Gratitude for so much

It is the last Thursday of the month (smell ya later March) and this means to write about what you are grateful for.  One can join in on the blog hop fun over at the wonderful Vidya Sury's blog and read other people's posts about what they are grateful for or you can join in on the fun.

1. Health!! Now as most of you know I have been ill for over a week and, well, that sucks. You know the feeling-it starts off  with some coughing. We ignore it but as times passes the throat feels like you just swallowed a wet, moldy woollen mitten and your coughing turns to hacking. Your sweating and feeling really hot but then a wave of ice cubes  comes over you and you shiver like you just saw Justin Bieber naked.  We have all been there and, it passes and you start to feel better. Some people have chronic health issues and I do, but it isn't going to get me down! The most difficult health issues is finding the strength to continue on and be happy with the life that you are leading. I lost a dear person this past month...he was only 61 years old. He was my ex's brother and he was a good man even though he did not believe it. He did not commit suicide but he gave up on life. His marriage went over 20 years ago and he let her have his home and land- he never fought for it. From that moment, he started to slowly slide. He let the negative feelings and self-talk take hold. He began to drink more and he lived in an apartment that looked like he had just moved in but yet, he had been there for years. When his mom passed, he went further within but when his dad passed less than a year later, he was "destroyed" as he put it. He refused to look at the positive and one could see a decline that he was stubbornly and consciously aware of  maintaining...if that makes sense. His heart was not good and he had a blood clot in his leg. He told lies to people knowing they were concerned but refused to receive any help. He did not take his medicine but continued to drink and drink and smoke. He was found in bed....dead. A life he consciously made sure to destroy. It was a sad life that didn't need to be lived in this way and he didn't need to die this way. So why am I grateful? He has taught me how to be grateful for my life even when things don't work out the way I thought it should be. Crap happens...let's reflect, cry, be angry but rise above and move forward and be happy with all that life give to you.

2. My Hubby!  Now this man can infuriate me because...he can:) He will start talking before I finish my sentence. He will "zone out" while I am talking and then start on a completely different topic than what I was speaking about. He must have things all in their place because he is an OCD zombie. He has the patience of ....well he has no patience except in certain areas like his art or when he is fixing something around the house. He is my ADHD man and he deserves a cape and some nifty cute shorts to wear. He has the confidence to stand  with his hands on his hips singing the MEmemememeeee song:) I often tell him wear his throne is and that it needs a flush. This man has been here for me when I have been sick. He makes sure the house is cleaned, he has made all the dinners and has made sure I am resting. Earlier in the month, when my friend came over, he cleaned the whole house so I would not have to worry about that when I came home from work. He made sure I took my medicine and rubbed Vicks on me. When I looked like something from the Amnityville Horror, he still looked at me with love in his eyes...awwwwwwww(ok don't wretch). He is also a brilliant artist and I will showcase some of his works in May. He has made me some beautiful things that I adore.

3. My best friend! She and I are soul mates  and I love her to bits...besides she knows where the bodies are hidden:) We can finish each other's sentences and we will be thinking about the same thing almost at the same time. We have known each other since 1985 and have gone through ups and downs but always together. Her children are finally of age where she can escape, I mean, travel with me on little adventures. We just went, last year, to the Jimmy Stewart museum and the Lucille Ball museum and enjoyed every moment. This month, she came over and we had a sleep over because big kids can do this too! We watched "Harvey" (with Jimmy Stewart) and a couple of Carol Burnett shows (Went With The Wind) and laughed and laughed. Laughter with your best friend can't get any better.

So there ya go my top 3 things to be grateful about. I am looking forward to the A to Z challenge, warmer days (had snow today), creating cards, my animals, my OJ and soda water and movies:) What have you been grateful for?

The A to Z Challenge Reveal

Now, I wanted to make something fun for showcasing the A to Z Reveal using my creative, nutsy mind but my creative, nutsy mind is still battling the horrible flu and bronchitis and I am sweating and shaking like some lost little piggy ready to go to market. In fact, I have not even started writing my A to Z but I shall prevail! (I am soon off back to bed). Now I was thinking about doing something different from last year since I could talk about my mom's history or my dad's since both led quite extraordinary lives. I did think about my cards and I may even do that next year although that would be a challenge. I thought about my favourite holiday-Christmas but I kind of did that quickly at Christmas. I even thought of my travels but when all is said and done...I kept coming back to the same thing.......Film Stars!

