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...........