Grrrrr

I am so jealous when I see people that have nice, juicy veins. When I first started with the regular check-ups and physicals and such, I had no idea that I was in a special category. No idea that torture was to be had every time I had to have blood work done. No idea that I would come to secretly love the techs that could get my blood with just one stick. I now know that I am special and I truly dread having to have labwork done. My veins are the stuff that cause newbies nightmares (and guess who gets stuck doing most of the sticking? Yep newbies most of the time) I almost always have to get stuck more than once (3 is the average) and almost always by more than one person. Mrs. Brown (she is the sweetest lady and has a voice and demeanor that is pure honey) always gets me on the first try. Always! I sure did miss her today. 2 sticks and than they had to get it from the side of my arm. Hurts like heck and leaves a very ugly 2 wk bruise. Oy.

Humpday

Here's my to do list:

• cook dinner (not leftovers). We are having Arroz con Pollo yum
• budget & pay bills
• garage (one box at a time)
• vacuum downstairs
• a load of laundry (if I do a load a day, I don't have to dedicate a whole day to it). How do 3 people generate so much laundry!
• Bible study
• 2 class samples
• lab work

So I am sitting here blog hopping my day away and fighting a serious urge to take a nap when my doctor calls. When your doctor calls you out of the blue, it is never good news. The conversation goes like this:

D: How are you feeling Mrs. Jamison. (This is gonna be bad.)

S: blah, blah, blah. I seriously babble when I am nervous and I am tired.

D: We got your labs back and I would like to sked an appointment (This is gonna be really bad)

S: blah, blah, blah. I don't even know what the heck I was talking about and he must think I am a complete nut job by now because I am just jabbering!

D: Your iron is low. Very low. Have you been throwing up blood, peeing blood or having nosebleeds? (Low iron, that is old hat and so not as bad as I thought)

S: My iron is always low. But I can come in Friday (so relieved)

Turns out, my iron is lower than normal. Could explain all the naps and how frickin freezin I am even though it is 75 degrees in my house. My hemo level is 8.7 (6.5 is considered to low to function apparently and 12-16 is the normal range) and my hematocrit is 28.2 and normal is 36 to 44). Looking forward to getting to the bottom of this so that I can get a little energy back.

New Projects

I have so many projects in the works. Jewelry, aprons, classes, challenges and the list goes on!

I found this challenge blog, Ad this, while I was at 2peas and thought that it would be really fun to do. I did post this layout a couple of post ago but I am starting to really like it and I decided to take a couple more photos to show the dimension (which was part of the challenge). I did a lot of layering and pop dotting on this one. My girl is gonna be majorly po'd when she sees it because she hates this photo.

Thanks for stopping by and blog you later!

Officially A Deadbeat Mom

Yep, it's official. I am a dirtbag. Q had his game this morning and I also had planned to take a volunteer orientation. I figured that hey "I'm good at multitasking, he will have adult supervision, I'll kill 2 birds with one stone. The orientation is only 30 minutes and while he is playing I can slip out, go to orientation and be back before anyone knows that I am gone". Perfect plan. For failure. Of course it didn't work. I had just finished the orientation when I got a call from Coach. Mrs. Jamison, the game is over. Crap! I was in downtown Charleston and the game was in N. Charleston. ie it takes at least 20 minutes to get back. Double crap! Long story shorter, Q was the only kid left on the field and his coach had to wait for an extra 20 minutes for me to get back. I am definitely an ass.

And no, they did not win.

A layout that I created about the little guy and his daily habits. He is like clockwork. Does the same thing everyday. I had originally done this for a challenge but in the end, did not submit the lo.

Thanks for stopping by see you later!

Why Do Fridays Feel Like Birthdays

I always have a feeling on Fridays that I am going to get something special.

I had planned to spend the weekend with my dad & brother fishing but I forgot that the little guy has soccer every Saturday. Every single Saturday. No weekend trips for us. Oh well.

