Wow, It's been over a year!

It has been over a year since I posted on this blog.
A lot has happened in that time.  Do I remember much of it?  Not really.  What I do remember is having another arm surgery back in July.  This was the worst one of them all.  I was in so much pain for so long.  It took 2 months after my surgery before I could get into physical therapy.  Ridiculous!

I finally got the therapy I needed, and the pain has been resolved for the most part.  I have days here and there that are still extremely bad.  Now, I am waiting to get this work hardening program.  I have no strength in my right hand whatsoever.  I do the 4 exercises that I know every two days like I am suppose to, but I only have a 2 pound weight and in therapy I was up to 4 pounds with one of the exercises.

The insurance company and the lawyers are trying to close my case, but there is no way it can be closed.  I have no strength!  I am a right handed person who is doing the majority of my tasks left handed!  This is not right!  I can't even lift a full coffee cup right handed because I'm afraid I will drop it!  Tell me there isn't something wrong with that picture?!

I don't stamp as much as I use to.  Because if people compliment you, then you are obligated to reply to them.  That hurts me.  My arms are shot!  Both of them!  My left arm is getting bad because I do everything left handed the cubital tunnel is coming back.  I've already had surgery on this arm for that problem once.  I don't really want to do it again, but gee whiz what the heck am I suppose to do?

This is so frustrating!  Because I over-compensate with my left arm, now it is bad too!  I just wish the insurance people and lawyers would give me the treatment I need so I can get my right arm back to where it needs to be, so I don't have to over-compensate with the left and maybe I can avoid something more with that arm.

It has been 6 years that I've been going through this.  It is no fun for me!  I was an Office Manager for 7 years. I loved it.  But I know, there is no way I can go back to that type of work.  I'm actually looking for receptionist jobs just so I don't have to type all day.  What kind of life is this?  I'm a single mom.  I have to take care of my kid.  I have to maintain my house and I have difficulty even doing mundane tasks.  It is so upsetting.  Frustrating!  I hate this!  I feel so helpless.  All I have wanted since this has started is to feel better, and I keep getting the run around.  Does the insurance company really think they are going to save money by continuing to delay my care?  Do they think I will settle for less that almost back to normal as far as my health is concerned?  If they do, they are crazy.  I want to get back to 100% of what I can be considering what I've gone through.  Granted, it won't be 100% because 5 surgeries later, there is no 100% but I want to get back and be the best I can, and the way it is now, that isn't happening.

If someone asked me how I would rate my right hand/arm right now, I would say, I am 90% disabled.  Because I can't do anything.  I barely get by.  If I didn't have a left arm, I would be screwed!  I wouldn't be able to function at all.  These people don't see that and are just delaying the inevitable and costing themselves more by delaying what needs to be done, and it is at my expense.

I'm done blowing off steam.  I can't type any more.  My arms are starting to hurt.

Here are my most recent cards.

Masculine Bday Card

I was in the mood to try out my brand new stamp. I just picked it up from Joanne Fabrics on Sunday. Then I saw Stampin B's challenge 103 to make a masculine card. http://stampinbsdesignteam.blogspot.com/

I had a good idea of what I wanted to do with the stamp. I definitely wanted two-toned blue. I tried lighter blues but they just weren't showing up, so then I stamped tempting turquoise then used my brillian blue marker to outline the guests, balloons and candles. I used summer sun and pumpkin pie for the flames on the candles. It took 6 attempts to get the image right. I always ended up with partial images.

So then I had to come up with a layout. I didn't really know what to do, so I went to Pricillastyles and checked out their layout for the week. It seemed pretty good, so I decided to try it. http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/ This is challenge MMSC97.

After I found the layout, I decided to use my nesties. I mounted my image on tempting turquoise, then backed it up with garden green. The layer on the base is vanilla. I used one of my new cb folders and dry embossed the image in the background for texture. I then mounted my card on my bashful blue base. Thanks for looking and have a great day! :)

Has it been that long?

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted anything to this blog since October of last year! That just amazes me!!!

