Life Reflections by the Untamed Scrapper

Our final week in the Lazarus Experiment

2011-06-04T11:54:00.002-04:00

As we wound down the Lazarus Experiment this week we had a few final assignments... One was to give something - really really give, one was to dance, and one was to really connect... these, I thought would not be as easy as I had hoped but that is the purpose of our Experiment wasn't it? To stretch ourselves and grow in our love and relationship with the Lord and live more in the Lord and as He would have us live? With that, I offer my final entries into the Lazarus with a prayer of thanksgiving for all those involved and for the Lord for having led me here through His daughter, sweet Marci.

I have given my house. When my kids came home temporarily, I realized this is not going to be as temporary as they alluded. This is going to be at least a summer long venture. In some ways this relieves me as there are going to be two weeks where Dalton and I were to be away (not concurrent) but this saves me having to board my sweet dog.

This is however giving up my freedom. I enjoy very much watching what I want, cooking what I want, doing what I want. Dalton and I come and go as we please and we no longer having that luxury. We now have four more people and a dog living here and I find myself planning a wedding in 3 weeks, giving up my freedom, my living space, my private time. I no longer have a bed to myself as my 10 year old is now sleeping with me so his brother can have somewhere to sleep. I have a small corner of my den where my things are and where I can spend time on the computer.

What I take from this is how much love there is around me. While I have no alone time, I have laughter, conversation, love is electric in the air around me. There is little time for loneliness where there is so much life and living!!

Dancing came easily as my best friend and I danced through the aisles of the local Dollar General as they pumped canned 70's music through their pa system. We are so good together and I can be myself around her nio matter what. We cry, laugh, talk, dance, sing, cook, share television shows (while we are on the phone lol) and she has been my rock. While I lost my husband, she lost one of her best friends and it has brought great comfort to me to be on this new leg of my life's journey with her.

We celebrate everything together and she is like a second mom to my children. We are thick as little thieves and hope to grow old along side one another. We dance to celebrate life, joy, love, laughter and even sadness as even last night she held me while I cried. Funny how music can move us in so many directions, often in the blink of an eye, a simple sung syllable, a strum of just the right chord so as to raise up a memory that is both wonderful and painful all at once. And she is there through it all.... we stand together, clinging to each other, and slowly swaying to melancholy beat of our lost love. I do hope the Lord allows us to dance in our friendship for many years to come. She has become a sister to me, family as real as my blood family is.

The Lazarus Experiment has really helped to me grow through a time during which I would much rather had hibernated. You have all shown me new ways of seeing things, new ways of feeling things. I have reached (grown toward!) a place, I hope, of deeper giving, understanding, compassion, empathy, loving and of reliance. I have come to understand that we must not only rely on and believe in God and His infinite wisdom and ability to walk us through every moment of our lives but we must also awaken ourselves more deeply to the world around us from which we can also draw strength, inspiration, joy and love. It is a time to rejoice in all that which God has provided, all that to which we had cast a cloudy eye, not unseeing really but had passed over. We can no longer be unconcerned with little pieces of life but take them all in and savor them all. How delicious is a meal without one small spice? Even a grain of salt, a simple bay leaf, a granule of dried mustard can change a meal from something to which we have become accustomed to something more spectacular. Each and every second of the day contains something that makes that day memorable. Without each miniscule fragment of time, our day changes; morphs into something different.
I have learned to take time to smell it, feel it, ingest it, touch it, let it's scent invade my senses and make it's impact on my day.

I thank you - all of you - for helping me through this difficult time in my life and bringing to closer to a place where I can rejoice each and every moment. I have felt such growth and love here and my heart has found a deeper meaning in my faith, in my love for others I will likely never meet in real life, in my own ability to survive and learn and in my own ability to love myself. You are all amazing and wonderful people. I will keep you all in my prayers!

Today's Laz assignment

2011-05-29T21:02:00.002-04:00

Here is today's assignment.

OK. If you didn't get my cryptic post, the challenge for Sunday is to stretch. Could be physical, could be mental, could be spiritual, must be Lazzy. How can you stretch yourself? What could you do that is way beyond "normal" for you? Come on! Jump over the wall of that comfort zone! Do something outrageous!

At first I was quite overwhelmed by this. Before I went to church I thought about this long and hard (not an easy task as 6:30am when I've had 3.5 hours sleep... even with a strong cup of hot tea!). How wonderful that I was confronted with my "stretch" without initiating it myself at all...

Today I got to stretch me and my relationship with my little guy. He has been suffering so since his daddy passed away. After church today we decided to talk together about ways we could spend the day together doing something he wanted to do that I could help with. Soon after we began to chat, we began talking about God and how He has affected Dalton's life. Dalton finally admitted he is so very angry with God. Angry that He took his daddy. Angry that his daddy didn't take better care of himself. Angry that God didn't give him more chances to survive. Angry that God didn't give him his hero, his best friend and advocate, his daddy back. Angry that daddy isn't buried instead of cremated (which was Kevin's choice). So terribly angry that he doesn't know how to deal his own disappointment, sadness and heartbreak and feeling totally let down by God. I allowed him to cry and talk it through in his own mind until he was just in tears and cried it out on his own.

It was all I could do not to interject, point out where God had given daddy chances to change his eating habits, other habits that were equally hard on his body (drinking beer and smoking). It was all I could do to not try and use all my mommy words to stop him in his tracks and pursuade him to not be angry with God and listen to reason. I wanted to really get all that sad, little boy emotion to stop stop stop! Instead, I was careful to let him talk it out completely. (This was indeed a stretch for me as, typical of many women, I tend to want to lead this little boy rather than allow him his random direction in order to get it all out before adding my two cents.)

After he got all his emotions out completely, we talked some more and I was able to help him see why this wasn't God's fault and how good and merciful God was to not let daddy suffer heart trouble like his brother and mommy did and then I said it...

"Wanna go fishing?" (This was his and daddy's favorite activity.) "YES!" Came his loud reply! "YES Mommy! I DO wanna go fishing!"

So fishing we went. I have a friend who lives on a lake so we got out all of Daddy's fishing gear (fresh water) and three different poles, each baited with a different type of artificial bait and off we went. Now I'm not really physically capable of hiking around in the woods, hills, sandy shores, but this was a big day, and my little boy was in serious need of guy activity.

We had a blast. His friend was home, as was his momma, and while the little guys fished and played, she and I talked. I walked (hiked) through the woods, down an embankment, and stretched my legs and did it!

I feel so warmed by God's embrace that today I was able to take my son on a real excursion. I was able to listen and not interrupt him or try and lead him in a different direction, thereby stretching our ability to have deeper more meaningful conversation. I was able to help him stretch his heart a little and let his anger slip away a bit and meld into something a little more manageable (for both him and me). We were both able to stretch our vocal cords singing in church as my little guy sang loudly and proudly right along with me. I feel amazing today and I've got a really happy little fellow on my hands! Thank the Lord for his goodness, love, generosity and strength. For His comfort and the joy He allowed me to experience with Him, Dalton, His amazing world and with our friends. It's been a beautiful day.

My beautiful gifts...

2011-05-28T21:01:00.005-04:00

The other day, in our Lazarus Experiment, we were challenged to stop and listen to what was around us. Try and take notice of the sounds that we may not really hear on a daily basis. Because I usually spend my mornings reading on the front porch, I know that the birds are out singing their songs. A couple days ago, the day of the challenge, I stopped to do what we had been challenged. I just felt like I would like to share what I did.

I have just spent the better part of two hours on my porch, reading, thinking, listening and watching. I have a bird feeder on my porch that I just filled again this morning and waiting quietly for the birds to appear to feast.

And appear they did. Cardinals, finches, mockingbirds, robins, tiny wrens, and more all joining together in the large willow oak that stands just outside my front door with a canopy of lush green leaves that envelopes the little world that lives just inside it's branches. It's a little world most people wouldn't even stop to recognize. It's beautiful music, so unwritten, so random and yet so perfect plays from different branches, all separate pieces of the same orchestral piece. They are small, and large, these little instruments. They sing beautifully knowing that God does indeed enjoy their joyful noise.

I watched as the mockingbirds played among the tall weeds that seem to have grown in my yard over night. I see the squirrels hoping together, playing hide and seek, and cheerful games of "Tag!". Even the locust are not out in full force this time of day but their own melodies play off in the distance.

God has made a wonderful world. It's beautiful can be so overwhelming. As overwhelming as our own sadness can be. I am so grateful.

Despite my broken body, the pain I walk with daily; despite my recent heartache, I am grateful for this respite in my front yard. I am so thankful that this little world exists just outside my front door reminding me that even in my despair the beauty of His world is far greater than me or my troubles.

I took time to sit in the all the noise and reverie of the morning to relax. Thankful to God that I can still feel His love, His world, His beauty and His gifts. They somehow make my heart lighter. They make my joints feel like simple growing pains, much like the springing of a new limb from this massive tree. I am thankful that the world I live in, sometimes so overwhelmingly filled with it's pain, frustration, anger, angst, fear and rage we can still find the joy and happiness and peace that only He can give us.

The Lazarus Experiment

2011-05-27T13:56:00.004-04:00

I am so glad to have met so many wonderful people on line. When Kevin used to ask me why I spent so much time on line I tried to explain the thread of love that connects me with so many people, many of whom I have never met and will likely never meet face to face. At least not in this lifetime.

I have been an internet junkie since 2003, when my sister introduced me to scrapbooking once again. Since then I have found many delightful, dear and wonderful people in all corners of the world. I have friends in nearly every state of the US. I have friends in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, China, Singapore, France, Holland, England, Germany and more. I'm blessed! What wonderful instrument, the internet!

One of the things I discovered while playing with my on line friends was Facebook. Oh how I love Facebook! I can play games, connect with my relatives (some of whom I have not seen in 20 or more years!), meet new friends, explore new things and even grow. I've met some amazing people with whom I share many things in common.

Through one of these groups and friends I met a beautiful lady named Marci Negranza. We have never met face to face. We have scrapbooked together over the internet, we have shared in each others lives. One thing I can say about scrapbookers for sure is that we are, for the most part, some of the most giving and delightful people! (Why thank you, yes, I do consider myself to be one of them. *grins and giggles*.)

Marci and I are also friends on Facebook thanks to an amazing lady we will call "Groovy Deb". Marci and I have, over the last few years, followed each other's blogs (though admittedly, I seldom comment because I'm a terrible commenter), followed each other's lives through the "news feed" on Facebook, and played a lot of games. Marci has introduced me to a beautiful group of people who have begun a very special project through Facebook called "The Lazarus Experiment".

So, let me tell you about The Lazarus Experiment. As some of you know, (and anyone who read my last entry), I lost my dear husband in March. The week before Easter, I got an invitation from Marci to join this group of folks. For those of you who are unsure, Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, was someone of whom Jesus was quite fond. He received word that Lazarus was very sick. Rather than rushing to Lazarus side, Jesus felt compelled to wait for a couple days. Upon returning to Lazarus' home, he learned that Lazarus has already passed away and had been in his tomb for four days.

Martha was quite stricken by Jesus' failure to return and help heal Lazarus. Jesus calmly explained to her, " "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me shall live, even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die in eternity". (John 11:25, KJV)

He then speaks with Mary, who is simply overcome by her sorrow. The Bible simply says, "Jesus wept." John 11:35, KJV

Surrounded by mourners, Jesus visits Lazarus' tomb. Over Martha's objections, Jesus has the mourners roll away the stone entrance to the tomb and prays. After his prayer, he calls out to Lazarus to come out and so, risen from the dead, Lazarus exits the tomb and is once again, very alive. While many then believed in Jesus and his claims to be the son of the Father, Almighty, others ran off to alert authorities. I'm not sure what the authorities were going to do at that point... kill Lazarus again because it was some sort of abomination? For goodness sake, people were (and are!) so quick to point out as "wrong" or somehow "illegal" that which they do not understand... (too bad our world doesn't have a healthier dose of faith).

So, now that you have the background, there begins The Lazarus Experiment. It was explained so well here. In case you don't want to click over, in a nutshell, here is what Rob says about our new journey...

Last year we began to think through how Lazarus would have felt about life after being brought back to life by Jesus. What would he have done differently? How would he see each new day? What kinds of changes would he have made?

Lazarus represents the new life that is found in Jesus Christ because of resurrection. If we've put our trust in Jesus, we have the same kind of new life Lazarus had. Sometimes we don't live like it.

So, The Lazarus Experiment is a challenge to live life with the joy, the boldness, the courage, the perspective, the reality of newness. If you are up to the challenge, choose one thing to do each day that reflects the kind of living Lazarus would have done after coming out of the tomb.

For some context and ideas, read this article about last year's experiment in Plain Truth Magazine.

So, there ya have it... in a nutshell. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that, right? Especially in the situation I'm in at the moment trying to learn daily to live without my love.

The Lazarus Experiment is more than 30 days into itself and coming down to the wire as to completing our experiment. I had to stop and ask myself some questions. Have I made any real conclusions? Have I managed to learn the things I needed to learn? Have I been receptive to learning what God wanted me to learn? Have I grown? Have I changed? Have I been able to become more of a vessel of the Lord's?

I asked the group some of my concerns. They assured me I was right on track and seemed to be truly in tune with how this experiment was to be played out. I was reassured that while my desire to find something magnanimous to end our time together, surely the point to it all was that Lazarus would have been much more apt to revel in the little things. I began to think.

What would Lazarus do? He would stop to listen to the birds singing their songs of love, joy and desire. He would have stopped to notice the little lady bug crawling idle-ly along the leaves. He would have taken a walk in the rain to feel it's soft touch on his skin. He would have laid on the floor to play with the cats and dogs. He would have noticed the distant giggles of the toddlers playing at the local day care. He would have tasted that bite of ice cream even though it wasn't on his diet. (Would he have even been ON a diet?) He would have had a bit of that delectable dessert no matter how decadent. He would have taken his children to the park and played long into the evening just to watch and play with the fireflies as they danced to their own silent musicals. He would have gone to every school play, every graduation. He would have attended every church service just to show his gratitude and love for the Lord. He would have attended every funeral just to show that there is love, and life, after death and to reassure those who were grieving. He would have talked to many and smiled to the masses. He would have reveled in every single minute of every single day.

I'm so grateful to have met these wonderful people, Marci and her pastor Ron and her amazing Lazarus friends who have shown me a better way to celebrate, to live, to love and to grow. I'm counting this experiment among my greatest joys, my greatest accomplishments, my greatest blessings.

Its been a long time........

2011-05-26T16:57:00.003-04:00

So there is a lot to say and not so much after all.

First, let me apologize for my one and a half year absence. it's been a long time friends! I will attempt to be more attentive to you dear blog. I know I have been neglectful and will be more present and less absent.

Second, let me fill you in briefly in the last year's events as quickly and without too much pain (read: tears...)

Last February 17 (2010) Kevin and I came to a crossroads. We had grown apart and a series of events led us to a place where we either had to agree to work it through or cut our losses and move our separate ways. Fortunately, love won, we made a committment to work on it only this time together. We had a beautiful, glorious year together. We renewed our wedding vows on our 14th wedding anniversary, August 31, 2010, went on our first ever honeymoon. I got approved for disability, finally, in April after fighting for 10 years.

Kevin had back surgery in October and, for some reason, never seemed able to recover really. His back was better, but the pain persisted. Not quite where it had been but persisted none the less.

In December, we had a great holiday season. The boys, having moved out as a gift to us when we were gone on our honeymoon in Va. Beach, were each home. Taylor brought his sweetheart and Reaves had just begun dating a beautiful young lady.

We went to Great Wolf Lodge just after Christmas and shared a wonderful time - all 8 of us! January and February came and went and the stress of Kevin's job finally got the better of him. I knew his time there was limited... On March 3rd, we managed to get through the 14th anniversary of Momma's passing.

Kevin and I had spent a year now in bliss. Our relationship had never been stronger. We were completely totally head over heels in love and every day we managed to deepen our relationship. We were going to church and had been very blessed by their strength and prayer when Kevin was out with his back. I was so grateful for the love we had together. Perhaps we had grown into a place where we were taking our joy for granted but I don't think so. We spent time in prayer every single day, both silently and aloud, for our love, our God and our blessings.

On March 8th, Kevin had had enough at work. The stress was just too much and we had been trying to take it day by day. He called me that day and said, "Honey, just pray for me. I can't take this anymore."

He calmly walked into his boss's office and quietly said, "Mr. ----, I think you and I both have expectations of each other that are just never going to be met. I think it's best to leave. I think these belong to you." And he gently put his keys to the resort and the last 6+ years of his life on Mr. ---'s desk and walked away from his job.

He came home, we cried, we hugged, we spent time apart in silence. I prayed that this was the closing of the door that would open the window of opportunity that Kevin would find. I asked God to hold us, to hold Kevin, to guide us and to help us.

Kevin spent time in his "man cave" (aka the garage) and did the same I think. He came back in and said, "Honey, don't worry. I've got several ideas and I"ll have a job before the week end."

And he did...

Kevin, who had worked as a chef in a local restaurant, signed the papers for a new job on Sunday and started his new job on Monday. he was so happy and we knew this was the right place for him to be. He had gone back to his job as a chef and had promised the owner, a friend of ours, at least a year or more of his life as the new head chef. He was immediately being trained to take over the kitchen.

He worked Monday and Tuesday and was off on Wednesday. I had been on a diet since January, cutting out ALL carbs, which was working out well. I'd lost 28 pounds and was feeling pretty good! Kevin, was always so supportive, said to me every day, "Honey, I love you and I'm so proud of you. You're always beautiful to me but your smile is even more beautiful because you feel so much better about yourself. But i gotta tell ya, I'm Starving!!"

Kevin LOVED to eat. I don't know where it went. He could eat more than anyone I knew but never seemed to gain weight. The previous May, we had been told Kevin had high cholesterol (coming in at 246), and his blood pressure was on the verge of being too high (140+ / 90+ ). I tried to get him to cut out his high fat foods, but his red meat and his potatoes were too alluring. He didn't eat it as often as he used to, but he didn't go get his cholesterol checked again either. I told him that he needed to keep that appointment, but I can't make him go anymore than I can make the sun rise or set. Anyone who knew him, knew that Kevin was as stubborn as a mule and unless he wanted to do something, he just didn't...

I made healthy stuffed peppers that night. His day off and I was trying to impress my chef husband with healthy but awesome eats. He had been asking for them, so I was so happy to oblige! They were delicious!

I didn't get to eat with him. For some reason, a friend had stopped by that evening and had been here through dinner. Kevin had made plans to see an old friend that night and was due there about 7:30 so he went ahead and ate without me. He kissed me, kissed Dalton and he was out the door.

I remember Dalton coming into my room about 11. He was having a bad dream and wanted to sleep with me until Daddy got home. So, into my bed he climbed. I remember about 12:30 Kevin coming home. I heard him say, "Come on buddy, let's go to bed." Even in Dalton's sleepiness, he knew Daddy's back couldn't hold him anymore, he had grown up so much, so he reluctantly climbed out of our bed and Daddy tucked him in his own. I heard Kevin tucking him in and said, "G'night. I love you buddy."

I remember Kevin climbing into bed with me and snuggling up to me. I remember feeling like all was well now and sleep could come. And come it did.

I woke up at 6:40 and Kevin wasn't in bed. I figured that he had gotten up early since he was working that day so I went to the garage to find him. He wasn't there. I went into every room of the house looking for him. He wasn't anywhere. I went into the bedroom and sat down, picked up my cell phone from the charger hooked up to my vanity mirror, and texted him. "Hey! Where r u?" Just before I hit send, I quickly typed in, "I love you." Then sent my text on it's way. we had just gotten new cell phones and my darling "gadget guy" husband loved to play poker on his phone. I figured it might interrupt his game but the I love you, which was certainly genuine, would smooth any ruffled feathers.

His phone rang beside the bed, where it was still on the charger. That was red flag number one.

I again got up and went into the garage. I looked further in and noticed his chair was turned over. Red flag number two.

I noticed the dog was sitting very still. Head up. Normally, if it had been night and I went into the garage and daddy was sleeping, the dog growled. No growl, just a sweet shepard retriever mix sitting there looking at me ever so quietly as if to say, "Come in mom... somethings up." Red flag number three.

And in I went. And there I found my beloved. Curled up in a ball on the floor of the garage looking like I'd never seen anyone look in my life. I will not go into details. It's just too painful a memory. But my beloved was gone. I tried to find a pulse but he was already cold, already gone, already resting quietly with the Lord.

I panicked. I was incredulous. I was heartbroken. I was scared. I was lost.

I called my best friend who sent her husband over immediately. I called 911 and told them I needed someone right away that my husband.... and I said the words for the first time... was dead.

Oh God NO! No! No! NO!

But he was gone. The ambulance, paramedics, police, fire personnel, my darling friend and best friend's husband Paul and my neighbor and friend Alexis, were all huddled together on my porch when the paramedic confirmed my worst fear. My darling, my sweetheart, my mate, my true life best friend ever, my husband, the father of my youngest son, my love was gone. Taken his place in Heaven.

I called my older boys at their apartment. My neighbor came and got Dalton and had her stay there until everything had settled down and Kevin had been taken to the Medical Examiner's office in Richmond for a full autopsy since he passed away at home. When we brought him home to get an update on all the commotion, we were surrounded by loving friends who were there to support our family as we began to process this horrific news. Dalton took it as well as any 10 year old can take the news that his buddy, his daddy, his true hero was now an angel with God.

