Trick or Treat!

Wow, I'm exhausted! I certainly don't remember being this tired after an evening of trick or treating. Perhaps it has something to do with the thirty-some-odd years that have passed.

Roy's got the girls in the tub, but I can hear that they are still so completely wired. We only visited two houses - Dave & Kate's (my brother and his wife) and Denise & Roddey's (my mother's best friend). After that, we went to the church to the Autumn Festival. It was so packed when we first got there we could barely walk. It did thin out, but I bet they had over a thousand people there tonight. The girls got way too much candy. I bet they had seven or eight pounds together. (I know some students who'll be happy on Monday!) When we got home, they poured the candy out onto a chair in the living room and started digging. I tried to put the candy back into the buckets (so I could relocate the buckets to a much higher location) when Eva Grace threw her body on top of the cand and yelled, "That's my candy!" Had it not been so dishearting, it would have been funny.

Eliza was Wonder Woman this year. She told me for weeks that was what she wanted to be. I didn't know where I'd get that costume. I happened to be walking along in Wal-Mart and saw ONE costume left. It was a size too large, but after spending 30 minutes digging through every costume there, I discovered that it was the last WW costume in the store. Eva Grace didn't get much choice in her costume. She was a ballerina. She had little Isotoner slippers that she wore briefly, but she ripped the tiny bows off and refused to keep them on. Of course, they are/were the cutest ever.

Happy Fall!

Fall is in full force, October is almost gone, and the year will soon be a memory. My mother always says (around New Year's), "Before you know it, it will be Christmas again!" She's usually right. The days are getting shorter. The wind is brisk and the days cool. Fall is my favorite time of the year. Well, a close tie because I do love summer also! I love Christmas, but Thanksgiving has a special place in my heart. The colors and decorations are beautiful. The memories of family are sweet. Happy fall!

Great stamping week so far! I took Monday off work to work on cards and deal with the insurance company about my car. I wasn't terribly creative, but I made six very pretty cards for my October Stamp a Stack. Several of them were cased from some very talented stampers on Splitcoast. This first one is a direct case from luv my dolly. I love the stark beauty of the dove and the beautiful colors. I think I may use this for my Christmas cards. Someone mentioned last night, though, that you could use this as a sympathy card or - by changing the word to "Love" - a wedding card. More cards on the way! I'll post again tomorrow.

What a Day!

Wow. I had a non-stop bell-to-bell day.

It was tiring and my voice is still not 100%. I didn't have orchestra tonight. We were going to eat at the church anyway, but the weather was so nasty we didn't want my grandfather to fall trying to get up the stairs. So I ordered dinner from The Diner (http://www.thedinertyler.com/), picked up Eliza from school and headed home. I was sitting at a red light and all of a sudden we felt a terrible jar. We were rear ended. I pulled over at the gas station on the corner, called the police, and started getting the information we needed.

We were all ok. Eliza was shocked, Momma got a bad headache, and her back hurt a little. I was fine. The guy that hit us was young and just not paying attention. That tank I drive was barely dented, though I think there is some more significant damage than can't be seen - the computer parking sensors were missing off the bumper and the control panel is dinging with errors. As much as I hate that thing, I bought it for the safety features and it sure has held up. They guy's truck - an Explorer SportTrack - was pretty crumpled. It looked worse than mine.

I keep checking on Eliza, but she seems to be fine. We had a serious discussion about safety, seatbelts, and car wrecks. So often, I see dangers coming my way. I didn't have an inkling that a truck was hurtling toward us. It is a humbling thought that our existence is so fragile.

Check this out! Two posts in the same day. And I actually followed through with one promise I made! There are some pictures of the new puppy, Chloe.

She's cute and fuzzy. Her hair sticks straight out. She really is a ball of fur!

Next is a picture of Roy with Chloe. Roy calls her "his dog", "pup", and "darling". He really loves this puppy.

Back Again ... With Better Intentions

Well, here I am again. I am back again after an extended period of time MIA. Life has gotten so much better, you can't even begin to understand the difference. I feel alive again - I can breathe and have time to stop and notice life around me. I'm actually seeing my children and husband again.

I've done a lot of scrapbooking lately (well, in the past month or so). I would love to get some quality time in again soon! Unfortunately, I have class the next two weekends (I hate these double weeks). The good part is that I am half way done with this doctorate! Woo-hoo!!!

I plan to post some pictures tonight of recent (dubious definition) creations. Perhaps I can even spend a little time in my room tonight.

