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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Some New Stuff

Well...

I had a WONDERFUL time on my little shopping excursion...I'll post pictures of all of that later on.

We ended up going to five stores instead of three...the stores in the area were AMAZING! Virtually every store we were in sent us to another store. They each carried different products and had a different feel. It was by far the best shopping trip I've had since I was in San Jose!

Sadly, one of the cutest stores I've been into in a long time had declared the day we were there that they were going out of business. The place was PACKED as all of their products were 50% off. SAD that my hobby is suffering the economy - and that a GOOD store can go out of business. BUT we took good advantage of the sale prices and stocked up on a number of things.

By far the BEST part of the trip was a little luncheon visit to Mimi's. Ok, so you California people are thinking "yea, Mimi's is nice and all, but what's the big deal?" Let me tell you...there are no Mimi's in Charlotte. ok...there is ONE, but it is about 40 minutes away from me and not at all convenient in any sense of the world. Not like when I could go to church on a Sunday and then swing by for a latte and a giant bluberry muffin on my way home from church. And, frankly, I miss the gorgeous blueberry muffins, the amazing sandwiches and the unbelievable salads.

So...we saw a billboard for Mimi's and my friend had NEVER been to one (can you believe it!?!?!?!) and so we went. We sat outside in the 72 degree low-humidity day, with a slight breeze blowing and the sun shining. It was PERFECTION, I tell you...PERFECTION! It was like a perfect California Spring Day...only in Greer, South Carolina. I even called my husband to leave a NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH message! (I'm so mature!)

Anyhoo...I also got the word that Michael's had their Cricut cartridges on sale for $40. Since the best price I can get for them here is at Hobby Lobby ($59) and they are NEVER on sale at HL and they are always on the exempt list when there is a 40% off coupon, I swept into my local Michaels and snatched up a few cartridges...

I got Walk in My Garden - which is an oldie but a goodie - it has TONS of things that I think will make fun mother's day stuff and compliment outside layouts.



I also got the Rob and Bob Christmas Cheer. Another oldie but goodie - I just ADORE the crazy santa and the little reindeer...



And finally, I got the Mickey Alphabet. I got this one becuase the font is WAY more useful to me than the charater cartridge would have been...AND this one still has the faces of all the major characters - which will be FANTASTIC when I do the album for the 2nd birthday party (got all the supplies for that baby too...I'll have to post some pics of the super cute stuff!)




Now with new supplies and new cartridges, I just need to make myself a little creative space in my schedule and GET TO WORK!

WOOHOO!!!

Peace, ya'll!

Friday, April 17, 2009

So excited…

To be going on a scrapbook supply shopping tour with my girls Debbi and Berta tomorrow.

I am looking forward to immersing myself in something that doesn’t involve computers, cooking, packing for a work trip or generally feeling like I’m a chicken with my head cut off.

It will be so nice to be confined to a car for a couple of hours and then to be able to browse some new shops and perhaps buy a few selected supplies.

We will be going HERE, HERE, and HERE.


I always prepare for these trips by browsing through and sometimes printing out my wish list over at Two Peas. But, I found that my wish list was 108 PAGES (not items, PAGES) and thought that it has been entirely too long since I did some cyber purging. You know that things are busy in your life when you have to purge your CYBER spaces as well as your physical spaces. HAHA!

So, after much consideration, I think I’ll be mostly on the prowl for these things….

Dotted Swiss cardstock


Butterfly punch (or punches as the case may be)




Some scallop edge circle punches in various sizes



Mickey Mouse stuff so I can scrap the #2 birthday



And a pumpkin board book – so I can finish up the pumpkin patch photos.



Although my intentions are good, knowing me there will be a few more items that find their way into my basket. Maybe some things like these???




Have a FABULOUS weekend ya’ll!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Do You Know Him?



He is RISEN!

HALLELUJIA!!!

SING PRAISE to the ALMIGHTY KING OF KINGS, the LORD OF SALVATION, the LAMB OF GOD!

Peace and joy of the risen Lord Jesus Christ

Friday, April 10, 2009

Preparing for the finale to Holy Week

Last night, Scott and I attend a Tenebrae Service at church.

What an amzingly stunning service...I was moved to weeping especially since our church combines the traditional Maundy Thursday communion sacrement with the Tenebrae. It is so moving to take communion as Jesus did and then to walk out his last moments. Our service also included some scenes from The Passion in the appropriate places...I cried my eyes out in torture...Each time I think of Jesus trial, torture and crucifixion, it is difficult to even breathe...

As the mother of a son, I am particularly moved by what Mary must have endured watching her son hang on the Cross. I can't even stand it when Jay gets a splinter, yet she watched her son endure unimaginable toture. How broken her heart must have been. How bewildering to watch her beloved child suffer when he had done nothing wrong, when he had not even broken a law, let alone done the things he was accused of. It plagues my heart to stand, for even a moment, in her shoes. I can not even imagine...

