Dad, You Made Me a Winner!

On Father's Day, Little Yellow Bicycle VP of Sales and blogger Thom Petrouski called out to everyone to share their favorite memory of their dad or of being a dad or some sort of "best dad moment".  Anytime I think of my dad, I can think of a lot of great memories but there are always one or two that stick out in my head. Just one example, my dad was The BEST dad ever when I was (stomach bug) sick.  My mom, ever in fear of vomit, was always in another part of the house (purposefully), but dad was there, holding back my hair, while I would be tossing my cookies.  Don't get me wrong, Mom was one of the best pamperers out there, as long as I wasn't... uh... vomitous.

I decided to share one of my favorite memories of my dad's love on Thom's blog post in the comments section, and then went on my merry way, never giving it a second thought.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email today from Thom, informing me that he had selected my story, out of so many other deep, funny, loving, tear-jerking stories as the winner!  Hopefully he won't mind my taking an excerpt from his email to me as he said:

...it’s moments like the one your dad gave you that make us being a parent a bit more thoughtful or tender towards our own children. Thank you for sharing that with everyone.....

 Here was the comment I left:

So it was hard but here is the winner:


While I have many good memories of growing up with my dad, one always comes to the top of my heart when I think way back about how much he cares about me. I was very sick at one point in time, having several bouts of tonisilitis as a kid. On this one particular time, I remember feeling so awful laying on the couch, just crying I was so miserable. And I remember my dad kneeling down before he went to work that day kissing me and asking me what he could do to help me feel better. I said, "I want a puppy." His eyes were so sad and I didn't know why (much later I realized it was because we couldn't have a puppy or dog at that time). When he got home that evening he came back over to me on the couch and woke me up. I rolled over and he pulled out a little St. Bernard puppy stuffed animal. It wasn't truly what I had asked for, but it was at the same time, and exactly what my father could provide. I wonder now, what he had thought about all day and where he ended up going to get that stuffed animal, as his job was construction work and we didn't have malls or stores like that close by. That stuffed animal (named Bernard)has been in my possession ever since. Even now that I'm 40, I still have him! And when I look at him, I just feel in my heart how much my dad loved/loves me!

Posted by: Kai
Jun 20, 2010 7:49:44 PM

The "puppy" mentioned is the star of the layout at the top of this post.   I scrapbooked that page from the Comfort emotion at SFTIO back in 2008.  The actual challenge that I entered this layout for read, "Since the childhood comfort thread was such a big hit, please share a LO about such a moment or memory...where the journaling is you as an adult talking to you as a little girl! And here's the kicker - this one should NOT contain a photo of an actual person or event - you can take or use a photo that symbolizes or represents those feelings."  That should explain why my journaling sounds like I'm talking to myself. 

Thank you, Thom... LYB is truly one of my favorite scrapbooking companies so this is so thrilling for me!

And THANK YOU Dad!  You've helped me be a winner not only today, but every day.  I love you!  (And I know you read these blog posts, and if you don't read this one... I know your loving wife will make ya!)

EDIT and PS>  You can see my love for LYB products here.

Just Angry!

photo credit

Sometimes I feel so angry, I could SPIT NAILS.

*breathe* *breathe* *breathe*

That's kind-a how I've felt all day. Angry.  Moody.  Cranky.  But really... angry!  Like I could hit something.  Not sure why... lots of things mixed up maybe...

*breathe* *breathe* *breathe*

I've got nothing to share, layout-wise, for this month's emotion at SFTIO: Anger.  And honestly, I'm pretty ticked about that.  This is a great emotion for me to explore.  I internalize a lot of anger.  I'm really pretty peeved that I didn't make the time or take the time, or whatever, to get a layout or two done.  And now, while I was trying to comment on the SFTIO boards and share this little vent, the internet lagged on me.  So now I'm ANGRY at the internet/wireless connection that won't be speedy enough for me to get to sites I need to see and post and read and whatever!!!!

*breathe*  *breathe*  *breathe*

I'm also COMPLETELY IRRITATED that my laptop will not let me capitalize an I on the first try.  It literally takes me three or four times and I have to slow my speed down to a hunt-n-peck speed to get it to capitalize.

I wasn't irritated about that until I started writing that last sentence, but now I am!  In fact, I was going to end the post at that last paragraph but then I had to retype that "I" at the beginning FIVE times and repeated efforts on every other "I" since!  I guess that's incentive to get my new laptop (new to me) set up so I can toss this one at The Hubs. 

