Resting Beneath the Shadow

i love taking shadow pics. here i am in sandals Bahamas. don't you just love that navel. lol

 winter has arrived here but not too cold yet. the leaves have all pretty much fallen off the trees.  hubby blowing the last few from the yard.  he wishes we were in Caribbean - an that will be soon enough with another february cruise.

i pray that i will be able to go. the pain when wearing clothes has become more intense. so this past week i have been resting in bed and i do mean RESTING.  i have nothing to give anybody else. my body is trying to repair itself.
     PAIN + TENSION = exhaustion even when resting.
another friend's hubby passed on Thanksgiving day - his birthday.  he had a diagnosis 2 wks ago of pancreatic cancer and another friend's father just diagnosed with bladder cancer, surgery scheduled 23 Dec. finally he feels a relief to know why he has been in so much pain.

Las Vegas Trip

after a long day traveling to las vegas, btw what were we thinking, I watched a beautiful sunset from my hotel room on the strip. we were across from treasure island.

so cool, a distance shot from my Palazzo room view on the strip. this hotel is very far away. so many lights.

we wanted to see some of the US and thought the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam would be a great start over a cruise to Caribbean.  what were we thinking! Grand Canyon was breath-taking but the bus ride which began little after 6am and ended at 10:30 at night was excruciating for me.  smokers about did me in. i was sick in bed for two days. what i didn't get a pic of was the sunset we were following. we watched it set and then set  again bc we were headed west toward pacific coast.  amazing!

my favorite hotel lobby was the Bellagio, where i would stay if i ever went back to vegas.  this pony was all adorned in flowers. the conservatory was made up a fall forest complete with talking tree, 3/4feet squirrels, acorns, pine cones, horses, a water mill and two large bears.  so refreshing - the smell of all those flowers was wonderful.

along with this 386lb pumpkin and her little counter parts of gourds and other pumpkins.

Never were we so glad to get home on Thursday. probably our last visit toward the western US.

LIFE BOOK 2015

LIFE BOOK 2015 will be opening soon for registration.  it has been so much fun doing the blog hop with all the amazing teachers. thank you tam.

No Cares

oh if only that were true - "no cares" i mean. when i am on the open sea i don't feel like i have a care in the world. i guess that is why hubby and i  love it so much. i incorporated  another photo into this weeks journal page. i captured the bird flying beside our ship on day 2 at sea in the Caribbean.

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while walking along the beach the day of our son's wedding i came upon this hat that washed up on the beach. God has a way of getting your attention. hubby and i were praying and enjoying the early morning before many were out exploring the beach. i couldn't help but think of my middle son whose name begins with "R" and how he appears to go with the flow and have no cares.  right up to an hour before his wedding he and his buddies were pulling stranded vehicles off the beach where it seems the sand and deep ruts bogged them down. he enjoys every minute of life and i guess that is why this group of young men make such great firefighters and find great pleasure working for local fire departments.

i wanted to pick this hat up and bring it home. but hubby would have no part of that.

another treasure lost, lol.

Setting Sun

a beautiful view to a gorgeous wedding day. the weekend has been long - sand dune, wild horse poo, 4-wheel drive and being stuck, awesome young men that keep on giving to others, wonderful newly weds, sharing with amazing friends and family, laughter, tears, joy, awe - Awe in what God does in each of our lives.

and Life Book 2015 spot giveaways still continue. here is Jeanne Oliver's site chance to win.  check out her blog post. hope to win a spot. I've never participated in Life Book.

Efffy Life Book 2015

effy wild is giving away a spot in the new upcoming Life Book 2015.  you should check her out.

sand creatures on the Assateague beach what big eyes you have and those lips do not need botox!

View From The Backyard

growth atop a cut piece of tree

my neighbors plant over growing my fence

my FIL loved the waterways, one day he brought me these wonderful lamps.

i miss my FIL - he was a gentle man, kind and very in tune to our children. he loved coming down and surprising them with play dates. my time of getting a little break and his time of laughing and making memories with our three sons.  where has the time gone?  so glad i have memories.

DLPwk38 - a feather

my spread was ready to go for this coming week bc my son is getting married on the 20th. and kate crane's Journal Soup 2 class included quirky owls.  so much fun!

here is the finished spread with the feathers attached to a butterly.  i love how the quirky owls page turned out. the duct tape and washi tape house is perfect backdrop for these colorful pair

pure delight and contentment being in my backyard. and yes that is fabric on my shed wall. wood from a cut tree in my yard. the birds love flying in and out of there.

