AMERICA, YES, WE CAN!!!!!!

And we did!!!

I am so proud to be an American today... a part of a great nation who has just turned a new page in history... and I am honored to call Barack Obama my President!

I'll be back to say more later!

I've been a bad, bad blogger!

My life has been fairly eventful these days...

I've had a couple of (near) major issues, including some question about my health, some issues with my older dd at school, and the need for me to transition to full time work.

First the health issues. I have experienced weird symptoms including vertigo spells, paresthesias, and minor coordination issues. This has been ongoing and cyclical in nature for quite some time. I will have a few months that I feel OK, only to have the symptoms return. I finally convinced my doctor that I needed further testing. It turns out that I have a brain cyst which may predispose me to having vestibular migraines. Now, I've had this since I was born... it's just the nature of the thing... and my brain has formed "normally" to accomodate this void in the back of my head. It's actually kind of interesting to look at my MRI images. It was going to take a while to get in to see a neurologist, but, lucky for me, I work with MCV physicians. I got to see one of the top neurosurgeons in the region, and she thinks surgery would not help me. (WHEW!!! I wasn't in the mood for brain surgery, anyway! LOL!!!) My next step is to see a migraine specialist and get a second opinion from another ENT (I saw one in January.) Anyway, my biggest fear was that I had MS, and the MRI definitively answered that question for me as a no!

Second, the school issues. My child is bored in school. Her best friends are in higher grades than she is. She gets 100% on all of her tests. She reads at a 3rd grade reading level in 1st grade. She is in a mixed level class, and I was concerned that she was not being challenged enough. I met with her teacher and made what I hope is a good start in assuring that a few things change to meet her needs. The most important one is that she be allowed to check out books at a higher reading level than 1st grade! The librarian at her school wouldn't allow it, so I asked her teacher to change that. Now my dd can check out any book she wants! Yay! We have another conference scheduled for the middle of November.

Third, I had to go back to work full time. My dh's benefits expired since he lost his job. He is employed doing contract work, but that is without benefits. Clearly the job market for health professionals is better than it is for financial professionals! (go figure!). So, now I work longer hours with less pay, but at least we have health benefits... and for the first time in 6 years I will have paid vacations!

Lastly, I have some pages I did for Scraplovers this month using papers from Scenic Route and chipboard words from Maya Road. Thanks for reading if you have gotten this far, and take care!

More September Reveals for Scraplovers!

Just under the wire, I might add!!!! More with the wonderful Hometown collection from October Afternoon. I just love these papers! So much fun! I also used colored cardstock from Die Cuts with a View. I really love its white core! So much fun to distress! :)

We have visitors....

Visitors of the smelly kind! We knew we had skunks... we have smelled it every now and then, but we just assumed the critter responsible for destroying the trash on occasion was a raccoon! But my dh found this little guy in the trash this morning! The critter was scared to death and raised his tail to spray my dh, but didn't! So he called me outside so I could take some pics... this was with camera dangling over the trash can just praying that I had it centered! LOL!!!

Happy Birhday to me! (and some projects!)

First off, I want to thank the Coconut Scrapshop for having me on as a GDT this month! I just received the wonderful kit featuring Mollie and Mac papers created by Tabitha Jones, and created this page last night!



I also created some projects with the Homestown line from October Afternoon for Scraplovers!







I also used a stamp set from Inque Boutique for the mini album! You can see the full album in the Scraplovers gallery!

And, yes, I am 34 today.

7 years.

Can you believe it's been that long since that awful event? I can't. But this is the first year that I have actually felt OK on this day. The pain of those memories is now just a fabric of my being, not something I play out all over again as in years past. Does this mean I'm healing? I hope so. Does this mean I will forget? Never.

I hope you all are doing OK today as well.

I am in so much trouble!

That's right... our Whole Foods Market just opened on September 3rd. It is AMAZING! I went yesterday AND today. I'm such a dork! The reason I went today was to buy a beautiful orchid for $12.99. I told my dh about these, and he asked me why I didn't buy one! I also bought a case of organic lemonade for less than $12!

