Summertime Thank You

Hello Friends! It has been so long since I have posted here, I feel guilty for not keep this up better. But then, it is my blog, a place for expression and not a place where I sell things. So, I can let go of the guilt right?

More changes have been taking place in my life over the past few months. And without boring the crap out of all of you with the mundane details, I will just give you some bits.

I hve made the decision to stop taking horticulture classes and have decided to work on my Masters in History instead. After talking to a great many people, it just makes more sense to get an advanced degree instead of another A.S. degree. If you have read my blog in the past you know that I love history. Not sure if I will teach it or not as I still have to go and actually sit down with the advisor to discuss how I can make that work into the program they have already. It is a very promising future for me.

Clark has finally gotten his assessment for Vocational Rehabilitation Dept. help to obtain a job. The process is just starting so, I have no details. He is excited at possibilities. His health and attitude remain relatively good despite not having much to do.

Our gardens have suffered terribly this year with all the heat. Many areas have been sorely neglected. We are just now getting back out to lay down compost and take out plants that are not doing good or are in the wrong area. We will move some plants now as living where we do, they will have some grow time before it becomes winter.

And my other area that has pushed stamping and crafting out a little is my living history hobby. For those of you who have viewed Civil War Reenactors before at battlefields and events at historic homes or sites. You might know what I mean.....the men in their uniforms and the women in their hoop skirts. Well, that gives you some idea. But, I am not the sort of person to just sit on a battlefield in a hoopskirt and watch the men fight. I am more interested in dressing period correct (which means hoops, corset, etc.) and participating in events that pertain to life at these sites. I am just getting back into this after many years away. I am slowly making friends with folks with similar interests...and attending conferences and workshops in the upcoming months. I may be starting a new blog to incorporate my love of history, we'll see....I may just be too busy to do much but attend classes.

The card I have chosen was sent to my In-Laws to thank them for meeting my husband and I in Chicago for my birthday weekend in August. I love Chicago but, feel now that I have nearly exhausted all the places in that city to visit. The Field Museum had an exhibit on the baby Mammoth that was found in Siberia.....so totally facisinating!

Thanks again for looking and reading about my life....such as it is!
Cindy

• Stamps - SU Feathered Friends
• Paper - SU Whisper White, Close to Cocoa (retired) and So Saffron CS, SU DSP (retired)
• Ink - Ranger Archival Black Ink
• Accessories - Prismacolor Pencils, Baby Oil, Blending Stumps, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon (retired)
  

Graduation Invitation

Good Morning Friends! Wayne and I wanted to have a Graduation Party for Clark and the only time we did not have something going on was August. Sad but at least we are giving him a party.

Disabled children generally do not have many if any friends that come over to their houses to 'play'. So we are inviting his teachers, nurses, therapists, the bus driver and her assistant, family and his girlfriend.

This DP at my LSS caught my eye and thought it would be great with his school's colors. Some of the mortar boards have glitter on them! Very simple and self-explanatory.

Thanks for taking a look! Have a great day!!

Cindy

• Stamps - SU Celebrate Everything, Tassel Time, AYC (one of them for the invite info)
• Paper - SU Confetti White, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Best Creation Inc. DP
• Ink - SU Basic Black, Riding Hood Red
• Accessories - SU Dimensionals, Stamp-a-majig
  
  

New Cards to Share

Good Morning Friends! I have been trying to do some work with my Prismacolor Pencils at night while I relax in front of the TV with my husband. I do like to be with him at night even if he is watching something I don't really care for.

The little girl card is for our niece Jennifer who lives in Wisconsin. It will be her 7th birthday this week. She loves bling and those colors. I took a sheet of the DCWV DP and cut it apart to get the color combination I like. Then reassembled them. I popped up the flowers and added the acrylic sparkly dots. I still don't think I have the hair technique down yet......practice makes perfect though.

The classic car is for my brother in California he is turning 51 next week. He loves classic cars. In fact, that is what he does for a living.....work with cars. I don't ge to see him much anymore. Sending him some homemade hot sauce and more jars of jams and jellies.

The house mouse was a stamped image from Linda Bronson. I want to send one of our neighbors a thank you card for a wonderful evening we had at their house recently.

