The Pyramid

Such a work of art!! Bobby spent a full year refurbishing his grandfather's German Pyramid. It's nothing short of perfection.

I can't wait to see his mother's face on Christmas Day when she sees it for the first time in over 25 years...

Ahhhh... the holidays!

They have arrived. My house is officially decorated, the gifts are purchased, wrapped and under the pyramid. The groceries are in the house, and the menus are planned.

Is it over yet?

Holy crap... the escalator is... stopping?

Lexapro Day 4 & 5. Feel good. Feel fairly normal. Feel like myself yet better. I have energy and desire to DO things. Today I would NOT have been happy drinking beer and sitting at the computer reading message boards and blogs. (gasp)

I got SO much accomplished today and it feels good. I'm ascared this feeling won't last... so I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

Stopping the escalator....

Or "Better living through chemistry"...

Lexapro Day 1:

Took the pill at 9pm. Woke up at 12:30, queasy as HELL...dry heaves, dry mouth... and thinking to myself the entire time "is this going to be worth it?". Back to sleep. Up with the alarm, still queasy. Almost stayed home from work. Decided to attempt it, and made it through the day. NO appetite. Lived on Saltines and ginger ale. Took my second pill at 8:30pm.

Lexapro Day 2:

Queasiness subsides a bit. Toast for breakfast. No coffee - wired for sound. Can't stop moving my body. Jiggling my legs, my feet, my arms... no appetite. Got the mother of all headaches. Too ascared to take ibuprofen because of the drug warnings on the package. Finally call the doctor. Leave a message...

Doctor calls at 8:00. I explain all my symptoms and she assures me that it's perfectly normal and will go away. I ask about taking a half dosage and she agrees that perhaps this is a good idea for me. Suggests that I do that for 2 weeks and then amp up to one pill after that. Took my third pill at 8:15.

Lexapro Day 3:

Slept all night. No queasiness, but no real appetite. I'm eating to survive. Regular breakfast. Jittery feeling almost gone. Slight headache. Feeling calm and mellow. Feeling like maybe there's an end to the side effects. Going in the right direction anyway.

Thanks to all my beloved Dawgs, without whom I would NOT have made it through... thank you for listening, for your suggestions, your hugs and your love.

Happy Thanksgiving...

to all. I hope you have a warm fuzzy day. Lots of good food, drink and friends and family...

And while you're enjoying all that, think of me, ok? I'll be the one in the corner, sucking my thumb and drinking wine.

That is all.

Drama...

Imagine. Drama in the scrapbooking world. Who'da thunk it? But it's got big drama right now and I'm fascinated by it. SUCKED in royally. I am glued to the Smack Blog, the new mb they created, 2peas, CK mb... anywhere and everywhere that is talking about ... the drama.

And I must say, and I CAN say, since it IS MY blog dammit, that I am glad that the HOF/CK is being exposed and straightened out. While many looked at it like a witch hunt, I think that was the only way it was going to be handled and rectified. What CK did was NOT fair, and they needed to be called out on it.

The attitude of the first HOF'er to be exposed was a bit... flippant. But maybe that was HER way of handling the embarrassment of it all. I don't know any of the people involved, and I don't know the Peas that are in the midst of it.

But I'm sure as hell enjoying the reading.

Can I just say though, that it's a bit disconcerting when they are talking about the "GG"'s. I keep thinking, WHY are they all talking about Garlic Girl???? HA. HA I say.

So, no more typing for me. I must get back to my reading. It's quite interesting. Especially since it doesn't involve ME.

Ahhhhh... Intercourse.

Intercourse, PA that is. Gotcha.

Another successful "ECC". Although we call them Dawg Walks now. In my head Intercourse = ECC. Last weekend 11 of us joined together in some rabble rousing. Some scrapping was also accomplished.

This group of girls has been together quite a few times. We're comfortable with each other, and can relax and just have fun and enjoy ourselves. (I ATE EVERY MEAL!!) WOOHOO!!!

Let's see, there was: Amber, me, Julie, Donna, Leslie, Amy, Janelle, Linda, Cara, Veronica and... MY Jessica. What a bunch of silly girls we are. Burping games, beer guzzling, scrapping, back scratching, gift exchanges (Linda, give me the effing box) (yes, that's how WE do gift exchanges - if I'm not rubbing the gift on my crotch, I'm swearing at the possessor of the gift I WANT.)

We are a very demonstrative group. We hug, we cuddle, we rub backs, we climb on each other... we bust each other's asses non-stop. Like I said, it's a good group.

I got 10 pages done in Dawn's book. That's quite an accomplishment for me. I normally don't "create" at a crop. I'm too distracted. I still have a few pages to do, so hopefully tomorrow I will finish.

I stayed up late, and woke up early, so by the time I got home on Sunday afternoon, I was ready to crash. I fell asleep that night at 8:30. Slept straight through until my alarm Monday morning. I am obviously too old for this shit. LOL

If I could figure out how to do a slideshow I would show you the pictures that way. Unfortunately, I am befuddled by it, so I will just post some here.

Enjoy...

(well apparently the add image feature is down at the moment, so I'll be back to add photos)

Escalating...

It seems to be my word of the month. Things in my life are... escalating. Which isn't always a GOOD thing.

