Congratulations to Michael

Michael I'm so very proud of you and how hard you have worked

 to improve your baseball skills over the last few years.

Yesterday you got the news you were hoping for and

 I'm happy to announce the Michael has made it

 on to the All-Star Baseball Team for 2012.



Miami Heat Are The NBA Champions!!!

Congratulations to the Miami Heat.

These three players to me show great

Determination, Dedication and Sportsmanship.

They played as a Team,

and played for their Team, Coaches and Fans.

They are greatly deserving of this Championship.



Baseball Dreams

Baseball regular season has come to an end with two very exciting games.

Our fourth place Giants beat the first place Yankees

 to advance to the Championship Game. As a sign of the weather this season

 our Championship Game was postponed on Saturday due

 to the Mother Nature and her showers of love.

Rescheduled and played on Sunday the Blue Jays

won a hard fought battle. The final score was 2-0 for the Blue Jays.

If only our bats were a little hotter.

Now comes Summer Ball.....this is the most committed year

Michael has had so far. He is hoping to get a spot on this year's All-Star team.

He has made it through 2 rounds of cuts. Now he will play 3 games and

 have 2 practices and then on Sunday the final four player cuts will be made and the

 team will be solidified. I hope so much for him to have the best experience ever.

So if you are looking for me over the next few weeks

 I will be at the ball park cheering on the All-Stars

Just follow the BBQ Spitz.

One of my Best Gifts Ever!

The other day I received this precious little Gnome from my friend Kandice.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

I have been actively looking for a Gnome to hang with.

I almost bought one at an antique shop just off the I-5

 in Washington State last month.

The only thing that stopped me was its size.

It was just too big to tuck into my camera bag

and take on the road with me.

This little guy is just the right size (4" tall)

 to carry with me on all sorts of adventures

and to capture with my camera lens.

I'm sure a mini album will be in the works very soon.

Custom Card

I was asked to create a custom card.

Here are the parameters:

- must be an extra large card for lots of signatures

- it is being given for a 50th Wedding Anniversary

 - must have a cruising theme because that is the gift.

I stressed out just a little bit but in the end I was very happy

with my creation and so was the person who made the request.

My Little Garden

Yesterday I found some time to do some gardening.

I planted my annuals and cleaned up the entrance area.

All the little items make me smile so I thought I would take

a few photos with my iphone and post them.

Love that I don't have carry around my point and shoot, now that I have my iphone.

My favourite part of gardening is when it is over and I get to enjoy the view.

6 Stores, many rolled eyes and the perfect light

I was beginning to think that I would not find the perfect light for my studio and that I was going to have to settle for something just so-so. But DH annoyed me enough to go and visit the same store in three (3) different locations and lo and behold they all carry different items. Sure some are the same but they have a lot of unique items just for their store. So the moral of my story is that I should listen to my DH and always keep looking, even if it is at the same store until you find what you want. And here it is, my absolutely adorable chandlier that has the best reflection and that we both love:

Playing Catch - UP

Wow how time flies. This year seems to be the worst yet for time flying. Maybe that is because the more things we are able and happy to do end up being the same things that fill our time so that other things must get pushed out of the way. Hopefully only momentarily but truth be told, we all have 24 hours in each and every day and it comes down to being happy with the way you divvy them up.

Let me work my way backwards with a re-cap of my last month, unbelievably it has been a month since my last post. This from a gal who has had something to say almost daily for the past two years. LOL!!!

This weekend was filled with the Hyack Baseball Tournament in New Westminster for the Little League Major Divisions. We played Friday, Saturday and Sunday but unfortunately missed making it to the championship game. We won one and lost two of our games. Michael had some good hits and made several defensive plays. The weather was great all three days. I definately loaded up on my vitamin "D" this weekend.

Last week was filled with more baseball and basketball. Michael's basketball season has come to an end with a tournament 2 weeks ago at SFU. But now is trying out for the U14 Rep Team for the 2012/13 season. There were two nights of try-outs and then the wait for the email. YEAH!!! I'm so very proud to say Michael will be playing Rep Basketball again next year. I'm looking forward to another busy season with games and tournaments all over the Lower Mainland and Washington State. This means that basketball has officially started for next year and we have to still continue practicing and going to clinics. No rest for the tired parents who have to do all the driving and rushing around. Don't get me wrong, I love it but really can't we just have a few weeks off??? LOL

My friend Izzy and I went on an All American Road Trip to Portland, Oregon. The Mission was to see a fabulous Dance Troop from Brazil and France performing Hip Hop to some very unusal pieces of music, Shop til we dropped, and a photo shoot in the city of La Conner, Washington. We were gone for a total of five days, I bought 9 pairs of shoes, lots of clothes and made a large dent in my birthday shopping for 2012. I also bought my first Christmas present for this year (Robin). Thanks for another awesome trip together Izzy, you are one of my most favourite travelling partners. The laughs that we have are priceless, like "I'm sure we will be at Jack in the Box before the next rest stop in 55 miles".

It has been forever since I have scrapbooked but I'm happy to say that I have come very close to finishing my renos on changing my office into my studio. Only a few things left like how can I show off my stamps without having to dust them, and the final decision about the wall coverings on one final wall. But overall I'm so happy with the way it has turned out and I'm loving the vibe of the room when I spend time there. Here is a look through the process and now.

The planning wall.

Cutting in by hand.

Sorry for the bad photo

And that is my Studio...

Well my memory is starting to fade prior to this but I will start to focus on the future and keeping in touch better. I'm going to be scrapbooking next weekend for sure so you can expect a layout or two.

Thanks for reading...Smile Everyday!!!

Travel, Travel, More Travel and Renos

Life has been very very full for me and my family over the past month and a half. We have been on a Carribean Cruise and explored southern Florida. We have been to many sporting events for Michael including a Basketball Tournmant in Mount Vernon, Washington. Baseball Season is under way and Basketball is winding down. I went away to the Sunshine Coast for a Scrapbooking Retreat with my friend Kandice. I got lots accomplished, a little extra sleep and the beautiful scenery of the Sunshine Coast is always relaxing to me.

I finally got caught up with technology for a nano second and got myself an iphone. There is so much to learn. I'm using my new motto "take action" to learn at least one new thing about it each day. Hopefully by the end of the year I will have it all figured out. LOL

At home Elvino and I have been renovating my office into my studio with paint, lighting, lament floor and a few new and re-worked room embellishments. It has been a long project but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hoping to close the book on this project Thursday April 26, 2012. I will post photos asap.

Below is a snippit of photos of "Izzy and Diane" on the Cruise:

At the DoubleTree Hotel in Miami, Florida

Relaxing during our first Day at Sea

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

Gorilla Towel Buddy

Mahogany Bay, Roatan Isle, Honduras

Hanging with our Monkey Towel Buddy

Miss Piggy Towel Buddy

Enjoying a Bevy at the Red Rum Bar on the Lido Deck

Hanging out on our last day at sea

"i"

"i" is coming

Under Construction

On the go and very busy these days...stay tuned for the stories, photos and new look coming soon.

(((hugs))) and Happy Friday :)

LOTD

LOTD

LOTD

Scrapping Weekends

I love scrapping weekends away to the Sunshine Coast.

With the hectic schedule I have, these must be scheduled

 to help keep me sane. This photo is from

my last trip with my dear friend Kathy.

We will forever have "Go Nicely" Thanks for the laughs,

they continue to bring a smile to my face

 each time I think of the weekend.

I'm looking forward to my next Scrapping Weekend

coming at the end of March.

I am truly blessed to have the friends I do and also

to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the world