In other news, I had a terrible headache on Saturday and Sunday - no doubt my blood pressure was high (I had, um, forgotten, to take my medicine for a, um, while). On Sunday I was sitting on the couch playing SCS. Roy and Eliza went to Lowe's to get something for the yard. I leaned back and fell asleep. I woke up to them coming home. With a gift. A new puppy. She is very cute but COMPLETELY unexpected. I didn't realize that we were in the market for a dog. She is a golden shepherd, a mixed breed I had never heard of. Her father was a golden shepherd, but almost completely white and her mother was a golden retriever (I think I have that right). The girls were both really excited. Eliza had already named her Chloe before they got home. I'll definitely post some pictures tonight. Actually, I haven't even taken pictures of her yet. I'll do that this afternoon.

Long time since

Again it's been a long time since I've written. So much has happened. Perhaps (if I can finish out my summer work) things will finally slow down and I can have a real life again. Well, that's not true. But it will be a lot better than the last year. I plan to scrapbook tonight or tomorrow. I'll post whatever I produce. Maybe it will be good.

Where are you?

A fairly commonplace question was posed to me that truly made me stop and think. Where do I really see myself in five years? Ten years? We all answer these questions with our pipe dreams. "I want to be in a successful career." or "I want to have a new career." or "I want my family to be financially comfortable." or "I want to be married (or in some people's cases, divorced!)" or "I want to have children."

How much of my answer is fairy tale? What am I doing now to make a difference? I mean, a difference in my workplace, my family, my career? These things don't fall into place. What am I doing to consciously change my future? I heard someone say something a few weeks ago. I immediately emailed it to myself and I've pondered it since then.

"Isn't today the tomorrow we worried about yesterday?"

Wow. It still makes me think about my own role in my destiny. I believe in a fair amount of predestination, but I also believe that we have free will to make choices. My choices have not been stellar lately. Redirection. Clarity. Centering. Thoughtful.

Wow. Three whole months have passed since I last sat to write. I have finished almost a semester of school, but we still have about 75% of the work ahead of us. My girls are growing. I hated that they had spring break last week and I had to work, but I'm enjoying the time this week. They are at school but I'm getting to go eat lunch with them, attend their Easter parties, and generally be an involved parent.

I've been a Stampin' Up demo for about 8 months. I only joined for the discounts. I certainly don't have time to run a business on the side. However, I'm hosting my first class tomorrow night. I've called it a Stamp a Stack and they guests will make twelve cards - two each of six designs. I finally finished my designs tonight and cut out all of the papers. I think there will be six people attending tomorrow night. I'm really kind of excited. It was harder than I thought to come up with six designs that people could make in a reasonable amount of time.

Happy New Year

At the beginning of another new year, I want to pause to remember all the people for whom I'm thankful. My husband, my daughter, my family, my church friends, my cohort friends, my SCS friends. For these, I thank God.

On that note, I find it apropos to include a video that I found absolutely amazing. I got it just this morning. What a thought to begin a new year!

Who Am I (Casting Crowns)

Continued blessings

Last night as I was typing, the batteries went out on my keyboard. I couldn't find any and my husband claimed we didn't have any. This morning, faced with the prospect of finding an open gas station to buy me batteries, he miraculously came up with a few to get me by.

Nonetheless, I'm still thankful for the blessings I've been given. My girls, my husband, my family, (yes, even) my job. I'm so blessed this Christmas season and throughout the year.

These blessings all come from the Savior who was born so long ago in a busy town teeming with the activity of a royal census. Peace came to the earth in the form of a tiny baby's first cry.

Merry Christmas.

May you have a beautiful and blessed Christmas

What a month. This has been hectic all the way around. My semester ended in a full throtle hurdle. We got to the final class meeting and were so happy that we would have a few weeks off before our first class session on January 11. It was a real heartbreaker to learn that we would have to meet for group sessions over Christmas. The first one is this coming Friday. Ugghhh.

We - meaning mostly I - were dumb and didn't do our Christmas shopping early. We didn't get out of school (work) until Friday, so it has been a mad dash shopping as well. Now the girls are tucked into bed and Santa has visited and I'm going to crawl into bed with my kerchief. Next year, I promise to shop earlier.

My mother had heart bypass surgery on December 14. Fortunately, they were able to do a robotic surgery. It is truly amazing. They don't crack open the chest or cut the leg at all. She has three incisions

Starting Out

Who has time for this? Here I sit with a blog titled "Candle With Two Ends" at almost midnight. I have an assignment due, a house to clean, and 75 people headed to my house in about 40 hours for a Christmas party. This is insanity. My husband is giving my crazy looks because I'm supposed to be helping him clean and I'm in here typing. Can't seem to pull away from this digital addiction.