One Cold December Morning

In Memory of Emily
07/08/1956 - 12/29/2005

A cold December morning began like any other.
But ended with shock and fright.
We waited, many days, and then the news arrived
The shock set in; the grief began.
It wasn't what we wanted to hear.
That smile was gone forever.
Each minute we felt it more and more -
We were full of anger, full of grief.

Now four years later on a cold December morn
Still felt by some, the pain hasn't stopped
Where are our answers?
How different would our world be today
Had this event not occurred.
If the shock we never would have felt,
and the nightmares not so vivid

Would we be happy,
Would we not have cried?
Or had she lived, would things be different
Not for us, but for her?
Her death horrific, unacceptable.
Who can answer our questions,
Who can tell us why.
Without a doubt we'll all find out
And in our knowledge
we will finally let her go.


I miss you Emily,
Love, Shelia

To read more about Emily you can go to here.

"Miss Flossie Mae went a courtin"

Remember awhile back I posted some pictures of Miss Flossie Mae, watching for her "beau". Well I finally caught a picture of them visiting with each other through the back glass. As you can tell her "beau" is about 10 years old, and on his 9th life. He is quite the man about the neighborhood. He has so many scars on him, he is such a wayward visitor. Of course, me, being the Mother I am, thinks she could have done a lot better.

The Christmas Gift of Knowing You
The Christmas season fills our hearts with joy;Bright, happy days bring special kinds of pleasure.We're wrapped in the excitement of it all,The sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes we treasure.
Yet when we have some quiet time to thinkAbout our finest blessings all year through,We focus on our family and our friends,And appreciate the gift of knowing you!
By Joanna Fuchs

Merry Christmas from our house

Can you see her?

Just a little post to catch up. Here is a picture of Miss Flossie Mae when she finally went out and checked out the snow. Well she really didn't get her paws wet, she walked along where the roof kept the snow off the deck, then moved to under one of the chairs. She doesn't think she likes it very much. She just don't understand all this hubbub over some wet, cold, white stuff.

Can you believe that Pat at Southern Breezes gave us two weeks to get our challenges finished. Well it is Tuesday, and I have already finished mine. Talk about not procrastinating, that is certainly me on this challenge. Well to tell the truth, I made the challenge the opportunity to finish out a little package I was making up for a friend. This is a CD calendar. I did not put the calendar behind the clear plastic, but taped it to the front, and then on the back did add just a plain piece of pattern paper, so you could not see the tape. The reason it ended up on top was because I kinda, sorta cracked it a little when taking it apart. But it turned out ok just the same. I made the little calendar by using a free template from somewhere and printed them, cut them and then bound them at the top with binding compound so they are stuck together like a little pad would be.

The last picture is of some little tidbits I put together for some gift bags, for some people that I am going to lunch with tomorrow. I don't actually work with them, but across the street, and they always include me in their little things, since I am the only woman in my office. They are special people. Included is some homemade pumpkin butter, an altered day planner, and a cone of hot cocoa mix with marshmallows. Thanks for visiting. My immediately family will be celebrating Christmas tomorrow night. Once they grow up and have families of their own, it is so hard to get together. But am blessed I have tomorrow, and everyone can be here. And one of my sons is even making his "out of this world" BBQ for our supper. I'll do the sides. It is some good BBQ.

Is it a blizzard at your house?

It is here. The above picture Allan had taken about 6. And is suppose to continue till tomorrow until 6 pm on Saturday. Report said we might get up to 10 inches. I even got to leave work early today. so I have cleaned, and played, and wrapped packages. Just had fun.
Pat's challenge tonight was to use a new technique. Oddly enough, I realized I had never made a Pop-up card. Here is a simple little Birthday card, for a little friend, who is having a birthday right after Christmas. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the front, and I had already put the camera up. I just took a folded card and made 2 equal snips on it, then attached the pkg that I cut out with my Cricut, using 2 sided paper. So simple. I will definetely be doing more cards like this.

Blue Cupcakes

Well you can see the above picture isnt blue cupcakes, but are some snowmen I made with little powdered sugar donuts, candy corn and mini chocolate chips. The kids just giggled.

