The new online class schedule is finally up! :)http://www.wescrap.com/scrapbooking-classes/

Starting October 19th is the all new Techniques 102 class – the perfect sequel to Techniques 101.
This time we’re brining you over 30 more all new techniques!
I will just have returned from Ranger U where I will have learned tons of fabulous techniques directly from the Ranger masters: Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth and Suze Weinberg.

Course includes: Downloadable, easy to read and printable technique instructions complete with photos; weekly live chats; a private class forum; fun challenges to try the techniques in your projects. 
2 prizes will be given out (chosen randomly)at the end of the class term (Nov 30, 2008). Earn a ballot for: signing up for the class (1 ballot), Each challenge completed and uploaded to the class gallery (1 ballot each upload), attending the chat sessions (1 ballot for each session).

Each week lessons will be distributed through a downloadable PDF (printable) format. Approximately 5 techniques will be featured each week for a total of 6 weeks of instruction. 

Click here to register for Techinques 102.  

FREE Online Classes!!!Techinques 101 will be offered again – free for anyone – starting October 20, 2008.

Is there a technique you always wanted to learn how to do? Well how about learning about 20 of them? Each week we will focus on 5 different techniques. Photo instructions and handouts will be given out for each technique. We will have a private forum to discuss the techniques, work on class assignments and chat with other classmates. Live chats will also be scheduled for those who want to participate.
 This is the first set of classes in a Technique series – a more advanced class with all new techniques is offered as Techniques 102.

1 prize will be given out at the end of the class term (Nov 10, 2008), chosen randomly amongst class participants. Earn a ballot for: signing up for the class (1 ballot), Each challenge completed and uploaded to the class gallery (1 ballot each upload), attending the chat sessions (1 ballot for each session).

Course includes: Downloadable, easy to read and printable technique instructions complete with photos; weekly live chats; a private class forum; fun challenges to try the techniques in your projects. 

Each week lessons will be distributed through a downloadable PDF (printable) format. Approximately 5 techniques will be featured each week for a total of 4 weeks of instruction.

Click here to register for this free class

I am happy to report that the weather here lately has been quite fantastic! The leaves are beginning to fall so its looking like Autumn is arriving, but the sun has been shining and temperatures have been warm which is so nice. Last weekend Brent and I were both home on Sunday (which is rare these days that we have the same day off together!), so we decided to do a major clean and reorganize of the house – yay!! I love it when we change things around. We ended up moving Brent’s big computer desk out of our dining room area upstairs to the spare room where the guinea pigs and rabbit are. We now have a dining room with just a table and chairs in it! Imagine that!! It looks so good downstairs now, we got rid of a lot of the clutter in our attempts to “simplify” things. Arthur was able to stay in what we call “the office” with Brent’s desk, but we had to move the piggies out, so now I have 2 liitle roomies with me in my scraproom. I had to completely re-arrange the room to fit their big cage in here, but it worked out and there is actually more room in here now cause I got rid of one of my big tables. (who needs an extra table? I end up doing most of my scrapbooking on the floor anyways! lol) 

Notice Zoey on her favorite spot on the couch  

It worked out great that we did such an awesome cleaning job too as everynight this week we’ve had people over! A couple nights my friend Randi came over to work on a scrapbook she’s making for her boyfriend, then one night while we were walking the dogs we ran into my friend Jodi and her daughter so they came over and we opened a bottle of wine and Brent cooked garlic prawns – we had a great time! This weekend we had a couple friends come visit us from Victoria and they stayed for the whole weekend, we had so much fun! They brought Rock Band with them so Brent and I got to play that for the first time – what a blast! 

 here are some more random pics from this weekend:
Just hanging around the water cooler
my 3 sleepy boys….

 And last, but definately not least, we had our good friend Wouter come stay with us one night last week. He had just finished some traveling around Hawaii and was on his way home to the Netherlands. We have become really good friends with him the past 5 months while he was here in Vancouver. We will always remember Wouter for his love of ketchup, Diet Coke, and Coffee! We had so many great times: Road trip to Yellowstone, Silverwood Amusement Park, Boulder Beach Water Park, Hiking the Grouse Grind, Trips to Seattle and Victoria, Mini golfing, Food shows, Sushi, playing Wii….It’s sad now that he has left but we are hoping to go to Europe in June and we’ll go visit him then. I have to say that he is one of the nicest and most wonderful guys I have ever met and I know we will be friends with him forever.  This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”

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I know, it seems like its waaaaayyy too early to already be thinking about Christmas!!!  Especially since it was so nice weather wise (finally!!) here today and was actually beautiful, sunny and HOT out! Here is a Clear Holiday Mini Album I will be teaching  at Precious Memories (and of course, once again staring none other than the 2 lovely terriers: Angus & Zoey) (This is also due to the fact that I didn’t take many Christmas photos last year – obviously….)

****Online Techniques 102 class update******

 For all of you who are already registered for the upcoming Tech 102 class, we are going to postpone it until the 2nd week of October. This change has occured because I will be attending Ranger U at the beginning of October and I would like to incorporate all the cool techniques I learn while I’m there into the class :)  You will all be recieving an email with more details in the next few days so keep an eye out for it. If you’d like to register for this or if you have any questions, please email me.

