AngelBQ

Well, it’s been a while since last, actually 2 months long, which is far too long. I don’t think I’ve taken note of stuff, but I guess in my “subtle” life there’s not much details to remember nowadays. The blog is paid for every month, and it’s too much when there are lots of cheap hosting plans, but I am too lazy to make the move. My point being, blog already will ya!

Anyway, it’s that time of the year. Not my favorite time of the year. I mean, it’s cozy. It’s filled with love and sharing, and this world where there are too many wicked elements and horrifying newsand cruetly, it’s nice to hear positive stuff. It’s just that according to my convitions, I do not celebrate christmas or birthdays, and these two come very close of each other for me.

Coming to a new work with new colleagues has been akward in this season. I am not that good at explaining and standing up for my beliefs just yet to all type of people. I always think about the reaction of the other first, and I am the type to always have the worst case scenario (although I am working hard to rid of that trait, because almost always, when a situation is done with, I always end up concluding that it was not that bad after all). In some crowds, it doesn’t bother me at all. I have gotten some really understanding thoughts in most places, but as I mentioned a new work place with new people is hard. I am not gonna go into details since these are personal issues and we all have different beliefs. I just admire those that are already firm in their faith and those who can pronounce it proudly and stand firm. I sometimes get so mad at myself when I fall short.

:::Important note to bebots:::

Access the forum through www.phpdigiscrapper.com/home/forum. I had to upgrade the board to its newest since an error came up. Maybe safety issues. Lately I had some notifications of new members generated by the forum notification setup. These new mebers had advertising emails and spam like names and rated stuff. Though they never appeared in the member list. At least the forum is safer now I think. I had to do some researching, but reading in the forums of the board, smf and the hosting site, powweb as well as some technic support fixing the database out of memory (ausing me to not getting in the database to make a query and repairing the damage in the database that caused the error), helped, I have to do some tweaking again for you might have noticed that some things looks changed. The pm isn’t up there anymore, just among the menu.The integration between the website based on mambo also isn’t updated with this version so that’s why the other link via the website doesn’t work.

:::Looking forward to the new year:::

2008 is a promising year for us when it comes to income. Bizzi started as a regular employee November, while I secured the contract to be a regular employee from January 2 on the place where I have my OJT. The OJT period is finished 20th of December so I’ll get some break time. Sleeping late and waking up early is taking a toll on me, so this break is well anticipated. My scrapping is too far between each time, so I need to get my groove on in that area.

Once thing is stable with us financially, we can also start to plan for a baby and I will accumulate right to leave with pay. My hubby’s salary is enough for the two of us actually. It’s equivalent to what we both earned together while working full in Burger King before because of extra for nightshifts and overtimes he has now. The thing though is, that I do not wish this setting for us forever. We need to go to bed together, we need to spend more time with each other and if there is a child involved, he would especially need to be there. So, this is just the beginning while we are trying to get established. Eventually, my pay will also increase. The salary we agreed upon is just in the 6 months trial period, then there will be a new calculation.

And when baby planning comes in the picture, I am sure the health issues and taking better care for myself like sufficient sleep and eating on time and the right stuff will be in place.

And we can also start saving up for a home of our own. From next year, we will be putting a regular amount to our BSU account. BSU account is a special saving account for every one under 34. You can only withdraw the money there for house purposes, either buying a house or paying down the mortgage. The interest is higher and the amount inside that acount is tax deductible. A very nice set up for those young families establishing themselves. I already worked a long term budget the other day. Good times ahead

And then my commitment and relationship to God which I treasure the most, will hopefully improve with His help. We decided with those who teach us the bible, to have a summary now in our last study in December (ETA: we didn’t get to do this, but we’ll just do it another day), and then after that it will be on regular basis on fridays. It has been on and off because of our schedule, but we have now both committed to making friday available. Hopefully, I can have some more personal study too. I just have to pair it with prayers, humility and dedication.