What's escalating right now? My food problems. Most of you know the issues I have with food, but I'll fill in the details for those interested.

Since I was a teenager I have had food issues. I'm not anorexic or bulimic (sp?) but there's a definite disorder happening. It's more of an anxiety induced problem. My stomach "shuts down" on me. I can "feel" it happening. Do you know the feeling of your stomach dropping when you hear something bad? That's almost what it feels like. It happens when I'm stressed or ascared.

When I'm highly stressed I can't eat at all. I live on those Ensure drinks so that I won't DIE.

But that's not the issue I'm dealing with right now. It's my problem of eating in front of people. Sounds stupid, doesn't it? Sometimes I know it's going to happen an hour or two before a meal. It happens more often with SOME friends more than others. Sometimes it shuts down after I start EATING a meal.

It used to only happen when Bobby was present, and we were with other people. Now it's happening when he isn't present. It's most embarrassing when you're at a restaurant and it happens.

I get very humiliated. And I have no control over it. I have gotten to the point where I will be physically ill and have to run to the ladies room. Just the SMELL of food will set me off.

It seemed to go in spurts, happening every few months, or sometimes not for a year at a time. But now it's happening again. FREQUENTLY. This past weekend at the beach it happened at almost every meal. Luckily it happened halfway THROUGH the meal so I was able to get some nourishment and attempt to hide from the others that it happened.

I wasn't too successful. Hoopy seems to SENSE when it's happening.

Next weekend is the Intercourse crop. I'm already in a dead panic over going OUT to eat to a restaurant. I've already told Donna about my fear, and I know she'll stick right by my side. NOT that the other girls wouldn't, but Donna's seen this happen to me in person and knows how to handle me.

And it's not just the going to the restaurant part that ascares me. It's every damn meal now. I dread eating with people.

It has NEVER happened when I'm alone, it has never happened when it's just Bobby and I, home or at a restaurant.

I just don't know where to turn with this. It's not a physical issue, but I'm sure there's a drug out there that would help. When I was a teenager my doctor put me on Librax, and I had to take that an hour before each meal to calm me down.

I really don't want to have to do that again.

Thanks for listening... any advice is welcomed. OR if anyone has heard of this before, all information would be VERY appreciated... since I'm not allowed to go on WebMD ;-) I can't exactly research this.

Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness!

And in honor of MaryKay!! 2 years BC survivor - WOOHOO!!!

More pics...

Beach weekend...

OMG. What a weekend it was. I was expecting 3 days of fun with Hoopy and Mary Kay. What I got was 3 days of fun with Hoopy, Mary Kay and THE FREAKING CELL!!

Bobby and hoopy surprised me with the plan to bring everyone in. Donna, Schnauz and Barb knocked on the back door and my face must have been priceless.

We had SUCH a perfect weekend. The weather was spectacular, beach days EVERY day - and we spend a LOT of time outside. We scrapped like crazy, and talked non-stop. We stayed up til 11 each night just talking and laughing.

Hoopy gave us head/neck/back rubs that made us DROOL. We ate crab Friday night with Bobby, and hoopy's cheesy potatoes were the PERFECT side for them. And can I just say that leftover cheesy potatoes and egg casserole is daBOMB?

Here are some pictures of us...

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY MY SCHNAUZ!!!

Today is the momentous day!!!

Happy birthday to a great friend, someone I respect and adore!!!

Now, if this makes you angry - it was all Donna's idea. :-)

More updates...

Sick of 'em yet?

It's done and over. Suzanne and I came to an understanding and I was able to have the Tim interview deleted from ScrapLove. Kate gave me credit on the Elsie interview, and things I hope were left on a friendly basis.

When it was all over this afternoon, I looked at bsgirl and said "I'm ready for another cause".

That felt good. And it felt good to have it completed the way it needed to be completed.

Now. Whose ass can I kick now?

Update...

SO I typed all this once and it disappeared. Dammit.

I got the half expected response from the SL owner. She claims no knowledge of what Kate did, but said my interview is the property of SL and they can do whatever they want with it.

So I called in the troops. And thank you to PENNY (((HUG))) and Candice!!! I got my ammo and responded with facts. It is MY interview.

I got my apology from Kate. That part is over. Now it's all about what's right and what should be done to rectify this.

Let's see what happens....

Thanks everyone for your support... I luff you guys!

WHY am I so bugged by this?

By now all my Dawgs are rolling their eyes at me and thinking "let it go Tigger"... but I can't.

At least not til there's closure. For some reason SL will ALWAYS find a way to get under my skin.

2 days ago I was perusing the various websites... you know - sb.com, 2peas, posting at my normal ones... and then I thought to myself "self - go click on SL and see what's new over there".

Hadn't been there in a LONG time. Lo and behold, there was an interview with Elsie Flanagan. Cool. Kate wrote it. I know Kate. She's nice.

Good interview. VERY good interview. Why? Why is it so good? BECAUSE IT'S MINE.

It's my interview with Tim Holtz. No less than THIRTEEN questions are identical. Word for word.

I was astounded. My heart started pounding. At first I thought - no - this can't be. This is a figment of my imagination. HA. HA I say. I pull up my Tim interview. (which btw is only 3 or 4 threads DOWN from the Elsie interview) I read my questions. I read the Elsie questions. Nope. They're mine. It's the same.

