Easter Bunny time!

Well it's not quite Easter Bunny time but I did spend a little time with my honey-bunny seeing the Easter Bunny this past weekend -

As much as he really did not like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny was pretty cool! Look at that smile - melts my heart!

I also have a card to share today that is going out to a few people for Easter -

I'm really excited about this card - it's the first I made with my new MISTI stamping tool! If you haven't heard of the MISTI yet, check out the video at this site (where you also order the MISTI). What I love about it is the accuracy of stamping you can achieve. I could never stamp a background that precisely before so I'm thrilled with the results! And the best thing? If your image doesn't stamp clearly enough the first time, just reink and stamp again in the exact. same. spot! It is just the niftiest invention ever!!

The stamps and cardstock used her are all from Papertrey Ink.

Thanks for stopping by and in case I don't make it back in time, have a wonderful and blessed Easter!

My dog and her dang internal clock

My dog has this thing - at 10:00 pm every day, she knows it's her final trip outside time. It doesn't matter if she just went an hour ago, at 10:00 pm she must go again. Now I am not on to spring into action at 10:00 every day just for my dog, so I wait to see what she's going to do. Most days she finds me (not my husband, mind you, it's always me) and she stares. And stares. And stares, stares, stares at me. And in her head I hear her saying "I stare at you. Cuz I need to go out. Why you ignore me? I stare harder now. See me staring? I will stare forever but my bladder can't wait that long. Stare, stare, stare. Why you not get up? You not see Leia stare? It 10:00 pm." and this will continue, possibly with a little "rrrrrrrrr" noise, or a little "mmmmm" sound until finally, FINALLY, I say "OK let's go" to which she runs pell-mell to he door like her kidneys are about to burst. Which I highly doubt would happen. And in the time it took me to write this post, she's done her business and is barking to come back in.

I love my dog. Goodnight.

Back with a "new to me" technique

Sorry I've been gone a few days. I had a few things going on that trumped blogging. This little guy is one of them:

This is right before a surgery that Alex had to have last week. Everything turned out A-Ok and he's on the mend!

I've also been working on my son's business website: Nerd Nation. Not much to see there right now - everything I've been working on is behind the scenes and will be public soon. I'm very excited for this business venture of his and hopefully it will be a great success!

But I did stumble upon a little creative trick I wanted to share with you. Maybe you already know this but it was new to me! While I was creating the other day, I needed to emboss with a die in my Cuttlebug. In order to make the plate "sandwich" tight enough for a good impression, I grabbed a couple pieces of scrap cardstock. What I didn't realize was that one of the scraps had already been used to cut a die image from:

And as I layered this with a piece of plain cardstock and ran everything through the Cuttlebug, what happened when I took the pieces apart was this:

That die cut sheet of cardstock embossed the image onto the plain sheet of cardstock!! This opens up a whole world of possibilities for using dies to create embossed images!! Did you already know this trick?

Here is the card I made from the embossed piece:

 

 

Here's another - it's hard to see the image in the one above but the colors are better:

Isn't that cute? I'm really excited about this discovery and I hope I was able to share something new with you too! Have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

It's hard to believe that 26 years have gone by since my son, Jacob, was born. I remember it was a really hot summer (that must be why he likes the heat to this day!) and I developed complications that required him to be born by emergency C-section almost 2 months early. 2 pounds, 10 ounces. He was the tiniest baby I had ever seen. And about 6 weeks later, he came home weighing a whopping 4 1/2 pounds!

Jacob's birth started a whole new journey for us as a family. With one daughter (at that time 7 years old), we had a lot to learn about raising a special needs child; in Jacob's case, one with cerebral palsy. We learned about things that we had never even considered before: leg braces, surgeries, therapy, IEPs, wheelchairs and so much more. We didn't always get it right but we always tried our hardest to provide what would serve Jacob's needs best.

Age 7 - so handsome!

But the one thing we never struggled with was loving our little guy with our whole hearts. Not one day did I stop and think I would have been better without this child in my life. In fact, often I think of how grateful I am and thank God for the blessing that Jacob is in my life. In all of our lives. Because of Jacob, we have learned more about patience, perseverance, advocating, struggling and celebrating. And Star Wars. We've learned a lot about Star Wars.

