I can't believe how long it's been since I posted last! Well, since then my back has gotten better, I went to the National Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, and Tim just started teaching at the college again today! My trip to Utah was fun and inspired me to move out of my role as a hobbyist demonstrator and make it into a business, so I will be hosting my first card class on September 15! Now my trip home from Utah was from hell, seriously. Let's just say that I will not be flying again any time soon and I have absolutely no desire to ever go to California again! Those people are the rudest I have ever seen in my whole life! WOW!
Anywho, just figured I should post and let ya'll know I'm still alive. I now have an iPhone and it doesn't seem to be as easy to blog on it as it is on the computer! lol
Monday, August 22, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
June Card Swap, Birthday & Father's Day gifts, and other Crafts!
Our June card swap was a Father's Day card, of course. Here it is...
I used Night of Navy textured card stock, Night of Navy ink, Whisper White card stock, linen twine, spiral punch, and Sweet Shoppe Lower Case *I think.*
I made this card for my Mom's 50th surprise birthday party I threw for her tonight!
I found this small (empty) metal paint can at Menard's and decided to make something out of it. I typed out stats and info on Alzheimer's Disease and made this into a donation can.
I used this on the donation can.
This also.
I made a seam with buttons on the back of the donation can.
This is on top of the donation can.
There was a farmer selling fresh strawberries in Jasper last month when I went for my Stampin' Up! upline meeting and my strawberries came in this cute basket that I weaved DSP through. :)
I love my basket! :)
I saw a similar project on my upline's, Tiffany Bauer, Crafty Picks last week. This one is for my dad for Father's Day and has a picture of me and him from my wedding.
The 2 1/2" circle punch makes the perfect sized circle to put on the lid for a note!
This one is what I gave my mom at her surprise party with a picture of me and her when I was 4 years old.
Note to my mom. :)
This one is for my hubby for Father's Day from our furbabies. :) It has my favorite picture from our first family pictures in it. This will go on our new entertainment center when he finishes building it!
The note from our babies. :)
My first attempt at making button rings!
Let me know if you would like any! :)
Well it's been a long day with an early, long trip to Jasper and throwing my mom's surprise birthday party...it's time for bed. Good night blog world! <3
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Last Chance Stampin' Up! List!!
Stampin' Up! is preparing to release an awesome new catalog on July 1 so that means the "retiring" product list was released today! The products on these lists will be gone FOREVER!! Some paper is being modified and will return in a different way but other than that everything else will never be seen again! lol. Go to stampinup.com and look at the Last Chance lists! There is a lot of cardstock, ribbon, and Definitively Decorative products!
If you'd like to order something comment on this post or email me at guardgeek_2005@hotmail.com asap! The stamp sets that are retiring will continue to be manufactured until June 30 but the accessories list is a limited supplies list...aka what they have is what they have and if you want it you better order it NOW! :)
If you place an order of $50 or more (before tax & shipping) with me, I will give you a FREE 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog on July 1!
Get your orders in! :)
If you'd like to order something comment on this post or email me at guardgeek_2005@hotmail.com asap! The stamp sets that are retiring will continue to be manufactured until June 30 but the accessories list is a limited supplies list...aka what they have is what they have and if you want it you better order it NOW! :)
If you place an order of $50 or more (before tax & shipping) with me, I will give you a FREE 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog on July 1!
Get your orders in! :)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
May Card Swap!
This month's card swap theme was a card with a different fold...birthday I think lol. I had to ask what was meant by a "different fold" because I wasn't completely sure lol. It just means not the typical folded card! ha go figure lol! I wanted to make a cake shaped card but just couldn't get it to come out right so I thought "What else is associated with birthdays that I can shape a card like?"...Here's what I came up with...
It's a gift bag!! I made the folds so most of the cards do actually stand up alittle! And yes, that is tissue paper sticking out of the top of the bag! :)
This is the simple card that is in the card bag! :)
Hope you like it!!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The History of My Crippled Body
Well, for those of you who don't know, I have had 3 ruptured disks in my lower back for 6 years now (can't remember if I've blogged about this yet or not lol.)
