Get Well Bunny

I was inspired by a card on Jan's blog. She used this sketch from OWH Stars and Stamps blog.



I opted to use one of my new $1 stamps that hadn't seen ink yet. It is supposed to be for Easter but I also thought it'd make a cute get well card. A friend's daughter tore her knee up and will need surgery. I thought she could use a card to help cheer her up.



Think it'll work?

Apology and Guess What I Got???

First off, an apology. I'm sorry I'm not posting much in the way of creative stuff lately. I am going through some personal stuff that seems to have sucked all my mojo out.

Secondly, I am SO excited about my new find! I have wanted a cherry wood sleigh bedroom set forever. I have never owned a NEW bedroom set. So I started watching for a used sleigh bedroom set that I could afford. It took about six months but I found the set of my dreams in the town where my brother lives. And not only is it a cherry wood sleigh set, but it is a NEW cherry wood sleigh set. The grandfather bought it for the granddaughter and when it was delivered she didn't like the dark wood. So they sold it for about half the price of new but it's still in the boxes!

My brother picked it up for me and it's stored in his garage right now until we can manage the delivery (he lives a couple hours away).

Isn't it pretty????









There is also a mirror that goes with the shorter dresser. The only thing I wish it had that it doesn't...is a second nightstand. But I can live with that. :-)

I Pray For You

Heard this song on the radio yesterday and it cracked me up. If I could figure out how to insert the youtube video here I would (any readers want to help me?). Otherwise, go check out the link. The song is called "I Pray For You".

Enjoy!

Massive Characters

I heard this quote on Criminal Minds yesterday and it is so true.

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive characters are seared with scars." Khalil Gibran

I have had both the torment and the blessing of losing two children. Torment because I lost them and it tore my heart apart...but blessing because in the process I met many other parents who have lost children and each of them are 'massive characters' and I am lucky to know them. I believe that I have also become a better/stronger/more compassionate person because of their deaths.

I do not believe 'everything happens for a reason' but I do believe we can use a bad experience to learn and grow.

Watch Out!

I grew up with a Dad who was a WWII Ranger and three older brothers. I remember going out target practicing from the time I was probably 7 or 8. When I moved out on my own I got a firearm for protection. When I had kids I put the firearm away (locked up) and just didn't use it at all. So it's been at least 12 years since I've shot anything. So...today I decided it was time to take it out to the range. I had to have them go over how to load/shoot it again (it's been THAT long). They set me up and left me to practice.



When I finished the guy told me he couldn't believe it'd been 12 years since I'd shot. According to him it is a 'perishable' skill and you need to practice every so often to stay accurate. But of all the shots I fired...only a few fell outside the black circle and I got quite a few in the bullseye. Not bad for a short barreled revolver which isn't known for it's accuracy. He originally set the distance for me and I shot some at that distance (got one of the ones outside the black circle at the shorter distance) and then I moved the target further out and shot some at a longer distance and that's where I got the other few. I think there were either 3 or 4 total outside the black.

I've been wanting to do this for a few months but didn't have anyone to go to the range with and I hate going anywhere by myself for the first time. Plus I knew I was going to have to ask for help. I'm a total chicken when it comes to doing new things by myself. So I'm more proud of myself for just DOING it than the actual skill - but it's all good! :-)

Have you seen 'Yes Man' with Jim Carrey? It goes a little overboard (doesn't all of Jim Carrey's movies?) but I do like the premise. Say YES to life and all of it's opportunities.

Hopefully next week I'll get back to some crafting. Kids have been on spring break all week. Sorry!

Things to Do Before I Die

Ended up making chicken nuggets and tator tots for dinner. But not store bought nuggets (does that at least get me some brownie points?) It was either that or I could have made homemade pizza...but since we had pizza a couple nights ago I didn't want to do that again. Everything else I seemed to be missing at least one ingredient on OR I didn't have enough for everyone (the boys have a friend spending the night again). So nuggets and tator tots it became (and even then I didn't eat any because it was only enough for them). Gotta go grocery shopping tomorrow!

