(Credits: Scalloped Mask - Jen Caputo; Acrylic Alphabet - Audrey Neal (Iconic for SIStv - coming soon); all the rest is Flea Market designed by Jenna Beam (shabbymissjenn.com) for SIStv) (Click on photo for a larger view.)

I'm baaaack! Back from Wisconsin and back to blogging here much more regularly. I've decided to quit the 365 Challenge. I've just been so behind - on everything - lately, and I keep wanting to digi scrap, but was feeling the pressure to catch up on the challenge first. So, I just decided to let that go. It is my choice as to what I do and, while I do like to stick to my committments, I'm not above giving them up if they prove to be too much. And that's just what I'd been feeling. So now I'll be posting on this blog a lot more regularly. Maybe changing some things up a little...

I had a "great" visit with Mom when I went back a couple weeks ago. No, it's not "great" that she's in the situation she's in, but we still managed to have a great visit, anyway, and even managed some good laughs. The highlights of her days are mail, meals, Skinny Cow low-sugar ice cream cones and VISITS. I'm really glad I went back. Mom has a looonnnngggg road of recovery before her, even still, now a month after her fall. She's having a hard time accepting that, understandably. But I think she'll be more "content" - well as content as you can be in her situation, if she will accept it. Unfortunately, since she can't get up on her injured leg yet, good old Medicare won't pay for rehab on the "good" leg and arms, etc. That's really stupid because she totally needs to be building strength in that good leg for when she DOES get up on her feet. DUH.

She did have a dr.'s appointment last Thursday and they x-rayed for the 1st time since the surgery. Mom was hoping (albeit unrealistically - sorry, Mom) that he would say she could lose the leg brace and start getting up - but no - she'll be status quo for 3 more weeks when they will x-ray again and re-assess. I still highly doubt that she'll be getting up then either. But, they DID say it was beginning to heal. Obviously, WE all know that the danger in getting up too soon is that the whole reconstruction that they rigged up will be weakened or, worse, come apart. And THEN what? So, hard as it may be, she must be patient.

In other news, my 2nd tutorial at SIS went live last week. You can see it here. And it features the cute little banners shown in the two projects just below and also in the Romance page with Dustin and Emily, a little further down the blog. "Smash up" is just SIStv's fun little term for hybrid - where digital and paper scrapping are blended, or, smashed up. :)


My next tut will go live on June 2nd. I'm going to teach how to make your own transparencies. If you're just totally overwhelmed with excitement, sorry, you'll just have to wait! ;)

I am having SO much fun getting my "compensations" and complimentary collections from SIStv and then making stuff up. In fact, I just got the latest one a few minutes ago and there's a digi kit that will go with it as well. I think I'm going to make a set of cards...

Matthew & Martha called Saturday while they were in the midst of a yard sale. They're getting rid of stuff so they don't have to move it. We've been talking about them coming back to PA for a long time now, but the reality of it is beginning to sink in. Actually, it's that I'm allowing myself to really believe it and I am getting exCITED! I can barely contain myself! I'm SO looking forward to having BOTH of my "kids" around. Oh, the JOY!

And Dustin and Emily's plans are coming along for the wedding. They're starting to plan the invitations. I'm going to help, but I think it's a good thing that Deborah's a scrapper, too, because my summer is gearing up to be pretty darn busy!

We all had a great time last weekend when we went to Knoebel's Grove to celebrate Eva's 4th birthday. I think I feel a mini-book coming, because we got some cute photos and it was a day to remember. It was quite chilly and looked like it was going to pour down rain the entire time, but - it DIDN'T - and we had a ball.

Chris is out golfing with Jack today. I play my last monthly pinochle tonight in the little group I nosed my way into with Chris's sister, Kellie. It's REALLY fun. We take off for the summer - sort of. We don't play pinochle, but we will get together once a month still to go out to eat somewhere. How great is that? :)

I'm off to get to "work" - scrapping, that is! You know, I'm living my dream right now. When I quit work a year ago, it was my dream to be somehow scrapbooking "professionally" within the year - and being on a design team definitely counts! I'm SO happy!