Big & Juicy pad

I luv how quickly these brayer onto my card stock. They are so hard to find
even on the web. It wide enough I used 2 brayers so I wouldn't mess up my ink colors.I needed a quick sky for my cards. Originally I was going to watercolor w/ my w/color I lost Oct. & I lost time to experiment w/ the w/color pencils for a wash b/ground for the sky.
U can see how I did the trees for my collage.

Mark's card

This idea got tabled in Oct. because of health problems. I only made 4 of these.
i used a brayed ink w/ Big & Juicy ink pad to make my sky b/ground. I cut out the trees from some stamped images. I put the big one in the front & the group of trees in the b/ground. I cut out the moose stamp. I popped it up w/ a 3-d foam dot. I added the wood pieces as an accent
I put Peace on Earth on tags as a greeting.

Mark's card

Jan is a Hello Kitty fan. My 1st easel card. It took me 2 years to finally do this card. I had to print out the directions for it & follow it step by step. after I saw it, then i could visualize it.
I dyed the dew drops w/ alcohol ink to use as a stop for the card to keep it opened.

Toby'schipboard book

This is a pic of the whole book I made for his present.The whole project is on my flickR tag w/ more pic's & descriptions of the project. It took 6 days to complete

Judy's card

I used a M.Engrbeit piece for this card

inside

Katya's card

She loved to dance to the N/cracker ballet as a young child when she visted us in DFW area

Emma's card

I luv the naughty & nice ribbon in my stash

Forest's card inspired by his love of the Nutcracker. Dustin Pike digi

Allen's card,inspired by Polar Express

This was supposed to be my theme card for this year.I lost Oct. to health problems. I only made 2 of these cards

I can breathe!!!

Phew!!! I made it. Last 2 cards under book press. G/kids box in mail. Can't believe I did it w/ no heart problems. It has taken from the Dec.1st,to make 12 custom cards.
Now Fri. to start cleaning the house in small steps & put up the small tree. Will put C-mas card stuff away. Next week will be some "me time" Been making cards since Sept. 100 went out then. 40 in stash,47 made for C-mas went to Kuwait.
Haven't read a book since Aug. I'm going to "gel out" C-mas w/end. My Thai friend taking us to C-mas dinner @ the Oriental buffet. Luv to spend time w/her. Most loyal friend in El Paso 1 less meal to cook. DH is going to help w/ meals the days he's off so I have energy to work on other items.
Need to spend time filing away 2 boxes of paper scraps been in my room 2 mo's. Pull out my Vintage p/c collection to send out. Send out 40 cards to a GI's wife whose DH is in Iraq. Watch Rose Bowl Parade,read a book & watch video NY eve w/end.

No more C-mas cards!!!

I'm getting sick of making C-mas cards. I'm still plugging away on my custom made family cards. My idea was to make e/one a custom card since I don't have time to make a present. I hope I don't regret this & it just get thrown in a corner. I have spent alto of time on these.
I have used red line tape w/ glitter
2,my first easel card which has taken me 2 years to do. I have a spatial relationship problem. I had to print out the directions for the measurements. after I made it I understood the concept better. I made an improvised one for Emma since i glue the pic on the wrong side of the card.
3,gateway fold for Katya's card
4 pamphlet fold
5.distressing & tearing uneven edges
6 brayer w/ Big & Juicy pad for a sky
7.watercolor wash w/ color pencil for l/house stamp
8 learned how to mask image w/ the masking tape
I can't post the pic's here since they haven't been mailed yet. My cards can be found on Papercrafterplanet
for those not in my family.
Toby's book taking more time than expected. I didn't want to pay $5? etc for a c/board book plus s&h. they are hard to find in El Paso. DH cut out 8 4x4 pieces for me to use from a cereal box. I had to cover both sides of the pieces.They have been under the book press x3 to dry. I still have to write on the titles, color in the letters on the cover,Mod Podge it so the paper looks neater, & then tape it together. A lot of drying time on this projects. It has images of trucks & trains on it.
I still have 3 more family members cards to work on this week.

p/c pic's on front door

I can only get this one to show up rotated. the others of the front door can be round on theright on my Flickr tab.

closeup of leave tree

i have pic's of the whole tree on the right on my FlickR tab. I can't figure out how to rotate them from my file

Postcard on front door

These are p/c's from all over the world. I even have a column of Oriental cards from the East on the far right. a lot of N.Z. cards from my pen pal in Christchurch. I have Hawaii & Alaska. Waitng on Florida to finish up my door.My bulletin board has a lot of European cards on it. I having been doing p/c swaps on Swap-bot since May.

My favorite of my cards

These are some I like how they turned out . I found an old ad from the 50's from Purina dog food. I cut the ad off & used the boy asleep /w his pup. It reminded me of what he was dreaming for gifts on C-mas morn.
I also used alot of Vintage free images. My color priner was running out of ink. I used My Ranger distress inks,the OLd paper, Vintage photo,Denim blue & Tatterd rose on them. It made them look like they were supposed to be that way. I used up my color ink jet that way & didn't get wasted

C-mas cards for GI's 2010

I have a sample of the 53 cards I made to go to Kuwait up on FlickR,Paper Crafter Planet & Facebook for people to look @ I did collage this year. Thanks to those who share their free digi's ,b/grounds & font's. They helped make my cards up this year. I lost time w/ the Vertigo & my heart slowing down.
I used up patterned paper,ribbon,3-D embellishments in my stash. I colored the fonts that Jan made file for me. She helped find fonts in trains,bells, holly & script wording to put on the front of my cards. I colored them w/ my Glaze & a green free Jellyroll pen.
I luv coloring w/ my color pencil collection. I have them by my recliner. I color when watching TV w/ Allen @ nite.
Now to get energy to put my families together
Had a real bad windstorm come thru Sun. Blew a lot of dust around. We're short 2 in. of rain,so very dry here.
Go to heart dr. to get results of holster results. have to rest a couple of days from storm etc.

Mess is off the floor

Allen surprised me T-giving AM. The shelves he bought put in my room. My stuff that has been in a corner started growing out into the middle of the room.A lot of it is projects in process. 2 boxes of paper scraps I need to sort thru. Now it's all in a tall stack instead of of in a mess on the floor. It does look a lot neater.
I have used up a lot of items in my stash for my C-mas collage cards. I sorted out a lot of card making magazines that were given to me. I passed them onto the Relief Society Pres. for the women in my church to use for ideas for their C-mas projects They had a big super Sat. activity that they could pick them up.
I have books that I have read that will go out when we have a book review @ church.
This house is just to small to keep a lot of stuff in it & be able to move around in
Allen also got me a new watch to stretch over my new arm brace on my right arm. the new brave extends down to my wrist to support it whem I stamp in my room or I'm lifting items in the kitchen. I couldn't wear my watch w/ the strap since it wouldn't fit under my brace. Pendant watches were too expensive!!

What a relief!!

I actually pulled it off!! It took 3 weeks to do it. I made 53 collage C-mas cards to go to Kuwait for C-mas day.My Vertigo messed up my time line for cards for them to send home to their families.I had to change my plans of time constrains. I was working on color pencil for a sky b/ground. I had surfed the web in trying to keep still the 2nd week of my Vertigo. I printed a lot of free digi's & b/grounds I found on line. It was a lot of cut & paste this year. Jan saved me alot of time by creating a file of titles w/ words in font's of candy canes,trains,ivy & berries & script Merry C-mas. I colored a lot of items in @ nite w/ my glaze pens etc. while T.V.was on.
i did alot of Vintage cards. I used Distress inks, Old Paper & Vintage photo & my tear ruler & Vintage pic's I d/loaded.
My heart is slowing me down so s/things were done in 20 min's etc.Dr's appts just wipe me out. Cooking supper when I get up means I usually have to rest in the recliner.

