sneakaroos

This morning I took a sabbatical in my scrapbook room and knocked-out several layouts with the August kit. It's funny because when I first designed the July kit, I thought it would be more "me", but this kit, SUMMER CAMP really just screams for me to use it. I LOVE it!


My goal with these layouts was to use my sewing machine more and in creative ways. I'm not sure I accomplished that, but I'm happy I used it on 3 out of the 4 layouts I've completed.


Also, I wanted to use some new mists and paints, and that I did. I was a mess (and so was my table) by the time I finished these.

Made using the Footpath add-on, my favorite add-on by a mile.

Made using the Adirondack add-on. I wasn't sure about this one at first as it was coming together, but I LOVE how it turned out. On this layout, I added Landscape Green paint, seafoam mist, and tangerine mist.

Made using the main kit + Footpath. This is my favorite layout this month. LOVED how it all turned out. The additions to the kit are the Slice + Basics Cartridge to cut my Rs and Foam Dots.

Oops. I meant this is my favorite layout this month. Totally had forgotten about it.

This is a layout made with the main kit, but you won't see it in my gallery this month. I made it for Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook class. I added foam dots, Seafoam Mist and Silver Plated mist.

This is another layout for Kelly's class made using the main kit plus some silver-plated mist and some 3D dots.

I should have some more sneaks to share soon!

tugging my heart strings

Wanna get a pregnant lady R-E-A-L-L-Y emotional? Let her good friends have a struggle with their own pregnancy....

When Greg and I went on our first date, his friend, Jason double-dated with my sister. And, although that didn't work out, Jason and Greg have been close friends ever since. They're two peas in a pod. Jason got the tall part of the pod, but nevertheless, they are so alike. They both think bodily humor is funny, will not hesitate to smear food across their face and ask for a kiss from their wife, love games, working out, sports, and have a deep commitment to their faith. And, even though the miles have separated the pair, we've stayed in touch.

Jason married an acquaintance of mine, Jessica, who is so much like me, it's just fitting. I helped Jessica get hired at the pharma company I worked for and everyone called her "blond April." So, now I can't say anything bad about her, right? :) She's a hard-worker, smart, and beautiful inside and out. I only ever referred one person for a job, and she was it because I believed in her 100%.

We've shared lots of fun times with them: camping, white-water rafting, a baby shower for their daughter Riley, Wii, you-name-it.

It's been 18 months since we've seen Jason and Jessica. Too long.

In February, I got a call from Jessica while she was on her way back from visiting family in Atlanta. It was in the midst of our second round of IVF and even though we were in a struggle of our own, I couldn't help but feel blessed after talking with her. She was 12 weeks in to her second pregnancy and they had just found out the baby had a condition where her skull would not develop: acrania. It's rare and most babies with this condition are aborted, which is exactly what their doctors encouraged them to do....even some of her family members. There is a 100% mortality rate once the baby is born and at the time, the doctors thought she would miscarry early on.

Jason and Jessica made the tough decision not to abort. They weren't expecting a miracle. They weren't expecting to carry to term. They weren't expecting so much pressure from doctors and some family. But, they decided it wasn't in their power to decide when to end a life. They knew the decision would be a difficult one to carry out.

Now, Jessica is at 37 weeks and likely their baby girl will be born soon. You can read more about their story here. But, most especially, they need prayers that they'll get at least a few minutes to hold their baby before she passes.

From this pregnant lady, I can't imagine the struggle of carrying a baby for that length of time knowing the final result that they do. They are strong, courageous, and definitely two people to be admired. And, despite all their heartache, they are genuinely happy for Greg and I with our little girl on the way. I'm glad to call them our friends.

Gotta go otherwise the tears will ruin my keyboard for sure.

beginning another quilt

Just got these in the mail a couple weeks ago and I'm itching to start this quilt.

I've got about 6 hours of work left of my twin quilt that I began a long time ago. Dare I mention how long it's been? It's been so long, I had the time to find it, piece it. Then Pottery Barn had time to find it, produce it and sell millions by the time I got to the quilting phase. Nevertheless, I'm close to being finished.

This new quilt will be much smaller than a twin, plus I plan to make it on the machine instead of entirely by hand, so it should be complete by November when the baby comes.

For this quilt, I knew I wanted lots of color unlike the white background of my previous quilt. I'm going to have a white crib and light walls, so I wanted the quilt to pop in the room.

And, I've gotten a bit more brave (thanks Susan!) since my last quilt so I'm more confident in mixing patterns from a variety of designers. So, I set out to combine fabrics, knowing that I wanted the orange, yellow, gray, green, blue combo somehow. I ended up ordering the fabrics from FabricWorm and FatQuarterShop and they're made by Joel Dewberry, Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, and probably one more I'm forgetting.

More on the progress with this one later.

growing belly

I haven't invested as much time into taking belly photos as I should.

I'm missing most weeks before 12 and it's spotty thereafter. I'm already regretting it, so I'm making a conscientious effort to take these photos each week.

Here I am at week 19 embracing the comfort of yoga pants. Strange that I actually WANT to dress for comfort now. I even made a run to the mall last weekend to buy skads of new underwear that don't crease me at my belly. Lace at the waist-band is sheer genius! Why didn't I buy these before?


And, most recently this is my 20 week photo. I'm trying to get as much wear out of my cool pre-pregnancy tops as possible. Really making them stretch, but this one has less "give" so it may only last another week or two.

In other news, I think we've got a name. I'm waiting on Greg to give his final approval and then I promise I'll share it with you.

surprised, shocked, happy

I wouldn't do this test unless you're comfortable being in the 10% error group.
For weeks, we've been thinking boy names, boy clothes, boy everything.



Then we find out we're having a little girl.

It's been the most wonderful surprise yet. Happy to know she's a "she" and hope that she's not offended we thought she was a "he".

