Through My Eyes

I Actually Created Something!

2008-07-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

And I don't mean a mess!

Annie @ Heart of the Home asked me to come up with something for a class the other day(YES, I will actually be teaching a class! IF Annie likes what I come up with AND I don't pass out first!) so my mind has been spinning OBSESSIVELY! Anyway, I had an idea for a color scheme so I made this card to try it out. I think it turned out pretty good for an experiment. So, here it is...
I hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend and GREAT summer so far. Thank You again to all of my WONDERFUL friends! You ARE THE GREATEST and I LOVE YOU TONS!

Take Care & GB Hugs,
Amy

I'm...

2008-07-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

SPOILED!

I have some of the best friends on earth! They have ABSOLUTELY SPOILED me lately! Here's why...

1.) Wendy, one of my AWESOME contacts that I have made through Flickr, sent me this KILLER mini album that she made me (AND cards, AND paper) from a painted canvas that she made! She contacted me asking me for my address saying she was going to send me something. I thought she was going to send me a ATC. I had NO CLUE she was going to send me a MINI ALBUM + Cards + Papers!

2.) We recently had our yearly Wiener Dog Races here in town. I have one but he has the attention span of a flea so I didn't bother even attempting to enter him. Nor did I go down there. My friend Lori did though and she got me these AWESOME Gocco print cards & accordion book that Roberta Lavadour from our local Arts Center made! They are AWESOME! I LOVE them! I am thinking about turning the little album into a mini scrapbook about my spoiled baby.

3.) My DEAR friend Kathleen asked me a few weeks ago if she could take some pics of my little brat (Hunter) & I. I HATE having my picture taken. I ALWAYS look HORRIBLE! Like a BIG, GIGANTIC pumpkin on legs! BUT, Kathleen & I both have a project coming up that needs photos and she said she thought a photo of Hunter & I would be PERFECT for it. So, I agreed. Now, I had a sneaky suspicion she was up to SOMETHING but I didn't say anything. Well, about a week later she tells me that she has something for me. That she had thought about mailing it but decided not to. The day after she tells me this I get up, I'm half awake, still in my PJ's and have just finished my morning coffee when I see a car pull up in front of our house. At first I wasn't sure who it was. Then I looked closer, it was Kathleen. In her hand she had a manila envelop that was STUFFED! I opened it up and almost cried (FOR REAL)! Inside was one of the ABSOLUTE MOST BEAUTIFUL mini albums I have ever seen! Let alone the fact that IT WAS MADE FOR ME! Kathleen had made me THEE MOST GORGEOUS mini album with a Life. Art. Amy. theme! It's ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! If it's possible to be in love with an object then I AM!

*Note-these are only a FEW of the GORGEOUS pages in the book Kathleen made for me*

4.) Then YESTERDAY (well, I guess by the time this posts it will TECHNICALLY be the day before yesterday) I got ANOTHER surprise package in the mail! This time from my WONDERFUL friend Colleen. C & I first met via Flickr, from their we got to know each other even better on Facebook (I've been kicking her ass, as she put it, at Scrabulous in there). C & I get along soo well! You would think the two of us have known each other for years! I just love her! I WISH we lived closer to each other. She's in ATL and I'm here in OR. Anyway...(Get back on track space cadet!) I went to my mail box and there was another manila envelop! This time from C.! AND this time taped like you wouldn't believe! I don't know who the girl thought she was protecting this package from but I don't think ANYBODY could have opened that thing w/o a knife! LOL Inside...THEE MOST AWESOME repurposed mini book! It is KILLER! PLUS...2 AWESOME stamps! One of which I had just TRIED to get the day before but was unable to! A KILLER handmade card! AND an AWESOME little pocket/tag! Now C. had asked for my mailing address the week before but I just thought it was because of a mutual project we are going to be doing. I didn't think it was going to be ANYTHING like this! Boy was it a SWEEEEEEET surprise!

5.) In addition to these, Melisa gave me a KILLER deal on some (OK, more like a TON of) clothes @ her yard sale a few weeks ago. I am in DESPERATE need of a job but didn't have any "work" clothes. Well, MJ had a PERFECTLY timed yard sale a few weeks ago. On top of it being perfectly timed MJ & I USED TO BE (Until the AWESOME woman lost an AMAZING 90 POUNDS!) pretty close to the same size AND we're both MIDGETS! So THE CLOTHES FIT!

So, to all of my wonderful friends...

I don't feel like I deserve you but I want to Thank You for your friendship, your support & the BEAUTIFUL gifts you have given me! I honestly don't feel I deserve you & your AWESOME generosity but PLEASE know that I TRULY AND DEEPLY APPRECIATE it AND you!

THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
I LOVE YOU ALL!

GB Hugs,
Love,
Amy

A Few Daylies

2008-06-16T00:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys, This is going to be a really quick one as it's almost 12:45 am and I'm tired and want to get to bed. I wanted to get these up before doing so (you guys know me and my airheadedness, I'd forget if I didn't). I've got to play "ketchup" but here are a few more Daylies....

I did this card about my friend Kathleen. *Thank You SOO MUCH Kathleen* This particular day in reference I REALLY needed a friend. I called Kathleen just planning to ask her a quick question. However we ended up having quite a nice talk. It felt soo good to be able to talk to someone about things that were going on. The quote on the back of the card is DEFINITELY true! Thank You again Kathleen.

My shrink, oops, I mean counselor *sorry Cathy* is trying to drill into my head that "It's half full". Thus, the subject matter of this card.

*NOTE* I apologize for the crappy scan. My scanner cut of half of the left side of the card and I didn't notice it until I started uploading these pics. I am too tired to do anything about it tonight. I'll fix it tomorrow.

Hope you all had a good weekend and have a good week.

Later,
Amy

6-8-08 Daylies

2008-06-12T21:54:00.001-07:00

Daylies 6-7-08

2008-06-09T20:15:00.001-07:00

Family/HURT!

2008-06-09T02:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my "nephew's" graduation. Ordinarily I wouldn't put the quotations around nephew but after yesterday and recent months I have to. You see...yesterday was his graduation BUT Jason & I WERE NOT invited! Nor was my sister-in-law (she decided to attend anyway). In addition to this when he was announced he did not use the name Percy (his step father's name). He used his mother's maiden name or something along those lines. He did this WITHOUT telling my in-laws he was going to do so. Thus you can imagine the shock & hurt when this occurred. Now he & my brother-in-law have never had the best of relationships so I guess if he wanted to do that I can understand. BUT to do it and NOT tell anyone first?! To have them find out in such a public manner? Daimian & Mark may have not had the best of relationship BUT the rest of the family has been there for him ever since his Mom & Mark started going out! My mother-in-law babysat him for YEARS ,since he was just a young boy, and the rest of us have made it very clear to him that we love & care for him. To have hurt the rest of us the way he did I found VERY disrespectful & mean! I had never done anything to him! Jason has never done anything to him! Kimberly has never done anything to him! My Mother In Law has never done anything to him! So WHY hurt all of us the way he did?! I just don't understand. I found out today that he told my brother-in-law that he "wanted nothing to do with the Percy's"! Even though it has been the Percy's that have been there the most for him growing up!

I DO NOT understand this and I am VERY HURT, SADDENED & ANGERED by it! How someone I loved soo much could be soo hateful towards me & the rest of the family is INCOMPREHENSIBLE!

~Amy

Another Set of Daylies

2008-06-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

*Daylie-June 5, 2008*

With Game 2 of the playoffs starting an about 20 minutes I thought it would be a good time to upload this card. Can you tell who I'm rooting for? LOL GO CELTICS! The 5th was a pretty boring day so there's no back tho this card.

Jas & I have been talking about getting back into our workout routine but we never seem to have enough money. Along with working out comes eating better or it's POINTLESS! The question for us is...which is more important...money or being healthier & happier? Thus, the topic of the June 6th card (which, I'm not too happy with).

*Daylie-June 6, 2008 (Front)*

*Daylie-June 6, 2008 (Back)*

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend and have a GREAT week this week.

Take Care & Hugs,
Amy

More Daylies

2008-06-04T22:55:00.001-07:00

*June 3, 2008-Front*

*June 3, 2008-Back*

Tuesday, June 3rd was a very historic night. Sen. Barack Obama received enough delegates to become the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate!

*June 4, 2008-Front*

*June 4, 2008-Back*

I spent a good part of today filling out postcards for a Postcard swap Rachel hosted. Figures, I am BIG TIME late getting mine out. BUT, I AM getting them done & out! I HAVE to thank my DEAR friend Mary for getting the postcards for me today. If she hadn't helped me out I would probably STILL not have them done & out! Anyway, the card is a bit of one of the postcards I goofed up on. I just cut it to the size I needed for my daylie, rearranged a few other things and emphasized some of the words on the back. Think it represents the day rather well.

Well, that's it for tonight.

Later,
Amy

More Daylies

2008-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

*June 1, 2008 Front*

*June 1, 2008 Back*

I think the June 1 card is pretty self explanatory.

*June 2, 2008 Front*

*June 2, 2008 Back*

Yesterday I had the BEST time! 'Vanna got on Facebook and we chatted & played Scrabulous for HOURS! It was SOO MUCH FUN! Oh, and for those of you that don't know, SEX is my nickname. NO! I DIDN'T get it THAT way (I WISH, LOL)!

Have a good one.

Hugs,
Amy

Daylies for 5-31-08

2008-06-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Interesting

2008-05-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys. Before you say it Queenie, YES, I know "It's about time". It has been and interesting few weeks. You all know about my adventures in getting the tix to see Sen. Barack Obama speak here in Pen-DULL-to(w)n. Well, as you know, I got them. The adventure to see the speech itself wasn't as crazy but was just as HOT! Another 2 hours in 90 degree heat!

*Jas & I 'Baking' for Obama*

*My Barack Burn*

It was GREAT though and I would do it all over again if I had to! It really hit me when we went in and sat down and I looked up and the stage & podium that I could actually be sitting there listening to our next President of the United States of America!
It was a VERY surreal feeling.

The following Tuesday was the Primary election here in Oregon so I volunteered to work in (I thought) the office. However...(Thank You Arthur!),

*aforementioned EVIL ONE!*

I got sent out to canvas (pickup ballots that hadn't been turned in yet). Here's the catch...

1.) As most of you can tell by my pics I'm not in the best of shape!

2.) I had no car.

3.) It was POURING down rain that day!

I spent and HOUR AND A HALF walking in that pouring rain! I walked from Main St., past Queenie's house, over & back! AND had to go into some NASTY, NASTY places! NOT FUN! Anyway, I got done at the office went home and changed & went to the volunteer party. I didn't get home until 10:30 that night. It was one LOOONG day!

What else... I actually got a layout done! NO! None of you can fall over dead from reading that! And YES, it REALLY IS TRUE! I will post the proof here in a sec.

And... the best yet,NOT!
I got a NASTY, VICIOUS, EXTREMELY UNPROFESSIONAL call from a 'woman' (I'm being EXTREMELY polite in using that term I would prefer to use other terms to describe her!) @ a collections company. Now I have dealt with collection agencies before (Unfortunately) and know they have a job to do, etc. BUT, this one is THEE NASTIEST, most HIDEOUS co. I have EVER dealt with! They are HORRIBLE! It ended with me ALMOST breaking ANOTHER phone & in SOBBING tears! NOT GOOD! Oh and I haven't mentioned the part of them wanting $200+ by yesterday or they are going to start garnishing Jas' paycheck!

Onto some GOOD stuff...in dealing with all the emotions associated with this HORRID experience I decided that I was going to ATTEMPT to do 'Dailies'. I think this will be good for me for MANY reasons. I think it will help me get out/deal with emotions/feelings that I tend to keep inside AND it will FORCE me to do something creative EVERY DAY! Even if it's something simple I will be doing SOMETHING! So, here are the ones I have done so far...Another good thing...I got to go down to Heart of the Home and hang out with Kathleen last night. It was soo fun. I LOVE hanging out with her. No matter what's going on she always makes me feel good. Annie's antics didn't hurt either, LOL. Thanks SOO MUCH Kathleen! I Love You!

GB Hugs to you all!
~Amy

I GOT 'EM! I GOT 'EM! I GOT "EM!

2008-05-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

I GOT MY OBAMA TICKETS!

We stood outside in 90+ degree heat for 2 hours BUT we got our tickets! It wasn't too bad. The heat was BUT I met some REALLY cool people (Erika, who took the photo above, and Kathy *2nd from R in photo* from Walla Walla) and got to look at a REAL cutie for a few hours too! I know, I know, I'm married AND half his age BUT the boy was HOTTT! *Far right in photo above* Another REALLY AWESOME thing...Ken from Great Pacific came out and handed out bottled water to us at NO CHARGE! AND another lady came and handed out Popsicles! Some AWESOME people! I am NOT Looking forward to standing in line in 90 degree heat AGAIN tomorrow but if the people were like they were @ the tix line it should at least be fun while we're ROASTING TO DEATH! AND the speech I'm SURE is going to be AWESOME!

EXCITED & ANNOYED!

2008-05-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am SOO EXCITED! I opened my email this morning to find this...

Please join Barack Obama for a Town Hall meeting in Pendleton, where he'll talk about his vision for bringing America together and creating the kind of change we can believe in.

Town Hall meeting with Barack Obama

Pendleton Convention Center
1601 Westgate
Pendleton, OR 97801

Sunday, May 18th
Doors Open: 4:30 p.m.
Program Begins: 6:30 p.m.

http://or.barackobama.com/pendleton

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required. To pick up a ticket, please visit our ticket distribution location. Seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For security reasons, do not bring bags. Please limit personal items. No signs or banners permitted.

