Running in Circles

You ever have those days or weeks you feel like all you are doing is running in circles?
This has surely been one of my worst ones in history I swear lol. I don't know if I am coming or going or standing in place! Dh's appointments with setup for VA benefits we thought was going to be a simple procedure---NOT! They need stuff done that he already had done by our family dr and getting to the new med center where the family dr moved to is like going thru Ft. Knox! Getting an actual PERSON on the phone heaven forbid! I am so sick of phone tag and "i have no idea" answers! I finally hit the roof this morning and told them if they hang on or transfer me again I am calling the admin! THEY finally heard that part haha and then they argued with me that his recs did not show those tests and I KNOW they are there..I WAS there when they were done and lo and behold I got a "Oh yes, they would be in his old charts and we don't have room for them here. They are in a back closet someplace. We keep all our stuff on electronic files now." At that point I HOLLERED and lost my temper which I rarely do --the final result they went and found the file quite quickly and I am getting what we need faxed as I write. BUT why they had to make it more difficult than it needed to be is beyond me! VA has been lovely overall but they call every few hours with something new they want to change or reschedule and I am like FINE just do it as we have a full day trip there on Friday and with the price of gas we sure as heck do not want another long trip if we can help it. I am grateful VA got it all going as fast as they have as his insurance expires tonite so that part at least is a good thing.
Ok enuf of my ramble lol thanks for listening!

New Layouts and upcoming

New Layouts done yay! See I was actually working all day lol. Finished the first one of our Miss Wiggle Butt and posted the other two heritage ones I did last week.

I love this kit by Lianne Carper called Sucker for Love and it just seemd to fit our Miss Scarlett!

Kit is over at 3 Scrapateers --http://shop.3scrapateers.com/shopexd.asp?id=926

Dh's Parents on their Family Homestead that still stands out by the historical covered bridge bearing our last name!

Used Kimberly Stewart for her Cottage Garden Remix and and Cottage Garden Alpha from 3Scrapateers you can find it them here:

http://shop.3scrapateers.com/shopexd.asp?id=1853 and

http://shop.3scrapateers.com/shopexd.asp?id=1852

And used

Christine Nash's simply stitches scribbles for the daisy on the tag and simply stitches taupe for the stitching on the papers ( all colorized) -Originally got them from Digitals but not sure where she has them right now. Will update.

Dh's Great great great uncle or maybe there is one more great in there lol and his children and his mother. We have no photos of his father other than of the headstone at the cemetary that I know of right now.Was neat to find these photos on a distant cousins site of this part of the family for his and our son's records.

Used Teri Hanson's Kings Fancy and Queen's Fancy from Divine Digital which you can find here

http://divinedigital.com/divineboutique/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=316 and http://divinedigital.com/divineboutique/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=15&products_id=36

and Kim Stewart's Family Silver Charms from 3 Scrapateers which you can find here

http://shop.3scrapateers.com/shopexd.asp?id=1868

Boy am I now pooped lol. Thanks for taking a look..and stay tuned as will be offering my first blog freebie sometime later in the week to use with the new tutorial I wrote for Digitals this week. :-)

Remembering

Over the past few months I have been slowly gathering and finding alot of info on ancestors from both my side and dh's side of the families. What started out as a quest for more info on my birth mom's side as I had a booklet done back in the early 80s I believe it was that traced one side back to the 1700s turned out to be more than I imagined! I not only got that info put into format in Legacy but managed to find similar info on my dad's side altho its sketchy as we just never got the info when we should have! But its a whole other ball game on dh's side and I am the recipient of a vast amount of info and more recently memorbilia going back to the civil war and some even to the revolutionary war! It's so amazing to find some of it and the resources out there I have found are countless! It's made me want to make sure to leave some of my own memories around for my munchkins to giggle at or wonder at when they have grands of their own.I came across the following which I did post at Untamed as well but thought maybe some of you may get a kick out of it..

so REMEMBER WHEN ?

