28 down....22 to go!

How do I spend my time now? Working, exercising and doing things with family. This is why I have neglected my blog. I have a goal in mind and nothing can stop me now! I have been doing Weight Watchers for 24 weeks now and am happy to say I am more than half way to my personal goal of losing 50 pounds. I have my 20th class reunion in June, so I am in high gear now. I weighed 130 pounds when I graduated and to go back looking like this would be humiliating. I won't be that small again, but I can lose 50...one pound at a time! I have been overweight for years and I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I want to be healthy! The benefits of changing my life will be lower cholesterol (which is still high now, but down over 20 points since Sept), a healthier heart, a nicer figure (and smaller clothes) and hopefully a longer life. My energy level has soared and I can honestly say that I LOVE to exercise. It is a great stress reliever! And believe me, life can be stressful. I'd say anyone would agree to that.
So, if you don't see me around here as much as before, just know instead of sitting on my butt, I am moving it! :) I will still share creative things. I am going to a scrapbook getaway in two weeks and hope to have lots to share from what I create that weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Valentines 2010

Here are the Valentines I made for this year. I decided to add some fun texture and cut the large red piece out using my Sizzix die from Stampin' Up! My craft table was super fuzzy after I was done. I also added some texture by running all the white cardstock pieces through my Cuttlebug using an embossing folder. The corners were clipped with my Ticket Corner punch from SU!. Lastly, there are some fun textures on the tag piece. I used some funky glittered cardstock for the punched pink hearts. The small fuzzy red hearts were in my mom's V-day stash and those were attached using mini glue dots. So, whatcha think? DO YOU WANT TO PET THE CARD NOW OR WHAT? Gotta love texture! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Soothing Color Combo

My mom recently shared a stamping magazine with me. I was inspired by this color combo and layout and came up with this:
The cardstocks are from Archivers (Chocolate Truffle) and Stampin' Up! (Naturals White, Mellow Moss and Riding Hood Red). The stamps are all from retired SU! sets. The brown satin ribbon is from my ribbon stash. A girl can NEVER have too much ribbon, I say! *wink* Lastly, I used a pre-punched tag, one brad, various Stampin' Up! markers, and my paper piercer.

On a piece of scrap cardstock, I cut out a rectangle shape to use as a stencil. I simply sponged on two different colors of yellow inks (Barely Banana, Summer Sun) to create the background. I then stamped my flowers and added the paper piercing. The top layer of the focal piece is adhered using dimensional foam so that the pierced holes don't get smooshed and stay crisp and round. I was really happy with my finished project and plan to use this as Kevin's Valentine card this year. It might be a little girly, but hey...he's married to a girl. So, there! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

Time Stood Still

The phone rang this past Monday at 6am. Caller ID said Samaritan Regional. That's the local hospital. On the other end was my mom. Dad was in ER after being "hot and clammy". She asked calmly if I could come right up. I raced frantically to get my bearings in the dark bedroom. I flipped on lights, managed to get dressed and throw on a ball cap. The car was iced over and Kevin frantically scraped just enough of the windows so I could drive there. My dad was having a heart attack.

Time stood still. Was he going to be ok? What prompted this? Did he have any warning signs? This was my dad! I am daddy's little girl. Time stood still. Time stood VERY still for me. I prayed silently as I watched the nurses administer the meds and follow the docs orders. I tried to understand what the doc was saying to them and tried to pick up on any clues or key words. I looked at my dad's hands, his arms, his legs, his face...every inch of him. What if he didn't make it? Should I say anything or nothing at all?

I tried to remember that God had that moment, my dad's life, everything...right in the palm of His hand. God was in control of whatever could happen to my dad. I felt calm on one hand, scared to death on the other. I just kept praying...and preparing myself for the worst.

My dad suffered a major heart attack. He was rushed to the next nearest hospital's heart clinic. His one vessel was 100% blocked and the EMT said his face and legs were blue when they arrived at my parents' house. He now has four stents in his heart. He almost didn't survive. He goes back in 2-3 weeks for a fifth stent. He has stopped smoking and will have a long road ahead with diet and lifestyle changes, plus a new regimen of medications.

God was in control even before my dad had the heart attack and right now as I type this. He is always in control. He is good...all the time. Even if my dad didn't survive this, God is still and will always be good. I am just grateful beyond words my dad has a second chance. Daddy's Little Girl has been given the blessing of more time with her dad.

He came home from the hospital today. Today is also my 38th birthday. What a gift! Thank you, Lord! Thank you from the bottom of all our hearts!

Now you know why my blog has been ignored this week. Time stood still. I'll get back in the swing after I catch my breath a bit. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for understanding.