Thursday

Simply Thursday. Q had soccer practice today and he decided he wants to try out for goalie. Umm, don't think that will be happening for these reasons:

• He has only played soccer a grand total of 5 times
• He is still scared of the ball
• He will not practice at home! There are too many adventures to be had in our neighborhood for him to waste his precious time practicing. It is bad enough that he has to do homework
• Snakes are coming out of hibernation (see previous reason) and #1 thing on his list is to "observe a snake in its natural habitat" okay

He still really likes soccer but he likes everything else too. He wants to spend his summer

• visiting every state in the US
• learning to speak French
• at science camp
• taking a few art classes
• learning a musical instrument
• last but not least visiting the water park

Short list? I think not but I am going to do everything I can to assist him. We even built a map at World 66. I love this site because you can personalize your own map to show where you have been in this small world of ours.

A is much older and much simpler. He simply wants to get a job!

Me, I would be happy with 2 or 3 teaching assignments a month, living in the same home as my husband and attending college.

Here is my layout for pencil lines sketch 129. I really, really like the way this came out. When I saw the photo, it really hit me that my little guy is soon going to be a big guy. I want him to slow down just a little bit. Soon enough he won't need me to read to him at night or to sew the ear back on dog or even to cook him a hot breakfast.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Yeah It's Humpday!

Hello, hello and happy Wednesday!

This layout makes me happy. This was my daughter in 1996. Why is the picture so wonky you ask? Because she was so scared that she would not let me move away far enough to get a good picture. My neighbors put on a fantastic halloween each year and this was all part of the act. To this day, she says that she was "pretending" to make me happy. Yeah right!

I cut circles into the cardstock distressed the edges with my scissors and than layered in all kinds of goodies. I left the word strips on the background and cut the whole thing into a circle that I placed behind the hole in the cardstock. I had fun with this one.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

New Direction

Not quite sure where but I feel so strongly that things are changing and that I am going to be heading in a new direction very soon. I have been revamping my business plan, dusting off my resume and choosing classes. Change is definitely in the air.

Here is a layout that I am not in love with but it is going to have to do. My mother-in-laws birthday a few years ago.

It Has Been One Lazy Sunday

And me and the kids are loving it. As it moves closer to June, the reality of moving is really sinking in. We are getting more and more showings on the house and I am really feeling that God is with me and that things are going change very drastically and very quickly.


What I am doing right now......

• drinking a cup of coffee
• trying to convince my very naky son that putting his hands in front of his private bits does not make him any less naky and that if he wants to let me know that his water is too hot, he really should put on his bath robe. It is seriously hanging right on the door next to his head and his water being too hot is not the end of the world and not something that I have to come fix for him.
• looking at the goodies that I broke down and bought Saturday
• Feeling very, very blessed!

Thanks for stopping by and blog you later!!!!!!

Alone Again

Sigh. CJ's flight just left. I miss him already. So glad that we will be moving there soon and won't have to do this anymore. In a way it really has made us talk more. Since we can't interact face to face, we actually have to talk to each other instead of relying on body language or facial expressions to get our points across. We actually argue/bicker a lot less because we have precious little time together. It is kind of funny to be nervous around him when he comes home and he doesn't get it. We've been together for almost 13 years and he doesn't see why I am not completely comfortable with him no matter how long he is away. I haven't quite figured it out myself but am glad that we have a few butterflies fluttering around after all this time.

I love this photo of the JFK's crew. I am in that sea of people somewhere with a red shirt on. It seemed like utter chaos when we were doing it so imagine my shock when I got the picture. This was taken in Boston Harbor in 2007. It is a historic photo because this was the last time that the Kennedy would ever visit Boston or anywhere else for that matter. All of the Kennedy family and so many politicians, etc came on board that weekend. Boston was lovely and I am definitely planning on taking the family there soon.

Thanks for stopping by and blog you later!

Finally Friday

Aaaaahhhhhhh. Relaxation just settles in so easy on Friday. You can just feel the tension and the business of the week slip away. Sleep in a little, cereal for breakfast, no appointments, no homework, hotdogs for dinner, I could go on all day but that would be a waste of a perfectly good Friday.

I have been working on a couple of layouts. Nothing fancy, just for me. I love paper piecing and I used it a lot on this page. The sun, the clouds and the wooden sign. Can't wait to put some photos on it.

