Photos & Birthday wishes to & from Afghanistan

Happy Birthday
to
my husband
DAVID
(scroll to the post directly below this one for my Birthday BLOG CANDY)

One month into a 6 month Afghanistan deployment and we have already missed each others birthday. Now we just have each one of our 3 children, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day and our 21st Wedding Anniversary to go........... One of the best gifts that I received on my birthday were photos from him that I would like to share with you today.

The vest weighs 35 lb, can you imagine having to wear all of that
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
Dave is wearing shorts squatting in the center of his team

Blog Candy is directly below

Livin the Simple Life & Photos

As I sit here trying to figure out what to post today, I have decided to share a couple of photos a few thoughts. I will warn you upfront that my thoughts can change rather quickly, but rather than labor over what to say, I have decided to just write. Since 1993 my little family and I have lived on one island or another, Oahu or Sicily. We have come to appreciate a slower lifestyle and the simple things that bring us pleasure. FRIENDS: become your family when there isn't one around. On Monday our EOD command lost one of our own. A young man far from home who chose to give his life for the freedom of his fellow American. A young man with a family that loves him, friends that will miss him and a close-knit team of comrades still out in the field trying to recover from their wounds and carry out their mission, while grieving. FAMILY: having your husband home for whatever amount of time is precious. In light of the current events, our time together will be cut short. As an EOD wife, I have never allowed myself to get too into thinking about what my husband "really" does when he is deployed, however, I am stricken with a fear that I have never felt before. FEAR: because he is heading out to replace the team that has suffered this tremendous tragedy. CHILDREN: I miss my daughters more everyday. Thankful that we still have Adam here at home. Remember that they only get one childhood, let's make it happy. VOLCANOES: I always seem to live on one. Having experienced 4 major eruptions, do I fear the next or admire it's majestic beauty? TRAVEL: Although our 20th wedding anniversary was in February and we spent it in separate countries, we will be heading to Tuscany next week. LANGUAGE: Happy that I speak Italian. Dave and I were giddy with excitement as we telephoned an Agritorismo earlier today and made our accommodations without the owners speaking a word of English. BIRDS CHIRPING: the only sound I hear with the occasional hum of a car as it passes along the autostrada. DRAGONFLIES: seemingly dancing around for my personal enjoyment, sitting, gazing at my glass of Vino perhaps wondering whether or not to try a sip? WEATHER: warm Sicilian Sunshine allowing me to sit outside at sunset. FOOD: Sunday gathering of friends to enjoy some of the unique flavors that only Sicily can offer. Non-processed, no preservatives, and never given the check unless specifically asked for one. VIEWS: No billboards, no high rises, nothing to obstruct the amazing views of a city sitting tranquil upon the mountaintop that envelopes our community within it's valley of orchards. ORCHARDS: something is always in season depending on the time of year. HARVESTING: olives, oranges, lemons, melons, apples, nespoli, fig, carrots, artichoke, peppers, eggplant, cherries, wheat, grapes, tomatoes, just to name a few of the things that are growing around me. TRAFFIC: there isn't any. TRAFFIC LIGHTS: there aren't any. DRIVING: fast when there's no place to go. Slow when you're trying to be mindful and cautious. My backyard is my oasis, the place where I enjoy my quiet moments to enjoy the simple things in my life..................

This is a photo of a RAK (random act of kindness) that I received this week. Stephanie a fellow card maker/blogger wanted me to be able to experience Unity Stamps. You can check out Stephanie on her blog or on the ABC Design Blog where she is being featured this week as our "Creative Customer of the Week".

REMINDERS:

TWISTED THURSDAY Sketch Challenge: Complete Details directly below this post. As of right now, we only 3 participants. Don't miss out on this chance to WIN a great PRIZE PACKAGE.
ABC Toys & Crafts: Everything is 15% off until July 18

New Slide Show

I am so happy to have finally uploaded the photos that were taken of my family while our oldest daughter, Kayleigh, was here last month. I limited it to only 113 of my favorites ;o)....... By scrolling over the photos you should be able to view what I have written in regards to each photo. I do know that if you actually click on the slide show, you will be able to view them on a much bigger scale along with my comments. You are also welcome to leave comments. Be forewarned, we are an eccentric little bunch of people but you've probably already figured that one out all on your own.

