CPS #208

I realized that I didn't share the birthday card that I made for my sister a few weeks ago, so here it is! Yeah, so I get that squirrels aren't really people's most favorite woodland creature, but since they made a frequent appearance in her comic strips at school, I figured it'd be appropriate. I also painted my fingernails this bright green color that I got on clearance at Ulta. The nail polish is from China Glaze and seasonally appropriately named Four Leaf Clover.
Here's my take on this week's CPS challenge (#208). I wanted to use some of the pearls that I bought at A.C.Moore last night, and I thought they'd go really well in the center of the flower. I thought the little panel on the bottom right would be too boring if it just had the sentiment so I accented it with green leaves and yellow flowers to match the card's focal point.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Green, Yellow Ochre
Stamp: Fiskars- Friendly Flowers (all)
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox (brown, blue)
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Victoria)
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Pearl

I watched The Princess and the Frog last night; I borrowed it from the library when I went there on Friday. There were some laugh-out-loud moments, but overall, it doesn't beat my all-time favs Lilo and Stitch, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, etc.

Wee Memories Challenge #46

After spin class this morning, I quickly changed into dry clothes and went to my old high school to check out their used book sale. It was really impressive with all the busy volunteers and large selection of books. I ended up getting 6 paperback books (some of which I've read and some I haven't) for...drum roll, please...$6 total! It's really nice to be able to have a selection to pick from when traveling. I also cooked a new dish: Chicken Florentine Casserole. I really should have drained the spinach a lot more, but not too bad for a first try. The dish is very filling. Whew, food comaaaaa.

Funny thing from spin class: the instructor had us do stretches at the beginning of the class. And then had us do it again 2 minutes later. We all must have had puzzled looks on our faces because then she asked if she had already told us to do stretches. ::nods head:: "Oh, then never mind." I think she was distracted by two people switching bikes at the front. I guess you had to be there to find it funny.

This week's Wee Memories Challenge (#46) focuses on woodland creatures. I dug through my stamp stash and found a bunny stamp that I hadn't used in a LONG time. I paired it with a stamp that I got for my birthday. I was thinking this could be a congratulations card for a new member of the family; I suppose the recipient would have to have a sense of humor too. Check out the shiny bunny butts. :)
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Green, Prussian Blue, Chestnut Roan
Stamp: Inkadinkado (butterfly), Hampton Art- Terrific Tree (tree), Studio G (bunnies, sentiment)
Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch
Paper: Die Cuts with a View - Sweet Stack (green), Stack 7 (red)
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Buttons: from Michaels

This is a good story. This is funny to those who have cats. Ginger is good at yodeling and doing the 3 meter dash.

Fall-To Layout #130

I decided to take the day off from work today. Instead of heading to the office, I went to a 1-hour spin class (I hadn't been all week ::hangs head::), get some errands done and take a nice afternoon nap. Ahhh.

Check out my new mug. It was an impulse buy at the airport yesterday on the way home. I'm so glad it didn't break on the way home. And Ginger, who insists on sleeping on clothes (see nicely folded gray t-shirt underneath the cat butt) when she has the whole bed. Oh well, I was planning to put it in the laundry tomorrow anyway. Yikes, I have not made a card since Sunday! I need to remedy that pronto! Here's my take on this week's Fall-To Layout (#130). I decided go with a card with a lot of sparkle. I mean, I guess that's my style, but this card has more than the usual amount. I loved this lollipop glitter paper, so cute! I paired it with some shiny ribbon and cute flower embellishments (even though the sketch suggests a button).
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China.
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Sweet Stack
Stickers: Sandylion- Flower Power

My old high school is doing a used book sale tomorrow, so I'm marching my sweaty self over there after spin class to see if I can find some good stuff. :)

It's Been Fun, Halifax!

