Again - it's been quite a while since i've spent time here. 

Turns out a lot of my time has been spent working on making cards - the past cupla years i've been growing a skill set in card making.  2 years ago i did Christmas the cards for my own use, and have pretty much made all the Anniversary, Congrats, Sympathy, Graduation, Thanksgiving, Wedding, Engagement, Mother/Fathers Day cards I've needed since.  Last year i added another 120 cards for the 2 offices I support, using that as a way to keep occupied in the hotel rooms I was staying in for a week to 10 days at a time while assisting sites in the enterprise with software implementation.  I had a whole separate rolling bag with nothing but my Craft/Card Supplies.  The housekeeping staff got a real kick out of it - and I was even questioned about the cards by the front desk at one hotel. 

Over the past cupla years I've accumulated quite the collection of dies, stamps, stickers, Peel-offs, and papers and cardstock, and am working on the markers - and I'm not too bad at all this! I'll probably never make money at it - but my efforts seem to make everyone who sees them happy - so i'm banking on that for our military!  

Late last year i discovered Operation Write Home, which is a perfect fit for me!  I wish i'd found them sooner!   I get to create cards - lots of them - and them mail them off to get shipped out to deployed military groups.  My efforts directly benefit military members, and their families!  Regretfully, with the exception of a really cool Wedding Card i made for my daughter last spring, I've not taken pictures of any of them!  I shipped off a box of 59 cards to OWH a cupla weeks ago containing some of my best work ever, and took not a single picture.  

Butterflies - Birthday for teen maybe	Male oriented
I love window cards!  This is a Happy Birthday ,,,,	with Love - and Flowers!
Another male oriented Birthday card	Classy maybe - I Love You.
I Miss You - Home is where the heart is type quote. These are my favorite kind of cards to make, mayhaps because i spent time overseas while in the military, and understand what it's like.	Inside of the card. I leave plenty of space on the inside of all my cards for the military member to write notes - blank area and a lined area, with some kind of accent, and occasionally a border.
Generic Best Wishes - longer shelf life...	Operation Write Home is reminding those of us who create cards to start really focusing on Mother's Day, as the cutoff is the end of this month.   So...i will start focusing on Mother's Day... This will give me a chance to use some of the really cool floral stamps I've collected!

An Early 2012 Update...

The sudden and unexpected flurry of activity my blog has gotten got my attention - so i figured i'd go ahead and update something other than some of my newer layouts...

Our 23rd (I think) Anniversary is coming up shortly, and it would seem i have a talent for getting into projects that take lots of time and effort - and money it would seem!  This time it's a project scanning years of photos, slides, and negatives of various sizes for archival purposes - well - semi archival - all of which have been eagerly provided by my parents!
I've actually finished with the 12 boxes of slides - and am working my way through a raft of 'no negatives' black and whites right now...
I've done some of the 35mm negatives, and just last night received my newest toy - an Epson V600 - which will take the nearly 2X2" B/W Safety film negatives - with a homemade jig - and the handful of even larger negatives!!   None of the other 2 scanners (one of which i bought 3 months ago) I've used will take anything that big!
So nearly every day I'm scanning I pick one of the more 'fun' pictures and ship it off to my parents to see what kind of reaction it will bring...
and in between I'm building layouts - ways to highlight those pictures that speak to me. 
They will show up here, one or two at a time - and in books going to everyone for Christmas....

My negatives have vanished.  I've scanned what I could find - and am heartbroken over what is missing!!  I keep hoping one day i'll open a drawer or box and find them all - but i'm not holding my breath!

And every day i thank God that despite all the hardships and economic issues around us, Dan and I have maintained gainful employment, while tolerating radically cut benefits and no payraises.  We've started shifting more attention into putting money aside for our retirement - watching what we had had as it decreased in value, and now fearing that we're going to loose even more if the current administration has it's way! I have a new car, purchased in 2012 - a Toyota Rav 4- and although it cost more than I'd planned on spending, I love it.  We can travel for weekend getaways every so often, and eat out when we choose...but the new car payments may affect that a bit, still waiting to see how that all shakes out.

The girls are not here - one in northern Florida - the other in Alabama.  Both forging their own paths, regardless of my thoughts on the topic.  I guess that's the downside of teaching your kids to think for themselves and make decisions for themselves - they do!  Dan and I are thoroughly convinced that 'empty next syndrome' is a myth perpetuated by the kids that aren't being missed!!!  We're enjoying our privacy!!  Sure, there are times when we miss the girls...but on a daily basis - not so much!  

So there it is -
We're busy - very. 
We're tired - usually. 
We're Happy - incessantly!    

New Kit

i know it's been a long, long time since i've been here...but life has definitely been taking it's toll. i have no other excuse.

i have 2 children living at home now ... or is that again ... i'm not sure. My youngest, who was so blissfully away at school is back home and thankfully working full time, unless she's on vacation visiting her boyfriend in Georgia. My eldest, whom we took in as a refugee, is still here, even though the granddaughter is not. My granddaughter is living back in Tampa with her father, but i'm told will be visiting for Easter.

• I started a diet right before Christmas - as Dan quit smoking. we decided the greater threat to health was my gaining more weight to quit - so diet i try. it's going slow - but that may be a good thing...i've lost only 15 lbs since christmas - not as much as i would have liked - but some. and i've more than i want to own up to to go before i consider quitting smoking...
• i've suffered through having my back cut open several times to remove cysts - and have one more of them to go ...
• i'm getting a permanent fixture put in one ear to counteract the effects of untreated ear infections that have left me hearing impaired in that ear ...
• i'm back into 'hot flash' mode after almost 8 months of nothing - and am ready to call it quits to this whole thing - it's been going on for 18 months now ...
• and after several thousand dollars of co-payments, i am now sporting a bridge and 4 new crowns in my mouth. and now i'm short both back molars on the right side - instead of just the bottom one - with no plan to replace either of them - we just cannot afford the implants ...
• my office decided to send me to Atlanta for 2 weeks for training last month, and i earned my MCAS and MCP certifications. i even aced 2 of the tests!!! That and $4.25 will get me a cup of Coffee at Starbucks!! But it's something I learned and earned on my own, and lets me put a cupla sets of letters after my last name on my signature block - and they cannot be taken away from me!

 and lastly - i finally slowed my life down enough to finish the kit i'd started last year ...

Here it is:

I'm calling this kit "For Eric" for the character of Eric Northman, in the HBO Series TrueBlood, adapted from Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire (also known as Sookie Stackhouse) Series books. Season 2's DVDs should be coming out soon, and Season 3 starts in June I believe.
I have to admit that I didn't read the books until after i'd see the blip at the end of one of the episodes in Season 1 that it was based on.....
and i was hooked!!
i've read most everything Mrs Harris has written, or have it in the audio-que on my IPod- my latest passion.
for anyone who likes a touch of supernatural with their romance - the Southern Vamps will do it for you!

Here are the download links:

http://www.4shared.com/file/251436404/edba8699/FlowerElements.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/251435771/c262f566/OtherElements.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/251430851/ccd620eb/papers.html

NOTE:  Download links to, and the source files for all other downloads at 4shared have been deleted.  It was time to do some housecleaning. 
THANK YOU to everyone who commented on my previous kits!! and i'm looking forward to providing more goodies in 2010!