Mistake? Couldn't be.

What do I do? I immediately called in the troops... for some justifiable outrage. And received it.

I slept on it for 2 nights and made up my mind. I was not going to let this go. I couldn't. These are MY words. Actually I think one of the duplicate questions was from the group effort put forth by the Mods prior to my sending Tim the interview.

I logged into SL, something that hasn't happened in... almost a YEAR. I gathered my evidence, and pm'd the new owner - Suzwa. I have yet to hear from her, but perhaps she's got a busy day and hasn't been online.

I'm not sure what I'm looking to get out of this. Apology? For sure. Retraction? Possibly. Credit where credit is due? Yes.

It's amazing how much I'll take before I get mad. But this justified anger feels SO good. I just need to hold myself back a bit so that I'm not a BIOTECH. I never want to be known as that. I'm not one to make a nasty post on the thread (although I certainly WANT to) because I know that post will disappear as quickly as it's made. My point will never be made that way.

Perhaps by doing THIS, it will.

If you've lasted this long, thank you.

Quick update - as of this afternoon - I contacted Tim and his words were "you DID the interview - it's yours", I got a pm back from the SL owner and she said she was sorry for what happened, didn't know Kate did that, but my interview is the property of SL and they can do whatever they want with it.

SO that's when you call in the troops. And thanks to PENNY!!! (HUG) and Candice - I got my ammo and fired off another pm to the owner. It IS my interview.

I also discovered that I am locked out of my Tim interview - not any of my other posts, JUST that one. My gut reaction is that Jamie did that when I left SL. I don't think Suzanne would have any reason to do it prior to yesterday. So I can't delete it or even edit one word of it.

Frustrated? HELL yes. Angry? OMG you have NO idea.

I know I have a pack of rabid Dawgs behind me ready to bite, but just wait... lol And thanks for the support. I know this may seem trivial to people, but remember I have a small life. This is SUPER huge in it. SUPER HUGE.

Thanks everyone...

Amy. Z. Gator.

My blog challenge was to write about Amy. That's easy. Amy's my buddy.

There are so many things to say about her. She has a wicked good sense of humor. That's #1. She can also laugh at herself, which is a wonderful trait.

She can handle our teasing with grace and humor. And she gets teased a LOT. *cough*Missy*cough* LOL!!!

She makes us laugh with her stories about the kids at work, her obsessions with certain football players and gay cowboys, (sorry - had to do it) (Steve paid me)and her legendary drinking skills. (you think *I* drink?) HA. HA I say.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Amy in person at the Scary Doll House Crop in PA. I was walking down the stairs (trying desperately not to fall) and she was walking up. We stopped on the same stair, looked at each other and I remember saying "AMYZ GATOR!!!" To which she smiled and said YES!!! We had lots of fun together. Then we saw each other again at the WV crop. Her snowman was legendary.

She's a Jersey girl at heart, which of course raises her up a peg in my book. Us Joisey girls have to stick together.

When I think of Amy I think of partying, Gators, Gnomes (STOP it Missy - it's because of GNEWMAN), beer, little tiny snowmen, flipflops in the snow, lizards and cats, and her escapades with men. Or should I say NONescapades as she likes to remind us.

Amy's a good egg. Luff you Amy! Can't wait til Intercourse!! :evil6:

Photo Challenge

From Candice... take a shot from a different "angle".

Here's mine... it's looking DOWN into my wine glass. (picture me banana dancing)

All About Amber...

Well, it is my great pleasure to be able to write about Amber.

I first met Amber at sb.com around 3 years ago. I remember joking around with her and Brooke and thinking what a fun girl she was! She has a super quick wit - and comes out with the most amazing things sometimes. Almost NEVER fails to crack me up.

So, I thought she was adorable back then.

THEN I got to meet her. Intercourse, PA. ECC1. The mother of all ECC's. The beginning. I met her at the door with a ... what was it? A martini? I forget. But I think it was green. And I heard her voice for the first time.

Until you have HEARD Amber's posts in HER voice, you don't know what you're missing. She has the most adorable little girl voice I've ever heard. It makes her posts even funnier than they are.

Now, an Amber PWI is like no other. Others have tried, and come close, but NOBODY can PWI like Amber. I SO missed that when she was pregnant.

I love that she'll sing and let us listen, that she'll do wild things with her hair and let us see it. I'll never look at a spork the same way again. Of course, there are many things I won't look at the same way again because of Amber. Grape popsicle anyone?

I love that I've been able to watch her grow into a wife and mother... and she's doing a great job... she's got a gorgeous baby girl that I love to see pictures of!

So, thanks Amber, thanks for the years of smiles and laughter... I luff you a LOT!!!

Donna's Blog Challenge!

Name 5 favorite television shows:
Earl
2-1/2 Men
How I met Your Mother
HGTV's Design Star
Deadliest Catch

Name 4 favorite memories:
Wildflowers surrounding my breakfast dish on my birthday
My wedding day
Our trip to Alaska
Sitting on the beach at the shore house

Name 3 things you want to do before you die:
Live forever
See every state
get a tattoo

Give 2 names that you would use NOW if you were going to have a new addition to the family:
Human? Lauren, Robert Gabriel

Name the one thing that you're working on now to improve your life:
Oh please. I'm so neurotic that nothing will help.

