Butterflies

I came up here tonight to work on some of my swaps. Then I got a phone call that the father of one of my friends passed away today. He was diagnosed a year ago with biliary cancer. You might remember me talking about my friend Jill (I watched her golden retrievers for a weekend a while back). Jill has been traveling back and forth to Minnesota for months to spend time with her dad. Anyway, I don't feel like working on any cards now. Say a prayer for her and her family, will you?

Here is a "prototype" of one of the swaps I'm working on.

1980s

I got an email from a couple of weeks ago about growing up in the 80's (thanks Lisa!). You know you grew up in the 80's if...

1. "You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE."


If I just recently ended a sentence with "...sike," does that make me a nerd?

Speaking of the 80's, just the other day I received the invitation to my high school reunion in the mail!
My 20th high school reunion.

That can't possibly be true! I have been out of school almost twice as long as I was ever in! That's impossible! Where has the time gone? Am I planning to go to the reunion? Um...no. That's just not me. Reading the list of the people that they can't find sure was a blast from the past, though. I'm going down the list thinking to myself...he's probably in jail...ugh, I couldn't STAND her...he's probably in prison...she's probably got like 10 kids... Oddly enough, most of the people I'm curious to know what happened to are on that list.

I am going to send back the little questionnaire that came with it, though, 'cause if you do, they mail you the booklet if you're not going to the reunion. Not that I want any of them knowing my business...I just want to know their business. I'm nosy!

No, seriously, school wasn't that bad. I had a small group of close friends and could get along with just about anybody. If I went to a small school, it might be different; however, I was one of almost 400 students in my class. Sometimes I do miss those days, but I don't think I would go back if I could...only if I could know what I know now and take Paul with me! We were two years apart in school and never knew each other then. Oh, how I wish we would have! I do definitely miss the 80's. Things were so much simpler then.

"Like, totally!"

Ugh!

I swear it wasn't that long ago that I was complaining how cold it was outside. Now here I sit complaining how dang hot it is in here! The high was only 78 degrees today, but anyone who has a two-story knows all too well that heat rises and how hard it is to keep the upstairs cool. Right now it is hotter than hell in here! I should be sleeping right now, but I can't 'cause I'm too warm. The weather this weekend has really gotten to me. There were supposed to be thunderstorms all weekend, and yesterday was overcast and muggy. That kind of weather really messes with my head. I developed a headache in the morning and couldn't shake it all day.

Wait a minute... I'm getting a feeling of deja vu right now.

Have I written something like this before? Am I starting to repeat myself?

I wouldn't doubt it.

So, I'm going to stop myself right there, show you a couple of the cards I made this weekend for RAKs, and leave it at that. I thought I better make some Easter cards because it will be here before you know it!
I'm going to turn on the fan, go to bed, and force myself to go to sleep or I'm going to be one grouchy lady tomorrow! For those of you that would like details on the cards, I'll try to get them posted to my SCS gallery tomorrow!

Goodnight!

PS Did anyone watch the finale of Grease - You're The One That I Want tonight? Congrats to Max and Laura!! I'm so glad Austin didn't get the part of Danny. I mean, I'm sure he is a nice guy and everything, but he looks like a Ken doll. He just seems like he's made of plastic, and he overdoes everything. I think Max and Laura will make a great Danny and Sandy on Broadway! Oh, how I would love to see that show!

Okay...I'm REALLY going to bed now!

Happy Birthday, Big Brother

Altered Things

I'm not one for altered arts. I love the way they look and am jealous over the talent that other people have, but I really don't enjoy doing it. Usually it involves dealing with some sort of glue...be it Modge Podge (which is what I used here) or whatever. I don't like doing things that are messy, and anyone who has worked with Modge Podge knows that it's impossible to use it without getting it all over the place. Anyway, I did these on Saturday morning during some free time I had while Paul was at work. I started the lunch tin many months ago and finally decided to finish it. I think I still need to add more to it, but this is it for now. Sorry for the black background. I just sat it in the chair to take the pic. I was planning on redoing the pictures but never got around to it.


Here is something interesting. I saw this on another blog and had to check it out for myself...being the big Sesame Street fan that I am! It's the Sesame Street Personality Quiz. Here's what is said about me...

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you lovable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

All I have to say about that is...huh???? I'm not sure how I feel about being compared to Bert. I was hoping I'd be like Grover...he's my fav!

Road Trip!!

