Stay-cation here we come!

Can you tell I'm excited to have ten whole days of vacation bliss all to myself? Actually, our stay-cation started last Friday when I surprised Travis with a little birthday get together at a friend's house. We spent all day lounging in the pool drinking nice cool beverages. We even had birthday cake and ice cream!

Today we're heading to lovely San Diego for a day of great food and fabulous shopping. I can hardly wait, but before I go, I wanted to share a few of the crafty projects I made last week.

I gave you a sneak-peek of the cards I made for a few friends, and now here's the whole kit-and-caboodle.

I made five of these cards. They were quick and easy to put together which is good since I had a lot of Thank You's to get out in the mail!

I also gave my paper and scissors a break and picked up my beads and pliers. My cross-country BFF found these awesome black beads as well as a focal bead and asked if I could make her a necklace. Here's what I came up with.

I designed the necklace with the focal bead in mind using cream seed beads and pink and crystal Swarovski's.

Great Scott! Look at the time! It's time to head out and have ourselves a much needed day out on the town. I may be scarce this week, but I can tell you that we'll be at the happiest place on earth for *someone's* birthday this Wednesday! Who says you can't have fun just staying at home during your vacation??

You know you're a runner when...

I thought about listing a whole bunch of anecdotal funnies about running, but the fact of the matter is, I ran 2 miles in 100F heat with 50% humidity at a 3,000 foot elevation level, and I'm dang proud of it! Now that's what I call tough! {insert cheesy arm-curling, teeth gritting pose here}

I have a number of crafty things to share, but I'm waiting for a few people to get their packages before I can reveal what I've been up to. Until then, here's a sneak peek.

Catch ya later!

It was HOW hot??

I hope everyone enjoyed a fantastic weekend. I know I did. We jam-packed more mini adventures into one 24-hour period than we have done in a long time, AND we did it all in scorching weather. Wanna know how hot it got? Take a looksie.

At first, it started off at a cool 117F. We didn't think it could get any hotter...

We were wrong.

Oh yeah, that reads 123F! Ever wonder what that's like? You know when you open up your oven door to take out that yummy pot roast you've been cooking and a whoosh of hot air strikes your face? That's what it's like to be in 123F weather, except you can't just close the oven door to escape the heat, but you can go into a museum and enjoy the exhibits not to mention the air conditioning!!

The museum had a great local artists exhibit. I thought this piece was quite interesting. Can you tell what it's made of? Try to *unlock* your mind...

I really liked this quilted wall hanging. I think quilting might be my next endeavor.

The museum only had two rooms, one for local artists and one dedicated to the natural history of the area. Gotta love the critters!

That night we escaped the heat by going to the movies. Someone wanted to see the new Harry Potter movie, so I happily obliged to see it again. Sunday was another scorcher of a day, but we wanted to go see a very cool natural wonder.

Ever hear of the Trona Pinnacles? Well, I bet if you haven't heard of them, you've definitely seen them. Hollywood comes to pay these wonders a visit every year. The original Planet of the Apes was filmed right here in the middle of no-man's land.

The Pinnacles are tens of thousands of years old and are made of tufa, or calcium carbonate.

They formed under 680 feet of water in what is now an ancient dry lake bed. Pretty cool, huh?

We didn't hike any of the spires since it was way too hot. Instead, we drove around them periodically jumping out to take a closer look. You can see that there are a lot of driving trails to explore.

I'm all pooped out from our weekend adventures, but we have more to come as we gear up for a ten day "stay-cation." I can hardly wait!

Ink Pad Organization and Bulkless Bling

I've been wanting to share a new organizing system that I ordered a few weeks ago, but with Isabel's passing and the time I took off from blogging, I didn't have a chance until now. For many months I had been pulling my hair out trying to figure out the best way for me to store my Stampin' Up ink pads as well as the numerous other ink pads I have. After doing some exhaustive internet searching, I found a deal that couldn't be beat. The name of the store - Organize More. They're a small family business situated right here in the USA. All of their products are individually hand made using environmentally friendly products right down to the biodegradable peanuts they use to pack their organizers. By far, this company offers the biggest bang for your buck, and who doesn't need a good deal now a days? I was able to order the Pro Ink Pad Organizer which houses 80 ink pads and have it shipped all the way across the country for a mere $60. Seriously, you can't beat that price!!