We will have to fast forward because I simply cannot go through the last two months here. It's painful and heart breaking and honestly too much to write right now. Perhaps one day I can write about our process. Perhaps one day I'll be able to put into words how I've been able to get to even this point in my life without completely losing my mind.

Suffice it to say, being strong for your little boy is my priority now. Being here and being alive for him is my number one priority. Being the best parent to the most amazing thing that ever happened to my sweetheart, Kevin, was now the most important thing I could do day after day. So that is what I do. I move through my days for him, for the memory of my wonderful husband. I move through it with the help of God and my faith knowing that He will guide me, comfort me, lift me up, carry me if I need it. I know that I am surrounded by this legacy of love Kevin left here with so many many people. I know that he would NOT want me to be here wasting a single minute of any day without doing something that would continue the love he left with us and the love I've always carried. I go through the motions sometimes and those are the times I know God has me on His "auto-pilot" and I'll get through to the next minute where I will stand up, shake it off and put on my best smile.

So here we are... May 26, 2011. Tonight Dalton will earn his Webelo badge. Last night Dalton broke 6 boards at Tae Kwon Do. Last night Dalton showed so much restraint, so much maturity, so much growth. Today is the day it all begins anew...

And so will tomorrow be a new day... just like each day is a new day... just like I have to start over every single day. But start over I will. I will do it for Dalton, for Reaves, for Taylor, for me, for my sister, my friends, my relatives, for Kevin's friends and relatives. I will do it because that is what God will want. I will do it because that is what I KNOW Kevin would want. I will do it because I kjnow that Kevin will be waiting for me, (a LONG time from now, when my time comes).

Until then, I love you my sweet man. With all my heart..........

They Say It's Your Birthday! WOOHOOO!

2010-01-03T16:03:00.007-05:00

It's not my birthday, no no... It was Dalton's birthday, then Jesus' birthday... then the World's sort of "birth" day... but now, in the new year, it's someone else's birthday!

If It's Groovy is turning 1!

We, as in the all the designers, are all hosting challenges on our blogs. It gets better. We are offering PRIZES TOO! Oh yeah, who doesn't love prizes for doing what we love doing!

Here's MY challenge

This is my sketch (yes, an original Untamed Scrapper sketch) and my challenge layout. Here are the details: use the sketch, one piece of paper or cardstock, one photo, a quote or title sticker (or letter stickers but only enough for your title) and paint - only. As you can see I used a background paper, painted on the flourish, used one photo and one quote sticker.

Upload your layout and include a link to where I can see it (and if you will, I'd love permission to post it here on my blog) no later than the 31st. On the 1st I'll choose a random entrant who will be the winner of my challenge. I'll post it on my blog and give you two days to reply. If you don't reply to me, I'll have to pick another number so be sure you watch the blog on the 1st of February!

The prize? Oh... guess you might want to know what that is. Well, the prize is a
$10 gift certificate to The Spirit of Scrapping, my memory works website. Hop over, peruse the site, look at all that awesome scrappy stuff and tell you you're not having a feast for your eyes?!

Oh and by the way.. if you enter more than one challenge, link me to the other challenges you've participate in (one reply for each challenge in which you participate). For each reply you get an extra entry and increases your chances of winning! Cool, huh!? So get busy watching the other bloggers on If It's Groovy and start checking out all these awesome challenges! I can't wait to see everyone's inspiration. I know you're going to inspire me too!

What a blessed life I have!

2009-11-30T08:58:00.008-05:00

Wow! It's been quite a while since posting last but what a month and a half I've had. In many ways it has been a most difficult time, a scary time, a rough time and a wonderful time. It's had it's ups and downs and in betweens. Most of all, I have realized how lucky we are and how blessed we are.

We'll skip over much of the daily's but here are the high points. Halloween was tons of fun. I dressed up as the widow of Dracula. Dalton was the "Crypt Keeper". We both had a blast. I handed out candy while Taylor and Reaves together took Dalton to each and every house with a porch light on in our neighborhood. I've not seen that much candy since Taylor used to make that his personal goal every Halloween. Fortunately, Dalton's not been digging into it and thus, our dentist visit is not to be filled with impending doom.

We got through momma's birthday letting off balloons in her honor. Taylor made me cry. He wrote on his balloon, "We miss you Meggie, but we see pieces of you every day in Lissa." How amazing was that to say about me?! The balloons were her favorite colors, pink and blue, gold for her birthstone, emerald green for my birthday and their anniversary and white for Daddy and Martha's birthstone (Pearl and Opal). They looked so beautiful climbing toward Heaven.

We got through election day where fortunately Virginian's are starting to wake up.

We got through Ive's birthday (Lisa's mom) but didn't get to send up balloons for the rain...

We got through the Hurricane Ida remnants and a nasty Nor'easter that dumped so much rain in our fair state we had to be declared in a state of emergency in Hampton Roads.

Taylor had a horrible run in with an 8 point buck. The car and the buck lost the fight. Taylor won the battle. Reaves and T were going to visit Michael and his family in Quinton and this deer managed to step out into the highway at the wrong time. He hit the right front side of the car, rolled onto the car, hit the left side, rolled onto the windshield and ended up being under the car. Taylor, who hit the deer in the RIGHT hand lane going about 68 mph, ended up behind his air bag, slamming on the brakes which locked up, skidded over the left lane and way over the soft muddy shoulder (which was very wide thankfully) and finally stopped just short of kissing a guard rail and the side of a hill. The car was dug into the mud and the deer was about 50 yards behind the car very gone.

Sorry about the poor quality, but these were all from a phone. When Reaves called and said they'd been in a highway accident that the car was totaled, I grabbed a purse and ran. I called Paul to have an escort since I was riding the highway at night and was a little trepidacious about that. (Kevin was working that night of all nights!)

Shockingly, the boys neither had any physical damage, which I attribute solely to the fact that I'm certain God rides shotgun with my children all day every day. The accident could have been SO much worse. Just a half mile down the road, rather than a hill in the center of the median, there is a deep ravine. The end result of this wreck could have been quite different. While the car is totaled, the deer did NOT penetrate the undercarriage, did NOT penetrate the rag top roof. He is, however, residing in my freezer. (Sad but true...)

We spent the better part of 3 hours trying to take care of everything, waiting on the wrecker (that got stuck in the mud after getting the car onto the flat bed), taking the deer back to Lisa and Paul's (thanks to our friend Tony who came and got it for us) and Kevin came after work to gut it and butcher it. The rack was impressive. Paul's remark upon seeing the deer? "Holy crap Taylor. I've waited my whole life to get a deer like that and you just got it on your first season out!" Funny, but sad too...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Daddy's. It was fabulous to be able to be there. Daddy is so awesome and I love him so so much. He was such fun to be with and we celebrated being thankful by staying up until Midnight the day before playing a rowdy game of family Monopoly! Reaves and Dalton ended up out of the game early and played parchisi (sp?) and Pictureka. All in all, a fabulous night!

I cooked a grand meal if I do say so myself and got many compliments which also blessed me. To have my daddy compliment my cooking makes me feel so awesome. Momma was such an amazing cook. I could never be the cook/chef she was but I strive to be close when I can. It's hard to cook a big meal like that for me as it takes so much out of me, but fortunately I had tons of help this year. Kevin stepped in and was a tremendous help.

We are indeed quite blessed. What a difficult, trying month or so we've had but blessed all the same.

I've scrapped a little, prayed a lot, changed meds and my blood pressure is back to normal now. (Praise God!) Now it's the holiday season, I'm preparing for Dalton's birthday, Christmas and New Year. I'm so sad that Kevin has to work on Christmas Day (8-4!!!) and have to figure out how we're going to do the holiday festivities before he goes into work. But that's a worry for another day. Today I'm going to concentrate on all the goodness!

Blog Candy! Check this out...

2009-10-14T12:26:00.004-04:00

Tam is an internet friend of mine with a HUGE amount of talent. I'm in awe of the talent she's got. She has more in her little finger than I have in my whole body (so you know how much talent she must have!! LOL)

Check out "Living Out Loud" for an awesome Blog Candy RAK that's going on Just Because! While you're there, you have to take a look at her projects, cards and Etsy shop, Whatchamadoodles. She's exceptional!

Now, truthfully, I hope you all stay away coz I truly am drooling over this RAK and the fewer of you that visit and do your qualifying, the better my chances of winning! So maybe I'd better just send you to Whatchamadoodles and not to the blog... Right?

Yeah well, Momma always did say I was too nice... So run on over ya'll. Check out her blog, do what you are supposed to do and don't forget her shop. Seriously, if you aren't into the mini albums or plaques (which you've got to have a screw loose not to be but that's your trouble), you surely can't deny her card making talent. She's so awesome!

Thanks for checking her out... thanks for not qualifying... Oops... sorry, did I say that out loud?

Looky looky what Marlene did!

2009-10-05T08:40:00.003-04:00

I'm lucky enough to be part of a wonderful board of ladies. These gals are always so supportive and uplifting to one another. There's no drama. They are truly wonderful people.

Recently they found my sketch blog and have sufficiently built up my ego. Marlene, one of these fabulous ladies, created an amazing layout using one of my sketches as a jumping off place. I think you'll agree, this is STUNNING!

Don't you LOVE it! I love her colors, the bling and her title. I think that photo is just darling.

Leave her some blog love won't you??

Thanks for looking.
Peace and blessings,
Lissa

What an amazing Blog Candy Giveaway!

2009-10-03T15:10:00.002-04:00

This blog is awesome! Look at the blog candy she's got going!

There are two of them and she's doing it in honor of her birthday which was yesterday, October 2nd. The giveaway is going on until the 30th so you have to go over and check it out!

This first giveaway is worth over $300 retail! Holy Moley!

The second giveaway is worth over $50!

Run on over to Twinkles Glow with Stamps and check it out! It's an amazing giveaway. She's got the "qualifiers" listed out and it's easy peasy!

Boo!

2009-10-02T18:50:00.003-04:00

That's what this little skeleton is saying...

Inside the card reads: You scared me right out of my skin!

This is for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #21 that coincides with the WorkBox giveaway being hosted at Priscilla Styles and 10 other blogs. I kinda like this little guy!

Thanks for looking!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

I LOVE and Covet This!

2009-09-30T13:09:00.010-04:00

Who doesn't just love the idea of being so organized everything fits into a single gorgeous armoire style cabinet; the kind of armoire that looks like fine furniture and would easily fit into your den or formal living room? Oh yes, it does exist and yes, I covet this furniture.... I do. I know I shouldn't, but I do. It's gorgeous and amazing and I so want one! The shaker style of this piece really appeals to me. You can get this in different finishes as well as styles too. If you say it doesn't excite you, I'll say you're not being completely truthful, unless of course you're not a crafter and then, well, sorry for your bad luck!

How excited was I to find a contest going on RIGHT NOW where I could possibly qualify to win one of these?!?!? Oh holy moley, my heart began to pound, my blood pressure shot up, I broke out into a sweat and I my fingers couldn't dance fast enough over my keyboard to follow the qualifying rules for entry. So, here I am, posting about this beautiful ScrapBox, the contest and adding the cool little logo to my sidebar...OH yeah... I totally wanna win this awesome treat!

Here is some information to get you started as found on the website hosting this grand opportunity, Priscilla Styles:

You can enter to win your choice of a Ribbon box or the ScrapMaBob and qualify for the amazing Workbox giveaway taking place on October 12, 2009. Yes, you read correctly. She is giving away either a Ribbon Box or a ScrapMaBob (these are so handy!) and that winner will be entered into the Grand Prize Giveaway-- a Workbox in their choice of color/style. WOW!!!!!

The contest runs from September 28-October 8, 2009. The Original Scrapbox will give away ONE Workbox to a lucky qualifier. There will be 10 finalists selected from 10 different blogs to be entered in the final giveaway.

Do you want to win your very own Ribbon Box or a ScrapMaBob and then be a finalist in The Workbox Giveaway? Aren't they awesome? You can check out all the cool products the company offers HERE. Enter this code when you place your order to get $100 off your shipping: 100Writes

There are more details and lots of ways to get additional entries on the Priscilla Styles blog. RUN over to Priscilla Styles and read up on this NOW for your chances to enter as well! And by the way...when you sign up for this, make sure you tell them Lissa Ballard referred you! It WILL make a difference!

AND... for further incentive to mention my name, if I do end up winning, I send all of you who referred me a little RAK in the mail!

There are a lot of other sites involved with this contest too. Make sure you check out all the different blogs listed for more chances to win!

Well check it out - blessed again!

2009-09-29T13:53:00.002-04:00

This time a friend of mine has blessed me! Lookie what I got today!

My instructions are to share this with five folks who I feel have become my friends. This is gonna be tough. I feel so blessed by my on line friends. You guys help fill my day, you've stood by me through some really tough places and events. Picking just 5 will be hard!

So here I go... (and if you're not one of the five please don't be offended... You're ALL amazing!)

Tara

Kathy

Deb

Nancy

Tam

Here are you more specific details...
Nominate 5 other bloggers you feel have become part of your circle of friends.Link to your nominees within your blog post. Include these instructions on how to pick up the award in your blog post. Link back to the person who gave you the award in your blog post, to show your appreciation. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.

So many thanks to Marci! You can find her HERE at Marci's Scrapping Spot.

I am oh so blessed!!!

2009-09-23T20:37:00.003-04:00

You guys might remember the wonderful girl I call my daughter. Since I wasn't fortunate enough to be blessed by having a girl child, the Lord brought me one just when we needed each other most.

Aly came into my life when she was searching for herself, for meaning, for validation, for hope and for a little bit of salvation. She was a lost little girl trying to do her best in a very strange, moving too fast world. She and her then boyfriend moved in with us at our home for a year. She was about to turn 18 and hadn't finished school.

In the year she was here, she got a job, graduated with her GED, mended her relationship with her real momma, began rebuilding her relationship with her dad, learned a whole lot about who she was, who she wanted to be and how to begin that journey. In the process, I grew to love this girl as though she were my own.

Her mom, Mary (we called her Mar) and I became really good friends. We were brought together by common physical ailments as well as a common love. She willingly and lovingly shared her daughter with me. When she came to Williamsburg for Aly's graduation, she and I bonded well and when she left, she told me she was so happy Aly had found a second mom in me and that I'd been there for her Aly. She blessed me by allowing me to be called Momma and Momma Lis. She also blessed me with her love.

Aly finally grew strong enough to tell the boy she had been dating good-bye. It was a terrible relationship and very destructive. She needed to be rid of it as it was bringing her down. When she did this, she knew it was time to move back home and help her mom out. Mar wasn't well and had been doing worse physically.

Aly left Williamsburg in August for Iowa. We cried, we hugged, we kept in touch and we still call each other Momma and Daughter. Less than a month after Aly arrived at her parents home in Iowa, Mar died of a massive heart attack. The month Aly had been home had been wonderful for them both. Mar died far too young but I think she knew it was okay to go and be rid of all that pain. Aly was okay and was going to be okay. She and her dad were going to be okay together and between Aly and her brother, they'd keep things together.

In February, Aly called me to let me know she was pregnant. I knew this would be difficult as she and her boyfriend hadn't been together for very long. There was never any other option as far as whether or not she would have the baby. Not only would she have the baby, she would be an amazing mother. She loves kids, she's great with them, and she'd always wanted a child of her own.

Yesterday I was blessed to become a grandmom! Aly and her boyfriend Josh have become the proud parents of a beautiful little baby boy. Dayne Scott Hogue was born at 11:42am. He weighed in at a perfect 7 pounds 11.6 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. He's absolutely a beautiful baby; a real stunner!

Thank you Aly. Thank you for loving me, for loving me enough to share your beautiful family with me, for loving me enough to call me Gramma! Thank you for loving me like a momma and letting me love you right back.

You're awesome Aly Girl! You're gonna do great.

Labor Intensive

2009-09-22T08:03:00.002-04:00

To copy Deb, that's what this month's sketches are all about at If It's Groovy. To go along with my sketches each month, we choose a theme or technique to highlight. This month, being "Labor Day" for us US gals, we selected the word "labor" to be used somehow in the journaling, either in the title or in the body of the journaling. I love the different spin each of the gals put on this theme.

This is mine but you've got to check out what the other Sketch Team Groovy Gals did with the sketch. There's some amazing work going on over there. Click HERE for some great inspiration!

It's Fabulous Friday!

2009-09-18T11:42:00.003-04:00

If you all haven't ever checked out my friend Kim's blog, "Today's Creative Blog" by now, you're really missing out. Kim scours the internet finding the most wonderful, unique, fun and inventive creative sites. She's quite the enabler by the way because who can resist some of the places she finds!

On Fridays, she does Fabulous Friday Giveaways. Today's is fun fun fun! It's all about Ella Publishing Company. Newly formed SCRAPPY company that's got a bangin' new scrappy magazine on line. You REALLY should check them out. Click on Ella Publishing Company to get there. I know you can!

Now, because I know you also love all manner of great stuff, you have to spend time at Today's Creative Blog. Seriously. There is so much fun there and Kim does a great job tracking down the best of the best. Beware though..., if you can't resist, coolness, cuteness, fun-ness, scrappy-ness, unique-ness or any other creative-ness, don't go... I mean it... you'll love it, so you can't go...

Ooooppps... there you went... you did it... You went there to Today's Creative Blog and had so much fun looking at all that "-ness" didn't you! I told you you'd love it!!!

Peace!!
Lissa

I've had more creative time!

2009-09-17T14:08:00.003-04:00

I love that I have some time now for creativity with my scrappy and stamp goodies now that Dalton's back in school. I've been busy!

It's been pretty fun doing challenges on the OSU board that I hadn't tried before. And with my health limiting my activities, I've had even mor good scrappy time (though it's never as much as I want or seem to have a need for in my heart...).

Here's a layout I finished this morning for a journaling challenge. We had to use more than one font for the title. I used 4! (Yeah me!)

I love Tim Holtz Distress Inks. They were so much fun to work with on this. All the painted pieces are the wonderful crackly paint. So cool.

Thanks for looking!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Don't you love it when you accidentally create something you love?

2009-09-17T12:00:00.002-04:00

When working on my montly layouts for If It's Groovy, I tend to forget that there is typically a theme or technique that goes along with it. Such was the case this past August when I was preparing for my September sketch team layout. So, I had TONS of fun making this layout from my sketch about Dalton. Yeah... I love this layout. Not sure why except the memories were just so much fun. It was a really fun birthday party. All the little ones were precious.

Hope you like!

Thanks for stopping by, thanks for looking!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

The Loss of a Legend

2009-09-15T08:13:00.003-04:00

When I was pregnant in 2000, my husband and I were sent to have an amniocentesis because I was over 40. In our excitment, and with the knowledge of how my pregnancies typically ran, we were fairly certain I was carrying a girl - at last.

As we were having lunch before my appointment, Kevin said to me, "I know we feel like we're having a girl, and I know you want a little Jeanne Elizabeth really badly, but we really need to think about a boy name just in case."

As much as I hated to admit it, we should entertain the idea of boy names so we began our conversation. Kevin was fairly adamant about the middle name being Anthony after his brother who died just before our wedding. That was okay with me despite the fact I have never ever liked the name Anthony. I like Tony, just not Anthony... but it was a middle name so, okay.

I liked Shannon (I really like unusual names). He didn't. I liked several others he poo-pooed too. Then he says, "What about Dalton?"

I said it outloud, "Dalton Anthony Ballard... yeah... I like that!"

Then he said, "Well, it is one of your favorite movie characters and since Patrick Swayze is your favorite actor, it just kind of fits."

As you might know, Dalton was the last name of the lead character in "Road House" which is an awesome, very amazing, all that and then some kick booty movie in my book. Besides, you get to see Swayze Booty and he's just hot. And add in the mix another favorite of mine, delicious Mr. Sam Elliott and the electricity between Swayze and Kelly Lynch and holy cow, it still gives me goosebumps.

Not to mention the tears I cried repeatedly in "Ghost", the awesome feeling you get when the infamous line, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." is uttered... Patrick Swayze was just every girls dream come true. The perfect summer romance. The perfect husband, (both on screen and off from what they say) and MAN to have had a chance to dance with this guy!! WOOOOHEEEEE I think I would have died and gone to heaven right then and there.

Today we say good bye to this amazing man. The world has lost a legend and I will mourn him today as though he were a member of my family. Tonight we will watch Road House and have a toast to him. We will say a prayer for his family for strength and courage and thank them for sharing this man and his amazing talent with the world. They were most generous and for that I am so grateful.

Good bye Patrick Swayze. When you see my momma up there, if you get a chance, give her a little spin on the Ethereal Dance Floor... She'll LOVE it!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

The Guilties

2009-09-13T13:48:00.004-04:00

This is such an amazing description of how I feel most of the time. A dear dear friend of mine sent it to me who has so many many illnesses with which she battles. For her, this has been going on for a long long time. I can't imagine how it must be emotionally but I do hope life is NOT making her suffer guilties any longer.

She passed this along to me while the doctors were still trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I have a diagnosis now which is always a good thing. It's helpful to know WHAT is wrong... Not knowing is so disenheartening; trying; frustrating. All of that adds to the stress of being sick, making the sickness worse. Stress does horrible things to all illnesses...

THE GUILTIES!