I was at the end of my senior year in high school, my parents we're in the middle of their divorce, and I was getting ready for college classes in the summer. I had a '99 purple Plymouth Neon Expresso that I loved. The steering wheel didn't tilt so I would have so sit down sideways and slide my leg under the wheel then turn forward to get in. I had done this a thousand times in the almost 3 years I had had that car. Then, one day towards the end of March 2005 I was getting into my car as usual...except when I got my leg under the wheel and went to turn forward...I had this horrific feeling of paper ripping down the left side of my leg and hip. I moaned in pain but went on. It seems thinking back now that the horrible pain was instant but I actually think it took a couple days to become crippling. Either way, this is what happened next...
My mom was still working at Buehler's Buy Low as the DSD Clerk and had to be there at 4am when the trucks came in and my dad had moved out earlier in March, so I had to get myself up for school and get ready and go. My mom would usually call and make sure I was up...I'm no where near a morning person! lol. She didn't know it for awhile, but I was unable to get out of bed the normal way. I would have to literally roll off my bed, into the floor, and work my way onto my hands and knees to pull myself to a standing position. I don't know how long this went on, but I remember one occasion specifically that really was then end of trying to ignore whatever was going on with my body...
I came home from somewhere and was getting out of my car...at least that was my intention. I was in excruciating pain and was unable to move to get out of the car and had to use my cell phone to call my mom in the house to come out and help me out of my car. I cried the whole way up the sidewalk into the house because I was in so much pain. I finally went to the doctor who referred me to an orthopedic surgeon, of course. This is the interesting part...my back never hurt this first year, my hips and legs were the painful parts. My hips and legs would hurt so bad it felt like they were seizing up like full leg charlie horses X 100, and I felt like my legs couldn't work. This interesting/weird fact led me to seeing at least 8, yes 8, different orthopedic surgeons with no answer to my pain.
I remember one ortho doctor specifically that actually suggested I was faking the pain for attention! Needless to say, my mom made sure that doctor understand that I wasn't faking. :) I finally went to the last ortho doctor who was nice enough to admit that he knew I was in pain but didn't know what was wrong with me and referred me to a spine surgeon in Indianapolis. Which I greatly appreciated his honesty.
The spine surgeon in Indi was the first to do an MRI on my back, remember my back never hurt so the other ortho doctors never bothered to xray anything other than my hips and legs. The spine surgeon, Dr. Sasso, found that I had 3 ruptured disks. *NOTE: I saw Dr. Sasso for the first time in April 2006...alittle over a year after I first hurt my back...I had spent that entire year sleeping in a recliner because I could no longer lay down in a bed.* Because I was only 18 almost 19 at the time, Dr. Sasso wanted to avoid surgery...as did I! So he had one of his associates do what I just found out is called a steriod nerve block...which excuse my word choice but it HURT LIKE HELL!!!!! That actually doesn't even accurately describe how painful it was; it was 10X more painful than all the pain I had felt that entire year combined.
My parents took me back up to Indi for this procedure. We were waiting in an exam room across the hall from the procedure room when we suddenly heard a woman screaming bloody murder from the procedure room! She was having the same thing I was getting ready to have! Ok, if you don't know this important fact...I am TERRIFIED of needles and the screaming woman wasn't helping me feel comfortable! I begged my parents to take me home but with some encouragement and stern words *lol* I agreed to go through with it. Normally, they don't allow anyone to go with the patient into the procedure room but the sweet doctor that was doing it realized how upset I was and let me bring my Dad with me.
