Merry Christmas!!
I wish that you all have a very Mery Christmas. Be safe if your traveling. Hug your family a little tighter. Tell them you love them one more time. Be thankful for what you have. Enjoy the holiday season!

I wish that I was feeling in the Christmas spirit?! It has been a horrid week-week and a half for me. I just don't "feel" merry. And part of me wishes Christmas was already over. Sad to say but its true.

Between the death of my Uncle, my job,95% of the time thoughtless and un caring hubby heaven forbid the world DOESN"T revolve around him, hmmm my job (again I know), the holiday season, wanting more for myself , my aching finger(s)...turn into just the ring finger now!, more & more so I'll stop!

Scrap-Therapy~
I got the new January kit from The Scrapbook Stand yesterday. I am thankful that when I am stressed I use scrappin as "scrap-therapy"! So I created one LO last night. The photo is my Father. And a bit of journaling from the heart and how I am feeling right now after the recent death of my Fathers brother, Mickey just 2 days ago. The journaling reads:

I found this photo of you I forgot I even had. As I look at it I am overcome with many emotions. I am fighting the tears and trying to swallow the frog in my throat. I see the age on your face. The wrinkles. The once graying hair now turning white. The strong & young man I remember as a child has now turned into an aging, much frailer and older man. A survivor of numerous diseases that still live in your body. Causing you to miss out on so much of life.
Just yesterday your brother Mickey passed away. His death was a reality that one day you to will pass away. As will everyone. But this is different. You are my Father. I do not ever want to lose You & Mother. You mean too much to me to ever be without you.
This is the peaceful you that I will remember. So if ever you leave us without warning. Just know this my dear Father. You are loved. You have blessed our lives beyond expectation. And you will never be forgotten.
Yes I know that the LO is {UNTITLED} I just lacked in that area last night,LOL!!

The papers are WeR Memory Keepers "comstock collection circus" Love the colors. I was hesitant about the "circus" theme...but let me tell you all that it really isn't a "circus" theme!!!! The tags can be used for more than circus related things....some of the tags read.."wild child", "The greatest memories on earth", "clowning around", "when I grow up", "lifes a circus", "ring leader...you get the idea. Not just for circus pages! Did I mention that I love the colors?! The "oh my" A&B&C chipboard letters are sooo adorable.

So I am also trying to make my final grocery list. So I can head to town to purchase my items before the stores all close. Ya you heard me correctly. I live in a small town where EVERYTHING closes for the holidays. LOL wasn't until maybe 5 years ago that a gas station would stay open...OMG we have like 11 of the stupid things and just one stays open,sheesh! The grocery stores we have 3 big ones and not one! Well maybe this year? We will see!

So is everyone going to just die waiting to hear about the Scrapbook Answers DT announcement?
OMG I am!!! That would be one thing I have dreamt of for awhile;) I am ready for it! If I got the SBA DT and never got another DT it would be soooo worth it! Well besides The Scrapbook Stand! Love it there! Thanks Shirley;) I would RAWK the magazine with the awesome Editorial staff! Ana girl who is da'bomb. Rachel who is slammin. OMG Leslie who is a rebel...hmm 2ps need I say anymore...girl you are a REBEL! OMG have you all seen the January issue of SBA? I love the "work in progress" section in every issue! I did have to giggle at this one though girls...Ana LOVE the facial expression,LOL. And Corinne, um, hmmmm, girl are you trying to make a statement to someone? Joking!!! LOL I looked twice and thought it looked like you were flipping us da birdie,hehehehe! Can't wait to see the CD and Barbaras debut;)

If you all haven't seen the mag yet you better run out and by one today! They sell like 25cent hot cakes here in my home town! LOL they fly off the shelf!! OMG this has got to be the best scrap magazine out there! Jam packed full of information, tips, tricks, ideas....so much! Oh did I mention how adorable the little girl is on the cover?! She is a doll Corrine!

