Saturday, April 27, 2013

Long Time no Blog

Hello Blog Land!

 It has been a while since I have been back to update this part of my life..
November I was rear ended and spent 3 months doing Phyiscal Therapy and was unable to work out and I had a nice routine going with a friend at the Gym..

January I left and spent some time with my Mom and 2 great Nephews, one of which I was able to see being born what a miracle and a difference it is when you are NOT the one giving birth..

I spent a month with the family in California catching up eating FAB mexican food and started working out again by starting the Couch to 5K program while there.. it was nice to get up at 0700 at go out and workout..


I came home at the end of February spent March dealing with the insurance company and doctors to have the insurance company say they will not pay for physical therapy anymore as they don't deem it necessary..

I was then cleared to work out at the Gym.. YEAH!! So I went and got a Gym Membership at the end of March and here we are in April and I have yet to step a foot in that Gym.. I didn't realize how dependent I was/am on other people to work out. I am going to have to break that cycle..!!


So before November I believe I was at 263-265 NOW I am fluctuating between 173-176 and it is ANNOYING as hell!!

So I KNOW I KNOW I need to get to the Gym I need to re-commit to logging and I need to move my ass!!

I have a fit bit and it is helping making me be a bit more active as I have a goal of 10000 steps per day and I have ONLY met that goal once..

I am a bit disappointed in myself and here are the reasons why in no particular order:

1. I am not where I would like to be
2. I am not putting in the effort that I should be
3. I let too many things stop me from achieving what I want my biggest OBSTACLE is myself, yes myself..
4. I have learned I am an emotional eater. (Now that I know this I need to find a way to correct it)


With the Bad there is always some good and I know I should look on the positive side

1. I have FINALLY found a protein I can stand, (Found it while in California)
2. I am incorporating protein shakes into my weekly regimen
3. I know my faults and shortcomings and I know i need to work on them
4. I have had positive results which in turn has inspired others and I am thankful that I can be an
inspiration to others..


This angle and from the neck up I look great .. its the gut area and thigh area and my arms I have trouble with! Still not comfortable wearing sleeveless anything.. I have been wearing shorts though, yeah ME!


**The emotional/stress eating is coming from my Husband moving to Virginia for 3 years and me having to deal with my children, his family (I cater to his mother and brother as they are both disabled and need assistance) finding a job (I have applied to 20 places and still can't get hired not even a Cashier position at TARGET seriously!! Come on!!worrying about running 2 households if he can not get in the barracks in Virginia, him deploying etc etc)**

Are you going to the WLFSA Mother of all Meet & Greets in Las Vegas May 17-19th? If so you will see myself and one of besties who to me is like a poster person for WLS she looks great her skin shrank back and everything she is doing FABULOUS she did have RNY where as I had the sleeve though (not an excuse just a fact).. We Plan on ziplining while in Vegas we will be there from 15-21 May ... sooooo...



Other things I have found out: I hate WHEY based Proteins, I drink too much Coffee from Starbucks, my Dietician rocks!! and I just need to keep on track and not be the emotional monster eater!! I am excited for Vegas, my calves are looking more defined which "I" find very sexy..My hair is growing back!! WOOHOO!! Finally I am gaining some of that thickness back, not losing as much hair and getting NEW growth! I need to dye my hair my friends are picking on me about all of the gray/white they can see.. I'm only 35! Your protein drink is ONLY good for up to 4 hours, WOW what an eye opener that was!!



I am more positive and open.. As a fatty (that's my term for it) I was unhappy super self conscience never wanted to dress up and go out, hated meeting new people etc. etc.. Since I have lost xx #s I am more confident I speak to people more freely, openly etc .. Meaning if I see you in Starbucks you might get lucky and have a conversation with me, I am more open at my group meetings and talk alot more to people I am actually looking forward to getting to know the NEW neighbors.. I have lived in my house for 2 years and none of our neighbors are overly friendly/have invited us over/ hang out with.. These NEW neighbors though are friendly we've been over had them over and I am more comfortable in my skin because of the WLS.. I know I still have x amount of #'s I WANT to lose so in my mind I have a way to go but when I look back I have come so far.. Not just in the weight loss but into becoming the person that I have always wanted to be but let the weight hold me back from, if that makes any sense at all.



Unhappy/Quiet/Non Sociable Me ** I don't want her back EVER**


Here is to a better me! Thank you VSG though I have not always been kind to you or worked with you, I am learning and after a year I am thankful for everything and know that we need to work together and I need to step up my game and work harder because I can't be successful without trying and working hard!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Dream.. Butterfly Card



Good Morning Bloggers/Stampers/Crafters & Lurkers alike!! How is your Thursday morning going?