I am a BIG TIME Barack Obama supporter. Living in Pen-DULL-to(w)n I NEVER expected he would be coming here. I mean Portland, OF COURSE! Eugene, sure! Salem, probably! But this podunk place...NEVER! I mean sure, Bill Clinton came here last week but that was DIFFERENT! He WAS President! He IS a candidate's husband! He ISN'T the candidate! So, I was SHOCKED when I read the subject line OBAMA COMING TO PENDLETON! I mean I could possibly attend a speech from the possible next President of the United States of America! WOW!

The reason for the annoyed part. ..They have set a ticket limit of 2 tickets per person, which I TOTALLY understand. The problem is that I need 4 tickets! I, OBVIOUSLY, want to go, Jas wants to go, my friend Mary wants to go (but cannot be there to stand in line due to previous commitments) and my friend Jovanna wants to go but lives in Walla Walla, WA and could not leave work to come over to stand in line for tickets. So...DESPERATE I called my mother in law. The mother in law I HARDLY EVER ask to do anything! Hem a pair of jeans for me once in a blue moon that's it! I asked her if she would come stand in line with me so I could get the other 2 tickets I need. But...NO! She "doesn't want to do something like that". Now mind you she doesn't have to GO TO the speech, she doesn't have to agree with the man's beliefs, she doesn't have to do ANYTHING but stand in line and get 2 tickets for me! But NO! So, needless to say I am a LITTLE pissed off! OK, MORE than a little!

On top of this they are going to start giving out tickets @ 5pm tomorrow. Well, I am scheduled to be in a volunteer training class which is ALSO @ 5pm! So, I don't even know if I'm going to be able to get MY tickets! If I miss out on this chance I am going to be SOO BUMMED!

So, that's what's been going on with me today.

You?

Later,
Hugs,
Amy

Endings. Beginnings?

2008-05-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

Since my last post I have ended (FOREVER) some MAJOR relationships in my life. NO! It's NOT Jason! We are fine, for now anyway. The first is one that a lot of you will probably find unacceptable with me ending but it is a decision I HAD to make for my health & life. It is my Dad. For those of you that don't know my father and I haven't had a very good relationship for MANY, MANY years. There are many circumstances and situations that just continued to make things between us worse. When he got sick in March I TRIED VERY HARD to do my "family duties" but the CONSTANT lack of cooperation and conflict with my Dad made even the slightest things IMPOSSIBLE to accomplish. In addition to this that conflict and stress was triggering REALLY BAD things/emotions in me. If there is ONE thing I have learned since December it is that I CANNOT put myself in situations that trigger those emotions that are harmful to me and my health. Thus, after trying, I decided to END my relationship and cut ALL ties with my father.

After ending my relationship with my father I realized that there was one other relationship that was VERY Poisonous & Toxic to me! This is another one a lot of you won't understand. This is a relationship I have talked about SEVERAL times over the past year on here. What many of you DON'T know is who the person is or what the relationship was. So, here's the story. This person was someone I have known for most of my life. He was very important to me. We became involved when I was 17 and he was the first man I ever loved. Good or bad (mostly bad) this was the case. We have stayed in touch off and on through the years. *YES! Jason knew!* In the beginning things would be great! It would be like old times. He would bring a part of me to life that is often dead. I would be SOO happy. THEN, comes the bad. The drama, the nastiness & the games. It was an emotional roller coaster with EXTREME highs and lows! The highs were GREAT! The lows, DISASTROUS! This drama has gone on for YEARS! After cutting ties with my dad I realized that until I ended this relationship (FOR GOOD) as well that poison would still be there. So, I cut ties with him as well. We have been down this road before but this time was different. This time there was no fight, there was no argument, there was me SEEING him, there was me KNOWING what happens to me, there was me KNOWING that I CANNOT deal with those ups & downs ANY MORE!

So that's it for the endings. Now, what about the beginnings? HOPEFULLY there will be some new & good ones ahead. I AM enjoying the little things these days. I AM relieved to NOT have that stress & drama in my life. I AM starting to feel like I am coming back to life. I AM proud of myself for SEEING things and having the strength to FINALLY stand up FOR MYSELF!

~Amy

My No Life Life Post (FOR QUEENIE!)

2008-04-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

I got a text from my Her Royal Highness telling me that I needed to post on here. So...here it is.

I haven't posted lately because I haven't had much of a life. Well, let's rephrase that...I just haven't been too happy with my life these days. It has been filled with it's share of roller coaster ups & downs. Then end of March my Dad (whom I DON'T have a very good relationship with at all) was admitted to the ER with major problems associated with Congestive Heart Failure. Due to this he had to be put in an Adult Foster Home. This was thee most HORRID, DIFFICULT week of my life. And trust me, I've had some pretty nasty days & weeks in my life! My Dad made even the simplest thing an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT challenge! After quite the emotional battle I DID get him into a home. He has been there almost a month and seems to like it there. The only problem is that they are charging a FORTUNE per month!

OK, so in addition to this my friend Mike Banks from Blue U days died of an inoperable brain tumor. Though Mike & I weren't as close as some of the others in our circle of friends it was still hard seeing someone soo young lose their life. At least he is at peace though. What REALLY hurts me is what his Mom has got to be dealing with! They were each others only family for the most part! And on top of that it has to be agonizing for ANY parent to have to bury their child! Let alone a child that was all you had!

Over the weekend of Mike's memorial my friends Steve and Jovanna stayed here. I love Steve, he's one of my best friends, BUT a LITTLE of him goes a long way! He wined CONSTANTLY about my dogs cold nose, obsessed about his appearance & was CONSTANTLY telling ME how to behave towards some people. We went out both Friday & Saturday and I spent WAY, WAY, WAY TOO MUCH! Saturday night I ended up getting drunker than I have been in YEARS! And let me tell ya, I felt it the next morning! Oh, and in addition to this I spent 2 1/2 days SOLID making 5 mini albums for Mike's Mom, Steve, Jovanna & 3 other close friends of Mike's. I know this will sound very self absorbed but after all that work (and let me tell ya I worked my butt off on those books) there was only ONE person that seemed to REALLY, TRULY appreciate it! That was worth it though because that one person was Mike's Mom! She was soo moved by the book she called me later that evening to thank me for it. It hurts though that none of the others seem to appreciate all the time (and money) I put into them.

What else...
I haven't worked out for 3 weeks now! I am feeling HORRIBLE about myself for this reason! I know Melissa will relate to this but it's that 'I blew it so why bother feeling'. On top of that I'm dealing with that 'I'm gonna be a fat cow the rest of my life so why bother feeling'. I had been doing fairly good. I had lost 23 pounds over a few months and was working out pretty regularly. But I'm just feeling like crap about the whole thing.

And what else...
I think that's all. SO...that is all for my 'My No Life Life' post. Does this meet your criteria HRH? LOL.

Hope you all have a great week.

Love Ya,
Amy

A WONDERFUL Weekend!

2008-03-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Until we had to come back to Pen-DULL-ton that is!

Jas, Hunter & I went to Hood River this weekend. We had such a good time. We hadn't been there for over 2 years so I've REALLY missed it there! It felt SOO GOOD to be close to the water! To be somewhere GREEN (not DEAD, DRY...UGLY)! To see Mt Hood! It was a good time for all of us.This was the first time we had really taken Hunter on a trip (we had taken him to Wallowa Lake but it was pretty quiet up there). He did really good. We did a LOT of walking (Which was good for all of us considering we hit Taco Time on the way down and didn't exactly eat healthy this weekend.) but other than that (and waking me up @ 5 am Sunday whining) he behaved rather well. Although while walking Oak St. he barked and scared this yuppy couple that were also out walking (Scared by a MINIATURE Dachshund?! LMAO). Oh, and tried to make out with a poodle that was being walked too. Both were rather HILARIOUS! ONLY Hunter! Here are a few pics from the trip...

YEAH,I see my mountain!!!

Jas & Hunter enjoying the river just after sunset.
P.S. This was taken from our room!

One of my FAVORITE views/spots in Hood River!

Jas & Little VICIOUS (HAHA) on our walk Sunday morning.

To Queenie, Melisa, Nat & Lauren...

2008-03-03T22:31:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!

I apologize for not responding to your comments earlier. For some reason Blogger has not been sending me comment notices until today! So please forgive me. I REALLY appreciate all of your WONDERFUL, SUPPORTIVE & ENCOURAGING comments you have left me. You don't know how VERY MUCH they and you mean to me. Again, THANK YOU!

FYI, I lost another 1.75 pounds this past week. Bringing my total for 5.5 weeks to 16.75 pounds!

I got spoiled by Jas Saturday! He surprised me with an early birthday present! He bought me a Zen Stone Plus MP3 player w/ FM receiver! I LOVE it! I had an ABSOLUTELY AWESOME workout yesterday and I think having the music helped because I didn't find myself thinking about how much time I had left or what body part was hurting I just got in there and DID IT!

Thank You My Butthead!
I Love You!!!

Well, i suppose I should get off of here. But again, please know how VERY MUCH I appreciate you guys, your comments & all of your support, encouragement & love.

Thank You BUNCHES,
Love,
Amy

I DID IT!

2008-02-29T22:08:00.000-08:00

I DID IT!
I DID IT!
I DID IT!

I just got back from the gym where I got in my 21st workout of February! My goal! WOOHOO!

And YES, I have ordered my new workout pants already! LOL

Now comes tomorrow! Tomorrow is weigh in day for me. Wish me luck.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Take Care & Hugs,
Amy

Oh So Close!

2008-02-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

I am oh soo close to reaching my goal of 21 workouts for the month of February! 2 to go and I WILL have done it! It's been a little bit rough (nothing too tough) but I have been DETERMINED to reach this goal. For a few reasons.

I WANT & NEED a new pair of workout pants desperately and will ONLY allow myself to get them if/WHEN I reach this goal!
I want/NEED to prove to myself that I CAN stick to something and achieve something! Each step I take is a step towards that ultimate destination/goal!

Now I have to figure out what my goal for next month is going to be. I'm thinking it's going to be to get my weight training in each week (along with my cardio). What do you guys think?

I've gotta weigh myself on Saturday. I'm a bit nervous because though I've watched my calories I don't know that I've been as good as I could have been. At the same time I'm anxious! Anxious to see what my total #s will be for the month.

Well, that's all from me (I've been HORRID when it comes to my "art" so I have nothing to post/say about it). Hope you have all had a good week so far.

Later,
GB Hugs,
Amy

37.75 Miles and...

2008-02-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

ONLY 1 1/2 pounds! I know it's still a loss and it's NOT a gain so it's progress but it's HARD to be happy with it! I expected better! I have worked my butt off this week! I worked out 6 days out of 7 days! I've been good when it comes to food etc, etc. Again, I KNOW that it's A LOSS and NOT A GAIN so it's SOMETHING but still! It's REALLY hard for me to be happy w/ 1 1/2 pounds! Oh well, it IS a loss!

Onto some HAPPY news! So, I'm 4 1/2 weeks into this and I've lost a total of 15 pounds! Pretty darned good if I do say so myself! On top of that I am 3 workouts away from reaching my goal of 21 workouts this month! Which means I am also 3 workouts away from getting a knew set of workout clothes! WOOHOO!!! Considering I only have 3 pairs of workout pants and 1 of them I can't stand...I CAN'T WAIT!

Well, that's about all from this little dinky spot in the universe. Hope you all had a good weekend & have a great week ahead.

Later,
Amy

Gettin' Some Sun

2008-02-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

My Baby wanted to get some sun this morning...

Hunter ON THE TABLE (he INSISTED) getting some sun & standing guard.
Isn't he just TOO CUTE?!

I LOVE MY BABY BOY!

31 Miles & 5 1/2 Pounds!

2008-02-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, I got in 31 miles last week. That is w/just 4 workouts too. I skipped Thursday's workout but I will be making it up today. Saturday I did 50 minutes & 13 miles! My highest time & miles so far. WOOHOO!

Even better, I lost 5 1/2 pounds! Funny thing is I was nervous about weighing myself because I really thought I was either going to not have lost anything or even gained. I had been getting in some good workouts but I did skip Thursday's workout. On top of that, I had been good re: food but I didn't know if I had been good enough. Anyway, to my surprise I not only lost, it was my highest loss so far! The previous weeks I had 4 pound losses each. So, this brings my total to...
13 1/2 pounds lost!

WOOHOO!

I'm over half way to my workout goal for the month as well. Which, when I reach, I will reward myself with a new set of workout clothes! I have my eye on some pants that I would really like to get.

Anyway, I will be hitting the gym tonight to make up for Thursday's missed workout. Wednesday I meet w/ Deb (Shampine, the coordinator of the Spirit Program I have my membership to the RAC through) to set up my weight training program! YEAH! I really like lifting weights and know that will make an even bigger difference in my body. In addition to that Lori & I are going to go to a lecture at the Arts Center that afternoon so I think it should be a fun one. I think this is going to be a good week. I hope you all have a god one as well.

GB Hugs!
Thanks soo much for all of your encouragement & support.

Later,
Amy

Look What I Got In The Mail Today!!!

2008-02-08T16:33:00.000-08:00

LOOK!

LOOK!

LOOK!

Now here's the story behind it...

I haven't had a digital camera for AGES! Like 2 years now I think. I THOUGHT I was going to be getting a new one right away so I threw my other one out. Well, for many different reasons I haven't been able to get a new one yet so I've been w/o a digital camera all this time. I never realized how much I enjoyed having one until I didn't. It makes working on projects soo much easier when you're able to go out, shoot what you want, upload & print it. Anyway, onto the rest of the story...