WoooHooo! This was a weekend for a couple different mini road trips! That's always fun, huh? On Saturday we went up to Janesville, WI, to Scrapbook & Stamping Memories because I was wanting to get some Primas and just couldn't find any around here (of course, I didn't look very hard either because I really wanted to go up there). So we looked around at the store and then ate at Fuddruckers for lunch. I didn't find any Primas that were to my liking, so I came home kind of disappointed on that front. I wanted some individual bottles of certain colors, but all they had were sets in spice rack-looking things. Cute...but I didn't want that many and didn't want to spend that much. Anyway, later that night I was looking around on the net 'cause I figured I would just order me some, and I came across the website for Archiver's. Now, I've heard people talk about Archiver's before, and Paul's cousin Krista and I have talked about going to one, but we haven't gotten around to it. I decided to look at their locations in Illinois and was surprised to see one in Algonquin...only 45 minutes away! Yea!! So I started looking at what else was in Algonquin that Paul might be interested in to make the trip worthwhile for him (although he would have taken me there even if there wasn't anything in it for him). I thought food is always good, so I looked up their restaurants and came across one that sounded pretty interesting...Cheeseburger In Paradise. Turns out it's a Jimmy Buffet-owned chain. How cool is that!! Now, I know ya'll know the song...

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato,
Heinz Fifty-seven and French fried potatoes.
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer.
Well, good God Almighty, which way do I steer
For my cheeseburger in paradise."

Paul thought it sounded like a great idea, so we headed out at about noon and stopped for lunch there first. It was a very cool restaurant with live music and yummy food. We ordered the four Mini Cheeseburgers as an appetizer 'cause we thought we couldn't go to Cheeseburger in Paradise and not have a cheeseburger, but yet we wanted to try other things too! They were so cute on a little bun with a pickle and some onion...and they were just as yummy as they were cute! Then...we usually don't do this, but they're famous for their frou-frou drinks, so we had to try one. We got a double "Cheeseburger In Paradise Cocktail" (what else?). Take a look at this ---->
Look at the strawberry with the sunglasses!! HA! Apparently that's Penelope! In the drink menu thingie, it says, "Take home the sunglasses and feel free to eat Penelope's head. " LOL! It was a very good drink, by the way...a little sweet for me, but it wouldn't be frou-frou if it wasn't sweet, now would it?! For lunch I ordered the jerk chicken wrap and Paul ordered the pulled pork sandwich. Yum!! All in all, it was a very pleasant experience. The live music was a guy on an acoustic singing a mix of different stuff. He actually played a few of Paul's absolute favorite songs in a row...and we didn't even make any requests! I think my brother would get a kick out of this place (hint, hint-'cause I know you're reading this...we just kept saying "We wish Barry and Lisa were here!).

Anyway, as it turned out, Archiver's was in the same shopping center, so we were able to walk to it from where we parked...and burn off some of the calories from this massive drink! Awesome store!! (Now Lisa is telling Barry that we definitely must go!) I'm so jealous that we don't have one here, but Paul says he'll take me there anytime I want to go (hmmmm...I wonder what Krista is doing next weekend)! I was able to find some Primas that I love and as a bonus got myself some of the new Basic Gray paper and some Stickles! Yea for me! I can't wait to play. I was tired when we got home and wound up falling asleep and sleeping too long, so I didn't get a chance to play today...and I have to get get up and go to work tomorrow (boo-hoo...you know, sometimes that work stuff just gets in the way of play time...of course, if I didn't work, I couldn't afford to play, so let's just call it even!)

Talk to ya all later!

***IMPORTANT*** Pet Food Recall

Oh my gosh! I just saw this on CNN's website. There has been a huge recall of major brands of pet food for causing kidney failure and death. Click here to read the story. The recall is only for wet food..."cuts in gravy"...for both dogs and cats. Thankfully, I don't feed Abby canned food, although I have in the past as a special treat, and the kind I gave her is on the list. She hasn't had any in probably a year though...since her vet clued me into giving her green beans as a treat. Anyway, I just wanted to spread the word! I hope everyone's pet is safe from this!

