Busy Thursday

Today was a busy day (which ones aren't??). I started out working on my class project for Saturday's class. Then I met Jan at Scrap Happy Sisters to put together the class kits. After I came home, I finished grading Brian's class's papers and then I ran them out to him so they could be put into the students' Friday folders. He also needed to borrow a movie for his class to watch tomorrow. They've been reading the book, Indian in the Cupboard, and he wanted them to see the movie. After that, I returned home and worked on the invitations for the baby shower for Melody Mills and her husband. When that was done, Mark went to Costco to pick up the extra pictures I needed to finish my book project and I just finished that a few minutes ago. Whew! Glad it's done. It's off to bed now, but tomorrow I'll be working on gifts for two upcoming baby showers and something for my niece who is getting married next month. I almost forgot....while Mark was at Costco, he met Erin and her family there, so he brought Erin and the girls home with him while Brian stopped and picked up their dinner. They ate here and then they were off to do whatever it was they needed to do. The girls posed for a picture for me! Such sweet girls!!!

A Mute Issue

When I woke up on Sunday, I realized I was losing my voice. By yesterday morning it was totally GONE! No noise. Just a squeak. So I whispered all day. Today....more of the same. My voice box seems to be my personal "achilles heel" in that when I "get" something, it always affects my voice....meaning I LOSE it. I don't have any other symptoms--no cold, no fever, no wheezing--just no voice. I'm not sure what's going on, but it's getting very frustrating. I can't talk on the phone, so I let it ring and go to the message machine. Then I let Mark return my calls. I'm sure he'd rather not do that, but I don't want anyone thinking I'm ignoring them. I'm supposed to teach with Jan on Saturday, so I hope my voice finds its way home. Otherwise, I'll be there to assist, but she'll have to do all of the talking! Sorry, Jan.
Not much else going on. Oh, I did get a new calling on Sunday, but since several of my ward friends read my blog, I won't say what it is until after I'm sustained on Sunday. Sorry for the tease! But it's a calling I'm happy with!
Here's to a new voice tomorrow...think good thoughts for me!

Castles-n-Coasters

Yesterday we went to Castles-n-Coasters with five of our kids (spouses) and the six older grandkids. Next month Abby and Dallin are having birthdays and since Abby's school was having a fundraiser that featured the amusement park, they decided that they wanted to invite their cousins for a day of fun in place of an actual party. And boy, did they have fun!!! As you can tell from the pictures, both young and old really enjoyed themselves. Erin was kind enough to stay home with the three younger grandkids so the rest could enjoy the day. Thanks, Erin! I don't know which ride was their favorite, but they went on the log ride and the ferris wheel several times. The "men" (read...little boys who are old!) went on Desert Storm. Then we met at our house and Brian and Kamille provided pizza for everyone. Mark threw for ice cream, so the party was complete.

CHA

This weekend begins the semi-annual CHA trade show. CHA stands for Craft & Hobby Association. It's where the many manufacturers of craft and hobby products gather in Anaheim to peddle their wares to retailers throughout the world. My job is to take some of 7gypsies' new products to be released at the show and make something from it to show how the various products are used. In other words, I use their stuff to make something useful and lovely to look at. What fun that is! I get to play with the new stuff before anyone else gets to even see it! Oftentimes I use prototype products. For one of the projects this time I used a new board book (parenthesis), new transfers and lots of paper and embellishments. Here is the end result. I won't bore you with all of the pages/pictures, but here are a few of the Parenthesis Board Book.



Erin was gracious enough to let me use their pictures from their recent NY trip.

The second project is a Paper Bag Book using their new Gypsy Market papers, Gypsy sticker sheet, large photo turn, paper bags, and lots of embellishments.




The idea of this book is following a "gypsy" (read...junker!) in her travels as she searches for the perfect junk! The sticker sheet quotes and sayings (for the most part) are direct quotes from our girls' retreat from five years ago. Deb, Ellen (my sisters), Paula and Patty (sisters but not ours...but our VERY DEAR friends) met at Deb's for a week-long retreat filled with creating, junkin', traveling, laughing and at show at Gammage (Phantom of the Opera). It was one of the best weeks of my life. Such wonderful relationships and oh, so fun!!! The places in this book document just a few of the places we've gone together over the years in our search for the "perfect junque"!! Just a note of instruction...the paper bags lay sideways in the book and are bound together at their bottoms. In each bag is an idex card (from the Photo Carousel collection) with a picture, business card and some detailsl about various places we've been. It's funny to me that all five of us have such similar tastes and enjoy so many of the same things.
You can see all of the 7gypsies products at www.sevengypsies.com . But I'm warning you, you may get pulled into the gypsy van, and then you're trapped. You'll be a gypsy, too!

Tagged!

