Some Crafty Lovin

So-You all know how much I love to blog and then copy whatever fabulous idea I can find.
To all my friends and family-I pawn it off as my own. To ya'll-I must give props, when props are due! If you have never been to http://j-a-girl.blogspot.com/ you must go! Only, don't go until after you see all the fabulous Valentine Happiness!

Chris-from Just a girl-she found some hearts at the thrift store-and then redid them. So-I copied. I found some hearts for 50 cents a peice. I personally think that they should have gave them to me-they were so UGLY! Here is one with a little bit of crafty pixie dust and..... You might have to click on the pic to see the heart-sorry my camera is el-lamo!!!

Of course I had to give my rooster lamp some lovin!

Chris also made these, only bigger. I went to the dollar store and found mini size hand sanitizers and they were pink! SCORE!!!!!! So, I brought them home and helped them shine a little. These are perfect for my Visting Teaching Ladies. Plus-I even have an extra for me.

I have been in a dark scary craft place. You know the one where you don't craft at all?! I had to remedy this quick-so I made a banner. OF COURSE! I also had some leftover fabric from a valentine pillow ( which I can't find) so I made a rag wreath with the circle part of a towell holder. Does that make sense? It was super easy and I am loving the look!

I also made this heart art. I saw it on a blog-sorry i can't remember where. There is only one major difference with hers and mine. Hers was nice and straight and perfectly symetrical, mine is not even close. Oh well-I love it just the same!

I have shown these before. I made them last year. On the other side-they say luck.

I found this little gem at the thrift store today. It was only a dollar and she made me happy! I can't wait to fill her for every season!

Thanks for looking! Hope that your week is going well.

You know-that all the laundry is caught up.

A girl can dream-right?!

CHOW!!!

Warning!!!!
Lots of Pictures!
So, I haven't crated, created or done anything right brained for over a month. It is really starting to get to me. I have got back into the blog groove and now I really want to create! There are so many wonderful ideas to copy and claim them as my own! What is a girl to do?
Well,show you old pics of creations that were done before christmas that I should have posted over a month ago!! Better late than never right!!!!

This is 6-she is almost 7. She got a new room for Christmas. The only problem, I didn't get any pictures-just this one. Why is this a problem? Her room will never look the same again!
We did her room in greens, turquoise and browns. I mistreated her curtains with a shower curtain and huge flowers! Maybe I will clean her room and take some pics this week! This is 8. Her room is already painted pink from the previous owners. Since I have a list of things to do before her room gets touched-it is staying pink.
We did hers in pink and browns. Polka Dots, plaids all kinds of fun stuff. Her room is a mess as well-or I would show you more pics. Maybe this week. We'll see.

This is one of my clocks that I made. This one is 8's. I loved how they turned out. They were super easy and I am deciding if I want to etsy some. What do you think?

This room is from a client. She was 11 and so not girly. I made a clock for her and a star as well. We tried to make her a space that was grown up and a little girly. She loved it and so did we!

Joannes has vinyl for walls. It comes in all different designs, shapes and sizes. You just stick them to the wall and Voila! Cheap, easy artwork. It can just be pulled off when you are sick of it.

Who doesn't want a pink chaise lounge in their bedroom? Come on-you know that you love it!

This is a clients room as well. She was a little more girly than her sister. I also made the star and clock for her. The little funky cirlces all over-the cool vinyl from joannes. Go and get some-it is awesome!!

I must share-see her quilt? Super cute huh? Pottery Barn-and it was a steel. Under $40! I love it when I find deals and I get to pass on the savings to my clients.

We wanted to punch it up a little. So, what could we do. Leopard of course! So-her chaise is leapord and so is her lamp shade. GRRRRRR~

I loved her curtains. Are they not the cutest things ever. Lavender and yellow. I loved the print. What? You have never seen anything like that? Well of course not-they are mistreatments. Yep-a toille, lavender tablecloth. We just tied them up with yellow polka dot ribbon! They were perfect!

