Easter Preparations

Today will be spent doing a little cleaning to prepare for the kids arrival on Friday. I dusted the living room yesterday between lessons and put out my spring decorations. Today the bathroom needs a good cleaning and the refrigerator needs to be wiped out, also the basement floor needs to be swept. That's about all I'm doing until after everyone leaves. Friday I'll do a little grocery shopping (just what's absolutely necessary) and some cooking for Saturday, also I'll stop by the church for a bit and practice my music for Sunday.  

Please pray for Daughter #2, she has a big exam today she is anxious about.

Please pray for safe travels for my children, all coming home for Easter. It will be a whirlwind trip...up on Friday evening and they head back right after church on Sunday. 

Please pray we will see a paycheck soon. All the bills are needing to be paid and I don't even have enough to go grocery shopping. 

Blessings: SUNSHINE! It came out yesterday and I was a new person!! It is out again this morning and I'm so thankful for the energy it brings to me. 

Artist Trading Cards

A friend here has asked me to explain artist trading cards, so this is my attempt at doing just that. 

If you Google "artist trading cards", you'll see all kinds of them. Each month a theme is given that must be followed, but other than that, the artist is free to create what they want on a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch card, using whatever combination of art mediums they wish. On the back of each card the theme is recorded, a title that the artist assigns, the date and the artists mailing information. Each artist makes enough cards to trade with all the others that are trading, so if there are 12 traders, you need to try and create 12 different cards. I understand this to be kind of a big deal. You have to agree never to sell your cards - only trade. There are even groups that trade with other groups all over the world. Our local group trades with a group from downstate. 

The purpose of the cards is to foster creativity...it's not easy coming up with ideas to fit the themes and small enough to fit on a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch card. I'm finding myself thinking outside the box a bit more, coming up with ideas that I hadn't even thought of before and it's sparking all kinds of ideas that I will eventually use in my scrapbooks. 

It's also a social event of sorts. At the trade each month each artist lays out the cards they created and a lot is drawn to determine the order in which each of us gets to choose. We then walk around the table in order and choose the cards we like best from the other artists contributions. The last ones to choose must choose from what is left behind. It's fun to see the creativity the others have! We enjoy each others company for a while, talking mostly about the cards, the theme and what is upcoming for the next month. Last month I couldn't attend the trade as it was the same day as the Music Teacher's Testing, so I took my cards in to the store before hand and someone then chose cards for me and I went back to the store to pick them up. The problem with that is I missed seeing everyone's cards and I didn't get to find out what anyone thought of what I made. 
For the month of February, the theme was "felt" which meant there must be felt on the card in some way. In looking for inspiration, my mind took the word "felt" and started thinking of feelings that are felt like love, sorrow, joy, kindness, which eventually was replaced with the Fruits of The Spirit and since it was February, and also because coincidentally, our pastor spoke that week on the Fruits of The Spirit and how they must come from the heart, I started each creation with hearts cut from felt. If you'd like to see my creations for that month, check them out here. Also, if you'd like to see what the other artists created, you can see those here.

Our theme for March was "nightmares". I did participate, but didn't take photos of them as I wasn't happy with my creations. Now that I look back I should have taken a photo of one...it was called "Monsters" and I created a bed out of paper, glued on a paper bedspread and used a piece of crochet lace for a "throw blanket", I also added a satin pillow, then two google eyes peering out beneath the throw. 

April's theme is "Favorite Colors". I recently finished those and you can view them here.

The remaining themes are:
May - stamps
June - punch art
July - bling
August - foam
and it's not official yet, but they are considering "quotes" for September. 

I have all of April's and May's completed with a good start on June's and July's. August has me completely stumped. 

I hope that answers any questions you've had about my artist trading card postings. I'll be posting pictures of each of my creations just prior to each trade. Stay tuned! 

A Sunday Pause

Hosanna!

A blessed Palm Sunday to you! I find myself very disappointed and feel even somewhat cheated that our church does not do anything or really even acknowledge Palm Sunday. I don't understand it, but we never have. 

I spent this past week focusing on my trading cards, I had some ideas start to flow and decided rather than just writing them down, I'd try to actually make them as the ideas came, that way I could have most of them done and once the warm weather and sunshine returns (I'm thinking positively here), I will not be stuck inside behind my desk working on them. I also found it a necessary distraction, giving me something else to think about other than the ache and disappointment in my heart. 

At this time, I have all of April and May finished, about half of June and a small start on July and September. August's theme is foam and I have no idea where to even begin for ideas on that one. Also, if you could help me think of ideas for July...the theme is "bling".   Hubby gave me a very good idea this morning, but I'll need him to print something out for me so I can do it. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I will post pictures of each set just prior to the trades. 

Also this week, I made some cards. There are eight of the one with the cross -all different color combinations. 

Daughter #2 is still working through her grief and has found our associate pastor's wife her source for a listening ear, advice and support. I'm grateful she has someone to turn to who I know I can trust to give her good advice, but at the same time I wish she would let me in.

I spent yesterday making chicken chili and baking a cake for today to share with Daughter #2 after church, but last night she called saying she had to work this afternoon and wouldn't stay to eat with us, but would join us on Monday SO...I quick made up a plan B so I could save the chili for tomorrow. Hubby and I will be dining on leftovers all day today. 

This week will be spent cleaning house and preparing for the kids to arrive for Easter. No, I'm not doing a lot of cleaning, but to be honest, I haven't done much this week and certain areas need some real attention. "Spring cleaning" won't happen until after they leave...maybe longer. 

I'm waiting on a paycheck so I can buy food for Easter dinner and I have been asked to provide two pans of cheesy potato casserole for the Easter breakfast at church. 

Honestly, I'm not at all ready or even mentally prepared for Easter this year. Lord help me! 

April's Trading Cards

Here are my trading cards for the month of April. The theme is Favorite Colors. I hope you like them. 

Rough Week!!!

It was a rough week here with Daughter #2 being sick. Poor baby has had such a tough time lately. This winter was a bad experience with kidney stones, then she tore the meniscus in her knee, now it was food poisoning...keeping her sick all through her spring break and to put the cherry on top...her boyfriend came back from his spring break and broke up with her! 

I am so sad for her and for the fact that I too will miss him terribly. I was so sad last night and yet I kept telling myself it's not about me and do I have the right to feel this way...he wasn't my boyfriend. He is such a great guy and was so good to her and made her so happy, we thoroughly enjoyed having him in our home. This came as such a surprise...just the way they were together, we truly thought he would be her lifetime mate. She still doesn't understand why. I have prayed all along that God would be in the center of their relationship and from my vantage point, that seemed to be the case. I also prayed for God's will in both their lives, so I have to put this in His hands, knowing He is working it all out. I tried to support her and let her know I am here for her, but she doesn't seem to want to talk to me about it. I remember my break-ups...I UNLOADED on my poor mom...we were up all night while she sat with me and let me cry until I couldn't cry anymore. Please keep her in your prayers as she works through this all the while going to classes and working. 

I am trying today...not very successfully, I might add...to get back to a normal routine around here. I'm in a bit of a fog...combine that with winter blues and the need for sunshine and lots of fresh air I'm a bit loopy! I started working on April's trading cards and that has helped keep my mind focused.

We are expecting more snow...should start this evening. Forecast calls for anywhere from 10-20 inches by Wednesday night. These pictures were taken the end of last week. Note in the last picture...that's a 6' privacy fence in the backyard. 

Plans today: just cleaning up a bit and one student at 4.

Blessings: Just got word that all my kiddos will be home for Easter...just can't help wishing there would still be one more.

Catch-up Saturday

I had so hoped to work on my trading cards today, but it seems getting caught up with everything else is taking priority. I feel as though I have lost the entire week. 

Hubby took Daughter back to her place yesterday afternoon as she was scheduled to work today. She still wasn't 100% when she left, I do hope she is feeling even better today. She will probably be back again tomorrow after church. Poor thing was sick for her entire spring break! 

Everything I had planned for the week got lost in a sea of running to the store to find something for Daughter to eat, cooking, doing dishes and jumping up and down anytime she had a need. Of course I didn't mind doing it, but it certainly wasn't what I had in mind for my week. Now that I have my time back to myself, I still haven't got my "groove" back and I don't know where to start or how to prioritize. Funny how something like caring for a sickie can throw the brain into a fog. 

Time to go cook up a meal for tomorrow after church, if it doesn't take too long, maybe I can get something done on my trading cards later. 

Update From the Infirmary

Hubby went down and picked up Daughter this evening while I was teaching, she's asleep in the chair now. I think her trips to the bathroom seem to be slowing down, I hope she sleeps well tonight. I'm getting sleepy myself and I'm not sure how long I'll stay up. Hubby is gone to hockey and will be home late. 

