Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Dinner with a twist!

Tonight, we had our care group over for "dinner... with a twist." It was a potluck dinner, and we did the main course. Several years ago, in a different care group, we were the recipients of a dinner just like this, so now as the care group leaders, we wanted to do this for our friends.

(For anyone that doesn't know what a "care group" is... it's just a fancy name for a Bible study group, but every once in awhile we do a social event, and so that's what this is all about!)

We sectioned off the kitchen...


We set the table...

Gave everyone their menu....


Had them fill out their choices, but here's the twist - we gave everything a code name, so they didn't know what they would end up with in which order!!!!! It was a hoot.

Here's the code:

Roses - main dish (crock pot chicken with a side of potato salad) I thought since roses are the real prize when it comes to flowers, they should have the honour of being the main dish!
Blossoms - Beverages... just started with the same letter... that's the logic here!
Venus Flytrap - dinner rolls - flies are small, and therefore the Venus flytrap should be the appetizer!
Wildflowers - assorted raw veggies and dip... you never really know what you're going to get with wildflowers, so I thought it fit the veggie plate!
Orchids - dessert... when I was a kid, a friend and I got to go visit a florist shop with my friend's mom. We were given an orchid each with the little plastic water tube on the end so they'd stay alive... I thought I had struck it rich - that to me is the most delightful flower - therefore, it shall be dessert!
Bluebells - salad... we simply needed one more flower name to represent the salad... I envisioned bluebells blowing in the wind like a tossed salad - a little flighty, I know, but it is what it is!

In the kitchen, after the menus were collected, I quickly filled out this chart that was ready to go, and it kept us organized with who got what for each course of the meal! We just checked each one off as they got it, and once everyone got their course one, we moved onto course 2, started filling those orders, etc, until all 6 were done.

Yes, Alexa... I confess that I mixed up your course one and course 2, but since one was salad and the other one was a veggie plate, I didn't think I needed to mention it... but it shows on here that I messed up, so I will confess!!!

We used almost every plate in the kitchen... there was a set of ivy dishes that I didn't pull out (they're antiques! And since this was a rather quick moving transition from one plate to the next, I thought something was going to break for sure... but nothing did!) When dinner was over, everyone finished watching the Canucks game...(which they WON!) and then I offered more dessert and coffee... we had to start pulling out bowls because all the plates were dirty! But as of 23 minutes after everyone had left our house, the kitchen was cleaned to a shine again! Thanks husband - I totally would have left it until tomorrow! But I loaded the dishwasher, took the tables apart, and he washed the plates that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher, and scrubbed the crock pot, and put food away. What a team!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I didn't get to posting anything all weekend because we were out of town. Just got back last night from a fun, family-filled weekend with my parents, sister and her family, and my brother. We also got to see my Granny at her Care Home, and 2 of my cousins joined us for Easter Dinner. My kids had a great time playing with their 4 prairie cousins, and the house was a hoppin' with 7 kids aged 7 and under! But it was worth all the noise because the kids really enjoyed each other, and I am so glad we got to see them because our visits are few and far between with us living so far apart.

Here are a few pics of the weekend, for your viewing pleasure!!!

Steve entertaining the kids with a story after Easter Dinner...

One of the fun things that Louise put in the Easter bags...

While we were over on the Island, we went out with our friends Tricia and Justin to celebrate both of their birthdays...

My beautiful sister, Louise...


My cousin Maren and my sister's youngest, Cole...

Easter Bags from Auntie Louise and a load of coloured eggs, waiting to be hidden for the egg hunt!

My cousin Carol and me... photo taken by Scott (6 yrs old!)

The kids were sure that Papa (and someone even mentioned Uncle Angus) could fix this old wreck!

Louise with her oldest - Ethan, and my youngest - Elise...

My Granny along with all the kids... Uncle Angus got thrown in the mix for kid control!

Granny when she first walked into the sitting room... she laughed (yes, "out loud!") when she saw us all sitting there, and she said she didn't think she could name everyone, but she did pretty well!

The kids called this "Grammie's Café!" They lined up small tables and kid chairs all down the hallway, and placed their orders for lunch!

Two and a half years ago, we were visiting my sister and family in Saskatchewan, and all the boys (at the time there were 5 boys) got to go into the tub for a bath. Elise was only 2 months old at the time, so she got to hang out with Grammie. Well, there was a picture taken that day that I framed and have hanging in our kids' bathroom upstairs. Every time Elise sees it, she comments that she didn't get to be in the picture, then adds, "neither did Cole because he wasn't born yet." So, I really wanted to get a picture of these 2 in the tub to add to our wall in the bathroom. Elise was so happy that she gets to have a bath picture on the bathroom wall!

