All that we love deeply...

Yesterday I pulled out the Tickled Pink paper pack that I've never used. It seemed light and fresh for spring...which I am so ready for right now. And when I searched and found the stamp set to match I saw the sentiment...seemed appropriate right now too.

I really like the little bit of glitter that this paper has...



After stamping the flowers I used markers to add some dimension. I kind of like the effect--it distracts from the bad stamping job!

Details: all CTMH
Paper: Tickled Pink promotion, white daisy cs
Ink: twilight, blush, crystal blue, sweet leaf
Stamps: Tickled Pink promotion
Other: edge distressor, foam squares, markers

Stupid Hannah Montana

Okay so around the time Little d was three she began watching Hannah Montana. Aaaand she loved it. Ridiculous humor and all. And of all the shows on Disney it's one of the most tolerable.

But I knew from the start that little Miley was going to grow up. And want to get rid of the little kid gig. And I hoped against hope that Little d would out grow her infatuation with all things Hannah Montana...didn't happen.

So now, Miley/Hannah is 18 and calling it quits on the whole "I'm Miley, no I'm Hannah, no I'm Miley" thing. After watching the Hannah Montana movie I figured it was getting close to the end. Now Disney is advertising the season finale of the show and I informed Little d what it meant.

Sweet Niblets. To paraphrase our darling Hannah. She broke down crying for a good half an hour. And add to that the confusion of trying to explain the difference between Miley the actress and Miley the character...sheesh. I also had to tell her that while Miley the actress might still be making movies and music it may not be appropriate for her to watch them.

She angrily told me "well if they are not appropriate for kids I'm never going to watch her ever again!" Take that Miley/Hannah!

Then she wanted to write her an email and tell her that she really didn't want her to move to Tennessee (which is how I think they are ending the finale). And I told her that I was certain there were plenty of fans writing to tell her the same thing.

Is this how it's going to be when she finds out there's no Santa Claus? Because it sucks! Real tears people, real tears and quivering lips.

But it's better for now...she's distracted and doing a United States puzzle. I wonder if she's trying to map a route to Tennessee?

A new technique

First of all, thank for the well wishes regarding my grandma. Your comments warm my heart!


I've been working on this card all week. No particular reason, it just came together as it did. The OCC challenge this week is to try a new technique and after seeing the tutorial on Diana Gibb's blog about faux tin tiles and knew I had to try it! Check out that link to see the video.


I also got my order in from i{heart}papers. I won a gift certificate from Tracy Shultz and took forever trying to decide how to spend it!! I ended up choosing one of Tracy's stamps, some burlap ribbon and some Basic Grey brads. Here's the card...



Here's a close up of the faux tiles. Something I discovered...they became a little brittle. I actually broke a couple right along the texture lines.

Thanks for stopping by!

ETA: I decided to add this to Sparkle's challenge even though I don't think sleigh riding is a winter sport....well maybe if done properly... wink) See her link on my sidebar.

Details: all CTMH unless noted

Paper: kraft card base (HL), grey wool cs, twilight cs, colonial white cs

Ink: black, versamark, olive marker, sweet leaf marker

Stamps: Sleigh Ride (The Petal Press)

Other: plaid ribbon (HL), silver ep (HL), watercolor pencils, water brush, silver pen (Pentel) cuttlebug embossing folder

Resting in peace

Last night Memaw passed away.

My mom and I had spent the entire afternoon visiting four different nursing homes. And we couldn't pick one. None of them were good enough. There was nothing particularly wrong with the ones we visited. Nothing that screamed 'not here'. None of them had private rooms. And I guess in reality they all were screaming...not here.

Then last night as we were talking (D, Mom and I) Mom's cell phone rang. I picked it up and saw the hospital's number and handed it to mom. It happened peacefully the nurse said. I took Mom up there. Mom was comforted by how peaceful Memaw looked, and she did.

I was comforted by the fact that Memaw's presence was gone. And I know how much better she is now. I remember as a small child how much she looked forward to heaven--to being with God. She had that kind of faith.

We are all, including Poppy, so very thankful that she didn't have to go into a nursing home.

I may decide to write a longer post about her life and influence on me, or I may just include it randomly and naturally as this blog goes on. I don't feel moved to write it now, it's not something I need to process now.

Right now I am just thankful for family, faith, and friends. I am thankful for the ties that bind us together and the memories that warm us. I am thankful for the kindness of strangers from nurses to funeral home directors. I am blessed to receive condolences and well wishes and prayers and to in turn pray for my grandfather who is still in such a painful grieving place right now.

