Welcome September!!!

So I'm a few days behind.....they were busy days and today is the first day I am taking time to slow down. Granted I could have done this yesterday morning-since I did get up at 3a with the honey when he left for the lease but I just relaxed and took it easy till I had to get going and then I ran/played all day.

After waking this morning I pondered what to tackle today--purge and organize? create? go shop for a few specific items? But first, breakfast. My initial intentions were to run to What-A-Burger and grab my go-to honey butter chicken biscuit but when I noted the (new) Denny's parking lot was not totally packed I acted on a whim and went there....

While awaiting my breakfast I had (minimum) time to savor a cup of coffee and think about the things I need and want to do...today, long term--you get the idea....

I must admit the service was great--just hope it remains that way. I had someone take my order right away and while she was getting my coffee I had another server try to help me! My cup never had a chance to get empty and I didn't have to want for anything (though I didn't need anything) because I was given plenty of attention. And breakfast was yummy--build your own grand slam with eggs, biscuit and gravy, hash browns and bacon...

On with the day!!

Thirty-one aka Carol is evil....

Saturday afternoon I attended my first 'Thirty-one' party at Carol's. I honestly thought beforehand I would make a small purchase to support my friend because let's face it I really don't need another bag. Or do I?

So many cute things.....things I could not pass up. I loved the extendable bag that adds an extra five inches of space just by undoing a zipper. It appears this would be a great bag for my weekend getaways because frankly I am tired of trying to stuff everything into the bag I currently use. Still no guarantee I won't have a second (or third bag) but certainly raises the odds of not needing them.

So yes, after seeing the many cute bags and the many options not only did I purchase more than initially intended...I also am going to hold a book/online party. Still some things I want! Look for the link to my party coming soon in September!

Too Much Work...

This gives a glimpse into my life this time of year. These two carts are filled with files of students appealing the suspension of their aid. Some have valid reason, most don't. Five times a year I spent up to a week prior to the appeal meeting processing appeal requests to take to committee.

34 Years...

7/25/25-8/22/77

Dad's been gone 34 years today.....a lifetime ago.....I've lived longer without him than I did with him. I was daddy's girl and I still miss him.

I can still remember waking the morning of August 23. Something wasn't right. From my bedroom I could see into the living room. I could see the light was on--which was unusual for that time of morning. I could also see things that had been in daddy's hospital room. Confused I walked into the living room and then the kitchen where mom was getting a cup of coffee. I didn't expect her to be there as she'd been gone for days--staying at the hospital with daddy. I was happy to see her....and then I remember the words......we lost daddy last night. She hugged me and I just said okay, that I'd better get ready for school (it was only the second day of the my 5th grade year). I remember a bit later sitting in the kitchen floor at her feet, mom fixing my hair while talking to her cousin who had come by. She said I didn't have to go to school but I wanted to. I don't think I really understood what was going on.

Later in the morning at school I was sharpening a pencil and the teacher was asking who was on free lunch (something no one would dare ask out loud this day in age). I raised my hand because at the time I thought I was---in light of daddy being in the hospital a neigbor had arranged for me to have a lunch card so as far as I knew I was on the free lunch program (in hindsight for all I know the neighbor could have purchased it knowing our situation). Someone comment that I was not and could not be on free lunch and I just blurted out 'My daddy died last night'. I remember the teacher being shocked and I just kept right on with what I was doing as though I'd just casually mentioned the color of my socks or what day it was.

At lunch everything fell apart and I unraveled....all over some stupid ice cream. Even though I had a lunch card mom had managed to give me enough pocket change for a treat--to get sone ice cream with my lunch. The lunch lady seeing my lunch card took away the ice cream telling I could not have it because I was on 'free lunch'. She would not listen to me telling her I had money for the ice cream and even though I had it out for her she just kept saying I couldn't have it. I don't recall much after that but I know I went into full meltdown and someone put their are around me and took me to the nurse's office.

My brother picked me up and took me home. From there I just remember lots of people in and out and then trying to get on with life. I remember momma 'fighting' with the hospital because they couldn't locate daddy's wedding ring. I don't recall how long it took, but it was located and returned. I don't recall the timing but there was a memorial service for daddy

I didn't step foot in Hermann Hospital again untill 2008. I remember when the neurologist's nurse told me I'd be admitted to Hermann for the tests that ultimately resulted in my MS diagnosis; I immediately begain to cry uncontrollably.

It's 34 years later and I miss you daddy. I hope you are proud of the person I have become. I'm certain you would like my honey--I imagine you would be fishing and hunting together. He's taking care of daddy's girl.

