On The Road Again

Excuse my absence for a few days while I go on a road trip.... A good friend and I are taking the bus with the Red Hatters (again) and going to Louisville, KY. I have never been there, but the real reason for going is that we had so much fun last year.

I got a french manicure yesterday. I have never had one before because usually one or 2 nails are too short for a white tip. I like it and will do it again. Since I had gift certificates it didn't cost me much. I was running late yesterday morning (as usual)  so I didn't have time to pick up my newest gift certificate ...then the manicure would have been free! Oh well, now I have $ toward another one.

 Before I leave I have to:

• run some last minute errands
• attend the Creative Memories party another good friend is having
• finish packing.......that never ends :-(
• fold some laundry
• pick up the house
• entertain our grandson
• set the alarm for 4AM so I can pick Carolee up at 5 (unfortunately I was up early this morning b/c I just could not sleep- you can bet I'll be going to bed early on sunday!)

Toodles!

Suicide Prevention Day

Today is national suicide prevention day. I'll admit, it's not a very exciting day, but one we should think about. Have you ever thought of taking your own life?......life sucks? why bother? no one cares.....Has someone you loved given up and succumbed to those thoughts? Or maybe a friend of, or a family member of a friend has 'thrown in the towel'? It's hard for those of us who are left to understand why that person could hurt us so badly......we know that if only a little time could pass things would be better........

But he/she is not thinking (rationally) like you or I; to him/her there is no end to the pain, and there is only one way to be rid of it.

I understand a little because I have lost 2 people, that I loved, to suicide. I was only 18 months old when my father took his life so I don't remember, but that doesn't mean I don't miss him or that it didn't affect my life. My mother and I didn't discuss it....she didn't remember that time in her life. There is such a stigma regarding suicide, even more so 60+ years ago. I didn't find out until I was a teenager the real cause of my dad's death. I was so embarrassed that I didn't tell anyone for many, many years. 

Several years after my divorce and shortly after my 2nd marriage my ex husband took his life. I wasn't in love with him any more, but at one time I did love him....he was my first love and the father of my children. 

I just want to share my feelings today and offer compassion to anyone who has experienced that tragedy. 

Understand that is it NO ONE'S fault....

I found this info on the web:

Some of the statistics reported by the National Council are startling:

8.7 million people report having serious thoughts about suicide.
2.5 million made suicide plans.
1.0 people attempted suicide.

Those who are unemployed are more likely to attempt suicide than those who are employed.

What is even more startling is that suicide is:

1. The second leading cause of death among children. The high rate clusters around teenagers between 15 and 19. It's important to point out that younger children attempt suicide. Nine per 100,000 children ages 10 to 14 attempt suicide.
2. The fourth leading cause of death among people between 18 and 65.
3. Suicide is the second most common cause of death in the U.S. military.

Some of the risk factors for suicide are:

1. Depression and other mental disorders, or a substance-abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors prior to a suicide attempt.
2. Family history of mental disorder or substance abuse.
3. Family history of suicide.
4. Family violence, including physical or sexual abuse.
5. Firearms in the home, the method used in more than half of suicides.
6. Incarceration.
7. Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others, such as family members, peers, or media figures.

When should you call for help at a suicide prevention hotline:

*Feeling like you want to die.
*Feeling trapped or like you cannot handle the pain.
*Feeling hopeless and there is no reason to live.
*Searching for ways to kill yourself.
*Feeling like you cannot talk to anyone and would rather be alone.
*Drinking more alcohol or using more drugs.
*Feeling you are a burden to others.
*Sleeping too little or too much.
*Feeling anxious or agitated.
*Wanting to seek revenge.

Any or all of these are good reasons to call for help.

What should I do if I think someone is suicidal?

If you think someone is suicidal, do not leave him or her alone. Try to get the person to seek immediate help from his or her doctor or the nearest hospital emergency room, or call 911. Eliminate access to firearms or other potential tools for suicide, including unsupervised access to medications. Always take suicide threats very seriously.