My Jedi at a Star Wars Convention

I could gush forever about this fantastic young man that I am proud to call my son. But he'll just say "Oh Mom - can you stop now?" Yes, Jacob, I will not embarrass you any more on this blog (at least for today) but know that I will never stop loving you and being there for you. You (and your sister - yes, you have to share) give meaning to my life. You hold a very large piece of my heart forever and always. I wish you a very happy 26th birthday and I hope you have a remarkable year ahead!

Hugs,
Mom

Me and my favorite son!

Birthday Doodlie-Do

My Mom had a birthday last week and this is the card I dropped in the mail to her. Gifts come in a couple weeks when we celebrate a few summer birthdays!

I used Vintage Cream cardstock to stamp the images from Papertrey Ink's Doodlie-Do set in brown ink. I also added a couple extra leaves in order to extend the frame that the images were creating. To finish up the idea of a frame, I drew intersecting lines at the corners opposite the images with a brown Sharpie. Everything was colored with Copics (I haven't colored in awhile - it felt good!) and then the sentiment was added on foam tape.

In other news, this little guy is getting big:

My cutie patootie grandson, Alex, is now 9 months old! Where does the time go???  He's a rough and tumble, active, non-stop BOY and he keeps us all on our toes. But we wouldn't trade him for the world!!

That's it from me today - I'm off to start a new work week. Yippee skippee! Hope you have a good week and find a little time for some creativity! It does the soul good!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So on the Eve of Thanksgiving, here's my list of 30 things I am thankful for:

 1. My relationship with God - even as tenuous as it is at times.
2. My husband who stands by me through thick and thin
3. My children who are my greatest accomplishment and the lights of my life
4. My grandchildren, in heaven and on earth. I love them all....
5. My Mom who is one of my best friends
6. My family - brother, sister, aunt, in-laws...You have all been an influential part of my life
7. Friends - what would I do without you??
8. My job. Even though I complain about it once in awhile, I'm glad I have a job that offers me some flexibility.
9. My home, while not a castle, is comfortable and welcoming
10. My dog - the only other female in the house. You're my pal, Leia!
11. Creativity - relaxing, entertaining and good for my soul
12. My second job at Photography by K - nothing better than working for my best friend!
13. Food. Yeah, I just love it.
14. Television and movies and being able to be a couch potato once in awhile
15. Naptime - for me.
16. Technology. I love new gadgets and gizmos as long as they are useful
17. Animals of all kinds. They make me smile
18. Change of seasons. I like living where we experience heat and snow and everything in between
19. Words - reading and writing
20. Flowers - they can brighten any day!
21. Walt Disney - without him there would be no Disney World- my favoritest place!
22. Photography- a newer hobby for me but I love all the options and images that can be captured on film
23. Solitude. Sometimes it's just nice to have some alone time
24. Good health - taken for granted until you don't have it
25. People with pleasant attitudes - we need more of them.
26. Slippers. Now if I could just wear them to work.
27. A good night's sleep. Doesn't always happen but is great when it does!
28. My Dad - although he's been gone for 25 years, not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for the time I had with him. And this item should be farther up the list!
29. Coca-Cola. My choice of caffeine
30. All my Facebook friends and blog readers. You make my days fun and more interesting!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Birthday Blessings

My birthday has now been over for 2+ days but I have to say that it is one I will always remember - the 1st one as a grandma! We, as a family, are so blessed to have little Alex in our lives and I truly enjoyed spending the afternoon getting some snuggle time in with him - even if it was still in the hospital. Here's a little video of us together on Oct. 8th -



(Ignore the random chatter in the background. That's my son and son-in-law talking about "breaking out" of the hospital. Which finally happened today  - YEAH! - but that's another story for another day).

