Sharing Times of My Life

So many wonderful kits and no time to use them.

2011-10-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have so many wonderful gigs of fantastic scrapkits but not enough time to sit and create with them.
I did these two probably back in the spring time and finally getting around to posting them here.

This scrapkit that I used is called Toys for Boys and created by Gizaa. It's a freebie kit which you can download here.

This next kit is called Ocean front by Azur Scrap and can be found here.

My new desktop wallpaper.

2011-07-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

It's almost 1am July 5th and I just finished my new desktop wallpaper. The dimensions are 1366x768 as that is the dimensions for my laptop.
I used a freebie kit called Sunny Days which can be found here.

I used paintshop pro to but this all together, version 12.

Brag Book Page

2011-07-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

This 4x6 brag book quick page is so adorable. You can view it all the others here.

Been playing with scrap kits lately

2011-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

been playing with some scrap kits lately and have done a few pages. Just simple stuff.

Info on what I used for this page:

word art from scrapkit KindredSpirits_AddOn

palm trees and background from
MDesignsCreations_summerholidays this used to be her blog but now I can't access it here.

hearts deco from Valentinascreations_romance
sun khartley_justbecause_sun

this one with me and stino, I did June 16th using sing a rainbow by misty cato.

I did this one two days ago using Holly Spring's Neptune garden scrapkit. The elements I used from Cajoline's West-coast scrapkit which is so beautiful. I colorized them more turquoise to match the Neptune background.

This one is so adorable and this is Anthony back in august of 2004.
I used Cajoline's west-coast scrapkit.

The background I used is from Lady Papillon's summer feelings scrap kit.

I remembered a dream

2011-07-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Although this happened back in February 2011, I did make a note of it and thought to add it here.

feb 2 2011
i had a dream and I so very rarely remember my dreams but it was at a hotel, and i was saying goodbye to my friends and a man is opening up the door right next to my

friend's hotel room. It's Les McKeown. I shyly ask if i can take a picture with him He smiles but i can tell he is not terribly pleased. So i get next to him (not

quite kathy style) and i hold out the camera and take the photo and it's terrible. I ask if we can try another one and he says ok. That one sucks too. So I apologize

as now i have attempted about 4 photos and i don't like how i look in them or he's being goofy and i don't like how he looks lol
so i can tell he's had enough and i said this will be the very last one and he doesn't want to do it and i say listen, you've been using my photo all over the UK and

he kind of grins and says to me 'it's my photo' and i get so red and say no it's not your photo, i took it'
he says you gave it to me for free. i say yes but not for you to be making money out of it
lol
so one more photo is taken and it's a real nice one
at this point i actually kind of wake up for a few seconds and i remember i smiled as i finally remembered a dream.
i guesss from watching 4 seasons of Medium, i'm finally picking up hints on how to do that.

Books I have read or am reading.

2011-07-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

I got for my birthday in May Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock:Sammy Hagar. It was a good read but not at all like I pictured. I think Sammy might have held back a lot of details on his life. However, it blows my mind what Sammy had to say about Eddie Van Halen.

Last week, I finished reading Miss O'Dell.
Now that book I absolutely LOVED how Chris O'Dell tells her story of meeting, hanging out with, living with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Leon Russell and so much more. What a life she had being surrounded with all that talent and what a great story in the way she recounts what happened. It's just amazing how much she remembers of conversations. Just loved this book.

Currently reading Pattie Boyd: Wonderful Tonight. Pattie was married to first George Harrison of the Beatles and then to Eric Clapton. Also a wonderful book that I am totally enjoying to read.

Stino, came home with the book I really wanted to read next which is called Winnipeg Beach Leisure and Courtship in a Resort Town, 1900-1967 by Dale Barbour.
I first read about it in the Winnipeg Free Press and really want to get started on this book as it sounds fascinating.

I met Les McKeown from the Bay City Rollers

2010-10-01T11:09:00.001-07:00

september 30, 2010 (thursday)

Went to the Bay City rollers concert at the McPhillips Street Station Casino.
Had great seats. Row 2 Table 9 seat 1. right smack in the middle and just perfect.
I went by myself and glad I decided to go.

Right after the show, it was announced they were going to sign autographs and so I rushed into the area where this would be happening.
I was about 10th in the line up. I purchased a $5 collage of the Bay City rollers. Waiting patiently for them to make their appearance.

I got to take a photo with Les and I showed Les the picture and then he leans into me and gives me a kiss. At first I hesistate for a split second and was going
to do a cheek kiss but I thought to myself what's wrong with me. this is Les from the bay city rollers and so I plant a kiss right on his lips. And he then
gives me a hug too. I'm on cloud 9.

I posted a video I did of them last night singing "you made me believe in magic'
it's over at my facebook and I'll put the link here but not sure it can be viewed so later on will upload over to youtube.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5640061&id=550321478&po=1&ref=notif&notif_t=photo_comment#!/video/video.php?v=432018511478&ref=mf

sept 14, 2010 Carlina met Justin Bieber

2010-10-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Carlina went to Justin Bieber concert at the MTS centre in Winnipeg Manitoba, sept 14 2010 with her friend Taylor Marshall.

This was the very first concert I didn't go with her.

Carlina was sitting on the 24th row and got picked to go up on stage where Justin sang to her 'one less lonely girl'

I wish I had been there to see that. I was able to get videos from the youtube with her and Justin.

She was on cloud 9 and I think still is.

some youtube videos with Justin singing to her.
to let you know he did not try to kiss her and she didn't try to kiss him. She was literally in shock and didn't even know how to react.
I just mention this because of all the stupid comments left behind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WDC55bDMck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKCwLs9M2Io

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1x5T4WXXfY&feature=recentu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzqENHh10M4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAqUxHvb6LQ&feature=related

The Droge And Summers Blend - Two Of The Lucky Ones Lyrics

2009-12-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

We're watching Zombieland. Again!! First time saw it with the kids and Stino wanted to see it so here we are watching it again. Sort glad we are as I opened up my ears and heard this song playing in the background, The Droge And Summers Blend - Two Of The Lucky Ones.
I really like it. Can be heard here.

scrap page for carlina's 12th birthday

2009-10-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

Carlina is not twelve until end of November but I got a head start creating this scrap page instead of always doing it at the last minute.
This one is actually pretty large as I am getting it printed out at Staples.
Dimensions are 17x11.

I used two scrap kits for this one.
the pinkish paper and filmstrip I used from this kit,lovely garden by Ariane Rezende and the rest of the elements and one paper I used from this kit, J'Aime Chocolat .

Torn Cardboard Tag with String

2009-10-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

I made this tag last night using this video tutorial.
very well explained and super easy to do.
My results.

My Little Pumpkin Girl

2009-10-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

Carlina was only 6 months here. So sweet!!

I used Adeyeo Genuine Love-Border1.
I just colorized it to this bright orange and added some texture.
The pumpkin element is from a kit called Punkin Pickin' by Bella Gypsy Designs.

Autumn Quick page

2009-10-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

I put this one together yesterday. Scrap kit by Lliella called Falltastic Crazy Mania.

Maria’s quick and easy chicken soup

2009-10-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

I made this today right when I came home from work.
It's quick and so easy to make.
Smells great and tastes so yummy.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 small onion chopped
left over cooked chicken shredded about 2 cups (white part)
or 2 large chicken breasts (not cooked) Place in a saucepan covering chicken
with water and boil for about 20 minutes, discarding foam.

heat the olive oil in a saucepan
then add the carrots, onions and chicken
saute for 5 minutes
fresh chopped parsley can be added or dried

two 900 mls chicken broth

stir and let cook for about 5 minutes covered with a lid
then add 2 cups of little frozen ravioli or fresh ravioli
or pasta of choice such as orzo (1/2 cup)
½ cup rice can be substituted for the pasta

let simmer for 10 minutes covered with a lid
add salt if broth tastes bland

Top each serving with grated Parmesan, if desired

PHILADELPHIA Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Cheesecake

2009-10-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

I made this cheesecake last week and it is so good. I did take a picture of the one I made but didn't quite look as pretty as the picture I have included here. But never mind, it still tasted delicious.
I didn't have oreo cookies and I used the regular graham type crackers and just crushed 'em up and added the melted butter.
Also I didn't have squares of chocolate but I did have half bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and used that to melt.

PHILADELPHIA Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Cheesecake

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 5 hr 25 min
Makes: 16 servings

What You Need!
20 OREO Cookies, crushed (about 2 cups)
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
4 eggs
6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted, cooled

Make it!
heat oven to 325°F

MIX cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of foil-lined 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each just until blended.

RESERVE 1 cup batter. Stir chocolate into remaining batter; pour over crust. Top with spoonfuls of reserved plain batter.

SWIRL batters with knife. Bake 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours

Our Grapes

2009-10-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

I had meant to post these photos our grapes on the vine off our deck. Just kept forgetting.
I love how the sunset peeked through these photos.