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Actually I can't say that yet 'cause it's 7 p.m. the night before St. Patty's Day. I think this is the first time I've been early posting. My family is just going to faint right away. Anyway, I've been on a roll, which is unusual, and managed to surround myself with the color green and make some St. Patrick's Day cards. Now keep in mind that I only own one St. Patrick's Day stamp. It's from TAC and simply says "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" How boring is that, right? Sooooo...I had to improvise. I figure I can add some green to just about anything and it will do. I apologize in advance for the bad pictures. I really need a new camera!
How do you like that last one there? It's my favorite! That's one big beer! I didn't have any beer stamps, so I downloaded some free clip art from the net. Hey, whatever works! I'm not going to list supplies here 'cause I'll be uploading these to my SCS gallery tomorrow and will list the supplies there...so check my gallery if you need to know the technicals.

You know...even though I have quite a bit of Irish in me, I don't really like St. Patrick's Day. I'm not a big fan of the color green and leprechauns freak me out! However, you will definitely find me wearing green tomorrow because I definitely don't like being pinched!

Have a great night, and a great tomorrow. Enjoy your corn beef and cabbage. Until tomorrow I leave you with the most famous Irish blessing of all...(ya gotta love those Irish blessings)...

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you
In the palm of his hand.

Look what I got in the mail today! I received this gorgeous card as an RAK from Joanne (Stamps4Sanity on SCS). She used such beautiful spring colors...which was so refreshing on this cloudy day! She used the Doodle This set from the Stampin' Up Spring Mini. The more I see this set used, the more I really want it!

Anyway, I just wanted to show everyone. Joanne's gallery can be seen here! Check it out...she does beautiful work!

Today was definitely a good mail day!

Chicken Temptation

Since we finally had a nice weekend for a change, Paul thought it would be nice to pull out the grill. He's been itching to do that for a while now, and it was actually warm enough today to let him (if it were up to him, he'd grill all winter long). So off to the store we went. Chicken, steak, or burgers? What sounds good? I said it doesn't matter to me, so he decided on BBQ chicken. We get home and put the groceries away. I head upstairs to go on the 'puter, and he goes about preparing dinner. I can hear him down there getting all his spices together. I heard him go outside and open the garage to pull the grill out. I hear him come back in. The next thing I hear is,

"HONEY! YOU BETTER GET DOWN HERE AND GET YOUR DOG!!!!"

Apparently he left a plate of the chicken on the edge of the table. He came in to find the plate upside down on the kitchen floor and Abby proudly standing over her kill in the living room. Uh-oh. He was under the impression that she knew better. Hmmm. I was under the impression that HE knew better! And why is it when things like this happen she's all of a sudden "my dog."

So, needless to say, Abby had to do a stint in doggie jail today (which is just her regular spot on the stairs behind a gate). I have to say that it was really difficult for me not to laugh at the whole thing. Look at her here----->
She laid down and wouldn't even look at me. We were able to go ahead with dinner...and no...she didn't eat any of it. Paul came in and caught her in time. Thank God! Hopefully he learned his lesson that nice plump pieces of chicken sitting totally within reach is just a little too much temptation for our golden girl.















Look at that face! How could we stay mad at that! She normally doesn't steal things off the table. I only caught her one other time a few years ago with her paws up on the table chowing down on a half stick of butter! Anyway...after running out of propane before we even managed to get the chicken on the grill and Paul having to run up to the gas station to exchange our tank, dinner turned out pretty well! We're having burgers tomorrow night. We'll see how that goes.

On the paper crafting front, I only made one card today, and I'm not really happy with it. I came up here tonight with the intention of making a few, but I'm starting to feel a sore throat coming on. Anyway, here it is. This is my first Bella. The Bellas are all the rage over at SCS right now. They are pretty cute, and I'm really, really tempted to get a couple of them. I haven't taken the plunge and bought any for myself yet. I got this one through a trade. A fellow stamper on SCS offered to trade some stamped images for some dog images that I have that she liked, so I thought that was a perfect opportunity to try before I buy. They all have cute names...this one is Cosmobella. It's not the Bella that I don't like about this card...I think it's the bright colors. The LSC (Limited Supply Challenge) this week on SCS was to use only Stampin' Up Bold Brights. Considering that the only "Bold Brights" I have is "Real Red", that tells me that I don't really like the bright colors. I did have this hot pink cardstock in my pile, so I thought I would just use that instead. I colored it with Prismacolor Pencils and odorless mineral spirits, and I stamped the black dots in the background with the eraser on the end of a pencil. I used a silver gel pen on the buckle if her belt

Is it Spring Yet????

I'm about to do some serious whining here. It's supposed to snow again tomorrow. I don't know how much we're supposed to get...all I know is "flurries." I'm really, really tired of this. I swear, if I don't see my tulips popping up pretty soon, I'm going to go insane.