I was tagged today by my friend, Stephanie. I'm supposed to list 25 things about myself. She "said" she wants to get to know me better, but since she was a student teacher from years ago, she probably knows most everything about me. Maybe I'll surprise her. Here goes.
1. I've been married for 36 years next month....to the same man!
2. I have three children, two boys and a girl.
3. I have nine grandchildren, six granddaughters and three grandsons.
4. I love to create projects using paper.
5. I can sew, but I'm not sure how much I actually enjoy it. I usually do it out of necessity.
6. I learned to make great whole wheat bread this past year.
7. I (along with Mark) am addicted to audio books.
8. I only wear Birkenstock shoes...except on a rare occasion, tennis shoes.
9. I have my hair cut every four weeks.
10. I have made over 2,200 knit caps and donated them to humanitarian service. I only knit while riding as a passenger in the car. I must spend a lot of time in the car!
11. I enjoy watching HGTV and the Food Network.
12. I enjoy listening to Glenn Beck and Dr. Laura on the radio.
13. I have oatmeal for breakfast every morning.
14. I have lived in the same house for the past 33 years.
15. I miss being able to call my mom just to chat.
16. It annoys me to have someone play with my hair. (...except for regularly scheduled hairdresser appointments)
17. I create projects for 7gypsies to be used for trade shows and in their catalogs.
18. I don't enjoy talking on the phone.
19. I would rather text message.
20. I don't like to wear dresses.
21. I wear denim jeans 6.5 days a week.
22. I enjoy our grandkids' birthday sleepovers and accompanying activities.
23. I enjoy going junkin'.
24. I love to go places....out of town.
25. I look forward to family reunions.
Ok, done! Now I'm tagging Erin, Courtni, Susan, Kimberly, Shelley and Tom. I'll be watching for your lists.

We Have a New President

Today the 44th President of the United States was inaugurated. Barack H. Obama was sworn in a the first African-American President in US history. It was a historic event and I'm glad I was able to watch it all unfold. Some notable things about this new president for me are: it's good to have children in the White House once again, it will be fun to see what sort of fashion statement Michelle Obama will be making, President Obama knows the right words to say....if he'll only hold true to what he says, and I'm glad we as a country have gotten to the point in our history to support a black president. I pray that he will be an honorable and righteous president and that we as citizens of this great country will give him a chance and give him the support he will need to succeed and keep the United States a strong and free nation. Regardless of what our political position is, he's now our president and he deserves the opportunity to do his job. And we owe it to him to give him a fair chance to make good on what he says. Watching the festivities today reminds me of the great country in which we live and I'm proud to be an American. I'm grateful to all whose who have gone before me and done all they've done to preserve this nation and our freedoms.
God bless America!

Go Cardinals!

Miracle of miracles....the Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl. Who would have guessed? We got to watch the game today as they beat the Philadelphia Eagles. The first half was great, the third quarter, not so good, but in the end, the red birds prevailed! We're looking forward now to two weeks down the road and the Super Bowl festivities (read family gathering/party!). We always have a Super Bowl family gathering, but this year will have an added twist and excitement.
The Trimbles came to dinner today....the others had other commitments and responsibilities. Erin made a yummy dip/spread for crackers. It's a Buffalo Chicken spread. It was a bit spicy, but very good. I'll have to get her recipe. It's a recipe she found at Trader Joe's. Gotta try out that place.
We didn't go to church today. Mark wasn't up to having a million questions like, "What happened to your face?" He's tried making up a story a time or two and it catches people off guard. He told some kids one day this week that we was attacked by a mountain lion. To others he said, "You should have seen the other guy!? We're hoping that by next week the wounds will be healed even more and be less conspicuous.
I've been working this weekend on my 7gypsies projects. They're coming along and I will be done by Wednesday...my deadline to have them back to Deb for the show. I'll post pics when they're finished.

Erin took pictures yesterday of Jodi and her new fiance, Phil Call. They're getting married in March. Aren't they a cute couple? I know Curt and Patti will have a couple of stressful, wonderful, memorable, exhausting months, but it will all be worth it.

Friends Again!

I mentioned in my previouso post that Ellie was having a hard time looking at Grandpa (Mark) since his surgery. Well, today Erin needed to make a trip to Mystic Paper in Mesa and needed help riding herd on the girls while she shopped. So Mark and I offered to go along and help. Ellie did NOT want to go. She didn't want to see Grandpa again after her "traumatic" experience on Monday. Erin told her she could shut her eyes, so she agreed to go. When they got here, she was hanging onto Erin for dear life. But when Mark greeted them at the door, he let her see that he was okay and that he was a little better. One thing is that he wasn't "loopy" today like he was on Monday! Anyway, he showed her his wounds and that he could touch them and it was okay. He offered to let her touch his blue "whisker" (stitch end), but she wouldn't have any part of that. However, Eliza was game and showed Ellie that she could touch it and it was okay. Thankfully, Ellie warmed back up to her grandpa and they're great friends again. Whew! She even went for a little ride with Grandpa while we were at the store. They went to a nearby park and she had a great time.
I've been working on a couple of class projects for Scrap Happy Sisters. One will be on Jan. 31st and the other will be on Feb. 5th. I've also got a couple assignments for 7gypsies. CHA is coming up next weekend and I'm doing two projects for their booth. It's always fun to work with the new products before they hit the store shelves. I just wish they weren't discontinuing so many products. Of course, it's the stuff I like the best that they're cutting out. I may need to stock up!!
Someday, maybe, I'll get to do a project that I just "want" to do...one that isn't an assignment or a class!
Mark and I are still staying pretty close to home while he recovers. He went to the Dr. on Thursday and was told things are looking great. He was hoping to get some stitches out, but that won't happen until Tuesday next week. Mark was NOT happy with that news. The Dr. didn't think he should return to work until at least after he's seen him on Tues. Mark had an off-duty job lined up, but that won't be happening. Hopefully, he'll get the okay to return to full duty next week.
I'm still working on my Project 365. I've been successful, so far, to take a picture every day to document my everyday life.