Close your eyes, and go back...
Back before the Internet or the MAC,
Before semi-automatics and crack.
Before chronic and indo;
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo.
Way back... I'm talking about hide and go seek at dusk.
Sitting on the porch, hot bread and butter.
Eating a 'super-dooper sandwich' (Dagwood)
Red light! Green light! Chocolate milk. Lunch tickets.
Penny candy in a brown paper bag.
Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch, Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, y'all! Mother, May I? Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds, Jawbreakers, blowpops, MaryJanes.
Running through the sprinkler! I can't get wet! All right; well, don't wet my hair.
The smell of the sun and licking salty lips...
Wait... Catching lightening bugs in a jar.
Playing sling shot and Red Rover.
When around the corner seemed far away, And going downtown seemed like going somewhere. Bedtime, Climbing trees, a million mosquito bites and sticky fingers,
Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Sitting on the curb.
Jumping down the steps, Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Being tickled to death;
Running till you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt!
Being tired from playing...Remember that?

I ain't finished just yet...
What about the girl that had the big bubbly hand writing?
Licking the beaters when your mother made a cake. Didn't that feel good?
Just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!

Remember when...
When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds and PF Flyers), and the only time you wore them at school, was for "gym."
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When nobody owned a purebred dog.
When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a huge bonus.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.
When your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done, everyday.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, for free, every time.
You didn't pay for air...or drinking water. And, you got trading stamps to boot!
When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
The price of gas was affordable.
Milk came in jars with real bottle caps.
When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed... and did!
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Disapproval of our parents and grandparents was a much bigger threat!

If you can remember any of these things, I smile with you. Talk of these things to your children. Don't let these memories fade away completely. Just talking to your children, friends, or loved ones, and trading memories is a joy. Life goes quickly. Seize it! And be thankful!

I have no idea who wrote the above but it is a great piece of " Food for Thought!".
On that note I am off to finish up some work and hopefully post the heritage layouts I got done.
Have a wonderful week.
J

BUSY BUSY

I got alot of things done the past few weeks working off and on when I felt up to it and FINALLY have them uploaded to the stores! So without further ado here ya go

COMING TO DIVINE DIGITAL:

METALLICAS a divine exclusive!

NEW AT DIGITALS AND 3SCRAPATEERSSun Fun Alpha and Sun Fun Scrapkit

So what is up with me wellllllllll...............

Right about now I am seeing RED can you tell! Things for my family are never dull that's for sure! My dear sister's grandson has gone thru a horrid trauma this week stemming from his mother! It seems this dear little boy has been beaten in the head and kicked not ONLY by HIS MOTHER but her parents as well! His daddy just married my niece and had him alternating weeks but now he and my niece have him full time as DSS stepped in as they saw what had happened and have issued restraining orders on the mother and her parents and criminal charges will surely follow. NO CHILD should ever have to go thru what this adoreable little guy has been apparently suffering for some time. I cannot go into details here for obvious reasons but my sister, his daddy and my niece (his stepmom) are beside themselves. We are all thankful it's been found out and does explain why he was having headaches so much of late and why he hated getting his hair washed when they had him as he said it hurt to wash his hair. Now anyone with kids know that children go thru stages but this was different and he suffered what the trauma therapist says is a meltdown/panic attack type thing several times last weekend ..bad enough that the pediatrican saw it himself and immediately knew there was a definite problem!
The little guy is safe and secure with his daddy and stepmom and his paternal grandparents and my sister now but please ...whatever higher power you believe in say a few prayers to keep this precious child safe! I WILL NEVER understand any parent beating on their kids let alone a little one of just 5. Frankly I hope they lock up his mom and throw away the key that is how angry I am and it takes alot to get me that mad trust me! I am usually my true Libra self and like harmony but this is just so out there it made me physically ill just hearing the details from the dr's reports and therapist report. My niece is a wonderful stepmom and loves this child and his daddy is an awsome young man who is beating himself up mentally for not seeing it and protecting him ..HE had no way to know until the lil guy just apparently could not take it anymore.

On another ave my son also has filed for full custody of his oldest daughter as we have found some things about her mother with drugs, alcohol and police warrants that are no good! So we have 2 lives we are battling emotionally to keep kids safe. WHY do parents who do not care about their little ones insist on keeping them only to abuse them in one way or another? I JUST don't get it! There are loving people in this world who would be happy for a child and would not mistreat them!
SOrry am way up on my soapbox (cane and all lol) but can't help myself so forgive my rambling.
Thanks for putting up with me :-)

New Kits and Alphas

Have some new things up today at Digitals! This was so large I split it into two kits and a set of 3 alphabets. You can find them by clicking on the links below:
Summer Vacation 1
Summer Vacation 2
Summer Vacation Alphabets

Better

Well had a horrid day all day Thursday and took more meds than I normally do but am feeling alot better at the moment and managed to get another heritage layout done :-). I am determined to scrap all these old photos even if it takes me forever lol.