Life is good! I am very happy in life. I still don't have much of anything. The snowstorms we have been having have been wreaking havock on my arms, but I am determined not to let that get me down. I spent far too long dwelling on the bad stuff. "Oh, whoa is me!" Yea! Enough of that! Been there, done that! NO MORE!!! Life is too short to dwell on the bad stuff. It is time to focus on the good stuff, like God and family.

I am in such a good place now that I got God back into my life. I swear, I am totally a new person. I spend much of my time in God's word (The Bible), it really has changed me.

I recently saw a very good friend of mine. She has diabetes, rhuemetoid arthritis, carpal tunnel and no insurance. She is in a very bad place. She cracked a beer open at 12 in the afternoon. I'm afraid she is heading towards alcoholism, if she isn't already there. But something struck a chord in me. I looked at her, and I actually saw me. I saw the person I use to be. She is letting her circumstanes kick her down a very dark path. It truly saddens me. We went out, and she was just plain nasty to me. In reflection, I realized that was who I once was. Because of my arms being such an issue, not working for years, and being in a bad marraige, I was a miserable B! I got drunk, and I got nasty!

I realized that because of my circumstances, alcohol intensified all the bad things in my life. That is exactly what is happening with my friend. I need to have a heart to heart with her. I've been down that road, and it isn't pretty.

I didn't drink for 40 days, because I was using wine as a stress reliever and I wanted to stop it before it became a problem. Then I had a glass of wine with dinner at a friends, then last weekend I had two over the course of 4 hours, just relaxing. Then Sunday came. Daytona 500. I was with my friend that I mentioned above. I had a few too many glasses of wine. NOT GOOD!

I realized this is not what I want out of life. Why on earth am I drinking in bars? Granted it was Daytona 500, and it was a party, but it is not what I want out of life. I don't like being in a fog like that. That lifestyle of bars, and partying, is not me anymore. I'm not a kid. I'm a parent. What is the purpose? To get drunk! Who needs that?! I certainly don't! You are not going to meet a nice guy in a bar. I've changed. I am a different person. I am proud of who I have become, and who I am changing into on a daily basis.

I'm not sick anymore. I'm not depressed. I am happy. I feel like I have so much to give in this world, so much love, peace, joy and happiness. I love life. I don't need to drink for happiness, and I feel sorry for the people that feel they need to drink to find it. It will never happen. It will just suck you into darkness even more.

Live life! Be Happy! Don't let your circumstances get the best of you. Overcome them with determination and self-preservation. We all go thru junk in our lives. It is how we choose to deal with it which determines whether we will survive it or not. Strive to be a better person. Choose the right path. Live life!

Here are some cards I've made recently:

Lanore's Birthday

I made this card primarily because I wanted to make a special card for my cousin's birthday Granted, I have plenty of cards on hand that I could have just sent, but my cousin is one of my closest friends. I haven't seen her in 26 years and we recently found each other again and picked up like we never missed a beat.

I saw Pricilla's midnite madness challenge, and decided to use that as my layout for Lanore's card.

I used pink pirouette as my base. I used last years Valentines DSP from SU as my designer paper. I mounted my image on rich razzleberry. I stamped the Elements of Style in Rich Razzleberry, then colored it in using pretty in pink, regal rose, mellow moss and always artichoke. I went over key areas with glitter gel pen. I then added medium pink brads to the top, grabbed a glue pen, then added dazzling diamonds to the brads.

I really tried to make this card special for my cousin. I hope she likes it.

tfl

Mom's Birthday

Well, it's been a while since I've made cards. I just really haven't been into it lately. I guess I lost my card-making mojo. I was so into it for the past 4 years, I guess maybe the need to be creative with cards has passed. I've been writing. I guess that is where my creative flow has been going lately. God is so good! When I'm done posting this, I'm going to transcribe more of my latest book. Who knows, maybe God will bless me, and this book will be published too!

Anyway, about mom's card. I used Splitcoast Color Challenge colors for the card. Pear Pizazz, Real Red, and Pink Pirouette. The pear is the base, and red is the mat. I used SU's Bella Blue DSP for the panels, and layered pink pirouette under my main image. I used Pricilla Style's sketch as the design for the card.

I stamped my main image in black, then colored it using blushing bride, pretty in pink, and regal rose. The leaves are in pear Pizazz. The butterfly is pretty in pink and thump-n-rolled real red on it, then I added some dazzling diamonds for some sparkle. I also added sparkle on the flowers using glitter gel pen.