Pink Lady and The Owls

kate said to practice, even though she is very pink I really like her.

 and here is my finished Who Owls page. really love this class.

Owl Be Back

Part 6 of Journal Soup 2 with kate crane introduces the quirky owl. my who't owl is sitting back chillin' in his margaritaville chair.  WIP is his frank lloyd wright home or that's what i'm feelin'. he may not rest here long, hoot knows! but one thing is for sure i loved creating him so there will be many more little hoots.

Addicted 2 Journal Soup

i would rather eat this than food.  seriously i am addicted. i love kate crane's way of art'ing and journal soup fills up my soul. my hubby loved my finished canvas from Part 1.  and since i did not have black gesso thought i might mosey on over to Michael's to see if they had any. 

really, i mean seriously i have never shopped like i did this morning, it must be my sleep deprivation. bc i went in after these two items - black gesso and a range of pinks in primacolor pencils.

and when all was said an done - don't know how long i was in there but i do know how much i spent walking out with these clearance items - i thought i had hit the motherlode.

basket, stencils, H20s, foil, colorshine, paints, texture products, stamps, droppers, zipper flowers, birdie mirror, frames, more self-ink stamps and did i mention stencils.

 

i mean i really, really went crazy.  it must have been the 9/11 remembrance that drove me over the edge. i guess this is a tough day for so many Americans.

 

i remember it was my DIL's birthday and my son (police officer) was involved in a shooting with a rapist.  fortunately they did arrest and prosecute the guy but my son reflects on that more than we might care to mention.

 

thank you kate crane for your desire to teach and do it online. you are a fantastic teacher.  i am off to play with all my goodies to see if i can make a whimsical owl.

 

TO ALL I REMEMBER 9/11

thank you to all the police officers and firefighters who serve everyday tirelessly.

i happen to have one of each in my sons.

May God bless all our civil servants.

Mi Casa

kate used black gesso so i had no black gesso - improvised using white gesso and purple acrylic paint to begin. love that purple kate!

 as you  taught us - adding layers and texture. lovin' it so far. fav color orange.

 and ta-da! i absolutely love this "think" house.  my one word 2014 is thinking. as you can see my phrase is off reversed two lines but it is now corrected at 1:30am.  see what Journal Soup will do for you - keep you strong and playing wee into the night.

no butterflies another substitution - use my bird punch and glitter that little birdie. i used cut up pics for my walkway. also for my door - a piece of recycled pic reads "by Rose".

thank you kate part 1 has been amazing.

Sketching

kate encouraged us to practice, practice and just have fun practicing sketching faces.

i love her style and her Journal Soup classes online are great.

and she loves tiny little houses - me too. so I practiced making them too.

Coincidence Me Thinks Not

last night while doing some things (can't remember how it all happened) i came across a prophetic word referencing Luke 21:19. it caught my "attention" this attraction. the NIV reference reads "Stand firm and you win life".  happenstance not hardly.  God is so amazing.  AND THEN while joining a group on etsy up popped a site called "Silverlining Ceramic".  i chuckled again to myself bc the above closeup of my journal page i called "Silver Lining" when i uploaded it yesterday to my group. she has a beautiful cup "Rain Clouds" and for me that has another promise from God that i am in the midst of right now in my life.  hubby and i have been really noticing the awesome clouds and all their forms/shapes.  you remember we used to do that as kids.

GOD is so amazing and HE loves us more than we could ever know.  have a wonderful God-given day.

AND a BIG PSSSS to this post - while watching a Castle episode 10 minutes ago he used the words "silver lining".  so amusing you are so intriguing dear God.

Own It Girl

Jennibellie's august monthly challenge was "law of attraction".  cleaning up my workspace this morning - the junk mail i had received this week was recycled along with food products ephemera - lovin' this page.

wonderful how easy this page came together. i so enjoyed working on this page.

behind my silver lining - "Honey Win 4 Life" - i have the most awesome hubby.  he is great with money and paying the bills BUT he has been doing it ever since we married so he is a little tired - i balance the checkbook and take care of business paperwork. he always teases me saying he will be glad when i come into my millions and he doesn't have to pay another bill.  just give him a debit card with money on it and let him go. his adventure is traveling to the Caribbean on cruises and staying at Sandals resorts. one day it will no longer be his saying it. my dream come true for him.