Need new perspective

Almost 2 weeks w/this Vertigo. the 1st week was the hardest, The room would spin so bad I would get so disoriented,forget what I was doing. I would end up going back to bed to sleep the med. off. It's an antihistamine so U get sleepy. I was dopey I couldn't function. I couldn't watch TV,read a book or work on my cards.This week I hadn't taken my med to go to a Dr's appt. the movement in the car going around curves was unsettling. On top of it the elevator came to a sudden jolt.That made me more dizzy. I had a bunch of sheets to fill out @ the Dr's office to update. I couldn't really see the fine print & I was tired.Plus the nerve pain in 2 fingers makes it hard for me to hold a pen Allen had to help me fill the papers out.
The heart dr. told me the echo showed some more heart weakness. My pumping capacity has dropped down from 5 to 10 %. that explains the fatigue I'm getting upon on exertion trying to get out to a Dr's appt.i get to the Dr's office already tired. I couldn't even look @my card mag's in my bag this week,just to wiped out. I have to remember to write e/thing down in detail to give to the Dr or I'm to tire to tell them.
This is really cutting into my c/making time. This is my busiest time of the year. I have d/lines to meet for C-mas cards for my GI's. I still don't know how long it takes cards to get to Kuwait.I still haven't heard from 2 of my contacts yet.
My c/making is my sanity valve. Not being able to work in there I don't have a chance to work out my frustrations. I'm having to look 2 what is a priority for that day. If I don't get up & cook 1st thing when I get up I don't have the energy to cook later on. I having to think who is the setting the d/lines. Is this one I'm putting on myself?
I've to come up w/ a comprise on my c-mas cards. Last year I did 2 s/ments of cards. 1 for them to send home to family etc. I have to get them in the mail by 1st of Nov., the latest for them to send back to the states. I can see I'm not going to be able to do that. I don't have anything ready for C-mas this year.
In order to make peace w/myself I decided I can only do 1 s/ment of cards. I decided to focus in on the ones to go to them for C-mas day. I have already been experimenting w/ w/color pencil wash for a b/ground. If I have to I may do an alcohol ink or a chalk b/ground that would be quicker. I want to do a deer card. I found a magnificent buck I printed off & have chalked them. I have some trees stamped off for the b/ground. I also want to use my l/house stamp Jan gave me for some state C-mas cards. I do have items collected ready to collage. I found C-mas brads on E-bay for cheap.It just getting the energy & time to work in ther.
I have finished up my fall cards. My VT cards went in the mail early this week. I just put the rest of the material for fall card away instead of getting frustrated on not making more of them. I did make some vintage T-giving cards the other nite I couldn't sleep. Polly's scraps ,she gave me came in handy both for my fall & T-giving cards.
I have been surfing the web look for free digi's to color. sitting still @ the computer is a way to deal w/ the dizziness. If I sit still, it doesn't spin on me.I found some vintage beehives I printed off for Jenny,my DIL. I also found some cute bee's I printed off. I put yellow Stickles on the wings. I distressed the c/stock w/ Ranger 's ink. I also used some of my core-nation choc. that I sanded down to use as b/ground for the inside.she like bees,her n/name is Jennie Bee.
On top of it Allen has had a rough week. His blood sugar crashed bad @ work this week. the same day we went to the heart dr. Going out to an appt. means I come home & crash in my recliner. I t takes all the energy & sleep I need to just get out the door.
They put him on a new med to better regulate his blood sugar. Plus he's having problems w/blurred vision & light sensitivity. to the point it's making it hard for him to see the screen @ work to program.He's trying to find out if any of his med's may be doing this,his allergy shots etc. It's been a rough week for both of us
My concern is what am I'm going to do as I lose more heart strength & my fatigue level goes up. I have a Puritan work ethic.I always focus in on s/thing to look for ward to get thru the bad times.My scared cow, "my cards" already been compromised. i thought I could deal w/ this when it happened but not really when I'm here & have to accept the fact my heart isn't going to bounce back this time. I go in for a 24 hr holster in early Nov. to look for irregular heart beats. A lot of PVC's showed up on my sleep study & ER visit but none on the EKG @ Dr's office.also will check the blood flow to my legs. How are Allen & I going to deal w/ this when I can't hire anyone to help since I don't get SSD???
+++ side is I have had 4 1/2 years they said I wouldn't had, I did get 100 cards sent out to my GI's in early Sept. I did get to have A RS class @ my house for stamping. I was on a Thur, nite, The mystery heart episode was on Sun. ER visit was Mon am.

OVEN IS ON!!!

Sw. Pot's fries for supper last nite. 1st time since early April I have had it on
I got up early & baked egg custard, sw. pot's for supper,Chebe choc. chip biscuits( a GF version of cboc-chip treat,)3 flat bread Chebe, 1 went for a taco for my brft.,a cinn.sugar Chebe. Chebe is a mix w/ tapioca flour U put in 2 eggs,oil & H20.Being GF is a hard diet to live on. when Allen makes toast the smell torments me. I use to eat toast & nut butter for brft. every AM.
If I don't cook 1st thing in the AM I don't have the energy to cook later on in the day.I wipe out so easy w/ this Vertigo.

@last I found it!!!

I have been trying to find a Splat sheet, a Teflon baking sheet U use in the oven. Allen found 1,but didn't get it. He went back & it was gone. I wanted to use it for my craft table to heat emboss on & do alcohol inks on. The reviews said it was better than a Ranger craft sheet & cheaper.U could just wipe e/thing off w/ it even glue. C/o's of the scalloped craft sheet w/ difficulty putting the embossing pow. back in w/ the edges.
I need one of these since I melted a hole in my table forgetting I can't use my heat gun on my table. I have to stand up in my tiny brm to plug the heat gun in over the sink in the light fixture. My gun has to rest on the sink. I have to get up & stand up to emboss my images. Now I can use the plug by my table. I can make a mess now w/my alcohol inks instead of getting a paper bag out to use.
I was surfing on Overstock .com from a blog link.I typed in a blue blouse. After several tries I found a tailored long sleeve blue shirt to go w/ my denim skirts. I have been trying to find one that was on sale etc since Aug.
I also got a box of cards to use for c/making since my hand & elbow are bothering me.
I try Overstock.com again. Now to surf for a Men's wind breaker that is affordable for Allen

New blouses

I have been trying to get some new clothes since Aug. when I won the GC's on Blog Frog. I kept striking out on Old Navy.My 2nd order got cancelled, so they sent me a a GC for the amount. GAP & the other stores were very expensive.I spent time the 3rd time trying to fins s/thing I wanted. I b-marked some items..Later I went & looked & nah. so I decoded to look @ men's shirts for Allen. I found some dress shirts on sale @ Old Navy. I showed them to him.I asked him If I give U my GC can I have the money to get s-thing on Bargain Catalogue Outlet.He liked what I picked out for him. He even told me thank U!! He now has 2 new shirts in his closet. We both wore our banana shirts the same day.!!
I found 4 shirts in the clearance section. A green pin striped 3/4 sleeve to go w/ my green corduroy jumper, a banana color 3/4 blouse to go w/ my denim horse applique shirt & jumper,a paprika corduroy long sleeve shirt I could layer.
I have been wearing t-shirts w/ these outfits.I wore 2 of the blouse this week to Dr's appt's.( the only place I seem to go!! Have had 3 weeks full of appts.) It's nice to have some new clothes in my closet!! Esp. when they were FREE!!

Vertigo bad!!!!

Told this dizziness can last months. Get so dizzy I get disoriented. Won't be here for awhile
Ended up in ER Mon am w/it. Had gone in for Echo @ 7:30 am. Results wont be back til Mon. am appt. Fatigue levels gone sky high over the w/end. Having trouble concentrating & remembering things. Having to crash in recliner or bed. Too much fatigue upon exertion.
Not happy camper over this. Supposed to be 65F next Wed. Have been waiting to cool off enough to bake. No extra food in freezer,frig. or shelves for my Gluten free diet. Projects backed up on table.Busiest time of the year for me. Have no C-mas projects started. Was trying to finish up fall cards so I can get my C-mas cards ready for my GI's in the mail in 2 weeks.
Alot of dr. appts etc have sprung up. Have dr. appts the next 2 weeks. These trips are wiping me a lot for the rest of the day into the next.Supper is even harder for me to cook. Any movement makes e/thing go spinning around.Med. in the am takes along time to kick in. some days I'm really in the dumps all I do I'm in the recliner or bed & n/ing gets done.

Luv my skater dragon!!

Now I have 4 brands of c/p's, my Prisma's.Derwent, Dick Bick's & Poly chrome. The Dick Blick color blending pencils blends so much better than the Prisma one. I now have to use less hand pressure w/the new tech's.This is my tool of sanity. Last Wed. I was still awake @ 4 pm because of a screw up w/ my nite meds. I was in my room coloring since I couldn't sleep & pain was shooting thru my body.

110 cards to Gi's!!