I have actually been planning my last class at The Pink House with Michelle. I will be doing 2 different class on May 16th. A paperbag album and 3 2-page layouts and I will be providing a fabulous lunch that is so included in the economical price of the class. I will post some pics and descriptions soonest.

I have started on my Inspired classes. I am so good. This will be the first time in a while that I am ahead of the game on a class.

Thanks for stopping by, Have a great weekend!

Progress

I am finally making some progress. Finally getting a solid direction. Finally feeling as if I am accomplishing something during the day and making headway. False sense of security? Maybe, but I sure hope it sticks around.

Finally nailed down a moving date. June 8 will be pack day #1 and June 9 will be pack day #2. Thank goodness the military moves your stuff for you. Otherwise, we would not be moving. I dread packing and lifting boxes, dread it! We are excited to be moving to a new, unknown place but will sure miss this place. This home, this neighborhood, this school district has been a perfect fit for us. We have truly enjoyed the blessing that God rained on us here. I know that he has better in store for us so I am looking forward to moving on.

A layout for pencil lines. My sister ran track in high school. That is kind of an understatement. She was a track superstar and was always in the paper. She was known statewide and when we would go to meets, people would talk to us about how great she was. My dad was bursting and would grin from ear to ear (he spoils her rotten, even now. He calls her & my other little sister his babies. They are 25 & 26 yo now and all they have to do is say daddy and there it is. To give him credit for being the best dad ever, he does that for all of us! I digress, back to the lo). The title is actually one that I had done for a class over a year ago. How perfect is that? The stars were punched with a mini-punch, backed with cs and stickled. I made the border under the photos from punched circles.

Thanks for stopping by and blog ya later!

My Most Favoritist Project Yet

Is this box with paper bag album. I love K&Co and seem to be using them more and more in my work. They are one of the few companies that I used when I first started but didn't outgrow, so to speak. I recently taught a class on this box and have some leftover so I decided to put it to use. I put beaded feet on it and a finial from the chandelieir of my old house that I had hung onto. I beaded the finial and set it in the top of the box thru a group of layered flowers. I was so happy with how it came out!

Here are a couple of the inside pages of the album. It has a total of 10 pages plus 4 double-sided tags. I am in love with how the Maya Road Bird came out. He doesn't come with wings so I made him some.

This is a couple of the tags. I used cuttlebug embossing folders to emboss the photo mats. The butterfly is a stamp that I bought years ago. I stamped it on the background paper than I stamped it again on some scrap paper that I loved the design of. I cut it out of the scrap paper and layered it with primas and bling.

This layout is for pencil lines. I tried my hand at making those lollipop flowers. Fun, fun, fun and I love the way they came out.

When my niece was little, I had this gorgeous pot of moss roses on my front porch. The kids were forbidden to even look at them! But D would pick me one every time she was over and sitting outside with someone.

My to do list. I know, I know, boring with a capital b but I saw a book that Ali Edwards? did where she had her blog for the year printed into a shutterfly? book and I have got to do that! I put most of my craziness and lots of photos on my blogs. Once I finally get into my groove, I want to look back on my starving artist days lol! Actually, my life is changing faster than I can keep up and my kiddos are deserting me one by one. My baby girl is going to be 20 in a couple of months! Wowzer. My oldest son starts his senior year next year. A senior. When did that happen? Of course I still have my baby. If my husband thinks he's spoiled now, let him just wait till he is the only kid in the house. The other morning, he woke me up to ask me if I would fix him a hot breakfast. My husband is a very light sleeper and all I heard was this croaky voice saying "you've got to be kidding me!" Umm no, he is not kidding. Mommy is a hot meal machine for the little guy. All he has to do is ask.

• Finish cleaning the garage (my husband can't believe that we can actually get one of the cars in there)
• Dinner
• Fax PW to CK
• Apply to teach at venue
• Mail baby kit

Not much of a to list.

Thanks for stopping by, blog you later!

Easter Was Fantastic!

Spring break this year was fantastic! My husband is home, my kids were out of school (and behaving) and my house is clean. What more can a woman ask for. This is what the weather has been like. I might never leave home again.