Kayleigh wanted to take back all of her sea treasures to share with friends so I came up with this fun little bottle for her to present as gifts. She is a huge recycler, so we salvaged a Frappacino bottle, spray painted and distressed the lid. I created this cute little tag and she wrote her sentiments on the back. The fibers were scraps that we found lying around, however the buttons and the shell were also items that she found on the beach. You can still see the sand in the button holes.... Want to see more of our "Treasure Hunt"? Make sure to take a peek into the new slide show.

REMINDERS:

• WIN FREE STAMPS from Shirley's 2 Girls by playing along with the TWISTED THURSDAY sketch challenge. Complete details are in the post directly below this one.

• Clear Stamps are still on sale at a 15% discount over on ABC Toys & Crafts (offer ends Wed, June 30)
  

• ABC is now carrying the Spellbinders NESTABILITIE Dies and they have just listed new Inkadinkado stamps.
  

• EXCLUSIVE ABC Toys & Crafts 10% discount for my readers: CARD77 (but hurry this code expires Wed, June 30)
  

Recipe Box for my daughter

REMINDERS:

• ABC DESIGN TEAM CALL Click HERE for complete details

• 15% Discount on clear stamps at ABC

I created this recipe box with matching recipe cards for our daughter Kayleigh's 23rd birthday in January.... The thought and the idea were great, finishing the project was not. My goal was to fill it with some of our families favorite recipes, secret recipes that I have created and of course leave room for her to add to it throughout the years.......... WELL, pretty sure I won bad mommy of the year because once I got to the actual writing, I lost interest. You see, I absolutely hate to write out recipes, which is probably why I have "SECRET" recipes. I don't write them down, I have just made them up as I go along without actually measuring the ingredients. This being the case, I decided that it would be nice to have her observe while I prepared the dishes, then she could write them out in her own words. That didn't work either!!! She ended up wowing me with her new found culinary talents...... She is a vegetarian and wanted to show me how creative she has become in preparing tasty, low cost meals. I was the one that was very blessed.
..............Supplies I used...................
Stamps: Paper Trey Ink (recipe box & recipe labels)
Ink: Fresh Snow ink & Dark Chocolate (Paper Trey Ink)
Paper: Basic Grey DP, Stampin' Up! (chocolate chip, baja breeze), Paper Trey Ink (white cardstock)
Misc: Ribbon (Stampin' Up - baja breeze), Box & Recipe cards (Paper Trey Ink)

MEMORIAL DAY

To the Men & Women in Uniform

and their Families

THANK YOU

MEMORIAL DAY: as the majority of Americans celebrate this Memorial Day weekend with picnics, parties and the regular fan fare of celebrations, I wanted to share a little bit about who we are. Most of you know that I am fiercely patriotic and immensely proud to serve our country as a United States Navy EOD wife. Originally, I was just going to share Tyler's Memorial video from last week, as a reminder of what this weekend is really all about. However, while cruising through You Tube, I stumbled upon the other two EOD videos. Even as an EOD wife, I was enlightened by them and my heart filled with AWE, as I watched these men and women perform their "Job" with enthusiasm and a smile on their face. To ALL the Men & Women who serve our country and the friends & families that SUPPORT THEM - THANK YOU and GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Simply said "Thank you so much"

Gave myself a little blog break over the weekend. I guess I needed it after I wrote out to blog posts for the same day (Thursday). Anyhow, needed to just give all of my attention to my family. Our time together is always bitter sweet. Dave is already set to leave on the 21st. Emily will be heading back to the University of Hawaii in June and then Dave will leave for Iraq in August so it will just be Adam and I ;o( Last night I got a crazy IDEA and checked on the price of airfare........... I was able to purchase our oldest daughter, Kayleigh, a ticket from Florida to Sicily including taxes, fees and FED-X delivery for $600....... I am so excited. She will be here on the 13th and this is the first time since she left for college in 2004 that I will have our entire family ALL TOGETHER.........