We also got our family pictures (all 14 of us!) taken by a local photographer in Victoria... but I have to wait for the pics, so I'll be sure to post some of those once we get them! I can't wait... she said 2 weeks... don't know if I can wait that long!!

Monday, April 06, 2009

Retired Sets for Sale....

I just posted my latest retired sets list for sale...
Click HERE to see all the sets available.
Thanks for looking!

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Good hair day...

Today was a very beautiful, sunny day. So, after breakfast, the kids headed outside to play for awhile. Then I called them in one at a time for a haircut. Elise was first. She has only had one haircut and it was by my hair dresser... She loved it then, so I thought I would give it a try this time around. She has curly hair, so she sometimes suffers from matted hair. I hate that! So, today it was "goodbye tangles and hello again curls!"

I think I did pretty well! Curly hair is very forgiving ☺





Wednesday, April 01, 2009

More Retired sets for sale

Just clearing out some more retired sets... Please let me know if you are interested in any of them. I will mail them within Canada, but buyer pays shipping. All the sets are used unless otherwise posted with "N-UM" which means "New - Unmounted." All sets are retired Stampin' Up! sets and the set title and price are above the set.

Don't forget about the ones I posted awhile ago... Click here to see those ones.

Merry and Bright $10.00

Happiness Always (N-UM) $22.00
Form and Function $12.00
Word on Word $20.00
Seasonal Icons $10.00
Infinite Goodness $15.00
I'm Here $20.00
Canvas $12.00

My little lady...

A couple Sundays ago I got Elise to stop and pose for a few pictures. I bought her this dress from Old Navy and she acted like a princess in it (ok, except for the picture of her going down the stairs on her belly in the dress!)





*** Elise's beautiful bracelet was a gift from my friend Ami when Elise was born. Ami is the creator of Darling Bijou Jewelery and she makes the most beautiful pieces for children and adults. She has a new line that is especially for Brides! Here's her site (Click HERE) if you are intersted in checking out her work!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Party pics

Here are a few pics from Scott's party the other day....

When the kids first got here they all played downstairs until Steve arrived with the pizza (about 10 minutes). Then it was pizza for lunch, then the activities began (all pictured below) and finally, some presents and the firetruck cake (shown in an earlier post). It was a fun party, and the 2 hours just flew on by!

Stick the dog on the Firetruck!

Fireman Relay... Here you see, "STOP, DROP and ROLL!!!"

After the kids did Stop, drop and roll, there was a mad dash to get into the Fireman clothes... and a race to go around the buckets at the end of the driveway.



Next we had a piñata and all the kids got to try a few times hitting it... but it finally took them pulling on the strings at the bottom to open the trap door in it to release all the candy.

Jackpot!!!

Yes, these are water balloons... what would a fireman party be without water?

The kids lining up for "Soak the Fireman" game... Steve always wanted to be a fireman, and on this day, he got to be one! The kids thanked him for it, and they all (including Steve!!) had so much fun.

These were all supposed to be outdoor games, but because of the rain they got played inside the garage. And for Soak the Fireman, the kids stood under cover inside the garage and Steve stood out in the rain... which didn't really matter because he was getting pummelled by water balloons anyway!!!

And finally it was cake time. Then the party was over and the kids all went home. Next my parents came for dinner and spent the weekend with us. What a fun-filled, wonderful weekend we had at our house!

Monday, March 30, 2009

New Classes Added

I have added 2 classes to my Spring schedule....

Monday, April 27th - from 7 - 9:30om
Treasure the Memories Scrapbooking class. Come out and make 2 Double 12X12 layouts using new techniques and products. Suggested titles will be given, but you are free to title the pages however you'd like! Cost is just $15.00

Saturday, May 9th from 2:00 - 4:30pm -
Mother/Daughter.... Celebrate Mother's Day by coming out with your mother or daughter to this fun class. Cost is just $25.00 for the two of you, and if you have additional daughters, (or mothers!) the cost is just $10 more per additional person. Don't have a daughter? Why not bring a niece! If your mother lives too far away, feel free to bring your aunt! I am pretty flexible... this is just a great way to celebrate the special women in your life, so if someone has always been like a daughter, or a second mother to you... of course she is welcome to come with you!

Contact me for more information or to sign up for a class.

And in the spirit of "mother/daughter..." here's the latest pic of my mom and me... my parents were here over the weekend and this is a pic I took of us when we took the kids to the park!


Open House

Don't miss my Open House!
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 1st from 7:00 - 9:30pm
Highlights:
- make and takes
- new Occasions Mini and products on display
- retired products on clearance
- doorprizes
- refreshments
RSVP by Wednesday noon to get a free stamp!!!