EMA-gination

Let me introduce . . .

2012-01-30T19:31:00.003-06:00

Chips! I love this puppy so much. My last mate for life! :)

Giveaway! Woohoo!

2011-12-26T19:03:00.003-06:00

Have you ever . . .

2011-10-12T20:33:00.003-05:00

. . . met some one who completely transforms your life? Yeah, I have not either! I think I do . . . but then it comes down to placing value on the other person and I am either devalued or some one proves themselves not worthy of the value I placed on them. Now with a ticking clock over my head I find myself moving on quicker and easier . . . I am a strong woman with Christian morals . . . that does not change with each person I meet . . . it is my constant. Nina disenchanted me . . . if that is even the word . . . by outlining her view on monogamy and marriage for her generation. I realized as she spoke . . . she was describing the past few friendships/relationships I have had since I resumed dating and I realized . . . I remember being much happier when I was NOT dating but instead had friends who I went out with . . . no expectations . . . . no drama . . . . I think I will resume my friendships . . . it is sad that many of them are superficial. I was simply AMAZED at how many disappeared when I shared my CML story with them. It doesn't change that I had a good time when I went out with them. I only need to learn to categorize my people! lol ;) There are friends who will always love me for who I am and be there . . . then there are shallow friends who love me for the fun person I am . . . . little do they know I am that fun person because I endured battles of the soul and body! :) I am deep and my waters run the same way! lol Life . . . I have so much left to do and cannot waste another precious second of it!

Today . . .

2011-09-15T21:32:00.001-05:00

I'm not hot or gorgeous. I don't have an amazing figure or a flat stomach. I'm far from being considered a model, but I'm ME!! I eat food, have curves and love my PJ's. I'm random, crazy and moody when I get mad but I don't pretend to be someone I'm not. I have a great personality, I'm caring & compassionate. I'm loving, I'm funny and I am who I am, love me or not, it won't change ME!!!

Good news!

2011-09-02T10:27:00.003-05:00

I had my first lab on Wednesday and the white cell count has come down to the point I no longer have to take the chemo! One word . . . WICKED AWESOME! I get to go back to work on Tuesday . . . . OK . . . . I didn't say it was ALL good news. :) lol

I do have to continue to take the Sprycel and I have to keep going to the lab every Wednesday until my follow up appointment with Dr. Cruz on September 20th. I am still a little anemic but the fatigue and shortness of breath should get better as this is resolved and I am also taking iron for the anemia. It is all good!

Prayer and faith ROCK! :)

Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

2011-08-31T16:15:00.003-05:00

Don't ask me to pronounce the middle word . . . I just know it belongs in there.

The hospital stay was for seven days. The chemo I was started on was for 2000 MG and increased to 3000 MG when the count would not go down. I did have to go through a bone marrow biopsy. Everything you have heard about how painful it is is absolutely TRUE! First, I did hype myself up for it. I was prepared for excruciating pain. First, they give you a lollipop with pain killer in it. It was sweet and tasted like grape. I was determined to suck every last drop from that lollipop! lol Once that is finished, they roll you over on your side. Nina was there with me for the biopsy. Thank goodness for her! Once I was rolled over on my side with my butt sticking out for the entire world to see, Dr. Bland proceeded to inject my hip with a local anesthetic to numb the area. Nina states she used several three inch nails to inject the area and I did fill the first prick but it wasn't much. Dr. Bland massaged the area I guess to spread the local about and numb the entire area. Nina then describes a much longer wide needle was inserted and I could actually feel something scraping inside of me. Dr. Bland had a hard time inserting the needle into the bone. Dr. Cruz had shown up at just that time to explain to Nina what was going on with my treatment. He made her cry! She wanted to know when I would get to go home and he assured her the best place for me was in the hospital for medical assistance in case I had a stroke because I was very likely to have one if the white blood count was not brought down. I had the same headache from Thursday so when he stated this I got freaked out and realized the urgency in getting the white cell count down! I could have stroked out at any moment. Also, because the blood was so thick I was having trouble getting oxygen into my body and that explained the shortness of breath. Anyway, Dr. Bland suggested radiology since she could not get the needle into my hip bone. Dr. Cruz had to assist and performed his first biopsy in five years! It was pointed out I was special! Didn't make it any less painful. He informed me when he was in with the needle and Nina described it as a six-inch tool. I did feel the bone marrow being pulled out and trust me on this one . . . . it was VERY PAINFUL. Not as painful as I had hyped myself up for but nonetheless painful. When it was all over, Dr. Cruz explained my bone mass was just so thick it made the retrieving the bone marrow difficult. So I was doubly special.

Then, because I had so much nausea and vomiting from the chemo and the constant blood being drawn, they decided to insert a PIC line. I think that is how it is abbreviated. It has three openings, one for the IV, second for blood to be drawn and the third one for medication. I was receiving two of the anti-nausea medications through injections . . . and yes . . . blood drawn every 8 hours! I am amazed they could get anything out the last time they attempted to draw blood! Lilly got to witness the PIC line being inserted. First they do an ultrasound on your arm to find a good strong vein. Then, they cover you up so you cannot see anything but they say it is to keep the area sterile. It also proved more difficult than usual because again, it is pointed out I have thick skin! Once again, I am special! Having the PIC inserted after the biopsy . . . was not painful at all! lol But it still hurt a little. It actually hurt more when it was removed on my last day of the hospital stay. Nina was there for the removal and she made a face that made me turn to look at what was being drawn and the PIC line was L - O - N - G! Once I saw it, my arm started to hurt! I hadn't had pain until I saw it. After the PIC line was inserted I couldn't understand why there was so much concern about it being too close to the heart. It was this little plug on my arm! Hindsight being 20/20 and all! :-\

There was this wonderful anti-nausea medication they gave me through the PIC line called Phernegren or something like that. That stuff KNOCKED ME OUT! I loved it! :) When they gave it to me at night, I didn't feel them when they came in to take my stats. We could have had a tornado during the night and I would not have awakened for it!

Hospital food was not too bad. Something about eating three regular meals that really helps the body because I normally am not a good eater! I mean I have breakfast because I am a breakfast person but the rest of the day I do not eat at a regular set time or even a solid meal!

At one point, I had a cocktail of seven meds. I forget what they were now but there was the chemo, anti-nausea medication, antibiotic because I had developed an infection as a side effect from one of the meds, a blood thinner, iron for the anemia . . . because on top of all that . . . I was also anemic and the anemia contributed to the shortness of breath and fatigue, Prevacid for stomach acids and something else they were giving me to keep . . . I forgot the name of the acid but it start with a U and if there is a build up of it can cause pain in the joints and I think it is called gout when that happens. I know people with gout and I DO NOT WANT IT either!

I had to sleep in a bed where the mattress rolled and massaged my body and was very noisy. The bed was to prevent bed sores because one of the things they didn't want me doing was walking around on my own because of the meds. Any one of them made me dizzy and lightheaded! More so than I normally am! lol ;) At night I had to strap on these boots that massaged my legs to keep blood clots from forming in my legs. It was all just a thrill . . . . really!

I am home now . . . taking 1500 MGs of the chemo. I had my first lab today. Haven't heard anything from the lab and so I figure no news is good news! :) I didn't get to get a date for going back to work. I hope soon cause I am going stir crazy! The peach of a supervisor . . . . let me tell you what he had to say when I called him to tell him I was in the hospital. First, I started with reminding him how I had missed work of late and he immediately goes into a tirade that I had not told him I would be out of the office on Friday but someone had informed him. I interrupted him to tell him that was not what I was referring to but instead to the days of absence due to headaches, fatigue and upset stomach. He points out yes, you have missed a lot of work since the new year. :-\ I told him we now had a reason for my absences and I informed him I had chronic leukemia. He proceeds to say good now we know why and keep me informed. I have written he is a PEACH! :-\ When I called him to inform him I was being dismissed from the hospital, he barked back I was not to come to the office until I had a FULL MEDICAL RELEASE and this had been sent to me already. Hadn't I received it? I reminded him I had been in the hospital and did not have access to email. He barks NO, IT WAS MAILED! So, again, I point out I have been in the hospital and had not been home to check my mail. :-\ I cannot wait to get back to the office! The only thing I know is he will not be allowed to fire me because it is against the law to do so but I am thinking I will have to be very careful to dot my i's and cross my t's. :-\ Boy howdy! I am also taking iron for the anemia and Prilosec for the stomach acids. I was also given two prescriptions for anti-nausea but haven't really had reason to use these yet. I am saving them . . . . just in case! :( I have good days and bad days. Sunday was a bad day physically. I woke with fatigue and had shortness of breath all day. Yesterday, I was quite emotional . . . really, . . . almost to the point of hysteria at times! :( But aside from that, it has been almost if all last week was just a nightmare . . . I keep thinking I should have pain or feel sick but I don't . . . . not really . . . . I am reminded many years ago I had a nurse tell me cancer does not hurt . . . but something about the idea you have cancer in your body makes you think you should be in pain . . . . IDK . . . . maybe it is just me. Anyway, I am following MD's orders because I want to get well! I have lots of things to do . . . . I have a great deal of faith that in 10 to 20 years someone would have discovered something new for treatment . . . . I am strong . . . . I am woman . . . . I am invincible! I know this because Nina tells me so! lol ;)

You have leukemia . . . .

2011-08-30T19:11:00.004-05:00

three words that have forever changed my life. I was truly expecting you have high blood pressure. Meds and a change in lifestyle. Well, I did get that . . . . meds and a change in lifestyle.

I was instructed to go straight to the hospital. I was not to take a detour home first but straight to the hospital. It was hard to comprehend what Dr. Lear had said. Leukemia? No one in our family has had cancer. It obviously is a huge mistake. As I walked to my truck, I wondered if I should tell anyone. What if it WAS a huge mistake? On the other hand . . . what if it wasn't? I didn't want to be alone for this. Who to call? I naturally called my favorite person in the world. Nina. I wasn't sure how to break it to her other than to first start with "Let's not panic and it is probably a mistake but do you think you could meet me at the ER?" Yes, I thought that was a fine way to approach it. Once she agreed to meet me at the ER, I drove out of the parking lot to drive the 3 or so blocks to Covenant Medical Center. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I was struck with the most absurd thought . . . "The house is a mess. I haven't had a chance to clean this week." Too be perfectly honest, I had been given the opportunity to clean the house but most days since the playoffs last year and the Cowboys didn't make it . . . since the peach of a supervisor was allowing the sh*t to roll down hill . . . . since my heart was broken yet again by the same man for the upteenth time . . . . I hadn't much energy to do much . . . . I was blaming the lack of energy on depression and stress.

I got to the hospital and was quickly whisked away to an examining room. Someone in a lab coat calling himself Dr. something or other walks in and asks why I was there. I tell him my story. He responds more bloodwork is required before making that determination. I am somewhat relieved at this point. I have always seen life as you get what you make of it, the glass is always half full, there is a silver lining around every cloud, nothing really bad ever happens to me . . . . so it IS all a mistake.

Nina arrives and I tell her what the Dr. Labcoat said. We agree that must be what it is. So blood is drawn, I am taken away for X-rays and Nina and I proceed to wait it out. At some point the decision is made blood must be taken from an artery and the first technician turns out to be someone who doesn't know what he is doing. Pricks me twice and gets nothing. In case you do not know this, having blood drawn from an artery can only be described as PAINFUL! He finally accepts he is unable to do this and calls someone else in. Thankfully, the second technician was able to get the blood drawn after his first and only prick and again . . . . in case I have left any doubt in your mind . . . . it is PAINFUL! Nina has to leave at 9:30 because of her work schedule. Once she leaves a good looking man in a suit walks in and introduces himself as Dr. Cruz. He proceeds to explain that there are two kinds of leukemia. There is acute leukemia which must be treated aggressively with chemo for four to six weeks and is very serious. Then there is chronic leukemia and he suspects this is what I have but additional tests have to be conducted before knowing for sure. He explains a bone marrow biopsy would help determine this along with some of the lab work being conducted as we speak by Dr. Bland. As he is explaining the treatment for chronic leukemia his phone rings and it is Dr. Bland. As he speaks to her, he smiles at me and nods. I suppose this is good news! Once he terminates that phone call he proceeds to tell me I will be admitted for seven to ten days to treat the chronic leukemia and did I have any questions. My only question after receiving so much information was "so in the morning, after all these tests, we will have a clearer picture?" No he explained, the picture was clear, I had chronic leukemia but it is treatable, people have an 80% remission rate and go on to live 10 to 20 years with treatment. With that he left and I was left with thoughts of all the things I had to get done over the next 10 to 20 years.

As I lay there on the uncomfortable hospital bed contemplating this, my next thought was how to tell Jay. I was not sure he would understand all of this but I thought it best to tell him exactly what was going on. When I called him, my first question to him was did he know what leukemia was. He responded yes, it is what John's mother died of in Terminator II. So I thought he understood and I explained to him this is what I had and I would be in the hospital for the next seven to ten days for treatment. We spoke about changes to our routine for the weekend and he seemed to take it all in stride considering.

I then had sense enough to call Lilly and let her know what was going on. We agreed mom was not to be told yet. I didn't want to call Eva yet because of her condition and also it was late.

I was then transported to Lakeside ICU. I knew that was a bad sign. While the nurses were prepping me for the night, I couldn't help but cry. One of the nurses asked if I was in pain. I answered, no, I just couldn't help but feel sorry for myself. She agreed it was perfectly natural and OK to do so because I had been through a lot that night. Despite all the thoughts running through my head, I finally fell asleep about 1 AM. But before I did I was given 2,000 mg of a pill that was pink and purple and hooked up to an IV. Oh, and more blood was taken. I was also hooked up to a blood pressure cuff and oxygen. I am sure I made quite a sight! :)

Three Little Words

2011-08-29T13:04:00.007-05:00

. . . forever changing my life . . . and they were not "I love you" . . .

On August 18th, 2011, I left my office to go to Grace Clinic to be . . . what I thought it would be anyway . . . diagnosed with high blood pressure (HBP).

It starts way before then though . . . .

On August 11th, I had gone to Sonic and decided to treat myself to a foot long coney with an order of tater tots. I normally do not eat like this but I had been good (in my book) and under a lot of stress at work so decided what the heck! Tater tots were a little salty but I ate them anyway. After finishing my lunch, I developed a dull headache and felt a little nauseated. HBP runs in my family and I remembered my sister, Eva, once telling me these were symptoms of HBP. I remember thinking . . . crap . . . . but the headache and nausea passed and by Friday I felt better. Saturday afternoon I once again developed a dull headache and nausea. I also developed a little bit of a tickling cough. Nothing I thought I needed to freak out about. The headache and nausea also passed and quickly this time but I thought Monday I should schedule me an appointment with the MD. Monday came and I remembered my supervisor was on vacation and he is rather a peach about my being absent when he is not in the office so I decided to wait until he came back. Mondays are always super busy for me at work and I didn't get a chance to call and set up an appointment. Tuesday I woke with a little chest pain along with the cough and it was rather a nuisance. Wednesday, I still had the cough and I felt a little short of breath and noticed it was difficult to answer the phone at the office because of the shortness of breath. Eva texted me and told me she was going to the ER because she was having chest pains. Lilly later called me to tell me Eva was having a pacemaker put in! WILD! Yes, completely caught us by surprise. Scared me a little so I decided I would have the cough checked out. Went to Grace Clinic before going to work on Thursday and at the time I only had the cough and shortness of breath so I was X-rayed and diagnosed with walking pneumonia. I have had this before and knew what to expect. I was informed I should be hospitalized but I had lots of work back at the office and, again, peach of a supervisor on vacation would not be happy to come back and learn I had been out of the office at the same time. I thought I could rest when I got home from work. I refused medical advise and signed the waiver and left for the office. After arriving at the office I developed a wicked headache and now when I coughed there was SEVERE chest pain . . . no longer just a nuisance. It started in the middle of my chest and traveled to the back between the shoulder blades. I had read years ago women have severe headaches and upper back pain when they have heart attacks so I thought maybe I should go back to Grace Clinic just to make sure all was OK. At 2 PM I notified my production counterpart I was going to leave early to go back to the Grace Clinic. I left the office at 3 PM and headed to Grace Clinic again and I really believed deep in my heart I would be diagnosed with HBP and given some meds and directions on how to take care of this. I arrived at Grace Clinic and this time they took a whole bunch of blood and in addition to more x-rays, I got an EKG that proved normal. I remember thinking when the physician's assistant (PA) came to give me my results, if I had HBP, I would go to McDonald's and get a side salad and fruit and yogurt parfait . . . and if not . . . . a Big Mac . . . cause I was starving! I had not eaten since breakfast and that was coffee and a Texas cinnamon bun from the vending machine at the office. At approximately 5 PM, Dr. Lear . . . not the PA and I knew then something was wrong . . . came into the examining room holding my lab results and announced my white cell blood count was 183,000 and normally it should be 10,000. I asked him what this meant . . . and he spoke the three little words that changed my life forever . . . . "You have leukemia."

I have decided . . . .

2011-07-15T09:13:00.003-05:00

to just do it! I started the whole process July 7th so I am a little worried I may have gotten a late start but I am attempting to do it! What is it you ask? Wait a minute . . . . let me have good news to share! :)

There is a short list of things I want to get done. I will be 50 soon and realized . . . OMGee . . . I am running out of time! I best get to gettin'!

I lost 85 pounds between November 2008 and April 2010. 50 of those managed to find me again! :( But I am on the road to shedding something again. I am not going to fixate on a number . . . . I just want to feel better and LIVE LONGER! I still have so much to do!

I keep toying with the idea of being a home owner. The idea frightens me. Being a single female, I WANT to call a landlord to come fix things . . . but alas . . . this landlord I am straddled with . . . . makes the skin crawl. I am paying rent for . . . . a house with issues. I am torn between finding something nice and maybe more expensive . . . . or staying put and accepting what I have to put up with . . . . IDK? Then there is the whole moving thing. I don't want to move again; however, if I rent an apartment . . . the rent can and probably will increase over time. If I rent a house and heaven forbid the landlord passes before I do, the house could be sold and there I go again. :( I love this house. I want to ask the landlord if he will owner finance; however, the house needs a LOT of repairs. IDK? Things to ponder about.

There are less life altering things I want to do as well . . . golf better . . . I have the clubs but noone to play with! :( I want to try clay shooting but that is only to prepare myself for trying duck hunting someday! :) I would really love to go to Paris! I think it is a romantic idea and I am a hopeless romantic. Suffice to say, it would be a trip I have to take alone, but just to get to do it!

