life keeps happenin'

Hair Day - She would kill me if my grandma saw this picture!

I am so behind on everything! But life keeps happening. Some of you may know that I set my grandma's hair every Thursday and that she lives in assisted living. Grandma who will be 95 in July has always been a live wire. But sadly, now she has moderate Alzheimer's and it seems to be rapidly advancing. I had found out this last Thursday that according to doctor's orders she must now live in a more secure facility. One that has locks at the doors and people to make sure she doesn't escape, I guess. I know, I know... so she won't get hurt. But she is not happy at all about it and neither am I. Grandma has apparently been found wandering around at night. I've talked to the girl that takes her blood sugar and doles out the meds and she told me that there are a lot of old ladies that wander around. She isn't strong enough to even open the door that leads outside and hasn't ever tried to leave. I'm just upset that they are pulling her out of her comfy little nest that she feels safe in. Not to mention they made her leave her home of 40+ years and move there about 2 years ago.

She not only must leave her assisted living apartment that allows her to have her fridge full of her beloved Diet Rite and sneak chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies more often than she should, but she has to leave the whole facility and find a new place to take her by the end of March! They don't take Medicare or Medicaid I can't remember which and she doesn't have enough money to pay the $165 a day it takes!!!! $165 a day?! Jeeesh. Is this what we all have to look forward too? I'm damn depressed let me tell ya.

So fast forward to this past Sunday night. I found out my grandma fell and broke her pelvis in 2 places. She is in the hospital now. I am scared for her because I know that breaking a hip or something like this does not usually end well. Crazily, she now qualifies for the same facility they were kicking her out of. They will put her in rehab and I know she has a hard road ahead of her and I really worry she will just give up.

I feel like all the people I love are dying around me. I know how incredibly blessed she (and me) have been for her to live this long. But I still want her around. She may very well pull through this and even be able to walk again, but the Alzheimer's has already stolen most of her away from us. She is a great lady and a wonderful grandmother. I am lucky to have her in my life.

Grandma at Thanksgiving 2010

Today, I took Asher to get his 5 year check up, 3 shots and all... you all knew he's been sick and the ear infection deal. Well, he cannot hear very good and today I found out he is not hearing out of one ear and not good out of the other. what now?! Fluid on the ear. He was born with fluid on his ear and they thought he was deaf. Thankfully, it left eventually on its own. So we have an appointment with the ear nose and throat doctor in April. Possibly tubes are in his future. Great.

So forgive me for not visiting lately, I'll be by soon.

Happy Friday

I'm watching one of my favorite shows as of late... "Who do you think you are?" Feeling tired and ready to feel better and well. I hope to be back in my bloggin' swing by next week.

Happy Friday everyone!

Wouldn't know it's Spring in my house

No, it's not been a fun last 5 days here in our house. Asher has been sick. Really sick. This is what my vanity looks like. Poor little guy has got a nasty virus and a double ear infection. He's been coughing his head off, puking, snotting, running a high fever and just plain miserable. So all you mother's out there know, I'm miserable too. To make matters worse, we are on Spring Break this week. I'm hoping he will recover quickly but if today is a sign of fast recovery, we are in for the long haul.

It's just beautiful outside, too. Poor little guy doesn't even want to play his video games (!). Just sit on the couch and watch Imagination Movers over and over. I've been nursemaid and am exhausted. I've washed more sheets and jammies in the last few days than I have in a month. All the while trying really really hard not to get sick myself.

Another thing he does is hold the cats if they come within grabbling distance. They're the only thing that puts a sparkle in his sick eyes. Thank God for them. They will sleep with him a lot while he's on the couch. He little ears are so clogged up that he has to wear these headphones to hear the show even though the volume is turned up. He does have little bursts of energy here and there but then they are followed by feeling very bad and usually a higher fever. Must be the meds wearing off.

I've no time to go create something so I have nothing to share right now. Our Sisterhood of the Traveling Sketchbooks is about to get underway in April. We are all very excited. I know I am, I just need to get a pencil, pen or marker in these hands!

Everyone please send well wishes to Asher! I hope to have better news soon :) OH and did you see that fabulous moon last night? Gorgeous.
Happy Spring everyone!

The single shoe

Just an off the wall comment here. You know something I notice is how many single shoes are on highways. Why not a pair? Just one lonely shoe tossed in with the shredded bits of tires, glass and pebbles. Look next time you travel a highway, count how many single shoes you find. What's up with that? How do you loose a shoe? and what do you do with it's mate? Late night ponderings from me.

Party Hat - a sequence of events

The morning of Asher's birthday and I had made him special chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. Of course I make him pose for pictures with the nifty hat I made him and all was fun and laughs until after he blew out the candles and his hat slid down to his forehead. Classic.

Birthday Boy

Today is my son Asher's 5th birthday! I'll post updates soon.

We have all 12 Sistah's for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Sketchbooks! Yay! So we'll be sharing pictures and artwork soon!

Have a great weekend!

STSB update + OWOH Winnings

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Sketch Books (STSB) is filling up. We now have 10 participant's including me and Stephanie, I counted wrong the other day. I'm told we may have another sistah if her computer isn't acting quirky. Remember, we're aiming for 12. I figure I'd give it to this Friday evening and if we don't have anyone else interested at this time then we could draw for who gets an extra month or we could do collaborative pages.

