fears...

I hav a few fears... often times they can seem to control me or at least make my knees shake. Such as water. I live on the lake, I like to ski, like to swim but I am terrified (is that too strong a term?) scared, respectful, of water. There are times when I fall skiing and if I am not picked up in a hurry I can feel a panic attack coming on. Just ask my df Ali from high school how I react when someone teases me when I am in the water and they say there is something behind you - b/c it is what IS in the water, not the water itself. I could be the first victim of a shark attack in a non-salt water lake in the world. It could happen - they always say anything is possible - right? Or how about those big ol' muskies people catch or that weird old, old fish people caught on the Mississippi river so long ago with the huge teeth- it looked like a piranha. YIKES! of course, I hide this fear from my kids b/c I do not want this same fear to hinder them as they grow up.

There are also balloons. I do not like them. The kids love them. Frankly, they scare me too. I don't like when they pop, I don't like blowing them up and I don't even like to touch them. I blame this on my sisters birthday party growing up when one of the games was to sit on a balloon to pop it. I had just a seed of this fear starting but after being chased by a balloon and having them threaten me with popping it on me - that seed sprouted, let me tell you.

I also have a fear of small places, this I blame on my brother who always made us wrestle and would cover my face and think it funny. (He is a great guy, as is my sister - I guess I just have some issues to deal with :) ) I worked with my dh in the crawl space last night and could start to feel some anxiety if we were down there too long but thankfully, I also have faith in God who is so good at giving me peace and comfort.

Finally, I think my fear that has grown as I have and with the addition of the responsibility of the safety of kids and lack of a basement, is my fear of thunderstorms. I know they are awesome and amazing and also totally terrifying for me (this time that term works perfectly!). We had quite the storm last night. Thankfully Nick was home that usually gives me some comfort and keeps me from freaking out. It was crazy though, the wind was so fierce. We woke up to part of our tree down in our yard. Thankfully, it landed away from our house. Neighbors had trees down, electricity was out for over 7 hours, another neighbor had a boat flip over and their lift thrown. Again, though I have to thank my lucky stars that I have a God watching out and everyone is safe.

Here is what I looked like last night though:

-K

first challenge creation

I completed my first "challenge" today. I didn't really like the results as much as I hoped but I had fun doing it. I loved being given a start - something to inspire, colors etc. Often times I just look at my "stuff" move it around a bit or maybe organize, then head back to the computer to see if there is any more inspiration, new items I 'need', or anything to get me away from the overwhelming feeling of my "stuff." Sometimes I need that push to get me going, some thing to set my eyes on - and this challenge did it. I will now be participating in challenges alot. I love having a starting point then going to my stash with a determined attitude, pulling the requisites and letting creativity take over - even if the end result isn't my total favorite at least I am creating.
Here is the result of this challenge:



Off to find me some more challenges... :)-K

weddings, babies and garage sales - oh my!

It has been a while since my last post ( I wish I had a dollar for every time I may start my blog with that line!) I have been getting ready for a garage sale, I am not hosting it but had a great friend who asked if I had anything I wanted to get rid of. I am always ready to purge. I always feel great afterwards... something like a chip off my shoulder some how, it makes me feel "lighter" to get rid of some things. It doesn't seem to make any dent though in the clutter in the house. How does that work? I can clean the kids' rooms, take out 5 huge garbage bags and their rooms still look full, clean but full? A question that may never be answered I'm afraid.

I was so blessed to see my dear friend's new baby last night. Can you believe how small they start out!? I always forget that. They are so soft and fragile and just so darn sweet. Especially since I get to hold them when they are like that and give them back when they start crying, plus, I get to sleep through the night. I am just so excited for them. There was the chance of complications and so many things they went through the past year, but the worry was for naught.

I had big plans today... wedding cards, hello cards, cards for my Grandma etc... I accomplished 1 wedding card. I guess that is something, especially since I needed that for tomorrow. Maybe I can get some more done before the wedding tomorrow. Here is what I created today...

as always, thanks for visiting and please, come again! TTFN- K

been working...

Every so often, I have to buckle down and get something done. This was the week for that. I was running out of inventory for craft shows I was told and my husband had some ideas of his own for his use for me. I usually try to hide from him when he lets me know this but sometimes he catches me unawares and traps me into it. Plus, it makes him happy when I help, even if I am a wimp and whine and complain. Last night I was so lucky enough to drag large amounts of dirt out from under the house while he shoveled holes. Are we weird? well, yes, but it has to do with our upcoming addition and making our foundation a tad bit tougher to hold it all up. I am sure there are more technical terms for it but I am not that knowledgable in matters of construction and honestly, that doesn't bother me one bit.

Now work for shows was a bit more enjoyable. I did quite a few canvases, some fun colors and some fun fabrics. I love working with canvases since each one can be different. I can experiment and it usually turns out. Craft shows help, they have a variety of people looking for a variety of things. What may catch one persons eye another will walk by without even noticing it. It takes all kinds.

I also made some more rings. I always end up keeping a few for myself too. That is the joy of working for yourself I think! I get paid in product.

Plus, the best thing of all, now that I have worked SO hard all week ;) I can play the rest of it. My scrapping has been calling to me... "come and scrap" didn't you hear it?

mission monday

It's a new week, no neighbors, no visitors... don't get me wrong, I like them all, especially family - like seeing our sweet niece Payton, but I don't get much done. The kids run, run, run and get a little cranky, the house gets neglected or maybe too much "attention" i.e. messy. I don't get any product completed for upcoming shows and I get a bit lonely for alone time. Weird but true. I like to have time to myself just as much as I like to hang out with family and friends. I like to have my kids to myself also. We spent some time in the water and after sat on the deck for some great reading time - Star Wars for Tyler and I, Hannah Montana for Mallory, and Walker, well, he kind of hangs around. :)

I am also in need of some major scrapping time...
hopefully coming this week after I work on some signs and jewelry. I have to finish up my box of 2000 photos so I can make room for 2009 photos, I have 8 boxes and they are full for each year... big task, but at least a goal to try and make. Plus, a fun one! The box of 2000 photos is only 1/3 full so I think I can do it... I just need to quit taking so many pics and thinking I need to scrap every one. I need to do some "simple" albums and then more time consuming ones... What do you guys do?






Thanks for stopping by! - K

Happy Birthday to my girl

Every year it is the same... my dd's birthday rolls around and I can't believe how old she is. 9. 9. Can you believe she is already 9 years old?

Anyway, she is our first, our only girl and she is 9 today. Happy Birthday to our "baby".

July 2, 2008

For lack of a better title I refered to today's date. Very creative I am today!

I thought I would post my Gallery Idol entries - no I didn't win but I still like what I made. They did pick some awesome winners I must say so I don't feel so bad to be kicked out of Idol before even getting in.

Without further ado, here are my entries...

and the inside :












and the inside:












that is all for now... probably until after the 4th as we will be crazy with family, friends and fun!

Kristine