Away For a While

You've probably noticed that I've not written a post in quite some time. I received very bad news about my father the week prior to halloween... he's terminally ill and doesn't have much longer to live. My parents live about 4 hours from all of us (being my sibs and I). This is a very bad situation and we decided that it made sense to relocate him to a nursing care center closer to us. This process took almost a full week and my life has been a whirlwind ever since.

Please excuse my absense while I spend this time with my Dad and the rest of the family and support my Mom through it all. I never really thought about how this would impact me when the time came. My Dad has always been someone I looked up to, someone with strength and a very big heart. Someone who worked hard for his family and gave us values and honesty and all the things we needed - even if we didn't realize it. I'm not ready to say goodbye and it's more difficult than I ever could of imagined. I will spend every available moment with him, it's the least I can do after all he's done for me.

I wish everyone well this Holiday Season.

Thanks for reading.

One year! Where has time gone!

One year ago today I became a 'blogger'. While my focus changed from arts to genealogy and I now have two blogs, I am so glad that I did this!

When I started this blog I was filled with fear of the unknown. I had just begun doing some art and really wanted a place to share. During the past year I have met so many wonderful friends doing this and I appreciate everyone who stops by to read my ramblings. Thanks for making it a great year!!!

Outta the Mouths of Babes

Just a quick short tale that I had to share this morning -

We're on the road - making yet another trip to the high school... on a windy little road, full of trees and large corn fields on either side.

Up ahead I see something in the middle of the road..... is that a small deer? a dog? a large cat?

As we get closer I can see it's face - it's a raccoon... poor thing

From the back seat I hear a voice - "Mommy, why is that raccoon sleeping in the middle of the road?"

hmmmm.. what to say? "I guess he's tired honey" this is where mommy quickly changes the subject.

Fast forward to 4:00pm - same road, same kid in the car.

"How come that raccoon is sleeping there all day?"

Running R A G G E D

So the battery died in the camera, I cannot get the other pics of the tie dye experiment up tonight but let me share my week with you... I know, I know it's only Wednesday!!!!!

Ahhhh Spirit week at the local high school. Who knew it could be so much work for me.. the "hands off" mom? They are running me ragged with this crap and I'm losing my mind!!!!! :-)

I need to be at the school at 8:00 on Monday, oh and I'll need you to pick me up when I call (this ended up being 9:00pm!)

gotta go to Walmart - we need more supplies for hall decorating

Mom did you make my hair appointment?

Mom, Where's the special bra for my dress?

back to walmart - more supplies - this time it's the tie dye, tee shirts, shirts and leggings for a powder puff football game.. shirts for decorating with special green paint so sister and friend can wear to watch the game... seriously??

Mom, gotta go here, gotta go there, need this, need that,

Mom, when can i get new glasses?

Mom, where are my jeans? Not those! the skinny leg ones... no the dark skinny leg ones...

Mom, whens the next time you're going to the store?

Mom, someone stepped on my new glasses? rrrrrrrrgh

Mom, did you do laundry today?
(please realize, with seven people in the house how could I not? It would take over very quickly - but easily 15 loads a week is just overwhelming!)

Mom, why didn't you do laundry today?

Mom, pick me up at 4:00 today and this other person needs a ride also

Mom, what's for dinner? "bleh" (don't you love when that's the response you get?)

Me - please make your bed and at least put the CLEAN clothes away on the floor!

Mom, where are the cookies?

Mom, didn't you go to the store today?
why didn't you get ... donuts, icecream, soda, cookies, waffles, syrup.....

Mom, I need a check for this.. oh, and one for that...

Mom, you're driving to volleyball practice today - 5:15

Mom, where are my shoes?

Mom, can you drive me to school (this means loading up two tots at 7:30am) NO!

Mom, can my friend come over? can they have dinner here? can they spend the night? can I spend the night at her house? it's a school night - NO!

Me (again - two days later) - please, please put the clothes away in your room!

and my absolute favorite....

