Thoroughly Enjoyed this!!!!

Some choice-ish words and risque clothing, if that kind of thing is not something you tolerate, than please don't watch the video. It's really not that bad though.

9:58, you can start to hear the emotion well up in kanye's voice, as he's about to sing..."i've got to shine, throw your hands up in the sky, i'm gonna get on mtv momma..." Very touching...must be healing for him to have his music to work out his grief after losing his mom a while back. She died after complications undergoing cosmetic surgery. Brutal. I don't care what anyone else thinks...I think Kanye is an amazing artist.

michael jackson - moon walk

Okay, I know I've been doing MJ overkill, but I had to share this. We are signing our son up for breakdancing this fall and he is super excited. I keep showing him all sorts of youtube videos of breakdancers, but it always keeps coming back to Michael Jackson. Owen is already trying to work his moves enthusiastically. I think he's actually going to be really good. He has always had this unique, athletic dancing style and I have always thought that breakdancing would be perfect for him. PLUS it would be a wicked party trick to pull out!!! Seriously. Anyway, the school of dance that is near here is finally offering up a breakdancing class!!!!

So...back to MJ. His moves were crazy. What I find craziest though, is how many types of dance have evolved from his own original thing. I can't think of one single performer that has made nearly the mark on today's performance art that MJ would have. You can see him in some element in almost every single pop act today. Crazy.

Totally Gorgeous

Love this song, love this performance!

WHAT? Are you serious???

Okay so things have been happening for me lately!!! CRAZY>>>I have been asked to join the team over at The Next Step, which just so happens to be my favorite blog EVER!!! I guest contributed for them last week and they asked me to join. ME. It's so crazy how things work out. Scrapbooking has really been such a huge blessing in my life.

It has:

- helped me discover parts of myself that were lost and forgotten

- helped me through rough times, given me an outlet to work it out

-given me a sense of self that had never been discovered before I started

- brought me comfort and joy

-given me confidence in myself and my abilities

-given me a chance to express myself in ways I can`t with words alone

-taught me that with passion, you can achieve great things, what you put in, you get back + some

- taught me that if you believe in yourself, there are no limits, no boundaries

- helped me to be more true to myself

And now, it continues to bring me even more. I am so grateful that I have found something that I truly love to do. Anyway, I look forward to what the future holds for me with my new projects and commitments. Mostly I look forward to being inspired by talented people and by more experiences and I very much look forward to all the ways that I will be challenged to take what I do to the next level. Besides the birth of my children, meeting my husband and rekindling friendships with my best friends, finding my passion is the biggest gift I have ever known.

Anyway, that`s all for now...have to get back to work. Have a wonderful day!

My First Kit and My First Project!!!!

Okay…so not only was this my first kit as a design team member, this is my first kit ever. Period. I have always wanted to get one, but wasn’t sure. So, first of all…best thing ever. I will NEVER go back. I have never created layouts more painlessly and quickly. No need to hum and haw over papers and embellishments. All done for you. This was the part that I had been not so sure about before, I wondered if I would feel the same creative energy being “limited” by a kit. Answer is a resounding NO. Having the products laid out in front of me I found, wait for it….the opposite. NOt having to expend creative energy on selection, freed up energy towards being creative with what I had in front of me. It has been an absolute joy and a treat to work with this month’s kit. I am seriously thinking that I am going to be able to do about 10 pages with this kit, maybe more. The cool thing is that once your paper is all used up, you will probably have stuff left over to add to your stash.

Anyhow, it is with great pleasure that I get to post this, my first ever kit or design team layout EVER. Hope you all like it!

I also just wanted to remind everyone about the challenge that I am hosting this month for ScrapMuse. You can find the details here. This month, you will be playing for a $25 ScrapMuse Gift Certificate as well as the winning layout being selected as “Layout of the Month” and being featured here on our blog as well as the website. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Enjoy what’s left of the weekend, here in Canada it’s a long weekend, so we still have another day. YAY!

Funny/Sad FML posts

Some funny/awful posts from FML that I read today:

Today, I figured out that a $40 phone case does not protect your $500 phone from a five year old throwing it off a fourth story balcony. FML

Today, I was driving into a parking lot with some friends. I carelessly passed a sign when my friend said, "Wait what did that sign say?" I backed up to read it and guess what it said: "Severe Tire Damage. Do Not Back Up." Now all 4 of my tires are slashed. FML

Today, my friend, her parents and I, drove 5 hours all the way to disneyworld, only to realize we had bought disneyland tickets. Disneyland is in California, 3000 miles away. We couldn't switch them out and we didn't have money to buy new ones. FML

Today, I went to my school to take my yearbook picture. I was wearing a shirt that said ANALOG on the front. When I bent in to take the picture, part of my shirt overlapped itself. Now I'm known as the ANAL kid in the yearbook. FML