Sometimes I think about growing old alone and cannot help wonder is it really what I want to do? I have been single the majority of my life. I am very set in my ways. Can I change these things for the right man? Are there any right men left out there? I thought I had found one January 2009. He broke my heart for the absolutely last time in February 2011. YES! I finally learned my lesson! lol I suppose as all else in my life . . . I will leave it in God's hands. I believe it is the best place to leave most things. I prod along and certainly give God the opportunity to show me and maybe He has shown me I am best left to my own devices. :} lol

I should know by mid-week about my latest attempt. I will be sure to come back on here and let you know what it is and if it is happening! So far so good! It is looking better and better and more possible! :)

I am often amazed . . .

2011-07-02T14:12:00.012-05:00

at how it takes all this . . . .
to make this itty, bitty card . . . .

Since there was such a mess, I went ahead and made two . . .

a close-up of the bling! lol ;)

Cardstock, printed paper, buttons, brads and glitter are all from my long-standing stash . . . awesome new stamps are from Raisin Boat Red White and Blue and Born to Ride. Don't you just LOVE the smell of new stamps?!?

Look What I Got! :)

2011-05-29T09:05:00.004-05:00

:( It isn't red . . . but it gets me around! :) 1997 and about 110K miles . . . good motor . . . . clean interior . . . . radio, A/C and power locks and windows still work! It is all good! All it lacked was sunroof and red paint! lol ;)

I haven't been home since I got it except for to sleep! Ha! J/K! :)

Finally . . .

2011-05-27T18:36:00.011-05:00

I have been attempting to download these pics for a few days and just now Blogger finally let me do it! I was going crazy! Anyway, a few days ago I showed a tin recipe box and cards and asked you to stay tuned. Well, here they finally are!

The box . . .
a close up of the veggies on top . . .

First divider card was for appetizers and drinks . . . too long to fit with stamps! So I abbreviated and I think "starters' pretty much tells the story! lol Wouldn't you agree?!?

The next card was for main dishes so I cut right to the chase and labeled it "main". :)

The third divider was for the side dishes and would you like to venture a guess? :) Right . . . "sides"!

This one was for soups and stews and . . . . well . . . we know it wasn't going to fit! So I once again abbreviated . . . . "S&S"! lol ;)

Finally, everyone's favorite section . . . . desserts . . . . I wasn't willing to test the length and besides . . . I had the cutest stamp that would fit and tell the story in one word! "Sweet"! :)

I haven't done anything like this since 2008 so please . . . some leeway on the stash supply! :) I went home to NH in August 2010 to retrieve our things from storage and I since the accident and moving I hadn't really been able to buy much. Suffice to say the cardstock, brads, ribbon, TAC black ink, mulberry paper (icing on desserts) and flower buttons were from old stash . . . what I can tell you is the stamp sets are from Little Chef - Crafty Secrets and Guilty Pleasures, Grandma's Kitchen and Goes with Masterpiece Chef Gal - Raisin Boat . . . let me take a moment and rave about Raisin Boat! I found them on Facebook . . . where else? lol ;) They . . . get this . . . RENT . . . their stamp sets! What a novel idea?!? That was my first thought and now that I have been renting for awhile and even purchased quite a few stamp sets from them all I can tell you is TRY THEM! I absolutely LOVE them! Without a doubt! I like the idea of being able to try stamps before deciding if I cannot live without them! lol ;) Plus I also like the designs of the stamps I have purchased. I have bought stamps before I thought I would like and turned out maybe not so much. Not like I could really get my money back! Anyway, I love everything about Raisin Boat. The only thing I don't like if I had to pick something I didn't like is the size of the stamps but then what I love about the stamps are their size. KWIM? :) The printed paper is Cosmo Cricket's Double Deck with Material Girl and Garden Variety.

Aren't we all our own worst critics? I am sure if I nit pick my work I can find plenty at fault; however, I loved how these came out and I could hardly contain myself so I could show you what I had done! I rarely am pleased with my own work so this says a lot! :) lol I hope you have enjoyed looking at my work! :)

I have been

2011-05-14T08:30:00.005-05:00

up to something and it involves this . . . .

and these . . . .

and paper, scissors, glue, stamps and ink . . . and I can hardly wait to show it to you! :) Stay tuned!!!

Altered Boxes

2011-04-30T16:24:00.007-05:00

I couldn't keep up with the alphabet! lol ;) Have a look at these awesome boxes I altered for my sister, Lilly!

She gave me old shoe boxes to work with. She liked the size of them. This one had taken a beating and I had to reinforce it with cardboard along the inside edges. I am rather pleased with myself for thinking to do that!

Tim Holtz Vinage Photo and Tsukineko Brilliance Moonlight White inks, International Sunday stamps (?), Hot off the Press Swirly stamps and Chatter Box printed paper.
Paperspectives Heirloom Collection printed paper, Daily D's stamps (?), cardstock and General's watercolor pencils. First time I had worked with water color pencils and I liked it!

G is for . . . .

2011-04-25T21:34:00.001-05:00

girl . . . . great . . . . . gee . . . . :) . . . . glamour . . . . God . . . . gifts . . . . generous . . . . and life is good.

F is for . . . .

2011-04-23T18:40:00.002-05:00

forgetfulness . . . :( . . . . funny . . . . friends . . . . fur . . . . fabulous . . . . fashion . . . . . family . . . . forgiveness . . . . forgetting . . . . lost track and now I am back! lol ;)

E is for . . . .

2011-04-15T08:35:00.002-05:00

Ema! lol ;) . . . eggs . . . . Easter . . . . extravagant . . . elegant . . . . ears . . . . everything that makes life spectacular! :) Be patient . . . . I am warming up! I have something important to say and I am getting to it in my own time.

Oops! D is for . . . .

2011-04-14T13:38:00.002-05:00

dog . . . . dessert . . . . darling . . . . driving . . . . daisies . . . . daring . . . . life always gets better with time! :)

C is for . . . .

2011-04-11T07:33:00.001-05:00

chocolate . . . . caring . . . . cinema . . . . clothes . . . . car . . . . cat . . . . crafts . . . . crime . . . . and life goes on.

B is for . . . .

2011-04-10T07:43:00.002-05:00

bananas . . . . bicycle . . . . blue . . . . brother . . . . bombshell . . . . bikini . . . . bowling . . . . beach . . . . beautiful . . . . bling . . . . boy . . . . broken . . . . . . . . . and life goes on.

A is for . . .

2011-04-09T11:21:00.002-05:00

apples . . . awesome . . . autumn . . . anger . . . . . . . . and life goes on . . . . . . .

Fish

2011-03-23T19:15:00.002-05:00

I want!

2011-02-26T09:16:00.002-06:00

Enough said!

Mixed Blessings

2011-01-26T19:24:00.005-06:00

Heap of things to be grateful for . . .

chocolate . . .
day job . . .
3 BR home I live in all alone . . .
bathroom I don't have to share . . .
pinks and reds in all my rooms . . .
no one to take the remote away . . .
everything right where I left it . . . .
only have to cook for myself . . .
hearing "I love you" after so many years . . .
shoes . . . .
purses . . . .
costume jewelry . . . .
full-size bed all to myself . . . .

Stack of things I wish were different . . . .
someone to share my space with . . .
someone to cook for . . . .
someone to reach for across the bed . . .
someone to hug me at the end of a bad day . . .
someone to say "I love you" every day . . .

Small list of mixed blessings in my life for today. Tomorrow is another day!

My Bling

2011-01-16T09:32:00.002-06:00

I love my bling! I love it so much . . . embarrassed to say . . . I must be able to see it every time I walk into my dressing room!

I have more . . . lots more . . . really . . . sinful how much I have . . . it is tucked away in a jewelry armoir and a dresser drawer . . . I will show you my sinful nature later. When I get to know you better! lol

I love it all! Not just earrings either . . . I have bling I don't need . . . . I have bling I don't deserve . . . I have bling I have never worn! I just like it. My sinful delight . . . .

These are one of my favorite pair of earrings at the moment . . .

I like them so much . . . I had to get them in burnished brass . . . .

I received these as a Christmas gift and I love the bling of them all!

I collect pins as well . . . and I say I collect them because I very rarely wear these . . . . not that I don't like them . . . because I DO! I just don't dress up for the office or church like I use to . . . I might have to start doing so even if it means being overdressed . . .

These are a few favorites . . . I liked the size of this one . . . well . . . because I am a Texas girl . . . and in Texas bigger is always better . . . trust me on that one . . . in Texas . . . size DOES matter . . . lol

I like the colors and shape of this one . . . .

I love the bling of this one . . . .

These are a few of the essentials I wrote about earlier my job allows me to purchase . . . there are more . . . I am just not sure you have time . . . lol

Decisions

2011-01-15T11:33:00.002-06:00

I love the Dallas Cowboys . . . sometimes they disappoint . . . like they have this year . . . . no play-offs . . . . I have to cheer on another team . . . I feel like a traitor . . . and sometimes they don't . . . sometimes I hate that I love the Cowboys . . . because just when you think they are going to win . . . . they don't . . . and you have to cry about it . . . go to work and defend your losing team . . . sometimes I display my love for the Cowboys with my sense of style . . . this involves major decision making . . . first . . . I have to chose the right bling . . . .

Should it be this . . . .

or this one . . . .

Once that is out of the way . . . it is on to another decision . . . . these . . . .

or these . . .

or maybe these . . . .

As I go along . . . it gets easier . . . less choices are always easier . . . this one . . . .

or this one . . .

Now choices are made for me . . . . some of the bling is missing . . . but you still get the picture . . . I am hoping after my birthday I will have to make another choice but that is still a ways off . . . .

Finally . . . the decision is out of my hands . . . . . . .

Some decisions just come naturally . . . Miles Austin is the man! Were you expecting Romo? Please!

My Kingdom

2011-01-14T20:18:00.003-06:00

This is where I spend 40 hours of my precious life every week. It helps that I am rewarded . . . I wish I could say well . . . but it pays the bills and I am happy about that . . . sometimes . . . I even have enough left over for essentials and I will eventually show you what these are as I go along . . .

Let there be no doubt . . . I love my job most times . . . I work with some great guys that make me laugh every day . . . they sometimes feed me . . . . they buy me chocolates . . . . they gift me things . . . . oh . . . and I also work with Amber . . . but that is a story best shared another time.

This is my castle . . .

This is my throne . . . .

This was my chariot today . . .

It is all good!

My Blog

2011-01-13T20:02:00.004-06:00

I was looking back over my postings and realized this did not turn out as I expected! But then most of my life has been as such.

November 2008 I made the choice to take care of myself and as I did I shed 85 pounds. 2010 proved to be much more than I bargained for and slowly added 35 of those lost pounds. Not sure how they found me but they did. None the less, I did change from one person . . . .

to another . . .

Both from the outside to the inside. Along the ways I gained and lost much more than pounds as well. I lost my beloved Pontiac Sunfire in the July 4th flooding . . . I lost two adult children from the home . . . OK . . . I didn't say all I lost was bad! :) I gained insight into who I am . . . what I want from life . . . more importantly . . . who I might want to share this life with.

I met men along the way that helped me arrive to this decision . . . . quite a few of them. There were some who I cannot remember their names and then there are some I can . . . . Michael . . . Joel . . . Robert Z. . . . . Ruben . . . Larry . . . . Adam . . . . Joe . . . Jesse . . . . Ray . . . Rumaldo . . . Harvey . . . Alfred . . . Robby . . . Robert R. . . . . . . . some were nice . . . .

and some were not . . .

and some were somewhere inbetween . . .

All together I was able to arrive at a decision about my life and for that I am grateful for each man. They all had good and bad in them and they all taught me what it is I am willing to tolerate and what it is I am not . . . what I must have in a relationship and what I must not have . . .

Along the way I have moved twice and each move was more than I bargained for but I arrived in a place I can call home. I love the space I have landed in . . . the landlord is not quite what I had hoped for but then nothing in life is ever perfect. If it were all perfect how would we know what to be truly grateful for. I like my home . . . the space . . . my neighbors who leave me alone . . . the privacy . . . my dressing room . . . laundry room . . . the neighborhood . . . close to family . . . . fabulous kitchen layout . . . great water pressure . . . the space . . . . my neighbors who leave me alone . . . . the privacy . . . lol . . . OK . . . I think I made my point! There are some things I do not like . . . the pest problem . . . the drafty windows during the winter . . . window units for air conditioning . . . . but over all it is all good.

I traveled to NH alone to retrieve our belongings from storage. 2,075 miles all by myself! I am woman . . . I am strong . . . I am brave . . . I absolutely CAN do it all alone if I must . . . hear me roar! This only taught me I do not have to wait until I have someone to do anything I want to do. I can play golf by myself . . . I may have to cheat until I can get better at it otherwise it WILL take me all day . . . I can travel to Riodosa and try horse racing all by myself . . . . I have always been OK with dining alone, catching a movie alone, bowling by myself . . . I CAN DO ALL! Who else? Besides, I so much enjoy my own companionship! I will as the saying goes fake it until I make it!

I discovered many new things as well . . . Zumba . . . P90X . . . FaceBook . . . texting . . . OK . . . I didn't say they were all good things!

I allowed many things to cause me to lose focus of what is important but I shall regain that focus . . . I will continue with what I love . . . Zumba . . . dating because when it is with a new man it can be so much fun . . . working at my present place of employment . . . loving the Dallas Cowboys . . . cultivating my relationships which are important to me . . . continue to blossom into the social butterfly I have always been meant to be . . . . laughing . . . . caring for myself . . . . eventually . . . . my life will come all together and I want to be in my best condition I should be and be able to recognize when I am ready for it.

2010 Recapped

2010-12-31T15:49:00.003-06:00

This year started with a bang! :)

I had been given a new lease on life and somewhere along the way lost sight of what was important. People on the outside can do that if one is not careful.

2011 shall be different . . . seriously . . . for real . . . life should always be approached like that.

For starters, this year . . .

there will be no time wasted on insigificant people or things . . .

I will buy a car when I am ready . . . .

at the end of each day, I will forgive short comings . . . of others as well as of myself . . .

I will look in the mirror and be proud of all I did and who I was each day . . .

I WILL unpack the office space in my home . . .

regardless of failures . . . I will keep moving forward . . . .

I will believe when I have no reason to believe . . . .

I will learn to be a better golf player . . . .

I will give my all when it is necessary and hold back when it is not . . .

I will lift myself and others up in prayer . . .

I will go to Riodosa and try my hand at gambling . . .

really . . . for sure . . . without a doubt . . . I will let go and let God.

Christmas . . . .

2010-12-21T20:42:00.004-06:00

. . . is the worst living nightmare for a single person . . . .

You would think it would be Valentine's Day . . . but that is just one day . . . it starts at 12:01 AM on February 14th of each year and it will be over in 24 hours.

Christmas . . . depending on where you are in your life . . . . can be weeks long . . . there are parties . . . and these can be endless . . . . school parties, office parties, church parties, family parties, friend's parties . . . . a plethora of gifts to buy on one income . . . . unrealistic expectations to fulfill . . . . it is all about the thought . . . . please . . . . be real . . . just when you think you have everyone covered . . . people you haven't thought about in years come climbing out of nowhere . . . . really? . . . . it is all about the thought? . . . . fighting couples buying loving gifts . . . well, OK, that part IS like Valentine's Day . . . . . really? . . . . if you love me . . . you really need one day set aside each year to show me how much you love me instead of a lifetime . . . . . pfffftt . . . . unexpected company . . . . some welcomed . . . . some not so welcomed . . . . "everyone telling you to be of good cheer" . . . . easy for all to say . . . . I like being single . . . . the older I get the more I love it . . . . but the added stress and pressure of the Christmas season is more than a sane person can bear . . . much less a slightly wacky gal! 'Sides . . . . there is only one reason for the season . . . . and glitter, gold, gifts, gab is not it . . . . celebrate the season for the right reason . . . . Jesus Christ came and was born to die for our sins so we can have eternal life . . . . need there be anything else added to this joyous occasion?

Today I . . .

2010-10-23T12:23:00.010-05:00

love . . .

my sloppy three-bedroom home I share with no one . . . costume jewelry . . . day job . . . that I am fortunate enough to be able to have a second job . . . . that I have the energy for a second job . . . chicken salad . . . dancing . . . . clean clothes . . . my daughter . . . shooting pool . . . that Jay does not live with me . . . purses . . . apple orchards . . . tag sales . . . flying . . . receiving flowers . . . oak trees . . . lady bugs . . . ceramic tile . . . dogs . . . Wisk . . . hot tubs . . . gardens . . . rootbeer floats . . . menudo . . . writing . . . sweaters and long sleeves . . . sparklers . . . thunderstorms . . . naps . . . hugs . . . living alone . . . . Thanksgiving holiday . . . the colors yellow, orange and red . . . but especially red . . . FaceBook . . . smelling good . . . cool weather . . . . flirting . . . that I survived last year's automobile accident . . . scarves . . . . leather gloves . . . hand written letters . . . rainbows . . . Xanax . . . pecan pie . . . pretty stationery . . . fresh bread . . . hat boxes . . . colored glass bottles . . . theater . . . lazy afternoons . . . westerns . . . carnivals . . . boots . . . jack-o-lanterns . . . chili pepper decor . . . rubber stamping . . . fresh squeezed orange juice . . . new clothes . . . puzzles . . . white whites . . . fireplaces . . . young love . . . Tejano music . . . pants with pockets . . . the beach . . . flea markets . . . trinket boxes . . . room service . . . long skirts . . . asparagus . . . day dreaming . . . roses and sunflowers . . . being a female . . . still looking good after the automobile accident . . . Dallas Cowboys . . . make-up . . . my bed . . . Clean House . . . quiet moments . . . reading . . . full-service gasoline stations . . . watching people . . . Zumba . . . my friends . . . fall . . . roasted corn on the cob . . . farm tables . . . being noticed . . . Christmas music . . . silk . . . star gazing . . . making cards . . . caramel frappes . . . shopping . . . driving aimlessly . . . turning men's heads . . . Ray Posada . . . laughing . . . crying from joy . . . time alone . . .

dislike . . .

time alone . . . bigots . . . narrow-minded people . . . lazy landlords . . . lost time . . . days after days of hot weather . . . cheating men...and women . . . Lubbock, TX . . . filing at my day job . . . answering the phone, any phone . . . living alone . . . nosy people . . . malicious gossip . . . Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers . . . maintenance on my car . . . doing laundry . . . eating alone . . . hurting . . . crying from pain . . . pumping gasoline in my car . . . microwaves . . . paper towels . . . drive through . . . hurting someone . . . washing dishes . . .

miss . . .