Random thoughts...

Ok. I'm trying it. Janelle is the master of this, so I hope I don't just sound like an idiot.

I have realized that I am a very lazy person. I am also a procrastinator. This is a VERY bad combination.

I like quiet. Right now my house is totally silent. No tv, no radio... nobody is home except me and the only sound is the keyboard... I like noise when I scrap though. I like to play music. Sometimes it's Queen Latifah Sings the Blues, and sometimes it's Yerba Buena.

I no longer listen to the radio in my car. ONLY cd's. I don't like to hear talking. This happened all of a sudden.

I don't like paintings with faces. They ascare me and give me funny feelings in my tummy.

I like wine. I like the buzz it gives me. I am drinking wine right now as I type. I should be using a straw because red wine will stain your teeth worse than almost anything else.

My teeth are very white right now. The deep bleaching worked very well.

I just RAK'd 8-1/2 pounds of patterned paper to Rebecca. It made me feel really good to do that. She is so nice to everyone and always remembers everyone's birthdays with a card...

I don't like to drive. Period. If I can be driven it is a good thing. If I were rich that's the first thing I would do. Hire a chauffeur.

I love to garage sale, but I love to go with Bobby. I went alone this morning and it was not nearly as fun. Even though we bust each other's chops the entire time we're sale-ing, it's just more fun. I didn't find any treasures.

I hate to get gasoline. And I live in a state where we're not allowed to pump our own. So why do I hate it? And I'll hate it even more if I ever have to pump it.

Kat has suggested that I sabotage my washing machine so I can get a new one. This one is almost 30 years old and stalls almost EVERY time I use it. I'm tired of it. But if I push Bobby he will get crabby and defensive. It has to be HIS idea to go. (sigh)

I would like to take a vacation on a houseboat for a week.

I am planning on buying the new Harry Potter book tomorrow at WalMart. If they have it. If they don't I will probably order it and avoid all threads, articles and news reports about it. But I just know the ending will leak out and I'll hear it somewhere...

I only like to vacuum when I'm mad. Otherwise it's just a pain.

That is all.

Favorite print!

Ok Jeanne - thanks for the help - this print hangs in my bedroom above my bed. It's my absolute favorite!!

Andrew Wyeth's Master Bedroom

Tagged...

Ok. Lynnie tagged me last week while I was away, so here is my post. Unfortunately, I assume that everyone I could possibly tag has been tagged already, so I'm not tagging. Should you be reading this and would LIKE to be tagged, please let me know. :-)

From Lynnie:

Instructions: These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

SEVEN RANDOM TIGGER FACTS THAT EVERYONE KNOWS ALREADY:

1) I'm deathly ascared of bowtie pasta. It makes me PHYSICALLY GAG. The name, the look, the taste.

2) I will NEVER make a left turn if not necessary. If I can make 3 rights and get there, I will.

3) I wanted to marry a horse when I was 5. When I was 6 I wanted to marry Dick Tracy.

4) I was extremely shy in high school. I had NO friends other than Mary Kay. I rarely dated, but had a terrible reputation. Can't imagine why.

5) I still talk to Chip like he's alive.

6) Bobby says I look better with beach hair and beach makeup but I'm not comfortable like this and will probably resort to hairspray and eyeliner within a day or so.

7) I have come to the realization that if a product has the name "Tim Holtz" on it, I own it.

Thinking...

of something to write about. I'm way overdue. I'd love to do random thoughts like Janelle. But I can't do it as well as she can so I'm afraid I'd sound like an idiot.



Ok. MORE of an idiot. (insert rolling eye emoticon HERE)



So I'll just update you all on my life.



We spend a week at the shore last week. EXCELLENT week. Good weather, good friends. The house is incredible, and right on the beach. We're there with the owners, our friends Roy and Claudia, and their 2 boys.



Well, they're not boys anymore. NOT that they're girls. They're GROWN up. They're MEN. Oh boy are they men.



:-)



Here's Adam.



Yeah. It was a tough week.












So the days started with mimosas, then frozen margaritas or daqurias daquarias red drinks.

Then Jerry Springer. Rite of passage. Yell at the tv - SKANK HO SKANK HO. (I really think you need to be there to appreciate this)

Anyway, it's a great week, and one that we do at LEAST every other year. And have been for about 15 years now.

So now I'm home, and Bobby is off in Ohio shooting groundhogs. Yes. Groundhogs. Don't ask. So I'm playing with my Dawgs and scrapping.

Julie came and stayed overnight, and Niki came up - we had a blast. Kay came over and joined us and while we SHOULD have been scrapping, we talked instead.

Ok, now I'm even boring myself. Does anyone really care? No. Only me. But it's my blog so if I want to bore you I will. (insert neener emoticon HERE)

The Tim Holtz Story...

First let me start off by saying HELLO KAT. (I promised) lol

So let's see... it all began in July of 2005. I was SO sick... I had the cox's. My throat was on fire with red blisters, I had a fever of OVER 103º, pink eye in BOTH eyes, sinus infection, ear infection... YOU name it, I had it. I was MISERABLE.