The reason why I'm in so much trouble? It's literally right on my way home from work. They even have a wine bar inside! LOL!!! So, when my coworkers asked me where they could take me for my birthday next week, this is where I chose! (tee hee!) I can't wait!

It's official...

I am the mother of a first grader! I took this photo over the weekend. I am having the most difficult time with lighting these days. In my old house, I knew where all the sweet spots were and the best times of day to get them, but I'm going to have to figure that out all over again!

I'm so sad.

One of my favorite patients died on Saturday.

In my line of work and working in a nursing home, death often becomes simply another part of life, and at times, a blessed end to pain and suffering. In fact, it is not uncommon for rehab professionals to be among the ones patients choose to tell that they are ready to leave this earth, and for us to advocate for them to let their desires be known and discussed with the rest of the medical team and their family. It's just a part of helping them maintain as much dignity as possible in their final stages of life.

But this particular patient... this one I was not expecting. I saw her on Thursday, and I literally gasped when I entered the room. She looked terrible. And she knew something was gravely wrong. A quick discussion with nursing sparked a call to her doctor, and she was off to the hospital. She passed away on Saturday.

She was one of the first patients I had ever worked with at the home. She had not walked for a while, and I found a way for her to comfortably and confidently do so with assistance, and that was her main exercise for the 5 years I have worked there. She had pain that kept her up at night. I provided the modalities to relieve her neuropathy. I always made a point of speaking to her every time I saw her in passing, and I considered her one of my many friends at the home. I only wish I had the chance to say goodbye.

I will miss her terribly.

A Tutorial!

Here's a technique I developed a while ago and have used several times since: creating shapes with ribbon and/or fibers. The key to its success? Strano Ribbon Stiff.

To create a ribbon heart, you will need the following supplies:
pins, Ribbon Stiff, ribbon, and a foam block (the one used here is from some decorative brad packaging)



Next, you will cut your ribbon to the desired length (practice making the rough shape first), and coat it with the ribbon stiff. A foam brush helps!




Once this is done, pin your ribbon down at the dip in the heart (fold the ribbon in half at an angle and pin).



Next, shape your ribbon into a heart, then pin at the bottom.



Now let your heart dry, then use it in your next project!



Enjoy!

Points to ponder...

Why does our "family friendly" radio station play the full version of Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville" yet choose to block out the phrase "I like a good beer buzz early in the morning" from "All I wanna do is have some fun" by Sheryl Crow?

Why can Spongebob Squarepants and his buddy Patrick live under the sea, yet can't swim?

Does the sun yawn? (this last one a question from my younger dd! lol!!!)

Just a few of my younger dd...

What can I say? The girl just loves all things creepy and crawly... and dh wants to try again for a boy? LOL!!! What more could he ask for? :)

More projects!

These are again using the Cosmo Cricket Haunted line. I also did a fun technique with fibers on the layout on Kraft paper! I'll share soon on the blog, but it's up on Scraplovers as the Technique Thursday for today!

And in other scrappy news.... I just got an e-mail from Scrapbook Trends requesting a page for its January 2009 issue! Yay!

August Scraplovers Reveal Time!

I got to play with the super cute "Haunted" line by Cosmo Cricket! These background papers are by Basic Grey. They don't lend themselves well to our "dog days of summer" theme, but, hey, at least I finally got to scrap the photo of the bat!!! LOL!!!

Photo shoot!

OK, so I am by no means on the same level as my dear friends Tisha or Stephanie, but another good friend of mine was expecting, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph her! Her little girl is adorable, too!

She had her baby girl last week, and I can't wait to take pics of her, too!

More July Projects!

More projects for Scraplovers! This time I'm using papers from October Afternoon! Love, love, love these papers... the colors are perfectly bright, almost retro inspired!

I am having fun with a new technique. I love both sides of most double sided paper, and it seems a shame to hide the other side on a page. So I've taken to rolling the edges sometimes, and I really like the depth it adds to my pages!