Guilt is an unwanted shame-based emotion which results from having broken a rule. The rule may or may not make sense; therefore, the guilt may or may not be rational. When we run a red light or intentionally hurt another, we feel rational guilt; that is, remorse for having committed a wrongdoing. When we feel we should "perform" as we did before we became ill, that our houses should be spotless, that we should adhere to the same exhausting work schedule, that our children should be perfect and perfectly cared for, we experience guilt of the irrational variety. What rules have we broken?

Let's examine some of the rules we've imposed upon ourselves. (They didn't originate with us, but we've learned them well.):

It's not okay to be ill.
I should be able to conquer or overcome this disease.
I should take care of others, even at my own expense.
I should meet others' expectations of me.
I shouldn't stay in bed.
I shouldn't have needs or require special consideration.
It’s my job to make sure the household/office runs smoothly.
Others are entitled to have needs; I am not.
To ask for help is a sign of weakness.
If someone makes a request, I should assent so that I stay in their good graces.
It’s my job to be the helper, the magic fixer, so that I can read minds and meet others’ needs before they are even aware of them.
Corollary: I don’t expect others to do the same for me.
What others do is a reflection on me.
Others will not like me if I don’t do what they want me to do.

These rules contain a preponderance of shoulds, the dirtiest word in the English language. “Shoulda, coulda, woulda” may sum up the self-expectations, regrets and the lost idealized outcomes of our past and present behavior. Shouldas nag at us; they dictate what we do and how we feel. When we break a should, we feel shame and guilt. It's time to stop this nonsense and to stop shouldaing on ourselves.

GET RID OF THE COBWEBS!

When we clean out a closet, we often sort the contents into three groups: things to keep, things to discard, and things to fix so they work for us. We need to clean out our “rules closets” to see what’s in there: which rules to keep, which ones to discard, and which ones to fix to fit present circumstances.

Our new, rational messages or rules can replace the outdated, rigid, unforgiving ones. For a start I propose these:

My first priority is to take care of myself. If I don't do this, I can't do
anything else successfully.

Others will just have to understand my limitations. I will try to educate
them by explaining my illness and resulting limitations to whatever degree is
appropriate to the situation.

I accept (but do not like the fact) that not everyone will be willing to
learn and understand. If I they cannot or will not understand, it's not
my problem.

I don’t have to make excuses for what I cannot do. I will offer a brief
explanation when appropriate.

I'd will strive to be the best parent/partner/friend I can, given my
illness-related limitations.

It's okay to be ill and to have needs. I may have difficulty accepting
and expressing my needs, but I’m not going to judge them any more.

I will help others as I am able, but I will no longer rescue them.
(That is, I will not do for them what they can and should do for themselves.)

I will do what I can when I can do it. I won't force myself or push
beyond reasonable limits. I will not jeopardize my health to meet an
unreasonable expectation.

In responding to requests, I will keep in mind that there are appropriate
times to say no and to set limits. In doing so, I am not refusing a person; I
am refusing a request. I can respond assertively by saying, “I won’t be able
to help you out this tme, but I am willing to help you identify alternatives
for getting the job done.”

You have thus acknowledged their need, your willingness to help, and your
unwillingness to take on the task -- all in one short phrase. If this is
difficult for you, as it is for most people, consider taking a class
inassertiveness training or reading books on this subject.

It’s okay for me to ask for help. Although I would like to do everything
myself, it is not in my best interests to do so.

I will be specific when making a request. For example, rather than saying, “I
hate to ask you, but I really need extra help right now,” make a clearer, more
rational statement such as, “Due to my limitations, I am unable to run many
errands. Would you be willing to pick up a few things for me at the store?” In
this request, you have acknowledged your limitation or need, specified your
request, and requested a response. When people come through for you, give
them your thanks and appreciation in return.

What others do is a reflection of their situations, likes and dislikes
rather than a reflection on me. For example, if my spouse wears
something awful or tells a joke I don’t approve of, it’s not my problem!

I deserve to treat myself kindly and with respect.

I deserve to receive the same treatment from others, and to offer it to them in
return.

Those who have unreasonable expectations of me will have to learn
that I have limits and boundaries. If they cannot accept these, they are not
true friends.

I will be flexible in my self-expectations.

BUT ISN’T THIS SELFISH?

We’ve been taught to believe that to be selfish is to unreasonably want something we want but do not have. The negative connotation “I want what’s yours” gives rise to selfishness being considered a major felony. However, the positive side of selfishness, self care, allows us to treat ourselves (and thus others) well. Taking care of oneself comes first. We cannot meet others’ needs if our own are unmet. This is like trying to get money out of an account into which we haven’t deposited any money. To keep the account “in the black,” we must make periodic deposits and allow others to do likewise. In the process, we learn to balance our needs with others’ needs, and everyone wins.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Guilt cannot be erased, but it can be gradually reduced as we become more sensible in our self-expectations and self-messages. The big challenge is to learn to live more rationally and to discard what no longer make sense or no longer works. Revising the rulebook and making behavioral changes is a great way to start.

So Blessed

2009-09-09T12:50:00.005-04:00

I had to share this one. I'm really proud of finishing it, for many reasons. First, I used a old photo I've been wanting to scrap. Second, it means I'm finally able to start scrapping about my mom. This is a huge step for me as it's been 12 years since Momma passed away and even thinking too long about it brings too many tears. I know that she's in the most wonderful place ever, I know that she's healthy and well and happy. I know that she and the Lord have shared many wonderful conversations since she went home. She was so blessed to have been dedicated to Him from a very early age. I'm absolutely certain she has shared many a moment in His glorious presence.

Now, having said that, she was mighty blessed. Everything she touched turned to gold and she was humble enough, kind enough and generous enough to share that with anyone who happened to be around and then some. One of her many talents was her amazing voice. She was a soprano with a voice as sweet as honey, as smooth as fine silk and as rich as gold. She was amazing. Hearing the clear melodious sounds that eminated from her, even when she spoke, was a gift. When she sang, you couldn't help but know that God's love had wrapped itself around her and was being shared in the most special of ways. Yes, she was that awesome.

When momma passed away, the entire church was sad. That's pretty awesome for a church that has and had more than 1000 members. Daddy and Momma loved their church, The Episcopal Church of The Redeemer. They loved their priest, the associate priests, the congregants, everything! Daddy decided that the best way he could show his love and thanks for all the love they shared with him was to give back. He gave a generous donation to the choir that paid for all new chairs and more in the choir room. The choir director, who was so fond of Momma, said it was overwhelming.

As a side note and story to share, the morning of Momma's memorial service, there was a dove sitting on the window sill. She sat there through the entire service and remained there during the recessional when all the congregants left the church to go outside and put flowers on her site (she was creamated and her ashes are in the memorial garden beside the church where Daddy's will remain as well). The dove stayed there until the last person was gone. It was only after every single person was gone that the dove actually flew away. The choir master watched this dove throughout the service. He was certain, as are we, that the dove was here to represent Momma, letting us all know she was fine, in a much better place, in perfect health and thanking us all for our love. Now that is something I can't not tear up and get goose bumps about every time I think about it!

Hope you like!

First Day of School!

2009-09-08T10:11:00.005-04:00

Well, for some reason, my posts have decided to go on vacation. I'm not sure where they've gone, but hopefully they're having fun! I've posted twice, showing some recent layouts and giving an update on our lives, but alas, they're missing... So that brings us to today, the first day of the 2009-2010 school year. It's hard to believe Dalton is already in 3rd grade. He's so precious and he's growing so fast. When we visited his teacher, Mrs. Vip, last week at Back to School day, he says to her,

"I hear you're the meanest teacher in the whole school. I don't think that's true. I think you're really nice and I think we're going to have a great time this year."

Oh my stars I could have died when Susan told me this. He has a way of letting you know just what he's thinking eh?

This is Dalton and Mrs. Vip. I'm certain this is going to be a great year. I'm really glad he has Mrs. Vip. I think the discipline and structure will be so good for him! He needs someone like her. He started out today with a bit of a queasy tummy but I hope I quelled his first day fears okay. Poor kid, he's so worried there will be a repeat of last year's emotional turmoil.

This morning we had to get up early enough to fix Dalton's hair the way he chose. We researched men's hairstyles on line and he picked out one he really liked. This is a close as we got it and he was very happy with it. I'm glad for him. He even got really picky yesterday while we were choosing a new pair of jeans. He refused a pair of loose fit Levi's at Ross's because he didn't like the loose fit. He prefers something that is a little less roomy. He was absolutely adamant about it. So we ended up at WalMart purchasing a pair of regular cut Wranglers that he much prefered. He also was quite particular about the color of his jeans. NO dark blue, they look too new. NO bleached out, they look too old. No carpenter pants, doesn't like the side pocket. Medium blue as they look just right... not too light, not too dark. He also chose a new t-shirt that reflected his two sports loves, basketball AND soccer. He didn't want to wear the jeans today as it's raining and a bit to warm in his opinion. He chose a pair of dark blue shorts (don't ask, I don't get it either) and this t-shirt. The new Nike's that Aunt Miss Lisa bought him were a must despite the rain. She really shouldn't have bought them. (God bless her for doing it. She was appalled that the inner sole was coming loose in his shoes and took him and Molly to the store for new school shoes. Both of them got new shoes and he feels so cool with is Nike's. He thinks he'll be great on the basketball court this winter to be sure all because he's got these shoes. Funny how kids get that idea, that a pair of shoes or the right brand name will actually make them better at something. I never really got into brand labels.)

Anyway, 20 minutes to do the hair today (yes, curling iron, gel, wide tooth comb and hairspray...), his new clothes, his favorite waffles for breakfast and the Nike's. We're ready to show out for school! We waited 35 minutes for the bus today but it was fun. Molly's first day was greated with great happiness that Dalton was waiting for her at her bus stop this morning. He was so sweet to her, taking care of her and making sure she had a great seat on the bus. They'll be getting off the bus together this afternoon so she knows just where to go when she gets off the bus at Nana's (Aunt Miss Lisa to Dalton) house. They were adorable together.

No tears this year. I suppose we're all growing up!

That smile is worth getting up for every day...

Thanks for looking!
Peace and blessings,
Lissa

I postively cannot wait for this!!

2009-08-19T13:13:00.002-04:00

I swear every time I watch this trailer I get more and more excited about the movie. Having read all the books now, I'm on pins and needles waiting for this movie to come out! I wish I wasn't waiting until November... isn't there somewhere close by that I can watch this in advance people!??? WOW!

Very OT:

2009-08-13T10:59:00.002-04:00

But I had to share this. Once again, Linda has given me fodder for my blog. This video is absolutely the funniest thing I've seen in a very long time. I have played it over and over and still laugh so hard my tummy hurts when I watch it!

Hope you enjoyed!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Wow have you seen what Home Depot is carrying now?

2009-08-11T10:53:00.003-04:00

I can't say as I'm surprised by this but I am excited!

Home Depot is now carrying the Cricut Expression! You can check it out HERE. While this is internet only right now, I think it's about time some of the hardware stores got in on this Home Project DIY master machine! How completely awesome to have the ability to purchase this baby where you're also quite likely to talk your hubby into it while he's looking at his own power tools. Can you imagine his expression when you say, "Hey sugar, let's look at what's on sale at the Home Depot. I see that new Makita drill you wanted is 40% off!" You know he'll rush to the computer so fast he'll knock you off your chair.

So what if you happen to see the toy YOU want while you're "walking through the aisles of the internet". He'll be so in love with his new tool-baby coming soon, he probably won't even notice that you put your own new toy in the cart! And when you tell him about all the cool things this new toy will do for him too, how can he possibly say no?

"But honey, you know you wanted to redo the lettering on the boat. This will make it so professional and beautiful! You'll be the envy of the club. Not to mention the new templates for your fishing lures and wow - the new sign for the Hunt Club! There's just so much you can do with this honey! You just wait until all the guys see what you did... they'll be green with envy that you made it better than anyone there. They'll all want one then and you can say you had it first. Don't you want them to look up to you like that? It's like bagging the first deer of the season! Why, it's a 15 point buck baby!"

Oh yeah - play to his senses... You'll be sure to bag your own new baby then. Just because it's in YOUR scraproom instead of the Man-Cave doesn't make it any less manly! Bwwaaaahhhhhaaaaa..... work it baby, work it!

A wee bit of eye candy

2009-08-03T14:56:00.005-04:00

Here are a few of the most recently layouts I've been able to complete. One is for the monthly challenge this month for If It's Groovy. This month we're showing off using office supplies on our layouts. Slide on over to the blog to check out everyone's layouts and projects. Don't forget to send yours in as well. There's a great prize package being offered up this month for submitting!

Big congratulations to the "Zero Angle's" winner, Lisa, too. She created a stunning layout!

Thanks so much for looking!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

I Challange YOU!

2009-08-01T09:49:00.002-04:00

In case you've not seen this, you really really must. It's a scrapper's and journalists dream template really, leading into your Book of Me, a Heritage Album, and so much more! You can find the template HERE:

This is the gist of the challenge...

Where Are You From?
"If you don't know where you're from, you'll have a hard time saying where you're going." Wendell Berry, among others, has voiced this idea that we need to understand our roots to know our place in the world. A poem by George Ella Lyons is called "Where I'm From." I first heard it read by Appalachian poet Rita Quillen. Six months later, we used it as a writing assignment in a class taught by my friend Elizabeth Hunter at the Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. The poem lends itself to imitation and makes a wonderful exercise of exploration in belonging.

I'd like to suggest that you give it a try. The prompts have a way of drawing out memories of the smells of attics and bottom-drawer keepsakes; the faces of long-departed kin, the sound of their voices you still hold some deep place in memory. You'll be surprised that, when you're done, you will have said things about the sources of your unique you-ness that you'd never considered before. What's more, you will have created something of yourself to share--with your children, spouse, siblings--that will be very unique, very personal and a very special gift.

On a board I'm on, (waves to Tara), they brought up this challenge and I was quite intrigued. Several of the gals did it and it was so lovely and so rich, I just had to try. It was tough at first, but once you get going, it just flows out of your mind! Don't let the template get you. Honestly sit down and give this a go. You'll be so glad you did!

Here's mine for anyone interested in "Where I'm From"!

I am from puppy tongue kisses, sister giggles and mommy hugs; from Coca Cola bottles in returnable cartons and sticky watermelon fingers in the garden.

I am from the red clay Virginia mud that still runs through my soul like sock bottom stains of summer, daisies growing freely and innocently along country roads like favorite friends waiting to greet you; from the strawberries growing for fat little hands to pick and pinafores to wear their sweet red nectar.

I am from family vacations arrived from a sleeping palatte in the "way back" while beautiful mother and cherished father worked travel magic only mommies and daddies can make. From Bristow, Gasque, Sandidge and Beatty, heavy on the Nellie and Jeanne.

I am from faith and questioning, from the love of the world that blooms all around, from browns and golds, green and blues, reds and yellows, the colors of His world running through my veins and out my mouth in songs of praise.

From horse drawn carriages to unknown homesteads, from trains and wars and progress, perseverance, from fresh baked bread and coal stockings and brothers stolen socks offered as special gifts at Christmas in difficult times.

I am from generations of believers in His word, His love, His gifts. The beautiful of His world and all it's wonders. The song of the mockingbird, the call of the goose, the newborn fawn and the smell of wildflowers perfect because of their ethereal birth.

I am from England, Wales, Ireland and France; from Huguenot shores and the Colonial Piedmont; from mouth watering stuffing balls at Thanksgiving and Japanese Fruit Pie at Christmas.

From the Fourth of July neighborhood parade with an amazingly talented mother at the helm, leading children on red tricycles with miniature flags, babies in wagons banging pots with wooden spoons and red faced teenagers wishing they weren't both embarrassed and yet in awe of that woman, so free in her spirit; from sisters holding hands in the night to ward off the Boogy-man and music that always seemed to fly on fairy wings, magical, melodious and marvelous from mother's hands. From Daddy's who were stern, strong and soft; who gave you wings to fly, ideas to ponder and faith enough in ourselves to reach for the stars.

I am from old family Bibles, faded tin-plates, from drawers and walls and shelves; from piano tops, worn out wallets and dimming memories of smiles and laughter made bright once more with twice told (or thrice-told) stories from lonely living rooms and long distance phone calls; from cherished letters found in dresser drawers and pretty stationary boxes and in books passed along. From hearts filled with a love that never lets go and a joy with a grip oh so tight. I am from all that was and is and always will be good, kind, generous and joyfilled; beautiful, colorful, songlike and magical.

I am from Pure Love, Unimaginable Love. I am from His Love.

What a summer!

2009-07-15T11:46:00.003-04:00

It's been a nutty summer to be sure! We've been to scout camp, Vacation Bible School and home home home. We've been sick, well, happy and busy. Both boys are working at Sonic again, their schedules are hectic and opposite and getting my oldest from work at 1am is crazy. We do what we must, eh?

We've had birthdays and holidays and doctor's appointments. Been to the pool with friends, been swimming alone and made new friends. Dalton learned to ride his two wheeler yesterday and he's got some certain new found freedom. In the past it's taken him ages to get going. Something finally clicked yesterday and his fear (of falling) finally took a back seat to his desire to be able to accomplish his goal. I was so so proud!

Of course, like a good mommy, I've got all the pictures to prove it all, including his two "badges of honor" boo boos, obligatory of a successful learning adventure on two wheels.

I've scrapped a bit, enjoyed myself and gotten new meds to deal with. I'm hoping the new doc (a whole other conversation I really don't wanna talk about) on the 27th of August will get me situated in a new place ready for Uncle Sam to finally decide I'm eligible for disability. I am facing the possibility of neck surgery before that so well see how the next month goes. In the meantime, I'm blown up like a toad on prednisone and I look horrible, but hey, it's the price you pay for being able to be mobile. Thank goodness my mind is..... ou8usab8e39274hkbtgrjk&^&*^* bdkaknbwe dguks,e gtfusiakm egusk,'

Oh sorry... fell asleep again... Yeah, it's been that kind of summer. Sleeping alot but it's the lazy days I guess. Dalton's played a lot of video games, read along side me and given me Mommy's Rest Time. I don't seem to be able to focus much, stay awake long, or sleep for any real length of rejuvenating time, but, well, what cha gonna do? It is what it is.

Today I bring you my photos of Dalton's New Bike Adventure. Tomorrow, something special!

"I did it in the yard I can do it on the street, Mom."

"Off I Go!" (He rode down the road screaming, "WAAHHHOOOOO!" Too cute.)

Obligatory Boo-Boo #1 when he turned too sharply and hit pavement.

Obligatory Boo-boo #2 on the ribs when he bit the dirt in the side yard coming off the road...

Can You Tell I'm Proud of Myself?

Drum Roll Please!

2009-06-16T15:27:00.004-04:00

It's time to annouce the winner of my layout challenge!

My players were:

Amy
Charisma
Charlotte
Groovy Deb
Jen
Niki-Ray

And the winner is........

CHARLOTTE!

Make sure you send me your snail mail addy! You've got my email!

Congrats!

Very Groovy 80's crop!

2009-06-04T08:06:00.016-04:00

It's time for our Awesome 80's crop and I'm really excited about my crop challenge for you all!

My challenge will be about Heavy Metal. My husband was a HUGE fan of all the various metal and hair bands from the 80's. Soooo, show us your best metal!

I actually got 41 eyelets (some of there are double set) and used two different metallic papers. The background is red velvet paper that reminds me so much of Ashley's coat.

The particulars: You must use at least 13 metal elements on your page! Your page must be a minimum size of 8x8; and should use at least one metal colored or metal "flavored" background paper! (Think blingy type paper, paper that looks like metal, etc... I used handmade gold metallic paper that was embossed and black steel cardstock).

Upload your layout to the gallery of your choice no later than midnight the 14th and link me here in my blog! I'll assign numbers (1 through whatever...) to each layout link and pick a number via a random generator. The winner will be announced here on the 15th. Wanna see what you could win? Check this out!

There's embossed paper, glitter paper, cardstock, glitter brads, chipboard, vellum phrases, flowers, rhinestones, decorator brads and, in true groovy style, a groovy banadana to wear while you're cropping! Click on the photo to get a really good look ya'll!

Don't forget to check out the next Groovy Gal blog, Lynnette's blog for the next challenge. Links to her blog and the blogs of the other Groovy Gals are in my sidebar. Don't forget to check it out where all the fun began at If It's Groovy blog for so many other groovy challenges! There's something for everyone!

Here are the awesome submissions I've had for my challenge. Thanks to everyone who sent in a layout! I love them!

Here are some of the creations I've made for other's in the crop!
Celina (Use a slogan from the 80's)

I used this slogan: Fatherhood: Not just a job; but an adventure.
(Hey - anybody know who that was REALLY a slogan for?)

Here is Jill's challenge (using a band from the 80's create a title or theme for your layout)

This is called Precious Time after a song by one of my all time favorite bands, Journey, by the same title. The journaling is the first verse of the song.

Genie's challenge is all about excesses. The 80's was a decade of everything to extreme's. So here is my project. I used an overload of chipboard on this altered item.

And here's my layout for Lynnette's challenge! We had to create a layout about our favorite fad, toy or icon. I will always love Cabbage Patch babies!

Amy's challenge is all about BIG HAIR. We all remember the big hair days of the 80's. The bigger the better. I was one of those gals who didn't go big. Never did. Never really thought I looked good in it. BUT! Have no fear. I've got a big hair photo for you guys! This is our little guy who was determined to have BIG HAIR for Wacky Hair day during Spirit Week at his Elementary school this past February.

Well I thought I had posted this...

