Life's Set Backs with Blessings

In 2007 my husband and I

were planning our wedding. He had purposed in

January.

And the nuptials took place

in

September.

He wanted them to occur sooner.

But, in April we were thrown in a

complete tail spin

when

my health took a sudden turn

for the worse.

It was Easter weekend.

His family was coming to visit.

They live 2 1/2 hours away

and I had been dreading

it.

When I had sudden pain in my rib cage

on the left side on that

Friday evening

I attributed it to anxiety.

I was dreading their

visit just that

much.

My sleep that night was terrible.

I could lay only on my right side.

Not on my back.

Just on my side.

Saturday progressed.

I had gone to a

walk in clinic.

The next day I had to go back in

to get an x-ray done.

At the time

I had gone they were not

available to do testing.

In the meantime I had some pain killers.

Those

did

not

touch it.

Monday morning came.

I went in to get testing done.

They were waiting for the radiologist

to read my test.

I asked if I was able to leave

and was told yes.

I was a walking time bomb and did not know it.

They frantically called me.

Two things were going on that needed

immediate

attention.

First I was anemic.

I wasn't too surprised at that.

There was another medical

issue I had been dealing with

a few years that

had caused

that.

Secondly

was a pulmonary embolism.

During the course of Saturday I had gone

online to do a little research for myself.

I had seen that and was like nahhh.

That is just way extreme.

That nahhh became a

yup!

Once returning to the walk in clinic I was told

of my diagnosis.

Immediately I was sent to the

hospital where I stayed for a

week.

I am visiting this because of the

anniversary of it around the corner.

It was April 9th.

And secondly I had read about Serena Williams

suffering from the same thing.

Here you can read a little more about

pulmonary embolism ( aka PE)

along with signs, symptoms

and

what causes them.

Can I tell you that in the midst of

all of that I had the most

calm, peaceful feeling about myself.

Everyone was worked up.

I had a friend tell me

that I looked like

death.

Seriously a wash of serenity had

come over me. A feeling like I had never

experinaced before.

It was incredible.

While I was laying in my hospital bed

I had what felt like a hand on mine.

It was on my right hand.

No one was

there.

Soon to be hubby was on my left.

As far as could be

from my right side.

That time for me was marked not by the diagnosis or

what had occurred within my body, but what

had occurred within

those serene moments that were so personal.

The same feeling experienced when you deliver a child.

Money Savers

There are a few things I have implemented

over the past few months to

help us save some

money.

One is recycling more.

What?

How is that going to save money you ask?

The way I see it we will have to

buy less garbage bags

because

we will be throwing more things into

the recycle container.

We are required to pay for recycling anyways.

I mean, I have always recycled, but we

are making a more conscious effort to do more now.

So far it is working.

Mid week we typically have to take the trash out. We have

been able to put it off a bit longer, like maybe to the weekend.

The second thing I have implemented is insulating

our water heater and pipes.

The plumbing is exposed in the basement so this

was easy to achieve.

I have noticed that the amount of time it takes for our

water to heat up has been reduced substantially.

Lastly, I have been keeping our heat

set at 69 degrees.

Yes, I admit there are some days I let it

go to 71. Overall though I

do manage to keep it at a cooler

tempature.

Really it hasn't been that bad keeping it cool.

There are times were it does tend to feel a bit

cooler than other times, but it

isn't that bad.

Not only are these money savers,

but they are also green.



An Exciting Annoucement!

My shop has been featured

over at

Melinus Treasures

Not only has my shop been featured,

but I am

the first one.

Whoa!

Pretty exciting stuff.

I have been working pretty hard lately,

which is why I have been a little

absent from posting

on my blog.

Im really looking forward to things picking up a bit

so that I might be able to relax a

little.

Strange I know, but getting things started on Etsy is

not as easy or straight forward as

it seems.

It is a daughnting task.

Pictures, tags, pricing

and getting my shop out there.

With all of that I have tapped into a few resources on

Etsy to help me along the journey.

Has it been a journey.

Wow!

A casual 'oh hey Ill just sell some stuff on Etsy' turns into

a pretty serious thing if you really want to make a go at it.

Well, my darling little girls are down for a nap.

Huh...nap time for me or

get some stuff done.

Be sure to visit Melinus Treasures often to see who

gets featured next.

Introducing My Newest ...

And the reveal!

Oh it is just so beautiful!!

Just - makes - me - want - to - cry!

I have a big girl mixer. I am way excited about this.

Of course I am going to need to make something

with it - soon.

What a better way to break it in than

to make some fresh bread.

Seriously!

The taste of fresh bread melting in my mouth.

The smell.

It has been so long since I have made or had it.

Hopefully I will be able to do that this week. 



1st Birthday

My youngest had her 1st birthday.