Yup I know it was popular last year and I just love this theme so, that I had to do it again. In some cases I will have a tough time finding a name but in other places there is an abundance like the "G's"-Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Garbo, Greer Garson, John "Jack" Gilbert, Betty Grable etc.... well, we shall see who I pick. Can't wait to read everyone else's:)

I'm sick

I am usually able to rise from my cold and look at my blog and read everyone's posts as I so enjoy it but I got hit with bronchitis. Silly me thought I had allergies since I was coughing on Monday but that was not the case. I have been in bed, sweats, fever, pain, cough...you know the drill. Thankfully no pneumonia as I was worried about that but x-rays proved I just have that sill ole bronchitis thingy. I hope to be up and around a bit each day. I don't have an ipad or anything like that so I have to be physically up to read and write and since I am seeing spots in front of me I think it best to lie back down. I hope to read the posts soon as I miss it. Take care everyone and hope you do not get what I have...it seems 2 people at my work also are coming down with something.

Happy Birthday Daddy

My dad was born in Barry's Bay, Ontario Canada in 1913. Yup he would be 102 if he were alive today.

Some facts about my dad:

 He was born in a log cabin and was as poor as poor can be. He was given his dad's pants and they were just cut off at the bottom and he had a rope for a belt, no socks and rubber boots. He actually did walk 10 miles to school. Can you say "Little Rascal"?

 His mom, my Grandmom, died in 1919 after childbirth. There were 7 children in total (no idea if she had miscarriages in between but I am certain she did). My grandfather was blinded by the light....of dynamite that blew up too soon. So he could not work  as he did before. He did marry again, the old bugger, to a 16 yrs old and I think he was 44. Old bugger ...ooops I said that already. Well they had another 6 children.  He just couldn't keep it in his pants.....old bugger.

My dad was taken out of school, at grade 4, to help his dad sell Rolly's Good Health Products. I am certain it was 90 proof. I still have the case!

My dad's first job was on April 27, 1927 in a lumber camp. In the 30's he worked in Algonquin park as a logger and worked on the rivers(see above). This was during the great depression so he would often hop the rails and hide from the guards or jump off the train (when it was slow) if they got too close to him. He travelled all over the country.

He worked for years in the Atlas Steeles, off and on. This place no longer exists and he hated it.

He fought in  World War 2 and was wounded shortly before the war ended. He was part of the liberation of Holland. He was a scout with 2 other soldiers. He got hit in the chest and then hit again, but this time, the magazine he was wearing started "popping"-all the bullets were going off. He had to tear that off which he has no idea how he did that. It took his shirt with him. He then crawled backwards so his own men wouldn't shoot him. The other 2 didn't make it. He let others go before him thinking he was not too badly injured until the Doctor saw him. (That's my dad! I say this proudly).

He worked out west and met up with bears, wolves and moose. He said the worst were the moose as they were ornery, stupid and unpredictable.

He believed in ghosts and had ghosts stories to tell and was a great story teller. He loved movies and  this is where I got my love for it. He loved beauty pageants-he really did! He also loved awards shows, the news, documentaries and he loved to talk. He LOVED Christmas and was the first in line to buy the Bonanza Christmas Album which I still have.

He had a daughter, out of wedlock, the lady refused to marry him and  after 2 years of his daughter being raised by her maternal grandmother, her biological mom, adopted her out and never told my dad or her mom she was doing this. He was not reunited with his daughter until 1978.  She is a true beauty in every way:)

He met my mom in 1959 and within 2 months they started living together even though he was a strong Catholic. Her jerk of a first husband would not grant a divorce. My mom and my dad loved each other deeply and, even when his family were being total jerks (they had my mom investigated), he sided with my mom and told them to go to hell.

They opened up a sawmill business when he was 52 and I was only 1 yr old. They raised my brother and me (or is it I??) in the country and we had a great time growing up.

He was strong, he took no guff, he could swear and screwed up the language (Hycoprit-hypocrite or disingrate-disintegrate). He was loyal, loved to have a few drinks and enjoyed company. He was an avid reader and would talk to any kid and tell them to stay in school and get their education and read! He commanded respect. When he died on April 30, 1988 of brain cancer, people were lined up on the road as we travelled to the cemetery...I will never forget that. So Happy Birthday Daddy!

My Film Pick

This ...is fun:) I joined a group where a film is picked on the 2nd Friday of each month, and one must watch it and give our review after. This month we each get to pick the film and another, from the group, has to watch the film. This was started by MOCK and The Armchair Squid and I saw this on Cherdo, By the Flipside's blog. This is a blog hop so I hope some can join in on the fun:)

I had a hard time in choosing which film to pick as I love so many. I love musicals and thought of picking one but my mind kept going back to this film by the great Alfred Hitchcock.  I am not going to give too much away because, if anyone has not seen this film, then you must see it!