2009-06-04T07:44:00.008-04:00

I had two lovely submissions for the challenge I posted using my sketch of the month for May. Silvana, who's layout is HERE created a beautiful layout for her mom entitled "Familia". Groovy Deb, our illustrious leader here at If It's Groovy posted a darling layout, "Baby", in our group gallery. Since I can't point you to our gallery, I'll show them both to you here!

Happy by Deb

Familia by Sylvana

I"m in awe over their choosing the same color palate! They're both just as lovely as can be!

So, since Sylvana gave two entries (one for linking and one on her blog) I gave her two numbers 1 and 2, Deb was 3. I used Random.Org for my random number generator inserting 1 through 3 and Deb was chosen!

Here is my print screen so you can check my validity:

Congrats Deb! Send my your addy!

Eye Candy

2009-06-03T17:59:00.002-04:00

Literally!

This layout is entitled, "Eye Candy". The challenge this month at "If It's Groovy" is to create a layout about candy in some way shape or form. So, I took it for my own little spin and here we go! Eye Candy!

Head over to If It's Groovy to do your challenge too. Don't forget to post your link to be put in the running for a nice RAK!

Don't forget that tomorrow begin's our 80's Crop with tons of fun challenges and a blog roll of awesome layout challenges to stimulate your memories! It all starts tomorrow, June 4th at If It's Groovy!

Layout Share

2009-06-01T12:14:00.008-04:00

Well, I'm very proud of myself. I actually completed 6 layouts for the month of May! 5 I can't share as they are for If It's Groovy for the month. One I can. We had a scraplift challenge at OSU and this is mine!

I love the challenges over there. I wish I could do more but my time has been so darn limited for two months now it's seriously nuts. I'm looking forward to July when thing actually slow down!

Say- speaking of challenges, June is the 80's Crop at If It's Groovy~! Each of us DT members is hosting a challenge on our blog. The crop is from June 4th until the 14th. While many of us have tons to do and can't spend 10 days on line, you can do these challenges in your leisure. As long as you have them done by the end of the crop, you are eligible for prizes! Now honestly, with 16 different blogs, I imagine you guys can complete just a few challenges in 10 days! So come on over and play! We will all be uploading our challenges on the 4th.

Don't forget about the monthly challenge at If It's Groovy either. This month is Candy Month! See HERE for details!

An amazing weekend...

2009-05-26T16:38:00.023-04:00

This has truly been an amazing weekend. First, I offer you a pictoral view of our trip. We arrived late Friday night at this place, "Monkey Hill" and left late Monday afternoon. Below the photos I have typed out what I wrote to leave in the guest book at Susan's request.

We fished, boated, the children (including my older two boys!) played in the water, played pool, foosball and air hockey. We ate amazing food, talked for hours and found great friendships. All in all, one of the very best weekends I've had in a very long time. I'm so grateful, so blessed by my friends and family. I thank God for these awesome people with whom I've spent the last few days. What a great weekend.....

Day One - Saturday
Words of the day - swimming; throwing; floating; laughing; birthday

Ready Momma! (Sweet Mary Ann)

The Boys

Taylor

Susan and Whitney

Reaves

Funny Isabelle

Ha! Take That!

All three of my boys...

Water Play!

The Girls

Susan

The Birthday Party (The only picture in which I appear, proof positive that I really did go on vacation!)

The Pinata and the birthday girl...

Dalton tries his hand at the pinata too...

Day Two
Words of the day - boating; tubing; laughing; fishing

Susan, Margaret and Albert

Loverboy (yes, that's really this sweet little Miki's name!)

Look what we got while you were gone Mom!

The Whole Gang

Breathe Fishies, Breathe!
(no, they didn't make it... )

Say Hi!

Sleepy Whitney

I'm a Beauty Queen!

James and Izzy Tubin'

Carl and Dalton Tubin'

Carl Tubin'

A peaceful end to the day...

Playing Pool

Air Hockey

Funny Girls!

By the way, I think - no scratch that - I KNOW I'm hilarious!

A Little Chocolate Monster (isn't she the cutest little monster you've ever seen?)

Reaves, Taylor and Dalton

Good Friends in the Evening;
Margaret, Albert, Susan and Lisa

Margaret, Albert and Loverboy

Day three - Memorial Day Morning
words of the day - fishing; friendship; departure; hugs;

One Fish...

A Few Fish...

A Whole Lot More!

I REALLY just wanna stay and fish. Mom!

Big Honkin' Mussel!

James

Dance With Me

Miss Fashion Plate in her birthday clothes

Looking Forward

Relaxed at Last...

As we say goodbye, one last look...
My Room

Litte Kids Bedroom (yes, they all slept in here!)

Big Boys Bedroom (Reaves and Taylor)

Main Living Room

Monkey Hill (rear view)

Monkey Hill (Front View)

Dalton looking oh so happy

Ode to Monkey Hill

Having not been on vacation in 10 years, I was blessed beyond measure when Susan and Kevin invited us to accompany them to this amazing place named "Monkey Hill". Being shy, despite feeling as though Susan is one of my dearest and closest freiends, I was hesitant to accept their offer. After much discussion, Susan and her family (including her wonderful parents) and other terrific friends, The Packers, embarked on a Memorial Weekend Adventure.

Monkey Hill is a true treasure! Being nestled in a beautiful cove, we marveled and "aahh-ed" at the house, it's beauty and the view. Between great friendship, beautiful children and the luxury of time, we found ourselves basking in the sun, having long wonderful conversations amidst our children's laughter, sipping lemonade and relishing this new found comraderie. We boated about Lake Gaston. The children had such grand fun tubing, fishing and swimming. We celebrated an eighth birthday and became quite relaxed. Between foosball, pool and air hockey (and a movie or two)the rain that arrived late Sunday gave us just the small break from the sun needed to get ready for our journey home the following day. Early Memorial Day morning saw the children up and ready for clamming, fishing and collecting sea treasures. What a grand trip this has been. Monkey Hill, you've helped us rejuvenate, revitalize and resucitate ourselves.

To you I say, you have deepened relationships, helped children find purpose and joy in the simple gifts of the sea and given us countless smiles on the faces of our children. We are all so grateful. We have all most definitely been blessed.

Don't Forget!

2009-05-22T10:39:00.003-04:00

There's some yummy goodness going on here and at many of my "If It's Groovy" teammates blogs. Check out my post HERE for a chance to win a cool RAK of scrappy goodies. I know you guys have at least 10 brads, eyelets, dotlets or nailhead lying around you could use on this challenge!

Check out the team blog HERE for the Green Goddess Contest as well as the monthly theme challenge all about "Salad". Think outside the box ya'll! I didn't have much in the way of salad to scrap, so I scrapped using salad colors!

You've got until Sunday night to post your links to me!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Well, now - how's about some new blog candy?

2009-05-21T11:04:00.004-04:00

Don't May Babies offer amazing yummy goodies? Here's an uber talented blogger, offering up some yummy goodies on her blog...

While you're there, checking out the blog yummies, you gotta check out her projects. She's awesome, amazing, inspiring. You can't help but ooohhhh and aaahhh over her "coolness". I'll be there often I'm sure watching out for her latest and greatest.

Thanks Angi for all your bloggin' goodness!

Feelin' Froggy?

2009-05-19T20:59:00.005-04:00

Okay I think the phrase is a cute one and it fits...

I have a dear friend who teaches preschool. Her kidlets in her class are called the "Frogs". Her room mom is just as sweet as she can be and reminds me so much of Lisa it's crazy. She has asked me to make an altered journal for the room mom and I was all too happy to oblige. She had already picked out the papers and journal. All I had to do was play! Thanks to my Cricut, and some really fun stamps, I had a blast!

Hope you like it too!

Isn't he the grooviest little frog! I love him!!

I made that paper piecing but cutting him out on my cricut in pieces. TOO too much fun!

And by the way - have you guys seen the cool and groovy challenges going on over at "If It's Groovy"? You've got to check them out! And don't forget - you've got another 11 days or so do get your layouts in for the blog challenge here on my blog. Check it out HERE!

Thanks for stopping by!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

A Normal Rockwell Moment

2009-05-18T18:22:00.004-04:00

This weekend was a great whirlwind of rain and activity. We started out at Susan's parents house Saturday afternoon where we enjoyed beautiful views, great conversation and fun fun times. The kids fished off the little dock as well as went seining with nets. They caught tiny minnows, shrimp and tried oh so hard to get a couple crabs, with no luck on the latter.

They made water balloons but none of them could get them tied closed (thank goodness because none of the boys had a change of shorts!). They played with the Gnome Village that was positively adorable and I must must make one in my front garden. I'm tellin' ya, it really was about the cutest thing I've seen...

They got their fill of watering down the Gnome Village and went back to playing around the dock. Just about the time we were going to have lunch (Yummy KFC - oh yeah baby!) we looked over and saw this...

What a good laugh we all got! Doesn't it look like a total Norman Rockwell moment?

Right after this photo, the skies opened up and we ran to take dinner inside to eat. It was a wonderful leisurely afternoon!

I'll tell you more about the weekend later. Dinner is calling and little boy (who's now sick by the way) is hungry. That's a good sign!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Hey!

2009-05-11T09:52:00.003-04:00

Check out this blog candy! (I should probably totally do this too since I have so much... what a great idea it's giving me for a RAK for June providing my May RAK goes well!)

You have to check out the blog "Scrapping Out Loud". She's got loads of great stuff on her blog and this month, in honor of her birthday, (Happy Belated Birthday) she's RAKing someone a wonderful box of goodies!

Run on over and check out how to get your chance at winning this RAK!

Peace, blessings and belated birthday greetings!
Lissa

Happy Late Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T09:16:00.004-04:00

What a beautiful weekend!

This past Saturday, May 9th, would have been my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary. Never befor have there been two more perfectly suited individuals to marry. Mom and Daddy were an amazing couple. They parented so perfectly together. They loved so perfectly together. They had a perfect friendship and bond so rare. These days, marriage seems to be an expendable commodity. So often, it begins as a matter of convenience rather than a matter of deep committment. In our parents time, it began with friendship, love and a deep sense of lifelong committment that was not taken lightly. When you married, you knew it was forever - period.

So, in my opinion, May 9th is a very sacred day. Matt and Laura got married on that very sacred day in a Methodist ceremony (so did my parents) on the shores of the James River. It was a blustery day filled with beauty and promise as the Lord blew the winds all around letting us all know that He was indeed in charge of this wedding, blessing it in His unique way. The preacher conducted a lovely ceremony. He had asked Laura and Matt to give him a list of things they felt exemplified their love for their intendeds. It was perfect for both of them. They each were able to sum up their life partner in a series of heartfelt, sometimes humorous, deeply personal but oh so appropriate words. It really was just a beautiful ceremony.

The reception was awesome. Lisa's friends from the restaurant where she works stepped up and offered their help. They came through with serving tables, linens, serving trays and serving ware, and all manner of professional catering gear. It was such an amazing day! Absolutely awesome! It was such a testament too, to the kind of person Lisa is and how much she is loved. (And why she's my best friend!) (By the way, that's exactly the topper they had on their cake. A fun joke because Laura is taller than Matt and definitely strong willed!)

My other best friend, Michelle, who is an amazing photographer was asked to take the photos. I'm so excited to see them. She was spot on during the cermony and reception. She captured so many awesome moments. I know they're all going to be fabulous because she can see through her camera lense like no one else I know.

Yesterday, I got up early to go help clean at Lisa's. What a wonderful surprise to discover her husband, three step sons and three other friends had joined forces to clean the yard, house and wash all the dishes! I was shocked! They really stepped up to the plate. What an exceptional Mother's Day gift!

I went over about 10 and helped finnish up inside and went on "Cigarette Butt" duty cleaning all the butts from the yard. I took down all the extra decorations and cleaned up the "dressing room" where the bride and groom had changed. (Talk about trashed!)

Lisa (who had stayed up until 3 singing Karaoke and having fun alongside the bride and groom and a few other party guests) woke up about 1. Dalton swam in the pool and we chatted leisurely. My older boys called me at about 3 and they came over around 4. Lorie and her boys came by too and we all sat around having great conversation, deli sandwiches and spending good time with each other. What better way to spend Mother's Day! It was really a great day!

Dalton and the boys and I got home around 8pm last night. Dalton had a little snack, took a bath and we were honestly ready to fall into bed by 9. Kevin got home from work abou 8:20 toting a beautiful bunch of flowers for me. How lovely they were. (I love simple arrangements not filled with frou frou blooms. Give me daisies and carnations any day!) So when I have a chance to get my photos off my camera (and my monitor cord from my children) I'll share.

In the meantime, have a wonderful week. Happy Belated Mother's Day. I pray all of you were able to get good love and hugs from your children. I also hope all of us who have lost mother's and children were able to feel God's strength, courage and love throughout the day!

Love, Peace and blessings,
Lissa

New yummies...

2009-05-04T12:33:00.008-04:00

Nope, not food kind but it's eye candy I hope!

Our Sponsor of the month for If It's Groovy for April was Eyelet Outlet. In their honor, the Sketch Team agreed to use eyelets, brads, nailheads or dotlets on their sketches. Here's my sketch layout and the sketch we used.

In Eyelet Outlet's honor, I've got a RAK to give away! Show me your layouts using this sketch and a minimum of 10 eyelets (or dotlets, brads or nailheads) and I'll put your name in a drawing for a RAK to include eyelets (shaped and regular) and lots of other fun goodies! Your layouts can be uploaded to where ever you'd like but you'll need to link here in the comments! If you want two entries into the RAK, post this RAK opportunity to your blog and link me in the comments to your blog too! All layouts have to be uploaded by May 31st. All blog links should be shared no later than May 20th.

Each post will be assigned a number (1 through whatever) and I'll use a random number generator to select the winner. I'll choose the winner on Monday, June 1st and announce by 3 pm EST.

So get scrappin! I'm anxious to see how you use eyelets, dotlets, brads and nailheads!

Don't forget the monthly challenge at If It's Groovy blog. What a cool idea for a challenge!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

It's National Salad Month!

2009-05-01T15:53:00.004-04:00

Now that's a challenge. Ever tried to scrap about "salad"?? But scrap we did. You really need to check out the groovy layouts the team members at If It's Groovy have created. Some used salad literally, some used a different translation, and some used the colors. No matter what, they're all fun, unique and groovy! You gotta check it out!

Don't forget, there's a challenge being issued! Scrap your layout about salad this month, your own interpretation, and upload the link to the blog at this post.

Thanks for looking!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Here's my latest...

2009-04-27T17:31:00.005-04:00

This was a scraplift challenge on a message board I'm on and I can't wait to share it with you! Remember my sharing the school photo of my little guy? Well, I tweaked it a little and created my newest layout. I really love how this turned out.

Thanks for looking!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

P.S. Don't forget about my RAK Challenge! Check it out HERE!

Hey ya'll!

2009-04-24T12:29:00.002-04:00

Oooo my yard is finally pretty again. Leaves are the only thing to go now to be able to get rid of the winter blahs and hit the spring and summer ah's! (My lawn care guy was finally able to come yesterday to cut... good thing too. The grass was nearing my knees!)

The sun is shining, it's a gorgeous Friday. My Taylor will be home for a night in preparations for the end of school and it's going to be an amazing weekend. We have a soccer game tomorrow then nothing for the rest of the weekend and I'm delighted to have nothing to do. Truly. When you have busy busy weekends, you don't realize how much rest you miss. I need the weekends to rejuvenate!

While I show off my latest, (well, not really but I can't show you my latest because they're both for challenges and the challenge's aren't finished yet!) think about how you rejuvenate? Are you Mary Mary Quite Contrary with an amazing garden you love to work in? Or are you the kind of gals who revels in spending time hanging out with friends? Do you break out the grill and cook out?

I wanna hear how you chill - better yet, I wanna SEE how you chill! If you create a layout and upload a link to the blog here (on this post) before NSD (National Scrapbook Day) which just happens to be someone special's birthday, I will randomly choose a name from the posts and send a RAK! Oh yeah - love to give away goodies in honor of birthdays!!

So come on ya'll! Get creatin'! I wanna see how you guys spend your "down time"!

Peace!
Lissa

Earth Day Contest!

2009-04-19T06:48:00.002-04:00

At If It's Groovy blog and the world, we celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday April 22, whoo hoo...39 years of observing a great celebration! What better thing can we do for our our safety and cleanliness than to take care of our beautiful planet?

Contest time!

Would you like to be crowned the Groovy Green Goddess? If not you, do you know someone who deserves this title?

You have TWO, count them TWO, chances to win and be crowned the GROOVY GREEN GODDESS:

1.send pic to groovydeb@yahoo.com of you behaving green with story about your greenish lifestyle

2.send a completely GREEN(color)monochromatic layout or card (thumbs up to using repurposed green items)

A panel of judges will decide who can wear this crown and she will be crowned soon so get the lead out and show us what you've got! The winner will receive green goodness by mail and the title for one year. The winner will also be asked to be recognized on If It's Groovy with her story, picture and project. Contest submissions will go through the month of May.

The Newest Voice on the airwaves

2009-04-17T11:44:00.005-04:00

is really not a new voice! And yet, we've never heard of her before last weekend. How can this be! This is the voice of an angel. She's a 48 year old angel and good gracious this gal has pipes!

Susan Boyle, a lovely Scottish gal who recently sang on the Britain's Got Talent show is clearly gifted. This woman should have long ago been featured on recordings being sold for millions across the world. Her voice is pure, melodious, on pitch, soulful and so full of heart!

When we first saw Ms. Boyle, she was presenting herself as single and saucy as she spoke with the judges on the show. They, as were the entire audience, certain she was joking about wanting to realize her dream of being a professional singer. They laughed, made faces and yet, Ms. Boyle was unshaken.

Once she opened her mouth, I personally think the Good Lord should have reached down and plucked the heads of each and every naysayer in the audience and the world over. This woman is amazing.

Susan Boyle Sings on Britain's Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 @ Yahoo! Video

Today I was directed to her second recording which I understand is actually her first! This was recorded in 1999 for a charity album. Honestly, her voice is breathtaking! I can't wait to hear more from this Scottish Gal. She's won my heart!

Sign this gal! She'll be wealthy and so will you, Mr. Record Producer, in no time!

I was watching The View as they discussed this angel's talent. Everyone was in awe of her and her gorgeous voice. Leave it to the crass and outspoken words of Joy Behar to say, "Let's give her a makeover. She shouldn't look like that to see the Queen."

What's wrong with the way she looks? She looks like herself. No falsehoods, no fake hair, fake boobs, borrowed clothes, make up from tail to tea-cup. Susan Boyle is Susan Boyle. She's lovely just as she is. As Amanda Holden put it,

" "She needs to stay exactly as she is because that's the reason we love her. She just looks like anybody who could live on your street.

The minute we turn her into a glamour-puss is when it's spoilt. That can perhaps come later when she's signed the album deal and conquered America.

"For now we'll keep her exactly as she is because that's why we've all fallen in love with her. I think it's the underdog thing. It's somebody who's looked after her mother all her life."

Thank you Amanda. (And by the way, did you see the heavy sigh with his face in his hands Simon let out? I think he may have fallen in love with Ms. Boyle's voice. Who knows - maybe he'll actually fall in love with someone his own age!) Perhaps she's won his heart too!) *wink*

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

When did this happen?

2009-04-14T20:43:00.001-04:00

Today my little boy came home from school with his long awaited Spring portraits. I was kind of shocked when I saw it. I am unprepared to see the more mature way he is holding his hands. The maturity of his position, the sly but gentle grin on his face. I was unprepared for his eyes to look at me the way they do. I wasn't ready for him to look, well, older.

My heart strings got tight, my eyes began to tear. I wanted to bind up my not-so-little little boy and make him stay small a while longer. I wanted to hold him close and pretend I can still cuddle him like a baby while he looked at me like all babies look at their mommas with all the love and adoration they have in all their tiny little bodies. I wanted to stop time for a while and share some more time with my boy while he still thinks his momma is his best girl. The time is quickly coming when he's not going to want me to hold his hand, share his secrets, or simply look at him in public. I'm not prepared for this. I'm not prepared for my boy to be growing this fast.

Isn't he gorgeous though? My blue eyed, dimple cheeked, happy loveable boy. The dimpled blue eyed baby I had asked God for couldn't be a more wonderful gift. My growing up boy...

I love you my growing up boy...

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

My Little Frog

2009-04-13T21:10:00.002-04:00

This month is National Frog Month! Betcha didn't know that didja!?

We groovy chicks over at If It's Groovy (check the link on the blog roll to the right) had to create "Froggy" projects. Now that these have been shared on the net, I get to share mine with you!

This is our little guy when he was just days old. We've called all three boys "Fwogs" coz they're just so darn cute and froggy like when they're tiny and resting on your shoulder...

This "widdle fwog" is our youngest, Dalton, along with his little pollywog pictures!

Thanks for looking!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Wow... I really stirred the pot!

2009-04-13T17:04:00.002-04:00

Without meaning to upset the apple cart, I've stirred the pot instead. When I posted my rant about the FTC and scrapbooking, blogging etc, I surely didn't mean to offend. Rather, I had hoped to make folks aware of the things our government is trying to do that really are beginning to approach infringing on our rights as citizens of the USA.

For those who need more examples to extricate the truth from what I wrote, please feel free to peruse the following articles:

from The WOMMA: "The FTC Brings About Online Viral Marketing Changes"

From Big Marketing Ideas: "Regulating Viral Marketing"

From Internet Marketing News: "FTC Targets Viral Marketing With New Regulations"

From World Advertising Research Center: "US Viral Marketing Rules Under Scrutiny"

Additionally, a review of the proposal through the FTC website and the comments made by various organizations has proven the determinations of all the above referenced articles (and more) to be valid.