With that being said, I decided tonight to use my Terrific Tulips set by Stampin' Up just just to make myself feel better.I was inspired after reading Anna Wight's blog (Sassy & Sweet Notes) today after seeing her sunflower picture, so I went digging through my tulip pictures to find my favorite. I just can't wait until these bloom again this year! If you want to see something else cute, check out Anna's blog. She has a baby boom going on on her farm and has some adorable pictures posted!

Just Because!

Look what I got from Paul on Friday "just because." Is that sweet or what! Since I get off work at noon on Fridays, I occasionally meet him for lunch. He wound up leaving work a little early on his way so he could stop at Hallmark and get me this surprise! He thought this little guy would fit right in with our northwoods living room. It's hard to see the detail in the picture, but he's sitting on a log with his head on his paw just thinking. He's a cutie. Oh, and that over to the right is a Trinidad from Fanny May. Yum! The card says, "When I think of you I feel like smiling..." on the outside, and the inside says, "I'm smiling right now." Yes, I know...he's such a sweetie. He's downstairs right now with his cousin Jerry watching the UFC fights on Pay-Per-View. They get together every now and then for that. Krista and I usually scrapbook or stamp during that time, but she's been busy and is pretty tired so we skipped it this time. That's okay 'cause I'm pretty tired myself. I got up pretty early this morning. I think Abby is getting another ear infection. She was shaking her head like crazy this morning, and it kept waking me up. I was up at 4:30 this morning cleaning her ears.

I was planning on either working on some card swaps tonight or starting up a crochet project that I just bought the yarn for this afternoon; however, I've developed a pretty bad headache, so I think I just might go crawl into bed and turn on the TV. I have signed up for three different swaps on SCS, so I need to start working on them. They're not due until April or May, but I would like to get started on them now. One of them is for butterfly cards, one is using everyone's favorite chubby chef, and the other is using "Two Step Stamping" stamps from Stampin' Up. Actually, they're all using Stampin' Up stamps. I'm going to try to get started on the butterfly swap tomorrow. I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do for that one.

Here's a pic of Abby that I took after taking the above pic. She wondered over curious as to what I could be taking a picture of if it wasn't her! She's badly in need of a bath/haircut, but I'm waiting for the weather to warm up a little bit.


Well, I'm off to crawl into bed. Darn headache...I really wanted to stamp tonight!

Oh...before I forget...check out mom's deer cards on Ebay here, here, and here! I was supposed to get these posted a while back, but I had to pick up some batteries for my camera and then I sort of lost track of time (what's new!).

Coincidence or Curse?

I really don't want to go to work tomorrow. I'd rather just stay in bed all day long or hang out and watch TV. But I won't. I'll get up and drag my butt in like I do every weekday. I really need to win the lottery. Of course, it would help if I actually played. I, however, am too cheap to play, so I'll continue to get up and drag my butt into work. I hope this next week is better than last week. I had to many things happen to me that were just "coincidences." I don't know how many times I heard that word last week. I really don't like it when things don't go smoothly. It puts me in a bad mood. To give you an idea of just a couple of "coincidences" I went through last week, I'll tell you the following two stories:

Most of you know, but for those that don't, I work as a medical transcriptionist for a medical school. I basically wear a headset and either type or edit others typing for 6.5 hours a day (after you subtract lunch and breaks). Well, last week my headset broke. I have a nice headset that I bought myself that is made of aluminum and produces a crisp, clear sound. I depend on this headset to continue working in order to do my job. Well, it up and died last week. Actually, at first I didn't know that it was my headset. I notified my boss and then borrowed an absent coworkers headset to see if my headset was the the problem. I couldn't hear anything with her headset either. Ah-ha...then it must be the transcriber. My boss hooked me up with a new transcriber. Nope...still wouldn't work with either headset. My boss then dug out another headset for me to use. Nope...still couldn't hear anything. What the heck??! Maybe it's the foot pedal, so we switch that out...still can't hear anything. Is my power source going bad? My boss is under my desk moving around the power source...I'm sitting in my chair trying all three headsets and I still have no sound whatsoever. By this time, we think my cubicle must be cursed and I'm about to give in and go home for the day. Then here comes another coworker with her headset. Hers works fine. As it turns out...my headset died, the headset I originally borrowed was on the brink of dying and I sent it over the edge, and the headset that my boss found for me had a short in it and only worked if you hold the wire a certain way and type with one hand! How can it be possible that I can go through three headsets in the course of half an hour. Coincidence, huh?