Back to my birthday. On top of the biggest little blessing we all received this year (in 5-lb. boy form), I am also blessed to have a wonderful family, loving husband, remarkable kids, a job, a nice home, fantastic friends and so much more! My life is full and I'm in a happy place right now. After our granddaughter Liberty passed away about 2 1/2 years ago, happy was not an easy emotion to achieve but time marches on and life continually changes - this time in a much needed positive direction! My deepest thanks to everyone who prayed for Aimee and her baby throughout her pregnancy. 53 is looking to be a great year!

Until next time -

Whirlwind Days

Well the last few days have been a whirlwind of activity!! Our daughter and son-in-law gave birth this past Thursday to the sweetest little BOY you'll ever meet!!! Yep, our granddaughter (according to numerous ultrasounds) turned out to be a grandson! None of us expected that, as the pink tutu I purchased can attest to! LOL But no matter - girl or boy - all we wanted was healthy and for the most part, that's what we got!

Alexander Xavier is a little on the tiny side, weighing just 5 pounds even at birth, and is having a few feeding problems that are keeping him in the hospital for now but he is expected to come home later this week. In the mean time, I am trying to get to the hospital as often as I can for snuggle time plus taking care of daughter's cats while they're away (hospital is about an hour away from home) and running here and there to get boy clothes as he would look mighty silly in all the pink we've been buying! So if I'm not posting often this week, you'll know why - little Alex needs his grandma!

Here's a picture of our little man -

 

Yep, I could eat this little pumpkin with a spoon!

 

More to share tomorrow - when I turn 53....

 

 



Girls' Day Out

My daughter's delivery day could be any time (although she is not technically due until the end of Oct., it is likely she won't go that long) so before the baby is born, we had a little girls' day shopping and dining. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Little Momma's getting some lunch - eating for 2!
 

Godrick riding the bus with Mom Kristy looking on.

Heading out of the As Seen on TV store. We were shopping at Great Lakes Crossing (MI)

Dinnertime!

 

Thanks girls for a fun day!

 Next up on Klink baby watch - painting the baby's room this week and getting her furniture set up. Can't wait for this little bundle!!

See you again soon!

Nuts for You

Playing with some new Papertrey Ink goodies - here's one of the cards I made:

Isn't that little guy adorable? Perfect for the Fall (and all the acorns that are starting to drop in my yard already!)

In other news around the homestead, we are celebrating a few birthdays this weekend by having everyone in the family over for a cook-out and a Key Lime Cheesecake Factory cheesecake - yum!

Darling daughter hits 32 weeks of pregnancy this coming Sunday and the doctor has said he is ready any time the little one indicates that she's ready. So we could be meeting our granddaughter soon!

That's all the news for now. No back to school in my house any more but job hunting for Jacob will start soon. Oh joy!

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Being a Mother

Being a Mother means:

1. Putting yourself second and not regretting that position for one second

2. Learning to listen to words that are not spoken aloud

3. Knowing that getting a "good night's sleep" is often futile but understanding the reasons for why it is this way sometimes and accepting

4. Gaining a new respect for vegetables and a balanced diet, not only for ourselves but more importantly, for our children

5. Becoming a collector of memories in all shapes and sizes

6. Wearing many hats: nurse, advocate, psychologist, police officer, maid and most importantly, friend

7. Being the "bad guy" when it's necessary (which also makes you the "good guy" in the long run)

8. Adapting and responding to new circumstances and situations in the blink of an eye

9. Feeling unconditional love for another human being. You may have thought you found that when you married your husband but it multiplies ten-fold when you're a mother

10. Making mistakes but learning from every. single. one. and becoming a better person because of them


However you spent your day, I hope it was the happiest Mother's Day ever!

A little home decor project

I've been doing a little updating/redecorating around the house the past few weeks and I picked up a little frame at Michael's that I thought would be perfect in my living room. But then I got it home and had no idea what to put in it. Not because I don't have photos - God knows I have plenty of those! - but I also have a number of photos already displayed in my house and did I really need another? Um, no.

