moon

Last night's full moon...covered with clouds.

a chipboard anniversary!

Well…tomorrow is the 15^th anniversary of my wedding to my beloved husband! It's been an adventure. Due to the trials of this past 6 months financially [van, house, other], we will be having a quiet anniversary. That's needed, that's desired. We will play with the Cub Scouts [it's Den Night] and then we'll go home and sup on something simple and easy. The day will be romantic none-the-less…you don't have to spend to have a romantic time.

Out of curiosity I looked to see what the significance of 15 is to the rest of the world. While learning that the Fifteenth anniversary gift was Crystal, I became amused to find that for the 17^th anniversary my husband can give me CHIPBOARD! Won't he be excited about that!

Playful's Plaything

Playful spent most of this weekend leaping out from under the table and landing on the Charli dog. Charli is 16, blind, deaf...and not amused! Charli sighs, rolls her eyes and looks at me as if I have something to do with it! Playful is having a ball. The dog is her favorite toy!

Big Shot rocks!

Mommie tried running her Cuttlebug Embossing folder through the BigShot with CHIPBOARD! It worked!! I can't wait to get my own emboss folder and play with it. I loved the way it embossed cardstock and just had to know if it would do the chipboard. Yay, yay, yay. Maybe she'll send us a picture to post!!!
This is my new favorite toy!

Working on my Header...

Well...I've decided I want a picturesque header...I've been working on it. It's ok. I want it better. I will work on it more later when I can have some more helpful software. Right now I'm battling my computer to get *something*.

I like the picture. I like the text font [Cocaine Sans @ 1001freefonts.com].

perhaps I'll get the bugs worked out soon!

On Rain Clouds…

On rain clouds…

June

abundant rain

wild jungles in my yard

giant sunflowers provide shade

puddles bring pleasure to boy

promise of fresh vegetables from the garden

June

abundant repairs

van, dryer, water heater,

ceiling fan, television, shower, floor

raining under the house too

husband needing stitches

June

abundant thanks

family is healthy for the most part

the ceiling no longer leaks

all IS repairable—and just *things*

family and friends are a great comfort.

Happy Summer Solstice!

from Religious Tolerance.org site:

The Summer Solstice is also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, etc.
Overview
People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the summer solstice. On this day, typically JUN-21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer. It is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe.
"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."
(In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, also when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum. We will assume that the reader lives in the Northern hemisphere for the rest of this essay.)
How people view solstice celebrations:
People view other religions in various ways, and thus treat the celebrations of other faiths differently:
For some people, religious diversity is a positive factor. They enjoy the variety of June celebrations, because it is evidence of wide range of of beliefs within our common humanity. They respect both their own religious traditions and those of other faiths for their ability to inspire people to lead more ethical lives.
Others reject the importance of all celebrations other than the holy day(s) recognized by their own religion. Some even reject their religion's traditional holy days if they are convinced that they have Pagan origins. This is a common occurrence with Easter and Christmas.
Some view other religions as being inspired, controlled, or even led by Satan. Thus the solstice celebrations of other religions are rejected because they are viewed as Satanic in origin.
Why does the summer solstice happen?
The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. It typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, JUN-21 -- the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice -- the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum.





Solstice at Stonehenge

Solstice at Astrological Musings

She Sleeps…

Most kitties when they are found face in the bowl are eating but not our newest family member. Last night I looked up from playing with my darling child long enough to notice that the kitten had fallen asleep in her food bowl—evidence that my son has been doing his job of playing with his kitten to wear her out so she will be ready for bed!

Fun with my new BigShot!

This page was done with my new BigShot from Sizzix/Ellison. I embossed punched out CM stars by gluing them onto a piece of paper and then putting the Outdoor denim cardstock on top of it and using the embossing platform with a cutting pad and embossing rubber & pad. VERY VERY fun. The night before I had out of curiosity embossed this and that to see if it would do what all they claim the Wizard does. It's awesome…embossed fibers/ribbons, templates, chipboard, punchies/diecuts…probably would have embossed the cat too if she would have sat still!

Then…I cut my new BIGZ die that came with the machine for the tag. I used the technique demonstrated at convention where you smudge on ink and them spritz it with water and dry the spots. Then I stamped with CTMH's new white pigment ink and the June Stamp of the Month. It turned out really cool.

Other things…circle punches and collage stamp coloring are typical watercolor techniques with watercolor pencils and shading. Glitter of course! All papers, inks and embellishments are CTMH except the yarn—bought on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

Hope you enjoy!

Pirattitude!

Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. In honor of said day, me hubby and I celebrated with me lad's mates at his school. All pirates present were thilled. We got some ideas from the Talk Like a Pirate Day website and others from places here and there. We read stories and poems. We made them hats out of folded newspaper and cut out eyepatches from the website that had the Jolly Roger on it. They had cupcakes that had ship decks for icing [chocolate piped to look like planks of wood] and a flag on a trimmed down bamboo skewer. They made pirate parrot paper sack puppets. My son said they all had fun. The class told us thank you a dozen times over!

From this site you can take any number of quizzes or put your name in a "generator" and get "special piratey names."

One site called me: Crafty Gertrude Smithe

Another said this: Calico Grace Read
Often indecisive, you can't even choose a favorite color. You're apt to follow wherever the wind blows you, just like Calico Jack Rackham, your namesake. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

Good 'ay me mateys!

Dragon is going to get his Puppy...

My DS [5--joy of his parents' and grand-parents' lives] has for several years wanted a sibling. He "adopts" friends' siblings and treats them better than their own siblings. He tells us he wants a baby sister. . . or a baby brother--but I think he wishes for a baby sister more. He wants to name her Reviva. We'll have to discuss that further when the time comes.

My mother's 7 year old dog Samantha Beaux suddenly died last Tuesday. She was an amazing and large Laborador--Black. It was awful...I cried the entire night, most of the next day. I'm sure not as much as Mommie and Daddy did but alot none-the-less. She had a sudden heart attack. Mommie and Daddy and Bubba I [parents' turtle 3 years old] were with her when she passed.

13 days ago began what those of us TTC call the 2ww [two week wait]. It's really a 13day wait for me. This is the time following ovulation where you've already put all the physical energy that you can into making a baby...all you have left is the wait...the worry...the insanity. I have a core group of friends at Fertility Friend.com--where I met Eve. We wait together. We support each other through this INSANE time. I was noticing my temperatures were doing some unusual things...unusual in that they didn't reflect my previous cycle that I had charted--it was my FIRST chart...so there's a pretty good chance that both were unusual...but we'll say that the first one was a baseline. I was noticing that my boobs were doing a lot of changing as well--enlarging, aching, being tender, etc. And there was the outbreak on my skin. And there was the non-stop peeing. and that odd wave of nausea. and my I was tired. and my people were irritating to me.

In complete and total denial I chose to pee on an OPK [ovulation prediction kit]. Keep in mind...already ovulated this cycle. I had read at some length succes that folks had had in popping a positive on the OPK and finding themselves to be PG. It was positive. I was amazed. I took a HPT [Home Pregnancy Test] from the $tree. It was VERY VERY FAINT. I was slightly relieved. Surely I'm not. I went about my day. That was Wednesday. During lunch I bought some more PG tests at the $tree--don't want to go broke making the baby. I peed only after 30 minutes of the last time I went pee. Umm...it was positive. I chose to wait until Thursday morning to do an official pee.

Thursday morning...
I peed on not one but two tests [a $tree, and an Equate]. Both were most certainly positive. hmm. I wake up DH. I ask him, what do you want to do? He said I want the test line to be darker. I looked up some information on the internet and found that a line is a line...the shade doesn't matter. I informed DH of my findings. He says, let's call the clinic and see what they say.

I call the clinic. Explain to the receptionist my history [she is new], explain that I'm holding a positive Equate test, and say "now what?" She says my OB is out but Dr. McMillan is in, she talks briefly to Dr. Mc. I was to come in and give some blood. They would run a serum test that I'd have the results of in 30 minutes, and they would run an HCG level and a progesterone test as well that they'd send out and I'd know for sure by Monday. I went to the clinic. gave blood. left.

I ran some other errands. I came on into work--Thursday's I work 11-8. There was no message--the place where they were to call me. I called the clinic. She said, your test was positive. We'll call you no later than Monday with the results of the rest and what else we need to do if anything.

I thought...when will this little bean be born if this really is it, if we have no complications, no miscarriage. I'd be due in April. DS was born in 2000...He was born under the Chinese astrological sign of the Dragon! We were very excited as we love dragons in our house. We are not Chinese, have no Chinese heritage, we just love Dragons. Both DH and I are born under the sign of the Rooster. Baby bean would be born under the sign of the DOG. DH and I all believe that souls come and go through their earthly shells and show up in another shell. Perhaps, our puppy that will be born in April, is Samantha Beaux returning to earth. I have a feeling that our dragon will love getting a puppy! :)

I can't wait to tell him.

Just one of those things I do in my spare time...

I am making 100 of these...40 of the red, 40 of the blue and 20 of the varigated...they will be sewn together in a bulls-eye pattern [sort of, final square will be 10×10] This is a baby blanket for my nephew who is due 09-30-2005. This will be my second nephew. His name is supposed to be David Paul [the grandfather's first names].

thought you'd like to know. :)

Bubba Turtle

hello...

anyone out there???

lr