Happy Girl

Last night the winner of the Last Scrapper Standing contest of the Dolls & Decorations message board was announced and I........WON!! Yippeeeee! I guess you can imagine that I am very happy with the outcome. I was scrapping at Wendy´s place yesterday evening and we kept an eye on the message board all the time. Finally around 10.30pm the winner was announced. I was really excited to see my name on top of the post. :-) I enjoyed participating in this contest very much as it resulted in 4 beautiful lay-outs of my girls.

Scrapping with Wendy was fun again. We didn´t do that much this time. At least I didn´t. I wanted to finish my lay-out for the photo swap, but I think I did only half of it. Need to finish that one today or tomorrow as it has to be sent out on February 1st. I really enjoy the monthly scrap evenings with Wendy.

IKEA

Do you like IKEA too? I think it is a great store where you can find nice furniture and goodies for a good price. This evening we went shopping for 2 desk chairs, and 2 desk lamps for our new scrap/computer room. I also bought a few extra jars for my ribbons. The girls were very excited as we also had dinner at IKEA.....French fries and Swedish meatballs. This weekend I will finally start organizing my new room.

The day after

Yesterday I promised to show some pictures of our new scrap/computer room. Well, here you are..... I guess I don´t have to tell you that I am very pleased with the result. I can finally store all my scrap stuff in one room!

The RAK winner is.....

Actually the title of this post should be "The RAK winners are....". With 2 girls I just can't let only one of them pick a name, because the other wants to pick a name too. They both wanted to help me, so I have decided to give away a set of chipboard letters to 2 people. Isn't that good news? The RAK goes to....





Floortje & Anja, please e-mail me (see my profile) your address.

Thanks to all for visiting my blog, and leaving a comment.

Finally!

As of today I will finally have a scraproom. Well, it won't be a scraproom only, but also a computer room and a room where Eric can store his books. So one half of the room is meant for Eric and the other half is mine. :-) I am so glad that I will finally have a place to store all my scrapbook stuff. And believe me.....it is a LOT! Now everything is in baskets, bags and a cabinet in the girls' play room, and needless to say that doesn't work. I sometimes have to look for a tool, embellishments, etc. over and over again, and in the end I find it in the bag or basket where I already looked 10 times but apparently not well enough. The cabinetmakers are now busy assembling the desk, bookshelfs and cabinets. I can hardly wait till it is all finished. Of course I will show some pictures either today or tomorrow.

Storage solution

Here is a little project I finished today. I made a binder (8x10") to store my clear stamps. I used Chatterbox patterned paper, clear stamps by Autumn Leaves and Carolee´s Creations, and Ellison Design´s Crop It alphabet dies (thanks to my SIL Lisette in Melbourne, Australia). I am always a little afraid to use stamps on my scrapwork, because it can ruine your work if you don´t do it right. I think it worked out well this time.

Last Scrapper Standing (entry 4)

I finished my lay-out for the 4th (and last) round of the Last Scrapper Standing competition yesterday. This time we had to make a lay-out (no spread) and use 10 different sorts of patterned paper. I used Penelope's Potpourri by S.E.I. - which I think is a great line - and Cape Town and Charlotte by Scenic Route, one of my favorite brands. I am very happy with the outcome (and so is Fleur. Thanks sweetheart!), but again competition is tough. I was (and still am) very fond of mini albums, but I must admit that I also enjoy creating 12x12" lay-outs. It was always a bit "difficult" for me to fill a large page, but I think it is getting better and better. The winner will be announced no later than January 31st. Keep your fingers crossed...

RAK time

I love my BigShot cutting machine and alphabet dies. The Crop It alphabet by Ellison Design is one of my latest purchases. Do you like this alphabet too? If so, leave a comment and you might be the lucky person to receive 2 sets of this alphabet cut out of chipboard. One of my girls will draw the winner on Wednesday January 24th.

In the mood for.....

.....SCRAPPING. It was about time because I have to finish my lay-out for the Last Scrapper Standing competition no later than January 23rd. This time I will use a photo of Fleur, because she told me she too wants a nice lay-out just like Sanne. Hopefully she will like the one that I create for her. I might be able to show a sneak peak later on.

***edited: My lay-out isn't finished yet, but I would like to show a little sneak peak.

Heavy storm

The weather is very, very stormy in The Netherlands today. Fierce gusts of wind of 120 km/hour. The storm has wreaked quite a havoc everywhere. I am so glad that I didn´t have to go to the office in Amsterdam today. As my managers were all abroad I decided to work from home which was a good decision because the A2 was a mess and even closed down in the morning and afternoon. The girls were a bit scared when they had to go to bed. I guess they were pretty tired and fell asleep immediately because I haven´t heard them anymore. I do like storm, but this is a bit too much.