Sat. 3 s/ments went out, 2 to Afghan,& 1 to Kuwait. I broke my own record !!!!!!The most has been 50 cards to go out. These are male themed images I have been working on since May. I have trains, fishing, l/houses theme related cards. A frog series that I had been collecting items for a year,I'm putting together my cards now from coloring w/ my color pencils this summer during the heat of the day in front of my a/c unit in my bdrm.
Look under GI cards on papercrafterplanet .I go by grandmabear. I have 2 albums, GI cards & GI cards, fall that I added this AM.
I couldn't done this w/o my friends on splitcoast stampers, SwapBot & 2 peas in the bucket. Frog stamps are hard to find. People have sent me frog stamped images,fishing items images,lighthouses, horses & military stamped images(which still need to be made into cards) Thanks to all those who have sent me RAK's & have swapped w/ me

Dustin Pike cards up

Finally I got these colored images made up into cards. i really proud how my skater dragon turned out. His s/board has 8 layers on it.The pros@ Scribble Talk have some really good tips. I learned how to color w/light feather strokes, use corkscrew circles & light layers. It takes more time but the colors really pop on the paper.
DH walked by the computer when I was uploading my pic's. I posted my 1st still life card. He said who did this? I did. He was a little taken back. I was a little annoyed. He usually doesn't pay attention since he's a big geek to my work.

My sale color pencils

I found Caron deAche w/color pencils made in Switzerland @ HL in the clearance section @ $18,a set of 24. They retail for $65,D.Blick had them for $58. I want to use them for w/color b/ground for my c-mas card. also underneath it was a book of w/c paper from France that is rough texture.It was1/2 price. I can cut it up into 4 pieces to make card with. I have really hit it big time in that corner in the 2 HL's here. I only buy my patterned paper on clearance out of season or when the new paper comes out.
Then @ D.Blick I found my 24 Derwent cp's @ 40% off for $20.That was cheaper than Prisma's. A lot better quality pencil made in England . I had a GC from Frugal Living community for these.

New bed cover

Yea! the order was really great from Bargain Outlet Catlog. The bed cover was only $14!!! It looks great ,no problems w/ it. I luv the bright color it brings into the room. things go quickly here. I lost out on the green one i wanted.
My $ 5.00 skirt is lined,no problems w/ it either. It's a size 16 which is hard to find here in El Paso,skirts are far & few to be found on the racks

experiment w/3 brands of color pencils

I bought 3 brands from Dick Blick,Dick Blick,Derwent, & Luminance. I got white & cream colors so it's apples to apples. I colored the toast on the toaster w/them.Close up U can't tell which ones were that different. Luminance is the premier CP for artist. I just wanted to own one to see what they were like. They are $3.33 apiece. Dick Blick is.79 ,1/2 the price of Prisma's/ A better pencil that lays a nice layer of color down smooth;y w/ no wax build up!!!!
I luv my Derwent Colorsoft pencils!!!They lay a great color down smoothly. they blend great w/ the DB c/blender pencils. I will replace my Prisma's w/ bothe Derwent & D,Blick ones. No more Prisma's for me!!!!

This was my GC I won from Frugal Living community on blogfrog

Dick Blick Products

i will buy more Dick Blick color pencils to replace my Prisma color pencils. They blend smoother,lay a nice layer of color down & 1/2 the price of Prisma CP's.
They are made in Czech Republic.
I bought their new color blending pencil. It blends much easier than the Prisma ones, Less hand pressure, blends the colors in layers,
no wax build up. I didn't even have to use my stump afterwards.

Dustin Pike Trucks

I will be putting Keep on Truckin on these for my GI cards/

Scribble Talk

This is a professional pencil artist site. I look 2 the color pencil artist section. WOW the works done in CP are awesome. i learned some tips from them. 2 of the images from Dustin Pike are my 1st experiments, I learned to color in small cork screw circles. Use a light feather like touch,lightly touch the paper.Use layers from light to dark. Very little hand pressure on these,saved a lot of hand pain.
The colors really popped out on these images. Takes a little longer ,WOW look,less hand pain.
I relly luv the skater. Hiss/board has @ least 8 layers

blog error

should bring the site upIt is @ papercrafterplanet.com Go to the right side of the page & click on photo's. I use grandmabear there.

Frog cards up

Go to to see my new frog cards I made. grandmabear is my name there.Look @ the top right area & click on photo's to bring them up. It's too hard to load them on multiple sites& time consuming. I so proud of them .I used alcohol inks for my b/grounds for these. These will be going out in 3 s/ments of cards to 3 GI groups, I in Kuwait,2 in Afghan. soon in the mail
I couldn't had done this w/o help of my fellow stampers & c/makers. Frog images are hard to find. Several people sent me frog stamps & frog paper.
This project has been in the works for over a year. I colored a lot of the images in the heat this summer.

Dick Bick great products!!!!

My new toys came in the mail Wed. I didn't get to color w/ them till Friday pm.
I ordered white & cream from Dick,Blick,Derwent & Luminance. I want to compare how they lay the color down. I colored the toast on a digi w/each one. I can't tell the difference between the Dick Bick one & the Luminance.They all laid down a nice layer of color smoothly.Iwas able to do a light touch w/them w/ no hand pain
I luv my Derwent Colorsoft pencils the colors go on so smoothly. They also let me lay down layers w/o a wax built up .I had problems w/ Prism. I will replace my Prisms w/ theseI also liked their 5 brown & neutral tones in the tin. .
Dick Blick c/p's are made in Czech Republic. They lay down a nice smooth layer of color, no wax built up.They are 1/2 price of Prisms. Also they are better quality of a pencil than the Prism's they blended great.
D.B just came out w/ a color blender pencil. I luv these. They blend w/ less hand pressure than the Prism ones. No bad hand pain from blending after wards. It blended so well on the card stock I didn't need to use my stubb. This is a good product for 1/2 the price of Prisma. Their S&H is $10.00 so make sure U put in a big order. I will replace my Prisma's as I use them up w/ Dick Blick ones & Derwent.
I will upload pic's of some of my coloring later so U can see the difference

Bargain Outlet Catlog

This was the best order for my money!!! The bed cover was only $14. It is king size w/ watermelon stripes & bright w/melon color on the other size.I adds a nice splash of color to our bdrm.
My $5.00 skirt is lined w/ a brown & green vine color. It's a size 16,which is hard to find in El Paso
The double sheet set had 250 thread count. They are nice & soft. I needed the fitted sheet for my futon. The dogs shed fur there.so sheets are washable
I will order from them in the future. Their quality was a lot better than Old Navy's. I could shop easily on their site & checkout was easy to do. I'm not a geek,I appreciated sites that are easy to use

Old Navy order returned

I didn't like the quality of the order. The men's polo shirts were too thin. I thought a man's medium would be bigger than a women's. I was afraid upon washing they may shrink on me. My used polo shirt that I wear as night gown is thicker than these, & it's used to start with!!
DD's long sleeve t-shirt seem thin also. but I needed to send her a gift,so I sent it.
I replaced the men's western shirt since it was a little snug around my stomach & not much of a tail to tuck in.
I ordered a women's blue chambray shirt in extra large,a exlarge Old Navy flag t-shirt & another snap shirt in large. I see how the quality of these items are.
I WILL NOT ORDER FROM OLD NAVY AGAIN!!!!! Their site takes too long to navigate. U had to"READ THE REVIEWS" TO SEE WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE ITEM.
Their quality is poor!!!! I can get better quality of t-shirts in the thrift store for fraction of the cost. None of mine have holes in the or have shrunk

Christmas this week!!!

Tue.Bargain Outlet order came.A new watermelon striped cover in King size,$5.00 vine green skirt in size 16,a double set of sheets.

Wed. Old Navy order of 3 mo's pastel polo shirts,long sleeve women's t-shirt.
DICK BICK came in the mail. A set of 24 Derwent color pencils,Dick Blick & a Luminance color pencils. 2 sets of scratch board for DD's b-day


Thur. Organs wise-kids education summer kit w/ DVD's,coloring books & 2 stuffed animals . this teaches about the organs of the body in cartoon style. I won this in a drawing on a blog. I'm sending it my GS for a late b-day gift.This a great teaching tool.

My colonial candle order came. glad I got Bamboo garden in votive only. Too strong for me. The apple cake smells yummy. Will burn it today. the pillar is a recycled one,not much scent. Will see how they burn,hopefully longer than the ones I have had.

Old Navy review

This was a frustrating experience. I had $50 g/card. I hoped to buy a red shirt waisted dress.The reviews said it was too short.I was taller than the women listed.
I looked @ women's T-shirts for DD b-day. the reviews on the ones that were on sale were bad,holes or shrinkage upon washing. I had to spend extra time reading reviews to get a good product for DD.
I was stuck trying to find s/thing in my size. I didn't want hoodie since it doesn't stay cold long enough here. I ended getting 3 men's polo shirts.If I bought 2 of them,I got the 3rd one for $10. so i got 3 shirts for the price of 2. I wear men's t-shirts in the thrift stores. They are longer than women's t-shirts.They seem to wear better.
I had a women's shirt w/ snaps on it. I happened to check the men's western shirts, Almost a $10 difference in price!!! I got that instead in a short sleeve.I don't care if it snaps on the other size.Why is men's clothing cheaper than women's @times?????
Pain in the BUTT online problems. DH had to open a new account for me,it wouldn't take my p/word. I write my p/words down in my n/book so I remember them.
i spent more time on their site trying to find what I wanted.
WILL NOT SHOP OLD NAVY ONLINE!!!!! I give them a :D" for online shopping
I wanted to try co.'s I hadn't shop @ before w/ my g/cards.We see what my order is like when it arrives.al

First pkg came fromBargain Outlet!!!