Now I'm ticked that my pinky hurts from trying to hold down the shift key to get that daggone "I" to capitalize!  Stupid "I"!

*breathe*  *breathe*  *breathe*

Doesn't it just totally suck that it's the "little things" that sometimes just SET YOU OFF?!  What's under your skin these days?

Forced Home Improvement

Warning:  The photos in this post may cause nausea, disgust, upset stomach, and even trigger a gag reflex.  It did me.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

So, last weekend, The Hubs and I were struggling.  You see, our house had been invaded.  It had been permeated with one of the most awful scents known to humans.  Get ready... hold your nose... yes... Cat Pee.

It is gross.  It is awful. It is embarrassing.  It downright disgusted me to walk into my own house.  Don't get me wrong, my cats are litter box trained.  This isn't a cat that doesn't know where she or he needs to go.  This is a cat who, well, is a tad on the wild side.  In fact, you voted below, and I'm adding several of my own votes...the offender is This Devil Cat!

She's a cutie, absolutely.  But she was rescued a tad too late to keep her from having that feral attitude of "Mine!"  So, earlier this spring/summer, we had our windows open and some of the other feral cats in our neighborhood started coming by the house, I assume to play Pee War with my cat(s).  This Devil Cat decided to take them up on their challenge, and started marking near the front door.  UGH!  We were able to keep up with it for a while, thanks to Nature's Miracle, with the exception that this product stained our rug terribly.  But after a while, something just wasn't right.  And it was nauseating to walk in our out of our house.

Last Saturday, I woke up pretty early to find that The Hubs was also (surprisingly) awake, and sitting in the middle of our upstairs living room, brushing the shedding fur out of one of our dogs (and later our "fat boy" cat).  I sat on the couch watching him and chatting, when I bemoaned our fate and asked, "what are we going to do about this smell?!" 

The Hubs said, "if only it would cool down so we can open our windows and air out the house."  I replied, "That would only make things worse because she (the Devil Cat) will smell the outside marking and start marking MORE.  If we could just find the true source, maybe we could take care of it."  The Hubs put down the brush and walked down to the landing near our door.  He sniffed around and came up choking and eyes watering.  He found the source, under a metal, decorative chair in the corner by our door.  He took the last of our Nature's Miracle, which wasn't nearly enough for what was needed, and poured it over the spot.  Then I said, "If only we knew what was under the carpet, then I might want to just pull it up and be rid of it!"

Let me interject that we bought this house 10 years ago, and it was owned by one woman/family since it was built in the 1960's.  We have discovered that it's quite the surprise what we've found beneath wallpaper and other "coverings" in the house.  I'm always scared to look!

The Hubs, energized from his choking and gasping and inspired by my "suggestion", said, "Let's find out!" and went downstairs to get some tools.  One thing led to another and, among a few Tim-the-Toolman-Taylor animal grunts, The Hubs gave us a whole new look and, even more importantly, a Cat-Pee-Free smelling house!  Check out his handy dandy work, and all before 10:30 AM!

This is the offending area, top-left corner.

The remarkably huge mark/stain is actually from

pouring Nature's Miracle on the carpet just

prior to this activity...

Let me interject again that no way Jose would I have ever chosen to put WHITE carpeting in a house with kids and pets.  It came that way.  And as you can see from the photos, it didn't stay white once we moved in!

The opposite corner, where The Hubs pulled a piece up

to see what was beneath...

Pulling up the carpet to see the gross, stained carpet mat

beneath.  That spot on the bottom step there is also

stained from the Nature's Miracle.  Guess our carpet

didn't like that product.  No matter anymore.

By the way, can you see how helpful I was?  I decided the best place for me was sitting on the couch and hanging over the back and the stair railing to take photos from 'above'.  It was a great vantage point, AND, I was out of the way of The Hubs!

Look at The Hubs go!  The carpet is gone from the landing,

and so is the Cat Pee smell!  The carpet and mat came

up and went right out the front door.  He was breathing

much easier by this point.

You can't really see the detail of the tile on the landing, but it's white "crackle" and complete ages my house.  But, if I have to choose between aging my house and Cat Pee Stench, I choose the tile, over and over and over again!

A huge sigh of relief that the stairs were actually wood, and

NOT tile!  I was very excited when The Hubs uncovered

the first step...

Pretty steps!  I was excited to get the rest of the carpet

off the steps leading down into our basement..