"UGggggg, there's NO food in this house!" rolling of the eyes, slamming of the pantry door,
gee, I wonder where it all went???

Tie Dye... uggggh

So the kids have spirit week at school, and today's supposed to be a day off... meaning a day "on" for Mom. But the flurry of activity has got me just wore out and my frustration is building!!!!!

Tomorrow is 'Decade Day'...

"We want to wear tie dye shirts!"
"Fine"

off to the store, t-shirts and tie dye kit purchased.... two hours later......

"Did you read the directions?"
"Yes Mom"
"Dinner is almost on the table, please get your shirts dyed and wrapped" (they have to sit for 6-8 hours)


"We got this Mom" typical teenagers - moms don't know ANYTHING!

This morning I had to drop them at school, the halls must be decorated ya know. Two feverish toddlers in tow I made the drive, and returned home to unwrap the shirts and do the next step..... but somehow I don't think they're done correctly...

are you sure you read the directions??????? isn't the color supposed to be put down INTO the crevices of the rolled up shirt???

make a quick phone call....

"Where are the rest of the shirts? You guys didn't color these right - they're terrible.... they look like a shirt you WORE while tie dye is being done!"

"Are you kidding me Mom? We need those for tomorrow!"
"Why didn't you follow the directions?"

so, off to the garage I go, with another youngster - "We must tie dye two more shirts!" Mom is always "the fixer" in our house...

p.s. you should always wear gloves..... it's going to be days before my nails don't appear to have black crammed under them... yuck!

I'll be back later with the new shirts... hopefully they'll be "good enough" :-)

Welcome Fall

I took a little trip to a near-by town last weekend and took a few photos along the way. The town was still holding their summer street fair which they hold on the first weekend of every month, but there were some strange characters hanging around town who whispered of a different time of year....

some were "cute"

others not so much....

The sky was really blue with those big clouds around and the air was a bit breezy and brisk with the promise of fall... I just LOVE this time of year!

An Award! Who makes you smile?

I received this award from my beautiful wonderful friend June who I've met through blogging, art and genealogy. June is such a sweet lady for thinking of me! You are a wonderful person! June has several art blogs which you can visit here, here and here. They're very much worth a visit!

As always, there are rules for this award; you must list 5 things about yourself and pass along to 5 other bloggers who have made you smile.

First, my five things:

1: 1st and most importantly I am "mommy" to my 5 children.

2: I am married to an wonderful husband
3: I love crafting and I love genealogy even more. Two very time consuming hobbies that I don't seem to have enough time to dedicate to.
4: My favorite time of year is now, when the weather is turning cooler
5: I am somewhat of a packrat but trying to get organized

Now, to pass this along to other bloggers who make me smile:

The Kathryn Wheel - lovely works of art and a great lady to go along with it

a day in the life of a crazed mom - so many things to cover with your kids - she sure has a wonderful and fun way of sharing her experiences

Please don't eat sushi! - a grown man sharing HUNDREDS of hysterical letters from his mother - this is a must read and always makes me smile!

Ilka's Attic - beautiful photography and a mixed media artist

Long time no see..

My children have been out of school for a little over 10 weeks, and it certainly shows on my blog. I hope to get back to crafting and blogging very soon, right after all the school supplies are purchased, clothing is bought, athletic try-outs, practices and the actual first day of school. Summer will be coming to a close and for me this brings mixed emotions. On one hand I've got them all here everyday, fighting, screaming, making plans and dirtying up the house. On the other hand they're somewhat helpful - and I use this term lightly - in keeping up with the younger of the bunch and slightly helpful when it comes to the housework. Some days are fun, with laughter, hanging out together and working together - others.... I could just scream!

So, if you've visited my blog looking for some artsy tidbit or words of wisdom, I'm very sorry to disappoint, but please don't give up on me yet!

Blog Candy Alert!

I know I know, I've not posted ANYTHING for quite some time but I had to pass this along..