Now remember how I said I had to sleep in a recliner that whole year because I couldn't lay down? Well, they made me lay on my stomach *OUCH* while they used a live xray machine to view my spine. The doctor was very nice and talked me through the whole thing while I cried and held my dad's hand for dear life. He numbed up my skin, put a port in one of my disks, and proceeded to inject 5-6 different things...towards the end I was screaming just like the woman before me. The final injection through the port was the steriods...this hurt the most! I literally felt like a Mac truck hit me from my lower back down and had pinned me to the table! My mom busted through the procedure room door at that point because she couldn't stand to hear me scream anymore, luckily the procedure was over.lol. The doctor, nurse, and my parents helped me half way sit up and get into a wheelchair. My left side was completely numb for about an hour.
They wheeled me down to the car and got me in, and we drove back to Mt. Carmel. The 4hours or whatever later, I was able to get out of the car on my own! I was also able to walk, bend over, dress myself, and easily go to the bathroom. You may laugh but sitting on a toilet when the nerve going down your leg/butt is raw with pain making it awful! lol. I was fine and dandy with no back pain for the most part until Spring of 2009.
We had been living in our house for almost a year and it was the first warm day of spring...I had gotten my flip flops out to take our new puppies, Toby and Scooter, out to potty. If you've never seen our house, we have a deep ditch in our front yard before you get to the road. I took the boys out front and we were in the grassy area before the ditch. The boys wanted to move forward alittle so I walked forward alittle bit. The ditch didn't look deep but had a small layer of leaves on it. Suddenly the boys saw or heard something and jerked really hard...which yanked me forward and into the ditch on my knees. I realized then that the ditch had about 2 feet of leaves on it and then about 3 feet of mud! I was stuck and my dogs had ran off down the street! I pulled my way out of the ditch as fast as I could, kicked off my flip flops, and took off running down the street for my dogs. Toby stopped about half way up the block and then we took off after Scooter who I finally had to step on his leash at the end of the block so that I could catch him.
I called my mom when I got back to the house for help. I knew I had to do something because I could already tell my back was messed up. I was able to get a massage the next day which helped and then I began seeing Dr. Gill and getting chiropractic adjustments. For the most part, my monthly adjustments have been able to maintain my back health. I have had a handful of times that my back has gone out since then because of different things.
On April 25 this year, the day after Easter, I slipped and fell at a dog client's house. My right leg went straight out in front of me while my left leg bent and went behind me. When I hit the ground, my upper body laid backwards. I managed to get myself up, into my van, call my mom for help, and get back to my house. I realized when I got home that I was missing a small and huge chunk out of the side of the toe big on my left foot. My mom helped me clean up, change my soaked clothes because it was raining, and we called Dr. Gill. He luckily was able to get me in immediately for an adjustment. We determined that my left knee was not happy and that my left ankle was sprained.
I took 2 1/2 weeks off from dog walking to allow my ankle to heal and hopefully allow my back to get better. My ankle felt better and my back was decent so I went on my first walk after the slip. That night I couldn't walk. I went and got more adjustments and mentioned that my knee really wasn't feeling better. He determined that he was pretty sure I have torn my meniscus in my left knee and has referred me to an orthopedic surgeon in Evansville. We are also discussing the possibility that the adjustments may not be able to make me better this time and we may have to consider other options.
So, I have an appointment tomorrow (5/20) with the orthopedic surgeon. We are hoping and praying that if it is torn that it is mild and only needs a knee brace and not surgery. We are also hoping and praying that the adjustments will make my back better so I don't have to have that steriod nerve block again or worse...back surgery at almost 24 *on Monday! :)* Besides the fact that we don't have health insurance, I am terrified of needles and the thought of having any kind of surgery makes me nauseas! I do not take any pain medication except Tylenol when I really need it because I don't have any prescriptions. Your prayers are appreciated.
