Heavy Heart

When T & I got home from golfing Sat morning I noticed a package on the front porch. Woohoo - must be another birthday present that arrived Friday, we just didn't see it since we use the garage ;)

As I opened the presents from my bro and his family I found an adorable framed picture from AB's professional shoot, a HRC shot glass from their recent trip to Gatlinburg, and there was another larger frame face down. I flipped it over expecting another picture of AB and was shocked to see the picture below. The waterworks started immediately. Below is a picture of my daddy playing 'cowboy' way back when :) J found the pic amongst a bunch of slides my grandmother had sent him. It is the best.gift.ever! Makes me smile and cry. Man how I miss him!

Adding to the emotion was the knowledge that my grandfather (dad's dad) who has had Dementia for many years and has been in a nursing home for the past year wasn't doing well. He passed away yesterday afternoon. Somewhat bittersweet. He enjoyed a wonderful 88 years and life here on earth wasn't much of a life anymore. It's still hard. I know my grandmother (they've been married over 66 years!) is going to miss him dearly, as will all of us! I know he's in a better place, hanging out with his son :)

Grandma taking a nap on Grandpa about four years ago... aren't they sweet :) I hope I'm still using T as a pillow when we're in our 80's!

Card Gallery

A sampling of cards I've created this year....





...nothing too complicated. Simple & Cute. At least that's my goal.

New Toys

OK enough geek for awhile :) I often have a list in my head of things I want to be better at or do more of. Goals I guess you could say. Self improvement sometimes - and other times just plan fun! Art has always been a passion of mine. As a little girl I'd answer the "What do you want to be when you grow up?" question with "Artist". That dream hasn't changed. Hand me a brand new box of crayons (crowns) and I'm a happy lady! Now I'm by no means an 'extraordinary' artist - and I'm not ready for my own ETSY store - but I LOVE being creative. So... one of those goals is always to spend more time in my craft room. Making cards, scrap booking, making jewelry, finishing the quilt I've been working on for years - these are all things that make me very happy!!

Lucky me I received some new toys for my birthday to get me inspired!!

Fiskars Desktop Rotary Trimmer

I LOVE THIS THING! Super precise - which is key since I'm a perfectionist :) Easy to use. Very portable, which is a bonus. AND you can buy special blades to really spice things up!

Notice in the orange pattern how you can change things up depending on how you line up the cut. A sample below of my fun with the 'deckle' blade. So easy & quick.


Provo Craft Cuddlebug

This might just be the coolest little machine ever! (Until I get a Xyron that is!) Used to create die cuts or dry-embossing. Dry-embossing has a very cool effect. By hand, it's a pain. With the Cuddlebug, it's AMAZING. A couple samples of the dry-embossing in action.... look how much dimension you can add to something - in seconds!


I have yet to do much with the die-cuts, but I plan to make some birthday cards this weekend with this letter set. I'll be sure to post the results.


Stampin-Up Prize Package!

Miss Abby totally hooked me up with what feels like a Stampin-Up prize pack! Two totally cute new stamps sets, one with loads of sayings. Something my current stamp stock is missing! A rainbow pack of card-stock, a pack of designer papers, and a colorful pack of ribbon! FUN FUN FUN!

You know where to find me this weekend :)

For the geeks...

This blog is especially for my fellow web programming buddies :) Soo soo funny and true!!

I'm especially partial to the pink and yellow wedges since I do most of the html/design layouts here. UGH. Hate is a strong word.... but I hate IE 'most' of the time :)

145,000

I happened to glance down on the way to work Monday morning and noticed my odometer read 144999.... I'm a number person, these things excite me :) So I pulled out my camera and waited for the numbers to turn over :)

* Yes, notice how much gas I have. T drove home from camping Sun and pulling in the driveway he says "You don't have any gas." :) Thanks T!

For the rest of the ride my mind kept thinking about numbers :) How many miles were on the car when I bought it? How many miles have I driven each year?

Purchase Date: 25 July 2002
Purchase Miles: 41,600

Yes, Blue & I have gone 103,400 miles in just under 6 years! The breakdown.

Year	Mileage
1	24,200
2	21,100
3	17,800
4	14,400
5	16,050
6 (10 months)	9850

Kinda interesting to look at. Seems as I've gotten older the road trips have slowed down. Also interesting how marriage affects the mileage :) It's not that we're taking Todd's car - Blue is usually the chosen mode of transport when we travel together :)

How you may ask do I have all these numbers! Cause I'm a dork - and write it down every time I get gas :) This is something my parents have always done, and something my bro and I started doing when we got our own cars. Friends always asked us in HS why we did it and we both answered 'Because our Dad does it'. The funny thing is I'm sure my Dad's answer would be 'Because my Mother does it.' So it's a Fath thing, generations of us have little gas books and track the date/mileage/gallons/total. I wish I was also writing down the price - that would be interesting to look back on! (I know I could figure it out! 8-4-02 $1.259/gal!!)

There's my fun with numbers. I'm done now :)

My Next Thirty Years

written by: Phil Vassar
performed by: Tim McGraw

I think I’ll take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I’ve done
Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears
And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I’m gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I’m doing here
In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, I’m gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe I’ll remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years

Quotes on age.

1. My mom usually buys me a desk calendar for Christmas. I tend to keep up for the first week of January....then I'm behind for the rest of the year :) Anyways - on January 4th the quote really struck me and I've been holding onto it. It's even going on my 'vision board'. (more on that eventually!)

"We turn not older with years, but newer every day." Emily Dickinson.

With this year holding the 'biggest' birthday in 8 years* - things about age and 'older' really catch my attention. I like this. I want to focus on being 'newer every day'.

2. The song Strawberry Wine was playing on the radio early this year. I've heard this song dozens of times - but this time.... this line popped...

"I remember when thirty was old" Deana Carter

Wow. That's it. Everyone has been asking me how I feel about turning 30 this year. Really it doesn't bother me, if anything I'm excited. Why would I not want to be 30. Oh yeah... cause I used to think 30 was OLD. Now that I'm here, I realize it's not exactly what I pictured it to be like. I'm not old by any means! I wonder what 40 and 50 will feel like?
*Yes 22 is a huge birthday. When your 21 - whether it's your birthday or you've been 21 for nine months - people always seem to make a big deal. When seriously after a month of being 21, you are over it - so this gets old. Once you hit 22 you get to escape that 'OH! You're 21 :) How exciting' stuff. Very big birthday indeed!

Happy June!

Wow - Can't believe 2008 is close to halfway over! I promise to catch you up on what T & I have been up to this year! I don't promise it'll be in any kinda of chronological order though. We'll start with some teasers....

My favorite pic of AB from our family trip to the Outer Banks in May. (14 mos)

T's second fish of the day today. We spent the weekend down at the river celebrating my birthday. Guess the fish don't understand they are supposed to be biting the birthday girl's hook! For the year. J-1, T-2.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Looking forward to celebrating today and throughout the weekend!

Miss You.

Hard to believe it's been 4 years. I miss you every day. Thanks for such wonderful memories and being the best dad a little girl could ask for :) LOVE YOU!