whew...

...So what do you think of my new header? he he..The pic of me cracks me up..I'm in the middle of a conversation, lookin all funny.....It feels so much lighter in here on the little blog, no? It was feeling very dark and moody last week..so I thought I'd brighten it up...=) New tunes on the side...

In love with the Feist song (which is surprising, I never used to like her much)...and also Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" (that song from the Old Navy sweater commercial, yes...soo good...I'm still gonna change some linky's and things around here...but this is it for now! ahhh...

Got up yesterday earlyish to work on my portfolio, and am proud to say the portfolio is seconds away from being done...just have to upload my films, make a business card, burn dvds of my work and get it all printed...who-ho! Will share a link to the new site tommorrow! What else? Hmm...Oh yeah! Check out ScrapMojo...wink wink...there's fun to be had contest-wise over there, and peekies coming tommorrow!

Scrapmuse also has an awesome contest for September (go to the message boards, there are contest deets under the "September challenges" thread"...Yesterday we hunted around downtown here for a desk for Z, cuz he's been doing his freelance animation work from the coffee table, which really sucks..so we found a huge metal Ikea number like 8 blocks away and grudgingly lugged it all the way home...this morning, to my surprise, we managed to squash it into the little apartment! Yay! So happy he can have his own little space now...he he..it's awesome! Also...dun dun dun....

...finally saw this!! Omigosh..I've been dying to see it, and we rented it last night...kahlua + ice cream + knocked up = happy Michelle..it was soooo cute! And especially, I loved it cuz Bill...

...Bill from "Freaks and Geeks" (the best show ever...that they should never have cancelled) rocks my world...he he. Naw, but he is a funny dude...(he's the guy in "Knocked Up" with the beard...)

...Sooo...that was my went-by-way-too-fast-as-usual weekend...still tons to do, but it feels so good to have some major stuff crossed off my list and still have had time to hang with my guy...=) So excited about the Reese's Pieces cereal we bought today..good tunes I found...The pigs in a blanket (a la' Pillsbury) we're having for supper tonight (yes, it's my turn to "cook"..ha ha)...what can I say, I'm easy to please...he he..off to chill out, catch up on a scrapping deadline, get ready for this week...
Hope everyone had a cool weekend! Happy night!

changes a-comin

...on a roll...things will look a little different next time I update the blog...and the art blog has been deleted, if you're linked...new one to be linked up soon! =)

Big things....

...feeling like big things are coming...like I need a fresh start; came to this conclusion when I realized I want to overhaul all blogs, make them fresh and bright..get rid of some sites and uploading that is useless...make some changes.....just itching for some newness, I guess...And then I have to remind myself that I have priorities, and I can't do it all at once....Also, thinking about how I can possibly get rid of all the stuff in my life if need be...Z can only stay in Canada for so much longer...That's been on my mind lately. Thought about Karma on the way home...how it's so easy in this city not to be friendly to anybody on my way to and from work because nobody here seems friendly...nobody smiles at old people or says hi as they pass you..it's sooo not like Calgary in that aspect...so I smiled at some cute old couples on my way home, in hopes that, good kama, I will smiled at when I'm old, too...silly, I know...weird day, I guess...just chillin, listening to tv beside Z...working on some online gallery stuffs...argh...but! good news, I can now show this (hastily made, picture of a Tinkering ink paper that I doodled on with my wacom pen quickly) cuz I got something picked up! You'll be able to see it Spring 2008... ;) he he

I feel like I'm learning eons at work; even worked on my own episode...yippee!! Now all I see when I watch cartoons are the water ripples and the light glows, though...I'm sure it's temporary...=) lol..Soooo thankful I am not sick yet..I hide my pillow from Z so there's no sick germs and wash my hands a bajillion times a day! lol...Oh! And last night was the deadline for Last Scrapper Standing Volume 2...go check out the flickr group here to see all the amazing entries...such cool inspiring stuff there! Here's my version...


...now, I have to work on one of the million things I have to work on..how to decide what to do.....lol..Oh! Also started a Myspace finally..not so good-lookin yet, so I'll get on that...Happy night!

middle of the week...

....Hello!! It's Wednesday - hump day...this week is flying by waaaaay too fast! I have a ton of portfolio things to do still; the art blog, the demo reel, the portfolio update, the resume...a few scrappy deadlines fast approaching...a ton of little things I've been neglecting, and laundry and dishes covering the kitchen, too...eeek! Z has come down with a cold...and a few people at work are sick..and I've had wicked headaches for the past few days...so I'm not too excited about an impending cold..argh! My LSS page is almost almost almost done...I have to journal and take a picture of it when I get home and then have fun posting on Flickr...and, hmm...that's all that's on my plate..lol..hoping to get everything done by Monday, cuz then I'll have only 3 weeks of job left...(sigh) Not complaining, though...just super-busy, as usual...anyways, Mandy also sent me these pics from when Melissa and her visited me back in, umm..May? lol..I thought the ones of us at the Capilano suspension Bridge were cute, so here's a couple:


...ahh!! wish me fast to-do-list doing! =) Happy day!

like, whoa...