So now you know the story of my crippled body. I wrote this post for 3 reasons...1)Alot of people either don't know I have all these problems or don't believe me. 2)For those who don't believe me or don't think it's as bad as you think I make it sound because I'm not old enough to be in more pain than you, here is the whole story believe it or not. You are more than welcome to come to my house and help me get around for a day and see for yourself! 3)To thank those who have helped me so much and are irreplaceable. My parents who were in the middle of a divorce at the time and still managed to care for their daughter and still take care of me today. To my new step parents who have joined in on the caring for me when needed. To my wonderful husband who met me during that year of unknown pain and has stuck with me through all that and all the pain since. He helps me walk, he puts my shoes and socks on, he helps me change clothes, he holds me when I break down and cry on the occasion from these frustrations, and even helps me when my back locks up trying to get off the toilet. lol. To my Aunt Judy and Grandma Oliver for always checking on me. To the college teachers I had that first year who never got mad when I came in late to class because I couldn't get moving quick enough in the morning or when I couldn't stay for the whole class because I was hurting too much. To Dan and Donna Garvin, my "2nd parents", for taking care of me and continuing to pray for me all these years.
That's my story. I don't want pity, I would just like understanding from some people. :)
I was at the end of my senior year in high school, my parents we're in the middle of their divorce, and I was getting ready for college classes in the summer. I had a '99 purple Plymouth Neon Expresso that I loved. The steering wheel didn't tilt so I would have so sit down sideways and slide my leg under the wheel then turn forward to get in. I had done this a thousand times in the almost 3 years I had had that car. Then, one day towards the end of March 2005 I was getting into my car as usual...except when I got my leg under the wheel and went to turn forward...I had this horrific feeling of paper ripping down the left side of my leg and hip. I moaned in pain but went on. It seems thinking back now that the horrible pain was instant but I actually think it took a couple days to become crippling. Either way, this is what happened next...
My mom was still working at Buehler's Buy Low as the DSD Clerk and had to be there at 4am when the trucks came in and my dad had moved out earlier in March, so I had to get myself up for school and get ready and go. My mom would usually call and make sure I was up...I'm no where near a morning person! lol. She didn't know it for awhile, but I was unable to get out of bed the normal way. I would have to literally roll off my bed, into the floor, and work my way onto my hands and knees to pull myself to a standing position. I don't know how long this went on, but I remember one occasion specifically that really was then end of trying to ignore whatever was going on with my body...
I came home from somewhere and was getting out of my car...at least that was my intention. I was in excruciating pain and was unable to move to get out of the car and had to use my cell phone to call my mom in the house to come out and help me out of my car. I cried the whole way up the sidewalk into the house because I was in so much pain. I finally went to the doctor who referred me to an orthopedic surgeon, of course. This is the interesting part...my back never hurt this first year, my hips and legs were the painful parts. My hips and legs would hurt so bad it felt like they were seizing up like full leg charlie horses X 100, and I felt like my legs couldn't work. This interesting/weird fact led me to seeing at least 8, yes 8, different orthopedic surgeons with no answer to my pain.
I remember one ortho doctor specifically that actually suggested I was faking the pain for attention! Needless to say, my mom made sure that doctor understand that I wasn't faking. :) I finally went to the last ortho doctor who was nice enough to admit that he knew I was in pain but didn't know what was wrong with me and referred me to a spine surgeon in Indianapolis. Which I greatly appreciated his honesty.
The spine surgeon in Indi was the first to do an MRI on my back, remember my back never hurt so the other ortho doctors never bothered to xray anything other than my hips and legs. The spine surgeon, Dr. Sasso, found that I had 3 ruptured disks. *NOTE: I saw Dr. Sasso for the first time in April 2006...alittle over a year after I first hurt my back...I had spent that entire year sleeping in a recliner because I could no longer lay down in a bed.* Because I was only 18 almost 19 at the time, Dr. Sasso wanted to avoid surgery...as did I! So he had one of his associates do what I just found out is called a steriod nerve block...which excuse my word choice but it HURT LIKE HELL!!!!! That actually doesn't even accurately describe how painful it was; it was 10X more painful than all the pain I had felt that entire year combined.
My parents took me back up to Indi for this procedure. We were waiting in an exam room across the hall from the procedure room when we suddenly heard a woman screaming bloody murder from the procedure room! She was having the same thing I was getting ready to have! Ok, if you don't know this important fact...I am TERRIFIED of needles and the screaming woman wasn't helping me feel comfortable! I begged my parents to take me home but with some encouragement and stern words *lol* I agreed to go through with it. Normally, they don't allow anyone to go with the patient into the procedure room but the sweet doctor that was doing it realized how upset I was and let me bring my Dad with me.
