Happy Father's Day, Denny!

This is the book I made for Denny using my Pazzles. There are tons of mistakes, as I'm still learning, but all in all, I love how it turned out! It's a journey of our life together. Starting from when we met, until last Christmas. I didn't have enough room for every event in our life, but I have a good sampling. I've left room to write something personal to him in the back of the book. The papers I used are the new travel papers from Crate. They were perfect for this!

I'm going to be MIA for a week or two. We're heading up to IA for a little R&R. We're taking the girls with us. I think everyone is ready to get out of town for a bit! lol So I'll let you know when I get back home! :)

Ouch!

I've had something going on with my foot for a while now, and decided to finally do something about. I had an x-ray done at my reg. dr., but she said it wasn't a bone spur like she thought it was. She said it was just arthritis. So after 2 weeks of doing exercises and it not getting any better, I had her refer me to a pediatrist, and went there today. I've got a feeling he thinks it is a bone spur. He questioned me and I told him what the dr. told me, and he just kind of had that look on his face. But he said we were going to assume it's as they said and treat it as such. He had me up my anti-inflamatory, gave me a cortizone shot--it hurt, but not as bad as I thought it would. I'd do it again! So I go back in July and if it's not any better, he'll take an x-ray and go from there. Not sure what his next step is, tho. Guess I'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, it's the same old thing--watch what I eat to get my blood sugar back on track, try to lose some weight--I've been trying for 54 years now! lol--and excercise--which I've been avoiding for the same 54 years! lol

Here's a pic of the card I made for Katie's birthday. This is the last one for awhile. I will have a project to share soon, tho. I'm making Denny a father's gift. You've seen the "word" books--love--family--baby...etc., right? Well, his book will be his name. I've got to go through the albums and dig up some pics. With all that I've spent on scrapbooking stuff, I guess he deserves to have something just for him!

Happy Birthday, Pamela!

No, not me again--my sister in law, Pamela! lol Her birthday is 4 days after mine. We've got other similarities, too. Her middle name is Jean, mine is Joy. I'm married to her brother Dennis (Denny), and she was married to a Dennis. It got confusing when we'd all get together! lol But today is her day, and Denny wanted me to make her a card with my Pazzles, so here it is. Ta da! :) I used the Wild Saffron line by K&Co. I just love these papers! So, enjoy, Pamela, and Happy Birthday! :)

We took Mom and Katie and Jacob to see the new Indiana Jones flick. It was pretty good. Kelsea was with a friend, so she didn't come with us. After the movie, we took the kids home, and as we were leaving their house, my phone rang. It was Kels. She said--guess what I just got done doing? Seeing the new Indiana Jones movie! lol How's that for being on the same page?! lol

My Birthday--Still

These are my babies, Ryan and Libby! This was taken on my birthday. I don't how long it's been since I've had a pic of just the 3 of us. I'm fortunate and blessed to have them. They're good kids. Love you guys!

Jacob had his first baseball game of the season tonight. Denny and I went for a while after he got off work. We stayed for about an hour, but it was so friggin' hot, we left before the game was over. I'll have to call Lib tomorrow and see how it went. We got to watch Jacob bat once, and he was between 2nd and 3rd--is that right???--twice. They were 2-3 kids short of having 2 teams, so it took awhile for everyone to get a turn. I got a couple of pics of him--through the fence! lol Then my battery went dead! We'll go again and get some more pics. And I'll be sure the battery is charged up!

For my birthday, Denny got me an awsome little camera for me to carry in my purse. A Sony Cybershot. He got me my Fuji Fine Pix for Christmas, which is a great camera, too, but it's too big to carry around. I find with this little, since I have it on me all the time, I'm taking more pics. But the battery for it is outrageous--$50, which is why I haven't bought a spare. Naturally, it wouldn't take rechargeable AA's! lol But I will say, the battery does last a long time. I've had it since May, as an early gift, and I use it all the time, and today is the first time I've had to recharge it. I thought the battery would have run down long before today, tho, because Dakota will sit forever just looking at pics--of her! She's such a little ham! lol

