How Much is Too Much?

I ate too many Smarties today. Like, if five is just right and 20 is too many, I ate too many to the power of 10!

And if my math skills serve me right, that's 200 Smarties. Or maybe it's 2000 Smarties. I never was that good at math...

And okay. If I am being honest with myself, I guess I didn't eat that many. But I am definitely going to regret it later. Oi vay!

A couple of ladies at work & I are going to be starting a "Gold Star" system. Any goal, any little step or little triumph in our week will get a check mark. And at the end of the week, we get a Gold Star! It falls to me to create some sort of "spreadsheet" to keep track of our progress. Yes. I am the office computer genius...we are all doomed....

Each of us wants to achieve something different: smoke less, exercise more, eat less crap sugar.

Simple stuff. Personal stuff. Stuff you go to your girlfriends for help with.

Working with these special and strong ladies over the past few years has made me see the beauty and the possibilities of a strong female community. When you get rid of the gossip, and the bullies, and the competition, it can be quite supportive. And helpful. I know there will always be an ear to hear my troubles and my triumphs. I know that I can go to Karen or Di if I have any gardening questions, or if I want to have a good laugh. And Stephanie & I can shoot the shit about life, and family, and little kids.

It's nice.

I have the same kind of relationship with my TM Family. I never expected to be friends with people I work with. Real friends, not just "at work friends". These are people who I want to hang out with; who I text with and chat with outside of work. These are strong, wonderful ladies that teach me a thing or two about life (and friendship) each and every day.

And for that I am very thankful.

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, when that good thing is Smarties. But not when that good thing is a good buddy!

Awwww.....mushy Lisa makes an appearance.

later loves

Feel Good Links!

10 Reasons I Love Star Wars. It was also thanks to Amy that I started this little Lovely Life series on ye olde Blog. I was inspired by her Summer of Self-Love series that she did a while back. And her name is like my sister's name, so she automatically gets some Lisa-love for that!

The Nearsighted Owl: I Am Proud of My Size

Doctor Who shirts for ladies? Yes please!

Smart phones and dumb users.

Photo Drop

Here's a little taste of what June looked like down my way.

My beans are growing! Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Simone & I dress the same. Corporate Challenge Power Pull. Coffee Dates. Food trucks! Red Robin's birthday dinner. Relaxing outside. Improvaganza. Happy Father's Day! Beautiful rainbows. Picnics in the yard. My garden! Fruit beer. Soccer practice. Swimming lessons.

And we welcomed sweet Londyn in to our family! Congrats Brother!

And that, my friends, was pretty much what my June looked like. Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Not to mention we celebrated a great report card and the last day of school! We went for pizza with friends, cleaned the house, played lots of Lego. I rode my bike, did a tonne of blogging, and tried not to freak out about our super long road trip that I did barely any planning for (which I am on right now...hope it's all going well!)

I can't wait to see what July has in store! What a Lovely Life I lead!

later loves

Summer Breeze, Makes Me Feel Fine

Today's Lovely Life post features another layout. This time I'm chatting about the little things in life that put a smile on my face, and make me happy that I live this simple life!

One of my favourite things to do during the summer holidays is go for Slurpees. I know...super boring. But it's also a chance for Dude & I to get out of the house, explore the neighbourhood, and chat! And hold hands. Man, I love holding hands. And so does Dude, even more than me! And then we bring our treats home, and have an impromptu backyard picnic. Another summer favourite.

Lucas & I spent some time during our picnic devising a little list of things Lucas wants to do more of in the summer. More backyard picnics was on there!

These photos - and this walk - were taken before school was out for the year, but it still counts as "summer" fun, because this was the second official day of summer. That's another thing Lucas really likes keeping track of: the first day of summer, fall, spring, winter. He thinks that since those days mark a change in season, the weather should automatically change as well, change accordingly!

 Layout Deets: Studio Calico, loads and loads. I really like that circle garland - that Jill gave me - and have used it on a couple of other layouts since. This layout looked totally different in my head, but I still love how it turned out!