Seriously, I was NEVER so sick before. I had MAJOR surgery - survived cancer - and I wasn't as sick as this.

I was on the couch. I had the tv on. I was even too sick to go on SL. (Now you KNOW how sick I was) I had HGTV on, which is my norm. I was dozing on and off... in and out of coherency. (HEY I was feverish - NO making fun of me)

I heard Carol Duvall announce "Welcome back Tim Holtz from Ranger Industries!".

My eyes shot open. I raised my feverish head and stared at my tv. This was the FIRST time I'd seen him. I'd been using his products, but never saw his face before.

As my eyes focused, I saw how adorable he was... (and still is of course!!) and how freaking NICE he was.

Maybe it was the fever... maybe it was the fact that I was half asleep, but dammit I just thought WHAT A GREAT GUY, and that's how I became a Tim Holtz Fanatic.

Of course, now that I know him better, I know it wasn't the fever or the sleepiness. He really IS a great guy.

So I dragged myself off the couch and went into the computer room. I logged into SL and told everyone that I was IN love. As much as I could talk about him over the next few months, I did. Every time I got the opportunity I worked his name into a post. Sometimes for no reason what-so-ever. I posted on his Junkitz blog that I was his #1 fan.

And all of a sudden, one cold day in January, I got a call from Jeanne.

"Tigger - You HAVE to get online right now."

"WHY??"

"Tim Holtz is ON ScrapLove!!"

OMG. Well, I was getting dinner on the table and I KNEW Bobby wouldn't look kindly on me running into the computer room and getting online. Can everyone say DIVORCE????

So I ate and calmly went in afterwards to the computer. Signed on. Son of a gun if he wasn't still there.

And there was a pm waiting for me. FROM him. FROM Tim Holtz. THE Tim Holtz. Yeah right. I'm frantically pm'ing Donna. She's pm'ing back. We're debating if this is really him or not. We decide it's not. We decide it's someone f'ing with me.

So I pm "Tim" back. I tell "him" off. I tell "him" that I don't believe for a MINUTE that it's really him, and "good joke" on me. I actually got a bit testes. I believe I may have used curse words.

He pm's me back. "what can I do to make you believe it's me?"

I had no idea how.

So what does he do? He puts a shout out to ScrapLove and to me on his website.

OMG you should have seen my face. I just told off Tim Holtz.

So with my tail between my legs (hahaha Tigger reference, get it?) I pm and email him. Apologizing.

He graciously accepts my apology and tells me that I really made him laugh. THAT made me happy.

Of course, now it sinks in that I am PM'ING and emailing with Tim Freaking HOLTZ. Does life get much better than this????

So every once in a while I shoot off a Hello Tim Holtz email. Just saying hi and telling him I'm thinking about him. And he ALWAYS writes back...

He even let me interview him for a Blue Light Special. I thought that I had DIED and gone to HEAVEN. He's too cool.

AND a nice guy. I luff him dearly. He even let Lynnie get him set up with a sign that says I luff Tigger. Of course, that's been my avatar FOREVER now. And I don't think I'll EVER get rid of that...

Thank you Tim Holtz.

The Story of The Dawg

Donna said I had to update my blog. She was right. I've neglected it.

SO I tried to think of something I wanted to talk about. I decided I'd talk about the Dawg. OK?

But I need to talk about background first... I was scrapbooking around a year when we finally got a computer at home. I was an internet novice. Bobby said "why don't you try searching for stuff about this scrapbooking stuff you do?". So I did. Of course, when you google "scrapbooking" you get a LOT of choices.

What made me choose to click on Scrapbook.com? NO idea. It was a shot in the dark. But I've never regretted it - can you imagine if I clicked on 2peas?? I think they would have eaten me up and spit me out within 2 hours. LOL

After lurking for a week or so, I finally got up the nerve to make a post, and then BIG nerve to make my own THREAD... EEK. I am NOT lying when I tell you I refreshed my screen for 15 minutes straight, sitting here in a complete panic that nobody would post on my thread.

But of course they did. Silly Tigger.

And then I got my first pm. From DaSchnauz. And off we went. There were some days that all we'd do is pm. We barely posted!! And I met Barb, and then Donna... and we all clicked, yet not as one group. We all "knew" each other, but there was no "cell" at that point. That came much later.

Things got a bit tense at the site, and Cheryl dragged me kicking and screaming over to ScrapLove. IN turn I dragged DaSchnauz kicking and screaming.

It was a good run. We had fun... I met some incredible friends that I cherish deeply. We started cropping together - driving and flying to see each other... The Lovelies were unbeatable.

But then things started going sour. I was unhappy, and of course I ran to DaSchnauz... who was also unhappy... and I also talked to Donna, who was also unhappy, and also Barb and yada yada yada...

We started emailing to discuss our unhappiness. There were trust issues happening on the site, and we felt email was the safest route... :-)

That dates back to February of '06. After a couple of months like that, we started pressuring DaSchnauz into creating a site for us. We were a happy little cell, and content. We had our friends at the Love and each other. We saw each other through some extremely trying times - and we each know that we have each other's backs. For any reason, any time, anywhere. (although I still insist they only keep me around for comic relief.)

