Hello again!

...I am siting in a cafe in La Rochelle right now! Wish I had a picture to show, but, alas, no cable to upload and no picture of me here....lol...I'm not big on posed, tourist-ey pictures..I'd rather just take pictures of the scenery...he he...anyways, we got to La Rochelle yesterday, it's on the Western side of France right on the Atlantic ocean...so beautiful! We're staying at a hostel right next to the harbour, so we got to walk around last night and hang out at a beach pub...ahhh...we had some lectures this morning, but this afternoon has been free so we walked around, had a picnic lunch, found an awesome flea market where I bought some anrique paper yummies....and we're chillin at a cafe drinking good coffee...off to the Aquarium tonight, too...we are so busy, like every second of every day is planned, but lunch is usually a casual 2 hour ordeal, there's been lotsa beer, and the business has been fun stuff and not just work, work, work...and yesterday we finally got to watch a film screening at Enjmin school...=) So, off I go! thanks for all the happy comments, too! =)

Bonjour!

....hello from France! It is hell to type from this backwards french keyboard, so forgive me for any typos...=) Just wanted to check in and say hi! I am in Angoulemme at a school called Emjin, where people collaborate on game design projects...we are staying in a dorm a few bus rides away from the school, but haven't had a chance to actually see much of france yet, other than through various vehicle windows, as we have started to brainstorm our group projects and had to present our ideas today and figure out how to combine what everyone specializes in...one person in my group does typography and illustrations, one does 3D animation, and one does experimental films...pretty cool stuff! I love our idea! Also, I love what I've seen of France so far! The architecture is gorgeous! The wine is friggin awesome and always served for lunch...he he...and I haven't had food so awesome as what I've eaten in the last few days for a looooong time!! More later! Hope all is well!

annnnd...

...I'm off!
Back in 3 weeks! Hopefully I can update before then!
Happy days to all! Wish me safe travels...=)

I still can't believe I'm going!!

ahh!

...I had to check that it was wednesday there for a second...I had an epiphany that I was screwed for a second there work-wise...and oh my, I did not want to get out of bed today..best 3 hours of sleep ever! I was so sleepy last night...he he...almost done the France slideshow...everyone in the DRIMN group is e-mailing frantically, trying to figure out where we go once there...lol..so it turns out, if all my flights are on time, I get there with half an hour to spare to find my chaperone at the airport, get some allowance from them, grab a cab, and meet everyone for departure at 4 pm at a train station..ahh! hopefully all will go well..I was just thinking I still can't believe I'm going..I betcha I still won't when I'm there...he he...I'm kinda liking the amazing-race-like adventure it's gonna be when I get there, though...lol..sooo...still have tons of work to do...Friday is looking better and better...sleep for 8 hours..drinks...Z...drinks...hand drawn film screenings...drinks...did I mention drinks? lol..I haven't one out for a while, can ya tell?? lol..anyways...back to it...sorry for the picture-less ramblings...happy day!

..hmm

..decided today it's best to pack everything for 3 weeks into one little suitcase..(my family is laughing right now)...cuz I usually bring a 70 pound suitcase to Calgary for a week..heh.

funniest headline I saw while waiting at the grocery store: "Babies alive on the Titanic!" subtitle - "how are they staying alive under there?". Serious. Do people actually buy the Enquirer still?? I mean, I'm all for a Us Weekly every once in a while..but babies living underwater for hundreds of year?? heh. There were pictures and everything. Good for a chuckle, anyways...

...work, work. I've been able to stay up til 3 every night so far this week and not even fall asleep at work - more importantly, actually wake up in time to get to work..yay! this = I am focused..which rocks..my driving force; party and Z on Friday. Yay! Off to work I go...and I leave you with a little peekie of my fave angel wings that I couldn't stop drawing on everything last weekend...=) happy night!

.....just...can't....

...stop....blogging.

he he...Okay, so I just got these yummy yummy pink.sugar.pop good ies in the mail!! And they are sooo awesome...buuut...I can't touch em til I get back from France..=(...I guarantee there will be some goodies posted the day I get back, cuz I'm dying to use the "arrs" and the skulls..and the thought bubbles...and all of em...(sigh)....silly work...