Sweet Strawberry Quickpage

2009-10-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Another quickpage with just right soft colors for Autumn.
I used Irene Alexeeva's scrap kit Strawberricious.

Sisters Quickpage

2009-10-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

This Quickpage has soft Autumn colors and perfect for sister.
I used the scrap kit for this one by Vicki called Breakfast at Tiffany's

Crazy Cousins or Crazy Pals Quickpage

2009-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I did these quickpages last year. The kit is called sock monkey madness by Kate Hadfield.

I can't believe I finally.......

2009-10-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I finally used one of my 450 gigs (yes gigs) of scrap kits.
I would love to have a day job doing this kind of stuff. So much fun and relaxing.
I created a kind of a quick page using Ziska Vintage flower scrapkit. You can view Ziska's vintage flowers kit, here
For the frame border I used Microferk Lucid vintage paper frame which you can find here.

Aug 30 2009 Spirit Sands Trail in Spruce Woods Provincial Park-Souris Bridge

2009-09-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

The kids and Stino weren't much into climbing the sand hills at Spirit Sands as they were too hot. I was loving it.
However, they did enjoy the walk across the Souris bridge. They rocked it so much, I was pretty darn scared to walk across it.

Sept 4 2009 Quarry Park and The Oasis Beach

2009-09-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

Before driving to the oasis beach we drove down to the Quarry Pits.
The kids had fun climbing. After the Oasis we went back to the quarry pits.
HOT hot day.

Sept 5 2009 Grand Beach Manitoba

2009-09-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Grand Beach is such an awesome beach. It has the finest tropical like sand.

Sept 4, 2009 harvesting in brandon manitoba

2009-09-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Couple of self-pictures that Stino took while doing a filming job in Brandon Manitoba.

Sept 6, 2009 Splash Island Park Portage La Prairie

2009-09-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

I Love LOVE Splash Island Park in Portage La Prairie. I sure wish that Winnipeg had one of these.
We went with Stino's sister Enza and brother Piero and their kids.

Sept 7 2009 Gimli Beach

2009-09-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

Wanted to also include our other summer photos.
These were taken at Gimli Manitoba.
We were there with Stino's sister Enza and daughters Brianna, Cassie and Stino's brother, Piero with daughter Tatianna.
We met up briefly with Bonnie and Ron Merritt. Bonnie used to baby-sit Carlina and Anthony when I used to go to work and they weren't in school yet.
Bonnie and Ron have a boat there. We hung out with Stino's cousin Antoinette and daughter Amanda.

Victoria Beach

2009-09-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

I then drove with the kids to Victoria Beach. Kids had never been at this beach and I don't recall when the last time I was here. I didn't even know where the parking lot for this beach was located. We drove around and found a little path that led to part of the beach. We were pretty hungry by then and brought along the towels to sit on and cooler with food. Brought out the bread to start making sandwiches and the bread was full of mold. Grrrrrrr,I wish I had noticed at home. Good thing I had 3 fresh bagels. We started throwing pieces of our bagel at the seagulls and Carlina and Anthony got kind of freaked when the birds were flying over them as if ready to attack.
We took off one hour later and got home by 7:15 pm. Cleaned up and took showers and we started watching a tv series I recorded called Harper's Island. We're on the 4th episode. Not really a kids show as it sure has some gory parts. But as Anthony put it, he has seen gorier movies.

Patricia Beach

2009-09-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

We were on our way at about 2:30 pm for a drive to Patricia Beach. I had not been there since the 90's and the kids have never been there.
It's very peaceful to be at a beach when there's no one else around.
Love the sound of the water.

Wave Pool...FINALLY!

2009-09-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Wish I could say it was being built in Winnipeg but this wave pool is being built in Portage La Prairie Manitoba.
It's only one hour away so although I can't see us going every single month, I'm sure every other month we will head with the family there.
Here is more on the wave pool called PCU Centre.

I read it should be open September 2010.

Aquatic Special Features:
5 lane 25m lap pool
Wave pool
Lazy river
Hot tub
Water slide
Integrated tots pool
Pool side viewing terrace
Outside patio
Family change room

I wonder why that a small town like Portage La Prairie can build a 28 million dollar facility like this but not Winnipeg?

Summer Fun in Manitoba

2009-07-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Portage La Prairie splash Island Park
it's great for both toddlers to seniors. The water is so wonderful to play in as it is always kept warm.
There are showers (private curtained stalls) and area for picnicing check it out here

Not sure if this one will be opening up because of the flood but Selkirk park pool is a great place to take the family.
It's got a huge pool with sand all around and a canteen and shower area too. (the pool is pretty cold though)
Then outside the park is all these huge ships that are now museums.

zipline adventures which I'm not sure I want to do but the kids do http://www.hywirezipline.ca/

we really enjoyed winkler's aquatic park too
there's showers there too, I think
http://www.cityofwinkler.ca/recreation.html

The ever famous Oasis Beach http://www.oasisbeach.ca/Oasis_Beach_Winnipeg/Home.html
oh but that pool is so cold
I can't stand it lol
There are showers and food available.

Steinbach's acquatic indoor pool is really nice in the summer because there is a great area for children indoors and an outdoor pool too
and huge patio outside with tables for picnicking
http://www.oasisleisure.ca/commercial/STEINBACH_AQUATIC.html

Lilac Resort is pretty darn awesome but a bit pricey
http://www.lilacresort.com/Water-Park.page

So this one is not in Manitoba but in the US Thief River Falls Minnesota,Seven Clans casino and waterpark but totally worth the drive. The rooms are very nice, clean and extra roomy. The waterpark is great for the whole family.

The water is warm and there is something there for everyone: a hot tub for adults, a kiddie area that starts at about 1 inch deep with children's slides, squirt guns, a pool, a tube river ride and a few waterslides.
Ask for the deluxe suite. Comes with electric fireplace, balcony and just a huge room for under 100 dollars.
Don't forget the passports.

Did I mention how much I love summer?

2009-07-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

These next photos were all taken today, July 9th 2009 and so Yippee! I'm all caught up.

I just love summer and actually mentioned to Stino how I wish I had a sink outside and I would cook everything on the barbeque and even wash the dishes outside.
I have my breakfast, lunch and supper out on the deck.
I would love to watch tv out here too. Ok getting a bit carried away.
Another beautiful day here in Winnipeg. Funny how when I talk to anyone about the weather, they pretty much all say how crappy the weather has been. What part of Winnipeg are they in? I don't know. I just do know, it's been awesome.
We took a drive to Lockport Manitoba and then we got back home around 4 pm and had a barbeque and of course ate on the deck.

Tiger Lilies in our Yard

2009-07-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

I truly do not know much about flowers and the care of them but I have a feeling I should be transplanting some of these tiger lilies. My mother in law gave me 3 of them 2 years ago and they spread like weeds. I have to look up to see when it is best to transplant them elsewhere.

Rainbow over our house

2009-07-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

July 9th 2009 we had a wonderful sun shower.

Jonas Brothers at the MTS Centre

2009-07-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

Jonas Brothers came to town July 5th 2009 at the MTS Centre. We went with my friend Wendy and her daughter, Carlina's friend Haley. Stino's cousing Antoinette and daughter Amanda came with us too.

First band up was Honor Society. I enjoyed listening to them. Jordin Sparks was next and she was good. Last back up band was a group of cute gals from Asia called Wundergirls. They sang one song which had a nice beat to it.

Finally the Jonas' came out and all the girls in that arena went nuts. They put on a good show and I know Carlina really enjoyed it. I took quite a bit of photos which I have them all posted over here.

Here's a few pictures from the concert of just the Jonas Brothers.

Canada Day July 1, 2009

2009-07-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day July 1, Canada day.

Relaxing morning on the deck.

Afternoon we headed to the Winnipeg Zoo as it was free to get in. Everyone from Winnipeg there.
We then walked over to Assiniboine Park and sat and listened to Papa Mambo band

Home for supper and then off to across the Forks to see fireworks.

Me and Stino relaxing on the deck in the morning.

Carlina's grade 6 Grad Day

2009-07-12T18:21:00.001-07:00

June 24th, 2009 it was Grad day for the grade 6 at Glenelm school. Can't believe my little girl that is now taller than me is all done with grade 6 and heading to Junior high.

Nonno ( my father-in-law) with Carlina

Back at Grand Beach

2009-07-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

June 21 was father's day and also a beautiful day. We packed up and headed to Grand Beach again but Stino with us this time.

Dragonflies in our yard June 20, 2009

2009-07-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

I took these June 20th. Still trying to catch up with my blogging.

first trip to the beach June 19, 2009

2009-07-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't been a very good blogger and am a bit behind on posting some photos. These were taken at Grand Beach Manitoba.
This is what I wrote that evening of June 19th.

