November 30, 2014: Random

Jamie

I actually really love having #onmydesk shots. They capture the spot that I spend so much of my life! This has the clock I gave myself for certification, a bunch of index cards, including my encouragement box. I'm thinking that "sisters" post-it has something to do with Ridler Sisters. I almost missed seeing that lone earring and that reflection of me in my speaker there on the upper right! Random, indeed!

Shannon
I'm not quite sure how Mr. Man managed to get behind me on my chair, but he did! Something sure caught his attention. I also have no idea how I managed to take this picture, the angle seems crazy.

Suzie

Christmas has come to the hood! This house had awesome Halloween decorations and they are not being outdone for Christmas. Reg pointed out that this is the Rudolph Santa. We always laugh call him a bastard when we watch Rudolph, he really isn't very nice in that special to Rudolph! Still, love it, him and Frosty together.

November 29, 2014

Jamie

I made a joke to Shannon about this awesome piece of clothing I got yesterday. Finally, a hoodie made for Jamie. It's black and shiny. Quilted. And oh, no hood. LOL! I love it. I've been doing some real clearing and caring for my clothes lately. That little book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, is really getting to me!

Shannon
I completely forgot to take any pictures today! Sigh! Well, another great moment from the week was getting out to the library to renew my card, which was really great because otherwise I couldn't take out any books online and that's just not...okay! Of course when I got home I took out way to many, but I love having so much choice :)

Suzie

Well my eBay auction is over and was pretty much a bust. I was hoping people would buy more than one item to save on shipping but nope. People only bought one item and the only items that sold were minimal shipping. This was my big seller. Made $5. I did not even come close to breaking even and I think all my sales were all to strangers, from what I can tell. I did sell a few t-shirts for 99 cents. Oh well. I tried!

November 28, 2014

Jamie

I was out and about yesterday and it was one of those days where there seemed to be a bird convention in every tree! In fact one little guy here looks like he's giving me "the look" for interrupting! 

Shannon
The assembly of the Cabled Afghan continues, and I've decided to put it together as I finish rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation. I can't believe I started my rewatch over 2 years ago now! I really want to finish it out and I'm really close with about 30 episodes left. I think it will be a good match as I have to keep my eyes mostly on the squares, and I've seen all the episodes before so I know what scenes I want to look up and watch. I can feel myself struggling with wanting to post about the episodes like I used to, but I don't have the energy to. I am trying to think of a go-around, an in-between, a clever something. Or...I could just...let..that .. feeling...go. Ack! What to do?

Suzie

Right after officially becoming a resident of BC (and now able to go to a doctor!!!) Reg and I came across this amazing Christmas display at Metrotown, our favourite mall. Isn't it gorgeous?! I can't believe it. I am actually getting into the Christmas spirit. Magic must exist after all.

November 27, 2014

Jamie

Yesterday I was totally tucked into a long day of work. Mostly I'm immersed in getting the Full Cold Moon Dreamboard workshop created but I also managed to accomplish things in lots of other areas too, including interviewing the wonderful Kari Chapin for the podcast. Kari is savvy, practical and fun. She's got a new podcast coming out too about creativity and productivity. I'm looking forward to it!

Shannon
With all the cable squares blocked, I am now at the assembly stage of the cabled afghan blanket and here is me with all my squares! Oh my! Deciding how to put it all together was quite a process, given that I used 4 different colours and I really didn't think I would mind it being all mixed up...but I did! I really took my time until I found what felt and looked right and now I'm looking forward to getting it to be an actual blanket. This always feels like the most challenging part of a knitting project: putting it all together. Fingers crossed I don't lose steam!

Suzie

I was so desperate to have a nap yesterday but decided to give myself one hour to go through mags I got at Value Village for my 2015 dreamboard while watching a LifeBook video in my crafts room. It went great but then got a serious migraine and had to lie down. Oh well, at least I got some artsy time into my life yesterday.

November 26, 2014

Jamie 

It was great to actually get to celebrate with Dad on his actual birthday! We had a great time at the Mandarin, eating far too much and not quite staying out of discussions about politics, lol! A highlight was when our waitress asked if it was a special occasion and Dad ended up with us singing (loudly) and a candle in a cupcake. They also took a family photo which Dad got to take home in a magnet frame. What a treat!

Shannon
It was such a treat to get to see Dad on his birthday! Celebrating at Mandarin was a lot of fun and getting to catch up as well. Woohoo!

Suzie

One thing that is super awesome about editing the video is coming up with the graphic for stART and getting to see your expressions at my reveal which I don't always get to see and love how much you both were so excited by my doll's new outfit! You both totally rock. :)

November 25, 2014

Jamie

The weather was absolutely wild yesterday. The sky was fast-moving, sometimes grey, grey, grey and then sometimes beautiful blue and wispy clouds like this. Sunshine streamed through one moment and later on there was a downpour. The one constant was the wind. Despite the weirdness, Justin and I got out to the movies and saw Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). We really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. It's not mainstream and may not be that accessible but it was thought-provoking well-acted and really immersed in the world of the theatre. For that alone, I loved it.