Stewart Granger plays the hero who is engaged to the beautiful Ruth Roman (she was on the Andrea Doria) but he has a slight problem....He is still married to his skanky wife played by the future Mrs. Tate from Bewitched. Robert Walker plays a man Stewart Granger meets on the train, and he does a superb performance! He should have won an Oscar for this role. No one knows who he is nowadays but back then, Robert Walker was known as the kindly boy next door. He was a role model of sweet, good-natured innocence- remember this when you watch the film.

I won't get into the moments of this film because I would give key parts away so you must watch it and then I will talk about it at a later date. Oh and Marion Lorne, the sweet Aunt Clara from Bewitched, gives a great nutty performance in this film as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Hubby hard at work...creating snowmen:)

So my hubby is quite the guy! My ADHD man does not know the meaning of the word "slow" and is in constant motion. He also loves to talk and so do I which creates quite the nut farm in our humble abode. We are both Gemini's...you realize that makes us both nuts.

He suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis which has slowed him down, for him that is. When he needs to rest, he comes on the computer and starts to create, with pride, his snowmen. They are quite intricate and I think they are quite nifty. Some of these snowmen also look a bit shifty but they are all fun!

Since he is a dingbat when it comes to anything electronic, he asked me to place these on my blog and see what you all think:) This man can fix vacuums-hell, he took 3 that were on the side of the road for garbage pick up, and fixed all of them. He built our front stairs and has received many compliments (I chose the colours). He replaced our roof on the house after we had a bad wind storm. Can he figure out how to use the DVR? Nope...complete dingbat! I even wrote instructions.... Nope! I came home from work and he had screwed up the TV and complained it was not put together correctly (wires etc...). I got it back in shape in 20 seconds. Oh well he is my wonderful dingbat.

So here are some of his snowmen:

This one reminds me of the pigeon lady in Home Alone 2

He is one snowman who loves the sun

OK they are the Valleygirl snowmen wearing ugs:)

This is how I felt this past winter:)

This snowman has one long carrot for a nose.....there is a dirty joke in there somewhere:)


He is working on another one with 3 snowmen but this is his group for now:) Oh and here are the front stairs he built and painted.

He is responsible for the beautiful plants since I am the kiss of death. he will no longer let me be near them. I still will give my 2 cents worth though because I can(I am smiling with an evil grin).

Christmas A Go-Go

Grey, Silver and pretty white cardstock:), sizzex machine, ornament die cut and corner die cuts, stickers, crystals and a bow

ABC Christmas Challenge-E for edging punch or die
Craft Your Passion-Always Anything Goes
Holly Jolly Christmas-Dies and Punches
Craftyhazelnutchristmas-Always anything goes
Eclectic Ellapu-Pink Team-Anything Goes

OK I started this card 2 weeks ago but due to pain and personal crap I was not able to do any cards until today. I feel great creating some cards. I love this die cut and made this style before...I can make cards galore!

Various green papers, dye colours in greens, sponge, sizzex machine, embossing folder, star stamp, evergreen stamp, cute reindeer stamp, holly stamp, clear versamark pad and clear embossing powder, celery dye pad, green sparkle embossing powder and green embossing powder, Merry Christmas stamp, green marker, copper border stickers, Chalks.

52 Christmas-a sketch challenge
Glitter and Sparkle- Do the outside and the inside of the card
Winter Wonderland- Animal Antics
Sparkles Christmas Challenge- Make it Green
Christmas Cards All Year Round-Use Cute Critters
Fairytale Stamps-Anything Goes
Eclectic Ellapu-Purple Team-Go Green
Completely Christmas- Suitable for a Man

Oh how much fun this was to create:) So I used this really neat cardstock that has some glisten to it and can appear green or brown depending how you match it up. I have this nice green paper that has a nice gloss but is not mirrored. I took white paper and sponged it in various shades of green and then stamped the evergreen and stars on it and heat embossed it in clear. I took a deep hunter green dye pad and rolled the green onto the card and just rubbed off the dark green so the image of what I stamped showed through. The sizzex machine came out again to cut the paper where Mr. Reindeer is on and highlighted the edges with a green glitter pen. I shall call this reindeer Herschel. Now Herschel was stamped in apricot brown dye pad and the leaves were done in green and then green sparkle was used to heat emboss it.  I took a sheet of white and sponged it in greens and then used the sizzex to emboss it.  The leaves were embossed with the green glitter and then fussy cut and adhered to the card under the oval paper piece. I finished it off with copper border stickers.

