Watching Mom Sleep

Watching my Mom sleep is something I'm not getting tired of. I keep watching her wondering how many more days I will be able to just sit, hold her hand and love looking at her.

On Tuesday we passed 4 weeks already since her diagnosis of only having 4-6 weeks left. She has been steadily declining. It's really hard to see this strong muscular women shrivel down to just skin and bones. Last year at this time she was carrying bags of mulch and planting flowers in her yard. Of course I didn't allow her to do this, but she would sneak over to Lowes and do it anyway. "Stubborn" has always been my Mom's middle name, no matter what you told her she couldn't do, it made her want to do it more than ever!

Yesterday we moved Mom over to the Hospice House in Sun City. She was getting up at night to go to the bathroom and falling. We had it worked out that she would call my cell phone when she needed to go and I would wake and take her. But the last few days she didn't have enough strength to even press the 2 numbers on the phone so "Stubborn" as she still is, she would just try and get up on her own and we would find her on the floor. The last time she hit the foot board on the bed and bruised herself up.

The next day the visiting nurse she said it was time to move her over to the Hospice House. When my Mom was first put under Hospice care 4 weeks ago, I discussed with her nurse that I didn't want my Mom to pass away at home. But I wanted to keep her home with me as long as possible. She told me she would monitor her and let me know when it was time to move her. When she told me yesterday it was time for the move I was so upset but they made everything very easy and moved her by non-emergency ambulance.

This morning I decided to go to work at ECHO since I haven't been able to get there for awhile. On my way at 8:30am Hospice called me and said my Mom was being very combative and wouldn't eat, drink or take her medications until I came and took her home. So I turned around and went straight there. Yes my Mom was living up to her middle name again! But I got her to calm down and take the meds, etc. We've had someone with her all day and she slept pretty much the whole time. I'm sitting here now wondering if I should go home or spend the night here with her. I don't want her to get upset in the morning again. Who knows, maybe if she is "stubborn" enough she might just be coming back home with me tomorrow.

Young Love

I'm sure hearts are breaking all over the world today as Ace Young announces his engagement to Allison Fischer.

I'm so happy that they found each other at Rydell High ... the cutest guys always get the cheerleaders! :)

Congrats to you both, I hope you have lots of happy years together! {{hugs}}

And Ace, we will all be expecting you to release some new beautiful love songs! ;-)

Mom Update

May 30th we received the news that my Mom has incurable small cell lung and liver cancer. Her oncologist explained that this was a fast spreading cancer and it had already entered her bloodstream. He also said she only had 4-6 weeks left unless she did chemo, then she would probably make it about 9 months. After much discussion, her changing her mind several times, she decided she didn't want the chemo and wanted God to take her when it was time.

When she left the hospital she moved in with us. She has been getting weaker and skinner by the day. On Tuesday it will be 3 weeks. I'm doing my best to care for her with the help of Jessica and John. The Hospice nurse comes out twice a week however they are available 24/7 for questions or if we need anything.

Eventually we'll move her to the Hospice House to spend her last days, but until then I'll continue to care for her and spend as much time with her as I can.

So please, if you pray, keep us in your prayers.

A BIG thank you to all who have called, emailed and helped me cope with everything going on in my life.

Love ya all!!

As most of you know my Mom is a 34yr Breast Cancer survivor.

Unfortunately we received news today that we didn't want to hear. My Mom has been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. We have a meeting on Monday with her Doctors to see what our options are but it will only prolong her life, not cure her cancer.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Scrapbooking is a sport!

Wow it seems I start out almost ever post by saying I'm sorry it's been so long since I blogged. I just looked and it's been 3 weeks since my last blog.

Life has thrown me a few curve balls, however hopefully things will start to get better and I'll be able to blog and share more with everyone.

Today is National Scrapbooking Day! I want to make sure I finish a page today, I think last year I worked on cards. But I started a page the other night and was just waiting on some cutter files from Chris and it will hopefully be done today. When I make something I try to include one of her files since I'm on her design team + I LOVE HER FILES! Have you checked out her website yet? She also has a great forum going too. Here is a link to her store: http://www.visualdesignsbychris.com/store/home.php

So according to the above picture, Scrapbookin' is now a sport! Wonder when it will show up in the Olympics?

