I can't believe i've neglected my blog for nearly a month. This is going to be a long one... so here we go.
Seriously it has felt like I have lived more life in the first 6 weeks of this year than have in some entire years in the past.
The year started off with being really behind on getting projects and booth designs ready for CHA (our big craft trade show). The show turned out amazing! I had the best time connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. CHA is always a time of excitement. I love seeing everything that all the companies have been working on for the better part of a year to bring to market.
The day after we tore down the CHA booth I drug my super tired self to the airport bright and early to head to Reno for the National Pole Vaulting Summit with my daughter Niguel. I had the best time traveling with my girl and her team. Lots of laughs! Niguel did awesome at the event and came home with a sprained ankle. I still can hardly watch my girls vault, it makes me so nervous and also really upset when I know they are disappointed in their performance. We were able to watch the professional competition one night and that was amazing!
The day after I got home from reno my dog came down really ill. He was sick for a week. Not eating, throwing up, losing weight quickly. We visited the vet 6 times that week for lots of tests. After being sick for 5 days we ended up at the emergency pet hospital and were faced with saying goodbye to him or major surgery. Dusty is a Carin terrier, he's 12. We are all big time animal lovers and he is the center of our home. His gallbladder was rupturing and an amazing group of vets saved his life that night and removed the gallbladder. After three days of hospitalization we brought our beloved Dusty home along with a ginormous bill. We all felt so blessed and lucky to have more time with him. I began round the clock care to nurse him back to health. I did all the meds, the long potty breaks, slept downstairs with him for days. Lab results came back from the surgery and there was no cancer found in the biopsies of his liver and pancreas. Thank god! While he was recovering from the surgery he had a life threatening case of pancreatitis. Usually they would hospitalize a dog with this bad of a case but, the vets felt it was best for him to be home with his family and we agreed. I got to live out my dream of being a vet and was trained how to give him sub cu fluids at home. Twice daily for a week. It's been 4 weeks ago tonight and Dusty is 95% recovered. He is doing great and is back his old self... on the couch, going for short walks, laying in the sun, and following his sisters around. Big prayers were answered for this boy of our and we know it!
In the midst of all the doggie drama I had been planning a surprise Sweet 16 party for my daughter for the past 6 months. The eve of the party she was supposed to go to my moms and turns out that was the night our dog had surgery. We ended up telling her about the party as our plans were quickly falling apart. We still had the party it just wasn't a surprise. She is such a sweet girl! I never got the catering order placed so we went to her favorite restaurant with all her friends and then home to the house. We had a winter wonderland theme and the girls spent over an hour taking photos of eachother in the photo booth I set up. Then they played some card games while they discussed their grades and helped eachother with physics. And then like other group of teenagers i've ever met they all went home to study for finals! The sweetest group of smarties i've ever met.
I made about a million Valentine kits... My favorite crafting time of the year. There are a few more left in my shop if you want to get a head start on next year!
We went to see Imagine Dragons in concert. My first concert since I saw Van Halen in like 1992. Imagine Dragons was much more my scene. Such a talented group... Loved it!
I wrote and recorded a brand new online class that I am teaching at My Creative Classroom. You can check it out HERE. I'm planning a whole post about this class soon. Feel free to enroll now... all the lessons are live.
I worked all my usual time at Sizzix. We are busier than ever!
I created a card kit that I loved for January Chalkboard Greetings Too for January... It didn't get promoted the way it should have, there are several left in my shop if you are obsessed with the chalkboard look like I am.
I also created the brand new February card kit Oh Happy day Greetings. Deep jewel tones and neutral colors create a beautiful palette for this card kit. Kit includes everything you'll need to create 7 cards. A variety of sentiments for everyday and special occasions. Several designs in this kit would make great masculine cards for the guys in your life! Color copies and envelopes provided. 95% of the parts and pieces are cut to size and ready for quick and easy assembly. Available in my shop.
Whew... Like I said, it's been a whole lot of life in a short amout of time. Last weekend was the first weekend I had to rest since Thanksgiving. I took three naps on Saturday. Tomorrow I plan to do the same.
I'm feeling blessed for so many things... healthy family, daughters that keep me jumping and laughing (and they still like to snuggle), a healed pup, work that I love, family and friends that are always there for me, online friends that I may not know in person but it feels like I do.
Thanks for sticking with me... and if you're still reading... God bless you!
Have a beautiful weekend!!!