I have now set up a Yahoo Group just for us! It's called CreativeSistahs... Yay! Here is a link to go to Creative Sistahs. From here we can share thoughts and pictures, have a poll, start a conversation in chat and more! I thought this would be a great place to keep all our sketch book stuff and ask and answer questions. It doesn't cost anything to join a Yahoo Group. There won't be any spam since I have it set up to where I have to allow users access to join. So if you didn't get an invitation for the group through your email address, then you might have forgotten to give it to me! Please do as soon as you can =) You can also just apply through the link above. Oh and by the way, my "handle" is ArtsyFartsyMe... of course!

Also, don't forget we need 1 and maybe 2 more sistah's! If you have a blogging buddy that you think might like to participate please ask them! You can direct them to here which is the Sisterhood post. I still haven't got a badge yet, but I will soon. Some already have a sketch book and I encourage everyone to go ahead and find one you've got lying around waiting to be used (blank of course) or buy a new one. So be looking for those Blick, Michael's and JoAnns coupons... haha. Just remember these are getting mailed each month so size and weight will impact the cost to send it $$$$.

Also...

I wanted to share a card making book I won from Therese at Design 48 through the OWOH. It's got all kinds of inspiration in there. Thank you Therese! Unfortunately, she didn't leave me a link for her blog and now I can't find her. Let this be a lesson kids, leave your blog address and name on all your emails!

Have a great rest of the week!

A Treasure of a Treasury!

My good friend Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations made this beautiful treasury the other day and I haven't mentioned it yet... (I'm sorry Theresa!). Aren't these beautiful shades of blue? She makes the most beautiful treasuries I think and this time she included something I've made! In the bottom left hand corner is my Man in the Moon Thank You Card.

If you don't know Theresa, go over to her blog first and then make sure you check out her fantastic Etsy Shop under the same name. She makes magical looking jewelry that almost seems from a another time and place, maybe a place that Fairies dwell! She has also started adding her beautiful 2D art work in the form of mixed media and paintings. She even incorporates her artwork into jewelry.

I truly appreciate Theresa's kindness in including me. Thank you Theresa!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Book Update!

I have added a tab for the STB which includes links to everyone and a sneek peek of what I've included with the book. It's just the envelope that contains the names. I will be creating a badge soon. If you are in this project please email me your name and contact email so I can keep everyone updated a little easier. Thank You!

Sisterhood of the Traveling SketchBook Update!

Also, we are still needing 3 more "sisters" to join us for the Sisterhood of the Traveling SketchBook as of this post.  I had 2 more join today making our total 9. Remember we are wanting 12, so if you know of someone that might be interested in participating, please send them this way :)

I will have a different tab and a different badge for the STS coming soon. As the other one, if you are in this project please email me your name and contact email so I can keep everyone updated a little easier. Thank You!

Everybody have a great day!

Yee-Haw! The Loot is Pouring In!

OWOH Loot that is! Just look at the treasures that have made their way into my heart!

From Brandy at Artbrat's Bits and Pieces... a sweet little mixed media treasure box that she made along with her beautiful mermaid calling card and I love mermaids!!

From Sanna at Sannasartmind "So Many Hats" 6"x8" Mixed media collage that almost made it into Somerset magazine! It was so beautifully wrapped as well.

From Carolyn at LilDarlings by Carolyn I received "The Smallest Teeny Tiny Piggy Bank with coins" so adorable...  She managed to send it even though she had been without power due to the nasty ice storm... been there. Yuck!

From Laura at Artworks Studio and "Outside the Lines" blog... just for the simple task of asking for it... a stack of multi-colored envelopes that will come in really handy. So generous.

I also received another that I will post as soon as I get a picture of it. It's 1 am now and there is no sunlight which equals really crappy pictures so we must wait.

I am so filled with happiness that the OWOH giving spirit has brought out. I don't know if that sentence made sense, but you get the idea. What generous people who just pour out their souls through their work, it's just amazing to feel the giving spirit that I've encountered through OWOH. Thank you, truly.

On another note, we have got the gunkies again here at my house. Strep throat is running rampant in the school among other junk and I have felt like doo doo since Saturday evening. I don't think we have Strep, and I hope we don't get it! Today I have the privilege of eating with no taste sensation what so ever. What a waste of food and talk about no satisfaction whatsoever, jeesh. So I haven't wasted my chocolate ice cream I have hidden in the basement freezer at least. Yeah, I'm one of those. Food hiders. What can I say, it is sad but true. I feel like a big loser too, because I haven't mailed off the book yet to T. I will, I promise!

This brings me to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Sketchbooks. I haven't done anything else with it yet since I've felt so puny. I'm sorry :(  I know there is confusion about it. Plus, we still need 5 more people that are willing to join. Maybe I should set a deadline. That way if we don't have the 10 we need by that date, we will proceed and maybe some will get lucky and get an extra month. So if you're reading this and want join the sistah's, there is still time! We'd love to have you. Please chime in on your blog if you want to about it to stir interest.