I have fallen in ABSOLUTE LOVE w/Flickr and have found some WONDERFUL photographers there. Well last week I got a email from one of my contacts there (B&T Art). They stated that they had really enjoyed looking at my collage work. They also told me that they had noticed in my profile that I didn't have a digital camera. They told me that they happened to have a Sony one that they didn't use laying around and asked me if I would be interested and told me if I was to email them back and we could work it out. Now I'm thinking they are going to SELL it to me! Well I get a reply back and it says send us your mailing address and we'll ship it out to you! At this point I am in TOTAL SHOCK! I email them back with my address and ask, "You mean you're just going to GIVE it to me?!". Well, SURE ENOUGH! They GAVE me the camera! Not only that, they had to ship it to me all the way from the U.K.! I am STILL in TOTAL SHOCK!

When I opened the package this afternoon in addition to the camera there was this little note in the box from Bob (B&T stands for Bob & Terri)...

I AM STILL IN SHOCK! I REALLY have a digital camera again!

To Bob & Terri~

THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH!
You're are SOO GREAT!

THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!

What IS Your Excuse?

2008-02-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

41 Miles!

2008-02-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

41 MILES!

YES! That was my total for my first full week of workouts! If I do say so myself that's not too damned bad for my first full week! I did a minimum of 40 minutes each workout and worked out 6 days! I took last Monday off from the gym but lifted weights at home. Mondays & Fridays are supposed to be our "days off" but with yesterday being the Super Bowl & going over to our friend Jeff's (the game SUCKED but hanging out w/ Jeff & Stacy was a blast) Jas & I both ate a bit too much of the not-so-good-for-us stuff so I think we're going to go to hit the gym tonight and workout. I'm feeling good mentally & physically and I know I've lost some weight. How much I'm not sure, I know it's at least 5 pounds though. I've gotta call the doctor's office and get my weight @ my last visit to know for sure. Trust me, if it's more I'll let you know! LOL The jeans are fitting looser and other clothes are fitting better. WOOHOO! Well, I just wanted to share my good news with you. Hope the rest of you are doing good and that you all have a GREAT week.

Take Care & GB Hugs,
Amy

Putting One Foot In Front Of The Other!

2008-01-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

My DEAR friend Queenie posted a wonderful, supportive comment to me the other day. This is just a part of it...

"Just put one foot in front of the other....and soon you'll be walking out the dooooooor."

"Don't ever let anyone steal your joy Amy!!!! You are the author of your life, and you choose daily how you will face the day. You go girl....we all have to start somewhere. Today is a goood day. "

Well, I put one foot in front of the other and made it out that door. Jas & I went and worked out yesterday. The girl at the desk had no clue how to do it so we weren't able to get his pass then later spent too much $ at the grocery store so didn't have the $ to get it today. BUT, instead of letting that stop me (with a little encouragement from Jas *THANK YOU Butthead!*) I went and worked out BY MYSELF today! It felt really good. I did 40 minutes on the bike both days. Yesterday I did 7 miles, today I did 10 miles!

I CAN DO THIS!
I WILL DO THIS!

Thank You Queenie! Thank you for being such a GREAT friend! Love Ya!

More Than A LITTLE Late BUT Worth The Wait!

2008-01-24T00:17:00.000-08:00

I think anyway!

Hi guys, hope this finds you all having a good week so far. It's almost 12:20 am and I'm pretty tired so this is going to be a short and sweet one. HAHA! Well, as short & sweet as I can get (NO height jokes here Levi or Queenie!). I FINALLY finished my week 2 project for The Best Me Challenge! Like the title of my post says, it's MORE than a LITTLE late but it's worth the wait! I took me FOREVER to figure this one out. Probably because the theme was "Free Yourself" and I've got soo many things I need to work on in this dept it's crazy. But, a really good visit with my counselor Tuesday got my brain spinning (yes, it CAN happen). So, here are the results...

My FREE Yourself Mini Book!

Well, it's now almost quarter to one so I'm gonna head to bed. If you can't see the pics too good here you can go to my Flickr page and see them there (There is also more detail about the pages over there. I might add it here tomorrow but right now I just want to go to bed and HOPE my little BRAT Dog will let me get some sleep tonight.). Here's the link to the Best Me set *fingers crossed that it actually works*.

Take Care & Hugs,
Later,
Amy

It's Not Exactly The Gym But...

2008-01-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's a start! Jas & I weren't able to do the athletic club thing (not enough $ to pay for his portion) BUT I worked out @ home today. Nothing special, just a lot of walking (and 1 circuit of weights), but it IS a start! I will probably end up going to the club on my own until we can get Jas' paid for. It's just that I really don't feel comfortable there anymore (I am an epileptic and one of the aerobics instructors tried to kick me out of her class after I had a seizure in it. Went to the manager all kinds of stuff. Jas & I had to go to a meeting with them then go get a doctor's release, etc, etc. Since then I have not felt particularly comfortable there.). For this reason I would have joined the other club here in town but it costs a MAJOR chunk to join between the joining fee & monthly fee. But I like my friend Queenie said, I can't let them control what I do. I've got to realize & remind myself doing that is just letting them win! Anyway, today was a start!

I have been eating alot better over the past month or so and think (I haven't been on a scale to see but my close feel looser) I've lost some weight. Exercising, whatever it may be, can only help.

I have to say my friend Melisa is a great example! She has lost 70 POUNDS so far! She is doing SOO GREAT! I am SOO PROUD OF HER!

Well, I suppose I should go ATTEMPT to work a a project (AGAIN)! God these 4 projects have me stumped! I am soo lost!

LATER~

Paper 08-Week 1 (a little late)

2008-01-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
I hope this finds you all having a great week so far. Mine has been pretty good so far *knock on wood*. I had a really good appointment with my therapist yesterday and after that a fun lunch w/ ,y friend Lori. I made a commitment to try the athletic club (it was that or spend $110 to join the new Club 24 here in town) for a month. Jas & I will start Saturday with a schedule of Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed & Thur with Mondays & Fridays off. I think it will be good for both of us physically AND emotionally. Anyway, onto why I'm really posting...I JUST finished my Week 1 Paper Adventure Challenge! Yeah, I'm a BIT behind but OH WELL, I got it done AND am fairly happy with it and that's all I care about. So, here it is...*sorry for the crappy scans*I want to stitch around the edges with a sewing machine but the little dinky one I bought the other day fell apart and I can't figure out how to load the bobbin in the one my MIL gave me. My Mom would be laughing her butt off at me struggling to put a bobbin in a sewing machine! She LOVED to sew! I guess her talent didn't get passed on to me. Of course getting the bobbin in the machine would be a BIG step forward! LOL

Well, I've gotta go start dinner (YIPPEE! NOT!) so I should probably get off of here. Hope you all have a good evening.

Later,
Amy

Best Me-Week 1 Pages

2008-01-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

It's 11pm and I'm starting to get tired so this is going to be a quick entry (HAHA! I ALWAYS say that and STILL end up writing a novel!). It will be LOADED though! For the past 2 days I have been working on the pages for my Best Me Challenge Week 1 pages. I am REALLY happy with the way they came out! They were a TOTAL BLAST to do! Something even more cool...there is only 1 page (a filler page that is just 2 sheets of paper glued together) that isn't made almost entirely of something recycled! I LOVE IT when I can make something cool essentially out of nothing! LOVE IT! So, without further ado, here are the pages...

Week 1-#3 Front

This was fun. Pretty much all I used was part of a Netflix envelop (I LOVE Netflix!) & a Pizza Hut ad! Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE pizza as well. *Probably the reason I look the way I do.*

Week 1-#3-Back & #4-Front

The back of my #3 page is just the back of a portion of a Netflix envelop. I hung onto it because I LOVED the image of Mark Wahlberg & Joaquin Phoenix on it. Glad I did because it turned out to be PERFECT for this page!

For the front of the #4 page I used the paper that I had used to paint the letters I used on the cover of my album for the background. Along with scraps of paper from the cover & a scrap of paper I had tested a stamp on (it already had "It's" written on it & the green paint).

Week 1-#4-Back & #5-Front

Another would-be garbage paper for the back of #4. This is a piece of paper I used to paint some cards on when I was doing Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge last year. The "I WONDER" was already stamped on it as well from testing out the lineup of some individual letter stamps to use on one of the cards. I think the "I WONDER" and shape of the red & black paint"frames" will make an EXCELLENT journaling page!
#5 Front is (OBVIOUSLY) part of the JAN 08 issue of CK. I LOVE that cover! There is just SOMETHING about it that I JUST LOVE.

Week 1-#5-Back & Filler Page-Front

Back of #5 are various images I cut from magazines (one of my FAVORITE sources for inspiration) and cs "labels".

Filler Page-Back & Week 1-Unplanned-Front-Closed

The "Unplanned" page is that because this event was not on my "For Me" list at all but was something I did "For Me" last week. The base of the front is a brochure I got @ Starbucks while Mom, Kimberly & I were there Friday night.

Filler Page-Back & Unplanned-Front-Open

I LOVE the way the "Unplanned" page has the piece that covers the journaling then when opened reveals that GREAT saying as well as the journaling! I also used the very bottom of a Starbucks bag on the edge of the page.

Week 1-Unplanned-Back

I LOVE the saying on this bag. Many of you already know this because I used portions of the same Starbucks bag on one of my Mini Art Journal cards! Lucky me, it fit PERFECTLY on the back of my "Unplanned" page.

Well guys, I want to get off of here & go to bed. I hope you enjoy these pages half as much as I enjoyed making them! I am SOO LOVING this challenge so far!

Take Care & GB Hugs,
Later,
Amy

Best Me Challenge

2008-01-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,
Hope you have all had a good weekend. It's been a pretty boring but good one here. On to my Best Me Challenge Stuff. My 5 Things For Me List for this past week was...
I did most of these. I wasn't able to get Jas to play a game with me! Nor did I get any of my book read. I did get the others done and I DID go out for coffee @ Starbucks with my Mother-In-Law & Sister-In-Law Friday evening. This also meant I got to see my WONDERFUL nephew Daimian (he works there). I think all three of us had a pretty good time. As you can see #4 on my list was "make an album for my Best Me stuff". Well, I DID IT! I JUST finished it. So, here it is...
I'm not crazy about the pic I used on it (With all the zits on my face I look like Pizza Hut or Dominoes should be selling me!) BUT it's one of the few pics that I have a GENUINE smile in (it was from Queenie's Birthday party) so I wanted to use it.

After seeing other participants AWESOME lists I'm going to try to do something a bit more for more journaling. I will post them if/when I get them done.

Well, I'm outta here. Hope you all have a good week.

Later,
Amy

A New Challenge!

2008-01-01T16:24:00.001-08:00

Well guys, hope you all survived last night and got your New Year off to a good start. As you know, I finished my last card for the Mini Art Journal Challenge yesterday. So, for a new year I've got a new challenge (or two). I have decided to participate in Elisa Blaha's Paper 08 Challenge *here* , *here* & *here* and Sarah Bowen's The Best Me Challenge. I am excited because both of them are different challenges. Not always the same ol' thing. I think they are both going to be REALLY FUN!

Here is the album I made for my Paper 08 stuff (the cover anyway)...
It's a 4X6 homemade chipboard album.
The 1st challenge for it is "Balance". I haven't don't anything yet but have an idea brewing in my head.

I just finished cutting out the front & back for my Best Me album (chipboard again). I'm doing it a bit bigger, 5X7. I haven't decided how to decorate it yet so I'm still thinking about it. Challenge #1 there was to make a list of 5 things you want to do FOR YOU. These are supposed to be small things that you enjoy. As we do them we are supposed to journal (in some fashion) about them. So, here's my list (before you laugh, I said they were supposed to be easy & things I enjoy)...
Well, I'm gonna get off of here and veg a bit by watching USC finish kicking Illinois butt then make dinner and probably watch some more football (fingers crossed Hawaii can pull off a win vs. GA). Tonight is Jas' last day off before he heads back to work tomorrow morning so I'm hoping we can have a nice, relaxed evening.

Take Care & Happy 2008,
Amy

I DID IT! I COMPLETED My Last Card (ON TIME)!

2007-12-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

YES! I DID INDEED DO IT! I finished the last card of Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge! AND...I DID it BEFORE the year came to an end! WOOHOO! So, here it, is my Week 52 card...

Week 52
Prompt: Art
This was a very easy one for me as Art is so many things to me. It is the ONE thing that has been a constant in my life! I have been into some form of art ever since I was a child and ABSOLUTELY CANNOT imagine my life without it! Art is MANY things to me but above all else...

ART IS MY PASSION!

*DETAIL* Background is an ad from a magazine which I then painted on and drew on with my black Glaze Pen & my white Sharpie Paint Pen. I also attached letters cut from copper on the front and scrap pieces of the same copper on the back.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL, SAFE & HAPPY 2008!
Happy New Year to all of you!

With Love,
Amy

I've Done It! I've Done It! I'm All Caught Up (AGAIN)!

2007-12-30T14:57:00.000-08:00

I've done it! I'm all caught up on my cards for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge and I WILL finish it on time! WOOHOO! I actually stuck with something and DIDN'T QUIT! Trust me guys, this is a BIG thing for me! I am REALLY BAD at quitting things! Though I got REALLY behind I actually stuck with it & got caught up. I fell behind again, but again stuck with it and got caught up. Anyway, here are my two latest (and NEXT TO LAST) cards...

Week: 50
Prompt: The Greatest Gift
OK,here's the story...when I was diagnosed with breast cancer my friend Aaron bought me a clown wig! I thought he was crazy & laughed at him. When he gave it to me though he told me he had given his Grandmother one when she was going through her cancer treatment. He said that way no matter how hard things got she always had something to laugh at & smile about and that he wanted me to have the same thing. Let me tell you, IT WORKED! I kept that wig up by the phone and EVERY time I looked at it I smiled or laughed! Now even just thinking about it makes me laugh and/or smile. It may seem cheesy to some but it was DEFINITELY one of the GREATEST GIFTS I have EVER received.

Week: 51
Prompt: Made Me Think Of You

Pretty simple & self-explanatory.