That white bench-it was an ugly wood toy box. We painted it white and distressed it and also recovered the top with pretty Amy Butler Yellow fabric. She didn't even know that it was the same piece!

Now I am getting really antsy to create. Maybe I should clean the craft room first. Having an empty table to work on is sooooo overrated!!!

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Once Upon A Time....

There was a girl who came back to blogging.
It was such a joyous occasion that all in blogland welcomed her with open arms!
Then, all was right in the world again.

I know-lame intro, but I had to get your attention somehow.
I know that I have not blogged in almost a month.
I am pretty sure that is the longest I have ever gone.
I am such a slacker.
I don't even have any pictures to post.
How lame is that?
I am hoping that you will all forgive me and still love me!

I have really thought about this post.
Wondering whether or not to say anything.
I have asked others opinions-and I have just done nothing until now.
I was talking to a friend last night who said that she loved my blog and she was missing me.
(Holla Kelly)
Really? There are people who read my blog that I don't know about.
HMMMMMM........that got me thinking.

So-here goes.
I ask that you not judge me.
Or, if you do, don't do it in my comments.
I am doing this in hopes that I can maybe help someone else, and me along the way.

As you all know, I was suffering from headaches for over 3 months.
I had every test done.
I did everything they told me to do.
The only thing that I knew for sure was that I was miserable, and in turn was making my family miserable.
My poor husband-he was dealing with his Dad and me.
Well, I got into to see one of the top headache specialists in the state.
It was truly a miracle that this even came to pass.
They did all kinds of tests. I was there for over 4 hours!!!!
What did they find?"
Nothing!
Not a FREAKING THING!!
I was so frustrated!

They did tell me a couple of things that I needed to do.
First-they were going to put me on this medicine that was supposed to help.
The main thing-I needed to get off my pain meds.
Now, I must explain something right now.
I have a family Dr. I love him, I trust him and he was the one who was giving me the meds.
I did NOT go to lots of Dr's-just the same one.
I was on a pain med called Dilaudid.
I was given this the first part of November.
So-when they told me that I needed to go off the meds-I had been on Dilaudid for over 2 months and taking about 45 mg. a day.
Now, most people have never even heard of this drug. I had not.
Well, when they told me that I needed to go off this-we did some research.
Dialudid is 5x more potent than morphine.
It is super addictive and there are major withdrawl symptoms.
I went off this drug cold turkey.
I didn't have a choice.
So-on New Years Eve-I started what I refer to as my own personal hell.

I know what lots of you must be thinking. I know that I thought it as well.
So did my family.
You are a drug addict.
Well, I was.
Not by choice. But now, I was the one who was left to deal with the consequences.
When you take this drug-it takes 7 to 10 days to go through all of the withdrawl symptoms.
Most people do this gradually-and when you go off the med slowly-there are practically no problems.
Well-why didn't I do that?
My Dr. was out of town.
I didn't have a choice.
I would have chose to do it any other way than the way I did it.

Day 1-It was like a bad day of the flu.
Chills, fever, aches, that run over by a truck feeling.
All I wanted to do was sleep. I couldn't go to sleep. My body wouldn't let me.
I felt trapped. There were times when I couldn't breathe, and lots of times when all I wanted to do was die.
Day two was worse-day three was HELL!
I was throwing up, running to the bathroom every 10 mins. I would just lay on the floor and cry and pray for it to be all over.
It wasn't. Not even close.
Day 4 came and I felt a little bit better.
OH-I was so happy.
Then I woke up the next day.
It was Sunday morning. I had made it to Sunday!
Then-I sat up.
I was on another medicine for my headaches. It is one where you increase the dose slowly.
I had just increased it the night before.
Well-I was allergic to it.
I broke out in hives, throwing up and the other end.
I couldn't keep anything down, no matter how hard I tried.
To make it worse-the meds had also caused me to have restless legs.
I had restless legs for 21 hours straight.
I finally told my husband that we had to do something. I was so sick and dehydrated, I looked gray.
We went to the Dr. and I got some IV fluids.
It really is amazing what a bag of water will do for you.
They changed my meds.
Turns out-my body wasn't making enough seratonin. The lack of this was causing the headaches. I needed to make more so my body would work the way it was supposed to. I know take one pill that helps me sleep. Sleep deep enough that my body gets to a stage 4 sleep-this is when your body makes seratonin. It's working.