Finally DaSchnauz made DaSite. And it was nice. It was just the 4 of us. And slowly, as the kinks of the software became smaller, we invited some of our Lovelies to join us. And we told them, start putting the word out... and more came. And more. And then we had a happy little family again.

It's a tight bunch.

The final breakup with ScrapLove wasn't pretty. The rest of the cell tried to warn me, but again I was SO naive. Dammit. Spent a lot of days crying. But then I was able to get really really really (REALLY) mad and that REALLY helped.

ScrapDawgs is my home base. It's ours. It's the place I go when I want to laugh. We may not be a strong scrapbooking site - although we DO post in forums other than the Pound. Honest. We don't get many new people. I think it's too tight to look like a welcoming board. I don't mean that in a bad way. There's just so much history between all of us, so much luff, so many inside jokes...

Want to laugh? GO to the Dawg. If I need scrapbooking talk, challenges, contests and stuff like that, I can hit Scrapbook.com, or Sherri's site...

Ahhh. Have I talked enough? Donna? Meet your approval for an update? :evil6:

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

We celebrated by planting all our flowers this weekend. Here's some shots of SOME of the ones I did...

Atlanta!!!

Back from my Atlanta trip - had a WONDERFUL time. Lots of great memories and LOTS of laughs.

The opening night gala celebration was held at the Atlanta Aquarium - WOW. They closed the place for us - and we took over the entire thing. WELL over 1,000 people there. Lots of good food and LOTS of free drinks. Blue ones.

Turned our lips and tongues blue. We were VERY attractive. Thank GOODNESS we met up with Dr. Bill Dorfman from Extreme Makeover BEFORE we turned our mouths blue. That's him in the middle of the picture. In black.

The next evening we went to Aunt Pittypats Porch for dinner - real southern cookin'. GOOD eats. Then, as we walked back to our hotel some music pulled 1/2 of us INTO a Cigar and Martini bar. An hour or so later we conga'd OUT of that bar... and rolled into our hotel.

The next day we were VERY quiet. LOL A little hungover to say the least. I have discovered that martinis are GOOD. I love olives.

That is all.

Happy Mother's Day Ma...

I decided to spend THIS Mother's Day a little differently than last year. Last year I wallowed in my own self pity. I told Bob that I HATED Mother's Day because I didn't HAVE a mother and I WASN'T a mother.

This year Sonia's mother set me straight on that one too. She told me I will ALWAYS have a mother. She lives in my heart.

She's right.

So this year I spent the day scrapping my ma. I am so lucky that I have lots of notes and letters from her - so I scanned in one of my favorites. She wrote this after my cancer diagnosis. When she heard that news she mailed a card to me EVERY day. This letter was in the first...

It's hard to read on the LO, but this is what it says:

Dearest Sandi-Witch,

I don't know how long it's been since I've written you a letter. I do know that I needed to write you this one. I want you to know how proud I am of you and how much I love you. You were dealt a hard blow. I don't know why. You and BT deserve the best life has to offer. I remember how much your Dad loved you and how he held you on his lap and the dreams he had for you. You were my gift to him. I love you Sandi.

Ma

My response in my title is... Love you too Ma

They say it's your birthday....

Life at 50. A new era. A new decade. Another obstacle under my belt. DONE. No more thinking about "OMG I'm gonna be FIFTY". It's here.

I don't FEEL different. Not that I expected I would. 30 didn't feel different. Or 40. Why should 50?

Yesterday when I was talking to Sonia's (divamom) mother, who is a stunning 62 year old, I told her the only problem I had with 50 was justifying my age with my maturity level. In my head I am not 50.

She said "why do you have to?"

SO true.

Happy birthday to me.

A brief snippet of memory - every birthday that I can remember from my childhood includes me coming out for breakfast and finding my placemat covered in a ring of wildflowers from our yard. My mom and grandmother NEVER failed to do that. I ate my cereal among flowers.

Nice memory.

My NYC weekend!!

It was SO incredibly awesome. It was one of those really ascary things that turned out not to be ascary at all.

It was smooth sailing from start to finish. The hotel was great, our rooms were ready early, the show was FANTASTIC - Avenue Q - drinks at a hole-in-the-wall Irish Pub, dinner at Rosie O'Gradys (with cake and candles and singing!!), MaryKay LOVED her canvas and I got a gorgeous handmade dragonfly from her... she bought it in Sedona last month. Then a late evening comedy club and back to the hotel for BED!

For Sunday, we couldn't figure out what we wanted to do. Kay and Stan go into the city more frequently than *I* do... but when I was a kid I saw all the touristy stuff like the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty and the museums... so I said "I've NEVER been in Central Park."

So that's what we did. We walked Central Park. It was so beautiful!! I had NO idea!

The one DOWNSIDE to the weekend? The $21.00 bill for 4 small glasses of orange juice. HOLY moly.

For the yellow challenge.

I love the color yellow from the inside of these crocuses. Croci.

In memory of those who lost their lives at V.T.

Spa day...

Was INCREDIBLE. I got the BEST massage I've ever had. I did a Lomi Lomi last year and loved it, so I chose the Lomi Lomi again. But this girl REALLY Lomi Lomi'd me. lol

Fun stuff. She had GREAT hands and she used her arms a lot to rub. Of course Hoopy put horrible thoughts into my head 5 minutes before I left for the spa... she told me if they press a certain spot on my foot that I might...

you know. Toot.

