A Good Citizen

This past weekend my DH and I witnessed a car accident. We were literally right behind the two cars that got hit in the middle of an intersection. My first thought was, 'We had the green light, how could this happen'. My second thought was, 'That could have been us if we were in front of those cars'.

I have been in only one car accident, and that was in Australia. I had a drunk driver decide to ram right into the back of my car while I was stopped at a red light - to make it that much better the guy that hit me didn't even have a valid license.

I have never seen a car accident before, though. It was actually really frightening to witness. Basically what had happened was that a young guy going North thought that he could make it through the intersection before the cars going West. Even though the cars going West had a green light, for some reason the young driver thought he was invincible and could make it through the intersection. This young driver obviously went through a red light!!

My DH and I did the right thing and gave our information to the people in the accident and told them that we witnessed everything. We then had to go to the police station and write a statement. You are probably wondering why do this? It is such a hassle, isn't it??

This is why we decided to give a statement: Put yourself in the situation of being involved in a car accident. Wouldn't you want somebody to come forward if they saw everything. In this day and age you can never just think your honest word would help you in situations like this. We were actually eager to give a statement as we did see EVERYTHING that took place and it was so clear that a red light was driven through that caused this accident.

Next time you witness an accident think about coming forward and giving a statement. Remember Karma - what goes around comes around. You may need a witness one day too.

Until next time.............

A couple of cards.........

This morning I had some time to make a few cards. I have decided that I will make an effort to make two of each card that I design so that I always have a copy. I tried doing this a while ago but for some reason never actually followed through with it. Today I actually made doubles of the two cards I made - it is always good to have spares at home - you just never know when you will need them.

The first card is a thank you card I made using a stamp set from Inkadinkadoo. The stamp set is called Expressions and Frames and is one of their clear stamp sets. I love this set as you can change the greeting in the centre with a variety of frames. I coloured the stamp in with my new copic markers. These markers are awesome - one of my new favourite things. They don't leave any lines when you colour an image and they come in ALOT of colours and variations of colours. Again, I used my Fiskars threading water border punch - love this tool. The most exciting part of this card though, is the paper. We just got in a brand new paper line from Australia - Kaiser Craft!! The paper I chose was from Sublime - it is a mixture of black, white and a really cool shade of green. I also just checked out their website and found two stores in Australia that sells this paper - the stores are about 20 minutes from where I will be living in Australia so I am very excited about that.




The second card is also a thank you card. I got this really, really cute stamp set - again from Inkadinkadoo. How cute is this Chiahuahua - I used the copic markers to colour in the stamp image, except the red, I used a gelly pen. The paper I used was from Scenic Route Paper Company and it was from their Sonoma line. Another really cute card that didn't take too long to make. As you can see I had a fun morning card making.............. more to come.
Till next time...........

If you love LOVE STORIES................

I am totally in love with the way Nicholas Spark's writes his novels. I have read quite a few of his books in the last few years and I never want them to end. Infact, I purposely make them last quite a while so that I can imagine my own ending and pro-long the love story I am reading.

Currently I am reading his book, 'Dear John'. I am down to the last 80 pages and the story is getting to the really good 'lovey dovey' part. The basis of this story is that John falls in love with a girl he meets while on leave from the Armed Forces. He has to leave her to go back to work but they remain a couple - as best they can - for another couple of years. They eventually break up, his father passes away, he comes back to town and they see each other again. I won't tell you what happens next. I can't tell you what happens next as that is the part I am up to in the book too.......... I can't wait to see if they fall in love again. Oh God I sound like a teenager - but I realy love these kinds of books.

I have also read, and totally recommend, the following books by Nicholas Sparks:

The Notebook (fantastic movie too)
Message In A Bottle
A Walk To Remember
Nights In Rodanthe
The Wedding (this has been my favourite so far)

They have just made Nights in Rodanthe into a movie too that came out this week. It stars Diane Lane (who I think is an amazing actress) and Richard Gere. I can't wait to see this movie.



So, girls, if you are up for a good love story, pick up a Nicholas Spark's novel.

Till next time........

Farewell Dinner with Clipper friends

On Tuesday night I went out for dinner with some good friends from Clipper Street. We went to the Starlight Casino in Queensborough and went to Shang Restaurant. The food was really good. It is an Asian noodlehouse that has Ramen and Udon noodles for mains and lots of yummy appertizers.

Again, it was another fun night of eating good food and chatting away about anything and everything.

Below are a couple of photo's of the night.

