*Happy Anniversary Milo*

I can't believe it's already been 8 years since we brought Milo home to live with us.... what a wonderful dog he has turned out to be.... so loving, caring, cuddly and fun!

I love that puppy!

Quick post as I am heading back up to the hospice this morning.  Mom is still hanging on.... not honestly sure how she is doing it as she is so weak...  I feel for her....

Again, no full information to give you other than this is a card I created for the Mojo149 sketch.  The image is by Whippersnapper, I think the celebrate is one of those cheap Michael's sets, and I coloured the flower with Copics.  I think the coloured cardstocks are all Stampin' Up! as is the ribbon.  And it would appear I used a Cuttlebug folder on the bottom of the red panel... can't think of it's name though LOL

Enjoy your Tuesday!

*Friday Fast One*

Hi Everyone... and Happy Friday!

I am still in Regina, still spending the days at the hospice with my Mom.  She has had very few wakeful moments since I got here earlier in the week.  Yesterday she had a good one while the Dr was visiting and she has decided to stop her feeds....  she admitted to Heather and I that she is tired of fighting and is ready to die.  We will miss her terribly, but we totally understand.

Of course, there is no way of knowing when anything will happen.... Heather has taken to sleeping at the Hospice with Mom as Mom has been scared of being alone.  I feel bad for Heather....  this is all taking such a toll on her.  But I know she is doing what she feels she needs to do.

I need to get a move on and dry my hair so I can get to the hospice.....  so here's the card for you.... it's FTL99, the patterned paper is old Imaginisce, and I used a Spellbinders die for the tag....

*Hello Rollercoaster*

Just a quickie from me on a beautiful Monday afternoon.  I am feeling human again for the first time since my stomach problems started 6 days ago.  I am actually wanting to eat and feeling able to swallow without a fight.


I hopped a flight to Regina last night after approximately 36 hours of Mom not doing well again... by the time my flight hit the ground, Mom was awake, feeling OK and laughing with her favourite nurse at the hospice.


So as not to freak her out, I am hanging at her house today while Heather sits with her at the hospice.  The family will be hitting the road today and we have told Mom I am with them....  we will stay for a few days and head back home unless something changes.  


And obviously, things change.


I don't like rollercoasters.... real ones or emothional ones!


But this is the journey I am on and I am fighting to be strong.


Anyway....


A little piece of goodness for you....

II am very sad to report that in my haste to get to the airport, I left my book of information at home.  I can tell you that the patterned paper is Stampin' Up!, as is all of the cardstock.  I have no idea definitely what colours I used... So Saffron is there but I'm not 100% sure on the other colours... I wanna say Rose Red and Always Artichoke.  But I could be wrong LOL.  The layout is the FTL98 over on the CAS Blog.


More and more, with my life so much in an uproar, I LOVE these clean and simple layouts.....

*It Was A Bad Week*

I'm so sorry to have abandoned you....  I left Regina right after a huge rainstorm on Tuesday and made it back to Calgary safe and sound to find Bruce and the boyz making a nice BBQ steak dinner.  We enjoyed the fruits of their labour before hitting the couch and watching TV.  I got up to head to bed around 10 and felt kinda bloated but didn't think too much about it.

Except that it kept getting worse.

And around 1am the fun began.... I will spare you the details but I am sure you can use your imagination when I tell you I was up and down all night long.  At 7am, when Bruce was heading for work, I finally thought to take some Advil for the aches in every joint.  I went back to bed and slept until 10 (the most sleep I got all night) and then spent the rest of the day laying on the couch, occasionally moaning and groaning, making the kids get me water and Ibuprofen.

Wednesday was a complete write-off.

I got up Thursday morning and felt tired and weak, but not too bad.... but obviously overdid it as I was in a cold sweat by the end of the day.  Friday I decided to take the kids to the mall to do some back to school shopping and ended up in a cold sweat.

Didn't help that I really hadn't eaten much of anything since supper on Tuesday.

Today I am feeling somewhat better.  I can put food in my mouth without having to choke it down.  I am tired still.  And a little shaky (probably from the aforementioned lack of food).  But the cramping is gone.  The desire to sleep all day is kinda gone (just wanna sleep part of the day LOL).

The only upsides to this are:
*mom and Heather didn't get it
*I lost a few pounds!

Anyway... enough talk of my issues....

I love this bright colour combination.... so fun!

