Ramblings of a Receptionist

Well last week was pretty much a write off. I was home sick from Tuesday afternoon to Thursday with stomach pains.  It started up on Saturday and every time I ate something, didn't matter what it was, it would upset my stomach. Sunday I ended up throwing up and then afterwards I felt so much better. At first I thought it was this drink I was making for myself. In my last post I wrote about trying to get myself healthy and so I decided I was going to take Metamucil to help clean my body out. So I had been taking it for a week and by Saturday I felt ill. But nope it wasn't the drink making me sick it was a stomach virus. I did not like that feeling at all. I felt very tired and I could barely eat because every time I did it made my stomach knot up. So I went to my fancy new doctor and he prescribed me lovely pills to stop the nausea. He also mentioned it can take 7-10 days for a stomach virus to leave your body and there is not much I can other then let it run its course. This is BALLS I say.

One of my favourite things to do when I’m sick is to watch Sound of Music. Julie Andrews always makes things better but not this time. Julie Andrews did not work her magic, not even singing my favourite things worked. L So on Friday I went back to work because, even though it’s only the end of January, I have already used up all my sick days for the year. DOUBLE BALLS. Hehe that makes me giggle.

Thankfully it wasn't a busy day at work and I got to take it pretty easy. That’s one of the bonuses, if the only bonus to being a Receptionist, it’s usually pretty quiet at the front desk unless a bill comes in that I have to enter into a spreadsheet. Don’t get me wrong I like my job. Its pretty standard, the pay is good, I like the people I work with, but man can days drag on like a sonofabitch. 

The weekend was pretty good though. On Saturday we headed out to our friend Heather’s house. She made us a yummy dinner and introduced us to two new shows. Well new to us. I really enjoyed both of them and I will have to get the first one on DVD if I can find it. It’s called Wonderfalls and is only one season as it was cancelled after only 13 episodes. I think a lot of that had to do with the theme song opening. It was really corny.  

But the best thing of all, was Heather gave me her old Kobo touch e-reader. I've been planning on getting one for a while and she had one that she never used so she gave it to me. I've already restored it to its factory settings loaded it up with all the new updates, read all the manuals. Now I’m just ready to put books on it.

I’m not the biggest book reader ever. I tend to read the same books over and over again. But I just really like the idea that if I wanted to read a book I've got a number of them on me at all times.

So for right now I will probably just be adding books that I already own onto the Kobo. But I can already see how this is going to be beneficial for me. There is a series I read that has 12 books in it. Crazy right?!?  The next book in the series comes out in March but only in hardcover. Here’s where my crazy OCD comes into play. I own the series in softcover and don’t want to buy it in hardcover because it won’t match the rest of the series. Weird huh? Hopefully I’m not the only one who thinks this way. Please if you’re reading this don’t judge me. Anyway now with the e-reader I can just buy it digitally, and then when the book comes out in softcover I will add it to the collection. But that won’t be for another year or so.

Moving on, so on Sunday I went to see Les Miserable for the second time with my cousin Mike. He liked the movie a lot and said it was better then he was expecting. Clearly I liked it a lot too since I saw it twice. I think what made it great for me was that I knew the actors where actually singing. It wasn't lip synced or dubbed. It was all live which you could tell while watching it. I will admit the first time I went to go see it I was excited but also super worried that it wasn't going to be as good as they were making it out to be. You know when the build up a movie and you go and see it and you walk out thinking WTF.

Example: Prometheus. You go in to the movie thinking it’s gonna be awesome. How could you not? The trailer was amazing and it’s a prequel to Aliens for crying out loud. The tag line was even “all questions will be answered” UMMM huh no they weren't  If anything if gave me more questions. But let’s not get into that. I’m pretty sure that movie has gotten enough bad review on it.

So after the movie Richard and I went to Mike’s house for some dinner with my Aunt and Uncle which was delicious. I love their cooking so much. All in all it was a pretty good weekend to end off a crappy week.

And now it’s Monday and it’s snowing a lot outside. Not the greatest for driving but its Canada and its January so it’s to be expected. This winter has not been bad at all so I’m not even going to complain. And from what I heard it’s all going to be gone by tomorrow. We are getting into the double digits again and its suppose to be sunny.

Well if you made it this far through my ramblings I’m impressed. I’m working on a couple of crafty projects right now so the next couple posts will be all about that.

Bye for now.

Shadow Box Ticket Stub Tutorial!

I like to consider myself a movie buff, but more then likely I am just a movie nerd. When I first became addicted to Pinterest (which I still pronounce as P-interest) one of the first pins I found was this...

Uploaded by User so I don't know who came up with it first.

I usually keep all my movie stubs in my wallet until it becomes to difficult to close, so I thought this was a great way to keep them intact and on display. Yay my wallet now closes properly.