But they were white crackle tile too.  *sigh*

Oh well... it's better than stinky carpet!

Finished!  It isn't perfect, but SO much better!

And only one boo-boo!

Whoops!  Forgot to warn you about the ghostly white

of The Hubs' legs.  No worries, I out-white him 100%

believe it or not! 

Wanna Peek?

I have actually had this box of goodies for a month or so... I think.  At least a few weeks.  I was so excited to get it.  I'm still very excited to have it.  But, as you can tell since I'm just blogging about it now, I have had no time to play.  It's all still in the box!  It's been taunting me from my overly-messy, too-full-of-things-to-put-away, sccrapbook table.

Wanna peek?

Are you suuuuurrrreeee?

Now think about it before you answer....

Aw, shucks... the suspense is killing ME!

Here you go... but only a peek!

Mmmmmhmmmmmm... Yummy goodies, no?

Mine! 

MineminemineMineminemineMineminemineMine!

Well.... Maybe I'll share.  But I have to drool over them for a while first. 

Yummy! 

...

By the way, please keep weighing in on the Angel or Devil post below... there is more to that story, I promise!

Angel or Devil?

Just One Thing...

Today I did just one thing...

Took one step...

But it was a Big Thing...

It cost a pretty penny...

And the first "baby step" will last two weeks...

The second "baby step" will last two more...

Two weeks after the 2nd "baby step" it will cost me another pretty penny...

Maybe...

If I can stay True. 

If I can Believe in myself. 

If I will Do what I can to Do what I must. 

If.

If I do...

I will be different...

I will be changed...

I will be confident (I hope)...

I Will Be Healthier...

I Hope...

I hope I will soar.

Log Cabin, Here I Come!

The next lesson in my quilt class was the Log Cabin block.  Had ya fooled, huh?  You probably thought I was headed on vacation.  No, no... just quilting away here!  We learned that the log cabin block has a great many variations, but I decided to stick to the basic log cabin block for my first two squares.  Then I mixed it up a tad for the second two squares.

We spent Friday night "quopping".  Two of my friends are taking this quilting class with me (or I with them) and we all scrapbook as well, so we figured when we got together we would do either craft.  So, instead of cropping now, we quop. 

Two of us this night worked on our quilts.  One of us scrapbooked.  It was a lot of fun until a gremlin decided to take up residence in my friend's sewing machine.  She got it all figured out in the end (thanks to chocolate!) and for a while we looked like dueling quilters.

I get the most stressed out when I'm cutting/trimming.  I check, double-check, triple-check that everything is aligned properly before I cut.  This part of quilting is stressful to me.

It felt good to get this piece done and I'm fairly confident that I did it RIGHT this time.  I still have to fix the other piece.

What do you think?

Dueling Quilters

Cue the banjo music!

I've been pretty busy this weekend all up until today.  We did a little bit of Fathers' Day celebrating  but for the most part I have been in bed dealing with a very painful, pulsating muscle spasm in my back.  So, while I have so many things to share, it will have to wait as my muscle relaxant's drowsiness side effect just hit me like a load of bricks. 

So stay tuned... I have more quilting photos, some scrappy goodies I want to share, and an impromptu home improvement project that occurred on Saturday!  With special guest star:  The Hubs! 

Ago

I'm stealing this idea from Nancy... I have wanted to do it for a while, but haven't had the opportunity until right now.

5 minutes ago I decided to write a quick blog about my weekend.

20 minutes ago, I ordered dinner for myself and 4 other women.

1 hour ago, I was telling funny stories about the woman who owned my house before me (like, she got rid of her house phone because every time she picked it up she heard voices...)

3 hours ago I arrived at work (at the store), hot, sweaty and tired.

6 hours ago my daughter and I were just leaving the house to run some errands and get her hair cut.

10 hours ago, my husband and I decided to rip up the carpet on our stairs and front door landing.  And he did it!  Between 8am and 10:30am!

1 day ago, I was getting ready to start quilting my next piece of quilt (more on this later).

A week ago, I was here at the store working.

One month ago, I was finishing up my first day back to work after a weekend and 2 extra days celebrating my 40th birthday.

Six months ago I was wondering just how much snow were we going to get?!

One  year ago I was preparing myself to walk a 5K in our town's "Jog for Jazz" Father's Day event.

10 years ago I was adjusting to being newly married and packing up my apartment to move into our first house together (the house we just tore carpeting up in).