Can't wait to see what the final prompt is going to be! I'm not 100% sure but about 99% that I'm going to do this *link* challenge next year. I think I talked my friend Kathleen into doing it as well so it should be fun. If any of you are interested check out the link above. Elise also created a blog just for the Paper 08 Challenge *<-link over there* you should check out.

Well, I hope everyone that reads this has a WONDERFUL 2008. Happy New Years to you all.

Take Care & All The Best,
Amy

*EDITED* Oops, I forgot, I actually had 3 cards to post! Yes, I'm an airhead, none of you have to tell me! LOL So...here is my Week 48 card.

Week: 48
Prompt: Ideas
Again, pretty self-explanatory. But, I will tell you a BIT about it. When I get ideas, they just CONSTANTLY spin in my head until I am able to work them out, get them out & right. They will keep me up at night, occupy my mind throughout the day, etc, etc. This my head on the card ACTUALLY DOES SPIN! LOL *Thanks for the help with this one Kathleen*

OK, I PROMISE, NO MORE! I REALLY WILL BE OUTTA HERE! LOL

Again, Happy New Year to you all!

Hugs,
Amy

2 Down 3 To Go

2007-12-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finished 2 of my cards now I just have 3 more to do. I'm REALLY HOPING I get them done by the end of the week because I REALLY want to actually complete this at the end of the year. Anyway, here are the ones I have completed...

Week 46
Prompt: Rejuvenation This one is pretty self-explanatory. The prompt was Rejuvenation. For me nothing makes me feel better, more rejuvenated & more alive that being around my friends.

I have had some pretty "down" times recently but through those times I have come to realize how lucky I am to have some REALLY WONDERFUL friends. Queenie & Kathleen are 2 or those WONDERFUL friends! This photo is from one of thee funnest events. It was Queenie's Birthday and I don't think I have ever laughed soo much or soo hard. It was a BLAST! Thanks you two & my other GREAT friends for being you & being there! I Love You All!

Week 49
Prompt: Time
*WARNING-slight nudity*The prompt for this card was "Time Flies". I think the front of it is pretty self-explanatory. The back may be a bit more complicated to some. For those of you that read my posts here regularly you know that this year I have been thinking ALOT about my life and how much of it I feel like I have wasted. This feeling, I believe, comes back to my experience with Breast Cancer. The experience itself wasn't that hard on me (it was MUCH harder on others in my life I think) but looking back it makes me wonder...How much time do I have left? What does my future hold? Etc.

For those that cannot tell, the background is a shot of my breasts post surgery (PLEASE NO RUDE or CRITICAL remarks at me for using & posting this photo. This is what I FELT when this prompt was given. Thank You~Amy). Over that is a "Time" themed transparency. I think the rest is pretty obvious.

Well, I think I'm gonna get off of here and watch a movie with Jas. Hope everyone has a VERY Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. To all my friends...Thank You for being there. Again, I Love You All!

~Amy

Update Re:Book

2007-12-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it! I got the book for my neighbor finished last night. Though it wasn't EXACTLY what I originally had in mind it turned out pretty good. I think it was a nice blend of what we both wanted. Surprisingly, when I was finished with it, I really liked it. I WISH I could share some pics but I don't have a digital camera right now so I couldn't take any before I gave it to her. I do want to thank Vee because she & her Christmas Journal were the inspiration for what I ended up doing. Anyway...I got my new goodies in the mail so I think I'm gonna get off of here and go work on the cards I'm behind on (AFTER I look for a recipe for tonight's dinner that is). Hope everyone is doing great & ready for a Merry Christmas.

Later~

Soo Bummed!

2007-12-17T23:11:00.000-08:00

I am SOO BUMMED!

This past Saturday my neighbor asked be to put together a project for her so I have been wrecking my brain & working my butt of trying to make it perfect. A hand cut chipboard album, crackle paint hand written journaling, LITERALLY HOURS & HOURS spent searching for the PERFECT images for each page. Well, she comes over tonight & I show it to her. Only for her to tell be that basically doesn't want anything I did/anything CREATIVE! She pretty much wants me to cut out the journaling from the paper she printed, mount it and attach it to the book and put a COUPLE of images. THAT'S IT! ALL of that time & effort down the drain! Again, I am SOO BUMMED!

Well, I think I'm gonna get off of here and watch a little TV before I head to bed. I have been soo obsessed with the above project I haven't even watched tv today! I didn't even watch the football game tonight! Soo...

Goodnight,
Later,
Amy

P.S. Levi & Queenie, Thank You for being the GREAT friends that you are! I Love You both!

Week 47 Card

2007-12-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,
Hope this finds you all enjoying the holiday season so far. I have had a HORRIBLE week this week and am feeling very inward & quiet so this will probably be a very short post. I just finished my Week 47 Card for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge and wanted to post it. Yeah, I know, it's a little late. What's new? It IS me we're talkin' about here. The point is it IS done! Now I just have to do this week's & the one for Week 46. I have the idea for 46 I just need to get the stuff. Appropriately the prompt for that week is Rejuvenation! Let me tell ya, after this week and the experiences that have come with it, I REALLY need to rejuvenate! I NEED to come back to life! To feel alive again in EVERY part of my heart, my mind, my soul, my life! It's going to be a journey, but I HAVE TO make myself DO IT. I will try to tell you guys about it more later. Right now I just don't feel like talking about it.

Anyway...here is my card.

Again the prompt was a rather appropriate one...Your Happy Place.
I could have REALLY used that Happy Place this week. At least I was able to enjoy today. I LOVE IT when we have REAL snow! It's soo pretty out. I looked outside this afternoon and caught a glimpse of the sky. It was a REALLY pretty blue with touches of pink. Combined with the pure white of the snow and the brown branches of the bush out front of our house the scene was just PERFECT! Hence, the front of the card.

Well, soo much for the short post. Hope you guys like the card and more importantly have a Great & Happy Weekend.

Later,
Amy

Week 45/Self Explanatory

2007-11-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

Here's my card for Week 45. Yeah, I know, it's a little late. Oh well, at least it's completed. The prompt for the card was "Self Realization". As you will see, the card is pretty self explanatory. All I will say about it is that it's NOT about Jas. It IS about a person that for YEARS I thought was a good friend of mine but needless to say is now an EX in EVERY sense of the word. When, after 15+ years, I FINALLY discovered the TRUTH about this person it hurt BUT it was like a weight was being lifted off of me. There was a FREEDOM! So...here's the card.

More Cards!

2007-11-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone (well, to the few that read this thing anyway),
Hope this finds you all having a good week so far. I am doing good. I've had a MAJOR case of the "Blahs" the past few days though. Don't know exactly what it is or why but I sure don't like it. Anyway, one bright spot...I worked on my cards this evening and got the 2 I needed to get done completed! WOOHOO! So, here they are...

Week 43
Prompt: Scary

What's scary to me? The MOST scary thing to me, not LIVING my life before I die!

Week 44
Prompt:Home

"Home" to me is, as the card says, where my HEART is NOT where my house is. Funny thing is, I'm not even sure where exactly my heart is these days. This is meant in no disrespect to those that are actually without homes but in some ways I feel homeless. Like I have no place to land. Lost I guess you would say.

For those that don't know, the #s on the front of the card are the zips codes for the town I grew up & live in now (a big, whopping 30 minutes apart).

Well, that's it for tonight.

Later,
Amy

I'm Caught Up!

2007-10-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

It seems like it has taken FOREVER but I am FINALLY caught up on my cards for Emily's Mini Art Journal! FINALLY! WHEW! So, here they are...

Week 39
Prompt: Not Any More

The only think I could think of when I heard this prompt were the lyrics to Kelly Clarkson's song Never Again! So, that's what I based this card on.

Week 41
Prompt: If You Had A Magic Carpet Where Would You Have It Take You NOW?
I REALLY want to go to Italy & Paris but right now if I had a magic carpet and could go ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW it would be to a cabin in the middle of NOWHERE! Somewhere where I was COMPLETELY alone (well, I would have my dog with me), no tv, no computers, no radios, no cars, no NOTHING! JUST me, Hunter & the quiet, the calm & the simple beauty of nature!

Week 42
Prompt:Grateful Week
My interpretation of this prompt was a bit different than what Emily was going for. You see, I had just gotten back from seeing one of my ABSOLUTE BEST FRIENDS (who I hadn't seen in 10 years) when Emily posted the prompt on Sunday. So, for me, I was EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for that weekend and the chance to see & spend some time with $teve (and 'Vanna). Now BEFORE you look at the card and freak out here's the story...Steve, 'Vanna & I have known each other for years. The names on the card are all goofy nicknames. NO, I DID NOT get mine (NOR did 'Vanna) the way you will first think! Mine was a joke between Steve & I from our days @ Blue U (it's a long story) and Jeff gave 'Vanna hers @ the party that weekend. But NO, 'Vanna & I are NOT bimbo sluts! AND the reason I put "That was THEE BEST threesome EVER!" in the thought bubble on the card is because the 3 of us are always talking to each other on conference calls. We jokingly call those our threesomes! THAT is why I wrote that. So, now that I've clarified everything you can see the card!

Later,
Amy

My Flickr Favs!

2007-10-25T22:29:00.001-07:00

1. Whiskey Bottles And Brand New Cars, 2. color, 3. DottieboFenchurch!, 4. Ummm..., 5. Last scrapper standing - round3, 6. Silje °°°Scrapmagie°°°, 7. may I have your attention please, 8. 17/365, 9. Ride It, 10. I Want You To Want Me, 11. Arc of Light, 12. emma, 13. silhouette#2, 14. tanks, 15. 95, 16. empty, 17. carmesi, 18. Lucidity.jpg, 19. Untitled, 20. 296, 21. What's New, Pussycat?, 22. Golden Foothills, 23. Tension. Juxtaposition. Contrast. Fun., 24. Gray and Klaus, 25. 292, 26. artful beauty, 27. Sunset Clouds, 28. Autumn Alder, 29. Hello Raleigh Social Group!, 30. Law Office, 31. Clear Full Moon Before Eclipse, 32. Foothills Rainbow, 33. Darcy and Dakini.jpg, 34. Yogini.jpg, 35. Shrugs, 36. early morning commuter traffic.... :)

ANOTHER 1!

2007-10-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Did ANOTHER card last night. Here it is...

Week 37
Prompt: Draw Something
2 more to go!

Hope everyone has a good week.

Take Care,
Later,
Amy

DETERMINED! MORE Cards!

2007-10-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

No, don't faint! You DID read that ride! I finished 3 more cards last night! I'm down to 2 to go and I will be caught up! WOOHOO! Of course, I have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE what to do for those 2 that I still need to do! GRRR! AND once I get my cards caught up I have to work on my This Is Me Journal projects and I found it late so I have 14, YES 14, projects to do for it AND another 3 for Category Stories! Oh well, at least I will have my cards caught up. So, here they are...

Week 34
Prompt: Funny
I think most of you will agree...this (& ESPECIALLY this person) fits the prompt! *HEHE* Love Ya Queenie!

Week 38
Prompt: I Wonder
I think this one is pretty self explanatory. I'm starting to wonder if I'm EVER going to get a digital camera. I am getting soo desperate it's not funny! I want one SOO BAD!

Week 39
Prompt: Someone Special (or Spesh as Emily says)

My Spesh Someone is My $teve Daddy, My "Boyfriend" (as Jas calls him because we talk on the phone soo much), one of my ABSOLUTE BEST FRIENDS ON EARTH...Steve. He is just...SUPER!
He is one of those people that can make me laugh when I don't even want to smile. He is THE BEST!

I Love You $teve.

Well, that's it for now. Hope you guys are having a GREAT weekend so far.

Take Care,
Later,
Amy

More Cards!

2007-10-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

Hi Again!
It's almost midnight and I'm getting tired so this is probably going to be a short post. *Sorry* I am DETERMINED to get caught up on my cards for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge! I worked on some yesterday & today and got 3 done! 3 done and 5 to go (I THINK). I will work on the remaining ones tomorrow. Once I get caught up on my cards I will start in on my This Is Me Journal & my One Little Word projects! Anyway...here are the 3 I finished. Hope you guys like them.

Week 25
Prompt: Photo(s) That Mean Something To You

Week 30
Prompt: Blessings

Week 35
Prompt: Strength

G'night,
Amy

What Do I Want To Do?

2007-10-11T23:16:00.000-07:00

WHAT DO I WANT TO DO?

What do I want do do before I die? This is the question! I found this site, via Ali Edwards blog I believe, where you make a list of 100 things you want to do. I WISH I could say that mine are little things that are easy to accomplish. BUT...as with MOST of the things in my life, this is NOT the case. So many of the things I want to accomplish are INSIDE of myself! Getting over, letting go, finding that inner strength, etc, etc. These are what MANY of the things I want to do involve. MANY of the others involve travel. There are 2 places I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to go before I die. Those would be Paris, France & Italy (ANYWHERE & EVERYWHERE). I didn't really realize that there are soo many other places I want to go though.

Here in OR:

The Coast
Timberline Lodge
McMenamins Edgefield
Portland (I know this is strange, but I haven't been there for like 10 years!)

Other Places:

Boston
NYC
Maine
Savannah, GA
New Orleans
San Francisco

HOPEFULLY I will accomplish some of the things on my list. Right now I feel like I have WASTED my life away (LISTEN! This describes how I feel PERFECTLY!) & I HATE that feeling! ESPECIALLY after the cancer & losing Tonia! I feel like I am just tempting fate in a way. Not enjoying & living life while I can. Like I'm asking for the opportunity to do so to be taken away! I HOPE I accomplish at least SOME of those things before that happens!

Well, I guess I've babbled enough. For now anyway. I've got to post some cards I did (YES! I AM making a dent in that part of my To Do List!) yesterday/today so I'll be posting AGAIN in a few.