I now will have a bright w/melon cover on my bed.It will brighten up the bdrm. got the king size,no queen.Also a set of double sheets,the fitted sheet will go on the futon.The dogs shed fur etc,so we can wash up the sheets to get rid of the dog hair.
My $5.00 skirt no problems,in good shape. The color will go great w/ my beige blouses for the fall.

Frugal living community this is a good co. to get a good buy & bargain. Things go quick here. I went back to my cart later, I lost the 1st bed cover.
They were easy to shop online. I'm a non tech geek,I was able to get around & find the items.No problem on checkout w/my G.card.
For a 1st time buyer I give them an "A" on customer satisfaction

Mother's Prayers Answered

Last year I almost didn't make my 60th b-day. I had 3 major asthma attacks in July 2009. I made 3 visits to my lung. dr. trying to get the 3rd attack under control. I ended up in heart floor for 2 1/2 since my BP went sky high. I slept most of Sept. I couldn't talk on the phone to my kids till Oct.
Heidi later called us ask if she could come out & see us for T-giving. This was a good carrot to dangle in front of me to fight back so I could see them. S/how all 4 of my kids came,from N.C, Denton & Arlington Tx. Heidi has 3 kids,so 5 plane tickets,Jan works full time, & Allen had to schedule time from his project that had d/lines. Forest never been able to get off enough time from the Dallas library since there was no one to take his place for 5 days. Laura works @ Block Buster,low paying job. It's a 10 hour drive from DFW to get here.We all hadn't been together for T-giving since 1997.
What concerned me most as a mother if I died what would happened tom my youngest DD.All of my other 3 kids had done well for themselves. L. never st goals in H'S, It was like pulling teeth to keep her motivated. I know ADD,depression & puberty had made things rough for her. But my son had ADD & dyslexia,we had learned to set goals etc w/him to stay on track. She didn't take the ACT's @ all.she graduated w/ a good B+.(In our family U lose privileges ex phone,T.V.game systems,dances etc. if UR grades drop down. U only get them back when the grades go back up in the next report card)
I started praying for her 2 years ago to get some direction in her life. I asked Heavenly Father to watch over & let her know she was loved by us &by HIM. She was just drifting thru life,path of least resistance. If I was to die ,who was going to watch over her. What happened if she losses her job w/ no job skills or ed?
She not a bad kid,not into drugs or had kids out of marriage etc.Just working a boring job & hanging out w/ kids that use her it seems like.She ha taken AP art & had art from grade school on she excelled in.she's a really good w/ little kids.Had been b/sitiing @ a young age. had worked in our church nursery since she was 12 . Even was a Nursery leader when out of HS The kids adored her & clung to her when she came Sun's. she said she didn't have the patience to teach kids today. Not taking the ACT stopped her from enrolling in 1 teacher'school.
In Jan.she posted she wanted to set some new goals for the New Year.
She needs to take a driving test w/ a friends car to get her Driver's licence
Early August she posted on Facebook she was going to enroll for Criminal Justice. A big move for her. she's very private person w/ a big personal place, she had been trying to get into animal rescue work thru an animal shelter or Humane Society. Lack of a car has made this goal impossible to obtain.
She wants to get involved in enforcing the laws for animal cruelty. I encouraged to start @ the community college instead of the expensive program @ Phoenix Univ. program. so she applied @ TCC in 1st of Aug.They didn't send her a letter telling she had been accepted to late Aug. she went to register. A very RUDE lady told her she hadn't taken the placement test. It was TCC fault they sent notice out so late she missed the last test. No school till spring,that sucks for a kid who's trying to put her life together. She turn 25 yrs old this Oct & wanted to get started w/ online classes this fall.
This was a big relief to me to know God has been watching over & she started in the right direction to be able to know where to go in life.
i was really touched when she went out her way to get her Dad a get well card. He ended up in ER room w/ chest pains. I'm the one w/ the problems,Allen is my caregiver.They scheduled him for an emergency angioplasty the next am. They had kept him in ER all day waiting for a room. I was unable to be w/him because of my fatigue from the heat.
It was a roller coast ride for me,since I'm now dependent on him.
Of all 4 kids she sent him a get well card. she doesn't have a car so it meant she had to get s/one to take her get a card & get some stamps.Knowing this really touched my heart on the extra effort it took for it to get to him.

Luckily the heart is fine,no blockages. they sent him to the GI for an end scope.
GERD can cause chest pain.They changed his reflux med. The scope showed he's a genetic d/order which causes rings in the esophagus. This cause hisesophagus to narrow which has caused food to get stuck. They give him an inhaler to relax the muscles

WON $150 GIFT CARDS!!

I couldn't believe the e-mail I got a few weeks ago. I was told I had won a drawing for posting the most replies in the Frugal Living community on blog frog.They had started a new community there.Being older & having managed to be a SAHM on 1 income ,I joined in. I just thought maybe if I went back each day, I get a grab @ 1 of the $ 25 CG.I had older women in Utah when younger who had raised families in the Depression.Also I'm a member of the L.D.S.Church(Mormon) which teaches it;s members to be self sufficient. I have learned to make bread,all kinds of home baked goods from scratch,cook meals from scratch,can both fruits & vegetables,make my own low sugar jam,sew my clothes, curtains etc.,plant a garden, decorate a home,ceramics ,candle making,fruit leather,cook diabetic & gluten free baked goods, cook a lot of ethic foods ex. Indian & Oriental types, card making & scrap booking. I'm very visual so if I can see it I can do it. I don't crotchet or knit since I can't pull the directions off the paper. I don't decorate fancy cakes or make h/made candy
I was just adding comments to the posts I read. I have found blogfrog when I went to Modern Molly Mormon blog which I hadn't been on for awhile.
I got to pick my merchants. I picked out $50from Bargain Outlet Catalog,$50,Old Navy, $20,Colonial Candle,$30 Dick Bick.
I had to send an e-mail to the person who sent it to ask if this was real. I didn't want to get my hopes up. i had to wait a w-end for a reply. It was 1 of those early am's where I'm up 1/2 asleep zoning in on the computer when I see my e-mail. Yes it was real.WOW!!!! A shot in the arm. We just had 3 weeks of of 100F in August. My back wasn't healing as fast as I wanted it to. I was spending time crashing out in my recliner etc trying to deal w/ the heat. There has been no extra money in our budget. We still deal w/big credit debt from 7 yrs ago job loss,medical bills etc. Plus we're earning $20,000 less in El Paso as a programmer.any gift money etc goes towards supplies for my GI card route.
I had so much fun going thru the sites looking @stuff. Being as frugal as I'm e/thing is on sale or clearance to get more bang out of my BUCK!
I'm writing a entry on ease of using their online sites & the quality of the products later

HOT,HOT & MORE HOT

August is supposed to be a monsoon month. It did cool off a bit w/ some rain in July. August added to our total of 28 100F days. Norm is 14,usually in June our hottest month.That doesn't count the days we had 98 &99F days.
The heat is just draining me.I don't think my body regulate itself w/ the heat well anymore. I had been getting up early to cool supper in the early am. The last 1 1/2 weeks I have been so wiped out i have been crashing out late in the am. If the kitchen is hot @ 6& 7 am I'm sweating It's going to be a cooker of a day.
I have been spending time in the recliner usually w/ a heat back on my back trying to stretch out my back from being in bed; w/the portable a/c unit & fan blowing on me. when it gets to hot @ 4 pm I have to go into my bdrm & park myself in my w/chair in front of my window unit to breathe the cool air. I have do stay there to avoid an asthma attack. I have ice cold water & jar of snacks in there. I wait for Allen to come home to warm up supper in m/wave or pull a salad out. The kitchen heats up too hot for me to exert myself in it.
I even been going to bed @8:30 pm most of the last 2 weeks.My body just to wiped out w/ the heat to sit up anymore. I wake up w/ Charley horse s/times,since the heat just washes out my minerals & potassium. the heat also makes me retain fluid more. I have to take a water pill this summer. I have to be real careful to stay hydrated. I now keep a frozen bottle of juice water etc. by my recliner to melt so I can fluids down while I'm resting. I've been keeping boiled eggs, nuts & cheese around to eat as quick meals since meat & heat don't mix w/ me. i drank a lot of frozen protein shakes during the heat of the day.
Sept. is predicated to be above norm in temps. & low in rain!!!Oct. can't come to soon for me!!I want to work in my room!!! My frog materials for a set of GI cards is sitting there. My big s/bk project is still on the floor in it's box. Toby my g/son didn't get his present & card. It's just to hot to work in there.
Fri' I had an asthma attack 4-4:30 pm. Our portable a/c unit bearings became noisy. Had to turn it off Fri. a/noon. I put the dogs out & grabbed the head set for the phone. Extertion in the heat triggered it. On top of it I had to get out the door to go to my D.C appt since my lower back was jammed. I was so dizzy I almost blacked out trying to get up out my w/c to go out the front door. Luckly my lung dr. had given me some Predistone, I had on my dresser. Fri. nite my feet were getting ice cold, the coldness started moving up into my calves of my legs. I was afraid an adrenal attack was started. So @ midnite I took 3 tabs/ of it. It can cause insommia. I wa trying to ride out the nite w/ o it. An hour later my feet started warming up.
Allen charged my scooter for me Sat am. He patiently took it apart & put it back 2 times in the car so I could go to the library. I spent 4 hours in the central a/c to get cool air into my lungs.
I was able to work on my Spanish voc. words since my room has been too hot to work on them. I read a Nat'l Geo. mag & quick skim of a craft mag. + I talked to 2 women who sat @ my table. I had the new chicken apple salad @ Wendys since Allen was out of ideas for supper. BEd early &*pm.

