for sondra

www.letteringdelights.com

search for 'steep' as in 'ldsteep'

have fun, chickie poo!

j

brushes

please go easy on me... i'm JUST breaking into the world of adobe photoshop elements and playing with brushes (hibiscus set by ryan franklin) and yes, the printing is supposed to look like that... but i would love to pick a brush that looks more realistic, like a grafitti style/wet brush, if that makes any sense...if you're reading this, you have to tell me what you think. i think: brushes are evil. it's wayyyy too late, again. now i really don't make any sense. goodnight!

-j

design team call

i was so bummed to see that one of my fellow dt members (wendy, aka brenoli) had to resign today. (take care & god bless, wendy!) so... are YOU interested? love2scrap.ca is a cute little (but growing!) online scrapbook store here in edmonton, alberta (call is open to anyone in north america). you recieve your pizza box & out of that, every month we are assigned four projects, two due on the first and the other two on the 15th of the month. are you someone who....

- has great ideas
- likes to chat
- can keep up with commitments
- likes to try new products?

if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! if you want to apply, please send renee 4 - 5 pieces of your work, showing your different styles of work, if they vary!! her email is irememberwhen(at)shaw.ca please tell her janna sent you!

let me know if you apply!!!

-j

tagged!

yikes! i've been tagged!
four jobs you have had in your life:
-most recently admin assistant at the machine shop where hubby works
-purchaser for a valve manufacturer
-secretary in a geotechnical engineering firm
-taco slinger extrodinaire at taco time.. 15 years later... 'meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream...' hah hah - but why am i laughing?? ;)

four movies you would watch over and over:
-bourne identity & bourne supremacy
-gladiator
-uhf (i'm sorry to admit that)
-cora unashamed

four places you have lived:
-abbotsford, bc
-langley, bc
-whitehorse, yt
-edmonton, ab

four tv shows you love to watch:
-csi anything
-northern exposure (cancelled years ago, i know)
-larry king (just kidding)
-my name is earl (sorry guys!)

four places you have been on vacation:
-north shore, oahu
-las vegas (we married here!)
-harrison hotsprings, bc
-yellowknife, nwt (vacation? who would admit this??)

four websites I visit daily:
-www.love2scrap.ca
-www.twopeasinabucket.com
-www.pickofthepatch.com
-www.ummmmm.........

four of my favorite foods:
-maple salmon
-shave ice
-pineapple
-the GOOD mandarins you get at christmas... usually takes 6 boxes to find a good one.

four places I would rather be right now:
-asleep in my bed
-asleep on the couch
-asleep at the keyboard
-actually i am quite happy where i am... glad to be home

-j

guest book

one of the coolest things i saw when i was on vacation was, yes, the guestbook. i don't know if it's because i'm a wannabe scrapbooker, but it had all the things in it that i try and preserve. what it actually was is a sketch book, and there were some absolutely incredible sketches, artwork, cartoon work, portraits, landscapes, and more. pencil crayon, pen, pencil, crayon, felt, whatever. adults and children were the artists, and from all different skill levels. and then their was the journalling. wow. in the dedication page they explained their family tradition of sharing your 'highs' and 'lows' of the day at the dinner table (we do this too!) and they asked you to leave your high and low of your vacation in the book. it was so cool to read them all. some of them were fun, some typical, some whacky, some were even sad (a death) and joyful (a birth). i took some pics, i had to! and of course, i left my own 'mahalo'.

-j

arrival

so, here we are, back at home, safe and sound. and sooo tired. but still awake, so exhausted that i can't sleep... i get like that lots... not sure why. hawaii was lovely, so beautiful. and despite my fears, all of the plane rides were very uneventful indeed, nor were there any tsunamis, or earthquakes (big enough) to cause a tsunami (there was one this week on the big island of hawai'i).
the north shore of oahu is 'the place' to be... if you ever go to oahu, i would highly recommend it. beautiful, beautiful beaches, lots of aloha, rich in history, people from all over the world go to surf there. and, jack johnson's from there. what more do you need?

-j

north shore

okay, so i'm probably the only nerd you know who'd ever blog on their vacation, but i need a break from all of this relaxing, hah hah. here's a couple of pictures... this was an incredible 'moonset' on the 14th, at about 6 a.m. gorgeous. here's another of me and the kids doing what i love to do the most.