So this card is for YOU for coming to visit my blog, playing along with challenges, and always being so supportive by leaving the sweetest most encouraging comments.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

REMINDERS:

• Today is the DEADLINE to enter your project for the Twisted Thursday Sketch challenge. The blog post directly below this one has complete details on how you can enter to win a free stamp.
• This Thursday, myself and the rest of the LADIES with ATTITUDE will be hosting a BLOG HOP and debuting NEW STAMPS for Shirley's 2 Girls. Trust me you will not want to miss it.
  
• Take a peek at my new animated Blinkie, located at the top of the screen.
• Click on the NEW SLIDE SHOW to open it up and view my comments regarding each photo.
  

A Day I wish I could Forget

In Loving Memory
James "Aaron" Duane
Frederick
December 29, 1992
-----
April 6, 1993

In HAPPIER news, Susana of Susana's Custom Art & Card Design is giving away some AWESOME BLOG CANDY starting TODAY. What's the prize? A hand signed print of an upcoming stamp for SCACD by ©Elisabeth Bell and an entire set of the 1st release of stamps!

To enter, head over to the store blog "Follow Your Heart" for all the details!! It's a one-of-a-kind BLOG CANDY that I am dying to own!!

Happy 20th Wedding Anniversary to us

Yes you read the title correct. February 18 1989, Dave and I said "We Do Forever" and guess what? We actually meant it. I mean it is not everyday that a hip, happenin, sexy couple like ourselves can say that we have been married for 20 years....In saying that, I mean to the same person. (someone actually asked us that waaaaaay back during our 5th year of marriage, sheeeeesh and they thought 5 years was a long time to be married???) So here I am Celebrating my biggest and proudest accomplishment ALONE. O sure I could gush about how I am the luckiest woman alive, how Dave refers to me as his "Bride", or about the beautiful pedastal that he so delicately places me upon. Or I could tell you how he is my "hero", how he serves, God, his country and how he loves his family but that's not what you came here for....... You wanna see what I made him!!!!




We were supposed to take a cruise to celebrate our life together, however, Uncle Sam, deems it necessary for him to train his team for a tour in Iraq. Thank God, I did not purchase the tickets!! I started out creating this amazing little Tuxedo Jacket Card when I realized how wonderful it would be to present it with a framed photo of us on our Wedding Day. We really were babies. I was 19 and he was 20. Although this gift has no monetary value, it signifies our Promise to Love one Another For Better For Worse, in Sickness and in Health, For Richer For Poorer, Until Death Do We Part. I also printed out a very small copy of this photo and placed inside the Tuxedo Jacket. I thought he could carry that one in his wallet (not to mention, I was not about to write inside this card.


As you can see, my inspiration came from the March 20008 Paper Trends idea book. You can find a complete step by step tutorial HERE As you can see, I changed mine up a bit. I choose pink since I had pink velvet rather than black for my lapels. For the bow tie and cumberbund I used PTI's satin, polka dot ribbon in Blush. I also changed up my cumberbund as well. I cut a strip of 120lb white cardstock then I layered strips of the ribbons on top of it starting with the bottom ribbon and glueing them in place.



I have also loaded a photo showing how I packaged and surprised him by slipping the gift into his luggage. He was not suppose to open it until Feb 18, however, he called me TODAY to wish me Happy Anniversary. YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN MARRIED FOREVER WHEN NEITHER ONE OF YOU CAN REMEMBER YOUR EXACT WEDDING DATE. He was so adament that our Anniversary was today that I had to go find our Wedding Certificate to figure out who was right. DUH ME !!! O well I will take a man that remembers the day before vs. missing it.

(Notice: while typing this post yesterday, the internet went down twice so I gave up. I just discovered that blogger automatically saved the draft so without further ado and after the day from hell, I am going to just add the photos and be done)

New Slide Show

Not my regular blog post today but I won't leave you empty handed either........... If you look over to the left hand column, you will notice a new Slide Show..........

All of these photos were shot on Christmas morning, New Year's Eve and Saturday. We took a little family adventure over to the other side of the Island between Palermo and Trapani. Our main point of interest was Segesta!!! The site is home to "The Doric Temple". This majestic structure sits in a silent hilly plain and dates back to the end of the 5th century B.C. (possibly around 430-420 B.C.)

