July 29, 2009

Quote from Megan...

This evening as I was tucking Megan into bed I told her that she had to stop growing and stay my little girl forever. Of course, she said "no". When I asked her why not... this is what she said:  "I can't, I have to get married!"



July 27, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

Mpm3

This is my first Menu Plan Monday post. Eric has been bugging me for a while to start coming up with weekly menus. I found this post at orgjunkie.com and decided to play along. So, here is my menu plan for this week. I will go grocery shopping this afternoon for MOST of the items. Friday we plan on having guests over for dinner, and the meal I plan on making requires a lot of fresh veggies so I will pick those up Thursday afternoon.

Monday: BLT with Chips and salsa (the only thing I need to buy for this is bread)
Tuesday: Turkey Eggplant Casserole (found here)
Wednesday: Picante Chicken
Thursday: Soup and Salad
Friday: Timballo
Saturday: Breakfast (I love having breakfast for dinner!)
Sunday: Leftover night!

Now, lets see if I can stick to it!



July 24, 2009

Tumor Update

I had my first appt with the neurosurgeon yesterday. After a 2.5 hour wait we finally got in to see the Dr. She said that
because the tumor is so small, most likely benign, and because I
am not showing any symptoms, she wants to wait and watch it for a while.
I will have a repeat MRI in 3 months, and we will see if it is growing
at all. If it doesn't then I will just live with this thing in my head
and get regular MRIs. If it does, then we will discuss surgery.


She is also presenting my case in front of the KU Med Tumor Board on
Aug 3rd. There are 6 neurosurgeons that get together and review cases.
I should hear back on Aug 4th what the board decided, but she expects
that they will recommend monitoring as well.



When we finally left the hospital, Eric and I went down to the Plaza for dinner. We went to Plaza III and had a yummy dinner, followed by some Gelato from another place (sorry.. can't remember the name!) while we walked around for a bit before going home.  All in all, not a bad day.



July 21, 2009

A rollercoaster month

July has been an emotional roller coaster for our family. We have had lots of good family time, but it was tempered (at least for the adults) by some not so good news.

I get migraines, have had them for the past couple of years. This lead to me getting a CT scan
a couple of weeks ago. The CT results showed an "asymmetric density"
which led to an MRI. My MRI results came back on July 7th and showed that
I have a 1cm mass adjacent to the right lateral ventricle.  Yep. I have a brain tumor.



I have been referred to KU Med and will see a neurosurgeon on Thursday. From my research so far I have found that the type
of mass that the radiologist suspects it is is usually benign, and meningiomas are usually very slow growing. There
are two treatment options if it IS a meningioma, wait and see - which
involves multiple MRIs to monitor for any growth, or brain surgery to
remove it. Because of the location, either in or pressing up against
the right ventricle, surgery is likely. I will know more after I meet
with the neurosurgeon. We are considering either MD Anderson or the Mayo Clinic for my second opinion and treatment, so trips to either Minnesota or Texas are in the future.

On the other hand, I received some very good news yesterday. The promotion that I have been working so hard for has finally come through! Unfortunately my excitement over the promotion has been tempered by anxiety about my appt with the neurosurgeon.

So, that has been my July so far. I am in pretty good spirits about it all, and have faith that everything will be ok.



July 16, 2009

Tip Junkie

My ribbon rack was featured on TipJunkie.com!!! I would have had no clue except the new typepad console shows sites that are linked to your page. WOW! I must tell my Dad (who built it) he would love that!



July 15, 2009

Using Scraps Pt 2.

This is the second card that I made using the Doodlebug PP scraps. I used the same colors and stamp set as the card that I posted yesterday. I changed the orientation, and used the Doodlebug striped paper instead of the floral. I stamped the Hibiscus Burst CS with Background Basics - Text Styles using the same color ink. And I STILL have some scraps left of this PP!


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July 14, 2009

Using scraps pt 1

When I was done making the card and bow for my Moms gifts I still had quite a bit of the Doodlebug PP left on my workspace. I decided to use it! I made 2 more cards using the same PP.
I started with the Stampers Select White CS from PTI and used the EKSuccess mini border punch on the edge (I had scored the CS wrong, so this "fixed" it). Then I added a piece of PTIs Lemon Tart Bitty Boxes PP. I layered the Doodlebug PP on that and added the ribbon and bow. Then I had to decide on my focal image. I pulled out PTIs Garden of Life stamp set and stamped the flowers and sentiment in Hibiscus Burst. I added a little lemon tart in the center of the flowers and some Diamond Stickles on top of them. I layered the focal image on the Hibuscus Burst CS, and popped it up with pop dots.. but thought it needed something else. I punched a butterfly (using a Martha Stewart punch) out of some Lemon Tart CS, added some American Crafts bling and more stickles!