Sorry for the yellow cast to these photos. Even with my white balance set correctly AND color correcting in Photoshop, they still kept a bit of yellow!

July Scraplovers projects!

Just a couple of pages using the Making Memories Passport line! I really love its versatility! I created a very somber page about 9-11 with a photo that I rediscovered when looking through some very old pictures. I have held on to this photo for what seems like forever...

Then I was inspired to create a baby page because of the "fragile" stamp on the paper! I love this paper line!

Yay!

I won the Coconut Showdown over at Coconut Scrapbooks! There were some amazing projects created by everyone, and I'm so honored to have been chosen!

On another note, I was listening to NPR this afternoon and heard this story about a new book, and decided that I may just have to buy it! (tee hee!)

New projects!

These are pages I have done for a contest over at Coconut Scrapbooks! These ladies came up with some darn creative challenges!

Second June reveal!

The first page features Cosmo Cricket and Maya Road.

In the second page I used the Maya Road overlay as a mask with a bit of glimmer mist to create my patterned paper. I used a flourish foam stamp by Plaid as well as some jeaneology iron-on paislies. Letter stickers by American Crafts, fabric flowers by Technique Tuesday, and buttons by Autumn Leaves.

My second reveal of the month for Scraplovers!

Yay!

Just a little toot... but so fun! I wandered over to the Piggy Tales blog today to see some sneak peeks, and found out that I was an honorable mention in their Earth Day photo contest! You can see all the HM's photos here.

Mine is the one of the pink Yorktown onion flower!

Just a few things....

Just a consolidated collection of things I've created with Cosmo Cricket papers(just in case anyone is looking! lol!!!)

June Reveal!

We have some fabulous papers from Cosmo Cricket to work with this month at Scraplovers! I love this bright and cheerful Hello Sunshine collection! Letter stamps are from Tin Box Creations!

So Merry!

Just a little page for the team at Tin Box Creations! All stamps by them from the Empty Upper Alpha, Styl'n Around, and Totally Unique sets. The white background snowflakes are made using the chandelier stamp from the Totally Unique set. The stickers are from Doodlebug (thanks to Scrapbook Trends!).

If you are looking for a guest DT spot, head on over to Scraplovers where we are having a GDT contest! Details here.

Nightmares!

I have been having lots of dreams with a recurring theme...

Now, those of you who know me well know that I have crazy dreams (that sometimes come true!). And lately I have had some fleeting thoughts about going back to school. So guess what my dreams have been about?

Yes, I am sitting in a classroom taking a class from high school (again) because they decided I didn't do well enough the first time (and I am protesting the authorities because I now have an MS!!! LOL!!!!)

Or I remember going to this math class in the beginning of the semester, and now I can't remember going the rest of the time... and how am I going to perform on that big exam for that class I forgot to go to? LOL!!!!

I always wake up in a cold sweat!

So why these fleeting thoughts of going back to school? Well, I never had the guts to go to med school, but now I find myself frustrated by the system. Doing the job that I do as a PT, I often spend more time with my patients than any nurse or doctor. Sometimes I get results when I go to them to tell them something is wrong with my patient, and other times it takes a few days for them to see what I see.

So in my frustration, I have been thinking of ways to beat the system. I am soooooo tired of hearing families tell me that they have taken their loved ones to the doctor for a "chronic" condition only to be told they are just old. HELLLOOOOOO! Even a 90 year old may live another 10 years! What happened to quality of life? Isn't that what we are all working to maintain in the geriatric population?

My fleeting thought is to go back to school to be a physician's assistant. I would specialize in geriatrics. Now all I need is time, energy, and money to do it! LOL!!!

At least for a bit of time I have been thinking like an idealistic twenty-something again! :)

YES WE CAN!!!

And if you are on the same page as me, that's all I need to say!

Finally.... some new projects!

These are my March projects for Scraplovers! Also used a bit of Tin Box on some of these!!!