Life ¤ Love ¤ Laughter ¤ Linds

I've gotten out of the habit of creating a meal plan and/or grocery list... and I always go way over budget at the grocery store and run out of food well before I should.   (This also happens if I grocery shop with a) Kevin or B) children.   With Kevin, items randomly appear in the cart.  With the kids, I tend to just want to get in and out as fast as I can so I fly through the aisles grabbing whatever I *think* we need.)    With two FUSSY monkeys, (ohmygosh they drive me crazy with their complaints at dinner, breakfast and after school!) and lately, no desire to spend lots of time in the kitchen, I want quick, healthy, yummy meals that will make table time a breeze.   Unfortunately, when we do find something that the majority (3 out of 4 ain't bad!) enjoys, it gets added to the regular rotation and *I* get bored of it quickly.   (The "men" get spaghetti and meatballs... mommy makes toast and eggs, or a bowl of cereal.) ...

Do you ever stop to think about how social media has changed the dynamics of consumer, business, and even personal networking? Do you ever dial "0" for the operator or call 411 when looking up a telephone number? When you need to get in touch with someone - for a quote, for an order, for a quick question - do you pick up the phone (forget writing a letter or sending a fax!) or do you send a text, an instant message, or an email? The internet and social media are amazing things - providing access to information and ways of interaction to an extent we never imagined even 10 years ago. Here's an example of how you can just stumble across something wonderful. On a random blog, I found an example of some paper crafting projects and stamping products I loved. Unfortunately, I didn't know anyone who was a rep for Stampin Up . ----> Head over to Stampin' Up website and locate a local consultant. ------> Place an order online and find out said consultant ha...

Nothing in life is as simple as black and white.   Yes, there are obvious rules and morals that are clearly defined, but not everything fits so neatly into such a categorization.   Black & White is the inspiration for today's second photo-challenge inspired post - I'm back on track!   When talking photos, black and white can hide some not-so-perfect elements in an image you'd like to capture.   I find sepia can do the same.  Using basic camera settings on newer digital models or a decent image-editing software, you can pretty up those pictures that otherwise just look "blah."    Generally while crafting with images, I use a sepia or black & white - it just eliminates distractions in the photo and gives everything a more polished look. When talking about my life, nothing (minus a good extent of my wardrobe!) is so boring (or is that sophisticated as?) black and white... but here I present three of my f...

I haven't been crafting as many cards lately as I did, say, oh the 2 months before Christmas.   For some reason I find it harder to create all occasion cards that are attractive.   I find inspiration on Pinterest, through some magazines, various blogs - but when it comes down to it, Christmas cards just seem to be my thing. This is one of my most recent cards, a set of 4 made for my Wisdom & Whimsy group. It's blank inside... which makes it perfect for a girlfriend's birthday, a wedding shower, or just because.   It's simple... but I feel like it's just missing something. Here is another simple card I've created for Wisdom & Whimsy since "the move."  I found the charms, used as my sentiment, at Michael's in the clearance department and thought they were too good a deal to pass up.  I wasn't thinking 'card' when I bought them, but I saw a similar idea through an online print shop for wedding stationary and thought they...

I know it's been so long since the last post... and I feel like every new entry I'm apologizing for the span between... but life get's busy and some days it seems as if we're just settling into a working routine after "the big move." We've been in the house just under 3 months and haven't even begun to scratch off the items on our to-do list.   We've survived the move, the school transfer, the bus mishaps (they forgot to drop off my kids not once - but twice - since mid-January!) We've survived a small basement flood, a larger basement flood, a thunderstorm, a snow day, and March break.   We've met some neighbours, met the original owner, met (& sheltered overnight) 2 runaway Kuvasz dogs  - one who decided to walk right in the house when I opened the screen door to the deck.   Needless to say, life goes on, life gets busy, life is seldom without it's adventures. I really want to maintain the blog now that we seem a bit more set...