It's a shame that while the arguments presented by all parties are on target, the real point is that our right to free speech is, little by little, being stripped away. While I totally concur that we should expect and be given valid information, we all have the ability to discern. If we read an article in The Enquirer for diet pills and the same article appears in The Washington Post (an exaggeration but allow me my point please), most people will find the advertisement to be truthful. IF one were to invest in said diet pills and did not experience the same result, the disclosure (that little asterisk* that reads "Results not typical") takes care of any ill will we feel towards the manufacturer. Not once did anyone question the advertiser (The Enquirer or The Post).

Conversely, if we were to state, after having used a certain cutter, we loved it, after 250 cuts the blade is still sharp and wrote that on our blog, why should we be required to "disclose" that our results aren't typical. They are typical for us. We do not have the means to conduct multiple studies during which we can determine out of 1000 cuts per product X cutter was superior in sharpeness and therefore, the blog statements are true. Blogging is a matter of opinion. What we do on Facebook, MySpace, on line message boards and the like are just that - opinions. It is our experience. Why should we have to preface everything we write for a newsletter, a post on a message board or a blog with "Disclaimer: The opinions stated in this article are purely the opinions and statements of the writer and in no way are the opinion or the site owner, [Facebook, MySpace, etc] and should not be conveyed as such. There is no factual basis for these representations and no legal relationship exists between the writer and the manufacturer, advertiser, seller or any other entity other than the experience of this writer."

It's insane that we should have to protect our right to express ourselves with the threat of legal liability and it's ramifications.

If I've offended, please accept my apologies, and this will be the last of it from me, but truthfully, it's not about not getting "free stuff". It's about being able to express ourselves clearly, from our hearts, with our own experiences. Our forefathers thought it to be one of our inalinable rights... Why shouldn't we be able to expect the same 233 years later?

'Nuff said...

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Ooooo Wanna Win Some Goodies?

2009-04-13T07:19:00.004-04:00

Check this out!
Winding Reflections of a Desperate Housewife. Lynette is one of my teammates at If It's Groovy and what a generous gift she's got over there.

Good Luck to all who enter!!

(And while you're visiting the If It's Groovy blog to qualify for the above blog candy, make sure you check out the monthly contest over there too! So many prizes, so much fun!!

(But hey - if you use it and love it - don't say anything specific coz you might be liable for it! Just send a great big thank you to Lynnette!)

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

Wow! I've been blessed!

2009-04-12T16:08:00.008-04:00

A good friend of mine, Diana, has blessed me today with a wonderful blog award. I feel so honored to have received this award, particularly today.

"This blog invests in and believe in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propogated. Please give more attention to these writers."

Thank you so much Diana ("BunnyKissd"). I feel very honored to have received this today.

I would love to pass this beautiful award on to:

Abby - dear sweet Abby
Ronnie - my sister in Christ and such a wonderful friend
Kim - sweet, creative, inspirational, busy, amazing Kim
Paula - what an awesome person you are
Tara - amazing and so inspiring with seemingly boundryless energy

There are so many more of you I want to nominate but I'm afraid the list is just longer than I've got fingers to type.

The only criteria for accepting the award is that you must post the picture and the meaning of the award on your blog (see above); no need to even pass it along to other people.

Blogging, Liability and you...

2009-04-11T08:15:00.008-04:00

How many of you have been on design teams for scrapbooking where you were given products to work with and then asked to write a review for a newsletter or blog? How many people have won a product simply as a site "random pick" and then blogged about their win and the item(s) they received? How many of us have received product from a company (directly or indirectly) and written a bad review of said product?

Well, we need to all think about how we're addressing these things from now on. Apparently, the FTC is trying to regulate "information" as a result of these poor economic times. They are now indicating that even blog and social websites are creating some probles for companies and their abilities, or inabilities, to market and sell some of their products. The new regulations will not only limit the amount of information available, but, in my opinion, put limitations of the veracity of the same.

In an article in the Financial Times (April 2, 2009), these new guidelines, which are expected to be adopted, will hold bloggers, social websites and their members, owners and anonymous posters liable for comments made about products having been received "free".

For example, say Company A sends out free product to a web site for free as a "Product Sponsor". Anyone who's been on a blog or web team before knows that we are more than extremely grateful for the product, we review it on the site, on our blogs etc. What is going to change about that now is, if we make statements regarding that product that are false, though in our opinions are true, or in our cases are true, the veracity of that statement as a generalization may not be true and therefore cannot be claimed as such. The end result is we have now "lied" and can be held legally responsible for any ramification that occurs as a result of our generality.

Let's get more specific. Say I got a package of product from Company A and said in my blog, "This product is simply amazing. The 90lb paper, printed with such original patterns and with amazingly vivid colors, tears beautiful with no rough edges!"

Person Z (yep, 26 out of 26 people reading that review), took my words to heart, bought the paper and got a paper cut on her eyeball when she accidently turned to admonish her little one who was about to grab a pot of spaghetti sauce off the stove and not only bled profusely but lost the sight in her eye. She could not only SUE me but also the company for making liablous statements. Oh yeah - you heard me right. SUE me for making false statements that caused her to make this purchase. And not only me but the company too.

The new regulations stipulate that companies are now to be held responsible for comments made by persons who have received "free" product and make statements about said product as a result of having received it.

It used to be that new products came on the market, in nearly any genre, and many gifts were given out, dependant to a degree on the word of mouth advertising. This still occurs today with companies setting up booths in grocery stores, open markets, malls, and having open houses. Having a celebrity or specific groups tout the accolades of a product could launch an orbital effect for a company. The FTC is revisiting these opportunities for the first time since the early 80's when our last recession was present.

I am currently in the process of trying to procure some "free product" for a blogsite for which I am teaming. In this process, I've consistently run aground in my attempts. Mostly it is because, economically, they cannot let go of the product right now as there are MANY teams that are asking and you just cannot outfit everyone. The majority of these companies will save their gifting targets for the sites that are among the top 100. Some even regulate their gifting to the top 50. It's becoming more and more difficult for the little guys to come up with the prizes for their monthly contests to lure folks to their sites so they can "compete". We can't all offer monthly project contests that offer a prize valued at $30 or more. In fact, most of them, if you think about profit margins, don't gift in excess of $15 wholesale which looks like $20-$25 retail. Some of the more extravagant and financially stable have gifted in the hundreds in order to have enough for an entire team at one time.

To further limit these groups by now holding the members, owners, random bloggers and companies liable for personal remarks made by the gift recipients is just sad. To hold the donating companies liable for the same is ludicrous. They are not responsible for feelings and thoughts by the masses. They can't control whether or not someone says the paper is a great weight, or too flimsy any more than the lady who loved the paper and said it never gave her paper cuts can be responsible for the lady who lost her eye because of a paper cut from the same paper. Neither could have known that would happen. Paper cuts happen every day and no paper manufacturer has been held responsible for freak accidents that happen with a sheet of paper. While the example may sound severe, it is a viable scenario for which the FTC is preparing their new regulations.

Of course this is not just for scrapbooking products. Take the example in the Financial Times article. Customer A bought a new handcream that, for some reaon, worked on her exzema and she incorrectly made claims to such in her blog. As a result of these false remarks, both she and the company could be sued for false representation. Is this not the same?

As difficult as gifting is already, I think we are looking for several things to happen. Gifting will not continue on the level at which is has in the past, not just because of the economic impacts it may currently have by giving away rather than selling the product; but also because of the impact any statements that MAY BE MADE IN THE FUTURE could have. Another impact will be that these companies that have given away product as a method of advertising will no longer have these write offs from their taxes. Which brings us to another point.

This can potentially establish a whole new relationship between gifting companies and the little people. Take this illustration if you will...

Scrapbook Store or Mfg #1 donates package of material to site 1.

Site 1 gives some of said package to team to use for promoting the sponsor and some is reserved for a monthly prize winner. All of this information is shared on a monthly newsletter, personal blogs for the team mates, site blog and the personal blog for the prize winner.

Prize winner now uses said product for another contest and wins! In the supply list, the creator lists said won product. Not only does she win this product but uses the new product to win yet another contest.

Readers of the winner's blog reads about the win, sees the new creation, likes the product and buys it from an on line site or local scrapbook store to be used in his/her own projects. The blogger has also won more product resulting in less money leaving his/her hand again.

Everyone wins financially. The originator of the product SPENT product in advertising their company. The recipient of the original gift spent the product promoting their site and contest. The winner of the contest spent his/her winnings winning another contest resulting in more financial gain through more product. The originator of the product for the site first recipient has an increase in traffic and spending as a result of sponsoring the site to begin with. The manufacturer of the product gets new buyers for that same product as a result of more people seeing it on winning projects. In essence, they are all in receipt of "money" that should be claimed as income so therefore everyone becomes an advertiser and thereby an employee of the company. This also changes the dynamic of gifting.

I suppose all this ranting leads me to this: I totally agree that there are many companies (not necessarily in the scrapbooking industry but industry period) that have relied on the masses for advertising and have made substantial financial gain from what is called "shilling". Shilling is the viral marketing of product by those who tout the accolades of products with no apparent financial gain. This has saved these companies thousands if not hundreds of thousands in marketing costs. While it may not be the best practice, it's saavy and lucrative. They used the masses - word of mouth - as a means to their marketing end. I'm sorry but, why not? We've all done it. It may be small, "Did you taste Martha's pie? Best in the county! We really need her recipe for the church recipe book." Martha gets to feel awesome, the church makes more money because who wouldn't pay a little bit for Martha's famous pie recipe and everyone wins. Then again, it may be huge! Bill Gates got started some how too didn't he? He didn't always have a big advertising budget. He worked really hard to develop an amazing product and took it to the powers that be and made it an industry standard. The people who worked with him and their relatives, friends, and others aware of their product and efforts all talked it up. Who would have thought Microsoft would be a word spoken by the very young all the way through the "pretty old". My dad, at 82, knows what Microsoft is and not just because it was stock market talk or in the financials for the last 30 years. He uses a computer every day and even surfs the net sometimes.

My point is this. personally I think it's insane to hold companies responsible for little people with whom they are not even remotely acquainted responsible for "false statements" made about their product. I think it's insane to hold the little guys responsible for making statements that held true for themselves across the board liableous. I think it's insane to hold the middle man responsible. People have opinions. We are entitled to our opinions based on the First Admendment right to freedom of speeck. We are not intentionally making false statements so as to cause financial hardship on any said company. If we, as a nation, have stopped responding the our First Ammendment rights and are more interested in trying to find liablous statments being made so we can sue someone and make our quick fortunes, then we're REALLY off track.

What is wrong with us that we are no longer allowed our rights to speak our minds? Making a statement such as "Wow! This product perfoms perfectly everytime! I've used this over and over for three months now and my blade is just as sharp today as the day I bought it." should not be misconstrued as factual across the board. It should be considered exactly what it is. Someone's experience with a product they find to work for them. If someone else purchases the same product and finds a different scenario, then they should also be entitled to write something they feel. "I'm glad this person found this product to be a good one. Unfortunately, I have discovered my blades to dull much more rapidly than any other similar product and have decided it is a waste of money. I'll stick to my tried and true "X" product from now on." Aren't readers of the second statement just as likely to respond to the "X" product as they were the first? Isn't it really a matter of personal preference? It's not endorsement of an entire product line, an entire store, an entire manufacturer or even an entire parent company of products. It is simply our experience with that one item. Take it or leave it.

Opinions are like people... Some of them are nice and some of them aren't so nice but more than that, they're all different and subject to interpretation based on our own expriences.

Remember the movie "The Jerk"

2009-04-09T20:56:00.002-04:00

It's one of my favorite movies because of the sweetness and genuine obliviousness of Steve Martin's character. One of my favorite scenes is when he gets the new phone book and he's in it. He grabs the new phone book and proceeds to run about screaming, "The new phone books are in, the phone books are in!" It made him feel so special...

That's how I feel about my new specs! "My new glasses are in, my new glasses are in!"

Peek A Boo! I can see you!!!

I love my new glasses. Love love love them!! I went to church with friends tonight and was actually able to see!!! I read the entire service and it was as clear as a bell to me! Oh my gosh can you even imagine my pleasure and delight! So here ya go... you can see what all my hype is about. I'm so stoked my glasses are ON MY FACE and I can see things again. I swear, when all you can see is fuzzy little caterpillars all over your page and they're supposed to be words, it's something to behold and write home about when you can actually see those little fuzzy caterpillars. They actually ARE words! WOO HOOO!

Words to Live By

2009-04-07T09:11:00.005-04:00

Found this while blog hopping this morning and I've decided it's way too appropo for me to keep to myself. If you've seen it already, it's worth revisiting. If you've not, enjoy!

Yeah yeah I know...

2009-03-31T09:58:00.007-04:00

I totally suck at keeping this thing updated. I know it. But really, I've been super busy!

Last week, I took a day and went to see Daddy. My goal was to visit some of the consignment/thrift stores in Midlothian, hit Michael's, have lunch with Daddy and be home by 5:15 when little guy got done with the afterschool program. Unfortunately, it was a half day last week, Kev had to work and I got a late start. What a mess!

I ended up visiting one consignment (cute kids consignment shop), Dress Barn Woman (found nothing), Michael's (found tons ha ha ha) and went to see Daddy. We had lunch together at American Cafe (what an awesome restaurant - so cool and great food) then home. Not the day I'd planned but fun nonetheless. I love spending time with Daddy. Any time I get to spend with him I'll take really. I love listening to his stories and hearing all the fun tales he can tell. He can really tell a story ya'll. One of the last great story tellers. He draws you in and wraps you up in it and despite the many times I've heard so many of them, they don't get old. I love listening to him tell them!

So, Thursday I decided to get my eyes checked because I'm telling ya, I'm blind in one eye and can't see out the other most days. So, not realizing we have good coverage, I see the ad for America's Best and hop to getting in the car and driving to Newport News to get my eye exam and two pairs of glasses for $69.95!

I get there and enjoy the store. Everyone is so pleasant and nice. The little gal who did my preliminary exams was darling. She tested the letters etc then the eye puff (blowing air in your eye) which I got a kick out of (I laughed, which made her giggle because apparently NO ONE laughs or giggles at that test, they all hate it). Then on to depth perception and color blindness. Yeah - keep in mind I am, and I do use the term loosely, an artist.

I FAILED DEPTH PERCEPTION AND COLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY FREAKIN' WORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm upset, frustrated, a wee tad angry. Not at her and I didn't let her know that, but yeah, sat stewing in my seat waiting for the doc. Not happy... nope, I was not happy.

So the doc comes in, looks at everything, checks out my eyes and says, wow, you have really pretty eyes! (Ok, I'm flattered, what are you buttering me up for??) You're really not in bad shape (and here's the kicker) FOR YOUR AGE.

OMFW again... For My Age. It hit me. I'm one month away from my 49th birthday and I'm now facing phrases like "Not Bad For Your Age". I was pissed. Not at her... she's doing her job. Just the idea of being reminded that I'm not "young" anymore. Well poop on that. I'm young if I feel young. I'm young if I look young and I"m young if I say I'm young!!!! DOGGONE IT I'M YOUNG!

Buy my eyes aren't. Along with the other things that have begun to fail me, my eyes have jumped on board and they are decidedly middle aged. Drat... Drat, drat and triple drat. Then she talked to me about proper eye care and I'm doing well and resting my eyes because of the computer work I'm always doing and not reading so much with my "helpers" (aka magnifiers). Then she dropped the bomb shell...

"I know the depth perception issues and color issues will be just fine when you stop overworking your eyes so much. Your bifocals will help."

MY WHAT????????????? MY BIFOCALS??? Egads, I thought I was gonna faint and scream and turn circles like the Tasmanian Devil in Bugs Bunny cartoons. My bifocals.... yeah, that's not sitting well with me at all.

Now, keep in mind, 12 years ago when I first got glasses, the doc gave me two different prescriptions. One for reading and one for driving. He told me that I was far too young for bifocals and besides, I didn't need to and shouldn't wear my glasses all the time. The same doctor prescribed bifocals for Kevin! HA HA HA - yeah - my husband, 14 years younger than me, got bifocals. The doc totally thought I was younger than him and it was okay to give my young hottie husband bifocals.! ROFLMBOPIMP (and for you folks that don't know cyberspeak - that stands for Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Butt Offr Peeing In My Pants!)

Oh yeah - it was funny.... Now? Now that it's me? Not so much...

To add insult to injury, the fact I have to have bifocals also limits the size of the lenses I can take in my new glasses. It also changes things considerably. Because I have to get bifocals, the two for $69.95 deal no longer applies. Now, for ONE pair of glasses, it's gonna cost me $282.81. Oh yeah - you read that right. Two Hundred, Eighty-Two dollars and 81 cents. I about had a stroke right there proving to everyone that I was indeed middle aged.

So, needless to say, being completely unprepared to pay that kind of price for my glasses, I had to take my prescription and leave, paying $60 for my eye exam.

On I go to compare prices with other glass places. I tried several. The least expensive I found was $230 and bi-jingos, that's what I've got! I purchased my glasses yesterday and I can't wait to get them. The first place did not have the transition lenses included so I didn't have to purchase sunglasses. The new place does. The first place was going to make me have the progressive lenses (at least she didn't offer me the option anyhow). Now I don't. While my bifocals will have a line, they have a larger reading area at the bottom so I don't have to keep moving my head around to find where I need to look. I picked out some gorgeous glasses too. Blue powder coated metal so it's not gonna chip off and make a mess and not be pretty. Transition lenses so I can wear them all the time (which I've been told is my plight now) and not have to switch to my sunglasses. The new place was so so nice about my not having had my eye exam there, very understanding. The kicker was that I may actually have my glasses by the weekend. PLEASE, please let me have them by Friday. I'm so tired of not being able to read things it's driving me crazy! And did I mention they are Vera Bradley's and adorable? That handbag is a photo of the pattern along the arm of my glasses and the blue is the blue of the metal. OH yeah... so so pretty!

So, here is the moral of this tale. Always be sure to read ALL the fine print. Always make sure you have the whole story before passing go and attempting to collect your $200. It will make a difference in the long run. And, just for my daddy, there are five little words you should always remember to pull out of your sleeve before closing a deal. They work. "Is that your best offer?" You're not bartering. You're watching out for number one. No one else cares if you're poor or not but you. So while you're taking care of your health, and purchasing apparatus to help do the same, pull out those five little words. It helped me get a great deal on a great pair of glasses and feel better about me too.

By the way, my glasses are HOT. And they make me feel HOT. (They're just like these only in blue!) So, I'm NOT middle aged, I'm a hot young thing who's doing something really cool for herself and looking good too.

Yeah - that's me... a hot young thing...
.
.
.
.
.
.
...............................right...............

Peace!
Lissa

It's a Giveaway!

2009-03-17T13:38:00.003-04:00

Okay all your vinyl lovers! No - not the old albums we used to play on something called a "Record Player"... it's the new vinyl that we're putting on our walls for decoration. Many of us are loving making our own to use (Love my Cricut!) but a dear friend of mine (Hey T!) is a consultant for a company called Uppercase Living. Another awesome friend of mine (*Waves Kim) is posting a giveaway for her. I KNOW you've heard of the Awesome artsy way cool showcase blog called "Today's Creative Blog" that features creative blogs from all over the net. Well, Kim is hosting a giveaway for T and you've got to take a look!

RUN to Today's Creative Blog and read about T's Easter Giveaway. Then go to T's (short for Torreh - isn't that a gorgeous name?) site and take a look at what they're offering. They've got a special running now and it's well worth the run over. Uppercase Living has so many amazing things to offer! You won't want to miss a thing! (By the way - everything is buy one and get half off right now... hint hint!)

Don't forget to hang out at Kim's site too. You won't want to miss any of the exciting sites she's got featured at Today's Creative Blog. Sooooo much inspiration! You can't help but feel creative.

SO, why are you still here? Go on! Run! NOW!!

Peace and blessings,
Lissa

P.S. If you want some good reading, you must log into T's blog. She's a fun and excellent writer. The kind that makes you want to read more and more. I love her style, her sense of humor and her ability to make you "see" what's going on as though it was taking place in front of you. Check her out at "Just a Teaspoon". She definitely does NOT disappoint!

It's Official

2009-03-17T08:14:00.006-04:00

I'm a Groovy Chick!

After all I am a child of the 60's and 70's and I've been groovy since being groovy was the grooviest thing to be! (Thanks Marsha!) But this is all different. I"m the Sketch Team Leader for the If It's Groovy blog team! In addition to my own sketches for Sketch It!, I'll be doing one, with variations, for the sketch team and very exciting.

We're publishing our first team blog inspiraitons on the First of April and I'm so excited to see what every one does! Our themes are so "groovy" and out of left field so be prepared for some fun!

Hello March!

2009-03-14T20:45:00.003-04:00

Well, it's in like a lion right?

So far we've had 80 degree weather, our first decent snow fall in 6 years, rain, sleet, more rain, 35-40 degree days and more rain - all in the last 10 days! It's definitely pneumonia weather. It's still raining and nasty and I'm so ready for Spring to finally spring into action! I think I NEED it. The snow was fun and exciting, but I need the sunshine. I need longer hours of it too. I'm lethargic and I'm not feeling good and I think it has a lot to do with the sun (or lack there of!).