As you can see, I had Travis hang it on the wall for me. Since I have no more available desk space, I need a storage solution that could easily hang on the wall. We picked up some dry wall screws at Wal*Mart, and he had it up for me in a matter of minutes.

The unit easily holds all four Stampin' Up ink pad families (that's 48 ink pads total) plus the old and new In-Color pads (12 ink pads total) which are on the very right column. After putting my SU pads in their appropriate spots, I still had quite a few slots left over. My Basic Black SU pad and my Whisper White Craft pad took up two more spaces, and the rest I filled with my most used pads such as my Black Staz-On, Versamark, and Chestnut Roan and Alabaster Fluid Chalk ink pads.

The last few spots went to my collection of Ranger's Adirondack ink pads. I was a bit miffed after putting them in their slots because I could not tell the color of each ink pad, so a light bulb went off in my head, and I came up with a solution using my handy-dandy label maker and some inexpensive garage sale stickers I picked up at Wal*Mart.

I labeled each ink pad with its appropriate name, and then I stamped a flower image on the white label using the respective ink pad color then affixed it next to the label. Here's the pack of labels I used, but you could use scraps of paper and run them through your Xyron machine.

I got so into labeling my ink pads and stamping at the same time that I went on to do my Distress Inks, too!

Believe it or not, I have quite a bit more ink pads out and about, so I just may have to order another storage unit in the future. You can be sure I'll get it again from Organize More!!

In other craft-related news, I made a card the other day for my friend's grandma, the one who sent me that darling rock-owl I posted the other week. It's a super simple card, but I really like the way it came out.

I was able to use one of the new items I bought the other weekend when I was out shopping with my scrappy girlfriends. I call it "Bulkless Bling," aka, Class A'Peel Stickers by Stampendous.

You can see in this close-up shot that I used the bulkless bling stickers for the middle of the flowers. This stuff is so awesome, especially if you're sending the card through the mail.

That's all I have for now :) I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

100+ miles to Harry Potter

What? Did somebody say Harry Potter? Why yes, I did! Monday afternoon I drove over a hundred miles to join my awesome friend, Staci, at the press-release of the next installment of Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I had a fabulous time! We ate dinner before joining the other Potter-maniacs for this early screening event. Security was crazy tight. We had to check in our cell phones, cameras, iPods, and anything else that was electronic. We even got "wanded" as we went through the doors to make sure we didn't have any electronics on our person. Despite the craziness, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I think that although this movie marks the beginning of the darkness in the Potter books, it's actually quite funny. If you're brave enough to fight the crowds this week, let me know what you think of the movie!

Here's a picture of Staci and I at BJ's Restaurant just after we had a sinfully decadent chocolate ice cream brownie concoction. Yummm...

Besides wanting to see the new Harry Potter movie, I had ulterior motives for wanting to see my good friend, Staci. When her little one, Mij, passed away, she asked me to make a memorial for her a-la scrapbook style. She sent Mij's ashes to me along with some photos, and it was my job to figure out how to put it all together. I bought a 12x12 shadow box, but I was puzzled as to how I was going to get her ashes in the box and make it look good, and then BAM! The idea hit me like a ton of bricks: make a weasel and then put Mij's ashes inside much like I do with my own critters. Here's what I came up with.

I used a brown sheet of felt and traced a standing weasel on it and then sewed the two pieces together. I used a piece of ivory felt for the neck and ears. I stuffed it with some cotton balls, put Mij inside, then hand-sewed the rest. I used brads for her eyes and nose.

After all was said and done, I attached the little felt weasel to the page using some Velcro and then decorated the rest of the layout with her favorite yellow toy, a "Chew Weasel" and pictures of her. I'm happy with how it turned out and so was Staci.

The final product:

Staci also had one last-minute request for me. She wanted me to make a manly card with a cockroach on it for her friend, Terrence's, 33rd birthday. Visit his site HERE and you'll know why he needed the roach (I promise it's not scary or anything; I think it's rather clever!).

My Harry Potter adventure actually winded down a rather eventful weekend. Saturday night I went to a bachelorette party and thought I would only stay for about an hour since I didn't think I was in the party mood. However, I realized that nothing is better for the soul than an evening out with the girls, and we ended up closing down the bar! Here's the only acceptable picture I can post on my blog. LOL.