15 years ago, I had just met my husband and we were establishing a new friendship (and both in relationships with other people)

20 years ago I was home from college for the summer, working and wishing I could get back there sooner because I didn't like living with my parents anymore, even though it was only for the summer.

My, how time flies.  Have I been 40 for a month already??

Musings That Stick to the Roof of Your Mind

Disclaimer... these are NOT my musings.  This is one of those viral emails that gets passed around.  I had never seen it before.  It made me nod my head.  It made me smile.  And a few made me literally laugh out loud in humor-filled agreement.  I just felt the absolute need to share with as many people as possible, yet without spamming the world.   Anything below in yellow and bolded/italicized are my personal comments on the list my sister sent to me.  So here you go... musings that stick to the roof of your mind:

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history when you die.  But only after emailing everyone in your contact list that I have passed... I worry about those friends I only know online never knowing what happened to me...
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're dead wrong.
3. I totally regret all those times I didn't want to take a nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm character on the keyboard..
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?  I actually know... but I can see the perplexity (perplexity?) of this. 
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they reported how the person died.
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after BluRay? I sure don't want to have to restart my collection...again...for the fifth (or sixth?) time!
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save the changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.
15. I hate it when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I'll know not to answer when they call.
18. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.  No kidding!  I am amazed at some things I "discover" in older movies!
19. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
20. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
21. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
22. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars close up to prevent some jerk from cutting in. - Stay strong, brothers and sisters!  Personally, I especially love when an 18-wheeler truck gets involved in the blocking!  Talk about a powerful ally!
23. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
24. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.   (Or read a page in a book three consecutive times and still not know what it said.)
25. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'll bet everyone can find and whack the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1½ seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!  Ah.... so true, so true!
26. My check the oil light has been on for three months now and nothing's happened. I'm starting to think that my car is just an attention whore.
27. I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the match?
28. Sometimes I pretend not to remember details about people because having a good memory apparently equates to creepiness.  Scary, but I do actually do this!
29. My GPS says "Estimated Arrival Time." I see "Time to Beat."
30. Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
31. My keyboard needs a removable crumb tray like my toaster.  Seriously, wouldn't this be awesome? 
32. What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?  Can you imagine this?
33. I wish it were appropriate to say to a complete stranger, "Excuse me, would you like me to show you how to discipline your child?"
34. I never understood why the Lions and Cowboys always get to play on Thanksgiving. Shouldn't the Patriots play the Redskins, and then steal their stadium afterwords?
35. Double-Stuffed Oreos should just be called Oreos, and regular Oreos should be called Diet Oreos.

 Got any you'd like to add?

I Fail!

Before I move to my "sad" news, first and foremost THANK YOU everyone cheering me on through my quilting endeavor.  You all keep me lifted up and away from my nagging, "I'm so bad at this" perfectionistic inner critic. 

So, I failed at my Sunday quilting project.  Yep, I screwed up.  It isn't unfixable, but it was a bit dejecting.  I knew as soon as I saw my friend Christina's quilt pieces that I had messed up.  But I took them to class tonight just in case it was "okay" that I hadn't done what I was supposed to do.

Nope.

The seam ripper came out before I could say, "Wait!" and the instructor started tearing my stitches out of my strips.  I can't fudge it.  I can't pretend it didn't happen.  I can't even pretend I MEANT to do it that way.  The seam ripper says, "No!"

Let me 'splain my mistake.  In the photo above, you will see two "rows" of split rail style blocks.  The top row we will call 1F2 and the bottom row we'll call 3F4.  See, I made whole rows of 1F2 and 3F4 when I should have mixed them up.  If you look above you'll see at the far left, a bunch of horizontal stripes.  From the top it would be lavender, multi, rust (1F2) and then below it, green, multi, rose (3F4).  Yeah, I should have done one block 1F2, then one turned 3F4, then back to 1F2, and so on.  So... it all comes apart and gets redone. 

It's all good.  That's why it's a class, right?  I'm a'learnin'.  But now I have to re-piece it together AND work on our next homework assignment:  Log Cabin blocks.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more than a little intimidated.

Stay tuned... I am that type of person who has to get "A"s and today I think I got a C-.  Time to improve my grade... will post more as I move forward.

Fabric is Fluid

The instructor of the class I am taking for quilting kept saying, "fabric is fluid."  And I have discovered, it truly is. 

It's hard to cut, sew or iron fluid.

