been MIA for a few days

well, with last week being an emotionally draining one for me, i just kind of kept a low profile and just took things nice and easy and did what felt right for me as each day went by. (for anyone reading that didn't know, friday would have been my daughter amanda's 19th birthday. she passed away in november 2005 from leukemia, she was 16 yrs old). right now i am doing pretty good. much better than i did last year. i am doing alot more "for" me this year in that i am staying pretty active with my art, which i find to be very therapeutic. so maybe that is the key for me. my very good friend eileen came over this weekend and we spent some time just chit chatting, working a little on art stuff, etc. she's been an awesome support and encouragement to me. the cards she sends me in the mail are just hilarious and always come at just the right time. she definately has a knack for picking out good cards. she's also my partner in crime when we go to the recycle materials center and find "treasures" to bring back home for projects. i'm so glad i know someone who gets into this creating stuff too!

i have finished another project... a board book swap in my RR group. i can't mail it yet, which is driving me insane! lol but it is done and i am very pleased with it, even if i do say so myself! lol i will post pics of it as soon as i can. i still don't have any ideas on the cigar box/shadow box activity... i guess i shouldn't push so hard to think of something... i know it will come.

another project i have in the works is for a "Fat Book" project our RR group is doing. the theme is the alphabet and each of us is assigned certain letters. i have w, x, y and z. which is cool, no worries there. i've just never done a fat book before, and i really haven't seen any pictures of any except for one! so i'm kind of freaking out here trying to figure out what the pages are suppose to be like. i mean, i know it is another type of altered art, so it isn't set in stone how it HAS to be... i get that... but i just have to get my mind wrapped around this thing and figure it out. i don't like feeling like i'm floundering out in the middle of nothing. i've cut my pages, allowed for the binding margin, i've found the letter images i want to use (some really cool ones too!)... and that's where i'm stuck.

a few things on a more personal note... #1, i'm on a weight loss program and am actually losing weight! yay! 18lbs so far and feeling pretty good about it. i am pleased with the program, not hungry or tired or feeling deprived and all that kind of stuff. we'll see how it goes. #2, i'm planning my next tattoo (i only have one, i make it sound like i'm covered with them! lol). i talked to the guy and took him some pictures to work with. he's going to work up something for me and call me to come check it out. i'm hoping i can get it next month for my birthday. we'll see. and #3, still haven't heard exactly when our oldest son is deploying to iraq. sometime in the first or second week of august. i hate it that he has to go. scares the crap out of me. and i hate the thought of his wife and little girl being alone while he's gone. they just moved all the way across the country from north carolina to washington state. i'm hoping that things settle in fairly quickly for them so the girls can keep busy and meet new friends and all that. #4, my partner, ann, is scheduled to have surgery on august 12th. nothing really major, i guess, but i consider all surgeries major basically. i love her and worry about her.

well, that's about it for now. i'm going to be working in my studio tomorrow, continuing getting things sorted out and more organized so i can work in there better. when i have it done, i'll take some pics. i can't wait, it's going to be an awesome space with plenty of room to accomodate all of my crafting endeavers. pretty darn cool.