The first is of me and my very good freind Sarah Anne. We worked together for quite a while and then she left me :( Work was never the same again. We worked really well together and I am going to miss her heaps but I know we will keep in touch once I have moved.

The next two pictures are of me and another great friend from work, Eleonor. We have so much fun at work - even though we work in two different locations. If ever you are having a bad day give this girl a call and she will have you in stitches!!

I now only have about two weeks of work left and three works of living in Canada............. I am sad but so excited at the same time.

Till next time.......

Nap Time......

I don't know what happened to me this afternoon but I was exhausted by the time I got home from work today.

I was fine at work and then just before I left I started getting the sniffles - hate that as it is a sure sign that a cold is on the way.

Once I got home I got right into bed with a splitting headache and after eating some dinner slept from about 6pm - 8:30pm. I was so done................ achy, tired and just totally out of it.

My plan for tonight was to make a couple of cards (still a few more to make before I leave) with some new stamps and paper I just bought from Clipper Street. I just didn't have the energy to do anything tonight.

I'll post pictures of my night out yesterday with my Clipper Street friends another time - when I am not so tired.

Till then.............

A Big Fat Greek Wedding...........

...............well kinda.

My DH and I headed over the border this weekend to Bellingham, Washington to attend a friends wedding. The wedding was on the Saturday but we decided to make a whole weekend of it and headed over on Friday and stayed till Sunday. It was a great little getaway for just the two of us to be together. We don't anticipate being able to do this for quite a while when we move to Australia.

The wedding took place in a Greek Orthodox Church and it was gorgeous. This was my first time attending a Greek wedding and there were so many traditions as part of the Ceremony. The great thing was that the bride and groom actually took the time to make hand outs to give to all the guests to explain the different parts of the service. Here is a brief explanation:

Part 1: Service of Betrothal

This is where they exchange rings and the Priest blesses the rings. Their 'sponsor' (Koumbaro) exchanges the rings between the couple three times.

Part 2: Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage

The Priest leads several prayers (yes, there were infact several prayers); He then joins the right hands of the bride and groom and they remain hand on hand throughout the remainder of the ceremony.

Part 3: The Crowning

The Bride and Groom are crowned with a flowered crown (Stefana), the crowns are joined with white ribbon. The crown symbolizes the glory and honour bestowed on them by God. The crown is then exchanged three times between their heads.

Part 4: The Common Cup

The priest give wine to the couple and they each drink from the cup three times.

Part 5: The Ceremonial Walk

The Priest then leads the couple around the alter three times - as a sign of their first steps together.

Part 6: The Removal of the Crowns

The Priest blesses the couple and removes the crowns and separates their previously joined hands. They then get to kiss.

This is quite a long ceremony but I just love all the tradition and the Church was just beautiful. I took a couple of photo's. See below.

The reception took place at the hotel we were staying in. The Hampton Inn was the name of the hotel and they have a Hall behind the hotel for receptions. My DH and I only knew the bride at this wedding so this was an opportunity for us to meet some new people too. We really lucked out as the people sitting at our table were all really nice. We had a great night, great food, great drinks and then called it a night. The best part was that neither of us had to drive home - just a quick walk to our hotel room.

Goodluck to your wonderful future together Cecelia and Philip.

Till next time.....

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last night I went to Brown's for dinner with my friends from the Richmond Clipper Street store.

With only four weeks till we leave for Australia I am trying to get together with those people that I have become friends with before I leave. It seems silly to have to use leaving the country as an excuse to get together. I really wish that I had gone out with my 'girl' friends alot more while I was living here but for some reason I always seemed 'busy'.

There is something for everybody to ponder.......... always make time for yourself and for your friends. Life should never be too busy that you can't fit in quality time with those you love.

Anyways, we had an awesome night.

Thank You Eleonor for organising it - I am truly going to miss you. Eleonor and I had a great bonding moment when our wonderful boss sent us to Vegas for a scrapbooking convention. We have been good friends ever since. Check out her blog - she is an amazing stamper and has been my inspiration for getting into stamping.

Thanks also to Fleur, Noreen and Lyndsay for coming too. It was great to sit down with good friends, have good (giggly girl) conversation and great food too.

I have always had a soft spot for the Richmond store as this was my first store that I worked in and managed. It is a tiny store with alot of heart - although since working in the larger location I find Richmond to be a little claustrophobic for me now.

Below are some pictures from our night out.

Thanks girls for the great night....................

Till next time............

