Happy Halloween Everybody!
I went to with my great friend to the Toronto Zoo last Saturday and saw the Pandas, all the great big pussy cats, the young polar bear and the Gorillas where there was such a tiny cute baby Gorilla-Loved it. I walked way too much and we relied on the transit system which is another story. Yes, I was too sore the next day and probably needed an actual walker as all my joints were grinding but hey, I saw such wonderful animals and I tried to conquer a fear....Heights! Yup that's me with my friend riding on this zip thingy. That is my scary fear for Halloween day. I am going out this eve with a group of friends to a bar we like to call the island of misfit toys. They have an older crowd and good music. I am dressing up as Goo from Gumby:)
What is your fear? Have you tried to conquer it? Are you dressing up this eve?
Whimsy Stamps - Anything Goes
Holly Jolly Christmas - Snowman Fun
Glitter & Sparkle Challenge - Use Some Orange
Fairytale Stampers - Something New
Dream Valley Challenges - Halloween
Crafty Hazelnut Challenge 2 - Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Challenge - Something forgotten or something New
Christmas Cards All Year Round - Embellish It!
Colour Q Challenge - Black, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Wisteria Wonder & White
Alphabet Challenge- R for round or rectangle
Yup I actually mixed Halloween with Christmas and I am breaking a rule...but I love breaking rules so there ya go:) I am a Gemini to boot so I am allowed to mix the 2. For the Halloween card-It looks so hard but it's not and I am happy how I created the background with different dye ink pads. I used Orange in that card and the one Christmas card ornament. The die cut Halloween image is new and I never used it so it was fun to get my hands on that.
The second card is following the Colour Q challenge so Black, white, orange, lighter green and a lavender colour was used all for that card plus I had forgotten that I had this one ornament sticker left. It was fun to get the glitter out! I embellished it with brads, ribbon and crystals in peridot colour. One can see rectangles everywhere on my cards. (By the way, Colour Q had a previous challenge that my Halloween card would have worked but I missed it).
The last 2 are snowmen (duh). I embellished the hell out of them as well. The last one I nicknamed Liberace as he is glittered to the max. Now that third card I decided to use a different green and I kinda like it. I used my alcohol inks for a border and feel it sets things off. He is my Jolly Green Giant snowman (but don't call him pea brain-he gets pissed). The last card is in blues as I must have blues in a card. Sorry no guitar or Leadbelly here. Crystals abound along with navy ribbon. Nope he does not know how to play the piano and he is terrified of the Candelabra-the candles you know.
I will be gone for a few days as I am venturing to the big city to see a friend and then bringing him back here before he heads off to Thailand. It is his yearly visit and I plan on making him my bitch...um...that is wrong....he is already my bitch:) Sorry a little rude but Halloween is near and so the devil made me say that. I will find out what dinner he will like since he will have nothing but Thai food until April. My husband hopes he will pick Lasagne. Everyone I wish you a glorious weekend.
Eclectic Ellapu-Pink Team-Flowers Purple Team-Texture
Crafty Creations - Thinking Of You
Used Cuddlebug, to emboss and for cutting out. stamped and cut out angel. Corner were done as well with the Sizzex. Pearl drops-Black, white and silver cardstock. The next card-insanity ensued. Used exacto knife and cut out all around the filagree. Stickles used and pop up dots for the angel. Black die ink brushed over the embossed area
This is a fast post as off to Niagara On The Lake for a tourist day:) These 2 cards are for my counsins. My Aunt died on October 11th. She was a sweetie. The cutting out around the embossed area of the second card made me think I went insane but it worked.
See ya soon
The blogfest, created by Alex J Cavanaugh, is meant to bring awareness of disease prevention and early detection regarding medical conditions that may be averted or treated if caught in the early stages. Our desire is to motivate people to go in for early screening, and if a condition is caught early and treated, then our world just became a little better place to live.
The topics are wide open. You can post about a particular cause you support. Or you can share a personal or family experience that is near to your heart. What’s great about this Blogfest is you can inspire people to take care of themselves and their loved ones early enough to make a difference in their lives.
