Hello to Spring

Although, here in Michigan Spring has not sprung as yet.  It has been a very cold and snowy March here this year.  Today it did get as high as 36 and was bright and sunny.  Last year on today's date it was 87 degrees here.  No buds showing up yet on our trees so this year maybe the apples, cherries and such will be in abundance. 

I have not blogged in such a long time and am sorry that I have not been around much.  I mostly have just been living life.  So far, the Breast cancer is still in remission and all has gone very well for us.  We have been working very hard on our yard and house since we moved here and it is finally beginning to come together.  Once the weather breaks, we will be able to get the yard the way we want it and will be able to sit back and enjoy it. 

I have not scrapped in over a year, but this week I did decide to paint some birdhouses.  Once I have them finished I will post them here.  I had not painted in over 5 years so it almost feels like a new hobby.

Anyway... I had received a couple of emails asking how I was doing and thought I should post here.  God Bless you all and I pray your Easter is filled with love.

Anniversary Card

My mom-in-law asked if I would make a card for her sister and brother-in-law for their 50th Anniversary.  It felt so good to actually sit and come up with a card.  I used Martha Stewart Elegant Cakes for the words, the Sweethearts Cart for the heart, and Indie Art for the birds.  I decided on an Easel card and used lots of bling at her request.

Halloween Centerpiece

Now that we live in a neighborhood that has kids in it, we should have a lot of trick-or-treaters.  I love it when the little ones come to the door for goodies.  I had this hat sitting around and decided to decorate it to sit in our front window as part of our Halloween Decor.  I used the Happy Hauntings cartridge and had fun making it. 

 

One Year Breast Cancer Anniversary month...

OK, here I am one year after my breast cancer diagnosis. It has been a strange year for sure. Emotions have been up and down (mostly up) and the understanding of life after a double mastectomy has been a slow process at times. For me, the soreness and tenderness is still present and according to my doctors, may always be there. Well darn!!!


I do miss “the girls” at times, especially when it is in the 90’s and I don’t want to wear the heavy, silicone fake boobs because they sweat! YUCK!!! Do I regret not having reconstructive surgery… honestly, yes at times I do. But, most of the time I am perfectly happy with the way it is. After all, I can go bigger or smaller if I want…hehe! I also learned why the fake boobs are heavy… I was outdoors wearing the lightweight foam ones and I reached up to cut a dead branch from a tree in the front yard and the little suckers ended up being up around my neck instead of where they should be. My hubby looked at me in shock and I just couldn’t stop laughing. We had moved to our new house a week earlier and I think he looked around as fast as I did see if anyone was watching. I have not worn the foam ones since. LOL!!!

I have learned that people who love you do not like to talk about the fact that you have had cancer. It is always there, yet I think the word cancer still scares people so much that they are afraid if it is discussed, it makes it too real to them and the thought of my death and suffering gets in their heads even though I am cancer free at this time. Also, I think the reality of their mortality come to mind.

I’ve also learned that there are those who feel that because they removed the total cancer with surgery and that I didn’t have to go through chemo, that I really didn’t have cancer. For awhile I felt guilty that I didn’t have to endure the stuff others have had to go through with this dreaded disease… duh! I now feel totally blessed that mine was found at such an early stage. I was told by my cancer doctor that due to the type of cancer I had (negative receptor estrogen and very aggressive cancer), if it had not been found at the time it was, that by the next scheduled mammogram would have possibly been too late to save me. OK, that totally put it into perspective for me. Guilt gone!!!

Yup… A lot has happened in the last year… we have sold and bought a new home. I had forgotten how much work is involved with all that, but it is so nice to finally be settled in. I have a new scrap room that is smaller than my old one, but I love it. I have spent much more time with family and friends and am grateful for the opportunity to do so. I am finally finding some time to get in my scrap room and think I will begin making Christmas cards this week. I have missed a lot of information about the scrapping world this past year and have not spent much money on anything new. I don’t even know what the new carts that have come out look like as it doesn’t appear they are putting the books on the Cricut site now. I have seen the new Expression 2 and hopefully, next year it will be my new machine of choice. At this point, I will use my trusty expression, my pazzles and all of the stuff I have accumulated over the past four years. Maybe then I will actually have room to add new stuff.

Most importantly, after all that has happened, my faith is stronger than ever. God certainly has been with me and my blessings have been huge. I have so much to be thankful for and my internet scrapping buddies are right up there at the top of that list. Life is good – God is GREAT!!!

Please take time to be tested for breast cancer. If you do not have the insurance or funds to do this, this is the month to look for free mammograms offered everywhere. Do not be afraid and please, DO IT NOW!!!!

Finally Moving...

I have missed my craft room so much!  All of my stuff has been packed for what seems like forever and waiting for the move to our new house.  Finally, next week we will be moving and in a couple of weeks I should have my room set up again.  Once this is done, I will be posting again.  Hugs to you all!!!

Entry for CC Blog Contest

I had to have a picture of me taken in my craft room to enter the CCBlog's contest.  Here is the one my hubby took...

Mother-In-Law's Mother's Day Card

Good Morning all.  I have had some issues healthwise so have not been doing much crafting for awhile. No big deal, just learning that being a tom boy is not always a great thing when you have muscles that have been messed with due to surgery.  I lifted 85 bags of top soil due to filling in our ornamental ponds and have dearly paid for that move.  DUH!  I've always been pretty strong and just assumed I could do all that I have always done.  I guess after sitting most of the winter and not doing any heavy work, I need to learn to gradually build my body back up.  I had an ultra sound yesterday due to the surgeon wanting to make sure the pain is not due to infection or anything else going on.  I will see him in a week and one-half and may end up with some therapy sessions to help get back in shape.  The pain has been such that even taking a shower has hurt like the dickens.  Live and Learn!!! Geez!!!  O-well... Enough about me - I actually got some crafting done today...

I was with my hubby in Meijer yesterday and started to pick up a card for his mom.  He looked at me like I was totally crazy and said "No, she loves the cards you make and you need to make one for her if you can."  Well, I knew he was right and decided I best get busy.  Aside from that - cards cost a small fortune and some are just not that pretty!!!  Mine may not be the best, but they are made with heart!  Anyway...

I used the new Cricut Craftroom to layout this card and it worked great other than it kept forgetting that the cartridges were in the machine and I had to keep removing and reinstalling the carts.  Geez!  That is really a minor thing and I'm sure they will get this fixed soon.  I really think most people are really going to like the new program.  So far, everything I have given feedback about has been fixed or added in short order.  Wonderful!!!

The items used for the card are as follows:

Co'erdinations Glimmer paper
Bazill dotted swiss paper
George - for the card base and overlays on the base
Country Life for the Watering can (altered by cutting off the flowers that are on the cut)
Mother's Day Bouquet for the flowers (multi-cut different sizes, chalked and put together)
The senitment was done in Word