Q had an awards ceremony this morning and received kudos for a/b honor roll. He has been on the a/b honor roll for a couple of years so me thinks that it may be time to talk to him about kicking it up a notch. He is more than capable of making straight a's, he is just in the zone I guess.

CJ and I spent the day together. We got manicures and pedicures and shopped. Very nice day. He even took me to lunch. We will be taking the boys to dinner tonight to celebrate them doing so well in school.

Inspired is right around the corner! I can't believe how fast time is flying. I better start getting those class kits in gear.

I had to take a few pictures of the inside of my house for the listing and thought that I would share a funny story (I think it's funny, my sister, not so much). See the painting above the fire place. Just lovely isn't it. I bought it for my sister for Christmas about 5 years ago and at the time, I needed a painting to hang in our living room for staging. Well yeah, you guessed it, I love it so much that when she came for Christmas dinner, I showed it to her and said Merry Christmas look what I got you. She could not believe it and said that I was just wrong. What? It's a lovely painting! I was going to get her another one but haven't been able to find one. Maybe this year.

My studio is a hot mess! I have got to clean it. Got to, got to, got to. Maybe today. Okay maybe tomorrow.

Off to Visit the Fam

We will be gone for a few days to visit the fam. I am so excited. We have quite a bit planned.

• A baby shower for my sister who is due in a few weeks.
• The flea market for my dad to see if he can find the chickens he wants for the farm.
• A fish fry at my brothers.
• Time with my daughter.
• Easter dinner at my Mother-in-Laws.
• Movies.
• etc, etc, etc

Have a wonderful Easter and be safe on the road if you take a trip. Thanks for stopping by and blog you later!

Hubby's Home!

He finally has a break in his travel schedule and we will be able to spend some time together. I am so relieved to finally be able to spend some time with him. Have to go pick him up from the airport. Have a great day!

Finally Spring Break

Finally spring break is here. Nothing on the agenda but getting the house spruced up even more for sale.



The little guy had his first soccer game today. He scored a goal!!!!! I am one proud momma. His very first game and his second time playing ever.

Fridays are F-U-N

I don't know what we are going to do today, but whatever it is, it had better be fun!

Thursdays are S-T-O-R-M-Y

It is raining outside. Must, fight, nap mode! It's sooooooo haaaarrrrdd. Just a couple of minutes would make me so happy!

I drug my carcass out of bed this morning and took Q to the dentist. His teeth are, thank goodness, fine. The 2 front ones were knocked out of alignment but the dentist said that they should find their way back into their rightful place. The nurses informed me that he has big, pretty teeth. So funny, I've been laughing at that all morning. She even called some of the other nurses over to look at them. All of my kids had these huge 20 lb teeth stuck in their 10 lb heads. My daughter, when she gets upset with the little guy, will call him and make bunny noises. How quickly she forgot that she used to have those huge teeth too. Anyhoo. Not quite sure where that was going but I thought it was funny. I think I'm done now and am sure that next week, I will erase this.

As you have probably guessed by my post, I am ill. I have a cold and have been sippin on the Theraflu. The little busted face guy gave me a virus. One of the reasons that I took him to the ER was because his nose started to run clear fluid and than he started acting all crazy and whiney. Well the doctor (as he was looking at me like I was some crackpot mom that ran their kid to the ER everytime they coughed) told me that he had a virus and that it was just a cowinkydink that he got it right after he hit that tree. So he isn't/wasn't suffering from brain trauma, he was just sick. Aren't we lucky. Now I am sick too.

Crap.

Wednesdays are W-A-C-K-Y

I hate it when people ask what you think your best feature is. What the heck? Who thinks about this? Okay, I guess I do now because it really got me to thinking. I could nit pick myself to death. So I am just going to pick a feature that even I can't find anything wrong with. Here goes...... I have the cutest ears. I wish I could take a foto of them and post them. How do I know that my ears are cute. I see them in my rearview mirror all the time when I am driving. I even have a perfect little mole. They are not big, they are not small, they are just right. Except now they are ringing. Time for a glass of wine to fix that.

Thanks for stopping by! Blog you tomorrow.