As planned, I went to the Museum of Natural History in Halifax this morning, got there right as it was opening. I was excited to see Sue the T-Rex, "the largest, most complete, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex ever discovered." I had seen her in New York or something a few years ago. I went to the museum's website last night and was surprised when I saw that the admission fee was only $5.75. Wow, what a deal! And then I realized that it was probably because the museum wasn't as big as other museums I had been to before. Aside from Sue, I liked the wall of ceramic mushrooms and "Francis" the lobster (he was approximately 32 years old!). The building at the bottom is the Old Town Clock; I walked by it on my way to the museum.
I had blocked off a whole morning for the museum, but ended up heading back to the hotel where I saw my boss hanging out in the lobby. I would have walked around the city some more, but it was really windy outside. We walked to the food court and grabbed a bite to eat at Tim Horton's; I guess it's like the Canadian version of Dunkin Donuts. I got a Boston Creme donut and blueberry muffin, which were yummy. I hung out in my hotel room until it was time to head out to the airport. The cab driver gave us his card on Tuesday when we arrived and he was happy that I called him to see if he could take me back to the airport. Apparently, business was slow today. I thought that the gym sign was funny.
The trip back to DC was uneventful, thankfully. It's good to be home :)

Assessment Day

I got a lesson in the Canadian accent today.

• Eh?


• Washroom = bathroom


• La-bore-a-tor-y (laboratory)


• A-boot (about)


• Pro-cess (pronounce "pro" as in short for professional).

The work-related meeting went very smoothly today, HOORAY! I'm very thankful that the coordinators did such a wonderful job with the logistics, especially the food options. As for any work-related meeting, I ate the entire day. There were some danishes in the morning (nothing exciting), but then for lunch, there were sandwiches (I ate a roast beef one), soup (tomato something...didn't eat any of that, but I wish I had), and salad. I wish I was able to take a picture of the dessert tray because there was quite a selection: several types of pie (full slices), mini cheesecakes, tarts, brownies, and truffles. Yum.

For dinner, we went to the Five Fishermen restaurant, which was a place suggested by the cab driver. OMG, so good. I'm not huge on seafood, but my meal was so good. I had the seafood medley: pan-seared shrimp, scallops & halibut, lemon beurre blanc, lobster-leek & potato cake. Oh, yes, I definitely lived it up today. Weather permitting, I'll have my own mini-adventure around the city tomorrow before my flight.

I was able to catch the sunrise this morning, which was very pretty. I also noticed that my soda can is bilingual.

Travel Success

The Travel Gods were on my side today because I arrived safely in Nova Scotia, Canada. Woot! During my layover in Philadelphia, while waiting for my boss to arrive from her flight, I sat in a sea of high school girls engrossed in teen magazines, several of which had Justin Bieber on the cover. ::groan:: I did find their conversations amusing though.

We met up with my boss's boss after going through Customs, and the three of us shared a cab to the hotel. I noticed during the ride that the scenery was beautiful! Lots of evergreen trees with a little snow on the ground against a clear blue sky and bright sun. Love it.

After dumping our stuff in our respective rooms, we met at the hotel bar to wait for the other people from our party to get here for a pre-meeting meeting. The bartender asked us what we wanted to drink. I couldn't think of anything specific, so I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Can I have something fruity?"

My supervisors just looked at me. Well, that's what I wanted. I'm not big on wine or beer, but I really do like mixed drinks. The bartender laughed and fixed me a Singapore Sling, which was very yummy.

I have a long day ahead tomorrow, but I'm hoping that I can have some fun before I leave and of course, take some fun pictures!

P.S. I left my fun snacks (Sour Patch Kids and chocolate covered caramels) at home, and I didn't realize that until I was already at the airport. I ended up buying a bag of peanut M&Ms. Oh well, I got my chocolate fix, which allowed me to be a content traveller.

New Running Shoe Day

Today is new running shoe day! They were waiting outside the house when I got home from work today. Thanks, UPS man. I will try them out when I get back from my trip to Canada later this week. Check them out...they are hot pink! Well, kinda. I even have hot pink toes to match.

I hope the Travel Gods are on my side tomorrow. Anyone want to lend me some good travel juju for a few days? I'll give it back. Promise.