If you are in a crisis and need help right away: Call this toll-free number, available 24 hours a day, every day: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You will reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a service available to anyone. You may call for yourself or for someone you care about. All calls are confidential.

My, My, The Week Is Off To A Good Start

On my day off yesterday I had a dentist appointment to replace a cracked filling (NO, that was not part of this good week). It went well, so maybe it is a good thing. I stopped at the thrift store and found some red capris for my upcoming Red Hat trip and a couple of other things I was looking for. It amazes me at how many times I find just what I am looking for....it's a God thing I am sure. In the afternoon I went to the stamp-a-long and made cards with some good friends. 

Today I won another gift certificate from a salon (on a radio call in), and I'm using it to get a manicure before my trip. At noon I went out for a free lunch with a friend. We had the dining room all to ourselves so we were able to talk without anyone else eavesdropping. After work I dropped some clothes off at the consignment store and picked up some cash. Sometimes she has Birkenstocks  but there weren't any in my size today. Just as I was collecting my money I noticed a lovely, sparkly, purple ring...........and I knew I had to have it for my trip. All the other Red Hatters are going to be sooooooooooo jealous of my ring!!!! It's adjustable and was $6....it's fun, so I love it.

I know I should be at my Excel class tonight, but I played hookie. I'll go on thursday, that's the last class. I asked hubby what he wanted for dinner and he replied "nothing".....it's another good thing. He is  a picky eater, but he doesn't mind if I don't cook.

Well, now that I am home I better do something......lots to do before Sunday. 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

to all the moms, step moms, aunts, grandmas......all the great women who have influenced our lives and the lives of children everywhere...especially to those who are not acknowledged. Where would we be without our mother figures????

My mother loved it when her 3 children could be with her on Mother's Day. Now she is in heaven celebrating with 2 of her children. We love you mom, we miss you mom, you'll always remain in our hearts!!!

Who Is She?

Why is an old woman living in my house and wearing my clothes? Who is she? and why is she doing this to me? How did she get into my house?

She doesn't skip down the steps nor does she run up stairs, taking them 2 at a time. She makes me walk much slower than I am capable of doing. She puts on a pair of perpetually dirty eyeglasses every day. She cut off my long, curly red hair and left short, blondish/grayish hair in it's place. She's done something to the knuckles in my fingers and toes to make them enlarged and twisted. She's blown my body up like a balloon. She threw out all my small, cute, sexy clothes and filled my closet with black pants and XL tops. She must have slipped something into my drink to make my joints so stiff, that after I've been sitting for awhile it takes me forever to get up and get going normally. She's drawn wrinkles on my face and I can't erase them.

Will you stop already!!!! Go away and bother someone else!!! I am still me - I still like to be quirky, fun, and a bit different. I'm still insecure and want people to like me, although I am not quite as shy as I use to be. I'm still a loner and am afraid to share 'secrets' lest people turn against me and use them to hurt me. I still love books. I have learned to be a clown and make fun of myself before others make fun of me.

Cards From The Sayner Stampede

My favorite thing at the Sayner Stampede in northern Wisconsin is the make 'n takes. These are the cards I made, this is only a small portion of what was available. I have been attending this small rubber stamping convention for at least 10 years. I love it. There aren't a ton of vendors but I can walk around to check out the products & prices,  then walk around again to see what I missed the first time and purchase an item at the best price. It's 200 miles north of here so we leave friday morning (90% of the time) and return home Sunday afternoon. It's a great girls weekend!!!

I know the ribbon on my award needs some work.

The 3 pearls on this one add that little extra something.

Again, this year, I met my old friend from junior high. She accidently found me at the convention several years ago so we plan to meet every year and do a little bit of 'catch up'. Joanne was pretty excited to be becoming a new first time grandma in the near future....in fact, by now she is one.

This bear birthday card is not my favorite, but I like the black & white combo.

Look closely....the branch in the foreground is covered with fun flock. That's one of the few products I do not own.

You can't tell from this picture, but the bowl and ice cream is sculpted to be 3D. I have 9 grandchildren   so I need a lot of birthday cards. I think the cherry on top will get some glossy accents for that extra punch!