New Hampshire . . .

have . . .

my health . . . two jobs . . . my faith . . . a car . . . a roof over my head . . . family . . . friends . . . two TVs I don't watch . . . washer and dryer . . . stove and refrigerator . . . money in the bank . . . time

want . . .

love . . . Dallas Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl . . . Nina and Jay to be loved, happy and fulfilled . . . but mostly to forget Ray Posada . . .

Food for thought

2010-03-28T12:47:00.011-05:00

Some times what we perceive as hurt was just a loved one’s bad day. I have bad days. I do not intend to hurt those I love when I have a bad day but I can and I have. I do not love them less. It is what they perceive at the moment. I have to believe I can be forgiven for my bad days so I can go on. Sometimes I am not . . . this does not make it the end of the world . . . although it may feel so briefly.

Faith is believing unconditionally. We have faith, if we paid our electric bill, when we flip a switch we will have light. Why then is it hard to have faith in . . . finding hope . . . spending an eternity at peace . . . falling in love . . . after being hurt?

Do not be a victim in life . . . take control of your senses and self. Love unconditionally . . . be happy in that brief moment . . . when hurt, heal yourself . . . and continue the quest.

Often times, we hurt those we love the most . . . without meaning to. Apologize and believe they have the ability to forgive and forget just as you believe you would.

When I do not receive love or respect from whom I have in my life, life is too precious and unpredictable to stay; therefore, it is a blessing when they walk away.

Do not be afraid to love and hurt . . . to be alone out of fear of hurt is not living. What a waste of a majestic resource!

When I hurt . . . I cry . . . I scream . . . I cry again . . . I laugh . . . I heal . . . and life does not end but continues gloriously.

Lies we tell ourselves keep us from living. Stop believing your own lies which keep you from living, loving and having.

When we live in fear … anger … jealousy … hate … envy … betrayal … hurt … we create our own living hell.

I will not punish myself for whom or what I believe I should be. I forgive myself for not being perfect.

Attention is the ability we have to discriminate and to focus only on that which we want to perceive.

Be reckless with love . . . shower it on people . . . throw it to the wind and let it land where it will.

Let it go. Whatever it is that is causing you to be sad . . . angry . . . alone . . . let it go.

Everyone is a mirror.

Inner beauty lasts a lifetime.

Self rejection is unacceptable . . .

Love does not always equal hurt.

Do your best and live life productively.

Sometimes, love hurts but only if we let it.

Plant love . . . laughter . . . dreams . . . hope.

Forgive loved ones . . . and then truly forget.

Be real . . . more importantly . . . be realistic.

Walking away sometimes hurts, but hurts heal.

Perfection is our own interpretation of what it should be.

We can create chaos with our words . . . speak with caution.

The truth is the most important part of being who you are meant to be.

It is normal . . . expected . . . ok to miss companionship. We are all social creatures and are not meant to be alone. Ask my insanely beautiful, wise, young, prodigal daughter. She is the one who gave me permission to do this. I needed the permission.

These are my thoughts on life and help me get through daily battles or struggles. My thoughts are not wrong to me. I hope you read one that transforms your life.

I don't know what I want or is it I know what I don't want?

2010-03-09T20:18:00.004-06:00

I have come to terms that I will always have days when I will know what it is I want from and out of life . . . and there will be days that I won't . . . what does remain constant is knowing what I don't want from or out of life . . . such as . . . condemnation . . . confusion . . . judgement . . . when I give of myself . . . I do it freely . . . especially ever since the accident . . . there is no time to be lost or wasted doing something half-way or against one's will. Life is too unpredictable to live one that is not exactly what I want it to be . . . or the closest I can get to it anyway! Am I the only one that feels this way?

My dear friend, Ray

2010-03-04T20:25:00.003-06:00

This is one of my favorite buffaloes at the moment!

His name is Ray and to me . . . he's the kindest man I know. He always makes me laugh with the funniest sayings. Whenever we get together to have a quick beer and some conversation . . . before I know it four hours have flown by! He knows all my siblings and when I want to tell him a story about our family . . . I don't have to waste time explaining who people are . . . so I am wicked comfortable with him . . . he has always treated me with the utmost respect and I respect him because of his Christian beliefs and work ethic . . . when I look into his eyes I see his kindness towards others and I love his smile . . . he is a VERY giving individual . . . his generous spirit always leaves me in awe and humbles me . . . these are just a FEW of the reasons why he is my favorite buffalo. Everyone should have a friend like Ray in their lives!

The Final Chapter

2010-02-07T23:00:00.007-06:00

I would like to share the final chapter in my ongoing accident saga. How does that Billy Currington song go? God is great, beer is good . . . I think life is good . . . people are crazy . . . I think people are fabulous but after some careful observations I realize . . . Billy knows what he is singing about!

These past three and a half months have seemed endless to me. I did have the surgery on January 21st. I so appreciate the numerous well wishing emails, texts and calls I received before and after the surgery!

According to the surgeon . . . and I happen to agree with him now . . . all went well. I looked like I had gone into battle with my face for a few weeks and during the first week, I felt like I couldn't be myself! During the first week of the healing process, I was not allowed to put anything on my face around the incision area and that was the hardest part for me. I am here to tell you . . . praise God . . . the end is here! I know family and friends who have not seen me since before the accident and only seen photos of the aftermath are curious.

There are some things that will never be the same. During extreme weather, cold or hot, I continue to have pain at the scalp line incision area. There are things I cannot do like I did before . . . some because the accident changed my disposition or abilities . . . some because I am way more cautious . . . in other words . . . I am no longer graceless! lol I am still exhibiting those ""cute" "sweet" "endearing" "scatterbrain" moments some of my loved ones seem to adore so much . . . but they do come further and further apart. I have come to appreciate the good times I had in life that made me the fun person I am . . . the tragic events that made me the caring, kind, forgiving person I continue to evolve into . . . the trials and tribulations I have endured that did not make me a bitter, angry woman . . . and the ability I have always had to see the glass half full and to make the best of things. I am happy with what I have . . . because . . . it IS all I can have.

Before I share the outcome, I want to share some thoughts. Why not? Whether these words are read or not is not for me to know. What I do know is that I want to share these thoughts and what better avenue do I have for doing so? Since the accident, things changed. I knew I had many friends . . . I discovered the love and loyalty of some of these friendships. I knew my family loved me . . . I discovered the depth of their love. I knew co-workers were fond of me . . . I discovered their sincere affection for me. I am so grateful to all of my loved ones who lifted me on their wings when I could not soar . . . I was wrapped in prayer and kindness when I felt faithless and lost . . . I was showered in love when I had none to give . . . these same loved ones were my umbrella when self-pity rained on me. After all that has happened, I have finally found what I have been looking for what seems like a lifetime. I found it in Him . . . and because of Him . . . I have also found it in me. Things may not be perfect in my world . . . but in my eyes and mind . . . I see things that are perfect for me. I am completely at peace . . . with whom and what I have in my life. I cannot even begin to express how touched I feel at this moment for having loved ones share in this journey with me. My life was impacted in ways others will never begin to understand . . . with kind words . . . love . . . presence . . . all of these actions have completed me in some way.

I have chosen pictures that I think tell the whole story . . . all the changes I have gone through of late. I couldn't share the post-photos right after because I could barely look at them myself. These made all the changes more real! I can look at them now and see the difference and be grateful for the skilled surgeon and God who guided his steady hand. I am relieved that I do not look like an entirely different person. People still recognize me! This is all good!

This picture is from the day after the surgery, January 22nd.

This picture is from January 24th, three days after surgery.

This picture is from January 27th.

This picture is from February 5th.

I am at peace with all of this!

A little peek . . .

2010-01-29T21:59:00.006-06:00

We had a group photo taken at work Thursday . . . the same day of the latest "blizzard." It almost felt as if we only went to work to take the photograph! lol We were allowed to go home at 11:00 because the weather was just so bad! Driving home I had to pull over three times and scrape the ice off the wipers! That is bad . . . for Lubbock anyway . . . no plows . . . completely unprepared for this kind of weather that is only normal in NH . . . no shovel . . . no rock salt or sand . . . just being sent home to wait out the weather! And yet . . . I found a friend willing to come pick me up in this miserable weather to have dinner and drinks with! Couldn't work but was able to spend time with a friend! lol I find that amusing . . . on the other hand . . . since the accident . . . I promised myself I would take care of friendships before work . . . and I did! :) Anyway, I thought I would share a post-surgery picture. Stitches were taken out Wednesday . . . just in time for the mandated photograph. Guys at the office all said I looked nice but then . . . they all love me! Why would they say anything different? Then we come to find out Friday morning that we have to take the photograph again! On Tuesday! I am fine with that . . . I will be more healed and bruising and swelling will not be so noticable. :) Anyway, here is a peek at my healing . . .

I am starting to be able to see myself in the mirror when I have a look these days . . . if you can follow that thought! For weeks now, everytime I looked in the mirror . . . I didn't recognize the face that looked back! :( I am starting to see the old me in the mirror! I am very happy about that! :)

I am so HAPPY!

2010-01-26T21:26:00.004-06:00

If it weren't for my heavy shoes . . . I would be floating on air! I am so happy to finally have the surgery behind me . . . I feel that this is the beginning of the end . . . I can see . . . I am no longer afraid to drive . . . I can now see my blind spot . . . I am all swollen and bruised but that will be over soon . . . compared to waiting for the surgery anyway . . . I can honestly say that I am ready to accept whatever the future holds for me and my face . . . I really am so happy that I can see!

The only downfall is that I do not have my beloved prodigal daughter to share this with . . . but really . . . that is not anything new . . . I will have to be patient and wait for the great equalizer! :)

What Happened?

2010-01-16T23:00:00.003-06:00

I realized today as I sat watching hours of TV . . . today is the second half of January! This year was going to be better than last . . . I was to accomplish more than I have over the past few years . . . not sure what happened?

Well, ok, I am waiting to have surgery that I feel has my life on hold . . . but I am not sure why! My face is only one part of who I am! I am still the fun-loving, funny, lovable gal I have always been . . . with maybe a little more patience . . . a little more kindness . . . a little more understanding . . . a little more tolerant . . . a little more forgiving! I do not understand why I feel I should put my life on hold because one of my eyes is a little fallen. According to an opthamologist . . . it is fixable . . . and if it is fixable . . . there really isn't anything wrong with me!

Well, ok, I am recovering from a bad cold that has kept me indoors all this weekend. But this should not have kept me from accomplishing great things within my home! I have things that need fixing . . . things that need hanging . . . things that need cleaning! On the other hand, I have been pumping myself full of Thera-flu so that I can be well for the upcoming surgery that I feel has my life on hold. It is important that I take care of myself!

Anyway, next time you see me . . . if I am sitting down doing nothing . . . please . . . pull the chair out from under me! I have LOTS of living left to do and I do not want to put it off any more!

This is the year that I will accomplish so much . . . I will live more . . . I will do more . . . I will be more . . . I will love more!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T01:00:00.002-06:00

Wishing you a blessed 2010! 2009 is on its way out and too late to change, correct or redo anything. Life is short and precious and we never know when we will be called out. Make each moment count! Don't forget to tell loved ones you do!

I will be undergoing corrective eye surgery on January 14th. The Lord and power of prayer can accomplish many things and I know I will come out like my old self! Hmmmm, not sure this is what we all want! More on THAT later! I just want to be able to see! I know I am beautiful on the inside and loved by adoring family and my dear beloved friends and cherished co-workers.

In a few weeks I hope to not look like this woman I don't recognize in the mirror:
Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with how I look! I just can not get used to it and it is no longer just about vanity . . .. . . I want to be able to see! Every time I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I have to ask "Who is that *LADY IN RED*?"

BTW, I am returning to the gym on Monday because I feel like I am physically able to now and not because I am trying to be "Super Girl," "Wonder Woman," "Hero," or any of the other names I was called when I wanted to go back to the gym three weeks after my near-fatal accident! Thank you for your concern and support but I sincerely believe I am ready and, more importantly, my entire body no longer hurts when I just THINK about going back to the gym!

You remember "THE" accident back . . . early November . . . was it just a dream? No! Take a look at my face! It took that and a little more to wake me up and learn to appreciate loved ones and life, but I do more and more with each passing day! Wouldn't you agree that I am, overall, a saner, nicer person? I think you should! I have held my tongue many a times since the accident! Maybe I should have held it more, but I am learning and doing my best! Anyway the accident gave me this sunnier disposition I now possess . . . just ask any of my cherished co-workers! Also, the "cute," "sweet," "endearing," "scatterbrain" thing I have had going on since the accident some of you have grown to love . . . I know we were all blaming it on the medication but it has been about three weeks since the last time I took meds! We should all also pray this is NOT permanent. PLEASE!!!!! I have had SEVERAL people tell me they like the difference in me because I am not such a know-it-all like I was before the accident, but remember, I would not have had to be such a know-it-all if some of you had at least known SOME of it! Remember, I'm a little bit crazy and I'm a little bit sane and all of this makes me the wonderful, loveable, bubbly woman before you!

Recently, Chaz Cameron shared a book with me . . . and I am so grateful to him for that . . . and I read something in it . . . actually a lot of stuff, but I am getting long-winded here . . . and I was trying really, really hard not to . . . I would like to share with you. It had a profound impact on my life . . . "The way we judge ourselves is the worst judge that ever existed." Don Miguel Ruiz . . . Think of this whenever you are being too hard on yourself for personal mistakes. It is VERY liberating! Forget and let go of the past! Don't wait to have your own near death experience before appreciating life and loved ones. May you live 2010, and every year thereafter, like it is your last!

Just when I think

2009-12-24T10:00:00.003-06:00

things cannot get any better . . . they do!

By now, all important people in my life, should know about the accident I survived on November 7th.

Nothing has been better than returning to life, family, church and work and being embraced by family and friends! I am so blessed to be loved and appreciated by so many! I have had kindness bestowed upon me beyond words. I thought I was down and out and family and friends came in and lifted me on their wings! How much more blessed can I get?!?

I was to have corrective surgery on my right eye on December 17th. It was rescheduled for January 14th. I had been VERY busy feeling sorry for myself. It struck me one night as I sat in church with my sisters and mother how much more there is to life than one's appearance! Life is so precious and good for me at this moment! I am ALIVE and loved! What more can anyone ask for? It has come to my attention that my vanity is just so . . . unnecessary! If that can be believed!?! I am surrounded by people that love me for what is in my heart and soul! I have discovered late in life that this IS all that really matters!

I am truly attempting to be a person who speaks kind words and completes kind actions. That is a lot easier said than done! There are so many folks we encounter in life that do not deserve these things! I could just go on and on about them! But what I really want is nothing more than to focus on life's good moments and have good thoughts! I have to tell myself repeatedly that these people mean nothing personal by their actions and just continue to love them for the human beings that they are. Is that not why we were put on earth?

I'm a little

2009-11-29T19:26:00.000-06:00

vain . . . and worried! I'm afraid I will not look like my profile photo again. And I am sorry, but I think I was a very pretty woman! :( I had some serious injury to my face and the right side is fallen . . . and cannot get up! lol Seriously, because of the car accident, there has been some nerve and muscle damage to the eye area on the right side of the face where I received the brunt of the force from the truck that hit us. I wish I could make myself show you the photos I have been taking! :( Maybe when it gets better. My first appointment isn't until December 11th, so I will be looking like this for awhile. I've already warned the guys at the office! I told them I would not be that beautiful girl they were used to seeing at the office anymore and I had one of the guys ask me "When were you a beautiful girl?" phfffft!

Really . . .

2009-11-09T21:46:00.000-06:00

YES! I thank God I am alive. I was involved in a bad car wreck late night Friday, early Saturday morning. Broken ribs, punctured lung and stitches to my forehead was VERY sobering! Time for a lifestyle change I believe! When I feel better, I will come on here and let you know what happened!

Drum roll please . . .

2009-11-01T17:47:00.002-06:00

And the winner is Cassie! Thanks for everyone who played. Not a lot of folks but it was fun none the less I think anyway! Cassie, please email me your addy so I can know where to send your goody bag!

I have had a LOT of changes since the last time I was on here, among them, stuff I have created and have not had a chance to take pics of! But soon!

Thanks to all the ladies that guessed correctly! It was a man's 6-pack of abs! I thought it was some kind of orange bug! lol

Happy Halloween! Meow! lol

2009-10-31T15:24:00.001-05:00

3 months, 2 weeks and 3 days lost forever

2009-10-23T14:33:00.004-05:00

Have you ever met someone and afterwards thought to yourself "What a waste of time and energy!?!" I lived to be 47 yo and that had never happened to me. I have a friend to thank for this, but hey, she did not know any better. She only knew him from work. We all know that the face we present at work is not always the same face we wear at home with family or with friends. I like to think to myself that this man does not remember me like that. Well, on the last day words were said and things were done that probably should not have been, but by then, he was asking for it! lol I have come to understand that what he did, he did because that is the kind of person he is and it is what he had in his heart and it had NOTHING to do with who I am! There was no love or respect there and I consider it a blessing and a gift that he walked away the way that he did!

Who could make me feel this way?

Jesse Valdez

9-2-1951

Lubbock, Texas

Finally . . .

2009-10-14T20:14:00.007-05:00

moved into our new home. Getting settled and not so settled . . . if you know what I mean!?! We also got a dog . . . the cutest little Chihuahua and Terrier mix you could ever lay eyes on! She looks like a golden lab puppy! However, she won't sit still long enough to take her photo! UGH! Savage she is not! We named her Fish! Nina's idea . . . enough said.

I plan to post pics of our new abode and Fish, if she stays still long enough, soon, so stay posted! :)

Jason is doing really well with the new therapist! He's still employed and we are all so grateful about that. He survived the massive layoffs and early retirement buyouts! He is now in charge of cleaning the doctors' lounge and keeping it stocked so he works all by himself. Perfect for him and he seems to love it. All is good in his world! :)

Nina is now working . . . what is considered full time . . . at Pub 50 as a bartender! No more late nights at CiCi's as a barmaid and I cannot tell you how happy I am about that! We have our moments, but the good thing about that is that . . . well . . . we haven't killed each other! Otherwise I would not be on here updating you! lol We really should play it safer because we obviously have lots of places to hide the body! Nina briefly dated a Lamesa police officer and he regaled us with stories of dead bodies he found in our neighborhood. He comforted us with the knowledge that these folks were all killed somewhere else and only dumped near here! :( I question if that was meant to comfort us?