Shannon
Although it feels early to be in the holiday spirit, I don't think I can deny that I am! I am going to break out my new mug and get all cheer-y.

Suzie

Had some serious coffee drama today! Reg helped me bring home a new coffee maker. Sometimes being cheap doesn't pay!

November 24, 2014

Jamie

It was another weekend full of working so it was a real treat when Justin and I decided to go to a lighting ceremony at our local park. Too bad I got the day wrong, LOL! Still, there was plenty to see, including the most impressively Christmas-decorated house I have ever seen, which indluded this large nativity scene surrounded by lights! So impressive! At our house, we did manage to get a wreath up :)

Shannon
Spent some time baking over the weekend for upcoming birthday-ness (I assume he doesn't read this site) and it's been a while since I've baked and a long while since I've tried a new recipe but the beginnings above turned into Oatmeal Raisin cookies and I think they turned out quite well (phew). Although I squished the balls down into a more cookies shape and cooked them for 12 instead of 10 minutes, which made them more cooked and just a little crisp on the edges but still nice and chewy. Now...the key will be to resist eating them all!

Suzie

We had a very busy weekend going to Reg's kung fu school demonstration (poor Reg missed his performance by five minutes because he had to go to morning class for school) and last night I played a real night of D&D. Created my demon-blood barbarian character (Tiefling, like Hell-Boy but a woman) and totally kicked ass. I took two poundings to the chest without armour, got thrown out a window and stopped a magic user thanks to my fire resistance. It was epic and awesome!

November 23, 2014: Random

Shannon
I see I'm not the only one who doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning. I bet he could tell those are new sheets!

Suzie

I almost wish I don't sell my Archie mags. I love some of the stories and illustrations in them including this story with Josie and the Pussycats. Plus, they would make great collage material!

November 22, 2014

Jamie

A week full of hard work and good things, including getting to chat with Suzie - yay!! And to have some Friday night time with Shannon, which included Just Dance 2015! I'm so glad I decided to dive in and buy the new one. There will be lots of dancing to come!

Shannon
Let Just Dance 2015 begin! It was such a blast to play. Thank you Jamie so much for buying it, it was so much fun to play together!

Suzie

What a beast of a project! Fifty one products for sale, no wonder it took me forever! And some of those were collections of stuff. You can see my store here. Although not having combined shipping to choose from when you are listing (long story) I can't believe that it cost me nothing up front to list all those products. Nothing! Ebay has really changed that way. They take 10% of your sale but no listing fees. Anyway, it's done! Yay!

November 21, 2014

Jamie

Inspired by a beta group that I'm starting, I invested in these medicine cards .As I was opening the box I realized just how long it's been since I bought a set of cards! I also wasn't expecting to be as moved as I was by these. I started reading the book and it went straight to my heart. I guess these showed up for me for a reason!

Shannon
Finally starting the colour stage of my Tender is the Night page, and wow, this many steps in something officially makes each page feel like a project! I don't think I'll be doing these for all books I read, but I really want to do it for this one and for The Haunting of Hill House. Soon I gotta get back to actually reading books!

Suzie

I spent most of Thursday prepping my listings for my ebay launch on Saturday! This is one of my favourite pieces. It's a Hallmark Queen of Chocolate ornament. She has sugared pansies (or violets?) on her shoes. I am having fun getting ready for the big sale but my back hates it, unfortunately. Oh well, not going to do this regularly so I'll just get through it and focus on the fun.

November 20, 2014

Shannon
When I posted one of my blue cabled squares on Facebook, a buddy mentioned a Wikipedia page of the blue it looked like (that was "created" in 1961). I never thought of new colours being created. Fascinating. At the bottom of the page, they listed all of these different Shades of Blue. I looked at it with glee. LOVE the colour blue.

Suzie

After having an awesome chat with Shannon yesterday my friends ended up cancelling our video chat so I got to go out for a walk to Value Village. I am supposed to do a coffee machine cleaning post and my coffee maker died so here is the tank of a coffee maker I got at VV. This way I have another Bargain or Bust video no matter what. OMG, it was soooooo heavy to carry home! And BIG!

November 19, 2014

Jamie

This time of year is so very busy for me and the studio - even more so now that I've decided to lead a planning day workshop in December. I've been getting up super early to give me some more time to get everything done. Seeing the beauty of the dawn and experiencing the quiet is a plus!

Shannon
I went through my Value Village purchases and put together this little diagram with images of them. I also did this after the summer 50% off sale. I'm still sorting out why I do this, especially because it felt like too much work (that phrase always reminds me of when Mom would say "That sounds too much like work!"), but I still felt compelled to do it. I think it's actually a way of trying to figure out which clothes work for me as I can look back on it later, but then again I can figure that out by what goes in the laundry week after week because I choose to wore it. I know I like documenting stuff, so it could be that in a 'time-stamp' kind of way. There were other things I would probably rather do, but... I did this. I'm wrestling with something here and it's clear I haven't quiet figured that out. Anyway - one thing is that it's a way I can share what I bought! So there is that :)

Suzie

Reg and I heard that there was going to be a "conversation with George Takei" at the theatre downtown so we got tickets and when we showed up we were upgraded to the sixth row!!! We felt like we had won the lottery. It was such an inspiring evening. So many people graciously went up to the mic and shared their appreciation for everything he has done on so many levels. It was an evening of education, story sharing, the civil rights movement and gratitude. Amazing.