Want to bend like a Rubber Chicken? Want to be asked if any family member was in a circus? Well I have the disease for you! The fun thing is you are born with it, few Doctors are aware of it, there is no DNA testing for it (yet) and no blood, urine or stool sample will ever reveal it. Yes, YOU are special! Doesn't it make one feel warm and cozy? There can be many variations to it and the Vascular kind can shorten your life span to a mere 50 years or so. What am I talking about....Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, That's what!
There is the Skin Extensibility, Tissue Fragility and the Joint Hypermobility. I suffer from the Joint Hyper-Mobility. Now This is the most common form and thankfully, for me that is, if I have this type I can't have the tissue type which shortens your life span. I am glad I am not that special.
There is no cure and there is no drug that can stop it, cure it or delay it. You are born with it and it is genetic. One of your parents has it or, I found, it can skip a generation so one of your grand parents could have it. I also believe there are different severities. I can no longer fit into a box....I used to but not any more.
What to look for: I am going by personal experience and I am very hyper mobile so please note I can not stretch my skin like some can. I was always the kid that could pull her fingers out of their sockets ( still can) and I could bend more than most children. I could never break a bone no matter how much the bullies tried to. Shoe hunting was horrible for me and my mother because my joints always felt like they were bruised. I was weaker than most, hard time playing any sports (not that I cared to).
Teenage years-My feet would feel like burning after walking a fair distance (I thought that was normal). I could not lift myself up to get into a window, Frequently sprained my hands, fingers, ankles. I would dislocate my jaw when going to the dentist. I took longer than most to heal and I do bruise easily. Teeth horrible. Why? The body does not produce collagen (helps harden teeth) which is the binding agent and taking collagen does not work because the body can't process it.
Pain is the huge issue and can't do most exercises. No weight bearing! Will dislocate your joints. No biking, running, lifting, or anything repetitive-this creates more scar tissue which creates more pain. The only exercise is gentle swimming and gentle walking but no marathons.
Pain-how to describe this feeling...well, it increases with age ...I am feeling so warm and cozy. Ok back to the pain-It is constant and attacks every joint and I mean every-jaw, hips, knees, elbows, fingers, toes and it feels like a constant abscess tooth ache. There can be sudden burst of sharp pain anywhere in the joint too.
What to do? Finding a Doctor who knows is key and one of the most difficult. Research and find out which specialist is near you. A geneticist can help too but also remember that most feel it is a child illness and forget these children grow up and still have it and it gets worse. This has been my main struggle-A good Doctor who listens and knows about the disease and will not try to tell you that you need anti-depressants. (that is when I picture the Dr. being smacked in the mouth with my fist).
Go to the Arthritis Society as they are aware of this disease and can give you insight on what to do and not to do. Physiotherapy can help teach you some non evasive exercises to do.
Pain medicine helps. I know, one should take herbal and all that and I do and the naturalpath really helped but pain medicine is the only thing that can keep me functioning. Do I like taking it? Nope but enough already with mind over matter bullshit! The pain is severe and if you have it 24/7 where you can't even open a jar(haven't for years) due to sharp pains telling you to stop, take the medicine. I am on Cymbalta which took the pain off my feet (no more sharp glass walking feeling). I am on Tylenol #3. I don't want to be on this but I have tried many other ways. I need to work (thankfully desk job) and I need to live not exist. Find out which medicine works for you. I feel it constantly keeps the nerve endings on high pain alert, hence why Cymbalta and other type of medicines for depression may work for pain. Don't let the Dr prescribe medicine thinking you are depressed. If he doesn't tell him he is an ass and walk out proudly.. I did, felt great, Like Tony the Tiger:)
The best medicine....Fun! The bright side approach. The power of laughter and happiness truly helps. This is often what gets me through. A positive outlook helps and keeps me persisting in not stopping. Persistence is key and a positive outlook is key. I love beautiful things and surround myself with that. I love great films, I love crafting, I love nature and animals and family and friends. Don't stop living and dance, just not wild like I love to, I knocked out my hip once doing that.