...that weekend flew by...=( Missing Mom and Wayne and Brody..and Nay, and her D-man..and Mandy and the girls...=) Such a fast, really cool time...Some pictures that Mandy took on our zoo trip on Friday:

(Z will especially love this one)

...He is not really a fan of zoos, but we got him to draw the animals and then it was all good fun...=) there was a baby elephant, but it's still pretty young so it was hiding inside..Z thinks it's just a ploy to get people to go to the zoo...he he...there were lotsa other babies, though...tiger, mountain goat...even baby humans!! lol..=) Fun day...And then we headed to the fire pit in the parents' backyard and drank wine and roasted marshmallows by the fire! Love it, love it..I am such a Marshmallow girl! And on Saturday, we had a giant family dinner, lotsa family-hanging-out...and then headed off to Vicious Circle in downtown Calgary for some martinis (my fave...they had 141 at this place to choose from!)

...us girls (pre-drinks...) Melissa's belly is invisible in this picture, though...she's getting so big!! Anyways, it was cool to see everyone...Sunday was pretty low-key, and we headed home around 6ish on the plane...of course, I took no pictures..too busy taking it all in, as usual..lol...=) Wish it didn't have to end so soon, but it was such a fun time!!

What else? Did you hear about Zingboom?? (check out the "Big news" icon) Kristen and Scrap in Style teamed up and Zingboom will be available there.....sawweeeet...=) That silly plane liquid law makes me laugh...I went to France with a ton of liquid stuff and no one stopped me...and then I went to Calgary and no one stopped my with a bottle of hairspray...BUT, low and behold, on the way back here, a lady made me throw out a hald-gone bottle of hairspray and 3 teeny travel lotion bottles...I mean, dude..if you're gonna enforce the rule, shouldn't it be regulated across the board?? stupid...I finally saw 300 last night...have to say; loving the costume design (or lack thereof)...pretty cool movie, love the emphasis on lighting and art direction...=) But, low and behold, we go to watch the special features to see how it was done, and there's nothing on the digital side of things at all!! No behind-the-scenes...nothing! It was the most disappointing special features menu I have ever seen, for such a cool movie...argh! Anyways, realized I only have exactly 4 weeks of work left, not 5, so I have a ton of scrappy stuffs to make this week and I have to finish the job-search gear...yikes! Wish me luck!! Miss you, Calgary!! =) Happy day...

Leaving on a jet plane....

Without further Ado, some (many...sorry!) pictures to keep you occupied while I am away from the blog all weekend...lol...We got to post our Scrapmuse projects today...so here's what I did with the kit!

..A picture from our last day at drimn, in France...Sendy was trying on traditional dress from Bali,and a picture happened..lol...It was the last day, before everyone started to go home...=(...he he...


...can you see me in the picture?? Cracks me up...lol

The felt pieces in the kit were screaming to be made into a snail....he he...and I think that pic of me is sooo funny...


...I'm making a 6 x 12 album, and everyone I met in France will have their own page, because Paola took these beautiful portraits of all of us whiole we were there...gorgeous! So here's Tamar from Israel and Moritz from Germany...their colors looked the best with the kit...





This owl is sewn onto the front of a burlap bag, I thought it would be cool to hold cards or a mini album, as the long side wasn't sewn shut...



Soo...here's the Pink.Sugar.Pop stuff!! 2 cards; and let me explain the cheesiness: It turns out I think my cards are all somewhat influenced by that episode of the Simpsns where Ralphie gives Lisa a Valentine that says "I Choo Choo Chooose You"..Very pivotal moment in my mind, I guess....lol...I love that episode! Thus, cheesy cards..like "You are sooo Tweet"..lol..they turned out a little more grungy than I meant, but that's that...




Whew...I am just tuckered, dude..I could barely keep my eyes open everyday this week I had so much to do...Alas, I'm done...for now...Calgary tonight!! After work we leave, get there around midnight..Yay! Family and the little guy relatives and Martinis and Friends! (in no particular order)..Happy weekend everyone!

Talk-like-a-Pirate Day!

...would be today!! in honor:

..many thanks to Kelly for the heads up! =) I think everyday should be pirate day, though! he he....

What else? flying to Calgary tommorrow night after work....yay!! Counting down the minutes....he he....There's some exciting new challenge news...(wink wink...;)..) that I can tell you about next week sometime....yay! And I'm almost done working with the awesome Scrapmuse kit, the design team work will probably be posted on Saturday, I think....yay! lol...Deadlines, deadlines..need to pack..do laundry...all that fun stuff...hope all is well! And let out an "Arrr" or two today, hey? Anyways, back to my 2 o'clock deadline that I just found out about..eek! production schedules!