:::Getaways:::

We’re celebrating our anniversary on the 26th. We’ll be having a pre-celebration from 22nd to 24th at a cruise ship going to Kiel, Germany (see the tour here: http://web03.colorline.no/colorfantasy/ and click on the flash symbol) and be at seas for 2 nights with shopping, food trip and some needed privacy and relaxing moment. I like being here with my sister, nephew and our friend who we took in as au pair, Julie, and I am always excited coming home to his (nephew’s) giggles and sweetness, but me and hubby needs some alone time too and besides I want to get away from the city and the same scenery.

Canada is almost final. It will be on July and we are saving for the trip already. I think we’ll be there for 3 weeks for Bizzi’s cousin’s wedding.

On March there are 2 special weddings too here in Norway. Bizzi’s elder brother and then his best friend who was our best man on our norwegian wedding. I will be their “unofficial” photographer along with our filipino friend who also has photography as a hobby. The trip to Canada means no trip to the Philippines on 2008. And if we will be so blessed with a child in 2008 or buy our new place, there won’t be any trip in a longer time. Kinda sad when I gotten used to travel anually. The comfort is that my mom and dad will be here every year. I think in June they will be here already…again…and I am so happy and excited. I do hope they are here when I am pregnant so they can help me out

We’ve been to Sweden for a trip by the way. Another wedding and engagement on Bizzi’s side of the family. I bumped into hubby’s ex there too, lol. I danced kurdish of course. The engagement party was more intimate and I enjoyed it more. We had buffet as well and apetizer of arabic food. Buffet/catering is very rare in their weddings. Lots of energy and I managed to take a lot of pics and most of which I was happy about. The low ceiling worked well with the external flash. I am too lazy to edit and upload as of this time. I have accumulated so many pictures and I am a bit overwhelmed. That is the consequense of the long blog break. I guess I have to make a part two wit more pics to share.

and a before and after:

:::House:::

• Mom and dad already left us. Before they did so, they showered us with their generosity and kindness and we couldn’t have gone through this water leackage with such poise if not for them. They gave us extra set of hands and even helped us financially in getting things done. They also were very helpful in helping my sis out looking after their grandson. There was no teary goodbyes, although the farewell scene was really rushed, maybe so that the tear glands wouldn’t have any time to form any tears, lol. When they got home, they immediately upgraded their computer. Got a flat screen, more memory and even new webcam. Now we are chatting with with sound and sights on a regular basis. It’s been fun, and mom and dad can see their grandchild and talk with him. I even use our videocam as webcam. It’s so good and crisp quality! Almost like live quality. We also talk with each other on free phone via broadband. Mom straightened her hair and she’s so cute and beautiful and looking younger.
• It’s now winter, the leackage happened on summer and still it’s not 100 % fixed. I am tearing my hair out over how long it has taken. Speaking of home, I have been cooking more frequently and developing a green thumb. I actually have 6 greens that are alive at this moment. I bought bulbs that grew to be beautiful pink hyacinths. It smells so good and it’s so fun seeing the flowers pop out so fast. I also am managing to keep this orchid alive. Orchids i had before doen’t last more than 2 weeks for me before. Now it has gone more than a month and it still looks vibrant and very much alive.

Here are some pics:

Our little vintage area with a blast from the past. There’s so many nice frames out there, especially now that shabby and bohemian is in.

Some new ornaments for the dinig table. The chair got a new cover too. We had to break off from the red and grey scheme. Most our stuff are in neutral colors and then some contrast here and there.

Love this bowl from Ikea. The picture didn’t do it justice. It’s so much more geometric and in real life. Here is one from Ikea’s site.

This wall on the living room got painted. It is a warmer tone than in the picture and lighter even. My sis also bought this shelf above the computer for frames and speakers and not long ago I bought a black chair to replace that frosted glass chair you see to the right. I use mostly the left and so I kinda thought it would be nice for the other one too also have a comfy chair. The old one is hard on the back and hard on the butt too. Although it’s esthetically pleasing.

I can’t wait to find a picture to put in this large frame.

One of my fondest buys lately. Ever since I saw birdcages in several american homeblogs, I drooled for one. Then I found this in a small shabbu shop nearby.

Love pillows. There are so amny nice covers these days. Bohemian, foliage and other delights.