I can appreciate the "little things" even more when I look at them through these eyes. Special times with Lucas, that I hope he will remember and cherish when he gets older and maybe doesn't want to hang out with his totally awesome mother as much!

later loves

My New Love

Continuing on with our theme of the week - Lovely Life - I wanted to share a layout I made, celebrating my new love affair with Spa Lady!

 A layout like this is perfect for those random Instagram photos we all have saved on our devices. I email all of my Instagram photos to myself so I can save them directly to my computer and print them off at my leisure. I know there are lots of printing services, but for the most part they print your Instagrams in albums, on magnets, or make them into posters. There is a good printing service (Postal Pix) but it is for iPhones only, as far as I am aware.

Here's a Tip: I save all Instagrams by date in their own special folder. When I am ready to print them - usually for Project Life - I open up a Word document and insert the photos. You can adjust the size of each photo very easily, fill a whole page with them, and print it off right at home!

I really wanted to add lots of journaling to this layout. The photos don't mean much...it's the words that really count. So it doesn't matter that they're not pretty!

I challenge you to create a layout or project or blog post celebrating something that makes you feel totally awesome! It can be something you do for yourself, or someone who makes you feel amazing. And then link it up, if you don't mind!

Tomorrow I'll be back with something else! Yay!!

later loves

Simple & Lovely, Makes Me Smile

I like having simple reminders of awesomeness up in my house. So when I turn a corner, or come home from work, I have a visual cue to make me stop and be grateful for something wonderful in my life!

This first spread is what I see when I walk in my front door! A picture of Lucas when he was just a little toddling thing. And the smaller photo is of my sister and her husband back when they were dating...in high school!

This next one is my DR wall. You may remember when I posted the changes to this wall. Well, after all of that, I decided to add some photos to the frames. I have lots of instant photos that I haven't scrapbooked, and maybe never will. But they look pretty awesome up on my wall.

And this last one is just across from the Green Wall. I bought this IKEA frame after drooling over it for a good year or so. I didn't want to bust out the glass to make it a proper message board, so I attach my photos with sticky tack or tape. This is where my love notes from Kara go as well!

See how easy it is to add a visually and emotionally pleasing space in your home! If you're not keen on displaying photos and love notes for the world to see, here is a super simple DIY for you to help add a sweet smile to your day every time you turn on your computer!

I made a super simple collage using Paint.Net to serve as my desktop background. Create a new file, then add some Instagrams or other digital photos to it. Vary the size of the photos to make things a little more interesting. You can easily change this up every month or so, depending on when the inspiration hits. I LOVE my background, and I smile every time I turn on the laptop and see this simple reminder of good times with my best friends!

later loves

Lovely Life

So this week I wanted to host a little "love fest" here on the blog! A love-in, as it were. I've been noticing a lot of self-love posts on some of my favourite blogs lately, and I thought I would join in on the party.

But I want mine to be more than just being comfortable in my own skin, etc. I want this to be a week to really appreciate and be grateful for all the wonderful things we have in our lives.

Welcome to Lovely Life!

This week I have a bunch of posts scheduled for you, all themed around celebrating your life and all the good little parts in it! I was doing up these posts while procrastinating packing for my trip! YAY!

So I wanted to make this first post all about the people in my life that take up the most space in my heart, and in my head. These are people that I may not see very often, but they are often in my thoughts.

I wonder if they are well, and if they are happy. And I miss them when they are gone. My heart is full of happiness when I see them fulfilling their dreams!

Some of these people are family, and some might as well be!

After wandering through my photos I realized I have barely any photos of my brothers! I need to fix that... Otherwise it was so much fun looking back through these old photos. Lucas was so chubby!

Before I go I just have to wish my amazing sister a Happy Birthday!! Thirty ain't so bad...at least that's what I keep telling myself, and I passed thirty ages ago! I love you lil sis, and I hope your boys really spoil you today!

later loves