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Tonight I have been tending to the needs of many little furry critters. My parents 2 dachshunds are staying with us for the weekend so its been a crazy chaotic evening with animals running every which way or trying to sit on my lap. It was also grooming night for the piggies – time for them to have their nails clipped and ears cleaned. Fiesty little Ernest bit me twice – on purpose. I’ve never known a viscious guinea pig before! But this little guy has such an atttitude – he didn’t break the skin this time, but it still hurt! And I managed to clip Arthur ’s (the rabbit that refuses to be picked up or held) nails too all by myself and I didn’t get clawed to death!! This is a major accomplishment as it usually takes 2 of us to catch him, wrap him in a blanket and hold him down.

 While sorting through some photos on my computer tonight I found a couple that were taken when Oscar was just a tiny baby (a couple months ago, lol)

Here is one from a few nights ago: I was taking some carrots up to the rabbit and piggies and left them on the couch for a second while grabbing something else from the kitchen. When I came back, Angus had helped himself to one of the carrots and was happily knawing away on it. He was so proud of himself and he even carried the carrot all the way upstairs and into our room to take it to bed with him!

 It’s getting late so I should get to bed. All the dogs and cats are finally asleep and are spread out around me in various places. They are so sweet and innocent when they are sleeping so soundly,  (and not barking, hissing, growling, playing, etc….with one another)

Oh, here is a photo of my new glasses, hehe (it’s in black and white cause my poor very infected eyes are so red in the color pics). I haven’t gone this long without wearing my contacts for about 15 years!!!!

I have been such an awful blogger lately.

To be completely honest, its been rather tough around here the last couple weeks so I haven’t had much motivation to come on the computer and blog about it all. However, in a nutshell, this is what has been happening:We had some major car trouble a couple weeks ago. Brent was on his way to work very early in the morning and the car died on the highway, completely died. Brent heard a loud “pop” and then all these weird noises then it died. After getting it towed to the local automotive shop in our little town, we were told it needed a new engine.  a. new. ENGINE.  oh crap. Our car is only 5 years old and not even the oil light was on or anything, it was working fine the night before while we were out an about running errands. As we waited for various quotes to come in on how much a new engine would be and stuff, both Brent and I felt sick to our stomachs. We only have the 1 car and we both need it to go back and forth to work in. Luckily the automotive place had a curtosy car we could use so I walked down to their shop and picked it up. It was a 20 year old mazda but at least it was a working car! As luck (or bad luck) would have it, that very car died on Brent a couple days later on his way home from work – turns out it was out of oil!! What are the odds?? He got it home though and called the auto shop and they felt awful so I took it in the next morning on my way to work and they gave me a minivan instead. The minivan worked great but what a gas guzzler!! We spent $30 a DAY on gas! unreal.

So regarding our wonderful vehicle, it did get a new engine (they managed to find us a used one in really good condition with less milage then our car had) but they had to rebuild the entire thing. They also found that our clutch was on its way out so they replaced that too. After 20 hours of labor, yes 20, numerous parts, an engine, and lots of stress on our end, we got our car back – after about 8 days.  I won’t even say what the bill was, but I bet you can imagine….  I am trying to think of a way to turn this story into some way humourous but I just can’t right now. I did say to Brent several days ago “Well one day I’m sure we will find a way to laugh about this”. yeah hopefully, one day… 

Brent has been working a TON of overtime. In 7 days he worked 6 days straight and 80 hours. There was one day that he left at 5am and didn’t get home until 11pm then he had to get up the next morning and leave for work again at 6am. Crazy.

So other things going on with us: well I’ve been getting more eye infections so back to the optomitrist I go. My eyes have changed yet again so he gave me a prescription and told me that from now on when I get an eye infection I am NOT allowed to wear my contacts at all. He said that if the bacteria gets trapped between my contact and my cornea that my cornea can be penetrated and permanent eye damage can occur in less than 24 hours. Ok, enough said. Since I haven’t bought glasses in about a decade, he told me I need to get new ones, asap. The same day we picked our car up, we went to Lenscrafters where I picked out a new pair of glasses and they were able to have them ready in just over an hour. I was actually excited to get home to take my contacts out and try on my new glasses. Things looked odd though and I thought it was just cause my prescription changed again. But no,  the prescription in my new glasses is obviously wrong cause I can’t even read signs when I’m driving until I am right underneath them (and these are the huge green ones on the highway!). Scary!!! Now I have to go back to the optomistrist, *sigh*…And wouldn’t you know it, but I woke up with another eye infection yesteday! and a sore throat!! ugh

What a downer this entire blog post was! So sorry about that, but I guess it goes to show that not everything can be sunshine and flowers, lol. This is just real life. 

On a positive note, I am working on some new scrapping projects today for classes so I will hopefully have some new pics up here soon. I haven’t been taking any photos around here lately and I really should. Our little Oscar is growing so fast – he’s not so little anymore. I bet by Christmas he will be bigger than Gracie!