Later,
Amy

Another Card

2007-10-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
I got one more card done. Of course, just in time for a new post! LOL ONE of these days I WILL catch up! Preferable before the year is at it's end! LOL Anyway, here it is...

Week 36
Prompt:Life Is Beautiful

When I heard this prompt I knew immediately that I wanted to somehow incorporate the lyrics from the song Life Is Beautiful by Sixx A.M. in my card. Nikki Sixx (of Motley Crue) did this song for the soundtrack of his new book Heroin Diaries. The first time I heard it it touched me BIG TIME! I can SOO RELATE to this song! There is a line in the song that says "There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive.". UNFORTUNATELY this is very true in my case. In 2005, not long after my breast cancer diagnosis, my very good friend Tonia Lewis was killed (along with her baby & sister in law) in a HORRIFIC accident. Tonia's memorial service was a turning point for me in my life. Between the cancer diagnosis and losing her there was something inside of me that just "clicked". When they asked if anyone wanted to speak at her service people were, understandably , hesitant. I , very unlike me, stood up and (proudly) was the first one to speak! So, that's the story. It sometimes takes bad things to appreciate the good. So...REMEMBER!

Have a great week every week.
~Amy

A Few More Cards

2007-10-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone. Hope this finds all of you having a good week so far. It has been a pretty good one for me. Tuesday I got to go to Walla Walla on a "Treasure Hunt" with my friend's Kathleen & Lori. That was a blast. AND I found goodies for ANOTHER project (JUST what I need when I'm WAY BEHIND on a lot of the ones I have going on already!), some papers I have been dying for and just had fun hanging out with friends. Yesterday Lori & went over to Hermiston where we got our hair done. So that was another fun day. It feels soo good having friends like Lori & Kathleen to hang out with, not to mention an oh-so talented friend like 'Retta to do my hair! She did a GREAT job on my hair(as ALWAYS). Lori & I went from her shop to Subway for lunch, as I walked from Subway to the car I got a compliment! No more than 30 minutes after she did it! WOOHOO! Oh, and today has been good because...I got a KILLER clipboard made for me by my friend Rachel! It is SOO COOL! I don't have a digital camera, but if you go to her blog here you can see it. Thank You Rachel!

Anyway, here are a couple of the back cards I needed to do for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge. A couple of the MANY I need to do! I am SOO BEHIND it's not funny! Anyway, here they are...

Week 26

Prompt: Daughter

Week 27

Prompt: Junk Mail

There is actually a story behind the junk mail used on this card. My husband's bank has been a real P.I.T.A. about giving me information, receipts etc because Jas & I decided not to put me on that particular account. Jas has told them OVER & OVER & OVER that it is OK to give it to me. He told them he would sign a paper authorizing it went in to do it an (of course) the girl had no clue what he was talking about! So rather than giving it to me, they would rather wrap it in an additional sheet of paper, put in an envelop, put postage on it & MAIL IT TO US!

RIDICULOUS & A TOTAL WASTE!

I Love...

2007-09-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

I am DEFINITELY NOT in the mood to post something with a title like this! I don't know if it's Round-Up frustration or what but today has been a VERY FRUSTRATING day. On top of the fun that is Round-Up (for those of you that don't live here in Pen-DULL-ton,OR Google "Pendleton Round-Up") we had a tech from Cascade Natural Gas come out yesterday to fix a leak only to discover this morning that we have NO hot water because when he felt he HAD to show me what natural gas smells like (even though I ALREADY KNEW) and loosened one of the pipes to do so creating a vacuum and putting out BOTH the pilot light to out hot water tank AND our furnace. BUT, when I called the first time all I got told is that it wasn't his fault and there was nothing they would do about it until at least Monday! Nor was there anything Jas or AJ (my landlord) were going to do about it either! GRRR! Thus, guess who had to call and argue with CNG AGAIN? ME, OF COURSE! I'm sorry for this vent guys but, as you can tell and as I have mentioned, I am FRUSTRATED! Anyway, on to something better...

Here is a LO I did for a cool blog I found. It's ANOTHER (like I need one but OH WELL) challenge blog. This one is called This Is Me...A Journal Challenge (check it out if you get a chance). The theme for this challenge was "I Love...". So, here's my LO
This one was a BLAST to do! I think it was soo much fun because I didn't put any pressure on myself, I JUST DID IT! I started with a base of craft colored cs then I grabbed my acrylic paints and just poured them on! I squeezed on some bright red, some hot pink, turquoise, true yellow, oh and some purple then I just took my brush and started brushing. No particular direction, just moved my brush around. I let it dry then I took my Glaze pen *I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those things!* and drew the "I" then painted on the heart and heavily inked the edges of the paper. After that I tore strips of blue painter's tape (I wanted masking tape but we didn't have any so I made due with this) to fit the page. I inked the edges of the tape, put them on the page, then wrote the things I Love w/a black Sharpie marker. After that I drew boxes around all of the strips again w/the black Sharpie and applied white rub-ons to the heart to spell out "LOVE". Of course, AFTER all of this, I decided that I wanted to paint the background behind the tape strips bright yellow so I took them all off painted the boxes in with the bright yellow paint and put them back in. ONLY ME! Oh, and I also wrote little things that each of these things means to me either underneath or above with a gold paint pen. Anyway, it was a FUN one to do and I'm pretty happy with it.

Speaking of happy...I've been reading Living Artfully by Sandra Magsamen. I'm 5 chapters into it an LOVE it so far. I think reading that may have had a hand with why I was actually able to sit down and ENJOY creating this layout. I did it for the sake of enjoying it & doing it! I didn't put the pressure of it having to be PERFECT on myself! I did it for me and that's it!

Well, I think that's it. Thanks for listening to my rant. Sorry about that guys. I hope this finds you all having a good weekend.

Take Care & Hugs,
Amy

Friends, Fun & Food

2007-09-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was SOO MUCH FUN! My friend Lori & I met up with my other friend Kathleen @ GP and hung out while Lori's Mom and "Grandma" Margi went on the Underground Tour (Lori's Mom is visiting from Colorado & Margi is from Arizona). It was soo much fun to just hang out and talk. Not to mention the food was delicious (a Tomato & Cheese Bagel and Iced Orange Spice Tea!)AND...

(KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR ME!) I filled out a job application too! When we ordered I noticed that there was a Help Wanted ad taped to the counter so I asked if they were indeed still looking for help. Sure enough they were so I applied.

I have to say, I TOTALLY fell in love with Lori's Grandma! She is SUCH a sweetheart! SOO COOL! I just LOVE HER! She is soo outgoing and full of life! You would NEVER, EVER guess she's 79! *I HOPE you don't mind me posting that Margi.* Her Mom is a TOTAL sweetheart too! This is the second time I have got to hang out with her. It was soo nice.

I took my new book (I got it this past Saturday when Jas & I went over to Walla Walla and played around. *FUN*) to share with the girls, Living Artfully-Create The Life You Imagine by Sandra Magsamen. Kathleen found this quote that she says I need to listen to...

When you act on your impulses

to play, when you are open to
the possibilities in each moment,
you replace your fears with
self-understanding, self-esteem, and
personal strength.

Well, onto something else...
I ACTUALLY created something!
This was something I just made "for me". Here's the story...I have had this bird feeder in my back yard that the birds just LOVED. BUT...awhile back we discovered that the bird seed we had in the feeder was sprouting & growing in the flower bed. Pretty much taking over the corner where the feeder was. My neighbor Julie told me about this one brand of bird seed you can get that doesn't do that. So on one of our play days Lori & I went to Bi-Mart (on luck # Tuesday of course) and got some. There has just been one problem...ever since I changed it (over a month ago) they haven't TOUCHED my feeder! Now mind you it CANNOT be because they don't like the food because it's the same exact food that Julie has! Anyway, after at least a month, I FINALLY had birds @ my bird feeder! I was SOO HAPPY! Thus my little creation!

Well, that's it for today. Hope you are all having a good week so far.

Hugs & Love,

Amy

REMEMBER & NEVER FORGET!

2007-09-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

WICKED COOL CG @ 2Peas!

2007-09-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today is the 1st of the month which meant a new Creating Garden @ 2 Peas! WOOHOO! This one was on of THEE BEST they've had since I started going there (in my opinion anyway). I LOVE mini albums/books so it fit me to a T! Anyway, taking a Q from Ali Edwards I thought I would share some of my favs from it. This COULD take awhile 'cause there was a LOT that I liked. So, here we go...

First there is this one by Jennifer Johner!
I ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY, COMPLETELY LOVE this album! I think it is one of my favorites I have seen in a long time! This is for SEVERAL reasons! Before seeing this one I NEVER would have even THOUGHT of stitching ON THE PAGE PROTECTOR! It NEVER would have crossed my mind! After seeing how AWESOME Jennifer's album looks though I am going to HAVE TO TRY IT! In addition to the stitching I LOVE the way she used strictly B&W photos and the way those B&W photos look with her beautiful color combination she used!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS ONE!

Then there is this one by Shannon Tidwell!
I LOVE this for several reasons but the one that hit me the most was...Her "plan" which wasn't a plan, if that makes any sense, was so simple (I tend to AGONIZE over my pages/projects THUS not do them)...put the photos inside the page protectors and then stitch and embellish on top of the page protectors. I think it would do myself some SERIOUS good to approach my layouts/projects with that simple approach rather than AGONIZING over EVERY LITTLE THING! Again, on top of her approach, her album is just AWESOME!

This one by Cindy Liebel. I liked it for a couple of reasons...1.)That box is just BEAUTIFUL! I LOVED the colors & papers she used on it! 2.)The little albums she made to fill it were such a neat, simple idea! What better way to keep photos of your newborn (or any other idea you chose) organized than making these cute little albums with photos from EACH MONTH?!

This one by Tia Bennett! What an AWESOME idea! I LOVE it! I am going to HAVE to try this!
*I BET Kathleen does too! (Hehe, Hi Kathleen.)*

Another one by Tia Bennett. This one is simple in design yet OH-SO-COOL! I LOVE EVERYTHING about it! The idea, the colors, the photographs, the accents she used, the album itself...EVERYTHING!

Yet ANOTHER ONE by Tia Bennett! *I THINK I have a new Favorite Scrapbooker!* This one combines a LOT of things I like. First there is that cover! OMG! It's GORGEOUS! There is NOTHING I don't like about it! Then there is the "theme" of the album, Quotes! I LOVE quotes! I'm ALWAYS looking for quotes that fit projects, situations, etc. And then there's the pretty paper & swirls! Most of you that are looking at this KNOW that I LOVE swirly stuff and pretty print papers!

Another Quote book. This one by Wendy Bretz is very simple design-wise but very beautiful & pretty too. I LOVE her idea & LOVE this album!

This one by Lisa McGarvey is DEFINITELY one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES from the ENTIRE Garden! I just LOVE this album! I LOVE the way she used the large photos as a background then layered the frames (using the backside of them for journaling or other pics) and smaller pics! I just LOVE this album! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

This one by Emily Falconbridge. OMG! What can I say...I WISH I was the friend she made this for?! This album is AN ABSOLUTE WORK OF ART all in itself! It's GORGEOUS!

I am ABSOLUTELY & COMPLETELY LOST when it comes to digital scrapbooking, but I LOVE the little album here that Desiree McClellan created. Again it has a Quote them so I like that but I just LOVE her design! SOO COOL!

*Kathleen, you're gonna LOVE this one!*
This album by Stacey Sattler is SOO COOL! The base is FABRIC!

This one by Joanna Bolick...I just LOVE this idea!

Jas WISHES he needed this album! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the idea & design of this album by Laura Kurz! I LOVE all of the layers. The simplicity of the color scheme. The album (I WANT one of those!). The idea of having it all ready with space for EVERYTHING! I just think she did a GREAT job on this album PERIOD!

*If you're wondering why I said 'Jas WISHED he needed this album', it's because he has always wanted to go to Ireland. He wants to go there as bad as I want to go to Paris & Italy. In other words...REALLY BAD!*

This one by Joy Uzarraga...simple in design, but that is what MAKES it! The focus is on the photos. I LOVE the combination of the B&W photos with that GORGEOUS blue! Also like the tiny little extras added. I also like the idea of it. Taking 1 photo from each month & journaling about that month. This idea could easily be used for something OTHER than a child and I like that.

And FINALLY, the LAST ONE (I PROMISE)...this little album by Margie Scherschligt is just cute! I like the idea of asking cute little questions like this! Plus, I LOVE her use of buttons, cool papers & transparency pieces. I just think its a cute & cool little album!

Well, that's it for me. What did you guys think?

Later~
Amy

More Bleach Fun Pics

2007-09-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
Here are some more of the pics from the other day when I was playing around with the bleach pen.
This , of course, is Her Royal Highness aka Queenie aka Renee. This is a pic from her B-day that I tweaked a bit with the bleach pen , glitter & rhinestones (I HAD to Queenify it ya know!). I don't think I'm quite done with it yet. Think I have a little project in mind for it.

This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE Pretty Boi, and one of my ABSOLUTE BEST FRIENDS, Steve. I didn't do much to this one, just used the pen to write 'Pretty Boi' on the photo. I'm debating about adding some color to the letters but I haven't decided yet.

I LOVE this pic! Even without all the stuff on it, I LOVE IT! This is my "cousin" (son of my cousin's cousin) JJ out @ my Auntie Kate & Uncle Kenny's house after my cousin Brian's Memorial Service. He had been ABSOLUTELY WIRED ALL DAY before this! We were sitting outside and I looked over at JJ, he was starting to lean a little, his eyes drooping, leaning a bit more...then WHAM, he CRASHED! He looked SOO @ PEACE in this photo! I drew the lines to signify all the motion that surrounded him up to that point. I like the way it turned out but I need a green & yellow marker that matches better. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with it.

All of these were done as part of the Art Slam Challenge (LOVING it so far!).