On a brighter note, woohooo!!! I'm the new Sketch Team leader at a wonderful blog I mentioned before - If It's Groovy. I'm so thrilled to have been selected as part of this great crew of "Groovy Chicks" and even more so by being asked to contribute in this way. The blog mom is awesome and the chicks are terrific and it's gonne be a great time! I've posted some new sketches on the Sketch It! blog and there will be more debuted after they debut at If It's Groovy!

Taylor returns to college tomorrow. Well, let me rephrase that, I have to take Taylor and Alex back to school tomorrow. He wants to leave around 3. I want to leave no later than 2. We're gonna argue about that for a while I think. He's not packed, washed his clothes, gathered up his belongings. He's also not cleaned up that room of his or done anything really constructive over break, but I guess that's what Break is for.

We had a blast singing Karaoke last night. Dalton got into singing We Will Rock You and did quite well. He's getting better about keeping up with the worde on the screen so I know his reading skills are definitely improving! (Either that or he's memorizing the song!) It's a slow day for me. Feeling creepy cruds deep down in my bones but I'm sure that will pass. I have another MRI coming up on Monday to help figure out why my back is still not right so hopefully we'll have some good news on that front soon!

Dalton is on Zantac for his stomach. The doctor says they are seeing more and more stress in the schools now a days and attributes the bullying to not only other factors but also to the economic stresses their parents are feeling. With the additional stresses in the home, I'm sure tensions are tight and much is filtering down to kids. It still doesn't make it right and I don't like what's happening not one bit. Dalton is only 8 years old and going onto Zantac just makes me angry. Each day I hear more and more from kids in the class and the playground and also from other parents regarding the children who are bullying Dalton. From what I can gather, this is an extreme power struggle these kids are embroiled in and I'm wondering just how out of control things must be for them elsewhere. I just have no choices but to shake my head, hug my little guy and continue to be there for him when he needs me. We have suggested methods for him to help be part of the solution and I do think things are already improving. I'm giving it another two weeks. We'll see then how it's all going.

That's it for me. How's your week? Any plans for the rest of the weekend?

Blessings to each,
Lissa

In Honor of Mom

2009-03-10T07:39:00.004-04:00

It's National Women's History Month. (And yes, I know it's National Craft Month too but today Mom is more important...)

I wouldn't say that my mom is infamous except there are many others who would disagree. I wouldn't say that my mom was the most amazing woman I've ever known but that would be a lie, because she absolutely was. I could say that she was no one special but she wasn't just special, she was spectacular. She was the best person, woman, friend, parent, daughter, wife anyone could have asked for. She was amazing.

When my mom was a little girl, she had long auburn VERY curly hair. It hung in ringlets that she vehemently wouldn't let anyone brush. The story says she ran in tears everytime her mom came close with a brush. I have one of those ringlets (yes I do and you can call me gross all you want but it's an awesome piece of my history). It's still as tight as it was when it hung on her head. I can imagine screaming in agony after sleeping on that hair... It had to be terrible. My own hair is extremely curly and dries in ringlets. It's horrible to brush out every day. That's why I straighten it. Mom used to straighten hers too. With an iron! She and my aunt used to iron each other's hair so it was more manageable. (We're not so progressive are we?!)

She played piano and flute from the time she was very young and sang like an angel. Truth be told, she played every instrument. She could pick up anything and play it; play it well even! She had perfect pitch too. You could hum something and she could play it. She could hear a song and play it. She could memorize things like it was the simplest task. She graduated college with a degree in musical performance and music education. After college (she attended Peabody Conservatory of Music and Eastman School of Music), she taught both public school music and private music lessons too. She helped people find their inner voices no matter what instrument it was coming through. She could help you find that place inside you where music comes from and it would flow through your instrument - flute, voice, fingers on a keyboard... She was an awesome teacher and trainer.

She wasn't just an artist with music. She painted as well and just as beautifully! There is a painting in my kitchen she painted that is gorgeous! Daddy has several paintings she did. Daddy is an artist too! (And coincidentally played clarinet quite well!) He's got a huge oil painting in his living room he painted.

Her artistry flowed into every single aspect of her life. She was a culinary expert and could make mud look and taste like a delicacy if she'd tried. How that woman fed a family of four with four small cuts of meat or chicken, a starch and a can of vegetables is beyond me. It takes me twice that to feed this crew. How she made everything so good is just as unfathomable to me. Not only did it taste amazing, it looked amazing too! And she could bake! OH MY GOODNESS, could she bake! They (food experts) say you're either a baker or a cook but not both. They didn't know my mom. She could make cookies, pastries, cakes, candy, ice cream, oh gracious she could make anything!

And her artistic abilities never stopped... She made jewelry, arranged flowers, could make masterpieces with cloth and a sewing machine and sometimes by hand. You should only see some of the window treatments, wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, suits, blouses and all other items of clothing she made and home furnishings she covered. My house, my sister's house and my dad's house all feature things my mom made. The window treatments in my dad's house alone are worth a small fortune! She made foundation garments (ladies, you know what I'm talking about - camisoles, slips, half slips) that were GORGEOUS and so expensive with their beautiful lace.

Mom could crochet and knit. Her homes were always decorated so well it was as if we'd always hired a professional. No matter what my mom tried to do, she was not just successful, she turned it all to gold.

These are some of the tangible things she did. Let's talk about "service" oriented things... She cooked for the homeless at our church. She participated on the Alter Guild at church, was a member of the Junior Women's Club, Garden Club, various Music Clubs, sang in the Richmond Symphony Chorus, was the soloist for the church choir. She judged state wide music competitions, she taught students that participated in state wide competitions and won the highest of marks! She led parades through our neighborhood on holidays without batting an eye and inspired others to come and join in. They joined in with pots, pans, wooden spoons, kazoos, and anything else that they could participate with!

She would help us with school projects, taught us the responsibilities we needed to learn to take care of ourselves and our homes. She taught us how to cook and clean and style our hair to always look our best. She took us to the beauty parlor on very special occasions so we could be treated to be feeling special. She looked like a queen at all times and taught us that we should always always put our best foot forward. She never said the words, "You never know who you'll meet so you better always be prepared to give your best. First impressions are the most important ones." Despite never having said it, you know she lived it and expected the same from us. She led us as a family by example. Daddy was always so so busy with work that much of the family rearing responsibility was all on mom's shoulders. She took it all seriously and did it all well. Like I said, she led by example. I grew up knowing I was expected to offer nothing but my best.

Sounds like the perfect person doesn't it? Well, there's more. Whenever someone needed her, she was there. A dear friend of ours had a very difficult pregnancy. They put her on strict bedrest for most of her pregnancy and having a 2 year old already running around the house, being on bed rest was a problem. Mom stepped in. I remember vividly spending many days at the S* house watching and playing with their little one while C was on bedrest and mom tended to what ever needed to be done. As a result of all that, Mom and Daddy were blessed to be asked to be the Godparents to the new baby and this little one was named for momma. Another little Jeanne was born. I tell ya - there's something about what ever she touched. That woman (the new "little" Jeanne) is an amazing woman in her own right! When someone was sick, momma made food. When someone needed to cry or had a problem, momma had a great shoulder and advice if you wanted it (she never gave it unsolicited). She was a taxi driver, a therapist, a teacher, a mom, a friend, a chef, a wife, a daughter (and an excellent one at that!), a Faithful, Reverent, God Loving women.

Her love for the Lord began when she was very very young and just seemed to grow and grow. She shared that love with everyone and eminated His love with every note she sang or spoke. When momma smiled, she lit up a room and everyone who saw her was touched by her smile and the melodious sounds of her voice. She was amazing.

The one thing that shone through everything was that everything she did, she did with LOVE. Everything she said was with love. Everything she was, was love. Honestly, I think God sent her here especially for anyone who needed a touch of love at any given moment. My grandparents said she was forever bringing home "wounded" children. Anyone who needed some TLC, she would bring home. It was either a coat, or some clothes, or some food or just a friend, my mom would cling to it like it was her personal mission in life to ensure they were "healthy" again before venturing out into the world.

Obviously my mom was phenomenal. From the time she was born until the day she died, she touched people's lives and souls. I adored her.

12 years ago, March 3, 1997, Momma went home to the Lord. It still bothers me and beginning in January every year until the 4th of March when mysteriously, all that emotion goes away. I am thankful, grateful, blessed and adore the fact that wonderful woman was a part of my life for 36 years, 10 months and one day. Everything I've learned, done and love is directly related to her. I supposed I magically am "ok" on the 4th of March because I know where she is. I know that she is singing for God now, keeping company with all the other exceptional angels that inhabit special places in the Kingdom. I pray one day to be lucky enough to be in the glorious woman's company and His as well.

I leave you with this. No matter what, your mom will always be your mom. Whether or not she was a good one is not really the issue. The deal is this. We ALL make mistakes and sometimes the mistakes are huge. We're fallible. We deserve to be forgiven. It is through my mother's forgiving spirit I have learned to let go of some of the heinous things that transpired in my past through no fault of my mom or dad's. It is through my mother's memories I can say to everyone, NO MATTER WHAT IT WAS, no matter how hard your past, your own mistakes, the mistakes of your mom (or dad) they are just that, mistakes. They are errors in judgement. They are ommissions of sound decision making; bad choices. All of these things are normal human functions and we while we should all recognize our errors, omissions, mistakes, we should and deserve to be forgiven for the same. Just one of many lessons my mom taught me.

So, while you take time today (and every day I hope) to be thankful for your blessings, remember, those blessings didn't just happen to you. You earned them. You were blessed either because of choices you made or lessons you were taught. Sometimes our lessons are really hard and we hurt, but we learn. Thank those who helped you learn, even the hard way. Offer them your forgiveness and show them your beautiful spirit.

Momma was a beautiful spirit. I hope I have helped continue sharing her spirit by remember the things she taught me, shared with me, showed me and LOVED me into learning.

Here's to the most amazing, beautiful, phenomenal, wonderful woman I've ever known. I can say with certainty, everyone who knew her would agree. This woman's history was much more imporant than she ever knew. She touched more people than she ever knew. She meant more to people than she ever could have guessed. She is indeed a part of more history than she was aware. Thank you Lord for giving this woman to the world. They needed it more than they ever knew!

An awesome day and a bad mommy

2009-03-08T09:41:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a full full day! It actually kind of started on Friday when I had to drive to Longwood to get Taylor and another friend who lives in Williamsburg as well. I drove the 2 plus a bit extra to get them, then drove back. (We stopped on the way home at 5 Guys for a phenomenal burger which only solidified my yearning for our new 5 Guys to open here in Williamsburg!!)

We got back and of course, I was a bit wired but knew Dalton and I had a big day on Saturday so we had to go to bed. We stopped briefly at Lisa's for a hello and then home we went.

Bed time was bedtime but sleep was illusive. Not only did I not get to sleep until well after midnight, I woke up at 3 am and never was able to go back to sleep. *YAWN* I tidied house a bit (how is it two grown men can make that much mess in a day??) and was wired for sound when Dalton woke up at 8:30. He was so excited about his first Soccer game! I was excited for him too but a little concerned too as he had never ever played soccer before. I taught him a few moves from when I played in high school. Very basic dribbling, passing, kicking and of course, the old standby - never ever touch the ball with your hands. I told him he needed to be aggressive in attempting to steal the ball without beating up on someone and he needed to do his best to keep his eye on the goal and open opportunities to score as well as enabling others to score.

I stopped at my desk long enough to grab two batteries for the camera and off we went! At Taylor's suggestion, we parked at the new high school and walked over. Um.. yeah - won't do that again. We HIKED over to the field where we were playing and met our coach, teammates and suited up! I was fortunate to have found some great soccer gear at a local consignment shop that looked as though it had been bought and never used. Dalton got his jersey and was ready! If I do say so myself, he looks like a soccer player. He's muscular without being bulky, tall and lean for his age. His blonde hair was shining in the sun and as he ran, he really looked like he belonged on the soccer field. It was such fun to see him right in the game, understanding exactly what he needed to do, playing both offense and defense during different quarters to get a good feel for the game. He nearly scored a goal twice!! I was so proud!!

Taylor, Susan, Whitney and I sat on the sidelines cheering and having a ball. The sun was shining (70 degrees at 11am!) and we actually got some sun too.

As soon as the game was done, we high tailed it home to change into our class A uniforms, get the popcorn popped and bagged and took off for the middle school where we were hosting our packs Pinewood Derby races. Now we have a VERY large pack. More than 40 kids. We also allow for sibling races and this year did corporate races as well as a fund raiser. So, with that in mind and a six lane track, you can imagine how long our pinewood derby is. Yeah - we started the Derby at 2:30 and we didn't leave until after 6. It was a lot of fun, tons of activities, snacks, good humor, great racing and neat cars. The kids played amongst themselves outside the back door of the school while the adults cleaned up and got the gym put back together. And afterward, this sore and exhausted puppy was ready to take her little pup home for a quiet night. (All the while dreading the idea of standing up to make dinner in a kitchen that had been DESTROYED by the big guys the night before and as usual, had not been cleaned.)

A slight change in plan resulted in Dalton spending the night at Susan's with Walker and Welsey (who did extremely well in the derby taking 9th and 10th overall respectively). I went with Kevin to Lisa's for about 30 mins to say hello, love you and gotta go to bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow at 9.

It really was an amazing day all the way around!

As for the bad mommy part, well, I bought a brand new package of batteries from Dollar General so I'd be certain to have batteries for the soccer game and the Derby. Yeah - well, lesson learned. You get what you pay for. Not a single battery (and yes I had spares) worked and I have not a single photo of Dalton's first game or of the Derby. What a pain in the tush! How is a scrappy mom supposed to scrap with NOTHING to show for her day?? I know I'll have others from folks who will share, but it's a bummer to me to not have photos of my little guy in particular. :( Live and learn people - don't buy batteries from Dollar General. Take the extra few minutes and buy them at Walmart of the local Grocery. It might cost a little more, but you'll actually get working batteries!

Happy Sunday.

Oh yeah - did you Leap Forward with Spring Daylight Saving's time? Yeah - I did too. At 4am I woke up and have been up ever since... Darn insomnia!

A new journey

2009-03-05T11:05:00.003-05:00

Remember last September when we had the Italian Celebration to honor my bff's mom? It was a HUGE celebration and so much fun. Ive (pronounced Eva) was full blooded Italian, born and raised in Southern Italy. She was a delight, a charmer, full of wisdom and wit. I loved her so very much and was incredibly inspired by her. The party was a celebration to honor her life but it became so much more. I spoke about the party and included some photos when I finally got back to blogging after a horrific summer (healthwise). You can read about it HERE . You'll have to scroll down throught he post through other photos etc if you're really interested!.

At any rate, it became a celebration of all life. Where it was originally intended to celebrate Ive's life, it became something that spanned the ages. We had children ranging from infancy through 14 there. The kids all played wonderfully in the backyard while the grown ups and young adults mingled, ate amazing food and just had fun. We shared stories about Ive and got to know how each of us had been touched by her. Thoughout the evening, my goal was to try and find a way I could begin to show her family members just how much Ive and that day meant to me and my family. I've finally decided what to do.

As a hybrid scrapper, digital scrapper and paper scrapper, I had tons of ideas. I've finally figured out I'm going to do a series of digital layouts. Once completed, I'll have them all printed out in a table top book for each of the family members. Lisa, Bob, Robert and Kenny will all have their own copies. It's not that I"m that comfortable with my own work, (though I'm not too shabby if I do say so myself!) it's just that the day was that extraordinary. The people who came are wonderful people, the laughter, phenomenal food (all homemade authentic Italian ONLY thank you!), Italian Wines (again - only Italian wines were allowed) and the air about the day was fantastic. We were even blessed to have a sweet baby born to some dear friends of ours on the very day of Ive's passing one year later. How much more blessed does it get!

So here is the start of Ive's book. The collage of photos at the bottom is one I put together for the party so everyone got a look at Ive from her childhood on. It was really well received and Bob has had it kept as was and we are looking for a large poster type frame for it. My goal is to have to completed by THIS Celebration Day in September. (Tee hee - think I'll make it?)

Thanks for looking!
Blessings,
Lissa

He makes me laugh!!

2009-03-02T06:31:00.004-05:00

Check this out to see what's got Dalton all shakey shakey! This was shot last night about 10 pm (yes, he was still up and wide open at 10pm). Once you see the video, you'll know why!

And now you'll get to see why he's still sleeping and will likely be sleeping until around 10 this morning!

See that branch (yes, a whole branch) on the ground that's all covered up? That blew out of the tree last night when the 57 mph wind gusts started hitting. My wind chimes were singing so loudly and this morning, they're all tangled up!

Look at those cute kitty tracks. Aren't they sweet! He was SO ready to come back inside this morning after doing his business. So funny!

The front yard rope swing.

The porch with all the icicles hanging from the roof. And yes, it's still snowing.

These are the backyard photos. We're getting some really strong winds and temperatures that had gotten to 34 are on the way down again. It's the second of our snow systems coming through.

Taylor called me yesterday from Longwood about 5:30 SO excited because they were getting snow, snow and more snow! He and his friends had already been out in it and I know he's thrilled. They got a lot more in Farmville than we did here in Williamsburg to be sure. Daddy's snowed in too and I'm glad he's staying in out of this mess!

It's a SNOW DAY!! Have fun today!

Blessings,
Lissa

This is way too funny not to share!!!!

2009-02-27T12:16:00.003-05:00

Okay - for my family and friends who have known me a while, you all know I"m a strawberry blonde. In the summer, my hair got more red and my skin became one of two things - 1) One MASSIVE freckle or 2) burned to a crisp because I'm so fair skinned. Never mind I'm grey now. Never mind my real hair color took a vacation about 10 years ago. Never mind I'm letting my natural hair color grow out again and I'm NOT thrilled that I'm no longer strawberry blonde but grey. My mom was auburn/red. My sister is auburn/red. My grandfather (maternal) was a red head. My aunt was a red head. I come from a long line of beautiful red heads.

REDHEADS UNITE!!!

This is why I love...

2009-02-27T09:27:00.002-05:00

my little guy!

He comes to me and says, "Mom! Today is Wacky Hair Day and I need to do my hair!"

Mind you, it's 8:40 and we have to catch the bus in 10 minutes. So, I run to the bedroom, grab my comb and hairspray and go to town. Poor kid... he'll play heck trying to get all that teasing out of his hair. He was so thrilled, God love him. I just shook my head. I teased and sprayed and teased and sprayed. It may take a jack hammer to get that hairspray out but he loved it. That's what really counts right?

I can't wait to scrap this photo. He's so darn cute!

Reflections

2009-02-24T09:33:00.003-05:00

Today I received a post from a wonderful site to which I subscribe to several daily newsletters. One in particular was entitled, "We All Reflect The Same Sun". I've been discussing this same topic recently with my son and my scouts with regard to the words ".... under God, ..." as mentioned in the Pledge of Allegiance. Of course, I have, along with my other family (extended too)members discussed at great length the notion that it's all one God, different names. The title of this passage on Beliefnet brought me back to it again.

We All Reflect the Same Sun
Friday February 20, 2009
Categories: By Valerie Reiss, Fresh Morning

"The sun shines down, and its image reflects in a thousand different pots filled with water. The reflections are many, but they are each reflecting the same sun. Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are, we will see ourselves in all people." --Amma, the Hugging Saint

I love Ammachi for her tireless compassion, endless stream of hugging (she embraces tens of thousands of people a year), incredible social work, and vast patience. She's also a constant reminder of what's really true and important. A BS-free guru.

I'm going to go about this one backwards, so just bear with me for a minute. First, I have to say I truly appreciate touchy feely folks like me who hug. I am a hugger. I hug people I've never met before, I hug people I'm meeting if the notion strikes me, I hug people I know who might not feel huggy, I hug people when they are relating sad stories and need a hug, I hug people when they are happy and share with me. I hug. I LOVE to hug. I think the basic human experience of touching, in a non-sexual, very platonic, "I'm here with you" way brings about a healing many people don't even realize they need. I've always been like this. I've hugged from the time I was very small. There are times in my live where I've received very spontaneous hugs that have totally turned my mood; been just what I needed, despite the fact I didn't even know I needed it!

Secondly, how can anyone argue the point about everyone seeing their reflections from the same sun. The only differential is the eyes through which the seeing is acknowledged. Even our own eyes can see ourselves and others differently at different times, based on our experiences and the happenings in our lives at that moment.

What doesn't change is the person behind the eyes. The eyes aren't the seeing parts. The "SEEING" part, well, that's the heart. The heart with which we make our emotional decisions, on which we base our real selves and allow ourselves to really see. It's easy to look at someone's clothing and see what they look like. It's harder to look passed the clothing and feel who they are. You can only do that with your heart. By the same token, how we do that is a reflection of who we are.

For example, if we are to look at someone and truly see a well dressed snob we're looking with eyes. It's possible that is someone who might have one really nice outfit and wants to put her best foot forward. She wears it to the shopping center not just to feel good but also so she's not improperly judged by those who are not "seeing". It definitely lends us two very different points of view. One is shallow and without much substance. The other allows for the opportunity of depth, of love, of dimension, of opportunity. We open opportunities for people to be capable of human emotion. We open the door for others vulnerabilities to become part of what makes them unique, wonderful people. It opens the door to seeing them as people who have emotions and can show us perspectives we've never seen before as opposed to a unidimensional stick figure.