Source: www.rtl.nl

Go for a walk

The weather was beautiful today, so we decided to go to the Lek for a walk. The girls always enjoy playing on the little beach at Salmsteke. It was a bit chilly, but it was good to be outside and get some fresh air. Here are some of my favorite pictures...

Birthday Party

Yesterday Fleur had her belated birthday party. I booked a party at the local kids´ hairdresser Coccinelli. Actually I wanted to have this party shortly after her birthday (December 12th) but they were fully booked until the end of December. I picked the girls up from school at 3pm, and brought them to the hairdresser for a 2-hour party. The girls had lots of fun. They decorated a photo frame, ate cake, and had their hair and make-up done. They all looked so beautiful, and I think it was a success. Afterwards they had dinner (French fries and snacks) at our place. Fleur was really spoilt with beautiful gifts, and had a great time.

D-Day

Today was D-Day. The day I would tell my boss that I had decided to resign from my job. It wasn´t an easy decision and it definitely wasn´t easy to tell him. I have been working with him since I joined the company in January 1998, and he is really a great person to work with. I went to the office earlier than usual as I wanted to speak with him prior to my performance meeting which was also scheduled for today. It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes (!) to get to the office, which made me realize I have taken the right decision to leave the firm. Travelling to Amsterdam on the A2 during rush hour is terrrible. Well, needless to say, it was a very emotional meeting.....for me. As soon as I told him that one sentence "I resign from my job" I bursted into tears. I knew that would happen and I don´t feel ashamed about it. It hurts me to leave, but I know it is best for me. Of course he was not happy at all (which is always nice to hear), but he could very well understand my decision. We talked about the travel time before, and he knew I wasn´t happy with the situation. So he was a little prepared for this moment to come. After my meeting with him I spoke with the manager of the secretary poule, and she was quite surprised although she too knew I wasn´t happy. She immediately took action to find a replacement and guess what.....we already found someone. One of my colleagues is very eager to replace me and I am very happy about that. It makes leaving the firm (or actually my boss) a bit easier. I don´t have another job yet. I first want to take a month or two off, so I can decide what I want to do.

Oops!

How could I forget to post about our little girl going to school for the 1st time last Monday? Another important phase in her (and our) life and I completely forgot to tell about it. Fortunately I didn´t forget to take pictures of her. She already went to school 5 mornings in November and December to get used a little, but now it is for real. She enjoys going to school, and feels very at ease. She made friends already, and I am sure she will be having fun.

Yippee!!!

I made it to the 4th round of the Last Scrapper Standing competition of the Dolls & Decorations message board. I was very pleased with my own entry, but of course you never know what others think of it. Apparently they liked my lay-out too. :-) I love the next challenge. You have to make a lay-out (12x12"/8.5x11") - no spread - and use 10 different sorts of patterned paper. I already have an idea, but I first have to look for some pictures. Entries have to be submitted no later than 23 January, so that allows me (and the others) enough time to create a nice lay-out. The winner will be announced on 31 January at the latest. Well, wish me luck!

Book Tag

I was tagged by Lilian. I am not really into tags, but I think this one is a fun one.

I have to:

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence.
3. Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Name of the author and book.
5. Tag three people of your own

The book that is closest to me is Decksels! by Daphne Deckers,



and here is the result:

Maar dát gaat natuurlijk niet. Want Barney, de vriendelijke dinosaurus die immens populair is onder Amerikaanse kinderen, is paars. En dat kan maar één ding betekenen: Barney is een homo.

Decksels! is a compilation of Daphne Deckers´ best columns. I enjoy reading Daphne´s books, especially the ones about becoming a mom, and raising kids. She is very good at putting things in a humorous way, and her stories make you realize that you are not the only mom who has to deal with certain issues.

I tag Miranda, Marcella, and Margot.

Major decision

First of all, a very Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. May all your wishes come true.

I took a major decision in the first few days of this new year. I have decided to quit my job. I haven´t been feeling good about my job for a few months, and I think it is time now to do what is best for me. I have mixed feelings about my job since our department moved to Amsterdam where the HQ is based. Travelling to and from Amsterdam is no fun during rush hour, and is very time-consuming and wastes energy. Time and energy that I can better spend on other things. I don´t have a new job yet and that scares me a little. However, I do have a good track record and 18 years of experience, so I am pretty confident to find a nice job soon. I truly hope that this decision makes me feel happy again.