DLP WK Sept 6 - 13

recycled pics and page finally placed in my Life Planner 2014.  another lovin' spread. so much to say so i will only say it in this pic.

my granddawg goes home today.  been with us for 10 days and he is a handful. but so loved taking care of him while youngest son on a cruise.  like father like son.

last weeks challenge was black and white.  so recycled plastic and scrapbook paper as my tip-in.

Cursive-Calligraphy

i purchased this 2n1chart last year on clearance.  its huge  22x32inches. great for playing with calligraphy and writing. here is a page of practice with pens and tops to make circle designs. great fun!

closeup one section

Playing W/ Faces

DLP wk 35 add a face - i become frustrated sketching/drawing anything but i thought i would give it a try.  love the blue-haired girl and behind her reveals an inky beatnik type created with Liquitex ink. on the Japanese side is a pic of my son i created using fabric and threadwork turned into a pillow.  just need to fill in each day's activities. pure pleasure working this way - repurposing my art.

and here is my playful beatnik aged of course. lol

Japanese DLP Week 35

 this is my next week's-in-progress pages - days of week in Japanese.

a sweet friend in UK sent me these lovely little girls. so adorable.

Numbers

 DLP Week 34 - pages representing numbers in your week. i am in the process of incorporating class art work in my DLP pages.  my miracle angels, 11.3, 22 and 1996-1996 are from a class with Kate Crane.  She is an excellent teacher.

and i recycled a piece of acetate packaging making it an overlay for my weekly page. you can see what is on the overlay and what is on the weekly page.  love working on th is page. the birdie pics are from various vacas.

DLP Challenge 33

to add a Chinese fortune cookie fortune somewhere. i loved adding the painted 4x4 with brads. used a decorative hole punch on the edges. just enjoyed playing.

its been five years since my diagnosis. God has been so good to me in my healing. sometimes its been challenging (hugging the toilet not so fun) but i did keep right on praying and giving God praise between vomitting.  tough not being able to wear any clothing on my breast/chest area for a while. bleeding, itching, and draining not too fun either.  BUT in the last few weeks i have been able to put clothes on, get outside, walk in evenings with hubby and enjoy life to its fullest.  THANK YOU GOD!

plus today i worked all day in my yard planting flowers, de-weeding flower beds on hands and knees, trimming borders and laying mulch.  it was great feeling the hot sun on my body. i am tired and now off to bed.

Love Sings

my DLP week 31 add pocket. my pocket holds a piece of my grandma's tattered quilt and a 4x4 art card along with a zine from jennibellie. around the page I've added decorated envelope flowers from class with Ro Bruhn and a birdie from Terri Kahr's class. it was a great week visiting sons at the beach and lots of weekend rain. time to rest and snooze.

my paper bag journal i created. the pages and flipouts are almost complete. added tags and other things inside the bags that i want to keep in one place.  great tut off  youtube

ME time

last week was my b-day and my hubby brought me the most beautiful, vibrant flowers. i so loved the colors of some of them.  the yellows popped and there was a purple that captured my heart.

Mary had a tutorial on how she creates her journals on her blog.  here is my first attempt at a similar page. i really enjoyed Capture the Day. i  am not close to finishing this page.

and here is my Cry Out To God page, this was so much fun. challenge from DLP using receipts. after i put them on the left side i covered them all over with clear Scotch shipping tape  with butterflies, dragonflies and insects.  love this!! of course this week is not finished yet and is yet to be determined.

the book i decided on for creating my journal was Mary Engelbrecht's ME book.  of course for years now the initials ME mean Jesus in the Word of God.  feel its ME time for now in my life.

The View

 during my climb to the top of the lighthouse I took pics along the way.  the view was breath taking whether through a small window
 

or tiny doorway before walking out onto the wraparound walk. my view was definitely expanded once I was outside - I could see for miles and miles, waterways, bridges, the island across the way. 

it made me ponder and reflect on my life's view.  was it too narrow? was it only tunnel vision?  expanding my view is where I am headed. to the top, to the top I must go.

I had to laugh when I saw this but it was there for a very important reason - so you would not bump your head on the bulkhead - I think that's what its called?

they recently opened the inside of the lighthouse and climbing to the top was a wonderful, unexpected surprise.  how many steps did he say?