Mother's Day Flowers digi layout!

I futzed enough with this layout and am calling it done! I used a Kay Miller Designs template that had some other elements included. I tried and tried to make them work, but couldn't so I took them off and kept this clean and simple. I also used papers from Kay Miller Designs' newest kit called It's a Spring Thing. the font is Roselyn and it was on a font cd I bought somewhere sometime!
I had to share this picture I took today. These are the chicks that were born just a few short weeks ago at Jessica's preschool. They quickly outgrew a 10 gallon aquarium, then a 35 gallon aquarium, and have spent this week in a dog kennel/cage.But, they simply need more room, so they are going back to the farm. I honestly cannot believe how quickly they lost their down and started growing feathers. Amazing. The kids really enjoyed having them. I hope Jessica isn't too upset next week when she realizes they are really gone. The kids have been watching caterpillars become a chrysalis (sp?) this week and those are supposed to open up and become butterflies next week. Maybe that will be a good distraction...G'bye Peanut and Juanita...it's been fun watching you grow!
Acrylic discs, flowers and chicks...man I've jumped around a lot today, huh? LOL

Ah well, at least I've posted something...

Acrylic Discs from Michaels...

I could have sworn I blogged about this before, but I cannot find the post, so I will share now. I was just reading Kathi's blog and she had a Q and A post. She gets asked about the acrylic discs from Michaels, as do I. She answered a question about them. Because so many people are having a difficult time finding these little things, I decided to risk a double post and talk about them.

Unfortunately, these are on clearance now at Michaels. So, if your store has a clearance section like mine does...look there. I actually picked up some clear ones last week, so my store still has them. They are $2 a bag right now. This is the size of the bag, and it is jam packed with discs, both clear and in a color. Feel free to print off these pictures and take it to your Michaels when asking where they might be located.

Now why would I go out and buy a bag of just clear? Well, I have often heard that using Copic Markers (pricey little suckers that I do not need to get hooked on) on the clear discs will work in coloring them. It got me to wondering if using Sharpie Markers will work. I finally tried it back when I had a creative urge and they DO work-just color the bottom!!! You'll get your fingers dirty in the process if you are like me and hold them in your hand, but whatever...The light blue I tried didn't work all that well, but the other colors did. So...seeing that Sharpie keeps coming out with more colors in the markers and they are cheaper than Copics, I picked up the clear...just in case I should ever run out...And there's my enabler tip for you today. :o)

I actually started a digi layout last night, GASP, can you believe it? But then I got sucked into watching Super Nanny, which was followed by Boston Legal and all was lost! But at least I attempted something right? Boston Legal moved nights and I've missed watching it. Last night was funny because someone told Denny Crane they wanted him to run for president. If you watch this show at all you know how scary the thought of Denny Crane as president would be.

And today marks one week since I've had an "episode," so hopefully they will be just a memory soon. My pressure has been pretty decent all week, if I do say so myself. Yea...

I am starting to feel the itch to create, so hopefully this weekend will provide ample opportunity to play. After I cut out 55 paper turtles for Jessica's preschool that is! Sniff Sniff...next week is her last week in preschool....

Man, I got windy in this post...sorry about that!

Sorry...not feeling very creative~

Gosh, it's been a bit since I last posted, hasn't it? I'm sorry about that. I don't even have any artwork to share for my hiatus from posting. :o( I just haven't felt very creative lately. Hopefully that will change soon.

I thought I'd let you know that I had planned to see a new doctor in a different practice about my blood pressure situation. I had even set up an appointment, but I couldn't get in until Wednesday of this week. I was okay with that...until I had another "episode" of a tingly left hand and raging headache with the bp rising (although not quite as high as last time-thank goodness) last Thursday. I called the practice I normally go to and asked for a different doctor. I'd heard that another doctor in that practice was good, so I thought I'd try him. I was able to get in by the end of the day (I think I was his last patient). The bp was up when I got there...but that didn't surprise me given my history of higher bp when I go in. He was able to explain things in a way that made sense. I'm making some pretty big health changes, plus I am in perimenopause, all of which are big stressors on my body. But he listened and he answered questions and gave me some guidelines to follow. He gave me reasons for what has been happening which eased my mind tremendously. There are some things I am to"do" which helps me feel a bit more in control (like recording my bp at specific times during the day-not just willy nilly) and that helps. I'm to go back in a few weeks for follow up. So, I feel a lot better about things. I most impressed that he spent a significant amount of time with me, and didn't rush me out the door. Whew!

