now up.

Shannon

I've been working on doing a 2014 books to read list, and went to upload some library books and noticed my Kobo looked like it never had before!  I'm not sure why it had this image instead of a book I was reading as per normal, but it looked so peaceful I had to take a picture of it.  Sorry it's rotated incorrectly - why they auto-do that sometimes I will never know!

Suzie

I had the lowest energy day ever yesterday! Probably because it was the day after the mega grocery shop and there was zero sunlight but man, it was brutal. So, I would lie down, do a little project, lie down, do a little project… Literally! Working on my foodie jewellery items for my hobbit b-day on my blog which is coming up so it's a good thing I figured out a way to make some progress.

January 14, 2014

Jamie

These are my vision cards for 2014. Once again I have loved creating them and sharing the Vision Card workshop with people. Yesterday I recorded the podcast and shared how over the years I have honed in on my core life focus areas and now it is so much easier to align my time with what's important to me.

Shannon

More Origami! Yep, I graduated from a paper cup to an elephant head & legs.  The legs were easy (and after!) the head which wasn't easy.  It took many tries and quite a bit of thinking.  But I did it!

Suzie

Reg had to go to Staples last night so I tagged along and we also stopped by the Bulk Barn. I had done the groceries earlier in the day thanks to a cab but there were a few esoteric items like juniper berries and celery seed that I ended up getting at the Bulk Barn instead. I am currently investigating what you actually safe money on if you buy from them. It has been fascinating!

January 13, 2014

Jamie

I'm loving having Art Day on Sunday afternoon. We were able to wrap up the introductory exercise for Life Book and there was lots of learning along the way! One thing that was so crazy is that we'd literally picked up a card from Value Village that used exactly the same (and I mean exactly) colour scheme as I had chosen for this. Wild!

Shannon
I'm surprized how long it's taken me to find me feet and get into the groove of things this year. One thing that might keep me on track was my Page-A-Day Origami calender which arrived recently. I was so happy to successfully made the first item which was a paper cup! The next day was a lot harder, but YAY for first successes. Paper cups for the win!

Suzie

After getting the car home from the shop the battery died from the extreme cold. Then, it suddenly got warm, we had tons of rain and hurricane-forced winds! The sun came out on Sunday and a friend helped resurrect our car. We took it for a long drive and it almost felt like spring. I am so grateful all the snow is gone, even if it's just for a few days.