I wish there is more I could offer. A great doctor, pain medicine (for my hypermobility) and don't over extend your joints. I had no idea when I was young so I lifted, worked hard (sawmill) and thought everyone had this pain. I negated it-don't! Persist, tell Dr's who don't listen to screw off and find one who can send you to the right places. Never give up, Never surrender!
Whimsy Stamps-Anything Goes
Fairytale Stampers- Something New
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge-Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge 2- Something forgotten or something New
Christmas Cards All Year Round- Embellish It!
52 Christmas Card Throwdown- Recipe challenge-A one Layer Card
Alphabet Challenge Blog- R for Round or Rectangle
I am enjoying my craft room:) Now what did I do here? Well, last week at 52 CCT they had a colour challenge which I missed but it ties into this week:) I love anything sparkly and I love balls, um I mean ornaments (sorry the devil made me write that:)). I used my new sizzex machine and I never used this embossed Ornament sheet so I did! I embossed on basic white cardstock. I painted the balls in tombow markers (royal blue, some lighter blue one, bright green, magenta and pink). I placed white glitter where it showed white. I used my new gold brush paint and painted the gold directly around the balls (I just can't help myself). I used a gold and light blue ribbon around the card. I stamped white piece of card stock in blue and placed it on the lower right corner and put the Merry Christmas sticker on it and finished it off with lots of crystals, 3 coloured threads, black beads at the end and the snowflake! Whew-This is not layered! Don't you love it when the balls glitter? OK please don't wash my mouth out with soap.:) I know, I know I am a bad girl and I am shaking my head at being a brat.
The Rules for the "One Lovely Blog Award":
1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog
2. Share Seven things about yourself - see below
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!)
4. Contact your bloggers to let them know that you've tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award (which if I had been checking all of my comments I would have noticed long before now).
The Lovely Denise Hammond from Yes, Virginia there is Life after Retirement nominated me and that was so sweet. I have nominated others before so, to be truthful, I won't nominate anyone but I still think all my blogger friends are lovely, even the men:) and hope no one is offended. Now 7 things you do not know about me. I am, I think, an open book so I often don't have a filter which I should develop one day but then, that wouldn't be me so here we go:
1. When Ninja Alex (Alex J Cavanaugh) wrote his A to Z challenge, he would pick a year and ask what occurred that year to make it momentous (lack of a better word). Poor Alex seemed to pick years where I had bad things happen and he responded by saying "I'm sorry". I felt so bad for him but he finally did hit a year where it was a good year:) We all have years like that I am sure.
2. I love animals-all kinds, well except mosquitos, but they are insects so they can be blotted out of this world. There are other insects in the food chain that can take their place. Animals give so much and we take from them needlessly and often. If I ever find someone who harms an animal they better watch out. When I was little I was witness to a racoon being repeatedly thrown in the water by an adult. I was angry and tried to stop that man. I will never forget that.
3. I wish I could help the people I see more, my friends and my family especially my mom. I do what I can but I don't like to see anyone hurt. My mom doesn't deserve dementia (who does?) . As for my clients who deal with Collection agents, Collection agencies and agents can be so nasty and there is no reason for it except to spread fear.
4. I love Dancing With The Stars! Love it!! Yes they get people who are no longer stars of any note but I don't care. It is fun and I get to see dancing-ballroom dancing. I have watched "So You Think You Can Dance" but often it is contemporary dance and they do flips and kicks and raise the chick in the air. I want the Tango-Argentine to be precise (the other makes me think they all will have whiplash). I miss the musicals of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. The tap dancing of the Nicholas Brothers-You have to youtube those 2 brothers-amazing!
5. When I was young I wanted to see the Voulez-Vous ABBA tour so bad. You know those hip dudes and gals in those ultra blue onesie suits that made them feel hip instead of freaky Swedish people thinking they are hip. Well, you know what I mean...hmmmmm, I think I found my Halloween costume. Anyway, my mom said "No. There will be drugs there". I stared blankly at her and said "Mommy, It's ABBA." Really, It's ABBA, They're Swedish and married to each other (at that time anyway), the worst I might find is herbal tea. My brother got to see The Who but I wasn't allowed to see ABBA.