Miserable...

....miserable, miserable weather here, man! It is drizzling and raining and chilly....yuck! So much for summer coming back for a while...I mean, summer?? when did that fly by?? he he...buuut...that means it's hoodie-and-jeans weather, which I am all for! Love me some hoodies and jeans...However, I realized that I only own 2 pairs of jeans that fit me, both of which are waaaay too short to wear with jeans..argh...and the only runners I have to go with them that don't look stupidly silly have holes in them, which is not good with this rainy weather....double-argh...Sooo...I need to manage to dig up some Moola to buy some pants, which I am especially excited about cuz I actually read a Magazine the other day (haven't looked at a "fashion magazine" in a long time, because frankly, it's depressing when you're broke) and wide-legs are back in style...praise the lord...I am not one for skinny jeans...( mean, I like the look, but dude, my calves are just too giant for those pants...lol...So then I realized that I haven't been to a mall in months...and am itching to shop.....!! lol..I do, however, have enough hoodies to clothe a small army...he he....

...What else? Oh! Fancy Pants just posted up their Memory Trends Releases; "Crush" and a Winter line...such fresh, bright colors for winter stuff!! love it! Also, there's been some challenge action on the Fancy Pants blog, this month's challenge is brought to you by the fab Dena Coe! =) Go check it out, I believe there's prizes to be won! annnnd..I'm sooo, sooo excited about the Last Scrapper Standing to start this Friday!! Yay! Off to Calgary in 2 days....alas, I have crazy deadlines til then, of course, and then when I come home I have more crazy deadlines and job-searching to begin...yikes! So fun, though...I thrive on the busy-ness...No picture to attach to my post today, sadly...=(...cuz I'm at work...but soon! Happy day, everyone!

Oh, Sunday

...where does the time go, man? I feel like I had no weekend....it just flies by too fast!! It's kind of a grumpy, grey Sunday here...like, jeans weather..it hasn't been jeans and hoodie weather here forever!! Yesterday was hot, we went for a walk and hung at the beach and we both had to work on our demo reels and stuff, so it was pretty chill at home...watched "Unforgiven" with the awesome Clint Eastwood last night, and Z loves Johnny Cash but had never seen "Walk the Line" so we rented it...Johnny Cash is such a cool guy...=) Anyways, that's it..busy with life and trying to get my stuff together so I can start the job search...have some scrappy deadlines, and then off to Calgary Z and I go on Thursday night! yay! And I decided, after Z explained all the work that the website I want will be...to just stick with a portfolio/art blog...but that means a re-vamp, so I have to work on that, too...I still have to take pics of that Pink.Sugar.Pop stuff I need to post...annnnd...a billion other thing...argh! Hope everyone's weekend was good!
To hold you over, a picture from France: there's art all over the building walls; it's everywhere!! It just rocks! This one was in Angoulemme, I think...just as you round a corner, there it is. Happy day!

hmmm...

Don't have much to say today...same old, same old...
...buuuut, you can check out this month's Scrapmuse kit if you're bored right now!! It's so gorgeous and full of fall colors...dying to get my hands on this baby; a big "Argh" goes out to the US/Canadian mail system everytime I get my kit last...lol...

What else? I didn't do anything on my giant list-to-do last night...instead, Z and I watched some old 90's movies that he got at the VFS garage sale (of sorts) for like..50 cents a piece..heh. I made some more Pink.Sugar.Pop goodies that I'll post when I have a chance to take pictures of em...=) I have tons of e-mails to write and job search stuff to do and scrap stuff....going to Calgary in a week, exactly!! yay!

We're going to the Animation Show on Saturday at Vancity...soooo excited...nothing like seeing animation on a big screen., man...animation that doesn't have insanely fast-paced 3D animals in it...ahhh...and also, because I am in love with Don Hertzfeldt. =)

...and I thought I had nothing to blog about...he he...
thanks for all the cute comments yesterday!! =) I so love the scrapbook-bloggy world!
Happy day everyone!

...a monster....

..a monster of a blog post! Please bear with me!

This is a mini book I made this month for Alt+Scrap...so honored to be asked to be a guest there by the ever-so-awesome Valerie (she was a guest designer at Zingboom a while back and I fell in love with her work!).....she is, however, moving right now...so there's no physical product on sale right now on her site...but keep it in your favorites and check back...there's some awesome vintage stuff there! So, this book ended up being quite chunky, I can't help it...lol..not much journalling, because the pictures speak for themselves...=) All the stuff I "love love" right now...=) I used tons of paint, bubble wrap, a little bit of Love, Elsie...and lotsa Alt+Scrap embellies...








