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............