As for my miserable or not miserable situation . . . well, I chose for the longest time to be miserable without him, but he wormed his way back into my life with . . . of course . . . promises of lots of beautiful things. And he has the most beautiful things to say to me . . . well, of course he does! He's 58 years old! He has had a lot of practice! :) But things seem to be not much different and above all else, I want to be number 1 in whomever I chose to share my time and life with. Because he would be number 1 in mine!

Finally, after moving, I turned . . . gasp . . . I almost told you! ;) Needless to say, I had a birthday and here are some pics I want to share with you.

This is me with my two OLDER sisters, Eva on the left and Lilly on the right. They do not like for me to always point out that they are older, but please, like as if I can hide that? lol ;) I had never noticed before now . . . how much we look alike! Aren't my sisters lucky?!? YES, THEY ARE! lol

Here are the usual hosts! Lilly and Clyde. What would our family do without them? I love them for letting me stay with them as long as I did when I first came back to Lubbock and all the support that they provide our family.

Here is Clyde at his attempt of a "sexy" pose. He stated that it was an imitation of Joe Cartwright from Bonanza. He actually thought I knew what show he was talking about! As if I would have ever heard of such a show at my age! lol ;)

Finally, I invited all the guys from the office, which of there are 7! Kelly was the only "gringo" . . . well from the office, anyway . . . to show up! lol He stayed quite awhile too and I was ever so touched by his attendance.

As you can see it was rather well attended. I loved that so many folks were there! I like to think that they attended because of the love they have for me and not because of the free food! lol

This is a birthday cake one of Nina's friends, Mando, bought for me! Isn't it the cutest? He stated he couldn't figure out which bug to buy for me, but that he thought the ladybug was fitting of me! He didn't even know that red is one of my favorite colors!

This is my brother, Manual, and his wife, Priscilla, and their daughter, Anastasia.

This is my only single brother Jimmy, my brother-in-law, Richard, Eva's husband and Juan, my niece, Frances', live-in boyfriend. And watch out single ladies! My brother is picky! If you do not have a car, a job or a house, please no need to apply! ;)

This is my sister Eva with her grandbaby, one of the newer additions to the family. She's such a proud granny! lol

Here is my nephew, Jesse and April, parents of one of the newest additions to the family. OK, and April is one of the other "gringos" to attend, but she wasn't from the office. She's part of the family!

This is my great-nephew, Freddy, III. I do not understand why he insists on calling me Aunt Ema when I have told him many times to call me Great Aunt Ema! lol

Finally, remember the forgotten birthday cake from 2007? Well, this year, it was not forgotten and my sister Eva commissioned this masterpiece for my birthday celebration. First, ok, my name was misspelled. Secondly, can you tell what it is? Well, if you post your guess as to what it is . . . by . . . let's say November 1st, I will put all the correct answers in a cup and have Nina draw a name . . . and I will send out a grab bag of papercrafting goodies! If you post a link to your blog back to my blog and let me know the link in your post, I will enter your name twice! I'm giving a longer period than usual, because since my long absence I have lost a lot of readers! :( But I hope to be back in full swing soon and I thought this would be a great way to get started again. Do not forget to let me know in your post how to get back to you if you are the winner!

Oh, and lest I forget, I made out like a bandit as well! I received a sleep shirt, a pretty white sweater, a stationary set and pumpkin-scented candles in orange jars! Plus, $160! I haven't spent it yet. I keep losing weight and am saving it to buy myself some clothes when I hit a plateau again. Which I hope is soon because I am running out of stuff to wear! lol For those that are interested, I will not tell you what I weigh, but I will tell you how much I have lost since last November . . . at last weigh in, 55 pounds! Amazing right?!? Just think, all I did was give up bread, sodas, flour tortillas, sweets, sugar in my coffee, drink non-fat milk, and just a few weeks ago added exercise to my plan. I'm up to 45 minutes at walking speed of 3MPH. I went from a size 26 to a size 16 or 18, depending on the cut. And the most important thing of all . . . I do not deprive myself and I do not make people accomodate my new eating habits. Life is too short to not enjoy dessert first! ;)

***Disclaimer: Please do not be offended by my use of the term "gringo." We use it and I have used it just now with love and affection and do not mean to offend anyone by it.***

Mi Vida Loca!

2009-09-05T15:18:00.007-05:00

Well, a quick update for those I don't speak to often enough . . .

Jason is still living on his own! YEA! He is still working at Covenant! YEA! He is seeing a new therapist and that seems to be going really well also. Happy, happy all the way around.

Nina is still living with me. She's still working as a bartender, but has decided to go to college! YEA! We are working on financial aide and hopefully getting her started in January 2010. We bought her a 1997 Saturn . . . purple! Things are going along smoothly . . . for now.

I have quite a few changes. For starters, this . . .

And want to know why I have this change. Because I love pain! It is going so well for us that I am at the point that I have to decide whether I want to be miserable without him . . . or miserable with him. lol It is such a long story that I do not even know where to start. And I really don't have the time right now. I just wanted to update all.

We're also in the process of moving and hopefully that will change everything! I'll be able to come on here and post away and by then I will have decided for sure which miserable I want to be and can share it with you. Till then . . . :)

A letter to a friend

2009-06-24T20:10:00.006-05:00

My dearest friend,

I feel like it has been a year and a day since we last spoke! lol Really though, wasn't it just about a month ago? You regaled me with stories of your birthday bash and I regaled you with . . . well, you know . . . public forum! lol Anyway, I often think of you and miss talking to you but of late, life seems to just keep getting in the way!

Let me update you a little bit . . . my new-to-me red car is just giving me one thrilling ride after another. Each day it gets me to work and back home without making any weird sounds or jerking! LOVE IT!

Jay? He's moved out on his own again! This time, he's moved into . . . get this . . . a one-bedroom house. Folks are, of course, criticizing me for dumping him in a drug-infested, crime-ridden neighborhood, but those are the folks that didn't have to live with him! It is not like that at all! Nina and I went to see it first and we thought the neighborhood seemed nice . . . and just last year, I went and saw two houses for myself in the same neighborhood that just did not work out for one reason or another. I think one did not have appliances and the other did not have W/D hook-ups. He seems quite happy at not having a neighbor on the other side of the wall or above or below. It's a small little house, but perfect for him! After all it's just him and his TV and video games. What else can a young man ask for? It's maybe about two miles to Covenant Medical Center. He's still employed there and although there have been talks of "restructuring" he still has a job and he seems happy with that as well. He's got a new counselor and we are excited at the possibilities this holds. He just started, but I'm very optimistic that this will be a turning point for him!

Nina? Well . . . now she's moved in with me! I must have someone live with me for a few months. Two car payments! Not sure I can do that on my own. She still has her old apartment and will not be moving completely out until the end of June, but for the most part, she's been staying with me since Jay moved out on the 12th. It's nice. She and I used to be very close when she was young and now that the "tween" years are behind us, we are once again finding things to talk about. She has always been a reader as I have been and . . . get this . . . she's started listening to C&W music! Funny as I seem to be "outgrowing'" that and listening more to Tejano music, but at least I know the artists she's referring to! She continues to work as a bartender and seems happy with that and well . . . what can I really do about that? She earns a good living and I guess that's what is most important to her at this time.

Did I tell you a got a new cell phone? Yes, a Moto Q 9c! I barely know how to answer it but nonetheless I feel so incredibly smart carrying around a "smart" phone! lol I had to change my phone number and I sent you a text message with the new number. I hope you got it!

Well, that's just a quick recap because what I really wanted to tell you is of my latest "discovery." We talked about this once and you raved about how liberating they were that I had to give them a try. Since losing weight, I find that my pants are riding down and tops are riding up. I did not want folks seeing my "granny panties!" So I had a look around and, to my dismay, all I could find were thongs! Do you remember our conversations about these? Well, I hope you do because I bought a pair based on your recommendation! It has taken some getting used to and there are times that I still look to put something on when I realize I already have something on! lol And you are right, they are somewhat liberating and . . . I cannot even begin to tell you . . . I even at times . . . feel quite sexy in them! lol I find that they also come with a dilemma and hence, you find me here writing you to ask for advice . . . although I've grown to enjoy wearing them I really feel as if I have a huge problem and I hope you have an answer for me or a suggestion, an idea . . . something to help me out! First, at my age, all of a sudden I've become quite modest! I must turn every shade of red when I have to pay for my purchase and it's a young man running the cash register! I believe that with time, I'll grow quite used to this whole novel idea, but what I most need help with is . . . how do I get the cashier to stop laughing . . . rolling around on the floor hugging themselves . . . crying "hahahahahahahaha, stop, *gasp* please stop, hahahahahahahaha!" long enough to ring up my purchase so I can be on my merry way? 8(

I'm Scrapping!

2009-03-11T20:54:00.007-05:00

or pretending to anyway! :) Here is my latest:

Not quite a master piece, but for someone who can't find her mojo, I don't think it was too bad. I was using my Spellbinders Wizard! I bought it last summer and had not had the real opportunity to use it. I'd just played with it to see what it could do. Spellbinders was hosting a challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers so I jumped on the chance to possibly win $50 in products. No such luck, but it got me scrapping! Anyway, all the leaves are from the Spellbinders Shapeabilities. I just love the shapeabilities! I know everyone is using the nestabilities, edgeabilities and all the other wonderful abilities ;) Spellbinders has, but I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the shapeabilities. First I wadded up most of the leaves to give them that natural weathered look. Then I rubbed them with the wonderful Craf-T Products luster rub-ons. IRL, some of them have an almost metallic kind of look. These pictures are wicked old pictures. They are from fall 2003. Nina was 15 at the time. But I found them among my mother's belongings when I moved into her apartment. The fall paper is actually from the 2009 Avon calendar! I gave the calendar to Nina in case she needed one and she tore out all the pretty pictures. When she saw this one, she knew I wold love the colors and she was right! I had to use it! The CS is Bazill. I still lack the journaling but that has always been my downfall. I have never liked journaling for my scrap pages! Doesn't that just make me an awful scrapper? I tell folks I don't like journaling because I never know what to "say." I then usually have to pick them up off the floor cause they are just rolling around laughing so hard! I don't know why!?! Anyway, this weekend, I have every intention of finding my mojo. I'm quite sure it is somewhere in this apartment! :) Before I close, let me leave you with this thought . . . remember you cannot escape the consequences of your choices. I tell myself that everytime I want to order the Big Mac and chocolate shake instead of the side salad and fruit and yogurt parfait! :)

Remember . . .

2009-03-02T20:53:00.020-06:00

my craft room in New Hampshire? You don't! Well, here it is. Took me forever to figure out how to upload it, but finally . . . go ahead have a look see . . . I'll meet you down below to tell you more . . .

I wanted to show you that before I showed you this:

I've been TAGGED!

2009-02-22T14:44:00.012-06:00

My friend, Jo Gress, has tagged me! Her blog is Buckeye Joe! Sad to say, I've never been to her blog before today, but what a wealth of information I gleamed from it! She has an inspirational post on the right hand side that I may just have to copy and post it somewhere on here. Her music is also QUITE entertaining! lol I am a-thinkin' she's a country gal! Not that it is a bad thing, cause I'm a bit of a country girl myself!

Anyway, I haven't been on here in a wicked long time so I am definitely up for the challenge so I do thank her for thinking of me! :)

So, here are the rules:

Go to your photo folder in your computer.

Go to the 6th folder of the photos.

Go to the sixth picture.

Put the picture on your blog and description of it.

Invite six friends to join the challenge.

Link them in your blog and let them know they have been challenged!

. . . and here's my pic:

My explanation:

It is quite simple my friends! My computer is but about 3 to 4 weeks old. I've not had a chance to download a single pic as of yet. This is the sixth picture on the computer's "Sample Pictures" folder! lol What a co-ink-a-dink though! This is one of my most favorite flowers to LOOK at!

Here's my list of the ones that I have tagged! I hope they play!

Leslie: LeslieScraps

Karen: Karenpharnelia

Heidi: Embellished Dreams

Cassie: For the Art of It

And I am out of blogging buddies! I've not been on here for a wicked long time and going over my blogging buddy list, I noticed a lot of them are no longer blogging! What's up with that? Anyway, I hope these four play along with me!

Phew!

2009-02-01T17:05:00.008-06:00

I'm finally out on my own . . . well, sort of! Long story short, Jay had to come back to live with me and I am still not sure how I feel about that other than to write I hope it is not for long!

Anyway, really, really, really long story . . . my mom moved in with my oldest sister, Lilly, and I moved into my mother's apartment and took over it and most of her possessions. I know how I feel about that but this is a public forum and if you really want to know the scoop, you'll have to call me! :)

What's the first thing I bought? (Well, not really the first, cause I had to save up for it and I've been in this apartment since November, but it's the first pricey item!) You know it! I'm here aren't I? The sad thing is that there's no DSL in this area so guess how I'm downloading? Come on . . . guess . . . DIAL UP! UGH! :( What can I do? I'm checking into other alternatives, including MOVING again! We shall have to wait and see.

So anyway, it's been so long since I've been on here and I have soooooo much to tell you, but I just told you . . . I'm on DIAL UP! . . . so I'll give you the abbreviated version of what's happened in the past few months.

Moved into my own place (my mom's old apartment, hey, it's my place to me! :) ) Kind of rough in the beginning because my mom's 88 years old and this apartment is a 2 bedroom that she's lived in since about 1993 . . . get the picture? Lots of stuff packed into this place. So it was kind of topsy turvy, but not anything like what I showed you in my MasterCard story so it was all kind of good. :) Yeah, things are great, my mom has given me so many things that I could never afford to buy for myself and I am sooooooooo grateful to her for doing this. I have bought a few things, of course, RED APPLIANCES! I'm loving it! I had to so that they could match my red can opener! No, not THAT red can opener! :) I bought a red toaster, blender, coffee maker, crock pot and mini crock pot! :) Oh, and some of those Paula Deen red cookware. I did not get the whole set, just two frying pans, but it's a little at a time for now. And you know what freaks me out about the pans? They can go in the oven up to 350 degrees and they have "rubberized, dual-riveted handles for a comfortable and secure grip." I'm not trying it! Anyway, I'll eventually get the whole set. That's my goal for now! :) I have the computer as well and as slow as it is, I'm just so happy to have it! :) This next week, I'm also getting a 32" plasma! I'm really hyped about that since I've been watching satellite TV on a 17" monitor! :( Well, it's either the TV or a sofa. Something to sit on or something to watch? What a dilemma! Yeah, it's the TV for now! :)

Nina's moved to Lubbock. She's employed and living on her own and all I can say about that is HALLELUJAH! And that's VERY good. We are getting along so much better now as well and I am very happy about that! :D She's working as a server and she really, really likes her job. I keep telling myself that's the important thing! She's only been working there since early November and she was promoted to server trainer a couple of weeks ago. She's now training to be a bartender and she's really excited about that because she's seen what some of the other bartenders are taking home in tips. There's a co-worker that is a single mom, owns her home and drives a "nice" car (Nina's words) and Nina tells me that if she can do it, then so can she. Did you follow that? I just made her promise me she wouldn't try the single mom part though. :) It's not the job that a mom can brag about but like I wrote before, she's happy working there and really likes her job. I have dinner there Friday evenings (with Jay when he is not working) and if you saw her working, you'd see how happy she is. She found a boyfriend back in November as well and I have to tell you that she seems to be losing interest in him and I definitely know how I feel about that and that's all I'm gonna say about it! :D

Jay is still working at the hospital and recently had his 3-month review. He is getting his benefits as well and get this . . . his benefits are much better than mine! :( But it's all good anyway! :) He says he loves his job and co-workers.

Car I bought has turned out to be a novel and a half, but hey, for the most part, it gets me to work. Fortunately, Lubbock does not get a lot of snow so not having a heater is not so bad, unless it's freezing and wet! :) Thankfully, we've only had 2 days like that!

Oh, and before I forget! I decided late last year that I needed to make some life changes cause I was just getting so heavy that I was not comfortable. I cut out eating bread and drinking sodas. I am drinking more water and on occassion, I have had a soda, but when I have it's a diet Dr. Pepper (and I refuse to drink any other diet drink!) and since Christmas, I think I've had maybe five. Cutting out the bread was not so hard because hey I'm a Mexican and I could have tortillas! :) But I was inspired by my sister, Eva (she told my mom this is what she was doing, so it was her idea), and replaced those with corn tortillas. Kind of hard in the beginning cause I'm not a big fan of corn tortillas, but now I just LOVE them! I've become a GROWN-UP and started drinking my coffee without SUGAR! I do still add cream though cause otherwise . . . UGH! I changed the milk from low fat to 1%. I didn't really think it was anything drastic, but folks started asking if I was losing weight. Then, one Wednesday a couple of weeks ago, I put on a jacket that I bought back last fall. I think I may have mentioned it, but not sure. Eva had given me a gift certificate to Beall's for my birthday cause there was a jacket and skirt I JUST HAD TO HAVE! When I bought them, the jacket did not close and I almost did not buy it cause of that, but Eva said that I should and I could just wear a blouse under it. So I half-heartedly bought it, but I don't like it when jackets don't close! :) Well, when I put that jacket on a couple of weeks ago, it closed! Completely freaked me out! I just HAD to go weigh myself I was so freaked out about it. I'd lost 25 pounds! Mind you, I've not been putting much effort into it and I really did not think that changing the way I was eating was THAT life altering! 8( Can you imagine what I could do if I added exercise to this? Something to think about! :) Oh, and BTW, my sister Lilly says I am losing the weight like that cartoon woman for the commercial I think it's called Slimquick or something like that. In the commercial, the cartoon woman says she and her husband go on a diet and she says "this is what happened to him" and he shrinks in size all over and then she says "this is what happened to me" and she only shrunk on the top! Yeah! I had to go to Lane Bryant and get measured and buy something that would help me pick myself up! It is NOT a pretty picture! :(

So anyway, that's just a quick recap of what's been going on. I hope I'll be able to play with paper soon and show you what I come up with. I know, I know, short quick story, but hey, you don't know that I've been on here for almost TWO HOURS! Did I mention I have DIAL UP? :(

:) Hope you come back later to see what else I can accomplish in 2009! :)

Well, it happened . . .