No Pain No Gain

If you ever want to know what real physical pain feels like do 3 hours of crazy exercise and then you will know. I thought that after a while of doing boxing classes and jiu jitsu the pain would eventually go away and my body would get used to the constant torture. I now know that it isn't so.

Tonight I did my Boxing class - 1 1/2 hour class of non-stop body conditioning. Get a load of this:

1. Skipping for about 15 minutes (I don't mean Primary School 'skip for fun' kind of skipping either)
2. Circuit training - 3 cycles of different activities such as push ups, hand stands, speed bag, shadow boxing with weights, etc (we aren't having a friendly little picnic here)
3. Squats - try 150 of them
4. Lunges - again try 75 on each leg
5. Sit-ups with medicine ball - not for the faint hearted, another 100 here.

This is just part of what we did tonight. My body was aching so much during and after and then we still stayed for our Jiu Jitsu class too. I don't know how I lasted 3 hours of exercise but I did and I am so proud of myself for it.

The boxing gym I have been attending is Next Generation in Richmond. Mark, Jeff and Louis all help out at these boxing sessions and they are amazing. They are so patient with you but what I like best is that they are encouraging too. I know if it wasn't for them I would probably give up. Actually, I think the old Jo would have given up - I think there encouraging just makes me want to try harder.

Time to rest now.

Till next time...........

Jo Can Cook

As some of you may know I am not a huge fan of the kitchen or cooking. It's not that I don't know how to cook - give me a recipe and I'll cook you a meal - it's just that I don't like to cook. I would much rather be scrapbooking, cardmaking, watching t.v, working out, etc - I could really go on here but I will stop.

For some reason, this morning when I got out of bed I felt the need to make my DH breakfast in bed. He cooks for us ALL the time and I felt it was about time that I returned the favour. Even though I wasn't eating it, I cooked him bacon, eggs and toast. Now, aren't I a good wifey!! I didn't even leave the kitchen in a mess!!

After breakfast I was feeling a bit daring and offered to cook dinner. I know, twice in one day, what is wrong with me!!!

My MIL and I had found a recipe about a month ago. While waiting for my DH at the dentist we were reading some magazines and I came across a recipe for Carraway Pork Piccata. While my MIL pretended to have a coughing attack, I carefully tore the recipe out of the dentist's magazine.

Basically the recipe is like a Pork Snitzel but it uses different ingredients like panko (a Japanese style bread crumb) and different herbs. Each piece of Pork is about 300 calories so we just had salad and corn with it to keep it a light meal.

Below is the recipe - try it home some time:

2 Eggs
1 1/4 cup Panko
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
6 centre-cut boneless pork loin chips - pounded to 1/4" thickness
2 tbsp canola oil

1. Whisk eggs together in a wide, shallow bowl
2. Stir together panko, caraway seeds and parsley in another wide, shallow bowl
3. Dip pork in egg then let excess drip off. Dredge in panko and set aside on a plate until ready to fry. Continue with rest of chops
4. In a non-stick pan heat 1tsp of oil over medium high heat. Pan fry 3-4 minutes on each side. continue to cook in batches until all pork is used. Keep cooked pork warm in a low oven.

They suggest to serve with a wedge of lemon. Kids may like ketchup with it.

Happy eating.......

Till next time................

Packing away craft supplies :(

I got to play with my craft supplies one last time before the move to Australia. I know it seems silly - but I really didn't enjoy putting my stuff in boxes and knowing that I won't get to play with them in over a month.

I am taking most of my supplies with me - I wasn't about to leave everything behind. I have given some things away to friends. I managed to get most of my supplies, tools, etc in two boxes - which I think is very good.

I am not sure what the Scrapbooking stores will be like in Australia - another reason why I wanted to bring all my goodies with me. I still have a list of things I want to buy from

Clipper Street before I leave - I guess I will have to hide those in my luggage.

So my plan today was to make all the birthday cards, Congrat cards, etc that I needed over the next month so that they were ready ---- I just don't think I could bring myself to buying a greeting card. I haven't bought one in the last 4 years and I am not about to start now.

Today I am posting two of the cards I made. My DH and I are going to a wedding and an engagement party before we leave so I made a couple of cards for these occaisons.

We have been getting a lot of new paper at Clipper Street this week and one them was from S.EI. It is the new Windsor Collection and I used the matching flower embellishments too. I loved how these cards turned out. They were simple to put together but still look very elegant for a Wedding card and Engagement card.