...the back cover:





...and a layout, with a picture of my nephew a few years ago when he was not quite 1 year old yet...his eyes are super-blue in the picture! The foil wings were painted white and then I rubbed a little brown Stazon on them so the detail stood out...the buttons are from Autumn Leaves, but all the paper frills are from Alt+Scrap...


...another layout; me and the boys (nephew, little brother) Just so happy to have these little guys in my life...wish I lived closer to them!!


...And then I made a Valentine, because those white paper frills were just screaming "old school Valentine"....


...that's enough to keep anyone occupied for a few days, here on my bloggy...lol...so back to work I go...website building, AFX learning, job searching, etc. Happy day!

...shmirates!

...what is a shmirate, you ask? Weelll...Tzanko and I had to think up a Bocce team name and it was totally our highlight of the morning when we invented this word, and I said it would be my blog title and totally forgot..heh. It's like a pirate...crossed with 'super' = super pirate! lol...anyways, the picture above is a postcard I bought in La Rochelle (in France...my fave little pirate town)...that I just found tonight...that made me think of the schmirate thing. =) You can find more of Mateo's art here...

...My internet is soooo slow it's driving me nuts, cuz both me and Z use it a lot, but it's so expensive and we're going to be searching for jobs soon...eek! So no upgrading for us just yet...I've been uploading pictures and have a ton of e-mails with attachments to send out, so I am seriously considering doing it all before work tommorrow, where it would take 30 minutes instead of 3 hours....argh! It literally took 2 and half hours to upload 60 pictures to order....grrr...sooo..I was so excited to be invited as a guest for the super-cool Valerie at Alt+Scrap this month, but it will probably be posted tommorrow...whoooo!!...and that is why!

What else? I'm trying to go for jogs in the morning, but it's getting so cold out in the am here that it's so hard to drag myself out of bed..plus, there's an abundance of skunks in the morning everywhere...scary!! Still working on my reel and my website on my lunch hours...there's not enough time in the day, man....However, there has been time to cook food..real food...that doesn't come from a can or a box!! Omigosh! Meatballs and potatoes!! I am still so amazed everytime I get to eat something homemade....can't wait to go visit my mom and my girls in Calgary soon!! Enough randomness for one night! hope everyone's great!!

Sneakie peekie

Whew....was there a weekend in there??
They go by way too fast, don't they?

....and what did I do? Hmmm...well, at work for the last few days I was working on what is going to be my website on my lunch hours...and then realzed the demo reel I made a few weeks ago when I went into school was horribly low quality, so I started doing that in Aftereffects on Friday...have to finish up soon cuz I only work for just over a month...yikes!! Yesterday, there was a bocce tournament that a few guys from Z's class found out about, so a group of us grabbed beer and a cooler and headed down to Jericho park...for anyone who doesn't know what Bocce is, it's an italian game where you basically throw/roll balls (similar to bowling balls) on the grass and try to get them closer together than those of the other team...pretty cool game...it was an awesome sunny day and we were drunk before 1 o'clock, so it was great...we had to play 3 teams, and then we were cut from the competition..surprise, surprise...but we were feelin good, so it was okay...lol...went to an after party = sleeping in today, and by the time we cleaned and got groceries it was like...supper time. And thus the weekend is gone..argh....I have a busy week of work, demo reel making, and scrapbook stuff...so til then, a peek of what I've been working on....hope everyone had a cool weekend!

....oooooh...

...this is me, dizzy at work...lol...all I have to say is, wow, I have not been that drunk in a looong time. Amazingly, I'm not hungover....just still a little wobbly on the legs...lol. It was a fun night for Z's birthday, though...=) yay!
And the tv above my head at the dentist had closed captions on, and I have never seen so many typos in my life!! It was driving me crazy the whole time my teeth were being cleaned....lol..just had to throw that one out there...

On to business...(he he)...Kim! The journalling bubble on "us" is a Pink.Sugar.Pop stamp (link to the site there for ya)....they're a fairly new company...really, really cute stamps! And the letters are letter stamps from Hero Arts...I am sooo addicted to them! (see page below) lol..But they're a few years old...Michelle was looking for them, too, with no avail. Good luck, though! Hero Arts has a few little letter sets that rock!

And my last Grandjack page....whew...managed to post it on the site yesterday before we headed out to party.....It's a jack of Amber Nichole..I had so much fun with this page!! I think it's my fave of all the jacks...I loved stamping haphazardly all over..."So just kiss me" is the title of a poem by Jewel Kilcher I fell in love with when I was 16 (??) or so..and I still love it, simply for the line "so just kiss me and let my hair messy itself in your fingers"...so the whole poem is stamped on there....oh, happy art! =)



...and now onto the other billion projects I have to do...have to say, it's nice to be actually working on a show at work now...the days go by so much faster than the days I spent listening to tutorials! Hope everyone is good!! Thanks for the cute comments yesterday...=) he he...