So I turned the frame into the base for a simple craft project. First the results and then the details:

Not the greatest photo - I took this last night with a flash so it's not the most accurate. Here's another photo without the flash - also not the best photo but you get the idea:

So my little coppery colored frame had a 4x4 opening. I knew I wanted a little word art centered around "family" so I went online and googled Word Cloud and ended up at Word It Out. There I added all the words I wanted included and was even able to choose word colors, fonts, sizes, and a variety of layouts with my chosen words. Once I had an arragnement of words I liked, I simply right clicked on the image and printed on my home printer, using a heavier paper than basic printer paper. I cut my word cloud image down to make a nice sized "almost" square image and then mounted it on a very thin coppery colored paper and then onto a navy cardstock (some of my words are also navy). I removed the glass from the frame and slipped in the finished piece and then mounted a flower to the corner with foam tape. That's it. An easily altered piece of home decor.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon with some more artwork and a catch up on my crazy week...

Halloween and other happenings

In what started out as a very uninteresting week has provided a few mention-worthy moments. Here they are, in no specific order:

1. While much of the country, and Ohio, in fact, was severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, our area saw some heavy wind and rains but nothing too intense. We are fortunate and our hearts go out to those who are still waiting for the power to be restored or the water to recede from their homes. Our thoughts and prayers to you all.

2. On a happier note, I got a new camera! I have been dabbling in photography for about a year now thanks to my pal Kathy getting me interested. Well, the credit doesn't all go to her - I've actually been interested for quite some time but it wasn't until I bought a camera from her (my first dSLR) that I really started pursuing the hobby in earnest. To the tune of now owning additional lenses, understanding aperture and now, buying my own, brand new, "big girl" camera. Here is the first picture I took with my new toy:

3. She might look like a willing photography subject but, in fact, she is far from it. About 3 seconds after this shot, she was on the move and giving me that "don't you dare take another picture of me, lady" look.

4. I am totally disillusioned regarding the intelligence of American voters. More on that subject here.

5. Halloween was rainy and cold and so we had very few trick-or-treaters. Not that we ever have very many but this year was a bit worse. However, we did have one super adorable Woodstock stop by to see us:

This is my daughter's friend Kristy's baby. He was sound asleep when they visited - Halloween wears a little guy out!

6. Speaking of Halloween, at least one of my kids still likes to dress up:

That's my daughter dressed as a candy corn (her legs were yellow).

7. I am cutting back my hours at work slightly, taking every other Monday off. Business has been pretty slow and I can only surf Facebook on company time just.so.much.

8. I am also now the Birthday coordinator at work. This means it's my job to make sure that a little celebration (with a card and dessert-y thing) is organized when one of my co-workers has a birthday. The last person to handle this important task really wasn't up to the job. And I am a party planner after all so it's a perfect fit. First celebration is this Friday.

9. Did you hear that Disney just acquired Lucasfilms and will be making a feature film Star Wars 7 in 2015? That news was HUGE in our house this week. Trust me, the SW fan that resides here (my son) has talked of little else.

10. And I think that about wraps it up for me. I'll be back soon with more things to share or check me out on Facebook. I seem to be there a lot these days.

Does this make any sense?

Yesterday was a little breezy. Ok, that's putting it mildly. It was downright blustery! Maybe blustery doesn't even really describe it accurately. More like my house was being ripped apart by demon wind hands! Yeah, that sums it up.

And as I've mentioned before, we've had a part of a tree fall on and damage our house twice. Two times too many. So I worried about that most of the day. Luckily, no tree problems this time around. But the power went out about 11:00 p.m. And here's the part that makes no sense to me. Let me set the stage.

I like to stay up later than anyone else in the house. Hubby and son usually hit the sack about 10. Maybe 11. I, on the other hand, stay up until 12-1:00. Well, yesterday, when the lights went out at 11:00, I was mid-blogging and hubby was up, on his phone. Not talking. More likely checking sports scores. Anyhow, when the power dies, a small emergency flash light plugged into the family room, pops on. It's not a strong light but enough so you can see your hand in front of your face. Hubby, from another room, announced that he was going to bed. Ok, makes sense - after all, it was past his normal bedtime. And there was no lights. So he wandered off to the bedroom.

About 2 minutes later, he comes to the family room, with a flashlight beaming, to find another flashlight we store in the laundry room.