2008-09-21T19:26:00.005-05:00

on the 18th of September . . . I turned another year older. Sadly, not any wiser though! LOL

Jason had an interview on Saturday at Covenant Hospital and it went really well. We hope to be hearing Monday or Tuesday from HR and we are praying about that. It will be such a load off of my shoulders and I can then move out on my own as well, which is what I am really looking forward to! I love living with my sis and BIL, but I'm starting to run out of closet space! LOL

Nina will be here Saturday and I am counting the minutes! I haven't seen her since late February. My only regret is that I am unable to take time off from work so that we can spend more time together, but we will have evenings and part of the weekend. She leaves the following Saturday and I plan to cram in as much family time as possible. I want her to get back to New Hampshire and get incredibly homesick and ask to come home! What a devious plotter I am! I had no idea I had it in me! LOL

For my birthday, on Wednesday night, we celebrated at church. My sis, Lilly, gave me some jewelry that I loved! My sis, Eva, gave me a gift certificate to Beall's because she knows there's an outfit there that I am dying to own! I will probably be going out there in a couple of weeks to get the outfit! I hope it's still there!

Then on Thursday, Sears had a luncheon for me. They had a cookie cake from Mrs. Field's brought in for me. I hadn't had one of those in way too many years! It was a nice celebration!

Then today, after church, Lilly tells me that my oldest brother, Gilbert, needed to talk to our mom and I was to drive her over there immediately. I was a bundle of nerves as to why we had to do this! Once we got there though, it turned out it was a surprise birthday dinner from my brother and his wife, Olga. I loved that my birthday was celebrated over a few days! It made it all that much more fun! LOL

Oh, BTW, Jason remembered all on his own to call me that day and wish me a happy birthday! First time in his entire lifetime! He always had his sister or a family member to remind him. I was so proud. Nina sent me a text message, but she usually was not the one that had to be reminded that it was my birthday anyway. Even when she was pretending to be an orphan, she still called me on my birthday.

That's the latest update on the ins and outs of my life these days. Not much of one, but I had to share the news about Jason. Say a little prayer for him if it comes to you. It is something he and I have been praying about since he moved out on August 8th.

Hope all of you are doing well and if Jason gets the job, I'll be moving out and the first thing I'm getting, yes, even before furniture, is a computer! I'll be back on here in full swing! I have so many ideas and creations that I want to share with you! Have a blessed week! :)

Oh, I almost forgot to tell ya'll! I bought a car! 2001 Ford Taurus, royal blue. I'll have to take a pic and post it soon. It's got some great hail damage and 112,000 miles, but hey, they are all highway miles! LOL I THINK that's supposed to be a good thing! LOL

Update

2008-08-31T19:47:00.007-05:00

It's been a while since I've written anything. It's been even longer since I've done anything writing about! LOL Did want to let ya'll know that the last permanent job . . . thankfully . . . did not work out, but that's ok because I am now working for SEARS Home Improvement Products and all I can say is that I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT! I've never been happier about a job! Great benefits, pay and duties! I have to dress professional every day and that has made me feel better about myself. Something about high heels, a dress and make-up that just makes me feel girly! And believe me, I've never been much of a girly girl so that says a lot! LOL I'm enjoying buying make-up, pretty clothes and shoes! I'm up to about 15 girly shoes! I can hardly believe it! Of course, my love for pocketbooks is just as out of control now as it was before I started working at SEARS! I just keep adding to THAT collection! Really, I'll just have to take pics some day and share with you!

Jay has moved out on his own. Sadly, not exactly the way I wanted things for him right now, but it just has to be like that. Not to get into too much detail, but those of you who know my struggles with him will understand that it just had be done. Right after the July 4th weekend, he assaulted me. No parent should have to live with that kind of a memory or the fear that it instills in someone. I had to go visit him this past Friday and discuss something I knew he would not like and as I was leaving, I kept looking over my shoulder in fear! It saddens me to my very core. No amount of prayer can seem to comfort me right now. I tell myself that the Lord has his plans and reasons for things to happen the way that they have and do. I fear that I am losing Jason to a dark side that I don't understand. I cling to the hope that someday, my prayers will be heard and he will feel God's presence in his life and get past this hurt and anger he feels for me over imagined things that he's come to believe happened during his childhood. Who of us really remembers things as they happened? I know I do not remember everything exactly as it really happened. If I had the energy to relate some of the things that he insists happened in his childhood, you'd have to join me in a moment of laughter! Because at this point, that is all that I can do!

Anyway, he moved out on his own on August 8th. He seems to love his personal space. We rented him a one-bedroom and he hardly uses the bedroom! He set up his bed as a sofa in the livingroom and spends all his time in there! What is one to do? He's trying to figure things out on his own and sometimes that is frustrating for the both of us, but over all, I pray that it continues to get better for him and our relationship . . . what is left of it at this moment anyway. I did things backwards. I rented him the apartment and now we are trying to find him a full-time job. But it just had to be done like that. I couldn't bear to live with him any more. And remember, we have been staying with relatives all this time. I thank God for the love of my sister, Lilly. She seems to at least be able to understand the struggles I've had with Jason and exhibits a great deal of patience with what I am going through right now. Her husband, Clyde, is just forced to go along for the ride and I thank him for loving my sister enough to put up with me too! LOL

Nina has finally come around and is speaking to me again. Her reasons for not communicating with me are complex and difficult to understand, but I am just grateful to have her in my life once again. She plans to come visit the last week of September. I hope that she so enjoys the visit here that she won't want to go back to New Hampshire! LOL As she would have said when she was younger . . . AS IF! LOL Her choices continue to amaze me and the only comfort I get from that is that she often tells me that I raised her right and in God's path and that these choices she is making are hers and no reflection on my parenting. WHEW! I was starting to feel paranoid! LOL She attempts to comfort me with the saying that some good parents have bad kids and some bad parents have good kids and she feels badly that I got bad kids. At least I am finally able to believe that I was not such a failure in parenting my children. Because let me tell you, I was feeling like a big fat zero when it came to that! :(

Anyway, that's the latest update. I hope to soon be back to creating paper art, especially since Halloween is right around the corner and I love making Halloween cards! I just visited my friend, Heidi's, blog and she has an awesome Halloween card. I can't believe I can call her a friend! She's on the design teams for Crafty Secrets (I LOVE THIS PLACE) and Spellbinders! Her talent is just so awesome and intimidating to me. Gee, I hope she also considers me her friend! LOL

Anyway, for those of you who continue to visit me during my absence, thanks for being patient with my lack of blogging of late and I hope you will be back to visit my place again when I can get back on the computer on some sort of regular basis! :)

Finally . . .

2008-07-03T13:50:00.013-05:00

I landed a permanent job! So now both, Jay and I are employed and soon we will be looking to move out on our own! I am sooooooooo excited! I mean who doesn't love staying with relatives . . . (I mean, really . . . who doesn't?) but as much as my BIL, Clyde, and sis, Lilly, insist we stay on, Jay and I desperately need our own spaces. :D And before even buying a red can opener I must first get a COMPUTER!!!!!! Especially, since . . .

As you can imagine, staying with relatives for . . . what? . . . 4 months now . . . has been just such a heap of fun, but I think it is time Jay and I get moving along. ;) There are lots of wonderful things to be said about staying with relatives, but let's face it, there are just some things you can't do at a relative's home that you can do in your own place.

First of all, I have to wear clothes ALL THE TIME! 8) LOL Secondly, I can't "create paper arts of wonder" as often as I would like. Most of my things are still in boxes and (although, staying with my sis is practically living in the lap of luxury) there is no table in the guest room so I have to cart things back and forth between the guest room and kitchen bar whenever I want to make something, and well, sometimes in the carting back and forth, I lose my mojo! Who'd of thunk that?

Sadly, (for me anyway! ;) ) I am not posting anything today but I do have some cards that I have made recently that are just way too WICKED AWESOME (in my opinion! LOL) to not post; however, the digital camera refuses to cooperate. I plan to work on that issue this weekend and get something posted. The new job starts on Monday, so there will be even more limited time on the puter. Hence, the whole moving out and purchasing a computer before a red can opener! Although, today I was out running around with my other sis, Eva, and I saw the most AWESOME manual shiny red can opener. Top quality too! It was a name brand at JCPenneys! Soooooooo . . . reeeallllly . . . I think it would be OK to be tempted by one like that! LOL

Oh, BTW, if you've not checked this out lately, be sure to check it out today!

Me & My Big Ideas

2008-05-11T20:09:00.008-05:00

I joined a recipe swap (again!). I got the bright idea of making my own embellishments. I remembered thinking I was just so clever for thinking of that all on my own! Well, after 18 cards and six of them with lots and lots of itty, bitty pieces, I hope it's a long time coming before I have any more big bright ideas! Here's the one that almost made me cry!

Is the crockpot too cute or what? Yeah, that's what I thought after I made the first card. I didn't have that same thought after the sixth one! :D

This one wasn't so bad except that my eggs started looking less and less egg-shaped as I went along! LOL

Supplies: Cardstock (lots of it!); Pebbles chalks; EKS aluminum paper (I think that's what it is called!); stamps ?' Palette ink

Oh, I almost forgot. I made this to put a little cash in it for my mom. For those of you who are familiar with my pocketbook fetish, of course I asked if I could borrow it sometime! LOL. It measures about 2"X3" or something like that.

Supplies: Pretty paper - a gift from Deb over at AW&CT; lock - ScrapGoods; rhinestones - ME; gold cording - ?; gold embossing ink and powder - Ranger

OMG!

2008-05-01T18:59:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's been that long since I blogged last! If this were a paying job, I'd be owing blogger some money! LOL Anyway, graduation is upon us and I've been busy, busy, busy making graduation cards for family members. This is one I am particularly pleased with and I just HAD to show it to you. IRL, it is very shimmery and I really, REALLY, really wish the camera had caught that more! :)

Supplies used: Cardstock; shimmer/glimmer cardstock (I hoarded it for so long that I forget what it's called or by whom! My bad!); organza ribbon; Prisma glitter; Pebbles pearlescent chalks; StampsHappen postcard stamp; Stampabilities sentiment stamp; OTC eyelet; ScrapGoods nailhead; ME rhinestone; Palette ink

This weekend I'll be busy creating Mother's Day cards! Then, I'm not sure, but there may be some wedding cards in the future as well! This is keeping me busy, since I am not able to get on the computer as much as I'd like to. Boy, if I had the time, I'd have some stories to tell you! So maybe it's NOT such a bad thing that I cannot get on here as often as I'd like! LOL ;)

Here's a little something . . .

2008-04-09T19:03:00.006-05:00

that I made from a kit swap. I'm not sure where the paper, stamp or embellishments are from other than from my friend, Liz. I think the stamp is cute and one I'd never seen before that's for sure! :) I love all the bright, vivid colors of the paper.

I hope everyone is having a good Wednesday. I'm hanging on for the weekend, which will be a lot of hanging since my weekend won't start until April 18th or somewhere thereabouts! lol

Busy, busy, busy

2008-04-06T14:18:00.004-05:00

that's all I can say! It's not even an excuse to be perfectly honest! :) I can't seem to be able to get on the computer as often as I'd like, but here I am to post a card I made for a swap over at SCS. Wish I had lots of time to update you on all that is going on, suffice to say, I'm still working, living with my relatives and looking for a vehicle and a new home. All in that order too! :) I hope things get settled soon, in the mean time, I hope you enjoy this stamped image. I forget now what it's called, but I want to say something like Libby the lady bug, but I'm probably wrong! If I figure it out I'll come back and update you. I know it's from Whipper Snapper.

Is she just too cute or what?!? The paper is from the swap so I cannot tell you who's paper it is, flower, pink brad and ribbon is from my stash and the shaped brads are from HOTP and of course, I used my Pebbles chalks, cause I LOVE my chalks! :D

I know what you are thinking . . .

2008-03-16T17:48:00.004-05:00

where the heck have I been?!? If you are not thinking that, well, why not? :)

We've (Jay and I) made the move from New Hampshire to Texas. We are working on getting settled in. Guess what? We both got jobs! I, with Stenocall, a calling center, as a bi-lingual operator and Jay with Burger King. Some of our boxes arrived safe and sound. Woohoo! I'll be scrapping soon! I've been working on a few things and will be posting soon, I hope! As for my Blogging Sisters, I'll be dropping by for a visit soon! Sorry for my absence from your blogs. Please continue to be patient with me. If things continue to look rosy, I'll be back on board pretty soon!

Believe it or not . . .

2008-02-25T19:14:00.005-06:00

I'm NOT dead! I may feel like it, but every morning, to my surprise, I open my eyes and have to get out of bed. Anyway, I'm still trying to get over the blows life has dealt me recently. I also wanted to let everyone know that Jay and I are moving back to Lubbock, Texas! We are leaving March 6th and right now, we are VERY busy trying to decide what it is we can live without and what it is we cannot live without. Boy, nothing like life-altering events to make that much, much easier. On the other hand, at this point, I'm so sick of boxes that it is super easy just trashing some stuff that I've hung on to for years becaues I never knew when I might need it! Isn't that great!?!

I want to thank everyone for their kind comments and cards that I received. Your thoughtfulness is so very appreciated.

I haven't forgotten about the blog candy, just been super busy with one thing or another and cannot give it the attention it deserves, but I'll make up for it next month. Pinky promise! Does that mean if I don't keep my promise, someone will chop off my pinky? I've often wondered about that. :)

Here's a card I absolutely HAD to finish for a swap over at SCS. My first Bella stamped image! I received a couple of extra stamped images and so now, believe it or not, I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HOARD THEM! lol I hope I can make myself use them some day! :D

Supplies: stamped Bella image, Stickles, metal tag and PP from a swap; ribbon; cardstock; Pebbles chalks; silver glitter pen; Prisma fine glitter; eyelets

MIA

2008-02-15T17:50:00.004-06:00

Okay, I've been missing in action for quite some time now! Please be patient! I've got sooooooooo much stuff going on in my life right now that I can't even see straight these days no matter how hard I try! I know I promised some blog candy about this time of the month and I do have it, just haven't the time it takes to post that in its entirety, but I will soon, PROMISE! As for my blog sisters, I'm so sorry I've not been able to visit ya'll's blogs with the regularity I had hoped to be able to by now, but hopefully soon as well!

Design Team Call

2008-02-02T21:47:00.000-06:00

Angels Wings and Crafty Things (AW&CT), a newly formed faith-based message board (MB) is looking for three new Design Team (DT) members! Come join the fun, fellowship and friendship!

We’re a new and growing MB. We’d love to have you join our family. We want to grow and with your help we can do so! We would like our DT members to promote our products through personal blogs and any online galleries currently participating in and where allowed.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES:

We are accepting applications through February 29th. Winners will be e-mailed directly and we'll make a formal announcement on March 5th. The position will begin with an April project (kits will be sent out during the month of March). The term is for six months. After the six-month period, we will have another DT call and current members are encouraged to re-apply. It is important that DT members be computer literate and possesses the knowledge to resize pictures to submit to the message board and photo gallery. It is VERY important that DT members be able to communicate with the DT Coordinator and have the time and energy to commit to a six-month term. Sorry, we are unable to accept international applications at this time. Active participation on the MB is a must! When registering on the MB, please notate under “Interests” scrap booking, card making, paper crafting or that you are applying for the DT. This will allow the AW&CT DT Coordinator to know that you are not a SPAMMER!

To apply, please provide the following information:

Name:
Mailing address:
Email:
Phone number:
Link to blog (if you have one):
Links to other online galleries and user name:

If you are a member of another design team, please list which ones and how long your term is for that DT. No prior DT experience preferred.

Please submit ideas for a challenge AND a tutorial or technique. This can be an outline or a detailed submission. Please demonstrate knowledge of paper crafting and the ability to pass on this knowledge through these two venues.

Please write a short essay about your scrapping background and yourself, your scrapping style, whether you are a card maker, scrap booker, paper crafter or all three. Please include a head shot of yourself. This will be used for your bio on the message board. Please provide an insight into your faith and lifestyle. Are you a SAHM, career woman, student? Tell us how you keep busy and what you expect to come away with from your experience on a design team.

Submit one favorite LO (old/new) and explain why it is your favorite. Prepare two new LOs and two additional paper craft projects that best represent your style and faith. You may submit cards, altered items, mini albums, tag sets, etc. Please resize images to an appropriate size for emails. Send your application to honeycat1of7@yahoo.com. Please write DT Submission in the subject line of your email.

DT REQUIREMENTS:

DT members are expected to post a minimum of 60 posts THROUGH OUT the month. This can easily be accomplished by answering the QOTDs (life and craft) and the required posts that are expected from a DT member. As a DT member, it will be your responsibility to be alert for spammers or negativity on the MB. These should be reported immediately to the administrative staff.

DT members are expected to post a monthly challenge and a technique or tutorial. These are assigned on a monthly rotating basis. There are six DT members and a six-month term. Each DT member will be assigned one month to coordinate the challenge and technique or tutorial. Each DT member will be expected to provide one prize for their monthly challenge. This can be from your own personal stash and you are NOT required to purchase an item unless you chose to do so.

If you maintain a personal blog, AW&CTs expects links to the MB, monthly challenges and other DT members’ blogs on each blog. AW&CTs will provide DT members with a blinkie for use on their blog and signature lines on any other MB that they participate in and where links are allowed. Promoting the MB is the responsibility of each DT member and is taken very seriously.

Each DT member will also be expected to choose a member’s project from the member gallery on a weekly basis during their assigned month and highlight this on the MB for other members to view and comment on. As a DT member, it is your responsibility to promote the MB’s photo gallery whenever possible and encourage current members to visit the gallery often. This promotes growth within the MB and also promotes appreciation for each other’s work.

Four projects (one LO and three paper crafts) are required from the monthly DT packet. Two items should be posted on the 1st of each month and two additional items on the 15th. DT members are also required to post two additional non-DT items in the gallery to encourage other members to also post their items. DT members agree to release the rights of projects if manufacturers request the use of the submission for promotional purposes. All items submitted to the DT may only be posted in the gallery for 30 days. After 30 days, projects can be posted on other online galleries and personal blogs. Deadlines are strictly enforced. If a DT member does not meet any ONE deadline, the following month’s DT packet will not be sent to that DT member. The only exception to this is if the DT member has communicated to the DT Coordinator regarding the status of their obligations. This information is shared amongst all DT members and kept within the DT. No information is shared with the MB members unless it affects the MB.

DT members are required to check in with the DT Coordinator on a weekly basis by email (due by Sunday night of each week). We emphasize the importance of communication and consistency from our DT members. DT members are representing the AW&CT MB and store and we ask that members maintain professionalism and always promote the MB whenever the opportunity arises.