Love this one!!!! I talked to the gal from the store and she said they had the stamps displayed and most of them sold. At the convention they had just a few stamps....and they sold out quickly. There are 5 or 6 different ladies with sayings. 

I like this simple, elegant card. Is it because I love Washi tape????

Another easy card that looks so nice. The butterfly just pops out at you. My good friend, a Stampin' Up demonstrator, was doing this make & take. She had others but was sooooo busy and I didn't have room to make any others. She has a new blog, stop and check it out....tell her I sent you. Carolee had a booth this year so my car was packed with stuff. The local Lioness' club host a used stamp sale, it's a BIG hit.  Previously it was held outdoors next the the convention  but the weather on the first weekend of May in northern WI is not always conducive to outdoor activity so they moved it indoors, a couple of blocks away in a church. It is a big attraction and brings funds into the community. They keep a portion of the money....a win win situation for all involved. Some people bring boxes, and boxes, and more boxes of stuff. I bring my one small suitcase and hope to sell enough to pay for my hotel room. Another friend sent her suitcase of stamps to sell, plus Carolee had a bin. At the end of the day I went to pick up our unsold stamps and cash. I didn't sell as much as I had hope to, but I was pleased. Yesterday I received an envelope in the mail with a check for almost twice as much I made on saturday. They must have missed a stack of my index cards (with my prices on). Oh yeah!!! I made more than enough to pay for the hotel room. I am happy!!!

Another card with Washi tape....that doesn't match....I should have paid attention and chosen colors to match the tape. We 'painted' a product (glimmer?) on a clear stamping block and 'schmooshed' our paper onto it for the background. 

I look forward to this convention, it's the only one I go to. We stay at the nicest motel, it has a great breakfast, nice pool, and friendly staff.  We see some of the same stampers every year and that's fun. I think some other friends from this area will be going next year :-).  I am not really making many cards anymore.....I just don't have the time and I want to concentrate on scrapbooking. I still love making cards and do so once a month at my friend's Stamp-a-long.

That's what I did last weekend. This week I've been enjoying the 70F weather, after work, that is. I am also taking a computer class 2 nights a week,  I like it, but hate the commitment.  Today I'm off to Book munchers with 2 of my grandsons. We'll have lunch at school and then they can read to me for a little while. I'm not sure if they invite me b/c I bring them lunch or if they like seeing me????? Have a great day!!!

My Weekend Trip Up North

It went from this:

 to this.....

Actually when we left on Friday morning it was cold and windy here and in northern Wi they had a freak winter snowstorm. But my good friend and I were determined to attend the Sayner Stampede rubber stamping convention.

 It's a 200 mile drive. We watched the temperature drop from the mid 40's to low 30's. It's hard to see but there are icicles on the sign below and ice on the trees. The roads were fine. The weather was suppose to be cold and snowy all weekend, but saturday and sunday were gorgeous! It was 72F for the ride home.

There are a lot of beautiful lakes in northern WI, but if you're not an outdoorsman there isn't a lot to do.

We did find a lot of sights we wanted to share with you....so here goes.

 This was formerly called Weasels....it's a "gentlemen's club"....why do they call them gentlemen???

 You've heard of a shoe tree? Some folks took that literally. On the way home I thought I saw a bunch of birds in a tree.........but as I drove past I noticed there were shoes in the tree, several pairs of shoes, tied together with turquoise shoe strings. I turned around and went back to show C the tree. She pulled out her ipad and took photos for me. In fact she took most of the photos I am posting today. Thanks for putting up with my and my antics.

 We saw 5 or 6 pairs. I don't know if you can find any of them. 

We stay at the same hotel every year, we even make our reservation for the following year when we check out. 

This beautiful handmade wood table was in the dining room.

 The top is as smooth as glass.

That had to be a BIG tree!!!

 Since the top is so smooth it reflected the wall paper. :-(

 Saturday night when we came home from the convention, about 8:30 we saw 4 deer right next to the parking lot. 