Me: Where are you going with that light?
Him: I'm taking it to the bedroom.
Me: Umm, why? Aren't you going to bed? In the dark?
Him: Well yes, but we need a light in the bathroom, in case we have to pee during the night.
Me: And you can't do that with the 1st flashlight you already have in your hand?
Him: Well, I need that one in the bedroom so I can get undressed and ready for bed.

Uh huh. Are you seeing my confusion yet? He can't be in the bedroom and the bathroom at the same time and I would imagine he only needs a light where he currently is so why is one light not enough? Meanwhile, I'm still up and not planning on going to bed yet and I have one puny light to see by. How does this make any sense?

I let him go on his way and waited until he was asleep (all of 5 minutes later), then went and grabbed the 2nd light so I had some real light to see by. And I didn't even worry about him losing his way to the bathroom once. That's the kind of caring wife I am.

Today was one of those days

Saturday, we had a family day - took in the sights and sounds of the Michigan Renaissance Festival (photos coming soon!) and enjoyed dinner afterwards at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill. It was a long day but it was fun.

Yesterday was a long day too. Not as much fun. First off, the house desperately needed to be cleaned. So I managed to dust, vacuum, mop, scrub the bathroom stuff, change sheets on beds, finish laundry, do dishes...yep, did just about everything I could think of to tidy up around here. I used to clean my house daily. Well, just about daily. Now I'm lucky if it all gets done every other week. Because a.) I'm busy, busy, busy - with things other than housework, apparently and b.) I'm getting old and housework wears. me. out! So it is sparkly clean for now (at least as sparkly clean as it's going to get right now) and I don't have to think about it again for a few days. Amen to that.

Secondly, it was a Jacob-angst day. Yes, that's a real thing in my world. The 24 year old in the house (otherwise known as my son) occasionally experiences a day when things do not go his way and the whole world is to blame. Or he is to blame but that usually takes him awhile to realize. Today was one of those days. See, he is doing an internship with a friend of mine who is a photographer and his task today was to create a flyer for her. The process wasn't going well and he pretty much threw in the towel on his entire education because he "lacks an artistic eye". Oh, did I mention he's majoring in marketing? Not art or graphic design? And that he is a guy who can't even figure out what shirt goes with what pair of pants? Yeah, I knew the artistic eye was a bit of a problem. But I wasn't expecting him to produce a masterpiece. I just wanted him to have an opinion about what to include in a simple flyer and maybe learn a little about basic design elements along the way. But that expectation nearly caused him to go postal. Seriously. The end result was a lot of yelling, a door was slammed and there was a couple of hours of no speaking. Yep. One of those days.

But on the up side, it ended with a new episode of "Once Upon a Time" and a dish of ice cream. For me. I hope Monday is much more subdued. And maybe I'll get some creating time of my own to share with you soon. Here's hoping....

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was my Dad's Birthday. He would have been 78 years old. This summer marked the 25th anniversary of his passing.

Dad and Mom at a college dance (before marriage)

Dad was just 52 when he died. I will be 52 in a week. We always celebrated our birthdays together.

Dad and brother John

I've been thinking about my Dad a lot lately and missing him as if it was only yesterday that he was here, driving by and honking hello, sticking a gift bow to his forehead, taking his granddaughter (my Aimee) to the latest Disney movie. My son never had a chance to meet him. That makes me sad because I know they would have been the very best buds.

I miss you Dad, and look to the day when we are reunited. Take care of my grandbabies and save a spot for me. I love you always and forever. Happy Birthday.

Pooch Plunge!

Having a labrador, I have always wanted to take her swimming. Labradors are bred to love water - well, except when they are forced to take a bath or to need to go outside in the rain. Then they're not so found of the wet stuff. But swimming is good. I know this from the many times Leia has splashed around in the baby pool we bought for her.

But she's a big dog and it's a small pool so there has never been any real swimming involved. Well today there was a Pooch Plunge held at a local community pool so I just had to take her. The Pooch Plunge was held for just one day in order to raise funds for the construction of a new dog park being established in the area. Besides a lack of places to take your dog swimming, Toledo is also lacking any dog parks so I am on board with this plan. So I loaded up the family and the dog and we headed to the pool.