The MB has a chat room and a weekly chat. DT members are expected to actively participate in this chat room during the weekly scheduled chat time. If a DT member is not able to participate, the DT Coordinator should be informed of this during the weekly check in with the reason for the inability to participate.

AW&CT will host two annual cyber crops. The first one will be during the month of July and is a Christmas-themed crop. Please be prepared to participate in this cyber crop with ideas and/or your presence. If you are unable to actively participate in a cyber crop, please do not apply for the DT.

Each DT member is strongly encouraged to submit one project for publication of their own choosing during their tenure.

DT COMPENSATION:

DT members will receive free products through a monthly packet to use for creating their projects.
DT members will receive a 40% discount in the AW&CT store on regular priced items. This does not include items in the bargain basement.
DT members will receive a 10% discount and free shipping for items purchased from a MB rubber stamping consultant.
AW&CT is a NEW MB and items may be added as growth allows. AW&CT’s success depends on the participation of ALL DT members! We hope you will join our endeavor to make our MB a huge success!

Please register at www.angelswingsandcraftythings.phpbb24.com

Drum Roll Please!

2008-02-01T02:00:00.000-06:00

OK, I have written out all the names from the Blog Candy post onto small scraps of scrapping paper. Isn't that fitting? I tossed them into my favorite ice cream bowl (since it's empty this time of year) and my son, Jay, did the honors. Since I'm feeling an enormous amount of guilt over my lack of activity on here, I've decided to give TWO stamps away! Woohoo! So, the lucky gals are . . .

Linda SS and

Amie!

Please email me your mailing address so I can forward your prize to you.

Thanks to all of you who posted and played! If you are an animal lover, check back with me in mid-February! I'll be posting two TAC stamps and you'll get to chose which one you want! I think that's the BEST blog candy! And if I'm still not able to get on here often enough and feeling guilty about it then, I may give two away!

I may not be as active right about now as I had hoped to be. I've had a beloved friend diagnosed with stomach cancer and all of a sudden, I just can't get enough of his company! ;) I always used to think of him as a pretty nice guy and it took this to wake me up! I actually think I love the silly man! Go figure! He's doing well for now. He's working on a second opinion and seeing a nutritionist. Thanks to all who have given helpful links. I'll keep you posted! BTW . . . his name? Fireman Steve! But I like to call him Steve! :) Although, I'm thinking he wants me to call him Smoochkins! LOL

Blog Candy Update

2008-01-26T18:41:00.000-06:00

WOW! Stampin' Up has a lot of fans! :)

Just wanted to let ya'll know that I have a lot of new subscribers and I'm unable to identify all of them. If you signed up for the blog candy and the newsletter, please make sure that your comment lets me know that you did so so that I can submit your name for the blog candy an additional five times. I recognized two email addys under the subscriptions that did not comment so I know that they ONLY signed up for the newsletter and are not signing up for the blog candy. Also, I think there's a couple of comments that indicate that a link was placed on their blog, but there's no link listed and I have been unable to check and see if a link to the blog candy was posted. I just want to make sure I got everyone that signed up for it and that I submit the right number of entries for each of you that did. January 31st is just around the corner! Thanks for playing and passing the word along about the blog candy! :)

Can you believe it's almost February?!

Oops!

2008-01-22T13:08:00.000-06:00

OK, maybe I don't understand the concept of monochromatic . . . I thought and continue to think it is ok to use white with this theme. Have I been wrong all this time? Anyway, I participated in a monochromatic card swap and made this card in lots of different colors, starting with brown and ending with silver (I think I ended up with about 7 cards). Along the way, I didn't like the outcome of each finished card, but I really liked the way this one came out. I can't use it because I used white paper for the BG. So, back to the drawing board! Since I liked it so much, and I rarely am happy with my own work, I decided to use it as a birthday card for my sister, Eva. On the inside of the card I wrote ". . . wishes for a very happy birthday." I had originally left the tag blank so that the recipient for the swap could write in their own sentiment. Besides, during this time of year, I think EVERYONE needs warm wishes for anything! :) I hope you're keeping warm!

Supplies: Cardstock; TAC stamp and tag; HOTP brads and rhinestones; Stampin' Up silver cord; jewelry bead; Colorbox quicksilver ink; Ranger embossing powder; glitter

Blog Candy!

2008-01-16T20:52:00.000-06:00

OK, bear with me. This is my first time to offer blog candy! I hope I can get it all squared away with one post.

I'm offering the following The Angel Company (TAC) stamp as blog candy. For those of you unfamiliar with TAC products, this unmounted stamp uses a 3"X5" acrylic block and comes with EZ mount foam. If you post a comment and tell me your favorite stamp company it will count as one entry. If you subscribe to my newsletter, it will count as five entries. If you already subscribe to my newsletter, just let me know and I will give you the five entries. If you post a link to this blog candy post, I will give you an additional five entries. Please post the link to this post on your comment so I can see it. :) I will do a random drawing on January 31st. Thanks for stopping by!

Warm Wishes

2008-01-07T22:20:00.001-06:00

and a Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers, friends and family! May you all be having a winter filled with the kind of weather you like! :) I've been soooooo busy trying to get over the holidays that if I told you what I'd been up to, you wouldn't believe it, so I won't tell you! LOL For my northern friends, here's a little warm thought sent your way because I know I am sorely needing it now myself! :) New Hampshire, as of 12/31/2007, has had 43 inches of snow; breaking a record from long ago! And for my southern friends, well, it's just a reminder of the kind of warmth you may be having at any given time! :)

Supplies: Cardstock; HOTP printed papers; sandpaper; Pink Cat Studio stamps; Pebbles chalks; glitter; glaze pens; Tim Holtz distressing and Whisper inks; jump rings and ribbon.

BTW . . . the bikini . . . matches the one I usually wear to the beach each summer too! ;)

Oh, and check this out! I found it at Dawn's All Pink Girl blog and was just so WOWED by it (is that a word and if it is, is that how it's spelled?) that I had to show it to you!

Oh, how I wish . . .

2007-12-17T06:30:00.000-06:00

. . . I could show you what I've been up to! Alas, I can't. What I will tell you is that we survived the nor'easter! It is WICKED cold, but we have not lost power, knock on wood, and we were able to keep warm all weekend. Mind you, I slept with THREE blankets, but warm I was all night long. Church was a no go on Sunday due to the weather. That's how bad it was! Anyway, hope you are keeping warm and I'll be posting soon some other stuff I've been working on that I CAN show you!

I need more sleep . . .

2007-12-15T09:56:00.000-06:00

cause these days I'm WAY too easily amused! I saw this over at Katie's blog:

so I had my apple juice and now I'm all set for the day! (*v*)

Don't Try This at Home . . .

2007-12-14T14:42:00.000-06:00

. . . you know what I'm talking about . . . those great ideas that come to you in the middle of the night! Sometimes they should just stay there! LOL

I've had really bad insomnia for about two weeks now. Yesterday was a bad day. I was cranky, irritable, short-tempered, crying and just a huge mess and a cry-baby! :) Be glad I didn't talk to you! LOL

Anyway, last night, instead of tossing and turning, I got up and just kept myself busy. I got the bright idea to alter a large container I keep my acrylic paints in. I've used TAC paper that is no longer available, but I wanted to show it to you because I thought it came out rather fabulous! I love the bright colors of this paper! I didn't want to use the letters on something that was going to sit on a shelf in my craft room, so what I did was cut out the outline of the letters and stick those on solid colored paper. That was the bad part of the idea. That involved detailed cutting with a VERY SHARP Cutter Bee tiny, itty, bitty scissor and when you are tired, well, that's just asking for trouble. The good news, there was no blood shed ON the finished project!

Then I had this clipboard that I wanted to alter with the same papers. Again, I just love the colors! At first, I could only get ribbons on the ends of the clips, but I thought it looked "weird" with nothing in between. I got the "bright idea in the middle of the night when I REALLY should be sleeping" to run a wire through the clip, tie it and thread the ribbons through that. Well, let's just say, I didn't mean for the clipboard to have THESE many ribbons! It never occurred to me that the wire would "stretch!" I thought I'd be tying ribbons till dawn.

Supplies: TAC paper and ribbons from my stash

It all turned out good though! I finished like around 4:00, laid down on my bed to admire my handiwork on top of my desk and must have fallen right to sleep cause I don't remember admiring it! :) Slept through till about 10:30 this morning. I think it was a better idea than drinking warm milk but just maybe a bit more dangerous! LOL

It's Snowing, It's Snowing . . .

2007-12-13T13:48:00.000-06:00

. . . so shouldn't an old man be snoring? Oh, no, that's a totally different thing! :) It actually is snowing and boy is it coming down! It's supposed to be really bad between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. so, boy howdy, am I glad I'm not working at the moment or I'd be stuck in an awful commute! :) Phew!

Today is Jay's birthday. He's 22! My daughter told me I was too young to have a son that old. Yeah, I think she wants me to turn her cell phone back on, but I saw right through that little ploy of hers! :) LOL Nonetheless, she's RIGHT! ;)

I did get our Christmas tree up and it's a live one!! Here is a picture of our tree. I'm posting one that I took at night, cause it looks prettier and it needs all the help I can give it in that department because I can't find the angel topper, garland and all the white ornaments! I'm just glad I could get a tree up! :) The ornaments are light pink and a hotter pink with a pearl finish. These are new. I did buy them last year, but didn't get to hang them on that tree. I was able to find some large silk poinsettias in shades of red and white and a large gold ribbon bow. I'm using the bow as our topper and I used the poinsettias as "fillers" for the tree.

I also managed to mail out 60 Christmas cards! I need to quit making friends! LOL Tomorrow, I call my mom and find out what she thought of the card I made for her. I'm scared! Seriously!

Well, I've been super busy finishing up altered items for gift giving. I have but a few more things to finish and I'll be all done! This crazy guy I know actually asked me if I could alter 14 wooden pocketbooks by Christmas. OK, I said he was crazy! :) LOL I should try to do so, because the money makes it really tempting; however, isn't this time of year supposed to be stress-free? Or is that just an elusive dream someone was wishing on me? LOL Anyway, I told him I didn't think I could do the pocketbooks, but maybe some journals. I made this one for a friend and he's "thinking" about it. Jeez, I hope he decides soon and doesn't decide to wait until Christmas Eve to tell me he wants the journals! LOL

Supplies: The Paper Collection - Vintage and unknown script paper; cardstock; ScrapGoods and TAC stamps; ribbon; Ranger embossing ink and powder; Colorbox inks

My Mom's Christmas Card

2007-12-06T23:22:00.000-06:00

I had high hopes for this week. I intended to finish a heap of things and get all this checked off of my Christmas to-do list. What did I want to accomplish this week? Well, I'm in the middle of altering, get this, one clipboard; two wooden box purses; four Whitman chocolate boxes and one small wooden box. I haven't bought our Christmas tree yet. My son's birthday is next Thursday and I haven't shopped for that. I have a Christmas party to attend next weekend that I haven't had time to completely freak out about. I have approximately 50 Christmas cards that I've been attemtping to address and get in the mail. I joined a Christmas tag swap that is due the 15th and I cannot find the five almost-finished tags I started last month so I may have to restart those! I write an annual 'Twas the Night Before Christmas parody every Christmas and I've only written four verses out of 16! I've been trying to finish all of these things this week but one item has kept me from doing so. What could be interferring with all of my creativity you ask?

I've been totally freaking out about my mom's Christmas card. I've made a total of (I think) about seven this week alone just for her! It has to be perfect! HAS TO BE! Let me show you the first one.

Supplies: Pink Cat Studio stamps; red organza ribbon; unknown PP; cardstock; glaze pens; Ranger embossing ink; ScrapGoods red embossing powder; fine glitter; ColorBox ink

When I finished it, I thought it was very pretty. But then I started critiquing it. And critiquing it and critiquing it and by the time I was done, I'd worked myself up into a tizzy! So then I started on a second one, and then a third one, and by the time I was done, I ended up with this:

Supplies: Cardstock; TAC pp, tags and Oh Christmas Tree stamp; Stampin' Up Felicidades Siempre stamp; Ranger gold embossing ink and powder; gold organza ribbon; ScrapGoods nailhead; Colorbox white ink; Tim Holtz Peeling Paint and Vintage Photo inks and Vintage Photo distressing powder; foam dots; fine glitter

So I am posting this now as quickly as possible before I talk myself out of it and make another one!

And now to get to my regularly scheduled program and maybe get some work done! :) Next week, I may have a post for every day! LOL I hope anyway! :)

Holy Cow!

2007-12-05T13:21:00.000-06:00

Have you been checking this out (for those not familiar with links, you'll want to click on the word "this" and it will take you to where I want you to end up . . . well not really, ;) but it will take you to a cool blog . . . the explanation for the link is for those that haven't figured out what they are . . . not to name any one person in particular . . . *cough* *Harley* *cough*! Hey, I didn't use your real name!)? There's only one word for it . . . as they say here in New England . . . WICKED AWESOME! The only thing I haven't gotten into over there is signing up for the daily give away because . . . are you kidding me? He has like OVER 700 comments almost every day! When I sign up to win something, I want to know it's a sure thing! That's why I buy lottery tickets! ;)

Just call me BAT Girl!

2007-12-03T21:02:00.000-06:00

Some of you have heard the story about the bat we had in the apartment back in the beginning of 2007. Well, guess who came calling again? You should have heard all of the screaming going on! I finally told Jay to calm down and be quiet before the neighbors called the cops! ;) Anyway, I wish I knew where they were coming in from! Today it swooped up from the floor from the direction of my bedroom. So YOU KNOW I can't wait to go to sleep in there! After cowering under the covers for a few seconds that seemed like hours (I'd been vegging in front of the TV under some blankets to keep warm), Jay convinced me he'd NEVER find it if I did not come out and help him look for it. So I did and I immediately saw it up by the living room window. Jay stood guard while I ran into the bathroom to call the police because of the two of us, Jay is the MAN OF THE HOUSE and so it is his responsibility to get rid of rodents! I had VERY high hopes that the police would be over fast, quick and hurry to arrest the darn bat! Anyway, while I was in there I heard thumping and banging coming from the living room. Turns out the bat swooped away from the window and Jay swung at it like he was trying to hit a home run with the broom! He knocked the bat down, amongst several other things, and ran to get some work gloves. He picked the hairy beast up, took it outside and threw it in the dumpster. I just hope it was dead and it is not trying to find its way back into the apartment to get its revenge on us! Jay reminded me that the last time we had a bat in the apartment, the police officer told us that it was more scared of us than we were of it. You know, somehow that helpful piece of information just did not offer me any comfort this time EITHER! Now I'm all paranoid and seeing shadows every where! :( So anyway, I hope everyone else has a good night!

Sisterhood 3 of the Blogging Stampers

2007-12-02T16:53:00.000-06:00

My friend Heidi called tonight to tell me about this great blog, Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers that she found a link to over at Flossie's Follies. They have started their 3rd group and I had to jump all over it. I think it is a great way to find other bloggers and stampers! Go check it out yourself!

I have been scrapbooking since approximately 1976, but did not really get addicted until August 2003. Now, instead of trying to find a cure for it, I just go with it! :) I also discovered rubber stamping at that time and I think that came out of necessity! My kids became unreasonable teenagers that refused to pose any more AND winters in NH can be VERY long sometimes! I'm not an outdoorsy person so I had to find an outlet and what a fun outlet! I didn't even try to put up a fight with stamping . . . I just went with it from day one! :)

I Give Up!

2007-12-01T00:38:00.000-06:00

I have visions of sugarplums dancing in my head . . . wait . . . that's something totally different! lol I always have visions of creating something elegant or shabby chic. My friend, Heidi, is an EXPERT at that! I just love her style! I try to make something elegant and shabby chic and end up getting stuck and have to call her! Well, this time I refused to do that cause when I do call her, when I'm done, it doesn't feel like I made it! lol But anyway, I need to accept the fact that I have a "cutesy eclectic style" that the owner of my LSS says I have. Jeez, I hope that's a good thing! :) I altered a wooden pocket book with this really cool paper of a lion. One side has the eyes staring out at you and the other side has a lion and lioness sitting in grass. Anyway, I've become quite intimidated by stamping or drawing on it, so I've decided to give it a rest for now. I then tried my hand at this one (this is the front):

I could see visions of . . . something ;) with this beaded ribbon and I thought the colors went really well. And I KNEW I wanted to stamp something on it, but not sure what! Oh, boy. But then I didn't know where to go with it! lol Anyway, this is the back:

This is the inside of the pocketbook:

Supplies: SugarTree pp; Miss Elizabeth's rhinestones; Delta acrylic paints; Champion spray paint; ribbon - from my stash.

I feel like it's not finished, but not sure how to finish it. Oh, boy. Oh, and can someone please tell me how to seal it to protect it?

That's when I decided to give up trying to make something elegant or shabby chic. I decided to just go with and accept my "cutesy eclectic style!" lol I'm almost finished with that one, but I'm waiting on a great-niece's input on something I want to add. I want to make sure it's "hip" and "now!" lol Hey, I said I was cutesy eclectic, not "hip" and "now." ;)

Me and My Bright Ideas!

2007-11-28T07:44:00.000-06:00

I have been accumulating these chocolate sample boxes from Whitman (?) for a couple of years. My intention was to alter them, fill them with greeting cards and gift them. The idea was there, but the expertise was lacking. LOL I found the whole notion quite daunting! So I decided to practice on one first. I then decided to list it at my store and now I'm not sure I'll be able to do that, but in the mean time I had to show you one of my bright ideas!

The paint doesn't look like IRL. I used a copenhagen blue (that's what the bottle had on it!) as the base and then went back over it with navy blue on the edges to give it a shadow effect and then dry brushed some pearlescent baby blue for some shimmer. It came out looking kind of distressed, but I can't capture that with the camera!

The ribbon color looks kind of yellowish, but it's a lime green color and matches perfectly IRL to the handkerchief.

I didn't think to take a close up but the tag you see on the end, it is like a soft metal long dog tag and I engraved "EMAdethis 4U" on it and on the ends are tack heads I broke the backs off of cause they were too cute and one reads "cola" and the other reads "fizz." EMAdethis is the name of my store cause I'm super full of myself in case you guys hadn't caught on to that yet. ;) If I make it, I want my name ALL over it! LOL Thus the name of the blog too, EMA-gination! :)

Supplies: Miss Elizabeth's paper and rhinestones; Colorbox inks; Delta acrylic paints; HOTP label holder and soft metal tag; MM tack heads and rhinestone brads; ribbon

Bright idea? Well, when I fitted it together to take pictures, it did not feel like a tight fit but now I can't pull it apart! LOL I'll keep working at it, but I'm afraid of tearing it! Oh, the sagas of a crafter!