Well, that's it. I suppose I should get off of this thing and go DO something. Or at least just get off of it for a bit. I was on here FOREVER yesterday AND the day before that trying to get into my iTunes! I FINALLY got in but lost a TON of music that I can't recover! Probably minimum $200 worth Jas & I have bought over the years! So needless to say I'm NOT happy with iTunes and am VERY sick of being on this thing! Anyway...hope you all are having a good weekend.

Later~Amy

A Few More In My Effort To Catch Up

2007-08-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
I am having a HORRIBLE night so I'm not going to write much. *Sorry* The pieces I am posting tonight are my Week #32 card for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge (the prompt was "Quiet") and my LO for Week #5 of the One Little Word Challenge (the word was "Simplicity"). Hope you guys like them.

Later,
Amy

Fun W/ Bleach!

2007-08-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Our project for Art Slam this week was to use a bleach pen to "funk up" our pictures. I had SOO MUCH FUN doing this! I haven't had this much FUN doing a project in I don't know how long! It was soo easy yet SOO MUCH FUN & the result were SOO COOL! I played with 5 pics, here are my 2 favs (I will post the others when I finish playing around with them).
I took these pics out @ my Auntie Kate & Uncle Kenny's house at the family get together after my cousin Brian's memorial service. My cousin Brenda had her camera handy and I wanted to capture my little, what do I call him...(adopted cousin?), J.J. asleep so I asked her if I could use it. I got that shot and then just wandered around Auntie Kate & Uncle Kenny's ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL garden shooting a few pics. This weather vane and bottle tree were 2 of my favorite things in it so I HAD to shoot them. Anyway...I thought the pic of the bottle tree would be PERFECT for this project because the background really distracted from the bottle tree. So I thought if I was going to play with that one I should try the weather vane one too. I am SOO GLAD I did! I think they turned out SOO COOL! I have to say, Jas bought me THEE COOLEST bleach pen to use for this project too! It's a Clorox brand one that has gel bleach in it and has 2 different tips on it! A fine point one and a wide, brush one on the other end. SOO FUN!

1 Down 8 To Go! LOL

2007-08-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

And I thought I was actually catching up! LOL Anyway...
It took me WAY longer than it should have but I finished my LO for Week #7 of the One Little Word Challenge. Rarely do you hear me say this, but I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. So, here it is...
DETAILS: 'SEEK' Is done with homemade chipboard letters that have been covered with cardstock & home made transparency letters (Font is 28 Days Later). Question mark has been painted directly on cs with black paint then outlined with a black Glaze Pen (I SWEAR I'm TOTALLY ADDICTED to these things!). The photo (Is why this LO take soo long! I had to reprint it like 7 times, AT LEAST, because I kept messing it up one way or another!) should look familiar to you guys if you're here. It's the same one I have on my banner. The photo was mounted on cs, to give it a bit of dimension, then outlined in Glaze pen (I TOLD YOU!), cut out then mounted on the BACK SIDE (it has a VERY matte finish) of a scrap of photo paper, cut out then mounted on the cs. I custom mixed some painted to match the yellow/green color in 'SEEK' and drybrushed it on the cs before laying the quote (typed out on my other favorite tool, my Dymo) down.

So, there you have it. A LOT of talk & time for a pretty basic LO! Oh well, I'm pretty happy with it and even if it didn't catch me up any I'm not behind even more! LOL

Hope everyone has a good Friday & a GREAT weekend.

GB Hugs,
Amy

3 Down 7 To Go (Weeks 28,29 & 33)

2007-08-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well guys, I made a BIT of a dent in my To Do List. I got 3 of 10 (as of today) DONE! WOOHOO! So, without further adieu here they are... This is the Week 28 Card for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge.

The prompt was: Goal of the Week. Can you guess what mine was/is? Anyone want some Ketch-Up with/on those projects? LOL

This is my card for Week 29. The prompt for the week was: Define Perfection. When I saw this photo, which I cannot take credit for (A GREAT artist I found on Flickr, Oli aka *1102 did it. If you can CHECK HIS WORK OUT! He is AMAZING!), all I could think of was PERFECTION! The model's body & hair, the lighting, the angles, EVERYTHING! I on the other hand feel the COMPLETE opposite! I am SOO hating myself these days! I am self conscious, my face is breaking out HORRIBLY (I look like a walking PIZZA) and though I wasn't before I have become self conscious about my wonderful, uneven breasts (due to the lumpectomy) and THOSE are just the physical aspect of it all. Anyway...

Here is my card for this week, We ek 33.

I am TOTALLY UNHAPPY with the card but LOVED the idea and had fun trying it. Em's prompt for this one was: 10 Minutes! I am NOT a fast scrapper/creator/artist whatever term you want to use it boils down to...I AM NOT FAST! Thus my card is VERY raw and plain (to me anyway). BUT, as I said, it was fun to do. AND...I ACTUALLY GOT IT DONE! LOL

Anyway, I managed to get these done and I have pieces for a couple of others together so HOPEFULLY I will make an even bigger dent on that To Do List SOON!

Hope you guys all have a great week.

Take Care & GB Hugs,
Amy

Goodbye

2007-08-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a VERY long day. It was a day full of goodbyes & memories, tears & joy, happiness & sadness. Yesterday was my cousin Brian's memorial service. It was hard seeing my Auntie Karen have to say goodbye to one of her children. It was hard knowing that Brian was gone. At the same time it was good seeing a lot of family I hadn't seen for years. Even though many of them only live 30 minutes away life has stepped in and I haven't seen many of them in ages. It was good seeing most of them, it was good REMEMBERING Brian.

In a way I had to say ANOTHER goodbye yesterday as well. This one just as, if not MORE, emotional than saying goodbye to Brian. It was coming to the realization that the former friend I have talked about in previous posts is just that, a FORMER friend! It is still SOO VERY HARD! It's hard knowing that this person will NEVER be a part of my life again. That when I'm sad (as yesterday) I can't call them. That when I'm happy I can't call them. That when I just want/need somebody to talk to I don't have them to call anymore. That that security blanket so-to-speak IS NOT THERE anymore.

Anyway, by the time I got home last night I was REALLY sore (I stood for most of the day) & tired. I just wanted to take a bath & crash. So, I watched 1 TV show (LA Ink-TOTALLY WISHING I could get my new tattoo that I want SOON the entire time I was watching it!) then I took a shower hoping it would help the soreness & went to bed. I was emotionally & physically DRAINED! BUT, there was one little problem...my mind would NOT stop spinning! Going back "home", seeing soo many people I hadn't seen in soo long, the emotional ups & downs, "seeing"/realizing some things I just didn't want to "see", etc, etc. I just COULD NOT stop thinking about it all last night. Thus, I did nothing but toss & turn last night. So...I'm soo tired today it's crazy!

ANOTHER Creation! Week 31 Card

2007-08-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
I realize the fact that I ACTUALLY CREATED 2 things in 1 weekend could send a lot of you into shock, but it REALLY DID happen! So, the 2nd one...it is the Week 31 card for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge. The prompt for the week was: No Regrets. I DEFINITELY can't say I don't have regrets. Anyway, the subject matter/reason for this card is VERY personal so I won't go into that but here it is.

I know this card looks very simple but there really is more to it than appears (the back side anyway). I applied a layer of crackle medium then brushed that with a LIGHT layer of white paint. I then applied the photo (which was printed as a transparency) then painted the word 'REGRET' in red acrylic paint & then outlined in black Glaze pen. Anyway, that's that.

LATER~

Don't Faint! I CREATED Something!

2007-08-11T23:31:00.000-07:00

And that is (AMAZINGLY) something OTHER than a mess!

I ACTUALLY FINISHED A PROJECT! This is rather astounding considering I am SOO far behind in my One Little Word & Mini Art Journal Challenge projects that I could probably get buried in what I need to do. Before you guys say it, yeah I know, that wouldn't take much for Midget Smurf me to get buried. Anyway, here it is... This is my take on the Week #6 theme for the One Little Word Challenge. The word was AUTOMATIC. I knew IMMEDIATELY after reading what the word was what my LO was going to be about...the fact that I HAVE to have an AUTOMATIC transmission car because I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT drive a stick shift! This coming from a mechanic's daughter! Quite a riot huh?! LOL

NOTE-I CANNOT take credit for the KILLER photo I used. I found this one Flickr in BillHD's gallery. I think it is the PERFECT photo for this project.

Anyway, 1 down a GAZZILION to go! Hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend.

Later~

Anonymous/SSR

2007-08-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

OK, there are only about 3 people that I thought MIGHT read my blog that live in Athena and none of them have your initials but I think I can take a guess...Is it Suzie? If so, why didn't you just sign your name?

Later,
Amy

I ROCK!

2007-07-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

I got tagged (I'm sorry it has taken me soo long to respond) by my dear friend Anita! Thanks girlfriend! Soo...after a week of thought (hey, you guys know me & how I think) I am going to tag...
Rachel-Because she is such a talented & sweet woman. Who hopefully I will get to see soon.
Emily-Because even though she is probably WAY TOO BUSY to even WANT to see this I want her to know how cool she is!
Queenie-Who now that she FINALLY has her own blog I CAN tag! Who is also one of THEE BEST, MOST SUPPORTIVE & COOLEST friends a person could ask for! I am SOO LUCKY to be able to say she is one of mine!
Amber Dawn-Because she is one of THEE MOST TALENTED, CREATIVE & SUPPORTIVE people I know. I met A-D through a rubber stamping group we belonged to YEARS ago! I am SOO GLAD I did. She is the GREATEST! You MAKE SURE you DON'T let this darkness dim that brightness that SHINES from you A-D!

Thanks soo much for being the great people you are girls!

GB Hugs,
Amy

P.S. Kathleen & Lori, I would tag you 2 as well if you guys had blogs. Hugs & Thank You to you too as well.

Pay It Forward

2007-07-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

OK guys, here goes it....
Rachel & Anita posted this on their blogs. Rachel got it from her Mom (Queen Debbie), who got it from here. Anita got it from her best friend Bridgitta, who got it from here. So here's the deal, because I signed up to participate in BOTH Rachel's & Anita's the 1st 6 people that leave comments here will get a handmade gift from me. I don't know what it is or when you will get it but you WILL get it within 365 days from when you make your comment. The catch is that you have to "Pay It Forward". You have to post the same thing on your blog (you will only have to do it for the 1st 3 people that comment however). Thus, you will have to leave me a link to your blog so I can see that you posted your P.I.F. post before I send anything out. I can't wait to see who signs up! I think this is going to be soo fun!

Hugs,
Amy

Queenie, You HAVE To Do This!

2007-07-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

So, Queenie (my dear wine LOVER), do you agree? LOL

You Are Chardonnay

Fresh, spirited, and classic - you have many facets to your personality.
You can be sweet and light. Or deep and complex.
You have a little bit of something to offer everyone... no wonder you're so popular.
Approachable and never smug, you are easy to get to know (and love!).

Deep down you are: Dependable and modest

Your partying style: Understated and polite

Your company is enjoyed best with: Cold or wild meat

What Kind of Wine Are You?

Oh Queenie.....

2007-07-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday To You,
Happy Birthday To You,
Happy Birthday Dear Queenie,
Happy Birthday To You!

And MANY More.

Happy Birthday my friend. Thanks soo much for being the special person that you are & friend that you are. I Love You & hope you have a WONDERFUL Birthday.

GB Hugs & Lots of Love

Inspired by Ali-More Favorite Flickr Fotos

2007-07-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

1. Just Me, 2. No touching the art., 3. 7-8, 4. clean your brushes, 5. Door Prize 3:55 pm, 6. productive night, 7. DSC_0537 copy, 8. Indian Territory, 9. Beautiful Hood River, 10. Pioneer Square, Portland, Oregon, 11. 42, 12. Raspberries at Apple Valley Country Store, 13. Walla Walla, 14. Untitled, 15. Sign, 16. 42, 17. Sunflower, 18. Columbia River Gorge, Hood River, Oregon, 19. IMG_4567 Italy Trip March 2006, 20. Don't cry before the rain, 21. Pendleton ablaze!, 22. Athena Garage, 23. ronnie, 24. casal ventoso 050599, 25. Starbucks Downtown Greenville, 26. Homeless Man, 27. just relax, 28. Tilted face in cobalt, 29. The Secret Passageway to the Treasure, 30. Kimbo's Nemesis, 31. Lotus Blossum, 32. 059:365 Feb. 18, 2007- The dark side of me..., 33. smurfiliciously dangerous, 34. Savor Life, until the Last Petal Falls, 35. Irridescent Beauty, 36. Giddyup Y'all! (#3 of 3)

P.S. The garage in pic #22 is my Dad's. I don't often admit to it but I do LOVE pics of this side of his shop. This one captured it perfectly.

Seeing Things Clearly

2007-07-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is for you Queenie!
*Thanks for checking on me, you don't know how much I appreciated it & NEEDED it! Thanks for being such a GREAT friend! GB Hugs! Love You!*

Speaking of friends...
I am going through a healing of sorts at the moment. After YEARS I have FINALLY seen a so-called friend of mine for the person they TRULY are! Seeing that was VERY HARD! Obviously, as you can probably tell, what I FINALLY came to see was not the person I had always thought of them to be. Though it hurts like you would not believe seeing this person for what they truly are is thee best thing that could have happened! It will take some healing and will be hard to get over BUT getting this person out of my life FOR GOOD is the best thing for me!

I am BETTER & DESERVE FAR BETTER than this person!