Close to My Heart Cuteness

I just adore Close to My Heart's August Stamp of the Month which is a set of Halloween stamps. This beauty just speaks to me and my CTMH buddy let me play with the stamps while I await mine. I couldn't resist stamping her and pairing it with papers from the Roxie kit to make a cute card for the honey.

Shop For A Cause

$5 will get you a shopping pass to Macy's good for 25% off purchases on Saturday, August 27, 2011, good at all Macy's nationwide and online. Proceeds go to the Sugar Land MS Walk. Contact me if interested!

Explore

Prompt 5

and to think...just a few hours ago these were simple, handmade embellishments hanging out in the jungle I call a scrap table...

Happy Birthday Daddy!

7/25/25-8/22/77

My Own Little Episode of Hoarders...

For some reason I am drawn to watching Hoarders be it on TLC or the Discovery Channel. If I'm surfing and I find Hoarders I stop and watch, mesmerized. I have the instant urge to begin throwing away EVERYTHING...I still have STUFF because I don't act on it--I'm too lazy for the follow-through. heehee Wait--that's why these hoarders have so much CRAP. The honey has promised if he feels I am becoming a hoarder he will stop it. So lucky to have him!

So THIS is what my drafting/scrap table looks like I am ashamed to admit....I clean and it stays that way--until I begin to create again....

And this would be my homemade embellishments from my Explore class. Now I just need to pull together items and assemble the page for prompt 5.

Looking at them today I'm thinking they're kinda cute. Thanks for the inspiration Shimelle!

Productive Saturday Morning...

Got up-maybe a little earlier than initially anticipated--and immediately mixed up a cake (from scratch). Once it was in the oven I did some light cleaning and a load or two of laundry. By Ten a.m. I had a wonderful, from scratch cake cooled and ready to ice with homemade iciing....



The cake is for my honey to celebrate his birthday--which was Thursday. Planning to take him out to eat somewhere at some point this weekend. I'll give him the cute canvas I made (hope he likes it) and we'll have a relaxing weekend.

EXPLORE

A cute, what looks to be inspiring class that I will be taking onnline for the next 4 weeks--like I don't have enough going on already.

Go to Shimelle.com if you're interested in checking it out....

Sunday Night Scrappin...

It's been a relaxing Sunday...breakfast at Larry's--been a while since we'd been there and either I was really hungry or it was just really yummy today....HEB run....a mid-day nap and tv....a run to CVS to print some of mom's old pictures...a yummy fish dinner prepared by the honey....some evening scrap fun, a little more tv and bed.....Mondays come around too quickly......

How I Used An Afternoon of Vacation Time

Took off at noon today (well closer to 1p by the time I got out of there...). Went home to create.......





The CKC class for which the kits did not arrive on time. Got the instructions and sat down to create....Yes, those are pictures of Les embeliished by flowers....the class was Prima's Get Your Grunge On boy mini album.........

CKC

I decided this year that I would take full advatage of CKC being in Houston. I took a vacation day and booked a hotel. I check class listings and signed up for a couple. My thoughts were that this would be a nice mini vacation. I could relax, scrap and shop. Though my original plans were not to go solo it worked out that would be the case--no problem for me!

After finding a friend from high school would also be in attendance, we made plans to meet up and 'play' together at the crop Friday night. Initially I only had plans for two classes but after our Thursday night chat I decided to add a few more when I picked up my registration on Friday morning. I'm glad I made that decision because the extra classes proved to be the ones to get me thinking outside the box and sparked my creativitiy.



I signed up for a Prima 'grunge class' that was to be 'boy themed'--basically how to use all the Prima goodness (which is often frilly and flowery) to make a masculine album. It was my first class. Unfortunately, our class kits did not arrive and we had an instructor with no supplies. Fortunately she had enough kits from another scheduled Prima class (which I had just added) that we would do in class--while still getting our original class kit once it arrived the next morning--kinda like getting a class for free. Since I had signed up and paid for a class that I had now done the project the wonderful folks at CKC allowed me to change my class--so it was still like getting a class for free.

My final class on Friday evening was titiled I Love That Paper...from the desciptions I was thinking it would be about using the various beautiful patterned papers as backgrounds, etc. It turned out to be a class where we took some cute but funky paper and cut our various elements to put together a layout. I loved it! It got me thinking outside the box. It gave me a boost to unleash my creativity.

Summer Reading...

While browsing Target I came across several books that grabbed my interest so naturally I had to get them. Now I have to read them! I have a habit of picking up books that appeal to me then putting them aside because I'm not really in the mood to read. The result: stacks of unread books. In an effort to keep that from happening with my lastest purchase I am determined to read these books by the end of July. So far, I have managed to finish one. If I manage at least a book a week I will be able to accomplish my goal. And maybe, just maybe I'll get back in the 'habit' of reading on a regular basis...