Within this same panoramic valley and hill top was an entire Archaeological Park consisting of the Temple, a near perfect Amphitheater, A Castle, Public Buildings, a Town Wall, Ancient roads, the Sanctuary of Contrada Mango, houses and so much more all dating back to B.C. eras....... FANTASTIC........ One of the photos taken from the Theater boasts a panoramic view of the Gulf of Castellammare and Mount Inici........ Archeologists believe these works to be characteristic of Grecian architecture..........

I hope that you enjoy meeting my wonderful family and a peek into where we currently choose to call home. Thank you for stopping by.

My husband came home - BROKEN!

Remember me telling you that my husband was gone again? He was at advanced Free Fall school..  Friday evening my phone rings, which is strange since I never receive phone calls (((SHHHHH some folks don't realize that the phones and airplanes go both directions))))))))  First thing my husband asks is whether or not the command has contacted me!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIKESSSSSS, that can only mean one thing - He is hurt!!!  Yes he was hurt and yes he was in the hospital. Apparently the wind picked up unexpectedly as he jumped out of the aircraft at 25,000 feet, the wind proceeded to carry him into a populated area.  It was obvious that he was going to miss the drop zone so he had a few seconds to determine where he "Could Land"....... The top of a building appeared to be a pretty good choice.  Flying through the air at 30 mph, he missed the roof by 2 feet and slammed into the side of the building (Cartoon Style)....... 

He arrived home with a broken leg and a concussion.......... BTW, he passed the course ;o) He will probably kill me for adding this lovely photo of him.  I wish I had gotten a bit closer to that gash and mellon sticking out of his head.

My chihuahua, Kujo LOVES bags.  We literally have to hide "his bags" (you know Paris Hilton style. He loves to ride around in purses, so much so that he will sit in one for hours at a time and cries mercilessly  when he sees one) All that being said, he thinks that Dave's removable cast is his new "PAPOOSE Bed"....... I opened the cast too look at it and Kujo literally dove into it!!!  I am enclosing a couple photos of him completely content.   He sat in that thing for nearly an hour!!!!!!  Now he was strapped in but it was evident by his facial expressions and ears that he did NOT want to be taken out........ What a funny lil guy...

Without further adoo, I should probably get around to mentioning "the card"......  From the looks of things, I have moved past creating the little 3x3 cards and have decided to stick with snowflakes, with a few interruptions here and there, which I will share SOON!!  This new set of stamps, 2008 holiday tags by PaperTrey Ink, is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites. I suppose I will have to set them aside after the holidays.  Now it just wouldn't be a card by Justine without ribbon and polka dots, now would it????

As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by

.........................Recipe......................

stamps: santa baby (basic grey), 2008 holiday tags (Papertrey Ink)

cardstock: kraft (PaperTrey Ink), very vanilla, chocolate chip (Stampin' Up!)

ink: dark chocolate (PaperTrey Ink.)

ribbon(PaperTrey Ink)

tools: sewing machine, marvy uchida blue and pink scallop circle punches, 3/8" circle punch (Stampin' Up!)

misc: button, rhinestones, linen thread (Stampin' Up!), 

GOT DIRT ? ? ? ?

So I did actually find the time to do a bit of creating today and I just finished the yummiest little set of 3x3" cards.  I know I am totally on a bitty card kick.  Just having said that, I am wondering if my infatuation with them would have anything to do with Attention Deficit?  HMMMM I may just be on to something here. They are quick and I actually finish one before I loose interest or before my creative mind jumps to another idea.... This would be the Hallelujah moment that I strive for when I am teaching a child something new or in a different way.  When that little light bulb clicks on.................... Yea, who needs a doctor when you've got Dr. J who can diagnosis herself??  

Of course I don't actually have a photo since I am DONE trying to take photos in the house.  Those are always the ones that I cannot get the lighting correct or they come out blurry.  Guess we will just have to wait until there is some daylight out tomorrow.

Until then, I thought you might like to take a peek at my son, Adam.  Last week he came home from being out riding his motorcycle and was so excited to show me how dirty his bike was.  That is a big DEAL for Motocross.  Besides all of the dirt he was thrilled that he had CRASHED good enough to break his hand break.  Dirt and crashes means that he is pushing himself harder in an attempt to ride better and break outside of his comfort zone.  WAY TO GO ADAM!!!!