I am thankful for the laughter and smiles that surround us even in loss. For the innocence of Little d's questions and thoughts on death. In fact I'll close with her bedtime conversation with me last night.

"Mom, when you die do the angels come and get you?"

"Yes sweetie, I think they do. But I think the person who dies is the only one who can see them."

A thoughtful pause.

"Mom, when I die, you can see my angels."

Sweet girl...you are one of my angels.

True Love

Over the last year two couples in my extended family have had their marriages crumble. I have to say with brutal honesty, that in both cases I was not surprised. In both cases, I have thought that one of the partners was incapable of true love. In both cases, it seemed to me that one partner was selfish. And in both cases I've wished that I could somehow tell the hurt partner, 'you are so much more deserving that what you got.' But of course, in both cases, I am keeping my nose out of it.

But recently, I've been noticing some acts of true love all around me. And it always brightens my day. Even when they are bittersweet stories...

The other day Poppy told my dad that he missed Memaw. He said it had been so cold that he was sleeping in a sleeping bag on their bed. He said he used to leave one arm out of the covers and reach out to her and she would hold his hand as they fell asleep. And now when he reaches out, there is nothing but empty bed there. To me that is the most bittersweet thing I've ever heard. And a great example of true love. Someone to hold hands with while you fall asleep...until you're 90.

My best friend tells me that when she has a nightmare (and let's face it-do you know any moms out there who don't occasionally have a terrible nightmare about something happening to one of the kids?) she wakes her husband up so he can hold her hand while she goes back to sleep. I've been known to do the same thing myself.

My dad makes trips here from POC almost everyday to bring Poppy to the hospital not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's one less thing for my mom to worry about.

And I have lots of examples from my own true love.

This morning my husband took my mom to the hospital early and then went out to the land to put tar paper on the garage, and install a window in the kitchen. But sometime during that he went to Whataburger and got me a breakfast taco, put it in the fridge and taped the receipt to the island so I would see it when I woke up.

For the last several months D has been giving the kids a bath every night (when he's not on night shift) because my back hurts so much when I do it. And I know it's far from his favorite way to spend time with the girls, but he doesn't complain...much. {wink}

Before he leaves for work he empties the trash in the kitchen to help me out in the morning.

He brings me flowers when he knows I'm having a bad day.

He calls in the to go order from IHOP because he knows how much I hate to say 'rootie tootie fresh and fruity.'

He charges my cell phone without me even asking.

True love isn't about roses on Valentine's Day. {PS I have forbidden D to get me anything on Valentine's Day!} It's about everyday gestures that show you care...and that you are putting someone else's needs above your own. It's about me considering giving up my beloved name choice and compromising. (Um, no, not with any of those choices on his current list...he has to come up with some more...)

Would love to hear stories in y'alls life about true love if you want to share!

Confused

Ever since Memaw fell two weeks ago, we've been in a state of confusion. She comes through the surgery fine, but then is almost lost the night after. She shows small improvements in some areas and then regresses. Some days she eats better, some days she hardly eats or wakes at all.

There are times when we think she has literally hours left to live and then other times when we think, 'well maybe she will pull through.' All of this makes decisions difficult. And of course through no fault of their own, the doctors have no solid answers. It's always-'wait and see.' Moving her to a nursing home is the current agenda this week. We have no idea. One doctor mentioned it, and when mom said "will they take her with the IV and catheter?" He said no regarding the IV. Then he said well he did have some patients in the nursing home with IVs.

?

What are we supposed to do with that?

And then Poppy, my grandfather, is still dealing with the whole business of whether or not Memaw will come home. And this weekend, Mom had to explain to him that if she made it out of the hospital she would still need to be in a nursing home. He, of course, just misses her.

On another subject: D is off for two weeks to work on house stuff. He's decided to hire someone to do the roof. The framers are almost done. D and his dad are almost done installing the windows. We are still waiting on the doors to come in. After the house is dried in, we'll call in the floor guys. We're having the concrete stained and polished in some of the house...I'll get into that in another post. It seems we're making progress with the house faster now.

Progress=good. Confusion=bad.

An updated tour of the home construction! (attic)

Today I made a brief stop out at the land after sitting up at the hospital for a bit. And I remembered my camera!! So you all have the privilege of checking out the attic!

This is the front of our house. We have dormers!





This is the back of the house...they still need to finish the roof over the bay window.




Here's the {muddy} stairs that lead to the attic.





View of the garage from the attic.




Attic area over the right side of the house.