Bad fall

It's been almost 2 mo's since I posted here. 6 weeks since I have fallen. I have to take a laxative each week since my colon is so long. s/times the upper colon isn't emptying out so I have to take it 2 days in a row. My other choice is to get stuck w/ a colostomy bag. My skin probably wouldn't like the glue on the bag!! I'm too big a risk for the surgery.
I had been asleep in my recliner w/ a hot pack to my back. I live w/ muscle spasms which can kink my colon down to a total stop. so hot packs & the heat are no fun. My recliner is next to a portable a/c unit in the liv. rm. I woke up hot, needed my inhaler. I was waiting on more inhalers to come,so I had to go into the bdrm to get it. I wa probably also dehydrated& potassium was washed out from the laxative.
My long 0-2 line was on,a big coil of it had gotten wadded up by the door. I was really dazzled when I got up. I didn't realize my foot had gotten caught in the hose. The next thing I knew I was flat on the floor,face 1st. I can no longer get off the floor. I have muscle loss from my post-polio. I was afraid if I tried to pull myself up by my arms I tear my shoulders again. What will happen if I fell again trying to get up? Pain was exploding thru my back & my right knee. I would later realize I hit the left collarbone hard on the foot board of the bed & have a big gash on it.
The phone was in the living room. I had to scoot into the liv. rm from my bdrm on my butt. I had to call Allen to come home & get me off the floor. I had to wait 30 mins. on a hard lino floor to wait for him. I leaned against the recliner while waiting. the dogs came over 1 by 1 to lick my face & comfort me. I think Fluffy after several times of coming over I grabbed her & hugged here & cried because of her concern for me. They helped me stayed distracted from the pain shooting thru me.
Getting me off the floor w/o causing more injury is a feat in itself. I wear full bracing on my left arm & hand,a custom long leg brace on my right leg & a knee sleeve on my left knee. My right long arm brace was off.My joints hyper extend along w/ my post-polio I need them for support. My Dr later said my bracing probably broke my fall. I just know my body took a big jolt when it hit the floor.
Thank goodness Allen had some pain med from a dental appt. I don't usually take pain meds thou I live w/a lot of pain. Tynol wasn't going to cut this pain!!! I ice packed my upper back & my right knee. Allen put me in bed. I would take pain med's for the next day which is unusual for me.
I would later have a 2 inch bruise below my gash( which had 2 holes in it. I also had a big bone bruise which was very sore for awhile. @ days later my whole r. knee had a big dark bruise. After my 1st back adjustment the area around my neck & collarbone swelled up & still has faint bruise.
It's taken longer than I hoped for recovery. the upper back has finally stopped going into muscle spasms & is staying in place better. My lower back is still jamming up on me. My right hip in 2 places is locking up still. the cartilage just tightens up so tight. I'm having to keep a tepid hot pack on 2 places during the nite .then I have to do stretches w/ the legs to stretch out my muscles there.
I'm still going to the D.C 1 a week. I can't empty out my colon if my back is out. the nerve pitch it off.
I still can't stamp my new stamps given to me because the pressure is too much pain my back. I couldn't even color w/ my Prisms for 3 weeks.I had stacks of solored images I couldn't blend w/ my stubbs until the last week Just trying to color w/them put to much pressure on the elbow & pain radiating into my back. I spent 2 days w/ice packs @ 1st in bed or my recliner. Then it's been hot packs in the heat !! to deal w/ the muscle spasms.
Thank goodness for headsets for the phone. 3 weeks into my injury I spent s/time w/ my son giving out family history info. More on this later
Now I leave my front door unlocked on the day i take my laxative. I let my f/ful n/bors Phil & Marie it's Poop Day. That way I have a backup if I have a problem.

Fluffy LAP DOG of the MONTH

I had a bad fall in July. My dogs are best,loyal buddies.Fluffy senses when s/thing is wrong w/ me.
When I fell,I couldn't get myself off the floor. I had to scoot into my liv. rm from my bdrm to get to the phone to call Allen. I leaned against my recliner to wait for Allen. @least a 30 min wait on a hard lino. floor .Pain was exploding thru me. Each one of my 3 dogs took turns coming over to lick my face to show concern. I only cried when Fluffy had come over several times. She has the most expressive brown eyes when she's concerned.
Needless to say I spent a lot of time in my recliner. I couldn't press down on anything since it made my back & right arm hurt.
Fluffy, a terrier-poodle mix,saw the recliner going up for me to get into it,would come & stand by. She would then jump up in my lap after I got into a reclining position. She would climb up into my chest & put her head down on me. It was just a comfort to pet her.It helped to pass the time. She would then turn around & lay down between my legs. S/times she go down by my feet & go to sleep. If I slept too long she would climb back up into my lap & lick my face or put her paws on my chest to say"Are U okay?"
If I stay too long in my bed,my dogs are scratching @ my door until I get up to open the door.They all run in "Mommy are U okay,getting up? We miss U!!"
Fluffy has been good compaionship during this time. Being housebound sucks as it is but being down w/ a back injury & the heat has even been harder.
George my Italian Greyhound mix has his own mind. S/times he come & lay down w/ me. Fluffy lays over my lap preventing George from having room to jump up. When he did he have to perch up on my shoulder all folded up like a fold up s/case. He makes a certain sound when he's content being petted up there. when he ready he comes & lays down on a spot on my left side of my recliner. This is his permanent parking space reserved for him. It's too small for Fluffy to fit into. then he leaves if he feels he's too squashed w/ Fluffy up there.
Taco,my chichihua pup is my face washer when I hold him in my lap. He;s too active to be a lap dog. He luvs to play tug of war & pull of my socks. George & him s/times wrestle over who should have the sock. Both socks have to be pulled off!! The job not done until he licks my toes. It's so funny both George when younger have to shake the sock like they're breaking it's neck.

I won !st place!!

I'm doing card challenges on Paper Planet in the group,Anything but Cute. Sentiments were this week topic.
I choice to do a patriotic theme for my GI stash. It's the embossed gold star one on the flickR slide show.It has a vellum saying over the Eagle & Statue of Liberty on the left side.
I was really surprised i won. Last week I was really disappointed I didn't win w/ either Allen's train b-day card or 1 of the set of the steam engines I did. Ijust decided to do some for my GI's & just post them.