THEN...the next day I go pick up my car from the body shop after my run-in with the deer. What was supposed to take three days ended up taking a week and a half. So I go take a look at the outside, pay my deductible, lock the car, and go pick up Paul from work so we can get my car home. Later I'm driving my car home and notice that there is no power whatsoever to my radio/clock or interior lights. Hmmm....that's weird. The body shop is closed, so I have to wait until the next day to take it back. The next day I got to explain to them the situation while they're staring back at my like I'm crazy and nothing that they did could have possibly caused me to lose power to my radio. Well...it was fine when I dropped it off...that's all I know. After monkeying around with it for almost 45 minutes, they come to the conclusion that by "coincidence" a fuse blew while my car was there. They went ahead and fixed it for me. Then...as I start to drive home home, irritated that it took them almost 45 minutes to figure that out, my "Check Engine" light comes on. What the heck??!! ?/@#$#@

I'm thinking my brother and his clan would call this grizzing. I would say that is some serious grizzing! I really don't want to leave the house tomorrow. I'm soooo sick of this weather, it's cold and snowy/rainy, and I just want to stay home!

A-n-y-w-a-y...now that I've bored you with all that, here are a few cards I did lately. I had to do a couple today for my RAK Welcoming Committee assignment. The first one is following last weeks SCS Sketch Challenge. The first three cards are about all I did this weekend 'cause my back was right on the verge of going out.

Sketch:







My Card:

Whew! What a relief!

So I'm at work today and at about 3:45 I get an email from Paul titled "Car Problems!!" He started out by saying that it's probably bad timing but that at lunch today his car wasn't working. My reply to that was "You've got to be kidding me?!?!" Yeah, bad timing...you can say that again. I have an appointment to take my car in Tuesday for repairs from my run in with the deer, and they need to keep it for three days! If he doesn't get his fixed ASAP, that would leave us with no car! He didn't know what the problem was...thought it might be the fuel pump. I'm telling him to call the repair shop ASAP and have it towed, blah, blah, blah. Thank God it's payday! I swear, if it's not one thing, it's another! Then...fast forward to the next email about 20 minutes later. Turns out the gas gauge is stuck, and he's just out of gas! What a relief that was! I had to stop on my way home and buy myself a couple of new stamps to celebrate, and I came home with this little lady...

Hee hee hee. Isn't she somethin' else?! I can totally relate to her! Of course, I think she's a little past the PMS stage, but I couldn't resist that saying!

Furry Friend

I found this super cute ribbon at Hobby Lobby the other day for 50% off and couldn't wait to use it! I just love this stamp and think this ribbon is a perfect complement. Of course, then I had to pick up some pink/brown paper to go with it. I never was one for brown, but it's starting to grow on me as I get older. I've even started buying some clothes in brown. With my brown hair and brown eyes, when I wear brown I feel like I look like a Hershey bar, but I'm getting over that. Anyway, getting back to the card, I need to doodle on my cards more often. I mulled forever over the white space behind the dog (thanks a lot, mom). A lot of ladies on SCS are adding doodling to their cards, and I'll be darn if it doesn't make a difference...it adds that little bit of something that's missing.


PS - Hey mom, that oval cutter works great! It's super quick and easy!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

It is freakin' cold out there! I just checked the temp., and it's a big fat zero with the wind chill being 21 below! We've got a big pot of chili in the crockpot to eat while we watch the big game! It is PERFECT chili weather. I have to go 'cause the came is just about to start...I hear the National Anthem now...but I just wanted to post my card for the SCS Sketch Challenge.

Here is the sketch...

Here's my card...

The flowers are a little much, huh? This is the first time I've used my my Groovy set from CTMH! I've been wanting to use it for a while now. Just so you know...in real life the flowers on the white strip are peach, not pink. I hate my scanner!

....and the home of the brave....Gotta go now! Go team, go!