Kristen over at Kristen's Kards and Klay is giving away some great blog candy - pictured here - swing on over to her blog and check it out!

A bit of Blog Love

One of my wonderful Genealogy Blog friends, Gini over at Ginisology has awarded Cindy's Place with the One Lovely Blog Award. I am touched that she thought of me.


This award has made its rounds for sometime and I am at a loss for 7 other bloggers to award it to, so I will proudly post it here.

Here's the other

This is the other card I made for the Military History swap. I wanted to do something about WWII and since my Grandfather was a gunner in one of these planes I wanted to highlight the flying fortress and the day of his first mission (background news).

Thanks for stopping by!

Where has the time gone?

It's unbelievable that it's almost May already! I see that I've had a bit of traffic lately, and I'm not sure why folks are stopping by, but seeing that I've not posted in more than a month they probably won't be back :-)

My art is still a suffering casualty of my other obsession and it shows because my "other" blog is getting many more updates - although I've been in a bit of a slump with that lately as well but getting some leads!

I wanted to share today this card that I made I made some time ago for a Military History swap in my Yahoo ATC group (ATC_Connection). Hopefully with summer right around the corner, and coming faster all the time, the running can stop and I will again be able to enjoy making some cards with my wonderful friends.

Susan is giving it away - You GOTTA get this book!!!

My artistic side has suffered lately because I've been so wrapped up in the genealogy work that I'm doing. But, I need to let you know about this book.... AND SUSAN IS GIVING ONE AWAY!!!!

This book is for me one of those creative escapes that I can return to again and again. When my creativity is suffering, I can visit it's pages and I feel like I could stay up all night making such offerings that she's got here. It's a great collection from some fantastic mixed media artists and she's done a wonderful job taking you on a personal tour of their work. You just gotta check this book out!

If you'd like to enter Susan's giveaway, visit her post here and follow her instructions. If you don't win, all is not lost! You can get your own copy at Amazon here. Visit the Amazon link and take a look at a few of the beautiful pages in this book - you don't want to miss it!

Ahhhhh... Fat Tuesday!

And a couple more....

I'm still using up those peeled paper backgrounds that I made last month. Only two left! The backgrounds were fun to make, easy and had endless possibilities!

Time for a cuppa tea?

Having a cuppa tea with my friends June & Tabby.... have a great day ladies!

The glue was just calling me!

Took a break from reading up on all the ancestors out there and made a few cards in the last couple days. It was pretty slow going (yes, again) but once I pulled the images out and printed some of them, the cards came together fairly quickly.. as always, some are better than others, but here they are anyway!

Thanks to June for the image on the left (post of Jan 14). Get some freebie images for your art at her blog, June's Art Freebies. She posts so many great images.

More ATCs coming tomorrow.

A little more creativity peeking through

Feeling just a bit better about these two cards than the previous two. Little Miss Creativity is peeking through a bit more. One of the backgrounds is the peeled paper technique, the other is one that a friend sent me with a trade.

Ahhh, 2 cre8 something.... ANYTHING!

Most of my friends know that my creative side left me a while back. Although I don't think it left altogether - just took a leave of absense for a bit. I'm not one of those 'artsy' people who can just whip something up anytime anywhere out of nothing. But rather a dabbler who needs clear instructions and then, once I get going can actually make somthing.

A long time ago I realized that this isn't something that comes easy to me - I love looking at other's work, especially the mixed media artists who are out there, and I buy books and scour the web for items of interest to use in my art. I've even got a room full of 'stuff' to use. But, I think that I'm a bit too left brained (is that the right side? :-) detail oriented, tend to want organization, cannot visualize something without actually seeing it... those things that us less creative types suffer with! Along with that, I've been working a lot on the genealogy lately and with that comes long hours scouring records, looking up stuff, entering data, re-reading information and documents.. all stuff that probably sounds pretty boring to you "born creative" types.