Attic area over the kitchen leading to the other side of the house.





Attic area over the left side of the house.





Here's a picture of one of the dormers.





This is one view from that dormer,




And here's a view from that dormer of our driveway.

It may be hard to tell from the photos, but there is actually tons of headroom in this attic (except in the garage). The attic area with the dormers is so tall I probably couldn't jump and touch the top with my hand. You know if I could jump.

D is out there today I think starting to install windows. At least that was his plan...we'll see how much gets done. ;)

D's Birthday

So today is my husband's birthday and we are not spending it together. Which may be a good thing considering I seem to be a little bitchy right now... At least I already made his card last month.


And that's good considering these are the two things I came up with today when I sat at the old scrap table...


First a little 3x3 using another one of those glitter chipboard embellishments I did the other day.

And a thank you card. I went for one of CTMH's card set promotions from last year that I've rarely used.

Blah! But that kind of matches my mood today. D is working out at the land, but the weather is crappy and I don't want to be out in it so I'm staying home with the girls.


Memaw isn't making improvements. Hospice has been called in. She's been taken off of the nutritional IV and they have started her back on narcotic pain relief instead of Tylenol. They were trying to keep her off of the narcotics to see if see would wake up enough to want to eat more, but she never has stayed awake for long and has very little desire to eat. It seemed that she was even in pain when she was sleeping, so that's why they made the decision to go back with a stronger pain relief and now she does sleep more peacefully.


This has been so stressful. I worry not only for Memaw, but for my mom who spends all day at the hospital from 7a-9p (or longer). She comes here, showers and sleeps and then leaves again. I worry about the toll it's taking on her. Mom, along with my brother and I, have accepted that Memaw is near the end. But the stress of wanting her to be comfortable is the hard part.


I also realize the importance of taking care of myself and this little one I'm carrying. But I recognize the signs of stress in my exhaustion and my low tolerance for noise levels right now.

Sorry this is a downer post, let me leave you with something happy. My wonderful husband has been so incredibly supportive and understanding. I am so blessed that God sent him my way. And that he didn't run screaming!!

Oh and something funny...I am eating Fritos and bean dip...aaaaand Elfin Fudge Cookies. I only wish I could blame that on preggo cravings!

Glitter Time

This week at OCC Challenge they have chosen the theme 'old is new again'. You are to use something that you've had for a long time but never used. Well, it is shameful how much I had to choose from. I had this box of chipboard shapes from DCWV that I got on sale when the Joanne's here was going out of business--probably four years ago.

They were a little outdated, but I have been itching to glitter something, anything standing still...so I grabbed several out of the box and hit them with the Prisma...

I then spent no less than five hours making this card. Now to be fair my mind has been elsewhere. BUT it took forever to finish this! And that white frame image I stamped about 50 times. Different inks, different sentiments...blah blah blah. The moral of the story: when I'm using different product lines it takes me lots of time to coordinate!

The good news? I'm happy with the results. That may be just because I have glitter stuck in my eye...

Details: all CTMH unless noted

Paper: white daisy cs, kraft card base (HL)

Ink: bubblegum, versamark

Stamps: Party Invitation, Frame of Mind, Dot Flourishes (Inkadinkado)

Other: chipboard (DCWV), white ep, bonding memories glue, prisma glitter

The Name Game

ETA: I've edited the names out of this post, since I don't want my kiddos names up for world wide veiwing anymore. :) If you reading this post and just can't stand the suspense, email me and I'll let you know the names....maybe HA!

Naming someone is a huge responsibility. It shouldn't be left to amateurs. I mean remember the whackjobs that named their kid Adolf Hitler? So I take that responsibility seriously. Very seriously.

And I've been thinking about what I would name my kids for as long as I can remember. As a small child I loved the name Linda. Surely if I didn't change my name to Linda when I grew up I would name my daughter that. Of course I love my name too, Meredith. But as a second grader everyone else had a nick name and I didn't. Until I watched the movie "Where the Boys Are." Then I chose Merit for my nickname. Stuck all the way through high school. I still have FB friends that use it...the first time I saw it I thought 'oh yeah, that was my nickname.' Now close friends and family call me Mere. Or meremere. But enough about my name.

When Little d was born it was easy. I read a book in HS titled "When Calls the Heart", a Christian 'romance' western that Memaw gave me. The male main character's name was Wynn D*. Loved it. Loved the book, loved the name, loved everything about it. I then and there decided that my daughter or son would be named D*.