Hope all of my crafty friends get time today to cut and glue something :)

Sign sign everywhere a sign...

But can you read them?

Every Thursday when I arrive at ECHO I find this in the parking lot! What is wrong with people? Are they trying to donate that crap? I'm going to forward these pictures to the Tampa Tribune to see if they will do a story about it. It's a shame that ECHO has to pay someone to haul this garbage to the dump every week.

Ace Young and Terry Fator in Vegas!

American Idol Season 5 semifinalist Ace Young was called up onstage by singing ventriloquist Terry Fator at his show in The Mirage. Ace had such a great time that he decided to stay and perform the rest of the week. Ace sang “Father Figure” and “Dream On,” and Terry, who duplicated Ace’s voice after a couple of nights, insisted that Ace join him after each show for autograph and photo sessions with the audience.

Way to go Ace! I'm so proud of you!!

Who doesn't love Stickles?

I

L-O-V-E

Stickles

There, I said it! Seems every page or card I make has to have that extra little shimmer. So my collection has been growing! (I know you find that hard to believe). I've been keeping them in a drawer, however I noticed when I stored one upside down it was easier to use, I didn't have to shake it a bunch of times to get the glitters to come out. I read a few blogs about Stickles storage and none of them were right for me.

So I forced myself to go shopping (sounds good right?) to find a storage solution for them so they were hanging upside down.

Yesterday at Wal-mart I found the perfect thing and it was only $4! Here is a picture of all of my Stickles happy in their new home. Looks like I need to buy more though, look at all of those empty spaces ha ha

Craig's List, ya never know what you'll find!

I was looking around Craigs list tonight and found an area that I never saw before. It's called " Missed Connections" under the personals section. Here are some examples of what crazy people post:

GIB TOWN WALMART - m4w - 19 (gibsonton)saw a cute girl at walmart. by the soda machine and then at the gas station.. but you saw me. and i saw you.

PUBLIX IN WESTCHASE - m4w (westchase) we made eye contact and smiled as we were leaving publix. You had just gotten off the scale...I was on the phone

Man walking at Madiera beach - m4m - 38 (largo)You were walking on Madiera beach one day this week. YOu were wearing a speedo. You are 50 + sexy , nice legs. I am 6ft 225 muscular. Moved here recently. If this is you or describes an interest ..hit me back. Nothing sexier than a daddy in a speedo on the beach.

Dominos Delivery Guy - m4m (Clearwater)You delivered a pizza to my apartment. Around 7:20pm tonight. Just wanted to say you were hot and well worth the tip.

And my WINNER for the most desperate person in Florida is (pictures included):

I SAW YOU AT THE SPRING HILL GOODWILL TUESDAY YOUR DARK AND HANDSOME - 42 (SPRINGHILL) YOU WERE WEARING BLACK SHORTS WITH A BLACK AND WHITE STRIPED SHIRT, AROUND 2 IN THE AFTERNOON, LOOKED AT YOU A COUPLE OF TIMES BUT I WAS TOO SHY TO SAY ANYTHING, WOULD HAVE LOVED TO DROP TO MY KNEES AND SERVICE YOU RIGHT THERE IF I COULD HAVE......WANNA HAVE SOME FUN PLEASE?

Life on the Lake

St Patty's day isn't a happy day for my Mom. My brother passed away 3 years ago at the age of 52 on this day and she really has never recovered from losing her son. So I tried to keep her involved in some outdoor life today. We watched birds feeding their young ones, White Pelicans coming in for landings and hunting for dinner and just enjoying the nature around us.

My Mom was hospitalized on Jan 18th with pneumonia and spent 17 days there. She was been staying with us since then, she is still not up to going home and living by herself yet. She lost all of her muscle and fat in the last 4 months and is down to 100lbs. But she hasn't given up. She does her rehab exercises everyday and has been eating well. But she isn't getting any stronger. We have another dr visit on Thursday. She is also on oxygen 24/7 which makes it hard too.