So-basically I was addicted to pain meds, had to detox, go through withdrawl and be allergic to the other medicine.
I was so frustrated with the whole system & that no Dr. would work together.
I am happy to say that I lived through it-and am much better because of it.

Why did I post about this?
Why would I tell other people that I was a drug addict.
Don't I know that people read this? All kinds of people.
That is why I wrote this.
I am hoping that I can help someone else.

You can judge me if you want.
I will tell you all-I was not addicted to drugs by choice.
I don't think that anyone tries to get addicted.
It just happens.
I was addicted and had a Dr. who gave them to me.
That doesn't make it any easier.
Sure wish that it did.
I learned that if you are not pro-active in your own health care-no one will be.
Be your own advocate.
DON'T take it, and leave.
Be strong, tough and aggresive.

So-what now?
What is happening now?
I am AWESOME!
I wake up every day and am so grateful for the day.
I am pain free.
My headaches are gone.
I take all my vitamins and am thrilled to be able to.
I am even losing weight.
But when I look in the mirror-I see me-HEALTHY.
My husband is thrilled, my kids are overjoyed and my sister is thrilled that she has her sister back.

So-judge me if you want. I don't care.
I am happy with who I am and am grateful for the the trial that I have gone through.
I sincerely hope that my experiences will help someone else.
Life is hard. It is really hard when you have to do it all alone.
I am grateful to know that I don't have to do anything alone.
My Savior carried me through this, and I know that He will never leave me alone.

God doesn't always calm the storm, sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms his child.

Just another manic holiday!

Whew! I am sure that I am not the only mom out there who is thinking-

Wow-this Christmas sure went fast!

It seems that we all prepare and prepare for the perfect Christmas and it's over in minutes.

Then, we all promise ourselves that we will do it different next year. Make some better decisions so that the whole thing will last longer.

Well-at least I do this.

I just never seem to follow through.

So-I am warning you now. This is a very long post, full of a whole lot of pics.

I think that the best way to tell a story is with lots of pictures. Especially when celebrations are involved. So-grab a snack and get comfy, you might be here a while!!!

This is 6. Do you see that hole in her mouth. The one where her front tooth used to be? Well-we started out our December with one less tooth. She was thrilled! 8 informed her that if one loses a front tooth-the tooth fairy pays more. Whaa? I apparently missed that memo.

8 told her it was $5.00. She was a little disappointed when the fairy only left her $1.00. Guess that 8 is not as smart as she thinks she is. SHOCKER!!!

These pics were taken right before we had a major family event. I don't want to share the details of this particular day, but I do want to share the pictures. I also want everyone to know how lucky I am. I am a member of a family who is truly top notch. I know that we are all a little biased when it comes to our families-but I am really blessed.

I love being a mom. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend-forever!

I have some of the greatest, most supportive parents a girl could ask for.

My sister is my best friend and I am proud beyond proud to be the big sister of such wonderful brothers. I like to think that I had a little bit to do with how well they turned out! :)

I am also the favorite aunt and the favorite Sister in Law!! I hate that term-they are my sisters!

I love my family and consider them to be one of my favorite and greatest gifts! (don't we all)

Look at 8-she is turning into a beautiful young lady. She is not a little girl anymore and it's killing her Dad and I. She turns 9 in March. I can't believe it! She is as beautiful on the inside and she is on the outside. I am very blessed to be her mom.

(Sorry I am being all sappy-but a Mom has got to do this sometimes)

Am I the only Mom out there who thinks that her children look almost angelic in pictures. Too bad as soon as the camera is put away-the horns and tails come out! :)

Here is 4! Ok- I know that every family has a child like her. You know what I am talking about. They just crack you up. They say the most random things and their hugs are magic. That is 4's jobs at our house. She goes to preschool only 2 days a week. I love this time with her. She always is cracking me up over random things that she says. The other day-we were looking at some old family pictures. I was about 12 in these particular pictures. She took the picture and studied quite intently-then she said

"Mom-that girl has your face."

