live . craft . learn

we interrupt this holiday season for a second opinion

yesterday i got the call. you know the one, the one you dread. the one where the school receptionist is telling you your child fell off the monkey bars, is crying and might have a broken arm.

oh crap!

so off i go and sure enough he is hurt. badly.

i rush him to our pedi and after xrays and a 1.5 hour waiting room wait because after xrays our pedi is in a meeting and can't be disturbed {yes, the lack of compassion gets worse & we will be finding a new one...} we finally see our pedi again and he's convinced it's fine. bruised and tender, but fine.

no. it's not. trust me and my mama instincts, he wouldn't still be crying or screaming in agony when they twist his elbow during the xray if he was fine.

always ask for a second opinion.

those are the lessons i've learned with maddie bean's issues, always. always ask for a second opinion.

we're sent home, with a sling but no brace because the pedi is adamant that he's fine & they're not going to do anything more than put him in a cloth sling. but... low and behold, half an hour later i get the call that the second opinion sees an elbow fracture and that some of the tissue has ripped away from the bone.

this was the moment when i wanted to yell really loudly I TOLD YOU SO!!

so back we go to the pedi for a temp brace and some drugs for the pain.

my poor little man. he was so brave. all. day. long. he cried almost all afternoon long but he was so, so, so brave.

today we see the ortho who i hear is amazing.

always ask for a second opinion. always.

sneaks & a destash giveaway

i am enjoying the kR march kits so much and had a little epiphany last night while i was finishing the layout below. i love cutting paper. i do. big strips, little strips, bits & pieces and especially all of the lovely left over scraps. those are the parts that i enjoy working with the most.

each and every time i try to do something more, like for example the layout i tried creating {and then trashed, so you won't see it... thank goodness i kept an extra paper pack this month!} i get stuck. I see others who inspire me so much with their painterly work on their los {like my dear & amazing friends dina & debee} and it just doesn't work out for me when i add paint and mists. i think finally, after creating with this kit, finally i'm ok with that. i'll just admire and swoon over their work instead. lol

but, i must add, i still love & worship my gesso and paint and working with it on fabric and mixed media projects, but when i'm scrapping i just want my embellies and scraps of paper. of course, it only took me three years of scrapping to finally have that "ah-ha" moment. lol

 

i've also noticed that my style flows from the detailed with layers of embellies to the very sparse diy look, which is exactly what my projects this month are. kind of like the layers of clothing i'm shedding as our beautiful sonoma county begins it's slow walk towards spring.

the doors are open for a few hours in the afternoon. the kids are laughing while playing in the sun out back or riding bikes in the cul-de-sac and my little paper strips are being layered and cut and my photos and stories are beginning to come back out.

oh happy day!!

in other news i have a flat-rate usps destash box that is packed to the hilt with papers and journaling pens and doodads and vintage and ribbons and stamps and kR kit items and who knows what else. actually i have a few boxes that i'm throwing items into as i clean out this studio, but today we're going to start with the one that is sealed shut.

so leave a comment and i'll pick a winner tomorrow morning. internationals can play too but you'll have to help pay for the postage as this is a personal giveaway {so please don't enter unless you are willing to do so} and that box can cost up to $40 depending on where you live. us deliveries will be paid by me.

happy thursday!
xo

a rather smart lady

 

♥

My sister in law sent this to me after she told me about it on Christmas day. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you have already seen and read this but it just seemed so perfect for a monday morning as the words really made me smile, nod and say "uh-huh, yep & oh yea" quite a few times.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. “It is the most-requested column I've ever written.  My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends, parents or spouse will.  Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument..  Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone.  It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God.  He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don't save it for a special occasion.  Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now.  Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything.  Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

happy monday my friends.
xo

it's raining

clean slate + pencil box

saturday morning at around 3 am i woke up to a boom. for a few minutes i was in a daze, still believing i was asleep. then i saw a brilliant flash sneak through our bedroom window as lightening pulsed across the sky. we don't get lightening & thunder storms here in norcal. it's one of the things i miss about my college days in ohio, that mid-west late afternoon storm that comes during the summer.

i stayed in bed and kept watching. snuggled under the covers and i hoped and i wished for rain.

elementary + clean slate + pencil box

eventually my sweetie woke up {startled, like i had been} and asked what was going on. we sat huddled under the blankets and listened, and again, i hoped and i wished and i dreamed of rain, until we started watching an episode of eureka at 4am before going back to bed. lol

 

elementary + pencil box

and today. today it's dreary and gray and drizzly. but still no rain. i want to do a rain dance and make the clouds open up. i want to make the sky pelt down the drops and drench our dry norcal earth. i want it to thunder and storm, like the eastern states know how.

until then i'll keep using up my september kits. and hope.

happy sunday
xo

eta : it finally started raining about 7pm. the drizzle started earlier but i didn't believe it until i heard {and smelled} the rain. it smells SO good right now. :)

genuine

i have exactly seven photos from cha. none with dina. non with celeste. none with ems. none with vee & ronda. but i have this. this perfect picture with ames and gi. and i have to admit, i always prefer the laughing pics like these over any others. i like the real. the genuine. the ones that truly capture who we are and how we were.

you all live to damn far away you know. too. damn. far.

xo