November 18, 2014

Jamie

And with that, winter has arrived! It was very pretty in the morning, especially with my twinkie lights on, but I'm glad I didn't have to go out in the evening. The wind was howling!

Shannon
I went back for more. Although I got a few things that I liked on Sunday with the members day, I kind of fizzled on energy and the crowd got to be too much. So I went in for a quick look and got a few more things and now feel totally set for a while. Yay!

Suzie

I was out for a walk yesterday and the hood was packed with cars up and down our main strip so the madness inside Value Village must have been wild. I decided to forego anymore shopping and went and got groceries at markets instead. I'm thrilled with what I already had so this was a win for me.

November 17, 2014

Jamie

I'm so glad that Shannon and I got out to the Value Village pre-sale for club members yesterday! I came home with clothes (in fact I filmed today's video in that top shirt there, LOL), that wonderful black watering can and behind it youc an see my black owl planter. I put one of Shannon's plant in it and it almost looks like wings! 

Shannon
I finally finished reading The Haunting of Hill House! That one took me quite a quite, 2 library sign outs (thank goodness for no waitlist). This whole more-actively-reading-and-being-engaged means it takes quite a bit longer to read a book. I almost wrote "get through" a book. That might be the difference between the speed and focus I used to read, and what I seem to be getting up to now!

Suzie

I had the most amazing day yesterday! I loved going out to Value Village for the big sale (you can see my haul here) and we also went to check out a D&D gaming demo at our local comic book store. (I love being able to write that.) I have never really played it so the demo was incredibly helpful. Reg and I signed up to try it out next week. Overall? An awesome weekend.

November 16, 2014: Random

Jamie 

I always just pop the date into my photo search and see what comes up for random day! I love this moment at a family lunch at our place! I can hear the laughter! 

Shannon
More complete weirdness of iTunes. Often now when I open the program I get this message, I have no idea what it means. And I'm still loving Windows Media Player, it found a whole bunch of music that I thought I had lost, and had really tried hard looking for to no avail. And now.. I can listen to it! YAY.

Suzie

I managed to get out for a long walk and some of the houses here that haven't been replaced by monster "Vancouver Special" houses have so much character. This one spoke to me in particular.

November 15, 2014

Jamie

Well, it sure took us a while to put together all of the necessary pieces but wow, I'm thrilled we have everything to start blocking our afghan squares. I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

Shannon
The Day & Ross winter jacket has now been worn outside. It officially feels like winter. Or at least, cold. BUT warmer with a wintery jacket!

Suzie

After our awesome chat yesterday I walked down to the SPCA thrift store and discovered some really cool crafting supplies that were inside this chest of drawers. I found small wooden dowels which will be perfect for making my crocheted dolls. I felt like I was doing something incredible secretive in public going through all this cool stuff. Reminded me of the post I wrote about Robbie recently. Very cool.

November 14, 2014

Jamie

I had a truly amazing day yesterday at Andrea Lee's Wealthy Thought Leader coaching salon! It was a day of deep thought, great conversations and awesome insights. Also it was a good reminder of the value of getting out there live and being in the energy of the room. I'm starting today with a lot of ideas percolating!

Shannon
I've been having issues with how iTunes organizes music for quite a while now, and there was a recent update that totally messed everything up even more. I'm not trying Windows Media Player, and I'm still getting used to it but so far it's feeling much better. It imported all my music (easily) and set where I wanted the default save place to be (also easily) and I can view stuff by album, artist or genre and also make playlists pretty easily. I did get some errors that I still need to sort out, but so far I'm much happier using it to organized and listen to my own music. Fingers crossed that continues!

P.S. In the time it took to upload the picture I solved the error problem!

Suzie

Oh my goodness yesterday was a crazy day! The big thing was getting the President's Choice Christmas Box delivered and you two get a first look at some of the goodies! I also baked cookies, made ice cream… Did a ton of photography and my first bargain or bust video where I buy stuff from thrift stores and then record whether or not they work when I get home. It was a ton of fun to do, I loved it. So glad I came up with that idea.

November 13, 2014

Shannon
I've been a little stumped on reading, and after a bit of hmming and hawing over what that was about I realized it was because I was reading The Haunting of Hill House and it's too scary to read at night! Hopefully these library selections will provide something that will get over this reading slump.

Suzie

It's been frustrating to be so busy lately. Things that make me have to stay in the house like phone calls, house calls, deliveries… It's been so bright (chilly but not raining) and all I want to do is go for long walks! I did run out of the house a bit today to go to a local market. I got all of this for just over $5! Limes are almost $1 each out east. So that felt good but I want to be outside more!!!