I have a repairman who is "suppose" to be at my house at 1030am..

So with my Craft Rom Clean & Organized you will NEVER Believe the goodies I found that I totally forgot I had!! WOW!! I found Paper Trey Ink stamps & Dies (NEW Unused) & several MFT Dies (NEW in Package!!)

So I pulled some of these items out and created a quick and fun card...







This card is about 4x5.5 ... Paper is Basic Grey .. I used the butterfly die in my Cuttle Bug and layered the die as A Plate, C Plate, Paper, Die, B Plate and ran it through the Cuttlebug. I then inked up the Butterfly usinf Versamark Dazzle and stamped it on the Die Cut. I took my Perefect Pearls brush and used Blue Patine starting in the middle of the butterfly in a circular motion towards the wings. I left the edges and ends of the wings untouched with the blue. I then used Pewter and blended it into the blue.. The way the stamp is created made a sort of emboss resist look with the word dream and the perfect pearls.. (**This was my first time playing with Perfect Pearls**)

I then took some of the base cardstock left over (I cut the base down from an 8.5x11 piece of Cardstock) and trimmed it with my Cutterpede trimmer to be about 2 inches wide. I then put it through my paper crimper and finished the ends.. It took all my strength not to distress this card with TH Distress ink.

The Patterened Paper, Punched Butterflies and the middle strip were all sprayed with Tattered Angels Silver Mist Spray.. I punched the butterflies using a Martha Stewart punch and adhered them with Pop Dots..

Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Crafting!!



Supplies Used:

Signature Series: Butterfly Mini Stamp Set

Signature Series Butterfly Mini Set
Papertrey Ink - Signature Series: Butterfly Die


             Signature Series Butterfly Die
by Paper Trey Ink

*Ranger PERFECT PEARLS AGED PATINA COMPLETE PIGMENT KIT PPP21803

Ranger Perfect Pearls Aged Patina
 
*Versamark FROST DAZZLE Watermark Ink Stamp Pad from Tsukineko VC253
 VersaMark Dazzle
CTMH Heat Embossing Gun/ Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch/ Fiskars Paper Crimper
ATG GUN/ 3M Foam Adhesive/Tattered Angels Mist
 
 
 
 




looking forward to my cup of coffee today <3




Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Craft Room Organization


WOW!! Look at that MESS!! AMAZING!!



Ok this looks a little better!



NOW THIS IS BETTER!! & Organized!! <3





Top Drawer: Has Straws/ Sponges/Action Wobbles/ Label Maker/ Distressing Tools
Stamp a Ma Jig/ Stamp Pad. 
Middle Drawer:
Glue Guns/ Glue Sticks/ Embossing Powders in Large Jars
CTMH Supplies
Bottom Drawer:
Cinch Chipboard covers
Kraft Cardstock prescored/ Smash Products/Journaling items/Tissue Paper/ATC Cards
TAGS

Chicken Wire Frame Where I Hang finished Cards
3 items above frame are altered items I Created
Shelf holds Copics/Aqua Markers/ TH Distress Markers/ Spica Glitter Pens/ Colored Pencils
Pencil Shrapener & Corner Chompers
2 Baskets of Completed Cards
Items for Sale
PLastic Bin has 
Top Drawer Unity Stamps
Middle Drawer Your Story
Bottom Drawer Your Story accoutrements

MY Work Box I love it!
Left Hand Side Halfway Full of CTMH Items
first shelf CTMH STAMPS
2-4 Shelves CTMH Paper Packs
Alphas
MISC/Extra Cuts
Die Cuts
Letterpress Kit & Items

**will do a video it will be shorter LOL**







Monday, April 22, 2013

Cricut Cartridges 4 Sale




Cricut Cartridges For Sale, ALL Cartridges are LINKED UNLESS marked as NIP (New in Package)

Prices include shipping open to REASONABLE OFFERS

Selling cartridges because I am doing most of my crafting on my Silhouette Cameo now or my Cricut Imagine only..

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Who is EXCITED? Cricut Craft Room & Gypsy Link


 Good Morning Crafters! 

I know not everyone has given up on their Cricuts, and do you hear that singing?
Guess what? You can NOW link your Gypsy to the Cricut Craft Room!!
Guess who did that last night? Yes, that is right this woman!! 
Love that all of my Cartridges are NOW in one location since I never really used my Gypsy it actually gave me the blue/black screen of death for a while I thought it was a goner ...

Anywho!! Here is the message from Cricut


We are pleased to announce that you are now able to link your Cricut Gypsy™ device to the Cricut Craft Room® design software! That means you can access all of your content, both digital and cartridges, on your Cricut Gypsy™ device and your Cricut Craft Room® account simultaneously.


