Quotes...

There comes a time when you roll up your sleeves and put yourself at the top of your commitment list. -Marian Wright Edelman

A laugh is a smile that bursts. -Mary H. Waldrip

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. Unknown

The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

A friend is someone who reaches for your hand... and touches your heart. Unknown

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. -Chinese proverb

One reason a cat can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why. ~Author Unknown

You have the power to make or break someone's day; tread carefully. Anonymous

Always leave enough room in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, or even joyous. -Paul Hawken

Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments. Rose Kennedy

Great time at the crop!

I had a great time at the crop on saturday despite not feeling my best. Not only did we laugh at our clumsiness and breaking everything (Nancy, just pull on the shade - it'll come down! Ooops.....broken! Boy scouts to the rescue! LOL). I finished a few more pages in my Disney album, but wasn't in the mood to do Disney. I got a chance to catch up with some ladies that I haven't seen in a while too, which was nice and met a few new ladies. Sales were good, which was a relief especially because the last few crops have been horrible for sales.

Congrats to Val who's daughter delivered a healthy baby boy while we were at the crop (Her daughter lives in AZ - no, she wasn't at the crop! LOL).

I'm gearing up for the scholarship fundraiser crop I'm organizing this weekend so I'll be busy this week! Looking forward to another crop and meeting new people. Lots of new scrappers and people that have never been to a crop so it should be fun!

IRW August Mini Supplement

The IRW August Mini Supplement came out today and has some really cool stuff in it. Don't forget that I can order from the June and July Mini Supplements, so check them out on my Catalogs page as well as the 2008 Core Catalog. I just love these monthly mini supplements - new stuff every month. Am I in heaven???? LOL

Tomorrow is the Boy Scout crop and I'm ready to do some scrappin'! I just hope the a/c is working cause it's 97 degrees today and is suppose to be just as hot tomorrow...ugh!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend :-)

Crop Time!!!!

Woohoo!!! I'm ready for some crops and I have 3 crops the next 4 weeks. Boy Scout crop this weekend, scholarship crop next weekend (I'm organizing this one), and a week off then a hospice crop. Whew! Then no more crops until November....so I have 2 months off from crops to work on things for my high school reunion, my sister's wedding album, and to attend my cousin's wedding in Rhode Island at the beginning of October and High School Reunion at the end of October. October is going to be a busy month because we're taking vacation at the beginning of the month on our way to Rhode Island too.

I was going to do another Scrapping for Soldiers Crop in September, but I'm so busy personally that I need to give myself some time to relax and get those things done. Don't worry - I'll be back to organizing crops in December though!!! Thinking of doing a SFS crop at the beginning of December. What do you think? A crop to finish some last minute Christmas/Holiday gifts? Sounds good to me!!!!

I'm so excited about scrapping right now! Over the weekend I put together a small 6x6 album for a friend that lost her father last week. It felt so good to sit down and scrap and to make this album for her. I gave her the album today and she started crying - she loved it! I offered to put the pics in there for her if she wants (she's not a scrapper) to make it easier for her. She was so appreciative of the album, which really made me feel good that I could help her through this tough time. That's what scrapping is all about - - - - touching other people's lives and making a difference.

This weekend at the crop I'm hoping to work more on our Disney vacation album. Made a good dent in it at GASC so hope to work more on it. I also have a few other smaller projects I'll bring with me since I'm vendoring - just not sure how busy I'll be or not. Looking forward to the crop and seeing my scrapping friends. Always fun to catch up!

Remembering....and missing Pawsie

Sorry I haven't been updating my blog as often as I use to. Life has just been....well, life.....it goes on whether I want it to or not...

I really miss Pawsie. It's weird at home without him. Sure the other kitties are here but I guess they are not as demanding as Pawsie was. He was always there to lend comfort, listen to me (yes, I talked to him all the time) when I needed to talk, and a great snuggler. I'm having a problem filling the void he's left in my life - it's so much quieter around here and it's weird. I've even told the other kitties that I have an opening for "my buddy" and no one wants to step up to the plate. Even a part time buddy? Well, I have a few takers for part time buddies....but boy oh boy are they mising the boat. Being mommy's buddy means you get whatever you want, when you want it. You get all the extra lovings you want. You get to sit or sleep where ever you want. Oh the list goes on and on......and can you believe they aren't fighting for it? LOL

For those without pets, it's hard for you to understand and I don't expect you to understand (and won't criticize you for not understanding). My kitties are my children and Pawsie was a part of our family for 17 years. That's a long time....shoot, he's been to every duty station we were stationed at while John was in the Navy! He's flown more times than I have - seriously!

I've had to reschedule a vet appt for Fritz 3 times because I'm not ready to go to the vet's office yet. I just don't want to break down in tears when I'm there. Plus my vet was so good to Pawsie that when the other vet specialist called her to tell her, she left me a voicemail and I could tell she was crying too. She loved Pawsie and he loved her. He was the most cooperative kitty when he went - never fussed or fought her when they needed blood. The funny part, he practically put his arm out and said "go ahead and get the blood"

A week after Pawsie passed away, John went back to the vet specialist's office and picked up Pawsie's ashes. They were in a nice wooden box beautifully decorated. They also made a clay impression of his paw and cut some of his fur off and put it in a bow. It was the extra touch with the clay impression with his name that brought me to tears again. It took me 2 weeks to get the courage to bake the clay impression. It's now a solid pottery and we can paint it and hang it up.

I remember last year when I was recording voice segments for work at home and Pawsie and Fritz wanted to help me by meowing in the middle of me talking. I took a few minutes and let them record what they wanted to say. I recently came across those recordings, which are very special now that Pawsie is gone. I'm going to create a scrapbook of pictures of Pawsie and put his voice recordings in the scrapbook with special recording chips. They will make the scrapbook even more special for me.

Pawsie was my first kitty and until we adopted Pawsie, I didn't like kitties at all! In fact, I use to joke around saying Pawsie was my kitty/doggie because he did things like a dog sometimes....Plus when we adopted Pawsie I was suppose to get a dog and John was suppose to get a cat. Well, there were only 2 kitties left and John told me we needed to have 2 kitties to keep each other company while we were at work. Okay, so I can understand that. Then I find out we can only have 2 animals in base housing......yep, no dog for me. I was perfectly happy with Pawsie and Spanky though - they were a hoot and definitely taught me alot about kitties. Shoot, they were definitely running the show, not me! LOL

I can go on for hours talking about all the good times with Pawsie. He was the best! I will always remember him for his loving and friendly personality. No one came in the house without being greeted by Pawsie!

Now the other kitties need to remember what Pawsie taught them (yes, he was the "grand pooba" of the kitties - ha ha) and carry on his traditions. We see a little bit of Pawsie in each of the other 3 kitties and know he is missed by all of them....

Holiday Celebration & Gratification

I love this picture that John took of the US Flag flying over the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1992. It sums up what this holiday weekend is all about - our freedom and independence.

In honor of our independence, please take a moment to thank those men and women of our military for everything they do to fight for our freedom. Go to
www.momentofthanks.com and create a free account, and write a message to our troops. It's the little things we do that mean so much to our troops far away from home. They do so much and ask for so little in return.