These are some of the things I put in the treat bags. I put cotton candy in little bags, then made a topper that said "Let it Snow" The other little baggie says, "Let's build a Snowman" It has instructions to color, cut and glue them together.

The snowflake stamped treat bags.

Madison, the older sister, after helping me set the table up.

Natalie blowing out her candles on the blue cupcake.

Natalie with her Dad & Sister, showing off her banner.

Our dear dear little granddaughter turned 4 yesterday. when I arrived at her house, she told me that she would never, never be 3 again, that she was 4. She had told me earlier that all she wanted was blue cupcakes, so that is what she got. Blue Cupcakes. I hope you enjoyed the party. ;)

One of those days.

Saturday really fit that phrase. If you read my last blog you are aware of the fact that I had a funeral to attend Sat. afternoon at 2. Before that, my neighbor had a little get together which I was invited to at 11:00 AM. Then at 6:30 PM another one to attend. Well to begin with, I was late to the 11:00 o'clock one, not arriving till 12. OK so after arriving at 12, I needed to leave at 12:45 to get dressed and drive to the funeral. So all I had was 15 minutes to get dressed. I was already ready with makeup and everything, just needed to put on my skirt and sweater. Right off the bat, I saw a run in my hose. Since I was wearing a long skirt, and knee boots, All I needed to do was to find some nail polish. All I could find was some red, no clear to find. I finished that task, finished getting dressed, re combing and spraying my hair, and off to get my boots. Oh, I had forgotten I hadn't worn them yet this season and they were in the closet, in the bedroom that I don't use. Then I realized I had set all the Christmas totes in front of that closet, after bringing them up from the basement. I moved them out of the way, reached in closet and grabbed my boots and put them on, put all totes back, cause of course I had slid them just far enough out of way to get closet door open, thus blocking the door into the room, so I had to move them back so I could get out the door. Well then realized my long black dress coat was also in that closet, I had to go through moving those totes all again. I had allowed myself time to get there 30 minutes before the service, so I was still 15 minutes early. But when I got there, and they were directing us to park in the grass, I knew the church would already be full. I had to walk in soggy ground from all the rain, and I kept feeling as if I was off balance, but just thought it was where my heels were sinking down into the soft ground. I knew all along that this was going to be an emotional service, and meant to make sure and take some Kleenex. Because of rushing, I had forgotten my Kleenex, I didn't even have a piece of paper towel or anything in my bag, cause I had changed bags earlier in the day to a smaller one, just putting essentials like keys and such in it, planning on carrying the smaller one just to the service and then the party later on that night. On the way into the church, I walked in with an acquaintance, and she had extra Kleenex. OK I was all sit. The church was filled to capacity, but I finally found a seat. The church was so warm I had removed my coat before sitting. I had a crew neck sweater on, and a scarf tied in front and it just was so uncomfortable, really irritating. Got through the service, fidgeting with the neck of my sweater the whole time. After the service, we were all invited down to the fellowship hall, to speak to the family, and have some refreshments. I had to walk down steps to the fellowship hall and kept thinking something must be on my right boot, maybe mud, I thought, It just didn't feel right when I was walking. Nope it was clean, I met with the family, limped back to the car and got home. First things first, I began to remove that aggravating sweater that had irritated me all morning. Well no wonder, I had it on backwards, and the tag was rubbing against the fat on my neck. Luckily I had the scarf tied in front so the stitching of the tag didn't show. But the shoulder seams sure did. They were half way down my chest area. OK now to take off the boots. Hmm, something is wrong here, I thought when I begin to unzip them and just one of them had a zipper. Well I know you have figured it out by now, I had worn two different black boots, both were knee high, but one had a thinner and higher heel, while the other one was a chunky heel. Oh yea, the toe of one was pointy and the toe of the other was more squared off. Of course Allan thought all this was just hilarious, I did not see any humour in it at all.

Well Robyn took my title!!!!!