(Be happy I spared you the late-night photos!)

I'm working on some more crafty things, and I plan on sharing them with all of you this week. Thanks for stopping by!

A tribute to Isabel

An empty basket.

An unused scratching post.

A memorial basket from Dr. J and his staff.

It's been six days since I said my final goodbye to Isabel, and as the days pass, the tears become less frequent and the reality of her being gone forever starts to settle in. I think I was in shock those first few days only because I thought that she was doing so much better. I thought she was going to really pull through. Now I realize that I saw only what I wanted to see; my vision clouded by hope. In reality, she was going down hill much faster than I could truly comprehend at the time. For all of you who said a silent prayer for her and for those who left such kind comments, I thank you. I feel as though you have all shared in her life these past couple of months, and I feel ready to tell you the final chapter of her story.

It all started last Thursday morning when I woke up and noticed that Isabel wasn't sleeping right next to me as had been her customary sleeping spot since she came home from her surgery. After washing up, I went to go find her and make sure she was okay. I found her curled up next to the bed and noticed that she wasn't breathing quite right. I immediately called the vet office and they scheduled me to see Dr. Edwards since Dr. J was not in that day. I went about my normal routine periodically checking on her and giving her the usual chin scratch.

By the time her appointment rolled around, I knew she wasn't doing well. She didn't fight me to get into her basket (I always took her to the vet office in her basket) like she used to. She was very calm on our drive over to the office. Since we had become regulars at the vet’s, the entire staff came over to greet Izzy. She had become famous for hiding in her basket and being such a sweet kitty. I was happy that my little one was so loved, but I was also a little anxious. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for this exam.

Dr. Edwards came in and introduced himself and examined Izzy. As he was examining her, he informed me that the biopsy results had come in, and it wasn't good news. She had undifferentiated cancer cells in her belly, meaning that the specialists could not determine the origin of her cancer. I started crying, of course, but I was still hopeful. I was thinking, "OK, so she has cancer. Not the optimal situation, but she can fight it. She's strong. Look at her - she's fine." Dr. Edwards was concerned about her breathing situation, so he ordered some chest x-rays. The vet tech took her out of the room, and I just sat there and cried. Cancer. Again. In another one of my little ones. Why? Why oh why can’t we find a cure for cancer?

When Dr. Edwards came back into the room, I could tell something was wrong. Horribly wrong. He pulled the x-ray up on the computer screen, and to my horror, I saw the issue. I'm certainly no x-ray expert, but having seen so many x-rays done of my little ones, I knew this one wasn't right. Her chest area was completely foggy. Only a tiny portion showed up as black on the film, and on an x-ray, black means air. A chest x-ray should be all black except for the heart. Her chest was filling with fluid which was compressing her lungs and causing them to collapse. That's why she was having problems breathing.

But still, even at this point, even through the tears, my irrational mind was thinking, "She's going to be fine. He'll drain the fluid, her lungs will expand again, and she'll be fine. Right?" No, not right. Dr. Edwards told me that he could potentially drain the fluid from her chest, but knowing that she has such widespread cancer that had obviously already metastasized into her liver, he was certain that the fluid would be back in her chest in a few days, and we'd be right back to square one. I looked at him, confused. My mind was a jumbled mess of unanswered questions. And then he suggested what I didn't think I would have to do for a long time to come. He said I must say goodbye.

I just looked at him, stunned. My face was red and swollen; my eyes barely discernible through the puffiness. I began to hyperventilate. The room was getting smaller and smaller and things were moving all around me. I honestly thought I was going to faint right there and then. The only thing I could mutter was, "I don't understand. I don't understand." I kept repeating that over and over again until I finally grasped his words. I looked up at him, and not really knowing what else to do, I begged him to make her better. "How could this be? Look at her? She's fine. She's not gasping for air. She's just breathing funny. She's purring. She's meowing. How can you ask me to let her go? I don't understand."

Dr. Edwards was so patient with me. I could tell that he genuinely cared and wanted to help, but there was nothing more that could be done. He told me that respiratory distress could come on suddenly and could get very bad very quickly. I knew I didn't want to put Isabel through that. Not after ten years of love and devotion and companionship. I knew what had to be done. I just wasn't at a point of acceptance. I called Travis who immediately jumped in the car to come home, but he was far away and wouldn't make it before the office closed. Luckily, Dr. Edwards owns the emergency vet clinic in town and told me that I could bring her in whenever we were ready that night. I looked at Isabel who was purring in her basket and took her home.