I surprised myself and didn't use any stamps for these cards at all. The greeting is done by a rub-on. At Clipper Street we have a variey of rub ons greetings from Pebbles Inc. They come in three colours - white, black and brown. They also come in many different greetings - Happy Birthday , Congratulations, You're Invited, etc. If you don't live nearby you can also get these greetings at our online store - Clipperstreetonline.com. I love these rub-ons as they are an easy way to put a greeting on a card.

Hope you like the cards.

Till next time..............

Australia Bound

Some very exciting news..... my DH and I have decided to move to Australia. I am originally from the Gold Coast and that is where we will be heading in October. I have loved living in Vancouver but I miss my family very much and am looking forward to seeing them.

We plan on buying our very first house together in Australia and look forward to the warmer weather and a new start. We are really lucky as we get two Summer's this year - although Summer in Australia will be very different to Summer in Canada.

Now the countdown down is on........ we leave October 17th and actually arrive in Australia on October 19th - Our 8 Year Anniversay. Good timing, eh.

Till next time...........

Birthday Wishes

A big shout out to my niece Chloe who turned two today!!!

Can't wait to see you real soon!!

Also, Happy Birthday to my sister Michelle for tomorrow - she turned.............. don't worry I won't tell people how old you are.

Best Wishes to both of you on your special days.

September 11

7 years ........... that is how long it has been since 9/11. Where were you on September 11th, 2001? What does this date mean to you?

The eerie thing is that I remember quite clearly were I was and what I was doing on this day - as if it were just yesterday.

In September 2001 I was working for Disney Cruise Line. We were just pulling in to Norfolk, Virginia for Drydock. I know my DH and I were really excited about Drydock as we were planning on driving to Washington to see the sights - it would be a totally new experience for both of us.

On the morning we arrived in Virginia we were all called in for an emergency meeting in the Kids play area. There were no guests on the ship, just crew. As I stepped into the Kids play area I saw my Manager's there watching one of the t.v's. They had the station on CNN which I found odd as we were not usually allowed to watch regular t.v in the Kids area. It was then that our Manager's explained what was going on and as they explained about the first plane going through the twin towers - we all watched in horror as the 2nd plane went through the twin towers too. It still brings tears to my eyes watching that and thinking that it was a blockbuster movie being filmed. Sadly it wasn't, it was actually happening and it was happening not that far away from where we were.

Drydock did not start of as much fun at all. The ship was in total lock down - nobody was allowed to leave and nobody was allowed to come on. Our drydock area was a known Navy base and could have been targeted. Infact, it felt like total anarchy as there was rumour going around that just being on the Disney ship was a target in itself - being that it is an 'All American' company. My DH called his family in Canada to make sure they knew we were okay. I know his friends were eager to get us home quickly but we couldn't leave the ship. I remember calling Mum and Dad in Australia to tell them not to worry - I ended up scaring them myself as the news hadn't even hit Australia at that point.

I think we were in lockdown on the ship for a few days before they started letting us off the ship and living a somewhat more normal existance. Needless to say, my DH and I decided not to venture out to Washington. We took in the sights of Norfolk which was more than enough. After about a week it was business as usual................

After 9/11 everything changed though. Leaving Orlando airport to head home there were armed police everywhere. Extra security was obvious and understandable but it was from that point on that I knew things would never be the same again.

For all those people who lost loved ones due to 9/11 - I am so very sorry. Such a horrible thing to have taken place - lives taken away because of what??

A Busy Weekend

This weekend just flew by. We had lots planned over the weekend so I think that is why it went by so fast.

I was lucky enough to have Saturday, Sunday and Monday off - which was awesome.

On Saturday I went shopping with my MIL. We got a 40% off one item coupon for Old Navy (one of my favourite stores) so we went out to use it. I have been meaning to purchase new pants for a while now as I have lost a bit of weight and nothing is fitting right anymore. I found a great pair of pants that I thought I could wear for work - but the icing on the cake was that I think I confused the clerk and she gave me 40% off all my items. I ended up getting three pairs of pants for $50. I thought that was a steal of a deal - literally.

Saturday night was UFC 88!! One of my favourite fighters, Chuck Liddell was fighting that night and I was really looking forward to him knocking his opponent out. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. Please watch the video to see the shocking KNOCKOUT.



On Sunday, my DH and I went to training at the gym. We were grappling and sparring for about 2 hours and I was pooped at the end of it. It was an awesome workout though and I do feel like I am getting more and more stronger each day.

