10 Mens pushups.

That's right! I did 10 of them this morning, followed by 20 more wimpy ladies push ups. That is for those of you keeping count.... unspectacular thing about me #6

I spent two hours at the gym this morning...my rings and pants are loose but I haven't lost a pound - patience!!

And no pictures - since people are not too crazy about having their photo taken when sweat is dripping down their forehead - and neither am I. Sooooo stay tuned. I figure another month until I am up to 20 good men's push-ups. And hopefully down five pounds and abs of steel. hehe - unlikely.

I just spent the last hour in the kitchen getting all the veggies. homemade cranberry sauce and turkey ready for Thanksgiving supper tonight - a small group since we do not have any relatives in this neck of the woods (you know - relatives that bring a large casserole with them?).

But it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a turkey smell in the house, so I am doing the whole shebam, by myself (what else is new). I will show you photos later. Mark asked for Yorkshire puddings - a favorite of his - but Yorkshire puddings are only served with roast beef. So I am calling them popovers! I can do that!! David wants brussle sprouts and carrots, Allison wants yams, there has to be the cream cheese mashed potatoes with gravy - lots of it and the cranberry sauce (for me) and of course those popovers smothered in gravy ....I already had my workout for the day but it seems I will be in the kitchen today.

And we will eat leftovers all week...which is why we do turkey dinners anyway and why my family insist I do ALL the preparation - because they do not want to see any leftovers heading out the door when guests leave. ...I think they also love my cooking....not too bad after doing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for a crowd for 29 years.

I am off to set a beautiful fall table and get out the china.
Pictures tonight if this turkey doesn't put me to sleep. Tomorrow is an VERY busy day!!

Blessings!

Always Coca-Cola ~ turning 16

How do you get six birthday pictures on one page? You shrink three of them and just fit them on. No great scrapbooking feat here but I wanted to remember this son's birthday and point out his love of Coke. He always took great pride in taking the Pepsi challenge and then letting the Pepsi people know that "THIS one" is definitely the best he has ever tasted!! And it was always the Coke he picked. LOL What a guy.
So here he is at 16 going on ~ 19. He finished high school this year and went on to ace a few on line Athabasca University courses and write his LSAT exams. Has his fathers brains I say!

Now don't y'all eat too much turkey this weekend. But do spend time with the relatives and try to be extra kind and loving to those relatives who are ...well you know they say every family tree has a few nuts. But isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? It is not about me, it is about others. And everyone, even the nuts, need to be loved. I am reminded of all the love my Savior has poured out on me. That reminds me that I have been given far more than I ever will deserve so who am I to not love others - especially the unlovable.

Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them. We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1John 3:15-16

Pretty strong words from our Lord. May we strive to love everyone.
Blessed Thanksgiving to each and everyone of you.
Love in Him,
Julie

Tagged

I have been tagged by Laura ... and so I will henceforth tell you six unspectacular things about myself...

1. I NEVER send on e-mails sent to me that tell me I MUST send them on. Even if they promise a miracle if I do, or threaten death if I don't ....I delete them. I am still alive and every day He brings me another miracle. :)
2. I don't like TV. Seriously..I find it either stressful or boring - can't stand it.
3. I don't like to fly - but I do because I love going to warm places and places where I can take pictures....I do now draw the line at helicopter rides.
4. I drink Soya milk - I actually love it. Has to be Vanilla Silk.
5. I read my Bible every day - well almost every day - I try to anyways.
6. I would like to be able to do 30 men's push-ups in a row....it is kind of a goal I am setting for myself - ask me how I am doing in 6 months.
7. I like to break rules - cause rules were meant to be broken...within reason. I am a rebel at heart. LOL

here are the rules for this tag....

Rules:

1). Link the person that tagged you.

2).Mention the rules on your own blog.

3). List 6 unspectacular things about you.

4).Taggify 6 other bloggers.

I taggify: 1) Kris 2) Cheryl 3) Sheryl 4) Angie 5) Janys M (haha you will have to update your blog now) and 6) Janet W. ~ cause I know you guys visit my blog faithfully - except Janys who works way too much...so someone tell her she now has to Blog.

Anniversary

We celebrated out 29th anniversary this past Monday and the day started with these beautiful flowers from my sweetheart.

Then we celebrated with supper out at Bliss Fine Foods.
Check out my review.

It's Official - Firefighter

Well actually it was official last June 20th, 2008. Mark graduated from Brandon Firefighting College. He looks so handsome. Proud mama here. He did very well in his Marks - all 80's and 90's and it is a grueling course. He made some really good friends too.

Mark will be home tomorrow if he can get everything packed into his little car by then. Then leaving us again in two weeks to take his first job as a firefighter and paramedic in Thompson Manitoba. It is the only place in Western Canada hiring right now. I so hoped there would be positions in Saskatoon but not yet.

If you have any connection in Thompson, please do let us know. Mark needs to find a place to live and get settled in so he can report for his first day of work on October 20th! Kind of exciting.

Sigh - two launched and into their careers. So our next big job here is to find a place and get him moved - furniture, dishes - he will be scrambling to get it all done. I know the Lord will supply all our needs in this.

Love Who You Are

Be CRAZY, ACT silly
Laugh OUT LOUD
Be Yourself Live your LIFE
Try something new

LOVE WHO YOU ARE

Basic Grey "granola" BG microchip letters (very cool), Thickers chipboard letters, BG element stickers "granola", MME Laundry Line rub ons. Almost all new stuff - yikes! That was fun!

