Moving Day

I'm betting by now that my legionnaires have concluded that I am moving and haven't a minute to spare to do what I enjoy most for fun. Today is the day and I'm still not quite ready. I need to pack 10 more boxes at least and I've run out of tape. My SIL isn't ready for us either. The floors are done and the bathroom's been renovated, but my craftroom hasn't been started. I will probably not be stamping for most of the summer. I have mixed feelings about this. If you read my posts, you'll know that I have now and then, lamented about the hold that stamping has on me. I wouldn't say it's addictive, but darned close. As I have been preparing for this move, I've discovered just how many things went un-done. I'm a bit ashamed. Not to mention my prayer life which always took second place to stamping. So, this is a chance to change that, or at least re-arrange priorities. Since I will only have two rooms to keep in order and will be sharing KP duties, I  will have more time, so I know that stamping will continue to be part of my life. It truly does de-stress me. In the next few months, I will be reading blogposts, but won't be keeping up with mine, unless it's to use it as a journal only. That seems to help me too. I may also post a recipe now and again too. Before stamping, I was an enthusiastic cook and loved it...especially the compliments. I may also recoommend a book as I have always enjoyed reading and finally am doing more. I wish there were enough hours in the day to do it all, but alas, it's not to be.

So take care my legionnaires and check back if you want to just see what I'm up to, but if it's cards you will be looking for, you'll have to check the other 2,000 or so other blogs for your inspiration. Of course, my sidebar contains the ones I will check most.  I doubt I'll be missed. Thanks for your input and appreciative comments. I so enjoyed them.

Hugs & Blessings,
Erica

So Happy!

Well, I guess you could say that this happy frog reflects my mood. The biopsy came back benign, negative, etc. The procedure sure has come a long way since I had one 18 years ago. It was dang uncomfortable, but not exactly painful either and over in 45 minutes. I was back to my old self by noon, except I didn't run out and play a couple of rounds...teasin'. I don't do golf. But had I some margarita mix, I sure woulda' tossed a couple.
I have been very busy with getting organized and trying to find buyers for much of my furniture as the move gets nearer. Looks like we're saying goodbye to my town (now called a city...having increased its population from 18,000 to 33,000 in 14 years). We've been approved for the short-sale, and are awaiting the date. Once I have it, it will be good-bye to blogging for 10 to 15 days. That's a bummer for me, but I get so wrapped up in checking blogs that I go hours on end and not one box packed. So today, I put 10 boxes in my room, strategically placed so I will trip over them if I try to get to my PC or stamping table. I have no choice but to pack.
Sooo, this is a 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 card, white base, CTMH ds paper, ribbon, and teeny wax floss bow. The other papers are a mixed bag. I used my Nesties and an EK Success border punch. the sentiment is a clear stamp....don't make me look....and I used the "out of the box" technique to get the flower above the "fray" so to speak. The flower center flower soft on it. The button is from my stash. S/He is a Penny Black stamp and colored with Copics.
Hugs & Blessings,
Erica

Whow...it's Monday Again

I am amazed at how fast Monday came around again. It was a busy, yet somehow uneventful Mother's Day, but today, I had a breast biopsy. I wasn't gonna post this, but, what the heck, it's not like it's embarrassing. I thank the Lord that I have been born in a time when breast cancer is not a death knell. A mere 50 years ago, a diagnosis meant terrible pain and certain death. I usually am awed by technological advances, but today it's medical progress that makes me happy. The procedure itself was nearly a piece of cake and nothing like the one I had 18 years ago. They told me to baby myself for the day, but frankly, I didn't need to. I went about my usual routine two hours later. I didn't take anything for pain as it is neglegible, just applied an icepack every 20 mins., while watching TV with a bag of Dove chocolates with caramel. Well, they DID tell me to baby myself, right! Sooo, legionnaires, I will know tomorrow if I'm one of the 20% of women whose biopsy is not benign.
And, in the meantime, here's a clean & simple card that I squeezed in this weekend. Uh, don't ask for the deets, just enjoy it. My desk is a mess and remember, I'm babying myself. On another subject, have you all been seeing the dies manufactured by companies other than Spellbinders? I was wondering when Spellbinders would no longer be the only kid on the block. Papertrey here has a collection.
Hugs & Blessings,
Erica

I've Been Challenged

Evenin' legionnaires. I had a great weekend and I'm off to having an even better week. My kind friend, Deb Neerman, designed a cute card on her blog. Find a link to her blog on My Blog List....3rd one down. My "link" service is not working properly today, else, I'd get ya' there directly.
Hers is based on my card and Deb sorta' challenged her followers to use this long lost idea with shadow stamps. Well, I felt a bit challenged too. And with Mother's Day upon us and my grandson, ever the entrepreneur, wanting to see if he can sell Grandma's cards at school (btw, I get 20% profit. lucky me, huh?), I quickly made these. I don't think I've ever made 3 cards in under an hour. Since they're for kids to give, I kept them real simple. So the 3 square shadow stamp is from Copper Leaf Creations. I never heard of this company before or since 2003. The little flower is an old dollar stamp. The 3 hearts are from CTMH's Togetherness, available in the current catty.  I think they pass for shadow stamps. The purple "shadow" stamp is a cheater shadow stamp, if you catch my drift and it is an oldie from SU's Reverse Prints. BTW, if you were an SU'er in 2003, you may have a shadow stamp similar to my square one. There is one slightly smaller in the "All Natural" set of 6 stamps. I also found 3 other psuedo shadow stamps by SU in other sets. Go have have a looksie, dig them out and have a little fun. Leave a link to your card in my comment box if you do and there might be a little somethin' somethin' coming your way if my grandson randomly picks your card.
Hugs & Blessings
Erica  P.S., my random integrator my grandson's favorite baseball cap.

Emboss On Emboss #2

 
Afternoon legionnaires. Thought I'd post another of the emboss on emboss cards with a lil' twist...the flower...before we're off to church. Goin to the Saturday service and then dinner out...Whoopie, the dh is back! Thanks you Lord, for the blessing of the van. It's quite pretty and we have Siruis radio for a 90 day trial. He likes it so much that we're going to subscribe. The van is super-easy for him to get into and the "tie-downs" are simple to do. We went to Pep Boys yesertday and bought a new sun-shade, tote for the back to hold the groceries and a floor mat for me. I'm gonna work on trickin' my ride. I have to find something froggy first foremost and I may splurge for a custom license plate while I'm at it. We will have GPS too, but Chrysler does theirs with a disk that needs to be updated yearly, so we're waiting for that in the mail. We also have a DVD for the grands, but no remote and no headphones, so we have to see about those. Our dd, sil and grands are all impressed with our new wheels. It's been a while, so we are blessed.
So, if I'm scarce, you'll know where we are...at least until the novelty of it all wears off.
Happy Cruisin'
P.S. Don't take your vehicle for granted. I read somewhere that only 15% of the worlds' population have one...let alone 2 which is the norm for the U.S.