I have a hard time with sympathy cards...

Stamping and making cards brings a lot of joy to my life, but there is one kind of card that is difficult to make-the sympathy card. On February 12th, one of the most awesome people I know left this earth. Tom Prechtl was an awesome man, father, and teacher. I was pleased and honored to have known him all my life. Every single time I saw him, I got the best, most heartfelt hug. We're a hugging family, so this is one important quality! He and his wife Judy are such a big part of my life...they both just make you feel special. I'm really going to miss Tom, but I know the impression that he has made on not only my life but the lives of so many others. That brings a little bit of peace, and this poem reminds me of him.

Don't Weep for Me

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sun on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awake in the morning hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight,

I am the stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there, I did not die.

Tom was a man of strong faith, and I know that he is in Heaven looking down on us all, and I'm sure he is telling a joke or two and giving everyone hugs and words of encouragement. That's just the kind of man he was.

What a great stamping day!!

I was able to go to a great stamp camp yesterday. Honestly, it was my first stamp camp...I usually a stamp club kind of girl. Well, I couldn't pass this one up. It was at Firethorne Country Club, which is only about 5 minutes from my home, so it was also convenient! You can't beat that! We made 6 cards and one little box that held 3 York peppermint patties. It was fun! In usual fashion, I always had to tweak things a bit. I never like to make the card exactly the way it is pictured, so I just put my mark on it, so to speak.

Then, I went home, and Meredith was in a great mood. That is a huge bonus to the day!!!! To top it all off, we were able to go out on a date last night. We went to the Cajun Queen and had a nice dinner. We ended the evening early, but it was still nice to get out for a change. I'm still hanging on to this sickness, and it is making me a bit miserable. When will it end?

I'm still toying with taking Meredith by myself to visit my parents at the beach this week. It is a big undertaking for me that no one besides my husband seems to understand. However, I think I will simply bite the bullet and do it. Hopefully, we will be healthy by then.

Well, enough of my off-topic ramblings. Have a wonderful day!!

Nancy, don't forget to post on your blog...

Here are some of my latest cards:

The first is a Valentine's Day card. I was going for the look of redwork with the SU set Vintage Valentines. It is considered a kick stand card, and I did it for one of the Splitcoast Challenges. The second is also a sketch from one of the challenges, but it is for a Girly Girl card swap that my friend Dawn is hosting on the site. There was a lot of fussy measuring for the second card. I also used glittery pens and I actually embossed parts of it. I often forget about embossing, and I really like the look of it! It pays to rediscover some of your older tools out there!

That should be my mantra daily because I can never seem to remember to post on here! It always seems like such hard work, but it really isn't!! I haven't been stamping much in the past few days, but I've been trying to plan out cards! I have scrapbooked quite a bit lately. I actually got 6 pages done. I spent one night planning them and the next night putting them together. Planning certainly makes things much easier.

I'm also putting off starting another major project. I haven't made a quilt in quite some time, and my 3 year old is getting her big girl bed soon. Try explaining to a 3 year old that her bed takes 4-6 weeks to come. Meredith simply thinks it is coming in the mail, so every day when I go out to check the mail, she asks, "Mommy, did my big girl bed come?" She is definitely not one to easily forget things (she takes after her daddy in that regard). Anyway, I have the fabric and the pattern for the quilt...I just have to execute it! I'll need to send it away to be quilted, so that may take some doing. Either way, it won't be done before her actual bed arrives.

One little funny Meredith story before I go...

Meredith takes a dance class (half ballet/half tap) on Fridays. Well, we were running late, and she is very much a creature of habit. When she is rushed, she doesn't do well (she definitely gets that from me!). Anyway, she didn't want to participate at first, and she was getting agitated. She has a habit of saying, "I'm a mad girl" when she is upset. While at dance, she stomped her foot and said, "I'm a mad ballerina!" It was pretty funny!