Thankful!

Thankful for all of the orders we have been getting.  So cute.  Love this ABC and the 17" N on a ribbon.  My Mother-in-Law placed an order with us as well.  Starting on those.  Having a little problem with our sewing machine.  I don't think it is a reflection of the company, just a fluke.  It freezes on us and then won't come back on.  So have a loaner and will be getting the mother board replaced on ours.  Thankful for our sewing store!

Just have a few more of these bags to finish sewing up for Christmas.  Loving the 30 Days to a Handmade Holiday at SIStv.  I think you can still sign up and download everything.  Wanting Christmas to be simple, but special, so this is perfect this year...  But also wanting to get ready for when we have Emma and make Christmas magical and fun for her...
Just made 10 for family, just love that pelican!

Cards are printed and ready to go...Not the best quality photo of us, but it is a good one of our personalities.  Love seeing cards with the entire family...so this was perfect with all of the photos you could put on it.  Two Peas is where I bought and downloaded this one.  So easy to create.  The pictures tell a story about us...
Got the stamps...used up cardstock and made my envelopes, normally I wouldn't, but it was a good way to use up way too much cardstock I had on hand already...don't like to waste...

Used the book cover from one of the SISiversary classes back in June to make this little mini of our family visit and my brother's wedding...duct tape came in very handy for this ;)Definitely not neat and clean, but I love it.  Janet Hopkins did a project similiar but with the actual binder gear in the spine at Creative Escape.  Scrapbook.com will have the kit available...would love to do more...

Used all double-sided paper...some coordinated from the same line, some didn't...love the different colors...just went with it and had fun...

That little fall piece of paper on the left is cut out from a chocolate adverstisement...knew it would have a home somewhere in my scrapbook...

The paper on the right is from a close-up picture I took of the wallpaper from the mansion where the wedding was held.  Printed it on white, non-textured cardstock on both sides...

You can see where I messed up on my holes...thought I had them lined up just right, but NOT!  Just had to go with it...I gave up being perfect with scrapbooking long time ago!






So hope all that read this have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and for those that aren't in the U.S., I'll eat some turkey for you and be thankful for all of those in my life.

Keeping Up

The month is almost over and we're headed full speed into the holidays...ahhh!!  One of the many of the latest orders...this was adorable...the order came from England...love the way everything is coming out.  

Had this idea for a Layout when we were traveling to my brother's wedding.  Thinking about Mom, her death, and my growth, and felt like a bird filled with pictures of me and one of Mom went with the feeling of Set Free...so this is my November layout and calender...

This would have been one to digitize...but don't have the shape on the computer...so did all by hand...took some time, and some of the pictures got a little glue on them...but the originals are all stored on the computer and backed up so I don't worry about all of that...
Trying to get to know some people locally that scrapbook, and took a couple of card classes at my local scrapbooking store.  They do a lot of things that have a New Orleans theme.  Card making is my least favorite thing to do, but I loved the stamp with the pelican.  They are so beautiful to see out by the lakefront.  Decided to do kind of like an Artist Trading Card (ATC) type thing, but on a tag and add to Christmas cards I give out to just a few...can't do enough for all...
decided the easiest for Christmas cards is digital.  Love the photo cards especially for Christmas, so busy printing up some of these.  Followed the instructions from Two Peas in a Bucket with the download...very easy...
I finally got this little gizmo...not a cheap gizmo, although not very high quality, but it does the trick...will have to post more when I've worked with it to see how I like it...so far it's great!
Archie has always loved Redi Whip, vanilla ice cream, and cream cheese...but now Daisy does as well...how crazy...I now keep Redi Whip available for a treat for them...they come running when they hear it!

Last weekend we experimented with taking photos of ourselves for the Christmas cards, and went to eat at a local seafood restaurant.  Haven't been since Katrina...they made lots of changes...looks great, and the food was delicious.  Good ole shrimp po-boy for me and Dennis had to get the hamburger to rate it...
It's right there at the top!