Yes-she is 4 and she came up with that.

She had her winter performance for school last week. She was the loudest little singer in the group. Not to mention very energetic with the actions! I have no idea where she gets this from. Not a clue. :0) She is one peppy little chicky and I love her-a lot! ( most of the time)

This is 6! She is my happy go lucky gal. She loves to be the little helper. She loves to cuddle and spend one on one time with both her Dad and I. She is the little mother to not only her sisters but also to her little cousins. My little nephew just adores her!! She is a joy in our family.

These are our Christmas Eve pics. We have "our" Santa come every year. He is not just any old ordinary Santa man. He is My Santa. Meaning, this particular Santa's helper has been coming to our Christmas eve parties since I was about 4! I love him! My kids adore him!

Here are my munchkins singing Santa Claus is coming to town. Can you tell which one was the most excited?Jingle bells-jingle bells, jingle all the way. What is up with 6's face. Cracks me up.


This is 8 pinkie promising that she will keep her room clean. I now have proof. Mwhahhhahaaa!

Grammy and the girls. See how much 4 is loving Santa. I think that she has a little crush on the big man. :)

Here is all of the grand kids with G&G! I don't know who loves who more. My parents or the kids. I guess that is one of those age old questions. Kind of like which came first, the chicken or the egg.

8 & 6 are part of a singing group. They love it. They go once a week and put on two shows a year, spring and Christmas. They did a program called "Christmas Vacation" and they both did great! 6 had a solo and some speaking parts. 8 had speaking parts. She doesn't love the whole center of attention like her sister does, so she did not do a solo.

4's favorite part of the whole night? COOKIES!!

We were very proud of our little singers!

Are you tired yet? I am sick of looking of the pics and they are of my kids! Almost done-promise! This must be done-I am only thinking of my posterity and how much they will love me when they have all of these memories! :)

Christmas Morning! The girls were up at 6. Not too bad. We had to sit around and wait for my mom to get here. Did I mention that I had to make my 3 children wait to open presents because my Mother felt the need to make her bed before she came. Yea-it was as fun as it sounds!!

6 & 8 got a super, fantastic present this year. I have done 4 little people's bedrooms for clients the past month. Every time my girls saw these rooms they both said that they wanted their rooms done as well. So, me being the fantastic mom that I am, got on the email with Santa and worked out a plan. 6's room was done in green. turquoise and browns. 8's room was done in pink and brown. Her room was a little more "mature" and 6's was really fun and glittery. I will post more pics of their rooms and my clients bedrooms in the next couple of days.
One last little bit of pictures. December is such a busy month anyway-my moms birthday happens to fall on the 27th. This year was a big deal. She turned the big 50! So-all us kids got together and threw her a surprise party. It was kind of a roast-only nice. We made her a movie and all the guests shared what they loved about her, memories and funny stories. She really had a great time and all of us kids were reminded of how lucky we are to have such a great woman to be our mom!

Doesn't she look great for 50? I want to look as good as she does!

This is 4. The words she said right before this picture was taken-Take a picture of me!!

All of the girls in our family. Look at my cute, very pregnant sister! I like to stand next to her-I look skinny! She is having a girl in 4 weeks and we are so excited!!!!

This is Hailey, Shawni and my bro. Brandon. We were dishing up the sweets for our guests!

Look at this cake! Is it not the cutest thing that you have ever seen? We had a friend do it. She got mom spot on. Zebra, polka dots and feathers! She could not have made a more perfect cake!
This is the whole family!

Happy 50th Mom! We love you!!!

Sorry the super long post! Thanks for sticking with me! (i really hope that you are still here) I will be posting new decor pics this week-the girls rooms and my un Christmas decorated house!!!

Have a great Monday!!!