I hope my mom likes it. I even used corner punches on the inside to make it extra special.

Thanks for looking.

From Breast Milk to Table Food

For anyone that is interested, here is the link to my first book. My second book is in transcription, and hopefully will be published also.

God Bless, and enjoy!

http://www.publishamerica.net/product17570.html

mojo151

I guess I was in a crafty mood today. I tried my hand at the Mojo Monday Sketch 151.

I used pink pirouette as my base, then used rich razzleberry as my mat. The dsp is from SU Cottage Grove collection. I added the rich razzleberry ribbon.

I stamped my main image in black, then I colored it in using pretty in pink and highlighting with regal rose, the stem is colored with certain celery and highlighted with old olive. The sentiment is stamped in rich razzleberry.

tfl

mmsc62

I made this for Pricilla's midnight madness challenge found here: http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com

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I used white as my base. The cut strips of black and mounted them. Then I used white, black and white again for my image.

For the flower on the black portion, I used white craft ink and bridal embossing powder and heat embossed the image. I then used a black and white ribbon to complete the picture.

I feel this card has all the classic components of an elegant card.

thanks for looking!

mmsc60

I made this for two reasons, one I wanted to make a special card for my friend Gina who just bought her first place, and two for the Priscilla Midnight Madness Challenge.

I used pretty in pink as my base, then layered it with Pink pirouette. I ran it thru the cb. I used certain celery as my mat, and stamped the reeds from Inspired by Nature in celery.

I used my markers for the flowers, regal rose, rose red and certain celery. I stamped my butterfly and bee in black, then used glitter gel pen to give it some shine. I added barely banana to the bee.

Gina really likes pink, so I wanted to reflect that in the card that I made. I also hand painted a birdhouse just for her. Seeing that she is a homeowner, she should have some of the same perks as a home owner, watching pretty birds in the backyard. I hope she likes it.

occsc12

I made this for the Our Creative Corner challenge to make a black and white textured card.

I also made this because I just found out that my brother's stepson, his wife and child were in a very bad accident. His wife who is very much pregnant is in the hospital.

I know they are faithful people, so I thought this card would bring comfort in their time of need. Their car was completely destroyed along with the new car seat and their childs car seat. They were very lucky. God was definitely on their side.

tfl

MMSC56

I made this card for Pricilla's Midnight madness challenge. I had no idea what colors I would use, so I just opened the drawer and started perusing over my colors.

I chose mellow moss as my base, with accents of pale plum and perfect plum mats.

I found some great dp that had those colors in them, so I used that to dress the card up a bit.

Out of the same packet, there was another floral and the reverse was this dark plaid which I loved, so I turned it to show the plaid.

My butterfly is thump-n-rolled in pale plum and perfect plum.

I had this ribbon that just seemed to go perfectly so I added that, then added the square jewels to the corner.

Hope you like it.

MojoMonday139

I was in a crafting mood today, so I ventured over to the MojoMonday page and did challenge 139, found here: http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

I used certain celery as my base, then matted my dp using Pink Pirouette. my back dsp is Bella Blue for SU, and the other dp is from SU's Valentines package from a few years back.

I added certain celery ribbon and pretty in pink ribbon.

I matted my image and the decorative piece with certain celery. the decorative piece is Kraft and I used a white gel pen and did faux stitching. I ran a piece of white thru my cb using SU dots ef.

My butterfly is done in pretty in pink and regal rose, cut out and popped up using foam dots.

tfl

mmsc54

I made this for Pricilla's midnight madness challenge, found here: http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/

I used the blue from the SU "in colors" from last year. Then I used SU dsp. I added blue ribbon that I found at Michaels in the $1.00 bin. I added primas to the bottom with big pink brads in the center.

The top primas are pink with white brads in the center.

The main image is pixie pink and pink passion markers, cut out and popped up. I layered it on certain celery, ran it thru the cb using SU's dots embossing folder, then matted it with pink passion.

tfl

cc271

Hello again.

Today, against better judgement, I made a card for the color challenge over at splitcoast stampers. They wanted dusty durango, so saffron and rich razzleberry to be used. This is the card I created for the challenge.