 They weren't too afraid....they looked up a couple of times and moved a bit, but they stayed while we took photos and got our stuff of of the car and went inside.

 This is outside of a museum.

 I saw stop signs nailed all over this antique store so I had to stop, right???

 I have several more 'up north' photos to share...but....when I pull them into my blog they are upside down or sideways. In my file they have been turned...but that changes. HELP!!!

On the way up we stopped at our favorite restaurant for the buffet....we even played the .25 (gambling) machine before we got to the table. On the way home (Sunday) we stopped at our favorite liquidator and Goodwill and our customary restaurant. We are creatures of habit. Even though I was exhausted saturday night I had a lot of fun.

Today started a new & normal week. Unfortunately my day began with a dentist appointment.

I'll tell ya more about the Sayner Stampede in my next post.

Today is my Mom's Birthday

We are burying her ashes today. I wanted to write more but I just don't have the time.  

My sister, her son, and I will be there, along with the pastor who will say a prayer. We have always loved you and will always continue to remember you. You've been a great influence on our lives.

Love you!!!

It's My Birthday

Today is my birthday and here are some of the cards I've received so far,

 these are just the hand made cards, I have some other pretty cute ones too!

 I'm working today and taking a computer class in the evening. 

 So it's just another day.

This is a BUSY week for me. I hope to post a bit about it later. Hope you have a fantastic week!

It Was a Great Day, It Was a Horrible Day

These are my 2 beautiful granddaughters, love those smiles!!!

This is after the dance recital, that's why they have the bouquets of flowers and are wearing their robes. I wish I could get photos of them in the dance costumes, but the only time I seem them is during the recital and flash photos are not allowed. My camera is a small point and shoot so I don't even try to take pictures. We sat through 2 hours of dances.  I love watching the girls perform. The choreography is excellent!!! The music ranged from rap to traditional ballet and the moves were just as varied. The little ones are soooo adorable and the older ones are fantastic. I'm rather partial to the faster moving tap dances.

I thought I had tickets for sunday, but I was mistaken so I had to make a last minute call to my grandson's parents to say I was picking him up a day early. Thankfully I gave myself extra time for the 100 mile drive so the extra stops we made didn't make us late. When I got to J's house his little brother was crying and J was not happy. I guess he had a bad week (at home) and had to go home that evening instead of spending the night at our house. He has the same defiance disorder that many of his male relatives have so he doesn't like to do it NOW. He gets very angry and says nasty things to his mom, I guess. So everyone yells at everyone else. He is taking an anger management class, he's only had one so far. I told mom I think the family should go for family counseling. We had many of the same issues with his dad when he was growing up and I understand how difficult it can be. I wish I had a magic potion for everyone....but I don't.

Jalen was really grumpy when we left his house and didn't want to talk about it, so I let it go. I always tell him he can talk to me anytime and about anything and it can stay just between the 2 of us. He was not liking his life or family. Once he was over his bad mood we started talking. We have ALWAYS had intelligent conversations. He was telling me how he was channel surfing one night and came across a 'show about Jesus, so I watched it'. He was telling me about the program and couldn't think of the right word, he's explaining and I'm guessing. Finally I come up with confession. "Yeah, the Sacrament of Confession", he says. We are Lutheran and don't have confession and I don't know how often he hears the term sacrament so I was impressed.

He sat through 2 hours of dancing......kinda chatty, kinda bored....but he knew he'd get to play with my 10 year old granddaughter, whom he just loves! After the dance he picked out the flowers for the girls and rushed through the crowd to find A and give her them......I had to scurry to keep up with him. Afterwards we went to Culver's for ice cream, we always go out for treats after the recital. He voluntarily helped my older grandson bring birthday gifts in from my car. I think my 13 year old grandson liked the shorts and t-shirt I gave him because he went into the bathroom and changed into them.  When J asked my daughter, again, if we could please go to her place to play with A, my daughter said (no) that they had to go to bed early, etc. It had been a very hectic week for them and she was exhausted. J just broke down and cried, and cried, and cried.

