Meeting of cats

We went for another walk today - the weather is just fantastic! - and while we were spending some time at the playground, our cat (which always comes with on walks :) met a huge tomcat! I was a bit worried because our cat is a tiny little thing, but I shouldn't have. She ran him off with her look LOL She just gave him the evil eye - and off he ran!!Can you see her eyes? I wouldn't want to be the cat on the other end of that look LOL

And since today is the last day of January, I finished my monthly layouts with the last 3 days of January...

And I decided to do a monthly compilation page of all my monthly photos as well...That's it for January :) I hope your weekend was good - I know it was fun for us - and thank you for stopping by!

Week 4

My week 4 layouts are all done. I love how they are turning out, I'm collecting them all together in a Shutterfly book and it looks good!!! Can't wait to have a year to print LOL

Well, that's it tonight. Thank you for stopping by - and I hope you're having a wonderful weekend :)

Today

I made a double page layout with some of the photos I took on today's walk :) I used Kitty Chen's 365 Inspirational Templates, backgrounds from Kristen Rice and elements from Weeds & Wildflowers' Hodge Podge and Simple Life series.

There was just gorgeous light today - I just didn't capture it well enough.

Lazy Days

I've been taking photos and uploading them to facebook - I'm just too lazy to upload to the blog as well :) Anyways, here's four days worth!

Matthildur trying out a plum. She's not much of a fruit person - and she hated the plum, although she insisted it was good. She just didn't want it LOL

When I went down to the play area Thursday morning to ask the girls to get ready for school, I found Lovisa teaching Matthildur how to play chess :)

Lovisa has been having dance lessons this week at school with the other second graders. Firday afternoon was a little dance show for the parents to see what the kids have been learning. It was a lot of fun - and she is quite a good dancer!!

Today, the weather was as good as January weather can be around these parts. There was no wind, just a bit cold, bright and just a little dust of snow on the ground. We went for a walk to the beach this morning and the girls had a lot of fun exploring and playing. I had a lot of fun taking photos and had a hard time choosing today's photo.

New layouts

I just have a few new layouts to show today :)

This is my family :) We had a little photoshoot back in August, just before my husband returned to sea, to get a new photo for him to hang in his cabin on board the ship. I think it turned out pretty good :) I used a wonderful text path template from Scrapping with Liz and Jady Day Studios' gorgeous kit, Sweet Love o'Mine - both available at Scrap Orchard.

We went to a 100 year old public garden in the west fjords of Iceland in July 2009. It's close to an old boarding school and the principal started the garden in August 1909 to show what can be grown in Icelandic soil, which is rather difficult - not to mention the harsh weather and sea salt which kills a lot of our vegetation. His garden became an inspiration for many to start experimenting in gardening. This was a fun visit, we went there with my in-laws, and everybody enjoyed it in gorgeous weather I used Penny Springmann's new Bent Bunches and her Family Tree kit.

Thanks for looking :)

Handball...

Iceland is currently competing in the EuropeanHandball Championship in Austria. Today we won Russia - so now we are only one win (hopefully!!) away from getting into the semi-finals :)In two days we compete against Norway - hopefully we'll win LOL

Thanks for stopping by!!

Nighttime fun

I took 125 photos today, from 4:30pm until 7:00. I was playing with my camera settings, taking all kinds of weirdly cropped photos, some of which actually turned out pretty good!! However, my photo of the day is snapped just before bedtime, when my 3,5 year old snuck into her big sister's upper bunk bed and sat there while my 7 year old read to her :) I just grabbed the camera zoomed and clicked LOL The result was a dark grainy photo - but I tried to salvaged what I could...

Matthildur is just so happy when Lovisa shows her some attention :)

It's late and I'm tired, so I won't be showing any layouts tonight. Have a good night and thanks for stopping by!