Just a few of the photos we got of ourselves that didn't make the Christmas card cut...but definitely caught our silliness.

I actually thought last Thursday was Thanksgiving and had gotten all of the food already...so I'm prepared for the real Thanksgiving, this Thursday!  I'm just a little dingy sometimes ;)  But all good fun...it'll be just the two of us again unless my sister drops by after work.

Back to filling some orders and getting those ATCs and Christmas cards done...

Keeping Busy and Keeping the Pain Meds Nearby

We've been non-stop since we got back from our trip.  I'm so glad we went and at least had that one day to go into NY City for the play.  I can tell I'm refreshed from the trip.  Haven't really been on a vacation in 4 years, since my Mom died. 

Although I'm refreshed, having terrible headaches, even as I write.  Treximet is getting used more often.

Remembered Mom on her birthday this past Monday.  She would have been 78.

Well, I didn't make any browny points with the expecting Moms from my Yahoo group.  Looking over what happened, I was just so upset that an agency, any agency, I don't care if it was my own agency, would tell prospective adoptive parents that the wait to adopt from China is a year to a year and a half.  I wish it were my own agency, so I could contact them and ask why is this inaccurate information being given.  Now there are certain circumstances if one of the parents is Chinese, born in China, and some others, but it's not the case with this young couple.  Just feel so much for them...and just wanted to help.  And felt terrible giving the bad news that it would be more like a 6 year wait.

I don't really keep up as much as some of the soon-to-be parents on the board do, and they have been so great at sharing information they hear, so I went to them.  Well, unfortunately I mentioned the agency's name and the group policy emails went up like a big red flag...then if that wasn't enough, other posts kept coming in after I said there was no intent to bash...then if that wasn't enough, the co-moderator put up a reminder post to not name the specific agency in your post.   I really have appreciated the group so much and well, I guess they are not the group for me.  I realized then that no apology, no explanation would be good enough.  Reminds me of what happened when I sent a friendly email asking the family to fill out a Christmas list so we could shop for each other...I believe to this day, that they do not believe my intentions were not as they think they were. 

EGOS, EGOS, EGOS is what I thought.  All of it is egos.  If I tried to say any more, it probably would have been my ego conversing with their ego.  So pulled out the Eckart Tolle's A New Earth book again, and specifically re-read where he talks about the role of being a parent.  Most parents are human and leave out the being.  Go do your homework, go to the park, do your chores, brush your teeth sort of stuff is being the role of a parent, the human part.  The being is giving the attention to your child, spending time, being in the present with them.  It was really good to read that the first time...that was Mom...she was a parent and stuck to her role very well.  She still parented up until the day she died.  Yes, I know, most Moms are like that...well then, their identity is the role of a parent and they have lost what it means to be a human and a being.  Mom could not function outside of that role.  Eckart talks about that, that some parents can never be anything else once their kids are grown and on their own.  She did not want us to go off and be happy and succesful...she wanted us to stay with her.  She wanted to always have control.  It's always about that control...

So my lesson learned with me being the one bashed from the group is they are not people I can connect with, their identity is with their agency and their ego clouded them being able to see that my concern was for this young couple getting accurate information...so as my ego wanted to defend myself, I woke up and became aware that what is better for me to do is to just walk away...

My Fur Babies

I've always had a soft spot for animals.  Never thought I'd have cats, but with Dennis saying no to a dog, I convinced him of cats ;)  So more pictures and scrapping of them.

Another idea from Ashley Wren, this time from her class.  Take one of her classes over at SISTV...they are sooo worth it.  This one is an idea of using those small contact pictures and making them into a shape.  Mine is a heart, kind of hard to tell, but Dennis could tell, so must not be too bad ;)  Used lots of Kawaii (Japanese for Cute) goodness I got from a scrapping friend, Gabbe.  Oh man, she really surprised me with some fun stuff...the kitty cat fabric is from her as well.  That's My Boy!  I just love these pictures.  I think I still have to do another with just one or two photos...he's such a cutie...