My inner perfectionist was wincing every time I cut a strip, or sewed a seam.

Trying to appease her as I felt her anxiety screaming through my head, I took a long, long, long time to work on this first homework assignment. 

Probably about six hours. 

I'm thinking that it should have or could have been done in half the time. 

This homework assignment taught us the Split Rail Fence pattern.

I'm sure I'll get faster. Regardless, so far, I like it!

Sew What?

So, I like to sew.  How long have I known this?  Actually, since 7th grade Home Economics class.  I can even remember what I made.  A bike bag.  Something that would hang around my handlebars of my bike so I could ride without having to hold on to anything.  It was blue. With black acents.  It went on my purple 10-speed bike.  I loved it.  It was even more cool because I had made it myself.

What have I sewn since?  Nothing!

That's not true... I did have a friend coerce me (she really didn't have to try very hard) into quilting about 7 years ago.  I took a few sewing classes with her, and then we followed the directions to make a baby-size quilt (crib size).  I LOVED it.  It wasn't excellent, but it came out more or less square and I made it and I loved it.  I have no idea if my sister liked it or how much they used it, but it didn't matter... it was awesome!  I was so excited that I made a few quilted Christmas gifts (door hangings).  Had a good time with that too.  Then... not another stitch.  Not by way of my machine.

Well, the same friend, whom I got into scrapbooking, has nudged me toward quilting again. So... I've gone to another sewing class (to refresh my sad, tired brain) which I mentioned in this post... and now I'm taking a 4-part series of quilting classes.  Our first class was Wednesday and I have HOMEWORK to do! 

So here you go... this is what I'm starting with. 

Here are the fabrics I chose.  I'm strongly drawn to batiks.  It is what I used for the baby quilt.  And it is what I'm using now...

So, or ... sew... I shall post my progress here.  I am terribly prone to bouts of perfectionism when I sew, which makes me feel terribly inadequate and generally "bad" at sewing, but I'm going to try and break through that barrier with this quilt.  Because I really want to sew more, and I want to have the confidence that I don't need somone looking over my shoulder to do it (like a "class').

So... when I post my progress, I'm unabashedly requesting your support and praise.  Please, consider there to be an 'APPLAUSE' sign over the top of the blog and just do me a favor and tell me it's great (even if it's sad or scary.  Okay?  That way you'll help me past this barrier and then I can finally start sewing more in all areas... even on my scrapbook pages!  TIA!!

Things That Make You Go, "HMMMMMMMM"

Can anyone tell me where my post title is from?

Today, a few thoughts passed through my head that just made me wonder...

• How did my mom feed four children, herself and one giant man of a husband lunch with one can of tunafish?  Seriously, I just made myself a tuna sandwich and ended up eating the whole can (although half would have been sufficient)...
• For that matter, how did one large pizza feed the same number of people, with leftovers?  One large pizza here doesn't last us with four, let alone six!
• Can everyone, with enough training or classes, "become talented" in any area?
• How did my car's missing license plate end up at my front door this afternoon after being gone for a week?  And what was it doing while it was missing?  And how did it get home?
• Today, as I said goodbye to my son and he asked, "Wait, where are you going?"  And I replied, "Out for a walk."  He said to me, "But I thought it was going to rain?"  After stopping to "Hmmmmmmm", how would you have answered this:
• Yes, but it isn't raining NOW
• I'm NOT the wicked witch of the east/west; I don't melt
• Does rain mean my feet stop working?

Okay, sorry about that last one... sometimes I just can't control my sarcasm...

Anything ever just strike you as "hmmmm" worthy?

Kree-ay-tiv

I did quite a bit of crafting this past weekend.  I made a few layouts at work Saturday.  Not anything for me... only for the store, but it felt good to play.  Sunday, I had a sewing class (trying to get over my sewing machine "phobia").  I actually love to sew, but my nasty perfectionism really cripples me in this area, so I just "don't".  I'm working on releasing that and just having fun with it.  At the class we made this little clutch purse/wallet:

After my class on Sunday, I was still feeling creative so I went straight down to my scrappy room and spent some time making a plethora of thank you cards for my work anniversary celebration. Believe it or not, I still have MORE that need to be made.

Whew, I'm tuckered now.  But it felt good to really have some time to play.  How about you?  Have you played today? 