Finally Sunday night we went over to our friends, Juan and Mariyln for dinner. We used to work with Juan and Marilyn on Disney Cruise Line and they now live about 45 minutes away. It is nice to have good friends from our ship life living so close.

That was our weekend - as you can see I was tired and couldn't wait to crawl into bed Sunday night.

As for Monday - I am goodness - let's just say I was aching all day Tuesday. We did a boxing class and then went right into a Jiu Jitsu class on Monday night. I was totally done then.

Till next time......

Some cards to share.........

Not the best photo's, but here are a couple of cards that I have made recently. I am always eager to play with my stamps and cardmaking but it is so hard to find the time sometimes. Here they are:




The first card, 'Congratulations', was made for a couple of friends who just opened a restaurant. One of my friends from work, Sam, suggested the new Basic Grey line, Offbeat. The actual paperI used is called Atypical and it has vegetables all over it in a kind of hip way. I just love this paper and the colours in it too and I paired it up with matching cardstock, brads and ribbon. Simple card that can be put together in record time - I should know, my DH gave me about 15 minutes to make it.

You are probably wondering, where does she get her ideas from. Well, I often go through magazines to get initial ideas but often I will look at something and then go in a totally different direction. The ideas truly are endless when it comes to card making.

The second card is for my dad for Father's Day. No, I am not late for Father's Day. In Australia we like to be different and actually celebrate Father's Day in September. I used some really cute paper that I had lying around the house. I can't remember which company made it, maybe Scenic Route??

Anyways, as you will probably notice I have been using a threading scallop punch alot in my cards. It is my new favourite tool - I think I may be using it too much!!! It is a punch from Fiskars and we sell it at Clipper Street and at Clipper Street Online. I bought the 'Father's Day' stamp from Clipper Street a little while ago. Comes in handy at least once a year.

Well, that was my creative moment from for this week. Wish I had more time to be creative though.

Till next time..............

Pleasantly Surprised

I just watched the movie 'Georgia Rule' yesterday and loved it. What a great movie.

The biggest surprise for me in this movie was what a great actress Lyndsay Lohan is. She was amazing in this movie. I am not a big Lyndsay Lohan fan - I am not into these young actresses who think the world owes them something - but this girl can act.

Basically the story is about three generations of women - daughter, mother, grandmother - who have a strained relationship. L.L character is a chronic liar, her mother is an alcoholic and they do not get along. The grandmother and her mum - do not get along either. L.L character is sent to live with the grandmother - Georgia - and to learn all of Georgia's Rules.

There is obviously alot more to the storyline - but like I was saying L.L was just awesome. I remember reading in magazines all the drama she caused while filming this movie - but this girl has talent. No excuses for being a spoiled brat but she is lucky she has the talent to get her away with stuff.

This is a chick flick that I highly recommend. While I'm on the subject of great chick flicks, if you haven't seen it yet I encourage every woman to watch the tear jerker 'Terms of Endearment'. It was on the t.v the other night - what a great movie.

Till next time.............

PNE moment

I just had to add these photo's from the PNE. Here is Bren, Cammy and I on our favourite ride. The one were we just couldn't stop laughing.

In the first photo you will notice little Cammy sitting in the middles of us. Imagine this ride going at full force and Cammy - who weighs next to nothing - being squashed into nothing. We all had the giggles the whole way through the ride.

In the second photo the lady who worked this ride actually told us to change seating arrangements so that Cammy wouldn't be squished again. I think this was a smart idea.

I have to say this was one of the funniest moments ever with these two little angels. What a great day out.

Thanks gir

I don't know if I have mentioned before but my DH is an unreal cook. If it wasn't for him I think I would be living on Kraft Dinner!!!

I am one lucky lady as he can open up the cupboard or the fridge and come up with an amazing meal with what is in front of him. Now, if I opened up the cupboard or the fridge my next move went be calling Domino's and ordering a pizza.

Tonight was no exception for yummy meals. My DH had a pork roast sitting in the slow cooker all day and we were going to have pulled pork sandwiches. I came home from work and nobody was home and all I could smell was the roast cooking. It took ALOT of will power not to start chowing down on it.

Now I know it is hard to get a real grasp of how good this smelled but the next best thing is to take a picture of it so everybody can drool over what my man cooked. Doesn't it look good. I love how the photo even shows the steam coming out of the pot.

Well, needless to say dinner was delicious.

I've definetly got a keeper here.............I just wish all woman had men like my DH who were so willing to cook and not only that, so willing to cook really good meals.

till next time..............