We're now onto thinking girl names, and I'll share once we have a final name.

tour de grandmothers - round 3

I'm a little late posting this, but my week has been hectic to say the least. Barely enough time to eat and sleep, much less to blog.

My last stop in Texas was Houston, Deer Park, actually to see my adopted grandmother, Bertie. I probably anticipated this stop over any other because of the closeness I have with her. As a baby, I would be fussy for anyone else but her. She and her husband (PapaWes) became additional grandparents to me. Growing up, I saw no difference in the love I had for them versus my blood-relatives. Well, maybe I lied a little. Perhaps I loved them more because they spoiled me. PapaWes would take me to his garden to help pick okra, then I'd come inside and help Bertie fry it, eating raw okra covered in cornmeal while I waited. Bertie taught me how to cross-stitch and would allow me to spend hours going through her sewing supplies (zippers, ribbons, buttons). Later in the afternoon, PapaWes would treat me to an IBC root-beer that I'd eat with a spoon.

Yes, I was a confused child, but this was fun to me.

Anyway, while battling with infertility (not that it's over by any means), the subject of adoption obviously arose. It's my love for Bertie and PapaWes, who is now deceased, that never made me question if I was open to that option. I knew that blood didn't matter when love was involved. Sure there are more questions to answer, but my relationship with them proved to me that blood truly is irrelevant.

I could tell you more about my trip and visit, but I'll leave it at that for now.

So, here's some sneaks for the upcoming July kit:

Made using the main kit: CONTINENTAL. I also used Walnut Stain, Broken China, and Antique Linen distress inks.

Made using a combination of LaSalle, Lewis&Clark, and the main kit plus Blank Canvas Paint.

On most of my layouts, I use the American Crafts Precision Pen 03 to journal. It's just the right thickness for me.

round 2 continued

While visiting my aunt, I dug through her photos for an exciting new eBook Studio Calico will be promoting and found this. Yikes!

I know I've mentioned I'm a twin, but seriously, one person should not have been allowed to sport that hairstyle, let alone, two. I must say the south-Texas humidity did add to the already thick/frizzy hair.

Can you guess which one I am?

By the way, if you clicked that link before Tuesday, it won't work.

And, to top this post off with some randomness, this green hutch was delivered while I was gone and Greg was sweet enough to take a photo so I could see it. The house is slowly coming together, so I'll have more pictures to share in the next couple months, but for now, this is the only pretty corner in my house.

I have 7 people staying with me this week and had to kick my parents out to accommodate the crowd on the limited beds we have. So far, so good. We had a great ride to feed the cows this morning before the temperature rose to 100 degrees and then a sausage/bacon/pancake/fruit breakfast followed by a quesadilla lunch. But now, I'm exhausted and the week has just begun.

More to post later about my third grandmother on the tour.

tour de grandmothers - round 2

Location: Corpus Christi, about 3 hours south of grandma #1
Purpose: Visit maternal granny, aunt, uncle, and cousin Shana (pictured above)

Activities: Sonic. Sonic. Sonic and more Sonic. Apparently, Shana and I have that in common. It's a daily necessity and our life is not complete without it. The only difference is that she likes to listen to blaring country music while sipping/gulping her drink, and I prefer it in peace and quiet.

Sailing (see below)


Shana's sail was all wrapped up so her boat was going pretty slow. She looked half-bored the whole time, so as she was coming off the dock, we asked her if she had fun. She didn't lie. Gave it a thumbs down right in front of all the volunteers.

I didn't get a picture with this Granny because when I thought of it, we were leaving this morning she still had on her nightie.

All in all, it was a successful visit. Had some good Texas BBQ (brisket and sausage) and a great hamburger at Hurb's. Trying to get some iron since the doctor said it was low and he's retesting me in 2 weeks. It's like cramming for a test :)

On to round 3 today in Houston.

tour de grandmothers - round 1

First stop: West Columbia, TX - home of paternal grandmother
Population: 4255
Temperature: high 90s
Gas Station: Yes
McDonald's: Yes, but only within the last 5 years
Wifi Internet: non-existent if your aunt doesn't know the password

Sleeping Situation: Grim - note location of cuckoo clock to bedroom door.
Visit: Successful. Ate at Luby's Cafeteria. Talked. Ate again. Talked. Slept. Ate. Talked. Slept.


Funny Moment #1: Reading a magazine and having my grandmother ask me if I'd like to look at hers. Yes, the bosom is growing, but not to this extent.....yet.

Funny Moment #2: Having my grandmother surmise if her home-health nurse had indoor plumbing then continuing with telling her how to flush a toilet and to only use four squares of toilet paper.

Reality Check: Upon arrival, Grandma was on the floor in her closet leaning up against a file cabinet and had been for 4 hours. She had fallen and couldn't get up, but it wasn't as funny as in the commercial. Luckily, she has good bones, but for the 3 people it took to get her up, they might have strained a few muscles. Oh, and we're also lucky that she had bladder control during that time. There's always something to be thankful for, right?

Since this leg of the trip was so eventful, I thought I'd leave you with a sneak (my only one so far) of July's kit. This is made with the Lewis&Clark add-on. Plan to get this one. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

head over to CK today...

I'm happy to announce I'm guesting over at the CK blog today.

It's a fun layout mixing the June SC kit and the Documentary line. I hope you like it and the tutorial made using my Slice.

I mentioned in my article that I have a bun in the oven and boy is that bun getting bigger. I only have one pair of pants where buttoning is even possible. Total weight gain is 6 lbs at 17 weeks.



I'll have more to share later, but running out the door now and preparing for the annual tour de grandmothers. AKA: week-long trip to Texas to visit 3 grandmothers spread over 350 miles. Time of departure: 4:00am tomorrow.