This is a summary of Leia's (and my) experiences. First, there was a lot of butt sniffing and mingling (of the dogs. I was not involved in this segment). Then I figured the best way to get her in the pool was to just make her go for it. So I threw her ball into the water. And she jumped. And she promptly turned right around, swam to the edge and crawled out. Hmm. Ok, so we needed another approach. I rolled up my pant legs (why I didn't think to wear shorts, I'll never know), and took her by the leash into the shallow end. Now this was more her speed and her feet were on solid pool bottom.

We played in the shallow end a bit, tossing (me) and retrieving (her) the ball. And each time, I threw the ball a little further. And she finally got the hang of the entire swimming thing! She'd run/swim out, dive under for the ball, swim/run back and we'd do it again. In between, she would check out another dog or two but for the most part, she was enjoying the adventure too much to even care about the other dogs.

Here's a little video of her going for the ball:



Yes, that's my overly enthusiastic voice encouraging her. My wet, soaked to the undies voice. Ok, so that part wasn't so much fun but watching her and the other dogs play in the water was tons of fun! Great time for a great cause. We will definitely participate again next year for the 2nd annual Pooch Plunge!

If you are friends with me on Facebook, I have more Pool Plunge photos posted there. Have a great week!

A camper I'm not but...

This past weekend, my guys and I headed to the Lake Erie Islands area (Port Clinton, Marblehead...) to hang out with friends at their campground. Now I am not a camper - the idea of being in a place that has little to do but sit and watch the spiders build webs is not my idea of a get-away - but we had a great time, mostly due to the company but also for the exact reason I just said I don't like camping. We sat and basically did nothing. And that felt really good!

Growing up, my grandparents owned a cottage right across from the lake and we would visit for a couple of days, go fishing, cook out, just hang around on the porch and relax. I associate the lake and the smell of the water with those days and it's a pleasant memory. My husband, on the other hand, grew up in a lake community and lived quite a number of years across from the lake as well so he doesn't have the same memories that I do. To him, it was just a place you lived, not a place you went to escape.

But we did escape a little this weekend. We enjoyed getting dinner at a small seafood place that served up some great fresh Lake Erie perch, popped into a huge cheese store (Cheese Haven - find my review here) and took in the sites at the Marblehead Lighthouse. Here are a couple of pictures from the lighthouse:

It was a little breezy but compared to the threat of rain we were supposed to have that day, and the heat we've been experiencing all summer, I was more than okay with some fresh lake breeze.

And to top it off, we ended the day with chocolate cake. I call that one Grade A day!

I'm a good Mom

Sunday we celebrated summer birthdays at my house. Yes, we are all too lazy to get together more than once a season. So those who have a birthday from June - October (me), get to wait until the assigned day when the family gets together to celebrate all at once. It's sad - and not by my choosing - but the older wiser people in the family prefer it this way. We also have one winter birthday celebration and that's a hoot because I think there are 8 birthdays from Dec - Feb. It's nuts. But anyhow.

My son (whose birthday is August 1st) was looking forward to birthday party day as that was the day he could finally order his Nintendo 3DS XL. As in extra large. It worked out pretty well because Nintendo just released the XL version on the 19th, the day of the party. But here was his concern - we were planning on buying it from Amazon and as it was just being released on the 19th, he'd have to order it on the 19th and then wait for it to ship. Most "normal" people wouldn't worry about this predicament but he was a little beside himself because A.) he had already recieved a game to play on the new system on August 1st and he couldn't play it on any other system (for real) and B.) he is returning to school this week so his free play time would become more limited. Talk about your 1st world problems, but there you have it.

So, being the Mom I am, Sunday morning I snuck out of the house and was at Target at 8:00 am to purchase his game system for him. Surprised? Definitely!

What a great feeling to see how excited he was to have the system in hand on release day. And 2 days before his classes start. Two gaming-filled days of heaven for my awesome gamer son. Jacob - it's always because I love you! And you deserve a few great surprises - and Oreo cheesecake. Happy Birthday!