What I Got

The Hubs.  Got me roses for our anniversary.  I'm not a traditional rose kinda gal.  I'm not a fan of red, nor really pink.  My favorite are yellow.  I think that stems from those were my mom's favorite.  He got me some gorgeous yellow roses for Valentine's Day.  They were on fire!

He said he tried for yellow roses for our anniversary but they didn't have 'em.  So he got me these instead. 

 

They're gorgeous!  HUGE, too.  I love that he knows I don't like red ones.  That he chose these lavender ones because he knew I have a penchant for the more unusual. 

He accompanied them with the Best Card Ever.  The Hubs has a special talent at picking out very emotional, meaningful cards.  It made me cry, it was so beautiful.  Yeah, I'm a cryer anyway... but still... the card was perfect and exactly what I needed to hear.  And I'm not sharing.  Sorry.  Gotta keep this one close to my heart.

And then there's this card of anniversary congratulations that one of my sisters sent.

 

Isn't she special?  (This card made me laugh!  It's a total keeper.) Love ya sis.

ANGER!

I am so angry!

No, I'm not really.  Well, I have anger in me, but I don't FEEL it right now.  I did yesterday when our power went out due to a huge storm that went through our area of town.  We had no power from around 8 pm last night until around 3pm this afternoon.  I was so angry.  We lose power so often in this neighborhood.  As I told someone today, if someone sneezes hard enough, our whole street will lose power!  I was worried I'd lose groceries in my freezer and fridge (AGAIN).  Plus, I was feeling old anger resurfacing from times it has been off for days and days.   Okay, I'm over it.  For the moment.

However, I a'm going to put it down on paper. I'm going to try and get the anger OUT of me for once.  I didn't realize how much I  have suppressed inside, and not just about power outages, until I started thinking about this month's emotion at SFTIO.  Anger is the emotion for June... at SFTIO, they challenge you to not only look at the "good" emotions (Nostalgia, Anticipation, etc.) but also some of the perceived "negative" emotions.  I tell ya... it can be good therapy to just scrap away an emotion.  The kit is shown above and is full of grungy, dark, I'm-seeing-red, "angry" colors.  And I can't wait to get a hold of mine.

Join us over there if you feel you need to get some anger out.  If you can't get the kit, no worries... use any ol' supplies you've got and check out the inspiration page to get some of your ideas flowing.

I'll let you know if I actually get time to scrap this emotion. I had so many plans for last month's Anticipation, but, well... I was celebrating a bit too much, I think.  I should have done Anticipation in April, when I was anticipating all of the May celebrations!  *grin*

So, do share... what gets you angry?  What really gets under you skin?  What ticks you off to no end?

Ten

Today marked 10 years married to The Hubs.  Ten years that truly passed in the blink of an eye.  Ten years!  Ten years means more to me than you know.  I am my husband's longest running wife.  I say that with a sense of humor, but it truly makes me feel oh-so good.  My dear Hubs was married twice before me.  His first wife and he lasted just under 9 years.  His second wife under five.  When we hit our 5-year anniversary, it was a happy dance.  When we hit 9 it was a sigh of relief.  But 10... ten is new ground for him.  And, of course, for me.  This year begins, in so many ways, an absolute fresh, new beginning for me.

But I will get into that a little later...

I am the type of person who must research things.  When it came to figuring out an extra-special gift for The Hubs, I must admit being pretty empty of ideas.  When this happens, I pay a long visit to Google.  I started with finding out those "traditional" gift guidelines.  Here's what one site told me:  traditional: tin, modern: diamond, alternate gem: blue sapphire.  That helped get my brain moving.  I also had a little creative boost from Nancy.  She had inspired me to create this book (different topic), and I had done so with different dimensions, but the same basic steps.  (Thanks Nancy!)  I decided to also make one for The Hubs filled with 10 Favorite Memories from the past 10 years.  And, in line with the traditional gift, I made it so that it would fit in a tin.  Check it out: 

The tin with the book inside.

The top and the inside bottom of the tin.

The book on top of the tin.

Two pages inside the book.

But... it wasn't enough.  So I also decided The Hubs needed this, too;

Yep, it's a new wedding ring.  He lost his original ring years ago.  Then he bought a replacement ring.  This story deserves a whole post to itself, so I'll just sum up by saying that I wasn't too pleased.  This ring contains the more modern versions of the 10-year anniversary.  The stone is blue sapphire, with a few diamonds to either side.  The band itself is white gold, which I figured could "stand in" for the tin.

He was very surprised. 

I'm just happy he liked it.