Today we are all at home, waiting and preparing for the the dawn of Easter Sunday, for our feast of joy, for the celebration of the very foundation of our faith.

I'm preparing brunch for Sunday, so there is much menu planning and preparation to accomplish, not to mention making things ready for Jay's very first Egg Hunt.

We will not have an "Easter Bunny" since it isn't part of our normal Easter Celebration. However, we will leave a surprise Easter basket for him, along with having an Easter Egg Hunt. We have talked at length about what Easter is, about why we celebrate. He has several story books that deal with the topic at an age appropriate level. We will share the story again on Easter morning. In terms of his Easter Basket, a basket of goodies will appear and eggs will be hidden for him to find and break open, all quietly and with stealth - just no bunny.

Peace and grace to you all!

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

25 Things That Are "Back"

I got a link to an article called 25 Good Things About Bad Times.

I thought that it would be an interesting article on getting creative with pasta or something. Instead I was a bit alarmed to find out that its how some things are back in style because of the recession. I was actually appalled at the implication that these things were ever OUT of style with parents.

Here are some of the highlights:

Manners are back in style – because of the Obamas and Reece Witherspoon???? Manners are suddenly back in style because we have a new president and a perky actress decided it should be so? And when exactly did good manners go out of style? Was there a time when it was ok for us to teach our children to be rude?

Money-smart youngsters – again, it takes a recession to teach our children to be wise with their money? I don’t know about anyone else, but I learned how to save some, spend some and give some at my own parents feet as a very small child. When did being smart about money go out of vogue so that it could come back into vogue???

Greed is out – really? Ok…so…as a child of the “big 80’s” I was under the impression that greed went out with big hair and huge shoulder pads 20 years ago. However I was quickly corrected when someone pointed out that Paris Hilton is a celebrity for no other reason besides being rich and that shows like “Super Sweet 16” and “Cribs” glorify ostentatious displays of wealth unwisely spent on self-indulgence to the youth of America…so…I guess all I have to say about that is I’m so glad that greed is now “out.”

Helping others is a new focus – a new focus? Did we stop helping others as a culture, as a nation? And why, oh, why does it take a recession to help us focus on helping other people. It makes far more sense that we would want to help others when we were flush with cash. BUT perhaps this is valid because for the first time in a very long time we all know somebody who is just barely making ends meet if at all. For the first time in probably 20 years, we have people living next door or across the street who are suddenly out of a job or who have taken huge hits in their income and it became real. Still, it’s a shame that it takes hitting so close to home for us to pay attention to the fact that there are a lot of people out there that need a hand and that a lot of people out there are mightily blessed to help. Although, I do draw the line at my tax dollars bailing out men who’s homes are the same size as my entire neighborhood. Those folks don’t deserve my helping hand or my tax dollars.

So…you get the idea.

What are your thoughts?

Peace, ya’ll!

Friday, April 03, 2009

Stress-related severe headache…

So…I thought perhaps that one month after my last post would be a good time for me to let you all know that I am alive and kickin’

Its been a whirlwind of a month.

I was in Marion South Carolina and then had a whole bunch of stuff happen at work that resulted in far too many hours at work and far too few with my family and doing other things I love – like blogging!

My speedy little life came to a screeching halt a week ago with a fun little thing the doctors call a Stress-Related Severe Headache. Its like a migraine – in that it causes nausea, visual halos, aversion to smells and noises, the need to be way warmer or way cooler, the need to lay very, very still …its essentially a hard roadblock to all stimulus input.

And, for me…an ENORMOUS red flashing light with sirens that my life has gotten out of control – way, way, way out of control.

So…On Friday, I ended up a whimpering mess in my bed, desperately waiting for medication to take hold of the screaming banshee of a headache in my head and trying very hard not to think about all the ways I’ve abused my body, mind and spirit since January. It essentially boils down to this: If I work that hard, and I don’t exercise, and I eat crappy food, and I don’t stay tuned into God, if I get my life that far out of balance, then I’m in deep trouble. And God was kind enough to give me this headache condition as an indicator when my life is out of whack. And its good that I heard him this time…because if I could possibly have ignored this, then I shudder to think of what God would have allowed to happen NEXT to get me back on track.

So…the great thing about it is that I’ve been able to take a pause at work. I’m also working a different schedule that gets me home in the afternoons to do some things and keep my life at home on track. It’s a much better place. It has exercise and really good food cooked by my own hands.

The unfortunate thing is that the project that started all of this in the first place was extended to the end of June and I have to see it out to the end. Darn this whole being a responsible adult thing…I could really use a few weeks of kindergarten, ya know?

In the mean time, I AM here, I’m still reading all of YOUR blogs and I will be keeping better track of my blog.

Yea for Stress Related Severe Headaches…

Peace, Ya’ll!!