Sigh....I'm so in love with this girl.

There is nothing better than being a grandmother.

I know you will probably get tired of seeing her pics, but it is what it is. LOL.

Life has been hectic and fast paced, and this picture of Marley sleeping whilst at Grandma's house (I just love saying that) brings me peace and joy. I smile everytime I see it. I feel a fullness in a place in my heart that has felt empty for a long time. I have long envied my girl Heather for her late mamma baby, Chloe. Having a granddaughter fills that space and the space in my arms that longs to hold someone.

In other news, life in general is busy. Work is entirely too busy for my liking and I am having a hard time keeping up, but that's a good thing, I guess. I have been itching to scrap lately but very low on supplies. This weekend I am going to get out to the only left standing scrap store we have and get me some goodies and hopefully get some scrappy stuff done this weekend. I'd love to scrap some of Marley's pics especially this one.

Not much else going on. Just making it through the days right now. Have a great one.

It's Been Crazy

Seriously. Had a granddaughter one week, spent the next week in San Francisco in training. Wouldn't ya know it, but the Bay Bridge got closed down, and coming home from SF was not a fun ride. A normally 1.5 to 2.0 hour ride became a 4.5 hour nightmare. I finally got home Thursday night at 7:00 pm. I was tired. Anyway, I had Friday off so that was a good thing.

Saturday I went and visited Kaitie and Marley (daddy was working). I am soooo in love with my granddaughter. She was wide awake for almost two hours while I held her...She was checking me out and I was checking her out. I had such a great time. Kaitie took these pics of me. You just cannot tell how much I adore her can you?????? LOL!!!!

Anyway, been working on the birth announcements which I will be sending out in the next couple of days. When I get them done I will post a copy of one. simple but cute!

OK.....I really need to get some scrap supplies because I have a lot of baby pics to scrap. Honestly, between me and Kaitie, I won't be able to keep up.

Hugs and Love.

You think she looks like him....LOL......

so stinkin cute.

this is her "Elvis lip" LOL...seriously...it's funny irl.

@ 10 days....I love her sooooooo much. You think you love your kids when you have and raise them....wow....what a surprise to find out you love this one even more.

Sweet dreams Lil Miss Marley Jane...Your Grandma loves you!

Marley Jane

Two of the most beautiful things I have ever known in my life, is gazing upon this beautiful little girl, my granddaughter, Marley Jane, and the look on MY daughter's face as she held HER daughter for the first time. There is nothing so magical, so beautiful and so amazing as the birth of a child. Welcome, Little Marley Jane.




Hugs

Contractions and Cards

Hi and Happy Monday. Kaitie spent the night in the hospital with contractions, but then they stopped and they sent her home just a bit ago. She's disappointed (and very uncomfortable) but when the time is right, the baby will get here.

I did get to spend a little time scrapping this weekend and it was pure therapy. Made these cards. For some reason I kept cutting the cards off on the scanner....look past that...lol.

This fall card is actually my lift of a card done by one of the gals on Stamps for Life. I purchased the October digital set and it has so much. The leaves are a digital stamp, I printed on some digi papers that I have and then cut out, lined and stickled with platinum (my fav stickles). The background pp is a stamp from the cutting cafe.

I love the paper dolls cartridge for cricut for it's Halloween stuff. I'm diggin this tree and moon.

Pumpkin is from the paper dolls cricut cartridge.

Not much going on. With the baby due anytime, work is of course, slammed, and I am trying to get everything out the door that I can before she does arrive.

Anyway, hoping you have a fabulous week. I will keep you posted (does anyone even read this blog???? Probably not but hey...I try anyway.

Hugs

Hi and a card

I intended to get quite scrappy this weekend, but that didn't happen. An early morning bike ride saturday morning (36 miles) that I pushed pretty hard had me almost wiped out by 500 Saturday night, but I had a friends bd party to go to and that was fun. Sunday morning, before it got to 100 degrees I got out and mowed the yards (hate doing that) and then did a little shopping. About the time I was ready to get scrapping Sunday afternoon, my gf next door needed help with something and we ended up messing around looking for new digital elements on her computer and I got nothing done. I did get this card done last week. Everything here with the exception of the flowers, leaf, bling and cardstock is digital. I have discovered how much fun hybrid cards are, and love using some digital elements. The circle stamp is printed on digital pp and then mounted on chipboard. I love the colors here.






I'm taking Thursday and Friday off this week. Thursday is my dd Kaitie's 19th bd and my bff and I are going to go spend some time with her. She's just a few more weeks out til baby, and she asked me to bring along my camera and get some photos of her belly. We'll see what I get. I look forward to seeing her. I know she has really craved my company lately, with the baby so near, I understand, and love spending time with her.

If you love cards and Studio Calico....and I do, you should check out caardvarks SKETCHFEST this week. Lots of challenges and prizes from Studio Calico. I don't know if I will have time this week to participate, but I'm gonna try.

Not much else going on...I 've got a ton of work sitting on my desk and only working three days this week so I guess I should be gettin outta here and gettin busy.

Have a peaceful day.

Hugs

Life Has Been A Happening

I really don't want to shock anyone by posting on my blog, but, just for grins, I will.

Life has been 'a happening....no kidding. Craziness has been going on, including random and hateful calls from my ex husband's crazy girlfriend (he finally found someone just like him) and threats and harrassment on the freeway. So much fun.

My daughter Kaitie, decided to come home from Texas a few months ago, June to be exact, rode with another couple that was coming out this way, they didn't get along so the other couple dropped them on a corner in Phoenix, AZ. Kaitie was almost 6 mos preggers, and hot, tired, not feeling well, they had their little dog Kaluha with them. Not only did they just drop them off, but they took all of their stuff that was in the camper on the truck with them. Great. So they show up with almost no clothes, and a bag of dog food. I had to drop everything and drive from California to Phoenix, AZ and back, straight through...

Kaitie and Seth (her bf and daddy of the baby) moved back into his father's house. His dad lives in Oregon, but the house is also occupied by his brother and his sil, so they all share the rent. Seth got a job and things are tight, difficult for two teenagers, but they are doing much better now that they are home in California and have their family with them.

We had a nice baby shower for Kaitie last month and she gots lots of beautiful stuff.

Been going through some other stuff on a personal level, including deciding that I'm not deciding whether or not I want to date...LOL...seriously. I'm not sure I want anyone in my life. I have met so many guys lately with nothing but issues and baggage to bring to the table and I just am not willing to add any more issues to my life...I learned my lesson with the last issue.

I have been a very busy girl riding my new road bike. Got a Trek 2.3 Women's Series Design and I am loving it. I put in an average ride of 35 miles every time I ride and would like to get a 50 miler in there at least once a week.

I have also been really busy getting ready for little Ms. Marley Jane who should be here around October 11. I am so incredibly excited about being a granny...LOL...Nana fits much better. I just cannot wait to hold that little stinker and look at how beautiful she is going to be. I really am in love with her already and I didn't know you could feel that way about your grandkid. I did, of course about my kids, but this little girl just has me wrapped around her finger and she isn't even here yet.

Kaitie has had to grow up a lot this last year. She's always been immature for her age, but the last few months I have seen a tremendous change and it makes me so happy, and I feel so much better about her being a mom at such a young age. She is totally captivated with her baby already....she talks to me every day and I just hear the change in her. Her 19th birthday is next week and my bff Ann Marie and I are going to take her a cake and visit her for a while.

On scrapbooking, I don't really know what happend. I just wasn't interested. I would pull my stuff out, stare at it, and put it back. I just didn't have any desire. I have been feeling much better since I bought my road bike though, and that has prompted me to start doing things again. Made a few cards recently, and of course, forgot to post them, or even get pics. But I remembered to scan this one

I have been getting into digital stamps recently, and bought these Photoshop Brushes from Designer Digitals. I love this Halloween brush. It is so cool.

There's been a lot of craziness that has happend in my life this last year. I took a dive into a big black hole and just froze kinda. Didn't do much of anything, go to work, go to the gym, go home. I was very lonely and feeling a little scared there for a while. But I got back in the saddle like my daddy always taught me to do and things are looking up. I realize how happy I really am, and how grateful for all the wonderful friends that I have too. I really don't know that I would still be partially sane if it weren't for my bff Ann Marie. She has held my hand, heard me cry, and on occassion, had to show me some tough love, but she was there through it all.

Well, hopefully there will still be someone out there that will read my blog. I hope to be blogging on a regular basis again now, and scrapping. It felt good to be making cards recently. I think a really big part of my loosing interest is that I just couldn't afford to buy scrappy stuff. If you can't get inspiration through handling new and fun things, it's hard to get motivated for me. Next month, I am going to splurge for the first time in a year and get myself some nice scrappy stuff so I can start scrapping my new granddaughter, and everything else.

Thanks for being here.

Life is really, really good....Even when times are tough, it's really, really good.

L

Simplicity

I love to sit in the stillness of the morning and listen to the world wake up. Gently, at first it moves so slow, and gradually, as the day brightens the world moves by we fall into the daily grind of things. But mornings are a time to sit in solace, to contemplate, to think about the wonderful blessings that we are graced with.

For me it is a time to think about everything. Things I want to do, how i want to decorate the house or my garden. Plan out my day, or to be grateful for the wonderful life that I have. Sometimes it is a time when I feel most alone, sometimes I feel most alive in the morning. My emotions, unencumbered by the lightening quick speed of the day, are laid out, bare, raw, clearer for me to see and feel.

A cup of coffee , the dogs fed, lunch made ready for the day, I like to sit on the couch in the dawn darkness, Abbie, Max and Zack all by my side, or, as more often then not, Abbie and Zack are wrestling and playing, until Zack poops out, worn down by Abbie's exuberance (and her ability to always best him).

Today, Saturday, I woke up later than during the work week. I sit at my desk and listen to the birds as they drown out the sound of a far distant airplane; their song a graceful awakening to the day. Nicole spent the night last night and sleeps on the couch. The dogs, fed, played out, all sleep around her on the back of the couch.

Simplicity at it's best.