Holiday weekend

Anyone have plans? I'm spending most of the weekend right here in my own home. I plan to craft my self crazy. I've been making Halloween cards and need to make a few more. The set from Papertreyink are so much fun! I also need to make a very special Thank You card so that is on my "to do list".

Not a lot to talk about but I wanted to drop by to say hello. Leave a comment and tell me what you have been doing. Seems like with school starting the bloggers are kind of quiet. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon. I love to hear from all my "webfriends" and see what they have been up to. I especially love seeing all the creativity that is so inspiring. If you need a creative shot in the arm, check out my list to the left. "Thinking Inking" alone will take you to a world of talent you can't believe.

Have a wonderful, safe Holiday and I'll see you soon.

Til later...............

Good News, Bad news

Work will be back to normal after today's "review". Thank goodness!! I never want to make another copy again. I seriously used an entire case of copy paper over the last three days. I can't even tell you what a pain in the butt this has been but if they want to pay me to make copies..OK then.

Now for the results you have all been waiting for......They have no idea what is wrong with me. The ultrasound showed no gall stones, a slightly fatty liver (everything else is fat so why shouldn't my liver be??) , all the rest of the stuff was fine, my blood work was fine. The doctor actually said he has "NO idea" what is causing my pain. He said my next step is to see the Gastro Dr. and have him do a scope down my throat and if that shows nothing then I will have to have a test to "light up" my gall bladder to see if I have "Gall bladder disease". He said he still thinks it is my GB but it may just have "Sludge" that is causing the irritation & pain but doesn't show up on an Ultrasound.

So, we move on. I figure I've been living with this for at least 3+ years so a little longer won't hurt me..no pun intended. Maybe my body is telling me to loose weight and that will take care of all of my aches & pains. At least it looks like I won't need surgery, at least for now.

Thanks for all your well wishes and good thoughts.

Now, how are you all??

After today, I have the next 5 days off...Wahoo!!! It's so nice to have days off...with pay for the first time in 4 years. I hope to get alot of scrappin/card making done. What are your plans for the Labor Day holiday weekend??

BTW, I stopped into Michael's on BBD last night and they actually had some of the "Martha" stuff in the CLEARANCE section. WOW. They won't take coupons but they can mark down packages of 18 x 12 paper to .89? OK, so I bought 6 rolls that have three sheets of double sided paper in each of them. That's a lot of card making paper.

Ok, so I failed my NO buying pledge. I didn't make if official "here" so it doesn't really count.

Does it??

Til later................

Holy Poop

How can it be that I haven't posted since Wed???? I'm so sorry. Apparently everyone one else has been busy cause ya sure didn't call or email me to see if I was OK.

So what cha been doing?? Me?? Well, work has been very busy and will be Monday-Wed of this coming week. We have an audit being done, yearly thing apparently, and things are crazy trying to get ready. NO time for my peeps during the day and by night fall I've been collapsing.

This weekend I redid the scrap room....yes again...with all the 2 drawer thingies I got at staples. SPEAKING of Staples..my sister and mom stopped over Saturday morning to give me my B-day gift and guess what it was?? Come on..if you read my blog you should be able to figure it out....YEP, my long reach stapler. WAHOO. Thanks sis/Mom!!! I haven't played with it yet cause I just finished the room re-do and typing a letter that MUST be mailed in the morning..but I will. If by some slim chance you have one waiting to give to me..I still need Photoshop Elements...LOL!!!!

In between the re-doing, I've watched Nascar and the Little League World Series. YEAH for the Georgia boys!! World Champs for the second year in a row. I felt like I was their moms I got so emotional watching the final game. I also cried a little for the poor Japanese boys that lost cause they were crying and that breaks my heart. I can't stand to see anyone, especially kids, cry.

So, this week will be crazy and I'm sorry if I'm MIA again. I love you all dearly, really I do! I'll try to get time on the computer if I can get DS off of it and maybe drop a line or two. I'm taking Thursday & Friday off and that will make it a 5 day weekend. YEAH!!!!! I should be able to get one on here next weekend as DS is at his dads and I won't have to fight for screen time.