Onto something MUCH better...
I had such a good time yesterday! I got a call Thursday from Elizabeth at the Pendleton Center for the Arts asking me if I would like to work down there for a few hours Saturday evening because they had a wedding and Roberta needed to have somebody there and that Roberta thought I would be the prefect candidate for the job. As I LOVE the place and just about everybody I have met there I accepted. I had such a good time! It was fun watching all of the people at the wedding, looking at all of the wonderful artwork the AC has and talking to Roberta. I came out of there with a MUCH NEEDED renewed energy for my art AND my life! I have been in a MAJOR slump as anyone that visits my blog regularly has noticed (Queenie, LOL). I am behind 7 projects! 5 cards for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge and 2 One Little Word projects! This was a combination of a LOT of things. There were some projects that were just a bit challenging for me (the themes), I lost my focus, got wrapped up in other things, I haven't been feeling good (I've had a NASTY sinus infection lately), then I just got down emotionally! But, I feel VERY renewed & refreshed after yesterday! I don't know what exactly it was about it but whatever it was REALLY helped me come out of this "funk" so to speak. It helped me come out of this haze and see things CLEARLY!

This being said...
Out with the bad, in with the good!
Out with the old, in with the new, the fresh, with LIFE!

I also want to take this chance to say a

GREAT BIG Thank You

to those friends of mine that have been and continue to be there & TRUE! I hope you all KNOW how much I REALLY, TRULY APPRECIATE YOU!

Queenie, Levi, Lori, Kathleen, Melisa, Anita...

THANK YOU!

REMEMBER!

2007-07-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

On this day PLEASE REMEMBER those that have given soo much for our freedom. PLEASE SUPPORT & REMEMBER our soldiers. Knowing what & who I know I KNOW for a FACT that many of our soldiers have given MORE to this country than you will EVER KNOW. Some gave there bodies but even more gave their HEART , their Mind & their SOUL! Unless you know someone that has gone through this you don't realize how much they TRULY gave! Whatever your beliefs PLEASE SUPPORT THE MEN & WOMEN OF OUR MILITARY!

Happy INDEPENDENCE Day!

~Amy

A LO I Actually LIKE!

2007-07-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

Now don't faint people! I REALLY DID say "A LO I Actually LIKE"! Yes, you CAN believe it! LOL I've got to thank Trini for the picture. This is one she took down at the Scrapbook Station Friday afternoon. It was originally of my GREAT FRIEND Mary & I but I cropped it down (Sorry Mary :-) I am sure going to miss all of you guys! *For those that don't know the Scrapbook Station closed it's doors for good Saturday night.*) to use on this LO. Which is a good thing because the other pic I had on here I ABSOLUTELY DETESTED! I can HONESTLY say I even (I think I might faint when I hear myself say this)LIKE IT! I NEVER like photos of myself! So a GREAT BIG Thank You Trini! So...here's the LO (Sorry for the CRAPPY cut & paste job with the photos. I'm still trying to learn/find some of the programs on the new computer.).

Later~
Amy

Fav Fotos From Flickr

2007-07-03T15:09:00.001-07:00

Say THAT 3 times people!

1. 14, 2. P1040407.JPG, 3. maybe, 4. Melancholy, 5. rolleiflex, 6. Fairy Tales, 7. everyday's fortune, 8. exhale, 9. Tucked Away, 10. sloans lake, 11. A Shining Star, 12. Synesthesia, 13. 14, 14. Moon, Sunday, July 1, 15. Kali, 16. Untitled, 17. Green and Purple, 18. beavis, 19. Untitled, 20. 07/01/2007, 21. Uk desi bride, 22. Flower, 23. downtown idaho springs, 24. Portrait of a Donkey, 25. 2-PugetSoundSunset, 26. Untitled, 27. journey by boat, 28. natures own, 29. Bride in B&W, 30. dilapidated farmhouse, 31. here, 32. B26611_5, 33. Barn Doors, 34. Rocky Sunset, 35. IMG_4080, 36. hassie

Week 24 Card

2007-06-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
Hope this finds you all doing good & having a good weekend. I am SOO THANKFUL this is a NEW WEEK! I needed last week to be over with SOO BAD! On to MUCH better thoughts...

Here is my Week 24 card for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge. AMAZINGLY I am VERY HAPPY with it! I think I captured/expressed my desired feelings perfectly. Soo...here it is.

The prompt for this week was "Remember When".

For me, all I can think of is when life was simple! I WISH things were like that! It seems like the older I get the more complicated my life gets. I remember the days when my life was friends, fun, fairly simple love & work. There were no real worries, my life was fairly easy & SIMPLE! Boy do I long for those days. Right now it seems like EVERYTHING in my life is a complicated challenge! EVERYTHING is a worry!

Anyway...
Hope you guys like it.

I also hope you all have a GREAT week ahead.

Take Care,
Later,
Amy

My Week 23 Card! ON TIME!

2007-06-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
I ACTUALLY finished my card YESTERDAY! NOT on Sunday or a week or 2 AFTER as I usually do! There was just one SLIGHT problem in getting it posted...I lost my internet connection AGAIN (I am getting SOO TIRED of this!). Soo...here it is

The prompt for the card was "RIGHT NOW" and this DEFINITELY fits my life RIGHT NOW! As always it is full of CHALLENGES, Ups, Downs, Good & Bad, Wants & Needs...all of this IS LIFE! There are things that I want SOO BAD but don't know how to get to them or they are soo far off it seems impossible. There are things I NEED to do that I need to do NOW! I NEED to do these things FOR MYSELF!!! I HOPE my card captured & expresses these feelings well.

Well, that's about it .

On another note AMAZINGLY I actually got more than 3 hours of sleep lastnight! AGAIN, I was wide awake @ 6 something in the morning but this time it was due to something on the power line blowing and waking me up. So even though it wasn't a lot it felt good and was MUCH NEEDED!

Well, I'm gonna post this before I lost by connection AGAIN (and this is DSL guys! Thank Qwest!!!).

Later~

SLEEP!

2007-06-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

I NEED SLEEP!

6 hours of sleep over 2 days is just NOT enough! I NEED SOME SLEEP! I am SOO flipping tired I feel like I'm a walking zombie! LOL I think I'm going to by myself some sleeping pills to MAKE SURE I actually get some tonight! I'm still trying to figure out how I could have been SOO tired last night (having only gotten 3 hours of sleep the previous night) yet STILL NOT SLEEP! I guess I was TOO TIRED too sleep. LOL At least the 1st night I had good reasons to not be able to! LOL

One Little Word-Well, Actually Two

2007-06-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I am feeling soo good today! I finished another layout last night! Another one I actually like at that! That last 2 layouts I have done are for the One Little Word Challenge. This is a REALLY COOL challenge that was inspired by Ali Edwards One Little Word project at the beginning of the year. As implied, each week the girls post a one single word and the participants create a layout (or other creation) based upon that word. I LOVE this idea! I am a bit late posting the 1st week's piece but I have done both challenges and have LOVED it!

*QUEENIE, GET TO DOING YOURS!*

*NOW!*

Soo...here they are

Week #1

Week #2

Think you can guess what the words were? LOL

Well, that's it for today.
Hope you guys are all having a good day and a good week so far.

Take Care & Hugs,
Amy

Caught Up AGAIN!

2007-06-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

OK here we go AGAIN! I FINALLY got caught up, after being 3 cards behind only to get behind AGAIN! So...here are my cards for Weeks 21 & 22 of Emily's Mini art Journal Challenge! I am NOT HAPPY with them AT ALL! BUT, I am caught up! The ONLY thing I can say I DO like about them is the interpretation of the week 21 card.

The prompt for the above, Week 21 card, was "Your redeeming qualities/qualities you aspire towards".

The prompt for this card was "What you you like to learn?".

There are lots of things I would like to learn, but lately I have had a REAL desire for a REALLY COOL, nice quilt. NOT one of these store bought, machine made quilts with NO character! A GORGEOUS quilt with nice, tight stitching and definition like OLD quilts had. This desire and appreciation has me wanting to learn how to do it so I can make myself one like that!

NOW...Let's see if I can STAY caught up!

Hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend. *Thanks SOO MUCH for the phone call Queenie!* I got to talk to Queenie AND a friend of mine from Blue U days that I hadn't talked to since he moved to Portland YEARS AGO! It was SOO COOL! I have been searching for Steve FOREVER so it was a blast to talk to him FINALLY! In some ways it made me feel like a TOTAL LOSER though! I mean here he & other friends have these KILLER, high paying jobs and here I am a housewife/loser! I did a LO last week and one of the things I wrote in the journaling is that I am 33 years old and I feel like i have WASTED my life so far! I had a couple of years that I was truly happy but the last portion of it I just haven't LIVED my life! I REALLY need to do that! The 16th of this month will be C-Day (the 2 year anniversary of the day we found out about my breast cancer diagnosis). After going through that and seeing others go through a MUCH tougher battle with it I don't want to WASTE my life away! I want SOMETHING TO SHOW FOR IT! I am 33 years old and have hardly done ANYTHING or been ANYWHERE! I HATE that feeling! I swore to myself growing up that I would not have my mother's life yet that is what I seem to have! How did it end up this way? Where did I lose MYSELF?! More important...

HOW DO I GET IT BACK?

A Poppy for A Poppy

2007-06-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, Just a quick post to post some pics of a Paper Poppy I made for my dear friend Lori a little over a week ago. I was TOTALLY inspired to create this by the GREAT artist Rebecca Sower. I saw pics of some she had made and just FELL IN LOVE with them! Well, Lori gave me some Poppy seeds for my garden (which I STILL haven't planted *BAD AMY!*) so I though what a PERFECT Thank You, a Poppy for a Poppy! *LOL* Anyway, here are the pics. The pics are a bit off but you get the idea.

I finished a LO I've been working on for a week or so yesterday. AMAZINGLY I am REALLY HAPPY with the way it turned out. I will try to scan it (I don't know how well it will scan as it's a 12X12) later. If that doesn't work I will take a pic of it when Levi comes thru Friday.

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone is having a good week so far. *IF my Internet is actually REALLY fixed this time (it's a loooooong story) AND the weather stays like this for a bit mine will be pretty good!*

Later,
Amy

My Monday Mosaic

2007-06-04T12:11:00.001-07:00

Taking a cue from Ali Edwards, I decided to create my own Monday Mosaic from my favorite Flickr photos (say that 3 time fast). As you will see there are 3 pics of Elsie (and 1 that she took) in here. NO, I'm NOT a stalker (LOL) that girl takes & models for THEE BEST pics! I HAD to put them in my favs!

Short & sweet, that's all for today. HOPEFULLY I will actually have something to post later today ;-)

HOPEFULLY!
1. total self portrait., 2. self*portrait*1, 3. fresh*paint, 4. Picasso quote, 5. seattle*love, 6. Cracks One, 7. road to heaven, 8. Road To Farley Mount, 9. 11-15-06 Country Road V, 10. On the road, 11. On the road again, 12. Faith, 13. Reach for the sky, 14. In Neptune's Garden..., 15. The Poor Man's Garden, 16. un árbol viejo, 17. No time like the past, 18. Passionflower, 19. Natural anthem, 20. A river runs through it, 21. Nostalgia, 22. Another green world, 23. the writing is on the wall..., 24. envelope., 25. Face in the Fountain, 26. Under the canopy, 27. Red Brick Green Frog, 28. Light blue and air bubbles, 29. The Yew Tunnel., 30. Jellies, 31. Double Delight Whirl #1, 32. A Negative Rose, 33. Chevy - Chevrolet, 34. Wing and a Prayer, 35. A Storm Brewing, 36. For Jeff Clow

OMG! I'm Caught Up!

2007-05-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

OK don't faint people...I am actually caught up on on my Mini Art Journal cards!!! Funny thing is once I got into them they actually went pretty quick. Soo...here they are, my cards for weeks 18, 19 & 20.

Week 18
Prompt:Nature

Week 19
Prompt:Surprise!

This one is probably a bit different than expected considering the prompt, but it fits me. I used to think my MIL was CRAZY (OK bad choice of words LOL) how about OBSESSED for her absolute OBSESSIVE LOVE of her flower beds. Then I started doing it. At 1st it was so-so, nothing special. Then, once we moved into this place, my LOVE for it took over and I am TOTALLY OBSESSED! I can now TOTALLY RELATE! So, thus the reason for me picking this for my "Surprise" card. My love for flowers & gardening came as a TOTAL SURPRISE to me!

Week 20
Prompt:Change

I think the cards speak for themselves so I won't say much else. Other than it feels SOO GOOD to be caught up! NOW...if I can just get all of the other projects I want to do DONE! One can HOPE!

Take Care,
Later,
Amy

Life Is Beautiful!

2007-05-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of people (Queenie) will TOTALLY freak out when they see this BUT...
LISTEN TO THE LYRICS!

The lyrics fit me and my life to a T! NO, I haven't had any drug problems, but I have DEFINITELY had my share of ups and downs and it is those downs that have taught me to appreciate the ups. I think this is a BEAUTIFULLY written and expressed song that expresses how I feel PERFECTLY!

That's it for now.

Hope everyone is having a GREAT start to their 3 day weekend. HOPEFULLY I will get caught up on some of my projects during mine (Hey, I can HOPE & DREAM can't I?).

Later,
Amy

Thank You Levi!/It's SOO NICE To Be Back!!!

2007-05-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

OMG! I have been without Internet service for almost a week! It feels SOO GOOD to have it back! Like my camera, I never imagined how much I NEEDED it until I didn't have it. It's my air! LOL

Anyway...
This is going to be a quick one because I STILL have to take a shower (I know, there's a visual most of you REALLY wanted!) and go over to Walla Walla.

What has happened in that week I haven't had Internet?

I GOT A NEW COMPUTER!

Thank You SOO MUCH Levi!

My dear friend Levi, LB Productions in Joseph OR, gave me a KILLER deal on a NEW computer! this is not just a new computer...this is a CUSTOM BUILT, KILLER computer! AND...not only did I get the computer I got a new KILLER printer/scanner/copier/fax, a new screen AND his digital camera! Let me tell you, Levi went WAY above and beyond for Jas & I and words cannot express how grateful I am for this! I HOPE he truly knows how much I appreciate it. Thank you again Levi.