CPS/PTI Sketch Challenge

I decided to do my first-ever sketch challenge at CPS (Card Positioning Systems). This challenge was in conjunction with some of Papertrey Ink's (PTI) 3rd Anniversary prize giveaways. Since I had a whole day ahead to do whatever my heart desired, I made it a point to get my fingers inky and create. Visit the CPS main page by clicking on their name above or you can go HERE to check out links to everyone else's final creations. This was fun! By linking my project to their website, I am entered into their prize drawing. I've got my fingers crossed they'll pick my name randomly from the entries. :)

This weekend, I went back through some older magazines and tore out my favorite ideas that would inspire me for future projects. I saw a great idea using cork sheets with the spiral punch detailing. I integrated that very idea into today's sketch and think it turned out kinda nifty. The cork sheet I had was just thick enough that it still made it in the spiral punch. You have to be super careful as the cork tears and separates so easily. I was also able to use the Creative Memories corner rounder on the cork. After today, I am reconsidering the Corner Chomper from We R Memory Keepers. It will chomp through chipboard and everything. Hmmm....might have to use an Archivers coupon for that purchase. I used the spiral punch on the orange layer, too, to keep that design element going. Lastly, I added the layered star, a PTI sentiment and some faux stitching with my white gel pen. So, there you go... my first CPS sketch challenge and PTI prize entry. Thanks for stopping by! I'll have more goodies to share this week. I enjoyed my Sunday afternoon filled with creativity and the Super Bowl.

Snow Day

Riley and Kevin were snuggling in the spare bed while Jack and I were up and at 'em Saturday morning. LOL!

In the morning, I shoveled a path for "Puppy Nascar". You can't really tell, but the snow has to be 12"-14" deep! They love to run and jump in the snow, but I also needed to provide a path for potty breaks. ha

This is what I woke up to Saturday morning. Lots of snow, drifts from the wind and a very quiet neighborhood. I couldn't believe the cars that did go by now and then. Where the heck were those nuts going?

This is later in the day after the plows had been by. Of course, that also means we get blocked in our driveway. These wonderful guys (two of them are neighbors) used the snow blower at the end of our drive. Poor Kevin had been out shoveling and he said he must have had a big pout on his face and they came to the rescue. Uh, we will have a snowblower by next year for sure!

His truck was covered, but you can see there is no snow under the truck. It had all blown and drifted against the breezeway door and up by the house. Kevin had to go out the front door and dig his way to the breezeway door to get back in. This is after the digging was done.

Later that night before the sun went down, I got a few pics of pups playing in the snow. They are so funny!

Gotta love snowy pup noses. Jack is a snow bunny!!

Here's a video of the wild animals out back! Riley forgets he's the short guy and then hops through the deep snow like Jack. Hilarious dogs! Oh and did you notice the occasional yellow snow? Gotta love big boy Jack who thinks it's cool to hike his leg on the snow bank. Now, that's what I call a "chilly willy". *giggle* I know, I know....too much information.

Mystery Solved!

I found out who the Anonymous Julie was on the Adorable Tucker post! :) My long lost friend Ju-Bug. My heart went pitter patter. Love you, girl! We should connect on Facebook.

Superstahhhhhhhhhh!

I made this card using some of the current Stampin' Up! In Colors. The polka dot set is from Papertrey Ink and the sentiment and mini stars are from SU! (retired set). I made this card for my cousin's husband. Gotta make men feel like SUPERSTAHHHHHHHS when they get fun snail mail, you know?!

Updates on the homefront:

*down 24.8 pounds now. I am almost half way to my goal of losing 50 pounds. I am so grateful that I love to exercise now and have the gift of motivation right from God. He is so good!

*Kevin is still laid off. Doesn't look like business has picked up enough to call him back yet. We will play the unemployment game a bit longer until we see if there's hope in getting his job back. If not, it's time to move on and look elsewhere. It's been tight, but we're surviving.

*My mojo is still in hiding, as well as my motivation to update this blog more. Sorry when I take breaks, but I guess my motivation is on other subjects right now. I really don't get to my craft table much and will update as I create.

*This computer is just about out of memory (it was new in '05). Until I can afford to add memory, I am slow about uploading more pics as it uses memory, then I have to go back and delete, blah blah blah. I will be deleting all my music and backing up photos soon, so hopefully it will be more user-friendly and it won't take me forever to do what I do on here. :P

*Last I checked, these two dogs were still rotten as ever. Thought that'd make you smile!

Thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous Julie Who?

There was a comment by an anonymous Julie

on the Adorable Tucker page post.

Hey!!! I know several people named Julie...which one are you?

Please tell me, the suspense is killing me! :)

Please leave another comment on this post and tell me more! Thanks!