It's the little things...

Yup, I'm finding it's the little things these days that are making me happy. At least that's what it seems...

LOST is starting again and I couldn't be more excited. I watched the season finally from last season yesterday to catch up, then tonight they had a one hour special before the actual show reviewing everything from the start. Because I took an unintentional break from watching the show ( and had to rent the DVD's to catch up) this was great to put everything in order. It really made sense out of things I thought I had gotten already but hadn't! LOL

Pilates started last week and we had a really good class with the big exercise balls yesterday. I'm feeling a bit sore today, but not overly, which is good! I've been good on the treadmill as well and really enjoy that time to myself. My weight is going down and that couldn't make me happier!

We have our first play group tomorrow morning, which I'm super excited about. (We're calling it a coffee group because there is going to be coffee provided.) I'm looking forward to Daelyn being able to play with her friends again, as we haven't seen them since early December, and I'm hoping to get to know some more moms better as well. This was a much needed thing for this area and the response has been really good! Unfortunately we didn't realize there is no school tomorrow so that might limit some moms with early years kids (because they'll have to stay home with them) but oh well, there are a lot of us with really little ones that will be there. And how lucky am I to have one old enough to not worry about!!! :)

I got my first two kits from my guest CT spot for February. I picked the two that I blogged about already, Emergency Crewz and Bundled up and I did up my LO's right away.   Now I get to pick my next kit and I'm trying to decide which one to do. 

This one is of my old EMS crew. 

(I blurred the faces and names for security.)

I thought this kit was so cute!  

I love the bears and it's purple....

 can't get much better than that!  LOL

Japanese Game Show

Okay they have the funniest game shows over there!  What do you think, should we play it at Daelyn's party?

Heath Ledger

Well I'm sure you've all heard the news of the death of the actor Heath Ledger. Hearing this was a shock to me as he was not known as troubled or addicted to drugs or alcohol or any of those things. He was a wonderful young actor with so much promise and lots of life a head of him with his 2 year old little girl.    He was nominated for many awards and won some of them as well. I will miss seeing him in movies.  :(

Jamaica Slide Show

Okay this is it I swear!  Last post about Jamaica.  LOL   I put my pics in a slide show if anyone is interested in viewing them.  These are the same pics I posted here with  many more for the tours, the beach, and just the resort in general.  So feel free to have a look.  I'll post the link in the Jamaica section of my side bar as well for future lookers. :)

Jamaica Pics Slide Show

Enjoy!

Jamaica - Glass Bottom Boat Tour

Okay I'm thinking this will be the last installment of Jamaica 07, are you sick of it yet?  LOL  This tour was one that as soon as I heard about it I knew Daelyn would love.  It was supposed to be two hours long, consisting of a short bus ride to Montego Bay Pier One where we would board a Glass Bottom type of boat to go look at the sea life in the area.

We met the bus that morning around 10 and the ride was a little longer than expected.  We had to stop at two other resorts, which took us around 45 minutes.  Hmmm.......   We got to Pier One which looked like a wonderful restaurant and if we go again (without kids) we'd definitately be trying it out!  

Here is the boat we were on:

We had a short boat ride out to the reef (drinks were supplied) and then were all lead down some stairs to the viewing area.  This was so exciting for the kids.  Everything was so easy for them to see, the coral, and the different kinds of fish.  The best part was when they had a diver go down with some bread and feed the fish.  He swam in front of the glass windows and we got to see the fish swarm him like crazy.  Pictures weren't the best but I got a neat video.

We lost her hat somewhere earlier in the week :( but she gladly wore my Jamaica bandana so she didn't burn her bean!

The best part was the little Daelyn size toilet they had on board.  LOLOL  Crazy how priorities change when you become a parent.  She actually went pee on the boat because the toilet was made "just her size"  Ah yes..... anyway!

Then they stopped and let whomever wanted to, snorkle.  We hadn't planned on this and while only two people actually did, we had to wait for them.  So our 2 hour tour turned into 5 hours!!!  Let's just say when we got back to the resort at 3 pm we were a little more than hungry.  All in all it was a fun tour, but maybe a little misleading. :(

Guest CT for me in February!