Catplay

Lovisa Lin went to a birthday party this afternoon and while she was gone, Matthildur entertained the cat :) The cat, who is stuck with the name Kung Fu Panda Rosalin, is getting to be her usual pre-pregnancy, pre-kitten happy and crazy self, and they ran around the living room, chasing each other and the cat toy for almost an hour LOL It's fun to be young. And a cat :)She is such a cute cat!!

I have a couple of layouts tonight...

That's my little three and a half year old goofball the other day. She loves wearing sunglasses - it makes her feel cool LOL I used Dawn Inskip's beautiful new kit, Twitterpated - it's available at Catscrap and Pickleberry Pop.

Kristin's ScrapDesign has these fab templates out, called My 365 story, and I thought they were perfect to scrap my 365 photos from 2009. I did quit the 365 project in February last year, but I have more or less a photo a day the whole year anyway, so I was going to attempt getting them on layouts. I have already put the photos and background papers on the first 8 weeks - have just to decorate and journal a bit - and I love how they are turning out. I'm not posting them in any online galleries, except this one since it's part of my CT job, but I might post them here along with my 2010 photo layouts :) I don't want to jinx it, but I seem to be having an easier time doing the 365 this time around.

These are my husband and Lovisa while on a mountain hike in July 2005. We didn't get all the way to the top because it entailed rock climbing, but we got to the part where the rock climbing began :) I can't really describe the feeling, when you get to the top and look down on the fjords - it's really amazing. Iceland is a "naked" country. We don't have any trees to block the view, so you can really see everything :) I used Ziggle Designs' gorgeous new kit, The Great Outdoors, available at Scrap Orchard.

And a little bit of whimsy to end withLovisa lost her two front teeth this summer. For a very long time they were hanging by a thread - literally - just laying lose on her lower lip LOL She is always beautiful, but this lent her an undeniable humorous look :) She was longing for the toothfairy so bad, but couldn't bring herself to just pull the teeth out!! Hence, she was wishing for some toothfairy magic :) I used Irene V Alexeeva's fab new kit, Magic Medley, available at Scrap Orchard.

Well, that's it for today. Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful night!!

Ice Cream

The girls found ice cream in the freezer - completely unexpected - so they had a yummy after dinner snack :)This is Lovisa enjoying hers!

And here are my week 3 layouts...

I'm still using biograffiti's templates and a mix of 365 products from Kristin Rice and Weeds & Wildflowers. I love the biograffiti templates - I probably say that every week LOL But they are SO easy to use and pleasing for the eye. And I just saw her February templates, they look fantastic!!! I also love Kristin's and W&W 365 kits, they make life more colorful :)

Thanks for stopping by - and I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!!

Friday's adventures

We left home yesterday afternoon at 1pm and were well on our way to Reykjavik when the truck had a flat tire. We had no spare - not even a jack! - in our trunk, so we had to call home and see if anyone could bring us a spare. So we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, DH's sister came with a spare, but when he tried to put it under the car, it didn't fit. At that time, we had waited in the car for 3 hours so we decided to get everyone in DH's sister's car and head home with the tire, get it fixed and then DH and his sister would go back to get our truck. Well, we left home originally at 1pm. The girls, the cat and I got back home at 5:30 pm and DH got back with the car at 9pm.

So we didn't get to go to Reykjavik, which was ashame because we were going to have dinner and a fun time with our China adoption group in Reykjavik last night. They are the most fun group of people and we are all really sad that we missed the get together. But that's life for you LOL

So that's my view, yesterday for most part of the afternoon. If the weather had been half decent it wouldn't have been that bad of a wait - but it was really windy and cold and wet, so we didn't go outside that much LOL I'm really amazed how well the girls endured the wait without fighting :)

And I forgot to post Thursdays photo. I had a late meeting Thursday night and was really tired when I got home, so I just vegetated in front of the TV before I went to bed :)The girls got popcorn as an afternoon snack. They LOVE popcorn, but never get it unless DH is home. I don't know how to make popcorn - and I admit that with a certain degree of shame, because I've been told everybody can make popcorn. Well, I can't!! Maybe because I don't like it - I don't know, but it always ends up burned and bad when I try LOL
But, because the girls love it, DH sometimes makes a large batch before he leaves so I can give them a little every day :)

A sad cat

All our kittens left the house yesterday - and today the cat is a bit sad.

