Lost but now I'm found!

So has anyone missed me?! hee hee Things got so crazy around here....in case you've wondered, I've been consumed by all things stamping related.

Here are a few of the projects I've been working on:
I made 60 of these baby shower invitations for a shower I'm helping host.

This one card took me 16 hours to make! Only wish it had been appreciated for 16 seconds! *sigh* What can ya do?

Only wish the photo could show the layers of sparkle, embossing and uber Gorgeousness!

So far I've done approximately 25 of these in the last 2 days! They hold a little tube of chapstick and are SO MUCH CUTE! *grins*


These are so easy! Wish I'd ordered more lotion and done a ton more of these!



These are darling but sure were a lot more work than I thought they'd be! Maybe it's just that I was starting to burn out & had a ton more to do! Here's a side view.


And I still have Christmas Cards to make, Baptism Announcements to make and send out! But today.....well, today I'm running off with a really hot guy to celebrate our anniversary! (It was 19 years on Sunday!) I'll post about that in a minute!

So, I hope you forgive me for not updating my blog! If you don't hear from me, it's entirely possible I've fallen asleep on an inkpad somewhere!

~Melanie

Prayers for my Mom

Today I received one of those calls you hope you never receive. "Hi, is this a good time? I need to give you an update on something going on with me." OK, when my mom says that it really means, "I need you pay attention to this, it's really important and I don't want you distracted." Over the last few months my mom has experienced some real serious health issues that started out relatively mild. It's went from a run of the mill check up, to thyroid issues to a trip to the ER today with some major heart issues. She thought she was having a heart attack. Thankfully she was not. But I guess it's true, her heart is working over-time! Right now it appears that both chambers of her heart are trying to pump at the same time resulting in 2 heartbeats at once. She is wearing a monitor and been given STRICT instructions to rest.

Now, if you know my mom at all, you know that it's possible that the only way this is going to happen is if you strap her down and administer some MAJOR tranquilizers. My mom has NEVER been able to sit still AT ALL. She can't, she just doesn't know how to do it. She's going to have to have people help HER for once, this is a completely foreign concept to her. My dad's going to have to do things around the house & help her in ways that are new to him and she's going to have to let him and that's going to be hard for her.

And to top it all off, this is the week of Thanksgiving. A week that would normally have her cleaning "Mary Style"---vacuuming the tops of draperies in rarely used bathrooms, wiping down shelves before replacing newly washed towels & linens, washing & painting baseboards, shampooing carpets, dejunking drawers & cabinets, yard work etc. All of this (and MUCH MUCH MORE) in preparation for cooking dinner for upwards of 40+ people (its been as high as nearly 70 people). The highlight of the entire meal is always "Mary's Rolls". She makes THE BEST hot rolls EVER! So when the Dr. told her today that she was NOT to do any of the cooking, it must've been quite a blow. Luckily my new BIL, Brandon, volunteered to take over. He's a former restaurant manager and will do fine. Wonder if he'll attempt the rolls?! LOL
(Pictured: my sister, Annie, Brandon and their daughter, Isabel)


EDITED: I am editing this because of the private & delicate nature of this original post. I do ask that you respect that. My mom is well now & I'm so grateful for your thoughts and prayers.
~Melanie

NASCAR--It's FAN-tastic!

Confession time....
My name is Melanie and I'm a NASCAR fan! It's true, I like it, I like it a lot! When Darren & I got married nearly 19 years ago, I also gained a speedy stepchild....I knew that part of my role as a dutiful wife, I would be expected to update my working husband with running positions, pit-stop times, wrecks, bang-ups and other details such as who took on 2 tires vs 4 tires, gas n' go's and drafting partners. Lost yet? If not, you must be a fan too.

I will never forget my very first NASCAR race. It was the year that Richard Petty was on his farewell tour. We drove from Logan, Utah to Phoenix, Arizona with our friend, Tarlton. We spent our first night in Las Vegas after driving through a blinding snowstorm in Cedar City. The morning we got up and drove to Phoenix. Having no idea when we booked the hotel, we inadvertantly ended up in a scary part of town. Tarlton & his silver barrelled side-kick were there to protect though! The morning of the race, we were SO EXCITED! None of us had ever been to a "real live" race before. When we got to the track I was amazed at the sheer size of it all. It was HUGE! The warm Arizona sun felt so nice in October. We put our feet up and basked in the sun....until.....ROAR!!! As soon as the announcer commanded "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines"....something magical happened inside of me. This gruntal adrenaline was released deep within me. I had never experienced something like it before, and I liked it. I liked it a lot! Everytime those cars raced by us down in turn 4 the wind off of those cars widened the grin on my face. I had found my sport! I was HOOKED!