The reason I say it was against better judgement is because when I went walking today, holding the umbrella of all things just aggrivated my arms to no end. My left arm has always been the better of the two, but even this arm, holding it in a still position holding an umbrella for 15-20 or 30 minutes at a time, took it's toll on me.

I know alot people think I complain too much about it, but you know, you have 4 surgeries between two arms and tell me how you feel. They hurt every day, some days are worse than others. I am still waiting for my fifth surgery, hopefully the last. It is not a picnic. That is for sure.

But recently events have happened to me, where I am trying not to focus on the pain so much, and focus on things that will better my life, my health. I have been walking for 4 weeks now, and it really has boosted my self-esteem. I really hit bottom, and now, I am picking myself up and moving forward. I'm finally out of the depression that has plagued me for so many years. Bad marraige and bad health just made it unbearable. But the marriage is over (good for me), and my health is better, nearing the end of this long road of endless surgeries of my arms, so now, positive thinking.

Life is too short not to live it to it's fullest. I realize it now. It has been a rocky road over the past several years, but now my life is finally turning a corner, and only better and brighter things I see for my future.

Have a wonderful day, and God Bless

MMSC53

I made this for Precilla's midnight madness challenge.

I used kiwi kiss as my base, then layered it with pretty-in-pink. I used SU dsp.

I stamped my inspired by nature image using certain celery for the reeds, then old olive, pretty in pink and regal rose for theflowers.

I had this pretty ribbon that looked like regal rose, so I cut it and mounted it on pretty in pink.

The butterflies are regal rose and attached with glue dots.

tfl

New life

As I wonder down yander way,

I look down and say hey,

Life is good

Life is grand

Let's live our lives hand in hand.

Little poem came to my head so thought I'd share it.

Anyway, I've been given a new lease on life. I had had a tough road over the past few years. I was in a failing marriage, and had 4 surgeries to date between both of my arms. I hit the lowest of the lows. I thought I would never get out. But the one thing that kept me going was "faith". I always had faith in God. Even though I got away from going to church, and even reading the bible, I still believed in God, and when it really got bad, I always looked to Him.

Now, my life seems to be heading in the right direction. I'm finally out of that slump. I am starting to feel good about myself again. I AM living life again! I'm not hiding under the rock of circumstances that wanted to keep me down. I am living, and I am loving life again! What a joy!

I started exercising. I do a 4 mile walk every day. I just bought new sneakers too because the other ones are shot. I'm feeling good about myself, and I am truly happy in my heart. I haven't been happy like this in probably 14 years! Granted, you have the happiness of God in your heart, but I feel happiness for me. I finally feel good about myself. I'm tackling the weight that has been holding me back for years. When I got sick, I gained 50 pounds from the medication. I AM going to loose that weight. I have goals set for myself now. Wow, goals! Who would have thought that goals could bring so much joy to someone.

When talking to my lawyer yesterday, he said to me " you've been through a lot, you are very lucky to come out from the bad days, because so many of his clients never do". 14 years in a bad marriage, 4 years of living with pain from my arms, 4 surgeries, that is a lot. Thank God, I have God! I never would have made it without HIM!

So now, as I walk my 4 miles a day, I dream of brighter days, and hope for my future. I am dreaming again, and planning for wonderful things. I think I might go back to school again, this time for either phsychology, or sociology, or both! Life is good! I know I have only brighter days ahead of me.

I made this card for mothers day for my mom. I got a chance to talk to her last night. She is very happy that I am on the right path now. She did say to me, she was surprised at how positive I was during such a bad time. Because when I talk to mom, I laugh, and try to be the happiest I can be for her, cuz she is my mom, and I love her. But she agreed, I have not been dealt very good cards over recent years.

Here is the card I made for her:

I used mellow moss as the base of the card, I used barely banana on the inside and stamped my sentiment and a pretty flower.

I used melon mambo for the mats with barely banana, pink pirouette and white for the design. I used 2006 SU dsp. I used green galore and melon mambo for the hummingbird and cut him out and popped him up using pop dots.

I stamped the flower in black, and colored it using various pinks and green galore, and finished it with a ribbon.