Well, I will write more later. Right now I've gotta get off of here and go get ready.

GB Hugs to you all.
I've Missed You.
~Amy

P.S. Ronda & Melisa, I need your blog addies! I lost my favs in the transition.

One Down, STILL Two To Go!

2007-05-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I hope this finds you all coming to an end of a wonderful weekend. I hope all of you had a marvelous Mother's Day as well.

I FINALLY got another of my cards done. Problem is, I'm STILL 2 behind! I started out 3 behind, then got one done and had 2 to do, then 2 done and 1 to do, and now with it being Sunday I am back to 2 to do! Oh well, I am STILL having fun and I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do for my 1 late card so I'm sure I will get caught up soon. So...I DID get my Week 17 card done this weekend. This card was quite an adventure for me. I really liked the prompt, "your bedroom", BUT...finding things that really fit my bedroom was a PAIN! I did it though! So, here's the card.

This card, though challenging in ways, was a BLAST to put together! And I tried a couple of news things that made it REALLY FUN! So, let's get into the details...

Front-the floral print and stripes (both representative of the curtains in my bedroom) are cut out from Better Homes & Gardens Magazines. The toile flower is cut out from a curtain that Jas & I had in our bedroom at our old place that matches the bed skirt (Shhh, don't tell, it's an old quilt draped over the box spring of our bed!) on our bed now.

Back-I painted the card pink & green with a crackle finish. These colors are fairly present in our room. On top of this I attached a paint chip that is the color we will be painting our room.

Other than playing with the crackle paint (AMAZINGLY something I hadn't ever done until yesterday when I made the card!) using the chipboard the way I did was really fun for me! I used the chipboard scroll piece on the back side, forgetting that it would should on the front side in spots. So, after thinking a bit, I decided to put another one on the front side sandwiching the card between the chipboard pieces. I then cut off a bit of the card that was coming through the chipboard and glued green satin ribbon to the edge.

I am VERY proud & happy with the way this card turned out! I think it captured the look and feel of our room VERY WELL in addition to that it was REALLY FUN trying some new things!

Well, it's almost 12:15 AM so I should probably get off of here and get to bed. I hope you all have a great week.

Take Care & Hugs,
Amy

P.S. Rachel & Little Gi, it has been SOO GOOD "talking" to you 2 this week.

I've Been Tagged!

2007-05-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

OK My Dear Friend Rachel has tagged me! She wants me to list 10 Random Weird Things About Myself. Well, before you all say it, narrowing it down to 10 may be difficult for me BUT I will try.

*RULES*
Here are the rules for playing 10 Things: Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts or habits about yourself. At the end you choose people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them to be tagged. You can't tag the person who tagged you!

So...here it is.

1.) I stack my clothes in the order I will be putting them on when I get dressed in the morning! Bottom to top. Shirt, Jeans, Bra, Underwear.

2.) I have to have my morning "mocha" (coffee & cocoa mix w/milk) out of the same cup every morning. The cup I took with me to the Herring House when I was getting my cancer treatment.

3.) Seeing "naked" buttons on layouts, cards, ANYTHING LITERALLY makes me cringe! The muscles in my arms LITERALLY tense up.

4.) I have a friend that I went to school with (Alternative school here in Pendleton for those that don't know that I went there :)-There's something in itself most of you didn't know about me!) that I was very close to, miss & WISH he would get his act together , that I think about everyday.

*NOTE* I should probably explain...I went to alternative school not because I was a trouble maker or anything like that but because I was raped when I was 13 and going back to school that year there was a teacher that was down right MEAN & NASTY that I could not deal with. THUS I went to alternative school instead.

5.) I would one day LOVE to own a restaurant/art gallery with Jason & my BIL Mark. The two of them are ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS cooks and I would LOVE to see this happen. There is a little old brick building off of Crockett Rd. in Milton-Freewater that I just DREAM about doing it in EVERY TIME we go buy it! I can just envision it every time I look at it! The 2 of them as the cooks, me doing the interior with BEAUTIFUL, CREATIVE, INDIVIDUAL works of art that would change frequently. *DREAMS*

6.) I listen to EVERYTHING from Heavy Metal (You guys HAVE to listen to Heroin Diaries Life Is Beautiful! The lyrics are SOO ME!) to Jazz Michael Buble, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole) to 70's Soft Rock (Ambrosia, Paul Davis, Player, Earth Wind & Fire) & Hip Hop (I LOVE Dem Jeans by Chingy w/Jeramaine Dupree)!

7.) I have lived in the state of Oregon, specifically Pendleton/Athena, my entire life *YUCK* yet only been to the Oregon Coast TWICE! THAT SUCKS! HOPEFULLY I will be making it 3 SOON! I would love to come see you sometime Rach!

8.) One of the most defining moments of my life was when I was the first person to speak at my late, dear friend Tonia's funeral. Before that I was not the type to speak out but when it came for people to get up and speak and nobody got up, they wanted to but they were hesitant, I HAD to! Tonia was way too important, outgoing & special NOT to say it! From that point on I don't really have a problem saying what I think. Her death had a MAJOR impact on me!

9.) My MIL got me hooked on gardening and now I can stop! I am obsessed and into it MORE than she is! I sit outside and OBSESS over what I can put where, what would look good here, etc, etc.

10.) I LOVE Mt. Dew from a fountain, but...ONLY from Dean's Deli! They have THEE BEST in town! LOL

OK, onto the people I'm going to tag...

Queenie-though I KNOW she won't answer (she doesn't have a CLUE how to hit the reply button let alone copy & paste a document!)*Hehe-Love Ya anyway Queenie!*

Lori-Cause I'd like t o know more of those quirky things about her.

Victoria-Because I think it would be fun to find out these things about her.

Gigi-Because I KNOW there will be some goodies in hers! IF she can sit down long enough to answer!

Levi-Same reason as Gigi's!

Get "Widgit" People!

2007-05-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
A bit happier post than my last one (IF this works that is). I found this REALLY COOL goodie, for lack of a better word, via my dear buddy Rachel Whetzel(whom I miss "talking" to dearly :-( ) CHECK IT OUT! It's really fun! I had a really tough time with the "My Art" question as I LOVE ALL TYPES OF ART! But, I especially LOVE graffiti AND tattoos! And since I am just DYING to get my next tattoo *wink* it was a TOUGH DECISION! Anyway...

Hope you are all having a great weekend so far.

GB Hugs,
Amy

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I NEED A CAMERA!

2007-05-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

OK I'm going NUTS!

I NEED A CAMERA!

I never realized how important my cameras were/are to me until I (STUPIDLY) threw out my digital camera when we moved into our current home. It wasn't anything special, just a basic point & shoot version. BUT...it was SOMETHING! Now that I have 2 projects that I REALLY need "About Me" pics to complete and cannot get them! It's DRIVING ME NUTS! Yes, I have a 35mm BUT I can't see the photos right away, I have to get film, get it processed & put on disc, upload, select, order or print! I feel like my hands are tied behind my back, LITERALLY, by NOT having a camera to get the images I desperately want for the projects I want to do!

I HATE THIS FEELING!

One Down, Two To Go!

2007-05-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys, it took me several hours today (struggling to get it "JUST RIGHT!") but...I got 1 of my 3 cards DONE for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge! This card is for Week 6. The prompt for this week was "Get Someone Else To Contribute". I was SUPER excited about this prompt but boy did it turn out to be more difficult that I had imagined. I started out with a very serious idea for this card. My friends that contributed to my card got me thinking in another direction. Though this was difficult, it was good. I am fairly happy with the end result. It has both fun AND serious aspects to it.

Thank You to my dear friends Lori & Kathleen for their contribution to the card.

Kathleen knew I was REALLY wanting this paper doll stamp that she had so she made me the doll to put on here. *Kathleen, I'm sorry about the bow. It broke when I moved it.* I added some lines and the heart to her. As mentioned above Kathleen had put a maize yellow colored raffia bow on her head. The bow broke when i was moving it so I left her bald and put a pearl finish on the top of her head to emphasize her "baldness" (an inspiration from my cancer treatment days).

Lori gave me a little bag with tons of REALLY COOL stuff in it (green rhinestones, a silver hair pin that had touches of blue glitter, a COOL purple rhinestone circle, the frog and a shark tooth fossil). I ended up just using the frog on it because it really fit the idea that Lori had brought up for the card and I didn't think I could do the other goodies justice on the card.

Thanks again girls. *GB Hugs*

For those of you that are wondering why in the world I put the word "VIEW" on the card here's the story...To me it's the way you view things that determines how/what/if you contribute to society. Weather you look at things good or bad, pretty or ugly. I.E. the toad IS the Prince! I hope this makes sense.

Anyway, 1 down!

Hope everyone has had a great week so far. Mine will be even better if I actually get the other 2 cards done!

GB Hugs to you all

~Amy

FRUSTRATED!

2007-05-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

I am SOO frustrated today!

Actually it has been this way for awhile. Things just aren't "clicking" like they SHOULD BE! Thus, I am not getting things done the way I desire to either. I am behind 2 Mini Art Journal Challenge cards with another prompt given today for this weeks card. Making it 3 to do. I have some mini albums I have wanted to do for quite awhile but not done. I need to complete my All About Me album before the 21st or Queenie (I thought you were going to leave me a comment my dear Royal Highness?)is going to kick my butt. I have ONE (yes, that's all I've done so far) project I have been working on in my ceramics class that I need to get done by the end. I am frustrated about that because the class itself isn't going great for me this time. Creatively it just hasn't been flowing then you add that the mix of people in the class just doesn't mesh good this time either. The 2 combined are just making it really difficult for me to produce. On top of that I STILL owe my fees for it :-(.

As I said...I am FRUSTRATED!

I am just feeling overwhelmed and I HATE IT!!!

Well, I guess that's it for this post. Hopefully the next one I will actually have some cards to post AND not feel soo crummy.

Later~

Week 15 Card/Week of Ups & Downs

2007-04-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, I JUST finished making my Week 15 card for Emily's Mini Art Journal Challenge. This week's prompt was "Parents" which is a VERY Good & Bad, Up & Down topic for me so I guess my week went right along with the card.
The good...

I created a piece I'm REALLY excited about in ceramics class Monday.
Jas started his new job Tuesday.
I actually has a CONVERSATION with my father.
I TOTALLY LOVE Queenie's All About ME class that I am taking. The book is SOO COOL!
I made a KILLER & pretty healthy dinner lastnight.
I had a GREAT, FUN day with Lori today (I am soo glad I met her).

The bad...

Jas & I got into an argument after work Tuesday and DID NOT have a good night.
I had a NASTY headache ALL DAY Wednesday.
I have had some issues with some friends that I just don't know if I am going to be able to one. One wasn't a HUGE thing it's just a her opinion thing. But the other REALLY hurts me. In the spectrum of my life it's not huge but concerning our friendship it REALLY HURTS.
Even though I have been TRYING to eat better I haven't been as good as I should be.
I have spent WAY TOO MUCH $ this week and STILL haven't got/paid for things I still need to get/pay for!
Due to one of the friend things I REALLY feel like just going away and not being near ANYONE! My trust is REALLY shattered.~Before you think it, it's not you R!

Anyway, onto the card... As I said, my relationship with my parents is VERY complicated. I have struggled my ENTIRE life to have a REAL relationship with my father and to this day, I'm 33, I don't. Other than VERY RARE occasions about the only time he calls me is when he wants me to do something. IF he calls me. or I have to call him, I am LUCKY if he will talk to me for more than 5 minutes. He just doesn't seem to want me in his life (close that is).

My Mom...Growing up my mother put me on a pedestal and spoiled me to the point that to this day I find things very difficult. I was her security blanket in many ways. Yet, this being said, there were MANY different sides to her. ALOT that only I saw. I swore I would never be like my mother yet, here I am. I am more like her than I want to admit that's for sure.

There is ONE thing I am VERY glad I got from my Mom...her CREATIVITY! My entire childhood, and beyond, my Mom was ALWAYS sewing. She sewed clothes, decorations, just about everything you can thing of. She did many other things as well (One of my treasured items is a ceramic angel she made RIGHT BEFORE she died!) but sewing was DEFINITELY her passion.

Here is a photo of her sewing machine and a nativity set she made one Christmas.

While I don't sew I DEFINITELY got her creativeness! I am VERY THANKFUL for that. Well, I guess I should shut up & post my card. So, here it is You may have to look REALLY close to see the faint photo of my father on the 1st photo. That is intention to represent the faintness, struggle & mystery that is our relationship. Before I go I want to say, I was looking at my dear friend Gigi Kennedy's blog earlier and she posted a post that had this BEAUTIFUL quote about FAITH that she had found on one of her friend's blog. It hit me right in the heart & soul. Because Faith & Believing have been a REAL struggle for me at times this week. Yet, as one of my earlier cards expressed, I HAVE TO!

Faith doesn't ask that we like the things that happen to us.
Faith doesn't mean that I can't feel angry or question why.
It doesn't mean that life will look and feel perfect.
Faith only requires that I believe.

Looking at her friend's blog I found another beautiful writing that also touched me...

"Happiness is the sailboat in life. It glides along and takes in the view and it's a beautiful thing. But, it can easily be thrown off-course and tossed about. It is affected by the winds and the waves, and should the rains come, well, it isn't quite so easy to maneuver.
Joy is the submarine in life. It also glides along the water, but rather than riding the waves and being affected by the winds, it is submerged in it and stays on course. There may not be quite the scenery, but there is a comfort knowing nothing can thwart it's journey-from departure to arrival. It matter not if the rain comes or if the sun does or doesn't shine upon the sub. It's mission remains unchanged."

Thanks & Love to All That Read This, Amy