Game On!

So...who watched the Opening Cermonies last night? I actaully manged to see the whole thing...albeit in two sittings.  I missed the first half hour, but after the news CTV showed it again so I was able to see what I missed.  I really liked the first part of it that showed the history of Great Britiain.  But once they got into the children's literature and that weird dance sequence, I kind of lost interest.  I did like the doves.  And I always enjoy seeing the different uniforms during the Parade of Nations.  And that cauldron! I think that's one of the coolest Olympic cauldrons I've ever seen!

Speaking of cauldrons...here's a picture of my finished Olympic display.  Because of the lighting, you can't really see it, but there is actually a candle inside the "cauldron".  I used a flameless votive so as not to set anything on fire.

Holly Jayde is the Canadian cheerleader, and Sarah Dana is is the USA cheerleader.  They're joined by their friends Chinook and Pierre for Canada and America and Spangle for the US.  And in honour of the host city and country, we have Jack.  If I can find Gourmand the moose, my Canadian and USA Coca-Cola beanies will also be coming to join the party.

I think the highlight of the day so far has been the men's 400 Individual Medley race in swimming.  The big story around this of course has been the Phelps-Lochte match-up.  In stunning style, Ryan Lochte took the gold medal beating out his teammate; Michael Phelps ended up coming fourth and missing the podium altogether.

Here's another favourite Olympic song; this one is also available on iTunes.  Stephan Moccio wrote the most beautiful theme song for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and he found the perfect the perfect person to give it voice in Nikki Yanofsky.  This year, the Canadian Tenors have released their version of the song (which is also amazing).

"I Believe" - Nikki Yanofsky
There comes a moment when my heart must stand along,
On this lonely path I've chosen, like a house that's not a home.
Somtetimes when I feel I've had enough, when I feel like giving up,
You willed me to all I can be,
Now nothing can stop me!

I believe in the power that comes from a world brought together as one.
I believe together we'll fly; I believe in the power of you and I.

This is the moment we have dreamed of all of our lives.
We'll be the change we wish from others; we'll stand tall for what is right.
And in my heart there'll be no doubt, the arms of the world will come reaching out
And embrace me to be all I can be,
Now nothing can stop me!

I believe in the power that comes from a world brought together as one.
I believe together we'll fly; I believe in the power of you and I.
I believe the time is right now, stand tall and make the world proud.
I believe together we'll fly, I believe in the power of you and I.

I believe, I believe, I believe in...
I believe, I believe in you.
I believe, I believe, I believe in...
I believe, I believe in you.
I believe, I believe, I believe in...
I believe, I believe in you.
I believe, I believe, I believe in you!

I believe the time is right now, stand tall and make the world proud.
I believe together we'll fly, I believe in the power...
I believe in the power that comes from a world brought together as one.
I believe together we'll fly, I believe in the power of you and I.
I believe the time is right now, stand tall and make the world proud,
I believe together we'll fly, I believe in the power of you and I.
I believe in the power of you and I.

Until next time,
J.

Do you believe?

Let the Games begin!

As I'm writing this, CTV is broadcasting the Parade of Nations from the opening ceremony of the London Olympucs (currently Panama is coming into the stadium).  It's exciting just watching the athletes coming in; I can't even begin to imagine how the athletes that are there are feeling.  The excitement, the energy, the anticipation, the adrenaline...it must be absoulutely incredible!

This is the first of many Olympic-themed posts I'll be sharing over the next 17 days.  I'll be sharing Olympic music, Olympic memories, moments that make Olympic history, recaps, all kinds of stuff! Stay tuned later for pictures of my 2012 Olympic display.

To get things started, I've got the lyrics from "Bang The Drum".  This song was performed by Nelly Furtado and Bryan Adams at the opening ceremonies in Vancouver.  It's a great song! If you haven't heard it, run, don't walk, to iTunes and buy it now!

"Bang The Drum" - Nelly Furtado & Bryan Adams
You and I, together we reach for the sky;
It's not about winning, it's all about playing the game.
From the east, from the west, each of us trying our best;
Chasing the dream, burning to follow the flame.

Bang the drum a little louder!
So the whole world can hear, the whole world can hear.
Sing the song a little longer!
So the whole world can hear, the whole world can hear.

From near, from far, it's clear wherever you are...
This is your moment, your time to run like the wind.
Dream big! Aim high!
Even believe you can fly!
Give it your all! Let the Games begin!

Bang the drum a little louder!
So the whole world can hear, the whole world can hear.
Jump up a little higher!
So the whole world can see ya, the whole world can see ya.
Sing the song a little longer!
So the whole world can hear, the whole world can hear.
Bang the drum a little louder!
For the whole world to hear, the whole world to hear.

Bang the drum a little louder!
Sing the song a little longer!
Bang the drum!

Until next time,
J.

Do you believe?

My first altered art project, an eagle sighting and the best St. Paddy's Day ever!