So here is a tutorial for how I did it.

Supplies needed are:

1. Shadow Box- (I got mine at Michaels’ for under $15.)

2. Picture for the background- (I got mine off the Internet but you can also make your own if you wish.)

3. ModPodge- (I bought mine at Michaels’)

4. A sponge brush- (these are super cheap like a pack for a $1 from the dollar store)

5. And your movie tickets.

Step 1:

My father in law did this part for me just because I didn’t have the tools to do it myself. You will need to cut a slot in the top of the shadow box so you can insert your tickets in. Mine is about 6 1/2 cm x 1cm. I believe he said he did it with a jig saw and then had to sand down the edges so it wasn’t so sharp. This is definitely a good idea cause you don’t want to cut your fingers or rip the tickets when you insert them. Also the slot doesn’t need to be perfect because you’ll never see it anyway.

Step 2:

Place your fancy photo into the frame. Because mine was an actual photo that I had printed out I had to tape it to a sturdier card and place it in. Otherwise it would have kept flopping forward. Once that is in you can put the backing of the shadow box back on and close it all up.

Step 3:

Something I decided to do to keep my tickets in better condition and to ensure that they don’t become sun bleached or the ink doesn’t run or rub off on each other over time, is to add a layer of ModPodge to the tickets. Some of my tickets are so old that this has happened already, so to stop that from beginning or continuing I am putting one coat of ModPodge on all the tickets.

This is a photo of the three oldest tickets I have. See how discoloured they are.

Tickets with one medium coat of ModPodge. 

If you wish you can put on a thicker coat depending on the wear and tear of the ticket. I just applied the layer to the front of the ticket but again if you want you can add it to the front and back. But make sure it is fully dry before turning the ticket over to apply.

Make sure to let the ModPodge dry completely on the tickets before placing them into the shadow box. After doing all of these steps the last thing you want are for the tickets to still be wet and get damaged. Once they are all dry slip the tickets into the shadow box and place it where ever your heart desires.

Right now ours is in the front hallway but more then likely I will move it to the living room at another time.

And there you have it, a little keepsake for all your movie tickets or concert tickets. Something I would have done differently is probably bought a bigger shadow box because this one is already halfway full and the photo of the theatre in the back is already obstructed. So keep that in mind for if you decide you want to do this as well.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial, bye for now.

New Adventures!

2012 was a year filled with weddings, babies, apocalypses’ that didn’t happen, and new adventures into adulthood. We attended two weddings last year, one of which I was asked to photograph. To be honest I wasn’t really proud of the photos I took at the wedding and I feel really bad that I couldn’t give them better quality photos. I think I was just nervous and a bit overwhelmed with such a responsibility. The second wedding we attended was my brother Matthews wedding, which I was asked to Emcee. That was nerve wracking as well since I usually get really nervous in front of crowds. But thankfully with the help of practicing in front of a mirror and let’s not forget the open bar at the wedding, I was able to do it and not make a complete ass out of myself. The wedding was such a blast and I am so happy to finally call Rachele my sister.

We were also happy to welcome the birth of our new nephew Caleb who is just adorable. He is the first baby on my side of the family in over 12 years. I was lucky enough to be at the hospital when my sister was in labour, and had my camera with me to capture the first moments the older siblings got to see their new baby brother. My sister delivered via C-section and missed her older children’s reaction to meeting Caleb for the first time and I know she appreciates the photos that captured that moment. We knew a number of people who also gave birth last year for a grand total of 5 babies, and luckily I only had baby fever once. Along with all these babies we also got an announcement that my eldest brother Andrew and his wife Christine will be welcoming a new baby in February of this year.

On top of all these weddings and babies, Richard and I took the big step into Adulthood and became home owners. It’s been a big responsibility but one that I’m glad we took. We both love our new place and are excited to make the changes to it, and thankfully not a lot needs to be done other then some upgrades.

We also celebrated our 1 year anniversary. It’s sometimes hard to believe that we’ve been together for almost 6 years. It will actually be 6 years on the 15^th of this month, and it is a shock because it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long at all. Crazy!!!

Last year around this time I started this blog as a way to talk about movies and show some crafty things I was into, as well as just talk about things that were happening in my daily life. That quickly fizzled out and eventually got to the point where I stopped writing at all. A goal for myself this year is that I want to start writing a blog post once a week or twice a month where I do something creative that deals with crafts or home design. Being a receptionist can get rather boring and I need something that keeps me motivated and creative. I have always loved decorating and interior design, so I hope to show some of the things I can do through this blog.

Recently a friend and I edited our “Bucket List” and I really want to start crossing some things off that list, as I think this will be another good way to get out this year and do new things and see new places.

So here is to a year filled with laughter, new adventures, and creative outlets, and completely goals that I have set for myself.

Bring it on 2013.