Happy 89th Mom....

Happy Birthday mom. You'll be glad to know I'm doing well. There have been a few little bumps but nothing to derail me. I've got a great guy in my life that you would love--he takes great care of me and says you don't have to worry about me being taken care of cause he has it covered (yeah, I told him about your big concern being me-how you said you worried about what would become of me...). You would probably really be loving him right now because he is a hunter and I have sausage in my freezer from a wild hog he killed---I remember you always commenting you'd like to have some good, wild hog.... I live by the things you taught me; to not wait around on others if there's something I want to do--I've shared that philosophy with others on many occassions. I can thank you for all the great adventures I've had and the courage I've had to do various things. I am proud to say when you left I did not stop living. So happy birthday mom--give daddy a big hug from me.....

Gettin "My Craft On" and other Sunday Adventures...

After a bit of debate I decided to make a run into civilization to do a little shopping...and along the way I heard from my 'Jewish Mother' who proposed doing a little shopping together and grabbing lunch. It's been ages since we've gotten to visit so today was perfect! She picked me up in her new chariot just outside Macy's and off we went. Spent some time wandering Joann's and picked up a few goodies....then back to the mall and to wander Macy's and few other stores. After that we checked out Aaron Brother's Framing (I think that's the name---I could get in trouble there since they carry Tim Holtz and 7 Gypsies goodness). We topped it off with a yummy lunch at Panera and chatting and catching up. We really need to schedule that a bit more frequently...

I had talked about the honey's upcoming birthday and bounced ideas off Carol....and when I got home and began to play I continued to bounce ideas off her and came up with what I think is a cute canvas for his office---here are a few sneak peeks:



a fun tidbit...I picked up the bingo card on the first trip the honey took me on when we went through antique shops in Llano....

Project from HELL...

I am ashamed to say this is my scrap closet.....I will say it no longer looks THIS bad. I was off half a day last week and decided to begin the process of purging and organizing. Tons to get rid of and much to organize. I long for an organized, accessible stash--hoping it will help foster my creativity (doesn't that sound fancy--lol). I had decent momentum and did manage to purge quite a bit but there is still much to go--here's hoping I can accomplish something this weekend....

Fort Worth Weekend...

So last Saturday morning the honey and I loaded up and headed for Fort Worth--all for me because I had tickets to see the Oak Ridge Boys.....so off we went....along the way we stopped in Waco to check out Crop, Paper, Scissors--picked up a few things but overall wasn't all that impressed....

After a little blip we were finally able to get in our room at the downtown Sheraton--wish I could say I thoroughly enjoyed that hotel but I can't (that's a whole other story but let's just say my room charges ended up being reversed after a few calls to the management staff...)

We met family for dinner at my favorite Ft. Worth BBQ place-Ricskys....where we ate, drank and laughed--a good time for all...then a stroll (yes in the blazing heat and humidity) that included 'cowboys' singing on the corner.



The honey survived the show--while he was physically present I know mentally he was somewhere else cause that just wasn't his thing--yep, I owe him big time...

Sunday morning we were up and off to meet family again for a yummy Mexican breakfast near the Stockyards (drove the honey through) then home we went.A quick trip with a few bumps but full of good food and great company.

And believe it or not....I didn't take that many pictures! Kinda disappointing in hindsight but it'll be okay....

Creative Weekend

One of the ladies I worked with at the MS camp last month is super cool and very creative. We decided before leaving camp we would get together to create sometime--lucky for me she lives in LaPorte. The stars seemed to have aligned just right and we managed to get together Saturday to create. I arriveed early evening on Saturday and we began to brainstorm. Plenty of creative toys around to play with...we stayed up late playng with paints and alcohol inks and other assorted items. It was relaxing to just hang out and let the supplies dictate where you went. Looking forward to our next creative time.....

Farewell By Design.....

By Design Scrapbook Boutique....a favorite source of scrappin goodness for the past four years is shutting their doors. By Design has been the place to go for the newest, cutting edge products. I've been fortunate to take some wonderful classes from people like Tim Holtz, Heidi Swapp, Janet Hopkins and Debby Schuh thanks to Tracy. I'll miss her and the store and all the goodness.

My Jewish Mother....

I have a dear friend who I refer to as my Jewish mother...always giving me an extra push when I need it, not sugar coating things. She's creative, snarky and funny and I love her dearly. She's having a bit of a time with some health issues and has recently been sentenced to massive doses of steroids. If you have a chance, pop over to her blog and leave her a word of two of encouragement.

Beer Fest revisited.....

So apparently it was all over channel 11 what a mess the event was.....people being overcome by heat waiting to get in (no surprise there), people waiting in line over two hours to get in--and still not getting in, running out of beer.....seems we weren't the only ones who thought it was poorly planned. At least we had a nice night in a nice hotel and fun at Pete's!

