Oh Me, Oh My...

Needless to say things have not gone well in my scrappy place for over a month.  I did get some scrapping done through the first part of August; but after my second injection and around the time to start getting ready for school to start, my mojo was just obliterated.  I couldn't even photograph the layouts that I had completed until today: 23 layouts have been just sitting there waiting for weeks.

But in my defense, it has been rather insane here.  Not only with school starting, but mom & dad came home on that day.  Cleaning in preparation, adjusting to their being here (more stressful than anticipated), and then the decline in my dad's health since their arrival.  I flaired the first 10 days they were home and then my dad started falling (off the couch, out of bed, in the bathroom).  We took him to the ER (diagnosis: bruised ribs - not!) and a week later finally talked him into letting us call the Paramedics.  He has now been in the hospital three weeks.  He has pneumonia to the top of his lungs and then strep sacs all over the outside of his lungs requiring a chest tube; they have had to reinsert the feeding tube because he has done nothing but aspirate into his lungs every.single.thing. that has gone into his mouth for who knows how long; oxygen; catheter; and a PIC-line of four continuous antibiotics.  He is very alert and is planning on when he eventually gets to come home... that man has the most determination to live than can be imagined by almost any- and everyone who meets him.  On top of that was the cat bite and when I eventually got out of bed and regained the use of my hand, GiGi fell in our kitchen and fractured her wrist (last Thursday).  Then this past Friday I had JC in the Dr's office with bronchitis and his mom's in bed with an RA/Lupus flair.  Like I said, it is totally insane here.

I wanted to share some of the (horrible) pictures I took today of layouts.  Also, in the event you might find this of interest, my favorite two paper lines at the moment are Echo Park's Here & Now and MME's Find Your Wings - and boy are they on the separate ends of the scale.  Here & Now has super intense bright colors and Find Your Wings are more muted and pastel.  So whatever mood, I'm covered.  I'm trying out a few more lines as well, but will report more on those later.  I will say that one of the lines I've gotten in is the Bella Blvd Snapshots which also has very bright colors; but, it is not half as lovely as the EP.  If you get a chance, check out these lines - I know the MME line is a Spring line, so it may become more readily available soon.

Also, if you decide you want to take a chance on A Cherry on Top, please use me as a referral as I do get points for referred customers.  And if you are an online buyer, check them out!!! As with all online suppliers, always sign up for the newsletter before making a purchase so that you can start getting a heads up on discounts (they are constantly having discounts - like daily!).  And look at the "Message Board", 'Hunting Cherries' and 'Review' policies because each of these (and possibly more) lead to a points system that can add up to discounts.  Oh, and then each month the Message Board does a 'Envies' game whereby you are assigned another player and each person buys items (minimum $10) from the others Wishlist - the items are sent directly to your counterpart.  It's rather fun - I didn't tell my partner anything about when their shipment went out so it was a total surprise for them to receive the package in the mail.  Plus I've met two local (within 30 miles) scrappers on the boards... that's uncanny for this part of the woods.

Now on to the layouts.  Rather than show 23 tonight, I'm just going to show the few of GiGi & KK together:

So after the first small slump, I did this page.  It is absolutely an example of rediscovering my Maggie Holmes and playing with my stamps. While it's super different and crazy, it has grown on me tremendously.

 Oh that lovely MME Find Your Wings paired up with that old DL 5th & Frolic - just a little shot of heaven.

 Yes, this is that fantastic Echo Park paired up with a little Simple Stories Snap and some Amy Tangerine fabric & wood stickers.  See how awesome!

 More Here & Now... and there's more to come. Love.Love.Love. This is the happiest paper I've ever played with.

So that's all for tonight.  I hope to get to catch up on my blog reading soon... I miss you all.  Heck I'm four weeks behind on my Glitter Girl fixes so that just goes to show you that it's not personal.

Hope you are all very well and very happy.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.” -  Edith Södergran