It was so hard for me, I understood, but that was all he was looking forward sooooooooooo much to playing with A. He was heartbroken and I was too (for him). I was trying to think of something (free) that we could do to try to salvage the day. If we stopped at the toy store he'd want me to buy him at toy. After about 45 minutes he was a little better and was singing again. We stopped at a Goodwill store and he looked at all the toys and put 2 things in the cart and put one back after he decided which one he wanted - $1.99  mini-marshmallow shooter. He walked around with me and we looked at other things too. Whew! things are on the upswing. When we got back to the car I suggested we read the devotional books he brought along. Yes,      my grandson grabbed the devotionals and said 'we should bring these along too'. I was surprised by that, but I knew it was going to be a long ride and books are good. I read the Portals of Prayer and he read the children's devotion.

By the time he got home an hour later he was fine. I was so relieved to drop him off at home in a good state of mind. Unfortunately I'm not able to communicate with J's parents very easily so I don't know if his attitude improved and if they were able to enjoy some family fun time outside in the 70 degree weather we had today.

my daughter and her family, my first teenaged grandson

About noon I walked outside and it was WARM so my plans changed and I spent the afternoon outside.

Hope you had a good weekend and that your week is off to a great start!

Thoughts on Thursday

As usual just a few random thoughts that pop into my head:

• My fingernails are actually growing, all of them. Yes, one is still deformed and sometimes I break one, but .....I have fingernails. And I THINK it may be because of the avocados I have been eating, that's the only thing I'm doing differently. I don't eat massive amounts, about one per week, but I have fallen in love with avocados. Usually I just add some to a sandwich. I have a couple of recipes I want to try but that's not really easy because hubby is a very picky eater and I don't think he's ever had avocado......we'll see.....
• I'm looking forward to watching 2 of my grand daughters dance recital on sunday afternoon. I'll warn you now - there will most likely be photos posted in a couple of days.  
• I am not going to argue with my 8 year old grandson anymore when he says it "isn't so" and I say it is. I am the type of person that if I am right I have to prove I am right. He's 8 and if he says his older brother did not dress up as hot dog for Halloween and I know he did, I going to walk away.....does it really matter? I think he has some kind of defiance disorder and stuff like that is not worth arguing about anymore. right??? I keep telling myself that.
• trivia question: What is the longest word, commonly used, in the English language that has all the letters that in alphabetical order?  (answer at the end of this post - now I have to think of more thursday thoughts)
• Family relationships are sooooooooo complicated. I will I could fix the relationships between all of my children, but I can't do it.  One thing I'd say is "Talk to each other once in awhile. Remember you share a history that NO ONE ELSE has."
• if you are a praying person I'd appreciate prayers for a good friend of mine.
• The good news is my sister and her boyfriend will be moving into their 'new' house next month. God sent Jack to Sandy so she wouldn't be alone after our mother passed away. He also gave her Oliver (mom's cat) so when her cat died she'd have another furry friend to love. 

the answer to my trivia question is almost

Thrifty Tuesday

That's what the radio announcer said "It's thrifty tuesday" and I was wondering what kind of tips he was going to give out or who the special guest was going to be. I'm always interested in cheap, frugal, different ideas. It was an advertisement for a local bakery. Natural Ovens is located just a couple of miles from where I work. Their outlet store was selling bread as buy one, get one. That's the only kind of bread that I buy and I needed some so I decided to drive over to the store at noon and pick some up. Natural Ovens uses natural ingredients and no preservatives. It's a very healthy bread, even the white bread is unlike any other white bread you find in the store. It's good, filling, and a rather 'heavy' bread, I love it. They ship bread, bagels,cookies, buns all over the country.

When I opened the car door I got a whiff of fresh bread........oh so good! Fresh bread from the oven is a good smell. If you're about my age you may remember your mother or grandmother baking bread from scratch.....doesn't thinking about how good it smelled make you hungry??? I got 2 loaves of bread and a bag of buns for $2. You can't go wrong with that!