I'm so excited!!!!!  I re-found a designer that used to be at Elemental Scraps and was instantly reminded of how much I like her products.  I remember being sad when she left but that is the way things go in Digiland.  Well after the New Year I got brave and sent her a quick message asking if she had any CT spots open either for full time or guest.  She said her CT is maxed out for full time but she'd love to have me on as a guest.  Her name is Dede Smith and she is known for her Digi BearZ and other TearZ animals.  They are so unique and sooo cute, you can check them out on her blog here.   I start my guest month with her in February and I can't wait. 

She has this totally cute Emergency CrewZ mini kit that I'm so anxious to work with and have the perfect picture (or two, LOL) for it!

And this one caught my eye immediately for obvious reasons. LOL  We went outside on the hill at the Church down the street so I took my camera in hopes to get some good snow pics.

Adobe Lightroom

Okay.... I've been putting off looking at this program because I know how much it costs but I'm afraid it got the better of me this morning.  I'm not sure why I broke down and downloaded the free trial but I LOVE IT!  I'm going to do as much as I can in the next 30 days and then my trial will be finished and my pictures will go back to the dull drabs that they've always been.  I'll show you just what I'm talking about!

I didn't get a chance to resize the photos before uploaded so they are big.  Sorry if that causes problems with viewing, I'll try to fix them when I get a chance.  I was just to excited to take the time. LOL

I thought this photo was pretty decent...

Until I tried this:

Then there are the typical horizon landscapes:

to this: 

And I just wanted to add a little POP in the color of  this one:

After:

Woo Wee!!  I'm off to play some more. :)

Okay I had to add this one because just love it. Here is the original:

And finished:

Christmas in Jamaica!

Okay so here I'll tell ya and post pics of our actual Christmas day in Jamaica. The lead up to it was really different, there were some palm trees with lights on them and other decorations around the resort to remind you of the holiday but to me the time we spent with my family before we left was Christmas enough for me. To me it felt like it was over and we were just on holidays.





Never the less, Santa came to everyone to show he hadn't forgotten about us. In the morning we saw Santa hadn't found our room but after a quick phone call we realized that he just made one stop in Grandma and Grandpa's room for everyone. So we got up and ready and headed over there before breakfast. Sure enough everyone had there little piles along the floor with treats and goodies. Hayley got a game for her DS called Rune Factory. It's like the farm game she has for Nintendo but this is a fantasy version, kind of cool really. She also got a Naruto Magazine, some socks, a pen, a dolphin with Jamaica written on it, and other various things. Daelyn got a View Master with The Little Mermaid viewing wheels, a (knock off) tomagochi pet, some socks, a new "Arial" phone and various other fun things.





So after that we all went down to the buffet and had breakfast. Did I mention how good the food was there? You could get cereal, eggs done to your liking, omeletts with your favourite toppings, toast, letter shaped potato hasbrowns, porridge, all kinds of fruit, cuissants, yogurt, sausages, bacon and I'm sure many other things I missed. Anyway.... after breaky we sat out by the entertainment stage and waited for Santa. He was supposed to be making his arrival at noon so the kids wanted to see him... okay so did we, curiousity got the better of us! In the mean time the kids played and feasted on cotton candy and snow cones. They had some special drinks for the big kids as well, their version of Egg Nog and some other drink that tasted like sprite.





The afternoon was spent like the others, on the beach. It was a very relaxing day, to say the least.



Supper that night was our very first A la Carte restaurant called the Cappuccino. It had a dress code so we all had to spiffy up a bit, no tank tops or shorts allowed. (Pants, Capri's or dresses for girls, and pants for guys) We seem to be lacking in family photos but here is one of the girls that night just before we went back into the room.  I even wore a dress but alas... no photos.

(Daelyn is holding a hand full of Nuts and Bolts from Grandma's room that she was taking to daddy. )

Now I can't remember if this was Christmas night or Christmas eve but the entertainement was a group of carollers that were really good. We sat out and watched them for a while before retiring for the day.

Dunn's River Falls - Jamaica

Okay so I got some pics from Brother In Law Mark to show you all, he was the only one that braved taking their camera any where near the falls. We were told to leave everything on the boat that we didn't want to loose or get wet so I did just that.  Then when I saw what we were going to be doing I knew Daelyn wouldn't be able to so we cheated and went up the stairs along side the falls which were dry, along with Grandma and Uncle Mark.