Oh, Deer

Well, I sure had quite the experience last night. Something that I don't want to ever repeat again. It happened at about 7:30 p.m. Paul was supposed to pick up a pizza on his way home from work, but he called me to see if I wanted to meet him at a bar/restaurant by where he works and play some darts, so I swung by home and let Abby out real quick and then headed out there. We played some darts with a friend of his, his ex-boss actually, (the first game of which I very victoriously won!) and feasted on a very tasty bacon cheeseburger basket. After a couple more games of darts (which I lost, but not too bad) we were waiting for the check and I decided to take off and head home because I figured Abby was getting pretty hungry. As I'm driving down the road, I remember thinking about what the speed limit was and glancing down at my speedometer. I was doing about 40 in a 45. A car passed by heading the other direction. I glanced in the rear-view mirror for just a second, and when I looked back, there was Bambi's dad in my passenger-side headlight only a couple of feet in front of my car...a big ol' live deer. I sucked in my breath, gripped the steering wheel, and braked. I didn't try to swerve. I remember thinking in that split second that I had no other choice but to hit it. It was the weirdest thing. It was like time stood still. With both the car and the deer moving, it was more toward the driver's side when it hit. It rolled up on its side on the hood then off to the side and just kept going and so did I. I couldn't believe what had just happened. To me it felt no more than going over a big pot hole. I then pulled over and sat there for a second. I could see that my hood was buckled up a little bit, and I thought for sure my headlight(s) would be smashed to pieces. I called Paul and told him what happened...freaking out of course. At this point I think I was more concerned about the deer than myself! He said he would be right there, but I wanted to get home, so I continued driving. He was in the process of paying, so he called me back when he got to his car and convinced me to pull over and wait for him, so I pulled off on a side street and waited. When he got there, I got out and we looked at the car. The hood is dented, the headlight is loose, and the fender over the driver's side tire is pushed back a little so it's hard to open the door. That's it! I am in awe, and thank God, that there wasn't more damage than that and that I wasn't hurt by it coming through the windshield or something. I just can't believe it. Paul said he didn't see the deer on the side of the road when he went by (and he didn't see it this morning either), so he thinks it just continued running. He said those big bucks are tough! I guess so! Holy cow...or deer!!

I've never, ever hit an animal before. I'm still having a hard time getting over that. I didn't call the police because the deer kept going and I wasn't hurt. I talked to our insurance company today and am now just waiting to hear from the auto body shop. We have a $250 deductible for comprehensive, so that big dumb deer owes me some money!

Here's a picture of the hood (ignore the dirt, please...it is wintertime). It's really hard to see on camera because of the metallic paint, but you can kind of see where he rolled on the hood. You can really tell out in the sunlight. Can you believe there isn't more damage than this?!

Update

This is just a quick update to let those of you who don't know that I did receive a call yesterday from the Sleep Center to come in for another sleep study. They're booked until March 29th! There must be a lot of people who can't sleep in this town, because they do sleep studies seven nights a week! Anyway, I went ahead and scheduled it. They're supposed to be sending me a packet in the mail with all the information, but I've done this before, so I pretty much know the routine. I'm on the list in case there is a cancellation to be moved up earlier. I'll keep you all informed.

On a lighter note, I received the following card from Kim (aka on SCS as "Mama Kim") as an RAK in the mail today in among the bills...all the way from sunny Southern California! It's such a cute layout. In case it's hard to tell in the scan, it's a latch card...the blue bar is through a hole in the burgundy. Great use of Stampin' Up's "In Colors!" It was a nice surprise!

Oh, I also wanted to post this card that I made as a thank you for mom. I couldn't post it before because she hadn't received it yet. She gave me the "Cool Caribbean" ink and paper plus the "Summer By The Sea" stamp set for Christmas, so I thought I would do a card for her combining the two. "Summer By The Sea" is a fun set to watercolor; however, the watercoloring doesn't show up very well in the scan. I don't have any seashells by Stampin Up, so I had to turn to CTMH for those (set called Seashells by the Seashore).

And of course, I can't sign out without first giving a shout out to my big bro Barry who's 50th birthday (hee hee) was today! Eat a piece of that yummy rootbeer cheesecake for me! I was going to post a picture of him in those flashy gold pants for the world to see, but I figured I might not live to see my 50th birthday if I did! So...instead I post the next best thing...

Happy 50th Birthday, Bro! Hope it was a good one!

I did another card last night. This one is a sad one. Paul's great-aunt Evelyn passed away on January 7th. The funeral was last Monday. We didn't go, as it was in Southern Illinois. She was Paul's maternal grandma's brother's wife. Her husband passed away earlier last year after a long battle with Alzheimer's. I didn't know him too well because they didn't live here and he was already starting to slip into the Alzheimer's when Paul and I got together. They both made the trip up here for our wedding, though. We were both really fond of Evelyn, and the news of her death came as somewhat of a shock. She was a really neat lady. She was always so kind to me and made me feel like a part of the family. One thing I'll always remember about Evelyn is her huge love of family history. She did a lot of genealogy research regarding her husband's family. The last real conversation I had with her was after Paul's grandma's funeral back in 2005 when she showed me all of the pictures they had gathered for the funeral and explained to me in detail who every single person was. Even though we didn't see her very often, we'll definitely miss her.

Anyway, I made this card for her daughter just to let her know we're thinking about her. Both Evelyn and John lived with Cinda, who cared for them both while working a full-time job. I have a lot of respect for her.

I made this card using a stamp set currently borrowed from mom. It's all Stampin' Up supplies. The stamp sets are Blossoms Abound, Sincere Salutations, and the Canvas background. The colors are Mellow Moss, Lavender Lace, Lovely Lilac, and Whisper White. I wanted to go simple with this one...nothing fancy. It took me a few tries to line things up right because it's a Two-Step Stampin' set, but I kind of like the way it turned out.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Hi all. Let me start out apologizing for being totally absent over the holidays. You know how it is. I really have no excuse, though, because I took a lot of time off over the holidays and, in essence, had plenty of time to blog. I'm bowing my head now in shame. I even had today off (thank you Dr. King!) and look...it takes me until 10:30 at night to sit down here and reconnect with you all.

My excuse plain and simple is that I'm tired. Dog tired (whatever that means...is that even an expression??). Here's the story...I had an appointment with my primary care physician on Friday afternoon just to establish at her new clinic and get a refill on standard meds. Well...I talked to her a lot about my tiredness, and she really, really, really wants me to go back to the sleep specialist. My sleep is getting worse...I know it...Paul knows it...and now she knows it, and I'm afraid it's time I do something about it. It's starting to affect my life because I'm just too darn tired to do anything. As some of you know, two years ago or so I went to a sleep specialist. They recommended an overnight sleep study, which I wasn't too happy about doing, but I did it anyway. At that time, I was so tired at work that I could hardly keep my eyes open. During the sleep study, they discovered that I have nocturnal hypoxia. They said it wasn't apnea because I don't totally stop breathing, but my oxygen saturation falls way low. That plus I snore. I hate to admit it, but I'm saying it now...I snore. I snore and my breathing drops so much that on the night of the sleep study I woke myself up an average of 417 times per hour. Hmmm...I wonder why I'm so tired? Maybe it's because I never sleep!! I always thought it was weird because I dream...a lot. I can wake up from a dream and go back to sleep and remember it. The sleep technician even told me the morning after my study that I dream a lot...my mind is always active. I thought that you only dream in the deepest stage of sleep. By doing some research lately I find that this is not necessarily true. Taking this into consideration, you can begin to understand one reason I'm so tired. By the time I wake up, my brain doesn't even know it has already been to bed! Complicated, huh? Anyway, so she's sending me back for a sleep study. They recommended last time that I go on CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). At that point, I never returned. See...I have this thing about things being over my face. I guess it's kind of a claustrophobia. I can't pull the blanket up over my head...I can't wear a scarf over my face...etc. I can't even where turtlenecks because they touch my neck. I just feel like I can't breathe. So imagine how I would feel wearing a mask over my face to sleep. It has come to the point now, though, where I have to do something. I can't go on this way.

Anyway, my doctor didn't know if I'll have to do the sleep study all over again since it has been a couple of years, or if they will go right into fitting me for the CPAP. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm not highly fond of the sleep doctor...he's a strange little man...but my doctor assures me that he is highly qualified and the best in town. She know's what I mean...she herself described him as "one of those skinny little men who just doesn't get it." Ha, ha. I really have to only see him for the initial consultation anyway...the sleep techs do all the rest. I'm just soooo not looking forward to this.

So...that's that. What an excuse, huh? Do you all forgive me? The good news is that while I had these three days off and since it snowed half of yesterday and all day today, I did manage to find time between naps to make a few cards. Here a few of them...as you can tell I was on a green kick. Stampin' Up has a color that I love called Certainly Celery. For some reasons, it one of my favorites right now. Sorry for the crooked scans!

Mom and I picked up this little dude
at the local stamp store on Friday.

Look at that face!I just love this guy! He's my newest set from Stampin' Up!

That's all for now. I promise I'll be on here more often and even share with you my adventures at the sleep lab.