Friday, February 24, 2012

Simple Birthday Card




I used the Cricut cartridge "Life's a Party" to create this simple card.  I added a few layers inside to dress it up a little (and to cover my mistakes).  On the inside I also used an EK Success edge punch, "Swiss Cheese", to mimic the cake design from the front.  (I had to look up the punch name on their website--HUGE mistake.  Have you ever seen how many cool punches they make???  I could go broke buying the ones I want!  Well, to be honest, with the lousy economy hitting me where it hurts I could actually go broke just buying one.)

Thanks for looking!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

16th Birthday Card for a Young Man



I made this card for my nephew to celebrate his 16th birthday (and the freedom that comes with it).  I should have sent my sister a "thinking of you" card since she'll never again have a peaceful night's sleep.

The phrase is from the "Car Decals" Cricut cartridge.  The car is from the "Going Places" Cricut cartridge.  The background is map-themed paper from my stash.  I promise the car isn't really pink--I'm not that mean.

I'm glad I have a couple more years before my granddaughter can drive.  When that day comes, I'll need a "get well soon" card sent to my room in the psychiatric ward.

Getting Things Done

It has to be said.  I'm a procrastinator.  Big Time.  Case in point--I took a couple of pictures in January with the intention of blogging about it, and here it is February 19th.


The original idea for the blog post was to show the cover of an unread magazine I had found when I finally got around to cleaning out my stash.  Oh, the irony.


Somebody (me) needed to read this.

The date says it all.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

February Memories

For the past five years, February has been a month filled with sadness for me.  On February 1st, 2007, my mother suffered a brain hemorrhage which took her life two weeks later.  Those were two of the longest, most difficult weeks of my life spent waiting and praying, and ultimately accepting that my world would never be the same.

February 1st, 2012, was another day filled with anxiety and waiting.  But this time I had reason to expect a happy outcome.  My daughter was admitted to the hospital to give birth to her first child, my first grandson.

February 2nd was delivery day.  Or so we hoped.  Because the baby was overdue by nearly two weeks, labor was to be induced at midnight.  The waiting began.

With two school-aged children and an undomesticated husband dependent upon me for their sustenance (and clean clothes),  I was forced to remain 400 miles away from the big event.  There's nothing worse than being so far away from your hospitalized child and not knowing what's going on.  Except, of course, if you are a world-class worrier and you happen to see all the complications unfold right before your eyes.  Luckily, I wasn't there to witness all the medical drama.  I simply sat by the phone waiting and worrying, and with each passing moment I played out terrible scenarios in my mind.   And since my husband seemed to be holding it together quite well, I decided to share these with him.  No reason to suffer alone.

Finally, just about the time my husband seemed poised to go to bed and leave me alone to face my fears, the phone call came. Baby Logan had arrived weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long.  He wasn't the record-setting large baby we were expecting based on the size of my poor daughter's belly and the length of time she spent growing him there.  But he still couldn't make it out the non-surgical way we had hoped.  My daughter gave it her all, but after 20 hours of labor and 2 1/2 hours of pushing with all her might, it was obvious the little guy was demanding a more dramatic entrance.

My daughter had been determined to have a natural birth, but even with all her planning and preparation, that wasn't to be.  Such is life. But mother and baby are doing well, and today they're heading home with the proud father, ready to start this new, exciting chapter in their lives.

February will always hold sad memories for me, but as I look at the sweet face of my new grandson, and hear the pride and love in the voices of his parents, I know it will now be the month that gives me renewed hope and happiness.  I feel certain my mother is watching from Heaven and enjoying the beauty of it all.

My newest obsession.
Isn't he precious?