What gets dirty must also be cleaned, so these photos show him after his day of riding.  I love the one that shows "HIS Idea of Clean" ;o)  I honestly believe that my children cannot see dirt.... and they think that I am the one who is crazy.  

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back tomorrow with my cute lil "ADHD" cards (giggle to self)

Saturday's 5K "Walk the PINK out of it"

This past Saturday my family and I participated in a Breast Cancer Awareness walk sponsored by the base. I wore a pink and silver Tiara in honor of my hero Heather who not only SURVIVED Breast Cancer, she kicked it's Arse!!! She has participated in numerous Marathons around the world and always wears crazy PINK boas, Angel Wings etc. It was very important to me for my entire family to participate and I was thrilled that my husband proudly wore a special shirt that I created for him. We started off walking together but both kids quickly found their friends and decided to complete the walk with them. Aren't Emily's friends little cuties??? I love the photo of Adam suspended in the air as he was doing a crazy walk towards the finish line. I only wish that I had a photo of Dave and I in a full on sprint to beat one another as we crossed the finish line. This walk was not a competition but WE are SOOOOOOOOO competative. (yes of course we embarrass our children at their sporting events) BTW, I WON =o).................................. While I was messing around up in my "Craft Room" recently, I came up with this design for a breast cancer awareness card. These were so simple and quick. I whipped out 10 of them in no time at all. I have no clue what stamp company created the little bow stamp that I used for the back ground. I think I purchased it in 2004 and it is still one of my favorites. The "Believe" sentiment is from the Believe stamp set by PTI, which is a Christmas Stamp set. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and although the month is coming to an end, I hope that you will be mindful to do your monthly Boob checks. Let's all make it a point to remind and educate someone else each month of the importance of these monthly checks. Until we find a CURE, Early Detection is the key factor in SURVIVING BREAST CANCER...................

Altered gifts

I have been so unbelievably tired lately. Not sure why. Night before last I was in bed, asleep by 7:45!!!!!  Having my husband home is sure helping out in the mornings though.  Which is why I am actually writing this blog BEFORE work! (Lucky for you, I won't be able to be long winded) I am so grateful for the times that he gets to be here with us.  He won't be deploying until the beginning of next summer, however, I know of 3 different trips that he will have to go on.  Although they are a month or two here and there, they certainly add up.  When we lived here in Sicily from 1999-2004, those little trips, along with the deployments added up to a total of 986 days ;(

The "Treasure Box" that I made contained his "Over the Hill Survival Pack" consisting of the following: A BALLSIERE, MEMORY MINTS, A 1968 CD, and GRECIAN HAIR FORMULA.  I have no clue where I came up with the Ballsiere but do read the tag that I created. Is it not the funniest??  Pretty sure you can't see all of the details but I purchased a pair of ladies knee high trouser socks, cut them down, re-sewed the toes, sewed them together on the top, inner side,  and attached the twill tape.  

Memory Mints is an old, altered Altoids box with 4 boxes of Tic Tacs inside.  I used Word Document to create the Tags for the Hearing Aids, Ballsiere, Memory Mints and the Top of the Treasure Box.  The CD was created with Itunes. I downloaded all of the top songs from 1968 and burned them to CD's.  

The blue CD cases were my party favors.  To create Dave's CD case I used the criss cross card technique on the inside.  The stamps were from PTI.  

All of the gag gifts came to me pretty easy. Trying to figure out what to get his for a real gift was much more difficult.  I decided to get him something that I knew he may want, but would never purchase for himself. The BOSE ear phones for his Ipod!!!!!!!!!!  Creating the "Hearing Aids" tag was a complete after thought and an a jab at the same time.  I am constantly repeating things to him and he is constantly  making excuses as to why he doesn't hear.  (head was turned away, distracted, interference etc.......) SOOOOOOO I tell him all the time that he needs hearing aids.  I even go into great details to explain to him that they now make them so that they are discreet and he could even turn them off when he doesn't want to listen to someone!!!!! LOL....... The best best part, is that he had to study them to make sure that I hadn't really purchased a set of Real Hearing Aids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So my not so long winded blog has become somewhat long winded.  I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about my last day of work (so it may be a day or so but you're used to that right?)

Hugs,