-j

aloha

well, here we are, off on another grand adventure. in a few hours we will be flying to the sunny north shores of oahu.
seven years ago my friend sent me a plane ticket to fly there and photograph her wedding (i'll never forget that, lisa-thank you) and i extended my stay to nine days because i never thought i'd have the chance to go again. this will make for our third time! what a blessing! i never thought i'd 'love' hawaii, i thought it too touristy. not the case on the north shore at all. the drive from honolulu is breathtaking, the scenery is incredible! truly a testament to me of God's power to create incredible beauty. love it!

while i was tucking caleb in tonight, rhonda swung by and dropped off the new Canadian Living magazine with a pack of 'extra' cinnamon gum... both my faves. i love the little things... to my friend, rockin rhonda... i will bring you some sand. just don't tell anyone *shhh* thanks, girl:) you made my day:)

i will admit i'm tense, i don't like to fly. i do much prefer to keep my feet on the ground, on terra firma. but me and my gravol will go far! many emphatic prayers tonight for a safe journey;) lol... the weather right now is 21C (or 75F), so that's just perfect!! check out the weather at
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/96712 regardless of the weather, what will make it awesome is that we are going with gord's mom and dad (yes, i LOVE my inlaws!) and my dad is coming, too... the last time he was there was when i was 20 months. too cool. i told him he can't stand me in the waves and let them knock me over anymore. he was dissapointed ;)

God bless!

-j

ultrasound

ahhh... just going through my files and i came across this... this was a 3 dimensional ultrasound taken of caleb when I was 28 weeks pregnant. unfortunately the stills i was able to capture out of the video they gave me wasn't too clear, but when i was in the room, we saw some absolutely incredible footage. i was able to see features that were gord's, already. seriously, it was one of the coolest things i have ever seen. if you want to check out how it really works (and some super cool video), go to http://www.wombswindow.com/ i couldn't find the original GE commercial online, but this gives you an idea.
off to bed, again i'm up waaayyyy too late!!

-j

corbin

Babies are such a nice way to start people. ~Don Herrold

awww.... this is so exciting... yay!!! my 'adopted' brother, jarrod, and his wife kathy, just had a little miracle of their own... corbin william feasby was born monday january 9th, 2006 at 9:27 pm weighing 10lbs, 6ozs and was 22 inches long. isn't he sweet? i know it was a struggle and mixed emotions for both of them... jarrod was deployed to afghanistan just days before. hurry home, jarrod, he's beautiful! ya did a good job:) godspeed, jarrod.

j

so excited!

i am so so so excited... my very dear friend lisa and her sweet baby girl lauren will be coming to visit in june! yeah! i've known lisa since grade eight when we went to school together in abbotsford. there's no friend that i've had longer than her. like any good friendship, we've been through so much together, good and bad, and we've stood the test of time. lisa inspires me... she has such strength. she has survived her divorce with grace and dignity, she is incredible. her husband left when she was in her first trimester, and it was devastating. but from the start, she was bound and determind not to be bitter and hateful, and believe it or not, that's where she's at. she's worked very hard, her and her alone, to make a working relationship with her ex and his girlfriend for the benefit of her daughter. and now lauren is 16 months, she's doing beautifully, moving forward and moving on. she says she's not quite ready to date yet, but i'm sure it won't be too long. through her personal hell, she's remained optimistic and hopeful, and it's going to pay off... the man lucky enough to find her will be blessed, indeed.

lisa, i love you, my friend.

-j

new resolve

i'm not sure which particular order these should be in, they're really all very important:

1. be a better wife
2. be a better mother
3. be healthy
4. volunteer more
5. become what God wants me to be
6. be a better friend
7. forgive

-j

double-oh-six

happy new years!
my newly found friend, elizabeth, was so sweet and brought this bottle of sparkling apple juice over on new years eve so me & the kids could ring in the new year with the rest of 'em! it was funny how it really made my day, what may have been so small to her... meant a lot to me!! as they say... it's the little things!! that should be the next one on my list... to be more thoughtful & show appreciation more often.
-j

caleb's two!

my birthday boy... two years have gone by so quickly! so much has happened in this last year... you learned to walk, actually started to like eating food, started to talk, sleep on your own, developed friendships... what a lovely little man you are. in your second year you also learned all about your incredible sense of humour & how to make people laugh. you've also learned how to stall bedtime until the latest possible second (we've just caught onto this one), and in the last nine months you have started your love of books!! it's usually four books every night... goodnight to baby, disney babies go to the park, alphabet book of me and baby signs. then again, that could just tie in to the previous comment;) love ya, my boy! -mama