Saskatoon rush hour

You know what they say...you can be anywhere in Saskatoon in 20 minutes. EXCEPT if there is a three car pile up on the Collage street bridge. I hung around work an extra hour when I heard about the mishap this past Friday afternoon and then took an alternate round-about route home. I took this photos on the way to my car. I guess CTV was monitoring all the traffic tie-ups in our little and growing city.

Just wait until our first blizzard of the season!

Anyone out there take a little longer to get anywhere on Friday rush hour? I heard there were several traffic mishaps and all in rather busy, congested parts of the city. I do hope they were all fender benders only and no one was hurt.

Love the brilliant colour in this balloon - I think I would love to go up in one of these and get some great aerial shots...but then, I thought I would love my helicopter ride in Hawaii and we all know what happened there.
A photographer with Meniers - how disheartening. :) sigh...

Get your MoJo On Challenge #1

THIS WAS A TOUGH CHALLENGE SHERYL! But thank you. I seldom journal from the heart and this sort of thing makes me do just that...and so that is good.

My word is a little different from most I think. My word is a name and it is Jesus. I chose it because He does permeate my day....or at least He should. And He has changed my life more than any other thing in this world ever could. He figures prominently in my life...even if He is not physically visible and touchable. And so part of my plan here was to make his name LARGE, but let it blend in with the page.

Journalling reads:

Get Your Mojo On first challenge: scrap a word that means something to you.
Hmmm .... words…are just words…

I am trying to think of a word I use often, a word that elicits some deep meaning to me personally …that is a hard one.
Love?
Family? How many times have I used this on a page?
My children’s names; they bring loving feelings.
My husband?
What word is on my lips more than any other?
What word brings me great joy and peace when it is on my lips and in my heart? Jesus!
I say His name every day.
I talk to Him
I read His precious words every day.
He permeates my life –
He makes me who I am.
He helps me mother my children.
He helps me be a wife that my husband adores.
He helps me love the unlovable – but I am still a work in progress.
He shows me my sin….and He humbles me.He died for me… .He takes on the wrath of God for me… .He removes my sin… ..He gives me eternal life… ..He gives me hope for today…for tomorrow…for eternity.
Jesus!
He means more to me than life. What a beautiful Word! What a beautiful name.

I used all Basic Grey from the new "granola " line - and I think I used a little bit of every paper in this line - well almost. hehe I also added some element stickers from this BG line and some heidi swapp clear gel blossoms and deco art paper effects to adhere the gel blossoms.

1979 - newlyweds

I am not sure how this photo made it into my pile of photos to be scrapped sometime when I am not working on 2001 - but it did and I happened to be organizing that pile of photos at JSI one day. I pulled the photo out and right away thought of this gorgeous paper - which I am so sorry I glued down before I figured out what company it is from - if you know leave a comment. Also new in to JSI this day were these very classy circle stickers "Narratives" from Creative Imaginations. sorry they are all gone but hopefully Ralna will get more in.

Well that was the start of my first page of our wedding in 1979 and along with some flowers, bling, hearts from the stash, the page fell together nicely.

Sigh - I love this guy more today than I did on our wedding day 29 years ago. It was a fairy tale beginning and Lord willing it will be a fairy tale 30 more years with the love of my life.

Fall -

I posted this a few weeks back on Makeminedecaf...but thought I would post it here for those of you that don't visit my other blog.

Pro 16:9 We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

My plan - to get in some exercise, biking or walking...But things got in the way and before I headed out the rain and wind had started. I just had time to trim back the strawberries in preparation for next years crop. And the rain started. I have maybe 6 strawberry bushes - so no big feat. I was just so easily distracted by the tall lanky new growth waving to me at my den window. They are now gone and only the rain on my window reminds me that I didn't get in any exercise today.

I cleaned out the fridge. It is one of those cold windy fall like days when I feel the need to make a nutritious, hearty soup for my family. So I puttered in the kitchen, cleaning, cutting, stirring, tasting until it is close. Now it need only simmer all afternoon filling the house with the aroma of a fall meal.

And the rain came down. I wish I could capture the sweet smell. The smell of God cleaning the world. Ah if only all could be cleansed. Prayer. It feels good to breath in a deep breath of His creation.

I regret seeing summer come to a close, but I also smile at the thought of fall. Crisp evenings, cool mornings. They are definitely here. His colours brilliantly displayed - such a wonder. The air - what is it in the air that is so refreshing and so invigorating? Fall leaves under foot. It is the most beautiful time of year.

I feel an urge to get the books out and plan the lessons, make sure the programs are all sorted out and our days are full of learning and fun. (There is also this urge to write a million post dated cheques to the piano teacher!) But those days are over....now we write cheques to post secondary educational institutions and car payments.

Sigh... the big old long oak kitchen table is gone from the kitchen and the small round glass table reminds me that I have moved into an new era. They are off establishing themselves. Still requiring lots of prayer....and the Lord has granted me more time to pray for them.

Yes fall is here...

The flowers are starting to fade.

Today's hearty soup waits for the grown kids to come home for supper - some of them anyways. Enough to fit nicely around the small table. Maybe a friend as well? There's plenty!

It will be served up with hot corn bread fresh from the oven and with butter.

Today's Andy Rooney quote...

"Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it."

Enjoy climbing your mountain today and remember, the Lord determines our steps.