WELL I didn't. JUST in case anyone was wondering.

Then I had a pedicure and I now have very pretty red toes. I'm wiggling them as I type.

THEN we went out to lunch and had Cosmos. :banana:

MORE cleaning... (sigh)

So today is bedroom day. Not looking forward to this because the furniture is HEAVY and I have to move it to clean behind things and the baseboard and such.

It's POURING rain and that means no grocery shopping til later. Since tomorrow is spa day with Binga (bsgirl) I really need to get that chore done TODAY.

I feel that I may have TOO much on my plate for the day.

What I am reading...

that is most excellent is a Harlan Coben - No Second Chance.

I think he is my most favorite author EVER - except Janet Evanovich.

Ahhhh. A clean kitchen.

VERY clean. I don't think I should cook in it for at LEAST a week. It is washed from ceiling to floor and everything in between.

Of course, when I told my friend April this, she said "did you take everything out of your cabinets and clean in there?"

HELL no. I'm not THAT psycho. No offense.

It looks good and it smells good and it shines and sparkles. Enough. Now tomorrow is going to be MEMEME day. I plan on scrapping and hanging out and staying comfy and watching tv and reading my excellent book that I can't put down!

Shhhhh...

I'm supposed to be spring cleaning.

My excuse? My eyes are dilated from the eye doctor and I can't really see that well. (I know - the computer screen doesn't count - that I see fine)

Bobby's fishing again - he took today off to make the most of the 50º weather. Yes 50. It's BURRRRY cold here. It snowed on and off yesterday.

We went to my sister-in-law's for Easter Dinner yesterday. Good food - good wine. Good scrapbook magazine to read. NO I didn't bring my own - my niece is 12 and she scrapbooks a bit and has a subscription to Scrapbooks, Etc. so I read that while the rest of the people watched On Demand Wrestlemania.

Today I was a good Tigger and went for my mammogram, (EEK), so I'm in the waiting stage of results. I should have them by the end of the week. It always ascares me SO much. Especially since Mary Kay was diagnosed.

I also went to the eye doctor, as I said above, and all was well. Got some sample contacts to try - the ones I've worn for 27 years (NO not the same ones - the same BRAND) have been discontinued. So we're experimenting with different ones.

Now tomorrow Bobby will be back at work and I REALLY must spring clean. I need to pull furniture out, wash walls, vacuum UNDER things... do curtains and windows.

UGH. Maybe I should just go to work. That might be easier.

Garage sale HEAVEN...

They've started up again for the season, and I went this morning. The woman was mostly overpriced for everything there ... except for ONE thing.

I cannot believe the deal I got on these. TEN dollars. TEN!!! I am SO excited.

Of course I have no where to store them, but I'll be ok.

Don't worry about me.

Now see...

This is the problem with blogging. You actually have to sign in and BLOG. It's been a week since I've posted something new.

Why you ask?

I have nothing new to report, but I'll tell you what's going on in my life.

I'm excited over vacation - starting at noon tomorrow I am off for 10-1/2 days. I scheduled my 3 month overdue mammogram, my 2 year overdue eye doctor appointment, and a well deserved Spa day with Inga.

I plan on spring cleaning and scrapping and playing. Bobby is working so I'll get some much needed ME time.

I have some auctions going off tomorrow on evilbay - so far 3 things have bids, and 3 don't. BUT one of those 3 things has 8 watchers so I'm a little psyched about that.

What else.

I got another bag of Bertolli Chicken Parm that beat me out of chicken. THREE tiny pieces again. I give up. I'm just going to STOP buying it.

No call yet for Easter dinner. I guess we're not invited. Oh well. We'll make our own fun.

This is kind of like talking to yourself, isn't it? I mean at the Dawg I'm talking to people. Here I don't even know if anyone READS this.

Off to the message boards...

Photo Challenge

Ok Jeanne - you wanted it? You got it - my kitchen windowsill.

It's time to talk about Chip...

And what he meant to me.

My most unforgettable character. And such a different loss than that of a relative, or parent... this was my first FRIEND that I lost. And lost suddenly with no warning. One day we were laughing hysterically on the phone and 48 hours later he was gone.

This man was the most unusual person... a hardened, ascary, mean, nasty outlaw biker. With the biggest, warmest most loving heart I've ever met. I always knew where I stood with him. There was no option of bullshit. It was truth always... One of the few people in this world that I could stand up to and tell him that he was dead wrong... and we could fight like cats and dogs - then make up and be just fine.

I don't really have anyone in my life anymore that I can do that with. I miss doing that. It was very .. releasing.

I miss his phone calls.. I miss him calling me Schweetie. I miss knowing that he'd kill for me. I miss his voice and his hugs and his smell. He smelled of laundry soap and cooking.

Oh how he loved to cook!! He used to bring a big bag of groceries over just to cook us a meal... and it ROCKED.

He was Sicilian... and he knew how to cook like a pro. He introduced me to all kinds of cool foods. And cheap red wine...

He loved that I scrapbooked. He loved that I was online with it. And he loved that he was an honorary Threadkiller. He used to drag a kitchen chair into the spare room while I typed at the computer... and watch what I wrote...