Submitting to calls, mags, DT's....
Am I the only one who seems to forget pertinent information on the letters/ essays? Arghhhh! I hate that! I know I didn't get all I wanted to in the essay for SBA DT and the Prima DT. So I was SOOOO happy when I got the email stating that I was one out of the top 25 in the Prima DT call! WOWSERS one of the top 25 out of 850 entries!! Thanks Lara! I am amazed and shocked at how many submitted and that you made it through,LOL! Although I didn't make the actual DT of (i think) 12. I was in the top 25. Ummmm hello! The top 25!

Yeah you all want me now,LOL. Sorry trying to make myself laugh after the week I have had! No seriously. I am da'bomb! I am good! I can do it! Are you ready to sign me on yet? What are you waiting for?

OK. OK. My hand is absolutely killing me now!!
LOL I have been typing for OMG over an hour! Amazing how much a bum finger holds you back isn't it?! I look funny trying to type too!!! Use full right hand & pointer finger left hand.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

OMG Did U all hear what happened 2 me?

OK so this wkd we celebrated Christmas with my DH family. We hosted. So everyone was here 4 "Christmas" dinner last night. We enjoyed a fab prime rib & tons of salads (my fav), veggies,OMG tons of desserts & snackies. We were all very full,lol.
So we were cleaning up dinner things. And were getting prepared 2 exchange gifts. Sounds like fun huh. Ya well this is where it starts 2 take a turn 4 the worst,lol!
I put some wine on the wine rack. Your thinking ya so what. Well.......On top of the wine rack sits a beatiful crystal vase. Let me tell you that the wine rack is about 6ft tall. LOL is your imagination soaring now? Well keep reading then....
As I placed the last bottle of wine on a rack. I turned to go to the formal dining room when all of a sudden I feel an enormous pain from my hand! Then a clunk! it all happened soooo fast.
I look 2 the floor & C my crystal vase we got as a wedding gift on the floor (unbroken due to something breaking the long fall from 6ft in the air)!
When I start to feel an extremely lrg pain coming from my hand. I look down @ my hand and C that 2 fingers are almost white? Odd I thought? Why do they hurt sooooooo bad? As I pull my hand closer 2 my face for a better look. I C the same 2 fingers begin to enlarge & turn purple.....the throbbing began with every heart beat, thump, thump, thump! R U feeling my pain yet?
It all happened so fast I still don't know if it was smashed between the middle shelf of the wine rack or did the vase fall on it mid air? Your guess is as good as mine?
Thank goodness my SIL looked at me. She was in another room and looked in at me when she could see the distraught look on my face. She knew instantly something was wrong. She came immediately.
She took charge of the situation and took care of me for the next hour or more!!! She is wonderful. Thanks Di!!! She was right there by my side.

SOOOOOooooooo! I didn't go 2 the ER bc I know they will do nothing 4 broken fingers. Yes we made sure the finger stayed straight n all that! Nut I know they just xray n tell u yes its broken n splint it. Last time I broke a finger DR says we do nothing her that u can't do at home,:0!
So I didn't go!
We had it bandaged n all....so thats just fine till i could get a splint. Of which btw the same doc says the splints don't really do much other than keep finger from being bumped often.
Today the pinky is much better. Not much internal bleeding on that one. But the ring finger.....well.....that one isn't as well! It is still bout 2x the size n extremely purple. N oh so painful!

Breakfast was to b here w me cooking,LOL. You guessed it.....we went out 2 eat,lol. Everyone came back here 2 our estate n visited. Then left this afternoon. So nice to have them all!!! I love them! Ya not the norm in laws,lol.
But here I sit can't do intense cleaning n picking up after guests. Let alone wash dishes, get my pants on very well,lol n put my hair up. All that jazz. I would normally b scrappin. But every time I put my hand down it throbssssss so bad! So I sit here typing 1 handed n think of scrappin,lol! This has got 2 b my hell!!!!!!!
If I can't scrap? OMG if I can't scrap........u may as well send me 2 hell!! I can't even scrap 4 the sake of scrappin. I know it will only b a few days buttttttt! OMG I can't do it! I won't survive w/o scrappin! It is my love,my passion, my life! Sometimes it is sooooo hard to tell people bout my feelings n things n scrappin is my way 2 express my thoughts,words n feelings with my creative nature. People understand me more. They get to know me soo much better. They see "pieces of me"!
few days no scrappin vs eternal life in hell. Which one is worse? LOL few days of no scrappin,duhhhhhhhhh! There is no hesitation on that 1.

