Ramblings...

Still scrappin' like crazy...

Here is the last of the Hometown line. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some of the other lines soon...

Another one...

Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! New October Afternoon!

So excited that CHA is coming up next week. I just got some of the new stuff being released and here is my first layout with it. Such a fun line!!

Want to see more? Here is another one I just finished! So fun!

Latest project...

So, our dry cleaning business finally has a website. Can you believe that in this day and age (especially with my so-called internet addiction) that we haven't had one until now?? Well, it's taken Chris and I forever-and-a-day to get all of the goods written down. It was kinda difficult because the early history is kinda cloudy in people's memories, but we managed. :)

Check it out if you want:
www.firstcoastcleaners.com

Happy 4th!

Okay. Okay. So, I'm a little late with that.

We had a good holiday, though. How about you? That pic is from the 3rd - the girls had a party at preschool and were told to go all out, so we did. I made them some necklaces, painted their faces, made hairbows... Weren't they cute?? They had a lot of fun at school, too. They had a parade and made flags and shakers. And, of course, overloaded with cupcakes and cookies and stuff like that.

Then, that night, we went to the club with Pa and Lizzie. They were having a BBQ and festival type thing with fireworks at the end of the night. The girls jumped on those blow-up jumpy things and rode ponies and went in the petting zoo. (Well, Delaney did that...Addie was too scared. Delaney developed a BIG love of lambs. BIG.)

They got a little scared of the fireworks because of how loud they were. They were shot off of the golf course and not nearly far enough away from where we were. So, we went inside and watched from the windows with a group of other families with toddlers and babies. They enjoyed that.

Addie's Birthday Party...

Her birthday is the 13th, but we had her party last weekend. She begged us to let her have it at the gymnastics center, so we did. It was a lot of fun - and I LOVED that I didn't have to do ANY of the work. I spent the whole time just taking pics.

Can't believe my girl is FOUR! Unreal. Here she is blowing out the candle on her Lightening McQueen cake...

Delaney's Kissy Face

(Just thought I'd share.)

Meet Herman and Mildred...

(Chris named them) Actually, I'm not convinced that these ducks aren't both females, but I digress....

Anyway, they've been hanging around our house for about a week now. It's strange, really because we don't live on water or anything (although, there are ponds throughout the neighborhood.) And, they're not a bit afraid of us. The kids think it's fantastic to see them so much and it really is. I've been meaning to take some pics of them to scrapbook, but today was my first chance to get out there with the camera. It was nice because it had just rained...so the ducks were in our yard hunting worms. Usually, our driveway has a bunch of them on it after a rainstorm, but not today. Herman and Mildred took care of them for us :)

And, in The Most Exciting News of the Week section - Summer just informed me that we'll be booth neighbors at CHA!! Yeppers! Tinkering Ink is directly across from October Afternoon!!! I am so excited about that! The scrapbook gods love us, I guess! lol Linda works with her at TI - so I'll be seeing her a bunch, too!! WAY cool!

Playing around...

It's been a while since I've actually took the time to play around with my photos. Taking them and editing them. It's been a chore, it seems, and I've gotten pretty boring with all of it. Or, I am bored with it, I guess I should say.

But, last week, I just took some pics just to take them. Nothing special was happening, everyone was just happy and we were outside because (unbelievably) it wasn't too hot. Well, Addie wasn't thrilled that there were bugs in the grass, actually. Bugs that she didn't see, but was afraid of anyway. *eyeroll* So, I got some pics of the girls, and then this is one I caught just as Addie was getting up to run inside (away from the scary bugs). I went a little more dramatic with it in photoshop than I usually do, but I think it just adds to the fun of it.

So I find out yesterday...

that my cousin (age 27) had a heart transplant... 3 WEEKS AGO.

I guess his mom didn't feel it was important to tell the rest of the family the news. Which just flips my lid because I would have really loved to send him something to keep him occupied or just lift his spirits while he was stuck in the hospital. (He's in Indiana where my parents live.)

Want to know the story?

Last summer, he was a perfectly healthy young man. Then, he goes to the dentist for some sort of work (root canal, I think) and somehow ends up with an infection in his bloodstream, which does a number on his heart within weeks. Apparently this is more common than we'd really like to believe, which is kinda scary. Anyway, he feels sick a week or two later and he goes from doctor to doctor and they can't find anything wrong with him until he has a heart attack. Then they do open heart surgery and put him on the donor list because he's basically going to die without a transplant. I guess he had to have some sort of machine to help pump his blood for him, too. Since he is young and healthy, it only took a few months to get his heart (which is really lucky.) He says that only 10% of his heart was working properly by the time he got the replacement heart three weeks ago.

My mom saw him this week and says he seems to be feeling really good and he's looking great. I guess he has already gained back a lot of the weight he lost and Mom says he looks like his old self again. So, while I wish I had known this was going on when it happened, I'm really grateful that it did happen for him. And, a huge thank you goes out to the unknown family who lost their 25 year old son and did a great thing for my cousin by donating his heart.

Are you an organ donor?
Here is how to become one.