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me! :) It was a great day! It started off with a beautiful card from Denny. He always finds the most beautiful cards with beautiful sentiments. Then he writes something absolutely lovely in them. Then he said for me to decide what I wanted to do today. I took it pretty easy on him and said I wanted to go to Jonesboro (AR). So we headed down there. We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. I could eat Mexican every day, I think! lol Then we stopped at Sam's, then off to the lss where they were having a 40% off sale! I only got a few pieces of paper, some felt ribbon, and big chipboard initial. But I like what I got! Then we made a bee line home. We had called the kids and Mom earlier to see if they wanted to come over for a cookout. We just grilled hotdogs, bought some potato salad and chips and called that dinner! And Mom made me her famous Carrot Cake. It's my favorite! It was great for us all to get together. And this is this year's photo of me and my grandkids. They've all grown so much. Katie just turned 15 on May 31st--Kelsea is 13--Jacob is 10--and little Dakota was 2 in March. I love my family! I'm so truely blessed!

Small Town Living

Geez, this has been the week for it! We had to take the car back in--for the 3rd time since May--for brakes! Something's going on they're not catching or more likely than not, there's something they're not doing right. They did get them fixed, tho. I think they had to put new rotors on or something, I don't know. But whatever it was, it should have been done the 2nd time they had it. We got the car back, but I don't even know if we're going to be charged or not. They still haven't gotten back to us--and that's been since Wed.! They said they'd call, so here we wait....

Then, Denny bought a new Sears lawn mower, but the headlights didn't work. They came out and fixed it, and we thought it was a done deal. But the next day they brought us a brand new mower! I didn't even ask why. But get this....last Sun. Denny fires it up for the first time, and has all kinds of problems. He gets the lawn mowed, eventually, but by the time all was said and done, the mower wouldn't stay running. So they again, bring us a new mower. He hasn't tried it yet, so not sure if it's ok, but....they still haven't picked up the broken mower they exchanged on Wed.! It's still sitting in the yard!

So now comes my new SUV. Every so often a bell would ring, but there was no message. A couple of times the battery icon blinked real fast, but that was it. We had them check it, but of course, they said they couldn't find anything....unless they could check it at the time it happened. Well, it all came to a focus today. The bell ran, the battery icon stayed on and the message center said "check charging system"! So I took it in, and it's the alternator! They can't get one til Monday, and they said my car probably wouldn't last the weekend. So I'm freaking (in my mind. I have crop tomorrow!), and they tell me they'll give me a loaner til mine gets fixed! There are advantages to living in small town! :)

Class Project for May

I decided to do a clipboard for our May class. These are by Melissa Frances, and the papers are some of the new Crate Papers. We have a lot of new scrappers in our area. Ladies that haven't done much of anything, scrap wise. So with this, they'll be able to punch their lace ribbon, and stamp. It's hard to see, but there is some bling on the stamped image. OH! And the stamp I used is one I got from Shar's SU partly! These are so nice! They glide so easily, and the ink is fabulous! Tho it's not a complicated project, it's a fun project, and that's what the ladies down here are wanting. One of the other teachers teaches the hard stuff. And it can get frustrating. I know, because I've been to a few of those classes. While the project usually turns out nice, getting there was a battle. I want my classes to be fun, and unstressful. I've achieved it with this piece, I think. We'll find out come class time! lol

30 Days Beyond!

Don't ask me what I do that I'm too busy to blog. I have no idea! I stay busy, it seems, yet I get nothing accomplished. I wish I were one of those people that get a lot out my day. Denny is one of those lucky people! He can work circles around me--he always has. I sit and THINK about what I want to do, and he DOES what he wants to do. Oh, well. That's just me, I guess. It's like someone told me once, that I wait til the last minute and 30 days beyond! :)

So what's been going on? Well, I've been teaching classes at the scrapbook store. I've done 2 already. My next one is May 31. I'm doing a clipboard for the next class. I have it all done--I just need to put my name on it. I'll post it when it's all done. It turned out pretty cute, if I say so myself! My classes are the last Sat. of the month. Sue teaches a class the 2nd Sat., and Heather kind of fills in inbetween. Patti, the lss owner, has been asking me for over a year to teach, and I just kept turning her down. I did finally join her design team. I guess the next logical step was to teach. I finally said yes, and I love it! I'm not as adaptable as I used to be--afraid of the unknown. I knew they wouldn't bite me or anything! lol But I just didn't know if I would do a good enough job. But it's working out ok. No one's complained about me yet, that I know of! lol

See what I got? I love it! We've usually had one good car and one beater, that Denny usually drove to work. Well, since we've been down here in MO, we've had an OK car, and a beater. The beater finally got laid to rest, and the OK car was updated to a good car, due to the OK car going belly up on us! lol So we've just had the one good car. I don't go much during the day, so having one car was usually no big deal. If I needed one, Mom was always good enough to let me use hers. But I decided I didn't want to be stuck home all summer again with no car. I usually have Libby's kids at least part time, and I want to be able to do stuff with Brandi this year. So we decided we were going to get Denny a truck. Then we saw the SUV! We both fell in love with it! When I went to talk to someone about it, it was gone! So I looked at what was on the lot, and told the guy I'd come back in with Denny on Wed. Then the most amazing thing happened--as we were in route to the car lot, the salesman called me and told me the SUV was back! The people couldn't get financing on it and brought it back! It was meant to be! So now we're the proud owners of a beautiful '05 Mercury Mountaineer, that's too expensive to drive! lol So Denny's still driving the car to work, and I can watch the SUV sit in the driveway! lol

This is for you, Z!

I went to a workshop a few weeks ago with Patti, and Sue up near St. Louis. It was a lot of fun, but I was pooped by the time we left! I did 2 classes, and a couple of make and takes, and just got the kits for at least 2 more projects. I just didn't have time to do everything I wanted to! I was really excited over one of the classes--the one taught by Melissa Frances. (This a pic of the 2 of us! If you click on it, you can see it better). I just love her stuff! The first time I had seen any of her work, was on geneology message board. They had used her retro papers for a 50's style layout, which was right up my alley! I've been hooked ever since! She's got some really sweet papers, that are great for baby layouts. But her new line is called Thankful. It's beautiful! She's a breast cancer survivor, and this line is dedicated to her journey. I only got to meet her for a quick moment, but she was so genuinely nice! I had wanted so badly to take her class. But I told Sue to go ahead, since only one of us could take it. This was more her. And after taking the class I did, Sue wouldn't have liked it, 'cause I wasn't nuts about it either! lol But at least I got to meet Melissa and have my picture taken with her!

Snow Day

I know, my eyes are closed! But this was actually the best pic of me. Sad, isn't it? lol But look at the snow! We don't get snow very often down here, and usually not this much when we do! It really looks pretty! They had originally predicted 6-12 inches, then it was 4-6, so who know what it will be when it's all over. But it was enough to call off school in the whole area. Kelsea was going to her friend's house and I think they were going to go sledding. I told her to take pics! lol We live in a very flat area, so hills are hard to come by. But as luck would have it, Kelsea's friend lives up a hill. I had hoped Katie and Jacob could find a place to sled, but I don't think that happened. Poor kids are so deprived. They don't know what sledding's all about! Or playing out in the snow til you're frozen! I remember, tho! That's why I don't venture out in weather like this now unless I have to! lol

Good Bye, Grandma Lena

I'm sure I've posted this picture before. The layout is a direct lift from Brenda Walton. This picture deserved something beautiful and elegant, and I think it was achieved--and fitting for this tribute. It's a picture of my grandma when she was 26. Mamaw passed away yesterday. She would have been 98 years old in August. She lived a long life, and it was just her time to go. Her life really changed after she had her stroke, which is the norm, I guess. But she used to be a lively and very vibrant person. She drove until after her 90th birthday. I think that alone is amazing! At that point, she was slowing down a bit, but she still had her wits about her. Her memory at 90 was better than mine is now! She worked hard all her life. She really struggled when the kids little. They lived in MO and AR and were share croppers in the dirty, dusty delta. They moved to Northern CA for awhile in the 40's to pick fruit. Mom said they lived in the migrants' quarters, and they didn't even have a real floor--just a dirt floor! But Mom said Mamaw's house was always clean. She'd work in the fields or orchards or whatever, come home and prepare meals, go back out and work some more, til it was time for the next meal, all the while keeping up the laundry and cleaning, etc. Mom said Mamaw's white clothes were always the whitest she'd ever seen. I guess Mom will always remember that! :)

When I was 15, I lived with Mamaw for the first semester of my sophmore year. I usually hung around with my aunt, but this one night I didn't tag along with her. I must have been moping around the house, 'cause Mamaw told me to call my 2 friends and tell them we'd pick them up and go for a ride. We went downtown to "drag the gut". I don't know why they called cruising downtown that, but they did. Mamaw got down in the floor board of the backseat, and my 2 friends got up front with me. It looked like I was driving by myself with my friends! My aunt saw us and freaked! She probably thought I had stolen the car, since all I had was just a permit! Mamaw was in the floor board just laughing like crazy! lol Then we had a hard time getting her out of there, which just added to the fun!