I had it all planned out to use TGIF as the title for my blog tonight, but Ms. Robyn got to it before me. Imagine that *wink* But like her, this week has been a busy one indeed for me too. But I still have tomorrow to conquer, before relaxing Sunday. Saturday will be a sad day, as I will attend the funeral service of a dear older friend, in the afternoon. But as the day begins to wind down, will attend an annual Christmas Party at the home of a special friend, Carolyn. Remember she is the one that made that decadent cake for Allan and I for our anniversary back in April. I always enjoy her home and parties so much. On to Pat's Saturday Night challenge. SHADES OF BLUE was the theme for this weeks card. Well I'm one not to always follow directions, so I made something else in shades of blue. Next week our youngest granddaughter will be 4. I made a banner for her sister's birthday back in August, and I do the same for each child. Luckily, Pat's challenged fit right in with my plans for Nat's banner. Since her's is a winter birthday and she emphatically reminded me she wants BLUE cupcakes, I decided to use a snowman theme. I will show the rest of the party favors after her party on Wed. And if you go to Robyn's post, you will see that she even chose the same theme for her card. Honestly we have not even hardly corresponded this week. You know what they say about great minds. Heheehee

Brrr

To start you off, I want to share a picture of Ms. Flossie Mae. In this one, she got up from her usual sleeping area (the small paper tray that she hangs out of) to look at her Beau that usually makes his way up our driveway 3 or 4 times a day. Flossie being a inside cat, has never actually met him except for looking him face to face through the sliding glass door. They sit and stare at each other and meow once in awhile. She senses his presence in the driveway, and watches from the window till he gets out of sight, then she dashes to the back door to greet him. She is so funny to watch.

We are suppose to have frosty weather tomorrow. And by frosty weather I mean SNOW. Now I'm not like Pat at Southern Breezes I do not look forward to the first snow of the season except for the fact that it makes it a little closer to the last snow of the season. So I decided to make lemonade out of lemons or in this case, Spiced Tea and just sit back and enjoy the snow. That takes us to Pat's challenge. This week we were to see how many techniques we could use on a card. Instead of a regular card, I utilized the challenge to make some toppers for the Spiced Tea Mix I made. I used the 6x4 inch bags for the project. Now to the different things used to put it all together:
Digital Image
Layering
Pieced hat and nose
Rub ons - Snow rub ons used on the white card stock
Glitter on the hatband
Coloring on the hatband, nose and cheeks
Snowflake brad
Dimensional dots
Fake Snow effects on hat
Merry Christmas Stamp
Then attached with a ribbon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR DEAR SISTER

This is is going to be a real long post. It is about my sister and her birthday and includes Pat's Saturday Night challenge. Just bear with me. Let's do Pat's Challenge first. We were to use a recipe of 2 papers, 2 stamps, a ribbon,a punch and to finish it off some glitter. The glitter is on the little flower.

Now to my sister's birthday. Let's add OLDER sister to the title of this post (*wink*). She is a dear person to me, She guided me as I was growing up. She taught me so many things. And one of them was to always be the best you could be to everyone. We left home just months apart, she married in July and I in October. I moved away for several years, then back to my home town, then left town again and 35 years later I still live about a hours drive from them. But during all that time, we have never grown apart. That is the kind of family we are. Thank you Rita for being always there for me. Now on to the outside and inside of the card I made for her. Then my DH decided he wanted me to make a card for him to give to her. He is always picking on her. This is what he wanted. I did just as he said, Rita, I am not responsible. ;) Also I need to add that Rita herself is a very accomplished card maker , and it is hard to make cards for people that are so good at what they do. Here is the gift I made for her. I raided our Mother's button jar, and used them to frame a picture of my sister, as a baby with our Mother and Father. I used a shadow box type frame. I love how it came out. Down in the right hand corner you can see a small metal button. It says Jack Rabbit on it. My Daddy was a house painter. He wore "Painter Whites". Jack Rabbit was the brand and this is a button off one of the overalls that he wore.

Happy Thanksgiving

May all have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Love, Shelia

And all had a wonderful time.

Saturday was the baby shower that I have been making goodies for.