My replacement chair has arrived with new cover to match the rest of the house. The leg is also different than the first we had. The rug is new and mom bought it.It remind me of those decorative edges in the scrapping world. We also got a new l-shaped couch. I am not such a fan of leather. It’s a bit stiff and formal. It’s cold and not comfy to the skin. It’s a bit high above the ground as well so the foot don’t really touch the ground (especially em and my short legs). We tend to sit on the old red couch that will retire soon. To partly rid of the skin to leather problem, mom bought this big carpet like version of that sheep skin cover from Ikea that makes it more comfy.

Our entrance with a new wall (it was painted dark red before), new storage for jackets, the tall one and towel, socks etc for the low one. I had to put my fake flowers there from my room since the beautiful real fushia flower with dark green leaves died just recently. It looks a little off, but it will do for now.

The “walk in” closet isn’t walk in anymore. We now put in place the door that was originally there.

Although with the new interior, it created more space between the door and closet so you can actually still walk in because of the gap. Finally we also got a permanenet spot for the iron.

Mom bought us these decorative book shelfs with frosted glass cover. First time it appeared in Ikea’s catalog, I already loved it. We don’t have books though, but it’s slim sides is perfect for our small space. Notice that the cupboard above the stove is still open and without the door. I can’t believe it’s Winter and almost 2008 and this still isn’t finished from the leack. The dividers aren’t there either and the new kitchen fan is way too bulky and can not be tucked in like our old one. Because of that we can.t open the corner cabinet sufficiently.

The tiles and countertop is also new. The tiles is the same as in a picture I posted 2 blogposts ago. That was not our kitchen, although I loved that. Ours is a bit smaller in space. The counter top is easier to clean and makes the kitchen look a bit bigger with the white color.

One of my new pets. It’s so fun taking care of these. It starts as small onion bulbs and grows to be beautiful flowers and you can smell that thing from afar. These are called hyacinth.

Our toilet has now a small and minimalistic sink. We don’t have to go to the bathroom to wash hands anymore. You can find that and some other few pictures here.

I am so fond of decorating nowadays that I even buy two magazines regularly. There are so many inspirations there. I am considering subscribing for some savings. Now, the projects ar eon halt, since we wpn’t be here long term so we might as well wait to splurge when we get our own place.

:::My Nephew:::

We have an au pair staying with us. She came shortly after mom and dad left and will be here for two years. She’s a Jehovah’s witness who belongs to Hillside congregation which I used to attend and where mom and da belongs to. I like having her here and she’s doing great at looking after my nephew while still prioritizing spiritual matters.

Poor her though to have to come to this cold time of the year.

I have lota new pics of nephew, but so many. I want to scrap them, and I want to process them, but i am a bit overwhelmed. I can’t help it. I love taking pics of him.

He can now crawl really fast. He can also sit on his own. I love this hunk. I also bug his mom to cut his hair.

This is the newest, but it can do for now.

Poor guy doesn’t like the dressing in several alyers process to get out in the cold.

:::Digiscrap world:::

I met up with the girls behind Catscrap. Syrin/Kjersti, Birgit/Tyting, Ida and her youngest son and Catrine. We went to a tapas restaurant and sat on the portion of the resto that looked like a cave. It felt like we knew each other for ages and we were all very excited and talked continuously till night came. Ida’s son was so kind and quiet all the time. I am looking forward to seeing them again in the future.

Here are the scraps I made in these last two months I haven’t shared. Credits can be found here

This one above which is a lift of one of Birgit’s/Tyting’s classics, has gotten several lifts back. Gina, Em, Chantal, Laura Kaye, Jofia are those I have noted. Also i was featured in catscrap forum and the blog so I got some lifts from that challenge too like by Sweet Emilie, Hanne, Britt and Madame Min. I never knew it was so much fun to be lifted. So much fun to see how others interpret it and make it their own.

Thanks to some new cool stuff, among them by Birgit, I get to replicate paper scrappers.

I am finally coming close to getting the paper scrap style I love. Freestyle, retro at times and bigger embellies. And happy colors is a good indication, right Aggie

I was published in a local magazine. I sent one for next issue, but haven’t even heard a confirmation from them. It was really nice to see my stuff on print for the first time.