Anthony has now been home a whole week from school with either having a low fever to sometimes slightly higher today it was in the middle. I gave him some meds and hoped they would kick in.
Now Carlina's been home for 2 days with a sore tummy, headache and leg pains. I gave her Advil and also hoped she would feel better.

so I packed just a collapsible cooler with some water and cookies. Some toberlone chocolate too.

No plans but to just drive over to Birds Hill Park Provincial park 15 minutes from our place.

We got there and drove around and it was kind of boring so I didn't say a word to them and I drove the opposite direction from Winnipeg.
Carlina asked where we were heading and I said 'just a spin'

Anthony fell asleep which was good for him..
Carlina soon realized we were heading to the beach with all the Grand beach signs.

We had not been there since they were tiny.

We got there and I couldn't find the main parking lot to the beach.
I realized on the way out, after, that I had actually passed it on the way in.

We winded up at this parking lot with sand dunes.

Anthony woke up and was so excited when he saw them. I was too, as all I wanted to do was climb them.

So we did and ouch ouch, the sand was burning and to run up was useless as it was so hot that it left us without energy.

I had forgotten also what amazing sand Grand beach has.
It's so fine that it is actually 100 times better then the sand in Mazatlan or a lot of other beaches we have gone to.

Carlina and Anthony ran to the water and Carlina tells me the water is warm.

Like I would believe that!!

I was wrong. The water was super warm.

This little adventure not being planned, I didn't bring bathing suits.

I said let's go back to the van and see what kind of extra clothes I might have in the emergency bag

There was pukey green sweats for Anthony and super baggy beach pants that belonged to me but I told carlina she could wear them.

As for me I had nothing extra I could put on.

So...............
I knew we were far from everyone on the beach and I had some cute turquoise undies and a sports bra on.
Carlina, is saying 'I would never do that'

I laughed.
I told her that no one was at this end of the beach and plus I wasn't worried so for her to not care either.

After we were refreshed we went back to the blanket and I had more blankets and we each tried to dry up as best.
The kids were a bit fussy about the sand sticking to them and I was annoyed.
We're at a beach that stuff is very normal, I told them.

Any how we had cookies and cold water to drink as that is all I brought along.

Packed up and once again Anthony fell asleep and Carlina and I talked about the upcoming trip to South Dakota.

Took exactly 1 hour and 5 mins to get home..

Too bad stino was working but if it is nice on Sunday, I want the four of us to head back to grand beach

But this time I am packing up that emergency bag with bathing suits and more extra clothing for spontaneous trips.

That's my day.

41 Things In The Life Of An Italian Child

2009-07-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

01. You have at least one relative who wore a black dress every day for an entire year after a funeral.
02. You spent your entire childhood thinking what you ate for lunch was pronounced "sangwich."
03. Your family dog understood Italian.
04. Every Sunday afternoon of your childhood was spent visiting your grandparents and extended family.
05. You've experienced the phenomena of 150 people fitting into 50 square feet of yard during a family cookout.
06. You were surprised to discover the FDA recommends you eat three meals a day, not seven.
07. You thought killing the pig each year and having salami, capacollo, pancetta and prosciutto hanging out to dry from your shed ceiling was absolutely normal. (Wow, that's really Italian!)

08. You ate pasta for dinner at least three times a week, and every Sunday, and laughed at the commercial for Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti day.

09. You grew up thinking no fruit or vegetable had a fixed price and that the price of everything was negotiable through haggling.

10. You were as tall as your grandmother by the age of seven.
11. You thought everyone's last name ended in a vowel.
12. You thought nylons were supposed to be worn rolled to the ankles.
13. Your mom's main hobby is cleaning.
14. You were surprised to find out that wine was actually sold in stores.
15. You thought that everyone made their own tomato sauce.
16. You never ate meat on Christmas Eve or any Friday for that matter.
17. You ate your salad after the main course.
18. You thought Catholic was the only religion in the world.
19. You were beaten at least once with a wooden spoon or broom.
20. You thought every meal had to be eaten with a hunk of bread in your hand.
21. You can understand Italian but you can't speak it.
22. You have at least one relative who came over on the boat.
23. All of your uncles fought in a World War.
24. You have at least six male relatives named Tony, Frank, Joe or Louie.
25. You have relatives who aren't really your relatives.
26. You have relatives you don't speak to. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
27. You drank wine before you were a teenager.
28. You relate on some level, admit it, to the Godfather and the Sopranos. I maka a meata ball you can't refuse! ...forrgetttabbboutit! badda bing!

29. You grew up in a house with a yard that didn't have one patch of dirt that didn't have a flower or a vegetable growing out of it.

30. Your grandparent's furniture was as comfortable as sitting on plastic. Wait!!!! You were sitting on plastic.
31. You thought that talking loud was normal.
32. You thought sugared almonds and the Tarantella were common at all weddings.
33. You thought everyone got pinched on the cheeks and money stuffed in their pockets by their relatives.
34. Your mother is overly protective of the males in the family no matter what their age.
35. There was a crucifix in every room of the house.
36. Wakes would be held in someone's living room.
37. You couldn't date a boy without getting approval from your father. (Oh, and he had to be Italian)
38. You called pasta "macaroni".
39. You dreaded taking out your lunch at school.
40. Going out for a cup of coffee usually meant going out for a cup of coffee over Zia's house.
41. Every condition, ailment, misfortune, memory loss and accident was attributed to the fact that you didn't eat something

Those of you who get this...YOU KNOW who to pass it on to!

CIAO!

The Innocence of Michael Jackson

2009-06-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with puffy eyes. I actually forgot that last night while the kids were in bed and Stino had fallen asleep, that I was able to finally cry freely.
I cried so much. I have not cried that much in such a long time.
I cried for Michael Jackson. I cried because in my heart, I know he was a good person. An Innocent man. I cried for all thosse nasty accusations against him. I just know they are not true. All for the name of getting his millions.
I wish that those that accused him would be feeling so ashamed of the horrible thing they did and also that they made their children lie....all for money. EVIL EVIL pieces of poo. But I know they are not ashamed or regret what they have done. I have always known Michael Jackson would never do those horrible things to children. To me he was a man who didn't have a childhood.
I recall watching a few days ago an interview where he said, he was the child inside watching the other children outside playing. Boy, can I relate to that one. For him it was that he had to practice his dancing, singing and for me, it was simply because my father would not let me go outside and play. That does do something to a person. It has for me and not that I want to try to relive being a child. But instead I let my children have a childhood. How sad I am at this very moment picturing myself inside watching the children play outside. I ask why did it have to be that way?
Why so much evil in this world??
I know what it is like to live with a physically abusive father. It sucks SUCKED big time. Every day I would pray for God to make me a better person. But I was a little girl. I wasn't bad. Why didn't my father see that?
Then I prayed and prayed for God to please just take me. I couldn't live that life anymore. But I did. And here I am just crying so much because I realize that this kind of childhood, affects everyone differently. I have not forgiven and forgotten but I have chosen to let it go and not overtake my life. But right now I can't help the way I feel that I just wish that this sweet man would not have gone so soon.
I know he was NOT a molester. I know the eyes of molesters. I have been molested by two men. One a neighbor and the other a bastard of a cousin. I know the eyes of a molester. Even when I am working, I know who is good and who is bad. They can be so good looking and charming, but I do know....
And I know Michael was good and INNOCENT.
There is a song Michael sings, called "Childhood"
To me that song says it all about his life. To hear it, you can download it here

Childhood by Michael Jackson
Written and Composed by Michael Jackson.
Produced by Michael Jackson.

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for the world that I come from
'Cause I've been looking around
In the lost and found of my heart...
No one understands me
They view it as such strange eccentricities...
'Cause I keep kidding around
Like a child, but pardon me...

People say I'm not okay
'Cause I love such elementary things...
It's been my fate to compensate,
for the Childhood
I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like pirates in adventurous dreams,
Of conquest and kings on the throne...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me,
Look within your heart then ask,
Have you seen my Childhood?

People say I'm strange that way
'Cause I love such elementary things,
It's been my fate to compensate,
for the Childhood (Childhood) I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like fantastical stories to share
But the dreams I would dare, watch me fly...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me.
The painful youth I've had

Have you seen my Childhood....

Quick Tags created by Lori Doodles from my Noodles

2009-06-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

Lori from Doodles from my Noodles is sure one super talented lady. She recently has been creating Quick Tags which you can then add your own photo to it.
They are so pretty.
Here is 3 examples of Lori's Quick Tags.
I added my own photos to them using the aspect ratio tutorial I have here at my blog.
Can be found here

Lori's Quick Tags are in psp format. After I inserted my own photo, I saved it in paintshop pro in png format instead of gif or even taking it to animation shop and saving it there as I find you sure lose the depth of the wonderful colors. So trying saving in png and no color loss.

Outlined Text

2009-06-01T13:23:00.001-07:00

I subscribe to several of Lori's blogs and one of them is tutorials. http://doodletutorials.blogspot.com/

Lori, has a super easy tutorial on how to outline text. I tried it and was finished in 2 minutes.
My results.

I only added a inner bevel and then the drop shadow. I used paintshop pro 11.
check out Lori's simple and easy outlined text over here

Happy Birthday, Ev

2009-05-19T20:25:00.001-07:00

Maria's Chili Recipe

2009-05-19T19:53:00.001-07:00

2lbs lean ground beef
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced green or red peppers or combination to equal 1 cup
2 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup corn
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp cumin
4 tbsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
284 ml or consomme soup or beef broth
540 ml canned tomatoes
156 ml tomato paste
1 tsp oil
1 can 540 ml red kidney beans drained

Saute onions, celery, peppers, and garlic in the oil until tender but not browned.
Remove from the pot.
Add meat to the pot and brown, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Cook thoroughly. Drain fat.
Return vegetables to pot along with other ingredients except the kidney beans and corn.
Bring to a boil then simmer for one 1 hour
Add kidney beans and corn and more seasonings if desired.
Simmer another 15 minutes
Serve with toppings such as sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, green onions.

Saturday Drive April 25, 2009

2009-04-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

We went for a ride first down River Road near Lower Fort Garry and then we headed to Lockport and Selkirk and finally to Winnipeg Beach and Gimli Manitoba.

Nice sunny day but quite cold. We had our picnic right in our cosy warm van.

River Road near Lower Fort Garry

Next few pictures taken at Winnipeg Beach.

Wow, that lake is still frozen and going to be cold for a long long time.

Next few pictures are taken at Gimli Manitoba.

Breezy Point Manitoba

Anthony's Birthday Party April 24th

2009-04-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Anthony's birthday is April 10th but because Stino was out of the country working we had it this past Friday.
Anthony is now 9 years old.
A few pictures of family at the birthday party and a couple of his buds.

Carlina and Anthony...Seems Like Such a Long Time Ago

2009-04-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

We have a new printer/scanner/copier HP Photosmart C6280 all-in-one. I'm very happy how fast it scans but not crazy at all about the quality of the scan. I can't find anywhere to save it the best resolution.

A few pictures I scanned today.

April 10, 2001 Anthony turns one years old

November 27, 2001 Carlina is 4 years old

December 23, 2003

May 24, 2003

March 6, 2004

March 7, 2004

March 26, 2004

July 3, 2004

December 30, 2004

Birthday Card for Haley

2009-04-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Carlina is going to Haley's birthday party tonight. I don't have a vehicle this week so last night I found a picture of Carlina and Haley and went through my birthday scrap kits and put the front of the card together. I wish I had kept track of the elements I used and what kits they come from.
Heads look funny as they have been enlarged.
Click to enlarge.

Happy Birthday Haley
Wishing you will always
Remember this Birthday
With fond memories
of time spent
Laughing and filled with joy.

One Year of Pictures of Anthony

2009-04-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

I made a collage of photographs of Anthony. I made one for Carlina 2 years ago and now set out to make one for Anthony.

However, I never expected such a simple collage would take over 7 hours to do. All because I did it on my very slow desktop computer. Had I done it on the laptop it would have taken perhaps close to 2 hours. Grrrrrrr but the laptop is now in Fargo North Dakota with Stino.

Well, I did finally finish it around lunch time.

Here it is.
It is very busy with photographs but I had such a hard time getting rid of them so I used almost all the ones I chose.
Click on the collage to enlarge.

April 4, 2009 Sunday Drive

2009-04-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went for a drive to first Lockport Manitoba then off to Selkirk Manitoba and we went down River Road near Lower Fort Garry. Good day for taking photos but hard to believe it is Spring with all that snow still around.
Will still be here in June I bet.

Lockport Manitoba

River Road near Lower Fort Garry

Selkirk Manitoba

Ukrainian Catholic Parish of Holy Trinity Henderson Highway

Margarita Time

2009-04-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

Andrea came over last month and we had a little afternoon Mexican Fiesta. The strawberry margaritas were so very good.

1/2 cup orange juice

3 to 4 tablespoons of frozen limeade

1/2 cup Mott's strawberry daiquiri mix

2 cups of crushed ice

2 ounces of tequila (if making a daiquiri, 2 ounces of rum)

1 ounce of triple sec

blend all in blender for a few seconds

Delicious!!

Mazatlan February 2007

2009-04-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

I uploaded some photos to walmart last night to get printed and thought I would also add them here.

These were all taken Feb 2007 when the whole Urso family went to Mazatlan Mexico.

Was a lot of fun and I will always have fun and fond memories of us all together.

My Babes back in 2004

2009-04-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

My first digital camera was only a 2 megapixel and was sent by a sweet friend Carol Cooper that lives in Stevenage England.
I still have this camera and call it the Cooper camera. Sure came in handy.
Here's some pictures of Carlina and Anthony that I found on a folder on my desktop, using the Cooper Camera.
Very pixelated but I love them as they are my babes.

Anthony and Carlina at Gimli Beach

This is at Winnipeg Beach

Stino and the kids at Assiniboine Park

Kilcona Park

Steinbach Manitoba

Tinker Town Manitoba

Garbage Mountain in Winnipeg (Westview Park)

Kildonan Park in Winnipeg

Prairie Dog Train Ride Winnipeg

The Italian Truth

2009-03-31T21:48:00.001-07:00

Although, I'm not Italian, I can relate to this as Stino is Italian.

Italians have a $40,000 kitchen, but use the $259 stove from Sears in the basement to cook.

A portrait of the Pope and Padre Pio in the dining room.

God forbid if anyone EVER attempted to eat Chef Boy-are-dee, Ragu,
Prego, Kraft TV dinner, even Michelina's frozen entre, or anything else in a jar, box or can;
that's "PORCHERIA di Mangiacakie"

1st weekend in October - Grapes for the Wine;

3rd weekend in August (or Labour Day - if your parents really hateyou) Tomatoes for the sauce; "Eh...no maka no plans we worka in dagarage"

Meatballs are made with Pork, Veal and Beef. - We are Italians, we don't care about cholesterolo .

Turkey is served on Thanksgiving, AFTER the antipasto, manicotti,
gnocchi and lasagna. Later on we have da Barbaque with da Bistecka.

Sunday dinner is at 1:00pm -

First course, Antipasto...change plates

Next, Macaroni (Nonna calls all pasta Macaroni)...change plate

After that, Roasted Meats, Roasted Potatoes, and Overcooked Vegetables.

AND CHANGE THE PLATES

THEN and ONLY then, (NEVER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEAL) would you eat the salad (HOMEMADE OIL & VINEGAR (Last years wine) DRESSING ONLY)...change plates

Next, Fruit, Nuts & LUPINI (on paper napkins because you ran out of
dishes by now)

Coffee (Espresso for Nonno, "Cafe Canadese" for the rest) with
Sambuca

and Hard Cookies (from the last time Nonna went to a Bridal Shower) with the stale almonds and freezer burn, to dip in the coffee.

The kids go play...the men go to lie down, (or have a game of "TreSette") They sleep so soundly you could perform brain surgery on them without anaesthesia

The women clean the kitchen and gossip about "il figlio de Maria" or someone that's dying"

Italian mothers never threw a baseball in their life, but they can
nail you in the head with a shoe thrown from the kitchen while you're in the
living room.

The true Italians will love this; those of you who are married to
Italians will understand this.

Summer Poem

2009-03-31T21:44:00.001-07:00

I had sent the Winter Poem to my friend Sonel who lives in South Africa and she came up with this one.
It's very funny.
Thanks Sonel. Wish I could experience some of that.

Summer Poem by Sonel

It's summer in South Africa
And the hot breezes blow
Don't know how many miles an hour
At 38 degrees for now

Oh, how I love South Africa
When the sweat's up to your butt
You take a breath of summer
And your nose gets swollen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave South Africa
I'm melted to the ground!

Winter Poem

2009-03-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

I took this picture tonight at 10:30pm. By now the snow has usually melted quite a bit but not this Spring. Winter is hanging on..

It's winter in Canada
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At thirty-five below.

Oh, how I love Canada
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Canada
I'm frozen to the ground!

2 Extras Tickets for the Jonas Brothers

2009-03-30T08:41:00.001-07:00

I have two extra tickets for the Jonas Brothers concert here in Winnipeg Manitoba on July 5, 2009.

It is playing at the MTS Centre.
It's for section 305
Row 6
seats 13 and 14
Price I paid $222.00
Asking for $222.00

email me at mayflower38@shaw.ca

The Jonas Brothers stage will be right in the center of the arena and because the MTS Centre is a smaller arena, section 305 has a perfect view of the stage.

Click to enlarge.

Tonight I tubed

2009-03-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

Tonight I tubed. I saw this sweet little doll in an ad I got in the mail today. It's one of those Bradford Exchange orders. This one is called It's not easy being cute by Master Sculptor Sherry Rawn.

The tube can be downloaded here
By the way, I'm so not a tuber so if you find pixel strays, just remove 'em.

And if you are a font-a-holic, psp frame-a-holic then go here to my Rapidshare list of goodies http://rapidshare.com/users/1BP2RO

Hi Sonel, you know I've been so very good. I believe you know what I mean lol. But now I must confess I am way behind on answering email. Quite a bit to read from friends and I see one there from you and will try to get to it this evening.

Birthday Bros

2009-03-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Stino turned 45 on March 4th and Rick turned 44 Feb 25th.

Stino's mentioned a few times that when they were younger, their parents had the boy's birthdays on the same day. I wish we could have had a nice birthday party for Stino, but unfortunately he was heading out of town and plus his parents were still in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

A Few Pictures taken in Victoria British Columbia

2009-03-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

Stino was in Victoria BC last week of February to film the Scotts (curling event). He took several pictures. Here are a few.

Winnipeg Church Photographs

2009-03-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, March 14th the kids and I went for a drive. I had noticed that down Burrows Avenue, there is a fair amount of churches. I thought that was pretty wild having that many churches down one road.
I took pictures of all the churches on that street and then the kids and I went church hunting in the area. We found several more.
Here are the pictures.

Bethlehem Aboriginal Fellowship on Burrows Ave

Salem Reformed Church built 1907. Burrows Ave

Springs Inner City on Burrows Ave

Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Mary the Protectress on Burrows Ave

John Cantius Educational Building 852 Burrows Ave

Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church on College Ave

Wat Lao Xayaram Buddhist Temple
I can't recall the name of the street but, it's just a few streets away from Burrows Avenue.

Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral on 939 Main St

Andrews Ukrainian Catholic Church on Euclid St

Cathedral Vladimir & Olga Confraternity Church on 115 Mcgregor

Parish Hall of St. Vladimir and Olga Cathedral on Mcgregor St

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral on Main St

St.John's Anglican Church

St. John's Anglican Church was the last stop before heading to McD's for a bite.
There's so many more of these churches in Winnipeg, but not always easy to just stop and take a picture. But I can try.

Winter Poem

2009-02-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

Winter Poem

It's winter in Canada
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At thirty-five below.

Oh, how I love Canada
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Canada
I'm frozen to the ground!

Sunny and Lots of Snow to Shovel

2009-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

It's gloriously sunny but very cold. So much snow to shovel. I have to do it before the kids start playing on it and harden it down and then it's a real back breaker to clear it. Wish Stino wasn't out of town.

Yesterday's 'Lotsa' Snow Pictures

2009-02-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

Started to snow yesterday afternoon and it just kept going but at least it wasn't too cold.
Anthony and his friends playing on our play structure.

My New Nautical Blog Header & Background Credits

2009-02-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

I love the beach. I really miss that we couldn't take off for Mexico this year. So, seems that all I think is of the beach so when I saw this Nautical Kit called Secret of the Sea which can be downloaded here (it's a freebie right now but not sure for how much longer)
Credits go to Scrappers at these sites http://nola-shainy.blogspot.com/
http://lescrapdepetitefleur.blogspot.com/
I think there might be more as it's a collab kit but it's all in French so not sure if I'm missing any creators.
The rope border is a kit called Cosmos by Akizo. It's a Japanese site and this one is really all Japanese to me. Not a clue what is being said there but this Akizo is one talented creator. Here is the site called http://digital-scrapbooking-japan.blogspot.com/

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2009-02-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

These cookies are really good. I made them this afternoon and hard to not eat them all.

I didn't have enough peanut butter cups to make 2 cups as suggested by the recipe but I did have 1 cup and it still turned out delicious.
More Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Recipes here.

Here's the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups

DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter cups.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Click to enlarge.

My Pirate Girl

2009-02-23T22:23:00.000-08:00

Carlina is in a school play about Pirates. We had to look to see what kind of clothes we had at home that might look piratish. I found an old silk blouse and vest. She's not too keen on it but I think it looks pretty good.

Look at those Lashes

2009-02-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

How come little boys seem to have the most luscious elashes? Anthony got his haircut a few days ago. It was a messy bush and he insisted that Roberta not cut it too short.

20 SECRETS TO HAPPINESS

2009-02-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

With permission from RhondaSue from http://craftymumzcreations.blogspot.com/ I wanted to add this post. I really like what it has to say. Thank you RhondaSue.

20 SECRETS TO HAPPINESS
1. Return everything you borrow.
2. Stop blaming other people.
3. Live within your means and within your seams.
4. Be humble.
5. Listen more; talk less.
6. Every day, do something nice and try not to get caught.
7. Strive for excellence, not perfection.
8. Be on time.
9. Don't criticize anyone for 24 hours.
10.Be kind to other people.
11.Be even kinder to unkind people.
12.Take time to be alone.
13.Admit it when you make a mistake.
14.Understand and accept that life isn't always fair.
15.Let someone cut ahead of you in line.
16.Don't argue.
17.Know when to say something.
18.Know when to keep your mouth shut.
19.Don't make excuses.
20.Don't sweat the small stuff.

Challenge

2009-02-23T12:07:00.001-08:00

I've been challenged by Sonel. This challenge I really like.

This is the challenge:

1. Go to your photo folder in your computer.
2. Go to the 6th folder of photos.
3. Go to the 6th picture.
4. Put the picture on your blog and a description of it.
5. Invite some friends to join the challenge.
6. Link them in your blog and let them know they have been challenged.

Here is my photo:

My little sweetie who is now taller than me. Carlina was making banana muffins. This picture was taken November 2007.

I am passing this Challenge on to (I don't know 6 bloggers lol)
http://rosysgoodies.blogspot.com/

Stamp Template

2009-02-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Here is the final template I will be sharing today.

Download it here.

Photo Album Template

2009-02-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

Also created in photoshop using an Action. I took the psd file to psp and converted it to a pspimage.
Here is a simple example I put together quickly.

download the photo album template here.
In the zipped folder I have included instructions on how to use. Such as changing the photo corner colors. As well as changing the picture border color and even page one's color.

25 Picture Collage Template

2009-02-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

This one and the previous template were all made in Photoshop CS3 using actions. Action is a photoshop term and in Paintshop pro it is known as scripts. I haven't come across these actions to create this template and the previous one for psp. So, I took the psd templates to psp and saved them in psp format.
This next one, I haven't played with yet to add my own pictures.
Here is what it looks like.

this one has a drop shadow and you can download it here.

download here. This one will not have a drop shadow.

Inside each zipped folder is several different sizes for the template as well as instructions on how to use it.

Big Picture Collage Template1

2009-02-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Here is the example of what it looks like.
download link here.
This template includes a drop shadow and the non-drop shadow version. (for the template without a drop shadow, read on) In the zipped folder I explain how to use it as well, I have included different sizes too. 5x7, 8x10, 11x14 and 12x12

How to use these templates:
open up the this collage template in psp and your photograph you wish to add to it.
on your photo Edit--copy
go to the template and Edit-paste into selection
Image-sharpen-sharpen

if you find the photo looks distorted
go here for aspect ratio tutorial written by me
http://sharingtimesofmylife.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-figure-out-aspect-ratio.html

Template 23

2009-02-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

Template 23, I created over 3 years ago. Here is an example.

download link for the blank template is here.
Zipped file contains a 5x7, 8x10, 11x14 and 12x12

In this template there are several angled picture inserts and to get your photo's perspective correct, I came up with this technique.

The picture you want to add, copy and paste it above the angled layer you wish to add it to.Resize it. If the size is not as close as you would like it to be then hit CTRL+Z to undo and resize again, until you get it close to the shape's size (when resizing the photo, make sure to uncheck resize all layers.

next, use the magic wand and click it on the angled shape. Now it is selected.

with the mover tool, bring your picture on top of it. Hit the D or K key to adjust it appropriately to fit the shape.
don't deselect.
Once you are happy with the location, go to Selections-Invert
and hit delete on the keyboards.
Don't forget that if you have resized the photo to sharpen it.
My Aspect ratio tutorial can also be used. http://sharingtimesofmylife.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-figure-out-aspect-ratio.html

Template 22

2009-02-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

This means I have 21 other templates I have not posted yet. But I might just go backwards with sharing my blank templates.
Template 22 was created over a year and a half ago. I created it for Carlina when she was turning 10.
Here is the example of Template 22

Here is the download link to get Template 22, download here.
In the zipped folder, I have include a 5x7, 8x10, 11x14 and 12x12. They are in psp format and so if anyone needs it in psd format, you can email me at mayflower1965@msn.com .

My Aspect ratio tutorial will come in handy, to get the correct perspective in each blank photo layer.
My Aspect ratio tutorial can also be used. http://sharingtimesofmylife.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-figure-out-aspect-ratio.html

Some New Photos and some Old

2009-02-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I really can't shake my winter blues. I have tried to and so has Stino but I can't shake it. I feel sometimes mad or just depressed. Usually the cold spell is all of February but this year it started, I believe, the second week of December with horrible temperatures of -35 and sometimes higher with the wind chill (celsius). It's enough to bring anyone down that really doesn't like the cold and I HATE the cold.

For Valentine's, Stino got me a 26 inch flat screen tv for our room. He said he would never ever have a tv in the bedroom. But I know he sees how much I enjoy going up there and watching Dexter or a movie. It's just so cosy. I'm happy with the tv but deep down not thrilled. The price of it, would have paid for 2 airline tickets to Puerto Vallarta. That's what I really wanted.

But realistically I knew it wasn't going to happen as then we have to add airline tickets for the kids and the cost of hotel and food. Way too much this year. Well, enough blabbing and going to post some photos.

This one of me and Stino or is that Stino and I. I like me and Stino better. Anyways, this photo was taken on Valentine's day by Carlina. My smile is not a real happy one.

For supper we had lobster, crab, kiwi mussels, shrimp, and scallops. I was going to make rice and some of my home-made salsa but my mood was not in favor of doing all that. So we had only the seafood. But I will say, it was a delight to watch Anthony eat his shellfish. He loved it and I want to remember his cute expressions forever.

Not a very nice looking presentation but I can say it did taste so delicious. What I did was to a very large pot, I added Portuguese Mild Pepper Paste, with tons of chopped garlic and a nice amount of butter, some black pepper or white pepper and some salt. Let the butter melt and I even added a tad of extra virgin olive oil. Added the lobster and crab. Covered the pot with a lid and set the stove to medium and let it steam. To another pot, I added the same ingredients but added the scallops, mussels and shrimp and let that all cook on medium. What a smell!! We just love it. Well, almost all of us love it, except Carlina whose taste buds just don't care for flavorful food.

Did some garlic toast and baked up some jalapeño poppers which Anthony loves. I made Carlina and Anthony some virgin strawberry margaritas. For Stino and I, I added 1 and a half ounces of jose cuervo tequila and 1 oz of triple sec. Ummm very nice.

The virgin margarita I make for the kids has the following ingredients:

1/2 cup of orange juice
2 or 3 ounces of frozen limeade
1/2 cup of mott's strawberry daiquiri flavoring
16 ice cubes that I put into a bag and hammer the heck out of it just so it is nice and crushed.

I add this to either the shaker or blender.

if not making this for kids then to the blender or shaker add 3 to 4 ounces of tequila (if making a daiquiri then add 3 to 4 oz of rum) and 2 ounces of triple sec.

you can substitute the mott's strawberry mix with 2 cups of fresh strawberries.

Any ways, Stino and I winded up putting away our margaritas and drinking a bottle of Baby Duck instead. I haven't had that for years and you know I really enjoyed it. It's a cheap bubbly slightly sweet wine but I don't care. It went down very well.

Dessert was to have been fresh strawberries with melted chocolate but we were all too full.

Sunday, we went out for a drive. I wasn't really much in the mood to go out but Stino can not ever sit at home on a sunny day. First picture is showing our part of our deck and then the second one is the sidewalk on the back our of house.

After supper on Sunday Feb 15th 2009, I was feeling just super sad and I went and took a shower just to escape for a few minutes. Stino, came in with two cockatails. At first taste, I thought 'wow this is strong' but by the third taste, I was really liking it.
Stino, made this drink that I had never tasted before and turned out to be a nice combination. I guess his bartending technique came back to him from the OLD days when he used to work at Club Soda.

I looked up the ingredients he used on the internet and found no cocktail with all of the ingredients he used, so I decided to call it:
Stino's Copa Cocktail
C for 1 oz of Contreau
O for 1 cup of orange juice
P for 1 oz of peach schnapps
A for 1 oz of amaretto
and he added ice to the shaker and shook it up good.
add a slice of fresh pineapple to rim or right inside the glass.
Now that was my drink so he actually doubled this recipe up for 2 drinks.
You think that would have snapped me out of my sadness but it didn't but I love my honey for trying and 'darn'that was a good drink.

Today, Monday Feb 16th 2009, I got up kind of late. I was up until 2am watching season 2 of Dexter. I watched 2 episodes and it sure is getting interesting.
It was a stat holiday here, Louis Riel Day. So, nice we're all home. Carlina wanted to make some pancakes. So, that's what she made for us all.

I definitely have to find a better recipe as it was kind of on the rubbery side. But still, I loved she wanted to make them for us.

My sister-in-law, Enza called and asked if we would like to go bowling at Academy Lanes. She spoke to Stino and at first I thought it would be a nice opportunity for me to stay home and deal with my self-pity but within minutes I changed my mind and decided I really should go.
I wasn't happy there although I really REALLY tried not to show it.
Here are a few pictures that were taken.

My little monkey, Anthony is entering the school science fair and his project is on volcanos and here is a picture of him and Stino working on the volcano.

I was going through a 2007 folder of pictures and thought I would add some here.

Here is the shed that Stino made from scratch a few years back. All his own plan.

and here is a Fall picture in 2007 of our deck. Do I ever miss sitting outside.

I wish I could remember the website I went to, to create these photos. I can't find it. I did have it bookmarked but after doing a reformat, I lost the website.
If anyone knows, leave me a note to where I can find it again.

and finally some halloween 2007 pictures. I wish I wasn't so behind. I used to keep up with printing out photos and now I'm one full year behind. But at least I have the ones I want printed out in a folder. I even resized them all to 4x6 because I noticed that when picking them up at walmart, that sometimes very important parts were cropped out so now I resize them all.

That's all I have to say and I think I said enough. Going to make myself some earl grey tea, kiss Stino good night and head on up to watch episode 12 of Dexter.

Few More Old Photo Borders

2009-02-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

Here is the examples of what these 4 old photo borders look like. These are in psp format.

My friend Andrea (Oct 24, 2007) I bet we were heading to a concert.

Oct 13, 2007, down our street on a foggy morning. I used the colorize in psp to give it this sepia color.

Oct 22. 2007 Stino and Anthony. Used filters Unlimited Aging Kit.

Picture of me with Carlina was taken Nov 20, 2007, Stino and I, Oct 22, 2007 and picture with Anthony was taken Sept 22, 2007. I used filters Unlimited Aging Kit to give it this look.

These Old Photo Borders can be downloaded here

or at megaupload here

Using my friend, Sonel's Quickpage

2009-02-10T11:28:00.001-08:00

My friend Sonel created this rainbow and smiles quickpage which was inspired by a pretty scrapkit, she saw. Wonderful colors and I'm so happy I was able to save it. The download is no longer available.

Awwww, thank YOU so much Sonel for passing these two awards my way. I don't deserve them, truly but so appreciated you thought of me.

I really wish I could pass them on but I don't know any other bloggers but Sonel.

Sunday Drive Feb , 2009

2009-02-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we went for a drive. What better day, then on a nice sunny Sunday.
We started off at 7 11. Stino got slurpees for the kids. I was just over at Wikipedia and copied this interesting fact.

Despite its status as the coldest city in the world with a population of over 600,000Winnipeg, Manitoba was crowned the Slurpee Capital of the World for the ninth time in a row in 2008. In Manitoba, 7-Eleven stores across the province sell an average of 8,330 Slurpee drinks per month. The rest of Canada sells an average of 5,990, which makes Manitobans the world leader of Slurpee sales.

We drove by the floodway enroute to Birdshill Park.

what is this called? Wind snowboarding? I have no clue, but that fellow didn't seem to move anywhere.
I used the plugin filter called Photowiz contrast master to add this effect to the photo.
Clicking on any photo will enlarge it for a better look.

We headed to Birdshill Park Manitoba, which is only 15 minutes away from our house.
Here's some photos I took and some that Stino took too. I enhanced them all either with Photowiz Contrast Master or Alienskin Exposure using Paintshop Pro 12.

for this sepia photo, I used my Photo Aging Technique which you can find here.

We headed to Lockport Manitoba next. Took a few photos along the way there too.

Leaving Lockport I took a few pictures of St. Thomas Parish. Here is one of them.

Driving down River Road, I said to Stino to stop at Parish Church of St Andrews. We have passed by these churches a hundred times and I was thinking why I had never stopped and taken photos of them.

On the way home there sure was a pretty sunset but we couldn't find a good spot to take a good photo so I took this photo while Stino was driving.

And finally at home, I took this picture from our drive way of the full moon.

Well, time to make some of my Bigelow Earl Grey tea and watch an episode of Dexter.

Artrage Doodles Turned into Tubes

2009-02-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Was fiddling this afternoon with the program Artrage again and I added some more doodles to the previous collection I had made. I have them all zipped and can be downloaded here.
Here is a preview of my Artrage tubes

I drew them all in Artrage and then exported them as jpegs. Took one at a time into Animation Shop and used the color replacer. I chose for it to remove the white background and to make it transparent. Took it to psp and saved it as PNG. I have to check if I can save it in AS in that format. Forgot to even check.

Hope someone can use these silly doodles.

Colorizing With Paintshop Pro

2009-02-01T18:18:00.001-08:00

Scanned this very faded picture of Stino when he was just 7 months old back in 1964.

Then took it to psp
It helped that I had a similar picture that was not faded but just in a different pose and so I was able to match the colors that I wanted to use to colorize the faded one.
I took the one picture that had not faded and used the dropper tool to the blue vest
Then back to the faded picture, I added a new layer and used the selection tool set at point to point and started to draw around half the vest. Then I activated the flood fill tool and clicked in the area where the selection was and did a flood fill.
Then I set the opacity from Normal to color
Continued outlining more of the vest (on the same layer) and flood filled it.
For the face and legs I added a new layer and did the same technique as the vest
And changed the opacity from Normal to Color.

Once all was colorized it looked pretty good but I did play a bit with the filter called alien skin exposure color film and found a setting, that I was happy with which changed the skin tone a little deeper in color.

Adding Contrast to Photos without outside Filters in PSP

2009-02-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Last night I was experimenting with that contrast look but without using the contrast master filter and it can be done without filters in psp.
I tried it with it with psp 7 and psp 12

Psp 7 effects-enhance photo-clarify
Psp 10 up to 12 Adjust-brightness and contrast-clarify

Psp 7 apply the clarify at a setting of 5 as that is the highest it goes to
And apply it 4 or 5 times
In psp 10 up to 12 you apply the clarify set at 20
Once is good but for more dramatic effect it can be applied twice

In psp 7 I used automatic saturation enhancement set at more colorful and strong
In psp 12 you can use Adjust-smart photo fix and slide the saturation slider up to 40 or higher
Or to use the same exact effect as psp's 7 automatic saturation enhancement in psp 10 and higher, you can do this
Go up to View--customize-unused commands and locate Automatic saturation enhancement and click on it and drag it up to the top of your program in the grey area.

Here is the original and look and see the after one which I applied the above effects.

applying the above effects

For a softer look, after applying the above effects, duplicate your background layer (your picture layer) 2 times
On the middle layer apply the guassian blur at 20
The top layer lower it to 50 or a tad higher
You can leave the mode at normal or change it to darken for a totally different look
I set this one at the opacity of 69 and changed the mode to darken.

Adding Contrast to your Photos

2009-01-31T15:31:00.000-08:00

I was reading my e-mail subscription by Harold Heim (you can subscribe here, just scroll to the bottom)on the plugin filter called Photo Wiz Contrast Master.
It sure adds interesting contrasts to any photo. More information about it here.
It's compatible with paintshop pro 7 and up.

Here is some examples of before and after.
Picture that Stino took in Fussen Germany. The second one I used PhotoWiz Contrast Master. I played around with the settings. I then used psp's noise remover and enhanced the color.

On the picture of Carlina I used the expert settings which are east to use. Just a bunch of sliders that you can play with for a different effect.

Butterfly Polaroid Frames by Sonel

2009-01-29T07:36:00.000-08:00

I really like picture frame borders and this one that Sonel is sharing is just lovely.
You can get this Butterfly Polaroid Frames over at Sonel's Corner

I used a picture of my mother from 1960. That would make her only 14 years old. She looks much maturer than that but she was born in 1946 so that would add up. Her name is Francelina. A name she says she has never liked. Well, welcome to my world, I don't like mine either lol.
We were both born in Faial Azores (Açores)known as the Blue island. Very tropical and beautiful and in January 1971 moved to a very shocking bitterly cold white snowy Winnipeg Manitoba and I've lived here ever since.

Have Fun in Puerto Vallarta

2009-01-27T11:20:00.000-08:00

My in-laws are heading to Puerto Vallart for some much needed hot weather. Unfortunately, this year no family vacation for us. Sob sob.
I created this 8x10 photo of the grandkids for my in-laws to take with them.

Click on the preview to get a better look.
The background picture is of the Pool at Mayan Palace in Nuevo Vallarta, where I'm guessing they will be close to, since they are also staying in Nuevo Vallarta.
I used various tubes from several vacation scrapping kits. I wish I had marked down who the creators were for all the elements I used on this page, but since I didn't think I would be sharing it, I didn't bother to.
I uploaded the template for this background here
It is in psp format and there is several layers of all the elements. I did it this way so it is possible to move it anywhere on the background. All that is needed is a tubed image of anyone you like to add.
Wishing we could all be there.

Playing with ArtRage

2009-01-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Last night, Stino and I were watching 'in the electric mist' with Tommy Lee Jones. I got a bit confused and opened up this program called Artrage.
It truly is a very cool program. Just wish I had the knack to draw. Well,never mind draw, even my doodles are pretty silly.
But, I have to say, I loved playing around with it. I made some doodle hearts and frames. I then exported it and took it to jasc's animation shop were I used the color replacer to completely remove the white background and give it a transparent background as well as the center. Then took it to PSP and saved it as a PNG.

Here's my doodles

I know, I know they're goofy lol.
How I added a photo to the heart frame. In psp, I used the magic wand and clicked on the inside of the frame. Selections--modify--expand 2 or 3.
Then I added a new layer and dragged it below the heart frame and still keeping it selected.
I then followed my aspect ratio tutorial here

I've zipped up my silly doodles in case anyone out there would actually use them. They can be downloaded here
And now I'm truly in much need of a nap. Been staying up too late reading Maureen McCormick Here's the Story
It's a very interesting book and talks about all the destructive things that went on in her life and I'm on page 200 so am hoping there is a very nice happy ending. Although it can't be the end as she is still here lol. I just would have never thought anyone could do all they did and still be alive.

ok nap time...

A Few Pictures of My Sweeties

2009-01-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

Carlina is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is only 11 years old.

This picture of the two of us was taken Jan 1, 2009

And my little man Anthony loves his tea at lunch time.

Anthony loves to draw. I keep so many of his drawings in page protectors in a big binder. I should really scan them all and back up to cd. This time I took a picture of his fishing boat he drew Jan 18, 2009. It's quicker to take a picture then to scan it.

They'll both be home in a matter of minutes so better get lunch going.

HOW TO FIGURE OUT ASPECT RATIO

2009-01-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

For those of you interested in a PSP tip that I learned awhile back..

Have you ever created your own frame and then you want to add your own picture or other graphic but
It looks distorted. Either too skinny or too wide

and here it is correctly done

Here's how to remedy that...

You have a frame opened up in psp

On your frame use magic wand to select the transparent area or white area. (the inside of the frame)
(or you may even have to just use the selection tool at freehand and draw along the inside of the frame and then there will be marching ants. Or depending on the frame's shape you can just use the selection tool set at rectangle)

So now there are marching ants
then you do this Edit--copy
Edit--paste as a new image on psp's workspace

then go to Image--resize (located at the top of psp is IMAGE--resize)
take note of what it says for maintain aspect ratio. Take note of this number.
Now you can close this new image that you pasted as you will no longer need it.

Go back to the photo you would like to place in your frame.
with your selection tool set to rectangle (make sure feather is at 0)
(at this point make sure your status bar is open, the status bar is located at the very bottom right side where you will see all sorts of numbers (for psp 7 it is on the left side).

(if it isn't there you will have to access your toolbar options and check it off)
The numbers you need to look at are the numbers that are in brackets and they are the brackets that are to the very right (last set of numbers)

now say for example when you jotted down those aspect ratio numbers and say they were 1.333
then when you go to your photo with the selection tool, just start making a selection around the photo but notice those status bar numbers in the brackets and try to match them to say for example the 1.333

now when you have it selected but you don't like how the selection is located, all you have to do is click the mover tool and right click your mouse button and move the selection to where you like it

When you have it selected to where you like,
Edit--copy

go back to your frame and Edit-- choose paste into selection

Whole Bunch of Old Photo Borders to Share

2009-01-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

I tubed some more old photo borders last week. They're all in psp format. Here are the examples and at the bottom of the last picture is the download link.

Download link here or here (megaupload)
All the old photo borders will be in this one zipped folder. It was just easier for me to do it that way, instead of uploading one photo border at a time.

Just a note why these old photo borders and previous ones I shared have several layers. You will notice that there is a layer called 'drop shadow optional'. If you dont like this drop shadow, you can just click on the layer and delete it. Some photo borders contain a colored background which will be on a seperate layer and you can also delete it. Sometimes some of the elements such as the staples will also be on a seperate layer. I did this in case someone doesn't care for them, then it is easily deleted. You will also notice that there is a layer called photo here and that there is a selection marquee when you open up the photo border in psp. You can copy the picture you wish to add to the photo border and then choose paste into selection.
I will be including shortly a tutorial on how to get correct aspect ratio when pasting into selection so that the photo being pasted isn't distorted.