Hope all is well with you and your summer is not full of too much bad weather!
Cindy

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Good Morning Friends! I do not have anything new to show you today as I have been using my Prismacolor Pencils and coloring some images that a nice lady sent me earlier this year. I am trying out different papers to see what the coloring is like on them. This card is not new....only new to you. Sent it to our Nephew, Joshua, year before last. Don't know why I never posted it but, seems appropriate for this time of the year.




Anyway, I am heading out today to pick up some new pencils that match the new colors that Stampin' Up! has put into their new catalog. Quite a shake up with what they did. I am sure a lot of Demos are not too happy about having to buy all new stuff. That's business folks, keep it fresh or you loose sales.



On the home front......we had a very quiet Independence Day. Went to my Mom's and grilled burgers and brats and instead of going to see the fireworks, we played Mexican Train. I think I have told you about my sister, Lisa, who has MS. Well, she cannot tolerate the heat at all. We had fun teaching our Mom how to play. Oh, if you have never played it is a game you play with dominos.

Today I am also running a bunch of errands.....picking up my June order from my demo and heading to a friends for a muslin bodice fitting for my civil war dress I am sewing. I think I have told you about my love for the history from this era, didn't I? Well, progress is slow. I had to wait for my new corset and shoes. Now I have to wait for my hoop skirt......have to get it ordered first. Wayne thinks I should make it, then that way I could make others and sell them. Not sure about that one...the selling thing. I am also growing out my hair, which isn't taking as long as I thought. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks for looking, have a great day and stay cool!
Cindy

• Stamps - Imaginese, SU It's Your Birthday
• Paper - Imaginese, SU Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red and Next to Navy CS
• Ink - Ranger Archival Black
• Accessories - Prismacolor Pencils, Baby Oil, Blending Stumps, Chipboard, SU Brad

Believe Christmas Album

Good Morning Friends! Since today is July 1st, I thought it would be a good idea to start posting ideas for Christmas since it is only about 6 months away.....

I made this album in 2008 for my sister, Lisa, who just loves Christmas. She puts up anywhere from 5-7 Christmas trees throughout her house. She has a huge house so she can! Some years she has these big parties for all her friends and co-workers. We were invited a couple of years ago but, had to decline at the last minute because I had the flu. Sucked!

Anyway, just before I wrapped this album, I stuck little post it notes on the photo mats of the sizes of photos she would need f0r them. She thought that was really neat that I would do that and make it easier for her to finish. I told her that I know how busy her life is and I know how she likes easy. But, really don't we all like it easy these days?

I used the DCWV paper pack mostly with a few fill in papers. The stickers were a variety of them I had collected over the years. Some of the stickers that look like you cannot read them do have sentiments on them it's just the light from the flash changed it. Sorry. Hope you enjoy looking at it....who knows maybe it will inspire you to make something wonderful for someone special in your life?

I purchased the books at Hobby Lobby using the coupons. You can also find them at Scrapbooks.com they are by Bo Bunny. To make this book, I traced around the page first, adhered with a glue stick and brayer, then sanded around the edges for a nice finished look.

For the photo mats that have a tag sticking out from them, I used tacky tape on 3 sides to keep the pocket secure.

I also used dimensional dots to pop up any sentiments, journaling or embelishments around a photo mat to allow photos to slide under. In my gift to Lisa I included some sticky dots so she could adhere the photos.

Thanks for looking!
Cindy

A Delightful Paperbag Album

Good Morning Friends. I played around with more of the leftover scraps from the Just Delightful Simply Scrappin' kit.....actually I made this before I made all those cards from the other day. Wasn't going to post it because I think this type of album is kind of old now. But, knew that it might be an inspiration to one of you out there.

I had a difficult time finding white bags for this album....chance find at a craft store in Wisconsin one day while visiting family. I think for the colors in this kit, white is best. I followed Jan Tink's design you can find it by going to stampspaperscissors.typepad.com I tried linking it and could not make a go of it; sorry. When you go to her site, look down on the left for the Paperbag instructions and templates.

I made my own little journaling cards using a varitey of sentiments and there are qute a few pullouts for more photos. I love these little interactive albums. This will probably be a Christmas gift for someone special this year. Folks these albums are fairly quick and inexpensive to make...unless you add a whole lot of embelishments!