Two-Month Anniversary!

2007-11-27T11:39:00.000-06:00

With the Thanksgiving holiday, I completely forgot to come on here and congratulate myself on two months as a blogger! LOL So much has happened over the last 30 days! Where do I even begin?

Well, I came home from New Mexico and found . . . well, let's just say, I took lots of pictures to document the whole thing and shared the best of them with you! ;) LOL Things are slowly getting back to normal around here. Thank goodness! I've not done anything really special since my arrival. I've been too busy cleaning and getting things back on track. Seems like a contradiction there! So much has happened, but I've not done much! LOL But that is how it REALLY is! :)

Thanksgiving was good for us and I hope yours was too. Nina was astonished that we had a Thanksgiving without her. I believe she thinks my world still revolves around her. No longer true! After two years of her complete lack of respect for me has taught me to let go and get on with my life. I'm thinking Christmas will be lots cheerier for us too! :)

Jay has been hard at work dealing with his issues. He'll be turning 22 in about 2.5 weeks. How can I be the mom to a 22 year old?!? Someone needs to redo the math! LOL I think I may have given birth at an incredibly young age! Maybe I should have been in the book of Guinness Records! LOL

We're hunkering down and getting ready for winter . . . BRRRRR . . . and Christmas. I've not bought a tree yet and am hoping that I can manage to get one before Christmas Eve! I like to make it really challenging each year and wait till the last minute and almost not be able to find the perfect one! LOL But I plan to shop for one next week. REALLY! I'll post a pic when I do.

We've not had time for frivolous things such as books, movies, TV . . . well, OK, except for Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Clean House, but aside from that, ok, and a couple of episodes of Scrapbooking, but really, other than that . . . ummmmmmm, no yeah, nothing else . . . we've just not had the time to sit and devote precious time being entertained!

I do want to tell you that my biggest accomplishment this month . . . was making a total of 300 cards in one week! Whew! There were quite a few cards left over, cause along the way, we had some oops and so there's been a teddy bear invasion at my store over at Etsy! ;) There were mats and paper left over for about six more cards and even though I told myself I did not want to see or make another green, red and white card, I DID! Here is one just for your viewing pleasure:

For the very first time, since I bought it back in September for my birthday (a gift from my OLDEST sister, Lilly . . . she told me to stop telling you guys she's the oldest and I told her, "But you are!" LOL Aren't you glad I'm not your younger sister! LOL), I used the Crop-O-Dile! All I can say is get out of the way cause I'm punching holes and setting eyelets like NEVER before. I'm still figuring it out, but look at how awesome these eyelets came out! I just LOVE it! Love it, love it, love it!

Supplies: Nicole EYELETS(!); ricrac ribbon; cardstock; unknown printed paper (gift); unknown stamp (I unmounted it and thought I would remember forever and ever who the stamp came from, 8) ok, envision me rolling my eyes here and one pops out and rolls under the desk cause I often get way enthusiastic rolling the eyes); Pebbles pearlescent chalks (love these!); glue and glitter.

Well, that's about all I have to share with you this month. I absolutely must get going! I just received an email that I won a Toyota Cirrious (that's how it's spelled in the email from the attorney!)! All I have to do is send a cashier's check to some foreign company in a third-world country to get the keys! How incredibly lucky I am! I know, I know, something like this could NOT have happened to a nicer person! LOL ;) Hope you have a good day and . . . please . . . think of me driving around in my much deserved and needed new car! LOL ;)

More Christmas Cards

2007-11-25T20:17:00.000-06:00

I just spent two days making 125 Christmas cards for two customers. Last week, I made 175 for another customer. I feel like I couldn't look at another red, white and green piece of cardstock without crying! :) The ones I made last week all had to be red, green and white color combination. The ones I've been working on since yesterday just had to have the same layout and teddy bear. Both ladies loved this TAC stamp as did I when I first bought it! LOL It is a very pretty stamp, but after stamping the image almost 150 (because you know there were going to be some oops along the way!) , I think I can put it away until next Christmas! :) The stamp is being retired and is only available until December 28th.

Every Christmas I HAVE to make a black and white Christmas card. I don't know what it is about that color combo that makes me want to have a successful card with it! LOL I really like the way this card came out this year.

Supplies: Cardstock; ScrapPack pp; TAC stamp; organza ribbon; rhinestone; Pebbles chalks; Nicole eyelets; glitter

This next card is from the same batch, but in a different color.

Supplies: Cardstock; ScrapPack pp; TAC stamp; organza ribbon; rhinestone; Pebbles chalks; Nicole eyelets; glitter

These are left over cards that did not pass quality control. LOL I've listed these and a few others at my Etsy store. I'd like to get rid of them, but if not, they'll make great greeting cards too! :)

DT Entry

2007-11-22T23:15:00.000-06:00

I applied for the Card Studio Design Team and did NOT make it . . . :(

On the up side, I can now show you what I made! I'd been dying to post this particular card! :)

I was supposed to use a label, chipboard and a Making Memories product. I TOTALLY misunderstood the label thing, but did not find out till AFTER I submitted my card, and then when I first read the submission guidelines, I thought it read a "Thanksgiving" card, but instead it was supposed to be a "Thanks" card! DUH! So I guess I just wasn't meant to be on the design team to begin with! LOL :) The pumpkin chipboard is a pattern piece from ScrapGoods, so don't go thinking I'm super creative! I just WANT to be! LOL :) It didn't photograph as well, but IRL, the pumpkin actually looks golden-orangey brown and then the outer edges a more brownish-orangey orange and then I inked the edges of the chipboard with brown for more depth. I dipped the twine in glue and twirled it around a pencil to give it that viney look and if I'd been more patient, I think it would have had more of a curl to it, but I am too impatient for stuff like that! LOL

Supplies: Cardstock; 7Gypsies PP; Making Memories label holder; Inkadinkadoo stamp; ScrapGoods chipboard; twine; ScrapPack PP (I cut the leaves out from one of the realistic looking papers in the package); ColorBox and Tim Holtz inks; embossing powder

This is a second card I made for the same DT entry. The poinsettia won't photograph as well as IRL, but it's embossed in gold and very shimmery from glitter.

Supplies: Cardstock; TAC papers, tag and poinsettia stamp; ScrapGoods ribbon; Colorbox inks; embossing powder

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T12:43:00.000-06:00

May your feast be plentiful, your family and friends loving, and your day ever so long!

And if it's not any of these things, just take a look at this, be grateful your not the one in the oven and smile!

You know you are a scrapper when . . .

2007-11-20T12:46:00.000-06:00

. . . your scrapping hobby dictates what you buy for dinner!

See this:

I purchased it with quite a bit of hesitation. First of all, it was $3.49 for 2 ounces! Kinda pricey in my book! The spices themselves are inside a little plastic bag and it comes with the cutest little scoop! Still . . . $3.49! Secondly, Jay won't eat any meats covered in ANY kind of sauce, so I would be the only one eating meats covered in this. That alone might require cooking two dinners in one night. Finally, reading the description and directions . . . sent me into a tailspin!

First it reads:

"Great for Grilling, Broiling, Baking & Roasting."

So, I thought to myself, "OK, NOT just for BBQing!" For those of you from the south, there's NO BBQing during the winter months in New Hampshire!

"Turn the cookout around with a brand new taste! Fit for the perfect backyard barbeque, the sweetness of brown sugar balances with the bite of ancho & chipotle powder in this blend perfect for ribs, pulled pork, and sweet potatoes. Garlic, onion, allspice and cloves mingle with these two flavors to create a symphony of Southern bliss."

So, I thought to myself, "OK, I'ma Southern 'n sum of dem dere spices sound purdy good." I had to throw in my Southern drawl for that though! Exhausting!

Then the directions:

"Sprinkle a bit on all sides and massage the rub into the meat with your hands and cook as desired. For a bigger bang in your barbeque, refrigerate and let the Sweet Southern BBQ Rub penetrate the meat a few hours before cooking."

Jeez, massaging? That sounds like a lot of work and getting kind of intimate with the meat!

So, I had to have some serious thought about the whole thing. I placed it back on the grocery shelf and start to walk away, but I keep getting drawn back to it. I must have spent a good 15 minutes standing there trying to decide whether I should bring it home with me or not. I finally gave in to that little voice I like to call "Reason."

Wanna know why? Because despite everything I'd read and the hefty price tag, all I could see was this:

And the worst part? They have seven other flavors! Oh, boy.

I have to brag . . .

2007-11-19T19:06:00.000-06:00

. . . about my friend, Heidi! She was invited to join the Spellbinder's 2008 Design Team! When I grow up, I want to follow in her footsteps! :) She has some great stuff on her page! Go check it out yourself!

Recipe Swap LO

2007-11-15T20:33:00.000-06:00

I signed up for a recipe swap over at Scrap Haven, a private message board. I had to make 12. I'm posting three on here, but if you'd like to see more, you can go to my gallery at My Scrapbook Nook. I did not post all of them, because for starters, I made three like this one. I like the way the turkey came out! LOL

Supplies used:

Cardstock; StoryTellers printed cardstock; craft leaf; Colorbox pigment ink; Pebbles pearlescent chalks; glaze pen; ScrapGoods ribbon; OTC metal charm; Ranger black embossing powder; embossing ink

For these next two, I used The Angel Company (TAC) papers and stamp. I love, love, love the rich colors of these papers!

For this first one, I used the Amelia line design papers. I love these colors! They are so rich and bold. I also used the "Give thanks" stamp from the Give Thanks stamp set. I used pigment ink to stamp the images. I thought the color matched really well with the colors of the paper.

Supplies: TAC paper and stamp
From my stash: Cardstock; Colorbox pigment ink; PSX mini alpha set; HOTP brads

For this card, I used the Winchester line design papers. I love the deep dark colors! I also used two stamps from the Give Thanks stamp set. I filled in the acorns with pigment inks to match the paper.

Supplies: TAC paper and stamp
From my stash: Cardstock; Colorbox pigment inks; HOTP brads

Christmas Cards

2007-11-14T19:12:00.000-06:00

Here's my first creation with my TAC stamps and paper! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the colors of this paper! I also really like the poinsettia stamp. This stamp is being retired and will only be available until December 28th. I made this for a Christmas Card Swap at a private message board, Scrap Haven, that I visit. There were several variations with the poinsettia in that I used different techniques, but I really like the way this one came out and I wanted to share it with you! I also wanted to use an unexpected color for a Christmas card. I used pigment inks to color in the poinsettia. I stamped it twice and layered it with foam dots.

Products:

The Angel Company papers and Poinsettia stamp.
My Stash: cardstock, ScrapGoods ribbon, Ranger black embossing powder, foam dots, Colorbox pigment inks and glitter glue

The Aftermath

2007-11-12T16:27:00.000-06:00

If I've been overly cranky of late, please forgive me! :) It's just that days of cleaning on end can do that to a person! I think if I had made the mess myself, it would not have been so bad. But the mess was NOT my doing! Plus, every time I found a box that needed to be unpacked, it was horrifying! My vintage scarves were used to wrap picture frames! And I just kept finding one horrific thing after another and I have to tell you about it! But first, I've finally finished cleaning somewhat. Not everything is where I previously had it and it's not as spanky shiny clean as I would like but they are clean, we can maneuver around the apartment without tripping over boxes or trash, things are in their place and now . . . sigh . . . life can resume for me! LOL So here's a shot of the aftermath of Hurricane Ema's whirlwind cleaning extravaganza!

Look! You can see the desktop!

Before returning to my life uninterrupted! LOL I want to just give a re-cap of what I found in the apartment this week.

Aside from horrors of cleaning bathroom, I had to clean cleaning supplies first!

The bowl in refrigerator picture? Crusted over. Threw it away!

Threw microwave away. I’m not cleaning that! Wish I could do the same with the refrigerator and oven.

Two umbrellas, one solid brown and another solid black. Now I have a brown umbrella with a black handle and a black umbrella with a brown handle. Why?

Before I left for Texas, I gave specific instructions that there was to be no drinking, smoking or drugs in the apartment. I found evidence of all of the above, to be specific 15 cigarette butts and approximately 21 bottle caps!

I was gone during the summer . . . 5-pc Halloween beverage set, now 4-pc Halloween beverage set. Perfect for a third wheel event!

One child likes to break off the pull tabs on cans. I found approximately 36 tabs.

Found a Lady Quattro razor behind the bookcase in the kitchen!

I asked that my pocket books be left alone! I received the response of "Your pocket books are not my style." Took awhile to find all of them and once I did, I found makeup products in them that I did NOT leave in there or do they belong to me!

Leather dog leash on floor with trash. "Been looking for that, where did you find it?" "Someone who could not bend at waist must have dropped it."

Day one: 2 bags of trash.
Day two: 3 bags of trash.
Day three: 5 bags of trash and 1 large box filled with empty cardboard boxes.
Day four: 3 bags of trash and 2 large boxes filled with empty cardboard boxes.

Baby shoes, child's belt, car seat, deep fryer and cat litter scoop. We do not have small children or a cat. What?

Profitable? Found $20 bill and $1.72 in loose change!

Dead jade plant. Isn’t that from the cactus plant family?

Beer bottle labels stuck on side of coffee table. Decorative?

Remember spit balls in high school on the ceiling? Yeah, I found those in here too!

Cigarette stench in apartment.

My sewing machine in living room closet. Upside down!

My black boots and snow boots were not in closet. OK, I was gone during the summer months. What was that all about?

One day, I needed some socks to keep feet warm. When I left, I had a small drawer full of matching socks. I went to get a pair. What did I find? I'll show you! BTW, the 21 bottle caps I listed earlier, do not include this little treasure!

Do not despair! After doing all the laundry . . . that took an entire day . . . I now have 5 matching pairs of socks!

Finally, I received my flat-screen TV I purchased while in NM on Friday and it was NOT damaged!! WOOHOO!! I'd been watching TV on this old 13-inch TV that belongs to the wayward child. Let me tell you, it was hard getting used to watching that after I had been watching a 15.4" flat-screen TV! :)

Oh, boy . . .

2007-11-11T19:11:00.000-06:00

I've been home for an entire week now. I've been ever so busy and if you want to know why, read "My MasterCard Commercial." The good news is that I'm almost done with the cleaning and have even started playing with my stamps! I spent all Friday mounting and cutting and most importantly, FINDING STORAGE! I've outgrown my space and I told myself, NO MORE SHOPPING! Then on Saturday, my friend, Fireman Steve, took me to my LSS! He's such an enabler! He gave me $50 and told me to buy whatever I wanted but I had to be finished in 15 minutes! Well, never say something like that to a scrapper! LOL Talk about pressure! And after the candy overload I had after I got home, the sight of all those scrapping goodies just made me sick to my stomach! I KNOW! How insane is that? Try as I might I could not spend the entire $50, but I came pretty close . . . $35. Most of it was shiny stuff! I headed straight back to the embellishment area and loaded up on rhinestone this and thats! LOL I don't remember what all I bought, but I'll post a pic later. Right now, I want to show you what I came home to!

These are all items I ordered while living in New Mexico. Before the decision to stay in New Mexico was made and again, once I decided to come home to New Hampshire, I had all these packages shipped here. It was like Christmas, but without the wrapping paper! LOL

I was kind of disappointed with this first one. It's a kit that comes out every other month from Hot off the Press (HOTP). I think it's fairly new. Anyway, you don't get a preview of what you are getting and had I known I was gonna get these ding bats I would have passed on them. These seem to be all the rage right now, but I don't like them. So anyway, these are stamps for this month:

This is a card making kit also from HOTP. I like to get this because of all the doodads they send. These cards are pre-designed. I work on these on days that I am bored out of mind and have nothing to do. I do not sign them and I gift them to folks I know for their own use. I don't use the doodads! I keep those for myself and I have a huge stash that I cannot make myself use! Someone PLEASE rescue me! ;)

These are the doodads I am referring to:

This is a scrapbooking kit also from HOTP. I love all the matchy matchy things they do and the idea sheet that comes with each kit. I use their kits to make little albums to give away.

These next two are also kits from Memory Works. I probably ordered them cause I saw something that I couldn't live without. Now that I have them, I'm not sure what that was! Although with this first kit, I'm thinking it was the glitter! I have a hard time passing up shiny things! LOL

These are the last two kits from my favorite monthly club, ScrapGoods. I love, love, love their kits. I also love the idea sheets and they always have some kind of new technique to try with the things they are sending. I love their ribbons and they always send really cool chip boards. In case I haven't said this before, I love, love, love this club! I only cancelled my membership because I signed on with The Angel Company (TAC) and want to commit myself to them with my time and money and see what pans out for me there.

This is an order I placed for myself for my birthday from Stampin' Up with my friend, Heidi. I went a little overboard cause my total came to like $120 and I was so close to the free hostess benefits that I decided to throw caution to the wind and found another $30 worth of stuff to get for the extras! I can't pass up free shipping and freebies! I don't care how much I have to spend in order to get them!

This is another monthly kit from Tie One On. I love their ribbons and I know I purchased this cause of the PP! Even though I have no kids in school, I had to have it! This is one of my favorite paper lines!

And finally, as I wrote earlier, I did sign up to be a consultant with TAC. These are all the papers and extras that came with the kit. I didn't take a picture of the order forms, catalogs, invitations and so forth, because I thought to myself that part of the package might not interest you!

This is the MAIN reason I wanted to sign up with TAC! You can't see them all, but there are a total of 12 stamp sets that I requested, plus a small logo stamp, and then they sent a sampler set and a grab bag (the two on the far right).

So, the bad news is . . . now the pressure is really on! Oh, boy! Something about a room full of new stuff to NOT know where to start! But start I must, so stay tuned and you'll see what kind of damage I can make! LOL

My MasterCard Commercial

2007-11-07T17:13:00.001-06:00

Airline ticket from Albuquerque, NM to Derry, NH: $118.83

Cabfare to airport: $36.00

Magazine and gum at airport: $5.49

Coming home to this:

PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been tagged again!

2007-11-01T17:09:00.001-05:00

Yanita Ramos has awarded me with the "You Make Me Smile" award! Be sure to check out her blog. I was so impressed that it is bi-lingual AND she's got some awesome stuff posted on there too!

