Birthday Cards, ATCs, & Halloween Decorations - oh my!

My mom still has a bacteria infection, so we are winging it with the knee replacement. She is scheduled to have the surgery on Friday - so we will go up, they will test her for the bacteria again (she was positive as of today) and if she is still positive on Friday they will send us home and put surgery off for a week. If she is clear they will go ahead with surgery. So please pray - she and I are both super anxious and she really just wants to go ahead and have it sooner rather than later.

Here are the pictures of Halloween decorations I promised last week or so. It was raining, so not the BEST pictures, but you get the idea. The gravestones, skeletons & Caution Tape are all from Dollar Mart. The pumpkin is a "funkin" I carved - so much fun and I can now use it over and over again! Also my sign - I added some 3-d stuff and ribbon. I'll post pictures of the fur-babies dressed in their costumes as soon as I can figure out how in the heck to fix their "Pet eyes"! LOL!




Below is some art I have been meaning to post. Check out the pretty cards that have been arriving in my mailbox this week & a couple of things I've made lately.

This is a birthday card I received from Nancy P. on my Stamping Group -so pretty andI LOVE THE COLORS (the black is what I had it laying on to take the picture)

Birthday card from Steph on my Stamping Group - love this stamp and the inks used!!!
This is a birthday card that I MADE for my friend Meg. :o)
This is my COTM (Card of the Month) from Lottie on my Stamping Group - so cute!

My mom & dad always called me punkin - so this was so fitting,

plus Lottie even made the ENVELOPE!!! I was recently in a swap and we made ATC's (Altered Trading Cards) with a Wizard of Oz Theme. I printed the picture from the internet, Printed the words on green paper and cut apart and attached, cut the ruby slipper out with my KNK (Klic-N-Kut digital die cutter) and then edged with silver paint by Ranger. I LOVE how it turned out! I was the wicked witch for a costume contest my senior year of high school, so that green lady means something to me - weird I know!!!
Ok I am off to watch a movie Keith rented for me. He is at work closing tonight and I am just going to finish up my housework after my movie and hopefully get to bed early (we'll see how that goes - since I usually don't sleep at all!)

Love & Blessings!

Another day, another obsession

it is so funny how suddenly things become an obsession or a compulsion - at least you THINK it is suddenly. You realized at 31 (well come Sunday - man I hate odd numbers wish I could stay 30) that you have done this something ALL YOUR LIFE, and never reazlied it until now. I do this funny thing with my feet, I knew I did it sometimes, but I realized today I do it WHENEVER I sit still. I just do it, I cannot explain it, I cannot control it - my feet just do this funny little compulsive dance. Doing the same motions over and over and over again. You can TRY to make yourself stop - HA HA HA! But that doesn't work. So I found a kindred spirit online and it made me realized I needed to go in search of others with OCD. So I have found a few things I wanted to share today.

Here is a quote that describes things perfectly:
"Having OCD is like being allergic to life -every waking moment is spent in a state of mental hyper-sensitivity."
This is my life - perfect description.

One is from a website:
I know my hands are clean. I know that I have touched nothing dangerous. But… I doubt my perception.Soon, if I do not wash, a mind numbing, searing anxiety will cripple me. A feeling of stickiness will begin to spread from the point of contamination and I will be lost in a place I do not want to go. So I wash until the feeling is gone, until the anxiety subsides. Then I feel defeated. So I do less and less, my world becomes smaller and smaller and more lonely by the day. You see, you might have touched something and now you are unsafe.This is OCD.


The next quote is from the "I Am Foundation" website:
Sufferers often hide their pain to such a degree that the mental torment experienced effectively becomes a living hell, a prison from which there seems to be no escape.
The quote above describes most of my life growing up. Hiding my OCD. Hiding all those funny little things I do so no one knows HOW WEIRD I really am.