...so my bosses are awesome and took a little bit of work off my hands...meaning, now If I stay up til 3 every night, my work will actually all get done...lol..but hey, that's better than staying up til 3 and not having it all done...I almost killed my computer for slowness while working on the France project last night, so that has still yet to finish....and I have a billion errands to run...but a little bit a day is manageable...=) And the new camera rocks it for download time..i just want to take pictures and pictures and pictures...=) he he...and I got my schedule for France activities today...looks pretty busy; 6 diff. cities, lotsa different schools, only a few day off, tons of people from all over! So cool! =) Yay! Okay...must put gorceries away and get crack-a-lackin on le work. with my stamps....right beside me...staring. =(

I wasn't...

..going to blog today....but, a girl needs a break from being hunched over a computer working all day, and I found so many cute pictures today while working on this France slideshow thing...I just had to share proof that I am a beach girl at heart:



I love the water. The ocean. The sand...all of it. Seems this love of the ocean has grown with me. =) And those pigtails are so trademark...I have them in every picture there is of me for years and years (I like them, mom!) Also...feeling totally grateful for how cool life is right now. =) In the last few days I thought about what I would be doing if I hadn't moved here and taken a chance and I am so happy I did and that I am where I am today. =) And thanks for the cute comments, everyone! =) I'm off to start the busiest...well, err..I said this morning that this may well be the busiest week of my life, and Z said..naw..there will probably be a busier one...and then I thought, naw..I think that last week of making my film already set the record, there. Tons of errands, travel stuff, work, and slideshow finishing...then party on Friday for class 64 and I will be on my way to France! Eek! So happy...must..use...new...camera...

Yummy!

..kay first off..my MUMMY IS AWESOME! (and Wayne, too..Wayne's awesome, too.) She got me a brand new baby: Canon Powershot A570...I was getting a little mad with my old camera, and wanted a new one for France but didn't have enough extra moola..so she suprised me with one yesterday!! yay! Mom, you're the best! And thank goodness I had an older version of this camera, cuz I don;t even have to sift throught the giant manual, I got most of it figured out already! Yay! I'm excited about pictures again!

..and secondly..yummy scrapbook goodness! The Muse said today was the day to post our pages; so here they are. Everything is from the June kit; this kit was by far my most favorite yet!

This one is one of my faves...I wrote an article in the Scrapmuse newsletter this month on how to make your own Elsie-inspired doodle paper...and so I made my own doodle paper as a demo. =) So much fun!


This one is all about Z..and his coolness. He still had long hair when this pic was taken...=) now he just has short film scruff everywhere..=) he he...(hopefully he's not peeved that I posted this for the world to see) it's not a scary mushy-gushy page. =) he he...


My best grrls..=) Love that picture of Mandy and Melissa..=)


This one is all bout my fave songs..=) Thought the paper was perfect for painting journalling lines on...


I save cool clothing tags, even though I'm not much of a label fan..but I like some...=) So here they are!


This one is really, about nothing...I just wanted to play with stuff..he he..then realized that I sometimes need to make art just to make art, it doesn't matter what it's about. =) So the page is now about that...


This ones a yummy art journal page about remembering my first cd, the first time I heard Def leppard, etc.


..and thirdly; have you seen this Red Velvet Project kit??
I could not, not spoil myself a little with that. Vinatge stuff, robots, paint, and "Love, Elsie" come on! A girl needs a treat every once in a while...I think those kits rock so much that when Zingboom takes a much needed break in a few months (yay, Kristen! I'm sad about no Zingboom, but so happy for her to relax), Red Velvet may be my substitute til the Zing is back. =) If my monies let me, that is. Do I have a job in a month and a half? not yet..eek!

So that's all for today; I switched from MTv to Muchmusic today, cuz I simply stand the "Pimp my ride" marathon...there are people that are starving in this world and they have time and money to put 5 LCD tv screens in the trunk of a car and make the outside look gaudy as hell? Not for me. I'm workin...well, I was until the monthly upload-everywhere adventure began. =) back to it for me! Happy day! Hope everyone's weekend is cool!

yay!