I hope you had a nice Mother's Day. Mine was nice, but it is always a bit bittersweet as my mom is no longer here to celebrate. Steve didn't feel like making his usual Sunday morning breakfast, so we went out. Then at dinner time he asked what was for dinner. To which I replied...whatever you feel like making or whatever you choose to eat at a restaurant. I think he thought going out to breakfast would "cover" the meal. But since I don't make the big breakfast, ever, what kind of time off was that? LOL I was in the mood for salad so we went to Sweet Tomatoes...which was yummy and not crowded! :o) We all went for a bike ride after dinner, too, which was a nice way to finish off the day.

Today was a bit busy as Amy only had to go to school for an hour and a half for assessments. She went in at 8, Jessica starts at 9. Drop Jess off and go back to pick up Amy. We ran some errands to fill the time til we picked up Jess. Got home, had lunch and they played a bit before swim class. Back and forth...back and forth! LOL But it's all good. Enjoyed the 70plus degree weather as tomorrow we are supposed to get a rain/snow mix I've heard! Thank goodness I listened and haven't started planting flowers just yet.

Okay...that's it. Hopefully my creative spark will return soon and I'll have something fun to share. :o)

Trying something out...

I'm just being a dork trying something out that I've seen done a lot but didn't know how to do.

According to my preview it worked, so I'll 'splain.

I was just reading the Because I Said So blog and on Sundays she does a Sound Out where she answers questions she received during the week. Someone asked and she gave this answer:

QUESTION: I recently started a blog for my family and friends to see, but I can't figure out the *cross out the word* thing that you do . I can do it in my word program, but when I copy and try to paste it over, it doesn't have the crossed out words there. I know this is such a random and off the subject thing, but I AM SO CURIOUS!!! AND I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT!!!

ANSWER: OK, before the word you want crossed out, type < *del > (take the asterisk and spaces out) Then after the word you want crossed out, type < /del >. That will draw a line through the word. I used some spaces in my example so the word wouldn't really get crossed out. Just omit the spaces when you do it.

I'm just testing it to see if it works and it looks like it does. How fun! :o) Yes, I know it takes very little sometimes to make me giddy.

And, by the way, I completely forgot meant to add the stamp set Gift Tags (CTMH) in my credits on the card I posted earlier.

Okay, I'm done now. Have a good one. :o)

Happy Mother's Day card

I went out to my craft room today to see how I felt making a card. I can honestly say...I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish it, but I decided to keep plugging away at it and I am glad I did. Don't ask me why I decided to do a card with lots of cutting, I don't know. Actually, I do. I really liked this card by Melissa Bickford on the Just Dandy blog and thought it would make a nice Mother's Day card. And because Mother's Day is just around the corner...well you get the idea. I didn't use my lightbox to take these pictures and I can tell. LOL But, I honestly didn't feel like pulling out all the stuff needed to take the pictures with the box so I didn't. You can't really tell in the pictures, but the pink flowers are adhered with foam tape, so they pop out just a bit. Oh and the yellow one on the large pink flower. For the flower stems, I used a marker and ruler to draw the lines. I decided to try a different ink than CTMH! The Versa Magic Chalk Dew Drop inks. I really liked the colors in a set I saw at Joann's and they were on sale....they work pretty well, I think!

Credits:

Stamps: Women of Life (Papertrey Ink), Happy Easter (for leaves) (CTMH)

Inks: Versa Magic Pigment Chalk Ink Dew Drops in Pink Grapefruit, Key Lime, Mango Madness (Tsukineko), Sweet Leaf stamp pad and marker (CTMH)

Papers: Blush, Sweet Leaf, Vanilla Cream (CTMH), Baby Girl Nursery (DCWV)

Ribbon (Walmart), White Gel Pen (American Crafts), Scallop scissors

This is all I was able to create today. But it's better than nothing, I guess. :o)Thanks so much for stopping by ~ I hope you have a great week!

Still No Artwork...but Feeling a Bit Better...