Forgot I had done this one.  Wanted to document when I had skin cancer and the procedure for it...and being left with the scar.  
Archie loves Emma's room, and, of course, loves to sun bath as much as possible...
Daisy...what can I say...NINE LIVES!  The girl is BACK!  It's like a light when on and somebody is home!  She's got her marbles, she's been inside since Monday and has used the litter box every time.  She's even gotten frisky and playing with the toy mice.  And one of her favs, she's drinking from the faucet again and meowing to let us know we need to turn it on for her...

Caught while she's grooming herself, but she is amazing...totally do not get it or how, but she's a fighter, no doubt...
Just took these, and some of the best photos of her in a very long time.  She looks so healthy.  I can tell her eyes sometimes don't look the same, and she's missing some teeth in the front (it's hell getting old), but she's so vibrant and healthy...my little girl with the pretty green eyes...

Just Thinking...

...about the "why's" to the way I am, NOT to blame, no, it's the processing of why I think the way I do, why to be happy takes more work for me, why I will always need to process and not just think these thoughts to have a healthy mind/body...

Never told the other "ghost" type experience I had been meaning to.  And with all this thinking...Mom's birthday is the 3rd of this month, and thinking about her past, her family, specifically her brother, my Uncle Earl...it's a good time to get it out and process...

He's the one on the left with the hook hand, that's my Uncle Earl.  I never met him only heard about him vaguely.  He lost his hand in a working accident.  He was the oldest boy of the four of Mom and her siblings...

...and the one who got the most abuse from their Dad (Granny dished out the abuse too, but not as bad as their Dad), although, I never ever heard Mom call my grandfather, Dad, she always said Harry...he was no Dad to any of them.  I met him once in a shack, yes a shack that he lived in all alone.  The other time was when he showed up on our doorstep.  I couldn't understand why Mom was so upset, no one ever bothered to explain anything...it was always a secret and that was that...  The next thing I knew, there is a cab in the driveway and Mom is sending him away, we go back in the house, and she looks down at the umbrella he left behind and says, "this is the only thing I've ever gotten from him."  Sad, but true...  So that is something I'll never understand is why Harry was the way he was, what generational curses and inner demons he couldn't control and have been kept a secret...
So it was in 1983...my sister Lisa and I are loving MTV!  And we loved to go down to Mom and Dad's bedroom, plop on the bed, and turn on the TV to watch it.  They had an old wood-framed bed.  The matress sat up tall and high on the bed.  We hear 3 loud knocks.  I said to Lisa, "why did you do that?"  She says, "I didn't do that, I thought you did that."  I said, "If I had done it, you would have seen me leaning way over the matress to get to the wood on the bed to knock."  We just looked at each other...turned off the TV and got the heck out of there!

Thankfully, we didn't have to sleep there, but Mom and Dad were hearing these knocks pretty regularly!  Three loud, distinct knocks.  Dad says, it's just rats.  This went on for about a month or less.  It was really disturbing...so distinct and loud and would wake them up.  Mom started asking people at work...one lady, went white, and asked if someone she knew recently died.  Dad's theory of rats started to go out the window especially with all of us in the family having had our own experience of hearing these knocks, and admitted that rats can't make a distinct knock like that.  He was starting to look a little nervous...he wasn't the only one...

And then one night Mom said she saw a really bright light coming through their bedroom window.  Their house was built in the early 60's with the very high windows that were about 6 to 12 inches from the ceiling and narrow, going across the length of the wall.  So for something to be that bright through those windows, would have to be raised off of the ground several feet.  As soon as she got up on the bed and opened the curtains, it was gone.  

The next morning, Mom got a phone call that her brother Earl had died.  He was alone when he died.  Mom and the family didn't know where he was, hadn't heard from him in a long time.  Mom believes that the knocks were from Earl letting her know he was okay and not to worry...because after that last night and the phone call, we never heard the knocks again...