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July 13, 2009

Masculine Birthday Card.. and a challenge

I needed a masculine birthday card and decided to chack out the recent challenges at SplitCoastStampers. This card is for Sketch Challenge 235. It is hard to tell (in this crappy picture) but the sentiment block is popped up on pop dots.


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CS: PTI Stampers Select White and Ripe Avocado
PP: Imagination Project

Stamp: PTI
Ink: PTI Ripe Avocado and Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Misc buttons from stash.



July 11, 2009

Paper Bow

 I decided to keep the "wrapping" simple for my Mom's birthday gift since the box is a nice printed cardboard, and just made a pretty bow! I saw this tutorial on SplitCoastStampers months ago for the paper bow, but had not yet made one. The bow coordinates with her card, of course!

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The paper is Doodlebug designs, butterfly is out of scrap vellum using the SU butterfly die (for the Big Shot), American Crafts bling and Papertrey Ink ribbon are the finishing touches! 



July 10, 2009

Digital Scrapbooking

I finished a digital page today! There is not any journaling, but it was not really necessary for this page. I have an idea on where to put it, and I might go back and edit it (the wonders of digital!) but for now I am happy with it! The elements are from Heatheranndesigns, her new Land I Love kit. I also used her scallops kit for the red scalloped PP. I am still learning the ins and outs of Photoshop Elements (even though I have had it for a year), and I am not giving up on paper scrapping. I might do more hybrid stuff though!
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Click on the image for a better picture!

July 9, 2009

Mom's Birthday Card

This is the card that I made for my Mom's birthday. I just got the butterfly die from SU and was playing around. I love how this turned out! The wings are popped up with pop dots and the vellum layer is just adhered under the bling, giving it lots of dimension. The Doodlebug PP is flocked, and I also popped up the sentiment. A butterfly trail made from Stickles finished off this card.

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Supplies:
CS, Ink, Stamp: Papertrey Ink
PP: Doodlebug
Die: Stampin Up
Other: EK SUccess Border Punch, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder, Stickles, American Crafts bling



July 7, 2009

Wedding Card

Here is the card that I made to go with the Recipe Box (below).

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I embossed the swirls on the PTI CS using my Cuttlebug embossing folder and trimmed to fit on the front of the card. I used the same ribbon as I used on the recipe box, but added a clear blue button (PTI) under the bow. I stamped the sentiment using PTIs Smokey Shadow ink on a scrap of paper and then used the EKSuccess mini scalloped punch on the bottom. After matting it on the blue Bazzill CS I decided that it needed something else so I covered all of the holes in the scallop with the same pearls that I used on the Recipe Box. The sentiment is popped up using foam squares giving it a little more dimension.

I love the Smokey Shadow ink from PTI. Black would have been too harsh on the front of this card, and I did not have the right blue ink to match the blue CS (Since it is not PTI). The grey ink worked perfectly though!



July 6, 2009

Fourth of July Fun!

We had a good 4th of July this weekend. Spending time with family, hanging out in the pool, and shooting off fireworks in front of the house. All the while playing with my new camera! I have not edited any of this pictures yet, they are straight out of the camera.

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(I know it is blurry, I was playing with the settings... but Alana and Marin's expressions are priceless!)

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Hybrid Wedding Gift

A co-worker recently got married, and had a small destination wedding. Last week we had a reception of sorts for them. I was asked by the organizing co-workers if I would make a recipe box for the Bride and Groom, using the wedding invite stationary. So here is my first hybrid project. The patterned paper was designed by a co-worker. She also designed the recipe cards, but I did not get a picture of them.

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Other supplies used:
CS: Bazzill and Papertry Ink
Ink, Stamps and Ribbon: Papertrey Ink
Pearls (Hobby Lobby), Heart Pin (MM), Nestabilities, Embossing Powder (SU?), Letter Stickers (MM?), Misc trim



July 3, 2009

July 3, 2009 - Cookies!

A couple of weeks ago I bought 4th of July sprinkles and cookie cutters. I finally broke them out today and the girls and I made star cookies for tomorrow.

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