At any rate, my dear friend Tabby turned me on to a blog recently, called 2cre8art. This isn't just another challenge site, but more like a "do this... and oh by the way, here's how". What a wonderful idea! For those of us who struggle when we get away from our glue sticks for any period of time, this is just the site for me. So, their first monthly "do this" was a peeled paper technique. From the moment I sat down and started ripping the paper pages, I felt better. After I glued all those bits down I felt recharged then I cut out my ATCs and caput... nothing!!!! Usually a cool background will trigger something in me that gets me rolling through all the "bits and bobs" as June calls them. Nope, not this time.

But, I think I know the problem.. I cleaned up the place! Nothing is out, in front of me inspiring me to make something. Screaming "glue me to something!". So, while I've been busily cleaning up the place, thinking that a clear area will help me - not so! So to all you messy ladies out there who confessed to having the sloppiest room in the house - YOU GO GIRL!!! I know you're making beautiful things and you know you love your mess! How can one use what they have when it's all put away in those tidy little boxes? From now on, I'll pick up what I have to, try not to add to the piles and leave some things out on my table to scream at me!

Back to my 2cre8art cards.. they're not lovely, but they're a start. I don't think I made the deadline for the blog but that's okay, at least I made something... ANYTHING!!!

More Awards????

My dear sweet friend June at June's Arty Retreat has yet again bestowed awards to me - this time there's two of them. It's actually no surprise to me that June received them, she gives away free images everyday at her Art Freebies site.

The first is the Treasured Friends Award, to be passed along to other "Treasured Friends" in the blogging community.



For Treasured Friends that I've met through blogging:
Tabby at Crooked Heart Art
Greta at Greta's Genealogy Blog
Judy at Genealogy Traces
Susan at Ilka's Attic

The second is the This Blog has a Heart award, also to be passed along to other bloggers who "have heart".



For Blogs that "Have Heart" - to me personally, this means bloggers who go above and beyond to share their insight, knowledge and wisdom or other pieces of themselves with the rest of us.
Karen at The Graphics Fairy
Myrt at Dear Myrtle's Genealogy Blog
Miriam at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors
Lisa at Small-leaved Shamrock

I currently belong to two different blogging communities, both of which have a wonderful group of caring, sweet people. Thanks to everyone for welcoming me, befriending me and sharing of your time and talent!

Kreativ Award update - (see also previous post below)

This award looks like it's really making it's way around so I apologize if any of my "Nominees" have already received it....

Susan Tuttle - her site Ilkas Attic - Susan is so supportive of artists and she has some beautiful photography on her site.

Tabby - her site Crooked Heart Art - Tabby is a wonderful friend and has inspired me to try new things.

Kris - her site Nostalgic Collage - One of the best places to get some inspiration!

Jasia - Creative Gene - Jasia is great at inspiring us to write about our family history with an occasional digital scrapbooking page - a bit off the beaten path from "artsy" but very creative I love this blogger!

Award

To my good friend June - Thank you SO much!

June recently mentioned me for this award at her blog Art Freebies (you really must check out this blog!). She said...

"I would like to pass this award on to the following wonderful people who are first and most importantly ...CARING bloggers who take time to comment on others work. Also they have fabulous blogs with excellent artwork. Thanks to these few lovely blogging friends. I know there are many more i woud like to pass it on to and some i have passed on other awards but today is my special tribute to these ladies...."

Well, I'm not sure about the "excellent artwork" thing :-) but I certainly do love surfing around to others blogs and looking at their wonderful work - see more of June's art at her Arty Retreat blog. She makes amazing & beautiful stuff.

So, I'm to pass this along to 6 other caring and creative bloggers, which I will do shortly.

Thanks again June!

Chance of FLURRIES???

I don't mind the snow... actually I really enjoy seeing the white stuff coming down in my yard. This winter, we've not had any just yet and so today it continued... the call for "flurries" by our weather man. Flurries? you mean inches in just a couple hours? When did they change the terminology?

I'm not complaining but it would be nice to actually know that it's coming!