Fun Stamped Valentine Projects

I had the pleasure of sitting in on Lauri's Stampin' Up! Class last night. Lauri is my local Stampin' Up! rep and one of my favorite designers (http://www.astampersperspective.typepad.com/).

It was fun to be back-I had been a regular the last few years, but tough times recently called for tough measures and I had to cut back on my stamping purchases. Hopefully this is just temporary-I don't like being a grown up and responsible with my money!

We made 4 Valentines, 3 of which included chocolate-yippee!

It's...Ground Hog Day!!

Happy Ground Hog Day! I know, not very original...but heck, it's the middle of winter and what else is going on? Besides I have a soft spot for the furry little rodent even though this year's prediction didn't sit well.

5 year anniversary

Random one line thoughts about this:

February 1st, 2005 is the day I quit smoking for good.

Today I celebrate 5 years quit...cool!

I describe quitting smoking as "the easiest hard thing I ever did"

Use the patch-it takes the edge off and you have wacky, crazy, vivid dreams!

Dang it, food tastes really good!

The smell of cigarettes on people gags me (especially on my husband), but I never lecture.

I'm pissed at myself that I gained weight and haven't lost all of it yet.

You have to wanna quit more than you wanna smoke to be successful.

My kids are proud of me.

I haven't been inside a convenience store/gas station in 5 years (pay at the pump rules!)

I haven't coughed or really been ill except for minor colds since I quit.

Don't use the excuse that you can't quit because your partner won't quit-that's crap-I did it with a pack of cigs in view every single day.

Today will always be a good day for me.

What does the inside of a dashboard look like?

OR...what a guy has to go through to find out why the radio isn't working!

Our 18 year old got into a fender bender a few weeks back - no injuries thank goodness, but enough damage to be more than his Neon was worth, so a "new car" it is. A white mid 90's Cavalier that still runs great, but with a few cosmetic issues including the radio cutting out.

The hubby had to tear apart the entire dashboard to find out that the antenna was loose from the radio! After tightening this and tweaking that, the radio still cuts out occasionally but my son says it isn't a big deal. A strategically place smack on the dash gets it right back. Gotta love the added charm of a used car!

Lightbulb moment #27

fren·e·my
(frěn'ə-mē) n. pl. fren·e·mies Informal A person who is ostensibly friendly or collegial with someone but who is actually antagonistic or competitive.//-->[Blend of fr(iend) + enemy.]

When I first saw and started hearing the word, I figured some gossip magazine coined it to describe Hollywood rivalries. How clever-one word that everyone understands. I didn't expect to find an actual definition (http://www.dictionary.com/). I also didn't expect to find it so close to me!

Recently, I was expressing my frustration to a neutral party and the word "frenemy " came out of my mouth without hesitation...hmmm...that was the first time I had said it out loud and knew instantly it described what I've been experiencing for the past few years with someone I had considered a close friend.

Wow, what a great 'light bulb' moment! I finally knew that it "wasn't my imagination" nor "a personality flaw" nor "you misunderstood me." The snide comments, subtle put downs, passive-aggressive behaviors and creepy competitiveness over the years were all very real.

The old adage, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" no longer works for me! This is not how I operate (nor will I put up with it) in true friendships. Even though until recently, I hadn't put it into words, I had been pulling away and mourning the loss of this "friendship" for a long time. Thankfully, I finally learned the lesson hard and strong enough in December that I was able to leave it all behind with the old decade, the old year, my old attitudes.

I don't hate this person, I'm just DONE. What a relief!

door decos

At work, I am known as the "flair fairy." I create little souvenirs to liven up the place a little for each season. Since I work in radio, I re purpose old Cd's as part of my creations. I used a combination of Stampin' Up! stamps, paper, punch and inks, leftover Christmas wrap, Tim Holtz distress inks, Jolee's stickers and plain old curling ribbon. I love the dark purple side and the grooves in the CD and the layered/dimensional look. The fact that it looks like a tree on the door was a happy accident that I didn't even notice until someone else pointed it out!

Here is this year's holiday door ornament:

It's been a while

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything, sheesh! There are a few reasons for my lack of posting:

1. I picked up a full time/seasonal job at the local Macy's and that took up most every bit of free time I had!

2. The rest of my free time has been filled up with audits, explanations, meetings, other ugliness and bad feelings due to a huge loss of funds at a not for profit entity I happen to be a board member of. There was no embezzlement, but mistakes were made by all and even though we are trying to move past that, accusations and suspicions abound. Probably the most stressful situation I have ever experienced!

3. The whole point of this blog has been to be a happy, positive place to post my thoughts, musings, creativity, pictures and any other random things I find interesting. With the above situations, I haven't felt incredibly positive/creative, so I just followed the old adage, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (thus all the blank space between Thanksgiving and now!)

With a new year comes the chance to start over, wipe the slate clean and move forward. It is also an opportunity to leave the creepy stuff behind-bad feelings, toxic relationships, pointless resentments, undue stress and anything else that sucks the joy out of life. I'm fortunate that most of the creepy stuff I need to let go is on the periphery of my life and I have the choice and the power to ditch it without much regret or angst.

As I begin to let things go, I will get my groove back and blogging will be something I look forward to again...stay tuned!