Crappy week

The week of June 23rd was to be our anniversary. We were to go to Ruidoso N.M to get out of the heat for our 31st anniversary. Allen made an appt. to see the heart dr Tue because of slight chest pains. they did a stress test Wed.It was normal. The EKG had a problem,the long part of the heart beat was skewed. They said he wasn't getting enough )-2. He was to be scheduled for a cat scan w/ another dr. Thur am.No appt by the end of Wed.Allen was real restless that nite. I get up from 3:30 to 4;30 am to beat the heat to get on here. I usually cook supper @ 6 or 7am since the kitchen heats up by noon
He came into his recliner & said the chest pain was more persistent & he was short of breath. I told him he needed to go to ER & he wasn't going to work. I told him he needed to call the dr's office to find out which hospital he should go to.It wasn't 9am yet,so I told him to rest until they would call him back. Phil,our n/bor took him to Sierra hospital. I didn't go,I was too tired. The heat had taken a beating on me.I slept out cold from 9am to 1 pm. He had to wait on the lab work to see if he had a heart attack. Then he waited for the heart dr. to come. He decided to do an angioplasty & skipped the cat scan. He wanted to see if there was a blockage going into the heart. both of his parents have had this done.Then he was waiting for a room @ the hospital. Then he found out no appts to get in,so they had him come home.He got an appt.@ Los Palmos @5:30 am for it.
Allen told me got a ride w/ someone from church. I was told I wasn't going.NO WAY HOSEA,WAS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN!! He has always been there for me when I have been in ER w heart problems. Maria my n/bor a good friend came over to visit me. I asked her if she could give me a ride to be w/ Allen when he woke up.
Phil & Marie were@ our doorstep@ 4:30 am to take us. They took Taco to go play w/his siblings for the day.it took e/thing I had to get out of the door that early. I didn't hear a/thing till 11a.m.I had planned ahead & packed me some food the nite before to eat. I can't push myself down to a place to eat. I made sure I had plenty of water to drink also. I was so tired I could only make 1 phone call to 1 kid,Heidi was the only one home. Later I found out she gave Mom G the wrong message. She was arguing me on the phone when I was so tired!!I told her her dad was fine. Allen's cell phone keys are so tiny I has a hard time navigating on it. I'm beginning to lose feeling on the tips of my fingers & more small motor coordination loss .
Phil& Marie came to pick us up after 12pm to take us home. I was so exhausted. Before they left they asked if they could get us s/thing to eat. They went to Carl's Jr &got us lunch. I had A chicken Teraki burger& bought 2 m/shakes. Allen was on a limited diet & this/thing cold to drink. I ate the s/wich & slept out cold till 8pm that nite.
They decided it wasn't his heart. Their were no blockages & the heart looks fine. Reflux can cause chest pains even on med's. He supposed to see the GI dr. next . He won't get a pillow wedge like I sleep on elevate to stop the reflux from coming up. also he get's congested @ nite & can't wear his mask w/his sleep machine
Allen had restrictions placed on him,no lifting or driving etc.Allen is my lifeline. Sat. is our errand day & he does our laundry. Our Home teacher came Thur. nite to give us both blessings. We needed some help since I was down w/ the heat & couldn't pick up the slack. Sis.Finster ,our R.S. pres. came to wash up a sink load of dishes Fri. Pm She came Sat am to pick up our dirty laundry.It came back all neatly folded etc. sis. Austin & her dau. picked up our groceries,carried them all in & helped put them away.
Heidi,in N.C had offered to come out to help us on Thur. The plane fares were $800.way too much money!!
My colon got really backed up again!! I had taken 4 laxatives tab's that previous Friday, Tue. & wasn't still emptying my upper colon out. I had put on 3# in a week,due to retaining fluids. I wasn't feeling very good myself. I had to go to my DC to put my jammed back in. It took a full day of hot packs in the hot weather to get rid of the back muscle spasms.I t would later take 4 laxative tabs & 4 magic Bullet suppositories to empty out my colon the next Sunday.
We had to reschedule our trip to the July 2nd to go to Ruidiso,N.M.

ops I'm upside down

I don't know ho to rotate this once it's published

hot June is gone!!!

We had 2 weeks of 100+ temps,5 days of 103F in a row.1 day of 110F,which broke a record. I loved the rain we got,it really rained for a good 2 hours. The only rain we have had since Feb. That was the nite Allen found a Springer Spaniel puppy by his office on top of Transmountain. No houses are near by for quite aways. The freeway isn't far away.
We later found he was only 3 mo's old. Allen took him to the vet,no microchip or collar. I think he had been dumped by s/one. He was so friendly & loveable. Allen put him in the big kennels on the carport since it was still raining @ bedtime. I put out the dogs@ 2:30 am,they came in the kitchen door. He,started crying so much when he heard me.i had to let him out to come in the house.I just gotten my new controls for my recliner.(It had been broken for 3 weeks & I couldn't use it)I slept in the recliner w/him in my lap from 2am on till allen woke up. He slept by me on the floor when I was on here in the a.m.Then I took a nap w/ him in the a/noon w/ him in my lap.He was a face washer,so love able. He loved to play w/ the other dogs. He makes/one a loyal dog & companion & has a big heart He went to Animal Rescue League,to find a new home. I called Loretta, asked her if she would take him in & find him a home. She was the one who kept Fluffy for 6mo's in her kennels tell we took her. I have had George for 4yrs now, my Velcro buddy. Loretta spent 2 mo's bringing him back to life after almost dying in the desert here.i really missed him
after he left.

106F Sat!!! 107F Sun. Yikes!!

Too hot too soon. I put up Styrofoam insulation panels in our big lv. rm window. It worked till Sat. I had been able to stay in my recliner Fri. w/ the fan & the portable a/c blowing on me
@ 6pm I headed to the bdrm in my w/c to sit in front of my a/c unit. Allen had sharpen up my new Verthin Prism c/pencils. I got them @ Michaels w/ a 40% coupon. I only paid $2 more for a set of 24 pencils than a set of 12 @ $10. I've wanted these really bad for awhile. They are really good for a crisp o/line. It was the only way I could color the cattails. the lines were to thin to color them in otherwise
My next wish item is some Stampin Up watercolor crayons. They are TOO EXPENSIVE for my budget right now. I tried oil pastels last summer for b/grounds.Too messy for the effect I got.
@ least I got the twins b-day s/bk done & in the file cabinet. Jan sent me the page protectors. Heidi will be able to see the uploaded pages of them on www.littlepapershop.com. I have the descriptions typed in there for her to look @. I can't put them on flickR or Facebook since she is there.Jan is in Michigan right now. Heidi will have to wait till Jan comes back to N>C. either to color copy them or to scan the photo's in .They are pic's of our 1st 2 v/tions we took when we lived in Conn. in the 80's
It looks like "THE HEAT MONSTER" IS HERE TO STAY. I just hope I can keep THE ASTHMA MOSTER" @ bay for awhile. I've been real busy trying to get projects done to beat the heat. all I can do is just hunker down for the next while & ride it out & hope I come thru next Oct. when it's cooler

Actually on SCHEDULE!!

March was gluten-free baking month. Time to try recipe vs mixes before the heat hits. Ate some of the graham crackers tonite. Getting to bottom of the box.Needed to use up these GF flours since they are so expensive,so the heat didn't ruin them
April was cardmaking month. I have my VT cards done thru August made. I made Mother's Day cards for Heidi,Mom G,2 of my sisters, a set for a GI. I got 2 b-day's cards made to save.I have some summer cards done. I just made up a batch of summer thank U's w/ stamped images I had w/ w/melon's etc.
May's goal was to finish up H&J's s/bk present on v/tions. Now I have to take pic's of it & put it in page protector's. Mending next. H&J's b-day card needs to be done
Cook supper when I get up when it's cool to put in the frig. That way Allen has supper to pull out in the hot house @ nitewhen he comes home.
Net Flicks is about to expire. The l.rm will bw too for me to watch TV for 3 mo's. Lost will be over. I'm losing all my favo. shows,No more Law & Order,W/O a Trace is gone, Numbers,LOST. No more Heroes for Allen.

Battle Plan

100F days are going to hit any day now. I have a summer menu written out in case the heat puts me down to fall back on.The v/tion s/bk will be the last major project till the heat dies down in Oct.
2. Mending pile next! Allen been patient on this. Got to get the machine set up. the pile is in my mission s/bk. I can't drag the box out till I get the clothes out of it.
3. H&J's b-day card needs to get done. I want to try a new idea of sewing fabric & paper on my machine. I got a piece of charming Hello-Kitty fabric from New Zealand I want to make a card with. They both love Hello Kitty!!Again This is a card needs to be done ahead.I was down the week of Mother's Day & Mark H.'s b-day. All Allen had to do was go & take them down off the bulletin board. I never know when my body is going to throw a curve ball @ me.
4 I did get the ceramic S/W Indian piece done for Allen. I need to go back & touch up the branches of it w/ some brown acrylic paint. A year late for our anniversary. @ least we almost had another year.
5. Print out some of the digi's i have been surfing for on the web to color in my bdrm when it gets too hot.I have been looking for free dig's to color to save money. I put them away to make cards when it's cooler. some of the images I want to make for my GI card route.I luv coloring w/ my Prism color pencils. I got some watercolor paper to print some on so I can use my w/color pencils Allen gave me.

More PICTURES!!!!!