I love you, Mamaw, and I'll miss you.

She's Electrifying!

Check out her hair! lol (Click on the pic). Dakota and Grandpa were playing one night, and she was being a little ornery, to be honest! lol I just happened to snap this one off as she was hugging him as hard as she could. Notice the choke hold? lol

We're in for bad weather again tonight. I hate this ice stuff! We dodged a bullet with the last storm a couple of weeks ago, but i don't know if we're going to be so lucky this time. We have a huge tree out front--right in front of my studio! So I'll be glad when this passes through. People up north of us got hit pretty bad last time. Zenita was without power for several days and had to take the 2 younger boys and stay with one of her older sons. That was trippy, huh Z? And up north of her, I guess it looked like a war zone, with all the fallen trees and power lines down. Check it out and just keep scrolling down. ( Cindy, go past the ice pictures and look at the Clip It Up she made. A table top version!) This was about 50 miles north of where I am. Not ready to deal with a mess like that. So everyone keep your fingers crossed that this doesn't turn into a big deal!

Designing and Teaching!

Patti asked me sometime ago if I'd teach some classes at the lss. I'd always turned her down, 'cause I'm just not comfortable getting up in front of people and talking. I could talk all day long to 100 people if I'm sitting at the table just chit-chatting. But getting up in front of people....not my thing anymore! So then she asked me if I'd be on her design team. That appealed to me, 'cause I'd just have to work on a project and not talk to anyone about it! lol (I actually did a "friend" book by Bo Bunny using the Wild Saffron papers by K&Co. I'll post it when she's done displaying it). Well, she caught me at a weak moment and asked me again about teaching a card class. She got these Amy Butler cards, but she said people were afraid to do anything with them. So she asked me if I'd work these 7 up and just show what could be done using a little bit of nothing. I declined. Again. But....I hung around just long enough for her to keep talking about them, and picking out embellishments for them, and found myself teaching a class! lol So this is what I did with them. Nothing at all fancy. Very minimal. It was very challenging. I used coordinating card stock, some flowers, buttons, some punches, my trimmer and some chalk to come up with what you see. I'm used to using several papers in my projects and some bling and chipboard, but this worked. The cards actually come with some journaling tags and rubons, but that was it. Anyone that does a lot projects knows that there's no limit to what could be done with these cards. But that's not what the class is about. It's about taking something plain and turning it into something pretty with just a few minimal embellishments. So stay tuned! With CHA over and new stuff coming in, she's going to keep me busy!

Happy Valentines Day!

This is what I did for the kids for Valentine's Day. They turned out really cute! A couple of weeks ago, I bought the buckets and stuff to go in them at Target's $ Spot. I hadn't planned on doing any cards. Sometimes I'm doing good just to do what I do! lol But I decided to do some cards--after I saw what Shar had done for her grandkids! Her's were just adorable! I didn't put in near the work she did on hers, but I'm happy with how they turned out! She had lace doilies and had cut out hearts and had stamped on them, and I think even glittered some of them, used flowers and bling--a lot of work! And the valentines were by Karen Foster. They were real cute replicas of old fashioned ones. She had used a red check paper for the background. My hunt was on! I did have some paper that worked. But getting the doilies was a bit of a challenge. I finally found some heart shaped ones on an endcap in WM. Mind you, we don't have a super center here--just a small one, so I was lucky to find what I did. Then I had to get the valentines. As luck would have it, there's an antique mall in Bernie, and I found some there. So I used "used" valentines to make the kids'! lol They'll probably be upset they weren't of wrestling or Hanna Montana! lol But that's ok--I like them! They turned out pretty big, tho--6x6! That's how big the heart doily was! If you click on the pic, you'll be able to better see how they turned out. Thanks, Shar! :)