"You Threadkillin' babe?"

Yes Chip... I'm threadkilling...

"That's good. You show 'em"

Ok...

Neither Bob nor I will ever get over losing him.. EVER. I miss him every day of my life.

DILLIGAF my friend... DILLIGAF.

So the publication is finally happening...

Legacy Magazine finally let me know that their Summer issue, being released on 6/1 will feature my altoid tin...

It's exciting - but it's a bit anti-climatic. I remember when I got the notification that they wanted to see it, I was incredibly excited... but it's been 10 months, and if I hadn't emailed them on Friday I'm wondering if it ever would have been found on the shelf... lol

So my happiness is a bit faded. Hey. Like a Faded Rainbow... :EEK:

And the completed canvas...

My new favorite picture...

is of me and Mary Kay...

Yay - he passed!

This is a wonderful thing...

Good morning and happy Saturday!

Bobby is off to his hunter's safety course. He's nervous about passing, but I have no doubt he'll do just fine. I've never seen him so nervous!

I think I'll head out to Michael's. See what I can find there.

Yup. That's it. I have nothing else to discuss.

I sit here beer in hand...

My chores completed... my dinner ready to go in the oven. My house is clean, it smells divine and I'm ready to relax.

Janelle's "J" makes me want to run to Michael's and buy a "T". I have Monica's "T" that she made me for winning a challenge on my dresser here.

Now I want a vintagey Tim "T". Perhaps tomorrow morning. I have a coupon... and a gift card. I could get the "T" for next to nothing.

My ebayed books are doing fairly well - some are selling, some aren't. That's ok - they didn't cost ME anything, so whatever I make is gravy!

Two of the items I listed for my boss sold yesterday, for quite a lot of $$, so he gave me a $25.00 gift card for doing the work! I told him - You paid me for playing on ebay. That was gift enough!!!

Happy Friday!

So I sit here in my robe, wet hair and no makeup. I should BE at the Shoprite RIGHT now, not "veging" here.

I am SHUTTING the computer OFF right this very minute.


**Those that believe this? I have a bridge to sell you.

The Red Challenge

Ah. The RED challenge. I have the PERFECT photo for it.

During the latest greatest crop in WV, those scamps threw me a 50th surprise party! As if that weren't enough, Linda made me wear the RED HAT. I was quite fetching. lol And now it's my turn to pass that red hat along to the next victim Mary Kay. It will be my pleasure.

Happy Wednesday!

I'm halfway through my work day... so far, not SO bad. Not a ton of glitches.

I keep getting distracted by the ring. As I type I glance down and it catches my eye. Silly.

A true testament to my life - I have NOTHING better to type about. I do have a huge blister on the roof of my mouth from eating my diet pizza too fast. That's something.

And I told my boss that I wanted to sniff his biscuit.

My Ring! My Ring!!

It's here!!! We picked it up tonight and waited while he set the center stone. This is so beautiful, I am SO happy with it - it's everything I wanted.

This is my grandmother's diamond from her engagement ring. My mom had such horrendous taste in jewelry (I used to tell her this ALL the time) and she had it set in a really ugly cocktail ring.

We used this stone and had it set in this ring. The other parts of the cocktail ring are being made into earrings.

This is my 50th birthday present from Bobby. He did REAL good.

It's Tuesday, right?

I knew today was going to be long and stressful, but had I known it was going to be THIS bad, I would have snuck a six pack of Michelob Ultra into work.

When did I become the techy guy???

I have pushed MORE buttons today than I wish to count. I will be glad to see 5:00pm come.

Happy Monday!

Here we are again. Another day in paradise. I think Monday's should be banned.

Tonight we are heading to the jewelers again HOPEFULLY to finalize the setting and maybe even have the ring SET!

We danced with wolves...

Ok - HERE'S where I should add the wolf picture. We went up to Lakota Wolf Preserve last weekend. I sponsered Black Star, a male timber wolf for Bobby for his birthday.

This place is amazing. The wolves are gorgeous, and we got to hear them howl in unison a few times - it's haunting.

p.s. That's NOT Bobby in the picture - that's the owner...

I sit here amidst 20 odd rare books...

and I'm trying NOT to sneeze. I just got done pricing them, thanks to a super cool website called campusi.com, and now I need to get pics and get them on ebay.

Ahh. All I need is some motivation.

This original collector (the deceased husband of an old friend) had some strange tastes... from hypnotism, to witchcraft, to satanism, to phallic worship...

I felt a little dirty looking up half the titles... lol

The name "Faded Rainbows"

Jeanne mentioned that it was sad... and I guess it kinda is, but it holds SUCH a special place in my heart.

It was the name of a band back in high school, from nearby Lake Hopatcong, (remember we're talking 1970's here) and I LOVED the name...

It really isn't sad in my mind. I promised myself that my first published book would have that title.

Well, that book never got written, (yet), so it's my blog title.

The name is haunting to me - and I love it...

Ah. My first post of my first REAL blog.

SO here I am. You Dawgs pressured me into it... You know I can't NOT be involved with a craze, it's just part of who I am.

Now, off to play and create and make my blog someplace that people will WANT to read.