ARGHHHHHH......n on top of that I have a couple calls I need 2 work on due soon. Well I don't have 2. But want 2!

So gals I am sorry I am absent from the boards,etc. But now u know why! So scrap an xtra LO 4 me ok? lol. I will scrap vicariously through you;),lol.

hope to cat w u all again soon! pray 4 a fast heeling. i am.

Celebrity Chat Line Up at www.thescrapbookstand.com

Wow we have some wonderful ladies coming to chat with us at the stand;)!!! I can't wait! We have......

Thena Smith coming December 15th 6pm California time. Thena is famous for being an Author, Pub Mom, her wonderful poems, lots of hugs and prayers when your down and out...many more! She is an amazing gal!!!! There will be an awesome challenge for Thenas visit! All chatters can make a LO (before or during chat) using a poem by Thena and have it on the LO. At the end of the night the DT will chose a winner. The winner will get 2 of Thena's latest books!!! WOWSERS huh!! You don't want to miss out on this opportunity. I love my book "Where's Thena, I need a poem about..."

Ana Cabrera Associate Editor of Scrapbook Answers Magazine is coming (I think on the 29th of Dec...awaiting confirmation but SBA is moving this week and I am sure their email/puters are prolly down) will change when I know for sure! Will have more info soon!

Ginger Rohlfs the Gin of Gin-X is coming Jan 5th. This one is going to be awesome...Cyber Baby Shower & Celebrity Chat!!! We will have games and prizes, woohoo!!! All chatters are asked to make Ginger and baby Addie (Addison soon to be born) a TAG!!! We want this to be an awesome shower/chat!! Send all tags to me and I will put in a gift box for Ginger and mail to her;)

We are soooo excited about these chats and also look forward to meeting all of you at CHA!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear net friends & fellow Pubsters **ANA CABRERA** Scrapbook Answers Magazine Associate Editor & **AMBER NICOLE** the greatest effer there ever will be!!!!

I hope that your birthdays were spectacular!!! Ana did you get your bubble bath & book ? Glad to hear that your day was so good;) Amber I would ask if you got your Digi Rebel but already know you got it before!

Happy Monday ya'll! I was kidnapped yesterday by my 3 sisters and Mother! We went Christmas shopping in Fargo,ND. What a blast!!! LOL poor Mis Maliss ( my sista Melissa we call Missy). We rode in one vehicle together while the other 3 were in another. Had to have two vehicles for lots of gifts, right! She is amazing to put up with me. I tell ya at one point I just about cried!!! OMG I had the worst day of all. Well clothes related that is.

I was wearing a beautiful brown and pink sweater. Has snowflakes, sequins and small flowers. Sounds ugly but it is SO cool! Well I had on a pair of matching pink slacks. And all the tidbits to go with it. So the first incident happened when we went to eat lunch. OMG I had a steak that I was trying to cut. When a chunk went flying off my plate onto my light pink slacks. Ahhhhhhhh!!!! OMG!!! How friggin embarassing! There was a huge table of hot young guys next to us. Needless to say I had several huge spots of grease on the front of my pink pants.

The second incident was at the gas station. I was trying to get our "empty" or so I thought cans of soda out of the vehicle to put in the trash. Well my one hand hit the stearing wheel. Knocking one of the cans out of my hand and onto my lap. I gasped. My sister said OMG!! I looked at her and said I want to just cry. We laughed! I then picked up the can and to my amazement it had not "yet" spilled on the pink pants. I said I cannot believe it didn't get on the pants. Boy what a jinx! The can was UPSIDE down!!! So as I continue to pick up off my lap. It spilled a partially filled can of soda.

Well to spill "just" on my pant legs wasn't enough. It had to spill in between my legs and onto the seat. Well damn those leather seats that let liquid just flow to the lowest point on the seat. Yep you guessed it I now had soda on my ARS!!!!!!!!! At that time yes I turned to my sista and said "I am having the worst luck today" and got a few tears!! The great sista she is said "well that just means we have to buy you a new pair of pants;)" And "Don't worry no one will even notice" ROFLMAO!!!! Ya right no one will notice.