My Heart Puzzle

Here's the finished piece! As a whole, it turned out pretty well. It was fun to see everyone's interpretation! See "Pam, Queen of Hearts" in the upper right hand corner? Sandie did that, and had a lady crochet the heart. How cool! Brandi did the one on the bottom left. She put light-up hearts on it! Zenita did the one in the top middle. It's old fashioned valentines. Think they're Karen Foster? I'll have to ask her! Patti, the lss owner, did the middle piece from the Smitten collection. I think most everyone used Smitten. But they still look different, don't they? Can't wait to see what the next one will be!

If you click here, this will take you to Patti's blog. Just scroll down a bit and you'll see all the puzzles except Brandi's. She's a bit behind! lol But with a new baby, it's a wonder she even participated. But when you're organized like she is, you get things done. If I were her, I'd still be sitting there with naked chipboard! lol

#9--The Final Piece!

This is my piece. I love this paper. It's by Marah Johnson/Creavtive Imaginations. I pop-dotted the heart on the bottom corner. The "fate" is a chipboard piece. I had just bought the wings on clearance somewhere a couple of months ago and wanted to use them on this piece. I love how it turned out. Tomorrow I'll post a pic of the finished piece, and leave a link to the rest of the puzzles. Patti at the lss put them up on her blog, so I'll link you to it. They all turned out pretty cool, as a whole.

I got my new computer up and running! What a difference! I have a 3G memory, a 500G hard drive, a 19" monitor, and Core 2 Duo processor. What more could I want?! I have to muddle my way through Vista's, which is a bit challenging. You know how change is....when you're used to doing something one way for 4 years, it's hard to get used to something different. Just like posting the pic on here. I could do it in a snap on XP. I didn't think I was going to be able to do it tonight. Then I just happened onto it. Hope I can do it again tomorrow night! lol One thing I did was get rid of the Norton Security. I hate it! I originally had the 2004 version on my old computer. Then in 2006 it was time to renew, and I went for the upgrade. It was a total problem! It slowed my computer down so much, it was frustrating! And I had a heck of time even logging onto my blog. It was ages before I finally figured out a bass-ackward way of doing it! But tonight, I was able to log on like a normal person--partly because I now have Trend Micro security. So far so good! Gotta run! The weather's starting to get bad again, and I don't want anything to happen to my new computer!

Puzzle Piece #8

We're getting there--one more after this! This is Sandie's. She wanted it for her granddaughter, so of course, there's a frame for a pic! I got to see it after she put the pic in there, and is it ever cute! Her dgd was about 3 and had on a red cowboy hat, and it looks like she was sitting on a fence. "How cute is that!" (gag! Love Lisa, but she needs a new catch phrase!) Three of us ended up using the Rhinestone Cowgirl tag, and two of used the heart. But they still all look different. After I post my last piece, I'll post a pic of my puzzle on here, and I'll give you a link to the lss. She's taken pics of 8 of the puzzles--maybe the last one will be done and on the lss blog by the time I post mine on here. Then you can see how everyone's looks.

I'm shutting down my computer for several days. I got a new one! Thank you, Denny! I've been backing up my important stuff, and saving my "favorites". What a friggin' pain that was! I was too cheap to buy the transfer cable! $36 was just too much for something I wouldn't use again til I got another computer, and that won't be for ages! The new one will have to last! So in the middle of going through all my favorites, I found that I had saved a tutorial on "how to save you favorites"! I could have saved myself hours if I had found this earlier! lol But it still came in handy. So tomorrow I'm finally ready to do a "clean sweep" on the computer, and erased everthing and set it back to factory settings. When it's all done, it's going to Libby's house. There's still some life left in it, and the kids can use it and Lib can use it for her Avon orders. So....after that, I've GOT to work in my room and do some cleaning and organizing, and get the new computer set up. It has the Vista program on it. Hope I don't regret this. But I figure it this way--I knew nothing about Windows when I got this computer and found my way around, so I shouldn't have a problem with Vista--I hope!