Here are few pictures I thought I would share of the beautiful White Pelicans and some pics I just took from across the lake.

Hope everyone gets a chance to have a green beer today!

Challenge #2 ~ Music page layouts!

Well the winner is... WAIT... no one entered so there is not a winner. I thought this would be a fun challenge since most of my friends are involved in someway with the love of music and concerts. So what can we do for the next challenge that everyone will like? Send me your ideas!

Got The Digital Camera Battery Blues?

What kind of batteries last the longest? Well I found out not the most expensive kind that you get at the camera stores!! I was buying those for my camera because I was convinced by the sales guy they were SO MUCH BETTER.... NOT! I ran out of batteries and actually used the FREE batteries that came with camera. These were Panasonic LR6-AA Industrial Alkaline batteries. I figured they would get me through the pinch until I could get back to the camera store. Well...let me tell you THESE WERE THE LONGEST LASTING BATTERIES I've ever used! Printed on the side is not for retail trade. Why? Because they last too long?

See Ace on TV for 10 Weeks!

http://www.foxreality.com/aie/

Yes you heard it right! Ace Young will be co-hosting the Fox Reality show Idol Extra! So starting March 26th, you will be up close and personal with Ace interviewing the Idol contestant that is voted off. Set your DVR's now so you don't miss an episode!

Ok... who is ready for another challenge?

This weeks challenge will be for scrapbook pages, sorry card makers... but I know you have the ability to make a scrapbook page too so just get workin' on it!

I'm challenging everyone to make either a single or double page design of a music concert you've seen or one that you were in yourself. That is the only rule... music concert. It can be any size or colors and you won't get preferred voting status for using pictures of Ace ;-)

I know everyone has been to something... a rock show, country show, high school band, chorus, etc. Just has to be music related.

Deadline is Monday morning March 9th.

Ok, run and get your paper and scissors and knock my socks off with awesome designs!

We Have a Winner!

A BIG Congratulations to Linda from NY!

My Mom had a hard time choosing a winner too but she kept going back to the box saying she liked it a lot. So Linda your prize box will be mailed out on Monday!

YELLOW BONUS

And since it was hard to pick a winner, I'm going to send each contestant a little thanks for participating in my first challenge!

You guys ROCK!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

Finally all of the "yellow" challenge designs have been submitted. A few more are still working on it however I've already extended the deadline by 2 days so they will have to miss this chance at a prize. But I will post their designs for all to see when I get them.

I'm going to let my Mom pick her favorite. She will enjoy looking at them and since she doesn't know who submitted them, I thought that would be fair. I'm glad I'm not judging because I love them all!

THE BEAUTIFUL YELLOW CREATIONS

Card by Monica/FL

Double Scrapbook page by Christy/FL

Scrapbook page by Bridget/PA

Fold out card in a gift box by Linda/NY

Tag card by Linda/NY

SIZE DOES MATTER!

Our little group of scrappin' friends have a joke about if size matters... ya know like is there a difference between 6x6, 12x12, etc *wink*

I just had to share with you today's featured card on Dirty Shanks!

So there ya have it... SIZE DOES MATTER! LOL

Last Call

Ok guys and girls... it's last call for all "yellow" challenges! They are due to me by tomorrow so please email me as soon as you are done.

I've got a couple of great projects to share with you tomorrow night!

Another "yellow" challenge

I just saw this on the cuttlebug challenge blog! So if you are making something in yellow for my challenge and you have a cuttlebug, might as well enter it in both challenges! :)


http://cuttlebugchallenge.blogspot.com/2009/02/cuttlebug-mellow-yellow-rendezvous.html

Lots of interest in my challenge!

Just a "yellow" reminder to work on your projects this weekend... the prize package will have lots of goodies :)

Who wants a challenge?

I need to get some scrappin' done ... it's been months since I've made anything for myself. So I decided to offer a challenge with a prize! I know you all love prizes!

Hopefully this will help to motivate me plus clean out of some of my extra stuff!

I'm going to try and do this once a week, so make sure you keep checking back for the newest challenge.