She's not too down in the dumps, though - it's just occasionally that she goes whining through the house looking for them. She needs them to come and drink - although she's not all that full of milk and she'll probably dry up completely before the weekend.

Brushing teeth

My girls are supposed to count to 100 while they brush their teeth - that is on the occasion when they get to do it themselves LOL Tonight, Matthildur turned to me after 5 seconds of brushing, said she had already counted to 120 and asked if she was done yet!!

She got to brush a little bit longer :)

I have one layout tonight. It shows Matthildur's first month - and all her firsts during that month...I used mle Card's Little Lamb Pink and Scrapping with Liz' wonderful Blocked Numbers Template. Both are available at the Scrap Orchard.

Well, I'm off to bed :) I hope you're having a good day - and thanks for stopping by!!

The postal service...

...it's not good, or so it seems. Today the girls got a letter from Zozo, our au pair last year. It was posted on December 3, 2009 in Malmö, Sweden. I think the post must have been a bit disoriented and taken the long way around the globe, because if you take the short way, there is only a 2,5 hour short flight from Reykjavik to Malmö LOLThe girls loved getting mail, and have already written letters to Zozo demanding more letters and cards from her :)

I've got layouts :)

Our family portrait LOL I used It's Snow Fun from Faith True and one of Suzy Q's Big Picture Templates :)

This one is a bit unusual for me. It's less about the photo and more about my feelings when I took it. I used Phuong Ton's gorgeous Altered Inspired Minikit, available at Scrapbook Graphics. Her papers are a work of art - you can take them and frame them as is. Seriously stunning!!

And last one tonight...
This is Matthildur Inga at 18 months in December 2007. She had been wanting a pink phone, just like her sister's, and Santa had just brought her a beautiful pink Barbie phone, complete with it's own shiny and glittery pink bag. So she was very happy :) I used Irene V Alexeeva's gorgeous new kit, Dream With Me, available at Scrap Orchard.

Bathtime

The girls take mostly showers these days so taking a bath is a rare thing. But it's always fun - and today they wanted a proper bath so I ran them a nice warm bubble bath, where they stayed and played for a good hour :)

That's Matthildur Inga having fun in the tub :)

And layouts...

This is Lovisa at the end of November. She is just gorgeous - even if I say so myself LOL

I used Design by KAT's beautiful kit, Glorious Grey, available at ScrapScandiStyle.

Both my girls are pink to the core LOL This is Matthildur Inga at 19 months, being her adorable self :) I used a new charity kit from MeKa Designs, called 100% Girl.

And lastly, there is a new charity collab brewing in the Orchard. It's called One Love and it's raising money for disaster relief in Haiti. There is an unbelievable list of fabulous designers working together on this kit - so be sure to keep your eyes open, because it will be hitting the stores SOON!!!
Well, that's it for today. Thank you for stopping by - and I hope you had a wonderful weekend :)

Big cleaning!

Today, the Christmas decorations were finally put in boxes and in storage - which meant that I could also finally clean the house and get it back to pre-Christmas normalcy LOL The girls were extremely helpful when it came to cleaning!

This is Lovisa, wiping down all the wooden surfaces of our furniture :) Matthildur took care of all the glass surfaces and then she tried vaccuming, but gave up after a couple of minutes LOL

I've got a couple layouts to show too :)

This is Lovisa singing in her Children's choir at church just before Christmas. I used Camila Designs' gorgeous new kit, Bright & New.

Matthildur Inga helping her dad make bread the other day. She loves putting the ingredients in the breadmaker :) I used Tracie Stroud's gorgeous kit, Beautiful Life.