I would be happy to give you any measurements or information on this project, just let me know.

Thanks for looking! Hope your week is wonderful!
Cindy

About Our Son, Clark

Good Morning Friends. Yesterday I said I would post some photos of our son, Clark, and give you a bit of information on his life. Which is such a big part of our life!

Well, as you can see he graduated from High School. That is such a big deal for a child with a disability. I think one of the most difficult things about this event is that he growing up and for me that has been tough. Not from the boo hoo point but from the point of 'what is he going to do with the rest of his life?'

If you have never had anyone in your family with a disability this might be difficult to understand. But, in case you did not know, the school is responsible and mandated, federally, to provide opportunities for job and day program exploration. This means that they must go out into the community and see day programs and get evaluated for jobs. This was not done with Clark. Something for which we are very angry about.

We found out in February, at his last IEP, that there was no plans for potential jobs or day programs because of his health and other 'obstacles'. The obstacles were the medication schedule, his tube feedings (he was on continuous feedings) and hygiene issues. Well, you can't do anything about the hygiene part he wears a diaper because he cannot sit on a toilet. But, you can do something about the feeding and medication components.

I went to Clark's doctors and asked for help with solving the problems.....had that accomplished by the end of the next week. Came back to the school and demanded that they help us in the time he had remaining at school. They were able to get him to a job site, get evaluated and now he is on a waiting list. But, he still did not have anything else lined up for his days after school.

One of the things we had been working on for nearly 2 years was to find an appropriate home in the community for him to live in instead of the group home he was currently in. The agency we were working with lost their director at the end of February....suddenly....as in he quit. There was no explanation as to why, no contact with him either....no answers and left us feeling very uneasy.

Wayne and I gave it a lot of thought. What we came up with was this.....he has been living at this home for 3 years. Granted it is not the perfect home but, I don't think that exists and at least we know how these folks operate; we know what to expect. As Wayne says, "It is better going with the Devil you know instead of the Devil you don't." While Clark would be in the new home and that might be lovely, Clark would be starting all over again.....learning curve with the new staff, new staff he does not know, no plans for getting out into the community, etc., etc., etc. So, we decided to keep him at the home he is in currently.

We also decided to start talking to other people/agencies that might be able to help Clark get into the community instead of getting stuck in that home day in and day out. It was pretty dark for me for a few months.....I cried a lot. I worried a lot. But, then I got down on my knees and prayed for guidance and strength to make the best decisions for Clark. I feel that God must be guiding us else why would that door close on the school's help and the getting Clark into a home that we thought he needed. I think God has a different plan.

I think that God wants Clark to be the light at that group home. He is so happy always, despite all his issues. He is the most cognitive resident there. He is the most independent resident there as well. Maybe instead of fighting it, go with the flow.

So, here is the update in a nutshell......because I have babbled on long enough......we are re-decorating his room to fit his Construction tastes, we are exploring Day Programs (after having rewritten his Personal Care Plan to state that he needs to be out in the community), we are getting a Vocational Rehab. consult and we are on the waiting list for his job. Until we can find something out in the community, he will work on things at the home in their day program....like learning his phone number, complete address, to be responsible to tell others where he is going at all times on the facility grounds and doing little jobs as a stepping stone to the bigger one.

It has taken a lot of fighting for him.....yes, I am tired of it.....yes, I would love for everything to be in place and go smoother than it has for years. But, I have to keep thanking God for Clark being in my life, for keeping him so healthy and for giving me so much help to fight for him. Because I believe that I am not just fighting for Clark but for others in that facility too.

About all the pictures.....the cap and gown ones are from his Graduation. The girl in the pink is Brittany, his girlfriend at school. I imagine that since she still has two more years at school, the relationship will probably die due to lack of participation on her parents. Life goes on.

The other photos are of Grandparents and us at our recent zoo trip. A gift from his Grandparents (Wayne's folks). We had a great time...good diversion to the hum drum of Clark's daily life. Watched the Lions and baby elephants and sweat like pigs that day. But, it was very nice to all be together.

Thanks for listening to me. I do appreciate you so very much.
Cindy