The big "C"

Yep, I have it! It came about on a weird path to find it out, but I am glad it did. So... let's start at the beginning sort-of.
In January/February of this year I was visiting my daughter out of state. I took a little spill on ice there and just had the normal aches for a couple days afterward. When I got back to Michigan I started getting some aches in my lower abdomen. Hmm??
I went to my regular doctor and then decided to go to my gynocolgist who had preformed some of my previous surgerie's. With talking things over, we decided it was time for another (2nd) scar tissue/adhesion removal surgery. During the surgery, he happened to see a spot where there shouldn't be and went with his gut feeling to test it. He was surprised on the results and sent it on to another lab. When we saw my doctor again it was a BIG surprise that I had Cancer. Wow! Not something I was ready to find out, but I had a feeling when his office called to set up an appointment.
I really do not like Amusement Parks and this was going to be a Rollar Coaster ride I would not like with CT scans, colonoscopy, blood tests, etc... and all to be done really quick. Then riding on the lil kiddy rides (aka drinking lots of gunk and being poked). Yuck! All the tests came back good for me. The CA125 test was low and the colonoscopy came back clear. YEH! On to the next ride....

yesterday!

What a day! It was a great day looking back, even though it was hectic in stores and trying to find a parking spot was.... yep... you know what I mean, holiday parking lot game like musical chairs.
Jack and I headed out to see if we could finish our Christmas shopping. We decided to get another day of Jman (Jonathan our grandson) fix. So we swung through and picked up Heather (our daughter & Jmans Mom) and Jman to go with us. Our son-in-law Steve needed sleep as he was working 12hr late night shifts.
First stop: Goodwill
I am so glad we did as I found a great holiday dress to put in my prop box for photo's. It is black and gold and will work perfect for pic's of my grand niece's Lydia & Isabella. The best part!! It was $2.99. Wow, that is what I thought too.
Second Stop: Hobby Lobby
I saw a gift for my Mom their earlier in the week. I talked with Jack and we decided to go get it. We also picked up some wrapping paper, a little wooden box for another gift, felt and a neat metal thing I saw to use to hang some scrapbook pages. I will try to get pictures up soon. Some will have to wait as I will not post those till after Christmas, as you never know who is peeking.
Third stop: Target
Oh the love of Target. I could wander that store for a long time and walk out with nothing. Just so many ideas to use for decorating, etc. But we did purchase some items. A new phone, some of the last Christmas gifts, a lil space shuttle for Jman and a couple of other items. I (Nana) promised Jman that if he was good while we went to stores that I would buy his a "little" car IF he was not a grumpy butt. He was excellent!
Last stop: Food! We all needed food as we drained ourselves from all the shopping.
Then we dropped them back off at their house and came home.
I had a great day!

Check out this out! WOW!!

I came across this new blog today and wow!!!
It is: Simply Modern Mom
Please check out their blog/website at: http://www.simplymodernmom.com
They have posted great idea's and blogs/companies I never knew about. Right now, they are doing this fantastic "give-away". It is for a Little Partners Learning Tower. It had to be a parent that thought up this idea. Please check them out!

Posted on the Simply Modern Mom website:

The Giveaway Prize:
You are not going to believe this, but Little Partners (http://www.littlepartners.com/products/The-Learning-Tower.html)is giving away a Learning Tower with the art easel attachment kit to one winner. This is prize is valued at $260. I would love this. It brings out the creativity in children. Check out the website. Isn’t it cute?

I love this idea. It will help and keep kids safer when helping out. I could just see Jonathan's (my grandson) imagination take right off when he thinks of all different ways he could use it. I love it, I love it, I love it!
Please check it out and you will fall it love with it too (the new website "and" the Learning Tower)

December Daily Album

Hi everyone! I decided at the end of November that I was going to join "Ali Edwards" in her "December Daily Album". I even contacted a friend of mine (Sarah) and she has joined me. YEH! I did not realize hard it was going to be to remember to snap picture's "every" day but also how much fun it is too.
This is a pic of my cover (8x8 album from Michaels)sitting on my craft room counter top and my first page.

Oh yeh, want to join in on the fun? Check out Ali's website: http://aliedwards.com/

(lil wooden snow flakes I found at Michaels for $1.00 for the set of 3.)

Christmas/Holiday Wish List!

wow, wow, & WOW!! One of my favorite bloggers (Cathy Zielske) passed on this great web site (see below) and they asked us to do a posting. Enjoy!


"Lori's" - Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
That we could all be together. I have a son in the Marines who is married to a Marine that I have not met yet (they live out of state). My daughter married a Marine and he is away for training. So right now they are each in a different state. So... to bring them ALL home and in one place would be great.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?
IF we haven't opened our gifts on Christmas Eve, they we open them that morning. They we load up some of our dinner item's & gifts and we drive to my Parent's house where most of the family meet to enjoy dinner, company & gifts.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? Hmmm? for myself? That is a hard one. I could say a house-house. I could say a second car/vehicle. But I think for myself it would be someone to teach me all about my camera and to improve my pictures(F-stop, shutter speed, lighting, etc.).

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
I would have to say hauling out the different Christmas video's, esp. Polar Express, make some snacks and sit around with family to watch them.


5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Card games, some board games. Kerplunk is one I remember, and yes, we got an Atari later on.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
Meeting at my parent's house for Christmas. We use to drive to my Grandparents house when I was lil.


7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip?
To what I call "home away from home" which means my Grandparents house. I love it there.

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?
1) a black & blue DS for my son-in-law
2) a Kinect for my son's Xbox360
3) New accessories for my Wii ( controllers, headset, etc.)

*this blogging thing is somewhat new to me, I will see if I can add some pictures. If you can see them, then I did. :O)

This Friday...

I am home. What? You may be thinking. Why not? Lately during the week I have been going to my parents house to help them get things done. Like spending 3 weeks over hauling their bathroom. This past week (only 2 days so far) I have been helping my Dad measure and remeasure where he would like shelf brackets installed. He wants to put shelves on 3 walls in the seasonal room above the windows, so that he can display all the 1:18 cars that he has collected. Yesterday we got the brackets (16) up with one of the screws provided. Next week we will lay the boards on them to make sure they are level and then install the bottom screw. This will be after we double and triple check the boards. I know, I know... this is just him and I work patiently with him to do it that way.
So now... it is 12:49 p.m. and I have been sitting with my laptop since 9 a.m. I have checked my email, my facebook, emailed a couple people and then did some searching on "Designer Digitals". "Oh no" is what you are thinking right? Nope! I found some overlays by Ali Edwards & Cathy Zielske. They along with Becky Higgins are scrapbook blogs I follow/check everyday. I am going to use one the over lays for my scrapbook pages but the other one I want to print on 4 x 6 recipe cards and send them to my children & their spouses. They will go in 4x6 albums for them to write notes on to each other to remember certain things, to tell each other why they love them, what they do that makes them smile, etc... I thought it was a cute idea. We will have to wait to see what they think. I have printed off some of my new downloads on to white cardstock and should go collect them off my printer. That means that it is time to get up, shut off my laptop and get busy. Esp. since I am having a craft day get together for some girl friends and family members to work on sewing, scrapbooking and more. Have a great day everyone.

Love it, Love it! LOVE IT!!!

Okay, I gotta share. I "love" Becky Higgins! I love her blog, her conception for scrapbooking and so much more. Here is her latest: