Fun Times in July - Lawn Bowling at the Jolly's

Tis' the season for the annual Jolly Family SummerFest.
OK, I don't know if that's the proper term because this was my first year in attendance, but hey, that's what I'm calling it. So there. :)

So every July the Jolly family (seriously, that's their real name...now get over it) holds this gathering of family and friends who all celebrate birthdays or something special in the month of July.

Seeing as though my sister Katy has a birthday in July and has literally been another sibling to the Jolly brood since she was a wee lassie of 4 years old, she was of course invited to this backyard shindig. And seeing as though I've been close with the family too (Paula refers to me as her sister; we might as well be) and had the car to drive Katy, the invite extended to moi. Cause I'm a cool cat too ;)

The house was teeming with excitement and people and laughter and conversation and introductions and of course: LOTS of delicious food that would put the honorary Chef Gordon Ramsey to shame...speaking of which, Hells Kitchen is on as I blog this...better hurry...

So yeah. Food. People. Good times. Memories. And...lawn bowling. Never played it in my life and good Lord, might I say how much FUNNNNN it was!! OMG!!! SO much fun that it caused me to exhibit my goofy side (see attached pic). Cause that's what happens when I get in my element and get comfortable: the REAL Lisa comes out! :)

The Things to Do List keeps growing...

Holy omigawd.
I have SO much going on right now it's a little redonkulous.

Currently, I'm working on introducing a new line of invitations called the Card Candy Collection. It's new as in, well, new-ish, but I'm taking some of my favourite designs (cause I have like, 30) and incorporating a little Bling ;) Stay tuned for more information as it comes available.

Then I'm assembling some sample booklets to hand out at the next Bridal Show in late September. See, anyone can hand out business cards; they are what, 3 cents each? But I'm taking several designs and making a little booklet out of them; complete with the front and back covers (front will be hand painted), and wire coil binding for that true urbanLove effect!

I'm also giving my catalogue a face lift not only for the cover, but the guts as well. I've got some page layout ideas rolling around in my head so I am going to design 'em all and see what one I like best so I can take this project to the printers.

And of course, as mentioned above, I have a Bridal Show in late September; ironically enough during the same day my ex-fiance gets married, but my AWESOME friend Nicole 'De-back-that-thing-up' Debakere is going to man my booth so I can attend Jake's wedding. HOLY BUSY! I guess I *can* be in 2 places at once, kind of! :)

So yeah, back to the Bridal Show; so excited!! I have ideas for everything from the table coverings to the contents of the tables and how I will display my little works of art to my attire right down to my shoes (of course!)...so much is going on in my head in regards to planning things in a timely manner and executing them efficiently that I'm spinning with joy! I LOVE my life!

To re-cap:
1. Card Candy Collection - to be unveiled hopefully by Fall of 2009
2. Sample booklets
3. Catalogue facelift
4. Bridal Show AND Jake's wedding

Phew! Just thinking about it is making me go a lil' nutty but honestly, I thrive off of this kind of activity and creative purpose. Bring it on!

Kelly and Al - Sunset Beach Wedding - July 4th

Well!
We've attended two weddings in a row now and have another, for my ex-fiance, on the way! Tis the season for matrimonial bliss!

Nick and I attended his sister's wedding a week ago, Saturday July 4th on the beach in Point Clark. It was a sunset wedding, and just beautifully done in true Kelly n' Al style; simple and classy.

The reception was held in their backyard under a large tent and filled with well over a hundred people. Maybe close to two hundred. I don't know. I was drinking, lol. But there were alot. :)

They had a buffet dinner that consisted of everything from smoked fish and mussels to a wide selection of hors d'œuvres, to shish-kabobs of both chicken and steak, a fruit tray, salads galour, and of course, Champagne that was served by one of the hottie groomsmen who also donned kilts. Mmmhmm...hey, just cause I've already bought my shoes don't mean I can't still window shop! :)

Although the cool air from off the lake was a little breezy at times and caused for me to shiver often (I get cold easily), Nick was ever the gentleman as he offered to me his jacket from his suit.
But the atmosphere around us with all the guests and their smiles and abundance of laughter made the night so warm and comfortable.

And at about 10pm, friends of the Bride and Groom set off fireworks in the adjacent field. Friggin' awesome. I got a good shot of Kelly and Al kissing during the explosions :)

We had a fantastic time and if it wasn't for the fact that Nick had a tee-off time at 7am the next morning (it was a Tournament; he kinda had to be there), we would have saved ourselves the 2.5 hour drive back home that night and crashed somewhere in their yard; picnic table, spot on the grass, wherever. We SO did not want to leave.

But...there's the rest of the summer for us to head up there for a weekend and relax around a campfire as our kids; 2 from us, 2 from them, play. I can't wait for that!

Tammy and Lonny Crick - The Wedding

I attended my close close friend Tammy's wedding yesterday. The weather was just PERFECT (okay so I still froze in 20+ degree weather but that's a downfall I have due to poor circulation or something), everybody in attendance look great and it was just an overall beautiful experience to be a part of her wedding.