Grungy Frame Borders

2009-01-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

I created these frame borders a year ago. I even have the notes on how I created them which I will add another time.
I guess I should have changed the name to old frame borders but decided to just keep the name.
Here is what they look like.

you can download them here or at megaupload here.
They are both included in the zipped folder.

Photo Borders created with Dreamsuite Filter

2009-01-16T20:46:00.000-08:00

I created these two border frames some time back using the dreamsuite filter. I wish I had kept notes on how to recreate it.
Here is the examples and download link to follow.

picture of my cousin carlos

and this is me with my dolly. This picture was taken in Faial Acores where I was born.

To download two dreamsuite border frames go here.

Old Photo Border created today

2009-01-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

Found some of my old notes with no description as to what it was. Any how I followed it and it's the tutorial for one of the frames I created last year.
I'll include the tutorial on how to get this frame look another time as I will have to upload xenofex filter and twisting pixel filter.
Here is the example

You can download this photo border frame here. It is in psp format.

Old Photo Border created Jan 15, 2009

2009-01-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

This one I created yesterday in paintshop pro 12.
Here is an example.

you can download it in psp format here.
Next I want to learn how to curl a corner. I tried and have a long way to get it right. I'm going to keep trying and looking for a tutorial. I might even be able to find a psp script that does that.

Any how here is what I came up with

It needs more curl and depth. Back to the drawing board.

Old Photo Border created Jan 14, 2009

2009-01-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I created this old looking photo border in psp. Here is an example of it.

Here is where you can download the border in psp format here.

Bent Photo Scripts for Paintshop Pro

2009-01-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

If you would like to try PSP scripts to get the bent concave or convex look to your photos, I have uploaded them here.
They are so super cool to use. In the zipped folder with the scripts I have also included the tutorial on how to achieve this bend to your photos without using scripts.

I came upon these scripts last night in attempt to look for a tutorial on how to curl just the corner of a photo without using the curl effect which I'm not so crazy about, but instead I came upon the bend the whole photo scripts.

I don't know how to get a hold of the gal who created these bent photo scripts
If anyone knows how, please email me at mayflower1965@msn.com
They are really wonderful and thank you for sharing .
I have included in this Zip file the two bent photo scripts and the video on how to apply them in paintshop pro.
Both scripts and video are not mine and by Wannabesupermom--Teresa (whom, I don't know how to get a hold of)

To see the original page I got the scripts and video from;

http://www.justmommies.com/boards/lofiversion/index.php/t304938.html

To obtain the convex and concave bent photo scripts go to the above link
And then right click on each of the links for the scripts
right click and choose Save target as and where it says .htm change that to .pspscript
Save it to your desktop first and then place it in your psp's restricted scripts folder.
This is if you don't want to use Rapidshare to obtain the two scripts.
Also there is a video showing you how to use the script
See link below for that

Wannabesupermom
Aug 13 2006, 04:18 PM
I posted this in the main forum, but thought I'd post it here as well.

Ok, editing this because I have done some tweaking and I now have a convex script and a concave script which I think are pretty darn close to the PS bent photo version.

Bent Photo Script PSP X and above.

Here's the file you will need to download

Convex bent photo script
right click and choose Save target as and where it says .htm change that to .pspscript

Concave bent photo script
right click and choose Save target as and where it says .htm change that to .pspscript

*Note photos must be at least 125x125 pixels for script to work.

And here is a video showing you how to use it http://www.justmommies.com/videos/pspbentphoto1.wmv

You just have to open up the photo you want to bend and then load the script. Just remember where you save it to so when you go to run it you can find it. The video gives you instructions on it. It's using the original script I did, but basically the same thing. Just shows you how to load it and you just should have to click ok all the way through to the end.

Oh, if you want it without the white border when you get to the spot that adds the white border just change the number to 0 instead of 2. You can also make the border bigger if you want it to be thicker. PS bent photo action has a bit thicker of a border so you can adjust it up if you like too. Once you click ok it should finish out the script for you.

Bent Convex Photo tutorial using Paintshop Pro

2009-01-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

goofy example of me using the bent convex tutorial

tutorial by Maria Urso

good working knowledge of paintshop pro since I don't include screenshots
I did tested this method on paintshop pro 12 but earlier versions it will be pretty much the same. Exception is psp 7 slight modifications as the tools-effects might be
under different sections then later versions.

Convex Bent Method:
-Open up your photo in psp

-resize if necessary, no bigger then print size width 7 inches and height will self adjust
with lock aspect ratio and resize all layers both checked

-no need to sharpen as this will be done afterwards

-Image--Add Borders ...depending on your photo size make the border anywhere from 10 to 80.
with white for color or your choice of border color

-Layers--promote background layer

-Image--Canvas Resize
take note of the Original size and on New Dimensions double the width and height
placement-center

-Image--flip

-Effects--distortion effects--Wave
settings: Horizontal displacement: Amplitude 0
wave length 43
Vertical displacement: amplitude 1
wave length 70
Edge mode: Wrap

-Image--flip

-Adjust--sharpness-sharpen

-with the magic wand click on the transparent area

-Selections--invert
DO NOT DESELECT

-Make the photo layer Invisible

-Add a new raster layer and flood fill it with black
(this is going to be the drop shadow and referred to as drop shadow)

-Selections--deselect

-Adjust--Blur--Guassian blur 6 to 10 or your choice of blur

-Make the photo layer visible

-with the drop shadow layer still on top of the photo layer, drag the drop shadow layer slightly down with the mover tool

-drag the drop shadow layer below the photo layer

-lower the opacity on drop shadow layer to your liking (from 100 to 60 or lower)

-Merge visible

-Image--crop

-Save as a pspimage and the background will remain transparent so it will blend with any project you place it on.

big thank you goes to wannabesupermom at http://www.justmommies.com/boards/lofiversion/index.php/t304938.html
for her wave effect settings
without these settings I would have never figured this out on my own.

if you use this tutorial at your group/s or website please give credit to
Maria Urso
http://sharingtimesofmylife.blogspot.com/

Bent Concave Photo tutorial using Paintshop Pro

2009-01-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

tutorial by Maria Urso
mailto://mayflower1965@msn.com

good working knowledge of paintshop pro since I don't include screenshots
I did tested this method on paintshop pro 12 but earlier versions it will be pretty
much the same. Exception is psp 7 slight modifications as the tools-effects might be
under different sections then later versions.

Concave Bent Method:
-Open up your photo in psp

-resize if necessary, no bigger then print size width 7 inches and height will self adjust
with lock aspect ratio and resize all layers both checked

-if resized then sharpen...Adjust-sharpness--sharpen

-Image--Add Borders ...depending on your photo size make the border anywhere from 10 to 80.
with white for color or your choice of border color

-Layers--promote background layer

-Image--Canvas Resize
take note of the Original size and on New Dimensions double the width and height
placement-center

-Effects--distortion effects--Wave
settings: Horizontal displacement: Amplitude 0
wave length 43
Vertical displacement: amplitude 1
wave length 70
Edge mode: Wrap

-with the magic wand click on the transparent area

-Selections--invert
DO NOT DESELECT

-Make the photo layer Invisible

-Add a new raster layer and flood fill it with black
(this is going to be the drop shadow and referred to as drop shadow)

-Selections--deselect

-Adjust--Blur--Guassian blur 6 to 10 or your choice of blur

-Still on the drop shadow layer: Image--flip

-drag drop shadow layer beneath the photo layer

-make the photo layer Visible

-click on the drop shadow layer adn with the mover tool, drag down the bit of black you see,
until you no longer see any black on the top.

-lower the opacity of the drop shadow layer from 100 to 60 or lower.

-Image-crop

-Save as a pspimage and the background will remain transparent so it will blend with any project you place it on.

big thank you goes to wannabesupermom at http://www.justmommies.com/boards/lofiversion/index.php/t304938.html
for her wave effect settings
without these settings I would have never figured this out on my own.

if you use this tutorial at your group/s or website please give credit to
Maria Urso
http://sharingtimesofmylife.blogspot.com/

How to Add a New Blog Header

2009-01-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

1. Save your new blog header to your hard-drive.

2. Sign in to your blogger account

3. Click on Layout and now you're at Add and Arrange Page Elements
Or if you are signed in then just click on Customize

4. Click on the Edit button next to your blog name

5. And you will go to a window .Check off Placement---behind title and description, if your new blog header does not contain your own added text of your blog's name.
If you have edited your new blog header and added text to it then on placement choose this option---instead of title or description.
6. Next,browse for the image and save the changes after the image has uploaded.

7. Also don't forget to Save Page elements. This is located on the top right corner where it says Preview, Clear Edits and Save. Click Save