Oh, I almost forgot...I made 6 or 7 Halloween cards yesterday using my new Papertreyink set. So cute!! We also have been enjoying the wild life out behind our house. A couple of baby raccoons have been enjoying our bird feeder. DH got some great pics and I promise to show you both the cards & the little fuzzy fella soon. Oh and I have my Doctors appointment on Tuesday afternoon. I must not be dying since they haven't called in a panic. I've tried to be a good girl and not eat the bad foods since the Ultra sound. I haven't had any Ice Cream in at least a week. I'm going crazy for some but am trying to treat my body better. So I say for now.

Til later.........

Waiting for news

I went for my Ultrasound and I won't find out the results until Tuesday when I see my doctor. I tried to get some idea of what they saw but the tech wouldn't say. I'm sure she's seen enough scans to know when somethings wrong. I understand she can't say because she's not a doctor but come on..throw me a bone. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes. I'll let you know as soon as I find out. I'm pretty sure it's going to be my gall bladder. Wonder if I can change my eating habits and avoid surgery? Yeah-right!!

My birthday was quiet but nice. My DD took me to lunch and brought me a HUGE balloon that sings a "RAP happy birthday" when you hit it. It has been the "hit" of the office ever since. Friends of mine gave me a GC to Cheddars, my FAVORITE, so I'll be enjoying that some time soon. My DS & DH gave me very sweet/cute cards and my son gave me a beautiful plant. Luckily for it, my DH is in charge of the plants on the patio. The ones I planted in the "strawberry wagons" in the front yard went from beautiful to "dead" in a couple days. Must be the heat. DH gave them plant food so maybe they will come back. I got my Halloween themed stamps from Papertreyink and some from Hambo so I have some new toys to play with. Yesterday I found 2 drawer "storage units" on clearance at Staples. I bought about 8-10 of them and will be re-doing my re-done scrap room this weekend. It never ends!

Funny story about my DS's first day of school. Remember the Clinic lady and her insistence that she have the shot record before she would release his schedule......well guess who sent her son to school on Monday WITHOUT the schedule or the original shot record?? Yep, that would be me. Good grief. How ironic is that?! Thankfully my son remembered his first class and he was able to get another copy once he got to school. OMG!!! When they hand out parent of the year ballots please don't forget to pencil my name in. I deserve it.....don't I?

Have a great Wed. and we'll chat soon.


OH.....I forgot the funniest thing about my Birthday. Friday when I went to the doctors they prescribed a muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory. Note to self # 10000+..never take a muscle relaxer when you have to work. I spent most of the day holding on to things because I was so dizzy and also had very blurry vision from the other meds. I was trying to focus on a word I needed to write out of a ICD-9 (medical codes) book. It was about 15 letters long and I was having a very hard time seeing it. I looked up at the top of the page and realized that the category I was in was about the EYE!! Could my life be more of a sitcom? (must say that in your best Chandler Bing voice to fully appreciate how funny it is....well maybe it's just me)

Til later.........

Birthday thanks

to everyone that sent good wishes my way. I believe it is never to late to get birthday stuff so feel free to continue to spoil me.

I have my ultrasound in a couple hours. Hopefully we'll soon know what is stabbing me and can move on.

Sorry this is short, I have several amusing things to tell you but I have to do some work before I leave so I'll post more later.

Til later.......................

Back to School

It's the most wonderful time of the year......at least that's what STAPLES would have us believe. I'm sure a few of my readers would disagree. Personally I'm not fond of getting up an hour earlier than I'm used to to get the DS off to school. I KNOW he isn't crazy about the idea or activity either.

Since I will be getting up earlier, it will give me a chance to update my blog before heading to work. I'm sure one day they are going to come & escort me out of the building for blog watching.

So..all you Moms & Dads...take your 1st day of school pictures..hug the little rat & head them off to the Florida School System. YIKES!! (side note to my friend Nicole..6 years from today you will experience this wonderful right of passage..Congrats!!)

Hmmmmmmmm, seems like something else is happening today but I can't put me finger on it. Must be OLD age.

Til later..................

Bargains aren't always a good thing

Darn it!! I am half way through my Saturday and haven't accomplished nearly as much as I'd hoped. Hmmmmm. Where have we heard that before? Usually in every weekend post.