And our referral photo of Lovisa. She was about 7 months when this photo was taken - and we got to see it for the first time on January 9, 2004, when she was 13 months old. I used a fantastic collab from Dawn Inskip and Kaye Winiecki, called Zodiac.

That's it for today. The layouts are all linked for full credit. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope your weekend is wonderful :)

Friday Nights

My girls wait for Friday night all week. They get to stay up later than usual, eat popcorn in the livingroom and watch their favorite two shows in the world :)They put their pajamas on after dinner and get cozy on the sofa while I or my husband make popcorn. Then we all sit down and watch these two stupid shows; a talkshow with two Icelandic comedians and Icelandic Wipe-Out. Both are ok entertainment on a Friday night when you're so tired you hardly want to think LOL And the humor of the two talkshow hosts is pretty much level with Lovisa's seven year old humor - so it's a fun night :)

I forgot to post my week 2 layouts yesterday, so here they are...

I am so loving biograffiti's 365 templates, and I love the simple and clean look of Kristen Rice's 365 kit mixed with the beautiful doodled elements of Weeds & Wildflowers' Hodge Podge kits. I think this is basically the look I'm going for all year.

Just the cats

Our kittens are 8 weeks old and will be leaving the house soon. I decided to try and take the photos while they are still here :)That's the mommy cat, Rosalin, giving one of them a bath - while the kitten tries to play with her and get her aggravated LOL

That's it today, my husband is home, but leaving in an hour or so. He won't be back until after the weekend, so I'm going to try and enjoy him while he's here :) Thanks for stopping by!!

Healthy living

Today is the first day of my healthy living plan LOL so I made salad for myself for dinner even though the girls got sausages.

I love salad - in any way shape or form, so I don't know why I don't make it more often. Probably because I'm the only one who'll eat it LOL

Layouts - I finally got into DST today, although only periodically!!

This is Matthildur at 18 months. She was mesmerized by all the colorful and huge butterflies in a butterfly garden we took her to :) I used Kjersti's gorgeous Swept Away kit.

And that's Lovisa beating her little sister in the Dinosaur Playstation game they like to play :) I used Scrapidea-timkova's new kit, In a Good Mood.

Ok, that's it. Layouts are of course linked for full credit. Thanks for stopping by - and happy Wednesday :)

Kittens

Well, we have kittens. They will be 8 weeks old on Thursday - and they are a big pain in the back side. But they are also immeasurably cute and adorable LOL My girls adore them - sometimes they love them a little too much, but the kittens don't seem to mind some tough love now and then :) I love them - but they irritate me terribly, especially at night. They sleep from 7 pm until midnight, which is when I usually go to bed. At that time they start to play. A lot!!! And usually on my bed - on top of me, and part of their play is running as fast as they can across my face. Again. And Again. It's no fun - and I can't wait for them to leave, although I know I will miss them :)That's two of them, sleeping soundly on my bed until I woke them with my flash. They did not like it one little bit - they are giving me the evil eye, and I believe one of them is sticking his tongue out at me!!! But that's what they get for waking me up in the middle of the night LOL

No layouts today, DST is giving me trouble :)

Playing a game

We got some cool games for Christmas but haven't had a chance to play them all. So, today, after school, we tried one of them. We did find out that we had to have at least 2 teams with at least 2 players on each so we have to wait a bit to actually play it for real - but we did make quite a good game of it just the three of us :)This is Lovisa giving Matthildur directions on the game :)

Couple of layouts too...

This is Lovisa on January 2. I used the January Mega over at Scrap Orchard - just a fabulous winter kit!!

This is Lovisa again, in July 2008. We were camping and she was just loving the freedom and the good weather :) I used Wild Dandelion Design's Day to Day kit as well as a fabulous template by Dani Alencar.

The layouts are linked for full credit - thank you so much for stopping by :)