I'll Be So Glad When This Is Over!

ACLS that is! It stands for Advanced Cardiac Life Support. I have to recertify every 2 years and it stresses me out every time :P Today is the written test and the "Megacode", it's where they give you a scenario and you have to figure out what to do for that patient, including medications & reading rhythm strips. Now I'm an Labor & Delivery Nurse. How often do I code 80 year old men with chest pain...hopefully never! I typically have healthy young women. Now don't get me wrong, we do have an occasional emergency that requires super fast critical thinking, but not usually CPR. I have to know what the ER & CCU nurses know and use every day. Can you say stressful ?!

On a happy note...I did another sketch challenge from http://www.sketchythursdays.blogspot.com/ and I'm really happy with the result. Originally I looked at this sketch & went Blech! What do I do with this? Then I sat down and pulled up these pics of my nephew and it all came together. Loved this Basic Grey Marjolaine line for this layout, it really let the photos shine.

Here is the sketch:

and here is my take on it:

I embosse the chartruese  cardstock with the houndstooth pattern Cutttlebug folder, gave it some great texture.

 The scalloped journaling spot came from swap on my favorite MB, Club CK. Wish I could remember who made it! The journaling block looked so stark, so I added the pen line border. An old Making Memories date stamp was perfect!


Thanks for popping in, I look forward to comments & suggestions! If you have questions about a layout or a technique,  just let me know :)

Sunshine!

I know I talk about the sun a lot...living in Michigan makes one crave it! It is a good day if we see the sun because we have so many gray, overcast days in the winter. Speaking of dark, I scrapped some more of the really dark pics from when the kids were little. There was something wrong with the camera I had at the time.

And...

Speaking of sunshine, finished a really sunshiney layout the other day. Bright and happy :) Used a sketch from one of my fav sites http://www.sketchsupport.com/p/one-page-sketches.html . Had so much fun making the cute little ice cream cone! Used the Cricut cartridge " Straight from the Nest" for the ice cream cone A Glitz Designs background stamp used on the diagonal was perfect for making the cone's texture, with a little colored pencil for the details. The top is some of DCWV's glitter paper.

Yippee!!!

Ready to get some scrapping done! Thanks for stopping by!

Girls Road Trip

Good news from the heart & vascular doctors this week. Dad is healing well and can resume driving and almost all normal activity! Pacemaker & fistula are both working well. We celebrated with lunch at Red Robin :)

A while back I shared a mini album I'd made for a trip Mariel & I took. It didn't have any pics in it, I'd planned to add them later. Well...it's later :}} Way later! I love the way it turned out. Did a little photo shoot in the front yard this afternoon and nearly froze my tush off!

Sorry for the long post, Haven't figured out a better way to add so many pages. Thanks for popping by!

If I Wait Until...

There are no clouds in Michigan I'll never get a layout posted! It's dark, rainy, and cloudy here. Had to take pics of my Sketchy Thursdays entry anyway, had to have it posted by tonight. My cropping is a little off too. I used the beautiful floral line "Sweet Nectar" from K&Co.,  Anna Griffin diecut. Now that I look at the layout from a distance I can see it is weighted too much to the top and left. Still love the effect :)

Here is the sketch: Here is my take on it:

I was driving through town on my way home from work the other night, thinking about how long I've lived in my town. Realizing I'm actually 45 years old. 45.45. Forty Five! I don't feel 45, is this a cruel joke? I feel young on the inside and look old on the outside. Grrr.  I'm officially middle aged. I refuse to go down easy! So if you see this old lady bustin' a move in the yard or singing at the top of her lungs, remember " I don't feel 45!".

Until Now...

I'd been unable to scrap this photo of my deceased kitty Griffyndor. I had to have him sent to kitty heaven last year when his kidneys failed. I noticed early that spring that he was losing weight and his coat was getting dull. I waited to take him to the vet because I knew in my heart that something was terribly wrong. She confirmed my fears, he was in kidney failure. She explained that this ailment is fairly common is all white animals. Something to do with the recessive genes. Nothing short of dialysis would help him (insanely expensive), so I brought him back home. She said he wasn't in any pain but to watch for dehydration and feed him a high protein diet. Instructing me to bring him back if he was in pain or seemed to be suffering.

I kept him home until late May. He gradually lost more weight until he was a third of his normal weight. Following me from room to room became his routine. He would sit next to me or in my lap while I was on the computer, slept in my closet on my clothes and looked at me with such love & faith in his eyes. I knew it was time, but it took me a while to build up the courage to let him go.

He is still with me, in spirit. I still think I see him out of the corner of my eye and find one of his hairs knit into the fabric of the couch once in a while. He is buried in our yard with another beloved kitty, Jacob Marley. As you can tell, I'm one of those "cat" ladies. My kitties are my children as much as my biological ones. If that makes me crazy, then so be it!

The butterflies were made with the new die and embossing folders from Cuttlebug I snagged at Hobby Lobby the other day. Used Coor'dinations paper then sanded the embossed dots and edges. The felt butterflies are from the $1 spot at Micheals and were marked down to 50 cents! Loads of symbolism here.

                                                             
Enough with the sadness!  Time to go tuck my "kids" in bed. I can't believe they are 12 & 14 already. Where did the time go?

Back tomorrow with another layout. Thanks for stopping by!