It's not my fault!!

Lets start with yesterday and work our way to the present(two more days BTW) and I'll prove it.

Yesterday I still wasn't feeling well. The shoulder/chest pain was still there and my "Stitch" was hurting worse than ever. I called my PCP and was amazed they could work me in that afternoon. I went & described my ailments. NP again says that it sounds like my Gallbladder. Can't be says I. I don"t have any of the symptoms...upset stomach, burping, belching...bla..bla..bla. Nope feel fine except for the unrelenting pain near my lowest right rib. I said don't you think we should do a scan or something to figure out what this is?? She agrees and writes a script for an Ultrasound ..to rule out Gallbladder. Oh and she says...the acid reflux medication that you've been taking for years could be masking the gallbladder symptoms. OMG moment. She also gives me two scripts for the shoulder pain. They drew blood to rule out an infection in my stomach and I called and scheduled the Ultrasound for Tuesday.

I called my mom afterwards, as she's had her gallbladder removed (actually I'm the only one in my immediate family that still has hers) and asked what syptoms she had. She says about the same thing as my Dr. had. She also said that one of the food groups that caused her the most trouble was --DAIRY. Another OMG moment as I eat Ice Cream/frozen Yogurt almost every night.

Head to Walmart (sorry Cari)and get my scripts filled. Picked up a few household items..make that alot of junk food because I was hungry and feeling sorry for myself. And besides, it's all about me and it's almost my birthday.

Came home & whipped up some Quesadias (sorry for spelling). Felt like crap. DH read the medication instructions and insisted I take them right away. Well, I'm a "cheap drunk" and muscle relaxers make me very sleepy! Sure enough, out like a light on the couch before 9:30. Went to Bed around 10 and slept mostly right through until 8:30 am. Was alittle afraid to take another one today but so far so good.

My DH put together the "File holders" that I got on clearance last week from Target. I had bought some file holders at Office Depot (because I'm stupid and didn't get them at Walmart since I kept thinking I needed LEGAL size and they didn't have any. ) DUH. I realized while waiting in line at OD that they would be to big. I went back and got the Letter size.

Long story, that in fact is boring me, I cleared out the scrap room to begin my "re-do version 10, when I discovered the file folders do not fit. WTF? They were about an inch to small to fit from rail to rail. I have some larger ones and tried them and they are about 2 inches to big. ARG!!!! My entire re-do was hinged on those cubes. Crap. Now I'll have to have DH take them apart, take them back to the store and rethink my idea. POOP. So instead of redoing the room, I've spent 3 hours printing off patterns for card making.

I'm going to leave you now and try and make something work. DH is supposed to take me to dinner & a movie but frankly-neither of us looks quite up to it. Maybe a nice home grilledmeal -TV night is a better plan.

Til later.............

Dentist day

My DS was supposed to have a dentist appointment this morning but it was rescheduled for 9/11 (Arg). I have an appointment this afternoon. My first under the new insurance. Since my former dentist has been wanting to do several things I've put off due to cost, I'm curious to see what this office comes up with. Since it's been such a big dental month for the household, my DH asked if I thought the "Coast Dental" people would give us a family discount. LOL.

Shoulder is still hurting. Maybe a long soak in the tub would help. Maybe it's old age??

Speaking of which, Thanks for your kind comments about my shameless Birthday (4 more days & a wake up) plug yesterday. I'm worse than a little kid. I have no problem having a birthday. I'm only 17 in my head so I can ignore the actual number. My DH asked me last night "What he had bought me for my Birthday?" LOL!!!! I asked him if he meant collectively or did he want a specific large item?? I've bought MANY little things, I figure those count.

Say a prayer for law officials today. They have a thankless job. They put their lives on the line everyday. In an instant some psycho can snuff them out. My friend Jessie's hubby is a SWAT guy. He's not even my hubby but I worry about him every time I hear about the SWAT team being called out. I can't imagine what their families go through. God Bless them all.

Til later..............