Today, I was having lunch with my boyfriend and talking about how stressed out I've been because of my job. While I'm speaking, he pulls out his phone and says his boss is texting him and it was important. There was a game of Tetris reflecting onto his glasses from his phone. FML

Today, I was turned down from my dream job at a graphic design firm. Before the interview, concerned about my hobo style would not impress the company, I shaved, cut my long hair, and even bought a suit. They said I wasn't "free-spirited and creative enough." FML

Today, my fiance, his mother, my father and I went out to celebrate my birthday and our recent engagement. After dinner, my father and future mother-in-law revealed to us that they had secretly been dating and were talking about also getting married. Anybody want cake? FML

Today, I was going to work and got in the elevator. I was going through my bag for my phone and asked the man in the elevator to push the button for me. He gave me a look of death before I realized he had no arms. FML

Today, I thought it would be sexy to surprise my boyfriend by hiding in the closet naked and pouncing on him as he came to get his pants. I never got to the pouncing. Apparently my boyfriend has heightened reflexes so instead I got slapped hard across the face. My ear is still ringing. FML

Today, my mum hit me with her car as she was backing out of the drive way, hurting my leg and crushing my bike. For the third time this year. FML

Today, my boss rang me for the 5th time on my day off. Frustrated I pushed 'ignore' and yelled a string of obscenities at my phone. Turns out I pushed 'talk'. FML

Today, while shopping at Victoria's Secret with my friend, I saw a man holding a lacy bra up to his chest. When my friend and I passed by, I whispered, "Ew, what is that perv doing?" The "guy" immediately turned around and snarled, "I'm a woman, you little bitch," and threw her bra at my face. FML

Today, my best friend thought it would be funny push me off my bike. He thought it was even funnier when the paramedic accidentally dropped me. FML

Today, I walked into the kitchen and saw a note my roomate posted. As I got close to read it I was attacked by a very pissed off cat. The note said "Left window open last night, stray cat got in. Watch out he isn't friendly." FML

Today, I realized the person I had been habitually stealing bag lunches from at work made me a canned dog food sandwich. FML

Today, I finally got the courage to go up and ask out the girl I have loved for a couple of months now. After she said yes, I was over the moon and ran home to tell my roommate. The next day, I saw her making out with another man. When I confronted her, she said "Oh, you were serious yesterday?" FML

Today, I was at an amusement park with my kids. When we were on the Ferris wheel, I discovered my fear of heights. I hyperventilated, screamed from our seat "LET ME OUT! OH GOD LET ME OUT!!" . I also began crying hysterically. They stopped the ride for me to get off. I'm a 45 year old man. FML

Today, I saw a poor helpless cat in the middle of the road while driving. I pulled over and scooped it in my arms to bring it to safety. Not only did I get mauled and scratched by the cat, my car also wasn't put in park and rolled away hitting a parked car. FML

Today, I woke up to my five year old son picking off the scabs from his chicken pox and dropping them into my open mouth as I slept. FML

Today, my mother finally pressured me to wear my old helmet while riding my bike. Halfway through my ride, 3 spiders came crawling out of it and onto my face, causing me to lose control of the bike and crash head-first. FML

Today, I was strolling past an old women when from behind she called "can you help me get the rest of the groceries out of the car?" I approached the car, and helped her un-load bags. She began hitting me, screaming "SOMEONE IS STEALING MY THINGS". She was actually asking her son in the car. FML

September Contest: The Impact of Teachers, A Journaling Challenge ***with RAK***

This is my first month on the design team for ScrapMuse, so I wanted to host a challenge this month to jump right in!

September is a time when the buzz of back-to-school is hard to not notice. Whether you are in school, or have kids in school or not, September tends to be a time when you reflect on school in some way. My challenge this month is to journal about the impact that some/any teacher has made on you or someone you know throughout your life. This can be both positive or negative. Teacher's are human too and may not always be a positive influence. Either way, the point here is to work it out through words, reflect on what difference this teacher made and how it has impacted you. The twist is that you have to handwrite your journaling.

Once you have completed your layout, you can either post your entries in the ScrapMuse Gallery or you can link them here.

This month, you guys will not only be playing for a $25 gift Certificate donated by ScrapMuse, but your winning layout will also be featured on our blog and website as the "layout of the month".

Contest is open until September 30^th at midnight. The winner will be announced by the next week.

The design team will select the winning layout by voting for their favorite layout based on the layout itself and by following the challenge as described.

I can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Here is the thread where I will be posting all of the submissions.

Here is some super cheesy music to get your sappy juices flowing:

Cheesy Playlist

Here is a sample layout that I did about my Grade 4 teacher Mrs. Green, that's me in the picture, not Mrs.Green, but that was my first day starting her class.