I"m planning to make chicken noodle soup tomorrow and hopefully she will be able to at least keep the broth down. Also tomorrow I have some laundry to finish and 2 lessons to teach. I'm not sure how much more I 'll get done with a sickie in the house. I'm so glad she's home though so I can keep and eye on her. 

It's been a long day...g'night. 

One of THOSE Mornings!

I thought it was starting out to be a good day. I got my laundry started and my floors done all before 8 a.m. Then I settled in to have my breakfast and that's when it all came crashing down! I put my apples in my smoothie maker, my almond butter, raw honey and almond milk and cinnamon turned it on and it made a horrible noise. Seems the gears decided to stop working! I got out my big blender and dumped my ingredients in it, turned it on and it all came spewing out the back!! Fortunately, it was just a matter of properly seating the pitcher to the bottom, however, it never did chew up the apples as it should have...I had to do that. 

Then Daughter #2 sends a text...she is throwing up and has diarrhea and she's getting weak...what should she do? I sent her a text back. I'm sure she's going to want me to come take care of her, but I have an afternoon filled with students and the snow is coming down like crazy. 

It's not even 8:30 and I'm ready to pull my hair out! Somehow I doubt I'll get much accomplished today.  

Hubby is cooking steak for supper tonight since I always overcook it. I'll do the baked potato and veggies. 

Exhausting Weekend

So, the good news is, I sent our Dr. friend a note requesting his help in getting our daughter reinstated as his patient. It was explained to me that it wasn't a problem, since he is independent. I don't understand how that works since his office carries the hospital name. At any rate, he went to his office Friday morning and asked his head nurse to call our daughter and have her worked into the schedule that morning. She told him she was already on it...the head nurses daughter is our daughters roommate, and she sent her mom a text the evening before telling her what happened. The nurse knew the situation and knew our daughter was getting in...one way or another! The nurse also called me and told me our daughter had an "appointment" that morning. It wasn't long before the phone was ringing again....it was my daughter...she wanted me to go along with her in case she had some decisions to make regarding treatment. Our Dr. drew pictures and told us exactly what happened...it's a torn meniscus. Fortunately, the ligaments are all in good shape. She has to be very careful not to move wrong or do anything to aggravate it, like high impact sports, etc. She was in a great deal of pain after his examination so we went to Shop-Ko to get a knee brace as per his suggestion as well as a bottle of ibuprofen. We took some time for ourselves in the store, trying on clothes and looking at the spring line in shoes and purses and then went to lunch in a local health food cafe. 

She had a weekend trip to pack for and a youth group lock-in to help with, so we said our good-byes and I headed for home with full intent on working on a project when I found out Hubby had to go into town to deliver a job. I knew it was Retreat Design weekend and so I had him drop me off there since I hadn't been in months. I was a bit disappointed this time, but I did manage to get a start on Easter basket gifts and just being out of the house was a treat.

Friday evening my cousin called. Her brother (one, in a set of twins) had passed away. They have been treating him for several months now for a mass in his lung. Some Drs. said it was cancer, others said no, it's an infection. Finally they decided it didn't matter what it was, it was still growing and had to come out. He did fine through the surgery, but during recovery he became weaker and weaker and finally passed. Not being very close to him, it still affected me much more than I had expected it would. He was still family and there is a blood connection there, besides which, I keep thinking about my mother and how she loved and cared for each of her nieces and nephews as though they were her own children and how this would affect her and how she would feel upon hearing such news if she were still with us. I know that sounds so strange, but that is where my mind went. I need to find or make some cards for his wife, brother and sister. I don't know where his son and daughter are, they are married and on their own now.

Early Saturday morning I was out of the house by 7:30 and off to the Music Teacher's Association Achievement Testing. Like last year, I was the judicature for Aural Awareness...otherwise known as ear training. I was provided with question sheets, answer keys and a CD that gave out the questions and examples since reading and playing some of those rhythm examples without having a chance to work them out first would be impossible for me. My CD had some bad spots in it and would stop periodically forcing me to start it over and find the needed track again and again. It was very stressful and I felt badly for the the students' having their test disrupted. The worst of the day came when I had more students in level 3B than I had printed tests available. I immediately went to find someone in charge only to have them imply that I had made an error. There was no way I could have...if I had given a student the wrong sheet, it wouldn't have lined up with the questions on the CD! It was no ones fault, it was an accident that occurred somehow, but I had been shorted sheets. I solved the problem by locating the master and since a copy machine was not available, I hand wrote the necessary information on sheets of paper and let the students use the master for reading purposes only. We were supposed to be finished shortly after noon and take the performance judge out to lunch, but we didn't finish until 2:30 and the snow was coming down so hard we decided it was best to just head home. I finally got lunch at 3:30! I was exhausted and had a horrible headache. I tried to get online for a bit, but soon decided a hot shower would be the better choice. Hubby had had a full day of hockey and so we set our clocks ahead and turned in early. 