The next 4 years found us at the track and we loved every minute of it. It was something that most of our friends didn't understand and we were ok with it. It was "OUR THING". But then, as sometimes happens, things changed when we had a baby. We moved soon after Karlee was born and we couldn't afford the long distance travel. About 8 years later we were given the opportunity to go to the race in Las Vegas. We were thrilled! We went with Darren's brother, Mark and his wife Debbie! Now this was cool....we were back to Racin' and spending time with family! We were back on track.

After a few years of kinks it became an issue with farmin' out the kids and still having our time. One year we got a call: "You'd better come home, Carson's got the chicken pox". One year it was "Hey Mel, maybe I'll just go with the guys" and one year the CHF symptoms made me rethink all of the walking and I decided it was maybe time for Darren just to go with the guys. It was such a mixed up emotional decision. Last March I decided to regain control of "Our Thing". It was the only thing that Darren & I did that nobody else really understood. The previous year we had met some great friends there and while I hung out with the wife, the guys did their thing. I LOVED spending time with my sweet friend, but I also just really wanted to be with my hubby. I missed it. I realized that I wanted my cake and I wanted to eat it too. I beat myself up for months trying to decide what to do. I wanted to spend time with my friend but longed to be side by side with my husband at the track. Darren let me make the decision. So when I found myself next to him in Vegas this year it felt RIGHT!


So now here we are in October. The NASCAR race is in Phoenix this weekend. We are leaving in the morning for Phoenix. But I'm not going to the race. Darren decided this was an opportunity for him to go with some friends. I'm trying to be ok with it. I am looking forward to spending some great scrapbooking/stamping time with my sweet friend. But that ol' green monster is roaring to life and I keep remembering how it felt to walk up to the fence and be within feet of Richard "The King" Petty or how it felt to shake the strong and weathered hand of "Handsome Harry" Gant or brush by Darrell "D.W." Waltrip and feel that rush of excitement. I'm hoping Darren has a great time with his friends, and I know that I will have a BLAST with my friend. I just hope the time will come when we can also return to PIR (Phoenix International Raceway) together, just the two of us.

Trick FORE Treat

WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW! (BLOODY TYPE GRAPHIC)
Happy Halloween!

We have had so much fun this past week! Our friends, the Talbots, invited us to a party and we went. It was so much fun playing games, tasting yummy treats and hanging out with adult friends!

Darren is NOT a costume guy. Convincing him to wear a costume was like trying to convince him to pull his own eye teeth. After costume shopping for 4 hours and having NO LUCK, out of desperation I huffed "Fine, go as a guy that got smacked in the head with a golf ball!" Much to my surprise, he liked the idea! I was genuinly shocked! Why? Well, because I thought it might cause some flashbacks!

Three years ago, he was hit in the head with a golfball. The golfer was teeing off 25 FEET away from where Darren was. It hit him smack dab in the middle of the forehead! The injuries were significant: Fractured skull, hundreds of stitches, and the headache from hades that lasted a few weeks. To look at him today you really wouldn't have any idea. Although there is a SLIGHT dent in the skin, and a SLIGHT scar, there is little evidence of the massive wound that once was there.

I am going to post the pictures, but I will warn you again, the real one is extremely graphic.







Here is the "Real One" taken a week after the accident. Most of the bruising and swelling had gone down.




Today it's one of those "It happened to me" stories. There is a sense of humor associated with it, and we joke often. But there is also a great sense of gratitude as well. It could've been so much worse, but it wasn't. There are no lasting effects other than the ones listed above....oh, and if you look closely, you will see "Titlist" written backwards on his head. No, not really, but that's what he tells people and it's funny to see who believes it.

Anyway, here's my "Injured Golfer" and me as a scrub nurse. Darren still golfs and loves it. I decided I could live in fear and have him sit home in resentment, or I could encourage him to pursue a hobby that he really enjoys while he does the same with me. Life's meant to be enjoyed so that's what we do!

Just Making Things Clear

I have had a few emails and such asking me how I am connected to this team, the short answer is simply this: neigbhor, Young Women Leader at Church (4 of them), community member, friend of family, fellow soccer mom, BIG FAN! I'm sorry I didn't make that clearer.

This is one of "my" girls. She's so much fun to watch....her kicks are amazing....with the goals set up in the endzone of the football field, her kicks zoon past the 50 yard line EASY....EVERY TIME! And on a day with a slight tailwind....she can kick it the length of the field....goal to goal! I told her she better get herself some pads and a jersey in case our football team needs a kicker for this weekends state playoff game! She's AWESOME!