When I was going thru photo books looking for some v/tion pic's from our trip to Canada I realized just how many pic's we had. There is almost a full book of Niagara Falls pic's. I can't find a/thing for that theme either!! That doesn't include the British fort pic's we went to.There is a lot of Hill Cumorah pic's ,LDS Church historical sites & w/falls in N.Y. YIKES!!! Too much overload!!!Sent the posse to Jan & said help!!! I'm not scrapping all these pic's. That doesn't include the ones to Zion & Grand Canyon
Orginally I was going to do them all & split them up among the kids. Jan thought she would have them scanned in & CD's burned of the pic's & each kid gets a copy. WHEW off the HOOK!! I started these pgs on Feb 14th when Allen went to Utah for Katya's baptism. I just got back to them 3 weeks ago. I told her I still have 75 pgs of my mission s/bk in a box I haven't gotten back to in a year. I need to put journal tags & titles etc. on them. Forest is supposed to get this when I die.It includes 50 pgs of my journal edited & rewritten. I need to get back to it.
I'M SO RELIEVED THIS IS DONE !!! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BEEN a C-mas present!!! I had too many projects on the burner.

It's really done!!!

I beat the heat,yea!! I got the twins s/book project done w/ pic's from v/tions when we lived in Conn. It's 38 pgs s/booked for their July 14 th b-day.
My craft room gets too hot in July to work in it. I have to work ahead for b-days etc in the summer. I have 8 b-day's from May to Aug.
I'm so excited on how the project turned out.The idea hatched about 3 yrs ago.Some Safari paper triggered our visit to Animal Safari in Ontario,Canada. I even found wild animal stickers.The idea was a gift for Jan originally. I had picked up a book of ephemera paper that had vintage like paper in it. I used some of the wood grain pieces for some of the Plymouth Plantation pic's & Paul Revere house.I got some travel paper w/ road maps, road signs etc in a paper packet from a catalogue.I even found some tokens today to go w/ a pg where H&J rode the subway to in Boston.A friend gave me a stash of letters to use for titles,also she cut out some tags for me w/ her Sizzle-it.I distressed some of the tags etc. w/ Ranger's inks.I have been collecting items for this for 3 years. I traded cards for fibers last fall.I just bought safrai brads & buttons from Oriental Trading Post order. I used up a 1/2 jar of Yes glue on it. I got another jar from H&J for Mother's Day.
Now my next job is to take pic's of it to post it.1 problem is the batteries on a digital camera say "low battery" real quick!! I have 38 pgs to photo,both as full 12x12 photo & some of it's interesting pieces.This means the batteries have to be recharged & I've multple photo shoots. I don't know how we're going to do H's part. She wants things digitally etc. Jan sent me a 12x12 s/book to use for both v/pic's & the baby pic's.

IN SHOCK!!

I walked into the kitchen Sun.@ 1 pm to discover a quart jar of rust color roses w/yellow centers sitting @ my place mat. I asked Allen where they came from. He said "me". Mr. Analytical is not a romantic. I can count on 1 hand how many times he has given me flowers. NEVER on Mother's Day!!!! In the past he would say "you're not my mother",so I never expect anything from on this day.
Sometimes he really amazes me after knowing him 32 years.
We went out to breakfast @ O'clock cafe. They have a swamp cooler, I can't breathe w/those on in the summer w/ my asthma.I wanted bacon & hash browns for breakfast & didn't want to cook it. Last week I lost,got really stressed out w/ Medco, on deny me 1 of my medication etc. I wanted a trip out of the house to do s/thing fun. It was to celebrate my "new look" .
Next stop was to get my hair cut. Alica couldn't believe me when i told her I wanted it cut off. I said as "short as U can get it". "I can cut it any length" she stated.No, I want it as short as UR's

Wigs for Kids

Did a search online to see who I could donate my hair to. Wigs for Kids makes sure UR hair gets to the kids. I grew mine out for disorder where they lose their hair to baldness.
Locks of Love has some problems where their hair is going. Are the kids really getting the wigs that people donated hair too? They have been known to sell some of their hair that was donated. Their power structure seems too big to me. I had been growing my hair out for 7 yrs. This was a once a lifetime shot,i wanted to make sure a girl gets my hair.
I had 18 inches cut off,the longest my hair has ever been.I will post pic's later. I now have a new look for Mother's Day!!!

18inches gone!!!

HAIR that is cut going to Wigs for Kids.I now have a new look. My hair is tapered. Allen's calls it a "boy cut" To me it means no more hair getting caught in my sleep mask,0-2 tubing,food getting in my hair. It was taking to long to get out of the shower. I have to comb all the snarls out before I get in the shower, &time to put condtioner in it. My scalp has itching so bad w/the heat & I can't get the medicine down to the scalp
another item off my bucket list. It's been 7 yrs growing this out. It took 2 yrs, to grow it out 1 length from a layered haircut. It takes 7 ponytails of hair to make a wig. Now a little girl w/Apchia

A cooler April

We have alot of dust storms coming in w/ winds from 55mph up to 75 mph. It has brought cooler temps. a few times. I take the cool days all they will give me. I even made egg custard 3 more times than normally I can make it. I luv eating it for an early am treat when I put the dogs out to the brm.
I made 3rd batch of granola bars. I tried choc. chips, macadamia nuts chopped up,(got too fine), & dried cranberries. They are yummy. I had to hide the 2nd tin of them in the frig. I ate about most of the 1st tin.
I also tried chocolate truffles made w/ cashew butter ,agave,& cashews. Didn't like the taste of them rolled in cocoa powder. It could Penzeys cocoa pretty strong vs Hershey's
Glaze put on my last cearmaic piece,goes for 2nd firing. It's a southwest Wedding jar I started a year ago for Allens gift for our 30th anniversary. My friend ,Summer helped paint the tree branches. Then this week she glazed the top part for me. I gave her all my underglazes, Sandstar paints & glazes. This way I won't be reminded of what I can't do anymore. Sadly this will be our last time together. Her DH is leaving the Navy after 10 yrs. They will be moving up to Oregon w/ their 5 kids. I will really miss her,the time we spent together,tals on the phone & her kids.

Google acting up this am

1st it wouldn't let me in.It wouldn't take my e-mail address, made me change my p/word to get here. I hit a wrong key & it wouldn't let me edit my last blog.
I want to do our trip to Ontario,Canada. I have collected alot of items for these pages. I have really cool wild animal paper,zebra stripes,tigers etc, buttons & brad
I also haven't worked on my 75 pgs I started of my mission s/bk. I have to do titles,journal titles & details etc.I haven't worked on this for a year.This is a major project for me. I still have about 25 more pgs to s/bk of my Alaskan part of my mission. I found some stamps on a site selling to use Alaskan items of on my pages.
I also have the twins b-day card to make up. I want to do a Hello Kitty card with s/thing from my New Zealand penpal sent me
It supposed to be 90F Tue. so my time will be limited to working in there very soon. Also my TV watching time will be cut down as the liv. rm heats up. We have been watching NetFlicks when our shows have reruns etc.

Beat the heat

May is going to be my scrapbook month. I got to finish up the twins vacation pages I started.I got 15 done w/ the layouts.I di the the journal tags last week. I'm working on putting titles,brads,stickers etc to finish up the pages. Thses are vacation pic's of trips we took when we lived in Conn.I'm hoping I can get to the afrfrican Safri

Flickr pic's up

I got Forests.scrapbook pages up on Flickr. Just click on it on the side & will take U to the site. Plus my spring cards are posted also.
Facebook album pic's have been rotatedso they can be view.
won't be here for awhile. Hands & r/elbow hurt too much to type long.
Have 2 more appt's this week to go to.Need to work on cards in rm. so I can photo them.
My final ceramic project has gone in for 1st firing. Did a S/west scene w/ Duncan's sandstar paints. will give away my ceramic paints when thru to a friend
Mother's Day cards done.Working on Mark's b-day card. also making May's VTing cards.

Loya buddiesl

Fluffy gets the most loyal dog of the year award.She watches over me.No one comes in my gate w/o my approval. It's amazing how dogs know when U are having a bad day. Taco comes to my b/rm door & scratches on it to get me up.He has kept me moving this winter. His face washing perks me up when I having a bad day. He's dragging socks out of my clothes basket & into the l/rm. He drags a blanket off the futon when he can get up.He's the 1st in the kitchen when I go in to cook.
George runs away when Allen starts frying in the skillet. He knows the smoke alarm is going to go off.He just shakes &shakes when it goes off. He gets traumatized so easily. He's still my loyal Velcro lap buddy when I sleep in my recliner.
Taco is getting more tan hair on his neck & top of his back.brindle I think they call it.
They are like my spoiled kids. They give me hours of company,loyalty & devotion.