Sunday morning we got up later than planned, but still managed to get out of the door in time...he, to get to the rink for a game and me to church to play the organ. Our afternoon was spent quietly, a needed recovery from the stress and busyness. 

I still have some crud in my chest. I cough and wheeze and can tell it's an infection of some kind but it seems to be getting better, albeit slowly. Today I return to my regular schedule...there is so much more I had hoped to accomplish before spring. We woke this morning to about 2" of snow in the driveway and when I got online I was shocked to see all the schools in the area have been canceled for today. Upon further reading I am assuming it's in advance of what is still to come...we are under a winter storm warning and are to expect 6-10" before it's over...so far just a very light snow is falling. Perhaps spring is further away after all. 

Seeking Peace

My mind is spinning right now. I'm kind of a mess, actually...have been since last night. So much on my mind, I'm having a hard time focusing to type it out. 

I didn't feel well yesterday, it was obvious I was coming down with something. I was so tired I couldn't see straight, but I couldn't rest enough to go to bed. I woke this morning with some yellow crap in my chest that rattles when I breathe as well as a deep chested cough. I sound like I could sing bass! Daughter #2 called and thought she had the wrong number LOL! 

Daughter #2 injured her knee a while back in a broomball game and it refuses to get better, so her roommates mom, who is a nurse told her she should have it looked at. When she called the Drs. office today she couldn't get in because according to their records she was no longer his patient because she hadn't been to see him in 3 years!! I'VE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING!! He's been her Dr. since she came into this world! Here we are, without any insurance or means of affording any, trying to be healthy so we don't have to visit the Dr. so we can keep our bills down and then they kick us out! I can't win!! To top it all off, half the time when we WANT to get in, they are full and they send us to the hospital's clinic. Just this fall she was seen in the ER and reported him as her primary Dr. and every time she is forced to go to the clinic she reports him as her primary...that should count! They didn't know of any other's who were taking new patients! I'm so angry right now I can't see straight. What are we supposed to do? Just get sick and die, I guess! To top it all off, I'm thinking there is more to this than meets the eye, as Hubby went to see the same Dr. recently and hadn't been in to see him in 8 years...probably more and he got in just fine. Something is very wrong here. We are personal friends with this Dr. and I hate to call in any special favors, but I'm a "she bear" right now and my cub is in trouble. I teach his daughter piano lessons and so I sent a note home with her telling him the situation and asked him to call me. I need to see what is really going on and if we can get her reestablished as his patient. I think this is just the beginning of some awful health care issues to come! We are in BIG trouble folks!!

This Saturday is the Music Teacher's Association's Achievement Testing and after last year, I'm very stressed out about it and to top it all off the gloomy weather is finally taking it's toll on me in a major way. I am fighting the blues, and starting to lose. I need spring. Now with no TV, it is so quiet in here and nothing to take my mind off my troubles. I'm getting loonie!!!!

Finally the evening is nearly over...hopefully rest will come soon. 

It's Coming!

I can sense it...SPRING is on the way! Our March came in like a lamb, so that's not to say that we won't have some nasty weather in the coming weeks...as a matter of fact, I can almost guarantee it. BUT we have had sunshine three days this week!! 

I'm enjoying a quiet Saturday - After we went out to breakfast, I cleaned the house this morning and Hubby has been in the basement working all day. I have caught myself up on all my emails and blog reading. Linda, I tried to comment on your post today and kept getting an ERROR! message. After three tries I gave up. :( 

I made a casserole for lunch tomorrow, I'll post the super easy recipe in my recipe file section if you are interested. We'll have tomato soup and grilled cheese tonight for supper. Hubby has a hockey game to referee tonight, so the house will be quiet...especially since our cable TV was disconnected. I haven't missed it too much yet...come Monday night, two weeks from now when I want to watch Castle, then it will be a VERY DIFFERENT STORY! My dear Bobby has been serenading me all afternoon. 

The afternoon is nearly over...hard to believe I have so little to show for it.