Now remember how I said I had to sleep in a recliner that whole year because I couldn't lay down? Well, they made me lay on my stomach *OUCH* while they used a live xray machine to view my spine. The doctor was very nice and talked me through the whole thing while I cried and held my dad's hand for dear life. He numbed up my skin, put a port in one of my disks, and proceeded to inject 5-6 different things...towards the end I was screaming just like the woman before me. The final injection through the port was the steriods...this hurt the most! I literally felt like a Mac truck hit me from my lower back down and had pinned me to the table! My mom busted through the procedure room door at that point because she couldn't stand to hear me scream anymore, luckily the procedure was over.lol. The doctor, nurse, and my parents helped me half way sit up and get into a wheelchair. My left side was completely numb for about an hour.
They wheeled me down to the car and got me in, and we drove back to Mt. Carmel. The 4hours or whatever later, I was able to get out of the car on my own! I was also able to walk, bend over, dress myself, and easily go to the bathroom. You may laugh but sitting on a toilet when the nerve going down your leg/butt is raw with pain making it awful! lol. I was fine and dandy with no back pain for the most part until Spring of 2009.
We had been living in our house for almost a year and it was the first warm day of spring...I had gotten my flip flops out to take our new puppies, Toby and Scooter, out to potty. If you've never seen our house, we have a deep ditch in our front yard before you get to the road. I took the boys out front and we were in the grassy area before the ditch. The boys wanted to move forward alittle so I walked forward alittle bit. The ditch didn't look deep but had a small layer of leaves on it. Suddenly the boys saw or heard something and jerked really hard...which yanked me forward and into the ditch on my knees. I realized then that the ditch had about 2 feet of leaves on it and then about 3 feet of mud! I was stuck and my dogs had ran off down the street! I pulled my way out of the ditch as fast as I could, kicked off my flip flops, and took off running down the street for my dogs. Toby stopped about half way up the block and then we took off after Scooter who I finally had to step on his leash at the end of the block so that I could catch him.
I called my mom when I got back to the house for help. I knew I had to do something because I could already tell my back was messed up. I was able to get a massage the next day which helped and then I began seeing Dr. Gill and getting chiropractic adjustments. For the most part, my monthly adjustments have been able to maintain my back health. I have had a handful of times that my back has gone out since then because of different things.
On April 25 this year, the day after Easter, I slipped and fell at a dog client's house. My right leg went straight out in front of me while my left leg bent and went behind me. When I hit the ground, my upper body laid backwards. I managed to get myself up, into my van, call my mom for help, and get back to my house. I realized when I got home that I was missing a small and huge chunk out of the side of the toe big on my left foot. My mom helped me clean up, change my soaked clothes because it was raining, and we called Dr. Gill. He luckily was able to get me in immediately for an adjustment. We determined that my left knee was not happy and that my left ankle was sprained.
I took 2 1/2 weeks off from dog walking to allow my ankle to heal and hopefully allow my back to get better. My ankle felt better and my back was decent so I went on my first walk after the slip. That night I couldn't walk. I went and got more adjustments and mentioned that my knee really wasn't feeling better. He determined that he was pretty sure I have torn my meniscus in my left knee and has referred me to an orthopedic surgeon in Evansville. We are also discussing the possibility that the adjustments may not be able to make me better this time and we may have to consider other options.
So, I have an appointment tomorrow (5/20) with the orthopedic surgeon. We are hoping and praying that if it is torn that it is mild and only needs a knee brace and not surgery. We are also hoping and praying that the adjustments will make my back better so I don't have to have that steriod nerve block again or worse...back surgery at almost 24 *on Monday! :)* Besides the fact that we don't have health insurance, I am terrified of needles and the thought of having any kind of surgery makes me nauseas! I do not take any pain medication except Tylenol when I really need it because I don't have any prescriptions. Your prayers are appreciated.