I hope my mom likes her mothers day card.

Have a great day, God bless, and live each moment to the fullest. Life is too short not to appreciate all the beauty it has to offer.

Lester's get well

I am a member of a private club, and I am on the sympathy committee. (I guess they call it that for lack of a better name) Anyway, the president of our club, and a dear sweet man is in the hospital. I'm not sure what the ailment is, but from what I hear, it is pretty serious. He celebrated his 85th birthday last year, and has pretty much been healthy until then. He had a bout of something a while back, had a surgery, and took about 2 months to recover, and now he is back in the hospital with complications I believe. Don't quote me, but I'm pretty sure that is what is happening. Anyway, I think of Lester like a grandfather. He is so sweet, and he will tell you like it is. I really care about him, and hope he gets well soon.

I made his card as part of the splitcoaststampers sketch challenge. I used vanilla as my base then kiwi kiss as my mount. I then took another piece of vanilla and ran it thru the cuttlebug using one of their folders, then split the image the way the sketch asked us to. I then stamped the dragonfly in always artichoke, and added the get well sentiment, some hodgepodge hardware and a ribbon on the bottom. I really hope he likes his card.

thanks for looking.

MMSC45

This is for the midnight madness challenge found here:http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/

I used white as my base, then black as my mat. I measured my bg with a ruler so it would be even. I used rose red for my flowers from Pretty Amazing, cut the and popped them up using glue dots. The hummingbird, I stamped on a previously stamped image that I didn't like, then I cut it and popped it up. I added brads because the corners needed something.

Here is the card:

This card I made for splitcoaststampers sketch challenge.

I used white as my base, black as my mat, then stamped my flowers using bravo burgandy, rose red and old olive. The bg is stamped in mellow moss.

Creating again!

Hello fellowette bloggers! I decided to actually blog about my latest creation today. Splitcoast stampers had a challenge, "technique lovers challenge" I never do these, but I thought I would peek to see what it was. It was a challenge to make your own designer paper. So, I decided to use a technique I made up maybe 2 yrs ago or so. It is a combination of elements from like three different techniques.

I call the technique, SMOOSH, SQUISH AND SPRAY:
As you can see from my card, there seems to be a lot of movement on my background panel, that is due to the technique.

1. take a baggie, cut it along the side and along the bottom. I feel ziplocks work best.
2. open the baggie like a book
3. find coordinating colors, I used regal rose, and pink passion (stamp pads only)
4. on one side stamped the regal rose using your stamp pad, cover the side of the baggie
5. then stamp pink passion on the other side using the stamp pad, cover this side of the baggie
6. close the baggie, smoosh the colors together using a bone folder, go over the entire portion of the baggie with the bone folder
7. open the baggie, take a spritzer full of water, and a few drops of red food coloring, shake to mix, then spray one spray on each side of the baggie
8. close quickly then open again
9. take watercolor paper or glossy photo paper. Use glossy side out 2 pieces, otherwise fold your watercolor paper in half.
10. place on inside of baggie
11. close baggie, use bone folder to squish all the colors together, do for several seconds until desired effect is achieved.
12. open baggie, take paper out, if you use watercolor paper, you may want to take a heat gun to dry the paper, it will be soggy.
13. go rinse out your baggie for next use
14. use your new smoosh, squish, and sprayed image for your project.

Too long

It has been way too long since I have blogged last. I try not to stay on the computer too much because it just irritates my arms. I have another doctor appointment in about 2 weeks. I'm wondering if he will suggest another surgery. The PA, gave the inclination that doctor would suggest that due to the deterioration of the muscles in my arm. He suggested that the doctor might want to get rid of the dead tissue. I'm sure I have a lot since this is a chronic issue I've had for 4 yrs. This next surgery will hopefully be the last one, as it was always the secondary issue to the insides of my elbows. 4 years is way too long to deal with this.

But anyway, I'm not hear to blah, blah, blah about my arms all day, too sick of it. I'm here to showcase my latest works. I was invited to participate in a midnight madness challenge, and this is the card I made for it

I used melon mambo as my base, then added bella blue dsp, my mat is lavendar lace and my image is stamped in rich razzleberry. tfl and all your nice comments.