I had hoped to get out to my craft room today, but never quite made it. Sorry! I am finally starting to feel a bit better. The tingly sensation is pretty much gone and although my head has felt funny a lot today, I think it's better than it was. The blood pressure seems to have stabilized. I also went to the book store to get a book on reversing hypertension. I even hit Archiver's for National Scrapbook Day (although I wasn't feeling up to making the free Make and Takes). After dinner I went on a short bike ride with the fam and it was fun.

This morning Amy asked me a few times if I wanted to come outside and watch her ride her bike without training wheels. I think she is justifiably VERY proud of this accomplishment and wants to practice (ie show-off) her new found skill. Hey, you know I'm feeling better because on my way out the door, I grabbed my camera. :o) When she wants to get outside quick, she grabs her snowboots because it takes no effort to get them on. She also "borrowed" Jessica's coat...probably because it was handy. LOL Look how happy she is (and notice the bottom teeth are coming in!)I'm gonna have fun scrapping the pictures I took.

Even though I didn't buy a bunch of physical product, I was feeling chipper enough to buy some digital goodies...so fun! I did my part to support this scrapbooking/crafting hobby of ours. Hopefully I will have some creations to share with you soon.

Thanks for your comments on my health related post. I really appreciate it!! Hope you had a great Saturday!

Hiccup...No Artwork...

I'm sorry I've not posted anything this week. First off, I was trying to organize and re-tag my digi supplies-which takes a lot of time. But from Wednesday on, I've not been feeling all that great.

I think I mentioned I'd been going to the doctor for a physical and all that. Well, I probably didn't mention that he decided to put me on blood pressure medicine and a cholesterol medicine. When I go see him and they take my blood pressure...invariably it's on the high end of normal (he doesn't think I get nervous seeing him) and I guess that along with the results of some blood tests helped him decide I need to do this. Okay. Fine. I've been taking the medicine faithfully for over a month with no problems, that is, until Wednesday when my head started feeling funny and I could feel the pulsing in my head. I took my bp and it was 108/69...or thereabouts. Low for me. I called the office, but he'd already left for the day. The M. A. took the information and told me she'd call back in the morning after talking to the doctor. Continued to monitor the bp all evening and it dipped down to something like 98/54. I know that can't be good! It would waffle but only go as highs as 120s/70s. I've pretty much been parked on the couch. My head feels strange and I don't have a lot of energy.

Yesterday as I was coming home from taking Jessica to school, my left hand started feeling tingly, which was odd. Since I hadn't heard from the doctor's office, took the bp again-130s/80s this time. They fit me in in the morning. Took my bp when I got there, which apparently was high now. My head was pounding at this point. Waited for 45 minutes for the doctor, who was running late. Had to leave to get Jessica from school without talking to him. Rescheduled for the afternoon. Go back and bp is now 150s/90s!!! Saw the doc who basically told me he didn't believe that my bp got as low as I said it did. He said my cuff is old and doesn't work right. I even had Steve take his bp immediately after that low reading and his was normal! (Doc didn't quite believe that Steve's bp was on the low end of normal) So, because all my doctor saw was the bp very high, he ups my bp medicine, tells me to get a new cuff and call him if I don't feel better in a few days. I'm upset and feeling like I am not getting listened to. But, when I got home, I checked the bp on my cuff and it was 150s/90s...very much like it was at the doctor's office.

I go out and get a new cuff and decide to compare readings. They are very similar off just a couple of points of each other. So, I really don't think my cuff was so off. (Relief that I wasn't imagining the low readings).

Today it's been between 108 and 120/69, which seems low again, but what do I know? My head feels funny still, but I can function. The tingly sensation comes and goes. I even called and left a message for the doctor with the readings I was getting, but haven't heard back from him and don't know that I will.

I decided to post about this in part, to let you all know what was going on, and to just sort of be vocal about the importance of keeping up with stuff like this. I've neglected my general health (not my female stuff) for a long time and now I am reaping the consequences of it. I'm told it takes time to get any bp meds just right. I can buy that, but I would have thought any problems would start well before I'd been on the medicine for 6 weeks. But again, what do I know?

I am feeling a bit funny after sitting here for a while typing, so I'm going to go lay down for a bit and see if it helps. I'll keep you posted if you want. I am more bummed because I was looking forward to NSD this weekend and I may not have the energy to do much. Although I felt well enough to go to Joann's this morning...bought some new stuff, too. :o) But now I'm tired!

Sheesh...it's heck to get old!!
Thanks for reading...if you got this far! I hope to be back to my normal self asap.