6. You may know a little about my mom but I also love my Dad. Daddy died back in 1988 and I wish he would be here but he would be 101 yrs old( he was 51 when I was born). We had a rocky road when I was a teenager. He didn't know how to deal with a teenaged girl who is similar to him. He was in his 60's at that time. He was a good man who grew up really poor up north. He was chased by wolves and dealt with bears. He was a lumberman who worked in Algonquin Park in the 1930's. He fought for the Canadians in WW2 and was wounded in the last days of the war. He was a man, you may not have agreed with but you could not help but respect him. I will never forget going from the Funeral Parlour to the cemetery and the people were lined up outside their homes in his honour.
7. I like to have fun! I like to be silly:) Life's too serious so why not be nutty? This can often keep me sane:) I love playing games. I even had(had mind you), the Gilligan's Island Game once. Yes I have fallen in a fountain in Toronto (well pushed in actually). My friend tried to help me out and he fell in too (AKA, I took his hand and pulled him in). I decided to dance in the fountain. I felt like Anita Ekberg without the double F ta-ta's
OK so there is a little more about little ole moi. Now I dare any of you to dance in some fountain, or even your shower. I dare ya...:)
Alphabet Challenge- Quadruple
Crafty Creations - Use Orange
Eclectic Ellapu - Pink Team-Flower and Purple Team-Texture Paste/Embossing
Fairytale Stampers - Flower/Ribbon
Glitter & Sparkle - Anything with a B
Whimsy Stamps Challenge - Anything Goes
I used 4 different papers, 4 Bling. Blue, Brown, Bow, Border and Blooms:) Stamped the Sunflower 6 times, coloured with Gamsol pencils and fussy cut each one and mounted them on sticky foam for 3D effect. Embossed the light blue paper with Cuddlebug. Stamped and embossed leaves on water colour paper. Cut it to make a border and coloured it with tombow markers, ( yellow, orange, green and dark red) using water colour technique. Put it all together and finished it off with sticker border in brass, with 4 gems (not real dang it) and a bow.
I have never had the pleasure of "meeting" Tina in blog land but I have had the privilege of reading about her wonderful nature from all of you. You gave her a great tribute a couple weeks back and even though she has crossed through that door way too early, I am certain she is smiling down on her family, friends and all the people who cared for her. She is and so are all of you, part of the sky, bursting with joyous colours of Autumn enjoying the sun which warms the earth and brings such sweet flowers.
I enjoyed making this card and it took me quite a while to get it done but I enjoyed every minute of it in my new craft room created by my hubby for me. I love the challenges that I took part in...it was quite fun!
OMG-October...already? Have I been taken away by aliens and now feel a time rift? My husband would think I am on a permanent spaceship somewhere. Another time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group where one posts our fears and angst in the world of writing and this was begun by Capt. Ninja, Alex J Cavanaugh. I just write whatever is on my mind of which I am astounded at how much I can write about.
Now many know I love creating cards-my first love in blogland and then I expanded my universe and am having great fun and am still pondering a book on my mom's life. I ponder alot. There is no jumping in but more of a feel with my toes and take my long toes away from the water several times before I slowly walk into the water that I bitch about being too cold before realizing it is just right.
Anyhoo, I am a firm believer that less is more and needs are better than wants which is why I have many knick knacks, books, dvd's and stamping material to fit my new craft room which you can see below.
God Help me....Imagine when I am 80 and having to move
Now there was a garage sale of over a 1,000 pieces of rubber stamping material on Saturday. What was a girl like me to do? Yes, like the glitter queen I am (I can say that as I once sneezed over an open glitter jar and it went everywhere), I went to that palace, um, I mean garage sale, and bought more crap for my already large inventory of ,can't have enough, crap to fit in my new craft room. I am giddy like some half-crazed blonde film BB -A-Go-Go freak from the planet craft zombie. How did I feel when I walked up to that driveway of crafting heavenly bliss? If you watch Puss N Boots with his Christmas ball, you will get the idea. Now I must get busy and create cards
Have a great October!
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