...I have some sort of internal alarm clock!...after struggling to stay awake til 2:30...(and having some yummy McD's at 2 am, courtesy of Z) working, I totally passed out right away...and forgot to set the alarm...but woke up on my own amazingly...though I think it was just cuz I was sleeping in such a funny position..I literally woke up a few hours into sleep, thought, "this is comfy?" and passed out again. funny..he he..poor Z came over to work on his computer, ran into a bunch of problems, and didn't sleep a wink...=(...at least I can get 4 hours a night til I go...hopefully!! eek! Ahh, the life of animators. I swear, I am doing nothing in August. I am so hoping for just a week off between jobs! that would be a dream right now....=) It sucks working so much!

..but what can ya do? I got my plane ticket today! Yippee! and I'm waiting to hear bout my next job...and whether I'll have to do a mad job search when I get back...and my throat still hurts...argh...go away, impending cold! annnd. that's all....wishing Z speedy film-making...and me speedy-animating...I have to do 35 seconds by the end of Saturday to keep on track..and somehow pull a film out of thin air on Sunday....back to it!! Relax a little for me, hey? =) By that, I mean sleep in..I'm surprisingly awake and relaxed...happy day!

yay!...

..something more exciting than cards!! lol...card overload, man...I was uploading to galleries and I've made tons of FP cards lately..(sigh)...So, some layouts! Woot!

(this one is quickly becoming a fave of mine)




...back to work for me tonight...I made a list of all the stuff I have to do by next week...and it's a little scary! Also, I devised a plan to make my france DRIMN (that's what the digital meeting is called) film a little more, errm...do-able...I was/am toying with the idea of buying a camera tonight...but the prospect of not having a job in August makes me want to hide all my money under my mattress...hmm...still deciding...he he..=) and I still only know a few words of French! Acck! And I have never been so happy to be able to go to the dentist soon...lol..my benefits finally kicked in at work today!...and my throat is achy (still!!)...so I stocked up on Echinacea...no time to be sick, dude! It's a good thing this France thing was sprung unexpectedly on me, or I'd be more peeved about being this busy...but it's all just a buncha busy-ness now for a few cool weeks in another country...I can deal with that...=) So thankful! Happy night!

Fancy Shmancy

Dude..I've been making a lot of cards lately! Just realized...it's those Fancy Pants stamps...=) he he..there might be some fun stuff going on on the FP blog, soon, too..so I'll keep ya posted! And since uploading takes me soooo long..and some stuff is still in hiding...I'm gonna upload in little quantities...so here's the first of it! happy night!

....whew....

...busy, productive weekend...I haven't scrapped so much in a loong time...=) I will share as soon as I have time to blog at home...(I'm on my eat-lunch-at-my-desk-and-get-back-to-work break)..

...cool weekend...calm before the storm? I have a gigantic list of things to do before I leave in less than 2 weeks!! Eeek! Including animating 75 seconds at work, making a 30 second short film-thing (we'll see how film-like it ends up!!) and organizing the rest of the travel to-do's and details...

...I made the famous homemade mac and cheese on the weekend and it was yummy!! me and Z almost ate the whole thing in a few hours..he he...I also made pancakes on Sunday morning..yum! And watched a billion movies while I scrapped; I always need something to listen to otherwise it's too quiet at home...so I watched Goodfellas (finally!!), Because I said so, Catch and Release, a bunch of Disney...he he...and me and Z watched Pan's labyrinth, too...pretty cool but sort of depressing movie...a little creepy, I have to say...but good..=) Errm...yeah. The weather's been super-rainy here...I'm chilly here at work today..and I have a list of phone calls and e-mails to whittle down today...so I'm out. happy Day!!

..a little sneakie peekie for you...cuz blog posts are so much better when there's pictures, hey?



it's lunch and I'm working...trying not to surf the net (hah)...it's totally so quiet that my typing is echoing...=) Friday = go-out-for-lunch-day" but I am broke super-busy....so lunch with George, again. I haven't taken a lunch break for..umm...2 months? Since I started animating...he he...anyways...I gonna make me and Z some of my mom's homemade Mac and Cheese tomorrow, which I'm super-excited about..and rent some girly movies to watch while I scrap all day...cuz I don't get to scrap...for...akkk! more than a month after this weekend...=( So sad...so a happy scrapping weekend it will be, cuz it feels like I have no deadlines as it's not the night before they're due and I'm not in a crazy mad rush...=) happy day to everyone!