We know that there are many who love the flexibility of using their Cricut Gypsy™ device. That’s why we’ve also spent numerous hours developing a repair process. If you experience issues with your Cricut Gypsy™ device, you now have the option to repair it. 

Read the FAQs about the repair process, or see all the Gypsy repair options to learn more. Express and Standard turnaround repair options are available, and all repairs include a 90 day warranty.

While we are dedicated to providing ongoing support and repair options for the Cricut Gypsy™ device, we have made the decision to stop production on the current Cricut Gypsy™ model. This will allow us to focus our efforts and prioritize our product offering. We will still offer support and content updates for the Cricut Gypsy™ device.

We will also stop providing updates to the Cricut DesignStudio® software in order to focus those resources on creating and improving the Cricut® experience. We will still offer support for the software, but there will be no further content updates for the Cricut DesignStudio® software. 

We hope that the linking and repair options for your Cricut Gypsy™ device enable you to continue to create how and what you want to. We know that the wait for these new options has been long—we appreciate your patience and are confident that you will find them worth the wait!


I did experience an issue when downloading the updates I received error code 2, I did a restore thought I lost all of my cartridges because it showed I had NONE, continued with the update
and this morning woke up and was only missing 5 cartridges from the restore...

C'est la vie it is better than losing what I thought I had lost when the darn thing gave me the blue screen of death.



Will post later today with a NEW project I just had to share the NEWS of my successful Gypsy & Cricut Craft Room Linking!





Monday, April 15, 2013

Praying for Boston










There are not nearly enough words that I can say about the tragedy that happened today. 
Senseless is one and pray, pray for Boston for the Runners, the Bystanders, the injured
the dead, the Families, the healing to come and if Praying is not your thing then
send positive thoughts, good vibes, give a moment of silence for all
affected by todays horrible incident.








Digital Scrapbook Page & De-stashing


Good Morning Bloggers!!
So I accidentally deleted some files/programs the other day that didn't need to be deleted.
Thankfully I was able to re-download my Adobe Photoshop Elements 9
I usually just use it for Editing my pictures..

I was playing around last night though and with my re-download there were some changes like I can't find how to use the text tool when you select the word then make it bubbly/or chrome etc.. I also can't find where to add drop shadows.. Besides that though I was working on editing some pics of my Great Nephew born 1/27/13 and realized it had some (Photoshop) really cute Digital Scrapbooking stuff..

So using ONLY elements in the Photoshop program I was able to create this layout for my Nephew & his NEW Family


{click to view larger}

I think it came out rather cute & still boyish..
Maybe I will get back into Digital Scrapbooking and Project Life this year


{click to view larger}





I am in the process of De-Stashing/De-Cluttering
simplifying/organizing my life.. As much as a Mother of
Teenagers, a Chauffer to disabled In-Laws, a Military Spouse, whose
Husband is about to move 12 hours away and then deploy, Taxi for Children
etc etc the many hats I wear I am trying to be as organized as I can be..

One of the main sources of my Dis-organization is my Craft Room, because it is ALSO
Bill Pay Central, Mail Collection and holds all of MY Crafty Horded Goodies!

So I am slowly starting off with this room. 

I belong to a Crafty Trade Site on Facebook called Crafty Trade Corner
I have had several successful trades of things I no longer use or NEVER used for items
 I KNOW I will use/NEED Now.. SO Nice..

I do belong to several FOR SALE Pages on Facebook and have had minimal success..
So to reach more people I have also started listing on Craigslist and I will post in my Store @ Store Envy.. Links soon to follow!

I am also posting on this Blog as well.. I use to have a SALES Blog dedicated specifically for this but I am managing so many Blogs/Pages etc that I have removed myself from admin of things that are NO Longer active or that I am NO Longer using.. That Page being one of them..







{click to view larger photos}

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Good Luck & Items For Sale!







My Daughter & Wonderful Husband are in New Orleans at THIS very moment sitting in the Arena waiting for my Daughters turn to Audition for the X-Factor

So I want to wish her

No matter what happens I am VERY proud of her for pursuing her dreams and working so hard!

 Follow her (Amanda Flaherty) on Twitter athttps://twitter.com/ItsAmanda2 and her Facebook Music Fan Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/AmandaFlahertyMusic?fref=tslisten to her song Broken on iTunes athttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/broken/id553539502?i=553539692







I have Unity Stamps For Sale NEW Unless noted
ALL PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING WITHIN THE US






scrap-a-holic's Items For Sale April 14 2013 album on Photobucket



                        


The above will take you to my PHOTOBUCKET Album with all items for sale!