On The inside, I took white paper and did some sponging around the edges and then stamped the Merry Christmas words in green embossing powder. I finished it off with the border stickers and a holly which I also fussy cut after stamping it with green glitter. Now I think this is manly enough even with some glitter. Have a great week!

IWSG-THE HORROR

It's that time again to release one's frustrations, fears and insecurities to the world with the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Created by the wonderful Alex J Cavanaugh, this post is held on the first Wednesday of each month to talk about ones' fears regarding writing, publishing and general mahem related to this world of writing. I, of course, have not written any book (yet) but I still love to participate in this adventure and continue to learn from all the authors out there in blog land.

Since I missed writing a little about myself last month, I am now giving a few pointers about myself now. I was born in the ancient city of Anusclaptra. I was the Queen of the cult goddess tittibeaverassum...oops sorry I was finding my inner Shirley MacLaine. Actually I grew up in the country. My parents ran a sawmill business and, to this day, I love the smell of sawdust. I endured school all the way through University and was able to get my psychology degree. Yup Psych as in psycho...not me but some of the profs were on a different plane of existence. I worked at the sawmill business and later found my job as a Credit Counsellor in 1991 and I am still at the same job! This does mean I actually enjoy it:) I suck at math but I am great in budgeting if I do say so myself and as long as I have a calculator I can do my job and do it very well. I also enjoy people...I really do. Most people have had a very difficult time just entering our place never mind discussing their finances. I have seen people who have abused credit but, mostly, they have suffered life events which  made it most difficult for them to pay their basic bills and eat.  Losing a job (I hate the word restructure), becoming sick, marital breakdown and suffering a business failure are the top 4. I have seen many addictions, lack of education and being taken advantage of. I have seen all walks of people from professors and teachers to people on disability or welfare. Financial hardship knows no boundaries, ethnicity, gender or age.

Now, every once in a while I run across a certain individual where they bring out the worst in me.....I can't stand them. There was one woman (woman??) who was a true horror and no amount of drink would have made her look attractive. Now I am not one to look (well not really true but that is human) at just the physical. I have met people who have been too fat or too thin or have been robbed in the looks dept but they have the beauty of an angel and the outside looks don't matter. This ogre had neither.

People can be set up on a program to pay their debts at a lower payment and often the interest is suspended so, many times,  people are placed on our program and then they come in monthly to make their payments. This was also years ago when we took cash (we don't want to now due to robbery etc...). Picture a short, very fat female ogre who makes her home at the local Wal-Mart. Said Ogre always wore a skirt that was see through just so one can see the fire being made by her billowing thighs that rubbed together. The top was almost always white and said ogre never wore a bra. Her hanging weeds of babble were so droopy they touched her waist and they were very lopsided. I am certain no bra was ever made to support those glands from Mordor. Her face would have been perfect for making Halloween cookies-just press that face in dough and Voila! Her yellow teeth were going in several different directions and when her mouth closed one tooth from the bottom protruded out onto her upper lip. Any warthog would have been proud. Her hair shone in the sun because of all the grease buildup that you wouldn't need butter or Pan when cooking because she had enough grease in her hair that she could wring it out.

You think I am done...nope because the Wal-Mart ogre avoided the aisle called "toiletries". Never mind shampoo but I am certain she had no idea what soap or deodorant was. The smell permeated my nostrils that all the little hairs in my nose curled up and died. I would lean towards a window and gasp for some air before continuing to ask her about her expenses. Once, she came in and made a payment in cash, and yes the money was soggy (I am not kidding!), I was doing my best impression of being dead since I was trying not to breathe, when a fellow co-worker was coming down the stairs whistling happily when she suddenly stopped. I saw her nostrils move in that way of  "what's that smell" and suddenly she started to dry heave and run to the back of our office.  I am not exaggerating one bit!

Now Wal-mart Ogre fit all the physical attributes of a swamp thing but did her personality? I would not be writing this if she had a sweet disposition. She was the nastiest thing this side of the Piggly Wiggly. She would argue every time I asked her a question ("what do you spend on groceries?"   "Why do you need to know THAT?"). She would look her nose down at me if I did not answer her fast enough and took her good nature cue from the Wicked Witch of the West. She was "The Horror" . Thankfully she did pay her debts and as she scratched her arm and left bits of dry skin on our counter, she left, never returning. I hope she found her green swamp of Wal-Mart and never bothered anybody again with the odour that still lingers in my nose. To tell you the truth I would rather deal with the guy who gave me $400 all in $20's from his crotch than deal with her.  So ends another writing gig from little moi.