Busy Busy Busy

This week has been busy, getting ready for a baby shower, so haven't been on line much. Pat's Saturday Night Challenge was to make an ornament. Since most of my creativity this week has leaned more towards baby things, I decided to make a Baby's First Christmas ornament. Please excuse the bad picture, lighting and everything. I will be back next week to get started on Christmas. Can you believe how fast it will be here.

Winter time favorite

I dislike winter, snow, cold or anything to do with it, but have to admit there are a couple of things that can bring a smile to me when there is a winter storm going on. I love cardinals, and to see their bright red color on a tree branch during a snow storm is a beautiful part of nature. My card is based on that. I found a 12 x 12 sheet of rub on snow at big lots for $1.25. I thought it was the perfect thing to use for Pat's Saturday Night Challenge. She invited us all to make a Winter card. I googled the cardinal picture, chose a khaki color cardstock, did the rub on and I was finished. The rub ons were made by EK Sucess. Thanks for letting me share with you this evening. The first picture is one of a piece of the rub on, just to give you an ideal of what it looked like. The second pic is the finished card.

Advice for the New Mom

I hope everyone has enjoyed their Sunday as much as I have. I got to go out with one of my son's for lunch. Just him and I. What a joy it was. Then after lunch I made a tag book for a Baby Shower. Robyn gave me the ideal, when I mentioned there was going to be a shower, She most graciously (because she said that is what BFF do for each other l0l ) redirected me to this correct post that inspired me. I used my Cricut to cut all the tags and centers. The Stretch My Imagination cartridge was used. I used the same cartridge to cut out the little babies with the little onsies on, and the baby rattler. I cut up colored indexed cards, and centered them on the first layer for the shower attendees to write the new Mom some words of advice. I thought using the ruled index cards would make it easier for everyone to write on. I reserved the the first page for my friend the new grandmother to write the first piece of advise. Then I embellished each page differently. I added a front and back, and some ribbon to the ring. I hope the new Mother enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Gift Card Holder

I just have a few minutes to post Pat's Saturday Challenge. We are leaving and may not get back in time to make deadline. I will come back later with details. See ya.

Surprise

I received this award from Robyn and ScrapAddict and how neat that all three of us has the same favorite color PURPLE. Thanks to both of you for thinking of me.



The rules are this: I need to pass this award on to five people, post on their blog to let them know I left this award, and then I need to answer a list of questions in ONE word. Fun!

1. Where is your cell phone?off
2. Your hair? which day :)
3. Your mother? Juanita
4. Your father? Deceased
5. Your favorite food? chocolate
6. Your dream last night?work
7. Your favorite drink? diet coke
8. Your dream/goal? fulfillment
9. What room are you in? craft room
10. Your hobby? paper crafting
11. Your fear? death of loved ones
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? out of debt
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you're aren't? mean
15. Muffins? chocolate chip
16. Wish list item? Everything
17. Where did you grow up? North Carolina
18. Last thing you did? drink diet coke
19. What are you wearing? PJ's
20. Your TV? off
21. Your Pets? Flossie Mae
22. Friends?lifesavers
23. Your life? happy :o)
24. Your mood? OK
25. Missing Someone?Father
26. vehicle? Saturn
27. Something your not wearing? make-up
28. Your favorite store? One Little Spark
29. Your favorite color? purple
30. When was the last time you laughed? this afternoon
31. Last time you cried?Wednesday
32. Your best friend? husband, Allan
33. One place that I go to over and over?WORK
34. Face book? very little
35. Favorite place to eat? anyplace I don't have to cook!

Now I have to pass this on to 5 people - Wow! hard to narrow it down to 5 - there are so many blogs that I like to visit and get inspiration from. I am going to give this to:

Pam
Heather

Short and Sweet

Short and Sweet, well I'm afraid that isn't the case. I have all week at 365 cards to post. I will start with day last Sunday's challenge and bring up to today's challenge

Sunday was the super sketch:

Monday's was to find some fabric in your home or somewhere that inspired a card.

Tuesday's was to use a ribbon, pearl and a Tag on a card.

Wednesday's was to use red, purple & brown

Thursday's was to use paisley

Friday was to use 5 stamps

Saturday's was to use some twine.