...=)

Wow! I'm sleepy...not sure why, though....got lotsa sleep..I did, though..hit snooze for an hour...(sigh)...last night I had time to crap!! ahhh....so there's some Love, Elsie goodness coming this way as soon as I can post..and really...I was so scrap-deprived and product happy that I made a page about, well..nothing...because sometimes (most of the time) it's just the making art part I need to do..I need to get my hands all inky and use the cool stuff and cut and paste..and then I'm like..oh yeah! This needs some journalling, maybe...he he...but I am in love with what I made...=) And this awesome Muse is what I made it with;



..it's totally my fave kit, ever...It's like Elsie cracked my head open and saw exactly what cool stuff I wanted...(sigh)...so happy scrap night, it was...and I got to hang out with Z...and we tried to watch Goodfellas but fell asleep...he he..

..and Holly over at Pink.Sugar.Pop has some acrylic stamps (new acrylic stamps) on half price...they have teeny, barely-imperfect imperfections...and they rock..so go check em out if you're looking for a steal! Also, check out alt+scrap for good deals on cool stuff like mini playing cards, dominoes, and the likes...cool! Anyways, back to work for me...I wanan scrap again tonight so I have to work fast...he he

is it wednesday?

...my mind just totally blanked....hmm. I think it is..anyways....yay, deadline! I got 17 seconds of animtion done done done last night...I was up til 3..but amazingly I feel awake and am getting more work stuffs done...who-ho! Onto the next episode....

Tammy tagged me today...and since I don't know any family recipes to share (cuz..cough...I cook so much) he he...here goes for the 7 (more) random things...I'll keep it super short, I promise!

1) My toes are never without nailpolish on them..usually a dark sparkly blue (so 1995, I know..)

2) I love Jerry Springer (kay, I don't watch it anymore...cuz I don't get it..he he) cuz I think it makes me feel normal and/or I can never figure out if they're hired actors or real people

3) the first concert I ever went to was The Backstreet Boys (eek...that's an embarassing little factoid...)

4) my fave Spongebob episode is the one where he draws a doodle and it follows him around...(don't have that season yet, so it's but a distant memory...he he)

5) I knew every word to Pocahontas' "Colours of the Wind" before the movie even came out way back when, cuz of the extensive preview of it on The Lion King video tape...and she is the coolest Disney girl...

6) My fave foods; super-cheesy lasagna, stuffed potatoes, and my mom's homemade mac and cheese (which we begged for for every birthday party...which I still beg for..lol) wow! I'm a simple girl...lol (but chocolate beats all of those anyday)

7) I sleep on my couch when I know I'll only get like 2 hours of sleep, cuz for some reason I have an inner alarm clock that works only there.....if I get into bed and it's all comfy and even if I leave the light on and the tv and set the alarm as loud as it will go...there's no way I'll wake up after 2 hours.

I think I tagged some people for this one before....soooo....if you read this and wanna leave a comment with 7 facts about you, that'd be awesome...if not..have fun chuckling at mine...I'm so excited! I think I may have time to dig my hands into my Love, Elsie pile tonight!! Yippee!! Have a good one! =)

..George, george....

Check out Pink.Sugar.Pop
!! Holly just got some wicked new stamps!! (Including a skull that says "arr" that I am dying for!! and a cute rocketship..and a dinosaur! so cool!)

Also....George's release date is out here in Canada! Check out Teletoon
for the release date/sneak peek date...the show is super-funny, guys...I would post a lil ol pic of George up here, cuz we can now, but I sure can't find one...So you'll see him on the Teletoon page....yes, that's george. The guy I spend every waking hour with...speaking of...