This is dh's grandparents on the side of their family home where there also stands one of the few remaining covered bridges in PA and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hopefully my next layout is of the bridge itself and the bit of history we have on it.

I used Kim Stewart's Cottage Garden Remix Kit and matching Cottage Garden Alpha from 3 Scrapateers. You can find them here:

http://www.3scrapateers.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=2150 and

http://www.3scrapateers.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=64&products_id=2151

Love the papers in particular she has in this. The alpha is a such a nice size to work with as well and love the sheen to it.

Rearing it's ugly head

It seems as tho my Lupus is trying to rear it's ugly head lately. I now have a red spotty blood blister dotty rash all over my trunk ..it's not itchy but just looks crappy and I am none too happy! I keep getting the dang white raised itchy dots on the top of my feet and ankles and now they show up from time to time on my legs.THEY drive me crazy itching but then are gone just as fast as they started and nobody can tell me what they are or why it happens! It does seem to go hand in hand with the swelling but dangggggggggggg.....
I have had alot more stress of late so that can trigger it I kknow and the sun in the summer is a no no for me much as I love it. My fatigue level is at a high and my RLS is gone haywire as well let alone the RA and OA and DDD and DJD. THis is a time of my life I SHOULD be enjoying it and instead I feel like I am 90 so many days. It goes in spurts and was feeling so good there for a few weeks but with roy's mini stroke, missy's continuous trips to the hospital, worry over one grandchild in particular and money issues I don't think my body has had time to destress at all. I KNOW I am sposed to lay down and nap when I feel the least bit tired---that my body will tell me what I need to do according to my wonderful rheumatoidologist but just how does one make the rest of one's family and friends understand that we are not being mean and selfish..its what we have to do to make it thru just the day? SOrry guess I am having the poor me's tonite as am just feeling so totally fatigued and drained. Forgive the old lady in me lol just needed to yabber it out I spose.
Think I just need to hit my bed and hopefully things will be better in the morning.

Trying it out

Ok I see the little videos on some blogs so figured hey will try it out so check out my new favorite by Josh Turner in the bar on the right------>
His voice is "to die for" lol but the video itself is wonderful I think.

Am working on a few more layouts and have some kits to go up as soon as I get the info sheets done. Ya know I really hate making previews as they really don't show up a kit! This new one coming up called Summer Vacation got me carried away so much I had to split it up into two kits and a 3 alpha set...go figure. Hopefully ya all will like it when it comes up.

Have a great week. My daughter is having some surgery tomorrow so keep her in your thoughts please.

J

New layouts done

Heres three of the new layouts I got finished of Miss Wiggle Butt :-)


Used my new kit at 3Scrapateers called Fly Away for this.



Used Ronnie McCray's Laundry Wafting for this with an adoreable bubblebath charm by one of my best buddies Firewolf.



Used my new kit at 3Scrapateers called Fly Away for this.

WOW

Wow I just realized how far behind I am on blogging! I am not sure where time goes but I swear someone eats all mine lol.

I got more layouts done yay! AND almost finished with several kits hooray again!

On the day to day things let's see whats up here---
Not alot really..the heat was killing me literally! I cannot take heat or cold due to Lupus and it was 98 and there abouts for almost a week and I could not move let alone think! It finally broke with some nasty storms the other nite and has been so comfy for the past two days I got into a creative mode at last! I dug out my OLD OLD digital camera--you know the kind ..1 megapixel at 600x600 shots but better than nothing one-- and took some so so pics of granddaughter Emily and her bestest friend Kaylie whose grandparents live across from me! They got it into their heads to build a nest(I HAVE NO CLUE LOL) so got a box and tupperware and water and dug up dirt,mulch and grass out in back. Have so few pics of them together so figured hey it was worth a try and here's the results! Not the best but hey I tried lol