When we do that, we are using the reflections of our hearts to see people. We stop seeing with our eyes and brains and start seeing with our hearts. Our hearts are capable of seeing so much more! While our eyes can see color, our hearts can feel it. While our eyes can see a smile, our hearts feel the smile.

How our hearts react to what we see is what makes us a true reflection of God. While our eyes can see someone coming forward to hug us, it is the reflections of love from our hearts that allow ourselves to be hugged. Open your heart and let the sun shine in it. Start allowing yourself to see the reflections of the sun with your heart light. After all, if a little tiny ET can teach us so much about "Heart Lights" then there must be something there. He was truly seeing the best kind of reflection!

Crack a Smile?

2009-02-22T11:04:00.001-05:00

I defy any of your to read these and not smile at least once...

1. How Do You Catch a Unique Rabbit?
Unique Up On It.

2. How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit?
Tame Way.

3. How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest?
They Take The Psychopath

4. How Do You Get Holy Water?
You Boil The Hell Out Of It

5. What Do Fish Say When They Hit a Concrete Wall?
Dam!

6. What Do Eskimos Get From Sitting On The Ice too Long?
Polaroids

7. What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work?
A Stick

8. What Do You Call Cheese That Isn't Yours?
Nacho Cheese.

9. What Do You Call Santa's Helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.

10. What Do You Call Four Bullfighters In Quicksand?
Quatro Cinco.

11. What Do You Get From a Pampered Cow?
Spoiled Milk.

12. What Do You Get When You Cross a Snowman With a Vampire?
Frostbite.

13. What Lies At The Bottom Of The Ocean And Twitches?
A Nervous Wreck.

14. What's The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup?
Anyone Can Roast Beef.

15. Where Do You Find a Dog With No Legs?
Right Where You Left Him.

16. Why Do Gorillas Have Big Nostrils?
Because They Have Big Fingers.

17. Why Don't Blind People Like To Sky Dive?
Because It Scares The Dog.

18. What Kind Of Coffee Was Served On The Titanic?
Sanka.

19. What Is The Difference Between a Harley And a Hoover?!
The Location Of The Dirt Bag

20. Why Did Pilgrims' Pants Always Fall Down?
Because They Wore Their Belt Buckles On Their Hats..

21. What's The Difference Between a Bad Golfer And a Bad Skydiver?
A Bad Golfer Goes, Whack , Dang! A Bad Skydiver Goes Dang! Whack.

22. How Are a Texas Tornado And a Tennessee Divorce The Same?
Somebo dy's Gonna Lose A Trailer Now,

Picking the right fight...

2009-02-22T10:00:00.003-05:00

Lately we've had a hard time with our little guy. Not him, but those around him. Seems D has taken on the same spot I inhabited when I was his age. From the time I was 8 until college, I was the girl who got picked on. I was always too nice, too sensitive, too kind to the underdogs, clothes weren't from the right stores (although were far better than anyone else wore because my mom was the best seamstress EVER and our clothes were always prettier). I was a little cutie but pudgy. My sister was darling and tiny. She got picked on too... because she was tiny. I'd have traded places with her any day. Imagine my surprise when she admitted to me as an adult, she always wanted to be me.

But I digress. This is not about me, but Little D. Since early December our little guy has been throwing up fairly regularly in school. Not like emptying the contents of his stomach sick, but sick like vurping (you know - vomit burps where you just get sick into your mouth in little amounts). It got so bad two weeks ago that the nurse, school guidance counselor and I have all conferenced. I have let them all in on Dalton's secret. Dalton is being bullied in school.

I find this so strange because he gets invited to all the birthday parties, the kids all love playing with him, he's well received by everyone and his clothes are brand name (no one has to know that Consignment shops are my favorite place to shop for said popular items). His shoes are Nike and Reebok and he's got one of those classic cute boy looks. He's very popular in school with boys and girls and all of his teachers have always adored him. So, how is it, my precious son is being bullied. Bullied so much so that he is getting sick from the nerves in his stomach making him feel so bad that he misses class time, has to spend more time at home and causes his teacher to have to stop instruction to allow him a pass to the nurse and the bathroom. How is it possible that doing all the right things and being the great kid he is is still putting him in the path of the bullies?

We got several answers this past week. The teacher was so upset that this is going on. He has had several talks with the boys involved and taken disciplinary actions (setting up expectations and consequences with each of them). The guidance counselor has opened her door to him any time. The nurse is on board and my local pediatrician has set up an appointment for him. But how is it that this is starting in 2nd grade????????

As an example of one typical event, one of his closest friends, with whom he shares sleep overs and neighborhood playtime is also in his class at school. This same close friend is bullying him unmercifully at school, but never at home. (Instead his little brother - and I do mean little - has decided it's his opportunity to beat on D but that's another story entirely.) The other day he said to Dalton, "You can't play tag with us unless you're ALWAYS "it"." To which Dalton replied, "Well, fine, but that's not very nice."

This child whipped around and says to him, "Why is it always about being nice with you. Nice doesn't get you anywhere in our world Dalton!"

Oh... MY... GOSH!!!! Are you kidding me? What 8 year old says that??? Where do they hear that stuff?? And no, he doesn't have older siblings, and his mom and I are very very close friends (also socializing together). He does attend a before and after school program. So we, the team of folks consisting of the teacher, counselor, moms, nurse and kids, begin discussing some of the events that occur at school. Like the one that prompted one child to say to my D, "You're just neutered. You're a loser and NO ONE wants to hang around you."

Apparently these kids are also being bullied. They do NOT have older siblings but are rather being bullied in their own before school and after school programs. So, in their efforts to eradicate being the bullied, they have each become the Bully. Sick sick world we're in that this is starting so soon.

To say to Dalton, "Your girlfriend [of one entire year now btw] is gay and kisses other girls so why would she even care about you!?" makes me furious. It not only belittles his feelings for someone else but raises questions that children this age shouldn't even be privy to information regarding. It infuriates me. And what parent doesn't see patterns of behavior at home that illuminate these kinds of behaviors. Are all these children angelic at home? I think not! (And in the case of two of the bullies, I"m certain they are not angelic having been around them in social situations WITH their parents.)

It's incredulous to me that my son has become physically sick as a result of these behaviors. We've been talking about them at home, reading books to help with these situations, discussing ways to help himself through them, keeping avenues of communication open at home, but I feel so badly that I wasn't able to help his little psyche more than I could. I suppose he does know no matter what Mom is on his side and will go to bat for him when it's necessary. (Until I went to the school, he had begged me not to for fear the bullying would only get worse, which of course, initially it did until the teacher was actually witness to some of the shenanigans that happened when the kids thought his back was turned.)

I remember vividly, one incident that happened to me in 5th grade. I was on the playground hoping to get picked for the kick ball team. I couldn't run very fast, but I could seriously kick a ball from here to Kingdom Come. Unfortunately, the numbers were odd and I didn't get to play. So I sat on the sidelines watching, happy to be where I was, not bothering anyone. When all of a sudden, three girls, all my "friends" surrounded me in a circle and began chanting "fatty fatty two by four" rhymes and kicking me as they passed my backside. I let it continue for a bit hoping if I ignored them they'd stop. Which of course they didn't and it started to hurt. I asked them nicely to quit. They of course they wouldn't. I yelled that it hurt and they laughed at me. When it started to hurt enough to cry, (which honestly wasn't as long as it sounds because I cried easily) they taunted me even more. They were merciless in their pursuits to emotionally drain me, laughing and pointing and taunting me over and over in their hurtful sing-song rhymes.

When I finally was able to get up and walk away to the merry-go-round, the teacher finally saw me and came closer to see why I wasn't playing. When she got close enough to see me crying, she got mad. When she finally got me to tell the story, which I did NOT want to tell because I KNEW it would make matters worse, she was livid. She did the unthinkable...

All the girls were brought to the merry go round, which of course brought the game to a close and everyone gathered around. The teacher proceeded to applaud my qualities in front of everyone. She heralded my generosities, my spirit, my ability to help others feel good about themselves, my sense of pride in my work, my desire to do well and help others do well too. On and on she went and then dropped the bomb. "Anyone who picks on Lissa again will find themselves being sent directly to the principle and will be suspended for the day."

It was official. My social ruination was complete.

Wanna guess what Dalton's teacher's designated consequence of bullying is?

Yeah... Dalton was home from school Friday, throwing up fron 7:30 until after 1:00. I tried to get him to go to school, but they won't keep him if he throws up more than twice. Wanna guess why he was throwing up?

One of the boys picked on him on the playground Thursday and he's afraid he'll get kicked out of school.... Yep, it's the classroom socialite, the boy who, for some reason, has the power to decide who's cool and who's not, the one everyone wants to sit beside at lunch because he's funny, the one who looks like he stepped out of GQ for little boys, the one who's just so darn cute and little that all the parents and teachers think he's darling until he opens his mouth and proves what a little brat he can be. He's got power this one. And he uses it... FULLY... And mesmerizes everyone else with it like some master mind manipulator.

Yeah - wonder if Dalton will ever outgrown being sensitive to this or whether he's just beat the hell out of one of them one of these days, completing his transformation into someone entirely different. Wanna know what the other parents want him to do? Yep - you got it... they want Dalton to beat their kids down and show some moxie... Wanna know what that will get Dalton?

Yup - you guessed it - suspended.

Personally, I love that he's sensitive (to an extent) and empathetic. I love that he's wise and kind. I love that he's intelligent, charming, cute as a button, happy (generally) and a great student. I love that he got friends all over the country that ask to play with him when they visit Williamsburg. I love that where ever he goes, he leaves people smiling. I love that he loves God, people, animals, and is proud. I love that I feel like I've got one of the greatest kids ever and I love that other people say so. I love that even the parents of the kids involved with this fiasco, love my kid. Most of all I love that he is trusting God to help fix this and truly believe that the harder he prays about it, the closer it is to being fixed.

So, until this transformation is complete, either the other children or my own child, in what ever manner, I pray I too can be patient and wait on His wisdom to tell us what the next steps are. I pray that my son can grow and not continue to be sick. I pray that what ever physical damage may have already occurred from being sick 3-4 days a week to him is reversed and healed. Mostly I pray that emotionally, my son is healthy, whole and able to rise above all this and continue to be the wise, wonderful, kind, empathetic, sympathetic, intelligent, charming, athletic, easy going loving kid he's always been.

Blessings,
Lissa

P.S. (And, if you're the praying sort, please pray pray I don't lose my sanity over it too!)

It's here, It's here!

2009-02-20T11:36:00.003-05:00

Remember the movie "The Jerk" with Steve Martin when he got all excited because the new phonebooks were in and he was in it? That's how I felt when I got my new book in the mail.

It's not really MY book but I'm on the first page. I'm pretty certain that anyone who publishes in these journals gets to have their own poem on the first page, but it still feels darn special and I loved getting it. Twice now!

My new poem was published in another journal (the second one I've had published now) and I got it just recently. To have been published twice now in a hardbound book makes me feel so good! My dream is to have my own book of poetry published one day so I'm hoping this is just the start of that dream coming to life.

My Forever Love is my newest published work. Standing in the Rain was my first. You can find them both HERE. It may not be the greatest, but it's mine. I have another 160 pages of poetry I'd love to put into a volume. Maybe that's my next step. Maybe that's what I need to do - go ahead and just take the plunge. I'll have to get busy with my illustrations too. We'll see what the future brings.

For now, I'm just REALLY happy. My new book is here, my new poetry book is here - and I'm on page one!

A quick peek at a gift for a special person

2009-02-19T21:13:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd show off a quick little gift I've made for a very special person. She seldom reads my blog so I can't give away too much, but here is a little mini I made for her. I do hope it brings a little ray of sunshine to her. I know lately she's needed it...

So thanks for looking. I hope you like. More than that (no offense) but I hope she likes!

Blessings,
Lissa

P.S. (And by the way - that's not dirt under my nail - it's stain... it took a week for the stain to come off the underside of my nails... I thought I had rubber gloves but I didn't so I just braved it and well, you can see the result.)

President's Day Weekend and Valentine's

2009-02-17T08:59:00.013-05:00

We had a lovely Valentine's Day Saturday followed by loads of fun for Dalton and Mommy.

Friday night was a lovely dinner party at my girlfriend Lisa's house. Loads of great food we all contributed and great company. A little drama but nothing that won't go away with time. That's a story for another post, but basically, my little guy is being abused (severly bullied) by several kids at school and it carried over to the dinner party. Long story short (boy what a joke), Dalton learned a good thing or two and the other kids have maybe learned something. Let's just pray that his days of having to come home from school from being stressed are over.

So, fast forward to Saturday, Valentine's Day. Dalton and I made candy! It was such fun! We only had two different molds to use. I thought I had more and will have to remedy that by this time next year but the ones we had worked well. We had red candy melts and light cocoa candy melts (Gotta Love Wilton's!) and we had such fun painting the candy molds! (Yep - with a paint brush dipped in chocolate!)

When we were running some errands, Lisa told us about a sale at the grocery store on Lobster tails (2 for $10!!!) so I had to quick quick like a bunny run up to the store and purchase four for dinner. We had an amazing surf and turf. (I'd purchased rib eyes several weeks ago when they were on sale for $2.89 a pound. What a deal!!) We had au gratin potatoes and asparagus too along with a bottle of wine that never even got opened! Dessert was valentine cupcakes with our heart candies on top. It was a great dinner! We were sufficiently stuffed to be sure and our taste buds were delighted to say the least.

Sunday we had a ton of fun! My friend Susan invited us to a Daytona party at a friend's home. As much of a "wallflower" as I can be in places where I know no one, it was really a great time. The host and hostess were so great and talkative, making everyone feel so welcomed. Their home was just beautiful and it was so nice to be meeting new folks. I'd love to live in a place like they do. Country but not and apparently the school system is fantastic. I'd love to see us able to move to something like that one day.

We left before the race was over because Susan and Lisa (a different Lisa) and I had dinner and movie plans. We dropped Dalton off with Daddy with plans to work on his Pinewood Derby car and left for Susan's house to drop off hers and pick up the little car. (She's got a hybrid I truly covet!) After picking up Lisa, we took off for New Town and got a wonderful burrito at California Tortilla before hitting the movies (we'd pre purchased our tickets) to "He's Jut ot That Into You". We loved dinner and the movie was terrific. Great chick flick. We all three laughed out loud and cried a little too and shared fun stories afterwards. Funny how we learn just how human we all are.

When I got home, Kevin had surprised me. Not only had they nearly completed Dalton's pinewood derby car (he's done a great job and I can't wait to see how he paints it), Kevin had cut a second car. I asked if he was doing the Colonial Crossing's car (for the corporate race) and his reply was just so sweet. He said, "No honey, I'm doing this for your business!" He's entering Untamed Spirit into the corporate race. Painting the car plum crazy purple and allowing me my flowers and flourish too. I'm pretty stoked about it and about the free advertising it will bring too.

(Dalton and me in the photobooth at Ripley's. ====>>>)

As if the weekend hadn't been great enough, Monday was President's Day and the kids were out of school. Dalton had been having such a rough time, we decided to do something totally out of the ordinary. He'd been wanting to go to the Ripley's Believe or Not museum and so we went. It was ridiculously expensive but fun nonetheless. Afterward we went to Arby's for a late lunch before coming home in time for Basketball practice.

Dalton in front of a sign just outside the museum.
Dalton and the world's largest man, weighing more than 1500 pounds.

Dalton and mom at Arby's after the museum.

Look at that smile. I'd say the day was worth it just looking at that adorable face!

All in all a fabulous day and a terrific end to a wonderful weekend.

On another note, my computer and email are still messed up. I'm having a horrible time and pray I'm able to rid my computer of the viruses that are killing it. Each day my scan finds more and more. I'm able to send sporadically and unable to receive. I'm thinking I need to go the library to get my email. I have no idea how many I've missed but considering I typically get between 400 and 800 a DAY the contents of my inbox is going to be downright frightening.

The other frightening part is the idea of having to shell out more money that I want to part with to have someone fix it for me. I'm on the verge of calling several companies for estimates. I've called Geek Squad and can't afford them. There are several others here in town. They all have great reputations but you get what you pay for. If I want a working virus free computer, it's gonna cost me...

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend as well!

Blessings all around,
Lissa

Hello!

2009-02-09T09:22:00.003-05:00

So much time so little to report. Let's see... The Super Bowl was awesome. My team won and I thank everyone who also pulled for and cheered on the Mighty Steelers. I've been watching them since I was a little girl and Terry Bradshaw was playing. (Yeah - talk about dating yourself.) For some reason, he was one of my favorite players. My parents never made a huge deal out of the SuperBowl or Football but for some reason I always enjoyed it. I find myself enjoying college football much more. I've been a Va Tech fan for years as well as a Penn State fan as well. Not sure why PSU but I've always liked Joe Paterno for some reason. Lilke I said, not sure why but college ball has always been more impressive to me. It may be because I think millions of dollars in salary plus endorsements is a ridiculous salary to play a game for a living but hey - what ever right?

Not much since then. Taylor was home for the game with his roommate. That was an interesting weekend. I love having T home. I always feel so much more whole when all my boys are around me. (Even though I was gone the better part of the weekend, I breath easier when they're all in town. Hey - it's a small town!)

Dalton's basketball games are so darling. He's getting better and better and is doing really well with his defensive skills in particular. He still needs a little help with his shooting ability but he's getting really good in assists, steals and rebounds too! I'm very proud! They don't keep score at this level so who knows how many games they've actually won or lost. To hear him tell it, they've won absolutely every one of their games and always by two points. No matter how many times we correct him, it's always, "Nu-uh mommy. We won! It was close too! Just two points!" So funny.

My friend Lisa and her husband got to go to the SuperBowl and had a wonderful time. I kept hoping to see them in the crowd shots but no luck. My friend Susan left the same weekend for their family vaca to Florida and WDW. I can't wait to hear all about her trip too! (I live vicariously through my friends, can you tell? ha ha ha)

Scouts had the Blue and Gold banquet this passed weekend. For those who aren't familiar with Blue and Gold, it's the annual anniversary celebration of the Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts. This year, the boy scouts turned 99 and the cubs turned 89. Additionally, our pack celebrated 20 years. It's a huge deal really and I was so proud of our little wolves. They did a great job singing and signing happy birthday to the entire banquet. Yours truly was leading and watching all those little hands. What a sight! I thought I'd retired that uniform a long time ago. What a wonderful trip taking this scouting journey with another little guy. Things have changed a little. This pack is much more involved than my last one and we do wonderful things. Hiking monthly, (which I do not go on), two annual camp outs, sleep overs in exotic places (like the Air and Space Museum and coming in May, the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk!). Our Pinewood Derby is coming in March and that's a HUGE affair. Dalton will be working on his car this week and next to get things completely ready to turn in on the 26th.

Our weather is screwy. We had snow flurries all week during the night and Saturday the temps climbed to a beautiful 64 and 69 on Sunday! It's been so bizarre and this coming weekend is supposed to be miserable again. It's a wonder we're not all hospitalized with pneumonia. No matter, we thoroughly enjoyed the day, Dalton and I.

I picked him up from a sleepover yesterday morning at 10. I had a wonderful time chatting with the other parents that were also there. One is also a scout parent so it was great fun seeing her outside of that single venue. The host was the father of two of Dalton's playmates here in the neighborhood and I enjoyed getting to know him better too. Then he and I spent the entire day together doing just Mommy Dalton things. We went to a flea market (spent NOTHING!), to McD's for his happy meal (I had a snack wrap - dang they're good!), to Wally World for pet food, to the consignment shops (again bought nothing but saw plenty that was darling!) and home. We played video games, had a visit from another friend for a while, made dinner together, watched ICarly and basically had a blast. It's been a long time since he and I had a day where I was functioning well enough to play. The cold is debilitating to me as is the heat. The temps yesterday were just so perfect with a wondeful breeze. We sat on the porch and chatted with Michelle for a while. All in all a great great day!

So, you're caught up with me now. What's up with you?

Blessings,
Lissa

Here I am on my soapbox again...

2009-02-01T10:10:00.002-05:00

I got an email today that has my dander up.

Here is what I received:

NBC rejects Super Bowl ad because it contains pro-life message

30-second ad features ultrasound pictures from a baby in its mother's womb

January 30, 2009

NBC television has rejected a pro-life advertisement which Catholicvote.org
bought for a slot in the Super Bowl because the ad contains a pro-life
message. The 30-second ad features ultrasound pictures from a baby in its
mother's womb. There is nothing either graphic or political and the word
abortion is not even used. In fact, no words are spoken, only graphics that
appear on-screen. Yet, the message is extremely powerful. You can view the
ad here. http://www.onenewsnow.com/Blog/Default.aspx?id=404524

Take Action!
E-mail your comments to NBC
https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/TakeAction.asp?id=343
As of the time of this alert, NBC had not sold out all their ad slots, so
there is still time for them to reconsider.

In addition to sending an e-mail, please call NBC Entertainment at
818-840-4444. Tell the operator that you want to urge NBC to reconsider
airing the Super Bowl ad produced by Catholicvote.org.

Thank you for caring enough to get involved. If you feel our efforts are
worthy of support, would you consider making a small tax-deductible
contribution to help us continue?
https://donate.afa.net/default.aspx

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon,
Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
(gifts are tax-deductible)

First off, I worked for General Electric for eight years. When I first joined the company, it was a fabulous company for which to work. They were very focused on the family and family values. Employees weren't numbers, they were people. The company actually invested in it's people.