I'm so excited to share this - it's my first ever altered art project! I bought the tin full of flowers because a) I liked the flowers, and b) I liked the tin.  The tin has been sitting in my stash for the longest time mocking me and saying "what are you going to do with me?".  I finally came up with a project for it - a holder for a series of ATCs I want to make about the blessings that God provides.  So without further ado...here it is!

Tin: Prima Marketing; Flowers: unknown; Brad: Doodlebug Designs; Paper: unknown; Ribbon: Offray; Labels: Dymo

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Picture this: you're driving home from work on a beautiful almost-spring evening.  In the rearview mirror, you can see the sky ablaze with the setting sun.  There's good music playing on the radio, and you're feeling like everything in the world is as it should be.  You catch sight of movement in the sky just off to the right ahead of you and focus in for a closer look.  And that's when you see it: a bald eagle soaring on the wind, wings outstretched.  Your heart leaps at the sight, because bald eagles are not a common sight where you are.  In that moment, you offer up a prayer of thanks to the Lord for sharing this little miracle with you.  And you recall the words of one of your favourite Bible verses...

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will rise up on wings like eagles..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

St. Patirck's Day is usually just another day, with nothing to make it remarkable aside from the need to wear green.  This year I spent a St. Pat's that I will never forget! My favouritest country band Lady Antebellum was playing in Edmonton, and I had plans to go with my cousin, and I was so excited I could hardly stand it.  She had gotten a pre-sale code to buy the tickets before they went on sale to the public, and got us AMAZING seats in row 5 on the floor.  The first opening act Thompson Square had finished playing, and there was an intermission while the stage was set up for the second act Darius Rucker.  A lady came over to Kim and I and said that she was looking for someone to switch seats with.  She and her husband had tickets for the mosh pit right next to the stage, but her husband couldn't stand for that long; would we be interested in trading tickets? Kim and I looked at each other and said in unison "Sure!".  So we got to watch Darius Rucker and Lady A from right...next...to...the...stage! I almost got close enough at one point to touch Dave Haywood when he was high-fiving (low-fiving?) the fans!  Of course I, in my infinite wisdom, had worn boots with heels on them, never anticipating that I would be standing for almost the whole concert.  I was in agony by the time the concert ended, but it was so worth it!  I have a few pictures (not good ones, but I do have some) on my phone; if I can figure out how to do it I'll post them here.

Until next time,

J.

PS. You can see pictures of my altered tin plus lots of other stuff in my new photobucket album! Follow this link to find my main album, and then feel free to browse hte sub-albums!

http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh583/JenniferKoss/

My Song of the Moment

I have a playlist on my iPod of "theme" songs - songs that have spoken to me or touched me in some way.  The newest addition to my theme song collection is "Invincible" by Hedley.  I heard a little clip of it on TV in an ad for Hedley's new CD, and liked it enough to buy it from iTunes.  And then I listened to the lyrics.  And I felt like they were talking about me.  I can identify with the lyrics in a lot of ways, particularly when I think about what I went through when I was sick before my transplant and then during my recovery.  The lines that hit me the most are:
"But I found the strength inside to see, found the better part of me, and I'm never letting go..."

I found this great site for looking up lyrics, and they have a thing where you can put in what you think the song means.  To me, I think it's about finding the strength to fight your demons, regardless of whether they're physcial, emotional or spiritual.  When I was sick, I had a lot of demons I was facing, and with the grace of God, I overcame them.  But I'm still facing other things, and some of those have been harder to overcome.  This song is a great reminder to stand strong and know that I can overcome the challenges that life is throwing at me.

This is a scrapbook page that I made on this song for a Book of Me challenge at scrapbook.com.  I joined the challenge to help me get some more pages done in my album, and one of the first challenges was to do a page on a theme song or a song that had a lot of meaning to you.  Picking my song was a no-brainer, and the page came together really quickly once I knew what I wanted to do.

Paper: "Amy Tangerine" by American Crafts
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
Photo Turn: Unknown
Other: Computer and printer

Until next time,
J.

Scrapbook journal layouts & an "Awwwww...." moment

As promised, here are some pictures of the first two layouts I made for my new scrapbook journal.

This is one of the fastest, easiest layouts I've ever done! The Bible verse was made by printing the words on Dymo label strips.  Then I outlined the leaves using two shades of green pen (they were supposedly metallic pens but you can't actually tell that from looking at them) and gave each of the birdies a rhinestone eye.  And done! Paper: kI Memories, Pens: Creative Memories, Rhinestones: Kaisercraft

This one also came together quickly.  Choosing the Bible verses actually took longer than writing them out and adhering them.  The background is actually the back side of the paper used for the layout above - gotta love double-sided paper! Paper: KI Memories, Journalling Boxes: Unknown (the purple one was received in a swap), Pens: Marvy Le Plume II

And now for some sheer cuteness...