This weeks challenge is to make something using yellow. It can be a card, scrapbook page, whatever you want to make. It doesn't have to be all yellow, but the major color needs to be yellow. Email me a picture of your designs by Monday night and I'll post them all on Tuesday with the winner.

Good luck everyone!

Idols, Idols and more Idols!

Jessica and I went to Hollywood Studios on Thursday to the grand opening of the Idol Experience. We weren't allowed to go in because the public grand opening wasn't until Saturday, this day was for former Idols/family and invited media. But we did get to attend the Idol parade, that was very cool to see 27 former American Idols in one place! Here's some pictures to enjoy!

First time all 7 Idol winners were ever together!

Do you recognize this guy?

We were able to see Ace a couple of times after the parade :)

Michael Johns, his accent is so cool!



Look how wonderful Mandisa looks!

She just lost 70lbs!

I'm Going to Disney World!

I haven't blogged in a long time...sorry about that. But I will play catch up soon. In the mean time, just wanted to let you know that tomorrow, Thursday, Hollywood Studios (MGM) is having a big Idol party. There are going to be 25+ former American Idols there to celebrate the opening of The Idol Experience. I've been waiting for this to open for 6 months now knowing a lot of idols would be visiting. I had no idea they would bring this many in at once. Hopefully I'll have some good pictures to share :)

Here is the list of who is attending:
Paula Abdu,l David Archuleta, Fantasia Barrino, Bo Bice, Jason Castro David Cook, Bucky Covington, Diana DeGarmo, Melinda Doolittle, Simon Fuller (Idol Creator), Josh Gracin, Justin Guarini, Taylor Hicks, Michael Johns, LaKisha Jones, Kimberley Locke, Sanjaya Malakar, Mandisa, Syesha Mercado, Ryan Seacrest, Chris Sligh, Carly Smithson, Jordin Sparks, Phil Stacey, Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood, Brooke White & Ace Young

Just gotta laugh..

No matter how many times over the years I've seen this picture it always makes me LAUGH OUT LOUD!

Idol Extra has a HOTT new host!

Fox Reality Channel will bring back Season 5 contestant Ace Young to host this year's "American Idol Extra."Young will be joined by Fox utility player Jillian Reynolds. The fourth season of the behind-the-scenes "Idol" annex also will be shot from the "Idol" stage for the first time. Fox Reality will premiere the show Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m., airing nine episodes leading up the broadcast network's "Idol" finale."Idol Extra" provides viewers with weekly highlights and features exclusive interviews of the contestants and their friends and family.

This is it! Today is the day!

Will MY team be coming to Tampa for the SuperBowl?

(this picture was taken last Sunday at O'briens in Brandon)

Na

Na

Na

Hey

Hey

Hey

Goodbye

Please give a quick click to Ryan!

A friend of mine is in a contest on http://feelingthevibemagazine.com/ If you would please go to this website and click on the Hit or Miss contest on the left hand side and vote for Ryan Gallagher he & I would be most appreciative. Listen to his music, hope you like it :) It only allows one vote per computer so just one click is all it takes!

How About this Ad?

Sony unveils Walkman NWZ-X1000 OLED touchscreen player and check out the top album on the play list!

{and no, it's not my Sony Walkman, this is actually their ad!}

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/07/sony-unveils-walkman-nwz-x1000-oled-touchscreen-player/?icid=200100397x1216871007x1201084845

Guns, Police & Scrappin' ... OH MY!

To start out my story... I have to first tell you that I went to Ruban Rouge in Palm Harbor tonight for scrapbooking. This won't make any sense to those who don't live in Tampa, but for my local friends who know how directionally challenged I am, they will laugh. Did you know the longest way to go to RR from Brandon? Well I found out tonight... you go across the Gandy Bridge. Yes I said it, not sure how it happened since I WAS using my GPS, but I managed to make a 1 hour trip into almost 2 hrs. Then on my way home... I did a little better...but did you know that you can actually drive through Tampa Airport on the way home to Brandon? I bet no one ever did that before LOL . But the most important thing to remember, I made it to RR and back home safely. LOL

Ok on to my post about Guns, Police & Scrappin' ...OH MY!