Thank goodness I had one of my peacoats with me (matching of course). I put it on and went in to pay for my gas. And of course get some stinkin CHOCOLATE after the incident.

So I got a pair of jeans that looked cute with the sweater. I couldn't find anything to go perfectly with my sweater. So jeans it was. The girl was so nice. I asked if I could take the tags off and wear them out and pay for them that way. Due to my messy pants. LOL she looked shockingly at me and said "excuse me". I repeated. She said "uh, um, well......pause" I repeated my incidents and how bad my pink pants are underneath my peacoat and said I will show you if you want, but it is REALLY embarassing!!! She said "sure go right ahead" What a doll!!!

So we continue shopping. I go up to the checkout counter. And forgot to tell the lady the loose price tag was for the jeans I was wearing. She just about threw it away. OMG! And I said NO that tag is for the jeans I am wearing. LOL. She was a bait confused! And said so what am I to do with the tag? I said scan it so I may pay for it! She said do you know how many people would have just walked out without paying? I shockingly said do you think I was going to do that? Cause that is why the tag was on top of the pile...so I may pay for them.

She said no I am not saying you were going to do that. Its just a matter of fact that most wouldn't. I said WELL I am certainly not like MOST people!! So I paid for my stuff and my jeans. Walked out to the parking lot and couldn't find my keys...astro start...so we couldn't see where we parked. LOL OMG by this time I was SO ready to go home!!!

But my sista and I still had to find my niece "Madelyn" her Christmas outfit. (Helping her Mom out who is going through some difficult times with her DH, oh wait he isn't a dear so it would be hmmm, um well lets just call him her H much nicer than what I am thinkin;) ) So we search Baby Gap, Baby Gymboree, Herbergers, Marshall Fields, and nothing. Then we head to Old Navy a couple miles away. And we found the cutest little dress...red/black/white plaid to go with the 3 sisters outfits we bought earlier. She will look so adorable!!

Will save the story of my BIL in my next entry....lets just say that I HOPE he goes away for a long time!!!!

OH BTW how was your day? LOL!

Its Saturday! Woohoo! I love the weekends.

Well I have cleaned the house. Chopped wood and stacked it. And well maybe ruining the log splitter? OOooops!

ROFLOL DH isn't home yet to see it. But I am sure you will hear him when he does! I guess it had a flat tire, insert rolling eyes here? No wonder why it didn't want to move very well!

My DS and I hauled it to the other end of our estate to split some wood. And well when DS said "uh, mom......is the tire supposed to be coming off that white thing? Cause the other side isn't."

Insert bug eyes here! And a shocked face! So I get out of the truck to see the wheel half off the splitter,ooops! I thought OH CRAP! Now what? How in the heck am I going to get that thing back to the other end of the estate without ruining the rim for good?

Hmmm well. Your going to laugh! I decided to use one of the kids sleds. LOL. I jimmied the thing up in the air with a long log. And had DS place the sled under the flat and half off tire. Hooked it back up to the hitch on the truck. And hauled it back to the main garage. So Dh can fix it when he gets back.

Absolutely hilarious...picture a old beater truck (yard work truck with a snow plow on the front) hauling a log splitter and a bright orange sled underneath a flat tire! Hey it worked. At least it does not appear that I ruined the rim?!


OK WAIT I just thought of something even funnier!!! Can you picture ME sitting behind the wheel of this beater truck hauling a log splitter that has a flat tire and using a bright orange sled for a wheel, ROFLMAO!!!!!!!! Man I should have had the camera out there!

Well now that all the excitement is done! I can sit back and relax with some scrapbooking;) Yeah! I would DIE without SB! Without ART! Without being able to CREATE! It would be like a famous singer who lost there voice forever. Or a famous painter who lost all limbs and couln't paint anymore. You get where I am going with this!

I have SO many dreams! SB related of course. I just hope that someone will take a leap of faith in me! Cause I am all they need;)

Well gotta go create some works of art!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!