What I would like in scrapping is to practice my weaknesses. Multi photos, more than one or two papers and combination of patterns and trying to get better at clustering like Ellen and CD Muckosky and brushworks (love Rhonna’s work and Syrin’s from SUAS). And of course get the shadows like Birgit.

These last days, I have been really controlling myself on shopping scrap stuff. I want to use old stuff first, be able to save money and also just simply stop overspending. And of course cutting back on time to organize them. I did buy a lot from DSD, thanksgiving sale and black friday and I eman a lot! Most of them are in my kaboodle here.

The other day I was thinking how much scrapping is so interrelated with other hobbies. One of them are interior designs, Many homes have “alphas” on their wall. Some walls are starting to look like layouts. I am dreaming of my own project room for memorabilias and my computer. Many paper scrappers have wonderful organized scraproom. So inspirational.

By the way, one in my work who just finished working with us showed interest in scrapping after I shopwed her the world of scrapping. She used to have photography as hobby back then.I gave her some links and we exchanged our private emails. Excited to see her get started.

:::Course:::

We had our parting day in the course today. We got our diploma, had a cake and updated each other on work situation. I sure will miss this bunch and I’ve even taken note of their numbers. Hope we cross paths again.

:::Photography:::

The other day, my sis tipped me on a closing store sale. I inquired through phone with her if Tamron 28-75 mm f2.8 was there among the sales items. The time was 3 or so when I got to know this. They were coling their doors permanently 5 pm and I was finished working 4 pm. During that period in between my mind was going back and forth.We’re kinda tight this month. In the end I succumbed. It’s getting rave reviews for it’s light weight, good quality for a reasonable price (Nikon’s equivalent is four times as much). And it was 50 % off (Actually 40%, but baragined for 10 more). Although the original price in this store is far too high compared to the others, all in all there was a thousand bucks saving (almost 200 usd). Still on my wishlist; shootsac, lightpshere flash accesories, Nikon 85 mm, Sigma 105 mm macro and a pro tripod. In my dream list would be the D300 body and the Nikon 70-200 f2.8.

At 75 mm, I got some good DOF under good loghting conditions. So this is what they mean with creamy. It will be nice for portraits. Since 85 mm 1.8 remains on my wishlist, 75 mm at 2.8 isn’t so far different. It’ so dark in Norway nowadays, so I haven’t really tired portraits yet with this. And oh, now with the snow that has arrived, I definitely have to get some pictures of us in the snow and so that I can scrap my winter stash too.

I just have to post an inspirational photographer, Jose Villa. I am constantly surveilling photographers world wide and he is one of them. He has clean photos, light tones, kinda vintage and beautiful pastels. I want my house in these colors! The style is kinda what you can find in this certain paper scrapper. I think her name is Keisha, and her blog is here with lots of eye candies. Anyway, I compiled shots By Jose Villa. His site is here and the blog here.

I am in love with cross processed, vintage, textured and faded look. I purchase textures by Michelle Black and also some cool retro action from Lara Jade. I am getting hooked on buying actions again. My collection is getting bigger.

:::Other stuff::

Hubby had a part on this skit on tv again. This is the second time around for him. It was fun watching him.

I got this today (21st friday). It’s a gift for a friend. They moved to a new house and they will make a princess room for their first child, baby girl Tara. They wanted their studio pics in black and white and I volunteered. I left out the part of the canvas print. It’s a surprise. can’t wait to give it to them as a housewarming gift.

and from Body shop, I bought this and a oil scent for my oil burner with papaya scent. Body shop’s products smells so good I cna almost eat it. I usually don’t buy much there, but I had this card that gives me a gift for a certain value. I think I used half an hour to think what to get. The scent I was certain already, but the other stuff got me thinking. Oh well, gold is always nice touch.

Last is a picture from my parent’s despedida a month ago. These are from the english congregation in Oslo. We had fun with games and good food.

Ok, gotta go! I have to pack and sleep and it’s already very late. We’ll be taking the boat tomorrow. I am very excited!