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango; PTI White
*Images:  PTI Signature Greetings; Whippersnapper
*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics
*Tools:  Nestabilities; Big Shot; Sizzix Embossing Folder
*Challenges:  FTL94

*Quick and Simple*

Good Monday Morning everyone....  I am still here in Regina and Mom is still holding her own.  My plan is to head home tomorrow for about 10 days to get some stuff accomplished in my life and then I'll head back for another week or so to keep Heather company and to visit with Mom.  The hospice is a very good place for Mom to be... she is comfortable, for the most part her pain is gone, the staff is good....

The worst part right now is not knowing if we have days, weeks or months left of watching Mom suffer.... she's not suffering pain wise most of the time, but you can see just how tired she is... it's hard.

Her speech is slow, she is sometimes confused, she gets irritated easily, she seems about a page behind in every conversation, she is weak, she is not able to get out of bed without help, she can not do more than a few (aided) steps.

It's hard to watch a once vibrant 71 year old be so weak....

I created this card a few weeks ago to send to my Mom when she was moved to hospice.  I wanted to tell her how much she means to me.... and how much I love her.  The card is up on her bulletin board at the hospice.  I hope it makes her happy....

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum
*Images:  Inkadinkadoo Dot Flourishes; Stampin' Up! Well Scripted
*Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! Whisper White
*Tools:  Stampin' Up! border punch
*Embellishments:  Stampain' Up! ribbon
*Challenges:  FTL100


Thanks for popping in for a visit....  I hope your Monday isn't too bad!

*MMMmmmmm Mini Donuts*

What a day we've had!  Yesterday, a neighbour of Mom's (and my good friends' Mom) came up to the hospice to visit.  She mentioned that she was working at Buffalo Days (aka The Queen City Ex, aka the Fair, aka the Regina Exhibition) today and Heather and I got a twinkle in our eye and I said "you could bring us mini donuts!".  You know, those ones with the cinnamon and sugar on them?

We got home last night and a childhood/highschool friend of mine had posted on Facebook that she was sucking it up and taking her son to Buffalo Days today.... and I wrote, kind of serious, kind of as a joke, on her wall that she could bring us donuts!  She said "Sure" and I was thinking "no way"....

So, around 7:15 this evening, who should walk in to Mom's room at the hospice but Kim, the friend.... with a BUCKET of sugar covered mini donuts.  Heather and I nearly died!  Kim came with a "hello" from her Mom... the two Moms were friends way way back.

Heather and I got home from the hospice around 8:30....  and around 9 there was a knock at the door.... the neighbour who worked at Buffalo Days with a bag of cinnamon sugar covered mini donuts for us to share!

What WONDERFUL people we have in our lives, who bring us such a small little thing that makes us smile so big!

Thank you so much Kim and Darline.... you are too sweet!!!

Quick update on Mom... she is holding her own, doing OK.... she and I even worked with one of the program coordinators this morning to make a card each.  By mid-afternoon Mom is exhausted, not talking clearly and getting confused.  But really, she is doing OK...

And now on to the card....

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  PTI White; Bazill Bling
*Images:  Whippersnapper
*Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; VersaFine Onyx Black; Copics
*Tools:  Big Shot; D'Vine Swirl Cuttlebug embossing folder; Stampin' Up! oval punches
*Embellishments:  Pebbles Candy Dots; Stickles; Crystal Effects
*Challenges:  MTSC79


Thanks for popping by!

*Mojo Monday on a Monday*

I can't believe it!  I have actually done a Mojo Monday card on the day the sketch was released!

I haven't had a lot of time for Mojo Sketches lately.... they take me a lot longer than the Clean and Simple Fall To Layout (FTL) cards I've been showing lately.... and they take a lot more creative energy as well.

I hope that Julee doesn't mind that I took inspiration for my card from her creation for this weeks sketch...

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  PTI White; Stampin' Up! Certainly Celery, Rose Red
*Patterned Paper:  Stampin' Up!
*Tools:  Spellbinders Flower Creations; Big Shot; EK Success border punch; Stampin' Up! corner rounder
*Embellishments:  Kaiser Pearls; Stampin' Up! grosgrain ribbon
*Challenges:  Mojo150


I have a lot of work to do to get up on some of my favourite sketches, but they will have to wait.  I am heading off to Regina in the morning to visit with Mom and Heather for a week....  I have some cards saved on my laptop so I will hopefully find some time to post some cards for you to enjoy while I am there... I just won't be creating anything new!

Thanks for stopping by!