Then "Uncle Jack", the great Jack Welch, stepped down. The company went to hell in a hat basket almost immediately. When I no longer worked for GE, it was as if a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders in many ways. That NBC (owned by General Electric) pulled this ad is really not surprising to me. It just didn't fit their liberal, "make as much money as possible and to hell with what's right", mentality.

Beyond that, it's so distressing to me what does and doesn't make it onto television. We have advertisements that are pro sex and teach our kids about using condoms.We air liquor ads using handsome men and beautiful women in lovely surroundings and then in wee small print write,"Drink Responsibly". MADD ("Mothers Against Drunk Driving") are finally coming on but their money doesn't come as easily as large corporation marketing budgets so the ratio of liquor to MADD ads is not equal by any means. We show advertisements for plastic surgeons that talk about breast enhancement, liposuction and other body "fixes" as if to say, "Gee if you're not happy with your body, we'll just help you make a 'Better' one." What does that teach our young people about self esteem and body image? We show movie advertisements that show men and women in suggestive situations. We show all this on television beginning at 8 o'clock, sometimes earlier depending on the channel, but we refuse to air a ProLife advertisement? Are you kidding me?

Please don't misunderstand. I'm all for a woman's right to choose. But just as smokers have a right to smoke, so do non smokers have their right to a smoke free dinner. While women do have the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy or carry it to term, what happens to the rights of others, Pro-Lifers and the unborn? Do they not also have the right to be heard or to be advocated?

Beer ads will most certainly be featured during the SuperBowl (Budweiser ads are always a SB favorite) but where are our priorities? The dancers during half time, as well as the cheerleaders, will be wearing tiny provocative costumes or "uniforms" and will strut their stuff in all kinds of sexual ways. We will be promoting all manner of provocative things. But we won't be promoting the very Deity that put us all here. The one being that gave us all the ability to choose, the ability to think, the ability to see, hear, learn, to have bodies that we have honed into amazingly athleltic football machines. He is the one who created us to make the best of our world for His children (young and old). We have removed God from everything and I'm sick of watching Him get shoved further and further into the background. Pretty soon it will be illegal to say His name... GOD GOD GOD! I thank Him that I have the right to choose to keep GOD in my life!

I'm not trying to be subversive, overly controversial or start arguments among my friends, but, as we are moving forward in some sort of "era of change", are we also now saying we really do NOT have an equal voice? That not ALL people are allowed their freedom to voice their opinions just as they are free to choose? I'm sick of the garbage they are showing on television during family hours. I'm tired of turning on television and hearing foul language. I'm sick of seeing people having sex on television at the 8 o'clock hour (even implied). I'm sick of hearing the innuendos. I'm sick of seeing teenagers french kissing each other and having to turn channels quickly so my eight year old actually gets to have a childhood without learning all about this stuff WAY too quickly. As if they are not getting WAY too much information in school already. (Yeah - my second grader is learning too much too soon. Isn't that my job? I did a good job with my older two - I think I'm capable of doing the same with my little one.) I'm sick of not being able to share some quality time with my family just like we did when we were young. How many of you remember gathering around the television on Sunday Nights watching Disney? How many of you remember watching Mutual of Omaho's Wild Kingdom. We can't even watch Animal Planet without seeing animals mating. Yeah it's nature but honestly, do we have to watch them during family hour?

I had my older boys involved in sports when they were young. I was appalled when I heard my then 9 year old's football coach scream out, "If I see you do that again I'll break your EFFING arm G**dammit!" All because the child didn't tackle his friend, on an opposing side, but stepped aside and let him go. I attended Youth Baseball and Youth Soccer leagues as well for mine and for friend's children. Parents on the sidelines were cussing, the coaches were heard cussing. It's disgusting!

Seems like the only good, clean times we can have with out kids involve turning off the "boob tube" and making our own fun. Game night, hiking, scouting, church activities, parks, school related things and getting together with our friends to have playdates and dinners is about the only thing we can do to promote clean family fun. Video games have foul language and promote violence, movies are often not as clean as they lead to public to believe. We really have become such a degenerative society.

I can only imagine the tears God must spill over what has become of the beauty He created so long ago.

Yeah - another soapbox subject for me - climbing down now...

Challenge 5 and a little extra

2009-01-28T19:19:00.004-05:00

Hello Divas and everyone else who might be reading...

Challenge #5 was to take a picture of "Silence". Most of us with children selected photos of our darling children sleeping which is, in our ears, blessed silence after a long day. Not that we don't love hearing their little voices and not that I don't love my name ("Mommy"). I truly do. But at 8, they become magpies. All three of my kids did it. It's like a switch got flipped and they have mouths that don't stop moving and making sounds. C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-L-Y.... So yeah, I took a picture of my little guy sleeping.

But, since everyone else took the same, I decided to take a different picture too. I live in a sweet neighborhood (not all the people here are nice but who's neighborhood is 100% nice and no naughties?). It's so quiet and no crime. At night it's particularly quiet, especially on days like today where it's been nice and warm and gets dark early; not to mention the rain that we've had for three days now. (I know - it's not normal to have a 70 degree day just 24 hours after it was 43 and tomorrow will yet again be 45 so we're having really really abnormal temperatures. Yesterday we had snow flurries during the night and today it was 70... Freaky!) So anyhow, at night, it's so lovely and quiet. It's dark (we don't have street lights) and even the animals aren't barking on a chilly rainy night. So here's my picture of silence. Hope you like!

Challenge #4

2009-01-25T09:25:00.003-05:00

Okay Divas... you asked -

We've been doing these photography challenges on a yahoo group of which I'm a member. I love this group of women. They are all so wonderful and kind and diverse. Lately, we've been learning more about our cameras from our Abby (well, one of our Abby's!) who's quite a photographer. We've taken photos of things that represent us, we've taken photos using our Macro (which I have since learned is absolutely invaluable to taking photos of my work). We've done a photo session using different variables (lighting, macro, poor - er, um, rather umwilling that is - subjects. Now we have been instructed to turn the cameras on ourselves...

I SWORE I was not going to take photos sans make up. So yesterday, just before Dalton's Basketball game, I decided to go ahead and snap away. I even had Dalton take some. Oh My Gosh... they were horrible.

So I've learned that I should not wear red lipstick... it's horrible on me. Lesson learned. Also a waste of said photo session.

So, today being the last eligible day in the challenge, and being that it's Sunday and my favorite day of the week, I decided to do the unthinkable and take my photos - au naturale. OH yeah... me in all my freckled, unmade up glory (aside from a bit of residual mascara). My morning red eyes, my bags (under the eyes people) and my swollen face. Why oh why do women have swollen faces in the morning??? It's so unfair that women age so much less gracefully than our male counterparts? It'z just not right.

So anyhow, here ya go... my Sunday morning photos to fullfill my Challenge 4 requirement at Divalicious! I really must love you ladies to have done this! HA HA HA

More cards, more fun

2009-01-21T10:08:00.006-05:00

I've been busy the last couple days making cards when I had limited computer access. (My oldest has been on the computer for the last couple days getting some things accomplished so I had to share!)

11 cards later, I've finally gotten enough time to upload the cards I've made!

Thanks for looking!

Blessings,
Lissa

I've got a lot to learn..

2009-01-19T21:26:00.004-05:00

These are my latest attempts at getting portrait style photos of Dalton. These are NOT awesome by any means, but I've been learning some new techniques through a gal on a yahoo group I belong to. She's really good in photography and this is one area in which I need substantial practice.

At any rate, here are three photos I took of Dalton (the only three I got that were decent...)

The first one has a blurred background. The second, I played with backgrounds. The third is untouched. They are also three different moods of my little guy.

I'm going to continue practicing. Dalton is not so willing a subject as he used to be... :( (He's growing up WAY too fast...)

I've been having a great time lately...

2009-01-16T13:19:00.006-05:00

I've been making cards right and left and loving it!

These are all going on my etsy. I'm determined to be able to help pay for my habit somehow! *grins*

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,
Lissa

I'm frustrated with myself!

2009-01-13T15:42:00.008-05:00

I boo boo'd. I bought exactly the same embossing folders from two different sites. I suppose having ordered these at the end of December and them not arriving until now might have something to do with it but hey - I still made a big ole boo boo... I should have had more patience.

So... that being said, I'll sell them to whom ever wants them (first come first served) for exactly the same thing I paid for them. I bought them at BargainPack.com. You can still see them on the site (except for Stylized Flowers because they have sold out of that one). And by the way... did you know you can use these without a Cuttlebug?? Someone was telling us about using these embossing folders on a mousepad and using a rolling pin to get a good "embossing" on it! That's SO cool!

Here ya go...

The first is a two step set - it's the Dove that was just released for Christmas. Includes the embossing folder as well as the die to cut it out.

I paid $8.29(regularly $8.99)

Next are three separate A2 embossing folders.

Stylized Flowers (this is so pretty embossed - I used it on the folder box shown in the previous post below!)

I paid $4.49 (regularly $4.99)

Next is Birds and Swirls. So pretty. Awesome on scrapbook pages too, especially vintage ones or one that have used some of those amazing Basic Grey swirl rub ons...

I paid $4.49 (regularly $4.99)

Lastly is Floral Fantasy. I had to get this one after seeing an awesome YouTube video about how to create a fabulous look by brayering ink inside the folder before you emboss the image. This is GORGEOUS done like that. PLEASE click on the link and watch the video. (The gal talking has a fabulous accent and I loved not only the directions-they're great-but just listening to her sweet accent too.) Check it out HERE <-----.

Again, I paid $4.49 (regularly priced at $4.99)

All prices include postage. I was the idiot, not you. So that's good for a grin, eh?

Just post a comment to me with your email so I can get back to you!

An Altered Tin for my Cuttlebug

2009-01-12T21:55:00.006-05:00

I had fun again today. I got some great Cuttlebug folders at the recent Cuttlebug/Cricut sale at Oh My Crafts! I also got one at Michael's this past weekend when I was in Richmond. (I get to go to Michael's about twice a year. Imagine my glee when the paper was on sale 7/$1... oh yeah... stocked up.)

In order to have some place to keep my embossing folders and dies, I decided to alter a little lunch tin. I even made dividers to go inside to separate things. (Didn't take a picture of them, though I should...)

Loving the Cricut again. I cut out "cuttlebug" and "folders" to go on top to label my box. Used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss some flowers that I cut out and also glued to the box. Yeah, had fun...

Who knew!

2009-01-12T12:43:00.001-05:00

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Sharing Blog Love...

2009-01-12T10:29:00.004-05:00

I was directed to another scrapper's site the other day. We paper crafters are a wonderful bunch. It is common for all of us to be supportive and appreciative of all other paper crafters. We encourage each other, we give each other kudos, we give our input when asked (not unsolicited - please that's just rude) and we pat each other on the back when we see it's needed. We are basically very uplifting to each other.

We pass along each other's blogs and share for many reasons. One, we LOVE looking at other's work. It's so dang inspiring to see the amazing and beautiful work others do. And two, we could (and sometimes do) spend hours looking at other crafters blogs just to drool over their crafting spaces, see their amazing work and get inspired to go into our own rooms and create.

Another thing crafters are is supportive financially when we can be of each others creativity. We support each others stores, ebay auctions and etsy endeavors. We buy from each other on our yahoo groups and trade with each other in swaps. It's always been difficult to know what to charge people for finished work and we all seem to hem and haw over what we consider a fair price. I was sent a blog link the other day regarding a gal named Carla who is also known as "The Avid Scrapper". Her blog is located here: The Avid Scrapper. She does amazing work and creates phenomenal pages, paper piecings and albums. I'm in awe of her talent. When exploring her blog even more, I found, in her sidebar, one of the most well stated essays on why we are entitled to the prices we assign to our pieces when we do choose to sell them.

I was stunned when I read it. It was so on point and exactly what my husband and a friend and I had been discussing just days before reading her blog ~ literally almost verbatim. I think it's definitely worth reading and remembering. Now, that's not to say I agree with the single two page spread that garners a whopping $250 plus, BUT, it's not my money... Someone wants to throw - er pay - that much money for a page that's their deal and good for the person who created that masterpiece! I do however believe that people deserve to be paid for their work fairly. Check it out. Go to the blog "The Avid Scrapper" and read her sidebar. I think you'll all agree!

(While you're there, be inspired! She does amazing work!)

Blessings,
Lissa

I did it!

2009-01-09T18:58:00.003-05:00

I opened my own Etsy store. I'm so excited. I had some help with the pricing (I"m SO bad at that stuff) and I had tons of encouragement, so I just did it!

If you visit, let me know what you think!

Scrapping with The Untamed Scrapper

Another mini album...

2009-01-08T18:44:00.006-05:00

This is so not what I typically create but I sure had an absolute blast making it! Since I have boys, making anything with pink is a treat.

Again, it's 10 pages. This one is round although each page tends to have something that hangs off the page.

The patterned paper is all Miss Elizabeth's. (Can you believe it! That paper is so dang cute!) The cardstock is double sided cardstock by Keepsake Essentials and matched the papers so perfectly it was as though they were made to be used together.

There are so many different embellishments! Ribbon is by Offray and Target, Dragonfly embellishment package is by Keepsake Essentials, blue flower border is Paper Frills by Doodlebug. Also used are Paper Flowers are by Prima, Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest, Chipboard Embellishments and small frames by Heidi Grace (I think, I've had them awhile), Mini Brads and rub ons are by Making Memories, Glitter (unknown), Daisy trio stamp and Daisy Box stamp by Michael's, flower stamp by Autumn Leaves, Beaded Trim was from a swap I was in ages ago. The large flowers used on some pages are Wallies I've had for years and just KNEW I'd find a use for them one day! The pen detailing that is on each page was done with a black Zig Writer. Some chalk (Craf-T) was even used!

You'll see some fun cuts made on my Cricut. Oh goodness I truly love the Cricut! I

I hope you enjoy looking at this fun little book as much as I enjoyed making it!

A New Mini Album

2009-01-05T09:33:00.013-05:00

Here's my latest project. It's going in my etsy store (along with the LOVE banner and the diary I showed last week). I had a blast making this! I love the colors and had to do something special. Click on any photo for a closer view. I left the theme pretty much open. Thanks so much for looking!!

This gorgeous (if I do say so myself!) uses the following materials throughout:

Bazzil cardstock, Prism cardstock, Art Noveau paper collection by Miss Elizabeths, Autumn Leaves stamps (Flourish I and Flourish II by Rhonna Farrar, Color Box Cat Eye chalk ink in Olive Pastel and Prussian Blue, Plaid Acrylic paint in Apple Wedgewood Green and Modge Podge.

The Cover was painted then stamped using the same stamps used throughout the album. I then covered it in several layers of UTEE before topping it off with silk flowers, Basic Grey brads, Dew Drops and various Offray Ribbons.

Page 1 shows embellishments made of silk flowers, Dew Drops, photo corners cut with Fiskars Majestic corner punch and Offray Ribbon. The facing page is covered in paper from the same collection and is covered with Modge Podge for stability and aesthetics. Add your focal photo to the front page to start the theme for your album.

Pages 2 and 3 have details including Making Memories Ribbon Slide, Fiskars Emboss and Punch corner punch, hand cut paper embellishments. There is a special journaling spot for journaling and two photo mats. Use the smaller photo mat for more journaling or a special embellishment to highlight a photo if you'd like. Your photo on the facing page will slide right under the left side patterned paper and your journaling will fit right underneath!

Pages 4 and 5. Extras on these pages include: silk flowers, Basic Grey colored Brads, Fiskars Emboss and Punch corner punch and photo corners made with Marcy Uchida Photo Corner punch. The journaling spot is stamped and meant for you to write right on top of it! If you don't like that idea and would rather leave it for show, the photo mat on the right side of the page is plenty big enough for a photo and journaling under or over it, your choice!

The right facing page features four photo corners for a 4x6 photo. Add your journaling to the journaling strip underneath.

Pages 6 and 7. Extras include hand cut pages, Offray ribbon, paper cut with Provo Craft decorative edged Paper Shapers (Colonial). The left facing page is a page filled with choices! You can add a 4x6 vertical photo on the left and your journaling on the right. Or you can add your photo on the right and keep some memorabilia tucked beneath the ribbon on the left!

The facing page on the right is cut so you can slide your photo behind all the decorative cutting. Great for a portrait style photo or wide photo with distractions on the sides of the photo.

Pages 8 and 9. Extras include Offray Ribbon, Making Memories Decorative Brads, Silk Flowers, Colored Staples, Marvy Decorative corner punch for the large photo mat on page 8.

The left side of this page has decorative photo corners cut into the photo mat ready for your 3.5" x 5.5" photo. The stamped tags are perfect for journaling. The right side page is ready for your photo to slide behind the ribbon and includes a journaling spot beneath.

This is the last page. Extras used include a Maya Road flower ribbon slide, a Making Memories embossed metal frame (there is room to slide your photo in through the top) and Offray Ribbon. Include a photo in the Making Memories frame and another on the stamped cardstock or use the cardstock for journaling your final album thoughts. You might even want to use the metal frame for a special piece of memoriabilia like a ticket stub, a lock of hair, a special charm and more! There are so many possibilities for displaying your favorite photos and memories in this album. The choices are all yours!

The back cover is painted and has been Modge Podged inside the back cover and on the outside of the back cover as well for stability and durability.

My new word for 2009

2009-01-04T06:54:00.002-05:00

I've done this for a couple years now. My words in the past have been Persevere (2007) and 2008 saw me working towards being Exhuberent.

This year I think my new word is going to be Faithful. There are so many things about which one can be faithful. I'll be faithful to my crafting. I'll be faithful to my groups in posting and not being so much of a lurker. I'll be faithful in doing more with my friends (locally) instead of being a wall flower and wishing I was more involved. I'll be faithful in my efforts to getting my boys to accept their responsibilities both here and at school/work. I'll be faithful in being a good wife to my husband (that does not imply I've been unfaithful as in cheating on my dh). I will be faithful to my children in that I will continue to be uplifting to them, diligent in my parental responsibilities, loving while being strong and keeping a firm hand. (I do tend to be a softie and I know it. Personally I don't see anything wrong with being a softie but it has interfered with helping my oldest see his role in life more seriously.) I will be faithful in being a good daughter and sister. I'll be more faithful as a daughter to my daddy. He needs more of me than I've given, particularly lately, and I mean to change that. He's the best daddy ever and I know that there are things he needs to me to take a more active role in. (Such as helping him get out of his house and into a retirement community.)

I'll be more faithful to my sister, BIL and the kids. I've been so absent in the last 6 months. I know my health has played a role in that but I don't want to miss their years. I don't want them to feel I'm a fair weather friend/sister/SIL/aunt. I want them to know I'm with them no matter what!

Most of all, I'll be faithful. I'll give the Lord his daily due, I'll be faithful in my diligence as a Christian, a minister, a daughter of the Lord. I'll be faithful in my responsibilities of prayer.

Very simply, I'm going to be more faithful!

Who doesn't love a contest

2009-01-03T16:29:00.002-05:00

or a chance to win a bunch of goodies by Rhonna Farrer.

OMG her kits are amazing. I have a few digital artists that I really truly put on a pedestal. She's one of them. (Michelle Coleman, Ronnie McCray and a couple others too are right up there). She's running a contest where you have a chance to win 209 (your choice too!) of her kits etc. All we have to do is spread the word and with each comment, track back, shout out on our own blog/site, your name will be entered. But, you need to make sure you tell me about it here & link me back! OMG how simple is that!?

Well I cannot imagine winning something like this but of course I'll give it a try. Who wouldn't! I would just keel over if I won. Truly. I have nearly all her stamp sets and I've used them in my hybrid and traditional scrapping. OMG I think she's amazing...

So take a look over there and tell her Lissa (the Untamed Scrapper) sent you!!!!

Another altered journal

2009-01-01T16:33:00.006-05:00

I LOVED making this darling little diary. It was a locked diary with a plain brown cover ripe for the altering. I painted it then covered it and had tons of fun too!

Let me know what you think!

I've decided to open an etsy shop and I've got a mini album in the works. I'm making it fairly generic but the papers I'm using are so pretty! I've got 6 pages so far and I'm hoping to include about 16 pages.

I'll share when it's done!

Hugs and blessings,
Lissa

Newest project!

2008-12-31T09:37:00.003-05:00

I had a blast making this. I began with a little kit I found at, of all places, the dollar store. I only used the back part of it (the arched chipboard that was covered in elegant black and white florished print). And from there got an inspiration for a beautiful winter wedding. The black white and red just seemed so natural to me so here it is.

It's just a table decoration but it's a perfect gift for Valentines or a wedding!

It measures 13" long and 4" high and includes such fun as Basic Grey rub ons (both black and white flourishes), Provo Craft Alpha chipboard, Bo Bunny rub ons ("true", "Love" and "Always and Forever") and flowers of many different kinds. Not to mention the plethora of ribbons! I had so much fun making this!

Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Lissa

Projects con't...

2008-12-29T18:10:00.003-05:00

These are all for the cub scout book I'm working on... (Yeah I know. I've not done a single thing for myself in ages!)

These are all very simple. Nothing I can do for the scouts can be my usual frou frou stuff as it would take me FAR too long to accomplish anything so thus, simplicity, ease and quick scrapping. The tags on the layouts are blank for the leaders from last year to record names and memories from the trips. These were done this summer.

The bag is from Dalton's teacher gift from the end of the year. (LOVE the cricut for cutting out those letters for me. I'm SO glad I no longer have to be xacto challenged to cut those out by hand any longer!)