The tour consisted of a bus ride to Ocho Rios, and then a short boat ride to the front of the falls. During the boat ride we made a stop for everyone to do some snorkling if they wanted. Here's a pic of Hayley and Dad coming in.

And one of the guy trying to sell us stuff off his canoe. LOL

Here's what they look like from the ocean, notice ALL the people.  That was the only downfall of this tour, there was way too many people there.  

Starting up the falls:

The Group about half way up!

And just when we thought they were at the top, you'd turn a corner and bam!

Not quite yet!!!

Then on the way back on the boat, they opened the bar and started the dancing. Not sure how smart that was on a boat with major waves but hey... they had polls to hold on to. At one point they even got Hayley up to do the Superman dance. Well she wasn't up long and snuck back to her seat. LOL  Doesn't she look totally embarrassed?  hehe

With nice rocking waves it was inevitable this tired little girl was going to fall asleep. The music was blaring enough that dad wouldn't come inside but she didn't seem to care.

Ocho Rios is a popular place for cruise ships to make their stops at and here was one we saw. I can't believe just how big they are!

So that was our tour for that day!  It was an experience and the Fall's are amazing.  It was a little much for our 2 year old as she couldn't do alot that was offered so she was often asking to go back to the beach.  Scott felt the Falls were way to busy for his liking and thought it would've been better to hire a personal guide rather than go with a big tour.  Personal opinion though and it's not like we'll ever get to go again.  Great memories!!

We ordered a Treadmill!!!

I have wanted a treadmill for a long time now, but really seriously since September. Extenuating circumstances in the Autumn months prevented me from buying one but after receiving some money from my Mom and Dad for Christmas we were able to make that happen!  The best part is that Sears is having a big sale on them and it was 33% off regular price!    It's not due to arrive until the 21st but hopefully it will come sooner. 

Here are some of it's specifics:

2.5-hp continuous-duty motor provides speeds up to 12 mph
20 x 55" treadbelt
10-position incline
5 preset programs
large LED monitor displays calories, speed, incline, elevation, time, distance and track
handlebar grip-pulse monitors heart rate
cooling fans
built-in bottle holder and book rack
supports up to 350 lb.
33" w. x 74" l. x 54" h.
folds for storage

**Happy Dance**Happy Dance**Happy Dance**

Christmas again and a Happy New Year?

I'm waiting on some famiy to share their trip pics before I post about the tours as I didn't take my camera on one of them, only one of us did.  The Dunn's River Falls one was all about water so I didn't want to risk it while carrying Daelyn.  So more on that later.

We've been home now for a couple of days and it's been a task getting Daelyn back into routine.  She's spent the week getting what she wants for the most part and that just isn't going to fly here.  She's enjoying her Christmas presents that we opened before we left so that's helping.  Hayley is at her moms now for the week, so I am enjoying the nice break of teenager-isms.  LOL   From us Daelyn got the Little People Plane which is so cute as the people are dressed for the tropics!  She loves it and we get to go to Jamaica a couple times a day now.  hehe  She also got the Little Mermaid Disney movie and we've watched it (or parts of it) every day since we got home.

I took this pic that night she opened it. She was spinning in circles here "flying her plane" and listening to her "iPod" as she calls it.

  I got a Tripod from Scott so I got a bit of time to play around with it and my camera settings.  Here's one I took of the tree with the lights off.  I could've had a little more exposure but oh well, it's a start.  I got some new silk pj's, flannel pj's, 1Gb memory card for my camera and some Butternut Squash soup. (inside joke) and Scott got another TH's quick pay card, new workout gloves, a memory card for his mp3, and a book.

Also that Friday Hayley got from us (her dad is so smart) a set of Full Metal Alchemist figurines.  This is her favourite show right now and was thrilled to the gills to get them.  She carried one of them around the whole night and maybe even took it to bed.  LOL  She also got FMA Earings, necklace, and the Scene It Jr. game so now she doesn't have to suck playing the adult version.  LOL  She has friends over often and we thought it would be fun for them to do in the winter. :)

New Years Eve.... well........

We had a get together at our place for New Years Eve, with a few friends from Scott's work and it was....  interesting.  I'm not going to go into details but let's just say a slushie maker, shot glasses, a migraine, and puke in the sink don't make for a great night.  A quiet evening at home alone with Scott maybe would have been a good idea.  LOL  - and no, not my puke!  Or Scott's for that matter!