This feisty lookin' little bug is another one of my girls! This picture totally cracks me up because she looks so mean! She's absolutely NOT! She's very tiny (5'2ish?), but she is SOOOOOOO....fast and such an athlete. I always laugh that she runs with her hands clenched like this. I once saw her take a HARD hit to the chest and she didn't even show any reaction that resembled pain. She's just a delightful gal, very smart, very friendly. She's also the captain of the drillteam! Funny huh?

Every single one of these girls is just AMAZING, I just luv 'em all!
I'm sorry for the mix up! Hope that clears things up for ya!

Hey Mom, where's my clean clothes?

What a week, I feel like I've been racing all week......and you know it's been a CRAZY week when the laundry that still needs to be folded doesn't contain any clean clothes for the kids to wear to school tomorrow! UGH! I suggested to the kids a few options to consider:

Go in the same clothes they wore today. (Met with looks of horror!)

Go in their underwear....there are clean ones available. (INCREASED looks of horror, followed by gasps, groans and other disgusted sounds)

Go in their bathing suits (This one was met with 100% jubliation from Carson as long as he got to wear flip flops too!)

Wear last years fashions, "everyone's forgotten about them, it'll be seem like a whole new wardrobe to your friends!" (BIG thumbs down from my fashion guru, Karlee)

Other options did include acts of diving, tunneling and frantic digging/throwing/casting aside that may be described as "desperate sorting". I think they both came up with "SOMETHING". I guess they'll survive another day....no one will die of embarrassment tomorrow afterall!

Dang, I was hoping for some more "creative thinking choices"......I really wanted to see what they'd do if they really were out of options! (Not that I'd honestly encourage the underwear scenario!)

So Close and Yet So Far...

The last few months I have been witness to something absolutely MAGNIFICENT, perfection in the making. This group of girls is absolutely amazing. A few years ago they decided they wanted to have a High School Girls Soccer Team. There wasn't one in place so they started one from scratch. Last year they made it to the semi-final game in the state play-offs. This year was the first year I have watched them. I was hooked from the first game, taken in by their smoothness, the "ebb and flow" of a perfectly oiled machine. There was something missing from this team that seems to always penetrate into HS sports....competition fueled envy and negativity. There was none of it! They were so positive with each other, a phenomenon I find hard to describe. They would play their games relaxed, smiling, happy and yet determined with "heads in the game". They refused to badmouth other teams, choosing instead to focus on the job at hand, 1 game at a time. The end result was outstanding: They outscored their opponents with a whopping 165-9!!!!


This year hasn't been without hardship. Partway into the season, the father of one of the seniors was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The have loved and supported her and her parents. In talking to the mom last night she conveyed her gratitude for something wonderful to focus on and cheer for. Also, during last weeks semi-finals playoff game, the lead scorer (in the STATE!) was injured after getting hit in the face with a ball. She had a hole in her retina and we weren't sure if she'd play.

Fridays Semi-final game was AWESOME! Final score: 4-0! We were headed to the state playoff game!!!! Hopes were high and hearts were set! We just knew this would happen! Our injured player played for just 8 minutes, she was extremely dizzy and had limited focus, but she was able to score a goal for us!


Saturday was a stark contrast to the day prior, instead of sun and blue skies, we were faced with fresh snow, pouring rain and freezing winds. Both teams were evenly matched. At the end of regulation play the score displayed 0-0. Two "Sudden death" rounds resulted in only more frayed nerves and higher blood pressures! We were headed for kick-off's. Each team was given 5 shots, the one with the higher score at the end would be declared the winner. At the end of round 1 the score was tied again 2-2. What came next was confusion and devastation: our girls missed their kick, RH made theirs...score 2-3. Most people thought we were repeating the "5 kicks for each team", but that was not the case. RH had won! Our girls were so devastated and yet, through it all, held their heads up and acted with grace and class. We were so proud of them.


So here's to the MHS Girls Soccer Team! You may not hold the championship trophy, but you have earned every right to hold your heads up high. You have shown the state that you have earned the right to play in "the big leagues". You played your game, you are the winners in all that matters. A trophy sits on shelves, waiting to be dusted off and polished. But the victors crown you wear, only few have earned. It's worn by those who earn the badge of courage, the ribbon of respect, the merits of leadership, teamwork and sportsmanship and the crown of kindness. You girls will take with you, all of these victors spoils as you go forward in your lives. You have more than an earthly statue of pride, you have so much more. You are the Eagles, the mighty mighty Eagles! Soar High!