To this day, I’m not quite sure how I made it back home safely. I don’t remember the drive. I don’t remember even walking through the door. I do remember putting Isabel on the bed with me and petting her as I sobbed. She only stayed with me for a little while, and then she retreated to the window sill. I remember grabbing my camera and taking as many pictures of her as I could. I remember petting her and holding her and burning her purr, her fur…burning everything into my memory. It was only a matter of hours before I had to say goodbye. It still wasn’t true to me. It just couldn’t be true.

The rest of my time with her that evening is a blur. Travis came home, and together we drove the ten miles to the emergency clinic. She was in her basket on my lap, and I was trying my best to be brave for her. I tried not to cry. Every so often, she would look up at me with those big, beautiful eyes. She had stopped purring. She had stopped meowing.

We arrived at the emergency clinic and we were greeted by the rudest, most callous woman I have ever met at an emergency hospital. The way she treated us was disgusting to the point that is still makes my stomach turn just to talk about it. I won’t go into details about how incredibly uncompassionate she was because it makes me so mad, but suffice it to say that during my most difficult time, I felt it necessary to inform Dr. Edwards that he should likely replace her with someone who was more sympathetic to the needs of pet parents. I absolutely refused for her to be in the room with us or to touch or handle Isabel afterwards.

After dealing with a situation that we one hundred percent should have never encountered in the first place, we said our final goodbyes to Isabel. I held her head in my hands, scratching her gums and her chin just like she loved. Travis had her hand on her head as well. I just starred into those big, beautiful yellow-green eyes and hoped she understood how much we loved her. I hope she understood that rather than be selfish and keep her around and risk her suffering, we chose to let her go peacefully. I hope she understood.

The next several days were so difficult. I cried and cried and then cried some more. I cried myself right into the worst migraine I’ve had in a really long time. I didn’t get out of bed until 6 pm on Saturday, and that was just to eat dinner real quick and take a shower. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was feeling a little better, but I still had a very bad lingering headache. Grief sucks.

I get a little better as the days go on. All of my other critters have been a great support system for me. Sedona has been checking on me more than normal, and when I cry, she lays her head on my lap as if to console me. Attila has been a pillar of support as well. He hasn’t left my side for a second, sleeping next to me all day and all night. I have to remember he’s lost someone, too, so we have to support each other. As I was laying in bed the other day, I snapped this picture. He was snuggled under my left arm, and he had his leg on my chest. This has been my norm lately.

I still have a long road ahead of me. It’s hard to say goodbye to a ten year companion. She was with me in college. She saw me graduate. She was there when I came home from my first day of work. She was there when I got married. She was with us through numerous moves. She would always nudge my fingers as I typed out my blog entries. She would sit on my lap as I watched T.V. We would hold endless conversations, both of us meowing in our own special language. It’s hard to let that all go, but I know that one day soon, I will be able to look at her picture and smile and not shed one single tear because I did the right thing. I did right by her.

I came across this article last year in Healthy Pet Magazine. I saved it because I thought it had some great information in it not only for myself, but for those who don’t quite understand the pain I’m experiencing and the anguish I go through every time I lose a little one. Just click each picture to enlarge.

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Again, I want to thank you all for letting me share Isabel with you. Thank you to my family and friends who have sent me e-mails and texts and have invited me out (although I'm not quite ready yet). Thank you to my mom who made me chicken noodle soup even though it was 100F outside. Thank you to my husband who although shares in my grief has the strength to console me and be my rock. Isabel was one terrific cat, but more than that, she was such a great companion for so many years. Izzy-busy-belly-jelly-bean, we will miss you.

Isabel 1998-2009

My heart is heavy. It aches. Tears have been flowing from my eyes for over a day now. Isabel lost her battle with cancer yesterday. As I sit here and type those words, I pray that it is not true, but here I sit staring at an empty basket. She will be missed beyond any words I can write here.

As I normally do, I will post a memorial to her, but for now, the emptiness is too fresh; the pain too much. If a bucket of tears could bring her back, she would have been here in a heart beat.

I will be taking a short break from blogging. I hope you understand.