OH MY...how could I forget to mention ELVIS today?? Where were you in 1977? my SIL Loretta & I were living in Fayettville, NC (not together..LONG story) and he was supposed to perform in concert that weekend at our civic center. I didn't have tickets but still....obviously he didn't make it.************UPDATE...apparently that LONG story I mentioned is even more painful than I remembered. It's made me block out memories. My SIL has corrected me on my time line. Since she'd know where she was & I'm sure of where I was..Guess I was the only one in NC-Aug 1977. Thanks L! Ain't old age a pain in the memory!!

I survived QVC day

I'd pat myself on the back but my shoulder has been killing me. I DID NOT buy anything from QVC yesterday. I really wanted the 12" long reach stapler but resisted. Buying from Hambo Stamps Monday--HAPPY Birthday Monica.....and buying the latest release from PapertreyInk (cute halloween stamps) this morning do not count.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Glad you enjoyed my "Orientation" story from yesterday. I asked DS again last night what the Jungle comment means. He insists that he made it up and has no idea where it came from.

Yeah. Right. OK.

Bad storm last night almost made me "Loose my religion" as they say. I was trying to type an email with an attachment and lost it.. twice. That was after waiting almost 2 hours to use the computer cause it was acting up and DH had to fix it. ERRRRRRRRRRR.

WOW, just realized it is HUMP DAY. Cool. Half way to my Birthday next week. Shameless plug. Cards, well wishes and gifts will be cheerfully accepted. (See note above about long reach stapler if you are looking for a gift idea) Hey, I'm older than most (well except for maybe my mom & Kip & Jules..Hi gals!!) of my readers. I'm at the age I can say anything I want. Yes, Mom & Michele, I know I have done that since about the time I was 21 but old age has to have some perks. Right? Now NEXT year I really expect to be showered with love.

You have been warned.

Til later......................

7th grade orientation

What a pain in the BUTT!

First they schedule it for 8-3 on a Tuesday. Hello, working parent. I schedule time off with work. I get the boy up to be at school by 8am. They make us stand outside the cafeteria in the sweltering Florida heat until the dot of 8am. The line moves an inch and then I realize some idiot has positioned a table right at the front door. No one can get inside. They finally move said table and the crowd surges into the AC.

We head for the 7th grade table. We wait in line until we get to the front, only to be informed that we needed to go to the "Clinic" table first. UM, could you have posted a sign that informed us?? We head to the clinic table, wait again, then the lady informs me that I can't get my sons registration/class schedule because I didn't bring the proof from the doctor that he got the 7th grade required shot.

OK, so it's been on the refridge for over a month. I knew they needed it but I forgot it. The message we got the other day didn't tell us we would not be able to get the class schedule until they had it in their hot little hands. She informs me I'll have to go home and get it.

Um, NO.

She said ok, then he can bring it on the first day of school but can't get his classes until then.

Um, NO.

I confess at that point I "Bowed up" (a southern expression that means I explained in a "nice" way that I was not leaving the building without the papers I'd come to get)!! I "sweetly" suggested that I could fax the paper when I got to work if she would only relent in her rigid rules. She "agreed" that the faxing would be an excellent idea and "cheerfully" wrote the fax number on a piece of paper. I thanked her f0r her assistance and headed back to the 7th grade table.

As you can imagine there was now a much longer line and I was not pleased to be at the end of it. I started asking the people in front of me if they had been to the clinic table and if they had not, they would need to leave the line and head there "post haste". Amazing how quickly that got us to the front of the line where the lady was oh-so-pleased to see my little slip of paper that said "OK". We got the class schedule, paid our fees (which no one could explain to me what it covered and why everyone had a different amount due???) and moved over to the lunch table. I paid a "start up" credit on DS's lunch account and after a quick discussion about "dressing out" with the PE teacher we were on our way.

Side note: As promised I faxed the Dr. form to the school or at least the phone number on my paper as soon as I arrived at work. I will have my DS bring the original to school on the first day and then everything should be right with the world.

Unless the "Clinic" lady turns out to be one of my sons new teachers. She wouldn't hold a grudge would she?? NAH.

Funny story, everyone (except the clinic lady) asked DS if he was excited to be starting back to school or made a comment about having a great year. Each time he would say, "I've already had a discussion with my step dad and I know that if I get in trouble I'm on restriction for the rest of the school year". LOL. What ever it takes.