I've always had a thing for unusual enough names. Unusual enough to not be one of two in a class, but not unusual enough to elicit stares of 'huh?' Does that make sense?

So while preggo with Little d I had to convince my husband. We didn't know what we were having that time around, so after I told him that 'yes, you can learn to spell D*' he gave in to that for a girl's name. When it came to a boy name we settled on Ellis. It was weird because we thought of it independently of one another on nearly the same day.

Moving on to Little m. I heard the name M* on Oprah. It was some French author...and probably the last time I've watched Oprah too... Anyway. Again, D was on board pretty quickly after he learned to spell it.

On a side note, I am a stickler for having a middle name to flow with the first. Little d's middle name is R* (after her maternal grandmothers Ray Beth and Anna.) See? D* R*. And Little m's middle name is L* after her Aunt Lindsay. M* L*. So as far as I'm concerned, two home runs.

Sigh, but now...

Now we are at an impasse. My husband and I.

I have chosen a name. He doesn't like it. He says it's too feminine, not masculine enough. I say it's absolutely perfect. And for the record it only appears in the BOY section of the baby name book. Also for the record, D* appears in both the boy and girl sections.

He's thrown out a list of names too. Here they are in no particular order...

Bryce (along with 400 other boys in this area)
George (really? Curious George, George of the Jungle, Georgie Porgie)
Robert (he has a grandfather, uncle AND brother named this....nope!)
Ronald (as in McDonald?)
James (he has an uncle named this)
Kristopher (do you really want the boy to go his entire life saying "no, Kris with a K"?)
Hrodebert (no explanation needed...and I can't spell it let alone pronounce it)

Do you want to know mine? Are you just waiting on pins and needles to find out the horrible, no good, very bad name I want to stick this kid with? Are you ready? Are you sure you can handle the name my husband refuses to consider? I mean especially after you just saw his selections.

H*.

Yep. That's it. And I love it. I love it so much that I can't envision anything else at this point. I love it so much that I am very afraid to put it out in blogosphere for someone else to grab.

I have thought of this name in different scenarios. Childlike care as he draws it in Kindergarten. High school girls scribbling in on their textbooks with little hearts. Paging Dr. Steves, Dr. H* Steves. And now, best selling author, H* D* Steves--the crowd roars. H* Steves Attorney at Law.

So give me your thoughts. Am I crazy or is this the very best name ever for my son? Although all the people around me in real life (including Little d) love it and that's hasn't changed D's mind. I hear the hospital takes mom's word over dad's in filling out the birth certificate...

March CTMH Workshop

Well I forced myself to sit at my scrap table and work on my next workshop project. I have decided that from now on (however long or short that is) my workshops will be one project. This is the old favorite whiteboard project. I found the plain frames from Dollar Tree Direct. It's a case of 24 for $24. They are 8.5x11 inches.

I spent way longer than I thought I would making this project, but I am pretty satisfied with the end result. Did it lessen any stress? No. Do I get to cross one more thing off of my to-do list? Yes.




Here's a picture of the board in action...



Thanks for stopping by!
Details: all CTMH unless noted
Paper: Veranda Creative Basics, Veranda Level II
Ink: Garden Green, Cocoa, Creme Brulee marker
Stamps: Adorning Corners
Other: Creme Brulee ribbon, edge distresser, sponge dauber

A brighter note

Yesterday morning Memaw was more alert and actually said she was hungry. Still her speaking is hard to understand and much of it is nonsensical. They started her on a nutritional IV and an appetite stimulant. She has also been completely taken off narcotic pain relief and has been switched to liquid Tylenol.

Things go up and down, but it seems more up than down, or at least more in a holding pattern of 'a little better'.

I really appreciate the kind comments. It always makes me smile to think someone who doesn't even "know" me is saying a little prayer in their neck of the woods.

I should force myself to craft something, because chances are it would make me feel a little more relaxed and upbeat. So today I may sit for a minute at the craft table again and see if this time I don't just shake my head and get up after a few minutes.

I don't know what to post.

Should I talk about my grandmother's worsening condition? She's no longer really eating anything. My mother used to be able to wake her and feed a few bites, but since yesterday evening, she won't wake up. I sat with mom a couple of hours last night. I may be able to tonight also. I can only go when D is home since there is no way I will take the girls up there to the hospital.

There's been a discussion of a feeding tube, but her kidneys are not functioning, so we all know where this is heading. A sad, depressing weekend. D and the girls have been our bright spots.

I could lighten things up by telling you that my wonderful husband sent me a sweet Valentine email from work this morning, so it was the first thing I saw when I woke up.