So now you know the story of my crippled body. I wrote this post for 3 reasons...1)Alot of people either don't know I have all these problems or don't believe me. 2)For those who don't believe me or don't think it's as bad as you think I make it sound because I'm not old enough to be in more pain than you, here is the whole story believe it or not. You are more than welcome to come to my house and help me get around for a day and see for yourself! 3)To thank those who have helped me so much and are irreplaceable. My parents who were in the middle of a divorce at the time and still managed to care for their daughter and still take care of me today. To my new step parents who have joined in on the caring for me when needed. To my wonderful husband who met me during that year of unknown pain and has stuck with me through all that and all the pain since. He helps me walk, he puts my shoes and socks on, he helps me change clothes, he holds me when I break down and cry on the occasion from these frustrations, and even helps me when my back locks up trying to get off the toilet. lol. To my Aunt Judy and Grandma Oliver for always checking on me. To the college teachers I had that first year who never got mad when I came in late to class because I couldn't get moving quick enough in the morning or when I couldn't stay for the whole class because I was hurting too much. To Dan and Donna Garvin, my "2nd parents", for taking care of me and continuing to pray for me all these years.
That's my story. I don't want pity, I would just like understanding from some people. :)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
May Challenge :)
The challenge for my upline this month is to create a 12X12 scrapbook layout because May is National Scrapbooking Month! Here it is...
I made this scrapbook layout with pictures of one of our dogs, Ginger, taken by Kelly Birrell in October 2010 as part of our first family pictures.
This horizontal picture is of Ginger with her Halloween costume on...we have 3 beagles and our last name is Haug which people mistakingly say as "hog" so we dressed them all up as pigs...the 3 Little Pigs! :) lol
I wrote out the story of how Ginger came to live with us. :)
These are the Stampin' Up! products I used for this layout: Sale-A-Bration DSP, Whisper White cardstock, Melon Mambo cardstock, Melon Mambo Pom Pom Trim (Occasions Mini), Hemp Twine, Trinket Key (Occasions Mini), Big Designer Buttons: Sweet Stitches (Occasions Mini), Ticket Corner Punch, Build A Blossom stamp set (Occasions Mini), Blossom Petals Punch (Occasions Mini), Strength & Hope stamp set (Summer Mini), Dimensional adhesive, Melon Mambo ink, Early Espresso ink, Designer Brad-Filigree.
This is the first scrapbook layout I've made on my own, I kinda rearranged a layout I have from a scrapbook class.
Enjoy! :)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Projects That Are Overdue Their Posting...
I haven't posted in quite a while! Between planning fundraisers for the Alzheimer's Association and the nice weather, I haven't made myself stop and blog. lol.
I made this card for my Aunt's birthday in March. The card base is actually a retired cardstock color that I bought on eBay!
I made this cute card for my bff for our 1 year together! lol. This stamp set is from eBay, also. *Everything I use is Stampin' Up! unless I say otherwise. :)
I made this card for my Dad's birthday in March...can you guess what day he was born on? lol
I made this card for the March card swap, I think, but didn't like it enough so I made a different card. lol
I made this card for my mother in-law's birthday in April.
This card was for Tim's oldest niece's birthday in April. This is the first card that I sewed on on my own! lol. The middle cupcake is raised with dimensional adhesive.
I made all these sympathy cards because my step-mom's aunt passed away and these are for her, her siblings, and her mom.
This is the card swap card I made for April! If you've looked at my cards in the resent past, this should look familiar...I made a similar card in pink for my step-brother's girlfriend's baby shower in March. This is a unisex baby card.
This is the diaper cover.
This is the actual card.
I made this card for a pastor friend/2nd dad's birthday in April. I was soo excited because this was the first card that I made myself with a bow! lol
ATTENTION! The Occasions Mini Catalog will be over April 30!! So if you would like to order something let me know asap! :)
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