Time Out!

I think I must have put myself in a bit of a time out from blogging lately. Really, with school starting back up it's been hard to make the time to blog. Or craft. I am horrible at time management. I get all the important stuff done, but I never 'plan' time for myself. I'm trying to improve that, though.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I spent it with 3 of my closest friends at the CKC Scrapbook Convention. We didn't do classes, but just went to the vendor fair. It was so much fun! And it was inspiring, too. Sometimes, I get in a creative rut and can't think of what I want to do, let alone how to do it. It helped to go and see lots of different ideas and buy a few things to get my mojo goin' again!

Last night after I got home and hung out with The Husband and Chickenhead, I got my craft on. Here's a couple of things I made-


I love this little monkey! His name is Changito, and I collect Changito stamps. I buy a new one whenever I find them. I colored the image in with markers, then stamped an additional image so I could cut out the lights and make a 3-d effect with pop dots. Finally, I dotted each light with Glassy Effects so that they're shiny, and used Stickles for the pom-pom and cuff on his hat. I really like how this card turned out, and though I usually avoid the 'usual' red/green color combo on my Christmas cards, I may have to make this one this year.

I bought another stamp set with vases and flowers, something I've wanted for a while, and when I saw this set, I knew it was the one. After we left this booth, we ran in to a booth filled with every type of ribbon you could imagine. I saw this swatch of wide embroidered lace, and the light in my brain clicked on! The little embroidered flowers would be great for the flower part of my new stamp set!


After I cut the flowers out of the lace, I inked them with chalk inks. I really like the texture they add to this.

Finally, for my friend Carol's card challenge, I made this Halloween card-


I heat embossed the witch image then added color with colored pencils and mineral spirits. The edges of the image were inked with Tim Holtz distress inks in Peeling Paint and Dusty Concord.

I really miss crafting! I'm hoping to get in to the craft room today to give it a much needed cleaning, and possibly to do some sewing. I need more stuff for my Etsy shop!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation(that I didn't know I was on)

I guess I took a vacation from blogging without realizing it! To be honest, at some point it felt like my brain shut down and I just could not think of anything that I wanted to write about.

So what did I do this summer? Well, not much really. I've been on a mission to clean through every room in the house, sorting out items for a future garage sale. Chickenhead spent the summer swimming at my FIL's house almost every day. Chickenhead turned 11, and made me feel old.

I went and got a mammogram last Monday, and today had to go for a follow-up ultrasound because they thought they saw something abnormal. I don't know about you, but even though they assured me when I made the appointment that it was 'probably nothing', I still worried about it. This afternoon, when I was lying on the exam table, I was watching the monitor as the super nice radiologist was doing her thing. Suddenly on the monitor, there was something that looked scary. And she had stopped there and was measuring it, and saving the file and I started tearing up. A million things ran through my mind at that moment, every worst case scenario I could think of and believe me, I can think of some good ones. She saw my tears and stopped scanning and assured me that it was just my lymph node. There was nothing abnormal at all, it was just my lymph nodes. I practically skipped out of the office and back to the car! I think deep down inside, I knew it was nothing, but when faced with the reality of a 'breast cancer center', that confidence flew out the window. I'm glad it's behind me now.

The other thing I've been doing is something that's been a passion of mine for a long time. I've been sewing. Specifically, I've been sewing children's clothes! It all started with me converting my wedding gown (well, part of it) in to a christening gown.

Here's the 'before'-And, here's the after-

I have plans to make a couple more gowns to sell, but this one I'll be keeping for Chickenhead to use someday when he has a family.

I've also been making diaper covers, baby shoes and dresses-
All of these pieces were made with vintage fabrics. A couple of years ago, The Husband scored two boxes of vintage fabric at an estate sale. A lot of it was decorating and drapery fabric, but there were quite a few pieces that are perfect for clothing. I love anything vintage, and combing vintage fabrics with modern designs is just about my favorite thing. I'm hoping to soon open an Etsy shop to sell these pieces.

So, that's just about it. It was a pretty laid back summer, all in all. Now, Chickenhead is getting back in to the school groove, and we're tackling 6th grade. Fingers crossed that I understand the math he'll be working with this year!

Open Letter To An A-hole

Dear Dillweed,

It was so nice to know that a perfect stranger on the bus has my well-being in mind. How interesting the world would be if there were more people like you in it. But I think we've pretty much reached our quota.

When the substitute bus driver asked me tonight which stop was mine, I was quite surprised to hear your suggestion that he drop me off a couple of stops before because in your words, 'she could use the exercise'. How kind of you, a total stranger, to want to plan my exercise program for me. My husband was duly impressed, too, when I told him about it when I got home. He's VERY interested in discussing a workout plan with you, but it may not be quite what you've got in mind. You'll be happy to know that even though I didn't get as much exercise as you thought I should on my walk home, I still had plenty of thoughts about you on my 3-minute trek.

Tonight was one of the very rare moments when I have been rendered completely speechless by the words of some ignoramus such as yourself. The lady sitting across the aisle from me heard you, you sexist pig, and I noticed that the bus driver didn't laugh along with you, either. Let's get something straight, I'm a lady. I am someone's wife, someone's sister, someone's mother and someone's daughter. I am a human being worthy of respect. If anyone said anything like what you said to me to a woman in your life, I'm pretty sure you would be as pissed off as I am.

I would say something about those coke-bottle bottom glasses you wear, and your ill-fitting dockers, and your shabby looking shoes, but I'm above it. Karma is an ugly thing, asshole, and when it comes calling for you, it won't be pretty. And speaking of pretty, you're not. Maybe I could use some exercise, but you're ugly, and I can always lose weight.

Not Really That Much Fun in Dysfunction

Chickenhead's birthday party is coming up this weekend, and it's a bit bittersweet. My brother and his family will be here, which I'm really looking forward to. I've contacted my ex-sister-in-law, and she's going to bring our nephews to the party. Which is all good, but I still feel a bit sad.

The Husband's family is in tatters. He has a grandfather who is in the final stages of pancreatic cancer, and a grandmother who's in the early stages of Alzheimer's. My MIL, who's often been the centerpiece to many of my stories, is rapidly descending into a black hole of drug addiction and mental illness. My brother in law(the Husband's brother) won't speak to us at all, and my FIL doesn't have much to say, either.

I see how much all of this hurts the Husband and it saddens me. I see how much it upsets Chickenhead and that saddens me even more. It's hard to explain to my son why his uncle won't speak to us, or why his grandfather doesn't call or contact him. The Husband has been taking Chickenhead over to my FIL's house to go swimming, which I guess is some progress, but Chickenhead notices that his grandfather and dad hardly speak to each other. Chickenhead notices that we're not invited to family events. I find myself flip-flopping between thinking maybe it's better if Chickenhead isn't around such dysfunction so much, or thinking that good or bad, this is the only family he's got.

As our children grow, they become much more aware of their environment, and the interactions of their family members. Kids can sense tension, anger and resentment. I hate to just dismiss Chickenhead's questions with, 'you're too young to understand', but how much do I tell him? How do you deal with sticky family situations and your kids? Thoughts?