January

Well here it is. My Calendar for January. Simple but sweet. Now to make 5 more of these and then on to February.

I ended up adding a lot of glitter to January. It took a lot of time and now I'm out of white glitter--I didn't realize how low I was. I guess I should have taken stock of my stash before starting the project! The problem is that I'm such a poor planner! I do have all the months printed out and I bought 2 of each month of the Creative Imaginations line (I hope that is enough...time to be frugal!). But who knows what I'm going to add to the pages! LOL!!

Hopefully these calendars will re-stoke my scrappy mojo and I'll make time to create again. I do miss it. And I miss my scrappy friends. I guess it is time to go find a friendly message board to hang out at.

Back?

Well, sort of anyway! LOL!! Moving my Mom was a bit more complicated than I expected. We brought her down on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and then moved her into her new apartment in the assisted living portion of Lutheran Homes Monday evening. Tuesday morning she had an appointment with her new wound Dr. He immediately put her in the hospital. Geez...Welcome to Muscatine!

Anyway, she stayed in the hospital until Thursday and is now in the Nursing Home portion of Lutheran Homes. Needless to say, I've been spending way more time with my Mom's situation than I expected. The plan is to get her into her apartment by the end of the month. I am hoping, praying, and providing as much support as I can to motivate her to do what she needs to do to get into the apartment. Otherwise, it looks like the Nursing Home will be her new home.

I am finally working on my calendars! Yeah...scrapping. I have not scrapped since the end of September. I'm definitely going through withdrawal. I haven't been on a message board, walked into a store, or even blogs. I LOVE having my Mom close by, but it is like I now have a third kid. I need to work on balance again. The schedule has just been too crazy. But, I can see the light...no more gymnastics competitions until next fall. Cheer competitions will be done in January and we won't be continuing that sport. And Christmas busy-ness is almost over.

I never thought I'd get to the point were I actually need to schedule time for me, but I really need to look at this in the new year. Maybe even create some scrappy goals to motivate me.

Tomorrow I'll put up my January mock-up up. I try to keep the calendars simple (I am making 6). But somehow...I always manage to make them a little more complicated. Oh well.

Bald is beautiful?

Update: Here it is...Mike decided that he and Max needed to shave their heads in honor of Papa Billy. Papa Billy lost most of his hair due to Chemo, so he shaved his head this weekend. And of course, the testosterone was flowing in the Ball family with challenges and dares gallore. So here are my two dudes sporting the bald look! LOL!! I just wish I had taken the family holiday photo before the clippers came out! Anyway, Billy seems to be doing better. He is breathing better, they don't need to drain his lung, and he is finally home. Seems like the Chemo is working. He is still very weak and is on oxygen...but he sound more like his own fiesty self!

Mom came in for her evaluations at two facilities last week. We finally overcame her reluctance to moving down here. She likes Lutheran Homes and I think she is looking forward to the move. I hope to get details of her move finalized this week. It looks like sometime right after Thanksgiving she will be moving. Kelly is looking forward to seeing her Grandma more often.

Kelly has been doing awesome with her gymnastics! So well that the coaches moved her up to Level 5. She has another meet this weekend along with her first cheer competition of the season. It is going to be a busy weekend!

And me...well...I'm still trying to catch up. The house is still a mess...but the laundry is caught up. I hope to be caught up with everything by Wednesday. I can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I haven't scrapped since September and I am missing it. I am still trying to get used to my new camera...Canon 50D with a 28-135 lens. I LOVE the zoom capabilities and the speed of the action shots. I'm still having difficulty getting it to focus on what I want it to focus on. And my action shoots are still too blurry. I really need to practice and learn how to use the features instead of staying in auto-mode.

I'm feeling the holiday crunch already. I have my Christmas cards somewhat designed and need to order the materials. Calendars...I started off wanting to keep up monthly all year...but alas this did not happen. I don't even have all the photos printed out! ARGH! Looks like I need to get hot!

When it rains...

...it pours. Sigh...Just when I think the worst has past, just when I think things can get back to normal...well closer to normal...sigh...another stressor gets added. Mike's Dad is doing a little better, but the outlook is bleak. My Dad is ok, but on constant watch...eventually he will require a risky surgery.

But everything is stable. I thought I could get back to scrapping and get back to blogging. I have calendars and cards and now a project for a client to work on.

Yea...not so much. Now I get to add my Mom to the list...she has been given 30 days notice to find a new home. She lives in a senior center. Her health has deteriorated, but the senior center environment has helped stabilized that. The problem is that she is not complying with the rules. She says she has been complying with the rules (that have been set up for her benefit), they say not. My Aunt is tired of this battle and it has come to me. I need to find her a new home. The problem is that she doesn't want to move and doesn't want to face the reality that she needs help.

The plus side is that I'll be moving her closer to me. No more 3 hour one way trip for visits. I guess I'll focus on the plus. I'm just not sure where I'm going to find the time to get this done. 'Tis the season to be busy and I just got busier!

Thanks to all those that have left well wishes!!! They put a smile on my face every time I read them. Thank you soo much!

Random thoughts...

Sorry...I haven't posted in awhile. It is amazing how life works sometimes. And today, nature reminded me of that. I'm sitting at my computer catching up on email and I notice movement out of the corner of my eye...So I look. Here are the leaves falling from the trees in my back yard. Lots of them. It was absolutely beautiful...so much so I almost cried. For those that know me...I don't cry easily. I don't think I have ever stopped and noticed the leaves falling before. Ya know...time goes so quickly. Fall starts, then all of a sudden the leaves are down and it's snowing.

Today I stopped...and just appreciated this simple moment. It was gorgeous. Leaves falling...ready to give nourishment back to the earth. The ending of a season and start of another.

I think this touched me deeply because of what is going on in my life right now. Mike's Dad has been diagnosed with late stage cancer. We don't know the details yet, but just the term "late stage cancer" is enough. A season ending, a life ending. Maybe the falling leaves are a reminder to notice the bigger picture and find joy with what was and what will be. Thank you nature.

So...everything happens for a reason. Although I was crushed and somewhat bitter with being one of 2 designers that lost their DT spots at ScrapGal, I am now so grateful. Grateful that I don't have those responsibilities right now. My husband has been back home since Tuesday to be with his family while all this was happening. Not having to worry about being on the board, blog posts, contests, monthly projects has been a blessing. Thanks to the higher powers that created this for me!

Last random thought...My new camera should be arriving today! I'm soo excited. I found a great deal on the net for a Canon 50D with a 25-135 mm IS lens. I will be taking some awesome photos of Kelly's gymnastics meet on Sunday. I can't wait! Soon, I'll have photos to post.

Each day is a blessing...it is up to us to find it everyday!

Frosted Designs DT call...

Hey Scrappy friends...

Check out this design team call...looks like a pretty cool place! And you can't beat the name Frosted Designs...YUM!!!!

Frosted Designs DT call

Last Sketchabilities reveal

Oh...with a sad heart...here is my last Sketchabilities reveal...for now...I LOVE working with the sketches from Karan's site. This last one was no exception!! Check out my 2-Cute-Rex! All product is MME except for the felt flower and tulle -- MM. Small letters are My Little Shoe Box.

Make sure you check out the Sketchabilities blog to see the original sketch and the rest of the team's take!!