In the meantime...I started to make a list of things I want to do before I die. I actually started a scrapbook at some point with this general idea but I don't even know where it ended up. And I have accomplished a few things from the original scrapbook (ie...seeing a panda bear, learning to sew). But these are new. Enjoy!


Things To Do Before I Die:

Visit all of the states
Visit New Zealand or Austrailia
Lose weight and become healthier
Participate on a softball team again
Complete a full marathon (have already done a half)
Have 'artistic photo' taken (ie nekkid but tasteful)
Pay for a meal for an elderly person
Spend a day on the beach
Write a book
Build a savings cushion
Pay off all outstanding debt
Buy a house of my own
Put overdraft on checking account (done)
Start a savings account for kids' education
Learn to country dance
Learn to jitterbug
Take a cooking class
Make fortune cookies
Bake a perfect cheesecake
Fry perfect chicken
Learn to pitch a tent and camp
Get my MBA degree
Take belly dancing class
Take a cruise
Ride on a train (Durango?)
Try skiing again
Learn to snorkel
Take a hot air balloon ride
Make a donation quilt for someone in need
Become a regular volunteer
Learn to play guitar and/or piano
Learn to crochet
Grow roses (without killing them!)
Write a will
Prepay/plan funeral
Take a spontaneous road trip
Learn to say 'yes' (learn to not be afraid of trying new things)
Learn to say 'no' (learn it's ok to set boundries)
Become my own best friend
Go to a movie by myself
Learn to have positive self talk
Put change into someone else's meter when it's close to running out
Pay for the person behind me in the drive thru
Adopt a family for the holidays
Learn to ride a motorcycle (streetbike not a dirtbike)
See a psychic for a reading
Go on a first date post divorce
Establish an extended family of friends
Make enough of a difference to know I'll be missed
Get my CCW permit
Live in a real house (not a modular home)
Own new bedroom set/living room furniture (always buy used)
Own a car with less than 10,000 miles on it

Ok...I guess I'm back to decluttering and reading my new book. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Bleh...

I don't know what to do with myself today. I know what I SHOULD do (ie...fold laundry, vacuum, declutter, etc, etc) but I don't feel like doing that. I actually FEEL like cooking/baking but the fridge/freezer/pantry is starting to look a little barren. In particular there are no eggs or oil at all. So baking is definately out. I wanted to make some homemade bread or rolls...but those also require eggs. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day. Tonight I'll just have to make do with what I have and deal with the boredom.

My First Easel Card

After seeing a bunch of these cards I decided I HAD to make one. I'm happy with how it turned out for the most part. I'm just not sure I like that you lose half the inside of the card (where the easel goes)...so there isn't much room to write. Other than that - it's a cute idea.



Here is the side view:



You can see why it's called an Easel Card more from this view. The brads on the inside hold the card front up for display. Also, you can tell from this view that I stamped his claws twice and popped them up with dimensional adhesive.

Enjoy.

Schlep Bag

I spent this weekend at a quilting retreat in Sierra Vista, Arizona. It was nice and cool. Pine trees all around. A very nice change of pace. I took two projects with me to work on - a denim rag quilt and my disappearing nine patch. I got a bit of work done on both projects. I wasn't feeling overly motivated. Just wanted to slow down and enjoy the weekend. A couple of the ladies there had taken a class on making a 'schlep' bag.

According to Dictionary.com:
schlep 
–verb (used with object)
1.to carry; lug: to schlep an umbrella on a sunny day.
–verb (used without object)
2.to move slowly, awkwardly, or tediously: We schlepped from store to store all day.
–noun
3.Also, schlepper. someone or something that is tedious, slow, or awkward; drag.

The bag is reversible and is made out of a total of 8 different fabrics...4 squares of each fabric. You can make the bag any size you wanted. I used 6 1/2 inch squares on mine. But saw bags ranging from 5 inch squares (more the size of a purse) to 8 inch squares (more the size of a beach bag). There were three of us that decided to try and make the bag during the retreat and each bag came out beautiful.

Here is my bag (both sides):





So...what do you think?