Down time ahead

Time of year around the corner I have to gear down. Trying to prepare for the heat ahead. Finished up last of my baking till Oct. Need to finish up Jan's s/book project for b/day. Got cards to do for my VT route for April & May to do.Have 7 Mother's Day cards to make. Trying to finish up my last ceramic project. Started on it last year. I can't hold the tool to do my design work.Got to do o/lines w/ black paint. Then goes in for 1st firing. Then I have to do my glaze work. It's an Indian wedding jar. It was supposed to been for our 30th anniversary last year. Want to give my ceramic paints to a friend who is leaving.Finally have the closet cleaned out. I also have my corner drawers set up for my paper projects. Have e/thing organized. Traded stuff in my stash on Swap-Bot.Have cut back on my Iraq GI route. My hands hurt too much. Chronic tendinitis in elbows & hands from joint laxity. Colon kinking up bad on me. 2 days of laxatives this week on top of s/storms makes for a bad week!!
Not on computer much since it hurts to type.Heat will push me into bedroom in a/noon to breathe. Luckily x-rays no stress fractures, Lab work negative for Sojourns Syndrome. Time coming up to put eye plugs in again for dry eye.

Spring in Texas

We have had temps from 86F This last Thursday. 2 nites where it dropped down into the 30's YO_YO weather here.
Fans on this week. Allen put my bdrm a/c unit in my window today. 2 nightgowns on bed,1 for cool nites, another cotton one for warmer nites.
Bracing for more sandstorms to come our way this week. May will bring 90's.Hope no 100's till June.I hate the heat!!!

Bad Sandstorms!!

Ate dust Friday,Allen was off. So bad we had to stay in house. No Zoo for us.Car in shop. Lucky on this one the spring broke on top of the rocker arm that goes to a valve.Labor costs from taking all the stuff on top of the engine.Spring broke in 1/2. Luckly we have a honest mechanic.
Alot of damage in NE,where we live. Gusts up to 50 to 75 mph,sky full of blowing sand. Have had to clean the floors x3 this last week. Just cleaned out the back window siils,had to clean them again Mon. Got more cling d/rags to pick up the sand.
Wind so strong it peeled a roof off a house like a can opener,tipped a semi over on f/way by us,blew down a series of power poles on Mc Combs,power out for 6 hrs in that n/hood, blew down a canopy @ a repair shop.
Another set of storms coming in Mon. & Tue. More dusting ahead.

UPDATE

Catch up time between sandstorms
1.last baking,oven off till Oct. Allen got his last loaf of banana bread. Finished up GF baking mix.
2.Ate up egg rolls for supper,had French Fries early b/fast. Emptied frezer out.
3 1 more batch of egg custard. Lived on it this last week. Bad week,colon kinked up.
4 2 more batches of GF graham crackers in T/ware container for snacks. Allen helped me roll them out.
5. Allen had GF choc.chip o/meal cookies in lunch.

Cards
1. Yea I did it,it took me 2 weeks to do it. I got out my brayer & Stampscape stamps.HARDEST project ever. About gave up on brayer,watched video's & practise & practised. Finally figured out it, worked good on rolling ink on the stamp. Tried inking it w/pens & pads kept leaving a blank space.Used Memento Tuxedo black ink to stamp DIRECTLY on the glossy cardstock. Used spong around edges w/ another gray on c/stock for l/house stamp.Made 3 Sympathy cards. A friend of 35 yrs Mom died. Had to be a special card. Been in their house about 35 yrs ago.S
he was always generous to us,1st me,then Allen & my kids when we lived last tome in Utah.

2.Easter Cards
Used my brayer w/3 dye inks. I luv the peach one for the skyline. I used about 3 dye inks on them.Made my grass w/green felt-like paper. Colored digi bunny w/ eggs w/ Prism pencils.

New Contract

Allen is now on Florida Medicare project for HP.I believe it's managed care.

HP done it again

Allen's job is on the chopping block? they laid off more people Tue's. Allen had just been told his contract was extended to Dec. 31st. He had just recently been pulled over ta team to solve some problems for the Oregon project. The state of Oregon had given HP a month to solve some problems or they wouldn't renew the contract.
He was told later Tue. ,he only has 30 days left on the contract. HP lost the contract w/ Oregon state.If they don't find another project to put him on in 30 days,we can be in trouble. After that they put him on the bench for 30 days,if we even get that now?!!If he loses his job,I'm SOL. I totally dependent on Allen's insurance for my 0-2 & med's.
this timewe have no safety net. We no longer own a hous or have any savings. We are carrying huge credit debt from th last l/off over 6 yrs ago.
PRAYERS NEEDED!!! Will keep posted here as we know more. Got to go to bed,too tired,& it's raining out & I'm in pain.

Patrick needs a transplant

When Allen went to Utah 2 wks ago, he stayed
@ the Hoopes home ,Heidi's in-laws. Bryan, Mark's younger brother has adopted an 1/2 Korean baby boy. He was born w/ what they call short gut syndrome. S/thing happened to to the colon as he was developing as a fetus. he was born w /very little of his colon. He is kept alive by a line running into his neck w/ IV solution. He needs a transplant . The IV feedings put him in the hospital on a regular basis w/inflections. Plus the IV feedings long term can cause liver damage.He's now 15 mo's old. He' trying to crawl on his stomach. He has a backpack on wheels that has the IV mixture in it etc. that moves w/ him as he crawls on the floor.
They need $70,000 in order for Patrick to have a colon transplant. I admire both Emily & Bryan for taking on such a critical need child. They took him home as a newborn knowing he would need 24 hr care ,7 days a week. They must be 1 of the most compassionate & patient parents I know. It must be hard knowing that if UR child doesn't get a transplant he can die.
Allen fell in love w/this little boy. He really pulled on his heart strings. Allen is usually analytical,stoic,not one expressing his feelings. He called me while in Utah telling me about Patrick, even telling me what he was doing on the floor etc.
Patrick's website www.cotaforpatrickh.com.They have more info. on how they are trying to raise money.plus more info. on short gut syndrome.
If U have any used cell phones or used printer ink cartridges, U can sell them & donate the money to their fund. This little guy can use our help. Let's give him a chance @ life. @ 15 mo's old Patrick is proving to be a fighter. Maybe giving up UR Starbucks coffee for a week. or a meal out or not going to a show, U could donate that money U saved to their fund.
His pic's show a charming little boy w/ a big smile!

Gluten free mixes test vs recipes

It's getting that time of year in Texas. In 2 mo's we won't be able to turn on the oven since it will be too hot. It's now getting 20- 30 F difference in temp. from the am to Pm. so I need to do my baking in the early am.
It's also time to decide if I was going to do GF baking the time was now. Judy had sent me some GF mixes in Aug. If I don't bake them now,it will be Oct. before I can turn the oven back on. I looked @ the dates on the pkg's for them to be the freshest & not sit in the heat for another summer. I also had found some recipes on gluten free girl. If I was going to try them it was either now or never.
So I baked Mon,Wed.,Fri. & Sat. it's time to put food away in the freezer for June. June is usually our hottest month of the summer. It usually puts me flat down since the heat makes it hard for me to breathe much less try to even cook.
Sat's granola bars was the 2nd batch I made. I need to add more honey & oil to the recipe to make them easier to get out of the pan & also not to fall apart.I used apricots this time. I luv the Cliff bars w/ apricots. I cut up the apricots. I tossed in some tapioca flour on them to absorb the stickiness of the cut apricots so they wouldn't all stick together in 1 big mass. It worked.
I'm really tired today. We have another storm coming in that is dragging me down. I didn't get all the things I had planned on doing Sat. I had to wait for Allen to chop up onions for me. I didn't get my sweet potato nut burgers cooked up. I need to saute the onions & celery to go into the burgers. He didn't get to them to later in the pm. By then my steam had runned out. Plus cloud cover came in & I ended up plowed down in my recliner from 5pm on.
The e/quake had hit Chile & a tsunami had hit Hawaii. Instead of going to asleep in my recliner I ended up on Yahoo checking out videos' & news reports.
My son had called me when I had gone back to bed in am to rest from my early am. jobs. Talking on the phone tires me out. I did enjoy his talk,his insight,fact man commentary & what a humble,conscious young man he's becoming.He's probably the most compassionate young man U ever meet. Also one of my twin DD's called. She had finished painting her 2nd brm. I amazed @ her abilities. She has been divorced for 3 yrs now. She tackles alot of repair jobs herself. She owns her own condo. She lived 1 summer w/ her twin sister to save up money for a down p/ment.She is growing African violets & orchids which are hard plants to grow. She also has a great head for fiances.She's isn't a women who's is sitting around crying "woe is me. She is trying to do s/thing w/ her life. She has a good job as a programmer in medical s/ware for hospital's. She's a team leader who put's in alot of extra time to make sure her team meets d/line even if she got to do the extra work.