Tam's and I go back. I mean way back. Way to-the-back-of-the-bus back. We met in our tweens and teens and have been close ever since. She had one of those personalities that would light up the room and at the same time let you know not to screw with her, lol. She's all about the 'tude ya'll. :)

We've been through lots - mostly great times but some tough times. I think it's enabled us to be as close as we are today. I have got LOTS of partying-with-Tammy stories (none that I will post online because no one needs to know the unreserved side of me, lol) so needless to say I was totally humbled when I got her invite.
Side note: she was given a nice DIY package from her Aunt so that's why I didn't do her invites - I can't really compete with DIY packages, but that's okay, my little business is still cooler! :)

I kinda expected one anyways because we ARE friends, but when I actually got it in the mail it was just solidifying it for me. I was cool enough ;)

So here are some pictures that I took with my handy dandy Canon PowerShot SD700...I'm no professional, but if I might say so myself, some of my pics are perty darn good :)
Enjoy!

P.S.
I got my tattoos done...just waiting for them to heal before I take pictures of them because really, do YOU wanna see scabby flakes of skin? Din't think so.

Gettin' Inked

So guess what?!
I have finally made an appointment with a local tattoo parlour to discuss design options and fonts for a few tats I am going to get.
Yes, I said the word few: one, is existing and the other two will be new. Three equals few doesn't it? :)

What I'm going to do is get both my kids names on my wrists (well, we'll see how much it hurts first) and also enhance and sexify my GiddyUp tattoo. I was quoted about two hundred for all, but that could change depending on how involved in design my tattoos will be.

And of course as a graphic designer I will naturally oversee the design in all stages. I have some preliminary sketches done already, but I would like to work with the tattoo artist to get their take on it because maybe they can suggest something I didn't think about.

But I'm excited!!
I've been wanting to get more tats for years and now I am finally just going to do it! Yay me! And of course I will blog my progress and then soon enough comes the official picture gallery! Hoorah!
Hoorah!

You Knew You Grew Up in the 90's When...

This list made me laugh till I almost peed my pants.
Almost.
What are your memories of the 90's?

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
2. You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"
3. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House"
4. You remember when it was actually worth getting up earlyon a Saturday to watch cartoons.
5. You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
6. You remember reading "Goosebumps"
7. You were there for the Yo-Yo craze and had to have the Bumble Bee
8. You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"
9. You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
10. You remember the craze then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
11. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
12. You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.
13. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
14. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates
15. You ever got injured on a Slip 'n' Slide
16. You remember when almost every guy owned a skateboard and the video game tony hawk.
17. You wore socks over leggings scrunched down
18. You safety pinned your jeans and worse Hypercolour shirts.
19. You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
20. You knew what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare"
21. You remember Alf, the little brown alien from Melmac and Vicki the Robot from "Small Wonders"
22. You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
23. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
24. You played and or collected "Pogs" and had to have the best "slammer"!
25. You used to pretend to be a MIGHTY MORPHIN Power Ranger and you owned a Skip It
26. You had at least one GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
27. You watched the original Care Bears, and Ninja Turtles
28. You watched Roseanne and identified with the family functions of that show.
29. You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.
30. You remember a time before the WB.
31. You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
32. You thought it would be so cool to be Alex Mack.
33. You know the Macarena by heart
34. "Talk to the hand" ... enough said
35. You thought Brain would finally take over the world
36. You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
37. You remember a time when you didn't own a computer
38. Best of all you remember the computers with black screens and green letters.
39. You made paper scrunchies to see who you'd end up marrying.
40. You wore Exclaimation perfume.

Bridal Show March 1st!

Yes! You read me right, yet another bridal show under my belt! I am really liking them, they prove to be a great way to spend an afternoon, or at least for me anyways!

It started off as a good day. My girlfriend Nicole came to help out for the day to see what all the fuss was about. She was nice enough to bring flowers for the table as well as suckers! And who doesn't like suckers?

We packed up her car and sped off down the country road on our way to the St. Thomas Golf and Country Club, gossiping the whole way about people places and things. There are some things I learned about her and a couple things she learned about me as well. It was great conversation between two great people.

So we get to the venue about 20 minutes before doors opened and I was non-stresed. I had all my gear and time to set up and possibly introduce myself to other vendors before perching myself at my booth. Life was good.

We hauled everything in and began to set up. I reached down to grab my portfolios when my hand went through a space of air.
They.weren't.there!
OMG!
Panick set in immediately as I frantically looked around hoping to God I wasn't stupid enough to forget the ONE thing that I was there to show off!
And I was.

So we left the rest of the set up as it was, half way done. Jumped in her car and sped back to my house. Yes, we were clocking speeds I won't mention but we made it to my house and back, which would have normally took close to 45 minutes in about half an hour. I was freaking out a little (actually, alot) the whole time too, lol!

Upon returning to the club, Nicole looked at me and said "Okay we are only 15 minutes late, all we gotta do is set the portfolios up on the table, are you still stressed because you shouldn't be now."

I let out a sigh of relief and said I was no longer stressed. She cracked up laughing for some strange reason and says to me "Good Lees, because to be honest with you I was freaking out the whole time too but I knew if you knew that it would have made it worse!"

We had a good laugh, ran inside and set up. Done in about 3 minutes. From the looks of things it wasn't too busy and it didn't get busy until about half an hour into it so I was relieved.

But in my defense, even the most organized people have an off day! :) I'm allowed!

Nicole was an amazing help! She came up with little things to put in my schpeel and we had a great time. We met a nice n' super cool photographer named David Irvine who is going to do head shots for me; he's really good, his work speaks for himself. You can check it out at www.jdwiphotography.com.

And we even watched an entertaining game of golf by a long golfer out on the greens mid way through the day!

But for future reference I am now going to incorporate and use a list of items for me to bring.
Silly me.
It won't happen again, that's for sure!

And yes, just so you know, the suckers were a hit!