Or I could tell you how thankful I am that the dreadful heartburn that plagued me early last week seems to have let up a little. It's not making my eyes bleed fire anymore.

And what I may be most grateful for this week: No call from the doctor's office so far, saying I need to come in for the three hour glucose test. Thank God for little miracles.

But mostly I am thinking of Memaw. And doing lots of remembering.

Update on Memaw

I got to spend some time at the hospital yesterday. Memaw had a rough first night at the hospital. We didn't know if she was going to make it. Her blood pressure "bottomed out" and she had no urine output. She still has very low blood pressure and very little urine output. Blood work shows that her kidneys are functioning.

I guess the consensus is that she is dehydrated. Mom is very upset about this as she spent all day Monday in the ER without an IV. Or anything by mouth. We understand that she couldn't have anything by mouth until they determined if she needed surgery, but no one understands why she couldn't have an IV. But what is done is done and now we just wait to see if she will get better on her own.

I was with Mom (who has medical power of attorney) when she had to make the decision to choose DNR. We both know that CPR would do her more harm than good. (I've seen it done in person, and I know it would crush every one of Memaw's ribs...especially with her osteoporosis.) The doctor assured us that no matter what, she would be comfortable. We are now wrestling with the details of if or how we need to tell my grandfather. He's ninety one with diminished health himself, and we don't know if telling him about the details of the DNR orders is better, or if we should just leave those details out. He already realizes how grave the situation is. And as Mom told him "we have to leave it in God's hands." And he agreed.

It was so heartbreaking to watch yesterday as he sat with her. I got to sit in the room with them when my Mom stepped out for a minute. He sat by her and gently rubbed her arm telling her he missed her and that he wanted her to come back home. She mumbled "when these doctors let me..." in a moment of rare lucidity. Most of the time she just mumbles words or phrases that make no sense. "permeate" "lubricate" "mop your feet"

We mostly try to make sure she's not in pain or nauseated. And for the most part she seems comfortable. My mom has such a way with her (or anyone ill for that matter) and is able to sense what she needs and say the right thing.

I am also trying (along with the rest of my family) to make sure my Mom takes care of herself. She is diabetic, and we have to convince her to rest and eat meals and snacks.

I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be doing until things settle down. I'm just praying she continues to make improvements.

Busy busy

We've been a little busy these last couple of days.

Yesterday my mom's mom fell and after spending the entire day in the ER, they determined she had a fractured femur and other small, but stable fractures in her pelvis. This morning she had surgery to put a rod in her leg to stabilize the break and everything went great. My mom has been at the hospital until just this evening.

This afternoon I had my glucose tolerance test and 3D ultrasound. We got some great pictures of the little toot. He has his dad's feet and nose and also some cute chubby cheeks. I would try to load them tonight but I'm really tired.

Just wanted to do a quick update here. Hopefully things continue to go well with Memaw and she'll be out of the hospital before too long. If you pray, keep her in your prayers. Thanks!

Weekend in Pictures

Here's what the kiddos have been up to the past few days...

Paying bills with Mimi. They like to play with her extra trash mail. Sorry Mimi this wasn't your best picture, but it was the best picture of the girls (wink).

Animal Hospital. Yellow post-it notes are of course bandaids. They also double as fun fashion accessories.

Reading with Dad. On a side note...Is my husband hot or what?!? I love when he gets to grow out a scruffy beard between his shifts.

And what pray tell was I doing while all this was going on? Heartburn. Yeah, mostly heartburn.

House Mouse Valentine's Card (second post today)

I think this may very well the only Valentine's stamp I have. I don't really hold much affection for the holiday anyway. I bought this stamp because it was on clearance at Hobby Lobby and I was trying out for a House Mouse design team.

But it is a cute image, and I thought I'd stretch a little and make a Valentine's card. It even qualifies for Penny's Challenge this week!




And did you see!? I even broke out the sewing machine and did a zig-zag stitch on the ribbon! I hope you all are having a good weekend!

Details: CTMH unless noted

Paper: colonial white cs, desert sand cs, patterned paper (K&Co)

Ink: desert sand

Stamps: House Mouse

Other: ribbon (garage sale) watercolor pencils, water brush, sewing machine (sears hahha)

Yet more framing pictures

If you are bored with all the framing pictures, TOO BAD! Here's some more mwah hahahaha!

Here's the updated picture of the garage...

Here's the view from my brother's garage looking at our house.

This is the start of the stairs that will go up into the attic/storage/future bonus room.

