Snowy Saturday

What a snowy wonderland I woke up to this morning! It's not much, and since we are in the last few weeks of November, we're expecting much, much more.

Sadly there isn't enough out there to make a snowman, but probably enough to make a decent snowball or two.

It's a lovely sunny day, and maybe Jeremie and I will go out for a walk, but first there is the ever insistent packing that has to be done.

Yesterday while doing some Christmas shopping, I came across this stationary. Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I have a serious problem with stationary. I love it! And this beauty was opened allowing me to feel the paper and envelopes.

Because I have such a wonderful husband, he didn't mind me taking this stationary home - as long as I used it to write Christmas letters!

I told him that wouldn't be a problem.

The blue reminds me very much of Wedgwood blue, though the photo's don't do the colour justice. It's embossed with silver and has a beautiful pattern on the inside of the envelopes.

Today will be mostly a home day, doing lots of packing and probably some letter writing. ;)
We are meeting up with friends later for dinner and games, but that will be a whole different post tomorrow.

- Jenny

New Look

I have a bright and shiny new look. I thought it may be time to change it up again so I did some digging and came up with this!

I like it and I think it suits me. :)

I have been doing more packing and more preparing, that counter at the top of my blog is a good reminder of how few days (yay!) that I have left here in Alberta. It's motivation to keep me going and to have my eyes on the prize.

I came home from work yesterday to find the entire craft room packed and my crafting table taken apart and all the screws and nuts in a neatly labeled bag: "kitchen table."

My husband is absolutely wonderful - especially considering he took very well the fact that I had recently visited Value Village and got some new winter clothing. In my defense though, I did get him a rather spiffy, looking button-down that he quite likes.

I have been journaling more and have re-claimed my desk from the clutter that had been slowly taking over. It took me a while, mostly because of all the papers that had to be filed and put away properly, but I did it.

It's amazing how one area of organization can calm your whole demeanor - I find when my home is cluttered and messy, it makes me anxious and crabby. Like my mother I need a clean house to be able to relax.

Although don't assume that I can't have my couch-potato days! That can still come easily enough.

Church was good today - it's so ironic that as soon as Jeremie and I are packing to move we then find a church we both really like. It's called North Pointe Community Church; its quite large but the Pastor is very good.

The last two weeks he's been talking about 2012. The supposed "end times" that the media has been harping about. The sermons aren't about the end times though - he's more pulling it back to the Mayan calender and how even in the earliest history of mankind, we have been able to 'count on the stars' - and how God is a God of order and reliability.

And next week! I'm so EXCITED! Kim Phuc will be coming to speak - if you haven't heard of her, she's the young girl in the famous photograph.

Wikipedia Article: "Phan Thị Kim Phúc, O.Ont (born 1963) is a Vietnamese-Canadian best known as the child subject of a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War on June 8 1972. The iconic photo taken in Trang Bang by AP photographer Nick Ut shows her at about age nine running naked on the street after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack."

She is apparently an AMAZING speaker and I cannot wait to hear her speak on forgiveness.
It's an opportunity I'm very blessed to been given.

Other than that things have been going quite well here - and I am looking forward to another productive week.

God Bless!

~ Jenny

Holy Crackers!

I cannot believe how close I am to the big moving day. It's overwhelming and I'm so excited.
We're still more than a month away from December, but when I was at the mall this afternoon, they were already playing Christmas music! Can we really be that close to Christmas already??

I walked through a few stores that I'm partial to - meaning I like their products and "look." Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie.
Both very vintage, classic clothing/decor stores.
We had to buy Jeremie some shoes - his old ones were two years old and were only $20.00 from WalMart.
So we got him some very attractive green Vans. A good company, quality wise.

It was interesting though looking through racks of clothing that I loved but not only were they overpriced ($90.00 for a cotton shirt?!?) but I couldn't help feeling guilty for wanting it, knowing that they all had their clothing produced en masse from poor countries, where they payed pennies to child workers.
Now I love clothing. Almost as much as I love books - I'm a huge clothes horse; so it can really feel like I'm torn in half.

Me: That skirt is adorable! I could get so much use out of that! . . . . . I wonder what poor child made that and how much money will be lining some company owners pocket.

It's a dilemma alright. I bought all my summer clothes from a fair-trade store this summer. But the clothing is all made from linen and lightweight. Most certainly not winter clothes.
I'll probably be going to some second-hand stores for some winter clothes soon after we move. At least it'll be reusing clothes - maybe I'll even be able to alter them.

I working on a lot of my Christmas gifts already - sadly I can't even tell you all about them because I know my family reads this and I haven't decided what is going to who yet!

Has anyone else starting their homemade Christmas gifts yet?

Well, I better be going - gotta keep workin' on those gifts.

- Jenny