Now on to my next "light-bulb" moment today - and it wasn't so much today, but today was the day I responded. People use the term "OCD" so freely. I am so OCD about this or that. Ok - NO YOU ARE NOT! You might be Obsessive about something, or you might be a perfectionist about something, but you are NOT OCD. OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - and it is a mental illness that affects millions of people. So the next time you want to say "I am so OCD about that" rethink the statment and try "I am so ANAL about that" or "I am such a neat/tidy freak". Remember it is not PC to say "That is retarded" anymore - well the same should be said for OCD. If my kindred spirit I met online allows me to I will soon post what she said about OCD on another site. It was very meaningful and touched my heart.

PRAY FOR MY MOM and for ME! She is scheduled to have Total Knee Replacement surgery on her right knee on Friday. She is having a test today to make sure an infection has cleared up and so pray it has. We have planned so much and she has done so much to get ready for this surgery, not to mention that she is worried and scared and wants to get it over with.


Ok I want to start posting all my artistic endeavors here. So I thought I would post some cool stuff that Keith & I embroidered last month.










My purse - I designed the embroidery myself - think it turned out really cute!!!





























Baby stuff. We did these for a St. Jude's Charity Auction at Chili's. The bibs were hand-made by Keith's mom - Pam, she is SO TALENTED! And the burps, blankies and onsies you can find at any store. :o)






Ok I am outta here! Have a super day!

In remembrance

I found out just a little while ago, that our beloved priest - Father "G" (Father Charley Giacosa) passed away around 1am this morning from pancreatic cancer. Father "G" was our pastor from the time I was in Junior high until I was in college. He was a wonderful man, very supportive. But most of all he was warm, funny, caring and a great friend. Our family went through a lot during the time he was our pastor and we couldn't have done it without him. He will be greatly missed, and I just wanted to take today and honor him. Please keep him, his parish - St. Henry in Bellevue, and his family in your prayers.

We love you Father "G"!

such a pretty day!!!

Ok it is SO PRETTY outside today - and my computer has been sick. It is working right now - thank you to my BIL who made some suggestions, so at least we will have the computer for the MINIMAL stuff (like paying bills, checking email) until we can decide what we are going to do. In the midst of the computer mess yesterday we went to see Keith's maw. Who is in her 80's who had a wreck a couple of weeks ago - poor thing she still works at a nursing home - not OUT OF NEED MIND YOU - but she has finally decided that she "might" quit working. This is the closest we have come to ever getting her to quit. She is such a sweet lady - I just love her. And I am SO THANKFUL she is ok, except for her bruised arm and cut on her elbow. In my 80's and working nights at a nursing home taking care of other people - I can only HOPE I am that adventurous and stubborn! LOL!

Keith was off yesterday and we put up Halloween decorations. They ARE NOT finished yet, so not pictures until tomorrow or the weekend. I got the rest of the stuff we needed at Big Lots today - so WOOHOO - it looks so cute, I cannot wait to show it off!

I had coffee with my friend, Lynn, today. We met at 10AM and didn't leave until nearly 3pm. But it was SO NICE to sit and chat with a friend and share some artsy stuff. Lynn is so talented and taught a class at the retreat I attended a couple of weeks ago, but had to leave early because she wasn't feeling well - so I had to show her all the things we did after she had to leave. I was glad to share them with her. :o)

Well, I am off to play with some stamps and paper - my favorite thing to do - and I PROMISE once I get ALL THESE FILES SAVED off the hard drive and I feel safe uploading pictures to a website I will share my halloween decor and my art from the retreat.

HAVE A SUPER DAY! And make sure to RELAX!!!

Chaos - will it end???

Everything feels SO chaotic. I cannot seem to FINISH anything. Keith is sick, just a sinus infection, but I hate for him to feel bad. And yesterday the doctor told mom it was time for a total knee replacement. She will be in the hospital for 3 to 5 days and then he recommended going to a rehab facility. That makes me feel like the WORST daughter in the world, but I am afraid I won't be able to do everything for her. Not to mention I could have a panic attack in the middle of doing something for her....oh well something to ponder and carry the daughter guilt around some more.