This is a view from the back door into the great room. You can see where the fireplace will be. I chose to have a fireplace that will be open through the great room into the dining room.

It was an absolutely beautiful day today!

Thanks for all the suggestions on what you would want in your scrap rooms. The thing I am most worried about is lack of natural light. Unfortunately, the room is in the middle with no exterior windows. I'll just have to make do with lots of artificial light and photograph my stuff in another area maybe.

Okay I think I need to go work on a card or something...it's been a couple of days since I made one!!

More Framing Pictures

Things are still slowly progressing as far as the framing goes. They can't work in the rain, as my dad points out, "you don't really want to run an electic saw in the rain..."

But here's a few more updated pictures of the framing. This is the second wall in the kitchen that runs alongside the great room. There is a mistake here in that the opening to the great room from the kitchen is to close to the back wall, but I doubt you can tell that from this picture.

This is the two bedrooms/one bathroom/and hallway on the left side of the house.

I know, I know, once again it's really hard to see much of anything from these pictures, but it's exciting to us to see any little progress being made!!

Thanks for all the comments/suggestions on my post about the new scrap room! If you haven't suggested anything yet, I'm still listening! (wink) So suggest away!

A Burning Question

If you stop by here, please please please leave a comment today!

As you may know my husband and I are in the process of building the ol' dream home. And I have the wonderful privilege of building a scrap room from scratch. One of my requirements is plenty of counter top space to work on and of course custom storage. I also want lots of lighting.

My question is this:

What would you want in your scrap room if you could start from scratch?

Now I'm not looking for fantasy rooms here! LOL! None of this "every cartridge made by cricut" or "a full time maid to organize my scrap paper" business. Real world stuff okay?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you have!!

Thank goodness for little girls!

***Miss Lindsay if you are reading this, look away if you want to be surprised***







This week at the Pink Elephant the challenge was "all about pink". Well I immediately think of fresh new baby girls and since my brother and his wife are expecting a baby girl in May, (yes I am totally outing her in blogville!) I had to make a card for when their new baby arrives.

Do you find that when you are making a really really special card for someone that it takes you even longer because it must be just so? That's how it was with this card. I just think the world of my sister in law and am absolutely thrilled for her and my brother. I am so excited to watch them become first time parents--I know they are going to be fantastic at it!

My first step was to go through all my pink patterned paper. Then the lightning bolt hit! The DCWV Nana's Nursery!! I love this paper. Sparkle and pink? Yes please! After much arranging and ink sampling here's what I finished with:

And I had to show a detail of the sparkly paper!

Even my critic gave her approval!

Thanks y'all for stopping by and come back tomorrow when I have a burning question involving a new scrap room I need the answer to!!

Details: CTMH unless noted

Paper: Nana's Nursery (DCWV) bamboo textured cs

Ink: sweet leaf

Stamps: Tea Party

Other: ribbon (HL) edge distresser

Second verse, same as the first...

I know this card is really similar to the one I did the other day, but I couldn't help myself. In fact I even did another watercolor rose in peach for use on a future card. I like the addition of the inked edges on this version too.

I thought briefly of adding some pearls, but if this goes through the mail it just makes it easier if it's really flat.

On the CTMH front: I had one attendee at my clothespin workshop last Friday. And she was my downline. I had three others respond that they wanted to come, but had conflicts on the night. And of course I haven't had anyone order anything in months. I told my husband that I'm not making the purchases to stay active this quarter. If I get enough orders, okay, but if not I'll just drop to junior consultant. And I really think I may stop doing the workshops then too. Depending on what happens. I mean after all I will have a newborn in a few months and then we'll be moving, so I'll probably be on hiatus from workshops during that time anyway.

What's funny is that I'm not even upset about it. My life is so full and fulfilling right now. I have plenty of crafting to keep me busy on my own schedule. And a husband who lets me indulge in such a frivolous hobby! ;)

Let me show you the door...

No, I'm not kicking off my blog!!

Today we placed an order for our doors. Our front door will be three-quarter glass just like the one in this picture...





We won't have sidelights or the arched transom. Our transom will match the door glass, but it will be a rectangle that just goes over the door. I couldn't find a picture of that online.

Here's a picture of what all the interior doors will look.

It is so much fun picking out all the little details. It's not fun having a budget of course, but that's the rub when you haven't won the lottery. Anyway, here's my motto that I'm always repeating to my husband--"You're in charge of function, I'm in charge of pretty." So far it's worked pretty well. Although honestly, we discuss every little detail anyway.

Hope you all are having a good start to your week!