Oh, and then on the way out of the school parking lot we see two little middle school "Huzzes" walking across the street. I made a comment to DS about staying away from girls/girls like that. He said, "Well maybe". WHAT does that mean?? He said that he was 12 & that he should have started liking girls last year. Who says that?? Then he said that "What happens in the Jungle, stays in the Jungle". ???????????????????? He said" Never mind, I don't know what I'm talking about. OMG!! This should be interesting.

Now I will leave you with a picture I blog lifted from my friend Deirdre. I can't believe I didn't take a camera and no one got a group photo. The table closest to the front was mine..well actually, so is most of the stuff on the left side of the table..including the sewing machine I took and never used.



Til later...................

Back to reality

I got back from the Scrapyard croppin weekend about 4:15 yesterday. It was all I expected and then some. Men can't understand women and there is good reason. We will talk about and share ANYTHING!! I know more than I should about all the wonderful women I spent the weekend with. I know when each of them lost their virginity, all about each of their children's births and other stuff I can't even allow myself to remember right now. Mainly, I know they are great friends and alot of fun to spend the weekend with. I can't wait to do it again.

I did accomplish some stuff..26 cards and two altered books. I'll try and make an on line album to post all the cards so you can admire my craftiness(craftyness??) anyway.....I'm pleased with my self but happy to be home.

Now, time to get geared up for school starting next week. Earlier bedtimes for the boy & earlier get ups for me to get used to the new schedule. ARG!! Orientation is tomorrow morning. We get his class schedule, meet the teachers, pay all our fees and get the bus route times. WAHOO.

How was your weekend? Share but not to much. I'm already trying to get my "Minds Eye" recovered from the number of times I had to "Poke it out" over the weekend.

Til later...............

Girls weekend

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna miss my DH like crazy but....10 gals, scraping all night, laughing till someone (usually me) pees their pants, eating junk food, shopping, lazing in the pool...will take some of the edge off the "missing".

Packed last night. How come I still have two Cropper Hopper Totes full of stuff when all I'm bringing is Card making stuff? Good Grief!

Hope you all have a great weekend. Probably won't talk again till Monday.

Til later.................

5 months

Sorry, since "it's all about me" I figured everyone would know what I was talking about. Yesterday was our 5 month anniversary. Silly, I know.

Thanks for all your comments on the cards. I think I'm going to take the rest of the card fixins and work on those at the retreat. I may bring my new sewing machine since I bought it to sew on cards. I'm planning on bringing some Cricuit carts since they have the machine there for us to use. I haven't even started packing so better be a busy gal tonight.

What is everyone else going to work on?? I should finish my "Wedding album" scrapbook but I am so afraid of messing it up that I'd rather do that at home. Cards are so much easier. I'm loving watercoloring so I can stamp & color all weekend.

Hope everyone else has a great weekend in case I don't get back on before we leave. I'm sure several gals will have their laptops but since most of the people I know will be with me....the update can wait. Besides..."What happens at the crop-stays at the crop".

ENABLING ALERT---I added the link for the "School Card" to yesterdays post. Click on the "My Favorite Things" and check out their site.

Til later...................

As promised

These are the
"Strawberry carts" I found about a month ago at a yard sale. They are so cute and worked great as planters. These pictures were taken right after I got them set up. I'll add pictures I took a couple days ago to show you how much they have grown...the plants, not the carts..LOL!

First of the two "Thanksgiving" cards I've made so far. I used my Cricuit to cut the card base, including the oval cut out. The Pumpkins in the wagons were hand water colored by me. I'm not happy with the placement of the American Crafts ribbon. I may have to add another piece to the other side of the oval. The paper is from a DCWV (that doesn't look right..Die Cuts with a View..you know..the slabs from JoAnns) that was inked with my cats eye black. I used my "Dial a word" large stamp to spell out "GIVE" and the the word "Thanks" is from one of my Papertreyink sets. Green brads are probably "JoAnns"

The second card was made in much the same manner as the one above. I'm not happy that the word "Give" smeared on the ribbon. I may have to fix that. Paper, brads & ribbon from same makers as above card.