While about 20 ladies and I were sitting in the Ruban Rouge Design Studio scrapbooking and having a good time... a young black man (maybe early 20's) opened the door and sightly out of breath asked if we saw a man running by. We all said no, he looked like he had been chasing someone so a lady by the door said, should we lock the door and he said yes and left. Then ladies a couple tables over from me saw this man pull a gun out from his waist band behind him and hold it with both hands like he had someone cornered. These ladies yell, he has a gun out, everyone down! Ok, I've never seen so many people dive to the floor before at once. I was kinda just standing there thinking ...is this for real? I couldn't see the guy outside, so I walked over to the bathroom and stood in the door way and peeked out.

Then the guy came back over to the door and was motioning for everyone to get up and he was flashing his open wallet at the lady by the door showing some kind of card. So she got up and opened the door and henshowed her up close his wallet. She said it was an Army Military Police card and he was wearing a set of military dog tags. He said everything is ok, we got him. In the meantime, a lady hiding under the table was calling 911 and reporting it and another lady was calling the store to let them know what was going on. The dispatcher on the phone with 911 told us to keep the door locked and stay under the tables until a uniformed officer arrived. By this time 1/2 of the ladies were already back to scrappin' , including me, the other half were still under the tables hiding!

Finally the police arrive in FULL FORCE! There were officers everywhere, they had dogs, BIG rifles... it was crazy! A few of the officers came in and asked a few questions about what direction the guy left in, etc and off they went with the dog. And let me tell you that dog was excited! I've never seen a police dog in action before and he was ready to go find the bad guy!! So a few more officers came in and talked to everyone trying to get the story straight. Then they asked us if this guy ever pointed a gun at us, we said no, he then said were you scared? And everyone said yes... and we still had people under the tables at this point! Three officers stayed with us while the others were out hunting this guy down. I couldn't understand why the police dept didn't have a communication link with the Military Police.

They found this guy who had the gun a couple of blocks away and put him in a police car. The lady that made the 911 call had to go and ID him and they took him to the police station. His story was he was playing with a friend of his, chasing each other around and he only had a pellet gun. So who knows if we will read about this in the paper tomorrow. Of course, being the scrapper that I am, I need pictures for a scrapbook page. So here are few of our officers and a little reenactment of the crime by Liz & I. Actually Liz & I were probably the only ones who weren't on the floor hiding when all of this happened. :)

We had to each complete a victims form stating what we saw, etc. After all the "higher up" officers left we had some fun with the remaining guys who stayed to gather our paperwork. I even heard someone ask about having their picture taken with handcuffs on... LOL

Crime Reenactment



Marian, Joni & Liz ~ my first scrapbooking friends

Love you guys! :)




Liz & Officer McCloud

Ya know me, always find an opportunity have my picture taken with a guy everywhere I go! ;-)

Some of the officers that were still there...

This was probably the most fun they ever had on a call!

Is it really Jan 6th?

Wow where does time go? Can't believe I haven't blogged in 2009 yet! Well I know where my time has been going...sleeping and coughing. I've been sick for 8 days and totally missed New Years Eve :( We were supposed to go with Shelley to Skippers but I was too sick. I finally went to the doctor and I have bronchitis so I now have a famous Z-Pack so hopefully in a day or two I'll feel almost normal.

So hopefully I'll be back to blogging like normal :)

Happy 2009!

Ace gives the coat off his back

{photo by Howard}
This morning Ace Young was on Good Morning America and donated the leather coat he wears all of the time to Warm Coats, Warm Hearts.
What a guy! No matter what he has on his busy schedule, Ace is always doing as much as he can for charity. A truely talented man with a heart of gold!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuJVnexziwA

I'm Still Lazy!

Not sure what is going on with me but I am so damn lazy I can't stand it. I have no desire to do anything at all. I need to stop eating all of the crap in the house, I think that is my major problem. It's almost gone... but it's so good and I hate to just throw it out :) So what's everyone doing for New Years Eve? John and I are joining Shelley and a few of her friends at Skippers. They are having a big party with a few bands playing songs from 1968. Should be fun, just hope I can get my butt off the couch to go!