Don't Stop Believin'

Had some sad news today :-( My best friend Andrea is pregnant - after about 2 years of trying, tests and "there's nothing actually wrong with you"s. That's obviously not the sad news! We found out a couple of months ago and she's due in January. She sent me a text today to say she's been for her 20 week scan and she's expecting a little girl. ( I knew it!!) However, it appears that the scan showed she (the baby) has a serious heart defect and will require surgery when she's born and that there is a higher chance she could have Down's Syndrome.

I am just so sad at the injustice! What has she or her hubby done to deserve the heartache they've had over the last couple of years? This baby is so wanted and they have so much love to give. Of course, that will never change, no matter what happens and I truly believe that children with special needs are born to those who are strong enough to cope, but still! To now have to face the prospect of their daughter having major heart surgery before they can even take her home...

On a lighter note, tomorrow we're off to the wedding that 'the wedding order' was for, so I have to look at those bloody hearts again! Just hope the rain holds off. She should have known better than to get married on a Bank Holiday weekend.

Here is another picture of Ozzy and D that I caught without them knowing. He's going home tomorrow and we are sooooo gonna miss him!

Another One Bites The Dust

I know, I know!! I'm reeeeeeeally sorry (Kathy B)! I just haven't had the time to blog this week. However, I have now finished 'the wedding order'! Ta-daaaaaaa! Hoo-bloody-ray.... I've just delivered it to the bride and groom and they seemed thrilled (and gave me a nice big wodge of money), so that's eased the pain somewhat. ('Wodge' - there's another word I like!)

So, all is quiet really. Ozzy has settled in well and I'm really going to miss him when he goes home in a week. I never knew dogs could sleep so much! Or perhaps we're just wearing him out with walking? I have really enjoyed taking him out each evening; it's so nice to go for a walk for a purpose, rather than just to have a walk. The buns seem to have accepted his presence as inevitable and no longer run and hide when he goes into the kitchen. I've tried to upload a picture of Ozzy, but my browser keeps crashing when I do it, so perhaps I'll not try again...

We went to the farm with work on Friday. I was dreading it - especially when I saw the weather forecast, but we had a great day! Well, until we came back and one of the children started having an asthma attack. I had to phone an ambulance - never done that before. Why is it that you have all the answers to the potential questions you think they will ask, but then when you do, your mind goes blank and you're actually not very helpful at all?... She was okay in the end - phew!

I'm going, before the PC completely crashes. It would be Sod's Law, especially as I have just ordered a new external hard drive on which to back everything up....

I Know There's Something Going On

Meet Ozzy. Ozzy is staying with us for the next two weeks while my brother and his family are on holiday. Something tells me Ozzy has decided he's not to sure about this! I mean, I know Cavalier King Charles spaniels have those sad-looking eyes anyway, but he reeeeeally doesn't look too chuffed, does he? I actually feel quite honoured that they trust us enough to look after him. The first time they went abroad after they had him, they left him at home, with a friend to house/dog sit. Upon their return, they discovered that this so-called friend had spent just two out of 14 nights at the house - goodness knows what the poor puppy was feeling. He was absolutely terrified when they got home and had regressed back to proper untrained-puppy behaviour. They haven't been abroad since.... Until now. We've all got some adjusting to do; the poor rabbits were startled when I took him through the kitchen to get to the back garden, so I've had to fence them into their area and try to block him from their view, but they are very jumpy whenever I go into the room. Ozzy is going to be 'based' in the living room, so this means the buns won't be able to use it until they get used to him - if at all. We've also got their hamster, JefforDennis (they argue over the name - there were two but one died recently and they never really decided which was which!). So, in total , that makes 2 hamsters, 2 rabbits and a dog.... Think I might start charging the local kids to come to my 'petting zoo'.



In other news.... I am feeling loads better than I was. A couple of days off work and a good talk to the people that matter have sorted me out and I can feel the dark cloud clearing again. Thank you for your good wishes. As a treat to cheer myself up, I went to a local craft shop yesterday and bought some scrummy double-sided cardstock. It's hugely expensive for what it is, but I've been admiring it for ages as I love the colours, so I thought, 'what the heck!'. If you can't treat yourself when you're down, when can you?

Afternoon High

Gah! I'm having such a pants time at the moment and no idea why. Depression is a horrible beast and one which lulls you into thinking you're okay - then jumps out from behind the proverbial bush and shouts "BOO!" while beating you about the head with a big wet fish....

Still, enough of that. Yesterday afternoon I made.... two cards!!! Wooooohooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! I just had to have a break from the monotony that is 'The Wedding Order' (having nightmares about those sodding hearts - no wonder I'm depressed!). Card template challenge number 6 is posted on the forum and as I had a couple of cards to do, I just had to have a go.




This one was made using paper from one of the many DCWV pads Carolyn sells in her shop as well as the pink grosgrain ribbon and primas.








The one on the right also uses papers and ribbons from the shop, as well as the gorgeous Kissy Fit sequin flowers. I just love black, white and hot pink!!
I'm not totally happy with either of them, but am happy that I actually managed to sit down and do something less boring instead (hmm, there's a TV theme in there somewhere!!). These challenges are great for providing inspiration. I also managed to do my pages in a circle journal I'm in, but can't show you cos it'll ruin the surprise!

Right, I'm off to feed the two very cheeky bunsters that seem to have appeared in the living room! I can't get away with being late giving them dinner, cos they know!! Laters.....

Back on the Chain Gang

Eurgh! I have just spent the most boring day working on a wedding stationery order for my friend Karen who gets married at the end of the month. Shoot me down in flames, but I have gradually come to hate doing this kind of work. I absolutely love crafting - making cards is my main thing, although I am in love with the idea of scrapping (but just haven't got around to actually doing it). I guess wedding stationery is a fairly natural progression for many card makers and at first it seemed like a good idea. I loved coming up with new designs, I loved that brides thought my work was fantastic and I loved seeing the finished product all packaged neatly, ready to send out. However, it is the most monotonous, repetitive thing I have ever done (and I have worked on a supermarket checkout!). I'm so glad I decided not to make this my full-time job (once a distinct possibility when staring redundancy in the face). However, I really, really miss crafting for crafting's sake! I just want to be able to sit in my craft room, amongst my stash and play to my heart's content.

To give you an idea of my day today, take a look at the following picture...

What you see here is a pile of 100 die-cut hearts. What I see is a good couple of hours of torture (is there such a medical condition as 'sizzix hand'?) Unfortunately for me, this innocent-looking little heart features pretty heavily in several of my wedding designs. They look lovely, but are a bugger to make! If I never see another heart again, it'll be too soon! Today I have also printed the covers for 100 Orders of Service - each piece of card fed manually through my crappy printer and I have also cut 100 pieces of card on which to mount the damn hearts.... Thank goodness I have had 4 hours of America's Next Top Model to help me through the pain barrier!

And tomorrow's fun-packed day? Yep, more hearts - only smaller....

Fame

Okay, so I haven't got round to scrapping it yet, but I couldn't resist sending my pic to www.crocsfans.com . Check it out!! Having a bit of a pants time at the moment, so this has cheered me up. (Doesn't take much, I know...)