Speaking of panic attacks, I had a BIG one Monday. It happened as I was leaving the doctor's office, I held out until I was OUTSIDE, but phew! It was a nasty one. I had to call Keith and have him talk me through it.

Now I am just here, just here. I took a nap, so I'm not tired, the TV is on and the dryer is running, but I am restless. This is where the CHAOS comes in - it just fees like it is all around and I have no where to go. This is when the OCD just SUCKS. When I feel like this.

So I guess I am off to finish laundry and try to relax a little - and maybe just maybe I'll find some peace and serenity tonight and not feel so chaotic.
Goodnite!

is it time for bed yet???

I am so tired! After an awesome weekend of stamping and fun with friends I got home yesterday and of course SLEPT! Keith was off, but he was worn out too, so we napped, watched the Colts win, ordered pizza, slept some more, watched some tv & started to tape Desperate Housewives & Brothers and Sisters and SLEPT more. I finally was awake about 10pm to watch the finale of Rock of Love - THANK GOODNESS he picked Jess - PHEW! I will take pictures of all the goodies we made this weekend and post more about that soon. But I wanted to annouce, I'VE GONE PINK for October. I read this blog http://angelosity.blogspot.com/ and thought it was a wonderful idea to GO PINK for October. My maternal grandmother had breast cancer and had a breast removed to save her life. It was a very scary experience, and even though she survived, she later died from cancer. So CHECK CHECK CHECK!!! It can save your life!!!

I am tired.....so off to relax and maybe eat some dinner. GO PINK!!!

Wednesday - September 26, 2007

Well, this is my first blog. Hopefully there will be many, many more. I have a myspace.com page and started blogging there, but goodness so much spam and stuff I don't want on my page keeps popping up. So time for JUST a blog. I hope to share our adventures as a family, my artistic adventures and a little about my life. So I guess I'll just tell you a little about myself for now and save the suprises for later.

I am 30 (almost 31) years old. I am from a small middle Tennessee town where I lived the majority of my life. I did live in Georgia for 3 years. I graduated from Austin Peay State University in 1999 with a degree in elementary education. I've taught 8th grade U.S. History, 6th grade Math, Science, Religion and Health, and the finally I taught 4th grade EVERYTHING! In between teaching gigs I worked at Nortel Networks in Relocation and also worked for a temp agency. But I will say my life truly changed in November 1999, because that is when I met my husband - Keith. We met on the internet through a pen-pal thing on AOL - this was way before eharmony folks! We emailed and talked on the phone until January 2000. Our first date was January 3, 2000 and on August 12, 2000 we were married. He is the LOVE of my life and I couldn't do it without him.

We have two awesome fur-babies who you will see a LOT of on here. And hopefully one day soon we'll have a little human baby too. :o)

In 2001 I was diagnosed by my general physician with having Social Anxiety and possibly OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.) I started with some meds and after a few months just let it go. I kept it all in until in 2004 we moved to Columbia, TN and started a business. Within a year I was having a nervous breakdown. My husband and mother-in-law got me in to see a psychiatrist and the FINAL diagnosis was made - I have OCD. If you don't know about OCD you'll learn by reading this b/c it affects EVERY part of my life - every day. There are things about it I love and things about it I HATE. From time to time I'll add some links so you can read more about OCD. Here's a start: http://www.ocfoundation.org/

Now why is my name mama2aturtleherd? Well, when my husband was little his mom would talk about being off like a herd of turtles. And well since we've been married - THAT is our M.O. WE ARE a HERD of turtles. Also - Keith tells me I am Barbie with all the accessories. YES I love STUFF. So come join me in my CRAZY OCD world. I am off this weekend to a stamping retreat, so look for more blogs next week!

Have a super weekend - AND WATCH GREY'S ANATOMY TOMORROW NIGHT!!!