Cartridges For Sale  PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING IN THE US .. (Open to Reasonable Offers





Have you HOPPED through the April Release Blog Hop for Pinque Peacock?





Head on over! Click the image above !

Friday, April 12, 2013

Pinque Peacock Blog Hop


> > > > > Click HERE for the 300 Blog Follower Giveaway < < < < <
Hello to all of our Pretty Little Peacocks

Welcome to Pinque Peacock’s
April New Release
BLOG HOP



We hope you will enjoy your time as you hop and that you feel inspired to create after visiting the Talented Pinquettes' Blogs! This hop will showcase projects that have been created using some of the April NEW RELEASE Products from Pinque Peacock.

We are thrilled to have you joining us this month as this is a very special New Release of products and we are all so very excited to share it all with you!  Our April Release is full of beautiful color palettes, wonderful inspiration from the Pinquettes, and fabulous sparkle and shine as we celebrate PEACOCKS.

After hopping, be sure to visit the Pinque Peacock Shop on FB to order the New Release items to jazz up tons of your projects.


You also will want to stop back on Monday, to see our announcement of another Prize Giveaway that will be available as we sponsor the Craftin Desert Divas' Newest Link It Up Party!



!!!!Now, let's talk about the 
BLOG HOP PRIZE!!!!
One winner, who has hopped all 3 days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) of our Pinque Peacock April New Release and followed the RULES BELOW will win this . . . .
 
$15.00 PAQ BUNDLE PRIZE
which includes all of this . . . . 
(4) Beaded Stick Pins
(6) Large Felt Poppers

(2) Layered Garden Beauties

(2) Large 1.5" Fabric Covered Buttons (FCB)

(6) Small 3/4" Fabric Covered Buttons (FCB)
(1) 2.5" Splendid Swirl (w/Embellished Center)

Do YOU want to WIN?       

Here is How*:

1 – Hop to ALL of the stops over the course of the 3 Day Hop and comment at each Pinquette Blog (Lineup for all 3 Days is below)

2 – Follow the Pinque Peacock Blog and Facebook Page/Shop

3 – Follow EACH of the Pinquettes’ Personal Blogswho are participating as Hop Stops this weekend.

*You MUST do ALL of the steps above to be included in the random drawing for the prize. We would hate for you to lose out on winning just because you didn't follow these easy rules :(

The Hop will remain open until Wednesday, April 17th, at 8:00 a.m. EST.
The random drawing will be held sometime during the week that follows and announced by Wednesday, April 24th.

Now, if you find yourself Hopping off the Path on any of the three days, you can use this Lineup to get back on the Right Track . . .
                                      
                                 
DAY 1 (4/12/13):

DAY 2 (4/13/13):

DAY 3 (4/14/13):

Thank You for hopping along and we hope you had Loads of Fun!
Peacock Hugs

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Believe You Can



I have a little bit of Housekeeping before I share my post with you today!


The winner from my Blog for the Little Prince Blog Hop 


was chosen by random.org and was comment #8





Heather,

Your cards are "Fabulously Fantastic"! (I love the word fabulous too!) Super fun and I love 


that you used a wobble behind your alien creature and aien boy. These are out of this world adorable!

TFS

Midge :)

**Please email me your mailing address Midge & Congratulations! I have also sent you a message on 

Facebook!**

Also be sure to stop by http://pinquepeacock.blogspot.com for the 

April Release Blog Hop happening April 12th -14th


Now on to my Project for the Pinque Peacock today!

With my current dental issues and being on pain pills my projects are not the most elaborate.


I stitched a ruffled/ruched strip of fabric onto the bag using twine

I then finished it off with a Pinque Peacock flower and Angel stick pin





This tag was created using the Unity Stamp Co. stamp set Tail Feather. 

Using DCWV The Garden Tea Party Stack

 I stamped the image of the feather 2x using CTMH Cocoa ink, fussy 

cut them out (cut them by hand) adhered the gems to the feather 

and popped the top feather off of the tag with 3m adhesive squares. 

I took 2 different pieces of paper from the 

stack traced the tag onto the back and cut them out. The lighter paper I tore in half and 

stamped the sentiment in CTMH Cocoa ink. To finish the tag off I added the Pinque 

Peacock Angel Stick Pin.




Have you seen the FABULOUS sale MICHAELS is having until the 13th of April?





RECOLLECTIONS JETMAX TYPE CUBES 60% OFF WHAT!!!!

Do you use a SILHOUETTE Cameo?





25% off of Silhouette Studio Subscriptions 

use the code CRAFT

Happy Crafting!

Thanks for stopping by today!


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