In a Stitch!

Today was Mark's surgery day. He was an outpatient at Thunderbird. He had five "spots" removed from the left side of his face and neck. Four were benign. One was a basal cell carcinoma. The Dr. said he got it all. Whew! Since the worst one was so deep, they had to dig deeper and put him under anesthetic a bit deeper to avoid pain during surgery. As a result, it took him longer to really wake up. But he's better now. Just VERY scary looking. Ellie wouldn't even look at him. She was surprised by him when he walked down the hallway and she shreiked and ran for her life! She said he looked like a monster! Poor Ellie! Poor Grandpa! Hopefully, she isn't scarred for life. The picture is of him sleeping this afternoon. The other picture I took would curl your toenails! He has to sleep for the next several days in the recliner. He has to be in a semi-upright position on his back so as not to cause swelling/bleeding/rolling over on the wounds. Should be an exciting week. Not! Anyway, I'm grateful it's over and that it went well. Now to keep him down....no lifting, no bending over, no exertion, nothing! Rest!!!

Gorilla Cheese

I guess I should have explained gorilla cheese in the last post. When the kids were little, we'd oftentimes have grilled cheese sandwiches. For some reason, they thought we said "gorilla" cheese sandwiches. We decided to go along with it and it's always been gorilla cheese ever since. It got them to eat it, for sure, because everyone knows that gorilla cheese is WAY better than plain old grilled cheese!

Happy Birthday, Eliza!

Tonight/tomorrow is Eliza's sleepover. She turns 7 tomorrow! It's hard to believe that she's that old already. We started off the evening with a shopping trip to Michaels for her birthday present. She wanted art supplies. So she choose MANY items and a bag for carrying them. She wanted to cover the sketch book and the drawing book with nice paper, so we did that and then we tied ribbons on for bit of a feminine touch. She made labels for everything!


After we got home, Eliza wanted to help Grandpa rake the leaves in the front yard. It was already dark, but with the street light and the front porch light, it was good enough. She soon saw the neighbor kids and invited them to join in the fun. They all had a romp in the leaves after they were raked. They had a blast! Then they bagged them up and came inside.


Eliza wanted gorilla cheese sandwiches for dinner and she wanted to help make them. She did an excellent job. Dinner was tasty.


Then she organized her art supplies in the bag.

Now she's off to put on her jammies and watch a movie. In the morning, she's going with me to a baby shower. She's excited about that. Then we're off to the movies to watch "Bedtime Stories". She is SO excited!! It should be a great day. We have lots of birthday coming up, so we're in for some fun weekends ahead.

A Good, Unproductive Day!

Last night a while after they left here (read...11 pm!), Brian called to say that Abigail was throwing up! Poor girl! And would I be willing to watch her today since both Brian and Kamille had to work. I readily agreed, and Kamille brought her by on her way to work. Luckily for both of us, Abigail finished her throwing up last night and today was spent pampering Abby! We made her a bed on the couch and she had free reign of the TV/movies. She was a total couch potato. She wanted to eat shortly after he arrived, so I made her some dry toast. After she'd kept that down for a while, she wanted something else, so she had some applesauce. By 9:30 am, she was "begging" for some soup for lunch. We waited until nearly noon and she quickly devoured 1/2 of a can of chicken noodle soup (the noodles were Disney Princess shapes!). She wanted even more, but we waited another hour or so before she finished it off! By 3 pm, she was asking for a snack. So she had some yogurt. I think she's feeling better today! And I'm hoping/planning on her making it to school tomorrow. But it was a good day. Oh, the unproductive part....Abby wanted me to sit by her all day. Grandma, sit by me while I watch this movie. Grandma, sit by me while I eat my lunch. ETC! I got nothing productive done, but Abby and I had a great day together!

Sunday Dinner

Today was a great day. Church was early, so we got to have all of our kids and grandkids over for Sunday dinner. I think that will happen more often this year since we all have earlier church times. Yea!

We had a great dinner, with everyone contributing something yummy. It seems like, though, as soon as the kids get served, the parents fill their plates and the kids are DONE....heading off to play/cause trouble (not really!)/etc. They have such a good time together.

Here are some photos from the day. It's hard to believe how grown up the grandkids are getting. Matthew is really growing up....and FAST! He's halfway to his mission already!! As you can see, we have a fun, crazy time when we all get together. But that's what it's all about....being together, being yourself, having a good time and loving each other.