This card was made using "Anna Griffin" paper, Flowers & Jeweled brad that I got from QVC, Stamped sentiment from the $1 stamps at Michaels & ribbon from my "stash".

This card is one of my favorites!! Isn't it yummy? It was made using the Anna Griffin papers, the ribbon is American Craft (I think), Unknown stamp(I'll have to check when I get home) that I hand water colored, MM brads & Cat's Eye Black ink. I even made the envelope using my Anna Griffin templates. It is really pretty in person and I "love myself"...

Last but not least, this is the card I sent to my niece for her boys. The "teacher & chalk board" stamps are from my latest purchase.."My Favorite Things" stamps. They are acrylic and so cute. All of their figures are headless..no idea why. The Alphabet paper is from another DCWV (??) slab. I even used the same paper to make the envelope. I stamped the teacher on white cardstock and then stamped it again on patterned papers. I cut out the pattern paper "Clothes" and glued them to the front of the teacher. I used markers to color her skin & shoes. I cut her hand & wand to stick out from the rest of the paper. Matted the teacher on regular cardstock..did a little doodling around her & inked all the edges. I stamped the chalkboard and then stamped the "Back to School" on top. The School Days ribbon is from Michaels (one of the MINI ribbon spools) & the brads are large MM's.


So there you have it. Some of the stuff that has been taking all my time lately. My DH has been very sweet about the mess in the dining area. You'd think with my own scraproom I wouldn't have to take over another half of the living space but..I did.

Karate tonight

Possible Shuttle Launch. Hope the weather holds out.

MUST start packing for this weekend.

Got the cutest little sewing machine yesterday. Gonna start sewing on my layouts and cards.

Work is piling up so better run. Hope you enjoy the pics. Let me know what you think..good or bad..suggestions for improvements..etc.

Til later.............

PS..5 months today and counting!!!

Conspiracy

I was going to try and post some pictures last night and my DH had the computer pulled apart. Darn it! I made a really cute card to send to my niece..HI JENNA!!!! and I took pictures of some other cards I've made the last couple days and then found out the computer was out of commission. Sorry. I tried. Really I did. I'll see if it is back on tonight and try and post my fabulous creations.

Hope your Monday went well. We are getting back in the swing of things with DS being back home. Karate, earlier bed times, earlier wake ups....fighting for computer time...LOL.

Have a great Tuesday. BTW, have you discovered "DAMAGES" on Tuesday nights? Glenn Close in a TV show. Actually, very good...very bizarre but good. It's no Studio 60 but don't get me started again about that!!

3 more days until the Scrapyard Gals retreat!! Scrappin, no sleep, laughing our butts off and eating junk food for 3 days. WAHOOOOOO. I can't wait.

Til later.............

Peek a boo

Not a post, just a hello so you'd know I'm alive. Lazy weekend and now back to work. More exciting postings soon. Promise. Really. I even have pictures.

Til later.............

Sqweeky

Clean as a whistle. That's me. Well, at least my colon..LOL. I even have pictures. Don't worry-I'll spare you the visual. Everything came out all right ...LOL and the prep wasn't so bad....fibber OK, time to quit channeling Kevin Neelen (Saturday night live reference again)

The prep really wasn't as bad as the last time. I HIGHLY recommend Mirolax over the last junk I had to use. No cramping. Definitely wouldn't stray to far from a potty and I was afraid to sleep but other than that, really OK. Not to mention the 4 lbs I lost. Now that is a positive..if only it would stay gone. We were in and out of the facility within the 2-2 1/2 hours as promised. They didn't give me Verset (sorry for spelling) so I wasn't loopy the rest of the day. I was tired since I hadn't slept the night before but that was it. They say you aren't supposed to drive for 24 hours but I went to CVS about 5pm. No problem.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I would say "Get it done" if you are of the age or have the family history. I was a little afraid of what they might find but the procedure is easy and now I'm good for 5 years unless I have any symptoms. Finding it early is MUCH better than finding it when you have symptoms. CALL YOUR DOCTORS!

So, the boy comes home tonight. I have tons of stuff to catch up on and then school will be starting before you know it. First..."Scrapyard" RETREAT is a little over a week away. WAHOOOOOOO!

Til later..................