Beer Fest and other stuff....

The Houston Beer Festival was held Saturday downtown. I bought tickets weeks ago through Groupon for the honey as an early birthday gift and added a hotel room at the Doubletree (they were offering a special and this way we could both enjoy ourselves without the worry of getting home after). After a yummy homemade breakfast we headed downtown and checked in....and being the Doubletree we were greeted with warm chocolate chip cookies.....

We lounged a bit (since the festivities didn't begin till 2p) before heading over to city hall....and were greeted with....long lines.....no sinage......and we waited....and waited....and waited....

After nearly an hour and a half in line we were in the gates. We had a fistfull of tickets that could be used for tastes or full 12 ounce servings.....

As time passed the crowd began to grow which meant the lines for the beers began to grow.....we had been there a few hours....they honey was able to enjoy a few beers and had a couple that weren't so good. I sipped on iced tea and finally tried some Jeremiah Weed spiked cola. It was good but the combination of that, only my earlier breakfast in my stomack and the heat I felt it immediately. The lines were insane, the placed was packed to the point that moving was growing difficult and we decided to call it done. I don't think it's something we'll try again---unless they change the venue (at the very least....they had too much packed into too small of a space).

We wandered back to the hotel and after cooling down a bit and resting we walked over to the Houston Pavillions for dinner. There are a handfull of restuarants-most somewhat up-scale, but we settled for Guadalajara. We knew there would be a wait but the wait to be seated was minimal. It was the wait for our food that seemed to go on forever......the honey was NOT impressed.....I can't really say that I was either....

After dinner I was able to talk the honey into a vist to Pete's (Dueling) Piano Bar. I've been to Pete's in Austin on numerous occassions and always had a wonderful time and I hoped this adventure would prove to be fun as well. The honey had no idea what he was walking into but being a good sport he went. We grabbed a beer and then found a place to sit in the back. It wasn't quite 9p, but it was already rocking. It took a song or two but once he knew what was going on, the honey seemed to relax and enjoy himself. We sang....we danced....we had a good time. I think maybe Pete's redeemed me after the disappointment of the beer fest and dinner.....

Time Off.....

I recentlly took a day off from work. No real planning....other than asking late in the day if I could take off the next day (gotta take my vacation time before the end of August of I lose it). So Tuesday near 5p the boss said yes to Wednesday off. So I took it!

No real plans, just burning a day. I thought I might go in.....maybe even just half a day. My body knew that morning when the alarm went off that I didn't really have to go in--so I slept a bit longer. I took my time waking up...getting up and getting started. I piddled......watched a little morning television (it was Meredith's last day on the Today show--not something I normally watch)....thought about catching a movie (a chick flick) then decided against it. Finally up and going I headed out for a little shopping.....a new outfit for the beer fest this weekend (finding that was luck!).....picked up essentials at Target (ya know, toilet paper, etc).....a run through Specs (why not!)...a quick (yummy) lunch at a place I'd never been (Chinese place in Rosenberg near Kroger)...then grocery shopping and home.

This is the fortune which accompanied my meal...

Feeling it today.....

Over the weekend I had an opportunity to ride a zip line....and I did it. It's one of those things I watch others do and think it's cool but it isn't necessarily something I saw myself doing. And then came Saturday.....one of the other girls at the MS Camp Can Do was talking about the zip line and how wonderful it was...how you it's not as scary as you may think. Maybe I wasn't in my right mind--but when am I ever? I had a chance to break away from my scheduled duties with an opportunity to choose various activities during my break. I didn't really give it much thought-just headed out to the zip line. I didn't think about it...didn't think about the possibility of difficulty in climbing the tower....and didn't think of being scared spitless of 'jumping' off a tower---thought I didn't actually jump. I figured if I was ever going to do this I was certainly in the best environment for doing so...afterall, they work with people with all levels of mobility--there were people who use wheelchairs climbing that tower (granted, they had assistance but they were still climbing)! So without any deep thought I stepped up, got harnessed up and climbed the tower and rode the zip line down!

Weekend at camp...

At 44 years old I have attended my first sleep-over camp. It was great! I spent the weekend as a volunteer at the MS Camp Can Do. This camp is for adults with MS and no matter the limitations of the person, they CAN participate in every activity--not just arts and crafts--though that is certainly an option (and the area where I will now be working during camp--yep, I will be back).

Horseback riding....canoeing....archery.....zip line (which I did!!). All offered (among other things) and all accessible to everyone whether walking, using a cane, wheelchair or scooter. Every camper gets a buddy and together, they are unstoppable!

Happy Mother's Day Mom....