It was a very low key event for us. Hubby had worked late

the day of her birthday. When he got home she

was already in bed. (she goes to bed at 6 and is she is very sure to let us know when she is ready)

Not only that, but she also was cutting in a top tooth.

It was not until Sunday that I had a chance to get a little cake for her

to celebrate with.

It was well worth it for me.

Even if it was a cozy event for us it was the most fullfilling thing.

Blue frosting. I didn't think that the blue might turn her into a
Smurf.

It all washed of beautifully though.
That bath water had
to have been the sweetest water ever.
Visit us and other moms over at


Another me

This past week I have been busy.

Today I would like another me or even a personal assistant.

Yea right!

These are a couple of my newest creations.

The layered bow on the bottom is in my shop. The loopy flower bow is not in

there yet, but I am hoping to get it up either today or tomorrow. There is a shades of pink loopy flower bow in the works. Let me know if you are interested

in the one pictured or any other color combinations.

There are a few other things I would like to add to my shop as well. One of the

things I have been working hard on is improving my bows.

This mommy moment brought to you by Coffee Is Kicking In .

Have a great day!

This Time Last Year

Our family grew by two feet

this time last year.

This sweet little girl was welcomed to our family.

We had anxiously awaited her arrival.

Like my first

pregnancy

we did not know

what sex we were having.

This is her at 6 weeks. I know because I use to 

put a sticky note or something in the 

picture with them. 

 At some point I have gotten worse about taking pictures of

her on a regular basis. I have also not added

ages in the picture.

I can recall that

when we left for the hospital

I had an overwhelming amount of guilt.

As if I were

cheating

on my oldest daughter.

Today they have a wonderful relationship.
My oldest tends to fuss over my youngest. It is so cute.
But my youngest, Miss J does not like to be
fussed over.
She has never been shy to let me or anyone else know.
Diaper changes were always interesting.
Those tiny little legs moving all about trying to
get away.
I do mean tiny legs too.

She is still a tiny thing today. And she still has
that little bit of fire in her belly that
she displayed from
the first minute we met her.



March is National Craft Month and Giveaways

It is National Craft Month.

Three are some great give aways going on over

at Craft Gossip.

Here are a few giveaways that are taking place :

 Gorilla Glue has offered a fun prize pack

Krylon is excited about giving away FOUR 6-packs of their fabulous spray paint

Embroidery Kit from Sublime Stitching

Salt dough jewlery tutorial and giveaway

Cozy Sister’s Jewelry Making Blog is offering a free tutorial for these really fun wiggle earrings.

In continuing our month’s worth of giveaways for National Craft Month, Lark Crafts has offered several book titles! There will be a new book giveaway each week, as well as other fun prizes throughout the month, so make sure you watch daily.

Stop over at Craft Gossip and check it out. They have a ton of ideas daily.

I will warn you now that the content can be addictive if you enjoy being creative.

 Enjoy and let me know if you win anything.

Window Cleaning

This morning I have been doing some catching up on cleaning.

Dishes have been put away and a load is running in the dishwasher.

The glass on the oven door looked terrible. Light shining through the windows

in the morning really exposes all the smudges

 from little hands

 on the cabinets

and glass.

I began wiping the glass down

on the oven door

 and then proceeded

 to the tv

and on to the windows.

Cloudy days are suppose to be the

 best day

to do windows, but everytime

the urge strikes me it is sunny out.

I had found a recipe for window cleaner here.

Since we don't go through it very fast and seem to

have an endless supply I have yet to make

some myself.

Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe


A cotton swab or soft toothbrush works for cleaning window corners.­

­Don't want to spend money on a glass cleaner? Home recipes work just as well as commercial products for washing windows, and you'll save money. Try this recipe for a homemade glass cleaner:

•Use 2 tablespoons ammonia, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, and 1/4 teaspoon dishwashing detergent.

•Add all ingredients to a small spray bottle, then fill the bottle with water and shake well. You can substitute 3 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice for the ammonia.

•Use as you would any commercial window

Consumed with Obsession

I have been on a quest.

A quest

to perfect  my bow skills.

To make them the best.

The cutest.

My quest is being pushed by

warmer weather.

Its coming.

I can feel it.

It is being pushed by Easter

in the wings.

My store needs some improvement.

Hubby is being employed.

He has said

he wants to help.

So he is going to be creating a

light box for me.

Never when I began did

I realize it was going to

be this much work.

But, somehow I have this

internal drive.

Momma is gonna SNAP

You know those days?

The days when you just want to do this.

Ugg.

Or when they know how to push

that button.

The "don't push" button.

And they still do.

That happened here last night.

Oh!

Just made my blood boil.

You know

those

moments?!

When I came across

this

I could not

help but to relate to it.

I immediately fell in

LOVE with it.

That got me thinking.

I might

get a customized

peice with

"Momma is gonna snap".

Etsy love!!