Puzzle Piece #7

This is Zenita's. Her theme was winter. This isn't the most creative thing I've done--sorry, Z! But I guess it doesn't totally suck! lol After I got done doing this one--for the second time! lol--I found in my paper stash the papers that would have really been fun to use. Daisy D's Winter Collection! But anyway....I punched out a bunch of snowflakes and put some blue bling on them, and put a slide on so she can put in a pic of her 2 little boys. That'll spruce it up! :)

There are 2 lss's that are closing in our area. The one closest to us happened really fast. We heard last Sat. they were closing, due to marital problems. Then we got an email stating they were having this sale today and tomorrow. But while we were there, we heard that they're not going to open tomorrow after all. I guess he's done. He seemed pretty rattled when we were there. I hate that it's happening, but since it is, we got some great bargains! They had 50% off storewide. Then they had items with green stickers that were 75% off. We both have the Bind It All, so we loaded up on the wires. Then I got 4 canvas kits by Quick Quotes for $6.50 each. What a deal! Then I loaded up on cardstock, got just a few sheets of paper, some rubons, some 3-D letters by EK Success (Art Blanche), and some misc. other stuff. I ended up walking out of there with 2 full paper shopping bags! I've go to get this room cleaned and organized--again!--so I can get this stuff put away! But who can resist a good deal, right?!

Puzzle Piece # 6--Once Upon a Time

This was the Princess catagory. Believe it or not, I had a heck of time coming up with something! I decided to go to the Creating Keepsakes gallery and see if I could find any inspiration there. Lo and behold, I did! I found this beautiful canvas project by "hickschick". She used the Once Upon a Time papers by DCWV, and I just happen to have the same papers! What luck! This doesn't do justice to the canvas she did, but it did inspire me to turn this puzzle piece out. I love it! The Once Upon a Time is cut out and pop-dotted on, as are the words. I used some green glitter glue for the vines on the OUAT. It looks cool IRL. One of the papers has glittery, gold crowns, so I cut it just right to cover the slide, so the lady this is for can put in a picture of daughter. It's hard to see, but there's bling on the crown. Because, what's a crown without bling?! :)

Puzzle Piece #5

This one is for Brandi. Her theme is Baby Girl. I put the slide on there, so she can put a pic of the baby in it. I used Melissa Frances papers. I love her stuff! It's pretty simple and basic, but looks cute in real life! :)

We did our puzzle exchange last Sat. I'm pretty pleased with mine, for the most part. I'll post a pic after I show all of the pieces I did. I'm going to be doing some re-vamping, tho. One gal made a cute piece, but then stuck some frilly ribbon--upside down, I might add! lol--on it. I'm taking it off, and replacing it with some calmer ribbon. Another piece I'll probably be completely re-doing. We had a newbie participate. She did great on several of the other themes, but missed the boat on mine, for some reason. Bless her heart, you've got to start somewhere, right? She just started scrapping, and wanted to join in. But had it been me, I wouldn't have done it. It took me FOREVER to do a swap, 'cause I thought I'd be embarrassed with my stuff compared to what everyone else did. Do you ever do that? Re-do a piece from a swap? I figure it's my perogative (sp?)! But I'll take a pic before and after I re-vamp.

The weather has been nuts around here lately! Sunday, Monday and Tues., we had temps in the 70's! Unheard of for Feb.! I've been going around with no coat and wearing my sandals! It's colder today, tho, since the storms went through last night. It was pretty bad, and we were lucky! There were tornado warnings and they were telling us to take immediate shelter! Libby and family went to their basement, Ryan went and picked Mom up and took her to his house--he also has a basement. We opted to stay home and go to the bathroom--that sounds funny! lol--if needed. I got our meds, my camera--I was going around taking pics for insurance purposes just in case! lol--my purse, and my little case with my flash drives! I've got a new computer I haven't even hooked up yet, but I got pics of the boxes. I even put on clean clothes, just in case all the rest of my stuff went flying! lol That was as prepared as I could get. One thing I forgot, tho, and didn't even think of til later, was my insulin in the refrigerator. I figured I could always pick more up at the pharmacy if need be. So it was a bit touchy last night. But at the last minute, the storms ended up going around us, so we weren't hit. Thank God. I've been watching the news this morning, tho, and see the devastation elsewhere and I'm grateful for how lucky we were. My heart goes out to those affected by this.