My little pumpkin is just over 6 months old, and getting so big! How could you not love that little face?

Until next time,
J.

Happy New Year!

So much to do, so little time! As usual, far too much time has passed since I've been here, and a lot has happened.

On November 18th, my darling Sarah earned her angel wings.  Her kidneys were failing rapidly, and she was getting really sick.  The weekend before she went home to heaven, she stopped eating and drinking, resulting in a trip to the vet.  There was a treatment that Dr. Forbes suggested might help, but because she was going downhill so quickly it would only be a band-aid solution, if it helped at all.  I decided that I couldn't put my baby through something that may or may not help her, so I decided it would be better if I let her go.  I took her home that day, and on Friday we went back for the last time.  One small belssing that came about was a blizzard that hit on Thursday, keeping me at home.  I got one last day to spend with Sarah, cuddling, taking pictures and making some last memories.  We laid her to rest next to my mom's dog Mugsy (they were the best of friends when he was alive, and now they're together again), and in the spring I'm going to plant some pink roses next to her grave.

Having Molly has helped a lot, which is what my mom was hoping for when she bought her for me.  She is such a little clown - so full of personality! I could write a novel about her and exploits, and I've only had her for four months! Her favourite game is playing fetch with her ball, although she also likes tug-of-war fetch.  This is exactly what it sounds like: she brings the toy and we play tug-of-war until I manage to get it and then I have to throw it for her to run after and retrieve.  If I try to stop before she's ready, she'll push at my arm or leg with the toy/ball until I start playing again.  One of her stranger quirks is that she loves, and I mean LOVES, to shred Kleenex (as well as napkins and other paper).  And she's fast too!  Apparently this morning while I was at work she managed to get hold of the box of Kleenex from the coffee table and was happily shredding away when Dad caught her; fortunately she'd only gotten through 2 or 3 when he found her.

Christmas, as always, was wonderful.  James was able to come home, and he brought his dog Hemi with him.  I'd been hoping that Molly and Hemi would make friends, but she was terrifed of him and squealed like she was being eaten if he so much as looked at her.  I suppose though that her fear was understandable - she's really only used to Nicky who's not much bigger than she is, so to suddenly have this great big 170-lb. beast in her house was probably scary.  Although she was getting better with him by the time James left: she had pretty much stopped squealing if Hemi came near her, and wouldn't immediately run and hide if Hemi entered the room.  She needs some oedience training, and I'm hoping that will help her get socialized more.  And I'm thinking in the spring she and I may take a road trip to visit "Uncle" James and "Cousin" Hemi. 

With a new year comes some new creative projects: a scrapbook journal, a 6"x6" scrapbook of favourite scriptures and inspirational songs, and a "baby" book for Molly.  With all these new projects, I've set myself a goal of one layout a week, and I've joined a couple of challenges at scrapbook.com to help me out.  I'm also going through the stack of scrapbook magazines; I'm saving only the articles/ideas that I think I will acutally use, and getting rid of the rest of the magazine.  I've found a bunch of ideas for Molly's book in the process, and I'm thinking I may make a separate section in my scrappy binder for pet ideas so I can find them easily.

I'm just about finished my room re-decoration.  There are just a few projects left.  I want to get a wall-mounted lamp (or possibly two) for better light for reading in bed, I need to get curtain rods and window treatments, and I want to re-hang my bulletin board.  And I found the cutest pink LED lights at HOme Hardware before Christmas that I want to hang up; I just need to figure out how to do it!

Well, that's probably enough for now.  Over the weekend I'm hoping to post pictures of the first two layouts of my scrapbook journal.

Until next time,
J.

Where were you? Part 2

Where Were You

~ Alan Jackson ~

Where were you when the world stopped turnin' that September day?
Out in the yard with your wife and children, or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Rising against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger in fear for your neighbor,
Or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear parents?
Did you weep for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the ones who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue
And the heroes who dies just doin' what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of sign
And look at yourself for what really matters?

I'm just a singer of simple songs,
I'm not a real political man.
I watch CNN but I don't think I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God,
And I remember this from when I was young:
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us,
And the greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turning' that September day?
Teaching a class full of innocent children; driving down some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty 'cause you're a survivor;
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?

Did you open up your eyes, hope it never happened?
Did you close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages,
Or speak to some stranger on the street?
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow?
Did you go out and buy you a gun?
Did you turn off the violent ild movie you're watchin'
And turn on "I Love Lucy" re-runs?

Did you go to a church, hold hands with some strangers?
Did you stand in line to give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
And thank God you had someone to love?

I'm just a singer of simple songs,
I'm not a real political man.
I watch CNN but I don't think I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God,
And I remember this from when I was young:
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us,
And the greatest is love.

I'm just a singer of simple songs,
I'm not a real political man.
I watch CNN but I don't think I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God,
And I remember this from when I was young:
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us,
And the greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turnin' that September day?