On a totally different subject - many of my Red Hat friends are at the National Red Hat day (the official date is the 25th) banquet tonight: eating good food, being entertained, and maybe even bringing home a prize. I just decided not to attend this year. I don't really know why, guess I am feeling  a bit anti-social? I am sure someone will have photos and tell me all about it. Hope they had fun!

Tomorrow is hump day! Enjoy!

It Was Unanimous

Last night was our book club meeting at Lisa's beautiful home. It's large, spotless, and beautifully decorated, we all loved it! There were 7 ladies there and everyone brought something to eat. We had slush, stuffed strawberries (that were to die for), veggies, cheesecake bars, an awesome salad, veggie pizza, chips, etc. Good food and good conversation; a nice night. All 7 of us agreed that we didn't like the book THE TEAHOUSE FIRE. Only 2 gals finished it. Everyone agreed that it was hard to follow because of the Japanese names and it seemed to drag on. 

I did not even make it 1/2 way through the book .....every time I thought I should read I just didn't feel like picking it up. I enjoyed it in the beginning and really wanted to read but then it slowed down...and down. I had a hard time keeping the characters straight. One woman said she is going to finish it. Not me, I returned my book, and several others, to the library today.

I woke up early today and thought about getting up......but the next thing I knew it was after 9. It's nice to sleep in once in awhile and that was quite late for me. I put some lowlights in my new 'muss & go' hair and was on my way.  Earlier this week I got my hair cut. It was getting too long for me, when it gets that way I start to look at bit like I'm stuck in 80's. I was fortunate to have some gift certificates so I had a  more expensive stylist cut my hair. I told her to do whatever she wanted. She was good and asked me questions but I think maybe I wasted my money. My hair has a natural wave and it seems like anyone who cuts it does the same thing. It certainly is nice to curl it just a bit and take advantage of the natural curl now. It's a good summer style for me.

As usual we don't have any weekend plans. The sun is going to shine tomorrow so I'll be lovin' that!

Have a great weekend!!!

Odds n' Ends

We had 2 lovely days and now it is back to gloom and doom, rain and snow, cold and gray....ok, I'm sure you get the picture. I am very thankful that what we are experiencing is 'normal', nothing catastrophic. No floods, no snowstorms, no explosions. I hate to turn on the radio in the morning ..........now what tragedy am I going to hear about??? My heart goes out to those who were in Boston and ready to celebrate the day and then some mentally deranged person performs such an horrific act to purposefully harm people. And there's the explosion in Texas.....there are no words to say.

It's pretty gloomy outside today, but I have some color in our yard....if you can see the finches and robin (who have finally found my birdfeeder). I can't believe the squirrels haven't been around yet.

I made the cucumber sandwiches for book club. I just had a hankerin' for them

Original recipe makes 15 servings

• 1 (8 ounce) package whipped cream cheese
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix

• 1 (1 pound) loaf cocktail rye bread
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced

Today I was off but I had to go into work for a couple of hours,  2 days is just barely enough for me to get my work done. I was swamped with extra work so needed the additional time. It feels good to know that I am caught up now.

Tomorrow I have errands to run, which may or may not get done.........it just depends if I feel like staying home and tackling the never ending craft room organization or not. Well, I'm off to my book club tonight!

Old, I Mean Old Postcards

A couple of weeks ago hubby went to an auction (he likes old junk too) and he brought me these 2 very old postcards. For lack of a better description I will say they are 3 dimensional plastic. This Thanksgiving one has pink fake fur in the background. The box behind it is what it was mailed in...for .02. The auctioneer said it's from 1904, but who knows for sure, we could not find a date.

Look at the neat handwriting, no one writes like that anymore...hardly anyone writes anymore. Email is nice.........but so is a real, live card or letter that you can hold in your hand, agree?

This postcard states that it was made in Germany. This pretty box was not used but there are greetings written on the inside. 

I collect postcards, mainly from places I have lived or visited. I've never seen any like these, so I guess that is why hubby purchased them for me. ....very different and I like them!