Well, today is the last day that I will be able to post. Tomorrow I will be without a computer after noon and on Saturday . . . I'm flying out to NH! I leave at 10:00 a.m. MST and arrive in NH at 7:25 p.m. EST. I can hardly wait! I have a THREE-HOUR layover in Baltimore! UGH! That's the only thing I am NOT looking forward to.

Thanksgiving Cards

2007-10-29T15:58:00.001-05:00

Well, when I get home to NH, I'll be able to post many more of these . . . but for now, I only have these. Again, they are from last year when I was a "novice!" Not that I'm more of a pro at it now, but back then, I was really green behind the ears! LOL! This one I actually used leaves from a garland! :) I can't list all the products, because for the life of me I cannot remember what I used, much less how I used them! I can tell you, the sentiment on this one was printed on the computer. Also, the paper with the sentiment was canvas paper. I bought it to print pictures, but did not realize until after I opened the package that it was canvas and did not want to use it, so I used it for other things! :)

I had stickers I wanted to get rid of and made these next two cards and I think I managed to accomplish this! LOL I know the plastic ring was from Leaving Prints and the letter stickers and leaf are Miss Elizabeth's stickers.

I am pretty sure the slide is MM and brads are from HOTP. "Happy Thanksgiving" clear sticker is EK.

OK, this card, I totally lifted! I thought it was the cutest I had ever seen and I repeated the turkey on the envelope! :) "Turkey" clear sticker is EK. I didn't have paper that had a wood-grain print or a stamp, so I inked the paper in the hopes that it would kind of look like that, and I think it came out really close. What do you think? The leaves behind the turkey on the card are actually craft leaves. I remember I had so much fun making this card!

This card is special. I actually made two. I made these two cards for my sisters. The picture in the card are items in my home and the grapes are actually from our mother's home. I wanted to make it very personal. The font is from the computer and I used that same canvas paper. I also used that halo effect on the picture to create a different look.

Not much to report from the weekend. I had a nice visit with my siblings and mother. I didn't get to see my oldest brother, but only cause I ran out of time. The drive down there and back was exhausting! I'm still feeling incredibly tired from the trip! :( But I've only one week left to finish up work for my employer and then Saturday is the big day! I head out of the Albuquerque airport at 10:00 and I'm supposed to be in NH by 7:25 p.m. I can hardly wait and I hope there's no snowy weather in the NE to change my plans! :)

A Little Early . . .

2007-10-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

but a very Happy Halloween wish! Hope you enjoy it!

Also, I'm outta here! I'm off to Texas for the weekend to see my family one last time before heading off to NH next weekend! I'm so psyched! I'm leaving late this afternoon between 3 and 4 and hope to arrive safely at Eva's between 9 and 10. I'll be returning Sunday after church, hopefully, no later than 2 and will be back in ABQ by 8. Then I've just one week left in this Albuquerque! I can hardly wait! I have lots of scrapping goodies waiting for me in NH. I had placed a large Stampin' Up order from Heidi, then I have two boxes from my monthly scrapbook club, I signed up to be a consultant with The Angel Company and get 11 stamp sets and gobs of paper from that, and I ordered 2 or 3, although I really think it's three, packages from other places! What can I say, I got a little carried away. Anyway, I hope everyone has a good weekend and hope to see you here at some point next week because you know I'm gonna want to tell you all about my weekend!! Take care and lots of love and hugs to everyone!

I've been TAGGED!

2007-10-24T16:18:00.001-05:00

I'm Tagged ......by Ila at Artfully Ila.

Be sure to check out Ila's blog! She's got an adorable puppy named Buddy and she's a grandmother to three other just as adorable pooches! I'm a dog person, so Ila's right up there with me! LOL The first time I saw her cards, I fell in love with her style! You really need to check it out yourself. She tagged me, and at first when I found out, I was like, geez, that kinda sounds painful, but it really isn't! LOL!

Here are the scoop/rules for this tag . . .

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).

3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

So, here goes . . .

1. I am deaf in my left ear! Yeah, totally! When I was an infant, my older sister gave me the measles and my fever got so high that it caused nerve damage. What? Did someone say something? ;)

2. I have been on TV! OK, just for like 3 seconds and if you blink, you'll miss me, but nonetheless, I've been on TV. Long story, short! HA! Show was Made for MTV. My daughter's friend was the "star" of the show. My daughter was the "love interest." They shot a scene at our home. It is still showing on reruns!

3. I come from a 5-generation family, that's right FIVE generations. I think this is WICKED AWESOME!

4. I am embarrassed to write this, but I'm a MySpacer! LOL I really do it mostly to keep in touch with my daughter. That's her "e-mail" account. But it's a private profile, so no big deal really! :)

5. I am a preacher's kid! Yeah, really! No lie! :) I think that explains my innocence. ;)

6. I have been up in a hot air balloon and a Cessna! The hot air balloon was heaps of fun. The Cessna, not so much! I kissed the ground when we landed! :)

7. I don't know how to swim but I really want to learn. I had someone throw me in the pool when I was 25 to teach me how to swim. He said I'd either learn to swim or drown. Well, I almost DROWNED! So I'm very scared of water now, but I am determined to overcome this in my lifetime.

Okay! Now my turn to tag 7 other people. All these people have WICKED AWESOME Blogs so be sure to check them out! I hope they have time to play!

Heidi

Isabelle

Leendaluu

Dana

Karen

Renee

Emily

Halloween Cards

2007-10-23T12:50:00.000-05:00

Please do not adjust your screen! LOL! These are some Halloween cards I made last year. Now, remember how I've gone on and on about how I don't have any scrapping supplies with me? Well, I had them last year, but I had just STARTED making cards. Before that I was a diehard scrapper, so bear with me! :) I've always admired Heidi's style of card making. For lack of a better word, I've always called it shabby chic and I just love her cards! I've always wanted to be a shabby chic kind of gal, but I've been told that I'm eclectic with a heavy emphasis on cutesy. Geez, I hope that's a good thing!

Supplies: Cardstock; OTC alpha charms; organza ribbon; Fiskars border punch.

I made this next card for my sister, Eva. She is not a cat person either! LOL! I call it a "re-card" because it's a picture of a card I'd received before and I thought it was too wicked awesome to just sit in a drawer!

Supplies: Cardstock; discarded card pic; HOTP brads and buttons; ribbon and floss; unknown glitter glue; ok, I made it last year, do you really expect me to remember? LOL

I bought this textured felt and HAD to use it! And ok, I went a little crazy with my Fiskars border punch, what can I say? When I like something, I use it! :) You can't tell from the photograph, but I glazed the eyes and so IRL they are very shimmery and raised.

Supplies: Cardstock; textured felt; Leaving Prints die cut; floss; Miss Elizabeth's brads; glaze; Fiskars border punch.

I know, I know, more craziness with the Fiskars border punch! LOL

Supplies: Cardstock; organza ribbon; Fiskars border punch; Miss Elizabeth's metal charm; OTC PP.

Supplies: Cardstock, Miss Elizabeth's brads; Leaving Prints diecut and tag; organza ribbon; Fiskars border punch (yeah, again!).

This one I actually made this year. Can you see how I've evolved? Spooky, isn't it? :) I made this with the emphasis on making it Halloween-y looking without coming out and saying it. Did I get the message across?

Supplies: Cardstock; Reminisce PP; Prima flowers; MM, Miss Elizabeth's and HOTP brads; Dress it Up button; black ink.

OK, so next week, I'll post some old fall-y cards and then I'll be back in NH and will be able to show you the REAL damage I can do! LOL! Yeah, in case I hadn't said this before; I'm going home! I made a go of it in Albuquerque, but it didn't work out and so I'm heading back. I've updated all my info to reflect that I'm in NH already just cause I'm impatient! LOL! But, I actually won't leave until November 3rd. This coming weekend I'm going down to Texas to visit my family one last time before I head up north. I'll share all about my visit with you next week! Look forward to it! LOL!

You Make Me Smile!

2007-10-20T01:46:00.000-05:00

I feel so honored! Here I’ve only been blogging for a little over a month, by maybe a day or two, and my talent has been recognized! :) My friend and fellow blogger, Heidi, has nominated me for the “You Make Me Smile” award. On her blog, she says some of the sweetest things about me that just made me blush! :) She is the one that encouraged me to start blogging. As a stamper, when I grow up, I want to be just like Heidi! :) In my book, she’s a very talented artist!

I, now in turn, will nominate five bloggers. Since I am so new at this, I’ve not had a chance to view other blogs extensively, much less make blogger friends, but let me tell you, I have found some bloggers that have truly amazed me. I visit their blogs religiously to see what they have been up to. I’m always inspired and awed! Visit each of these blogs and you will see what I mean. Each of them, in their own right, are truly moving with their talent. These bloggers are: Dina Kowal, she's got a great birthday prize she's giving away right now; Maria Bell, she's got some great card sketches; Kendra Giles, she's got some really great artwork you must see; Dee Jackson, I love so many of the things she has posted; and finally, Anna Wight, her blog is over at Typepad, but she’s still a very talented woman! ;) Anna has some really unique items posted.

Anniversary

2007-10-19T12:01:00.000-05:00

I have been officially blogging now for count them . . . one entire month! LOL! I never imagined doing something like this. I've seen blogs before and always thought about doing it. I always worried I'd become one of those blogs that started and never took off. I remember seeing blogs that had great titles and I thought, oooo, I want to read/look at that and I'd click on their pages and there would be a post that was older than time or a blank page. Which reminds me; why do men think it's cool to take a picture of themselves drinking a beer? OK, maybe for a college aged kid, this is something that can be viewed as somewhat normal. But I'm talking grown men who look to be well into their 40s or more! Please! Yeah, how does that saying go . . . I think, therefore, I am single? Yes, that's me, thank you! :) And then, why would you want to even start a blog and the first thing you write is something telling folks to F*** OFF? What is the point to all that? I just don't get people sometimes! Anyway, sorry, let me get off my soap box here. So . . . when I started this blog, I had a blank page for a bit. I remember thinking though that if I couldn't get it started, I'd ask to have it deleted. I wouldn't want others being deceived by a picture or title leading them to believe that there was more to see. And I most certainly wasn't gonna download that awesome picture of myself with the two-beer drinking hat! I know, I know, you probably want to see it, but I like to think of myself as a somewhat respectable adult here, so please, email me, I'll send it to you! ;) LOL It's been a struggle some days, but I think only because I started all of this with the hopes of sharing my paper crafts and maybe inspiring others with it, but I find myself limited with the scrapping things I have with me and not able to be as creative as I had hoped to be. I have found myself writing and sharing funny (or scary) things I've seen instead. I did want to wish myself a "Happy Anniversary" and post with a written piece over my growth as a person in the blogging community this past month and hope you'd be interested enough to read all about it! :)

Well, for starters, I haven't read any books or magazines that I feel, I must share nor has there been too much TV or movies to review, with the exception of the movie, Rosewood. It is an old movie, but it was the most disturbing movie I had seen in a really long time and I cried during a good portion of the movie. If disturbing is what you want to see, check it out! Oh, and I've also become horribly addicted to the show, Clean House. I know there's lots of these cleaning house shows these days, but I really like this one. And also, Law & Order: Criminal Intent launched it's new season on USA. Gotta love Vincent D"Onofrio! So other than that, not much on TV! LOL! Oh, but there's also . . . just kidding!

I turned 46 on the 18th of September and I shared pics of the celebration in Lubbock with my family. I don't feel 46. My body does, but I still think I'm a spring chicken in a barnyard filled with old hens! LOL! Every morning when I jump out of bed, I check for new aches and concerns. Any day that I don't encounter one, I'm thinking is starting out as a good day! LOL Anyway, my family gave me cash as birthday gifts and I've spent a portion of it on (GASP!) scrapping supplies. *blush* I still have a good portion left and am waiting to spend that on . . . more scrapping supplies! I did also buy a blue top that I look radiantly pretty in ;) and a much needed toaster. NOT a red one, but only cause I couldn't find one. I know, I know, I probably should have waited and it should have been red, but let me tell you it, keeping fingers crossed, has caused me no grief or frustrations. Not once has it burned my toast! I think that's good! LOL!

I've not done much this past month. Albuquerque has a Balloon Fest in October and here are a few pics for you to see. I wanted to take a picture of them as they took off because the sky just fills up with all these hot air balloons and it looks wicked awesome! My digital camera's batteries died and by the time I replaced them, the balloons had dispersed. You really need to see them when they first take off. It is a sight to behold that is for sure!

On the homefront with my kids, Jay has had some ups and downs. Mostly downs. He desperately wants his mom back home with him. Nina, well, I haven't heard from her in a few days, but I can only assume that things are ok with her. I haven't heard from Savage either, but he's never been a phone dog to begin with and I figure he's doing well. :)

Back in April, two of my scrapping buddies, Heidi and Lee, and I talked about how we wanted to open up our own Christian message board, along with Deb, Lee's cousin. There was some silly talk among us about being another set of Charlie's Angels and Heidi's husband could be Charlie, but I don't think he was up for it! LOL We have been working tirelessly on it since then (I say we, but it was Lee who did most of the work!) and although we're still a work in progress, I'm excited to announce that Angels Wings and Crafty Things has launched and it's doors are open to anyone interested in visitng a Christian message board with a focus on scrapbooking, cardmaking and stamping.

I did do some scrapping thanks to the DT. I altered a tin and clip board for AW&CT. Hush though, I can't post it until November and I was dying to show it off, so I did post it here. *blush* I've also worked on a chipboard purse and accordion album from 7Gypsies with some of the DT stuff, but am not finished with it. Can't wait to show it to you once I am done though! Maybe in a couple of weeks or so.

Have I ever mentioned that I work from home for my employer? Most folks think, wow, how awesome, to get to work from home. Well, other than getting to work in my jammies, ;) it's not all it's cracked up to be. I'm a social person. I find myself talking to myself and no one to share my funny thoughts with. Add in the frustrations over jammed faxes and constantly replacing ink cartridges and it's just not what I thought it would be. But, hey, lucky me, I get to work from home! 8) Oh, and one of the things I discovered since working from home; Friday mornings are landscaping days. There's about a half hour of lawn mowers and blowers right outside my apartment windows. Yeah . . . lucky me!!!

Oh, and before I forget . . . fall has officially arrived in Albuquerque and I LOVE IT!! It's . . . well, only one word can describe it . . . WICKED AWESOME! Yeah, I know that's two words, but in New England, trust me on this one, it's considered ONE WORD! There's lots of sunshine and pleasant temps. I've developed bad allergies since arriving in Albuquerque and this tends to keep me indoors a lot, but I love my morning walks. I'm thinking the neighbors I used to see at the gym, when I was foolish enough to be using the treadmill, see me walking around and are thinking to themselves that I found out the treadmill does NOT work! YES, I did, thank you very much! Anyway, the temps have been in the 70s and if it weren't for my allergies, I could open my windows to let in a wonderful breeze. And, in case I haven't said this already . . . I LOVE IT!

I think that wraps up this past month. I've not done much, seen much or talked to anyone. :( But next month, now that I know I want to share it with you, I'll do more! LOL! But only if you promise to keep checking back to see how I've been keeping myself out of trouble. ;)

My Craft Space in New Hampshire

2007-10-17T21:00:00.004-05:00

I miss so many things that are in New Hampshire. I miss my dog, Savage. I miss my kids. I miss the leaf-peeping. I miss my apartment. But the things I miss the most, are all in one little room. My craft space!

Altered Items

2007-10-12T10:35:00.001-05:00

This is my first attempt at altering items. I did this for the Design Team at AW&CT. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed myself when doing this! I wish I had more of this paper and more things to alter! LOL! I love the colors of the paper.

For the clipboard, I cut out the roses from the Marzipan PP and crumbled it. I then flattened it back out and used the acrylic paint dabber to highlight the creases on the roses. I lightly sanded the edges of the clipboard and the Marzipan PP to give it a more weathered look. The clipboard photographed very brightly, but the PP and edges of the clipboard do look distressed in real life.

Basic Grey Lollipop Marzipan and Strawberry Jam and cutouts, Colorbox Scarlet and Pistachio pigment ink, Adirondack Brights Acrylic Paint Dabber - watermelon, ScrapGoods ribbons and stamp, EK staples, MM create clip

The tin was quite a challenge. Since this was my first attempt, I didn't know if there was a secret on how to get the paper on the top around the handle. So I did A LOT of measuring and clipping until I was sure that I could cut the paper and fit it in around the handle. It was quite a learning experience! I didn't know I was that patient! LOL! :)

Maya Road Coffee Break Tin, Basic Grey Lollipop Marzipan, Strawberry Jam and Cherry Pie and cutouts, ScrapGoods ribbons, Colorbox Scarlet pigment ink, Miss Elizabeth's brads

Fall

2007-10-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

I miss New Hampshire's fall season. It is FINALLY starting to cool off in Albuquerque, but it cannot even begin to compare to the fall season I love up in New England. There are no golds, reds, oranges to be seen. I LOVE these colors!

Anyway, I roped myself into a fall swap over at AW&CT. I have been close to tears over this. All of my beloved scrapping things are up in NH; although, I had someone tell me that a true scrapper can make anything out of nothing. :( I guess I'm not a true scrapper! 8) Anyway, this is the first draft of the card. I had some help from Heidi! I did not think it looked like a fall card because of the colors. AND I spent WAY TOO much time looking at and critiquing it. So I had to get a second opinion and I followed some of her suggestions. I didn't follow all of them, only because it required purchasing more scrapping supplies that I refuse to buy cause I have them up in NH! LOL! I know, I know, vicious cycle. Anyway, what do you think? Does it make you think of fall?

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock, HOTP printed papers, Prima flower, ScrapGoods nailhead and ribbon, Rubber Stampede and Colorbox inks, Michael's acrylic stamps

Probably not, huh? Well, at least it should make you think that I am "thinking of you!"

Ready for Halloween?

2007-10-05T22:35:00.000-05:00

This is a car advertisement from Great Britain. When they finished filming the ad, the film editor noticed something moving along the side of the car, like a ghostly white mist. They found out that a person had been killed a year earlier in that exact same spot. The ad was never put on TV because of the unexplained ghostly phenomenon. Watch the front end of the car closely as it clears the trees in the middle of the screen and you'll see the white mist crossing in front of the car then following it along the road....Spooky! Is it a ghost, or is it simply mist? You decide. If you listen to the ad, you'll even hear the cameraman whispering in the background about it near the end of the commercial. A little creepy but it seems to be authentic!