...my deadline is a tickin'....I have to animate some graphic, talking smoke, which is tough on a normal day, let alone me being new, behind schedule, sleepy, so over this episode, and it being part of the biggest scene I've ever done...eek! That being said, though...it's not giving my a headache anymore, I just will probably only get like 2 hours of sleepies on the couch tonight....I am suprisingly not stressed; thank you vfs - I am so well-prepared for sleepless nights...he he...really, I am! I could never stay up a whole night before school/making a film...anyways, I'll be hanging out with George all night. =)

Happy day, everyone!

....monday!

...monday is cool with me today cuz I feel like I actually had a weekend...I mean, I was working all day yesterday but I got my stuff done early so I got a chance to finish reading 'the Beach'...and watch the mtv movie awards...and tidy up the place...

...and Z took my keys accidently yesterday morning so I got to see him again, too..=)

...and on Saturday a few of us hung out on Granville island and I had good chocolate martinis and I kept up to the boys, which they are usually all baffled about...which makes me giggle...

...and french toast on Sunday....and it was so impossibly hard to work with my untouched Love, Elsie paper sitting right next to me...but I can;t scrap til the weekend...and then I get to scrap all weekend cuz I have to get my DT stuff done before Paris...eek! I popped in the learn-french cd yesterday and can't remember much of the stuff pst "merci"...I am in trouble!! lol..anyways...gotta get to work!! happy day!

guess who's....

...a designer at Pink.Sugar.Pop?



Their stamps totally rock!! Thank you Holly, for letting me be a part of the creative team! There's some awesome girls there! And skulls and thought bubbles? So cool!...so that was my news! Yay!

and also....



..cuz Betty is totally checkin out my robot....=)

...happy day!! We had a few too many drinks last night at Bridges on Granville Island (we were too late to get my Brown Stazon..argh...=(...) so are recoop-ing with some coffee and...well, animation. (via watching Animaniacs and now I am animating....)

...happy saturday!! =)

(sigh) today has been super-cool already!!

Some happy scrapbooking news that I will share later...;)

Got my Scrapmuse kit in the mail this morning...yay!! And my Love, Elsie stuff (which rocks, by the way..just rocks..) I was unawares that half the paper is fabric cuz I wasn't really reading all the descriptions on my shopping spree...so that was an extra hppy part of the surprise! =) I can't wait to see what she comes up with for the next CHA release!! eek! (yes, I am such a dork..well aware)...there's some yummy hambly in the picture, too..yay!



...I always get coffee and then forget that I've gotten it til it's all cold...just saw it sitting in front of me....=)

...I made muffins this AM to give Z a break from the weekend bacon-making...yum! and it is so beautiful today, we're gonna head to Granville (the only place downtown I can get brown Staz-on ink..silly, huh?) later tonight for some quick ink-shopping and some drinks...til then, I'm working on lip sync and Z is working on his film, here....=) yay! least if I talk to myself today he's here, so I'm not so crazy..ha ha...have a good one!!

george, anyone?

I know I blogged today...

But check out George!
...and Kevin (the producer of the show) is the guy who liked my film at grad and hired me..yay!

..just a teensy peek...=)

ahh..Friday

Check this out! Oh, happy day..=) Thanks Tracy! You rock! =)

Those purses rock! I was sooo in a creating mood yesterday...I thought about how much I wanted to start an Etsy shop...and I have no time..but it'll happen eventually..there's just so much stuff I want to make!! he he...

..what else? Oh! Z got me a super-cool Betty Boop stamp at a garage sale on my street the other day...totally cute surprise...=) And he has an awesome friend in New York who sent me a really cool skull ring from Mexico!! So cool..!

I was a little discouraged at work yesterday....and my hand hurt from holding onto my wacom pen at work out of frustration...argh! So I went home and instead of working..(shh..) made some art instead..=) Spread out some fancy Pants stuff all over my living room and beside me and on the floor...I figured out I work well when I can see it all..plus it's so nice and organized now that I actually know where stuff is, as opposed to last weekend..whn it was all everywhere from the move, still...=) I was gonna post somwe of the stuff I did last night...buuut...not time this morning..instead of going to bed early, I got really into reading "The Beach" and couldn't put it down til 2...Oy...=) Happy day, everyone! Pictures soon! I'm off to get my morning coffee....=)